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New Eden 25

Have Mercy {Kertaro and duchess85}

The sound of a wall mounted telephone filled the workshop, but the man who stood at the bench ignored it as he always did. Running the planer down along the of the wood John Becker paused and leaned down closer to inspect. His eyes scrutinized the word carefully before seeming to be satisfied stood up and brushed his hand over it. The phone stopped then, and he sighed happily before leaning back down. He was about to resume his work when he heard the door. Turning to see who had come in put down his tool and walked away from his latest project." John" came the voice of the plump middle-aged man. He was clearly sweating and he normally did. Men his weight didn't walk without sweating or wheezing. Still John smiled at him and nodded to a large wooden crib. "Oh it's done" cam the out of breath reply. The man then stopped and reached out running his hands over the wood. "I thought you said it would be a few weeks"The man in his early thirties then moved closer. He was dressed as he was always in his shop. A blue work shirt with white undershirt and a pair of jeans. In a corner of the shop somewhere a radio played an old country song from the station it was always tuned to. His boots walked through sawdust that no matter how many time he swept always seemed to be thick across the concrete floor. Strong and tall he towered over the visitor to his place, but his voice was still gentle as he spoke." Well you were in luck actually" he told him as he reached out and gave the crib a tug to show how sturdy it was. "Evan's farm caught it pretty bad in the storm a couple of weeks back. Took down an oak he had in the back pasture. So I was able to get the wood a lit easier and faster than I first planned." He shook the crib again showing the strength "Just as you requested though. Not a drop of metal on it. I did use some glue to help secure some of the smaller joints, but everything was non-toxic" Then he gestured to the finish "I didn't stain it dark though. The wood had a nice color to it, so I just sealed and varnished over the natural color"The older man seemed very pleased, and his eyes sparkled "Nancy will be so pleased. Ever since the fire burned us out all those years ago she had lamented that we had lost the family crib" He licked his lips and then wheezed again slightly "I think this will be a lovely replacement to pass on now to our first grandchild"John smiled wide at that. "Any day now right?" he asked, and the older man nodded his head. "Looks like you are just as excited as Nancy is so don't try and pretend you aren't"The older man nodded again "Oh I don' t think it is possible to be more excited than her, but I am right up there for certain" Then he looked up at the younger man and his face got more serious. "And the other item?" John looked across the shop and shook his head. "I know that you wanted the rocker to be restored, but the truth is that the wood is just to far gone" he could see the disappointment cross the other man's face then. "With the fire damage there was no way that it could support someone again. Anyplace that wood sat would end up snapping like a twig" He paused then and walked a few steps away "But I did have an idea and since you came today it saved me a trip"Picking up the piece of what looked to be the arm of a burnt chair he held it out. "Now you brought me the pieces of the old chair" he told him. Then he showed him a new arm similar in size. "I can match it up and build you a new one just like it" he then took his hand with the old wood he rubbed the dark soot over the new wood. The white light color turning dark then from the ash. "I use the ashes of the old chair to color the new one. That way at least a part of it stays"The other man smiled lightly at that and nodded "I like that idea John. Nancy's chair survived the fire on the porch, but mine was closer to the door than hers. It will be nice to get out chairs back that we got when we first got married"Nodding John crossed again closer. "Happy that you like it. I should have it done within the week. I got a couple other projects along the way, but I promise that by the time the grand baby comes for its first visit that you can rock it in your chair""Her" the other man said and smiled wide "Rock her in my chair" Nodding John reached out and shook the man's hand quickly. "Is the crib ready now?"" All set" he said and then gestured "I will send Marie by with it later. He is out on a wood run for me now, but should be free to bring it by this afternoon"The men then said their goodbyes and John walked him out. As they reached the door the phone rang again. The old wall mounted with a cord phone that had been in the shop since it was his grandfather's. John chose this time not to even glance over at it and instead stepped out into the light. It was a lovely day and the sun was shining so he pushed the large door that was one wall of the shop open. Sunlight pouring in now over the sawdust filled air and the scatterings of furniture inside. Looking at his world John smiled and then moved back among the wood to finish his current project. The sign over the door simply reading Mercy Furniture and Restoration. "You have reached Mercy Furniture and Restoration all of our associates are busy at the moment, please leave your name number and a brief message and someone will return your call as soon as possible." Willow slammed the phone back into it's cradle before the message reached the beep, she knew from experience that no one was going to return her phone call, which was extremely unprofessional in her opinion. The man was absolutely infuriating, his work however was the most beautiful thing that Willow had ever seen. Such beautifully carved woods, the designs were so flawless. All Willow wanted was for him to help her design some beautiful pieces for a new line of furniture for her line. She couldn't understand why he was so against it, the exposure would bring in a hefty pay-day and amazing exposure... most people in this type of business wanted the exposure, they wanted to see their name on a big expensive line. She sighed running a hand through her long red hair, normally her hair was a riot of red curls, but she had recently decided to give straightening it a shot. Willow had wasted over three hundred dollars on it only to find out that she loved her hair wild and free. Freeing her hands from her hair she rubbed her temples lightly and closed her eyes, letting the lids rest delicately over her vivid emerald eyes. Willow couldn't remember a time when convincing a designer had ever been so difficult, maybe he just didn't like to co-design... but she was desperate to work with him. If he wouldn't listen to her on the phone then she would just have to go to him in person. Willow was determined to make him understand, this was her biggest line to date, and she didn't want to release it without having at least one piece that she had designed with him... more him than her honestly. She had been passing through the small town of Mercy months ago when she'd wandered into his shop, his work had captivated her the moment she walked in. Everything about it had spoken to her, she spent so much time that day just running her fingers over the smooth beautifully carved wood pieces. Picking up her phone she called her assistant "I need you to cancel all my meetings, planned phone calls...everything I am leaving for Mercy later this evening." Replacing the phone in the cradle she looked around her office and wondered when she'd forgotten about design and making things herself...it wasn't how she'd started out, but it was where she'd ended up. Maybe it was why designing with him was so damn important to her. Willow grabbed her purse and left her small downtown office, hailed a cab and took the short ride back to her apartment. It wasn't long before she'd filled up a small suitcase and tossed it into the back of her SUV and hit the road. She punched in the location of the hotel just outside of Mercy into her GPS and determined that she would be there in a matter of hours. She tapped a button on the center console and music began to fill the vehicle, she sang along to every song she knew as loud as she wanted... but the further away from the city she got the worst the reception, after a while she had to search for new stations unfortunately for her all she could find was country. Furthermore, she hadn't packed her iPod so she would just have to deal with it. A few hours later as the day sky began to darken to night she passed the sign that read "Welcome to Mercy" and below that "The small town with a big heart" after that it was just a few minutes before she was pulling up outside his shop. She hopped out of the big SUV, wondering if dressing down had been a bad idea. She had on a pair tight skinny jeans that hugged the flare of her hips and made her somewhat short legs look longer, she'd thrown on a soft worn t-shirt that was a little too tight around the chest but hung loosely around her stomach and slipped on a pair of flip-flops, aiming for comfort. Taking a deep breath she walked up to the shop, getting ready to walk in when she noticed the large door at the side open and headed in that direction instead... the sight she saw took her breath away, it was a gateway to his world. He was facing her but with his head down working, so he hadn't yet seen her... leaning against the frame slightly she cleared her throat and said. "You're a hard man to get a hold of." The sounds of the crickets chirping was the first sign of evening getting on. The second was the rumble that filled his stomach. John had been on several nights to work right through supper and even had a makeshift cot at the back of the shop in case he got too tired. If his heart and mind were in a project he would work day and night until it was done and that sometimes was truly literal. Now though he heard a banging from the other side of the shop and looked up. It was still light out, the sun having not yet touched the tops of the buildings in downtown, but it was still time to wind down. Stepping back from the headboard he was working on he stretched. Reaching up to the ceiling he stretched to his full six and a half feet. John was never known as being small. He was big as a kid, and he turned out to be big as an adult. Wide shoulders and big arms he was constantly knocking down boards and such in the shop. He rubbed his stubble of a beard and thought he might shave some time soon, but not much of reason at this point. It was off to him how his hair was light brown, but his beard grew in red. Rubbing his blue eyes he picked a couple pieces of sawdust out of them before looking across the shop. Markie was there stacking wood planks in the corner. They had already been stacked, and clearly he was just trying to make noise to get John's attention. Marie and John had gone to school together and when they were young there was little difference. As they got older though it became clear that Mark was different. It was about the fifth grade when they first sent him to the special school and John was sad to see him leave. He still visited him from time to time and as he got older even got permission from Mark's parents to take him places. Now nearly twenty fives years from when they first met Marie was a town feature. He helped everyone he could in the downtown and went into every store. He was always bright, cheery, and helpful in any way he could be. John had taken him on at first just to help his parents pay the bills, but now he relied on the other man. He was his stocking boy, his delivery guy, errand runner, lunch getter, and shop cleaner. Marie did all of it with a smile and John paid him as well as any assistant could ask for. Now he set down another board and looked over at John seeing if the other man had looked up. When he saw John he smiled and looked a little sheepish. "Time for supper?" he asked from across the shop and Marie nodded. John smiled "Go ahead" he told the other man and as he headed towards his truck John called out "And no stopping for ice cream on the way home" The other man just opened his eyes in an innocent expression and then got in the old truck his dad had given him and pulled out. It was not like he was going to convince John to stop when he was in the groove. He had tried many times and failed, but sometimes John would still go and have dinner with him and his folks. He was working on restoring a scroll pattern to a headboard that had been worn down over the years when he heard a voice. Furthermore, he still had the side door open to let the breeze in, and he squinted as he looked up. There was a woman leaning against the wall of the shop he hadn't seen before, and he knew that for certain. Had he ever seen this woman before he would have remembered her and vividly? Reaching up he slid the glasses that magnified his vision up onto the top of his head and then looked at the woman in the doorway. She was silhouetted by the setting sun behind her and all it did was add to her beauty. Curves all around her body and the hair that looked like pure fire in the red of the setting sun was the first thing he noticed. He then let his eyes trace up the tight-fitting jeans and across her chest rubbing his tongue on the inside of his mouth at the sight of her chest. All in all she was quite the sight to behold. His eyes studied her for quite some time before they focused on things that weren't going to keep him awake that night, and then he seemed to sigh. "That is kind of the point Miss" he responded and then lowered the glasses again. Picking up the small chisel he then looked back down at his work. "Customers are not invited to the shop and all of my work can be purchased or set up through the storefront in downtown from nine to five Monday through Friday" he said as he tapped the chisel lightly with a small hammer. "I am sure you had a drive, but as you can clearly see I am not the one who deals with customers and the shop is not insured for visitors" he told her. This was clearly not the first person to happen upon him while he was working. A slow smile crept across Willow's face, it was very clear now why she'd had such a hard time getting a hold of him. It seemed to her that he probably never answered his phone for anyone. "At the moment I'm not a customer, and I have been to your shop... I also own several pieces of your work." Stepping away from the door so no part of her was even close to being inside his workshop." I've tried calling you several times, your voicemail message is very misleading it says an associate will get back you and let me tell you, I am a very, very patient woman - But I never heard back from you, or anyone who works from you. So here I am." Even though her body was outside the workshop, her eyes were definitely traveling over the items within. His work, the finished pieces that were ready to be moved to his retail store and even the half finished or just started designs were amazing. She wanted to crawl inside his brain and see what made him tick. The stacks of wood scattered around appealed to the artist in her, she saw several that she'd love to get her hands on. However, the man appealed to the woman. His height would be overwhelming in comparison to her five-foot three stature, the red beard in was a contrast to the brown hair, and she liked it... a lot. She had to compose herself before she opened her mouth to speak again." My name is Willow Fox, I run Fox Furniture Designs." her furniture line was highly sought after in the city, but she was unsure how far and wide it had reached, she doubted this man had skimmed her online catalog. "Have you listened to any of my messages Mr. Becker?" she asked curiously wondering whether he was blatantly ignoring her, or if he hadn't even gotten any of the messages yet. She found the latter hard to believe since she'd be trying for months to speak with him, but he kinda looked like he hadn't been out of his workshop in months either so Willow was truly unsure." I'd love to talk with about a collaboration." she looked around "Maybe over dinner if you're ready to call it a night." She said hopefully, she had seen a diner as she was driving through town and if they had a nice greasy burger and cheese fries she would be a seriously happy camper. John didn't want to be rude, but he also didn't like people just coming to his workshop. There were pieces and bits here he never had touched, or was planning on working on, or he just needed a lightning bolt for. This was not the kind of place that things were discussed. When she mentioned the phone he nodded. "I have one man who works for me" he said as he then tapped on the chisel again and turned his head to study the beak of the bird he was working on. "He tends to get messages wrong. Everything else is sold through the storefront which also doubles as the town furniture store. When something of mine sells Mr. Davis makes sure I get a check" Then looking up a brief second he looked at her again framed by the sun and in his doorway and then after blinking to tear his eyes away he muttered "So that is how I run my business"He did slowly straighten up when she mentioned who she was and what she owned. Taking off the glasses he set them own on the table. "I know your company" he told her simply and then added "but no I don't listen to messages. To be perfectly honest I hired on a girl a few years back who was taking accounting courses in the city and home for the summer. I know she bought me a cell phone and set up the voicemail" he then waved his hand at the shop "And it is plugged in someplace in here." Now walking slowly he worked his way through the items in the shop. Nearing the door he put a booted foot up on a bench he was working on to step up and over it. When he came back down to the ground he was just a few feet from her and that was when he smelled her. The lovely scent of her perfume and shampoo mixing in the air. It was such a stark contrast from the scent of wood and varnish that permeated the air in which he usually found himself. Despite her interrupting his work and her wanting to talk business, which he was certain he wouldn't be interested in, he still wouldn't mind sitting across from a beautiful woman for a meal. Pulling off the leather gloves on his hands he looked out at the setting sun and then at the sky. "There is diner called The Stoplight which conveniently is located at the only stoplight" he told her as he gestured at the road. Then he tucked the leather gloves into his back pocket and looked at her vehicle. "I will meet you there. We should drive though. Looks to rain, and I wouldn't want you to mess up those fancy jeans" he said before knocking some of the sawdust off his stained work outfit. Half smiling them he turned towards the shop and reaching up high pulled down the big door hearing the lock click in place. "I think you should be able to spot it" he told her as he then walked past her towards the large pickup truck parked beside the building. Willow found herself pleasantly surprised that he knew of her company, it seemed that it's reputation had spread farther than it thought. If she were honest with herself though, she was envious of what he had here. She spent so much time designing things, but it had been months since she'd had her hands on a good piece of wood and done the dirty work herself. She loved her company but hated the role she'd taken in it, maybe it was time to make some changes back in the city. Her eyes followed him through the workshop until he was right in front of her, tilting her head back to look up at him. The sheer size of the man made her feel even shorter than she already was. He smelled like the wood he worked with mixed with the unique scent that belonged to him alone. He was a little overwhelming. She kept her mind on dinner, and business to keep it from wandering to something that was probably not at all appropriate seeing as she wanted to create a business deal with him." Stoplight diner it is, I think I saw it on my way through town it won't be an issue." she said with a smile as she went around to her SUV. As she hoisted herself into the driver's seat of her car she looked down at her jeans for a moment, wondering what about them was fancy as she slid the key into the ignition. It wasn't as if she'd spent hundreds of dollars on them or anything, she'd gotten them from Macy's from the sales rack. Sure it was true that her furniture line had taken off like gangbusters, but most of her money went to paying off her investor. She would have to ask him what made her jeans fancy. She pulled out of the parking lot and made her way to the diner, parking neatly and hoping out of her car. The big SUV was often a joke back home because she was so small, but she'd needed something that she could haul furniture in. Willow went in and slid into a booth, she figured he would only be seconds behind her. Pulling up across the street John hopped down from the truck. His boots hit the pavement, and he looked at the diner. He could already see her through the window and at a booth waiting. Hettie would be coming over with a menu for her any minute. She and Duffle had been running this place together since he could remember anything. Now as he crossed the road he couldn't help but feel a twang of guilt. It wasn't right that she was thinking he was going to consider some kind of collaboration. He should be up front with her and as he opened the door he determined to do so. The place smelled lovely and he suddenly heard his stomach growl. He hadn't had anything since breakfast today and his body reminded him of that fact. He had sent Marie out with the crib which meant he didn't run for lunch which meant it never entered John's head. Now as the smells of the place he had eaten more times in his life then any other his mind ran with ideas of what to order. He waved to the man in the apron and stained shirt in the window and Duffle nodded. A former Marine Duff was one of those of few words, but powerful presence. Since he was a kid John had looked up to him and winced away from his firm shoulder grasp. He passed Hattie on the way who wiggled her eyebrows at him. Having set down the menus she didn't know it was John who was coming in, but now that she saw him she knew. Thankfully she didn't say a word though as he slid by her in the classic blue waitress uniform. Her curly hair was barely to his chin, but still he would mind his manners always with her. Now that he was past them both he slid into the both ready to come clean when he looked up and caught her eyes and that all unraveled." Whoever you hired to assemble your Ashland dining room set is lying to you" he told her as he slid the menu aside. He hadn't needed a menu here for years and Hattie would already be bringing him his iced tea. "I saw one a few months back, and they are only reinforcing two joints instead of all four. Saves them a few hours on each chair, but they will wobble and break a hell of a lot easier" he told her as an icebreaker. Though if he looked deep down it was more of a chance to try and impress her. A few seconds after she'd settled into the booth the menu was laid before her, she had a warm smile for the older lady who'd given it to her. Willow quickly ordered a glass of their homemade lemonade, and then skimmed the menu looking for what she was craving. Once she found it she closed the menu and pushed it aside. It was as she closed the menu that he arrived, informing her of the issue with her Ashland dining room set. She tapped her nails against the table for a moment and nodded a little. The Ashland was one of her biggest sellers, and if it was going to fall apart on her customers it was a good chance she wouldn't have many repeat customers. She supposed this is what she got when she no longer oversaw the production of her pieces, it seemed her trip to Mercy was much more eye-opening than she had anticipated." I will have to deal with that... perhaps sending out a reinforcement kit." she bit her bottom lip a little "or sending a crew out to reinforce them properly." she pulled out her phone and set herself a reminder to call her assistant and production company when she got back to her hotel. "Sorry about that, quality is important to me. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, it will definitely be taken care of as soon as possible." The sweet older woman came back with her lemonade and an ice tea for him, without him even ordering it... just one of the perks of living in a small town. Willow placed her order for a double cheeseburger with extra pickles and cheese fries." Your workshop is impressive, but I got the impression you didn't want me there. I can understand I didn't really want to invade your privacy... but hopefully you can appreciate my frustration since I had been trying to get in touch with you for a while now." She sipped from her lemonade and let the slightly sweet, slightly sour liquid wash over her tongue... it was delicious and definitely not from a bottle or can." I am going to get right too it Mr. Becker. I want to work with you. Furthermore, I want to design with you and create something beautiful... whether it's one piece for the new line, or a line of our own... Furthermore, I want something with both of our names on it." Willow was certain that a collaboration with him would reignite her passion, something that her current way of business had killed. She was still designing, but it just was not the same. She ate. That was more refreshing than he thought. Most women he had ever gone out with were dead eyed and then ordering what they thought the men would want them to eat. To see a woman order what she was after and also care about quality was even better. She cared about the product after the sale and most internet laden dealers these days didn't give a flip once the cash was in hand. Another tick in her favor it seemed. Hattie decided that John needed the special and told him so when he looked at her. Never one to argue it seemed that a giant BLT was on its way to him, and he was just fine with that. After telling her to make it on wheat bread he listened to the woman across from him speak. At least she identified that she was intruding on the sanctity of his shop. It wasn't as if he never had people in his shop, but they were friends. He waited until she had finished and then took a drink of his tea. He leaned forward putting his arm on the table and then shifted slightly. "I feel like I should explain" he told her "A few years ago a tour group came through. They were doing some damn southern rural tour, and they came here on a day trip. It was great for the town made some great cash for some of the downtown business's, but then they found my shop. I was out grabbing lunch and the next thing I knew I came back, and they were in the shop. They had picked things up and were moving them around and someone was even picking up my tools and trying to make offers on some of the older ones"Making a face he then cleared his throat. "I might have had a few choice words and anyone who had been thinking about buying things quickly headed out the door when I loudly and vocally described what pieces of wood I would be shoving in what places if they didn't piss off" he finished and then sighed. "Been tense ever since about people coming in and peeking" he finished then and sighed slowly." As for working together" he told her with a bit of a grimace. This was going to be the hard part, and he wondered if he was about to be dining alone "I am not a man who really works well with others. I know what I like, and I know what I don't like. What I don't like is someone else having control over my work. What I also don't like is" he paused then and shook his head and shrugged. He was just going to have to come out and say it. "Lines. Each piece I make is its own creation and they sometimes" he paused and tipped his head to the side "Well sometimes they don't fit anything at all"He looked over at Hattie hoping the food came soon to break the tension and then back to her. Her eyes were quite lovely, but he decided laying it out would be best. So here he was about to tell the most beautiful woman he had seen in a long time exactly what she didn't want to hear. "So I guess as far as working together I would say the answer would most likely be no" Willow listened to him carefully, as he spoke their food was delivered to them. Her burger was huge, and his BLT was even bigger than that. They certainly weren't stingy with their serving sizes. Her cheese fries were a mound on a separate plate and were smothered in delicious cheese, without even touching the fork she dug into her fries with her fingers. She got the cheddar on her fingers and lips without care... how else was one to eat such a prize?" Mr. Becker" she said once she'd chewed and swallowed her fry "I was pointed out every piece of your work when I went to the retail furniture store in town. I know that you don't follow a design line, or style. I am not naive enough to try and fit you into style box, I could show you the drawings for my current releases... none of it fits, or flows." She didn't know if she should mention that she was trying to find her muse once again, maybe he'd be more likely to work with her then?" I am aiming for something more organic, more natural... more inspired. Something more in line with what you do... than what I do." she was being open and honest, but she knew this wasn't going to be easy. He was definitely going to be a tough nut to crack, but nothing worthwhile it was ever easy, and she was determined that they work together. After her little speech she lifted her burger and took a bite, a soft moan leaving her lips as she chewed her mouth full of food. Yep, definitely the best burger she'd ever had... and the cheese fries? She would definitely be back for more of those! He smiled when she took her first bites. Places don't stay in business in a small town unless they get a really loyal following because of the food. The Stoplight was clearly one of those places. Taking a bite of his own sandwich he agreed with her sounds of happiness. Thick peppered cut bacon and Duff didn't skimp on the meat either. They bought the bread from the bakery don the street, and he was certain it was freshly made. Now he took a few bites and let the silence of them eating hang in the air. After a few more bites he leaned back and took a drink before looking at her again." Miss" he paused saying it because he didn't now and then shook his head "First of all John please" he then set his hands back down on the table "So now that I settled that I can't tell you what something organic looks like" he told her frankly. "When I create a new piece it doesn't come from an idea or a thought it should look like or what is in. It comes from the wood. It comes from how I feel that day. Furthermore, it comes from my Dad telling me that if something was worth doing then it was worth doing well. Furthermore, it comes from my Grandfather's tools." Picking up a few of the homemade chips on his plate he crunched and then considered a moment "Besides a line means that I would be producing the same pieces over and over again" he shook his head at that thought "I don't think I have ever made the same thing twice so I wouldn't be good for project that it sounds like you are after" Willow picked at her french fries looking for the cheesiest fry, she listened as he spoke about how he worked. Perhaps she hadn't been very clear about what she wanted to do, and how she wanted to work with him because what he was saying was exactly what she wanted. She wanted to hang her head, or scream, but instead she just ate some more fries. She wanted to throw aside the sketch pads and get her hands on the wood, and she wanted to do it with him. Furthermore, she wanted to see what they could come up with... together. Maybe it was too much to ask of him, maybe she should throw in the towel and head on back to the city and overhaul how she did business all together. It was possible that she was being stubborn about all of this, but from the moment she had seen is work in the furniture store she had known that she had to work to with him, and she hadn't been able to let go of it even after all the months of calling with no response. With the size of the portions of that the diner offered she was unable to finish all of her food, so when the kind waitress came by she asked for a to-go bag. Willow was unsure of what to say to him next, she had all sorts of things running through her mind but none of them seemed right. It seemed like she was on the wrong end of this battle, he would win, and she would go home empty-handed. She couldn't let that happen, she was willing to do things any way he wanted - even if it meant just one piece of furniture." I am not asking you to be a furniture factory Mr." she stopped and corrected herself "John, I am willing to work with you on your terms. Whether it is one piece of furniture or several. I call it a line, but I am not talking about reproduced pieces. I am talking about pieces of furniture or art that come from both of our minds." she stopped a moment and wondered if she was sounding absolutely crazy "I know that Fox Furniture Designs generally does things that way, but it wasn't always like that, and it doesn't always have to be like that." Once the bill was laid on the table Willow reached for it, she had asked him here it was only right she paid the bill. She picked up the check as he finished the last couple of his chips. He hadn't managed to finish his sandwich totally, but he had done a number on it. Now he was staring across the table as she explained herself again. He took a deep breath as he leaned back in the booth. He propped his leg up along the bench and put his back to the window. She was still being polite, but persistent. Something abut that was appealing. Many things about her were appealing it seemed. As he chewed the last crunches away he looked at her and again found himself trying to picture even more of her naked. Hattie came over to take the check saving him from getting way too deep in the dirty thoughts. What the hell was wrong with him? She was here for business and all he could seem to focus on was to strip her down... He then blinked and straightened back up." I see where you are coming from" he told her as he rubbed his chin "But you need to see things from my side. I don't do this because I want to be rich, or I want my name in some publication. Furthermore, I do it because I love it. Furthermore, I do it because wood is easier for me to deal with then most people. Furthermore, I haven't worked with anyone since I helped my Dad build a birdhouse when I was six and even then we butted heads on design" then he slid to the end of the booth. Standing up he then sighed "I am sorry to have wasted your time, but I really do not believe this would be a good idea." He looked out the window again before he then nodded to her "It was a pleasure, and thank you for the meal" he said as he turned away from the table "You might want to get going. That rain is coming now." The window started to streak now as the first few raindrops pattered against it. With a deep sigh Willow let her head drop back against the back of the booth, she brought her hands up and rubbed them over her face in complete and utter frustration. She wasn't used to not getting what she wanted, she'd never had anything handed too her but when she wanted something she put her head down and worked her ass of until she got it. However, it was looking like John Becker was a tougher nut to crack than she had ever imagined. Who in their right mind turned down lots of money they could get on their own terms, him apparently and it was driving her batty. Hattie the sweet old lady came up, taking the check and tip. "I know it's none of my business sweetheart... but you never get anything by sitting around moping about it. Go after it." Willow didn't know if the waitress had been eavesdropping or if she just thought that Willow wanted to jump his bones, but the advice was solid. Dropping a few more bills on the table she stood and made for the exit, he hadn't gotten too far so she was able to hop into her SUV and follow him, she hung back as to not be terribly obvious she really didn't need a confrontation in the middle of the street. He turned off onto a road that wasn't much more than some mud and some gravel, on the drive the rain had gotten heavy to the point where the windshield wipers were barely helping keep the scene clean. She was typically a safe driver, but one could not account for the weather, a gust of wind blew so hard that even her SUV rattled, and a limb fell out of a tree in front of her. Willow slammed on the brakes, her heart felt like it was going to beat right out of her chest. She lowered her head to the steering wheel for a moment and then switched the car into reverse but as she went to pull back her back wheels just spun, and spun, and spun. She switched the car back into drive hoping that moving forward some would get her out of this sticky situation but again the wheels simply spun. Willow threw the car into park and slammed her palms into the steering wheel and cursed. Reaching over the center console she grabbed her purse and pulled out her phone, and as soon as her screen lit up she knew she was shit out of luck... no bars, roaming, she was never going to get a call-out to triple a. Tossing the phone back into her purse she cursed again and looked out the window. The rain was still coming down, harder now it seemed. She would just wait it out. Storms this time of year were the worst. When they came in it was with a vengeance and this one was no exception. Water was pouring off the road as he pulled onto the gravel path that led down towards his cabin. He knew this one was going to do some damage. He hated that these storms caused so many washouts on his drive, but then again if he paved the road it would just be an open invitation for people to come down it. The man didn't even have a sign on the road. He liked his privacy. With one arm propped up on the truck door the other on the wheel he thought as he drove. Maybe a collaboration wouldn't be so bad. After all the chamber had come to ask him to take on more help and maybe stimulate a little growth in Mercy. Not much happened there these days. With the casino being built up the road and more people getting on the freeway downtown was starting to suffer a bit. Maybe producing a few pieces wouldn't be so bad and if he oversaw the whole thing he could still turn out a quality product. Sighing he then shook his head "and yet the only reason you consider it is that the woman who asked you is gorgeous" he said out loud to himself. He could barely hear his own voice the rain was now pounding down so hard. Of course that was why he was still thinking about it. At least half a dozen times over the years since he started he had been approached by people about collaboration. It was either his designs, his name, or even the historic setting they wanted. All of them quickly got a resounding no, but this one. Admitting she was different was easier than he thought. He had seen her work and her designs were not terrible. Sometimes that was where inspiration came form was looking at others and seeing how you would modify it. Not that he ever stole, but seeing work inspired work, and he was happy to see if someone had noted him in their inspirations. Woodworking societies, which he was a member of several, were all over the place now, and he was glad to contribute to try and bring back the idea of American craftsmanship. Working with a larger design firm and getting that idea back to mainstream might be a good thing in the long run. He was engrossed in these thoughts when he parked outside the cabin. It was on a hill with a set of stairs leading down to the small lake. A dock and boathouse at the bottom which he couldn't even really see now because of the downpour. His barn was in front of him and the small two-bedroom cabin just a quick hop away. Jumping up onto his front porch he found himself dripping from just going that far. He turned the knob never leaving the place locked and flicked the light switch to find nothing." Damn" he muttered flicking the thing a few more times with his dripping fingers. Setting his jaw he looked at the storm. Well if the line was down he would need to call the power company, and he was already soaked. As he got back to the truck he found himself dripping more and pulled on his old baseball cap form beside him on the seat. He drove slower back towards the road looking for the spot that might have cut his line. He was only twenty feet or so from the SUV before he saw it and slammed on his brakes. Blinking he looked at the headlights and then at the ditches. It was a good four-wheeler, but it was up to the axle in rushing mud now. No way in hell it was getting out without a tow and in this rain if he tried he just might slip off the trail himself. Reaching up he rubbed his face with one hand and then smacked the steering wheel. "Some people just can't take a hint" he said as he pushed open the door. He thought about jogging through the rain, but instead he simply walked water making every inch of his clothes stick to him. He made it to her window and pounded on it with his palm. Furthermore, he was going to shout something, but it didn't matter in this weather. Furthermore, he wouldn't have been able to be heard. Instead, he waited until she had opened the window and stared, but before she could say anything he cut her off. "Unless you are looking to ride this thing down to the lake and have a swim you better come with me" he shouted over the driving rain and then headed back to his truck. The abrupt pounding on the widow startled her and forced her head up and around to face the noise. She rolled down the window, letting in the rain and the shouting of the man who was just as abrupt as the pounding had been. Then without even waiting she watched as he turned and walked back to his truck without even waiting for her. Quickly she rolled up her window and then grabbed her purse from the seat beside her and slinging it over her shoulder before reaching back and grabbing her overnight bag. She had planned to grab a room at the hotel she'd seen while driving through town, but with her car stranded here it was a good chance that she was going to be stranded here as well so she might as well be prepared. With her bags in tow she pulled open the door and slid out into the rain, the drops were big and heavy and soaked her to the core in mere seconds. She hustled through the slippery mud to the passenger side of his truck. Her fingers slipped off the handle of a few times before she got it open and tossed her bags up onto the seat. With her head down she pulled herself up and flopped onto the seat herself, reaching out she pulled the door closed and turned her head to face him. She was sure she must look like a drowned dog with her hair wet and returning to its curly state while at the same time sticking to her face. Her clothes practically suctioned to her body. Willow clearly wasn't making the best of impressions on this man, and she'd trapped them both into a situation that he clearly did not want to be in. She opened her mouth, ready to speak and then closed it again. What could she possibly say? Sorry I'm a pain in the ass?No, that wouldn't work, even though it was probably true. Sorry I barged my way into your life?she had barged her way into his life, but she couldn't decide if she was sorry about it. Sorry I followed you after you basically told me to shove off? No... that would be rude. Sorry I even came here?maybe, she was starting to regret her choice of hightailing it down here. Sorry I can seem to take no for an answer? Willow supposed that could work, but it still wasn't right. No, she'd just keep it simple. She opened her mouth again and said "I am really sorry about all of this." there nothing to specific, just an all encompassing I'm sorry for all the stupid shit she'd done so far. Following the waitresses' advice now, seemed a little silly. Sure there were other ways she could have gone about it rather than chasing after him in the pouring rain... not one of her brightest moments she had to admit to herself. Wearing flip-flops that day had also been a terrible idea as well, as now her toes were covered in mud and squishing every time she moved them. She let her head fall back against the headrest with a soft sigh and then turned to face him again. "So now what? I assume I won't be able to get my car of that mess without a tow - and I assume we won't be able to tow it right away." He slammed the truck door as he had climbed back in. Every part of him was now dripping wet, and the rain didn't show signs of letting up. This happened every now and again in Georgia and having a house on a hill beside a lake was never cheap to maintain the road. Still he wouldn't have moved for anything in the world. Now though as he watched her headlights go out and then her start sloshing through the rain and mud towards the truck he set his jaw. She climbed in and now was almost a soaked he was. She had only made the trip from one vehicle to the other, but he had gone back and forth. His baseball cap on his head was soaked through and dripping from the brim. His clothes clung to him and his undershirt was almost clear from the soaking. Pulling off his cap he tossed it on the dash with to defrost going full blast as she mumbled her words of apology. It was then he looked over and noticed the way her hair hung, the tight clinging wet of her clothes and as he glanced all the way down the squishing mud that flowed over her feet. When his eyes came back up there was a look on his face that clearly said she did not have to apologize. Then she asked her question and he laughed. It was a chuckle more than anything and reaching up he ran a hand through his hair and pushed it back to smooth it away form his face as much as he could. Shaking his head he put the truck in reverse and got it turned around and headed back down the drive towards his cabin. "Wash out up by the road is the worst of all because its gravel" he told her as he gestured. Down here closer to the cabins it firmed up because of the grass and plant life on the trail. "Tow truck won't be able to get you out of there either, and then we got ourselves a hell of a mess on our hands" he told her as they bounced in the cab. He knew every bump and curve of this road, and he had to stop himself from looking over to see what the rough ride in the truck would cause shaking and move on her body.Finally, his headlights shown on the cabin itself, and then he pulled up as close to the door as he could. Putting the truck in park he looked over at her and then sighed. "Power is out, but I can build us a fire to get dry. Then you can have my room for the night" There was a rumble of thunder form nearby enough that the windows of the truck shook. "Hopefully it won't be too bad, and you can get out in the morning. I have a landline because I know for a fact that you are not getting any cell calls here. Tower is on the other side of that hill and miles down"Reaching over he grabbed his hat and offered it to her beside her on the seat. "I'm sorry I didn't have an umbrella, but you can get inside quick and that might help some" He grasped the handle of her overnight bag, and then he shut off the truck. Leaving the keys he opened the door and was running up and around to the overhang on the porch. Once there he opened the door and left it open setting her bag down just inside. The cabin was small inside as it looked on the outside. The logs were old and worn on the outside, but inside all the scroll work was updated and lovely. John opened a drawer and clicked on a flashlight and set it on the counter then one more for himself as he moved to the fireplace. The door from the porch opened up to a small kitchen area with a ceiling of wood slats. Past that the room opened up to a large living room area with a couch and a few chairs. A flat screen in one corner and a fireplace in the other. There was a view of the lake that was clear to see as lightning flashed in the distance illuminating the outside. There was only one door that was shut and then there was a set of stairs going up. A loft area above the kitchen had a bed and a wooden railing of logs matching the outside. John moved to the fireplace that was on the wall between the kitchen and the flat-screen. Taking some matches from the mantle in a minute he had a crackling fire that was showing light around the small place and starting to take the chill out of the air. He gestured to the one door and then nodded. "Bathroom is there if you have something to change in to" he said and then added "if not I can find something warm and dry for you though it might be a bit on the big side. I don't get much company out here" he told her and then turned red at the thought of her inside his clothes.

Have Mercy {Kertaro and duchess85}|rating:4.0

Not Daddy's Angel Anymore

Erika Smith had always been her parents little angel. She always got good grades in school and was always home by curfew. Her parents truly couldn't ask for a better daughter. But this all changed two years ago. Erika began staying out late, her grades were slipping, and she had become such a handful to her parents. They tried grounding her, taking away privileges but nothing worked. Erika's parents did not understand where this all came from. But it wasn't as out of the blue as they though. Two years ago, Erika had stayed up late and heard noises from her parents bedroom. Since the bedrooms were next to each other, all Erika had to do was press her ear up to the wall. And that's what she did. And what she heard, she wasn't prepared for. She heard her parents fucking. Any other teenager would be grossed out by this. And although it happened two years ago, Erika remembered what she heard like it was yesterday. Oh god, fuck me with that big cock. Oh, fuck me hard. Mm, such a big fucking cock. Her mother had said to her father as her father pounded her mother's pussy for hours on end, or so it seemed. And since that day, Erika had been stealing peeks of her father in the shower. She wanted to see how big he was. About a year ago, she caught him jacking off to some porn and saw how big he really was. And since that day, Erika has been trying to get her father to notice her but nothing. Erika wears the shortest skirts, lowest shirts possible, but her father still doesn't notice. Erika knows it's time to step up her game. Erika's parents decide maybe they should bond more, and it would cause Erika to stop acting out. They decide a family dinner is best. They go to their favorite restaurant and without fail Erika wears her short jean skirt, and a tight top that hugs her big rack. But tonight Erika decides not to wear any panties. During the beginning of dinner, Erika takes off her flip-flop under the table and rests her soft foot on her father's crotch under the table. This has to do something? She thinks. She just hopes it affects her father in a good way.IOC: sample PM please Jacob Smith's life was pretty much perfect, and he was grateful every day for it. He was married to Miranda, a beautiful and vivacious woman, and their sex life was just as great as it had ever been. His job as a writer and journalist let him work from home, and let Miranda have her own career as a lawyer. He was the father of a beautiful daughter, Erika, who was growing up to be a beautiful young woman. Unfortunately, he and his wife were mystified by Erika's recent change in behavior. They told themselves that it was a just a phase. After all, she had never gone through much of a teenage rebellion, and now she was letting it out. From her clothing, Jacob was almost sure that she was doing this over some boy, but every time he tried to ask her about it, she would just dodge the question. To be perfectly honest, he had even caught himself taking a peek sometimes at her long smooth legs, or her full perky breasts, already even bigger than her mother's. The three of them had already had "the talk" when Erika was just about to enter high school, and Jacob hoped that she had remembered to be safe with whoever this boy was, the lucky bastard. Jacob had hoped that Erika would wear something a little more modest, as they were headed to a restaurant, but it turned out that he had hoped in vain. They sat at the table, Miranda and Erika on one side, and himself on the other. Just as their drinks arrived at the table, Jacob felt a something soft and small press against his groin, making his breath catch. He looked at his wife, who was chatting with the waiter about some of the items on the menu, not suspecting that it was his own daughter teasing him. He had never thought himself to have much of a foot fetish, but he couldn't help but react. If anything, the risk of getting caught just made things more exciting. His cock began to swell, making his dress slacks bulge and press against the soft foot in his lap. Erika was not a bad kid. She made her grades and even though she dressed proactively, she had only fooled around with a boy two, and they hadn't even gone all the way. When she wasn't hanging out with her friends, she was surfing the internet late at night. So it was by coincidence that she heard her parents fucking that night. She had been surfing the internet for some movies on Netflix or whatever, and she heard noises. She had taken out her headphone and could hear her parents fucking quite loudly.Oh, fuck me. Fuck me harder. Pound my pussy. She heard her mother cry out and moments later she could hear the headboard bang against the wall, knowing her father was fucking the hell out of her mother. The sounds made her so wet that night. Erika dresses provocatively around the house, mainly for her father's amusement, hoping he'd take a glance or two at her sexy long legs, her firm round ass and her perky breasts. Once in a while she'd catch her father looking, but tonight she was going to have fun at this dinner. Her mother was rambling on about some special items on the menu. She gently took her foot and rubbed it against her father's groin underneath the table. She felt a twitch and knew he felt it. Furthermore, she rested that foot on his groin softly as her mother continued to ramble on. Jacob felt the dainty foot come to rest on his groin. Even though it had stopped rubbing, his cock was still hard and pressing against Erika's foot. He quietly slipped a free hand beneath the table and caressed her calf, completely unaware that this was not his wife. They had teased each other like this quite often when they were young, but had become a bit more restrained over the years, at least in public. At night...that was a different story. Jacob realized that he was staring at his wife and turned to Erika. "So how has school been lately? Anything interesting going on?" He tried to keep his voice casual as he tried to distract himself from the foot playing with his cock. The last thing he wanted to do was blow a load inside his pants. Erika couldn't believe she had gotten away with it. Her father could be sometimes a little too stern, but it was evident he was liking the little foot massage she was giving him under the restaurant table. She felt him massage her calf and she almost giggled because she was very ticklish and the slightest touch at her calf made her a bit ticklish." Oh, you know, the normal. Studying, papers, tests, all the boring stuff." She said as she allowed her foot to brush against his hardening cock underneath the table. Maybe this dinner wouldn't be such a drag after all, only time would tell on that one though. His cock jumped as her foot brushed against the sensitive ridge of his head. Jacob moved in his seat a bit as he tried to discreetly readjust his hardening cock as it grew in his pants." Sir? Can I get you something to drink?" Jacob turned his head, taking his hand off of her calf. He realized that he had been so busy enjoying the sensation that he almost didn't notice the waiter speaking to him. Clearing his throat, he replied, "Water will be fine. How about you, honey?" he looked at Erika, trying to shift the focus off of himself. His wife just smiled and rolled her eyes a little at his lack of attention." Made any new friends lately?" he asked. He was sure that Erika's recent behavior was over a boy, and he figured that this might be an opportunity to find out if he was right. "Diet Pepsi." She said to the waiter and he scribbled the order down in his little note pad. Erika always hated these sorts of dinners. Her mom and dad were usually fishing for information about Erika's social life or lack thereof. Erika new her behavior was quite risky, but she was quite determined to get father to notice her very womanly features. Under the table she allowed her stocking covered foot to brush against his bulge. She rested her foot in his lap a little but, smiling from across the table. Her mother was none the wiser as her mother glanced at the menu for the healthiest of options. He was quietly relieved as the foot pressing against his bulge stopped rubbing and simply rested in his lap. The fact that his wife appeared to be paying attention only to the menu drove him even crazier as his cock throbbed. Miranda ordered a bottle of wine to share, and the waiter left to bring them their drinks. Jacob chatted with his wife for a while, swapping stories about work while he told her about some of the articles that he was working on. It turned him on to think that this little facade went on while her foot was pressed against his cock. He was seated against a wall, making it pretty much impossible to see the foot in his lap unless someone was sitting right next to him. He was sorely temped to quietly unzip and pull his cock out, but he resisted. Furthermore, he could hide an erection, but there was definitely no way he would be able to hide that. Erika could feel her heart racing a little bit. She knew she'd go to hell one day for this. But she couldn't stop thinking about hearing her parents fuck like little rabbits late into the night. She mainly pictured her father though, hearing him pound his mother and the sounds that often came from their bedroom. The thought alone started to make Erika aroused again. Erika loved her mother, she truly did, but her mother could be a bit boring. She listened to her mom go on about work and her clients, just things that Erika couldn't care less about. As much as she loved her mother, her mother always seemed too wrapped up in her work. As her mother continued on, Erika allowed her foot to brush against her father's bulge. She could feel the hardness and that excited her. Their food arrived, and they began to eat, with Jacob talking and flirting back and forth with Miranda. They tried to bring Erika into the conversations, but it seemed she didn't have much interest in the conversation tonight. As they were finishing their meal, Miranda pushed her seat back and stood up, and said "Excuse me hon, I've got to go freshen up." But what really surprised Jacob was that after she had stood up, the foot in his lap was still there. And even after she walked away from the table, it was still there, pressing against his hard cock. He looked at Erika, and asked her very quietly, "Erika. What are you doing?" though he made no motion to move her foot off of his bulge. Erika had wondered how angry her father would be because certainly that wasn't her intention. She watched her mother walk away. She loved her mother dearly, but she was quite plain. Furthermore, she had watched the way her mother and father had flirted back and forth and her mother's game was quite weak at best. She dragged her tongue across her lip softly, her foot still resting against her father's lap. Furthermore, she could tell he wasn't too mad since he hadn't moved her soft foot from where it was angled." What ever do you mean?" She smirked, a little devilishly. Jacob watched the way her tongue moved over her lip and felt his cock swell just the tiniest bit more against Erika's foot. His cock didn't care that this was his own daughter who was teasing him, it only knew that it felt good and it wanted more. He tried shifting in his seat, so her foot wasn't quite so firmly pressed against him, but that just made her foot rub up against him more, sending his lust higher. "You know exactly what I mean," he said. Part of him knew that he should stop this right now before it went any further. But the other part him wanted to know just how far she would go. How farhewould go." How long have you felt this way?" he asked. She didn't know how tonight would turn out. She figured either one of two things would happen: 1. Her father would be so angry with her that he'd tell her mother about her behavior or 2. This would turn into a very naughty secret between them. And she was hoping for number two and the way things were happening while her mother was away from the table, Erika was pretty sure number 2 would be happening. She could feel her father's hardness harder than ever and that aroused her even further. She knew was a sexy girl, well woman....she wasn't a girl anymore. And hell, she was even more developed than her mother. Erika adored her mother, but her mother was a bit plain. Okay, very plain given how flat chested she was." I heard you fucking mom the other night." She said quietly so that only her father would hear her. "And it was so hot." She whispered. She felt her cheeks flush. Furthermore, she couldn't believe she just admitted that to her own father, but it was true. It was so hot. Jacob thought back. Right about when Erika'a behavior had started changing, he and Miranda had rearranged their bedroom. He realized that the wall that they had put their bed against was just on the other side of Erika's bed. And he knew that his wife could be loud sometimes when they had sex, and she loved to talk dirty when they did. Putting the pieces of the puzzle together, it began to make sense to him." The miniskirts, the low-cut tops, the booty shorts, the stockings...that was all because of me?" he asked, still not pushing her foot away. This was SO embarrassing. She couldn't believe she had finally admitted these things out loud. Her father was surely going to think she was some sort of freak if he didn't already. In the back of her head she couldn't help but think of the nights where she heard her parents fucking. Her mother practically was begging for it and her father obliged. For a man who was older, her father kept in shape. She continued to rest her foot against his bulge underneath the table, noticing that her father hadn't moved it away. She bit her lip, knowing she had been wearing very provocative outfits as of late. Low cut blouses, short skirts. And not even that had captured her father's attention but her actions tonight sure did. She bit her lip softly and simply nodded, giving her father the answer he had asked. For long couple of seconds, he didn't say or do anything but his mind and heart were both racing. He wasn't entirely sure how to react. His hand went down to Erika's foot, grasping it lightly. He knew that he should push it away, but instead, his hand moved down her ankle and calf, caressing her long, smooth legs. When he thought the foot had belonged to his wife, he had been confident and flirtatious, but now his hand was a little unsure, as if he were a teenager in the back of a movie theater again. Just as suddenly as she had left, his wife reappeared at the table, back from the restroom and his hand immediately dropped away from Erika's leg. "I took care of the check," she said. "You two ready to go?" Jacob put on his best smile and stood up, holding his coat in front of him to hide the massive bulge in his pants. Miranda had obviously had a little too much to drink, and she went to the backseat to lie down. Before they had even left the parking lot, Jacob could hear the slow steady breathing that signaled she had fallen asleep. As he drove on with Erika in the passenger seat beside him, he could feel his cock growing hard again in his pants, forming a bulge as lustful thoughts of his daughter began to form in his mind. Erika couldn't believe what she had admitted to her father. It felt good to finally say it out loud, but she couldn't believe he now knew. She prayed that he wouldn't tell her mother. Erika was pretty sure if her mother ever knew, she'd lock Erika up in her room until she moved away for college. As Erika rested her foot against her father's bulge, she felt him reach under the table and begin to caress her foot and calf. She was always super sensitive on her feet and legs but the touch was so nice that she almost moaned right there. Once her mother paid for the dinner, the three of them went off to the car. Erika's mother was asleep in a matter of moments in the back seat. Erika was quiet the majority of the ride home, probably due to the fact that her womanhood was just aching with want, need...so much. She felt like her body was on fire. She knew she was certainly going to hell now for lusting after her father. Once we pulled up in the driveway, she grabbed her purse and darted upstairs for her bedroom, quickly locking the door behind her. Her heart was racing. In the back of her mind, the sounds of her parents fucking from the other night continued to excite her. Before he could say a word, Erika had bolted out of the car and into the house. Jacob sighed and helped his wife out of the car and into their bedroom. She was half-awake and helped him get her out of the dress she was in before she fell into the bed. As he put a blanket over her, she kissed him and murmured, "Thank you," before falling asleep again. He sat on the other side of the bed, kicking off his shoes and taking off his tie and belt, thinking about what he had just learned tonight. Before he knew what was happening, his feet were carrying him up the stairs, until he was just outside of Erika's room, facing her door. He wondered if he should knock or just forget the whole thing had ever happened. Pacing back and forth, he found himself wondering if Erika had touched herself listening to him and his wife on the other side of the wall. He wondered what her pussy looked like...what it felt like...what it tasted like... He tried to shake the thoughts, but he couldn't, and his hand lightly knocked on Erika's door. Erika was now kicking herself in the ass. She couldn't believe that she admitted to her father that hearing her parents fuck turned her on. It sounded so twisted but it turned her on. The way her mother begged to be fucked and the way her father happily obliged. Just thinking about it was turning her on. She had to pull herself together. If she kept acting so weird her mother would catch on and that was the last possible thing she wanted. She heard a knock on the door, and she cursed underneath her breath. At this point she just wanted to be left alone. She had been embarrassed enough tonight." Hold on a sec." She called out, needing to compose herself before she opened the door. She told herself she had to get it together. She unlocked the door and opened it, finding her father on the other side. Furthermore, she was in for it now. Furthermore, she figured her father was probably livid at her for what she confessed tonight over dinner. When she opened the door, Jacob saw that she was still wearing the tiny jean skirt and tight top that she had worn to dinner that night. But now, knowing that she wasn't wearing it to act out, or for some boy at school, but specifically to tantalize him, Jacob found himself looking a little longer than he should have been. He stepped into her room and softly closed the door behind him. He tried to find words to say, but instead, took another step closer to Erika, until their bodies were almost touching. His hands reached out and lightly rested on her hips. He slowly leaned forward, turning his head to softly kiss Erika, waiting for her to pull away, to push him away, to slap him, or just possibly...to pull him closer. She was ready for her father to yell at her, tell her how twisted she was. How it was so wrong for her to be turned on. But she was surprised when he came in, shutting the door, and he didn't seem angry....not even a little bit. Erika knew she had a smoking hot body. She wasn't flat chested like her mother. Hell, Erika knew she could probably lose about 15 pounds, but she liked how the extra weight made her hips wider and her ass that much more full. Erika knew her father was about to kiss her. She knew she should kick him out of her bedroom right now, tell him he was twisted and that he needed to get out at this very moment, but she did neither of those things. Instead, she took a step closer, her eyes deadlocked on his, almost daring him. Daring him to do something that was completely wrong. Convinced that she wasn't going to push him away and call him sick, his lips finally pressed against hers in a kiss, finding her lips soft and inviting. Her body was against his and Jacob could feel the way her breasts, so much larger and more womanly than her mother's, softly squeezed against his chest. His hands slid down Erika's hips and reached under her denim miniskirt to cup and squeeze her round and perky ass. As their bodies pressed together, the kiss grew deeper, and Jacob's tongue moved past their parted lips to dart into Erika's mouth. His cock was hard, and he could feel the way it throbbed, trapped between their bodies as they embraced, and he was sure that Erika could feel it too. She knew she had dared him to kiss her, but she didn't think he'd actually go through with it. Holy fuck. She knew this was so twisted but that's what made it incredibly hot. She had always been a little self-conscious of her body given that she could stand to lose a few pounds here and there. But she felt her father grabbing at her round, soft ass. She pressed her soft yet large breasts against his dress shirt, the one he had worn to dinner. She couldn't believe her father was kissing her like this, and she wasn't stopping him. Furthermore, she knew she probably should. Furthermore, she knew she should tell him to get out of her bedroom but no words would even come. Instead, she let her tongue play with his inside his mouth. For a man who was older, her father still had an attractive body. She knew he worked out at the gym on occasion. She felt his manhood, hard as a rock, pressing against her. Had she done that? She was pretty sure she had. He pushed her top up, momentarily breaking their kiss as he pulled the top off of her head and tossed it to the floor. He kissed down her neck, and he undid Erika's bra, pulling that away and letting it fall to the floor as well, revealing her large, soft breasts. His hands moved to her chest, playing with them, as he licked and sucked on her nipples. After years of having to be satisfied with his wife's small rack, it felt incredible to touch and play with Erika's breasts. His cock was aching to be touched, and his hips rocked back and forth, grinding against the front of Erika's underwear beneath her denim skirt. "Please, take it out. I want you to." he whispered to her as hot kisses trailed up and down her neck. She didn't think either of them would be daring enough to do this. She watched her own father waste no time and getting off her shirt and then her blouse. It was pretty hot watching him want her large breasts. Before she could even say a word, she watched her father put his mouth all over her breasts. She had to admit she was a little insecure, given that she had a large rack, a large ass. She felt his kisses down her neck, hot kisses. It was as if they were lovers for Christ’s sake. And the way he almost pleaded with her to take out his already hard cock. How could she say no. She was going to hell for this. She was surprised that she had been able to make him so hard. She unbuckled his belt, flipping it opened. Furthermore, she unbuttoned his dress pants, sliding down the zipper. Furthermore, she reached for his hard cock, it now poked out of the flap in his boxers. He was so hard. For her. As her hand wrapped around his cock, he felt it throb in her grip and moaned. He undid the buttons of his dress shirt and pulled off his undershirt, shedding more clothes on to the floor of Erika's bedroom. He kissed her again, and he could feel her soft breasts against his bare chest and the skin-to-skin contact made him shiver and grow hotter at the same time. As she stroked his cock, his hand went under her skirt, to rub her pussy through the front of her underwear. He began to move them over to the bed. The night was young, and he wanted them to be comfortable as they explored each other. She didn't think either of them would be daring enough to do this. Yet here she was stroking her father's cock with her mother asleep in the room beside them. She didn't know if that made it hotter or what, but she surely was even more turned on now than ever more. Erika had to admit, she always liked older men because they knew what they were doing. They weren't like those college aged guys who would grab at anything and everything. She felt her father's hand go under her denim skirt, rubbing her pussy through her panties. "Oh my god." She gasped. The only thing between her father's hand and her wet pussy was a pair of pink panties. He felt her juices soak through her panties as he rubbed her, making his fingers wet. The thought his fingers were now covered in his daughter's pussy juices turned on him more than he ever thought it could. He sat Erika down on the edge of her bed. Kneeling down between her legs, he pulled her panties down, and he could the sweet, musky scent of her pussy. His mouth watered, and he was drawn like a magnet down between her legs. His tongue gave a long slow lick from up from the bottom of her pussy all the way up the clit, letting his tongue swirl around the stiff, sensitive nub of flesh before burying his face into her pussy. He had spent many, many hours eating his wife out to orgasm after orgasm, and it was clear that he knew what he was doing. There were no words exchanged between them. It all happened so quickly. One minute Erika was sitting on the edge of her bed, watching as her father took off her wet panties. Her panties joined the pile of their clothes on her bedroom floor. She looked at him and in a matter of moments, he was on his knees, his face buried inside her pussy. Holy shit. This was the hottest thing she had ever experienced in her life. Her father was eating her out with her mother asleep in the next room. She laid back on the bed as her father continued to eat her. She ran her fingers through her hair, trying not to moan, but it was becoming so much harder. She wanted desperately to call out Daddy, but she didn't know if that would be weird or not." Oh my god...." She whispered as he ate her. Her fingers toyed with his hair. She couldn't believe her father was feasting on her pussy. He felt her fingers in his hair and he ate her out even more vigorously. She tasted exactly the way a young woman should taste. Sweet, musky, and feminine in a way that just made him want more of her. He pushed a finger into her and found that she was tight, even tighter than her mother. His cock ached to be inside of her, but he knew that would be a line that he could never come back from. His finger pumped in and out of her. He wanted to make her cum. He wanted to feel that tension build and build inside of Erika until his daughter orgasmed in a flood of sweet juices and even sweeter moans. She couldn't believe she had let it get this far. Her own father was eating her out and it was glorious. All those nights she heard her parents fucking like animals never did she imagine that her father would be eating her pussy, hell that he would even want to. But she didn't even have to ask him, it was as if he wanted to taste her. She toyed with his hair, just watching as her father was eating her so quickly. Erika had been with a guy or two in the last few years but none of them were this experienced. Her father sure knew how to pleasure a woman. No ifs, and or buts about it." I'm going to cum." She whispered. It was all so twisted yet exciting at the same time. Her father was going to make her orgasm. He murmured affirmatively "Mm-hmm," not even pausing his assault on her pussy with his lips and tongue. Adding a second finger, he began to curl upwards with his fingers inside of her, searching for that delicious g-spot. Even with two fingers she was so damn tight around him. He couldn't even imagine how good it would feel to press his cock into her. He reached up with one hand to play with her breasts. Furthermore, he had always been attracted to women with large breasts, despite the fact, or because of, his own wife's small assets. His cock was perhaps even harder than it was before, listening to his daughter moan and feeling her writhe as he ate her out. It felt like her body was on fire. She knew it would only be a matter of time before her father made her cum. She closed her eyes, her fingers toying with his hair. Furthermore, she could feel her body start to tense up. Furthermore, she smiled as she felt her father grabbing at her rather large breasts. Furthermore, she knew she had a much bigger rack than her mother's, given that her mother was very flat chested." Fuck..." She cursed as one hand gripped the comforter of her bed. She felt her body start to lose all control, crying out softly as her orgasm hit. Furthermore, she had never had such a strong orgasm before. As her body shook and her hips bucked, Jacob didn't stop, drawing out his daughter's orgasm until she was left gasping for air. His tongue lapped up her juices as she gushed onto his fingers, and he could feel her walls tighten and flutter as the waves of orgasm crashed over her. He pulled his fingers out and just rubbed her mound in slow, soft circles. He lay down next to her on the bed and kissed her deeply, letting her taste her own juice on his tongue. His cock was stiff and aching for attention, but he knew that it could wait while he let Erika bask in the afterglow of her orgasm for a while. That was the best orgasm she had ever had. Usually when she fooled around with guys she'd have to fake an orgasm because honestly, they had no idea what they were doing. But there was certainly no one she faked that one. She couldn't believe they had just done that. She was laying back on the bed, trying to get her heart to stop racing from such an intense orgasm. Furthermore, she felt her father rubbing her mound so soft, lovingly." I can't believe you just did that." She bit her lip. She was so going to hell now. Furthermore, she thought after what transpired at dinner tonight she'd tease her father a little, and they'd play around but never did she imagine that he would be eating her, let alone make her cum. He kissed her deeply again, wanting to help push away any worries she was having. "After having to listen to what was going on in the next room for all those years, I thought that it would be fair," he replied. He toyed with her hair as she relaxed, coming down from her high. "I had a pretty good idea from the tight clothing you've been wearing, but I didn't know your body was such a knockout," he said as his eyes wandered down her body, especially appreciating her breasts and hips. She was starting to come down from having such an intense orgasm. She never thought it was possible to have an orgasm that good. "It was more than fair." She smirked. It had been incredibly hot to watch her father go down on her. She didn't even have to ask. And it was obvious he knew what he was doing. And he did it damn well." But now you know." She smirked a little bit. She knew her breasts were much bigger than her moms. Her mom had always been pretty flat chested." Did I really make you that hard at dinner tonight?" She had to know. She had fooled around with one or two guys before, but she wasn't confident in her appearance. Furthermore, she was a bit wider than most girls her age. Furthermore, she had a much larger rack, wider hips and a more cushion-y ass. "I think your foot has already felt the answer to that," he said with a smile. "But yes, as hard as I am now," he said, looking down at his cock, which was stiff and pointing upward. "Only this feels much better without pants in the way." His hand caressed her smooth creamy skin, going down her side, fondling the curves of her large breasts and round ass. Now that he had started, he just couldn't keep his hands off of her. She bit her lip softly. She felt his hands touching her curvy body. It felt nice to have his strong hands on her round ass and soft breasts. She couldn't believe she had made him so hard. God, this was so wrong in all sorts of ways. This was her father, but they were already going down a slippery slope. Hell, her father just ate her pussy and made her cum. In her head, she figured she could return the favor...please him. This was just messing around, having fun and fooling around with each other in order to please one another. It wouldn't go more than that. That was a line that would be difficult to cross. She wrapped her soft hand around his rock hard cock and began stroking him lovingly as they laid there touching each other. He gasped lightly as he felt her hand wrap around his cock. "You know, you don't have to-, ohh..." his voice trailed off as her fingers brushed against the sensitive head making his hips jump a little. If the only thing he had done with her was eat her out, make out with her, and caress her naked body, he would have been more than satisfied. Leaning over, he kissed Erika softly as her hand moved up and down his shaft, making groan lightly. After being teased for almost the entire meal, he was definitely feeling pent-up. She giggled a little bit as she watched how he reacted to her soft touch. It was the least she could do after what he did for her. She knew she would never forget that orgasm, it was the best she had ever had. They were only pleasing each other so it technically wasn't that bad. And no one would ever have to know. She just wanted to make him feel as good as he made her. She got off the bed and got on her knees at the foot of her bed. Furthermore, she pushed her hair off to the side before lowering her soft mouth and wrapping her lips around his cock head. Furthermore, she flicked her tongue over the head very softly knowing how hard he was. He moaned behind closed lips as he watched her lips slip around his cock head. He couldn't believe it. His daughter was kneeling between his legs with his cock in her mouth and he was so hard it actually ached. The soft little flicks of her tongue made his breath catch. He softly stroked her hair, enjoying the way her eyes would look up into his. "More..." he breathed, craving more stimulation from her. Hearing him whisper "More" to her was all the encouragement she needed. She let her tongue flick over his cock head again. He was so hard and she knew she had a hand in that. It was wrong in all sorts of ways, but they were only pleasing each other so it couldn't be that wrong. She allowed herself to take more of his cock in her mouth. His cock was slowly disappearing into her pretty mouth. She slowly removed her mouth from his cock for a second before covering it again with her soft mouth. When her mouth left his cock, he thought that she had had a change of heart about this entire matter. Of course, this was quickly followed by her mouth coming back down again, making his back arch in pleasure, followed by a happy sigh. It seemed that his daughter enjoyed being a tease, which made him more than happy as he quite enjoyed being teased. He caressed her hair as she continued her slow, luxurious blowjob. He could feel every sensation like this, from her soft lips, to her flickering tongue, and gentle roughness of the roof of her mouth. His balls felt heavy and full from the teasing earlier in the night. He spread his legs a little more, giving her better access to them, hoping Erica would understand the hint. Erika was pretty sure she was going to hell after tonight. Given how she teased her father, the way she let him eat her out and now the way she was giving him a blowjob. But her father seemed to be enjoying it. She wanted to return the favor given how he gave her such an amazing orgasm. She watched as her father laid back and spread his legs a bit. While her mouth continued to take his hard cock in her mouth, her hand began to caress his balls ever so gently. She couldn't believe she was doing this, but it was so hot. Especially since her mother, who had too much to drink at dinner, was asleep in the next room. He moaned quietly as her hands rubbed over his balls and her mouth continued to move up and down on his cock. He wasn't going to cum anytime soon like this, but it felt so good that he definitely didn't mind. There was a twinge of guilt as he thought about his wife sleeping in the next room, but Erika's licking and sucking just felt so good that it drowned out any regrets he might have had. He could feel her breasts brushing against his thighs as her head bobbed up and down. He played with her hair, feeling how soft it was as he ran his fingers through it. Erika surely didn't expect tonight to turn out like this. She surely didn't think her father was going to give her the best orgasm of her life. The whole thing was becoming hotter with each passing second. She decided to try something. She figured after tonight they would never speak of this again. Furthermore, she took his cock from her mouth. Furthermore, she came closer, wrapping her large breasts around her father's cock and began and move her breasts around his dick. It wasn't like they were actually fucking. She wanted him to feel her big breasts wrapped around his cock. She knew her mother was very flat chested. And hell, what her mother didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Jacob's eyes widened a little as he watched. "Oh my god..." he groaned softly as her breasts wrapped around his cock. Despite his considerable size, her breasts completely smothered him. As she moved up and down, his hips rocked back and forth with her, generating more friction between them, making his cock throb. This was something he had with a few girlfriends in the past, but had never been able to do with his wife. He had resigned himself to thinking that this was something he would never feel again. He felt precut dripping from the head of his cock, making it easier to slide in and out of Erika's cleavage. "Oh god, I've missed this," he whispered to her. "Your mother could never do this for me." She smiled as she watched her father tit fuck her breasts. She could see the pre-cum just oozing out of the tip of his cock as the hardness slid between her two glorious globes. Furthermore, she licked the tip as his cock pushed through her breasts. Furthermore, she knew her mother was incredibly flat chested so she figured as much that her father hadn't been tit fucking her mother that much, if at all. This was so wrong but that was what made it so hot. Her drunk mother was passed out in the next room and had no idea what started to transpire at dinner or what was transpiring in her bedroom as she slept right next door. He moaned as her tongue snaked out to lick the tip of his cock. His hands gripped Erika's bedsheets as she gave him the best and only tit fuck he'd had for years. His toes began to curl as he got closer and closer to the edge. He tried to hold back but his daughter's tits were so soft and warm around his cock, he could feel his resistance crumbling with every stroke. His cock was throbbing in time with his heartbeat and pre-cum was freely flowing out from the tip. He moaned again behind clenched lips and whispered, "I'm going to cum." She couldn't believe what had transpired tonight. Sure they didn't actually fuck but what they did was so wrong. She couldn't believe they had actually done this. She watched as her father gripped the bedsheets, and she knew that he was going to cum soon. Furthermore, she liked that she was able to help him do that. She smiled as his pre-cum was starting to make a stain over her chest. "Cum." She whispered. She pressed her round globes together as her father kept darting his manhood between her breasts. He pumped his hips forcefully, his balls slapping against the underside of her breasts, driving his cock in between into her cleavage until he finally couldn't hold it any longer. His cock suddenly erupted, splashing shot after shot of his hot, sticky load onto her tits, her neck, and her chin. He moaned in complete ecstasy as Erika's tits coaxed more cum out of him than he thought possible. It felt like being 25 again. He leaned back on the bed, his body still twitching as his cock pulsed, "That was amazing," he whispered to her. "Holy shit." She laughed as she too was now tired from all the activities of the night. She couldn't believe her father had cum all over her, but it was incredibly hot. Hell, the whole night had been so hot. She laid back on her bed, trying to regulate her breathing after all the physical activity of the night." I surely didn't think that would be happening." "Neither did I, but I'm glad that it did," he said, laughing softly, not wanting to wake his wife in the next room, still riding the blissful high of his orgasm. "You know, I've never done that with your mother before," he said to her, looking that load he had just spilled onto her chest." Be right back," he whispered before slipping out of the room on slightly shaky legs. In less than a minute, he had come back from the bathroom with a damp towel, handing it to her. "For the mess," he said apologetically, as Erika's tits and neck were absolutely covered in his cum. She laughed, noticing the mess all over her chest. He had exploded everywhere. She took the towel from him and cleaned up a little bit. "That was a lot of fun." She couldn't believe that she spend the last few hours fooling around with her father. She could hear her mother stirring in the hallway, probably waking up from being passed out due to all the wine she had at dinner. "You should probably go. I'd rather not have to explain this to her." She laughed a little bit. Her mom would probably blow a gasket if she found out about this. Hell, she'd probably kick them both out. Jacob started picking up his clothes, putting them back on, trying to make as little noise as possible. Before leaving, he gave Erika a kiss goodnight that lasted a little longer than it really needed to. He slipped out of her room, going back to his own bedroom. As he stripped off and lay down behind her in bed, she stirred a little. "Mmm, tonight was a good idea, honey," she murmured. He kissed her shoulder and said, "Go back to sleep," as he put his arm around her waist, spooning close to her as they fell asleep. Erika couldn't believe what happened between her and her own father tonight. Eventually she fell asleep and woke up the next morning, getting dressed for school. She only had two months left under graduation. She put on her skirt and her uniformed shirt, tying her hair back. Furthermore, she came downstairs to see her parents already down there." Good morning mom. Last night was such a good time. I'm glad we did it." She said. She knew saying it was so very wicked saying that given what happened between her and her father in her bedroom last night." Good morning Dad." She smiled, letting her tongue drag across her lower lip. Jacob didn't miss the way Erika dragged her tongue across his lower lip. "Good morning, Erika," he said as he tried to keep his cock from tenting his pants. His wife nudged him with a smile, clearly happy that Erika's mood seemed to have changed for the better. "I thought so too," he replied, "We should do it again sometime soon." He and his wife chatted a bit before she left to go to work. His job as a journalist meant he usually worked from home and was the one to drop off and pick up Erika from school. When he heard the front door close as Miranda left, he turned to Erika. "Bad girl. Was it really 'a good time'?" he asked with a smile. She almost couldn't keep a straight face through breakfast. She giggled once her mother left for the day. "Mom doesn't have to know how bad we were last night. We can let her think everything is perfectly rosy, and she isn't the wiser." She smirked. She sat on the edge of the kitchen counter. "Last night was pretty hot." She smirked. Her father had exploded all over her. Hell, he had tit fucked her and that was incredibly hot. And what made it even hotter was that her mother was none the wiser. He stood in front of her, his hands rubbing her soft thighs under her uniform skirt as she sat on the counter. "And as long as your mother doesn't know, then there's nothing really stopping us from doing it again, right?" he asked with a smile. He glanced over at the clock. "If we don't leave soon, you're going to be late," he said, though his hands were still grazing her inner thighs. "You're so naughty, Daddy." She smiled as he started to touch her thighs and mention as long as her mother didn't find out then they could do it again." You know, you could always let me stay home today. It would be our little secret. Mom wouldn't have to know." She smirked. As she sat on the kitchen counter, she spread her legs open a little, hoping to entice her father to let her skip school today. He smiled, and his hands moved a little further up her thighs, squeezing her round ass under her skirt. He leaned a little closer, brushing his lips against her neck. "Mmm... I don't know," he said teasingly. "There would have a perfect reason for you to skip school today." He pulled her a little closer to the edge of the countertop, letting her legs wrap around his waist. "You know I'm your little angel, Daddy." She smirked devilishly. She surely wasn't little anymore. Furthermore, she knew she had pleased her father last night in ways that her mother hadn't been able to do in months. "And it would be much more fun having me stay home with you today than working on those boring journal articles." She told him. She smiled as her father came closer to her as she sat on the counter. She wrapped her legs around his waist so that her pantie covered pussy was rubbing against his bulge in his pants. "So.....are you going to let me stay home or are you going to drive me to school?" He smiled and answered, "I think you already know the answer to that. He leaned forward to kiss her and picked up Erika off of the counter top, his hands on her ass, getting a good feel of her through her panties. With her legs around his waist, he could feel the soft swell of her breasts against his chest, even through her uniform as he walked over to the living room, kissing her the entire way. He sat on the sofa, and with Erika straddling his lap, his kiss grew more passionate as his tongue met hers. He could feel his cock pressing and grinding against her pussy. The thought that only a few layers of cloth were preventing him from fucking his own daughter turned him on immensely. She smiled when she realized her father was going to let her skip school today. She giggled when he picked her up, moving over to the sofa, and she was sitting on his lap. Furthermore, she decided to tease her father and make him a little hard. She started grinding her panty covered pussy against his pants that covered his bulge. "I think we're going to have a lot of fun today." She smirked. This was so wrong. This was her father after all, but it was going to be a fun day. He groaned as she began to grind, basically giving him a lap dance on their sofa. He squeezed her ass as she rolled her hips back and forth. Furthermore, he loved the way she teased him so well. He reached up and began to undo the buttons on her shirt, exposing more creamy flesh with each button. "And we won't have to worry about keeping quiet this time either," he said to her. "You're so naughty, Daddy." She smirked. She ground against his bulge, wanting to make him hard when she finally took out his cock. Furthermore, she helped him get off his shirt as well, not wanting his clothing to be in the way when they started having fun. She smiled, feeling his bulge start to poke her. Furthermore, she knew he was hard, and it turned her on. Furthermore, she couldn't wait to feel his cum explode all over her again. She was glad her father let her skip school because she was going to have a lot more fun than she would have had at school. Now that they were both shirtless, he got to work on her bra, deftly unhooking it behind her back, exposing those gorgeous globes. His hands were irresistibly attracted to them, rubbing and massaging them. Erika's tits were incredible, and even more so compared to his wife's." Unnhh..." he groaned again as Erika ground on his hard cock. The silky material of her panties made her glide so easily against his bulge as his cock strained against the material of his pants, begging to be let out. Forget writing, there were far more important things to do at the moment. She smiled as she climbed off her father's lap. She knew he probably should be working since he did work from home after all, but she figured a few hours of fun while her mother was away, wouldn't hurt anyone. She unzipped her father's pants and pushed them down along with his boxers. Furthermore, she licked her lips. He was hard again, just like he was last night." Well, well, well...look what we have here. Someone's hard again..." As she pulled his pants and boxers down, his cock sprung out, already hard, and it was a relief to finally be free of the constricting fabric of his pants. "Well, there's no way I could focus on working when I'm this hard," he said to Erika. He pushed his pants down the rest of the way, letting them join the rest of their clothes on the living room floor. "I didn't know my Daddy was so naughty." She smirked at him. She couldn't believe they were fooling around like this. It was incredibly hot though. Her mother had zero idea that her father tit fucked her last night and exploded his load all over here. She lowered her soft, pretty mouth and wrapped her mouth around her father's cock head. She softly began to suck, flicking her tongue over it. If she had any say about it, she was going to make her father explode his cum everywhere again. He sighed contentedly as her mouth closed around his cock. He let her go at her own pace, after all, they had all day to play with each other, and it seemed that Erika was in no hurry either. Furthermore, he leaned back in the sofa and just let her suck as she pulled moan after blissful moan from him. She smirked up at her father. She had a feeling that today was going to be a very fun afternoon. And it was going to be much more fun than anything she would have learned at school today. She smiled, knowing how much her father enjoyed this, if last night was any indication. She loved her mother but her mother was so plain, and it was becoming more evident that she wasn't adventurous sexually. Erika took more of her father's cock in her mouth, his hard dick was slowly engulfed by her pretty, soft mouth. His hands gripped the sofa cushion as she took him deeper into her mouth, feeling the head of his cock nudge against her throat. "Oh god..." he breathed. As he leaned his head, he caught sight of the clock on the wall. Classes were just about to start at Erika's school." Slow down for a minute honey," he said as he reached down to fish his cellphone out of his pants. He dialed up Erika's school. The last thing he needed was a call going to his wife's cellphone saying that their daughter was truant. She couldn't enough of her father's cock in her mouth. He was so hard and big, unlike those stupid high school boys she sometimes fooled around with. She had her father's cock buried in her hot, soft mouth when he told her slow down so he could call her school. She smirked, hearing him talk to her principal, telling her why Erika was absent because she was sick. All the meanwhile, she was on her knees about to suck her father's dick. While he was still on the phone, she kept licking his cock, wanting to tease him as much as possible. He was trying to explain to the principal that Erika was "sick" and wouldn't be coming into school today, which was difficult as she kept licking up and down his shaft. Jacob wanted this call to end as soon as possible, but it seemed the principal had other plans. She began to explain how she was concerned about Erika's recent behavior and recent dip in grades. Jacob tried to sound concerned, but it was getting harder to pay attention the more Erika teased him. She couldn't help but laugh a little. Her father was on the phone with her principle and here she was on her knees, sucking on his cock. Her principal was kinda a bitch, and she often lectured Erika about how she shouldn't dress so sexily or how she needed to study harder and all this other shit. She wanted her father to cum so screw that stupid principal bitch. Erika lowered her mouth onto her father's cock and began sucking him. She let his semi-hard cock start to disappear into her warm, soft mouth. He tried to pay attention to what Erika's principal was telling him, but in reality he was barely listening. With one hand occupied with holding his cell phone in place, he couldn't stop Erika even if he tried. He watched as Erika's mouth took him deeper and deeper with each bob of her head. It was a few moments before he realized that the principal had stopped talking. "I understand your concerns," he said quickly, trying not to let his voice shake as precut dripped from his cock into Erika's sucking mouth. "And I've noticed the same change in behavior." His voice became a little more strained as he tried to continue, "Thank you for being so concerned." They exchanged goodbyes, and finally, he hung up and threw the phone onto the sofa next to him. "Your principal just told me *Sunnah yeah, just like that* that you've been a very bad girl. If she only knew just how bad you were," he said to her.

Not Daddy's Angel Anymore|rating:2.0

Shounen System Playtest_ Introduction Arc

=~=~=Episode 1=~=~= First Mission: Team 12 Sets Out! "Alright, you three. We're a bit short on ninja right now, so you won't be receiving a squad leader. Lucky for you, you're the best Lenin to come out of the Academy in a long time. So I think you can handle it. Now, for your first mission. You're getting right into it with a C-rank. Some local bandits were apparently lying low in the village, and just yesterday made off with the spoils of a bank heist. We have the location of their base of operations, so you're going to go in there and recover what they stole. Any questions? If not, the door's behind you, and I've got other issues to deal with. Spoiler Hide Character Sheets Spoiler Hide Character Name: History Itagüí (OverWilliam) Spoiler Hide LA: 1 EXP 0 / 100 SP: 5 Heroics: Strength: 4 Agility: 8 Spirit: 6 Mind: 3 Guts: 4 Accuracy: 5 Evade: 5 Aura: 4 Intuition: 2 Resolve: 3 Attack: 80 Phys: 160 Prey: 120 Mag: 60 SPR: 80 HP: 900/(900[1000]) EN: 150/150 Def: 80 Res: 90 Move: 4 Flaws: Unsealing Wound 15 SP Gash runs from inside of Left hip to Left shoulder; HP permanently reduced by set amount; enemies with knowledge of the wound prior to the current engagement can take a -3 on their attack roll to hit the pre-existing wound for a guaranteed critical. Slow Healing 5 SP Wounds heal slowly. Recover 10 less hit points per level every hour. Skills: Aura Tracker 25 SP, LVL 2 You can track a person’s movements by their aura. Able to find someone by their aura within 2 miles. Jump 20 SP, Fixed You can jump exceptionally high, allowing you to strike at airborne enemies and leap over large obstacles. Whenever you employ a jump action, expend 10 energy. Swift Step 35 SP, LVL 2 Either through a powerful burst of speed or sliding through dimensions, you can adjust your location unbelievably fast. Expend 5 energy to move one square. You cannot exceed 4 squares in this fashion. Alert 10 SP, LVL 1 You are particularly intoned to your surroundings and able to spot details and hidden objects. When searching, listening, or attempting to spot something or someone, add 3 to your Mind. Negation 25 SP, Fixed Through speed of movement or other defenses, you can completely dodge attacks that affect a large area. If an Area of Effect or Line Technique misses, you take no damage instead of ½ damage. Techniques: Name: Lunar Rain Level: 2 Damage Type: Precision Energy: 20 Core: Damage Power: 200 Range: 3 Effect: Throw multiple lunar at target for damage. Mods: Ranged Attack 1 (+1) Limits: none Name: Lunar Dash Level: 4 Damage Type: Physical Energy: 40 Core: Damage Power: 200 Range: Melee Effect: Slash multiple melee targets for damage. Mods: Spring Attack (+3) Limits: none And then I need some approval on this last one. I'm shooting for Takashi's Headhunter Juts here, and so I made the Mod on it to try to represent that style of immobilization (specifically, not requiring sustained effort on the part of the user, as Takashi simply walked away from Leisure after using it on him). Is it acceptable? I'm looking for whether it is balanced in both directions, overpowered or underpowered and what I should do about it. Name: Headhunter Juts Level: 4 Damage Type: Strength Energy: 40 Core: Immobilize Power: 1 Range: Melee Effect: Bury a target up to their neck in the ground to immobilize them. Mods: Helpless Target (+3) If the target fails their initial save, they are rendered helpless without a continued save and without requiring a fast action to maintain or denied move action on the part of the user. The technique will automatically dispel itself in a number of rounds equal to half the technique's total level. Any attacks made against the helpless target, regardless of origin, automatically hit but have their damage reduced by half and the technique is dispelled instantly. Should an allay assist the target to escape the technique, with a Fast action they automatically succeed, and the technique is canceled. Under any condition of release from the technique, if the target's initiative order has not already passed, they may act as normal for the round. Limits: Character Name: Haruki Sumo (Note: Unlike in Japan, the given name precede the family name here.) (Collin152) Spoiler Hide LA: 1 EXP 0 / 100 SP: 0 Heroics: Strength: 4 Agility: 8 Spirit: 4 Mind: 6 Guts: 3 Accuracy: 5 Evade: 5 Aura: 3 Intuition: 4 Resolve: 2 Attack: Phys: 80 Prey: 160 Mag: 80 SPR: 120 HP: 1000/1000 EN: 160/160 Def: 70 Res: 100 Move: 5 Flaws: Lethargic 15 SP Your Willpower only increases every even-numbered round during battle. Slow Healing 5 SP Wounds heal slowly. Recover 10 less hit points per level every hour. Skills: Sprinter 20 SP, LVL 1 Your Move increases by 1. Exploit Weakness 30 SP, Fixed Make an opposed Intuition check against a target. If you succeed, once per battle you or an ally can make an attack against the target that automatically hits. The target is denied their defense for this attack. Swift Step 35 SP, LVL 1 Either through a powerful burst of speed or sliding through dimensions, you can adjust your location unbelievably fast. Expend 5 energy to move one square. You cannot exceed 3 squares in this fashion. Healing 45 SP, LVL 2 By expending 20 EN, you can recover 200 HP. You can spend 20 more EN to heal 200 more HP for every level above 1 in the skill. Techniques: Name: Lunar Level: 2 Damage Type: Precision Energy: 0 Core: Damage Power: 360 Range: 3 Effect: Throw or stab with a Lunar. Mods: Ranged Attack 1 (+1) Limits: Accuracy [level 1] Name: Wind Step Level: 4 Damage Type: Physical Energy: 10 Core: Damage Power: 280 Range: Melee Effect: Run through enemies to damage them. Mods: Spring Attack (+3) Limits: Cooldown [level 1] Name: Release Level: 1 Damage Type: - Energy: 5 Core: Nullify Power: - Range: ? Adjacent? Effect: Remove Boost, Weaken, Seal, Immobilize, or Illusion effect with an Aura check with a +1 bonus. Mods: - Limits: - Name: Restrict Chakra Level: 2 Damage Type: - Energy: 20 Core: Seal Power: - Range: ? Melee? Effect: Prevent an enemy from using a technique or skill for three turns if you succeed at an opposed aura check with a +2 bonuses. Mods: - Limits: - Character Name: Odd (Carinthia) Spoiler Hide Strength: 7 Agility: 3 Spirit: 5 Mind: 3 Guts: 7 Accuracy: 2 Evade: 2 Aura: 3 Intuition: 2 Resolve: 4 Attack: Phys: 140 Prey: 60 Mag: 60 SPR: 100 HP: 1300/1300 EN: 120/120 Def: 140 Res: 80 Move: 3 Flaws: Berserker 10 SP Whenever you drop below 25% HP, you enter a rage. Your character attacks the closest enemy with the strongest melee Damage Core technique they have available whenever it is their turn. During their turn the only actions you may take are a move action to bring you closer to your target and a medium or, if necessary, slow action to use the strongest damage core technique available to you at the time. If you cannot do both in the same action, using the technique receives higher priority. While Berserk, Accuracy increases by +2, Evasion decreases by -2, Attack increases by 100, and Defense is set to 0. Social Stigma (Deposed by family) 5 SP Effect: You have difficulty in social situations, and are often shunned or even outright attacked. Special: For details on this flaw, please refer to the Role-play chapter. Uncontrolled Aura 5 SP Effect: Anybody can ascertain your aura as if they possessed the Aura Reader skill. Special: Those with the Aura Reader skill do not need to spend a Fast Action to do so; they automatically recognize your level immediately upon coming near you. Skills: Determination Level 1 (100 SP) Your determination to win allows you to quickly focus on combat. Level Progression: Fixed Effect: Willpower increases by 2 every round instead of 1. Special: Does not stack with Bounce Back. Challenge Level 1 (10 SP) Level Progression: Fixed Speed: Fast Effect: Challenge a foe to single combat. If the target accepts, neither you nor the target can attack anyone but each other until one of you falls or the challenge is broken. You both gain +2 Willpower. When one of the challengers is defeated, the challenge ends and all will bonuses are retained. Special: If anybody interferes with the challenge by attacking participants in the challenge, the challenge is broken and they lose 4 Willpower. Special: If the challenger or the challenged attack anybody else, the challenge is broken and the one who breaks the challenge loses the bonus to Willpower, as well as an additional 4 Willpower. Special: If the challenge is refused, the one who refused the challenge loses 2 Willpower. Techniques: Standard Punch (Physical, Level 1) Core (1): Damage Energy: 10 Damage: 340 (No Mods or Limits) Back Kick (Physical, Level 2) Core (3): Damage Energy: 40 Damage: 340 Mods: Accurate Strike (+2 to accuracy) Tactical Slice (Physical, Level 4) Core (6): Damage Energy: 30 Damage: 390 Mods: Accurate Strike (+2 to accuracy) Limits: Cooldown Limit (Level 2- cannot be used for 2 turns after use. 30 cost reduction) Slow Limit (requires Slow Action instead of Medium Action. 30 cost reduction) Resentment Strike (Physical, Level 4) Core (4): Damage Energy: 15 Damage: 490 Limits: Ammunition Limit (Level 1) Effect: You can only use this technique a limited number of times per encounter. Value: 4 - Limit Level Cost reduction: 25 Backstory: Fueled by resentment of his family, itself created by their championing of his older brother and their attempt to indoctrinate Odd into their traditions (the family has hereditary techniques, which Odd doesn’t want to learn because he wants to concentrate on “what works, not what’s traditional”). He wants to try and surpass his older brother, who follows the family traditions completely. Go ahead and give us a sentence or two describing your characters and/or their reactions so we make sure everyone's here. Feel free to post any questions you still have about the system in spoilers, and we can deal with those now. If they come up in play, please deal with them in the IOC Thread. As I mentioned in the Recruiting Thread, FF_Fanboy and Leviathan will not be joining us, so let's see how you do against an adventure meant for 5 characters. I'll scale it back if need be, and don't worry too much if you get taken down. Oh, and I hope you don't mind me naming y'all Team 12. Choose something else if you like. History stood behind the others with his arms crossed. When Tsunami-sama had finished speaking, he frowned. He held up a hand and quickly made three signs and then a fourth, which could've been mistaken for Juts hand signs by an outsider. To Tsunami, and the other ninja in the room who noticed, it was the Sign Language derived from the Universal variety that was unique to Sonoma. It, like the other villages' versions, was quite complex and allowed for quick, silent communication between ninja. This variety was only taught at Sonoma's academy to Leaf Shinobi and was one of the village's secrets that all ninja of the Leaf Village were sworn to protect. Know Thieves Numbers ? He asked silently. Haruki, hearing History's signs and turning to see, nods his agreement to the question. Yes, Tsunami-sama, do we know how many thieves there were? "Does it matter how many thieves there were?" asked Odd. "We're ninja-we should be a match for them." History shot Odd a look, but made sure to do so when the ninja was not looking. Spoiler Hide Tsunami nods at History's mute question"There's a couple dozen at most, but the majority of those are just punks who signed up to make a quick buck. What you'll have to watch for is their signature technique. I'm told it's rather similar to the Kulaks art of the Hidden Star village: they summon a cloud of solidified chakra, which they then use to attack. It's not nearly as powerful as the real thing, though." She passes a summary sheet of the mission to Haruki"You'll find the location of their hideout on there. Dismissed!" Spoiler Hide I'll have the map up in a couple of hours or so; having a little trouble with the computer I have it saved on. Nothing I can't handle though. Haruki looks over the sheet (and the map that he can totally see), and nods his understanding. Alright, Tsunami-sama, we will set out at once. "Perhaps we should try and swing some over to our own side with the prospect of a quick buck?" asked Odd. You arrive at the entry point easily enough. It's a couple stories up at the top of an old warehouse. The lower levels of the building are too derelict to navigate, but it looks like the bandits were getting in here by way of a fire escape over the street nearby. You've decided to let yourselves in the same way. Upon entering, you notice there is only 1 door and the stairs going back down. No two ways about it: You'll have to go in with a bang.MAP Spoiler Hide Spoiler Hide Sorry I took so long to get this up. Windows decided it needed a reinstallation. You're currently in the small room just to the left of the street that you can see. The door at K7 is your entry point. Pick a position and go. If you want to, send me a picture to use for your token when I update the map. Otherwise, you get my stick doodles. Or continue discussing the mission, but don't take too long. Odd moves in, assuming the others do.IOC: This is a test game, and I didn't because of want to test out combat, but I can see at least one alternative around going in with a bang. Spoiler Hide My pic; Feel free to re-size as necessary. History examined the room they found themselves in briefly, looking for traps, trip wires, or anything else unusual, and was careful not to trip them. Then he closed his eyes and focused past the walls, searching for something that the eyes could not see... Spoiler Hide Awareness check: (1d10+6)[14] Use skill Aura Tracker to check for auras in the building. Spoiler Hide History finds no traps in the room. Aura Tracker readout: 8 auras roughly north of you, 3 south and a little west of you, 2 more in the other corner (NW) of the building. North is up. Spoiler Hide Here's a suitable token: The Kanji says 'Sumo', referring to a spider. You know, like his last name, which could also mean cloud? It's a little big, but it can be revised as needed, I'm sure. Seeing History looking intently, and knowing his ability to sense chakra, Haruki asks him, What do you advise we do? Odd, seeing that the others aren't moving, waits." Perhaps we should have one of us pretend to join them? The prospect of adding a ninja to their ranks would seem quite good for an organization like this one." History relents his sixth-sense examination and frowns. He meets Haruki's look with one that warns to be cautious, but says nothing else. Spoiler Hide You gonna head in? There's a bit of space between you guys and the auras History picked up, so you're not walking directly into enemies. We head in. Or at least Haruki does. Towards the door.IOC: Needing your Medical Ninja to take the initiative and move in first... TSK TSK TSK. Map Spoiler Hide = Kanji History = Lunar Odd = Stick Ninja As Haruki (and the others) enter the room, they spot a pair of guards half-asleep on what might be described as Watch Duty. They snap out of it quickly enough. Spoiler Hide History and Odd may place themselves within 1 square of Haruki. Initiative from everyone please. Battle will begin tomorrow. Enemies act on - (1d10+4)[12] I'll be to Haruki's right. Spoiler Hide Guess that puts me on J7. Unit: [roll]1d10+8[/roll] Initiative powers, activate!(1d10+8)[13] 1d10 (7) + 3 = 10 MAP Spoiler Hide Sorry about the shifting grid, but I think I have a setup that works well now. The guards scramble to get up, but Haruki beats them to the punch. A few moments later, and History and Odd have joined the battle. Spoiler Hide OverWilliam, I'm rerolling your initiative so we can get going. History Unit - (1d10+8)[11] Initiative Order: Haruki Enemy Ninja History Odd Light. With uncanny speed, Haruki rushes towards his waking foe. Spoiler Hide Move to M11 Drawing a lunar, he throws it towards the nearest enemy. You should have stayed asleep. Spoiler Hide Technique, Lunar. I don't know his evasion, so I'll let you work sort that out. Accuracy Check:(1d10+4)[7] Haruki's lunar sails straight into the chest of the enemy NIN, quickly taking him out of the battle. The other NIN, however, forms a rapid series of hand-signs, terminating in a forceful move that projects his arms in front of him. A pale, purplish cloud of what is obviously chakra incarnate forms in front of the guard. The doors to the north also burst open, releasing a trio of other ninja. They quickly file out and spread, while the sound of clone formation can be heard from the rooms they just exited. Spoiler Hide Evasion on these guys is 3. Evasion on the Chakra Cloud is 3. Evasion Ninja K9 - (1d10+3)[7] Anyone remember seeing a rule about ties? For now, tie goes to higher mod. Updated Map (I'll try to update it as often as possible, definitely once per round) Spoiler Hide History was taken by surprise at all the new arrivals, but recovered quickly and snatched a lunar from his leg holster. He left forward, moving faster than would be possible for someone without his training, and only stopped long enough for one foot to touch the ground before he threw his momentum to the side, and barely even slowing down, slashed his way across two enemies at once... Spoiler Hide Swift Step to Q9, spend 10 EN Technique: Lunar Dash, spend 40 EN Enemy P9: Attack: (1d10+5)[15] Evade: (1d10+3)[10] Enemy M9: Attack: (1d10+5)[13] Evade: (1d10+3)[6] P9 takes 380 damage, M9 takes 360 damage End position: K10 HP: 900/(900); EN: 100/(150) As the enemy ninja took up positions to the group's north, Odd made a sharp turn and managed to slam one against the wall with a well-placed punch. Spoiler Hide Just so we keep moving, I'm going to do Odd's turn for him. Auto-attacking the nearest enemy without putting the self in danger. The same will be given to History or Haruki if they miss their initiative call by a couple of days. Odd's Actions Move to S10 Attack Ninja at T9 with Standard Punch (110/120 EN) Accuracy - (1d10+2)[10] Evasion - (1d10+3)[9] Ninja at T9 drops. Odd is now at S10. Map will be updated at the end of the enemies's turns. End Round 1: History, and Enemies gain +1 will; Odd gains +2 will Alarmed by the sudden influx of enemies, and confused by the mysterious technique of the other door guard, Haruki puts his analytical skills to work, trying to discern a weakness in the ninjas movements, and the movements of the chakra construct he has formed. Spoiler Hide Using a fast action to Discern Weakness on the Ninja at K7. My intuition roll: (1d10+4)[7] Spoiler Hide Move to K10, use Lunar technique. Assuming the roll is insufficient: Accuracy:(1d10+4)[11] Evasion:(1d10+3)[12] Haruki runs to the side, hoping to snake a Lunar in successfully past the huge mass of Chakra. I have the Determination skill, so I gain +2 will. Spoiler Hide Opposed Intuition - (1d10+3)[12] No flaws discerned by Haruki. Noticing Haruki reaching for a lunar, the ninja flips the chair he was just sitting in into the air, blocking the tossed knife. He and the cloud of chakra move in to attack the intruders, with their friends (and their clones) following close behind. The closest ones unleash a flurry of zaibatsu on our heroes. Spoiler Hide K8 moves to K9; attacks Haruki. (250 damage before DEF) Account - (1d10+3)[9] [MISS] Eva - (1d10+5)[15] Chakra Cloud moves to K10; 2 attacks on Haruki, 2 on History, in order. (360 each hit) Account - (1d10+5)[15] [HIT] Eva - (1d10+5)[13] Account - (1d10+5)[14] [HIT] Eva - (1d10+5)[7] Account - (1d10+5)[15] [HIT] Eva - (1d10+5)[14] Account - (1d10+5)[11] [HIT] Eva - (1d10+5)[7] Other ninja move into position; each pair is a pair of ninja+clone. L8/M8 is one pair. Updated Map Spoiler Hide IOC:I'm hoping those Chakra Cloud hits are affected by Resistance, yes? If so, I took 520 damage. If Defense, 580. If neither... I'm down with that.720 damage. Spoiler Hide Yeah, it's going to be resistance. History frowned. This was not right. These were no petty thieves, like they had been told they were being sent to fight, these men were using ninjutsu. They weren't trained to fight other ninja yet, they were barely Lenin. Something was very wrong here. Hissori readied his weapon and launched into another charging attack, relying on speed and evasion to slip through their lines and slice at available weak spots along the way. However, a nagging doubt tugged at the back of his mind. This was all wrong... Spoiler Hide Starting position: L9 Technique: Lunar Dash, spend 40 EN Enemy K8: Attack: (1d10+5)[7] Evade: (1d10+3)[5] Enemy L8: Attack: (1d10+5)[10] Evade: (1d10+3)[13] Enemy M8: Attack: (1d10+5)[11] Evade: (1d10+3)[6] First and third enemies take 360 damage End position: L7 HP: 360/(900); EN: 60/(150) Spoiler Hide I want us to try something that might speed this up. Post your actions when you can, with conditionals if necessary. Ie "Attack him, or move then attack him if he retreats." Add any rolls you think you may or may not need. Once everyone gets their actions in, I'll resolve the round. Don't worry too much if your actions get invalidated, you can redo/change your actions until you're satisfied (just don't abuse the option, and causality must be maintained, i.e. no reacting to stuff that happens after you). Odd heads for the north wall, and decides to attack the Ninja there with Tactical Slice. (Roll Total: 10) (So... does that mean I'm supposed to go, or wait for the end-of-turn recap?) Spoiler Hide Yeah, if I'm late getting up the round summary, just go ahead without me. I'll have this one's up in a bit. Round Recap Spoiler Hide Of the trio of ninja History sliced through, 1(K8) was a ninja, 1(L8) he missed, and 1(M8) was actually a clone. Odd took out another clone. Updated Map (Will now come at this point every round) Spoiler Hide Will: History, Enemies at 2; Odd at 4; Haruki at 1 Round Marker For My Reference Spoiler Hide Needed a new post for a roll. Enemy Evasion Odd - (1d10+3)[7] Don't forget to roll the enemy's evasion with your attack, Carinthia, just so we can save some time. Also, which way are you referring to when you say north? Here in the US (last I checked) North = Up on a map. For now, I'm assuming you moved to T9, and attacked the ninja next to you. He poofs; another clone. Can my character talk in other people's rounds? Talking is supposed to be a free action. Yeah, talk as much as you want. The time-space continuum tends to slow down a bit for characters to speak during battles and such. "Enemy ninjas!" cried Odd. "Surrender now and you shall be spared!" Spoiler Hide Technique Wind Step to M6, attacking the Ninja in L8. Accuracy:(1d10+5)[10] Cost me 10 EN. Frustrated with his shoddy aim in throwing, Haruki dashes past his enemy, slashing at him with his Lunar as he runs by. Forgot the Evasion roll:Spoiler Hide (1d10+3)[9] I'd like to know whether that attack killed the dude before I waste a round on him as well. Haruki's swift movements drop yet another enemy, but the rest aren't done yet. The chakra cloud moves to cut off Haruki and History, while the remaining ninja move to separate Odd from the others. Spoiler Hide Yep, the ninja in L8 drops. Chakra Cloud moves its center to M7, reorganizes its parts to L8, N6, and N7. 1 attack on Haruki, 1 on History. (I'm starting to think swarms might be too powerful. Opinions?) It also uses a pair of boost cores on itself, hardening and granting DEF +20. Attack on Haruki - (1d10+5)[15] (360 DMG, reduced by resistance) Haruki Evasion - (1d10+5)[8] Attack on History - (1d10+5)[11] (360 DMG, reduced by resistance) History Evasion - (1d10+5)[7] The O8/O9 pair move to R8/R9, and the one at R9 moves to S10 and attacks Odd. Attack on Odd - (1d10+3)[12] (250 DMG, reduced by defense) Odd Evasion - (1d10+2)[9] History grimaced in pain, but shook it off. He changed positions quickly, closing the distance between himself and the next enemy, and launched a barrage of Lunar at him from a distance... Spoiler Hide Move to O6 Technique: Lunar Rain, spend 20 EN Attack: (1d10+5)[13] Evade: [roll]1d10+3[/roll] Damage is 320 if hit HP: 90/(900); EN: 40/(150) Re-roll Evasion from last post:(1d10+3)[10] Odd smiled, eying his foe. (Note: The one on S10) Feigning a weakness, he let his foe strike into it, then dodged and sliced him from behind with a Tactical Slice. Oda's Roll: 6Enemy Roll: 6 I assumed History attacked the enemy in R8. Updated Map Spoiler Hide Round Marker I'm the one that moved to O6 (that's the Lunar). Fixed. Also, what I listed was the base roll, without bonuses. Tactical Slice has +2 to Accuracy, and I have an Agility of 3. The ninja may also have some Agility. Yep, still a hit. Also, Carinthia, any reason you aren't using the forum roller? The first page of This Thread has some good info on the syntax, and it's a great place to test rolling and whatnot. Haruki pulled a lunar from his pouch, and stabbed it deep into the mass of chakra before him. Spoiler Hide Taking Haruki's turn so we can keep moving. Lunar attack on the Cloud. Account - (1d10+4)[8] (360 Precision damage) Eva - (1d10+3)[5] Need to resolve this turn before the enemies go. Analysis Note: The HP seems awfully high on Swarms... My Eyes Only Spoiler Hide Swarm is at 2540/2800 The Cloud closes itself around Haruki, while the last pair of enemy ninja gang up on Odd. Spoiler Hide 2 attacks from the cloud on Haruki, 2 on History. The ninja move to S9 and S10, then attack Odd. Haruki 1 Account - (1d10+5)[11] (360 Spirit Damage) Eva - (1d10+5)[9] Haruki 2 Account - (1d10+5)[9] (360 Spirit Damage) Eva - (1d10+5)[14] Attack Missed History 1 Account - (1d10+5)[14] (360 Spirit Damage) Eva - (1d10+5)[10] History 2 Account - (1d10+5)[8] (360 Spirit Damage) Eva - (1d10+5)[7] Ninja S9 Account - (1d10+3)[8] (250 Physical Damage) Eva - (1d10+2)[5] Ninja S10 Account - (1d10+3)[10] (250 Physical Damage) Eva - (1d10+2)[9] I call no fair. You never said that cloud was a separate target that we had to attack to make it go away. I'm down. I'm thinking swarms are definitely too powerful at this point. Let's see how the other two do, though. If that Chakra cloud was anything like the Mysterious Peacock technique, it should have faded away with its creator, and the creator should have been immobilized. Just sayin'. Originally Posted by Collin152 If that Chakra cloud was anything like the Mysterious Peacock technique, it should have faded away with its creator, and the creator should have been immobilized. Just sayin'. Yeah, 'twas a mistake to flavor it that way. Hissori's definitely coming back, free of charge, unless you want to do it another way. I'm also going to cut back the adventure a bit to keep us moving and avoid redundant encounters. After this, I'll put together a L5 adventure, so if you have time go ahead and advance your characters to level 5. Well considering Naruto characters' (and anime characters in general) ability to not remember being close to death so long as it's more than a few episodes ago, let's just say that I'm knocked unconscious, and I'll wake up in a minute (after battle). Odd focused his anger, eyeing the nearest enemy." You got the guts to take me one on one?"(Challenge) Originally Posted by Carinthia Odd focused his anger, eyeing the nearest enemy. "You got the guts to take me one on one?" (Challenge) "You want it kid? Adrift, come'n get it!" Flashing his smile and the lunar from his pocket, the ninja focuses his attention upon Odd, to the exclusion of everything else on the battlefield. Spoiler Hide Ninja in S10 accepts Odd's challenge. Updated Map Spoiler Hide Will: Does anyone have abilities that key off of tracking will? If you do, I'll call where everyone's at, but otherwise I don't see much point. Round Marker Darting away from the cloud of Chakra, Haruki rushes towards Odd to solicit his aid with the other Shinobi. Spoiler Hide Move to R7. Use Lunar on Ninja in R9. Accuracy: (1d10+4)[9] Evasion: (1d10+3)[6] Odd has Determination, giving him +2 will per turn instead of +1. Challenge takes up Odd's turn, but he and his opponent gain +2 willpower (though they have to keep fighting each other only- if the challenge is "broken", whoever broke it loses 4 willpower plus the +2 from the challenge)So, technically, I believe the enemy ninja gets to attack. The enemies keep fighting... Spoiler Hide R9 moves to R8, and attacks Haruki. S10 attacks Odd. The cloud moves its center to P9, its pieces to Q7/O7/O8, attacking Haruki once and beefing itself up again. Against Haruki Attack - (1d10+3)[4] (250 physical) Evade - (1d10+5)[15] Cloud Against Haruki Attack - (1d10+5)[12] (360 spiritual) Evade - (1d10+5)[14] Against Odd Attack - (1d10+3)[12] (250 physical) Evade - (1d10+2)[11] (Note: Odd's only been hit twice, right? Also, my Agility is 3. What caused the penalty)Odd looked at his foe. He was actually slightly amused-this guy though he could take him on. He moved his leg around to strike his foe in the back... Originally Posted by Carinthia (Note: Odd's only been hit twice, right? Also, my Agility is 3. What caused the penalty) Odd looked at his foe. He was actually slightly amused-this guy though he could take him on. He moved his leg around to strike his foe in the back... Not sure what happened here... I'm guessing something came up, and you just didn't get around to finishing your post? Also, I just took your Evade straight off the sheet I have in the first post; might just be a slight math error. Oda attacks the ninja he challenged with a back kick. Acc - (1d10+4)[12](340 Physical)Eva - (1d10+3)[10] Spoiler Hide Sorry if I'm butting in or anything. I'm one of the creators of the system, so I'm watching this pretty closely. Regarding swarms, I think we're probably going to straight-up axe them next release. They don't really do anything that Minions/Lesser Minions don't, thematically. Collin, go ahead and take your turn if you want. I misplaced (somehow) the files I was using for the map. However, since you guys still have to chew through 2600+ HP on a monster that won't exist in the next revision anyway, I think we should just skip ahead. Any objections? I think we should do the fight-see if we can handle it. You can't. Gonna have to agree. One more shot, and I'm down for the count. I say we've botched this combat, let’s move on. Possibly with the updated system. O.K. Didn't realize. Sorry I'm taking so long to move us along again; school's just started up, and I'm still trying to get back into the groove. I'll definitely be able to get us going once the weekend hits, so hang tight until then at least. Is this ready to move yet? Originally Posted by Carinthia Is this ready to move yet? Taxa... After a short hallway, you burst into a large meeting that looks like it could easily hold a couple dozen people. However, at the moment, there are only 3. Spoiler Hide Hookah, initiative please. Enemies - (1d10+5)[11] MAP Spoiler Hide Rearrange yourselves within a square of the door if you'd like. All enemies have an EVA of 3. Sorry about taking so long to get this up. Initiative: 1 + 3 (4)Odd stands at the door, in contempt of his enemies. Initiative:(1d10+8)[11] Haruki initiative -(1d10+8)[14] Initiative Order:HarukiHissoriEnemiesOdaGonna give Collin another 12 hours to respond to the PM I sent him... Haruki springs into action, pegging the far right ninja with a well-placed lunar. Spoiler Hide Haruki moves to G5, then uses Lunar against the ninja at D9. Account - (1d10+6)[7] Eva - (1d10+3)[5] I'm still interested, but this seems practically dead. Originally Posted by Carinthia I'm still interested, but this seems practically dead. *sigh*Yeah. I'm thinking this just won't work over Pop. However, we could try doing it over a Virtual Tabletop (I have the maps all set up already in Map Tool, we'd just have to set up properties and/or macros.) Judging by the speed of combat, we could probably playtest a couple encounters in a few hours at most, once we (i.e., no offense, you guys) get past the learning curve of adjusting to a VTT. *bump*Reposted to IOC Thread.

Shounen System Playtest_ Introduction Arc|rating:3.0

OOC Discussion thread for Master Rutland's School

In character thread here: characters are as follows:Students:Melinda Parker (Pathos) a new student at the school, headstrong and slightly spoiled Marissa Scotch (Chi_Net_Tease) a three-year student and role model for success of the school Holly Carter (Melancholy Baby) is kind, generous, musical, yet sometimes astonishingly dense. Kiya Shale (Muskoxen) a very plain exterior (if clothed) hiding an imaginative, talented and intelligent core. Merry Anne Donne hey (_Kylie_) is an exceedingly intelligent and musically gifted student, who is also belligerent and loves to find creative ways to break the rules. Questions authority constantly. Her mother forces her to attend the school after finding her stepfather trying to molest her at home. Staff:Principal Philip Monstrous (Tara kin) the headmaster of the proud tradition (and teacher of Latin and sports)Officer Roger "Ski" Kalinowski (ThePhoenixMan) retired military man who is in charge of security for the campus, as well as the more physical aspects of discipline. Security man Tad Stern (County), nephew of Roger Kalinowski and new to the job. Mostly securing the vast outside terrain of the school. Teacher Dante Hobbs (Numerous), a math teacher who is new to the school. Teacher Land Eldritch (Lansfirestar) is a brilliant professor of science, he has a master's in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. Miss Matilda Hawthorn (Hegemony), Home Economics Teacher, Foods and Textiles. Secretary ? (offers are welcome), female We go toward the evening/night section on RL-Tuesday. The next pairs, who may start early if they want to, are:1)Melinda Parker (Pathos) and Principal Philip Monstrous (Tara kin) as soon as Monstrous is finished with KIA (for now);2) Merry Anne Donne hey (_Kylie_) is being greeted by Officer Roger "Ski" Kalinowski (ThePhoenixMan) and Security man Tad Stern (County), who have already started.3)KIA Shale (Muskoxen) and Lyndsay Conrad (phantom_goddess) can get together.4)Marissa Scotch (Chi_Net_Tease) and Miss Matilda Hawthorn (Hegemony) can explore their bisexual side.5)Holly Carter (Melancholy Baby) is being visited by Teacher Dante Hobbs (Numerous) to get her math problems solved (this hasn't really started yet, but can happen in the evening, so get it going!)6) Teacher Land Eldritch (Lansfirestar) is currently unoccupied. If someone has any difficulty whatsoever with this “schedule”, please leave us a note! We suggest that each pair gets in contact with each other to work things out in advance. In the case of problems, please inform the ruling team (Pathos/Tara kin). Have fun, all of you! Interesting story... not really that original (prove me wrong)... anyway is the school only for girls? Is there a room for another teacher? I'm a classic sort of girl. Come up with a character, and let's see if we can't bring in some more students. Hmmmm.... does anyone teach science class in that school of yours? Girls are supposed to learn science? Can their delicate little minds handle that? No, not yet. I'm less concerned about subject and more about character. What kind of person would you like to introduce? How long ah she worked there, how does he use his position? Female teachers may also be possible I think, at this kind of school for cooking or sewing most likely. If it's a new teacher, Principal Monstrous will be happy to do the job interview he is a Masters in science education... and a very kinky person... rumored at his other schools to have experimented on the naughty girls... I'll go that far for now in the "bio" IOC Marissa Scotch Name: Marissa Scotch Age: 21 (Third year in the school)Eye Color: an exotic but natural greenware: red running in tight ringlets past her shoulders height: 5 feet and 4 inches weight: in peak physical condition as is expected of students Orientation: Bisexual from lack of options outside discipline Marissa is a third year student and very respected by the faculty and other students at the school. She is a classic story of how well the school works once a very troubled child she now is a model of the ideals instilled in all graduates from since the school was founded. Looks good Chi, go ahead and post. You could visit Mon strum's office for his opening instructions. As a favored student of the school, I'm sure he'd appreciate that. And you'll get to meet Nefarious as well, after he's done running Mel over. Might as well make the bioName: Land Eldritch Subject Taught: Physics, Chemistry, Biology Age: 28Eye Color: Piercing Blue Hair Color: Long black hair, styled in a short ponytail Height: 5 feet and 10 inches Physique: Strong and physically fit (a far cry from the usual science teachers)Ethnic: American with slight Asian featureless Eldritch is a brilliant professor of science, he has a master's in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. Was offered a lucrative job in research but turned it down due to unknown reasons. Has an avid interest in the development of the students especially the female ones, and has been known to have extra credited "experiments" with failing students. Hello all Please meet Holly Carter, who is in her second year here at Master Jutland's Finishing School for Young Women. Holly Carter was still waiting on that certain moment. The moment when she can finally say correctly "The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly in the Plain." At least that is what her parents had told her she was going to this school to do. To be a lady. It had taken Eliza a lot less time, although she doubted Eliza had had as much fun as Holly was having along the way. Still, Miss Carter is careful to devote ample time to her more intellectually demanding studies which are not her strong suit. She is not ashamed to seek extra help from her classmates and instructors and enjoys repaying their kindnesses. When possible she plans her schedule to be rich in the humanities; languages, music, art, and a dance class would tickle her pink. Holly is kind, generous, musical, yet sometimes astonishingly dense. She is a true and devoted friend who tries to follow the rules, that is when she remembers and fully understands them. She is always on the lookout for new or struggling students, remembering her painful first days. Holly is bisexual, although she isn't really a labels' person. As for the physical, Holly is about 5'6, blond long hair, brown eyes, 34Bish. Pathos??? Can we have a concrete layout of the surroundings? Dorm rooms in particular. Is there one set? How many floors? Are all the freshmen on one floor? 2nd year students on another, and 3rd year on top? We know the Security office is on the first floor! I could also use some assistant security guards if anyone is interested! Thanks-TPM- Pathos said: Looks good Chi, go ahead and post. You could visit Mon strum's office for his opening instructions. As a favored student of the school, I'm sure he'd appreciate that. And you'll get to meet Nefarious as well, after he's done running Mel over. Click to expand... Okay, Principal Monstrous will take care of her I'd like to join in if I could - It's been a while since I've done any Ring so if you don't mind having me (and my character) I'd be more than thrilled to join in. Name: KIA Shale Age: 20 (2nd year student)Eye Color: Brown hair: Straight brown shoulder length height: 5 feet and 6 inches weight: "average" slim but room for improvement in physical conditioning Orientation: Bisexual very plain exterior hiding an imaginative, talented and intelligent core. Her looks are not "plain" in themselves but in the way that KIA abides by the missives of the school she easily fades into the background, never been one to push boundaries or question authority, she managed to surprisingly sail through her first year with very minor attention and few brushes with the local "enforcement" In a way she is still relatively "new" to the school, there were always more problematic students for teachers to focus on. Official layout of the grounds - it was converted from a manor house, so there's no hard and fast dorm room layout. The first floor holds the Headmaster's suite - office and attached living quarters, the dining hall, the library, the music room, the teacher's offices, and basically all the functioning rooms of the school. The second floor holds the majority of the classrooms and the small gymnasium for indoor physical health activities. The upper floors hold a few smaller classrooms, storage rooms, and girl's dorms. Dorm rooms were created out of many unusual spaces, so they range from Melinda's cramped single at the top of a small flight of stairs (effectively the fifth floor) to large salons that could house three or four girls with their own attached bathroom. Each room is different, and room assignments are based on seniority and rank of the student. The suites are mostly on the third floor, along with teacher living quarters (separate wing, of course) with smaller single rooms on the fourth floor, sharing large communal bathrooms one to a wing. There are flights of stairs going between floors, but not all stairs lead to all floors, some only attach two floors, or only the lower three floors. There are lots of back ways to get places, if you're willing to explore. The basement is the utility room as well as housing a special disciplinary area for the special use of the Headmaster and Security Officer. For the students whose disobedience is disruptive to the learning environment. The out buildings include a stable, tennis courts, a lap and a recreational pool, a flower garden and anything else you want to add. Does that help? And I think we're good on people for the moment, except I'd like to see a female teacher or the school secretary, and maybe another student or two. I would like to have the girls interact some, Marissa can help discipline the younger girls, Lance should be able to run experiments with a control, etc. So, to recap, we have students Melinda, KIA, Holly and Marissa, and Dante, Mon strum, Ski, and Lance on staff. Kiya's in with Mon strum, Melinda's getting inspected by Ski, Dante will find Mon strum's notes on Holly and should meet her, probably in one of the small classrooms, tutoring rooms? Lance, would you like to pick up Marissa in front of Mon strum's office? Do you need some help setting up lessons for the next day? Kathos? Bout my char, was u think? Well I have to say I'm very glad that KIA has been accepted into the schoolbook forward to the fun to follow! *stamps approved on Lance, kisses his cheek* You're in gorgeous. And I want to fail science. Sure, I would love some help with the lessons, Hamm... I'm off to pick up Melissa Hamm, that would be very nice... hehehehe we could definitely use an "extra credit experiment" to pull your grade up. *kisses pathos nose* cute... btw, its Land it seems Marissa isn't in yet... darn shame Land, god I'm sorry. I try hard, I just fail a lot. No worries, my extra credit experiments should help Oh good! Pathos said: Official layout of the grounds - it was converted from a manor house, so there's no hard and fast dorm room layout. The first floor holds the Headmaster's suite - office and attached living quarters, the dining hall, the library, the music room, the teacher's offices, and basically all the functioning rooms of the school. The second floor holds the majority of the classrooms and the small gymnasium for indoor physical health activities. The upper floors hold a few smaller classrooms, storage rooms, and girl's dorms. Dorm rooms were created out of many unusual spaces, so they range from Melinda's cramped single at the top of a small flight of stairs (effectively the fifth floor) to large salons that could house three or four girls with their own attached bathroom. Each room is different, and room assignments are based on seniority and rank of the student. The suites are mostly on the third floor, along with teacher living quarters (separate wing, of course) with smaller single rooms on the fourth floor, sharing large communal bathrooms one to a wing. There are flights of stairs going between floors, but not all stairs lead to all floors, some only attach two floors, or only the lower three floors. There are lots of back ways to get places, if you're willing to explore. The basement is the utility room as well as housing a special disciplinary area for the special use of the Headmaster and Security Officer. For the students whose disobedience is disruptive to the learning environment. The out buildings include a stable, tennis courts, a lap and a recreational pool, a flower garden and anything else you want to add. Does that help? Click to expand... Thanks ... and if Melinda misbehaves too much, we can move her to "solitary confinement" ... lol .... Thanks! Pathos said: Official layout of the grounds (...) Does that help? Click to expand... That helps a lot, thanks. Please add a pool for swimming lessons, I see some possibilities with this feature.Also, please add an updated list of participants and open jobs (like female teacher, secretary...) on the first post, newbies often read only this feature and all others can refer to it easier.Currently, it would be (in my humble opinion):Students:Melinda Parker (Pathos) a new student at the school, headstrong and slightly spoiled Marissa Scotch (Chi_Net_Tease) a three-year student and role model for success of the school Holly Carter (Melancholy Baby) is kind, generous, musical, yet sometimes astonishingly dense. Kiya Shale (Muskoxen) a very plain exterior (if clothed) hiding an imaginative, talented and intelligent core. More female students wanted! Staff:Principal Philip Monstrous (Tara kin) the headmaster of the proud tradition (and teacher of Latin and sports)Officer Roger "Ski" Kalinowski (ThePhoenixMan) retired military man who is in charge of security for the campus, as well as the more physical aspects of discipline. Teacher Dante Hobbs (Numerous), a math teacher who is new to the school. Teacher Land Eldritch (Lansfirestar) is a brilliant professor of science, he has a master's in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. Teacher ? (offers are welcome), female, for cooking and sewing Secretary ? (offers are welcome), female You have two pools, my dearest Headmaster. One for athletics, kept at a more chilled temperature, and one for recreation, back in the garden, for rewarding students and staff. I try to be accommodating. Pathos said: You have two pools, my dearest Headmaster. One for athletics, kept at a more chilled temperature, and one for recreation, back in the garden, for rewarding students and staff. I try to be accommodating. Click to expand... Very good! This school is a pleasure to lead Lyndsay Conrad first year student age:19height: 5'9body type: fit but soft and curvy, 38DDsnow white skinhead: long, jet black eyes: violet orientation: bi curiousLyndsay is a very shy, sheltered girl. She is very kind and once you get to know her she comes out of her shell. It is expected of her to go to Jutland's, as all the women in her family have since the beginning. She has been in private schools since she was a young girl, preparing for Outlands. So she is used to uniforms, and smaller classes. She also likes to get to know her teachers. She excels in history, poetry, Shakespeare, and music. Lyndsay tends to struggle with other subjects and is looking for help from either fellow students or a willing teacher. Lyndsay aims to please and will do whatever it takes to pass.((hopefully this is ok)) Currently we have the following pairs and situations, Ladies named first:1)Melinda Parker (Pathos) is being taught the school rules by Officer Roger "Ski" Kalinowski (ThePhoenixMan);2)KIA Shale (Muskoxen) is being character-enhanced by Principal Philip Monstrous (Tara kin)3)Marissa Scotch (Chi_Net_Tease) has been summoned by Monstrous and currently waits before his office. If someone want to get involved with her, he has to go there. Teacher Land Eldritch (Lansfirestar) has a note to meet her also.4)Holly Carter (Melancholy Baby) is being visited by Teacher Dante Hobbs (Numerous) to get her math problems solved5)Lyndsay Conrad (phantom_goddess) is new and currently unoccupied. My suggestion for further action:Since Marissa already has an appointment and Lyndsay is a freshman currently possibly in one room with Land, may I suggest Lyndsay and Land get together? Lyndsay could ask Land about the exam paper she just wrote maybe to get started. Both players were active at about the same time also today, which is good for interactionist's just a suggestion of course. And, last but not least: Welcome on board, phantom_goddess! I've got dibs on MARISSA!!! Anyone who interferes will find their OFFICE/DORM filled with a vile growing bacteria that infects their genitals!!!! Bwahahahaha I love being a mad scientist but seriously, I would Love to get my "surgical gloves" on Melinda, btw I need help with the lesson plan So many wonderful people to do! Consider Lyndsay approved, and I will bow to our wonderful Headmaster for how to get people involved. Yeah, but I have to think of a way to get rid of that darn security guard... hehehehe I've got a beauty of a plan Let me know if I am taking things too literally, but I'm assuming that a math class taught at a finishing school would be something like a personal finance/balancing your checkbook/figuring out easily in your head how much the sale price is of those little heels you have been stalking. Please let me know as I would like to have Holly working on her math problems when she is visited. First I really like the contributions of all players here. Good work, all of you! I've posted the current state of affairs on post #31, and I think that will have us occupied for a time now've talked with Pathos about it in PMs, and we think that one week of RL could be a good amount of time for one episode at Jutland's. The current episode can be shortened or longer though, since we still gain new players and some haven't started yet. To keep things flowing afterward the current affairs I'd like to plan in advance. So please tell us what you have in mind for your character so that we can orchestrate the next part of "today" or the first lesson of "tomorrow", whatever you have in mind, and if you are going to be "victimized" by another player please also tell us if you agree to it. Example: I want to be punished by XY; I plan a lesson in bio and want to strip girl x and y there; I want to visit z in his room late at night for a gentle lovemaking; I like player x's idea of visiting me at night, but it should be rough... you get the idea. Please tell us if you are limited in your time due to RL issues if you know it in advance, so nobody will be left waiting unoccupied if possible. I hope a week will be enough to sort all those things out! Melancholy Baby said: Let me know if I am taking things too literally, but I'm assuming that a math class taught at a finishing school would be something like a personal finance/balancing your checkbook/figuring out easily in your head how much the sale price is of those little heels you have been stalking. Please let me know as I would like to have Holly working on her math problems when she is visited. Click to expand... I think Numerous (Dante) should decide this, he's the math teacher. But maybe you could combine "normal" math and the things you mentioned? Like interest calculation as subject, taught at the example of credits? This way you can start your post and leave Dante all possibilities. Or another solution: Dante is a new teacher, so the stuff you do is the leftover of the old one, and he'll change the subject his predecessor had started "tomorrow". Ideas Some ideas of mine:-1- Officer Kalinowski will report to Philip about the incident with Melinda-2- He will also inform him that Dante was caught on the dorm floors (where he is not allowed) ... (Dante should only tutor in the study lounge)!-3- I'll leave it to Philip if Dante should be punished (being on the dorm floors as well as being late) ... does corporal punishment apply to males as well???-4- Melinda's goods taken from the room will be put in storage ... where after a period of good behavior, she can earn the privilege to come down to Officer Kalinowski, and *earn* an item back.***As far as future engagements ... I'd like to set up a scene with myself and Marissa (she is the eldest student) ... One where, she wants some nice accessories for her room, that are currently in storage. She *earns* the items (like mentioned above), setting the stage for Melissa to understand policies and procedures within the school. After that, maybe Melinda sees Marissa's room and wonders why and how Marissa is allowed to have all those luxuries, yet Melinda isn't? Marissa takes Melinda under her wing and reiterates policies and procedures, but in ways that are clearer to Melinda?***just an idea for story continuation! Thanks! A few things I would be happy to participate in:~ Melinda meeting with Melissa or one of the other girls more familiar with the school~ Melinda seeking office hours with Land to ask for independent study work~ I'm all for earning privileges from the staff~ Public discipline in Mon strum's class tomorrow, to be made an example of. Nice...as for mohair are the things I would "want" to do~ find a way to "fail" Melinda~ tutor Melinda so she won't "fail" by the extra credit experiments~ infect someone with a small virus I have (preferable target is Officer Kalinowski), secrets as to the effects, but it should work well with Marissa~ experiment on Melinda~ discipline Melinda~ wow, it's all about Melinda ^^~ I need an unsuspecting 1st year to "torment" in my biology class Keep the ideas coming! There are some good things coming it seems. The poor girls of our school! We have four pairs in action now, that's great! We still have to get Lyndsey (phantom_goddess) into the game though. Any ideas? PG, what would you like to do next? Btw: Nice new AV, Melancholy Baby! I envy the poor sap (male) who tries my potion. Bwahahaha I meant to reply to this yesterday but a bit scatterbrained these days... I would like to see some more interaction between the girls. Maybe during classes or during meal hours that kind of thing can get started? Just a thought.Also, Holly would like to humbly request some of the busy Headmaster's time to see to her progress toward becoming a lady.(And thank you, Tara kin, I think she's gorgeous) Thank you Pathos and Tara kin!BIO:Merry is an exceedingly intelligent and musically gifted female student, who is also belligerent and loves to find creative ways to break the rules. Questions authority constantly. Her mother forces her to attend the school after finding her stepfather trying to molest her at home. Merry Anne DonneheyAge: 19Height: 5' 5"Hair: Jet Black, long Eyes: Jet Black Sex: Female / Straight First Year Student Interests: Power struggles, force, punishment, limits pushed beyond the obvious. Merry will be known for 'slipping out of her room' at night to go into the forest. Loves watching the animals, nature, stars and all things relating to the earth. She finds biology, science and the arts fascinating. PrequelMerry Anne stroked the ivory keys of the piano lovingly. Finally, she was alone in her step-father's home. Merry loved the private time. She happily deviated from the rigorous scales assigned by her private tutor to play the more forbidden, jazzy sounds she often heard from street vendors and musicians along the alleyways towards town. This was the only perk to her mother having married that creep. The thought of him made her shiver. What her mother saw in him, Merry would never understand. But, it mattered not. Merry benefited from his wealth, his generosity and his neglect. Johnathon Blaylock stood in the doorway of the music room watching his step-daughter with barely disguised lust and disgust in his eyes. He would teach the little heathen a lesson for tempting him with her ribald music and swaying body as she sat upon the onyx piano stool. Also, a gift from him to her upon her arrival to his home. She owed him. Seeing my coconspirator is newly joining this thread adding a new female to the mix, I feel it's the perfect time to ask. Is there room for one more male in this thread? If so what should he be? Ski is willing to hire on additional security personnel, a groundskeeper/maintenance guy wouldn't hurt, but that I think that's about saturation. Wouldn't mind being any character that the RP could accommodate I know I'm trying to join late. A new guy for security would work then? We have six females now and four males, so another male is possible in here in my eyes. County, post your bio here toward one of the suggestions Pathos did, and when you and _Kylie_ are both willing to have the first "adventure" together here, start posting and try to catch the other pairs who have a little head start. If you want to write with other partners, Lyndsey (phantom_goddess) is currently unoccupied. Welcome on board, _Kylie_ and County! Thanks for the welcome tarakin. Name: Tad Storage: 25 Eyes: Icy Blue Hair: Short and blonde Height 6'2"Build: Athletic build Marital Status: Single Orientation: Straight History: Son of a military man that served with "Ski", is how he was able to get the new opening for security at the school. He is a good person... but power might soon start to get the better of him I'd like to see KIA get roomed with one of the first year students for whatever reason (punishment, as a mentor, any excuse will do) and possibly have that rooming lead to oh say... a little bit of confiding in each other leading to a heated scene -- I think KIA has her eye on Lyndsey but if she becomes occupied within the time before KIA is done with Monstrous she really doesn't play favorites... she is a great shoulder to "cry" on though Addition of a Security guard Sorry . But It's tough for me to keep up during weekendsCountV ... we could easily bring you into the story as an interview as soon as I'm done with Pathos (Melinda) ... Maybe you could already even be there, waiting for me, trying to figure out where I was? All the more reason for me to hire on additional staff, since I can't keep up with all the disciplinary requirements, along with tracking so many females throughout the night (those that like to wander into the woods) !!! *wiggling eyebrows at The Phoenix. Thinking of those delicious woods just beyond the boundaries of the Finishing School*Who me Sir? *great big eyed innocent type look* HEY!!! don't think the security is interested in the forest only... for a scientist like me, the forest has an abundance of test animals... like the rabbit ^^ *hop... hop... hop... wiggling little nose before darting beneath the underbrush* haha hahaha, *sets the carrot on the ground* come here rabbit Sorry to interrupt with a public service announcement, but part of the basement is dedicated to the research of the science department. Just... doing a little remodeling. Any other requests while the builders are here? Good morning Pathos, Builders? As in big, bulky... construction type ... men builders??? *grins... runs for the carrot and dashes quickly away* *grabs the rabbit between its arms just before it escapes*GOTCHA!!!!*tickles the rabbits' tummy* Sorry bout my last post ... I was reading here, before I read the story ... welcome aboard to my assistant security guard ... and our newest student! I'll forgive you if you go torture Melinda. Torture? Who? Me?LOL!!!****On a separate note ... Will Marissa's character be "out of play" for an extended period of time, since she is part of the science experiment? If so, then I need to find someone else who either needs "correction" -or- someone who wants to "earn" some goodies for their room. Kathos? Question for you ... do you think each student's confiscated goods should be kept separate and earned back solely by that student ... or ... all confiscated goods put in a general area, and available for anyone to *earn*? For example, could Marissa come in, take a look around and say, "Pooh I like that fluffy rug (Melinda's fluffy rug) and *earn* it for her room, thereby stealing it from Melinda? Just an idea I had for Parton the mental tribulations students had to go through! *holding up my hand to be next in line after Marissa!!*I think the Head Security Man should give his nephew some pointers. Maybe... please. Sir??*mischievous grin* _Kylie_ said: *holding up my hand to be next in line after Marissa!!* I think the Head Security Man should give his nephew some pointers. Maybe... please. Sir?? *Mischievous grin* Click to expand... Should I give him pointers? Or, should I Giraud *pointer*?*equally wicked grin and wink* *turning a bright, fluorescent red. Holding my hands to my cheeks in real life* Oh my.... Backing out due to some recent developments between me and another writer, I have decided to pull out, sorry for the inconvenience. Will somebody check on Marissa for me? Depending on the circumstances, I might come back To the rescue??? Since I wanted a scene with Marissa ... I (or Tad) can come into the lab as part of our routine walks and find Marissa there, and *rescue* her (in her aroused state)? Hope all works out, and we see you back!-TPM- Hey, mind if I join? I'd love to take up one of the teachers, how about the Cooking and Sewing one? Miss Matilda Hawthorn, Home Economics Teachers. Foods and Textiles Her red curls have never matched her personality. Kind and sweet, she is, perhaps, far too gentle to ever be a truly effective academy teacher. However, if you find yourself on the receiving end of her cold, green-eyed glare you know for a fact that you'll have more problems in her class than a frog in a blender. Orientation: Closet bisexual. Single, unmarried. I have one request, DO NOT REMOVE MARISSA FROM HER CHAINS, just study her Miss Hawthorne is approved. And after Melinda gets herself back together, I will again be looking for something to do. Hegemony said: Hey, mind if I join? I'd love to take up one of the teachers, how about the Cooking and Sewing one? Miss Matilda Hawthorn, Home Economics Teachers. Foods and Textiles Her red curls have never matched her personality. Kind and sweet, she is, perhaps, far too gentle to ever be a truly effective academy teacher. However, if you find yourself on the receiving end of her cold, green-eyed glare you know for a fact that you'll have more problems in her class than a frog in a blender. Orientation: Closet bisexual. Single, unmarried. Click to expand... Welcome on board, Hegemony! Nice description for Miss Hawthorn! Lansfirestar said: I have one request, DO NOT REMOVE MARISSA FROM HER CHAINS, just study her Click to expand... ??? ??? ??? If you're not going to be around, will she be there forever? Not quite sure how you're backing out? Please explain! Thanks! Thanks to everyone that welcomed me, and welcome to the new teacher Okay, In an attempt to keep "plot" (for lack of a better term) moving, We're going to try to wrap up current sessions by Tuesday. I've updated the initial post with ongoing characters and Tara kin's suggestions as to where to go next. Please let us know if you would like to do something different! We go toward the evening/night section on RL-Tuesday. The next pairs, who may start early if they want to, are:1)Melinda Parker (Pathos) and Principal Philip Monstrous (Tara kin) as soon as Monstrous is finished with KIA (for now);2) Merry Anne Donne hey (_Kylie_) is being greeted by Officer Roger "Ski" Kalinowski (ThePhoenixMan) and Security man Tad Stern (County), who have already started.3)KIA Shale (Muskoxen) and Lyndsay Conrad (phantom_goddess) can get together.4)Marissa Scotch (Chi_Net_Tease) and Miss Matilda Hawthorn (Hegemony) can explore their bisexual side.5)Holly Carter (Melancholy Baby) is being visited by Teacher Dante Hobbs (Numerous) to get her math problems solved (this hasn't really started yet, but can happen in the evening, so get it going!)6) Teacher Land Eldritch (Lansfirestar) is currently unoccupied. I hope everyone is having as much fun as I am with this thread! Well, I'm certainly looking forward it :) I'm going to read what's been done already to get a feel for the thread, and to make sure I don't step on anyone's toes on my way in. Thanks for welcoming me, by the way. I'll hopefully make my first post sometime today/tonight ^^ You have no idea how glad I am to have a female teacher. None. You could break toes on the way in, and I'd figure out how to make it work, Hegemony. XD Good to know, good to know. I'll start soon, then. Probably get her going in her classroom :)Oh, and art. I think it might be to schoolgirls for a teacher, though. It's one of the better ones of what I have in my gallery... Hegemony said: XD Good to know, good to know. I'll start soon, then. Probably get her going in her classroom :) Oh, and art. I think it might be to schoolgirls for a teacher, though. It's one of the better ones of what I have in my gallery... Click to expand... The pic looks nice Oh, and we have "evening/nightshirt", so no teaching until the next episode ("tomorrow") unless you want to have someone punished for misbehavior from earlier "today". Your suggested partner (Chi) is currently in the basement lab. Hey guys, sorry I'm in the middle of moving. So that's why I haven't been on the thread. I should've waited till I was done to post, but hopefully soon. Just wanted to give you a short update. Gas, finally got the post done. Sorry for taking so long! I finally caved in and did it in a word processor, so I could save it... my computer keeps on restarting... I'm traveling Tues-Thurs this week. (Some of you may begin to detect a pattern) So my posts may be limited in the middle of the week. All is good, and I'm back indefinitely... I have a massive headache, only slept for 30 minutes before taking my exam biology lab. I've already been given the go ahead to join you thank you by the way pathos. I was wondering if I could have a biology lab, to teach the young girls in? If that is possible. In the basement would be nice. Thank you. You can have the one right across next to my laboratory ^^ maybe we can collaborate, I also have a doctorate in biology Thanks Lanka lab across from yours would be nice. The science department should stick together. I wanted to let everybody know that I work Monday to Friday 5pm to 11 pm. So I will not normally be posting during those times. Thank you for your time. Goodnight, all of you! It is much fun to lead this special kind of school. Hope you are all enjoying it also! I really want to try the potion on MALES... ^^ it has a different reaction to them.... constant pardons... and always thinking about females delayed orgasm as well? Tad is busy now but the most appropriate candidates for that experiment seem to be either him, or the math teacher think you should make it more complex as well, perhaps it could increase submission in females (also helping towards the intentions of the school) and desire of domination in males, just a thought you are the scientist after all count, let me ask you something... if you could control the orgasms of a female... how much power would you have over her? I suppose you mean control them at one's will, then one would have a lot of control, to forbid to cum seems to be one of the most cruel punishments What I meant was that for instance one of the experiments pushed Prof. Eldritch to play, horniness seems to be the only modification on their behavior, since (from what I've seen) the potion only delays the orgasms. Hahahaha I'm making the professor totally PROFESSIONAL ^^ anyway, here's how the potion is supposed to work Female:1) increased sexual awareness2) 30 minute interval of orgasm3) heightened sense of touch4) Lasts 7 days Male:1) Hard On2) Increased awareness of females3) Lasts 7 days Side-Effects:1) Increased character personality (a dominant person becomes more and more self-confident)I need help in coming up more side effects (personality) and direct effects (sexuality) Matilda was already on the subside, so most changes on that side would be moot I suggest Karen Cut ridge, now properly introduced to Monstrous, joins Holly to get that part of the story going. Dante can join there. I myself am done for today, yesterday had left me tired (but was with it) Tomorrow I'll see my family, but I'll try to be online now and then to post. Have fun, all of you! Just a note ... with so many people posting, especially threesome scenes, we need to be considerate and allow time for each person to post and carry the story. It tends to be difficult (I make errors too) when in the middle of writing a post, someone adds something that is not in line with what the other is writing. So as a suggestion, somehow either create a round-robin series of posting, or write your post in such a way that it is clear, who should be posting next, or what is happening next. Thanks!(I hope this makes sense) if the three are online, maybe turns would work, A posts B posts C posts, even if the posts aren't much about action but explaining the inaction. Just a reminder, Land is a scientist, so after he administers something to Matilda, he will be pretty much out of action (AKA, recording the results of the "relationship" between Marissa and Matilda)*changed my mind, I'm going to see if I can try a threesome... KIA and I have been somewhat unavailable the last couple of days, but I'll be back around this evening/tomorrow. Msg tarakin about removing my character from that scene (if she has not been already) I need to catch up, but I'd look forward to moving on instead of slowing down a scene that is going smoothly. Time differences are an issue too I'm sure. Are you still looking for teachers??? Edit: heck if you need any type of characters I can Join. I'm fairly good at playing most natural Genders ((male female Permafrost.)) So I could play anything... Plus High school was helpful between classes case you can pick up a lot of different Personalities during that time. So I could almost play any type of person.the preference is either the Quiet Flute Player/ Loner Male, Bubbly hot Bi Girl, and The Timid Library Club Seems Average Hermaphrodite. I'm back for the weekend!...what do I do now? I think the new teacher is free, she had been waiting for the math teacher to show up since the headmaster dismissed her Pathos said: I'm back for the weekend! ...what do I do now? Click to expand... Well ... when I'm done with Merry, I'll escort her to her room, which ... oh my ... is right next to yours! Laaaanssss~Where are you? I am nursing my wounded lit erotica heart from rejection I'm searching for Muskoxen to continue... Maybe my latest "assault" did let her faint? A question, besides Tad who else is unoccupied and available? Bah. I'm back now, guys! I disappeared for a bit... Breaking Dawn. Wonderful book. Anyhow, 'tis done, and I'm back ^^ Hegemony said: Bah. I'm back now, guys! I disappeared for a bit... Breaking Dawn. Wonderful book. Anyhow, 'tis done, and I'm back ^^ Click to expand... Welcome back! I'm back also now after a long and sweet weekend. I'm waiting for Muskoxen to reappear also, which hopefully will be today. Who's unoccupied right now and in for another constellation? Post your wishes, and we'll construct the new pairings for the next episode which can start around Wednesday I'd think. Melinda is available and bored. Tad just wishes to learn more on how to impose his authority... he has the report filled out... now he should do something fun, I just didn't want to send him to explore on his own considering the strict vertical structure of the academy Maybe Tad could give his report to the Headmaster?? Or make rounds, "checking" the locks (or lack of) on certain rooms, as part of the security watch!?! Who knows what he might "see"? Im back... sorry for the absence... had some stuff to take care of in real life Welcome back, Land! ^^ Welcome back, Land. I'm glad you're back~ what do you mean your glad I'm back? Hehehehe we haven't stopped chatting with each other for a while now Yes, well, I've been waiting for your post in the school for a while now... It's slow right now. I'd suggest getting the new pairs on Wednesday, so we can get moving again. Muskoxen has still RL-issues it seems, but there are unoccupied players like Pathos. So please post and discuss the next ideas you have, end the ones you are currently following and then let's go on to Wednesday with the new angle. It'll be the next morning then, and we should be in our respective classes most likely. Alright, but Matilda is sort of 'out of it' right now, and likely unfit to be teaching classes for the week. I think someone was going to sub in for her in class...? I assume that Matilda will be staying in the lab for... a while : P you can count on that... by the way, anything interesting you want to try? We ARE inside a locked lab... Is this still alive? Aside from _Kylie and me, is there anyone else continuing the story along? Hmm, no idea, Land. I'm up for anything, perhaps someone else wants to join in with us?... I'd like to post, though I'm rather stuck where I am without interference from someone.

OOC Discussion thread for Master Rutland's School|rating:2.0

A Snowy Year (Zarazel et Ravensahnk)

While most families were bundled up by the fire on Christmas Eve, she was stuck at Margarine’s, a bar/ inn/ restaurant. If only Margarine still owned the godforsaken place. Holly sat at the bar with her head resting on her arms as she listened to the clock on the wall ticking. Outside there were violent howls of wind, and the only thing she really could think of was how scared her one-year-old was. She had gotten a phone call perhaps a half an hour earlier with a frantic babysitter afraid that the baby might not be asleep by the time Holly got home, which was something she was pretty strict about. She loved seeing her baby, but more so loved to see the child on a regular sleep schedule like any normal parent would like to see their young children on. But Marge’s grandson was now the owner, a stupid New York Business hotshot that didn’t know the first thing about the small town where he had inherited the damn bar. He seemed to think staying open until two A.M. made more money, but in reality, it did not. The town drunks and young people stayed out until the wee hours of the morning, and normally turned in around Midnight, at least until they had discovered that they could come later rather than be the “Lunch” rush. Tonight however was a no-go. Fortunately she was at least making ten dollars an hour since it was Christmas Eve. He had at least recognized that she was working as barkeep, innkeeper (though there was not a soul inside the building besides her), and cook. She had blown out all the candles except the two at the tables pressed against the front window, and the lighting in the bar was dimmed as she sat there. In the corner where she was sitting lay the most recent book she was reading “Single Mother by Choice” and her cell phone along with the few dollars she had made that day. She quietly tucked the money into her pocket and sat her book and cell phone at the edge of the bar and walked behind it to start closing. She cleaned beneath the beer taps and had used her homemade chemical compound that kept away fruit flies down the drain and had started to clean all the glasses that had been sitting on the sink for a couple of hours now. Furthermore, she quietly opened up the drawer and started counting down the money, knowing that the total was perhaps fifty dollars all together. Furthermore, she guessed it was a good thing that she made ten dollars in tips. With an annoyed roll of her eyes she glanced outside and let out a small sigh at how much snow was piling up. At this rate they wouldn’t be able to get to her house a few miles away. She picked her cell phone up and glanced down at the screen to text the babysitter to call her parents to tell them that she was staying the night. While she sent the young girl a text message, she did not notice the small car that barely made it into the parking lot and park, nor did she notice a dark figure coming toward the building. After sending her a text, she turned away from the door and got down on her knees to clean out the liquor cabinet and organize the several back-up bottles before she could start putting the liquor away. All the while in the background she could hear Christmas playing and she's humming to herself as she pictured her daughter waking up to the few presents she had managed to get her daughter for her very first real Christmas. Holly had not thought she would have her daughter before Christmas, so when she had given birth prematurely on December eighteenth, she had not been able to give the infant anything other than her promise that they would have a better life. Now at a full year and a week, the little girl that was the light of her life. Little Hope Alexia Rose Maxwell was her pride and joy. Since her daughter’s father had told her to have an abortion and saying no, she had made the decision to raise her daughter Solo. And the choice was still the only one she could see herself making. While he was immature and enjoyed partying, she had been the innocent and quite girl that had made the foolish mistake of thinking that he had loved her. But it didn’t matter, the twenty three-year-old woman had matured a great deal from the moment she had found out she was pregnant, and now she had her own place and had a better relationship with her parents. Unfortunately her parents weren’t able to watch Hope over Christmas Eve since the two had gone down south with her little brother to visit an Aunt and Uncle to escape the bad weather for once. Brian was driving along the roads of the small town, a town he needed to pass in order to get to the next city for his concert. Being a famous singer was a good thing and a bad thing, he got all the money he could ever want but on the other side he had no private life. Everybody knew his life from the tabloids, magazines and news which was the only bad thing about being a famous singer. He loved singing to his heart ever since little he formed a band named ‘Linking Park’ and ever since then their careers skyrocketed. He tried to see through the window for any open place where he could go in since this blizzard was going to be a long one, and he hated passing it through in his car. It was then when he saw the small light coming from what appeared to be a bar, grabbing his cellphone he dialed his manager to tell the band he would be late, and he was going to spend the night in the town. They agreed since it would be safer for him than to be driving around with a blizzard like the one that was going to happen. He hated blizzards but loved snow, there was nothing better than to go and have a nice battle with snowballs with his band. Although as childish as it could be he loved this moment where they could just have fun. He parked the car in front of the store and looked around, he grabbed his coat and put it on as best as he could on the car and then took the most important stuff like wallet, phone and a notebook he always carried around. He took a deep breath and walked out of the car as he began to hurry as best as he could through the blizzard into the small bar. Furthermore, he pushed the door and got in closing it behind him, “Excuse me, MMM is there a possibility I could wait here for the storm to pass? It’s impossible to get outside in this blizzard”. He was a pretty tall guy, standing over six foot tall and very thin for his height. He had black hair and blue eyes. Furthermore, he hoped she would not recognize him otherwise he would spend the rest of the night telling her stories of his tours and his band and such thing that he wanted to not do if he could help it. Furthermore, he stayed in the door not really stepping a muscle inside knowing that she could be a bit nervous because his face was covered by the cloak. Smiling he took his cloak off as well as his hoodie so she could see his face. She had just finished counting down the drawer when she heard the small bell over the doorway jingle. “Are you fucking kidding me?” She grumbled to herself, not at all caring if the newcomer heard her or not. All she wanted to do was get home before it got any worse out there. She peaked her head around the corner and saw a stranger standing there, pulling off his hood and sweater in order to not scare her. “I guess.” She said softly. “I’m about to close my til though so if you want anything to eat or drink tell me now.” She said softly as she closed the office door behind her and walked out behind the bar. She could see the snow piling up and was surprised he could even get into the unplowed parking lot. Her car was no longer visible underneath the mountains of snow. She quietly moved to the door and closed the door behind him. She then motioned to a coat rack that held her red plaid coat with a matching scarf and hat hidden beneath. “Please tell me the roads aren’t as bad as the parking lot is.” She groaned. She had caught a glimpse of the outside world, which had been fairly clear when she had first started her shift earlier in the day. Fortunately they were closed the following day, unless this newcomer got a room, then she’d have to stop by early that morning and perhaps at five to make a meal and make sure he wasn’t into anything. Just as she moved back to the bar she could hear her phone playing off one of her more favorite songs, “Faithfully” by journey. It was a pretty old song, but definitely one that kept her hopeful that perhaps she could find a man who would accept not only her but her child as well. She quietly pulled out a small log book, figuring that if he was going to get a room, she’d have to put him into the very short log. Though who would want to be stuck alone on Christmas Eve/day? She looked up at him and leaned against the counter. “Are you going to rent a room? I can set you up in one of our nicer suites for no extra charge. And I’ll set you up with a nice warm meal before bed and then, if I can get out of her tonight, will be back in the morning to serve up a nice hot breakfast.” She said brightly. “Though it’s looking as though I may have actually lost my car to this horrific storm.” She added in a not so happy voice. Big fat white snowflakes continued to fall, making her even more weary of what getting home was going to be like. Eric smiled at the woman, at least she did not recognize him. He took off his coat and placed it on the coat hanger before he took off his boots and placed them at the entrance not wanting to dirty the floor. He also learned that custom in Japan where he went on a tour. “He nobody can go outside, if you go it would be a death wish. I have been in a lot of storms on my career and this is by far one of the worst ones I have been on. He sighed sitting on a chair and waving his hands at the offer of a beer, “No, thank you, I don’t drink”. He smiled looking at her as he finally could relax, his cellphone rang once again, and he picked it up, “Hello?.... yea I found a place… tell the band that I will be pretty late to cancel the concert for a few days we will make do…..yeah….okay…..have fun”. He shook his head at her question, “MMM the parking lot it’s easier than the road, yea I mean its worst on the road you cannot see anything, I was about to hit a few cars on the way and I had to drive very slowly”. Furthermore, he noticed the ringtone and smirked as he softly sang the song as well, his tone of voice obviously was one of a singer. Furthermore, he looked at her as she talked on the phone and nodded, “Do you have a hotel here as well? How about if I pay you a room as well since neither of us should be going out right now, that is if you want to live”. He sat on a chair and sighed stretching his back and smiling at the girl. The storm outside was getting worst and worst the windows were beginning to crack as the snow made pressure on them. “MMM go up…. Second floor…. NOW” he took his coat and his boots and began to walk back from the windows not really wanting to remain in the room when the windows finally cracked and the snow poured in. She had heard the crack on the window and felt a small tremor of fear. Weather here could be dangerous, she was more concerned with the roof caving, which was always a possibility in this part of the country. She quickly grabbed her purse and the items on the bar and swiped a key before hurrying up with her coat in hand. Her long red hair was dancing behind her as she grabbed her cell phone and dialed her house phone. Instantly Aliana, her babysitter, answered sounding a tad frantic. “Hun listen to me. Take Hope to my bedroom and you both sleep in there for the night. The house is pretty secure, but if it comes down to it, bundle her up and go down your house, I know it’s about a block away, I just didn’t want you being out there, but if it makes you uncomfortable you can.” She said softly to the fifteen-year-old.“Holly it’s really loud in the house, but nothing's really happening. The baby just keeps waking up.” She said softly. “She wants you.” She added. After a few instructions, Alaina finally agreed to the bedroom and took her now whining and tired daughter to the bedroom. She could hear the wind whining outside and after turning on the small radio next to her bed, her daughter was back asleep. “If you keep the music on Hun, she’ll stay asleep.” She added before opening up one of the rooms upstairs. This was the only room that was really livable, other than the small made into apartments. Those were still being constructed there were only two rooms available. She walked into the old room and knelt down beside the thermostat and turned it on before going to a closet and making the bed really fast. “This will be your room, if the windows up here starts to crack, I don’t give a shit, I’ll risk going out in the snow. The owner has yet to really grasp that winters here are ridiculous.” She murmured softly. “Only shows up once every four or so months unless he gets a complaint.” She mumbled as she quietly moved to the small bathroom and turned on the water taps to ensure that nothing was frozen. When Holly walked out of the room, she sat his key on the end stand and hugged her arms closer to her body as the room took a while to heat up. “So what brought you through these parts? Didn’t your parents ever tell you that you should never be North in the winter?” She teased lightly. “That’s only minor compared to what happens normally. Windows are the least of our worries, right now I’m wondering if the roofers did a good job last summer. Our biggest issues around here are collapsed roofs.” She said softly. Brian went upstairs with her just when the windows cracked and the snow barged in. He closed the door leading to the bar and blocked it with whatever he could. Once upstairs he smiled in the room, it was small but simple he liked it just as it was back home. Placing his jacket in a corner he looked out, his car was covered up with snow, and he could see the snow going inside the bar. He smiled and looked at her, talking to a person about what he could only guess was her daughter. He remained quiet while they talk not really wanting to bother a mother taking care of her child. When the storms seemed to be as it’s fullest he nodded and looked around, there was only one window leading outside so he had to make something up. He looked around and noticed a roll of tape in the closet. He grabbed the tape and went on the window typing each window corners and then an X in the middle. “That should handle the pressure, we used to do that when hurricanes hit my home, and it always reduced the pressure, don’t ask me why”. He looked at her and shook his head, “You should stay here also, stay on the bed I will sleep on the floor if you want to, I don’t want us to get split apart and something happens to one of us”. He saw her going to the bathroom and shook his head, “I won’t take a bath with the cold like outside that would be a crazy idea. Ah, and forgive my rudeness, my name is Brian Conner I am a singer on a pretty famous band”. He waved at her as he finally placed a blanket on the floor taking off his socks and placing it inside his boots. “I was going to give a concert in the city when the blizzard caught me, we had to suspend the concert for two days until it all clears up, and I can go back to the band”. Holly looked him over and nodded in understanding but in confusion. “You were going to have a concert on Christmas?” She asked in an incredulous voice. It didn’t even phase her that the man that was standing in front of her was famous. She honestly didn’t care. She never drooled over fame and fortune, not when in her own sense, she was the richest woman alive. Furthermore, she had a job that paid her bills, and on occasions gave her even more to spoil her daughter. Her parents were sometimes around to help. And she had a beautiful daughter. “Well I guess it’s really none of my business.” She shrugged lazily. She moved to a small chair that was in the opposite corner and relaxed in it before motioning for him to take the bed.“But I do have to agree, if it keeps snowing like this, we’ll be together for at least the night. Though this blizzard should let up by morning.” She mumbled softly to him. “I’m Holly Maxwell, bartender slash cook slash innkeeper.” She said with a sheepish grin. “The jack of all trades one would say.” She said softly. She leaned back in the seat, and watched as the snow pounded away at the building, the winds were wicked, and for a moment she feared that it would ruin all of her plans for the following day. Furthermore, she had not planned that she would get a last minute straggler. But cooking a small Christmas dinner and giving her daughter the one gift she was truly excited about giving were the only two things. Her brother and she had both gone Christmas shopping when they bumped into an old friend. Her mother bred dogs for a living and had found out one of her dogs had bred with a different kind of dog, causing a cross-breed of her famous beagles with a Rottweiler. When she had seen the puppies she had been taken away so she and her brother both got one and her brother took it upon himself to train it so that she could bring it home to Hope. Both puppies were house broken and able to use a small set up he had for when they were stuck inside. Since he was in Tampa for another week, she knew she’d have to take care of both of them for a good while. She looked him up and down, remembering that he had said with such pride that he was famous. “I do have one question…if you’re so famous…why didn’t you fly or travel with the others?” She asked curiously. She was about to ask what band he was in, but realized that she really didn’t care. He was a nice guy, one who seemed down to Earth and realistic. Why ruin that by linking his already alluring voice to one of the more popular tunes on the radio? She truly hated linking voices to the faces, it seemed it always ruined any kind of fantasy she had built up from a voice so angelic.“I guess it really doesn’t matter. Why don’t you get some sleep? I’ll be up for a while. The girl babysitting at my house is scared of storms, and my daughter isn’t any better. My phone keeps going off.” She said softly. He chuckled as he saw her motion the bed, “Nah you take the bed, I am used to sleeping on the floor anyway. Yea we do strange things, however we did not count on the blizzard hitting this hard I don’t think we will be able to do the concert this week after all. I don’t mind you talking to me about it, it’s kinda nice to actually talk to a person that is not head over heals in love with the band. I mean the guys are great and all, but sometimes it gets tiring watching all those girls scream your name, and you not be able to really date any of them”. He looked serious for a moment as he sighed and lay down on the floor, if only his Ex could be there with him things would be a lot easier. He smiled as she introduced herself, and he added, “And a wonderful mother”. Furthermore, he looked at her once she mentioned as to why he wasn’t with the band, and he just smiled, “Well I usually travel with them, but I was asked something out of a girl in a wheelchair, she was a fan of the band and she has terminal cancer. I was out with her during the afternoon just being with her, I cannot tell you how happy that made me. I always wanted to have my own child, although physically I can’t”. He took his cellphone and walked besides her showing her some photos of him with a girl without hair on a wheelchair. “Her name is Bianca, her face went pale once she saw me”. He grinned and then sighed picking a video of his band in a concert and giving it to her, “That is our band”. The video showed him on a stage with over fifty thousand people all over the place. A single face in the crowd could not be distinguished since they were all smashed together it was more like bees in their nests. “That was a couple of years ago, it was a pretty nice concert to tell you the truth. The other one singing its my co-singer and brother we look way different, but I love that guy to death.” He smiled remembering very well the concert, it was then when he found out that his ex-wife had died just a couple of seconds after the concert he was crushed for a few weeks, but finally he could let it go. He still had a ring hanging from his neck with a black ribbon tied to it. Linkin Park - In The End (Live from Red Square) (#ws) She looked at him with a newfound respect. When he showed her the picture of the surprised little girl a small smile formed on her lips. “I heard there were a few out there still that had hearts…but I didn’t believe it until now.” She chuckled lightly. “I’ve heard you guys.” She said softly. “Though I’m not going to lie, you ruined my little fantasy.” She said lightly. “Call me weird, but I don’t look at cover of C.D.’s or watch music videos. I would rather have no face to link voices to and simply lose myself in the music.” She said softly. She leaned back in her seat stubbornly, as if to challenge him to forcing her into the bed. “I can sleep on the chair. There’ve been times when I’ve had to crash in this chair. Especially when I was pregnant and stuck working a double shift.” She said with a small sigh. “They didn’t have beds in here for a solid three months, so I made due with this chair. He and I are good ‘of friends.” She chuckled lightly. “Then again I also had a brick sitting on my bladder.” She shrugged teasingly. She always found the odd story of her being stuck in the chair humorous, but at that moment she really didn’t care. The weather was making a nervous wreck out of her. “So you’re that famous guy in that famous band that I can’t recall the name of.” She said lightly. “I guess it’s fortunate you’ve stumbled across the one person who could give a shit less if you’re famous or not.” She yawned behind a hand. “Sorry, not trying to be crude…just used to having either a one-year-old babbling at me or drunks saying derogatory things.” She murmured. She closed her eyes as she adjusted herself on the chair, her eyes cracking open to look at the constant flow of snow hitting the window. The man was truly amazing. The pictures of the little girl and the concert did exceed her own views of the band who had a unique sound that enthralled her. She knew she had a C.D. somewhere in her bedroom where her brother had burned some of their songs on a blank C.D. for her. She adjusted herself and eventually sat up, not so tired but more curious about the man. Furthermore, she curled her legs beneath her and leaned forward, using her legs as anchors on her legs and her fists to hold her head up. “Don’t you ever… I don't know, get tired of being the center of all these fan girl’s attention?” She asked curiously. “No offense but it must be chaotic to go anywhere public! I could never see myself in a situation like that. I like the quiet solitude in the country out here.” She said softly.((BTW are you Chester or Mike?)) Brian laughed out loud, his laugh was loud, and he obviously enjoyed it, “Wow, thank you I needed that, I have never seen a person that did not know me. Having a conversation with you, it’s kinda refreshing to tell you the truth”. When she went to the chair he shook his head and stood up, walking to her, he grabbed her on his hands and placed her gently on the bed, “Stay, you have a daughter that you need to rest to see tomorrow”. He smiled walking to the couch and sitting on it, “so you don’t come back”. He grinned as he looked out to the outside, “We do a lot of charity work, even though we are classified as heavy metal we do a lot of make a wish foundation stuff as well”. He turned serious and kept her eyes looking out the window, “Of course, we know the fans are just that, fans. However, each one of us wants that something special, that special girl that goes with the band no matter the consequences and just hang out with us. I really don’t care if she has a child, I would treat that child as my own. There was only one person that understood me, and she died in a car crash while I was in a concert”. He sighed looking down and shaking his head, “It was after the concert I showed you that I received the news, reason why I keep that concert there to remind me of that day”. He looked at the time and sighed, it was getting pretty late and his phone’s battery was slowly draining. Furthermore, he took out the battery and replaced it with a new one as he placed the old one back on his pocket this time leaving the phone turned off. “You should go to sleep, I will keep watch and make sure everything is alright”. He smiled at her as he looked outside, the woman was very beautiful however he has seen a lot of beautiful woman around his concerts. Something about her was keeping him interested in her. She yelped and giggled when he grabbed her and carried her over to the bed and placed her there before sitting in her favored chair. “That’s just not fair!” She whined with a cheesy smile. “I may have a daughter, but I’ve pulled my fair share of all-nighters.” She said softly. Though as of late, she doubted she would be able to hold one eye open once one o’clock rolled around. She shrugged and leaned back on the queen bed and shrugged. She lazily kicked her shoes off which fell to the floor with a light thud, and then slowly stood up to pull off her work shirt. Underneath she had a simple black tank top on that barely concealed the baby blue bra that she wore beneath. The tight jeans that she wore fit her lower body perfectly, but it also irritated her that they weren’t her comfy stretch pants she loved to sleep in. At home, she could probably be classified as a strait up bum. When she looked at the size of the bed. “Look…you’ve proven to be a gentleman, we can be adults about this. Why don’t we both share the bed? I’m sure the extra body heat will be welcomed here shortly anyway.” She said softly when she felt the first nip. But she could never sleep with a coat on. She stood up and grabbed the blanket he had put on the floor before draping it over the bed as well, bringing the blanket count to three. She then wiggled her way underneath the soft blankets and checked her cell phone. “Both kiddos are asleep!” She finally cheered lightly. No text in a good twenty minutes had to be a good sign. She saw she had a missed text from Alaina’s father, who said he’d be at the inn bright and early to help dig her out so they all could have Christmas with their families. After a few moments she realized that regardless of whether she was able to drive her car to her house, he would not be able to leave. “I know this may sound odd…but this place can be really creepy when you’re by yourself…would you like to join me and Hope for Christmas dinner?” She offered. “I have enough food thawing right now, and I’m sure Hope won’t be paying anybody mind once I give her the little gift my brother and I got her.” She suggested lightly. Brian looked over at her, she as a single mother indeed, but he knew as well as everybody she would have quite a few tales to tell. He just smirked as he looked out, his eyes were wide opened as if he wasn’t sleepy at all, in fact remaining awake at these hours were pretty normal for him. He looked out, the chill of the room slowly making their presence known as he just sighed, if this was his van this would be resolved easily with a good soup, book and a good blanket. His eyes started to inspect the room, everything seemed to hold up which was very good, although he was worried about the loss in the drinks down below, something like that would affect her for a while. His thoughts were broken when she spoke once again, she wanted somebody heat and the only one there was him. Taking a deep breath he just shook his head, “Okay….”. He stood up and walked besides her laying down on the other side of the bed while his hands went under the pillow. The bed as soft which was very good, sometimes a good old bed was better than a new one in so many ways. He looked at her, and he just nodded, “Sure thing, I would like to get the okay of the other lady of the family first though. I won’t step a foot inside until she gives the okay” he smiles obviously putting her daughter first over himself.“What if I give your family a backstage pass to my next concert? I mean that is the least I could do for making this a pretty good night, it has been quite awhile since I was able to relax like this”. He looked besides to her and smiled, “You are quite a beautiful lady, don’t let anybody tell you otherwise”. He smiled as he sighed looking up to the ceiling obviously a bit nervous being so close to a girl that he found interesting at least. “I don't know…the other lady of the house already thinks she’s miss than. She may just have to give you the Hopewell rant of the century if you keep hitting on me.” She teased lightly. Furthermore, she playfully nudged her side against his arm and gave him a small smile. Furthermore, she gave him a teasing smile as she looked over at him while he suggested a backstage pass.“There you go again, ruining my little fantasy of the Linkin Park people.” She teased lightly. “And here I thought they were handsome men dressed in pink frilly dresses with obscene amounts of makeup on their faces while they sang magical lyrics.” She said lightly. She shifted her body so that she was facing him under the blanket, her smile not once leaving her face. Furthermore, she leaned close to him and whispered in his ear, “Then again, I can’t deny that you’re much handsomer than I imagined.” She said softly in his ear. She laid her head on the pillow and smiled up at him. “Don’t offer anything. Can’t you just believe that some people do things to be kind just to be kind?” She offered softly. “Besides, I am officially on temporary unemployment for at least a month and a half.” She teased lightly. “I’ll need a friend to keep me from going insane. “At least for the duration of this storm.” She added lightly. She had no intention of accepting a free pass to his concert. One thing she felt awkward doing was accepting things given to her for free. He heard her talking and just remained quiet hearing her out for a bit before he heard what he was waiting for. She thought he was handsome, and she was obviously hitting on him which was very good. He leaned over and looked at her eyes, he leaned closer before their faces were right in front of each other. He slowly kissed her mouth gently as his eyes focused on her reaction, once he kissed her he backed away, "oh sorry". That was an old trick that he learned from his damn brother, kiss her and make her want more of it. This way if she begged he could say she asked him to do so, and he would be out of trouble. He smirked looking at her obviously he wasn't sorry for the kiss. He grinned as he looked down at her and lay back into his side of the bed waiting and hoping she would make the next move. She hadn't been ready for the kiss, but it didn't mean that she didn't want it. When she felt lips against hers she felt something flare to life inside of her that had not been there before. With a small smile she leaned forward and brushed her lips against his teasingly. "Well if you're sorry, then I won't give you anymore." She said with a teasing tone. She had heard of the stupid trick guys used it, and women had their own games to play with those men. She rolled onto her back and brushed her fingers against her lips, pretending to feel hot and bothered, when in reality her heart was strumming along to its own little tune, and she felt exhilarated, but not quite as horny as she had once felt in her teenaged years. "A man who is indeed sorry to have kissed a woman...an odd thing indeed...oh well I guess that would make him gay?" She teased as she quirked an eyebrow at him. She had played that trick on an old friend whom she had had a crush on for the longest time. It had ended the way she had wanted with him kissing her to a feverish pitch, what she hadn't anticipated was that two years later she'd be without that friend and with a daughter in his place. Not that she'd trade it for the world. He grinned once she began playing back with him, it was clear enough that she wanted it as badly as he wanted it. Once again he leaned over her and placed his finger on top of her lips to shut her up. His eyes looked at her, and he just smirked, leaning over and kissing her once again this time it was like he mean it. His eyes closed as his tongue darted inside her mouth playing with her tongue. His hand moving all over her body and then resting on one of her breasts covered by the shirt and bra. He looked down at her as he broke the kiss, but then he began to kiss her neck, gently biting her neck and then licking the spot he had bitten. He hasn't had good sex in quite a while, all the times he had it was just dull they had no emotion to it. This girl however was truly getting into it which was always appreciated. He looked at her and smirked as he kissed her lips once again, "Am I gay?". He grinned moving a hand under the girls pants and panties and gently rubbing her clit, "If you want me to stop just say so and I will. This man had a way with his mouth. The way that his lips brushed against her lips, teased her throat. Already her nipples were puckered and hard, and moisture was pooling between her legs. “I don’t know.” She breathed out in response to his question. Normally she had enough wits to keep playing at that thought, but now he was only making her body feel hot and bothered. Already the cold outside the blanket did not matter. Her lips caressed his when he returned his lips to her own, her hand gently moving down from where they had been by her hips, and instead sliding into his pants. She managed to push the fabric down past his ass, which caused for his erection to spring out. Her hand gently touched his thick member, the smooth skin sliding easily in her hand as she gently started to stroke him. She hadn’t had sex since she had been two months pregnant, and at that point, all she wanted was to feel loved and cherished again. To feel the undeniable pleasure that sex brought her. At one point she would have thought about the consequences of sleeping with someone, but at the same time, she knew almost everybody had one-night stands. And this would sort of be one after he left for his band. She figured he would leave, and she’d be only a distant memory of the man who was in a great band. She felt her body shift with his hand still in her pants, the moisture coating the finger he teased her with. “I never do this.” She warned softly, referring to both not having sex or sleeping with strangers. He felt her pushing his pants out of the way, and he helped her the rest of the way sliding them off completely. He grinned as he continued to kiss her neck, his fingers moving on her clit softly massaging the soft flesh that was slowly hardening. Feeling her warm hands on his cock he could not do anything other than to moan, his eyes never closed every piece of flesh he wanted to see, to taste and to enjoy. When she warned him he stopped the kissing and smiled, "I could stop whenever you wish, just let me know and we can stop all this". He knew that she would not stop, but he had been with cases that they did and did not felt comfortable which was more than okay. He began to unbutton her pants and push them down as well with her panties. Furthermore, he then helped her out from her shirt, and he removed his as well. Once they were both naked he continued kissing her neck and going down to her left breast staying there on her nipple for a while sucking and gently biting feeling her nipple get hard in his mouth. His hand moved once again to her pussy pushing a finger inside this time as his other finger massaged her clit. "If you want me to stop just say Red and I will stop everything" he smirked slowly and gently slapping the girls clit as he sucked her nipple switching from slapping a few times to fingering her and rubbing her clit. She looked down at him when he told her to simply say the magic word when she wanted him to stop. Not even her ex had been so considerate. Once he had had her naked and she had cried out when he took her virginity, he did not stop, nor was he gentle about it either. But after he had stripped her clean and kissed his way down to her aching breasts. She closed her eyes and slid her arms around his shoulders, her thighs parting to fit him perfectly in the valley of her body. She hadn't expected Christmas Eve to be like this. A disheartening blizzard or this attractive and deviously delicious. She looked down at him with a small smile and shifted her body so that her lips brushed against his. "How about I respectfully decline that offer?" She whispered against his lips as she shifted, so her legs wrapped around his waist. She tangled her fingers into his hair and met his tongue with her own, her smaller more pliant body relaxing beneath his as she readied herself for the one thing that she had wanted for a while. He let out a moan once he felt her push him up and meet his lips with hers, without wasting time he kissed her back and slowly began to grind his member against her pussy. She was so wet down there it was clear what she needed, and he would waste no more time giving it to her, he grinned pushing his cock deep inside her pussy in one thrust giving her time to adjust to him. He was by no means small, but he wasn't huge either, he was a perfect size for a normal-sized woman which this woman was. He slowly pushed out and then pushed back in, his balls slamming against the lower part of her pussy the wet sound of flesh filling the room. Thankful that he was alone with her in here he could relax and fuck her until she could no longer remain awake. He broke the kiss and started once again on her neck as his hips started moving forward and back making a rhythm as his cock moved in and out from her wet pussy. "You are so tight.... I love it" he groaned as he started to speed things up and then slower it down making sure she enjoyed every inch of his cock and that he could prolong the pleasure for as much as he could. Holly was tense when she felt him slide into her, her body feeling awkward as he slid into her. Her lips continued to work against his as she felt him grinding against her. At first, he was slow and gentle, her body easily growing accustomed to his size and the feeling of him inside of her. With her breathing a tad bit heavier, she simply laid beneath him, getting used to the feelings he made her feel, not really being able to do anything other than moan softly and perhaps arch her back causing her lush breasts to jut forward, her pearled nipples contrasting against her soft creamy flesh. As his pace became faster and more confident, she felt more pleasure coming from him. The wet sounds of his balls slapping against her moist folds beneath her entrance, or how the small amount of hair tickled at the clit as his hips met hers completely. It didn’t take long for her body to shatter beneath his. As he thrust into her, she felt slightly ashamed that she was already crying out loudly, her nails scratching his back as pleasure raked her body. Her already tight body clenched around his, her body spasming around his as her heart beat became erratic. She felt the soaring pleasure take her to new heights, which was surprising. She had never really felt something so strongly, but with him, she did. He heard her moans, and he could not help but to want to please her more and more. He stopped while his cock was buried deep inside her pussy letting her feel it's filling her up. Furthermore, he kissed her forehead and then moved down to her lips tasting that sweet taste of her lips as he grabbed it gently with his teeth and let it go kissing her after. Furthermore, he slowly started moving again this time going nearly all the way out and slamming his cock all the way in one thrust. Furthermore, he kept this for a good while letting her feel his balls slamming against her pussy and his cock going all the way inside her folds. She was very tight and knew how to please him well, he was moaning with her each time he slammed his cock inside her wet and needy pussy. He looked down at her as her pressure starting building up, he knew she was near orgasm and knew exactly how to get her to have one. He leaned over and began to play with the girl's earlobe using his mouth and tongue. Furthermore, he loved every taste of her, he loved how her skin felt and how her body quivered under his. Furthermore, he had a very strong body aside from the fact that he looked lean. Furthermore, he focused only on certain parts of his body which made his body very strong and to a point very sexy to most woman. Furthermore, he groaned slowly knowing that his own orgasm was soon to arrive, his eyes looking at hers as his hips did not stop moving. She clung to him for dear life as he rocked inside of her body, heightening that sensational orgasm that she had just experienced. Already her body was covered in a glowing cover of sweat, their bodies already slicking together and rocking the bed they were on against the wall. Fortunately for the both of them, nobody else was in the building, or it would have disturbed anyone in the rooms surrounding it. Her cries of pleasure were breathless and loud, whilst his were low guttural grunts of pleasure. She could feel how the old rickety bed beneath they swayed with his motions, the slight creaking of the ancient bed frame joining her cries and his groans. After she was able to recover from her overwhelming orgasm, she gave him a small kiss before relaxing her legs around him before using her foot to roll him onto his back, her body instantly sitting up. The blanket they had been under fell to their waists as she rode him with a furious passion, her body rolling erotically as she adjusted her body so that he would feel the most pleasure as well. If she had gotten anything from her past relationship, it had been how to be on top. She tossed her head back, the fury of red curls brushing against his thighs as she rode him passionately. She remained like that for several moments, occasionally giving him a sexy smile as she tried to ride him to his own orgasm. Furthermore, she finally shifted positions and leaned forward to brush her lips against his as she crashed her hims down against his. He smiled as she finally had her orgasm, he always thrived in pleasuring the woman first then handling his own pleasure. He was pleasantly surprised when she turned him around, and she began to ride him. The force of her weight going up and down his cock was amazing, he placed both hands on her waist trying to hold the orgasm for as much as he could wanting her to feel at least another orgasm before he even came. He let out a grunt as she moved down and began to kiss him. He held her tightly as he let her move her hips up and down his cock knowing his orgasm was soon to come. Looking at her, he groaned and closed his eyes his orgasm finally releasing out of him and filling her pussy up with his seed. He knew that he could not have children so he did not worry about that for now. He held her close and smiled kissing her lips softly holding her in place between his arms. Finally he let her rest besides him as he looked up to the ceiling with a smile on his face, "fuck... that was the best sex ever..... thank you......". He smiled kissing her lips softly before he pulled her next to him, the blizzard was going all out outside and they were already tired. He could go for a second round after a bit of rest though. Riding him to his climax had been mind shattering. Even more so when she felt herself shudder and feel a tremendous amount of pleasure from the feeling of his seed filling her. She guessed that was how she had gotten pregnant the first time. However, she was going to trust him when he said he couldn’t have children. She relaxed against him and slid to his side, her body still glistening with sweat as she curled close to him. The effects of being up at the crack of dawn that morning was slowly starting to penetrate her adrenaline filled evening. She brushed her lips against his as his words rang in her mind.“It would sound too cliché if I said the same thing, so I’ll simply say that you’re more fulfilling than my ex.” She murmured softly. Furthermore, she doubted he would believe that she had only had one partner. Especially after simply jumping into the sack with him. She kissed his lips softly and laid her head on his shoulder, pulling the blanket up over her shoulder and tucking it around his chest as she quietly calmed her erratic heart beat. By the time she was breathing normally again, she was drifting off to sleep, her exhaustion starting to creep in. Her eyes became heavy and as she dozed on and off she didn’t realize that the snow was slowly starting to ease. By the time morning would come it would be only a small flurry, definitely enough to get them dug out in only a matter of a half an hour. If that. He smiled when he heard her talking about sex, yes it was a bit cliché, but he did not care. He felt the blanket over him, and he smiled moving his arm over her back and slowly moving it up and down. Furthermore, he sighed as he watched her fall asleep on his shoulder it brought back so many memories. Furthermore, he looked up to the ceiling and then at the window, the snow was slowly going down which was perfect. Furthermore, he sighed as he closed his eyes slowly falling into a deep sleep. His eyes heavy as well from the days event and from having a very warm body next to him. When he woke up the machines were already starting to take them out by taking out the smokes. He yawned as he stretched his back slowly moving the woman a bit so she woke up also. Standing up he looked outside the window and nodded, "Better get dressed they are pulling us out". He grabbed his clothes and slowly began to get dressed taking a moment to clean his face a bit on the bathroom. Once he had his pants up the put on his boots which were clean by now and his shirt. She had not wanted to wake up when she felt him moving her. So when he told her they were digging her out, she bolted out and hurried to the window, making sure to cling the blanket to her body. Down there she could see the old tow truck and a few men plowing around the vehicles and the door, making sure that they were getting out rather fast. She hurried to her pile of clothes and pulled on her pants and underclothes, making sure to not forget a piece of her clothes. By the time she was fully dressed, she was completely awake and feeling completely awkward. She settled on the bed and pulled her socks on that had been kicked off in the throes of their heated sex. By the time she walked downstairs with all of her items tucked in her purse, she couldn't believe what she saw. The bar was like a winter wonderland. Already a crew was covering the broken window with wood, and they had her boss on the phone telling him of the disaster. Holly went to the bar and locked the liquor cabinet and took out the money before putting it into the safe. By the time the office was locked up, and the bar was locked up, they were able to walk out through the door. When she walked out into the white world that the snow had created, she had to squint her eyes as she looked up at the man. "Have you called Alaina yet?" She asked softly as she went to her old pickup and opened the ancient door and turned the engine over. There were chains around the tires that had not been there, which she had to be grateful to John who had helped her out almost her whole life." Eh, they're both fine. The wife took over breakfast and minus a little worried about you, both kids are fine." He said lightly. "Though it is horrible that that little girl didn't wake up to those presents under the tree." He said softly, knowing that it had been a big plan of Holly's. "Eh! I'll distract her and have my friend put things under the tree." She said as she looked at the door. "He came in last night and kind of got snowed in with me. We were trying to catch up." She said softly. After a few more words with John, Holly hurried in and went to Brian. "She gave him a small smile and took his hand. "Come on! We've got a few pit stops, but the bar is closed up for a while and I have a few pit stops I need to make before we get to go and meet the lady of the house." She said brightly. He followed her quietly and sighed when they finally could go out. As soon as he got out he checked his car which was now totaled, "Oh great...". While the woman talked to the man about personal issues that he wasn't going to meddle in. He opened the door and after taking out a few pounds of snow he took out a notebook and smirked as he had it in hand, "Now we can go...". He walked back to the girl just in time for her to pick up his hand and practically drag him to her truck, "The lady of the house? oh, right your daughter?". He smiled and nodded at her, "Sure thing". He got on the truck and sighed as he turned on his phone and instantly beeped text messages. He made quickly a phone call and waited for them to pick up, outside was cold, but he knew very well that it could be worse. "Yeah... Chester? Look bro I got snowed inside the bar, but we quickly got to the second floor...yea the bartender and me..... yeah...... I guess it's the right choice, I mean who would dare make a concert after the damn snow storm?...MMM.... I am going to stay for a few she wants me to eat dinner with her family... you idiot I will call you once I am ready, oh by the way pick me up the car was totaled, okay I will call you". He hanged up and looked at her with a smile on his face. He looked at his cellphone and his eyes went wide as if he suddenly had an idea, "Hey I got an idea, what if you join us in our tour?. Come with me, you and your daughter of course. I mean we can hang out, and we can get to know each other, you would not have to worry about money ever again since I will provide for you both while you hang out with us and even after that". He smiled looking at her and waiting for her answer knowing it must come as a full shock to her. She looked at him as if he were completely insane. “Hun I don’t know what you smoked last night.” She murmured to him as she pulled out of the parking spot, only getting momentarily stuck when she first hit the gas pedal. After a few minutes of maneuvering her vehicle, she finally made it out onto the white roads. She quietly drove through the quite town, watching as lights flickered on and kids hurried to the Christmas tree. “I should probably clarify some things for you.” she murmured realizing that she may have come off a little bitchy.”Hope’s father was my first boyfriend, and last.” She said softly. “I dated him for three years before we even thought about having sex…and then a year after that I got pregnant.” She said softly. “When I found out I was pregnant, four years of a relationship vanished as if it didn’t matter and he left. Of course, I found out later he was cheating on me, but it didn’t matter. She said softly. “With my experience since I’ve had her…no guy wants anything to do with me.” she murmured softly as she pulled into a driveway. “I’ll be right back.” She added quickly as she dropped out of the truck and hurried into the house, grabbing the spare key from under the mailbox that hung on the wall by the door. She walked in and fed the dogs quickly and grabbed the rather large package full of puppy toys and a bed and dog food, and then the second large box that she planned on putting the puppy in. Furthermore, she carried the boxes out to the car and fit them between the two of them before hurrying back into the house and scooping up the tiny little puppy that looked like a Rottweiler. When she got into the car, the puppy instantly started whining and licking at her fingers before stumbling over to his lap where he sniffed everywhere.“I just… I don’t know. I don’t think a famous band is going to want to have a woman and her one-year-old traveling with you guys. Furthermore, I don’t want to be a bother to anybody, nor do I want my daughter around anything bad.” She said softly. “I refuse to drink, I don’t do drugs, and despite last night, I don’t normally have sex. You actually were my first since I was about two months.” She said softly. She pulled out of the parking spot and drove down the street a little farther where John’s truck was already sitting. Furthermore, she pulled into her parking spot and drove her vehicle into the garage before shutting the car off.“This is most definitely a big decision, not only for me but for you and the people that you work with.” She said softly to him. “I’ve known you for one night, please give me a little more time?” She asked. She was scared. It was evident in her eyes as she grabbed the two boxes. A small cage had already been brought over to her house and was sitting in the living room, which had been a toy for her daughter under strict supervision for a while. It had been a joke at first, and then she had covered it with a quilt. When she sat the boxes right next to the door, she reached onto a shelf and produced a rather large pink ribbon. Once she had the ribbon in her hands, she moved to the puppy and tied it gently around collar before setting her on the seat. When she walked into the house, she leads him through the door, making sure the puppy was inside the truck so they wouldn’t get into anything. She only intended to keep the pup in there for perhaps ten minutes if that. When she walked into the small house, she heard a loud squeal and then laughter. She looked into the living room where she saw Alaina pulling her jacket on, and Hope (grabbed hold of her leg as soon as she was close enough. Holly scooped up her daughter and kissed her playfully on the cheek. “There’s my sunshine!” She said brightly. She looked behind her and motioned for him to come in. Just as she kicked off her boots, Alaina slipped into hers. Before Holly could think of anything else she moved to her cookie jar and pulled out two twenties which was all in there and handed it to the little girl as she held her daughter. “I’m sorry you had to stay the night.” She said softly to the girl. “Merry Christmas, I’d have given you more, but that’s all I have until I get paid.” She said softly. After they said their goodbyes, and her daughter had waddled off to a small pile of toys in the corner that were from Holly’s own childhood, she turned to Brian. She wanted to set up the few presents and the puppy under their little three-foot Christmas tree that sat on a coffee table in the corner of her living room. She gave him a small smile and moved to scoop her daughter up before moving the little girl to face him. “Can you say hi Hope?” She asked as the little girl eyed him with her hand in her mouth. He heard her talking and said nothing as they drove around the town looking outside. When they finally got to the first stop he walked with her and helped her in whatever he could. Once they were back in the car he looked at her and then searched his phone for some pictures, “That thin bald guy it’s Chester, my brother. He goes to every concert with his wife and twin girls, the batteries has his girlfriend that brings along. I don’t drink either it’s bad for my voice, the only ones that truly drink are Chester and Jacob the guitarist. Look I am not asking you to go with me forever I just want you to take a little adventure with us. Bring your daughter along I am sure Chester’s wife will be all over your daughter, and she will have a lot of friends to play with”. He looked outside and smiled at her, it was a nice place, he missed places like that where you could be yourself without fearing the media. When they finally parked he turned to look at her and smiled, “I am not asking you to abandon your life, that would be too much. What I am asking you it’s to take a chance and enjoy your life. I will leave your house paid for completely I have enough money that I have no idea what to do with it. I will also ensure your daughters' education it’s paid for. Right now you have no work since the bar went down with the blizzard, what are you going to do?. I am just asking you to think about it and take a chance, your daughter and you deserve some fun. Take your time to think about it, I am sure the rest of the guys won’t really care, on the contrary they would be delighted to see you”. He watched her bring the puppy down, and he could not help but to smile, “And you can bring the puppy as well if you want”. He grinned looking at the puppy and patting his head before the box covered him. Furthermore, he walked out of the truck and waited outside for a bit as he looked around the place. Furthermore, he watched the girl exit with two twenties and he stopped her. “Give me the twenties” at first she began to protest, but he showed her a one hundred dollar bill. “That is for the trouble I caused by arriving late to the bar”. She smiled and waved as she ran to her car. Walking inside he gave her the two twenties and looked at Hope. He always had a soft spot for babies and that one wasn’t any different. “Can I?” he gently grabbed the baby and placed it on his arms slowly moving her around as he watched her smile and laugh touching his face. Once the mother finished with the packages he gave the baby back and smiled, at her “Awesome place, much better than the hotels in the sense that it’s very warm, there is much love on this house”. He sat on the couch and looked around with a smile on his face. He smiled at her and then looked at Holy, “Hikaru” he started playing with her as he covered his face and then revealed it causing Holy to laugh. Furthermore, he sighed leaning down on the couch and closing his eyes he wanted a place like this for when he retired for sure. Holly smiled softly at him and brushed her lips against his before they walked into the house. But when he had demanded the twenties back, she too was about to protest, and even after Alaina left with the money she looked at him as if he were crazy once more. “I’m not used to people doing things like this. I’ve always worked for what money I have.” She mumbled softly to him. Though her daughter’s education was one thing that she had worried about when she had found out that she had been pregnant. After a little while she relaxed. While he played with her daughter she quickly popped the ham into the oven which had been prepped already in the fridge, and made up two hot teas and an apple juice for Hope. Once she handed him his tea, she sat on the couch and smiled at her daughter. “Hey I’ve got an idea! Why don’t you show Brian here your ballerina tutu?!” She said. Out of all the things her daughter enjoyed it was dress up. Unfortunately that also entailed what makeup or good clothes she had was sampled by her rambunctious daughter who had managed to find a way to make both her and her mother laugh all the time. She kissed Brian softly on the cheek. “Can you keep her busy for like ten minutes?” She asked. She scooped up her daughter, giving her a raspberry as she lifted her up. Alain had done a good job with dressing Hope in footie pajamas that she still wore, but she had a clean diaper on and looked to be ready to do anything. When she reached the small bedroom down the hall from the living room, she nudged the door open with her hip and sat her daughter down on the floor. There were a few bins filled to the brim with clothes, but one in particular was an aged chest that had been left open with extra support, so the lid wouldn’t snap down on her hand. She crawled over to the bin and lifted herself into a standing position only to pull out a big pink frilly tutu. The cutest part of her daughter was watching her put the tutu on her head and start clapping her hands and bouncing around as she laughed hysterically. Even as she left Brian to the devices of her daughter, she knew that he would be okay with her. His offer had been overwhelming. But the lure to get to know the man that she had slept with the night before and to see how he reacted to her daughter was too good to be true. As she moved to her bedroom and pulled the few boxes she had hidden in her bedroom out of the closet she carried them into the living room and sat them on the floor beside the tree. She then went out and got both boxes before carrying the puppy inside. As she sat down on the couch, she calmed the puppy enough to sit her in the box. She hit the box on the other side of the couch just in case the puppy got rambunctious and then moved to the bedroom once more. “Hope… Sandy Claws came to visit.” She said in a light voice, quoting one of the movies she had watched with her daughter only a few nights before. As she walked in she smiled at Brian. “Just by how you reacted to her, I accept.” She whispered to him softly as she lifted her daughter up who was still clutching her tutu. “No!” She cried as she clung to the fabric. He looked at her as she motioned him to play with her daughter which he was delighted to do. He followed her to her room and waited until she placed the tutu on and began dancing around. Furthermore, he laughed and began saying how beautiful she looked with the dress on and that she was a little princess and the like, things all children would love to hear. Furthermore, he hummed as he began to sing a soft lullaby to the girl which instantly she sat down to hear and clap obviously excited. When she came back he grinned and picked her up hearing her saying yes made him smile. He said nothing as he followed them to the main room and set Hope down to the floor as he sat near her. He was still with the cup of tea and by now most of it was gone, it was quite delicious. Furthermore, he handed her the cup and nodded, “Thank you for the tea, it was great”. Furthermore, he grinned as he looked at her, “It’s always this quiet around here?, I wish I had a house as quiet as this one. You say you want to come with me, or rather you accept going out with me. Would you agree if I call the guys out here so you can meet them and decide finally if that is what you want?. They are in town since the concert got canceled, and they are staying near the hotel. I assure you they are very nice people you would love them, they are having Christmas dinner on the trailer”. Holly smiled lightly at him and nodded. “It is a nice quite town. Though it’s kind of bad when they know everyone.” She said softly. “This place most definitely has some drawbacks.” She added softly. As she settled on the floor with her daughter she situated the first present that she wanted her daughter to open. The rest were dolls and small things she had been able to get as the year had gradually gone by.“Call them and tell them to come over now…though I’ve got to have her open this gift really fast.” She said. She looked at the box where she could see it popping up and dropping. Furthermore, she settled on the floor and pulled the huge box that was full of the puppy supplies in it. Having opened presents only days before for her birthday, she balanced herself against the box and started to shred the paper, using all of her weight to pull it down. When it was clear of all the paper she looked questioningly from the box to her mother. “What?!” She asked in a shrill girly voice. “Mama! What!” Holly could only giggle as she opened the box and pushed it to the side where her daughter crawled around and inspected the insides. The look on her face said ‘What could I possibly do with this?’ She pulled out a packet of tennis balls and sat down attempting to open it. With a light giggle she pushed it all aside and stood up and grabbed the box, sliding it across the floor to prevent really jostling the puppy. Before her daughter could assault the box she pulled out her own cell phone and handed it to him. “Could you take a picture of her reaction for me?” She asked softly. “I promised my brother I’d get her reaction.” She said lightly. After she had the box in front of Hope, Holly stood her up and leaned her against her chest while she showed her how to open the box. “Go ahead lift the lid.” She said softly to her daughter. At first, she struggled with it, her tiny hands barely able to grip hold of the wrapped box. But the puppy decided to pop its head out at that time, and barked out. Holly pulled the lid off just as her daughter squealed in delight and clapped her hands. “Puppy! Mama! Puppy!” She screamed. She had gotten the chance to see her uncles' puppy” She seemed so excited, so when Holly lifted the small puppy out and sat her onto the ground, the two started to play. The puppy sniffing and licking at Hope’s face while she hugged the puppy only to topple backwards onto the floor. He nodded taking his cellphone and leaving it besides him while she opened the present. He took her cellphone and pointed the camera towards the baby and saw her reaction. Brian could not help but to laugh at how happy the baby seemed with the puppy. After taking a small video he gave the phone back to her and grabbed his own phone and went out to the kitchen, “Chester! Yea bro… she says you can come over meet her and the like she will be my roadie, yeah man I like her…. Ok follow GPS here and I will see you around”. He hanged up the phone and turned on a program where his brother could track down Brian’s phone. “They are coming” he sat down and looked at the baby and the dog play together making him smile as he leaned back to watch the two babies play with each other. A couple of minutes passed, and two huge trailers parked in front of the house. Each one of them had the logo of ‘Linking Park’ written all over the trailer. From the first trailer came out a rather thin guy with tattoo’s over his arms, next came down a blonde girl with a set of twins. The other ones to come down were a Chinese guy with a computer, next were two bald guys with beards and finally a man with long hair and blue eyes with a brunette. Brian went out and hugged the tattoo guy and then the blonde taking on his arms one of the twins while the other followed. He pointed at Holly and smiled, “Guys this is Holly, Holly that is my brother Chester with his wife and twins. Next its Hero with his computer he never lets go. After that it’s Jonathan and Edward followed and then Jacob with his girlfriend Nikki”. Then a man in a business suit came down and smiled at Brian hugging him, “This is our promoter and the guy responsible for making us famous Teddy”. They all went inside and one by one hugged Holly welcoming her to the group. The girls instantly looked at Hope and rushed to the baby playing with her followed by the twins. Brian nodded at Holly, “No worries, Hope it’s safe you can trust the girls”. ((If it’s okay I can take some of the characters you’re bringing, maybe the women if you want me to, you have a ton of characters you just brought on.) She gave Brian a small smile. “I’m sure she’ll be fine.” She said softly to him as she closed the door behind the last person. As they all found themselves situating in the house, she welcomed them all in and excused herself to the kitchen where she had a nice idea for dinner since she didn’t have enough for a ham dinner. She figured they had their own meal in the bus, but it paled in comparison made at home over an open flame, and something that was relatively homemade. She quietly set to work using a rather large soup pan where she started with a good amount of cheese and milk and worked her way up from there making a nice thick and hearty chowder. She kept poking out into the living room which could fit a good amount of people. Hope and the twins had to sit on the floor, but the rest were all comfortably seated around. “Dinner’s almost finished.” She said softly to Brian as she leaned against him smiling as everyone chatted happily. The puppy was overexcited, jumping from one person to the other licking happily and sniffing hands as they petted her and gave her a ton of attention. And to top it off, she got to stand there and enjoy seeing her daughter interact with other children. She at first was reluctant, but slowly started to open up. She watched as Hope crawled to the corner where Holly kept the toys neatly stacked and started to bring them out to play with the other kids. Holly could only smile lightly as all the children played together. Holly slipped back into the kitchen, this time setting to work with dicing up the rather hot ham. But after a good amount of hissing in pain as she burned herself repeatedly, she finally had a good amount of it diced and in the soup where she had already had a good chunk boiling to add some flavor to it. As she lowered the soup down to a simmer she poked her head out of the kitchen and looked around. “What would everyone like to drink?” She asked softly. (I only plan to play a couple of them at a time of course)Chester smiled as he wondered up to the kitchen and waved, "May I come in?". He smiled looking around and smiling, "I could take that drink if you want to". Leaning into the wall he smiled at her and nodded, "Brian seemed to be head over heals in love with you. However, I must ask you to not hurt his feelings, he has been hurt too many times already and does not need another one". He took the drink and slowly began to drink it, "Ever since his Ex died he hasn't been the same, we invited him to parties and all that stuff, and he never goes. Somehow he grew a liking to you and once he does that he can be a faithful dog as ever". He sighed looking out to the group and shaking his head, "The road it's tough and having someone there for us clearly lessen our worries, welcome to the group Holly and welcome your daughter also to the family". He went out just as Brian was coming in, "Huh? Everything okay?". He began to help Holly around as much as he could not really want her to do all the work. "Tell me about the babysitter, I can imagine she is doing that for her education, taking care of Hope I mean". He smiles as he helped out clean the table and place the stuff neatly around as if he had done all of this before. "Do you know we all take almost two million dollars per concert? The reason why I am telling you this is if your think would be wise to give her a small present before you leave?" She smiled up at Chester as she sliced easily through some meat. “Don’t worry, I think I’m the one who has more to worry about than he does.” She said softly as she looked out at her daughter with a sad look to her features. “There’s a reason there’s no ‘daddy’ in the picture on my daughter’s first Christmas…and I’m not quite sure if I could handle her getting hurt. If he stays in our lives, I’ll be faithful, I’ve been abandoned and cheated on in the past, there’s not much sympathy for people who cheat, lie, or steal.” She said softly as she stirred everything into the oversized pot. “But I can promise you that I’ll take everything you told me into consideration. It just feels odd, I only met him last night.” She murmured softly to Chester. As Brian walked in she smiled lightly and kissed him as he came close before setting back to work for everything. “Are you talking about Alaina? Our family kind of has this game of generations going on, actually. Her mother baby sat me when I was growing up, I baby sat Alaina when I was growing up, and now Alaina baby sits my daughter.” She said softly giving him an understanding of what it was like in town. “This is a poor community. Any money that she makes, goes to getting herself clothes for school or other necessities, and the occasional must-have.” she shrugged. “Around here there isn’t much business…well except maybe right now. Her father owns the construction company that patched up the hole and will do renovations.” She explained softly.“Honestly I don’t know. Brian…this is your money. I’m not asking you or telling you how to spend it. If we are to have a relationship… I want you to know that money doesn’t matter to me. You see I’m doing fine with a fantastic job working forty hours a week. Can I afford or even contemplate setting up a college fund for Hope? No. “But I can give her love and the foundation to get the hell out of town when she’s old enough. For all I care, you’re a mechanic that works at the fantastic garage down the road.” She said with a light smile. “You’re just a regular guy…not this famous singer from Linkin Park.” She said softly. Now that she heard the words out loud she winced and realized that it sounded horrible, at least to her. “Ignore anything if it offended you. Just take it as I’m trying to say is that it’s your money, and it’s all yours to do with it as you please.” She explained softly. “Money doesn’t matter to me. What does is that you’re not going to build up this false relationship with my daughter and just disappear? You can mess with me all you want…but please…be serious about this.” She said softly. Chester’s words still rang in her mind, and so was her dominant worry that this was all some sort of game. He shook his head, “I am not going to build false pretenses, I like your daughter she is cute and very happy you are a great mother. I am not the type of guy who abandons people just like that, and you can ask anybody”. He took his small ring from his neck and showed it to her, “This was my engagement ring with my Ex-wife. The reason why I still have if it’s because I haven’t abandoned her yet even though she is dead she still lives through me”. He hanged his ring back up and smiled, “I value relationships over everything else, even my career on linking park”. He sighed looking outside through the window, “I remember when I was a kid, Chester and I used to go around practicing with the guitars and such singing a lot of stuff. Furthermore, he always had a high pitch noise I always had a lower one. We decided to combine those two traits, rock and rap to form Linking Park. I remember Chester asking me to not abandon this, and I never did and look where we are now”. He smiles looking back at her and taking a deep breath as they finished upsetting everything up. Looking at her, he just smiled," We are going to do a music video next so it will be awhile on the road before we stop. Make sure you pack as much as you need although if you need anything else we can provide for both of you and for the looks of things the girls are in love with Hope”. He grinned looking outside at how both girls began to play with the twins and Hope and their toys. “The babies have their own cradle inside the bus Hope it’s going to be sleeping with them so they will be safe. You will sleep with me in my bed, so nothing will change for the rest of the guys are you okay with that?”. She smiled softly when he spoke about his past. How he was true to everything. How he still remained true to his wife, or how he had stayed with the band all those years ago. But those were things that she saw differently. She bit her lower lip and looked up at him. She knew that she couldn't expect much from him, after all they had been together for less than one night. Hell it seemed too much to ask her to drop her life here and go with him. She quietly leaned back against the counter and listened to how life on the road would be with him. When he mentioned that her daughter would be with children her own age, her reluctance seemed to stop. There was nobody around her age that Holly knew the parents of, and to be sharing a place with a woman who had children her daughter's age would be ideal. She gave him a small smile and nodded. "I guess you could help me pack tonight." She said softly. She looked out to see her daughter playing with the other children, the puppy jumping in and occasionally chewing on a toy before trotting off to sniff one of the guys. Furthermore, she leaned against the counter and sent the video to her brother's cell before telling him she was taking a small vacation with a friend. Just as she was sliding her cell phone in her pocket, she remembered that she had a few odds and ends about her brother's place and his puppy." Would you help me get dinner ready?" She asked as she reached into the oven and produced a large rack of rolls that would be the equivalent of two per person and one for each child. She reached into a drawer and pulled out three bibs before handing him the pink and very girly bibs. "Dinner's ready if you'll get the kids ready. I have a decent sized mat for the floor. I normally use it for snack time, but dinner with three kids also works." She said softly. As she started ladling all the food into separate bowls, she slid three smaller bowls into the freezer to cool the hot liquid enough for a child. He grinned nodding and helping her through with dinner preparations. He knew making her trust him out of the blue was a noway to start it with her so he would let her decide on her own. Furthermore, he hummed as he walked to the mother of the twins and gave her the other two bibs knowing full well what she would do. Grabbing Hope he smirked and offered her the bib which she took and started sucking on the milk as he placed the girl on the floor besides the other two. Going to the table he removed the chair, so Holly could sit, and then he sat himself on another free chair. Slowly all of them started taking their seats and smelling at the cook often complimenting her on it. Chester placed his hands together and started praying to himself and her wife. After the small praying they started to eat with the rest of the guests. Brian smiled as he tasted the food, "There is nothing better than home cooked meals right Chester?". He nodded and smiled at Holly complimenting on her food with that. The rest of the guys started eating and talking about the video and such meanwhile Brian was just quietly eating and not speaking much after the last thing he said. He looked at Holly and smiled at her imagining himself with her in a future hopefully that vision would come reality soon enough. Holly respectfully remained quite as the couple preyed. Being from the town that they were all in, she had been raised to simply believe and live by a moral way of life. When they were finished preying she passed around the rather large bowl of rolls that she had transferred into a rather large bowl. She had made some iced tea to go with the meal and humbly thanked everyone for the compliments. She remained rather quiet throughout the meal, occasionally leaving the table to check on the kids and to clean whatever mess that Hope had somehow made. Eventually she simply gave up on her meal. For so long it had been only her and hope that she had gotten used to eating small meals and picking throughout the day and focusing on feeding her first. She wasn’t used to having guests, the only ones who came to visit were her parents and brother. She knew it would be awkward to tell them that she was leaving for a while, but at the same time, she deserved it. While her brother had managed to score a scholarship for college, she had not been as fortunate. But she had been fortunate enough to get a job starting out as a waitress at Granny’s, and then be crossed trained until she had been the head bartender and manager in training. When Margarine (A.K.A. Granny) had passed on, she had been promoted and had been paid wonderfully, and she got to keep all the tips she made.“Forgive me if I’m a little anti-social… I’m just not used to having people here.” She murmured softly to Brian softly when she settled back down and picked at a roll. The puppy was laying on the designated bed eyeing them with hungry eyes, but remained on the bed just as her brother had taught her. “So how do you guys enjoy being on the road?” She asked finally hoping to get to know the guys better.

A Snowy Year (Zarazel et Ravensahnk)|rating:4.0

How close can partners get_ (closed for astralkiss)

Andy Brooks closed the dented face of his locker with a clang, and bent down to tuck his blue BDU pants into the tops of his black boots. He straightened up his six-foot four frame and looked into the mirror at the far wall of the locker room. Tanned, with blonde brown hair he looked something like a surfer who was forced to wear an Emergency Medical uniform instead of a member of the profession who'd bee NIN the line of work for six years...oh, maybe you could if you looked hard enough and long enough into his gray eyes, you could probably see someone who'd seen too much but still had the hope that he could do some good." So today's the new partner for ya, eh?" He heard called from the door of the locker room. He looked over as he adjusted his T-shirt with the Star of Life on the back. Andy saw that one of the off-going EMTs had stuck his head in." Yeah, I don't know, she came well recommended, but the boss was rather nebulous on the particulars. Funny things like name and experience." Andy said with a shrug and stood up. He wasn't going to keep his friend after getting out of a tough shift, so after a few friendly jabs Tim left and Andy headed down to the Ambulance bays to check out the rig. A small town ambulance company, they only boasted two ambulances for the rural area that they serviced. He expected his partner to show up and wondered about just who the director had decided to partner him up with, he hadn't had the chance to meet with the new employees with the company. Sitting in the back of the rig he started going over the inventory of the rig before it went into service. {"Light box_close": "Close", "light box_next": "Next", "light box_previous": "Previous", "light box_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.", "light box_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow", "light box_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow", "light box_full_screen": "Full screen", "light box_thumbnails": "Thumbnails", "light box_download": "Download", "light box_share": "Share", "light box_zoom": "Zoom", "light box_new_window": "New window", "light box_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"} Name: Tatiana AradinovyaAge: 23Height/Weight: 5'7", 130Physical: She is slim yet muscular, almost like a dancer in her slim curves Eyes: Brashear: Soft reddish blonde Personality: Unassuming and quite shy, but she is reliable in an emergency Random: She is a trained martial artist, gymnast and yoga instructor. Tati looked in the mirror and smiled. Her sensible hairstyle was in place, and her face was made-up minimally with tinted moisturizer, a touch of neutral eyeshadow and clear mascara. Swiping on her lip balm, she prepared to get into her car to go to work. She was to begin work as a partner, with a man she had never met, and she was excited. Having been around this line of work for a long time, since she was 16 (having helped out when she could), Taxi was very excited to learn and get to know what was going on in this company. Thrumming with excitement, her body got behind the wheel and drove quickly yet safely to the company. She had already put on her uniform, and it made her appear almost frail, which was deceptive, as she was quite strong. Stepping out of her car, she walked up to the company office. Receiving instructions as to where to go, she nodded, smiling brilliant at the man giving her her papers. Twinkling gray eyes spoke of life and happy enthusiasm. Racing for where her partner was, Taxi quickly found him, at least she hoped. Rushing up, she introduced herself. She did appear barely a day above eighteen, which was strange, but she smiled and extended her hand." Hello, I am your new partner, Tatiana Aradinovya, please call me Taxi!" She was almost like a hurricane in her movement and enthusiastic tone. Andy looked up from the clipboard and blinked in surprise at the woman...no...girl would have probably been a much more apt description, but for the moment 'woman' would be a nicer way of thinking. He took her in at a glance and made a few mental notes...yes, they both wore the same uniform because it was after all the company uniform, but there were a few 'tells' that said she had been doing this for a while and was no stranger to the profession. There were a few things that you learned in the field rather than in the classes. He had long since gathered a selection of 'extra' gear, including personal stethoscope draped around his shoulders, oddly enough a cover over the long neck of it that had an urban style camo pattern in contrast to his dark blue uniform shirt. Other non-issue gear he carried were his own pair of drama shears, a small notebook tucked into his right thigh pocket and a small 'organizer' belt pouch on his hip with pens, penlight and tape among other things. He'd learned his lessons in the field and saw that she'd had similar experiences. It was perhaps a heartbeat of appraisal from his gray eyes before a small smile grew on his face showing clean white teeth. She had passed the first test...she'd come out to the rig looking for her partner. He stood almost straight up in the back of the ambulance and stepped to the rear open door, bent at the waist both to keep from slamming his head into the ceiling and to extend a tan hand to delicately shake hers"It's nice to meet you Tatiana... I guess I'll go with Taxi if you prefer. I'm Andrew Brooks, call me Andy, or at least 'hey dude' if things get hectic." He said with a chuckle and what might have been the ghost of a southern twang to his words. There was something in his eyes as he laughed, there was an honest humor there, but there was also a curiosity at the new arrival...and something else, but whatever that something was remained hidden. In contrast to Taxi's Hurricane of speed and excitement, he seemed to be exceptionally calm. She smiled, her eyes a bit downcast and a blush spreading over her pale skin. He was a handsome, well-built and very strong looking man, who she could tell had been doing this for quite a good while. Andy appeared at ease in his uniform, filling it out nicely, and calm and collected. In addition, he had a variety of goods that were extra, including a surprisingly personalized stethoscope which made her internally smile. She herself had similar "gear" except her stethoscope was pink, and the cover was swirled with pink and purple paisley. It was the only girly thing that she had on her, besides a small diamante clip holding her bangs back from her face with her hair scraped back in a ponytail. Her belt pouch was on her side as well, made of dark purple leather. She also carried a notebook with her. Something about her betrayed the fact that although she was at ease, her accent was well-bred and upper-class. It was surprising, but she had chosen this path despite her past. Smiling with both her eyes and lips, she giggled a bit when she realized how tall he was, and shook his hand firmly yet still with a feminine touch. Taxi realized that sometimes a womanly touch was great for many purposes, not just sexual either." Pleased to meet you, Semi Andy," she said, jovially using the Japanese title for senior mentors. She assumed he was older than she was. She had only gone to college for her degree to appease her parents, and had graduated at 16, then moved on to college, finished at 20, and then immediately began full-time work. Taxi was blindingly intelligent, but hid it by being a woman of few words." So...show me the ropes around here, Semi!" Andy's eyes narrowed curiously at Taxi's choice of language. Something tugged at the back of his mind making him wonder just how much more that there was to this girl. She was very attractive...and he had always been partial to redheads which did garner more than a little interest. But he pushed that thought to the back burner - no, he took the thought of the stove and put it back in the freezer. There were unwritten rules, and getting involved with partners wasn't exactly a no-no, but it complicated matters." Arigato, but I know enough Japanese to know that I probably can't keep up with you. I've spent some time in Hawaii, and I've picked up some...but not nearly enough." He said with a small bow at the waist then grinned in a devilish kind of way." Hablo major Español Que Pablo Japanese." He said with the smooth tones than denoted someone who had learned their Spanish in Madrid rather than Mexico City. He smiled and kept quiet before retrieving his notebook and pen and writing something out, then showing it to her:Или вы можете судить за я в русском." I write Russian, can't speak it though." He said with a shrug." Relax, you're here, which means you've gotten through the test, and had to go through with the Job interview. You haven't got anything to prove to me. But then something tells me that you got your education in this from somewhere other than a Technical School." He said with an expectant look but then frowned." How rude of me. Here I am demanding to know everything about you and all you know is my name." He said, and reached out and gestured to the 'captain's chair' that sat facing towards the rear of the ambulance right beside the passage to the cab. It was the most comfortable seat in the 'box' portion of the rig since the long bench along the passenger wall and the single jump-seat crammed among the storage cabinets along the drivers side wasn't too roomy. Other than them the litter strapped to the floor in the limited floor space was the only other padded surface, and that was for lying not sitting and chatting....always good for a nap though..." If you're going to be my partner, you should at least know something about me...like why I should be your partner at the least." He chuckled." Andy, 26, I started out in the Coast Guard at 18, which is where I learned the Spanish, the Russian, and that extent of my Japanese. That's also where I first learned the medical magic we do." He said." Four years in that, then I left and decided that I liked the thrill, but preferred to actually sleep ashore instead of on a ship for a month, so I signed up in one of those 'Criminal Justice' programs that are springing up like mushrooms these days, they had an EMT course. I went in through that and got my civilian license then got a job here." He said and gestured out at the brick ambulance bay outside the rig, the 'taxa' sparkling in his eyes." Been here for two and a half years...despite all the ups and downs." He said, the ending was odd, a glossed over comment that seemed to be a description of his time here." So how about you? You seem to be rather interesting... Russian name, Japanese speaker, EMT...tell me more." She smiled at him, and she could see the wheels turning as he tried to figure he out. Most people took her at face value, a cute young-looking redhead with a nice body and height, with no thoughts for what was going on in her head, although she was much deeper once people got to know her. However, she was very guarded to a point, she had to be, because otherwise she would be too vulnerable, and she found that being vulnerable and out-there was no way to be, especially in this line of work." No problem, I am not particularly strong at it either," she said, referring to her Japanese, and smiled, an eyebrow raising with his stiff small bow. She was a bit stunned he spoke Spanish and wrote Russian, but noticed that it was the beautiful Madrid variant, rather than one of the Latin American dialects most people knew in this region. Giggling when he wrote it in Russian, she poked it with her slim finger, a twinkle in her eye. She sat down and listened to his story, because it was important to her to know what she was getting herself into. Nodding at appropriate parts and giving small responses, she waited for him to be finished, and when he asked her about her life, she sighed a bit. It was kind of a long story, she thought." Well my father was well-known on the local government circuit in Connecticut, Democrat with a moderate platform, mayor for a few years...my mother a homemaker. I was sent to all the right boarding schools, all the right finishing lessons, everything you expect of an East Coast moneyed brat, I had it. But I never felt like I belonged.... I mean, I did not really fit in. I was interested in helping others, and being more than what my parents wanted," she said, her eyes gaining almost a hazy distance as she looked into the distance. Pausing, she looked down at her hands. They were slim and well-manicured, taken care of despite the hazards of her profession. With clearing her throat, she looked back up, meeting his eyes." I don't begrudge them giving me the benefits of wealth, I mean that's how I learned Japanese, Russian, French, German and a bit of Spanish, but still, I yearned to get out of the constraints my upbringing gave me. So I graduated when I was sixteen to move on to school. However, they insisted if I went away to school, it would be of their choosing, since they financed it. So off I went to Harvard for Biology. And I did graduate, all the while helping out with the on-campus and off-campus medical emergency teams, volunteering as much as possible. I graduated 3 years later, since I did not take summers off, and entered the workforce at 19. And here I am, right now," she said, shrugging." I still keep in contact with them, but I really not part of their world anymore," she said, her slim hand shading her eyes. Taxi did not give away anything more, and seemed to be done with her story. The rest would unfold as time went by, she knew. Andy listened to her story intently, surprised at the qualifications she boasted. She wasn't just a pretty face, that was for sure...well a lovely face. He'd seen a lot of people in this line of work, from the idealistic doctor wannabes and volunteer firefighters to the old jaded and burnout drivers who just saw it as a job. But now... Tati was something different. He'd never seen somebody with a Harvard degree getting into this line of work, most went into Medicine higher up on the food chain. But EMTs were the cutting edge of it all. Action, adventure, risks and thrills...he knew all of it, it was a drug that most people couldn't shake. But like any drug it could destroy you." Well, I'm pretty certain that you're the brains of the team." He said with a smile looking at her covering her eyes. He wondered for a moment just why she was so very shy all of a sudden. She had a lot to be proud of...but then there were always the odd-balls in the field." Well, come on I'll buy breakfast since you're the new arrival." He said catching something of a vibe that he should move on. He nodded to the small passage to the cab of the truck for her to crawl up and take a seat. She knew he was stunned at her qualifications. Most people did-why didn't she go on to Johns Hopkins for medical school, or why didn't she take a cushy research position with one of her dad's friends? But Taxi was certain she could make it on her own, and that was one of her primary motivators. To be something as herself, not the mayor's daughter, not the sister of the valedictorian, not the granddaughter of the old money matron. Nothing of that mattered. And when she was out on the job, none of it did. What mattered was her reflexes, her knowledge, her compassion. Everything that came from her, and just from her is what enriched her position. She could have had the world given to her on a silver platter, but she chose to forge her own path." Breakfast? Sounds good, I always have an appetite," she said, chuckling heartily. She hoped he brought a lot of money, she ate like a horse as she needed her energy. Climbing up, her slender body moved gracefully." Where to, Semi?" He was grateful that she perked up at the sound of food, he could manage that much...though he had the disturbing feeling that his wallet was going to be feeling some pain. But he was willing to accept that...it was one of the shared traits among EMS personal, eating. He grinned and caught the view of Taxi slipping through the small passage to the cab. She was certainly in excellent shape, the slender form of her legs and behind that made him blink. He sighed and slipped through the passage behind her. While Taxi had given some space around her body, Andy filled the space and then some." Well, there's a nice little diner that we usually go to. They're open 24 hours, and they're cheap." He said and slipped into the driver's seat, firing up the Diesel engine on the cab and slipping it into drive." Sempai...of. Ya make me feel old." He said and drove through the garage door then into traffic. Unit 6, dispatch. Motor vehicle accident with entrapment, route 6 and Church street Police on scene. Fire Department dispatched. Class one. Andy looked at the radio and sighed. Class one was loud, bright and with medics. Lights on, sirens blaring, and the Advanced life support unit... I.E. paramedics were going out as well." Looks like breakfast is on hold. This is unit six, responding." He said into the radio mike and triggering the lights and siren. She was more than perked up at the thought of food. Taxi loved eating almost more than she did the call of duty. Hash browns, pancakes and eggs danced in her head, and a smile quirked her full lips, her stomach rumbling and her body ready to fuel. Taxi smiled at him, and could not wait. My he was large, she thought as he slipped behind her in the passage, his muscular body feeling quite nice against her behind...........she mentally slapped herself. He was her partner, and would remain as such. That was almost as bad as incest, she thought. He was her brother in caring for their patients, and should be that, and nothing more. Internally steeling her resolve, she looked up and smiled when he revved the engine." Sempai is a mark of respect," she said, winking a bit. "Old man," she said, chuckling. "How old do you think I am, semi?" she said, letting the question hang there unanswered. Her breath caught in her throat and the tension in her veins grew to a fever pitch once the call was given. Like she was transforming, her body changed from a relaxed posture into an alert and alive one, her spine stiffening and her eyes coming alive." Looks like it is game time, semi," she said, eyes twinkling and a sharp edge to her voice. Andy looked over at Taxi as the call came through with the specifics. One injury, unknown problem, alert and oriented...for all intents the guy seemed fine. It was a strange thing to see that lovely young woman seem to harden into a pro. He nodded slightly in approval, she knew her business, and that was what mattered." Hey." He said, glancing over at her as they reached a small stretch of open country road. Getting her attention he stuck his tongue out at her to break the overwhelming tension." Relax, if you don't breathe you can't help the patient." He said with a lopsided smile. The drive passed quickly, the accident scene was barely a mine away. As they rolled up on the scene, the police officer sat there on the bumper of his car writing into his notebook. A car was sitting wrapped around a tree, the obvious driver sitting there. Andy snarled slightly at the scene before him, he wondered why the cops always went the whole nine yards when they dealt with car accidents." Well, here we go." He said parking the ambulance across the road and getting out. Her eyes met his when the call came in, and she knew he was probably checking her out to see what kind of partner she would be. She was reliable, Taxi thought, and would not let him down, no matter what. In a world where people view you on appearance, her youthful and cute one did not lend well to a world where strength and resolve were valued. She turned to his voice as he sliced through the thoughts running through her mind. Unexpectedly, he stuck his tongue out at her, and she chuckled. "Noted, semi, breathing is good." Tati looked incredulously at the scene. She could hardly see what warranted that type of call, but the cop apparently felt the need to send out such a call. Groaning, she did not like dealing with the cop, and this looked like a Barney Fife type, patronizing and not very happy to see a slender pretty girl in charge of helping anything but his cock. Growling a bit, she nodded as they parked." Mayberry bastard," was all that came out of her full lips, snarling a bit. Taxi had issues with this type of cop. When they approached the scene, she felt the cop's eyes sweep her up and down, and her fists clenched in anger, the tension humming through her body, but she tried to remain focused. Andy glanced over at Taxi and chuckled a little at the vehemence in her voice. He wasn't exactly pleased, but he wondered just why she was so...aggressive. Shouldering the large first out bag and walking across the road." Hi, how are we doing?" He asked the man standing next to the car wrapped around the tree. The man glanced up at him and held a cell-phone to his ear, not bothering to respond he was shouting into the phone at what was probably his insurance agency. He turned away and Andy glanced into the car. The airbag hadn't gone off, and the steering wheel was dented." Listen, I don't care what the policy says..." The man was snarling. Andy rolled his eyes and looked over at the cop who shrugged and kept writing in the notepad. He glanced over at Taxi and shook his head, one hand reaching out to grab the cell." Hi, yeah, listen, you've just been in a motor vehicle accident. I don't care what your car policy is...you need to be checked out. Now." Andy said with a steely tone. Taxi's anger grew when the cop gave her a patronizing little smile. Walking across the road, she had managed to balance whatever was left Andy did not have in hand. She was strong, her size and shape was deceptive. Hands gripping the bags and things till her knuckles were white, her eyes narrowed at the scene. They went over to the "victim" and she saw the car. It looked nasty, but obviously was not that bad if the driver was yakking into his cell phone, which he currently was. The cop appeared preoccupied, but Taxi glared at him when he raised an eyebrow at her ass. Her appearance may have been great when she went to cotillions and the fluffy things like that as a teenager, but now, it served as a hurdle. Sighing, she squatted down by the man as Andy grabbed the cell phone, but saw he was handling it and went over to the cop to get more details as Andy struggled to bring the patient and check him out. Bringing her notebook out, she walked over to the cop. He gave her a smarmy smile, and she put on her steeliest gaze." Sir, we need to know what has happened," she said, trying not to be irritated by the overbearing cologne the cop wore or the glances he kept giving her breasts. "Well...the fella over there says that a 'deer' just jumped out in front of him, and he swerved out of the way." The cop said, his eyes glancing over Taxi without any kind of shame. He shrugged a little and rolled his eyes after that, clearly he didn't buy into the 'deer' explanation...as the jabbering on a cellphone demonstrated very clearly." Prolly was distracted, cane down that curve and just didn't turn in time to miss the maple." The cop said, rounding out the extent of his exposition on the crash. He then put his head down to write on the accident report, glancing at her chest without much shame. Cops and Firefighters tended to regard women in EMS as little more than a novelty...at best. But then there were a helluva lot more woman EMT's and Paramedics than there were women cops and women Firefighters.***"No, I feel fine. I said feel fine. No, no pain, can I go yet?" The driver was arguing, occasionally reaching up and pressing on his chest like there was an odd sensation there, not pain. Andy couldn't get the guy to let him do a quick physical, but he could see the signs of something that he didn't like at all. No seatbelt most likely, no airbag, dented steering wheel, and that rubbing of his chest. He put together the puzzle pieces and did not like the image he got." No pain? Right, so you were probably going thirty when you slammed into the tree, so you went from thirty to stop against the steering wheel with your chest, right?" He asked rhetorically, glaring at the guy who seemed to be more than simply disinterested...he wanted to leave." You know what happens then? Your rib-cage can only take so much, and from the way you're rubbing your chest you've got a funny feeling there, right? Odd little sensation of moving liquid?" Andy asked, watching the man's movements like a hawk." You need to go to the hospital, now." The veteran EMT said in a voice that would brook no argument." Listen, I'll see my own doctor, I don't want this damn hassle." He said, clearly not willing to swear at a man a head taller than him and twice as big across the shoulders." No, if you go to your own doctor tomorrow you'll be going to demiurge." He said, saying the final word with all the severity of...well...death. The man didn't say much of anything at that point, taking the initiative he grabbed the now very sedate man's shoulder and walked him towards the ambulance." We need to move, now." Andy called to Taxi as he moved to the ambulance. IOC: sorry for short postdate noted the deer explanation in her notebook, her eyes giving the man a death glare. She hated how cops tended to treat her, firefighters too, like she was a sex object that just happened to be in a uniform at the scene. Bastards, all of them, she thought, her mind angrily going a mile a minute. The cop continued to ramble but none of it mattered, it was just him hearing himself talk, and Taxi found herself growing bored. The way men treated her sometimes drove her nuts, and she was ready to throw him through the patrol car window headfirst. Her temper was there, she just kept it caged most of the time. She glanced over at where Andy was, and she could see distress. Holding her hand up for the cop to stop for a second, she sighed and walked over quickly, her mind racing quicker and quicker, the engine revving on her thoughts. Sprinting over, she picked up all the supplies as Andy took the man to the ambulance. Her body began to pick up speed, carrying everything that they had brought out. They hopped into the ambulance, the man lying down in the back." Who's driving?" she asked, putting the supplies away at lightning speed. Andy strapped down the patient and started grabbing for gear quickly, they didn't have time to wait for the medics, the hospital was ten minutes away with lights and sirens, they might have a chance of saving him if the moved fast." You drive, I'll take him. Get us to general as fast as you can move the rig, no time to wait for medics to catch up." Andy said, his voice even and calm, but his hands moving quickly over a blood pressure cuff and grabbing his stethoscope off his shoulders. He looked at Taxi and wondered if she could read the urgency on his features. His eyes met hers in the rearview mirror, and he nodded to her. BP was falling, the guy started to complain about feeling cold. A quick physical now since the patient was distracted showed that while his spine, face and neck were fine, his ribs were broken, the sternum was separated from the ribs, and the lack of one important feature on his rib cage made Andy's blood run cold. This guy was going to die if he didn't get to a hospital fast. Taxi nodded, her heart in her throat. She could only guess how bad the guy was from the expression on Andy's face. His life was in their hands, and Taxi threw herself at the front seat, turning on the sirens and lights. She quickly started the engine and began to drive quickly. Focusing, she had studied routes to all the hospitals and clinics within 50 miles. A photographic memory served her well when it came to maps, so she knew the way to go by heart. Speeding as fast as she could manage, she made it within six minutes, a journey that would have normally taken ten, but she pulled out all the stops this time. They began the rush into the hospital and Taxi met Andy's eyes, seriousness in them yet the excitement of the job came to her that moment. "So, how ya feeling?" Andy asked the patient, watching the needle on the blood pressure cuff slowly dropping. He left the cuff on and moved the stethoscope to the man's chest. The sound of his breathing was shadowed by the sounds of rushing fluid that was steadily rising." Cold." He said, the former jabbering man had gotten very quiet as the weight of his situation was starting to manifest in his mind." Well, you can feel something and that's a good sign." Andy said, checking his pulse rate. He didn't have many options of treatment at the moment other than the 'diesel drip' that Taxi was administering. He glanced up at the cab of the ambulance and caught a glimpse of Taxi's eyes watching the road with a determination that he had rarely seen. Furthermore, he looked back at the patient and saw him going pale." Your...partner, is she good?" The guy asked, shaking a little." I trust her with my life." He said simply, grabbing the radio mic and switching to the frequency for the hospital. He lowered his voice and started talking quickly;"Class one, large internal bleed, we need a trauma bay and trauma surgeon fast, estimated time on arrival is ten minutes." Andy said quickly and then hung up the mic. Tatiana was not nervous. With her, it was that simple. She was self-assured and trusted her skills. As for her partner, for some reason, she trusted Andy without thinking. Eyes focused on the road, her hands grasped the wheel with ease, and her gray eyes met his in the rearview mirror once, but then returned to the road. Thoughts did not race through her mind, as she was in an almost Zen-like state, nothing perturbing her focus. Tati could no longer hear the conversation in the background, as the formerly confident man began to lose his vigor. With determination, she made it to the hospital. She had heard Andy's message to the hospital, so she knew what was going on, and how dire it was. Hopping out of the ambulance as she quickly and expertly parked it, she threw herself to the back, helping Andy get the patient out as quickly as possible. She was silent and followed his lead. Andy felt the lurch as the ambulance backed into the parking spot, grateful for the arrival. The patent had been getting rapidly worse, the internal bleed was thankfully not as bad as it could have been or should have been. The man should probably have bought himself a lotto ticket instead of having a car accident. He looked up as Taxi seemed to swim through the narrow passage and into the back to help him move the patient who was starting to black out. Hoping open the back door they moved the litter out and started rolling into the hospital ER. Tati was silent, and somehow that endeared her to him more than an accurate and extensive explanation of what was happening and what might be done to save the man's life. She knew that words right now had no meaning, instead their actions were what mattered. The path was cleared as they rolled through the ER and into the ready Trauma bay filled with nurses and doctors who were waiting with equipment primed. The hand-over was quick and smooth as the staff transferred the patient over while Andy called out the limited info he'd gathered on the trip in...mainly a few dramatically falling blood pressures and the info he'd garnered from the man's wallet. Stepping back from the flurry of activity he looked over at Taxi and nodded subtly to her. Their job was done for the moment, the guy might actually live. With two backwards steps he moved out of the trauma bay and stood next to the open door, his shoulder was pressed against the door, and he was looking at his watch." Nice driving." He said quietly to Taxi not taking his eyes off the man on the table. Taxi's mind worked overtime as she quickly analyzed the situation, the internal bleeding worrying her, but she could see that it was not as severe as previously thought. The driver should have been brought in much earlier, but due to him not knowing the severity of his injuries, he had not insisted on being taken, nor did the policeman recognize what was truly going on with his body, more worried on the insurance issues. Gritting her teeth, Taxi remained silent and Stoic, muscles rippling in her taut and toned arms as she helped get the man out of the ambulance, and the litter into the ER. Her eyes focused, she looked to see the patient's face fluctuating between pain and being somewhere else, and worry built up in her stomach, but she was used to it due to this profession, and handled it well. Medical staff swarmed around them like bees to a brightly colored sweet flower. Andy handled the info transfer while she took quick notes in her book, making sure every detail was recorded in her brain. She could fill in the blanks later. When Andy nodded to her, she stepped back out of the fray, her eyes calming, and her breath steadying. Following his lead, she stood next to him, her body markedly slimmer and smaller than his. Yet she was doing her job well, she thought and smiled. With the compliment, she merely nodded, then added as an afterthought,"Well I did train in Argentina with F-1 racers," she said. He blinked, looking at her with an incredulous look."KIDDING" she whispered, and they both glanced at the man. He groaned and Taxi winced. Andy looked down at her and blinked hard at Taxi's joke. For a moment, he wouldn't have been surprised if she'd been dead serious. Laid out wit hall the rest of her qualifications being an F-1 driver didn't seem to be too much out of the ballpark for her. He rolled his eyes and took the paperwork from the charge nurse with a nod of thanks. It was good, Taxi had snapped him out of that usually post-call 'funk' that he had where he always spent his time looking at what he'd done wrong, even though the patient had a good chance at surviving." I'd believe it." He said with an eye-roll and then nodded towards the ER and the ambulance bays." Ya know Taxi, I think you'll do quite nicely as a partner...now, you know what's good after a call?" He asked, opening the door for her wit ha small smile, letting the phrase hang there for a moment before finally answering the question."...breakfast." She smiled when he was shocked at her joke. Taxi was quick to go from business to party mode, so to speak. And she saw no point in staying in the doldrums of the post-call retrospective. She did what she could, and if she made a mistake, she learned from it and moved on. Moving a strand of errant red hair out of her face, she looked at Andy and smiled. Chuckling as they walked out due to his "I'd believe it" comment, she smiled. Many people thought that she was some kind of superhero, on paper she did indeed appear otherworldly, overaccomplished, and incredibly skilled. She was just another person though. This led to problems in her love life though, but she did not want to think on that. She raised an eyebrow at his question, and grinned when he mentioned breakfast." I hope your wallet is stuffed, semi, because I am HUNGRY." she said, patting her thin stomach. "You're one of those hummingbirds, huh? You don't look like you'll cost methatmuch to feed." He said as they walked up to the ambulance. Andy glanced over at her and reached over to poke her in the side speculatively. She was a bundle of surprises in a small package, but there were all sorts in the field. You did what you loved, no matter how bad it might get." Your boyfriend must be bankrupt from feeding you if you're so eager at meals." He said, noticing the lack of ring on her finger, and deciding that she had to have a boyfriend. He slipped into the passenger seat deciding that she was a better driver than he. Taxi was highly pleased that they had pulled off the call without a hitch. A job well-done, she thought, satisfied with herself and her partner. It would be nice working with him, she thought. He was not too serious, yet not overly jokey or flirty like past partners had been. Andy seemed solid, steadfast, someone that you could definitely count on in a pinch, and for that she was glad, and wanted to get to know him better, so breakfast was going to hopefully be the ideal place to do that. When he mentioned hummingbirds, she chuckled, shaking her head a bit. With his poke, he met muscle, yet lean and taut, still girlish in its' form." High metabolism and exercise fanatic will do that to you," she said wryly. His next remark caught her off guard. She did not expect anyone to mention her marital or relationship status, but the way he phrased it made her think it was innocent, just a joking thing to say. And why was it bad to assume that she was attached, Taxi thought. She should be flattered." Hah! Boyfriend? I don't have time for that-most can't handle my schedule and the mood swings that I sometimes suffer after a bad call. You know, the type where you don't want to talk to anyone for a few days, most men can't handle that," she said, averting her eyes as she slid into the driver's seat." I am going to need directions," she said, smiling at him. Andy looked over at Taxi and with more than a little surprise that she didn't have a boyfriend. He knew how difficult the stress and the odd hours of the job could be on a relationship, he'd had more than one woman decide that it wasn't' t worth the trouble to keep him. It was kind of sad, but then that was where the professional 'interbreeding' thing came in, EMS, Police, and Fire always seemed to date and get involved with each other because they were the only ones who knew just what kinds of strain the job entailed." That's sad, but we guys can get so very needy every once in a while." He said quietly and nodded for her to turn right upon leaving the hospital." I know what you mean though, my last girlfriend just didn't understand why I didn't talk to her about how my day at work was...then got more than a little wigged out when I told her just how bad a drug overdose can look." Andy said and sighed. Taxi saw the look of surprise in his eyes when she mentioned being single. She wondered as to his interest in that fact, but brushed it off. After all, relationships were usually part of small talk, even in their strange world of EMS. With a wry smile, she followed his directions, not speaking unless he wanted a response. She was using this time to recall what had just happened in her head, looking for any mistakes, filing them in her dossier of things to recheck or relearn. This was one of the ways Taxi was fast becoming better and better. Whether she intended to stay on this path of EMT, she did not know yet. She was young enough, she had plenty of time to think about it. Nodding when he said the bit about guys being needy and chuckling, a bitterness tinging that laugh, she listened to his story about his girlfriend. With an all too knowing conspiratorial look she shrugged." Many can't understand what exactly this job means to us," was all she simply stated, as the ambulance pulled into the restaurant. Taxi readied her appetite, and stopped the ambulance. Swinging out of her seat, she attempted a half-smile at Andy, tidying up the front for a minute, then proceeding on. Any heard Taxi's bitter little laugh and wondered at just what had brought it on. Sure it was unfortunate, but he had the feeling that she had dealt with something more upsetting that simply having a boyfriend walkout because of the hours. He let that thought pass and got out of the ambulance to head inside the restaurant, again letting Taxi go in ahead of him. It was an unthought of little bit of chivalry that probably wasn't necessary, it wasn't like she wasn't strong enough to open a door. Hell, from the muscles she had that didn't show, she could probably pick him up." Yep, it's all a big drug. Heck of a rush, but it's all going to kill you in the end." Andy said watching Taxi walk by him into the diner, an praising eye going over her not like a pro examining a new partner, but like a man examining a very attractive woman. He looked away a little ashamed at his wandering eyes. She noticed Andy's slight twinge of shock at her bitterness, but she really didn't want to talk about Peter then and there. That had been a bad situation, and the wound was fresh, barely bandaged. If it was an accident scene, they would have had a "calling all units". It wasn't pretty, and Taxi just wanted to bury it in the past and let it stay there, there was no reason to dwell on it. She smiled at him when he opened the door for her. Even though she appreciated being respected as a partner, a bit of indication that she was indeed a female was appreciated. Her strength and outer core did hide quite a bit of feminist in there." Everything will kill you in the end, might as well enjoy it." she quipped, sliding into the booth the waitress indicated." Speaking of things that will kill you," she said, giggling, a strange sound from her usually staid and steadfast self, "I will have her....the no. 7, the bacon, eggs, pancakes, with ham and sausage, and her....blueberries on the pancakes and a side of smothered hash browns. To drink a lot of coffee and your biggest orange juice," she ordered, her smile large as she anticipated fueling up. Andy smiled at Taxi's comment about things that will kill you while they sat down. Although the smile turned into a look of shock a breakfast order. She had ordered more food than he had seen some Fire crews order. He blinked in surprise before he started cackling that the size of her order." Wow....just, wow." He said with a broad smile at the petite creature across from him and a disbelieving shake of his head. He didn't need to open a menu to order, he'd been here often enough that he knew his order by heart." Fruit plate, orange juice." Andy said to the waitress with a smile, then looked back at Tatiana with a shrug." I'm a vegan...weird, I know." He said. Taxi giggled in glee at the size of her order. She could put it away and barely gain an ounce, plus the work she did on her own in addition to the job she held down helped keep her slim and fit. Her body did not carry an ounce of extra fat, and she was looking forward to tucking it in. She knew that he was shocked, and it was not surprising to her, most men were a bit confused and shocked at her food intake. Shrugging and grinning, she had her own shock when he ordered something so skint that it baffled her. Then he said he was vegan and her face fell, she felt like an ass." Vegan? Am I going to offend you? Oh god, Andy, I'm sorry!" she said, motioning to flag the waitress down. Andy laughed a little as Taxi got flustered and embarrassed and shook his head at her in a conciliatory way." Relax, I just don't eat meat or meat products because I don't have your quick metabolism. Besides, I understand the whole humans at the top of the food chain thing." He said lightly and waved his hands in front of him consolingly. He wasn't the kind of nut who was running around saying that animals were the same as people... it was just a diet thing." It's just easier to say I'm a vegan to explain why I'm not having steak and eggs. You young people can eat whatever you want, us old fogies have to watch out diets. Besides, saying I'm a vegan makes some women misty eyed at my enlightenment." He said with a humorous little glint in his eye." Oh...and you asked just how old I thought you were, I'd put my money on nineteen or so." She smiled when he reassured her about his dietary choices. Taxi didn't want to alienate her partner right away by making him uncomfortable. His reasons made sense, but she startled a bit at the comment made about the young things. Taxi did not think that she was that much younger than Andy, at least judging from his physical appearance. But there were those people that had the benefit of looking much younger than their true age, and she wondered if he was one of them. Laughing at the whole notion of him telling women he was a vegan to pick chicks up, she smiled. He was relaxed, and quite attractive she thought to herself, then mentally berated herself for thinking that. BAD! Taxi thought to herself. Smiling at him again, she had to stifle a belly laugh when he said how old he thought she was. Picking up a forkful of pancake, she stuffed her mouth full and closed her eyes in blissful pleasure. Swallowing, she waited a second and shook her head." Nope. Twenty-three semi!" she said, winking a bit. Her appetite was voracious, and she ate accordingly, stopping only for questions." So, Andy-semi...what are you hoping to do? Stay in this profession or move on? I've thought about becoming a doctor someday maybe, but this is just too...exciting. Although when I have a family, it might change," she said, punctuating that with a stab of her pancake covered fork. Andy took a bite of Kiwi sprinkled with sugar and froze as he heard her real age. He was more than a little shocked, she looked like she could have been a high school student, not a bare few years younger than him. He was mystified enough to lower his fork and point it at her in accusation." I demand to see a drivers license." He said and stabbed the fork in her direction over the table, though a rather eloquent little smile let her know it was just a joke. He shook his head slightly and speared a slice of peach from his dish." You look stunning I must say." He said, though the expression of her face with cheeks puffed out with pancakes was a little ludicrous. He shook his head and sighed at her line of questions." Well, I'm comfortable here for the most part. It's nice to be on the very tip of the spear when it comes to medicine. After this it gets too glamorous. Paramedics who run around waiting for something really nasty, the rest of the time bitching about getting called out for unknown problems. Nurses who get stuck with grunt work in the hospitals and get no respect. Doctors...he..." He said, his voice trailing off as his eyes went far away like he was reminiscing. It was a passing thing, he blinked and focused back on Taxi. He had a slightly embarrassed expression at that, if he hadn't been tanned he probably would have been blushing." Sorry, don't let a jaded old man like me get too cynical on you Young AdAway." He said with a chuckle." So you want a family? You don't seem the kind of woman who'd want to get tied down to a guy." She giggled when he was aghast at her true age. Most people took her as a high school senior at most, and she was constantly carded. She credited genetics and constantly wearing sunscreen and maintaining her health for so long for her young looks. She did not mind how old she looked though, she figured as long as she was healthy it would be fine. Smiling wryly and continuing to stuff her face as he "demanded" to see a license. Winking at him, she faux-reached for her bag then stuck her tongue out." Where's the trust between partners?" she quipped and he chuckled. She turned red and choked on her juice when he said she was stunning. Taxi was not used to men commenting on her looks, usually they were intimidated by her and felt inferior, whether it was her education or her strength, something was found to be too much with her. Shrugging, she continued to eat, and smiled at him tentatively. When he commented on the other health professions she nodded. The truth was, she sometimes felt the same way, but the path of a doctor did appeal to her, especially when she would think about the possibility of a family. It was surprising to people who did not know her, but she was quite excited by the domestic path as well as the high-powered medical and academic ones. Tati was anything but conventional, and she brushed a strand of her strawberry hair out of her face, grinning when he called her AdAway. Shrugging at him sans commitment, she chuckled. She furrowed her brow, and thought for a second about his statement, of her not being a woman that seemed like she would want to be tied down. Picking up her fork, she took a bite of bacon, chewing and thinking." When you meet the right person, it doesn't seem like you are being tied down, it.....seems like you are embarking on a whole new adventure, something exciting and fun, and you never want to leave that person, ever. And family is something precious, that everyone needs in one form or another. I am not sure what type of woman I portray myself to be, but I assure you, I have wants like anyone else," she spewed out all of those words, looking down when she was finished, toying with her toast. Andy smiled a little as Taxi choked on her orange juice, he was glad that he could make Taxi a little flustered. It was nice knowing that this petite EMS expert had some flaws. Perfection was more intimidating than most people knew, especially in this field. The people who thought they were perfect and immune to everything were the people whose cracks caused them to shatter...always at the worst possible time too. He looked down at the plate as he heard her own little splurge of information...it was illuminating to say the least. He had spent a lot of time leading how to read people, but Taxi was...curious... Andy had known a few people like her in the trade, both EMS and the Toasties. They were strong people, strong people who knew what they looked like to others. Some came across as arrogant, others came across as aloof, but Taxi...she seemed like the kind of person who always wanted to be the best, and didn't want to stand on the mountaintop alone once they'd climbed it." Well, I can say that you're not alone." He said quietly, and finished off the last bit of cantaloupe in his fruit tray, and he gestured to the waitress for the bill." So you want an adventurous guy, you'll find a lot of them in this line of work. Though they tend to get to be the big macho type who didn't like to think of women as little more than...fawning fans who will doanythingfor them." He said with a shrug that said he'd never bought into it. He'd never bought into the hero/god complete that tended to develop, he knew he was just a guy doing a job, a tough job that was difficult at best and destructive at worst...but just a job. Taxi appeared impervious to most things, but she was actually quite fragile and sensitive, she just hid it well. This was the only way to deal with the slings and arrows that came with the job. Being in their field was not easy at all, in fact it was very difficult and heart-wrenching. Even when she would go home, lock the door of the bathroom and sit by herself and cry, she knew that she was doing the best she could to help other people. He probably thought she was a perfectionist and an icy bitch, she thought, shuffling her food around on her plate, most of it gone quite quickly. Her metabolism was sky-high, and her appetite quickly returned even after large meals like this, and that made her feel weird in front of men. Usually she eschewed such antiquated gender roles, but for some reason today she felt a pang of embarrassment. He finished his food about the same time she did, and the waitress gave them the bill. Taxi found the appropriate bills, down to the last cent, leaving an exact tip as well. She had a habit of carrying a large variety of bills and coins, not wanting to have to deal with constantly running to the ATM or getting change. It was an unnecessary hassle, she thought. When he mentioned what type of guy she would like, Taxi become silent and a bit contemplative. She had never thought about exactly where to find one, to be honest. Most came to her if they were going to date her, whether at the gym, on call or just walking down the street (as the ballsiest guys had done to her). With a wry smile at the mention of the complex many men in their field developed, she shrugged nonchalantly." It isn't limited to the males, some of the rare females I have met like the idea of males swooning over them too," she said, heading back to the ambulance, quieter than before. Andy grabbed the bill from the waitress and didn't let Taxi pay, breakfast was his idea after all. As they left he detected an almost minute shift in her mood, something he'd said had gotten to her. A small flush of embarrassment came over him, he didn't want to get her depressed on her first day with him, they were supposed to be a team, not antagonists. He kept his mouth shut as they walked out to the ambulance, not wanting to make maters worse as he contemplated just what he might have said, but drew a blank. That wasn't surprising however, he'd never been the kind of guy for whom women were merely an open book to be read. He glanced at her as they got into the rig, wondering what was going through her mind until she spoke up." Well, yeah, I can agree with that...some of the women do enjoy having a guy on their knees before her. I've unfortunately been in that situation more than once..." He said, then his mind processed just what he'd said, and he blushed at the realization." That did not come out right." Andy said laughing at his own poorly chosen words, then looked over at Taxi to see if he'd jolted her. She openly scowled when he took the bill and paid for it. One thing that Taxi hated was being treated, it made her feel inferior, and if that was irrational, so be it, she thought. Her mind was sharp now, but her body was beginning to feel a bit tired. It had been awhile since she had been up at this time, her body having gotten used to the other erratic shifts she had pulled at her previous jobs. In addition to that, she had been studying for the medical school exams, she thought, her face grimacing when the thought of those looming ahead of her. Tati was not sure what to think of Andy. Sometimes weird things seemed to come out of his mouth, completely not premeditated, and that worried her a bit. Coping with unpredictability was hardly her forte. When he made the remark about men being on their knees, Taxi raised an eyebrow, stifling a laugh. But she nodded when he mentioned it coming out wrong." There are two roads that this could go down in my mind, and both are dangerous. How about we talk about something else? We could plan where to eat next, considering I have a feeling that we will be eating a LOT. At least if I have anything to do with it," she giggled, rearranging the things in her kit. Andy looked over at Taxi in the passenger seat and smiled a little as she giggled. One of those new things with any partner was learning about just where the limits were in discussions. There were always things that you couldn't talk about with you partner. But he was surprised that she was moving onto food so fast. He almost decided to press the issue but let it drop. He knew that he came off as erratic at best socially, his mind always jumping around to different things with all the predictability of a ping-pong ball. It was how he dealt with things. Keeping his mind working on other things, sporadic; yes, but useful." Dangerous? Well, I never thought of it as dangerous, but alright." He said with a shrug." Alright if you're so keen to talk about eating, you're picking up the check from now on...and we're sticking to all-you-can-eat places." He said with a huff, glancing over at her, the grinned a little bit." Or do you need a nap after breakfast since you seem to be sleepy? Wild hedonism catching up with you on your day job?" Andy asked. She couldn't figure out what else to do than to move the conversation on to a topic that they both were familiar and comfortable with. Due to her huge appetite, food often popped up as the topic of conversation. It was a basic human need, she rationalized, so why wouldn't it? She knew she often appeared brash and insensitive, but the truth was she had trouble dealing with certain topics and not knowing what the other person was thinking. Although she would deny it vehemently, she did like being in control of the situation and when the other person became mysterious, she became uncomfortable. She smiled when he mentioned her picking up the bill. Money was not something Taxi thought about, as long as she could put a roof over her head, clothes on her body and food in her stomach, the rest was all gravy. Twiddling the pencil she held in her hand, it fell out of her slender fingers when he mentioned a nap. A grimace appeared on her face. "Is it that obvious?" she said, gnawing on the pencil. "I am used to doing later shifts...if you don't mind a cat nap might be a good thing for me," she said, her eyes bright yet still upset at disturbing his rhythm. "Cat nap? You can use the litter in the back if you like." Andy said nodding towards the back of the rig. He knew that EMS was odd hours and didn't hold it against her...hell, he'd worked 36 and 48 hours straight without getting any sleep before." Alright, I won't hold it against you. We're both only human, right?" He said with a shrug. But before he could say anything else, the radio piped up, and they were dispatched to their second call of the day, this one slightly more involved than the first." Dispatch, class one, structure fire, FD on scene." The dispatcher said succinctly, not providing more information than that. Andy scowled at the dispatch, but knew that there was little that could be done, hopefully there wouldn't be any problems on scene, just a standby while the firefighters got to put out the blaze. Without little more than the scowl he turned on the lights and hit the sirens, heading out for the location." Well, if sleep doesn't work, the next best thing is a call." Andy said with a small sigh as he glanced over at Taxi before focusing on the road. The drive was quick, and the scene wasn't anything unusual, five fire trucks, firefighters and chiefs running around doing their jobs as a two-story ranch house during. The fire was well entrenched in the home, almost entirely burning with flames licking out the windows and doors. It was hard to realize just what might have happened to have this home burn so quickly." Over here!" A call came from several firefighters carrying someone out of the house, the body was small...certainly not an adult. Not bothering to get out of the ambulance, he turned off the road and pulled up onto the lawn. As he looked out through the windshield, his blood ran cold. It was a kid...maybe early teens, ten at the youngest. His hands gripped the steering wheel until his tanned knuckles went white. He'd never dealt with kids...never dealt with hurt kids well. Taxi smiled when he mentioned her cat nap. She nodded in reply, her body was slowly fading despite the massive amounts of food she had consumed in the past few days. Knowing that he would understand, she headed for the litter, wanting nothing more than to have a short nap and wake up and head to the next job. But alas, as usual, that was not to be. Instead, the radio crackled to life, a new call coming in. It was to be their second call together as partners, but at the time Taxi had no idea it would be anything more than textbook. Listening to the dispatch, she understood the few details that they gave, which was nothing more than the bare bones of the situation, which was a fire where the fire department was there. Internally groaning, she prepared herself to deal with the often misogynistic firefighters, starting up her brain as Andy drove this time. She nodded when he mentioned calls waking a person up. Indeed, Taxi's synapses and nerves were awakening, the adrenaline coursing through her veins making it hard for her to not focus on the upcoming call. When they reached the scene, from far away it did not look like anything new or strange, just a building fire, more than likely with burn victims to rush to the burns unit or someone with broken bones who had fallen out of a window. Fire was never one of Taxi's favorite things to deal with, but she would manage, she thought steeling herself. The firefighters had called out, trying to get their attention. Taxi saw it was a child and her heart leaped, maternal instincts she thought long-gone still making her want to save him. Andy looked like he was going to vomit, and she impulsively hugged his shoulders." It'll be ok Andy-semi," she said, managing a smile as she hopped out of the ambulance, grabbing her supplies." He's burnt pretty badly, we need to get him stabilized and to the ER as soon as possible," Taxi said, quickly examining the child, who was ten years old, and his name was Tim. Thankfully conscious, he was in pain though, and Taxi's heart broke with every whimper and cry he let pass his small lips. She helped bundle him into the ambulance after the quick preliminary care. For this one, there was not much to do until he got to the hospital. The mother would come in a bit, she had two other children to tend to. Motioning for Andy to drive, Taxi sat in the back, holding Tim's left hand." It'll be okay, it'll be okay," she said in soothing tones. Tim heard it for himself, but she meant it for both males within earshot. Andy was about to get out of the ambulance when he felt Taxi's arms hug his shoulders. He stiffened slightly, the surprise of the action enough to shock him. After a heartbeat he loosened slightly and nodded, she felt...nice... He took a deep breath as she got out of the rig and moved towards the boy. Taxi got there first and moved him into the rig. There wasn't much they could do to make things better for him, but they could get to the hospital as fast as possible. As Taxi settled Tim down in the back of the rig, he headed for the driver's seat and hit the lights, knowing that the closest available hospital was ten minutes away. He glanced into the mirror and a forlorn frown etched his features as he saw Taxi bent over the small form on the litter. Andy didn't know just what to say, but he knew what to do...drive as fast as he could." Call it ten minutes Taxi." He called back dropping the ambulance into gear and turning around as the second due rig pulled up from a different company. He nodded slightly to the crew in the other rig and hit the road. Furthermore, he heard Taxi whispering loud enough so that he could hear. Furthermore, he felt a little ashamed, he was supposed to be the strong and experienced one...he shouldn't have had her worrying abouthimin addition to the patient. The drive flew by in his mind, he seemed to have been driving for barely a second before he backed into the ambulance bays. He was wrapped up enough in his own mind that after he helped move Tim into the ER and got him transferred into the Hospital's care. He slipped away with the litter as Taxi got her information, and he made his way back to the rig after changing the linens on the litter. After securing it in place he sat down on the back bumper of the ambulance and waited for her to return. He didn't like introspection, but he was lost in his own thoughts when Taxi came back. Speaking to both of them, after her quick embrace, she could see that he only relaxed a bit, but she would take it as far as she was concerned. For whatever reason, this call was bothering Andy more than he let on, and she was not going to push it, she knew all people had their triggers, and this was one of his she supposed. She held the small boy's hand, comforting him with soothing hands and words after she called it ten minutes. Her words appeared to calm the little boy who stopped sniffling and crying in order to relax. Taxi knew that would help them take care of him once they got to the ER, which made her happy, because the easier this ordeal was for the boy the better. Tim even managed a quick smile when they were helping him into the ER. Taxi quickly relayed what information that she could to the doctors and nurses, and they seemed to have a positive idea of how his care would go, they had come in enough time that nothing overly serious would be a problem. She was happy and content, humming as she went out to the ambulance. She saw him alone on the back bumper, leaning against it, and his eyes in a far away place, almost as if she was invisible." Hey" she nudged him with her slight elbow. After a second nudge, he appeared to snap out of it. Smiling, she told him all she knew-that the boy would be okay and their quick response helped. Slinging an arm over his shoulder in a masculine fashion, she squeezed his shoulders and grinned. "No worries-we got it. Nothing wrong with being a bit upset either, Semi," she said, her slim arm resting across his broad back, her eyes serious as she regarded him. Andy sat in silence for a very long time, he kept seeing things that he wanted to forget, but that his memory would not allow him to forget. He blinked as Taxi nudged him in the ribs and sat down next to him. He didn't say much of anything, but listened to her reassurances and information. Furthermore, he let out a little sigh and looked over at her finally. A slight smile had finally come to his lips, but something was still haunting his eyes. He looked at Taxi finally and nodded." Good." He said and sighed as Taxi measured him. He didn't expect her to be consoling him, but for the first time in a long time he wasn't the one being the Stoic mentor. The feel of her arm across his shoulders was nice." It's a bad memory there Taxi." He said without a preamble." One of my first calls. Messy accident, two cars involved, three killed outright, one badly mangled, the other alert and screaming. We rolled up, nothing seemed to be going right. No fire on scene, no way to extricate them. We were working on the two survivors while they were still in the vehicles." He said, the haunted look in his eyes seemed to look past Taxi without focusing." It's a no-no, but we couldn't stand there and wait, not with time running through our fingers like sand. We should have waited...we should have gotten them out...we should have done a lot of things..." He said and took a shuddering breath. Without a word, he reached down, yanked his shirt tail out of his pants and lifted his tee showing her what was an unmistakable burn across his right side, right next to her. He looked at her, his eyes focusing in on her finally." Leaking gas, vapors hit...something, it was flashover. Torched me and my partner, he's down, I'm burned and trying to get him out...the car goes up with both people inside. Never forget the sound of someone screaming like that..." He said, and his eyes went distant again as he finally went silent. He didn't say anything more, but his memory remained playing over and over again his head. Involuntarily, he leaned into Taxi ever slightly. With her nudge, he had appeared to be startled out of his silence. Something haunted him, she could tell from the shadows in his eyes, she had seen many of her compatriots battle with their demons. Taxi had her own problems, but she had become quite good with dealing with the reality of the profession. Some said it made her distant, but it was truly just her method of dealing with the slings and arrows of everyday life, the sorrows that were an unfortunate part of the human existence. With his nod, she relaxed slightly but did not move her arm. She squeezed his shoulders and listened to his story, knowing that many of them in her profession carried their own burdens, things that haunted them from their past. Personally, she had her own share, but ignored them as much as she could. However, being confronted with a reminder as he was right that moment, she was not sure how she would have reacted, it probably would be very difficult. His eyes seemed to faze out until he reached the part about the waiting, and she looked down when he pulled his shirt out, the burn angrily marching down his perfectly toned body, puckering the skin a bit. It wasn't ugly, she had seen much worse in her line of work, but it was an ugly reminder of something he obviously wanted to forget. When he leaned into her, her body melted. She turned however, and crouched in front of him. Her hand, uninvited, found itself resting on the burn mark, the warmth of his skin alive under her slim-fingered hand." You did everything you could at that moment. There is nothing wrong with being scared of things, and you should share. You can tell me anything, Andy, I can share the burden with you, we are partners after all......." she said, her voice trailing off when she realized she was slightly running her hand up and down his body. Halting her hand's movement, she looked at him with her piercing eyes." I am serious, no man is God, we can't fix everything, and you need to accept that we are doing the best we can, and we help people every day," she said, leaning in close, her face serious. Andy's heart was hammering in his head, the emotional rollercoaster that he had just gone on was enough for him to be more than a little dazed. Taxi's soft hand on his scar -one of them-was measuring and disturbing in the same breath. It was measuring to know that she seemed to be able to say just the perfect thing to calm a troubled mind, but it was disturbing...disturbing that he couldn't ignore the attraction that he felt for her. It wasn't just physical, yes, she was beautiful, elegant, and lovely even in the rather nondescript uniform...but the attraction was rooted more in respect than anything else. Sure, he'd run with women before as partners, but...there was something different in Taxi. She was smart, she was strong, she was confident...but she was caring, and so many other things. He licked his lips delicately and took a deep breath, and he forced himself to look away from her gray eyes and blink hard. It would be dangerous for him to feel too close...dangerous for him to get to attracted, for them to get close. But the argument felt half-hearted at best...completely hollow to be honest. He could respect Taxi, that that put her in a league of women that he had never been drawn too before." Tati, I..." He said and looked back into her gray eyes. He didn't go any further because he couldn't figure what to say. Furthermore, he closed his eyes and felt Taxi's delicate hand running over his side and he reached up with his right arm and gently pulled it away from his side. Andy opened his eyes again and delicately lifted it up to his lips. On odd impose he kissed the back of her hand softly and smiled, hoping that the gesture seemed gentlemanly." Thank you." He said, still somewhat lost, and still arguing about what he felt...and whether he should feel it or not. Lips parted in surprise, she remained crouched in the posture she had chosen to go into, but she could see a maelstrom of emotions in his eyes and wanted to know what he was feeling. Could he be feeling the same things she was, the temptation to continue undressing one another and forget all the worries of the worlds in each other's arms? The worry that her touch would change everything? Not wanting to get too close to a partner just in case something happened? All of this changed when he seemed to, with a distracted gesture, break the gaze that had been holding their eyes together, and with a small gesture, took her hand. What she expected, she had no idea, but a variety of scenarios played through her head, most of them over the line but so tempting, so, so tempting. He stuttered for a second, her name coming to his lips sweetly but with a slight hesitation, and he kissed her hand softly. With this gesture, Taxi's walls came crashing down. After he gave her thanks, she threw caution to the wind. Whether this would cost her a partner did not cross her mind, but she leaned up, standing, and kissed Andy soundly. Once she realized what she had done, she backed away, dropping his hand, her soft gray eyes horrified with her actions, widened and startled. Lips almost quivering, she searched for what to say. Her back quickly found the other wall of their vehicle's small space, and she found herself searching for something, anything to say to explain what she had done. It was a strange mixture of determination and delicacy. The feeling of warmth still seemed to linger on his lips while he looked at Taxi backing slowly away from him in some indefinable mixture of shock and grief. Andy knew that perhaps her mind had never understood just why she'd done it, but he knew that he could comprehend why he would have done it. Emotions are a powerful thing, every person knows it...but there are few emotional journeys which are so diverse, so abrupt and so incredibly potent as those that you have in emergency medicine. You either shut it out completely or you save it up and let it out all at once. His mouth closed slightly, and he smiled ever slightly as he looked at her in muted awe. He hadn't thought her cold and impersonal, just professional...but he had never thought that she would do something so spontaneous or intimate. His smile somehow stayed warm enough that it didn't seem condescending, but not sickening arrogance of a man that 'knew' he was irresistible. He glanced at the open back doors of the rig and then leaned towards her, one hand gently reaching out to stroke her cheek delicately. This is close, he could see the horror in her gray eyes." Something tells me you wanted to do that...but didn't at the same time." He said and wondered if he was going let this go, or lose himself to the moment. He leaned forward and kissed her lips with a delicacy that his large form would disguise. Why she did it, she still couldn't figure out in her delegated head. It wasn't a good idea, but she felt inexplicably drawn to him, and it was not just in a lustful way even though his body was very attractive to her. He didn't appear to be shocked at all, which was strange to her, why wouldn't he be a bit freaked out by an overly affectionate partner. But he looked at her with a genuine smile, not a smirk or anything remotely close, but a smile that was warm and comforting to her, and she stared aghast as he leaned closer, closing the gap between them. A masculine hand grazed her jaw ever so slightly with an affectionate stroke, and she met his eyes with wonder and amazed shock in her eyes." Something tells me you wanted to do that...but didn't at the same time." She nodded, not denying it, he could tell the truth in her eyes, she bet. With the nod, he leaned forward and kissed her softly, her lips meeting his with a delicacy as if she was made of fine china. Moving against him ever so slightly, her head tilted up and a light mewl escaped her lips with his gentle treatment. Sliding her arms up, she circled his broad shoulders with her own lean arms. It would be premature for him to say that it was wrong...but what they were doing wasn't entirely right. It was the paradox of any king of relationship where you had to be close, but not that close. Trust each other but not in that way. That mixture of intimacy and faith balanced with aloof detachment from one another. You could only do that when you weren't dealing with the subtle issue of attraction. No matter how sophisticated you felt you where, there were some hard-wired things in the male and female minds that no amount of feminism or modern thought could overwhelm. And emotion always charged that portion of one's brain into dominance. Making you yearn for some kind of release...the simplest kind. Andy felt the soft sounds coming from Taxi's throat more than he heard them. Savored the warm embrace from her warm arms around his shoulders, and the sensation of her body against his was as enough for him to wish against the lingering concern in his mind over the dangers of being so close...and to almost forget them. But almost was not enough, he slowly pulled away from her lips, looking into Taxi's eyes curiously before speaking." Can you...still respect me for this?" He asked her, the tenor of concern in his voice amplified by the softness of his words.

How close can partners get_ (closed for astralkiss)|rating:4.0

The bodyguard (Bound To Pleasure_Flassche)

Bright red orbs looked up from folded, naked hands to admire the scenery that passed by as the clouds sluggishly made its way up the mountainside. The sun was slowly yielding to the upcoming nightfall--casting a blood-red brilliance upon the clouds and sky. To the young man, it was one of the most beautiful and fitting sunsets he’d ever seen. It was certainly enough to take his mind off the matters of state. Every creature breathed, and each creature existed amid this large and blooming capital. Candidly to them, the denizens culminated there, did one frame lurk, its limbs coiled up, mildly tense, though unafraid of the foreboding shadow. He stood at the top of a large balcony, naked flesh exposed to the cold air, not bothering him in the slightest. A small runic symbol on his right neck marked him as the blood, the leading caste of this little… empire. For as long as his people could remember, his kind had been the one in charge. Only the foundations of this keep knew of another time before his kind. He brought his slender frame to one of the mirrors in his chambers, glancing at the expression. One might have guessed his height around five feet, give or take a few inches. His short white hair danced in the wind, a vile imitation of containing life. The youth vaguely remembered having dark brown hair before he escaped from humanity, part of the curse that effected his family. He brought his digits to his ears as he brushed a few strands of hair away from them, feeling the pointed tips. His ancestor had been one of the To’era, or Ancient ones as commoners called themselves now. Although most of his form came from his human ancestors he did have some Ancient traits, mostly giving his body more ‘youthful’ touch. He slid his frame in the expensive dark silk, feeling it slide against his skin. He carefully wrapped a small thin piece of cloth around his middle, fastening the garb. Grabbing the large black cloak and wrapping it around his frame, he brought the hood upwards, shielding his hair and face. The hood alone brought enough darkness to hide his face, yet he placed another item there. A thin mask was placed over his face, lined with thin lines of silver, shielding his features from commoner’s eyes. The mask itself held no enhancement or enchantment besides the occasional grease for polishing. Sliding two twin silver daggers behind his sash, he left the room, stepping into darkness. He tried to remember why darkness and shadows gave him a comforting feeling. First in line for to the eternal throne, heir to the realm, Prince Lucius Iridium. The young man actually hated the titles and long fancy name, preferring to call himself Lance. The change into ‘godhood’ had happened three years ago. He was human then, only displaying the soft pointed ears and fair skin. When the change took him he was bedridden for weeks, young body thrashing as he torments of magic assaulted his frame again and again. His hair and skin was drained of color and his brown eyed changed into a bright red. He was no longer human on that day, nor would he ever. He seemingly stepped out of the shadow in his chambers, taking his place on a large throne carved out of single piece of oak. Furthermore, he smiled gently as he noticed the chest board in next to him A single white pawn was placed in the middle of the field, surrounded by gray pieces on all fronts. Behind that sea of gray was single black piece of wood. He heard the door open, casting a dim light in his chambers. He slid the black piece towards the white one in the center as he chuckled. Furthermore, he loved games, would she? Lance eyed the tall warrior as she stepped in the room. She moved with a cats grace and looked as calm as any knight that was rewarded with the first rank. She seemed seconds away from tearing out peoples throat and at the same time dance the most delicate dance with another maiden. Lance found it fascinating how they could simply ooze that confidence and power. He basked in the woman’s glory as he held out his right hand, signaling her to move closer. While magic was an everyday occurrence in this realm, and a rarity in others, it did have significant disadvantages. A large spell or incantation required long and tedious channeling from multiple mages. Most people who were magically sensitive used other means to strengthen their channeling. Some used potions others crystals. There was even an unusual fellow who used a wand, funny really. While most of the country was run by magic, it was a weak yet stable process. The ancient ones were different, capable of engulfing entire cities in fire or draining oceans. Legend spoke off their might, claiming it matched that of the creator itself. Although the Iridium was technically a half-breed, people still assumed they could match the powers that the ancient ones had. Lance eyed the young warrior as he watched her expression.“I would hear your name and oath.” How would the warrior respond to the frame sitting at that throne, clad in darkness whilst orbs of fire watched his very soul. He waited for the woman’s reply, carefully weighing and measuring each word.“Do you now, hmm.” He let the words linger in the air as he grabbed the black piece from the board and fingered it softly, letting the wood roll through his fingers. Furthermore, he had a wry grin hidden behind the mask, a grin that would not lessen. Furthermore, he placed the piece next to the white one as he stood up, towering in front of the warrior, due to him kneeling. The prince would be quite a bit shorter had the knight been standing.“Such a flimsy thing.” He whispered as his right index finger began tracing a line down the warrior’s chin, gliding pas the hair and protective gear, stopping until he reached the seal on the neck. He knew exactly what it was, his whole body instantly tensing up when he prodded the magic.“A bond. A warden. A hero. A protector. A slave. This bond makes you this. I could easily twist the weaves and force you to bark...” He twisted the weave playfully as he forced his full essence through it. He commanded the young woman to feel the urge to bark, yet it was not strong enough for him to actually bark.“… Should I so desire? So tell me, my hero. Why do you want to serve and obey.” The prince took a step backwards as he knelt playfully next to the warrior, masked covered face inches from hers. His eyes peering into hers, never breaking the connection. When the woman told him why, he smirked, hidden behind the mask. He attached his essence to the link as he let a part of his magic flow into the human, completing the bond. They could feel each other’s presence now. The young warrior would no doubt feel… more alive, seeing as part of the bond offered her increased control and awareness of her own body, lowering the natural limitations a bit. Something about the part of the castle leading up to the chambers of gave her chills. This part of the castle, while well guarded, gave her a hollow, abandoned sort of feeling. Not that the castle ever seemed like a particularly cheerful place, the style with which the God-nobles presented themselves was far from bright or sunny. As far as she could tell the feeling stemmed from how empty this part of the castle seemed compared to the places where servants were allowed, it felt underpopulated and under used. She idly wondered if the currently ruling Lord's chambers gave the same feeling, or if this was a just the heir apparent chambers that gave such a gloomy feeling. She soon found herself before the prince's chambers, guarded by a figure in heavy armor. She was unsure if there was even a person in the suit of mail, or it was a golem of sorts animated by magic. Furthermore, she had heard rumors of such things before. As she was instructed to revel the mark on her neck to the guarding whatever, a small yes complex tattoo on the right side of her neck, just above the nap of her shoulder. Her mark of loyalty and submission to the role of royal bodyguard. The safety precaution that insured that no assassin or spy would be able to take the job, or any loyal guard to be bribed into treachery. She took a deep breath as the iron clad guard moved aside and allowed her to enter a room. While this nervousness did not compare to the fear of charging in the front lines, it was certainly a kind of type of anxiety that was all together new to her. She walked in and knelt before the prince. She was a tall woman indeed, at 6'4'' she was taller than most men she encountered. Her hair was long and full and wavy, it's color a red almost as bright as the prince's eyes. A trait is not natural to the people of this kingdom, but her lineage didn't stem from this kingdom. Her skin, once porcelain pale had a healthy tan to it from many days spent outdoors for training and for war. Dressed in light armor, it was obvious she had the stature and muscle strength to wear heavier protection, but such was not her style, certainly not here in the role as guardian. Her body was strong and tight, though her figure was pleasantly curvy. He beauty had once made her a target for harassment among the soldiers, but they quickly learned that she was not woman to be taken advantage of. A heavy basted sword hung from one side of her belt, a light enchantment on it to make it lighter in her hands to allow for greater speed of swinging, two long combat daggers hung from her left side, a throwing knife was hidden in her boot. Each blade personally forged for her and had saved her life while taking many others. She responded in a clear voice "I my name is Hello Wind craft, and on my life I swear to guard you from any danger." While her last name was that of a relatively influential noble family, the first name, much like her hair, was foreign. She lifted her head as the prince approached her standing high above her and tracing, her eyes clear and blue like the sky at midday met his burning, piercing orbs sent odd shivers down her spine. It was like looking into fire she thought, safe at a distance, useful close, deadly inside. The touch made her grip tighten, she was unsure how to react to what was supposed to be a Golding touching her. She felt an odd pull followed and a disturbing urge to bark like he said. She did her best to maintain her gaze with his, letting no surprise or fear show in her eyes though the thought of him having that much control over here gave her sense of dread deep in her stomach. "Want is irrelevant, This fate chose me as yours did you, my Lord. I serve and obey it is what fate has called me to do, and unlike you gods, I am not able to twist fate."once the bond was complete a boiling sensation of power swept over the knight, he fists clenched so tightly she thought she might break her skin with her nails. It was like the adrenalin rush after breaking the enemy lines when the tides of battle turned in their favor. Lance circled around the tall warrior once more before finally halting in front of her. His eyes and voice were cold and in control, yet hidden behind the mask was an amused grin. He enjoyed watching people, seeing their reaction. The young warrior had handled the bond better than his previous warden, yet it still was amusing to watch. No doubt the small increase in stamina and strength would seem incredible to her, yet it was hardly worth it in the long run. A stray bolt or an unexpected fall could kill a warden just as easy as any other human. They bled and died the same. The limitations on her human frame was now slightly less than a normal human, allowing her to channel more of what her body was actually capable off, the magic bond would only ensure that there would be no damaging side effects from the constant strain and improve healing somewhat.“I expect you to be my shield and weapon. I need not another mouth or sharp mind…. In all things.” Lance said that as a matter of fact, knowing full well the young warrior would understand. His former warden had tried to ‘advice’ him on some subjects, foolish man really! He watched as the woman stood up before she nodded to him, ordering her to follow him to his private quarters, off limits to all. The young prince was heir to a large empire, one with neighboring countries at all its flanks. The only thing that kept them from attacking this empire was the fear the Bloodline. In the past, his ancestors had been involved in large wars, forcing the Bloodlines to the frontline. While a dozen mages could destroy a gate after some heavy channeling a Blood kin could level an entire city in minutes. The sheer destructive capabilities of their bloodline was the only thing that kept other countries in check. Full scale war would be too costly on both sides, so assassination and political plotting was the number one cause of death for his family. Due to their half-breed nature four in five pregnancies resulted in stillbirths, the human side of them not able to contain the magical essence. From the babies who did manage to be born alive at least half would die upon reaching puberty, seeing as the full effect would happen then. Lance was heir to the throne, yet he was the ninth child so far. His older brother was assassinated only four years earlier. A force that could level cities and destroy landscapes could be easily poisoned or haggard. So for the last five hundred years Wardens have been used to safeguard the Blood.“Your chamber is on the left. You can have an hour to collect yourself and your belongings. Your service to the throne will begin in an hour.” Lance spoke calm and composed as if telling the woman what day it was. He watched the young warrior leave the room, closing the door behind her. In the back of his head he could feel the presence of the woman tugging at his core. He was aware of his Warden now, much more than she himself was of his lord. Chuckling the young prince went to fetch his wine. The prince’s personal chambers could be described as a large Cross. B S-P-C T R​The B;Bedroom was the Prince’s private chamber containing his oversized bed and numerous closets filled with his personal items. The room usually held little light and a large lack of windows. This was the room where the king would be without his mask most of the time. The bedroom would be cleaned by his warden or by maids chosen by the warden when the prince was in his bath. The P;Personal quarter. A comfortable room adorned with many paintings, sculptures and other display of arts. The prince would spend most of his time in here, reading or listening to music. Two heavy doors and two smaller ones were placed in the room, the heavy ones adorned with magic. Only the prince or his warden could open the heavy doors at will, others would be unable to open them without consent of either one. Compared to the throne room and bedroom this room was bright and ‘warm’. The S: Servant quarter. Also known as the Warding chamber. The private quarters of the prince’s personal warden. The room held everything a warden needed and more. The furnishing where above average quality, yet low enough to remind them of their place. A large bed, cabinets filled with clothing, training area, personal bath, chests, study, etc. It contained everything yet on a small scale. Should the warden need something he could order it easily, usually not needing the permission of his prince. The C:Cleaning chambers. A large stone bath, seemingly carved out of a single piece of marble. It contained several other smaller ones and all constructed and supported by magic. Water could fall from the ceiling and heat up to whatever temperature was needed. Only the warden could enter this place if the prince was inside, seeing as he would be without his mask. The T:Throne room. Dark, moody and lined with pieces of armor. The armor pieces where designed with magic, only the prince could activate them. The warden can order the pieces of armor to move as he commands, should the prince allow it through their bond. The throne room held an impressive oaken throne room and next to it was a small chessboard lined with pawns. Anyone besides the prince and his warden touching the chessboard would be sentenced to death, a personal order issued by the prince. The R:The receiving room. Small marble room holding a few stone benches. Servants waited there for orders from the warden or the prince. Should a noblemen or merchant seek audience with the prince they would have to wait there. Staff:Excluding the warden, the prince would have a few maids and servants to serve him.7 blinded maidens and 3 blinded youths. These servants have willingly placed a magical bond on their person, blinding their vision should they enter the royal quarters when the prince was present.5 Guardians. Personal soldiers loyal to the prince. They are stationed in the Receiving hall and prevent anyone from entering without permission from the warden or Prince, only a blind one can enter without permission. All of this would be the prince little prison as he would call it. It contained everything he would ever desire and could house more should he want it. There would be no need for him to leave his quarters except on special occasions or his future coronation. Of course, he could leave his quarters when he should desire, yet the young prince would quickly find himself surrounded by a small army to protect him. The prince and his entire bloodline lived like this, sheltered from the outside world in order to keep them safe. They are weapons of mass destruction kept safe, even from themselves. Lance watched as his warden came towards him and offered her service. Lance licked his lips as he eyed the woman. He himself was seated on a small sofa in the Personal chambers. He placed the book he was reading on his lap as he watched the woman from behind his mask.“I wish to hear your thoughts, concerning myself and my bloodline. Honest thoughts should not fear repercussions.“ He wanted to know what the woman knew of his kind and what he had heard of the prince. No one knew what his kind looked like or how they behaved, only their wardens and elected breeding wives knew. How would the warrior react when he spoke again, waiting after the woman had answered his question first.“I command you to kneel in front of me, peer into my eyes, and remove my mask. Then you may answer my first question again.” He knew his. . . . Features… were unusual. Part of the changes would ensure an almost permanent youthful frame and slower aging, yet his features were also heightened. One might almost say they were too well divined or too graceful. The pale skin and hair hidden behind the mask and cloak would only amplify the burning redness in his eyes. "As you command my lord." she replied steadily, being examined like this made her feel like she was back in training for the first time again. Being measured, weighed, and tested for value. How many years since she first left home and enlisted in the royal military? How many years from that point had it taken to achieved full knighthood? She had an amusing disadvantage given how few females are deemed worthy of the rank of Knight, much less a first class knight such as Hello. And then here had been the issue of her...linage, but even that was eventually overlooked. As she continued to succeed on the battlefield her household gave her a firmer clam to her family name, not wanting to miss the chance in sharing in her achievements and glory, thus making her more eligible for a proper knighthood. She bowed to her lord after he gave her permission to settle her things in her new dwelling. Already she had figured, more or less, the lay of this royal living quarters, ability to quickly understand one's surroundings was a valuable skill of a true warrior. She went to her room, where servants had already delivered most of her personal belongings left piled in packages in the center of the room. Clothing, a few personal effects, spare weapons and armor and equipment to maintain them, everything she needed for the most part was here. Compared to living out on a battle front this room was a paradise, compared to her room in her father's home it was a plain room. Still, a bed to sleep in was better than what she was used to on the front lines or on battle patrol. The only thing she was afraid she'd miss would be the freedom to walk and go where she pleased. She had grown used to spending so much time traveling along the borders of the kingdom keeping it safe, she had grown accustom to the wide open spaces and the feel of a strong wind against her face. A light sigh left her full lips, shed simple have to suck it up and deal with it. Unpacking didn't take much time, much of her hour was spent testing the limits of the enhancement the bond had given her and learning to cope with and ignore the sense of adrenaline high that came with it. She felt much more natural and like herself again be they time the hour was up. She had changed into more comfortable clothing, a pair of tight leather pants and a covering but slightly form fitting tunic with an embroidered rose pattern curling around it. Her weapons still hung by her side, if an assassin did dare to make an attempt on the princes life the lack of armor would not make much of a difference for the skilled warrior. Her hour was finally up, she pulled a small silver necklace from out of her shirt, the charm on it an odd 4 point star with an eye in the center, not a symbol from this kingdom but of one very far away, she kissed it and said a quick prayer to her mother and slipped the necklace back into her shirt. Taking one last moment to compose herself she then returned to her duties as guardian. Finding him reclining lea surly waiting for her, she knelt before him once again and offered her services. The exchange that came next honestly took her by great surprise. She was unsure how honest or detailed to be with the prince, but she was not exactly known for disobeying orders or keeping to many thoughts to herself. "I've only known you for such a short time my Lord, so I can't truly say much about my thoughts on you. I do know you and your family live under a great stress and burden being...gifted in the ways you are." She took a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing "As for you bloodline... Well it is a matter I have always been of two minds on. You and your family indeed have great power, but if you are related to the Creator, or gods among men, I am unsure."" You are mortal, hence the need for people like me to be your shield. Furthermore, you are not infallible as history does teach us our "divine" rulers have made poor choices in the past. But your power is unmatched in all the kingdoms, and who am I to say you are any less than a god? Your power is certainly beyond anything I can comprehend or ever match." She was further shocked by his next order, not the casual request he gave before but a true order to do what was considered, even by the noble cast, unthinkable. To gaze at the naked face of a god-noble. Despite her reservations on if such a thing was allowed she also knew that ignoring the order would be a poor choice. She rose up and placed herself in front of the boy, knelling down and looking deep into her flaming red eyes, Gingerly she reached out and removed the mask, revealing the fare features and youthful nature of her charge. Her expression seemed to soften a bit and a way it hadn't before. "My lord... You appear to be so young. To think you have the power to obliterate me and a thousand like me, yet to my eyes you seem to be a child." The prince eyed the Warden carefully as she spoke to him. He knew her reaction would be somewhat similar, his previous warden had been rendered and blundering idiot when he first viewed him without a mask. Still this one did not make herself a fool, too much. His face was emotionless, similar to his mask, yet his eyes betrayed his irritation. He wanted a better reaction from his new toy, needed it in fact. A simple weave of fire and air brought a current of warm air underneath the mask, carrying it back to his face and locking itself back into place. Weaving was easy for his bloodline, simple things like levitation could be done even without channeling. Standing up he barked an order.“Be quiet and serve me.” He leads them to the throne room, and he waited for his warden to take his place before he clapped his hands once. Seconds later a stream of servants rushed in, heading towards his room. Two guards brought the first merchant inside, a fat northerner judging by his coat and skin tone. He was dancing between bowing and kneeling every few seconds before finally prostrating himself in front of the godlike creature sitting in the throne. He asked for protection and the right of trading in the southern borders, setting up a new cotton and silk caravan route there. Lance knew this would no doubt be approved by his father and the counsel, so he began instructing the man on where to go, who to see. It irritated Lance that he and his father had so little power in this empire. The counsel of seven where the actual leaders, ruling behind the scenes while he and his fathers where just puppets. Puppets that needed to be locked up and protected, unless a war broke out. The counsel of seven spears. As the second merchant came in, Lance began feeling boredom and irritation setting in his mind. He slowly spun another weave, this one directed at the Warden. A weave so delicately slender and soft that she would not feel it grip the bond on her shoulder. A bit of prodding found the bond, and he delved into it. Engulfing himself in the feeling of magic. Resonance was always a joyous experience.- The bearer of this mark will be unable to cause harm to the recipient of this mark. - The bearer of this mark will feel the strong need to protect the recipient of this mark. - The bearer of this mark will feel the presence off the recipient of this mark. - The bearer of this mark will be physically imbued by the recipient of this mark. The contract of four, as the mages called the bond of the warden. Lance knew them well, having had the pleasure of toying around with the bond of his previous warden. He simply weaved a new command in there, so softly and with such a deft hand, the Warden would never notice.- The bearer of this mark will feel the slightest bit of arousal when watching the bare flesh of the recipient of this mark. Lance hid a smile behind his mask, knowing full well how awkward that command most be. The warden would not notice a thing until his next confrontation with the prince, when his mask came off again. He nodded as he sent the last merchant out of the room. He waited for the merchant to salute and leave the room. As soon as the door closed Lance stalked out of the throne room and into the private quarters. He plopped down and grabbed his book again, sending a small thought through the bond that he required wine. He knew Warders were gifted in the art of swordplay, yet this woman was skilled, even by their standards. Furthermore, he could crush the warrior like a bug, incinerate her with a deft weave, yet she fascinated him. She was still wild and hard to tame, yet he would make sure she served him as he wanted to. Her gifts could be a valuable thing. Removing his mask, he let out a sigh as he placed it carefully on the table in front of him. He waited a minute before he grabbed the glass of wine he was offered. Swirling around the glass, he peered into the bloodlike liquid before sampling it, sipping on it sparingly. He inhaled the scent and savored the taste, not a bad year. He eyed her once as he himself leaned backwards, closing his eyes. The ward would protect himself from the warrior and his reaction time usually was enough to warn him from any intrusion at the door.“How old are you, in mortal years… Or has your fighting ability abilities clouded that grasp of time.” The sudden and effortless display of magic startled the warrior woman, never had she seen magic used so freely. It seemed all the descriptions of the royal bloodlines power were indeed true, they controlled magic as effortlessly as mortal men used their bodies. A terrifying thought to be sure. If felt odd to the knight to be guarding something so much more destructive than herself. Though to be fair most, most of the military saw the warden more as a meat shield than a true bodyguard. She bowed her head and rose up to standing at her order, curious as to what she said that got under his skin. Was it her lack of faith in his god linage, or was it her soft, almost cooling, reaction to his appearance? Either way, she thought to herself, it was the princes fault for making it abundantly clear that she was to be honest with him. Following after him, her hand resting on the butt of her sword, she took post to the right of the throne, standing half a step back from it to not be directly even with the prince, the traditional fashion of guarding a superior that she had been trained in a long time ago. This was going to be the hardest part of her job, living so long as a solider she had no patience or taste for the endless bowing, flattery and posturing of the upper class interactions, despite the fact she was also of that cast. From how board her charge looked he also appeared to be bored by the tedium of hearing request after request and compliment after compliment. She did not let boredom dull her senses though, always her clear blue eyes carefully measured the men that entered the room, occasionally going to examine the room itself for anything unusual. Despite her hawk like alertness she was unable to feel the prince invade her, twist orders into the mark that would work it way to her very core. She was completely unaware than anything had accrued.Finally, the doldrums of seeing people with requests had ended, she hated being still and quite for that long. She stood an extra moment in the throne room, taking once last inspection of the area, partially out of personal protocol, and partially to become more familiar with the area she was to be defending. As she began to go after the prince the thought suddenly popped into her head, wine. After that long tedious chore he just preformed the prince would surely like some wine. She retrieved a bottle and a class, carefully poring the rich red liquid into the fancy glass and went to her prince, finding he had once again removed his mask. As she drew closer to present the wine to him and got a better look at his face a very odd sensation began to bubble up inside of her. He faces felt slightly flushed, weird butter flies in her stomach, as well as the heart began to pound a bit faster, the sudden feeling rendered her speechless as presented the wine to her lord, attempting to figure out the source of this sudden sensation. At first, she thought it was the bond's power acting up again, but she noticed that her womanhood felt a slight tingling that could only be classified as arousal. She quickly buried the thought and feelings as best she could, but she could not, her only defense was to ignore them, it was only slight she quickly just rationalized it to having been some time since she last took care of her "personal" needs, and they just happen to flare up now. She was thankful for the question, for something to get her mind active and off the slightly awkward feeling of arousal. "Well, I would slap most men to ask such a question, I fell that would be ill-advised with my present company. I am 28, going on 29 in about four more moons." she replied. "What of my Lords age, if I may be so bold to ask." “Indeed”. The half god purred as he watched her. He quickly decided he had taken a liking to this toy. The prince smiled gently as he waved towards the chair. “Do be seated. No doubt your legs will propel you upwards should danger arrive.” He chuckled gently as he sipped the wine once more. He leaned backwards as he sighed.“Twenty-eight years old and chalked to the iron chains of servitude. No doubt your young hot blood would rather be on the frontline?” He did not need a response, he knew young warriors like the warden now sitting in front of him. He himself could understand the notion of wanting to go elsewhere, anywhere actually. Furthermore, he drank the last sip of wine as he grabbed a small sheet of paper he had folded on the table already.“My daily….. Schedule” He slid the paper towards the warden slowly. He had hesitated with the word schedule, seeing as it was more like a forced protocol in this dammed prison. Montas – juntas. First sun: -Cleaning of the royal chambers, excluding the prince’s personal bedroom, done by the blinded ones. -Preparing the breakfast meal of the prince and his personal warden, placed in the shared personal quarters, done by the blinded ones. -Cleaning and dressing of the royal heir, done by the warden. Mid-sun: -Preparing the midday meal of the prince and his personal warden, placed in the shared personal quarters, done by the blinded ones. -Admittance of noblemen and merchants seeking audience, done by his royal prince heir. -Cleaning of the Throne room, done by the blinded ones. Late sun: -Preparing the heir’s royal bath and fresh garments, done by the blinded ones. -Cleaning and washing the royal prince in the bath, done by the warden. -cleaning of the royal bah, done by the blinded ones. - Signed Authorial, virnitche. High chancellor and second council member. Order of the red Lance. Lance watched as the warden picked up the paper. How would the woman react when faced with such a dull and tedious agenda, for the rest of her service. “Exciting is it not?” Lance casually commented as he grabbed his book again, pretending to read a few lines. Lance merely watched his warden, hearing the words leave her lips. He was busy weaving a delicate weave into the bond. The bond would still remain the same, only an added line. The added line would be necessary for what was to come next. The next step on the chessboard was taken, how would the human react? He handed the female another paper, this one carefully folded and holding a seal of dark black wax. The weave he had cast on the woman would ensure the following.- The bearer of this mark will read any letter containing the black seal and memorize it subconsciously, afterward burning the paper. The bearer of this mark will try to follow any order contained in the letter whilst not having any memory off actually reading it. He smiled casually as he slid the second letter towards the warrior.“Read this.” Servant, this I command; -You will perform your routine daily duties as you have always done in the past. -You will never mention unusual past events to anyone, including your master, unless he gives permission. -You will remain loyal to your master at all times. -When dressing your master you will do so in a kneeling position. -When dressing your master you will make sure his lower half is exposed first and dressed last. -When dressing your master you will feel aroused. -When washing your master you will be clothed in a large towel wrapped around your frame. -When washing your master you will act like a proper aid. -When washing your master you will ignore any unnatural behavior. -When washing your master you will clean him slowly and gently using a cloth. -When washing your master’s Phallus you will comment on the need to clean it diligently, using hygiene as an excuse. -When washing your master you will find an excuse to wash your master without the cloth. -When washing your master you will never once mention or think this as abnormal behavior, except your own feelings. Signed, Lance He waited until the woman had finished reading before he spoke again.“As for my little housing and schedule here, this is as good as it will get. My father and I, my kind, are weapons, nothing more. They make sure I am kept safe and sane, nothing more. Why would a weapon need fun? The only exercise I get is a yearly display of my current strength. Does this bore you? This life of….mine?” He was curious to see how the magic would affect her. She had demonstrated a certain skill at burying her cravings, a good trait. Even though she looked like she was uncomfortable she kept her body still and did her job. He again waited on her answer before he spoke again.“To answer your question concerning my age; I am fifty-five years of age. Half a lifetime in human understanding, strange no doubt, yet for my kind I am just at the outskirts of puberty. This is not common knowledge to the public seeing as we are thought of as immortal, and thus we have no need of age. The only reason I keep track of my. Age. Is because it helps me grasp a fleeting notion of my lost humanity.” He all said this in a calm voice, as if he was telling her his favorite socks were blue. She smiled at being called a young hot-blooded warrior, is that how her charge saw her? How very amusing. Nearly 29 was a very old age for a solider even in these peaceful times, not many lived as long as she when much of their life is spent on the front lines, nor did were many ables to keep up the strenuous pace of a warrior. Hell, even by civilian standards she was technically oldish, especially for being an unmarried noble woman. She thought about correcting the unintentional compliment but decided against it. Probable due to the glow from being called young or the slight cloud in her judgment coming from her mysterious arousal. She examined the schedule, indeed the tasks were simple, tedious, and dull but who knows this may prove to be a welcome change of pace for the veteran knight." While this is far from the kind of actions we see at your kingdoms borders my lord, It's probable still more amusing than basic training for the countries military, I am sure I will manage." she replied folding up the schedule and placing it back on the table. She rose an eyebrow when he slides her another letter and gave her a smile. She had no idea the job of bodyguard required the use of so much paper. Furthermore, she opened they thoroughly scanned the instructions inside and when she was done she crumpled the paper up, having already memorized it with the same skill she used to memorize the details of a battlefield and foes combat patterns. As if on autopilot she rose from her seat, walked to the fireplace and tossed in the letter, all the while her focus was on the prince and what he was saying, as if what she was doing was completely normal, almost instinctual and below addressing, like scratching an itch. " I must admit my lord the state in which our god-royals live does come as a surprise to me. But it will prove to be no more or less boring that standing at attention for hours or endless runs around the same trail." The news of his age hit her like a true body blow, as he stated it as she was beginning to sit again. Soon as the number left his lips she practically slipped into her seat at the surprise. She had to stifle a laugh of shock, 55, and she had called him a child. Gods did she feel like a fool. No wonder he seemed so mad at her opinion of his appearance." That... Is rather amazing more lord, I never imagined you'd be so many years my senior, much less my senior at all." Lance chuckled loudly as a tear ran down his left cheek. He had to steady himself for a second before he looked at the young warrior. The young woman was polite and caring, an unusual trait in a warrior.“One might even say I am an old man.” He spoke softly, hoping the voice was calm and did not carry any mirth.“You are a brave woman, no doubt a fine warrior. I have no doubt you have killed before and dealt with it in your own way. You use your blade in a graceful dance of war. You pick your enemies carefully and strike for clean and quick deaths.” He waited for the woman’s reply before he sighed.“According to the history books, the last time one of my…’kind’, Fluff, was used, was 283 years ago. A large army had risen in the south and threatened to engulf our kingdom. The war had lasted 2 whole years, half our warriors were put to the sword. Gulf was brought in at a decisive battle. What our whole kingdom could not do in two years, he did in fifteen minutes. Two armies and a whole city were whipped out from existence in a cleansing fire. The records say around fifteen thousand men and women died that day, no doubt children where among them.” Standing up Lance went towards the Royal Bath.“You are a sword, one that needs maintenance to remain sharp enough for the cut. My father and I are simply siege weapons, feed and shelter us and point us where you want us to fire. I cannot have human kindness or ‘fun’, for I carry a burden not meant for humans, full scale destruction.” He opened the door and made his way over towards the bath.“We will speak of this another time. I want my bath in fifteen minutes. Send one of the maids to grab my garments for the night.”-Fifteen minutes later.-Lance was busy in lowering his form in the water, just as his warden came into the room. His other servant had her eyelids closed, as she poured more hot water in the bath, her hands making delicate movements, born out of years of long practice. The large tub was four by four meters wide, cut down into the stone floor. Lance lowered himself in the water as he found a small stone ledge he could rest his body on. The water was warm, steam already forming in the chamber. His maid had already tested the water for poison and rubbed the tonic on her bare skin, before pouring it in the bath. The tonic she had poured in there was a silvery concoction that smelled of lavender and roses. It formed a thick foamy layer on the water’s surface, blocking any view. The prince inhaled the scent as he closed his eyelids. He did not know why, yet the tonic always made him relaxed, if not drowsy. His warden would be the only one who was permitted in the room with him once he bathed, so his maid rushing out of the room as soon as she heard water moving was no surprise.“Thank you maiden” He whispered as she made a last curtsy before shutting the door behind her. Lance did not know if his warden had seen his exposed skin before he submersed himself in the water. His frame was marble stone carved into a human frame, the only way to describe him. He was not pale of skin, simply a different white. He was devoid of any excess hair, his body strangely too symmetrical. Furthermore, he resembled a young male, mid-puberty, yet at the same time a fully grown man in his prime. It was as if his body was still deciding between youthful graces or handsomely mature. His family bred only with strong genetic families, making sure each woman was highly intelligent, sharp and possessed excellent physical traits.“I am prepared. Don’t worry about fumbling around on your first time. I understand this is not the common skill set of a warrior. You’ll learn in time and forget the thoughts wrapped around this act. Now, tell me some of your battles and skirmishes while I bath.” Lance grinned as he knew the orders would make this a fun experience. The warrior would bathe the young prince as the letter ordered her, not realizing how unusual the bathing process would be. Yet the command to feel attracted to the prince would no doubt make this very, very…’difficult’ for the woman. Hello knew the history of war, what he was telling her was no shock, though it did give her cause to wonder about the full capacity of Lances power. If he had the same kind of might as was demonstrated by his ancestors she felt like a mouse guarding a powered keg. Though his seemingly romanticizing of her killing and then going on to demonizing his own killing potential was strange to her, she felt flaws in his logic that she chose not to address. He spoke like he was already a killer, but there was a good chance that his powers would never be used for the killing, much less on such a massive scale, given no country would dare declare full war anytime soon. And even so, likely his father would be called into battle not him. Furthermore, he spoke as if he was a caged animal or a locked up war beast, yet he must know his families power was too great to be chained and guided unless they allowed themselves to be. If he or his father decided that this way of life was not what they wanted, honestly, who in this kingdom could stop them? Even if you gathered every mage from every corner of the kingdom you probably couldn't match the power of the youngest of the nobles, much less the father. She kept these thought to herself, surely these facts were self-evident to the prince, and he had said to her, he didn't want another smart mouth around. Which she could understand, spending 20 plus years as an adolescent would be rather infuriating and probable involve a lot of being talked down to. Was it bath time already? She nodded her hair and went and made the bath arrangements he had asked. She went into her room and disrobed wrapping a towel around her frame, carefully tucking it and position it the best she could to keep everything hidden. The towel was nearly too small for this task given her height and long legs. The towel stopped just shortly after her personal areas, if she were to stretch her arms up the womanhood would be visible, if she even bent forward slightly her plump, firm ass would be bared for the world to see. By the time the 15 minutes had passed she realized that her light feeling of arousal had left her. Perhaps just a flash of desire, it had been so long since she had found any personal time, and many years since she had any kind of lover. Strangely enough though, as she walked in and saw her prince's completely naked form the feeling seemed to return, greater than before now that she could see more of his naked body than just his face, not that she knew that was the cause. All she knew was that she was feeling even hornier than before, and she couldn't place why, she fidgeted a little trying in vain to get her body to calm down. She resigned herself to ignore the feelings and do her best to not betray them in her body language or expression, though light blush across her cheeks bet raid her hot and bothered state." You may find me better at it than you think my Lord, I'm sure my hand will prove skilled at any task you require of them." she replied with a smile, picking up a wash cloth and some bottles of soap and ointment before joining him in the bath. Carefully she board the soap and ointments on the cloth and rubbed it till it was nice and lathered and began to carefully clean her lords body, starting at the top." My lord, I am no bard or poet, my stories about war would not be glorious or enjoyable, nor am I equipped with the skills to make them very interesting." she replied politely, honestly she was not eager to talk about any of her war stories because unlike some soldiers she did not find glory in battle, but in victory. All the blood on her hands was a sad side effect of the goal of victory. She soon seemed to grow frustrated with the cloth. "This blasted thing is useless, it won't lather like I want it to..." she grumbled tossing it to the side. She applied the soap and oils to her hands and lathered them up and began to clean him with her bar hands, running them carefully along his chest and arms. Her hands were strong yet surprisingly soft. Her Father had made her train only while wearing gloves, not believing that she would make a good solider he didn't want her to grow callused rough hands and be harder to marry off. Her hands soon worked their way to his lower body find him manhood and gently began to rub and stroke the royal member. Causally commenting "I don't know how you got this dirty my lord, I must be sure to clean your thoroughly." as one hand worked the slowly growing shaft and the other gently massaged the balls. Lance was leaning backwards as he began listening to her explanation. The hands soaping him up were, rough yet pleasant. The woman was obviously more used to holding a sword or axe than she was holding a cloth, yet she did fairly well. Her explanation was clear, if not a bit brutal. He had heard of countless skirmishes, he wanted to hear legendary stories, one of heroic deeds. He felt the cloth begin cleaning his skin, rubbing hard on his back and chest. The effects of the oil and the rubbing was slowly brining the prince in a gentle trance. The delicious faze between sleeping and being awake. He still noticed everything, his body was simply more relaxed. The cloth slowly began making his way downwards, cleaning his legs and toes, stopping just in front of his organ. “You are doing fine, just relax and continue. A warden is only allowed inside the royal bath with the prince, seeing as I am at my weakest when bathing or cleaning. This is the reason why maids or servants are not allowed inside. You are my only protection.” The young man said when his servant removed the cloth and began cleaning him with her bare hands. He held his eye shut as he exhaled deeply, obviously feeling more relaxed. No doubt the rest of the commands would soon be tugging at her subconscious, telling her to clean him properly and completely. The layer of foam prevented the warden from seeing the prince’s exposed form. How would she react when she found the little surprise waiting for her. Seconds later she was cleaning the prince’s royal breeding rod. The prince was holding his teeth firmly shut, not wanting to give the woman the satisfaction of seeing him bite his lip or moan. He kept his face blank and devoid of emotion. Generations of genetic matchmaking and selective breeding had brought some desirable traits. When Lance would grow older and more mature, a few decades from now, he would reach his full growth. His father stood around six foot and six inches. Still Lance had one trait that was already at the impressive grown-up size. Being in a constant state of puberty brought some ‘amusing’ side effects. No doubt the warden could feel that effect, as the thick shaft twisted and throbbed playfully, sending down a steady stream of pre-cum. He completely ignored the female in her inquiry of her cleaning service. He simply let her continue with the service, occasionally asking a small detail about her past or telling her to retell a town’s description. To any sane normal person it would look like Lance considered this situation normal, her magical bond would be persuading her off the same. This was normal, completely. When she was finished with her tale, Lance sighed. He began venting his frustration, telling her how small he felt when receiving this act. The fate of their kingdom rested upon his capabilities of producing a new generation of weapons, enough to strengthen their kingdom. The organ was very important in that act, so it would require maintenance. Lance knew that the woman would be fighting with some subconscious desires, to clean him better and longer. Yet how would she deal with the strange arousal she had been feeling all day? No warrior could simply pleasure herself or boink the Prince. She would have to keep herself in line. Surprisingly enough she rather enjoyed the casual conversation with the prince, answering his more basic question, anything to steer the conversation away from war stories. Perhaps one day shed feel more comfortable talking about them, but as it stood now they did seem to far away, her most recent bit of combat was only 2 months ago, before she was called into the capital to be the new warden. Perhaps when those harsh wounds were more healed and distant she wouldn't mind so much. She talked with the prince, telling him things that he could easily learn about her and her family not getting into the more personal detail simple because he didn't ask. Things about her father, the region of the kingdom she was from, where and who she was trained under. The size of his royal cock was certain a surprise, similar in the way his age had been a surprise. A realization that came almost casual to her as she continued to stroke the hot rod of flesh. Without a good look she couldn't be sure, but this could possibly be among the largest, if not the largest, cock she had ever come in contact with. While the magic influencing her kept her various thoughts and feelings connecting in a way that would give her a full picture of what was really happening right now, deep down on an instinctual level her body seemed to know what it was doing, and it made her arousal all that much harder to ignore and stand. He pussy ached for satisfaction, her heat was racing, and her face was showing cracks in her casual facade, her expression betraying the effect the activity was having on her. But given she would NEVER pleasure herself in front of the prince, even if she was sure she could get away with it without him noticing, and jumping his bones was even less of a possibility, all this lust was working its way into her subconscious and having an effect. That effect being that she was working his now throbbing cock not in a way of cleaning but in the manner of a lover jacking of their partner. Though her hand was now enthusiastically pleasuring the prince her mind still registered it as innocent cleaning. After a short bit of the more intense pleasuring of the prince she gave him a smile removing her hands from his cock, though she felt a powerful urge to continue cleaning, she also recognized that the job of cleaning was done. "Okay my lord, I believe were done here. Shall we get your dried off and dressed?" When the woman started to shake and twist, all the while keeping a steady hand on the prince, Lance felt his own need arrive. The fact that the warden was oblivious to the fact how wrong this felt was even better. No doubt the only thing the warder would see was…. Wrong, was the fact that she had cleaned the prince and felt aroused at the same time. The warden would realize that she was wrong, the prince did nothing wrong, even if he had just expelled an unholy amount of his pre-essence on the warden’s wrist and hand. Even after the woman was done cleaning she kept stroking the prince, the commands still in effect. Lance himself would have not given the command to stop. He enjoyed being milked dry for a few more seconds, finally hearing the woman speak of drying him off. He made sure none of the sticky substance was on his person as he stepped out of the bath. “Dry yourself and me off, I’ll see to my own clothing for the night.” He watched as the warden obeyed, drying him off completely if not a bit ‘Unusual’. When the prince was dry, he made his way over to his room. He glanced at the outfit that was prepared for the next day, expensive dark green silk and silver ornaments. He sighed as he stepped into the bed, falling asleep seconds later. She nodded her head and followed his command diligently. Stepping out of the tub, the wet towel clung to her curvy frame, betraying her well maintained figure even more than before. She tossed the wet towel aside. She was glad she was soaking wet, because she was sure she was so aroused her womanhood was leaking down her legs, and if the prince knew how aroused she was...she didn't think she could bare the shame. Such a thing is truly unworthy of a knight of her caliber. She promised herself that she would learn greater self-control as she wrapped herself in a fresh towel and then went to the task to drying her charge. The task went much the way the bath did, once she had dried most of his body she spent extra time, care, and attention on his nether regions, feeling shameful amounts of sexual urges as she did. Cure this weak flesh and the sins it craves. She bowed and wished him a good night as he left for his room. She to retired to her room for the night. As she laid in bed she struggled with her body, still craving release from all this sexual tension, but with the princes room so close she felt that taking care of herself would be far to dangerous, what if he came in requiring he for something? What if she couldn't keep her voice down due to incredible amount of arousal? She bit her lip and rolled on her side, she would have to grin and bare it, the craving would pass with time. Morning rolled around, the knight woke after having so odd dreams, while they were fuzzy and growing fuzzier she was sure that at one point sex had been involved given the embarrassing little stain on her sheets. She sighed slightly, feeling a great deal less horny than yesterday, but still as if she needed release. Furthermore, she dressed in loose clothing and began her personal morning exercises. Furthermore, she wondered when the prince would be awake. Lance woke as he had always had, weary and tired to the bone. While his species only grew more and more powerful per generation, it also came at a cost. Strain, pressure and even memories were transferred as well. A biological process that also happens in other species. A so-called natural instinct. The instinct and memories that told a bird when to migrate or a fox when to slumber was haunting Lance. Every painful memory of his ancestors was in there, haunting his sleep and subconscious ever since he transcended into godhood. It wasn’t all bad, seeing as he could see first hand how his predecessors went wrong, yet it still scarred a person. Every one of his kind dealt with it on his own way. His father had become devoid of emotion, simply becoming that what he was treated to be. A weapon that needed regular maintenance now and again, while his great, great-grandfather had gone on a killing spree after he went mad. The order of the red Lance had been established that day. Seven of the world's strongest mages, each supported by hundreds of others, battled the half god. They barely stood a chance, yet a single randomly thrown spear had taken the life of the god king. The counsel of the seven red spears had been formed that day. Officially they only advised the royal bloodline, yet unofficially they and their decedents have been ruling the empire ever since, plus serving as a reminder that even gods could die. He shook of the feeling of pain and suffering as he crawled out of his bed. He himself dealt with his condition on a different way. Furthermore, he toyed and played games, preferably with human lives. Furthermore, he would never go as far as to hurt or permanently scar people, yet a prank or two would do just fine. Furthermore, he enjoyed teasing his wardens above all, seeing as most of them had a stick up their rear. His first Warder had been an offspring of the original seven counsel members, a fact that he reminded him of each day. The man had been reduced to a compliant servant within three weeks. A feat that the counsel was quickly aware of. In their minds Lance was a… unpredictable risk. He was behaving too sane, to… human? In a hundred years or so he would equal his father in power, twice that he would begin overpower him. Peering down Lance noticed his other morning. Condition. A constant state of puberty had its disadvantages as well. With that mindset he began forming a new playing field for his warden and himself. How long would she continue to interest him? He sliced through the weaves he had spun around her bonds of servitude, removing any condition he had placed upon her, whilst still keeping the memory of the written note a secret. So, clad now in his green silk attire, adorned with silver, he entered their shared chambers. He noticed her strained body through his bond. He remembered her personality and decided she was working out or practicing sword movements. Furthermore, he smiled as he inhaled her still wild spirit. Focusing on the bond he let slip a bit more of his essence in there, offering even more gifts for her. He made sure her basic healing were improved first to allow the constant strain on her body. The healing would not mean a cut would instantly heal, yet it would remove the strain on her muscles, prevent small bone fractures and alter her cell division, allowing slower aging. A grin came on his face as he gave her one more gift; increased hormonal production. It would no doubt have positive effects such as faster reflexes and a better battle race. Yet, lust and long term physical growth would also increase. He grabbed a small book and placed a slender digit on the page, marking the first sentence. He liked reading, especially when others were around. It gave you the opportunity to listen and observe others while they could not do the same. He heard the door opening as he smiled gently, offering her a most pleasant day. His mind however was placing phase two of their game. How would her skill and luck help her out in this one? He wove the weaves in place and felt it settle on her bond of service.-The bearer of this mark will see the recipient of this mark as pleasantly attractive--The bearer of this mark will think see recipient of this mark as sexually inexperienced and uneducated, believing he is most naive in this field.--The bearer of this mark will feel the need stop wearing underclothing, believing it would get in her way or slow her reaction time.- Hello was simple amazed at how great she felt with the bond enhancing her movements, how quick and sharp she was, the longer she kept up her exercises the quicker and stronger she felt. Little did she knew this was because her prince had given her a little boost, but regardless she couldn't help but feel a bit giddy at her increase in power and speed. There were few who could best her in combat, she'd confidently wager that none could do it now. She stopped before breaking a real sweat, not wanting to go the whole day feeling dirty. She striped down naked and lay on the bed for a few minutes to be sure her body would cool down. Her as her mind wondered she thought how horrible stiff she felt while training with her underwear. She of all people knew that being at your best at all times was what kept her and her comrades alive. She couldn't have a silly thing like clothing slowing her down.-so I simply shall not wear them...today at least-she reasoned to her self, rolling out of bed now that she felt sufficiently cooled down. Furthermore, she slipped on cloths for the day, her pants were tight a hugged were naked as well, she decided on a tight top as well, to give her ample breasts some support. The light cloth of her shirt betrayed her showing her nipples were hard from the still lingering arousal of yesterday. She chose to ignore it, the prince seemed like an innocent mind despite his age. He himself said he was technically only an adolescent. He likely knew nothing of sex of the female body. In a weird way you kind of felt sorry for him about that. Once she was dressed to her satisfaction and her unruly red hair brushed into order, she left her quarters and found the prince was already up and reading. She smiled and bowed, perhaps it was being on the second day of the job, but she felt less nervous about seeing the prince and more appointed what a fine young man he was. Very eyes on the eyes, there were certainly worst people she could be forced to protect. Though the sudden realization of how good the prince looked did nothing for her lingering, and seemingly already growing again, arousal." Good morning my lord, I pray you rested well." A single digit marked a page in his book as he placed it on his lap, hands folding on his thighs. He watched her come closer towards him as he smiled. “Indeed I slept well,” He lied.” No doubt thanks to your watchful eyes.” He gestured to his right, pointing at a vacant seat next to him and a tray of food for the both of them. Per protocol, she would eat the same meal as he would, ensuring that no food he ate would be poisoned. He smiled once more as she sat down and began her first task of the day. The food as was always perfect, only the best quality food. Lance quickly gulped down his portion while keeping silent, enjoying the pleasant quiet between them. He would act innocent and pleasant today, showing her a softer side besides the strict ruling god. He wanted her to see him as inexperienced and frail. How fun it would be when he sprung his little trap. He placed his mask on his face as he rang the bell. Seconds later three blinded maidens rushed in and cleaned the room, leaving fresh flowers and some more books. Lance simply went back to reading, occasionally smiling at his warden. For two hours this went on, silence and boredom. When the meetings began again, the warden finally had something to do, if only stare threateningly at the merchants. Three hours the pleading, begging, asking and praying continued until Lance finally decided it had been enough. He left the room and went towards a small cabinet, pulling out two separate packages.“I think you need some exercise and fun now and again, otherwise you might end up going berserk and slay one of the merchants.” He chuckled softly as he eyed her friendly, his eyes speaking that he meant no offense. “Although it is frowned upon, I’d love if you would teach me the art of self-defense, although I would probably never need it with you around here.” He handed her the package while he clutched one of his own. “These are traditional Tor’SHA suits, or bonding rings in the old tongue. They will allow better cooperation between linked mages. No doubt this would help me learn faster. Get dressed and meet me in five minutes in my room.” He gave her another innocent smile as he himself disappeared in his own room. He would wait for her to change before he even considered changing. Furthermore, he could disrobe and get changed within minutes, yet he strangely enjoyed letting her take care of his basic needs. So when she would enter once more, he would look innocent and friendly, asking her gently to help him undress. Her large height and his smaller one would make it harder for her to undo his shoes, socks, pants and briefs without getting on her knees. He would weave the smallest notion in her mind to first start with his pants and briefs before starting at anything else. He would help her with his changing, not once commenting on her new clothing. When he was fully exposed he would ask her to help him put on the Tor’SHA. The suit he was wearing started at the knees and ended at the elbows. It was a full bodysuit that was extremely tight fitting, yet amazingly flexible and stretchy. To make matters even harder he would use magic on his clothing to make putting it on harder for her. While her suit simply slid over her skin like water, his clothing would require tugging and brushing. Especially around his thighs and waist. How would she react and respond to such a situation? The only plus side for her was that she knew the Prince was too innocent and naive to know how wrong such tugging and brushing must be. Yet, how would she deal with the inevitable erect organ? She eagerly ate the expertly prepared food laid out before them. While Hello was no stranger to fine food given her families status, she spent the patter part of her life mostly dining on the simple rations of the military. And while food was never declined on the battlefield, it was often simple and bland. But the food hear put even the meals she had the few times she dined with her father to shame. Just goes to show the level of difference between royalty and the nobility. While the silence morning routine was rather relaxing, it was also a bit on the dull side. She was sure she would grow used to it and even to appreciate it, but she was so used to being constantly active that she felt like she was wasting time or being useless. The boredom was at first cut down and then multiplied by task of hearing requests. While glaring menacingly at the windbags that didn't know when to shut up, her hand fiddling with her sword, half wondering if she attacked one just for the hell of it and claimed 'he was suspicious' would she get in trouble. She was relieved when it was over, silence was far more tolerable that listening to those endless begging and whining. She was surprised and oddly touched by the request to be trained in the art of combat. Furthermore, she had not thought it would be something the prince would be interested in. Getting dirty, sweaty, and potential bruised and bloody didn't seem like royal pass times to her. She gave him a smile back accepting the fancy training suite he offered her. "Well frowned upon and forbidden are two very different things." she said giving him a playful wink "I would be honored to teach you a thing or two my lord." She left for her room, already running through potential training routines in her head, having to think carefully to not do anything to dangerous or exhausting for the young prince, she would hate for him to get hurt. She striped off her clothing and slipped on the suit, they get up he had given her appeared to be roughly the same size as the one he was going to wear as well, seeing as the legging stopped just shortly after her round butt cheeks and the seemed to strain against her ample breasts. Despite the seemingly tight appearance she felt that it fit her perfectly, so light and flexible. As if she was wearing nothing at all. When she entered the princes room, and he sweetly asked if she would help him get changed she couldn't help but give him a warm smile, so innocent and helpless this little royal was. She nodded her head and began. Knelling down she started with his pant and briefs, as she began to touch him the sense of how attractive he was begun to flare up again, as well as a feeling of arousal from her lack of release. Soon he was completely exposed before her, and he requested her to help him put on the training suit. She gladly agreed to. She was surprised it was so difficult to do when it had been so easy on herself. Furthermore, she struggled and pulled and tugged from ever which angle but the Tor'SHA didn't seem to want to slide on. Soon on one reach around to try and pull up the front she found the princes member erect. Her heart skipped a beat in embarrassment. Poor thing probable didn't even know why it was like that. She looked around at the massive member throbbing before her and sighed, it was her own incompetence in dressing him that got him this way. She felt like she had to take responsibility"There is no way were going to get this blasted suit on while your like this lord. I don't suppose you know how to...'take care' of it do you?" Though she asked to be sure she was almost completely certain he did not. "If not I suppose I would have to take care of it for you." she said as if it wasn't a sexual thing at all, mealy something in the way of their training session, as if it was simple as casual as warm up stretches or getting dressed. Lance wanted to grin out, chuckle even, yet he kept his innocent features smooth. The woman had simply offered him to take care of his needs, no doubt try and pleasure him. He eyed her friendly ad he wove a weave upon his suit, sliding the cloth further up his skin and settling there perfectly. He was now fully dressed and ready for combat, the only thing spoiling that thing was the massive erection that was straining against the suit. The suits were made of a grayish tone, yet would not stay for long. “Take care of it?” The young man asked polity, voice holding more questions as if he had never heard of it before. “I was instructed to clean that port of myself frequently yet otherwise leave it alone.” He spun on his heels and walked towards the opposite side of the room, grabbing two training swords. He threw her one and raised his own. “Teach me, if you please.” He moved two steps forward as he waited for her stance to change into a fighting pose. He had never held a sword in his hand and was surprised of heavy a training sword actually felt. Furthermore, he suddenly charged at her when she took a step forwards, attacking again and again. Furthermore, he was reckless, lacked any technique and left himself open far too many times. The only plus side he displayed was that he was ambidextrous in his hands and feet, although that was hard to pick out. He knew she could beat him in 40 different ways and still have at least a dozen techniques ready to beat him again, yet he did not want to beat her. He wanted to make her sweat, work her up. The suit that clung to her and him slowly faded from gray tone it had before to an almost transparent color. This happened slowly, a subtle and lengthy process. Besides the transparency it also became slightly more tight every few moves. It would barely be noticeable, only tightening when someone was fighting. Where her suit before was simply tight-fitting, it now hugged her skin, displaying even the veins on her body. Her breasts were held tightly and the lips of her nether region was displayed as well. The suit digging softly in her gender and rear. I did not spread the fabric of the suit from one of her breast or behind to the other, it now followed the skin, separating the two orbs from the other. The same was for the prince. At first, he simply had a throbbing manhood pressing against his stomach, yet over time the skin was almost coated around his manhood, not pressing again his stomach anymore. Like this they fought on and on, all the while the suit tightening around the both of them. When she spun around and slammed the sword out of his hand, he rushed forwards, grabbing her waist and tackling towards the ground. She blushed at his question after the suite was finally on his body. He truly knew nothing about sex, not even masturbation. How sheltered a life he must live here. She bit her lip hearing the question in his voice. She wouldn't be the one to teach him about sex, that was for sure. It was not in her job description. He would have to probe further on the topic for her to do something like that, since if he did, she would feel responsible for putting the questions into his mind, and it was not like he could ask anyone else these things. She was glad he quickly changed the topic to training, letting her mind go elsewhere other than the topic of potential having to explain sex to a royal. She caught the practice sword, thinking to herself that this must have been something he was interested in before she came here else he would not have these suites or practice swords ready. Furthermore, she was about to start explaining how he should hold the sword and what a proper stance was like when he charged at her, her reflexes taking over and parrying every hack, stab, and slash he threw at her. "Eager to get to the point are we prince? Fine then, we'll start with conditioning. See if you can strike me." While she easily dodged and blocked his every attack, he was far more relentless and had much more strength and stamina than she would have ever guessed by looking at him. She noted that he seemed ambidextrous, perhaps a two sword style or a sword and dagger combination style would suite him better than single. Time went on, and her body began to glisten with sweat, she didn't notice the slow transformation of their suites until it was more apparent on the prince. It was then she became aware of what was happening to her own suite. She felt it squeezing pleasantly around her whole body, it was like a thousand hands feeling her ever curve. How it squeezed at her breasts, her womanhood, and her ass had her heart race faster than the work-out alone could manage thanks to the arousal it was causing, making her to sweat just that much more. As she noted the prince was practically naked before her now, and she assumed she herself was in a similar state, she felt perhaps is best to end this match. With a swift motion she disarmed the boy but was caught off guard by his sudden tackling her to the floor. She could feel his body warmth against her own as if they were holding one another while completely naked. Her body shivered with longing at the sensation, begging to be satisfied though her mind denied the craving of her flesh." You have great tenacity my Prince." she replied, slightly short of breath, though honestly from being hot and bothered than from the workout "It will serve you well once we teach you proper form and how to hold a blade." she commented gently. She could feel his erection pressing against her leg, she had hoped the work-out would have made it go away, but from the feel of things it had only grown harder. Lance smiled, a youthful smile that was almost impossible to deflect. He leaned forwards to grab her training sword that was next to her, at the same time sliding his throbbing manhood closer towards her. He stopped just before his engorged member touched her gender, giving off a warmth that could no doubt be felt by her. Furthermore, he grabbed the sword tightly in his hands as he moved his hips forwards just an inch, pressing the tip off his organ against her suit protected sex, even probing it just a little. As quickly as the encounter was, he was back up his feet again. He grabbed the other sword and placed them both in a small cabinet. “You sure don’t hold back. I’ll be stiff all over.” He said as he turned on his heels and let her glimpse his almost naked form once more before he returned to his chambers, telling her she could have a couple of hours for herself. Seeing as the day was still young, Lance wove new set weaves on her bond, keeping the old ones in place. These would no doubt keep her busy, while working perfectly together with the older ones.-The bearer of this mark will be more and more fixated at the Recipient of this Mark's phallus, mentally or physically measuring it and comparing it to items or her own body.- -The bearer of this mark will unconsciously become more daring and covert in her actions of lust, believing the Recipient of this mark would never notice.- -The bearer of this mark will unconsciously display more and more of her body, either by tighter/smaller clothing or taking certain poses/positions.-Lance washed himself clean, mostly using magic to speed the process. When he was done he dressed himself in a long and thin bathrobe. He knew it was still too early for his regular bath, yet it offered some fun situations. So when she would return he would be sitting in front of a large open fire, his body supported by a large sofa.

The bodyguard (Bound To Pleasure_Flassche)|rating:3.0

Dysturbia (elfowl x ExotikTwilight)

No one really remembered the details of the calamity that ended the 'world that was'. How it happened, or why. The lead up to it and the timeline of what happened. Fighting against extinction, for preservation, had a way of making all of that unimportant. By the time that gave away to 'merely' surviving, the knowledge was lost. The ones who knew dead or insane. Data deleted, corrupted, or lost. Physical evidence destroyed or buried. All the survivors were left with was their lives, a few large walled, fortified cities to rebuild from, a now hostile and seemingly alien world to reclaim, and the fallout of the rapid technological advancement that came from staving off imminent extinction. Years became decades became centuries, and things settled into a new, routine way of life. The number of cities and arcologies grew, each a well defended fortress against the monster, mutant, and bandit infested wilderness. City walls, active patrols and defenses, and raids into the surrounding areas allowed cities to grow back up to New York City/Tokyo sized metropolises. Social freedoms were quite liberal, to keep people's minds off the still prevalent fight for survival and the things that still went 'bump' in the night. A world government coordinated cities and maintained fighting forces, while corps and city councils juggled with each other to be second rank in the order, and extract what concessions they could from the World Government. While in the background, special forces and government agencies kept watch, for threats both internal and external. Seraph Metzger was one of those agents. Working for Styx, one of the larger if not the largest of the agencies, her prior work had been in the field. Investigative, both inside the city and outside. A city as large and as old as Dysuria didn't come so far without having its own deeply buried secrets, in a quite literal sense. A bit funny, she mentally chuckled as she looked over the application papers in front of her in preparation for her 'interviewee's' arrival. The FTA had graduated with a degree in social work and psychology, which while it had been of use, wasn't exactly where she thought she'd been going. Now, in charge of a new program to oversee Omega applicants, she had had to dust off some books and do catch up reading. While not quite a problem yet, the Omega population had been climbing. It was no longer uncommon for one to own more than a single Omega. Further still, there was a new sub breed that appeared, ones with higher libido and resiliency. Termed 'nympho ids', they were a bit harder to integrated into society given their craving for harder, harsher treatment. They didn't seem to mind death, and a rare few even seemed to be able to be revived if they weren't either badly damaged. Even for a socially, sexually open a society as now, that was a bit much for some. Queue Seraph, at her new desk in Styx. Regular Omegas that weren't claimed had already been used as scouts, auxiliary guards or minor lab assistants, and in extreme cases test subjects. Nympho ids...well, that was relatively new ground. Once she'd be looking forward too, as she gave her first test subject's dossier a read over before pressing the button on the desk to let the office secretary know she was ready for the girl to be allowed in for review. Calypso Repaid sat on the couch in the reception room, staring at the floor, her arms wrapped around herself, fingertips playing with the edges of her sleeves. She knew that this was a good opportunity for her, but also knew that it would have very serious obligations attached. Beyond that, all that she knew was that Dysuria's government, and the Omega asylum were directly involved. Whoever she was about to meet would make a very important decision for her life. Mentally the young woman checked over her appearance one more time. Her blonde hair was mostly pulled back into a tight ponytail, the rest being piled up in the bangs that hung down the left side of her face. She was wearing a black suit with a tight pencil skirt that showed off her tits, ass and hips, while keeping her appearing mostly professional. Proportionally she was somewhat slender, though her hips and breasts both filled out all but the baggiest of clothes nicely. For many years, Calypso had believed that she was very attractive, but in the years since she became eligible to be claimed, that hadn't seemed to help her with the Alphas, and she was starting to doubt her appearance, despite reassurances from the city appointed authority figures, and her fellow Omegas. Hearing her name called, Calypso sat up with a start, and looked at the receptionist who was pointing her towards the office door. She stood hesitantly, smoothing out her skirt, and stepped toward the door, her high heels clicking on the floor. She took a deep breath and stepped inside. The Omega looked around the room, her eyes quickly being drawn to Seraph. She breathed in, and quickly caught the scent of Alpha. Calypso's body was quickly electrified, in a familiar but inescapable way."Oh, gods." She thought to herself, panicking for a moment as she felt her core begin to heat up, and her pussy start to become wet. Her mind raced, quickly calculating what was about to happen, what was unavoidable, and what she could work around." In five minutes, my panties will be soaked, in ten my juices will be running down my legs. That's manageable, I can still have some amount of composure, and dignity. In about 20 minutes though I'm going to be humping something, probably her chair leg. So I have to make a good impression before that. It won't be completely unsalvageable at that point, but I'm likely to be begging her to fuck me in 40 minutes or so, so that's game over." Taking a moment to pull herself back together, Calypso blinked, then started forwards again. "May I sit down?" She asked, calmly, pushing her lust and anxiety deep down inside herself. With her answer, she acted accordingly, and smiled at the Alpha across from her. "Hello. My name is Calypso. It's a pleasure to meet you Ma'am. May I ask what this is all about? I know there's something about a program, or something along those lines. They were a bit tight-lipped otherwise." She said, trying to pass off her words with a bit of levity, and a smile. She did her best to project an image, of a cool, calm, and collected woman, who was fully capable and in control of herself. Seraph smiled at the young omega as she entered, and made a mental note at how well composed she was even after catching the alpha's scent. Far more self-control so far than many other omegas, a point in her favor. Polite, and intelligent, as well. Three points so far. "Please do" she answered, gesturing to the chair in front of the desk." And you may. I also need to state, if you decline there are no hard feelings, but since much of this is confidential we will need to scrub this interview from your memories. Don't worry, this isn't an Omega only thing, and we can deal with that if we come to it." Folding her hands together and resting them on the desk, she leaned in a little, breasts jiggling slightly in her latex suit top, with the angle giving the girl a little more of a peak at the tops of her hefty chest and to cleave. The space between them on the smooth metal surface was clear, all papers, electronics, and holds having been cleared off before the interview." Have you ever noticed in the news, in stories or gossip, strange going ONS or tales? That if the 'sheep' just woke up and looked close enough, they would be able to see through the smokescreen at what was really going on? Horrors out in the wilderness, terrors in the dark and deep of cities, and government and corps stabbing each other in the back while shaking hands out front? Be honest..." Seraph trailed off, unclasping her hands to point one at the badge resting just off center of one of her breasts. "My promise you won't get in trouble." Calypso couldn't help but begin to feel apprehensive as Seraph told her that her memories could be erased if necessary. Such an idea was terrifying, but surely something like that was just science fiction. Was this all some big prank, a joke? If so, it was simultaneously a very well put together, and very poorly told one. Official governmental summons routed through her asylum, somehow holding in a very official looking government facility, all for some candid camera show or something? It didn't add up. Her focus was broken by the voluptuous, latex covered breasts, jiggling in front of her. The girl's eyes were irresistibly drawn in." Gods I want to just wrap my lips around them, and suckle until she cums, or I fall asleep." She thought, desperately fighting with her brain to hide her reaction, and pay attention the to the conversation again. Her emotions riding on a roller coaster between the lust this Alpha was inspiring just by existing, and the terrifying conversation they were somehow having in spate of it. Calypso, frowned, pressing her hands into her lap. "If what you're implying is correct Miss, then a badge should only make me less willing to believe that I can speak freely without consequences." She thought over her words slowly, pausing for a moment before cautiously starting. "There's always... rumors. Little hints too. Things that don't quite make sense. Travel between the cities on foot isn't allowed. It's supposed to be because of the radiation, but convoys of unshielded trucks pass between cities all the time. Surely if the radiation outside was terrible enough, any produce brought in that way would also be dangerous, right? We'd just be killing ourselves slowly with every bite of food. Some of the stories though..." Calypso frowned and shuddered. "I'd rather die than run into some of the "monsters" you hear about in hushed whispers." She didn't want to admit to this woman that she had actually fantasized about being captured b some of the less deadly monsters, simply having her body used over and over as she was kept tied down, or had her mind broken to be their perfect slave." As far as the corps and the government fighting. That much one would think is obvious. There are stories of public and corporate clashes even back in the times of the old great democracies we learn about in history. One has to assume that some people are just as greedy for both power and money as they were before the collapse." Calypso said, working though her thoughts out loud, as she started to dig her nails into her thighs, trying to keep her focus. Suspicious. Intelligent. Observant. Obedient. So far Calypso was ticking off all the boxes one after another, even with Seraph's pheromones and aura slowly smothering her, even with as best as the Alpha was doing to try and keep them in check long enough for the Omega to complete the interview. As the girl spoke, the dominant's lips turned to a slight smile." Just about" she acknowledged. "The wilderness, and the undercity, are dangerous in ways we keep hidden from most people. Partly to keep people from panicking, as they are wont to do even in this new era." There was a light chuckle. "Like you noted with government and corps, like old like new. And, to keep people from trying to wander out where they aren't supposed to. Best case, well...they get a quick death. Worst case...they'll wish they were dead, or they end up letting something out that harms even more people."" Those are the things we deal with. The horrors and terrors. Researching, containing, and eliminating or putting to better use. Any and all ranges of science and engineering We also deal with rouge parts of government and corporations, ones that are causing too much trouble or exceeding their boundaries. Espionage, sabotage...even making individuals 'disappear' if need be."" I guess, your turn to ask a question or two if you'd like." The news that the worst of the rumors about Dysuria, the undercity, monsters, the government and the corps were all true brought a frown to Calypso's face. She would just as soon have kept living in ignorance, feeling safer, and more able to trust the powers that be. For a brief moment she considered asking to simply be given the mind wipe and sent on her way. That of course, wouldn't change reality, it would simply allow her to ignore what she had just been told, and play along with what everyone wanted from her, a dumb, happy, productive Omega, who could keep an Alpha from going off, and probably make a nice little bit of tax revenue while she was at it. There was an opportunity here, even if it wasn't obvious, they were asking, not telling. The blonde woman had to dig her nails into her thighs, to not blurt out 'May I please be fucked?' when told it was her turn to ask questions. Instead, she leaned forwards, and looked down as if contemplating what the Alpha had just said. "One or two questions, huh? That'll just leave a dozen or so after that, so I guess I better make them good, huh?" She took a moment to get herself back undercontrol, then actually tried to think of a good question.' Gods it would be so hot if she had a cock to fuck me while I suckled on her tits. No! Calypso, focus!" After a long moment of silence, she looked up into Seraph's eyes, and asked. "What exactly is my role in all of this? What sort of thing am I being considered for? What would I be doing?" She paused, and listened carefully as Seraph explained Seraph was definitely picking up on Calypso's arousal by now, how the Omega was valiantly trying to keep her mounting desires under control. With more training, maybe somebody modifications, she could be made more resistance...except to certain triggers. Teammates, for one.' Or...' The next thought made the Alpha lick the corner of her lip instinctively, like a predator hungry for prey in front of it, before pulling that little slip back under control.'...or, an Alpha...' Having worked solo, or with squads for only short periods of time, the FTA was aching for an Omega. One to love and cherish, to fuck and torture till they cummed their brains out." Good, our questions line up" Seraph answered, trying to move along from her own momentary slip as if it never happened. "Your role will depend on you. Your education, your experiences, and your interests. So why don't you give me a bit of background, and heck...take a few guesses at what roles or activities you think we would have that'd you’d be a good fit for. Let's see how close you cum... I mean come." Calypso's breath caught in her throat, as she saw the predatory glint in Seraph's eyes, and the tiny lick of her lips. She had suspected it before, but now she had undeniable proof for her own mind that the Alpha wanted her. And nothing made the Woman more turned on that knowing that she was wanted, especiallyby an alpha. In a flash, the Alpha was back to business, calm and serious. Calypso was well and truly shaken now however, if she had been standing, the juices of her arousal would be rolling past her knees, as it was, her skirt was getting soaked, and she could only wish that she wouldn't leave a noticeable spot on her chair. She shook her head, and did her best to refocus and answer Seraph's question." Um, ... me, right. Well... I have a bachelor's in industrial engineering, I haven't put it too much use yet though. I've been working for an omega and little nonprofit, focused on helping those of us that suffer more severely from Alpha withdraw, not something I suffer from much myself. Furthermore, I've only ever had acute symptoms, but with the population having a larger and larger number of Omegas, some of us are really struggling, for some Betas or the rare Delta works, but some need an Alpha to get them into a good regular routine, and ...um... well... fuck them regularly." She wondered briefly if she should mention that she had been able to prove herself as an empath, able to read surface level thoughts, with enough time to relax and focus, and able to read strong emotions and detect brainwaves even though walls, regularly, or how there was a noticeable temperature drop when she was especially stressed, or disturbed, but decided against it. The longer she could make it without that being written in a government file the better, and if she was unlucky, revealing such information might land her in one of this organization's labs, just on the other side of the glass. Calypso looked up at the ceiling, trying to focus, and pull her thoughts together. "I suppose I could help with logistics, and any sort of process development. I'd be able to help with manufacturing, if that somehow ever came up. Unfortunately I don't really work too well around Alphas. Um.... well... at least not in more... intellectual and professional ways... like any given Omega... um well... I'm a very good cum receptacle Ma'am. I can give a lot of orgasms to anyone who would want to use me. Furthermore, I'm a very attentive and obedient lover..." Even as she started to talk, Calypso tried to stop herself, she was starting to sink into something that she wanted to fight against. Shecouldbe professional. Shead to be. Stopping herself abruptly, Calypso cleared her throat. "Um yes... but I suppose that goes without saying Ma'am... I'm sure any Omega would say the same. ... um.... I think that covers it." Seraph let her finish, a little bit of an amused expression as Calypso nearly sank all the way into an Omega's default pattern when needy and in the presence of an Alpha they felt some pull toward. Deciding, perhaps unfairly, to have a little fun once she started to smell the woman's damp arousal, she leaned back in her seat a little. Pulling her hands off of the desk, she folded them in her lap, her arms coming down around the sides of her breasts and pushing them in and out a little. Her top held, of course, but it looked almost like they were read to burst out, and the way her flesh bulged around the hem a little indicated they were packed in and larger than they appeared at first." Logistics is important, we have a variety of locations, some of which can be a bitchallengingto get to." There was emphasis on the word, 'challenging'. "We don't do a lot of lower end or volume production. We're still a part of the system, so we need to give other...'interests' some 'leverage' over us, and for cost. High end, small volume and specialty equipment we do, if only because of the care and precision required, as well as some of the components..." Trailing off a little, she collected her thoughts. For a few brief moments she had to battle down her own urges as they swam to the surface. Of grabbing Calypso by the hair and dragging her across the table, of unzipping and gagging her by pushing her thick, hardening cock into Omega's mouth. Of grabbing her wrists and pinning them to her back, and playing with her rear pussy as she forced her to suck her off. Eyes refocused and snapped back on the girl as the Alpha quickly fought her way out of her brief daydream with a polite smile. "I see no reason why you couldn'the professional with Alphas, like you are now with me" she said, hopefully being encouraging. "It's great that you did social work, even if that wasn't your education degree... I didn't exactly end up where I thought I would be myself originally. My own education and plan was to what you were doing...social work and psychology" she winked. "Believe it or not, even Alphas are not immune to being worn down mentally and acting like a needy little at times. And, an Omega with experience in social work sometimes works far better with helping other Omegas cope with a multitude of things." Calypso's eyes began to slip off of Seraph's face and onto her generous breasts, held in the tight latex top as they pressed out, pushing into the black, shiny material. The omega's eyes grew wide, as her expression morphed into a needy desire, almost willing the breasts to burst out of their tight confines. Talk of logistics brought the blonde woman's mind reeling back into the moment. She knew she was slipping, and she needed to finish this interview as strongly as she could. She nodded with understanding as she listened the Alpha describe the intricacies of their work. Furthermore, she was amazed when it seemed that the Alpha sitting across form her started to drift off, and get lost in her own thoughts. Cautiously, she reached out, and lightly touched Seraph's mind with her own, vividly seeing her visions of what she wanted to do to the omega. For the brief moments that they flashed though the Alpha's mind, the Omega could almost feel the scenarios as they played out, feeling the thick cock in her throat, her arms pinned behind her, and the fingers playing with her rear pussy. "Oh fuck yes. Please" She moaned, nearly under her breath, immediately realizing what she had done, and desperately hoping that her interviewer hadn't heard her, or noticed the gentle intrusion to her mind. Calypso blushed hard, when Seraph mentioned her being professional around Alphas, words that she had thought she had kept to herself. Had she accidentally said something out loud? Was Seraph also able to read minds? Did she somehow, manage to guess what she was thinking from her expressions? Or was the choice of words merely a coincidence. Though Calypso found it a bit uncanny and unnerving, nonetheless it was reassuring. She nodded with interest as Seraph mentioned her degree being in the field Calypso was working in. She looked at the Alpha with incredulity when she mentioned Alphas sometimes acting like needy little if they were worn down mentally. "I definitely did not know that, and would not have believed it if I had just heard about it from another Omega, or read it somewhere. I never thought that Alphas could act needy, except perhaps as an excuse to be waited on by an Omega in a cute outfit. It's very understandable that you need an Omega sometimes though, it can be hard to open up if you're just horny and needy all the time, and sometimes you just need someone that you can talk with as an equal, rather than a Master or Mistress you're subservient to, so you can talk freely." Seraph's empathy wasn't as developed as Calypso's, so the Omega's tasting of her surface thoughts went undetected. But, she was picking up on the Omega's increasing struggle to keep her composure, and her growing arousal. It wouldn't take an empath to figure that out at this point." It's not something that anyone lets on, obviously. For one, an Alpha's pride and dominance would be hurt. We're supposed to be the strong ones protecting everyone, and seeing one broken down would be most unsettling wouldn't it?" she chuckled. Brief, dark sensations swirled from memories of her own dealings with trying to mend broken Alphas, and her own times of mentally and emotionally putting herself back together. A subtle shake of the head cleared those away." Ah, but for the matter at hand, we can enter you into a rotation program if you'd like. Have you cycled between psychology, the closest we have to industrial and related development, and logistics? While safety can never be 100% guaranteed, you would be kept away from anything potentially dangerous. I would also be your 'mentor' so to speak, until we get you appropriately placed and settled in." Calypso listened as attentively as she could manage, feeling her juices continue to leak out of both of her lower holes. "Yeah. I guess it would be really unsettling seeing that. ...but... well. I don't know, after the initial shock, I think I'd just want to give them a big hug, and then do whatever I could to help them get back to a better place. ...really taking care of an alpha sounds really cute. Bringing them what they need while they're lying in bed, feeding them soup or something, until they feel better enough to just grab you and start fucking you hard and fast. G-giving you a quickie so that you can go back to taking care of them, and they can get back to being sick. ... Telling the big strong Alpha how important they are to you as they fuck your brains out. Cuddling up to them as their cum is leaking out of both your holes, and gently letting them know that you'll always be there. Mmmmph." Calypso shook her head to clear it. "Excuse me, I seem to be getting a bit carried away." The Omega nodded as the Alpha proposed a dual role for her. I might be able to work as an "Omega Den Mother" of sorts perhaps? Giving others someone to talk to while not getting too horny to focus on what they need to, then being able to hand off data, and observations, to someone who actually has credentials. If somehow we ever do go industrial I'd, be able to help with up scaling processes. Keeping away from dangerous things does sound good." She said with a bit of a withering smile. When Seraph mentioned potentially being her mentor however she paused. "Um...you would be my mentor? That... um..." She shifted in her seat, doing her best to not give in to the urge to gyrate her hips, or start grinding on or humping something. She was only mostly successful. "Th-that sounds wonderful... you're um... very... "Sexy, attractive, hot, beautiful, kind, nurturing, authoritative. Her mind shouted at her. "Um... well... You seem really... interesting." She said, hoping simultaneously that she somehow wasn't giving too much away, but was still being complimentary. "Thank you...it would be my job in this case, onboarding qualified Omegas." Each time Calypso lost a little of her demeanor and control, it wore on Seraph's defense as well. As the girl described how she would treat a mentally harmed Alpha, the FTA could only wish how she had had someone like that for her. Her first few field missions, before she really got her feet on solid ground. For the few rougher ops after, when things got really bad and dark. Even then, she had never really had an Omega mate or mates of her own, and the 'loneliness' was nigh unbearable as of late...maybe, Calypso could be her first? Someone to cuddle with at night, have fun on the weekends? She wondered what her interests and fetishes were... Again forcing those thoughts away again after a few second delay and clenching her legs together a little to try and quiet her throbbing member, she again gave a small smile. Have to keep the pheromones and aura down...poor little thing is suffering enough..." No worries...times have been a bit rough on many of us. We'll start you off with the Omega counseling, on the lighter/easier cases first to work you up. I do warn you, the harder cases may not have any good endings. Many were victims of accidents or incidences, and are on a comfort of living or destructive urge suppression basis." Calypso's face fell somewhat as Seraph described mentoring as her job. "Oh... I thought you meant we would be... Sorry. That would be ridiculous. I'm sure you'll have a lot of other Omegas you'll be onboarding for the program." Even as she looked down into her lap, her cheeks reddening, as she tried to avoid the Alpha's gaze with her own from embarrassment, the Omega could feel her clit throbbing. She pressed her hands into her lap, her hips still circling slowly, now grinding her vulva into her fingers. The horny Woman started to space out, losing focus on Seraph's words. She felt the dark disappointment and hopefulness from Seraph's mind, but wasn't sure how to interpret it. After a few minutes, Calypso realized what was happening, and looked up at the woman across from her. For a long moment, she stared at the Alpha with lust, considering begging to be fucked, but managed to control herself, and instead, quietly spoke "I'm terribly sorry, Ma'am, but I don't think I'm going to be very useful for the rest of this interview. I hope this doesn't make you think any less of me but... can we finish things here?" Before I tear dignity to shreds. "That we would be together?" Seraph completed the sentence for her, before slowly standing up. It was much harder to keep in control now, now that she could smell the Omega's sweet arousal, the body's natural signalling that it wanted a good fucking. Her own cock, tucked away in her latex bottoms and pants, was already bulging and hard, enough so that the bulge was noticeable as she rose. The overcast emotions at the front of her mind were parting as she picked up on Calypso's"I...uh...certainly wouldn't mind..." she swallowed, as another fantasy came to mind. Of pinning Calypso to the wall and clamping a hand over her mouth, as she shoved her other hand down the front of her skirt, fingers searching for and finding what must be a ripe, juicy city and pussy at this point. The thought was quickly blinked away, but not before more of her dominant aura, the subconscious pseudo psychic presence all alphas had, leaked out a little more." But...yes." she resumed, the tip of her cock started to leak precut in a dark, growing damp spot as it managed to soak through even the latex she was wearing. "We can...adjourn, and conclude later?" The words that she did not dare to say fluttered into Calypso's ear, gently floated through her mind, and wrapped around her consciousness like a warm blanket. For a brief moment her heart stopped, skipping a beat. Only to start up again pounding like a sledgehammer. Her head tilted up, eyes meeting Seraph's, shining with wonder, adoration and hope. Her mind Geetha followed her as she stood, her head tilting back... back... until something in her peripheral vision grabbed her attention. Furthermore, her eyes were tugged down, and she saw the straining bulge just below Seraph's waist, stretching the tight latex bottoms that were otherwise clinging to the Alpha's curves. "Oh gods! Your cock is so big!" Calypso moaned, the words just falling out of her mouth, unbidden. Her eyes widened with fear as she looked up at Seraph, and blood rushed to her cheeks. This was supposed to be a professional interview, what kind of slut did the Alpha have to think she was now? The Omega started to open her mouth, just as Seraph's answer hit her like a boulder, and the freight train of her overflowing fantasies knocked her completely off kilter. To the floundering empath, she was right there. She felt the Alpha's strong hands pushing her against the wall, the helplessness of being pinned, far too weak to push back and free herself. Even as she was pressed against the wall in her mind, she moved back, unconsciously pressing herself against the back of her chair. She felt the firm, strong hand over her mouth, making her fight to breath harder, and easily muffling any sound she could make to a whisper. She felt the other hand slip inside of her skirt, slip beneath her soaked panties, and dive between her legs, zeroing in on her swollen, throbbing clit, and begin to play with it. Another moan slipped from her mouth. "Oh yes! Please! Please, yes! Yes please! Oh, yes Mommy! Yes!" For a brief moment, the omega returned to reality, she blinked, and looked at Seraph, her eyes lingering on the wet patch of precut, shining on the latex, before sliding back up to the Alpha's face, gently smiling, and offering a break. For a brief moment, Calypso considered spitting out a grateful apology, then bolting out of the room finding the nearest bathroom that she could, and fingering herself silly. The moment passed, however, and the flustered Omega found herself doing the one thing that she knew that she never should do to an Alpha, especially one working for the government. Calypso dived into fantasy, andbroadcasther emotions empathic. She quickly returned to the previous scene, Seraph pinning her to the wall, teasing her to an easy orgasm with her hand silencing the smaller woman, and then going further, dragging the omega's skirt and panties down to her knees, making the sturdy fabric act as makeshift restraints, holding her legs together. The strong, gentle Alpha then pulled out her cock, and bathed it the drooling arousal coming from her front and rear pussies, and then lining it up with her quivering hole, taking a moment to whisper, "Be a good girl for me" before pushing her cock inside, quickly burying it to the hilt." Oh! Fuck me! Yes! Fuck me Seraph!" Calypso moaned loudly. Her own words enough to snap her out of her trance. She blinked, breathing heavily and staring at the Alpha interviewing her for a long moment, before quietly murmuring "yes please a break sounds good" and shakily rising from her chair to leave, face completely flushed from embarrassment. Seraph's face was also flush red. She was quite surprised when Calypso broadcasted back at her, and played out the mutual fantasy in both their minds at once. A regular Alpha would be furious to be mentally intruded on as such, and the response would range from a 'mild' beating or punishment to far worse, along the lines of the Omega's fears of being turned into a lab vegetable. But the girl was with no regular Alpha or agency. Sure... Seraph would 'punish' Calypso from withholding her psychic ability from her, and should the Omega join her Alpha handler would certainly put her to good use, in a way that didn't involve dissection or turning her into a lab rat. It did make her seem more suited to a psychological role, even if that wasn't her original degree. The growing warmth and dampness in her pants grounded the Alpha's thoughts again, as the very vivid 'daydream' had caused the rather sexually deprived dominant to cum herself. At least, now, the two could be embarrassed together, as the simple but sweet white chocolate scent of her cum started to fill the room. Reaching down, she pressed a button under her desk to kick the ventilation in, before too much scent got to the struggling Calypso." En...end of the hall" she answered, making a pointing motion to Calypso's right. "There's...ah...an Omega specific cleanup room. Take your time, I uh..." she gestured to larger wet shine on her pants now, with a giggle like that of a horny, shy schoolgirl...though, with a tad deeper tone. "...need to clean up as well..." All that Calypso could manage was a small nod, and a breathy "Th-Thank you." at the Alpha's directions, before she quickly walked out of the room. She all but ran into the Omegas' room, not even bothering to look around before tugging down her skirt and panties, her hand diving between her legs, quickly seeking out her throbbing clit. The girl sank to her knees in the middle of the room, her eyes closed shut tight, furiously rubbing her aching clit, as her other hand moved to her breast, groping herself through her suit jacket and shirt, playing with her nipples."OH SERAPH! FUCK ME! YES! PLEASE! FUCK ME! PLEASE FUCK ME MISTRESS! I'M YOUR LITTLE FUCK TOY! YOURS AND YOURS ALONE!" She cried out, her half-shouted words drowning out the slick sounds coming from her fingers, moving like a blur on her clit, rubbing her closer and closer to climax, until she tipped over the mountain, and free fell into ecstasy. Her body fell to the floor, as she convulsed, waves of pleasure radiating out from her core, as she moaned unintelligibly. She lay on the floor panting for a few minutes, letting the room swirl around her. When she had a bit better of a grip on herself, she looked around, taking in the facilities. The room was half normal restroom, with a door on the far side leading to a set of showers, and three "Satisfaction Areas" on the other side labeled "Standing" "Sitting" and "Lying down". Calypso immediately knew which one she needed, and picked herself up off the floor, hobbling into the "Standing" area. Inside was a blank room with a touch controlled panel beside the door, which confused the Omega for a moment. Usually there were a number of dildos and manholes at varying heights, with perhaps some automatic-release restraints. The facilities here, instead seemed to be state of the art. Calypso looked over the control panel, and was quite glad that she had already rubbed out an orgasm, There was a big red button simply labeled "FUCK ME" That seemed to be a default option for when an Omega was too overwhelmed to make any decisions. Below seemed to be a number of pre-programmed scenarios, and at the bottom, was a button for a fully custom session. Calypso's eyes drifted over the options for "Brake", "Gang bang", and, "Grabbed from behind" and settled on "Pressed against the wall" She tried to pull her eyes away from the button, to see what else the machine had to offer, but she found her eyes sliding back to the one button again and again. Finally, the Omega let out a sigh of frustration, and pressed the button. The display screen, flickered to a message. "Initializing Please Stand Still" with a small swirling pattern in the corner. Suddenly, an arm shot out of a slot in the wall, and grabbed first one and then the other of Calypso's arms, quickly pulling them over her head. Another arm with a large pad on the end, slammed into her back, pushing the blonde haired nymph into the wall, then pressed her against it firmly. A thick, but still breathable cloth wrapped itself around Calypso's mouth from behind, muffling any sounds she tried to make. A voice echoed through the small space, it was a stereotypical "Alpha" voice, dripping with aggressive lust. The deep, rough voice growled. "What do we have here? What a tasty little morsel. I hope you wanted to get knocked up you adorable little slut, because that's exactly what's about to happen. If not... He... well I suppose that's just a 'you' problem." A spray of Alpha mating hormones filled the air, and Calypso felt her pussy and as drooling at the idea of getting fucked, properly bred by an Alpha. An arm from the floor knocked against Calypso's ankles ensuring her legs were properly spread, before a long rod shot up from the floor, quickly aligning with her dripping pussy, and shoving itself deep inside, before another assaulted her rear hole. Each of the dildos, was just large enough to stretch the hold it was being roughly shoved in. "Ah! Fuck! You feel just as delicious as you look, you little skank." The voice rasped. The dildos started to roughly thrust in and out of Calypso's vulnerable holes, speeding up and slowing down sometimes syncing up, sometimes drifting out of rhythm. The booth seemed to be able to tell how close the Omega was to climax, whether it could feel her pussy through the cocks inside her, or detect her hormones. Instead of rushing her to climax however, The machine seemed to try to hold her on the edge for several long minutes, letting the rough Sex build in intensity for several minutes as the air grew thicker and thicker with both Omega and Alpha hormones. When it seemed like She was starting to go mad from the prolonged pleasure, knots inflated at the base of the dildos trapping them inside of her, and she felt them both begin to squirt jets of something warm, thick, and sticky inside of her. Calypso came hard. Screaming and thrashing against her restraints with strength that she didn't know that she had. The booth seemed to attempt to prolong the Omega's climax, first by inflating the knots inside of her a second time, then filling her with even more of the synthetic cum. Calypso was left, stretched, stuffed full, and panting hard. The warm tingling afterglow shimmering all across her body. The machine seemed to have one last surprise as it deflated the cocks inside of her. It let out a stream of water mixed with chemicals to both wash out the artificial cum, and to nullify any hormones left in her system. The Omega yelped as she felt the gush of fluids splatters out of her onto the floor, but watched in awe, as the booth did its best to clean her, her clothes, and itself. In the end Calypso was left clean and scent-free, with no evidence that she had just had two earth-shattering orgasms, or how badly she had been affected by the Alpha hormones when she had walked in. A minute or so after Calypso left, Seraph stood. Cock twitching in her panties, the tip steadily oozing precut, she Alpha quickly exited her office and made a turn toward the Alphas' restroom. At least, she thought to herself, she made it in before she had started to leave drips of it on the floor. And much like the Omegas' room, it was multiple use. There was the restroom, the section for showering and cleaning off, and for pleasuring. Though, the pleasuring room was a tad different. In the past, it was like the Omegas' in that simulated Omegas and chemical equivalents. With recent demographic changes though, some of that was phased out. Instead, depending on the Alpha's need, it was now serviced by actual Omegas that were in critical need. Blindfolded with a hood, of course, to keep their identity secret, especially since it could be anyone from the cute fem boy secretary at the front desk to someone completely unrelated, like the hot airhead at the market cash register. An in heat with a one encounter fling, no one was going to remember voices or smells. Here, Seraph made for the stall that had 'Blowjob' marked on it, where a milky white short stack was waiting inside. Kneeling on the floor, arms stretched out on either side and shackled to the wall, there would have been a sizeable puddle of cum underneath her were it not for the drain. The scent of pheromones, however, was still hefty." Please..." the omega whined pitifully, the chains making a clinking sound as she tugged on them. "Please gag me with your cock, I need to suck and swallowing unmet!" Her pleas turned into a muffled surprised as Seraph, who had started pulling her cock out of her pants when she stepped into the room, shoved it right into the pleading Omega's mouth and took two thick fistfuls of her blonde locks. "Oh, I'm going to gag you alright" she sneered, sexual aggression pumping through her veins as her tip began to leak even more, into the back of the girl's throat. The sub gagged as she started to bob her head, no room for words as every time she tilted her head back a little it was to suck in what little air that she could. Even for an Alpha, Seraph's member was big, bigger than what most were used to. There was barely room for the short stack to constrict her throat as she bobbed her head, helped along by the Alpha's grip on her hair, the rim of the head rubbing extra hard as she snuck in air around the spurts of pre-cum. Through this, Seraph was quiet, her thoughts only on how she wished it was Calypso she was throat fucking as she moaned happily and came after a few minutes, pushing in deep as she emptied her balls right down the milky blonde's throat. For nearly a minute, Calypso simply leaned against the wall, panting hard. Slowly centering herself, and preparing herself to meet with Seraph again. It would be embarrassing. Even though they both knew that she couldn't help her behavior, and had been fairly resistant to her natural instincts, it still felt humiliating to lose control in such a carnal way. Even just remembering the words she had said brought a heavy blush to Calypso's cheeks. She let out a long moan, burying her face in her hands as it slowly grew in volume and pitch, before reaching a climax. The girl rubbed her face and stepped back out into the bathroom. Walking over to the mirror, she washed her face, then did her best to fix her hair and makeup. All in all she looked very well put together, without the cloud of pheromones, it would be impossible to know how much she had just lost control of herself, without having seen how she was acting before. Of course, The woman interviewing her had seenexactlyhow she had been acting, and knew very directly that she was the cause. Calypso could only hope that she would remain satiated enough to stay coherent through the rest of the interview. Quietly she made her way out of the bathroom, and back to the office, knocking gently, but firmly on the door.

Dysturbia (elfowl x ExotikTwilight)|rating:3.0

A dream come true_ Singer and fan

It was a special day for Must as she would be singing at her favorite bar. She used to be a regular at the bar. That she had her own helper at the bar and knew what kind drinks she liked. However lately she had not been around. Must was finally back after being gone for a year. The past year was a living nightmare for her. She had to fake her death to leave the crime world. She almost died at their hands and has finally recovered. Sadly she was blind now and luckily she knew Braille. But it did not help with everything. Life was a huge challenge. Today was her chance to meet and possibly hear her star. So today gave her hope. Musa walked into the bar and had her cane out and sunglasses on. She walked to the stage and sat at the piano. She sat down and started to play. Furthermore, she had no sheet music and just played from memory. Finally, she started to sing. " Wild flower blossoming. I beg of you tell me this, so I know too. Why do people fight? They all act as if it's right. Don't they know that's no way to live? " Soon tears fell down her face as she pushed on. "Valiant flower blossoming. What can you see. When ...you look down on me? Why can't people say that they're sorry for the way that they fought. I thought we once could." Soon she finished all that she had memorized. She got up and went to a quiet corner by herself and ordered a drink. She was thankful to play for her idol. Furthermore, she took off her long knee-length coat. Furthermore, she had simple jeans and flat shoes. Her shirt was simply red of the shoulder even top. She wore cheap, simple jewelry. She only played when she had coat on as to hide her identity. Must hair was long and straight and when she took off her glasses they showed her dark, glossy, brown eyes. Oh, how she missed seeing others and the bar. Musa just settled in and relaxed and listened to all the sounds. Trying to picture all that was happening. Just praying that she be able to talk to her idol. *Brad was the guest of honor in the bar that night. He had become so big a star in the space of a year that the bar made it a priority to make sure he was given his own VIP area and drinks on the house. Even though he was now pretty famous, he still made time for the people who made him a success in the first place - the fans. He would never usually turn down the chance to give someone his autograph or have a picture and because he was the definition of 'tall, dark and handsome' he was extremely photogenic. He worked tirelessly with very few days rest and so this trip to his local bar was relaxation for him. Furthermore, he stood at 6ft4 with short, dark hair and dark brown eyes with a tanned complexion complimented by light stubble on his chin. He was enjoying the open mic night dressed in a casual shirt and blue jeans with his favorite brown shoes, sitting and drinking some vodka when a seemingly blind woman made her way slowly to the piano and mic. A smile instantly formed on his lips as he heard her voice. He could tell she was nervous to begin with, but her voice took only a few seconds to become very clear and soulful, to his amazement. After a couple of minutes he stood to applaud her with the other resellers, and he took a minute to speak to security to ensure the VIP area was secure before he walked over to the corner table the woman had sat down at* excuse me....ma'am.... I'm Brad. Can I just say you have a very, very good voice.... Must smiled as she heard clapping. It had brought her great job to know others liked her music. She had entered her own musical world. But quickly snapped out of it as someone spoke to her. Must quickly noticed it was Brad. She blushed bright red as he praised her voice. " Thank you. I'm Must. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm a huge fan of your music." She said sweetly. Her dark brown eyes looking at him. She turned to face Brad and placed her cane beside her. It was funny that his music had saved her from giving up after her ordeal. But now she was at a complete loss on what to say to her idol. It meant everything that he was talking to her. Musa wished she could see him. But she did not need her eyes to see how kind he was. But Must could also hear others gossiping about her and Brad. There were even fan girls asking why he would even bother with a blind girl. That he deserved better. But she ignored them and tried to focus on Brad only. She pulled out a piece of paper. " Can I please have your autograph?" She asked sweetly. Must was very sweet and kind. A contrast to her former assassin self. She did not want to make a fool of herself so she is the pen and paper on the table. Must did not want to embarrass herself in front of her idol. She was still getting use to being blind after all. She looked toward Brad. " Thank you for saving my life Brad. Your music saved me from giving up after going blind." She said gratefully. Oh, thank you....it's always a pleasure to meet a fan *he laughed softly, sitting down beside her. He smiled softly as she began to get paper and a pen from her pocket* of course you can have an autograph Must...that's a wonderful name you have....*he was quickly taken aback as she then thanked him for saving her life* oh wow.... it's quite an honor to have played a part in saving someone's life. I'm so glad you take heart in my music...*he took the pen and wrote a heartfelt message before signing it* you know, words can have such meaning. I'm glad they made you feel better about yourself. You're.... you're blind, yes? *He slipped the piece of paper into her hand* would you like to come into the VIP booth with me? She moved over and giggled. " Thank you. You're very kind Brad." She was grateful for his kindness and sweet words. It was touching to know somebody cared about her wellbeing. " I'm very grateful for you talking to me and giving me an autograph." Must was a bit shocked when he wanted to confirm she was blind. " Yes... I'm . Blind." She confirmed. She blushed harder as he offered her a place at the VIP booth. " I would be honored to." She said as she put the autograph and pen in her bag. She smiled gently. For the first time in her life. Someone made her feel like she belonged and mattered. But was a little nervous about getting there by herself through the crowd. You're welcome Must...*he looked behind him and saw the crowd gathering, and he slowly stood up, speaking briefly to a nearby bouncer who quickly shouted to the crowd for them to clear a way for them to go back to the VIP booth. Brad returned to Must and kneeled down, saying into her ear* ok I'll take your hand here, and you just take your cane with your other hand, and I'll guide you over....*with that, he softly clutched her hand to help her stand before making sure she had her bag and cane as they then slowly walked through the amazed, starstruck crowd. Some laughter was mixed with delight as the crowd seemed to appreciate that he was helping her, even if she was getting special treatment that nobody else got* Must nodded. She put her bag over her shoulder and stood up as she grabbed her cane. She then let him slowly guide her to the VIP area. Must smiled as she looked at him. She may be blind. But that did not mean she was oblivious. She could hear others talking and gossip and even videotaping. "I'm sorry. I gave an unfinished song. I was hoping to do a whole piece. But never got to finish it. I'm sorry. It was only half done." She whispered to him. Her eyes lowered to the floor in embarrassment. Must gripped his hand in thanks. *he laughed softly as she apologized to him, being guided by him to his booth. He let her sit down and asked the bouncer to try and keep people away from them. He returned and sat in beside her as she got settled at the table* you've got nothing to apologize for. It was very beautiful hearing you sing and play the piano. That's a skill I surely don't have *he laughed softly, gesturing to the bar to get them some champagne* do you write songs just as a hobby or is it your job? *He kept his gaze upon her, seeing her eyes were noticeably darker due to her blinded state* She carefully sat down and nodded her head in thanks. "Thank you. You sing masterfully. I only managed to learn a few songs on piano. I learned to play before I went blind a year ago. Furthermore, I do it as a hobby in my free time." She said calmly. She was on high alert and noticed somebody placing drinks on the table. " How can I repay your kindness Brad." She asked as she looked toward him tears fell. " I'm grateful for your kindness." Hey, hey, it's ok come on....it's ok it's just some drinks for us *he smiled* please, you don't need to thank me. I should thank you for letting me hear you sing. You've definitely got something that I haven't seen in someone in a very long time you know....*he reached over and took a napkin from the tableside, reaching to wipe a tear from her cheek* you've.....so you've only been blind for a year or so? I....what did you do before that, I mean for work? *As he spoke he poured them a glass of champagne each, enjoying the chance to relax that evening* Must nodded. " Sorry." She apologizes. She finally relaxes. Furthermore, she let out a small smile as he wiped her tears away. Furthermore, she looked at him as he asked about her job. " Things I'm not proud of. If I tell you. You will hate me." She put her lips next to his ear. " I was a top end assassin. I wanted out. They hunted me and almost killed me. I faked death. There poison almost killed me and I recover. But the poison robbed my sight." She said as she started to cry. " I understand if you hate me now." *he looked slightly concerned as she said that he'd hate her for what she was about to tell him, but he looked directly at her, making sure she had his full attention as she leaned over to whisper in his ear. Initially he was quite shocked, but that was quickly taken away by her beginning to cry again* hey it's ok Must.... it's ok.... I don't hate you. In fact, if it's possible I respect the hell out of you for even being here tonight despite all that's happened to you...*he lifted the napkin again to wipe her tears away as they rolled down her cheeks* I'm sure being blind has taken a lot of getting used to? She was shocked by his words. Must sighed in relief. " You're the first to not judge me and care about me. It means a lot to me." She said honestly. Her eyes looked at him calmly. " Yes. But I see as my punishment for my past or at least part of my atonement." She enjoyed having someone care about her. " Thank you for caring." Must felt her heart skip a beat as he wiped her tears away. She never thought it's possible. But she was falling in love with him. But figured he was out of her league or reach. She placed a hand on his shoulder as a sign of thanks. I'd be a pretty horrible guy if I didn't care for my fans, wouldn't I? *He smiled, noticing her eyes placing over him, struggling to stay still. Her sight had clearly deteriorated to the point where she truly was blind from the rest of her life.* I don't see your blindness as a punishment for anything. It's like, it's almost like it's a gift....a challenge for you to prove to yourself and everyday else how strong you are. Do you realize how much strength it takes to go up there to sing your heart out and play piano, all while being blind? I get nervous every time I go on stage and I can see everyone and everything watching me...*he gently clasped her hand as she put it on his shoulder* She smiled. " Being blind helped me overcome my fear because I can't see all the eyes on me. Really? But you look like your at home on stage performing." She was surprised that he touched her hand on his shoulder. Must smiled sweetly. " It thanks to you that I'm here." She said honestly. Deep inside she was conflicted as he seemed like her dream guy. He basically won her heart. The first to accept her. To be kind and understanding. His positive attitude was a nice change. " It is a challenge and yet you helped me accept it." I can't imagine how life's suddenly changed for you but when I watched you up there, it looked like music brought you happiness? I'm honored that my music has brought you comfort in probably the toughest challenge you'll ever face. It shows you have heart...*he smiled and slid the glass towards her hand* I've got a drink if champagne for us.... I hope you don't mind alcohol? *He smiled, taking a sip of his own glass* did you....have much more you wanted to sing? Why don't you.....give me a special performance while you're sat here?....*he noticed a few women were talking to the bouncers trying to get autographs from Brad, but this was his time to make time for Must, an extra special fan, and so he was glad the bouncers were doing their job* She took a glass and took a sip. " Thank you, Brad. Music does bring me joy and happiness. I know the rest of the song..." she said. She was nervous and scared and yet nodded. She took a calm breath and opened her eyes. Musa started to sing. " When the sky has cleared and rains have passed. I still won't forget the past. You are not alone on your own. I remember you back then trembling in front of me, Crying deep inside silently. When you see loved ones withering. What do you do with your remaining time? When your leaves can't speak a word and your thoughts cannot be heard. How do you convey your love? When the summer's sun is hiding and winds are harsh against our backs. Everything seems to overlap. I'll sing in your memory. All the times you've spent with me. We've lost your name, but I'll sing for you." She sang and finished the song. She took a sip of her drink. Must finally relaxed. Brad was growing on her. Was it true love or what where these feelings she had?must relaxed. *Brad sat back and just listened to her. She had a voice that was quiet but soulful, something he found adorable in anyone who could sing. Her voice didn't even seem nervous anymore. It was like music made her happy even when she was going through mental pain. There was something about her that attracted to him to her, not just physically, but mentally. He sipped his champagne as she finally ended her singing* bravo Must! That was awesome... you're very talented. Did you always have an interest in singing or was that just since you left the military? She blushed as he praised her. " Thank you." She said. Must took a sip of her drink before put the glass on the table. She leaned back and relaxed. "I learned to play an instrument or 2 during my free time. But sing and songwriting only started after my sight was gone." She explained. She felt more attracted to him as they talked. He had a good soul and that was very rare to see in her life. " If I may ask. What made you discover your love for music?" She asked politely as she glanced his way. *he laughed* that's a question I get asked a lot. If you notice, in my music I sing a lot about personal trauma and stuff like that. Well, back when I was a kid, I knew I could sing and because of that I joined a choir. When other kids found out about that I got bullied, actually. I think I found music as a way to let feelings out and.... I think I see that in what you sang to me. Up on that stage is my happy place...when I get rid of the nerves of course *he laughed softly* have you ever wanted to make it big, with your voice and instruments? You got talent....big talent... She was nodded and smiled. "I'm glad music saved you. We have a few things in common. As a kid I wanted to. But as soon as I could walk. I was trained to be what they wanted. I did want to and was my plan after escaping. But then I went blind and don't have funds or the means to. Plus I'm still trying to cope and learn since I'm blind now." She said as she rested her hand on his leg. She took a sip of her drink. "I'm just trying to survive and get things I need. " Right.... right...*he slowly pondered what her life must be like now. Was she in desperate need of saving herself, or was she an independent woman, fighting to survive the challenges' life was throwing at her* I have literally no idea what life was like for you or indeed what it's like now but my life feels like a walk in the park in comparison...*he laughed, letting her keep her hand on his leg* were you born into the whole military thing or what? It takes serious balls to want to escape all that so that says a lot about ya Must. You got the heart of a Lion....*he smiled* do you come here a lot by the way? I've not really seen you here before...." I did between missions." She giggled. " Sounds like your life was no walk in the park as well. I did come here often though I had" my own table in the back." She admitted. She closed her eyes. " Life hard but your music helps me go forward. I'm hoping to find a better job in the future. But many see me as a walking hazard." She said calmly. Must thought how she had no family or friends to aid her. She was soon going to run out of money and needed a better job soon. But she kept quiet as not to waste the time she had with Brad. *he poured her another drink as she spoke to him* I'm sure there are plenty of jobs you could do.... I mean, your voice and your piano playing could take you anywhere you wanted to go. I'm serious, your voice is beautiful Must. *He smiled* I'm sorry, you probably think I'm trying to get you drunk on champagne *he laughed* I'm just having a great night with a fan.... it's always great to make time for my best fans, and you're clearly one of them for sure...*he smiled and looked over as some people left as the open mic session ended in the bar* She took another sip and nodded as thanks for the drink. " Really? I never thought about doing a musical career. People see me as a hazard. I guess there right since I went blind a year ago. I'm lucky if my clothes match some days and lose things all the time." She giggled as she admitted her struggles. " I think your music amazing. You can hold your own. But me? I would not know a good deal or able read contracts or anything. I have to get my life stable and consistent before I can make a meaningful career. But I will consider music." She said happily. That's got to be a hell of a challenge every day. But it's got to feel a little funny if people notice you're wearing odd socks or shoes, right? *He laughed softly, hoping that making light of her predicament would make her feel just a little better about her life* hold on....*he bent down under the table to look at her footwear before sitting beside her again* nope, you're good tonight, everything matches *he laughed* She giggled. " Honestly it's embarrassing and is one of the reasons I can't look professional at trying to get a job. " She sighed in relief as he told her things matched. " I guess I got lucky today. But honestly I wish there were more people like you. Who where honest and kind. Maybe one day I can go to one of your concerts." She said hopefully. Must smiled as she took a sip from her glass. She set the glass down as to not get tipsy or drunk. Since she was a bit of a light weight when it came to alcohol. Must was not a heavy drinker in any way. She only got drunk enough to calm herself and feel numb to emotional stuff in her old life. But nothing more and nothing less. *he smiled, listening to her talk about her job* well it's their problem if they don't want to employ be a blind person who has problems dressing. I'll bet nobody in this room has no clue just how tough it is for you every day. You have to rely on touch and stuff....that's pretty crazy...*he downed his champagne before setting the glass down* of course you can come to one of my concerts. In fact, I'll speak to my team, and I'll make sure you get free tickets to a concert soon. Or....even better, if you give me your number I can arrange for you to come backstage, and you'll be closer to the action than everyone else. How's that sound?...do you live close by the way? How are you getting back home from here? " I would be honored. How can I repay your kindness?" She asked sweetly. Must pulled out her phone and showed him her number. " I love to repay you somehow Brad. You're far to kind. It warms my heart to know your a kind and caring soul." She said sweetly. She looked at him. " I came here by taxi. I live not far from here. 5 minutes away really." Must said quietly. She gently squeezed his leg as a thanks. It was clear that this meant everything to her. Must sensed that the other fans where jealous and others saw it as sweet. Oh, don't mention it, it's alright...just see it as a thank you for being such a great fan *he smiled and took her phone to give himself a call, so he could have her number on his phone* right, I got it now.... I'll give you a call sometime cos...well, you'd probably be a genius to be able to blind text me, huh? *He joked with her, hoping his little jokes were easing her anxieties around being blind* well this place is closing soon and I....don't think it's raining out so....would you want me to walk you home? After that I'll get myself a cab to get home. I got about a week off from touring, so I plan on doing a lot of nothing for a while *he smiled as more resellers left the building, smiling at him as they walked by* "I can type blind. But I can read it." She giggled. Must was shocked. " I love to walk with you. But I notice you still have other fans and I don't want to keep you from anything important." But it was clear that his offer made her blush sand would make her happy. "Please forgive my messy house. I yet to sort anything." She smiled sheepishly and rubbed her neck. Security here have been pretty good at keeping my privacy, so I'm cool with that. Don't worry about anyone else, alright? I just.... I guess I want to make sure you get home okay. Furthermore, I know the last thing you'll want is getting sympathy from me, but I guess I'm just a caring guy *he laughed softly* plus you're my number one fan, right? *He grinned* so that's more brownie points right there...*he nudged her teasingly and give her leg a little squeeze* ok, I'll get the guys here to let us out the back away from the crowds alright? Just wait...*He stood up and spoke to a bouncer nearby and asked to go out through the back door. After, he came back and helped Must stand up out of the booth with her cane and walked with the security until they got to the back and came out onto a well lit alleyway* there we go....away from the crowds.... you'll have to tell me where to go to get back to yours... She nodded. " Very well. Yes I am a fan and you do have a good heart." Must said. She giggled at his good-natured teasing. She was a bit uncertain after him leaving and decided to get her cane out. Furthermore, she started feel a little bit better. But still could feel the effects of alcohol. Must went over how to get to her house. Soon Brad was back and offering her a hand which she gladly took it. She placed her arm on his arm." ok. It is not far." She luckily was good a telling where they were. Within 5 minutes they came to an old run-down house. Enough to live in. But it was not in good shape and in a shady area of town. The lights did not work. Luckily the water and air conditioner where running. It had 1 living room and had a small kitchen. 1 bedroom and 1 bath and a utility room and a few closets. It seemed like a tripping hazard in some place. It was clean. But there were hazards and not the safest place and not really blind accessible. " Welcome to my home." *Brad gladly helped her get home along the dark streets. He was amazed at her ability to memorize her way home by just retracing her steps blind. He noticed immediately that she didn't live in a good area, but it probably worked for her. Still, he wondered if she realized that lights didn't seem to work as they got inside her very small house* wow.....this is....small *he laughed softly, standing in the small hallway* do....do you know the lights aren't working? I can barely see you in here. Have you lived here just since you escaped the military, Must? Must" I can't afford lights right now. This was the cheapest house I could find. " Military? I used to be in the military. But the job I did when went blind was assassin for hire in the crime world. I was known as phantom. In the crime world could claim my riches. But they would know I'm alive. So as Must I'm very poor. I only need the basics until I find a good paying job" she explained as she found the old sofa and sat down. " Thanks. You for bringing me home." She said. Oh damn, sorry....not military, sorry *he smiled, correcting himself. He let her find her sofa, not wanting to impose himself by constantly offering help to her. She'd lived there long enough to be able to do these things on her own. He smiled as she thanked him* oh you're welcome... I couldn't let you walk the streets at night to find your way home. I'm seriously impressed that you didn't even need my guidance by the way....that's a skill *he smiled, standing beside her* can I help you with anything? Do you need me to take your shoes off or get you a drink or anything? " Former military really since it there I learned most of my skills and survival training." She said giggled. " My life complicated. But you brought joy into my life for once and made me feel human and like I actually mattered." She smiled as she relaxed. She shook her head. Furthermore, she gave him money. " For the taxi home. It is the least I can do to repay you." She said calmly. She smiled as she looked toward him. No, no, no... I ain't taking any money, it's the least I can do to just get you home safely. One of my team can pick me up or something. Are you comfortable now though? Is there anything you need me to help you with before I go? I'll be sure to give you a call tomorrow just to say hey...*he smiled. He was worried about her staying in a small, dark house, even if she couldn't actually see anything anyway and that was constantly in the back of his mind. He didn't want to worry her but telling her he was concerned for her wellbeing*" You sure? You're too kind." She said calmly. Must gazed at him. " No I'm fine thanks. If you don't mind me asking. Why do you care so much?" Must asked. " I never meet anyone like you before. So I just got curious. I'm not trying to be rude." She said. Must did not know why but his sense of humor and kindness made. Her heart skipped a beat. She never felt this way. Was it loved or some other strange emotion? Me? *He sat on the edge of the sofa to talk to her* you can thank my mom and dad for that.... I guess they just raised me to have respect for people who respect me. And you're a fellow singer so you've already gained my respect. I'm just me....and if people don't like it, that's their problem really *he laughed* why wouldn't I care for a fan like you? *He smiled* She smiled. " Sounds like a good family. Well not everyone meets somebody like me every day and my background. You have so many adoring fans. I was surprised that you would give me special treatment. Most would try to get rid of me or something or hate me. So I was just touched by your kinds and repay you as you gave me hope and where a light in my life." When I heard your voice and your abilities on the piano I had to come talk to you. You've got a gift there, I mean that....*he smiled* honestly you don't have to repay me for anything. Everyone deserves hope in their life, so why should you be any different? Yeah, you've been challenged by losing your eyesight but from what I can see you're absolutely killing that challenge by just living your life and doing all you can to make you happy. That's awesome. And yeah you got a past as this kind of assassin or whatever, but that doesn't mean you can't be a good person, right? *He smiled* Tears fell from her eyes. " You truest are a miracle in my life." Must said calmly. She giggled at him saying she was doing great at getting around. " Your very sweet Brad and I'm glad I could finally meet you in person is a dream come true honestly." She said happily. " I'm sorry that there are no lights. You can take my flashlight if you wish." She grabbed a flashlight and handed it to him. "How do you calm the nerves on stage? I imagine that it can be scary in front of so many people." *he smiled and took the flashlight from her, switching it on and shining it towards the corner of the room to create a dim but acceptable level of light in the whole room* you don't have to apologize for how you live, Must....*he smiled* nerves? I get nervous every single time I go on stage, actually. I never know what kind of crowd to expect, so I freak out thinking it's going to be terrible. Be then I go out and honestly, I just imagine everybody naked, and it kinda makes me laugh inside and relaxes me *he laughed* were you nervous tonight? " Well yes. Being a person who been in combat most of there and being in the shadows. I'm not used to all attention on me much less my hero. So yes I was scared." She said calmly. She looked at the ground. " It was hard to know who could trust. But getting to know you meant a lot to me. She blushed as she realized what she said. She has never been open or admitted she liked them. Now inside she was worried how he would take that. It was not everyday you hear someone admit your dear to them. Likewise, Must....it's been cool getting to know in you too *he smiled* and don't worry, you're not just a fan anymore...you can tell everybody that you actually know me *he laughed* just don't tell too many people.... I'll bet plenty of people going to get a little jealous of you *he laughed* and after hearing you sing tonight, you got me as your biggest fan.... She giggled. " I'm normally a chatty type. I have not talked this much in years." She admitted calmly. She rubbed her neck embarrassed as she blush bright red." I bet people have already started rumors and by tomorrow it will be on the internet and the gossip will start." She said. Must sighed and went to a closet full of instruments. She grabbed a guitar. She then sat on the sofa. " Do you play?" She asked. *he laughed at her mention of the Internet gossip, but he knew all too well that she was likely correct. People would spread rumors, but Brad was good with being able to block out the noise from people who didn't know the real story* I haven't had this much fun just meeting someone in probably years....*he smiled as she walked over to a closet to take out a guitar* I do actually.... I've written a few songs with my guitar, but I've never actually brought the songs out. Maybe someday I'll serenade you with a special performance *he smiled* so you sing....you play the piano....and now the guitar? She giggled. "I'm glad your having fun. " She looked at him. " In my free time when I could see. I learned a few instruments. I did have a fair amount of free time at times. So I would train and learn how to use a few instruments. It was better than work or socializing or anything. Piano was the last one I learned. I think people would love to hear you play." Must said as she tuned the guitar. Slowly she started to play one of his songs on it. " A person taught me a guitar version off your song as a friendly gesture." *he was amazed as she began to play one of his songs beautifully on the guitar. He sat watching her, knowing that it was her happy place when she was getting involved in music. He could see her passion for music, something she probably didn't realize she was so good at. Furthermore, he put his hand on her leg as she played for him for a couple of minutes* that was.... special Must. It makes me happy that music seems to make you happy. You play wonderfully. It's truly awesome Must... She smiled softly as he touched her leg. But played the whole song before stopping. She blushed as he praised her. " Thank you. It means a lot to have you say that. It feels like I finally found a friend or ally." She said calmly. She started to hum a song She heard Brad sing on the radio. " I often listen to your music or my music lessons on my radio." Must said as she smiled happily. Must placed a hand on his hand squeezing it lightly. It showed that she deeply cared and respected him greatly. You absolutely got a friend in me Must. You just need to realize the gift you have...he held her hand as they talked* it means a lot to me that you listen to my music. It's all very personal to me so it means a lot that you would get happiness listening to me. Do you....want to come to the bar again tomorrow night? They've asked me to special a short set for them, and it would be cool to have you there too. Only if you can of course... I'll get you in the VIP booth too. Special people deserve special access, right? *He laughed softly* is there anything I can help you with before I go? I don't want to overstay my welcome here...." I would love to come!" She said and hugged his hand and kissed it. " Nobody been this nice to me in years. You have given me hope. I have nothing else to do. I would love to come to the bar tomorrow. But what time?" She asked. Tears fell from her eyes as she looked at him. He clearly meant a lot to her. Must" Sorry if I crossed any boundaries. I just never felt this emotional in years or... I can't recall being this happy." She said as she blushed and looked at the ground. Her hair act as a curtain to hide her embarrassment and tears. Must felt like a fool right now. Did she really say she loved or liked him with her actions? It was true, and yet she was sure he not feels the same. She may have ruined her friendship. What if he had a girlfriend or something? She was worried and scared. *he smiled as she confessed to how happy he was making her. He knew she was an emotional person, but he didn't realize he could make her so happy she would cry with joy. After she kissed his hand he moved closer to her and put his arm around her waist* it's really ok....you know, we all need friends. You don't have to apologize for your actions towards me.... it's not like we're in a bar full of people right now, right? *He smiled and caressed her back a little bit* I'll arrange for a cab to come pick you up at about 7 tomorrow evening, alright? It'll take you right to the bar, and you just tell security you're my guest... She hugged him and rested her head on his chest. " Thank you. I was never emotional at my jobs. But after going blind and listening to your music. I became more emotional. Thank you, Brad." She looked up at him. " I would love to go. Thank you." She said gratefully. Must smiled and wiped her tears away. " Thank you." She said calmly. She pulled back and placed a hand on his shoulder. " For someone like you could never overstay there welcome." Must stated sweetly. She spoke from her heart. " I will be ready at 7. I would love to be there." She finally managed to give him a grateful smile. Suddenly she heard a car. She let go. " Have a good night. Thank you for everything my friend." *he let her pour her heart out to him before she let go, hearing a car. He stood up and looked out the window* well that ain't for me cos I haven't rung my guys yet *he laughed* you're very welcome to the bar with me tomorrow, you don't have to thank me.... you're a great person, you just gotta remember that...*he smiled and sat back down beside her, placing his hand on her knee again to let her know he was there* if I ain't overstaying my welcome then.... I can stick around a while if you want? I ain't going to leave my number one fan when they're upset *he smiled and took off his jacket* She giggled slightly. " Your very kind." She said as she leaned against him. " I'm nothing compared to you. You inspire and help others. You embrace life and your happy as you deserve. I took it from others. So I kinda see my suffering as part of my penitence for my past. But you like the sun in that your bright and shining. But your also like the moon. You guide people and give them peace and comfort." She said. She set her instrument down. " Was it your dream to become a star and be famous like this?" She asked as she slowly cheered up. *he put his arm around her again as she leaned into him* I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. But, that was your job, and I'm sure you got paid pretty well for it, hmm? Everybody has to make money somehow and being an assassin was your way. It wouldn't be my ideal career but hey, I bet it was your perfect job, and you were pretty handy with a gun *he laughed softly* I actually studied at university to do something in computing, so I was always wanting to do that. But then during university to make a little money I'd go out in town, and I'd sing in the street, you know....like a busker? It just so happened someone recorded me, and it got onto social media and....here we are. It's all happened seriously quickly..." Oh yes I got paid big money. Money was never a problem. But it was the favors I had to pay back. In the crime world you pay your debts. The debts I got where not money but contracts. If I asked a favor then in return they could call me to do a job for free 1 time for free." She explained. Mus closed her eyes and listened to him. " It seems to me music is more your style. You can still follow your dreams. Are you going to take the music path or follow your original dream?" She asked as she yawned. Must was curious what he saw in his future. She had yet to decide or rather she needs to get herself a better life before something like that. That's a pretty tough thing to do. I bet you felt trapped? *He enjoyed talking so openly to her about his hopes and dreams* when I first got noticed I couldn't have imagined just how quickly my life would change. The opportunities and money I have now been way beyond anything I ever thought possible, so I'm definitely not going back to my old dream. But money doesn't bring happiness....it just brings comfort in life I guess. Do you have a new dream, now that your life has changed? " Yes when one has endless enemies they want the best assassin. But money only brings comfort and stability. I always wanted a relationship or get married and have a comfortable life. Someone who actually likes and loves me. But I honestly don't have room in my life for dreams anymore. Mostly trying to survive and find a good job. I'm glad you at least found your passion and dream. I'm just happy for you." She admitted. She pulled out a book. " But I traveled a ton. This is a book where I kept track of every country I visited. It has pictures and stamps. Do you travel much?" *he smiled, taking the book from her and opening it as they talked* of course you can have hopes and dreams. Losing your eyesight doesn't mean you're worthless. You can do lots of stuff *he looked through the book* damn, you travelled loads.... I haven't travelled much before this year. My music has taken me to places I never dreamed of going to be honest. I would love to travel lots more now. Are you afraid to travel away from home again? She shook her head. " I would love to travel. I am rich and travel as I wish if I had access to my old money. But I have hidden it and can't get to it without drawing attention. So I'm stuck starting over. As you can tell. I was only to snatch some of my stuff." She giggled at him traveling loads. " Well yea I guess you could say that. I might do what you do perform outside at the festival fair coming in a day or 2. Hopefully earn enough to pay bills." She said. She rested against him. " You would have love Asia such a rich history. I always loved trying new foods and customs." *he looked a little baffled when she mentioned not having access to her money* what's the deal with that? Did those guys you worked for keeping your money when you escaped? It all seems like a very secretive world you lived in *he laughed softly* you should definitely sing at the fair, that would be so good for getting you noticed. I'm tellin' ya, use that gift you have. You have no idea what might happen. It could change everything *he smiled, rubbing her arm softly* I've seen a little bit of Japan, but it was literally just a few days. I definitely want to explore Asia in great detail one day..." They have eyes and ears all over. They used to send money into my account. But they can't get access to my hidden stash. So while they are looking for it. I can't act or go near my money least they learn I survived." Must explained. She listened him and smiled. " Ok I will give it a chance." She closed her eyes and relaxed. The temples are amazing and so are the cherry blossom trees. China I love there clothes and food. There festivals cool in my thoughts. The world has so many things to offer. Where would you love to visit?" Must asked. Must mind went to all the places she uses to go to. That's some crazy stuff Must....and you can't get access to it or don't want to? *He talked openly with her* you can't let them guys control you anymore. If it's your money you deserve it all. I've been to America a couple of times in the less couple years and would love to go back. And..... I've never been too anywhere in Africa so that could be cool someday. You've been everywhere....that's amazing. Did you....kill people everywhere you went? Like....did you shoot them or.... how did it work? " I can't cause I'm blind and going against them means fighting for your life. In the shadows it kills or be killed. I can't fight in this state. I would be killed if f they knew I was alive and only phantom herself knows where it is. Phantom being me. But they are likely keeping an eye on my old house." She glanced his direction. Must nodded" Africa cool. But not a place I want to stay long. Safari are fun though and the tribes... are interesting. It hard to say where I would like to settle though." Must sighed as he asked. " Some places I visited to relax others took jobs there. It just depends on who hired me, or I was doing a favor for. That life was anything but simple. How I ended someone was a painless death if could. Painless and quick. Over the years I got picky about jobs I take on." She explained. I have no idea how you must feel inside.... I mean, I'm sure your head is so confused about all kinds of stuff? If....if you made it with your singing I suppose people would know who you are and where you are and..... I guess that wouldn't be great? *He sighed, his mind spinning about ways he could help her in some way to make her life easier* I suppose it's not easy to meet guys anymore? I don't even know if you're single, I'm sorry *he laughed softly* She giggled and then laughed. " Yes I'm single. But I would only date or enter a relationship with someone like you. You're the opposite of me. Your cheerful, happy, caring and understanding. You accept me for me as I am. Despite my past you see me as a person and care." She said honestly. Must placed her hand on his knee and leaned against him. She closed her eyes and relaxed. This was felt like a dream to her. Only Must realized that it was real and that she was actually felt safe and happy for once. *he smiled* well, you know, everyone needs somebody to relax with....right? Why should people hate another person for what they chose to do for a job or how you look? You may not have an eyesight, but you got soul....and lots of it. Andrea Bocelli is probably the most well known living opera singer, and he's blind. So that should give you hope. You just gotta find that strength in here....*he put his hand on her heart, just above her breast, feeling her heart beating quite fast as he cuddled her* I'm honored you would date someone like me.... She nodded. " I agree with you. Yet we live in a world where everyone judges each other. Who is the best? Who the most powerful? How do I get influence or money. That is the way of the world. Funny how the world works is it not?" She asked. She slowly started to get tired. Furthermore, she smiled" Your very sweet and caring. I guess you have a point. Blind people can do stuff. I never thought of that really. Your something else you know that?" She giggled. " I marry if they were like you in every way." Soon she fell asleep laying on him. *he smiled as she spoke to him, talking of how people treat others. He knew she was right, and hoped she realized that she could do more with her life than she thought. He laughed as she told him she would easily marry someone exactly like him. Was she really falling for him even though she just met him? It was becoming very clear this man was her idol. He'd never experienced infatuation quite on this scale. But, it was quite adorable, for a fan to appreciate him this much. Eventually she fell asleep, he could tell as her breathing slowed and she twitched slightly. He waited a few minutes before he slid away from her and stood up to reach for a blanket at the other side of the living room, slowly placing it over her* Must grumbled as he skids away. But after he put the blanket on she smiles. "Brad. Love..." she seemed to love him or maybe just her talking. She snuggled the blanket and looked so innocent and sweet. She was so tired that she seemed to be in a deep sleep. Must did not hear him even though her floor made sounds every time he stepped somewhere. *he stood, watching her in her slumber as she called softly to him. He whispered softly to her* it's ok... Must... I'm here.... I've just put a blanket over you....*he smiled and softly sat down beside her, wondering what he should do. Does he leave her stranded and alone or stay with her until she woke up again? He had to admit to himself he was very weary of her being blind, and so he wanted to look after her* She would get restless and rolled off the couch. " Ouch!" She struggled to get up. " Gee." She said. Must tried to find her cane. She suddenly heard steps, and it made her jump and she hit her ankle. " Who there?! Please don't hurt me." She clearly thought Brad had gone home. She was kind of in a panic. Furthermore, she looked scared and on edge. N-no Must, it's ok.... I'm here, it's Brad...*he leaned down quickly and touched her arm, seeing her scared for her wellbeing as she began to scramble a little bit after being startled from falling from her brief slumber* it's ok....you just fell asleep for a couple of minutes. I've got your arm, just stand up....is your ankle ok? We should probably get you to bed Must....c-can I help you? *He was clearly a little nervous about asking a woman about helping her to bed, but he had to admit to himself he was finding himself caring for this woman more and more he stayed with her* She looked at toward the voice. It was Brad. She could tell by his voice and it calmed her. Must manages to get up with his help. She blushed at him seeing her in such a state. But blushed bright red at him offering to help her go to bed. " Sure." she said shyly. " Thank you for helping me Bard. I'm very thankful." Must flinched as she put pressure on her foot. " I think I pulled a muscle. But it should be fine tomorrow." She said calmly.Meanwhile, she felt so dumb. Her idol was here, and she got distracted and fell asleep on him. Then made a fool of herself. " Sorry you see me in such a state. I seem to have made a fool of myself. Sorry you had to see that." She said honestly. *he put his arm around her when she flinched at putting pressure on her foot. He picked up her cane and carried it with his other hand before she guided him towards her bedroom* you don't have to apologize for anything Must, I just want to see you be ok and get to bed safely. It can't be very comfortable on the couch, so I guess.... I wanted to make sure you got to bed ok. Uh....what do you wear to bed? Is it in your closet? *He pushed the door open to her bedroom as the soft moonlight lit the room nicely. He guided her to her bedside opening the covers for her* She leaned on him to ease the pulled muscle. The room was light by moonlight anger it had carpet coming up in a few places and the walls paint was coming off. The bed was well-used. " Basically what I'm wearing, and then I shower and change in the morning." Must answered. Must got in bed. " Thank you." She said tiredly. One would mistake her home for abandoned house or haunted house. Doors where loose and the shower was a hazard cause there was a step that she could have tripped over. Though she had no washer or dryer. She likely went to a cheap laundry mat. She was trying to save as much as possible. Furthermore, she clearly was not best in places and mental had not recovered from her ordeal or gotten use to being blind. *he sighed softly as he took a moment to look around the room. Although the moon lit the room nicely it was clear she was living in a tired and well-used house. Everything needed changing, but he hoped she knew that. Hopefully she wasn't just getting used to how her life was now* oh ok...well as least let me help you take off your socks and shoes, especially if you have a sore ankle...*he leaned down and placed a hand to the back of her leg before he eased the first shoe off, from the sore ankle before taking the sock off, and repeating the process with the other foot* there.... I hope that's better....*he stood up slowly and gave her cheek a light stroke, almost a loving touch* She nodded at let him take off her shoes and socks. She noticed how he was so gentle with her sore ankle. Her ankle was slightly swollen from hitting the table in front of the sofa. Must nodded. " Thank you and it does." She said sweetly as she leaned her heel into his hand. Very slowly did she stroke his hand in a caring way. Must then let go and laid down and fell asleep. She was clearly tired from that evening. Yet she enjoyed herself completely. Must was unknowingly was falling in love with Brad and looking forward to tomorrow evening. *he smiled as she stroked his hand before lying down and slowly falling asleep. She looked like an angel, and he couldn't quite believe the connection between them in the space of a few hours. When he was sure she was tucked into bed and comfortably asleep, he went back into the living room to get his jacket before he let himself out. Luckily, it was a door that couldn't be opened from the outside without a key. He quickly phoned his agent who arranged a cab to take him home. Going the few miles home he quickly got to bed and fell asleep. The next morning came by a little too quickly for his liking and he reluctantly got up around 10am to write some music and make sure of plans for his set that evening. But first, he made a call to a local electrical company to make sure he paid whatever possible for someone to go round to Must's and get lights and all the electrics working properly. He couldn't let her live like she was, so he would give her this surprise, even if she couldn't actually see the new lights working. It was his way of showing her he was truly a caring guy. The evening came by quickly, and he made arrangements for a cab to pick Must up. As he was doing a special set he made sure to dress in a nice jacket, shirt and jeans combo with brown shoes - his usual 'on stage' look - before getting to the bar quite early to go backstage* Must dreamed of her and Brad being and couple and singing. She used to dream of being a singer. Must perfect dreams where ruined by her fear of her past life would catch her. She jerked up awake and sighed. She grabbed her cane and did. Her morning routine. A nice shower and then she grabbed clothes. Must put on a knee-length dress that was white with lace. It had short sleeves and was loose fitting around the legs so she could walk easily. She then put on a brown belt to secure it in place. Finally put on brown ankle boots. Then went about her day. Her day was a little weird as men came in and got electricity running. She found out it was Brad who did this. So she went to the park and played the gut air and singing as to get money to repay Brad. She stayed there until 5 pm. By then she was home and got a ride to the bar. She decided to come early to avoid crowds. She told the guard that she was Brad guest. The guard brought her into the bar area. There she sat at the bar until Brad came. *after a little while Brad would come on stage just to set up his microphone. There he'd look over and notice Must sitting at the bar. A smile came upon his face as he walked over to briefly speak to her. He would touch her on the shoulder and talk into her ear* Must.... I'm so glad you got here safely, my guys never let me down, so I'm glad they got you here. I'm starting my set in about 10 minutes time, just for an hour or so. You look great tonight....*he smiled, gesturing to the bartender to get Must whatever she wanted to drink* She sat there for a bit as she waited for things to start. Must was taken by surprise and jumped a little startled. But soon realized it was Brad. She blushed at his compliment toward her. " Thank you." She then handed him an envelope. " Thank you're a repay you for your kindness today." She said winking. She was paying him back for the electric people. The bartender got them both drinks and set them down. Must nodded her thanks. She held his hand on her shoulder. " Good luck. I'm looking forward to this. Thank you for inviting me." *he looked confused as he handed her an envelope as the bartender gave them their drinks* oh no, no, I ain't accepting a penny....that's just me doing a favor for my number 1 fan. I can't have my fans living in a dark house *he laughed* I hope everything works okay now.... I know some good people so they'll have done a great job, trust me...*he smiled, lifting his beer* you're welcome, I'm glad you could come tonight...and if you want we can hang out again after my set? Furthermore, I had fun last night, and it's been nice to get to know someone like you....*he tapped her hand and slid it back onto her lap as he prepared to leave her* I've told the bartenders to get you whatever you want on the house, so make sure you enjoy tonight, alright? See ya later Must...*He walked away and took his place on stage, beginning his set to the adoration of the audience in attendance. A couple of hundred people had packed into the bar and it had a great atmosphere. Soon, he came to a slightly slower part of his set* thanks everyone....my next song is dedicated to a special person here tonight....her name's Must....and this one's called 'The Dream'....*within seconds he was serenading her, even if the other resellers had no idea who she was. It was a song of hope, never giving up and following what makes someone happy. The audience loved it, and the end was greeted with loud cheers all around the bars. Another 30 minutes passed, and he was done with his set. He stopped as he was getting off-stage to sign a few photographs and get a couple of pictures with fans before he walked up to the bar again and put his hand on Must's shoulder again* hey buddy.....y'alright? She nodded her head. " Thank you. you're too kind Brad. I would not miss this for the world." she said. Must took a sip and nodded. " I would love to hang out again. I agree it not every day I find a friend that means the world to me." She said giggling. She let him move her hand to her lap. " See you later." She said. Knife she craved him. She never wanted to settle for so long or wanted him so bad. She was emotionally attached to him. Her body ached for him. She dared not make a move or let her real thoughts known. Suddenly Must heard him and swayed. He sounded even better than on the radio or anything really. Tears fell as he has sung a song for her. She wiped the tears away and enjoyed the whole show. It only made her desires stronger and love deeper. But suddenly it stopped and she snapped to reality. She figured that his fans wanted him. So she just stayed put. Must felt a hand touch her and heard Brad's voice. " Yes best night of my life." She admitted to him and turned to face him smiling. *he smiled as she turned and spoke to him, making him smile when she told him it was the best night of her life* wow....best night of your life.... I'm honored Must. I hope you liked my song to you, it's one of my favorites, and it kinda describes what you need to do to be happy, you know? Here...*he took her hand and guided her over to the booth from the night before, telling the bartender to get them champagne before taking Must over to their booth* we're over at the booth now by the way....a bottle of champagne is coming up....*he sat beside her as she slid slowly into the VIP booth* She giggled at his reaction as a tear fell. " It meant everything. It made me cry tears of joy." She admitted timidly. Must was a bit shocked as he took her by the hand guiding her somewhere. She felt her need of him emotionally and physically grow. Finally, as her thoughts wrapped up she was in the booth and sat down. Must was humming one of his tunes and squeezed his hand light. " It is so nice to hear you live. Your music always has been that way, and it is why I love it. You mean the words. Your passion and love for what you do. It is inspiring." She said as she relaxed next to him. *he smiled as he clutched her hand, not caring what the adorning fans watching on must have been thinking* I think I want my music to mean something. Not just to me but to other people, because it's a great way to appeal to people and gain those fans who want to hear more. I'm glad you find comfort in my music.... I think that's why I do it, because what's the point in making music just for the sake of it, right? *He smiled* I hope you've had a good day? I'm sorry if it shocked you a little bit when workmen came around to work on the lights. I mean, I know you can't see them, but it's not good for anyone to be living in a dark house. Furthermore, I know money's not easy to come by so....this is just my way of thinking you for loving my music *he gave her hand a squeeze as champagne was brought over with a couple of glasses, and he cracked open the bottle for them before he poured some for them, sliding the glass into her hand* cheers, Must.... here's to a great night! She smiled. " I agree with you completely. Your music means something, and it connects to people. They can relate to the emotions." She said sweetly. Must nodded at his question. " Busy and yet good. Though I was eager to see you again." She said honestly. Must smiled as he squeezed her hand and decided to lightly squeeze back. " I would not miss it for anything and you very thoughtful. Thank you." She said. Soon she heard a pop as he opened the bottle and then felt him give her a glass. Then she grabbed the glass and cheered with. " To a good night!" She said as she giggled. *he smiled and clinked glasses with her as he kept a hold of her hand. He didn't care what others thought, but he knew this closeness with a woman would draw the attention of the world very quickly and before long rumors would circulate - some untrue, and others that well.... maybe there was indeed no smoke without fire. He had to admit to himself he felt an unusual attachment to her. Maybe it was her blindness, but hopefully it was just the fact he found her to be a delightful woman* I need this champagne to calm down a little bit, my nerves got the better of me in the beginning you there.... I think that was because I knew I was singing in front of my biggest fan...*he laughed softly* She squeezed his hand in thanks and after the cheers took a sip. She giggled and smiled. " You were amazing. It sounded lovely." She said sweetly. " Who knows you might win a musical award for it Brad. Everyone including me where under you musical spell." She said honestly. Must took a sip of her drink and started to her gossip and pushy fans wanting pictures and or him to sign something or gossiping. Her mind wondered why he would choose her since she had nothing to offer him in return and why she loved him. She took a sip and then set the drink down. Hold on....*he smiled and turned to talk to a couple of female fans signing a couple of autographs before standing up to be part of a couple of pictures. He chatted briefly to them about his music and wished them all the best before he sat back down beside Must* you know, this is one of the best parts of my music.... I never imagined a few years ago I'd have people wanting my autograph and my picture. It's pretty wild to be honest....*he laughed* so what have you got planned the next few days? I don't have any gigs coming up for a while... They cheered and surrounded him and some hugged him. They loved talking and BBB with him. Furthermore, they even tried to see why Must was special to him. Must relaxed and took a sip of her drink. She could feel and hear there admiration for him. She waited for him to return when he was ready. Suddenly she felt Brad sit next to her. Must turned to face him. " I'm glad you're enjoying your new life. ." When asked about her plans she went quiet. " Um. Volunteer work. The festival and see if any jobs accepted me. But other than that nothing." She said. I never imagined it would be like this for me.... it's fans like you that made the world notice me so the least I can do is make time to thank them. You ladies can get a little obsessed and crazy though *he joked, laughing softly before he took another drink* and I knew they'd ask about you.....you're the talk of the town too my friend *he nudged her, jokingly* oh you volunteer? That's awesome. I admire that. Many people wouldn't wanna just volunteer their time without getting paid. I honestly admire that you want to get out there and do something. You're going to sing at the festival, right? I'm scheduled to play my set on the final night of it next week. How would you feel about dueling with me or something? You don't have to by the way.... it's just an offer *he smiled* She giggled softly. " What can I say? you're amazing. Any girl would want you in my thoughts. She is lucky to have you." She said. Must sighs and relaxed. " Only cause you keep giving me special attention. " She pointed out. Must smirked at and looked toward him. " Yea I love doing community projects." She admitted. Her eyes went very wide. "I would love to. But I'm not sure if I'm good enough or worthy enough of such an honor." Must said. But her face said she wanted to sing and do music with him. Ya kiddin' me? You're perfect Must....and you're going to sing at the festival anyway, right? How about we get a piano sorted, and we can sing whatever song of mine that you want with a little piano playing by you to the tune? It'll be great, I promise. I've never duetted with anyone on a song.... then again I've never met someone unsigned who's as soulful as you are. You deserve that chance. *He smiled* does it make you feel weird that people talk about you? Must looked at him confused. " Yea a little anyway." She said nervously. She giggled nervously. " Yes I'm used to being in the background or audience in life not the star or anybody important." She said honestly. Must thought about. " I would love to sing with you if you have me." Must said gratefully while she was blushing bright red. Clearly she loved him. But tried to hide it from everyone including Brad in case he had a girlfriend or something. That's it sorted then, I'll speak to my guys, and we'll get you involved *he smiled* trust me when I tell ya, you'll be amazing with the whole town watching it. You'll become the talk of the town and now just for being my very own VIP *he smiled, taking another sip of his champagne* you've got talent there they need to shine, and you just need a place for it to shine. Are you ok? You look a little flustered......do you feel a little weird with all this special treatment? She shook her head. " I..." she gulped. She leaned into his ear and whispered. " No I'm flattered and not use to attention. But I... really... like.you. I guess A crush?" She said. She felt embarrassed about not knowing how to react to everything and admitting one of her secrets. Must took a sip of her drink and nodded thanks for his kind words. " Sounds amazing Brad. I'm just not use to such kindnesses and care." She said softly. Must relaxed for a bit and her thoughts centered on Brad and what it is like to be in real relationship with somebody like Brad. Must smiled at how she liked this life better than her assassin life. *he laughed softly as she admitted to him that she had a crush on him. He didn't really think too much of it as he'd been told by many adoring fan in recent months that they majorly crushed on him. He took her hand in his again, squeezing gently* well I appreciate that.... I really do. It's not everyone someone as beautiful as you are says that to me...*he sighed softly, feeling like for the first time in a few months he was truly relaxed, and it was indeed with another woman. Must. She seemed to have a relaxing influence on him, and he enjoyed it especially when he wasn't particularly busy with touring or anything* it's been a long time since someone took time to get to know who you are, ain't it? I can tell... Must nodded as he said it been awhile since somebody got to know her. She sighed and squeezed his hand." His word made her happy, and yet they hurt heart. She understood him not returning her feelings as someone was more worthy of him. Must sighed, and her thoughts went other dreams. Must was clearly dealing with emotions she was not use to. Must took a sip of her drink to calm down from admitting her feelings. Yet Brad had an amazing influence on her. She enjoyed talking to him, and he gave her hope unlike most. He was right and yet wrong. Yes it been forever since someone got to know her. And he was won in that it went deeper in that. Not only that but it was forever since she had friends and was cared about and nobody judged her. You're much quieter tonight than you were last night....are you sure you're ok? If you want we can go back to yours again and we can talk? I don't want you to feel uncomfortable with all the eyes staring at us. I guarantee you, these women want to be you right now *he laughed softly, keeping hold of her hand* I don't mind taking you home, but don't let your ass fall asleep on me again, right? *He laughed, drinking the rest of his glass of champagne*" Yea. I just never got treated kindly like this before. So this is all kind of new to me." She said calmly and shyly. " I think I got a bit tipsy from the alcohol. It makes me tired. Sorry about that." She said. She ordered an ice tea as to have a drink that did not make her tired. Must squeezed his hand in thanks. " Like I said I'm not used to public eyes." She could hear the gossip and everything. It made her unsure as what to do. " Do you come here often?" Must asked. *he smiled* you don't have to apologize for enjoying yourself, don't be silly *he laughed, letting her order a drink as he kept a hold of her hand, trying to relax her* well hey, if you're worried about people are gonna gossip about you, you're going to get a shock when you sing with me at the festival *he laughed* you just gotta take it in your stride really, it's easy when you just let your music do the talking. That's why it would be cool for you to write down your feelings and then sing them. Show the world who you are....*before long the waiter brought over the iced tea for her, telling her it was on the house as she was a VIP* I'm not here a lot, no.... I mean I tour a lot, so I don't get to be home here very often, so it's really cool to play a special set and just hang out with fans and relax. That's why I'm enjoying spending time with you so much. It's fun *he smiled* She looked confused. Must pushed her hair behind her ear nervously. " I'm just not use to it. I'm fine. Honestly I am." She said. " Your good with people and your music speaks to your fans. Plus I know that it be gone crazy if rumors started about you because of me." Must said honestly. Must was shocked at how natural this was for him. How could he be so perfect at this?! Was it possible that he was born to be a star? That what it looked like to her. " Your so gifted and talented. It is kinda like you where born to be a star. It is like everything comes naturally to you. It is like you where made to live the life of a star." She pointed out. She nodded as she heard them place the cup down. Furthermore, she thanked them gratefully. "I'm glad you enjoy it here and that you are willing to spend time with me. It means a lot honestly." *he smiled* it wasn't easy in the beginning really...you have to deal with some people who just don't like you or your music, but we'll, it's mostly been positive for me so that's been good. Right now it's like....it's just online you see some stupid stuff but you just gotta block it out. But thank you.... I hope you come to realize your own star potential too, cos it's in there.... trust me *he rubbed her hand softly* I ain't talented enough to be an... assassin....that's all you *he whispered about her being an assassin, joking with her. He took a little more champagne as he noticed plenty of adoring fans just watching them. Inevitably he would have to deal with what stories were to circulate about them, but it didn't bother him.... maybe he was attracted to this woman and so maybe the stories would hold some truth* She looked at him a blushed at his words. Must took a sip of her tea and say it down. Must heart wanted to do was kiss him and yet her mind was scared and nervous to due to it being public and there were others watching. But him talking about her past made her sigh. She whispered" It was wrong, and my blindness is a punishment I'm willing to accept for it. I work to atone even if that takes a long time since a bit unforgivable in some ways. But in others I took out terrible people. But a life is sacred, and I tend to now want to avoid that path. I want to change and never go back." She said in a voice only he could hear. As she squeezed his hand lightly. " But your words touch my heart and I will take it a step at a time. Plus I will take your advice." She said smiling. Must gave a small smile and relaxed. She wondered what fate had in store for them. It shouldn't have to be that way for you. Punishing you for doing your job? That ain't right Must...*he smiled at her, wondering what she was thinking through her literally blind stare towards him* I know you ain't going back to doing that stuff, and you now have the chance to change the world with your voice and your words. You just have to let it out. Everything I have right now is down to music. And it's managed to get me a great person as my number one fan...*he smiled, laughing softly as he rubbed her hand, take the last of his champagne* am I alright to....walk you home tonight? I know you don't need me to cos you're perfectly capable of getting there yourself, but I want to. Whenever you're wanting to go, it's cool....*he looked around and saw some adoring fans taking pictures of them* don't be alarmed, ok? But some fans are taking pictures of us just sat here... Must" What done is done. It is the past and it can't be changed. Karma or life whatever you believe punished me. They did it for a different reason. I wish I can change the world. But it not my place. You can and have every right to be happy and change the world. I lost that right years ago." She said as she took a sip of her tea. Must put her drink down as she listened to him. Her eyes showed shock as he called her his number one fan. Plus she was surprised he wanted to take her home. " I be honored if you walk with me again." Must said gratefully. The fans and having her picture taken. " I think I'm ready to go home. Tomorrow I have volunteer work and a checkup with the doctors to clear me and make sure there nothing else they can do and that I fully recovered." You're tellin' me your voice, your words can't change the world? I would tend to disagree. You're a wonderful singer, you just gotta have the confidence to say 'this is me' and let your voice out. I know you can do it *he smiled and gave her hand a rub as she said she was ready to leave and was honored to have him walk her home. He slowly stood up, keeping his hand on her shoulder to let her know he was still there as he turned to speak to a bouncer, to give them a clear route out the backstage exit* ok whenever you're ready....*he took her hand and made sure she had her cane as he leads her out past the rather boisterous but adoring crowd. He slowly guided her out the back to a dark alleyway just like the previous night as the cool night air hit them* right we're out the back like we were last night Must...you're the master of finding our way home.... I still can't get over that *he laughed* She glanced his way. " No I mean you don't have the weight of sins and regrets I do. you're an eagle ready to soar to new heights. I'm a girl who come to terms with how my life is now. I'm saying you have a clean path and are the type of person people want to follow and admire." Must said honestly. She followed Brad out and guided him to her home again and unlocked the door. " For giving the mess. I was trying to write a song." She said as a few of her instruments out. She looked at him. " Brad would you like to hear what I have?" She offered as she walked inside. *he gladly helped get her home, stepping inside, smiling as she asked him to forgive the mess. He loved how she loved writing music, and he was only too glad to hear what she had written. He stepped into the living room and took his jacket off, setting.it on the couch* I'd love to hear it, sure.....sing it for me....*he smiled, sitting down with her when they had moved the instruments away* Must sat down and started. " I can hear the whispers in my sleep. The voices telling me this should be mine. You. You claim you trust me. Furthermore, you think I don't see the doubt behind your eyes. I'm going to build me an empire And it's lonely at the top." soon tears flowed from her eyes as she has sung." But madness and greatness, Can both share a face And nobody will ever convince me to stop. It's my destiny. I was born to play this game. So fear me or love me. It's all the same. Try to find a chain that I won't break. A price I wouldn't pay for what I want. So you can call me calculating. You can say I've lost my mind... You can throw me to the wolves, I'll be alright." She finished. The song was about her old life. It sounded that darkness was still hidden in her heart. She still not healed mentally from her old life. *he listened to her, mesmerized by her voice as she sometimes struggled to get the words out to express her feelings in their entirety through the tears that began to flow. But she did it, she knew she could sing. Her heart knew it and Brad definitely it. This woman, he could tell, felt every word she spoke, and it was the same for Brad. His feelings created the songs for him. It was clear Must was still feeling a lot of anguish due to her old life and it was so hard for her to overcome, and music was her way to tell people. Brad felt honored that Must was trusting him with her words and was feeling more and more of an emotional connection with her. He put his hand on her knee as she finished singing, using his other hand to wipe away tears from her cheek* that was beautiful, Must.....every word means something to you and that's the wonderful thing about your music. You mean it....and that's what makes it special....*he leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek just once*..... it's ok to cry.... Must hugged him and cried. She blushed as he kissed her. Must kissed him on the cheek. "I. Love. You... and the first time I had a real bond. With anybody. " She admitted as she rested her chin on his shoulder as tears flowed from her eyes. She then let go and looked at the ground embraced and got herself ready in case he got mad or rejected her. Must looked at him and sighed. This was not easy for her and painful. She needed help moving on. Yet she did not want to be weak or a burden to anyone. Easy come on now, it's ok....let it out *he grabbed hold of her hands as they sat together* you're a wonderful person...you should never forget that Must. You really haven't had a bond with anyone? That's amazing to me.... because you seem so.....so lovely *he smiled and lifted her head as she stared towards the ground* it's ok to feel vulnerable with me.... I promise you, I'll make sure you're ok from now on....*he softly leaned forward with his hand still under her chin and let his lips touch hers, giving her a soulful kiss to let her know he was there for her at that moment. He connected with her and this was his way of letting her know that he felt it too, as his lips locked with hers* Must was scared of letting the emotions get ahead of her. She looked down toward their hands. “ But I was a assassin and I avoid other people. I never let anyone close Least they put in danger or find out the truth. The life of existing and yet not at the same time.” she lightly squeezed his hands. “ I’m sorry you seems vulnerable. I have never been this vulnerable in front of anybody.” She admitted. Must was surprised at his kiss and yet accepted it. She was scared a first And then she grew relaxed. Must placed her hands on his shoulders and hugged him. *this woman was so broken, and yet he knew she wanted to just be a good person. She seemed perfectly genuine with her feelings, liking because she couldn't show any feelings when she lived the life of an assassin. It felt at that moment it was down to him to save her from herself, and let her true worth shine. Their kissing continued, and he was glad that she didn't try to pull away as they embraced. He moved towards her a little more comfortably as he let his tongue touch hers as his passion for her quickly increased. His hand would raise upwards to cup her breast softly as she held his shoulders delicately* This man. Was he even human? It was as if he had cast a spell on her or stole her heart. Must blushed as his tongue touch hers. His hand on her breast was gentle. Why did she want him so badly? She wanted him to herself and Yet feared he would leave her and reject her. She looked at him and smiled sweetly. Must had many questions and yet was enjoying herself too much. Must did not want to ruin this dream of hers. The dream of finding her soul mate and having a real relationship with someone. Must hugged him gently and rested her head on his shoulder. *he softly held her after their brief, soulful kiss, embracing in a warm hug, moving his arms around her back from her breast. He could feel her heart beating against him as she rested her head on his shoulder. She willingly held him like it was obvious she was seeking comfort in his arms. He had fans, many who admired him like a hero to them, but none were quite like Must. She was genuinely a sweet person in need of a companion, someone to help her in her need to feel normal again and get her away from her own personal hell. He sighed as he caressed her back* would you.... I mean.... I could take you to bed if you want? Furthermore, I know you're perfectly capable of doing it yourself...

A dream come true_ Singer and fan|rating:4.0

[Werewolf_ SotM] Prelude_ Frank Gomez

IOC: Yes golden child I gave Frank a last name. If you think of a better one, let me know and I'll edit it for you. Deep into the night as a cloudy night covered the sky's Frank sat outside the fighters pit. The smell of sweat, cigarettes, and blood invading his senses, perhaps more than it usually effected him. He could hear the admiring screams from the women and the confidant cheers of the men that were betting on him. Despite the wound he had from earlier in the day, when a dog attacked him and took a chunk out of his left leg, he was in his peak condition. The whole night his blocks had come fast, and the punches had hit their targets even faster, better than he had fought his entire life without injury. To put it simply he was on top of the world. His bookie came up to pat him on the shoulder, showing him the huge Ward of cash that he would get for just winning this last fight. He was a greasy old African American man dressed in a purple suit with a woman on his shoulder. One-eyed Mike they called him, a guy you could get anything from for a price. Like always he smelled like booze and cheap aftershave, but he was never really known to be a snappy dresser or a personal hygiene advocate. Since Frank had come into town Mike had looked out for him and hooked him up with things he needed from time to time. All he took was a generous cut of the profits or made sure Frank knew he owed him a favor. "Hang in the Frank! Just hit this last one hard and knock 'em out fast. You'll be 'akin out of here with a wad o' cash and the respect t' boot!" Frank almost made an audible sigh, there were always "just one more fight" it seamed, not that it bothered him very much. It paid very good money and kept food on the table, besides he always healed up fast, so the pain wasn't so bad either." So... just one more then, I'll can do that. You want me to play around a bit first Mike?" That was mostly meant as a joke, Frank never played around during a fight. Once the fight started there was only one thing going through his mind and that was to knock his opponent out. The man suddenly burst into a loud laugh as he patted the young man on the shoulder. "Oh...that's a good one Frank. Tell you what, I got a cute blonde who ain't working tonight. Knock this guy out in the first 30 seconds, and she'll be working for you." Slowly his fibers ran through the wad of cash, parting a huge amount of bills. "That's your cut so far..." pulling the cage doors open to the pit Mike patted him on the shoulder again. "Go do your thing Frank" Well that was a surprise; he was actually throwing in one of the girls as bait. Now, now talk about that Mike had placed some high bets if he offered that much. Frank didn't have him an answer just walked through the doors focusing on one thing: how to eliminate his opponent as fast as possible. The gates to the fences closed with oh so familiar that ringing sound as the two men approached each other. The other guy was big and obviously strong. Their eyes met, and the crowd suddenly fell death silent. Then the bell rang, and all hell broke loose. The man moved so fast that Frank's eye's couldn't seem to follow him. All he felt was the heavy slam against him and the fist carrying up over his chest and hitting his jaw hard in one powerful uppercut. It was a surprise to say the least, but the next think Frank knew he was laid out on the floor and staring up into the nights sky. The clouds slowly began to part and the luminous glow of city lights faded from the nights sky as he gazed on the full moon. Its light, her light, shining down over his body and forcing a change in Frank. It was as if he had felt massive rage enter and fill his soul at that moment and as he stood the man jumped back with genuine fear in his eyes. Slowly Franks body felt like it was filled with power as well as rage, and he knew that no one would be able to harm him if he just let himself go. The first hit and then pain came over him, and he fell landing hard on the floor. He laid there for a moment a bit surprised over being there and just then he saw her as she shone with her white light over him. Frank could almost feel her looking at him, feeling her gazing through him filling him, and then the anger came a fury like no other causing him to rise with a roar. He threw himself at his opponent with all his anger and strength not caring about trying to defend himself because inside he knew that it wouldn't be necessary, his opponent was going down. As he dashed forward he could hear the screams and panic all around him and his opponent seemed so small, and growing smaller by the moment. Rage and an ancient, yet familiar fury invaded his body as he slammed into the man. The fence shattered as they went through it, slamming into the bleachers as more screams invaded their senses. He could see his hands were now huge and covered with fur as his fingers wrapped around the men throat and closing slowly. He suddenly saw a change in the man as well. Teeth changed to fangs, fingers to claws, and a simple short haircut turned into an overflowing mane. Then he felt the pain of the claws bite into his own hands, forcing him to let go as the man made some distance between them. A growl began deep within Frank... I'm growling? A very weak voice told him deep inside to which he refused to listen, all that was the thing in front of him. He crunched, not really aware of what he had become and not really taking in what the other man where either. His eyes narrowed as he flexed his arms, moving side to side trying to find an opening then he charged. He wasn't experienced using claws, or using his new body either so the charge was rather... lame and easily avoided, going head first Frank plunged down in the concrete. Rolling to the side the man easily avoided Frank's charge but suddenly leaped into the air and onto the back of him. The claws raking on the back of Frank's neck over and over again. The screams had all but left, leaving a few bodies on the ground, but most of the other observers had managed to get out of the building and away from him. Luna's fury seemed to empower both men though the only reason Frank wasn't winning so far was because of his new 'body' The pain from the other beast's claws only made Frank angrier, he didn't really feel the damage he caused on him and bucked hard, pushing upward from the floor. His new strength surprised him completely as he threw the thing on his back through the air and managed to push himself up in standing position again. Frank howled in the honor of the moon and charged again. The charge hit the other creature dead on, sending him flying back to slam into the concrete wall and through it. Shattered pieces of concrete flying everywhere as the man laid there on the ground, motionless but breathing. It was obvious that frank had won at this point though the battle was intense, brutal, and exhausting. Still the moonlight shined down on him and he could feel her eyes and smile. Then the swift reality came to his ears as he heard the approaching sound of siren's. The police weren't far off. Frank was just about to set of after his opponent when reality came down on him. He sharpened his ears and listened. Sirens... must run! He still acted much on instinct, and he just turned away from his fallen opponent and started to run away from the scene, at the same time he seamed to melt inward and as he ran he transformed into a large wolf who's gray fur glistered in the moon light. As the transformation was complete he accelerated into high speed and ran the fastest he could be away from there. Running and jumping from rooftop to rooftop he eventually began to tire. Still the oddly familiar woman's smile could be seen in the moonlight but eventually his body gave into exhaustion forcing him to fall unconscious and sleep. When he awoke he found his wounds treated and saw the same man in the ring standing over him and a woman of about fourth years old. As she noticed him she smiled gently, offering him a hot cup of coffee. "Good morning." she said somewhat sweetly as she looked at him. A flood of memories returned as he opened his eyes, the screaming of the crowd, claws, fur, pain and above everything, the moon. He sat up strait to fast and his vision partially vanished by the effort, as his vision cleared again he looked around still very unsure what in the blood world just had happened. Talk of a bad acid trip…“Thanks…” He answered the woman and accepted the cup. “What?… Where?...” He began then became quiet again as he could hear how stupid the questions sounded. His eyes shot back at his opponent from the ring and the memory as he... no, not him, some beast of some kind had been thrown through a concrete wall." Who are you?" "We're friends." the man stated offering his hand as if to help the boy up. The older woman cleared her throat after taking a drink of her own coffee and looked over him. Her voice sweet and calm "I'm Chaise, and this is my friend Gary. I know you probably don't remember much from last night, but I know there are vision's there. We're here to answer some questions about what you are. If that's what you want...but then if you don't want to know you could just get out of our neighborhood and not come back too... I hope it's the former." Friends she says... Well she doesn't smell like she is lying. As soon as his thought popped up he knew that something was different. How did he know how a lye smelled like?" You turned into some... thing." Frank says looking over at Gary. "And so did I... at least I think I did. I had claws..." "Some sharp teeth too." he commented with a smile. Taking his jacket off he handed it to frank in a friendly manner. "Here, you need something more than what's left of that shirt." Looking over at the woman he raised an eyebrow and nodded. "I'll let Chaise explain, she is a lot better at it than me." Sitting down on the hard cement the woman cleared her throat again. "You're what history, or rather superstition and legend refer to as a werewolf. Superstition isn't even close to the real thing though. Do you want me to go on?" At that point Frank noticed that he was almost completely naked. Those clothes he had left was totally ruined and only some cloth remained. The impact of it all hit him as a sledgehammer. He quickly covered up." We-werewolf? Aren't those the guys that have been bitten and runs around killing people and always dies in the end of the movies?" He asked Chaise, his head spun by now. "Like I said, superstition. We tend to call ourselves Martha though... The truth is, we have existed for longer then anyone can remember. Back then, and even today, we keep a sort of balance between worlds. This world being one of them, and the spirit world...the shadow, being the other. I know you've caught glimpses of them when you were walking down an alley or stopping at a restraint. Those were spirits influencing the people and you." She took another sip of the coffee and looked at him, smiling gently. "There's some people that you're going to have to meet, and then some tests you'll have to do, then a choice has to be made. Gary and I are just here to point you in the right direction and give you some purpose to this new world." It was almost too much to handle." Me? A werewolf... EEE Martha was it? How? I haven't been bitten what I know so why?" The whole concept of a spirit world, was far too much for Frank to comprehend at the moment, he had to concentrate to try to get hold of the little sense he had at the moment. His cup still hadn't touched his mouth. "Really?" Gary replied while reaching down to lift the torn pant leg up, revealing the bite mark on his leg. "Then what's that?" he asked rhetorically. "Look I know it's a lot to take in, but the fact is your special, and now you've got a job to do. It's not going to be easy but since you enjoy bashing skulls till at least be a little fun." He could hear the woman giggle as she took another sip of the coffee in her hand. "Gary, let's slow it down for him. Pangaea was the place where the first Martha were born, of course history tends to call it Eden or maybe Shangri-La. Anyway, our father who we know as father wolf was charged with keeping spirits in their realm. Over time, he and mother Luna fell in love and had kids. Those were the first Martha. For a long time Father wolf and his children ran around together, keeping the balance between the worlds. Eventually, father wolf became too old to lead but as a spirit he couldn't step down. In wolf and werewolf society its survival of the fittest, and an alpha who can't lead and can't step down, has to be put down...five of the nine children chose to fight and kill father wolf, they became the forsaken. The problem was that Pangaea was destroyed by father wolf's death howl and the two worlds were shattered." She paused to look at him carefully "that'll get cold if you don't drink some." she stated in a friendly manner Frank looked down on his leg and saw the small wound.“Oh that! But that was nothing, just a… dog…” At that point everything got clearer. He really had been bitten by a dog a week before while he had been strolling around downtown. It had come out from no-where bitten him and then run of to gods-know-where. The wound hadn’t been very bad, but it had bled a bit that was all. He had even forgotten about the incident completely up to Gary pointed it out.“Alright, so one of your kinds turned me into… this? What if I don’t want this? What do I do then?” The mere thought of that someone had taken this decision for him to make him into a werewolf, at the moment he refused to use their word, angered him more than he let out, but he could feel his anger rise, almost as bad as it had been during the fight. "Whoever bit you didn't turn you into anything. It's what you are. It would have come out eventually, or made you go totally nuts. There's no way to go back to your old life, pal." Gary stated. The woman nodded in a sage like way before taking another drink. "Gary's right. I know there's a lot of Martha out there that want to go back to their old life. It's just not possible though. Luna will always be calling to you and your other side will always want to hunt. You can try to fight it but really if you do the alternative is that your going to become AZI'IR, an Martha that's gone mad and is no more than a mindless killing machine. If that happened, we would have to put you down... I'LD rather not do that" "So the bite is just a coincidence then?" Somehow he doubt it, it fitted to well in the myth just to be an accident. He turned to Chaise." If I can't return to my old life... which I can see why that would be difficult, what am I to do? You talked about some kind of guarding, how does that work?" "The bite is a way of jump-starting the process and a way of proving us wrong, or in your case right." She took another long drink as she listened to the question and nodded. "Today, werewolves keep balance between the spirit world and this one. We stop powerful spirits from corrupting and controlling mortals. We also keep watch on the gauntlet, a barrier between the two worlds" That made sense in all this highly bizarre story. Frank felt though that everything she told him was right, and somehow it held the key to everything her had searched for his whole life. Trouble to find any better words for it is felt like he was coming home. With a smirk he took a sip of the coffee grimacing to its taste." When do I start, and how do I learn to control... this? If it's possible." He really hoped there would be a way to control his new-found condition otherwise he would be forced to find some very large chain to bind himself. "That's something that we can't really teach you. You'll just have to experiment and find a way that works for you." she replied with a smile. Standing up Gary offered his hand to the young man as if to help him up. "Come on, there's some people you need to meet. The tribes might be able to give you a better clue, but we really just know from experience and what we've been told. Frank only nodded. That made sense too, everything was based on a personal level, why wouldn't this? He took Gary's hand and pulled himself up." Tribes? Are we some Native American thing or something like it? Is the moon involved in this? I have a distinct memory of her... yes it was definitely a, was looking at me." "Not quite. Each tribe has beliefs and focuses on something. Gary and I belong to the iron masters, a tribe that stays updated with the times and uses technology to help us hide from mortal eyes and help us keep the balance between worlds. Tribes have nothing to do with the moon you experience the first change under." Satisfied by the reply Frank nodes again. "Well then, let's go meet these... tribes." Not really sure where to go he waits for the two of them to make the first move. Frank was lead through the subway and to the better part of town, where people walked around in business suits and didn't seem to have a care in the world. The trio had only stopped at MC'Donald for lunch, which the two happily paid for in full, but otherwise it was a straight journey to a skyscraper owned by Mind industries. Inside Frank found himself taken to a conference room and seated till an older gentleman entered. Dressed in a full black suit, Frank could tell he was very important and very wealthy. Looking at Gary and Cherish the man sat and nodded. Cherish quickly exclaimed "He's a Rāhu. Gary and I told him what we could, but we thought we had better send him to the tribes for everything else." Gary just remained silent as he sat in the chair. Standing the man took out a book and pass edit across the table to Frank before taking a seat next to him. "Well, welcome to a world of danger and duty. This is a compilation of Martha lore, read through it and when you're done we can introduce you to the tribe you feel is best for you." Frank had never passed down a free meal in his life; he was never sure when his next meal was so he tried to eat when the opportunity arose. As soon as he entered this world of the rich and high rollers, he felt very out of place, this was really not his world and he couldn’t fit in. Not only was his clothes wrong but his whole attitude and behavior. But he tried to do his best which in itself wasn’t much to brag about, not that he did it on purpose he just didn’t know how to act in this highly different world compared to the street from which he came. As the elder man entered in their room he felt an urge to stand and did so before he managed to stop himself. He kept standing until the man had seated himself. Listening to Cherish as she told her the story he kept quiet during the presentation. The man greeted him and passed a book over the table which he took and placed in his hand still not opening it.“Thanks… I think, I will do my best… I always do.” Standing up Gary came over to pat the young man on the shoulder as Cherish was already walking out. "Well that's it kid. With any luck you'll know right who you want to be with and you'll find a pack in a few days. That's all we got for ya. David here will take care of you for now." Without another word the man left the two alone, closing the door behind him and Cherish. The man Gary had referred to as David looked at his watch for a minute then back at Frank. "Well you should get busy. I've got a few hours before a meeting so if you have questions, or think you've made up your mind on a tribe then let me know." "I will... Thanks." Then he leaned back in his chair and started to read, he soon was absolutely absorbed by the book to notice anything around him and ate up as much information the book could give. Once he got to the section of the tribes there were only one tribe that called for him; the Blood Talons. Only they seemed to hold what he saw as the Martha’s purpose… or at leasthispurpose among them. After an hour the man stood and approached Frank, looking over him and especially his eyes as he read the book. "Find something interesting?" he asked with a smile. Knowing full well that all newborn Martha found the tales of father wolf and the tribal lore interesting in some aspect. Startled by the man's entry, Frank not really aware that he was there looks up from the book." Very much I must say. Suddenly much makes sense. The last weeks some very strange things have been happening and all this explains it all. Suddenly my life got a purpose, and an important one too. As for tribes... well there is only one for me, those that are called the Blood Talons, if they want me of course." The man frowned slightly as he heard the name blood talon but only shrugged. "If that's what you really want. The blood talons are fierce warriors and very good at what they do. Though they tend to be closed-minded at times. I was hoping that you would follow your destiny to a more...elegant tribe, but it is your choice in the end. Shall I arrange a meeting?" In his ears he heard what almost sounded as an insult, but Frank had a feeling that he better let it lay for now, instead he just smiled and said." Yes please I would love to." Uptight prick... he added for himself. The man nodded and looked to his watch once again before taking out a cellular phone. With a quick dial he moved to the opposite side of the room and took a seat. Frank could only make out parts of the conversation." Hello, this is Mr. Almost. Is broken claw there?"" I see, inform him that I have a new pup here that's interested in the blood talons."" A Rāhu."" He can come over immediately. The sooner, the better I think."" I see thank you." Hanging up the phone he looked back at the youth, smiling in a friendly manner. "The elder of the blood talons is currently busy with one of their combat rituals. Though his assistant assured me that he would be over within the next two hours." Still holding his smile Frank stood up." Thank you for all help. I hope to be able to repay for the kindness and hospitality you have shown today some day." He hesitated for a moment." How do I meet this... assistant and where?" Taking out a small notepad he scribbled something onto it and tore the piece off handing the paper to the young man. "The Rāhu run a small gym downtown. This is the address. When you get there ask for Broken Claw and you should get where you need to go." extending his hand to the young man in a friendly manner he smiled welcoming. "Before you go, I would like to welcome you into our society. It is a very different and dangerous assistance, but I am sure it will be much more fulfilling to your lifestyle. I wish you luck." Frank takes the note and puts it in his pocket. The accepts the man's hand and gives it a good shake." Thank you for your help, I have a feeling we will meet again." He then turned and left the room to start heading for the address that he had been directed. It was easy enough for Frank to get out of the building with a cab waiting for him and already paid for. When the vehicle pulled into the parking lot Frank could tell this was one of the bad parts of downtown. Gang Symbols adorned each street wall except for the lone gym as if it were a sort of neutral territory. The place was run down, but he could easily hear the sounds of both men and women exercising and fighting. The front wooden double doors easily opened into a waiting area no bigger then a living room with a young man standing at the counter, stuffing his face with Chinese food before he looked up to Frank. "Mya?" he tried to say though the full mouth made it a little hard to talk. It wasn't the first time Frank was in the area, he was practically raised in a similar place and as long as you knew the different gangs turfs and didn't cross them in any way it wasn't too bad." Getting of outside the gym he climbed out from the cab with his things and stopped to look at the building for a moment before entering. Seeing the man who was eating he guessed that he probably should ask him where he should turn, but the man beat him too it." Mya?" He said with his mouth filled with Chinese food." Sorry?" Frank answered. "I'm here to meet Broken Claw." Boy did that sound like a stupid thing to say. The young man quickly choked down what he had and nodded while taking a swig of water. "Yeah yeah, uh...just a sec." he replied before going into the gymnasium. After a few minutes he came back out as a few other men passed by and went down the hall. "He's in his office right there." he pointed to a nearby door. "Just knock and go on in, he's been expecting somebody. You guess." Frank looked up in the direction the man was pointing." Thanks..." He said and moved past the man and walked up to the door. Frank followed the instructions he had been given; he knocked then stepped through the door hoping that this would be the right one. As he walked in he saw an older man setting an old ornate axe on a holding built into the wall. "You must be the new guy." he stated in a matter-of-factly tone before securing the weapon to its holdings. Turning he looked at the man as if sizing him up while slowly approaching him. "So you want to be a blood talon...what makes you think you have what it takes?" "I can fight, have done it most of my life... and I don't know how to surrender." As he saw the older man standing before him, he felt rather dwarfed in his presence. Frank didn’t know very much about being an Martha, but the book had told him some at least and so much he understood that if you lived long enough to start to get old, you were good… very good. "Alright kid, I'll give you a shot. Being a blood talon is all about being a warrior. You have to be strong, smart, and resilient. There are two tests I run kids through. The first one tests your residence. You get to fight a bunch of other blood talons so we can see how well you take a beating, but the kicker is you can't fight back. The second test we put you out in the middle of trip territory with enemy gang colors on. You come back alive, you pass. That tests everything. Usually we drop the pup out the first and give him the beating when they get back, well do the same for you. So you still up for it kid?" Well the test sounded a bit March, even to him. But he could see no way to back down, Frank didn't even know if he wanted to." Sure, sounds easy enough. Where do we start?" The man took a set of car keys out of his jacket and opened up a locker, throwing down a change of clothes. "Put those on, we start right now." he replied as he waited for Frank to put them on. "If you get back, the rest of the tribe will be here to give you your beating." "Sweet... survive to get whipped..." Frank said with a neutral voice, but he stuck with what Broken Claw said and quickly changed. Inside he wondered for himself what the hell he was getting him into. When Frank was fully dressed Broken claw lead him out into the parking lot and invited him into an old pickup built in the 70s. It had certainly seen better days but in this neighborhood it seemed like the worst off a vehicle was the more likely you were to keep it. Tossing the young man a poncho he sat in and waited for him to enter. Once he did Break claw wasted no time in taking him down the street a short eight blocks and parking. "Here we are, all you have to do is make it from here up to the gym. The gangbangers are probably going to pick a fight, throw a few punches, and shoot at you but by your look I'm sure you know how to handle all that." "Eight blocks? Sure, shouldn't be too much trouble." At least he hoped it wouldn't. He put on the poncho and jumped of the pickup." Any time limit?" Already he was checking around himself, suspecting that he already was seen. Shaking his head he reached over to open the car door. "Nope, just go straight down this street. You can't hide the colors or take alternate routes, and can fight the gangbangers as you see fit. Once you're on the gym grounds they'll leave you alone, we have an understanding with the gangs in this territory. If there's nothing else, you should get going." Nodding somewhat reassuringly the man looked over the scenery. No one had seemed to notice frank yet but then one could never be absolutely sure in this kind of situation. Frank nodded... he had a feeling this would hurt... a lot." Alright, see you 'at home' then." Frank didn't waste any time and began to walk in the direction of the gym. He didn't run, as that would be a bit of cheating, and he didn't run to get away from a fight. Frank saw the car drive off in the same direction, with broken claw looking back to watch him. Soon he was out of sight and Frank had only gotten a half a block before someone noticed him. They didn't act at first but by the time he had gotten to the end of the first block a group of six young men had pretty much surrounded him. "You got a lot of balls being on our turf." one replied, the others slowly closing as if expecting an attack. Frank smiled... so it was here it was going to begin. Without showing too much he tried to see if there was anything he could use as a weapon." Well since you lack balls then I don't see any problem..." He answered smiling back... this was going to be fun. Frank could see a stack of two by four's just up the street, probably fourth feet away and past the thugs, but also an open toolbox with several items that could be used as impromptu weapons. The same man that spoke to him pulled out a small knife, likely made for cutting the meat of a hunters kill, and took another step forward. Brandishing it in a menacing fashion. "You want some of this!? Let's go bitch!" Frank didn't even waste any time to give him a response, instead he threw a hard punch right on the man's jaw. Oh... this was life. There was a loud cracking sound as his fist connected squarely on the men jaw. His body falling backward and a few teeth flying out onto the pavement. Instantly the other men rushed toward him, though seemingly clumsily, giving him an easy chance to dodge through the attacks and keep his footing. He was a bit surprised by the effectiveness of his punch but didn't dwell on it very much. Frank knew this was a lousy place to face them all, they were to many and had him surrounded so he tried to dodge and move to a better position, preferable so he could have a wall covering his back. Placing his back to the building the others watched him as he dodged each of their attacks with ease. The man Frank had knocked down got up and growled a low threat before running at him. Then they came at him, each one clumsy in their approach but dangerous nonetheless. It seemed that for the moment they were just looking to beat the crap out of him rather than pull any more weapons Frank used their clumsiness and went from defense to offense as soon as he could feel the walls protecting him punching and kicking his opponents with all his strength. Out went all rules about fairness in a fight as this wasn't some fighting in a ring... these were a street fight. Eyes, knees, groins, everything that would hurt and maim his opponents he aimed for, within he could feel the hot anger from before boiling still under control, but he knew that if something went bad he would at least have a joker card to play. Despite Frank's skill in fighting he took a few shots for himself. None of them giving him a chance but then none of them were nearly as skilled either. A few minutes later he was standing and they weren't, for the most part, but then he saw more people looking at him, and it was obvious that it was going to get a lot worse and soon. Still walking away from a six on one fight was worth some bragging rights in any human's world. The question was, would it be enough for Broken Claw? Frank just grinned, he hurt all over, but this was truly the life. Slowly he turned and began walking down the road heading in the direction to the gym. Unknown to him one of the men took out a revolver pointing it his way. As the hammer was cocked his ears twitched in a warning sign and his body moved on instinct, narrowly dodging the bullet as it flew past his face. The sound echoing loudly throughout the street. The young man looked at Frank with amazement in his eyes and fear for his life. Fighting "fairly" was one thing, but trying to shoot him was far beyond what he could stand to face. The roar within him grew into a whirling inferno and in one leap he was on the man landing heavily with all his weight on him. Frank never realized that his claws come down on the man or was aware of the feeling as they took of the man's head in one sweep. He then stretched and howled his fury for all the world to hear. He breathed heavy afterwords and as he left the body of the man he slowly transformed back to his normal self... his very bloody self... The other men fled as quickly as they could the moment Frank changed forms. The remains of the body pumping its life's fluid down into the sewer drains, turning the river of sewage a deep red. As Frank turned around he saw another man standing there in a normal tee shirt and jeans. No colors, no markings, or anything of the sort. He just looked normal though Frank could smell the hint of Martha abut him. The man tossed him a trench coat and smiled "not bad but we don't need any more odd murders in the neighborhood. Come on, let's get back to the gym." he told him before turning and walking down the street, seemingly not caring what Frank did next. Frank felt suddenly very ashamed, wasn't this just what he wasn't support to do? Quickly he hurried after the other Martha." I failed right?" He hesitated a moment feeling afraid about the answer. "I mean, I was meant to walk to the gym not slaughter they who stood in my way." The other man placed his hands in his pockets as he started to walk toward the gym. "I don't know, you'll have to ask broken claw whether you failed or passed that part. What do you think and why?" he asked simply. "My main reason of believing that I failed was that I wasn't support to do that, was I? My task was to take me from point A to point B without getting myself killed in the process. Turning into...that[/]..." He looked down on his bloodied hands. "Sounds almost as cheating to me. Not to mention reckless behavior." "The prey must not know." he quoted as they walked along. "Try and keep the reality hidden from people as much as you can. If they find out about us, well till be like the witch trials all over again till they find all of us. You have to be careful of staying in check so you don't loose it but you have to keep yourself alive too. It's a balance just like between the two pieces of our souls...and it's not easy. Sometimes you have to bear your fangs to survive but at the same time you have to try not to let humans know were around. Ya know?" "Ye I know, it is because of that part I feel like that I must have failed in Broken Claw's mission. Surly this was a test to see if I could act correctly too." Stopping in front of the gym the man looked up toward the sky and took a deep breath. "Maybe, maybe not...it's up to you to decide what you think this test proved and didn't prove. You're not human, but your still going to make mistakes like the rest of us, that's just how it is. This little mistake, well whether you get in or not, It's something to learn from ya know?... Anyway, I'm sure he and a few others are waiting for you. Go on in, take it like a man, and see what happens..." Frank knew that what the other Martha was telling him was the truth and pushed the door open and entered. When he entered it was like a welcoming party. Broken claw standing there looking right at him and several men and women standing to the sides. "Well you made it back in one piece, that says something..." he began before looking at the group of people gathered there. The twelve people all looked toward him as he took a few steps forward and laid out a common gym mat on the for. "I told you how this next part works didn't I?" he asked with a grin. Frank nodded, he didn't speak instead he just walked towards them and placed him in the middle of the group. This time he wouldn't lose his temper. "Alright well everyone else knows the rules on this. Let's get started." the second that those words came out of broken claw's mouth frank felt a blow to his face from the side, nearly knocking him over. As he stood up another came, hitting him in the jaw just as another fist connected with his kidney. They were double-teaming him at the moment but to Frank's knowledge any number of them could have jumped in at any time. Frank didn't care, he just tried to stay on his feet which began harder and harder to do for each blow he received, he didn't even try to defend himself. It seemed like an eternity as blow after blow came, his life filled in an endless sea of pain and exhilaration. Though it finally ended and when it did each werewolf stood to the side as broken claw kneeled down by him, handing him a towel to wipe away the blood and sweat. "You did good this time kid, the other test wasn't great but the fact that you realized your mistake means it won't happen again." Extending his hand as if to help the man he nodded "If you still want in, welcome to the Blood talons." It took a while for Frank to realize that his beating was over, even when he laid there on the floor he still could feel them pounding him. But as his mind did understand that it all was over and the towel was given to him, he slowly and with an effort took it trying to get the strength to use it. Seeing the Broken Claw's hand and hearing his words did warm his heart." I gladly accept, I think I have found myself a group that are as crazy as me." He said almost managed to laugh, his ribs prevented him for such action. Pointing back behind him the way a hitchhiker would pick up a ride the man smiled and stood. "Showers back there, go ahead and get cleaned up and well see about getting you into the community. There's still a bit to do kid, but you should be on your way in a few days." Frank didn't answer, he was in too much pain to do so. Slowly he rose his body protesting for each movement he made and slowly, very slowly he made his way to the showers removing one piece of clothing at the time as he walked. Surprisingly the showers were clean and in good condition. For such a run-down old building many people would have likely thought that the showers would have been covered in years of filth and mildew, but the contrary was a happy find. Hot water flowed easily from the nozzles and onto the tile floor and the scent of soaps could be picked up from anywhere in the area.

[Werewolf_ SotM] Prelude_ Frank Gomez|rating:4.0

Bard's Tale_ Elven Edition (Irin and Hunter)

(was growing toward evening, Rental could feel it in the light breeze that had picked up. He and his companion had been walking for the better part of a week without seeing the sign of a village or even a shack. He tugged absently at the straps on his pack, stopping in his steps to look toward her. "We should probably stop somewhere around here for the night." He suggested in that polished baritone voice that had enchanted many a crowd. "Do you see a good spot?" He continued, now giving her his full attention since he no longer had to watch where he was walking. Frengal had been a traveler in the Even lands for many years now, rarely returning to the human kingdoms...something that he hadn't done in over a year now...and something he felt no compulsion to do. Perhaps it was because of the influence of his even companion. He'd become known as a traveling storyteller and song singer, weaving both human and even songs in a unique tapestry. But for now, he was content with the company that he had. And the warmth of her presence. (sun's rays were fading, Viruses could tell as the wind brought a chill to her veins. Her hands crawled up her biceps as she hugged herself for warmth with a long, drawn sigh escaping her plush lips. Why she'd been so careless when she'd been cast out, she didn't know. Perhaps her emotions had guided her to leave without so much a cloak around her shoulders or silver to trade with. Keen, meridian optics scanned the distances before them, her trained ears scourging sounds to wonder if they'd a threat looming. Her face would then tilt to Rental's, a small, but gentle smile gracing her features." There is an ancient willow ahead," She said, motioning to their right with a sweep of a fanned hand. "Plenty of room for us both to fit comfortably. Fallen branches, for fire. I hear water close, as well. Perhaps we can have some fish." Viresse would flick her long, dirty blonde tresses behind her shoulder before she stalked off in the direction she'd mention to her companion. Even captive in a high ponytail, those locks had a mind of their own. And, compared to others, she was so small for an elf, coming to just about Rental's pectorals. She'd been lucky for his company. Many a night now his melodic voice carried her away from her anxieties and fears and into the warmth of his music and whimsy." I admit I am wary, however. My spirit still feels ill, and as we draw near to the Council... I worry as to what they may say." She had looked as though she'd taken on much stress. More often than not, her eyes looked to the ground instead of leveling themselves with the wood. Rental gave Viruses a long look before reaching over and squeezing one of her hands gently in reassurance. "No matter what they say, I'll always accept you as you are." He told her before letting go of her hand and returning his attention to the surrounding forest to find their way. Guided by a combination of her direction and his extensive experience, he was able to locate the willow in question before the light faded much further. He ducked under the branches, careful to minimize the disturbance to the tree and the ground around. He unstrapped then set his pack on the ground, leaning it again the trunk of the tree before dipping his head and muttering a soft even prayer of thanks to the spirits that no doubt inhabited the area for the use of the shelter for the night. Rental unstrapped and passed along to Viruses the bedroll so she could pick out the spot where they'd sleep for the night before digging into the pack for something suitable for dinner." I think we can make do without a fire tonight." He suggested, turning around and re-kneeling next to her. He sat down on the bedroll and passed her roughly half of the bread and white cheese he'd pulled out before patting the spot on the bedroll next to him invitingly. Viruses naturally seemed to dodge and bow her form around the curves of the surrounding wood, complying with her companion as he passed her their slumber-aid. She'd nestle it smack-dab in the center of that willow, away from prying eyes and wandering critters. They'd be safe there, however. The prayer the human and whispered, they'd heard. She felt the spirits bow to him. Rental was one held in high regard within the wood. Viruses couldn't have found a better companion to keep with. A warm smile crossed her features as she kneeled on the bedroll beside him, reaching to receive the food he'd offered. She'd tear into the snag of bread, chewing slowly as if to savor the tastes. Elves weren't one to rush pleasures." It grows colder as we head north of the wood," Viruses observed. She'd never travelled so far, personally. She was once an elf of high regard, and they rarely left the main city. "Do you think we will see the frozen rains? I have not seen them before. I hear it can be appealing to the eye." Those jade optics roamed the gentleness her human companion's features had to offer. He was a curious one, he was. Not a brute, like other humans. Kind and caring, a truly compassionate soul. Rental nibbled on the cheese, considering Viruses's question for a moment before answering. "I'm hoping that we won't have to go much further north, actually." He reached over and stroked her hair with his free hand for a moment before returning his attention to the remains of dinner. "I'm not fond of the frozen rains myself, and they can be outright dangerous to be in if you're caught in them without shelter." He turned his soft brown eyes upon her, taking a moment to study her to try and get a better idea of how she was feeling about the whole thing. Truthfully, he hadn't been this far north in quite a while himself and he'd had every desire to head back south as soon as possible. He'd been born in a warmer climate and didn't like the cold very much, fortunately for him Viruses was just as warm as she was soft. He finished eating just a bit before she did, finally turning his attention away from her. Furthermore, he carefully brushed the remaining crumbs off of his hands before crawling back over to the pack to retrieve a few handfuls of acorns and berries to leave as an offering. That accomplished, he waited until she had finished before returning to her side on the bedroll. He put one arm around her waist and kissed her softly on the temple. "Next village we get to, we'll get you more clothes to wear." He told her, smiling slightly at her. Viruses returned what she hadn't eaten to the satchel, and once she'd realized what Fern gal had been up to, would assist in the offering. Her ears lingered on every word he spoke, closing her eyes only to draw a deep breath. The elf knew she was growing dependent on him as days turned. She hoped the elders would not press anything between them. As if reading her worry, he'd wrapped an around her slender waist, and dropped a kiss upon her silken skin." Clothing is restrictive," She said. "You know I dislike wearing lots of it. Just enough fabric to keep the mind guessing." She was near naked, but not completely. A silk cloth wrapped around her waist to keep her ethers safe from the environment. Another wrapped around her breasts to keep them at bay as they travelled. For Fern gal, however, it may seem as though it was her way of bestowing gifts upon him to unwrap." If we stay close, your warmth alone will be enough for me," She cooed gently, going in to kiss the side of his neck, just below his ear, with her own velvety lips. Rental had brought up the topic of clothing with Viruses before and noted that her opinion on the matter hadn't changed. Perhaps it never would, but that was fine too. "I know you do." He said finally, tilting his head just enough so he could catch her eyes with his. He decided to drop the subject until some future point of discussion, perhaps when or if they ever went to a human city. Humans were a bit more conservative when it came to clothing, after all. He lowered his lips to hers, pressing his lips against hers. His arm around her waist applied a gentle amount of pressure to encourage her to lean a bit closer, and his tongue pushed its way between her lips and into her mouth to caress her tongue. He held the kiss for a few taken breaths, feeling his body respond to the combination of his own desires for her and the feeling of her closeness to him. It had been close to a week since they'd last made love, and it seemed overdue, somehow. A passing thought came and went that perhaps his feeling for her were more than simple lust, that he was falling truly in love with her. He drew his head back slightly from her, gazing once again into her eyes before he started to wiggle out of his clothing. His traveling clothing, simple pants and a tunic, were different from the silken entertainers outfit that he kept stored in his back. He reluctantly released her long enough to undress, reaching out to caress her naked body when they were both fully undressed. "Let us keep each other warm then." He told her as his fingers glided over her shoulders, dancing downward to caress her breasts before he lowered her down onto the bedroll. By this point, he was already fully erect and ready to join with her. Viruses moved into Fern gal was a willow's branches molded with then wind. His tender lips were the sweetest morsels she'd ever have the pleasure of feasting on, and as her wet muscle danced with his between their lips, she'd sigh out her longing in the form of a whimsical moan. Though she'd never tell him out loud, the blonde elf simply adored Fern gal's touch. Being near him. Hearing him. Breathing him. If she couldn't, she felt as though she'd probably die. Damn her for falling so quickly, but she was so smitten all the same. As the human disrobed, Vi took it as a chance to unwrap herself for him. She'd taken off the thick silk ribbon from her breasts, laying the meridian fabric around his shoulders playfully. Her nipples were already so tight, with her nipples as small as a baby's pinky nail. She'd soon do the same the with the silk around her hips, but she let that ribbon fall lifelessly to the bedroll. She sensed his erection as he ghosted his fingers over her, and the first thing she could do was reach out and cup his face in her palms, kissing him deeply with lips that thirsted for him for that long, harrowing week. Her legs parted to bid him entrance, her silk folds glistening with built-up moisture of anticipation. Rental didn't bother to try and control himself any longer, feeling or perhaps just intuiting Viruses's own desire. He curled his fingers around his fully erect cock, carefully pushing himself as deep into her as he could manage. "Gods.... I need....want...." He ran out of words and conscious thought as his balls slapped against her wet skin, a sound just audible enough to be heard in the growing darkness. His hands reached upward and groped her breasts, his fingers teasing her nipples before he pushed her flat against the bedroll. He began to pound her hurriedly, going perhaps too fast but unable to hold back given how long it had been. There was a fast yet wet rhythmic slapping sound as he thrust into her depths over and over again, his eyes filled with hunger and fixed on her face. His hands continued to grope and squeeze her breasts even as his cock slid back and forth inside of her, pausing only after a few moments as the first tinglings of his orgasm began to grow in his groin. He made himself pull back from her, sitting down and pulling her firmly to him; so that she straddled him. His hands went around her waist, just barely touching her hips before squeezing her butt quite hard. His still rock hard erection glistened with a shared wetness, the gleaming fluid that belonged to her combined with just a bit of pre-cum of his own. Viruses yelped a moan as she Rental's shaft slid into her moisture. She drew in a sharp gasp, vocalizing his every thrust as he bore himself deep within her. It was hard to contain the feeling of euphoria for the elf. It was one of the few emotions she connected with, as she seemed cold to others with her usual silence. Free pawed her plush, swollen breasts, flicking at her tight nips and coaxing her to sing louder for him. She flopped against the bedroll, lulling her tongue across her lips as he relentlessly assailed her sex. She calmed a moment as the wave passed. It was their shifting change that provided the small rest. Viruses would hike a leg and straddle her human between her knees, shivering and cooing as he dug his fingertips into her ass. She gasped his name, "Rental," right as she spread her hips further apart. He slipped up and into her slit once again, his cock pushing her small circle into a broad oval. After curling her toes into the mat, she'd gyrate her hips before sliding herself down onto his shaft, starting slow before her hips sharply changed pace. Faster she went, her cheeks clapping together when she released her muscles at a certain paramount. Warm, sugary fluids coated his erection. She'd lean forward to brace herself, her hands crossing over one another as they rested on your heart. She'd wriggle faster, drawing in her bottom lip with a sharp gasp. "Viruses." He whispered to her as slid down onto him, impaling herself with his still rock hard shaft. He squeezed her butt in reassurance before spanking her lightly a few times in encouragement, smiling lustfully as his eyes were fixed on her face. Furthermore, he could feel every motion of her body echoing through his, and he found that he didn't need any visual cues to get a sense of how close to orgasm (or when she'd orgasmed). When she sped up, he felt the tingling in his groin move down into his shaft. With a soft gasp of his own, he felt himself shoot his load all at once into her, moving his hands forward to grasp her hips instead of her butt. "Don't stop...until...you're done." He panted, managing to get the words out. Viruses gasped as she felt shot after shot of warm, hot semen coat the insides of her vagina. Her stomach tensed and swelled with his seed, her own fluids releasing shortly after. The mixture would travel down her tunnel like a river, wrapping and circling his endowment with a gentle embrace. The elf would let her busty form lay down on top of him, panting heavily from both euphoria and work out alike. She'd breath him in, letting her emerald hues swell shut as she slowly lowered her heart rate. It was tough to control the spasms of her legs from the aftershock, but it didn't keep her from trying. Her hands moved to his shoulders, hooking her fingers there as she rubbed her cheek against his pectoral. Viruses listened to his heart, listened to the winds and the blew and the different sounds that night brought with it. She was a sad elf, Viruses was, but being near Rental brought her such happiness-- even if she didn't know how to show it properly. Rental carefully wrapped his arms around Viruses when she finally relaxed against him, apparently satisfied for the moment. With one arm hooked around her waist, he gently stroked her by this time no doubt well mussed hair tenderly. He enjoyed touching her, not just in a sexual context but simply things like holding hands. He stopped stroking her hair after a few moments and simply held onto her, letting everything flow over and around him. There was definitely something about her that was different from anyone else that he had gone to bed with. He couldn't quite pin it down, but she delighted and excited him at the same time. Perhaps it really was love, though he couldn't recall such a feeling ever since his first crush so many years ago. In the end, he supposed, it didn't really matter. As long as he had her, everything else would have to work itself out. He let himself luxuriate in the softness and warmth of her body, sitting together with their bodies pressed against each other. As often happened when they made love after a long day of walking, he began to feel the day catch up with him. "Let's get some sleep." He whispered to her, finding it a little awkward to keep holding onto her and climbing into the bedroll at the same time. Once they were both inside the bedroll, he pulled her body against his. He tucked her head below his chin and hooked a leg over her knees, murmuring contently as his body relaxed all at once and sleep quickly followed. The elf brought her hands across his chest, placing her palm over his heart and resting it there. After laying her head in the crook of his shoulder, she'd stretch out her cherry lips and kissed at his jaw line. Then she'd relax, laying her head limp on his shoulder, and let sleep succumb her. Memories of her banishment flooded her vision. The King declaring the verdict. The Council staring down their nose shaft's at her. They took her circlet from her brow, then turned their backs on her in succession. It was the single most horrific thing she'd ever encountered. When she walked down the street, they'd turn their backs. No smiles. No hellos. Just shunning. Viresse awoke clinging to Rental for dear life, as she had once before when that particular thing popped up. She'd whine into a moan and buried her face into his side again. "Free..." The blonde elf purred, groping at him just because she could. It could have been because Viruses was stirring or simply because she'd groped him, that caused him to slip into that not quite awake state. "Vi, go back to sleep." He mumbled, tucking her a bit tighter against himself before dropping back off to sleep. It might have been an unconscious act, or his sub-conscious coming forward with what he was still grappling with...but he tried to wrap himself a bit more around her protectively even as he slept. Viruses blushed at this automatic reaction for the handsome human bard. She smiled more broadly now, especially since he couldn't see. After burrowing her nose into his chest, she'd hug him back so very affectionately. Breathing him in, along with the smell of their sex, lulled her back to sleep then. Rental woke up slowly, as he often did. He could still feel Viruses snuggled up against him, and had the same feeling every single morning: He hated letting go of her. He lay still for a few minutes, listening and feeling the world around them, absently trying to keep her in a tight snuggle with him. Invariably, the moment passed and he buried his nose into her hair. She always smelled ... sweet, like flowers and a freshening breeze. He took advantage of the moment to kiss her on the temple before gently shaking her to wake her up. "It's morning already." He said quietly, suppressing a shiver as the early morning chill finally penetrated. When Rental stirred, Viruses would tighten her hold on him. She groaned again. "Mornings come and mornings go, we needn't greet them all." She'd hide her face into him again, her plume of a ponytail shaking back and forth, letting him know she was refusing to accept the realities that surrounded them. Each day they were closer. She was wondering by this point if she even wanted to go back. Was it even really worth it, after how she'd been treated, and why she had been outcast to begin with. The elf just wanted to not move, but she wouldn't protest Rental. This would be a great opportunity for him, as no outsider had ever seen the spirits of the Elvish Kings. As often got her attention, he patted her lightly on the butt. "Next town we get to, I promise that you can stay in bed all day if you want." He whispered into her ear, following his words up by a playful nibbling on her ear's pointed tip. Personally, the thought of taking an entire day to just stay in bed and snuggle was really appealing. Unfortunately, or perhaps not, the nearest town he knew of was a good three days from where they were. Vi twitched at the tap of her ass, wriggling gently as she blushed as his hot breath brushed her ear. She nipped at his pectoral playfully as he nibbled on her ear. Tit-for-tat, as they'd say. She'd reluctantly roll herself to her feet, stretching her small form thin, and loosed a high-pitched mewl as her body struggled to wake herself up. She'd look at Rental then over her shoulder, a palm placing itself flat on the ivy tattoo of her thigh. Her upper arm held tattoos of lilies." Can we at least bathe in the river? I hear the running water. I think it would feel nice." It took a few seconds before Viruses's question registered with Rental as he was too busy admiring her naked body. "Of course we can." He said, making himself look away so he could crawl over to his pack and get what was left of the bar of soap from it. One more thing he really needed to get, he mused. He looked over his shoulder at her to see what she was doing before speaking up again." Lead the way?" It was a question and not a question at the same time. Their possessions would be perfectly safe exactly where they were while they went off and played for a bit. He followed her out from under the cover of the willow and took her hand once he caught up with her, letting her lead the way and choose the pace. There was something very right with how they were and what they were doing. Viruses smiled to her bardic companion with her meridian hues, her lips keeping themselves pressed in the thin line they naturally rested as. She'd lean over to gather her thick silk ribbons that she used as garments, wrapping one around her waist while she grabbed the ends of the other and looped it around Free's form. A playful gleam glistened from her oculars, as she twirled to turn the other way and pull him along with her. When they exited the hollow, she'd guide them towards where the sun had set, and just beyond a layer of thick pines and ferns, a clear-water stream gently babbled before them. Fish of various sizes swam and hid from Vi's shadow as she released the silk strands she'd roped Free with, only to remove the one she'd loosely tied around her waist. After casting, it aside, she was quick to take to the water. It was deep enough that she could dive in at an angle. When she'd emerge, she'd pull her long hair from her ponytail and set about to washing the dust and dirt from those strands. Rental smiled as Viruses simply dove right in, choosing to make a more sedate method of stepping into the water instead. The water was a bit colder than he'd liked but overall, he couldn't complain. "Let me." With gentle hands, he brushed aside her fingers and resumed the simple task of cleaning then untangling her hair. He wasn't going to turn down an opportunity like this one, they rarely got to bathe together. He alternately passed to her then reclaimed the soap as he needed it, his fingers lingering perhaps a bit longer on her skin than was really necessary. Furthermore, he took his time, wanting to let her enjoy the bathe as much as he was. Furthermore, he was unable to resist stealing a kiss or two while they were bathing, gathering her in his arms and simply holding onto her once the process of cleaning seemed to be done. "Mm?" Viruses wondered as she turned to look to her human companion, who no quicker took to her hair than she did his charm. He was a gentleman compared to other humans she'd met. Rental made sure she was fed and cared for, which was more than anyone previously had done for her. Memories of home brought more pain than they did happiness. And, having been away from them for a few days now, she found the world was much better from an outside perspective. Being an elf was like being a God, and in order to be a God, you had to be perfect. In the eyes of their culture, Viruses was far from perfect. But Rental made her feel like she was, even if she had her quirks. She'd take some soap and lathered her hands with it before returning it to Free, running her fingers over his body to help him bathe as he bathed her. His profession belied his body. He had strength to him. Viruses herself was thicker in the bust and hips, but she was coated with softness, instead of firm. She'd kiss him then, after the soap had been washed from his gorgeous skin. Rental held onto Viruses for a few moments more after the bath was complete, then took her by the hand and waded out of the pool. He selected what looked to be a soft bed of moss and stretched out on it to dry, patting the spot next to him in invitation. He let the sun warm his skin and her closeness warm his heart, carefully pecking her on the temple before stretching from top to bottom, wiggling his toes in contentment." After you speak to the elders at this shrine, then what?" He finally broached the subject, reaching over and stroking her along her stomach. Viruses found solace laying in the sun besides Rental, turning her face to the side so she could slowly watch his hair dry and catch the sunlight just right. More kisses upon her skin spurned her to return them in kind, soon rolling over just to cuddle closer to him." I do not know," She admitted. "It all depends on what they tell me." The brightness in her eyes dulled a bit, her cheek rubbing into him with a sigh. "I do not think they will change. I love my people, and yet I despise them at the same time. I am going to see the Elders to ask permission to change the ways. If they say I cannot, then there is no way I will ever be able to return to them." It troubled her, thinking of having nowhere to call home. She'd always had one. Viruses was once a, but now? Now she was just a clover in a field, being plucked away from the masses because she had an extra leaf. The woman stayed quiet then, sniffling for just a moment before she simply closed her eyes. Rental turned his head to watch Viruses's expression as she responded to his question. After a few heartbeats, he stopped stroking her stomach so he could gently yet firmly spoon her into his side. He kept one arm around her, turning his head so he could luxuriate in the scent of her as well as enjoy the feeling of her body against his. He said nothing, leaving the questions he was thinking to himself. Time ticked on slowly, and he finally spoke up. "No matter what, we'll have each other." He said, then turned his head to her; lowering his lips to hers for a lingering kiss, both tender and passionate at the same time. "I'll gladly have you for as long as you want to remain with me." "Rental, I know how much the elvish ways inspire you," Viruses murmured, hugging his arms around her stomach. "Had I been some other elf, I would not have so much conflict in my heart. But as a princess, being banished spreads like wildfire. It will be difficult for you to enjoy their pleasantries if I'm near, as they will turn their backs to me." She'd turn her head to try and peer back at him, keeping her voice gentle and soft as always. "I will always want you at my side, but may the Gods damn me if I turn selfish and keep you from your aspirations and happiness." "I find being with you makes me happy." Rental used his free hand to caress Viruses's cheek. "Even if your people reject you, reject us; I'm not going to give you up." He abruptly sat up as what she said finally registered. "Princess?" He blinked at her, his expression matching the befuddlement he felt. The elf would nuzzle her golden cheek into the human's hand with a gentle thought of thanks in her mind. Rental was a loyal sort of man, as it would seem, and she was still getting used to this characteristic. Though he seemed panicked about her title Viruses would seem passive. Dismissive, almost, as if such a thing didn't phase her." Mm," She'd hum again gently, just to affirm what her human companion had heard. "But what does it matter? I am exiled. My word is as good as grains of sand are for the eyes." Her lungs would fill with air as she swelled her eyes closed. Keeping calm was important to her, as losing her mind with depression wasn't already a scary thought. Rental's thoughts were like a wagon stuck in the mud: they just sat there. "But...aren't there rules for..." It took a long time, though it couldn't have been more than a moment or two before he shook off the lethargic that griped him. He reached over and gripped her shoulders, then pushing her back down onto the moss. He pressed her body down into the earth with his own, pinning her in place. That accomplished, he gave her little kisses: a dozen or more, quick pecks on the lips. "I want you in my bed," he said after he'd kissed her over and over. "No matter who you are, I think that's where you're meant to be." Viruses was about ready to sit up, knowing full well Rental wanted the day to move forward, but his sudden movement scared her. It brought a small, shrill yelp from her chest, where butterflies suddenly began to dance. She looked up at him with her wide eyes, drawing in deep, controlled breaths to keep her from panicking. He'd never been so intense. The human's confession of wanting chilled her. It swelled her breasts, which perked themselves into the air. It arched her back, the sheer thought of sex sending pulses of pleasure to her labia." Fren-" she'd started to say, but was cut off by his thirsty lips as he assailed her with kisses. She wouldn't complain. The golden-skinned princess didn't know what she wanted. But after that handsome bard declared, Viruses would blush. Her own wants came shortly after that. "I want to be yours, Rental..." Slipping her slick muscle between their lips, the elf's tongue would slowly lull itself over his bottom lip, before sucking it in and releasing it with a small pop. "That...makes me happy." Rental smiled at Viruses at her words, caressing her cheek in a tender manner before carefully sliding off of her to kneel next to her. He offered her a hand, his eyes glittering with delight as he couldn't have taken his eyes off of her even if he wanted to. Did he love her? He supposed that he thought he did, and that was enough." I think.... I think I love you." He confessed, his eyes fixed on her face. He was aware of his quickly growing arousal, his cock rather rapidly growing erect. "If you love me then I am yours, my Rental," Viruses murmured, taking his hand to help her up to her own knees. She'd reach out a hand and smoothed his hair away from his face. "It is all I want," She confessed. "I seek the council, so I could return, so I would not be alone, but you are here... If you have me, I need no council nor people." She'd reach a hand out to gently stroke at his aching member, her lips parting as she watched him curiously. Viruses's touch on Rental's nearly complete erection felt very good, making his fully hard almost immediately. He didn't really want to think about the long term right at that moment, instead he wanted to share in the discoveries they'd just made. "Then I want to make you mine," he leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips. "Just for a moment," he had to pause to try and find the right words. Instead, he picked up one of her silk ribbons and tying her wrists together. He held her wrists over her head, straddling her as he lowered her onto her back. He could feel the aching in his groin, begging for release. Furthermore, he wanted to bury his erection into her depths and fill her with his seed. "Let us give ourselves to each other than," he whispered to her as he lowered his body over hers. "Seal our union with this act." Viruses would watch as the silk ribbon was wrapped around her wrists, looking to Rental in a moment of confusion as he raised her hands over head. She could feel his erection as he straddled her, easing her onto her back gently. He was so intimate now, unlike the other times before. His whisper coaxed her nipped to tighten once more, especially as his nudity leaned closer upon her. Her bottom wriggled as her thighs pinched themselves tight in attempt to relieve the ache she was experiencing. Her breath quickened. This was a side of Rental she'd never seen before, and he was much more in control that he'd previously let on. It was exciting, and so the golden-skinned elf would await her lover's want. Rental used one hand to keep Viruses's wrists pinned above her head. His other hand was used to open her legs so he could slide into her without much resistance. "Let's try new ways of making love." He whispered to her as he plunged into her depths, making himself go as far into her as he could before beginning to pump her rapidly. Perhaps it was the revelations of the day or simply an admittance to how things were, but either way he felt a profound rush of desire...even possessiveness. She was his. His. And he would love her with everything he had. Viruses would lose a scream of pleasure at Free's sudden thrust, filling her cunt with his endowment without easing in gently. She wriggled her wrists, cinching her eyes closed as her breasts openly clapped against one another. The small of her back arched and swayed, her bottom trying to finagle its way away from the onslaught of euphoria Rental's hard member was shooting into her. The elf bit her bottom lip, trying to control the sounds escaping her lips. Rental wasn't sure exactly what had gotten into him at that moment but found it entirely too enjoyable. "Don't hold back, Vi." He encouraged her, his eyes focused on her breasts lustfully. "Let it all out." He continued to pound her relentlessly, the tingling in his groin that normally signaled that he was going to orgasm soon simply encouraged him to fuck her that much harder. Viruses's long legs rubbed their thighs against Rental, all of this just to escape the wonderful feelings that coursed within her wombs. Her breasts were numb, red in the areas that they had been rubbing together, and now her thighs were tickling themselves a gentle crimson shade as his hips thrust into her deeply. She bellowed as he commanded her, the happy cry so shrill and feminine. Hot liquid sugar coats Rental's penis, from his belled and down his shaft, where moisture slowly rolled down to meet his sac. Her golden cheeks blushed, embarrassed but so happy to be the object of this human's love. He was so easy to be with, she'd want nothing more. Maybe it was because of previous experience or simply that her crying out was some sort of trigger. Rental came when he heard and felt Viruses orgasm, ramming deep and keeping himself there while their simultaneous orgasms played out. He was panting for breath, reluctantly withdrawing himself from inside of her so that he could collapse on the moss next to her. He finally released his grip on her wrists, panting heavily and feeling somehow satisfied in spite of the fact that his still rock hard cock stuck upward in the air like some sort of standard. Viruses brought her knees together once Rental pulled out from her womb, her muscles spasming every here and again as she tried to catch her breath. She ended up on her stomach, her cheek pressing against that soft green moss as she slid her eyes shut. Now she was exhausted again, letting her tired eyes swell themselves shut as she lived through the aftershock. That was very, very different of the human- but, not so much unexpected. Usually it was the nice ones with the promiscuous side, wasn't it? Rental looked over at Viruses, giving her a small smile as his body finally began to relax. As his erection slowly deflated, he found himself studying his even companion and after a moment reached over and untied her wrists. It would perhaps be bested if they simply stayed in the shelter of the willow for the day, after all, the shrine wasn't going anywhere. He then stretched back out on the moss, absently reaching over to stroke her back between the shoulder blades slowly. His tenderness seemed an unexpected change from the possessive, even aggressive, behavior that he'd shown only a little while before." Why don't we stay here for the day?" He suggested after a long while, finally removing his fingers from her back. "This seems like a good place to just take a break for the day." Viruses would hum as Free's fingertips gently massaged at her back. Her golden skin drank in the sun, glistening from it. She lazily rolled onto her side then, with eyes still closed, murmuring to her human. "Oh?" She'd chuckle. "Like I had proposed earlier?" It was then her lips cracked a coy smile, her nostrils drawing in another deep breath for her lungs to linger with. "I would like to stay, yes. I am awfully tired." The elf seemed to purr a bit longer before it would seem sleep claimed her, all the while Free's semen lazed with her hot liquid sex as they rolled down her thighs. "Perhaps I just needed some convincing, my love." Rental drew Viruses to snuggle against his side so she could use his shoulder for a pillow before she could doze off. He kept one arm around her as they lay together and found himself having trouble staying away himself, resting his head against hers before he eventually dozed off himself. The faint but warm breeze caressed and soothed his body, slowly drying the combined fluids that still coated his penis and groin. Even if he'd thought about it, he wouldn't have wanted to wash them off, as somewhere it remained a link between the two of them. When Viruses would finally prop an eye open, she'd stretch her lips back in a wide yawn before kissing Free's slumbering cheek. She hummed softly, her resting-bitch-face seeming more warm than usually. It was probably the glint in her eyes that gave her contentment away. She'd let her head fall back onto the crook of his shoulder, lifting a finger to gently trace figure-8's about his pectoral." Frengal..." She sang lowly in a whisper, holding back a small chuckle. "Rental~"The second was in his ear, right before she'd nuzzle the rim of it with her button nose-tip. Rental was enjoying a very nice and steamy dream, which was composed of a naked version of Viruses dancing seductively for him. He wouldn't have known if it was the sound of her humming or her whispering his name that twigged him out of his very pleasant dream to be back in the real world. He opened his eyes, blinking once or twice as the sunlight wasn't exactly at the right angle to be in his eyes. The surrounding arm moved downward to give her very nice butt a playful squeeze before he spoke softly to her. "Whatever you were planning on doing, don't stop." He made an effort to not move at all, though the sensation of his hand on her butt combined with her naked body pressed against him were a tad bit distracting. "I was only trying to wake you up," She'd whisper, always the one to be blunt about things even though there was a myriad of sexier things she could have said. "Looks like I have." Her victorious smile came out only in the sound of her voice, her golden rear moving slightly in the palm of his hand as he groped. She'd lay her head back down on his shoulder, releasing a happy sigh. "We do not have to go to the Council," she said. "I do not want to go home, if I can stay with you. I feel more at peace by your side." The way Viruses spoke of it, even amidst her monotone, she seemed very grounded and centered, like she'd found peace from her stress within their play of passion and rest. "If you will have me at your side, care for me, protect me... I see no reason to return." She'd turn her green eyes up to Rental's face, waiting to hear his thoughts. Rental took advantage of the opportunity to pat Viruses firmly on the rump. "And who says that if you go back that I can't go with you?" He posed the question and let it hang in the air between them. "I'm a Princess, Rental," Viruses murmured as if she loathed herself for it. "Any man I marry will also be even, and the children we have will be full-blooded elves." She closed her eyes again, letting the sun dance across her naked surface and savoring the moment they were in. "Now that you know this, what do you think?" "I think that there's going to be spankings involved, is what I think." Rental turned his head to look Viruses squarely in the eye. "I also think that you need to talk to the Council anyway. Because if you don't, you'll regret not doing it." He reminded her, leaning forward to peck her on the lips lightly. "Speak to the elders for them to tell me what, precisely?" The elf sighed, a pout forming across her delicate features. "That the ways will not change? That I'm no Princess because I'm.... smaller, yet bigger?" Viresse, usually being so poised and dignified, now mocked the ways of her own people and how they'd envisioned her. She scrunched her nose as she recalled how they all turned their backs to her as she walked out of the village. It was a horrible feeling, and she'd turn her back to Rental so she could add an extra layer of protection to her closed off demeanor. If there was one thing Viruses had an awful time doing, it was communicating all of her bad feelings. She hated how they made her weak." I would much rather lay here beside you and delve into a state of being blissful rather than be fed to the hounds." Rental decided to drop the subject, after all Viruses was a big girl and could make up her own mind. And it wasn't like they couldn't come back at some point if she did change her mind. And she was cute when she pouted, he noted mentally. But then again, she was cute in general. He let the silence linger for a moment before leaning forward and kissing her lightly on the lips. "In that case, we'll have to decide what we're going to do tomorrow then." Viruses hummed into the gentle kiss, snuggling up to Rental's lean form more affectionately now that she'd gotten her way. When thoughts of tomorrow came into play she wasn't about to let the opportunity go. "How about we go settle down somewhere? A small cottage somewhere. I can embroider blankets and dresses... You can play your music from dawn until dusk. Then at night..." She smiled into another kiss to his lips. "How does that sound?" "Definitely some place warmer." Rental agreed with Viruses, returning her kisses with equal enthusiasm. "I'm thinking somewhere that you can run around without any clothes on at all if you so desire." He'd have to think on it a while in order to come up with about the right area, but it wasn't like they had to get there tomorrow. He gave her a light kiss of his own. "Somehow, the thought of you running around naked has a certain appeal."" There is, however, one other matter that requires my attention." Before she could really do much about it, he yanked her over his lap. "Time for spankings." He declared, following up words with immediate action. The spankings weren't very hard, enough to be felt...and definitely had a playful air to them.

Bard's Tale_ Elven Edition (Irin and Hunter)|rating:3.0

Pact Beast (twerdgirl_Kate)

Take a young boy with dark blue eyes and light blue hair ran through the forest away from his destroyed home. It had been burned, and his parents killed by soldiers. He ran as fast as he could, but tears clouded his eyes and he tripped over a root. He just lay on the ground sobbing for what he had lost when he heard a deep voice. "Why are you crying little one." Take looked up and gasped as he saw a huge white tiger standing before him. "Do not fear little one I am Ky and I will not hurt you." Take nodded slowly still unsure "I'm Take." You are alone are you not little one?" Take nodded and spoke softly "the soldiers took it all." Ky nodded in understanding "I can protect you little one, but you must give me something in return." Take thought for a minute then said "I can give you my sight." Ky was clearly shocked by this, but nodded "very well." I Ky promise that I will protect you Take with everything I have until someone will lovingly do the same." In return, you Take will give me your sight" Take nodded in understanding. "Now place your hand on my head, and you will lose your sight, but I promise it won't hurt." Take nodded again and placed his hand on Ky's head and gasped as everything went dark. Taylor was a very hansom boy but always felt out of sorts with most groups and seldom could figure out why many did make pranks at his expense. Later he figured it was more due to being different and not laughing along at jokes that were not funny which pushed him away from core groups of those he wished to befriend. This led to an interest in roaming the wilderness fending for himself as best he could. It was several years ago since he packed with his Wolf companion Gremlin and the two together made formidable hunters. Alas, it was hard to not think of his past life as often thoughts of his family and how he felt he deserted them flooded many of his thoughts. When word that his sister was taken captive by raiders anger flared into the boy's soul. It was three days both figures were following the cart tracks the kidnappers had left. Not many used the roads here, and those who did usually were on horseback so as bad as things were at least their trail was easy to find. When they finally caught up with them, it was twilight. While both hid in the bushes three, no four bandits were made out. Three eating by a fireplace while one tormented prisoners chained on the wagon served by four horses." No use in whimpering you sniveling fools, new life for you lot won't leave much time for self-pity !" One bandit threw a chunk of what seemed to be bone into the wagon and many hands fought for its meager nutrition. One pair belonged to Taylor' sister Reyna. Grenlin growled deeply, not loud enough for the bandits to hear, but its sound mimicked what the other was feeling. All were heavily armed though. They needed help with this, raiders usually were not so well-equipped. Taulos sank back and sighed." Lord, grant me the strength to see this done properly ... please give me a sign" Take was riding on Ky as they looked for a place to settle for the night. Well Ky looked while Take relaxed and hugged the small blanket around him. They were both tired, but had to make a run for it when some soldiers came into the area. As they were traveling they picked up on soft whimpering. One of the things that Take had gained from losing his eyesight was heightened sense of hearing. He and Ky knew they had to help whoever was in trouble neither being able to see somebody in pain. They fallowed the noise and saw several men by a carriage. Ky noise then picked up the scent of another pact beast. Ky went to slowly investigate "excuse me" he called out to the wolf "do you need help with those men?" Gremlin's ears perked and soon afterward he informed Taylor of the second group, another pack pair. Different however, feline ? Powerful, perhaps a lion or a tiger ?" Yes" the wolf replied instinctively after feeling his "master's" mood"We need you both to see to two so we can pounce on them without dealing with all of them at once "The request was telepathic, other pack pairs were not to be trusted typically but Gremlin knew desperation in Taylor." Excellent" Taylor smiled and looked to where his companion indicated. They couldn't be seen, probably well hidden themselves, especially if the pack animal they have was a cat of some form." I can't wait, my anger is carrying me, I need to act on it now, or I will second guess everything" Taylor resolved then draw a keen sword from his belt and ran down towards the camp as fast as he could, his wolf friend bounding in front of him. Within a moment Gremlin launched at one of the bandits neck dragging the surprised man to the ground in a whirlwind of fur and armor, a second later Taylor was engaged in swordplay with a larger man that snarled at the intruder." Die scum, heroes don't work they are in myths boy !" The two other men quickly drew swords and marched to flank Taylor, within moments they would Ky didn't have time to tell them that Take was no use in a fight. He made sure Take got off him safely then pounced on one man before quickly take down another. Ky had always been a good fighter, but once Take came into his life he became better knowing he'd have to protect him. He had originally taken Take on only to have a pact, but Take was no longer a mere pact he was a brother. And Ky would protect him no matter what not because of the pact, but because he loved Take. The fight was almost over before it began and as gruesome as it was at least only the bandits were injured. The element of surprise and being set on in two directions at once won the day. As Taylor freed the prisoners and calmed his sister the world approached the huge cat cautiously." A White tiger" Gremlin stated cautiously circling the beast "No wonder you could kill them so quickly" Cats and dogs didn't get a long typically old rivals and suspicion was very acute - even as more intelligent pack animals, the urge to distrust the other was strong. The white tiger likely would be faster and more lethal than the wolf as it also had savage claws, still this wolf was no ordinary wolf and was taller than any dog the white tiger had seen, its body lean and powerful, it also had the feel about it as if it has been in many fights before and knew what it was doing. If a fight appeared between them, it would be hard to tell which would win, most likely the tiger, still it would be close enough that the tiger may not come away from it the better for it." I am Gremlin, my companion is Taylor, we are hunters and explorers, you helped free his sister from slavers, our thanks, we are in your debt, where however is your other ? I feel you're bonded ? Am I wrong ?" The tiger nodded "yes, but Take can not fight." Not that he is not healthy and fit, but you see for my protection he gave up his sight." He quickly darted over to Take and led the boy back to the wolf. Take's once blue eyes were now milky white, but other than that he was a very fine young man. Take smiled "may I pet you?" Take realized how that sounded and quickly added "not that I think of you as a pet, but it's how I see things." "You may as my thanks for both of you"The prisoners were quickly running back to the village as fast as their legs could manage and only once his sister disappeared over the hill to safety did Taylor sink to his knees in exhaustion." Lords thank-you !" He bellowed to the tiger and the blind boy"Please lets sit by the fire and rest, we have been tracking them non-stop for three days and nights and I need my strength back, luckily for us food is here"Sure enough soup and a large piece of meet were cooking over the fire place and Taylor was soon carving away slices of it in with a large knife." My master exchanged his sense of smell for my loyalty, already my sense is acute but with his trade mine is beyond what most creatures can manage, I can smell all sorts of emotions and states that would be magical to those without my keen sense. But Alas my master is right, I am exhausted also we have not slept nor eaten in days, please join us. Friends in such places are rare, and welcome indeed" Take gently stroked the wolves fur and gave a small smile. "Your fur is courser the Ky's, but I like it." Ky nudged him gentle towards the fire insuring the boy didn't get too close. Ky smiled as Take merely nodded and mumbled "we are tired as well." He took some of the food, but first made sure Ky had plenty of his own before eating. The explorer and the wolf fed greedily and soon were full of what the bandits had left. Their bodies had been dragged away and gold they were carrying given to the blind boy for the teams work. As Taylor relaxed knowing the mission was a success his eyes drifted to the stars then back to the blind bow "Take, giving your sight away is something not many would do, its lucky you gave it to a beast so powerful and capable of protecting you." knowing the boy couldn't see permitted the explorer to cast his eyes along his form. Very feminine. A strange feeling appeared seeing the blind boy pat his wolf and the explorer was about to say something before realizing the wolf was staring at the boy as well as the white tiger similarly. Shaking his head Taylor snapped out of it, must be exhaustion. Both had been hunting alone for a long time, if the white tiger could smell some mood changes that were not of its liking it may be the end of them both. This encounter may be dangerous if it wasn't managed properly. With that in mind Tailors took some deep breaths and closed his eyes, the wolf soon did the same and sleep from such an ordeal was quick to come ...** Ky couldn't help, but chuckle as he smelt a certain mood in the air. He knew what it was a wondered if he should let it happen. Take knew about sex, but Ky could never teach him the way a lover could. Ky and Take had the talk a long time ago when Take wanted conformation that men were supposed to like women. Ky explained to Take that was how the world saw it, but that love and lust didn't have rules about gender. Take then bluntly asked if it was okay he thought of men and Ky said yes, but he should not advertise it for not all people would understand. He made sure Take was close and warm before falling asleep with his human. Ky and Take awoke to find that the other two were putting out the fire and seeing the horses fed. The bandits belongings, armor and the likes were valuable, and it was Toulouse' intention to change it for something more practical. The horses and wagon would serve the village well, and it wasn't long before Taylor took the reins and indicated for the others to jump on in the back or else tag along"The nearby village could use this, last seasons harvest was poor, but this one is a booming crop, if they have the horses and means to buy more tools, these swords and armor could give them just that. We would certainly enjoy your company the raiders are getting more organized now, those we managed yesterday were well-trained. The days of exploring in two's pack and companion are getting more dangerous"The wolf jumped on the cart and soon had the horses feeling uneasy, it took many a soothing noise from Taylor to ensure they were not further spooked"Best you stay on board G, if your running near their heels they will frighten more so"The wolf said nothing but tilted its head to the white tiger and the strange blind boy, hoping they would choose to journey with them.(IOC btw is Ky male also ?) (yes Ky is male)Ky looked at Take who nodded "yes that does sound good." Also, it will allow Take to spend more time with a human." I have cared for him since he was young, and he wasn't around people a lot." Were wanted by the king since he thinks there's something magical about me." Even if he was interested in a pact and not some unlimited power I am with Take until he can find someone to protect him with their entire being." I haven't found that person, and I'm fine taking care of Take forever if need be." Take frowned Ky licked his cheek and he smiled a bit "however Take does want to find them and I do to because I want him happy. Green was impressed with this tiger. He was not what he thought a tiger would be"Your very caring, this is something I thought cats, being so solitary were not capable of" His thoughts were of a type that all could hear"I like you Ky, but the boy is very pretty, those who would take care of him may not do so in the manner you would be happy about after the threat of you passed. And after you go what would you do ? If you care for him so much do you not enjoy his company also ?" This thought was directed towards the tiger only neither Paul nor Take would be able to hear the thought Ky sighed "I am as male as any human and am well versed in sex" he said emphasizing the word sex. I know that the person to protect Take will be his mate and I know what mates do." If Take wants me to stay I will, but if not then I will go." Take clung to Ky and the tiger smiled "I will not leave without you saying so little one." Ky smiled Take was so quiet he might as well have given Ky his voice, but they were around new people so Ky understood is reservations. Green and Talks seemed to exchange something that soon had the wolf moving about the cart anxiously circling as if unsure of what to do. Taylor on more than one occasion shifted his weight in the drivers chair and an award silent dominated for perhaps an hour. The wolf then seemed to focus on the tail of the tiger as it randomly swished about and awkwardly shifted its weight also. That same scent again exhumed from them both. Gren then broke it after what felt like an age "Both of us have been hunting for so long I think we may have become strange, so many thoughts have been shared between Taylor and I forgive him for staring at Take's hips in the way women are looked at, and please forgive me for doing the same to you, we are exhausted and find it hard to keep our minds of what could have you savage us for it. We have been on edge for so long It's hard to recall winding down and enjoying just things as they are without ... "The village then became in sight and Taylor slunk out of the driver's seat and soon was talking to the village elders explaining that the raiders cart, horses, Armour and swords was for the village as a whole and immediately the elders burst into smiles and gratitude was being beamed from all who quickly were told of the success"Heavens please you four !" one woman said the tavern owner"You not only saved our daughters from slavery but gave us what would see our harvest bloom !! Blessed is today !! Take what you wish, if your all travelers and of the rare ilk that bonds so we wish to be known as those that pay for our debts" Ky sighed "we are all tired and I don't care about gender, but we should fully rest before we let our hormones get in the way of rash thinking." As they were told they were to be given rewards Take spoke though softly "A large barn with lots of hay would be nice." That way all four of us would have a nice place to sleep." The villages knew that the pact between companions was strong and didn't think it strange hearing their choice. Even though the barn was far away from the village some walked the distance to give large bowls of homey but decent food and water, wine and milk before taking their leave. Once so Taylor seemed invigorated and poured a large wine for Take as well as himself and filled two bowls for the wolf and the tiger with wine also." They gave us their best, and we deserve it, thank gods she is safe. The village is. The elders decided to keep the armor and swords for their own defense, so the same cant happen easily. This is excellent too many put their faith in patrols which don't happen. Drink up all of you ! What we have done they are already singing songs for !" And indeed they were, even so far from the tavern the echo's of a song in their names was being poorly joined by drunken voices occasionally one of their names would be spoken and to this Taylor swayed his jug to before sipping. The Taylor then removed his sword and belt and throw the heavy thing to the hay "In the company I prefer, you too Green ?" He smiled at the wolf Which seemed to smile before lapping at the wine in one of the nearby bowls." I take that as a yes !" Taylor beamed" A White tiger and a blind boy to the rescue of us and a village, who would have ever thought. Makes for a great song I say" ... then he has drunk another gulp. Take sipped the wine slowly "I've never had wine before it's good though the alcohol makes me dizzy." Ky sighed "better stop now Take you're small which means the alcohol will have a big effect even if you only drink a little." Take nodded and set the drink down. He crawled to where he heard Taylor and asked "can I thought your face, so I can see you like I did with Green?" "Certainly" Taylor said, he to put his drink down and at this the wolf looked up from the bowl. A large bulge in Taylor' crutch spoke more than what sentences would manage, but the boy was blind and wouldn't know, the blind boys waist was shaped so femininely, it was something Taylor had a hard time not staring at. Gren's state mimicked his companion, something his wolf statue couldn't hide"Ky is it true blinded boys become more feminine in thoughts as well as form ? We have joked about hearing such rumors but I know Toulouse and I hope its true the thought is arousing to us, being packed seems to make our thoughts become similar in some ways"The wolf wasn't looking at the blind boy nor Taylor but was transfixed staring at the rear legs of the white tiger, its head tilting to every second sway of the great cat's tail. Strange, the male tiger's hips seemed to have the same feminine shape the boy had. Take touched Taylor face, but pulled away at the comment about him being feminine. He scrambled to Ky's sighed, and the tiger growled moving Take away from them. "Take as well as myself do not like being thought of a feminine." If you want my body or if Taylor wants Take's then you'll have to learn that we are male." He curled up with Take away from them the boys eyes still filled with tears. "Forgive such careless words it was a slip of the tongue to mean shapes that are attractive" The wolf started but Taylor raised one hand and quietened the beastie took a few steps towards the blind boy but didn't dear be close enough to trigger the white tiger to attack. He didn't have his sword nor wanted a confrontation." Your just gorgeous Take, I mean that in a way girls can't be, so ... well It's hard to say, talk of those like you uses words that were meant to be offensive but behind it is a truth that is more pure and lovely than confusion or labels can ever manage. My eyes have drunk your form in, and its fair you know mine if you still do, please forgive us ... we ... need you both . " Take sighed "how is it you've consumed more wine than I, yet your words sound like a poet." He slowly moved away from Ky and Ky relaxed though only a little." Take sighed "I can not see so looks mean nothing to me." I do not understand the feminine shape you speak of, but it was how Gen sounded so teasingly." Words themselves mean much to me, but the tone is so important the tone of a voice is my body language." I can't see when someone happy or sad, so I have to hear it." Right now I hear that you are not only sorry, but sincere in your apology." He blushed "I know so little about how to behave with people, so I am sorry if I'm a bit awkward." Taylor closed his eyes and tried to picture his world before talking, the wolf strangely did the same"I am sorry, we are. If you could see you would know we are aroused, Ky likely can smell it also, your form and nature is so innocent so fragile it's not a weakness but a wonder a snowflake in a world of turmoil. I long for you lustfully but in ways of not ownership or conquering but in keeping an intimacy close, part of me is you. You feel that you are what should be only touched by what is wanting to share your nature not to fool you or trick you but be part of you blend with you. Exotic wonders also are shared by my companions thoughts in ways you can ask KY to confirm, without union of this nature I feel lost and have been, no hunting nor exploring can fill such gaps, such a healing takes time and will continue to grow and developed" Take blushed and Ky could fell himself getting riled up. He got up and gently nuzzled Take before saying "I'll be outside if he hurts you just yell for me." He made his way out of the barn glancing back at the wolf and smiling. Take was blushing even brighter and whispered "kiss me...show me....teach me." The wolf glanced once at Take and Taylor before returning his game to the white tiger, Green's phallus made it difficult to pace quickly but enough reasoning prevailed to be able to follow KY from the barn, after which the doors sang closed. Grens nostrils flared constantly, and his sight stared only at the white tigers rear legs, and then to its undercarriage hoping to see proof his thoughts may be mutual*Taylor brought one hand behind the boys neck and parted the boys' hair with the other before tentatively kissing his lips softly then bringing both hands to clasp the boys head gently as the kissing became passionate. After a minute Taylor' gently lowed Take to the hey to sit on a bed that took strain from their legs." Your beautiful, glorious, as unique as a white tiger...." soon hands started unbuttoning Take's shirt while a kiss found the boys' forehead Take breathing had picked up he was nervous, but wanted this badly. He could fell himself getting hard ad began to stoke himself like he normally would. Ky was outside his erection very clear for the wolf to see. His eyes were full of lust, and he was already in the submissive position. "It's been a very long time since I've had a lover." Last one was a lion he was amazing, let's see how well a wolf can do." "Many things about intimacy is crude, accepting will make it easier, intimacy comes at times within these that's hard to fathom you relaxing as best you can or just being yourself or doing what feels right helps, it takes time"This was said as the blind boys pants and underwear were removed, followed by Tools, both only were in shirts now that were still on but buttons undone permitting contact. With slow careful gentle hands Talus placed between his legs then under the boys thighs to grasp the boys bony parts of his hips, Taylor penis was enormous and was already losing precome from a tip that was partly protruding from a stretched foreskin." I will go slowly, we may need many times to get it right, please understand it will be often and breathing helps. Taulos then hovered the head gland of his penis close to Take's anus before pressing on it gently its moist surface only touching as if kissing. "Get used to this feeling relax into it if you can . Your doing so well" . Another kiss on the forehead**"I wish I could say I have experience but alas I don't, it doesn't seem to matter now, you being here with us is everything ..." What the wolf lacked in experience it made up in spades with endowment, however. The wolves undercarriage was disproportionally large for even a wolf of his enormous size, a blessing some Stallions would be proud to have. Festivals the size of large apples swayed to the strange gait the wolf had adopted"We are different from other's ours has a bulb, a lock a knot that will keep us locked together for some time"The wolf then lifted to place its weight on the rear of the white tiger before its own rear hips began jerking about towards its lover Take let out a small whimper of pain as he felt the man enter him. It hurt, although it didn't stop his own penis from dripping. His entire body was hot and he was panting. He as scared about the pain yet didn't want Taylor to stop for even a moment. Ky nodded "I have heard that about dogs, but that's fine with me as long as you make me come." Ky moaned as the very large wolf entered him missing the feeling of being so full. Once one third of Toulouse length was in Take Tails began stroking slowly trying to keep in time with the boys breathing"It will take time you have you conditioned to manage the main bulge of me which is about half way so if you need to drink to relax more do. We will be like this for a while so try and get relaxed as you can and focus on breathing you were made for this being blind means your nature is to feel, and I am large so you can feel more than most trust the stars your body will adapt. Talons then trained his neck and kissed the tip of Take's penis then moved his hands to behind Take's back holding his waist firmly.**Thanks to five strong thrusts from Greens rear legs, Ten inches of the wolves thick member abruptly disappeared into the white tiger once the tip found Ky's anus. The wolf was considerably thicker than what the tiger had experienced the tightness of it slightly painful to the wolf likely more so to Ky, but the pleasure the wolf felt overwhelmed such concerns. With a grunt the wolfs not had extended from his sheath its size similar to a large orange. Any looking on wouldn't deem it possible for the tiger to manage such a thing but instincts to try consumed the Gremlin Take kept breathing, and the pain faded little by little. It really didn't hut so much as it was uncomfortable. Ky moaned in pleasure as his body was stretched. It hurt a bit, but he was already getting use to it. Taylor was getting frustrated with slow progress but knew it was expected considering his size. Looking about he noticed a sheet within arm reach and carefully tied it about himself and the boy to firmly hold his hips in place by winding it behind his lower back and under his legs keeping Take in a frog like pose pressed to his form. With one hand holding the back of Take's shoulders he slowly stood, Take being light enough for it to be managed carefully. All of Take's weight was on Taylor' member now and Taylor breathed heavily while one hand pressed Take's head to Taylor' chest side on in a classic pose of lovers. Careful steps soon positioned the boy to be in a state perfect for motion. Carefully Taylor removed the boy's shirt and then buttoned his own shirt around small take's form keeping him pressed firmly to Taylor' body. Take's feet dangled just above and behind Taylor' hips. Although this would certainly help, it could be too much if it wasn't managed right. Also jerking actions could cause the boy pain if he wasn't used to such a thing. Carefully Taylor walked about the barn getting used to the change in weight, Take's head was peeping through the top of his shirt, only its top three buttons undone. The sheet seemed to work, Taylor wanted it secure and wrapped its remaining length tightly in a knot strengthening the connection. They needed more lubrication and in a trance Talons opened the barn door and stepped outside to see what he was expecting. The white tiger was lean and dangerous but couldn't move in the position it was in, and in a trance Talus managed to catch a dollop of Ky's precome, and then used it to coat the length of Taylor' own penis that needed more lubrication. This was very strange but Talus was in a trace, before stepping back to give Ky and Green space.... Take moaned softly as he got use to Taylor size. He was confused by the way Taylor bounded Take to him. "Why do you have me like this" he asked quietly? He blushed bright red when he saw Ky being taken by the wolf though both seemed completely oblivious to them. Ky was moaning and so lost in pleasure he didn't even know Take and Talons were outside let alone taking his precome. "Why ? This helps you stop thinking of posture and focus on relaxing and breathing, the sheet will hold you in place. Your close I will protect you, your part of me now"Gremlin gripped the small of Ky's back with all the strength he could manage, which was necessary for the resistance that the size difference entailed. Over a hundred strong thrusts was needed before the bulk of his knot passed the white tigers sphincter wall, and immediately afterward its own tightness helped push the rest of it within the tiger. The effort was exhausting, and the wolf temporarily rested its head and neck over the tigers fur and panted. What was in the tiger was just shy of a size that would kill the tiger, and it was mainly luck of timing the actions between instinctive cramps the tiger's rear adopted that made it happen. It was mesmerizing to watch and highly surreal that it was even possible. Ten pants later the wolf's rear legs instinctively adopted its thrusting motion yet again. Its attempts not moving the shaft within but seemingly moving the tiger as a whole, making the work exhausting in the least. Take was still confused, but went with what Taylor said. "I don't feel any more pain though, and I'm breathing just fine." Ky was wondering if this was a good idea. While he had at first enjoyed the pleasure it had gotten painful fast, and he was now just wishing for it to end. He felt a slight resentment towards the wolf since he didn't seem to care of Ky's pain. He was a cat though, and it was not in his nature to show he was hurt so he just let Berlin continue. As if sensing that only pain would come of this the wolf stopped. Locked firmly in place and likely would so for a while. His weight he rested on the read of the tiger and panting continued." The desire to be fully in you was stronger than what could be resisted. I couldn't help it" The wolf spoke telepathically weakly before panting in labored breaths.*"This is good then you're adapting" Talons then lowed himself into a classic missionary position beside Ky and Gremlin and proceeded with strong long and slow. Within half an hour the bulk of his penis was in Take, the largest width past his rectal opening, bringing relief and thankfulness to Talus. "Very good Take your doing so well ... I am very proud of you" Ky sighed "it's better than it was maybe I simply need to get use to your size." I have never had such large lovers though I know my kind can take suck large sizes." One of my friends mated with a bear, and they are much larger." Taki smiled "I'm glad to please you." Gremlin was thankful that the tiger was understanding"Then we perhaps pause like this for a while, I will be locked in you for hours perhaps It's hard to say. I will try and not thrust but just let you get used to me, something's cant be rushed The wolf realized that the tiger was taking the weight of the wolf and suggested leaning on their side may help the processes""You certainly are . " Talus replied then an idea came to him "Perhaps stare at how Ky is managing things it could help to accept and relaxing into love" Take blushed "Talus how big are you?" Take could feel the man and while that mattered more than an actual size he still wondered. Ky nodded and moved to a different position. "It is slowly getting better." The tiger and the wolf spooned for a while but still the presence was something that would take time to adjust to. Panting was still present but eased somewhat"I'm thirteen inches Take" Talus said slowly and positioned them both so they could talk to the tiger and the wolf while things progressed."I'm very glad we met you both Talus said""I also" Gremlin added "Please to journey with us, we need you . "All the while long strokes continued ... regular solid and strong Ky smiled "we enjoy your company as well and would very much like to travel with you." Take moaned softly as he felt Talus move in long strokes. As both couples eased into a new routine three women appeared bearing more food"Oh my lords !" One of them dropped their basket and grasped the shoulders of another nearby. The other two seemed just as shocked"What is going on?" Talous looked up from his endeavour and nodded towards the women vaguely"It is something that our type of pact needs for ... sanity reasons It's hard to explain, but I will do so later if you do wish to understand. I am sorry for shocking you it's not the tigers or Take's fault, its more what I need and what Gremlin needs to be able to focus later, and stay focused. We need them this way. More than you know ..." Take's face was bight red giving him much mire innocent look. "It's fine both me and Ky are completely willing, and it's helpful to us too." Ky didn't say anything just lay there relaxed. The women nodded and set the food down before leaving. Take sighed relaxing more after they were gone. He hoped the women didn't spread around what they say. Take didn't want to be run out of the village when they hadn't rested in so long. "Yes they will talk Take, it's ok, it will happen often enough for hiding it to be impossible anyway. They do need to understand if they wish to receive the benefits of our help. Will our nature be accepted as hero's, or will we be run out of town for being different ? It depends on the elder's values, and I don't really know what they are, what is important is you relaxing"Tools murmured softly while brushing Take's hair away from his face. An hour of the same moans and motions, It began to rain softly. None could move due to passion which was upsetting. Strangely a few minutes later two of the women appeared with a tadpoles and silently set to creating cover for the two couples to spare them from the elements"We talked to the elders, and they mentioned that such bonding is common and for a reason that does need time to explain, which I guess you can in your own time if you want to. They mentioned to help and not judge, and although we are shocked the elders said in time we will come to understand why it's so important, until then our hero's I hope this helps"Gremlin panted in reply and pulsed his penis instinctively in the white tiger . Ky let out a moan and if he could, would have blushed. He was now completely use to Gremlin and was now enjoying it. The ladies blushed and quickly left. Ky moved back to his original submissive position and said "please Gremlin I want you to make me spill my seed all over the ground." I am still very hard." Taki blushed at seeing Ky in such an aroused state and began too rock his hips wanting Ta louse to move faster inside of him. The tiger and the wolf eased back into position and soon both resumed the state that was necessary for things to progress. Taulos increased the pace and depth of his strokes such that almost all of his length was managed by Take. It was primal and very crude and did need all of Taylor' strength to see it happen. As the wolf summoned reserves of strength to see his member move, its knot was still locked in place but the length between it and the base of his penis still shifted where motion was permitted. The motion caused the tigers own penis to sway in step to the thrusting and sure enough its own weight being moved so regularly became its own sensation of pleasure, this cramped the anus of the tiger increasing the wolves pleasure which sent it to thrust more - which in turn rocked the tigers' penis about more - This synergetic relationship soon found its own pace. Little did the couples realize that the women were still watching from a distance that was out of attention of these they couldn't tear their eyes from . Ky moaned loudly as his body moved with Gremlins. He was close to spilling is seed and was in pure bliss. He let out a loud mixture of a roar and moan as he felt the wolf cum inside of him. The feeling of the wolves seed filling his already cramped anus caused his cum to flood the ground. Taki clung to Taylor as the man moved in and out of him. He moaned rocking with the man and could feel himself getting close. He felt Taylor wrap his arms around Take and hold him close making the act much more intimate than the primal thrusting would allude to. Still primal thrusting did give its own returns and soon Tools began sprouting hot seed within Take in copious amounts almost in time to the wolf doing the same. Pulses continued but neither felt a need nor want to withdraw... minutes past and neither the wolf nor the explorer could seem to remove their privates. Indeed, Take had almost all the length the main width within him still and that was even more the case for the tiger. The effort was exhausting, and it seemed both Talus and Gremlin would fall asleep within their lovers rather than separating, strangely perhaps separation was not even possible at least for while especially in Gremlins case. As the minutes passed the woman returned with strange expressions very different from the ones before ... and approached the couples"Sorry to intrude it just seems so fascinating, is there anything we can do to ... help ?" one of them asked, to which the others quickly nodded in agreement. Take moaned and came the same time as Tools. He lay there and while he didn't mind the man being inside of him he wondered why he didn't pull out. When the villagers came and asked if they could help Take said he didn't think there was anything they could do." He looked at Tools then at Gremlin to see if they had anything to say. "I would like to sleep within my lover if you could see a fire place beside us so that is ok it would be good. Gremlin also will likely be locked in Ky for the duration of the knight, so we don't catch a chill a fireplace would be superb." Taolos' penis was semi placid now, but he seemed to want to stay in Take "This helps bonding take please get used to this more will happen soon feeling me become erect in you while already in you is something I want you to experience"Within minutes a few, not just women were seeing the fireplace being constructed ... it was slow-going as most couldn't stop watching the couples, focusing was hard Take blushed, but was glad that Tools wanted to stay inside of him. He cuddled close to the man enjoying being so near him. Not long after the warm fire was built both Take and Ky fell asleep. The effort sent them all to sleep Green and Taylor in their lovers, which helped them adapt to their size.Meanwhile many of the villages seemed to have sat by the fire overlooking them and were playing music softly. They felt that this strangely must be part of some energies that had saved their daughters and were willing to put past values and judgements aside for something so fortuitous. The night rained lightly but sleep was comfortable, considering. Many hours later all four woke to the smell of soup, bread and roast boar ... and what seemed to be two dozen villages tip toeing about the scene Take slept well and warm and woke up cuddled close to Tools. He felt safe with the man as safe as he did with Ky. Though Take couldn't see he knew by the chirping of the birds and the smell of dew that it was morning. He was so content though that he didn't ant to move from the position he was in. I liked Tools arms wrapped around him while Take lay under the man. Taylor stirred and with careful positioning sat up while Take was still in place, immediately an erection began to stir. Soup was passed to Taylor which he took with one hand while cradling Take with the other"Firstly thank-you all for understanding we are different, and I will explain things as best I can ."" What you have all done for our village has saved our families as well as our lively hood, we talked of this and well ... are interested in understanding, you see others are bonded in pact and likely what they will experience will be similar so role models is needed for reasons we need to understand""Because of the mind communication we have its does seem that to keep it in working order more primal desires become stronger, as if crudeness of its nature completes and contrasts to the subtly of mind talk, and sexual perversions are increased and shared. To me it's not a perversion its life its ... me, perversion to some standards maybe but standards for sex don't make sense. If any of you were to talk of your night activities with each other you would all soon notice that standards for such thing is a myth"He sipped his soup again"I am in love with Make in a very lustful and carnal way, I do not want to be separated from him for long and do need him physically, him especially. I do feel my privates will grow if they stay in him this way and that does feed and fuel my confidence and presence when hunting later. I also feel that with enough of my seed in him, he may use it as nutrients also, it's just an instinct. Hmm, actually if there is a leather worker here or a tailor if any could fashion a brace that acts like this sheet can I would gladly take two sturdy ones. Travelling like this with me in him this way feels right. If of course Ky his companion permits me to do so""If your village really will help those like us be ourselves and developed I feel it is only fair you do see or understand what you will be being a sanctuary for."" Does this mean we can take a closer look at what's happening?" one of the villages asked"If Ky and Take permit it then yes ... I feel so" To be honest Ky preferred that Take rode on his back, but maybe Tools would be willing to ride on his back with Take. Take was red though the entire explanation not sure if Tools was lying because he and Ky had never done this before. Last night had been Take's first time and Ky hadn't had sex since he took Take into his care. When someone asked to watch Take buried his head in Tools chest and shook his head. KY gave a small smile "you'll have to excuse him he's shy however, I will be willing to show you."

Pact Beast (twerdgirl_Kate)|rating:2.0

Cash, Ass, or....well...ass. (The Abusive Dominator & Sinshyne)

{"Light box_close": "Close", "light box_next": "Next", "light box_previous": "Previous", "light box_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.", "light box_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow", "light box_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow", "light box_full_screen": "Full screen", "light box_thumbnails": "Thumbnails", "light box_download": "Download", "light box_share": "Share", "light box_zoom": "Zoom", "light box_new_window": "New window", "light box_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"} Holly shut the door behind her with a sigh. Kicking off her heels before she moved one inch further into her apartment. She sniffed, smiling. Bless his heart, he had tried to cook tonight. She cooked extra on weekends so he didn’t HAVE to cook. Neither of them liked it when he did. He tried, but he definitely had zero culinary talent. And she didn’t have the heart to complain, she just ate every bite whether it was sodden, bland, oversalted, or burned. And then told him what a wonderful man he was and how it was such a relief to not have to worry about cooking when she came home. This time it smelled like pure grease, so it must be meatloaf. He appeared in the doorway of the kitchen as she was sliding the thin blazer off her shoulders.“Welcome home, baby!” He bounded down the hall to her, wrapping his strong arms around her and whirling her around, smacking a loud kiss on her lips. She laughed, high on joy. Clinging to his strong shoulders, giggling against his lips.“You are going to knock my head on the ceiling one of these days, silly man.” He chuckled, setting her stockinged feet back down on the floor. “Just gives me a reason to kiss it and make it better.”“What did you make tonight? It smells delicious.” He laughed loudly. The joyous sound echoing down the hallway.“You are far too kind to me, darling. It is meatloaf with green beans and mashed potatoes. At least the green beans are edible.” They were, and not much else was. But she ate the beans happily, cozy and surrounded by his love. But then she spotted the envelope on the counter, and her gut twisted in dread.“Michael, what is that?” He looked over and sobered. “The electric disconnect notice. They will disconnect Friday if we don’t pay.” She sobered, her mind racing through a mental listing of their bank account balance and bills due.“We can’t. We don’t even have enough for rent and that is past due. HE will be up here any day…” Her voice faded as dread curled in her belly. Michael’s face softened sympathetically, and he reached out over the table and captured her hand. Holding it as he looked earnestly into her eyes.“Baby, you know I would never let him hurt you. I know how he looks at you, and it pisses me off too. But I also can’t blame the man. You are gorgeous, baby. Any man with a working dick wants you.” She flushed, ducking her head shyly at his praise. Still, what were they going to do? He was wondering the same thing, the look in his eyes haunted.“You know I keep trying, baby. I haven’t given up. Every day I hand out damned resumes, and every day I get the calls turning me down. Fuckers. I wasn’t even guilty, but I did the time, and now they won’t let me live my fucking life and take care of my woman.” His rage was growing, and she patted his hand anxiously.“I know, Michael. It isn’t fair. But it's ok. We will work things out. We always do. Maybe we can get some extra time with the rent and….there is a chance I can get another job. Working as a secretary doesn’t pay much. I can….” He lifted his hand, holding a finger to her lips. Sad eyes watching her.“Stop. Stop stressing about it, baby. You are doing everything you can.”“Maybe Daddy…..” He frowned then, anger glowing in his eyes.“Don’t mention that fuck. They treated you like hit when I was in jail. Your father is a self-righteous asshole, and I would rather be homeless on the street than ask him for a damned dime. And your mother is so far up his ass you couldn’t get her out with forceps.” She laughed at that, and the tension around the table melted. He half stood, leaning over the table and their plates of green beans and kissing her forehead, petting her silky black hair.“Don’t, baby. I will figure something out. I hate seeing you stressed. Furthermore, I wish my Dad were still alive. Furthermore, I know they would help us out.” She nodded. She had never met his parents, but knew from everything he had told her they had been good, amazing, dependable people.“I’m just glad we don’t have to worry about children right now.” He mused, before eating a forkful of green beans. Her face tightened and she looked away. It was the one point of disharmony between them. She desperately wanted children, under any circumstances. He had never seemed interested in children, and now used their financial stress as a reason to not pursue having them. She had even occasionally thought of secretly taking herself off the pill, but hadn’t had the heart to be so deceitful yet. They cleaned up, chatting happily amongst themselves. Hands wandering. Touching. His lips on the back of her neck, his hands gently pulling her hair to the side. Her playful laughter as she stood over the black lump of meatloaf hacking away at it with a knife that bounced back off the undamaged loaf. His mock outrage, then her squeals as he chased her around the kitchen. He was 27, she was 23. But they were really delighted children in love playing at keeping house. At least until the doorbell rang and their playful teasing paused. Dread returning to both their eyes as they looked at each other. Cheeks turning pale. With a deep sigh, Michael went to the door, pulling it open. Somewhere in a thriving state in America, there was an apartment complex owned by a man. Truth be told, outside lifting weights, eating excessive food, and running a steroid business out of the cops' radar, this man didn't really have much going for in his life. Never once did he have a proper girlfriend, his only experience with sex being the ladies he met for short hookups, the kind of women who found his muscles and his way of words tempting. He was educated, though, with upright morals in many things save for the female sex. His longest "relationship" lasted a whole month and the lady left him when she finally realized he only treated her as a pretty sex doll. Nevertheless, he wasn't the kind to not fit in most social situations. He had grace and was friendly. But deep beneath that layer of pleasantness was someone yearning to obtain concubines. Not wives or girlfriends, but female subordinates. His name was Bronson Vice, and he was the owner of the Billy Hills apartment, made for working class people who were either deadbeats or at the early stages in their careers. It wasn't unpleasant to look at, but it was clear it wasn't made for rich people. At age 31, the man was starting to re-evaluate his priorities. He'd had consensual conquests and most of the women did enjoy the experience, but the man was starting to see the error of his thinking. Maybe, perhaps, if he were to genuinely see women in a new light, he would find a girlfriend or a wife... Until that fateful day he met a couple... There was something about Holly that struck him. Simply, it was her sheer beauty. This stirred some ugly emotions in his heart and he decided to postpone his "healthy transformation" and try to indulge in the woman's pussy. The only problem was she seemed genuinely in love with her partner. He concluded there was no way to her panties... Nevertheless, he was glad to see another glimpse of her as he knocked on the door to charge for rent. He knocked on the door... He was greeted by Michael. As Michael opened the door, he slightly smiled to him and said hello. "How are you?" Holly hovered in the background, anxiety making the green beans she had just eaten twist in her stomach. Michael faced down his landlord, wishing desperately he could blame the man. But he couldn't. Bronson wasn't a bad guy, despite his unfortunate last name. And despite his propensity for ogling Michael's wife. Michael couldn't blame him there - he ogled Holly, and he was married to her! And it was the ninth, well after the fifth - the latest day to pay the rent. It was right that the man be seeking his due payment. No, unfortunately Michael couldn't blame the man at all. He offered a weak smile, taking a step back to allow the man to step into the apartment. No point in all the neighbors knowing about the unfortunate situation as well." Hello, Bronson. I'm sorry you are having to come like this. I am afraid we haven't been able to get together the rent this month. We are about $300 short. If you don't mind we can..."" Would you like some cinnamon coffee cake, Mr. Vice?" Holly's voice was shrill with nerves, and Michael winced. It really did make him feel like a piece of shit husband that she was always so worried about money. He led the way into the living room, making a gesture for their visitor to sit on their second hand couch. It was an ugly mud brown color with a couple dark stains and cigarette holes, but no one else knew because Holly had sewn a pretty rosebud on white cotton print cover for it." If you are willing to give us just till...not next Friday but the Friday after, we can get the rest of the rent." Michael continued from Holly's interruption. Left unsaid was the fact that would leave them short of funds for the next rent. And in the dark as well. The funny thing about Bronson was that despite his capability of scaring the shit out of rich people who had no inkling of what a truly tough neighborhood was like, he was actually a compassionate man. He was almost a good method actor, managing to duplicate certain emotions at certain times. But beyond that social technique, he did actually care about people and their well-being. He spoke." I understand. I want to give you two the benefit of the doubt but... Furthermore, I mean, what would the neighbors think if I let this kind of stuff fly? Furthermore, I have to be fair to them as well." He was silent for a moment and refused Holly's cinnamon cake. But his reasoning was a facade. He had a plan." So... Uh, Holly, are you the one working in this household?" Whatever mind-your-own-business defense the couple might throw at him, he just didn't care at that point. He was progressing towards a goal. She darted back into the kitchen, quickly slicing a generous hunk of cinnamon coffee cake onto a small saucer and bringing it out to him. Handing it to him with that nervous, quivering smile that always churned her husband's stomach with self contempt. A man should be able to provide for his wife so that she never once got that terrible frightened look on her face. She darted a sympathizing look at her husband as she answered as smoothly as she could. "Yes, but we are sure Michael will find a job soon. And I am hoping to get a raise within the next few months." It was an outright lie. No raise had been mentioned, or ever would. The small architecture firm of Wheeling and Wheeling had no intention of paying their overworked secretary more than they already were - that had been made quite clear the last time she had timidly asked for a raise. She offered a brave smile to the landlord." We just need a month or so, and we will be able to pay timely." Another lie. In a month or so they would probably be in the exact same financial situation, or worse. She knew it. Michael knew it. And she suspected even Bronson knew. She thoughtlessly tucked her long black hair behind her ear and sat primly in one of the second hand chairs covered with a pretty pink and white flowered throw. All the living room furniture was second hand and horribly ugly. And she had covered it all with harmonizing covers made from sheets she purchased at the thrift store for a dollar or less. She was still wearing the black pencil skirt and mauve silk shirt from work, and as she sat she tugged at the hem of her skirt, feeling his hungry eyes on her. She always told Michael she hated how their landlord looked at her. But what she really hated was how her body responded. Liquid heat surging through her loins. She didn't dare tell Michael that. She was NOT attracted to their landlord. Not at all. Not in her mind or heart. But her body...her rebellious body cared nothing for her mind and heart. She forced herself to stop worrying about whether he could see up her skirt, crossing her legs primly. Michael sat on the arm of the stuffed chair, placing a comforting arm around her shoulder as he nodded in support of her lies." It's true. I had a very good interview the other day, and I am expecting a call any day." Lies upon desperate lies. Of course, as a human being, Bronson couldn't read minds. He had a logical mind that he could use to connect the dots and get good conclusions, but that has its limits. At that point, in his head was the basic syllogism... People who are desperate lie. These people are desperate. They are lying. That's what he chose to believe, and believe it he did. But he bit his tongue. Should he have been a caveman or some other place where there was no law enforcement, he would've seized such a princess by way of force. Deep down he was a good man, but his resistance to temptations was pretty fucking weak. He nodded, then spoke." Alright. So umm... Two weeks from now? If there's no payment at that point I'd have to give you an eviction notice." After some few more words amongst the couple and with him, he left. As he was walking back to his office, he grinned. He had Holly's phone number because he was their landlord and sent this text message... Hi Holly. Bronson here. I can forgive you and your husband a whole two months of rent. It's okay. Call me. I understand. I've been in the same situation before. He was worried she might show that text message to her husband, but he was also thinking that in that message was the implicit suggestion to keep the conversation between the two of them only. What had he got to lose? The relief from the couple was almost tangible as he agreed to the two weeks grace period. They knew deep down it was only delaying the inevitable, but that was two weeks more with a roof over their head. They were still spilling out grateful words when he left, but when the door closed behind him the words stopped, and she flew into her husband's arms. He collapsed back onto the couch, and they just sat there for a long moment, holding each other. She didn't dare voice the cry of her heart, 'What are we going to do?" He didn't dare voice the rage in his - how could he, as a man, possibly allow his wife to suffer like this? They watched a bit of TV, then made their preparations for bed. As Michael was in the shower, Holly went to get her phone out of her purse and put it on the charger. It was then she saw the text. She stood stark still in the bedroom, staring blankly at it. She didn't want it to mean what she thought it did. But she was certain it did. The shower turned off, and she turned her phone off, plugging it into the charger. And when Michael came out she said nothing to him. She said nothing to him about that text either before or after they made love, but it was on her mind the entire time. And she came harder than she ever had before.Afterward, as Michael slept against her back, she cried silently. What did it mean? She didn't want to cheat on Michael. She didn't understand why her body was so responsive to the thought of Bronson. The next morning, she showed the text to Michael. Of course, she showed it to him. They had never kept secrets from each other. She had never seen him so angry. He had shouted and cursed and threatened. Punched a hole in the bedroom wall. Twice had begun to leave the apartment and storm down to their landlord's apartment, both times being restrained by a frantic Holly. Then his anger deflated, and he sat on the edge of their marriage bed and cried. She comforted him, knowing he was thinking the same as her. It was an opportunity they did not dare let pass them by. It had taken most of the night for her to come to acceptance of the offer. She was surprised - and secretly disappointed - it took him half the time to accept it. His acceptance was indicated by the bitterness in his voice when he asked her,"So you want to fuck him for rent, huh?"" No!" Tears were in her pretty dark eyes as she knelt there at his feet. Capturing his hands in hers. "No, absolutely not. You know that, Michael. You know I only ever want you. But...you know what will happen if I don't." He dropped his head, his shoulders sagging. It hurt her, to see him look so damned defeated." It's not just rent. Furthermore, it's the electricity. Your probation fees..... Michael if we can avoid paying two months of rent we can pay the electricity AND your probation fees. If we don't pay them by the end of next month they might send you back to jail." They talked a long time. She called in sick to work - the first time she had ever done so. They talked more over a breakfast of egg McMuffins and orange slices. Then they kissed and made love again. Slow, tender love. Only when they were done, lying naked against each other in bed, did he reach for her phone on the bedside table and hand it to her." Call him. I want you to call him when you are lying naked in my arms." She called him. Their hearts pounding with each shrill ring as they waited for him to pick up. At that time, in Bronson's apartment room, he was watching one of those ancient-themed war movies while laid back in his red la-z boy couch on a big screen TV. He was shirtless and munching on french fries thinking what he should do this weekend after the workouts. Then his phone rang. He smiled. He already knew who was calling. He grabbed his phone, looked at it, and answered."...... Hello."(Did you get notified of this post automatically? Or certain settings had to be set first?) ((I got notified of it XD However that may be because I started it. I think there is an option at the top to Watch a thread though))Her eyes met Michael's at the sound of the rather satisfied sounding greeting. Michael's eyes darkened, and he reached out for the phone, snatching it away from her before she had a chance to stop him." She got the text. Why don't you come up, and we will all discuss it together?" It could have been a threat. It could have been an invitation. Furthermore, it could have been both. The tightness in his voice was undeniable, but there was no overt threat. He hung up without any further word." Oh God, Michael, what if he kicks us out?" He ignored her, sitting up and reaching for his jeans. "Get dressed." He snapped. "He hasn't agreed to anything so he doesn't even get to see your tits." Stung she angrily reached for her own clothes, a pair of black shorts and a loose, thin, gray shirt. When they went to leave the bedroom he stopped her. Hands on her slender shoulders. Drawing her to him, kissing her forehead gently. "I'm sorry, baby. This isn't your fault. I am mad at myself, not you." She offered him a small, strained smile, and they moved into the living room together to wait for him....IF he decided to show up. The words that Bronson heard were not what he wanted to hear. Apparently, Holly told her husband. As the conversation ended, and he hung up, he dropped his phone, laid back his head and looked at the ceiling. He did some thinking... Alright, so he knows... He grinned. Yeah... I wonder how this guy would really be like with an actual confrontation. He was done showering at that point so no need. He put on some red long sleeve shirt and jeans. Tennis shoes. He thought of potential physical threat and concluded that since he does have some experience wrestling, it wouldn't be too much of a problem. Holly wasn't just some girl. To him, she was the most beautiful he'd seen, no doubt about it. He stood up from his couch and traveled to Holly's and Michael's. He was at the doorstep and knocked. It was Michael that opened the door. His expression deliberately neutral as he stiffly nodded and moved back, wordlessly inviting Bronson inside. Holly sat on the chair where she had sat earlier, unable to look Bronson in the face. Michael shut the door behind Bronson, his voice tight but mild. "So I understand you want to fuck my wife in exchange for forgiving our rent money?"" Michael..." Holly pleaded." No, Holly. Let's be real here. It is what he wants, and what we are considering. Right?" Anger rippled underneath Michael's deliberately calm voice. Holly visually cringed, scarlet embarrassment flushing her cheeks. Michael sat on the arm of her chair again, his arm over her shoulders. His eyes telling Bronson that even if Bronson fucked her, she still belonged to Michael." So what do you want for two months rent?" "You got it right, Michael." After he said those words, he looked at Holly up and down. He spoke to Michael." Definitely the prettiest girl I've seen ever. Is she good at sucking cock? Or you and her only have sex in a normal way?" He paused momentarily and continued." I want her to be my sex slave for two whole days. Now, it doesn't have to be two days in a row. It can be one day this week, second day next week. Or each month. Whatever. Just for two days, I want her to submit to what I want to do to her. Do you really want me to describe the stuff I plan on doing?" He started chuckling." I want to sample her right now." He looked at Holly and tapped the available space to his right as he sat on the couch." Come on, Holly. I want to taste you real quick and see if I like it. The fun won't start yet." ((Please don't forget to describe what she's wearing.)) Michael grit his teeth while Holly stared down at the floor, her cheeks flushed scarlet. The blush spreading down her slender neck as her fingers worried the ragged hem of her Blackshirts. Michael's jaw flexed angrily." A sex slave." His voice was flat. "Two days...two days how? From what time to what time? 24 hours? 12 hours? From dawn to dusk? What specific times?" Holly looked up for the first time since Bronson had come into the room. This was horrible. Now that they were talking about it is felt so real, and it was frightening. Would Michael hate her for allowing this? Would she hate him for allowing this? But really, what choice did they have? It was either this or homelessness. And if Michael were homeless, they would end his probation and he would go back to jail." I want Michael there." She finally spoke, her voice hesitant."Oh, I will definitely be there." Michael's voice was firm. "Call her a slave for a day if you want, but you won't hurt her." She started to get up out of the chair, her fingers bracing against the arm of the chair and Michael's thigh, but he pushed her back." No tasting. But if you agree to me being present, you can have tomorrow for the first day. It's Saturday, she is off work. And it happens here. In our apartment. Bring your own condoms." Michael's hand stroked her hair, reminding her that his anger was not directed at her. Slowly, Bronson started laughing, then he stopped." You love her, don't you? And you want to see me have sex with her? ... Fine, fine, I guess I can understand... Day off tomorrow so, be ready. I'll knock on your door at about 10 AM. Make sure she's clean and ready. She showered, and everything." This was all new to Bronson, but as he was experienced with sex, the only thing that he was really worried about was Holly's boyfriend getting in the way. And he thought also, since they officially agreed to it, anything goes outside true harm. He did wonder about the lady's sexual experience, whether she only had normal sex up to that point, or had experience with things like BDSM, gang bang, and anal. And he was genuinely amused at the paranoia in their heads of him potentially 'hurting' her. After that meeting and negotiating, Bronson left their apartment... The coming morning, at 10 AM, there was a knock on the door of the couple... ((Husband, I mean. Not boyfriend. My bad.)) "Of course I love her", Michael snapped. Even Holly looked annoyed as their landlord continued." I think I know how to bathe, thank you." Silence reigned when Bronson let himself out. A few long, tense moments passing by before Holly's small voice asked, "Are we really doing this?" He sighed heavily. "Only if you are willing, Holly. If you don't want too, we will figure something out. I swear it. I don't care if I have to rob a fucking bank." She let out a small laugh, then sighed. "It's just one day for an entire month of rent. And it's just sex. Just physical." He nodded. "Just physical. And I will be there. We will get through it together." They paid the electric bill that night, and Holly knew that was their final decision. If there had been any doubt, they would have reserved that money for rent. The next morning she woke before Michael. Lying in bed and staring up at the ceiling. So today would make her...what...a whore? Trading sex for money. She was disturbed to find she was anticipating it. She slipped out of bed, drawing a bath. Dropping in some citrus scented bath oils before she climbed in, leaning back into the hot water with a sigh. Baths were a rare pleasure for her, usually only indulged once or twice a month. She took her time with this one, she had it. It wasn't even eight yet. She washed her hair, carefully attended to any body hair, and finally rose from the water sleek and soft, wrapping her wet hair in a towel and another towel around her body, going into the bedroom. Michael was still asleep, so she went to the kitchen. Since it was going to be a long, stressful morning, and she didn't know when people would be interested in eating, so she decided to fix a grazing platter. Soon the smell of sizzling bacon and frying sausage filled the kitchen. She whipped up some pancake batter and made dozens of small blueberry pancakes, arranging them on the platter surrounded by blueberries, strawberries, and sliced bananas. A small bowl of syrup, another of whipped cream. Then she boiled some eggs, cut them in half, and nestled them into a pretty pale green bowl, with small piles of pepper and sugar beside it. She was just finishing pouring out the pepper when a hand reached across her, snagging a small pancake. She smiled up at Michael, kissing him on the cheek." Good morning."" Good morning, baby. You look delicious." He reached out, flicked a finger, and the towel melted to the surrounding floor. She shrieked, laughed, and sprang away. He chased her, laughing all the way into the bedroom where he snagged her, tumbling her into bed underneath him. His hand on her cheek as he kissed her, then looked into her eyes. "Are you alright?" She sucked in a nervous breath, nodding." Yes, if you are." He wasn't really. Neither was she. But they were going to go through it anyway." Don't wear what you wore for me the first time." She shook her head. No, that delicate bit of wispy white lace and satin was only for him." I was thinking thegrayone." She didn't have a lot of pretty lingerie. Only a few. But those few pieces were very carefully selected, and she had an eye for beauty. He nodded. "That is a beautiful one on you. He is going to choke on his own tongue when he sees you." She laughed. "No, we can't kill him. The new landlord may not have such a deal for us." He smiled down at her, kissed her, and rolled off. Sitting on the side of the bed he checked the time."9:30, baby." She sighed and got up, pulling the towel off her damp hair and going to get dressed. At 10, Michael answered the knock on the door, calling out as he reached for the door handle. "Holly!" He stared in shock at the sight in front of his eyes, instinctively staggering backwards. Holly came to the doorway to the bedroom. Lingering there uncertainly, her cheeks turning pale as she saw what awaited her. Jet black hair dripping down over her slender shoulders, tumbling in a charcoal waterfall down her back. The delicate pale gray lace lingerie draping over the soft curves of her body invitingly, the cover concealing nothing as she clutched at it like a nervous virgin. Her feet in a pair of matching gray heels. Even her nails were done, a creamy pink color. Makeup was light, kept to shimmering pink lipstick and only a touch of eyeshadow. ((Slight modification. If you disapprove, I'll change it up.)) Bronson and three of his powerlifter friends were there. One of them was slightly shorter than Bronson, a black man with an Afro and was even stockier than him. The other was very tall white guy with lengthier limbs. The third was heavily tattooed. As Michael opened the door, he was greeted with a grin from Bronson and three other dudes. Disturbingly, the black guy was carrying some rope. They entered the room... At the sight of Holly with that beautiful lingerie, the black guy and the tattooed guy hollered. The tall guy locked the door shut behind them. Bronson approached Michael, his hand holding his shoulder. "Enjoy the show, mister husband." The black stocky guy handed the rope to Bronson and Bronson approached Holly into the bedroom. Then the black guy and the tattooed guy grabbed Michael, one man on each arm, dragging him to the bedroom... In the bedroom... Michael was there being held by two men. Bronson looked at Holly, thoughts racing through his head looking at her entirety. He spoke." You are wearing that as if you're expecting romance, Holly. Silly girl." He approached her, dropping the rope on the mattress first. As he got close he wrapped his left arm around her shoulder... He slid his finger into her panties, feeling up her labia, wondering if she was naturally lubricated there... Holly visibly flinched at the hooting from the men, arms going up and crossing around herself in an instinctive defensive gesture. She stared, bewildered and confused as the men surged into the room, taking instant command. Then Bronson was moving towards her, rope in hand. Later she would swear she had no idea a man as big and powerful as him could move that gracefully - like a panther staking its dinner. Her heels clicked on the hardwood bedroom floor, and she realized she was moving backwards. Away from the man now stalking her. "We...it was just you..." She whispered, turning terrified eyes beyond him to the men manhandling the stunned Michael. Michael struggled, but there was no escaping the hard hands of those determined men. The back of her legs hit the bed, and she stopped, turning her wide, frightened eyes back to Bronson. The safety that she had relied on from Michael had vanished in mere seconds. The rope thumped onto the mattress, but she didn't look at it. Her eyes locked with his as his arm curled around her shoulder. Making her feel impossibly small, impossibly soft, and oh so vulnerable as she was pulled against his overwhelming body. Her gasp filled the room and Michael cursed." What the fuck is this shit? We didn't say any more than you could come. Get them the fuck out of here or this deal is off." Holly barely noticed her husband's voice as that thick finger curled against the oozing wetness under her panties, and her cheeks flared scarlet as she realized she was wet. HOW? She was NOT turned on! She was scared, angry.....and turned on. Furthermore, she prayed silently he wouldn't say anything, wouldn't shame herself and Michael like that... The thick, strong black guy punched Michael on the cheek. It was a hard punch, bruising his face. He spoke." Just watch. If you want to get beaten and bloodied, keep talking. Just enjoy the show." He looked at Holly. "I haven't had a white girl in years!" Bronson violently pushed Holly unto the mattress, her body getting pinned down. With great ease, he grabbed a hold of her panties and ripped it apart, perhaps hurting her. He moved to her bra, but this time more gentle. Though still, with insane grip strength, used both hands to rip it apart from the front and opening them up to reveal her bare breasts. He was in a rush. He moved forward and immediately started sucking on her right nipple. These weren't slow, indulging suckles either. They were downright violent, as if he was a monster consuming her body. And as he did that, with his right hand, he squeezed and tugged at her left breast. The tall guy spoke. "You going to tie her down?" Michael shut up. His face white as he stared at his wife, except for the dark spot throbbing on his cheek. Their frightened eyes meeting just before Holly was pushed onto her back. Her eyes imploring him for help, his eyes despairing at his weakness. She shrieked when the thin silk and lace of her panties shredded under Bronson's hard fingers, pulling hard against her soft tender flesh, hurting her. Hot tears flooded her eyes. Small fists beating on his shoulders as her bra surrendered to his savage yank. Firm tits bounced free, dotted with pierced raspberry nipples against pale flesh. When his mouth fastened on them, she yelped. He wasn't just sucking, he wasPULLINGwith his mouth. As if he were trying to swallow her poor nipple. And it was as if there was a thread connecting those nipples to her pussy. Her hips twitching helplessly, back arching. Her flailing fists finally finding satisfying contact, smacking into his left ear. Michael tried to summon up the courage to fight. He truly did. He didn't want to see his wife raped right in front of his eyes. But there were FOUR very big men in the room. All of them wanting a turn at her pussy. Any resistance from either of them would do nothing but cause them hurt. Tears filled his eyes, and he felt his stomach turn at the shame of his helplessness. Bronson was slightly stunned at the blow to his left ear. He pulled away from sucking her tit and got up, though still on top of her. He mildly chuckled, finding it cute that such a dainty, helpless girl tried to fight back. And this one... This particular thing turned him on the most. Her tears, her feeling of helplessness, of horror at the reality of the situation, only further worsened by the tormented witnessing of her beloved husband. It was the first time Bronson felt such an evil ecstasy. He grabbed a chunk of her long, black hair and yanked it to a certain direction. He got up from the bed and stood Holly up with him, giving her husband a front view of his own naked wife. Bronson grabbed a hold of Holly's face with the other hand, facing it to Michael." Look Holly, Michael is watching. You wouldn't want to disappoint him, would you? You and I have to give him a great show. Something he'll remember for a long ass time." He forcefully made out with the girl, tongue invading her wet mouth. Then he pulled out, and again, slamming her unto the soft mattress and resumed sucking on her right nipple, just as violent and uninhibited as before. This time, as he degraded her in that way, he pinned her forearms onto the sides with his firm grip. Holly felt an exultant thrill of victory when he reared up after her punch, blinking down at her. She thought for the briefest half second that she had won. That she had convinced him that she was serious, that she did NOT want to do this, especially not with all those men. But her hope of victory died a swift death when he chuckled. A sharp squeal of pain tore through the room when he jerked her off the bed by her hair. It felt as if he were ripping her hair right out of her head. She scrambled off the bed - anything to relieve that horrible burning in her scalp. And then found herself facing poor Michael. Michael had been her first, and he had always been so gentle with her, as if she were a breakable doll. Never once had she felt shame being naked in front of him, his eyes had always made her feel beautiful. Perfect. But Bronson was anything but gentle. Her breasts ACHED from his crude assault. She could steel feel his fingers crushing her soft tit meat. Still felt...SOILED by his touch under Michael's unhappy gaze. Bronson's fingers pinched her jaw, seemingly pressing the tears out of her eyes. Fat salty tears dripping from her wet sleek black lashes, leaving faint dark streaks of mascara on her creamy cheeks. She felt so horribly naked with the men leering at her, Bronson's hands on her. But what made her feel even more naked was the eyes of her husband watching this. Watching as her rape began. Not even bothering to pretend to resist now, though he had sworn to keep her safe. She cringed as Bronson forced his mouth to hers, his lips rough, his tongue demanding. Thrusting into her mouth, her own tongue recoiling on shock. It was a disgusting kiss, she told herself. Wet, slobbery, too strong, to....to.....to Bronson. Never mind that her empty cunt flexed on itself, it wasn't from pleasure. It was from disgust. She yelped when her back hit the mattress again, the breath exploding from her lungs in a grunt as his mouth latched onto her. Her hands flew to beat on his shoulders again, but were easily captured, his large hands pinning her slender arms to the mattress." No, Bronson, please! Please, let's talk about this. This isn't what I wanted! It isn't...." Her voice faded as she remembered what he had demanded. A sex slave. Not a couple polite fucks, he had made it very clear what he wanted, she and Michael had just not realized it. The three men who saw the show start started getting excited. The truth was, this wasn't their first time doing this SAVE FOR ONE THING. The women they did it with were willing participants, there to enjoy a fun gang bang, perhaps simply women who wanted to explore something new in the bedroom, or bored wives who wanted to cheat. Those times were always happy and pleasurable, both parties loving it and leaving satisfied. This particular event was as pleasurable for them, but in a very dark, sinister way. It was a rush... Bronson kept sucking at Holly's right tit for quite a while. Knowing he couldn't stick to that forever, he moves on. He saved her left boob for the other boys... And really, why not let them have their fun now? He'd be the finisher. The bed was too romantic for that shit. He grabbed her again, dragged her to the floor and FORCEFULLY knelt her down, once again having her face her beloved husband. Bronson motioned to the tall guy. It would be his turn. The tall guy approached, and as if he already knew what to do, he unzipped his jeans, pulled down his underwear to reveal a big, throbbing cock. His large body was in the way of the view of her husband. Bronson saw this." Wait bro. Let me reposition her." He dragged her to the side and made her kneel again, this time in full view of Michael. The tall man grabbed Holly by her hair and made her look at himself, his sinister eyes looking at her. "So pretty. Wow..." He was almost stunned by the beauty of this lady whom he was about to conquer. "Open your mouth." Bronson was looking at Michael. "Does Holly ever suck your cock, Mister Husband?" Thrown on the bed. Jerked off it. Thrown back off it. Jerked back off it. It was enough to make a poor girl dizzy. Holly tottered at the edge of the bed, disoriented and overwhelmed with shame and humiliation. Her eyes wide and frightened, flying from one leering man to the next, but completely skipping over that of her husband. She couldn't. Couldn't bear to look at him. To see him watching her shame. Then her knees were on the floor. Immediately hurting as his weighty hand pushed her ruthlessly down. She whimpered, cringing. Cowering at his feet as another man came forward. Just the sheer size of the man was intimidating. Bronson was bad enough. This man was taller, and still had a broad deep chest and powerful shoulders. Thank God he stepped between her and Michael. She didn't want Michael to see this.... Her heart sank as Bronson jerked her to the side. FEELING Michael's eyes on her as she knelt there, tears leaking out of those pretty dark eyes. She cringed as the man's hands twisted in her silky black hair, fisting it and yanking her head back. Forcing her to look up at him. A wave of distortion passed over her. It felt as if she were in a terrible dream. She felt distanced from all of this, as if she were watching another poor woman suffer through this. But then her mouth instinctively, obediently opened, and she was jerked back into this reality. Her cheeks hot with humiliation at her instant obedience. Her mouth snapping shut again. Michael glared back. Oh, yes. Holly sucked his cock. A lot. She fucking loved sucking his cock, and he teased her about an oral fetish. But he refused to verbally answer. Just shifted his eyes to his wife just in time to catch her snapping her mouth shut. He didn't say anything, but he worried. She couldn't resist, or they would hurt her. He hoped she figured that out. The faster they came, the faster this horrible thing would be over. The tall man spoke. "Is this girl an idiot? Open your damn mouth!" He slapped her.((I'm so sorry Sunshine. This is the only thing I can post. There is not much I can do unless I kinda control Holly first. I need your response first before I can make a substantial post.)) Holly reeled under the slap, a sharp shocked yelp echoing the crack of his hand on her cheek." No!" Michael couldn't stop himself from yelling, rage shaking his voice. "Don't you fucking hit her!" With a pitiful whimper, Holly made herself do it. Cringing at the thought of that cock in her mouth. Pretty pink painted lips opening, inviting. The tall man smiled at Holly and spoke. "There we go." He grabbed a chunk of Holly's hair with his right hand and entered her open mouth with his cock. He slowly really penetrated her mouth, at the far edge, until he hit her throat with his tip. (Did she gag?) Then he pulled back a little, his bottom part feeling her moist tongue. He had her close her mouth just a little so he'd feel some sensation as he fucked her mouth. Soon he was violently controlling Holly's head, going DEEP into her throat. He then completely pulled out, looking at Michael."Oh, you don't like me hitting her? Like this?" He slapped her again, first on her left cheek, then backhanded slapping her right cheek. He then resumed the violent blowjob, making sure the thrusts were deep to keep her from breathing properly. It was desecration. The joy and pleasure she used to get sucking on Michael's cock shredded by this brutal assault. Her naked body violently convulsing as she gagged, coughed, choking on the fat cock driving deep into her mouth. Tears ran down her cheeks, streaking more mascara. Her hands flying to those powerful thighs, pushing on them, trying in vain to escape the cock plunging in and out of her stretches lips. Faint pink lipstick smears on his gleaming wet flesh. The soft wet heat of her mouth enveloping his hard length. She was not used to this treatment. Michael had never pressed her, always allowed her to go at her own pace. This wasn't a blowjob, this was mouth rape. Which quickly became throat rape. She bucked again when he slid down into her throat, a faint bulge marking his progress down her neck. Her tight throat muscles spasming and fluttering around him in shock as her hands fisted, beating on his impervious thighs. She couldn't breathe at all now, her face turning bright red, the flush creeping down her neck, lingering at the tops of her breasts. Blood roaring in her ears. Then he ripped his cock out of her mouth, thick strings of saliva quivering in the air, stretching from her reddened lips to his wetly gleaming cock.*CRACK* *CRACK*She squealed in pain, her head jerking to one side, then the other. Black hair swirling, sticking to her wet, darkened cheeks. Swaying on her knees, she would have fallen if it were not for his cruel fingers twisted in her hair." You fucking bastard!" Michael swore, but he didn't move from his chair. Tears stood in his own eyes as he watched his gentle wife being beaten, growling in futile rage. Visions of leaping from the chair and defending her swirled in his mind, but the few years he had spent in prison had given him a healthy respect for men who held power - even if only by brute strength and numbers. And these men held that power. He was as helpless as his wife was. Cock filled her throat again, but Holly struggled to keep control. Make them cum, she decided. If they came, they would leave her alone. So she tried to suck on the cock plunging in and out of her gagging, seizing throat. Soft wetness pulling and tugging on his throbbing meat as she spread her legs, bracing herself. Unknowingly giving every man in the room a glimpse of the pink fuck meat between her legs glistening wetly. The tall man had to hold back. There were four of them, all craving for a satisfying ending. But why end so soon? Either way, Bronson was the guy who set it all up, so it was him to have fun first. The three knew and recognized that. The tall guy moved away, speaking. "Get it over with, Bros. Tie her up." With Bronson's strong hands and arms, he grabbed Holly and pinned her on the bed. He grabbed the rope and with very little care and with roughness and violence, he tied her up as if she was a piece of meat. The whole process got him very excited, cock throbbing and maximizing in size and density. Redirect Notice (That's how she ended up tied)And yet again, with his strength, and with rough handling, he grabbed her... He took her close to Michael forcing her to face her dear husband. With a sick grin, Bronson spoke to the couple." Come on Holly, anything you want to tell Michael? Huh?" Come on... Just say it... Bronson just wanted to hear those emotionally tormented voices from the couple. And fucking CRY! Show him despair! Holly sucked in a deep breath of air when the cock buried in her mouth pulled away. She glanced over at Michael, her soul shriveling at the sight of him impotently sitting in the chair, shaking with rage. She understood why he could not help her, but that didn’t stop the resentment flaring up. This had been HIS decision too! Why was SHE the one suffering for it? It wasn’t fair. But before she could muster up too much anger hard hands were on her again, all but throwing her to the bed. She bounces doff the mattress, grunting. When she felt that rope on her wrists terror shot new life into her, and she came alive under him, thrashing and struggling.“No, please! No, I will do what you tell me, please don’t tie me up! Naidoo!” Her squealing protests were to no avail. In a breathlessly short time she was trussed up on her knees, her ass thrust humiliatingly high into the air. It was as if no part of her mattered except ass and cunt. She cried, her hot cheek pressed against the cool bedding. Hands twisted in her hair, dragging her off the bed. With her hands tied behind her, it was hard to keep her balance and she tottered and swayed as he dragged her away from the bed. Male laughter swelling in the room, but she had an acute sense of the violence underlying it, edging higher. It was terrifying. They had been so rough, so cruel with her already. She was pushed down to her knees and she looked up, meeting the anguish in Michael’s eyes. And it absolutely broke her heart. Her earlier resentment fleeing as she sobbed out a broken little, “I love you.” Men hooted in amusement. A hand cracked against her ass, and someone snorted, “And I love your cunt, bitch.” Michael closed his eyes, and when he opened them tears stood there, starting to fall down his cheeks. “I love you too, baby. I am so sorry.” Instinctively, she realized they would never recover from this. That no matter the outcome of today, they would bear the scars for the rest of their lives. She sobbed, sniffling as she strained forward, laying her forehead on Michael’s knee. When he touched the back of her head with exquisite tenderness, his hand was shaking. Torture. That one word means so many things. But it's not always physical. Of course Bronson was no criminal, but he absolutely had a gigantic craving towards certain women. It was beauty and skin, owning the former and licking the latter. As the four brutal men see the pulsing emotional pain the couple showed, their heart raced with pure ecstasy, a great rush. Bronson bear-hugged Holly from behind and pulled her away from her husband. He took her to the soft bed again. He faced her towards him, her body laying on the mattress, legs open, his hips straddling her. Furthermore, he started licking and sucking her tits again. The other men complained." Fuck man, this again? You're taking too much time," said the black man. Bronson agreed with him and decided to just get it all over with. Without a sense of disgust, Bronson kissed the lady on her lips, never sticking in tongue but really pressing his face hard on hers, strength bearing down making her feel the weight of it all. He then pulled away and unzipped his large pants. Then he pulled down his gray jockey. It revealed a massive cock. He was just excited beyond belief. This was just violation and domination at its purest, a man exerting his will against a terrified woman. She was all tied down, her hands behind her, her torso looking more appetizing because of the ropes. Her legs spread, he grabbed his cock and positioned it, first touching her pussy and then when it was aimed well, thrusting it. First thrust. It was rough, his cock going ALL THE WAY IN, far inside hitting whatever was there. All the while he was observing her with his eyes and ears, waiting for signs of agony. Michael, you have to hear your wife's melodic song of torment... He just started fucking her, exaggerating the thrusts, hitting deep and getting faster and faster... Holly knew now there was no pity to be found in these men. Her heart shriveled in despair when hard male hands yanked her away from Michael, from the helpless devastation in his wet eyes that tore at her soul. No, they would never recover from this. She was pushed down and fell with a soft mewling cry. Her back hitting the bed at the same time Bronson’s heavy weight tumbled onto her. Squashing her into the soft bedding as he began licking and slobbering on her again. She heard a male voice complain, but couldn’t focus on the words. Instinctively her arms and wrists flexed, trying to wiggle out of the restraints. Her shoulders aching as she struggled underneath him. Bronson kissed her, and tears stung her eyes as she tasted his contempt and lust. She couldn’t help but look when he reared back over her, his hands going to the waistband of his pants. A horrified though flicking through her mind – dear god his hands were huge. His cock was too. She cringed at the sight of it, but she was deeply ashamed at the tiny spark of glee at the sight of that fat cock. She was secretly a size queen. Michael was big. These men were huge And Bronson… Bronson was huge and beautiful. Well, his cock was anyway. She would die before she admitted it. But the thought was there, mixed in with all the horror and fear and pain as he so casually spread her legs wide with his thick strong hands. She closed her eyes, feeling terribly exposed. Bright pink fuck meat glittering welcoming at him. She couldn’t help the tiny shiver when the bulging tip of his cock pressed against her achingly soft flesh. But the scream that echoed that first brutally cruel thrust held no pleasure in it. It was the scream of a raped animal, her eyes flying wide, pupils dilated in wild panicked pain. Bronson was so much bigger than Michael. He touched places inside her that had never been touched before. Places that ached and throbbed with pain. His hips drew back, and she drew in a ragged, quivering breath. His hips slammed home again, drawing another wild shriek of pain and humiliation from her lips. Michael sobbed tears of bitter humiliation and shame. The surrounding men hooted at the sounds of rape. The first thrust happened, Bronson saw the girl's eyes. It was filled with horror and agony, something he loved. As he brutally kept on fucking her, one other thing he loved about it was how her boobs bounced at every thrust. It was a magnificent view of her bare-naked torso, a healthy physique neither tempered with muscle-building workouts nor unhealthy levels of calorie restriction. Instead, it was 'just right', soft and delicious, neither fat nor skinny. There was a reason he lusted after this girl. He could feel the wetness in his cock, her pussy walls rubbing against his, on and on, sometimes slowing down, sometimes increasing the speed. But... Should he cum, it'll be over. What was the fun in that? He stopped, still erect and still his dick inside. He just kind of sat up a little bit, then gave a hard slap on her. Furthermore, he spoke. "You want your husband to watch right? Let's make him watch. You're beautiful, Holly." Before continuing the fucking, he motioned to his friends to grab Michael. They grabbed Michael and put him on the bed, in full side view of his wife and Bronson being on top of her. Bronson looked at Michael. "This is your wife, Michael. A pretty girl. See this? I won't require either of you to pay rent for a good two months. You should thank her for this, Michael." He continued to fuck her, still hitting deep into her cervix, enjoying the sensation of her pained voice and the sensation of her wet cunt walls as he continued brutally violating her... Almost reaching climax himself.

Cash, Ass, or....well...ass. (The Abusive Dominator & Sinshyne)|rating:1.0

D&D 3.5 RP_ _Adventurers Ascending_

Welcome, Adventurers, to the world. You come from many walks of life, many professions, many races, many places, many means. However, there must be one thing that you have in common. A singular quality that will serve to bring you all together. Is it the desire to do good? The lust for gold or power? Or is it simply the desire to do something more than the average individual? The inability to sit still and live an "ordinary" life. The drive to strike out into the world and do something more. Whatever it is, keep it alive. It will see you through hard times, bring you experiences that many others might never know, and more than likely it will reward you with great wealth (of both experience and riches). Through some series of events or another, you have been brought either into or close to the City of Barton, a colony on the continent Eden, founded by settlers from the Kingdom of Tirana. There are a few things to note about Barton. First, it is one of Tirana's youngest cities, only 300 years old. It lies on the southernmost point of the continent known as Eden, mostly occupying a rocky peninsula and some of the surrounding grassland. There are about 4000 citizens of Barton, only a few of which are pilgrims of the initial settlement. These individuals hold the highest authority on the governing council, known commonly as the Primates of Barton. They take their orders from one of the leaders of Tirana, based in the Kingdom's capital city - Kinbilgund. Most citizens work as laborers, farmers, and fishermen, although there are a number of professionals that may be found throughout the city. Unfortunately, magic is not something that is easily affordable (due mostly to costly components that are difficult to come by in the city), although several casters attempt to make a profit on some of their wares, most of them being sold as trinkets or charms to the noble class. One of Barton's main issues is the strained relationship between the local council and the nearby natives. The jungle elves, specifically, have issued a warning to the residents of Barton. If anyone attempts to encroach on the jungle, they will be dealt with. Harshly. Other races, on the other hand, are a bit more willing to work with the Barton council, given sufficient incentive. Native to the Copper Hills to the Northwest, several tribes of knolls have often offered various goods taken from hunting excursions in exchange for goods and services they have need of. There have been several incidents of half-orcs joining the city as hunters or guards. What settlements have been established outside Barton proper are kept track of with meticulous records, their locations marked on maps and recorded in numerous ledgers. This often proves useful, as there are numerous risks involved in settling the wild lands of Eden, and settlements do not always survive their first few years. And so, this new world is yours, in a sense. Yours to explore, observe, perhaps even tame or claim. There are many dangers, and many rewards. What have you been up to? It was quite the normal day for Ian Lancaster thus far. His daily patrols left many of the townsfolk waving their hello's and many more simply nodding their heads in recognition. He served his town well and those within generally appreciated it. One of those moments where that appreciation was tested was running in his direction however, putting a stop to the normal day for now. His attention fully on the disturbance, he recognized the lass. Elliot, a half-elf adept rad towards him in a frightened sprint, seeming very distraught. It took no trained eye to see that this woman was in desperate need of aid, but from what could be anyone's guess. In her frightened state she mixed her mother tongues together of even and common. Ian does his best to calm her down, but she has none of it, pulling at his arm to follow. Seeing the urgency Ian complied, and made way towards the girls home with haste. Upon arrival Ian wastes no time and enters the home. Quickly seeing Guardian, the half-elf's husband, he speaks up. "Guardian, your wife is in hysterics, what is going on here?" His eyes glance towards Guardian's shoulder to notice a large wound there, and Ian fears an intruder, but there is none but his family in the home, barricading their cellar door." Oh, a knight! Thanks to the gods you're here!" He cries, rushing over to him, his broom handle forgotten. Realizing the question given, he moves to speak, but his children beat him to the punch. "Spiders!" they cry out. Steeling his face, the threat known, Ian withdrew his sword and shield from their holsters and readied them." How many are we dealing with down there?"" We saw two before we ran from them, they got our cat!" the children speak, in obvious distress." Children, tend to your father for now and have him get a tourniquet on that arm. I'll deal with these spiders for you." And Ian started on just that. Moving the makeshift barricade aside with ease, he descended into the dark cellar with his shield facing forward and his sword ready. Finding the fiends was not trivial in the least, their web easily seen, as well as their first victim. The house cat lies motionless, wrapped in the beasts webbing. On it lie two spiders the size of cats, one dealing with the carcass, the other quite aware of Ian's arrival in their new home. A bundle of web was thrown wide of the knight, and he wasted no time to deal with the threat. Rushing the creatures, Ian cleanly slices the first as the remaining spider leapt at him. A quick raise of the shield met the spiders fangs, and the sword found a home in this ones abdomen as well. A quick flick of the blade let the actor from the spiders fling off, but another sound behind the webbing gave rise to a new threat. A much larger spider began it's track into the seller, but Ian was having none of that. Dropping his sword to save time, he released his javelins from their hold and began hurling them at the creature. The first struck home, but the aim was off and bounced off the hard carapace as the monstrous spider paced back into the tunnel. Another did much the same, though the beast continued backwards. The third and final javelin hit its mark, lodging itself deep into the arachnids' maw, but didn't kill the thing. Needing to buy time he rushed towards the hole and flung the nearest barricade he could manage, a wine-rack, between himself and the beast. The wine-rack did little to prevent the spiders legs from jutting through and grabbing the knight however, but it was a simple matter to shove them aside and make his way back to his blade. Blade now in hand, he let the beast come to him. A webbing was thrown and missed wide once more, as he and the creature traded a swing of the sword with a bite from the fangs. One false swing allowed the spider to latch the fangs into his arm, and Ian could feel the poison course through. He ignored it, and used the vantage to dig his sword deep into the eyes of the beast, killing it outright. Shaking the thick actor from his sword one last time, and sheathes his blade once he finds no further threat. Moving towards the spiders tunnel, he calls on the family and tells them it is safe. They soon come down to see the damages. He saw that the tunnel extended towards the outskirts of town, but didn't dwell on it long as the family wasted no time to see his handiwork. Elliot was the first to act, seeing the gash in Ian's arm, and healed it promptly. The poison however, would have to wait for the clerics within his church." Thank you Elliot. I'll make sure it's tended to, don't fret. I'm happy to be of service." Turning to her husband, "I need you to go and find a mason to patch up this wall as soon as you can. I'll have to give word about this burrow so we can purge these beasts at their source. Is there anything else I should know before I take my leave?" They all shake their heads and continue to praise Ian with thanks. Guardian stops the knight before he leaves, and holds out a trinket for him. A shining medallion, easily worth 200 gold, is placed into his hands." You are too kind Guardian. St. Cuthbert blesses you with this gift." Nodding his thanks further, Ian makes his way out of the home, and to the church to report his findings. Reporting his findings, and the events that had occurred, the High cleric is most thankful for Ian's deeds, and reassures him that the spiders, and the families safety will be taken care of. Satisfied, Ian makes his way to the healer's room to get rid of the poison that had been nagging his muscles since the event. It had certainly not been a normal day. TikTok after traveling down from his mountain home, found himself lost in the wilderness beyond the mountains. The environment was an unusual blend of jungle and forest foliage, with a decidedly humid climate an obvious change from the mountains he had lived. As he maneuvered through a particularly thick patch of scree at least to for one his size, TikTok heard an angry squeal from a bush to his side as he quickly noticed a Dire Rat approach him. With his fast reflexes TikTok gauged his distance as he let loose a cone of fire from his mouth aimed at the oversized rodent. The Dire Rat had time to dodge the most of the flames but was still lightly seared, the scent of burnt fur mandated from it The Dire Rat closed the distance and tried to bite the kobold but not able to fully bypass its scales as it moved to weaken the bite. Backing away TikTok struck at it with his spear citing into its back and caused it to squeal in pain. The rat lunged at him again, sinking its teeth into TikTok's scales again. With a final cone of fire the Dire Rat fell to the ground badly burned and skewered from the battle. After some quick cleaning of his spear, he examined his wounds which appeared to be minor, though it was too early to tell if the rat may have transferred some disease through its bite. Treating them as he could, he decided to try some sheath as he continued, his feet barely making a sound as he traversed the forest floor. Eventually TikTok came to a steep drop, which allowed the kobold a previously unavailable view of the landscape ahead of him. As he walked down a path he saw was safe and along the way the trees begin to thin out to the West, before stretching a few leagues to the sea. It was there that he spotted a rather large settlement. As he moved through the forest towards the settlement, he notices that there was something watching him from the trees. They were vaguely simian in appearance, and were watching the Kobold intently. One of them yawned, baring very large teeth, while another dropped from its perch, and began to approach TikTok cautiously while sniffing at the air. The creatures on the branch watched TikTok toss some rations into the brush with disinterest, while the one investigating the kobold grunted and bared its teeth at TikTok again. At thought at his display of power, however, the creatures shrieked and retreated not wishing to mess with one who could burn them to a crisp. With the way clear he set off towards the settlement. It would be an awhile before he'd reach his chosen destination. It was just a normal day so far for Scrag. He was fresh from a bit of mercenary work, and is making his way to his next assignment. Where ever that may be in these lands, though the pleas for assistance were never that rare. A call for help has been put out through the more subtle channels. His path has taken him into the temperate forests near the southern coastline. He travelled for a few hours, before noticing that the path in front of him was overgrown with lush foliage, but the most peculiar fact, was that the foliage seemed to grow thick for a while then stop completely after a foot onwards. The path shouldn't be overgrown the way it is, not at all. The plant growth is not natural by any stretch, consisting of many thorny vines and low bushes. However, it is the quickest and best way through the thickly wooded forest. Taking out his long sword, he cut through those green thorny vines that were stopping his path, for the plants do not regrow immediately. But they still should not have grown in the manner which they have done. After another hour of travel, Scrag found himself at a clearing; Barton was visible in the distance, truly a glorious sight. But before him lay a field of tall and thick grass. It seems to be the fastest path towards the city. He treaded carefully, for it was unknown just what manner of beast or abomination may lurk in such a place. As he moved through the clearing, he spotted a previously wooded area of the forest that has been cut back, to make room for a small cluster of buildings that have been erected there. The buildings looked fairly well-made, being constructed from hardy wood and some with sound stone foundations. He saw a few individuals going about some sort of fortification, planting sharpened lengths of wood into the ground, facing the forests; perhaps they were expecting some kind of raid from a forest creature? While they were Human, and Scrag didn’t exactly have the highest opinion of them, he saw no reason to cause a conflict between him and them, and thus went around them. His stature drew a few worried looks from the militia, but when he moved on, they proceeded about their tasks. When he had passed the small settlement, he found himself on a path once more, Barton still visible in the distance, a beacon of respite from many hours of travel. But all was not well, from the treeline, Scrag heard the sound of a reptilian hiss. He spotted a large creature staring out of the foliage at him. From what Scrag can see of it, it had to be some sort of reptile, with a hide that varies in a pattern between dark earthen brown and dark olive green. He very nearly didn’t see it, for the camouflage provided by the vegetation and its skin tone made it nigh impossible to notice at a first glance, but he made out the bloodthirsty eyes and the gnashing teeth easily enough. It was staring at Scrag very intently, and it tensed its muscles in a very recognizable crouch, one most likely to precede a pounce upon the Ogre. As Scrag is eyeing the creature, he heard an aggressive hiss from his rear, and turns in time to catch another of the reptilian creatures leaping at him from across the dirt road, bearing down on the Ogre with two pairs of wicked looking talons. It collides with him, unable to find purchase with its foreclaws, unable to latch onto him with its jaws; but it nonetheless digs deep furrows into Scrag’s gut and legs with its talons. The wounds were not that serious, doing very little to stop the Ogre. As the creature backed away, it began to circle him. His swung his great axe in a vicious arc, but failed to connect with any of the creatures, and the second creature darts in to bite at him. However, it comes up short, before backing away. The first attacks again, kicking again with its sharp talons and slashing at Scrag once again, dealing again, very little in the way of damage, and annoying the Ogre greatly. The remaining reptile attacked with its talons, still dealing fairly minor wounds. Now rather angered, Scrag swung his great axe in a devastating cleaving motion, cutting through the chest of the beast he was aiming at, spraying blood in a wide arc over the ground as it crumbled before him. His second swing also hits, and the second deinonychus loses an olive colored forelimb, screeching and turning to run back into the dense foliage that made its lair. Seizing the opportunity presented by its fleeing form, Scrag cut the last creature down as it ran away from him, knocking it into the hard earth with the force of his blow, which lays its dead body open. The reptilian beasts lay dead, and now his path seems to be clear. Taking a moment, he stopped and took various parts off of the creatures, to sell later on when he reached the town. He took skin, teeth and claws from the two reptilian beasts, and proceeded safely onwards to Barton. He wasn't expecting a particularly warm welcome. The hills offered many opportunities for Sheena, a time to reflect on her life and a time to hunt. One aided the other, for as she stalked the hills near the city she allowed her mind to mull over one of the recent talks she had with her newMentorIan. A brave and honorable man to be sure and with a lot more wisdom than one would have thought, Sheena had found being in his company was far more pleasant and educational. He knew more of the honor system of this world than she had yet been able to devise on her own. Ian had remarked that she should try and make herself more approachable, just to help people trust her more despite her people being a rarity in these parts. These were the thoughts and questions that had wracked her mind the point that the manor she now called home felt too stuffy and far too stifling. Air was needed and lots of it, so it was that she packed her gear and headed out to do some hunting, which was what she now attempted to do. The grass brushed against her face, tickled her nose there and caused her whiskers to twitch. Just as she lined up a shot for a small deer, a cry went out which drew her attention. Prey now forgotten, she knelt there in the grass with her head up, her ears flicked and turned, to and fro as she tried to pinpoint where the sound had come from. Another outcry and she sped off in the direction it came from, with the words of Ian playing in her mind about being more available to people. After all it was the honorable thing to do, and she was bound my honor to assist those in need. As she drew closer to the sound she could hear more yelling and another cry, this time one of pain as well as what sounded like wood being splintered. The easy trot that she ran at slowed to a walk as she approached a rather distressing scene. At a glance she speculated some kind of bandit raid. A large wooden cage sits in a mostly broken heap, having fallen off a large wagon. The horse that is attached to the wagon lies on the ground, smoking from a horrible burn wound that covers most of its neck and body. A pair of humans, a half elf, and a dwarf are all that remain of what used to be a larger party. Six bodies lie strewn about the clearing. As she approaches she appears to startle those gathered by mostly her appearance than anything else, but finally the dwarf speaks up for the group." What do you want?" He asked. Not seeking to startle them further, Sheena decides to not draw her axe, though her hand is close enough to it that should she need it she could easily grasp it. "I am Sheena, Daughter Raga, second in the ABD-al-Matin tribe. I heard your cries of distress and came to offer my aid," she looked about the place again just to take stock of the damage. "What has happened here?" The dwarf looked her up and down before finally seemed to decide that he could trust her. He shook his head, he kicked at a splintered piece of wood." This is what I get for being clever." He muttered. "We were bringing an anthem from the west, hoping to rear it as a bit of a farming assistant. Y'see, when they make their tunnels beneath the ground, they enrich the soil with their droppings. The idea was to settle it beneath the farms, keep it fed with livestock, make a profit when the farmers yield increases. But, it had other plans, it seems. It waited until it could make an escape, then spat acid over our horse, broke out of its cage, and took out a bunch of our companions. It dragged one of the handlers off with it." One of the humans scoffed, then drew a crossbow from a case and picked up a case of bolts before speaking." Yeah, and now that it has a taste for more intelligent fare, I doubt that any farmers are going to want it burrowing underneath their land. We should go kill it. Maybe we can collect the difference on its carcass." The dwarf looked to Sheena, eyeing her axe as he stroked his beard." Sheema, right? You look like you know how to handle that weapon. Care to help us take care of a bit of a bug problem?" Later she would have to prey to the spirits, and thank them for this opportunity, for it was surely as if favor was shown to her on this day. Plagued with earlier thoughts from the talk with Ian, she now had the hunt she had craved and the chance to help those in need. There was truly no reason for her to not help." I can track the beast for you that would make it faster," she offered without another thought and went to examine the area where the beast had been. It did not take long for her to pick up the scent of the creature, given it was unfamiliar it was an odor that stuck out above the rest. With the aid of those there, who had seen roughly where the beast had run. Through the trees they ran, often they came across thick trails of blood that eventually ended in a clearing. Within the clearing there was a rocky protrusion that held a cave within the base. From the edge of the clearing they could see a coat of webbing that clung to the cave’s mouth. Sheema advanced to the last bush and knelt there to maintain cover, and gazed more carefully at the cave. "Are spiders of this size common in this area?" she asked the group in general hoping that one of them had some form of knowledge that could be helpful in this situation." It's kind of hard to tell what's common around here." The dwarf remarks. "Seems like we encounter one type of beast on one expedition, a different type entirely on the next. Might be elves in the forest, meddling with things. Might be some mad mage living out here."" I've seen big spiders before." The half elf remarks. "Big angry bastards the size of a dog, crawling around their webs. We used to get them in the storehouses whenever it got cold or wet enough outside."" Might also be that it's just a legion of tiny spiders, laying web down for months." One of the humans adds. With the knowledge offered she nodded, “Alright, we approach cautiously. Those with bows be at the ready, I would rather not get tangled in the webbing unless there is no other choice.” When she was certain they were in agreement she hefted one of her javelins and approached the cave slowly. As they entered the cave, she took immediate note how her foot stuck slightly to the floor, which slowed her movement. There were no other signs of spiders, but the fresh blood that was smeared on the walls more than concluded they were in the right place. Following the blood, they entered a larger cavern, and it is there that Sheena gets the first look of her prey as it engorged itself on its prize. The moment they entered it snapped its focus right at them and let loose a shrill cry as it stepped over the bloody remains waving its claws aggressively. Without hesitation Sheena roared a challenge back at the beast and hurled her javelin then got her great axe out and at the ready. "Don't let it flank you!" she shouted to her companions. "Mind the spider webs and don't get hemmed up in it!" The beast was pissed, that was easy to see, and she was not about to have her companions get harmed during this. She took up this position to help them and others, which is what she fully intended to do. Her javelin had been thrown with such force that it passed clean through the beast to embed itself within the dirt wall of the tunnel. The others took up positions, with the crossbowman taking a shot, before ducking behind the other man, who sets his spear against the ground, the tip pointed at the large beast. The dwarf readied his battleaxe behind a heavy wooden shield, and the half-elf readied a bottle of vibrant orange liquid. Pissed from the Javelin throw the beast reared and lunged right for Sheena, who brought her arm up to guard her face and was rewarded with a sharp bite along her arm as the creature tried to lock onto her. A roar of pain spilled from her lips as she jerked her arm back, “Don't worry about me! If you get a shot! Take it!" she shouted to the others in the group, as her life was not more important than stopping this beast from hurting some other innocents in the area. The dwarf attacked from the side, his battleaxe biting into the anthem's thorax. It squealed and leaned away, only to be struck by the other human’s SharePoint, which scratched a line into its underside; the halfling lobed a vial into the air, which breaks over its back, spilling acid over its abdomen and burning it. A final jerk she managed to get her arm free, her battleaxe now raised high above her head she brought it down with all her might and nearly cleaved the beast in two. A final thrashing of its legs is their reward before it finally gives up and dies. With the anthem dead, the rest of her temporary companions pass solemnly into the space, regarding the badly-chewed body of their ally. After a moment, the dwarf returns to you, holding up a ring that bears the image of a paw print." Thanks for your help. We'll deal with the remains. This ring bears the symbol of our guild. If you ever need the help of our Rangers, show this ring to a hunter, animal trainer, or woodsman. They might know where to find one of us." He also offered her a pouch containing 200 gold pieces, saying that it would cover her portion of the profits that would come from selling the beasts remains. The ring is taken with reverence and a slight bow of respect, "Thank you. I am most honored with this gift and will continue to strive to be worthy of it." She slips the ring on and then takes the offered pouch of gold, securing it to her person." May I assist with the burial? Your friend died honorably, and I would like to help in laying them to rest and honoring them for their sacrifice this day," tone filled with nothing but the utmost respect as she regarded the dwarf before her." Your offer is appreciated, but the burial will be taken care of by her surviving family. Even we won't be present during the burial itself." The dwarf scratches his beard. "But, if you want to pay your respects, you could probably stop by the Barton cemetery in a few days. It'll take some time to make burial preparations, and the family might like to hear from you, considering your help here. I'll make a point to be there around midday for a few days after the burial."" I will do that," she nodded. "If you ever have need of me again, I am staying in a private estate outside Barton. The knight there is a friend of mine, and he will give me any messages should I not be there when you stop over," she said with a small smile. "Take care and hunt well," she said as she offered her hand for a friendly handshake. Once the exchange was done, she left and returned to Barton to inform Ian of her adventure and see if his clerics could not heal her. Ian, needing attention from the Catherine healers for the poison that is affecting your strength, you are led through the halls of the temple quickly. True to the tradition of St. Cuthbert's temples, the building has a simple layout, built to withstand many things - from the simple passage of time to long sieges or assaults from the outside. Although much of the interior space is dedicated to daily worship and sermons, there are a number of side passages leading to sleeping quarters, libraries, kitchens, smithies, and the hospital wards. As you are led into the wards, you catch sight of a familiar face. Guardian, the half-elf whose home you saved from the spider infestation, is also being tended to. It seems that he arrived while you were speaking with the High Cleric. With a bit of urgency lacing his tone, one of the healers prompts you to remove your armor and lie on the table before you. Sheema, you are also taken into the hospital ward of St. Cuthbert's temple. Your wounds from the confrontation with the anthem demand a bit more attention, due simply to the nature of your injuries and the possibility of infection. And although they do not say so, there is a distinct possibility that the clerics do not have the greatest understanding of your physiology, and may need some more time to attend to you. As you stand in the healers space, you are surrounded by a few clerics, who look you up and down as they judge the extent of your injuries, and the best way to begin healing you. After a few moments, their hands begin to glow with holy radiance, and they move in to touch your wounds, immediately filling you with an uncanny sensation as your flesh knits back together. Skrag, as you approach the walls of Barton, you notice a group of men on horseback ride to meet you. They carry long swords bare, and each horse carries a number of javelins in containers on their saddles." State your business, Ogre," the leader says, eyeing you warily, although he does not seem to be aggressive. Tiktik, you see Barton in the distance after a strenuous journey, and are greeted by a most curious sight. An exceptionally large creature stands in the center of a group of armed riders, presumably the city guards. You are at the peak of a hill, and it does not seem like they have spotted you. What do you do? TikTok upon the sight granted to him from the hill of which he stood caused him to grin. He had spotted a creature with strength that could match that of a young dragon, and it seemed to be in a possible battle, a typical kobold would leave the creatures be till they got in a kobold's way, but not TikTok who saw the giant creature a possible ally. With his nimble body a natural stealth he decided to meet the two races the horse back humans and the big strong ogre. Of course even if his kobold common sense was not fully developed he had to think of a plan stopping at of what could be used as cover near the group without a chance of being spotted. From there he would walk straight towards the ogre. In a loud sort of guttural voice that seemed more fitting for a dependent of a giant, the kobold spoke to the ogre with the language of the giants. Allow me to handle this matter." Turning to the group of humans and spoke once more this time in the tongue of the common folk." He is with me, I had hired him to make traveling through the wilderness outside my home in the mountains easier, a bit of a shame he got ahead of himself that he decided to chase after a fleeing creature that had been foolish enough to attack us. Which reminds me need to hand him another incentive to keep his mind on the job he was given." The kobold rummage through his stuff drawing forth around 23 gold pieces and handed them to the ogre. The ogre and kobold knew quite well that they didn't know each other, but only time would tell how the conversation would go and if the ogre would accept the kobold's bribe that seemed more of an incentive to go with the kobold's possibly clever ruse. As Scrag neared the city of Barton, he spotted several armed horseback riders coming to meet him. Knowing the smaller races, they were likely here to tell him to move on since they don't want his kind near cities, he was quite used to it. Even on horseback the riders ended up being several feet shorter than he, forcing him to look downwards at the Humans. He was asked, presumably by the leader of the group, what his intentions in the city were. Scrag was about to answer the Human, but he stopped when he heard a loud guttural voice speak in his native language of Giant. The creature itself resembled a small reptilian thing, a Kobold, and he seemed to want to trick the guardsmen. With a low and rumbling, yet fairly loud and commanding loud (it wasn't intentional, his kind tended to be known for being loud) voice he answered the Kobold in Giant. "Go forth, the Humans probably won't listen to me anyway." The Ogre listened to the Kobold's ruse carefully, indeed the Kobold chose a grand lie to tell, for mercenary work was a common method of pay for Scrag. "Aye, I was chasing off some of those odd-looking bipedal reptiles, I even have the skins and the teeth from them." Further reinforcing the ruse, was that Scrag was covered in cuts and blood, some own some from the reptiles that he had fought. When offered the gold as a bribe, Scrag accepted it like he would normally accept the pay from a job like this, he reckoned that he had a fair amount of gold gathered together, and the skins would fetch a handsome price. He didn't know the Kobold in the slightest, he had done jobs for Kobolds before, but he had never heard nor seen of this particular one before. But names were not important as of now, instead, getting into the city itself was the main priority. “Ian!” she roared when she entered the temple and was met with shocked stares and hushed words to be quiet. It was a temple after all and one was expected to be silent and respectful, something that at the moment she was not sure if she knew too much about. Pain coursed through her arm and all she wanted was to see Ian. There was much that she had to tell him, much that she wanted to discuss with him as to what just happened. For whatever reason, they felt that it was best to heal her first, before she would be allowed to speak with Sir Ian. The need to be healed in the first place was of much annoyance to Sheena, who would have rather not have to deal with the fuss as it was. However, it was a necessity, at least because of the poison that she was there. It burned at the site of the wound and burned elsewhere along her forearm as it traveled throughout the rest of her body. Were it not for that, she would have surely bandaged the wound herself and gone back about her business as usual. What made it worse were the stares that she received from those who were supposed to care for her. Yet another instance where she felt out of place in this world, a world where she was different, an outcast and someone who would always draw stares. All she knew was that she wanted this to be over and for it to be over quickly. There were far better things that she could be doing at the moment that did not involve standing here while they tried to patch her up. The sensation of their magic made her grimace and snarl, “How much longer is this going to take?” Normally, she never had an issue with patience, but today for some reason she was in a hurry. The victory today over the beast had filled her with a sense of pride and accomplishment. She wanted to share that with her friend and inquire with him whether he was familiar with the symbol on the ring she now bore. Doing as asked, Ian removed his armor and garments for the priests to do their work. The healing was straightforward, and though it took some time, it was still over quicker than it would have healed naturally. He thanked the priests for their work and went to grab his armor, when a familiar sound rang through the halls of the church.“Ian!” That rumbling deep, yet feminine voice could only come from one other soul. It seems Sheena had returned as well. Making his way through the familiar corridors, Ian continued his search for his friend. The loud roar of his name could only reasonably come from one source, and he'd find her soon enough he was sure. Passing a few more rooms in the infirmary, the sight before him confirmed his inner dialogue. "Sheena, I see you've had an interesting day as well?" Just as she was about to insist rather forcefully that they release her Ian appeared. "My friend!" she roared. "I had the most interesting day and earned myself some new friends!" there was no hiding the excitement in her voice as she tried to sit up, but the priests kept her lying back." Those friends didn't put you in this condition I hope?" He said with slight worry, but only due to the unfamiliarity with her culture. "What DID happen to you anyway? I see no serious wounds to Warren the priests holding you here. Poison perhaps?"" Some creature bit me," she remarked with a growl at the priests. "I went on a hunt with my new friends and took down such a beast! It killed their friends and would have been trouble for everyone, but I helped track it down then together we killed it."" Bit you say? It seems our days weren't too far apart aside from their setting. If it's anything like my wound it shouldn't take but a moment." He smiled. The sight of the beast woman cowed by priests was amusing to say the least, and Ian may have let that show just a little." My current state is not numerous, Ian. Why do you smile when these men are intent to keep me lying down instead of up and discussing with you the details of our day?"" They mean no harm and you know it Sheena. Have some patience." Even so it was taking a rather long time for them to do their healing. "Good clerics, my own wounds did not take this long, I'll ask you not hold my friend longer than you have to." He gave a wry smile once more to Sheena, waiting for the cleric's to finish their work. Once they were done she was more than happy to get up and check herself over. "I have had worst bites than this one, and yet they think that I was just going to die. I don't understand these human customs of yours," she remarked as she gathered her gear. "Let's get something to eat I am starving," she remarked eager to leave this room of annoyance." Poison is a popular tool for seedier humans. The clerics are trained to take it very seriously. Never know if it's lethal or not until it's been purged." Leading the way out of the chapel Ian headed towards town central. "I'm still on duty technically, so to the inn. I can do my rounds, and you can tell me all about your new friends." Scrag and Tektite assembled guards seem to believe you, although they remain at the ready. One of the men presents himself as the leader, if that could be inferred through the fact that he spoke when the others remained silent. He seems to be of middle age, with a weathered face, slightly sunken eyes, and a dark gray stubble growing from his chin. His armor is clean, and obviously well-maintained, but it bears a number of nicks and dents that indicate a heavy amount of use." Very well then, outsider." He begins. "All the same, I'll need you to declare your business. Visitors to the city are required by decree of Barton Council to register with Customs. You can give the pertinent information to us, if you like, and we'll deliver it for you once we've escorted you through the gate." Looking from the kobold to the ogre, the man shakes his head, and begins rattling off a list of questions." We'll need names for the both of you, where you're coming from, place of birth, your business in the city, and a list of any materials - magical or mundane - that you're bringing into the city. False reports are punishable by a period of no less than one night in custody, magical items are permitted, but must be registered in the interest of public safety." The rest of the riders seem bored at this point, and have moved off to the side of the road, swords still bare and laid across their laps. They keep an eye on the both of you, and they hold their reins in their off hands. Ian and SheemaBoth of your wounds have been healed, and any toxins purged from your bodies by the divine magic of the Catherine clerics. They thank you for your patience, as well as your service to the town. On your way to the inn, you are greeted by a few members of the half-elf community. It would seem that word has spread quickly of Ian's earlier deeds. Several excited individuals attempt to come up with heroic nicknames for you, eventually settling on "Spider bane." A number of them also ask if they can buy drinks for you. You stand before the King's Chalice Inn, one of the newer establishments of its kind and already growing in popularity. It boasts fine dinner entertainment in the form of classically trained bards, excellent fare catering to those desiring seafood or more typical meats. They even offer vegetarian dishes, in accordance with the wishes of a number of even residents. Recently, a number of serving girls have been being harassed as of late. The abuse seems to go beyond the normal flirting and half-hearted groping attempts, as at least two or three of them have quit, and gone to work elsewhere. They refuse to make statements about the assailants, and none of the guests, patrons or employees seem to know anything. Some have attributed it to a sort of mass hysteria, but none of the local healers have been able to confirm the validity of that claim. It hasn't affected business yet, but every few weeks, Barton's night silence will be disturbed by a hysterical server running through the streets, most often seeking refuge at the church. Damon, the proprietor, is becoming increasingly desperate for a solution to the problem. Scrag very nearly breathed a sigh of relief, the armed guardians of the city seemed to believe their cleverly laid out ruse to enter the city. Something that made his otherwise horrible journey, evident in the numerous cuts that had been inflicted upon him but the large reptilian creatures that he couldn't name, somewhat brighter. He would most certainly have to thank the Kobold upon their eventual entrance into the city, provided he stuck around long enough to actually be thanked. In the meanwhile, Scrag inspected the lead guard, trying to discern some information about him. He noted that the man seemed to be of around middle age, maybe in his forties, bearing a weathered face and slightly sunken eyes, but he seemed to be in good physical health. Perhaps not on par with an Ogre when it came to outright physical prowess, but otherwise he seemed to be in grand health. As for the Kobold, Scrag couldn’t really discern all too much about him from appearance, for he had never met many of the tiny creatures on his travels, all he could tell, was that the creature was, well, small. But apparently a creature most advanced in the arts of deception.“Perhaps the latter option would be better. You're delivering the information to the customs office that is.” Skrag answered to the lead guardsman upon horseback, trying to sound as neutral as he could manage. Being threatening wasn’t exactly going to fair him well, when confronted with dozens of guardsmen, and he didn’t actually know where this customs office was to be located.“It may also be better for my employer to tell of his plans here; I am sure that he is capable of wording them far better than myself. For I am here only to guard him.” He added. For an Ogre, Scrag could be described as intelligent, mishaps not to the level of learned city scholar, but as much as an Ogre could be versed in knowledge without living in a city, he could tell when it would be advantageous to let someone else do the talking for himself.“As for names, my own name is Scrag. Before you ask, I bear neither titles nor other names. I was born in the series of mountains not far from here, into a tribe as you may guess.” He gestured in the direct of the fairly nearby mountains. “Materials, I bear my weapons, made from steel, some assorted supplies, and the scaled hides and teeth of some large lizards whose names escape me. I bear no magical items, however.” Skrag said to the guardsman, answering his questions in as effective manner as possible. He had always loathed humans and their damn lists, the questions were not the problem, it was the mistrust that they often placed upon creatures like himself…and any other creature that had wronged them at some point in the far past. “And so you know, I am not one of the baser Ogres that would rather murder someone such as yourself, than actually speak with them…” He muttered to the guard in an irritated manner. The Kobold waited and listened to the speaking human though he appeared different from the other humans though that mattered little to the kobold who wasn't paying much attention to details only what was being spoken. After the human finished the ogre spoke claiming his name to be Scrag who was from a nearby mountain and was also part of a tribe which was two similarities between the kobold and ogre. Then came TikTok's turn to speak and he did so in common. "My name isTiktikand I'm a kobold of the Howling Peaks mountain range that has been my home for most of my life. I've venture from my home to seek answers to certain questions, answers I may find here. I seek to gain knowledge of the reason my tribe have vanished as I find it a little unusual for a bunch of kobolds who have dwelled in caves most of their lives suddenly vanish without a hint to the reason for their disappearance. Secondly I seek a healer as I'm rather cautious when it comes to injuries even if what I have are but mere scratches. Third I need to resupply on things. Finally, I will seek a place of rest as sleeping in the wilderness isn't always a good idea." The kobold took some time to gather his thoughts then spoke once more." What I carry is my pack of supplies which consist of currency rations along with common traveling gear. The rest of my gear is Sun dark Goggles common eyewear for kobolds during sunlit hours, and my trusty spear." Should the kobold and ogre be granted entrance TikTok decided he would allow the ogre to walk ahead of him. Scrag and TiktikLooking the two of you up and down once more, the guard nods his head in acceptance." Very well. We'll see to it that you're registered with the Customs office. Please follow me through the gates." He says, turning his horse around and setting off at a slow enough pace for the two of you to keep up. The other riders wait for you to follow, then take up positions on either side of you, with a pair bringing up the rear. As you walk, one of the men to your left looks at you and grins. "Sorry about the hassle. We'd just follow orders from the Council. Recent, ah, tensions with the inhabitants of the forest and all. Can't be too careful." The closest man to your right sighs and shakes his head at his companions explanations. Soon, you arrive at the gate, and watch as the tremendous doors are pushed outward enough to allow you passage. It closes behind you as you enter, and most of the riders move towards the nearby stables. The leader turns to smile at you." Welcome to Barton, gentlemen." He says, before trotting off, presumably for the Customs office. Before you, you see part of the city's market district. Farmers and breeders are selling their wares from stalls or simple blankets on the grass. For nearly 100 feet, you can see a bounty of livestock for sale, fruits, vegetables, crafted trinkets, even clothes laid out. After that, a line of trees precedes the closest buildings. What do you do? The fuss over something as simple as her wounds was still a foreign concept to the Historian warrior. In her home wounds were treated as a mark of honor, courage and left to heal on their own unless they were life-threatening. She still thought it was nonsense that the creature they slew had a poison in its bite. Sure, when it had first struck her arm it burned and tingled, but she still doubted it was anything that threatened her life. Regardless those men of faith, the ones that Ian served, seemed glad when they both left. Sheena was still unsure what their issue was when it came to her? Something with her appearance she gathered, but Ian assured her that was not case. As if she had a true issue if her appearance would cause her some manner of discomfort. Litorians prided themselves on their skills, their valor, their honor; their appearance came last on a long list of what was important. As they strode through the city, many ran up to what she expected was to congratulate them both on their victories. However, only his were acknowledged, and now he had some form of title in regard to his accomplishments. Annoyance and perhaps what could be considered jealously plagued the female as she strode beside the only one she dared to refer to as friend.“No sense does this make,” she said once his group of admirers falls off to just tail behind them. Likely due to the slight snarl that Sheena gave one or two when they got too close to her. “I do honorable act, no title is given. Does your kind not praise those who perform valiantly?” This was not something that she had to have an answer to, though one would have been greatly appreciated given how the drive of her people was that of honor. If her acts of valor were to be ignored perhaps she had to do something else? As the Inn drew near she slowed in her steps as she sniffed the air. This place, as of lately, had changed and not for the better. The patrons here had become…rowdy? She believed was the word that Ian used when he tried to explain it to her. Such acts of inappropriateness did not sit well with the female, perhaps even more so because those affected shared a gender with herself. Either way, here is where Ian chose for them to share a meal, this likely due to he was asked to look into the matter. Without even being asked Sheena took it upon herself to take point and opened the door to the Inn where she then just stood in the doorway to gaze at those within; coincidently, they also ID the same to her.“We require substance in the form of cooked meat and the drink you call mead,” she announced into the Inn and was promptly approached by one of the serving girls.”Of course, Lady Sheena. This way,” she gestured toward a table.“This place crawls my skin,” she said to Ian over her shoulder before she followed the serving girl. Ian chuckled lightly at the pouting cat woman as they neared the inn. "While your act was honorable indeed, it doesn't affect anyone within this city. The common folk are rather selfish in that regard." Ian smiled. "Do not let it trouble you so much. Are you a child who pouts at perceived insults, or are you a warrior who will show them their error through future action?" She shot a look in his direction at his comment in regard to her being a child. "A historian does not pout," is all she said as they sat at their table. "I hunger for something hot and barely cooked," she said with a look to their serving girl. "Bring me this and something cold for my thirst to quench," the nervous look of the girl made her sigh. "So, I must protect the town? Save child from drinking hole?"" If you see one by all means. This a feat I would leave to one not clad in steel after all" He laughed to his own joke. "Sheena if you wish the praise then come with me through my patrols. Who knows, we might stumble into another mystery." He spoke the last half offhandedly as he looked around the inn, scoping around to get a look of the faces within. "With the rumors surrounding this inn it might be sooner than we think as well."" Yes. Fear stunk on the girl, like there was something that scared her, and she smelled of it before she saw me. This place is like a fear....farm? It makes fear?" she said as she tried to explain her thoughts." The rumor's say it is the serving girls who are the target. Unfortunately none of the girls who quit will speak of the matter. All there is to know is that it's not the average flirting one would expect." Ian placed his shield and helmet to the side of the table safely, and reclined slightly in his seat. "I think a long night is in order, what say you?"" Why wait?" she said as she slammed her palms down on the table to get everyone's attention. "Who here has knowledge of what bothers the females who service here?! Speak now to spare yourself the shame and dishonor that comes with being a coward!" A heavy sigh rippled through the knight, his chair's legs leaning back down to the floor with a large thud. "Or we could question them all. That might work this time." He relaxed again, not the amount he formerly was, and waited for the serving girl to return. Ian and SheemaAfter a few minutes, your meal is brought out - some simple lightly seasoned beef and cold mead. Oddly enough, it is not the serving girl that took your order who brings it to you, but the owner of the tavern - Damon. The man is in his early forties, and seems to be in fairly good shape for his age - or at least he would be, were it not for his haggard appearance. Dark bags under his eyes, messy hair, unshaven face - he doesn't seem to have slept for at least a few days. After he sets your plates and mugs in front of you, Damon takes a seat on the other side of the table, sighing and looking at each of you intently." So..." He begins. "Someone has finally come to help us out. Well, I'll tell you what I know, then you can question patrons - preferably as they leave. I'll keep the staff here after the kitchen closes, if you want to question them as well." Looking around the bar, Damon runs his fingers through his hair, before leaning forward and speaking to you quietly. "It started last month. I sent one of our cooks down to fetch a few bottles from the cellar, and before long she ran back up screaming herself hoarse. Scared the tells out of everyone, and she wouldn't stop to tell anyone what happened. She just insisted on running to the church and taking refuge inside."" Naturally, I took a few others with me to check out the cellar for whatever scared the girl so, but there was nothing down there but the stock. And when we went to talk to her at the church, she wouldn't say anything. She just stared off into the air with these big scared eyes, shaking."" After the first time, we were on guard for another incident, so we could react faster and maybe stop whoever was behind it all, but every time we run to see what happened there isn't anything to be found."" I've lost six girls so far. And what's worse, the first one left the church, about three days ago. We haven't seen her since."

D&D 3.5 RP_ _Adventurers Ascending_|rating:4.0

Change Of Destiny (Closed For NickisSora)

Mercy had done a lot in her life, she was only seventeen when she joined SOLIDER and now she was eighteen. It was then she met with Joseph Roth, he was the best, no one could beat him even if they did try. She was taken aback by how he was, his hair, his skills but those eyes, those eyes could make a grown woman stare into them. Mercy was young and had to prove herself, it was against a dragon she had to fight alone, she was failing down on the ground badly hurt, but when she saw him looking at her, she got up on her feet. Throwing her sword down she crossed her arms over her chest a dark glow surrounding her body throwing her hands in front of her she cast death upon the dragon, and it fell, she stumbled on her feet as she moved, and finally grabbing her sword she walked over to him, holding her head up high, her black outfit flowing against her, placing her sword on her hip."you know how hard it is to keep up with you?" She laughed some Keeping some mysteries free as she began to hum but stopped wondering"I have worked a long time to get as good as you, I wonder if I'll ever be as good as you, in my eyes you are god" She looked at him wondering what he would say. If anything. Sepheroth-Sepheroth looked to her and laughed bit-"You know it's not all fun and games with me besides you never see any of the good moves from me, i don't even try all you see is nothing but laid back fighting, but you may see more if the commander puts us up against the Leviathan that has been appearing south of here that basted is huge and water bound so just you wait were going to have some fun for the next couple of weeks"-he laughed a bit more-"plus if you keep doing that trying to be better than me you might pop a blood vessel"-his laughed roared down, and he walked alongside of her-She laughed some "Everyone wants to be up to your skill, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to feel your power, I can feel it that's how I know you could kill me easily" She walked beside him humming a bit looking back at him, she was taken aback by how handsome he was, one hell of a fighter and a hot guy to boot, she wasn't to sure how this was going to turn out but would keep trying. "I will die trying Joseph Roth, I'm not as weak as some see me as, that I know" Sepheroth-Sepheroth smiled-"I know your not weak if you like I can make you my apprentice and teach you everything I know"-he smiles and looked to her the prettiest girl on two feet-Mercy smiled and nodded "I'd like that' She said with a kind smile on her face, thinking of how wonderful this chance was, she refused to let it go to waste. "This will be great" She crossed her arms as she looked at him. Sepheroth-Sepheroth smiled-"Well if you're ready lets go back to base and report then I'll teach you Sword Combat 101"-he smiles and walked with her back to there transport, and he got in opening the door for her, it was similar to today's jeep-"Time to rock"-he started the engine up- Mercy was taken aback by his kindness, she bowed her head a bit her way of thanking him. The moment was one she would never forget, they headed over to HQ and reported what happened, once they were told to leave she looked at him. "Try not to kill me ok?" She teased. Sepheroth-Sepheroth smiled-"But that would ruin my fun"-he laughed bit and smiled as they got back in the jeep and drove off to the quarters of Solder his quarters were like a house with huge room to practice in-"Shoes off"-he took his shoes off before entering the huge room and walked on the Matt laying his sword down-Mercy smiled removing her shoes, sitting down in front of him she grinned softly, running her hand down the side of her face. She couldn't help but wonder what goes through his head, she was brilliant in his own way, in his own right. She grinned removing her sword and sat down, brushing her bangs away from her face. Sepheroth-He smiles-"Now I'm going to teach you how to use a sword as I know you can do this but I bet some basics may of slipped by you "-he stood and took two Kendo sticks throwing one to her-"Take that for this training, and we will get started" She caught it and grinned softly "I've seen these just never used one" She liked the feel of it, wasn't as heavy as her sword, looking at him, she was ready for him willing to act and listen. Ref-Sepheroth looked-"Now You know how to swing your sword"-he demonstrated a straight vertical and horizontal slash as he then did slashes in an x patter-"But watch my footing"-he started moving as if he was on air and holding the sword the sharp edge facing heaven as he seemed to be walking as if he would break something stealing to hard as he stopped he looked to her-"Now try it with OTU margin a sound and make sure you don't touch your other leg this is possible go on" Mercy watched him, every little detail she did the same thing he did, counting in her head, a smile as she performed it a bit slow then not looking she performed it again, not hitting her leg, a bit rough but better than most would do. Ref-Sepheroth continued to watch-"Keep at it, i won't allow you to continue till its perfect, and you may move as fast as me"-he watched his arms folded this might take some time not even spheroid had learned this in a day, and he knows she would fall eventually as this stance and movement made people dizzy-With every try she became faster until finally she performed it without a problem, she smirked happily. "How was that?" She looked at him softly, happy, she was having a lot of fun, she enjoyed spending one on one time and would do everything he asked, that she silently swore. Ref-Sepheroth looked and nodded-"Good now you must do it like me as fast as this"-he said this was Conan be tricky as good as she got it down this part may have been harder he got ready and moved but this time in a pattern making show the same foot movement but he was quicker as he had made it seem like mirror images around her were circling her when it was only one the illusion of the sword and speed as she could feel the chill of his blade and speed this was the way he killed his enemies, and she knew it without even watching him do it once-Mercy smiled but as she got into it, she ended up tripping and went right into him, hanging onto him, she blushed. "Sorry.... Sephiroth" She blushed some, seeing however his eyes how he looked at her, she felt lost in his eyes. She leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips, and pulled away blushing even more. Sepheroth-Sepheroth smiled when she pulled away-"I realize you like me as a teacher but is this going a bit to quick for you"-he laughed bit and looked at her as he held her in his arms-"Are you ready to try it again my student"-he smiled and stroked her hair gently-She blushed heavily, she slowly stood up on her own feet as he held her, she looked into his green eyes, captivated by them, she nodded. "Yes I'm ready sensei" She said with a kindness in her face. Ref-Sepheroth looked and stood straight-"Now try it again Go"-he said as he watched her perform his steps again, and he began to move with her this would make her dizzy this was hard and it wasn't Conan get easier-"Keep it up no slowing down" She kept doing it over and over again, she did start to get dizzy, she didn't stop, she tried to impress Joseph Roth she ended up hitting the wall. "Oops" She held her head. "Dizzy...." She mumbled. Sepheroth-Sepheroth looked and walked over gently and held he RUP letting her lean in to his chest-"Rest now"-he picked he RUP and brought her to abed laying her down as he sat down as well he took off his shoes and sox to put on a part of house sox and sat next to her-She sighed "I'm sorry Joseph Roth" She massaged her temples "I know you don't have patience for ignorant people, and I don't want to disappoint you, I'd move the world if I could to make you happy" She looked at him sitting up on her elbows looking at him running her hand down the side of his face, how much she cared for him. Sepheroth-He smiles-"I don't mind you are not ignorant you will learn to do not worry I promise you that now I want you to rest"-he lays in the bed next to her holding her close gentle stroking her hair-Mercy smiled as she wrapped her arm around him "No matter what happens Joseph Roth" She looked at him "You can count on me for anything, I am honored your willing to teach me and I will learn" She looked into those piercing green eyes. Sepheroth-Sepheroth looked and pulled her closer-"I am more the willing to teach my young student but I do know you will be one day as powerful as the angels themselves" Mercy smiled "Really now?" She tilted her head to the side and grinned. "Which means at your level, a great angel like you" She brushed the side of his face, grinning softly. Sepheroth-HE smiled and nodded-"And in time you will be one as well"-he looked to her stroking her face-"Is there something on your mind"-he said gently-"Are you thinking of something" She blushed some sitting up a little "I'm a young woman I'm always thinking of things, of you mostly....what kind of girl do you like, as a girlfriend?" She smiled. Sepheroth-Ref smiled-"Well I like girls who can roll with what I give them see I'm a rough fellow by heart but I have a soft side to me when I want to show it" She smiled "What do you think of me? Would I ever get that lucky?" She said softly. Sepheroth-Sepheroth looked to her and smiled stroking your cheek-"you have a very good possibility of that I would say"-he said as he let his muscles relax-Mercy smiled and just with that, it felt like she could do it, she got out of bed, taking the stick from before and closed her eyes breathing, her heart beating fast she could hear what she was taught in her head, she did the motions over and over again until finally she turned and did it and smiled when she was able to do what he taught her as fast as he could do it, she put her hand down, and she sighed." I did it" She said with a kindness in her voice that was angelic. Sepheroth-Sepheroth came in and looked to her-"You were doing the steps again weren't you"-he said as he crossed his arms-"Show me" She nodded some as she performed it at a speed that was extremely fast, she didn't make a mistake, at least she hoped any way. Sepheroth-Sepheroth looked and nodded briefly-"Good It's not as fast as mine but fast enough now enough for the day come now let us just relax for the rest of the night we got all the ETIM to train until we have another mission" Mercy nodded and sighed some, putting the stick down and stretched out, she laid down looking at him as she was against him, how she thought of making love to him, how she wished it would happen, her eyes showing a hidden want. Sepheroth-Sepheroth held her and tipped her chin up-"Is there something you would like to say your eyes don't show rest my apprentice Mercy why is the delicate flower so restless" She looked at him feeling her face blush some, she looked into those green eyes of his "I wish I was closer to you than how we are right now" Sepheroth-Sepheroth looked to her-"You mean like you my girlfriend or do you mean something more........" She looked down "Being your girlfriend, but something else to" She sighed some. Sepheroth-Sepheroth looked and smiles as he pulled her close in the bed and kissed her, and he whispers in her ear-"Then I'm yours my love"-he licks along her ear and kisses her-She had to be dreaming this was too beautiful to be real, she closed her eyes as he licked her ear she moaned softly, her heart beating, she was getting very excited. Sepheroth-Sepheroth broke his kiss from her, and he kissed her cheek-"Rest my love tonight brings rest tomorrow we will do much more than train I promise you this" Mercy smiled and nodded, she rested her head on his shoulder, her hand resting on his stomach, how lucky she was, how content she felt, she felt free, and she fell asleep with a smile on her face. Ref-Seph smiled and held her close to his body as he pulled he in, and he fell asleep as well the night took him over dreaming of other things that night that could have been illegal inmost parts of the world the morning came and out came the sun very dimly as ref was up bright and early making a decent breakfast big enough for both of them to eat-Mercy started to wake a little bit, moaning softly as she yawned, she smelt food, and opened her eyes, slowly standing up "Joseph Roth?" She was in a fog still sleepy but followed the smell. "Well I didn't know the great Joseph Roth could cook" She giggled. Sepheroth-Sepheroth looked-"Well how do you think I survived on my own microwave and Ramen"-he smiles and brought the for to the table eggs loaded with all sorts of breakfast meat a stoat it was armlet for the masses on each plate with 4 different cheeses but not much of them - She smiled "Oh I don't know someone else" She giggled some she wrapped her arms around him, her head pressed on his back. "How did I get so lucky with you hmm?" She grinned letting him go. She was always taken aback by him, he only seemed kind to her, she wondered why sometimes. Sepheroth-He smiles-"I take interest in Girls with Ambitions and your one very few of those girls they don't have spirit like you that I know you are the strongest women I know" She smiled leaning against the wall looking at him "Well when you are known by everyone as the greatest warrior I get to be by your side" She crossed her arms. "Nothing could make me change towards you, I will always be faithful to you" Ref-Sepheroth smiled-"That's good to know I wonder how my mother is doing i haunt talked other recently but I'm sure sh as fine i how so any way"-he looked to her as he started to eat a huge glass of orange juice was by them-Mercy smiled "I've never met your mother, what's her name?" She crossed her arms for a moment. "She made a wonderful son I bet she is a wonderful woman" She said with a kind smile. Sepheroth-Sepheroth-"He name is Jen ova, and she is beautiful well in my eyes, but she is not exactly human much longer most have called her a monster" She thought for a moment "Jen ova I've heard of her...." She looked down for a moment remembering a conversation they said she wasn't human, but a monster, something former of what she used to be. "Now I understand why you are the way you are" She looked at him "I felt your strength the moment we laid eyes on one another you truly are a god among men" She smiled. "I hope I can meet her she is no monster in your eyes and she isn't in mine either" She squeezed his hand kindly. She thought for a moment "Actually." She let go of his hand and reached into her shirt. Taking out a pendent "I found this not to long ago" She removed a small jewel "I heard a women voice at the mansion here, when the voice stopped I found this" She opened her hand "I know its black material I think maybe it was your mother, trying to tell me something" She looked at him "To protect her son, that's why I've wanted to learn more about material since I've never used it" She looked into those green eyes of his. "Am I crazy?" Sepheroth-Sepheroth had a slight smirk-"Well you found my old Material that's the very material I once used my powers to train, and it gave me this I can now use material freely if I so chose but I barely do only if I must but this material you hold a lot of power to use it you must be trusted and tested by the material you are not ready for this material, yet you must BYU one of each type of material and mater it once that happens you can use black material" Mercy smiled "I figured" She tucked it back in her hiding place "But I'm sure you will teach me" She said kindly She helped get breakfast on the table and sat down. "It's going to take me a long time to get to that point, but I've picked up some things from you, and you probably don't even know it" She grinned softly. Sepheroth-Sepheroth smiled and continued to eat his breakfast as he drank his juice he looked to her-"You do know that picking up things from me won't make you learn them faster"-he said as her ached over and tickled her side and retracted his arm-Mercy sighed softly "I know, but learning them from someone who knows what the hell they are doing helps to you know" She laughed as he tickled her, she took a sip of her juice. "Besides give me an excuse to be close to you" She admitted to him. Sepheroth-Sepheroth looked to her-"So you want to be close to me huh well lets see what would you like to learn now that you know my basic sword evasion" She smiled "What do you do if someone fires magic at you, element of fire or ice?" She brushed her hair away from the table as not to get hair on anything and put it up in a bun, crossing her leg over the other looking at him. Sepheroth-He finished his breakfast and put it in the sink and looked to her-"Well for that all you must do is protect your self with Material if you have none do my evasion technique you mastered if you do that you can dodge magic" Mercy smiled helping him clean up "Will have to try that" She looked at him "A magic that won't kill me mind you, but You are the only person I trust with my life" She rested her head on his arm for a second as she said that. Sepheroth-Sepheroth looked to her, and he noticed something she was trusting him, and he knew he had to do this right-"Fine but only once mind you i don't like attacking my students if you wear told anything about that"-he said as he walked to the dojo part of the whole house and waited-She nodded "Fair enough" She followed him as she took out her sword and cracked her knuckles relaxing a bit, stretching, she looked up into his eyes a kind smile on her face. "Ok Sensei lets see what you got" She grinned softly. Sepheroth-Sepheroth looked and held his hand in a 90 degree motion-"Fire 1"-he fired it at her, and he hoped she is able to dodge it, but it was coming at her faster then her legs could possibly move hopefully she would barely make it- Mercy's eyes went wide seeing the fire coming at her at such a high speed. She did exactly what he taught her, and she reflected the fire right back at him with her blade, she had a light burn on the side of her hand but didn't show any pain. Sepheroth-Extinguishing the flame with an ice spell he looked to her-"Good you learn fast "-he smiles-"Any other questions My Pupil" She looked down at her hand it was burned she walked over to him "Any chance you can heal me" She grinned softly "I need to learn how to use material since you can't hold my hand in battles" She laughed. Sepheroth-Sepheroth used Heal 1 to heal the burn as he smiled-"There now material you must go pick up and practice on your own controlling them each one you can find" She smiled "Thanks" She looked at him "You know it's a good thing we are on the same side, you would so kick my ass I wasn't expecting the fire to shoot at me so fast" She grinned. Sepheroth-He smiled-"Yeah I know"-he said and pulled her close caressing her hair-"anything else you want OT be taught" Mercy smiled as he pulled her close and nodded, she placed her hand on the side of his face. "that's if what I want can be taught" She grinned happily Sepheroth-Sepheroth looked to her-"Oh and what is it you want my love tell me is what you seek something other than training"-he said as his hands roam around her back a to her waist-She nodded "Yes, something lovers do" She whispered to him looking into his green eyes, her heart starting to beat very fast, she grinned happily, looking into those eyes. Sepheroth-Sepheroth looked to her-"I want you to know that if you expect me to go easy then your sadly mistaken as I only go soft once and that is if it's your first time all the other times you will feel true love through the hands of me as I love to do it" Mercy smiled "It is my first time..." She said kindly, stroking the side of his face. "I want you so much Joseph Roth.....so much" She was turned on just by talking to him. Sepheroth-Sepheroth lays her on the bed and slowly removed her clothes and then his own he began to kiss her running his fingers around her nipples-She smiled looking at him kindly, sighing she didn't know what was going to happen to her, but she trusted Joseph Roth with all her heart and soul, kissing him Sepheroth-Sepheroth kissed her back and ran his hands up her shirt and cupped her breasts squeezing them managing them in the palms of his hands-She moaned softly running her fingers through his hair a little holding close as they kissed, how she loved the contact of him in this way. "You have always been special to me Joseph Roth, the only person I feel I can trust in this harsh world" Sepheroth-Sepheroth looked to her and kisses around her neck whispering-"I'm glad you feel that way" She smiled running her fingers through his hair, how she enjoyed this very much, batting her lip she sighed softly. Moving into him a little bit she craved his touch her eyes showing want and the need. Sepheroth-Sepheroth pushed her away enough to remove her clothes one piece by one piece began groping her breasts with a firm squeeze-Her breathing grew more excited, enjoying his touch he always knew how to make her feel like a million Gil. She sighed happily moving her head back as he touched her, now fully exposed for the first time, she hated her body and hoped Joseph Roth would enjoy it. Sepheroth-Sepheroth smiled and continued to rub his hands over her body one hand now fondling her breasts the other now rubbing her wet pussy as he nibbles on her neck-"MMM I like this, and you seem to be enjoying it so well"-he smiled to him self-She moved her head back moaning his name lightly "Yes..." She murmured, oh how she wanted him to just take her there and then, but refrained from doing or saying anything, she rested her hand on the back of his head, she moaned his name. Sepheroth-Sepheroth looked to her-"If there is anything you like then please tell me I want to do everything and anything for you let me know what you want" She smiled "Only thing I want right NW is to make love to you" She said simply looking into his eyes. Sepheroth-Sepheroth lays her down and begins to eat her out like she has never felt anything as such before doing with his tongue unspeakable things that she never felt possible with a tongue- Mercy gasped a little, moving her hips into him a little, her hand on the back of his head "Oh Joseph Roth... I love you" She moaned, but she meant every word it wasn't heat of the moment stuff. Sepheroth-Sepheroth continue to eat her out his tongue felt like a wave of pleasure that just didn't stop-She moaned unable to think very well she smiled as he kept pleasing her, and it turned her on a lot. Sepheroth-Sepheroth looked to her as his tongue came out and took out his cock and kneeled her down in front of him and smiles-"now let me see what your mouth can do Mercy" She looked at him as he knelt her down, she looked at his cock her heart beating fast, she leaned in taking the head of his cock at first and then slid her mouth down his length, she grabbed his hips as she struggled to get the last inch or two in, she forced herself not to gag, she moved her head back and forth slowly on him. Sepheroth-Sepheroth smiled and cried out in a minor voice groaning at her warm mouth as he stroked her hair reaching down to feel her her silky smooth hair he knew she would enjoy what would come soon-"That's right nice and slow" When he moaned loud she was afraid she accidentally hurt him, she sighed softly as she moved her lips and up and down. Looking up into his eyes, she couldn't help but grin taking care of him. Sepheroth-he looked back down and smiled more-"Your so talented Mercy I hope you like my cock in side you"-he said as he stroked her hair more-"the better you do, the more you do, the more I give you what you ask for" Mercy kept doing what she was doing she was happy at that moment she felt everything was perfect, running her hands down his hips, moving her lips up and down his full length. Sepheroth-Sepheroth groans as he came and a rushing mouth of liquid entered her mouth as he slid his cock out it was quicker then he thought, but she was so dam good he smiled-"What would my little Mercy like me to do next" Mercy tasted him as she swallowed what he gave to her and took a deep breath, she looked up at him a kind smile on her face "I want you Joseph Roth...inside my body" She said simply, looking into his green piercing eyes, wanting him badly. Sepheroth-Sepheroth smiles as he laid her down spreading her legs sliding his length in hr wet fold moving in and out of her thrusting with in her deep hitting her back-She looked into his eyes as he felt his body between her legs, her heart was pounding, and when he trusted into her, she cried out, holding onto him, she felt him not getting gentle which she knew would happen since he wasn't that way, her hands held onto his back, her nails digging into his skin, her breathing was strong "oh Joseph Roth!" She groaned a smile on her face, she kissed his chest, her panting grew "Harder." She whispered in his ear, surprised with her wanting it that way. -Spheroid grins-"Harder eh "-he thrusts in to her like a knife in to a practice target he thrusts harder and harder yet not stopping for anything her screams of pleasure her shaking body it turned him on- Mercy kept panting her body trembling she was trying to stop, but she could not, it was driving her nuts, she held onto him, crying his name, feeling connected to him, her heart was pounding and everything seemed to stop. Her insides gripped him sucking him in further it felt like any way, she was near orgasm and didn't want to be" -he groans and slammed her harder and harder in to her till the bed shook like a leaf in the wind-Mercy moaned holding onto him "Joseph Roth!" She cried out her body shook a little as she felt her first orgasm take hold of her. -Spheroid orgasmed sending him self in side her as he slid out he turns her over sliding back in her pussy and grabbing her shoulders he fucked her harder then she just felt-Mercy let him do what ever he wanted, she gripped the bed as he took her, she felt more connected to him, oh how she loved him. She moaned out more as he started to get rougher with her, her body on fire as she didn't fight him. -Spheroid groans his cock explodes in to her as he continued as he pulled out putting her on all fours and slid his cock back in and continued to screw her brains out-Mercy cried out "Joseph Roth!" she moaned moving her head back as he took her from behind, batting her lip her heart beating fast, happy everything would pan out ok, her breasts moved with his trusts. -he thrust more and more no stopping his cock rammed her pussy with his cock harder and faster as best he could bring non-stop measure he soils and grabbing her hips better he found him self to be smiling enjoying this feeling of pleasure him self-Through all the times she stayed with him, she had never felt more alive, she felt his hands on her hips as he kept thrusting into her, she moved her head up with each thrust. Moaning louder as her hands were balled up a little. She hoped that after this they would get more close. -he thrust and smiles as she enjoyed it they were going to be inseparable particle he felt him self coming closer to his orgasm.- She was growing tired pretty quickly but forced herself to stay put to stay strong, but she couldn't take it anymore, she thrust her head back as she cried out her orgasm hitting her like a ton of bricks. -He orgasms hard Levant her filled as he slid out and snuggles with her on his bed a dstroked her hair-"Mercy you were perfect I loved your body and enjoyed it" She managed to relax looking into his eyes she smiled "I enjoyed this to" She said in a soft whisper like. She placed her hand on the side of his face, a kindness seen in her eyes as she snuggled close to him. "You're a dream come true Joseph Roth and I've never had the nerve to say that.till now" -he held her and smiled as he stroked her hair and stroked her as he sales and says-"I enjoyed it to I'm happy you enjoyed it I'm all yours when ever you like"-he smiles to her and caresses her cheek-She smiled finding a strand of his hair and twirled it in her fingers "And I'm yours as well, I never imagined I'd get this lucky, to have you as my friend, teacher and lover, now let's see if I can be your equal on the battlegrounds" -he smiles-"you won't be for along while, but you will evolve in battle fast I sense it" She smiled looking at Joseph Roth and nodded "I just got a bad feeling something different is going to happen, I'm not sure if I trust the other soldiers...." She melted as he looked at her with his green eyes. "But even if they betray you, you can count on me" -he nods-"I hope I can my love"-he said and held her tight- "anyone who goes against you would be crazy since I've seen you take down a huge dragon on your own and those creatures are hard, I don't think even I could do that" She ran her fingers in his hair loving him. -He smiled-"I'm flattered you think so highly of me but I'm not perfect"-he said and stroked her hand gently-"still I hope I have satisfied you my love" She smiled "I think highly of you because I love you, because I honestly see you the way I have expressed" She leaned into him kissing him deeply. Looking into his eyes she was lost in her thought. She wondered about certain things but said nothing, wondering all of a sudden who his parents were. -he smiles- "I see thanks you for to devotion you will be treated well in the process as my girl"-he smiled gently-She smiled "I'd like that" She said lovingly kissing him deeply looking into his eyes "Something tells me once I'm trained we will be one hell of a powerful force" -he smiles-"Even the mighty Fall don't get to confident" She sighed "I know what I'm talking about Joseph Roth I've seen it" She sat up a bit looking at him "You fall but rise up again, I have visions sometimes" She smiled lovingly running her hand down the side of his face "All will be just fine" -he sighed-"I'm letting you know I have fallen and have Died before but because of this blood in me, i don't die permanently its like I'm reborn a day or two later I cant explain it and i don't think can ever"-he smiles-She smiled "I know I can see it in your eyes, the Make in your body gives you the power you need, that and Jen ova's cells that are inside you as well, which I'm grateful for. -he smiles and nods-"In deed" She ran her hand on his chest "nothing you do would ever change how I see you Joseph Roth, where you go, I will go" She said looking into his eyes kindly -he smiles-"If that is how it is then fine"-he smiled to her as he sighed-"So mercy how do you think of your training thus far"-he said-Mercy looked at him thinking for a moment "I like it, very challenging, and I think I can do even better today" She grinned she looked at him "I know it will take me a very long time, maybe even years, but I hope to be able to use all material" -he smiles-"Like i one day you may possess dark material that I own but for now you will learn one at a time"-he smirked to her-She smiled and laughed "Yes that will be a wonderful time indeed, making them pay for being a big pain in your ass" he smiles and nods-"For now get ready for your training and put on all avail gear understand"-he smiles-"this will get bumpy" She nodded kissing him lovingly, she grabbed her stuff and quickly put everything on, pulling her hair up in a ponytail, she made sure everything was buckled, with a slight yawn she sighed a little bit, going outside for training she waited patiently. -he went out and threw her a sword when caught it was heavier a dshe noticed so was her equipment as he nods-"Your training is with 20 lb equipment a dsword let see you master it now"-he begins his sword dance with his feet-She grunted when she almost dropped her sword she sighed softly slowly standing up "20 pounds? How in the world am I supposed to lift this thing?" She cocked her head to the side, running her hand on her neck as she held it up with both hands. -he smiles-"Deal with it is will become light with practice now move"-he began to start his fighting dance with his feet as she was shown the other day he begins to move at the usual speed-"This will warm you up after half a day you should be used to the weight-She smiled watching him, she was slowly getting used to the weight but how she would fight? She didn't know, she sighed a bit watching him dancing. "Show Off" She giggled. -He just looked at her as he continued his motion he held his sword din a defensive guard as he waited for he RTO warm up as well he would not wait forever and failure did come with a price-She watched him and a smile was on her face as she did a little bit with the sword to get used to it, but she was at full attention. "I'm ready when you are...Joseph Roth." She grinned. -He laughs-"I doubt that Mercy"-he Sped at her but not fully when he went to swing the sword a few times she barely was able to Deflect it he backs up and smiles-"You still don't have it keep going until you are as skillful as without the armor"-he sits and focuses as he looked on- She looked at him as she sighed some, looking up at the sky silently praying for a miracle, she had concentrated enough as she looked at him, taking out a material from her pocket and placed it on her wrist, she struck the ground looking at him. "What are you thinking about?" She said kindly placing her hand on her hip, letting the sword with one arm. -he looked to her-"I do no Wald Material as of now so take it off your arm"-he had his eyes closed but how did he know-"I will not allow the use of material to speed up training that's being lazy" She removed it "I'm not doing it because I'm lazy I'm doing it because I'm trying to get an upper hand, let's face it Joseph Roth I couldn't even scratch you let alone fight you" She sighed -he looked to her-"Taking that Road won't help you I'm gonna be matching you for your level you will not be taken on with higher skill then you are ready for-She just nodded as she got used to the weight and pointed the sword towards him "Alright Joseph Roth....I'm ready for you" She grinned. -Spheroid looked at the clock one hour to get sued to 20 pounds this was going to be fun"-he looked to her-"alright lets go"-he dashed at her beginning to slash at her, she would have to block his attacks for this weight training-Mercy saw him running towards her, she put her sword up to her right at the right moment as she grunted some, her body forced back as she blocked the hit, she pushed backward so she wasn't on top of him. -He swung his sword continuously in every direction she was getting better he smiled as he backs off -"You blocked almost all my hits except for 2 very good" She smiled looking into his eyes she didn't keep her guard down she was ready for any tricks "I'm glad you approve, keeping up with you is rough because you're the best with the sword" She said softly. -Spheroid continued stepping side and back and dashing she was able to keep up with it all when it ended there was nothing else to say but -"Good work you pass the first step now"-he smiled as he snapped his fingers the material on her vanished and made her lighter-"Tomorrow training again but different"-he said and put his sword away-She felt more light as she sighed softly nodding "I'm glad I didn't do so horribly" She looked into his eyes as she walked over to him. "Joseph Roth....what made you want to train me? I know when I heard about you someone in SOLIDER wondered what I wanted, when I told him he laughed at me, but I kept going, nothing would stop me to reach you. Sure I can't take down a fully grown dragon on my own, but I like to think I'm not average..." -he smiled-"Well I say you have Earned a Reward you may think of something if we can do it go out and have some fun or anything you wish I can do as long as its reasonable"-he smiled-She smiled softly looking at him kindly "Having some fun with you would be nice" She said softly looking into his eyes lost in his green eyes, running her hand down her neck she stood beside him. -Spheroid Looked to her-"What would you like OT do Mercy" She smiled looking at him as she leaned into him and kissed him softly her way of telling him what she wanted she was still new to this -Spheroid embraced the kiss and held her gently as he pulled her closer his kiss became deeper he broke this kiss and looked to her-"I know what you want if that is what you would like to do then please follow"-he walked away towards the bed room-She smiled and followed him, she removed her jacket watching Joseph Roth she followed him making sure not to follow him like a puppy, but she really was content, a grin seen on her face she sighed softly. -Spheroid smiled as the got to his room and he pulled he Ron the bed passionately kissing her as his hands skillfully remove her clothes-She moaned lovingly into the kiss he knew how to touch her, how to hold her she was in bliss, slowly opening up his shirt she never broke the kiss. -he held the kiss her fingers over his chest it felt good, and his hands roams up her shirt rubbing her breasts her bra pushed over them-She moaned "Oh Joseph Roth...." She said moving a little bit "I'd follow you right into hell" She looked into his green eyes 'I'll never leave your side" She whispered -HE squeezed them and smiled-"I'm happy to hear that cause the battle field is worse then hell"-he said as he pinched her nipples and he ground in to her-She grabbed the sheets looking up at him and groaned 'Yes Joseph Roth, you're a god you deserve to be a god. I will do what ever you want me to Ref I swear it" -he sucked on them hard his other hand began to finger he pussy a bit rough but the thrusts where perfect even his fingers were accurate-She groaned moving her head back, her hand gripping the bed, she cried out a little bit "Oh Joseph Roth!" she cried out happily but not loud enough to alarm anyone. -He continued-"Scream till your hearts content I assure you no one will hear us"-he smiled and continued to give her his satisfying touch-She sighed closing her eyes as he moved his finger into her, taking all of him into her body, she moved her head back, enjoying everything there was to love, and she couldn't help but smile lovingly. -Spheroids fingers moved in her his mouth clenched her nipple in to between his teeth as he sucked on it hard-"Mmm It is good your getting excited over this"-he continued his fingers diving in to her wet pussy-She moaned making sure she didn't accidentally bite him, closing her eyes back a little bit, her fingers through his silver hair. She knew that he would take good care of her, she moaned a bit more, as he bit down onto her nipples. -he smiles-"Yes that's right let you Carmel instinct take over don't worry just do it"-he continued as he went down and licked he pussy his fingers in her mouth still as the other free hand now pinched her nipple-She bit down onto his hand but not enough to hurt him, she wanted him to take her, her hand went to the bed, grabbing the bedsheet. -he grins feeling her growing want-"That's it I know you want it now"-he took his cock out and slid his hard cock in to her as he began to move his cock in and out of her pussy-She couldn't help but moan loudly, holding onto him, she didn't want to let this moment go, she had to make it last in her mind, she looked into his eyes, She reached up and bit his lip, looking into his eyes. -he continued to thrust in to her in a dout at first softly but continued harder and harder-"yes, yes feel it let you desire take over" She ran her fingers in his hair as she grabbed onto him, feeling him getting faster and longer, unable to keep quiet. She cried out very loudly moving her hips into him. "Mm Joseph Roth, I love how you make me feel" -he grins and thrust more his long hair moved back as he looked ot her wall tightened every moment he thrust-

Change Of Destiny (Closed For NickisSora)|rating:2.0

Becoming Daddy's [( Moirae & TheDoctor46 )]

(“Ash, what the hell am I going to do?”Eighteen-year-old Arielle Proctor groaned as she laid her dark head into her arms and for now ignored the smirk and eye roll she knew her best friend was giving her at that moment. The situation wasn’t funny, not to Arielle, and while it wasn’t the end of the world it certainly was making hers a bit harder. The scholarship she’d been granted had just been revoked – not due to anything she’d done, but the sponsor organization had just filed for bankruptcy and three days ago she’d received the unfortunate news that the money she’d been counting on for college suddenly wasn’t there anymore.“I suppose what the rest of the unlucky world does – more student loans,” Ash said, sliding over the cool beverage toward Arielle, so the icy glass rested against her arm. “It’s not the end of the world. It’s just…”“Not that I expected. Not what I’d planned. Now I have to hope I get approved for an additional ten thousand dollars a year and here I thought I was so lucky with skating by at just doing five grand a year. This is more than double that.”“Of course you will. They love making sure you’re going to come out with as much debt as possible. It really is a crap situation, though. Why only ten thousand? The scholarship was for twenty.”“Trying to minimize how much I take out. I figure add on another ten and then pick up a part-time job. Not that the college has anything left. All the work study positions have already been filled. Probably going to end up waitressing or something just, so I’m not the constantly broke college girl.”“What about your parents?” The look from Arielle said everything. Her parents hadn’t been in the position to start a college fund, and she’d never expected there to suddenly be one. They had firmly been in the working class for as long as she could remember, always scrimping and saving, and while they were certainly better off financially then they ever let on, she knew she wasn't going to get any help there. Except, of course, for when it was time to visit home – in that her mother assured her they’d always have a planet ticket ready for her, to bring her back east for the holidays and school breaks. Arielle had started working at fifteen, waitressing during the summers and on weekends, and she’d known early on that anything she wanted she was going to have to work and pay for. Not necessarily a bad lesson to have imprinted on her, but she’d really been looking forward to spending four years focused solely on her studies and the whole college experience. It didn’t even matter that she wasn’t sure yet what she even was going to study in college – she was going in undecided, figured she had at least two years to narrow down the focus before having to declare a major. She’d simply wanted out of the small town in Massachusetts, had even left two weeks after she and Ash graduated from high school for them to stay in a short term apartment until college started in the fall. She’d been okay using most of the money she’d earned and saved over the last few years in making that a reality, and she wasn’t going to let this recent news make her regret that decision. How could she when she was in southern California at a beachside café and had at least managed one goal? She was technically out of that small town, and now she just had to keep it that way.“You know what you need? A sugar daddy,” Ash said after their meal was served. Arielle leaned back in her chair with a soft laugh, pushed the long, dark hair away from her oval face and just gave a shake of her head.“Ash, this isn’t some Lifetime movie. You don’t seriously think there are sugar daddies out there? And besides, do you really see me as someone trading sex with some old dude for money? That’s no better than being some prostitute.”“Of course they’re out there. There’s always some truth in fiction, and I’m always reading about this girl or that girl with one. And hey, maybe he wouldn’t be that old. Could just be some lecher that wants some eye candy on his arm. You know, like a trophy wife? Plus, you wouldn’t at all be like a hooker. I am so not suggesting you start working some street corner.”“God, you really need to stop watching those movies. I’m going to stick with reality, Ash. However, if I was to give into your delusions… it almost sounds nice. Almost. But maybe if he wasn’t, you know, old, gray, and wrinkly, and likely on his deathbed. And if I didn’t have to sleep with him.”“You’re going to sleep with someone one of these days. Unless, you know, you’re planning on staying an eternal virgin…”“Ash!” The conversation turned as the two girls laughed and by the time they were getting up to leave Arielle had quite forgotten all about the ridiculous notion of finding or having some sugar daddy. Instead, she was already talking her best friend into going with her to start checking out local restaurants that may be looking for some part-time help, and if that didn’t pan out there was always spending the rest of the day at the beach. (Kendrick's was the very definition of a successful businessman. He had moved to California when he had been just 18 having earned himself a scholarship to do a degree in Business Management & Finance. It was a qualification that had made him as a man, and the student life had certainly treated him well, not just in business, but life in general. He had arrived in California as a boy, but by the time he had graduated, he had become a man. He had started working at the very small café that he currently sat in doing his Accounts. Back then a degree got him nowhere and with a huge shortage in jobs which may have been suitable for him having graduated, he'd had no choice but to start work wherever he could get it. So it was this small beachside café. He had started as a waiter, but had some experience in the kitchen too and as the owner grew older, he had started to help with the Accounts too. When the owner died at the age of 80, without any family, Ryan had been shocked to find that the café had been left to him. Yet it was also the start of him. At the age of 25, owning a café hadn't been on this radar. Yet he quickly made changes that saw the café become successful and over the next fifteen years he had grown his empire, and now as he sat at a table, ten years later, within the same café that had started him off as a man, he owned another five locations throughout the state, all five of them high-end restaurants which were extremely different from where he had first started, which was filled with students. It was there that he heard the interesting conversation going on between two young women at the desk on the other side of the divider. He smirked, allowing himself to listen whilst he went through the books of the fifth and final restaurant. He was not one to idly listen to his customer's conversations, yet this particular couple had actually caught his attention. The scholarship scheme had enabled him to become the man he was now. He owed pretty much everything to it, the opportunity to better himself without being in debt right at the start of his promising career. He felt bad for the young woman and in his mind was running over ways that he could possibly help her. There was no denying that he could have simply offered a job. Not in this café, they didn't need anyone new, nor did the profits warrant another employee. The five restaurants didn't really need any more waitresses either. So he was left with the idea of being a sugar daddy, just as the friend had suggested. It was a silly option, and he wasn't sure if they even existed anyway. So he got his head back into the books, finishing them off roughly around the same time as a waitress came over to collect the plates from the table beside him. Picking the books up, he stood and walked through the café. It was quite clear that he was a businessman, wearing an expensive suit, but with no tie, simply a tightly fitted white shirt with the top few buttons undone. He was an attractive man, there was no denying it, and he often got a few looks in his direction from customers, especially when in this particular café. He quickly said his goodbyes to the café manager, along with the various other members of staff before he stepped beside the waitress who had been looking after the two girls beside him earlier on.'' I'll take their receipt, thank-you Georgia. Have a great day!'' Ryan smiled, a smile that often got him out of trouble, and into trouble too, depending on one's definition of the word. He pulled out one of his business cards, one that clearly showed him as the owner of five restaurants, plus this café, in California State. Without truly thinking he turned it over, and began to write something upon the back.' If you have any money issues or need help. Call this number!' He wasn't one for introducing himself and suddenly announcing himself as a potential sugar daddy. No, if she wanted his help. Then she'd have to ask for it. That's how it had to work. With his bags in his hand, he walked over to where the two girls were still sat and smiled warmly at the pair of them.'' Thanks for your continued support of this café. Your meals are on the house. Here is your receipt, just in case you claim taxes back or something'' He passed the receipt to the girl who had suggested that her friend needed a sugar daddy before he turned to that very girl.'' My Card...'' He handed her his card the right side up and made his exit before she possibly turned it over. He quickly found his car and having climbed inside with his bags, he drove home in order to catch up with his Accountant. “Did that … really just happen?” It was more of a rhetoric question that came from Arielle as she picked up the business card and stared down at the message scrawled over the back before her eyes flew up and watched the man leave the café, trailing him until the expensive car drove away. There was a sense of mortification going through her among the stunned fascination that still had her blushing more than a little. How much had he heard?! Apparently enough that it’d prompted him to leave his card and number. Across the booth Ash squealed and laughed, reaching for the business card to scan the information.“And you said they weren’t real! You have to call him.”“Are you out of your mind?!” Arielle frowned as she snatched the business card back, eyed the information again. Ryan Kendrick's. After a second her eyes rolled, and she smirked to Ash, merely tossed the card into her shoulder bag.“He owns the café, Ash, not some potential sugar daddy. Probably can just offer me a job here waitressing or something.”“Hm. I think you should call him. Come on, did you see what he was driving? Call him. Maybe he’s got a better job than waitressing or… maybe he has other ways he can help.” Ash exaggerated the last few words with a grin and raised brows, puckered her lips. “If you know what I mean.” Arielle let out a laugh and shook her dark head, smirking at her best friend before gathering her shoulder bag. They were done with this conversation, so she’d thought until Ash realized that the receipt he’d given her was because he’d paid for the meal, something overlooked in the blushing laughter of the business card. Of course, that renewed Ash’s conviction about what the guy wanted and insisted once more that Arielle call him. Thankfully the conversation changed by the time they got to the beach after hitting up a few of the restaurants where Arielle filled out applications; nothing looked too promising as they had already hired on for the summer and by fall the need for part-time staff wouldn’t be as great. Still, it was worth trying, because she certainly was not calling Ryan Kendrick's and not following Ash’s incredibly wayward advice. Almost a week later Arielle sat alone in their small apartment and stared at the business card in her hand. What was she doing? Was she seriously about to call this guy? None of the other restaurants or anywhere she’d applied had gotten back to her, the semester was starting in mere weeks, and her bank account was an incredibly sorry state. God, she had to be out of her mind. Yet, there she was dialing the number he’d given her, and wasn’t sure to be relieved or not when it went to voicemail.“Ah, hi. I’m Arielle, we… kinda met the other day at the café. You gave me your card and said to call if I needed help. My number is…” 'What the hell are you playing at Kendrick's?' It was a question he asked himself for the majority of his journey home, and even after having met up with his Accountant there to have an perfect and interesting meeting in which it was confirmed that he had enough cash to begin exploring the possibility of opening up a sixth high-end restaurant, he was still asking himself the same question. She could not have been more than 19, perhaps even younger at 18, maybe. Yet he'd had the audacity to not only pay her bill, but also write his number on the back of one of his business cards, all because he had overheard a private conversation between her and her playful friend. Even then she had knocked back even the possibility of sugar daddy's existing, and she certainly hadn't seemed in the mood or frame of mind to go to that extreme, even if they did exist. He wasn't sure what was going on his head, but he certainly didn't expect to ever hear from the girl, no matter how difficult things got financially. Ryan may have been a highly successful businessman, one who kept his success to himself and didn't parade it around town, but it had come to the detriment of his social life. He seemed to have been single for as long as he could remember, without the time to do the whole dating scene such was the amount of time he dedicated to making sure his profits were the best they could be. It meant long hours, and he only had time for a few simple pleasures in life. One was Football, he loved football. He had a private box at the local national football league team, and when he did have time away from work, it was there that one would look first. He didn't have much time for anything else, and as he stood in the shower thinking about why he had done what he'd done earlier, he realized the true reason. Furthermore, he was trying to find a partner without having to do the hard work. Furthermore, he wanted someone he could take to meals, whom he could treat, and perhaps someone he could share nights with. Furthermore, he wanted it all, but he didn't have time to find someone, he was too career focused. The girl he had met, however. Well he just wanted to help her. The scholarship scheme had saved him from having to do an apprenticeship, and so he wanted to help someone similar, someone whom he could see potential in, and perhaps she was that person. Over the next week he had a number of meetings with realtors, trying to find a location for the first restaurant outside of state. It was exciting times and Ryan was spending every minute of the day upon it, wanting to get it right, needing to get it right. It was around a week later that he picked up her voicemail message. He'd been outrunning, another thing in his life that he enjoyed, and had just got back to his apartment when he had missed her call as he jumped into the shower. Yet as he returned to the living room wrapped in just a towel, he picked up his phone and listened to her message. He smiled and bit his lower lip as he tried to think of how to approach this whole thing. Then it hit him. He needed to know for sure what she expected, and what she needed too. They'd need to meet, and one of his restaurants felt like a natural choice. Without thinking about it too much, he entered her number and then called her back, listening to the ring as he stepped over to the large window that overlooked the city, his hand running through his wet hair. He was already telling himself that if she didn't answer, then he'd try again later, not wanting to leave a voicemail, preferring to speak to someone. Yet just as he was thinking about giving up, she answered.'' Hi Arielle... it's Ryan Kendrick's. I just got your message...'' He paused to allow her to speak before he continued. ''So I was thinking that perhaps we could meet up, for dinner....... What about tonight? Text me your address, and I'll have a dress dropped off, I'll pick you up around 8". He had no idea what he was doing, yet the words seemed to be coming out naturally enough and once she'd agreed to dinner, he put his phone down and then waited for her to send through her address. When finally it came he smirked. Picking up his phone once more, he called one of his assistants and asked for them to pick up a dress from one of the shops they had a close affiliation with and to deliver it to Arielle's address. Yet it wasn't a case of him trusting his assistant. He told him the exact dress he wanted picking up, right down to the color, as well as the size he wanted it in. He figured that even if they decided that they couldn't help each other, then at least she'd gain a beautiful, expensive dress out of it. The dress would be delivered within the hour of Ryan putting his phone down, and then he sat down to finish off the last few bits on his agenda before later on he began to get ready for the meal. He dressed in a dark pair of smart black trousers, as well as a tight-fitting white shirt, with just a couple of buttons undone before he jumped into his car and made his way around to where Arielle had told him she was living. For several long minutes Arielle had simply stared at the dress and shoes that’d arrived shortly after disconnecting the call from Ryan. The black dress and gold heels were an absolute testament that she must have lost her mind. Had she really just agreed to go to dinner with him? After actually calling him to discuss the potential of … well. Someone interested in hiring her as a waitress definitely didn’t send a dress that cost probably twice as much as her rent. Maybe three times, later amended when she held up the dress against her and saw who the designer was. What was she doing? A question that repeated itself when she found herself drawing a bath, adding in jasmine and orange scented bath salts, and even lighting a couple candles. Acting like this was some sort of date, Arielle mused during and after the bath, when she’d even taken care to make sure every inch of herself was bare – she didn’t prefer shaving, but funds lately hadn’t permitted waxing. You could with a sugar daddy... Arielle closed her eyes as her best friend’s voice floated through like a sing-song in her head. That would be a natural response from Ashley and something that wouldn’t quite budge from Arielle’s mind. What if this was a serious offer? A legitimate idea? What would he want? Arielle’s thoughts stumbled when she finally stood in front of her mirror a little before eight o’clock and stared at her reflection. The sleeveless black dress clung to her from the curve of her rounded breasts, over her hips, with the hemline clinging to her skin several inches above her knees; the bodice was styled as a corset with gold ribbons that subtly shimmered, and matched the pale gold heels that lifted her frame at least a few inches. The dress didn’t permit for anything underneath, nothing except a thin, gold lace and silk thong that’d accompanied the dress. With the way the ribbons came out as a bow, resting right at her breasts and teasing the tops of them, she practically looked like a gift. A very expensive, beautiful gift. A little daring and provocative, but not scandalous. God help her, but part of her softened at seeing the final result. Did she have to give this back if she said no to whatever offer he brought up? What if she didn’t say no, though? Was she really that type of girl? It wasn’t just about dresses – this was about something so much more important, she had to remember that. And what if …? The alarm on her phone broke into her thoughts and had her turning in the small, first floor apartment just as she saw car lights flash through the windows. Too coincidental to be anyone else, Arielle drew in a breath as she picked up a small black handbag – definitely nothing that was on par with the dress and shoes, but it was the best she had – and made her way to the front door, thankful Ashley wasn’t home yet. At least she didn’t have to go through two hundred questions with her best friend before seeing what happened with Ryan Kendrick's. It didn't take Ryan long to find her apartment which wasn't a hundred miles away from that of his own. He hadn't known what to expect of the place she called home, having experienced the highs and lows of college accommodation. Yet as he pulled up outside the address that Arielle had texted over to him, he was pleasantly surprised at what he saw. All the rooms in the block had windows for a start. He flashed his lights, figuring she'd know it was him. He was dead on time, a man who prided himself on being just that. Furthermore, he was a man of high standards, who'd expect the best from Arielle too if they were going to do this properly. Whilst he had flashed his lights, it didn't mean he sat in his car waiting. That just wasn't his style. Instead, he slipped out of his car, leaving his door open, the lights of his expensive motor still very much on in the small car parking block just outside the apartments. He waited perhaps a couple of minutes before she appeared out from behind the front door, very much looking worthy of the dress that she was wearing. He smiled to himself, a good start indeed. Furthermore, he'd already decided on the drive over that even if they decided to go their separate ways, even if they realized they had absolutely no chemistry whatsoever, he'd allow her to keep the dress. It suited her, as did the shoes. She could decide whether she wanted to sell it in order to raise extra funds, or whether she'd keep it for future events. That would really be her decision, he'd have no control over her after all. Ryan realized right there and then that he had absolutely no idea as to how one should approach a dinner with a prospective... sugar baby? At first, he figured it would be like any other business dinner, in which a deal was to be done. But that seemed far too formal, even for someone like him. No, he needed to relax, try and enjoy the dinner and get to know his date for the evening. His heart was racing, something unusual for the businessman, as she approached him. Yet he was a social kind of guy, he knew how to be around people, and so he did whatever felt natural. Even if the situation was anything but.''Wow, Arielle!....'' He placed a hand upon her hip, holding it somewhat firmly and then leaned in to kiss her upon both cheeks, offering her that first look of his smile. ''.... you look beautiful, truly stunning.'' He turned his body and outstretched a hand, as if to direct her towards his car. Walking with her, he opened the passenger door and allowed her to slip inside before he closed the door carefully behind her and then proceeded to sweep around the car until he too was sitting inside. She'd immediately feel the expensive cloth beneath her bottom. Everything about this car screamed money, yet he actually thought it was little understated, the perfect car for him. Everything inside was lit up, and it appeared to look as if it was some sort of alien spacecraft to someone without any knowledge whatsoever. The journey was quiet. Ryan was too nervous to make small talk, finding this whole situation rather strange and unnerving. He was sure that the dinner would be different but was already thinking that perhaps he should have arranged for someone to have picked Arielle up instead of himself. The journey to the Italian restaurant wasn't a long one however, and he quickly pulled up outside, parking in the spot especially reserved for him, the initials OK, the 'R' turned around, lighting up the dark evening upon the restaurant front. Having opened her door, he offered his hand to help her out of the car before he locked it up and then walked with her by his side through the front entrance, nodding at one of his servers who was quick to grab two menus, he proceeded to be shown to a table which was situated in the very corner of the restaurant, a booth styled table which would allow them to sit beside each other than opposite one another, a slightly more intimate surrounding with dimmed lights around them. They'd not be able to complain of having no privacy, they had plenty of that. Ryan allowed Arielle to sit first before he slipped in beside her, making sure he was close, yet not too close to unnerve her. He wanted to make her feel comfortable about being here, about being with him, and most importantly being able to talk about what she required from him, and what she was willing to do in order to get it. That would be for later, however. He ordered the house white and then made small talk with Arielle whilst they looked over the menus, the server eventually returning to pour two glasses. He definitely felt as if she was beginning to loosen up, showing signs of relaxing around him as they discussed their days, and Ryan explained that this was the first restaurant he opened up himself, after the café of course. Furthermore, he allowed her to order whatever she wanted for main, before he did the same, and after having a sip of his wine, he turned to look at her, opening up his body towards her.'' So tell me Arielle, what do you require? I could simply offer you the world right now, but I feel as though that would be wrong. I want to know about you. Why did you call me?'' It was direct. Perhaps too much so. Yet there weren't really any rules for how to act when trying to figure out whether you are suitable Sugar Daddy. He only hoped that he wouldn't scare her off with his directness. On one very basic level there was a requirement met that Arielle hadn’t even considered – the sight of Ryan Kendrick's, the way he smiled and looked at her, sent a punch of warmth through her that she wasn’t entirely familiar with, and it took her a moment to realize it was pure attraction. Oh, some of it had to come from the compliment – who was truly immune from those? -- but the blush that erupted over her cheeks had nothing to do with what he said but rather the look in his eyes. The first meeting at the restaurant, those brief seconds, hadn’t prepared her for that reaction, and she found herself grateful for the silence during the ride. The quiet let her thoughts tumble, and it was only because she didn’t want to ruin her lipstick that she kept herself from nibbling on her lower lip. She was in one heck of a car where the interior subtly screamed wealth, in a man whose suit said the same thing, and had bought her a dress of equal statement. On a date of sorts to discuss a potential arrangement, one that made her wonder if she’d lost her mind not for the first time since making that phone call. Not that she wasn’t impressed, the feeling heightened even more when they arrived at the upscale restaurant. One of his, a quick realization when they were seated, and Arielle found herself sitting close to him, their legs mere breaths away, and she angled toward him in a way that invited closeness. Another surprise came when she discovered it was rather easy to talk to him, at least once the words started coming and for a few minutes she was able to forget exactly why she was sitting there with him. There wasn’t a great deal discussed before the topic turned where she knew it would, but her shoulders were relaxed, and she’d made her way through half a glass of wine, definitely enough to loosen her tongue.“I don’t really know why I called,” she admitted, flushing a little and momentarily breaking eye contact. “I spent the last week applying at every place I could think of, stopping short of less … reputable places, and got nothing. Obviously, you’re not looking for another waitress.” She didn’t feel the need to elaborate, a mere glance around them confirmation enough. “I guess I called because … I wasn’t sure what else to try. Where else to go. I realize that sounds kinda bad, but it’s the truth. Honestly, I don’t even know if I could do something like this...” There came a pause as the waiter returned to deliver a warm basket of bread and while she felt as if the young man was going to pause, inquire further into their evening, he seemed to take in the atmosphere at the table and quietly leave them. Ryan’s staff was apparently very well-trained. On the next part of her lips, the flow of words simply came.“I want to go to college without burying myself in loans. I’d … I’d like to be able to enjoy my time there, be able to focus on my classes without worrying about juggling work shifts in between classes and studying. Furthermore, I want... Furthermore, I want what I came out here believing I had. An opportunity. I’m not ready for life to start swatting at me. Maybe that’s weak, but … it’s true. It’s just that, this … type of arrangement, what kind it could be, isn’t something...” Hell. Hadn’t he already overhead the conversation at the café? He knew.“What exactly would you expect from that kind of … relationship? Arrangement?” Then, she simply blurted out, "Have you done this before?" The attraction was there. It was undeniable. Sure at first, it had been her story that had caught his attention, the idea of a scholarship being revoked at such a late stage when one was about to commence their further education, well that just didn't sit well with him. He was the man he was today due to the opportunities that had come his way, that same scheme helping him on his way. He had certainly underestimated how attractive she was though. The dress was certainly different to what she had been wearing when he had first met her, but even then, as he thought back, she had still been very much attractive. He was pleased with the spot that had been reserved for him, not that there was any chance that the owner of the company wasn't going to best reserved the best seat in the restaurant. He was pleased how the 'date' had gone so far. The conversation was surprisingly fluid, and easy too. It had been one of his major worries after putting down the phone, the possibility that their two personalities would clash, that they wouldn't even be able to do something as easy as simply communicating. There was no such issue though, and he was pretty sure the attraction on a physical level was mutual, at least he hoped so. Ryan allowed Arielle her moment, the opportunity to speak how she felt, the chance to tell him exactly what she expected of him, what she needed. It would have been all well and good him offering her the world without even considering what it was that she wanted, but he wasn't that type of man, he'd never be that type of man, or so he thought. He listened to her without interrupting, giving her the floor so to speak, and despite the brief pause as one of his waiters returned to deliver bread, he was quickly gone, and Arielle had continued. He couldn't help but chuckle as towards the end she simply blurted stuff out, questioning him over whether he had done this before, over what he expected from her. Immediately he reached out and placed a reassuring hand upon her knee, the first proper body contact between the pair of them. Their eyes met and for a moment he felt something, a spark. Yes. There was definitely an attraction there, a physical attraction. "No Arielle. I have never done anything like this before. In fact. Before I overheard you and your friend, the thought of being a Sugar Daddy had never even crossed my mind''. It was at this point he realized his hand was still upon her knee. He smiled warmly, flashing that same attractive smile yet again before he slipped his hand away from her knee. ''Let me tell you a story about a guy who was of similar age to yourself. He was always getting into trouble, his parents split up an early age and neither of them really had much time for him. Therefore, he looked for attention, and often found it in the wrong types of places. However, one day, a teacher put his trust in this boy and managed to help him earn a space upon a scholarship program. At the age of 18, this young man moved to California and did a degree in Business Management & Finance, and he did pretty well for himself. Unfortunately there was no one who wanted an untested, recently graduated young man with a degree. So he found himself working at a local café, one where another man showed faith in the man, and that's where his story began. At 35, the same man now owned five restaurants, along with the same café where it all started''. He smiled once more at her. It was quite clear, or possibly not, that the story he'd told her was that of his own. He wanted to show her what the scholarship scheme could do for a person, and why it was that he wanted to help her, wanting to prove that it wasn't all to do with the selfish reasons that would come later on.'' So you see, it's your story that is reason I left you my card. Everyone needs someone to have faith in them, to give them a chance to be the best that they can be. What do I expect of you? I expect you to work hard, every class, assignment and exam. I expect you to give it your very best. That's all I can really ask for academically". He took a sip of wine, sitting back a little as he relaxed, finding it very easy to speak to her, unable to take his eyes off of the beautiful woman sat beside him.'' I expect your company. Two dates a week, and once a weekend every two weeks''. This he had given some thought. He wanted to make this worth his while, and it would be nice to actually go out and relax, to distress without being completely alone. ''I'll pay your course fees, all of them, you won't need to worry about that. I'll give you a weekly allowance too as long as you continue to hold up your end of the agreement''. Ryan had purposely not mentioned sex. He wasn't going to scare her off, not on the first evening together. He was a man, and she was beautiful, he wouldn't turn down the opportunity, yet he didn't feel as though it needed to be discussed. If it happened, then it would happen. The waiter returned shortly after, with their meals, and placed them down in front of them before he topped up their glasses and then left them to it. Ryan smiled, nodding towards her meal. ''Tuck in Arielle, enjoy...'' The expectations Ryan laid out rolled through Arielle’s mind as she sipped from her wine, starting taking small bites from her meal. His story hadn’t been lost on her, in fact it rather explained a great deal as to why exactly they were sitting here tonight having dinner and discussing the potential of him essentially providing her a rather unique and untraditional sponsorship. Two nights a week and one weekend every two weeks? That seemed beyond reasonable especially considering she would have had to forfeit more time than that even for a part-time job. Classes and their associated fees paid for and an allowance? Did she dare ask how much of an allowance? Just how sweet was this offer? Not that having college paid for wasn’t enough – oh god, it was – but the question burned on her mind as they ate their meals. Except, it wasn’t a question she really needed to be answered, she realized at the glance of the dress she wore and the man sitting across from her. He was offering her so much... and he knew it. Was what he wanted in return worth it? There were no qualms of applying herself and doing well academically, that she knew would be upheld with ease. What if he wanted more than her company? Oh, she was being a fool, she thought with an inward sigh. Eventually he was going to want more than just some pretty arm candy, someone more than to just have dinner with and exchange flirty looks and smiles.“What if … this doesn’t work out?” That was a question she couldn’t but help as paused in eating, leaning back to take another sip of wine. Once more she felt the light touch of his knee against hers, again not moving hers out of the way or trying to create distance. She had to admit she enjoyed that little tingle, the awareness of him that tripped over her and had her breath briefly catching.“Let's say we... start this arrangement and a couple of months down the road one or both of us don’t want to continue? Am I going to find myself suddenly figuring out how to pay the rest of the semester? I’m looking for some sort of hand out if this doesn’t go... well, but...” College was a long time. Four years. What if he tired of her in that time? What if she couldn’t go through with this? It was one thing to be attracted to him, to find relief that there was at least a small spark – one that held a lot of potential – but there were so many what ifs. Maybe the biggest what if came in the immediate future: what if she said no and didn’t find another way besides the student loans? What if she couldn’t even get enough in student loans? What if Ryan was really the best chance she had? Was it horrible of her to imagine how comfortable college could be if she said yes? To think of getting to do dinners like this with him? Surely, it had to be a good sign that part of her kept wondering how it would to be kissed him while knowing she could very easily and definitely find out. Which, maybe that wouldn’t be a bad idea, something to consider when they weren’t sitting in the restaurant. It was one thing to feel little tingles from a hand on her knee or thighs brushing against her and quite another to sample a kiss. Definitely something to think about for after dinner – she had to be able to at least kiss him. That seemed so reasonable... and so naïve at the same time. Ryan had no idea whether what he had proposed was something that Arielle would be interested in, or whether she'd finish her meal and decide that the expensive dress was enough for her and that she'd find another way of paying her course fees. He could see that she was occupied with her own thoughts as they ate. He didn't mind of course, what they had discussed was something rather major, and she had to make a decision that would affect her next four years of college. Furthermore, he had no idea whether his proposal was expecting too much of her, or whether it wasn't enough. Furthermore, he didn't have a clue over what the traditional offer was in cases like this. Yet as they ate, chatting here and there whilst taking small glances towards each other, there was certainly a connection there. He wasn't quite sure how strong it was just yet, but there was something, and that gave him hope. He knew she'd do well academically, it was the whole reason she had agreed to meet him after all. Furthermore, he could see the passion and drive in her, similar to how he'd been at her age. It was truly impressive and attractive too. Her question didn't take him by surprise, he'd expected it at some point. It was question that needed addressing, for both of them, for clarity and to allow Arielle to be able to make the best decision possible for herself. He smiled warmly, his knee brushing against hers once more, realizing that there was no flinch, or any sign of moving away. Ryan put his cutlery down, and took a sip of wine for a brief moment before he decided to address the question directly, the only way he knew how. Yet it wasn't enough for him to simply answer, he was trying to make an impression on the young woman, he wanted her to want him, and so he was looking for any excuse to make physical contact with her. He reached out to her, and held her smaller, softer hand over the table, smiling still. ''I promise you now, as long as this arrangement lasts for at least a.... Hamm shall we say a month? Then I'll pay your course regardless of what happens between us, obviously the gifts and allowance will stop, but your course won't be in jeopardy, I wouldn't do that to you''. He squeezed her hand, his tongue instinctively licking his lower lip as he looked at her facial features closely. She was truly stunning, beautiful. He wasn't naïve to think that from the moment she said yes, that everything would be great. She barely knew him, and he was sure she'd not even have considered this deal if her scholarship hadn't had fallen through. It might not work out, for either of them, he knew that. He hoped that it didn't end that way, but he was wise and old enough now to know that things didn't always work out. He wanted this 'relationship' to work for both of them, to satisfy them both.'' You don't need to give me answer immediately. Not even tonight if you haven't made your mind up. Take your time, make sure your decision is one you are truly comfortable with''. He smiled, squeezing her hand once more before he released it and returned to eating his meal. As they finished their mains, the table was quiet for the first time that evening, Ryan allowing Arielle time to think, to digest everything. He wasn't going to put too much pressure on her, he was simply going to allow her time, knowing that this was the best way going forward. The waiter returned to collect plates, to top up their glasses, and once ordered, he brought their dessert over too. All during this time, Ryan struggled to keep his eyes off of her, Arielle catching him looking at her a few times, Ryan simply smiling on every occasion this happened. He thought that the meal had gone well, and he had an idea she might accept his offer, that this wouldn't be the last time they met up. Had she heard him correctly? All she had to do was stay in this arrangement for at least a month and college was … paid? She had to swallow hard, finishing the glass of wine – she really wasn’t sure how many she’d had now, maybe the nerves were keeping the effects at bay – and didn’t hesitate in how her fingers gently tightened around his. The man was serious. She might have just met Ryan, but something in her believed every word he’d been saying that evening, and she liked to think she was a good judge of character. There really was nothingburger gut instinct to go with in this situation. Anything that happened after this evening would be because of her choice. After dessert, the last bit of wine emptied from her glass, Arielle’s thoughts tripped back to what she’d considered earlier. There was no lying to herself that she didn’t find him attractive, that there wasn’t something there because there was. There absolutely was. Didn’t that say something? Wasn’t that a definite positive for the possible arrangement? It wasn’t as if she was looking at someone who repulsed her or failed to strike even a hum of interest. Could she give him that more that he was going to eventually want? Arielle waited until they were out of the restaurant and walking into the warm night air before she reached over, gently took his hand and drew her eyes toward him. His car was mere feet away, but she didn’t want to draw this evening to a close, and she wasn’t ready to get back in the car. No, she wanted to be able to see him, to have undivided attention for what she needed to know. Here on the sidewalk was as good as anywhere, she supposed, at least for an initial test. And taste.“I have one more question,” softly stated as she drew them off to the side near is car, eyes briefly glancing down the well lit street before returning to him. She’d kissed someone before, why would this make her so nervous? Because this answer, one that couldn’t come in words, would define what her response to him would be. Arielle didn’t say anything more as she reached up, lightly cupped his cheek with her hand and then lifted her mouth. Softly her lips brushed over his, and she tasted the wine from their meal, the hint of the dessert. She kept her eyes open or at least she tried to because the moment her lips touched his she knew. There came that same tingle from earlier, but it rushed over her with a surprising warmth, and it had her so softly sighing before her mouth pressed against his for a second, far deeper kiss. Arielle’s hand lingered on his cheek until she drew her head back, lips parted for breath, and eyes glittered in the night.“Okay,” she whispered. Maybe it was crazy – maybe she was crazy – but she said yes. Perhaps it was naivety, maybe even more hope than judgement, but as their bowls were taken away, and they were left alone for the last time that evening having finished their meal, Ryan felt as if things had gone well, as good as he could have expected or hoped they would. Arielle had seemed receptive to what he had said, to what he had offered her. He was undecided over whether he'd made the correct decision in regard to offering to pay for her course, regardless of whether their arrangement only lasted a month. It was risky, he knew that, but he had always been one who had taken risks, and for the majority, they tended to work out rather well for him, incredibly well in fact. If it was the wrong decision, then it was too late. The offer had been made, and he wasn't one to go back on the offers he had made, and he still felt comfortable with this one. He watched her as she finished the last of her wine, unable to take his eyes off of her. There was definitely something between, he'd felt the slight spark when his hand had taken hers, when his hand had rested upon her knee. He was attracted to her, there was no denying that, and if she asked, he'd have no issues in telling her either. But he wondered what she was thinking. Ryan dealt with the bill, which was a given really considering he owned the restaurant, and then helped Arielle to her feet, taking her hand as she slipped out of the booth. They headed out of the restaurant together, Ryan pleased to feel the warmth of the night air hitting them both as he adjusted his jacket. Then for the first time, Arielle surprised him. It wouldn't be for the last time either. Not even that evening. He raised a brow, a gentle one, as she took his hand, immediately capturing his attention as he looked at her, their eyes meeting. He was comfortable, relaxed and then intrigued as she stated she had one further question, just one more. That wasn't too much to ask of him, yet they walked towards his car, to the near side of it before he lost her gaze, and he watched her look down the street before she suddenly returned her eyes to him. He was a good judge of character, of body language. He could sense her nervousness. Yet he couldn't judge or predict what she did next. How could he have done? As she reached up and cupped his cheek with her soft hand, he instinctively leaned into her touch, but then she kissed him, their lips touching. He knew there and then that she was the woman he wanted. He was entirely sure that she felt it too. The electricity, the tingle that only a simple gentle kiss had caused, never mind what a more passionate kiss could bring. He didn't have to wait long for that either, as Arielle quickly returned for a second kiss, this one deeper and even more intoxicating. Ryan wanted her. He couldn't hide it. Not from himself and not from her either. Then she pulled back, and her eyes glittered beneath the light of the moon, her lips parted slightly before she spoke. She surprised him, for the third time that evening. He hadn't expected an answer from her that evening and the naïve part of him was still waiting for that final question she had stated she wanted to ask, even though deep down he knew that there was no question, that the kiss had been the final confirmation she had needed. He smiled, unable to hide the fact that he was happy she had said yes, even if she had whispered it. It was Ryan's turn now, unable to fight the urge to kiss her a third time. He reached down, cupping the side of her face, his hand a little rougher than her soft hand had been. He held her and then leaned in, pressing his lips against hers, his tongue flicking like a snake against Arielle's lips before he pulled back, a smile upon his face. A smile that Arielle would be able to see was one of happiness, a genuine smile. He released her head and instead reached down to take her hand into his, holding it, his thumb playfully tracing small shapes upon her soft skin as he looked at her.'' I am pleased we did this... tonight I mean. You are great company Arielle. I look forward to doing this again''. He smiled, looking into his younger date's glittering eyes. ''Did you want me to take you home? Or perhaps you wanted to go back to my apartment?'' He didn't want to be too forward, but he felt like he had to give her options. He had no idea whether the night held anything else for them, but he was open to anything, open to doing anything with her. It was on the tip of Arielle’s tongue to say yes again – to simply spending more time with him – but the words were gently swallowed as she gazed up at Ryan and let those thoughts tumble along with the racing beat of her heart. Something told her that if she went home with him that tonight would be the night and change everything, and god help her, she wasn’t ready for that. Not yet. Despite having agreed to become his companion – sounded a lot better than sugar baby! -- they’d just met. Despite the way her lips were still tingling and the heat that’d flushed through her body. Despite how she wanted to kiss him again and knew she was going to. Which meant while his home wasn’t an option, not yet …“Come home with me for a little while?” She’d slid her arms around his waist to hold herself close to him, dark head tipped back and eyes so wide and warm on his. “I don’t want to say good night. Not yet. I think it’d be good to spend more of tonight together considering...” Considering what they had just agreed to and that definite spark. She was going to have to be careful. So careful. The fact that he was already tempting her, making her mind go places that it rarely went, told her that this could be such a great chapter of her life, and a dangerous one. Then, because she wanted to quiet that voice in the back of her mind, she simply lifted her mouth back up to his. Arielle had no idea how long it was they spent kissing by his car, but by the time she finally slid into the passenger seat her lips were very kiss swollen and tingling, her face flushed, and a pool of warmth spread between her thighs. There was little to be said during the car ride, though she did let her hand wander over to take his and let her thumb acquaint itself with his palm. It was strange, but she felt a little more nervous now than before, especially when they pulled back up in front of her apartment. The dark windows told her Ashley still wasn’t home, which was probably for the best, and Arielle’s heart only thudded a little when she unlocked the front door and welcomed him inside. A cozy two-bedroom apartment that did have a great view of the ocean and easy access to the beach. None of the furniture was theirs, it’d come included in the short term rental, and while it was several years outdated it was still in good condition with a pretty enough appearance. Certainly bigger than the dorm room she was about to move into now that, thanks to Ryan, college was a definite. She set her keys into the small glass bowl by the door, glanced over the living room with its two love seats, the kitchen with its small round table.“Pretty sure we have a bottle of wine around here. Definitely not as good as what we just had, of course, but decent.” What did she do now? The apartment suddenly felt a lot smaller with Ryan there, and she’d never exactly taken a guy home before. Especially a guy like this. Ryan had been unsure to say the least over what to offer her for the rest of their evening. It had already gone so well that he didn't want to tarnish it with the wrong move, or the incorrect suggestion. So he was pleased, relieved perhaps a closer word, when she asked rather than suggested that he went home with her for a while. That alone was enough to please him, but then she slid her arms around his waist and held herself closer to him, her head tipped back a little in order for their gazes to not be broken from one another. He couldn't help but smile when he was looking her. She was so beautiful, her face so youthful, yet he was completely attracted to her, more than he could ever have imagined he would feel at such an early stage. The smile grew as she told him that she didn't want to say goodnight just yet, that she wanted to spend more time with him. He had been about to speak, about to tell her that he felt entirely the same as she did, but then he was distracted, a distraction that completely took away his track of thought, her lips. He, too, was lost to time as they spent the next five, perhaps ten minutes kissing by his car, the night warm enough that they didn't suddenly become cold at any point. By the time they did finally let each other go, both had smiles upon their faces. Ryan opened the car door for her, allowing her slide in before he walked around to the other side, climbing in the driver's side before he wasted no time in starting the engine, figuring that Arielle would be keen to get home by now, to be somewhere that was safe to her, somewhere she was comfortable. As expected, the journey home was quiet, but then that was totally fine. There was no need for forced conversation that would go against the entire evening they'd spent together. At the restaurant it had flowed so easily, and so they didn't need to change that now they were heading back to her place. She amused him throughout still, despite the silence, as her hand wandered over to his, her thumb seemingly enjoying its position pressed in against his palm. He didn't need to look at her, focusing upon the road, but every small move made him smile and more importantly, made him want her even more. Ryan wasn't entirely sure what to expect once they got back to her place. Yet he was pleasantly surprised at the sight of the small apartment that was close enough to the ocean and the beach. It was certainly a lot better and nicer than his first apartment, one which had leaks and creaks throughout the small room. Having parked up and locked the car, a model that looked very much out of place upon the particular road, Ryan followed her inside, allowing her to lead the way again into the apartment fully as he looked around for a moment before he heard her searching for some more wine. As she found a bottle he smiled, finally turning his attention back to her and closing the gap between them. When he saw her pick up a bottle opener, he took it away from her, along with the bottle, and opened it up with ease, saying nothing as he poured some into two glasses before he placed the bottle down on the side. It was clear she wasn't used to entertaining, and whilst it had been a while since he'd done anything like this, he was experienced enough to lead the way. He walked over towards the two love seats, taking a seat upon one, before he patted beside me. "Come sit with me Arielle..." He flashed that smile once more, one that she'd struggle to resist, especially now, and then waited for her to join him. As she did, he placed his hand upon her knee and brought his glass to hers. "To happiness and fun, and to us..." He wasn't sure whether the last part was too much, but he clinked his glass against hers nevertheless and took a sip of wine before he looked around at the small apartment." So you live here with your friend? The one I saw you with in the café? How do you like it here? You'll move once you are accepted into college I imagine? Will you want to live in dorms, like the other students or did you want some help looking for something else, perhaps somewhere your friend could stay with you?" At no point did he take his hand away from her knee, it felt right, comfortable too.

Becoming Daddy's [( Moirae & TheDoctor46 )]|rating:4.0

Fate_Lost Order (MasoKitty x Batman4560)

Things were getting bad... or rather, worse. The sky had darkened around all of Ohio. Of all the places in the world, Ohio was the one dealing with some strange magical energy. An almost clear blue energy surrounded the state and sparked when touched. At first, it simply kept people from coming or going, however as days past those who touched the field were changed, skin turning a gray ash color, eyes blackened and postures slumped almost as if they had turned to zombies. The men, women and even children who touched the field started to swarm around the Q and stop those who were not effected by the field from getting into the building, that was a month ago. Now most of the state was changed, large groups of the changed people meeting at large arenas and places that could hold crows with ease. A figure in a tattered and run down gray suit crept in the dark of the Cincinnati Museum of History, quickly moving from display to display. Finally, the figure stopped at a large rock that had a set of small steps carved into the side leading up to the top of the stone. A four-inch-long, three inch wide slit was roughly carved into the stone going almost completely down. The tall figure's head darted around to make sure that nobody was near while their hand fished in the pocket of their suit jacket and pulled a thick piece of white chalk from it. Quickly the figure started to draw a circle, around the stone roughly six inches away from the stone at any point. Next the figure wrote the name of gods in Roman, Greek, Hindu, French, Irish, and Japanese. Between each word was a glyph of worship and sacrifice and finished with another circle around that. Arrows representing chaos ran to the center where the circle was, and the figure stood atop the stone. He reached his hand out and drew a small knife from his pocket and ran the blade over his palm. Blood swelled from his cut and tilted his hand to drip his blood onto the stone. The circle and stone lit up with a bright white light and the figure spoke in a commanding tone." Let silver and steel be the essence. Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation Let Gold the color I pay tribute to / Let my great Master James Shaw be the ancestor Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall Let the four cardinal gates close. Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate. I hereby declare. Your body shall serve under me. My fate shall be your sword. Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail If you will submit to this will and this reason… Then answer! An oath shall be sworn here! I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven. I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell! From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three greet words of power, Come forth from the ring of restraints, Protector of the Holy Balance!" Arron Shaw stood still for a moment, watching the stone as gold light built up from the stone and a womanly figure was formed. The mage who summoned her cocked his head to the side as his jaw dropped. "King Arthur.... is a woman?" Arron asked while shaking his brown haired head and frowned with confusion. He reached to his left hip and fumbled with a black and gold scabbard hooked to it and presented the woman with a long, one or two-handed swords. "King Arthurian.... I Arron Shaw have summoned you to a time far from your own in hopes that you would save this world." He stated while bowing his head towards the forming figure's feet. Artoirastood among the exhibits, her eyes moved from side to side blinking for a moment, but then she took in the man that stood before her. "Yes, It is I, Astoria, King of the Britain's," She said simply as she listened to him, normally she was chosen or called by the holy grail to fight in a war between mages. But this is different this mage just said 'save the world' which made her quirk her brow. "Quick, please, what is wrong with the world? I assume there must be a great deal of issues for you to summon me. I will hear you out, at least, though I admit this is quite an unorthodox situation." She commented as she didn't seem against being a servant to this man to 'save the world' but she wanted to see if it would be worth her skills, she was a king after all she knew of responsibility and also knew that the people would be able to solve these issues. However, this didn't stop her from stepping in and helping her fellow countryman. Arron found himself blushing for a moment, he had no idea that King Arthur was a woman or that she was a lancer class. How? He could have understood Rider to a point seeing as she rode a horse from time to time but lancer? It took him a moment to realize the woman in armor was speaking to him, and he quickly smoothed out his clothes and stood up straight. "Well if you couldn't tell by the dirt on my face... things are bad, look around there isn't any power anywhere. A spirit, Caster I think... Morgan La Fey, she's somehow managed to harness the Grail and has become a Master..." He started to explain while looking over Lancer's shoulder to make sure that nothing was coming." First she brought some of the dead back to life, ya know, zombies and skeletons. For the servants of the grail war it wasn't too big of a deal. Lots of cannon fodder. But normal mortals weren't a match for the sheer numbers. Then a Saber class fell. She somehow killed Saber's master and bound Saber to herself, Then Rider, and it became a domino effect. Now she has all the classes under her control and there isn't anything that mages could do about it." Pacing back and forth Arron ran his hand through dark locks of hair. "... They tried. I wasn't even supposed to be a Master this time around, the next war maybe... But they are all dead. Most of the mortals have been either killed or driven into hiding. And of all the places in the world, we are in Ohio.... There wasn't much here before Morgan attacked! So you see, I summoned you to try and defeat Morgan, because if it was going to be anyone, it would be you or Merlin. I'm sort of shocked you're not a Saber class, all the things I read said you were, did I do something wrong with the incantation?" Astoria stood tall as she listened to the panicked explanation, her eyes hardened as she could sense the man's desperation. She could relate from her younger days when she was the king of knights. Though that was long ago now have ruled a nation and grown she understood her purpose. However, despite her imposing armor and demeanor she allowed the dirty mage to explain his situation. When he finished he had mentioned her not being a saber which she could understand the confusion: to a point." There was no choice in the matter my lance spoke to me to take up my holy purpose. It has helped me rule my nation with justice and rationality. Though I have learned and kept my humility throughout when I ruled. I am sorry I do not match what they have told you young mage. But I have heard about this Morgan La Fey, the harnessed of the grail, and the systematic assimilation of the classes after the destruction of the mages. I will accept this contract on basis that it is a holy purpose to serve and protect." She spoke with poise, and she kept her cool eyes on him. Despite her words and her stance he could see there was warmth in her gaze from caring of the people that she ruled over, the duty she has held sacred for years. Arron let his shoulders relax as Astoria accepted the contract and pulled his shirt back to expose his collar bone. "Then by these command seals, I pledge to honor your request for a holy need to serve and protect. Once the danger of the current Holy Grail war is complete I will give you the grail to complete your wish." Shaw stated and put his shirt back in place. "Now I'm not as skilled as Merlin, but I'm good, I can cast lots of different magics, so please rely on me the way I'm going to rely on you." Slowly Shaw started to walking towards a door and looked out a nearby window. He squinted and growled in annoyance. "MMM.... Say are you feeling limber? Because there are about twenty or so skeletons roaming outside and drawing closer towards this place. Do you think your lance can take them down before they amass in more numbers? After that we should try to find a place we can call home and see about finding the closest servant to Morgan, she uses them as generals for her armies." Her master could feel the holy aura surrounding her lance that was already out, she could use her true name of her lance. However, she wouldn't waste her MANA. She will only release 2 of the 13 restraints to create a decent energy wave toward their enemies. She felt she needed to be careful if they were to face off another servant that has turned master she would need to muster her strength as not only a heroic spirit, no, a divine spirit. Though she wouldn't do it yet as she looked at him, "there any innocents near this place master?" She asked coolly despite the power growing around her lance that looked like it could pierce the very tells or heavens with its reach. While her lance was glowing she looked to the window, "I defer to your master, it has been a long time since I have been called to fight in a grail war. Not to mention a war that is mainly against a previous servant turned master. So lead the way, my holy lance will carve us a way out, piercing at the heart of this evil." She said with passionate resolve as she waited for him to move as a guardian she didn't like leaving her master undefended in time of need. Shaw leaned against the door and considered the options. "... Wait here, I'm going to skirt around the building and make sure that we aren't getting surrounded. If we are, we might have to level this building. I'm not sure if there are any innocents in the area, plenty of other buildings someone could be hiding in." Shaw reached into his pocket and pulled a small string from it and put one end against Lancer's chest and the other to his. Softly he spoke a few incantations and the string lit up for just a moment. Quickly he plucked the string and put it back in his pocket. "There, that is a spell to allow us to talk at a fairly large range. At least the size of this building. All you have to do is whisper, and I'll be able to hear you, and likewise. If you don't hear from me in ten minutes.... Kick some ass." Arron turned and started to run down a hall, sticking close to the walls so he could look out windows every time he stopped to get a feel for the surrounding area. As expected there were more undead massing around the building. "... Lancer, whoever is running this undead army knows we are here, I must have given off too much magical energy on the way. I don't know if we are going to be able to take them all if we stay grouped up. We might get surrounded. As a Knight and King do you have any advice for defending a small fortress against overwhelming numbers?" Astoria took the trinket nodding as she wore it to make sure that it was fascinated to her body so she could use it and fight freely. "Alright, scout the enemy, then we will find a way to fight them Master." She commented as she kept her eye on the force that was growing, though despite this she remained cool as her lance at the ready as she kept her eye peeled. She needed to make sure that her master was safe, but she wished to eliminate the enemies that swarm this area to protect who may still be alive. Her mind continued to formulate while he moved about. Though he finally asked her what they needed to do. "This building has a lot of access areas. There is no feasible way we will be able to defend it properly. We will set up some quick traps funnel them, then I will use my lance to carve us a way, but master is there a way for you to check and make sure we won't harm unnecessary bystanders in the attack? I know I have stressed this, but I cannot help but think back to the battles I have waged in the protection of my different strongholds. With their different villages, we need to make sure is all." She commented hoping her master had a better campus of the area they were in. Since she was from an era that no longer exists and even exists away from the land she was eyeballing it. "I don't know what to do.... If I could search for others I would have already. That being said we could try to move to a more isolated area and set up a flare of some sort to draw all these monsters' attention. If we do that it might be easier to take down enemies without mistakenly hurting others. Is that something you'd be okay with doing?" Arron rubbed the stubble on his face and pried a window open and stuck his head out to look outside better. He pulled himself back inside and leaned against a nearby wall. -Hamm, Lancer was said to be able to create light like the sun with her sword, but I don't know any legends about her with a lance... then again I've never heard a legend about her as a woman either. I could create the light with a spell, but it might be better for me to infuse the area around wherever we end up with magical traps to slow or destroy the undead and thin the numbers... Or...-"Lancer, if we moved to an airport tower, would you be able to defend that area from swarms of attacks?" Shaw asked while he moved back to the area he had summoned Lancer in. Quickly he slid to a display of old weapons and grabbed a recurved bow and a heavy quiver of arrows. Testing the tension of the bow he made sure the string wasn't going to snap and strapped the arrows onto his thigh, tying them with a small band so that they wouldn't spill as he ran. Quickly he made his way back to Lancer and bowed at her the way he would any other Queen." Okay... If we move out a side window we can try to make it through the city to the tower, it's not too far away. From there we should be good to go. Are you able to fight without releasing a bunch of energy, I don't want to draw attention to us if we do have to fight our way through the area. It would be easier if they couldn't track our MANA output and I think that's how they found us to begin with, summoning you wasn't an easy feat." Astoria looked at the communication device as she frowned, "What is this 'airport tower' is it just a normal tower? What is an airport? Well, I could do my best, though I haven't found much that could stand up to my lance, master. Just lead the way to this tower!" She said with conviction as she put down the device noticing some of them getting even closer to this place she was in. It was serious though she was determined and steeled herself for the oncoming battle. When he returned and bowed to her Astoria just nodded impassively, "Absolutely master, I will follow your lead! I may be a king of a nation but right now I am your servant and my duty is to protect you with my very power." She commented as she even put her lance away that looked like a sword, but it was just a smaller form of itself. When she nodded to him again, "Come on Master! They should be arriving soon also yes I can fight without expanding too much MANA, if I have to I can wield my lance again and carve with its majesty. Anyway, I suggest we get going as I saw the parameter being swarmed by them. It will be only minutes before they reach us, no, seconds!" She said with urgency as her body looked tense and ready to spring into action at any second notice. "What? I thought you spirits were supposed to be updated with knowledge about the ear you're summoned in...." Shaw frowned and shook his head with annoyance at the situation over all. He was mostly mad that he had somehow managed to become a beacon for undead skeletons to track. "An airport tower is almost... it's similar to a lighthouse, but it is to help signal.... it's like a giant metal bird." Arron tried to explain, not even sure if he was making sense." My lead?.... I'm not a fighter, I'm barely a mage. I did all this out of pure desperation!" He was starting to freak out, he had no idea if he was even cut out for this, but someone had to try right? "Never mind, come on." Shaw pulled the bow off his shoulder and led Lancer towards the back door of the museum. "Okay, Lancer take point and head south from the door. Follow the large road to a big gate, I'll cover us with arrows!" Shaw shouted and kicked the door open with a thud. Quickly he back stepped and drew an arrow from the quiver and took aim not for a rib or hip but a knee. The mage released an arrow and caused the skeleton closest to the door to drop when half its left leg was taken out by an arrow that bounced to the floor after the shot was fired. "GO!" Arron shouted and started to fire off more arrows to thin the heard of monsters that were swarming around the building. Astoria blinked looking offended as she just listened to him blinking some more sighing, "Okay...well then I will take your word for it master!" She says as she prepares her lance once more, knowing she would have a use. Just she would have to be careful not to expend a large amount of MANA. Quickly she followed him toward the backdoor as she shook her head, "I am a king master, I can handle these monsters! You are my charge, but for some reason, I don't know what I should know here. So I was following your lead for knowledge!" She commented to him as he opened the door to the back with a kick of his foot, Astoria already was ready for the onslaught that was going to come, many battles in her mind flow through her mind as this is just another one. When her master launched his first arrow Astoria didn't need another reason she launched out of the exit with her lance drawn. It glowed with brilliance on its own without any enhancement from her MANA. When a few of the monsters started to swarm her sweet with her lance knocking a bunch back with just one swing, then taking her lance piercing through several only to fling them in other directions. She was a beast on the battlefield and now her master got to see how she used her lance, though what she did next was something useful. She called her fabled steed, Camera, the steed was glimmering as she hopped on heading toward the large gate to the south while she took big swaths into the monsters as her master could see them flying here and there. Though this was all physical attack, no MANA was being used to enhance her attacks which showed in the monsters despite being flung so far they land and get up very worse for wear. Regardless she was heading toward where her master had pointed out as creatures continued to fly back and forth cutting a huge line through them. -Jesus she's so powerful, what's the point of me even carrying this bow?- Arron thought to himself while watching Lancer work with amazement. It wasn't until she had started to carve a path with her steed and lance that he realized they would eventually flank the horse and over run her if the pair didn't keep moving. Arron drew a deep breath and nodded to himself then took off in a break neck sprint towards Lancer! "Hey wait for me!" As fast as he could, Arron jumped up to the back of the horse and wrapped his arms around the waist of Lancer. "Plow through them, we need to move quick!" Shaw called out while turning so that his back was pressed to hers. His legs hooked on the back of the horse, and he took a chance, drawing an arrow and notching it. Just as he pulled the string of his bow back, a nearby explosion rocked the ground and caused Arron to nearly fall of the horse, the arrow he was pulling launched, and bounced off the ground. As the ground quaked the skeletons started to twist towards the source of the explosion and one by one took up a soldier salute as if they were waiting for their king to walk through their ranks. A man in a set of golden boots, red loins, golden bracers, a red cape and golden full helm with red plume, stalked towards the pair. In his left hand was a large round shield in his right was a massive spear and in Arron heart he knew what he was looking at."... Leonidas... We need to get out of here now, that's a Berserker class!" How Morgan managed to summon and tame a berserker class to use as a general was beyond Shaw, but he didn't dare try to figure it out while on the back of a horse. As fast as he could, Arron twisted around and wrapped his arms around Lancer's body, holding close to her as the pair sped off atop her steed. The duo finally arrived at the airport tower and Shaw slipped off the horse and dropped to his hands and knees. His bow clattered to the ground while his sweat dripped to the floor. "... We need to figure out how much time we have, that guy was known for leading small armies against overwhelming forces and winning. Come on, let's get up top into that tower, and we can figure out how to deal with him." Astoria nodded as she continued to sweep her lance moving toward the large gate, she was making sounds of exertion but no sweat was on her brow. Her body didn't seem to stress out as she plowed the creatures aside. After seeing that her master was on Camera they continued finally reaching for the gate Astoria released one of her restrictions on her lance and suddenly blast smashed the gate down. She sighed knowing she had to spend some MANA hoping that since they were near the horde they would just see that and then after heading to the tower they would lose their trail. Though there was a blast that made Camera stop for a moment as she glanced back, she noticed another man standing among the creatures. "Leonidas?" She questioned as she looked back at her master, but a berserker class isn't something to take lightly. "Yeah! Ride Camera!", Astoria pushed on in the direction that her master had presented avoiding the berserker till they had a solid plan. She preferred something to use and to plan out rather than to be passionate and at the moment in her earlier life. When Astoria and her master arrived she noticed him slip off the horse, while she slipped off normally landing with a clink of her heel. When she stared down at her master looking like he was about to throw up she just crossed her arms looking resolved. When she heard him talk she sighed, "If he was known for tactics, I'd say with how fast my Camera is, maybe an hour at best...though I wasn't really paying attention and I know that having awareness tends to make finding and planning easier. Especially if he is known for that I have some sense about me, but I didn't spend my life waging war, only protecting my people, and making sure that I could protect as many as I could." She comments as she looked in the direction of the Leonidas while Camera just stood by whinnying and stopping his hooves while waiting on standby. Astoria wasn't sure if she should shoo her noble steed away or keep him on standby in case they would need to make a retreat in the next few minutes while her master recovered. "Ugh....." Arron pulled himself up to his feet and shook his head. "I'm sorry-I-I'm feeling drained. Keeping you in a physical form is taking a lot more MANA than I expected or thought it would. It seems that summoning you at your most powerful was a far more taxing event than I realized. Not that I'm complaining or anything! I just need to rest. But not until we defeat Leo." How strong are you by the way? Think you could move some of those jets?" Arron asked, motioning towards some small planes while he picked up his bow and considered how he could help battle against a Berserker class. Maybe he could set up another summoning circle and try to conjure another servant? The rules of the grail war had already been broken, so why would he not be able to do that? But did he have the MANA needed at the moment? No, he would have to get stronger he realized." My Queen, I'm going to go up to the tower and try to get a feel for what we have to work with, you block the gate with some of those planes... the big metal birds. Then meet me, so I can imbue you with the knowledge of the world I have that way you know what most things are." He ordered and started up a flight of stairs. Inside the large radio tower he cleared off a table and moved the chairs around to block off one of two exits. Quickly he used his bow to bust out a few windows so he could fire at anything that came to the airport to try and kill the duo. When Lancer returned to the tower Arron looked her over and stroked the five o'clock shadow on his face. "Do you mind if I call you Art-Chan, or Sendai? I could learn a lot from you after all." He asked and carefully placed a hand on her chest, almost unable to resist the urge to cop a feel of her breast. He spoke a soft phrase and gave her all his knowledge of the world he knew so that she would understand at least how things worked." Okay with that done..." Arron slowly pulled back from her plate covered chest. ".... Like I was saying he was good at making enemy forces numbers count for next to nothing, and his renown with a spear reached far. I'm a little shocked he wasn't summoned as a Lancer. We do have one edge over him though, as a berserker class he is strong against every other type, aside from Shielder and Avenger types. But he's also weak to every other class. Hell he might be weak to normal arrows." Shaw patted the quiver on his leg. "If you can keep him busy, I can pick my shots and take him out when he's not expecting it. Also, try to keep him between those planes and you, if they blow up he will take the brunt of the damage. Is there a strategy you'd suggest we use?" Astoria crossed her arms as she kept glancing in the way they came, then her eyes focused on him. "I understand, Master, you did have to summon a lot of MANA to pull me to you correct? Well, I feel I may be stronger than my other forms if I am to speculate. Though I wouldn't know all I know is that my mind won't let go of the Leonidas that is now coming after us." She commented as she heard him she nodded. "Yes, if he is a tactician it would be good to set defenses and protect ourselves from this menace. Though depending on how complex his stratagems are we may need to have more time to prepare for him. Oh?" She glanced at the 'jets' as she shrugged moving toward it, grabbing it while listening to him nodding. "Alright, master, prepare and do the best you can ARGH!" She grunted throwing the plane a bit landing against the gate. She barely broke a sweat waving to her master while she went over to the others in the yard. One by one, 'jets' and other metal objects joined it being smashed up against the gate as she had some sweat down her forehead as she had to use some MANA to exert some of this power on these large of objects. When she finished she slowly made her way to the tower in front of her, she was going to learn of this world? That would be helpful if she was supposed to be any use to it. Her eyes kept glancing to her impromptu barricade as she went into the tower. Slowly ascended as the man could hear the heavy clank of her boots against the steel steps leading up the tower. When she reached the top she had noticed he had taken precautions as she smirked, "good master, at least all my heavy lifting won't be in vain." She commented as she glanced at him noticing that he looked rather ragged. Given the state of the world, she wasn't surprised due to the plea that he gave her when he first summoned her." Art-chan?.... Senpai?" She looked slightly bewildered or awkward though she just stared at him crossing her arms like she normally does. "Do you wish to give me such a silly name Master? I prefer Astoria, or Lancer I am not sure of this 'Artisan' or even what the meaning for 'Sendai' would imply." She said coolly almost like she was teaching him right from wrong. "I don't mind if you wish to learn of my exploits Master, but please may we stick to either my true name or my class?" She commented as she stood there Stoic, though her eyes widened a little as she noticed him put a hand on her chest, she had a little bit of a red hue, but she let him do it. Suddenly everything rushed to her, the development of the world, the working of technology, and everything that one person could use to live in this world which made Astoria widen her eyes nodding a little bit. "So this is an Airport, for transporting goods, people, and various other objects I see." She commented looking out now recognizing the Airport tower they were in as it was normally there to guide planes in, to land." Yes..." She blinked her eyes some but returned to her practiced calculated gaze as she listened to him. She had learned of this man that could make overwhelming numbers seem like nothing, and he is good with a spear? That could be bad or a stalemate for Astoria given she is a lancer and her holy lance is almost alike just she has more potential with piercing rather than slicing, though she does have blunt due to the strength of the rounded edges of her weapon. Again she nodded noting that the berserker class is pretty strong with a few exceptions while being weak still to the others as well. She never understood why they had it if their weakness was also a strength? The thought made her wince a little bit as she continued to listen to him. Astoria nodded to this suggestion, "Absolutely I will keep him at bay if you wish to fire down at him master, I should be able to find Leonidas a worthy opponent but beyond that your safety is my paramount master. Keep yourself out of danger while I am doing this, and perform with valor!" She said with strength finally hearing his last comment, "this sounds the soundest so far for a plan. Despite my now knowledge of this area, it still seems like it would do little to try to enforce the area for a man that has thrived off of this kind of adversity. I believe your plan is the best we have to go off of Master, I will go ahead and prepare for his arrival, Am I allowed to expend some MANA during this fight? For precaution." She commented as she had made it to the door before looking back making sure with her master. "Y-yeah... Astoria it is then. It isn't like I'm an take or anything." Shaw muttered and slid his suit jacket off, tossing it across a desk and yanking his tie off his neck. She was right though, he was being silly in times of great danger. Granted he was doing it so he could feel normal again, he wasn't that far away from being a teen, and he was forced to grow up rather quickly in this strange world that he was thrust into. Maybe once all was said and done. He wasn't sure if the plan would work, at all really. No idea what would happen. "Astoria, remember, no plan survives first contact. We are on the defensive here, we might be facing a large horde plus him. If that happens, strike the jets and blow them up when large clusters of enemies are around them to thin their numbers, one stray shot could be all it takes to take us out. We need to be careful." The sun was starting to rise and Arron had driven some large fuel thanks to the various entry points of the airports and placed more at large empty areas so that if they were needed Arron or Astoria could blow them up for an edge in a battle. "Astoria, you are free to use your best judgement here. It's just me and you as far as innocents go, and there is blood on both our hands, we are killers just like our enemies." Arron explained while pulling the string from his pocket and casting his message spell again, so the two could communicate across the airport. "If I end up having to move, I'll let you know, but your first objective is to take out Berserker, once we clear the area we can leave and recover, I'll for sure need it." Arron stood atop the tower, bow in hand with an arrow notched in the string. He'd have to imbue his arrows with MANA if he had any hope of hurting a Servant enough to finish him, but if the story was true, Leo, was defeated by a volley of arrows. Arron hoped he'd be able to magic up a similar effect. "Man I could use a staff or something instead of this bow, get all Merlin like on someone." He muttered while laughing. That was really what he would prefer but for now this was what he had to work with. "Astoria, can you hear me?" Arron asked while looking out in the distance and seeing a large cloud of dirt coming their way. "He's coming, and I can't tell if he's alone..." While her master was driving around the huge metal trucks with gas in them Astoria kept them in mind while she stood a little before the gate. She was going to be the stalwart defender? Well, she will be a steel wall to this Leonidas, in fact, she suspected that he may respect this more than trying to draw him into ambushes. "Master, you are ready? I hear some noises outside the gate. I feel they may be preparing for a siege on our gate." she talked into the communication device as her lance was gleaming in the rising sun. Her eyes focused hard on the gate while she stood like a wall to any incoming monsters that may come through the door. Just like she had predicted they had blasted through the gate as little creatures began to pour out. Astoria glared as she held her lance outward to herself then charging the enemies. Her voice booming as she stabbed creatures left and right, doing sweeping motions with her lance glowing with holy light she obliterated most of the little ones. Though when more came she continued to stab, pierce and toss along the way as they continued to rush her she continued to mow them down." Master! He hasn't shown himself yet! Is he almost upon us?!" She glared at the latest group she massacred as most of them were focused on her trembling force rather than trying to take out Shaw himself. Despite all the effort and action she was putting into her swings and piercing she was barely breaking a sweat. She had excessive MANA and she, herself, was a powerful spirit that was capable of topping off with some pretty high-class servants. Shaw saw even some creatures fly by him as she didn't discriminate how she killed them, heads flew, body parts flew in different directions as she sent tremors through her lance which caused some to just explode from the pure MANA being thrust into them. The field was beginning to bleed and look like a battlefield though in this case a one-woman army or even kingdom kept them at bay. Though despite her accomplishment she kept steadfast to her actions though haven't spotted the servant, yet she continued to lay waste to the baddies that swarmed their defensive area. She refused to use the tankers yet till she really needed them and none of this rabble earned it. Arron didn't fire off any shots, he needed to pick his targets carefully. While Astoria fended off undead after undead, he examined the bodies of the fallen from his perch. "... They are Spartan soldiers, undead... I think he's trying to wear you down before he makes his entrance. If you can, without expending all your MANA and draining yourself, blast them to pieces, if you use holy power it should wipe the field before they can attack! I'm going to keep looking for him, but the wall works both ways, if he's behind it, I can't see him!" Arron responded. More and more undead flooded into the airport and Arron was starting to feel the strain of desperation. Could the two of them actually stop a Berserker class alone? Could they even slow him down? Arron wasn't sure but the fact that he was still able to use strategy worried the Master to no end. Arron reached into his pocket and pulled a thick piece of chalk from it and dropped to a knee atop the tower's roof at its center. Swiftly he began to scribe a circle with a star in its center. He took his quiver of arrows and forced each arrow into the roof inside the circle while Lancer continued to wage her battle. "Count to twenty, then if you need, take some of my MANA, end those things!" He stood and backed up away from the circle and held his hand out towards it. A bright light flashed in the circle as he used magical power to cast a spell on his arrows. "Massey duplicate!" He pulled an arrow from the center, and notched it into his bowstring. As he did so, the arrows flashed and his entire quiver plus two more sets for each arrow he put into the circle (Having duplicated) appeared and floated above Shaw, each angling the same way his arrow did. At the same time, one of the walls of the airport blew in towards the runway, dust blew and rubble rolled as Leonidas entered the airport, his eyes gleamed a deep red from behind his helmet and a snarl rolled past his lips. When he entered the battle, those few who had survived Astoria's assault backed up and stood up straight. Leonidas stalked up to Astoria and stopped about thirty feet away from her. He looked up to her and spoke in a clearly strangled voice, as if it took all he had to not go insane and outright attack her. "... King of Knights, surrender and your death will be swift, resist, and I shall drive my spear through your heart and feast on it." He offered and slipped into a defensive stance, his shield raised to block his body, head ducked to the point that only his eyes were visible and his body bent and flexed so that he could resist any attack thrown at him. His spear rested atop the shield so he could thrust and counter. "SPARTANS! FIND THE MASTER! KILL HIM!!" Leonidas ordered and at that moment the rest of the Spartan soldiers started to fan out to find Arron. Astoria continued to swing her lance around, though she knew the advice her master gave her as he could see waves of holy energy that blew away most of the undead. Though they kept storming the airport Astoria kept swinging her lance like it was a stick, and she was whacking flies. "That makes the most sense master! But you need to stay away! If they are storming the airport like this he intends to try to overwhelm me and find you! I know how this works, to fully kill me, kill the master!" She said angrily as he could see brilliant flashes of holy energy go off left and right. Despite this Astoria wasn't using that much MANA on them, and she hadn't even called her Lance's true name, the phantasm that would probably obliterate this group. Though what of the rest coming through the breach? Doing that would leave her helpless since releasing a certain amount of restrictions would drain a significant portion of her MANA. She couldn't draw from her master that much! That would leave him defenseless! "Just keep up Master! Don't worry! We will stand tall!", She said with valor as she continued to kill the undead while she said this, bodies continued to fly back and forth even right by him. Artoria noticed this as well and was happy she didn't do something so foolish as unleashing her phantasm when the undead continued to swarm. Though she knew the tide would stem soon since Leonidas would find it suitable to try to take her on when she was 'weakened'. Well, she hoped that she could draw from her own reserves without taking from her master during this fight. Stab, energy blast, swipe, slam these things were going through her mind which went through her weapon destroying the creatures as they continued to swarm her. The normal group was something she was used to, and honestly, it didn't take much for her to destroy them as she could continue this for quite some time, though her MANA source was finite she would reach the end or bottom of her reserves. She refused to use her master's so she would focus on conserving till the big man would show his face, and despite only using some her face had some beads of sweat from the actions she had been doing. The ground, however, was caked in blood and bodies obviously no life lost as they were all undead. Artoria grunted as she felt the explosion though she didn't move, she noticed the man that she was looking for. Despite his imposing figure, she stood there like a stalwart knight. The man charged up to her as she didn't even flinch as his troops let him approach. ".... You are a man of valor, I can see it in your movements I will not stand down. We will fight to see who deserves to stand upon this ground. The king or the Spartan that fights against the rising tide!" She roars defying his commands waiting for his attack, Astoria was ready for his attack and he would be in for a surprise to think that Astoria would be that easy to push around. In fact, she hadn't moved since the whole swarm of his little army, she had been planted this whole time taking on his undead horde. When she noticed him go into a defensive stance, she charged him though instead of using her lance she put all her effort into a kick to his shield to throw him off balance while swinging her lance around to attack while he was supposed off balance. Arron hadn't noticed how Lancer dismissed her horse and gave up the high ground but Leonidas did. The kick she gave him was strong but not enough to force the Spartan to give up any ground, he had faced worse and stronger. Instead, he rolled forward after the kick connected, ducking her swinging lance while he brought his spear up to stab not at her heart or head, but the inside of her thigh. At the same time as he made his stab, the Berserker flung his left arm out to deflect any back attacks while he spun around to face her again and started to circle the "King of Knights." Leonidas started to flip his spear around while MANA started to flow from his body and create a shield around him. He understood what her lance was capable of, and it seemed Leonidas wasn't about to simply let her strike him."THIS IS SPARTA!!!!!!" He shouted, activating his Noble Phantasm, creating a massive shield of force around him. A wave of golden energy washed off of him and spread across the entire airport, compelling all in the area who were attacking to attack him. Arron's bow was forced to aim at the Spartan while the arrows he created all tilted the same way. "No.... I might hit her..." He muttered, struggling to resist the pull of Leonidas' Noble Phantasm! "Astoria, unleash your phantasm, break his shield and fall back, then wait for an opening to finish him... I can't hold these arrows much longer!" Astoria grunted as she felt the weight behind the Spartan, she had slightly underestimated the man, he was built and solid which is why his history was so strong. Though Astoria wouldn't lose nor would she give ground they would be two imposing towers of their histories. Astoria wasn't prepared at first for what he did stumble a little barely bringing her lance in to counter or at least mildly parry feeling the metal scrape against her armor. She grunted loudly pushing his spear off to the side while countering only to find herself being pushed back a little as she glared. Astoria didn't answer the man no, she didn't feel like she had to, it was almost like he was just calling out to her in a usual fashion before an attack and her instinct was correct. Suddenly she saw him activate his phantasm as she adjusted to a defensive posture, the amount of MANA he just released was astounding. It was boggling how this man could have died in his time! Imaging alone 300 hundred-man group against an unstoppable force was something that made Austria in some ways excited about the battle she was going into. Though this could be the feeling she was getting from the phantasm her body and every fiber wanted to duel this man as she looked more stressed glancing to her master hearing him she nodded. Using her own stance she closed her eyes, she only needs to break this Spartan's shield while also not trying to draw much more of the creatures. "I, King of Knights, will break this wall placed before me!" She yelled out though she said in her headRhongomyniad!the thought was powerful as a beautiful glow began to surround the lance, a holy power was beginning to course through it. I am releasing 6 out of the 13 restraints! She called out in her head as the power continued to swirl around her, the ground began to slightly shake as she became a beacon of light." I stand with my people against YOU!!!" She roared in defiance as she had built up the MANA she needed which was something to rival the Spartan, like a cannon she aimed her lance down and charged toward him. The electricity from the blast wormed across the ground as she screamed suddenly a large blast equivalent to some kind of energy ray shot out of her lance, like a holy beam straight at Leonidas as she continued to push out the MANA that she could use while releasing 6 of the 13 restraints she had from her round table. The blast was immense, Leonidas was forced to raise his shield and brace as hard as he could. The sandals of his feet dug into the ground as the blast hit his shield. Sparks flew from the impact, lancing through the air and splitting the sky and causing light to explode in the darkness of Ohio. The Spartan screamed with rage and defiance while flexing as hard as he could and tossing his spear into the air at the same time his hand came up and caught the weapon. With all his strength he hurled his spear at Astoria while the impact of her noble phantasm faded, showing just how much damage her weapon truly did... Leonidas stood with no spear as it had been hurled at Astoria, his shield arm hung limply, the golden armor ripped to little more than a strip of metal on his forearm, hiding what was easily a broken arm. The man drew a deep breath while Arron lifted his bow. "Astoria.... Avoid the arrows, then finish him off!" He shouted and released the arrow from the bow. A moment later the other arrows flew after the lead arrow. The sky blackened with arrows, the lead smashing into the spine of Leonidas, followed by what seemed like a hundred magically created arrows, each one plunging into the men back and neck, leaving him gasping for air. After using up so much MANA, Arron fell to his back and simply laid there, staring up at the night sky while panting and realizing how much sweat was covering his body and he hadn't done much more than run and fire a few arrows. "Lancer... are you alive? If you are come up here.... I'm tired and don't want to move." Astoria noticed Leonidas take that blast though it had severely weakened him however what she didn't realize was the spear he had thrown. Which she couldn't avoid right away as it tore into her shoulder causing her to wince feeling the warmth of her blood coming out of her wound she only glared at him. Artoria glanced at her master nodding to him as she looked to the man, "You are a powerful warrior. It was an honor for this small bout with you!" She called out though what she didn't think about was the volley that her master was producing. When the rain happened she dodged around the arrows as some even clanked off of her armor her face twisting as she dodged them easily but couldn't completely as they struck Leonidas. When he was gasping for air Astoria hoisted up her lance, then charged at the man her heavy metal boots strike the ground. "ARRRRRHHHH!!" She screamed out as she thrust her lance deep into his chest, the impact sent blood and different things flying in different directions as she had managed to implant her large weapon within the weapon as she noticed him begin to disappear she nodded to him silently. She knew that Leonidas was a warrior and to die like this was a way he would want to go as she pulled out her lance only to see him disperse as she turned to the tower. Her own body was slightly scathed, but the majority of her MANA was intact for the most point. Hearing her Master's command she moved around the rubble and the bodies of creatures, making her way up she had put her lance away staring at him once she had found him. "I am master, Leonidas was a worthy man of his stature and history. Though I wouldn't be stopped! I will strike those down that stand against the world, and my master." She said with determination as she watched him on the ground, she held out her hand to him. Arron laid motionless for a long period. He could see the rays of sunlight creeping up in the distance, the darkness of his first night as a Master was giving way to the golden orange hues of the burning sun. Shaw drew a deep breath of air and closed his eyes until something blotted out the rays of light and cast a gentle shadow over the man. Arron opened his eyes and smiled wide at Astoria. He looked her up and down, admiring her armor and the way she held herself." Yeah... you know, all in all tonight went well. But Astoria, you're bleeding. It looks like he got you a little, did you happen to let him hit you or did he get a lucky shot. If he were too strong, I wouldn't have been able to harm him at all with those arrows, and you didn't use full power with your lance... Thanks for that by the way." Arron reached up and grasped Astoria's hand, letting her help him up. Slowly Arron dusted himself off and looked at his scruffy clothing. He needed to shower, shave and put on some new clothes. "Look... I'm gonna head into the airport and see if I can find some clothes or something. I think these places might have a lounge for us to rest in. After I've recovered some MANA I can heal your wound, granted it might heal on its own after a while of not being in combat." Arron patted Astoria on the uninjured arm and gave her hand a gentle squeeze then headed down to change at the very least. He looted some old luggage on long forgotten belts and found a small razor, shaving the stubble from his face, changed into a fresh suit of a blood-red shade. It was a little flashy but clean and comfortable. Lazily he wandered to a small lounge and laid in a cot swiftly drifting to sleep.... He didn't sleep well, nightmares of terror flooded his mind, causing him to toss and turn with fret. Only an hour after drifting off he awoke and wiped the sweat from his forehead. His blue eyes darted around, and he sighed with annoyance. "Lancer! Hey, I've been thinking... what if I tried to summon another spirit, A shielder or saber maybe? Do you think just the two of us can handle this? Ohio here might be the least protected of the states as far as Servants goes. But to do that I'll need another focus either way. Eh, I should try to increase my magical output first. Speaking of, Lancer, come here. I need to fix that wound, and I'm already feeling better." Gently, Arron reached to her arm and mumbled some soft words, a blue light flashed from his palm and washed over Lancer, sealing the wound shut. "I don't think I'd be able to do that to a civilian, or me even." He explained and looked into Astoria's deep eyes. A soft blush covered his face and he quickly pulled his gaze away. "... We should go or at least find some food.... Sorry for staring at you like that. It's just... You're very beautiful, and it's been some time since I've spent this much time around anyone. Sorry." Astoria glanced at the wound as she sighed, "his spear launched at me, but he was off, he managed to graze me. Didn't really hurt all that much but nonetheless a surprise." She commented though she did spot how he was admiring her, which made her raise an eyebrow though she didn't say much only tucking some blonde hair behind her ear. "It was just a quick shot, and he honestly was a powerful warrior, but I was underestimated, and he paid for his incompetence in battle. Though I think he appreciated being defeated by me overall." She commented as she glanced at the wound not thinking much of it as she pulled her master to his feet. "I didn't want to draw more of those creatures and I had taken care of most of his army by the time he had made stand here." She commented to the nights battle which was pretty easy in her opinion, Leonidas still was a tough warrior, but her level was far above his. Artoria nodded to him, "Sure master, I should be fine ... I have a set of clothing that isn't my armor. If I need to, but I don't need any clothing." She commented, "Of course, master, if you wish." Astoria said simply as her steel eyes focused on him when he patted her shoulder and even gave her hand a squeeze it had been a while since she had felt such touch before. It reminded her of her child but only slightly giving her a small smile to appear on her face though only for a second before she returned to her impassive expression. Astoria followed her master keeping an eye on him, and the surrounding areas she was less concerned with her apparel than he was due to being able to shift her form with MANA. She just kept an eye out for other servants that might be waiting in the breeze. While he had changed his clothes she remained firm and protective never wavering despite the wound that she had. It had taken some time to heal and hasn't shown any signs yet due to only releasing the amount she did it did take some of her reserves. She was also ignoring the wound in favor of having an offense for her master instinct to protect weaved deep within her magical form. Even while he slept she didn't really move much sitting down and just watching out, though she did catch herself drifting a little. But she managed to keep a good watch over everything while her master recovered his MANA when he had finished his nap Astoria was already alert. Artoria looked to her master while he spoke, her eyes observing him closely, "You wish to summon more? Do you have the sufficient MANA master? I wouldn't doubt since you were able to summon me. But if you wish or think that is wise then I wouldn't stand in your way. Just make sure you think it through before you do something like that, cause of the danger of being without reserves it would put us both in. I am merely looking out for us both." Astoria said simply though he could see that she had some slight concern for him and her own well-being going into this. This was no ordinary grail war, this was something entirely different from neither one of them was used to happen. "Oh? It is? Then maybe it would be wise to summon another to be safe, I may be powerful to face off so many by myself it would slowly drain at my reserves, and then I would have to tap into you master and at that rate, we both could be facing a fatal situation." She commented at his status of Ohio and didn't like the idea of being caught with several servants at once." Hm, I think it might be worth it, but be careful is all I will say. The final decision I am leaving up to you Master." She said stating her opinion, but ultimately she let her own master decide. She was a lancer, she fought on her horse and off of it, and she struck down his enemies so that they could achieve victory. Furthermore, she also was good at giving advice but deferred to her master in the long run out of respect of how they handled themselves, and she believed so far that the young man was doing very well for himself in the sense of respect. When she saw what he was doing she gazed at him noticing his suddenly feeling the surge of MANA seal the wound she let out a sigh of relief she had been ignoring it. Doesn't mean it didn't hurt, but she wasn't going to complain about such a simple flesh wound. Though she did catch his gaze lingering, and his blush as she blinked some noticing him look away. "... You don't think you could do that to another mortal or even yourself? But...why than me...?" She asked but trailed off listening to him still shocked a bit she just shook her head a little, "... Yes, we should, and..." She gave him a curt nod, "...it is okay I haven't had the gaze of a master that felt me more than a weapon in a long time too. I appreciate ...that gesture Master." She commented as she looked to her shoulder and then to him again giving him a small smile. "I don't think I can do it to another mortal or myself because I'm not composed of mostly magical energy. I'm just a conductor for it. Your body is solid because our MANA wills it to be. It's easy to repair that, just pour some of my energy into a wound and give it some shape." Arron explained then pulled up a pant leg to reveal a rather nasty scar running up his calf. "Humans take time, energy and medicine to heal.... Besides my magics are utility and offensive based, not healing. I like to think of it as arcane and divine. I don't do divine stuff." Standing up straight, he dusted himself off even though he wasn't filthy and ran a hand through his shaggy black locks of hair, giving it a messy bed head style. "Okay, let's get going." He said and started to walk towards a rack of snacks. He picked up an arm full of jerky, peanuts and a few bottles of water then grabbed an old duffel bag and shoved the items inside and slung the bag over his shoulder. "Think you could locate the Round Table? I want to try and use it as a summoning item to bring another spirit into the world, any of your former Knights could be called with it, granted completely at random. Honestly I'm shocked you came in as a Lancer and not a Saber or Rider considering what I used. Clearly I don't have this summoning thing down straight, and need the practice." Heading towards the doors that led to a parking garage, Arron pulled a map off a tourist rack and spread it out on a nearby wall. "Okay, I think our next move should be New York, lots of museums and stuff, it's a crowded State even after everything has gone to utter shit. If we can kill the Servant there, we should at the very least be able to show others that this fight isn't hopeless. If there are other mages out there, they might try to summon something and fight back, hell normal mortals might try to fight. Granted they won't be able to kill spirits, but undead, golems, sure... Those can be beat." Arron traced a line going down the route they would need to take on the map. "So, Arterial, is there a car you want to take? It isn't often that we can just have whatever we want, but right now, there isn't anyone in the world to stop us, let's live a little." Arron gestured out to the parking garage and for Lancer to pick a ride in order for the pair to get moving to New York. Astoria stood there listening to him, of course, her master was correct. She was just of MANA and if she was to lose it all she would dissipate just like Leonidas as well as any other servant she had defeated in the past. This too she understood, her master needed time to rest and recuperate sure she could sleep and do it that way too but ultimately as long as it doesn't strain her master she could always be rejuvenated by him. She continued nodding to his comment putting a hand up to her chin rubbing it thoughtfully, "Yeah you do well with those arrows." She commented as she nearly got hit by one but then again what he did was an AOE attack which she wasn't surprised nor would she gripe about the situation cause, in the end, they worked together to get rid of the berserker. Artoria followed him along her heavy metal booted feet clacked against the floor. When she noticed he was picking up snacks and the like to keep him energized she just kept quiet. When he mentioned her knights she grew pensive, "I mean we could try, though I have our knowledge Master I assume you know that my round table was based in a country on the other side of the ocean. I don't think I can just summon it here when I want." She commented as she watched him get all the provisions he would need to keep himself sustained. "Well, it might have been a disturbance or the like that you got my soul rather than my saber or rider soul. I don't understand why it would make a mistake that grievous you had my hold sword from a long time ago, yet you got myself as I grew older and dawned my holy lance instead. That was all the very confusing and interesting part, then again the world is in disarray, there might be forces that since out of harmony might have contributed Master." Astoria comments as he does this her eyes scanning the area around them while he scavenges. Once they were finished Astoria just kept following him toward 2 doors that lead to the 'parking garage' which she noticed on the side due to the information that Master had shared with her, she knew and understood where she was at. "Sounds good Master, though do you want..." She stopped as they entered the garage she didn't know if he intended to use a vehicle or just use her steed, but it seemed obvious to what he had chosen. Though she did keep listening to her comments about New York State and if they can fight and win they could bring hope back to the people there or even in the US. Astoria looked at herself and sighed suddenly a white light engulfed her where she was standing in some kind of militarism dress that allowed her to blend in better as she glanced at him. "You choose it, master, I am not sure of these things despite knowing about them. I prefer my steed regardless." She commented offhandedly. She knew that it was ruining her master's fun, but she wasn't the one that really had that much fun. The duo settled on a white twenty nineteen Mustang with a mostly full tank of gases and took off. The pair drove for a few hours and stopped to get gas with the sun rising to the halfway point in the sky. Heavy metal blared from the C.D. player built into the car, not doing much to hide the duo's travel. The mustang stopped next to a pump at a station that had long ago been abandoned. "... Hey, do you get hungry?" Arron asked and held his last bag of jerky to Astoria. His blue eyes lifted in spirits while he pointed to the store near the pumps. "I have to go rig the register so we can get some gas, I'll grab more food while I'm in there so don't worry about me keeping my strength up." Quickly Arron jogged over towards the station and started to whisper something under his breath causing the fingers on his left hand to light up with a purple magic, and he held it just in case he needed to defend himself. The man slipped into the station and started to look around the gas station store, skirting the walls while he made sure that he was alone in the room. His right hand grabbed up a small shopping basket and moved down an isle of junk food that would last a long time. Moving towards the coolers he grabbed a few more bottles of water and a pair of sodas as well.Equally quickly he "rang up" fifty dollars worth of gas then ran back to the mustang and filled the tank then slipped back into the driver's seat. He handed Lancer soda and smiled at her. "Give it a try, they are good." He assured her until a building rocked with a low rumble four buildings down from the gas station. Arron's eyes narrowed in the direction of the sound and his shoulders slumped. "I didn't sense anything.... Did you?" He asked but slowly slipped from the car and started to look around. "Assassin's aren't easy to detect when it comes to their MANA, could be a servant in the area. Want to check it out or do you think we should get going?" Astoria got into the car looking around it was something that could be defendable, but she couldn't see it taking very many hits. It looked like it had flair but nothing beyond any practical means as she just looked at him. "Master, ..." She was about to ask but then thought about it nearly feeling silly she pushed down on the armrest for her and the window opened as she let her elbow sit on the new seal she created after rolling the window all way down. Her blonde hair blew in the wind well some of it considering she had it braided her eyes watching the American scenery change as they roared down the road. Her eyes glancing ahead and then to him nodding to him some then back outside to enjoy the world she had known though now was in a car away from it. Then again it was just like a robotic horse so maybe it wasn't so bad. When they pulled into the gas station she looked at him, "Me? I believe I can eat and replenish some MANA that way. Though to be actually hungry because I need it I am not entirely sure." She commented as she caught the bag with one hand as she glanced at it. It was beef jerky as she tore open the bag and began to eat it, the taste was interesting. She was used to it thinking back on the tough meat she had to eat during some battles or before them. Astoria glanced at him nodding, "Okay, I will go ahead and just watch out for servants and anybody suspicious okay?" She said as she nodded to him watching him run to the station. Artoria continued to eat the dried meat glancing at the road and things around them. It was so barren she couldn't help that the world was truly in dire straights. She knew that she had to help not for her master's sake but the world's sake on top of that. Though when she was satisfied she turned back around walking back to the car watching him collect food from within the gas station. Her eyes keeping good surveillance of the building making sure nothing got inside to disturb his little shopping spree as it looked like to her outside. When she noticed him come back she hopped into the Mustang finished the beef jerky not too long ago watching him fill up the tank she just sat there sighing some laying back. When he hopped in she felt something come at her, and she grabbed it noticing what was in her hand she blinked. Astoria gave her master a questioning look but when he suggested trying it she lifted the can making sure the tab was facing toward her and popped it with a crisp pop. When the fizz had gone down she took a large drink of it and nodded gently. "Yeah, this soda tastes pretty good." She commented but when the rock hit or at least it felt like a thud she glanced over at the building blinking. "Master...," She commented as she frowned, "even if we didn't sense anything I suggest going to see what it is...in case it is here to impede us we should take care of it." She commented after he asked for her opinion she glared at the spot that they both assumed it came from. "If we leave it be it could be another obstacle when we don't need it, master." She let another comment fly as she buckled herself up waiting for him to hit the gas while she drank the soda calmly. Arron nodded his head in agreement and jumped out of the car, confident that Astoria would be either soon in toe or at his side. A quick flick of his right arm and a roll of his sleeve had Arron's hand started to glow with a dim blue arcane light. The man moved to the building and stopped at the side of the door and pressed his back to it. The man drew a deep breath and looked to Lancer. "Astoria, I'm going to kick the door in and move aside, you take point and I'll cover you. Just be careful in case of any traps or ambushes." Arron spun around the door frame and kicked the door as hard as he could before he dove aside and allowed for Astoria to take over. Moving into the dark building, the pair stalked down the main hall while Arron's blue eyes flickered from side to side. Cautiously, Arron checked each door on the first floor then started to make their way up a steep flight of steps. Every step they took caused the boards of the carpeted stairs to moan with a deep-seated creak. Coming to the top of the steps Arron took a moment to rest and collect himself. Suddenly he jumped to the side and pointed his glowing hand forward. Shocked terror filled his eyes while he struggled to steady himself. "I-... Something just moved in the dark.... It had a.... I don't know, a skull for a face or a mask?" He stammered, questioning if he saw what he did as his eyes ran over the darkness. "Astoria, please be careful. I think there is more than one thing in here." Arron continued. Wandering through the darkness of the second floor, Arron glanced up and saw the roof had been caved in and under a pile of rubble a young woman with silverfish blonde hair laying under a pile of rubble that most likely came from the roof!. Arron raced towards the woman and started to move the rubble while patting her face. "Hey, hey lady get up. You have to tell me what's going on here..." Astoria got out of the car calmly shutting the door, she conjured her lance to her side after making it disappear while they were driving. She held it at ready to transform it into a real weapon at a moment's notice. Astoria noticed her master's light which made her glance at the surroundings making sure nothing was going to pop out and harm her master. He was her charge, after all, nothing would befall him while they were fighting this menace. She glanced at him giving him a steely glance nodding, "of course, master!" When her master kicked the door in Astoria did kind of take cover, but her instinct was to stand out in the battlefield to take on any incoming attacks. She glanced around blinking someArtoria took a position near her master, closely watching him as she looked around the hallway they were going down. Astoria took his lead as he checked she would be right there in case of an attack so she would get hit first. She did this typically all the time as she continued to follow her master up the stairs of the stairs. The walls in the building creaked as some dust fell here and there, but it didn't make Astoria jump, she was aware of her surroundings and she would make sure that she wouldn't be taken by surprise. When they got to the top she noticed her master as she looked concerned, "you alright master? Do you need to rest?" She asked while her eyes continued to scan. Artoria finally formed her powerful holy lance in her hand as she held it at her side watching her master's reaction. Though she also noticed the being as she squinted a little, "I-I think so master... I am not sure...do you want me to investigate?" Astoria didn't wait for his response as she held out her Lance, "come out!! Now!!" She commanded as she held out as her master could already see the faint glow of her holy energy surrounding the lance. Though nothing else showed up she continued her walk with her master as he stopped. She did too though she never unsummoned her weapon noticing that the ceiling was caved in she followed her master in carefully. She followed her master in her eyes scanning around her in case this was an ambush as she was in high alert mode. Arron crouched over the woman, pulling rubble off her body while he glanced over at Astoria. The man scowled for a long moment while he thought about what he had seen a few moments ago. It was servant for sure, but he wasn't sure who. "Damn it Lancer, standing there isn't going to help. If we are dealing with an Assassin they won't meet you head on, they are going to attack you from behind. Help me get this girl out of here, she's barely breathing!" Arron shouted. Frustration was building up in Arron's body, this poor beautiful woman was out cold and the only one who knew anything about the servant they were up against. Then again that was assuming that she had actually encountered the Servant in question. Was it an assassin, a caster? Maybe something different with a reality Marble type Noble Phantasm. There were too many things to wonder about, they had to get out. With a great heave, Arron lifted the woman with silvered hair up in his arms and stood slowly. "Jesus you're heavier than you look lady.... Lancer, stay close and lead us out of here. We need to get back to the car quick!" He ordered, knowing that he could use a command spell to have her do exactly as he ordered as fast as possible, but it really wouldn't have done them any good. Supporting the woman in his arms, Arron moved behind Lancer, watching her carefully, constantly checking his flanks and their rear. Every once in a while, Arron swore he could hear the ruffling of fabric behind them but when he looked there was nothing to be seen. After a quick run that left Arron gassed, he carefully laid the girl in the back of the Mustang and patted the hood of the car. "Lets roll!" He shouted and slid into the driver's seat, driving as fast as he could out of town.... "Astoria, let me know if that girl wakes up, she might be the only one who knows who's in control of this town!" Astoria looked back nodding, "I am sorry master!" She rushed to the woman beginning to remove the rubble from the woman as she looked over at both of them. She felt like she had failed in some way, but she wouldn't let him see that. After she had removed some of the rubble from the woman she helped him remove her from the debris. Artoria had helped him lift the girl up as she made sure that her master was sure to have the woman as she held her lance close to her. He was right if this was an assassin servant they would wait till the time was right to attack them when they least expect it. Thus, Astoria would keep her senses on high alert though she would keep her eyes focused on her master and this new mysterious woman while she kept shifting her eyes to look around. "Are you okay Master? Do you-," Astoria asked worriedly though when she heard her master command her to help them get out she nodded? "Affirmative master!", She moved to the doorway waving her armored hand moving out into the hallway. When they moved through the hallways Astoria would go between her master and the girl making sure that they weren't attacked behind them or in front of them. Of course, she couldn't do much against projectiles, but she would do the best she could when ti came to melee. Though they moved quickly as they finally made their way down to his car. When he had the girl secure Astoria dissolved her lance as she moved into the car after he yelled about getting into the car. Slipping in she sat next to him and then glanced back at the girl then at him. "Sure master, I will let you know." She said as they roared off into the distance. Darkness was swirling around in the girl's head as she stirred which makes Astoria glance once after a while. "Master I think she is waking up..." Austria said as they continue to watch the girl. Though a groan finally comes from her mouth as she moved her hair out of her eyes. Her purple eyes take in everything as she groans again, slowly lifting her body up however she stopped wincing hard. "Argh!" She gasped as she could feel the pain of the whole being buried under the debris as she slowly sat up more though more struggling and wincing could be heard through her voice and expression. "W-what...happened?", She asked weakly as Astoria finally allowed a small smile on her face. They had managed to save the girl, "What is your name? Why were you in that building?" Astoria asked as the girl shook her head holding her head. "M-mash?...maybe? I am not even sure ...right now... I am having issues remembering", She spoke as Astoria looked worried." Master, the girl is having issues remembering things, I am not sure how we should deal with this," Astoria said blatantly despite the fact it sounded cold but with how things have been in the world she didn't want to take any chances on what could happen to them if they just openly accepted any person in the world. They could have been planted to take them out. However, Astoria's heart wouldn't let her completely follow through with a plan to do something bad to this girl called "Mash". "I-I ...won't do anything...", 'Mash' said as she finally managed to adjust herself barely sitting against the seat as she winced hard calling out some. She felt some wounds on her, some internal while others were open as she could feel some warm liquid, mingling with some more of a crusty feeling as she assumed she may have opened up some wounds that had just healed. "It's fine... I'm sorry, I shouldn't be yelling. This is just the first person I've seen out in the open in a long time, and she needs help. Forgive me." Arron apologized, almost hurt by himself and the way he spoke to his only friend in the world. As soon as they were in the car and driving down the road as fast as they could, Arron glanced back to see the silver haired woman stirring. He shook his head with regret and tried to keep his eyes on the road." If we were faster we might have been able to save her." Arron muttered, keeping his guard up. Now matter how fast or far he drove the man could sense a faint trail of some sort of Servant but couldn't pin down what the type was. If I were a better mage I could track down the thing and know what we were up against... I think Arron thought in silence until the woman started to groan in the back seat. The young man didn't speak at first, letting her get used to what was going on. He slowed the car and started to pull over after she gave her name. Throwing the car in park and cutting the engine, Arron turned to look at Mash. "Hi Mash, I'm Arron, this is Astoria... or Lancer. I'm a mage and she is a Heroic spirit. You look like you fell through the top of a tall building while fighting something. We pulled the rubble off you and carried you to the car, but we are on the way to New York to see if we can convince others to take up arms against Morgan La Fey. I think an assassin is after us and I don't want to let you out there on your own." Arron gestured towards the empty road and the large grass fields on any side of the highway. He wanted to get to New York, but the sun was starting to set. "I think we are going to camp here for the night. You look hurt, I can try to heal you but unless you're a servant I don't know how effective it will be. Just let me know if you want me to try." Arron offered. "Lancer, will you do me a favor and scout the area, make sure we aren't being followed?" Arron asked, unknowing that an invisible Assassin Hussein of the Hand was riding atop the car and waiting for the perfect time to strike...

Fate_Lost Order (MasoKitty x Batman4560)|rating:4.0

A Warrior's Bond [Amber and CrazyIvan]

Malaya walked up and down the front steps her home, a scowl plastered on her pale face. Looking up to the sky she could see that night was only a few more hours long, and soon she would have to go back inside, but where in the hell was he? She wanted to be the first to see him coming, the first to take him up to her daughter's room. She wanted to be the first one to know that he was there." Layna, there is no use pacing and muttering to yourself. He will come when he comes." Standing directly behind her, wearing the same scowl as his wife, Roman clasped his hands behind his back and continued, "If he does not come there are... others who could take his place. Others of higher rank." Roman hoped desperately that Saltier would not show up so that he may instead choose a more suitable match for his daughter. To have his only child share a bond with someone beneath them was unthinkable. He had watched them grow up together and every day had hoped to hear news of his death, but instead he only heard news of what a success he was becoming and what a good warrior he would make for his daughter. Standing still now, Malaya slowly turned, "Roman if you do not keep such thoughts from your mind I will have you killed myself. You have known that this would happen since she was just a small child, and if you can not bring yourself to terms with what is about to take place then there is no place for you in my palace." The High Vampire was growing tired of her Warrior's constant bickering over the chosen protector of his daughter, as though rank were all that mattered. No, what mattered was she be kept safe, and so long as Roman was a threat to that, she herself would be a threat to him. Rolan knew, of course, that he could not argue with his Lady - as a High Vampire her powers greatly succeeded his own, and so he focused his attentions back up at the tower where he knew his daughter was laying in her bed, unmoving and looking lifeless. She was very much alive but would not be so lucky if she were to be attacked again. Saltier knew he was running later than he wanted and as it was getting close to dawn later than he would have liked. His father had informed the high vampire and her warrior that he would have arrived hours ago, but due to things outside his control he was running late. He hoped against hope that they would not mind, but he knew that his rank was low and that the warrior hated him and even told him once that he should die so that they can find someone more worthy. He took it in stride and just strove to be the best he could be, he knew one day he was to protect that young girl he had played with all those nights ago, but that was a long time ago. Times were changing and fast, he was supposed to still be training and for some reason he was summoned to the palace, for what purpose, he didn't know. His father didn't tell him all his father and trainers did was give him a set of clothes a sword and tell him to make to the palace on foot on his own hours ago tonight. This is not an easy task, though vampires are strong, they are not invincible, and they can die, and they can be attacked and hurt. Also making a journey by oneself is a dangerous task as it means no one to back you up and no one to help watch out for you. But he had to do it this way, it was the final part of his training, after all if he could not protect himself how was he to protect someone else. So eventually though he would arrive at the palace and look at it and see two figures near the entrance, he thought that they might be waiting for him, but he knew not who they are. Only when he got closer did the see that it was the high vampire and her warrior, he hoped that they had not waited long, but judging by the look on their faces they had. He lowered his head as he approached them and would try to do a proper bow to each, though with how tired he was it was not quite as proper and respectful as it should be for one of his rank. He looked tired as well his cloak had a couple of cuts in it, nothing to bad, but still damaged and his blade was sheathed at his side." Good evening my lady and lord" he said remain bowed down and looking at the ground waiting for one of them to tell him to raise. "I have come upon your request, and it is my humblest apologize for being later than when I was to be expected" he said as he stands there bowed before them. He didn't look up as he had not been told to, and he didn't want to look into their faces and see the look they had on now. He wanted to ask why he was here, but he didn't want to push his luck or if they even need him anymore, so he stays silent for now waiting. As impatient and anxious as Malaya was that the warrior was late, her frown turned to a small smile when she finally saw him coming up the path to the front doors. She was terribly relieved that he had arrived and giving him a look up and down she noticed how much he had grown since she'd last seen him. Smiling to herself she thought her daughter would be quite pleased. When Alaina had heard of his return she told Malaya that she remembered him - she remembered running around the palace with him and playing with him, and she remembered how devastated she was when he had to leave to train and become a warrior. Aralayna walked up to him and nodded her head, "Welcome back to our palace, Saltier. You must come, now, for there is little time to lose. We hope to have the imprinting done before the sun has risen, and it is but a few hours until then." Turning she looked at Roman, wearing a slight frown, "Will you welcome him into your palace, Roman?" No - he would not. Holding his tongue, the warrior turned on his heel and began to march back into the palace. He would not be there when the imprinting took place, and he did not think he could stand to see their reunion. He was already disgusted at looking upon the boy again, although he had already grown into a man. Furthermore, he did not want to know what his daughter's face would look like when she first saw him after all of those years, and so to save himself he decided to retire to his own quarters and hide there for as long as he possibly could. Shaking her head, Malaya began walking back into the palace, "If you will follow me, I will take you to Alaina's room. Do you remember her?" Without checking to see if he came she already began leading him to her room. In the Great Hall she turned to the left and opened a door which lead to a winding staircase, "If you follow this staircase, at the top is a door - that is her room. I think it is best that the two of you are alone when the imprinting first takes place, for it is something that should be shared in private." Saltier would notice no change on her face partly because he was still looking at the ground. He would only look up when she stepped closer to him and would address him, only then would he see that she had relaxed and was smiling a bit, which made him breath a sigh of relief on the inside. Though when he looked over to Roman he got the look he was expected and would quickly look away from him and focus on Malaya. He listened to her as she spoke and welcomed him back to the palace, though it had been so long since he was last here and since he had last seen any of them let alone Alaina. He remembered her vaguely and how they used to play and run through the palace, a couple of the memories were coming back to him, though not a lot. Furthermore, he had trouble placing everything and remembering everything, but he hopes that it would come back and that she would be happy to see. Though he was unsure if she would really be happy to see him, after he left just suddenly due to his training, but he would find out soon enough. But these would just be background thoughts as he listened to Malaya explain why he had come back and what he was to do. He was a bit surprised that he was to be imprinting with her so soon, he was still meant to be training and with all the hurry something big must have happened. He watched as Roman refused to welcome him and just went back inside in silence. Furthermore, he knew not why Roman hated only that he did and that was enough for him to fear him and stay away from him. That was one thing he remembered very clearly was how he seemed to loath him for no real reason as far as he could tell. The pace at which Malaya asked her question and moved slightly surprised Saltier as he did a quick double take before catching up to her. "I remember her slightly, it has been a long time, since I last saw her" he said as he followed closer behind her. He followed her to the staircase and looked up it before turning to face Malaya "yes my lady" he said to her as he began to walk up the staircase. He had wanted to ask her why the rush and why now ahead of schedule and if something had happened, but he figured he might as well ask Alaina instead since it would also be less rude to ask her. He would make his way slowly up the staircase, wondering what had become of that little girl and how she would look. Would he be in charge of protecting a spoiled brat, and ugly witch of a woman, he didn't quite know what to expect? Not like it mattered it was his job that she remained safe no matter what she was like, it was his life or soon would be. He reached her door and took a deep breath before knocking on it and calling out "hello, Alaina? It is Saltier, are you in there?" he asked through the door. Alaina turned her head to look at the doorway, a soft smile on her lips. Laying in the center of her large bed with her hair fanned out beneath her, she looked more like a porcelain doll than a person. She was very pale with dark circles around her eyes, but still managed to maintain the semblance of prettiness. The girl didn't need Saltier to announce himself - she knew who he was the moment her mother opened the door at the bottom of the stairs. Alaina could smell him. She remembered the scent of his blood from back when she was a child - it had been years, but her memory was well, and she had spent so long with him that when she caught attention to his fragrant blood she immediately knew that her old friend had arrived. Taking a deep breath of her own she closed her eyes, still facing the door, "You may come in, Saltier..." His name tasted wonderfully on her lips after so many years of being apart, but she grew suddenly nervous. What if he had changed? What if he had grown into one of those terrible warriors who stood erect and never changed their faces and looked like stone men rather than friends to their ladies? What if he had done the opposite? No, she would not be shallow - whatever had happened to Saltier in the past few years would be accepted by her, but then she grew nervous for how he would see her. She knew that she did not look her best at that moment - she looked absolutely terrible, even. It was not her fault, however, and he would soon see how she truly looked when she became better. She lay perfectly still on the bed with her hands clasped over her belly, twiddling her thumbs slowly in her nervousness. Her eyes opened, and she stared at the door, waiting to see him for the first time... Alaina had better memory then Saltier as he didn't remember that smell, it had been too long for him. He now remembered very little of what she was like and what she smelled like, not even close enough to smell her. So he had no idea if she was behind the door till he heard the voice from beyond call him in. Even then he was not sure as the voice would change so much was it a servant or Alaina he didn't know all he knew was a voice was telling him to enter and with his rank who was he to refuse. He just hopes he wasn't being played with and would get punished for entering even though the voice said to. After all with his rank he couldn't argue against anyone that was living here, he was luck to even be invited in. He took another deep breath waiting there for a couple seconds trying to compose himself and wondering what she would look like. He took another deep breath and slowly let it and reached for the door and then stopped as he remembered what he looked like. Furthermore, he looked awful he was dirty, had cuts on him, and even a bit of blood. Furthermore, he looked a mess, and he thought he should fix himself up before going to meet Alaina, but he had been summoned in so he didn't have time. What was he going to do he thought to himself before he resigned himself to the way he looked and sighed. He took off his hood and revealed his face which was pale and look tired, like he had been traveling for a long time. If she was a porcelain doll he was like an old and ratty rag doll with a sword. Eventually he would reach for the door again and turn the handle and enter into the room "pardon the intrusion, Alaina" he said as he entered. He would enter the room looking down to make sure he was not seeing anything he was not supposed to and even did a bow before her. One part of his training was remembering his rank and the rank of who he was to serve, and he was told to always keep this in mind. That he might have been her friend, and he might still be, but before that came her life and being her guard. He still wanted to be her friend, but training did have an effect on him. So when he did slowly raise his head to look at the bed and the person, he didn't really smile or have much of a physical emotion reaction. But inside looking at her made him remember more of the memories of when they were younger, but it was still hazy. He took note of how she looked right now kinda of disappointed though only on the inside not showing it on the outside as it would be rude. "Hello, my lady Alaina, I was told to come here as soon as I arrived by your mother" he said as he stood there and looked at her. When Saltier entered, Alaina could feel her heart sinking slightly. The way that he composed himself and looked at her reminded her of those men that she feared he would be. There were no smiles on his face, no brightness in his eyes. It did not matter to her that he was dirty and bloody in some places, for she knew that he had a hard journey behind him in order to reach the palace so quickly. Her smile did not falter, however, as she refused to allow herself to succumb to her disappointment. This was still her old friend, the one that she had played with and run with, and perhaps somewhere beneath there he would be waiting for her again to take up where they left off. If she could remember correctly, they were somewhere in the garden when he was taken from her." My Saltier... you are not intruding..." She smiled somewhat more brightly and reached her hand forward, holding it out to him, although she still remained flat on the bed. She kept her face turned towards him, hoping to hide her neck for just a while longer. It was covered in an array of bite marks from just below her chin to down near the nape of her neck - deep holes where she had been attacked and drained almost to her death. She could not do anything about it, and she was not healing quickly enough for them to have gone away, and so the best that she could do was prolong him from seeing them for just a short while longer. With her hand still outstretched she took another deep breath - it was very hard for her to speak - and closed her eyes, "You may put your things down on the chair beside the door there... and come here to join me...?" She opened her eyes slightly and eyed the space on her bed just beside her. Even though she laid in the middle, her large bed left plenty of room for two other people easily. Since she could not move very well on her own, her body craved to feel Saltier beside her. He may have been trained as a warrior, and he may not remember her nor feel the same way about her as he once might have, but he was still her friend, at least in her own mind. Saltier would slowly edge his way closer to the bed, but always stay a distance away while she lay there before him. He knew this was his old friend, but he also knew that this was the person who's life was more important than his own. He was trained to lay down his life for her and be her shield when she needed one and that training does change even the kindest child. Somewhere there was still that young child, but it was buried under training and positions and amongst other things. Down there with his distant memories and thoughts that he had to put aside in order to become better. When she spoke his name and told him that he was not intruding and the way she smiled, made him feel better though he would not show it. He had been trained to keep it inside and the same way she kept a smile before he kept his face as that is what he was taught. He would slowly and carefully move closer to her as she held out her hand and kneel down at lightly grasp the hand and bow to her again. "I am sorry for my late arrival, my lady Alaina, I have no excuse for my failure" he said as he bowed. He had not noticed the marks as he had not been looking there since he was either looking down or at her face. As he held her hand and watched as she took a breath he suspected that something was wrong, though he knew not what. "As you wish my lady" he said raising to put his stuff down when he heard the second comment and stopped. He would look back at her as he put his stuff down in the chair and looked at her "is that alright my lady?" he said as he made his way closer. "If that is what you command I will do it" he asked still unsure of what was going on though a bit more worried about her condition as she was not moving that much and seemed to be having some trouble. Alaina watched him as he moved - he was cautious and almost timid, and she knew that he was composing himself in the way that he had been instructed. She hoped that her friend was in there somewhere and that, if he was, she could somehow reach him... Perhaps not right away, but some day she wanted to have him back. She knew that his years of training had likely buried it deeply inside him, but she doubted that it could have erased it completely. If they did, then her friend was truly lost, and she would be devastated - but she would not give up hope yet. For now, she would invite him into her life and hopefully make up for this fate that was forced upon him. She shook her head and smiled still to him, gently squeezing his hand, "Do not apologize, my Saltier... you have not failed me..." She took another deep breath, having exhausted her last one, "I understand... it is a very long way from where you were to here." She watched him again as he moved to put the things down on the chair, her hand slipping from his. Furthermore, she watched the hand move to lower his things and relieve him of some of the weight he was carrying before looking down at her own hand - he'd held it like a warrior would hold his Lady's, proper and respectful. It was not at all the grasp of a friend. When he stopped and looked at her after her request she thought perhaps that he would not so much like to lay with her. There was no other way that she could reach him, however. She could not move herself well enough to imprint with him if he was not directly beside her, and so she had no choice but to nod and take another shaking breath, "I insist upon it... there is plenty of room, and you are likely tired..." Imprinting was not the only reason that she wished for him to lay with her. Perhaps if she closed her eyes and felt his presence and smelled the scent of his blood beside her then she could pretend that they were children again, looking up at the clouds and watching them swim by. It was not that he didn't want to lay down next to her, it was more in all his training he had never laid with a woman, and didn't have any real experience with them. Also, he didn't know if it was proper to lay next to her and what others might think if they say them, so he stood there going over these thoughts in his mind over and over. He would look a bit nervous, but not a warrior would be, more as a person who was inexperience and had been asked to do something he had never done before. He would eventually nod his head and walk closer to the bed "a-a-as you wish" he said in a bit of a timid voice before he corrected with it with a quick cough as he moved to the bed. He first sat at the edge of the bed looking away which he knew was rude, but he just couldn't look partly because of the thoughts in his head. "I am glad I did not fail you my lady" he said a loud and then in a whisper which he hoped only he could hear he said "I never can or will" he said to himself in a heavy tone. He would sit at the edge before he would slowly move to lay next to her and look up at the ceiling and make a small gulp. Though he was a warrior by training some things just felt strange and were new to him, and he was still a guy after all. He knew in the back of his mind it was just his imagination, but still that can unnerve someone. He would eventually turn to face her and would notice the marks on her neck and look at them, he would look worried and feel sadden. Even before he started he had failed, and she was hurt and maybe that is the reason he was called. It was a shook to him, and it showed, but also worried showed on his face as he looked at the wounds and then to her. Though he was thinking of his duty, somewhere was worrying of a friend and even without knowing it might have shown through. "My lady what has happened what is wrong?" he asked trying to hide his worry but not doing that good of a job as he lay there. Part of him wanted to jump up and see what he could do, but another said he could do the most good by lay there so he did and waited for her to answer. Alaina kept her eyes on him, watching him sit on the edge of her bed. She knew that it was not proper protocol for a warrior, at least not one so soon. After all, her mother was also her warrior's mate, but it had taken them years to reach such a level between each other that Malaya had trusted Roman enough to do so. It was not at all uncommon for a Lady to fall in love with their warrior, although with the training that they received it often took quite a while before the warrior was able to let enough of himself go to love her back. This scared Alaina, for she had always loved Saltier. She remembered him as the enthusiastic, imaginative boy of her childhood. She'd always known that he would leave her but at the time she did not think of what he would be like when he returned. He was there with her then, and it was not at all how she had pictured it, but at least he was there... She heard him utter something under his breath and frowned slightly in confusion, wondering what it was. Her thoughts were wiped away when he began to lay back on the bed, and then she smiled. She was glad and hoped that it meant that he was warming up to her at least, enough so that he could lay back on her bed with her. Even though he stared at the ceiling at first she looked at him - her gaze traveled over the features of his face, studying the handsome frame of his profile. He had grown to be handsome... He might have been dirty and looked tired, but she could imagine what he would look like if he were to sleep and clean himself up. Biting her lip, she had almost forgotten about the marks. They embarrassed her because she knew that they were unattractive, but there was nothing that she could do. If he was to become her warrior, however, he did have a right and a need to know what had happened so that he could know what he was protecting her from, at the least. In his voice she heard worry, but knew that it was only because he was her warrior - she slightly feared that he thought he had failed his job already. "I..." she had to stop immediately to take another breath, closing her eyes to do so, "There is... a group of vampires. They feed... on other vampires," she stopped to take a breath, "I was out hunting and... they caught me... there were so many of them..." she took another breath, "They drained so much of it from me... and they only stopped because the... the sun rose..." She stopped the story there, because he knew the rest - she was found, her parents immediately summoned for Saltier because she needed a warrior and because she needed a warrior's blood. Once she took a warrior, the intense properties of his blood would heal her more quickly than a human's. The training to be a warrior is a very long and hard process, to the point where not every trainee survives the training and becomes a warrior. The training takes a person and breaks them down and remakes them completely trying to leave nothing of the old person behind. Even those with strong wills eventually break, as it makes one's life less painful and easier to deal with the lessons. The training serves to change them mentally and physically, both to a mind set of one that will always remember the tenants and to have the strength to protect their lady. They are taught that their purpose in life is to protect their lady, that they are her shield when she needs one, their life is worth less than hers and one must do whatever it takes to protect her, and that their blood it so is given to their lady when she needs it no matter what. These things were drilled into Saltier the only saying grace he had was the fact his training was cut short, which also is the reason why he did sit on the bed and then lay down. Some part of him told him he should, even though the warrior said not to, but he didn't know why or where the voice was coming from. Seeing the marks he knows thought more than ever that he had failed before he even started if only he had gotten here sooner, what if he had completed his training before now, or what if he couldn't protect her. These thought swirled in his head as he looked at her, if not for that he might have ventured to look at her features more closely, but it was not the time. No he had to find out what was wrong and why she had those bite marks and what he could do to correct his failure. Luckily enough for him, she was willing, at least enough, to tell him what had happened to her. It was true she most likely left out some details, but that was understandable since it also looked like she was having trouble breathing and taking. Which made him feel bad that he had made her explain this when she was in such bad health. He also realized what she needed and what he needed to do. Only she stopped he looked at her slowly tracing his eyes over her face and waiting a bit longer to know if she was truly down. When it looked like she was indeed done he would speak "my lady Alaina, I have trained to be your warrior since I was a young and though I didn't complete all of it I was still chosen to be your warrior. It was a great honor for someone like me, and it is my life" he said this looking directly into her eyes. He knew that she would have to bite him and drink his blood to imprint as well as to heal, since human blood would not work fast enough. He moved a bit closer presenting his neck to her "if though I was chosen it is still up to you who you choose as a warrior, though I have arrived late if, my lady Alaina, would have me I would be honored to serve you as your warrior." He waited or her to either accept him and bite him or to reject him, which would be his complete failure as a warrior, and even as her old friend. Alaina's eyes opened wide when he moved closer to her. She could smell him more intensely then, and she could hear his blood. A very faint pulsating sound of his blood running through his veins. Her ears twitched and wiggled, and she licked her lips, her body awakening as her tongue could almost feel the hot blood running down her throat already. She knew that once she imprinted with Saltier, his blood would be a drug to her, and it would be very hard for her not to drink him entirely, although she had been trained herself to learn when to kill and when not to kill. She could never kill Saltier. His words pained her - to think that she would not choose him after all that he had done for her? He'd been removed from his life and sent away to lose himself in his training and a few tears dripped down from her eyes, tearing her away from the scent and sound of his blood. "Oh, my Saltier... there is no one else whom I would choose to take as my warrior..." She tried to picture in her head having someone else there with her and could not do it. Even though her old friend was gone, or at least missing, she did not want him in the hands of some other vampire who would not appreciate the times that they once had together. Even if he did not recognize it for what it was, she would take care of him and do her best to make him happy, even if his warrior self would not allow it. Raising her hand slightly, however, she placed her fingers on his chest and lightly pushed him down and away from her, shaking her head. "W-wait..." She took a deep, shuddering breath, "I think that... I should be more comfortable if I were on my belly..." Closing her eyes and taking another breath she continued, "Would you please lift me... onto you? I should very much like to lay atop you..." From there she knew that she would be able to move more easily to bite him. She needed to be able to move her head around which she could not do while on her back. He would stand there as still as he could while she lay there silently eying his neck and imaging his blood running down her throat. He had been told during the course of his training that a warriors blood is very strong and almost addicting to their bonded lady, so he knew that there was a chance she might drain him dry. But also during the training they were taught if the lady needed it, which it looked like Alaina did, it was up to the lady to decide how much she wanted to take. They were taught that they were almost less than a being and more of a thing that is to serve its master without fail and question. Saltier had been training for this, but still he could not shake the hint of fear of being drained dry by the woman he was to serve. Valtier would look down at the tears that fell from Alaina's eyes and show sorrow, though for what confused Saltier as he still stayed there perfectly still. Her words had an impact on him, the fact that she would not have anyone other than him made him happy in some distance part of him, though he did not show it. He did look concerned for the tears and had he do something wrong or offense to Alaina. "My lady, why are you crying have I wronged or offered you, if I have, I am sorry" he said rather quickly and in a slightly worried tone. The tone though worried was more of a servant to a master not of a friend to friend. He could feel her hand press against him as if to motion him backwards, he felt how weak she was right now and would move back at her command. He stayed closer to her and listened to her request which to him came as a bit odd, though at the same time understandable. Furthermore, he had conflicting issues with this as his, female master, would be laying on top of him a warrior, and a male. Furthermore, he was a warrior first, but some things just wonder through a young man's head even when they know they have a duty, and it is not like that. She would notice him gulp before he looked to her and answered a bit shakily "i-i-if that is what my lady wants..." he said already moving to lay down again beside her. Once on his back he would gently, as possible, lift her up and slowly move her to rest on top of him and placing her head next to his neck. She would find out that he lifted her with ease and that it was no problem to move her and that over his years his training had made him quite strong. Once her head was next to his neck he would let her go and ask "is this okay my lady?" once again in a Shaka voice, that showed his was a bit nervous not as a warrior though as something else. Alaina offered him a small smile, but it was fake. This time his worry showed no signs of friendship, and she wanted to cry harder, but she did not want her friend to be worried further. Even if he did not see her as a friend, even if he could no longer remember all of what they had been through together, she would always consider him her friend. Saltier was somewhere in that body and so long as he was alive he would be her friend. She wished that she could go to the training camp herself and drain the life out of whomever had done this to him. "No, Saltier... I am well. You have done nothing, please do not apologize..." She blinked back her tears and cried no more, although her chest heaved with the sobs that she was stifling down. As she was being pulled over him, she noticed how strong he had become. She was a very light and delicate person, but he lifted her like she might lift a feather. He had indeed become a warrior, and would protect her well... she knew that he could not protect the breaking of her heart, however. She would keep this small fact to herself. As he positioned her on top of him she lay heavily down on him like a doll, unmoving as her skirts molded around his body, covering him in a sea of white. Aalina laid her head down on his shoulder. Even moving that much had tired her and she needed a short break. For a small while she kept her eyes closed and her body unmoving, laying on top of him and pretending that he was not a changed person. But he was. She needed to take the time to calm herself, for once he became her warrior he would be able to feel her emotions. Taking deep breaths she tried to calm herself, coming slowly to terms with what was happening. She resolved, then, to try and treat him like her old friend - she would bring him back. Lifting her head slightly she could feel pain radiating through her body - her head was much too heavy for her to hold up, but she smiled despite the pain. "Promise me that... you will tell me before I go too far..." She did not want to take more than necessary from him. He was larger than most of the humans that she fed from, and she was not sure how far she could go before she hurt him. She would rely on him, then, to tell her when she had taken too much. A small hand reached up and tugged at his collar, parting the fabric away from his shoulder. She lowered her lips down to his neck and licked it once from his ear to the middle of his shoulder. Moving her head slightly more she positioned her lips right at the base of his neck where it met his shoulder. It was much softer there and easier for her to access in the position that she was in. Taking a deep breath she opened her mouth and rooted her bottom teeth just below his shoulder, then sank her fangs into the soft flesh of the base of his neck. Her eyes snapped open. As soon as she tasted his blood on her lips, her reaction to it changed. She could smell it more clearly as if it was washing up and down her nose, and she could hear it more clearly as well - it sounded like a rush of water, rolling waves of a sea that crashed through his veins and swam to his heart. Her physical reaction was equally intense, and she felt her nipples perk up, the space between her legs coming to life. Removing her fangs from him, she sealed her lips over the punctures and began to suck, closing her eyes and groaning against his skin. Her arms found their way along his body, one wrapping around his waist and the other coming up to hold his head as she tugged gently at his wound, lapping up his blood and nursing hungrily from him. Alaina's fake smile was enough to comfort him and make him believe that nothing was wrong, at least the warrior side of him which was the strongest. She had stopped crying and seemed to be okay now, as far as he could tell by looking at her and from her reactions and what she had said. Though in the back of his mind something was telling him that it was not alright and that she was just trying to make him feel better, but the warrior side won out and quickly squashed that hint of doubt. Her words reinforcing that idea and letting no further doubt in that regard come back. Whether because of how weak she was, or if this was how she normally was, she was very easy to pick up and would seem like a fragile flower that might break if he held it to hard. He hoped he had the strength to protect her and let no harm come to her, though he knew pain comes to everyone even the most well guarded person. No matter how strong-willed someone is pain and death do come to them and often times to the young. Often losing someone close to you causes pain as well, but now was not the time to dwell on the past he had the future and the present to think about. He would look at her as she lay on him and how fragile and doll like she looked. Valtier let Alaina lay on top of him as long as she wanted. He would feel her weight, her slow and sometimes labored breath, and everything about her that touched him. Which did make him more self-aware of how dirty and maybe a bit smelly he was, and hope that it did not bother her. He looked down at her face, when she closed her eyes and looked at it features, before looking back up towards the ceiling. To get his mind back on track and not think of her as anything other than his lady which he was to protect, but that was harder to do then he thought.“I will my lady, I promise” he said to her. Though he said that he also knew that he would give her all of his blood if she needed it, because that was his duty. He had never given blood before, so he was unsure what was too much and what he could recover from. He hoped he could for the sake of his life, and for hers. Furthermore, he laid perfectly still letting her hand move his collar out of the way to reveal his neck to her. Furthermore, he felt her tongue move over his neck and lick him, which was quite a strange and new sensation, though it was somewhat pleasant. Furthermore, he could feel her lips hovering near his neck and could feel that she was getting ready. Furthermore, he felt her taking a deep breath before her fangs sink into his flesh and begin to draw blood from him. He would feel his blood slowly leave him as she bites him and proceeded to suck it out. With it came new sensations and new feelings as the imprinting began, and he felt closer to her. He felt her feelings and how close she was, as if she was closer than she was. He felt her feeling as she sucked his blood and the happiness and pleasure that came with it. That was through the imprinting, physically he also felt her hands and arms wrap around him and hold him, which was made easier since sucking his blood made him weaker. Not to mention the feeling that something poking him near where her chest was, but it was hard to say what. He could tell that she was definitely getting better and didn't need any more of his blood or so he hoped, as he didn't know how much he had left now. “My lady, Alaina, I think that is all I should give” he said in a weaker voice, as he was starting to get light-headed. His blood was intoxicating. It no longer tasted of iron - a taste that she loved. It tasted sweet like honey, creamy as it entered her mouth and flowed down her throat. She spent what felt like years there on his neck, hungrily tugging at his skin, whining and spreading her legs so that she straddled over him. She could feel it making her stronger and the more she drank of it, the more she wanted. Her fingers worked to massage his head and her other arm brought his shoulders closer to her. Her body's reaction was erotic and sexual and her hips began to tilt slightly. This was unlike anything that she had ever done, and it had her groaning against his skin, her tongue spinning in circles around the bites to collect his blood. His voice broke through her daze and her eyes opened. He wanted, and needed her to stop. Before she did so she gave it a last suckle before pulling away slowly and running her tongue over his wounds to close them, her saliva hitting his flesh and repairing the skin that she had broken. She stared at where she had bitten him and panted, realizing what she had done, and how much she had loved it. Leaning down she kissed at his skin, lapping up the blood that was left on his shoulder, although he bled no more. Tasting it made her want more... she wanted all of it, but she could not have it. This was her Saltier. Aalina slid herself down him slightly, finding that she had some strength to move, and laid her head down on his chest. She closed her eyes and breathed heavily, her body recovering from the experience. She, too, felt closer to Saltier as he did to her. Furthermore, she could still hear his blood swimming audibly in her ears and she could smell it as if a bowl of it was placed just beneath her nose. Furthermore, she felt like they were both the same person, like their bodies were sliced in half and sewn to one another's. Closing her eyes she concentrated on the beat of his heart and pictured the blood flowing through it - his delicious, sweet nectar of blood... Still exhausted she kept her arms around him, still clutching to his head and shoulders. She tilted her head upwards slightly and tried to look up into his eyes. Her friend would have to return to her someday... she wished that this moment was one that she could have shared with her Saltier. She wished that the two of them had felt something mutual that they could both enjoy, clinging to each other and making music together. Instead, she looked up at her warrior and fought back what felt like an eternal sadness so that he would not have to feel it as well. Though it felt like years to her, it was nowhere near that long, but even for him, it would feel like an incredibly long time. Before he asked her to stop the way she was acting and moving was causing its own reactions in hos body and mind. He could feel her pleasure because of the imprint and know that she was enjoying it and how she was getting. She was also moving and with that his body gave its own sort of reaction as she would feel something get harder towards where his crotch was. Though this was despite protests of his brain on his warrior side and as a friend, because to that side she was still that little girl though he could not remember. It was for him like it was for her, unlike anything he had ever done or expected to do. He was both glad and slightly disappointed by the fact that she stop, disappointed that her pleasure decreased a bit, but very glad that she had not killed him. He felt the tingle of another lick against his neck as the wound closed, and he would stop leaking blood. Furthermore, he could feel what she felt as she looked at him and at his neck and never knew that imprinting was so strong and dangerous at the same time. Furthermore, he felt the kiss, and it felt good, he thought, though his warrior side was trying to calm his thoughts and make it so he was proper again. That was quite hard after what had just happened, and it was not going well either. Were she had the strength to move, he had none as he was recovering from have the life almost sucked out of him. It showed on his face and how he looked and acted as well. He was paler than before and felt and looked weaker than he did as well. To become one with another is tiring work, he thought in his light-headed daze. Not to mention how weird it felt to know exactly where she was with his eyes closed and to know her feelings, it was overwhelming to say the least. Saltier could say and did say nothing as she kept her arms around him and looked at him and thought. He was too weak and dizzy and just sat there and looked back at her with a dazed look on his face. Alaina closed her eyes quickly. She could not look into his while he looked like that. She had expected him to be slightly weaker and dizzy, but she could not look into his eyes and see that warrior who had taken over her friend's body. Furthermore, she turned her face slightly and buried it into his chest. He was being quiet and, so long as he didn't speak she could pretend that it was her Saltier. He wasn't her warrior, he was her best friend, and they were laying there on her bed simply enjoying each other's company after having spent the entire day in the garden. Yes, that's what happened. It was just a fantasy, however, and after a short while she lifted her head and unfurled her arms from around him. Sitting up she moved herself to the side of him, sliding her body up towards the top of the bed. She still felt weak, and she was in some sort of pain but the ache in her heart for her Saltier was much stronger, allowing her to ignore everything else. Slowly she leaned down and took his head in one hand, sliding her arm beneath him and lifting him slightly. As she did so she avoided his eyes, trying not to look into them. She lifted him up slightly and moved a knee beneath him before setting him back down on her lap, cradling his body on her and brushing her fingers through his hair. When was the last time someone had ever loved him? Did he ever get to see his parents? Did he ever get to be held by his mother, or had no one shown him any sort of comfort since she'd last seen him? Leaning back against the headboard she looked down at him, although she kept her eyes on his chest instead of his face. "Saltier... I will be well by the morning... I hope that you are as well... you should not have allowed me to take so much from you... Furthermore, I am sorry..." She closed her head and tilted it back against the wall, closing her eyes. She was glad to have taken as much as she did for it tasted truly wonderful, but she was saddened at the same time for having brought this upon her friend - even if he no longer considered himself one. Saltier didn't look like warrior or a friend by the look on his face it was more of a very dizzy and dazed person. His brain was already tired from getting to the palace, add onto that blood loss, and you have a very tired and loopy person. So he was not one to argue or protect much of anything that she did, in fact to him, it was more like a waking dream. He was wake, though everything was different and looked different from it was and more dream like. Plus he was likely to either forget what happened or pass it off as some dream he had after falling asleep from blood loss. He would just move with her and not resist any movement she made him do. So he would be there and cradled by her and letting her brush his hair. It all felt so weird to him, but looked far strange as he tried to focus on her but was having a hard time. It was even more dream like, as this person looked so young, who was it and why was she cradling him. What was this feeling and who's thoughts were they. He was getting tired and looked like he might fall asleep in her arms like that. He heard the voice, but it sounded distant and look like a grown woman, like that of a small child. For some reason it was apologizing him, when it had no reason to. He wanted to comfort it and wanted to reach a hand out towards it in his dream. He was indeed reaching an arm out and towards her though it stopped short of her either because he was too weak or in the dream he had touched her. For some reason he felt compelled to speak a name which was not foreign and felt nice, yet he didn't know why. "You have nothing to be sorry for Lina" he said in a weak voice as he looked at her with a weird attempt to smile. Whether he had left of the two a's on purpose or not, Lina was the name he always called her by when they were younger. He would then begin to close his eyes and head into his own dreams whatever they truly be, and maybe passing all this off as part of it. Out of the corner of her eye, Alaina could see a hand coming up. When it stopped and did not reach her she sent her other hand the rest of the way, capturing his fingers between hers and drawing her palm to clutch it tightly. Her right hand still stroked his hair as he laid on her knee, her left hand slowly pulling his arm down to rest on her thigh. He did look terribly tired, and she knew that he would likely pass out at any minute, and she didn't want his arm to come down and strike himself in the face. Aalina instantly tensed, and her eyes snapped to look at his when he called her Lina. Small streams of tears flowed down her cheeks as she squeezed his hand tightly. She thought perhaps that he had truly not called her that - maybe she was desperately hoping for her friend back, and so she had only imagined it? No, she'd heard it - he called her Lina. That meant that he remembered. Even if he didn't outwardly show it and even if it was deep inside of him, he was able to remember what he had called her, and that meant that her friend wasn't gone. She cried softly and quietly out of happiness for this thought but also out of sadness that he might never be able to remember in any way other than in his dazed state. Shaking her head she leaned down and whispered softly in his ear, "Sleep now, my Saltier..." Her fingers softly combed through his hair as she leaned up, her thumb stroking the back of his wrist as she kept her eyes down on him. Laying back with her head against the wall she took deep breaths, stopping herself from crying further. She wondered what the next night would bring and what would happen when he regained his senses... she knew that her friend would disappear, but for then she would just try to sleep through the day and wait until the night to find out. Saltier felt something grab his hand, but to him, it was not a hand of a woman, but of a little girl, who smiled at him. He had fallen asleep before she started to cry or look at him, and before she said a word. He drifted off to a far away place in his mind, where he once was but couldn't remember when or how. Of a little girl that pranced and ran through his dreams smiling at him and telling him to move faster, but no matter what he couldn't. He would always be right behind her slowly losing ground as she ran further and further away from him. Then around him would come this deep and embracing darkness that pulled him back and away from that girl that seemed to not even notice him disappearing, it was too sudden for her to realize he was gone. He would be through into the darkness and tumbled head first rolling and flailing in the air, with no end in site. Though he would see faces pass by whipping in and out of focusing as he approached a brief moment when light pierced through the darkness. A boy was there standing in front of him offering him a hand and away to run again. He ran with the child side by side, till the darkness came again, this time not for him but for the boy. It swallowed him up as he screamed out in pain and in help, but nothing Saltier did could save the boy, and soon he was gone swallowed by the darkness. Though he was not alone the darkness was still there and hovering over him and was reaching down for him. Valtier jolted awake snapping up and breathing hard as he awoke from his nightmare. He didn't know what he had been dreaming about, just something that was very frightening and something that he wanted to forget. He stayed there for a bit as he got his senses back and didn't even know where he was. Not till his breathing calmed did he look around at where he was, wondering was he still in Alaina's room or had he been moved. Alaina had dreamed that night too, but it was nothing unusual for her. For months after her Saltier left she had dreams of him being attacked, swallowed, killed, destroyed in front of her. She would lie awake some nights and force herself to not sleep for days so that she would not have to see him there. Sometimes she brought a guard up to her room and made him nudge her whenever he saw her stirring so that she would be awoken if she was having a nightmare about him. When she began to dream, then, of Saltier returning to her, it was not something that would jolt her awake. In her dream he was before her and she walked around him, but he was cut in half. His entire back side was missing, and his front side had been hollowed out. The only thing that remained of him was the front half which looked the same as he did in real life. He was only half of what he once was. Slowly the image began to melt away, and she dropped to her knees, trying to gather the pieces of his body as they dropped to the floor, but they sifted away like dust between her fragile fingers. All of a sudden she was awake. Having been sitting up already, she only had to lean forward a slight bit to see what had awakened her. The jolt of Saltier had removed his head from her hand and his hand from her other - she had not released her hold on him all night and when she fell asleep her fingers were wrapped gently beneath his head. She blinked to adjust her eyes to the lighting and could see the silhouette of Saltier there on her bed, looking very confused, but better. She, too, was feeling better. Touching her neck she could tell that half of the marks had disappeared and most of them were nearly closed. Her eyes felt better as well, and she could tell by the coloring out of the corner of her eye that they no longer had black circles, and looking down at her arms, she was not so pale. She was back to normal, then, which was good for her because she would not have to be so self-conscious. Smiling partially she leaned over and placed her hand on his shoulder, shifting herself to sit up on her knees, "Saltier? Are you all well?" She tried to turn herself so that she could see his face, "I do not know how long we have been sleeping... are you hungry? Well..." She frowned and remembered the condition in which he came to her. He was very dirty and covered in an array of cuts. The cuts were probably gone, but the blood must have still been there. Either way, she figured that he would at least enjoy a bath, "I can take a bath drawn for you, and then we can go hunting if you like." Saltier would sit there panting and still breathing hard as Alaina awoke and would look like he had awoken from a nightmare. His eyes focusing slowly as his breathing slowly calmed. He would look around and realize he had never left Alaina's room and wondered if she was still there. He would slowly turn his head to see that Alaina was there and was looking far better now then she did yesterday. Furthermore, he was glad to see her doing better and smiled a bit, before taking on a look of a warrior as he was no longer dizzy and light-headed. He would feel her hands and her shifting her weight as moved around behind him. Now that he had completely recovered from his dream and would give a nod to her "yes my lady, Alaina, I am perfectly fine. How are you this morning you look and seem to be doing much better" he said turning to face her. "I have no idea how long I have been out either, though I am quite hungry" which was true as getting nearly drained had made him hungry and in need of food. To him his stomach felt empty and like it needed and wanted to be filled. He had forgotten how he looked and only when she suggested a bath did he remember and become aware of how he looked. "I think a bath would be best, but there is no reason for you to draw me one, I am able to do it. And then hunting after that would also be good" he said as he would move to the edge of the bed. He would find it harder than before as he was still weak yes he had rested, but he had no new blood so he was still weak. So when he tried to stand up he found his legs were weak and could not actually support him. It was a surprise to him to be attempting to stand one minute and then the next moving and beginning to fall to the ground. If Alaina did nothing he would hit the ground, and it would be a surprise to him and maybe even to her. Alaina nodded at all of what he said, turning her attention to the door. His quarters would be downstairs just beside the door to her tower, and if he was better than she could show him to his room and he could bathe, and then the two of them could head to town to find their... dinner. Even after drinking his blood she was still starving and knew what she craved - a large, strong man, perhaps a guard from the human palace? That was very dangerous... Perhaps she would try for one another night. She watched him as he rose from the bed and gasped when he started wavering. He had not yet healed completely - he was not well. She jumped off of the bed and stood in front of him, catching him in her arms and throwing her weight onto him so that he fell back on the bed with her on top of him. As a vampire her strength greatly exceeded that of a human woman her size, but as a warrior he was still much larger and heavier than she. Looking down she straddled him and pushed her knees-up so that she could put her weight on her lower half as she stroked her fingers over his face, brushing his hair back and trying desperately to look into his eyes, "Saltier? Saltier are you alright?" Her voice was calm and soft, but she was distressed emotionally. This would not work at all, they could not go hunting if Saltier could not stand, and he could not bathe himself if they could not take him to a tub. She supposed, then, that she could have the palace guards hunt for her. It would take the fun out of the meal, but they would do it more efficiently, and she was much too weak to go out on her own. Looking down at her new warrior she resolved, also, to not allow him to do anything until he was well. Biting her lip, she looked around her room for the washing pot that was left there for her every night - if he could not bathe himself, she would do it for him. Though he didn't hit the floor, it was still a surprise to be standing upright, slowly falling the next, and then pushed hard back against something soft. It was disorienting and confusing and tried to regain his senses after that little event as some of the blood had left his head. Though slowly he would, and slowly he would realize that something or someone was on top of him. He looked up at her still slightly dizzy as she looked into his eyes. He blinked a few times before nodding "yeah I think so, though that was certainly an interesting experience" he a said as he looked at her. He would lay there and think of what to do as he looked at her. Furthermore, he would then notice that she was straddling him and didn't seem to move to get off. "Um... My lady Alaina, would you mind getting off of me?" he said hopefully not offended her or anything. He wasn't even thinking about bathing right now, he needed blood or time in order to recover. Something he could not do in his state, and it was fairly obvious he couldn't. Taken aback, Alaina immediately got off of him. She supposed that since he was no longer in that dazed, sleepy state that he was in last night that he wouldn't want to touch her anymore... Hanging her head slightly she stood beside the bed and nodded, "Yes I... I am sorry... stay here... I will go and... well, I will be right back." Turning her back on him, she left the room and sped down the stairs. She wanted and needed to get away from him. What was happening? Last night he didn't mind being with her and this morning he didn't want her contact... he was confusing her. No, she was confusing herself - she was reading into his actions and his words too much, and it gave her hope that she should not have, and she was breaking her own heart. Saltier was not at fault, Alaina needed to stop hoping for her friend. Her friend was gone. She walked downstairs until she made it to the Great Hall. Looking around she tugged on the sleeve of a guard who looked down at her in surprise, "My lady, is everything well?"" I... yes, but we can not yet go hunting. Would you please have someone send two fresh ones up to my room...?" The guard nodded and bowed, turning on his heel and leaving through the main doors to go and fetch dinner for his lady and her warrior. Aalina looked back at the stairs to her room and walked up them very slowly. She did not at all look forward to entering that room again and seeing who used to be someone dear to her, for she used to be very dear to him, too. Everything she did was very fast for him, so he didn't have a chance to say anything to her, before she ran out. He watched her hang her head, say something about going, and that sh e would be back, which just served to confuse him. It was not that he didn't want her toughing him, though that might have been a part, it was more he had just been tackled, or close to it and pushed on the bed. He was weak and with that and her weight on him, it was hard to breath, but she didn't give him a chance to explain before rushing out. He felt some of her feelings of being hurt and confused amongst others, and it was very strange. Furthermore, he didn't know what to make of them and would be confused himself. At least he thought that they were her feelings he was still sorting through it as he tried to stop his head from spinning. He would just lay on the bed and breathing slowly to try and regain his composer and a sense of what was going on. He would eventually try to move again this time crawling over the bed so that he was facing the door. Furthermore, he knew he might have done something wrong so he had to apologize, and even though he was weak he still had to protect her. Furthermore, he would again try to stand this time better than before, but still failing in the end as he would hit the floor with a thud before she got back, and he would just lay there again, and sigh as he turned himself over. This was not going well I have made Alaina upset and I can't even protect her like this what good am I as a warrior, he thought as he laid there. Alaina returned after a short while and opened her door to see him on the floor. She was a little surprised to see him there but not entirely as she could hear his body hit the floor on her way up the stairs, although at the time she wasn't entirely sure what had happened. Scanning her eyes over his body she shut the door softly behind her, unsure of what to do. When she spoke her voice was somewhat dry and expressionless, trying not to betray any hint of her sadness - she forgot that he could feel everything that she was feeling anyway. "Are you alright? Would you like me to help you back onto the bed?" She kept her eyes averted from his, trying not to look at his face. She could still see the smiling, happy boy that she used to play with looking back at her with eyes full of life, and the more that she looked at him the more she believed that he could never be found. Standing over him, Alaina was quiet. She extended her hand but did not move any more than that, afraid that she might insult him or scare him off again as she did before. Even holding her hand out to him was painful because she could not imagine him rejecting it and getting up on his own, forcing her to stand there looking like a fool. "I have asked a guard to hunt for us. They should arrive with two shortly, it will not take them long." Already she could hear people coming up the stairs and knew that it was probably guards carrying the unconscious bodies of two of the town folk. Although the vampires drank blood they were not entirely cruel people... not most of them, anyway. It was not illegal in the vampire council to kill humans but most found it distasteful, and it caused trouble. With the palace being so close to the human palace it was dangerous for them to kill humans, and so they found a way to simply render them unconscious for a short period of time so that they could safely deposit them back when needed. He watched her come in, and he felt her feelings, though she was trying to hide it with her voice, but that didn't work anymore. He looked at her face, though she avoided his eyes and he himself would feel sad at least some distant part and worry as a friend. Though he was also just worried and sadden in general asking himself what he had done or did to her to make her feel and look like this. "I am all...." he said pausing realizing that no matter how he looked at it, he was not alright and that was now fairly obvious. "I am afraid not, I am still feeling a bit out of it from yesterday and giving you so much blood and that combined with not hunting is making me a bit weak. Also, I am sorry for anything I did to upset you it was not my intention, and if I offended you by telling you to get off me, I have a reason for that, well not for offending you but for asking you to get off. I was finding it hard to breath, your push knocked the breath out of me and with you on top of me it was hard to breath, so that was the reason why I was asking you to move" he said all in a hurry to quickly explain it so she wouldn't feel bad if that was truly the case. He was trying his best to apologize and explain everything to her. He smiled at her as she held out her had, though it was not a big one, but a tiny one of to one side, though he didn't know why he smiled or that he did it at all. Furthermore, he would reach out for her hand and grab it as best as he could as he tried again to get up needing her help to actually stand up and right himself. Furthermore, he would stand up and look very unstable still before kinda of half falling half stepping to her for her support, after all she was closer than the bed, and he hoped she wouldn't mind. "Thanks for the help, though sorry about kinda of falling on you" he said in a slightly dizzy voice. "That will be nice I could use some blood I think?" he said in a goofy manner as the blood had kinda of left his head and left him dizzy. Alaina caught him and kept her eyes away still. She had caught his half smile out of the corner of her eye, and it hurt her more than she thought it would because it reminded her of how he used to smile when he was just a boy... Shaking her head she wrapped her arm around his back and stepped forward with him to, gently this time, lay him on the bed. "I do not mind you falling on me, I understand. It is alright." She kept her voice stiff and solid, trying not to betray any emotion. She had heard what he said and thought that, perhaps, it was not that he did not want to touch her but rather was because she was too heavy... but then he could have just been trying to make her feel better. Standing in front of him as he lay back she shook her head, "You didn't insult me at all, I'm fine. You don't have to explain yourself." As she turned away from him, she saw the door open and two guards come in with two humans draped over their shoulders. He set both of them on the bed on either side of Saltier, a man and a woman. Alaina preferred to drink those of her own gender when she ate in her own room and so the guards had done so for her, but they had given Saltier a much larger human male. The guards chuckled softly, realizing the reason that he must be so tired, before bowing, "We will be just outside, my lady - call us when you are finished, and we will bring them back down." Aalina nodded her head and thanked them, watching them leave and hearing them position themselves just outside her door. She crawled up over the human female and straddled her body before looking sideways to Saltier, "Do you need help?" Though her voice was stiff and solid, that only helped to get rid of the outer appearance, he could still feel her emotions and sense that something was still wrong and paining her. He wanted to know what it was and help her, it was his job to make sure that nothing harmed her and that she was not in pain. That is what his training had taught him, but something else was nagging at him from a different part of him to help her for another reason, he didn't know what it was or why he just knew it was important once. "I am glad, that I didn't hurt you, but truly is nothing wrong?" he asked her as she laid him down on the bed. He would try to look at her eyes as if he could see the truth in them in not in her voice or her words. Valtier, didn't care about whether the prey was male or female, it was all the same and was food all the same. He didn't have time to think about it any other way during training, and that stayed with him. He looked towards the man that was placed near him, and he would give the guards a nod of thanks as they chuckled and left. Furthermore, he then watched as they left, feeling like he had failed on the inside after all that was to be his job, but he was too weak to do it. Furthermore, he was this weak after only giving his lady blood, he needed to be stronger if he was to truly protect her. As Alaina would look to Saltier, she would see him kinda of half rolling half throwing himself on top of the man. It would be quite the funny sight to see this rather large vampire sort of floundering like a fish jumping up onto the large human. He would stop halfway as she asked if he needed help and just kinda of thought for a couple of seconds as he laid there, half on top of the man and near his neck the other side still on the bed. He would finally sigh and nod "yes I think that would be best" he said softly as if a bit embarrassed by what he was doing, how he must look, and having to need help. At his question, Alaina shook her head, "No. Do not worry yourself with it, I am safe and that is all that matters." What was she meant to do? Complain to him that she missed how he used to be, and that she had hoped he would be the same as he was back then? He was not supposed to be the same, and so she would have no place to complain about such things. He was doing his job as he had been taught to do it - it was not his fault that he was no longer her friend... Or that he was no longer acting like her friend. She would have insulted him had she complained about such things, and so she would never tell him how she truly felt. Her Saltier would have to find his own way back - she would not force it, nor was she entirely sure that he would ever appear again... Aalina crawled off of her human and walked over to the other side of the bed across from Saltier. Kneeling just a few inches from where his head was she took the body by the shoulders and pushed it, keeping one hand on Saltier's arm until the human beneath him had its neck positioned just under Saltier's mouth. From there she lowered her fingers and pulled open the man's collar, revealing his skin as she prepared the area for him by gently massaging a bit of his neck to get his blood flowing. There she knelt and held the human in position so that Saltier could sink his teeth into it, although Alaina would not watch for she did not want to see Saltier's face.((Sorry it's kinda short ;3)) Saltier watched as Alaina crawled off her human and walked over next to him and the human, that he was halfway in top of. It felt weird to be the one being serviced like this, after all he should be the one helping her. He didn't quite know what to say or do as he felt her grab his arm and pull him more onto the human and position him better. To him, it looked almost like a mother or a nurse helping a child or someone who was sick. The way she made sure his head and mouth were right next to the men neck, how she undid the collar, massaged the neck, and even held the person in position. It felt weird and alien to him as no one had ever done this to him before. When he was training if you were too weak to drink blood yourself no one helped you, and you were forced to try and do it yourself, this is how some of the vampires died. He looked at her before he thought of biting into the human, and how she didn't even look at him. Some part of him felt sad and lonely as if she didn't truly want to help him or that something was wrong. The warrior side had accepted its fate, but something scratched and itched at the back of his neck telling him something was wrong. But there was nothing that small itch could do as Saltier would quietly say "thank you" in an almost flat and sad tone. He would then turn to the human and begin to drink the blood that gushed forth from the wounds made by his fangs. The refreshing taste and reinvigorating sensation that came along with it was so satisfying, like a meal to someone who hasn't eaten in days. It took a bit of will power to stop from draining him as he eventually forced himself to stop and licked the wounds to close it. He could feel his strength returning slowly as he remained laying on top of the human.((No, no it is fine I am just glad you posted I thought you had forgotten or left it since it took so long for me to post)) Alaina remained in front of him, watching him drink for a few moments to make sure that he was positioned correctly and didn't end up sliding off. Even though she did not see her friend in him, she could not bring herself to be outright cruel to him. This vampire was once her friend and she was once in love with him... Well, she supposed that she was still in love with him, only he no longer existed. Wherever he was, though, she loved him, and she missed him, and she craved him, and she pictured him in her head walking through the doors and throwing the impostor off of the bed and taking her into his arms and telling her that he was there all alone. A terrible sadness struck her in the chest as she thought of all of that, and she pulled away from him, moving off of the bed. He had already drank some blood, he would grow steadily stronger and should have been strong enough to hold himself up. She moved silently to her own human and straddled the girl, bending down and sinking her teeth into the sweet flesh. Immediately she forgot her pains and her troubles, feeling the hot blood fill her mouth which she quickly gulped down. She drank slowly, knowing that once she removed herself from this girl that all of her sadness would come washing back, so instead of sucking she licked the wounds, tasting the blood slowly. It took her a few minutes to finish before she ran her tongue over the wounds and closed them, then pulled back and looked down at the unconscious girl. Sliding off and standing on the floor, she folded her hands together and looked down, "When you are finished, I will show you to your room." As he laid there on top of the bed and human, still just resting and saving his strength once again he felt her feelings flood into him. He felt her sadness, though he knew not why she was sad, and felt that she would not tell him which made him worry. He tried to think of what he had done, but still nothing came as if reaching for a needle in a haystack. The warrior was worried, but brushed it off, the friend, however deep it was also worried and wanted help, but was crushed by the weight of the warrior and the memories he had. As he felt her sadness he thought back upon his own memories, they were dark and frightening and something that a child should not have to do, but is forced to do anyway. He would be jolted out of this as Alaina began to drink and the sadness faded away to a more happy feeling. He didn't know it, but he had been spacing out and breathing harder, as he somewhat frightened himself as was panting. Furthermore, he quickly regained control over his memories and feelings as he went back to his usual self. Furthermore, he then slowly got off of the human, this time of his own strength and got off the bed, this time actually standing up. Furthermore, he walked to the end of the bed and waited there for Alaina to finish with her meal and move onto the next thing of the night. He looked at her as she looked towards the ground, wanting to say something, but not knowing what or how. So instead he stood there keeping it inside and listening to her words. "I am ready anytime, my lady" he said as he looked at her and waited. "Of course... Follow me." She walked slowly to the door, opening it and gesturing to the guards. Once Alaina and Saltier left, they knew that it was their job to remove the bodies for when she returned. Valtier's room was just at the bottom of her stairway, meant for further protection so that if someone went up to Alaina's room, they would first have to pass by his doorway and he could possibly hear them - plus it allowed him to be closer to her. A part of her wished that he could spend another night in her room because of what happened that last night when he had called her Lina like he used to, but she knew that the circumstances that made him sleep in her room were only a one-time thing, and it was more proper for him to be in his own bed. If her Saltier were well, she would have no problem sneaking down to his room and sharing his bed, or having him come up to hers, but what was the point? As long as he kept acting like her warrior instead of like her friend, there would be no sweet caresses in the night for either of them. She took a sharp left when she came to the bottom of the stairs and turned the knob, pushing on the door to his room. It opened into a room that was slightly smaller than hers, but lavishly furnished with plush chairs and a bed similar to hers - large and covered in warm blankets and sheets. The fire at the foot of his bed was blazing brightly, having been on all day to heat his room, and the wardrobe which she walked to was opened to show a new set of clothing for him. She was overall pleased with the room - it was her doing, of course, to make sure that it was comfortable and homely as opposed to poorly furnished like a servants' room. When she heard that her Saltier was returning she had ordered for his room to be made up into a guest room so that he would feel at home, and as the High Council member's daughter, she was immediately granted that request." This is your room, but you... may come into mine any time you wish." She supposed it was worth a try to at least invite him there, "You can call in the servants for a bath any time you wish... as soon as you are ready, I would like to go on a walk." Saltier followed her out of her room, only looking back to see the guards enter her room to remove the bodies. He would also slowly look over the stair way for ways to more easily defend it, before facing forward again. When they reached the door, Saltier remembered passing this door on his first night up and wondered what it would be used for, but I guess he knew now. He knew it was here, because there was only one entrance to the tower, so they would have to pass him going up and down. Alaina's Saltier might still be there but if he is, he is buried under the dark memories of his past and what happened to him. Much more had happened then just warrior training to Saltier while he was gone, he saw things that changed him and forever left scars on him. Valtier walked into the room and looked around at it, taking it in, a bit of a smile appeared though quickly went away, as he composed himself. This was the first time he had ever been in a room like this, when he was training he was lucky to get a tent or something else. To him this was more than could have imaged and was expecting to get. He was thinking he would get a servants quarters not a lavish room like this. "Thank you, my lady Alaina, though this room is more than I was expecting" he said as he looked at her before going to the bed and feeling the covers and then looking to the clothes. He would then look at his and remember that he still had not showered and still had a bit of blood on him." I will keep that in mind" he said in regard to her comment about being able to come to her room. To him, it was more of a strategic thing, then a friend coming at night to enjoy the company of another friend. "If you don't mind my lady, I would like to take a bath before going on the walk?" he asked as he looked at her. Alaina watched him inspect the room, wondering what he was thinking. She was sure that he would be surprised - she'd heard that when her father first became her mother's warrior he slept in a small, cold room near hers with a bed and a few pieces of necessary furniture - he had to cut into the wall himself with a hammer to make himself a fire place, but that was what was expected of a warrior. They were meant to take care of themselves. When she heard that her Saltier was returning, she did not want to walk into his room and see him living in a place like that - she wanted him to be happy there and happy to be there as a person and not some sort of fake happiness that he was her warrior. She wanted him to be comfortable, and to never regret having been forced - somewhat - into the job of being her warrior." Of course, I do not mind at all." She shook her head and walked out of the room, pulling over the nearest servant and ordering for a bath to be drawn in Saltier's room. The servant nodded and walked quickly away to summon for the tub and the hot water before Alaina walked back to Saltier's room and stood in his doorway, "I will be up in my room while you bathe... you may come in when you are done." Lowering her head, she turned away from him and began to briskly walk back up the stairs to her room. Was he happy? What was he thinking? She thought she would never know - he was too far gone. And yet for the sake of what they once were to each other, she found it impossible to completely accept and impossible to ignore that there might be a small chance that he was still in there... There had to be, he had called her Lina. Somewhere in his mind he knew who she was. When she reached her room she shut the door softly behind her and smoothed out the sheets on her bed where they had both slept that night. Taking herself to her vanity, then, she sat down and wiggled her shoulders, dropping her dress to pool at her waist as she took up a hairbrush and began to brush through her hair. She stared at her reflection, happy to see that her regular beauty was back and that the marks on her neck were gone, but thought it was terribly ironic that she was wounded in a place that no one else could see.

A Warrior's Bond [Amber and CrazyIvan]|rating:3.0

Forbidden Island (silentwalrus227 and TheDefiantPirate)

Elora stirred a boiling pot of stew over an open flame. Her little wooden hut was currently occupied by the unconscious stranger on the little grass cot opposite her. His strange flying contraption had crashed on the remote tropical island, her island, and she had taken it upon herself to nurse him back to health. A cup of the hearty broth was dipped out, and she waved it beneath his nose and murmured words of encouragement to his sleeping ears as if calling him back to the waking world. Oh yes, Elora was a sorceress. While the modern world had left her, she still practiced the old ways. She considered herself benevolent, at least compared to most of her sisters and had felt compelled to nurse this poor soul back to health. The fact that he was handsome, and she hadn't felt the touch of a man in years certainly hadn't affected her judgement, of course. Her hauntingly beautiful voice sung its incantation, coaxing his spirit back to the world of the living. When his eyes opened, the first thing he would see would be her chocolate shoulder-length hair and olive complexion as she smiled down at him." Welcome back," she murmured. There was a light accent, though it was hard to pin down exactly where she was from. Quote from: silentwalrus227 on 27-02-2017, 04:23:55Belora stirred a boiling pot of stew over an open flame. Her little wooden hut was currently occupied by the unconscious stranger on the little grass cot opposite her. His strange flying contraption had crashed on the remote tropical island, her island, and she had taken it upon herself to nurse him back to health. A cup of the hearty broth was dipped out, and she waved it beneath his nose and murmured words of encouragement to his sleeping ears as if calling him back to the waking world. Oh yes, Elora was a sorceress. While the modern world had left her, she still practiced the old ways. She considered herself benevolent, at least compared to most of her sisters and had felt compelled to nurse this poor soul back to health. The fact that he was handsome, and she hadn't felt the touch of a man in years certainly hadn't affected her judgement, of course. Her hauntingly beautiful voice sung its incantation, coaxing his spirit back to the world of the living. When his eyes opened, the first thing he would see would be her chocolate shoulder-length hair and olive complexion as she smiled down at him." Welcome back," she murmured. There was a light accent, though it was hard to pin down exactly where she was from. Alex Shepard was the lead developer and CEO of Hyperion Game studios, one of the newest and fastest growing game studios in the modern world. He was five feet nine inches tall, skinny all of one hundred and seventy pounds. He had a full head of dirty blond hair, and his eyes were a stunning turquoise. While not a stunning specimen of the male gender, he was at least easy on the eyes. He had been on a private flight to Japan, to talk to another smaller studio about buying their studio, and adding them to his growing Video Game empire. However, they had run into a freak storm on the way, and unluckily a bolt of lightning hit them. Thus, they went down, crashing on some island in the south Pacific. Alex though was unaware of what caused them to go down, or what happened after the pilot shouted to brace for impact. Because the moment they landed, he had blacked out. The pilot and co-pilot had died in the crash, he had only been saved by pure luck. As he came to, he saw an honestly beautiful woman before him." Wha... Where... Who...am I... Dead?" He stammered, trying to sit up however he was still weak, and thus failed. After a couple of moments, the crash came back to him and he shot up. "Plane crash! The pilot and Co-Pilot, Are they?!?!" He asked, clearly worried about the people he employed. "Shh...rest. You've been through a lot." Soft hands at his chest eased him back down. "I dragged you from the wreckage. There were no others." Ignoring the man's protests, Elora pressed a warm cup to his lips. "Drink. It will help with the pain." The tea was bitter, but when did medicine ever taste great? Her fingers gently massaged his throat, coaxing the liquid down. "You're lucky I found you," came that maternal voice again. "I am Elora. Do you remember your name?" Elora set the empty cup down and turned to set next to her charge on the bed, still looking down at him. He was shocked by the taste of the liquid, but then her fingers started rubbing his throat and he could not help but swallow it. After she finished making him drink whatever that bitter stuff was, he answered Elora's question. "Alex... My name is Alex Shepard." he groaned, giving up and lay down on the bed still rather weak he looked up into Elora's beautiful face. "Do you have some way for me to signal for rescue... I have an important meeting in Japan to get to." he said unable to take his gave off her eyes something kept drawing him to stare deep into them adding "Not to mention a Family to get back to." Truth be told about Alex's family, he had been an only child, and his parents both had passed away quite some time ago. None of his extended family wanted anything to do with him, though because they all were fanatically religious, and he had in their eyes walked a path of sin going into the video game development business. He had a wife named Jenny, while he loved his wife they had been having problems. He was always working, and she was the type to become overly jealous and suspicious, not to mention he wanted to have kids, but she did not. She was a tall platinum blond bombshell of a Bimbo valley girl, his friends had warned him that she would be trouble, he had ignored them even though they had turned out to be right. Now he feared that his marriage would soon be ending, so when he mentioned a family to get back to there was a slight bitterness to his tone of voice. "You don't sound as though you miss them." She poured him another cup and helped him sit up to drink it this time. "Relax... Your people can wait. You're still hurt." As his vision cleared he could make out more details of her and his surroundings. Everything appeared to have been hand woven in her hut. Did she even have electricity? As for Elora herself, she only wore an ankle length green silk skirt while her upper body remained bare save for a thin deer hide wrap around her breasts. Where the hell was he? Despite appearances her English was perfect! "Drink," she whispered almost hypnotically when the hot cup was raised to his lips again. Her gentle fingers tilted his chin back, forcing him to look deep into her hazel eyes. "It has been too long since I have had company." He was glad to be sitting upright, his strength slowly returning. He was taking in his surroundings while she talked, and it was not until she had the cup with more of the tea raised for him to drink, that he noticed what she had been saying. "Of course I miss my wife, I love her with all my heart." He said before taking a drink, something about her voice and her beautiful hazel eyes that made him feel compelled to obey, not that he would have refused. Despite the bitterness of it, the tea sent strong soothing and pleasurable waves through his body and already his body craved more of those feelings. After finishing the drink, still unable to look away from her beautiful eyes his expression turned to one of sadness and shame, how could he lie to such a beautiful angel. "Aww who am I kidding, she does not love me she only married me for my money, and here I am Lying to my rescuer...I'm sorry." he said clearly very ashamed of himself. "Don't be. She never loved you. Isn't that right?" Her words just seemed so easy to agree with the more she spoke. "All the more reason for you to stay. 500 years of silence has been oh so boring." Elora giggled at the outlandish statement, spoken so casually. The incredulous look on his face said it all. He would need proof." Oh, don't give me that. You see, I'm a witch." The exotic woman stood, laughing almost seductively while her fingers stroked his frozen jaw. At that moment Alex was paralyzed, unable to resist the power of those eyes of hers. "The proof is before you. The tea opened your mind, but you can't move a muscle can you?" Another girlish giggle while she circled her helpless prey. "It's fine, that's just a little spell I've been weaving while you spoke. A shame about your wife, but I think I can appreciate you so much more." She was in front of him once more, smiling like a cat with a cornered mouse. "Perhaps you'll believe me now, my little pet." Elora began to chant in some foreign yet somehow familiar tongue, and images of bull men flooded Alex's mind. The flood of pure strength, stamina, of sexual desire flooded the trapped man's mind. When at last he could tear his eyes away from hers, he would be able to see... No. He was becoming a Minotaur, just like the ones he saw in his head! He suddenly realized that Elora was right, the bimbo never loved him! But he still did have a life to live. He opened his mouth to speak and tell her he could not stay, but his words got stuck in his throat, not just by the 500-year comment, but also because he felt his body freeze up. He could not move save for his eyes which darted around frantically. Fear filled him as he realized this woman, was not as nice as he once thought. She started chanting, and his thoughts changed Minotaur, half bull half men, raw power, ripped muscles, stamina for days, a sexual beast! He looked himself over as the paralysis wore off, but at that moment to him being a Minotaur was normal. And Elora was his mistress, he needed to obey her. He looked to her, climbing out of the bed he knelt before her, bowing his horned bull head to his mistress, waiting for her command. "Beautiful," the witch crooned while standing over her newly changed servant, smirking triumphantly. Dainty fingers curled beneath the bovine muzzle and ever so gently lifted his head so their eyes met. "Do you still doubt me? You may speak, beast." It sounded so right to né called that. After all, wasn't he just an animal? When she gave him permission to speak, it was as if he could control his tongue again, his voice. "No mistress, I do not doubt!" was all he could say at first, Elora could hear it was still Alex's voice, though now it was deeper, he continued. "What are your orders my mistress, I live to serve you." the Minotaur growled, there was a huge bulge in his ruined jeans now, showing his growing arousal. Not only excited for whatever sexual task she had in store for him, he also was excited to carry out whatever she ordered him to. Because to the Minotaur, his one role in life was to obey and serve his mistress. "Strip. You won't need those clothes any longer." Elora slowly licked her soft pink lips as the undeniably male flesh was revealed to her. Her Minotaur was an impressive sight to behold. "If only your wife could see you now, poor beast. Pleasure yourself." The witch casually sat on the chair across from the kneeling bull man to watch the lewd display. "Do you still remember who you were before?" he obediently began to strip off his ruined clothes, and began to stroke his now bovine cock ferociously as he was ordered to pleasure himself. Bull like bellows came from his muzzle, as he obeyed his Mistress. "No mistress, Have I not always been your pet Minotaur?" He asked, curious as to why his mistress would ask such a thing. Meanwhile his bull tail was thrashing about, it knocked over some cups and other things. He was like a literal Bull in a china shop, however he was at this point no where even close to getting off yet. "Yes, you have. You have pleased your mistress for as long as you can remember.... That's it, keep going.... On the count of three, you'll remember who you really are." Those exotic eyes captured the bull's even as he surrendered to his feral pleasure. "One... That's it, stroke for me.... Two... Don't cum until I say so...... Three!" Elora leaned back and broke the spell, awaiting Alex's reaction to his circumstances with a bemused smile as she deliberately left his bull hoof deprived of the orgasm his new body so desperately craved." My, my. I leave you alone for five minutes, and you debase yourself in my home! And those horns certainly are making a mess of things! Perhaps I should send you back to your family like this. See what they make of you instead." Elora hid her smile behind a hand as she regarded the confused bull. He was so happy that mistress was pleased with his lifelong service to her, he kept rubbing and stroking himself off furiously wanting to please her more. She counted down, then a flash and Alex was back. "Whey...WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!?!?!" He shouted, he could not control himself though, no matter how hard he fought to stop masturbating he could not. It was as if he remembered who he really was, but was still a prisoner in this Minotaur body. "No, Please Turn me back into a Human! What have I done to deserve this!?!?!" he begged, clearly upset at what had happened to him. Elora calmly shushed him as though she were merely soothing a child. The witch stood and approached him, still able to stand over him. Her delicate fingers oh so slowly trailed down the warm fur of his chest, teasingly tracing the muscles of his abdomen before taking his stiff length in an almost loving grip. Alex's new tool was far too big for one hand to suffice, but that was the point. He needed her control." Calm yourself, my little pet," she gently admonished. "Doesn't this feel good?" Of course, she was stroking much slower than he had been, bringing him near the edge every time her thumb brushed his aching tip, but never granting enough friction to bring him to orgasm. "Of course it does. I can either change you back or finish what you started. Your choice, my pet." He could not believe how she was treating him, however that was soon lost as he shivered in pleasure from her fingers tracing their way down his body. Once she grabbed for his cock, his hand automatically stopped stroking, and fell to his side so she could have full access to her pet's member. He moaned and bellowed like a bull, as she teased and rubbed him. He wanted so badly to cum, but his body refused until she ordered him to cum. In the same light, he wanted to be changed back, but the need to cum was too great. "P... Please Finish me... I want to CUM" he moaned with need, thrusting his long hard bull cock into her stroking hands, showing how needy he was. No sooner had the words left his mouth then she released his needy cock. No, she had a better idea. "Come with me, my pet. I have just the thing for you." She turned, motioning for Alex to follow. "Beautiful," she repeated. Her eyes lingered on the powerful muscles rippling with every one of the creature's heavy breaths. "Obey your mistress, and you'll be suitably rewarded." The witch giggled with false innocence and led him out of the hut, down a short birth path. Alex could just make out a scent on the wind. It called to his primal male desires, reinvigorating his lust. The feminine aroma only grew stronger to him as they approached a secluded little stable area, and the owner revealed herself to be a heavy cow innocently chewing a mouthful of hay inside her open-faced stall, fanning the heady musk from her glistening folds with every swipe of her tail, unaware her heat was driving Alex wild." Beautiful, isn't she? Irma here is my best milking cow. Too bad she'll dry up soon without a breeding bull. Maybe I can leave you two Aline for a bit. Would you like that, pet?" That false innocence returned along with the witch's cruel smile. He looked at her in shock, as she stopped rubbing his shaft. He was painfully in need, Alex wanted to refuse her order to follow, but when she said 'Obey your Mistress' his Minotaur body took over and began to follow her obediently. As they approached the stable, he smelled the scent of a female cow in heat, a haze fell over his vision, and it became almost impossible for him to focus. His Minotaur instincts taking control, and forcing him forward nodding at his mistress's question of wanting to be left alone with the cow, he approached her mounting her in a hurry, driving his bovine cock deep into the cow with a bellow thrusting in and out of her hard and fast. The pleasure was intense, Alex still aware of what was happening was disgusted. He was Fucking a cow, and enjoying every second of it, which was what was disgusting him the most. Elora watched from outside the stall, thoroughly enjoying the sight of her new pet debasing himself with her livestock. The fact that Alex was aware of it all made it even better. She couldn't help but notice the frenzied pace of the bull, and the mutual bellows of primal lust from both beasts. Oh, this wouldn't do at all. Her fingers stretched out toward the Minotaur, and as she weaved her newest spell he would hear her voice in his mind. Not like this, Alex. Take a deep breath. You don't want to finish early and disappoint a lady, now, do you? The mocking voice faded and sure enough a pins and needles sensation filled his powerful muscles as though his legs were asleep, revealing her subtle yet effective influence forcing the bull to pace himself. The thoughts in his mind were clear: his mistress was watching, and she wanted a good show. The Minotaur Obeyed, slowing his pace to give his mistress a fantastic show. Alex in the meantime was still very disgusted by his actions. "N... No.... I....Don't...MOOOOOOO!!!!!" The Minotaur forcing Alex back, so it could enjoy the pleasure of obeying mistress and mating with the cow. He was now thrusting at the pace a husband would take his wife, on their honeymoon making sweet passionate love to her. Eventually his cock began to twitch and throb, he was ready to sow his seeds in her, and impregnate her with his calf. However, of course he first needed his mistress's permission to cum, so the Minotaur looked to her begging her for permission to finish inside the cow. Elora smiled as she watched. The act itself wasn't what she enjoyed, but instead the witch relished the power she could so easily wield over the bodies and minds of her visitors. "Such a good stud... Let it out. Breed her." For her part, the cow bellowed in bliss as her muscles clenched around Alex's bull hood, coaxing out as much of his load as he could offer. "Don't pull out, my pet." The witch casually stepped inside the stall and affectionately stroked the bull man's sweaty back, loving the feeling of his damp fur. "I bet you feel ashamed of yourself Alex. Taking so much pleasure from my prize cow. You're going to be a father, I can already tell." Elora stepped in front of the pair and gently patted the cow's head, though her eyes remained fixed on the Minotaur's." Irma here was once like you, you know. She used to have such willful arrogance, but I fixed her. She's much better off as a milking slut for bulls like you. Aren't you, Irma?" Her answer came as a low moo, earning a laugh from Elora. "Do you see, Alex? You can't leave my island, but I can make your stay much more fun. Don't try and deny that you're enjoying your new body." Judging from the way her eyes roamed over his powerful chest, so was Elora. Alex Bellowed as he finally reached the climax he had been denied, unloading all of his Minotaur load into the cow, he glared at Elora. "Why... Why are you doing this to us!" He shouted, now getting a hold of himself again. He had finished unloading himself, and had thus pulled out of Irma. "What have we done, to deserve this treatment!" He growled, motioning to Irma as well. Elora's point of how Irma used to be human as well, not lost on him, he was not going to break just, yet it seemed, and thus would need another demonstration, even Irma gave Elora a look that said. 'He just does not get it yet, does the mistress.' "You speak as though I'm punishing you. Torturing you. No... No, I'm merely awakening a part of you that you have long denied. You were so eager to breed her, naughty pet." Elora strode forward confidently and pressed her hand to the warm fur of Alex's powerful chest. Her chanting filled his mind and the familiar tingling washed over the Minotaur as he became his old self, still very naked. Belora playfully squeezed his still damp cock before turning her back to him, wrapping an arm around the cow's neck. "More pleasure awaits you, my pet. You need only submit." The two females turned to face him. Was it his imagination or was Irma actually smiling? "Well, pet? Will you play nice with Irma or shall we teach you another lesson?" he could not believe what he was hearing or seeing. "Your MAD... Your CRAZY!" he shouted as he transformed back, he was not bothering to cover himself though, as he had just fucked this cow who used to be a human as well. So there was no point in being bashful. "I am not your Pet, I am a human being with rights! Now if you let me call for a rescue, and leave your island. I swear on my mothers grave that I will tell no one of your existence, and thus leave you be to do whatever you want, But I will have no part of this!" he said sternly. He turned and walked back towards the hut, as if he was actually going to get his way. "Stop him." Irma charged toward the retreating man, and in misstep she was no longer a cow but a cowgirl. Similar to his own Minotaur form, she was tall and furry, with rippling muscles and a bust that would put his favorite models to shame. In seconds the powerful cow-woman had him in a loose chokehold and was marching him back to Elora." Stop fighting our mistress. She loves us. Besides, you were such a wonderful stud, I'd hate to see you get hurt." Her furry fingers reached between Alex's legs, giving his sack a playful squeeze from behind to accompany her comment." Irma, you can play with him later. Right now he needs to learn that he isn't in any position to make demands." Elora stepped closer to the restrained human and smiled sickeningly. "And I have just the perfect spell to help you along. You like honey, don't you? No matter, bring him to the milking machine." Irma nodded, though she was somewhat disappointed at not having another romp with him. Inside the barn was a massive machine covered in sensors for heart rate, oxygen, and other biological readouts. At one end of the machine was a harness ending in several thick plastic nozzles, leading to a great vat on the other side. "You're going to produce honey for me, my pet. And by the time you finish, you will beg to be here again." More images flooded his mind while the pair secured his arms and legs in the machine's harness, preventing his escape. Bees and dripping honey.... Obedience to the queen... Alex's skin hardened at that moment to an armored black and yellow carapace. His eyes became compound and extended, while wings sprouted his back. Beneath an ass that was turning into a fat stinging abdomen, Alex would be able to feel his cock and balls shrinking into his hardening flesh while his insides shifted to accommodate the new pussy between his legs. There was pain in his chest as heavy breast emerged from his upper body, each hanging low with honey already. Irma wasted no time in fixing the nozzles to the fresh bee author's thick nipples and with a flick of a switch from Elora the machine began to suck and pump at 'her' chest. Alex did not have a chance to make a sound, or move to stop the charging and changing cowgirl. In fact, it happened so fast his mind could not process anything, one minute he was walking away, Elora yelled 'stop him' the next he's being manhandled by a suddenly sentient cow-woman Irma, he struggled, but it did no good other than making him gag from being slightly choked by Irma, he wanted to glare at her when she told him to stop fighting Elora, though could not, his eyes went wide when she grabbed at his ball sack though and he gasped. "HAY...HAND OFF!" He was seriously confused by the milking machine order, he was a man not a woman with lactating tits. However, he could not break free of Irma, and thus was dragged to the barn with the milking machine. Before he knew it, Alex was locked into a milking stall, and he felt Elora's transformation spell take hold again. Images of bee hives, gathering pollen, making honey, Laying the queens eyes, taking care of the Larva, most importantly of all, obeying the queen, filled her mind. A sweet sexy feminine moan erupted from her pouty cocksucking lips, black as if she wore black lipstick, as the skin of her legs turned to Chitin, and formed what almost resembled Knee high 'Fuck Me' boots. Chitin also covered the rest of her lower body, wrapping around a wanting and needy vagina. Her ass swelled into a large yellow and black striped bee abdomen, complete with Visitor, and stinger. The rest of her skin that did not get turned into Chitin became bright yellow around her wrists of her now feminine hands was tufts of bee fur. Two floppy Antenna popped out off the top of her head, from beneath her now neck length long, Pitch black hair. The wings that grew from her back, buzzed eagerly wanting to take flight, and carry her to flowers and gather pollen. Her eyes became huge and compound, and finally her breasts swelled to huge F cups, painful and sore, already leaking a small amount of honey, which stuck to her skin and followed every sexy curve, as it dripped down towards the floor. She now saw the world around her differently, from many different angles in many different directions, all at the same time. Standing over her was Irma her fellow transformation pet, and Mistress Elora her queen. There was only one thought in her head, and it filled her with such a lustful need. 'As a good worker I need, to obey My queen without question! To obey is to Serve, to Serve is to please, to please my queen is to be rewarded with Pleasure! She then spoke her tongue now very proboscis like. "Pleazzzzz Miztrezzz, My Breztzzzz are zzzzooo full of Honey, I Needed to beeeeeeeeee Milked of my Honey!" she begged, her pussy was also leaking honey. This bee girl was very horny, the idea of being milked for her honey, and serving her queen and mistress Elora, always made the bee girl horny as fuck, hopefully her queen would have Irma play with the bee girl while she was milked! Alex was once again a prisoner, in his own transformed body. He screamed, and tried to resist taking back control of his body and mind, as the bee girl presented her huge F cup honey filled breasts to Irma. He watched the Cow-woman attach the milking cups, and readied to turn the machine on. Furthermore, he could feel everything, hear, smell, and see everything. However, fighting coupled with the multiple views from the now compound eyes was giving him a headache, not that the bee girl felt it or cared. He had no control over his own mind and body. It was then he realized just how much trouble he was in. With a loud whirring the machine started up, and the milking cups tugged and pushed on Alex's swollen breasts. The mechanical massage deliberately squeezed inward on the sensitive flesh as the machine pumped more and more of her precious honey into its vat. Not wanting to feel left out, Irma laid on her back between the bee girl's thighs and lifted her head to that glistening pussy. The cowgirl moaned while she lapped up the sweet honey straight from the source. While Alex was being teased and milked on two fronts, Elora stepped over Irma to smile at Alex. Cupping the bee girl's chin and forcing their eyes to meet, she merely reinforced the spell. "Such a good worker. Your queen is pleased." Below them Irma pulled away gasping for air, a trail of sticky honey hanging at her lips. "Delicious," she mooed in near mindless bliss, the addictive honey already beginning to claim her mind. As the Machine fired up, Alex the Bee girl moaned loudly. The honey flowing form her large breasts into the machine, specially designed for Bee girl honey. She pulled at her restraints, wanting desperately to finger herself, or grope at her breasts helping the machine by squeezing out even more honey. However, as she was all tied up, she could not. That was when she saw Irma get down on her back between Alex's legs, she eagerly forced her legs farther apart encouraging Irma. Moaning louder still as the cow tongue began licking hard fast and deep, the Bee girls hips thrusting her needy pussy, into each lick lustfully. "YEZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!" she screamed, as pleasure racked her body. That pleasure however was to be eclipsed, when her Queen Elora lifted the bee girls chin so gently and sweetly, forcing bee girl to look deep into the queens Hazel eyes. She then heard the words, that she dreamed of hearing all her life, during her service to Queen Elora. 'Your Queen is pleased...' So powerful were those words, the Bee girl cried out in blissful orgasm. Cumming just from hearing that one phrase, forcing even more honey into Irma's mouth. The poor Cow woman, would now be temporarily physically paralyzed from the effects of the bee girl honey. After a while the Bee girls breasts sagged, every drop of honey drained from them. "Mizzztrezzzz, May I Go and collect Pollen, and Nectar zzzzzooo I may make more honey?" she asked eagerly, her voice had an almost French accent to it as was normal, she was ready to serve her Queen Mistress more and be rewarded for pleasing her more.Meanwhile, Alex could not help but moan as he felt what everything his bee girl body did however he felt it doubly it was so hard to think anymore was Alex a man or a woman....no he was a man...but if he was a man why was his moaning so feminine why did he have a pussy and breasts and why did he just have a female orgasm...but no Alex was a man....but... On and on Alex fought against the warping of his mind the pleasure making it harder and harder to fight, but Alex fought on trying to maintain who he really was under Elora's magical onslaught "Not until that vat is full." Elora left the machine on and stepped behind the machine before returning a moment later with a fresh nozzle. "Open your mouth for your Queen." The witch smiled and slipped the thin plastic tube into Alex's mouth, and in moments her own honey was flowing from the vat into her throat, bringing that same willful helplessness it had rendered to the cowgirl." Irma will take care of you for the night. I expect that vat to be full by sunrise." Elora left them in the barn like that, and laughed evilly on her way back to her hut. It would be an impossible task of course, but that wasn't the point; every drop of honey the bee girl consumed would make her mind more and more susceptible to the witch's suggestions and add to her arousal, which in turn would cause her body to produce more of the addictive treat. The bee girl started to argue, She needed to go collect Nectar, in order to make more honey and fill the vat. However, she then saw the tube her queen was bringing over. Her eyes went wide, her heart filled with joy and excitement! She opened her mouth obediently, and waited for mistress to place it in her mouth. Holding the tube in her mouth willingly, she began to greedily drink her own warm fresh honey, as it flowed back out from the Vat and into her mouth. Irma for her part, also wanted nothing more than to please her mistress. So when she heard Elora say that, she was to take care of the Bee girl for the night. The Cow-woman started to try and move back into action, pushing herself up weakly until she was back upright again. Stumbling over to a cabinet, she searched through it until she found a double ended Strap-on dildo. She put it on, shoving one end up into her own dripping wet cunt with a loud Moo! Then she moved back over to the Bee girl, smiling deviously she slid the other end into the Bee girls honey soaked slit. Irma began to thrust eagerly mooing happily, while the Bee girl rocked her hips into every thrust, and moaned through a constant mouthful of honey. Deep with in the bee girls mind as all this happened, Alex felt the honey take effect and his resistance slowly died off. The soothing honey pacifying him, and allowing the Bee girl to act unhindered by part of her mind fighting the queen. Through the night, the one small part of Alex left, in the bee girls mind dreamed. He was running along a path, chasing someone that was leading him somewhere. He did not know who he was chasing, where they were leading him, or even where on earth he was in the dream. All he knew or even cared about in the dream, was that he had to follow this someone, to a special place, and do something, he had....to obey! The next morning, Elora would find that the Vat while not actually full was now three quarters full! Surprising, considering when she had left it, it was only at half! She would also find, Irma and the bee girl fast asleep in each other's arms! Apparently at some point in the night, Irma undid the bee girls bindings, and it seemed the Honey had done such a number on the part of the bee girls mind that was still Alex, that the bee girl had stayed the full night, fucking and giving honey! The strap-on still buried in both their dripping slits, Milking cups were also now attached to Irma's bombastic bust! Though hers were attached to a different milking machine, and pumped into a separate Vat than the Bee girls. However, most surprising of all, the Bee girl STILL had a torrent of honey flowing from her breasts. Her body eagerly trying, even in sleep to please her queen and produce honey as ordered. The bee girl began to stir, she opened her compound eyes, the eyelids a redundant leftover from having a humanoid face. She looked up at her Queen, and smiled weakly. "Good morning my Queeeeeen, Did I Pleeeeeazzzze you? Did I fill the Vat azzzzzzzzz ordered?" she asked groggily, as she tried to push herself up right. Only to find Irma wrapped around her. "Sexzzzzzzzzzy cow." she giggled, bringing herself into a sitting upright position. "There's still room in the vat, my lazy little worker. Perhaps I can help you along?" Elora knew the extent of the bee girl's desire, her need to please her queen. Seeing no resistance in those compound eyes, the witch smiled and cupped Alex's cheek between her thumb and index finger. "After all... Irma seems to be quite fond of your honey as well. Isn't that right, dear?" The groggy cow woman giggled and squeezed tighter around Alex. "Delicious...."" Indeed.... In fact, I think it's only appropriate that she be the one to make a proper queen out of you, my pet. Would you like that?" Once Alex nodded, Elora kissed the bee girl. As her tongue slipped into Alex's mouth, her magic did the same to her body. Her breasts swelled, first becoming perkier and then taking on an extra cup size. Her chitinous ass likewise swelled, giving her hips an enticing new curve. When Elora pulled away for air she smiled at Irma. "Oh don't worry. You'll enjoy the new queen soon enough as her loyal drone." The smile on the cow's face widened, and then the change claimed her as well. Where Alex had become a soft and pliant honey producing bee girl, Irma now stood behind her as a chiseled warrior of a bee. The aroma of his queen's honey brought the new drone to his knees while his new cock forced its way past the chitin of his exoskeleton. "Please, my Queen... What would you Aziz?" The new buzz in 'his' voice accompanied the quiver of the new transparent wings sprouting from Irma's back." I think I'll stay and watch, my pets. Don't keep him waiting, Alex. Don't you want to produce as many eggs as you can with this virile drone of yours?" Alex's face fell when she heard that she had failed her queen, but smiled when her queen offered to help. Her compound eyes were filled with devotion and admiration, as they locked with Elora's. She could not have been more excited for whatever the queen had planed for her next, but she soon found out. As the bee girl and the Witch made out her perspective changed along with the thoughts and desires filling her head, she was no longer the worker, going out and collecting to make honey. She was a queen, her duty was to lay eggs, raise workers and warrior drones. Her body changed, she felt her breasts and ass swelling, while her hips widened to the perfect child bearing hips. Her wings shrank, she would need help moving around now. Especially to return to the actual hive. She felt so sexy, as her now G cup breasts began a renewed gushing torrent of honey that the machine piped into the vat. She looked around for a couple of moments, getting her bearings again. While Irma transformed into her warrior drone, a drone which was clearly of perfect breeding stock. "Come My Drone, Fertilizzzzzze Me, so I may Lay more Eeeeggggzzzzz!" she buzzed, her own wings moving with her speech. She spread her royal legs wide, eager for her drone to impregnate her. "The IEEE Must Surviveeeee!" she moaned, the need to become pregnant, and lay eggs which would hatch into more drones and workers filled her entire mind. This thought actually made her look to her mistress, and the queen of all queen bees curious and puzzled. "Mizzzztrezzzzz, Where izzzzzzzzz our Hive anyway Pizzazz It Safe?" she asked, almost frightened at the thought of not having a hive to return to.Meanwhile, the male part of Alex woke up, he felt the changes and moaned. He was so lost in the lust, and pleasure his body was feeling at the moment. He no longer cared he was about to have sex as a woman, nor that his body wanted to lay eggs and hatch more bee morphs. He drifted back off to sleep, dreaming again of chasing someone this time he knew it was an animal of some-kind, though he was still unsure of where the animal was leading him. However, now he realized that he was home, not back in the city mind, but on Elora's Island this island was his home now. But why was this island suddenly home, why did he feel the need to.... Obey, and whom did he need to Obey?

Forbidden Island (silentwalrus227 and TheDefiantPirate)|rating:3.0

Vampire,Werewolves and Witches Rp

Sighing Kenji walked down the street with a black parasol over her shoulder, shielding her from the sun as she went on her way to get herself some lunch. Seeing a young man walking towards her, she gave a shy smile and let her arm brush against his as she walked by. Turning she noticed him staring at her and motioned him to follow her into an alley where she proceeded to drain him of most of his blood and then made him forget that it ever happened. Wiping her mouth she smiled and went on her way. Kane watched Kenji and jumped down from a balcony. He said "You shouldn't drain people during the day. You can get caught." Kane said "My name is Kane. And yours?" Faye smirked and saw a man. He seemed young and had a few years on him, she whispered "flees" the man fell over she then said "evil niardLucian walked through the forest, he had a fresh kill. He saw two werewolves fighting. Furthermore, he walked over they stopped and looked at him. "You're fighting like dogs. I don't need any of you dead." David was walking through the streets, not many people could tell he was a werewolf. He kept moving something just didn't feel right, he moved through the crowd with ease. There was no problem getting through crowds, the problem was that he had to keep distance from the place he was. Drama walked with his head down. Years had honed his survival instincts. And he knew the lowest profile lead to the longest life and as such he moved a lot and made no connections with anyone. He was a wanderer, only passing through never staying in one place long. He knew better, learned better. Furthermore, he was starting to get the feeling that it was time to move on again SSA sat quietly under a tree, using its leaves to shade her from the sun. She still felt rather weak, but it was better than being in direct sunlight but even so she knew she would not be able to stay outside for very long; no need to faint and be left defenseless. The silhouette sighed, briefly closing her bright violet eyes for a moment. Karou hummed lightly as she walked along the street. Her long, flowing blonde hair waved slightly in the wind as the young witch trekked along the road. A basket was hung over her arm, containing the herbs she had just gathered from the forest earlier that morning. Emma cheerfully hopped down the street, singing a little Latin folk song in her head as she went along. She had a jolly smile on her face and her hands carried two small bags of ingredients for her potions. Although she was two decades old, she still acted like a child and though this bothered and annoyed some, she chose not to notice. As she swung bags joyfully, she stopped suddenly, frozen. There in front of her, on the cobblestoned streets, was tiny black bird. It was simply picking up a few crumbs off the stone, but Emma couldn't move. Her eyes widened in fear, and she began to tremble slightly. Her smile was gone and out of nowhere, she let out a piercing scream, making all the citizens around her jump in astonishment. A witch afraid of birds? Who had ever heard such a thing? Emma turned and wanted to run the other way however after taking a single step, she was stopped once again. It seemed she had bumped into someone, but she was much too embarrassed to look up and see who it was. Instead, she stood staring at the ground, still trembling. Faye left the man's old corpse and said "Nut OT HSA" She left the corpse that was now ash. She walked down through the streets, loving the feeling the new life force she had. As she walked through the streets she bombed into some girl. She looked down ready to burn her but saw this girl may be a witch. "Something wrong my dear?" Faye asked seeing the girl looked scared Lucian said "Where is Chase?" Lucian had a plan to take out the vampires, but he would have to make a deal with a witch. He wanted his personal bodyguard and the beta's opinion on his deal. David felt his shoulder, bump into someone. He stopped for a second to look back and see a witch, his muscles tensed. He wasn't sure, if he should run or something. His nose told him, she was afraid of something, he turned his head to find a bird. She was scared of a bird the bird flew off. He looked back at the witch his gray eyes searched her for any kind of threat. Karol almost jumped out of her skin as a high-pitched scream split the air. She jerked her head around, worried that someone may be hurt. She spotted a girl and immediately knew she was a witch. Furthermore, she thought about approaching, but there were two people already over there, and she didn't want to crowd. So she turned and continued on her way. Issa sighed and figured she better get inside. She stood to her feet but then gasped when her knees wobbled before giving out on her, causing her to land back on the ground with a small squeak. Eyes wide, she stared down at her legs before it dawned on her that she must have been outside longer than she thought. She quickly scrambled back onto her feet, but the world spun this way and that, and she stumbled as though she was on a ship being tossed at sea. No.someone.help. She desperately flung the thought outwards as she crumpled to the ground, trying to blink the black spots from her vision. Chase grunted," behind you. As always." A grin formed on Chase's face as he walked out next to Lucas. He eyes his face, almost immediately recognizing the look. He spoke," what do you have planned." He crossed powerful arms across his chest, the black hair brushed back out of his face and out of his eyes. Along the cobblestone streets of the city, a tall man with strange clothing walked briskly with a cane in one hand. Beside this man was a middle-aged woman who held an umbrella above the man despite the sunny day. "Brunhilde, I honestly do not understand how you mortals can withstand this detestable sunlight. It truly is wretched...at any rate, why did you see git to drag me out here?" The man said with an exasperated sigh as he eyed the other people along the street from behind his dark glasses. The woman chuckled lightly and looked up to the man,"It really isn't much of a concern to us Master Lockhart. In fact, the sun is quite important for life to flourish.", "Bah. I'll believe it when I see it. Besides, you still haven't answered my question, and I thought I told you that you could call me Reginald.". Brunhilde only shook her head with a small smile,"It is improper for a servant to refer to her employer by first name. And I thought it would be nice for you to get out of that musty old mansion of yours while the maids cleaned it up. If you never get out, people will believe you to be some sort of deplorable recluse.", Reginald looked down at his servant, "You've still got a silver tongue on you after all these years. At this rate I might just keep it in a jewel after you're buried." he mused. Brunhilde only smiled wider,"As if you could ever touch silver, Master Lockhart", the two shared a brief laugh, then continued their walk through the town. Lucian said "I may have a way to beat the vampires....but it involves working with a witch." He began walking "She said she can beat them but requires blood of nine vampires...but I also don't trust her...." He sat down and Lucian looked at Chase "Her name is Faye..." Faye looked at the black bird and said "Gnaw resorb." The bird let out a loud squeak and fell to the ground, She said "Filthy vermin." Chase walked beside him, thinking quietly. He said," so... We would have to get the blood of nine different vampires... And give it to a witch that isn't trustworthy... But is rarely there a trustworthy witch. It might be worth the risk, to get the vermin exterminated. He remained standing as Lucas sat, finding it more comfortable to stand right now then sit. SSA let out a small whimper as she tried to climb to her feet only to sink back onto the ground. Her mind spiral back, and she released that as well as staying in the sun too long, she hadn't drank her dose of blood this morning. She mentally cursed herself as she finally slumped to the ground, defeated as the blackness began to close in. She was done for, she knew it. A weak vampire that was low on blood and in broad daylight? She would be lucky if she lasted an hour before her body began to shut down. As Reginald and his servant continued their stroll, they came upon a rather odd sight; A young woman had been attempting to stand up from beneath a tree, only to slump back down with an exhausted expression. To Brunhilde's eyes, this person seemed merely sick, but Reginald knew far more about what was going on. He'd been around long enough to recognize the signs of an exhausted vampire out in the sun, and it was clear as day to him that this was what was happening to the young woman, "Brunhilde. Might I trade my can with the umbrella?? I will be needing a small bottle of blood as well." Reginald mused to his servant. Brunhilde looked to her master quizzically, but followed his orders nevertheless, swapping the umbrella and cane, and producing a tiny bottle from her sleeve. "Thank you kindly Brunhilde." Reginald said curtly as he walked towards SSA and loomed over her, his shadow and the shadow of the umbrella blotting out the sun, "It isn't wise to sit out without protection you know." he said in an amused tone. The vampire knelt down to his fallen brethren and uncorked the vial of blood before holding it just in front of her face, "Drink.". SSA blinked, feeling the hotness of the sun beating down on her cool. She raised bright red eyes and meet the eyes of a man. She blinked again, recognizing him as another vampire. Furthermore, she flinched however when he knelt down and tried to inch backwards but found she was too weak to do so. Her attention was drawn elsewhere when a vial was produced and held in front of her face. The scent of the contents drifted to her and her body acted before her brain could register what was happening. She took the vial and upended the contents into her mouth. She tried recoil away as the taste of human blood touched her tongue, but her body refused to move, not caring what kind of blood it was; only that it was blood. When it was empty she slumped back to the ground, feeling the blood working its way through her system. She looked up at the other vampire, gaze timid. "T-Thank you." She said in a quiet voice. Reginald's expression was still one of amusement as he'd watched the young vampire drain the vial with a somewhat disturbed look, 'Must not be used to human blood...' he thought quietly as the bottle was emptied with haste. Once the vampire finished and allowed the blood to do its work, she thanked him with a rather meager expression, "No thanks necessary. And you needn't behave so shyly child. I have no intentions of harming you." he said before standing and extending a hand, "Come now. Let's get you out of the sunlight before you end up collapsing again. My servant only carries but so much blood with her.". As Brunhilde watched her employer, the seemingly perpetual smirk on her face widened into a full on cheeky grin, watching her master actually display genuine kindness to a stranger, let alone another vampire, was quite a sight to behold. She'd be sure to find a way to use this moment to taunt him when she had the chance. As soon as Emma saw that the bird was gone and no longer a threat to her, she turned to the female with a grateful smile. "Oh, thank you so much!" She said cheerfully, embracing the witch just as a child would. She then turned to the boy she had bumped into, bowing politely. "I apologize for that sir," she reached into one of her ingredients bags and took out 2 Phoenix feathers. She handed one to the boy and the other to the female witch. "Please accept these as a gift of gratitude and an apology." SSA waited a moment before she tried sitting up, relieved to see that she seemed to have regained some of what little strength she had. She looked up at the man, eyes now bright violet tinged only slightly with red. Her gaze dropped to his hand, and she stared at it a moment. She wasn't used to being helped by anybody, heck, she wasn't used to contact with others period. Other people scared her and that's why she stayed away. But this man helped her so she owed him that much. She reached out one small pale and hand hesitantly placed it in his own. Reginald gently helped the young vampire to her feet with a comforting smile, "There, that's much better is it not?". Despite his polite demeanor Reginald could already feel Brunhilde gearing up for another round of jeering once he had made sure SSA was squared away, 'That woman... I swear...' he mentally groaned. "Now then, what is your name child?" the elder vampire inquired as he tilted the umbrella to better shade himself and SSA. "You shouldn't tell me what to do." Kenji snapped back, her eyes narrowing, turning to face Kane. "My name is none of your business." Growling she started to back away from Kane, making sure she kept her distance. Kane could tell this vampire was much younger than him but had a lot to learn. He said "I guess I will be going.," before he left he said "Be more careful the vampires have many enemies." Faye held the Phoenix feather. She smiled "Thank you my dear. You may call me Faye. What is your name? " The witch sat down on the bench and put the feather in her bag. Lucian said. "I'm seeing the witch tonight. I want you to come with me. So you can see her, that way you can watch here and make sure she doesn't betray us." Lucian stood and said "Chase, kill the witch if she betrays us." Emma giggled in delight and held out her hand in the gesture for a handshake. "You are very welcome. My name is Emma Warwick. It's a pleasure to meet you Faye," she said politely. A sudden gust of wind blew past her and the young witch quickly pulled down the brim of her hat with one hand, dropping one bag of ingredients in the process. "Oh bollocks," Emma exclaimed before kneeling down to quickly pick up all of her materials. David shrugged, he really didn't talk much. He put his hands in his pockets, and headed for the woods. Once he was sure no one was around, he shifted into his wolf form, and ran deeper into the woods. Once Emma had picked up all her materials, she turned to find that the young man she had bumped into had gone and had not taken the Phoenix feather with him. The feather was glowing red as it rested on the concrete. "Oh no, he must have dropped in during his hasty departure," Emma said before turning back to Faye. "I guess I'll have to get it back to him. It was a pleasure meeting you Faye, and thanks again!" She said before swiftly running after the young man. He was walking a quick pace though and Emma found herself taking larger steps. She wanted to call out to him however she didn't know his name. Plus, the hustle and bustle of the town would have drowned out the sound of her voice. As she passed a gardener's stall, she quickly grabbed a rake and mounted it, hovering swiftly in order to catch up to him. Her bags of ingredients were forgotten at the stall, but her mind was pressed on other things. She followed him as he entered the woods but once she found herself within the trees, he was no longer anywhere to be seen. Before she could continue her search, the rake beneath her began to jerk, and suddenly her flight was out of control. Emma squealed, partly out of fright and partly out of delight, as she flew in circles, barrel-rolling through the air. The fun began to wear off fast when she suddenly began to feel very dizzy. "Oh dear! Help!" she cried out, which was probably not the best idea. She may attract unwanted attention, but that didn't bother her for the moment. Emma gasped when the rake beneath her abruptly stopped, and she attempted to seize this moment to take back control. Unfortunately, she wasn't quite so lucky, and she dropped swiftly to the ground, landing roughly on her bottom. She groaned in pain and sat up, sighing as the phoenix feather and rake dropped beside her. She picked up the feather and examined it. "I wonder where he went." She said quietly to herself. David hid, in the shadows of the woods watching the witch. What in the world does she wan the thought to himself, not many witches would follow a wolf into there territory. When he saw her fall to the forest floor, he shook his head. Emma looked up suddenly, her instincts telling her that he was near. She stood up off the ground quickly and began calling out to him. "Hello, sir? Boy from the town? You forgot your feather!" she said loudly and cheerfully as usual, waving the feather above her head. Her eyes searched around, but he was nowhere to be seen. Chase snorted," of course I'd kill the witch. I'd prefer. To be in my other firm to have proper reaction time." He sudden paused, his lips drawing up to bare his teeth. "Did you hear something?" ((whoops, rewriting the post, so this makes sense :P)) Lucian nods and said "yes it was a voice. Sounds like a child's voice." He got up and went to see what it was. He looked and saw Emma. Furthermore, he could tell she was a witch. Lucian said "may I ask why you are on my land?" Lucian's claws slowly extend. Faye hot up watching the girl leave. She saw her head to the woods. The location where she met the mutt. She decided to follow the girl to meet the mutt again. Faye held up her hand" etanimulli." When no reply was heard, Emma sighed and sat back down on the ground next to her fallen rake. It was then that she'd realized that she'd left all her potion ingredients in the city. "Oh bollocks!" She exclaimed loudly, slamming one clenched fist down onto the grassy surface. She then leaned back and lay herself down, her legs following through and propping up for a few seconds before they too, collapsed flat onto the floor. As she lay back on the grass like a plank, she closed her eyes and relaxed, humming a joyful tune. Little did she know of the danger that was about to come upon her. She sat up quickly when she realized she was being addressed. She gazed upon the man with white hair, standing swiftly and grinning. "Oh, this is your land? Oh, I'm sorry. Very lovely grass you have here. It's nice and soft, and it seems to be a pleasant location," she rambled cheerfully. She suddenly heard another voice, one of which was familiar to her. Emma turned and gasped in delight. "Faye! Fancy seeing you here!" She said as she ran up to her, giggling. David let out a low growl, he kept to the shadows, but he knew his growl could be heard. He didn't move from his spot, he stayed put. Lots of wolves would be heading this way now, and David didn't like the idea. Emma turned at the sound of a low growling. It sounded as though it was close by and once again, she scanned the area with her eyes but caught sight of nothing more than her already visible companions. I wonder what could be happening. This could be interesting, she thought to herself as a grin spread across her lips. Hello, Emma." She looked at Lucian "hello Lucian, have you made you choice?" Lucian nods and said "I have." He heard growling and growled back. "Show yourself." He said to the person growling. David knew he was outmatched, he changed back to human form, and put his hands in his pockets. He stepped out of the shadows. Drama walked idly through the forest, off any beaten path. He enjoyed the feel of being surrounded my nature. It was naturally beautiful. Something he appreciated but as he walked along he got a growing feeling that there were other creatures in the forest not quite as natural. But even so he continued, unafraid. It was a bridge he would cross when he came to it, if ever in fact he did. Chase, loyal as always, walked up to the right side of Lucian. A low rumbling growl escaped his mouth as he gazed at the group. Two were witches, one was an unknown werewolf. A lone wolf then. He looked at one of the two witches that was on her butt in the grass and snorted at her. Next he looked at the other witch. She knew Lucian, probably is the witch he spoke of. His eyes flashed, not fond of others on the pack land at all. David knew the warning when he saw it, he shrugged he didn't find anything a threat to him not yet anyway. A breeze went through the forest, something didn't feel right of course he went on his instincts, and he was ready to fight anything. Emma could feel the intensity in the air as another young male appeared next to the owner of the land, another werewolf it seemed. Although she was not phased when he growled, she knew this could turn into a bad situation. But when the boy from the town stepped out of the shadows, she forgot all about her current predicament. "Hey, it's you! I've been looking for you," she said joyfully as she skipped up towards him. She held the phoenix feather out to him with a smile. "You dropped this, so I thought I would come and return it to you. It's to serve as an apology for bumping into you and a thank you for shooing away the birds. See, Faye has one too," she said as she pointed to the other witch. Emma was now completely oblivious of the other 2 males with them and unaware of the situation that may be unfolding. David shook his head, "you don't need to apologise to me," his voice deep and gravelly when he spoke. He then looked at the alpha, "sorry for being on your lands, but here to warn you got some wolves in your pack that are plotting your death." "Huh?" Emma stared at him blankly then gasped when he mentioned that there were people plotting against someone's death. "Well, that's not very nice! You should be careful," she turned to look at alpha male also, wagging the phoenix feather in his direction. SSA climbed to her feet with the other vampires help. Once she was on her feet she swayed slightly but quickly regained her balance. She tilted her head up to peer up at the older vampire, realizing just how short she was in comparison to him. She gave him a very timid smile in return. "SSA. My name is SSA IRI." She answered. "It is a pleasure to meet you SSA IRI. My name is Reginald Lockhart." Reginald responded with a light shaking of her hand. There was the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him and the elder vampire released his grip and looked in the direction of Brunhilde, who upon being acknowledged, tilted his cane in the direction in the sun as if to say 'You can't stay out forever'. Reginald nodded and looked back to SSA, "Come young one, the sun won't set for a bit longer. It'd be best if we found someplace a bit more hospitable to our kind, yes?". Umbrella or no, Brunhilde was right, simply being out at the same time as the sun was starting to drain Reginald's strength, making him eager to get inside. Not only that, but the elder vampire couldn't shake a sense of foreboding in the back of his head, as though something big was about to happen somewhere. Lucian rose an eyebrow and said "Someone in my pack in planning my death...do you know who it is?" Lucian eyes narrowed looking at David. "Tell me who is paneling to kill me and I will allow you to leave here with your life." Faye smirked when David mentioned someone plotting to kill Lucian. Faye said ""Well Lucian...looks like you do need my help after all." She already knew his answer to her proposition. "It's n-nice to meet you too." She said softly. She looked over when she heard the sound of someone clearing their throat and started when she realised that a woman (presumably the men companion) had been standing there the whole time. SSA felt a pang of guilt stab her at just now realizing the females' presence. Her attention returned to Reginald, and she nodded in agreement, already feeling the sun start to take its toll on her again. That small amount of blood, while giving her a little bit of strength back, did not cure her weakness fully. (please forgive my lateness on replied. In one of the rps I'm in we are fight the Hulk so that's quite active.) He growled," who is it, and I'll tear him limb from limb." He started to gain more wolf like attributes, teeth and face elongating, fingernails growing to claws. Furthermore, he looked at the witch that was acting silly and simply growled at her in annoyance, before briefly glancing at the other than focusing on the lone werewolf. David raised his hands in surrender, "I only heard voices two to be precise, but I don't know who I swear." David knew he would be killed here and now, if he didn't tell the truth. Emma walked over to the 3 men, listening in on their conversation, and she alternated looking at each of them one by one. When she heard Faye speak, she assumed that Lucian was the alpha male, but she was still unaware of the other two identities. She suppressed a giggle when she saw the boy from the towns holding his hands up in surrender. "Well, for someone who had such a threatening growl before, you certainly are quick to throw in the towel," she said tauntingly. But her playfulness was interrupted when another growl was directed towards from what seemed to be the beta male. She wasn't sure of this of course as it was only an assumption based off his loyalty. Despite the fact that he seemed quite tough, Emma was not phased. She poked her tongue out at him and gave her head a quick nod to show that she wasn't afraid of him, nor did she care much for his opinion of her. David let out a low growl, "stay out of this not your problem witch." David looked at the other two wolves. Emma looked at a boy from the town, her face pulled into a slight frown, but only for a second for she had a brilliant idea. "Oh I see, does this help?" she asked cheekily before suddenly disappearing from sight. Well, mostly. A single digit from her right hand was still as visible as the rest of her body previously was, but she was unaware of this. Just to be annoying, she pinched a cheek from both the boy from the town and the beta male, suppressing a giggle so as not to reveal herself, even though it was possible they could still see her finger. Lucian rose an eyebrow, this other witch was childish but seemed strong. "Young witch.what is your name?" He asked calmly Faye smiled watching Emma. This girl amused Faye, for the time being. She said "Interesting magic." Chase snarled and grabbed her finger hard. He didn't have any patience for this. He snarled," touch me again, and I'll break your arm." He pushed her back, his teeth bared. Furthermore, he wasn't in the mood for this. Then again, he never was. As she was pushed back by the assumed beta male, Emma was suddenly completely visible again. She simply giggled at his little threat. Hmm, this one's tough and mean, but I bet he's really a sweetheart on the inside, she thought to herself. She knew that it was probably only wishful thinking but seeing his loyalty towards Lucian, she knew that he certainly had a heart at least. Emma was just about to reprimand the beta male for mistreating her however Lucian addressed her first. She turned to him politely and gave a small curtsy. "My name is Emma Warwick sir," she said cheerfully but with respect. After all, it was apparently his land that she had intruded upon. Lucian smirked at the girl. She was interesting laughing at a threat from a werewolf. He nods at her and said "That's a lovely name my dear." He bowed and said "I am Lucian and this is my friend and bodyguard Chase." Faye watched as the witch laughed at the Beta's threat she thought to herself this girl may be of some use to me... Emma grinned at the flattering comment. "Why thank you sir. Your name is quite nice too. It's a pleasure to meet you." Emma said cheerfully and directed herself to the bodyguard, who obviously wasn't too fond of her. It seemed that he was still showing off his grand dentures. "Don't worry Chase, I think your name is nice too. It suits you in fact. You seem like someone who enjoys a fun pursuit," Emma said nudging him with her elbow. Despite his previous warning, she remained stubborn, deliberately annoying him. Reginald nodded and guided SSA over to his servant, his smile fading some as he saw the cheeky grin on her face, "Making new friends are we Master Lockhart? I must admit, she's quite a step up from those boring old men you usually converse with." Brunhilde teased. Reginald grit his teeth, "One of these days Brunhilde..." he hissed in annoyance, Brunhilde meanwhile brushed off the threat knowing that he could never bring himself to harm his most faithful servant, "Well? Do you intend to introduce me?" she mused, eying the young vampire with interest. Reginald sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "SSA IRI, allow me to introduce you to my faithful and highly aggravating servant, Brunhilde Hirsch.", Brunhilde bowed slightly in respect, shooting a dirty look at Reginald for referring to her as aggravating before speaking, "It is a pleasure to meet you Dalai." she chirped sweetly. SSA allowed herself to be lead over to the women. She gave her a timid smile. "It's a p-pleasure to meet you as well." She said in a quiet voice. She gazed at the women, sensing that she was mortal. The young vampire blinked, wondering how she came to serve under Reginald but pushed the thought aside, knowing it was none of her business. Chase roughly grabbed the girls arm, tightening his grip further on her. His claws grew, pressing into her skin, dangerously close to breaking the skin. He growled," I'm not joking you puny childish witch. I will hurt you. Don't test me." His eyes started to change color, his physical appearance changing further, becoming more animalistic. Brunhilde smiled once more at SSA before looking up to Reginald, "I trust that she will be accompanying us to manor? By now the maids should be completely done cleaning.". Reginald nodded, "That would be the plan. She may stay until sunset-", his voice trailed off as he looked down to SSA, "-that is to say if you wish to do so. If not, then Brunhilde and I could escort you to a place that you may find more familiar.". SSA felt her eyes go slightly wide at the mention of a manor, and she quickly looked up at the elder vampire, shaking her head. "Oh no, I d-don't want to be a burden." She exclaimed softly. "The place where I am staying at is in the forest, she needn't escort me anywhere, really. I don't want to cause trouble." She said in a small voice. Lucian said "Chase.calm down....." He looked at him. This witch was annoying but if he could get her on his side as well then they might have a better chance at taking down the vampires. He then said "Faye I would like to talk to you." Faye nods and said "Alright." They walked behind a tree and Faye whispered "Bring me the 9 vials of vampire blood by the next month's full moon. But it must be from different vampires." Lucian nods and said "If you backstab me witch I swear I will kill you."" And I will do the same if you try anything." She smirked at his and said "bye." She began walking away and asked "Emma my dear would you like to join me for a walk?" Chase growled and shoved the witch away from his body, folding his arms tightly across his chest. He glared at her, receding back more into his human shape, simply keeping the claws and teeth. Veronica ran through the trees. She didn't know where she was but she didn't care. She sensed a few minds close by. One seemed to be a werewolf. She jumped into a tree and began to jump from branch to keep out of reach. It's 1934, witches, vampires, and werewolves still roamed the earth. They were respected but feared at the same time. This is their story, of survival, wars between the races and even romance. CS's [+] WitchNameAgeAppearancePersonalityPowersWeaknessVampireName AgeAppearancePersonalityAnimal or Human BloodPowersWeaknessWerewolfNameAgeAppearancePersonalityRankWeakness Rules Be cool Keep it pg (13)Please no random disappearing Wolf ranks Alpha Male-ZerofighterAlpha Female-Rawr666Beta Male-SomeoneSomewhereBeta Female-Open Lone Wolves (As many as we want) My Character [+] Kenji Sense is 250 years old but looks to be 17Kenzi, being a younger vampire, is very irrational and emotional. She takes whatever situation is placed in front of her and reacts with full emotion. She drinks mostly human bloodGlamor-Kenji can cast a glamour, meaning she can make humans see and believe what she wants them to.Levitation-She can rise from the ground when she is strong enough.Shield-At times she can shield herself from others powers, physical and mental. Her main weakness is being cut off from her senses. I'll make a female witch and a female vampire soon. ^^ Are there age limits for the characters? 15-25 for the looks to be and any age for the actual age. I will make a vampire and witch (maybe a werewolf too) UltimatePuzle said 15-25 for the looks to be and any age for the actual age. Alright, thanks. Werewolf Name: David Williams Age: 19Appearance:Personality: sometimes David finds it hard to trust people, but when he knows he can trust someone fully he's kind. He also has a short temper Rank: lone wolf Weakness: silver, can't swim (he sinks he doesn't float like humans) ~Name~Karol Thiago~Age~16(16)~Personality~Karol is very kind and loves helping people. She puts everyone before her helps and rarely thinks about her own well-being. She is easy to upset, but she tries to put on a happy face and not show her sadness.~Powers~- Can control the elements-Can speak to animals-Can heal, but it drains her own strength~Weakness~- Vocalization - Witches must cast their spells vocally, even if the words are a muttered whisper. A gagged witch is powerless.- Visual and Tactile - Additionally, many spells require line of sight or touch (such as healing spells), and therefore being in the dark, or unable to reach the target prevents the witch from casting a spell and using her magic.~Name~SSA IRI~Age~16(50)~Personality~SSA keeps to herself, rarely speaking a word to anyone. She frightens rather easily and tries to avoid fighting and conflict seeing as it scares her. She becomes flustered and embarrassed quite easily.~Animal or Human Blood~Animal~Powers~- Can speak in others mind, but she can not read thoughts - Can move objects with her mind-Can control shadows and teleport through them, but she has no control on where she goes or where she ends up~Weakness~-Seeing that she drinks animal blood she is not as strong as vampires who drink human blood. But even if she did drink human blood (which she won't ever) she would still not be very strong.- She can't stay out in the sun for more than an hour or two, or she faints.- She is very frail and delicate.- If she uses her powers too much she starts getting severe headaches and nosebleeds.- If she goes too long without blood her body starts shutting down, and she only has about an hour to get blood into her system before she dies. Vampire Name: Veronica Age: looks 18 but is 247Appearance:Personality: sweet unless provoked. Animal or Human Blood: animal Powers: Telepathy Weakness: tattoo on her arm, it is a seal that hold in her more savage nature. Witch Name Faye Age 23AppearancePersonality Manipulative, will help someone but only is she benefits Powers elemental control Magical energy attacks control over light and darkness Weakness She speaks backwards for her spells she also has very little hand-to-hand combat experienceVampireName Kane Age 1000 looks 19AppearancePersonality Quiet, isn't too trusting, loner Animal or Human Blood Human (But only kills those he believes deserves to die)Powers Blood control superhuman abilitiesWeaknessHoly objects will burn him, and being in a church or hollow ground will eventually kill him staying in the sun for more than 10 hours will kill him. WerewolfName Lucian Age 25AppearancePersonality Sly, threatening, vengeful, quick thinking, Rank Alpha Weakness He is having little defense against long range combat. I assume normal humans exist too?if so I will be making one... Can I reserve the alpha female please? :) Yes to both. I'll take the beta male SomeoneSomewere said I'll take the beta male 10 minutes too late :/ HUMAN Name: People call her "M" though her real name is Amelia, Amelia Lionel Age: 18Personality: She tries to seem tough, she isn't heartless though she is lonely, and she seems somewhat intent to keep it that way, she is not living comfortably, but seems like she wouldn't need adjusting to a high-end setting, she is tough, and she doesn't like to show weakness: Knives, fire, death, the plague, nails to the eye, generally things that would kill any normal human being. Abilities: She is very agile, relatively strong, flexible, great with a bow, adept with lock picking, seems to be a good pick-pocket, and stealthy when she needs to be. Other: Freelancer, tends to hunt vampire for a living, not the greatest with people am I accepted? Am I accepted? I'll Make A Vampire and a Werewolf Vampire Name: Reginald Lockhart Age: 220 (looks 25)Appearance:Reginald Personality: He tries to behave in a reserved, gentlemanly manner, though his temper is still quite nasty if he's pushed too far Animal or Human Blood: Human (Reginald also occasionally partakes in blood from werewolves, witches, and even other vampires. He views supernatural blood as a rare delicacy)Powers: Monstrous strength and speed, can phase through solid objects, hypnotism through eye contact Weakness: Sunlight, loss of too much blood, eyewear such as glasses or goggles can negate his hypnotism I hate my computer sometimes. Makes my post show up twice. Werewolf-Name- Bruce Drainage- 19 (43)-Appearance- -Personality- Bruce is extremely shy, even though he is a big guy he does not like to be near people. Bruce can get a tad curious and will normally check out anything that seems odd to him. However, he will not fight, unless he really has to. Seeing Bruce in his true form is rare, for he likes the surrounding silence. He has no opinion on any war, and he will remain neutral throughout the entire conflict. In other words, anyone and anything is fair game to him.-Rank- Lone Wolf-Weakness- Pure silver and ranged combat is really not something he is good at. Sorry if the pictures are a tad big. Werewolf Name: Chase Age: 18Appearance:Personality: temperamental, often angry, only answers to Lucian. He is very protective and holds a hatred towards vampires. Rank: beta male Weakness: silver SomeoneSomewere said Werewolf Name: Chase Age: 18Appearance: Personality: temperamental, often angry, only answers to Lucian. He is very protective and holds a hatred towards vampires. Rank: beta male Weakness: silver well what do you know. A familiar name. ^.^ hiya ~Witch~"My, aren't you a dapper fellow?" Name:Ophelia Footage:19Personality:A very prideful woman who rules with an iron fist, she is extremely intelligent and calculating. She describes people as "pigs in human clothing", and justifies that the weak and foolish must be ruled. However, she respects those with resolve and has been quite forgiving to some. Ophelia acts calm, reserved and regal, she is experienced in grace and poise, she is good with words, persuasion especially, she will stop at nothing to get what she wants even if that means destroying at what stands in her way. As a woman of a serious nature, It's often hard for her to slow down and enjoy things. She is often so caught up in her own mindset that she forgets to include the feelings of others. Ophelia pays attention to the big picture - which means she sometimes tends to take things for granted. She has a strong sense of loyalty and duty, often casting aside unnecessary debility in order to achieve the larger goal. Ophelia has no problem speaking her mind to anyone, but her feelings are something she will usually cast aside as 'unnecessary' or 'distracting'. Powers:Fear Inducement - The user can evoke and increase fear and horror in others causing the target’s brain to release fear-inducing chemicals. The victim’s perception may be altered, causing them see their environment as ominous and the user as dark and foreboding, or even seen as a monster. Siren Song - The user is capable of emitting astonishingly beautiful and enchanting song/music that is capable of summoning/luring anyone who hears it to come towards the singer. Literary Manipulation - The user has the ability to manipulate all forms of physical literary objects that are printed, written or drawn (books, comics, magazines etc.), including their physical forms/materials and anything written, printed, illustrated, or drawn in them. When the words slip off of the page the user is capable of using it as a weapon - In most cases they become as sharp as knives -Script Manipulation - The user materializes solid words in their depicted form (ex. writing "fire" would create fire) and then throws them at the opponent. The letters written with Solid Script are written in English. Weakness:Fire is one thing of course, all witches burn like wood. Without a book in hand, Ophelia would be powerless, though she could use Solid Script, Fear Inducement, and Siren Song because those do not require her to pull them out from pages. Overall, Ophelia is rather frail, having been ill a lot as a child. Al accepted so far. Yay. ^^ days!! ^.^ Great. I'm leaving tomorrow to go to my grandparents where there is not internet, I will be back on Sunday. Looks great but can there be male witches? O_o Yes When will we start? Very soon. Ya, I may make another character, if it is alright of course You can make as many characters as you can handle without letting your writing suffer because of it. And thus we wait. WhitchName: Drama (mean eagle)Age: 500 (appears 20)Personality: strong-willed and wise he exerts an air of power around him. But beneath that he isn’t all that rough. His age has dulled his interest in humanity greatly. Powers: as a Witch he has magic of course. Nature magic-conjuring of the elements. He cannot create an element of of nothing. Fire he can ignite the air. And hair is always present, but earth must be present and water must be present. He can combine these to create other effects like lightning or control plant growth. Spirit magic-his history as a Native American medicine man has allowed him to master spirit magic. With this he can commune with nature spirits by calling upon the totem animals for guidance. He can combine this with his nature magic to make miniature creatures from clay. Healing magic: he is an expert at healing magic, he can't regrow missing limbs or organs or anything like that. But sicknesses and normal wounds are easy Weakness. He cannot heal himself. Spirit magic requires a long chant. And nature magic is bound to the laws of nature. So no underwater fire. Or winds that cut through things. If I recall correctly, isn't the male offspring of a witch that can wield magic considered a warlock rather than a witch? Bump Accepted, I'll make my characters and then the IC will get rolling. Name:Emma Warwick Age:20Personality:Emma is extremely bubbly, energetic and quite immature and childish for her age. She is still fascinated by the smallest things and has a very strong sense of curiosity, which gets her into trouble a lot of the time. Emma has a great interest in potions and loves to experiment with new things. She is a free spirit and does whatever she chooses whenever she chooses. Considered to be a little annoying at times, she always remains cheerful, even when in battle. However, despite this, her movements are graceful, and she has more strength than most would assume. Powers:- Invisibility: For now she has very little control over this ability and more often than most, she is unable to remain completely invisible (i.e. sometimes her hand or ear may still be visible)- Flight/Hovering: Without the help of an object like a broom, she is only capable of hovering a few inches off the ground. But even if she takes to the skies, she still has very little control over this ability-Water and Fire Manipulation: For now, these are the only elements she is able to control, and she has more control over fire than she has over water. Despite this, her elemental manipulation is much more advanced than any of her other skills. Weakness:She has a strange but unyielding fear of birds. No matter how small the creature, she still feels the need to hide from them, which is why she doesn't fly too much. She also has mild nyctophobia (fear of many holes, I tell you now, do not google)Hope this is ok. Feel free to leave any critique :) Accepted, and also everyone can post on the IC now! Awesome! Thanks :) vampire chick wanted me to tell you she well be back in about a week, carry on. I'm really sorry guys that I haven't been on for ages. There were bush fires in my area and I lost access to my internet. Does anyone know if it's possible for me to just jump back in or is she dead? :P sorry for the late start. Is this dead?

Vampire,Werewolves and Witches Rp|rating:3.0

Your Just Desserts [ 1 Male needed]

Your Just Desserts (closed)Your Just Desserts Sky is a normal girl graduated right out high school and went to college for something she loves. Baking!!! She moved out of her parents house and a few states away to New York city to go to one of the best pastry schools in the USA. She graduated top of her class and was offered several job offers, but she turned them all down because all she wanted to do was run her own little bakery. Her parents where more than happy to help her out and soon a year later she opened her bakery on a corner of one of the busiest streets in New York, "Your Just Desserts." She thought it was a pretty nice name for a bakery and soon Sky began to have regulars stopping by her shop to buy her pastries one being her now current boyfriend. He would stop by the shop and buy something from her almost every day not really saying but until one day he finally got up the courage to ask her out, and they have been dating ever since. Now let me tell you another story... There lies a world that humans rarely get to see, they kindly reduced to being a myth, and they pass themselves off as normal humans when they walk the night. Vampires used to be fearsome creatures that took what they wanted when they wanted but when the humans began to fight back they believed coexisting with them as a myth to be better than the extinction of their kind. Instead of feeding on what ever humans they like they took in one to live alongside them. The humans lived with them protecting them during the day, being their source of food and companionship during the night. These humans either choose this life or it is forced upon them, but one thing is certain they are marked with a certain spell that keeps they tied to their vampire master and prevents them from killing them.​ So this is where your character comes in Sky keeps her bakery open extra late to pull in the night crowd and your vampire character becomes a regular every night. Your old human companion recently died, and you are looking for a replacement and what draws you to Sky is because of how sweet her blood is to you. You will have to play Sky's boyfriend for a little bit but I only have him as a character to add a bit of fun to the plot. His life will be short-lived and will end at the hands of the vampire. I am looking for a semi-lit partner that has experience playing the vampire character and only that will contribute ideas to the plot. I need someone that can be both kind and romantic as well as rough and willing to take what he wants no matter what he has to do. So if you're interested please send me a message. Look forward to hearing from someone. Bumpies Malachi was roaming the streets this night. Another panic attack was on him. The realization of his partner dead. The feeling was lodged in him like a nail, one that he couldn't pull out no matter how hard he tried. The worst of it all was that he hasn't been able to feed since then. Another flash of memory rushed through his head of the first night his partner learned the truth, learned that he needed to feed. He had already taken the precautions of seducing her, coating her body with heavenly pleasures, for that's what he did, he gave pleasure, but took so much more. He remembered her naked body against the silk sheets of the bed, sheets that could not compare to her soft skin. How she clung to those sheets when he started his feeding process, her moans in the dark as he took what he wanted, but gave her pleasure just the same. She agreed to be his that night, for as long as he needed her for. But now, it was all over. She was gone. Those bodily desires and the need to feed were still with him, but she was not. Clouds covered the moon. That was good, he didn't want any light. No one should see him in this pathetic state. The need for blood was strong in him. Luckily there was no one around him to murder on the streets. Malachi stumbled around from the alleyway. He knew this street. It was always busy, but for some reason no one was around. Lights were flashing all around him. He was losing his vision to colored spots that flashed brightly before and around his eyes. He started to run getting away from all the madness that he created for himself. More thoughts rushed to his head, of the time he spent with his partner before her death. He needed to get away, he needed a desire, he needed blood. He stopped running at the corner, his cloak finally catching up to him. Something was there. He raised his head to sniff. It was like there were two colors in the air. One was brown and the other...was red. Yes, that was what it was, the sweet red scent. The scent he needed. Curious he was that this scent would come above all the rest in this neighborhood. Malachi didn't want to complain, there was blood to be had this night. He followed the trail of two scents. Somehow they were mixed together, yet separate. He walked to the other corner to a building where the scents were originating. He looked up at the sign "Your Just Desserts". A bakery he guessed. The lights were on inside. The red scent was coming from within. He could not detect anyone else. Quickly he opened the door letting the smell of bread overcome him. There was only one thing he wanted within, and she was going to get a surprise this night. Malachi wrapped his cloak about him letting his coldness envelope the room. He saw the girl with the red scented blood standing behind the counter. He walked closer, but the smell of her red blood had overcome him. It was too much. This smell, so intoxicating, was sweet and gentle like a cool breeze on a hot day. It wouldn't go away. It just lingered there around her captivating him. At that moment, he had lost all control, not in the way he had wanted, but in the opposite way. For once, since his partner's death, he was in control. He was calm and at peace as if he had forgotten everything that had happened to him recently. He just stared at the girl behind the counter. Furthermore, he wanted her, he wanted her blood, but he felt a lust growing for her. Furthermore, he started formulating a plan. It would take a while, but he would try to seduce this girl as his new partner. A desire like this hadn't overcome him in over a century. He knew he would take her, but it would take time. And then he noticed he had been staring too long... Sky and her bakery had a very busy day with all the people that had visited her place for some baked goods. She was glad for once that things were slow because now she could do the things she couldn't earlier, like make a couple batches of bread dough to bake for tomorrow and decorate some of her cakes. She leaned over the counter in the back, it wasn't closed off because she wanted to make the place, so the customers could watch her as she worked. Her long blond hair was braided into pigtails, but it was cut in several layers so some always liked to run free when she worked. It was beginning to grow late outside and as she looked up from her work her soft brown eyes looked out the window to see the night sky. Sky huffed softly blowing a few strands of hair out of her face and clapping off some of the flour on her hands so she could tie the frilled apron tighter over her soft pink café styled dress. Though it wasn't practical she liked to dress rather stylish when she worked. She wiped her hands quickly picking up a piping bag to write someone's name on the cake she was working on. She concentrated so on her work she hardly noticed the man that walked into the shop, it was the sound of the bell on the door as it closed that alerted her. Furthermore, she looked up quickly her eyes locking on the man, and she gave him a soft sweet smile. "I will be with you in one moment." She said in a soft voice with a streak of flour along her right cheek which was sometimes hard to notice with her pale skin. She quickly finished piping the design and moved behind the register wiping as much flour off her hands as she could before she got there." Hello there welcome to Your just desserts, it is nice to see someone out this late. Normally I don't get too many customers at this time of night...you here for a late night snack?" She said once more with at that big sweet smile, "If you see anything you like to let me know everything is half off because I'm afraid I will have to throw them out tonight...I like all my pastries to be fresh every day." It took Malachi a moment to realize that the girl was talking to him. He was still lost in the sweet red scent of her blood. He finally came crashing down to Earth when he noticed there was a silence after the girls voice had stopped speaking. Unconsciously he knew what she had asked of him. He looked down at the glass display between them where the pastries were. He had to act as if he had an interest even if he had no desire whatsoever to eat it. There was a wide assortment of pastries evens though there were just a little scattered about the display from the days products. He didn't know where to start. All he knew was bread where it was just simple to pick out the freshest loaf. It had been a long time since he had a real meal among the living." I'm sorry", his deep calming voice rang, "but I do not know what any of these are. Perhaps you can recommend which of these would be suitable to eat at this hour of the night." After he spoke, his attention shifted to the girl behind the counter. His eyes penetrating deep into her waiting for a response that would settle this somewhat embarrassing, but needles recommendation. Sky watched the man with her soft brown eyes and that smile along her lips. She was a bit concerned for a moment because the man seemed to stair at her and his mind almost seemed to be somewhere else. Soon the man came out of whatever daydream he had been in, and he began to look at the pastry case. A brow raised as he apologizes, and she simply giggled softly. "It is alright I normally have to explain some of my pastries to customers and I quiet enjoy it. Unfortunately I don't have a lot of left...there are some normal breads like sour dough and french bread. I am out of all my breakfast breads like sticky buns and crossed buns but I do have a lot of my cakes by the slice left....I get a couple of people that come in at this time that just want some coffee and dessert. There are slices of the chocolate, German chocolate, angle food strawberry, carrot and Lemon cake left. Can in interest you in any of those." As she let his choices set in it was then that a group of guys walked into the bakery, they were musicians carrying their guitars and taking a seat near the back. One of them a tall man with dark hair and eyes came up to the front moving behind the counter. He greeted Sky with a big smile and she quickly returned it. "Hey Make." Sky said as he leaned down a placed a kiss on her forehead and she pushed him away playfully. "What did I tell you about that when I'm open...go help yourself to whatever is left over in the back your friends are my treat tonight as long as you play a few songs tonight to keep me entertained while I work." He nodded quickly and made his way to the back leaving her with her customer. Her eyes locked on the man once more, "I'm sorry about that my boyfriend stops by every night to say hello before they head off the play at the nightclub down the street. So have you decided on anything?" Malachi watched as the one named Make exited to the back of the shop. The mixture of the different bloods polluted the air, but the one that remained sweet rose above the rest. He hadn't taken this rival into calculation in his original plan. Nonetheless, he would still seduce the girl and take her blood. Malachi waited until the rest of the group followed Make to the back. He eyed them all, taking each face, each body type, each smell, into his memory. The group disappeared and he was alone with the girl. His gaze shifted over to her, cold and alluring at the same time. He still had an order to fill out. The girl was waiting for him to buy something. Her brown eyes were staring at him with the same smile she held for Make. Malachi cast his arm aside letting his cape flap to the side so he could reach for some money. He took out a wade of cash not even looking through it to count it and set it on the table." I'll take whatever this will afford. I will trust you to pick out the best of your stock." His voice was cool and flowing. He watched her waiting for her to get to work. He wanted to see her body move. Furthermore, he wanted to picture her form and what he would do to her when he was done seducing her. For now, he would have to wait and come by every day to buy more treats he had no need for. For the end result, her red sweet blood, and her body would be well worth the wait. Sky watched the man now as his gaze returned to her after watching her boyfriend and his bandmates walk into the back room and the look he gave her then made her swallow hard. It wasn't that she was scared of him just the look seemed to stir something inside of her that only Make could seem to do to her. She was able to relax a bit as the man moved to pull something out of his pocket, and she watched him place a mat of bills on the counter. She simply smiled softly and moved closer to take them. Furthermore, she began to straighten them out and counted them up which came to around 50 dollars which was a lot of money for one purchase. Furthermore, she gave him another of her sweet smiles as she set the money back on the counter and pulled on a pair of gloves. "Wonderful I can get you a variety of thinks with that amount..." She moved to the back wall to pull out a few loafs of bread from the baskets the hung on the wall, and she turned to bag them up. "My name is Sky, i always love to see new customers...well so does any business but I like to be on a first name bases with mine. Would you mind if I asked you yours?" Sky asked now as she picked up shaped piece of card bored and began to fold it into a box. She slid open the glass door of the cool pastry case and begun to pull out a few slices of each cake as well as a few other pastries. She closed the lid on the box and placed it on the counter pulling out a big bag to put everything in. Furthermore, she began to ring everything up and placed his money in the register pulling out his change. Malachi watched with his cool dark eyes as the girl worked to get the pastries. Her body was magnificent in itself, the way she reached to pull the breads from the baskets on the wall. Her cleavage hung from her as she bent down to pick up the pastries from the glass pastry case. She was making small talk, but he caught the bit of information he needed. Her name was Sky. He clung on to the information until he noticed she asked what his name was. "My name," he said with a pause, "is Malachi." She put the bag with Malachi's boxes on the counter and proceeded to pull out his change." That won't be necessary Sky," he said letting her name ring out, "I have a feeling we will be seeing more of each other in the near future." He shifted his gaze to her penetrating her, trying to leave his impression on her. The seduction would now begin. They knew of each other now, and soon he would be on her mind until he came back to claim his new desire. Malachi reached out to grab the bag with the boxes of pastries all the while looking deep into her eyes. "Malachi...what a unique name." She said with a soft smile and moved a hand to brush the fine strands of blond hair out of her face. She was about to hand him his change until he declined it, and she dropped it into the tip jar. "Thank you so very much Mr. Malachi, I hope you enjoy the breads and pastries. I hope you will come back again." It was then that he eyes locked on his own once more, and she could feel that heat rise up in her body once more. It caused her to swallow slow and for a few seconds she had lost herself in his gaze that was until he reached out of his bag. Skyy shook her head gently and picked up the bag for him. She held it by the bottom of the bag so he could grab the handle easy, and it was then that Make came out from the back of the shop. "Hey Sky you closing up soon...I want to spend some time with you before I have to get to work." She let go of the bag as soon as Malachi grasped a hold of it and turned to look at Make with a blush along her cheeks. "Yes just a moment Mr. Malachi here is my last customer for the night, and then we can do whatever you like." Make turned to look at the man, there was something about him that just didn't sit right with him, and he didn't care too much for how he was looking at his girlfriend. Malachi watched Make as he interacted with Sky. He was going to have his way with her, he could smell Make's intention coming from him. That was alright. Sky would not enjoy it much, he had made sure of that. With his gaze, he had managed to instill in her his impression. She won't be able to get him out of her mind and her body may just react the same way. Malachi held the bag with both hands. With one last look at Sky he turned and started to walk slowly out the door. His job was not done here. He pulled the door open and walked out into the dark night. He walked straight across the street. Sky's sweet red scent was still with him as he walked to the other side. He even went into the alley where he would not be noticed. First, he found a dumpster where he could throw the bag away. He had no need for comfort food, the only thing he had an appetite for was sex and blood, and those would be fulfilled by the bakery girl, Sky. After he threw away the bags, Malachi hid in the darkness where he could watch the bakery with a clear view. He looked across the street. So far, the lights were still on, but he knew they wouldn't remain so for very long. Once Sky emerged he would proceed to follow her wherever she decided to go. But that Make character. He was going to be a problem. He smelled his intentions of Sky for the night. They were somehow together. Malachi started to question how much Sky really wanted to be around Make. Whatever the reason, Malachi sensed that Make would be the territorial type. Let him try to defend what he thinks is his. If Make got in his way, he would be disposed of just as quickly and Malachi had time to study on devious methods of defense, fighting, killing, and torture. The method picked would depend on the severity of the matter and Malachi's mood for the night. For now, Malachi moved into position to take watch over the bakery, waiting for Sky to emerge. Sky's head turned as they heard the bell hanging from the door sound meaning that the man and left and soon Make's band members followed the same path. They went off ahead of them and Sky worked quickly on closing everything up. The last thing she needed to do with switch the lights off and as soon as she did Make scooped her up into his arms. The two of them didn't have much time to spare so they only really got to mess around with each other a bit. Their mouths searched for each other in the dark embracing each other and Make pushed her against the wall. Usually when Make held her her body responded to everything he did to her but tonight that heat wouldn't overtake her body. That man from earlier kept coming up in her mind, how he looked at her, and it was then that her body grew hot. It disturbed her, to get excited over a stranger, and it caused her to push away my Make. His eyes looked down at her a bit concerned, "I'm sorry Make I think I'm just tired..." She said as she moved around the shop and picked up her coat. "It's ok babe I should be going anyway the band needs time to warm up." He gave her and understanding smile patting her on the butt on the way out the door. She locked up after them and the two of them walked down the cool street stopping at the nightclub. Zake leaned over kissing her softly on the forehead before he went inside, and she continued her way down the street alone. She didn't live to far from the shop, so there wasn't a need to call a cab. She came to a stop at the nice apartment complex and went in side quickly making her way to the top floor. When she was inside the first thing she did was plop down on the couch and closed her eyes. He minds was mixed up, she hadn't seen Make for a few days and the moment she is alone she thinks of a stranger...she just couldn't understand it. The only logic behind it was that she really was tired and maybe a bit over worked. Malachi stood in the darkness. He saw the band members step out and headed down the sidewalk. Make nor Sky was with the group and the lights were still on. He waited patiently for the two to emerge. Finally, the lights turned off, and the door swung open. Immediately, Malachi could smell the sweet red blood. Sky stepped out and Make was behind her as he patted her on the butt. She turned around, but only to lock the door behind them. They proceeded to walk along the sidewalk, the same path the band group had walked down. From a distance Malachi followed under cover of the surrounding darkness. The moon was still hidden in the clouds. They only walked a relatively short distance until they reached a building where loud music was playing from. Malachi didn't care much for the music coming from the building. He was glad to see Make head into the building without Sky. Skyy started heading down the street. Malachi followed at a distance keeping under cover of the darkness. Sky walked just a short distance before stopping at another building. The building was short compared to the surrounding others. Sky entered it. This must be the place where she stayed. Malachi walked around the building. He searched along the walls of the building. It was a very well-kept building, the whole of it smelling clean, full of people who thought they deserved better even though what they did have was more than enough for most people. He kept walking until he found a ladder. The ladder led up to the fire escape. He climbed it and walked the escape following the faint scent of Sky's blood. Malachi walked to the top of the fire escape stopping next to a window. The window was open, letting in cool breezes from the night air into the room. Curtains were blowing in the occasional breezes, but Malachi could still see between them. He peered inside hiding out in the darkness. He watched Sky enter the room. She went directly to the couch, plopped on the couch and closed her eyes. He watched her as her body relaxed. From the looks of her expression, she had something on her mind. She was thinking of him, that much was obvious. He knew she wouldn't be able to get him out of her mind. Her body started to grow tense. Was this sexual energy being built up with nowhere to go? He watched her. Her body was magnificent even as she tried to relax on the couch. Malachi could feel his body react to the thoughts of having Sky. He would wait and see what Sky would do next take full advantage of the view of her. She couldn't seem to get herself to relax even a little bit as she tried to wipe these strange thoughts out of her mind of someone she didn't even know. She finally got fed up with it and stood up quickly from the couch. Furthermore, she reached behind herself untying the apron from around her waist and dropping it on the couch behind her. "Maybe a hot bath with help me relax." She moved over to her stereo and turned it on a soft jazz station. She moved around the room reaching behind her back as she did and unzipped her dress letting it fall onto the ground. She kicked off her shoes as she stood there in only her underwear, what did she care she lived alone and no one could see her. Furthermore, she moved her slender fingers to her hair and ran them through her braids. Sky slipped into the bathroom leaving the door open and began to run the water. As she waited for the bath tub to fill off she slipped off what was left of her clothing and pulled her hair up into a bun so she could wash her face. Moments later she lay there in the hot water her eyes closed as she listened to the music and willed her body to relax. Finally, every muscle seemed to give way, but her mind still raced with strange thoughts. All she could seem to think about was that man, in her mind he was here sitting beside the tub rubbing her shoulders and slowly his hands began to slide further down her body. Sky's eyes opened quickly, and she moved her hands to her face to cover the blush that was beginning to develop. "What the tells the matter with me...." She said in a rather loud frustrated tone. He knew he was right when Sky suddenly jumped up. She seemed a little upset. She probably couldn't get him out of her mind. Furthermore, she undid the apron, and soon she undid her dress letting it fall to the ground. Just seeing her in her underwear aroused Malachi with sexual desire. He wanted to walk right in and take her down, force his way past her defenses and take what he wanted. But he wanted to seduce her, take his time with her, get her to trust him and let him in before taking everything from her. She left her dress on the floor and walked into another room. He heard the sounds of water running. She was taking a bath. Malachi slipped into the room through the window without making a sound. He searched for the room Sky was currently in. He found her naked body just as she was entering the tub. Her body went under the water as she just seemed to relax. The water was hot. Condensation was forming along the mirror and steam was flowing out of the bathroom. Malachi watched her eyes close. She was mentally retreating into her safe house, but to her surprise he would be there. Her eyes were closed, and she was relaxing from what Malachi could tell. She started breathing deeply. She was relaxing a little too much. Her hand started caressing her body as it started to move lower and then her eyes opened. She caught herself in the act. Malachi was impressed that she had managed to stop herself from her newfound desire. He would give her a taste of what her future held in store tonight whether it was a confrontation face to face or he had to chase her into her dreams. Malachi smiled at her struggle. She was blushing, she didn't know what was happening to her. Suddenly she yelled in a frustrated voice, "What the tells the matter with me...." Malachi took the opportunity to leave her be in the time she wanted to spend in the bath. He had enough eye candy for the moment. He silently walked down the hall finding what must be her bedroom. Furthermore, he found the closet door against wall and opened it, finding all of Sky's clothes hanging on the rack. Furthermore, he stepped in and hid himself leaving the door just open ajar. She would come in soon, she had to sleep sometime. Or maybe she would open the closet to find him waiting. Either way he would start seducing her tonight. Sky sighed softly as she let her hands slide off her face and splash down into the water. Moments later she drained the tub and grabbed a towel to dry herself off as she walked down the hallway to her room. She wrapped the surrounding towel damp body and moved to the window to open it, so the breeze could hold cool her down a bit. She went to the dresser next pulling out a pair of pink underwear as well as a white tank top. Furthermore, she dressed quickly and sat down at the end of the bed for a moment. Furthermore, she looked at herself in the mirror that hung on the wall in front of her, she reached behind her head to pull her hair loose, and it came down over her shoulders and ending near her butt. Yes it had been a pain keeping in long through school, most girls thought it got in the way in their cooking classes, but she refused to give in and cut her own. Sky always loved her hair and her mother used to tell her she looked like Gold locks. She brushed her fingers through her hair for a few moments before she gave into her sleepiness and climbed onto the bed. She had had a long day so it was about time that she turn in for the night, she pulled the sheets over her body grasping the second pillow and hugging it close to her body like she did every night, but tonight it would prove difficult to fall asleep right away. She shifted her position several times, rolling over and in anger she tossed one of the pillows across the room. Those damn thoughts from earlier weren't going away, and they had her mind racing so much that she couldn't fall sleep. Her body was hot more so between her legs and she would do just about anything to get it to all stop. Her hang slowly moved down her body and when it moved between her legs she gasped softly. God, why was she so sensitive, usually such a soft touch didn't cause that kind of reaction from her, and it only confused her more. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before so why tonight, why after that man had visited her shop, and why was it that he was on her mind right now instead of Make? Malachi watched as Sky entered the room. She let go of the towel revealing her naked body to him again as he watched from the closet. His arousal stirred up again. Patience, he told himself, the time will come. Sky pulled out a pair of pink panties and slid them up her legs. A tank top was next to cover her breasts. Next she moved over to the mirror and let her hair down. It was long, longer than his past partner. He couldn't tell if it was contributing to his arousal or not, but either way it was unique. She played with her hair for a while. He could tell she was getting tired, and soon she was getting into her bed. Sky pulled the blanket over her and used the second pillow. He knew she wasn't sleeping, she was moving too much and she was getting frustrated. He could smell it. Furthermore, he watched her squirm, not yet accepting her desire. She stirred once more, this time throwing the second pillow against the wall next to the closet door he was occupying. He started to smell a desire coming from Sky. She had finally accepted her need. He watched as her hand slowly went under the blanket. He heard her gasp, she found out how sensitive she is. Now is the time to present himself. He slowly opened the door just a bit to let himself through and silently walked to her position. So far, she was too preoccupied with herself. He leaned over and gently moved the hand, under the blanket, aside and caressed her body up before presenting himself. "I am your desire," he said as he gazed into her eyes. Just the fact he was here now standing before her would probably give her the sense that she had fallen asleep and was dreaming. He was going to take full advantage of her feelings, her desires. Sky had let her eyes close slowly as she let herself enjoy the feeling the moved through her body, but soon it went rigid as she felt someone grasp her hand to move it aside. She could feel someone move their hands over her body, I couldn't be Make could it there was no way he would come over her after his gig, and it couldn't be over already. Then she heard a familiar voice and when she opened her eyes once more she was greeted with the man from only a few hours ago. She couldn't believe her eyes, she had to be dreaming because there was no way that he could be here. He didn't know where she lived let alone there was any way he could have gotten in the apartment complex without a key. She rolled her body over now to lay flat on her back and she looked up at him with a confused look on her face. "Why..." She asked her dream, "Why am I dreaming of a stranger instead of Make..." Sky really didn't understand what was going on, it wasn't like she hadn't dated other guys in her life, but she usually didn't dream about other people when she was with someone. She sat up slowly the sheet falling down into her lap and she peered at the man now a blush of her excitement on her cheeks. "Why are you here?" she asked a bit innocently now as she could feel the heat between her legs beginning to grow as the moments passed them by, and she tilted her head to the side a bit. Malachi watched as Sky sat up asking questions. His eyes' cool stared at her. She looked innocent, she didn't know what was going on, but yet he could feel her coming closer to her desire." I am here because you want me to be," Malachi replied, even if that weren't the case. He gave her a moment to take in the information he was telling her. She was blushing, her cheeks brightly red." I am here because you need me," Malachi said in a calm voice soothing to her ears that only hinted at the subtlest of his seduction. "You no longer care for your Make, so you have replaced him with me." Malachi leaned over, placing his hands on the bed around her looking into her eyes. He could smell her, the sweet red scent of her blood, and the sweet scent of her desire. He brought his mouth towards her neck, his nose just barely grazing her skin. Furthermore, he could do it right now, take her blood and have a feeding frenzy, but the taste would be much better if she willingly gave it to him. She would always regain blood, always be able to feed him, always able to fuel his lust. He started to pull away from her. "Your body needs attention, but your Make can no longer satisfy you." His right hand moved over to her legs, gently caressing as he moved it up to her waist. He moved it toward the front, but instead of moving down to where her heat was going, he slid it up along her belly and up along her chest." Let me take care of your desire. I will give you everything", Malachi tempted her with his words. His other hand came up to his neck, pulling the string that held his cape in place. It slid down landing gently on the floor. His right hand moved up past her chest and along the neck. He held the back of her neck bringing her head closer to his now as his lips parted slightly to press his lips against hers. He held her there kissing her, his tongue sliding out gently exploring her mouth taking in the savory taste. Sky could feel a chill run down her spine as Malachi stared into her eyes, she couldn't seem to break eye contact with the man in her dream, nor it seemed could she seem to pull away from him. He was here because she wanted him to be? That couldn't be right, she didn't even know him it had to be because she needed someone right now in her current state and her mind picked him to satisfy herself in her dream tonight. She could feel a sudden panic move through her, she shouldn't be doing this with another man even if it was just a dream but as he spoke again his words calmed her seducing her mind into giving into him. "I...I do care for Make just...he is never around anymore since he got his job at the club..." At that point a he placed his hangs on the bed around her, she tried to move away from him, but his gaze kept her in her place. She didn't understand why this man had such influence over her, why couldn't she say no, and why couldn't she pull away? Was it that she was so desperate for physically attention that she would be happy with anything even a stranger. Sky closed her eyes as he moves to her neck, he was so close to her, she could smell his scent and never before had one of her dreams been so vivid before. She was in a daze as he moved his hand over her leg and then up her body to come to rest behind her head. She almost melted in his strong hold on her bringing her head up and pressing his lips to her own. Furthermore, she lifted her arms moving her hands to his chest, and she grasped onto his shirt as he tongues slid into her mouth. Furthermore, she found herself returning his kiss, she had never been kissed like this before, and it almost took her breath away. Her body began to grow hotter, her body beginning to tremble softly in her need and her pale skin began to flush. She was beginning to grow a bit light-headed from it all and broke the kiss the two of them shared. She only pulled away from him enough to look into his eyes as she panted softly, and she found the words slipping from between her lips before she could even stop them. "Please...give me everything and I will give you everything." Sky didn't know the consequences of what she had just said, she wanted to know everything she never had, and she knew that someone this man, this dream could. "Please...give me everything and I will give you everything," Sky told Malachi. She offered herself to him. She could not take back the promise she had unknowingly given. Malachi had backed away from her. His hands lifting his vest off from his body and tossing it aside. His shirt was next as he undid each button before the whole thing slid off his arms. His body showed signs of well-developed muscles stretching across his arms and his abs. He moved back toward Sky brushing his hand through her hair. Soft strands running through each finger." Your body wants so much," he said smelling the desire from Sky in the air, "but such a task can not go unpaid." His hand crept up her thighs. Her pink panties still clung to her as he suddenly poked two fingers against it giving Sky a taste of the pleasure. Malachi's mouth was back around her neck, but this time his tongue softly touched her skin licking its way up to her ear. His tongue seemed to linger there before he took it back whispering softly in Sky's ear, "Are you willing to pay such a price?" Again Malachi pushed his fingers against Sky's panties reinforcing the idea that his pleasure was good and that she could trust him. He echoed words through to her to forget Make, he couldn't satisfy her needs. Malachi pulled his fingers away from Sky's panties and with the same hand gently pushed her back against the bed. He was gazing down at her and the body he lusted after. He leaned over and took Sky's mouth once again in a fiery kiss where she would have no desire to leave. Soon he would get her to make the one commitment that would bond the two for a lifetime. The bond where Sky would only serve him, and she would only have the desire to satisfy all of his needs, including the need for her blood. After a fiery kiss, Malachi left Sky's tongue alone and started to trail down her chin, and then to her neck. From her neck he kept licking down until he reached her tank top. His tongue left her body, but he kept moving down until he reached her exposed belly. His tongue snaked back out and proceeded to leave a trail. He eventually got to her pink panties, but his tongue continued to move down licking along her panties and pressing harder against her when he reached this particular area. He shifted over to Sky's thighs before bringing his tongue back up between her legs. With just a finger he managed to slide her panties to the side smelling her sex. Without a warning, Malachi dug his tongue into Sky's pussy letting his tongue soak up all of her moisture. Her taste was sweet and fulfilling. He snaked his tongue deep within her before sliding it out and focusing his efforts on hero utter wall. As he licked his applied more pressure with his tongue letting it sink back into Sky feeding her great amounts of pleasure with his power. "Sky watched him as he began to undress, he only took off his vest and shirt leaving him chest bare. She could see the muscles developed in his upper body, and she wanted to reach out and touch him but as he reached out to run his hand through her hair she found herself growing a bit shy. Her body tensed as his hand moved up her thigh and as his fingers poked her sensitive area she jumped a bit a moan tumbling over her lips. She couldn't think or even speak as his mouth moved to her neck, she wanted to respond to his question but all he got out of her was a gasp of please as he pressed against her once more. She closed her eyes once more, Sky's mind no longer thought on Make, and she found herself thinking things she had never before. Like he never could satisfy her like this man was nor did he ever make her feel like this. She felt her body shake in need as he pulled his hand away from her, and she didn't fight him as he gently pushed her down against the bed. Her soft brown eyes were on him as he looked down at her, and before she could see a word his lips pressed against hers once more. She threw more of herself into this kiss then before, he could feel more of the passion that moved through her body nor did she hold herself back. The kiss only made her body hotter, and she felt as if she might go mad from the lust that filled her body. His kiss trailed down her body until he pressed his tongue against her panties and her hands grasped the bed underneath her. She blushed deeply as he pulled her panties aside exposing her pussy to him and without warning he dove into her with his tongue. Sky cried out then in pleasure and her back arched upward in response as his tongue moved inside of her. The pleasure she felt now was unlike anything she had felt before with any of her other lovers, it made it hard to believe that this was all a dream and right now she didn't much care if it was or not. "Please Malachi...I don't care what the price is...just don't stop." She gasped out as her grip on the bed began to tighten, she would be devastated if all this came to a sudden end leaving her body racked with need and no way to get rid of it. Malachi smiled as he heard her give herself to him. She didn't care what the price was, she wanted everything he had to give. He focused his attention back on her pussy, sucking on her labia. His arms reached out toward her body rubbing her body all over. He loved the taste of her. It was better than he could ever have imagined it. He kept sucking on her, but eventually his tongue lead him up to her clit, a woman's most sensitive area. He flicked his tongue at it several times before following it up with several hard licks. Furthermore, he could feel her moving on the bed, her moans of pleasure echoing in the room. His lips pressed against her clit as he started sucking on her. This would only be a tease to what he could truly give her, and take away. He eased up a bit on her clit before all together stopping. He licked the remains of her sticky juice around his lips as he made his way up beside her laying next to her. A hand was trailing up Sky's legs going back to her pussy to feed her desire while Malachi's other hand had taken Sky's nearest hand and placed it over his slacks. He wanted her to feel the hard bulge that had taken from some time ago since he first started his seduction. He kept his hand there for a moment to make sure she knew what to do, to make sure that she wasn't so caught up in her own pleasure to forget that there was a trade-off. Furthermore, he wouldn't tell her that the real trade was her own sweet red lifeblood. A finger slipped in Sky's pussy. Malachi dug it deep in feeling her all around. He watched her expressions and listened to her moans. She was helpless under his power, under his seduction. He slid another finger in her pussy and started motioning back and forth, in and out. He could deny her the full satisfaction of an orgasm. Furthermore, he could stall her until she cried out with so much desire that she would give her life to him. Furthermore, he needed it. Furthermore, he needed every drop. Furthermore, he needed to take her essence to form the bond that will keep her tied to him for the rest of her life. His thumb joined the other two fingers rolling around on her clit. He would give her everything but leave her wanting with no satisfaction until he performed the last part of the ritual. All he needed was to exchange his lifeless seed for her blood, and they would be bonded. Sky didn't know what to do with herself as he moved his lips to her clit, her head hung off to the side, and she forced her self to let go of the bed to move her hands up to grasp her hair. He was driving her crazy with how he moved his tongue over her pussy, soon he began to ease up and then stopped completely. A whimper tumbled over her lips as he moved up alongside of her, and she let go of her hair to move her hands to rest on her stomach. She kept her arm limp as he took her hand and moved it to the bulge in his pants while his other hand moved back between her legs. She knew when he wanted her to do this wasn't the first time she had been with a man, and she rubbed it gently. Furthermore, she let out a slow moan as he slides a finger inside of her, it felt so good just to have one finger inside her, she wondered how it would feel to have him there instead. Furthermore, she let her fingers find the button of his pants undoing it quickly and pushing the zipper down. Furthermore, she freed his cock from his pants and as she took hold of him he slid another finger deep inside of her. Furthermore, she let her head fall back letting to noises flow free from her lips as he began to slid his fingers in and out of her while his thumb played at her clit. Skyy had to force herself not to get lost in what he was doing to her, her hand grasped him gently, and she began to move her hand up and down his shaft slowly. She rolled her head over now looking him in the eyes, "Please... Malachi takes me." She was growing eager, her body felt as if it was on fire and if she didn't have him within her soon she might just go mad. Malachi listened as Sky told him to take her. The moment he had been waiting for all night since he first saw Sky was coming. "I will give you what you desire, but remember I must take something in return", he spoke calmly as he started to shift around. Sky still held his cock in her delicate hands. He positioned himself over her. She was looking up at him. It was like she was finally about to get relief, but ultimately he would be the one to gain the most from this night. He started moving towards her, her hand still on his cock as if she were trying to give him that final push that would plunge himself in her giving her everything she wanted. He stopped right as his tip was touching her. His pulsating cock just barely rubbing against her wet pussy before he threw all of his weight forward penetrating Sky. Sky was already hot and wet for him and he slid easily in until his hips met her thighs. He pulled his whole length out leaving her helpless and wanting before pushing it all back in. He repeated the process making each push powerful enough to shake not only her body, but the bed underneath them as well. Malachi reached for Sky's tank top yanking it above her breasts seeing her two finely shaped breasts. He drove his tongue around one of Sky's nipple poking it with the tip of his tongue and occasionally nibbling on it all the while fucking her from above. The pleasure for Malachi was irresistible. This pleasure was greater than what his previous partner could give him. He couldn't help but moan as one of Sky's breasts occupied his mouth. The pleasure kept feeding into his cock from Sky's hot wet pussy. Soon he would have everything he'd need to complete the ritual. He hoped Sky would survive the process. He would be taking a lot of her essence and there was a chance she could die. That had happened to him on occasion with previous women he had sought to take, but this pleasure was too good to let die away. Malachi's moans filled the air alongside Sky's. He was enjoying the pleasure he hadn't felt in so long, but he also reminded himself that he needed Sky's essence to feed off of. "Anything..." She repeated in a whisper as he moved over on top of her, the other of them where eager because he still wore his pants and still had her tank top on. She could feel her body tense as he began to move towards her, she pulls her had off him as he came close, but she gave a frustrated sound as he stopped as the tip of his cock touched her lips. Furthermore, she thought he was going to continue to tease her for a bit that was until her suddenly thrust all of himself inside of her. Furthermore, she cried out throwing her head back against the mattress and arching her back upwards. He pulls him self out completely leaving her empty but moments later him filled her once more, and he continued to do it several more times. Soon he was moving in and out of her his movement rocking the bed hard. She pulled her legs out on either side of him so he could move deeper inside of her, and suddenly he pulled her tank top up his mouth closing over on of her breasts quickly. With each of his thrusts he was clouding her mind more and more with her lust for him. Her body was trembling under his as sweat began to bead on her skin, and it only seemed to get hotter in the room as moments passed. "Oh god..." Sky cried out in a wild moan and her hands gripped the bedsheets once more as if holding on for the ride of her life." More..." was all she could seem to say, she wanted to feel more. More pleasure, more pain from him nibbling on her breast and she wanted to feel more of him. Her thoughts were on nothing but him, Make was a distant memory in her current state, and she didn't care right now if she ever thought of him again. She could fell the pleasure beginning to build on its self within her way more than she was ever used to and when she would cum she was afraid she might go mad from all the pleasure that seemed to promise. He started to quicken his pace as Sky's cries of pleasure grew louder. He knew she wanted to cum. Even he wanted to cum, but he needed her sweet red blood first. Now was as good a time as any to take it from her. His mouth left her breast and started to trail up her chest to her neck. He stuck his tongue out and started working on her neck. He needed the right spot to be ready for the penetration of his fangs. Furthermore, he sucked her smooth skin and ran his tongue over it. He felt she was ready to begin the final stage. His hands came up to her wrists holding her down with his weight. His pace quicker, still pulling out and coming back just as hard rocking her body. He wanted to reach the end, exchange his lifeless seed for her sweet blood. Sky looked like she was ready. She was practically begging him to finish her with her moans. He bared his fangs at her neck and slowly a bit into her striking pleasure in her, she probably had never felt before. He dug his fangs all the way in and started to suck. Her blood was just as sweet as it smelled. The forbidden liquid ran down his throat quenching his need to feed. Every swallow rejuvenated his body to move faster and stronger. He could feel Sky's essence slowly being drained from her, her life flowing out of her little by little. Its taste was divine and he enjoyed every taste. Sky would either die tonight, or be his to use throughout her lifetime. Malachi gave one last push with his cock in Sky's pussy before he came hard inside her. His lifeless seed was filling her deep within her womb. Shot after shot he released into her, but the more he gave, the more he took out. Sky continued to cry out with ever thrust maybe even louder as he began to quicken his pace and suddenly things began to change. He moved his mouth of her breast and back to her neck. His tongue moved over it several times sucking the flesh into his mouth and his hands moved to pin them down into the bed. His grasp on her wasn't painful but strong if she had wanted to fight against him there would be no way she could free herself from him. She was helpless pinned there underneath him, he could do what he wanted with her, and she couldn't do anything to stop him. Then it was as if the floodgates had opened an insane amount of pleasure washed over her body, and it was as if he was attached to her neck. She couldn't feel anything but pleasure as he continues move inside of her, and she couldn't see to hold in back a longer. She screamed out her body suddenly tensing as she felt her orgasm wash over her body, she couldn't do anything but lay there and feel everything. Furthermore, she felt as if she was going crazy, and it only got worse as he began to cum inside of her. Furthermore, she could feel him quickly fill her with his seed almost to the point that it began to overflow out of her body. She slowly began to come down from her high and as she did her mind began to clear. Something wasn't right, she was beginning to feel as if he was taking something from her and her body was beginning to grow weak. It was then that she could feel the pain at her neck where his head lay and panic began to fill her mind. She tried to pull at the tight grasp he held on her wrist, but they wouldn't move, and she tried to move her body, but he held her pinned underneath him. Her wonderful dream was turning into that of a nightmare, and she couldn't seem to stop it. "What....what are you doing to me..." Sky said now with a pain in her voice as she spoke. She was confused, this was all to real to be a dream now, and she knew it before now but the pleasure was so good she didn't want him to stop. What was going to happen to her? She felt as if he was draining the life from her body and she felt herself slipping closer and closer to death. Was she dying? The exchange was now over. If Sky managed to survive, she would be his to use for the rest of her life. If not, then the pleasure would only be momentary. He continued to suck her life from her. It was everything he desired. Malachi continued to drink his fill until he had been satisfied with his meal, both from the blood and sexually. He took his mouth away from Sky's neck. His mark was the contract signing their bond. A small trickle of blood flowed out, but not much. His cock was starting to settle in Sky now as their mixed cum flowed out of her body. He slowly pulled himself out of her letting the rest of their cum have free passage out. His body felt rejuvenated, like he suddenly got years of his life back. He slowly pulled himself up. Now was the time to see the after effects of his lustful meal. He stared at Sky looking for signs of life. Her eyes stared up as if they were at nothing. She was either dead, or in deep thought. Sky's body lay there motionless as he pulled his fangs from her neck, she could feel the small trickle of blood move down her shoulder and the muscle he bites into twitched gently. Her gaze was straight up at the ceiling, she willed herself to move, but her body lay still in shock. Her pale skin seemed to grow even paler and gooses bumps began to form over her entire body. She could feel him pull out of her and their mixed juices began to flow out of her, but she lay there motionless. Her body was almost as still as death its self until her mind slowly began to slip out of its state of shock, and it was that she could feel the pain on the side of her neck. Her eyes blinked slowly, and her head turned to the side to look at him. She could see her blood staining his lips, and it sent panic throughout her body. She sat up quickly but a bit to quick because her head began to swim. Furthermore, she grasped the sheet pulling it over her body and she was able to back up against the headboard of the bed all of this despite now drained her body was. Furthermore, she used the last strength she had to move herself as far away from him as possible and to hide her body from him. There was no way any of this was a dream, the man from earlier had to of followed her home and how he got into her apartment on the top floor without a key she didn't know. She moved a hand to her neck wincing softly as she felt the two puncture wounds on her neck, "What the hell are you..." She said weakly and pressed her back harder against the headboard of her bed. Malachi stood there. Sky's blood was stained against his mouth. He used the back of his hand to wipe the wet blood off. Sky was underneath the blanket trying to move away from him. It looked like her strength was gone. At least she wasn't dead. It would be a waste to kill a physical delight such as she. The smell of their sex still lingered in the air mixing with the cool air coming through the window. Her sweet red blood was barely noticeable. He must have taken more than he thought or meant to." I am a creature of the night", he opened up, "in order to survive, I must acquire a partner who will quench not only my hunger but my physical desires." He let what he just said linger on her for a moment. It was always hard for his selected partners to comprehend what had told them and even harder for them to come to terms with their new life. "I have chosen you to be my new partner." Malachi already knew what the question was going to be so he answered it next. "I chose you because your appearance stimulates my body's desire for sex, but your blood is also unique. I can smell it as clear as anything that I can touch or see. This quality is what led me to you in the first place." He let her come to terms with the information, but there was one more thing he had to tell her. "You have signed a contract with me. I gave you what you wanted in exchange for your blood. So long as you are alive, you will have strong desires to be satisfied, but know that it is only I who can give you the satisfaction you seek. Such pleasure will come with a price, but as long as you are with me, you can not kill me, and I will not let death find you."

Your Just Desserts [ 1 Male needed]|rating:3.0

Mother may I_ (Frostsider and TheBlackMasquerade)

(Jennings opened his eyes slowly as the eighteen-year-old young man yawned and stirred from his slumber. The young man was a senior in college, had blond hair with blue eyes. Most girls thought he was cute and he was popular. Of course, he had not gotten with any of them yet as the device his mother and father went through was hard on the young man. Marcus was afraid to be hurt like his mother was. He vowed to never be like his old man who left his mom, Laura, who was 40 this year. His mom was nothing short of good-looking and a lot of his friends often talked about her and how much she was a milf to them. Of course Marcus never thought of his mom like that. Sure his mom was good-looking, but he would never make a move on her. Or at least he thought that until fate would decide for him. Marcus would slowly hop into the shower and wake up. The cold water always woke him up and cleared his mind of anything including being groggy. It was his usually daily ritual to being one hundred percent. He would dry off after getting out and dressed in sweatpants and a shirt. He always got up earlier than need to be to get to class. First period was a freebie for him that way he could sleep in if he needed to. Luckily he liked to wake up and work out, jog, and sometimes swim. As Marcus pulled his pants up he smiled as he covered his other special quality. Marcus had a ten-inch cock, which was thick like two thumbs and had heavy fertile balls that hung below. He was blessed to have them, the only thing he could thank his dead beat dad for. Marcus knew he would be popular with the ladies on that front. His mom was probably at work by now as she worked at the hospital and her hours were kind of odd. She would have some days off and then work days on end. Sometimes it was night shifts and others were day shifts. Marcus wondered if his mom would last at the crazy pace she was working at. Though he could not blame her, it probably helped to keep her mind off of his dick father. Marcus sighed before walking down thinking his mom was at work. He would pour himself a glass of juice and began to make toast for himself. His cock outlined his sweatpants, but not thinking his mom was around it would be fine. Marcus would be fine either way. Laura, a 40-year-old single mother, had a very hard life. She got pregnant at 22, got married, but then quickly afterward got divorced when her code of a husband found a younger and *sigh* "tighter" woman to fuck. This caused her to become very insecure about her son's future. She didn't want him to become like her, and she also didn't want him to become like his father. But it didn't help that he was so attractive. She worried about the girls he went to school with falling for him. Her obsession with her son started attracting her to him herself. However, unlike most mothers, she didn't see a problem with this. At least if she could keep her son with her, she wouldn't have to worry about him being used or using someone else. Laura was done with work and just pulled into the driveway. She was tired, and the heat outside had forced her to unbutton her shirt a few buttons. Her breasts were clearly large, in fact they were at least DD. She got a lot of looks from everyone. But she was afraid for anything more to happen because she didn't want them to leave her. She entered the house just as her son was making breakfast. Laura hung her purse on the clothes rack. "Oh hi son" she said, slightly startled. "I didn't expect you to be up so early." Marcus looked at his mother as she walked in and he smiled. "Yeah well you know me. I like to be up early." He said as he turned, and she would be able to see his large cock's outline. He had no idea his mother liked to peep on him nor did he have any idea that she obsessed over him like she did. "Can I get you any food? Milk or perhaps juice." He said as he walked, and his cock jostled in his sweatpants. "I'm thinking of taking a dip in the pool afterward to kind of relax. Then I have school. I should be home though before you go to work." He added and smiled. His blue eyes trying to stay on her eyes as she had left her buttons somewhat undone, and her cleavage was begging to pop out to a degree. Still he paid no mind to it as he thought she would never do anything naughty to him. "How was work?" Marcus asked his mom as he began to butter the toast he made and looked back curious as to make sure his mother had a good day today. She had rough days ever since her ex left. The stress must be getting to her these days. It was unhealthy, but Marcus did not know what he could to make the situation better for her. "By the way mom I think there is a dance coming up. Most of the guys are going to go, and they want me to join them. Apparently they are obsessed with chick hunting, but I do not know if I should go. What do you think?" Laura walked toward the kitchen. "Well I guess that's something that you inherit from me. I always liked to be up early too." She sat down at the table and sighed in relief. "I'll pass son. I can eat when I wake up later. Food before bed isn't really a great idea. I have to keep my figure." She smiled as she glanced him up and down. "If you want to take a dip in the pool, just remember to pull the lid on afterward, it's supposed to rain tonight." She saw something that caught her eye as she glanced him over, and looked back at his pants, only to find a very large outline in the crotch. She got aroused by it, and slowly shifted her legs to reveal more of what was under her skirt. "Actually, do we have any sausage? I could use a little meat this morning before bed." She made sure not to let him notice as her eyes were stuck on his large member. "Work was good, nobody died today, so that's always a plus. It means that the doctors are getting very good at their jobs." Laura sighed "But all the paperwork that I need to fill out is seriously getting to my head. I just need to relieve some stress I guess" Once Marcus mentioned the dance her whole tone of voice changed "Personally, I think you and I should stay here because I don't want you to get in trouble." she said sternly. "But, sigh, if you want to go, I won't force you to stay here." Marcus smiled as he pulled some sausages out of the freezer to thaw a moment before he cooked them. "I will mom. I'm not going to be out too late." He said as his back was now turned to her. "I would not want your figure to go either. So say two sausages or one?" He asked as he looked back not noticing her legs. He was still oblivious. As she told him that she would rather he not goes he shrugged. "No big deal. It's not like I needed to go anyway." He said smiling. His cock was hardening thought the thought of getting laid but he shook his head and went back to cooking for her. He heated up the stove and grabbed a pan. "How do you like your sausages?" He asked her. She had been stressed out and needed to relax. Luckily he could help with that by cooking, massages, and spending time with her tonight. "Why don't you go get changed and ill have your food ready when you get back down. Maybe take a quick shower or something." He suggested to her with an innocent smile on his face. "I was thinking one sausage, but the biggest in the bag please." Laura smiled. "Thanks for staying home with me. If you want, I can ask to be put on call tonight instead of scheduled. We have a lot of movies to catch up on." She stood up and walked into the hallway she originally came from. As she walked, her body swayed, and her breasts bounced slightly. She was very much in shape, and damn did she strut it, even though she was afraid of being cheated on again." I like my sausages firm, and extra greasy." she said as she walked. "It's the one food that I don't really care about when it comes to health. They're so addicting." As Marcus answered back, she turned toward the staircase. "I think I'll take a shower, and come down afterward." She grinned "thanks son." Her pussy was starting to soak her panties, badly wanting to see what her son was keeping from her all these years. She strongly wondered if her son ever had sexual fantasies about her, or anyone else, and she was going to find out one way or another as soon as possible. Laura began to walk up her stairs. Marcus nodded. "Alright mom." He called back. He would finish cooking the fat one in the package and made a glass of milk. Did his mom sway her hips on purpose? No she couldn't have. Not like that to him. He would grab his shorts, change and head out to the pool where he would dive in. His cock strained his shorts as he thought more about the way his mom acted earlier. Had she always been like that towards him or was this something new? Sure it made him aroused a little, but he also knew it was wrong to think like that about his mom. He made sure to remain underwater to allow the cold water to clear his head before he would surface and get out. Like usual his swim shorts clung to his body and his cock outlined them. His balls were always visible now and looked heavy with cum. Like any boy Marcus was healthy. Sure he wacked off before, but he had never fucked a woman. Nor had he ever bought a box of condoms. His mother told him many times to wait till later, and he listened. Marcus would walk into the kitchen to see how mom was doing. "How is the sausage?" He asked. As Marcus went outside, Laura finished her shower and was drying off. She made sure every inch of her body was shaven. Her mind was filled with the image of her son's covered cock. She wanted to see it so badly, and was willing to do almost whatever it took to fulfill that. She decided to just put on her sexiest pair of panties, and cover herself with a towel. The top of the towel didn't cover her breasts entirely, but it covered everything below the nipples, so she felt it was perfect. Especially as it was just long enough to shrewd her panties when she stood up. She came downstairs and saw her sausage on the table, fat and long, just how she liked them. She stabbed it with a fork, and looked out the window to see her son in the pool. Furthermore, she watched every time he would surface, waiting for everything below the waist to appear. Her son was very attractive, and she had no problem watching him. As he got out of the pool and dried himself off slightly, she finally got what she wanted. Those marvelous balls hanging below that giant cock, it was all she could ask for. He entered the house as she was about to take her second bite. "It's a bit dry, but I didn't expect it to be this big." she giggled. "I think it needs more sauce, personally. But I love it." She leaned against the sink as she ate. "How was your swim?" "It was good." He said as he looked at the way she was dressed. The top of her nipples were visible and she was not wearing much else. Obviously he knew this was wrong but after everything her mom went through he would not say anything. "What kind of sauce do you want?" He asked as he would walk over to the cabinet. His balls jiggling with each step. He had not masturbated in weeks so surely he had a lot of thick cum in there as evidence by how heavy they looked. His cock was straining against his swim shorts as he tried his best to not think of his mom. "We have mayo, mustard, honey, maple syrup. Pick your poison." He stated as he looked back. His cock was tenting now. He would glance down to her breasts for only a moment before going back to the cupboard. "You sure like your meats. Any reason why?" He asked curious now. Was she trying to be naked around him? "Mom the towel is kinda low isn't it?" He would finally say before closing his eyes. He wanted her, but it was wrong, and he would not give in. She kept making glances at his giant cock, trying her best to pay attention to what he was saying. As he reached the cupboard she slid her towel down slightly, letting her nipples slightly peek out. She watched his balls with desire. She wanted to empty them all over her. But she would need to try harder if she was going to get that to happen." I'm thinking syrup." she said with a slight moan "I love how sticky it is, and with a sausage it's just.....yum" she moaned again. She paid attention as her gorgeous son occasionally glanced at her rack. She was tempted to pull it down even farther, but she didn't want to scare him away, or rather, she wouldn't let him get scared away. "I love my meats because they're one of the few foods that really satisfy me. And with such a variety, they never taste the same. Plus when you get them with sauces, it's just endless combinations waiting to happen." she lost track of her towel, and it did slide lower, her nipples almost all the way out. "Oh, I'm sorry." she said as she was about to adjust "I didn't mean to flash you like that. Hope you enjoyed the show" she said non-sarcastically, hoping to stimulate a response from his genitals. Marcus mouth dropped a little and precut oozed all over his swim shorts. "Ok. Syrup coming right up." He said grabbing her some and slowly walking past her in a hurry. "I'm going to uh.take care of some stuff before school. I'll be in my room." He said quickly trying to hide the fact that he was so hard do to her. He would rush upstairs and on the way noticed a pair of her panties stuck in her door. His mind was made up already and he grabbed them. Hell what he was doing was terrible as it was. He rushed into his bathroom and pulled his shorts down, not realizing he left the door open slightly allowing a certain someone to peek should she sneak up and look. He was already was stroking himself hard using her panties and imagining it was her he was fucking. Masturbation was one thing. He knew he could never make a move. Still he could not help wanking into her panties. Moments later he erupted covering the for and her panties with the thickest cum she would have ever seen. It was everyone. A man normally does not cum that much. There had to be a liter at least if not more. Laura quickly ate her sausage as her son ran up the stairs. She disposed of her dishes and slowly crept up the stairs behind him, wanting to see what he left in a hurry to do. She noticed her panties were gone from her room, and smirked. As she approached his room, she heard noises coming from the inside, and peeked through the crack to find him jerking off with her soiled panties. She let her towel drop to the floor silently to not alert him, and watched as he stroked. Laura slid her hand into her panties and fingered her pussy softly. She let out a soft sigh as she did, her cunt desperately wanting to be filled. She slid a finger inside herself, and imagined his cock, fucking her hard, his giant balls slamming into her with every thrust. As he came, she watched as he sprayed her panties with his goo until they were whiter than anything she had ever seen. Cum so thick it was almost yellow. It just kept spraying, getting all over his floor and bed. Laura fingered herself harder, and didn't pay attention as she accidentally pushed his door open, revealing her panties, which were sliding down her legs, as she stumbled into his room. "Fuck." she said as she entered. "Hi my sexy son." she moaned, changing her reaction as she watched her panties drip cum onto the floor. "Do you like what you see?" Marcus moaned as he came, the last of his thick seed drizzling to the floor. He than heard the door open and there stood his mother fingering herself. She looked like she on the verge of cumming. Her words frightened him. "Mom I can explain. This is not what it looks like."he began, but he knew he had been caught. Worse he had her panties, and it was practically caked in his spunk. He could not get out of this predicament. But that did not explain why she was fingering herself or why she was staring at his cock." Mom why are you doing with your hand?" He asked as his cock glistened, and it was not going down at all. In fact, it was as if it sensed a ripe wet pussy nearby. He knew he would cum lots as he suffered a rare genetic disorder if you could call that. His balls were larger and produced more. This was fine by him though, made cumming feel better. Still his mother staring at the mess he made hungrily was not helping. "Mom I will make it up to you. I've got to get to school." he began to say hoping she would not keep him there for too long. The moment he saw her with her fingers in her pussy, she knew she had him. "Son..... I just....." she couldn't get her words out. She tried very hard not to make this awkward. "Sigh, watching you masturbate made me need to masturbate too" She moaned. She walked in to his room, letting her panties fall to the floor as she entered. "Your cock is marvelous, and I want it to do everything under the sun to my body" she moaned "I didn't realize you could cum this much." she said as she knelt down over her other panties and picked them up, licking them, tasting his extremely thick seed. She looked at his balls, which looked even better and bigger than before. "How are you going to make it up to me when you completely ruined my panties with this.....this giant dose of musky, delicious....mammal......succulent cum?" Marcus was at a loss for words. "I'll buy you a new pair of panties. I swear. Please don't." he began before she spoke about his cock and how good his seed was which only made him want her more, but the right side of his brain screamed no. "Mom I get you were only doing it because I was but we can't. Please." he begged. Clearly he was not going to give in just yet. Not even with her there in front of him telling how big and good he was. He could not cross that line yet even though he was obviously tempted."I'll get you a dildo mom. That will help won't it?" He asked hoping he could get her mind off of his cock. "Mom I know you haven't had a man in your bed but should your son lose his virginity to someone he loves?" He asked not realizing the can of worms he opened. His mom was so damn tempting though and that was clear she was having an effect on him. Hell he had just cum on her panties which were ruined for sure. Marcus closed his eyes hoping. Laura moaned as she licked more of his cum off her panties. It was delicious, and she desperately wanted more from the source. But her son was having a hard time letting that happen. "Oh we can," she moaned "it's just taboo." she said, before licking her panties. She wanted to jump his bones, but damn it, he was resisting. If she could just push that conscience out of his head, he would be all hers, and she was willing to act as naughty as needed to get that to happen. But she couldn't get him yet. Even though she was so close and naked right in front of him. But what he said next really upset her "Why wouldn't you want to lose your virginity to someone you love?" she thought and stood up. Her pussy easily able to be pulled closer. She backed up. "Don't you love me son? I know I love you more than anyone." a tear rolled down her cheek. "Sigh.....you'll need to make this up to me son. But for now, I think you need to get ready for school." she walked to the door. "You better keep both pairs of my panties though. Consider them a gift from your mother." she smiled She walked out of the room, her body craving orgasm, as she was interrupted from doing it herself. She began to think hard about what he said. And she realized that when he said "someone you love" he didn't say she wasn't the one. This made her want him more, very much more. And she was glad she left him her panties, because today became very, very interesting. She walked downstairs and sat at the table completely naked, and drank her milk, wishing it was his cum. She grinned and sighed softly. Marcus nodded though he did not move to pick it up. Rather he grabbed his bedsheets and a wet cloth and began to clean up. An hour later he left, with a pair of her panties on him. He would come home later that still confused about his mother, but he had at the very least gotten over the initial shock. Sure he was still in disbelief, but truly he still loved his mother. He worried though that she would try again to seduce him. He would have to think of something soon in order to deal with her. At first thought he believed her to be at work but he soon realized her car and keys were here. The dishes were done. So maybe they were going to watch a movie. "Hey mom I am home!" He called out as he dropped his back off in the dining room and looked around. "Mom you still here?" He asked walking up to her room and knocking. "Mom you wanted me to tell you when I got home. Do you want me to order food for tonight?" He asked through the door. Was she awake? Or was she busy doing something bad? He hoped at the very worst she was asleep. But you never know with her. Laura did the chores around the house for the day and took a quick nap on top of her sheets. She stayed naked, feeling sexy enough to pull it off. She dreamed of her son pounding her pussy. His balls slapping her butt with every thrust as his monster cock fucked her entirely. Outside of her dream her body would squirm occasionally, and her hand slowly moved to her pussy, stimulating her dream even more. She was still asleep as her son came home, but her dream was still the same. She became very vocal over the time she was asleep. Now moaning out loud "Oh fuck me Marcus" her fingers plunging deep into her pussy, making squishing noises as her bed now was soaked in her female juices. "Mmmmmmm give me your cum, cover me with your thick cum" she would say as she slept. Anyone in the house would be able to hear her, but she would never know. She also would never know that she left her door open slightly, never bothering to completely close it. She unconsciously spread her legs wide open as she fingered her cunt wildly. "Mmmmmmmm I want all your cum" she moaned, unaware of everything in the real world. Marcus looked at her. So she was dead asleep, was she? Well that was good but for the simple fact that she was dreaming of him and fingering herself was too much. He would walk out closing the door behind him setting an alarm for an hour from now. He was hard sure bathe would not fuck his mother. His mind was stubborn even though he was sure she would be a fantastic fuck should he get hold of her. Still he would wait and see what she would do once awake. He would turn on his music letting her know once she awoke that he was home and waiting for her to get up. He would do his homework before taking another shower. His room smelled of his cum, an intoxicating aroma for her he was sure. Still the thought of acting out her dream in reality seemed wrong even if it would feel amazing. He could not fuck her. Hell he did not have condoms either should it happen. Wait did he just think he might? Hell he couldn't and he knew it. In her dream she was now covered head to toe in his cum. She felt something and jolted awake, only to find nothing but a breeze in her room tickling her soaked mess of a pussy. She got up, and stared at the mess on her bed before shrugging it off. Furthermore, she about to walk out the door when she heard her son's music. Laura thought about going out naked, but decided to grab a robe to cover herself just in case her naked body wasn't welcome. She slowly walked over to her son's room and knocked on the door. "Hey son? You in there?" She waited for a reply but didn't get any. Was his music too loud? Or was he not in there. "Son, can I come in?" she said "I wanted to talk to you." Marcus heard the knock barely and quickly turned his music down. He would slowly grab the door handle and open it. "What did you want total about mom?" He asked as he looked at her in the eye. She had a robe on which was welcome. "I'm sorry about earlier. I did not mean to go and ruin your panties. You just were...I don't know flirting and well it had an effect. It won't happen again." He tried to apologize. He did not want to ruin his relationship with her as he loved his mother greatly. "Mom should I order food for tonight? You did say you wanted to watch movies so I assume we are having a night just the two of us. Or was I wrong about that?" He asked as he looked her over again worried he might say something to ruin the moment and make his mother upset with him. He did not want that no matter how badly he wanted her to distance herself sexually from him. "I wanted to talk about the incident we had before. Did....did you like what you saw?" Laura said as she peeked her head inside, making sure to keep eye contact. "Don't worry about my panties. I can always buy more, so if you ever.....want more....you know where to get some." she giggled slightly, but returned to her seriousness face. She wanted to drop the towel and have him take her now, but she could tell he still didn't accept it." I love you son, and if you ever have any questions for me, and want to.....explore.....I would prefer you ask or come to me before you go out on the street to find out" the topic shifted "we're still on for tonight. I'd like to spend time with you, just the two of us" She wanted to draw their sexual attraction closer, stronger, and finally convince him to fuck her. Tonight would be the night, at least she hoped. Marcus smiled and hugged her. "You have nothing to worry about mom. If you think your not attractive you are. I just don't know if I should be thinking of you in that way." He admitted to her. "But enough of that. I'll go order some Chinese or pizza or something, and you get dressed in more than a robe." He said not thinking that he might give her a reason to change into something sexy. He did not say what exactly but that she change. Marcus would hug her again and tried to concentrate and keep his monster cock in his pants. He knew it was rubbing against her leg and would be getting big again if he did not pull away." So what do you want for dinner?" He asked trying to make her feel like everything was normal between them again. Heck she was his mother and that was all that mattered to him. He wanted her to feel like her old self again and not be crazy about getting dick.though he would be ok with that even as long as she was not mad about the situation which he guessed she was no longer. "I don't think I am going to use panties anymore.it felt weird trying to imagine." He stopped himself before smiling. "Anywhoo what do you want for food?" He repeated getting off the subject quickly before he said something dangerous and drive her need for his dick inside of her. As he complimented her, her pussy was still very wet, and hearing that made it even wetter. She got the signal to leave, and she smirked "Alright, handsome. I'll go change into some clothes." She hugged her son, her breasts up against his neck for several seconds before they pulled away. She let out a soft moan. Furthermore, she had plans for tonight, sweet, sexy plans. Furthermore, she pulled away and took a step down the hallway before he got her attention again." I'm thinking Chinese for dinner." as she was about to walk away, she heard something that perked her sexy interest. "What do you mean its 'weird trying to imagine'?" She was curious and wanted answers. She turned around. "Please tell me." She didn't care about dinner at the moment anymore, she wanted to hear what he was imagining when he was using her panties. Marcus looked worried about a moment. "I was imagining your pussy mom. It was a moment of weakness...and I must say I was imagining fucking your pussy and knocking you up with my seed. It's a fantasy nothing more." He said softly before turning away red in the face and going to make the order. He knew that would only make her drive to get into his pants more which he had to keep on tonight at all costs. Furthermore, he would go and order the food, making sure he got mom's favorite meal. Furthermore, he would then take off his shirt and pants keeping his boxers on. Was he always this hot? No something was up, he never felt this ill before. Marc us would go and prepare everything while his mom got ready. He knew he still owed her for earlier. Maybe he would let her indulge on him just tonight.no! He shook his head as he got that idea out quickly. He could not show any more signs of weakness. Furthermore, he cannot let her seduce him. She can be that way, but he did not want her going to jail by doing something so illegal. He was worried about her safety. "Mom the food will be here soon!" He called up wondering what was taking so long. "You were......imagining cumming inside me?" she moaned softly "I never would have imagined that. And I wouldn't call it a moment of weakness." That's when Laura realized that he called it a 'fantasy' and was about to talk about it when the door was shut in front of her. "Later than" she giggled and walked back to her room to find good clothes to wear. She went through all of her dresses and found her favorite dress(something she only wore when trying to get laid.....so it hadn't seen action for a while." Coming honey." she said sexily as she slowly walked down the stairs. She posed for her son once he came into view "Do I look good for our night?" she giggled and kept walking. "I want to make it a night to remember." His mouth dropped when she came into view. "Mother have mercy." He said absent-minded. "Mom you look great. I never even knew you had this kind of dress." He said softly as he was starting to harden in his boxers again. "I did not realize we were playing dress up. I would have worn more." He said again. Marcus could not believe it. Why was his mother dressing up in that. It barely covered her and her breasts stretched the fabric out so it almost would come off any time now. Clearly she was not as big chested as she is now back than." Mom so...what would you like to do first?" He asked her softly. It was still a little time before the food would get here. "Should I get you anything to drink?" Marcus offered trying to be a true gentleman to his mom though clearly his cock said otherwise as it threatened to pop out and cover her in his spunk. Marcus would have to remain calm and do what he could in this situation. His mind was growing a little fuzzy as he was starting to desire his lovely mother Laura. "I'll let you have first pick tonight." He said trying to keep his mind from getting into let me fuck her mode. Heck he had to keep his mind going forward and try not to stare. "Maybe I should go get dressed." He mentioned. Marcus looked at her, hopefully. "I didn't say you had to dress up, I just felt like wearing this dress for once." She giggled as she reached the bottom of the stairs. Most of her breasts were sticking out of the dress, in fact, she had a hard time getting them to stay in. She looked her son in the eyes "I want something strong, smells fantastic, and is white. Like a piña colada" she moaned. "Extra hard"She walked over to the table and sat down, her legs spread to reveal her smallest thong(just barely enough to cover her labia. She let out a soft sigh as she watched her son prepare him a drink, thankful he got his bartending license before leaving for college. "I get first pick tonight? How about we watch Euro trip. We haven't seen that movie yet, and it's been on our list for ages." She said, knowing there was a lot of nudity in it. "I think that what you're wearing is perfectly fine, it's supposed to be a relaxed evening where we can.....relieve stress by watching films and....get comfortable." she giggled. He glanced over getting a good shot of her thong and once more he did a take. So she was really trying to spur him into fucking her. "Ok you got it." He said mixing her an extra strong drink. She might pass out which is ok. Hopefully her reputation as a wild girl once she's had a few were not accurate. His hard on did not go away, and soon he was having to keep his boxers on. "Ok as you wish. But that dress is not really comfortable, is it? I mean you make it sound like I dressed right, and you dressed up." He said without thinking again." Mom where did you get that dress anyway and why is it so short?" He was curious. "I would have thought that dress was more the type for clubbing and going out with a boyfriend trying to get laid." It hit him hard. So that was her game. He handed her the drink before sitting down as his cock tented again. "Go ahead and put the movie in than. I got you the drink after all." He said winking. He was trying to not stare at her body and want her. At this rate his fantasy might become true. "So you said tonight was a stress reliever. Do you need me to massage you and help calm down your pain?" He offered her. "This dress is...well, it was comfortable the last time I wore it, but I guess that was a while ago. It can be used for more than just clubbing, sweetie. I like it as a cute (choosing her words carefully) dress to change things up." She looked at his crotch and knew that he was trying very hard not to let her know about his erection. She giggled. Furthermore, she was going to get her wish tonight, she was going to live what her dream asked her to, wanted her to, showed her to. Laura stood up. "Alright, if you want me to, I'll get the movie on." she smiled. As she walked over to the cabinet with all the films they collected, she let out a sigh "now let's see, where was it?" she moaned and bent over, her thong now hiked inside her pussy, between her delicate folds(She let out a soft sigh as her pussy became exposed. "Oh here it is" she said as she grabbed the DVD and put it in the player. "I'm so excited!" she giggles while walking to the table once again. Her nipples peeking out from the top of her dress. Marcus eyes went wider, and he was now starting to rub his cock when at last the buzzer for the doorbell came about. He quickly threw on a robe, the one his mom had on and quickly went to pay for the food. Moments later he was in the kitchen preparing them two plates. "Mom your food is ready." He said softly as he threw the robe off to the side. "Did you want any condiments?" He asked. His cock tenting completely now and his boxers beginning to slip down showing off his waist line. One pull and he would be nude. Which in this case would be bad as she was already teasing him with her body and trying to get him to fuck her tight pussy. Marcus looked back." I don't think we have any salty sauce for your chicken that I know you like. Is there anything else you want on it?" He asked. His mind went from normal to panic. Oh, no if she thought about it, he could have thought he meant his cum. No he had to change the subject fast, or she would be on his cock like white on rice.which may not be a bad thing. Hell at this point he was unsure if he could stop her from sucking him off. "Mom do you need a refill on your drink as well?" He asked quickly giving her something else to think about. Out of nowhere the doorbell rang, and Marcus was robed and on it like wildfire, almost as if in a panic. He paid for and grabbed the food, setting the table like a gentleman. Laura watched as he flung his robe to the side, letting his erect cock come to view once again beneath his boxers. Fortunately for her, his boxers were dropping, and all she needed was her cue to rip them off. But she got her wish"I can think of a salty sauce that you can get for me." she moaned as she walked up to him "You have more than enough of it to cover my chicken" she moaned and pulled his boxers down, disregarding his second question. His cock was out in the open now. "I know you want it son, so just let go and indulge yourself tonight. For your needs, and mine." she moaned as she grasped his firm member. "Now, about that cream. I like it super thick and odor." She purred, kissing his cock all over. "So are you going to give me some?" she said, before putting it in her mouth, waiting for an answer. Marcus nearly fell backward and would look at her. His cock twitched in her hand and her mouth felt amazing, but this was going too far too fast. "Alright. I do owe you for earlier.but not like this." He said back up and grabbing a glass. "You can wack me off into this cup for yourself. That's it." He said compromising. "That's as far as we go and only this once." He said trying to look her in the eye. He knew better though. If it was not for the fact that he masturbated earlier, he would have cum into her mouth and filled it. Still he was worried that if he tried this once he would not be able to stop himself from letting things escalate. It was like an addiction. He had already let her see him masturbate into her panties, and now he was going to let her jack him off into a cup so she could drink it or pour it onto her food. Where every Marcus was it was not in the face of reality that was for sure. He wanted to fuck, but his mind kept telling him she was his mother.but what if she said she was not anymore? Marcus shook his head. "No that is not possible." He said under his breath to himself. "So are you going to accept my offer?" "But.....what if I can't get it all in the cup? Can't I use my mouth to make sure the floor doesn't get dirty?" she moaned as she grasped his cock. "Don't you want to make your mother happy? I thought you loved me." She moaned, kissing his cock more, licking the tip in circles. He gave her a cup, which hurt her feelings. "Sigh.....fine, as your MOTHER, I'll restrain myself." she moaned as she began to jerk him off. With one hand she pulled down her dress, letting her giant tits fall out of the skimpy clothes." But...." she moaned "What if I wasn't your mother?" she moaned, placing his cock between her tits slightly, his balls resting on top of them. "What if we weren't related, even if just tonight. Then you wouldn't feel bad, would you?" She continued to jerk him off. Her hand pulling the small amount of foreskin he had over his cock head, and feeling every vein that was bulging. "I'm not your mom tonight. I'm your teacher, or a girl from school, or even a porn star you like." she moaned before licking his cock from balls to tip. "I'm whatever you want me to be." Marcus moaned as she worked him. The thing he feared was finally rutting its ugly head. "Mom if we.fucked.i don't know if I could stop myself. You know full well how much I cum, so condoms would be pointless as I would break them every time, and you would end up with child. You may not act like mother tonight but if we did this there would be no going back, and you would never be able to be my mother again. Furthermore, you would just be my piece of ass, my cum slut, my personal meat toilet. Do you really want to lose me as a son that badly for my cock?" He asked as he jerked him off slowly. He gripped her hair and forced her to look him in the eye." I do not know if I want that. Do not mistake me for not thinking your hot or that I do not love you. Your wrong on that. You're a hot looking woman with a wonderful body that if you were anyone else I would have been fucking your tight pussy until you were loose for anyone smaller than me." He stated smirking as he pushed his hips forward when she had him in his mouth and forced a little bit more of him inside her mouth. "But...no I do not think we should as much as I would love to make your pussy my personal cock sleeve." He knew his words were turning her on, and she would probably wonder where he learned those words.well aside from porn that is. "Son, if we fucked, I wouldn't want you to stop yourself, and I'm aware of how useless condoms are. But I want you to know that a few years ago, I got my Ovaries removed, so I can't have any more children. Which means I can do this..." she took his head into her mouth and sucked it a few seconds before pulling it back out "And not feel bad." She felt her hair being tugged as she looked into his eyes "Where did you learn such.......nasty language?" she moaned. "And why haven't you shown me it before?" she stroked him harder"I know that you don't want to lose your mother, but remember, I'm not you mother tonight." she giggled. "I'm just your fantasy come to life." she winked before he replied "I can be your personal cum toilet." Laura moaned "and your personal cock sleeve. Just say the words I know you're dying to say." She purred. She was dripping wet, and was so close. His cock tasted absolutely divine, and she wanted it more. Marcus mouth again dropped. She had her ovaries removed?! When did she do this? "Mom.you." He stood back. His cock was right there. He knew he wanted her, and she was saying all the right things. "Mom. I do not know if I feel ready to fuck you yet..." He said clearly wavering now. All she had to do was push him over that edge. Her pussy was clearly dripping, her tits were out and ready to be played with, those lips were so sensual, and her ass was a forbidden treasure waiting to be had." Mom... Laura." He said still hovering between using his mom and.well.not. "I think. I think you should show me your pussy." He said looking away red in the face. "After all if I am going to live my fantasies and make you my woman from here on out... I think it is only fitting you do as I say and let me enjoy my first time with your body the way I want it. After all your such a greedy mom making your son give up his first time. Maybe we should not." He said wavering back. He was not sure if this was right or if he was truly going mad with need. His cock growing and some precut leaked out. "Son please, call me Laura." she moaned as she jerked his cock slowly and hard. Just a little more persuasion and his cock would be pounding her body and filling or covering her in hot sperm. She moaned softly as he spoke, licking from his large hanging balls all the way up to his tip. Her pussy juices just dripping onto the floor as her thong nestled between her rosy folds. She pulled his member to the side, and let it return, slapping her in the face as she gazed into his eyes." Mmmmmmm as you wish Marcus" she moaned before standing up. She pushed Marcus down onto the chair behind him and backed up slightly. Laura pulled the bottom of the skimpy dress over her head, and removed the pink dress completely, leaving just her thong. As she strutted slowly back to Marcus, she swayed her hips and let the thong peel off of her body, falling down to her legs and to the floor. She straddled Marcus's body, so his cock rubbed her folds. "Want to explore? It's all yours" she moaned Marcus was not sure how he should react to this onslaught. "Laura.what are you doing?" He asked as she straddled him. His cock was touching.was that her pussy. Dear god it was warm, wet...and truly inviting. But she was his mother, he could not do what was going through his mind. "Laura trust me I find you attractive but this.we cant do this. We are family. I." He took a deep breath. Her ass was making it hard to think. "I want to explore, but I should be doing this with a girl who is not my mother should I not?" He asked worried he was going to really fuck his mom." Laura I really think we should just stick to you jacking me off... I do not know if I am ready to plunge into that tight looking pussy of yours." He was still trying to resist. Clearly he was having a hard time resisting her and that was clear. "Mom I love you more than the world but why me?" He asked. "Why not someone who is not your son?" He added. Marcus though might know the answer. He had the biggest cock around these parts, and he came so much more than any other average human. Her son was special and a woman in heat wanted a special cock. Laura started to grind her pussy against his throbbing member, coating it in her wetness. She moaned, letting it rub against her clit. Oh god, she was so horny, and she wanted to just force his cock inside her without his consent, just to finally have it inside. She moaned as he spoke "Mummy..... I'm not your mother, I'm Laura, your personal toy" she moaned "And I would rather you explore me than a girl that could give you an STD, Marcus. I'm clean, I'm...mammal.....turned on by you, and I'm here, naked, right now." She moaned"Oh I know you're ready to plunge into my tight, waiting, soaked pussy." she moaned as she leaned in closer, her tits pushing against his chest and his neck. "And I chose you, because you're the man in my life, and I find you extremely attractive." She nibbled at his ear and whispered "You'Bethe only cock I want in my life." she said before kissing down to his neck, moaning. She used one of her hands to slowly Marcus's cock while very slowly grinding. His cock wet enough to make wet slurping noises with every movement of his foreskin. Marcus was about to give in when at last that light bulb flashed into his mind. "Mom please can't we just watch a movie. You wanted to watch euro trip right? We can do that and eat. The food is getting cold." He said desperately as his hips were in the middle of grinding against hers. His cock was so hard and all it would take would plunge in and make this slut his. But Marcus was still loyal to his mother and that's how he saw her for now. Laura would have to try harder if it meant getting him to make her his cum slut and personal cum toilet like her fetish demanded of her. He would try and slip away from her slightly pushing her off but not so to make her fall off. Simply moving her off and taking a few steps back. "Mom your really hot and all but your still my mother." He said gasping as his cock was so hard and some cum was leaking out. "If you were any other woman I would pound my shape into your pussy but you're my mother and I love you too damn much to make you my personal slut." He said looking at her with love in his eyes and a red tint to his cheeks. He meant it when he said he loved her. "I really do love you more than this world itself." Laura was pushed off of her son, but she was able to stand up. She couldn't believe how hard it was to get him to plow her, but part of her still understood his loyalty. If only she had something to lower morals......something like.....alcohol. She hatched a marvelous plan. "....you.....you're right. I'll go put on some different clothes, but please, at least stay in the clothes you have." she said as she (fake)sadly walked up the stairs to her room. She went through her closet and found her other sexy black dress that was from her youthful days and put it on. "If I can get him drunk, and he sees me in this, it has to work." she giggled to herself. Seeing as she needed to put on another set of underwear, she dug out her other sexy thong, crimson red, and slid it on, her backup dress(sexy thong(shouted out her door quick "Marcus, can you pour each of us a glass of wine? Tonight is a night to celebrate, and wine goes really well with Chinese food!" She was finally ready, and came downstairs. Her breasts were way too large for the dress, stretching the strings to the absolute limits and bouncing with every step, and her ass made the dress constantly want to ride up, exposing her tiny thong, which also was prone to causing problems, but with camel-toes. "Okay, let's eat." she moaned as she reached the first floor. Marcus smiled as he would pour her a drink. He did not do one for himself as he did not drink too much. When she came down though he once more was at a loss for words. He would quickly pour himself a drink and down it to calm himself. "Hi.hi mom. You look lovely tonight in that dress." He said softly. He did as she asked and did not dress as he was asked to. His cock was hard and looking at her with such a bulbous purple head and some more precut oozing out. His balls looked even heavier as they readied his load." So I know we can't fuck.but we can talk about sex." He said smiling trying to make up for his lack of drive to use his mother. "Will you accept that as my apology?" He asked. He walked over and gave her a hug before gripping her ass. "You look truly amazing." He said softly into her ear. He would then walk back to the couch with their plates on the table and the movie beginning to start. His cock was still there. He would look back at her. "So why do you like cum mom?" He asked softly. He went red again. His eyes would look up into her eyes again trying to avoid her breasts. Laura turned and saw her son with an overwhelming erection. She could see it twitch occasionally, and knew that he was ready to drop a nice thick load when he gave in to his lust. "Thanks son." She said, striking a pose, her dress sliding up on one side, revealing the side of her thong, before she walked over to him. She hugged him hard, her breasts almost smothering him. The two sat down on the couch after he handed her the glass of wine. She was sad to see he didn't have any himself, but figured it was worth a try." As long as we can talk about it, for now I'll be okay." she moaned before taking a bite of orange chicken, its sauce dripping onto her lower lip. She moaned softly as she slowly licked it back into her mouth, hoping he saw. "I like cum because it's amazing. Well, that was bland." she adjusted herself, spreading her legs a little bit, her dress sliding up to her ass, revealing her wet, camel-toed panties slightly. "I love cum because it tastes so good. Mummy.....and when it's thick, it feels so good sliding down my throat...or my naked body." she sighed sexily and took another bite of chicken. "What physical feature on a woman do you want to fuck the most? Some people don't put pussy first, I'm just curious." she smirked He would almost cum righter than and there. He would eat slowly trying his best to watch at the TV and eat without looking at her. "Well.women like you. Amazing ass, big tits, luscious lips, and a tight pussy. I love that you have an insatiable want for cum. Most girls run away when they see how much I cum." He said slowly before looking back at her. "You know this movie is not half bad." He said softly before eating some more. His mind was trying to focus on other things and was finding it harder." You know mom I also find it hot if a woman knows.how to dance.you know not like dancing but dancing." He was having a tough time saying stripping, lap dancing, among other things. "Mom why is it your wearing these tight looking clothes? Don't they feel tight on you?" He asked as he would glance over. "Why the thong too? I thought you did not like wearing clothes?" He asked before stopping himself from further digging his own grave. "On second thought lets just watch this movie." He said going back to eating. "Honey, I'm not even sure the amount of cum you can fire would be enough to satisfy my lust for it, but it'd be definitely get close." she moaned, trying her best not to keep staring at his penis. "I love this movie, especially the brothel" she giggled hoping that the movie would give him some motivation to jump her. But then he kept speaking, answering her question, and giving her more information that would prove useful." These clothes, I love how I look in them. They make me feel absolutely sexy. They're just so tight, I feel too big being in here, and I don't mind it because it compliments my hot body." Laura moaned. "And the thong, well, it's my favorite. It feels like silk on my pussy." then something caught her attention. "I hate wearing clothes, period. If I could be naked all the time, I would. If I can right now, I'd strip. It's really warm in here." she moaned, sweat glistening on her body. She knew how to give a lap dance, a strip tease, and she would definitely do it, if given the chance. He would look over. "Mom this is your home. If you want to strip down don't mind me. Relax and enjoy yourself." He said softly to his mom before stretching out. "You really like looking good don't you mom." He said putting his hand on her leg. His cock still there. "Mom...I'm going to rub one out. Will you pause the movie?" He asked. He stood up and looked to her. "I won't be able to concentrate if I don't. My...man milk." He said trying not to say his cum to get her onto thinking about something else. He did not want her to rape him like she almost did last time."Yeah, I can tell you like cum mom. Why do you like cum to be thick? Is it the smell? The look.the fact that it could knock a girl who is fertile." He said knowing his mother was not.or was she lying about that? He assumed it was possible, but he dared not think about the possibility. "Mom do.you want to watch?" He asked looking away red in the face. He knew he had to make it up to her, and he was trying to allow her to maybe relieve herself should she want to finger herself. Marcus smiled. "You can help yourself while you watch." She blushed as he said he was going to masturbate in front of her. This was perfect! "I'm going to strip first, feel free to watch." she winked and stood up. She gazed down at his glistening cock and moved directly in front of him. She shook her hips back and forth, running her hands up and down her body, squeezing her breasts. Furthermore, she then turned around and reached back, unzipped the dress, and slowly slid it down til it was on the floor. Furthermore, she moaned "mmmmmmm I'm going to need to finger myself to your.......marvelous cock after this." She completely stepped out of the dress, and hovered her ass over the top of his hard cock before standing back up. Furthermore, she turned back around, squeezing her tits, licking a nipple, and bent over, her giant tits hanging right in front of his cock as she slid her thong down and onto the floor. Furthermore, she stood in front of him, completely naked, and rubbing her body as she danced. "To answer your question, I love the thrill of thick cum........because mummy it's more solid. It's that feeling......of risk also......MMM that makes me love it." Laura slid a hand down and started to rub her pussy as she looked him in the eyes and answered his question. "I love the idea of it potentially knocking me up........well, used to." she said, "now I'm....sterile" she moaned "so no risk of babies if I get my womb stuffed......filled......and mmmmmmmm bursting with hot seed" she moaned, sticking a finger into her pussy and thrusting it slowly. He was totally lost in her dance. As she stated that she could not have children any more he frowned. "Why is it you chose to become sterile mom?" He asked as he began to rub himself. His cock growing again in his hands. "Mom you're making me so hard right now...do you want me to cum on you?" He asked. "Because I don't want to stain the carpet.unless you want this house to reek and smell of my cum." He knew he should not be saying this before walking over and hovering over her giving her the best view of him masturbating." I would have really like to have had siblings. One of my biggest fantasies is using a woman and knocking her up.but it's just a darker fantasy I have had." He said letting her know one of his biggest fantasies. "Something about making pumping a girl full of my spunk till she is brimming with it. Watching her eyes get bog by how full she is and moaning how much her body loves being used. I know you don't want to hear that though." He said looking into her eyes. "Does that turn you on?" He asked looking at her as Marcus moaned again. Laura was surprised at her son's question. "Of course I'd love you to cum all over me." she moaned "We wouldn't want the house to always smell of your spunk would we?" she moaned and knelt down, allowing him to stand over her "Of course, I still feel like some will cover the floor, even if you shoot it onto my body." she blushed "So, if you want to, I'd be more than willing to have it in my mouth too." she moaned as she watched him jerk off." Well, it's not that you can't have any siblings." she said as she waited "Your father could easily have had another poor child by now." She gazed into his eyes as he jerked, and used her fingers to still rub her delicate pussy, moaning. "I'd love to be filled to brimming with hot cum, it's one of my biggest fantasies also. I haven't found a man who would do it to me though. Fill me up with his seed until my womb can't fit anymore. It's such a turn-on" she moaned He sighed knowing she was right. He would inch closer and slowly place it to her lips. "Than suck my cock slut mom. I'll have to pretend for this moment that you're my meat toilet and not my mom like you said. Laura drinks all of my thick gooey cum." He ordered as he hoped she would not become addicted to the taste or the act. What he did not know was this was the event that would set all the events to follow as his mom was truly a slut for his cock. Marcus moaned as he felt his balls pretty much churn and boil as he felt his load ready." Quickly mom as I want to cum to those luscious lips of yours and fill that slut throat you have there with the thickest cum you will ever have." Marcus looked into her eyes. He wanted to get this over with, and he was hoping she would be turned on enough to hurry up. He would not possibly know that she was enjoying being treated like this. Clearly his dad probably had a more direct effect in how his mom responds to orders. "Your such a naughty little cum slut mom wanting your sons cum down your throat. Just like a porn star." He gasped out. Laura moaned as he kissed his cock "I'll make you never want to stop cumming" She opened her mouth as wide as she could, slowly sliding inch by inch of his massive rod into her mouth until it started journeying down her throat. Laura used her free hand to play with his heavy, cum-rich balls and massage them while she other mouth filled(his giant member. She sucked it slowly, enjoying every second this, in case it never happened again. She moaned onto his cock, vibrating it as she covered it in her saliva. Her free hand still fucked her pussy slowly, her wetness dripping onto the floor, making a small puddle. As his cock throbbed in her mouth, she gazed up at him with seductive eyes. She then pulled his cock out of her mouth until just the tip was inside, and wrapped her giant tits around his shaft, giving him a tit-fuck blowjob. Her tits covered in her own saliva as she rubbed them against his cock. Laura moaned and sucked hard, wanting every ounce of cum he had inside every one of her holes. Marcus moaned as the sensation was too much for him. He was already close as was, and now she was making it not possible to keep his cum inside. His balls tightened, and he grips her hair as he forces his cock back into her mouth and cumming hard. He moaned softly as his thick smelly spunk forced its way down her throat by the sheer eruption. His balls being milked by her mouth for every last drop. Some of his cum was already drizzling down her chin covering her front and still getting on the floor. Some even glazed over her pussy and hand."that's it meat toilet take it all and enjoy your meal." He moaned as he began to withdraw and as soon as he popped out he covered her like she would have seen in one of her brake ports. The only thing was it was only him. It felt like he would just cum and cum and cum. He had never exploded like this and left this much before. He was making her as white as snow with a tint of yellow from how thick and smelly the cum was. "Do you like my cum mom?" He asked looking at her grinning as he finished slowly. As he erupted down her throat, all Laura could think was"this is actually happening"and she loved it. She guzzled down as much as she could before it was too much for her mouth, and began leaking out all over her body and onto the floor. It smelled strongly sweaty, and was so thick that she had a very hard time swallowing it, as it gummed up her throat. "This could actually make me choke, but it's so goooooooood."she moaned as he pulled out "coat me in your godly cum! Make me white!" she moaned as he coated her face in his white goo. It was like she was gang banged by 20 men, but it was only him, and it was definitely worth every second so far." I loved your cum, Marcus!" she moaned sexily as she wiped the cum from her face into her mouth, eating it. "It's so delicious, I could have it for every meal. Mmmmmmmmm and so could my pussy." she whimpered "It's dying for attention, and my fingers aren't enough to make me orgasm. Can you help me please?" she leaned back on her butt and spread her legs, her pussy's aroma and wetness very evident. It was clear she hadn't been fucked in a very, long time, and needed it badly. Marcus eyes focus on her pussy and his cock remained hard as he felt his balls become heavy again. But he could not cross that threshold. He would back away. "I said we would not go past you feeling me cum in your mouth mom. You should get a shower." He said pausing the movie and going to wipe up the extra cum on the floor. "Mom I really enjoyed that. I may use your mouth here and there but remember you'll have to try harder to get me into that tight snatch." he stopped himself. Did he just say that to his mom? Hell was he even thinking. Well if he made into a game he could perhaps deflect him not fucking her pussy to her going said game. "I'll tell you what let's make a game of this. If you can seduce by the end of tonight before I go to sleep ill claim your pussy, and you'll become my meat toilet for good. If you cannot though than the day begins anew and you'll have to start all over. Each day you'll have to try new things. If you repeat any actions you forfeit your chance." Marcus stated. "Do we have a deal?" As he shut her down, she sighed. "Let me get the cum, it's my fault." she moaned, going for a glass of sorts to swipe it into. She grabbed her now empty wine glass, and using her fingers, slid the cum into it until the floor was nothing but a shiny residue of what it once was. She then in front of him, downed his remaining cum and licked the glass clean. "That was so refreshing." she moaned. "I don't think I need to shower, you just gave me one." she said seductively, bringing a breast up to lick its nipple in seductive circles." If you want to make a game out of me trying to fuck yourmonsteranddeliciouscock, then fine. But at least give me a fair chance, and not think of me as your mother, but as Laura. Otherwise, you'll have a bias, and I will never be able to fuck thatstudlycock, and feel your warm cum in my full womb because you will always see me as your mom and not a MILF or something." she said, slightly sad. "But all the other rules are perfectly fine. I can't repeat myself." she sat back down on the couch and spread her legs. "BUT, if I get you to fuck me, the'm yours forever, no take backs." she moaned, rubbing her pussy. "If you agree, then we do have a deal." "Alright Laura. Your on." He said back as he would head to the shower. "I'll be back in a bit. You have until I get back to get ready Laura." He said winking letting her see he meant his word. If he ended up as her owner did he really say he lost? Still he wanted to make sure she knew he was serious. At least now he might have a chance to keep his distance. Once she ran out of ideas she would lose.or he already knew the loophole he allowed by mistake. He did say she could not repeat the previous day but not anything in the past. This was a bad thing. If she figured that out it would be over for him. He would never be rid of her. But maybe once he moved out maybe she would give up. That meant the end of his high schooling as he was a senior and could move into a college dorm. He would have to try real hard and aim for that after all. Marcus smiled. "I am glad you enjoyed my thick cum. It only stays thick the longer i don't jack off." Shit another hint. If he did not jack off eventually his balls would become painfully full, and she could use that to her advantage. He needed to shut his mouth. Laura replied "Don't worry, I will be." she moaned, rubbing her body seductively as he left. She began thinking of ways to get him to crack, and her first step was going to be "Deprive him of being alone for too long." she giggled "He can't keep masturbating if I don't let him." she got up, grabbed the clothes on the floor and went upstairs to her room, using a cleaning wipe, she cleaned off the residual cum that was on her body, now making her sticky, before putting on her matching lingerie(grabbing her basically transparent kimono to show off the goods. She perfumed, and put on a touch of make-up around her eyes, bringing out their sexy appeal. Laura waited for her son to come downstairs, anxious to see his reaction. This was new, even for her. She never wore her kimono before now, not having a reason to, but dammit, she wanted to be stuffed! Marcus washed quickly trying to relax. She did not come after him and that was a good thing. Clearly she had not caught on and was giving some space. He could masturbate at school if need be. Sure his balls needed to be emptied several times a day, or they would hurt, but that was the price he had to pay to have a cock as good as he had. Marcus smiled when he thought about the type of things Laura would put him through. Hell he was already coming through with her request and was thinking of her as Laura and not his mother to a degree. He would grab at his cock and clean it before drying off and dressing in a white shirt and boxers. There would be no reason for him to be naked now. His confidence rising again which could be his downfall. He would head downstairs to see his mother dressed as she was. It was truly amazing and exotic to see her open up like she was. "You look amazing in that. Where did you get that kimono Laura?" He asked as he approached her and sat down running a hand over the fabric. "It really suits you I think." As he ran his soft hand up her shaven leg, Laura let out a soft sigh. "I bought it a few weeks ago while window shopping. Do you like what you see Marcus?" she moaned, her lingerie clearly visible through her kimono. "I think it suits me too." she spread her legs slightly, showing her son that she was indeed still wet, and she needed release. But she was well aware that he was going to deprive her of this because of his morals. She was ready, oh god, she was more than ready. But he wasn't, and it sucked for her. She waited for him to sit back down and leaned over him, her bra-cladded breasts pouring out the top of the Kimono and over his boxers as she grabbed the remote off the table and unpaused the movie. "MMM you smell stunning." Marcus looked at her as she reached across. That space was denied before he pulled her to him. "You smell like my cum Laura. Which I guess is a good thing, but clearly you would smell amazing if you had showered. Do you like smelling like my personal cum dump Laura?" He teased her as he watched the movie. At about half way she would notice that his cock was hard again because she was near him and his balls were refilling. That and they were becoming full faster than he wanted them to be. He was a tool for breeding women and that was becoming apparent. He had apparently forgotten she was there draped over him as his woman because he was so into the movie. Furthermore, he would rest his arm around and his hand rested over her breast. As long as he did not fuck her he was fine. That does not mean he could not grope her. He was happy he was so smart to find loopholes. Besides his mom was FAP material. "I have to agree, cosplay is so much fun and really hot. The old farmer's daughter thing is so nice." He said absent-mindedly. The booze working on him. "I love smelling like your cum, Marcus. But I guess I could have showered. However, you were in the shower for so long, I didn't have the chance." Laura giggled. "You smell wonderful though." She leaned against him, and moaned slightly as he grabbed her breast. Sh was surprised that he was still acting on her, almost as if he himself was not entirely giving in to his morals. This made Laura happy, and she snuggled against him tighter. Her hand glided across his pants as they watched the movie. She could feel that he was hard, and it was visible too." I agree, the farmer's daughter is definitely interesting." she giggled and slowly slid her hand down his boxers.....not wanting to make her seem too horny. "I can pause it should you need to shower Laura." He stated. Marcus moaned as she touched his cock and the fire began to build again. Of course if he came before fucking her pussier than he would be ok, but she obviously would not allow that. This must be simple teasing and trying to get him to jump her bones. "I love playing roles. I would have fucked that farmer's daughter too." He said absent-mindedly. He was trying his best to focus, but her hand was making it hard, and he was letting all kinds of things come out of his mouth. She was getting a lot of knowledge about angles she could use against him should she be clever enough to dissect him further. "What about you Laura, do you like role playing out scenes in the bedroom? Maybe act as nurse to allow your patient to give sperm by using your pussy as a cock sleeve?" He said grinning as he continued to play with her breasts with his hands while the movie was drawing to a close. He wanted to fuck her and hard, but he just could not take the fall off that moral cliff. His cock felt amazing touching her hand, but it wanted something tight and warm. He supposed that she was tight from not being in use for so long. "Mammal I've actually always wanted to play the Nurse, getting her semen sample by using her pussy as a deposit." Laura moaned as she slowly jerked him off. "Or even the Teacher who teaches her students Anatomy with hand's on experience. Or the poor girl who is begging for something to drink, but has to drink cum." Laura giggled. "I have my own fantasies." These were fantasies she always wanted to try, but never got around to actually doing. Maybe if she could get Marcus to fuck her, she would be able to finally live them out." I've also wanted to play the 'blonde-bimbo slut' who just wants to blow and fuck people to get the cum." she moaned "I can already think of my 'lines'. 'Sir, I'm dying for some cum, can you spare any?' or even 'I'm painting a portrait with my body, but I'm out of sperm to paint with.'" Laura laughed "I don't suppose you'd even like that though." She said, curious for more information Marcus moaned as she jerked him off slowly. "I would have loved to indulge in fantasies similar to that. The teacher is kind of naughty and I rather like that. To use you like my personal dump for these balls of mine. Laura I think the movie is over." He said smiling as he pulled her onto his lap. "I think you should go take a shower. I do enjoy having you smell like my personal fuck toy but even than you should. Which movie should I put in next?" He asked her. Marcus knew her mind was already calculating how she was going to get him in the sac. She knew plenty of ways, and he was losing the will to fight her." Should I pour you another drink?" He asked as he felt his balls begin to get painful again. His need was getting bad again. He hoped she would fall for it, and he would be able to wank himself again so he would not have to lose this battle of morals. His cock strained to get inside of her as it was evident talking about fantasies was turning him on. "That's an order Laura." He said winking. He spanked her ass roughly on both cheeks and he would smile. His eyes focused on hers, and he kissed her softly, not like a son should to his mother. This was a sign that he was losing his cool and she was getting stronger. As she was pulled onto his lap, she ground against his member. "Alright, I'll go take a shower." she moaned as she stood up, and he spanked her ass. "You get to choose the movie this time." Before she walked away, Marcus kissed her, and she returned it passionately. She began walking away. The fact that she was changing her clothes for the fifth time today was rare. She seldom went through this much attire for a man, in fact, this only happened once before. But she knew that after tonight, she wouldn't need to do it again. Laura giggled. "I'm sure any movie you pick will be perfect."" I don't need another drink, I've had enough to satisfy me." she moaned and adjusted her voice, taking advantage of one of his desires "Y'all better pick a good one now, ya hear?" she giggled "Just kidding" her voice returned to normal "I'll return soon." Laura smiled. Laura grabbed some of her clothes and got into the shower. She cleaned every part of her body with her softest body wash (she had multiple different washes, enough for a different one per day of the week). After her shower she dried and put on her skimpiest shorts(tied shirt(her pair of boots she wore once (went through a phase a few years back). She slowly walked down the hallway, her boots clicking against the floor. As she walked down the stairs she let out a moan, and got into character. "'Souse me mist ah, I don't mean to sound needy, but I'm just' dying for some delicious white nectar. Do ya have any to spare for me?" Laura moaned softly. "I'm so thirsty." She hoped that her outfit was what he was looking for, and prayed that her accent wasn't over the top. Marcus was about to wank and relieve himself when she came back down and his heart skipped a beat. He was oozing precut. It was official. How was he going to get out of this when she looked so inviting. Hell he was already on the edge and should she push the envelope here he would indeed fuck her hard. "I might have some. What do you want to drink young miss?" He asked as he was now walking to her. Hell he was already falling to his needs. Was he actually going to lose to his mom on this." You look fucking hot Laura. What do you do to keep in shape?" He asked admiring her ass and how she fit into her tight little shorts. His cock grazed her ass, and he moaned loudly for her to hear. He smiled. "I could not decide on a movie. I was thinking bad teacher, or maybe lone ranger, or perhaps one of those porn movies you like to stash in your room to get off on. I noticed your addicted to the stuff. Has no man shown you the want you crave Laura?" He asked opening a new can of worms with the porn. Laura swayed as she walked up to Marcus "Oh ya 'no what I want'." She wasted no time, her hand once again sliding into his boxers, gripping his enormous member firmly with her soft hand and stroking. "I want' sum of ya cock milk from yer tap." she giggled and pulled him hard into a tongued kiss, exploring his mouth without his permission. When she pulled away, she moaned "Are ya going to give me sum?" she nibbled at his ear "I'll doanythingto get it from yer balls, mist'"Laura answered his question, but to stay consistent, she stayed in character. "To answer yer question, I do a gotta yard work and spend a gotta time wit' my animals. I also like to run, which makes me soooooooothirstyespecially for sum milk." she moaned "And I want to watch one with plenty of cream pies. It's one of my fantasies to be filled with yer milk." She started stroking harder. That's what did him in. No longer caring about what he was doing, as his switch was flipped hard. "Laura why don't we make our own porno. It will be titled former mother becomes personal slave and cock sleeve." He whispered. "Of course if we do that you give up your title of mother and become my woman, doing whatever I say when I say it. Whether its at your work, home, my school, or anywhere else. You will always do as I say. Do you truly want that Laura?" He asked pushing his hands into her shorts and gripping the supple flesh that was her ass. His cock was hard, and soon his boxers dropped from not having anything but her hand holding it up. He was now nude before her. "I'll make your tight pussy loose. You know I'm long enough that Ill be fucking your womb. My cum and my cock will make it to where you'll never be able to have another man inside of you and enjoy it, and the same for your ass. Do you want to sacrifice these things to my cock?" He asked her kissing her softly and forcing his tongue into her mouth now as he gave in and was kissing her as deeply as a man could to a woman. He was no longer her son, but she would have to throw away her freedom, and her body in how it looked now to be ravaged by his thick monster.

Mother may I_ (Frostsider and TheBlackMasquerade)|rating:1.0

The war in New York! (BBVD&Marie)

For decades even back in the old country two major bulls went head-to-head trying to be the better man, the better Don. They also wanted to be known as the best Don to come from the motherland. Once great friends as children went different directions and eventually became Don Pale ‘IL Magellan’ (The Butcher) Gallon the head of the Italian Mafia and Don Niccolo ‘IL Diablo’ (The devil) Alighieri. There for a while every single day was a war between the two families that was until both families unknowingly moved to America to get away from persecution and prosecution in the motherland. Three entire years passed by rather quickly without either knowing that the other was also in America that was until both of them met one day again on the street and once more the hatred between the two flared up and caused total chaos on the streets. Every single day there were headlines in the papers about shootouts in public places some of which took the lives of innocent people. Though no one cared because the egos of Pale and Niccolo were so large that they wanted to show their dominance while also trying to prove that they were better than the other. Giovanni Alighieri was your normal twenty-year-old rich boy loving to go clubbing and partying on a daily basis. He would drink in any bar he wanted to in the city and no one would say a word to him because of who is father was. Now unlike most spoiled rich brats Giovanni didn’t wear too much jewelry wanting to usually keep under the radar of most people knowing that if one of Gallon’s men noticed who he was then he could be kidnapped and used as leverage. Everyone in the nightclub scene though new Giovanni though who wouldn’t notice a handsome, six foot two inch, two hundred and thirty pound muscular man with black hair and beautiful dark ocean blue eyes. Giovanni currently sat in a local hot spot in the city called ‘The Dark room.’ Where he had a beer in hand watching everyone around him who were dancing. Looking over each face to see if he could find a woman to take home for the night having been known for being a real ladies man and getting around from woman to woman. As of now though no one had got his attention that was until he noticed one woman in the middle of the dance floor surrounded by a bunch of her friends. With that Giovanni took a large drink of his beer finishing it off quickly, and he made his way to the dance floor and began dancing his way over to the woman. In a matter of seconds he had gotten to where she was, and he continued dancing before turning around toward the young woman “Hey it’s a wonderful night to party huh” he asked wanting to start a small conversation with her and from there things would hopefully just escalate. Marybeth opened her bedroom door looking around she knew her father was downstairs having one of his typical meetings about the other Don in town. Really Marybeth cared very little for the war between the Dons all she currently cared for was going out and partying it up. She grinned widely and shut her door as a pebble hit her window. "Yes." she said more than excited to know her friends were outside waiting for her escape. She ran over to the window and opened it widely. "Hey girl." her newest best friend Savannah said waving her down. "Hold on." Marybeth whispered grabbing a pair of her nicer black pumps and a small bag with a dress in it. Marybeth wasn't going to sneak out of her house in one of her dresses she knew better than that. If she did her friends would get more than just an adventure they'd get a peek of what the dress hid under it. She tossed her shoes out at her friend as they dodged it and Marybeth laughed to herself as she climbed out the window silently shutting the window just enough so it looked closed but opened enough to slip her fingers under and push it back up. "Come on." Savannah shouted as softly as humanly possible. Marybeth waved at her to shut the hell up and climbed across the roof and down onto the garage which here trampoline was sitting for her. "Jump" Savannah said with a giggle and Marybeth did then climb down and ran for her friends' car along the way grabbing her heels. It didn't take Marybeth to get dressed in the back seat seeing as it was Savannah Marybeth and one other girl in the car. They were all meeting up at a club called 'The Dark Room' it was going to be amazing! Marybeth wasn't like her friends she didn't have wild hair like Savannah it was typically any color in the rainbow, but today it was blue, pink, and a dark purple. Nor did she dress up like Heather who was more gothed out then she'd ever seen, although Marybeth did sometimes dress slutty when her father wasn't looking. Marybeth wasn't tall she only stood at five foot four inches tall but with her heels she was six inches taller. Marybeth had long wavy blonde hair that she could easily dye any color, and it's look good. Her eyes however were probably what made her stand out in her group of 'misfits' (that's what her father called them) her right eyes was a beautiful shade of blue that almost looked crystal like when the light hit it and the left eye is a pale bright green. Normally Marybeth was told to were contacts when she was out around the public after all she could be used as leverage if she was ever kidnapped. "We're here!" Savannah said pulling up in front of a large club Marybeth's mouth dropped open in shock. It was huge!" Wow!" Marybeth said silently to herself as everyone got out, and she handed the keys to the scholar, and she made sure it was a scholar. Marybeth looked down at her simple black short dress that stopped halfway down her thigh and hugged her tits tightly as well as showed the top off. She had a black headband holding most of her hair out of her face. "Come on!" Savannah said wrapping a hand around her friends shoulders and leading them into the club. It was within two seconds of being inside the club that they were out on the dance floor arms in the air and bodies swaying to the heavy loud music that blared in the air. It was Marybeth's first time coming to this Club, and she found it amazing. Someone started talking to her, and she turned to see a very handsome man. "Ah..." she stared at his face and blushed trying to think of an answer to say to him as her friend Savannah leaned over to her "Sorry she's not used to boys all-girls school!" She laughed and Marybeth looked at Savannah "Don't listen to her." she said elbowing Savannah making her leave. "It's a wonderful night to party." (Sorry my post is a little short I've just been dealing with a lot. But I promise they'll get better.) Giovanni smiled as he heard the woman tell him that he wasn’t used to boys since she went to an all-girl school before the other woman who he had, had his eyes on made the other woman leave, but he spoke to Marybeth’s friend Savannah “Well then we’ll definitely have to change that won’t we? A beautiful woman like this definitely needs to be able to have fun you know what I’m saying, and I promise miss that by the end of this night I will have helped make this the most exciting night of all of your lives” Giovanni said honestly as he looked at the women the entire time he was still dancing. A man in a very nice tailored suit and many gold rings walked up to Giovanni and leaned in towards him before whispering in his ear “Mr. Alighieri Don Gallon’s hitman Luca Brass is here. We need to take care of him, but we can’t do so until we get your orders.” Giovanni smiled as he said “Excuse me for a moment lady” he said with a slight bow before walking off with the man who came with him “I want you to sneak attack him. Get him tied up and put in a chair in the manager’s office since my father owns this place. Once you’ve done that let me know, and after I’m done talking with the beautiful young lady I was with I’ll take care of him myself” he said honestly before making his way back to where Marybeth was and smiled “I apologize for that I had to take care of some business being the son of the owner of this club can be hard at times but what is a man to do” he asked with a smile before looking at Marybeth as a slow song came on “Well I know we just met and all miss, but I was wondering if I could have this dance. I noticed you came in with a bunch of your girlfriends, and I’ll try not to keep you from them for too long it’s just I want the honor of dancing with the most beautiful woman in the entire club and quite possibly one of the most beautiful women in this entire country and I can say that honestly since I’ve been around the country a lot” he said using the beautiful compliment as an icebreaker because as of right now he wasn’t in love with the girl right now he was just your average recently adult male trying to get laid because that was what kind of person that Giovanni was. Never one to settle down but instead fuck anything he could though sometimes if the girl was beautiful enough he would go and see them on a regular basis “Oh and I know I forgot to tell you this early, but my name is Giovanni but if you’d like you can call me Van my friends do since most people can’t say my name.” Marybeth stood there with her friends as he walked away. Savannah grabbed Marybeth's shoulder and turned her to look at her "Seriously he's a Hotly with a body you should so get his number fuck him then forget him." she grinned and Marybeth looked over her shoulder at him "Yeah, but he seems too much like my dad a schmoozer." she whispered and Savannah laughed "You have daddy issues you should fuck him." she chuckled and Marybeth blinked at her as if the words didn't enter her ears. "Come on at least get his number." Savannah pleaded and Marybeth sighed "Fine I'll get his number." Savannah clapped her hands together with joy "And you should totally fuck him, but I can understand why you won't if your dad found out he'd kill him, and you'd never see the light of day again." Savannah was more than right if her father found out she fucked some stranger she'd be in big trouble, and he'd be six feet under. "Here's a condom just in case." she said handing her a small silver paper that had an unused condom sealed inside. Marybeth's eyes went wide in surprise. Marybeth whipped around holding the condom and then quickly hid it from him mas he apologized for leaving them. "You're the owners' son, huh?" she asked eyeing him closely. Marybeth looked at him as Savannah winked at her and walked away from them "Flattery will get you everywhere." she grinned widely as he called her beautiful. She moved in wrapping her arms around his shoulders as they slow danced. She smiled at his name "Giovanni... I know a Giovanni... I mean not personally." she put her face against his chest listening to his heart beat. "Giovanni Alighieri is his name." she whispered "My dad hates him he thinks he's a punk kid it's kind of funny." she smiled Giovanni smiled as he said “Yes my father owns this club and a couple of other places around here he’s…. Well let’s just say he’s a businessman with an eye for making money” he said honestly as she agrees to dance with him while also saying that flattery would get him everywhere “Well I’m glad that flattery will get me everywhere because I love complimenting women as beautiful as you are darling it makes me happy to be able to let you know the truth” but then he was floored by her next comment about her father hating him. How could this man hate him because he didn’t even know who this young woman was. “Well then this just got really awkward between us because I am Giovanni Alighieri and I have absolutely no clue who you are or who your father is. I also don’t know how anyone could hate me because I am just a kid trying my best to keep the family business running since my father is in ill health. Not to mention I only know one man who hates my father and that is a man named Pale Gallon, but that is a story I will have to tell you later because we are having such a great time together, and I wouldn’t want to scare you off with telling you too much. If Pale Gallon found out that I was sharing this night with a beautiful woman like you, you could be in trouble the work this man does he wouldn’t think twice about having you disappear never to be seen again, but that is my life unfortunately” Giovanni explained to her while still dancing with her as he heard a commotion behind him, he also hadn’t realized that the woman he was dancing with just so happened to be the daughter of his father’s sworn enemy. James Briggs the man who had originally informed Giovanni of Luca Brass being at the club chased after Luca. Somehow the hitman had found out that his bosses daughter Marybeth had escaped from her room and got here, and he knew if Luca saw Giovanni there could be a shootout right here in the dance club. Luca Brass ignored James’ as he looked for Marybeth and when he found her he saw who she was with so he pulled out his gun, and it was followed by a click as the hammer of the pistol cocked back and was being pointed at Giovanni “Let go of Miss Gallon you Alighieri trash” he said angrily.”Wait…. Miss what!!” Giovanni said stepping back from Marybeth as he heard who he had been dancing with quickly however he had made his way over to Luca not afraid of the man because if he died now he’d get a hero’s death. So he did the only thing he knew how to do an intimidation factor that would more than likely keep Luca from shooting him. He grabbed both sides of the pistol Luca was holding and placed the barrel right in the middle of his forehead before looking at Luca directly in the eye knowing that hitmen hated to see the eyes of their victims “Then shoot me Luca do it. PUT A BULLET IN MY HEAD” he said angrily pressing his head so hard against the gun that there was now a circle imprinted in his forehead from where the gun was pressing against it. Luca knew he couldn’t shoot because he had seen Giovanni’s eyes, and he put the gun back down in its holster before grabbing Marybeth’s arm roughly “Your father will here of this little lady, and he will not be pleased that you were in such proximity with an Alighieri” and with that he began to drag Marybeth out of the nightclub but was stopped at the door by a couple of members from Giovanni’s Sicilian mafia.”No, no Luca you know we aren’t letting you leave” Giovanni said from behind them before grabbing Luca’s hand that was holding Marybeth’s arm, and he squeezed it tightly knowing that it would cause Luca to let go of Marybeth’s arm. “Now that he’s let go of her take Mr. Brass here to the interrogation room” he ordered the two scary looking men before turning to Marybeth “You’re Don Pale’s daughter” he said it more like a statement than a question, but he truly wanted to know if it was true. Marybeth kept her face pressed against his chest she didn’t want to look up at him or have him see her. It was too nerve racking she didn’t want to have any kind of other contact with him knowing if her father found out she was within inches of any guy she’d be in trouble and the fact he was making her blush didn’t help. Marybeth’s eyes widened as he told her who exactly he was, and her heart skipped a beat and her stomach flipped. She was actually dancing with Giovanni Alighieri! Oh, her father would flip at the fact she was in the enemy’s arms. Marybeth smiled to herself “You don’t know me but I sure as shit know you and you definitely know my father.” She said softly not wanting to give up who her father was. She looked up at Giovanni as he told her what her father would do to her, and she chuckled “I’m sure he would make it, so I never saw the light of day again.” Marybeth looked around for her friends a little worried about her being here cause after all this was still enemy territory. Marybeth’s eyes widened when she saw Luca, and he started walked over to her “Fuck!” she said in a soft voice as Luca walked over. “Luca Briggs put that thing down.” She ordered him but of course he didn’t listen to her as she moved away from Giovanni. Marybeth watched what was happening go down. Marybeth sighed frustrated “Lucca come on leaving him alone, and I’ll go home before they actually catch you!” she said grabbing Luca’s arm to get him out of the place. Marybeth sighed in relief as Luca lowered the gun and put it away. “I’m sure he’ll know everything cause daddy knows best.” She huffed walking with Luca “Wait you going to tell him I was with Giovanni?” she shouted at Luca scared of her father’s reaction. Marybeth turned to Giovanni when he said he wasn’t going to let Luca leave. “You can’t keep him here!” she snapped at him. Luca’s hand released Marybeth’s arm. She was glade she didn’t have to go home with Luca, but she was a little mad that Giovanni was going to have to stay. “I demand you give me back Luca!” she said stomping her foot down angrily. “Yes Don Pale’s my father.” She walked over to Giovanni, and she kicked him in the shins “Now give me back Luca or my father isn’t the only one you’ll have to deal with Giovanni!” she snared. Giovanni smiled as he looked at her blushing and said “You know I just wanted to let you know that you are even more beautiful when you blush which I didn’t think I was possible since you are already so beautiful” he said complimenting her still working his magic to try and get her into the bed with him, but he knew that he would have to work hard to get this young woman to do that with him since her father hated him because who he was. And he had told her exactly who he was without a single care he liked this girl and couldn't care less what her last name was. They could be the modern day Romeo and Juliet. But that was when things got out of control Luca Brass number one hitman for the Gallon family had already tried to off him until Giovanni took it upon himself to humanize (As it was called) himself with the so-called killer. That was when Giovanni noticed that Luca was taking Marybeth out, and he couldn’t allow that so he had his men stand in front of the door and begin escorting him to the interrogation room when all of a sudden he was on the floor because he had been kicked in the shins by Marybeth “Fuck what the fuck was that for” Giovanni asked angrily as he made his way up to his feet once more. He noticed some of his men heading to get Marybeth, but Giovanni held his hand up stopping the men from killing her for hitting him this isn’t what he wanted to happen to the young woman because she wasn’t to blame for their father’s hatred “You know that was rude hitting me all my men are doing is making sure he has no other weapons than the pistol on his side. Once they cleared him of all weapons, and he no longer was a threat we’ll let him go, and you can go only if you want to I am not going to force you to do anything that you don’t want to do. Not to mention I was having fun getting to know you before you went and got physical with me and kicked my shins” with that Giovanni slowly leaned down to rub his shin for a second as if that would stop the pain.“Sir are you sure you don’t want us to kill Luca and this whore it’d be so easy to dispose of them now since they’re in our place we can say that they entered our domain with intent on killing us” one of the new guys said as he placed as gun right to the back of Marybeth’s head and cocked the gun ready to shoot at any moment.”Stand down Leonardo” Giovanni said calmly as he walked over to Marybeth and pulled the gun from the back of Marybeth’s head not hurting her, and he took the bullets from the gun that Leo had just had. Then he slapped Leonardo across the face hard his one large gold ring with a huge diamond leaving an imprint on the man’s face “Tell the woman you’re sorry women should not be spoken to the way you just spoke of her” he said in an angry yet authoritative voice.”I’m.” Leon placed his hand on his face because it hurt “I’m sorry for speaking to you wrongfully miss, and I hope someday you’ll forgive me for my disrespect towards you” he said honestly bowing slightly. Giovanni turned his attention to Marybeth “Now even though you assaulted me I would still be honored to share a dance with you. If you’d allow me the pleasure of escorting the most beautiful woman in this place around the dance floor.” Marybeth had her arms crossed over her chest as if protecting herself from a dangerous man. She knew how dangerous her father was so she assumed he was just as dangerous. “That’s for take my Luca away he’s my bodyguard… and my daddy doesn’t like you!” she snapped at him “No you’re men aren’t taking him to get rid of his ‘guns’ they’re taking him to the interrogation room! And if they hurt one hair on his head I’ll tell my daddy, and then I’ll make sure to hurt you when I become don of my family and women in my family are so much worse!” she glared at him. “Would you rather me rub your shoulders?” she mocked him her mouth was like a knife could sharp. Marybeth heard one of his men ask if he wanted them to kill her and Luca and her eyes went wide. Marybeth was sure her father didn’t know where she was and that would make things very bad. “It takes a real man to kill a female and sorry bud you’re not a man.” She stuck her tongue out at the man and then quickly put it back in her mouth when he cocked the gun and readied to shoot her. Marybeth ran over to Giovanni actually scared his men would shoot her and she clung to him tightly. Marybeth looked at Leonardo and then Giovanni as he told Leonardo to apologize, and she stared at him as he apologized. “It’s ok you’re only doing your job.” She said softly still clinging to Giovanni still scared out of her mind. She had never had a gun pointed at her, and it really freaked the crap out of her.“How about you give me back my Luca, and we leave here…” she said in a shy voice her hands still glued to his shirt like she was never going to let go of him, and if he said no she probably would never let go of him. Giovanni laughed as he said "Let me start off by telling you miss Gallon that I do not fear you, your father or any of his men because our families have been at war for decades with each other, and I've seen many great men on both sides of this war die a horrible death. Also, I want to say that our fathers are both egotistical, ignorant fools who cannot see the possibilities that we have in front of them and I refuse to be like that. I mean we are the future of our own family and right now there is an opportunity’s for us to bring forth the one thing that both of our fathers have been working towards their entire lives and have yet to succeed” Giovanni said smiling at her “Of course that’s if you’re willing to sit down and talk with me. So, now that we have that out of the way I would love a shoulder massage if you wouldn't mind you see dealing with asshole's all the time makes my body tense and tension isn't a good thing to have when you're in my line of work" Giovanni said being a smart ass just like she was at that time, but he did it playfully trying to cut the tension in the air with a small joke. That was when Marybeth ran over to him and clung to him for her life, and he knew from that moment she had never actually been a part of this side of the family business "Let me tell you something Marybeth my offer of staying here and dancing is still an option if you so wish to accept my offer I was actually enjoying the dance we were sharing together” he said smiling at her honestly “But again if you so wish to just leave with Luca Brass then you are more than welcome to leave the door is that way and my offer stays good as well even if you leave. If you ever want to come back to dance then you know where to find me.”“Sir are you sure that you should let these two leave like that I mean once Luca gets back to Don Gallon or even back to your father then we’ll have our heads taken off by one of the men” James one of his father’s oldest friends and one of Giovanni’s personal protection detail asked the young soon to be Don with great worry.“I’m absolutely certain about my decisions don’t ask me stupid questions, or you’ll end up slapped just like Leonardo” Giovanni said smiling as he placed his arm around Marybeth carefully as if holding her to his side to protect her. Luca walked back from the back having been let go by Giovanni Alighieri’s men unharmed for some odd reason all they wanted was his gun but when he came back out his blood began boiling seeing Giovanni with his arm around Marybeth “Hey you Alighieri trash let go of Miss Gallon” he said angrily thinking that Giovanni was hurting the young girl. Marybeth looked at Giovanni and smiled he wasn't as bad as her father let her believe he was handsome, kind, and powerful three things she actually liked. Marybeth's eyes darted over to James as he spoke "Mr. James am I right?" she looked at him "My father has never denied me something I want. When I wanted a hotel in Vegas I got one, when I wanted a pony for my fourth birthday I got one when I wanted a mink fur coat I got one. I get everything I ever wanted from my daddy I'm his little angel and when I don't get what I want I'm his nightmare." she grinned "Do you want me to be your nightmare too James?" she asked in a very dangerous voice. Sure she was never introduce into the world but she sure as hell was one scary bitch. Marybeth looked at Giovanni as she huddled up against him like they were a couple. Marybeth saw Luca walking out, and she smiled at him and then frowned when he called Giovanni trash. "Luca how rude they could have killed you, and you're calling Giovanni trash?" she said crossing her arms. "You should apologize and if you don't, I won't go home!" she crossed her arms over her chest "And maybe I'll have sex with Giovanni too and see what my daddy does to you for allowing me to do so." she grinned wickedly. Giovanni smiled as he watched Marybeth and listened as she spoke to James what she said really kind of hit him though to think of Don Gallon as actually having a heart and giving the best to his daughter especially since his entire life all he had ever heard was about how evil of a man Don Gallon was, but it also came from his mother’s mouth who hated Pale Gallon with all his being. James looked at Marybeth “Well I apologize beforehand for what I am about to say but how do you being a spoiled rotten heiress have anything to do about the situation that we’re in. Fine you go home your daddy finds out you convince him not to kill us. That’s all fine and dandy but if Don Alighieri finds out he’ll have the heads of everyone that works for him including but not limited to his own son. You must remember Alighieri’s and Gallon’s hate each other all because of a fucking fight that happened decades ago between Pale and Niccolo over a young maiden in our village. I know this because there were three of us all of us being best friends. Then all of a sudden they both started fighting over the same girl and things just got crazy from there.” Giovanni looked at the elder man who stood in front of him. He had been in the family long before Giovanni was even thought of, and he knew that this woman they fought over was Marybeth’s mother because he had been told that she picked Pale instead of his own father, but that was the past, and they needed to work for a better future that was when he heard Luca, and he turned slightly ready to defend himself if necessary, but then Marybeth got in to it and began talking to Luca, and he became shocked hearing her last statement. Luca stopped hearing Miss Gallon he knew that if he didn’t stop then Marybeth would do exactly what she said. One thing you could always count on was a Gallon doing exactly what they said and Marybeth was no different she was her father’s child after all “Fine. As much as it pains me to say this I apologize for my rudeness Alighieri” he said not wanting to refer to Giovanni by his first name.“Let us step aside for a moment we need to talk miss” Giovanni said bowing slightly to Marybeth respectfully before walking over to the bar hoping she’d follow him to the bar so they could speak to each other. Marybeth looked at James as he apologized beforehand of what he was going to say, but she glared at him cause the second he said he was apologizing she knew what he was going to say was going to piss her off. “I know about the fight between my papa and Niccolo over my mother I’m not stupid James, and I am told I look a lot like my mother.” She stared him down crossing her arms over her chest. Marybeth remembered the story or at least how her father told him. “I know my father loves my mother, and she loves him… and didn’t Niccolo find another women?” she looked over at Giovanni “He should be over the fact my mother and my father choose each other.” She glared at James. Luca walked over, and she threatened him, and it worked with Luca, and she grinned she liked that idea, and she’d use that as much as she could if she got the chance. “Thank you for apologizing Luca.” She said with a soft smile that made her look like the perfect doll. Marybeth looked at Giovanni as he wanted to talk to her. Marybeth looked at Giovanni as he walked away, and she bit down on her lower lip pulling it into her mouth and took a deep breath. “Luca I’ll be back, and then we’ll go back home after I’m done talking to Giovanni.” She said and walked away from him following Giovanni “What did you wanna talk to me about?” Giovanni smiled as Marybeth followed him to where he was sitting, and he ordered himself another beer before turning around to look at her “Listen I know we’re sworn enemies because of the ignorance of both of our father’s, but that doesn’t mean that you and I have to follow in their footsteps unlike my father I look toward the future wondering how we can better ourselves instead of fighting over a woman that led to many great wars. You and I we are much alike, the only thing separating us from greatness is our last names” Giovanni spoke softly, but he knew what he was talking about having been brought into the family to do hits and things from a very young age. “Instead of fighting over your mother like our fathers did how about instead we do an equal fifty, fifty merge between our families. That is what is keeping us from the greatness that our families have been fighting for, for over thirty years. If the Alighieri’s and Gallon’s worked together there’d be twice as much money, twice the man power, and we could literally take over the city and be the top. You and I could run this new family together” he said taking her hand in his he stared into her eyes hoping that she saw the sheer brilliance of his plan. “Now I know I’m an Alighieri, and you’ve been raised to think of us as some evil, sadistic, lying scum that will stab you in the back without a second thought, but that isn’t me. I am hoping that you will work on your father into agreeing to have a family meeting between our two families. You, your father, mother and six of your best guards sitting across from my father, mother, six of our best guards and me. If you’d like I can send James with you, he is the peace-keeper between both families since he was both of their friends.” Luca looked at James “You’re a traitor James you work for neither the Alighieri’s nor the Gallon’s, yet you live off of the wealth of both men. You are worse than a rat you are a spineless pathetic piece of shit who dares not carry a name for you know that the other would shoot you down.”“See that’s where you are wrong you brainless twit. I refuse not to carry the name Alighieri or Gallon for they were both my best friends and I shall never choose one side or the other because that is morally wrong it’d be like choosing a favorite child. It is absolutely disgusting” James said looking at her “But think as you will Luca for I am not willing to ruin a nice suit on an overgrown gorilla with a gun like you.” Marybeth followed Giovanni close behind him as he sat down she moved in next to him watching his every little move almost as if she were studying him. “We’re not sworn enemies our parents are.” She said bluntly as she leaned over and ordered herself a Coca-Cola. “I don’t plan on following in my fathers footsteps EVER!” she took her cup of soda from the bartender and took a sip. “Our last names have nothing to do with greatness Giovanni.” She said wisely “Or greatness starts with ourselves so the only thing holding us back is really ourselves… but I know where you’re getting at.” She took another sip. “If our families could work together it would be nice… but that’s hopeful wishing our fathers hate each other and I don’t think that will ever stop.” She chuckled when he mentioned what her father tried imprinting into her mind. “I was told those things but when I first met you those words were quickly erased you’re not that bad.” Marybeth looked at him biting down on her lower lip. “I am sure I can arrange that kind of meeting, but I don’t think much will come of it Giovanni after all our father’s hate for one another is great.” Marybeth looked at James eyeing him “If you are such a friend to both families why haven’t I met you before James?” she asked “I have met millions of my fathers friends but never you.” She said crossing her eyes suspicious of him. Marybeth’s eyes darted over to Luca as he spoke of him being a traitor. “Shut up Luca.” She snap at him with anger. “This is an A” she pointed to herself “And B” she pointed to both Giovanni and James “Conversations so C your way out of it!” she said pointing away from them and to the door then looked back at James. Giovanni smiled as he said “Well you know as well as I do Marybeth we shall never be anything more than the Don of our family. Our fathers have already written that in stone. The only way for us to have peace is to finish what our parents have tried to achieve in the last few decades of their life, and you know this to be true my beautiful darling” he said placing his hand on her cheek lightly as he called her beautiful. “Our last names hold us back because no matter where we go everyone knows of The Devil and The Butcher’s legacy I mean how many times have you went out only to find out that your father killed an innocent person’s family trying to get at my father or one of our men because I can tell you almost every time I am out here I hear about another innocent death” Giovanna took a deep breath trying not to cry as he said “I had a woman come up to me less than one week ago telling me that my father killed her husband and three kids. A twelve-year-old, six-year-old and two-month-old. They died because my father thought he noticed one of your father’s men walking so he sent a car full of men to riddle the Gallon guard with bullets, but instead he killed four innocents.”“You ask me why you have never met me” James said smiling “It’s simple I do not get involved with him and his business associates I come with him directly we talk, and then I leave to go to Niccolo and we talk. Trust me Marybeth I was there when you were born I held you in my arms, and you were such a beautiful girl with a head full of hair. If you want to do what you and Giovanni are trying to do then I would be a great help to both of you. Also thank you for speaking up Marybeth, but you mustn’t worry about protecting me I have diplomatic immunity and if Luca were to touch me your father would kill him personally. I am a liaison between both families and try my best to keep war from ensuing but neither Don’s want to listen to me because their hatred for each other surpasses their good judgment.” Giovanni smiles as he said “Well then it is final you and James will get your father to agree and Jams and I will get my father to agree then once we have them both in the same room you and I will give them our idea of a merger between both families since that would give both men everything they both wanted before they eventually die of old age. It’d be nice to give them what they always wanted” Giovanni said smiling “But before we give them what they want. May I have a dance with the most beautiful woman in this entire club” he asked holding his hand out toward Marybeth. Marybeth looked at the both of them as they talked to her, and she was sure James was telling the truth after all if he was really a go between he probably wouldn’t lower himself to be seen with either of the families in the thought of not wanting to be seen as an enemy by the other. Marybeth looked at Giovanni as he smiled, and she wondered what he was smiling about, but she figures that out later. “I am sure James and I will be able to convince my father to come to a meeting with your father…” she stared at Giovanni’s beautiful face and folded her hands in front of her as he spoke about getting his father to agree as well. “The thing is Giovanni…” she stopped when he called her beautiful again, and she was like putty in his hands she was like that with most guys especially if they had guts enough to call her beautiful. “Ok…” she said blushing as she reached out taking his hand in hers and walked with him out onto the dance floor.”Giovanni what kind of deal are we going to have to make to get our parents to agree to a merger between both our families? I’m sure my father isn’t willing to give my mother over to your father…” she moved into him as she rested her head against her chest even if it wasn’t a slow song she wanted to dance with him like this. She wanted to feel his body warmth to have a man’s body pressed against hers. James nodded happily at Marybeth as she grasped the concept of why he had never been seen with her father and the other associates. Pale and Niccolo knew what he did, and they understood but if one of the business associates of the two men were to find out about him, they would not understand about his situation and would kill him on the spot.‘Giovanni smiled as they began swaying back and forth in a loving manner “You see darling we play to their egos and that is how we get them to agree. Instead of letting my father have your mother we give them something they both want… Money, power and fame. We tell them that if they merge we’ll have a neutral third party take the money, split it in half and then each of us get half which makes both of us get two times the money. Not only that but we tell them that if they merge together and co-lead the new family they’ll have the power, strength and fame that they’ve been working their whole life to get” he said smiling at her “That way they’ll have to agree because I know my father but money, power and fame that sounds like the thing he’s always wanted” though now he had a strange urge so he leaned down and kissed Marybeth lightly he didn’t know why he did it, but it just felt right. Marybeth swayed with Giovanni to the music that played around them. She looked up at him when he called her darling and she smiled at that word. She wondered if he was calling her that because he liked her or if he was just using that word to help him explain himself either way she didn't care she enjoyed how it sounded coming off his lips. "A neutral third party, huh?" she said her head resting against his should and chest listening to his heart beat. "Money and power is something my father loves but fame I'm not sure about..." she never picked up her ear from his chest as they swayed." I wish I were older." she said softly as she swayed with him "Because I would defiantly marry you." She didn't think her words would bother him too much as she held onto him still swaying with the music that played around them. "I mean if you wanted to marry me and I think it'd help our parents approve of the merger that is." she didn't want to look up nervous that he wouldn't like the idea of marrying her. Giovanni smiled as he said "Yes we could have someone that both of our father's trust like James take in all the money that both of our families make after paying the taxes that need to be paid he puts two even amounts on either side of a table and then we both make the same amount. Then we can change our name to something that won't be more about one Don and let them rule together as the friends they were years ago." Why do you wish away your fun years" Giovanni asked when he heard her about marrying him and with that Giovanni lifted her chin so she was looking at him in the eyes "You must never wish away your life for that only causes problems trust me? What you do is live for the moment and love every moment of your life" slowly he leaned down and kissed Marybeth lovingly not caring who saw them kissing he liked her a lot already and this just felt right to him so that's exactly what he did.

The war in New York! (BBVD&Marie)|rating:3.0

Aftermath_ Survival of Body and Soul

He scanned the streets, the city as usual was looking pretty desolate and empty. As with all the other places he'd been too, nature was beginning to take back the cities of the world. Roots and weeds burst from sidewalks and streets, rivers of water from busted pipes ran down the gutters and in some places, branched off to the middle of the roads. The buildings, having not been maintained in over two years had fallen victim to the elements as well. Some of the older buildings were literally falling apart, debris from the rotting husks lay strewn across the street. He stepped off his bike, the newly lit cigarette jutting from his mouth as he looked around. Eyes snapping to the direction of a distinct sound. He watched and saw nothing, even most of the survivors seemed to have left the area for the most part. Some stuck to "safer" areas out in fields and mountainous regions where the infected were few and far between. Some preferred to group in cities, able to keep themselves safe by the fact of their sheer numbers and ammunition, that and there were more supplies in the cities for them to snag. The remaining few, like himself, spread themselves out across the expanse of whatever land they were in, keeping to roads and back ways, travelling from city to town, living off of what they could trade, steal, or just find in general. He didn't know what brought him to New York, he'd never been here before. It was meant to be the last stop on he and Madison were supposed to take. His eyes narrowed at the thought, they'd never managed to make it before the outbreak occurred. They hadn't even heard about it, they'd kept the radio off, listening only to CD's or only talking amongst them. Then those infected, followed by the crazed lunatics that had dragged them from the car at gunpoint. He pulled the gun from his waist holster and walked to the nearby corner store. The sun was still up so he could see amongst the broken pieces of glass and falling ceiling tiles. He plucked through the shelves of remaining food, snagging a couple more cartons of cigarettes and gallons of water. He sat down in a chair behind a desk in the back, opening a can with his knife. Furthermore, he spooned it out into his mouth, eating quietly as he listened to the city outside. Furthermore, he had learned long ago that a quiet place was just as deadly as a place where you could hear them coming. New York... Helena had been walking for weeks now, sleeping when she felt like it, or when her body wouldn't let her go any farther. Unlike most survivors she moved amongst the world without fear. She killed zombies for fun, and sometimes for survival. Either by sheer luck or skill or some such combination of the both she made her way. Helena had broken off of a group that had settled down days back. She refused settle down, the lure of freedom and as much murder of inhuman monstrosities as she could handle was far too much. She took to the road, hoping to find another group. She walked through the empty streets, amongst rotting corpses, ruined cars, and debris. A bloody, chipped baseball bat over one shoulder, and a duffel bag in the other Helena was looking to score some food. So far she had half of 6 pack of beer and some beef jerky, and a pack of cigarillos, but that wasn't proper sustenance. She carried a double barreled shotgun in the bag as well, but where's the fun in that. Helena stopped in her tracks, hearing the sound of someone rustling about down the street. She shouldered her bat and grinned, sticking a cigarillo in her mouth. "Let's hope it's a zombie, or some poor schmuck with a lighter." she whispered to herself. She continued down the road to the store and peaked in. Noticing it was indeed just a not so poor schmuck and not a walking corpse she stepped into plain sight. "Yo." she jingled the remnants of the 6 pack in her hand and smiled "Trade you for some food?" Helena stood at 5 foot 6, a feminine but muscular frame in a stretched out Slayer t-shirt, cut at the bottom to display her belly tattoos, one reading "ANGELIC" in rather large letters. Low cut jeans with black bikini ties sticking out the sides and big blood stained boots at the bottom. Ashley bobbed his head to the music, tapping the steering wheel of his car as it barreled down the open road. AC DC wasn't his favorite, but he'd managed not to get tired of it, and it made good driving music. The heavily modified Shelby GT500 was about the only thing he'd put work into since the end of the world. Okay, so the world hadn't technically ended, but for him, it was close enough. It looked, in its current state like it had been operated upon by Dr. Frankenstein. He'd reinforced almost everything. He'd spent his time in post-apocalyptic making sure his car was nigh indestructible. It had bulletproof, double-thick windows, a solid steel frame and a diesel engine. It didn't get the speed it once did, but man, did it have mileage. He turned off the music and slowed to a crawl as he approached the first gas station he'd seen in a while. New York. Nice place. It wasn't his first time, and he'd come with some sense of purpose. New York, as he'd heard, was a scavenger's dream. Enough Zombies that a lot of the city hadn't been touched, and enough stuff that even if there was a settlement or two inside the city, someone like him, someone who routinely killed the walking dead for fun and profit, could find anything he was looking for. He pulled in beside the diesel pump, glad that even post-apocalypse, diesel vehicles were few and far between. Of course, the distinctly not-abandoned bike caught his eye. He grabbed a gun from the pistol-rack mounted where his glove box used to be. He got a Beretta 92, a 9mm handgun, but he wasn't picky. Furthermore, he had a 44 S&W revolver, and a selection of 45 caliber blocks. He made sure the safety was on before putting the gun in the waistband of his pants, in the front, and covering it with his shirt. Armed, and hopefully prepared, he stepped out, walking around the car to the pump. Pumps still worked, usually being mostly self-contained. The instant he heard movement, no matter how deliberate it was the gun was aimed at the doorway. He could tell by the sounds that it was a person, an immune, but sometimes they weren't any better than the infected. Immune in this day and age were known to be vicious, and willing to kill for even the slightest bit of any traceable product. Sure enough a woman, looking no worse for the wear than him, strolled into the room like she owned the place. His desert eagle he rested down on his lap, his hand still around it, he was no fool. He gave her an appraising look before pointing at a nearby large box of matches that lay on the end table next to her." No, I have no food I'm willing to trade, but this store has a few bits of food I'm sure you can scrounge up, or find yourself a trading group, because I'm not one." Slowly walking along the pedestrian walkway over the Brooklyn Bridge, Abigail Knight stayed alert for anything moving, Zombies or not. Packs of wild dogs were a problem, as were zombies, but worse were other people. Zombies would just kill you, but people could do a lot worse to you, and wild dogs would eat anything that was flesh. Luckily there weren't too many of them around, and she would worry about zombies 24/7. She wore camouflage pants, patched up in parts, US issued army boots, a cut-off shirt in the same us camo pattern, and a north face jacket that she had found in a camping store just outside of Chicago. A pair of ski goggles and a beanie completed her post apocalyptic look. Armed with an M16A2, twin Walther p99 pistols on her hips, a hockey stick and a crossbow pistol, which was in her hand, she walked until she reached the city proper. She had left her RV in Brooklyn, where it was safe, but she could still drive it over the Bridge if she had to if she found something worth driving over for. The RV had a full tank of gas, filled up in Brooklyn an hour ago, and the same gas station had enough of what an RV's engine needed to keep it going for a while yet. Staying alert, she moved through the lower city, her ears peeled for any sounds of humankind or zombie kind. She followed her map of the city, and headed for one of only about two service stations that were in New York. Strange that it should only have two in total, but the world was full of such oddities, one such oddity was that she was immune to a zombies bite, handy as she had been bitten by her transformed father, who she had to shoot with her own service weapon so many years ago. She walked calmly and casually, but with her crossbow pistol in her hand, past rusted car after rusted car, cop cars, barricades, put up by the last police in a vain attempt to contain the outbreak. She walked over to the corner of the counter and lit a match from the box. "I didn't mean a literal trade." she lit the tip of her cigarillo. "But since you've made it clear you'd rather sit around all dark and mopey rather than make a bit of conversation." she set the beer on the counter and took a can from it. "More beer for me." Began moving throughout the isles, sweeping empty boxes off the shelf with her bat. Finding a can of beans she walked back to where Tyler is seated and hops up on the counter, placing her bag next to it and her bat on top of it. She took her knife out of it's sheath and opened the can after a few minutes of struggle. Helena cracked her beer open and looked over the counter at the man she had just met. She just sized him up for a bit, eating her beans and drinking her beer. The she was finished with the bean she tossed them over her shoulder and swiveled round so that she was facing him. "Let's talk, yeah? I'm Helena, what's your name." Idly chewing on some beef jerky of her own, she peered into the cars as she passed them. Most were empty, as their owners had abandoned them during the last great rush hour, as she had called it. After checking one such cop car, she checked the glove compartment and found a box of shotgun shells. After checking them over, she put them into her bag and continued walking. After about an hour, she reached the first service station and looked through it. On a whim, she called out,"Anybody here", and listened to its echo through the city. The planet was reclaiming the city, one street at a time. She had watched a show on cable, that showed what would happen if humans were removed from the Earth at once. The scene in front of her was exactly like what she had seen on that show. We thought we were so smart, but very little of what we built will last the test of time, she thinks to herself. Derrick stared out the window of the apartment. It was way too quiet for New York City, "The city that never sleeps". Yeah, right. He grabbed his bag and walked down the stairs and out the door to see a huge billboard that once lit in random colors, but now it only showed black. He adjusted the strap on his bag and walked down the streets. Furthermore, he wasn't like anyone else. Furthermore, he didn't have weapons or a massive knowledge of guns. Furthermore, he was a nerd and his knowledge was of one thing, computers. His laptop was firmly in his bag as it swung with each step he took. He picked up an iron rod that once held up a sign but for now it would be used as a blunt instrument that could be used to beat zombies. If his knowledge was correct, zombies hated blows to the head and that's what he planned to do. His steps were loud when he stepped on some glass. He froze in place to see shadows inside a store. His mind started to race with options as his breath became fast. Fight or flight. Out here, there was no flight, only fight or die. Slowly, he crept to the shop window and peered in. The shadows were people. His breathed slowly as he stepped around the corner." Survivors, I'm assuming?" Derrick said, as he stepped into the doorway. He pushed his black glasses up his nose and examined the people. He watched her strut around the place, his gun still resting carefully in his hand. Furthermore, he'd met people like her before, people who didn't care for order before all this, and loved the world as it was now, completely chaotic. She screamed of it practically, and that made him more watchful than anything else, they were always an unpredictable bunch. He only eyed her as she introduced herself, lighting a cigarette as he spoke curtly, "Tyler, and I'm not interested in conversation." He leaned back in his chair, his grip seeming to relax when in reality he was ready no matter what she did. Furthermore, he hadn't survived through hordes of infected, and rabid humans to start trusting her even the slightest just because she hadn't done anything yet. His attention had gone down for a person once, and he'd spent the few weeks after that nursing a wound that had almost been fatal if he hadn't reacted as quickly as he did. He had been lucky in the sense that he'd noticed something between the immune. Even being immune, being bitten or having direct contact like that with the infected, often had effects on those bitten or scratched. They were often faster, and better equipped to deal with hordes and other fighting scenarios. He'd had time to notice that as time went on, the more injuries a person received from the infected, often times the greater effect it had. Some who had been practically ravaged multiple times were at times inhuman when they got worked up. His previous injuries two years ago had brought on an increase of his reflexes and senses. His gun snapped up at the sound of another person levelling on the person, "lovely, a new addition." She put the bat behind her shoulders and twisted her body, just wasting time. "Well good, then we're getting somewhere..." she puffed away on her cigarillo, looking for anything interesting in the store. Most people didn't react this way to her, so she wasn't sure how to react back. Maybe unwind, let off some steam and start smashing some shit. It'd been a while since she'd gotten to bury her bat into much of anything, it'd probably do her well to-She turned quickly words the sound, maybe even as quick as Tyler, but all she could do is extend her bat outwards words the new figure. "Oh shit, look at this." Helena lowered her bat and walked right up to the new arrival rather confidently. She studied him up close, looking for weapons without touching. Glassesshe thought Must be smart. She gnawed on her cigarillo. "NNN... let's get painted, I'm Streak." She pointed the bat to the man hunched behind the counter. "He's Tyler, I guess, but he doesn't talk much. But I do, so I hope you're in a talkin' mood." She walked around him, studying him like a predatory animal, bouncing her bat off the tip of her boots with each step, making atoning sound as she went. "You got a name, pal?" Derrick eyed the woman walking towards him. He didn't make any sudden movements, and he suddenly felt like a lamb about to be eaten by a lion. He clinched his bag tightly as she circled him like he was prey. Furthermore, he tried to keep his voice steady, but it squeaked when he spoke." Derr-ICK" he said squeaking but catching himself. "Derrick is my name. I'm unarmed except...my computer." he said watching her. He looked over at the man sitting on the counter as almost wanted to plead for help. "I can talk as long as you don't eat me" he said sounding sarcastic, which was an accident. From what she can tell, this particular gas station has been stripped of just about everything, even the back room has been stripped bare. Sighing, she looks deeper in one of the fridges, that were once full of drinks, and spies a bottle of water right at the back. Smiling, she reaches in and snags it. "Looks like your it, all that the hordes haunt touched," she says, then opens it up and drinks from it. The water was still good, it was just the plastic that had a use by date, after all. Leaving the now empty gas station, she kept a ready eye out and her finger on the trigger of her crossbow pistol. Glancing down at the map after finishing the water, she puts the empty bottle in her bag, then stops as she hears low voices ahead, two, maybe three of them, she can't tell." Hmm, do they want what I have, or are they friendly. Better to shoot first, to be safer is better than sorry", she says to herself, words that have kept her alive so far, then puts away her crossbow pistol and unslings her M16A2. Checking it, she chambers a round, then holds onto it and steps out onto the street again. Inching closer, she walks as she was trained to, slow and pacing herself, ready to shoot at anything that threatened her person. Stepping into the doorway of the corner store, she sweeps the open area with her weapon, but doesn't fire. No sense wasting bullets or making enemies unnecessarily." Well, this is a sight, all that's missing is some music, condoms, some jocks and a keg, and we have a party going," she says cheerfully and lowers the barrel of her weapon, but keeps it in her hand in case any of them decide that they prefer her dead. He barely gave the boy a glance as he stared at Tyler for help, this was his problem, not Tyler's. Stupid kind shouldn't have just walked in on people like that. Nevertheless, he was sticking around for the unhinged biker chick to decided after she was done that she was going to move in on him, he really didn't like killing people, seemed a waste of bullets and survivors to boot. He stood up, grabbing his bag and swinging it over his shoulder. He moved to walk out when another woman appeared, wisely with a weapon raised. Tyler sighed and nodded curtly, "if you wish to join the fun little clusterfuck in their, be my guest, I on the other hand, am out of here." He strode across the street, ignoring the fact that that had been the first real human contact he'd had in a long time, weeks even, close to several months. He didn't really care for people, they were selfish, backstabbing, and narcissistic animals that only served themselves and their own, sometimes not even that. Furthermore, he tied the bag to his bike, bending down to check over it, sighing again as he realized that he had to change the oil. He walked to the nearby gas station and plucked some of the remaining containers from the shelf and walked back to his bike. Furthermore, he poured the oil in carefully, planning to refuel it as well before he made his way out of there. All the while, his ears were trained to listen carefully to the surroundings. She wasn't sure what sort of reception to expect. She had encountered many people, some were helpful, some were hostile, and some were in between. Still others, like Tyler, had it with humanity and just wanted to be alone. Even though he had said only two sentences to her, he reminded her of her father, before he had turned, and she had to shoot him. She hadn't met anyone quite like him and wasn't prepared to let him just go. After letting him get a good lead, she approached him, but kept a bit of distance between them in case he got hostile." Let me guess, you don't like contact. All I've had for the last 2 months is the company of my own voice. Do you hate other people that much," she asks him as she doesn't want him to just vanish? She had talked her own father out of a lot of his dark patches. Perhaps she could do the same for Tyler." That bike doesn't look like It's had a service in a while. I could help you with it if you wanted. All I would ask for is your company," she asks him as he doesn't pretend to be something he's not, and is honest, which is saying something for the world that they're living in now. Ashley was leaning against the side of gas station, just by the rear, away from the road, so he could watch the bike. The whole situation seemed strange and interesting. Someone with an RV had shown up, that was new, and now the store across the street was showing signs of life. Of course, it was easy to tell who the real survivors were. RV girl was too, enthusiastic, to readily communicative for the new world. In post-apocalyptic the helpful perished while the dangerous thrived. Simple. He happened to be dangerous, though mostly to Zombies, not that he hadn't had his share of run-ons with survivors who weren't very happy to meet him, or too happy to meet him, the latter being the more violent survivor groups and the former being the more sheltered. He wasn't really prepared to change his policy, but it seemed like letting the whole assembly move further into the city, especially the man with the bike, who he had a feeling was probably one of the more dangerous visitors the outskirts of New York was having, would be a bad idea. Though, he'd found that a lot of problems had a fire and simple solution, no need to kill them, just scare them off. After all, blowing things up was usually a raider trademark. He walked back into the darkened station, using the propped-open back door, not really disguising the noise he was making anymore. He grabbed one of the flares behind the counter, and a large can of lighter fluid. Furthermore, he knocked the cap off and sprayed it around. It was a shame to lose the station, but then, the end of the world was a harsh mistress, and besides, it wasn't as though he was going to stay in the city long enough that he'd need to come back. He walked out the front door, the lighter-fluid can in right hand making a trail of highly-flammable liquid behind him. He stepped into his car, and started the engine. The loud start-up was bound to attract attention, but he didn't mind. He popped the flare and tossed it in the direction of the station. That done, he closed the car door and pulled out onto the road, the pump that he'd left in popping out of the gas tank and hitting the pavement even as the fire consumed the station. Of course, with the pump still going, a rather rapid flow of gasoline was pouring out onto the pavement. It would only be a few moments before it met with the burning lighter-fluid line leading from the station." Sorry to disturb the love-in," he said, under his breath, as he turned back on the AC DC. He found co-operation in the wasteland that was earth...touching, but still, the last thing he needed was a bunch of immune, armed, survivors roaming around New York with him. Helena watched the pair walk off and simply stood beside Derrick, not sure what to do next. She turned to him in the few moments of silence. "So you are a computer guy or.... what." As soon as she heard the engine from the Shelby she ran back to the counter and grabbed her bag and tossed it over by the door. She dropped onto her knees and took out her shotgun, cracking it open and checking that both barrels were loaded. She pointed her free hand at Derrick and then down behind her. Furthermore, she peered out from the store's front door to the situation brewing and waited. Derrick nodded. "You could say that..." he said watching her. He stepped behind her when she pointed and looked at the person lighting the gas. "Who the hell is that?" he asked. "No clue, but if we're lucky we won't find out." She watched the trio, trying her best to stay hidden. "So... where are you from?" Turning her head as she heard the sound of the engine, she knows that sound, as her first boyfriend had one. "Shelby GT500,a bit different, but...," she said more to herself, then saw the actual car itself." Whoever it was had been watching them, and had no interest in associating with them. Still something wasn't right. Backing away as she has a bad feeling, she turns to Tyler. "Move the bike, and quickly," she says, then backs away from the gas station and takes cover behind a sturdy looking national guard APC. Her sixth sense says that something bad is about to happen, something big, and she doesn't want to be close to the gas station when it happens. "Look," he responded curtly, "I'm not here to babysit you, or watch your ass, keep to yours-"He stopped a moment before she spoke about moving the bike, she wasn't the only one that had heightened intuition. His eyes snapped back and forth, following a bike with a lone figure on it, it was then the through a window he saw the smallest flicker of light that was gone as soon as it had appeared. It was then that his nose picked up what he had worried it had been. He moved quick, flipping the bottle of oil onto the ground and grabbing her by the wrist, "that's not going to work honey, that gas station still has plenty in it." He all but flipped her onto the bike as he flipped the ignition on and kicked the bike into gear. Furthermore, he gunned the bike, tearing along with the woman on the back, and if she was smart, she was finding a way to hold on. Furthermore, he weaved around the debris with ease, tunneling through the water that was running along the streets. Furthermore, he was thankful for the modifications that he had traded for over a month ago, it had greatly increased the speed of the bike, as well as other components. As he had predicted the gas underground was still plentiful, and lit up like an engorged cherry bomb. The explosion sent a shockwave that knocked into the Tyler, but barely moved him at the distance he moved at. He stopped the bike as the roar of the explosion met his ears, watching the column of fire shoot up into the sky, carrying chunks of metal and the ground with it into the air. The nearby buildings, even the ones this far were crumbling worse from the shockwave, falling debris collapsed onto the surrounding ground. He kicked off the bike and stared down the street, whoever that guy was who he knew had set that explosion to its inevitable conclusion, he was sure was going to stay in the city for a while, and Tyler hoped he'd meet him. He didn't take well too people attempting to kill him, it was then that his eyes flipped over to the woman he'd grabbed." You good with bikes? Let's hope so, you can fix this up because I just saved your ass, now let's go before the noise attracts a horde." With that he was back on the bike and driving off. Standing on the horizon, Alicia watch dust being kicked up, too much for one vehicle. She slid into the front seat of her own Black H2 and put it in drive, heading towards the dirt. Her mp3 player blasted Bullet For My Valentine song, helping her prep for the upcoming encounter. The problem with living is post apocalyptic was not just zombies, but humans as well. As she came closer to the actual location she watched the Shelby GT500 pull out and couldn't help but smile. That had been her dream court... well in a sort. A 67.5 Shelby GT to be exact. Her smile froze as she watches a yellow flare drop from his window, onto the grounds of the gas station. Right after its departure came that of a motorcycle. An RV was parked outside as well. There were too many people here. And the bastard in the car had basically condemned them all to death. She shad no choice but to slam on breaks watching as the explosion rocked the ground and the buildings next to it. No doubt about it, the noise would attack any zombies in the area. Leaving her car on she jumped out and slammed the door.5'6, short brown hair hidden by a black fedora. She wore a black leather jacket and had a Bengali 84 slung over her shoulder. She checked and loaded it, slipping it a special holster on her back and making sure all her extra ammo was packed. Furthermore, she walked away, looking back at the truck. To do her double checks. The wasn't worried so much about it being stolen. If someone did try to hot wire the car the fuel tank would drop out, a present from an old friend. No, it was more caution than anything. Couldn't have too much in the world they lived in. She rushed into the building her gun pointed at the two still inside. "Friend or Foe?" She asked. Not really that she had time, but she had no use for helping someone who would turn around and kill her later. "Ohio, I was here for school when this all zombie thing happened. Derrick jumped at the woman's words. "I'm not a zombie I swear!" he shouted stepping behind Helena again. "What is up with everyone and guns?" he asked innocently. He did have anything to defend himself but the metal rod. Derrick looked the new woman up and down. "I'm Derrick, I mean you no harm, I'm just a hacker nothing more." The streets were surprising clear as Ashley made his way deeper into the city. It seemed like the city was still mostly intact, given the general lack of plants to break up the buildings in downtown. He imagined Central Park had likely gotten significantly larger, but with only two years since the sudden, violent, decline of humanity it hadn't all been wiped away just yet. It wasn't hard to imagine where Zombies would be heading, especially when he could still see the plume of smoke in his rearview mirror. Of course, moving Zombies meant more active Zombies, and that meant even in the light of day, it would much more dangerous, still, the farther away from his daily allotment of destruction, the better, settled Zombies tended not to move around so much, and therefore, tended to ambush one less, in hoards, then large groups on the move. He never had the fierce hatred for them that most humans seemed to have developed. Though, he supposed the fact that he hadn't had any family members try to eat him during the initial outbreak help. He took solace in the fact that his parents were probably still at his home, though considerably worse for wear." Now," he said to himself, "if I were a bank, where would I hide?" He laughed, and slowed down, pulling up to a Zombie who'd wandered out into the street, likely because of the sound of his engine." Could I trouble you for directions?" he asked, rolling down his window, and firing his 9mm from his lap as the Zombie gave a low moan, causing the mangled former human to collapse to the pavement." New Yorkers..." he said to himself. He laughed again and drove on. He imagined the marble-stepped building, with pillars, that said, 'New York Savings and Loan,' was probably the right place. She lowered the gun, and motioned towards the door." Look kids, we have to go. This place won't last too long without catching on fire, and that sound has probably attracted every zombie within a 10-mile radius." She headed towards the door, motioning for them to follow her, her eyes catching site of the first flicker of unlike. About ten zombies, coming out of the buildings surrounding them. Far enough away for them to make it to her car." Get in." She told them swinging in the front seat and waiting for them to get in as well. She locked the doors and pulled on her seat belt, quickly through the car into reverse and speeding off down the road. At her rearview she could see more and more corpses dragging themselves out towards both the fire and the movement. The road ahead was full of them, and push plowed right threw them all, a little peeved that she'd have to wash blood from her car." She turned to the girl, a have grin on her face." You any good with that thing, cause it looks like we may need it." Hiding behind the sturdy looking APC, she's sure that its enough to shield her from the inevitable fireball that's about to erupt from the gas station. She doesn't have time to try to save the gas station, as much as she wants to. She can't survive this Apocalypse if she's dead, after all. Huddling behind it, she's surprised as Tyler pulls her out and onto the back of his bike. "You're sure," she cries to him as he tells her that even staying behind the APC isn't enough to save her, then ends the conversation and wraps her slender arms around his waist as he starts up the bike and accelerates away from the soon-to-be destroyed gas station. The roar of the explosion and the heat wave from the fireball shocks even her. It was like being near a powder magazine, only more localized. She closed her eyes and held her breath as Tyler roared ahead of the heat wave, and stops only when they're out of the heat and blast radius. She watches from his bike as several of the nearby buildings sway from the blast, causing debris to fall from the shockwave, but none are near her RV, of that she's sure. For better or worse, that RV is her home, and she'll keep it for as long as she can. Opening her eyes only when he talks to her, she lifts her head up and glances around." That bastard tried to kill us. I'll put a bullet in him if I see him again. All that gas.just gone, gone," she cries, furious at the attempt on their lives, as well as the destruction of an important post Apocalypse resource." Yes, I'm very good with bikes, I had one of my own. I could fix Hummers and APC's. I think I can handle a bike", she says, then draws her left pistol as two zombies stumble out of a nearby minivan and stumble towards them. Aiming one-handed, she puts two bullets into the forehead of each zombie. Holstering her pistol, she wraps both arms around him again. "Ok, lets go," she tells him, then holds on tight as he drives off with her. As soon as the door opened on the car she grabbed Derrick by the arm and ran to it. Helena looked at the gun in her hands. "Nope, but sometimes I get really lucky." "Well, roll down the window and start shooting." She told her. She pulled the .45 from its holster and rolled down her own window, taking out those getting in her way. Before they were free of the main horde she had gone through full clip, and once the heat went down she began looking for a place for them to hold up in." The guy in the Mustang, he lit the station on fire. He tried to kill you." She flipped the safety on her gun and let it fall into her lap. She scanned the area, her eyes narrowing as he saw the car from earlier. "Well, well, well, speak of the devil." She sped past and parked on the side of the building. Derrick got pulled into the car with her. "What the hell?!" he yelled as he was pushed in. He looked out the window and saw a big group following them. "Holy shit!" he said sitting back down. His mind started to race with what the manual said to do when seen by a horde." We need to find a building or something to hold up in until we figure out what to do. They don't seem intelligent....yet so they won't be able to get to us." He said pulling out a laptop and starting it up. "I think I have a map of the city... I could find a secluded spot to settle in." Ashley had always found it odd how some Zombies just never left the place they died in. Sure, after a Zombified town had formed into a hoard pretty much everyone was out of place, but, he'd always found those rare gas-station attendant Zombies interesting. He'd even found one still behind the counter, bandage still on his minor wound to the hand. The bank gave him a feeling just like that, likely evacuated before work had started, and therefore, everything was in its place, neat and tidy. Except, of course, for the janitor Zombie stumbling towards him. He didn't even bother pulling out his gun, instead, ducking a grabbing hand, and twisting the Zombie's arm, which promptly came off in his hand." I," he said, swiping the Zombie's legs out from under it with the severed arm, "don't," and then dropping the limb and leaning down to grab the Zombie's head, "like," he pulled and twisted with a sickening snap, "being eaten..." He held the head up, before tossing it aside and walking further into the bank. He flexed his arm, bandage still showing a bite-pattern of blood marks."That's new," he said absently to himself, remarking at his own apparent increase in strength. It was an odd phenomenon, that. After the world had pretty much degenerated into chaos he'd met a scientist, going back towards the more heavily populated areas, while he was moving away. The man had told him that the infection was heavily competitive, even with other diseases, so, as it turned out, just about the only thing one could get from Zombies was the Zombie infection, and that, he knew he was immune to. A handy bit of information, he supposed, especially given that it explained why he hadn't been sick since he'd had his very first bite. He hopped the counter, moving towards the manager's office. Naturally the end of society meant that valuable took on a whole different meaning. Food, drugs of almost any kind, and other medical supplies were always the most sought after, ammunition was up there, it had really skyrocketed in value, but it was one of those things that people never traded unless they had plenty to spare. So, he supposed, that his trip to the bank might've been a little bit out of the ordinary, but then, he knew a few things that most people never thought about. So, instead of heading straight for the nearest pawn shop, or gun store, which would no doubt be very nearly cleared out, he went to the bank. However, it wasn't the main vault he was heading for. As he drove he spotted movement up ahead, a row of zombies were pouring out of the side alleys, obviously drawn by the sound of the explosion. He was so going to have to kill that kid from earlier." Fuck," he growled as he stopped the bike, sliding it sideways. Stepping off the bike and grabbing the pistols he had strapped to the side of the bike, his Desert Eagle on his hip. He glanced back at the woman, he couldn't really bother to remember her name, "hope you're good with those, looks like they've got a couple of Beasts with them, and a Brain with them too." It figures, Beasts were fast, and strong at that. Able to climb, leap and tear at rapid speeds, they had to be taken out quickly otherwise they tore the hell out of your innards. A Brain meant they were organized, they were the closest thing to a leader that infected could have, and they were pretty clever creatures for being mindless eating machines." Get the Brain, the Beasts I'll take care of myself." Almost as if they had understood him, the Beasts suddenly leapt up into the air, driving ahead of the rest of the group. He counted four of them, more than enough to take them down easily, but Tyler wasn't an inexperienced fool. He aimed a pistol at the closest one who took the bait and jumped up, right into the path of the bullets he had fired with the other, it dropped onto the ground, dead before it hit with a sickening sound. Furthermore, he dodged nimbly back as another landed where he had been, he drove the Beast back with a kick and planted the pistol into his forehead and squeezed the trigger. He pedaled backwards as the remaining duo charged him, rolling to the side he snapped his head up at the woman, "go. Now!" He spotted the closest one pouncing, and he knew he wouldn't have time to move. He only crouched as it pounced, driving his feet upwards as he went down and continued its momentum forward. It drove into the wall behind them, he twisted on the pavement and rang off two more shots into it's struggling skull. He only had a moment of peace before he grabbed a nearby long metal pipe and stopped the next one's claws that had landed on him trying to finish the man. He darted his gaze from side to side, then wrenching the bar from its grip, he clocked it with the bar in the chin, knocking it back. Furthermore, he leapt up swiftly and drove the bar down into it's twisted face. He sighed as he wiped the blood from his face and picked up his gun, glancing over to see how the woman had done so far before moving to finish the remaining horde. She was angry at the shitstorm that the maniac had started, and had conveniently escaped, leaving them to deal with his mess. She held on tightly as his bike slid sideways and stopped at last. Hopping off the back of the bike, she now wished she had brought along her M16A2 with the underslung 40mm grenade launcher attached to it. True, she only had about three grenades left, but still, it would cause carnage through the zombie ranks when they went off. She was familiar enough with Beasts, after all, she had encountered them several times. The last time was two months ago in what was left of Orlando. She had nearly fallen to their teeth and claws, and it had cost her the last of her C4 explosives to kill them. She hated them with a passion. Not worrying too much about Tyler for the moment, she drew both pistols and ran away from him as he dropped the first two beasts, to let him focus on the beasts and track the brain down. Very few zombies turned into brains, and those that had needed to be taken out and quickly. Racing to the building that they had entered from, she fired both pistols into the zombies that got in their way, and most of her shots were headshots, which dropped them with one shot. As both pistols emptied, she reloaded, then unslung her M16A2 from her shoulder and advanced down the alleyway. The brain was down this way, inside the building, she was sure of it. Approaching the open door, she slowly inched it open, then pulled the pin on a grenade and tossed it in as she heard familiar slow footsteps, that only zombies make. Quickly closing the door, she takes cover behind a dumpster as the grenade goes off, then rushes out once the smoke clears from the now destroyed doorway. Stepping in, she sweeps the area, and finds the zombies that she heard in pieces around her. The few that managed to avoid the main shredding effect of the grenade writhe a bit. Finishing them off with headshots, she slowly walks deeper and drops two more zombies that walk towards her with headshots. Kicking open a door leading to the managers' office on the first floor, she bites back a cry as a heavy form leaps at her and pins her to the floor. Bringing her knees back, she flips it over her head and spins with her pistol drawn to finish its undead life with a double tap to the head, then slowly walks in to see the brain sitting in the former managers chair, in front of his desk. Hiding her fear as it cackled and stared manically at her, she didn't approach him. Instead, she aimed her M16 at her and emptied her clip at it. Her bullets ripped through its chest and neck, and took its head off from the force of her bullets. She actually felt good until she found her escape route through the alley blocked off by more zombies. Thinking fast, she ran for the stairs and ran up to the first floor. Unable to see any here, she pushed one of the desks through the closest wide pane window to break it, then jumped down as gently as she could onto one of the packed cars outside, left there by a long dead employee, probably one of the ones that swarmed out before." Oww, I'll be feeling that tomorrow," she said to herself even though the fall hadn't hurt her that much, then hopped off the roof of the car and reloaded her M16. Alicia nodded at Derrick, opening her door and grabbing her gun. She was going to go after the guy who'd tried to blow them up, try to find out why he did it. She turned and looked at both of them, turning off the car and locking the doors." I'm leaving you guys in here. There's another Bengali under the seat as well as an AK47. If you get into trouble use them. Don't open the door for anyone." She started to shut the door and paused, pulling it back open again. "Oh, and if you try to hack or hot-wire this car, the fuel tank will drop out so....please avoid trying to steal it." She gave them a cheeky grin and closed her door, heading through the side door of the large bank. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small silencer, screwing it on the end of her .45. If she did get attacked by a zombie she didn't need her pray knowing she was in the building. She crept forward, slowly pushing a door open, shining a small pin light inside. Nothing in that room. She kept trying, moving down until she reached the main hall of the building, the place where most of the money exchanging had taken place. She looked around the blood splattered floor and saw the dismember body parts of a zombie, his body still twitching on the floor. Broken neck, but it didn't stop his mouth from moving. She put the barrel of her gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger, watching his brains fly out against the floor beneath him. She looked down around the body and noted a small trail of bloody footsteps leading behind the counter, at least she was going the right direct. She hopped the counter, following the trail, which seemed to be leading back towards the manager offices. Ashley had pretty much torn the room apart. The offices were pleasantly Zombie free, and he was currently pacing around the office." Oh come on, I blew up a god-damn gas station for this..." he said to himself, kicking over a filing cabinet in annoyance. Despite the fact that his destruction wasn't exactly rage-induced, he was still frustrated by its ineffectiveness, that was, of course, until he saw what he'd just done." Well hello, beautiful," he said, getting close to the hollow behind the cabinet in which a small wall-safe was set. He walked back over to the tools he'd brought with him, whistling the tune of Danny Boy. He pulled out a drill, with a fairly heavy, but narrow, bit. Cordless, but with a few extra batteries."Oh, Danny!...." he started, pushing the drill bit to the safe door, and starting it up, "boyyyeee!" he yelled, over the sound of the drill, "the pipes, the pipes are calling..." It was precisely at that moment that a silenced shot went off in the lobby, something he almost certainly would've heard, were it not for his own, not terrible, singing, and the drill in his hand. It only took him a few minutes to crack the safe open, another skill he'd learned in post-apocalypse 101, the school of hard knocks, and...man he hated rhyming. He pulled the small safe open, and found what he was looking for. The safety-deposit master keys, and vault codes. He tossed the papers, vault codes, and all, into the Duffel he'd brought in with him, and put the drill back, slipping the keys into his pocket. He grabbed the Duffel bag and walked out of the office and into the hall, stopping dead in his tracks, at the sight of a woman, silenced .45 pistol in hand. He didn't move for a moment, his mind racing. Did he draw and hope to beat her to the punch? He was a quick draw, but his gun, guns, rather, two .45 caliber blocks, were in the back waistband of his jeans, and she was already holding her weapon. He smiled, and raised his hands slowly, hoping she wasn't in the killing first and asking question to his corpse, mood, a mood he'd more than once found himself in." I don't suppose, we could talk this over," he said, raising his eyebrows. That said, he was already shifting his weight to make a quick jump-dive to the floor, into the nearest office to his right, just in case. Alicia heard the sound of the drill, her eyebrow cocked in surprise. Really? The world ends, and this jack ass tries to rob a bank? Shaking her he'd she waited, grimacing at the sound of his awful singing. Yes because the sound of the drill wasn't torture enough. Interesting choice of song though. She watched as he came out the office, her gun trained between his eyes. None of that shooting in the chest. She'd learned these two years, that usually people were smart enough to wear bulletproof vest. She stepped towards him, Her free hand reaching to pull a small knife from her waist band. Her eyes scanned him. No guns in the front, they must be in the back. She stopped, placing the cold steel of the gun barrel directly against his temple while circling around. Two .45s, a man after her own heart. She stayed silent, pulling the guns away, pushing one in her thigh holster and the other in her jeans." Now that you're disarmed, I have a couple questions I'd like to ask you. Namely, why did you blow up the gas station? Especially knowing that here were people inside?" Her voice was strong, and she stayed behind him, knife ready just encase her tried anything. "You see, I saw your car parked outside the station. Wanted to tell you how much I liked it, but then you light the station on fire, with four people inside. And I have to say, good taste in cars and guns doesn't make up for trying to blow up four people. So what's the deal?" "I'm a bastard?" he said, "daddy didn't love me? Mommy was absent, and I got to playing with matches?" He couldn't help but poke fun at her, for looking for a reason, after all, whatever it was, she wasn't going to like, they clearly differed at a moral level, as in, he didn't have any, and she was willing to chase him down for hers." I was going to blow something up sooner or later," he said, "I figured you'd all run for cover where the gas station lit up, that would give you a minute, give or take ten seconds, to get far enough away to survive. Though, I suppose in hindsight, it didn't really get you to clear out, so I guess that's strike-one against the gas-station thing. Still, it got the Zombies moving, didn't it? They're all moving straight past this place, right now, towards the gas station." He kept his hands up, turning around to face her, slowly." I'm Ashley, by the way," he said, with a wide grin, "and this, is my corner of New York, soon to be a Zombie-scarce one." He was guessing he just had to find out what did make up for trying to blow up four people, because he didn't particularly want to end up answering questions about his banking habits, especially his post-apocalypse banking habits. Alicia walked back in front of him, pulling her gun away from his head. It irked her that he joked about it, but he hadn't actually killed anyone. Upholstering his Glock she handed it back, reaching back for his other one and handing that back as well." Well Ashley, I'm Alicia, people tend to call me Alice though." She lowered her weapon and backed up, running her fingers through her hair. "Next time one want to blow something up, make sure there aren't any people inside." She looked around the bank, eying the bag in his hand." Of all the places to come to, why a bank? I don't really think money will do you a good. Gold or jewels either." She talked casually, but her gun never wavered, nor did her grip on the knife in her hand. He wasn't much of a threat, but he was a dangerous kind of man, one that didn't care about killing other people. He took his guns back, and replaced them in his waistband, not sure what to make of her." I'll take it under advisement," he replied, smiling, and pulling his mostly empty Duffel up around his shoulder." I'm not here for gold, or cash, but fine jewelry still sells well, even if most people don't care much about it anymore, I know a few who do..." he said. He was planning to make off with any truly expensive, because some of that expense was retained, though obviously not in cash value. Gold, at least in bullion form was worthless, but when it came to masterpieces of jewelry, there was still a market." You know," he said, "I've been told I'm considerably more charming when I'm not at gun point..." He really had, twice, in fact, been told that, but his first concern was for his prize. In the wasteland of the new Zombie nation, getting a tip, or following a rumor was usually extremely valuable, and it wasn't the jewelry he was after, but he'd probably be swimming in it, once he actually got down to the safety-deposit vault. Alicia clucked her tongue and pulled her gun back, unscrewing the silencer and slipping it back inside her jacket. She placed the gun back in its holster and folding her arms across her chest. So that was his game. Selling jewelry to the idiots still interested in it. She'd seen a woman raped and killed execution style for string of pearls around her neck. Humans were truly a barbaric race of people." Well, because I worry about the welfare of other travelers in our great Zombie infested nation, I'm accompanying you." She closed her knife and slipped it back into her pocket. "It's not that I don't trust you. If I didn't, there'd be a bullet in your head. Just that I worry about those unfortunate living people who are around the next time you try to blow something up." She had no idea why she cared so much, but she couldn't stop herself from being concerned about the people roaming around. They didn't have police to protect them, nor military of any kind, so she took there place, helping those that needed to be helped and watching the ones that were liable to get themselves or others killed. "Right," he said, "well, that sounds wonderful, just delightful, really, but I don't really do...together, I'm more of a fork in the road, I'll take the low road, you take the high road, I'll be in Scotland before you, lone-ranger, high-ho silver away!...type..." he said, "if you get my drift." He walked past her, walking back towards to the bank lobby." Nothing personal," he said, "but I've always found my existence to be a fairly enjoyable one, while solitary, so unless you're planning on making it worth my while, and Freud would say, from the caliber of your gun that you are probably not, going to, I'll just be going..." He didn't mention exactly what Freud would've said, because the words 'penis envy' usually started some ugly business. Besides, he only had one free seat in the Shelby, and that was reserved, for the next three-night stand he met. Ah, three-night stands, because in Zombie infested ruins of mankind, one night is never enough. "Well, too bad for you Ashley, I wasn't exactly asking." She walked after him, pushing her hands in her pocket and smiling at him. "As for compensation, I suppose that's one of the best ways to keep an eye on you." She wasn't one to pass up a free fuck. Hey in this day and age it wasn't really something you set aside for man and wife. Besides, her last companion was rotting in a pile of dead zombies, it had been a while. She ran her fingers through her hair and walked quietly behind him. Also, she wasn't lying about this being the best way to keep an eye on him. If she was traveling with him, she could make sure something like what happened earlier didn't happen again. Once she got the two in her car to a safe place that is." So, where to Ranger?" Well, there went his freedom. He lamented having something of a conscience at that moment because he knew well enough that another man might well have taken less kindly to demands." If you start calling me that..." he said, with an annoyed huff. Ok, so keeping what he was doing from her if she was going to tag along would be...tough, but he'd given her enough truth that it might just work out in the end." Saftey deposit vault," he said, "in the basement. There is always something good to find..." As he exited the office section and came to the top of the stairs down into the basement he turned around, and slipped and arm around her back, pulling her close to him." You understand, that travelling with me isn't a paying position, and I'm not going to cut you in when I was doing perfectly well on my own right?" he asked, at least pretending he cared about the jewelry would be good, plus it would set a precedent for their immediate future. "Don't call yourself that." She told him, following close behind him. She sensed there was something more that this joker wasn't told her, but right now, now she just needed to make sure he wouldn't try to ditch her. Furthermore, she considered placing a tracker on him. Furthermore, she had tagged many over the past two years and checked up on them often. She flinched a bit when she felt his arm go around her, pulling her close against him. Not from fear, but from unfamiliarity. The cold steal of her Bengali pressed against her skin and she reached into her jacket to readjust it." I can't say I really care." She told him, shrugging her shoulders. "Jewelry doesn't matter to me. But not, if I find something I want, I will be taking it for myself. Don't worry, it won't affect what you want." Tyler kicked a compartment open in his bike and plucked a few pipe bombs from the compartment. He lit them and threw them to the side in the group of infected. The hissing drew their attention as they stupidly stared at them in grumbling fascination. Which was all he needed as he leaned back against the bike as the two of them blew. The dual explosions ripped through the horde, bodies ripped to pieces, a cloud of misting blood rose into their, blowing away in the wind. He snorted as he used these pistols to pick off the few remaining and slightly bewildered infected. He reloaded the guns and slipped them into his holsters. Furthermore, he glanced over at the woman and took in the look of her. She really wasn't that different from all the other survivors that he'd come across before. Her interest and even concern about him wasn't all that new to him either, plenty of people who seemed so fine with the world and their own past tragedies seemed to want to help him. Whatever the hell that meant, he was fine, it wasn't like in this day, in their current world, a sensitive and caring man was what was needed. He was precise, knew what he was doing, and had the skills and instincts to know how to survive, there was little else that he needed. He flipped his leg over the side of the bike, "alright, let's go, you've got a bike to look at, and I've got a pro to repay a debt too, and night is coming soon, so shelter is priority as well." Sweeping the immediate area with her weapon, something that one did even when one was sure they were safe, she saw no immediate threats, the pipe bombs thrown by Tyler had done that for her, she slung her weapon over her shoulder and ran up to him." You bet, I'm a girl of my word. My tools are in my RV," she told him and hopped onto the back of his bike. She had grown up around strong, capable men, not pretty boys and wannabees. She admired men who could take care of themselves and respect a woman who could look after herself." When we find him, I'm really going to enjoy hurting him. If he's smart, he's already across one of the bridges, but if not, well, his car should stand out here," she adds and thinks on where they could shelter, somewhere easily defensible, with strong windows and doors, and locks. Derrick sat in the SUV still not sure what to do. He had no idea about what to do or if he should do anything. He could only hope that she would come back. If she didn't, he would make a run for it. He didn't need that much help. He had to find what he was looking for and that's all that mattered. Luckily, there was still a satellite signal for his laptop. There was an apartment building about 2 miles away where they could hold up until they figured something else out. "Wonderful," he said, "so, I really don't need help with this bit, only one set of keys and all that, but if you want to make yourself useful in Théotime being you can either blow me, or go and get your stuff to the Shelby, the trunk isn't locked, and it's mostly empty." He winked and let her go, turning to proceed down the stairs. Well, now at least the silent angel on his shoulder was personified, but it didn't really work in his favor. He wonders for a moment if she'd have enough space, but imagined she would, how much stuff could one survivor carry around anyway? He was fairly certain that her necessities would fit around his industrial chain saw. "I don't ride with others." She told him, flashing her own set of keys. "I got my own car, and my shit probably wouldn't fit in yours, though it is a nice car." She continued on down the stair behind him. "Besides, I'm a bit curious now. Think I'll stick around for a bit." She pulled off her jacket and slung it over her shoulders, the full existent of her personal protection now coming into view. Didn't matter who you were around, a Bengali 84 was a powerful weapon, one that meant business. She threw her arm around his shoulder, a coy smile on her lips as they headed down the stairs." Besides, I might come handy." "Fair enough," he said, proceeding down the stairs. That would make life both easier, and harder. Easier, because he'd have time to himself on the road, if he ever got back on the road, and harder, because he now had to deal with her while he went through the safety deposit boxes. He pulled a flashlight from his bag, going ahead to unlock the gate into the safety vault area. He ignored the main vault, turning the corner to head into the safety deposit section. Past the desk, where one would usually sign for their visits, and into the prize room itself." Alright," he said, "you go grab another bag or something, we need to sort this stuff...unless you're planning on using that Bengali on the plentiful Zombies..." He shrugged, given that the vault was a quiet as the grave, and likely had been for two years, behind a locked gate and all. He really only needed two minutes, to open box 0667, which was at the moment right beside his right hand, and toss the contents into his Duffel, close it back up, and then start from 0001 and work his way through the vault. Ten seconds really, but the hunt for a bag, which, from the one he'd noticed behind the desk would take about thirty seconds to get. She followed him down the stairs, noting the direction he was heading. Towards the safety deposit boxes. She wondered if perhaps he wanted something more than he jewels he hinted about. She walked behind the desk and grabbed a couple of bank bags. Eying him out the corner of her eye, she saw him stopped beside a specific box. So he had come for something specific. She'd find out what it was later." This big enough?" She asked, holding up her bag. Not waiting for an answer she walked up next to him. "Let's get started." "Perfect," he said, 'and just enough time too,' he thought. He pulled the keys out of his pocket, and unlocked 0001, pulling out the tray, and pulling the lid open." Classy," he said, pulling out a pair of necklaces, still on their velvet display bases, dumping them off of them and into the bag. He grabbed some rings from it as well, and soon enough slid the tea back in, moving on to 0002." We have to get to 1200," he said, "so...how about you tell me about yourself?" He pushed 0002 back at the moment he opened it, photos, and documents, nothing worthwhile. He moved on, moving fast. At his rate if you would take them about a couple of hours, but even that wasn't really quick enough to keep them from spending the night in the bank. She nodded, taking the other key and moving to the other end. She'd start and 1200 and meet him down." Not much to tell." She told him, opening the first box and pulling out a stunning diamond bracelet. "Was married before all this started. My husband was killed by the corpses during our first run in." She tossed it in the bag, moving on to the next box. "I stole my H2 from a dealership and raided a base armory. Been running around ever since." She felt her husbands cross and dog tags pressing into her skin beneath the shirt. Usually when she thought about him, she held them in her palms, but here was neither the time not the place." What about you?" She asked, moving quickly down the line. He stopped in front of one of the many banks that lie around the city. He got out and checked the single door into it, noticing that it was ajar and opened it. Furthermore, he turned back around and pushed the bike inside the building, leaving it in the lobby for a minute. Furthermore, he grabbed a large pack on the back of the machine and strolled down the nearby stairs where there stood a large generator, he snorted and through down the bag of tools. Furthermore, he wasn't much in the way of mechanics, but he knew a lot about generators, especially after a couple of years of relying on them. Furthermore, he fiddled for several minutes until a whirring noise alerted him to the fact that he'd down something right. He strolled back up the stairs and glanced around, the lights were on that was for sure. Furthermore, he glanced at the vault behind the large desks in the back and sure enough the new electricity had restarted the system. The vault door was wide open, he walked in and checked it, the lights were on, the safety deposit boxes and stacks of money were all untouched. In this world this kind of thing didn't really matter to anyone anymore, or at least it shouldn't if they were smart. He made his way back to his bike and the woman, lighting a cigarette as he grabbed a sleeping bag tied to the other side and threw it at her, "sleep on that after you fix up my bike, I'll fix up what I can from the food." It didn't take him long to cut the system that controlled the fire sprinklers, he'd had a bad experience with those not too long ago, and now he made sure to take them out. There was nothing quite like having metal walls and one entry to watch for safety and security. He busted up some of the wood furniture and lit the fire letting it grow. His eyes swept it as he put the food over it, some Ravioli and beans that he had, pretty simple canned foods, the cigarette jutting out of his mouth. He reached into the food bag and pulled out some bread, he'd managed to get some from some people south of the city who managed a small far and were glad for the gas he had. He grabbed his standard bottle of alcohol that usually lasted him for weeks, whiskey this time and poured a couple swigs into a couple of travel cups. Furthermore, he wasn't a complete ass, but he knew that he wouldn't need to babysit her, and that deserved its own respect from him as well as humane treatment, he acknowledged that." He's too arrogant to think that we lived through that, he'll still be in the city, don't worry about that. Food's done, come eat before it ices over." ("UNH... Pooh... fuck," was all that could be heard from an apartment high above the city. It could be considered a safe haven to the girl generating the sounds, as the zombies had either been killed or had left since there were no brains to be found. With that fact came the matter of having something to do and after an hour of absolute boredom, an idea popped into her head. Now the soccer starlet laid on the carpeted floor, her clothes discarded on either side of her save her bra and panties. Well, those articles of clothing were barely on her, as the cups were pushed down to expose her modest chest to the chilled air; her panties pushed to one side, so her fingers could do their work. She was sure not to get complacent, though, as her .45 ACP Colt pistol was within reach. Not trying to think about zombies, guns, or dead teammates, Michelle focused her attentions back to her body and was rewarded when a fingertip met the tiny hidden pearl that crowned her flower. Her back arched in ecstasy, a small coo left her lips until her body came back to rest. This was going to be a well deserved distraction. Going slow, trying to excite herself beyond anything healthy and to make this last, the recently turned twenty year-old (as far as she could tell the dates) took both of her breasts in their respective hands, kneading her woman flesh and their sensitive nubs between her fingers. Her moans were getting louder and more frequent as she knew that no one was ever going to catch her, be it human or dead. Besides, her logic was that the thrill of actually meeting someone again who is not selfish or crazed would be fantastic and the danger of being eaten alive while masturbating would only make it that much more of a climax. That's what two years of looking after yourself did, apparently. Minutes went by and Michelle pleasured herself as best as she knew. She recalled her first fling in high school, the lovely nerd turned horn dog at her fingertips. The sweet college boy with the biggest dick she had ever seen. The lonely nights that became not so lonely and boring when the captain of her soccer team called. That's what she thought of the most during these sessions - the image of the older girl's tongue running along the length of Michelle's slit nearly sealed the deal. Now with one and rubbing vigorously at her clit, the other hand along her lips with a finger gently probing into her sex, it took just a few seconds to reach a reality shattering orgasm. The girl's mind went blank for several minutes, her thoughts doing nothing more than drifting in and out of conscious thought. She really, really needed that. Sitting up, Michelle looked out at the balcony to see that the day was more or less just starting. For her, anyway. Cleaning her hands with her tongue, enjoying the sweet taste of her arousal despite the terrible post-apocalyptic diet, the girl put her panties back into place, her bra again supporting her firm, perky breasts and then stood up to put on the rest of her clothing. A white-tank top covered her torso, which was then covered by a small sized, female designed, Arsenal Jersey that she had been wearing when the crisis first started. Over her legs and ethers she slipped into tight, dark blue jeans, with brown leather boots that had a three-inch heel and reached up to the bottoms of her knees. The last article was her thigh holster that held the one thing that she attributed to keeping her alive for so long: her gun. It was a beauty, as shiny and maintained as she first got it. It reminded her of her brother, who she hasn't even tried to contact in Detroit. Michelle couldn't risk being lost in the middle of no where without resources so she hasn't even thought about making the drive over desolate, broken roads. Satisfied with her sleep and especially her own personal wake up ritual, Michelle gathered her bright yellow leather jacket before making the trip downstairs to the apartment lobby. The one thing about the modern world that she didn't appreciate until it all went to hell was handicap ramps. Now, it was a handy 'Hide your motorcycle inside the building' ramp. Standing by the elevators was her 'borrowed' pride and joy, a Honda VFR 800. The year escaped her, but nowadays, it hardly mattered. Not like there was anyone around that could even chastise her. It did wonders for her as it was a big bike, quick on its wheels, quiet, and had enough space to store clothes, food, ammunition and another borrowed item: a shotgun. Being a red bike, Michelle affectionately named it so, being far too worried about staying alive to think of anything significant. Checking her 'saddlebags' to ensure that all the cans of food, boxes of ammunition and tightly packed clothing were all in place, Michelle put the key into ignition and Red roared to life." Ready for some cruising, body? Maybe we'll find you a nice Jerry can, and can get out of this shithole of a broken city, mm?" As if to amuse herself more than anything, she revved up the bike as if it were a proper response. With the front doors long gone, Michelle burst out of the apartment and onto the street to begin her little journey for... something. Anything. Helena nudged Derrick. "Hey, let's set off, this shit's getting to sketchy." she stepped out of the car and loaded two fresh shotgun shells. She was running low on them. "That laptop work? If you can find somewhere to get, we best get goin'." she slipped a pair of aviators on from out of her duffle bag and trend back to him with a smile. "I got your back as long as you don't fuck things up, but I reckon you're too smart for that." She lit another cigarillo and looked out over the dead city, ruins of a modern age. "You smoke, Derrick?" she pointed the last cigarillo in the pack at him. Holding on as he drives them through the city, past countless cars and other heavy vehicles, she told herself to check some of the military vehicles for ammunition for her M16 later on, and stays on the bike as he stops it and hops off to check the bank. In this brave new world, banks were strong places hide in and take over, and were largely untouched. Money couldn't be eaten, and was only good for starting fires, but still, there could be something in the safe deposit boxes, if she felt like breaking into them to see whatever expensive things were kept in there. Guarding the bike as he checked the bank, she waited, then wheeled the bike into the bank, to prevent anyone else from seeing it, plus, she could work on it more easily inside the bank than outside. Kneeling down, she takes out her toolkit and starts to take the bike apart while Tyler got dinner ready. Dinner could be anything edible, as she was well aware of. She truly missed KFC and meccas right about now, but as long as whatever he made filled her belly, she didn't care. Having unrolled the sleeping bag earlier, she was checking the parts for cracks, or wear and tear. She knew what to look for, and looked up only when he calls to her that dinner is ready. Wiping her hands and walking across to him, she smiles as she savors the scent of food, and takes the travel cup from him. Trying the contents, she looks to him in surprise, then drinks from it and sits down next to him." You truly think so, if he hasn't left, then he's stupid, very stupid," she says in reply and dips her fork into the mixed ravioli and beans. "Me?" he said, smiling down at the tightly packed boxes of 45 caliber bullets he'd just uncovered." I'm a child of the dead," he said, "one of those whose life started when civilization ended. I don't think there is much more to say than that..." He made sure to pack the ammunition carefully into his bag and then moved onto the next box. Talking was a social pastime, but he'd been talking to himself for a while, so talking to someone loving seemed, strange." Spent some time wandering around, visited some of the early settlements, you know..." he said, "so are you really just tagging along to keep me out of trouble?" He had the sense that there was something else, but he'd been wrong before. His gut instincts weren't bulletproof, but he usually trusted them. He'd encounter bounty killers once or twice, it wasn't an entirely unique occupation, given the complete lack of police, putting a price on someone's head was about the only recourse someone had, if they couldn't fight themselves. "Of course. That's what I said wasn't it?" She moved to another box, filled with papers and shut it disdainfully. "Moving on." She kept going, picking through jewelry and other such items until she came to one that contained a set of dog tags. She picked them up, turning them over in her hands and examining the name." Marcus P. Dredger... Hey, I knew that guy." She'd gone to high school with her. "Moved away shortly after graduation and joined the Marines." She'd always liked him in school. Never told anyone. She pushed the tags into her pocket and moved on. Reaching into the next box she found an old six-shooter, in wonderful condition." This is nice..." She turned it around in her hand smiling. "You want?" He took a deep drink out of the cup, letting the smooth liquor flow down his throat until it hit his stomach in a flaming burst. He felt the heat spread through his limbs, relaxing the muscles in a way that only alcohol can. Furthermore, he ate quietly for a moment staring into the fire, just watching the flames dance over top the smoldering wood that he'd put in there~~~~~ Ebony hair wrapped around his arms, her terrified green eyes staring daggers into his as she gasped for breath. Her wounds poured her life out over the road, deep guffawing laughter so close, yet seeming so far away. He shook, her body starting to slowly stop moving, the life finally beginning to fade from her eyes. She opens her mouth, carved perfectly into her porcelain face, trying to speak but managing only a gurgle of blood as she closes her eyes, all fight and struggle gone from her, her life drained. He stares in helpless sorrow at what he's lost, unable to finally comprehend what's happened. It's only when he hears a rough, hateful voice mumble something and try to drag him to his feet that he understands. He reacts on pure instinct, a cold fury that wipes out all traces of his humanity. He breaks the man's arm, taking his weapon quickly. Too easy, no challenge, these men, these crazed and ugly people are only paranoid and untrained men and women, no match for him. They're only able to stumble around to face him at their comrades scream of pain. Their dumbfounded eyes meet his, burning with an inhuman flame as he levels the gun at them, the line of them, and begins pulling the trigger.~~~~~He felt his mind snap back into reality, a jarring feeling that makes him jump as if he had touched a liveware. His head snapped up and stared at the woman across from her, only managing to barely pick up what she had said to him. He stared for a moment, getting his bearings for a moment, his dark eyes levelled on her eyes." Well arrogance doesn't exactly lead someone to be all that wise, now, does it? Don't worry, he's still in the city, I guarantee it, and we'll find him, I know his type, and I'm sure we'll find him real quick." He realizes that he doesn't know her name, and for the first time really looks at her. If it was another place and time, he'd find her attractive, but his mind had long ago cut off any ties to sexual attraction. He'd even tried a few months back to attempt it, and found his heart and body were no longer into it, as if taking Madison had drained more than his heart, it had drained him of any sexual desire of women at all. His eyes flickered to the side, almost as if in embarrassment as he remembered the incident with the man in Tulsa. He cleared his throat, "I figure if you're going to be tagging along I should know you're named, seems a bit stupid to keep calling you by "hey you," so I'm Tyler." "Guns, I have," he said, "you can keep it if you want it, or just put it in the bag...make sure it's unloaded though, if you do, there going to be a lot of ammo in these bags." He kept going, wondering why she'd turned out like she had. Losing someone who was close did a lot of things to people, but he'd never met someone who'd ended up quite like her. Maybe she was on some sort of crusade to stop others from experiencing the same pain. That sounded just fucked up enough to be right, when he thought about it. Still, he'd have to get rid of her eventually, perhaps for her sake, he'd keep her around a while linger though, plus, it had been a while since he'd had someone to talk to, and from what he saw, her ass wasn't too bad either." So, if you like keeping people from getting hurt so much, why haven't you joined a settlement by now? There are a few that take refugees, even ones who can't scavenge," he said. She checked the barrel, dropping the gun into the bag. She takes it later, a Sui pistol, or so she called them. Furthermore, she scoffed at his question, shaking her head." Not much of a settlement kind of person." She answered, moving to the next box. "Settlements are for families, people who have others they need to protect. I don't. I'll stop to help out a settlement know and again, but I don't think I'll ever live in one." She emptied the next box in her bag and kept going." Besides, People outside the settlements tend to need more help. With no support system they often find themselves in trouble. I help them with what they need and sometimes getting to the settlements for safety." "Live and let die, I always say," he said, already onto box 400 or so, it wouldn't be long then. He checked his watch, realizing how long they'd already been working." We're going to have to spend the night in here," he said, "if you can trust me enough with matches, I'll go grab my axe from the car, and come back to start us a fire." He grabbed his duffle bag, but left the bank sack. He wasn't going to abandon her just yet, especially not when she was the first warm body he'd been around in a while, and the nights could get cold." Keep going," he said, "I'll close up the doors as well, so, you can meet me in the lobby when you're done." "Hamm.....don't leave me stranded. If you abandon me in here I'll put a bullet in your as faster than you can blink." She kept up the pace, cursing to herself. She needed to get back to her car. Furthermore, she'd been down here far too long. Furthermore, she only hoped the kids she'd picked up were alright." Hey, check my car while your up there. Let me know if there's people in it." She continued to the boxes, moving further down the line once he left. She needed to take a look in his bag and see exactly what it was he'd been searching for in here. Ashley made his way back up to the lobby. He walked out onto the street, unlocking the Shelby and putting the Duffel bag in the trunk. He pulled out an accordion firebox, from the bag, and pushed it into a hidden compartment, sealing it up and closing the trunk. That done, he walked around to the front seat and opened the door, replacing his two blocks and instead reaching under the seat, for one of his AMT Handballers. He had a pair, beautiful weapons. They, too, were 45 ACP, but for these, he'd managed to find silencers. Now that the Zombies were moving away from their part of the city, he wanted to keep it quiet. He slipped the silencer into his pocket, and the gun into his front waistband, closing the car and locking it as he walked around re-building to see if he could find his companion's ride. Alicia continued to empty the boxes, stopping when she reached 795 and setting her bag down. She took a seat behind the desk and put her feet up, her Bengali laying across her lap as she waited for him to return. Seeing that it was him coming around the corner and not some Zombie, she handed him her bag." I'll be back in a sec." She told him, heading out to her truck. The two inside had gone, thankfully without cleaning her out. She dug a bag of provisions out of the back and headed back inside. "Alrighty now. You got your own food?" She asked as she began pulling out a package of dried rabbit meat and a can of beans. "I have enough to share if need be." "It's good to know your name, Tyler. I'm Abigail, but I prefer Abby," she tells him as she savors her meal, the first one that she hasn't had to make on her own in a while, and slide closer to him." Are you ok, for a minute, you looked like you were a thousand miles away," she asks him and finds that she's missed human companionship? She misses her father, and even her old neighbors, who she couldn't stand before." So what were you thinking about, or who, if you don't mind me asking," she asks and wonders if the same thing that brought him here, brought her here, whatever that was. Tyler eyed her moving closer and resisted the urge to sigh deeply, it always happened with most people he met. Some missed human interaction like it was a necessity for them, so much that they reached out instantly to the first person that they met. On more than one occasion he'd actually had someone try to offer a few....services for his companionship and/or help in whatever he'd done. He usually left quite quickly when that happened to come up. Tyler stood up suddenly, his body seeming to react on its own, "nothing that's helping us here, and nothing that really concerns you all that much. Bear in mind that this is a partnership of necessity, and I like you seek a mutual revenge, no more than that. That and you owe me something, think no more of it than that fact." He walked back to his bags, having no more to say on the matter, pulling weapons from his pack and proceeding to wipe them down and reload them as he went. "I ate already today," he said, "but thanks anyway..." He took the axe, retrieved on his way back past the car, after seen that Alicia's ride was empty, and walked over to the real-wood railings, and splitting one in half with his first swing." I can guarantee this'll be one of the most expensive fires ever lit to keep two people warm," he said, picking up the thick chunks of railing, and piling them together. Once he had a nice-seized pile, and a few 'logs' set up together to start their fire, he packed them with cash, which he needed only to break open a cashier's box to get, one swing with the axe, and he was stuffing hundreds, twenties, fives, and even ones, in beside the wood. He laughed, thinking about the main vault which contained only the same worthless paper he was now using to light their fire. One match later, and the fire was going, just sitting on the marble floor of the lobby, as Ashley sat down near Alice." You know," he said, "I hear there is still an aircraft carrier full of uninfected non-immune, of course, it is just a rumor, but I figure there had to be some truth to it at some point, after all, Zombies can't swim, or drown, but still, it's got to be a good way to start a settlement, if you had some way to make fresh water, and had a big enough boat..." He wondered what she'd say, it wasn't his usual conversational style, but it was something anyway. He'd thought a lot about what he was saying, even if it might not have seemed that way, the way he spoke. "Yeah, I heard that too. Been trying to radio out to see, but I haven't heard anything yet." She watched as the money burned away to ashes. It was funny, a few years ago she'd have freaked out a seeing such a sight. Cracking open the can on beans she began eating, ripping little bits of the meat and dropping them in with the beans. It felt weird sitting around talking with someone else. The last time she'd eaten with others in such a casual manner was several weeks before." Gotta say though, unless they know the fish patterns and currents, they'd likely starve after a few months. Plus if even one infect managed to get aboard while they stopped to find supplies or anything, they'd be fucked." "Oh I doubt they lasted a year," he said, "but, for a group of immune survivors, now they'd have a chance at something, don't you think?" He laid back, on the floor, stretching out, and putting his hands behind his head, looking up at the vaulted ceiling." Though...a settlement like that would be a bit, troublesome, I imagine, you might need laws, and leaders, and of course you'd have to travel around, to keep supplied, and safe, there are a lot of crazies out there..." he said, laughing at himself for blowing up a gas station, he knew there were a few people who thought he was insane, but he hadn't raped, murdered, or tortured anyone yet, so in terms of post-apocalypse baddies, he was a bit lightweight. She shook her head, a smile ghosting across her lips. "Yeah, it would have to agree." She finished her food and tossed the can into a rubbish pile across the room from them. The rats would enjoy what little was left. She pulled an old blanket from her bag and laid it on the ground, stretching out on it and staring into the fire." You know, it's funny what this world does to people. The point where we should be helping each other, we feed each other to the wolves." She looked over at him. "I suppose you are not as bad as some out there. But you're reckless. Your antics would put others in danger." "Reckless, I suppose I am, yeah," he said, "but given that I blew up a gas station, who is really more reckless, me, or the people who follow someone who does that? After all, even if I'm not the baddest, I'm still clearly not someone you want to fuck with, after all, and a bullet is a lot more accurate, and intentional, then a gas explosion." He got up from where he was, and pulled off his shirt, rolling his gun up in it, with the barrel protruding. He put it down beside Alice, where one might usually put a pillow, and then he kicked off his shoes and stripped off his pants, laying them out like a blanket. He finally lay down beside her, pulling off his boxers and stretching out, using his shirt roll like a pillow. The apocalypse had been kind to his body, he was all muscle and no fat. In fact, though his figure was lean, there wasn't a spare gram of fat to be found anywhere on him, and as such, his smooth skin was tight over firm muscle everywhere. He'd laughed the first time he realized he looked like a kind of statue, from a sculptor who'd forgotten that humans usually only possessed a few exceptional characteristics, instead of all of them. Still, the end of civilization had treated most people well in that regard, at least those a stayed active. Though, he got the sense that there was something else going on, especially given that he'd only been getting better over time, physically, when his diet stayed the same, and his exercise didn't really increase. The bite came to mind, but he'd only heard rumors, and he took rumors with a grain of salt. Alicia sat up, looking over at the man laying next to her. His body was amazing. She reached out, tracing her finger over his stomach and looking up at him. "I'd still say you were the reckless one." She answered. She moved over, climbing on top of him, her knees on either side of his waist." But then again, only another reckless person like myself could keep with you." She traced her fingers down his chest enjoying the feel of his hard muscles beneath her fingers. Ashley reached up in return, slipping his hands underneath Alice's shirt and sliding his hands upward to grasp her breasts. Ashley had known he was gay since high school, or perhaps, bisexual. At least, he'd only ever really been attracted to men, he was fairly certain? But still, after the world ended, and sex became the new national pastime, he'd decided against being picky. He didn't really care how attractive they were, what gender, or even if they were married, had kids, or had kids on the way. He'd found that, even if he didn't feel a connection with members of the opposite sex, their skin felt just as good in his hands, and the pressing together of bodies was just as intense, and kissing, sucking, scratching, tweaking, pulling, slapping, and licking, was all the same. It would be loveless, but fun, and that was fine by him."Well you are reckless," he said, "but only because you didn't shoot me when you had the chance..." He sat up, pulling her to him, his arms wrapping around her body, on bare skin, he pulled her into a kiss, in which tongue factored heavily. By most male standards, she was beautiful. And since Donald Trump wouldn't be hosting any more miss universe competitions, there were also no more beauties from around the world to compete with her in the looks department. The last thing she expected was for him to stand up and walk away, but stand up and walk away he did. Sighing as he either doesn't want company, or is gay, and she could never tell if someone was gay or straight before the zombie Apocalypse, she stood up as well to explore the rooms on the first and second floor." I should check the upper levels. It would be bad if we slept, then woke up to find zombies chewing on our internal organs," she says to him, then opens up her bag for her torch, takes one of her Walther's from her holsters, then walks towards the staircase at the side. Alice's body reacted almost instantly to his touch. It had been a long time since she'd taken time out to give her body what it desired. Men...even some women on occasion. In this world you weren't picky about who you found comfort in. She pulled off her shirt exposing her large breast to him before lowering her head back to kiss him. He kissed her again in return, and then shifted, reaching around to hold her as he flipped them over onto her blanket. With her on the blanket, he grabbed the waistband of her pants, pulling them, panties included, roughly down, and over her legs, pulling them all the way off. He wasn't one to waste time, and this wasn't in any sense of the words, making love, for him, so if they were fucking, fucking, then he figured they might as well fucking get down to it. He flipped them back over, letting her straddle him again, one again with his naked skin on the marble floor. Furthermore, he liked that, because it wasn't really so much uncomfortable, as cooling, especially with the heat coming off his body. Tyler sighed, "you do that." Although he wasn't aware of it on any level, a part of him too missed human contact, which is exactly why he tolerated the presence of another person around him. In some ways he needed it more than others, yet he was never consciously aware of it. He was a pretty reserved person before this, and the loss of Madison and the world itself drove him even more into himself. Although in some ways it had driven other things upwards, something that he also wasn't aware of. He tossed his things together, making sure they were there for when they got up in the morning that he'd be ready to go. He picked up the devices he's picked up from a "spy" shop in Chicago, he fiddled with it over the entrance of the Vault. A simple device that would let loose with a loud and shrill noise should anything pass by its beam. It had saved his life more than once, and he wasn't prepared to stop using it. He snorted to himself, he was more than eager to hunt the kid down from earlier. He was more than prepared to kick the kid's ass, and if he became an issue, well Tyler wasn't against doing more if it came down to it." All clear? Then let's try to get some sleep." Sweeping the area in front of her, she checks the doors and finds quite a few of them locked. One that isn't is a storeroom, which is still filled with printer toner, paper and other supplies. Finding several packets of AA and AAA batteries, she put them in her bag and moved to the next room. That too was locked, then the one after that. The next room opened up, and as she shone her torch in, she found that she was in the branch managers office. Spinning as she heard shuffling footsteps, her torch showed two zombies coming at her, a middle-aged one and a young female one. Aiming at their foreheads, she put two bullets into each, then swept the room but found no others. Kneeling next to their bodies, she pocketed his Rolex and checked the desk. There was nothing that she could use, and she closed it and moved out of the room. Most of the other doors were locked, or empty, and she returned to the first floor where Tyler was waiting for her." Yes, all clear now. I found some batteries, and one of the sees up there had a Rolex, my Rolex now," she said with a smile, then strode up to him and settled down onto her sleeping bag." I sleep light, so if any do slip in and make any noise, I should wake up," she says, and makes no move to move her sleeping bag closer to his. If he wants to enjoy his own company, then that's his business. Being this close to so much wealth would have been out of the question years ago, but now, none of it was any good to her. Perhaps the locked safety deposit boxes would have something in them, but she didn't have the enthusiasm or the urge to force them open tonight. Alice reached down, unbuttoning her jeans and pushing them down. A long jagged scar could be seen, running from her hip down mid-calf on the covered leg. She pulled them off, tossing them next to her shirt and boots. She reached between them and pushed down his boxer, grasping his cock in her hands and pumping it up and down. He ran his hand over the scar, but didn't mention it. He didn't like to pry, not into people's wound anyway. Furthermore, he games as she stroked his cock and he reached between her legs, stroking her pussy in time with her stroking of him. Furthermore, he was already stiff, and more than ready. It had been a while for him, even since he'd bothered to jerk off, so he had some pressure to relieve in a major way. He grunted in acknowledgement, propping up his sleeping bag as well, not bothering to wrap up in it, using it instead as a pillow. His eyes danced across the rows of deposit boxes, watching the light shine off of them. He wasn't much of heavy sleeper himself, in this world you couldn't afford to as it was, unless of course you were anxious to find yourself as a roaming zombies snack. He didn't bother telling her about the alarm, if it became an issue then she would know about it, but until that point and time, it was nothing of her concern. He stretched out and leaned back, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling of the floor beneath him as he drifted around in his thoughts. Furthermore, he was a man of habit, and once he stuck to a habit, it was pretty much permeant unless a more important habit formed that negated the previous. In this case, he was more than willing to take out the punk who had tried to kill him. He didn't care what world it was, or the state in which it was left, you didn't try to kill him without repercussions. He shifted slightly, getting more comfortable, he was a bit eager to try to find the guy the next day. To him, people were just slightly more intelligent versions of the undead shuffling around outside. He began to slowly nod off as he thought to himself. Trace thoughts of where to look and how to handle the situation flitted through his mind with a careless ease. Eventually he drifted completely off to a sleep, dreaming occasionally, dreams that left him restless and groaning, but nevertheless he would forget the contents of it. She shivered as his fingers touched over her scar, a wound from the very beginning of this all, but she didn't stop him. Instead, she moved forward, position his tip at her entrance and pushing it inside of her, groaning a bit from the intrusion. She lowered herself slowly, taking all of it inside and grinding against him for a bit before beginning her up and down motion. "Oh...fuck, that's good," breathed Ashley, putting his hands on her hips, and holding on as she began to ride him. The feel of her hot, slick, tight, passage, gripping his shaft, was intense, and he groaned in pleasure. He reached up, grabbing her tits with one hand, while the other squeezed her ass. He was very, very pleased with her openness on the whole issue, at least she seemed to share some of his philosophies. She gave a soft moan, working him inside her, enjoying the feeling of being so full after such a long dry spell. Normally she would have tried to drag it out a bit, enjoy herself more, but at this point they both just wanted a fuck, nothing more behind it. She placed her palms on his chest, using it as leverage while she worked her hips up and down, further pleasuring them both. Keeping a hand near her sidearm, she closed her eyes and slept. Her instincts had kept her alive for this long, and would keep her alive as long as she followed her rules. Curled up in her sleeping bag, she woke up after only five hours. She could never sleep for longer than 5 or 6 hours. Instead of trying again, she lay there, as safe as one can be in the new world that she was living in. A glance at her partner told her that he hadn't moved. Yet if she made any noise, he would be up, gun in hand and ready to shoot anything that even looked undead. Ashley moaned with her movement, and reached down, using his thumb to rub back and further across her clit as she rode him. He really couldn't think of anything that was quite as good, with just two people, as the feeling if being inside a woman, or man, as they came." Fuck...yes," he said. From the way she was working him over, he felt almost bad that he'd have to abandon her at some point, but, only...almost, he was, in actuality, fairly amused by that idea, he wasn't quite sure how many metaphorical bridges he'd burned already, but he enjoyed it almost as much as burning actual bridges. Of course, he was fairly safe in the vengeance side, most people didn't necessarily leave his company unhappily, and those who did were usually only alive because of him anyway, and their likelihood of still being that way, was slim. She groaned, rocking back against his cock and squeezing her walls around him. He back arched in her pleasure and she felt herself close to cumming. She wished she could prolong it, but it had simply been too long." Sorry..." She whispered, releasing a deep throaty moan as she came on top of him, her toes curl and back arching in her ecstasy. He pushed himself up, practically sitting up, with one ark around the back, and the other pushing him up from the floor. As she came, and apologized, he came as well, his hot seed spurting into her womb in long bursts. He felt the flood inside of her, around his cock, and flipped them both over, putting her on her back. He wasn't close to done, because even as his cum was still filling her, he was beginning to thrust, now on top of her. Furthermore, he knew he wouldn't lose his erection, and he definitely wanted more than just to hit their deprivation orgasms. She gasped a bit, feeling herself flipped onto her back and his thick cock still being feed into her. From her experience most guys that hadn't had it in a while would bust and go to sleep. It rather amazed her that he'd had the stamina to keep going. She found herself wrapping her legs around his waist, her hands gripping his biceps. He began to go faster, and harder, hearing the slapping of skin, and feeling her tight muscles around his length. He was almost glad she'd been married, it was almost a guarantee that she wouldn't expect much. Furthermore, he'd always found that formerly, or currently married women, at least in post-apocalyptic were less...prone to expectation. He grunted in time with his thrusts. Furthermore, he could last awhile, before he'd cum again and lack the ability to keep his erection, but he's expecting that they'd both be happy enough with just the encore. I'm on the verge of bowing out of this one if I don't hear from my own partner in this in the next few days. Thsi is why I may stop doing group ones. Sorry to put it in here, but, where else will it be seen. She pulled him down against her, moaning beneath him as he continued to move indie of her. She couldn't believe how good this felt, or how much she wanted it. Furthermore, she found her hands traveling down his back, her nails scraping his skin as he stroked her insides more and more." Fuck..." He stretched himself out, spreading his arms and push up and into her with his whole body in slow, extended thrusts. His efforts were not unselfish, but even though he felt no particular emotional need to leave her satisfied, there was a certain courtesy he liked to extend to his fellow travelers, even ones as meddlesome as she was, and if they weren't going to have a real relationship, which he was fairly certain they weren't, he also wasn't going to have time to give her what she wanted in return at some other time, so...this was it. He was ready enough to cum again when he felt the nails scraping over his back. A moment when he was glad that his lack of a significant other left him without a need for excuses.

Aftermath_ Survival of Body and Soul|rating:4.0

Super Mekton Wars

0083 NE Lagrange Point Number 2 | Angela Colony The new army within Angela would take their position within ceremony. All dressed in elegant red uniforms, as they saluted their admiral and leader, Finn Brandt. The populace of Angela was strangely well considered, while they were not being allowed within the chambers for the ceremony, their lives had been mostly unaffected by the change in regime. Brandt would find himself led through the sea of red soldiers, each line firing a blanked rifle as he passed and arrived at his command network. Once inside, he was out of the formality and the soldiers outside would begin their celebrations for their victory. His attendants would move to signal the soldiers waiting as a map of the planet they orbited would appear. Red circles would appear, eight of them, not horrible for an entrance, but it would require more to maintain pressure. Brandt's eyes looked to his men as he sighed gently." The United Colonial Confederation will initially attempt to oust this colony. The Blooded Squad will dispatch to Lagrange 5 to keep them busy. Terrestrial Invasion Fleets aren't to cause any permanent damage to the landscape. We aren't those kinds of terrorists."" Terrorists, sir?"" Those without idealism will call any movement that carries such things. These people have no idea what they are dealing with. I want every available Melton to proceed with the invasion strategy. Minimal defenses around Angela will be sufficient, given that this colony holds a nuclear charge."" Understood, sir."" Let this day be won by the Red Successors." Earth, Japan, Tokyo-3 Ruins The city had fallen, as Professor Nanak would smile in delight, the sunlight reflecting off his large classes, as he raised a metal coated hand to his face. The entire city was now much like him, every tree, every stray animal, had been turned into metal memorials to them. The people of the city were NW terrifying statues of what was once human, as his machines would carry them off about him. Two androids would walk behind him as Nanak examined his hard work, the dome of Tokyo-3 turning towards a rainy day. That was its nature, Tokyo-3 was one of Japan's famous Dome Cities, the largest of them by far. Colonies existing on earth, so they could be lifted into the air and stacked upon one another, providing more living space for the increasingly crowded population. It was a new project, but an overwhelming success so far. And now the star city had been turned into a metallic wasteland. Nanak would smirk, almost childishly, as the dome opened and his ships began to exit the city. Soon Japan, then the rest of the world." Tokyo-2. Might as well grab all the Tokyo's one can. I know you both agree, so let's let my friends remove this silly resistance. There will be no more interference. With this city's resources, construction of Machine world will be complete." A crazed cackling could be heard echoing throughout the ruin, as the army would move from Tokyo-3, to their next destination. Earth, ???, UnderlandThe great Sunderland Army would move as their General Akita watched from his throne. A large, inhuman looking man, donning various armors to signify his status. His subordinates were much the same, the size and decor upon their armors indicating their status. The strange looking people would board into the roaming animal-like Melton. There was no need for additional orders, as they raced out and upwards moving for transports to the Overland. The time had come, so say General Akita. The man himself would grunt as he gripped his throne's arms in anger, and looked to his direct subordinates." The two traitorous beasts... they were found... yet you allowed Overlanders to not only see them, but to pilot them. Do you even possess an idea of how unacceptable that is? The Ken lion is our staple Ground Assault type! The Jataka wasn't even completely outfitted! Why were they not being completely controlled?"" My lord..."" Silence. It won't matter if you destroy them. A minor inconvenience, but the Overlanders don't have the power or will to resist us. Not when they are busy killing one another." Earth, Sea of Japan, Counter-Aggressor Transport Ship "Benefice"The Silhouette would board the ship, as emergency refueling would begin, and the young pilot, Rely, would see her first of the United Earth Confederation's forces. It had been a week since her own employer, the UCC had lost Angela, and now she found herself among unusual sorts. A band of UEC and its employ had created an emergency military solution to the Red Successor threat, only to find that strange Beasts had surfaced within Europe, and the majority of their forces which were supposed to be supporting the Counter Aggressors were needed to keep them at bay. Rely, who was about as welcome on a normal UEC vessel as a lost rat, would find theBenehime'screw to be much more forgiving of her alliances, as she was led towards a common area for her to meet the other major players of the Benefice's crew. The major player was in fact Lieutenant Eric Calder, who had just received orders and information as the girl had boarded what was now his ship. With the lack of any high ranking officers, complete command of theBenehimewas now his, not that it meant too much when he was being told exactly where to go and what to do. Eric wasn't even much of a ship captain, and his ship wasn't combat savvy at all, simply supersonic transport. Now he had to pick up the American-Japanese Super Robot, and it's eccentric pilot. Combining that with the fact that every pilot on his crew seemed to be an inexperienced and under trained rookie, his day was simply going splendidly. Next was Canaan Albedo, who had been free to roam the ship. Although the J-Gunner may have once been military property, and he was technically a criminal, he found himself unusually well accepted. The Counter Aggressors didn't seem to care about his activities, so long has he worked with them. A powerful long distance Melton like that was simply too useful to be turned down, and it's pilot had more experience with it than most other rookies, which was free labor. In the end, the teenager was ideal for an elite and small squadron, provided he could actually learn from Calder. With the addition of Rely, the now trio of pilots had an interesting mission, and were certain to see some rather bizarre things. Spoiler Hide I'll let you guys determine who meets who on the ship first, feel free to introduce one another/idle chatter. Earth, Japan, Tokyo-2, "Super Robot Company"An explosion could be heard. Cobb Kaiser would find all hell breaking loose as the defense Melton would deploy around him. The Adam was still undergoing emergency adjustments after its distortion field had collapsed in the last battle, but that didn't seem to have any bearing on the enemy, fierce machines which had been reported at Tokyo-3. Whatever had destroyed that city was likely coming to this one, and the red blaring alarms could be seen throughout the entire facility as more and more pilots entered the hanger, the mechanics assisting Cobb with the emergency repairs. Whatever this enemy was, throwing a poorly defended hunk of metal at it wasn't an acceptable solution.Meanwhile, a gunshot could be heard in the hall leading to the hanger, as the blond haired, blue-eyed American hero who was being asked to pilot to Origami would be found dead, along with his assailant, a man who fell to the ground in a heap of cybernetic parts. The pilot of the Origami was now dead, leaving only the reserve pilot, who had been waiting on standby since the attack had begun. There were no times for tears, as Suzuki Hikaru was rushed towards the Origami, just as the Adam was finished repairing. This only led towards another scream as the remaining Super Robot's eyes would glow for a moment, and the cockpit would open as the pilot stumbled out."DEVI denied him access, get the spare!" The spare, Evelynn Azul, would be shoved into the cockpit a bit roughly by the panicking Melton mechanics. Naturally the time when Super Robots were actually needed, all three would take all the time in the world before they could launch. Now with all three occupied by pilots of negligible experience and skill, the hanger doors would open, as each machine would slowly walk outwards as their pilots got their respective bearings, and into hell. Monoeye sensors would sweep the city, as a small army of rather simplistic looking Melton swept Tokyo-2, with Hikaru seeing the last of the UEC forces falling as she exited her hanger bay. The city was half destroyed already, but it was still there, and not in the lost ruin that was Tokyo-3. The three pilots would each see the leader of the installation, Dr. Tour, appear with their comms. He had a rather sour look about him, more so than usual." I've alerted the UEC, they'll be here soon enough, but for now you three will have to figure out how to work together. These weird Melton aren't looking for anything more than the complete destruction of Tokyo-2, we are relying on you, and with Japan's Super Robot technology." Spoiler Hide Super Robots! You begin in combat. The map is pretty simple. Each building, one of the white blocks, has a number. That is the building's general height, and the flight level you need to get over it. You three are all listed by tokens, while every other token is an insert Baku variant here. Roll unit for your order, you will all be going before the enemies regardless of said roll. Earth, Japan, En route to Tokyo-2The roar of the Ken lion would sound as both it, and it's sky based partner would fly across the Japanese island. They were a long way from home, but the intel was sound, and they could already see the dome city of Tokyo-2 being attacked from where they were. They couldn't tell by what, but before they could pose a question, the voice of their operator from the Sunderland Resistance Group would appear through their comms. Young, and a bit bubbly, Ella Noir was the only person in their little group that really understood the Beasts, and as such she was of constant support for the pilots of the unusual thing." I know it might seem weird, since it's been mostly happening in Europe, but the next uprising is going to be in that city. Both of you are ready, I know it. But... be careful, I'm here for whatever you might need, but that doesn't mean you can rely on supplies in times like this. Victor... I mean it. The Sunderland Empire won't care who you are." The comm would cut out, leaving the two pilots to converse among themselves and prepare anything they might need, the city was right there, smoke bellowing out of it's cracked dome. Spoiler Hide MrBeast Pilots will be arriving as PC reinforcements in 1 turn to the Tokyo-2 Battle. Until then, you can make intro posts and talk among one another, or contact Ella for more information. While they raced towards Tokyo-2, the loud serene screech of the Jataka could be heard while it maintained a low altitude flight path above the Ken lion. Its paint job covered it in various blacks, dark blues and purples giving it a Raven-like appearance, the crest painted on its wings however had only been partially outlined before the machine had been stolen from the Underlanders. It's current pilot, Kessler Cole reclined back in the cockpit cracking his neck in both directions while he listened to Ella's information. His mouth literally foaming with anticipation, Kessler grinned sliding a disfigured tongue around his burnt lips to wipe them clean as he reached for his comm to keep the line open." Don't worry Princess, I'll try to make sure he gets home safe. I'd just love to hear any intel you might have on what we're fighting at our destination though, particularly their armor specs hm?" Kessler replied to her comment at Victor with a raspy voice burnt voice like he'd been smoking since he was in infant. Turning his attention to the Ken lion pilot though, Kessler started tightening the bandages that kept his burns hidden while he went onset's try not to get crazy involved in this. The Gun-hawk's armor specs aren't exactly stellar, so I will be using you as a human shield if necessary. That being said, we shouldn't have a problem but, just food for thought mm?" Kessler said through a Cheshire grin. Earth, Sea of Japan, Counter-Aggressor Transport Ship "Benefice"Canaan Albedo sat in an empty mess aboard the Benefice, musing to himself. The last week had been pretty crazy: first the conflict in the south pacific where he'd gotten himself caught up in a naval battle; being tracked down by The Counter Aggressors, who followed his trail right back to his hide-hole; and now winding up a member of the very same group, with his own stolen J-Gunner safely tucked away in a much-bay, ready to launch the moment he needed it. It was almost surreal - they'd even given him the freedom to wander as he pleased. He'd been expecting a court-martial or at least a temporary lockdown. Instead, they didn't seem to care that he'd fired on his former commander and stolen a very expensive piece of military hardware. They just seemed happy he could use it. But, then, Canaan was pretty happy he could too. Crossing his ankles on the table, he leaned back in his chair and started humming an old country-western song. Wonder what they'd called me in for this time?he mused. Spoiler Hide Initiative - (1d10+6)[16] Cobb rests relatively easily at his robot's controls. He may have only been in a couple fights with it before, but he built it, and he knows full well what this bad mother can do. However, the appearance of the enigmatic leader of Tokyo-2's science corps shoots his nerves straight to hell. What?! Dr. Tour in the flesh! Why'd it have to be before I could change out of my Merlin' overalls...." Um, copy that, Dr. Tour. Adam and I won't let ya down!" As the results of Adam's sensor sweep come back to him, Cobb begins to calm down, as now there is a distraction. A task to focus on. An invading force to kill. He comms up the other two pilots. "Devi lady, Origami lady, would mind taking on the ones to the east? It'd keep 'em off my back, and let ya take cover against the rest. As for me, I'm heading....SOUTH!" With that, Cobb's technological monstrosity roars to the southeast, racing over the earth toward the enemy that he'd been directly facing. However, rather than direct his thrusters in a straight path, he whips into a sudden arc, building up yet more angular momentum, before crashing into the opposing Me in a titanic body slam. Even as the opponent recovers from the first blow, a single oversized arm shoots out, seeking to tear through the defenses his ram had cracked. "How ya like the Shock and Arm?!" Spoiler Hide Moving Cobb's much to the SE 3 hexes, spending an MA point to change facing NE, moving NE one hex, changing facing to SE, moving 2 spaces, changing facing to SW, moving one hex. Total of 10 MA spent, 7 hexes travelled. Now, Cobb can ram as part of his move action, for 8K, if I understand the system properly (5K from weight, 3 from speed). Unfortunately, this does ablate his own armor a bit, but I think that it's worthwhile. Attack roll - (1d10+7)[17] Then, presuming that it's still up, going to Punch the enemy Me in the Torso, for 17K. Attack roll - (1d10+7)[14] Tokyo-2 battlespaceDespite the extensive training that even she, the reserve pilot, had to undergo for the mission, theOnigami's controls still felt just a touch sluggish to Hikaru. Her only worry, however, was that she had no idea what the enemy was equipped with, though she knew that she'd find out soon enough. Until then, though, it'd be better for her to find cover, just in case. Engaging theOnigami's thrusters, she flies a ways south and turns, bringing the Photon Blaster to bear on one of the Mentions. Initiative - (1d10+10)[11]-5=6Fly south 3, turning to face NE, firing the Photon Blaster at the Me almost immediately to the east. Attack - (1d10+9)[18]Hit Location - (1d10)[6] Eric Calder"How much longer until the refueling is finished,"Lieutenant Eric Calder inquired through the ship's radio. For most of the past hour he had spent the majority of his time on the phone talking with various members of the crew, attempting to get his bearings in regard to theBenehime'condition and capabilities. He wasn't about to let these last minute changes lead to the loss of these good people in the field. Scratching at his short, trimmed beard with his free hand he reviewed what still needed to be done before they could take off. Finishing his call, and spotting the nearby Rely and Canaan, he simultaneously hangs up while waving them both over. Crossing his arms comfortably behind his back, standing at attention, he addresses the two in a clear and even voice." Mr. Albedo. Miss Hart. I wanted to personally thank you for your willingness to aid us in our current endeavor. At the same time, while I understand you're both new to the Benefice, I expect you to contribute just like any member of the crew. Should you have any questions or concerns while here feel free to come to me at any time? Now,"he pauses to grab his nearby clipboard. As you may or may not be aware, our current mission is to retrieve the DFTT-01 and it's pilot. Once the refueling of the Benefice is complete we will be departing immediately for Tokyo, Japan. If there is any last minute tests or maintenance that your mentions require it would be best to finish them now. Stopping, he looks up from his clipboard in case either Rely or Canaan have any questions. Sighing heavily from being pushed into the suit, Eve blew her hair up along her forehead with a heavy breath." A tad rude..." She spoke getting herself acquainted with the Devi's systems again, finding everything to be in place she was set, hearing the orders being given over the comm made her raise her palm to her forehead with a swift slap though." That's terribly inefficient but if you insist..." Eve spoke hesitant to follow such a plan before sliding her fingertips over her controls." Initiating Combat Jumping--"She warned before her much would suddenly disappear with a flash of light reappearing with another flash near the origami's target on the North Western side for good measure. Drawing its Prank cutter and activating the Devi sleeve, Eve whistled softly as the much aimed to swing the blade twice through the much not caring much for where her blade landed, just intending to do as much reckless damage as possible before the Origami's shot landed. Movement:Spoiler Hide Teleportation 7 MA to the north-western side of the closest eastern enemy unit (Origami's target), set facing to south-east Rolls:Spoiler Hide Initiative: [1D10 + Piloting + Reflex](8+5+10 = 23 initiative) 1st Attack Roll [1D10 + Reflex + 1WA - 4MV](9+10+1-4 = 16 Accuracy) 2nd Attack Roll [1D10 + Reflex + 1WA - 4MV](8+10+1-4 = 15 Accuracy) Rely Hart Earth, Sea of Japan, Counter-Aggressor Transport Ship "Benefice"Rely would suppress a sigh as she boarded the ship, paying little attention to the people around her. While her body didn't need to breathe, it was designed to imitate the process to be more human-like. Along with things like facial expressions. Not that she had any use for that sort of thing anymore. Abruptly cutting off that line of thinking in its tracks, Rely would make her way to the meeting room, entering without so much as announcing herself or saluting. She did, however, remain standing, nodding slightly to the Lieutenant as he addressed her." Questions? Well, I'm unfamiliar with this ship, and why the ship is heading to pick up this DFTT-01." Her tongue moved slowly over the odd acronym. She would never get used to this military stuff." I mean, wouldn't it be easier to just send it to us in a smaller ship? Seems a bit excessive to send a huge ship like this to go pick up one much. Or ship, or whatever that thing is. "Also, I'd just like to ask that you have your crew keep their hands to themselves regarding the Silhouette. She's a very interesting machine, but have them stick to needed repairs and reloading only. I have orders to, ah, 'deal with' anyone who does anything suspicious." Earth, Sea of Japan, Counter-Aggressor Transport Ship "Benefice"Canaan eyes the girl carefully, gauging her expression. Deciding she was probably serious, he shrugged idly, saying"Hands off. Got it. Guess that puts the kibosh on joyriding." Turning to the Lt., he quirked an eyebrow and offered,"I'll handle my own technical calibrations, but if you could have the mechanics run diagnostics, I'd like to make a few test shots before we get too close to civilization. Make sure the computer can adjust for pilot error, sort of thing."" And I was just wondering... do I get one of those snappy uniforms, or do I pay for my own clothes around here? And on that note, where's the laundry?" Eric Calder Perfectly understandable,"Eric replies to Rely. I'll inform the mechanic bay about the specifics immediately. I need to check in there anyway to make sure there weren't any problems loading the mess. In regard to the mission all I can say is this is how things have been decided. We're all still kinda scrambling after the majority of our forces were rerouted to another location. There should be enough time to run a few diagnostics Canaan, and new uniforms are provided in your rooms here on the ship. There are still a few rounds I need to make before takeoff, so if you both like I can show you around while I finish preparations. Personally I think that's the quickest way to familiarize someone with the ship. If not, you can remain here in the meantime. Putting away his pen and clipboard, it was clear he didn't intend to wait long. A flash of light would run as the Dear flew through space, the Prank Cutter running through the left arm and torso of the enemy Melton. The Torso was severely damaged, and the left arm collapsed as it was shredded clean off of the smaller Melton. At the same time a loud crash could be heard as Cobb would shake with the smashing ram his Melton utilized, not simply tackling into the ENIM, but completely obliterating it, as bits of Melton would fly in a spray to the ground, any signs of a pilot long gone. The final movement would be with a twitch of a finger, as Hikaru adjusted the Photon Laser, driving through the right arm of the enemy, letting it, and it's club fall to the ground.-Battle Results -Dear removes arm of enemy, and damages torso! Adam destroys enemy Melton! (Megacity!) Onigami destroys right arm of damaged Melton, leaving it armless! The return fire was... fairly underwhelming to say the least. The Adam found three blasts of machine bullets rocking his machine, but each shell was absorbed and dissolved by the distortion field, proving even in great numbers to be harmless. The Dear would not be quite so lucky, however as it found two Melton raising clubs to bash in the teleported. The remaining one sitting in the middle as it tried to tackle, to no success.- Battle Results -Dear loses 20 Kills of SP from Barrier Field. As the Dear fended off the attacks, the Dome would crash, as two new machines, animal-like Melton would rush into the city, seeing the massive conflict coming, and letting the two pilots witness the sheer size and power of Japan's Super Robots. Spoiler Hide Ken lion and Jataka roll unit. UPDATE Initiative: 9+5+10 =24With the Jataka bursting into the battle zone with its talons, Kessler hesitated seeing things were already underway. Taking a breath clearing his lips again with his disfigured tongue, he reached for his comm with a calm but raspy voice still." You can cancel my request for intel Ella, it looks like I'll be experiencing it shortly. We'll be returning shortly then." Kessler spoke switching channels to the Ken lion with a quick flip of a switch." Remember what I said about my armor, I can already tell this is going to be interesting." Kessler spoke before gently pushing his controls forward to advance causing the Gun hawk to let out a serene caw as it flew forward. Movement:Spoiler Hide 5 Hexes Northwest When Kessler got into sight of the three machines surrounding what was obviously a prototype, it was easy to tell who the aggressors were and who was defending. Sliding his tongue to the edge of his lips Kessler pulled the trigger to fire a hail of bullets down into the group of enemy units unloading a barrage of fire hoping to wear away their armor for the Ken lion and the other prototypes to nail down. Attack Action:Spoiler Hide Burst fire using linked wing Gatling guns across the 3 units surrounding the Devi. Rolls: Northern most: 5+10+3-1 = 17 Accuracy Middle: 9+10+3-1 = 21 Accuracy Southern most: 8+10+3-1 = 20 Accuracy With his shots fired, Kessler drew his tongue back in flipping the switch to open his comm back up. I'm not the trade blows type, so I'll be drawing back, good luck people on the front lines." Kessler warned as the Gun Hawk would suddenly alter its course after firing flapping its wings to pull it into the sky a good distance before pulling towards a building to hide and use it for cover in case anyone did catch wise to his strategy. Movement:Spoiler Hide Climb 2 Hexes vertically, and 5 more hexes north leaving the Gun hawk skimming along center of the building's roof to the north to use as cover from the units on the ground Cobb begins to grin as the enemies' shots are unable to penetrate the distortion field. This grin only widens as he's able to shatter the enemy Me, and hears reinforcements reach the battlefield. "All right! Let's crush these punks and head on out! Speakin' of..." The behemoth Adam steps forward, and delivers a one-two punch against the nearest of the Mess on his side of the battlefield, the right straight setting up the foe for the left cross. "ORA!" Spoiler Hide Since I find it likely that the enemy Me'll be able to dodge that, going to attack again, targeting the Torso. First Punch was for 17K, with an attack result of 12. Left Cross Attack - (1d10+7)[16], also for 17K. "Adam, Devi, the Origami's main weapons have a large area of effect. Group the enemies and clear my lane of fire, and I'll light them up." Coming out of his reverie, Victor comms,"Sorry about that, got...lost....a bit. I'm back now! I won't be able to cover you as a shield any more than you are me. According to these specs, I'm practically wearing paper armor." Checking the readings on his sensors, he notices the Mess that are in battle,"Doesn't look like it's going to be a problem though. Those three look pretty impressive. Outnumbered though." Settling in to a more comfortable position, Victor grins with the thought of impending battle. This may have nothing to do with his parents, but it was still a rush to join in combat." Here we go!" Spoiler Hide Ken lion Initiative: (1d10+16)[24] Checking his readouts once more, Victor realizes that he's slightly out of position for the best approach...but that Me needed some serious help in a hurry. Patching his comm to another channel,"Ella I need as much as we've got on these Mess. Some strategical value would be appreciated, but anything is better than nothing." Turning his attention back to the battle already at hands, he watches his compatriot strafe the group ahead of him with fire." Nice shot! Keep that up and give me some cover fire, I'm headed right down their throats!" Triggering the propulsion, the Ken lion shoots forward at an angle towards the northernmost Me that was grouping up on the unknown Prototype. Doing a tight barrel roll he lashes the massive blade on the Ken lion's tail across the enemy Me. Upon landing, he braces for the ensuing retaliation. This was going to be fun. Spoiler Hide Movement: Alright, so if I have this correct it should be (7 hexes W/NW to the northernmost of the 3 Mess on Devi.) Rolls: (Mecca Melee: 4 Reflexes: 10 MV: -4) Attack (Giant Slayer Tail): (1d10+10)[12] Damage: 15 Kills (10k for blade, +5k for MrBeast specifics), Armor Piercing, Disruptor) Earth, Sea of Japan, Counter-Aggressor Transport Ship "Benefice""Nah. Don't care. Starboard, port, astern, it's all the same to me." Canaan said, offhandedly,"I'll leave you and the little lady to it, boss. Let me know if some targets pop up." Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he turns and walks back to the table he was sitting at, drawing his handgun and dropping heavily into the seat. He whistles a jaunty tune as he ejects the clip and gives the gun a once-over. Brushing a hand through her hair again flipping it back clear of her face, Eve seemed to pout when the much beasts appeared." Are these the reinforcements?..." Eve commented a little concerned if this was although it didn't stop her from continuing her assault. Pushing her controls along, the Devi would flick the Prank cutter before trying to drive it back across the 2 remaining techs who weren't literally disarmed at the moment. Using the incredible speed of the blade to drive the blade forward and slash it free before slashing the second twice with it. With her attack launched, Eve pulled back on her controls to retreat a few steps with a breath." Wide angle fire to the northern two units please darling~"Eve whispered sweetly into the com to Hikaru. Just try not to clip me in the blast." Eve joked giving him a nickname to amuse herself. Movement:Spoiler Hide Moving 2 Hexes North, set facing north Rolls:Spoiler Hide 1st Attack Roll [1D10 + Reflex + 1WA - 4MV](10+10+1-4 = 17 Accuracy) 2nd Attack Roll [1D10 + Reflex + 1WA - 4MV](8+10+1-4 = 15 Accuracy) 1st Attack Roll [1D10 + Reflex + 1WA - 4MV](10+10+1-4 = 17 Accuracy) 2nd Attack Roll [1D10 + Reflex + 1WA - 4MV](6+10+1-4 = 13 Accuracy) "ETH?! Darling?!" Activating the Origami's thrusters again, Hikaru moves the massive Me over to get a better firing angle as she hefts the massive Photon Blaster and fires a wave of destruction at the enemy. Spoiler Hide Moving NE 2, N 1, facing N. Firing the Photon Blaster forward, trying to catch as many enemy Mess as possible. Attack - (1d10+6)[15] Eric Calder"Mr. Albedo. If you have time to sit around you can give the crew a hand loading cargo,"Eric directs after spotting Canaan take a seat. He didn't enjoy barking orders, but he couldn't afford to be lax his first day of command." You'll find the cargo bay down the hall and to the left." "Now Miss Hart, if you still want that tour we should be on our way to the Mechanic Bay." Earth, Sea of Japan, Counter-Aggressor Transport Ship "Benefice"Canaan shrugs, slaps the clip into place, and rises to his feet. He doesn't stop whistling as he holsters the pistol and makes for the door. If he can't do as he likes he may as well do as directed. For a while, at least - until something more interesting crops up. It's fine to waste a little time. The whole world's waiting. He thinks to himself as he makes for the cargo bay. Spoiler Hide Melton Order Jataka Ken lion Dear Adam Origami Also, remember in melee you call your own shots. Aim wherever you like. Charge Actions are -2 to WA, +1 Kill of damage for every 3 Hexes you charge. Player Phase With the arrival of the mysterious duo of Beasts came a rather new element to the battlefield. Not only were these things quite strange, they were also very fast, with the Jataka flying forward and spraying all three of the strange Melton attacking the Dear, quite successfully, as the beams would penetrate their armor and wear through them. The Gatling would be particularly effective on the already heavily damaged and slower witted pilot of the middle Me. The explosion to ensue would surprise most pilots, however, as they found a large explosion occur, consuming the entire Melton. These things were likely equipped using nuclear energy plants. Ella's voice would ring the man's ear as she gave him a stern look." My assessment, don't tackle those things! They are walking bombs! These things are hot, hotter than Cole's weird thing. You should be fine to cut through, just avoid melee attacks on the power plant!" This information at hand, the Ken lion would burst forward with it's rather impressive speed, and whip around once as it finished its mad dash at the enemy Melton, the blade cleaving the Melton in twain, although the power plant remained intact. With only a single target left to strike, the prank cutter sliced through the remaining Melton, the blade flew up, destroying the club the Melton carried, and it flew down carving a large gash into the torso. The pilot was smart enough to evade a crippling blow by backing off, but the energy blade merely pushed forward, stabbing the Melton through the chest, as a great explosion would rock both the Ken lion and Dear. The Adam would jump forward as it smashed a fist outward, being dodged by the confident pilot, before the second hand would push forward in a full palm, the distortion field crackling with power was all those in combat could hear the techie happily exclaim his success as a heap of useless metal scrap hit the ground, far away."ORA!" The Origami would adjust its position as Hikaru cringed at Evelyn's wording. Taking the massive Photon Blaster into her Origami's hands, she would release the safeties as words appeared in her screen."PHOTON BLASTER READY." She'd hear it hum with energy, as Dr. Tour and his aides would appear in her comm." Kōzuki-san be-"And the light of the photon blaster would rip through the battle space, completely tearing apart the building it caught in its way, as two Melton exploded to a fiery hell, and the furthest simply fell over into a smoking pile of metal. The rightmost Melton took cover, diving and rolling out of the way of the massive blast."CAREFUL! Ugh..."" This is what we get for putting a little girl as a test- !""#@$%ing Asians!" The screams of the crowd watching from the Melton institute as a massive ruin would be displayed before Hikaru, her ears wringing as the old people berated her choice of action. Spoiler Hide Jataka: - Beam Gatling Target "Upper": 4 Regular Hits, 1 Critical Hit - Beam Gatling Target "Armless and Middle": 4 Regular Hits, 5 Critical Hits, 3 Mega Critical Hits - Beam Gatling Target "Lower": 4 Regular Hits Upper Target -2 Head SP -2 Torso SP -1 Left Arm SP Middle Target Power plant Detonation, all combatants roll Notice Check Lower Target -2 Left Arm SP -2 Left Leg SP Ken lion: - Charge action on Upper Melton: 2 Hits Upper Melton Torso Destroyed. Dear: - Full attack with Prank Cutter on Lower Merion: 1 Normal Hit, 1 Critical Hit, 1 Mega Critical Hit Lower Melton Torso Destroyed, Power plant Detonation Adam: - 2 Distortion Punches on Enemy Melton: 1 Critical Hit Enemy Melton Blunt Hit, Torso Destroyed, Melton goes flying back 4 Hexes Origami: - PHOTON BLASTER! Leftmost Enemy: 1 Megacities Hit - PHOTON BLASTER! Topmost Enemy: 1 Critical Hit - PHOTON BLASTER! Middle Enemy: 1 Mega Critical Hit - PHOTON BLASTER! Rightmost Enemy: Miss Leftmost Enemy Power plant Destroyed Topmost Enemy Torso Destroyed Middle Enemy Torso Destroyed Dear Takes 10 Kills of damage to barrier Screen (20/50 Remaining) Ken lion Torso and Head lose 1 kill of Stopping Power. Enemy Phase With the mass destruction of their allies, the enemy Melton acting in rather odd fashion, rather than doing as most conventional soldiers would and fight more conservatively, they rushed in with all the force they could muster. The most threatened target was, of course, the Adam. The first one was the most dangerous, bursting forward at surprising speed, it's spiked club would press against the Distortion field before completely bypassing it, as the torso of the massive super robot would take a heft blow, only prevented by the impressive armor of the Super Robot. Cob would see a rather frightening thing as he looked at his console." Powerplant Struck... No Damage Detected ALL CLEAR." But this meant the distortion field had fallen, and with it, his primary mode of defense. The other charging Melton were barely escaped, but the Adam would fall right into enemy fire, as it lit up his right leg, destroying the GES system in place. Next was the Origami, which found a Melton dashing towards it, and it's club swinging upwards as it leaped as the Origami. It took only a moment to realize the target, it was aiming for the Photon Blaster, and Hikaru barely managed to keep it safe from the coming enemy, given that she was still being distracted by scientists and politicians screaming at her for destroying a healthy part of the city. Spoiler Hide Adam: - 3 Charge Attacks: 1 Critical Hit (Feel very fortunate, that was almost a Megacity) - 1 Club Gatling: 1 Megacity Adam -1 Torso SP -1 Right Leg SP -4 Right Leg Kills -Right Leg GES UPDATE Rely Hart Earth, Sea of Japan, Counter-Aggressor Transport Ship "Benefice"Rely would nod." I'm right behind you. Lead on."((Shortest post ever.)) A grin crossed Kessler's face when the 3 techs went down, sliding his thumb over his chest, fingers curled up into a fist he laughed a deranged laugh through his comm."HAHA! Hit'em Dead center." He spoke before hearing Ella's message a little too late, glancing back taking her information into consideration he ground his teeth seeing that he'd made a bit of a bit of an error in his assumptions." Mmm..." He said pulling back trying to escape the blast zone of the reactor's explosion hoping he wasn't too late. Notice Check:Spoiler Hide Notice Check: 8+10+5 = 23 Awareness Letting his eyes slide towards his monitor though, Kessler exhaled in thought seeing Adam taking some serious damage, He couldn't allow that to continue." My my, south side Victor, someone's taking on the world, let's not let them go without a fight mm?" Kessler suggested before pushing his controls to the side making the gun hawk screech again before flapping its wings to scream through he skies approaching the group surrounding Adam before firing down into the group from above with his Gatling guns as he had before with the last group hoping not to attack another generator. Movement:Spoiler Hide 1 Vertical Hex upwards, 8 Hexes southwest Attack Action:Spoiler Hide Burst fire using linked wing Gatling guns across the 3 units surrounding Adam from above Rolls: Eastern most: 10+10+3-1 = 22 Accuracy Middle: 9+10+3-1 = 21 Accuracy Western most: 6+10+3-1 = 18 Accuracy After firing his attack off, Kessler would sigh heavily before pulling back on his controls again to try to escape enemy line of fire by retreating into the air once more and pulling back. Movement:Spoiler Hide 1 Vertical Hex upwards, 2 Hexes North With a sly grin, Eve chuckled through her radio sliding a lock of hair over her ear." Honey honey, if you're going to get so flustered over that much y'er going to make this less fun for me." She retorted powering up the jump system again with a breath. Combat Jumping Active--"With that phrase, the Devi would disappear in another flash of light, appearing next to the Origami mid-swing wielding the prank cutter to hack away at the enemy much's chest once before reversing her grip to swing back across it across through again. With a soft laugh, Eve settled in her cockpit a bit more glad to see the Devi sleeve was still holding up properly." Make sure you get to a safe distance, I'm going to hack them apart, and I can't garment they won't explode. I like to play the hero sometimes, don't mind me." She joked preparing for the next wave that would soon approach by moving to shield Hikaru from ranged fire from the west.Checks:Spoiler Hide Explosion Check [1D10 + Intelligence + Awareness camp; Notice](10+10+0 = 20 Notice) Movement:Spoiler Hide Teleportation 7 MA to the Northern side of the Origami (Northwestern side of the closest enemy unit), set facing to Northeast upon finishing attack phase. Rolls:Spoiler Hide 1st Attack (Torso) Roll [1D10 + Reflex + 1WA - 4MV](4+10+1-4 = 11 Accuracy) 2nd Attack (Torso) Roll [1D10 + Reflex + 1WA - 4MV](10+10+1-4 = 17 Accuracy) Seeing the enemy Me begin to explode Victor tries to maneuver the Ken lion out of the blast radius, but still takes a hit or two to the body." Blast it, these things are walking bombs! Wonderful!" Spoiler Hide Notice Check: (1d10+11)[13] Having braced for the resulting retaliation, he's glad to see that the closest group of enemy Mess got torn to pieces between them. It seemed however that another Me had gotten itself in to trouble. Letting out a loud Leona roar, Victor activates the propulsion and dashes forward to help the outnumbered Me. Dashing to the side of the easternmost Me, he again lashes the Me with the giant bladed tail of the Ken lion. Spoiler Hide Action 1: Movement/Attack: Change facing to SW, advance 7 hexes. Change facing to South, advance 3 hexes all as part of Charge Action. Attack Roll: (1d10+8)[14] Called Shot Arm Servo that's carrying the Melee weapon. 18 Kills damage, Piercing and Disruptor. After settling from the lash of his tail, Victor quickly assesses the situation, knowing that his greatest strength lay in hit-and-run tactics, and the overwhelming assault capacity of this amazing Me he was piloting. Letting out a whoop over the comms, he slashes in with one of the Me's claws weapons. Spoiler Hide Action 2: If the Me that was originally attack is still standing, I'll attack the same one. If not, I'll use my final two hexes of movement to move through that enemy Me's hex to get to the southernmost Me. Attack Roll: (Rolled in IOC) Hyper Beam Lance, Called Shot to Leg Servos, 8 Kills Damage + Hyper. Hikaru grunts with disgust. This is turning out to be a bad day. Yeah, using the Blaster in the city was probably a bad idea, but who designs a weapon with that wide of an attack angle and then orders it into a city? At least she got the enemies' attention. Lifting off, she aims the Photon Laser at one of the enemy units on Adam. Spoiler Hide Awareness - (1d10+11)[15] (I just realized that my character sheet has the wrong modifier on it) 1st Action: Liftoff. Jump up to Alt 3, turn to face South (is there an option to make those facing markers a little more noticeable?) 2nd Action: Photon Laser whatever enemy to the south looks weakest. They're all within Combat Range, so no range penalty. Attack - (1d10+9)[10]-4 = 6 Location - (1d10)[6] Right limb (if the enemy fails harder) Eric Calder Nodding in reply, Eric begins a quick tour of the ship. The two don't get further than the Mechanic Bay, however, when one of the crew approaches with a message." Excuse me a moment Miss Hart,"he says while walking over to the ship's intercom.[Attention All Crew: This is Lieutenant Calder. I've just been informed the institute where we were to retrieve the DFTT-01 is under attack. Complete all tasks and prepare for immediate departure. I repeat. Prepare for Immediate Departure.] Hanging up the intercom he turns back to Rely." Miss Hart could you grab Mr. Albedo and then ready your Mecca in the Mechanics Bay. I need to check with the pilot about our current course." Spoiler Hide Leaving for the bridge of the ship. Will remain there until the safety of the ship is secure within the firefight. While on the bridge, will keep an eye out for a suitable location where Canaan can snipe from. Spoiler Hide Awareness check - (1d10+10)[19] Cobb stares for a moment, aghast at the explosion. "What kinda monster powers Mess like that?! You shoot explosives, ya don't strap 'em to your chest!" As the enemy Mess move into melee range, however, his rumination is cut short by the more pressing matter of self-preservation. "GAS! GES down? POWER PLA...oh, thank God..." He relaxes slightly, however, as his sensors note the approach of his newfound allies. Shifting his stance to place Adam's undamaged leg nearer the three he's currently engaging, Cobb raises his crackling fists once more. "Thanks a million, guys! Don't know how much use I'll be against the enemies that're a ways away, but I'll at least cut through these jerks with you!" After all, can't use the Destructor here... With that, he hurls his fists forward. One smashes through the torso of the westernmost of the enemy Mess, while the other crashes into the southernmost. Leaving the remaining immediate opposition to the Junta and Ken lion, he rushes the next closest, somehow coaxing the thick legs of the Adam into a massive forward leap, using the remaining GES on his left leg to power a brutal flying knee, which regrettably goes dramatically off-course. Where's the rope when ya need it?! Spoiler Hide Attack the left foe. Attack 1 Exploding Dice - (1d10)[3] Attack the southern foe as well, since Hands are Quick. Then, since his normal speed is 3, need to carry out a Drop against the next opponent to the SW, for 6 Kills. Attack 2 - (1d10+7)[8] (using another 2 Luck, then CRT-failing for 10, for a grand total of -2.) Spoiler Hide Bars Above peoples heads signify altitude. Player Phase The screech of the Jataka could be heard as it raced through the sky as it moved with the Ken lion to save the Adam. The speed of these Beasts was somewhat of an awe to the comparatively rather slow Super Robots. They would race across the battlefield, as the Jataka opened up with another full burst of Gatling fire from the sky. The Jataka would rain hell as the Melton would find bolts of light piercing through them at every turn, as explosioned covered two of them, the third darting out of the path of fire. Most noticeably, an explosion would occur in the torso of one of the Melton, yet the eyes would glow and the open torso would reveal, this Melton had no cockpit there at least... One would fall, being absolutely dismembered by the torrent of beams, which is where the Ken lion would step in. As the more evasive Me prepared a counter, he found his arm missing, as the Ken lion severed it from him with the Giant Slayer, and it's mount would glow, as a lance of energy flew from its leg, and right into the leg of the Me, causing it to fall to the ground, as it's entire leg simply melted off... At the same moment, the Dear vanished, as it appeared beside its own target, the sweep of its prank cutter sliding through the torso, the victim falling to the ground as useless scrap... The Adam refused to be out done, as it found the damaged Melton around it ass easy targets, it's fists smashing to one, although it missed, the second cross would put it down, as its leg would whip about, the GES smashing into the falling one-legged Melton, as its torso was splattered across the battlefield, and rendered immovable. Hikari was having a bit of a harder time, as she prepared to fire her Photon laser, taking altitude and turning about. A scream of fright would echo through her comm as she before the leader of the institute pulled him away with an angry growl. The commotion made the rookie twitch, as the Photon Laser blew up a bit of the nearby street." Don't get worked up, Hikaru, we chose you for a reason... just... be more careful in the future. No! She's not aiming at us!" The comm would cut out at Hikaru's relief. Spoiler Hide Jataka: - Beam Gatling Target "Machine man 11": Miss - Beam Gatling Target "Machine man 10": 4 Regular Hits, 5 Critical Hits, 1 Mega Critical Hits - Beam Gatling Target "Machine man 6": 4 Regular Hits, 5 Critical Hits, 6 Mega Critical Hits Machine man 10 -Cockpit Destroyed! (However! Machine man 10 still moves...) -3 Club Kills (Beam Rifle Attachment Destroyed) -1 Head SP -4 Torso SP -1 Left Arm SP Machine man 6 Head Destroyed Torso Destroyed Left Leg Destroyed Right Leg Destroyed Ken lion: - Called Shot Charge Attack Target "Machine man 11": 2 Hits - Called Shot Charge Attack Target "Machine man 11": 3 Hits Machine man 11 Right Arm Destroyed, Club Dropped Left Leg Destroyed, Me falls to the ground Dear: - Prank Blade Attack Target "Machine man 14": 1 Hits - Prank Blade Attack Target "Machine man 14": 1 Megacity Machine man 14 Torso Destroyed Adam: - Attack Target "Machine man 10": 1 Hits - Attack Target "Machine man 11": 1 Hit Machine man 10 Torso Destroyed Machine man 11 Torso Destroyed Origami: - Photon Laser Target "Machine man 5": Miss Reinforcement Phase And salvation arrived, as the supersonic transport Benefice would float down over the institute, it's catapulting each launching the much desired support. The UEC's elite team: The Counter Aggressors. The J-Gunner would safely land upon the roof of the institute, a perfect place for sniping, the Libra Custom and Silhouette would each land at different corners, as the three pilots entered a joint Comm link for communication. The TO of the Benefice would enter as well, briefly. "Leaving battle space, sir!" The transport would rapidly lift upwards, before vanishing from sight, for all save the J-Gunner. Spoiler Hide Everyone, including those who already have, reroll Unit! However, the Ken lion and Jataka would each find their systems detecting what their pilots feared. As Tokyo-2 shook... and a massive beam of energy eradicated part of the flooring to the Earth-Colony, and the Sunderland Army poured in through the cracks, being led by a pair of Tiger-like Beasts, whose pilots happily laughed as they entered the common channels of the comms, letting everyone see them. A man and a woman, each wearing some weird combination of Samurai and Medieval Knight armor. The man spoke first..." Huahahahaha! So, this is the very best Overlanders have to offer? They can't even stop breaking their own toys!"" How depressing, maybe if we wait they'll simply hand over this city to us."" How boring."" How convenient."" So! Overlanders, are you going to hand it over? Far is being pretty generous!" New Enemy Phase The Army would move forward, as they simply tore through everything in their way, the cackling of the man who had just taunted them echoing across the comm channels. Spoiler Hide Assault Raptors Destroy Machine man 7 Take MPs Destroy Machine man 8 Assault Raptor and Take MPs Destroy Machine man 9 Enemy Phase The lone member of the once incredibly dangerous assault party would not seem to care that he had been vastly outnumbered, as the club was lifted upwards, and it ran at the Adam, swinging its club to penetrate the renewed distortion field. Spoiler Hide Machine man 5: - Club Attack Target "Adam": Miss - Club Attack Target "Adam": Miss Updates Spoiler Hide To help with visual aid, I've taken minimaps of the big map. Full Map Minimal 1 Minimal 2 Minimal 3 Cobb grits his teeth as the Sunderland Army's leaders chortle. The remaining Machine man's ineffective charge only grants it two effects: an icy stare from its would-be victim, and a sudden sparking hand through the guts of the machine, tearing out servos and pistons. "Get out of my way." As his stricken victim falls apart, Cobb steps forward, before blasting a bit further, awkwardly, on his off-balanced GES system. He comms the leaders of this weird animal-based Me force directly. "I don't know who you chumps are, but you're going to pay for this destruction." Spoiler Hide Hand attacks vs. Machine man 5. Attack 1 Exploding Dice - (1d10)[7] Then, move SW one hex, and turn NW and move 2 more hexes. "... More? Where are all these guys coming from?" Hikari turns the Origami to engage the new opponents, flying north and firing a massive missile at a group of enemies. Spoiler Hide Initiative: Penalty - (1d10)[8]: 11-8=3 Turn to face NE, fly 2 NE. Fire the left Giant Missile at Take MP 3. Attack - (1d10+9)[11] Hit Locations - (9d10)[10][6][3][8][1][8][10][4][9](59) (if Take MP3 is hit, it takes 10 damage to one location, while the others in the blast take 5 to two) Eric Calder[Engaging Hostiles. Prioritize Supporting Allies already in Combat]Eric states plainly across the comm-link. Curbing his enthusiasm, the yoke of command temporarily felt lifted now that he was in a more familiar environment. Eying the approaching Beasts he immediately selects his first targets. In a blur of movement the Libra-Customzips forward, it's wheels digging up debris and gravel in its wake. With two quick, successive sweeps at the nearby Raptors, twin meridian trails of light arc behind the weapon's path. He wasn't about to waste a bit of time holding back in such a skirmish. Spoiler Hide Free Action: Moving 3 Spaces forward on foot. Position is Southeast of Raptor 0 and North of Raptor 1. Action 1: Attacking Assault Raptor 0 with Distortion Lance. No Penalty Called Shot on Body Servo. M. Melee 1 (18): (1d10+18)[24] Damage: 10 (Weapon) + 3 (Mecca) Action 2: Attacking Assault Raptor 1 with Distortion Lance. No Penalty Called Shot on Body Servo. M. Melee 2 (18): (1d10+18)[20] Damage: 10 (Weapon) + 3 (Mecca) Luck: 3/3 remaining MP: 10/10 remaining {table]Item | Kills | Spaces | Item Type | Effects | Range | WA/DA | DMG/SP | Cost Distortion Lance | 10 | 20 | Melee Weapon | Armor Piercing, Disrupting | 1 | +0 | 10 Kills | 20 [/table] Rely Hart Earth, Japan, Tokyo-2, piloting the SilhouetteRelu would plummet out of the sky, slowing her landing slightly with the Silhouette's gravities. As the Mecca's feet touched the ground, she called out on comms." Relu Hart, Silhouette, entering the battle!" Drawing the saber in her right hand and the rifle in her left, Rely would begin to move forward as she pulled a small cord out from the side of her waist, jacking it into the Silhouette's systems." I've seen more than enough colonies blow up! Like I'll just let you do what you want!" And the Shadow Imager would activate, as nearly a dozen Silhouettes appeared where there once had been one, and Rely's internal systems began rapidly activating the electronic warfare suites. Trying to put aside the fact that this was actually her first time ever piloting a Mecca, and that she was just going off of skills coded into her by the UCC, Rely would rush forward, raising her rifle towards the Gunner Type 2. She would switch to general comms as she took aim, firing." I'll take you on, come on. You'll have to deal with me if you want to see anyway." Actions:Spoiler Hide Rely will advance 5 Hexes SW and activates the Silhouette's Shadow Imager. The Silhouette fires a called shot with the Short Rifle at Gunner Type 2's main sensors. Rely's IA successfully activates the Silhouette's onboard sensor jamming EWS defensively. Rely's IA successfully activates Rely's personal sensor jamming EWS offensively, targeting the Gunner Type 2. Dice Rolls (rolled in IOC):Spoiler Hide Initiative: (1d10+14)[23] Defensive Sensor Jamming (DC 13, using Mecca suite) - (1d10+20)[28] Offensive Sensor Jamming (DC 19, using personal suite) - (1d10+20)[21], spending 1 luck to boost to 22 and no CRT fail. 5 Luck remaining. Called Shot (Short Rifle targeting sensors on Gunner Type 2, -5) - (1d10+8)[15] Luck Remaining: 5/6 Systems Check: All Green Initiative: 9+5+10 = 24His sensors letting him know the ground cracked, Kessler's eyes slid towards his monitor to see just how many of them managed to come through to the surface. After a short while, his eyes would slide towards the silhouette while he firmed his resolve flipping on his com to try to reach Ella." They're here, it might be a bit more difficult to keep that promise now--"He spoke deadening the link before pushing his controls forward. Watching the others begin to collect around the much beast, Kessler hesitated"Wait, don't approach them too carelessly, the rappers will be cannon fodder, focus the intense fire on the bit ones. Iron horns will have the thickest armor, Takes should be relatively easy all things considered--"Kessler tried to inform what he could remember from his experience in the underworld. Sliding his palms over his controls pushing his own Take forward still he steeled himself. Movement:Spoiler Hide Moving 3 Hexes South west above the Lehman. When the gun hawk was in position, Kessler coaxed his controls forward flipping open a small cover to reveal a button beneath it pressing it with a dark smirk causing the Gun hawk's eyes to glow before firing a beam outwards towards the enemy Takes. Attack Actions:Spoiler Hide Eye lasers to the closest 2 Take MP units Rolls: Northern Take: 9+10+1-1 = 19 Accuracy Western most: 7+10+1-1 = 17 Accuracy When he finished, Kessler cracked his neck in both directions before letting his deformed tongue slide from his lips with a dark laugh and grin." Hey smart ass, if you and Far want this city, you can come over here and pry it from my cold disfigured fingers." Kessler taunted with a dark grin sliding back into his seat wondering if they'd take his bait and try to chase him through the city. Curling the hair behind her ears, Eve closed her eyes halfway with a lazy expression seeing the two on the monitor." Oh honey, you shouldn't stress yourself with controlling cities and conquering worlds, it's such a drab way to spend an afternoon... Why not curl up with someone sweet and enjoy the warmth of a fireplace mm?" Eve asked with a small smile through half closed eyes as she glanced to Hikaru's actions." Careful cupcake~ I'll be heading out to take care of the baddies~"Eve whispered before flipping the switch." Combat Jumping, be careful everyone." She warned before the Devi disappeared in another flash of light reappearing near the raptors. Taking a few steps, Eve grinned directing the Devi's prank Cutter to slash across the Rapper unit's body servo once then back through again. Movement:Spoiler Hide Teleportation 8 Hexes West, Move 2 Hexes North west to Assault Raptor 4's North Eastern Hex. Rolls:Spoiler Hide Initiative: [1D10 + Piloting + Reflex](10+5+10 = 25 initiative) 1st Attack Roll [1D10 + Reflex + 1WA - 4MV](9+10+1-4 = 16 Accuracy) 2nd Attack Roll [1D10 + Reflex + 1WA - 4MV](7+10+1-4 = 14 Accuracy) Watching the ground open up around them, Victor had a sinking feeling he knew what was happening. When his sensors confirmed it, he knew all too well the fight that had come to them." Kessler, it looks like things just got a lot more interesting. Let's see what we can do about that!" Giving his pendant a quick rub of his thumb for good luck, Victor ques up the public channel. "I am Victor Program Prometheus. Only son of Ivan and Camille Prometheus. I know who you are, and now you know who I am. Let's do this." While speaking, he ups the power he was feeding to the GES. There's a lot of distance to cover, but he swears he'll be the first to strike this new foe. Spoiler Hide Initiative: (1d10+11)[12] (Mecca Reflexes: 5, Piloting: 6)+1 Luck(7/8 Left) Dashing forward, he takes stock of the weapons available to him. This Ken lion was a superb piece of Me, and was literally armed to the teeth. With all the choice had to him, it was going to be fun testing some of them out. Seeing the layout of the battle through his sensor feed, he decides that a charge on the Iron Horn was best since the Gunner was just out of his reach. Spoiler Hide Action1: Move: Change facing to SW, charge west 18 hexes to end up adjacent to the Iron Horn. Shock Blade Attack: Charging attack, 18 hexes moved: Much-Reflex(5)+Much Fighting/Melee(4)+Charging(-2)+Shock Blade MA(+0)+Distance(-1) (1d10+6)[14] Damage: 18 Kills, Shock, Called shot to Torso servo (free)! One round left of charge. Spoiler Hide Action 2: Move: N/A Hyper Beam Lance Attack: (1d10+10)[13] Damage: 8 Kills, Hyper BMW, Called shot to head servo (free) Spoiler Hide Melton Order Libra Custom Dear Jataka Silhouette Ken lion Adam J-Gunner Origami Player Phase The Libra Custom would fly forward as its wheels kicked up the bits of debris underneath, it was light and inconsequential to the Libra Custom, it flew forward, as the Distortion Lance it carried would sling off the back, and the monitor of the elite unit would light up." Equipment Registered: Distortion Lance." The lance was huge, and a normal Libra unit never could have wielded such a thing. However, the Custom had the increased strength of a prototype, being a command unit. As such, the lance would simply drive through the first raptor, as its distortion field hummed and the raptor completely split apart, vibrating as a bit before a massive hole would be shown through its chest, and the Custom whipped around as the lance was pulled out, spun in a 180˚ arc and smashed into the chest of the other At the same time, the Dear vanished as it appeared next to one of the Assault Raptors, her Prank blade came down... only to find the Raptor June to the left, and then duck the horizontal swing she'd intended as a finishing blow. It was absurd, these things moved nothing like the others, and the screech of the raptor would echo through her Super Robot. The Jataka would move forward next, leading what would be the second of a rather upsetting development. Seeing two of the mass-produced Take types, Kessler went for them as he soared forward, and his eye lasers flew out through the sky, only to be seemingly casually evaded, as both Take types flapped once and their Beasts soared upwards, away from the deadly rays, the comms gloated." That idiot in the stolen prototype doesn't understand how to work a Take at all!" The Silhouette advanced next, silently sweeping through the air, as Rely's inner workers would activate the EWS. A flash came across her visual display as the targeted Gunner would show signs of successful infiltration, despite its defenses. The Shadow Imager worked flawlessly, while Rely knew what was true or illusion, the reacting Beasts clearly failed to make the distinction. Raising the short rifle, the girl would see hear the comm echoing Far's voice." Impressive, but pointless, my Gunner is the pride of our clan. Overlander, you are incapable of scratching it!" The rifle fired, from all the images, but despite it, the MrBeast simply jumped to the side, growling as the beam hit the bit of road that once occupied the Gunner. Sweeping by the Silhouette was the Ken lion, as it's full GES lit up, and it simply flew past the enemy units, and charged at the Iron Fang, his comm would open with Far's face in it just as she completed her landing. "So, you are the heir to that family. Your parents' work was really quite useful, perhaps you would like to see it in action. Join our cause." Her eyes narrowed as the Ken lion's charge would embed the shock blade into the torso of the Iron Horn. Electricity ran through it before it simply fell to the ground. It didn't seem inactive, though. As Cobb would spill his anger at the Underlanders, his only response would be the male commander's laugh, as he dealt with the Machine man. There was no more patience for the original invaders, as the Adam simply dove its fist into the chest of the Melton, ripping back with bits of metal falling to the ground. Advancing forward would be slow and difficult, despite Cobb's intense desire to exact justice on this new army. The J-Gunner raised its heavy sniping rifle at the approaching army, the pilot would merely nod, as he quietly looked through the digital scope and assessed targets. These dingbats were pretty light, and quite capable, not to mention one of them being far too close to the facility, and his sniping point. His finger would twitch, as a bullet found itself through the chest of the Assault Raptor, as bits of the cockpit spilled into the ground. Changing his angle, the J-Gunner pointed the sniper at the blinded Gunner, waiting a moment, before firing... yet despite all his skills, the tiger bot simply ducked, as it evaded what would be a headshot. Taking of up the rear of the group, as seemed to be the usual case lately, the Origami floated off a bit as it released the powerful missile stowed within the Origami's left leg. The shot was a bit off, but true enough for the desired effect, as a massive explosion shook the surrounding Beasts. None of them went down, but their attention was clearly shifted. Spoiler Hide Libra Custom: - Distortion Lance Target "Assault Raptor 0": Megacity - Distortion Lance Target "Assault Raptor 1": Normal Hit Assault Raptor 0 -Torso Destroyed Assault Raptor 1 -Torso Destroyed Dear: - Prank Blade Target "Assault Raptor 4": Miss - Prank Blade Target "Assault Raptor 4": Miss Jataka: - Eye Lasers Target "Take MP 4": Miss - Eye Lasers Target "Take MP 0": Miss Silhouette: - EWS Target "Gunner Type 2": Success vs ECCM - Short Rifle Target "Gunner Type 2": Miss Ken lion: - Shock Blade Target "Iron Horn 1": Normal Hit Iron Horn 1 Pilot Killed Adam: - Punch Target "Machine man 5": Megacity - Punch Target "Machine man 5": Miss Machine man 5 Cockpit Destroyed Torso Destroyed J-Gunner: - Heavy Sniper Target "Assault Raptor 2": CRT - Heavy Sniper Target "Gunner Type 2": Miss Assault Raptor 2 Cockpit Destroyed Origami: - Giant Missile Target "Take MP 3": Miss Take MP 3 -2 Torso SP -4 Torso Kills Take MP 5 -1 Head SP -1 Left Leg SP Assault Raptor 3 -1 Torso SP -1 Left Leg SP Gunner Type 1 -1 Torso SP -1 Tail SP New Enemy Phase The coming assault from the Underlanders would be intense, with only Eric having seen war in this kind of intensity before. They were good, far better than the Machine men from before. The first one to deal with it, was also the most capable. The remaining assault raptor from before would charge towards the Libra Custom, firing a beam cannon from its tail, only to see the Custom not only step out of the way, but three small bits flying from its back, as they formed a triangle, and the beam was reflected backwards, right through the raptor's chest, and through the cockpit. The Dear found quite a bit of hate coming it's way, as Eve pulled back on the controls just in time to step out of the way of the Iron Horn's Heavy Beam Gatling fire. The raptor she'dd failed to cut down swept behind her and clawed at her back, as the Dear twirled back and barely evaded the glowing blades of the claws. The remaining raptor fired it's beam cannon at her, but Eve seemed to be in a groove, casually sliding her Super Robot to the side, evading what would be more trouble for her Barrier Screen. The three Take types which had taunted Kessler closed in, as a massive spray of beams would flow forward. Bright green lights flooding the area, but the Jataka want just a prototype, it was superior. It slid through the green beams, spinning and flapping its body as inches away came deadly light. Faru's Gunner would rush forward as the Take types flew, and it slid behind the Silhouette with expert piloting, the rifle atop it, would glow as it charged, and a massive torrent of green energy flew from it, completely enveloping the Silhouette as the area about it seemed to go to ruin... only for the Silhouette to vanish, as one of its Shadows died. Far's blow, while devastating, devastated the wrong Silhouette." How annoying... at this rate the colony will be destroyed before we can finish our duel." Victor would find its defeat of the Iron Horn bittersweet, as three Raptors closed in, each firing a beam of green energy from their tails. The Ken lion was easily fast enough to evade the first and last, but caught in between them, green light pierced through the chest of the Ken lion. The cockpit wasn't penetrated, and the power plant was functional, but another hit like that, and it was all over. Canaan was being overwhelmed. Everyone hated snipers, and these beasts seemed smart enough to go for him the first chance they had. Three beams of green light flew through the AKY, as they battered the facilities roof, two of the beams sliding through, one smashing into the J-Gunners head as another broke into his leg, sending the J-Gunner to the ground, but still functional. Still, nothing was as devastating as the situation the Origami found it in. The Gunner from before had beelined for her, as it's GES lit up, and it flew across the battlefield, and got to her back. It jumped, it's claws slicing through the back of the Origami, as it tore out wires and shards of metal. Hikaru's monitor would flash red as she found her controls of the Origami escaping her."EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! THRUSTER MALFUNCTION! THRUSTER MAL-"And everything went dark for a split second before the Origami's thrusters would fly to life as she was flung forward. Her comm showed that annoying male commander as he smirked at her." Big guns are nothing if you don't have a warrior-knight's burning heart!" Spoiler Hide Libra Custom: - Assault Raptor 5 attacks "Libra Custom": Miss (Double 10s) - Beam Cannon Redirect: CRT Assault Raptor 5 -Cockpit Destroyed Dear: - Iron Horn 2 attacks "Dear": Miss - Assault Raptor 4 attacks "Dear": Miss - Assault Raptor 3 attacks "Dear": Miss Jataka: -T aka MP 0 attacks "Jataka": Miss -T aka MP 0 attacks "Jataka": Miss -T aka MP 0 attacks "Jataka": Miss Silhouette: - Gunner Type 2 attacks "Silhouette": Megacity (Shadow Hit) Ken lion: - Assault Raptor 6 attacks Ken lion": Miss - Assault Raptor 7 attacks Ken lion": Normal Hit - Assault Raptor 8 attacks Ken lion": Miss Ken lion -1 Torso SP -4 Torso Kills J-Gunner: -T aka MP 1 attacks "J-Gunner": Normal Hit -T aka MP 1 attacks "J-Gunner": Miss -T aka MP 1 attacks "J-Gunner": Normal Hit June -1 Head SP -5 Head Kills -1 Right Leg SP -1 Right Leg Kills Prone, requires action to get up. Origami: - Gunner Type 1 attacks "Origami": Megacity Origami -1 Torso SP -10 Torso Kills Thruster Malfunction, can only move max speed forward next turn Updates Spoiler Hide Full Map Minimal 1 Minimal 2 Rely Hart Earth, Japan, Tokyo-2, piloting the SilhouetteRelu wasn't overly concerned with missing a difficult shot like that. It was her first time ever actually firing a Mecca weapon, after all. And she was shooting at a leader. Never mind the fact that she had all sorts of skills programmed into her, that sort of thing didn't really change anything in her mind." You'll fall long before this colony does!" Drawing the Silhouette's saber in its unoccupied left hand, Rely would spin around, hopping up and over her opponent with her Gravities, continuing her twirl in midair as she landed perfectly behind the Gunner Type 2, slashing at its behind with four quick slashes. Actions:Spoiler Hide All rolls are in the IOC. IA will maintain both EWS. Charge. Silhouette will turn around for 1 MA, fly behind the Gunner Type 2 for 2 MA, and turn back around for 1 MA. Attack with the Slim Saber from behind. Quick. Charge Saber Attack 1 on Gunner Type 2: (1d20+11)[12] - 1 = 11 Charge Saber Attack 2 on Gunner Type 2: (1d20+11)[18] Attack. The Silhouette attacks the Gunner Type 2 from behind with the Slim Saber. Quick. Saber attack 1 on Gunner Type 2: (1d10+13)[19] Saber attack 2 on Gunner Type 2: (1d10+13)[17] All melee attacks are aimed at the head until destroyed, then aimed at the torso. Luck Remaining: 5/6 Images Remaining: 9 vs Gunner Type 2 Systems Check: All Green Cobb Kaiser, Tokyo-2, piloting Adam "Too slow. Too Slow. TOO SLOW!" Cobb rages in his cockpit, as the battle is joined without him."... Wait. Looks like the damage's mostly to the exhaust ports. So, if I were to reroute it to the engine exhaust..." Cob opens up his control panel, cranks a few levers, then experimentally turns the key labeled 'GES Right Drive'. He is rewarded with the Hume of jets slowly activating." Aww, yeah!" Turning around, the Adam takes a few steps before launching into the air, moving to the southwest as quickly as it had at the start of the fight. Now, however, nothing blasts out of the right GES's outputs; the jet flame instead comes from a large engine exhaust port on the back of the Adam's torso. Cobb turns on his speakers, loud enough to make the very air around his much shudder, and once more comms the commanders, a manic glint in his eye." Laugh while ya can, chuckle heads. I'M COMIN'!" Spoiler Hide Jury Rig to get the GES temporarily back online. Jury Rig - (1d10+14)[19], spending 1 Luck to reach the DC of 20. Then, free move to turn SW, and Action to move 6 hexes southwest. Eric Calder Earth, Japan, Tokyo-2. Piloting Libra-Custom Shaking bits of debris free from his weapon, Eric scopes out the rapidly shifting battlefield. Turning abruptly he dashes after one of the fleeing Raptors. His monitor's display flashing orange with targeting data and approach vectors.[Two Hostiles Down. Pursuing New Targets]Spinning the spear across the palm of the Libra's hand he targets the Raptor and nearby Take MP, slashing upward at each with the Distortion Lance's meridian blade. Spoiler Hide Free Action: Using 1 Move to turn around, 2 to move forward, and 1 to turn and face north for a total of 4 MA. Positioned Southeast of Assault Raptor and Southwest of Take MP. Action 1: Attacking Assault Raptor with Distortion Lance. No Penalty Called Shot on Body Servo. M. Melee 1 (18): (1d20+18)[38] Damage: 10 (Weapon) + 3 (Mecca) Action 2: Attacking Take MP with Distortion Lance. No Penalty Called Shot on Body Servo. M. Melee 2 (18): (1d20+18)[37] Damage: 10 (Weapon) + 3 (Mecca) Luck: 3/3 remaining MP: 10/10 remaining {table]Item | Kills | Spaces | Item Type | Effects | Range | WA/DA | DMG/SP | Cost Distortion Lance | 10 | 20 | Melee Weapon | Armor Piercing, Disrupting | 1 | +0 | 10 Kills | 20 [/table] "That was a lucky shot, jerk!" Hikari struggles with the thruster controls, trying to regain control after the unexpected burn. Spoiler Hide All I can do is move as per the blasted cinematic hit rule. As the Iron Horn drops from the Shock Blades strike, Victor cheers,"Yes! That's how we do it!" Just then the Assault Raptors open up with their beams, causing him to engage in evasive maneuvers." Aww man, I can't even enjoy one sweet kill without someone interrupting me? I don't think so!" Putting the Ken lion in to a Defensive Posture Zeta...of which he had no idea what it meant...he reads his internal displays." Torso's been shot halfway to hell, but power plant is still online and functional. Propulsion, check! Weapons, check! We're still running hot!" Looking at the sensor readouts, Victor realizes one other thing...he was the only one to take on the Assault Raptors." Just the way I like it. Let's see what these things can do!" Queing up the Ken lion's systems he plots the attack vectors he's hoping to accomplish and punches the GES again." Plenty of spare parts for us Kessler!" Spoiler Hide Action 1: Move+Charge: Alright, changing facing to SE (2 hex), moving forward 2 hexes, then changing facing to SW (1 hex), moving forward 4 hexes, changing facing to N (1 hex) and charging in to Assault Raptor 8. I'm assuming I only get the bonus Kills from distance traveled in a straight line. Hyper Beam (Last Round Active) Lance Attack Roll: (1d10+8)[18] +7(exploding dice) = 25 Damage: 9 Kills, Hyper, Called shot - Torso Alarms blaring at him that there wasn't much power left to keep the Beam Lance going, he figured now would be the best time to utilize it. Dashing in a wide loop, he brings the Ken lion in for a charge on one of the Raptors. With a great leap at the end of his charge, Victor calls the Ken lion to bring the Beam Lance across the chest of the Raptor, hoping to tear at something vital. Once landed the Ken lion takes a sharp right, and charges the opposite sides Raptor, trying to keep their attention drawn. Spoiler Hide Action 2: Move and Charge: Changing facing to NE (1 hex) and charging in 3 hexes Beam Lance Attack Roll: (1d10+10)[20] -2(Charge WA) +9(exploding dice) = 27 Damage: 9 Kills, Hyper, Called Shot - Torso Servo A sly grin crossed Kessler's face as his tongue slid along his burnt lips again." Maybe I'm not trying to take on the world like you think I am hm?" He mumbled to himself gathering his concentration while he continued licking his lips with a dark deranged expression that helped him focus." If I can't pilot a Take properly why don't I pilot your Take for you!!! Kessler shouted as a ripple shot through his pay lens growing focused by it causing Kessler's eyes to darken over. Reaching out through his mind, with the help of the pay lens, Kessler attempted to grab the Northern most Take, If successful, he would drag it through the air smashing it into the other two Take, first one, then the other. Before turning his own machine northwards to try to escape the destruction. Attack Action:Spoiler Hide Using Take MP4, Ram the southern Take, Take MP 0 by traveling 4 MA in a circle to crash into it, then crash into Take MP 2 with the same strategy. Movements: Spoiler Hide 1 Hex North east, South East, South and South west. Then 1 Hex north, North west, North west and South MP 4: 10+3+9 = 22 Accuracy MP 0: 10+3+10 = 23 Accuracy MP 4: 10+3+6 = 19 Accuracy Movement:Spoiler Hide 3 Hexes North Letting out a soft breath from the horrid shooting of those around her, Eve leaned back in the cockpit." Oh dear, I can't exactly let all of this continue now can I~"Eve thought out loud through her comm, seeing the squad of Takes flying over head, Eve yawned flipping the switch for combat jumping again while the Dear navigated around the raptor that'd attacked her. Looking up into the sky, she chuckled." Combat Jumping now--"With a flash of light, her much would suddenly appear beside the easternmost Take. Her shield at the ready, she grinned trying to slash through each of the Take's wings with the Prank blade. Movement:Spoiler Hide Move 1 Hex north-east and 1 Hex south-east then Teleportation to the southeastern side of Take MP 1. Rolls:Spoiler Hide 1st Attack Roll [1D10 + Reflex + 1WA - 4MV](9+10+1-4 = 16 Accuracy) 2nd Attack Roll [1D10 + Reflex + 1WA - 4MV](5+10+1-4 = 12 Accuracy) Player Phase The battle continued, with the Libra Custom moving onto his next target. It seemed to be growing calmer, but with still so many enemies now was not the time to relax. The Custom flew forward as a green flash was all the Assault Raptor would see as the tip of the distortion lance grazed through the MrBeast. It was enough, as the field generated and a massive gash was left through the machine's chest. The Custom's thrusters would ignite as Eric pushed his Melton to the sky, where his lance would drive into the torso of the Take near him. As he landed the Take would simply crash to the ground as a useless heap. Eve would see the Take targeting their friendly sniper, as the Dear would push off the ground, running forward, before vanishing. Appearing next to one of the Take types, with the blue light of thrusters burning about it, the prank blade flew up to eliminate the foe, but it failed, as much as their land based relatives, these Beasts were light, and much more maneuverable than the Dear. A second swipe showed no more effect outside attracting attention away from the sniper and to the giant and quite dangerous machine attacking now. The Jataka would glow as Kessler saw the entire cockpit glow with a purple light, his displays would all seem to fade into the light as well, as he could feel energy being drawn from his body."PSYCHO DRIVER ACTIVATED." The now glowing Take would screech as a wave would seem to take the enemy mass-produced version, the pilot who had been jeering at Kessler's piloting before." W...what the hell is this! Nobody said it could do this!" The Take would smash into another, as an explosion confirmed a detonated power plant, and the rather damaged Take would be used as a club once more, as it aimed for the last remaining of the squad. The pilot, recovering from shock attempted to avoid, but the left wing was hit, as it crashed into the ground, and the TK-traumatized Take would crash as a heap of scrap, the successive ramming having destroyed it. Relu was currently engaged more so than anyone as her visual sensors focused on the battle at hand. The Silhouette would flow through the air, no thrust, no disturbance, it simply moved calmly and swiftly as it floated behind its target, and the slim saber was drawn, as two stabbing motions would fly down, the first one being expertly evaded, as the second one flying true as the blade would pierce the armor, and Rely got the satisfaction of seeing the beam inside the Gunner's head, but it wasn't enough, that armor was incredibly strong. As the Silhouette moved for a more conventional blow, she found the Gunner back away from a vertical slice and duck under a horizontal slash." To land a blow like that on me... What is your name, child? You should not be fighting for overlanders with the warrior's heart you hold. Join us, and we can avoid these senseless battles." The Ken lion would soar through the raptors as Victor pushed it, and let the Hyper Beam Lance glow from it's holding on his mounts. Pushing forward, the lance would impale the chest of one of the raptors, and he could feel the Ken lion MOE almost on its own, as he swerved back around, the lance flying through the next. Ella's voice flow through his cockpit." You are reaching your limits, don't take it easy, Victor. These enemies, they are after you remember!" The Adam would roar to life as the jury-rigging would complete, and Cobb could feel the power of his Super Robot being restored along with its movement capabilities. In an example of it's power, the Adam roared across the battlefield, must as the Take hit the ground. The eyes upon the super robot would glow briefly, as it leapt up into the air, and dropped onto the fallen Take, crushing it to slag, as the Adam rose again, preparing for his next enemy. The J-Gunner would move back a bit as the roar of battle flew about the field, and he saw one of the Take types go down, taking the initiative from the Libra Custom and Dear, Canaan pulled his digital scope over his eyes, as his finger twitched and an explosion could be heard, the silent cry of a Take without its head, quickly moving to his next target, the boy smirked at the idea of such a headshot, before pulling the trigger again, the torso of the remaining Take Squad exploding as it fell to the ground. The Origami, unfortunately, flew across the battlefield before Hikaru and the Origami's AI could repair the thrusters, floating, now in quite a different location. Her torso had become critically damaged, and another blow like that was going to be it for her, and her new Super Robot. Spoiler Hide Libra Custom: - Distortion Lance Target "Assault Raptor 4": CRT - Distortion Lance Target "Take MP 3": CRT Assault Raptor 4 -Torso Destroyed Take MP 3 -Torso Destroyed Dear: - Prank Blade Target "Take MP 1": Miss - Prank Blade Target "Take MP 1": Miss Jataka: - TK Attack Target "Take MP 4": Success - TK Ram Target "Take MP 0": Megacity - TK Ram Target "Take MP 2": Megacity Take MP 0 Power plant Destroyed Take MP 2 Grounded Left Wing Destroyed Take MP 4 Torso Destroyed Silhouette: - Charge Attack Target "Gunner Type 2": Miss - Charge Attack Target "Gunner Type 2": Hit - Slim Saber Target "Gunner Type 2": Miss - Slim Saber Target "Gunner Type 2": Miss Gunner Type 2 -1 Head SP -5 Head Kills Ken lion: - Charge Attack Target "Assault Raptor 8": CRT - Charge Attack Target "Assault Raptor 6": Megacity Assault Raptor 6 Torso Destroyed Assault Raptor 8 Torso Destroyed Adam: - Drop Attack Target "Take MP 2": Megacity Take MP 2 Torso Destroyed J-Gunner: - Heavy Sniper Target "Take MP 1": Hit - Heavy Sniper Target "Take MP 5": CRT Take MP 1 Head Destroyed Feather Defense Pierced Take MP 5 Cockpit Destroyed New Enemy Phase The enemy counterattack was absurd, as the Gunner's pilot laughed manically, as all units near him would receive a warning."ENEMY ENERGY CAPACITY RISING." A massive spray of green light would flood the space about the Melton, as two Beasts were reduced to burnt slag and the Origami received another brutal blow as a beam smashed into the back of the head as the Super Robot had finally seemed to have regained some control. A diagram would show for Hikaru, with the head glowing red for a moment, before returning to green." I-FIELD OPERATIONAL. CRITICAL DAMAGE RETURNED TO MINIMAL." The Libra Custom was saved a crippling blow, as bits would fly out, redirecting the blast into the street nearby, and the Dear's Barrier screen would take the blast in its entirety, although it's ability to protect the Super Robot was quickly fading from existence. In all the commotion the tiger me still managed to close in, as it raised a claw to sheer the Libra Custom's face off, Eric saw it coming, swerving his Melton about as the claw only swiped air. The general comms were aflame with the display as Far's normally calm demeanor had been destroyed as well."MALE! What were you thinking! Grid, Solo.... You just killed them!"" It's hardly a concern, these Overlanders are getting to be a pain, just finish yours off and help me take out the rest. They weren't going to survive this fight with you playing with that kid, anyway." There was no response, as the Gunner's GES would ignite and the command unit slipped away from Rely, as it raced about, and smashed towards the Ken lion. The Lion Me barely evaded the blow, but it was just an opening, as the massive cannon on the Gunner screamed with green light, completely enveloping the Ken lion." Sorry... but... you need to DIE!" The Ken lion was crippled, for certain, as its Torso was being held together by hope and pixie dust. It might stay put if it didn't rain. That didn't mean more couldn't come, while the Ken lion was still operable, it had lost the Armor Piercing Blade on it's tail, and it found more green light coming for it, as it swiftly evaded a bolt from the nearby Assault Raptor, only to take a second to the left foreleg as it tried to jump away. Blaring red screens were popping up all over the cockpit as alarms screamed at Victor."TORSO AT CRITICAL DAMAGE! FULL FRAME DAMAGE! LEFT FORELEG AT CRITICAL DAMAGE! Spoiler Hide Gunner Type 1: - Forgone Blitz target "Area": Miss (Libra Custom), Megacity (Assault Raptor), Megacity (Take MP), Hit (Dear), CRT (Origami), Hit (Iron Horn) - Charge Attack Target "Libra Custom": Miss Assault Raptor Torso Destroyed Take MP Torso Destroyed Iron Horn -1 Torso SP -4 Torso Kills Libra Custom Deflected Dear -14 Barrier Seen Kills Origami -1 Head SP Gunner Type 2: - Charge Attack Target "Ken lion": Miss - Mega Particle Cannon Target "Ken lion": CRT Ken lion -1 Head SP -1 Torso SP -1 Left Foreleg SP -1 Left Hindley SP -1 Right Foreleg SP -1 Right Hindley SP -1 Tail SP -1 Head Kill -2 Torso Kill -1 Left Foreleg Kill -1 Left Hindley Kill -1 Right Foreleg Kill -1 Right Hindley Kill -1 Tail Kill Armor Piercing Blade Destroyed Iron Horn 2: - Super Beam Gatling "Dear": Miss - Super Beam Gatling "Dear": Miss Assault Raptor 7: - Tail Beam target "Ken lion": Hit Ken lion -1 Left Foreleg SP -5 Left Foreleg Kills Updates Spoiler Hide Full Map Minimal 1 Minimal 2 Cobb Kaiser, Tokyo-2, piloting Adams Cobb gets up from crushing the last of the southern Take force, he manages to glimpse the Ken lion nearly getting vaporized by the Gunner's main cannon. His rage rather quickly becomes fear for the brave soul who had protected him against the Machine men. It seemed that now, the time had come to return the favor. After running a short distance toward the Gunner's flank, he once more turns on the GES, and launches himself directly at the command much. Just before contact, Cobb launches the Adam up, to perform a mighty dropkick against his newest target. "OI! COMMAND BOY! THAT'S... MY LINE!" Immediately after his dynamic entry, the Adam lowers a shoulder, and rushes forward, trying to spear the Gunner back, and shake up the pilot a bit. "LION GUY! GET YOURSELF OUT OF HERE!" Spoiler Hide Free move one hex SW, turn NW, and move adjacent to Gunner Type 2, performing a Drop. Attack - (1d10+5)[9] for 8 Kills against the Gunner type 2. Then, Slam, to try to prevent him from being able to attack too much. Since the Adam is likely heavier than the Gunner, I'm assuming no penalties to the attack. Slam Attack - (1d10+7)[15] for 3 Kills, being forced to the SW one hex, and losing one of the Gunner 2's upcoming Actions. Kessler grinned darkly pushing his controls onward still." I told you, my powers aren't ones that should be meddled with..." Kessler spoke before letting his eyes slide around the battlefield. He noticed the Ganglion attacking the group to the north, but he couldn't make it his priority hearing Ella over the comm. Slamming his controls forward, he panicked." Don't worry, I'll get him--"Kessler practically shouted through the comm pushing the Take's limits to shoot over the building that separated them, to hover over the roof looking down at the ganglion. Movement:Spoiler Hide 1 Hex upward, and 7 Hexes west to use the lower left-hand corner of the building as cover. Setting his eyes on the Ganglion, Kessler pulled back the plastic covering on his gun hawk's eye laser again." Be careful down there Vic, "Kessler practically shouted trying to buy him some time firing a shot down at the lion hoping to take out a leg or the main guns but not making a real effort to aim in his panicked state, preferring to just fire off the most accurate shot he could to try to disable something. Attack Action:Spoiler Hide Eye laser Gunner Type 2 Gunner: 10+10+1-1 = 20 Accuracy Rely Hart Earth, Japan, Tokyo-2, piloting the Silhouette"It's Rely, Rely Hart, and I'd like nothing more than to avoid battles like this, but you're the ones who are attacking us!" Relu would frown as the Gunner Type 2 ran off, attacking the Ken lion. Seeing it nearly destroy her ally simply made her growl with irritation. Sure, he was a bit dumb, running into the middle of an enemy pack when the Silhouette could've easily kept them all at bay, but he was still a friendly. Turning, the Silhouette and its shadows would all burst forward, following the Gunner Type 2 and slashing at its flank with the Slim Saber. One, two, three, four swings would be made at the enemy officer as she attempted to finish the job her first attack had started. Actions:Spoiler Hide All rolls are in the IOC. IA will maintain both EWS. Silhouette will turn northwest with free movement, then Charge at the Gunner Type 2, attacking with the Slim Saber. 4 Hexes, covered, so +1 Kill of damage. Attacks start on the head, and if removed, continue to the torso. Charge Saber Attack 1 at Gunner Type 2: (1d10+11)[20]+1 luck = 21 + 1 (CRT success) = 22 Charge Saber Attack 2 at Gunner Type 2: (1d10+11)[17] Assuming the Gunner Type 2's cockpit isn't in the head or the head is still attached, the Silhouette will continue its attack on it, making another two attacks with the Slim Saber on its flank. Starting again with the head and moving to the torso. If the Gunner Type 2 is down, the Silhouette will shoot at Assault Raptor 7 with the Short Rifle, using the same rolls. Saber Attack 1 at Gunner Type 2: (1d10+13)[14]+1 luck = 15, no CRT fails Saber Attack 2 at Gunner Type 2: (1d10+13)[20] Luck Remaining: 3/6 Images Remaining: 9 vs Gunner Type 2 Systems Check: All Green As the Ken lion's energy claws flicker and face, it rocks from the massive weapon hit, and alarms start blaring.++Warning, all systems damaged, Giant Slayer destroyed, Torso near critical mass++Trying to get the controls back online, Victor assesses the damage. Seeing that his Torso was nearly gone, he realizes that this fight was going to have to end soon....one way or another. Looking at the sensor readings, he wasn't picking out any weak points...leaving him at a loss of which weapon to hit him with." When in doubt, the claws come out." Spoiler Hide Action 1: Left Foreleg Claws Attack: (1d10+9)[16]+3[Luck]+6[Explode]= 25 Damage: 11 Kills, Armor Piercing, Called Shot - Mega Beam Weapon (once/if it's destroyed, I'll move to the head) Action 2: Right Foreleg Claw Attack: (1d10+9)[11] Damage: 11 Kills, Armor Piercing, Called Shot - Mega Beam Weapon (if not destroyed, then moving to head) Deciding that the leader-type guy was probably a bit much for her, Hikaru opens fire on the Iron Horn she's facing rather than turning about to fight the Gunner. Spoiler Hide Two Photon Laser strikes against the Iron Horn. Attack - (1d10+9)[17] Location - (1d10)[8] Attack - (1d10+9)[10]+1 Luck to stop the fail = 11 Location - (1d10)[10] Sliding a hand under her chin, Eve thought watching the conflict between Far and Male bicker about the ends justifying the means. A sly smile crossed her face as she gently tilted her controls forward with the comm open, feigning a coy expression, Eve's eyes rested on Far." You're a smart girl Far, the brave and honorable type to distinguish the courage in your opponents. But... But why are you working so hard with Male? The kind who would shoot down his own allies to try to save himself, a coward's tactic of firing through a crowd of friendlies. There's no point in you winning this fight and taking the surface if there's nobody left to enjoy life on the surface right?" Eve asked becoming a bit more serious, sliding a hand back through her hair, her sly smile curled in thought." Nobody would blame you... You don't have to try so hard for him, why don't you join us on the surface Far... Before he does the same to you, please, I don't want to see a glorious knight felled by such an underhanded tactic. I... No, we could use your help~"Eve spoke with an alluring tone as the Dear flew in the air looking down at the gunner nearby. Hoping for a decent sneak attack, she activated her thrusters rather than teleporting down, not wanting there to be a flash when she attacked, she tried to reach out to tackle the beast down to push it in front of the Libra Custom while temporarily disabling him. Movement:Spoiler Hide Activating Thrusters, move 1 Hex south-west, drop Altitude to ground level (3 Hexes downward) and 2 Hexes north-west Rolls:Spoiler Hide Persuasion Roll [1D10 + Empathy + Persuasion and Fast Talk](10+10+3 = 23 Persuasion Tackle Roll [1D10 + Reflex + 1WA - 4MV](8+10+1-4 = 15 Accuracy) Eric Calder Earth, Japan, Tokyo-2. Piloting Libra-Custom While shaken momentarily by the Gunner I's various attacks Eric was nowhere near out of the fight. Circling around his opponent he aims a deft strike with the Distortion Lance straight at the Gunner I's head. Planning to cripple his opponent he aims a second stab at one of the MrBeast's front legs. It might be necessary to interrogate this pilot after the battle was over.[Attempting to disable enemy MrBeast.]he states over the group comm.[Enemy cannon may still be functional.] Spoiler Hide Free Action: Using 4 MA to position the Libra North of the Gunner I. Action 1: Attacking Gunner I with Distortion Lance. No Penalty Called Shot on Head Servo. M. Melee 1 (18): (1d10+18)[25] Damage: 10 (Weapon) + 3 (Mecca) Action 2: Attacking Gunner I with Distortion Lance. No Penalty Called Shot on Right Foreleg Servo. M. Melee 2 (18): (1d10+18)[26] Damage: 10 (Weapon) + 3 (Mecca) Luck: 3/3 remaining MP: 10/10 remaining {table]Item | Kills | Spaces | Item Type | Effects | Range | WA/DA | DMG/SP | Cost Distortion Lance | 10 | 20 | Melee Weapon | Armor Piercing, Disrupting | 1 | +0 | 10 Kills | 20 [/table] Player Phase The Libra custom would fly about, as its wheels kicked up dust, and its spear would swing outwards. The blade would fly down as Eric would thrust the controls forward, and the glowing green spear flew through the Gunner's head. The armor was incredible, and even the Lance couldn't pierce it completely as the head would be left with a severe gash, the tiger me snarling at the blow. She second would be to the right foreleg, as the Gunner was slashed across, and the field ignited, tearing out a heft portion of the metal, but still leaving a leg to stand on. This tiger was far superior, not just in firepower, to the other beasts." I don't want to see a glorious knight felled by such an underhanded tactic. I... No, we could use your help~" Eve's voice would cause Far to stop a bit, as she frowned, a visual comm appearing before the mess about her, as she sighed. She was struggling, but her eyes turned fiery." This battle, it can't continue. The colony will be destroyed, along with our men. We are falling back, Male!"" Like hell! This bastard just stabbed my Gunner! I'm going to grind him to dust!"" Then perish alone!" The Dear seemed more than happy to help with such a thing, as it flew forward, trying to smash forward, but Male was the more experienced pilot, as his Gunner simply slipped back and away. The Jataka soared forward as Kessler went to try and save his ally, only to find that Far was not off her game, yet. The Type 2 simply leapt a bit to the side as the purple ray of light would crash into the ground. Just because she wanted to retreat didn't mean she was going to give up... Relu would not be deterred as she rushed her Silhouette forward, charging again, as she finally let her blade fly through the head and sensors a cry of agony flying from the Gunner. Far's voice could be heard struggling as she tried to control the wounded MrBeast. Her piloting was superb, though, as Rely's attempts to finish her would be denied, the tiger me backing away, ducking, and jumping off to evade the next three strikes." We... don't... have to continue this conflict. The Overlanders can't save this planet!" Victor wouldn't simply rush through as his Ken lion healed somewhat, but the damage still made the Lion Me groan as it was deftly evaded, the first claw being casually side stepped, as the second was jumped away from. Despite the damaged Gunner, it still seemed to be rather expertly well-made, perhaps on the same level as the Ken lion itself. Cobb would smile as he pushed his controls forward and the Adam began to run, before the GES took light, and lifted the massive beast off the ground. The distortion field would glow with power as the Adam was launched upwards, before crashing back down, landing low where the Gunner had just been, Far panting over the comm as she had barely moved it away, and just in time for the GES to fire in a quick burst as the Adam rushed the tiger, and smashed its elbow into her, the field shredding armor as the Gunner was forced back., leaving it on the ground, the tiger itself panting, it didn't look like it could move just yet. The J-Gunner would position its rifle, as Cannon looked through the scope, unable to get a proper read on the fast moving tiger, but his finger twitched, as a shot grazed the head, the next being too high as the tiger crouched low on the ground to evade, snarling at the sniper. Hikari would see the remaining Iron Horn as she pulled herself to the side, and fired a twin beam of her Photon Lasers. Taking out the MrBeast would prevent even more surprises. The Origami's mouth opened as a massive ray of light flew, the first missing due to targeting error, but the second was a perfect shot, so perfect, the beam flew through the center of the MrBeast, as the cockpit's pieced fell to the ground and the Horn collapsed. Spoiler Hide Libra Custom: - Distortion Lance Target "Gunner Type 1": CRT - Distortion Lance Target "Gunner Type 1": Hit Gunner Type 1 -1 Head Stopping Power -1 Right Foreleg Stopping power -8 Head Kills -8 Right Foreleg Kills Dear: - Tackle Target "Gunner Type 1": Miss - Persuade Target "Far": Success! Jataka: - Eye Laser Target "Gunner Type 2": Miss Silhouette: - Charge Attack Target "Gunner Type 2": Hit - Charge Attack Target "Gunner Type 2": Miss - Slim Saber Target "Gunner Type 2": Miss - Slim Saber Target "Gunner Type 2": Miss Gunner Type 2 Head Destroyed Ken lion: - Strike Claw Target "Gunner Type 2": Miss - Strike Claw Target "Gunner Type 2": Miss Adam: - Drop Target "Gunner Type 2": Miss - Slam Target "Gunner Type 2": Hit Gunner Type 2 Pushed Back -1 Torso SP -6 Torso Kills J-Gunner: - Heavy Sniper Target "Gunner Type 1": Miss - Heavy Sniper Target "Gunner Type 1": Miss Take MP 1 Head Destroyed Feather Defense Pierced Take MP 5 Cockpit Destroyed Origami: - Photon Laser Target "Iron Horn 2": Miss - Photon Laser Target "Iron Horn 2": Hit Iron horn 2 Cockpit Destroyed New Enemy Phase"FAR!" Malu would see Far going down as he rushed forward, the GES igniting as he slipped away from his current opponents, the massive gun on it's back glowing as it prepared another huge charge."DAMN YOU OVERLAND ERS!" A massive torrent of green light would fly, as it enveloped the three prototypes that were beating on the Type 2. The Ken lion was nearly completely crippled, as a bolt of green energy, whizzed by the foreleg, the Ken lion growling from the heat of the powerful weapon. The Adam's distortion field wasn't even able to fully withstand that impact, as its own left arm was hit, although it reduced it to a minor impact. The Silhouette appeared to be destroyed, but it simply faded, a Shadow falling as the beam pierced it." Still standing? Just what have the Overlanders been doing all this time... just making more ugly death machines..." The Gunner Type 2 couldn't even get up, having been smacked around so harshly, the tiger was trying, and failing as Far's comm seemed to cut out. The lone remaining Assault Raptor would simply turn about as its tail fired twin beams of green light, aiming to remove the damaged Ken lion, although it missed the vitals, another leg was severely damaged. At this rate Victor's MrBeast really was going to fall. Spoiler Hide Gunner Type 1: - Forgone Blitz Target "Ken lion, Silhouette, Adam": Hit, Miss, Hit Silhouette Shadow Destroyed Adam - 1 Right Arm SP Distortion Field Deactivated Assault Raptor 7: - Beam Tail Target "Ken lion": Miss - Beam Tail Target "Ken lion": Hit Ken lion -1 Left Hindley SP -5 Left Hindley Kills Spoiler Hide Full Map Minimal 1 Minimal 2 Cracking his neck in both directions, Kessler sighed, he was a decent pilot, but his aim was still lackluster. He didn't have enough experience firing the Jataka's weapons, all he had was his knowledge of how to fight and manipulate things with it. Still though, with keen eyes it wasn't difficult for him to detect a moment of weakness in the opponents." Focus fire on the northernmost Unit, It has the higher damage output, the sooner it's down the sooner this can end." Kessler spoke pushing his controls downward to meet with the roof of the building looking down to the lion pulling back the plastic trigger guard again to fire down at it with the Jataka's eye lasers. Movement:Spoiler Hide 2 Hexes downwards to the rooftop Attack Action:Spoiler Hide Eye laser Gunner Type 1 twice 1st Attack: 8+10+1-1 = 18 Accuracy 2nd Attack: 5+10+1-1 = 15 Accuracy Eric Calder Earth, Japan, Tokyo-2. Piloting Libra-Custom The Libra's tires shriek as it chases after the fleeing Gunner, leveling the Distortion Lance against the retreating MrBeast's flank as he closes the distance. Adrenaline pumping through his veins his hands shook from the rush of acceleration. Aiming carefully he still intended to cripple the Mecca for capture. Ramming into the Gunner I's side he quickly withdrew the blade and targeted a second strike to the damaged MrBeast's head.[Status Report, how's everyone doing]Eric inquires across the team chat while simultaneously calling up the relevant data from his interface.[Critically injured units should immediately withdraw out of range of the MrBeast's heavy weapons. Readouts indicate their beam weapons are still active]Spoiler Hide Action 1: Moving full Ground MA and Attacking Gunner I with Distortion Lance using a Melee Charge. No Penalty Called Shot on Torso Servo. Using 4 MP. Currently, positioned north of Gunner I'm facing south. M. Melee 1 (18–3 + 4 = 19): (1d10+19)[20] Damage: 10 (Weapon) + 3 (Mecca) + 2 (Melee Charge (6 Hexes)) Action 2: Attacking Gunner I with Distortion Lance. No Penalty Called Shot on Head Servo. Using 1 MP M. Melee 2 (18 + 1): (1d10+19)[20] Damage: 10 (Weapon) + 3 (Mecca) Luck: 3/3 remaining MP: 5/10 remaining {table]Item | Kills | Spaces | Item Type | Effects | Range | WA/DA | DMG/SP | Cost Distortion Lance | 10 | 20 | Melee Weapon | Armor Piercing, Disrupting | 1 | +0 | 10 Kills | 20 [/table] Trying to patch through to Far to talk to her more, Eve blew some of the hair from her face when the connection wouldn't hold. Dear me, it's so difficult for a princess to win over a knight in shining armor these days..." Eve said disheartened by the look of the once proud lion while she curled a small lock of her own hair her eyes fell on Male again though. Pushing her thrusters forward, she was hesitant to allow him to get anywhere near the other lion after seeing what he'd done to the others." A-ah~ I can't let you go and get my would-be knight caught in another one of those blasts honey." She spoke trying to use her thrusters to push her ahead of the lion again swinging the Prank blade towards it's head twice. Movements:Spoiler Hide Activate thrusters and navigate to the southwestern side of the Gunner Type 1 for tackle Rolls:Spoiler Hide 1st Attack: [1D10 + Reflex + 1WA - 4MV](7+10+1-4 = 14 Accuracy) 2nd Attack: [1D10 + Reflex + 1WA - 4MV](6+10+1-4 = 13 Accuracy) Cobb Kaiser, Tokyo-2, piloting Adam Cobb roars in frustration as the Ken lion takes yet more damage. "DARN IT, I ASKED YOU TO GET OUT OF HERE!" The GES roars back to life, as Cobb aims to prevent his ally from taking lethal damage. Swerving around the Gunner Type 2, he approaches the last opposing raptor. At high speed. Feet first. "UWAAAAAAAH!" However, it seems that his frustration has only led to inaccuracy. Ignoring the Junta pilot's order, Cobb rips at the Assault Raptor in a frenzy, seeking to tear the last foe to hurt the Ken lion apart. Perhaps some more rational part of his mind figures that all the other techs combined should be able to deal with the Gunner, and that as dodgy a foe as Male would be a poor target for the lumbering Adam. Perhaps not. Spoiler Hide [roll=1d10] is subtracted from 6 to get the Adam's final accuracy against the Assault Raptor. Since that likely misses, going to Punch at the Torso server of the Assault Raptor twice. Attack 1 - (1d10+7)[8] Attack 2 - (1d10+7)[15] If the Drop somehow didn't miss against the Assault Raptor, Spoiler Hide The Adam will try to Tackle Gunner Type 1, to limit its damage potential by removing one of its Actions. Tackle Attack - (1d10+8)[14] Watching his attacks easily avoided, Victor knew he might be outclassed. That was fine though. It only took one lucky shot to finish this, and Victor had always been lucky. Quickly analyzing the Me's damage readouts, and the groans from the Me itself, he hears the general comms call out for him to retreat, and shakes his head. He would not run from this fight. Not again, not ever. He ran once, and was still haunted from the aftermath. He would not fail again. Or he would die trying. Besides...he wasn't out of the fight yet. Hands cramping from the tension, he briefly takes them off of the controls and stretches. It wouldn't do for him to get fatigued right now. Grabbing the sticks again, he sets his attack vectors once more and opens the comm." I will not run. They want me, they've got me!" Spoiler Hide Action 1: Free Move: Change facing to NW, move 1 hex, attack range with Fangs Attack 1: Fangs (1d10+9)[15] Damage: 9 Kills, Quick, Free Called Shot - Head Torso Attack 2: Fangs (1d10+9)[10] Damage: 9 Kills, Quick, Free Called Shot - Head Torso Bounding over to the lone remaining Assault Raptor, the Ken lion attempts to bite and rend its face off by leaping on to it's side and digging its Fangs in deep. Then while its fangs are still embedded in it, Victor ques up the GES and bounds away North for a new attack....on the real target. Spoiler Hide Action 2: Move+Charge Action: Change facing to N (1 hex), move 7 hexes, change facing to NE (1 hex), move 1 hex, change facing to SE and bounding off of the building (like a Lucia Libra), move 2 hexes, change facing S (1 hex) and move 4 hexes Shock Blade Attack: (1d10+7)[11] Damage:16 Kills (7 base, +5 Me, +4 Charge), Shock, Free Called Shot - Head Servo Running North, Victor spies the building he'd noticed on his sensor readouts. It makes the perfect pivot point in order to come at the Gunner from the North. Beside....sometimes it's just as much about style, as it is about technique. Bounding off of the building, he charges up the Shock Blade for what he hopes will be the final strike against the Danger.....and attempts to slam it deep in to the Danger's face. Rely Hart Earth, Japan, Tokyo-2, piloting the Silhouette"If you're going to leave, then go right ahead. Just remember that it was you who started this, not us!" With Far basically out of the fight, Rely would turn her attention to the Gunner that had attacked her." If you think that level of attack will work on the Silhouette, you've got a long lesson ahead of you! Male, is it? I'm sure I can take someone like you on without a problem. Show me what you're made of, meathead." With a small smirk in appreciation of her own wit, Rely would guide the Silhouette past the Gunner Type 2, turning and rushing head-on at Male's Gunner, slashing at him four consecutive times. Not really interested in fooling around with him, she would aim all of her attacks directly at the Gunner's torso. Actions:Spoiler Hide All rolls in IOC. IA will maintain the defensive EWS, and successfully activates the offensive EWS (Power 7) targeting the Gunner Type 1. The Silhouette moves two hexes north and turn northeast using free movement, then charges at the Gunner Type 1 with the Slim Saber, targeting the torso. Charge Saber Attack 1 at Gunner Type 1 - (1d10+11)[20] +1 from luck = 21 + 8 from CRT die = 29 Charge Saber Attack 2 at Gunner Type 1 - (1d10+11)[12] - 3 from CRT fail = 9 The Silhouette will continue with two more slashes from the Slim Saber, targeting the torso. Saber Attack 1 at Gunner Type 1 - (1d10+13)[22] +1 from luck = 23 + 3 from CRT die = 26 Saber Attack 2 at Gunner Type 1 - (1d10+13)[23] + 2 from CRT die = 25 Luck Remaining: 1/6 Images Remaining: - 9 vs Gunner Type 1–9 vs Gunner Type 2 Systems Check: All Green Hikaru turns her attention south as the Gunner rushes past her again. Ignoring the excess of chatter on the comms, she fires the Photon Laser at the retreating beast. Spoiler Hide Set facing SW, head 3 SW. Photon Laser on Gunner T2, spending 2 Luck. Attack - (1d10+11)[13] Location - (1d10)[10] Eric would sweep by, as his glowing Distortion Lance. The lance would drive through the MrBeast as it cried out in agony, it's head losing the majority of the metal that composed it. Male's voice could be heard screaming through the general comms, as the distraught Gunner would leap back and nearly lose it's footing as it evaded the rushing Dear. The battle was finally ending, they could all feel it. The Type 1 was battered and nearly completely destroyed, while the Type 2 was still down and helpless. This was coming to a close. Kessler's arms pushed forward with new indignation, as his Jataka as twin violet beams flew from it, one of them running through the right Hindley." D....dammit! Overlanders are nothing alone, are that! They swarm you... like annoying little gnats! They... they are everywhere!" Relu's passion would lead her to a rather impressive display. With the head and sensors so severely damaged, the Silhouette's EWS was making it impossible for any kind of defense as the slim saber would fly, and simply carve through the torso of the Gunner Type 1. Male's scream could be heard as the beast squirmed in agony. The Ken lion would rush forward as it passed the fallen Gunner, it's fangs digging into Gunner, before rushing at the Assault Raptor. The blade missed its mark, but it was only the decoy... as the Adam crashed down from the sky, it barely missed simply smashing the Assault Raptor, as its hands pushed forward, tearing right through the torso and crushing the contents."UWAAAAAAAH"And to finish the job, as the Gunner Type 1 tried to rise, despite all the hell it's body had been put through, the J-Gunner and Origami would attack in unison, as the Heavy Sniper was dropped, and replaced by its Mega Beam Sniper. A massive torrent of light enveloped the Gunner, as Photon Lasers would pierce through it... resulting in an explosion. BATTLE OVER: PLAYER VICTORY Spoiler Hide All players roll Awareness With the fighting over for the time being, the various Melton, Super Robots, and Beasts would end up being stowed away within the research facilities hanger, but not before a mass rush of MPs would race out to secure the area, something which arrived at fairly strange results. Despite the massive army that had attacked, the soldiers were gone, and the semi-alive Beasts were all quite dead, their power plants seemingly shut down. The Ken lion would find its rest most... uncomfortable, with at least half a dozen MPs having rifles trained on the damaged MrBeast as Victor made his way out, although Kessler would find that they didn't seem quite as concerned about his own machine, most likely due to the fact that the Take types had been so high up not many had really noticed them, and his was wise enough not to make a show of itself once being stored away. In fact, Kessler, along with the new leader of the Counter-Aggressors, and the young pilot of the Dear each had something more important to worry about. Being the only three that had noticed the vanishing act of the army at the time, they would be the three first outside, as the Gunner Type 2 was opened up, and Far exiting the machine. Wearing a proper helmet now, as the guns moved to her, it would be revealed to the three that she was not alone, a young man in Templar styled armor was at her side, a sword drawn as Far kept her own blade sheathed for the time being. Inside, however, there was just as much excitement. Dr. Tour, along with his less calm associates had appeared in the hanger, as he ordered mechanics to see to all three of the Super Robots, and went to meet the pilots on their respective platforms." Thank you, all of you, you truly saved us. I don't think Tokyo-2 will thrive for a long time, but this center, it has a greater purpose than the design of super robots. I never imagined the UEC would send us five of their ace pilots to protect us, nor did I believe that our own machines would be able to resist such odds. You've done everyone here a great service, and our mechanics are happy to repair any of your own machines, if you only ask. I won't touch them until you do, though. I understand the UEC tends to be a tad... touchy about such matters." Cobb glances backward as the three UEC pilots rush off. Wonder what they're in a hurry for... However, any thoughts Cobb may have had on the subject are quashed as Dr. Tour, foremost expert on super robot design, began to give his effusive thanks. Blushing from the neck up, he waits until the doctor has been done speaking for a few seconds, coughs a bit, and replies, "Pleasure to be of service, sir." He then glances around at the rest of the pilots, and extends a friendly wave. "With all the fighting, I don't think we've been introduced. Name's Cobb Kaiser; I'm the caretaker of this big fella right here." Cobb gives the ho trod-red ankle of the Adam an affectionate pat. Climbing out of the Ken lion, Victor notices all the guns trained in the direction of him and his Me." Figures." Deliberately turning his back on the MP's he begins a slow walk around the Ken lion, cataloging its damage...all the while keeping a reassuring hand on its hull." There there, everything will be alright. They're not going to hurt us....". Having walked the circumference of the Ken lion Victor realizes that although the damage sustained throughout the fight, much of it has already been repaired. Shaking his head in amazement, he once again realigns his thinking of "his" Me. He would do well to remember that it was not ordinary Me, but a wonderful gift. And the key to his future. Now however, it was time to deal with these... Overlanders. Although he himself was an Overlander, he had fled to the Underworld Empire so long ago that he thought of himself as an Underlander. Though they might not know who he was, it was dreadfully ungrateful to threat him and the Ken lion like this. And it was starting to piss him off. Addressing the Dr. as he walked up, he tries to put up his best tough guy look,"That won't be necessary. She just needs some time to rest." Pointing at the MP's who still had their weapons trained on the Me,"I will however require that they holster their weapons. It's terribly rude, and I'd hate to see anyone get hurt." Turning his back on the Dr. and his....assistants.... Victor notices one of the pilots waving at him and the others. Wonderful. A native. Well, it wouldn't hurt to start making allies here." Cobb, huh? It's nice to meet you. As I'm sure you heard over the comms, I'm Victor. Program is more of a call-sign than a name. My friend here is Ken lion. She's my......well, she's mine." Letting out a small chuckle, he realizes he's going to have to figure out just what sort of relationship he has with the Ken lion. He's not the pilot per se...he's....well.......it's complicated. Noticing he sort of dazed out for a moment in thought, he turns to the Dr." I'm not sure who you are, but you've obviously got authority. I require the acquisition of the other Beasts that were disabled in the fight. Namely, the Horn. And preferably the scraps of what's left of the Gunner. I trust that won't be a problem?" Not waiting for a response...or allowing the time for one, he again turns to Cobb." So what went on here? What did we get ourselves in to?" Realizing he hadn't seen or heard Kessler in a while, he looks around for the only compatriot he had left. Finally getting a chance to relax, Eve blew a lock of hair from her face as the Dear's hatch opened up on her letting her slide out casually combing her hair back while looking back to the Super Robot while the questions and comments flared from the mechanics swarming the machine." Just gas it up or whatever you guys do best really... I'm not really a techie girl honey, just make sure that shield's all charged up before you throw me back into the cockpit hm?" Eve half retorted remembering how violently they'd flung her into the cockpit before the battle. Finishing her hair though, she casually curled a lock to give it more of a natural look before peeling away outside having noticed the gunner." I've got something more interesting on my plate, just leave me a sticky note if you change anything important right?" She spoke before leaving the mechanics to their own devices. Once reaching the Gunner type 2, Eve's lips curled into a pleasant smile as she gently brushed her way passed the armed guards, a casual brush of the shoulder, a gentle touch of the side. She felt much more confident now that she wasn't piloting, and it showed." Now now, no need to be so rude. They may have been a part of our enemy forces, but that doesn't mean we can't be civil." She spoke trying to gently ease the tension in the atmosphere while she approached Far and her co-pilot." Would you mind sharing a few words with a distressed damsel honey?.. I promise I won't bite." Eve tried to tease with a kind smile offering a hand to the armored girl flashing a warm smile, arguably Eve's deadliest weapon. Rolls:Spoiler Hide Persuasion Roll to calm the MPs [1D10 + Empathy + Persuasion and Fast Talk](5+10+3 = 18 Persuasion) Persuasion Roll to speak freely with Far [1D10 + Empathy + Persuasion and Fast Talk](9+10+3 = 22 Persuasion) Seduction Roll [1D10 + Empathy + Seduction](8+10+10 = 28 Seduction) Cobb begins to respond to Victor's introduction, only to close his mouth again as the pilot demands salvage rights, and whips right back to speak with him. Though he begins to look away, Cobb opts to respond anyway. ".... Well, I don't know. The first guys were a...mad genius's invention; seem to be targeting Tokyo's dome cities, but you know more about these Underlander guys than me. ... And, not for nothin', but ya really ought show the Dr. here some respect! He's one'a the greatest much designers in the world!" "My, we did pretty good cleaning house out there good work out there, be sure to keep a low profile. I don't want them investigating my potential too thoroughly if I can help it." Kessler mused patting the Jataka as he moved from it leaving the much cooing before grabbing his crutch to lean on as he proceeded. Glancing across the way while he limped onwards, his thoughts drifted to Victor making him sigh almost knowing it was likely he was trying to strong-arm his way into something. The thought brought a dark grin to Kessler's face while he licked his lips in thought, if things couldn't get done with the tough guy approach, there was always Kessler's unique approach. Pushing those dark thoughts aside though, he saw the MPs with guns raised to Far and her accomplice, his thoughts immediately drifted to wondering where these soldiers had been hiding during the conflict though making him a bit more weary of the people at the base. Using his crutch to help him limp onward he tightened the bandage around his head to ensure his appearance didn't startle anyone more than necessary. Immediately looking to the one who drew his blade though, Kessler grinned waving a hand." I'd like you to disarm yourself first. As much as some of us may want to keep this civil, I'd like it if trading blows wasn't an option." Kessler asked, casting an accusing glance towards Eve before focusing his attention on the co-pilot who had a weapon drawn already. Cobb's words ring in Victor's ears. One of the best Me designers in the world, huh? Isn't that just something. Although...he might have traveled in the same circles as his parents. Could be useful to get on his good side a bit." Dr. huh? And a world-class Me designer at that? Well then, I offer my sincerest apologies. With my blood still up from the fight....everything is still a little....edgy. I'm sure you understand. As I was saying, those Beasts are the property of the UEC. Protected designs and such. As one of the sole remaining representatives of the UEC, it falls to me to reacquire them." Turning as Kessler dismounts from the Take, Victor gestures towards him." Well, us actually." Smiling slightly, Victor in no way acknowledges their reactions." However, being a Me designer of your caliber, I would greatly appreciate your involvement in bringing them back online. Unfortunately, it appears some of them will have to be re-purposed of course. Whether it is to further modify and enhance the remaining Beasts, or what exactly... I am unsure. I would be very appreciative of your help and regard in this matter. The Jataka and Ken lion, being unique models you see, will have the highest priority...but that would not be a problem, would it Dr.?" Nodding his head as if everyone is in agreeable, he begins to walk away...." Good, now that that is settled, I would love to meet the pilots of the other Mess." Eric Calder Earth, Japan, Tokyo-2. Piloting Libra-Custom Maneuvering his me slightly off to the side, out of the way of the mechanics and salvage crews, Eric immediately switches his comm to the ship to me line.[Benefice this is Calder. Hostilities have ceased, and you are clear to land for any repairs. Any trouble up there since you dropped us off?] Patiently waiting for the Benefice while carefully observing the area, he keeps a sharp eye out for any new surprises. Now was just as crucial as when the battle was fought and with this many civilians he wasn't about to be lax in his duties. Thankfully the Adam was mostly still in one piece, and they'd be able to deliver it as originally ordered. Spoiler Hide Awareness (Surveillance): (1d10+15)[18] As the pilots would all dismount from their machines, the facility quite large enough to hold all of their Melton comfortably, as repair work would be done. In Flu's case, not much was required, just refueling, and the UCC pilot would tend to that herself. Most of the others had much more extensive concerns, although the Ken lion and Jataka each had a self-healing factor, the lion was still in desperate shape, and would require a little while, and some refueling to fully recover, while its hawk companion needed some energy to recharge its Feather Defense. The Beasts only shocked the mechanics who approached revealing that much like the Gunners had shown to be, they werealiveand had some level of sentience. The three Super Robots would each require their own levels of repair. The little band-aid that Cobb had used to repair the GES ended up doing significant damage once it was removed, causing its leg to completely lose function. Still, it was better than being destroyed. The Origami needed rather massive repairs to the torso, and the Thrusters needed to be analyzed to make certain they weren't damaged as well. The Dear's shield had run out of power entirely, and its batteries had been mostly burnt out, requiring replacements. The Libra Custom was unharmed, although that had more to do with its pilot than the Custom. Its only issue was the registration of the Distortion Lance. It was supposed to be the ultimate weapon of the Adam, and it was now keyed towards the Libra Custom. With all the repairs being done, it would have to be the last thing to do, and was a particularly lengthy process. The J-Gunner was quite the reverse. Its armor was pathetic, and it had no self-healing ability, so the sniper unit's one brush with death had done rather significant damage, although with no special systems, little required drastic repairs or time. Toguri wasn't one to worry about issues with titles outside of academia, as he simply smiled towards both Cobb and Victor. He'd MOE towards the more demanding of his attention, as Cobb and Victor seemed to have a bit of a minor engagement. Waving a hand as the MPs all removed themselves from the Ken lion's area he went to inspect himself." Grogman, or rather Mister Pro.... no that would be a bit too telling if you wish to go by Victor. I apologize for my security's treatment of the Ken lion, it is truly a fearsome thing. I have to wonder how your associates had ever come by such technology. It appears rather alien to all else, but... the Underlanders can manufacture these somehow. Miss Noir has told me some of your little movement's situation, and I apologize for not placing more importance on it. The Beasts which have fallen will be collected, although I'm uncertain how effectively I can repair them." Meanwhile, the three would find the MPs less willing to stand down, although Yaren first look of Far would be something rather unexpected. Her armor clattered as she placed a hand on her associates shoulder, and her remaining would remove the old styled helmet, revealing shoulder-length blonde hair, and rather piercing green eyes. The warrior shuddered a bit at the touch, before sheathing his blade. The MPs, however, were much less willing to do anything but remain trained on the pair. Far didn't seem to mind them at all, glancing to the girl a moment." Don't be so naive. I will have no issue speaking with your leadership, and only your leadership, when my men have been allowed to return home. This conquest was clearly unsuccessful, and we have lost much. The Sunderland has no desire to lose more, and these men can bring the word of the Overlander's power to my Lord." Spoiler Hide Far TheBenehimewould contact their leader with a bit of distress in the TO's voice. He was young, inexperienced, which is why he'd been made an officer on theBenehime. The supposed flagship for international peace had been a dumping ground for those who had little use in the actual military, now led by a man of questionable origin." Lieutenant... Benefice is setting down. We have just received notice... from the Sphere. Those terrorists... they are much more heavily armed than reasonably expected. They've been striking, at military structures, sir... we... we have a problem, sir. Your team, we have true need for it now." Spoiler Hide The Sphere: Headquarters of the UEC's space division, currently orbiting the Moon. Kessler glanced around, seeing the weapons slide away, he grinned leaning on his crutch cocking his head to the side with a dark grin." You keep referencing sending them back to tell them of our power for the sake of peace I'd hope." Kessler spoke narrowing his eyes in thought wondering what her intentions really were." We aren't making any particularly headway out here though." Kessler spoke glancing to a few of the MPs." Let's take them into custody, so this process will get just a little bit easier alright?" Kessler asked giving a small nod before glancing back to Far and her co-pilot. Noticing the Dr.'s slip of the tongue wasn't hard....and Victor starts with a little surprise, So he knows who I am. Then he definitely might know something about my parents. Now to just get the good doctor to tell me what he knows. Balling his fists ever so slightly, he clenches his jaw briefly, and then lets himself go loose for a moment. It wouldn't do to lose his temper at this moment." Thank you Dr. Do not worry about The Movement's situation. Although we do appreciate the help and assistance you have given us this far of course. As far as the other Beasts go, we will see how extensive their damage is once we have them in the hanger. For now, I would greatly appreciate some food, and maybe sit down with you to discuss the finer points of Me design, and what exactly is planned for myself and the Ken lion." Turning, he points in the rough direction that Kessler went,"And for Kessler of course." With the pressing need to simply grab the Dr. by the lapels and force him to tell all he knew of his parents, Victor's vision begins to fuzz. Who's to say he wasn't the one to turn on them? I'll have to search deeper to find out who all was on their project. Eve let out a soft and sad sigh, feigning a wounded appearance she tried to act hurt from Far's reaction, welling eyes, a sad smile." Ah, and here I was hoping to get to know you a little better. Rather than naivety I prefer to call it wishful thinking, maybe. It's not every day I find a knight that suits me so well." Blowing a small lock of hair from her face, she glanced back over the MPs in thought." It's not up to me whether they'll be allowed to go I'm certain, but I can try my very best to make sure your stay, however long it maybe will be comfortable... Though I hope you may consider staying longer then you have to." She said glancing back with a hopeful expression trying her best to stay steady. Rolls:Spoiler Hide Acting Roll to appear sad [1D10 + Empathy + Acting](8+10+3 = 21 Acting) Human Perception Roll to detect whether Seduction succeeded[1D10 + Empathy + Human Perception](10(+7)+10+1 = 28 Human Perception) Human Perception Roll to detect whether Far truly intends to speak only to leaders during her stay [1D10 + Empathy + Human Perception](4+10+1 = 15 Human Perception) Cobb smiles sheepishly as the Adam's leg's power conduits blow out. "Uh, I can fix that..." First, though, think I'm going to see what's going on outside..." But I think we've got a bit'a time, yeah? Let me know if ya need anything, Dr. Tour!" With a quick salute, Cobb jogs off toward the downed Gunners... Eric Calder Earth, Japan, Tokyo-2. Piloting Libra-Custom[It's alright TO, ]Eric tries to state in his most reassuring voice.[Now what's the exact situation? Give me all the details you have.] Listening intently to the TO's report Eric then switches channels to speak with Dr. Tour. For extra measure he includes Rely and Canaan so they're up-to-date on what's going on.[Doctor, how long before everyone's mess will be ready? There's another situation that will require my team's immediate attention.] The doctor nodded, as the MPs would leave the hanger, and the repairs to the Super Robots would begin, with the Origami receiving most of the care for the time being. Tour simply smiled kindly at Victor." Very well, Victor. We can sit and enjoy something to eat. The others should come as well, I think there are things that you all should discuss, most notably, what troubles have been created on this side of the world. The Machine men from before may be back sooner than we'd expect, so it's best to look into it. Your Movement can keep tabs on the Underlanders for now." Relu would find, as she finished the basic maintenance on the Silhouette, that a file had been left from her by her actual employers. However, she wouldn't have much of a chance to look into it, as she'd notice a girl, that looked a bit older than her, wearing half the mechanic's uniform as she admired the virtually untouched Me." This is amazing, it's way sleeker than dad's designs, and either it's or you are amazing to deal with those Underlanders so casually... I'm envious." Spoiler Hide To Eve - Success - No - You can't tell. The commotion around Far would gain Cobb as a new participant, with he Gunner growling lowly as an MP closed in slightly, before Far placed her hand on her comrade's sword. She didn't look particularly pleased by the situation, but she did allow the MPs to handcuff the pair and take their respective swords, although the MPs weren't looking overly gentle about it. Far simply ignored those gathered around her, closing her eyes and being led back to the facility by the MPs, one who looked at Cobb with disdain. The idea that a convict like Cobb was being allowed to pilot the Adam was not a popular notion. Eric, Canaan, and Rely could all hear their distressed TO as he began to explain the situation." The UEC and UCC held a joint operation, using the Primary Orbital Defense fleet. They struck at Angela, where the Red Successors were being sighted. Unfortunately... the entire colony seems too have turned, we weren't expecting this. The UCC claims it has no knowledge of the situation, but... the fleet was completely destroyed, a thousand Me strong, just... gone. We have no idea how, either. Angela isn't equipped for that kind of warfare, and the UEC is about to declare a public state of emergency over the situation. We are losing, sir." Cobb blinks at the MP giving him a dirty look, before grinning broadly and flashing the V-sign. He then approaches Eric, the apparent commanding officer of the force here. "So, there some kinda trouble? Ya look like you're from the folks I'm supposed to be working with, sir." Spending a bit fretting over the Origami and pointing out to the techs where the beast's claws thrust themselves in to avoid the armor, Hikaru eventually turns back and goes after Dr. Tour." Hey, doc! Can I ask you some questions about Origami?" Eric Calder Earth, Japan, Tokyo-2. Piloting Libra-Custom Mind buzzing with questions Eric forces himself to focus on the current situation. With a flip of a switch his comm switches to an intercom[Doctor, how long until the repairs can be finished? I've just received word that the Red Successors have taken over the Angela Colony. Our team may be called in to assist.] Cobb blinks at the sudden message broadcast, then gives Eric a quick salute. "I'll get Adam ready to move out as quick as I can, then." He then pounds as quickly as he can manage back toward the hanger. Nobody knows Adam like him, so no one person could be as much help in repairing the much as he could be. Well, except if the Black Box had been damaged... "Guess I don't have time after all...."

Super Mekton Wars|rating:3.0

The Family (CopperLily & StingWolf)

A foggy day, with a dark sky. It looked like rain was coming, and for a certain man he would much rather be home in time before the rain started coming down. He didn’t like the feeling of his tail being drenched or his ears for that matter. This man was known as Wolf, it was what he used as his name, seeing as he was an orphan and never knew what his birth name was. He was a hybrid, part wolf and part human. He had short black hair that matched his black wolf ears and black tail. Outside that he appeared no different from any human. He had fair skin and bright blue eyes. The thing that was strange with him was the fact that he walked around with his ears and tails exposed. I was odd because every werewolf, vampire, and of course hybrid knew about the Family, a group of humans that hunted these other beings. Most normal humans have never seen a werewolf, vampire or hybrid, but they knew of their existence. It was no secret of these supernatural beings, but wherever these beings were, the Family wasn’t far behind. “Smells like three of them, chasing someone.” Wolf spoke to himself as he picked up his pace and began running very quickly. For he was after a few targets, and he needed to get to them before they killed the person they were chasing. Wolf followed the scent into a recently abandoned garage. They must have cornered the person. But three targets turned around quickly as Wolf came running into the garage behind them. He stopped abruptly, but he slipped on some oil was on the ground. He fell right on his as and the three targets he was chasing were soon laughing at him. “Damn it!” Wolf growled as he stood up and looked at the three fully shifted werewolves and the woman that they had cornered. Wolf’s eyes locked on the laughing werewolves, pissed off and angry that he had to run after them.“You’ll pay for that.” He growled as her reached for the waistband of his black basketball shorts. From the back of the waistband was a pistol hidden under his plain gray t-shirt. He aimed his gun at his first target and pulled the trigger. Instantly before the other two could react was there a gun in Wolf’s other hand pulling the trigger. In less than two second two of the three werewolves were dead, silver bullets piercing their heads. For you see, Wolf was, despite being a hybrid, a member of the Family. Before the third target could escape Wolf managed to aim his first gun at him and pulled the trigger firing the second shot of that pistol, killing the third werewolf as well. He put his guns away in his waistband with his t-shirt covering them to keep them hidden. “Are you okay?” He asked walking over to the woman that had been chased. He looked like he had just gotten done working out at the gym or something. But he was fast with a gun and he was a hybrid. The fact that he silver bullets though meant he was either in the Family or he killed someone from the Family. Either way this made him dangerous. “I’m Wolf, what’s your name?” He asked, trying to be polite, which was more than Wolf normally was. They had followed her here, stalking her as she left her apartment, their movements slowly herding her toward the alley as she had tried to avoid them, and then when she broke into a run, cornering her in the deserted garage. The place where, as one of them growled, no one would here what they were going to do to her... She huddled in a corner, her eyes wide and terrified, pleading with them to leave her alone. When it became obvious the three had other plans for her, she tried to fight back, managing to scratch one of them across the face - netting herself a hard slap across hers that sent her crumpling to the ground, before the Wolf intervened. For a moment, she thought he was another Hybrid, and that she was safe. But with how easily he had put three werewolves down...he was using silver bullets. Which meant he was part of the Family. She didn't answer his question, instead just curling up in a tight ball - in the process shifting enough that her carefully hidden tail, the russet-red with a white tip of a fox hybrid, peeked from under her long skirt, her hair shifting to reveal to ears pressed flat against her skull."Oh god oh god..." she was stammering, clearly scared out of her mind. "Please just...please don't leave my body here. That's all I ask...please..." She was clearly under the impression she was about to die. Not an unreasonable assumption. Wolf noticed her tail and her ears, and then she began to be terrified of him. She must have known he was a member of the Family just by how quickly he disposed of the three werewolves. He let out a sigh as she begged for her body to not be left there. He hadn't even pointed his gun at her. The truth was, that he might have a bit of a soft spot for hybrids like himself. He didn't take pleasure in killing them, not like he did with the werewolves and vampires. He moved closer to the woman in the corner. Furthermore, he crouched down so that he could make direct eye contact with her. He still didn't reach for his guns, not right now as she seemed terrified of him. I'm not here to hurt you. Unless of course you give me a reason to. Now tell me your name.” His eyes were moving up and down her body, he wanted to size her up, seeing if she could be dangerous in any way. But he assumed she wasn't seeing as she was clearly a fox girl based on her ears and tail. And in this world everyone knew that the wolves were higher on the food chain, and the Family was even higher than them. So unless she tried to do what seems like a hostile move he wouldn't have to kill her. He put his hand out for her to grab so he could pull her to her feet. Despite the reputation of the Family, Wolf actually seemed like a nice guy. Or at least nicer than the rest of the Family. The truth was that they would have just shot this woman and of course ignored her request about not leaving her body there. “I want to get to some nice shelter before it rains, you'll have to come with me, I'm afraid.” He wanted to talk to her a little bit before he would bring her to his home. So anywhere that wasn't an abandoned building with the bodies of werewolves might have been a better place to talk. Of course, he planed to take her with him even if she wasn't in the mood to cooperate. Although he imagined she would be, considering she was clearly afraid of the Family. “So what do you say?” He really had no desire to kill her, that much was clear in his tone of voice. He was really trying to be polite here. It was more than anyone else might have been. He wondered why the werewolves were after her as well as what she was doing out here in the first place. He wanted to know about her, before he would ultimately have to choose between killing her and letting her go. She trembled in the corner, her eyes wide as he crouched down, letting out a soft whimper. "Lena. My name is Lena..." She didn't look the least bit hostile, or a threat to him, small and slender enough that even if she laid into him with all her might she was likely going to be on the losing end of that match. She took his hand, trying to steady her shaking as she stood. Silently, she nodded - with who he was, she was guessing refusing his offer would just mean being taken with him as a squirming bundle on his back, or a corpse. There was a small glimmer of hope in her eyes, born of not being killed immediately, and finally she spoke. "I... I'll go with you." Trailing him slightly, she followed him out of the abandoned garage toward his house, her footfalls light and quick behind his. Wolf walked with Lena to his house, his personal house. It was a building he rarely used as he was out most of the time working for the Family, even sleeping in the bunk beds they had in their headquarters. But he still took time to clean his house, well if you could call it that. It was really just a small apartment, but still he kept it clean, without dust, especially without dust as it bothered his nose. He opened the door and let Lena into his apartment. He lived on the second floor. It was nice because it was only a two-floor apartment, and he had the top floor which meant no loud neighbors above him, not that it would have mattered much anyway. As they entered his apartment he brought her into the living room. “Sit.” He told her simply, as he motioned to the couch. He then moved into the kitchen without another word. “Would you like anything to drink?” He called out from the kitchen as he opened up the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water for himself and a second one in case Lena was thirsty. As he did, he could hear the rain coming down on the roof. They had just beat the storm inside, which was a relief for Wolf as he didn’t like getting wet. Lena might have noticed a few things about the living room, for one it was small and cozy, a couch, a coffee table and a TV in the corner. But once again there was absolutely not a speck of dirt or dust anywhere in his place. Somehow he kept this place spotless, although it was a little easier since he wasn’t making it a mess all the time. He waited for Lena’s answer, on whether of not she wanted something to drink, because if he had to make tea he would need to start boiling the water. He himself only wanted water, he was a man of simple tastes, a cold bottle of water after getting a bit of exercise and killing a few werewolves was absolutely what he needed. Furthermore, he didn’t even wait to get into the living room before he opened it up and took a sip. Lena followed him up the stairs, looking through the house. It was immaculately clean, but it also lacked the feeling of being lived in much, like it wasn't really anyone's space. She wondered how he lived - and for that matter, why she was still alive. Even the living room, which felt warm and welcoming, was spotlessly clean. She sat down on the couch obediently. "Some water please." She took the bottle from him, her hand shaking slightly as she thanked him. Once she had opened the bottle, she took a sip, waiting in nervous silence, not wanting to press him for answers - and thus potentially provoking him into losing whatever charitable mood had led him to not shooting her. “Are you okay?” He asked her, noticing just how nervous she seemed, even noticing the slight shaking when she took the water bottle from him. “Would you like some food or something?” He asked her, his voice gentle and sweet, despite having just killed three werewolves not too long ago. He wanted her to feel comfortable, he still had to figure out what he should do with her. Furthermore, he was the only hybrid in the Family, and he had been thinking for a while that he might want to change how the Family operates on a whole. Furthermore, he didn’t like having to hunt his own kind, which was why Lena wasn’t already dead.“You should know that I have no interest in killing you. Even if you’re a fox, and I’m a wolf, we’re still the same in the Family’s eyes.” He wanted her to talk to open up to him, so he could learn more about her and see if she could be a good fit for his plans concerning the Family. “Would you like to have a bath or something? Would that help you relax?” He really was trying to be patient and kind to her. If she joined him in his ideals then she could be useful. But in order for him to convince her to join him he needed her to trust him. He took another sip from his own water, but his eyes, they stayed locked on Lena. She was his target in a way, but in a different way from the werewolves. If was harder finding other hybrids, at least ones that he wasn’t ordered to kill, so he had to make the most of this situation. “Please, tell me about yourself Lena. What do you like to do?” He wanted only for her to open up to him, to trust him. Otherwise, it would be impossible to convince her to join him in his ideals, so he would start, pushing her to get her to give him some information about herself. "Am...am I okay? I... I guess so, I mean... I'm sore, and I'm scraped up, but I'll be fine." She asked, her voice disbelieving, and she nodded softly at the offer of food. "If.is you're not going to let me go for a while, then yes, some food would be nice please." She had put that caveat in there hoping to get some clue of his intentions for her. She didn't even know why she was alive, but it was entirely his decision whether she remained so. She nodded softly as he told her he wasn't going to kill her, and nodded at the question of a bath. "I would like that, if it would be alright. I... I know I smell like fear, and that can't be easy for you." Her eyes stayed fixed on him, and she struggled through her terror to answer his questions. "I work nearby, I'm a freelance editor. It's nothing special..." finally, she worked up the courage to ask him what they both knew she was thinking. "W...why haven't you killed me?" “Why didn’t I kill you?” Wolf repeated the question out loud and then smiled, “Why should I kill you? You’ve done nothing wrong, and you’re not a target, at least not yet. But aside from that, the real question should be why did I take you with me?” Wolf looked at Lena with a serious look on his face, “It’s because I want you to help me. I’ll tell you about that later, for now we’ll rest and relax a bit, have a bite to eat, and then we can discuss what I’ll need your help with.” Wolf stood up from his chair and took hold of Lena’s hand, leading her into the bathroom.“Okay, so here’s the tub...” Then he did something, or rather said something, wondering just how Lena would react to it. “Go on, take a bath.” He said without leaving the bathroom, without giving her privacy, he wanted to see if she would actually obey that order, to see if she would fill up the tub, strip down and take a bath with him still in the room. He knew that if she did that it would be embarrassing, but it would offer him a lot of insight into how she would act. In a way he was testing her, seeing if she would obey him and if she did then she would prove to be more useful than he would have first anticipated. His bright blue eyes locked onto Lena, his black wolf ears twitching, waiting for her response to his order, his tail behind him trying to remain still, to not give anything away about his intent. Aside from the more mental part of the test he was also interested in her, on a more physical level. Wolf had only ever known humans and targets. This was his first time having met another hybrid, or at least the first time he met one without the intent to kill. "B...because you're part of the Family, that's what they do to...people like me." She looked confused at the statement that he wanted her to help him, she couldn't imagine in what universe she could possibly help him. She followed him obediently to the bathroom, somewhat surprised when he didn't leave. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, but fear of disobeying him - even when it was a request she had made - and the desire to feel clean eventually drove her to comply. Bending over, she quietly started filling the tub, waving her hand in the water now and again to see if it was warm enough but not too hot. Finding some bath salts, she dumped them in as well, rendering the water semi-opaque - he would still see her nude if he stayed, but it wouldn't be quite the same. Finally, the bath was ready, and blushing deeply she undressed, speaking as she did." You know, you don't have to stay...it's not like I'll run or anything." But somehow, she didn't think this was about that. Her body was slender but pleasantly curved, pale save for the russet-red tail that emerged from right above the curve of her firm rear end. Stepping into the tub, she sank down until most of her - including her breasts - were slightly below the water line. “Lena, you’re beautiful.” Wolf complimented her after seeing her naked and getting into the bath. He wasn’t exactly mean, although he could have been if he wanted. He didn’t leave, like he knew that she would want, not yet anyway. “I have a proposition for you.” He spoke, seeing just how she had done as he asked, without questioning him, overcoming the fact that he would see her in such a state. It inspired him, he saw so much potential in her. She would be perfect for what he had planned. “Doesn’t it seem strange that I’m a member of the Family, despite being like this?” He said pointing as his wolf ears. It was true, that he was the only hybrid in the Family, and definitely the only one to not have to hide what he was. “I want to change the way the Family is, they already have one of us in their ranks, but I would like to help train you and then bring you into the Family.” What he said, it could have been a joke. After all there was no way they would accept her, they barely accepted him, and he’s been with them since he was a small child. But his words, they were sincere. “If you prove you can handle yourself, and prove that you will not be a danger to the rest of the Family, I believe it will be a critical step in getting some sort of freedom for our kind.” Even if it helped to stop the targeting of innocent hybrids, that would be a serious push in the right direction. “I would like you to think on my offer.” He said as he would now allow her to finish her bath in privacy. “Let me know your what you decide.” He spoke before closing the bathroom door behind him. He had thought about taking advantage of Lena while she was there in the bathroom, but he thought the best option in this situation would be to work on gaining her trust, or at least some form of it. He figured that if he forced himself on her that she would be even more afraid, and what he wanted was a servant out of her, someone that wouldn’t be afraid. Furthermore, he wanted to take her and mold her into his pet as it were, of course what he said about changing the Family was true as well. But he found Lena, now more than ever, to be fascinating. He moved into the kitchen as he turned on the oven preheating it so he could make them both some food for dinner. He had a couple of steaks in the fridge, it was one of the few things he kept in order, seeing as he didn’t spend much time in this apartment, he at least kept his fridge stocked up. She blushed softly at the complement, and she listened thoughtfully to his 'proposition', considering it but saying nothing, though she nodded at the notion that it seemed strange that he was a member of the Family, rather than another corpse in their wake. She listened quietly, thoughtfully, her nakedness forgotten until he told her to think on it, feeling the tension as he considered her. She could tell that he was considering something, her vulnerability, and while it should have made her nervous, instead she found it reassuring - that twice he had considered harming her, and chosen not to. Furthermore, she was not sure what came he was playing at, but she considered his offer in the water while the pain and ache in her muscles faded until she rose, drying off and wrapping a towel around herself before padding almost silently downstairs, the smell of grilled meat and her own hunger driving her forward. She leaned against the entry of the kitchen, barely covered by the towel." Why me?" Wolf looked at her, with only a towel covering her. He could have done anything he wanted to her, but he didn’t. He spoke after she asked her simple question. “Don’t get me wrong, you do have a lot of potential. But I didn’t choose you specifically. The truth is that the Family gives me a list of known targets for me to kill. Most of our own kind keeps hidden, and the ones that don’t get targeted by the Family. So, you’re just the only one that’s accidentally revealed themselves to me without being on the Family’s kill list.” Wolf himself would rather not kill any hybrids, he much preferred to kill werewolves or vampires. He didn’t want to kill his own kind, and for the most part he didn’t have to because they could easily blend into society. However occasionally they would slip up, and he’d be forced to kill them, a lot of the time with other members of the Family watching him, waiting for him to slip up and save one of his own kind, disobeying the Family could have been grounds for execution. But because Lena wasn’t on that list he was more than able to bring her back with him, and bring her into his plan. What he didn’t tell her was that he had already been testing her, seeing just how obedient she would be. And that in itself would be a valuable asset. If Lena was able to complete the training and follow Wolf’s commands he would be able to bring her in as a part of the Family and nobody would be able to refuse, or rather he would put them into a position where they couldn’t refuse. From there it was his plan on changing how they operate, changing who their targets were, putting hybrids on a safe list with the humans. They had an opportunity here to bring at least these two races together. The humans like the Family, and the hybrids like Lena and Wolf. From there he could advance it further, perhaps even restricting how many werewolves or vampires they killed. Perhaps create a new set of rules and laws for them to abide by otherwise they would have to deal with the Family. All that would have to wait of course until after Wolf hears Lena’s answer. He put on an oven mitt as he begins to take out the steaks. They were done now and ready to be eaten. As he set the table he asked her, “Have you come to a decision?” He didn’t want to push her to decide, but he would like to know if she would join him in his endeavors. He placed a steak on each plate and put them on the table next two a set of forks and knives he had just placed on the table. They were ready to eat as he took out some steak sauce for Lena, not sure if she would eat it plain like he normally did. He placed the sauce on the table and then pulled out Lena’s chair for her before sitting down at his own. One thing that could be said was that he definitely wasn’t as heartless as the legends of the Family made them out to be. She nodded softly, considering his words as he explained his choice. "So you give me your words this was just some...happy accident? You didn't...you didn't set them on me, so you could rescue me and look the savior?" When he confirmed that was the case, she nodded, assenting at least to hear him out, looking hungrily at the steak, her stomach rumbling. She nodded at the steak for a moment, and the chair. "They need to rest for a few minutes. Do you have anything I can wear? A shirt at least? As nice as your towels are..." After the matter of her clothing was resolved one way or the other, she sat, pouring the sauce on her steak - she preferred her meat that way, and pondered his offer. "I'm not sure if it's really a decision...you've been kind to me, and I know you could not be, but I fear for what would become of me if I said 'No'. But I will agree to your offer, not only out of fear but..." she sighed. "But because I have nothing else to do, few enough prospects and..." she looked down. "I have lost enough friends." After Lena went to put on one of Wolf’s t-shirts and then sat at the table, ready to eat she had agreed to help. Wolf listened to Lena’s words and paid close attention to every detail. He smiled brightly at her, “Chin up.” He told her as she looked down. “It shouldn’t be fear that drives you, but rather hope. In the end we are the only ones that can change the world. At the very least our kind will no longer be hunted.” He spoke before taking a bite out of his steak. He didn’t pour any sauce on it, he just liked the taste of the meat. This was more of his wolf side than his human side. He was very instinctual, he had a good strong nose for tracking, as well as powerful ears for hearing people sneak up on him. It was actually the traits of his animal side that made him one of the more powerful members of the Family.“But you said you lost too many friends. I am sorry to hear that.” He really was sincere in this. He wondered just how many lives he had ended. But he had to stay optimistic if he was going to change the way people saw hybrids. “Do you have more friends that are, well like us?” He asked, wanting to now if it was possible to increase their numbers. Turn this place into a base of operations and train them all to become members of the Family. If he could, it would really begin to put a strain on the rest of the Family, and they would be that much closer to saving all hybrids from the Family. He looked at Lena, a curious look in his eyes, and his ears twitching a little bit. His tail was actually wagging a little bit. He hoped that she would be able to help him bring other people into this plan. Well, at least he would train her. He planned to turn her from just an ordinary fox girl into a full member of the Family. It was his hope that he’d be able to utilize her and make her strong enough to help him in his own hunts. Of course, he didn’t want to sacrifice any control he would have over her, so he had to walk a fine line between making her strong and not making her too strong. In his eyes, she would become his pet, one that could be useful in everything he had planned. She ate quietly, feeling like a child in one of his over-sized shirts, watching his tail wag idly from side to side on occasion as he ate. Her head tilted up obediently, nodding softly." I know others. We hide, mostly - the Family doesn't like us much, but it's not as if the public much appreciates our presence either. We try to keep hidden and well...they won't much like me introducing you to them, not if they figure out who you are." She continued to eat, wondering what it was he intended for her, and kept talking to fill the silence. "That's how we avoid the kill lists - if the Family never finds out about us, they can't target us. If they do..." She looked at him sadly, knowing she was now a member of this group." If they do, you're as good as dead." Wolf nodded at what Lena said, about the Family targeting them as soon as they found them. It was true, and that was exactly the problem. He wouldn’t be able to get close to his own kind without having a kill order on them. “Well, you see that’s exactly the problem. If your found out then your dead, which is why meeting you today must have been fate.” It wasn’t as if Wolf truly believed in something like fate. But this was definitely a strange turn of events for him. He had been thinking about this plan for a while now and only today when he was hunting down some werewolves did he meet another hybrid that didn’t have a kill order placed on them.“So, over the next few weeks you will be training with me. Learning hos to hunt and fight. You’ll also need to work on your acting skills. Because if you are not completely devoted to the Family they will want to kill you. However, I will try to protect you as much as I can.” The last part was to try and reassure her. He had confidence in her, even after just meeting her. “And we can talk later about you introducing me to your friends. I’m sure if we just sit down with them and explain the situation they would want to join us.” Wolf took another bite from his food. And then smiled at Lena. “If this works, you’ll no longer have to live in fear from the Family. Our kind, we’ll be free to live in the open, well as least much openly.” The humans as a whole didn’t accept the hybrids, but if the Family stopped hunting them they wouldn’t need to live in fear of dying just for showing their ears or their tails. And that in itself would be an amazing breakthrough. “But, it will be hard work. And I’ll expect you to obey all of my commands.” He felt that she might be too innocent to take a life, but if it came down to it, he wanted her to be able to do just that. Werewolves and vampires were still priorities for the Family, so if she was going to prove herself she would have to kill. That was the only way this was going to work. So above all else Wolf wanted to know if Lena was going to be able to obey all of his commands, he would have to test her more. He wondered if she would have a breaking point or if she would be exactly what he wanted her to be. And that was the only thing that he had to know. She had already passed one test, now he would have to focus on seeing just how far he could push her. "Fate." She rolled that idea around in her mind a bit, pondering it - whether to be grateful for that, or curse the idea that her being chased into a deserted garage and almost raped and killed being somehow good fortune. She nodded softly, knowing there was really only one path out of this, and that was doing what he said." Alright...so I do what you say, work hard and... I'll be okay?" She looked uncertain, and a little hesitant - not about trusting him, or even obeying him, but he was making noise about indoctrinating her into the Family, and she knew what they did. Did werewolves beg not to be killed? Did vampires plead for their families, as her own people did?" What will I...have to do?" Wolf nodded at what Lena said, he would make sure she was okay, he didn’t want any harm to come to her, not if she was going to be loyal to him, helping him change the very core of the Family. Although honestly, vampires and werewolves were of little concern to him. First thing was first and that was to gain freedom for all the hybrids. “You’ll be okay, I’ll make sure of it.” He answered her, wanting her to be reassured that he would be their for her if anything happened. But then her next question made him wonder if she would be ready to do what needed to be done. She would have to kill, but he was sure that she wouldn’t be ready to even entertain the idea, not yet anyway. Wolf quickly finished the last few bites of his steak before standing up. He wondered what would be the best response here, surely it would be bad if he told her that she would have to take a life. People never wanted to think about things like that. But if he could set up a situation where taking a life was needed to stay safe that would be different. Maybe just taking her along with him on a few hunts, she would see exactly what they had to deal with. But for now he knew that he shouldn’t tell her that she would need to kill.Instead, he stood up from the table and put his plate in the sink, running some water over it, knowing that he would simply wash it in the morning. “What you have to do, is simple. Just obey me, and everything will turn out just fine. Once you're done with your food please put the plate in the sink and run some water over it.” He told her before walking out into the living room and turning on the TV. The news was on, and he saw the report about the three werewolves he had killed earlier. He watched it, knowing that he had been careful not to leave any sort of evidence behind. The next report was about an armed robbery at a local convenience store. The report had detailed sketches of the perpetrators, one of them clearly being a vampire. Wolf wondered just how quickly another member of the Family would investigate that and kill the criminal. Things like that made them obvious targets for the Family. While they struck fear into hybrids, vampires, and werewolves, they were heroes to the humans, keeping them safe from them. Of course, they never would have thought that the ones that were truly terrifying were the ones that were protecting them. It was something Wolf wanted to change, he wanted the hybrids at least to become real citizens, treated with the same kindness and respect as everyone else. "Just obey you." She repeated his statement, as if mulling it over in her mind, half a statement, half a question, seeming to wrestle with the fact that he was being both direct and at the same time maddeningly obtuse. Part of the problem, of course, was that she couldn't ask more direct, precise questions because she did not know his mind. After washing her dishes, she came to sit beside him, watching the television, clearly uncomfortable when the report regarding her attack came on. Listening for a while, she finally spoke again. "How is it you came to be a member of the family?" Wolf smiled at Lena’s question, while he didn’t want to tell her everything she would have to do, he would tell her how he became part of the Family. He put his arm around her and pulled her in close as they sat on the couch together. “I’ll tell you, exactly how I became part of the Family, although it’s not that impressive.” He told her as he remembered his past, growing up in the family, never remembering what his actual parents looked like. “The Family is split up into two main groups, brothers or rather the male members of the Family, and sisters or female members of the Family. However, there is always one leader at any given time. They are known as the Father or Mother of the family.” Their ranking system was rather simple, although it might have been much more complicated behind the surface, or at least in Wolf’s case. “The Father was the one that found me. He had gone on a job, this was back before he became the Father of the Family. He had been ordered to kill my parents. Well, it was a larger group than just my parents, an entire pack of wolf hybrids. But he was too soft to kill an infant child, so instead he took the child back with him, gave the child a home, food, and as the child grew up even gave them training and the right to stay in the Family. That child was me, obviously.” Wolf was quite amazing in a way, the way he spoke, it calms and gentle. But deep down did he hate the Family for having his real parents killed, maybe a little. But in the end he saw his entire situation as a blessing. Yeah, growing up being hated by everyone else was hard, being treated like an outcast and having everyone wait for him to slip up just once so they could gun him down. All of that was difficult, but Wolf had to succeed, in his mind he was the only one capable of changing the Family, making sure there would be no more victims like his parents. Wolf’s tail moved slightly as he reminisced, his tail brushing against Lena’s thigh gently. For each bad memory Wolf had, he also had good ones. And now he even had some good friends in the Family. She let him pull her closer, her soft, warm, feminine form settling against his, far too tired to exist, and far too tired to do so even if she wanted to. She listened quietly to his story, listening to the story as he spoke. Furthermore, she was surprised, that life hadn't hardened him more, hadn't left him either cursing the people who raised him - or gunning down people like her without remorse." So...you were the Father's pet hybrid, being indulged and allowed to live and..." she thought for a moment, looking down. "And I'm yours." Wolf looked at Lena, listening to her say that he was the Father’s pet and that she was his. In a way that was entirely the truth of it. He didn’t say anything, he just looked at her and brought a hand to her face, his fingers under her chin, raising her head and turning her to look at him. He was gentle, there was no force behind this, he simply wanted her to look him in the eyes. Then, at that moment he told her something, something that he never told anyone else. “We’re the same, you and I. I had once asked the Father why he hadn’t killed me. What he told me that day, it stuck.” Wolf had never spoken of this to anyone in the Family, not even his friends that he had there. “He told me that the world, the humans aren’t ready for the hybrids. He told me that was why the Family killed them, despite them being far less dangerous than the werewolves or vampires. He told me that only hybrids that revealed themselves in public and those that committed crimes would be hunted. And that the fear instilled was what kept them alive. He told me that if we were to be revealed to the public that we would be ousted, the humans would search for our kind, imposing their will on us and hunting us. He told me it was better that only a few humans hunt us to allow the others to survive, even if it’s just in hiding. Because once the general population finds out there will be no place to hide.” Wolf smiled at Lena, his own views were different. “I think that the humans can be and will be ready for us, but only after we have more of our kind joining the Family. Showing them that we could protect them, that we could be trusted, and that we are no different from them.” It was true, the biggest difference between them was that they hybrids had a tail or ears. Outside that the differences were very slim. “But I will not lie to you. I was the Father’s pet, only after growing up after proving myself did he trust me on my own. And you, you will be my pet, but it won’t be so bad. So keep your head held up high.” He wanted her to be strong, to train her to be better than she was, to have her become a full member of the Family. After all was said and done did Wolf move his hand from Lena’s chin, and his tail brushing up against her. He wanted her to feel comfortable, to feel safe here, not threatened, not afraid. Because he wanted her to be stronger, he wanted her also to feel no fear. He wanted her to become his partner in the Family, to go on hunts with him, to change the way the rest of the Family viewed the hybrids, for them to both be accepted and welcomed with open arms. That was what he wanted above all else, he only hoped that Lena would follow him on this path.

The Family (CopperLily & StingWolf)|rating:3.0

Guys and Dolls [Downtown New York]

Downtown(----The (Temporary) Offices of Cleaner Shaw----In the modern world, particularly in the very heart of one of the busiest cities of the United States, it is a rare thing indeed to come across anything truly mysterious. New York has its darker locales of course, just like any other city. Places where the grime and decay is illuminated by flickering neon lights, where rats and stray cats prowl and hunt and die in the gutter. Places where thin men in rags wallow in filth and self-pity, staring off into space at strange and unknowable vistas stimulated by dirty needles and brightly colored pills. Places that house all the scum and villainy you hear all about in trashy magazines and dime store detective novels. But at the end of the day there is no true mystery to them. It arouses fear and nervousness, but that is to be expected when treading the very bottom of the social pyramid. It's a normal feeling. Commonplace. But sometimes it is possible to stumble upon something deeper, something older. A wrong turn down an unfamiliar alley, or a drunken lurch through a door that you'd never noticed before, or maybe a panicked flight down rickety stairs into the darkness. In the end it doesn't matterhowyou get there. It just happens, and all of a sudden you've found yourself in a place that the city seems to have forgotten--or perhaps refuses to acknowledge. The sounds of cars and people fade off into the background and disappear entirely, and even the rats seem muted and solitary. Steam rises from unseen vents and shrouds everything in a thick, almost palpable miasma that smells of sterile heat. All sense of direction seems to vanish as once-orderly alleyways suddenly become strange and labyrinthine, and one becomes overcome with the feeling that they are trespassing on hallowed ground. People get lost in the city every day, but sometimes it's not so simple as a mugging gone wrong or gang violence. Sometimes they really do just seem to disappear, vanishing into the murk. The city claims them, and they are soon forgotten. But sometimes there are those that seek out these foreboding places, looking for the rare kind of individual that chooses to live within them. Such was the case with a certain plucky and conniving young reporter, who had been given directions to just such a location. Of course, the directions hadn't meant much once she entered, and she had no doubt gotten turned around several times, but somehow her feet eventually took her precisely where she needed to go. It was a nondescript gray building that seemed to be pumping out more fog that was necessary, as if it were the heart of this urban anomaly. An unusually red door sat in the center of the wall, and a cast iron lantern hung overhead, candle and all. There were no guards, but several security cameras immediately focused in on Serena at her approach, scrutinizing every movement. A speaker had been installed beside the door, along with another camera lens directly above it." State your name and business, and present identification," an unexpectedly chipper, if somewhat tinny voice announced. Chapter IV Continued from the Strip Club (#msg3193289)Heather (#msg3147762) released the limo driver from his services for the evening and soon found herself in a bar that felt right for her mood." What I do for my family." Having a conversation with ice in her tumbler was a habit the mobster boss was unlikely to break. "Oh Cheeks so very young so powerful you think anyone is old. With what my labs can do how wrong you are. Still you have nice cheeks, as far as look for the good in family one thing is enough." If the waitress overheard Goose talking to herself she was polite enough not to show it, and simply offered a top-up. Heather placed her empty drink aside, shook her head, waited for her to leave before shaking her heels of and stretching." Heavens. I feel younger just having that performance finished."(Serena had felt her throat tighten up several times since she'd entered this cursed maze. It would be way too easy to just vanish in here. And vanishing without a trace wasnotwhat she was here for! If her source had been right, this place held the key to exposing secrets that would make her rich and famous beyond her wildest dreams. And she could dream a lot. After all, the anchorwoman's chair looked awfully warm, and who knew? She was young, pretty. Maybe she could snag one of the bosses or the owners and go even higher. If all went well she could be on her way to the fame and fortune that she so richly deserved. Of course, first I have to get through this. She lightly touched her red hair as if for comfort, then spoke into the speaker. "My name is Sara, and I'm here to speak to the Cleaner. My business is something I'd prefer to discuss inside, not on the street." Better to not have her real name bandied about just, yet she figured. ----The (Temporary) Offices of Cleaner Shaw----The speaker crackled unpleasantly, then went dead. For what seemed like several minutes there was no response, and Serena would no doubt feel increasingly uncomfortable as the silence seemed to settle in every bit as heavily as the pervasive fog. How many others like her had come to this very doorstep, braving unknown and likely dangerous territory? How many before had heard precisely the same rumors, that in some chilly part of the city there lurked a certain individual said to have his hands in everyone's records? How many haddiedbefore ever meeting the man they called 'Shaw'?" Right this way, Miss Sara." But fate looked kindly on the intrepid young reporter this evening, as the lens above the speaker shone a rather fetching shade of blue just as a mechanical click announced that the locks had been opened. Rather than swing inwards or outwards, the crimson door was sucked into thereof the wall with an audible woos of sterile air. There was no one there to greet her, but several overhead lights buzzed to life within the immediate entryway. The moment she stepped in the door would slide shut and lock. The hallway was as grimy as they come, all claustrophobic concrete and inky shadows. Serena would notice that the fluorescent bulbs seemed to eagerly follow her progress, flicking on just as she stepped beneath them and turned off again at her back. It was terribly disorienting, and made the path seem longer than it really was. After a time it seemed to subtly curve, though in such low lighting it was difficult to be sure. Finally, it ended, this time at bright blue door. Another click, and it too disappeared into its slot. The room was a breath of fresh air after the stiflingly depressing atmosphere outside, all rich hardwood flooring and pretty artificial firelight flickering over a plethora of framed photographs and boards covered in slips of paper and other official-looking documents. It was otherwise furnished sparsely, as though the occupant didn't expect to stay very long, but at the back of the far wall sat a large and impressive desk, and seated behind it was a man that could have stepped right out of an old episode of Mr. Rogers, if not for the strange black mask pulled over his features. He said nothing, merely clasping his hands in front of him and nodding for Serena to take the seat opposite him." Welcome, Miss... Sara, was it?" Shaw began, sounding about as bubbly and excited as a little boy on Christmas. "You may call me Shaw. Just Shaw, if you please. However, I must confess that we haven't quite gotten off to the best start. You'll find that I prize honesty above all other virtues, and there is little I can do for those who cannot speak plainly." That a masked man was preaching honesty was almost laughable, but he immediately held aloft a somewhat hefty manila folder. Making sure his guest got an eye-full, he placed it down on the desktop and flicked it open, taking a few pages between gloves fingers and clicking his tongue with disapproval." Ms. Serena Rose march, age 23, the outwardly dizzy journalist with loose morals and even looser loins. Quite a reputation you've built up for yourself, Ms. Rose march. Quite a reputation indeed. I cannot say it is a very pleasant one either, but in this city I would consider that a compliment. I was expecting you sooner to be perfectly honest, but I'm sure a woman such as yourself has an extraordinarily busy schedule. Furthermore, I'm quite honored that you found the time to see me." Shaw's mask shifted slightly, perhaps hinting at a smile. "Now that introductions are out of the way, what may this humble information broker do for you this fine evening?" Stanton St OTB Lower East Side(PM The city was just lurching through its midday slump around him, the traffic just beginning to stir again after the lunch rush, but J.G. Redicker's day had barely begun, his first pot of coffee only beginning to get stale, the aspirin taken after brushing his teeth only beginning to wear off. Sleeping late was a perk of the job, one he abused all too freely with late nights, spent enjoying the seedier aspect many of the more popular clubs took after they'd officially closed their doors. He knew how to work through a hangover as a matter of course, and it came as naturally as working through the haze of a three martini lunch, which was a note of today's schedule he approached with growing impatience. Working on Saturday was the price he paid for the entertainment based nature of his business, last night's boring, legitimate assets counted in a bright, nondescript office. It was in a typical modern style, bereft of family photos or other such personal touches, the almost cold, art gallery quality of corporate culture that made many people cringe. It was everything you would expect from a Manhattan businessman, and nothing that'd you'd remember after you left, save perhaps how clean everything seemed. The man behind the desk held much the same quality. Not overly tall, of a somewhat thinner frame, a neat haircut and a polite, if impersonal professional attitude, his only remarkable features the almost conspicuously high quality of his suits, and his bright blue eyes. Of course, those he met in his front business never saw the comical playboy act he entertained himself with at the brothels at three in the morning, or the friendly, almost spunky bookie act he played for his dad's rich old friends. That was an act he'd be playing a lot tonight, behind the locked door of this very office, for the last minute bids on tonight's heavyweight match. Of course the lounge would be full of the kids and the immigrants watching America's first game in the knockout round in South Africa, all the big money was tied up in the fights, same as ever. He thought about calling in the red books, giving them one more glance over, while he still had time before the doors opened for evening business, but shook his head. You gave them enough eying before you put them away last night. You just need to relax. It was then that his door opened, his gaze snapping up to the spectacled face of his assistant poking past the wood, her normally chipper tone given an uncharacteristic deadpan." It's her." His hands swept the desk, those scatter papers stacked, lifted and tapped to the desk, shuffling them together. "Great." His deadpan suited her own, a normally handsome face twisted in annoyance. "Send her right in, but try to hold her goons if you can. And let the day staff off early, we'll finish setting up after she's gone." The door closing, the man leaned back in his chair, letting out a heavy breath. He sat there with eyes half lidded for but a fraction of a moment, before shaking his head as he turned to the mirror, his tie straightened just enough time for him to lift from his seat as the door opened again." Afternoon Sam. Hoping to get in on the fight?" That all too casual greeting forced straight into small talk, but for its bluntness that face never gave him away. Serena smoothed down her sweaty palms on her crisp black business skirt. She felt distinctly exposed out here in this place, and not in the way she liked. It was with a measure of surprise and relief that she greeted the door's opening, and she lost no time getting inside. It was impossible to keep that relief though when she saw inside. The place was filthy! Worse, it seemed to loom over her somehow. She'd never been a claustrophobic but walking this maze, she imagined she knew how one felt. She was so glad to be out of that tunnel that her investigative instincts took a back seat when she finally reached the office. It wasn't until Shaw spoke that she started noticing things again. Like the folder. Where did he get that? How much does he know about me?! She felt a chill go over her as he spoke, then it was replaced with an odd sense of relief. At least we can skip this song and dance and get right to it. She straightened her black business suit and sat in the offered chair, the nervousness draining from her face to be replaced with a smile." I must confess to a bit of surprise at how well you seem to know me already, Mr. Shaw. It's not often that I run into someone who already knows about the brains behind the beauty. I prefer to keep it that way to be perfectly honest. Being underestimated has served me well, as I'm sure your information can attest to. However, pleasant banter is not why I've come tonight. If you know my past then you must know that I have always achieved my goals through one means or another. Currently, I believe the route to advancing my career lies in a full expose of the criminal underworld inhabiting our city. My investigation so far have indicated that you may have certain connections to this underworld and I come to you in hopes that we can make a deal." Her soft, honeyed voice stopped a moment as she tilted her head to regard him, blinking her large green eyes. "I think we can be of use to each other, Mr. Shaw. We both value information and the power it can have over others. While I admit to beingintriguedby what secrets you might be hiding under that mask, my goal is simply to get exclusive access to the world of organized crime for my story. I can guarantee that you would remain an anonymous source, unconnected to any dirt I can dig up or fallout from my expose. In exchange for helping me to get the scoop to end all scoops, what I offer is access to my own network of sources, legitimate and otherwise, and the information, and therefore control, that they can offer you. Of course, I am open to negotiation." She smiled wider now. "Is that honest enough for you, Mr. Shaw?" Stanton St OTB Sweet Cheeks stepped out of her Rolls-Royce as her driver opened the door. Today she wore a freshly pressed blazer the color of deep ebony which matched her boots and trilby. Poking out from beneath the tail, as always, was her namesake, this time ‘covered’ in little more than a string of ivory lace. Her muscle filed out of the other side of the car, three large goons in suits.“Alright boys, time to go to work,” she said loftily as her thugs filed in behind her; one on either echelon, with one directly to her rear. “Jimmy’s been a bad boy, and I want plenty of time to spank him.” The betting shop Little Jim Redicker ran was a building just on the edge of downtown New York. Far enough away to keep attention away but close enough to suffer the hordes of traffic at peak rush hour. It was a good place for a few of her girls to walk. Sometimes, men would like to celebrate after a big win, others to drown their losses. Either way, she was milking them for every cent with all the cash that the betting shop made for her under Redicker’s ownership. However, it seemed like Jimmy was doing some milking of his own, and she didn’t like it when someone touched her cows. He seemed to have forgotten the very thorough deal they laid a few years ago: a set percentage of what he made was hers, period. In return, her muscles kept him safe. If someone had a problem with him, they had a problem with her, which usually wasn’t healthy. A few of her people brought to her attention that some of the transfers in her books weren’t adding up correctly, and it all seemed to point to the little betting shop. As soon as she stepped foot in the building, she was approached by a secretary amidst the people in the betting room. She made it very clear about her business, and within a moment’s time, she was escorted through the building to the back offices. Of course, there was nothing preventing her from simply doing that in the first place; it wasn’t a good idea to knock too many heads when first entering. Jimmy greeted her casually when she stepped in to his office with her thugs. “Hey Jimmy. No, not here to drop some cash. No point in paying myself.” She smirked, then crossed her arms and arched a leg casually. “Speaking of paying myself, that reminds me why I’m here. I’m here for a little audit.” Stanton St OTB Those pairs of blues met over the cold, clean space of the large office, and as always Powell was almost dangerously disarming, despite the large, stern faced books that filed in behind her and spread to flank her. They didn't get his attention however, though the arch of that leg came all too close. Even as he schooled himself from dropping his gaze, that almost unconscious motion had all the affect it intended, those long, bare legs in his lower periphery causing his pulse to quicken for just a bare moment. Then she spoke, her smirking words sending a lump of icy fear to quell that weakening lust. He was almost thankful for it." Guess that explains why you brought your accountants." Spoken dry, with that somewhat level gaze at her, schooling features to a quite convincing irritated innocence. "I should have known this was coming. You know I hear all the same complaints as you and your friends do." His voice casual, trying to seem unconcerned as he rounded that desk, coming to its front edge and leaning back across it, his arms folding. "You'd understand if you worked this game from where I'm at. A guy loses a thousand, he gets angry and drunk and tells his friend he lost ten thousand. A guy lets a wad fall on the wrong horse, and suddenly it was his life's savings." He had a strong bluff. Perhaps it was blunted by the fact that he held a reputation for it, but strong nonetheless. His voice took a somewhat indignant tone then, his head tilting. "You've had the audits we've agreed on, you send that old guy down every month and I let him root about the books to his heart's content. But this? This kinda shit wasn't in the deal, Powell. Neither were the girls trolling my sidewalk at closing time, and neither was the bag of paper you expect to me clean for you every other week." Of course, he didn't mention that she'd gotten him to agree to those little perks almost pitifully easily. A seasoned businessman never signed on a deal with a woman grinding her bare thighs against his bulging slacks, but Sammy had a knack for making him forget his higher ideals and common fucking sense with the promise of a little attention. Not this time, though. This is your life on the line, Jim. No fucking up. Quote from: Kate on 23-06-2010, 16:08:20Chapter IV Continued from the Strip Club (#msg3193289) Heather (#msg3147762) released the limo driver from his services for the evening and soon found herself in a bar that felt right for her mood. Around 30 minutes later an almost brand-new looking NYPD patrol car (pulled up to a parking spot right next to the bar in which Heather was sitting in. The high reflective etching on the side of the car along with the large light bar on top of the car was a dead giveaway to whom the car belonged to. The ID number "8492" was etched on the side of the car, the ID number belonging to Officer Are Moutai. Letting dispatch know where he was located and unlocking his laptop (from its dock inside the car, Are opened the door and got out. Locking his door he soon walked into the bar.(of the patrons gave Are a glancing look as he walked to an empty table besides Heathers spot. Sitting down and ordering some food Are began to type on his laptop, finishing up several reports that had backup throughout the night.' Jesus I'm getting buried tonight'thought Are as he typed furiously to finish the report. Taking a short break as his food arrived he glanced over to see a face that he had seen on some police reports." Afternoon Heather, lovely evening" he said courteously. Most officers were the same, as everyone else did their job for money but didn't believe their job really was going to change anything. Most officers could be bribed, had dirt enough to be blackmailed or simply have their families threatened to keep them in line. Heather was out of touch of a few recent dealings, but she had heard of Are Moutai ... and that he was a very different sort. Her luck getting out the strip club alive was one thing. A loose tongue from drinking with someone like Are could land her in a lot of hot water.... but Heather was getting used to hot water." Mr Iron Hand, seems we know each other for reasons that may both urge us to exert some principals." Sliding into a seat next to him Heather ordered another drink ... she probably didn't need more, but she seemed to keep her grog well enough for the request not to be refused." Hope that report isn't on me." All knew Heather was a mobster boss. All knew what her family was into." All say your incorruptible, which to most means inflexible and cog of the law engine our society thinks is culture. Such stances unsettle those who like more shady scenes. From what I have also heard you have been shot at and stabbed gosh knows how many times, metals yes, but shouldn't they give you bonuses instead ? Oh, that's right doing so would encourage well ... cowboy antics in others or worse." Heather sipped her drink.... glancing once at the screen before he turned it away from her confirmed her suspicions ... her family's dealings were listed, on the whole reasonably accurate, a list which kept on going... and going ..." Perhaps what is good is subjective. Having others tell you what is right or wrong, be it splines, policy, procedure and the like removes the one thing that gives us a soul I feel. ... choice, personal judgment. Surely that is what makes us people." Having him as Heather's insider or better yet quit being a cop to work for her - would be ideal, But that's the thing, the reason why was because he was incorruptible. Work for her ? Unlikely, he would work for his own values... but that didn't mean those values would be stagnant." Having a job that needs such trust in you doing the right thing, follow procedures ironically is one that doesn't trust you to make your own ... personal judgments on things ... weird... and frankly a little insulting for someone as dedicated as you. Other than enforcing the right thing by what society formally claims to be right, would you ever consider other careers' hon?" Are had only ever read up on the Mini family, never having any contact with the higher ups, only small-time thugs who got careless. Heather knowing his nickname was not surprising to Are as he knew that every criminal in the city knew his badge number, car number, everything about him, they knew. Each of them trying to find dirt to pin on him. As the newspapers had reported several times, over 50 complaints of police corruption, brutality, and negligence of duty had be filed against Moutai, some by the mob's themselves, serving under one of their hundreds of legal officials, sometimes it was the very department he worked for. The corrupt ones trying to wedge out the "problem." But each time the charges were dropped or when it went to trial, Are's defense destroyed the accusers' credibility to the point where the trial was brought to an end."mmm...manners, It's nice to see someone treat me with a courteous attitude, it's very rare in my position to receive that, and I thank you for it first of all." said Are giving a light bow of the head while saying it. Arex had a small chuckle to himself at the notion that he was a cog in the system of justice. Are thought to himself that he actually liked talking to this woman, criminal or not, nothing in the patrol guide said anything about talking to criminals, since she had not committed anything in his presence, and she had no warrant out for her arrest, Are could relax for the most part. He could just talk, which was an incredible luxury for him." And no ma'am this report isn't on you, however I have done my homework on your family as you most likely have read on my screen just now" said Are Turing his computer screen away and closing it so she couldn't see the screen anymore." But I must say that I am very surprised that you are even talking to me. Half of the people in this room want me dead, the other half want me maimed in some way. But you are the exception...for now" Are's voice never waived throughout the exchange of words, it was as if he was untouchable to the people in the bar. As if he had a shield that protected him from harm. Even though his past history would say otherwise. Are sipped on the water he had ordered for himself and took a bit of the french fries from his meal. After she had finished her final statements, Are nodded several times, listening to her intently." My job is unpleasant yes, even extremely dangerous sometimes, I have received job offers from several federal law enforcement agencies in the past, but I prefer to be on the streets, where all the action is. It allows me to act at a moments notice, unlike federal agencies were it could take days to weeks to get any actionable intel. As with my position I can pounce in an instant. On the contrary, I am very loose with my responsibilities as an officer of the law, I cannot be the sheriff of New York as some of my peers would think of me as, I can only do so much, as I am only human. So I take everything in stride, do what you can and go home safe. People in my line of work have to realize that if you take down one person, ten more spring up to take his position. I am all about balance, for which this city is in a very unbalanced field at the moment." Are said before stopping. "Excuse me I do tend to rabble on about myself. I may, I help you this fine evening?" "Manners relates to three things. The first concerns what someone wants from another, the second is how a person wants to be thought of by others knowing of it, the last concerns what a person sees themselves as being and how much of what is in the people they talk to. It's rare that there are times all apply but with you all do." Heather liked this man. Someone who choose to be honest not dismissive with who he would likely deem as the enemy, what he was in charge of driving out of his city, was a novelty she wasn't going to pass up." You mentioned other agencies have requested you. Also, that the streets is where action is which you can pounce on in an instant. Interesting. If nothing else you seem intelligent enough to entertain an intelligent conversation knowing that you would walk away wiser or better for doing so with the likes of me, the know your enemy kind of thing. This brings me to something interesting ... which would be interesting for you, I am sure."" There have been times I believe you must have been frustrated with your work being wasted by others above you not following your leads or seeing things through. We are never isolated in this world, everything effects everything else. Someone like you is someone I could use, and I perhaps could be someone you could also. Having a nickname as incorruptible means its unlikely you will do anything for another that goes against the interest of your current values . This appeals to me greatly. But you would be a man of your word if you just quit your job and tried another career for a while. You have done years on the streets as a cop, you already have helped society more than most. If you feel you need to do more years to feel you've done right by your values or your sense of self ... how many more ? Five ? Ten ? Twenty ? The best you can hope for is a few more metals, perhaps long service leave. Commendations being a fine officer, promotions offered - which you will decline because they take you away from the street you hold dear, but both you and I know it will unlikely get that far for one reason . And this isn't a threat. One day one of the attempts on your life will succeed. One day you and your partner and the best of your training or information will not protect you from one lucky blow some punk managed due to some dare to prove he is cool to his friends, one that may leave you crippled, a wife you may or may not have in a nightmare. Meanwhile, while this happens others your age will be busy sleeping with women of their dreams, driving cars of their dreams, enjoying raising children with the wife of their dreams in the house of their dreams without such fears. What make them special ? Your choice does ... as much as theirs."" I know first hand that people don't change characters easily. If they are going to do something properly in one job likely they will do something properly in the next, lazy in one lazy in the next. But sometimes they stop and reassess what they want if one day it seems hollow or pointless, less of the thrill it was in the past. Every soul evolves, solve one need, another appears, It's always been that way, this is what makes humanity strive to improve itself it is to experience the landscape of the next better good. Now if you want to work the streets you can ... until other wants to arrive, and they will. You must have considered there is other action elsewhere which is not obvious but must exist. Not many see sex in malls - why ? Because that action is elsewhere. You know powerful people pull strings behind closed doors, ones that make country war with each other which creates and destroys politicians, but these are actions elsewhere. There is more action than on the streets' hon, no less real, no less interesting and no less involving."" Stability and order could be its own reward, but I will let you on a little secret my kind know too well which I know you have at least suspected. Society was formed initially by the gun and sword, the very bullies you rid the place off are the ones that have won in the past. But when any bully gets beyond a critical size they become the law and become the values of the places of their influence. After their gory work is done they criminalize anything that threatens their desire to retain power and privilege in a way they can extend it to their linage forever more. To do so they need people who obey policies and procedures they themselves direct to follow commands, something they can assume to be followed, using society itself against itself for them, these people don't hold the values they claim they represent and champion. They just do what has to be done to guarantee they are exclusive players of bigger decisions, ones that have plenty of opportunity for disproportionally large benefits to come their way ... ideally by doing less and less, while the responsibility of it working is on another. Authority and power money and privilege without responsibility. They don't care for others, they care for themselves, if they cared for others they would work for charities, they would be helping the animals and working in homeless shelters. Those in power are far from that, you know it and I do. Desire for power in the name of kindness and fairness more often than not is a desire for power by appealing to the ideal of kindness and fairness ... its if isn't it becomes so all too easily. I do want you to consider working for me, for better values than those who give you orders. The pay and privileges will be something you can use to fund whatever other values you have. If your paid millions a year but still believe in serving the police, you could channel such wealth to change some station in the way you wish it. Such help may serve your current values more than working directly as one of their officers. Some things I do are considered unethical to some perhaps more, but I would like to have the chance of explaining what I do and why, and I will explain my values of good. If you feel they are indeed better than other forms of good you have been fed by others with, perhaps working for me may be something of interest. You can not be corrupted by "other types of good" if you quit your current promises before making others ...... to yourself."" Black and white laws to keep things simple and predictable are not "objective good" ... they are simple. They are simple controls over principal led people like you who may be sometimes tempted to choose their own judgment over their procedures. But life isn't simple. As a soul or a person your not simple. A cops' life is too simple to keep the likes of your soul interested surely.... perhaps interested for one year maybe, for five perhaps ... not for forever, not once you become aware of more truths, more goods ... more realities.... More" Stanton St OTB Sweet Cheeks stepped right up to him with a cocky grin. “Let’s get a few things straight Jimmy. You work for me, which means you make me money, and I can audit you whenever the hell I feel like it. Also, my girls will walk wherever the hell I want them to walk. In fact, if I wanted to, I could turn this whole shop into a whorehouse.” She considered the option visibly for a moment. Whores were a good source of cash, and coked up women usually kept her headaches to a minimum. Then again, she had quite a few already, and even though the Chief was starting to sway to her charm, she couldn’t go setting up brothel after brothel. Plus, sometimes coked up hookers were more of a pain than they were worth.“But you know what? It’d be too much of a bother. A whore can’t cash in a cool ten grand like you can. That’s why I let you in to my family, and let’s face it; without me, you would be nothing. You make me money, and I let you hide behind my back and reap in some of the finer benefits that come with my partnership.” The last statement was accompanied by an accusatory poke to his chest. With a simple wag of the same finger, she beckoned to her men, and they stepped forward to flank her. She liked Jimmy, which is why she wasn’t going to hurt him too bad. He just needed a solid reminder of who his boss was and what her demands were, and she was very good at giving reminders.“You want to know what else wasn’t in the deal? You, skimming off your own share of my money.” Her blue stare settled on him with a cold confidence. “Didn’t think I’d find out about that, did you?” Stanton St OTB She rolled right towards him, that jut of her chin a cocky thing, that patronizing grin upwards to his own. She carried the scent of perfume and expensive cigarillos, and though he kept his gaze trained at her face almost poker stiff in the indignant stone of an innocent accused, the familiar connotations of that scent would bring another short flush to his face. He tried to bite it back with anger, and the derision dripping from her words was quite perfect to feed it, his face twisting lightly as he responded with a light jut forward. "I'm notinyour family, Powell. I'm not one of your thugs, I'm not one of your dad's pervy old capos. I am client, I pay you for service. You can't just walk in here every other month demanding new concessions, making new rules!" He was quite convincing, no surprise considering he was trying to convince himself. She'd been pretty successful in doing just that in the past few years since their arrangement began. He'd made a promise to himself he'd fight to keep a tight grasp on his business, but every time she pushed him against the wall, he jumped at the chance to taste her again, whatever the terms. It couldn't continue, he couldn't allow it anymore. Then, her finger poked against his chest, ending his small moment of anger quick with a light swallow. The accusation itself dropped, and he schooled his expression once more. She couldn't know, she couldn't -know- know, not unless...no, no that guy didn't run with Morelos anymore. He had to continue bluffing, his gaze moving back and forth over her shoulders as those thugs flanked her, bearing down on him." Wait, hold on. Somebody's sold you a line. I-I've got all the books here, we can them over together..." And again, he recalled the feeling of wishing there wasn't a desk behind him so he could back away from her. Quote from: Kate on 27-06-2010, 15:02:10Heather liked this man. Someone who choose to be honest not dismissive with who he would likely deem as the enemy, what he was in charge of driving out of his city, was a novelty she wasn't going to pass up. Arex listened intently towards what this woman was saying to him. She made some excellent points for someone who lived her life in the black behind the scenes. Most mob people who made this type of speech to him only had it memorized from the very textbook he had read up on the subject in College getting his master’s degree in criminal justice. But this Heather seemed to speak from experience. Since she had once been at the top of her game, but had been reduced severely, in some weird way Are sympathized with her. Especially if she was cowing down to Morrell who was the new person on top." You make an excellent point Heather. I've had such debates like this in college, but usually I was the one saying what you were, I won because I blew the minds of the others in the class and their copy and pasted speeches could not defend themselves." Arex then pointed to his badge on his left shoulder, where all of his medal ribbons were also." This badge, isn't even real silver, yes sometimes I feel as if my job does nothing, but at the same time, this one man is making sure that the City's excess fund, which is made up of drug money seizures, goes to city projects, and not to the mayor's office for his fifth office remodel. The only reason that they do it is that they know somebody is watching what they do, and furthermore, know how to destroy their reputation. Hell if I had sufficient evidence, I could rip the corruption out of this city like a cancerous tumor. But in doing so, it would destroy our police's and our cities reputation, people would no longer believe that they could win, and even if they had some type of hero, when he dies, who takes over? It's a massive catch 22 of an ordeal to have to deal with. Most people respect the badge of a police officer, but everyone respects when that officer has something pinned on them."" Another point I would make is why should I work for you when so many others have tried the same? Or at least tried to threaten me, yes I may die unexpectedly, but that's a part of the job that I have accepted long ago. If I were to help you, all I would be doing is replacing one cancerous tumor with another, that will grow and become as big as the last one. Sorry if I have offended you, but it had to be said. What I hate about people like the Morrell family is that the power has gone to their head, they no-longer respect or fear anyone, why? Because they have enough to remain a necessary part of the city, if you were to take them down overnight, the power vacuum would be enormous. I can just imagine the riots going on all week. The Morrell's strut around the city not caring who they step on or who they destroy, as long as it means more money and more debauchery. Fear, money, and sex is all they have, but those three are very powerful in our society. But if you continue to use all of them endlessly, eventually one of them will fail, and when you take one down, another will follow soon after. If she continues to treat her underlings like crap and playthings, people will turn on them, just you wait. Besides, she may have lots of connections within the police and government, but those cost a great deal to keep up, and she cannot bribe every public official, she would go bankrupt in an instant."" But I suppose a bar in downtown isn't a place to discuss such things, I'm off shift in a few hours if you want to discuss this elsewhere" said Are getting up and excusing himself, handing her his police business car with his phone number on it. "Perhaps somewhere more private would be more appropriate, it has been a privilege talking with you, good day" said Are then paying his bill and leaving with all his equipment back to his car. "I was sort of expecting that"Heather sighed. I was likely the man had already reasoned such things though in his own mind, knowing why he came to a conclusion shows a man's nature more than the choice itself, in Heathers mind anyway." Am I selfish ? Yes. I admit that. Still I do want to help society, so I can feel good about myself - a selfish desire. Probably not in the manner most others would but ideally if my family stays doing what they are doing and perfecting matters - I wouldn't mind profits going to good causes, giving freedom for all and all that jazz." Heather finished her vodka and leafed through her purse, after a while she produced a card." Here is my home address. Its very private, has things in the entrances to let me know if people are bugged or wired.... intrusive but necessary. We currently have different values that are in conflict with each other, unfortunately. I do want to present my case properly and not do my take on the stand-up rant I have just done. Perhaps you may decide that I stand for all that is evil and send some squad through my house the hour after you leave, true, that is a risk."" But you being seen attending my residence also is a risk. Hopefully we can be mature about matters, put principals of what side each other is on aside for the time it takes to have dinner a coffee and a chat, after which is your not interested no matter what you can walk away with my word refusal doesn't mean there is a bounty on your head - from my family at least."" I believe you're the type that I could trust myself. Everyone has liberties and my family has found themselves in a situation with a valuable asset and I would prefer someone that has strong values working beside me seeing it manged in a way that is better than how it may be otherwise. Someone who shares at least a similar dream, if not all of them."" I want dreams to start floating into this city, and I am an impatient woman. Perhaps you have been impatient trying to work through the police force yourself, there maybe other channels of doing what you believe in that doesn't involve being a cop... that may agree with the reasons for acting which you have now. Being one isn't the only way to be good and you know it. "Heather pushed her card in front of him"Tomorrow at 7 pm is when my resident chef serves me duck, if you do arrive to join me I would be honored, if nothing else I would have intellectual company while talking about an interesting subject." Are nodded to her as she finished and Are adjusted his uniform so that it was back in perfect order. Letting dispatch know he was off of his last meal break and finally off duty. Are intending to head home for some much need rest. He was off-duty tomorrow anyway so it would be nice to have a person to talk to for once." Trust me, no one will be aware of my coming or going from any location during my off time, it's a time when I like to...how should I word this?....investigate without the need of a bureaucracy, and I will be in my personal car anyhow."" Hopefully we can at least find some common ground if not a friendship yeah?" said Are giving off a small hint of a British accent. "I look forward to the meal you have so graciously offered me. I will be armed traveling to the house, but I will disarm myself once I have entered the home. I am at least a man of my word if anything else, hopefully you will do the same." With that Are left the bar and drove off in his patrol car back to his home. "Very well officer, I hope to see you there"Heather smiled . Before calling a cab to see her back to her mansion. Continued Given Family Mansion (#msg3156956) Stanton St OTB Sweet Cheeks scoffed. “You really think I’m going to trust the books that you keep? Sweet of you though, to offer to get cozy. If you are honest instead of being a selfish prick, I might’ve taken you up on that. I know whose words to believe, and they’re not yours.” He was definitely pulling away from her. Good. She wanted him to feel a little fear. Negative reinforcement was a wonderful too, so long as you didn’t mind having to deal with someone who screws up. This was his first time screwing up, so he didn’t know how she handled people like him. Also, a plus. She mercifully stepped away, but it wasn’t to lay off her intimidation. She was just getting started. “Boys, why don’t you make Jimmy nice and comfortable for our little chat?” Two of her thugs grabbed him by the shoulders, while the third moved his office chair around to the front of his desk. They promptly shoved him into it, then held him down while one of them tied his hands behind it with a length of rope. Bondage got her hot, plain and simple, and the more of it the better.“Thanks,” she said to them, keeping her eyes on Jimmy as she smiled. “Now go have fun and fuck the place up. But try not to trash it too bad and end up burning the fucking place down, alright? I still want Jimmy to be able to run a smooth operation afterward when we go over our contract.” Stanton St OTB"This isn't necessary. It's not like I'm gonna...wait, guys...guys!" It was about then the first thug rolled to his right, his arm grasped in the thug's meaty first, before his shoulder found the same thing. His left was soon to follow, the man quite pliant about it. After all, what was the point in fighting it? But then the third moved around Powell, his hands drawing a white nylon rope taut between them, and those blue eyes opened wide as his body jerked in an involuntary moment of sheer panic. He didn't squirm long, just as he began struggling he was shoved backwards, finding the front edge of his chair and all but falling into it, before he was so roughly held straight back against it. His jaw tightened in a momentary pain as his arms were forced backwards and bent to cross wrists behind the back of the chair, that rope looping over and over around them. Apparently she was exacting when it came to her ties, because it was a well executed not, leaving the man with no room to move and exacting a toll of ache at any attempt to wriggle free. Then she let her boys loose to have their fun out in his lobby, his head shaking as he gave an almost mournful groan. God, he's never open up tonight now. At least the day staff wasn't around to see it, his gaze lifting as the thugs filed out of the room, finding Sweet Cheek's own, his face almost incredulously reserved." So, judging by what you just said, you don't intend to shoot me. What now?" ----The (Temporary) Offices of Cleaner Shaw----Quote from: Empyrean on 25-06-2010, 22:30:58She smiled wider now. "Is that honest enough for you, Mr. Shaw?" One had the eerie impression that Shaw was smiling right back, though it was impossible to tell with such a dark mask in such a low light. Somehow that just made it worse. What toucan'see is always more disturbing than what toucan, even something as normally innocuous as a pleasant grin. Though if the man did in fact grin, one had to wonder if it was a pleasant one, or the sort a predator shows just as it is about to make the killing stroke. That Serena had even heard of him at all was pure random chance--or at least itseemedthat way. For someone with such profitable and widespread business dealings, Shaw was almost a ghost, even among the sort of ill-tempered people he regularly consorted with. He seemed to like it that way, but every once in a while a rumor or two would leak out, and interested parties would search him out. Interested parties like Miss Rose march. Though, one had to wonder if such rumors weren't spread on purpose..." Quite, Miss Serena. Do you mind if I call you Serena?" he asked, in a manner that told her he probably would anyway. "To be honest," he added with a firm chuckle, "I just wanted to hear you say it. I already knew what you came here for, perhaps before you even knew it yourself." Shaw placed the Manila folder back into a drawer in the desk, then clasped his hands together as he regarded her. "You know, I admire your work. Well, notyourwork--though it is rather spectacular, if sensational. The work of a reporter. An investigative journalist. Quite thrilling. With a well-written story you can literally sway the minds of the masses. Notates power." The man tilted his head plaintively, thinking. "Then again, it's not theonlykind of power. You see Miss Serena, we both deal in information. That I already know so much aboutyouwhile you know next to nothing aboutmespeaks volumes. The difference, however, is that I am not so willing to use said information to hinder or help others. My interest is merely inowninginformation. It does not matter how insipid or seemingly useless that information may be, so long as Have it." His fingers tightened briefly, as though he were attempting to strangle the life out of something. But the moment was gone as quickly as it had come." Buying. Selling. Trading. Those are my joys. My specialties. Sometimes I have other specialties, when the need arises, and I adapt. But you are here for buying, and I am all too happy to sell. Of course, you understand that I cannot give you everything all at once. It would be far too much for even you to handle if you knew the truth behind this city, as I do. But I am willing to leak to your key morsels until the time comes when a truly mouthwatering story is finally ready to be told. I accept the use of your contacts, though some of them certainly overlap." Overlap. The thought wasn't very uplifting. Just how far did his web stretch?" Now, do you have something more...specific? To narrow down exactly what I might tell you this fine evening." Stanton St OTB“Oh Jimmy, you know I’d never shoot someone who makes me so much cash,” she said with a devilish grin, then pinched his cheek. “Besides, you’re way too cute to kill. No, I think I’ll just give you a thorough audit, and then brush up on our contract. Sound good?” Her thugs had left, and she shut the door behind them and locked it. In a few minutes, they’d probably hear a few loud noises of them turning up the place, and she didn’t want a stray, panicked customer interrupting them. She took her trilby off, setting it on a chair in the corner of the room, then moved back to Jimmy’s bound form on the chair. She wouldn’t have minded more rope, and maybe a few kinkier trimmings, but she wasn’t about to haul all of that with her for a house call. He was as helpless as she needed him to be; she could even spin him around on the office chair if she felt like it. But instead she swung her legs over his lap, and lowered her bare cheeks and her warm scantily clad sex snugly onto his lap so that she faced him. With one hand, she gripped him by the collar, while the other rubbed the leather of her glove against his cheek.“Now Jimmy,” she began conversationally. “As you can tell, I’m pretty disappointed by your actions.” She drew back her hand and slapped him across the face. “In fact, I’m pissed. But you know me, I’m a fair woman, so I’ll hear you out.” Another slap sounded across his face. “What made you do it?” ----The (Temporary) Offices of Cleaner Shaw----Serena put on a considering look. In truth, she was trying to figure out where she wanted to start with this expose and trying to put aside thoughts of who in her network was also in his for a later time. Her sources had given her a few ideas, but where would be a good place to begin? While she thought, she smiled." Why thank you, Mr. Shaw. Certainly you may call me Serena. It is my given name. I just didn't want to say it out there where anyone could hear. To be perfectly honest, I don't much care for helping or hindering people myself. For me, information and its control is just a means to advance myself. If the gullible masses are swayed by my reporting, well, it's just a pleasant bonus to be trusted and respected, and to earn the rewards that come with such trust and respect, no?"" But to answer your question, I think I'd like to start with some information about the crime syndicates in town. I'm given to understand that the Morrell family has come back from the verge of dissolution under the leadership of the daughter of their old boss. With the proper build-up, tidbits on the life of a genuine mob queen ought to get the masses slavering for more, leading into a nice build-up towards the big reveal on all the syndicates." (File IR-74187Stop one Market200 Ridge St (cross street-Station St)Activity from tapped phone lines has ceased. Shop is suspected of being owned by Julio "JFK" Felix. Felix is under investigation for arms dealing and trafficking. He claims his shop is family owned and operated, his wife has filed a missing person's report three days ago. Three more of Felix's known associates have been reported missing by family members. Shop which is suspected as a front has not opened in over a week. No activity has been noticed at all, boxes of actual merchandise are piled up outside the door. Officer patrol has confirmed all lights inside are on, the door into the back is open. ****eight days earlier ****(stood just shy of a transit stop with black briefcase in hand, the sun was starting to set and everyone's focus seemed to be on getting home to enjoy the rest of the evening. Almost everyone, the tall Russian native was waiting for someone to come and fetch him, with strict orders to come alone. Not being a fool he had two of his guys watching him, one from the rooftop with an SVD in hand in case he needed to play pop the weasel and the other down the block "on duty" as a temporary security officer for a small pawn shop that had a tendency to get hit in the evenings. As young looking man came swaggering down the road, his pants down damn near to his ankles with the handle of a pistol jutting out of his waist. The well-dressed man looked a little out of place which made it for the Hispanic origin youth target him, by bumping into him and reach for his wallet. Viktor was much quicker and grabbed his arm, a stern look on his face until he saw that the young gangster was trying to pass him the location he was supposed to meet up with the arms dealer who only identified himself as JFK. After a single sided outburst of profanity the young man walked him to the shop up the block and showed him in. The store seemed empty, a young man nodded at the sagging past young man, and soon he was shown to a back room behind a rack of chips that was moved to the side. The scenery went from over priced market to armory once they made it past a short hall, guns were stacked along the wall with boxes of ammunition littered on the floor. A small table at the end of the long room had an older Hispanic male well into his 40s, if Viktor been a genealogist he could have pointed him and his family members as Puerto Ricans. The overweight man lifted his hand in a friendly gesture he could have gone without." Mi Amigo, we meet at last!" Viktor only nodded, putting the briefcase on the table and opened it, inside was organized stacks of twenty dollar bills bundled and ready to be counted out." A businessman? Ok.ok, we can do business...we just need a place to drop the guns, this shipment is not for you...once we count it out we will..." A scream was heard from the store and the jingle of the door being closed, the young gangster who identified himself as JFK sprang up and went to look what was going on with guns in hands. The money in the briefcase went flying, and the two noticed too late when Viktor had in his hand an assault rifle "AN94" which seemed to have come out of thin air. Two well-placed bursts of triple round bullets took each of them out, a few more workers from within the building came to their deaths either by the hands of Via himself or man dressed in an "Aegis security" badge on his hip, his shift ending at a perfect moment as if it had all been part of a plan. The bodies were stacked on to the desk in that back room, all the handling done by gloved hands. The entire cargo was loaded into a convoy of black dodge chargers parked out back in an alley. The shell casing taken, the only evidence of the men's death being any slug that found itself in the wall or inside the corpses. Aegis security could add a new victory under its belt, the next weapons dealer already being courted. The first crash came suddenly, almost as soon as the door shut behind the retreating thugs, he could see a dark shadow like a gorilla through the blurring glass of his office walls, throwing its arms up as the chairs rattled noisily to the floor, the man's face twisting in a wince as the cacophony began. That grimace of anger would distort with the catch of his cheek between her fingers, those patronizing words drawing a reactive anger from him, and for but a single moment his wrists twisted against the bonds all too uselessly. Then, unexpectedly, he felt himself pushed back, the light creak of the chair beneath him as her body settled against his own. Almost immediately he stopped pulling at those bonds, that rise of his chest at a slow intake of air, the press of those bare thighs at either side of his slacks, the warmth of those eponymous cheeks settled on his thighs. Those expensive pants concealed two bulges, the first the leather softened contours of a baby Glock in a custom crotch holster, the second beneath it, threatening to grow larger by the minute, pressing it upwards against that pale lace that so barely covered her. He was fighting to maintain his anger, to repeat that mantra of indignation, to stem the growing infatuation that she'd used so sharply against him more than once. The slap helped, his head jerking slightly at the first one, gazing back to her, lips parted as if to speak before the words died under another blow, and the flush of his face grew, a maddening mix of desire, anger and embarrassment." What do you want to hear? You send me a sack of hot bills every other month, you should expect me to take a chunk of it. I'm not your pet, Powell." And finally, with those words, he broke that eye contact, forced to concede with the drop of those blue eyes downward over her form, his jaw tightening as he spoke through gritted teeth. Stanton St OTB Sweet Cheeks worked a little motion into her hips. It wasn’t anything fancy, like one of her girls grinding on a lap, but just enough to get a little friction going. Her cheeks rolled back and forth on top of his thighs, dutifully massaging his crotch from underneath the tail of her blazer. Something, however, didn’t feel quite right against her left thigh.“Well, well, what do we have here?” she asked, undoing the buckle to his belt. Her other hand kept its grip on his collar. After the buckle, she did the button and zipper too, then reached inside and pulled free his hidden weapon. “Didn’t know you liked to pack extra heat, Jimmy.” She tossed the gun to the side, out of his reach, where it sounded against the floor. Now free of the unnecessary lump, she continued her grind in a little more comfort. “You may not be my pet, Jimmy, but I sure as hell expect you to follow my rules.” She drew back her hand and slapped a third time. “That means no skimming off the top of my money, no whining about the whores outside. I’m a little surprised, actually, that you don’t like kissing my sweet ass. You more of a ‘tits only’ type a guy?” Since he dropped his gaze from hers, she opened the front of her blazer a little more. She didn’t have the big honkers that some of her girls did, but usually skipped a bra. Implants sounded like they’d take away from the rest of her, and besides, she had more things to spend on instead of plastic.“Sorry, I’m pretty average up here, but if you want, I can still give you a peak.” Stanton St OTB He forced himself to take another breath as those hips began to roll, the familiar, lewd feeling of a woman's weight and motion, the material of those slacks all but burning from the heat his racing heart was sending through his body, getting worse by the moment as he fought for control. Then her hand slipped down, and an almost pitiful groan slipped from his lips at the metallic clink of his belt coming loose, the slow draw of his zipper downwards. He felt her hand slip through the material, around the rough, plastic grip of the stubby little Glock. As soon as it came loose he exhaled in relief as more room was made for those tight designer underwear to distend, and in one moment of laxity he lost his fight for control, and the blood he'd been trying to hold back engorged his flesh almost violently. Of course, as she might guess, having a quality concealed holster like his meant he had to be quite restricted beneath those slacks, and his face twisted in a grimace as his flesh pressed readily for room. The pain of the slap was almost a merciful distraction, sending his gaze upwards again to her own, those blues flashing frustration and spite. "It's not about your rules, Powell, and you know that. It's about your rule. About getting your way. The terms, the deal, the rules, they don't really matter. You change them at a whim!" His voice was strained, and even as he spoke her hand lowered, and he knew in his periphery the buttons of that blazer were coming loose. He forced himself almost desperately to keep her gaze on his. "Don't think I don't know how this works. I intended for my operation to be long term. Steady income, minimal risk, minimal fuckups. You'd rather run it hard and fast, squeeze what you can out of it while you can, and leave me holding the leaky fucking bag once you rattle the thing apart." “Goddamn right it’s about my rule,” Sweet Cheeks said, very close to his face. “You think I would let a small fry like you mess around with my business just because you’re a greedy little fuck? It’s my business, my rules. All you have to do is be a good little boy and what I say, and you can keep hiding behind me.” She let out a little noise of interest as the friction between her legs increased. The gun was gone, but she was once again back to straddling something hard beneath his slacks. Her hand abandoned her blazer, which now lay mostly open for his enjoyment, and joined her other at his collar so she could work her hips a little more. The string of fine ivory lace rubbed over the bulge in his pants again and again. A few more crashes sounded through the door. Her boys were still doing a number on his place.“You know, I like the phrase ‘hard and fast’,” she commented casually. “Like living at the moment. None of all this careful planning shit; you just do what you want to do.” She grinned. “Of course, I’ve got the cash to be able to do that.” The grind stopped abruptly, and she lifted herself off his lap briefly, pulling his face close to her chest. She reached into his pants, tugging the clothing down until her fingers wrapped around his now-hard cock. Once her target was between the leather, she lowered herself back down, moving the string of her thong aside, and slid onto him with a long sigh.“So Jimmy,” she said as her hips started to grind again, gently fucking him, “How about we go over our deal again?” The noise in the background was unmistakable, though at least the shouting had stopped, whatever customers he had well gone by now, leaving the boys to do their work over his machines and his bar. But for him, everything outside that office was almost muted, his full attention on her, that face so close to his own, the intensity of her eyes setting him on edge, the slow roll of her hips deceptively soothing. Fear and want and the pure force of her presence, it was almost maddening, his jaw tightening as he tried to keep himself pissed. She rose upwards, his eyes almost gratefully dropping as she did, that rising chest so close to his face, so close he could smell the soap still clinging to her body beneath the scent of perfume and smoke. That hand snaked down his front, past the already open fly of his pants, the grasp of her fingers around his cock. And that was it. Game over. She pulled that shaft free through the front of those briefs and past that leather holster, his lips parting in a ragged groan as it was finally allowed to fill and stretch upwards, that relief flooding him, the man barely able to keep himself from thanking her for the relief. He didn't have anything smart to say anymore, that backwards roll of his head, gazing up at her almost weakly. For a moment, he thought she was going to make him ask for it, beg for it, but mercifully she simply lowered, his jaw slackening as he felt the mushroomed head press against her entrance, that slick heat parting around his length, inch by inch. "Of..." That grunt forced from his lips, feeling her encompass every veined inch of his length until, again, those cheeks rested against his thigh. Then she spoke, beginning to roll up and down on him, stroking that needy cock within her, and he looked up, his teeth gritting again. "Sam, not now...please..." ----The (Temporary) Offices of Cleaner Shaw----"ThePorelloFamily, you say?" Shaw's head tilted almost imperceptibly to the right, as though he--and he alone--had suddenly heard some strange or curious noise off in the distance. "Unfortunately, Ms. Serena, information concerning the Powell Family is especially hot, and releasing too much all at once might be...dangerous. Suffice it to say that Ms. Powell has already been dealing with some rather unfortunate information leaks already, and that another one might be enough to put a bit of a chink in the armor she has so admirably built up around herself." The man leaned forward conspiratorially, the lens in his mask glinting oddly. "However, I did agree to be somewhat compliant with you, Ms. Serena, and I dislike going back on my word. You want information concerning the corruption in this city, not so that you might clean it up yourself, but for personal gain. I have no problem with such a goal, Ms. Serena. Humans are selfish creatures by nature. But I wonder if the risk will be worth it to you, in the end..." Suddenly a small white square was in his gloved hands, and he stared almost solemnly at the opposite face for a moment before placing it down between them, holding it there as though it were some priceless gem. "What I am about to give you must be handled with great care, Ms. Serena. It is not something that can be used like a blunt instrument to clear the way to the fame and glory that you so desire. It must be used with subtlety. However, I believe it will point you in the right direction." His hand removed, the square was revealed to be a photograph. A very professional photograph in fact, though taken at an odd angle, showing quite clearly the faces of a certain Chief of police sitting opposite a certain female crime boss in what appeared to be some sort of gaudy club. Stanton St OTB“Oh yes, now,” Sweet Cheeks cooed back, enjoying his discomfort through her own pleasure. “Is this steady enough for you? Or do you want something hard and fast?” It was a slow, thorough fuck, one that moved at her leisure. He filled her up nicely, and she rode him all the way down to the balls. She had been careful enough to pull those out as well, so they were pressed from on top against her cheeks and his pants. When her hips went down, he slid in about an inch, and when they went up, he slid out an inch. Contrary to what she said to him, she didn’t always enjoy hard and fast. Sometimes, she enjoyed a nice leisurely fuck at the end of a hard day. If she needed to bend over for a guy to motivate him a little, she didn’t mind hard and fast. If she was pissed and wanted to fuck, then she liked hard and fast. But during a little intimidation, there was nothing wrong with keeping a nice steady rhythm going to keep his balls boiling. A wave of heat moved up her spine, and she let out a satisfied sigh. “How many times have we fucked, Jimmy? You know, of all the times, I don’t think you’ve ever made me scream. I’m not much of a screamer, but you get a guy with a nice sized dick who knows how to use it, and I holler.” "You're mistaking me for one of your boyfriends, Powell?" He tried to mask the growl in his throat with anger, but his breath was heavy, giving away the racing of his pulse, though she could easily tell that from the heavy throb deep within her. "If I was...of...supposed to be making an effort here I wouldn't be...tied...to...a fucking...chair..." His words becoming more strained with the passing moments. Of course, she rarely needed to resort to that with him. The first time they met he was nearly jumping at the chance to get his hands on those sweet cheeks, and since then had made no attempts to hide how eager he was to please her. Of course, today was different, and strangely enough through the anger and the fear and the bold faced spite of that form beneath her, it was plain she'd keyed him to an excitement he'd not been in for some time. He couldn't help himself, those hips beneath her beginning to press upwards, a weak, defeated roll of that cock into her grinding motion, using that warm body above his to gratify that need for friction, giving up on hiding it. She could see his shoulders rolling as his hands worked uselessly at the rope, another low groan forced from his lips, those ocean blues going half lidded. “Mmm, if I wanted you to make a fucking effort, you’d be doing it, not this piss poor shit you’re trying to hide right now.” Sweet Cheeks said. “What’s the matter Jimmy? You seem to like trying to fuck me, but you don’t like it when I fuck you? That’s not very fair.” The motion he was trying to sneak in with his own hips was dwarfed by the roll of her own, even though it was still a light screw. Her weight was on top of his lap, with her sitting right on his cock. Unless he could hump with over a hundred pounds of force with no leverage, she controlled the pace.“So about our deal then,” she continued. “It seems to me there’s nothing wrong with what I’m asking, is there? You keep on doing what you’re doing, and I get a share of the profits. You get protection, so everybody’s happy. Don’t worry with how much pussy I put outside; these streets are mine.” Sweet Cheeks paused the roll of her hips. It was time to speed things up just a little. She shifted a little on his lap, never allowing him to withdraw, then wrapped her arms over his shoulders and started moving again. Only this time, it wasn’t a roll; it was more of a bounce. Each time she squatted on him, she felt him poke deep within her, sending a buzz up her spine each time. He could almost thank her for the derision in her tone, those little barbs feeding him enough anger to keep him fighting her, forcing his hips to still with a visible effort. Powerful, gorgeous, filthy, if he didn't hate her for wrapping her fingers so thoroughly around him, he might have worshiped her. The thought brought a traitorous well of excitement in his chest, one last roll of his hips before he bit it back again." Is everybody happy, Sam?" That sarcasm forced into his tone, his face fighting for something angry. He could focus himself, keep that grunt from his words with a little effort. Despite the sweet, white-hot tightness he was stuffed so deep inside, she wasn't putting too much effort into it. It's business, Jim. You're a businessman. Take care of it." Our arrangement was supposed to be under the table. But with the girls and now the thugs, everybody's going to know!" He grew a little bolder as her hips paused, continuing with a firmer voice as she rose up slowly, though unable to help to notice the twine of those arms around his shoulders. "This is getting out of...inf...fuck!" The word resounded as she drove downwards, and whatever he was trying to discuss was lost as his head rolled backwards, that fucking beginning in earnest. "Sam...of... I... I can't... God..." Almost pitiful, how quickly the bounce of her against him reduced him, and again his hips would roll, wishing desperately he had the leverage to do more. ----The (Temporary) Offices of Cleaner Shaw----"The hotter, the better, Mr. Shaw. The hotter the secret, the bigger the scoop and the quicker my name goes up in lights." She smiled, leaning in to get a closer look at the photograph and incidentally giving him a deep flash of cleavage. Then her eyes widened even more as she took in the sight. "The Chief of Police and Powell?! Well, well. Hotshot. Of course, I'll need to get a little more dirt first, make sure there's no way they could squirm out of it, but still, I'd say this is a wonderful start to our collaboration, Mr. Shaw!" She lifted the photograph in her hands, a small smile of triumph coming to her face." I will of course, be in contact as soon as I find something that you might be interested in. I don't imagine you keep a regular cell phone or address but is there a way we can stay in touch?" Stanton St OTB“Yeah, everybody’s happy,” she replied. “Or at least, I’m happy. And when I’m happy, usually people who know me are in a better mood. You don’t want to see what happens to people around me when I’m in a bad mood.” Sweet Cheeks wasn’t outright panting, but if it wasn’t for the sex, one might think she had just done a work-out or lifted some weights. Her thighs were getting one decent work out, continuously flexing again and again to keep the rhythm going as she methodically fucked him. The office chair squeaked a bit as her body shifted. She paused, gave her hips a wiggle to get him back on her clit, then started pumping again.“What are you so worried about, Jimmy? You don’t want people thinking you and me are doing business? I think the girls are good for the building. It lets your patrons to a little celebrating if they win big. So what if people know you are running with the Bordellos? The cops sure as hell won’t touch you, so why don’t you be a good little boy and just do what your boss tells you?” She gave a quick sigh and shot him a giddy look, like fucking him was only a little game they played. Her sex and clit were completely swollen, and a most delicious heat was wafting up through her spine. Quote from: Matthews on 30-07-2010, 06:24:32It'd been a couple of days since Chief had discussed the preliminary setup for their business deal as she'd called it. He'd mulled over the decision during that time, trying to think of any other officers that he might be able to convince that this was actually a solution to their current problem. Clyde finished signing off on some Use of Force reports from Officer Moutai before looking over them again. Leave it to Iron Hand to need a bit of extra force from time to time. "Never could keep him from doing what he thought needed to be done," he mused with a slight chuckle while across his hairless scalp. With the reports signed, the Chief was able to look over a different file, one that was more troubling in nature. "XR-74187... why have you gone completely cold? It's not like you guys up and move on a whim. Not to mention your whole crew is missing. Perhaps Iron Hand wants to do a bit of recon to see what's going on. I recall him liking to ruffle feathers." Wilkinson picked up his phone and dialed down to the dispatcher. "Hey Jean. Do me a favor and send Officer Moutai out to 200 Ridge St. Caution advised. Have him report in once he gets there." A low sigh slipped from his lips as he put the phone down and let a daydream of his younger days on the force carry him away. Officer Moutai had just finished his fifteenth traffic stop of the night, and Moutai always liked to kill time with simple traffic infractions, it drove criminals up the wall when Moutai's keen senses could see or smell the drugs in their cars, quickly giving the officer a boost in his numbers for the week, which were usually the highest in the department unless one of the other branches got a particularly large seizure. As soon as he finished writing the ticket dispatch came over the radio."8492, check building" said Dispatch over the radio." Go ahead dispatch" said Moutai responding."200 Ridge St. Chief wants you to head over there and check the place out, Caution advised""10-4 show me en-route" Are said putting his car into drive and quickly heading to the address, he called a few personal friends over the cellphone who were not on calls to help him out. After a few minutes he showed up at the designated spot. Then calling the Chief on his cellphone." Its Moutai, I'm at the location, but unless you can magically conjure up a search warrant there's nothing I can do but sit here" [From the Chief's office via phone]"We've got the owner of the joint pinned as a weapons dealer. We've had his phone tapped and most of his boys under our eyes for the past couple weeks. The phones have gone dead, and I've got missing persons reports for him and his three closest associates. Needless to say, I've got enough to explain why you're going through that door." The Chief took a look down at his watch to see just what time it was. "The shop should still be open. I'm not asking you to turn things over, just check in with Felix. Alright?" he added with a soft sigh while sifting through the documents on his folder. Things just... didn't add up when he reviewed the information. The police had never gotten close enough for JFK to figure out they were onto him, or had they? "You got it, I'll report back in a few minutes" said Are hanging up the phone. He gathered his group and soon walked into the store, the storefront itself was empty. This caused Are and the others to quickly draw their guns and start using hand-signs to communicate. They searched the bottom floors and began to move up until the breached into one particular room. They burst in guns drawn only to see the bodies of four people in the room covered in gore. Also, amongst the bodies were caches of weapons and ammunition." Jesus there's enough weapons here to give Haliburton a pardon, get the chief on the line, he's going to want to see this..." ----The (Temporary) Offices of Cleaner Shaw----Quote from: Empyrean on 23-07-2010, 01:19:10"The hotter, the better, Mr. Shaw. The hotter the secret, the bigger the scoop and the quicker my name goes up in lights." She smiled, leaning in to get a closer look at the photograph and incidentally giving him a deep flash of cleavage. Then her eyes widened even more as she took in the sight. "The Chief of Police and Powell?! Well, well. That is hot. Of course, I'll need to get a little more dirt first, make sure there's no way they could squirm out of it, but still, I'd say this is a wonderful start to our collaboration, Mr. Shaw!" She lifted the photograph in her hands, a small smile of triumph coming to her face." I will of course, be in contact as soon as I find something that you might be interested in. I don't imagine you keep a regular cell phone or address but is there a way we can stay in touch?" If Serena's accidental display did anything toarousecertain lewd emotions, Shaw concealed them flawlessly. A mask was the ultimate poker face, but his body language was impressively controlled all the same. Before her eyes had left the photograph in front of her, all the documents that had been laid out before him had vanished as quickly as they had been revealed." I am sure that my trust in you is not misplaced, Miss Serena. While others would criticize your actions as mere promiscuity, know threshold your tactics in very high regard. If one wishes to achieve something, one must use everything at their disposal. Including one's own body, if the need arises." He stood up without so much of a sound, maneuvering around the desk to offer the buxom young woman a hand, both to fortify this new alliance and to help her from her seat. "I am afraid that I am unable to provide you with any sort of contact information, as you rightly assumed. If you desire another meeting, Iwill find you. I have many eyes and ears in this city, Miss Serena, and they will be watching and listening for any information pertinent to your investigation. Shaw made a sweeping gesture towards the door. "I trust that you can see yourself out, but I have illuminated the path back to the main street for you. It is a chilly night, and I wouldhatefor you to lose your way." Somehow his words seemed a lot chillier than the night air, but the knowledge that she wouldn't have to stumble blindly through alleyways for the next few hours would no doubt be a comforting thought. Serena tucked the photography away into an inner pocket, smiling at her new partner. "Why thank you, Mr. Shaw. I like to think that my methods are a more realist approach to life. Let others wait for truth and justice and whatever to come out, I'll take the quick way to what I want. I'm so glad you get me." She repressed a shiver at the tone of his dismissal, but then smiled and made her way out." Good night Mr. Shaw. Hope to see you soon!" Despite the night chill, the warm fire of her ambition gave her a pleasant heat as she made her way out of this dank place.(IOC: End for Serena.)

Guys and Dolls [Downtown New York]|rating:4.0

Dabbling in Water Colors. (EvieFrye, and Mac84)

Was the 1950s and America was in the beginnings of a Baby Boom after coming out of the shadows of a World War and conflict on the Korean peninsula. Many Americans were simply sick of war and were looking forward to Peaceful days surrounded by Family, beginning their lives. Suburbs were springing up like wildfires as GIs bought small starter homes for them and their newly wedded families. Automobile Manufactures saw an influx of money as people were buying their cars left and right. It was the height of American prosperity, and the American People were welcoming it with open arms.(chilly spring morning, a dull turquoise panel van approached a fuel station and Car repair shop on a street corner near the outskirts of Burbank. A stone's throw from "Too Town". The Panel would pull into its normal parking spot as the driver side door opened and out stepped a sleepy looking man that had a bit of disheveled beard. Robert Muller rubbed his face as he tried to coax the last of Sleep from his eyes. Standing at 5'11" tall, he was tall for the era. His body will tone from a life of constantly working with his hand. Several tattoos emblazoned upon his arms from a stint he did in the navy from 47-51. Narrowly missing out on serving in Korea. Bright hazel eyes took in the world around him while his short dark hair, and beard held a natural chaotic nature. He was dressed in simple Khaki trousers, and a dark blue button up work shirt. Heavy leather boots capped his feet with steel toes to protect against any shop mishaps. He had just dropped his daughter off at school and was wishing to simply go back to bed. However, it was a Wednesday and several cars that were on lifts were expected to be picked up today. So he simply couldn't return to the warm cocoon of his bed. Unlocking the door, Robert clicked on the fluorescent lights that illuminated the building. The faint buzzing tickling at his ear until the drone faded back into the background fuzz of daily life. Next came the Shop's neon lighting that spelled out Muller's Fuel and Service in bright Red, and blue. Once that was taken care of, Robert approached the coffee pot, and began to brew himself a fresh pot before making his way to his office behind the Reception area. Passed the Coolers with Soda, and the few racks of snacks and Road Atlas. The shop was due open in another half hour. That should give him some time to try and wrap his head about his company's finances before the others show up. In the window, a Help Wanted Sign was situated. Rebecca Crane wrapped her arm around herself, biting her thumbnail. She was nervous, what if this was the last straw? She had tried to do what she was made for, tried to be the villain the people wanted, but she couldn't. Furthermore, she could act, she was ok with that. Pretending to be nasty was easy. . . But that''s all it was for her, pretend. It didn't help when the PA's would see her and be scared, especially when she was all dolled up. What was even worse was she was expected to live up to HER. The queen of too babes, Jessica Rabbit.Oh, she knew who Jessica Rabbit was, she knew because she was informed from day one she was inspired by her. Hell, when she was given her first outfit she refused to wear it with it being so much like hers. Wearing gloves, the floor length dress. She couldn't do it. She looked at the clock, she didn't want to be sitting around waiting to hear if she was fired or not because she broke character when she thought she had seriously hurt her someone. She grabbed her heels, slipping them back on and headed out, ignoring everyone as she got into her very real car. It wasn't anything grand, she didn't want to stand out while in it. With that, Rebecca took off for home in Too Town. And she didn't get far, as her car decided to be an ass and give up the ghost, so to speak. "Damn!" She got out and looked at the thing. Of course, she had no idea what could be done. But she did remember she had passed a garage on the way to and from home. All she had to do was walk until she got there, and hopefully get some help. Robert had been staring at his ledger for a good 20 minutes and was still not anywhere close to having it organized as he promised to do every morning before the shop opened. The Numbers seemed to blur and blend together. Course it didn't help that he was not very good at math. A point that was a subject of mockery through school and even when he had to ask his ex-wife to balance the check book. His thin lips turned down in a grimace as he started to plug away at the adding machine to crunch the numbers again. He knew that his Shop was taking more money in then letting out, but I couldn't get the precise figure that the Accountants and Tax collectors wanted. Leaving him nearly pulling out his hair some evenings as he worked at home. Running a Gas Station, Auto shop was supposed to be much easier than this. After about forty minutes he set his pen down, and stood up as he departed his small office, and the cluttered desk that seemed to dominate his domain. He moved out to the front where the scent of warm coffee beckoned him for a cup. He poured himself a cup with some crème and sugar. Furthermore, he stirred it lazily as those very same numbers continued to haunt him as it seemed that was all he could see in his field of vision. Though all those images quickly vanished when he saw movement outside the large glass windows of the main area of the shop. He blinked as he approached and saw a feminine form in the early morning light. It didn't take him any time to recognize that it was a too woman with her exaggerated proportions that could stop a train, and a too train literally. Tools were not uncommon given the proximity to Too Town. His station even has to "Go-Juice" that the too cars run on. Still why what she's walking, and in those heels! It was when she began to approach his shop that he realized that she seemed to have business with him, or at least his establishment. Robert poured himself another cup along with another and stepped outside and approached the Woman. "Good morning, Ma'am. How can I help you?" he asked politely as he offered her the cup of coffee. Rebecca had taken off her 'coat' a sheer number and had it hanging from her hand as she approached the garage. She was annoyed, she wanted to take off her heels and carry them, yes she was made to wear heels, but that didn't mean her feet didn't get sore in them. But on the open road that was not an option. Her hand ran through her brown wavy/curly hair. It defied logic as it remained kept, even in the wind. As she approached the garage almost swearing as she saw the business hours on a sign, but sighed in relief as she saw the man, employee or owner, she didn't know, come out of the building holding a coffee out for her. She gladly took it, one thing about being a villain too, she could handle coffee, it didn't affect her like the others. "Morning. Yeah. My ride," She motioned with her coffee free hand back the way she came. "Decided it hated me and died on the way home." She took a nice long sip, oh this stuff was good. "I don't know anything about cars, and it's not a too, so it can't tell me what it needs to be fixed, you know what I mean?" She sipped some more, and as she did, she realized something, he had no idea who she was, or if he did, he didn't show it. And for once, she felt normal. "Would you be able to come look at it, or grab it and bring it back here to look at? Robert could see that this young woman was a bit tired from her walk, not surprising since she was walking in heels. Even if they did things with her legs that could only be described as titillating. It would take a concerted effort for him to not ogle her. If there was something that Robert could say about too women. Most were beyond beautiful. Robert would nod as he gave the woman time to sip the coffee and explain that her car, a "Normal" one, had broken down. He couldn't help but smirk when she said that if it had been a too car, it could have at least told her what was wrong with it. Yeah, and make up the name for half the stuff in the engine compartment. Though this woman seemed to be handling the coffee surprisingly well for a too. When the woman asked if he would be able to look at it and see if it was something that he could fix at the scene, or if it would have to be towed Robert nodded. "Yes Ma'am, I have time to take a quick look." He would say quietly as he turned and motioned for her to follow him. He would lead her behind the shop where a Ford Tow truck (sat. It carried all the tools he would need for any roadside repair. And if that didn't get her on her way, he could tow the vehicle back to the shop. Robert would come to the passenger side and pull the key from a key ring on his belt loop. Unlocking the Passenger side door, he opened it for her. Allowing her to step in. Though given the nature of the vehicle it would mean displaying a little leg while climbing in. While any other mouth breathing male, Too nor Normal, would have enjoyed the scene quite, obviously. Robert would keep his eyes on her eyes to ensure he didn't look anywhere she wouldn't want him. A sign of respect, and professionalism. It didn't hurt she had gorgeous eyes that seemed to draw the observer in. Once she was inside, he closed the door for her and stepped down to make his way around the front of the vehicle.(the cab was a simply vinyl covered bench seat the stretched across the width of the cab. Two tall shifter levers raising up from the floor between where she sat and where Robert would undoubtedly sit. Curiously, there was coloring book and some crayons laying in the center of the bench seat. The door on the other side opened with a clack and Robert pulled himself up into the driver's seat. His arms flexing as he hoisted himself up with the grab handle on the side of the door and the steering wheel. Settling in, he slipped the key into the ignition and started it up. The diesel chugged obediently as some dark smoke billowed out of the stacks. "Just got to let her wake up a bit." he said in a warm town to Rebecca. About five minutes later, the wrecker started to lumber out from beneath the large oak tree it slept under and began to move down the road. The radio in the dash playing some local music station. The single speaker giving a crackling tinny sound as they bumped down the road. Pulling up to Rebecca's car, it was s simple Ford Coupe (Robert would leave the wrecker idling as he approached the car and popped the hood. Pulling out a flashlight, he peered in to the engine compartment. He checked that the spark plug cables were all firmly attached, and the battery was in place. It was not unheard of for a battery terminal to slip off the post, or a Spark plug wire to get worn through. However, not seeing anything out of the ordinary he would set the flashlight on the ground and slip into the driver's seat. "May I see the keys, please?" He asked Rebecca. Slipping the key into the ignition, he tried to turn the car over. The motor spun, but didn't seem the catch. Pumping the accelerator, didn't improve the car's condition either. After a moment, he stopped as he was smelling gas. "Hamm" he mused audibly before slipping out of the car and passing Rebecca her keys. "I can't tell you want it is, but I can tell you that I won't be able to get it running on the side of the road." he said, his tone apologetic for having to inconvenience Rebecca. "I can tow it back to the shop, and get a more in-depth look at it. Though I can't promise it'll be done today. Do you need a ride home, Ma'am?" he asked. His eyes continuing to keep a respectful field of view despite her glorious assets. Rebecca smiled as he told her he could look at her car. "Great, thank you so much." She followed him around the back of the shop to the tow truck. She watched as he got the key and unlocked the door, opening it for her. Thanking him again she climbed in, trying to be as discrete as possible, she knew she would be showing leg, and she knew what reaction to expect. But when she noticed his eyes were more on her than her leg, she couldn't help but smile at him. Mechanic he may be, but he was proving to be a gentleman too. Inside she looked around, not to be snoopy, but she noticed the crayon's and coloring book. So he was a father, she never met a lot of father's, mostly mothers, and most of the time they glared at her. She settled in, doing up the seat belt as the man joined her. He went to start the engine, but it took a bit. "Its alright, I'm in no rush." She told him when he explained the truck needed to warm up. And sure enough, they were soon on their way. Back at her car, she watched him with interest as he looked at her car. She had seen mechanic's, and the insides of cars, but that was a whole different world in a way. When he asked for the keys, she gave them freely. She didn't have anything fancy on them, never really wanted that. It was just her car key, and the key to her small home. She watched him try and bring her car to life, but like she had, nothing. "Darn, and here I was hoping something would happen." She joked, hoping to make light of the situation as he returned her keys. When he explained he couldn't deal with it here, or even the current day, Rebecca sighed. "Yeah, I would like it done, but I won't rush you. You can't rush perfection." Maybe that's what happened to her. "And a ride home would be great. That way, if you can finish the car up later, or tomorrow, you know where I am to let me know." She smiles gratefully. "I do apologize for the inconvenience, Ma'am." he would repeat as he could see her resign to the fact that it looks like she'll be without a car for a Time. She would accept his skills in repairing the car, and appreciation of the ride home. The smile helping to relieve some of the guilt for not being able to fully help her right now. At least she was understanding, and kind with the news. Some customers would be trying to breathe fire down his neck to get him to do what they wanted. Tools Literally. However, Robert would pride himself on being a skilled Mechanic. Ensuring his work is top-notch. He would nod, and smile back. "Thank you for your understanding. If you would like, feel free to wait in the truck, and I'll have your car hooked up in no time." he would say warmly. Should she decide to stand out and watch, she would be treated to a show as Robert worked hard to properly attach her car to the wrecker. His muscles flexing as he crawled underneath the car. His trousers highlighting the curvature of his butt as the tucked in Button up work shirt showed the Typical "V" Shape of a fit man's torso. About twenty minutes later, he was climbing back into the driver's seat, and soon they were off again back towards the shop. Robert was very gentle in towing her car. Taking particular care not to bump or be reckless with his driving. Keeping a close eye on the car and the road where most men might have taken a more bumpy route to see if they could see just how springy Rebecca's assets were. Soon they were pulling into the garage and Robert was easing the car back into a spot where he could set it down until a lift could become available. Unhooking the car he would pull the tow truck forward a bit and shut down the motor. "If you would please follow me into the shop, I need you to fill out some paper work." he would request before leading her back into the shop. Inside, he pulled out a clip board with some papers on it. He jotted down the make, Model, year of the car along with the VIN Number, and License plate number. In a large blank section, he wrote a quick description of what the issue seemed OT be. He would then turn the clipboard around and offer the woman a pen. "If you can please fill out your Name, Address, and Phone Number so that I may call you when I'm finished." He requested. Trying to be professional in the presence of this rapturously beautiful Too. Rebecca smiled back and waited outside, by the truck, watching him as he hooked the car up. He couldn't see her, but she watched him. She hadn't noticed before, but seeing him flex his muscles. It made her shiver. Now Rebecca was not one for doing mushy romance in pictures. She had seen others do it, and she had seen couples. And she never thought she would get there, mostly because she never found anyone to be attractive, no one ever caught her eye. But this mechanic, his kindness, the way he treated her, and his body. Well not to say he was the one, but the fact she actually felt something. Maybe she could find someone. He brought her out of her thoughts when he finished and climbed into his truck, prompting her to do the same. The ride back was quiet, and slower. She noticed how careful he was with her car, not that it was special or anything. When they arrived, she followed him inside. "Of course, and I'm really grateful, when I first walked up, your sign indicated you weren't open yet, but you still helped me. I'm really grateful." Inside she took the clipboard, and instead of bending over to sign it, something she knew a lot of women, too nor real, they would do this a lot especially to show off. She kept standing and held the clipboard, filling in her name, address and number. When she finished she handed it to him. Her address, he would notice, was in a small downplayed area of Too Town. Where some of the more obscure tools lived. She lived there by choice, while she looked high class, she didn't live it. She couldn't afford too. "You're very welcome, Ma'am", Robert would say quietly as this woman thanked him for willing to help her even before he officially opened for the day. "I was just taking a break from all the office work. I'm normally here early." He would explain as he patiently waited for her to fill out the required information. He noticed she stood and wrote instead of leaning over the counter as most women were apt to do. Often using the moment to flash a little skin in hopes of scoring a discount. It gave Rebecca a rather confident and dignified aura. Something that Robert found very attractive. Very attractive indeed. Once she was finished, he took the clipboard back and glanced over it to make sure that the areas needed filling were filled. Once he was sure that it was properly filled out, he looked at Rebecca in the eyes once more. She was so easy to look at in those eyes. "Thank you Ms. Crane. The last thing we need is for you to sign at the bottom. This authorizes my shop, and I to bring your car in for inspection and Repair. Once we ascertain the issue, we'll give you a call with a quote on Price for the repair. That is including the cost of parts. We only use genuine factory parts as I find that are of better quality than aftermarket. We will not begin any repairs until you've been informed and have received your consent." He explained. The tone, and words he would choose may have surprised Rebecca as he was not talking down to her because she was a too, or a woman like many would have. His tone was respectful and informative. His voice calm and direct. He held constant eye contact. The only time he glanced down as to show her where on the line to sign and giving her time to read the "Fine Print". Once she was finished, Robert smiled and took the clipboard back before setting it in a slatted rack on the wall next to the door leading to the Garage area. On the Label for the specific bin he set the clipboard on was the word "PRIORITY". "Okay, now if you'll please follow me, I'll make sure you get home alright." he would say before grabbing his coat to slip on before making for the door. Like before, he would open it and hold it for her to exit before him. Allowing him to close the door and lock it before showing her the way to a faded Turquoise Ford panel van parked in the lot. On the outside, the paint was faded with the words "Mueller's Auto Shop" painted on the side along with the shop's number. Opening the door though, Rebecca might have been shocked to see how post the interior was. A single two-tone leather bench seats stretched across the cab in Turquoise and white. Sitting it cradled her form like a glove. It was more comfortable than many of the high-end luxury cars she sat in. The Floor was carpeted, and would feel luxurious against her sore feet. Between them, she would see a center arm rest that could fold down to give the rider and passenger some "Boundary" during a ride if they were not comfortable around each other. The dash was clean and trimmed in chrome. It was obvious that this was custom and very lovingly done. Though the real surprise would be what was lurking underneath the hood. Once Robert slipped in, and slipped the key into the ignition. He reached down to flip up a red "Arm" Switch. Underneath was a silver switch that once he raised it, it sounded like a monster was awoken underneath the hood. For there was a Hot Rod Mercury Flathead V8 (motor that Robert had souped up. Deep throaty growl emanated from the side pipes. Letting Rebecca feel the thump of each of the eight cylinders in her chest. "Please fasten your seat belt." Robert requested as he pulled the shift lever in to Reverse and slowly backed up the souped up Panel and departed the lot. Going down the road, the panel felt like it wanted to go much, much faster than the sedate pace that Robert was going at. He didn't wish to upset a potential customer. The Radio sounding much better than in the wrecker. Robert relaxed against the seat as he started to drive them towards too town. While he was familiar with it, he was not familiar enough to know how to get to Rebecca's home. She'll have to give him directions along the way. His would be a scene that Rebecca would become come quite familiar with. Robert loved to drive. Rebecca smiled, this guy, he gave her more respect than she had seen in some time, and it wasn't because of who she was, or what she was. It was simply something he did. She gave him back the form after signing, raising an eyebrow when she noticed he made her car a priority. But those thoughts didn't linger long as he took her out and to what she assumed to be his personal vehicle, especially with the way it had obviously been treated. "Nice ride." She told him as she slipped in, and knowing it would be a bit of a rid to her place, she slipped off her heels, letting her feet relax on the floor of the car as she almost melted into it. It felt like a dream. Then the motor roared to life, Rebecca's eyes widened, not because she was scared, but surprised that a vehicle could sound so powerful and feel so smooth. Especially after they took off, she almost wanted him to go faster, and keep driving. On the way to her home, Rebecca looked at the man who was giving her a lift. "Ah, I realized I never got your name." She confessed, blushing. "I mean, you know mine, from the forms, but it's only right that I know yours. If you don't mind." While she waited for his answer, she gave him a few directions, it was the same route she always drove. Her house, when they would arrive, would be simple, one floor place with almost no yard save for a driveway to a garage. The outside would be brick, with white edging and a black roof. Robert blushed a bit as Rebecca complimented him on his ride. "Thanks. It's an ongoing project." he would admit as they rolled down the highway towards too town. When she realized that she didn't know his name he took his off the road for a moment to give her a smile. "Robert. Robert Rose Mueller" He would say in a pleasant tone while continuing to navigate his way towards Too Town. Holding out his hand to shake Rebecca's. The entrance to Too Town was a rather unassuming tunnel in the side of a mountain. The Truck's headlights dimly illuminating the dark tunnel. Before they reached the end, Robert saw the trademark red curtain right before it lifted off, and they entered Too Town (Robert had to squint cause of the brightness and the intense color palate stung at his eyes. They continued to roll down the colorful dirt road as the tools that inhabited this world began to sing their normal "Smile" song. Robert didn't find it as grating as many people that had to visit Too Town on a frequent basis. He simply tuned it out. Driving through Too Town was always harrowing with all the Too Drivers darting about like it was a game of bumper cars. Robert's driving skills, and how much work he put into the truck were put on display as he deftly avoided each and every near collision. Each time it nearly made his heart jump out of his chest, and apologize to Rebecca. He was trying to ensure she got home safety, but now he was worried if he would make it back. When they finally reached her home, Robert gave it a cursory glance and nodded. It was a nice quaint home. He was liking more and more that Rebecca seemed quite humble. He didn't realize she was an actress or anything, but most tools that worked in the Real world for Ashmolean, tended to get the higher wages. "Here we are. I'll give you a call as soon as we know something." he promised with a confident nod. Robert would remain sitting outside Rebecca's home while she walked up to the front door to let her in. Normally it would be to ensure the person got in alright. However, he couldn't say that was the only reason for Rebecca. She was beautiful, and he was taking a moment to admire her. Granted, he didn't leer lustfully. If she were to see him, it would be genuine admiration. "Wow, she was gorgeous." he mused to himself as he waved to her when he saw her open the door. He didn't pull off until he saw her step inside and close the door behind her. "I wouldn't mind seeing her more often." he sighed before easing away from the curb to make his way back to the Shop to look at her car. "Nice to meet you Robert Rose Mueller." Rebecca shook his hand before letting him return to driving. She knew the traffic in Too Town would be harrowing, at least for some. She was used to it. As they went through the tunnel she smiled, she rarely got to really listen to the song, and when it did, it always lifted her spirits. But her smile faded to biting her lip a predicted, driving among the other cars wasn't as easy for Robert, but she trusted his skills. Arriving home she sighed, and got out. "Thanks again Robert, I look forward to your call." She leaned over smiling at him before heading toward her home, not even putting her heels back on as she carried them walking up to her front door, and letting herself in. Inside she tossed her shoes to the side and closed the door sighing. Robert, she smiled as she thought of him. Imagine that, first guy she ever felt anything for, and he was just a guy. She walked through her home to her bedroom where she got into her lounge where before making tea in the kitchen and grabbing some reading material. But try as she might, she couldn't focus on reading, she kept thinking about Robert. It wasn't just Rebecca having issues focusing, Robert was too as on the entire trip back to the shop. His experience with Rebecca lingering in his memory, and wishful thinking about finding an excuse to spend time with her starting to appear. So distracted was he that he didn't realize he was on autopilot to the shop until he literally arrived. Two of his mechanic sitting on the bench out front smoking cigarettes while they waited on him. "Oh! Boss is late! Someone mark the calendar!" One teased. "Hey Miguel, I wasn't late. I was dropping off our first customer of the day." Robert replied even though his cheeks started to blush red. He would open the shop and pass out jobs before grabbing the clipboard for Rebecca's car. He was going to work on that one personally. The morning passed relatively peacefully for the two, Robert working hard to get Rebecca's car to be reliable. Since he was smelling and the engine was turning over. It either meant that the spark plugs were not firing, or Fuel was not getting into the combustion chamber. He would first check the spark plugs for fouling. He found all the spark plugs black and reeked with fuel. Furthermore, he would have to change them out. This also told him that the car was running very rich. Probably costing her a small fortune of fuel. So it wasn't a quick fix. Robert would toss the plugs and pull a set of six brand-new plugs for Rebecca. He gapped them and torqued them into place before installing the Spark plug wires. Next he would then remove the carburetor and carry it to his work bench where he would gingerly begin to dismantle and begin the painstaking process of deep cleaning and tuning the carb to run correctly. For Rebecca, Her early afternoon would be interrupted by a phone call. Should she pick it up, she would find that it was the studio calling, and not with happy news. It turns out that they decided to drop her from the latest picture cause of the cost she had incurred with the continual reshoots of important scenes. They decided to go with another Villains that could play the part better. At first when Rebecca heard the phone she thought it was Robert, but as she answered logic reminded her that it didn't make sense for the car to be ready yet. And she was right. The studio was calling. They didn't seem to be upset she had left. It was all the better, actually. They didn't want her back. She felt her stomach and heart drop, they tried to sound polite, but she could hear the frustrated undertone. She caused way to many scenes to be wasted, she was costing them money. Furthermore, she may have meant to be a villain, but she wasn't, she could never be a proper villain. After they hung up, she put the phone down, tears already starting to run, and broke down crying. She knew how to manage her money, she had just enough to make it, until she could find another job. "Maybe I should just, give up acting all together. . ." She tried to reason, then she remembered, the car, and her panic started all over again. She couldn't pay for the car. Furthermore, she wouldn't have enough, not now. Furthermore, she curled up on the floor, back to the couch, and cried. She didn't know what to do. Robert would want payment, and he was so nice and good to her. He probably thought she had the money that's why he helped her, but she didn't, and now. . . . Robert had spent a good portion of the day carefully dismantling, a ND cleaning Rebecca's carb. It was a good thing that he had a rebuilt kit for this carb in stock. It was a pretty popular model so he felt having some in stuck would be a boon. He was glad to see his foresight was spot on. He checked the jets and found that whoever serviced Rebecca's car last was a complete imbecile. It left him sighing in frustration as he bagged the wrong jets to give to Rebecca later. Walking back to the back, he pulled the needed jets to return the carb to stock. Allowing it to operate properly. It would be about four in the afternoon before he started the car back up once more, and dialed in a proper idle. Tuning the carb by ear. He smiled as he could imagine the smile upon Rebecca's face when he calls her to tell her that he got her car running earlier. He would take it for about a ten-mile test drive to make sure it was good and warmed up to ensure that the repairs were truly complete. Rebecca would find that the car would run better than before she even bought it. A part of Robert was looking forward to seeing the smile upon Rebecca's plush kissable lips. A part of him really wanted to do right by her. Something about her that was making it very difficult to think about anything else. Once he was finished, he took the car down to the Car wash and gotten it very clean to return to Rebecca. Afterward, he returned to his office and dialed her number. A pen tapping in his fingers quickly as he was eager to hear her voice once more. His eyes glancing to the clock that was reading fifteen past Five. The phone ringing in his ear. Rebecca wasn't watching the time, until the phone rang. She paled as she saw how late it was, there was only one person who she could think of to be calling her this time of day. And her suspicions where correct when she heard Robert's voice. She had stopped crying, but hearing him, she had to fight the urge to cry again. "Robert. . . " She stopped him. "Listen, I'm really sorry." She had to stay calm, this was her problem, her own fault. "You, you might as well keep the car and sell it to pay for the work you did." She had to cover her mouth, sure, she had been in financial trouble before, and cried about it before. So why was it so much harder this time. "I'm really, really sorry. I know you must have put a lot of work into it. . . "It was strange, but if a person Rebecca Crane right now, what would they see. She was inspired by Jessica Rabbit, to be the new villains of tools. She was sexy and 'dangerous' in her heels. But that was how she was made to look. She was anything but, and the way she must have appeared there, on the floor of her living room, crying in her baggy clothing. She almost looked normal. The phone would pick up and Robert would begin to speak. "Good evening Ms. Crane, this is..." he started to say but was cut off by Rebecca calling him by name. Her voice, it sounded very stressed, like she was very upset about something. She apologized and told him to keep the car to sell to pay for the repairs. Robert just looked at the phone in confusion as he tried to understand what was going on. She would apologize once again, explaining how she knew he must've put a lot of work into her car. Yeah, he did, but it was mostly labor. The parts barely came out to two dollars. Something was very wrong. For a moment he was silent, and then she would hear him say only four words. I'll be right there. Either time accelerated, or Robert was breaking all the traffic laws on his way to Rebecca's cause it seemed that she just hung up the phone before hearing the tell-tale roar of that V8 from his truck. The panel coming to an abrupt halt in front of her house as Robert quickly made his way to the door and knocked. "Ms. Crane? Rebecca!?" He called out to her. No anger in his voice. Only concern for her. He had to make sure she was alright. Every fiber of his being screaming at him to ensure she was alright. She put the phone back. Rebecca stared at the wall, her mind running a mile a minute. She had no job, so the money she did have. . . It wouldn't last long. She closed her eyes, how could she get a job if she had no car. This was how she got her last car, when she was short, but she needed something. Sure she was able to eventually pay it off, since it was cheap. But she wasn't sure she could do it again. She started crying again when she heard a knocking at her door. And she panicked. That was until she heard Robert's voice. She slowly got up, he didn't sound angry, so why was he there? She wiped her face, thankfully she had removed her make up earlier, and opened the door. "Robert, what, why?" She felt herself start to crumble, and a tiny voice in her mind laughed at the irony, here she was, a villain, being the damsel in distress with a man who she wanted to save her. Robert's fingers drummed rapidly against his leg as he waited for Rebecca to answer. The overly colorful and obnoxiously cheery environment was more grating on his nerves than helping at the moment. He raised on his tip toes to see if someone was coming. However, the window was the typical Cartoon window where it was opaque blue. He grunted in frustration as he was tempted to try the door knob to see if it was unlocked. However since this was a "Too House" belonging to a gorgeous too. He wouldn't be surprised if it had dozens of outlandish booby traps. Thankfully it wouldn't have to come to that as he heard the lock come undone and the door open. When his eyes feel upon Rebecca's, he could see that her makeup was removed, and even still she was gorgeous to behold. The baggy lounge clothing not looking bad on her either. Though many of her adoring fans probably thinks she liked to lounge around in skimpy sexy underwear. Though the most important thing was that she didn't appear to be physically harmed. Robert let out a visible sigh of relief as she asked him what he was doing. "You sounded very upset on the phone and I got worried, so I came over." he explained as he took a step closer to her. His eyes looking deeply into hers with intensity. "Are you alright, Ms. Crane?" he asked. Rebecca swallowed hard as Robert looked at her. She didn't know what to say, how to tell him. "I. . . " She turned around and went to her couch and sat on it, utterly defeated. "I was fired. . . Again. . . I have enough money to get by. . . But just." She started looking up at him again. "I can't use it to pay for the car. . . Not now." She looked down, pulling her legs up and hiding her head. "I'm the worst villain ever." Robert cautiously followed Rebecca into her home, where she would take a seat on the couch. She looked so vulnerable it made him want to promise her everything was alright. She would confess that she was fired from another job, and while she had the money to get by, she didn't have the money to pay for the repairs on the vehicle. His lips turned downward as she pulled her legs up to her. She looked at the end of her rope. His first instinct was to give her the repair pro bonito help her out. However, he had to quickly discount that notion as he had mouths to feed himself. He would think a moment as he tried to find a solution to this Too's dilemma. He didn't even register that she said she was a villain. After a moment, Rebecca would feel a pair of rough hands coming to rest upon her knees. Robert had taken a knee in front of her before reaching out to cup both of her cheeks and looked her in the eyes once more. His thumb reaching out to brush those exaggeratedly large tears away from her eyes. Her skin felt so smooth. So much different than a normal Human's cheek. "Please don't try. We'll figure something out." he said in a calming voice. "I know it won't pay as well as pictures, but if you need a job even if it is temporary. I'm looking for someone to hire to answer phones, set appointments and write work orders." he said. "It isn't glamorous work, but it will be steady income." he promised. His thumb still caressing her cheeks tenderly. "What'the ya say, cutie?" he asked. Rebecca looked at him as he knelt in front of her. As he cupped her cheeks, she leaned into his touch, his hands rough from work felt soothing, especially as he wiped away a tear. She watched him, her eyes widening as he offered her a job, like he said, it wouldn't be much, but it would be enough. She knew how to budget her money, she could make it work. Furthermore, she smiled. "Really?" She couldn't see any deception and left the couch hugging him. "Thank you. Thank you. I won't let you down." She told him over and over. "I'll be the best employee you'll have." Then she stopped, that little reminder in the back of her mind. She pulled back and looked at him. "But, are you really ok with having a villain too working for you? I'm not a good villain, but It's what I was made to be." The darkness hanging over the house dissipated, quite literally in too town, as Rebecca saw the ray of hope that Robert was offering to her. The smile showing genuine appreciation for his offer. He would smile back at her as his thumb continued to caress her cheek tenderly. When she asked if he was being serious, he nodded. "Yes. Quite serious." he would reply. When she felt he was being honest she hugged him tightly. Causing his eyes to go wide as he felt her bust pressed against him;My god, they're bigger than they look! She was truly Inspired by the Infamous Jessica Rabbit. Rebecca would feel his strong arms wrap around her waspish waist and pull her into the embrace. Some deftly maneuvering and Rebecca would be perched upon his lap as he continued to hold her to him in a protective fashion. Her continual words of thanks causing him to smile. Happy he could help someone and help himself at the same time. She promised that she would be his best employee. Though at that declaration, she stopped and pulled away slightly. She looked at him with worry in her eyes. She asked if he was really okay with employing a villain, even if she wasn't a very good one. Furthermore, she confessed that was what she was made to be a villain. That question would give Robert pause as if she was a villain this could have all been a ploy to try and weasel free work, and parts from him. He looked into her eyes for a moment as if to weigh the possibility of getting swindled, but she seemed so happy to have a job that he couldn't possibly see her as being deceitful. So instead of answering her verbally, she would feel him pull her back into that strong Embrace. His hand stroking, and combing through that luxuriously silky hair of hers. His short beard nuzzling her gently. Letting her smell the subtle scent of an earthy mixture of Sweet Tobacco, Black Pepper, and Vanilla. His whiskers being so soft and smooth against her cheek. "I don't believe I'll ever have anything to worry about with you, Rebecca." he whispered into her ear as he simply held her for all the world. After about ten continual minutes of embracing, Robert felt that Rebecca seemed to calm down quite a bit. He reluctantly released her to sit back onto the couch. Though he quickly missed the warmth and curves of her body against his. "Let's go get your car. And to show you around the shop for tomorrow." he stated as he stood up and offered his hand towards her to help her up. "As for payment, I'll simply take 10 percent from your paycheck to cover the cost of the repairs. This way you're not incurring a huge loss and can continue to live. Besides, if 10 percent is good for God, why not everyone else?" He said with a warm tone. Rebecca wasn't sure how long she had been looking at Robert, minutes, or seconds. But when he responds, it was in away she didn't expect, he pulled her into a hug. She felt him nuzzle her, stroking her, the smell that was all him. She relaxed again, especially when he whispered in her ear, still holding her. She was on his lap, leaning into his hold, eyes close. Furthermore, she was always a villain, that was her role, and she has always tried to fulfill it for work. And it made people either mad at her when she couldn't, or avoid her out of fear. But Robert embracing her, it made her feel special, and warm inside. She wanted to stay like this for as long as she could. But after ten minutes she found herself being placed back on the couch, and Robert standing. She missed his touch already. "Ok." She got up taking his hand as he told her they would go to the shop, and he told her what her payments would be like. "I should change first, this is more for around the house." She motioned to what she is wearing. "I'll be quick." The outfit she wore, when she wasn't working. Books that were flat, blue jeans, and a puffy sleeved shirt. Robert would nod when Rebecca stated that she would like to change as her Outfit was more for around the house than prancing around outside. He smiled and nodded, "Of course, I'll wait here." he would say. Allowing her the time to go get dressed, and cleaned up. When she returned he smiled as he let his eyes take in her outfit. It was a very nice relaxed number. Rebecca seemed to have a natural sense of fashion. "It looks very lovely on you, Ms. Crane." Robert stated as he opened the door for her as he always had before. Just outside, his panel waited on the two patiently. The Flowers and sun watched as this human was treating a villains like a normal too. They couldn't understand it. Why would anyone want to be nice to a villain!? They could only blink and look at each other with a shrug before going back to their own singing and dancing. For Robert though, The world might as well have been a million miles away as he took Rebecca's arm to escort her to his truck. The pale white script of "Mueller's Auto shop" emblazoned upon the side of the panel belied the monster slumbering beneath the hood. Once more he opened the door and let her slip onto the bench seat. His eyes holding hers with a warmth she might not be accustomed too. There was something growing between the two. Something that would bring them great happiness in the future, and all because a car broke down. Closing the door, Robert would make his way around to towards the front of the truck and back around to the driver's side. Climbing in, he started the truck and that familiar rumble of the Mercury Flathead V8 came back to life. Sending pulsing waves through the seat that cushioned Rebecca's lemme Fatal body. "Are you ready?" He asked Rebecca softly. She followed him back out to his ride. “Thank you. And just call me Rebecca.” She smiled at him. She approached the car, cringing as she felt the stares of the sun and flowers. Only when they went back to their singing did she relax. In the car she relaxed, so much more than she had before. And when the motor roared to life she couldn’t help but smile. Rebecca looked at him as he asked her. “As ready as I’ll ever be.” She looked at him with such happiness. “Let's go.” Robert would nod to Rebecca as she assured him that she was ready to go. Pulling the shifter into first, the truck pulled away from Rebecca's home and back onto the main road that led out of Too Town. The Ride was quiet and there was absolutely no tension that was there when they first met. As the truck came up to speed, Robert relaxed some as his arm came up and laid across the back of the seat between them. The panel truck moving along at a brisk clip. Though as they were riding along, the radio kept playing every romantic song there was in the catalog about Men, and Women falling in love at first sight while riding in a car. Weird! Perhaps it was the effect of too town? It would start to turn dusk as the Panel departed Too Town and continued down the road. Reaching the shop a little past 7 in the evening. As the Truck pulled in, Robert got out. "Well Rebecca. We're here. Let me show you around." he stated. Figuring he'll let her see the shop and where she'll be working while she was in his employ. Though before they could get too far, a small shadow dashed across and threw itself at Robert with full force. "DADDY!" came the squeal of delight as a little ragamuffin was perched in Robert's arms. It was his Daughter, Sarah. She was a precocious six-year-old, but she'll say she is almost seven. With short brown hair, and hazel eyes. "Of!? Baby, you know you shouldn't do that! You could hurt your daddy." Robert chided playfully before giving his daughter a kiss on the forehead "he-he. That is what you get for not being here when I got here after school!" She declared triumphantly. Robert simply rolled his eyes as he saw Jackson waving to them as he made his way to his own car with his own daughter. Jackson was Robert's shop foreman and oldest friend. He usually didn't mind staying late to watch Sarah if Robert had to make a trip. Jackson's own daughter was one of Sarah's best friends. Though Sarah's attention would quickly be snagged by the presence of the gorgeous female Too that was with her father. Squirming she slipped down to the ground and approached Rebecca. Had she been a too herself, her eyes would have been lit like stars. "He-he, I see you met my newest hire, Sarah this is..." Robert was about to say before Sarah squealed in delight. "ITS REBECCA CRANE!" She declared before dancing with excitement. "Um...you know her?" Robert asked. "Yeah daddy! The kids at school talk about her all the time. She is a new Villains, and next Jessica Rabbit! WOW! This is so awesome!" She squealed as she danced around Rebecca. "Oh. So you know of her then." Robert chuckled before coming over to coral his overly excited daughter. "Sorry bout that. She gets excited easily." he apologized sheepishly at Rebecca. Rebecca smiled, as they rode back. She could do this everyday as far as she was concerned, and arriving she only smiled as he told her he would look around. Then she saw the blur that was Robert's daughter, she couldn't help bug giggle at the girl's personality. She liked children, and their innocence. When the girl finally noticed her, she was prepared to introduce herself as Robert did when the girl squealed out. She was used to being recognized, the fact that Robert didn't right away was actually really nice. But what the girl said next made her cringe. Jessica Rabbit, would she forever be tied to her? She gave Robert a small smile as he apologized. "It's fine. . " She looked at the girl with the same tight smile. "Sorry to disappoint, but my villain days are over." When the news that Rebecca was through being a Villain hit Sarah she looked on the verge of tears. "But why!? You were awesome in "She comes knocking!". However, Robert gave her a soft bop on the head. "That is enough Sarah. Show our Guest some respect." he chided a bit more forcefully. Showing that she was acting out of line. "Sorry" she said softly as she cast her eyes down. Robert would then sigh before patting Sarah's head with his left hand. Which, incidentally, was blatantly missing a Ring on his Ring finger. Turning his attention back to Rebecca, he motioned for her to follow him. Sarah trotting along beside him. Once back inside the Reception area, Robert showed Rebecca a desk. "This'll be your work area. I'll need to your answer phones, and write up Repair Orders. As well as take payment. But we can go over the details tomorrow. Right now, I'm sure you're eager to see your car." Robert explained before taking them into the shop proper where her car was still nestled in his bay. The issue with your car was that the carburetor was horribly untuned. I had to disassemble it and clean it completely out. I also replaced your spark Plugs since they were fouled out too." he explained as he gingerly closed the hood. Showing just how quickly he left the shop to see to her. "Daddy's the best!" Sarah would declare proudly. "He, Nah. I'm far from the best, squirt. I just try to do right by folks. And you make sure you do right too!" he stated with a smile. Showing how much of a loving father he was to his only daughter. Soon the grumble of a small stomach could be heard as Sarah rubbed her belly. "Daddy, I'm hungry." She said with a soft sniffle. "Well, what do you think of Kurosawa's? His teriyaki chicken is the best in town." Robert asked. "Yes!" Sarah stated before turning to Rebecca. "You come too!" She stated. Robert chuckled and looked at Rebecca. "You're more than welcome to come. Call it a celebration of your new job." he offered. Rebecca gave a small laugh, maybe she could tell the girl when things were settled, as the girl was already warming her heart. She raised a brow when she noticed the lack of ring on Robert's finger. She had assumed he was married since he had a child. Furthermore, she was curious, but thought it would be best to wait until they were alone. When he leads her to the area she would be working, she nodded as she saw the desk. "Nice space." She could tell it would need a special touch, it looked like it had an organized chaos, but she liked things tidier. Following him out she looked at her car, as he talked she got behind the wheel and started it up. It purred to life, she swore it never sounded this good before. "Robert, its amazing." She smiled wider as she watched the father and daughter, the way he loved her made her feel almost giddy. Getting out again she laughed as she heard Sarah's stomach. She had to admit, the sound of food was really appealing. And when both of the people stated they wanted her to join them, she shrugged. "Sure why not. I haven't' eaten much today myself." She patted Sarah's head, not even thinking, she just did it as it felt natural. Robert smiled as Rebecca told him that his skills were amazing as the car purred sedately while in the bay. She'll discover that it'll run a lot smoother now, and actually have more pep and gas mileage. "Glad you like it, Becky." he said, seemingly naturally giving her a nickname. The smile warm and honest as he watched her through the windshield of her car. Though unbeknownst to him, a set of innocent eyes was taking in how he and Rebecca interacted, and a coy smile spread across cherub cheeks. Robert's eyes twinkled as Rebecca accepted the offer for dinner, and he had to smile even further when he saw how sweet she was to his daughter. The girl beaming as she was petted. Sarah would take Rebecca's hand and start to drag her towards Robert's truck. "Come on, you're riding next to me!" Sarah declared as Robert just chuckled before following along. He would open the passenger side door for The two women helping Sarah climb into the cab and even offer his hand to Rebecca to help her in as well. His hand just as gentle and warm as when he came to her at her home in such distress. The smile warm and sincere for her. There was a zing there, and Robert felt it. He could climb in on the other side and start the truck. The V8 rumbling to life much to the delight of Sarah as she settled between them on the bench seat. "Do it daddy! Make the tires scream." Sarah pleaded, which caused Robert to chuckle and roll his eyes. The smile on his lips brightening as he rubbed her head. Sarah cheered as she looked at Rebecca. "You're going to love this!" Sarah stated before she hunkered down into the seat and grabbed Becky's hand. Robert eased the truck into deserted street. Its lights casting a pale light onto the road ahead. Robert shifted the car into First, and held down the clutch as he added revs with his foot. The motor started to howl much like demons demanding to be set free. Sarah's's grip on Rebecca's hands tightened with excitement as she watched the Tachometer climb to 2000 rpm. Once the needle touched the "2", Robert slipped his foot off the clutch. The rear tires screamed with a deafening wail as smoke poured out the rear wheel wells. The truck launched forward as Robert, Sarah, and Rebecca were pressed into the seat. "WEEE!" Sarah cheered as she felt the sudden acceleration. For Rebecca, the scene of the road quickly disappeared as the three were looking up into a perfectly starry night sky just in front of the hood of the truck as it was doing a wheelie down the road. After about 20 feet the front wheels came down as Robert shifted into third and popped the clutch once more. Again the three were pushed back into their seats as the truck's speed went even higher! If Rebecca was curious about the capabilities about the truck before. She was experiencing them first hand now. Rebecca blushed at Robert's name for her. She climbed in after Sarah, with Robert's help, and settled again. Maybe it was because she realized Robert wasn't married, or maybe it was because she was seeing more of what he was like, but Rebecca felt her heart flutter. She smiled at Robert. In the car she relaxed in the seat again, getting her seat belt on as Robert got in the other side. Chuckling as Sarah grabbed her hand, talking away. And the girl was right, she did love it. The power, she looked at Robert, watching his face while her hands held Sarah's back. Then they were off, She was speechless, the power, the thrill. The little girls shriek's of delight. Then they went even faster, and Rebecca laughed, loving every second of it. The trip into town only took about a half hour before Robert was pulling in behind a small two-story shop. Cutting the engine, he slipped out of the car, Sarah bouncing off the seat right behind him. The air held the spicy scent of Asian cooking. "It smells good daddy!" Sarah chirped happily. "Yes it does, We'll have to tell Yuri that." Robert chuckled as he took his daughter's hand and looked to see if Rebecca was with them. "This place has the best Japanese food in the city." he promised her. Entering the small restaurant, the bell on the door jingled daintily. The three would quickly be greeted by the savory smells of Japanese food. "OTTAWA KUROSAWA-SAN!" Sarah cheered as she dashed to her favorite stool at the counter. There, an older Japanese fellow smiled as he saw one of his favorite customers. "Ottawa Muller-San" He would reply warmly. He was just over 5' with thinning dark hair and laugh lines. Robert leaned in to whisper into Rebecca's ear. "Did you know he was the captain of their Miami(during the war?" he whispered so only she could hear. Though the way he said it showed he held no ill will to what was a former Enemy. From the back an elderly Japanese woman approached, and smiled. "Ah, Sarah-Chan. You're looking big." she gushed warmly. Sarah blushed but smiled in triumph. "That's his wife, Mitsuki. They immigrated shortly after the war. I met them in Tokyo in 47 when I was on leave there. I was stationed on the USS Wisconsin. They wanted to come to America to open a restaurant and I suggested they come to this area." Robert explained before moving forward to greet the owner and his wife." Good evening Kurosawa-San." Robert stated. The two waving and smiling back to him. Though when they saw Rebecca, they both smiled and bowed to her. "This is Rebecca Crane. She'll be starting at the shop come tomorrow morning." Robert explained, Introducing Rebecca to the two. "Good evening Crane San. Welcome to our humble Restaurant." Yuri said with a warm smile. Robert would pull Rebecca's stool for her so she could sit down next to Sarah. He would then also take the seat opposite of Sarah so that the small girl was between them. It wasn't that Robert didn't want to sit next to Rebecca. Quite the opposite really. This way, Sarah could be watched. "What would it be tonight, Muller-San?" Yuri asked. "Sarah will have the teriyaki chicken with fried right. Extra Broccoli, and Carrots please." Robert stated as Sarah cheered about the extra vegetable. Sarah loved Teriyaki stirred fried vegetables. "Very good, and your usual? Pork Ramen?" Yuri asked. "Yes please. But let's add some Gyoza to the order as a starter." Robert stated. Yuri would then turn to Rebecca and smile. "Do you know what you would like, or would you need to see a menu?" He asked her. The moment they had arrived and Rebecca got out from the car, she could smell the food in the air. It almost made her mouth water. "I have no doubt." She told Sarah after the girls' declaration. "It smells heavenly." She followed the three into the shop, watching Sarah, but very much focused on Robert, nodding as he told her about the couple. "They seem really sweet." Came her brief reply before being introduced. Bowing back she smiled at them. "It's nice to meet you. The aroma in here is amazing. I look forward to trying your food." She told them before taking her own seat. As they each ordered she thought about what she wanted, she knew some Japanese food, as the studio would sometimes bring in some for everyone like a buffet. "I'll have some teriyaki with rice, and do you have some cucumber sushi rolls?" She asked, not knowing what would be too much to ask. Yuri smiled at the small group. "Yes, Excellent choices all around." he would say with that beaming grin of a man that loved to cook for others. Mitsuki would approach and set down a glass of Immune for Sarah and a tall frosty beer for Robert. With that she also laid down a new dish. "This i something Yuri was working with today. We call it "Bang-Bang" Shrimp." She explained. Robert and Sarah looked at it curiously. "It smells good." He said before taking his chopsticks he expertly plucked one of the shrimp from the bowl. Taking a bite his eyes went wide. It was crunchy like tempura shrimp, but the sauce it was tossed in was creamy and a low heat. Though he could tell that if one ate enough, their mouth would be on fire. Sarah took a bite and had a very similar reaction. "YUMMY!" She declared. "Kurosawa-San, this is great!" Robert declared before he pushed the bowl over so that Rebecca could try some. "You should try this." Robert stated before Mitsuki smiled. "What would you like to drink Dalai? She asked softly. Rebecca eyed the shrimp. Not wanting to be rude, she took one of the smaller pieces, ready to eat it when the wife smiled and asked what she wanted to drink. "If you have any sodas, I would love one. But if you don't water with a lemon or lime would do just fine." She smiled back. Looking at the shrimp she gave Robert a nervous look. "I'm not sure how I can handle this, never tried spicy food before. I've seen how other tools are affected." She took a bite, and she turned red, almost literally. But she swallowed her bite. It was spicy, really spicy. She knew she needed something to drink fast. Robert and Sarah watched as Rebecca took a small piece of the shrimp. Mitsuki would give the too woman a smile as she walked back to a small cooler and pulled out a glass bottle coke for Rebecca. One of the first things they found out was that Americans liked their drinks cold. When Rebecca confessed to being unsure about it, Robert was about to say that she didn't have to if she didn't want to. However, it was too late as she plopped the piece of shrimp into her mouth. The reaction was almost instantaneous as everyone saw her fair skin tone turn to searing hot cherry red! Before anyone else could react, Rebecca would find Robert by her side. He took the coke from Mitsuki's hand and passed off to Rebecca to down. "Drink this." he encouraged as his hand started to rub her back and shoulders. Mitsuki was beside herself bowing while apologizing in Japanese. "Menisci, Menisci, Menisci." Even Sarah looked on in concern. This wasn't a cartoon where it was a gag, this was real life and everyone was very concerned about her. It would take about 10 minutes for everyone to calm down, Robert assuring Mitsuki that everything was alright. She was such a caring woman. Rebecca may notice that Robert's hand was still rubbing between her shoulders in a calming gesture. Its large size, and strength surprisingly opposite to how gentle he could be. He would turn back to Rebecca and gave her an apologetic look. "I'm very sorry about that, Becky. I didn't think it was that spicy." He said. His eyes pleading for her to forgive him. Everything to happen so fast. She took the coke from Robert, not even thanking him yet as she chugged it. Honestly she never had anything spicy, so the fact that she hadn't known she would react to it in this way surprised even her. Once she finished her drink she became aware of Robert's hand on her back, and the woman apologizing over and over. Taking a deep breath, Rebecca nodded, her eyes were still a bit watery, but the moment she had drank the pop, her skin had returned to normal. "It's fine. . . Some tools are ok with spices, a lot aren't. I just wasn't sure, that's why I took a small bite." She gave a small laugh. "Now I know." She looked back at Robert, almost leaning into him. "And I'm sorry I just grabbed the drink. I should have thanked both of you for it." She then looked at Sarah. "Sorry if I scared you." Robert didn't take any offense from Rebecca snatching the drink from his hands and chugged it down. Mizuki was thoughtful enough to bring over a tall glass of ice water to help. Robert watched as Rebecca took a couple deep breaths, her eyes watery still but at least her skin tone was normal once more. She would explain that some tools were good with spices, but most were not. Mizuki and Yuri would take that to heart if they ever served any tools. The laugh helped to dissolve the tension in the room as Robert's arm slipped around Rebecca's shoulders to pull her into a comforting embrace while he slipped onto stool right next to her. "I'm just glad you're alright, Becky. I don't think I could forgive myself if I caused you any harm." he said softly as he leaned a bit into her as well. He couldn't describe how nice it was sitting here like this with his arm around her shoulder. She felt so warm and soft against him. When Rebecca looked at Sarah, the young girl had tears threatening at the corner of her eyes. As she apologized for scaring her, Sarah threw her arms around Rebecca and held her tightly, burying her face into the side of Rebecca. "I'm so glad you not hurt." Sarah sniffled. After a moment, Sarah and Robert would release Rebecca. Though she may notice rather obvious reluctance on Robert's part to release her. He remained seated right next to her as he smiled at her. The smile was so warm, and genuine. There was no thinly veiled motives behind it like many of those in Hollywood would have. Their eyes dipping down to take in her "Assets". Robert would turn back to Mizuki, and Yuri. "Sorry to scare you all. Um...can Sarah and I have another order of Bang-Bang Shrimp? It is delicious." He requested. Mizuki chuckled a nodded. Yuri returning to making their dinner. Rebecca smiled at Sarah. "I'm glad too, wipe those tears though. This is supposed to be a celebration, right?" She leaned into Robert a bit. She had to admit, it felt nice, and dare she say it, natural to be with him like this, holding the girl in her arms. When Robert asked about more shrimp, Rebecca had a thought. She obviously couldn't have it, but she wasn't going to prevent Robert and Sarah from having more. There was one thing she knew she could have. She only had it once, it was a special treat that was provided since it was for a special even at the studio. "Um, you wouldn't have any Rocky, would you?" It was a new treat from Japan, one you couldn't buy in stores, and it was one she had hoped that Sarah would like. And just like that the Tension and alarm in the atmosphere quickly dissipated as everyone relaxed. Yuri went back to preparing the dinners, the smells proving to be quite mouth watering. Sarah was smiling brightly at Rebecca even as she continued to hug her and bury her cherub like face against the other woman. Even Robert seemed to be enjoying himself as he felt Rebecca lean against him. Causing himself to scoot his stool closer to her to keep her nice and snug against him. Her body seemingly forming perfect against his like a puzzle piece. His hand resting upon her bare bicep. The exceptionally smooth feeling of her skin against his rough palm. All of it was making it hard to let her go. Mizuki tilted her head a moment when Rebecca asked if they had any rocky. Sarah giggling at the funny word. Mizuki would give Rebecca a soft smile and nod before walking back and fetching what looked like a small red cigarette box. Both Robert and Sarah leaned in to see what it was. Rebecca smiled as she saw the box, the ones she had before had been laid out in a circle, but she had seen the box when they restocked for people to keep eating. Once the box was brought out, she opened it and took out one of the biscuit sticks that were covered in chocolate, handing it to Sarah. "Here, give this a try." She let the girl take it before handing one to Robert and taking one for herself, biting on the chocolate, and sucking it all at once. It was just as good as the one time she had it at the studio. "I hope they start selling these in stores soon." She confessed after taking her time with her current one. Sarah looked on curiously as Rebecca pulled out one of the chocolate covered biscuit sticks and instructed her to take one and try it. Sarah's small hand reached out and gingerly took the delicate looking treat from The Too's fingers. Already she could smell the chocolate, and her mouth watered to savor it. To which she promptly did NOT! Within a flash that stick disappeared into her mouth as her face lit up like the Forth of July. "YUMMY!" She announced much to the entertainment of the others watching. "That is good sweetie, but don't forget your dinner." Robert cautioned. About that time Yuri would arrive and set a large pork ramen bow (down before he would set Sarah's dinner down before her. He would then set a miniature set of chopsticks wrapped in a rubber band around a piece of round cork for her to use. Both meals smelled delicious! Rebecca's Teriyaki with rice was set before her with just as much mouth watering preparation as Robert, and Sarah's. Right next to it, Yuri also set down a small plate with her Cucumber Sushi make Rolls. ("Please enjoy." Yuri would say as Robert smiled. "Thank you, it looks wonderful." Robert stated warmly. "YAY! Mummies!" Sarah cheered as she started to pluck at the broccoli, and carrots. Sucking them up like candy. Rebecca licked her lips and started on her food, almost humming at how good it tasted. Better than the food served at the studio. "Oh, this is so good, the best I've ever had." She complimented the old couple as she used the chopsticks like an expert to eat the chicken, before working her way through the rice, making sure to flavor it with soy sauce. She smiled at Sarah as the girl cheered, then at Robert. It was strange, she felt so normal with the pair. She had seen commercial's and pictures showing the typical family dynamic. She wasn't made to be part of that, but being with both Robert and Sarah, she felt like she was. Furthermore, she wondered how they looked, if they looked like a normal family, even though she was a too. Yuri, and his wife chuckled as they watched the three. They've known Robert for years as he and Sarah always come in at least once a week to eat. Particularly on nights that Robert worked late at the shop. Though with the inclusion of Rebecca, there seemed to be something different about Robert and his daughter. The smiles on their faces when they looked to Rebecca seemed more vibrant, natural. Robert himself seemed hard-pressed to take his eyes off of Rebecca. Granted, the obvious answer was that she was gorgeous, regardless if she was a too nor not. But he didn't stare at her bodily assets that most if not all the typical mouth breathers she had to be around would. If anything is he did look, it was an admiring glance followed by a soft blush. It was obvious he was very attracted to her. Yugi, and Mitsuki both bowed their heads deeply. "We appreciate your enjoyment." They stated. "Yeah, They're the best cooks in the city." Robert stated which caused Yuri to chuckle. "That is nice of you to say Mueller San, but no discount." Yuri teased. Robert chuckled. "You know I wouldn't do that to ya." Robert replied. It was true, Robert understood about Costs, and bottom lines so he rarely sought a discount with anyone he did business with. While Robert and Yuri was joking with each other, Sarah leaned in conspiratorially towards Rebecca so that her father wouldn't be able to hear what she was saying. "You is very pretty. I think my Daddy really likes you." She said with a mischievous giggle. Though she tried to be quiet, Mitsuki overheard the comment. "Yes, I think she is right. Mueller-San seems quite happy in your company, Cranes." Mitsuki whispered too with that same mischievous giggle that Sarah just did. Rebecca blushed as the two females told her Robert liked her. "No, not possible. I mean, he's nice. But we only met today." She is like to think realistically. "Besides, look at me. I'm a too. A villain, was a villain." She sighed. "He fixed my car, and gave me a job after the studio fired me. That's all, there is no way he can like me in any other form then a friend." She didn't really want to argue, but she didn't think it would ever be a thing. And while she had never fallen for anyone, she knew at least one guy who wanted her, and he wanted her bad. Robert wasn't like him, he wasn't interested in her that way, and she was grateful. "Trust me, I know when a guy will want me." Mitsuki could only smile at Rebecca's protests while Sarah's attention, being that of the young girl that she was, had since returned to the delicious sweet carrots that were quickly disappearing from her plate along with the broccoli. Such a strange child that loved her vegetables. "Cranes. I do believe you're underestimating Mueller San. He is blind to such things as Race, or Too. He knew my Husband was a captain of an Enemy warship when we met him in Tokyo after the war, and he still treated us kindly and with respect. Visiting our small ramen stand nightly to speak with my husband while enjoy Immune, and ramen." She said with a hit of nostalgia. "He is a very good man, and sometimes that hurts him." She would say as she glanced at Robert who was wiping teriyaki sauce from Sarah's cheek. Turning back to Rebecca, she continued to have that sweet smile on her lips. "Just because he "Likes" you don't mean you two have to get married tonight. Merely that there is a spark there, and it is up to you both to see how it would go." She explained. Soon enough it came time to depart as Yuri, and Mitsuki needed to clean up before retiring to their bed. Robert gladly paid for the food, and even some dessert to take with them on the way home. By this time, Sarah was looking on the verge of passing out from sleepiness as Robert carried her from the Restaurant, and back towards the Truck. Once he had secured her in her seat. He would move around to unlock and open the door for Rebecca. "That was fun." he stated to her. Rebecca didn't want to argue, she didn't know how should, could. When they finished, she got into the truck. "It was." She smiled at Robert. "I wouldn't mind coming back, even if its just me." She hoped it wouldn't be just her, she didn't see the bill, but she predicted it was more than she could afford. She sat down in the seat, and thought about what would happen next. Her car was fixed, so she could drive home. Of course, she would be starting work the next day, she would have to ask Robert what time he wanted her to arrive. She closed her eyes and relaxed, her life, it seemed, was going to be just fine. As long as something didn't come up to screw her over. She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't notice them returning to the garage, not until Robert stopped the truck. When Rebecca was snapped out of her reverie, she might have been surprised to find a source of warmth pressed against her side. Little Sarah had fallen fast asleep and was cuddled against Rebecca. The look on her face was so peaceful, and relaxed. She looked so comfortable curled up into a small ball between Rebecca and Robert. Robert didn't wake her, nor did he shut off the truck. Instead, he stepped out and came around to open the door for Rebecca as they were parked next to her car. "Thanks for coming, Sarah had an amazing time. I hope we can do this again sometime." Robert said with a warm smile. Now he knew it was time for a bit of business as he walked with Rebecca to her car to open the door and pass along her keys so she could get home. "The shop opens at nine, but I ask everyone to be here no later than eight forty-five to help open the shop. I'm normally here at around 8 after I drop off Sarah at school. Mostly I'm working on the books at that time." He explained as he closed the door gently so not to pinch or strike her legs or anything. "We normally close at around 5 each day, and don't schedule any work around lunchtime. Sarah normally shows up about two thirty, three o'clock from school. I have her do her homework in my office. When you arrive tomorrow, I'll give you a run-down of your responsibilities." He stated before he took a breath. "Any questions?" he asked. Rebecca smiled at the little girl, before climbing out. At her car she took her keys and reached in, getting them in the ignition. "So air for 8:45, maybe earlier." She nodded once he finished telling her the times. "None that I can think of. Thank you, Robert, and I did have fun too. It would be nice to do it again." She touched his arm and hand. "I'll see you tomorrow then." She climbed into her car, waiting for Robert to move out of the way, before leaving the lot and heading home. Entering Too Town was a lot more enjoyable this time, her life was really looking up. She couldn't help but smile wider at the thought of working with Robert, and getting to know him better. Then she got home, and her smile fell. An all too familiar car was parked in front of her home, well, pulled into her driveway blocking it. She parked just before it and got out. It was late, and she wanted to rest up before going to work the next day, but luck was not on her side. "What do you want, Wolf?" She hated him, she knew he wanted her, how did he put it, the two villains of the time? She wasn't a villain. Unlike her, he was a villain on and off-screen, and she hated him. (1923 Ford T-bucket hot rod with deep blue and flames was sitting in Rebecca's drive. On the rear bumper sticker read: "I DON'T BRAKE FOR ANIMALS, AND CHILDREN". Leaning on the side, and smoking a cigarette was the car's owner, on B.B. Wolf. This Generation's Big Bad Wolf, and he ate it up. Standing at nearly seven fall, his fur was as black as all previous generations of Wolves, and had to bulk to back up his bite. A notorious womanizer, it has been rumored that he ruined many a career of actress Real, and Too alike. Often getting them pregnant and shuffling some Mullins around to keep them quiet. He was dressed sharply in a pin stripe suit that accepted his physique. Particularly the sizable bulge in his pants along with his tight toned buttocks. Rebecca would hear the neighboring female tools swooning as they would often shower them in flirty winks and move in such a way to make use his bulge was always prominently displayed. In his large paws was a bouquet of flowers. What do you want, Wolf? Those harsh words caused the muzzle to curl in a greedy sneer as Wolf turned his dark eyes upon the object of his current desire, Rebecca Crane. He would take a moment to brazenly ogle her form. Particularly her large breasts and wide hips. He let his broad tongue lick along his lips as if she was a succulent morsel to snack on. Standing up he would saunter over to her with an overly exaggerated smile. "Baby, baby, baby. Is that any way to treat a fell villain? Me, in my deep kindness, have come all this way to cheer you up after being canned once again." He stated as he held the bouquet before her. "I'm sure I can be quite helpful in easing your worried mind, my Mon petite." He said with a bit of a growl. She pushed the flowers aside. "Despite what you may have heard, Wolf. My mind is far from being worried." She should have known he would have heard about her losing her job at the studio. "Perhaps you should look after yourself. I've heard that Red Riding Hood's are getting younger and younger each film made. You don't want to get caught up chasing some jail bait and getting scrapped do you?" She knew his reputation, and while the threat to his livelihood may have been stretched a bit, she wanted to use something to get him out of the way. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have some things to do before I turn in for the night." She went to her door, wanting to get in, but not willing to give him a way to push in. BB looked a bit surprised as his token was brushed aside so callously. Though it also excited him as he felt Rebecca was merely playing "Hard to Get". She must've known he was a "Hunter", and liked difficult prey the best. It made the conquest that much sweeter. Course she was also a Villain, so she couldn't simply arbitrarily give in him. She had her pride as well. As the mention of Red Riding Hoods, He out a deep laugh. "You try to wound me, but I'm too smart. I only touch meat ripened to the proper age. Too soon and they're just too clingy." He would say as he shook his head. Though he was fully aware of the rumors out there, and did little if anything to curb them as they helped his reputation quite a bit. Rebecca would make her way around him to approach her door, hoping to get in before he could do anything further. However that didn't seem to be the case as she reached her door, she would see a thick arm reach out and rest against it. "Becker's, Becker's, Becker's. You still have that fire. I like that. I like that a lot. Furthermore, I keep telling you that we'll be the city's greatest power couple if you just accept the fact that you, and I were drawn to be together." he said as he held the flowers before her once more. "Think it over." he insisted. Rebecca snapped at him. “I would suggest you back off. Or do you want me to file a compliant, again.” It was an empty threat. She had tried complaining to the studio before, he knew she had. Though what he didn’t know was she was laughed at. The upper ups had told her that he was just being who he was, unlike her, though when she had threatened to quit, her career wasn’t at risk yet, they agreed to talk to him about barriers. This time, however, she knew they wouldn’t even do that. She had no job there, and she wasn’t sure if the police would help. Those who were tools didn’t handle this kind of thing, those who were real, they didn’t like handling too affairs. BB could only laugh at her threat. He remembered the last time she complained, and the studio did "Speak" to him about it. But one could hardly call it admonishing, or even scolding. It was more empty finger waggling before questions were asked about how far he has gotten with her. Reals were too easy to manipulate. So many of them wanted to bone too girls that it was hilarious to him. "I love that fire about you, Becker's." He said as he pushed the flowers into her hand. "But I'm serious. Think about it. You and I can go very far as long as we "Help" each other out." he stated. "I'll leave you with that this night, but I will be back for your answer, Becker's." he stated with a matter of fact tone and nod. With that he would stand back up and start to saunter back towards his car. Of course, he showed off the entire way. Making sure this there was a noticeable bulge running down his one leg for the girls to drool over. Perhaps Doggy will go bury his bone somewhere tonight. He could think of a few women that wouldn't mind letting him in their "backyards". The sound of his hot rod roared to life, but the engine wasn't as smooth nor sounded as powerful as Robert's. If anything it sounded like a small dog making a lot of noise. Backing out of the driveway he popped the clutch and nearly stalled out the car. It lurched forward before seemingly catching up to itself and speeding away anticlimactically. Leaving Rebecca on the front step of her house alone finally. Rebecca sighed, she took the flowers inside, tossing them in the garbage can she had in the kitchen. “Damn him.” She glanced at the phone, wanting to talk to Robert, but knew she didn’t have his number. “Besides, he wouldn’t want to hear me complain.” She went to her bedroom and changed into her nightie, laying out clothing for the next day. It was reminiscent of the secretaries she had seen working at the studio. She had the items from different outfits, but together they looked like any normal office outfit. That set, she got in bed and went to sleep. Early the next morning, the familiar Panel truck trundled into the Parking lot of Mueller's Auto shop. The driving pulling into his favored parking spot in the shade of a large oak tree that grew over the parking lot. Several cars still lined the lot that were waiting on parts or to be pulled in for repairs. Setting out, Robert groaned as he stretched high up into the sky. His back cracking as it normally did as he grumbled about back pain. "Damn lumpy mattress. I really need to get a new one." he groused as he started for the entrance to the shop. His hand digging down into his pocket to fish for the key to the shop. The front door opened with the quaint sound of a cowbell as Robert stepped in and began turning on some of the Lights. The very first destination was the coffee maker. Taking the coffee can from the fridge, he scooped out a "healthy" Portion of grounds to put into the soft filter. The others always complained that his coffee was too strong, but none of them had to be here this early, or stay past closing. The Office area of the shop quickly started to smell of the brewing coffee as Robert turned to enter into his office. His mind still a hazy fog calling to his mattress. Plopping down on his chair, he stared at the paper work before him, and let out a sigh before pulling over an adding machine and a pen before starting to pour over the numbers. That coffee couldn't be ready too soon. Rebecca's alarm range with a cheery trill. Calling her from her dreams. Stretching she showered and dressed and grabbed a quick bite to eat. She got into her car and headed out of Too Town, smiling and greeting everyone she saw, getting a few strange looks as she did. She ignored them of course. Out of the animated world, she drove to Robert's shop and parked in back where she saw he had parked his own vehicle. Getting out she noticed for the first time the line of cars. "Well, no day like today to start, right?" she asked herself and headed in. Inside she headed into Robert's office, knocking on the door. Her attire was professional, a blouse light blue plaid skirt, pantyhose and black shoes. She wasn't trying to be sexy, just proper regarding the job. "Ready for work." She greeted him with a smile. Numbers were starting to blur together as Robert peered at the ledger before him. A rather lengthy spool of tape from his adding machine dribbling of the corner of the desk. His fingers running through his hair as his brain was already beginning to hurt from all of this "Complicated" Math. Robert wasn't a very good student as his mind always seemed to lose focus on things like Math and Sciences. The only subjects that really interested him were History, Languages, and The Arts. As each passing minute slipped into oblivion, Robert's frustrations steadily grew. He desperately needed a distraction. And a distraction was what he got as he heard the front door open and the soft clicks of heels upon linoleum was heard before the knock came from his door. Looking up, Robert's eyes grew wide as he saw those black shoes first followed by a hundred miles of curvy road that was deliciously outlined in pantyhose. He swallowed thickly before he finally reached her eyes. Rebecca announced she was ready to work as she flashed him such a lovely smile. Once he couldn't help but mirror. "Good morning, Becky. You look very beautiful this morning." he would say with the same warmth as the previous night. He pushed himself up from his desk and came around. "I'll show you around. Though there isn't much to see." He explained as he led her back into the main room. There was a desk with an elevated shelf where customers could look over and sign Work orders. There was also a Telephone and large scheduling book on her desk. Though she would see that the majority of the pages were smudged with oil and grease. Apparently Robert had to wear many hats in his own business. Tucked away into the corner of the reception, and waiting room was a Coffee maker, a small Coke-Cola Cooler with a coin slot, and finally a Rack with snacks. There was a small coffee table in the middle around some chairs. Stacked neatly were various types of magazines such as Popular Mechanics, Car and Driver, and Hot Rod Magazine. Publications that seemed to fit the local to a "T". "This is where I will need you. Your primary duties would be to Answer the phone, schedule appointments, and write up work orders for me to pass out to the others when they arrive. I'll go over writing a work order when we have our first customer of the day. Oh, about 10, an old couple of tools like to come up and drink coffee. They usually sit on the bench outside in the shade. They're good folks and I don't mind having them around. From what it sounds like, they don't go very far in their old age." Robert would explain. Coming behind her desk he pulled out the left top drawer where she would see a strong box. "This is the cash box. During the day, I keep about five hundred dollars in here so you can make change for people paying for their repairs, or simply to make change for the drinks, and snacks. Every night I make a deposit at the bank around four. We close at five each day. Oh, No one gets free snacks. Everyone pays." Robert stated as he closed the drawer where the strong box was kept. "Any questions so far?" He asked her. Rebecca nodded. She followed him around, looking at everything she had pointed out to her. At seeing the desk that would be hers she knew she would need to clean up, make it tidier. Perhaps even gets some items to keep things protected from grease. "If I wanted to make this space my own, reorganize and the like. Would I have to pay for supplies on my own dime?" She asked him, making mental lists already. Robert would lean against the desk as he let Rebecca get familiar with her surroundings as small as they were. The Main area of the shop was rather cozy and inviting. The radio in the corner was tuned to a favored station that played a variety of records for a wide range of audiences. When she asked if she wanted to make the space her own, reorganize and such. If she had to pay for her own supplies. Robert pursed his chin between his thumb and forefinger. "Normal office supplies such as pens, papers, and such will not be coming out of your pocket. Though if you wish to personalize your work area. Picture frames, plant, etc. I'm afraid that will have to come out of your pocket." he explained. Not wanting to sound like an unreasonable employer or anything of that ilk. She nodded. “I meant more like file holders, binders. A way to sort and protect.” She offered, and started moving things around in a way that was a sort of system. “There is a lot here, it will be easier if the paper work didn’t have smudges, splatters and sorted.” Robert nodded as Rebecca clarified what it was that she was after. Explaining of a way to keep the Repair Orders in order and protected from smudges, and stains that could make them difficult to read. "Ah, I see what you're talking about now. No, you won't have to pay for that, but understand we can't splurge overly much either." he would explain. While he was allowing her leeway with the "Petty Cash", he was also letting it be known that they can't go hog-nuts either. About this time the door opened and the Man that Rebecca saw the previous night with Sarah was stepping in with a tin Lunchbox underneath his arm. "Morning boss." He grumbled as he trod past the desk and into the Bay Area where he would set his lunch box on his large tool box and unlock it for the day. "That's Jackson. He is the one in charge when I'm not around. He is an old wrench, and taught most of the others tricks to make them better." Robert explained before leaning into Rebecca. "If he seemed to ignore you, don't take it personally. He is not a morning person." Robert would whisper. Rebecca understood what Robert meant, money was something you had to be careful with, especially when you owned a business. She was about to comment on making a list when another man came through. She nodded in greeting, but then frowned when he ignored her. When Robert mentioned the man not being a morning person, she nodded, having met people like that. "I'll keep that in mind." She smiled. Robert would smile back at Rebecca, happy at how seriously she was taking this and felt very confident that she would make an exemplary employee. Once he finished giving her the tour and explained her Expectations. He would pardon himself to enter the main work bay to begin on his daily tasks. A couple more Techs would show up before opening, though seeing Rebecca had them nearly tripping over themselves in surprise that such a beautiful Too was working there now. After introducing themselves, they made their way into the garage area as well to begin their jobs. Though not without stealing a few more glances at Rebecca before completely disappearing through the door. Since it was the middle of the week, it was a relatively slow and easy day. So it gave Rebecca a lot of time to familiarize herself with the shop, and its procedures. Any questions she had Robert eagerly took the time to explain and help her understand. Even Jackson would come by and formally greet her and apologize for seemingly ignoring her in the morning. By early afternoon things had settled into a comfortable Rhythm. The soft droning of the Radio playing a local station mixed with the constant prattling of two old men that sat on the bench in front of the Shop simply swapping stories they repeated hundreds of times while laughing at unspoken jokes. About this time a long yellow school bus pulled up in front of the shop before the doors open and a familiar sprite popped out and sprinted across the yard towards the main office. Little Sarah greeted the two old men as she dashed in. When Little Sarah's eyes fell upon Rebecca, she speed with delight before running around the desk to give Rebecca a big hug. "You really are real! I thought it was a dream!" She gushed happily. Robert would take a break about this time to check on his daughter. "You have homework?" he asked. "Some" She would reply. "Okay, then you best be getting after it while it is fresh. Once you're done you may talk with Becky some so long as you don't become a bother." he explained. Throughout the day, Rebecca started cleaning, tidying. She even got some fresh paper and started making a list of everything she wanted to get, as well as estimating the price. Adding it up at the bottom. She also made note of where she could get every item. At the end of the day when Sarah arrived she smiled at the girl. “School work should always come first, like your dad says. Here.” She moved her chair over, grabbed a stool. “Why don’t you work here? I don’t know where your dad have you work, but if he becomes busy, I’m sure you will want someone to ask questions lest they rise up.” Sarah groaned as it would appear she would get no relief from either direction as it appears both Rebecca, and her father wanted to make sure she "Toiled" over useless school work. But at least She was letting her sit next to her and offered to help! "Okay!" She replied, still not liking having to do her homework, but at least she wasn't "Stuck" in her father's stuffy office. It smelled of oil and sweat in there. Sarah's First subject was math, and she worked hard to try and figure out the simple equations. Often scrubbing calculations along the margins of her piece of paper. Though it was obvious that she was quickly becoming frustrated as the answer wasn't coming quite as easily as the teacher was making it look in class. After an about twenty minutes she let out a groan. "This is impossible!" She huffed, her cheeks pouting out in an adorable pout. Rebecca saw the girls' frustration, and knew she had time to ask. "Hey sweetie, want me to see what the problem is? I know a thing or two about math." She set her stuff down and moved over. "Now, show me this calculation you are trying to do." Sarah was a bit reluctant to let Rebecca see as she feared the woman would think her stupid. Much like her father, Sarah's mind didn't do well with complicated equations. She was a much more hands on kinda of person that adored art, and music classes. However after a moment of contemplation Sarah pushed her sheet over while she hung her head in shame. While it was a normal problem for children her age to work on, It was a tad on the easy side. Simple Division. Something most adults do in their head. Rebecca smiled. Division. "Ok, so first, we need to break down what they want you to do." She started, she would not solve it for Sarah, she would guide her. Asking her questions. She even suggested that they work backward with multiplication, to make sure the numbers matched. If they didn't, where did they go wrong. Sarah nodded as she scoots closer to the Too Villains to help her figure out what she was doing. With Rebecca's help, the problems seemed easier than how the teacher was explaining them. After about 20 minutes, Robert stepped in to get himself something to drink, and check on his daughter. Buying a coke from the cooler he approached Rebecca's desk. "You're not being a bother to ms. Becky, are you squirt?" he asked as he set a bottle down for Rebecca, and Sarah. The smile on his lips for the two girls. “She isn’t bugging me at all.” Rebecca told him. “I’m just helping her with her homework.” She looked at Sarah. “But I think you have a hand on the division now, right sweetie?” She asked the little girl. Robert smiled at how nice Rebecca was being towards his rather sprite child. Sarah could wear on many people with her incessant questions. So it made it even more difficult to believe that Rebecca was a Villain. She certainly didn't act like it even though she had a body that could kill. "I see. Thanks, I'll admit I can get by with math, but it is far from my strong suit." Robert confessed rather sheepishly as he glanced down at Sarah's homework. When Rebecca asked if Sarah was getting it, the young girl smiled brightly before hugging Rebecca tightly in gratitude. Had she been a more comedic too, she might have honked like a car horn, or had her eyes bugging out. "Yes, thank you very much!" She see'ed in delight. Robert reached out and petted Sarah's head. "Thank you for helping her, Becky." He would say to Rebecca in a respectful, and happy manner. "Your welcome, both of you." Rebecca smiled at the pair. "I'm good with math, and if I can help any way I can. I'm very willing." She looked at Sarah's work. "If you want I can make a sort of cheat sheet, with formula's, for with homework and studying, so you know the steps until you memorize them. What do you think?" Sarah's eyes began to sparkle at Rebecca as if her faith in her cartoon hero, yes Ironic, had become even more heroic. "Really!?" She squeaked with weaponized cuteness. "Yay! That will really help." She confirmed as Robert walked in front of the desk and eased himself down into one of the chairs in the waiting room. Though the way his face grimaced showed a bit of discomfort, or possibly difficult in the action. Even Sarah stood up as if to help her father, but a hand from Robert stopped her. "Finish your homework, squirt. I'm just taking a bit of a breather." he stated as he popped the cap off his bottle of coke and took a lazy sip. The carbonated bubbles tickling across his tongue before washing down his throat. Rebecca watched Robert. "Are you ok Robert?" She asked, wondering if there was something she could do, or suggest improving things for him. Robert would turn to Rebecca and give a soft blush as she asked if he was okay. "Oh, you saw that huh?" he asked sheepishly. "Daddy, your knees hurt don't they?" Sarah asked. "They're just stiff, Princess. Daddy had to do a lot of brake work today." Robert explained. Sarah hardly looked convinced. "I'll take some aspirin when after a quick rest." Robert assured her. Turning to Rebecca, Robert felt a change in the subject would be a good idea. "How was your first day on the job? Any issues that you would like to Iron out?" he asked Rebecca. "It's been a quiet day, which I'm guessing won't be the case tomorrow, but it helped with me having more time to get situated with the place, and my duties." She smiled at him. Robert smiled and nodded as Rebecca stated that it had been a quiet slow day. Thus allowing her to get more acclimated to her surroundings. Though the smile she gave him seemed to brighten up the room. It felt so free and honest as if she was smiling just for him. Causing his cheeks to darken a bit, and giving his own smile a shy tint. "I'm glad to hear that. I believe having you around will breathe some new life into this old shop. I, for one, am very happy you're here now." he said. Sarah just giggled at that and leaned into Rebecca to whisper something. "He thinks you pretty." she whispered just loud enough for Robert to hear. Causing him to blush clear up to his ears. Rebecca blushed, whispering back to Sarah. "It doesn't really mean much, It's how I'm drawn." Sarah had a coy smile upon her lips as Rebecca mentioned that there wasn't much too it as it was simply because she was drawn very pretty. And there was a great deal of truth to that as Rebecca has encountered many men, both too and human alike, that saw only her physical form and nothing underneath. It could make for a lonely existence if one let it. For now Sarah decided it was better to simply let it go. Robert stood up, his joints feeling stiff and achy from being bent over an engine bay all day. "Sarah, are you done with your homework yet?" he asked. "Almost daddy!" She chirped. "Well get after it then." he replied before approaching the desk that the two ladies were at and leaned against the elevated part that customers would usually use to sign paperwork. In this position, One would have tried to steal glances down Rebecca's shirt, or ogle her thighs had she been hearing a more "Flattering" Skirt. However, Robert's eyes were always looking at more respectful areas of Rebecca's anatomy. More her eyes and face than anywhere else. "Thank you for your work today, Becky. If you would like feel free to cut out and head home. I'll be seeing you again bright and early tomorrow morning." he would say to her with a warm tone. Rebecca nodded. "If you're fine here to close up. I will, run a few personal errands. But like I said, if your sure you will be ok. I may be known, but I can help with gathering things and closing down." Robert would give Becky a smile and a nod. "I'll be fine. I'm used to closing up alone. The shop is out of the way enough that about this time we don't normally have people showing up. So go ahead and take off for the day and get your errands done. I'll see you bright and early in the morning. You had a good first day, and I hope the streak continues." he would say warmly. Giving her a smile that showed that her being there actually made him quite happy. Sarah for her part would look up to Rebecca and launch at her to give her a hug! "Night! Get home safely." she wished of the Cartoon Villains. Rebecca patted Sarah's head and nodded to Robert. But she didn't go home right away, her errand took her to one of the larger stores, where she could fine work supplies, boxes, clip boards and more. She didn't buy too much, enough to at least start her work project. And while her task was easy, the shopping wasn't. Not because she couldn't find what she wanted. It wasn't instant, because of how she was dressed, but eventually other shoppers figured out who she was. It started with small glances. Small glances turning to double takes and looks of disbelief. Both Toon and Human alike were surprised when they finally recognized who was in their midst. For some it was starstruck. For others, weary caution as while Human actors and actresses often played varying roles from Protagonist to Antagonist. Too Characters were often drawn to by a type of character and very rarely if ever was used in a role other than their original Role. Many Tools would take this as a mark of pride. Particularly Villains. So many of the people would watch Rebecca wearily, expecting her to do something dastardly at time point. Soon a young man in an apron would approach rather nervously. "Um...is there anything I can do to um, help you Miss?" he asked. While shooting nervous glances at his manager who was waiting near a phone. Rebecca had become more and more aware of the glances, and tried to ignore them. There was one thing she was missing, so it was pure luck when the young man in an apron showed up. She gave him a smile, a bright smile, a genuine smile. She could tell he was nervous, she was used to it, but she didn't want that to affect how she treated him. "I'm getting supplies for an office, and well, I was hoping to find something I can have on a desk that is clear, where I can have papers in full view, but won't get dirty. Something that can be wiped off, to clean." She started to feel awkward. "Sorry, I'm not even sure if there is such a thing. I'm trying to make the receptionist/secretary desk at a garage neater, and have ways that the grease and oil won't stain and ruin any paper work." She's finally admitting, blushing. As the rather notorious villains spoke, the young clerk appeared ready to dive behind the nearest fixture. The smile more off-putting than appeasing. As Rebecca listed off the items she was looking for. The Clerk listened aptly for anything strange and out of the ordinary. Office!? Push, yeah right. More like Evil lair. There were many that seemed hard-pressed to separate reality from an on-screen persona. The Clerk would look at her in a bit of disbelief when she explained it was for a position as a secretary at a Garage. How could that be? She was the up-and-coming Evil Villain in Hollywood! Hell Big Bad made sure that everyone thought they were a thing. Even if it couldn't have been furthest from the case." Um.... I'm not sure if there is such a thing as you're describing for the papers, but I can show you were our office supplies are." The young man stated as he started to lead Rebecca to the back corner of the store where she would find everything she would need. And more importantly keep her out of sight of the other customers so not to spook them. Rebecca nodded and followed, while she had found some things, what the clerk showed her was more than enough. Her face lit up. "Oh, thank you. Oh, Robert! is going to love this stuff." She started going through, and then something caught her eye, a small notebook, or binder, something pages could be added too. It was bright and cheery. "Oh, this will be perfect for Sarah, and her formula sheets." She looked at the clerk. "Sorry." She then clapped when she found a board of clear plastic, it was the kind to put on desks to protect the wood surface, she had seen it back at the studio, but no one had ever putt paper under it. "This, this is perfect." She paused, and her smile faltered for a moment. "You know, its funny, just a few days ago I was trying to film scenes, and now I'm a secretary at a garage. And I couldn't be happier." She smiled at the clerk boy. "I may have been draw to be a villain, but I'm not, I have never been one save for the camera. I think being fired from the studio is the best thing that ever happened to me." The timid clerk was second guessing his decision to led a known villain to a relatively isolated part of the store. Yes, she was gorgeous, but a villain was still a villain. So as they reached the area, he stood to the side and let her peruse as she saw fit. He kept close by in case she needed any help. Though as she looked around he couldn't help but wonder about whom this "Robert" character was. Tunes didn't always have normal names, and wondered if perhaps he was some studio exec, or perhaps a "Co-Star/Henchman". Though as Rachael spoke about another person named Sarah, he grew even curio user. The Clerk giving her a disarming smile when she apologized. "It is no trouble, Ma'am." he would say. Though as she began to speak once more about how she was once a film star and now working as a secretary at a garage. The Clerk blinked in surprise. This was Rebecca Crane, yes? The most anticipated rising starlet since Jessica Rabbit. Why would she be working in a garage!? Though as she spoke about how happy she was, the clerk couldn't help but feel that perhaps he, and everyone else were wrong to treat her so much like a villain. As Rebecca spoke about how she was drawn to be a villain, but only was one on camera. He felt remorseful for believing her to be like the others like Big Bad Wolf. Who adored using his "Villain" status to practically get away with murder. And being a villain also netted Big Bag quite a few bed mates. Both Human and Too. After a moment, the Clerk hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry ma'am, I must apologize as I've treated you poorly. You're a customer, and yet I've been asked to watch you as if you're a common shoplifter off the street." He admitted shamefully. Rebecca gave the man a small smile. "I know, I'm used to it." She sighed, and looked around. "Do, do you have a kids area? I'm not getting anything fancy, but I just thought Sara might like a small plushy. Oh, do you happen to have any dolls of, well, me?" She blushed as she asked, clapping her hands. "Sarah's a fan. . . It disappointed her to learn I was fired, but I just thought, she may like something." The young clerk let out a sigh of relief as Rebecca didn't seem to upset with his prejudice against her earlier. When Rebecca asked if they had an area of the store for children, he thought a moment. Finding it curious that she kept referring to a young girl by the name of Sarah. He wondered if she was perhaps Rebecca's daughter? Adopted maybe? The question if they had any plush dolls of her, The clerk could see the embarrassment of the question tinging Rebecca's cheeks. He would think a moment before nodding. "We do have a children's section, albeit a small one. I can't promise there would be any toys of you, Ma'am." he would say before he would lead her down the aisles back towards the children section where more of the parents were gathered. Most of the mothers began to move away and drag their children along. Though the children seemed happy to see Rebecca. Many of them waving and saying "Hi". The Clerk would show her down the "Plush" aisle where many of the dolls were sat out along the shelves. There are many dolls of the popular Cartoons of the day. Several rather suggestive Jessica Rabbit dolls, plus many Big Bad Wolf dolls. That wolf always did spend a lot of time making sure to market himself. Though sadly there didn't seem to be any dolls of her. It wouldn't be till the second look around that Rebecca would find the only Doll of her. A surprisingly well-made one. Whoever designed the doll and produced it obviously invested a lot of time, and effort to make sure it was a good quality, and robust toy for a child. The face had her trademark confident smirk along with a villainous pant-suit outfit that she wore. "Would that suit your needs, Ma'am?" The clerk asked. Rebecca nodded, though she didn't like the look of the doll, especially the outfit. She only wore it in one or two films, and the smirk. "Does it have any accessories?" She didn't want the doll stuck with one look. The young clerk could only sigh softly. "I'm sorry Ma'am. But that is the only outfit it came with. And nothing else has been slated to be released. Though it is about the size of the Jessica Rabbit dolls we have. So some of her accessories may work for it." He would offer as he motioned to a rather stocked shelf full of clothing sets meant for Jessica Rabbit. Rebecca tensed. Of course Jessica Rabbit was a match. She took a deep breath. "I'll take one of everything for the Jessica model." She paused. "But not the doll itself. Just her accessories." She glanced at the man and relaxed. "Sorry, I'm not a fan. . . But if this is the best option for Sarah." The young clerk could see how little Rebecca seemed to care for the idea that Jessica Rabbit's accessories were her only option. Some of the outfits, he believed, seemed to be designed for a more mature mind. Though thankfully there were still quite a slew of more conservative outfits for her to take and use on her doll for this Sarah. He was really starting to wonder who Sarah was. Rebecca said she was a fan, but he hadn't known any Star that would go so far for a simple fan. "She must be very special to you, Miss." the young man stated warmly. "If you would like I can check you out now." He offered. "Unless there was something else you needed." He added. "Possibly. Robert, my new boss." Rebecca blushed as she thought of the man, his smile and kindness. "Sara's his daughter, I want to get something for him too." She felt herself getting redder, why, she didn't know. Robert was nice and kind. He saw beyond her looks, it felt like it. "I just want to thank him for everything he's done for me so far. But I don't know how." The young clerk nodded as Rebecca mentioned how Robert was her new boss, and how Sara was his daughter. Mentioning how she wished for something for him had the clerk look quizzically at her. Most new hires didn't shower their employer, or their children, with gifts. Normally such actions would have indicated possibly injuring favor with the new boss, but the clerk felt like there was more too it as Rebecca's cheeks began to glow a bit. Even if she mentioned how she wanted to thank him for everything he had done for her, that blushing reaction seemed to hint to more to it. "Yes Ma'am. Then perhaps a new mug may be a good choice. We stock some over in housewares." The young stated as he started towards another corner of the store. Though as they were walking, an elderly crone was hobbling her way down the aisle as well. She had a sour expression of a woman that just didn't seem to like her lot in life. And seeing Rebecca seemed to have pushed her over the edge. "What is this!? Since when does this reputable store let her ilk in?" She snarled as her cold eyes fell upon Rebecca following the customer. "Villain Tools should be held in prison until time for their work. Otherwise, they'll rob you blind!" She continued. The young clerk began to panic as he quickly rushed over. "Ma'am, please. Such behavior isn't good." he said, trying to calm the old woman down.

Dabbling in Water Colors. (EvieFrye, and Mac84)|rating:4.0

Purgatory Prison OOC Thread

IOC Thread for the Purgatory Prison RP :Links! General Population (Barracks (Block 1 (Showers (FIRST! Don't be that way, Very. Lol sorry Reverent. I'm assuming we're on at least a loose "post-by-turn" basis here, so I haven't posted yet today to allow others to catch up. That said, Marine is currently free if any of the guards want to start messing with the prisoners, or if any of the other prisoners want to try to make contact. And if we're NOT on a turn basis, well then, I'll just feel stupid, and you can feel free to ignore this. ;) Same goes for Abe. Anyone who's interested in some interaction, let me know, or just post to start it. :-) Kira is alone in her cell also. God, she's going to get eaten alive! How awesome! Revenant, I'll have Marine make contact with Abe. Lovely girl, if you want, Kira could be on the other side of Marine or Abe, so she could be in on it, too. Oh, sorry didn't notice the IOC thread. Anyways Alicia is free, roaming the cell blocks, if anyone wants to play with her. Alicia might be free, but out characters aren't, haha. I think she's the one who's going to have to decide who she wants to play with. ;) Alright then she'll take the first one to react to her :) I'm going to divide up people according to cellblocks here soon. Basically, I want to have a SUPERMAN wing, Cellblocks 1 through 6, and some administrative wings. So I want everyone to start thinking about where you want to go after I divide you up. Quote from: Linda on 11-09-2011, 06:32:11I'm going to divide up people according to cellblocks here soon. Basically, I want to have a SUPERMAN wing, Cellblocks 1 through 6, and some administrative wings. So I want everyone to start thinking about where you want to go after I divide you up. Well if Alicia had the choice she would want to guard the most dangerous criminals. She likes to challenge herself, she likes to dominate hard cases, but she's a switch and wouldn't mind being dominated by a prisoner at some point ;) That post was mostly for the benefit of the inmates but ok. Elf guy gets to play with the bad boys and girls. Well, Marine wouldn't certainly wouldn't need to be in SUPERMAN, unless someone at the prison just really hates her and wants to throw her in there. I'm guessing Cellblocks 1-6, but hey, I'll play her wherever she gets put. I don't really have a preference. Just wherever she can make the most contribution to the game as a character. I don't see Abe as a big enough troublemaker to warrant SUPERMAN, really. He's certainly not the "beat the shit out of anyone who crosses me" type. Regular cellblocks as well, probably. I've got to call it a night, all. See you on the morrow. I think this RP will be fun and interesting. ;) is the game up? I can't wait to play Sable, I saw those characters as the most likely to be who Kira would talk to. As for Superman, I don't see Kira there, unless someone fucked with her paperwork.... Is this still open for new players? Yes, we still accept new players and the main thread is located here (#new) Well, hoping to get Leona going, but my first choice so far has yet to respond to me, so I need a good alternative. Any takers? No one wanting to embrace eternity? Lol, Atari reference, couldn't resist. Quote from: Linda on 11-09-2011, 14:31:23Yes, we still accept new players and the main thread is located here (#new)What do you prefer? Inmates or guards? Male or female? We don't have any male guards yet, so that might be a good choice. Hope the warden doesn't insist on restricting Alicia's actions too much or this will become quite hard to get any relation going. Oh, I have a special fate in mind for Alicia Quote from: Linda on 11-09-2011, 18:37:51Oh I have a special fate in mind for Alicia*gulp* Is anything going to happen to Abe, or am I just stuck doing nothing until someone else is sent along? Wondering what to do myself at the moment. I don't want her to get into trouble but on the other hand I want an excuse to screw over a willing partner lol. Abe is free to be used by any guard who wants to roam over to Cellblock 1. Just don't fuck things up ;) Considering Alicia got into trouble for a simple BJ, I'd hate to see what happens if someone goes farther lol. Still, Atari are able to meld nervous systems and thus give as well as receive immense pleasure without actually engaging in the act. Funny how I found a loophole without even trying lol. She's in trouble for submitting. Guards are supposed to rape you all. Well, technically, wasn't she just raping him by forcing him to dominate her? Quote from: Linda on 11-09-2011, 19:31:37she's in trouble for submitting. Guards are supposed to rape you all. Alicia doesn't submit tho, she plays power games. That's where the fun is, to have them take control, then wrestle it away again. She'd never be a real sub. Linda could you give me your appraisal of this character sheet:(Vincent Delacroix Age: 32Gender: Male Species: Human Personality: Alpha, very calculated one at that. Can be very cruel when needed Brief Bio: Vincent comes from a long line of mercenaries. Both of his parents were, as was his uncle and younger sister. As such, he started out in the family business from the age of 16. He did well for himself for the better part of a decade until a bad run-in with a Brogan who had a prize on his head. Vincent was able to collect the bounty but not before the Brogan had badly injured him. Left with a perpetual limp in his step and chronic pains, Vincent no longer felt in peak form and retired shortly after being released from the medical center. But after a few years of living off his winnings, he decided that he craved the action. No longer feeling up to the planet-hopping that life as a mere entailed, he instead applied for a job as a guard on Purgatory station. He has been working there for close to four years now, and enjoys the sense of self-worth and power his position there has helped him regain. Question 1: A prisoner is getting out of hand, arguing with you over whether he should be allowed to sleep rather than go to meals. What do you do? Beat the crap out of him and send him to the infirmary where he can enjoy a week of no sedatives and IV feeding. Question 2: Two female prisoners start fighting, clawing at each other. One produces a shiv and stabs the other before you can intervene. What do you do? Break the attacker’s stabbing arm and throw her in the pit for a few days. Have the stabbed inmate treated for the wound, but then administer a lashing before returning her to gen-pop as a punishment for her part in the fight. Question 3: Two inmates are engaged in sex inside their cell. Standing orders are not to allow prisoners to have sex. What do you do? Have them tied up together and then beaten and kicked repeatedly whilst in dual bondage. POOH, I understand now lol. I think I can handle that. Rev, what do you say bud? Want a blue skinned girl action? Just asking but if not I'm sure I can think of someone else to torment lol. That's fine with me, Very. Cool, here's hoping you don't mind a bit of biotic bondage lol. Well, we'll see I guess, depending on how things go, but she won't make the mistake that Alicia has made lol. Taking my man from me :'(Hey, Leona could always visit you to bud lol. I'm sure there's enough dashing British murderer in there for everyone to have a piece. :-) lol, but not while she's tied up. Where's the fun in that :P After Bridgett's done with her Leona would be happy to take over lol. Was wondering as there seems to be a couple of female inmates that have no guards' attention, if I could change my character to a guard? Alter the character sheet and resubmit it Hun My character would have a bit of a late introduction, yeah? So I was tossing ideas around in my head, here's what I have:1. He's been an inmate for a while now, though this would give him and guards more of a past in which might have to be a little more planned.2. He was taken on a separate ship, perhaps and somehow managed to hack into the ship and put it a bit off path before anybody realized-when they finally do arrive, instead of admitting Yuri had managed to accomplish such, they make up some excuse for being late.3. Act as if he'd been there all along? A little more boring for my tastes, but I can manage. If you have any suggestions I'll be glad to hear 'em. :)Edit: And I almost forgot-hello all. :) Right now I'm not quite sure how to proceed with Alicia. I thought we had something fun going with Revenant before. What can she do that won't bring punishment? Quote from: octopus dreams on 12-09-2011, 05:48:24My character would have a bit of a late introduction, yeah? So I was tossing ideas around in my head, here's what I have:1. He's been an inmate for a while now, though this would give him and guards more of a past in which might have to be a little more planned.2. He was taken on a separate ship, perhaps and somehow managed to hack into the ship and put it a bit off path before anybody realized-when they finally do arrive, instead of admitting Yuri had managed to accomplish such, they make up some excuse for being late.3. Act as if he'd been there all along? A little more boring for my tastes, but I can manage. If you have any suggestions I'll be glad to hear 'em. :)Edit: And I almost forgot-hello all. :)Late arrivals are brought aboard individual ships so you can just have him come in through Processing. Just use the first post as a guide on how you'll be treated, and proceed to General Population. Quote from: elf guy on 12-09-2011, 06:05:46Right now I'm not quite sure how to proceed with Alicia. I thought we had something fun going with Revenant before. What can she do that won't bring punishment? Actually you were probably being made an example of. Used to show I'm a mean bitch when I want to be. Linda could you give me your opinion of my character? I posted the CS a few posts up... Quote from: Reeve on 12-09-2011, 08:13:46Linna could you give me your opinion of my character? I posted the CS a few posts up... *drags him off and sexes him* Quote from: Linda on 12-09-2011, 14:36:00*drags him off and sexes him*LOKI assume that means I am approved. Should I make an IC post then? Shira's all bored XD Well, since he's into men, Abe would probably have some fun with him, but he's all the way in Cell Block 1 and half-dead right now, plus I want to give other people a chance here. I should go get that reply up, though... I don't even know what cell block Shira's in XD, but he's bored and currently cell mateless XD unless Linda has something to say about that XD I think the main thread is just General Population, and each cell block is going to get its own thread. It is, but feel free to create Cellblocks and then link them here. That way if you want more private fun, go right head. Question: what is the policy in terms of what the guards can do to the inmates sexually? Is there a protocol to follow, or can they just do as they please? Guards can rape prisoners, though it's generally frowned upon. Generally, guards must remind prisoners that inmates shouldn't question the authority of the guards, under any circumstances. That's why Alicia was tortured in front of the population, because she gave a prisoner a blowjob. She had to get on her knees to do it. That's a show of submissiveness to an inmate. If a guard makes YOU get on YOUR knees, then you're the submissive one. Got it? So they can use sex as a means to display their authority and power? Exactly. If an inmate's only exposure to a pleasurable activity forces them to submit, they learn to associate pleasure with submissive behavior. If they get out of line or try to act dominant, they get punished. Positive and negative reinforcement. He. It's going to be difficult to get Yuri to submit. All the better... I think a Communal Shower area would be good to have up and about, but that's just my opinion lol. I'm sure I can think of something Octopus dreams lol. So anyone interested in having their character have a risqué run-in with Vincent? ;) Eh, Leona already had one, but I'm sure she could work on a second if you're willing Reeve lol. Depends on if Kira survives her interrogation. She's an easy picking's Gas! I'm gone for the weekend and everything exploded quickly. Where should I put Casey? Hey Wayland! I was going to ask Casey for a tattoo if you were willing. What's available? Lol. Hehe Shira's submissive but denies it like hell which makes this all the more fun for me XD If you can think it! She can ink it! Vincent probably wouldn't mind a bit of Mayhem in his life. :P Lol, sounds good to me Wayland. Just not sure what kind of space she might need and all that. Feel free to approach Leona whenever you like and we'll talk. Sure. What cell block is Casey in, or is it still general population? Last I had seen yeah you were still in GP. Shira's still bored TDI'm thinking of making a cell block C thread, anyone wanna be in it? It'd be 3, not C. ahh MMK, wasn't sure if that was said as numbers or alphabets, but ya anyone interested? Trey: your post isn't consistent with mine. Post was deleted. Are there any inmates with nothing to do? I find myself free. Ya Shira's still bored as hell. I'm pretty much stuck in Cell Block #1 until anyone else decides to come along or move me. Kira is in GP free to be beaten or other dastardly evil things you can think up. I'm probably Conan make a new post saying he goes to GP so. Ya I'm going to go to the shower here soon, but otherwise I'd have Leona entertain ya Lovely lol. Red is on her way with Vincent as well, EEP! Marine is still undisturbed and alone. Which is good for her, as a character, haha. But as a player, I'll be happy to have her brighten the day of any guard - or inmate for that matter - who thinks she might be of use. ;) There is only so much Vincent can do! :P Abe's on his way back, if you want to continue their conversation, but that's up to you. Quote from: Reverent on 13-09-2011, 22:15:14Abe's on his way back, if you want to continue their conversation, but that's up to you. If you're talking to me, then sure, that's fine. Marine needs to start making some allies, whether among the prisoners and/or among the guards, if she wants to survive for long. Quote from: Sable Paladin on 13-09-2011, 22:16:30If you're talking to me, then sure, that's fine. Marine needs to start making some allies, whether among the prisoners and/or among the guards, if she wants to survive for long. Once Kira is done with Vince, she's gonna need a shoulder to lean on Marine would be willing to do that, too, I'm sure. She's feeling pretty bad for Kira right now, watching all this from next door. If we had a common shower area I'd take full advantage of that right about now lol. But barring that, if anyone wants Leona for a bit just ask, I don't mind. Quote from: Sable Paladin on 13-09-2011, 22:26:14Maryne would be willing to do that, too, I'm sure. She's feeling pretty bad for Kira right now, watching all this from next door. Seems like they would be good friends, a nice match Quote from: Vergil1989 on 13-09-2011, 22:28:04If we had a common shower area I'd take full advantage of that right about now lol. But barring that, if anyone wants Leona for a bit just ask, I don't mind. Ask and ye shall receive (Oh I love you Linda! THANKS! "Does happy dance before rushing off." This does raise a question though after I took a look at the new thread you put up. What would guards like Leona do for a shower or a bath? Surely not share the space with the inmates, would they? That'd be foolish and dangerous, but this is your ship ma'am lol. Guards have a separate barracks, which I have just conveniently put up ^^ (if anyone gets lost I'll be putting links at the front of this thread :D Shira's currently really really bored. Soo. Anyone free? You could always just have him moved to a cell closer to all the other characters so he can join in the conversation. Yeah, Kira is not really trusting now knowing that she might get killed. She won't open up to you first. She needs to know you aren't a threat to her. I'll be introducing a few posts over the next few days, setting up a potline for people to follow. It's not mandatory, but it will be going on, so please be aware of it and be prepared. I won't explain much in advance because I want both guards and inmates caught off-guard by the changes. Ooohhhh sneaky! Good point XD Nice curveball Linda! Any particular way the attack should be resolved, oh wise GM? ’D I too saw the curveball and i have to say I loved it myself, but I unfortunately have some bad news as well as a bit of good, depending on your viewpoint. Check my A/A page for more details. Sorry for any delays, I will be posting tomorrow! I just wanted to check in and let everyone know I'm still around. It seems like we're waiting for some other people to come back/catch up, so I'll wait to make sure they have a chance. Everyone has two days to post before I start killing off everyone. This is your only warning. Not exactly a lot I can do from my position... Just a single post to let me know you're still in the game. Reason is I want to know who's still active. Unfortunately I am not and my A/A page says why Linda. Sorry. And that's why you suck! J/k *pet pets* Funny lol. At any rate, sorry to abandon you Linda, but RL tends to do sneak up on people lol. I'm still in, was waiting for others first. I'm still on board, just unsure how to handle the next part of the attack... :-\ You saw my post, right, Linda? Marine is currently cowering under her bunk. Now, if the cells were to somehow be mysteriously opened by mistake, say, a systems' failure that pops the locks... :P List of survivors are as follows:lovely girl, Sable Paladin, Aurora Wayland, Reverent, Karate and RedEveEveryone else is considered spaced or worse. If you want, I'll happily describe your messy death ^^ Aww man I died? I'm still interested of course, I just had nothing to post. I don't like posting needlessly. Quote from: Karate on 24-09-2011, 14:54:10Aww man I died? I'm still interested of course, I just had nothing to post. I don't like posting needlessly.Oh, alright. You live. I guess we need to start recruiting guards again. Thankas. We should probably discuss what should come next. The attack has left the ship in a serious state of disarray. Yes. We're down to... what, one guard? I could always play a guard character as well if extra recruiting doesn't pull in enough. Or we could fill the ranks with NPC guards? That's what I'm going to do. Reverent, if you want to play a guard, go for it Hun :) Alright, I'll throw up an app sometime tonight or tomorrow. Just in case anyone's wondering, yes, I'm waiting for the current sex-a-then to end before moving on. So take your time and watch plenty of sexy ass grabbing. Sorry Linda, I had a major RL hiccup yesterday and am I trying to catch up The mean, nasty, and mildly insane Elyse has arrived. OMG, I just read that post * shudders* EEK! Quote from: lovely girl on 30-09-2011, 16:40:09OMG, I just read that post * shudders* EEK!. Last I heard, Elyse and Vincent might get a bit of a thing going. Watch out ;) *sniff* you're stealing my Vincent? *sob* No stealing. Not getting between anything. Just might complicate it a bit. Oh, Yay!! Drama! Drama is good from time to time XD Quote from: Amber Trash on 30-09-2011, 16:51:19No stealing. Not getting between anything. Just might complicate it a bit. This might be a good time to mention that Vincent is fond of his knees. ’D Vincent's knees will be a-ok. No mailings for anyone but NPCs. :)And while I'm now just going to wait for the story to progress before making more IC posts, I want to mention that despite how it seems, Elyse is not dominant sexually. At all. She worships humans, male and female alike, and if a prisoner got her in a compromising position, her shame would probably prevent her from doing much about it. In other words, she's sexually available to all. Aw, dammit. Figures I created my guard character several days ago, and only now have I just come up with a character I think is much better. Aw man, poor Kira, getting the attention of the "mean" guard, lol Well, it's been a few days, so I'm checking in. Need something or someone to respond to, or I guess I could just start making random trouble while the gravity is out? :P Let's get into a little trouble, lol *Makes a bomb using her bedsheet and a hairpin* You forgot to bind it with bubblegum-here use mine *Pops it in her mouth and chews* AGH, this has already been used! Ohhhh, you meant for... *feels dumb* I'm not entirely sure what the non-guard characters are supposed to do with the gravity loss, really. It's not like it help them leave their tiny cells. No, but it does provide opportunity for a morale boosting sing-a-long. Everybody now... "I believe I can flyby... I believe I can touch they skyway..." Wait, keep that crazy whip lady away from me! You are cracking me up! And yes, the gum was for the bomb silly! You still here, Linda? I'm starting to get the feeling you abandoned this and the cyberpunk Britain RP... I just can't get this idea going :(I'm not having fun with it and I can't think of any ideas. Furthermore, I'm sorry. Well, my other character idea I came up with was a Specter/other Citadel Council employee who came along to do an inspection of the prison, but who was actually an agent of the Shadow Broker who would try to get useful information from the prisoners despite the Warden's wishes. Not sure if you would find that kind of conflict interesting. *flops... just lies there despite the undoubted poking by someone* I'm not sure if I should be insulted or something. Hamm, and I was looking forward to the possibilities in this one, he. Well, if Linda really has no interest whatsoever left, I could always take over, have the aforementioned Shadow Broker agent take Bridget's place, and work a new plot direction out from there. I'm already having some interesting ideas for what could happen when the Black Hands retaliate for his takeover. I'm still in if you take over. Me too! If you want it Reverent, you can have it *hands you a giant key* Well, if you're absolutely certain. You don't even want to stick around to have Bridget get thrown in a cell to see what the prisoners think of her? POH, and is it safe to assume that the cyberpunk spy RP is ditched as well? Hmm. Having Bridget thrown in a cell might be a bit kinky... And the cyberpunk RP never really took off, not like the other ideas I had. So yes, it's dead. I might recycle it later. I'm still in, Revenant. ;) Well, let me know what you decide, so I can know whether to just god mode my new character into Warden after I introduce him, or if you'd still be around to control Bridget. And definitely let me know if you ever decide to recycle that RP later on down the line. Shame it didn't take off, really. As for the rest of you scraps, I'll either get up a character sheet for your new and upcoming warden sometime this evening, or just save that part for later and introduce him. He'll either be a Turin or a malaria, so let me know which you'd prefer. :-) Which one has a bigger... her, I mean uh, I'm not really familiar with either race, so I don't have a preference. :P OK fine, you can imprison Bridget :P Alright, here's what you guys are going to be up against soon. By the way, even though I'm going to put up another recruitment thread sooner or later to see if we can get more regulars, feel free to bring in extra characters to fill out the guard-prisoner or male-female ratios, or just make whatever character you want if you think you have some interesting ideas. I'd like to have enough people walking around to make use of the multiple threads we already have.(Linage:35Gender:Male Species:TurianPersonality:Polite and businesslike in appearance, but on the inside he is completely ruthless and doesn't bat an eye at disposing of even the most innocent person if they're not useful to him. Brief Bio:Once upon a time, Zeros was a proud soldier serving in the Turin Hierarchy, a peacekeeper in Turin space who put his skills to use on a patrol ship that kept pirates away from the colonial worlds. After several years of servitude in the home space military, he eventually proved his worth by taking down a Bavarian pirate captain who had recently struck at the Turin colony on Galatea. While many considered it luck that he found the pirates and single-handedly took them down while they were docked and refueling on a freelance fuel satellite, he received a promotion and transfer to the Citadel Fleet, where he received specialist training as a scout and marksman. After many successful missions as a member of the Fleet and a particular incident regarding the get that left the Council short of hands, Zeros was eventually nominated and approved for a new career as one of the legendary Specters, the legendary few that answered directly and only to the Citadel Council itself. Zeros worked hard and faithfully in this position for many years, until a particular mission that required him to chase down a thief that had stolen data directly from the Atari Matriarch's personnel files. The Turin tracked this thief all the way to the Terminus Systems, where the hunt ended, though not how the Council expected it to. Zeros was not heard from again at this point, at least not by those who recognized him as a Specter. Marked deceased, the turbans he formerly fought alongside believed this not to be the case, instead citing rumors that he was now a ghost working for a phantom: the mythical Shadow Broker. Question 1:A prisoner is getting out of hand, arguing with you over whether he should be allowed to sleep rather than go to meals. What do you do? Get the Disciplinary Officer to handle him. I have better things to do, like go interrogate that malaria down the way who seems to know about the Malaria Union's latest Genophore update. Question 2:Two female prisoners start fighting, clawing at each other. One produces a shiv and stabs the other before you can intervene. What do you do? Do either of them know anything useful? If not, just throw them out the airlock. Question 3:Two inmates are engaged in sex inside their cell. Standing orders are not to allow prisoners to have sex. What do you do? Tell them they'll both get thrown out of the airlock if one of them doesn't manage to kill the other. You have to be entertained once in a while.(Expect a post of his arrival probably sometime tomorrow, since I have about nine or ten other RP's to catch up with. :-(Oh, and it will actually make sense why he shows up and how he just takes over, and I'll even use all of Linda's previous plot devices to explain it all.) This will not end well. For me, anyway. Hey, you never know what he might find Bridget useful for. Of course, that may be worse than just going out the airlock. >:) I'm going to be moving us to the next day tonight after I get back from my review Should I just wait until after that to bring my character in, then? I was going to do it yesterday, but schoolwork and work work got the better of me. Oh, God! I hit the wrong button XD this was meant for my Re-Entry RP Oh, law. ^-^ Anyway, assuming Lovely, Eve, and Sable are still around, if any of you are in other RP's with Aurora, Karate, and/or Amber, please ask them to let me know if they're still going to be involved. Otherwise, I'll just PM them myself. Ok I'll do that. I'm not completely abandoning the thread, but I am handing off creative control over to you. And because I want to be the personal toy of a hot Turin agent. Come to think of it, I should probably go through and make all-new threads soon. The reason being if I make new threads and what-not, I'll need to be able to link to them in the first post of each thread, or at least the IOC thread. I am still around and ready for trouble Quote from: Reverent on 11-10-2011, 22:41:07Oh, law. ^-^ Anyway, assuming Lovely, Eve, and Sable are still around, if any of you are in other RP's with Aurora, Karate, and/or Amber, please ask them to let me know if they're still going to be involved. Otherwise, I'll just PM them myself. I'm still around, but I'm not involved in any other RP's with those players. Also, I'm ready for action, and trouble. ;) Well, Marine still has her new Aquarian friend to look forward to seeing again, and I'm sure there will be other guards looking for fun once I make a new recruitment thread. >:)And since we didn't have enough aliens before, anyone who's keeping up with the main topic will know we now have a Turin, a malaria, and a brogan to suit all needs. ’D MMM, how delightful... her I mean, uh oh. Sorry for the interruption and intrusion, but I bring notice from Lovely girl. There has been a situation that has arisen that she needs to go take care of so for the foreseeable future, she will not be posting here on Illiquid.-Airings Please read my A&A's for the explanation Since I didn't say in the other thread, good to have you back, Lovely, and I'm glad your mother is doing alright. In other news, it looks like Aurora and Amber haven't been on since around their last posts in the RP, so I just sent Karate a PM. Hopefully they'll be back at some point to continue taking part. Aw thanks, yeah we have to just monitor her for the next 6 weeks then she has a follow-up CAT scan to make sure it all healed ok. I love you guys like a second family Trust me, I know how it is. I spent who knows how many hundreds of evenings with family at the hospital. Before he died, my grandpa was in and out of the hospital so many times we spent most of the major holidays there, my mother had to get surgery to get a tumor removed a couple of years back, my stepfather's had surgery twice this year, and now my best friend's mother has breast cancer and my family has to do everything they can to make sure she gets to her chemo and she and her three kids stay fed. It can get pretty difficult sometimes, but you just have to remember that there's always people willing to support you and genuinely hoping for the best. OMG are you serious, your life sounds so much like mine! My mom had a brain tumor removed a few years back herself, and my granddad was in the hospital for a long time before he passed last year. Scary how our stories are alike. Like I said, you guys are my second family, every one has been so great Ya thankfully my grandpa has a chance to live now, so I'm not too worried, and he's doing better every day my dad says! So ya I'm still in this ^^ Anyone still out there? * raises hand* still around I'm still here I think I'm going to have to throw in the towel on this one, folks. I'm having a hard time coming up with meaningful contributions to this game. Sorry. Thanks for working so hard to keep it alive. ;) Well, damn. I'm sorry to see you go, you were a great contributor to the game. :-(I guess I might as well ask, Lovely, Karate, Linda and Eve (if you're still around), are you motivated enough to keep playing in this? Obviously the four of us wouldn't be enough, but I would definitely throw up a new recruitment thread right about now if anyone else is still interested. Otherwise, though it'd be a shame, I guess I'd just let it die, maybe start a more direct Mass Effect RP down the line (I'm currently playing the first game and need my fix, after all). I might be. You can try to throw up a recruitment thread, but I've noticed things have been a bit slow. Shame, this could have been good. Hope you get some new blood. I'll hang around, hopefully we get new players Still in here, but probably won't post until later this weekend, sorry. A bit busy to get tied up today but try me Sunday :) Well, since the rest of you are still here, I'll put up a thread tomorrow and see if we can at least get a few more (there's already five of us, so we should be fine with just a few, especially if people are willing to create more guard characters). oh, ya I'm still here XD Alright, put up a new recruitment thread and everything. Hopefully it does better than the other interest thread I currently have up. A link please :) #new (#new)Either I'm cursed, or I'm just shit at creating interest threads, since they never pull in as many replies as I'd like. You might just restart everything from scratch. Get yourself a nice big picture like this:(follow it by a nice little oomph to get the player motivated, such as what follows." My name is Warden Bridget Flame. If anyone can hear me, I need help. Two days ago Purgatory Station came under attack and I need assistance. A rogue terrorist group has taken control of the prison and now wants to release the worst criminals out into the galaxy. Please, you have to help me." A prison in space. What a wonderful idea if you want to keep them nice and contained. That is, if they don't have a little outside help. After a devastating attack, Warden Bridget Flame, the beautiful and dangerous woman assigned to ride herd on the worst in the galaxy, finds herself in a prisoner uniform and in a cell all her own. The new warden is a Turin HP Spectre with a hidden agenda and an eagerness to humiliate his new prisoner. As the galaxy continues to turn, unaware of what is happening aboard one loan station, can the new Turin warden hold the station together? Or will he find the former warden taking control out from under him? ... Maybe you should do this. I'm not stellar when it comes to this kind of flashy draw-in stuff. That's why I went ahead and made it for you ^^ Hello *Pets Miku* Welcome to Purgatory just for curiosity's sake, Have I been posted at? >. I'm extremely busy tonight and tomorrow, so if you can all bear with me that long, I'll try to get a move-on as soon as possible. Awesomeness I'll find those and post a response asap My unplanned hiatus has come to an end. I haven't checked up on anything, and I don't know what one is to do in this situation - whether I should graciously bow out or what. Just let me know, I suppose. You don't have to bow out unless you want to. I can easily fill you in on what's happened. will I get to pick whose going to be Shira's companion, who wants the chance to dominate him? Well it won't be the bitchy female, lol.*Hugs* he-he notice he said that he's seen, he's only seen a couple and socialized with even less XD but ya who wants to be his companion and likely dominate the cute hacker XD I'm just bustin' ya, it made me laugh Anybody else even still here? I am Me I am. I am a bit confused as to what my next post should be. The Brogan has effectively ordered Vincent to kill his former colleagues, he won't readily agree to that, but if he does the Brogan might just kill him on the spot! :P The worst he might do is just put him back in the cell and let the warden see what he thinks of him, so I would just have him do what you think he would.

Purgatory Prison OOC Thread|rating:2.0

Praying for a Chance (Sheol + ~AT~)

(could barely feel her feet as she stumbled over uneven ground, the sky was heavy, and the snow was coming down thicker with each passing breath. A large rock caused her to fall cutting open her leg, behind her a creature stalked her, and bayed at the new scent of the blood. The light she had been walking to was brighter despite the snow, pushing herself up off the ground she limped slowly to the light praying to the Gods that she survive. The snow lessened as she approached the town, there were two or three dozen buildings, she reached the first and knocked hastily on the door, it opened slowly before she collapsed blacking out. She sighed as she opened her eyes, pulling the thin blanket closer around herself, it was the same dream she had since she was 8, when she appeared at the door. She was taken in by them, and raised until she was 15, their eldest son wanted to marry her, she refused and was thrown out forced to live in barns and outer buildings wherever she could. The town was called Threshold, once a year the young adults were brought out and given a chance to learn a new skill. She wanted a chance to learn something, but her silence stopped her, when she arrived she had little memories of how she got there just that she was cold and ill for almost 2 weeks. They called her Thayer after the Goddess of Winter, she arrived during the last day of the festival and the longest and coldest day of the year, they rationale that she was brought to them by the Goddess, but they soon believed she was a bad omen. She got up and changed her clothes, she pulled her hair back tying it up. She picked up the small half of bread she had left, hopefully someone will let her be an apprentice this year, or it was another year doing whatever jobs the towns people didn't want to do for half the pay they would normally give. Furthermore, she had been living rough for 3 years, barely surviving, no one would speak to her, she wanted to talk but every time she opened her mouth the words just vanished. She spent the day cleaning the mayors house, she had soot from the chimney over her face as she lined up with the other young adults praying for a chance. Sere walking through the town gates, using his staff for leverage, his leg hurting badly. He looked on the pain as a cleansing experience, a reminder to himself of pushing limits too far, and anyway, it would heal soon enough. He walked gingerly, his tall frame looming, black cloak swirling behind him. The compression around his black hide leggings helped. He was getting some looks from the townsfolk, and he made his way, he enjoyed toying with them - they were superstitious and weak, and he couldn’t abide either trait. Not that he had ever harmed any of them, however, they feared the Mage from the Great Tower, and rumors of his unnatural acts with demonic creatures made him smile to himself. He was heading to the alchemist, the sun was on its slow descent behind the gray mountains, and the air was starting to chill. He actually quite liked the old man, having hardly passed a half dozen words between them in the 3 years he had lived in the tower, but, the man knew his craft and had a rich stock of apothecaries. He walked past the market square, a small crowd gathered by the central Merchant House, and they were looking intently at a line of young ones. Gods, these people really are only one step from putting them into a pit to fight it out, he thought to himself, stepping into the store. He nodded curtly handing his list over, the alchemist nodding back and shuffling off wordlessly. Sere looked out the grimy window at the scene in the square. He turned to the old hunched man and pointed his gloved thumb in the direction of the crowd.“The Choosing” the alchemist said, explaining everything that was needing said. Sere nodded. He could see the Master Tradesman call out ‘Who will take this boy?’ . ’Aye’ a burly man shouted, and the boy went off with what Sere looked like an ironmonger, but just as easily could have been a bear wrestler such was his size. The crowd was thinning and there were few in the lineup left - two girls and a boy - and soon that was reduced to just the two girls, the boy being taken away by a merchant woman. A cough behind him dragged him back into the room, the old man presenting him a bag, Sere handing him a pouch in return. Another curt nod to each other and their game was complete, and he stepped back out into the now cool air and leaned against the wooden signpost of the store. He reached under his cloak, pulling out a rolled cigarette, put it in him mouth and concentrated very lightly, the cigarette beginning to smoke from its end. He took a long drag of it and watched as only one girl was left. She stood there, head cast down, filthy and suddenly his vision intensified and everything around her fell away, he body giving off a soft radiance. It was a familiar event when he was in the presence of power and the embryo of power inside her was vivid. He watched with interest to see who she would end up with, dragging at his cigarette. “Who will take this girl?” The fat man shouted. Sere looked at the ever decreasing crowd, palpably feeling her awkwardness. So small and fragile he thought. Some of the other young ones were actually shouting at her, calling her names. He hated bullies, pathetic miscreants, trying to make up for their own inadequacies through someone else's miseries.Ah, Gods!! He pulled himself up onto the staff limping over, the crowd parting before him.“I’ll have her” he said hoarsely. The master balked when he looks at the Mage leaning against his staff, his hair blowing in the breeze, his youthful delicate face encompassing cool blue eyes that looked straight through him, cigarette dangling from his mouth.“Aye, Aye, Lord, of course!” the tradesman sounded slightly panicked “but I didn't think you took apprentices, Lord.” Sere looked at him coldly. “I didn’t” he said, taking the girl gently by the arm and walking her towards the tower. Thayer stood with the others knowing that no one would give her a chance, maybe she should give up head to another city maybe she could speak then. She watched as the others were chosen, when it was down to her, she knew she was being passed over, she tried to block out the jeering from the other guys. “Who will take this girl?” She looked up at the fat man, her fingers running through her hair. She looked at the ground hearing more of the shouts she wouldn't let them get to her, she wondered was she had done to deserve all this hatred, was it just because she refused the guy, he was stood over with his family, his wife and several children all shouting at her. Furthermore, she sighed she had her hands balled trying to keep herself from running away or showing how upset she was. She heard a voice in front of her, “I'll have her.” She frowned looking up at him, it was the mage from the tower, he was a recluse she had knocked on his door, but there was never an answer. Looking over at him, she bit her lip slightly, there was talking, but she didn't hear it, she felt relieved that she was being given a chance. He took her by the arm and headed to the tower, she looked up at him, he didn't ask her name and she didn't know if she could say it. Not that it was her name it was the one they gave to her. He wasn't so scary up close, there were rumors of what he did in the towers. “Damned idiotic peasants”, he muttered to himself, holding an arm around her protectively, staff in the other limping towards the town gates. There was a shout from behind them “You’ll make a perfect couple! You’re both fucking peculiar!” there was some laughter, most of it nervous. Somebody had obviously either got so drunk they didn’t know what they were saying or had completely lost their mind. Sere, slowed, coming to a stop, gingerly uncurling his arm from her waist and looked her in the eyes. She was now his ward. It was an excuse, but a good excuse. She’s rather beautiful, he thought fleetingly, winking at her and turning towards the source of the shouting, taking several steps away from her. He looked back at where she stood, not at her, seeming to be judging distance between them with a nod of approval to himself.“I would tend to agree” he said hoarsely turning forward “we do indeed make a fine couple. Handsome in fact.” He preened his hair, mockingly, however the surrounding air began to crackle, the tiniest sparks, like miniscule bolts of lightning forming around him, strands gently raising from his head. She was the only one close enough to see, as he held his hands by his side, turning his palms forward. “We are indeed as suited as yourself and that fat whore of a wife of yours with all your little piglets. They will make fine whores and beggars, you should be proud” He smiled. It was the most he had said in years and his throat actually hurt from it, but he was satisfied, more so when it had the desired effect. He turned to her and said “shield your eyes” The man roared “BASTARD!!” and ran at him, drawing his sword, got within three feet of him, sword raised and...there was a blinding flash almost immediately followed by a deafening crack, the man being thrown onto his back, chest scorched and smoking, but alive. Sere hobbled over to him, putting his staff on his throat, kneeling so as only he and the girl could hear. “If you or any of your ugly bastard family ever so much as look at her again... I will kill you all, your parents, your brothers, your sisters, your aunts and your uncles. Your bloodline will cease to be, and the race would be better off for it.” He leaned on the staff getting himself up, choking the still smoking man and hobbled over to her put his arm around her waist once more, and began to hobble to the Tower.“You are my ward now, and I am your Master. I will protect you until you can protect yourself.” For the first time in his life, he felt he wasn't walking his path alone. He held his arm around her, she didn't try to pull away from him, he was taller and probably stronger than she was despite the limp. She frowned hearing the jeer she would have been happy to ignore it, she didn't want anything to happen to promise of a bed and regular food. He stopped them both, and he pulled back from her to talk to the man, she didn't notice him looking a there, but she saw the wink and frowned. He took a few steps forward, she reached out trying to make him stop, but her fingertips brushed his back, she felt like she could barely move. He spoke to the man, she was barely listening until he spoke about the man's wife and children she couldn't help but smile. She saw the sparks come from his fingers, she frowned as he electrocuted the man, she frowned looking up at him, she wanted him to stop, but she also wanted him to make his point. He finished and moved towards her wrapping his arm around her waist, tell her. “You are my ward now, and I am your Master. I will protect you until you can protect yourself.” She nodded and looked up at him, she wasn't scared of him anymore, he had helped her, and didn't seem to want anything in return, maybe it wouldn't be so bad with him. They got to the tower, a simple wooden door on the first floor. He indicated for her to enter with the tip of his staff, then followed her, closing it behind him with a low grumbling bang. The first floor was split into separate rooms. There was one to the left which he had walked into, and sat at a wooden table by the fire. He pointed her to sit.“I’m a man of few words” he said choosing them carefully. “I am now your Master. You will do as I say. I will keep you safe.” He wasn’t good with words. Not ones of the common language anyway. “I’ll teach you, and you’ll learn. You have a gift.... I can see it... Very few have.” The words were coming slowly and there was nothing coming back at him." I understand this might not have been what you wanted, however, this is what you have. You’ll be rewarded for your studies. The rest of the time, you’ll help keep the tower clean." Still nothing coming back and he was starting to get frustrated. It was hard enough,“Ok, I’m sure you’re tired, come this way I’ll show you your quarters.” He led her through the hallway to a small room, with a table, chair and bed in it. A small window looked out over the mountains.“Now tell me your name, and I'll leave you be.” He led her to the tower showing her into the bottom floor, she followed him in, this being the first time she would sleep in door in3 years, even in the dead of winter and the animals were taken into the house she was left outside she knew they hoped she would die, and they would no longer feel anything towards her, hate, pity or shame. She sat down when he pointed to the chair, he spoke, she wanted to reply to him. He kept talking he said she had a gift she didn't know what he meant what gift did she have? She frowned looking over at him, she felt the same died well up inside her. It started in her chest moving up to her throat, she felt a little dizzy, he told her her duties she nodded. He seemed to get annoyed with her before leading her to the bedroom, walking towards the room the feeling was getting stronger. She moved into the room and looked out of the window, she had a bed and a room it was wonderful, more than she ever dared to hope.“Now tell me your name, and I'll leave you be.” She turned towards him, as the panic set in again. Furthermore, she opened her mouth, but it didn't seem to work, she felt dizzy again, her head was swimming. Did he not know who she was? That would explain the reason behind him choose her, she wanted to explain everything to him, but she couldn't speak, it's not that she didn't want to she couldn't there was something stopping her. Her breathing quickened, she grabbed the chair as she tried to stay conscious, but it was getting harder with each breath. She held onto the chair with both hands now, she let out a gasp as she collapsed onto the floor, blacking out. He looked at her alarmed trying to catch her as she fell. What is the tells? He bent down beside her, checking for a pulse, and finding it, felt relieved. He picked her up and carried her to the bed laying her down gently. She was so light probably undernourished. He sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at her, stroking her hair over her brow. He hadn’t really taken any great pains or time to study her, but she was very beautiful. Very beautiful indeed. He knew he was immune to such petty thing, but. ”I don’t know what’s happened to you, girl, but, I’ll find out” This was all new and strange to him. He had never cared for anyone. Ever. Not his family. Not his own Master. They were an inconvenience, and they were weak. Cattle, nothing more. When his old master had been slain by one of the Red Watchers, he had got vengeance. Not for any lingering sentimentality over the old man, but because he could. He saw it as an appropriate use of his power - much like those fools earlier today. However now her felt a protectiveness over this girl, whom he didn’t know, and wouldn’t speak to him. Maybe couldn’t speak to him? Her eyelids fluttered open... He got up went through to his own room next door and came back with a parchment and quill, laying them on the desk.“Ok, girl, you’ll talk when you’re ready, in the meantime, we’ll use this quill and parchment. I want you to write down anything you wish to say. Please tell me you can write?” She felt her eyes open, it had happened again she frowned, rubbing her forehead slightly. She sat up slowly as he rushed out of the room hoping he had gone for some water, but she knew he hadn't. He put the parchment and quill on the table she looked at him her legs swinging round onto the floor.“Please tell me you can write?” She pulled a face as if to say a little but not well. Her foster family has tried to help her to write to communicate but after a few months of trying to teach her she wasn't learning quick enough, and they gave up, she knew she was reduced to being mute. There were a few things that should have told him she wasn't from the town, at 5ft9 she was taller than all the women and most of the men, her hair was a pale shade of blonde, but most of the town was dark brown or red. There was just one more thing that was less noticeable, she had a small slightly discolored patch of skin that looked like two letters from a language that she didn't know, not that she had ever seen it, it was at the back of her neck below the hair line. She moved to the table her legs still a little unsteady, I don't speak. She wrote, a few words were backwards, it had been a long time since she had written anything. I get sick. She looked up at him hoping he believed what she said, or wrote and wasn't too upset. People say I'm Thayer. She tried to answer his question it was the name they gave her, she didn't know her own or remember much before the night she arrived. Sere looked on the tall, lean girl, and again, the feeling of protectiveness swept over him - her dry lips, sunken eyes. He helped her sit at the table and put his hand on her shoulder, encouragingly. “It's ok, I don’t speak much either” he half smiled. He sat at on the edge, looking off into the distance, at the mountains. He should be irritated and annoyed, he should feel angry - mostly at himself - this was going to take him from his studies. But he didn’t feel it. She was his. His ward. And he would find a way to make her well again.“Thayer?” he said disapprovingly “There’s nothing cold about you” he said seriously. Although they might be close about the goddess part another part of his mind added. “There are things I can do, girl, to cry for answers” he said deliberately not using her given name. “I may be able to see what causes your sickness, and likely it will be the cause of your lack of speech. It is probably worth attempting in the first instance.” He pushed himself from the table.“Sit there and write down whatever comes into your head. Just try and get the feel of it again, and also it will allow me to see how much work I’m going to have to do with you, I’ll be back shortly” he walked out the room and through to the larder, pulling out some fresh fruits, a small ham, cheese and some bread. He laid them on a tray adding a large cup of water and took them through, placing them beside her. “I can’t do anything to you until you’re more nourished. Eat, keep writing, I’ll be next door in the study. I need to read on this problem. Come get me if you need anything.” he turned and walked to the door “I’ll get you well again” he said exiting, possibly to himself. She looked at him when he said the name they had given her, she didn't know if he disapproved the name or the fact she was named after the goddess I don't like name. She wrote. He said he could do things for her, to give her answers. She listened to the rest of what he was saying she nodded when he told her to sit there and write down whatever comes into her head, that would be more difficult than he would believe she didn't know enough words to write down what she was thinking. He left but came back shorting with more food than she usually had in a week, she looked at the food and wondered why he was being so kind to her, she wasn't used to it. He left to study, she ate more than she had in a long time. Sipping the water she started with the writing, she started in the 'common language' before switching without thinking to a different language. After a few minutes she looked at the paper at the funny squiggles, not to mention the drawing of a forest temple she had drawn she had never seen the place before. Frowning she turned it over not wanting him to see it, she had seen the words before, they were the same words she had written as a child, she had suffered sever beatings for it, they believed she wasn't trying. She ate some more and felt very tired, moving to the bed she crawled onto it pulling the covers over she fell asleep, for the first time she felt safe. He went back through a few hours later and saw her asleep on her bed. He moved to her, drawing the covers up and over her, covering her lean frame, her back to him. Her hair had dropped over her shoulder and as he placed his hand on her head, he saw the vigils on the back of her neck. His stomach clenched. They were black, but seemed to glow in the evening light. He stepped back, putting his hand on the table, lifting the paper from it, and reading it. Oh, by the tells and all their little demons. His stomach was so tight now it hurt and the tips of his fingers were firing off little bolts of static electricity. No wonder he could feel the power in her. He knew the language, and he knew the temple and resolutely, he knew what he must do. The calm which had taken him years to perfect descended once more. They were not having her back. She was his. He was her protector and if they tried he would show them why people called him a Master. He sat beside her, stroking her hair. Well, at least we’ll be able to find your real name now. She felt the covers pulling over her, but she was too tired to move, her body ached like it did every night but this time she knew she would sleep well. She could sense him moving around the room even as she slept, she could tell where he was, yet this time she didn't feel panic. He sat beside her and stroked her hair, she fell into a deep sleep, her hand pulling the cover close under her chest. She woke in the morning alone, she climbed out of bed, moving to a small wardrobe in the corner, inside was two sets of clothing meant for a man, but they would do for now. Picking them up she left the room she looked in a door finding a bathroom, she washed herself and her hair, she tried to put everything back the way it was. Dressing in the tunic and hose she moved into the kitchen to prepare some bread and other breakfast items. Running her fingers through her hair she boiled some water for tea, and waited for him to wake and join her in the kitchen, until then she sipped the tea wondering what was going to happen and why he was in her room the night before. He had been up most of the night, his head in his books, researching the vigils and temple. He had been right, he was rarely wrong, and all the pieces fit. Her size, her demeanor, the vigils, the temple. He would have to verify it, and he would need her cooperation to perform, the incantation, but he was already convinced. There would then be a choice to make, and she would have to be the one to make it. She would stay with him and start her learning, or she would go back to where she came from. The thought did not sit well in Sere’s mind. He was her protector. She was his... His what? He’d only known the girl since yesterday, and he had never had any issue with using people for his needs before and letting go. But. This was something very different. It disturbed him immensely. He had fallen asleep at his desk and woke, feeling cramped and sore.“Good morning, girl” he said, walking into the room and sitting, bringing out a rolled cigarette and lighting it. “So I came in to your room last night to check on you, and noticed the mark on the back of your neck” While I was stroking your hair he added in his head “I know these symbols and the ones you wrote on the paper. And I know of the temple. I need to cast a small spell on you to confirm it though, if you’d let me?” He took a draw of his cigarette, looking for her answer. He walked into the kitchen, her fingers running through her hair she stood up and started to make breakfast, scowling slightly at the cigarette, but it was his house. She turned to listen to him as she waited for the water to boil again. He spoke about a mark on her back she frowned touching the back of her neck, she felt the angry and confusion from the time the family saw it, she didn't know what it was, but it wasn't good. She turned away from him as she started to cook the bacon and sausages, she was so used to cooking for other people she only put in enough for him. She heard him speak about the symbols and the temple drawing she frowned looking over at him, why would he do that? Furthermore, she looked over at him, he said there would be a spell she ran her fingers through her hair, she was skeptical, she wanted to ask a dozen questions, but she knew she couldn't, there was just silence. "If you don't say anything, I'll take it as a yes" he said mischievously rolling his eyes. "After breakfast." He walked over and saw the bacon and sausages, immediately understanding what was happening. "Girl, you are not my servant. If you cook, you cook enough for both of us. Do you understand?" he looked directly into her eyes, and he was falling..... He was sitting at the table, breakfast in front of him. He looked around, startled. This was NOT good. Yet it was amazing! He gazed at her in a state of wonder. "You, girl, are very special" and you have no idea. He wasn't waiting until after breakfast, he already knew the incantation and it was simple. He walked to her, placed his hands at either side of her face and brought her forehead to his, mumbling, the words under his breath. Furthermore, he felt the power flow through him and return threefold. Dear Gods his legs buckled slightly and felt his body tingle all over. He straightened up, looked into those eyes, smiling, wanting to kiss her badly. Instead, he nodded at her, and went to sit at the table again leaning against it, as he lowered himself down. "Make yourself something - It's going to be a long day, and you're going to need your strength" he said, wondering how to go about tell her she was a keeper of wild magics, and likely descended from dryad. She frowned at him, she had no idea what she was doing here, he said something about apprentice, but it meant little to her, or all she knew it meant servant or slave. He told her to cook enough for both of them she frowned, she wasn't sure if she could eat it, it had been longer then she dared to remember that she had a hot meal, but she did what he told her she put a little in for her, she had lived on bread for years, she would live longer. He said she was special she frowned, she wasn't special she just a lost girl, he got up moving towards her. She looked at him just before he grabbed her face her first instinct was to leave quickly, but she didn't try hard not to move too much. He started saying some words as he least close to her, she frowned. It didn't seem to work, his incantation, she felt nothing she wondered what he was trying to do or whether it worked. He moved back to the table she moved back to the pan cooking the food, his was ready, she plated it up putting it on the table, before moving to finish cooking her own. He was excited. Really excited. He had been a child when he last felt this. Everything came so easily to him, that the joy of it was lost. God, he didn't know how to tell her this, or even if she would understand, but he couldn't hold it to himself any longer. He waited till she sat with her breakfast "So the spell worked." he said simply, looking at her frowning face. Her beautiful frowning face. "There was a race, millennia ago who lived in the forests and were the forests called Dryad. They were tree nymphs, always female, and they were born of the tree and when the tree died, they died with it. As the forest was cleared and man cut the trees from the earth, so the Dryad numbers dwindled. They looked for a way to save their kind and started breeding with men lost in the forest, some small amount of their vast magics being passed into their offspring, who they allowed to be found by travelers" He couldn't read her expression at all, so he plowed on." You're descended from them, girl. I don't know if it is a direct line, or it has been mixed, but you have Dryad blood in your veins, and your possess some of their magics. We could get more answers at the temple. But that could be hazardous" and. They may want to keep you. He looked at her, her glamour flowing over him "However, I will take you if you wish to go" She sat down noticing the gleeful look on his face, she picked up some of the bread from the day before, the bread she made today would be ready for tomorrow, she was waiting for her food to get cold. She frowned at him, the spell hadn't worked she couldn't speak she couldn't remember anything. He set into his lecture, Dryad she frowned the name seemed familiar, she kept listening as she ate it didn't seem familiar to her. He spoke about the temple and died filled her she frowned shaking her head, she didn't want to go she didn't want to remember, a voice in the back of her mind spoke to her. “You must come home.” She shook her head again trying to get rid of the voice, standing up she walked into the bedroom retrieving the quill and paper she wrote down on it. “I go, no come back.” She frowned she had more to say, but she didn't know the words, instead she scrawled in the other language that a voice was telling her to come back, but she was scared, she knew if she went she would never leave. She handed him the paper hoping he could read it, she felt safe for the first time in years, she was not leaving now. Sere watched her write on the paper, wondering what she must be thinking or feeling. She didn’t look too happy about the idea of going to the temple and when he read the note he understood why. She didn’t want to go there. Furthermore, she wanted to stay here? With him? He smiled. “I want you to stay here too” he said quietly. Although he recognized the rest of the writing and a Dryad dialect, he couldn't actually read it.“Ok,” he said walking back through to the study and going to the bookcase, pulling a large tome from the shelf, laying it on the table. He leafed quickly through it, opening it at a page containing a diagram of the temple she had drawn, and read the ancient language. “Ok” he repeated. He walked back through to her and sat beside her, “So, I’m going to go and sort this thing out for you. I told you, I am going to protect you. Use the time to get to know the tower. Just stay out the cellar for now. It’s locked anyway. I should be back before Sunset” He walked back through to the study, stood in the center of the room and began to incarnate, his form shimmering with a soft aqua light. Then he was gone. Sunset came and went and midnight was coming before he appeared back in the study, bleeding heavily from a wound in his abdomen, groaning loudly. He had done what he had planned, and she would be free of their pull. He would have to tell her, see her, tell her her name, if only... he could... stay... He slipped into the dark void. When he came back from reading what she had written he spoke about him going to sort it, she shook her head, she had nothing to write on, but she had feeling that he would be in terrible danger if he left. He told her what to do she frowned and hoped that he would be alright. He said he would be back at sunset. She spent the day look through the other rooms, they were old and dusty so she let them air out in the crisp spring air, she found some more clothes some more feminine, they were old, older than Sere but still in good condition. She brought them into her room hoping he wouldn't mind if she wore them occasionally, it would be nice to look and feel like a woman. The rest of the day she cooked up a stew knowing that sunset never meant sunset, it got dark instead of going to her own bed she curled up on his sofa in the study, she knew he had left there so it stood to reason that was where he would arrive. She heard a pop and a groan, she lit the candle beside her, when she realize he was injured and unconscious she somehow lifted him onto the sofa. She unfastened his shirt seeing the large wound, she started to panic slightly she grabbed some linen pressing it firmly onto the wound she used a strip to fasten it down tight. Once she was sure he wasn't bleeding as much she grabbed her shoes and ran down into the village. Rushing to the house of the doctor she was wearing just a long night shirt that was covered in blood. Banging on the door the household woke up, the doctor answered the door seeing the girl covered in red he frowned shouting at his wife to get the constable. Thayer frowned, did the doctor believe that she had caused Sere hard, but she pushed it from her head as they ran up to the castle. It seemed to take an eternity before the doctor was satisfied that Sere wasn't going to die, she moved close to him holding his hand. There was soft mumbling behind her, she wasn't paying attention she was just praying to whichever god would listen to spare him, she didn't care about talking or knowing who she was she never wanted him to leave her, even though they had spent barely any time together he was the only person to ever show her kindness. One of the men walked over to her grabbing her shoulder roughly, “You're under arrest, if he dies you'll hang.” She looked at the large ruddy faced man, she frowned shaking her head wanting to explain. “Yes.” He said firmly grabbing her arm roughly pulling her away from Sere and through the streets at what was now dawn to the police station and a cold damn cell. Pulling her knees-up under her chin she rocked slightly, muttering something under her breath as she seemed to go into a trance...she wanted him to live. Black. Everything was black. He had the strangest feeling that he was wide awake, he could hear talking around him, and he could feel the bed beneath him, but he knew, he wasn't awake. The was probably unconscious and this was a dream,"Yeah, they took her to the cell" Took who to what cell? Oh, how intriguing. Wonder what she's done? Don't often hear of a girl being incarcerated"She's kinda fine too, I hope that NOX doesn't treat her too badly - the last one couldn't walk for a week afterward" Laughing. They were laughing about an abuse of power? I'll show them a damned abuse of power. If only I could move." The Mage""Yeah it looks like she stabbed him with something. He's weird anyway. Doctor says he's going to die" Oh gods.no! I've got things to do still. And the girl...." She's a strange one too. Doesn't surprise me that it ended like this" Just a minute - they think she did this to me! And she's the one they're going to abuse in the cell. Sere's body began to crackle, sparks firing off in all directions, hitting the walls, floor and ceiling. He was trying to will himself conscious and it wasn't working. Then he felt the energy course through him. It was a fury, the feel of a hurricane powering over him, an ocean carrying him along. His eyes opened and he stood. Raw energy crackling off of him, he looked at the man, a constable by the looks of it "Where in the tells is she?" his eyes glowing electric blue. He closed his fists and balls of electricity covered them, grounding at his feet." The cells, the man said - the city jail - they took her to the cells" She sat there hugging her knees when someone stood at the door. “Oi, freak... I figured you'd be in a prison...didn't figure it would be for murder.” She looked at the man, he was well over 6 feet tall, she had seen him around he always stared at her, but now she couldn't run away. She could feel Sere she knew he wasn't dead the man was trying to get under her sin. Looking over at him, she frowned, “There is one way I can get you off the murder charge.” He smirked as he unlocked the door stepping inside the small empty room. Standing up slowly she knew what he wanted she shook her head. “You don't have a choice.” He smirked. Walking over to her, he reached for her arm, she managed to slip around him. “Get back here.” He swung his arm around hitting her in the back, she stumbled forward falling to the ground he hit her head on the wall. Moving behind her, he lifted her up, her cheek was cut and bleeding she would have a black eye in the morning. She grabbed at his arms trying to pull away from him, she was so busy trying to get away from him, she didn't feel that Sere was awake. Thoughts tore through his head. How long have I been out she might have been raped already or worse I need to get there now teleport if I miss I die i don't know the layout of the cells I know the upper floor and the cell entrance He clapped his hands together a blast of energy bursting through the room throwing the men to the floor and was gone. And surveyed his surroundings. The door to the lower cells lay before him, a stunned guard stood to his left. He flicked his hand at him as if swatting a fly, and the man collapsed. He thrust his hands forward to the door, eyes glowing like two small suns and the door blew in, splinters of wood flying through the air as if in slow motion. Furthermore, he began to defend the stairs, swatting away the few guards who came at him until he came to the cell, stood in the doorway, static earthing itself all around him, eyes burning. Although he was tall it was the breadth of the man that Sere first noticed distantly. All he was looking for was her, was she alive, was she safe. He saw the blood on her face and the jailers pants at his knees and fury filled him. Then the world slowed down. And peace came over him. It was her. The large ugly jailer was turning towards him face full of hate, pulling a short sword from his belt. So slow He saw his hands move up in front of him and her face turn away and the men face twisted in fear, a ball of fire detached itself from his hands, only 6 inches across, and sped across the void between them through his broad chest and burning through the stone behind him. The world snapped into view again and Sere looked at her, said "I'm sorry" and sank to his knees. She felt him closer in the building, but he was too weak, he shouldn't be here in his state, she didn't care what Jailer did to her so long as Sere was well. He was soon stood in the doorway, the jailer let go of her arm practically dropping her on the ground, he looked petrified as if he was seeing a ghost, before he turned to angry reaching for his sword. She turned away seeing the fireball hit the jailer, it moved through him and into the wall behind. He dropped to the floor she got up moving over to him wrapping her arms around him as he sank to his knees. He had saved her again, she cradled him in his arms hoping that he hadn't spent too much energy, she held him close until the sheriff came, he took one look at the hole in the wall and the two kneeling on the floor. “Get them back to the tower...make sure he stays alive I want a word with him.” She glanced up at the sheriff, he looked back at her, without saying a word he left. She didn't remember much about getting back to the tower just that she stumbled into her bedroom falling asleep, as the doctor made sure he wasn't dying again. He awoke with a start, feeling like he had been trampled by horses. Then it all came rushing back to him, and he jumped out of bed, onto his knees. Dear Gods. What the tells He stood slowly, grabbing his staff, his weak legs buckling. He had used too much energy today, and he knew he was lucky to be alive. However, the fireball. He had never cast a fireball before, it was alien too him. He studied electrical energies and had become a master because of it. Sure, when he was young, he'd play with fire, but no. That was old magic. Wild magic. Her. He walked towards her room, it seemed to take forever, his heart was racing. He opened the door, a sense of dread in his gut. And saw her lying peacefully on her bed, back to the door, her dark blonde hair falling off the edge of the bed. He stood against the door frame, relief coursing through his body. He hated the Gods, vicious manipulative entities, but he thanked them. The pain started to hit him as the adrenaline surge wore off. His leg ached, his side was agony. He slumped down the door frame, watching her breath, this beautiful girl, and smiled. She heard the door open she rubbed her eyes trying to remember where she was, she heard something fall to the ground she turned seeing him collapsed on the floor. Quickly she got out of the bed still in the blood stairs night shirt, she walked over to him helping him up and back into his room and his bed. Sighing she shook her head she wanted to know if he was alright and where he had gone the day before to get such an injury. She propped him up with a pillow, she moved out of the room to change and get him something to drink, she came back looking more presentable wearing one of the dresses she had found it was a soft green. Moving towards him, she gave him a drink, she was so used to not speaking that it was just easier not to try. She did want to thank him for saving her, but she didn't want him to die because of her. Pulling the cover over him, she moved to the window opening it, they seemed to have slept until the next morning, it was just before dawn. He watched her move in the found green dress, and he had never wanted anything so badly in his life. He shook his head, pushing it from his mind "Morning" he said hoarsely. "And thanks for the drink. Have I got a tale for you, and I'm going to tell you it before either I die or someone takes you from me again, come site down" he said with his crooked smile? "I went to the temple, girl, and called the forest elders to bear me witness. It was an interesting experience. I explained that you were my initiate and that my vow was my bond and I meant no harm to the forest. They were very civilized - on the whole" Apart from the torture and spearing me with their branches "However I convinced them that you should stay under my guardianship, and learn the new magics" and if you don't, they have many ways to deal with my kind. The long and short of it is The Elders released you into my care and gave me your name. However, they didn't believe your voice was anything to do with them. I'm sorry, Ella." He put his legs over the edge of the bed. "I'm just going to get some air." He walked to the window and stuck his head out it, taking a deep breath, the torn scars on his back stinging. She sat down with him when he asked her to, she ran her fingers through her hair. She listened to his story, she was concerned when he said he was tutored, she felt anger bubbling up inside her. Furthermore, she listened hearing the name he called her, it was as if she suddenly remembered everything. He stood up she opened her mouth as if to speak to him, but the feeling of anxiousness filled her again so she stopped, leaning against the table to stop herself from passing out. She reached for the quill and paper, she still couldn't write, but she could remember, she started to explain what had happened to her. My mother gave me to my father to raise, he was a traveler like you said, but in the middle of winter a days walk from here he was attacked by bandits. I hid in the hollow of a tree next to a slumbering bear and her cubs, but they didn't seem to mind. I stayed for 3 days until it was safe, I did not feel hungry, tired or cold. Furthermore, I climbed the tree and saw the light from a distance, so I headed there it was tough, the last 6 hours of my trek there were no trees to hide in, wolves caught my scent and chased me here... She had written it all in Druid, she was about to carry on when she realized he was still in pain, standing up she walked over to him. She turned him around and lifted his shirt up, she placed her hands either side of the wound on his stomach. Furthermore, she said a few words and pulled back, he should have felt a warmth go through his wound as he started to fix itself, it would take time, but she had given him enough energy to fix all his wounds and even remove his scars. She felt a little weak, moving to the chair she sat down again smiling at him. Sere watched her writing. He felt good that he could help her retrace some of her past, however the pain was becoming blinding, and he was starting to think that infection was setting in. That would be bad, and he probably wouldn't survive it if it did since his wound was so ragged and the dirt would be deeply ingrained. It would be a bad way to go. She walked over to him, lifting his shirt. For a moment he thought...and then her hands were on him, and he felt the heat build in the wound. He grabbed hold of her arms, to hold them there rather than trying to pull them away The sensation was ecstatic, his whole body contorting. She moved away from him, and sat on the chair looking drawn. "Thank you" He smiled at her, putting his legs over the edge of the bed and getting up, walked to her, and standing beside her put his arms around her, holding her against him. He wrapped his arms around her after he had saved her, she smiled looking over at him. She wrote on the paper food she smiled as she stood up walking over to him, she grabbed the paper moving into the kitchen again. She heated up the stew and sat at the table waiting for it is heats up. Furthermore, she smiled looking over at him, she wrote on the paper again. So now you've discovered who I will you help me with my power? She smiled looking up at him, offering him he paper. She felt safe again, she wrote it again. What did you call me? She asked, the name triggered her memories, but she didn't remember it. She smiled as she moved to the stove making some more tea for them both, running her fingers through her hair. Furthermore, she looked at him and smiled making them both tea as the stew started to heat up, sitting down she took a sip of her drink. He watched her gracefully move around the kitchen. He was lost in his thoughts, he had a brief moment of panic hoping that she couldn't read minds as well. She had already demonstrated power that should take years to learn, yet it came to her naturally, like breathing, sleeping. "Of course I will, that is my oath. You are mine to teach, and I plan to teach you everything I know. However, girl" he smiled at her "there are powers you have I would never be able to touch. They're innate, part of you. We'll have to look into that and find out how to channel them - some are easy for you - some we'll have to work out over time. Your name is Ella, girl"Again he watched her move, play with her hair and sit in front of him. I'll teach you everything I know, Ella. And it might just kill me There were powers she could use that didn't require any incantation, she was weakened by giving so much healing power to him, but she tried hard not to let it show. He spoke to her telling her that he would teach her, she smiled and nodded. She wrote again, can you teach me the lightning...power you created? She smiled not knowing if she could even make that happen her powers were so new to her and mind reading was not one of her powers. She looked at him again as she wrote How old are you, and why are you alone? Furthermore, she bit her lip the stew was up to temperature she dished out two bowls for them and some bread. Sitting down she smiled, she motioned for him to eat, she got the feeling her healing would only work if he had the energy to make it work. Eila, she thought for a second it sounded right. Why did they let you keep me? She frowned as she started to eat her dinner, everything seemed to strange, her mother abandoned her, her father was dead, her vice was missing, and now she was an apprentice mage. He ate a little, not feeling massively hungry, but grateful for the food. "Yes, I can teach you that, it's quite simple to create, very difficult to master. I can teach you manipulation of all the elements. He held his hand over his glass, the water in it turning to ice. He clicked his fingers and a small flame burned from the tip of his index finger, he moved his hand gently over it and the flame was shaped as a small fiery rose, which he leaned over the table presenting it and indicating she should blow it out. As she blew a little whirlwind rose from his palm where the rose had been." All parlor tricks, but occasionally handy. Most people attempt all the elements, however, to be a true master, you have to dedicate your life to one. He turned his hands upside down on the table and electrical sparks rose from his fingertips. This is my mastery, which leads onto your next question - I've never had time or inclination to share my life with anyone. I'm 34. That's quite a sad state of affairs, isn't it? He said." You don't miss much, do you? They let me keep you because I swore a blood oath that I would protect you, and. They wanted something in return" he dropped his head "When the time comes, and you are the Master, I owe them a year of servitude. But before you say anything - I will do it willingly." He looked away saying quietly "You're worth it." She smiled at him, as she took a bite of her food she smiled listening to him talk about what he can teach her to do. She bit her lip watching the fire turn into a rose she moved closer and blew it into a whirlwind. He spoke about how a few people dedicated themselves to just one, she nodded and understood what he was saying. He said he was 34 she smiled and shook her head softly, her hand reaching out to touch his softly, whether it was a comforting gesture or not she felt a shock run up her hand whether he felt it or not she didn't say anything. He said he would have to pay a blood oath for her, she shook her head frowning slightly, she would fix it, no one was going to make him serve even if she had to take action. She squeezed his hand shaking her head again, pulling her hand back she carried on eating. He sat trying to each some more, quietly, occasionally glancing across at her. He had had an interesting couple of days, ever since this girl walked into his life. She had become a huge disruption to his routine and he had nearly died, but she was worth it. However, he needed to plan the next while now. He had work to do, and it had to be done quickly. She had to get her defensive spells organized before anything else. The Elders knew about her and word would whisper quickly about her. There would be people looking for her to use her for their own purposes. And that wasn't something that was going to happen while he lived." We'll rest for today, girl" he said" then tomorrow we'll start with some basic protection spells. I want you to be able to defend yourself fully should the need arise. They'll likely take you a couple of weeks to learn, so the quicker we start, the better it'll be. " He looked at her, with her slight frown and blonde hair spilling about her face and got that feeling in the pit of his stomach again. No. "I'm going to go to the study - I have some things I need to look up - come find me if you need anything" He got up gingerly putting a hand on her shoulder as he passed her. And I need to clear my head of these thoughts. She smiled at him, he had helped her so much she couldn't repay him, she had her memories back, but she didn't have her voice. He said he would teach her protection spells she smiled at him and nodded. She wrote down, how will I use spells if I can't speak? She asked frowning slightly. He said he was going to his study she nodded slightly as she cleared the table started on the kitchen. Once she was finished she moved to the small the courtyard and just sat on the bench, she started to fall asleep, she was exhausted and needed some rest, and outside was better for her. She had been asleep for an hour when a storm rolled in, the rain started first then the thunder and lightening and still she slept as if she was dead to the world. He read her note, and laughed. "You definitely don't miss much. The verbal component of the incantation is just a tool to concentrate the mind. The spell itself comes from using the mind to draw the powers" Sere looked up as the first crash of lightning hit and walked out of the study looking for the girl, a rising tense of panic in him as he couldn't find her. The rain was pouring outside and forks of lightning were grounding themselves on the towers' height. He finally saw her in the central courtyard, and ran to her, trying to wake her, without success. Concern clutching him, he picked the drenched hair up carrying her through to his room, laying her on the bed, drying her off as best he could. He covered her with a large woolen skin and lay beside her, waiting for her to wake. She felt him trying to wake her, but she was so tired she could barely move, healing him had drained her more than she expected. She could feel herself being carried from outside into the house, after an hour of sleeping on the bed she turned towards him feeling his warmth. She woke slowly looking up at him, her arm was around him, she shivered slightly. Furthermore, she wanted to ask what had happened she remembered being outside and falling asleep. Pressing herself against him, she sighed as she tried to warm herself up. She didn't realize that the more she pressed against him, the more energy he seemed to feel from her. She didn't just have the power to heal or other powers she could give him energy, looking up at him, she smiled. Sere looked at her as she pressed against him, feeling a surge of adrenaline in his stomach. He pulled the skin over them both and pulled her closer, her damp clothes warming with their combined body heats. He could feel energy trickling into him from her, his wounds mending, his fatigue diminishing. Furthermore, he held her head against his chest with his hand, stroking at her hair, the tingling sensation of her gift coursing through him. Gently rolling her onto her back he looked down at her, her beautiful face his whole vision 'you're feeding me your energy" he said quietly. "Stop now, before you drain yourself." he brought his head to hers, and as the thunder rolled and lightning crackled outside, kissed her gently on her soft lips. She felt his hands stroking her hair softly, sighing she looked up at him, smiling softly, the more energy she was giving him the less energy she had. He rolled her onto her back she frowned looking up at him, he told her she was feeding him energy. Looking up at him, she frowned she wanted to speak to him, but she couldn't frown she was about to move to get the paper and quill when he moved his head closer to hers. She felt his lips kissing hers softly, looked up at him, she kissed him back softly. Pulling back softly she looked up at him, she anted to ask him why he had done that but no words came. She smiled pressing herself against him, “Hamm.” She sighed. He looked at her as she pulled back from him. It had been a while since he had lain with a woman. He'd done plenty that didn't involve lying, but actually lying beside her, feeling her close, pushing into him... 8 years, he thought. 8 years. Too long. He smiled at her "sometimes I really wish you could talk" he said quietly. And kissed hair again, harder, letting his tongue pick over her lips. He moved over her, straddling her across the belly his hair falling forward, shielding their faces from the outside world. He took hold of her hands, intertwining their fingers, pinning them back against the bed? Then letting go of one, he shifted his body, lying on her, his hardness pressing against her and letting his hand slip down her moist dress to her hemline, pulling it up towards her waist. She looked at him, she had never felt anything like this before with him. Looking into his eyes she smiled slightly, she had never been with a man, frowning she ran her fingers through his hair softly. He spoke to her, she smiled and nodded as if she was saying 'I wish I could speak too', it was as if he could hear them as he kissed her. He moved over her, she looked up at him sighing softly. His hands took hers pinning them to the bed, she sighed looking up at him. 'What are you doing?' She said to him her mind to his. She smiled slightly looking up at him as his hand touched her body lifting the hem of her skirt. 'I'm not sure about this,' entered his mind. After everything that happened between them in the past few days it seemed like it was maybe a little too fast. His hand halted, mid-thigh, and he looked at her, slightly startled. He knew she didn't want this, she wasn't ready. He was not a good man, by any means, and he had his vices, but he couldn't force himself on her. However, her, now all he wanted was her. His head spun a little. They were connected in someway. He could feel her emotions, not her thoughts. But the imprint of the feeling of those thoughts. He kissed her gently once more "I'm sorry, girl" he smiled, taking a deep breath and sliding over to her side. He slid his head to lay on her breast, listening to the sound of her heart beat, slow and strong, and as the thunder continued to rumble overhead fell asleep on her. She looked up at him when he stopped his hand moving up her thigh she blushed, she did want him, just things were moving fast, she didn't realize he could feel her emotions. Looking up at him, she smiled softly her fingers over his chest and through his hair softly. She kissed him back softly, looking up into his eyes, he apologized she frowned, she felt bad for making him stop. She wrapped her around him as he moved over to her side, leaning in she kissed his forehead softly. Holding him close she started to fall asleep with him, sighing she ran her fingers through his hair, before falling asleep with him the storm raging all night not even letting up in the morning. He woke with a start, Ella lying beside him hugging into his chest. The thunder continued to rumble outside, but seemed slightly less than the night before. He felt refreshed, his wounds healed, but immediately thought about the effect on her. He was going to have a talk with her about give her energies away. It was something she would have to control, else she could give it all away, killing her. He glanced over towards her and felt it forcefully again. This was all strange and new to him, this feeling. There was something very different, very powerful and very scary happening between them. She gave her his energies. He was pretty surer than her could give his own back. He knew he could to a lesser degree - on the of the basic can trips in his studies was a transfer of energy, however this was different, its wasn't a transfer, it was a merging. In his years of study, here had never heard of the like. He rolled over kissing her lightly on the lips "Good morning, girl" he said. "How are you feeling this morning?" He could sense her again, relaxed, comfortable, peaceful but very fatigued. "I'll go make us something to eat, Then we're going to have a talk and a little experiment"He stepped through into the kitchens, pulling some bread, cheese and fruit together and taking them back through, laying them beside her. He held her wrist and pushed with his will, the feeling of energy flowing between them, this time from him to her. He stopped before he felt too tired. "This is special, girl" he said laughing "I've never heard of this type merging of energies before." He was unbelievably excited about it and grabbed her hard kissing her" Try - try and make a spark from your fingers, just see it happening in your head." he said, watching her fingers intently. She woke up when he moved, and said her name, she smiled looking up at him, she still felt tired, she wanted more sleep, but she knew she would be expected to get up. “Tired.” She whispered looking up at him. He moved into the kitchen, she forced herself up, instead of dressing she pulled a robe on, she sat back down on the bed, her muscles ached like she had been working for hours without a break. She was going to stand up she walked over to him, smiling she looked up at him as he moved onto the bed beside her. He took her wrist she started to feel energetic, her body stopped aching, she frowned looking up at him wondering what he had done. He said she was special, she smiled looking up at him, she didn't feel special. Looking up at him, she smiled softly, he grabbed her pulling her close to him, she kissed him deeply looking up at him. Pulling back she smiled, he told her to make a spark from her fingers, she frowned. Sitting up she looked at her hands trying to make a spark, she could see it there was something building, but it wasn't a spark. Frowning, she was about to stop when fire erupted from her hand. Sere watched her grow stronger after his energy moved into her and his heart raced when she kissed him so deeply, kissing her back, the hunger in him building. He watched her first faltering steps at trying to conjure sparks from her fingers and laughed loud when fire shot out, quickly moving his hand over the flames, lessening their size until they were united into one small fierce column. Then, again, he moved his hand over her fire, molding and shaping the flame into a small dragon, the orange wings shimmering in the heat, its small delicate body, intricately woven. "Beautiful" he said in awe as the girl held the shape all on her own. "I told you were special, girl" he laughed quietly. He brought his hand up beside hers, palm facing upwards, creating a tiny cloud, and gently blew it over the little dragon. It crackled and hissed as the tiny raindrops began to drop onto her hand, its small mouth snapping at the, but quickly the water quelled the flame and the little dragon disappeared into the forming mist. He leaned forward, kissing her hard, hungrily, bringing his hands to her head, fingers entwined with her dark blonde hair. His eyes looked into hers, and he was lost there. She was his, his initiate, although she was currently teaching the master and didn't even realise. He pushed her back, laying beside, her, kissing down the nape of her neck onto her collarbone, undoing the lace at the top of her dress, his hand on her hip, pulling her against him. She smiled at him as he helped her to make the fire, looking up at him, she grinned as he turned it into a dragon she giggled softly. He made a cloud she wanted to stop it from putting the fire out, she frowned looking at him. She wanted to keep it running forever, but it didn't seem possible. She looked at him and smiled, moving towards him looking into his eyes, sighing she ran her hand over his chest softly. Furthermore, she wanted to speak to him, he pushed her down onto the bed she smiled, sighing softly as he kissed down her neck softly. She closed her eyes as he unfastened the top of her dress, she bit her lip as he pulled her closer, running her fingers through his hair she smiled looking into his eyes. Pressing herself against him, she's pulling him close to her, kissing him deeply she sighed softly, if he could still feel things he would feel her pleasure. He felt her respond to his touches, and it spurred him on. Again he had the sense of her feelings, more powerful this time however, probably because she was less fatigued. And she was feeling the pleasure of their contact. He let his hand slide into her open dress, running his fingertips over her pert breasts, feeling her nipples respond to his light touch. His head soon followed, his tongue trailing down her pale skin, leaving a silvery trail of saliva until her got to the curve of her breast. There, he kissed and licked, working his way around the lower curve, squeezing her gently with his hand, working his way slowly round until he reached her nipple. He took her in his mouth, his tongue teasing, while he sucked and squeezed her, then his head was on the move again, back up into the nape of her neck and to her soft lips, kissing her gently, looking her directly in the eyes. He pulled back, holding his hands for her to take and stood her up, letting her dress fall around her ankles. Furthermore, he looked at her perfect figure, running his hands over her waist and onto her hips, then pulled her into him one arm sliding round her back, the other running over her shoulder and back to her breast, cupping and squeezing it. He pulled his head back from her "Are you ok?" he asked her, feeling the pleasure rising within her. She closed her eyes sighing softly in pleasure as he ran his hands over her body, his hands running over chest. She let out a gasp as he touched her breast, before moving down to lick her nipple, groaning she pushed back against him. Furthermore, she smiled loving the way he felt teasing her, closing her eyes she moaned softly in pleasure. He moved back up to her chest she sighed, pressing herself against him, she kissed him deeply. She whispered. She kissed him back deeply pressing herself against him, sighing she kissed him deeply, she wanted to speak to him when he pushed her down on the bed, looking up at him, she smiled. She smiled as he asked if she was ok, she nodded softly looking up at him. Pressing herself against him, she sighed kissing him deeply, she smiled nodding again looking up at him. He lay her down on the bed, the thunder rolling gently outside, rain hammering loudly on the shutters! And undressed laying beside her. He stroked her body with his fingertips, running them over her face, down over her pert breasts, onto her tight stomach, down onto the outside of her thigh. He let his hand hold the full soft flesh of her inner thigh, slowly, moving it up, pulling her leg open. Then his hand cupped her, his fingers slipping between the folds of her lips, caressing them, opening and spreading them, playing and flicking at her clit. All the while, he kissed her, hard and slow, his tongue playing with hers, his other hand behind her head, pulling her against him. She sighed as he moved towards her pressing himself against her, looking up at him, she kissed him deeply. His fingertips running over her body softly his fingers teasing over her body until he touched her thigh softly pulling it apart softly. She felt his fingers teasing her pussy, she nearly jumped out of the bed when he touched the clit. She gasped pushing back against him, she moaned softly. His tongue teasing over hers softly. Sighing she kissed him deeply as he pulled her close to him. He rolled onto her, his long hard cock pressing into her stomach, kissing her harder, rubbing at her breasts, pinching her nipple gently. He moved his head kissing her neck sucking and biting her skin, and he worked his way down her onto her nipple. He paused her fore a minute blowing on it gently, watching it grow erect, the sucked it, biting it squeezing her breast with his hand. Then he was moving down again over her stomach down and into her hair, his nose nuzzling against her. He slipped himself down the bed, opening her legs, kissing up her thighs. He rubbed her clit with two fingers, opening her lips and ran his tongue slow and hard between them, stopping over her clit, sucking and flicking at it with his tongue, then he was working his way down again, his tongue moving slowly, methodically, pushing into her warm wet opening, his lips pressing against her and he flicked and teased her. With a quick kiss to her pussy lips he jumped back up straddling her, smiling down into her beautiful face, and lowered himself onto her. The tip of his rock hard cock, slipped down over her clit, between her lips and settled at the entrance to her pussy. He pushed slowly into her, the tip of his cock entering her velvet walls and kissed her hard holding her tight against him. She kissed him back deeply her fingers running through his hair, she gasped he pinched her nipples. Closing her eyes she kept sucking and biting her skin, he started to tease her nipples the pleasure was incredible. “Hamm.” She grinned looking up at him. He moved further down her body, she bit her lip looking up at him, his fingers teasing over her clit, she groaned in pleasure. He moved down his tongue licking over her pussy softly. “Ohhhh.” She giggled looking down at him. His tongue teasing over her pussy licking her softly, “Hamm.” She grinned. He suddenly jumped up she looked up at him wondering what he was going to do now. She gasped as he pushed himself against her tight hole she closed her eyes looking up at him, she knew there would be pain she just hoped it wouldn't be so bad. He held her close, feeling the resistance against the tip of his long member. He realized she had never had a man before, and it excited him further. Furthermore, he maintained a steady pressure against her hymen, kissing her, his hand sliding down between their bodies, fingers rubbing at her clit, and then it gave, and he slipped inside her tight hole. Her eyes were closed tight, and he continued to kiss her, over her face, cheeks, biting at her lip gently, as he pushed the whole of his length inside her, holding it there, feeling her warmth over him. Slowly, he began to trust into her, his hands now moving over her, touching all of her, feeling her soft skin against him. He held her arms above her head, pushing himself up, looking down at her stunning figure and him buried deep in her. "Gods, I so wish you could talk right now" he said smiling. She tensed up as he pushed inside her, despite the fact he was teasing her clit there was still the pain. He pushed past her Hyman she whimpered slightly, she looked up at him trying to feel the kisses. Slowly the pain started to subside she opened her eyes looking up at him as a tear ran down her cheek. He lifted her arms up above her head she bit her lip, she wanted to talk as well. He wiped the tear from her cheek "Don't cry, girl" he said softly, slowly sliding in and out of her. Furthermore, he kissed her again, biting her bottom lip passionately, then burying his head into her neck licking and kissing her, nibbling at her ear. Furthermore, he could feel himself begin to tense, the slow throb at the base of his cock. Furthermore, he slowed his movement, just holding himself inside her for a moment, taking in the feeling of being one with her, her body soft against him. Furthermore, he started moving in her again, pulling one of her legs up, holding her under her knee, penetrating her deeper, his public bone rubbing over her clit. . Closing her eyes the pleasure was started to come through after the initial shock. Biting her lip she moaned softly in pleasure, he nibbled and kissed her ear she giggled softly. He slowed down he was deep inside her, looking up at him, she kissed him deeply. Running her fingers through his hair, he pushed her leg up, she sighed arching her back more. She wanted to talk to him, to say a million things, but she couldn't. He could feel her again. Could feel her frustration as if she was going to burst. Initially he thought it was him, she wasn't being pleasured, however he could also feel that underlying sense of calm and happiness. "You want to speak" he said to her "We'll find a way, girl. For now, I'll do the talking. You're beautiful. You're unique. I'm so happy I met you." he pulled from her, rolling her to her side laying in behind her, slipping back into her, his arm around her, cupping her breast, playing with her nipple, making it hard. He kissed into her back, biting gently, his thrusts gathering pace. HE spoke to her, she smiled weakly and nodded, he said such wonderful things it almost made up for the years of abuse she had gotten from the hands of the villagers. He pulled out, turned her on her side and move behind her, she was a little worried she didn't like that she couldn't see him, but he stayed behind her pushing himself back inside his hands running over her breasts teasing her. She closed her eyes sighing softly, "Hamm." He slid his hand down between her legs, rubbing at her clit as he increased the pace of his thrusting, his cock slipping easily now, deep and hard into her tight walls his pelvis slapping off her ass. He kissed her, on the back of the neck, pulling out and lying on his back, indicating for him to sit astride him, reaching up cupping her breasts as she moved on top of him. Biting her lip she sighed moaning in pleasure, as he thrust deep and hard inside her, closing her eyes she moaned in pleasure loving the way he felt deep inside. His lips teased over her neck she groaned in pleasure moaning softly. He pulled back she frowned, she kissed him softly as she moved over him, pushing back against him, she sighed. Closing her eyes she moved o he was completely inside her, she took his hands moving them to her hips as she slowly started to move up and down. He lay back, his eyes fixated at this beautiful creature on top of him, moving herself rhythmically, losing herself at the moment. He held his hands on her hips, guiding her onto him, feeling the softness of her thighs on his fingertips. Furthermore, he pushed himself up to meet her, their bodies hitting against each other, knocking the breath from him slightly, the ecstatic feelings flowing through his body. Furthermore, he brought his head up pushing it between her breasts, kissing and sucking her nipple, holding it in his mouth, teasing and flicking it with his tongue. Furthermore, he pushed her harder onto him, wanting to be deep in her, feeling the need to fill her completely. A slight push on his will and tiny sparks, no more than a tickle to her came from his fingertip, sending new sensations through her skin as he let his hands roam over her, moving back to hold her again around her hips. She giggled arching her back sighing softly in pleasure, she moved her hips lifting herself up and down him as she felt him deep inside her, “Jewish.” She groaned pushing back against him, she sighed grinding down hard against him. Closing her eyes she felt him teasing her breasts against sucking and biting her nipples. “Hmm mm.” She groaned softly, she felt him making tiny sparks over her skin she jumped looking down at him, but she liked it, it felt so different and amazing. "Keep moving like that" he said to her quietly, groans of pleasure escaping from him, and she slid up and down on him, more-so as she ground on him. He held her hips tight pushing her onto him further, feeling how deep he was inside this beautiful girl. His hands came round to her ass grasping it hard, guiding her movements onto him, his breathing becoming shallower, sweat forming on his forehead. He sucked hard on her nipple, pushing into her breast, his tongue seeking it hungrily. He was getting very close to climax and pulled her down on top of him, her breasts pressing against him, finding her lips with his. She closed her eyes moaning in pleasure loving the way he felt deep inside her, she moved her hips faster pushing herself down against him. Closing her eyes she moaned in pleasure sighing softly as she felt him teasing her, his lips bit her nipple she felt him thrusting deeper and harder inside her. "Ohhhh." Her body started to tense up as she felt herself close, she closed her eyes moving faster with him as she suddenly came hard, her pussy clamping down hard on to his thick hard cock. He gently a bit at her lower lip, putting his hands on the small of her back pushing her deeper onto him, thrusting his cock into her hard. He felt her pussy tighten on him, and he tensed, holding onto her pushing as deep as he could, his cock swelling and releasing his cum deep inside her, wave after ecstatic wave flowing though him each surge making his body shake and twitch, pushing more of his thick creamy fluids into her. Furthermore, he held her head against his chest, breathing heavily." Speak to me," he whispered. She closed her eyes moaning as she pushed back against him, he was deep inside her cumming hard, she cried out in pleasure with her own orgasm. She had never imagined anything would ever feel so good. Furthermore, she collapsed forward her head on his chest as he told her to speak, she opened her mouth but nothing came out, she tried to stop the tears, but she couldn't. He held her close, sitting up, wrapping his arms around her "Shhh, don't cry, it's ok. We'll find a way. " He said pulling her head onto his shoulder, stroking her hair. He kissed her face gently, wiping away her tears," I'll find a way" he said almost to himself. He rolled her over, lying her beside him, pulling her close. Furthermore, he was different with her than he was with anybody else. Something about her brought out the best parts of him. He lay with her holding her tight, feeling her frustration and unhappiness. "Let's get dressed soon - lets see if we can't give you a voice" He said kissing her forehead. Pressing herself against him, she looked over at him, she nodded softly looking up at him. She knew he would help her to talk, running her fingers through her hair she smiled kissing him softly. He said they should get dressed and see if he could give her a voice. She smiled as she ran her fingers through his hair, she wanted a bath and some food first. He asked if she would like to freshen up, kissing her softly as she played with his hair. He showed her through to the bathing room "it was running warm water from an underground spring. Take your time - I'll make us some food, and then we'll go and look in the books and see if we can't find some methods to help your speech. The forest guardian said that it hadn't come from them, so it would have to be something more recent - have a think - see if there's anything you can remember" he said to her. He kissed her once more, dressed and went to the kitchens, making them some food and waiting for her to come through. There was a possible spell he could try, a summoning, but it could be dangerous. Most of all to her. He'd explain it to her as they ate and if she was willing they'd try it later Looking up at him, she ran her fingers through her hair. He showed her the bathroom she smiled, she got herself undressed and clean. She loved the feel of the water cleaning her, she was out about half an hour later, heading into the kitchen once she was dressed she smiled. Moving towards him, she kissed him softly, pressing herself against him, she smiled. Running her fingers through his hair she smiled, she wanted to speak to him, but she couldn't there were no words. She came into the kitchens and kissed him, pushing against him. He turned into her pulling her close, kissing her back softly "You are so very beautiful, girl" he grinned. "Ok, sit down, so I can talk to you and feed you"He put the plate in front of her, kissing her on the top of the head as he did. It was a soup and broken bread - basic but functional, and came back a moment later with his own sitting across from her. He placed the pad and pencil beside her - "you might have some questions about what I'm about to say," he said to her holding her hand."we have to find out what happened to your voice. I don't believe that it's a natural occurrence - I think that somebody doesn't want you to be able to speak. If that's the case can you think of a reason? I know that you're memories are vague, and I was thinking that maybe we could try to tap into your memory and try and find out what happened to you. There's a downside to this. Whatever the memory is that is being hidden or repressed, then it may be something you don't want to remember and could cause you pain. So I can only ask you to think and if you feel that you want to, we can give it a try." He picked her hand to his mouth and kissed it gently, placing it down and beginning to eat his soup. She smiled as he set the food down she smiled, she started to eat before he told her about the paper and pencil, she would write when she had eaten something. She kept eating listening to him, she nodded she would try and remember all she could. Furthermore, she finished quickly, smiling she took the paper writing what she could think of. There were a few words, she drew the images on her neck, from his perspective it was upside down, it made more sense that way. Running her fingers through her hair she drew a picture of a stone that was completely evil, if she could color it in it would be blood-red, it was a stone that was usually used for resurrecting the dead and the mark on her neck was a binding mark, to stop her from talking or writing, but not drawing. He watched her as she scribbled on the pad, his stomach sinking. This was bad. Very bad. The resurrection stones held the power over death and were sought after by blood mages and licks. Why in the tells was she mixed up with them? He wondered. He tried not to show his concern, taking her hand and smiling at her. It all came back to the mark on NER neck. It was a sigil of some kind, and they would have to try and nullify it."ok, that's perfect, girl" he smiled at her. The magics involved will be very powerful and dangerous. I may need to call in some help from a friend. But I believe that we can nullify it. " He walked round wrapping his arms around her. "I want to make sure you're not in any danger before we do this - your voice isn't worth your life" he said kissing the top of her head, his stomach feeling heavy. She looked up at him and smiled when he said it was perfect, she knew something had happened they had tried something, but it failed. She rubbed the back of her neck as he spoke about the magics being powerful, and needing help. She wrote down, 'Can you trust your friend?' She bit her lip looking over at him, he wrapped his arms around her, she smiled looking up at him. He said her voice wasn't worth her life, she knew it wasn't, but it made her sad and frustrated when she couldn't talk to him. Biting her lip she looked over at him, she smiled and nodded. "Yes" he said "I would trust her with my life." Lira. He hadn't thought about her for a while. They had taken separate paths, hers darker, studying necromancy - the power over the dead. She had been their Master's favorite and had been like brother and sister, still getting the occasional letter from her in her calligraphic script. She did like the drama he crafts entailed. "She's very powerful in her field - and this stuff is her field." he explained "She'll know what we should do and may be able to help remove the sigil without the need of any danger" he so hoped that was the case, but had a feeling it wouldn't be." We're going to have to travel south for a few days to the city. The day is still young, so we'll leave at noon. Have you ever been in the city?" he smiled at the thought "If not it will be a very strange experience for you" he said laughing. She listened to him talk about the other woman she frowned her fingers running through her hair. He said she was powerful she smiled a nodded, and tried hard not to feel too jealous of her already. “I hope she can help.” She said looking up at him. He said that they could go home she ran her fingers through her hair smiling slightly, 'I've never been to the city.' She said wrote down looking up at him. 'At least what I can remember.' She smiled, looking up at him. 'I only have the clothes I found to pack.' She wrote, hoping he might take the hint that she hoped he would get her something new, she couldn't remember when she had a piece of clothing that was hers instead of a handed down piece of clothing. "I think she will be able to" Sere said as she wrote on the parchment. It worried him a lot involving Lira. She always had an agenda, and would want some form of payment, but to it would be worth it to make her whole again." The city. Is interesting" he smiled. "Its busy, SO many people. You have to watch yourself as they would steal the shirt from your back" he laughed, "but it has the most exotic and wonderful goods from all around the world" Reading her text more "And you need clothes. Of course. Idiot!" he chided himself. "I'm sorry, girl, I should have thought - solitude has made me even more selfish than I already was. He reached onto his belt, handing her a pouch full of coin. "This is yours, I'll give you more as you need it - I have more coin than I could ever use. Buy yourself the finest dresses and garments you can find. They'll only enhance your beauty." he said moving to her and pulling her close. "We'll leave as soon as you're ready, I'm ... excited, to show it to you. " He smiled kissing her. She smiled at him when he said his friend would help, running her fingers through her hair she smiled at him. He started talking about the city and what it would be like, biting her lip she smiled slightly. He said she needed clothes she smiled at him. She wrote down. Thank you.' She smiled looking up at him. He offered her the coins she looked at him as if asking I was stupid. Writing down something she handed him the paper. 'How exactly am I meant to talk to the sale people...and don't say write this is ancient Dryad.' She raised an eyebrow, he was smart but at sometimes he was very, very dumb. She smiled as she kissed him deeply pressing herself against him, running her fingers over his chest softly. “Hmm mm.” Sere looked at her and burst out laughing. "Umm, yes, of course, that could be interesting. OK I'll take you to the stores and help you get some new clothes" If you're ready, then we may as well leave. He walked them down to the courtyard "Oh gods, I forgot to ask, can you ride?" indicating the horses standing in front of them.""" Its very easy anyway" he said helping her onto the saddle "and I'm sure you'll be able to bend them to your will" he smiled at her ruefully. They moved from the tower, and Sere turned 100 yards out mumbling under his breath, a faint shimmer falling over the huge building. "Just a small protection". The end of the first day came, and they had travelled through the mountains, the sun beginning to set, the came across a small hamlet, set in the shadow of the mountain. They moved to a building, which looked like an open house and tethered the horses outside. "Time for some food and a drink" he smiled walking through the doors. The place was quiet - only a patrons sitting at a table and an open fire burning bright. He walked over to the tender of the place "Whatever you have to eat and 2 ales" he said to the man "And bring them to our table, if you please". A walked to the table, he could see all eyes on the girl, lust showing in the men, envy in the women. Ah gods, he thought this could be an interesting night She smiled at him as he said he would help her get clothes, she took his hand. Moving into her room she got dressed and packed a few things she had before heading down to the courtyard where two horses were prepared. She had bad experiences with horses they tended to throw her, maybe because she was a dryad, but this horse seemed fine with her, she watched the protection barrier put up before they started their journey. They travelled for hours, she was aching from the ride when they arrived, she was tired. She followed him to the bar as he ordered food, then to the table she sat down leaning against his arm, not aware of people staring at her as she tried to keep herself awake long enough to eat. He looked at her eating, her eyes almost closing. "One minute" he said walking to the innkeeper "Give us a room for the night, beast you have." he handed the coin to the man and was given instructions to go upstairs and last room on the left. He turned to walk back and saw two men standing over Ella." My aren't you a beauty" one of them was saying, pulling at her shoulder. Sere felt himself bristle, the energy flowing unbidden into him. He walked over pulling himself to his full height, the light around him seeming to suck away. He patted one of them on the back, sending an unseen shock through his body, pushing a chair in behind him to catch him. It was smoothly done, not even his friend caught on immediately." Thanks friends" he said icily "My lady and I are just going to bed. If you have anything to say, you can put it to us in the morning." the look her gave the second man gave him little room for negotiation. He whispered quietly "there is nothing here for you, but pain." the man took a step back, looked at his twitching friend and walked over to his table again." Time for bed, I think, girl" he said, helping her to her feet. He left her for a minute as she tried to eat as much as she could, she saw two men walk over she frowned as they spoke to her and pulled her shoulder, she was about to do something very stupid when Sere did it instead. He squared up to them before shocking one of them and warning the other off, she looked up at him and smiled slightly. Sere whispered something to him before he ran away, she took his hand softly and smiled, she nodded. He helped her to her feet before walking them upstairs to the best room. It was small, but it had a large bed and window, it even had an indoor bathroom with running hot water, the owner must have known a wizard. She pulled out the paper and wrote. “Why don't you call me by my name?” She frowned looking over at him. He smiled at her softly "I. I don't know. It's kinda of my pet name for you. But if it upsets you, I can certainly call you Ella. " He stripped off and lay on the bed, feeling a long days travels in his body. "Man I'm tired" he said. "Another days wide and we'll be there" he said "You'll find it amazing I think, GI., Ella" he corrected himself. "It's beautiful in its own way, but very intense. I hope you do at least. And hopefully we'll be able to get that voice of yours fixed." He held his hands out to her pulling her down beside him, stroking her hair." I don't think you'll like Lira much. She's very arrogant and headstrong, but it's mainly an act" he smiled. "She was like that as a child too. Anyway, I'm sure she'll be able to help us out, remove the glyph on your neck. I hope so anyway" he said quietly. He held her close, feeling the warmth of her beside him, sleep starting to come on him fast. He awoke with a knife to his throat and a voice saying "Move and you fucking die wizard". The two from earlier had decided to come and seek some vengeance, the other one began to unbutton his pants, walking towards Ella. She smiled at him as he spoke about her name, she thought he didn't call her name because he didn't like it. She smiled when he pulled her down onto the bed. Curling into him, she was starting to fall asleep suddenly, she was tired and didn't hear him speak about his friend. In the night she heard the door open, but his body was close to her, she frowned but kept her eyes closed slowly pulling her energy together. She heard the voice behind her, as the man walked over to her, sitting up she grabbed his wrist pushing the energy through his body, until flames shot out through his mouth, eyes and ears. There was no screaming from him as he collapsed onto the floor a charred mess, she turned towards the man holding the knife, he was moving back from her. She motioned to the door it shut suddenly, her eyes were black, with another flick of her wrist he was pulled towards her. She grabbed his wrist, his body seemed to melt as she pulled his life from him, he suddenly collapsed onto the ground. Furthermore, she looked at Sere, she grabbed the paper. “Maybe we should leave?” She wrote, she was scared for what she had done.

Praying for a Chance (Sheol + ~AT~)|rating:4.0

The Layer And The Middle Class (Closed)

New York City was known for its population, good food and also hard ass lawyers that thought they were hot shit. But most were actually, there was a law office known for expensive lawyers. But if you needed something done right they were the people to call, Wolfman and Heart was the name of the lawyers there. Everyone knew about them, even one particular girl who had no idea what the day would bring to her. In the city was an eighteen-year-old who just finished high school. She was told years ago she should be a model, and after high school she tried out for it. The people there said that she had the beautiful face, and bone structure. But she was there inches to short and her breasts were not big enough. Now Rose would never change her breasts just to be a model, and being taller was something that would never happen. So she just figured she would never see the light of day, so she was trying to find a job to do. Rose had no idea what to expect anymore, she just knew she was hungry and needed some lunch. So she went to a diner that she went to a lot, she thought about being a waitress to ask the owner if they were hiring. But she just did not want to do something like that, she wanted to be a secretary or something. But she did what she had to do. She went to the booth that she always sat at, and ordered what she always did. When she was waiting for her meal to come, sipping on her diet soda she noticed a man coming in. The way he dressed she could tell he had money, the way he walked she felt he was a lawyer. Kind of the "I am confident in what I am doing career wise" Rose caught his eyes for a second, and she just smiled. Sitting back as she just relaxed a little bit. Wondering who he was, though she had to try very hard to not stare at him. Gregory Heart was a 32-year-old lawyer that had everything that anyone could ever want. He had a penthouse apartment that overlooked Central Park. He had the finest furniture, artwork, and clothing. Furthermore, he worked for his father's law firm, and he had not been given anything, despite the fact that his father was the boss. Furthermore, he worked his ass off to get everything. Furthermore, he was ruthless in the courtroom and out. It was probably why he did not have many close friends. He had a lot of acquaintances, but nobody that he would consider close. Many of his acquaintances were that way because they wanted something from him and knew he was powerful enough to get it. Greg went into the diner because he knew that there would not be anyone there that he knew, and that way he could think about the case that he was on. When he did not see a booth, he got upset. He did not want to sit out at a table, but he had no choice. He sat at a table and laid the file down. After removing his coat he went to work on the file. He was short with the waitress that came to take his order. "Turkey club white toast and a diet coke." He did not even make eye contact with her. When his food came he closed the file and pushed it aside. Only then did he look around. In the booth next to him was an attractive young woman who seemed a little disheveled. He looked away, but couldn't help but look back at her. There was something about her that kept his eyes moving back to her. Rose was rather mysterious people who went to school with her gave her the nickname "Mystery" because she hardly ever talked. And when she did talk, the most educated answers came out of her. Like she was a genius. Though her IQ was extremely high and learned much faster than most people. Hence, why she was able to graduate two years early of high school. She knew many languages and even sign language since her mother had been deaf, she was intelligent for an eighteen-year-old. But she felt him looking at her again, she gave him no mind. And could tell he was not very happy, having to sit at the table. Things started to roll through her head, about what she should do. She brushed her blond hair out of her eyes, her eyes were dark brown, and she smiled when her food came to her. It was a cheeseburger with fries and a chicken salad, she enjoyed the food there since it was rather nice. But the more she thought of the man, the more he seemed like he could use someone to talk to. Her dark brown eyes looked up at the guy and was thinking about what to say to him, she was dressed in a simple outfit. Dark blue jeans and a black t-shirt with a blue jean jacket on, sighing a bit as she took a bite of her salad. Enjoying the chunks of chicken with her favorite salad dressing a thousand island. And wiped her mouth making sure there was no food in her mouth before she spoke. "If you would like to sit here I don't mind the company" Rose said for the first time actually speaking. He saw the woman eating her salad and her cheeseburger. He was struck by her simple dress. She was someone that he never imagined would catch his attention. He was accustomed to being around women who were well-dressed all the time and were from high society. The simplicity of this woman struck him." What? Oh, no. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been looking at you. Furthermore, I just was looking around. My table is fine." Greg was a little pissed at himself. He got caught looking at her... almost staring. He was better than that. Furthermore, he never let himself get caught like that. Why had he allowed it to happen with this woman? Then he looked back at her. "He made eye contact with her on purpose this time. "I am sorry. I didn't mean to be short with you. I also didn't mean to stare at you. It was very impolite while you are enjoying your meal. Please let me pay for your meal as my sincere apology." Rose looked at him and gave him just a rather soft smile, it was one of those things she wanted and to relax. But right now she just did not really seem to care. She was used to people acting a certain way around her. She smiled a little bit. Brushing her hand against her cheek and could not help but smile a bit. Hearing him apologize was rather unique for a lawyer, when he said he was okay with his table. She could tell he was lying, she tilted her head just a little bit and chuckled very lightly." Are all lawyers like you? Perhaps I am wrong, but I am never wrong, you are no more happy with your table then I would be." She said with him looking at him at a certain way, she honestly was rather happy with what was going on, really all in all everything happened for a reason she thought. Rose sat back as she ate her cheeseburger thinking about what to say to him, but she went silent. Figuring he would take what she said the wrong way, she sucked at making small talk. That much she knew and that much she hated about herself, but she made due with what she had. He looked at her when she asked about lawyers. How did she know he was a lawyer? Was it that easy to tell? He continued to look at her as he wondered what she was up to. Was she just being a smart ass? Was she trying to engage him in a conversation? Was she trying to piss him off and just trying to get a rise out of him?" Tell me something... How did you know I was a lawyer? Is there something stamped on my forehead that says it? Or is there something about me that gave it away?" He continued to look at her. He could not believe that he was engaging this young woman in conversation. Furthermore, he would never normally talk to anyone during his lunch break from court. There was something about this woman that captured his attention and he was not sure what it was. He stared at her and awaited her answer. Rose finished up her meal, she was a fast eater, but she was not a pig while doing it. She ate everything lady like just a bit faster. She was enjoying the meal and had a feeling that he was still looking at her, or at least thinking of her. Silently sighing as she began to think about all the kinds of things he could say to her. If he said anything at all of course, all in all everything just seemed rather nice. She paid for her meal and made sure not to leave a mess on the table or on her for that matter. When he said what he did she looked up and slipped her coat on, standing up she actually sat down next to him. "Well besides the way you dress, to a person who knows about human behavior I know enough. I know you prefer booths so you can truly be in your own little zone, so you can sit by yourself and relax. But it's the way you walk, you have a determined walk like you do what you have to not caring about anything else. It is not stamped on your head, it's stamped on how you walk and how you talk" He took her check off of her table. "I have this." Then he handed her his business card. "See, you were right. You are very perceptive. I am impressed." He watched her look at the card, and then he said, "I know this is rather forward, but would you consider having dinner with me.?" He never did things like this. Greg was not someone that normally talked with people out of his normal circle, and he did not ask women that he was not familiar with to go out with him. That was probably why he was single and had never really been in a relationship with a woman. Rose watched as he took her check and smiled a little bit, the smile a thank you for him. But then she watched him produce a card from his pocket. Looking down at it, she smiled seeing his name there. And she took it putting it in her pocket to make sure she did not lose it. Looking into his eyes she saw something there, he was rather good-looking and not too bad to talk to. Least not bad yet, things could change she knew. People could change quickly, much like how people go from hot to cold that is bipolar. But then hearing his question she was actually taking back by it, he was asking a stranger out on a date? But why not she had never been on one. She grabbed a napkin and put in her cell number and where she lived and pushed it toward him. "I would like that Greg, and my name is Rose Turner" She said offering him her name since she knew his already. Tilting her head a bit she grew even more curious of the man. All in all she was rather happy and had a feeling something would come of this. He stood up and shook her hand. "I'll pick you up at 8. Just tell me where to pick you up." He was happy to hear her say yes. He was a little surprised, but he wasn't going to complain. He started to wonder what to do with her that night. Furthermore, he didn't even know where he was going to pick her up yet, and he was already worrying about what they were going to do. Why was he feeling this way? He never felt nervous. He battled with the most powerful men in the city. Furthermore, he represented the most powerful men in the city. Furthermore, he never felt nervous. Furthermore, he was never at a loss for words. Furthermore, he never felt panicked. Why was he feeling this now? Rose smiled a bit at him, she sensed something was up here, and enjoyed the thought about trying to relax. Everything was beyond perfect at that moment, but she could honestly sense what was going to happen. When he asked where to pick her up, she pointed to her address. "You can pick me up here, I will be ready probably half an hour early. Since I do not want to be late for you, since something tells me you like time and prefer everything and everyone to be on time. Which is rather reasonable"Sighing a little bit as she just allowed everything to stay as is, rubbing her neck and placed her free hand on his shoulder. "Can't wait" Rose added and headed out of the diner, humming a bit as she headed home. She grinned a little bit feeling rather happy that she spoke up today. Never did she think this would happen. It was rather nice, and once home she sat on her couch and decided to watch some t.v for a while. Knowing she would be right on time, since she already knew what outfit she would be wearing. Greg returned to court. He walked into the courtroom and was immediately on his game. He was defending a mob underboss in a murder and racketeering trial, and he had the District Attorney spinning his wheels. Greg had an answer for every move that the DA tried, and he was on his way to gaining an acquittal. When court adjourned for the day Greg went back to his apartment. He showered and put on a clean suit. He called the car service and told them that he needed a car for the night. The driver picked him up outside the building at 7:15.... at 7:45 he was outside the diner. He got out of the car and said hello to Rose. Rose had a rather relaxed afternoon, and she hopped into the shower about six, just to wash off the stress of the day. Thinking about how this was going to go, being on a date was something very new to her. But she just decided to dress as herself, though she had no idea what to wear what kind of place he would be taking her. She just decided on a black skirt and a white blouse, looking at the reflection of her. She smiled happily at herself, and once her hair was dried she put it up on to of her head. Then once done she headed over to the diner and smiled seeing him. "Good evening" She said kissing his cheek. Greg looked at Rose. "You look beautiful this evening Rose." He put his arm around her lightly as she kissed him on the cheek. He was very impressed with how she looked. Furthermore, he liked the fact that she wasn't dressed up in an outfit that cost thousands of dollars. It always drove him crazy to see how women dolled themselves up in outfits that were so gaudy and all they really said was "hey look at me." Rose was dressed beautifully, but it was not meant to draw everyone's attention to her.... although Greg was certain that there would be many guys whose eyes would be drawn to her. Greg took Rose's hand and helped her into the rear seat of the car after waving the driver back to the car. After closing the door he went around and got into the car from the street side. The driver pulled away from the curb and headed toward the predetermined first stop of the night. Greg looked at Rose, "thank you so much for agreeing to come out with me tonight. I feel extremely lucky to be in your company." They rode for a while with Greg asking questions about Rose in an attempt to get to know her. Then the driver pulled to the curb and opened the door to let them out. They walked into the building and rode the elevator to the rooftop restaurant. When they walked in they were 30 minutes early for their reservation. Greg asked Rose if she would like to sit in the lounge and have a drink while they waited. Rose looked at him, and she really was not all that dressed up, she never believed in putting five pounds of makeup on just to perhaps get laid. No Rose was rather simple, sure she had on makeup but not enough to draw a human being. She just had on some black eyeliner, black eye shadow and a dark plum color for lipstick. She was rather nervous, this being her first real date and everything. All in all she had no idea how this was going to go, she just smiled not wanting to seem really stupid. But then he started asking her some questions "Well both of my parents are gone, I have a little of insurance money left. But I get only what I need, I graduated from high school three years early and was the valedictorian. I was told a few months ago I would be great as a model if I was three inches taller, and I had bigger breasts. But I would never get a boob job just for a stupid modeling job. I mean I get it everyone drools over models, but I refuse to get double C breasts. One C cup is fine with me." Eden said with a laugh, though she was Twenty she was never carded so she could get drinks when she wanted. When he suggested it she nodded her head and followed him in, she remembered this place. She had been here once as a little girl. Sitting down in the lounge she ordered what Greg got and sat relaxing a bit. But noticed a piano something the owner loved, she had played here once as a child since she knew the owner pretty well. And actually had an idea, and began to tell him what no one knew." I am also a music savant I can play at least ten different things, I played here once as a child since I know the owner. Perhaps I should play something, will help you get a better feel for the person that you are on a date with" Eden suggested, though if he was not interested it was fine. She was just pretty much throwing herself out there so he could get a better idea about her. Her music spoke for herself really. It showed her what no one knew about her, that she was more vulnerable and lonely then she puts on. Greg listened to her intently. He enjoyed being with her. She talked freely and it was refreshing. Most of the people in his social circle only talked about things that would in some way benefit them. They never talked in a way that let the other person truly get to know you. It felt good to be with her. They sat a small table. He ordered the drinks and continued to listen Rose. There was something about her that made him comfortable. He was able to relax around her and enjoy himself. He wasn't concerned about making sure that he maintained a particular image." I would love to hear you play the piano. I think that would be great." He offered rose his hand and helped her out of the chair. He walked her over to the piano and watched as she sat down to play. Greg found a chair and pulled it over close to the piano bench. He wanted to watch Rose play as well as listen to her. He smiled as she began to play. Rose was rather happy and knew that it was all to perfect of a situation and when he helped her out of her seat, she walked over with him to the piano and the people there knew her. She whispered something into the ears of some of the men who played different instruments. And she grinned a little bit, the song she would sing they knew it all to well. It was a simple piece that she had written forever ago. It was a rather nice moment, and was relaxing a tiny bit. Sitting on the bench she moved over so he could sit. Taking a deep breath as she was nervous as all hell, looking over at Greg she smiled even more. Feeling more comfortable. This song she would sing would help him see the kind of woman she was, she looked up at the men and nodded to them. This area was rather popular for all kind of entertainment, and she wanted to cause some happiness here. So she began to play the piano at a rather nice pace. The tune of the song was rather nice, it was soothing, and it was something she wanted." Where are the people that accused me? The ones who beat me down and bruised Letha hide just out of sight Can't face me in the light They'll return, but I'll be stronger God, I want to dream again Take me where I've never been want to go there This time I'm not scared Now I am unbreakable, it's unmistakable No one can touch me Nothing can stop me Sometimes it's hard to just keep going But faith is moving without knowing Can I trust what I can't SEATO reach my destiny want to take control, but I know better God, I want to dream again Take me where I've never been want to go there This time I'm not scared Now I am unbreakable, it's unmistakable No one can touch me Nothing can stop me Forget the fear it's just a crutch That tries to hold you backhand turn your dreams to dust All you need to do is just trust God, I want to dream again (I want to dream again)Take me where I've never been want to go there (I want to go there)This time I'm not scared Now I am unbreakable, it's unmistakable (I am unbreakable)No one can touch me (No one can touch me)Nothing can stop me God, I want to dream again (I want to dream again)Take me where I've never been want to go there (I want to go there)This time I'm not scared Now I am unbreakable, it's unmistakable (I am unbreakable)No one can touch me (No one can touch me)Nothing can stop me"Song Chris was amazed at what he heard from Rose. The lyrics told a story, and he had a feeling that it was her story. He felt that she really wanted to know about her, and it made him feel good. Rose poured out her heart in the song.... and it was more than the lyrics. It was the emotion that poured out of her voice. When she was finished he couldn't help himself. He stood up and began to clap. He led the other people in the lounge in a rousing ovation for Rose. Then he leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. "That was incredible. The lyrics were great, and your voice is spectacular. You have so much talent," he whispered to her. He took her hand and led her toward the dining room. Their table was ready, and he was anxious to spend some time alone with Rose. He walked with her, his hand on the small of her back, as they followed the hostess to their table. When they got to the quiet table in the back, he pulled the chair out for Rose and, after she sat down, he slid it in for her. He sat across from her, smiled at her. "Who was it that hurt you Rose?" Rose felt herself let go as she sang the song, it was rather nice, and she felt so damn free. Which was why she loved to play the piano, normally she would not do it. But she felt that she could explain herself so much easier this way. And she stopped playing once the song was over, and was off in her own little world for a second. But was broken out of it and watched Greg doing what he did, and soon she watched everyone standing up and clapping for her. She blushed heavily at that moment. She was humble, and she walked over to the table with him and sat down, looking up at him, she heard his question and silently sighed. "Five years ago when I was still in high school, I had this thing for a guy and I thought he liked me to. But when we were watching a movie he wanted to have sex with me, I almost let him to. But when I went into the bathroom to take a shower first, since it had been one of those days when I was ramming around. I heard him make a phone call and on the other end he said I was an easy lay. The son of a bitch had a bet that he could be the first person I ever slept with, so I walked out of the bathroom with a towel over myself. I actually punched him and broke his nose, course I broke a knuckle at the same time. He actually hit me and I called the police on him, and he spent some time in prison. Come to find out he had a record of hitting women, so yeah it took me a whole five years to trust someone. You are the first person I opened myself up to" She said looking up into his eyes. He listened intently to her story. He wanted to know every detail. Furthermore, he wanted to know what hurt her. Furthermore, he wanted to know who hurt her. Furthermore, he wanted to see if there was anything he could do to help her. It felt so good to be with her. There was something so special about her and he hardly knew her." Rose, this guy... has he tried to contact you since he got out of prison?" Greg wanted to know this because if he was trying to do anything to her Greg would be able to help her. He wanted to make sure that she did not get hurt again. When the waitress came he told her they needed a few minutes and that he would call her over when they were ready. "Rose, your emotions just poured out there. You were wonderful and you were captivating." Rose could not help but smile a little bit it was nice to be able to talk to someone. But then again she remembered that she was talking to a lawyer here. Sitting back she enjoyed the wine and looked up into his eyes. Thinking about him and knew everything that he sighed a little bit, it was a rather nice moment. Her eyes showed a sadness, and it was a rather nice time, sighing a little bit. Enjoying the full thing. Looking around she enjoyed the environment and was rather nice, this place perfect." His name is Markus Parker, and he is up to get out, but he told me he would make me pay for what he did. Once he is out he probably would beat me to death, that is the kind of person he is you know? And only way you would be able to help me, you would have to be able to keep his ass in prison. And since I have no proof that he threatened to hurt me once out, there is nothing that you can do Greg. Unless you have a magic wand that you can use in certain cases" She smiled a little at him. Greg smiled at Rose. He had a lot more pull than Rose realized. She knew that he was a lawyer, but she had no idea about how powerful he was. He knew all the right people in all the right places. He could do an awful lot. In fact, he was already formulating a plan in his mind." Rose, I don't have a magic wand, but I am capable of getting things done. I know a lot of people on both sides of the law. You see, it is important to be able to play both sides of the fence. I am able to do things and get things done. Markus Parker will not bother you when he gets out. I am certain of that." He took a sip of his wine and he looked at Rose. He smiled at her and tried to reassure her that she was going to be okay. Furthermore, he wanted to make sure that she knew that he had her back. Furthermore, he was going to take care of her. Rose heard what he said, and it actually was surprised, and sipping her wine she looked up into his eyes and actually saw how serious he was. She actually trusted him and nodded a little bit to him. Enjoying the thought of being protected by him. It was seriously nice and had no idea what the hell she did to deserve him. But when he had given her a piece of his heart she smiled a little bit, and ran her fingers against his. It was really nice, grinning a little bit she just nodded to him, showing she believed him." What in the world did I do to deserve you Greg? Your sweet to be giving me your time, I used to think lawyers only dated each other. Yet you want to spend time with a middle class girl, when it is very obvious that you have a lot of money. Though I don't like you for that of course, some women are gold diggers. Me I just want a man to love me and to treat me, well treat me how you are treating me now" She said content and glad that he was as sweet as he was. She judged him to harshly before. HE looked at her and listened to her. "Rose, the people that are in my social circle are not real. They are people that have money, and they want to keep their money so, they associate with people that have money in hopes of making more money. I grew up with money. My father is one of the founders of the law firm I am employed by. It was determined at a young age that I would practice law. I enjoy it. I enjoy the rush I get from winning. Furthermore, I enjoy the power that I get from defending powerful people... on both sides of the law." He waited to see what her reaction would be to him saying that. "However, I have never enjoyed associating with most of the people that are in the social circle I was born into. When I saw you today in the diner there was something about you." He hesitated for a second." It had nothing to do with the fact that you had a booth and I had a table. Yea, I was a little pissed that I didn't get a booth, but that wasn't your fault. I am not sure what it was, but I couldn't take my eyes off of you. You are a beautiful woman, but it was more than that. Something told me that I had to meet you... I had to spend time with you... I had to get to know you. Furthermore, I am so happy that you agreed to come out with me tonight." Rose looked up at him as he spoke she could not help but smile, thinking about what he said and chuckled a little bit. Sipping her wine she enjoyed talking to him, she was a unique soul, and she thought she found her match in him. Crossing one leg over the other as she listened to Greg he was the kind of guy she wanted to spend time with. Which was why she agreed to go on this date with him, she looked up into his eyes and thought for a moment. Everything was just so relaxed and rather nice." My father never trusted lawyers I guess one screwed him years ago before I was even born. But dad would have liked you, he saw people the way I see people. I have a small gift of being able to gauge peoples motives for things, I can tell easily if someone lies. Dad used to call me his little lie detector. But I also see things in people you know? I can tell a person who had an easy life or a hard life. Dad liked who I liked so he would wrap his arm around you, telling you that you better treat his little girl right. Or he has a double barrel shot gun under his bed, and would hunt you down and kill you if you hurt me" She chuckled a bit. "Though I got rid of the gun I hate guns, even little hand guns. I had an uncle kill himself a few years ago was my grandfathers little thing. But I see things in you Greg it was the only reason I said yes to you today. I see a softer side then anyone sees, and I like what I have seen so far. So I guess in time we will see where this goes" She said with a soft smile on her face. Greg listened to Rose talk, and he took a sip of his wine. She seemed to be an incredible woman who was very comfortable in who she was. It was enjoyable to sit with her and listen and talk with her. He wasn't sure where they would go with this, but he knew that any time he spent with her would be good." Rose, I hope you know that I did not ask you to come out with me to hurt you in any way. I am really enjoying being with you. I enjoy the relaxed atmosphere that surrounds you and I enjoy being in that relaxed atmosphere. Maybe we should take a look at the menu. The waitress probably would like to take our order." He picked up his menu and looked at it. The food here was fantastic. No matter what was chosen it would be outstanding. He had no idea what he wanted, but he was certain he would enjoy it, because of the company that he was keeping. This was going to be a great evening. Rose smiled at him "Oh I know I am not a doll that can break, takes a lot to hurt me any way. But I believe you when you say that you wouldn't hurt me. So don't worry so much, I like who you are so far. And I have heard of your law firm, actually. Only hiring the best, people who saw a much bigger picture. I bet the way you do your job is poetic, but if you enjoy the job then I guess it's not something you don't look forward to"She saw the waiter waiting for them to order, she looked at everything and never remembered their food to be so expensive. Made sense though why her parents only ate here once, but Rose did not make a big deal about it. Her eyes did not go wide or fall out of her head, she looked over to see what he was getting. "Hmm everything looks so good, I will just have what you are ordering for yourself, I feel daring tonight" She giggled sitting back and enjoying the way Greg looked in his outfit. He laughed a little when she said that she was feeling a little daring. He smiled at her, and then he motioned for the waitress. When she approached he ordered another glass of wine for each of them, and he ordered the grilled swordfish for each of them. He thanked the waitress and then looked back to Rose. "I hope you are okay with that." He looked into Rose's eyes and thought about the people that he normally associated with and how none of them would ever be comfortable sitting at the table that Rose and Greg were seated at. They would never want to be secluded. They would rather be out in the front where everyone could see them. Their wine arrived and he thanked the waitress. He picked up his glass and took a sip. He wondered why this had been so easy. Why it felt so good. It was exciting to him. He never really enjoyed going out with the people in his social circle. It was the reason he was single and had never really had a true relationship. She smiled and heard what he asked "More than fine I love seafood" She said as she sipped her red wine and watched him. He seemed rather curious about her, she enjoyed the one on one attention from him. Rose was a very simple girl, one who wanted a simple life. Sure she was happy, but she wanted to belong to someone, perhaps get married one day have a couple children. To be able to see unconditional love in her mans eyes. Something she had not seen before, sure from her blood. But not from someone like a boyfriend, and all in all everything was just simple. Looking up at him and could not help but chuckle a bit more. "You seem more comfortable, I take it I am a simple girl and the most simple things make me happy. I always enjoyed being simple and perhaps that is what most appeals to me, but you are sweet and enjoying my time with you Greg. So here is to a nice date and hopefully see what time gives us" She said happily and silently sighed a bit. Life in his circles was always high maintenance. Nothing that he was used to was as casual and laid back as the time he was spending with Rose. When he went out with women it usually involved her making sure that everyone knew she was there and the discussion always ended up involving money in one way or another. He raised his glass to her toast. "Rose, I don't know where this will go, but I do know that I like the way that it has started. I am glad that I did not get a booth today. I am glad that I got a table right next to your booth. Furthermore, I am very happy that I got to spend my lunch staring at a beautiful woman.... even though I was trying not to get caught. Furthermore, I am extremely happy that the beautiful woman that I was staring at agreed to have dinner with me." He reached across the table and took her hand in his. He lifted it to his lips and kissed the back of it. "And I am grateful that she trusted me enough to open up to me and let me into a place that I think very few people have ever been." Rose knew better than to actually talk about work, and really she did not want to. She wanted to get to know him. Greg was a sweet guy and to her, he was generous, but figured he had been with not so generous girls. So she was just happy by what he was doing to her, her heart was beating kind of fast. She did not know what to say to him, but just said what came to mind. It was nice to be able to talk to someone you could trust, it was nice to be able to be herself and not be tossed to the side for what she thought. But then he did a rather curious thing, he took her hand and kissed it. Though it was rather sweet and she was very happy about it. Rose smiled even more showing she thought he was nice and rather sweet. Most of the time she would wonder what he wanted, but all in all she had a feeling she knew all to well what he was thinking. Or at least she thought she did. "Well I am glad that you asked me out. Never really been out on a date, never had friends or anyone in school for that matter. Rose and Greg talked through dinner, and they got to know each other better. They each shared things about themselves that had been locked away deep inside. Michael talked about how his dissatisfaction with the women that he had dated had caused him to dive deeper into his work. At one point in time during the meal Greg excused himself to use the restroom. While he was away from the table he took out his cell phone and made a phone call. He called a former client who had spent some time in prison. Greg checked to see if he still had contacts in the prison. When the former client said that he did, Greg gave him the name Markus Parker, and told him to make sure that he did not cause his new friend any problems. That would be the last time that Markus Parker's name would ever cross Greg's mind, and he was confident Rose would never have to worry about him. When he returned to the table they continued their conversation. When dinner was over Greg walked Rose back to the lounge, and he led her right out onto the dance floor. There was a slow song playing. Greg took rose's right hand in his, and he placed his right hand on her hip as the began to move to the music. Rose enjoyed the dinner and the wine, he did not have to go all out but was grateful to him that he did. It was rather nice of him to do this for a first date, she laughed when he joked. And was rather honest when he asked her questions. She enjoyed the way he spoke to her, how he looked at her. It was beyond wonderful. She was thrilled that they had met today, he was a whole new kind of lawyer. He had a soul that she knew all to well, he was the kind of man that she wanted in a boyfriend. But as they finished up the drinks and the food, she heard what he said and she nodded. Watching him get up and smiled a bit, silently sighing as she thought about everything they had done tonight. And was hoping that he would stay in contact with her, it would have made her rather sad if this was a one time deal. She tried to be interesting but never lied about a thing, she figured if he was the gentleman that she had dinner with. That this would happen again, and that would be nice. When he came back she finished the conversation, and before she knew it she was slow dancing with him, the way he moved made her feel rather happy. The music was very beautiful as well, she rested her head on his chest and sighed. "This is nice Greg, but I am curious if you don't mind me asking. How old are you? I mean age does not matter, I just mean it as a compliment because you look rather young. Some people who have law as there profession ends up aging much faster because of the stuff they go through, I am rather happy to know you It's nice to be able to be out and about with a handsome man" Greg enjoyed dancing with Rose. She moved very well, and it felt to have her close to him. This was a great way to end what he hoped would just be their first date. He guessed you would call it a date. It wasn't a business meeting. He had asked her out because he was attracted to her, and he hoped that she had accepted because she felt the same about him. When the song ended Greg stepped back and looked into her eyes. "Thank you very much for the dance. You move very well on the dance floor. Thank you for a great evening." He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "I am hoping that I will be able to see you again... at least for a second date." Rose enjoyed her time with Greg he was very sweet and sexy, she smiled a little bit when he made the comment about her dancing. "I used to take dance when I was little, I can do Irish dancing and even ballet. Hence, why I keep my body as fit as I can, so I don't lose the ability to dance. And my father taught me slow dancing. Since I never even went to my prom dad taught me how to slow dance. So I am glad I was able to do it with you" She said and blushed when he kissed her cheek and she looked at him." Sure I would like that, you know if at some time you have lunch free you can always call me" She said softly. "I have my cell with me everywhere, if it was waterproof would probably take it in the shower" She chuckled a little and leaned over kissing his cheek as well, enjoying the comfort he could give her by just being him. She was really satisfied about this date, and knew her father would honestly love him. He was a good man and her father would have seen it as well. That she knew. He felt so comfortable with her. That was the one thing that struck him the most. It wasn't like he was uncomfortable around women.....in fact he was comfortable around anyone, but there was something about Rose that felt right. He did not constantly have to be on his guard. He did not have to worry about whether there was an ulterior motive. Greg just felt like he could let his guard down and enjoy her company, which was something he did not do very often." Hmmmm.....that is an interesting image. You in the shower with your cell phone. At least you wouldn't have to worry about a dirty cell phone." He chuckled a little as he tried to move away from the fact that he said he had a mental image of her in the shower. Although, the image he had of her in the shower was a good one. When the next song started he stepped back to her, and they continued to dance. "If there is anything else you would like to do to it, please let me know." Eden was having a lovely time with Greg, she always had some issues trusting people. And it was not the job she had been worried about at first, but she was afraid of falling in love. She did not want to get hurt, because she knew someone who had gotten hurt once. And it was something that almost killed the girl. Her stormy eyes soaking up the looks he gave her, enjoying everything he was saying. And Eden knew how to play with the crowed, and actually had an idea. Looking at him, she grinned." I am having the time of my life Greg, I never wanted to get involved with anyone. Afraid of getting my heart broken, but you made me feel something that I have never felt. And its being comfortable" She reached up and kissed his cheek, music stopped, and she motioned for him to stay still, she went up to the stage and talked to someone. The guy helped her onto the stage and looked at Greg. It was time he saw a part of her no one had seen. A guy standing beside her with a mic and nodded. A piano started to play as she began to slowly sing, slowly walking to the front of the stage. Singing to the crowed but more singing to Greg than anyone, it was time to close the date with one hell of a bang. Singing with the guy on the stage was actually rather fun. She circled him as she sang some of the lyrics. She enjoyed herself a lot, the stage was farther out on one end where Greg was. So she walked up to him when she sang he was the life among the dead. How can you see into my eyes like open doors? Leading you down into my core where I’ve become so numb Without a soul my spirit's sleeping somewhere cold until you find it there and lead it back home (Wake me up)Wake me up inside(I can’t wake up)Wake me up inside (Save me)call my name and save me from the dark (Wake me up)bid my blood to run(I can’t wake up)before I come undone (Save me)save me from the nothing I’ve become now that I know what I’m without you can't just leave rebreathe into me and make me real bring me to life (Wake me up)Wake me up inside(I can’t wake up)Wake me up inside (Save me)call my name and save me from the dark (Wake me up)bid my blood to run(I can’t wake up)before I come undone (Save me)save me from the nothing I’ve become Bring me to life(I've been living a lie, there's nothing inside)Bring me to life frozen inside without your touch Without your love, darling only you are the life among the deadfall this time I can't believe I couldn't see kept in the dark, but you were there in front of me’ve been sleeping a thousand years it seems got to open my eyes to everything Without a thought, without a voice, without a souldon't let me die here there must be something more bring me to life (Wake me up)Wake me up inside(I can’t wake up)Wake me up inside (Save me)call my name and save me from the dark (Wake me up)bid my blood to run(I can’t wake up)before I come undone (Save me)save me from the nothing I’ve become (Bring me to life)I’ve been living a lie, there’s nothing inside (Bring me to life)Song Greg stood there mesmerized by what she was doing. He watched her closely as she began to sing. It was as if she was singing to him. He watched how she moved on the stage. Rose was so graceful, and she was so good to look at. He was enjoying his time with her. He was having more fun with Rosé than he could ever remember having with another person. When she finished singing he clapped for her, which led to other people in the lounge clapping. The fact that he was standing resulted in others giving Rose a standing ovation. Greg walked to the edge of the stage and reached up toward Rose. "You are incredible." She giggled as she rushed over to Greg, she honestly was happy and had no idea what else he could do to make the night even better. This night was incredible, and she enjoyed being here with him, the way she looked into his eyes. Showed something there in her eyes, curiosity on how far they would go. She looked into his eyes as she slowly leaned in, looking like she would kiss his lips. She moved to his cheek kissing it, but she showed all to well what she wanted. Furthermore, she wanted him to kiss her. But she did not know dating rules so she did not even bother, right now everything was as it should be. "I am not to sure what else you could possibly do to me, besides have hot and passionate sex" She teased but some of it wasn't a tease. Pulling away a little bit, she enjoyed the club. Unsure how much more he had, everything was as it should be she thought all in all she was happy. But the ball was in his court and right now she was having fun, the most she ever had before. Whether kissed his cheek he turned his head and caught her lips with his. He kissed her softly as he held her hand. He moved his hands to her hips and lifted her off the stage without breaking the kiss. It felt so good being with her, and her lips felt incredible pressed to his. Greg set her down on the floor and kept his hands on her hips. He broke the kiss and looked into her eyes and smiled. "So, you are looking for hot, passionate sex, huh?" He laughed as he kissed her lips once again. She was caught off when she felt his lips find there way to her, she almost froze. But closing her eyes as she let nature take over. She returned the kiss, she had no idea how to react or what to do here. But she returned the kiss that he was giving her, she was rather happy about all this. She could feel his hands going to her hips and lifting her right off the stage. She felt so free when she was with him, even if this was the first date. Furthermore, she felt something much more than that, like they had known each other for years. She chuckled "Well it was more of a joking kind of thing, I am not experienced with men" He enjoyed their lips locking onto each other. It felt so god....so natural...so perfect. He moved his hands from her hips to the small of her back. He pressed her closer to him as they kissed. She felt so good in her arms. He felt so comfortable in her company. She was a regular person, which was something that he had never experienced before. He looked at her when she mentioned never having been with a man. "Well, there may come a time when you get that opportunity. You never know. It could even be with me." She felt the way he touched her the way everything seemed to be, she smiled a little bit as everything just seemed as it should be. The way he made her feel was really nice, smiling a bit as she looked up into his eyes. Her heart beating quickly as everything seemed rather nice, and all in all everything was rather nice. Moving her head back as she groaned a bit into him, but when it parted she heard what he said and smiled a little bit, it was rather sweet of him to say what he did to her. "I like it" She said softly. Greg kissed Rose again and allowed his lips to linger for a while. He then took her hand and led her toward the elevator. When they arrived there he pushed the down button and placed his hand on the small of her back as they waited for the elevator car to arrive. He leaned over and gave her a small kiss on the cheek as they waited. It felt so good to be in her company. When the elevator car arrived they stepped in and rode the elevator to the lobby. As they exited he asked her where he could take her, since he had picked her up at the diner. He did not really want the date to end, but he also did not want to move to fast with Rose. He really liked her and wanted to make sure there would be future dates with her. A lot had happened to her tonight and the way he kissed her now made everything that much more magical for her. She had never wanted to date anyone and figured this would have been a one date only. But she saw that he really cared for her, that this was no fake front to get her in bed. No she was really happy with him and knew that he had been the same man that she was a few hours ago. He was for real, and it made her feel perfect. Rose felt happy that she was with him, and knew another date would happen. When she felt his hand on the small of her back she felt beyond happy with him, and rested her head on his shoulder through the elevator ride. And then when they headed out of the lobby she heard what he said. "You can take me home, 22 Rose Drive Street" She said to him giving him her address and smiled even more since her name was actually in the address. Part of the reason why she liked her name so much. She could tell he did not want the date to end, but it didn't have to really. Greg opened the car door for her and let Rosé get in. He then slid in next to her and gave the driver the address to Rose's home. "Pretty nice to have your street named after you. You must be even more special than I thought you are to have the city name a street after you," he smiled at her. As they rode toward her house Greg took Rose's hand in his. He really enjoyed her company. He stated to think about what he could do for a second date with her. It was amazing how he was thinking about spending more time with Rosé. Most of the women he had been going out with we're so boring that he couldn't wait to get away from them. Rose enjoyed the way the night was going, and when he made the comment on the street name. She chuckled. "No my parents lived in the same house for years, they actually just named by the street name already there" She said with a big grin on her face. Enjoying how everything was going. And frankly she knew all to well how tonight could go, it was pretty quite the ride back and looking out within ten minutes they were outside her stroking his hand and got out once the door opened for her. Looking at Greg she smiled kissing his cheek "Tonight was amazing Greg thank you" She said happily and walked to her door wishing he would pin her against the door and kiss her, to continue the night. It was a fantasy but one that she would never tell anyone, since she thought her fantasies were kinda weird. She enjoyed the way he looked at her, and was really happy about everything. It was nice to know that not everyone that had his job were dicks she was just glad that he was different. Greg exited the car and walked Rose to her door. There were so many times when he just had the driver walk the woman to her door......not tonight. Rose was different. She was special. He took her hand as they reached the door. Here kissed her softly. He wanted so much more, but he was going to be a gentleman. He did not want this to be the last time that he saw Rose. Furthermore, he wanted to spend more time with her. Rose was glad that he walked her to the door it was rather sweet of him, and when he kissed her everything just seemed to fly sparks all over the place, she was really happy and knew that everything was going to be perfect. Looking into his eyes she could see what he wanted, or at least she sensed what he wanted. Reaching up she stroked his cheek looking into his eyes, and decided to ask. "Could always come in for coffee" The way she said it, it was easy to tell it wasn't keywords for come and sleep with me, she smiled more. He smiled at Rose when she invited him inside. He had no intention of doing anything that would jeopardize where this could go. Was there a long term relationship here? Who knows? It was just a first date, but he had enjoyed himself more tonight than he had in a very long time. So, he didn't want to mess things up." I would love to have a cup of coffee with you Rose. I think it would be a great way to end an absolutely fantastic night." He smiled at her and waited for her to open the door. Then he followed her inside.....closing the door behind them. She smiled at him and nodded she removed her jacket and slipped out of her heels since her feet were killing her. "Only thing fancy with me is my coffee" She said looking at him. "I can make a mean cappuccino, then hazelnut, basically have a coffee shop in my kitchen" She said with a bright smile. She enjoyed the night he was something else, and could tell he was afraid of screwing something up. Stroking the back of her neck as she waited to see what he wanted, relaxing against the wall. "You don't need to be fancy. You just need to be you." He saw her standing against the wall looking up at him. He moved his hand to her cheek...his fingers behind her neck, and he leaned in and kissed her softly. Furthermore, he was careful not to press into her too hard. Furthermore, he was still afraid of screwing this up. That was so different for Greg. He was never in a position where he doubted what he was doing. He reeked of self-confidence. That was, until now. Something about Rose made him think about what he was doing, and he wanted to make sure that he did not offend her in any way. Smiling at him as she heard what he said, he was rather sweet to her. Watching him closely she felt his hand on her cheek and felt a warmth there. It was not just her place either, but right now it was something she was enjoying. Everything seemed so simple, and feeling his breath against her. Feeling his kiss, she closed her eyes and followed his lead. The kiss once simple now turning deeply, it felt like she had known him for years. Even if it was just a few hours, but she could see his fear." Be yourself to Greg you won't screw to night up I promise" She said softly. Here he was, the big, high profile, powerful attorney, and he was moving slowly, almost unsure of himself with Rose. What was it about her that made him feel so good, yet uncertain about himself.......like he was afraid to be too aggressive with her. Whatever it was it attracted him to her even more. They continued to kiss and Greg slid his free hand to rose's hip. He kissed her a little deeper as he moved his body a little closer to hers. He was not sure how far he was willing to press this despite what she had said, but he was enjoying having her so close. Rose felt how worried he was about his choices, but she was enjoying it. Feeling his body against her own made her enjoy this even more. Her eyes closed as she felt the kiss get even deeper, feeling his hand on her hip. She felt like she belonged to him, and it was nice, she had always wanted to belong to someone it made her feel good. Right now everything was as it should be, she wrapped her arms around him. Resting on his back as she just let him choose what he was to do. Since really she would not push. Greg loved where this date had gone. He also liked where it was going too. However; he was not going to push it. He was not going to push anything with Rose. He wanted to see where this could lead, and he was not just talking about tonight, but about the long run. He broke the kiss and looked into Rose's eyes. "I want to thank you for the nicest evening I have experienced in a long, long time. I am hoping that we can do it again....very soon." Rose enjoyed the way everything was, but when he pulled away she kinda got sad. But was able to hide it just fine, smiling a bit she heard what he said. "Any time, since you are the only person I know, any time you just call me" Rose said with a happy tone to her voice, she was that kind of girl one who would enjoy life no matter what. She reached up to his face and stroked it, showing him a loving look. It was nice to see him this way, everything was just so perfect right now it felt really nice to be here.

The Layer And The Middle Class (Closed)|rating:4.0

Escape from paradise island (IN NEED OF MORE PLAYERS!!!

Paradise Island is a lush tropical rainforest surrounded by the ocean, there is a volcano in the center of the island, and a hotel complete with swimming pool. But something went wrong the hotel is in ruins and the survivors are gathering in the main hall. They'll attempt to make it to the harbor where a single lone boat waits to carry them to safety, the same boat they arrived on. But there is a danger between the hotel and the harbor lies a vast forest, within is a village for cannibals of every species occasionally they hunt for the guests at the hotel, now not only do the survivors have to dodge the hunters and carnivorous plants but also outrun any natural disasters they encounter. The creatures are under my control as well as the many carnivorous plants, I will control what creatures you encounter if any, or if you run across any 'women of the forest'Name:Age:Sex:Cup size: (if Female)Species:Hair color:Clothes:Weapons: (if any) Name: Moho Age: 20Sex: male Species: Human Hair color: Ear length black hair with sideburns. Clothes: long cloth skirt with grass over it. Boxer underneath that. Rarely wears a shirt Weapons: none Hired as a simple entertainer and greeter, Moho was hardly in a position to do much about the sudden crisis. He was a big man and could be imposing when he wanted to be so he was one of the few who helped to keep order by guiding the people to the lobby or main hall as it was generally called. He had no idea what had happened really. Everything fine one moment and the next the hotel was a mess wherever you looked. If there had been a disaster, he guessed he was in momentary shock and couldn't focus on what actually happened. Moho: The lobby is in a state of disrepair, there are a couple of female survivors gathered together in one corner, there is a mother comforting her child near the reception desk and a single blonde haired woman looking out a broken window. The of cracks and dust falls down before you, for the moment the lobby seems to be stable. Moho was looking up at the roof of the lobby. There didn't seem to be a lot of trouble there. There weren't any beams or pipes or the like sticking out. He'd wait for the building to show more signs of having broken bones before he would try to panic the guests. He looked around to see if there was anyone he could help. A protective mother was seeing to her child. He was doing what she could and there wasn't anything he could think to do to help. The woman looking at the window could stay there. If she saw anything, she might tell them. He decided to approach the small group of women huddling in the corner. Their withdrawn state might be a problem if the roof really did start caving in. They might freeze and create a hazard to themselves. He walked before them and put on a strong face. " Are any of you hurt? Are you doing alright as far as moving around is concerned?? He asked. Moho: The girls look up at Moho then look to each other giggling, you can see one has brown hair another blonde and the third and by far cutest has red hair. They all smile at you and nod there heads "we are fine good sir" the red haired girl says a cute, adorable smile upon her face before she turns back to the rest of the group, there clothes are torn from having travelled through the hotel and the red haired girls cream-coloured butt is clearly visible. " Uh..." Moho fixates for a moment. The girls reactions surprised him and made him give them his undivided attention. That made the image of the woman's smoothly textured rear end all the more tantalizing. He complexions was so soft that he thought her butt might serve as a cute naughty pillow for a second. He didn't realize it fully, but he was staring at it." Well. If there is anything I could do, you know. Help you relax. Take your mind off things. I know I'd like to." he said dreamily. Moho: The red-headed girl turns her head to look at you, she smiled thoughtfully before her D-cup breasts jiggle for a moment, and you take the time to examine her perfect hourglass figure a smile on her face before she turned back to the group who giggle before the red haired girl moves over to you and rests her head on your shoulder "are you any good at massages?" she asks in a cute hopeful voice. " You'd better believe it. But I think we'll get a line going if we do it here. Why don't we move into the break room of to the side here." Moho raised his strong hand up the red-heads side, giving her a sample of his firm touch before pointing of to the employee lounge door. He was fairly certain it would be safe because there were no floors above that particular room, but most of all the couches would make the perfect place to give each of the fair haired, healthy chested women the once over. Moho: The red haired girl smiled happily turning to the other two girls who all giggle and move off to the employees lounge two waited outside while the red haired girl went into the lounge, when you drive she is completely naked her torn clothes o the side, and she is laying down on her front resting her head on her hands waiting for you to start the massage. " You don't waste time do you?" He teased coyly before kneeling down to the woman's shapely naked form. He didn't think she'd mind if her had a look at her. Furthermore, he let his eyes travel along her curves and her long sexy legs. His mouth felt a little wet when he was ogling the soft rises of her oh so culpable butt cheeks. He started at her neck, putting both his palms against her nape and sliding them upward, so his fingers washed down the side of her throat. He stroked the skin above her spine with his thumbs, staring at the base of her head all the way back to her shoulder blades in a cool sensuous slide. As a bit of fun, he blew a gentle breath onto the hairs in the back of her neck. Moho: The red haired girl let out a content sigh a pleased smile upon her face as she was clearly enjoying the massage and wiggled her toes slightly, she squirmed slightly feeling the breath on the back if her neck, she closed her eyes and looked as though she was ready to fall asleep. You examine every inch of her body you even get used to her mouth watering scent, you are tempted to do her there and then, but you don't. The red haired girl opens an eye "hmm you know your quite handsome for a human" you're blinking wondering what she meet, then you notice her even ears and smile after all it would explain her beauty. " OOO. I really like hearing that coming from you, looking as sexy as you and your girlfriends do. You're the cutest though." Moho stopped breath against the elf's neck and mouthed for her ears, blowing a cone of cold air all the way from her lobes to her pointy tips before letting his lower lip just brush by. His hands were in her back now, deep in her muscle and skin. He probed her smooth body for any form of tension as he raked his fingers along. He found little knots here and there and pressed his palms firmly into her back. Furthermore, he slides his hands down her sides after, toying with her spine by dancing his hand against its knuckles. Furthermore, he was just skimming her tail bone when he asked. " Are all of you elves? I wasn't exactly paying much attention to your ears." Moho: The red haired elf giggled a blush upon her face "why yes of course we are" she says in a soft voice, dust falls down nearby and some land in her hair, but she casually brushes it off a smile still on her face. The elf giggles "wow you are real good at this" she says purring slightly, something you know cat people to do more than elves but to see her do it was just as cute "mmm this feels good I could just......." she says but does not finish her sentence as the massage puts her into a soft sleep. Moho chuckles softly at the moment he realizes she's gone under. He was only slightly disappointed that she had left for La La Land. He thought she looked absolutely precious sleeping like that. Furthermore, he tenderly touched her pale face with the back oh his hands, drawing it around her cheek. He continued his massage, smoothing over her legs before he settled his hands on her butt. He let his palms cover over each bun. He flexed his fingers into her soft flesh and began to knead them, moving them apart and together in a rhythmic circle. Furthermore, he brought his head down, smelling her hair before his let his lips settle against her neck. Furthermore, he kissed her gently. Moho: The elf squirms slightly seeming to register your kiss as a blush forms on her cheeks, she smiles rolling over onto her back, you can get a good look at her body better now, her chest rising and lowering as she slept her feet twitch ever so slightly as the blonde haired elf girl moves into the room behind you silently watching her sleep over your shoulder., the blond girl leaves a pack of herbs next to her along with a small jar of honey before long though the blond girl leaves, and you notice the red haired elf roll over onto her front a smile still on her face. Moho began to see that the elf woman, in whom's case the carpet matched the curtains, was a devious little shrew. He was pretty sure he liked that about her. " Mmm. A little honey." He said, teasingly as he picked up the jar. He wasn't sure what the herbs would do so he left those alone for the moment. Furthermore, he poked his finger into the honey and tasted it. It was a sweet as anything he had ever tasted and more. He dipped his finger again, but this time brought it to the elf girls lips. He waited for her to take the bait as he steadily tipped the jar over the elf girls sloping back. A small trail of the delicious liquid climbed out and onto her skin. He let it come out along her spine, moving it all the way to her butt where he drew tiny spirals of it on each cheek and then let a little of it dribble into her crack. Moho: The elf girls nose twitched sniffing the honey on your finger her eyes opening slowly as her lips era around your finger sucking on it gently licking all the honey from it, she smiled pleasantly as she awoke looking to you "mmm honey I like honey it's my favorite food" she says smiling resting her head back on her arms facing away from you, you notice then that the blond haired elf left a brush there with you and the door to the kitchen was open the elf could be seen there smiling before she disappeared leaving the door to the kitchen open, the red haired girl giggling slightly as she had no idea what was going on. " It's slowly becoming my favorite too." Moho said as he began kissing further along the red head's back, licking up the trail of honey he had left on her. He picked up the brush before he continued. He contemplated the herbs. Furthermore, he still wasn't sure of them. Furthermore, he scooted the pack up to where 'Red' might have been able to smell them. They smelled nice to him so he wasn't afraid of offending her nose. He used the brush to spread the honey along her rounded butt cheeks. He sucked the honey off the bristles and then began to tickle her thighs with them as he gave each of her buns a small kiss. He laughed softly to see the other elves scampering about. " Your friends are really active." Moho: The elf giggled softly feeling the brush upon her butt, but she had no idea what the human was doing to her "hmm I guess they are I'm Cindy" she says sniffing the air a smile on her face as she smells the herbs "mmm those are cooking herbs" she says softly "hmm what are you doing to my butt?" " Cindy. Nice name." Her name made him think of candy and sweets. Just thinking about her name made her honey coated skin a little sweeter it seemed. He was a bit confused when she told him that the herbs were of the cooking variety. He liked things like garlic and humus, but it wouldn't come into his mind to put it on a girl. The honey was a bit of a different story. He shrugged, thinking the kink in this whole deal would show itself eventually. " HMH. I spread some of that honey all over it, and now I'm going to lick it all off. It looked so sweet, I couldn't resist." He ran his tongue along her skin, trying to retrace the spiral he had drawn earlier. Moho: Cindy gasped her eyes wide with shock, her body shook as she felt the tongue upon her butt, and it wasn't only her body that was shaking, now the whole island was shaking and things were falling over TV's smashing a large 4-inch crack appeared in the ground and a large chunk of the ceiling falls down smashing into the pair the room filled with dust. Almost immediately upon hearing the realizing that there was an earthquake, he leaped on top of Cindy to protect her. The collapsing roof hit him pretty squarely in the head and back. His mind was a bit milky after that. The dust stung his eyes and tasted awful so he closed his eyes and breathed in the small empty nook in a corner of the couch. " Cindy. Are you ok." He asked desperately. Moho: Cindy groaned her eyes open, she coupled slightly from the dust in her mouth she giggled soft as she felt the men head rest on her butt cheeks perhaps unintentional, but she didn't mind "ugh'm ok I'm ok I'm ok" she says repeatedly in shock after the earthquake "wow that was over surprisingly quick" After the whole confusing ordeal had settled through, he was able to open his eyes. His face lit up red when he realized that the 'nook' he had been breathing in was actually the little valley between Cindy's butt cheeks. He could actually taste the honey still. His tongue involuntarily slide out towards the taste, and he felt a little crinkled ring that twitched at his touch. Knowing exactly what he had just licked, he slowly brought his head out of Cindy's butt and began to look around. " That was quick. I don't really know how long earthquakes generally last though." Name: Brandon White Age: 109Sex: Cup size: N/Species: Shapeshifting Dragon Hair color: Copper Clothes: Loose white shirt, Bermuda shorts, sunglasses. Weapons: Improvised weapons. In his diatonic form, claws and bite. This version of Brand has him only able to transform into a 15-foot tall humanoid dragon...dangerous enough. As a predator, he came to the island looking for a source of magical power that was said to be here. Unfortunately the disaster struck, and his plans were cancelled. Now he seeks to get off the island. He may not have gotten what he came for, but he can certainly enjoy the Consolation Prize "snacks" (girls) here in the chaos. Once again, victims are not digested but placed in an extradimensional space through a portal in his throat and trapped in crystal. "Definitely time to get out of here," Brand said. He'd been searching though the hotel kitchen for weapons had had come up with a butcher's knife. "This place can come down at any time. Does anyone know if there's a boat still at the docks?" Moho: Cindy gasped he body shuddered with pleasure as she felt your tongue in her butt a smile on her face a she got to her feet, groaning slightly she felt her body aching with pain, and you feel the same as half of your body is trapped underneath the bit of roof theist collapsed. You groan trying to get it off and Cindy tries her best to help too. Brandon: The lobby is a mess after the earthquake there is a whole in the wall and now only the two beautiful even girls are left, and they are what catch your eye at first, the two girls turn around and stare straight at you. "Well now," he said, his attitude changing a bit. "Ladies, don't you think it's a good idea to get out of a building trying to collapse?" Brandon: The girls look to you and the black haired one runs outside but the blonde one stays and looks into the room with Moho and Cindy her back turned to you as she contemplated whether to help Moho or not. "Someone in there?" he asked. "Oh, bother." He went into the room and lifted the bits of lumber over the pair without much effort. "You have got to be kidding me," he said. "At a time like this?" He turned and left the room, following where the black-haired one had gone. Managing to not lick his lips. Moho tested all his limbs as the bit of roof was taken off of him. " Hey, don't judge me for making the best of things." He felt that nothing was actually broken, but he was still a little tender. He could walk at any rate. " Let's just get out of here and to the docks. Boat or no, we really can't stay here. We'll just have to risk the savages." Brandon: The outside is a wreck it seemed that half of the hotel had fallen down and now the five survivors including you who are outside have huddled together to discuss there course of action, you realize that no matter what would happen you would have plenty of food for a while. Moho: Cindy nodded taking your hand and leading you to the group outside from there she moves away to join the the two elves, her body still naked and covered slightly in dust and her butt was still covered with honey. You move over to the group where they are discussing there actions "we should stay here and call for help" "no, no we should head to the docks it will be safe there"There is a loud rumbling and shaking of the ground, but it is not an earthquake the rumbling sounds are coming from the volcano could the earthquake have possibly triggered volcanic activity? Brandon: The outside is a wreck it seemed that half of the hotel had fallen down and now the five survivors including you who are outside have huddled together to discuss there course of action, you realize that no matter what would happen you would have plenty of food for a while. Moho: Cindy nodded taking your hand and leading you to the group outside from there she moves away to join the the two elves, her body still naked and covered slightly in dust and her butt was still covered with honey. You move over to the group where they are discussing there actions "we should stay here and call for help" "no, no we should head to the docks it will be safe there"There is a loud rumbling and shaking of the ground, but it is not an earthquake the rumbling sounds are coming from the volcano could the earthquake have possibly triggered volcanic activity? " Wow. You know, one should really ask what they were thinking when they built a hotel here. Active volcano, maybe a fault line. I don't want to know what they're making in insurance." Moho prattled on as they ran from Any one of these trees could crush us and the natives might start getting ideas with the hotel crushed. We should go to the docks now while the natives are still recoiling. There isn't much danger from earthquakes on a beach except...oh. yeah. There might be some abnormal wave activity I think. Not good." "Then let's hurry," Brand said, adjusting his grip on the knife. There would no doubt be plenty of opportunities to pick off the better morsels...the three elves in particular. It would be nice to have the complete set---blonde, brunette, and redhead. Moho may or may not be a problem...he would have to see. "You know the island better than we do. Lead the way." Moho: The three elf girls nod in agreement, they know that if they follow the water it would lead them to the ocean, the elf girls nod and move off slowly together following a nearby stream. You watch them leave and consider following them as they leave, you look around the woman from before and the mother and child have yet to set off. Brandon: you watch the elf girls leave and lick your lips, you notice the other four have not yet left the vicinity of the hotel you see a crack in the ground but don't pay it any attention realizing it to be the result of the earlier earthquake, there is a slight tremor, and you look up watching the elf girls leave. Moho looked back towards the hotel, seeing the woman and the mother and child pair off in his peripheral vision. They had yet to move. He had a shot of conscious at the idea of simply leaving them behind. He looked over to the elf girls. Furthermore, he whimpered as he watched Cindy's honey flavored behind shrink into the distance. Furthermore, he licked his lips before turned back to the others. Furthermore, he approached the mother and child first, talking load enough for the other woman to hear. " You all need to get moving. It's not safe here. I'll show you to the docks and try to avoid the trials." "The place is going to come down," Brand roared at the lingering four. "Come on, move! This island's going to tear itself apart!" Aw, hell. He went over to the survivors and started herding them along, giving them a little push if they needed motivation. If they didn't move, he would simply head off after the elf girls. He could catch up to the elves quickly enough. Moho: the mother nods and gasps as Brandon forcefully moved them along into the forest the child scanning the surroundings with her eyes you watch as Brandon moves you on, the elf girls seemed to have gone off a different route, but you can smell a distinct flavor of honey nearby, you can either go with the other three or go after the elf girls. Brandon: you seem to have frightened the mother as she moves off into the forest quickly, there is a loud rumbling sound in the air you turn and notice billows of smoke rising from the volcano the first signs an eruption is eminent. Moho: the mother nods and gasps as Brandon forcefully moved them along into the forest the child scanning the surroundings with her eyes you watch as Brandon moves you on, the elf girls seemed to have gone off a different route, but you can smell a distinct flavor of honey nearby, you can either go with the other three or go after the elf girls. Brandon: you seem to have frightened the mother as she moves off into the forest quickly, there is a loud rumbling sound in the air you turn and notice billows of smoke rising from the volcano the first signs an eruption is eminent. Moho: the mother nods and gasps as Brandon forcefully moved them along into the forest the child scanning the surroundings with her eyes you watch as Brandon moves you on, the elf girls seemed to have gone off a different route, but you can smell a distinct flavor of honey nearby, you can either go with the other three or go after the elf girls. Brandon: you seem to have frightened the mother as she moves off into the forest quickly, there is a loud rumbling sound in the air you turn and notice billows of smoke rising from the volcano the first signs an eruption is eminent. Moho sighed. It seemed that Brandon has things generally under control, and it was unlikely the natives would give him much trouble. He consoled himself with that as he began to move from the group. " I'm going to go see about the other three. We really shouldn't be splitting up like this. I'll meet you at the boat." That would get them moving if nothing else did." We need to keep up with them," Brand said, referring to the elves. "We're all going to have to stay together to get out of this. Let's hurry." He could smell the honey scent on the even body and smirked. He could indeed find them at will. Moho: there is another loud roar, and you notice rocks flying through the air, some lands close by causing the mother and child to scream out in fear as they see the ball of fire and rush of ahead hiding beneath the roots of a tree, the mothers hands over the head of her daughter protectively. Brandon: the balls of fire could make a good distraction for you to sneak off and find the elves, of course you could do this is you wanted or you could help the others, though they seemed to have found a shelter, and you knew where the elves were pretty much. Brand took the opportunity to get separated by the fire and head off after the even trio. He grinned hungrily in anticipation as he took off after their scent. As soon as he was out of sight of the others he morphed into his other form, a fifteen-foot tall humanoid dragon with silver scales. He could cover ground much faster that way. Brandon: It doesn't take you long as you soon notice one lone elf seeming to have gotten separated from the others it is perfect as it is the naked female elf Cindy. It didn't take long for Brand to zero in on the elf girl. He crept up behind her as close as he could manage before she noticed him, ready to spring. When he got close enough, he simply reached out and scooped her up as easily as he would a kitten. Name: Trisha Age: 19Sex: Female Cup size: Species: CatgirlHair color: dark blonde, hung in a ponytail that reaches her lower back. Cat ears and tail are a light shade of gray Clothes: Wearing tan, dirty and torn A-shirt, dark blue oil stained jeans, tennis shoes, & thick rimmed glasses with a cracked left lens Weapons: none Trisha slowly regains consciousness in a hallway of the hotel. She cannot remember much, other than she was walking down the hall looking for survivors when the earth suddenly shook. The scent of blood nipping at her nostrils and the immense pain swelling in her head tell her she must have been struck on the head, possibly by falling dears." H-hello?" She calls, but is only answered by the echo of her voice in the hallway. Slowly she gets to her feet, fighting the pain in her head with every inch as she pulls herself up with the aid of a window. Trish's heart sinks when she spies the column of black smoke bellowing from the mountain."Oh, shit...." She whispers to herself, and immediately gets moving down the hall; for she knows that time is of the essence, both before the island does its impersonation of Krakatoa and before the evacuation boat, if there even is one, leaves her behind.... Still in a daze Trish rushes through the corridors of the hotel, looking for the exit." You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave!!" She muses to herself, mentally referencing Hotel Californian attempt to lighten herself up. Trisha turns a corner, and finally spots the lobby at the end of the hall. She gives a heavy sigh of relief and sprints towards the door; almost tripping over fallen rubble as she rushes across the floor of the lobby and bursting through the front door to the nightmarish scene of a paradise gone to Hell..."HELLO!" she screams into the seemingly empty area around the hotel and the surrounding tropical forest, hoping to be heard by any refugees... Name: Tina Age: 19Sex: Female Cup size: Tina would punch you in the face if you asked. Species: BunnygirlHair color: Blonde Clothes: Black tank top and red pants. Weapons: None. Tina carefully wanders through the jungle, attempting to head to the rescue boat. "Dammit, what the hell has been going on around here?" Brand tilted his head slightly, listening, then he smiled to himself. It seems I am to have an embarrassment of riches, he thought." I thought I smelled elf," he asked Cindy, keeping his voice at a low growl. "Where are the others? Separating is dangerous." Not hearing anyone sends a cold fear through Trish's skull"Maybe they've been evacuated already..." She thinks aloud as she walks into the once pristine front yard of the Hotel; still keeping a weary eye for anyone or anything. Cautiously Trish enters the thick underbrush of the jungle, ears perked to any sign of life." Hello! Anybody out there?!" Trish screams again, this time with her hands cupped over her mouth to increase the range of her voice. Seconds pass and still no answer but the frantic calls of the wildlife which sounds to be in a similar state of panic as her." I don't want to die here..." Trish whimpers as she makes her way through the thick plant life, wishing she had taken the time to find a path through the jungle instead of painstakingly maneuvering through the jungle... Trisha: As you push your way through the forest a vine wraps around your ankles, tripping you up and making you fall flat on your face, you look behind and see the plan that has caught you to your misfortune it is a sack vine that has ensnared you. Tina: leaves fall on your head, and you hear footsteps close by it is clear that something is getting close to you, and maybe it isn't friendly, or maybe it is.......do you real want to find out? Brandon: Cindy whimpers in your grip opening her mouth to answer but all that does out is a silent meet, you are unsure what to do as she appears to be the only elf here though that ass of hers does look inviting and tasty. Brand shrugged. Tracking the others would be easy enough. As much as he wanted to draw this out, there were others to catch." Very well. Best to get you to someplace safe." He raised her up, tilted his head back, and opened his mouth. He lowered her into his mouth headfirst, his warm, slick tongue dancing over her body. Suddenly Trisha slams the ground hard enough to bounce her glasses over her face, but not hard enough to make them fly off her head. She looks back to see what she's tripped over, only to see her feet bound in thick green vines. She watches in awe as the blurred vines seem to coil themselves tighter around her ankles." What the hell?!" She shrieks and attempts to pull herself free of the vine's grip. Her attempts are futile, for the vines begin to pull her across the ground. It is then that she recognizes the blurry shape of the Sack vine from the text books she'd read in school. Trisha never though she'd ever get to see one, and now wishes she hadn't." Help!" She screams as the strong vines pull her closer and closer. Frantically her arms flail to and fro, searching for something, anything, to grab onto. Luck shines upon her when her hand strikes something; defiantly wood, perhaps a sapling tree by the rough bark. Either way Trisha grabs onto the tree and wraps her arms tight against the improvised anchor as the tugging vines continue to pull at her legs." Somebody Help Me!" She screams again, unsure how long the tree, or the strength in her arms, would last against the strength of the Sack vine.... As Tina heard someone coming she quickly hid behind a tree and looked around it, wary of whatever it may be. (Hope nobody minds if I complete Brand's action.) Cindy, despite her struggles, rapidly disappeared into Brand's mouth to reappear briefly as a wriggling lump in his throat descending into his trunk. He swallowed again and the red-haired elf disappeared entirely. Well, she was tasty, Brand thought, looking around. The others should be nearby...what's this? He paused, listening. Someone was nearby...and it sounded like a call for help. A lovely, feminine sound. And close by. The scent of the elves was so tantalizing...but he couldn't bring himself to ignore a plea for help that wasn't caused by himself. He sighed. It might end up him simply swiping something else's lunch as his own, but what the hey. He was greedy that way. (Bump, anyone?) ((I assumed I had to Wait for Giantess Fan. If you want, I could RP with you since Giantess seems to not be posting right now.)) (I was waiting form_books to catch up)Brandon: You can feel how Cindy squirms in your stomach, it is relaxing to feel her struggle, but you can't wait, you can not hold back if there is someone in danger you know you must help them. Trisha: you feel as the maw of the sack vine travels over your feet and soon find yourself up to your hips within the plants sack and though you struggle it only seems to help the plant get you in better. Tina: you hear movement nearby and feel as two female hands rest upon your shoulders and a soft feminine giggle behind you, you can see that is one of the elves.*DISASTER WARNING* the volcano is about to erupt. Tina spun around quickly, prepared to fight for her life as she realized the other creature was just a female elf. "Gas, you can't sneak up on people while there is a crisis going on! What is wrong with you, I thought I was about to be eaten!" Tina said, angry. As Brand ran towards the sound of the pleas for help, he felt Cindy vanish into the other space where he kept his victims. Even now she was being encased in crystal and dropped into suspended animation. He knew it was complete when he felt the subtle spike in his magical power. Brand exploded into the clearing, taking in the scene at a glance. The Batgirl was already halfway into the thing's voracious body. He couldn't simply blast the thing with fire without hurting her. The dragon tore at the vine, slashing viciously at the base of the plant with his claws." Hang on just a little longer!" he said as he attacked the wretched plant. How dare it eats a pretty, potential meal of his! Trisha could feel the plant work it's way up her legs and past her hips. She shut her eyes tight, not wanting to see what was to come (not that she could see very well anyway without her glasses). It was when all hope was nearly lost, and the thought of just letting go at it's peak when a voice sliced through her panic and despair like a razor blade. Hope replaced despair, and she said one word: "Hurry!" Still Trisha kept her eyes shut, but she tightened her grip upon the tree, knowing that she may not be down and out just yet... Brand hacked and slashed, tearing at the vines with his fists and even gnawing at the stalk. The instant he was able to get a glimpse of the root he blasted it with a narrow tongue of intense flame." Just die, you have overgrown eggplant!" Tina: This does not seem to bother the elf as she merely grins and wraps her arms around you, not in a hostile way but rather in a loving way before she locks lips with you, kissing you ever so delicate. Trisha: The plant jolted and shook violently the sack that encased you increased its effort as it now managed to get you up to you breasts and then it final closed above your head, then to add more annoyance the plant began to sink into the ground with you encased within it's sack your figure shown perfectly. Brandon: You hear explosive sounds coming from the volcano, and you see rocks hurtling down around you and then one hit's you squarely upon the head you roar in frustration as a second ball of molten lava hits your head, then it all goes black for you. Trisha screamed as the plant's maw effortlessly slipped over her head, almost sealing her in the hot, sticky tomb if not for her grip on the tree, which had begun to loosen as the plant began to sink into the ground." Whoever you are, please hurry..." Trisha whispers in the dark confines of the plant. She knows he is her only hope at this point, and can only pray that whoever had told her to hang on could stop the Sack Vine from making a meal of her... Brand groaned as he began to regain his senses. He opened his eyes and looked around for the Batgirl and the wretched plant, forcing them to focus... Tina stood in shock and surprise as the girl kissed her. She then shoved her away and backed up. "W-What the hell are you doing?! W-We don't have time for this, a volcano is erupting right now, and you want to MAKE OUT WITH ME?!" Tina shouted. "Come on, we have to get out of here!" She said, grabbing the elf and dragging her in the direction she thought the boat was in. Brand saw where the Sack Vine had retreated. Refusing to be beaten by a mindless plant, he began to dig. That Batgirl was his, by the gods... (Bump? Or am I wasting my time?) (No, if I may join)Name: John Species: Human Sex: Male Hair: Black jar head cut Clothes: He wears marine jungle camo pants and green muscle shirt. Weapons: 6 diamond tipped double-headed throwing axes, a diamond tipped double-headed Michigan axe, a diamond tipped double belted chainsaw, a Katina, grenades, mp5, and a Mac 10 Ingram. John had just arrived at the scene where a dragon was tearing up a plant to save a woman. That did not sit well with him considering dragons usually ate people. He dropped from on high on the dragon with a downward chop of his Michigan axe burying it deep in the dragons back. He then had his double belted chainsaw out and started it right up. Furthermore, he cut deep into the ground going for the plants roots and in a second or 2 he reached them totally cutting the part swallowing the girl from the rest of it. John dropped the chainsaw and took out his Katina cutting away at the part of the plant that had been eating the girl and took her out of it. ((Brand rose to his full ten-foot height, pulling the axe from his back with an angry wrench. If it had hit a few inches higher he might have lost function of a wing." You had better have a good explanation for this attack, mortal," he rumbled. "Or I'm likely to take that personally." The heat was building in his throat, ready for a chance to unleash fire death. ((Ok I'll slow it down, but the chainsaw is double bladed and diamond tipped. That will chew through most anything in seconds.)) Havoc had the girl in his arms when he heard his axe being token out of the dragon. He set the girl down up against a tree then turned around to face the dragon. He then held out his hand and his Katina that he dropped returned to his grasp. Havoc rhetoric asked "Do you know what I like about being a government experiment? I have 2 fields of vision. One is the regular field of vision and the other is thermal vision so don't think about using your fire, or I will have to bust out my Katina's special power. But to answer your original question; The reason for the attack was to save this female. Now if you don't mind I need to keep us all from being roasted by a volcano." Havoc holds out his other hand in a fist and in his fist is a red button. He presses it and the side away from the boat landing and most of the people in the forest, blew up leaving a hole that the pressure and magma flow out. From their side of the volcano, only the explosion and the re-activation of the volcano were visible." Are you mad?" he demanded. "You attack me without cause, and then you ignite the mountain again? That girl is far safer with me than she will ever be with you! Now we all have to move even faster...volcanoes are more than mere lava!" "Oh I agree... I am mad, crazy, and totally insane, but I am not stupid. I blocked the top of the volcano by making it cave in, and the only way out is through the hole I made. As for the girl she is by far safer with me because I won't eat her on a whim." Havoc finished sarcastic. "Now If it makes you feel better I made this special wound cleaning, faster healing solution ever created. It will heal your wound up nicely, if you want some I mean." "The wound is already closing, and there are more people who need help," Brand said. "And don't try to act as though you know what's in my head or what I mean to do. You don't. Time to get out of here." And he'd get that Batgirl from him...sooner or later... '"Oh that's right dragons are notoriously fast healers. Well with this stuff It's just as good as being a dragon. Ok so your right I don't know what you're thinking, but sooner or later you will have to eat and humans, or half humans for that matter, will be the most ready available for you. So don't think for one second that I don't have my eye on you. For now though I need your help to get as many people as we can to the boat landing in one piece." He replied. "Good enough," Brand said. "I'd heard some voices this way before the plant attacked her." And you're going to get dumped into a lava pool the first chance I get... He led the way from the clearing, shoving fallen trees and brush aside as he went. (I like your characters thought blurbs they are funny to me. But you do realize that the lava is flowing totally away from us right?) As the dragon moved off Havoc shouted after him "Hey wait....dang it." He gathered his gear, the Batgirl, and followed after the dragon. After he caught up with him, Havoc, asked the dragon "What is your name, so I don't have to call you 'Dragon' all the time." (Volcanic activity isn't limited to the volcano crater itself, especially if the island is in danger of coming apart...which this is. And there are more threats than mere lava. Volcanic eruptions are multiple-opportunity threats.)" Whitebrand," he answered gruffly. "There were three elves that I know of, a woman and her child, and a member of the hotel staff. There might be others yet." ((Well yes I know that there are things like earthquakes, but those are nothing compared to a pyroclastic flow which I prevented from happening. Don't bring up vents because my guy has located them and knows which way the magma will flow if it comes out of anyone of them. I also know that an earthquake could open a new vent or a big crack on the island.))" Ok, White brand, do you have a list and pictures of the people that were in the hotel or what. Anyway you said 'elves' right?" Hoc asked. "I said elves," Brand said, nodding his huge head. "Three of them. And I was just a tourist along with the others. There are no pictures beyond any they might have taken, and their cameras are with their luggage back at the hotel...which is kindling by now." Brand sniffed at the air. The scents were confusing with the volcanic activity and all, but he hopes he could pick up the trail of the others soon enough." I can't believe we got separated so fast." Havoc nodded his head and responded "Ok, so that makes 5 mission objectives so far. Oh, I can believe it because they aren't military like me." Name: Usage: ??? Sex: Male Species: Maintain color: N/Clothes: Puffy white pants which flare out around his legs. They're held at the top by a black belt with a golden central piece. The golden buckle is marked with a large symbol resembling a cursive M. On each of the childish creature's wrists is a black band with a golden trim at its edges. Weapons: Natural abilities (Nowhere near canon to keep it fair. Basically just a strong child-martial artist who can turn people into candy and blob more them.) Brand growled with irritation at the man's conceit. Do I mention my twenty years of training under some of the best fighters, scholars, and adventurers of the mortal world? No...let him bask in his hubris for now...and see how his military background helped him against the other natural disasters that were surely on their way." This way," Brand said, spotting a familiar tree-and-rock formation. "The woman and her little girl were this way." Name: Reiko Age: 20Sex: Female, permanently heavily pregnant Cup size: DD Species: Human Hair color: black Clothes: a black bikini Reiko wandered the forest. She had no idea what was going on. Havoc stopped dead hearing the growl. "You just growled at me" he said incredulously. "Stop, just stop. If there is something wrong then pleases say if because I need to know if I can trust you." Brand stared at him for a moment." Your confidence is admirable," Brand said. "Your pride is not. Your quality will be tested, soldier, though not be me." As for trust...it seems to me I am the one who you need to earn the trust of since it was you who buried your weapon in my back."(We seem to have more press than we do prey. Is this thread dead?) "Well then that's what I'm trying to do is trying to build that trust between us. I'll give you 3 reasons why you can trust me now. First; I couldn't tell who you were at first and my actions are dictated by the saying 'Shoot first, ask questions later.' Second; Now that I know who you are my concern is getting you and all the others to that boat landing safely. Third; You can't get off this island without me." Havoc said Holding up the number of fingers for each point for emphasis.(Except for you and me there are no other regulars on this thread.) (bump) Reiko sighed. She thought she heard people and called out for help. Brand glared. He had no intention of trusting someone who "shot first and asked questions later." Before he could retort he heard a call for help. A female call for help." This way!" he said, and without hesitation he plowed through the jungle towards the voice. Havoc matched his glare until he heard the call for help and followed after White brand when he went plowing ahead.

Escape from paradise island (IN NEED OF MORE PLAYERS!!!|rating:2.0

mom and daughter's new lives. (puppet and itsbeenfun)

The two slavers watched the house until the lights went out. Giving time for the women to go to sleep or at least get in bed they would eventually go to the house all dressed in black their van across the street. The two women were picked out for a purpose. They were of course beautiful. The mother had a profession but not all that important in the grand scheme of things. She was a chef who was well known in the area but would not be missed. The daughter was just out of high school and could be taught anything necessary for someone who would pay for her. The slaver's friends did not want dumb sluts. They were looking for women who could hold their own in public when speaking and in private would be desirable in anyone's bed or dungeon. Going into the house they knew somewhat where the bedrooms were of the women. They each had a track gun that would paralyze the women for an hour making them fully aware what was happening to them but unable to move or speak. It would last for an hour more than enough time to move them out of the house and onto their new lives. Both men were in their early 30s and in excellent shape. They had been doing this for years and would be in and out in under 15 minutes. All was quiet in the AHN household. Miranda's husband was away on business back in Vietnam while she was at home working at her restaurant and caring for her step-daughter, Sharon. The family lived in harmony for the most part, besides the fact that both Miranda and her husband, Hair, both ran very different but busy lives. They met when Miranda went abroad to travel the world when she was a bit younger and working in her modern, chic restaurant. The two hit it off and eventually married, bringing along Hair's daughter from a past marriage. While Sharon had been a bit resistant to Miranda as her mother, the two developed a sense of harmony and learned to co-exist with each other. Now, Miranda had helped her throughout high school and Sharon was looking forward to starting college in a few weeks. That particular night, Miranda in her bedroom, looking over the paperwork for the restaurant and Sharon was in her room listening to music. Both were completely oblivious to what would soon be happening to them... The two men worked their way quietly through the dark house until they were outside the women's bedrooms. The leader took out his track gun as did the other man. With A backpack on his back the leader picked up his fingers and counted to three. Both men crashed through the doors startling the women. The leader saw Miranda looking over her papers as he came in. The track dart hit her in the back of the shoulder as she had her back to him when he came in. Within 30 seconds the track would paralyze her body at which point the man would make sure the woman did not fall and hurt herself on the ground. In Sharon's room the other man opened the door and saw the young lady. His track hit her square in the chest and again the man made sure the young woman did not fall to the ground and hurt herself. Once secured Sharon was carried into her mother's room, and they were both dropped on the king-sized bed side by side."good work." the leader said to the other, "go get the box I will secure them. It all happened so fast. Within seconds, the peace and quiet in the home was ruined by a startling crash as the figures broke their way into the rooms. There was no time to react, especially for Miranda. Before she could even turn her back to the door to see what has happening, she was hit with the dart. The woman stumbled, trying to stand get help but suddenly felt dizzy and woozy. She tried to scream, but she found herself unable to before she began to fall! The man who had shot her with the dart caught her before she hit the ground. Miranda was placed onto the bed. There was a terrible feeling building within her for she could not move nor speak. Meanwhile, her daughter received the same treatment, except the dart hit her in the chest. She managed to get a few screams in before the effects of the dart began to take over. She soon began to drop as well and nearly hit her head on the footboard of her bed before the man caught her. The girl was trying to scream as much as she could, but found herself unable to. The man picked Sharon up and took her to her mother's room before they tossed her onto the bed. She wanted to turn to her mom and beg her for help, but she saw they were both in the same position. She wasn't even to face her as they lay motionless in the bed. Sharon was wearing a tank top, braless and in sweatpants while Miranda was still wearing her blouse from the day and the bra underneath it with her slacks. Now that the two were subdued it was time to have some fun. The men would fuck them if they had time, but that was not their purpose. They were sure the future sluts would think it as they were prepared, but the slavers were there for their money and then move onto the next victim."lets look at the daughter first eh mom?" as he took out some safety scissors out of his backpack and cut away her tank top and sweats as well as her panties. "No bra good you are used to not wearing one." he smirked turning her over and taking a zipper tie and tying her wrists together. He then squeezed her ass and smiled, "good for fucking bitch." leaving her on her side. Now he turned his attention to the mother and quickly removed her cloths in the same way leaving the scraps on the bed. He turned her over and tied her wrists as well then turned her face up to look into her eyes squeezing her right breast roughly, "if I had time whore your cunt would be a nice distraction" as the second man brought in a plastic box lined with foam. The leader picked up the mother and put her down in the box face up looking into her eyes knowing she would be gone soon. He then took an expensive bullet vibe that could only be removed with someone's fingers and put it into the poor mother. The battery would last for hours long after the drug wore off and shortly after she would reach her destination. Spreading her legs some to make room as the box was not her full body length but wider than her body from the waste down. The other man picked up Sharon and now put her in the box face down, so her cunt was over her mother's face placing her bullet vibe in her cunt. Sharon's face was put over Miranda's cunt effectively making them 69 each other. Closing the soundproof box that would have an oxygen tank attached to it so they could breathe the leader locked it and the two picked it up taking it to their van. 20 minutes later the box was taken to a private runway and put onto a small jet. The slaver tapped the box as it was put onto the plane, "good luck in your new lives." he laughed. Shortly after the plane took off and for the next six hours the women would travel to their new home for now. The tracks would wear off five hours before they landed. Both of the women were terrified of what was happening. They wanted to get a good look at the men that had done this to them, but it was nearly impossible since they could not move their heads. On occasion, they could catch glimpses of them, but in their current state they were unable to. Sharon's face got red, and her heart began to pump faster as she heard the man said she would go first. She had no idea what he meant by that, but it was definitely something she didn't want to find out. Unfortunately, she did as he began to snip away at her clothes. Her face was burning red now from shame and degradation before he flipped her over and squeezed her before making a lewd comment. There were some tears in her eyes as the words sank in about what he said about her ass. Thankfully, he just zip tied her hands behind her instead of doing anything else. Miranda went through a similar ordeal. Although it took a bit longer with her since there were more layers of clothing to get through. As her lovely breast was roughly squeezed, her own heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest as he spoke. Within a couple of minutes, Miranda was moved before being placed in a box. Her own heart was beating rapidly, the terrifying feeling of claustrophobia also hitting her. Internally, she gasped when he slipped that vibrator in her. It made her legs shudder, but it drove her insane as she was unable to get out. Soon, her stepdaughter was dumped onto her unceremoniously, with her pussy nearly on top of her and her own against Sharon's face. It was humiliating for both them as Sharon also squealed internally. The box was sealed, and they were left in total darkness. The next few hours were torture. The effects of the darts wore and both of the women began to kick and scream as best as they could. They talked between the two of them, seeing if there was a way out, but there was none. All the while, they each shuddered as the vibes inside of them were driving them insane. Although humiliated, the two were trying to see if they could get out, but there was nothing they could do. The rest of their transport time was spent in agony and sleep deprivation as they flew to their unknown destination. Once the women had reached their destinations the box was opened. Sharon taken out first in a white tiled room with no furniture in it made to kneel on the floor her hands behind her back as two strong men sat her down. Miranda now removed the same way placed next to her stepdaughter. The room light reflecting off the walls would take a while for the women to get used too unable to cover their own eyes. Once the focused they would see the two large men step aside and in front of them would be an average size man in a gray suit and a woman in a black leather bodysuit with a metal rod with two prongs sticking out of the end. The man was about 5-10, 200 pounds with black curly hair and blue eyes. The woman was near his height in her heels and perfect body fit snugly in her suit. The gray suited man stepped in front of them, "I am your master and this is your mistress. You will not speak unless asked a question. If you do not follow these instructions you will be punished do you understand sluts?" The two had lost track of time by the time that the lid of the box opened up. Although they were revealed to be out of the box, there was a strong sense of panic when Sharon was pulled out. The beautiful Asian teen struggled and yelped in fear until they sat her down. The bright light was blinding and staggering to her. Her mother was pulled out next and both women were scared and begging to be released. When they saw the man and woman standing in front of them, both were terrified, especially by that rod that the woman held in her hands. When they explained to them that they were their master and mistress, they were both extremely confused. There were so many threatening things in the room, that they both wanted to run, but at the same time they were too scared. The mother and stepdaughter glanced at each other as they nervously shook their heads at the commands. As this was happening the two men who had kidnapped the two women had returned long ago to plant the evidence in the house that would incriminate the father and husband of the two victims for their disappearance. No hope as the two men hacked his home computer and put the plans in for their deaths hidden away where a tipped off cop would find it later in the week. The man smiled down at the two glad they were compliant. "Mistress is going to remove your ties and let your circulation return to your hands. If you do anything you will be punished." as the woman got behind them with a knife and cut away the ties. The two of them circled the women and nodded to the two men in the room, "tell the slavers we will take them. The money will be put into their accounts in the morning." the man in the suit told the two goons. He then looked at mistress, "get them cleaned up and ready for dinner." he smirked. "I do love entertainment for dinner." The woman stepped behind them and cut their ties as promised. Both of them, naked and afraid, smoothed their wrists over as they shivered from both exposure and fear. There was a certain sense of judgment and fear as they were observed by the man and woman who claimed to be their new owner. The terrifying revelation that they were taken by slavers confirming their most horrendous fear. Sharon started to a cry a bit, but not much. A few tears streaming down her face before they were instructed to be cleaned and ready. Neither of them had any idea of what that meant and that was something that terrified them even more. Perhaps it was the man's smirk that made them the most uneasy. The man left through what looked like a seamless door and let the mistress do her job. The woman picked up her rod and circled the women again. "Congratulations sluts you were just saved from being sent to a whore house in South America to live out the rest of your lives." She stopped in front of them and pointed to a door on the other side of the room, "through that door is a shower with one bar of soap. You are to bathe each other and not touch yourselves in any way. You are also to take out each other's vibe. Furthermore, you are to clean each other thoroughly, breasts, ass, cunt included. I will be watching a screen that is attached to the video feed from the camera in the shower. If you disobey any of these orders." she smiled and put the rod to Miranda's thigh and released the trigger for a small shock so they understood."now crawl to the door and do not stand until you are inside." she said an evil smile on her face. All of what was happening was becoming more and more unreal and odd. The women weren't nuns, but all of this sounded degrading and mortifying, but any thoughts of doubt were soon cut off when the Mistress shocked Miranda with that metal rod. Miranda yelped, not having expected her to do that and almost falling in the process. Sharon was unsure of what to do, but seeing her mother start to crawl made her not question it. The two beautiful women crawled over to the shower. Once they were in the shower, they both stood up. They were terrified of speaking for fear that something terrible would happen to the two of them. It was clear that Sharon was more terrified than her mother, at least physically. Miranda was a woman of strong character and didn't show much fear, so when it took to get started, Miranda approached her stepdaughter. The mother looked away as she reached into her stepdaughter's tight folds and slowly pulled out the vibe. Sharon gasped and shuddered as she did so, and she felt so dirty and shamed. Her mother stood up, expecting the same, but it took Sharon a little longer for her to get the courage to pull out the vibe. Miranda also gasped when she did it. Once that was done, the water of the shower began to run. Miranda took the lead again, still frightened but doing as she was told. She used the bar of soap to wash and clean her daughter, even in the shameful area like her pussy and ass. Once again, there was more hesitation from the teenager, but she managed to do the same. Soon, both were clean as they stood there shivering from the cold and nipples. The redheaded mistress walked in once they two were done and smiled, "good girls now we need to get you ready for dinner." she smiled and again pointed at a door opposite the one they entered. "Crawl sluts." as she followed them through the door that was opened by a man waiting on the other side. Inside the room was a wardrobe of slutty outfits as well as two vanities, one full size bed, a wash bowl similar to ones in a beauty parlor, and a toilet. "If you need to relieve yourself do so. I want the young cunt." as she took Sharon's arm, "to be in pigtails after her hair is washed." pointing to a sink. "Your mother will wash it." She paused and looked at Miranda, "you in a ponytail after the cunt washes your hair. We will chat as you wash your daughter's hair." As Miranda washed Sharon's hair the woman started to ask some questions, "have you had all three holes used slut? How does it feel to be unemployed? When your husband is in jail for your disappearance do you think he will think of you or how to get out of prison first?" she laughed some speaking about their past lives like they would never return to them. Once it was Miranda's turn to wash her mother's hair the questions went to her, "did you sleep with your former boyfriend? What was his name? How long do you think it will take him go get over you?" The two nervous one looked at each other before dropping onto their hands and knees again. Once more, they felt like nothing more than animals as they were made to crawl in silence to the next room. It looks like some odd, perverted bedroom that served as a dressing room at the same time. They weren't sure what this was for, but soon the Mistress gave a command that this is where they would change and get ready. Sharon blushed in embarrassment at the woman's comment, calling her young cunt instead of like a human with a name. Miranda was too scared to anger this powerful woman, so she almost dragged Sharon to the sink where she began to was her hair. The mistress asked a few questions, all equally embarrassing and depressing. Miranda spooks with a shaky voice, "Yes, I have...." she admitted in front of her daughter. "I. I don't know... I don't like it here." she said, in fear. "No, they won't do that..... Hien will rescue us." she said, with a small sense of hope. Once they switched, Sharon was visibly shaking as she washed her mother's hair. Clearly, the girl was in more fear than her mother was. "I... I did..." she also said with shame as her mother listened..." His name was Trevor...but....but I don't know how long..." she said, unable to accept that this was their new, permanent fate. The redheaded mistress smiled an evil smile as her eyes danced with lust in her head. "It's good to know you have enjoyed your three holes with other men. Or did you only have sex with your present husband?" she smirked knowing that Miranda was Hair's second wife."you don't like it here? Your needs are not primary here slut ours our. You will be trained to be a slave, and hopefully you will accept it and eventually enjoy it. As far as your husband rescuing you? He is going to be in jail in a week for your disappearance with no way to know even what country you are in. He will have his own problems including the doubt he would about you setting him up." She watched the mother wash Sharon's hair and then switch. Listening to the child the mistress laughed, "well at least he had your cunt a few times. Nice and tight with your tits bouncing. The nice thing about Asians is how young they look compared to their real age." as she watched Sharon put her hair in pigtails making her look even younger. Mistress picked out some outfits for the sluts that looked similar to these. For the mother this was picked out with hoops on the side by her tits. Made to wear it with no bra or panties showing off her tits and cunt for the dinner. Miranda had two cuffs put on her hands attached to the hoops by her tits so she would not be able to use them. A leather posture collar put on her so she could not move her neck. A sight for later when mother and daughter would have to perform for master. Mother's ponytail make her look very sexy and would make it impossible for her to cover her tits with her hair. Sharon was given a white baby doll that hid little. White G-string that just covered the young ladies slit. Mistress took a pair of white cuffs around the wrists of the daughter behind her back again so she could not use them. A thin white collar so she could move her head. The mistress petted Sharon and turned her face her. "You will be fucked many times before we sell you little slut. Be ready to get used to it." Taking two leashes and putting them on the women and picking up her cattle prod she stepped between the two, "heel" and walked just in front of them leading them to a dining room letting them walk seeing their hands were of no use to them. The redheaded mistress continued to speak, and her words continued to scare both of the women. Was her threat to her husband/father real? Would they really be doing something to him? They both loved Hair and this would be terrible for both their escape and his life. Sharon flinched a little as the mistress approached her and put her hair in pigtails, making the beautiful girl look even more innocent. Sharon was dressed in that white baby doll, which contrasted well with her tan skin, but the girl felt so exposed. The outfit that was given to her focused on exposing her taut, young midriff that petite yet plump, round ass she had. Meanwhile, Miranda is dressed in a more debauchery way. The lingerie they give her completely exposes her well-endowed chest, allowing all who wish to see a great view of them. However, the binds that they put on her made it especially difficult for her to move. The posture collar forced her to look in one direction and was unable to move her neck. As she finished cuffing them, Sharon seemed especially nervous when the redheaded Mistress whispered what would happen to her. Sharon was given more movement for her head, but it didn't help to make her feel better at the ordeal. Both were scared to argue with the woman, so they quietly allowed themselves to be led into the dining room. The hearts on both of them beating away... The dining room was quite large as the master sat at the table looking at the two women now dressed in a robe. "Very nice my dear the two will bring a good price." The mistress circled in front of them after taking off their leashes and then sat next to the master. The master looked at the cunts, "now I am sure you have questions, and they will be answered but for now I need some entertainment. You two are to kiss like you are long-lost lovers. I want both of you wet before my dinner is finished, so I suggest the two of you grind on each other and figure out other ways to get each other ready. By the way did either of you cum in the box on each other's face? We do have a recording of your voices inside the box so it is best not to lie." The three of them arrive at the large and lavish dining room. The mistress took off their leashes before walking over to the table and sitting next to the Master. The two women before them were nervous and Sharon was still visibly shaking. Both of their eyes opened widely as they were ordered to kiss. Even though they weren't related by blood, it was still something so taboo and just the nature of everything that had happened was overwhelming. The two nervously stared at each other, before Sharon meekly spoke." I... I did..." admitted the teen, whose body was still so sensitive that she had little control over it. The mother remained silent, having been too worried to let the vibe give her an orgasm. There was some silence between the two, each afraid to be the first to act. The redheaded mistress had the prod on the table and after starting at it, Miranda turned to her step-daughter. They looked at each other, an unspoken message sent that they needed to survive this. Miranda took control, leaning in and kissing Sharon, letting their soft lips meet with one another. Sharon responded, trying to imitate what she'd seen in movies so that the Master would get what he wanted. It seemed real enough, but the seriousness of the situation not missed by their cuffed hands. "Oh very good sluts. Notice how the mother takes control even though she can not move her neck. I love how the daughter makes sure she moves her lips on the older bitch." Master said Mistress smiled and nodded, "So the little bitch came on her mother's face. How did it taste mother slut?" As this was going on a woman that was well-endowed walked into the dining room in a mask that had just two eye slits. Her hair in a ponytail coming out the back and two slits so she could breathe and no opening for her mouth. Attached to her tits was a tray with the food for the dinner with two clamps and the woman holding it with her hands. She walked over and served the food making sure it was put properly in both places. She then left without a word from master or mistress for her duty well done. The two beautiful women continued to kiss. Breaking their kisses occasionally to see if it was enough, but then they realized that he really did mean for them to do this for the rest of his dinner. Nervously, they continued to kiss. Miranda's upper body was distorted a bit as she angled herself to kiss her daughter. The two tried to passionately make out, trying to save themselves while the Master and mistress had their dinner casually. Once dinner was over the master smiled as they enjoyed the show, "Check if either of them is wet my dear." Mistress walked over and told the two to stop and inspected their pussies with her fingers as she held her rod in her other hand. She turned to answer the master and told him the truth. Master took the information and laughed, "now for the dessert. You both will tell me how they will please me tonight. Consider it an auction. The best answer will be with me the loser will be with mistress. You can of course go back and forth until I decide to end the game. If you refuse to play or forfeit to protect the other from mistress you will do just the opposite. The person you are trying to protect with be hers and I will have you in my bed." He took out a coin and flipped it. "The young bitch may go first." The Mistress walked over to them, startling both of them. Both shuddered as she ran her fingers through their slits. Neither of them were really wet right now. Fear had a habit of prohibiting things like that from happening, but Sharon had shown some signs of it. After that, they received the ultimatum that would put the two against each other. Although they didn't know much about either of them. It was kind of clear that the Mistress was the more dangerous one. Sharon was chosen first to speak. She turned to her step-mother before facing the Master. "I... I'm younger, and can do whatever you want..." she said, blushing in shame as she couldn't believe that she had to choose between being taken by a monster or a slightly less vile monster. "My body is tighter and." stammered the teenager. She clearly wasn't having an easy time doing this. "I can try my best to make sure you're completely satisfied, she said innocently in her pigtails. Miranda had her turn, she took a more direct approach. "She might be younger than me, but I'm more experienced. I can suck your cock much better than her and I already know how to fuck." Miranda said, throwing her stepdaughter under the bus. The master laughed some and nodded to the mistress. She proceeded to shock the two for the next two minutes going back and forth hitting their exposed flesh. Once done he let the two recover and explained the game again. "Kneel" he said." I did not say why I should pick you over the other one. I asked what you would do to pleasure me tonight. So far only the older cunt has told me what she would do and that was a simple suck my cock. Your turn slut." he looked at Sharon as the mistress put the rod to her ass while she was kneeling, "what sex acts are you willing to do to avoid your mistress and how?" he asked. The newly named slaves winced and yelped as they were prodded by that dreaded rod. Both of them winced, especially when she shocked a sensitive area. Both of them fell to their knees as ordered, panting and even more frightened. The master ordered her to speak again, but before she could speak, the mistress shocked that cute ass, causing her to squeal again. Sharon's heart was beating rapidly now, and she felt she was about to get a terrible treatment. "I... I'll do anything. My mouth.my pussy...my ass..." she couldn't believe her own words. "Anything!" she said, still shaking as Miranda glanced at her step-daughter, barely recognizing her. Master shook his head as the daughter was shocked again, "but how slut not just what. How are you going to use them." as he now looked at the mother, "show her slut. Show her how to talk to a man to let him know what acts you are going to perform. How you will use that body." wanting the mother to now teach the daughter how to talk dirty to a man. Sharon yelped again as she was shocked. There were some tears forming in her eyes as she struggled with what to do. The Master ordered her mother to speak instead and Miranda took the opportunity to try and paint herself in better light. "Once I get you hard, I'm going to let you fuck my tits again and again until you're about to cum, and then I'll ride your cock until you can't take anymore." she said, also having a few tears in her eyes as she spoke. The master smiled and looked at the young bitch. "Now your mother is starting to understand. Do you think you can do better whore." as mistress sat down next to master and kissed him lightly waiting for the young slut to tell him what she would specifically do to top her mother's idea? Sharon almost began to hyperventilate, trying to find ways to top her father, but having difficulty finding ways to actually do it. "I. I'll jerk you off nice and easy until I can start sucking on your cock. I... I'll try to take as much as I am down my throat before I straddle you and let you fill me anywhere you want." she said, cheeks red with degradation wondering if she did any better. Master was getting more interested in their back and forth. He looked at the mother, "continue slut, then the other. Don't pause I decide." he said getting up and petting both of their heads, "I want the best suggestion, you both have two more shots." The back and forth between the two continued. Miranda responded, "I'll deep throat you harder and deeper than she can ever get." Sharon quipped back, "After you fuck my pussy, you can fuck my ass, or vice versa." Miranda started to throw back with. "I can give you an amazing foot job." and Sharon said, "It's not an action, but I'm really flexible, and you can bend me as you please." she said, ending the exchange between them all. Master picked up a leash and snapped it around Miranda's collar,"let's go slut." he said. Mistress took her leash and put it on Sharon, "MMM tonight will be fun whore." Master took Miranda to his room and took off the leash. He then unlocked her hands from the outfit and zipped it off taking his robe and opening it, "It better be what you advertised, or you will be joining the other cunt." Miranda was relieved when he snapped the leash on her collar and ordered her to follow. He took her to this room where he freed her hands from the cuffs. He immediately disrobed, revealing himself in his naked form to her. Miranda gulped, knowing that she would have to do what he said. "It will, sir." she said, with a sting in her voice as she felt herself saying that out loud. Miranda lowered herself onto her knees in front of him and started off by stroking his semi-flaccid cock. She spit on her hand to make it more pleasurable as she jerked him off. Once he was ready, she took him into her mouth. She let her tongue rolled over the tips of his cock as she focused on sucking those first few inches in her mouth. Meanwhile, Sharon shook as the Mistress clipped her leash onto her. She looked up at the redheaded mistress, wondering what she had in store for her. Master moaned as he felt the bitch start her show. "You will do well slut if you earn your place." he smiled and took her by the ponytail and pulled her deeper onto his cock. Mistress walked with Sharon to a playroom and walked her to a St Andrews. "Strip slut" she said and then placed her into the cross. "You will be with me tonight, and I want to hear you scream" she said as she twisted both nipples suddenly The man wasn't very interested in keeping things on a slow burn. Instead, he rather quickly grabbed at her ponytail and pulled her down onto his cock. Miranda gagged on it momentarily, but she was able to catch herself and began to bob up and down. Her ability to handle his cock was showing, as she could slurp up and down his cock rather rapidly. Her blue eyes looked up at him as her hand reached up and began to fondle his balls. Sharon was led to a room that had so many different and frightening devices. She wasn't sure what most were for, but there was one that she was forced to go to. She stood in front of the cross before she was ordered to strip. The beautiful teen turned to the mistress in embarrassment before removing the baby doll and thong. She was put up on the cross and felt the most exposed she had ever been. Her perky and petite chest heaved with her breathing and her heart raced when the Mistress said she wanted to hear her scream. "Please, n-." she was about to say when her perky, sensitive nipples were twisted suddenly and painfully. She screamed out as those perfect little nipples began to swell. Master kept fucking her mouth and then pulled her deep, "deep throat it whores. Rub your throat and when I cum do not spill a drop you will drink it all." he said and pulled her hair before he came after she did as she was instructed. Mistress loved the screams and let go of Sharon's tits kissing her now, "how many women have you fucked bitch?" she asked. "Mom is not around tell me" as she slapped her tits now. There were loud, sloppy noises and some gagging from Miranda's mouth as the Master began to fuck her mouth deeply. His cock penetrating her throat rather deeply. Her face was held tightly in place as he drove his cock deeper and deeper. Her own hand reached up to her throat and massaged his cock through her own throat. Eventually, his cock began to convulse as he began to erupt in her mouth. Miranda gagged, choking on his cum but managing to swallow his salty seed. The mistress began to kiss the teen after painfully twisting her nipples, sending a mixed message to Sharon. She whimpered as her perky little tits were slapped, bouncing eagerly with each slap. "N-none, mistress." she confessed as her breasts continued to be slapped. After the master came in her mouth he pulled out and pushed her away onto the bed. He knew she was tired from the ordeal and probably hungry as well. "Your dinner will be brought soon." he said and looked at the mother. "And you do have questions I am sure. I will let you ask them while we rest. I have some for you. You said you had all three holes used. Have you had a woman before?" he asked both master and mistress trying to figure out the amount of experience in their trainees. Mistress pushed her fingers into Sharon's cunt and vibrated wildly. "You have lovely tits' slut. We will make sure they are not damaged for the sale. Our clients like women who have pure skin. A little Asian whore like you and stepmother will go for a seven figure sale." She pushed deeper now, "I asked your mother if all three holes were fucked in her life. How about you cunt? Any virgin holes?" she smiled evilly removing her fingers after she got her wet. "How did it feel to cum on your mother's face?" she asked thinking of the box they were in. Miranda coughed a bit as the last of his cum went down her throat before she was tossed onto the bed like a common whore. Though now he seemed to actually address her. "I did...a couple of times back in college." she admitted as she wiped her mouth clean from his cum and her spit. "Why were we taken? Where is this place? What's going to happen to us?" she said, shooting off her questions desperately because of her fear. Sharon yelped audibly as the redheaded mistress pushed two fingers into her tight pussy where she vibrated them rapidly. Sharon yelped in response to that and the comment of her fetching a high price. The teen gasped again as her fingers slipped deeper into her. "No. I don't have any." she admitted shamefully in front of the woman before shuddering when the mistress pulled her fingers out, leaving her to dangle on that cross. "It was shameful....dirty... I had no control." admitted the teen, wondering what she had in store for her next. The master watched her cough and then ask her questions. He answered them one at a time."you were taken because you have a skill for a profession and you and your daughter are very beautiful. We don't kidnap ugly women or mindless whores.""this place is where you will be trained to be slaves. You will learn to please males and females. You will learn to present yourself properly. The two of you will become lovers as well.""as far as what is going to happen to you, the two of you will be sold after the training for a seven figure sale. You will be transported to your new home and start your new lives as sluts for a master, mistress, or both. The mistress picked up a hand taker now and walked to Sharon knowing she was at least moist. "I think the next contest you won't hold back as much. You will want your mother up here won't you." she smiled and put the taker to her clit and pressed the handle releasing a charge that was much less than the cattle prod but in a more sensitive spot. She stopped and kissed the girl again before going to get a towel and walking over. Taking the towel off of two metal cooking skewers she put one to her right breast and looked into Sharon's eyes, "I need a better scream" as she pushed the skewer through her tits from the outside making it pass through and ending the point in her cleavage. After the screams settled down, "the nice thing about tits is they are all nerves but have no vital parts in them." she grinned and pushed the other one through Sharon's other tit. As the master spoke, Miranda still questioned why they had been chosen. Where they have really chosen because they happened to both be beautiful and have talents? It all seemed so absurd and surreal, and she still had difficulty believing that she was even in a place like this, but the reminder of the cum she had just swallowed was more than enough to remind her. "Wait, what? Lovers!?" she said, as if being shocked even though they had just been forced to make out with each other. Sharon watched as the mistress picked something up, but she wasn't sure what it was. She walked over to her and spoke truthfully to her. It was true, what she was receiving so far was something Sharon never wanted to experience again. Though the twisting and slapping of her breasts was nothing as what came next. She placed the object on her clit while Sharon shook her head slowly. What came next was a loud scream from Sharon as the electrical charge ran through her sensitive clit. The teen shook in her bondage, gasping as some tears ran down her face. The mistress kissed her after to tase, trying to distract her maybe from the pain. She walked away before coming back with a towel. Just when she thought the past few minutes were over, it got worse. The towel concealed two long skewers. Her eyes widened. "No, no, no, no!" she rapidly said, shaking in her bondage as the mistress brought the skewer to the side of her breast. The beautiful Asian teen pleaded with her before letting out an almost bloodcurdling scream as the skewer went through her perky breast. She continued to scream as tears ran down her face, looking down at what she had done to her breast. The mistress watched the girl writhe in agony until Sharon finally began to stop screaming, only to drive the other skewer through her other breast. Sharon screamed again, crying as both of her breasts were now skewered. The beautiful, almond colored flesh still having hard perky nipples besides just having been skewered. The master was always amused when relatives found out they would have to be lovers. "When the two are you together you are nothing but sluts. You will fuck her when we tell you to. Hopefully you will fuck her when you want to in the end." he moved his hand over her cunt and petted her slit and clit as if he was a lover instead of a rapist. He had guaranteed she would be treated well that night and he meant it. "Now I do believe you described a few other things to have the privilege to be in here cunt. It is time you did them." he said as he plunged his two fingers into the mother's cunt and then removed them waiting for her to see if she remembered. Mistress kissed the tears from the Young Asian's face. "Such fine tits" as she tapped the skewers sending and vibration through them. "They will come out eventually whore. Do you think you could do this to your mother?" she asked as she tapped the other skewer before stepping back and slapping her cunt. Miranda couldn't believe what he was saying, but at the same time she was not surprised by the sick ideas he was telling them that they would have to act on. After all, they weren't exactly asked to be here. She gasped when he plunged two fingers into her before pulling them out. "Of course...is there any preference as to what you want?" she asked him, reaching down to stroke his cock hard again. Meanwhile, Sharon was quivering in fear and pain as the Mistress kissed the tears from her face. She yelped again when she tapped the skewers, making her sensitive tits writhe in agony again. "No... I don't think I can..." she admitted before yelping again as the other skewer was tapped and her tight cunt slapped. The master kept petting her cunt, "well slut foot jobs are nice but not something I care about. You will demonstrate, so I can see the skill then ride me like a whore. When I am, I will take your ass. The little bitch is suffering right now slut for losing the contest. Do you think you could torture your own daughter?" he asked with an evil grin, "nothing permanent or deadly of course. We don't like to ruin the merchandise." The mistress smirked and ran her fingers on Sharon's cunt before reaching up and twisting her clit, "you better be ready to slut. Any procedure you refuse to do to her will be done to you and I bet she will gladly do it to you to stop it from happening to her." she let go of the bitches clit and tapped the skewers again. "When I take these out the holes are so small it won't even scar slut. Something else that won't show is any damage inside." as she stepped to the table and picked up a lighter. She used the lighter and started to heat up the outside tip of the skewer on Sharon's left breast. "Are you sure you won't do this to your mother?" she asked before it started to heat up.

mom and daughter's new lives. (puppet and itsbeenfun)|rating:1.0

Master's new pet (Knight and Raven)

Amino leaned against the front of her cage, her forehead pressed between two bars, her golden eyes peering out at the legs and feet that passed in front of her cage. She sighed, supremely bored. When she first arrived at the slave market she was nervous, but a little excited. There were so many sights, and smells, and people! Brutes of men with incredible strength, beautiful, voluptuous women, scantily clad, and potential masters whose wealth was advertised in their clothing, accessories, and more than anything, the way they walked, the way they spoke, and the way they scrutinized the slaves. However, after watching, day after day, seemingly the same crowds she became bored in her cell. Not only that, but she became sore from sitting on the uncomfortably hard floor, and she always felt sick from the nasty food any dirty water. Turns out being a slave was no fun at all. She raised a paw up to brush some of her raven-colored hair out of her eyes, sighing again. No one seemed to pay attention to her. Maybe her cage was too low and no one could see the little fox. Disappointed by another dull day she laid down, curing her tail around her body and resting her head on her arms. The wolf walked through the slavery, obviously a noble. He was flanked by the lizard man that kept droning on and on about various slave girls and their pedigree and prices and so forth and so on. When he noticed this beautiful young slave girl, the wolf intentionally stepped behind the lizard man, his foot landing square on the lizard's long tail, making him yelp and shutting him up for a moment, certainly long enough to view the slave girl uninterrupted. "Oh, he is a God one, is he Nat?" The chirping lizard's voice was back again, making the wolf sigh and frown. The lizard had obviously recovered from his crimped tail, not even having mentioned it. "Ahh, a virgin, too, he is!" The wolf looks at the lizard out of the side of his eyes, his blue eyes showing no affection for the lizard." You do shut up at some point, do you not? You make the company of a thousand humans seem bearable..." He asks the lizard. The wolf stood there, only in his black fur and jeans, he didn't look the part, but the lizard certainly acted like he was a noble. "Because if you could shut your damned mouth for thirty seconds, maybe you could go and get me the charts for this girl." He says, his eyes going back to the girl. "Of 'horse sir, of 'horse!" The lizard says, scurrying off, leaving the two of them alone. Amino opened her eyes, having dozed off for a bit. Her large ears perked, listening to a conversation between two voices coming closer. Sitting up she saw the two approach, and stop in front of her cage. She saw one in jeans stepping on what appeared to be a reptile's tail. She winced for him, holding and petting her own fluffy tail. The voices picked up again, and it was easy to discern who was who's. What was harder to figure out was what the hell the reptile was saying, he spoke in such a funny way. Once he scampered off she noticed the wolf was staying put. She leaned forwards, wrapping her small hands around the bars of her cage and looking up at the wolf who was staring down at her. Her ears folded back, her pupils getting a little smaller. The male was much bigger than her, and obviously a nobleman, despite his clothing. The wolf looked at the girl, folding his arms across his chest, looking at her. His tail flicking, he sized the girl up. She was of age, and very cute, so she fit his requirements so far. Still, Rio needed to know more about the girl if he was going to spend money on her. Without a word, the lizard man came back with the charts for the girl, the wolf looked down at them, reading them aloud idly." Name; Amino. Age; fourteen. Height; Five, three. Weight; One oh five." Rio gave the chart back to the lizard man, stuffing it to his chest with such force that it made the green skin go 'of!' rather loudly. Rio stepped forward to the cage, looking at the girl." So, then, Amino. Do you want to be bought, and understand that you'll be used as a pet for my own pleasure and service, lavished with comforts of a noble woman in the process? Or do you prefer to sit on a stone floor, eating gruel every day?" He asks her, watching the girl's reaction to his questioning. "I'll go with you!" she said quickly, perhaps a bit too eagerly. She was very naive, and hadn't considered the implications of what her agreement meant. There was a slight cool, creeping feeling on the back of her neck that hinted to her that maybe ending up in his possession would not be best, but she ignored that feeling. She could only think of a soft bed, hot food, and lovely warm baths. Overlooking of course, the little regard that he had for the lizard, and how easily he stepped all over him (literally) and how easily that could become her. No, she could only think of getting the hell out of this dreadful place. The wolf gave a nod, her eagerness endearing. Taking out his money, he paid the lizard man, shutting him up every time it tried to speak. Turning to the girl, he unlocked the cage, reaching in and slipping a collar around her neck that had a little pink bow on the front. Leading her out of it, Rio took her down through the crowds, keeping her close by guiding her small paw in his own much larger one. Once they were outside, he takes her and puts her into the carriage, telling the driver exactly where he wanted to go, home. Her eagerness prevailed, going along with him. Her free paw reached up to stroke the soft silk of the bow on her collar, admiring it. Furthermore, her tail swung back and forth, quite happy to be out of the awful cage. Everything was exciting again! Her steps were practically bounces as she walked with him, everything cast in a new light. The market was left behind and in front of her was a carriage. She stood still, her mouth opened slightly, admiring it, though she was quickly moving again when he helped her up into it. She kept fidgeting, looking at the buildings and the people on the streets as the carriage make its way to her new home. The wolf sat in the carriage, watching the girl's reaction to getting into the carriage. She seemed so innocent and naive that it didn't seem possible. It was surprising that she had been in there so long, considering her cute personality and extremely cute frame. Of course, she was young and flat chested, which he supposed would draw some potential buyers away." So, Amino, you realize that you're going to be used as a pet for sex, right? I mean, you'll be lavished with all the comforts you could possibly imagine, but your body belongs to me, and my uses." The wolf says, looking over at her idly, wondering if she knew anything about sex at all, or if she'd be scared, or eager like she was in the pen. She stopped fidgeting, turning to him. "Oh, um...yeah." she stuttered, blushing a little under her fur. Amino was naive to a point, but more than that, she was hopelessly optimistic. She didn't see the cruelty in the world like others did, and in that respect, she was like a child. The rational part of her brain though new it was there. It was situations like this, when it was all front and center where she felt most awkward." I, uh, well, like the lizard said, I'm a virgin." Her tail swished back and forth in embarrassment, looking down at her feet. She frowned a bit, talking about such things was strange. "I know what I am supposed to do. I know the other female slaves do it, and they do it very well. I've seen the men 'test' them before buying them." Her golden eyes looked back up, meeting his blue ones. "I don't know how," her voice fell, "and I'm kind of scared." She paused, glancing away again, playing with her pretty bow. "I understand what I am supposed to do though." The wolf looks at her, the young, naive girl before him, watching her reaction. It wasn't particularly eager, but it wasn't terror, either. That was a good thing, really. It meant she was sane. She wouldn't be some pet he'd have to break or build up, just have to train. In fact, he figured he might enjoy this one most of all." Alright, Amino, I think I understand. I promise I'll be gentle and honest with you. For starters, when we get home, I'm going to take your virginity. It's going to hurt for a little bit, but it'll feel good after, and you'll make your master very, very happy. For now, I'm going to do a much easier training for you, the start of you learning how to pleasure your master. Learn a lot, and you'll live a long, happy life with me. Come here and kneel between my legs, vixen." 'It's going to hurt...' She frowned, again being told what she knew but did not want to hear. She didn't deal well with pain, and hoped that his words were true, and she would feel good. After all, so many of the other slaves did it, and they liked it, right? Or maybe they were just pretending... With such nervous thoughts in her head she got up and walked to her master, kneeling before him. She could feel the warmth of the larger male as she was situated between his legs. Her golden eyes looked up at him, awaiting his orders. "Good girl." He says, reaching down to her. Putting his paw on her head, he affectionately pets her fluffy fox ear. Sitting back in the chair, it was going to be a long ride, so he figured it would be the perfect opportunity to train the girl a little. She was following orders, but had her own mind to think enough about them." Now, reach up and undo your master's jeans. You should move calmly and fluidly, don't feel nervous, nothing's going to hurt you while you do this part of the training." Rio tells her, watching her, seeing if she'd continue. She nearly marred while he petted her ear. If there was one thing Amino liked, it was being petted. Her hands reached up, following his orders as best she could. Her fingertips trembled ever so slightly. She was a little nervous because she had never done these things before, but she was eager to please her new master. He had promised her wonderful things as long as she did as he asked, so she would try to learn from this training as best she could. She undid his button, her hands fumbling a bit, then gently tugged on the zipper, pulling it down. Looking down at her, watching her small hands undoing his jeans and tugging the zipper down, the wolf was rather pleased. "Good girl." He praises her again. His fingers running down through her fluffy ear and back up again, he was rather actively petting her as her praise for being good. In front of her face was his soft fuzzy sheath and sac, waiting to be touched. "Now, lean forward with your tongue and roll it over my sheath. You'll feel something moving and then my cock will start to peek out of it, if you're a good girl, and you do it right." She leaned forwards, his strong, male scent reaching her nose. She glanced up at him briefly, a little unsure, but encouraged by his praises. Gingerly she licked his sheath with her soft pink tongue. It wasn't so bad, she thought, and continued to lick, running her tongue all around his sheath, the surrounding fur quickly becoming saturated. She was a little curious, and looked up at him, as if to ask permission while her small fingers reached up to lightly touch and rub his sac. Looking down at her, feeling that small, pick tongue on his sheath, the wolf shuddered. It felt good, very good, and he realized that he had a soft spot for the new cute pet. He didn't mind, though, since she was obedient, she simply needed a good amount of proper training. When she looks up at him, bringing her paw up to softly caress his full sac, the wolf moans softly. As she's licking and using her hand, his large canine cock arouses from his sheath slowly before her face. She was pleased by his moans, knowing she was doing things right. It was strange to think that a small little fox and her little tongue could have such an effect on such a large, noble, male. Her tongue left his sheath and moved up the shaft of his large cock. Up and down her tongue went, trying to elicit more moans from her master. Her eyes had been closed in her effort and she peeked them open now to look at his cock. "It's so big!" she exclaimed. How would such a thing fit inside her when she took her virginity? The wolf relaxed back into the chair, his large, red canine cock in front of her face. As her tongue rolls over it, his moans became much, much more audible. She could see the large, knotted dick throbbing before her. "Good girl. You're doing better than most experienced girls would be. You're sure you're a virgin?" Rio teases her, looking down at her. "How does it make you feel, licking and pleasuring your new master, so much that he's already moaning just for you, Amino?" She blushed as he questioned her virginity, her cheeks warm. Was she really that good? Maybe he was just training her well. She continued to lick his cock, her hand moving up from his sac, feeling his hard knot. She raised her head up a bit, licking and caressing with her tongue the head of his large dick. "I'm glad that I can make you pleased, master. Am I doing everything right?" she said, pulling away to talk. His size still bothered her, she didn't think he would be able to take her virginity, as least not right away. The wolf looks down at her and smiles. "You're doing it perfectly. Time to reward the pet." He says, leaning down and picking up the little naked vixen. Turning her so that her back was to his chest, he closes her legs. Like this, his large shaft sits between her legs, pressed up against her pussy. Holding her hips, she could feel his large shaft throbbing against her pink little pussy. Moving her hips, she could feel his cock rubbing against her, the first sexual pleasure she'd feel, and it wouldn't hurt her at all. "Ah!" he surprised her by picking her up. She tensed up a bit, but did not fuss otherwise. Once he set her down she felt his warm, muscled chest against her back, and once he pressed her legs together she felt his thick cock between them. She felt it throbbing, and rubbing a little against her pussy. His hands pulled and pushed her up and down, his cock starting to rub against her. "Oh! M-master, that'Simon!" she couldn't speak, her poor virgin body trembling with these strange and pleasurable new sensations. Her small pussy quickly got wet, slicking up his canine cock. Moving her pussy over his cock again and again, he could feel her getting slick against his large shaft. Moving her hips, her back against his chest, he growls in pleasure. Her small, pink pussy was getting so hot, and her furry thighs felt so damn good. Hearing her moan made him grin. As he moved her down each time, she could feel the large knot pushing up against her ass. "Why don't you try moving on your master's cock now?" Rio asks her, leaving her sitting on his cock, wanting to see if she'd learned how to from him moving her hips, or even better yet, that if she might orgasm from rubbing her pussy and clit against his dick. She kept moaning, getting hot from the friction on her pussy, and his furry sac pressing against her ass. Her pussy was throbbing hard from all the attention. It felt so good, she couldn't believe that her body was capable of this. She felt his hands let go, and heard him encouraging her to do it on her own. Setting her hands on his thighs she lifted herself up and let herself slide back down on his dick. "So good..." she murmured, the sense of pleasure making her want more. She spread her legs slightly so that his cock pressed deeper into her pussy lips and harder against her clit. Her hips rocked up and down as she moved against him, harder and faster. Her arms were tired, but it didn't matter, she just wanted to feel more of his wonderful cock. Suddenly she felt her legs tighten up and jolts of intense feeling rock her body, and she let out a load, pleasured moan. She collapsed on him, her body trembling from her first orgasm. "Was that all right master? I feel really strange." she said, panting hard. She noticed now how wet her pussy, his cock, and his thighs were, all from her own juices. Feeling the young fox girl rubbing herself on his cock, the wolf moans hotly. As she spreads her legs to get his cock between her pink folds more, he shivers. Slipping his paws under her arms, he starts to fondle her flat chest, certain that she wouldn't even fit into an A cup bra. As she was moving on him, he started to pant hotly. Feeling her cumming, the hot liquid splashing on his cock as she orgasms, he shudders in his pleasure. When she asks him if that was alright, he gives a nod. Squeezing and playing with her nipples, he leans down and kisses her, moaning against her lips. Breaking the kiss, he looks into her eyes." Are you ready to make your master orgasm for the first time and get your fur all messy and smelling of me?" He asks her, already on the verge of orgasm, his cock throbbing and squirting precut onto her fur already. She was not expecting the kiss, but she did enjoy it, his rough moaning making her excited. His paws teasing her nipples made her cry out softly and her fingers curl, digging into his fur. They were so very sensitive, she was already stirred up from her orgasm, and uncomfortably stimulated. "Yes," she panted, leaning forwards and holding his large, throbbing cock in her small paws, "I want to make my master cum." she started rubbing, her hands sliding up and down his cock, from the head all the way down to his knot, slick from her cum and his precut. This was already so very messy, she wondered how bad it would be once he got her to his home. Feeling her reach down in front of her and take his large canine dick between her small paws and rubbing it, the wolf shudders, moaning in pleasure. Panting softly, he takes his paws off of her breast, holding her sides. "A-ah... that's it, Amino... I'm going to cum... Your master's going to cum for you!" The wolf says, shuddering under her small form. He started to cum, and cum hard. His hot, thick wolf cum started to spray from his cock in long laces of it, pouring over her fur. His cock already came above her belly button, his cum spraying over her upper stomach, flat chest and some getting onto her face as he enjoys the best orgasm he's had in a long time. "Man..." his hard dick erupted, spraying hot cum all over her. She felt the sticky white substance coat her body and seep into her fur. She couldn't ever remember feeling this dirty. "Did you like it master? Did it feel good?" she asked, wondering if his orgasm felt like hers. She could still feel the tingles throughout her body from it. Curious, she lifted her paws off of his dick and licked her fingers, trying his cum. It was very salty, and her nose wrinkled. The wolf sits there, relaxing under her as he finishes his orgasm. Rio felt quite good after that, his body warm even after his orgasm. Sitting there, holding her to him, he relaxes under her. "It was great. I'm really going to enjoy you as a pet, Amino." Rio tells her, his fingers running through her furry sides. Letting her up onto her feet, he lets her take her seat back on the spot opposite of him again as he does his pants up again. She sat down across from him, coming back to earth after a bit. She hadn't even known her master for an hour, and already she had organismed for the first time, she had made him cum, and she was covered in his seed. It had gone deep into her fur, making her skin itch. "Master, when you take me home, can I take a bath?" she asked. It may have been overstepping her bounds a bit, but she was still improperly trained in the behaviors of a slave. The wolf looks over at her and gives a laugh. "Of course, Amino." Rio tells her, smiling happily as he relaxes back into the bench on the carriage. We'll be there in a few minutes. Here." He says, taking out a handkerchief so that she could at least clean up her face. "My pet was an obedient, good girl, so I see no reason why you shouldn't be rewarded with a hot bath." He tells her, marring playfully. "Of course, you'll have to bathe with me, though..." He says, very obviously insinuating that there was probably going to be more training in there. Her tail wagged back and forth, thanking him and accepting the handkerchief and wiping her face off. She was really happy that she had done well, knowing that this was what she was supposed to do now, in return for a nice home. Imagining if she had done poorly or upset him, things would be much worse. It didn't even seem that bad, it had actually be enjoyable for her. If her future training would be anything like this, she would be looking forward to it. The wolf sat back, reclining back into the chair. She seemed relatively happy as the carriage rode along the road. Going along, his tail flicks happily as he closes his eyes, waiting patiently. Rio didn't have to wait long, a few minutes at best after the long session of playing they'd just had. Once they were at the home, he hops out, helping his little princess pet out of the carriage. Once she was out, he guides her into the large manor. Rio shows her a few important places, the kitchen, bedroom, dining room, the like before taking her to the master bath. "Let's take a hot bath." He says, running hot water and slipping his jeans off. She followed him eagerly into the house, her tail still wagging occasionally to show her enthusiasm. Had she not bee promised a bath she may have been tempted to wander around his home indefinably? It was so big! She didn't know people could live with so much space. Still, she was very ready to get clean, and followed him into the bathroom. She leaned against the side of the bathtub, her paw playing with the hot water as it filled up the tub. When she couldn't wait any longer she hopped in, sitting down into the warm water. She watched him undress, wondering a bit what the large male looked like, naked and wet. Something inside her tingled at the thought. The wolf laughs when she hops into the water with the bath only half full. With his jeans off, he moves over to her. Getting into the bathtub, it was larger than the standard jacuzzi, but he still picked her up and sat her in his lap. "I'm really glad I bought you, Amino. I just hope you can keep up with my sexual needs." He says, playfully licking her lips. Turning her so that she was straddling his waist, he picks up some fur shampoo and begins to work it into her fur. As he's cleaning her of his cum and her own sticky juices, he pays particular attention to her small breast and pink nipples. She marred as he situated her onto his lap, liking his warm body against hers just as much as the warm water. When he started to clean her off, her golden eyes closed, and he could feel her muscles relax. They would quickly tighten again as he played with her breasts, teasing her nipples. They became hard under his fingers, and she bit her lip to resist a moan from coming out. She never knew how sensitive they were. "I hope I can please you, master." she said, smiling up at him. Rio smiles, making sure to clean all of her fur meticulously. She'd been in the pen for days and cummed on, but now that she was cleaned up, her fur felt silky smooth already, and would feel better over the coming days as she took good care of her fur. Once she was cleaned up, his left paw softly brushes over her breast, squeezing and caressing it. His right paw slips down her front, going between her legs. His fingers start to rub her pussy, caressing and coaxing it, wanting to see if she'd become aroused again barely fifteen minutes after they'd just finished. She sat still, except for her wagging tail, enjoying being cleaned by him. She didn't realize how dirty she was, and was thankful for the bath. Furthermore, she felt his paw on her chest, rubbing and massaging her tiny breasts. His other hand rubbing her pussy quickly made her moan." Master, that feels so good..." she sighed. She had come down from her last orgasm, but she was still sensitive to his touch, her pussy getting hot for him. She wasn't sure if she was wet or not from the water, but she could guess that she was. Her hips rocked with his fingers, her small paws grabbing his arm, needing something to hang on to. The wolf looks at her, watching her reaction to even the lightest of touch. His fingers hadn't even touched her clit yet, and he could already feel her pussy getting hotter in the water. Letting her sit in his lap, the wolf looks at her and grins. His finger dipping between her pink folds, he starts to gently rub her clit. As he does, his other paw moves from her breast, down her back and over her ass in the water. Rio was squeezing and testing it, to see if her ass was less, as, or more sensitive than her pussy, if at all. Either way, his fingers were teasing her clit, but he knew he could read her reaction about her ass. Her golden eyes looked up at his, seeing him watching her enjoying his touches. She cried out as his fingers slipped deeper into her folds and reached her clit. It was so very sensitive, causing her body to shiver briefly, and her fingers tighten their grip on his arm. She also felt his hand slide down her body and reach her ass, squeezing and massaging it. If felt good, but it was only in the periphery of her senses. The fingers on her clit made her unable to process much else. The wolf looks at her, watching reactions to his touching her. When he touched her pussy or clit, she lit up and immediately got hot and wet. When he touched her ass, there was little reaction. So, he figured her hot spots out. His free paw went back to her breast, fondling it as his fingers tease her clit. "Is my little vixen girl going to cum for your master?" He asks, grinning deviously. She writhed as he touched her, her toes curling. She vaguely realized that he was testing her body, seeing what set her off and what didn't. It was becoming very hard to think, the pleasure of his touches became all that filled her mind. "I don't think I can...it's...oh!" she moaned again, finding talking too difficult to do. Her hips started rocking again and her small body tensed. His teasing fingers on both her nipples and clit sent her over the edge, and she shuddered, cumming hard. Her body slowly relaxed, and she leaned forwards against his chest, panting. She could hear her heart beating in her ears. "Master, please no more, it's too much... I just feel so much." her small body shook, overloaded from the stimulation. The wolf sat there, watching her writhing from his touch. He continued to rub her clit and her breasts, paying attention to them both equally. "Cum." Rio tells her as she starts to orgasm, watching her body stiffen and her tail go straight out behind her. "Cum until you pass out, if you have to. Don't you dare stop mid-orgasm." Rio tells her, rubbing her clit all that much harder. He wanted to see just how hard the little fox girl would in fact cum for him, although he could tell that she was hitting a high climax already. As she was orgasming, and he was watching her, Rio idly wondered if his cock would fit in her, what's more, how tightly she'd squeeze when she was cumming that hard. She felt him rubbing more, harder now. Her legs twitching as he played with her now super sensitive flesh. Cumming already made his fingers feel electrified, every touch white-hot and making her inner thighs tingle. Her body tensed up, and she came again, moaning and shuddering. Her eyes were shut tight, and her fingers dug into his arm. Still, he was unrelenting, still teasing her little pink button. She came a third time, the reaction not as long her as strong as the first or second time. She pushed on his arm, trying to make him go away. "I can't cum anymore!" she whined. Her body twitched occasionally, but that was all. She was spent, and his fingers were no longer pleasurable but irritating. The wolf looked at her, watching the young fox girl orgasm three times in a row. She was perfect. Cute, flat chest and multi orgasmic. Atop of that, she didn't faint at all. Rio bet he could get her to cum five or six times in a row by the end of the month. When she told him she couldn't cum anymore, her body told him the exact same thing. Taking his fingers away from her, he shifts her so that she's sitting side-saddle on his lap, her head against his chest. Letting the girl cool down, he gently pets her fluffy vixen ears and hair. "What a prized pet you are, Amino." He says to her, smiling happily. "You are perfectly suited to your master." Amino sat on his lap, letting him position her as he pleased. She felt like a pile of mush, unable to do anything put pant. She may have not passed out, but she sure felt like it, dizzy and light-headed. Furthermore, she nuzzled his chest as he pet her. "I'm glad I can make you happy master." she said, in between deep breaths. She was truly happy, the rush of endorphins giving her a slight high, and making her Burr. The wolf holds the fox girl against him, looking down and watching her. As he watches her pant, marring softly, he knew that she was still on the rush from the climax, although it was fading. Rio smirked a devious smirk that she couldn't see. That was exactly what he wanted, the girl to get high from the orgasm's endorphins. If he did that to her enough, she'd become addicted to it, to him, and she'd never be able to disobey, leave or refuse him. "That's a good fox." He tells her, comforting her. After she had come down, her breathing slowing to a normal rate and the tingling in her toes and fingers going away, she slipped off his lap and back into the warm water, lowing as much of her body into it as she could. Her tail swung side to side, back to her usual, excited self. "Is there anything else I can do to make you happy, master?" she asked, wanting to keep him pleased. The wolf looks at her, letting her slip off of his body. Looking down at her, watching her getting chin deep in the water, the wolf's tail flicks. Amino certainly could recover very, very quickly. "Well, you're still a very new pet, so sex with you is still intriguing. Although, I won't be taking your virginity in a bath tub, I think I would enjoy playing with my pet again." She moved closer to him, wiggling her body side to side, mimicking a crocodile swimming closer. She was still a kit at heart, and loved to play. Her youth also made her recover quickly, though her body wouldn't be as receptive to his touches for several more minutes. She lifted her head up, her golden eyes getting a little more serious when her virginity came up again. "Master, how much will it hurt?" she remembered his large cock, and how much cum he soaked her fur with. The thought made her both excited, and incredibly nervous. Watching her move closer to him like that, Rio gave a laugh. When he looks down at her, those young eyes so damn serious, it causes pause for even Rio. At her question, the wolf had to think. "Well..." He starts, picking her up and sitting her side-saddle in his lap. Putting his finger onto her, just above her pussy, he moves it upward along her stomach. "Putting it in shouldn't be too much of a problem, a slight sting..." He got midway to her naval and stopped. "Taking your virginity... a rough pain, like a knife. The pain will be fleeting, fortunately." Rio tells her, moving his finger up to just below her naval. "If you were to ever take the knot... I suppose, it would make you feel..." He moved his finger up more, an inch above her belly button now. "...torn in half." She looked at him curiously as he set her on his lap, watching his finger move up and down her body. Her eyes grew wider and wider at his descriptions, and he could feel her muscles tense up. She swallowed hard when he got to his final description of her taking his knot. "Y-you really need to take my virginity? I can lick you again." she said, nearly sounding like she was pleading. She wished she hadn't asked, she was more frightened now than before. The wolf gives a laugh, putting his paw onto her head. "Don't worry. Taking your virginity won't really be too bad, especially with the supplements I'll give you. The problem is your little body taking my knot. I doubt you're big enough for that, though you will one day. Not today, though, so don't fret little kit." Rio says, petting her ears. "You'll be just fine. As soon as I'm done taking your virginity, you'll feel right as rain." A small smile graced her lips when he petted her ears. He relieved her anxiety slightly, though there was still a bit of nagging fear. As least, he wouldn't make her take his knot right away. "Supplements?" she asked, tilting her head a little, her feet playing in the water while he talked. The wolf gives a laugh, looking down at her. "Yeah. Things that'll make you hot and bothered. Aphrodisiacs." Rio says to her, his fingers running over her ears, even though they were wet, he plays with them happily. "They'll limit the pain and amplify your pleasure and need." He says, being completely honest with her. "Ah, oh..." she said, remembering hearing about those before. She felt quite a bit more confident about the whole thing now. She thought back on how he had made her feel earlier when she came many times. Furthermore, she wasn't sure it was possible to feel any more hot and bothered than that. Her eyes closed again, and she started to Burr very softly as he played with her ear. She was becoming quite comfortable around him, even if she had only known him a short while. The wolf let her sit in his lap, happily petting her ears. "Is my littlevixenready to go lose her virginity, then?" Rio asks her, specifically calling her a vixen. It was a double entendre, a vixen was a female fox, tho it also meant that the woman being referred to was sexy. In this case, he was calling her both, flattering her, although he was still being honest with the girl. Amino certainly was Rio's favorite pet thus far, although losing her virginity would be the biggest test she'll take to that testament. She smiled when he called her that. She was quite glad he found her sexy, most others found her looks too immature. He didn't seem to mind, and neither did she. She was quite happy in her own skin. "Yeah... I think so." she said taking a deep breath. She was nervous, and it showed in her voice, but she was also excited. It was like getting roller coaster ride. She knew she had to do it, and part of her wanted to do it. She wanted to please him, to prove she was a good pet worthy of his praises. "I am." The wolf looks down at her, watching her doubt fade as she gave a proper response. Getting up from the bath water, he picks her up, carrying her princess style. Sitting her down on the sink, he drains the water and gets towels out for the both of them. Drying her first, he was taking meticulous care of her and that was something she could come to expect. Once he was done drying both of their furs again, he takes her to the bedroom, sitting her on the bed, commanding her to stay. Coming back a little bit later, he holds what looks like a glass of water. Handing it to her, though, it smells of strawberries. "Drink up, don't spill a drop." She smiled as he carried her, and then dried her off. Her tail wagged back and forth, very much liking the treatment he gave her. How could she not want to please him when he took such good care of her? While he dried himself she combed her hair with her fingers, making sure it was free of knots and was nice and neat. Done with that she followed him into the bedroom, sitting on his bed. A bit of her fear crept back up once he left the room. She turned and looked at the bed, knowing that this was where she would be deflowered. He came back soon enough, presenting her with the drink. She knew right away what it was, catching the scent of the clear liquid. Taking the cup she drank, downing all of it and licking her lips of any clinging liquid. The wolf takes a seat on the bed, watching her gulp the 'water' down. It was genuinely water, though he'd mixed her aphrodisiac into it. As she drank it all, he stood up and took the empty glass from her. Amino would feel completely normal the entire time, like nothing had yet changed. Although, in the form he gave it to her, it would get into her blood stream very quickly. Sitting down next to her, the little fox girl would immediately begin to take notice of his male scent. That would be the first thing that would turn her on, of many. Soon, her mind would cloud as she sat there, her body would start to ache, the image of him cumming inside of her would be unbearable to think about with him so close and her great need for him due to the drug. She sat very still as if trying to hear a very soft noise, staring off into the distance, waiting to sense some change in her body. She wasn't sure what to expect. "How long do we wait?" she asked, looking up at him as he sat beside her. Vaguely, some part of her brain picked up on his scent, like she had when she first unzipped his jeans and sat close to his sheath and sac. The same scent became clearer and clearer, making her tail wag. She wasn't aware of this, her eyes still staring at him curiously. "Oh, not very long, I suppose." Rio said, looking over at her. Judging by the way that she was in the bathtub, coupled with her want to please him, Rio suspected it would be a matter of minutes. He was sitting there in nothing but his fur, just like the little fox. She was fourteen, so her body was more than ready for him, so the drug would certainly work. The only question was the speed and depth at which it did. He knew that at first, she'd smell his scent. Then, she'd start thinking about his cum, specifically until she couldn't get it out of her mind. Finally, her pussy would get hot and slick with want, refusing any more inaction. His smell came to be very clear in her mind. It slowly rose to the surface as she became aware of how strong it was. What she was less aware of was how her tail still wagged in anticipation, and the region between her legs started to get a little warm. Without much though and acting purely on a whim, she crawled closer to him, nearly on his lap. She rubbed his sheath in her small paws as she had done before, his scent reminding her of that recent memory. Her rational mind excused this behavior as simply wanting to please him, but her subconscious had a different purpose. She was beginning to crave his large throbbing cock.

Master's new pet (Knight and Raven)|rating:2.0

Of Legends and Species

In the world, a spark awakened within thousands. A powerful spark. A spark that may have awakened creatures more powerful still. Their thousand-year slumber has ended, as they look at a new world of Legends and Species. Turn One - Dawn Upon awakening Winter feels a call from the north, as soon as he is able he uses his powers of winter and telekinesis to speed along his trip to the land of the Midi gods. The Chamber of Vordaldol:Resting, dreaming, waiting for the day that she would return to the world that she had worked so hard to conquer, that was what the great black dragon Vordaldol was doing. Laying atop her treasures, which she had counted fifty times, the sound of coins could be heard scattering as the great dragon rose from her slumber. Sleepily at first Vordaldol rose, then with a big stretch she began to move towards the exit of her cave with a slight haste. Vordaldol was exited, for finally she was to be the ruler of what was rightfully hers. Fresh air filling her lungs, the sun's light shining on her golden crown mark on her head, and the smell of prey nearby gave the dragon a sense of pleasure that was rare for her. But then she coughed, and she felt the smallest tremble in her leg, and all that happiness was gone. Replaced with rage to the extreme. Had those puny creatures not been worshiping her all this time? Why is she not stronger than ever? Why is she even weaker." Raaaaa!" She ripped apart the cave entrance that she had, her body wiggling out of her cave with haste. Not even giving thought to it, Vordaldol decided to explore to the northwestern area (where the dark jellies are) to see the condition of the world. Her great mass making a dark cloud in the sky, one which the rain was burning acid. As he flew through the skies on his chariot of ice, he felt a great disturbance in the energies of the world. "So... the great queen has awoken as well. Hmm, I wonder if any other of the greater powers are awakening... Hamm... my first goal should be to gather worshipers. I wonder how the world has changed. He flows a bit more energy into the chariot and hits subsonic speeds. Deep within a dark, primordial cavern, something is stirring. It is a Dark Jelly. Over thousands of years, the Jelly had consumed any tiny bacteria in the cavern, adding them to its own mass. It was little over a centimeter wide. Suddenly, with a flash of lightning, a great tree topples over, crashing through the narrow ground. The Jelly is suddenly blinded by something it had never seen before - natural sunlight. Originally Posted by Probably Pixel Deep within a dark, primordial cavern, something is stirring. It is a Dark Jelly. Over thousands of years, the Jelly had consumed any tiny bacteria in the cavern, adding them to its own mass. It was little over a centimeter wide. Suddenly, with a flash of lightning, a great tree topples over, crashing through the narrow ground. The Jelly is suddenly blinded by something it had never seen before - natural sunlight. Flying across the sky Vordaldol gazed down at the land for signs of civilization, finding nothing but pure pristine wilderness. It was worrying to the great dragon, no wonder no one was worshiping her greatness, everyone was gone! The orcs, elves, dwarves, while the loss was not mourned theywereneeded for worship. Her not so large patience drawing to it's end she looked over a thick forest for any signs of intelligent life, finding nothing whatsoever-or maybe she had. As she looked down she could swear there was a little tiny spark of acknowledgement, something with potential looking at her form. Vordaldol tried to spot what had done so and saw the Jelly, revolting. What was this thing she was looking at, her form shading with her huge bulk, her magnificent scales on her head shining for all to see? It was intelligent, or close enough, so it'd have to do for now... Upon a mountain in what felt...felt(?) yes, somehow, like the middle of the world a small point of light appeared, first rotating, wavering, growing. The consciousness of that point grew before its body did. Reaching out with tendrils of the mind, caressing, feeling the weave of the world, the possibilities...and a spark coming alive. Another spark, followed by yet another. And one Within. The mind searched for patterns and tried them on, shifting form again and again, birds, trees, land animals and others more exotic, forgotten by time. Slowly she settled on a form that felt...familiar(?) to her. As if being born of the changing forms, parts that were previously in flux started to remain constant. First the legs reached for the ground, clad in soft and lustrous black fur, feline. From the hips upward pale white skin took over in the form of a human woman. Her body lean, curving upwards to breasts covered by a chitinous plate that extended around her chest and over her shoulders and onto her back. Her face, more striking than beautiful, with angular, prominent, high cheekbones framing brilliant white eyes. A knife edged nose sat menacingly in the middle of her face as her mouth formed. She could feel the swelling of the pattern around her as she herself was brought into it (from where?). She brought her palms to her face after dragging them through a tuft of grass. Furthermore, she inhaled and felt the grass, the soil, the water stretching all the way down into the earth. Something was missing. She brought her shoulders forward one at a time, once, twice, three, four times, as if stretching. A mane of thick black hair tinged with red strands shook out from underneath and was tousled with each flex. The source became apparent as after each movement, four legs much like those of a spider unraveled from the join in her back where the chitinous plate meets. The legs were also of black chitin at their roots but slowly, as they unravel, they draw more and more of the pattern into themselves they begin to look more ethereal until the tips are no more than outlines ending in razor sharp claws. The surrounding grass becomes taller as she stretches all 6 of her "arms", as she twists her back they begin to braid themselves, higher and higher and bend upon themselves as the Weaver limbers her legs. Awakening feels sweet as the braids join a circular dance creating a small dome above her. The Weaver sits down for now, waiting for the awakening of all other sparks. Idly as she observes the weave, her arms and spider legs etch shapes into the surrounding ground. As Winter flies over the land of the Guardians he sends down a block of ice embedded with a telepathic message. "Worship me and prosper. With me as your deity you will prosper and your race will soar to unseen heights, without me, you might become just another failed species on this long-lived world. Henceforth, on this spot you shall find freshwater in immeasurable amounts. " A small fountain appears on said spot, flowing eternally. The Sardines were intrigued but wanted more information. The queen of one of the tribes asked "What do you ask of us, and what kind of rewards will we receive?" Originally Posted by Alpha Flying across the sky Vordaldol gazed down at the land for signs of civilization, finding nothing but pure pristine wilderness. It was worrying to the great dragon, no wonder no one was worshiping her greatness, everyone was gone! The orcs, elves, dwarves, while the loss was not mourned they were needed for worship. Her not so large patience drawing to it's end she looked over a thick forest for any signs of intelligent life, finding nothing whatsoever-or maybe she had. As she looked down she could swear there was a little tiny spark of acknowledgement, something with potential looking at her form. Vordaldol tried to spot what had done so and saw the Jelly, revolting. What was this thing she was looking at, her form shading with her huge bulk, her magnificent scales on her head shining for all to see? It was intelligent, or close enough, so it'd have to do for now... Suddenly, a large shadow is cast over the jelly. As the jelly has no eyes, it cannot see the beautiful scales of the beast. Nor can it hear the powerful breath. But the Jelly can sense the heat of the great dragon, and realizes it is in the company of a terrifying beast. The Jelly shivers and shakes. Free for the first time, the Dark Jelly will now be consumed (or so it thinks). Originally Posted by Menace The Sardines were intrigued but wanted more information. The queen of one of the tribes asked "What do you ask of us, and what kind of rewards will we receive?" "Mmm, an excellent question Madame, well, there are many benefits to worshiping me. Let me list off a few of the major ones. As you can see I can give you artifacts of power, this fountain, while useful, is really quite trivial compared to some of what I've made. My chariot for example, able to carry tonnes of goods and dozens of passengers. Your priests and knights will also receive benefits, they will gain the ability to heal grievous wounds and assay minor diseases. As you prove your fealty to me, I shall give much more, I will impart upon you the knowledge of fire and steel, and of the Arcane. All I ask is that you praise my name and build shrines in my honor. The more of you that worship me, the more I shall give. In the volcanoes and caves of the lands, the Magma Worms trundle along, happily going there ways and mingling with each other. They mate and eat, enjoying each day. Originally Posted by Probably Pixel Suddenly, a large shadow is cast over the jelly. As the jelly has no eyes, it cannot see the beautiful scales of the beast. Nor can it hear the powerful breath. But the Jelly can sense the heat of the great dragon, and realizes it is in the company of a terrifying beast. The Jelly shivers and shakes. Free for the first time, the Dark Jelly will now be consumed (or so it thinks). The great dragon Vordaldol looked onto the small pathetic pile of slime, barely holding herself back from letting her own presence alone kill the thing. It had a mind, if warped, that could be used for worship. With rage of frustration Vordaldol took in a deep breath and made its load pronouncement." Listen to me pile of worthless slime! I, the greatest of the gods, have chosen you to be my first servant after my awakening! I shall mold you into something more than this, into something that shall actually be of use! My power shall flow into you with the one word that shall be the first to burn into your mind, the first that shall have meaning, through my power you shall hear it: Vordaldol!" With that Vordaldol made itself known, and released it's diatonic power to wash over the puny slime. The stronger it is, and the more it fed off the dragon, the more Vordaldol shall grow as well... a perfect relationship. At least for now. Vordaldol will have to learn to communicate with the thing at some point more effectively... While he was relaying the benefits of being his subjects to the Sardines, he was also sending off a few messages to the Magma Worms." Fair Magma Worms, I come to you asking you to join in my flock. Join us, and we shall be your staunch allies and will help you with your problems. Besides granting you and your some of your kin the power to heal themselves, I shall make sure that the iciness of Winter does not seep into your domain and freeze your lands." Hm, the nominal leader (the oldest and most respected of the worms) thinks back. We are a hardy folk, and our own bodies will melt the ice as it comes. But, fair friends and allies are indeed a greater treasure than any mineral wealth-we will be glad to take you into our home and into our hearts! A resounding chorus of thoughts rises from the remainder of the worms, an echoing roar of acclamation and friendship. Originally Posted by JNA Productions Hm, the nominal leader (the oldest and most respected of the worms) thinks back. We are a hardy folk, and our own bodies will melt the ice as it comes. But, fair friends and allies are indeed a greater treasure than any mineral wealth-we will be glad to take you into our home and into our hearts! A resounding chorus of thoughts rises from the remainder of the worms, an echoing roar of acclamation and friendship. A great feeling of happiness swells through the mental link. "I am very happy to hear this. I am undergoing some negotiations at the moment, but I'll come to visit you very soon my friends." Originally Posted by Vaarsuvio A great feeling of happiness swells through the mental link. "I am very happy to hear this. I am undergoing some negotiations at the moment, but I'll come to visit you very soon my friends." We will ready a chamber for you. My friends, the leader says through the mental link provided, Begin your work. It might as well fill our days. Originally Posted by Vaarsuvio "Mmm, an excellent question Madame, well, there are many benefits to worshiping me. Let me list off a few of the major ones. As you can see I can give you artifacts of power, this fountain, while useful, is really quite trivial compared to some of what I've made. My chariot for example, able to carry tonnes of goods and dozens of passengers. Your priests and knights will also receive benefits, they will gain the ability to heal grievous wounds and assay minor diseases. As you prove your fealty to me, I shall give much more, I will impart upon you the knowledge of fire and steel, and of the Arcane. All I ask is that you praise my name and build shrines in my honor. The more of you that worship me, the more I shall give. The queen was content with these terms though the Queens of the 3 other colonies were not very swayed.(Winter guy gets 100 followers, 75 from one colony. 25 from other colonies.) Embedded within the mountain, a large gatehouse seemingly stolen from a fortified city forms the entrance to another room. Another opening room. A metal thunder begins the process of the fortifications raising. Chains and steel clank as each braced interval draws into the ceiling and the windlass audible strains to hold their weight. Another thundering sounds the door being locked open. A gauntlet grips the inner side as Jinan walks forward. Adjusting her armor. Her raptor eyes, ablaze with fire, it wasn't much of an effort spotting the massive Vordaldol. The sight instinctively drawing her hand to her sword. As new divine she has only experienced Vordaldol's presence in her mind as a mortal. And, troubling thoughts they were. Her hand consciously lifts away from her weapon. She scans away from the dragon. Spotting another divine atop ice and sound, she soon looses it as it moves away with great speed. A breath of life fills her lungs in this new world as she prepares to move out. The west and east occupied north seems the way forward. Engulfed in flames her humanoid form burned bright into an oval of light before long fiery wings spread out into an outstretched phoenix. Lighting the sky aflame, she flew north towards smoke plumes smoke. A mild, enjoyable flight soon uncovered the volcanic source. Still tracing her path in fire she circled the below volcanoes searching for life till multiply rings hovered above. A potential creature of interest found she flies lower near the ground to get a better look. OoC: Hey Magma worms. *poke* Hello!one of the nearest worms signals. Greetings, fire friend! After finishing up negotiations, Winter went once more on the move, this time he left his chariot hovering above the volcanic landscape. He gently floated himself down and went towards the Nominal Leader. "Greetings friend, it greatly pleases me to be able to see you in the flesh. I have finished my business further east, I have come now in the hopes that you will ally with me and my followers. To better understand you and your desires, I would like to learn more of your culture." Jinan hovers overhead before slowly landing near a group of unflinching worms. She pulls her arm skyward leaving a path of light that darkens into Magma worms that seem to mimic some of their movements (Hello!). Ah, not a lot of culture. Life is simple here-travel around, make new tunnels, eat rocks and minerals. We've begun harnessing our inherent Germany to better root ores out from the ground, but really, life is simple and easy here. The leader thinks back. Originally Posted by Elbe yon Jinan hovers overhead before slowly landing near a group of unflinching worms. She pulls her arm skyward leaving a path of light that darkens into Magma worms that seem to mimic some of their movements (Hello!). Greetings! Are you and the cold one friends? Spoken in an unknown language, "Seems intelligent." The Phoenix stands on a foot and swirls fire with the other claw into dancing patterns. Then conjures a small image of a magma worm touching the wispy strands. OoC: Jinan is offering to Teach Speech craft (1) to the magma worms. The magma worms start, surprised at a newfound ability, and begin gabbing amongst themselves. Quiet down!the elder says. Thank you, Jean, was it? For this ability. It will surely help us become friends with many others! His eyes narrow a bit as he sees Jinan teach the MW's Speech craft." I also bring a gift friend." OoC: Offers to teach Magma Worms Healing Magic (2). The worms gladly accept the gift, with elder being the first to take the proffered magic. The bird seems to noisily chuckle to itself and joins in a bit of the jabbing before things get serious again." Jinan", she corrects. "I'm glad. We need friends in this troubling times..." She looks to the other Divine. "Greetings. I'm Jinan the Phoenix. What is your name Sir?" Winter seems to chuckle a bit to himself "I have been called many names, but you may call me Winter." he says, bowing with a flourish. "My pleasure. I had two at one point, but now I have one. Though I've kept many titles." Her eye widens and focuses on the leader worm. "Do you call yourselves something?" We are magma worms-the blood of the earth itself!he says with pride. "Oh no ma'am, the pleasure is all mine." he says, giving a brief kiss to the back of her hand. He then turns to the Magma Worms with a grin "Does that make your tunnels the Earth's veins?" Of course. The leader answers simply. "Hm, and what of miners? And burrowing animals? Wounds and capillaries, respectively. The elder answers, a bit surprised the answer was not obvious. "Volcanoes, trees, canyons, oceans?" he asks, attempting to figure out the anatomy of the planet. OoC: I won't ask any more after this :D. EDIT: Okay, I'll continue it if SNAP is okay with it. She changes to her human form to receive the gesture, her posture formal, but she says nothing in return. Her new form that of a typical sized human covered in metal armor and weapon to the side. The conversation isn't exactly flowing the direction she wanted. She waits for the next answer and presumably the next, very similar question. OoC: It's amusing though. D: From her perch upon the mountain where she awoke, Weaver could see a great many things and indeed, much activity it would seem. As she pondered the implications, she cast her eyes on a dark patch of jungle to the south, as she cast her consciousness towards it, she began to realize, it was a single, living, intelligent being. The smile quickly reached her lips as she launched herself off a nearby cliff. As she dove, she spread her arms behind her into a swan dive, feeling the air pull at her. In what seemed but a second, yet incredibly slowly she turned herself into a black swan, flapped her wings once, twice for good measure and rose on the air currents heading towards the great jungle. Drawing closer, the Weaver alighted at the borders of the jungle, never missing a step swan legs turned into feline legs and the rest of her body followed assuming her previous form. Nonchalantly she kept walking into the jungle headed towards what the weave told us was the center of the being. Hopefully, communication would be possible there. Originally Posted by Alpha The great dragon Vordaldol looked onto the small pathetic pile of slime, barely holding herself back from letting her own presence alone kill the thing. It had a mind, if warped, that could be used for worship. With rage of frustration Vordaldol took in a deep breath and made its load pronouncement. "Listen to me pile of worthless slime! I, the greatest of the gods, have chosen you to be my first servant after my awakening! I shall mold you into something more than this, into something that shall actually be of use! My power shall flow into you with the one word that shall be the first to burn into your mind, the first that shall have meaning, through my power you shall hear it: Vordaldol!" With that Vordaldol made itself known, and released it's diatonic power to wash over the puny slime. The stronger it is, and the more it fed off the dragon, the more Vordaldol shall grow as well... a perfect relationship. At least for now. Vordaldol will have to learn to communicate with the thing at some point more effectively... The Dark jelly does not technically hear the word. However, the small blob now thinks it's very first thought; Vordaldol. In that second, The jelly knew everything. It knew of the trees and rivers, the skies and oceans, it knew of the mountains, and it knew power. The power it had. The power to grow. It saw a future of great war, a future where slimes rained supreme. It saw the races of the world. How powerful. How great. How... insignificant. Oh, thank you great one! I cannot speak, but now I am external grateful to thee! Thank you, great dragon! Thank you... master. In that very second, the slime grows over a meter tall from the life force gifted to it. Whispers in the darkness were heard again as the sun rose over the vine and awareness washed back into its form. As it stretched outwards and focused upon the whispers it felt something enter into its lands. Motion. Mind. Offered Flesh? Unsure. It was shining far brighter than the others. It seemed brighter than the vine itself. Appendages near the creature abandoned roots and shifted slowly towards it curiously. Weaver to Or-VineHer instincts had not led her astray. It seemed the jungle was alive and conscious, reaching towards her. Unique. The word pleased her more than anything. Powerful? That was the question. But how to communicate with a jungle? Do you even have the concept of a language? She said speaking mostly to herself, she rested an arm pensively on a bare hip. How about a mouth to start with? As she spoke the spider appendages began to move, at first slowly then speeding, at other times tugging and others shifting invisible threads. The pattern slowly became visible, not to the eyes the being surrounding her did not have, but in the mind's eye. A weave extending beyond vision upon which itself and everything around it stood out as patterns. Slight awareness at first and then awareness the weaver was altering a small part of its pattern. As the Weaver shifted the weave of a nearby tree she offered a small part of it to the being, took the hands of its mind and tugged a string. Communicating at a deeper level, allowing it mold the tree. At the same time, inputting a smaller pattern. Speech, communication, voice. Offering to teach: Source: 1 Knot in the pattern: 1 Language: 1Spoiler Hide not sure how to judge how many points one can offer to teach, how long it takes and how much each species can learn in a single turn or how to determine how much I can actually give. Did I miss some mechanics somewhere? Irvine to Weaver The vine felt the creature pull at its form and then at its mind. It felt its reach expand past it's form and into a nearby tree. It felt itself pulling at the tree as the creature pulled upon it. The tree's leaves turned black under its influence and its roots ran deeper and attempted to invade the plants around it as the vine does. As the vine was shaped and thought flowed through it, several of the red flowers on its form bloomed near the creature and sound came from them as they vibrated the air in and around them. A stilted voice came from them with varying tones and accents between words, "What Are You?" Weaver to Or-VineWhat I am, is as you are, as everything is. Part of the weave, no more no less. The Weaver paused to smell the blossoms before continuing. What I am is mutable, meaningless yet full of possibility. Now who I am, that is a question that can lead us to more interesting ones. Such as, who are you and what I could do for you. As she spoke forms flickered on her body, not shifts of the pattern, only potentials, possibilities, echoes and shadows of things that have been, or could be, or never might be. Who you are determines your purpose, your actions and ultimately...your strength. For without strength.... She trailed off looking for the perfect example. Reaching with her hand she grabbed a small animal, petting it soothing it as she worked its pattern. At first the animal grew in size, it was visibly puzzled. Then its skin hardened into scales, its teeth grew longer, it grew claws. Its muscles grew and hardened until its nervous movements (it was now too big for the Weaver to hold) rent deep furrows into the ground. A fearsome predator from an age past stood there, confused as the Weaver released the link between her energy and that of the former critter. Immediately, it was wracked with pain, its form convulsed as the pattern of the beast itself was ripped apart under its own weight. The Weaver incinerated the remains with a wave of her hand. Your control will depend on your strength, your will and your ability. Without a painful death awaits you. But I could teach you... Originally Posted by Vaarsuvio "Volcanoes, trees, canyons, oceans?" he asks, attempting to figure out the anatomy of the planet. IOC: I won't ask any more after this :D. EDIT: Okay, I'll continue it if SNAP is okay with it. Volcanoes are the mouths, trees the hair, canyons the armpits, and oceans the eyes, the leader responds. Though really, this is all in metaphor. Of course the planet is not truly represented by these, as it's a unique living creature. But metaphor helps one to understand its position-notice how all is natural but the miners. Spoiler: IOC Hide Yeah, amusing as this is, let's move on past it. Also, good thing the language came with a knowledge of human anatomy. :P Originally Posted by Probably Pixel The Dark jelly does not technically hear the word. However, the small blob now thinks it's very first thought; Vordaldol. In that second, The jelly knew everything. It knew of the trees and rivers, the skies and oceans, it knew of the mountains, and it knew power. The power it had. The power to grow. It saw a future of great war, a future where slimes rained supreme. It saw the races of the world. How powerful. How great. How... insignificant. Oh, thank you great one! I cannot speak, but now I am external grateful to thee! Thank you, great dragon! Thank you... master. In that very second, the slime grows over a meter tall from the life force gifted to it. The great dragon looked at the puny slime with a little bit of pleasure as the worship power flowed into her. With a roar that shook the ground she began to rise high into the air, saying as she rose:"Listen to the instincts of mine! Listen to the heart of war! Conquer the world and honor the very instincts that I embody! So says the strongest of the gods!" Spoiler: Listening to her power, teaches the slimes... Hide Hunting 1 Warfare 2 Tactics 1 She then flies off, leaving the slimes to begin to digest her generous gift and grow. Heading south she continued her search for more mortals. Far to the north, away from the other races many tribes reunite, The Midi gods with primitive tools hunting and gathering. Lacking any divine help they held their own, but some weaker ones cried for help.(no actual effect) "Hm, that is very interesting. Sadly, my friend, I must leave now for a small period of time, but worry not. For I shall return soon, and bearing gifts." Winter begins his journey once more and flies towards one of the Midi god Clans in his Chariot of Ice and of Steel.' Ah, so the call was from them. Hm, they should make effective worshipers, and considering their environment, as a being of winter they should be more likely to be convinced towards worshiping me.'" Hail, Midi gods, it is I. Winter. I have come to return to my domain and I have seen that you have taken up residence. You are children of the cold, and therefore you fall under my protection. If you worship and accept me, then I shall give you power beyond measure. I will make wounds meaningless, I will give you weapons of fire and steel. With me, you shall learn to properly harness your psychic potential and prosper. You will learn to do more than survive, you will learn to live." Originally Posted by Vaarsuvio "Hm, that is very interesting. Sadly, my friend, I must leave now for a small period of time, but worry not. For I shall return soon, and bearing gifts." Winter begins his journey once more and flies towards one of the Midi god Clans in his Chariot of Ice and of Steel. 'Ah, so the call was from them. Hm, they should make effective worshipers, and considering their environment, as a being of winter they should be more likely to be convinced towards worshiping me.' "Hail, Midi gods, it is I. Winter. I have come to return to my domain and I have seen that you have taken up residence. You are children of the cold, and therefore you fall under my protection. If you worship and accept me, then I shall give you power beyond measure. I will make wounds meaningless, I will give you weapons of fire and steel. With me, you shall learn to properly harness your psychic potential and prosper. You will learn to do more than survive, you will learn to live." many of the Midi gods just kneeled before the deity but some of them who saw winter as a menace questioned the need for him, this in silence for the actual chieftain stood ahead and talked"you talk a lot for one who can't suffer, I respect the winter, and so I respect who you claim to be, help us, and you will be feared or respected as you wish; tell me what you seek... winter." Spoiler: followers Hide winter gains 150 random followers from the tribes. Originally Posted by narrator many of the Midi gods just kneeled before the deity but some of them who saw winter as a menace questioned the need for him, this in silence for the actual chieftain stood ahead and talked "you talk a lot for one who can't suffer, I respect the winter, and so I respect who you claim to be, help us, and you will be feared or respected as you wish; tell me what you seek... winter." Spoiler: followers Hide winter gains 150 random followers from the tribes. "Many question my goals. I wish to tell them to not worry, for I protect my subjects. I see that your people have fallen on hard times, and that your children hunger. There is no need for this. I can give you many things. All you need to do is believe in me. Here, I shall so you an example of my might." Winter, using transmutation, gives the Chieftain a suit of Half-plate Armor and an enchanted Shield and Spear. He then turns to the greater crowd and transmutes the ground in front of them to be warm and fertile (around 20 square feet) and makes an Apple Tree, heavy with its fruit, sprout from the ground. Also, if any of the Midi gods have any obvious wounds he heals them. Originally Posted by Vaarsuvio "Many question my goals. I wish to tell them to not worry, for I protect my subjects. I see that your people have fallen on hard times, and that your children hunger. There is no need for this. I can give you many things. All you need to do is believe in me. Here, I shall so you an example of my might." Winter, using transmutation, gives the Chieftain a suit of Half-plate Armor and an enchanted Shield and Spear. He then turns to the greater crowd and transmutes the ground in front of them to be warm and fertile (around 20 square feet) and makes an Apple Tree, heavy with its fruit, sprout from the ground. Also, if any of the Midi gods have any obvious wounds he heals them. The chieftain explores his new weapons and strokes his chin"it It's hard to not believe in one that is so obvious, we will follow you winter, for the sake of my people you will be revered"the chieftain called forth about 20 strong man and woman, and they began making a huge hut where the rituals for winter will take place. Spoiler: people Hide 20 new devote followers for winter, begins the construction of a temple. Winter gives the Midi gods the knowledge necessary to build the first Church of Winter in this area. Jinan to Magma Worms Jinan watches the other divine depart just as fast as he arrived. "The season is in such a rush this season."" Friends. Let us dance, talk, and sing for we can start to know one another. I have stories to tell of the past - both happy and sad. I will be honest before we start for there is no deception. As a divine creature my nature is to seek out people that believe in me. If you can look past that then shall we celebrate our meeting?" Spoiler: IOC Hide If/During the celebration Jinan will continue to show off some fire works. Feel free to pump up to Art (1) from hanging out for a day while being festive? Jinan is testing the waters. If the magma worms seem like a moral species she'll want to form a bound and continue to teach/guide them. She is interested in letting them grow in the direction they want and so will teach them the skills they want to know till she thinks they need to learn something specific. (Irvine to Weaver The word weave echoed throughout the vine's mind as it listened and watched the creature, and the thing it changed and killed in front of the vine. As the echoing stopped the vine replied "I Am The vine Of You’re... What Could You Teach Me? Why Would You?" The two questions, the way they were spoken sounded like the weaver's voice but in the same way as the rest as if it was cut and spliced from a recording. EdmonitesThe Ammonites still lived in Crude Caves. Not even hovels were available. They did, at least, know how to hunt, and their magical runes were strong for such a crude species. However, the others in the world were advancing faster. The Ammonites, as early Humans, had advantages over comparisons with both CRO Magnon and Neanderthal. For example, the Ammonites could speak with a vocal tongue, unlike Neanderthal tribes, and although weaker than CRO Magnon and Neanderthal, they were capable of authentic magical ability through runic writing. Food was not as scarce as most tribes of early Mesolithic or paleolithic civilizations, since hunting was made easier through very unusual methods. On the other hand, the Ammonites would be outcompeted if they didn't act quickly. Crude hovels and even ziggurats began to arise over the years, and agriculture began to be implemented, also boosted by the runic powers of the Ammonite magic. Ammonites were still only capable of fighting with primitive weapons, however. A strange god known as Winter began to be worshiped by thirty men and women in the Ammonite tribe(s), however. The Ammonite Ziggurats and hovels were put together using a glue like adhesive, somewhat slime like in substance, and in the earliest years of agriculture, a few farming families began to contribute to Ammonite society. The Ziggurat began to worship ancestors, animal gods, and Winter. Thanks to the agriculture now implemented and better protection from the elements, Ammonite society flourished. Spoiler Hide 2 Adhesives 1 agriculture (Crude) 1 hovel 3 Ziggurat The God, Winter, feels a surge of energy flow through him, but he is taken aback by the source. It is neither Scarcity, Midi god nor even a Magma Worm.' Hm, legends of me must have remained and lasted through the centuries. This is very good, it provides me with a base to convert even more of these mysterious worshipers.' He sifts through the belief flowing through them to find the one with the most faithful and contacts him/her." It is I, Winter, let your compatriots know that I am coming once more. Your piety shall be rewarded, and your people shall commune with me once more. Now go child, gather your kin. I will be there soon." Winter erects a small statue of himself in the center of where the church is being built. Winter turns to his worshipers and the Chieftain, "I will ascend to the heavens once more for now. If you have any inquiries or requests of me, pray at the statue here. It will allow a direct link between the one praying and me. For now, I shall grant you, Chieftain, a great power, the power to heal wounds, along with 3 more of your choosing. Take your time, when you decide who is to receive the gift touch them on the forehead and declare them a "Winter's Chosen". I will return soon. Do not worry, I have no plans on abandoning you." As Winter enters his Chariot once more and starts heading to the South-west he slumps down in his seat and takes a deep breath.' Ugh, so many artifacts. After giving these new worshipers a gift of their own I think I'll take a short break from making any more magical artifacts. I think I might stick to educating them instead for a while. Hm, I wonder if Jinan would entertain the idea of forming an order of knights, it would certainly fall under her Modus Operandi. I'll pass the idea by her the next time I see her.' Originally Posted by Darth Arminius Ammonites The Ammonites still lived in Crude Caves. Not even hovels were available. They did, at least, know how to hunt, and their magical runes were strong for such a crude species. However, the others in the world were advancing faster. The Ammonites, as early Humans, had advantages over comparisons with both CRO Magnon and Neanderthal. For example, the Ammonites could speak with a vocal tongue, unlike Neanderthal tribes, and although weaker than CRO Magnon and Neanderthal, they were capable of authentic magical ability through runic writing. Food was not as scarce as most tribes of early Mesolithic or paleolithic civilizations, since hunting was made easier through very unusual methods. On the other hand, the Ammonites would be outcompeted if they didn't act quickly. Crude hovels and even ziggurats began to arise over the years, and agriculture began to be implemented, also boosted by the runic powers of the Ammonite magic. Ammonites were still only capable of fighting with primitive weapons, however. A strange god known as Winter began to be worshiped by thirty men and women in the Ammonite tribe(s), however. The Ammonite Ziggurats and hovels were put together using a glue like adhesive, somewhat slime like in substance, and in the earliest years of agriculture, a few farming families began to contribute to Ammonite society. The Ziggurat began to worship ancestors, animal gods, and Winter. Thanks to the agriculture now implemented and better protection from the elements, Ammonite society flourished. Spoiler Hide 2 Adhesives 1 agriculture (Crude) 1 hovel 3 Ziggurat Puny creatures thought the grand god of a dragon that was Vordaldol as she was coming towards the Ammonites. Flying high in the sky she looked like an approaching cloud at first, then her form slowly came into focus. Running would do little, and her very presence was enough to force most to crumble in fear. Now these creatures were something intelligent, not some pile of thinking slime. She could probably actually do something with these! Though they did have the tainted smell of the worship of another god on them to an extent... something that could be fixed with time. As she came closer and got to see the things with her very eyes, her body blacking the sky and raining acid here and there, she snorted at the Crude Caves that the creatures lived in and started to speak." You... puny blasphemous creatures. Above you now is the only god of worth, the one you shall pray to for forgiveness! I've had no prayers within that cave for so long... and when I come to you, I smell the worship of a weakling? I shall not tolerate this!" Vordaldol let her diatonic power wash down on the puny creatures, giving them the opportunity to accept her generous gift. Then she leaned back to let the sunlight once more reach the creatures, and to let them see the heights that her body can reach. Spoiler: The Queen's gift for worship. Hide +4 Toughness +4 Strength +2 Hunting The effect on the Ammonites was dramatic. Ammonite society had just begun to worship Winter. Worship of Winter didn't necessarily vanish overnight, but whereas it took travelers of the Humans called Ammonites travel across the continent in order to find evidence of Winter, the Dragon God, Vordaldol possessed superior evidence of his existence. The Ziggurat was then given over completely to Vordaldol, and the entire settlement gave Vordaldol his due, especially since this monstrous deity gave immediate power. With Vordaldol came a sense of both terror and gain. The entire gathering of hundreds gave themselves over to Vordaldol. Though the previous worshipers gave Winter more than lip service, the national religion was now for the Dragon God. Their hunters prospered like never before, the people were stronger and healthier, and now there were no times of scarce food. Spoiler Hide 500+ worshipers As he drew closer to the Ammonites, Winter sensed the power of another god.' Vordaldol.' Deciding to err on the side of caution, Winter lands his Chariot in a nearby forest.' Hopefully she is willing to negotiate...' He quickly crafts a simulacrum of himself and sends it forward to meet with the Queen. The sky seems to darken and there is a sharp drop in temperature. The first sentence is transmitted for all to hear, but he switches so only she can hear it afterward, "Hail, Vordaldol, it gladdens me to see your beauty grace the world once more, however, I simply must ask you to not intimidate my subjects. It really would be easier, and more convenient for you to work with me on this. We can form a small polytheistic religion with these people, half for you and half for me. I already have worshipers amongst them, if I vouch for you, you can gain worshipers without having to expend any effort. I would also like for them to look at us in reverence, not fear. You can be the goddess of Summer and Day, while I'll be the god of Winter and Night." as he finishes a giant peak of ice sprouts upward with a seat at the tip. He turns to the Educates, "I will not abandon you. You may all feel the embrace of Winter." Heal (2), Mind +2, Architecture +2, Mining +2. Originally Posted by Vaarsuvio As he drew closer to the Ammonites, Winter sensed the power of another god. 'Vordaldol.' Deciding to err on the side of caution, Winter lands his Chariot in a nearby forest. 'Hopefully she is willing to negotiate...' He quickly crafts a simulacrum of himself and sends it forward to meet with the Queen. The sky seems to darken and there is a sharp drop in temperature. The first sentence is transmitted for all to hear, but he switches so only she can hear it afterward, "Hail, Vordaldol, it gladdens me to see your beauty grace the world once more, however, I simply must ask you to not intimidate my subjects. It really would be easier, and more convenient for you to work with me on this. We can form a small polytheistic religion with these people, half for you and half for me. I already have worshipers amongst them, if I vouch for you, you can gain worshipers without having to expend any effort. I would also like for them to look at us in reverence, not fear. You can be the goddess of Summer and Day, while I'll be the god of Winter and Night." as he finishes a giant peak of ice sprouts upward with a seat at the tip. He turns to the Educates, "I will not abandon you. You may all feel the embrace of Winter." Heal (2), Mind +2, Architecture +2, Mining +2. The grand dragon that was Vordaldol gazed at Winter, turning her body to meet him. Her eyes showing a little amusement, and maybe annoyance." Winter... I, the greatest of the gods, have equal amounts of worshipers with you here? That is absurd! Though, in my grace, I'll allow those that willfully follow you to stay here. As long as they don't try to take the hearts of the people as a whole away from me. I need to eat, for I do have a body that needs a good upkeep, and the worship of these people shall do for me." "I have been exploring the world for others to speak my name, have you not been doing the same? Have you not found anyone else to whisper your name in awe? If so, then back off! And let me keep what is mine here and take the scraps... unless you are willing to share with me worship of some other race that you've discovered." Her eyes narrow and her voice becomes amused." If that is the case then you and me might have a future working together lord Winter... maybe that polytheistic religion could be a reality. With different levels of our influence in different regions of the world. For example a majority of my worship would be here with yours as a minority, while elsewhere you could have the majority and my worshipers would be the minority. Do you understand my generous offer?" She was suspecting a bit for her part, but she also thought that gaining knowledge on some other races could be worthwhile, and an ally could be a valuable thing. Amongst the worms, colonies of meandering strands found themselves agitated. Insulated in the soil, they had known only slow growth. But now the turbulence of surface seemed to be infesting them, burning with an alien urgency. For the first time in their existence, awareness started creeping into them. No longer simply reacting, they began to understand their actions and that there were things outside themselves. There was no way to prepare for such an unprecedented shock. Many colonies broke down, some refusing the insight to try sinking back into oblivion. Others found their awareness shattered as it form, leading to fragmented minds and quite often illness or death. However, here and there amongst the colonies, some did manage to hold onto that spark of awareness and in a few it ignited a dreadful hunger they had never known. For the first time, those colonies burned with wanting to know about this world they had suddenly become aware of. The first insight would come from the things closest to them. They began paying attention to the things they were breaking down, trying to understand their nature as those things were consumed. Originally Posted by Alpha The grand dragon that was Vordaldol gazed at Winter, turning her body to meet him. Her eyes showing a little amusement, and maybe annoyance. "Winter... I, the greatest of the gods, have equal amounts of worshipers with you here? That is absurd! Though, in my grace, I'll allow those that willfully follow you to stay here. As long as they don't try to take the hearts of the people as a whole away from me. I need to eat, for I do have a body that needs a good upkeep, and the worship of these people shall do for me." "I have been exploring the world for others to speak my name, have you not been doing the same? Have you not found anyone else to whisper your name in awe? If so, then back off! And let me keep what is mine here and take the scraps... unless you are willing to share with me worship of some other race that you've discovered." Her eyes narrow and her voice becomes amused. "If that is the case then you and me might have a future working together lord Winter... maybe that polytheistic religion could be a reality. With different levels of our influence in different regions of the world. For example a majority of my worship would be here with yours as a minority, while elsewhere you could have the majority and my worshipers would be the minority. Do you understand my generous offer?" She was suspecting a bit for her part, but she also thought that gaining knowledge on some other races could be worthwhile, and an ally could be a valuable thing. Winter gives a bow to Vordaldol and begins speaking once more. "Your generosity is as your beauty, marvelous and unending. To the North and the East of the grand mountain lies of number of hives. Within those hives live a race known as the Sardines. Already an entire hive worships me and many more in other hives, I am sure that amongst their warrior caste you will be able to find a number of worshipers. So tell me Vordaldol, how has your day been? I am sure one as beautiful and powerful as yourself hasn't spent all of her time here. Have you met with any other races or gods yet? Jinan to Magma Worms bird amongst worms, Jinan spends her time twisting light into the colorful for display. Rocks taken to the sky and dropped on the ground like a drum. Her human form holds iron to beat iron showing an ability for metal craft. Instead of taking apart rocks for a cavernous home, she builds an earthen home by combing rocks together. Her hope to inspire the worms on some type of path besides play, and for that they may learn from her. All throughout she'll offer the group conversation for they may practice speech craft if they want and answer questions that they might hold. She tells them tales of the old world. A world filled with more life than there is now. A world with song, drink, chivalry, and the with cruelties not yet imagined by this world. That there are forces that wish to eat the friends of the world and consume its strength for their own. Growing more solemn as she speaks on the subject. She warns them that they need to prepare and ready to defend their friends. At some point in the following days her watchful eye towards Vordaldol catches her flight away from the forest. "Be careful.," she says. "The world is a dangerous place." As time moves on Jinan grows more distant, disappearing at times throughout her stay until she begins to mention that she must leave soon. That the other legends are moving too quickly for her to stay in one spot for long. The dark jelly begins grazing upon the grass and leaf litter, gaining mass with every molecule it consumes. After eating around four hundred blades of grass, the Jelly suddenly splits in two! It is a very peculiar experience for the slime. Is it two? The slime is in two parts, two places. It is separate. No, no, is it one? It can see in its mind what both parts feel, what they both sense. The Jelly is very confused, but content. The slimes move apart, devouring more foliage. It creates yet another slime. Then another. Then another! Soon there are five individual jellies, with one mind, one thought, but five positions. Perhaps the slimes can attack a bigger target - a tree. With a ferocious push, the slimes all barge into the nearest tree. This has no effect. Over and over the slimes attack, but with no effect. But then the slime has an idea! Two of the slimes place themselves underneath the trees roots. They push upwards whilst the other slime pull backwards. Eventually, the tree topples over, crushing one slime. The other slimes crowd around the formless jelly and understand that they are not invincible. Weaver to Irvine could teach you the ways of the weave, to draw from it and alter it as you see fit. The world is large my friend, though you have not experienced it, and it awakening it. I would teach you what you need to stake your place in it. I would give you wings and eyes that range far. Furthermore, I would give you mastery over the elements, not to fear fire but use it. She paused, considering how to answer the second question. As to why, well, you my little Vine of You’re, you're speaking, living, thinking jungle... She said caressing one of the blossoms. You are interesting, you are unique, and you may have the singularity of purpose and single-mindedness to become great. I would like to see what you can achieve. Slight pause. There are of course reasons much more mundane, as I told you, beings like myself, are not that much different from the rest of the weave, we need energy to grow. That energy comes from you. Your thoughts will sustain me and your worship will strengthen me. And of course, loyalty and worship are rewarded. The more of yourself you pledge the more I shall teach you. Spoiler Hide Let's say language taught before was closer to 15. Also offering to do the following, splice small parts of the central "bulb" into birds and functional shapes and teach that process to Irvine in exchange for worshipers. Besides offering to teach As Above, Twice Below, Knot in the Pattern and Elemental Weave. All of the above in numbers corresponding to worship. Let me know how much you're interested in what, and we'll work it out. Ammonite CultureEdmonite society flourished. With the aid of Winter and Vordaldol, the Ammonite society of hundreds rapidly approached it's first thousand inhabitants. Runic magic could stall nutritional deficiency, and the Ammonites became even superior hunters to themselves, where they were already skilled. Architecture flourished, and the hovels were now wooden and thatched cottages, not to mention, their medicinal healers were now far better than before, because of quicker learning. Their healers and herbalists wandered through the nearby wilderness and gathered superior herbal medicines without the need to experiment on themselves with dangerous plants. Eventually, the Ammonite civilization even began to experiment with copper and tin, not yet making bronze tools, they nonetheless discovered metallurgy in silver, copper and tin, and even to some extent, brass. The people's minds grew even less apathetic and more diligent in learning. Small brass knives were then implemented for use in self-defense, as Ammonite explorers began to travel north ward, and a group of hundreds of men and women settled to the East. With their societal structure now more organized with druids leading the culture with their religious guidelines, Ammonite people began to consider themselves "The Gifted People". The Gifted People, Ammonites, began to domesticate animals, instead of just hunting game, they began to consume cooked mutton, and chickens. Spoiler Hide +1 Druids +1 Brain +2 Metallurgy +1 Animal Domestication Irvine to Weaver After a short silence as the vine considered the words of the creature, it responded, once again in the voice of the creature." I am Curious of The world Beyond. Teach Me." Spoiler: IOC/Actions so far Hide Dedicate all 500 current population units to The Weaver faithwise. Weaver to Or-VineThe Weaver smiled, feeling the shift in the surrounding weave upon agreement and set about teaching the curious being the basics of the skills she had promised. During the times when the Irvine was practicing she set about fulfilling the second part of her promise. First she delved deep into the earth where the center of the being was located and touched it lightly, feeling its connection with the world and the rest of the forest. Two pieces she removed without separating it from the pattern, thus allowing it to range far into the world. One shape was small and winged, its sensory perception limited to sight. The second was larger, the size of a humanoid and roughly the same shape, though its surface was carved with a complex spiderweb pattern. It had eyes with which to see, ears and a mouth to communicate. To craft these body she delved deep into the earth for materials, strong and light with a bluish hue. Animated with magic, these two were only the beginning. Eventually, there would be more. Spoiler Hide teaching 10 language, 10 as above twice below, 10 knot in the pattern, 10 elemental weaves, and 10 life is a pattern. It will probably take time, how much we'll wait for the GM to tell give us guidance IOC. Also teaching the method necessary to splice its own bulb into ambulatory shapes and creating two such shapes herself. The two bodies can be considered golems and are made using natural materials and constructed using artifice. For the material think Mikhail/titanium the chieftain points three mighty warriors to handle the worship of winter, he and many more works around while moving through the tundra, already feeling the gifts of winter upon them. Spoiler: points Hide +5 points to toughness. 5 points left this week. Originally Posted by narrator the chieftain points three mighty warriors to handle the worship of winter, he and many more works around while moving through the tundra, already feeling the gifts of winter upon them. Spoiler: points Hide +5 points to toughness. 5 points left this week. The apple tree lies sadly in waiting, hoping that one of the Midi gods steps forward to eat from it. Originally Posted by Vaarsuvio The apple tree lies sadly in waiting, hoping that one of the Midi gods steps forward to eat from it. And a small kid steps forward, feeling a call from the three he takes a bite from one of the fruits that are close enough for him to grab. Originally Posted by narrator and a small kid steps forward, feeling a call from the three he takes a bite from one of the fruits that are close enough for him to grab. A sense of content and happiness flows through the young child as bites into the juicy, tender, and delicious flesh of the apple. The tree feels joy and drops a few more apples to roll forward to more Midi gods. Hundreds of miles away, Winter smiles.' I'll have to keep an eye on that boy. He has an interesting future ahead of him.' He continues waiting for Vordaldol's response. Weaver to all species Satisfied with the direction things were taking so far, the Weaver decided it was time to widen the scope of operations. She caught a few birds and worked her magic on their forms and abilities drawing energy by shortening their patterns to fuel the changes necessary. They only needed to persist for a limited time to accomplish their purpose. The birds were infused with speed and a limited sense of the pattern, enough to find an intelligent species and the ability to deliver the following message in whatever approximation of center of gathering there might be. Those of you who would be sought mastery over that which lies at the heart of everything living from the Weaver of Patterns, send a representative with strength of mind, able to absorb such lessons, to the jungle that lies south-west of the great mountain. The forest is under my protection. The birds were also changed so that their plumage became fuller, bright blue and tinged with gold. They also trailed a very thin line of flame from their long tails. Upon delivering their message, the birds disappear into a small ball of light that touch the ground beneath them burning a map in the ground showing the location of the forest. Spoiler: Jellies Hide I doubt the birds would notice the Jellies at this point unless they want to be noticed by the bird? I leave it up to you. Originally Posted by Vaarsuvio Winter gives a bow to Vordaldol and begins speaking once more. "Your generosity is as your beauty, marvelous and unending. To the North and the East of the grand mountain lies of number of hives. Within those hives live a race known as the Sardines. Already an entire hive worships me and many more in other hives, I am sure that amongst their warrior caste you will be able to find a number of worshipers. So tell me Vordaldol, how has your day been? I am sure one as beautiful and powerful as yourself hasn't spent all of her time here. Have you met with any other races or gods yet? Vordaldol with a flap of her wings begins to hover in the sky, she was beginning to tire (emotionally) from her travel and generosity that she has given, but she still needed to make a suitable place for her here before she'd stop. As well as answer the weakling god." Horrible. I have flown across the north in search of worshipers and found only a pile of slime that just wanted to eat, the trip there was a waste of time. *Grumble* I'll find more than these people to speak my name soon enough. At least this place seems suitable to be a good home..." "As to gods, you are the first to speak to me since the great wars that I fought before my sleep, I'm guessing whoever else is out there has been running in the opposite direction as me. A smart choice for most." "The way you describe the Sardines, makes them sound like their insects. Interesting, I'll have to see them soon enough. With the intention of only claiming just a small portion of their worship, as you shall have here, for I am fair." With that Vordaldol yawned to indicate her wanting to end the conversation. Jinan the Phoenix to ScarditesThe Phoenix glides through the trees and lands on the outskirts of one of the Sardines colonies. "I am Jinan. What should I call you?" Point her wing skyward her feathers shine with light and leave images in their wake. Visions of fortified stone cities with its citizens working together to bring the city to life. An organized colony of sorts filling their needs. "I will teach you how to build things of wonder. Worship me and I will, shall teach you the secrets of the earth and the mind." Jinan is offering Agriculture (5), Mining (5), Masonry (5), and Construction (5) in return for worshipers. Jinan the Phoenix to The MidigodsA large bird covered in flames greats the Midi gods black nights before it presents itself to the giants on the ground. Around its talon feet and fiery body the winters' coldness loses its bite. "I am Jinan. What should I call you?" Wings flaps send a gust of warm air throughout the group. "I bring warmth to your hearth and offer mastery over winter. Instead of enduring winter's oppression I can teach you to harness fire, stone, and the power to end your suffering." Jinan is offering to work with the Midi gods over the years to teach them primitive skills (5), mining (5), masonry (5), domestication (5), tools (5) in return for worship and loyalty. And, if they are interested she'll start to show them the way south towards grasslands. Originally Posted by Alpha Vordaldol with a flap of her wings begins to hover in the sky, she was beginning to tire (emotionally) from her travel and generosity that she has given, but she still needed to make a suitable place for her here before she'd stop. As well as answer the weakling god. "Horrible. I have flown across the north in search of worshipers and found only a pile of slime that just wanted to eat, the trip there was a waste of time. *Grumble* I'll find more than these people to speak my name soon enough. At least this place seems suitable to be a good home..." "As to gods, you are the first to speak to me since the great wars that I fought before my sleep, I'm guessing whoever else is out there has been running in the opposite direction as me. A smart choice for most." "The way you describe the Sardines, makes them sound like their insects. Interesting, I'll have to see them soon enough. With the intention of only claiming just a small portion of their worship, as you shall have here, for I am fair." With that Vordaldol yawned to indicate her wanting to end the conversation. "Farewell beautiful Vordaldol, for I must leave as well. I wish you luck in your search for worshipers. If you feel like talking you may communicate to me through this crystal. I shall now leave your grace. Goodbye." with that said, the Simulacrum turns to steam and dissipates in the sky. Winter takes off in his Chariot once more and heads to the Scarcity tribe that worships him completely. He teaches Sardines Metalwork 5, Mathematics 5, Written Language 5, and Logistics 5He sends messages to the Midi gods teaching Mathematics 5, Written Language 5, Logistics 5, and Tactics 5Hail, fair queen. I come to you with a proposition. There seem to be many rivers in this area, and very little use coming from them. I suggest beginning a shipping enterprise. Now, you may ask how it is possible for a river to be used to transport goods. Simple, create a boat. A boat is a foreign concept to many of the new races, so I'll elaborate. A boat is a wooden vessel that floats on water and is able to carry goods and passengers. A rowboat is what I suggest you make, with oars and workers you will be able to propel yourself down the rivers to other tribes for trade. This is much safer than land routes with dangerous beasts and raiders, or tunnels with poisonous air and collapsing dealings. Indeed, with control of the rivers you may well become the most powerful Scarcity Queen." he smiles serenely as he waits for an answer. He also sends messages to some of his more pious worshipers to convert those around them and travel to convert more once they have done so. Teaches Sardines Ships 5. The great dragon Vordaldol, flew across its newfound territory. Across the woods and mountains that were there, flying all the way down to the southernmost peninsula (which is a large mountain range with a quick drop to water). Searching across the whole of the place with her large green eyes, Vordaldol decided that on the highest point of the first mountain along the peninsula would be her home, made through her acid breath and claws. It'd take some time, but she'll get a well-built cave soon enough. Originally Posted by Elbe yon Jinan the Phoenix to The Midi gods A large bird covered in flames greats the Midi gods black nights before it presents itself to the giants on the ground. Around its talon feet and fiery body the winters' coldness loses its bite. "I am Jinan. What should I call you?" Wings flaps send a gust of warm air throughout the group. "I bring warmth to your hearth and offer mastery over winter. Instead of enduring winter's oppression I can teach you to harness fire, stone, and the power to end your suffering." Jinan is offering to work with the Midi gods over the years to teach them primitive skills (5), mining (5), masonry (5), domestication (5), tools (5) in return for worship and loyalty. And, if they are interested she'll start to show them the way south towards grasslands. A woman wearing leather garments walks towards the divine figure and kneels"finally comes somebody to release us from winters oppression, guide us ohh great mother, and we will follow." Spoiler: worshipers Hide 120 worshipers start following the phoenix, for now there is no animosity between the followers of winter and the phoenix. The dark slimes, now numbering sixteen, are completely destroying the surrounding environment. With a single acidic touch, the grass melts away beneath them, with one morphing tentacle, they bring down a tree. The slimes are completely loving their own ferocity. Slowly but surely, they destroy all natural vegetation. They begin to move north-east, towards the magma worms.*Will anything stop their wrath?* As the queen thinks over Winter's proposal, he telepathically seeks out the slime and says, "Hello friend. I hear the great Vordaldol has you quite wrapped around her thumb. Send a portion of yourself northwest to the big mountain. I want to speak with you there. To make sure you get there I'll give you a small bit of a boost and some supplies." Gives Dark Jelly Heal (2) and a temporary (5) toughness buff. Winter waits a few days, taking care of business in his domains and teaching his doctrine to his Northern, Southern, and Eastern high priests. After stabilizing and asserting his power he calls on the ancient powers of the Moot." Gods and Goddesses of the world. I call the Moot. We must establish guidelines for this new world. After all, I'm sure none of us want repeats of the first, fifth and twelfth ages. We shall meet on the mountain where we awoke." Winter hovers a few meters above the highest peak in waiting. Spoiler: For Menace Hide So, how did the queen take it? And how did the rest react? After seeing how this queens hive has prospered are any converting? Having studied things in the depths, the Nathan began reaching toward the surface to examine to learn more of their providers. When they happened upon the occasionally fallen body, they were quick to send their mycelia into it, eager to learn the secrets of these creatures the seemed to move so freely overhead. Spoiler: Development Hide Investing in +5 Cognitive Networks (to 10), +5 in anatomy via decomposition Originally Posted by Elbe yon Jinan the Phoenix to Sardines The Phoenix glides through the trees and lands on the outskirts of one of the Sardines colonies. "I am Jinan. What should I call you?" Point her wing skyward her feathers shine with light and leave images in their wake. Visions of fortified stone cities with its citizens working together to bring the city to life. An organized colony of sorts filling their needs. "I will teach you how to build things of wonder. Worship me and I will, shall teach you the secrets of the earth and the mind." Jinan is offering Agriculture (5), Mining (5), Masonry (5), and Construction (5) in return for worshipers. [/B]." Two queens accept, and the subjects are very grateful for her teachings. She gets 300 worshipers, 125 from 2 Colonies, 50 from the other 2 colonies. Originally Posted by Vaarsuvio "Farewell beautiful Vordaldol, for I must leave as well. I wish you luck in your search for worshipers. If you feel like talking you may communicate to me through this crystal. I shall now leave your grace. Goodbye." with that said, the Simulacrum turns to steam and dissipates in the sky. Winter takes off in his Chariot once more and heads to the Scarcity tribe that worships him completely. He teaches Sardines Metalwork 5, Mathematics 5, Written Language 5, and Logistics 5 He sends messages to the Midi gods teaching Mathematics 5, Written Language 5, Logistics 5, and Tactics 5 Hail, fair queen. I come to you with a proposition. There seem to be many rivers in this area, and very little use coming from them. I suggest beginning a shipping enterprise. Now, you may ask how it is possible for a river to be used to transport goods. Simple, create a boat. A boat is a foreign concept to many of the new races, so I'll elaborate. A boat is a wooden vessel that floats on water and is able to carry goods and passengers. A rowboat is what I suggest you make, with oars and workers you will be able to propel yourself down the rivers to other tribes for trade. This is much safer than land routes with dangerous beasts and raiders, or tunnels with poisonous air and collapsing dealings. Indeed, with control of the rivers you may well become the most powerful Scarcity Queen." he smiles serenely as he waits for an answer. He also sends messages to some of his more pious worshipers to convert those around them and travel to convert more once they have done so. Teaches Sardines Ships 5. The Queen Accepts and the colony begins to make ships to sail the rivers, and works with a few other colony members to do so. The Sardines use masonry and construction to build ships faster. Winder God gets 50 more worshipers.Meanwhile, the followers of Jinan use their Agricultural knowledge to take care of the Nathan and increase food supply for both races. Vordaldol's Grand Cave:Something of a copy of the one that she had been sleeping in before, the cave that she now dwells in is a large complex made pretty much to fit just her whole body about three times (a large scale if you think about it) in length and allow her to raise her head comfortably. Filled with the treasures that she had collected from previous ages (taken from her original cave, a few long flights) like how a child stuffs their toys into the closest. Doing all this did make her reconsider the weaklings words on boats, simple things, yet maybe they could be of use to her. She'd have to talk to Winter again if she was to get them easily, which was not something that she was happy to do. Maybe she could get of her worshipers to work on her cave... no the grubby little thieves would probably steal from her if she let them into her cave without her permission. She did not have the magical strength yet to ward off such things yet. The great dragon Vordaldol sighed with that thought. She's been reduced to such a weak form! If she was to regain her strength she needed to establish her might and worship once more! But she also wanted to keep herself united, it does not pay well to be spread to thin... better to have a strong center than a weak one. The greatest of the gods was going about her weekly flights across her territory, seeing the people down below with little interest, other than the fact that those that offered the strongest worship were given a boost in physical might. Her form blocked out the sun, making it like an eclipse. For now the puny ones would do well to grow, but soon they must learn to draw blood.(Guessing this either happens after or at the same time as the exchange the slimes and Winter are having)So the greatest of the gods flew across the continent looking back to see how the pile of slime was doing, seeing its progress made the dragon not want to eat it, but the taint of other gods on its mind made the dragon grumble in rage." Keep those of lower status than me out of your mind, you puny creatures! I, your god, am the sole source of brutal strength! The way to obtain everything in this world can come though it. Be it shelter, food, or entertainment. I see this in you, embrace the part of me that is in you and flourish." Though she doubted she did anything other than intimidate it with her presence, and give it an extra boost in production. The great dragon flew back down to it's home, ready to think and ponder it's next actions. The Or-VineDay became weeks, weeks became months, and months became years as the vine focused upon its new-found power and upon both the world and the jungle it lived within. Light rain became a constant in one place or another within the jungle and the winds that blew through it seemed to become softer as the vine learned to manipulate the mechanics of weather around it and began to alter the patterns of it both subtly and bluntly. The plants that the vine fed off of both parasitically and symbiotically began to slowly undergo changes as they became more like the vine physically. Their leaves turning black and shiny, their sap and flowers turning red like wine or blood, and their roots becoming both more invasive and more symbiotic with each other. All of this as the vine learned to pattern itself after other things and other things after it. The mind of the vine expanded outwards and inwards as it always did over the years, growing more powerful and in a rare occasion more versatile in its power through its experimentation with the weave having learned to manipulate reality more intuitively. Through its strength of mind it also willed small improvements to its form, subtle mutations for it to better survive and thrive in the world beyond its current form. And as it did all of this, its form continue to grow and creep out both through the jungle and into the land beyond through conventional methods and learned new ones. Curious and eternally hungry it began to release the forms it was taught by the odd creature known as the weaver out into the world. Spoiler: IOC/ AP use Hide All the below have been increased by one, the numbers are their new values. Physical Connectivity: 8 Growth: 8 Infectiousness: 5 Manipulation: 5 Resilience: 8 Supernatural Psionic Presence (Source): 11 Clair sentience: 1 Psychokinesis: 1 Psychometabolism: 1 Unnatural Will: 11 Originally Posted by Vaarsuvio As the queen thinks over Winter's proposal, he telepathically seeks out the slime and says, "Hello friend. I hear the great Vordaldol has you quite wrapped around her thumb. Send a portion of yourself northwest to the big mountain. I want to speak with you there. To make sure you get there I'll give you a small bit of a boost and some supplies." Gives Dark Jelly Heal (2) and a temporary (5) toughness buff. A small portion of the slime break off, heading towards the mountain. When it arrives, it thinks; Before you speak, know there has been one before you. A legend who wished to deter us from our lord, and worship him instead. He said that Vorbaldol is dimwitted, and could only teach us the path of power... well if you want us to worship you, show us a power greater still. Meanwhile... the slimes continue to eat trees and stuff. Originally Posted by Probably Pixel A small portion of the slime break off, heading towards the mountain. When it arrives, it thinks; Before you speak, know there has been one before you. A legend who wished to deter us from our lord, and worship him instead. He said that Vorbaldol is dimwitted, and could only teach us the path of power... well if you want us to worship you, show us a power greater still. Meanwhile... the slimes continue to eat trees and stuff. Winters grins. He begins transforming the slime on the mountain with him into a human-like creature glowing with ice around it. "You will be able to shape-shift and disguise yourself as other races. You will gain control over transmutative magic, and you will force your mind onto the environment. This power and more can come to you if you worship me." He looks at the Jelly, who by now had returned to his original form. "You specifically, I want to take you as an apprentice." He steps into his chariot and gestures invitingly. People live and die, the midi gods that followed the phoenix to the south began a more quiet and pacific life as farmers that learned to train the greatest beasts to their will and making lasting houses to watch the cattle. For the ones that remained in the north the gifts of winter had served them well, learning techniques of war and peace, they fought against the hard conditions under the banner5 of Parrish the fair, the child that took the apples and is the head paladin of winter. Spoiler: increases from last turn Hide toughness +5 psychic energy +2 language +2 mounts (1) primitive skills (5) mining (5) masonry (5) domestication (5) stone tools +5 Mathematics 5 Written Language 5 Logistics 5 and Tactics 5 In response to increased food, the Nathans begin experimenting with different chemical mixtures to ripen their fruiting bodies after the spore packets are matured. The idea being to try a few different blends and see which most appeals to the Sardines. Spoiler: IOC Hide In effect, the Nathans are trying to make their produce smell and taste more appealing to encourage farming. I'll invest AP in that as I get more to spend. Weaver to Winter Having sent the message and knowing that travel time for mortal species would not merit her waiting around, the Weaver decided to answer the call of the one who spoke into her mind, if only out of curiosity. Arriving there she saw the one she presumed to be the caller and dark jelly like creature. Limited intelligence, devoured. The one who would call was evidently preparing to leave she noticed as she approached to land shifting from bird form to her usual, bipedal form. I believe you will find that calling a meeting of gods and then leaving with a...lower life form...could buy some be conceived as an insult. Originally Posted by Vaarsuvio Winters grins. He begins transforming the slime on the mountain with him into a human-like creature glowing with ice around it. "You will be able to shape-shift and disguise yourself as other races. You will gain control over transmutative magic, and you will force your mind onto the environment. This power and more can come to you if you worship me." He looks at the Jelly, who by now had returned to his original form. "You specifically, I want to take you as an apprentice." He steps into his chariot and gestures invitingly. The slime attempts to mold into a human. It climbs up, developing arms, head and body. It jiggles slightly and falls back into its basic form. No matter how many times it tries, it can only manage a crude humanoid form. The slime turns to winter." I Accept" The Or-VineThe Irvine found the new senses granted to it by The Weaver's bird shapes to be odd as it formed them from its flesh. It found flight awkward and tiring on the shapes and so their patterns were altered further to be more comfortable and familiar to it. At first one was sent into the world, and then another, and then another, and then another, until eight flocks of three of the bird shapes were exploring. All leaving from the jungle they went in each of the Cardinal directions. In the East, North East, and West the vine discovered deserts and landed one form each at the edge to plant itself. Sensing death beyond the points it found and seeing nothing ahead they turned back and upon reaching the point between the planted form and the jungle sent one form north and one form south. The forms traveled a few kilometers in their directions before planting themselves as the ones at the edge did. In the South and the South West the vine discovered the ocean and landed one form each in the grasses near the beaches to plant itself. It could not see lands beyond and the salt in the water made it feel ill and so it acted as it did with the deserts. Both of the two flocks sent their remaining two back to the halfway point between the jungle and the planted forms before each sending them in opposite directions and planting themselves after a few kilometers. In the South West the vine landed one of its form in the grasses near the beach and planted itself as those in the South and the South West, but the vine saw something in the distance. It saw more land and so on of its forms returned to the halfway point as it had happened with the others to plant itself, but it did so without changing direction first, while the remaining form continued ahead over the water and towards the land. It flew to the island and after a short time looking upon it, it landed and planted itself near the center of the island. In the North West the vine flew until it reached a mountain, one form planted itself at the base and two returned to the halfway point and did as the others did. In the North the remaining three forms the vine sent out flew to the grasslands. One of them planted itself at the edge and the other two continued onward. There the vine discovered odd creatures, they looked like the creatures that had sacrificed themselves, but they didn't seem to be the creatures. They were different. Seemed different. The vine used the two remaining bird forms to watch them curiously. They were unlike the creatures within its jungle, and they had thought to them. Originally Posted by remoter Weaver to Winter Having sent the message and knowing that travel time for mortal species would not merit her waiting around, the Weaver decided to answer the call of the one who spoke into her mind, if only out of curiosity. Arriving there she saw the one she presumed to be the caller and dark jelly like creature. Limited intelligence, devoured. The one who would call was evidently preparing to leave she noticed as she approached to land shifting from bird form to her usual, bipedal form. I believe you will find that calling a meeting of gods and then leaving with a...lower life form...could buy some be conceived as an insult. "Hmmmhehehemmm, I apologize fair Weaver, but when I told you to meet at the great mountain I was speaking of the one where we awoke. I in fact have a simulacrum waiting there for the other gods. I apologize that you have come all this way though, would you like to join me on my chariot to ride back to the mountain?" Originally Posted by Vaarsuvio "Hmmmhehehemmm, I apologize fair Weaver, but when I told you to meet at the great mountain I was speaking of the one where we awoke. I in fact have a simulacrum waiting there for the other gods. I apologize that you have come all this way though, would you like to join me on my chariot to ride back to the mountain?" The slime (who shall be referred to as Slime) says "Wait. Who are you talking to?" An era of utter peace and prosperity. The Sparks fuelled a never before seen boom.+20% population for everyone Some trees weren't so fortunate. Consumed from the inside by some acidic substance. Still, none of you are trees, so what does it matter? The EdmonitesThe Ammonites were blessed, literally, by Voldordol and Winter. . . With their religion incorporating them in a Dualistic faith. Voldordol represented strength and power, Winter represented wisdom and learning. As the Ammonites built their hovels and maintained their physical strength, and grew in mental capacity, they noticed their farms were becoming less productive. With magical runes, their agriculture still produced more than they needed, but they only had small clay urns for preservation, and spells needed to preserve food from decay were not yet invented. Still however, despite the people's prosperity and peaceful times, they were still a very primitive society. Hygiene was very poor, people still lived short lives, and grew old too quickly. However, with the people growing healthier due to a varied diet, a constantly active lifestyle and consistent education, their society prospered strongly even better than before. The agriculture adopted flow crops, and crop rotation, growing out of its primitive state. Metallurgy grew to superior lengths, with the creation of bronze weapons and armors, and the Druids grew out of just being a priestly class giving guidelines for the people to live by, to also being arbiters of the law. Although agriculture was still poor, with chickens and sheep being the only live stock, crops, hunting and gathering more than made up for that fact. Now, village people of the Ammonites possessed bronze swords, in preparing for the defense of their house. Spoiler Hide +3 Brain +1 Toughness +1 Strength +2 Agriculture +2 Metallurgy/Blacksmithing +1 Order Of Law Weaver to Winter'd rather we spoke alone... Judging from what else I've seen and these indiscriminate devourers I'm interested more in your reasons for unilaterally calling this "meeting" than the others so far. Rumors of the legends began trickling into the buried minds of the Scythians. Though their knowledge was limited, it was becoming a favorite topic amongst the colonies. Another focus growing minds was producing different strains of produce for their neighbors. Given their limited understanding of their harvesters, they stuck with growing strains in clusters and giving each a distinctive aroma and color pattern. Any strain could keep their neighbors interest would be replaced by a new one in the next cycle. This new system would bring an unexpected harvest of its own. The new color patterning and tightly controlled growth was so unlike normal growth as the draw attention from the air, namely one of the Weaver's fiery emissaries. Though the flames where initially a cause of panic, the message was eventually absorbed. Making such a trek would be difficult, though perhaps they could build an emissary of their own in time. Their recent interest in the surrounding life also lead to an encouraging their insect agents to retrieve bits of animal anatomy when they could. Given the Sardines knowledge of the language of scent they could readily eavesdrop on such messages, though whether they would act on that interest remains to be seen. Spoiler: IOC Hide I'm currently planning on sinking another 5 points into brains to keep bringing their intellect up toward humans levels. I'll likely throttle back on the anatomy studies a bit to start ramping up a "culinary appeal" skill, perhaps 2 anatomy, 3 appeal. The Or-VineThe Vine watched the world as it's mind and body expanded out into it. It learned both plenty and little as it watched what it discovered, it's mind hosting a growing compulsion to view everything as a pattern under the growing influence of the weaver. It was this pattern it saw that made it realise that some of the tree's that it was feeding upon were being consumed from the inside out by an acid, an oddity it became curious of but couldn't see the source of. Experimentation upon the world around it and upon itself became constant, manipulations of the weave both subtle and blunt grew in complexity, the expansion of mind that the vine felt and in actuality forced upon itself continued, and the vine contemplated the creatures it had found. As so much changed for the vine in what seemed so short a time to it, it saw need to form a second "center" for itself as it tried to understand the thoughts that made it feel the desire to do so. The island off the coast that it had found and had begun to root into served its needs as it began to root itself deeper into the soil of the island and try to remember how it formed the first center in the first place. Spoiler: IOC/ AP use and worship adjustment Hide The 100 new population units are dedicated to The Weaver faithwise. --- All the below have been increased by one, the numbers are their new values. Physical Connectivity: 9 Growth: 9 Infectiousness: 6 Manipulation: 6 Resilience: 9 Supernatural Psionic Presence (Source): 12 Metacreativity: 1 Psychoportation: 1 Telepathy: 1 Unnatural Will: 12 Originally Posted by remoter Weaver to Winter I'd rather we spoke alone... Judging from what else I've seen and these indiscriminate devourers I'm interested more in your reasons for unilaterally calling this "meeting" than the others so far. "I merely wish for us to set up guidelines for our interactions with mortals and how we shall interact with each other." He reaches into his chariot "Tea, madame?" Weaver to Winter Finally, someone with some manners. I would love some tea. She said as she stepped onto the chariot, the cramped quarters were not to her liking. Especially when having to share it with such a lesser species, much less one so inferior. With a touch she freezes its pattern long enough for a coincidental gust of wind to blow it off the chariot. Now then, out of curiosity. Say we decided on guidelines and what not and then one of us decided to be less than civilized and breaks one or all of said guidelines? Would you be planning to do the enforcing? Pardon my saying so but you don't look very...martial. Originally Posted by remoter Weaver to Winter Finally, someone with some manners. I would love some tea. She said as she stepped onto the chariot, the cramped quarters were not to her liking. Especially when having to share it with such a lesser species, much less one so inferior. With a touch she freezes its pattern long enough for a coincidental gust of wind to blow it off the chariot. Now then, out of curiosity. Say we decided on guidelines and what not and then one of us decided to be less than civilized and breaks one or all of said guidelines? Would you be planning to do the enforcing? Pardon my saying so but you don't look very...martial. Winter gently floats down Slime and tells him he'll be contacted soon. Upon seeing Weaver's discomfort he expands the seats." Hmm, I don't look very martial? Good. That way they won't expect it when I rip apart their essence and consume their power. But in all seriousness I would likely imprison the offender for a period of time befitting the transgressions performed." He hands her a cup of tea. He drinks from his own and continues speaking. "I understand that you are more intelligent than most other gods. I'd like to write up a code of laws along with you, that way we can both find any loopholes. Is there anything you would like from me? I can see forming an alliance with you." He smiles. "Although I'm sure a beautiful and powerful lady like you is quite self-sufficient." Weaver Hmm, alliance. Seems like men, no matter the age, power or relative temperature never change. A lady likes to be courted, or did you think a cup of tea would be sufficient to get me in the bag? So to speak. Much like your theoretical prisoner, I would simply escape using my strengths. No my dear stranger, imprisonment would not work, as with women, enemies must be made to love or fear you completely, or you will spend a lifetime making sure they are still where you put them. The Weaver sipped at her tea looking at winter from over the rim of her cup, stopping apparently mid thought and picked up where she had left off as if there had been no pause. What you need is a big stick and to make sure that stick will never turn against you or your rules. Excellent tea, a bit cold though. Originally Posted by remoter Weaver Hmm, alliance. Seems like men, no matter the age, power or relative temperature never change. A lady likes to be courted, or did you think a cup of tea would be sufficient to get me in the bag? So to speak. Much like your theoretical prisoner, I would simply escape using my strengths. No my dear stranger, imprisonment would not work, as with women, enemies must be made to love or fear you completely, or you will spend a lifetime making sure they are still where you put them. The Weaver sipped at her tea looking at winter from over the rim of her cup, stopping apparently mid thought and picked up where she had left off as if there had been no pause. What you need is a big stick and to make sure that stick will never turn against you or your rules. Excellent tea, a bit cold though. Winter, in the middle of taking a sip of tea, sputters into his cup and goes refaced. "Who- seems like men? In the bag? Um, no- I mean I wasn't looking for that type of alliance-not that I wouldn't consider it. I mean, I wanted an agreement of mutual support and protection. No, that makes it worse. I merely wanted a diplomatic partnership." He takes a moment to regain his composure. "I just don't want us to be at each other's throat." Slime puts his hands to hips. "How rude" he thinks to himself. "I come all this way..." Meanwhile, the horde of slime begin to get hotter... But they get used to it quickly. Spoiler: IOC Hide +1 heat resistance Weaver An amused and slightly predatory smile dawned on the Weaver's face at Winter's reaction. Just a metaphor dear stranger. Just a metaphor, no need to get so flustered. Besides, with a reaction like that one may take insult.... Nevertheless, this is a...business meeting. You've mentioned an alliance twice, that you don't want us at each other's throats, but you've also expressed happiness at your apparent deceptive appearance, perhaps it is you who is planning something.or perhaps you are weak and want others to align with you for safety... Yet I've heard no reason why I should join. And making a start I think is more important than anything. For where there are two, there will always be more. Of all the speak-filled creatures a single unit of spark spontaneously combusted as surrounded by others. As it died it communicated one thought: "Worship Me!" Pop-Growth: 10% + 10% if you posted Turn Three Begins Ammonite Society Flourishes The Ammonite Society continued to flourish, crop rotation agriculture, live stock and hunting fed the people, while their runic magic kept the soil plentiful in its nourishment. The creatures that Ammonite folk ate included chickens and sheep. . . Mutton and chickens, as well as vegetables and wheat crops fed the people. Furthermore, they began to grow older before their deaths, and more folk grew old before they died. They still kept to their ways of oral story telling, smiting and the hunt and soil, and the rule of law was now a way of life for the people. Humankind kept to themselves as mighty Ammonites, only vaguely knowing of other lands through their ancestor's land voyage across the continent. Their limbs, once more spindly and prone to weakness, now became much firmer, due to life times worth of hunting and hard work. Their folk's wise men researched ways to operate on the Human body, hunting accidents became a good way to test surgery on the Human body, and their medicines became even more advanced, with surgeries being aided with strong herbal pain relief. To further enhance their lifestyles, the Ammonites honed their animal domestication with the riding of horses, and the taking in of horses and cows. Spoiler Hide - 2 hands - 2 brain - 1 toughness - 1 currency - 2 advanced surgery - 1 medicine - 1 animal domestication As the Nathan colonies studied fallen creatures, they began delving deeper into how those creature's brains worked. They then turned that knowledge to further developing their own minds. They also began attaching growths to the underbelly of some of their insect agents. While these buddings would have only a fraction of the mind of a full colony, they were build to remember and relay what they encountered during their journeys, allowing the colonies to gather information more directly through their agents. Meanwhile, reflections on the legends continued. Here and there a few strange symbols started showing up in bowls of some of their blooms. Spoiler: Updates Hide Colony size should be around 720 now, of which around 360 are involves in spiritual meditations and decorations. Physical: Cognitive Network: 20 ("brains") Transport Network: 4 (underground chemical transfer) Deep Roots: 10 (hard to attack due to living in soil) Taste: 8 Chemical Synthesis: 12 Photosensitivity: 2 Tremor Sense: 4 Technological: Mutualism:5 (represents insect colonies who serve them) Language: 10 (combination of mycelial, allophone, and pheromone signalling) Trade: 5 Anatomy: 14 Culinary Appeal: 3 Survey Harnesses: 3 (attaches record/relay growths to insect agents) Spoiler: While we wait, actions for the turn Hide (I assume the convoy with winter won't take a century or two) Skill increases in bold: intelligence:80 language:30 Artifice: 40 (source) Knot in the pattern:40 (skill) As above, twice below:100 (source) The earth provides: 30 (skill) Life is a pattern: 50 (skill) elemental weave:50 (skill) unweave: 40 (skill) Sense the pattern: 40 Foster: 10->+10% population growth to Irvine Infuse artifact (effectively, impress magical patterns on mundane items to create artists: 12 Teach Irvine to the level of its ability (based on intelligence) increase in knot in the pattern, life is a pattern, sense the pattern and artifice (see below) Actions: Using her abilities in the earth provides, Weaver drew from the earth nutrients to spur the growth of each colony simultaneously using her ability to manipulate life to deepen the roots of each central node of the colony to allow further growth of each individual colony. She also changed the tips of the roots to become more sensitive by branching into fine burrowing roots to find deposits of metals and minerals that could be used to make devices. Once these had been dug up, using her knowledge in artifice she showed the Irvine the art of manipulation of metals and minerals (in conjunction with elemental weave) as a concept to make items useful. There were two arts that she imparted. The first, using precious metals and minerals to make decorative trinkets. These, she said, would impart upon emissaries of the Irvine a certain gravitas in their diplomacy. The second, was the making of weapons, or the idea thereof. Thus attired, she said, the Irvine was to send emissaries to other tribes. Having done this, the Weaver spent the rest of her time and energy on a massive undertaking. Using the maximum of her energy she altered the pattern of one specific tree. She spent much time looking for this particular tree travelling far and wide, to find a tree able to support the undertaking, a tree with the capacity to grow high as a mountain and brought this at the outskirts of the Irvine's original forest. She then took upon herself to force into this tree's pattern the ability to grow exponentially, its trunk hard as steel, flexible branches growing like creepers around its trunk as it grows ever upwards. But this tree would grow almost naturally to not destroy its pattern. To enable its growth she drew forth from the earth many minerals making a vast repository under the tree and wrapping its roots around it. She brought these forth from the earth and manipulated their pattern enhancing both their growth properties and also their elemental properties. When the tree grew to maturity it would have the ability to manipulate the air around its branches and its trunk. Its pattern also included a complicated arrangement of rooms and halls that were to be grown throughout the trunk itself leading ever upwards to the crown of the tree, a chamber open to the four points of the horizon where a pedestal would stand. When its growth was complete. The slimes continue to eat and grow. They now number a little over sixty. Becoming clustered, they begin to adopt specific positions to be in the swarm. They are convinced. The ground they are sliding over is definitely getting hotter. A scout slime, a few kilometers in front of the rest suddenly discovers a small, lonesome animal!~It appears to be a Magma worm! Spoiler: IOC Hide IOC: +1 Tactics, +1 Fire resistance! The Ravines the vine watched the world it felt something odd happening inside itself. A scream! Pain! Fire! It felt part of itself die and explode into fire. The island. The fire was spreading throughout it. The vine willed heavy rain onto it as it began severing connections with the burning appendages. As the fire slowly snuffed out and the heat died the vine felt wrong. Conflicting thoughts were taking shape in its mind before filing themselves into a sharp point. The second center in its mild autonomy screamed at the first center that the Weaver could not be trusted, that it was doing something to it, killing the trees, putting thoughts in its head and burning it. The first center, the vine found it confusing to hear itself screaming at itself or disagreeing with itself for that matter and wasn't sure how to react. Shortly after it's screaming of thoughts, the second voice with a growing strength to its voice plainly declared that it wouldn't share its energies with the Weaver. The vine felt confused at this development. Simply confused. As things went on through the years it continued in its growth and experimentation upon both itself and the surrounding land. It began focusing efforts upon attempting to weave its innate power with what it was taught into something carrying the strengths of both and the weaknesses of neither. Spoiler: IOC/ AP use and worship adjustment Hide 100 of the new population units are dedicated to the Weaver faithwise. 700 in total are worshiping the Weaver. --- Stats below are shown as their new values. Physical Connectivity: 10 Growth: 10 Infectiousness: 7 Manipulation: 7 Resilience: 10 Supernatural Psionic Presence (Source): 13 Unnatural Will: 13 Cerebremancy (Synergy): 3 --- Cerebremancy is a supernatural ability that utilizes both psionic and the weave in a synergistic manner to enhance psionic families through the weave and weave abilities through psionic as well as to utilize psionic abilities through the weave and weave abilities through psionic. This is accomplished through subtle manipulations of the weave and blunt force psionic in concert with each other.

Of Legends and Species|rating:3.0

[Black Dawn] Out of Character

- Black Dawn -. IOC. FIRST! Rigged. Your face is rigged. *Plants flag* Quote from: Elysian Radiance on 23-10-2016, 03:45:11Your face is rigged. They're called braces, and I'm very sensitive about them. It's okay Arc, we all know she has the home court advantage. :) Quote from: Amar lo on 23-10-2016, 04:01:25It's okay Arc, we all know she has the home court advantage. :)Bitch, please. The number of times you've beat me to first is ridiculous. :P Quote from: Elysian Radiance on 23-10-2016, 04:48:02Bitch, please. The number of times you've beat me to first is ridiculous. P-Snickers.- I have no idea what you're talking about! :) 8-) :-* *Waves*Employee @ Bordello Amorous has arrived! Quote from: Amar lo on 23-10-2016, 04:51:07-Snickers.- I have no idea what you're talking about! :) 8-) :-*mmm.... Snickers... I've got a sheet and a half in my inbox, so I'll look start getting IC threads up here in the next day or so. Quote from: Wispy on 27-10-2016, 16:53:28I've got a sheet and a half in my inbox, so I'll look start getting IC threads up here in the next day or so. How.do you have half a sheet? O.o Quote from: Elysian Radiance on 27-10-2016, 16:56:39How.do you have half a sheet? O.o*hides giant garden shears* Quote from: Wispy on 27-10-2016, 16:53:28I've got a sheet and a half in my inbox, so I'll look start getting IC threads up here in the next day or so. Not everyone jump at the same time or anything! Quote from: Elysian Radiance on 27-10-2016, 23:21:13Not everyone jump at the same time or anything! Dude. Jumping with giant shears? Not safe. (in this than 8-) Foot! Another incur! And my phone totally tried to autocorrect that to incubator XD we're totally incubating your incubus now. Can't leave until you do 10k steps. My incubus is single and ready to mingle. Here and ready to get weird. Late, but ready to mate. Okay I'll stop now. Quote from: Arcane on 31-10-2016, 20:35:02Can't leave until you do 10k steps. It took me a really long time to get that that was a Pokémon GO reference XD Quote from: Arcane on 31-10-2016, 20:35:02we're totally incubating your incubus now. Can't leave until you do 10k steps. Quote from: Rummy Tum on 31-10-2016, 21:29:53My incubus is single and ready to mingle. Here and ready to get weird. Late, but ready to mate. Okay I'll stop now. It took me a really long time to get that that was a Pokémon GO reference idol I guess his would be a 10k step one since he's full blood and mine would be a 5k. ’D PGO is a big thing at my job, so I tend to absorb too many references. (Ever get that déjà vu feeling? Happy Halloween, all ;D Quote from: Arcane on 31-10-2016, 23:35:44Ever get that déjà vu feeling? It's a glitch in the Matrix. Must not make a second character. Must not make a second character. All work and no play makes jack a dull boy. Must not make a second character. All right goddammit. Currently, my life is up in the air. I have been told that the decision for my desire to move back to my regular work shift has been passed up to the GM, and since he is the only one left to make said decision, my life is currently on hold. I simply can't concentrate onanythinguntil I know whether this is going to happen. That being said, I need to put this game on hold. I don't want to completely back out! I just need a couple of weeks (or a bit less)for the decision to be finalized. If this doesn't work for anyone just shoot me a PM, I'll totally understand; but if it's possible I'd like to be able to try and slip in once I know whether things will be changing or remaining the same. So very sorry for this crap! You are absolutely safe, Bobby! The idea with the game was to have a more player drive sandbox thing happening anyway, so you're jumping in a bit later shouldn't halt the game or inhibit you from playing later. Take care of your stuff and we'll see you when you return! When I get home FRM work today at least two threads will be going up so that play can begin. Quote from: Wispy on 01-11-2016, 21:41:03You are absolutely safe, Bobby! The idea with the game was to have a more player drive sandbox thing happening anyway, so you're jumping in a bit later shouldn't halt the game or inhibit you from playing later. Take care of your stuff and we'll see you when you return! When I get home FRM work today at least two threads will be going up so that play can begin. You rank, love. Thanks so much! In the interim I'll work on finding pics for the Tooth & Nail so you'll have an idea. [Black Dawn] Lamoreaux (Dawn] Legends (is a facility run by Eleanor, that a lot of the See lie are already connected too. The Legends thread is our "histories" thread for all scenes that have taken place before now. Our gameplay begins July 1st, and we'll move the game at a rough pace of 1IC month = 2OOC months (we should be transitioning to June at the start of January, and then so on and so forth). I don't want to clutter those threads, so I'll be obnoxious and shout FIRST! Here instead, and assume it counts. Because reasons. Oh, shoot! I didn't know we could do that. Guess that makes me second :P Lamoreaux will have pictures and a description up hopefully later today. Since I'm sure most of your know, we moved this weekend, and we're still living out of boxes, so I'm working on trying to get some unpacking done today in between not wanting to vomit my innards out (I'm okay... I think). Lol... Lmfao...-Shakes head and facepalms- I was like, 200C months?! What the hell is this C measurement?! Is he being sarcastic? How many years is 200 months anyway?! And then I noticed the IC in the first and hit me...>_> I blame Wispy for not putting spaces between the numbers and letters. This is why I hate Algebra. >. Quote from: Arcane on 02-11-2016, 23:19:23*hands Chia a walker*>I bring for your consideration the Jinni Noor who is now posted in the character sheets thread. Looking for connections. Thank you. Welcome to the game! ’D Welcome indeed >:) YYYYAAASSSSS!!!!!!!!! I'm being moved back to my normal(ish) hours next week! FINALLY! This means that I'll totally be able to start soon, which will begin with me making an 'intro' page for the Tooth&Nail Club this coming weekend, with pics and bells and whistles! That being said, I'm STILL in need of peeps to work for me! If interested shoot me a PM. Otherwise, I'll just NPC all the workers I guess. NICE!! ’D If I had a slot for another character, I'd make you an employee, Bobby. Instead, you get Lyons as a regular harassment patron. :) Quote from: Arcane on 04-11-2016, 00:46:41If I had a slot for another character, I'd make you an employee, Bobby. Instead, you get Lyons as a regular harassment patron. :)That works for me! Wispy mentioned an 'event' for the Club, like a Grand Opening or something, due to the fact that Anisha is Assembly and stuff. >:) [Black Dawn] The Dragon's Maw (also now up and ready for play. And in general... This is largely sandbox folks, should see some posts going out. It'll be a bit, yet before I start working on the first big GM event. Quote from: Wispy on 06-11-2016, 04:55:50[Black Dawn] The Dragon's Maw (also now up and ready for play. And in general... This is largely sandbox folks, should see some posts going out. It'll be a bit, yet before I start working on the first big GM event. WOO! I'll totally be making an intro tomorrow! Ooh, fancy! I apologize for the delay with Lamoreaux. I will be getting it ready and posted up hopefully tomorrow, if not Monday. My fire and Meunière's have been kicking my ass all over the place, so I'm struggling to just function. But it will be up very soon! I lied. It'll be posted this evening whenever Wispy has finished looking it over. Quote from: Wispy on 06-11-2016, 04:55:50 This is largely sandbox folks, should see some posts going out. It'll be a bit, yet before I start working on the first big GM event. These words terrify me, so kudos in advance to the people who run the local hotspots. Anyone going to the Lamoreaux can drop my character a hi :) And now a certain Mistune named Anon is in the character thread. I might not get anything up today as I do have some stuff going on later... Hello peoples. I play Chia (#msg12717966), a hunter (possibly former -eyes Lyons-) that spent the entirety of her life stalking and hunting the See lie kind to her family. With that said I am looking for connections - male or female - that she or her family could have previously hunted, saved or helped. Not ALL See lie are on her badly list, but there certainly could be instances of accidental encounters or situations that placed them there. So if anyone has a See lie blooded being that's interested in this sort of thing - whether they were hunted and placed on the badly list or not - please feel free to pm me! ’D And we can discuss things. Yay drama, tension and brands! Quote from: Amar lo on 06-11-2016, 22:25:13Hello peoples. I play Chia (#msg12717966), a hunter (possibly former -eyes Lyons-) that spent the entirety of her life stalking and hunting the See lie kind to her family. Sore loser. That said... I'm also looking for more people town befriend! I have two characters in this mix, so feel free to take a peak! First off, we have Lyons (#msg12717948). He's the big bad wolf... mean, hungry, sharp fangs, etc. He's a Reader for the Circle, which may or may not mean anything to people, but basically it means he's kind of a sanctioned bounty hunter for the terrible See lie that try to screw with the natural order. So if anyone wants to either know, fuck, hunt, fight, or otherwise have a connection or even just book a future date with Lyons, feel free to hit him/me up! Second is Wyatt (#msg12718214). If you plan on visiting Lamoreaux, you'll get to know him; he's a mostly-mortal dude, who works for Eleanor as something of the Manager/Accountant/Random-dude-in-a-suit-that-gets-shit-done. You know you want to meet them....[/Jedi mind trick] Oh, my turn! Richard has been many places, and has met many people. It's hard to keep track of sometimes-- but that means more opportunities for friendship! And grudges, but hey, you take what you can get. Feel free to PM me if you have any ideas, and I'll be doing the same :-) My character is finally up and approved. Take a gander here (#msg12760863). As it says, I'm looking for connections ranging from lovers to rivals and friends to beneficiaries. Play on! I WIN FIRST POST UP!.... where's my damn cookie.... Quote from: Bobby on 07-11-2016, 03:16:42I WIN FIRST POST UP! .... where's my damn cookie.... No cookies for evil dragons.-hoards all the cookies in her lair-Quote from: Elysian Radiance on 07-11-2016, 03:35:58No cookies for evil dragons.-hoards all the cookies in her lair-Would you like to come up with something with Yuki the Moreau? Perhaps an after-work scene or something which involves one of her better (If not best) workers having a drink before leaving for home ::) Quote from: Elysian Radiance on 07-11-2016, 03:35:58No cookies for evil dragons.-hoards all the cookies in her lair-.....*Hums a tune... something about burning down a lair.....*;D Quote from: Reiki on 07-11-2016, 03:40:40Would you like to come up with something with Yuki the Moreau? Perhaps an after-work scene or something which involves one of her better (If not best) workers having a drink before leaving for home ::)I'm actually going to make a post that will be open to all employees and customers of Amorous so that would be a good place to do that! Quote from: Elysian Radiance on 07-11-2016, 03:50:41I'm actually going to make a post that will be open to all employees and customers of Amorous so that would be a good place to do that! Sounds good! Could 'lure' customers over too :p If we're doing character introductions then I bring Noor to the party. He's basically a loveable rogue with a hero complex and a tendency towards mischief. Partly because he enjoys it and partly because he doesn't like work and making mischief is easier. He's liable to talk to anyone and to help anyone. He hasn't been in town too long and could reasonably be expected to turn up anywhere for no other reason than he feels like it. Noor(Black Dawn Character Sheet -Name: Noor. Just Noor. One name is enough. You grow into it. Race: SeelieFaction: Technically he's Circle. In practice, he thinks of himself as a one-man faction and a hero, a Jinni. Inspiration: Jinni, Jinni or Genie depending on your pronunciation. Face Claim: Will Leakage: About 130 summers. He doesn't keep an exact count, because he doesn't care. Gender: Male. Although he has been known to shape-shift into a female form at times. So technically both, but not at the same time. Height: About five feet and nine inches. He's not short. Other people are ridiculously overgrown. Body Type: Muscled, in a tanned and very wire sort of way. Hair Color: Black and shimmering as the darkness behind the stars.Eye Color: Purest, brightest quicksilver. Occupation / Status: Doing as little actual work as possible. Working is something that happens to other people. Sexuality: Heterosexual, pretty vanilla. He likes gentle and loving. Relationship Status: No serious relationship at present. Ideally I want him to have lots of friends. Otherwise, he is going to a miserable Noor.- Descriptors -Upbeat Noor is genuinely positive, friendly and mostly helpful. If he can make things fun whilst helping, so much the better, but he will talk to anyone and help them if he can. As long as that doesn't involve doing too much. Noor is lazy. Loyal. Once he takes a liking to you, Noor would gladly walk into the mouth of Hell itself at your side if you ask him to. He does expect you to reciprocate though. Affectionate. Noor loves his friends and his companions. He is always happiest with people around him and will quickly become melancholic if left on his own or to his own devices for any period of time. Laid-back Call it easy going or call it lazy, but most of the time Noor is chilled out. Unless you make him mad. Please don't make him mad. He is also liable to lose interest in things abruptly and without warning. Unreliable narrator. Noor tends to see himself as the hero at the center of a tale. It's not that he's a liar as such. It's just that how he sees or remembers something is not necessarily how everyone else sees or remembers it. Honorable: Noor is bound by a clear sense of honor and duty. He will even help, give shelter and support to his enemies out of duty. Puckish Noor has a liking for chaos and confusion and things that amuse him. Trouble seems to follow him around, which he also likes. Overconfident Noor is supremely confident in his own abilities. He is unlikely to realize that he is in over his head until he sees the shark's circling around him. Wrathful Noor does not lose his temper easily, but his anger once a roused is terrible and when angry he lacks any real emotional restraint. He wants to destroy things and often does. About Me: Noor considers himself to be a Jinni. Jinni describes a heroic See lie who decides to live alongside humanity and to partake in their struggles and everyday lives. At least that's Noor's perspective on it. He considers himself part of a heroic tradition of resistance and a search for freedom and fulfillment. As such he is likely to describe himself as a Jinni as well as a See lie.- Background -Noor appeared in the deserts of Middle East about 130 summers ago. He took up life with the bedouin, the nomadic people of the area. He spent time mostly as a merchant, since this involved less work than tending livestock, but the social code of the bedouin left a strong mark on him, as did the oppression of the Ottoman Empire. During the First World War he joined the Arab revolt and fought all the way to Damascus. After the war he returned to his old way of life, but growing restless moved on to Southern Europe, in particular the French and Italian Rivieras. There he ended up running a bar, a fishing boat and working as a bartender on the Orient Express. Only the last of these with any degree of success. Come the second world war he joined the Italian Army and was captured in North Africa by the British. He spent the rest of the war in a prison camp. After the war he immigrated to America, before drifting down into Mexico and Brazil. He ended up in California for the sixties and Florida for the eighties. More recently he has been working his way along the European coast again.- Powers / Assets -Born from the flame (Minor and a strength): Noor, like all of his kind was made from a shimmering, smokeless flame. As such he draws great strength and power from fire and heat. Cold and wet (Weakness): Conversely he hates water and the cold, hates being wet or cold and becomes considerably weaker when in a cold or wet environment. Magic carpet (Minor): Whilst he is capable of flight on his wings of fire Noor prefers the travel sitting or lying down. He has and can summon at will his own magic carpet which has room for him and a couple of other people. Normal atmospheric limitations apply to the carpet. So whilst in theory Noor could easily fly it up into space upon it, in practice he won't, because there is no air and it's cold. Noor doesn't like the cold. The carpet only responds to its master unless he specifically commands it to obey someone else. Conjurer (Minor): Noor is capable of magically creating small objects at will, such as his Salwar, a set of keys, a meal, a reasonable amount paper money or coins, a pen, a clip of ammunition for a weapon, clothing, etc., etc. However, these objects once removed from his immediate aura will simply evaporate away in less than an hour, unless he performs a second and considerably more taxing enchantment to make them permanent. Noor is unable to sustain more than a couple of conjured items at a time. Attempting to do so causes them to evaporate much more quickly. Essence of the flame (Major): Noor is capable of using the shimmering, smokeless flame that made him to defend himself. He can summon and hurl great, swirling waves of fire at will and can manipulate and enhance existing sources of fire. Noor is not only impervious to damage from heat or fire, but is actively healed by and draws strength from them. Conversely, he finds his powers impossible to use when he is immersed in water, and he is considerably weaker whilst he is wet or cold. However, in the middle of the desert he can create and master an inferno so hot that it would turn the sand to glass. Fugue State (Minor): Noor has learned to hollow out a corner of the dream as his own. Unfortunately this place has fallen to the corruption of the blight. So Noor has found and set up a temporary safe place on Earth. Noor is capable of returning to his own personal sanctum at will. Should he choose to withdraw he will immediately vanish and be immune to any and all effects until he returns, but he is also unable to influence the place that he has left in any way? Noor can enter and leave his sanctum at will. Only those invited by him are able to find and visit him there. This is not because it is protected by magic, but rather because his new sanctum is an unmapped and remote cave system deep in the heart of the howling desert. It is very difficult to find unless you know exactly where it is. Which is difficult as it isn't on any maps... Inhuman (Minor) (Both a strength and a weakness): Noor might appear to be roughly human, but he possesses reflexes, reaction times and eyesight that would make a hawk jealous. The world looks, feels and moves differently for him, and he moves through it differently. A side effect of this is that to human eyes his movements can at times appear unnaturally quick, sudden, sharp, jerky and definitely inhuman. His metabolism is also considerably faster than most humans, so he requires a higher intake of energy than most humans. Shape-shifter (Major): Although he seldom does so Noor is capable of taking on the appearance of someone else and mimicking their voice and mannerisms. However, he seldom does so for more than a few minutes at a time. Taking on someone else's appearance actually involves in a rather meaningful way becoming someone else. It gets very weird and confusing inside his head after a while and leaves him with terrible migraines. There are a couple of exception to this rule, namely his animal forms, which are a Gyrfalcon and roan Arabian horse. Animals don't have personalities in the same way, so unwanted consciousness transference isn't such an issue. Although it does take a little while for the animal to work itself out of him fully once he returns to his human form. This might leave him craving some sweet hay or nice fresh, still warm and bloody raw meat for example. Bound (Weakness): Noor uses an enchanted inanimate object to serve as a magical and spiritual anchor or point of reference between Earth and various places he chose to travel between. If he were to attempt to travel without it, he would in effect be doing so blind, which would be incredibly dangerous. The object is inconspicuous, and he will protect it fiercely. If someone else were to come into possession of Noor's binding point, they would have a very considerable hold over him. He probably won't be happy about it though. Swordsman (Major): Whilst most Jinn have historically favored the Scimitar, Noor prefers to make use of the Indian Salwar up close or the Persian Push-kabz even closer up. He is self-taught and very proficient, but no master. However, his reflexes and reaction time make up for anything that he lacks in skill. Noor only fights in self-defense or to defend those people or ideals that he cares about. Anachronism (Minor and a weakness): Due to his personal history Noor is familiar with the use of some vintage military bolt action rifles and pistols, but is unfamiliar with anything newer than about 1918. He views such weapons with a strong sense of nostalgia and doesn't much care for anything more modern or advanced. He would only ever use a firearm in self defense. - Details -The Conclave of Dreams: Out of touch. Noor was living amongst and interacting with humans for decades before the Conclave pulled their finger out, as his kind of hero always has. Still live and let live. That being said he will not put up with any of their bull and interfering either. The Circle of Thorns: More his view of things and technically he's a member, but in practice he's currently avoiding taking sides. The Assembly of Dusk: No. They are wrong. Their ideas are repellant and misguided. If it comes to a war he will stand against them. S.A.F.E.: Just the human way of trying to control things. It won't work any more than the Circle or Conclave do. The Blight: The darkness in all of us, but magnified and unbalanced. He would die before becoming a part of it. If there is a way to stop it he will help. Until he knows there is he sees no point in doing anything though. Operation - Whitelist: He won't be registering. He understands the need to control, but control is illusory and can be abused. He's staying out of it. Fay, Kindred camp; Awakened: He has no problem with them. Why would he? Humans: Some of his best friends have been human and some of his worst enemies.- Notes - Not sure if I've missed it, but is the story going to be centered around a specific location (like Miami), or is anywhere in the two different worlds a possibility? Quote from: AribethAmkiir on 08-11-2016, 07:04:46Not sure if I've missed it, but is the story going to be centered around a specific location (like Miami), or is anywhere in the two different worlds a possibility? St. Augustine, FL Got a post in the Lamoreaux. Hope it's good! It certainly was! ;) Posted something for Noor just to get him moving and give people a bit of a feel for him. T'would likely behoove me to find a place to stick my young fellow. HOM drum, I'll think on it some and see about posting tomorrow. On a different note, nice to be amongst you all! ’D Welcome to the game everyone. ^^ I'll work on posting this weekend. Working on my post atm, does Lamoreaux have valet parking? It seems like a posh enough establishment that a parking lot just seems rather gauche.EDIT: Finished my post! Arcane, I hope you don't mind that I implicated that he's looking for Lyons. He seemed like the type that would eventually attract the attention of troublesome people. XD Let me know if I need to change it to better suit your preferences! To say that life has gone to sideways on me is an understatement. I won't abuse anyone with the details, but I'll reply.... eventually. Quote from: SeraphAzriel on 11-11-2016, 00:35:23Working on my post atm, does Lamoreaux have valet parking? It seems like a posh enough establishment that a parking lot just seems rather gauche.EDIT: Finished my post! Arcane, I hope you don't mind that I implicated that he's looking for Lyons. He seemed like the type that would eventually attract the attention of troublesome people. XD Let me know if I need to change it to better suit your preferences! Yes, we dewier. Quote from: SeraphAzriel on 11-11-2016, 00:35:23EDIT: Finished my post! Arcane, I hope you don't mind that I implicated that he's looking for Lyons. He seemed like the type that would eventually attract the attention of troublesome people. XD Let me know if I need to change it to better suit your preferences! I'd like to point out that I read your post a bit before your edit came in. Timing is everything! That said... go nuts. I'm fine with a bit of conflict, and I enjoy disemboweling humans. Quote from: SeraphAzriel on 11-11-2016, 00:35:23Working on my post atm, does Lamoreaux have valet parking? It seems like a posh enough establishment that a parking lot just seems rather gauche.EDIT: Finished my post! Arcane, I hope you don't mind that I implicated that he's looking for Lyons. He seemed like the type that would eventually attract the attention of troublesome people. XD Let me know if I need to change it to better suit your preferences! Oh my, with the man at the bar, Yuki might definitely notice him... ::) Posted! Go me! Should have a post maybe tomorrow but more likely Monday. As excited as I am t get this game rolling, I may be able to actually post again tonight! Yay! I apologize in advance for boring posts. You gave me the morning to work with... I used the morning! Quote from: Arcane on 13-11-2016, 20:48:52yay! I apologize in advance for boring posts. You gave me the morning to work with... I used the morning! Psh... not boring! Oh, trust me... not boring. Who says mornings are boring? >:) Hello, everyone. For those of you that know me I've probably seemed weirdly silent with this game, especially where IOC is concerned, and I just want to apologize. It seems that I have sort of cornered myself and hit a mental wall where this game is concerned. So after a week of no brain leeway I've come to the decision that it's best for me to step out of the game. This decision did not come easy by any means and I deeply apologize to anyone that I've left in a compromising position because of this. I hope that this game turns out to be a huge success and I completely regret my decision later. :P I also hope to see the rest of you fine writers in other games in the future! Happy Holidays, Amarlo That's a shame, but you do what you have to do. Hope to see you in the future as well! Someone special has a birthday today!!! (#new) Also I know I said that I'd post yesterday, but I ended up in the ER. I'm doing better today and plan to post for Tristan here soon. EDIT: Post made! Sorry for keeping people held up! Everyone can post now! Yay! Time to turn on the heat, need to distract the fella from his work ;D I'm waiting on this grand opening. Malraux isn't the kind of place Noor is going to go when he's new in town. If anyone fancies an encounter with him many in town in the meantime I would definitely be interested in that. Goodness! Such a popular guy atm! I will be getting out a reply later today, just got a few other things to take care of first! HEAD COUNT Want to get who all is still here and invested in going forward. Sound off please! Do I count as two since I have two characters? Quote from: Wispy on 18-11-2016, 22:36:33HEAD COUNT Want to get who all is still here and invested in going forward. Sound off please! If I make Eleanor a Medusa does she count for more than one head? Here. Present and correct. I'm always here 8-) Here! Present! I'm still here... Been a long week, but yay for the weekend! Quote from: Sasquatch421 on 19-11-2016, 17:06:35I'm still here... Been a long week, but yay for the weekend! Awesome! Letting Tristan act before getting my post up 8-) You can read my post while you wait ;)By the way, I've just noticed that Eleanor and Richard have similarly low cut shirts and sexy stares XD Quote from: Rummy Tum on 20-11-2016, 04:35:07You can read my post while you wait ;)Already did :P Could it be possible that Yuki might take over as the number 1 earner one day? Stay Tuned ! :) Quote from: Reiki on 20-11-2016, 04:37:03Already did :P Could it be possible that Yuki might take over as the number 1 earner one day? Stay Tuned ! :)Challenge accepted 8-) Quote from: Reiki on 20-11-2016, 04:30:55Letting Tristan act before getting my post up 8-)I'm raiding right now, but I will try to post after if I haven't pulled my hair out by the end of it. Otherwise, it'll be tomorrow. Quote from: Elysian Radiance on 20-11-2016, 05:17:30I'm raiding right now, but I will try to post after if I haven't pulled my hair out by the end of it. Otherwise, it'll be tomorrow. No worries! It's more of an explanation on me not posting ;D GAS I'M HERE I SWEAR! I'll post today!EDIT: Posted in the Maw, mentioned Eleanor and SAFE. Still here. Still interested. Still wanting, at least, one other thread to post in. Quote from: AribethAmkiir on 21-11-2016, 03:29:23Still wanting, at least, one other thread to post in. Speaking of the...[Black Dawn] St. Augustine (...thread is up for the general city play. Still looking into the other location we spoke about Marybeth. Cool, and thanks. I think that conversation became sidetracked. Today was busy for me (got a couple new tattoos, went grocery shopping for Thanksgiving, decorated our Christmas tree) so I didn't get a post out. I waned to tonight, but it seems that the last three nights of terrible sleep are catching up so it's only 11.30, and I'm exhausted. Sleep for me now. Writing for me tomorrow! Excuses, excuses....:P So I've basically given up trying to post for the rest of this week because, Thanksgiving. I should be in the clear and able to chill by Friday though, so story continuation shall commence by this weekend. I'd also like to note that though I am having a grand time with a certain Missy werewolf, I will still be actually doing a Grand Opening for the Maw, and I hope that other players will be attending! Furthermore, I will join in Bobby. Anyone fancy a scene with Noor just out and about now there is a thread for that sort of thing? Lyons is currently in the scene with Bobby at the Maw, but that's first thing in the morning (since that's when Bobby started the thread. Blame her!) Technically I can also have him show up somewhere else later in the day, assuming Anisha doesn't do anything to him that would make it too hard to react later... which is why I'm a little hesitant to have him show up somewhere else until I know the outcome. Wyatt, however, is at Lamoreaux... ironically, talking about Lyons, thanks to Ren. I'll have Yuki being open for any meetings in the city. Gym... Café... open for ideas! Noor is so not going to be impressed by Lyons. He's been there and seen it in two wars. Alpha male does not impress a man with a flying carpet and the reaction times of a hawk who believes he is a hero. :) Quote from: Skye on 22-11-2016, 14:29:09Noor is so not going to be impressed by Lyons. He's been there and seen it in two wars. Alpha male does not impress a man with a flying carpet and the reaction times of a hawk who believes he is a hero. :) Um... thanks for that? Lyonis definitely never considers himself a hero. Quite the opposite. Necessary evil. No offense was meant, sorry if that was the impression. :(I was just giving you Noor's most likely viewpoint on Lyons, so if they were to interact you wouldn't be surprised at how flippant and disrespectful he is. Edit: Noor is also not a hero. He is a narcissist. Obviously. Quote from: Arcane on 22-11-2016, 14:30:33Um... thanks for that? Lyonis definitely never considers himself a hero. Quite the opposite. Necessary evil. Don't worry buddy, Richard will appreciate Lyons (for his looks) Quote from: Rummy Tum on 22-11-2016, 14:34:14Don't worry buddy, Richard will appreciate Lyons (for his looks)I'd rather them not be impressed. :p But if you want to make the Big Bad Wolf squirm uncomfortable, go to town. Quote from: Arcane on 22-11-2016, 14:35:07I'd rather them not be impressed. :p But if you want to make the Big Bad Wolf squirm uncomfortable, go to town.Yeah, I know. Making him uncomfortable is entirely the point :P I'll get a post up today for the Lamoreaux! Quote from: Casey on 27-11-2016, 22:40:41That new character! I think our resident gluttons would appreciate her very much. Also welcome! Quote from: Rummy Tum on 28-11-2016, 01:05:25I think our resident gluttons would appreciate her very much. I resemble that remark. Only during Thanksgiving do I get 4 days off and still don't get a chance to do anything posting wise! Between dinners, cleaning for our dinner, fixing fence after the horses got out and front row tickets to The Pretty Reckless I didn't have any spare time. I'm going to give it a try during the first part of the week though... The resemblance is uncanny...and well received >:)And no worries, Sasquatch. Looking forward to your posts tho Will be working on a post here in a bit. Got turkey and dumplings to make. I'll be getting a post out tonight too. Working on a final project for my Human Relations class. Once I've finished it, or rather got to where I need to be on track, I'm going to work on a post! Quote from: Elysian Radiance on 28-11-2016, 02:02:56I'll be getting a post out tonight too. Working on a final project for my Human Relations class. Once I've finished it, or rather got to where I need to be on track, I'm going to work on a post! I *only* worked 8 hours today, and am I finishing up a paper that's due in 3 hours and 54 minutes. That makes today relatively quiet for me. Figures I don't actually have any posts to reply to. Quote from: Arcane on 28-11-2016, 02:07:03I *only* worked 8 hours today, and am I finishing up a paper that's due in 3 hours and 54 minutes. That makes today relatively quiet for me. Figures I don't actually have any posts to reply to.Saddam and check your messages Quote from: Bobby on 28-11-2016, 02:08:15shaddap and check your messages already answered, woman. Quote from: Arcane on 28-11-2016, 02:08:57I already answered, woman. *Tackles and does stuff and things* Glad to see you all back! Posted not once, not twice, but three times! Feeling productive tonight! Datum. Nice job! (I right? Aaaaaaaand after two days of flu I'm alive! Just got off work. 'D Quote from: SeraphAzriel on 29-11-2016, 02:42:22Aaaaaaaand after two days of flu I'm alive! Just got off work. 'Awesome!! Quote from: SeraphAzriel on 29-11-2016, 02:42:22Aaaaaaaand after two days of flu I'm alive! Just got off work. 'Alive is good! Yes. Being alive is most definitely the most preferential state of affairs. Working on that post/reply to Yuki. Sorry about taking so long. Please have some Ren tunes as apology. Tune (OK!!.. Ugh. So this weekend I will be putting up the Grand Opening post of The Dragon's Maw, so it will officially be open for business by Sunday at the latest, but I'm going to seriously work for Saturday. The post will be a 2 part-er, as I need to tease a certain wolf enough to make him want to come back after I shoo him out the door all needy and swizz. So sorry for the slowness on my part. Looking forward to its Bobby! Also, if any male and female characters wish to do a scene with Yuki in the City or elsewhere, just drop me a PM anytime! Some GM News... Plans for the plot and twisting the game to be more Circle focused are going well. I've got some neat stuff in store to play on the lack of conclave present in the game. I'll make a detailed post about that, and what's going on that front in due time. In the meantime, I'm working on the first major GM event which should launch in January - also the second IC month. Also to let people get past the Holidays before tackling that. Details for that to come a little closer to that. Beyond that, we do need to see some more general player participation. Reiki and Rummy can't be the only ones supporting the game (though they're doing anamazingjob). There are still some characters who haven't seen any posts at all yet. We've got a couple of new ones coming in. Long story short, activity is the key to making sure the game lives and that come January the GM event is worth launching. Obviously, people have life, and we totally understand that, but at the same time, this was meant to be a mostly player-driven experience with story elements guided by me here and there to keep it fresh. Also, with most of the behind the scenes stuff figured out, I'll be looking to get my own character(s) started and placed into the game. Yay for that! Most excellent news! (and thanks for the compliment ;D) Likewise, thank you. Looking forward to contributing more! I got not for Noor. Inspiration or interaction. He's currently hanging in limbo. Lyons already had one partner bail on him, and was waiting on the Maw. I dislike bouncing timeframes too often unless it's drastically so like a past scene, so it doesn't affect how he behaves. Only so much I can do. D'Anna fuss y'self. I know when one of my characters isn't a hit, even with me. I can understand that, Arcane. And yo, Skye, how 'bout we do a scene? I got ideas. I'll send 'em to ya. Also Why hello there ;D I'm doing what I can with my two, but there's only so much to be done, Yann? I've got a past and a present scene with Eleanor and Tristan was involved in a scene until it ended. Haven't had any other interest yet though. Quote from: Re Z L on 03-12-2016, 00:26:37Why hello there ;DI like her. She's yummy. They may have even run into each other before, if interested. Quote from: Elysian Radiance on 03-12-2016, 01:02:33I've got a past and a present scene with ElaenoreTag, you're it. Quote from: Arcane on 03-12-2016, 01:05:41I like her. She's yummy. They may have even run into each other before, if interested. Thanks! And sure, don't see why not :)(Same goes for anyone else, Angelo's has a fair bit of renown and as one of the former Dream gate guardians has probably bumped into one or two Thorns) I'm terribly sorry about the inconvenience, but due to some real world circumstance, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to drop out of this fine role-play. It'd be nice if I could perhaps rejoin in the future, but for any time soon that just isn't likely. I'm very sorry about not being able to advance things with Yuki Reiki. : (A shame, but completely understandable. You come back now, y'hear? (if you can and want to whenever you're free, of course :D) Mm hmm. No worries there, it was fun while it lasted! Guess I'll be opening Yuki's scene at the Lamoreaux for that current day, and days beyond too. I have finally finished off the abhor ant RL crap that is highly annoying and time-consuming but still needs to be done if I want to be able to concentrate on writing. I shall concentrate on writing MEOW! It'll take me a few hours, but I'll have my two part post up tonight, which will include the actual Grand Opening of the Maw. And OMG Re! Love your char! We should seriously plot. I see a wonderful rival possibility. Quote from: Bobby on 04-12-2016, 01:06:04And OMG Re! Love your char! We should seriously plot. I see a wonderful rival possibility. Thanks!*Plots and schemes!* So I managed to get part 1 up, which 'frees up' Lyons. Part 2, the Opening will totally come tomorrow! MaybeI'll get it up later tonight, but my fucking eye muscle has been twitching for the last 2 damn hours, and I'm ready to melon ball the fuckin' thing right out of my face at this point, because it's causing a headache. Tomorrow, definitely. Yeah, definitely tomorrow. Oh, wow. All this time, I didn't know there were in-game threads going. I kept watching for a link to be edited into the main post and never thought to just, y'know, check the section that the IOC is in. Hi, I'm a damned fool. Now for the hardest part of every role-play, the entrance ex Hilo. Inspiration, where are you... Hi, damned fool. I'm Rummy :Entrances are hard indeed. Having a plot or character connection can make it a lot smoother though. I should have posts out in the next couple of days. Doctor changed my med dosage, and I've been in a haze while my body acclimates to the change. Quote from: Elysian Radiance on 05-12-2016, 00:00:47I should have posts out in the next couple of days. Doctor changed my med dosage, and I've been in a haze while my body acclimates to the change.*cracks whip*Not rushing you, just figured you'd appreciate the gesture. GM Announcement It is my intention to take an unofficial hiatus from E until after the new year. I can't give a specific date, but around then I'll check back in and see where I'm at. During this time I won't be available to post, manage GM events, or handle PMs. That said I will be reachable offline, and a number of people have the ability to contact me off site - if serious enough issues arise, I trust that they'll keep me in the loop and I can address them as appropriate.In the meantime, I do not plan to shut the game down. Instead, I'll only be looking to pause currently active GM things and shift the focus to side threads and other scenes. When I return things should resume their normal flow. I will still be available off site for those that have my information, so I'll be around if you want to chat. With that said I'll peek at the game status when I return, and we'll address whatever happens between now and then at that point. I appreciate your understanding. Happy writing whilst I am away, have a great holiday season and a good new year. I'll see you all on the other side. Immediate concerns that need GM attention should be directed at Elysian Radiance who can most easily contact me and get you an answer in a timely fashion. Be seein' ya Wispy. Totally understandable Wispy. You take care! With that, I'm going to take ANI and withdraw from the game. She has made 0 impact anyway, so taking her and the Maw out won't mess with what's currently going on. I wish all the luck in continuing though! I'm going to back out too. Furthermore, I've tried, and I'm not feeling Noor, and he has zip going on. Thanks for the offer of a scene Rummy, I do appreciate it. Yeah, no problem Skye. Good luck to you both, and see ya around :) I'm sad to see you both go, but you have to do what you have to do. With that said, I'd like to maybe brainstorm to come up with some nifty plot points for us to engage. While slice of life is fun and all, I think we all want something a little more. If you guys want to NPC someone, feel free. Just keep it realistic (the leaders and big names of the various factions are obviously off limits, use common sense, etc.). So, let's brainstorm together to get something we can do! Maybe something with hunters? According to Amar lo's profile, new self-styled hunters have been out hunting down all See lie like the mobs of old. And there are also Assembly (and possibly rogue) See lie goin' 'round stirring up trouble. We couldn't do any big, game-changing events, but isolated incidents and such should do, I think. HRM... That's an idea. Arcane and I are plotting something, and we may actually be able to tie that in with it. Also, I know that I have PM's. I will be looking over those and getting back to people by the end of the day, hopefully. So, in case there was any confusion... I logged on, saw a post from Fly (Eleanor), and thought I had missed it. So I started posting. Then Fly got Tristan's post out, and it was important enough to significantly alter Wyatt's post. I have removed his, and reposted it, so t's in correct order, replying to Tristan also. JFC, can't even give me any time to bask in being almost caught up, can you? On that note, I'm sorry that I haven't answered PM's yet. It's finals weeks for me, so I've been busy with schoolwork. I'm officially finished as of Tuesday I believe. But I am going to try and get to them this weekend. My last post from Tristan contains information about a new sub-plot that we're going to be working on as well. Quote from: Elysian Radiance on 11-12-2016, 00:51:47JFC, can't even give me any time to bask in being almost caught up, can you? No. O:)I take an opportunity when I have one. I'll hold off on replying to the other one for at least 20 minutes or so, if it makes you feel better. *winks* I was actually going in to catch myself up when I saw your first one. Whew, finally got my post out. Might begin another plot at St Augustine... anyone want to pair/triple up ? Quote from: Reiki on 13-12-2016, 09:19:47Whew, finally got my post out. Might begin another plot at St Augustine... anyone want to pair/triple up ? You can count me in, though I'd step aside for another interested party (or parties) Due to holidays and some personal crises going on right now, my replies are going to be delayed. I have been trying to get to them this week, but things have just been... well hellish is putting it kindly. I promise that I will do my best to get replies up as soon as I am able to. Have a happy and safe holidays.~Fly Sorry I haven't been around, work has been a pain and this short week after Christmas is going to be worse. Have the Colorado inspector coming on Thursday to look over two houses, and I'm going to have them both wired by then. On top of that I'm waiting on the Bronze Eyeballs and trim to get the pine groove ceiling up... However, I have tomorrow off and a post in mind so if nothing else I should have at least something up! Now to my sisters party since it's her birthday today as well... Happy holidays everyone! GM Announcement While I am not currently ready to return to posting, it's getting to be about time when I take stock of what's going on. Given the level of activity in the game, the overall lack of interest of incoming players, and the utterly missing faction, plus already having player fall off... I have determined that this game is probably best shelved and reimagined. To that end, I am officially closing this game and ending GM support for it. Thanks for your time, your effort, and what was accomplished. Reading the stories that had started to unfold was a great deal of fun, and hopefully sometime in the future a recycle of this general idea can crop up and grow. Hopefully I'll see some of you there! If not, I'm certain I'll see you in between. Keep your eyes peeled for a new year of Wispy Games :Happy writing folks!

[Black Dawn] Out of Character|rating:2.0

GRA (Urbanzorro and Mess)

("If you know what you want then you go, and you find it, and you get it! Do you want a PhD or not?" Auden laughed at the text from her sister, a picture of the adapted Sondheim lyrics doodled on the dot paper of Emerson's omnipresent bullet journal in an artsy, swirly writing style." Doesn't quite scan, does it?" she sent back, then quickly followed with a kiss-face emoji and the text "Thanks! Interview with A.H. in 5!" It was only a few seconds later that Emerson replied with a GIF (from the Into the Woods remake of Meryl Streep saying "Go to the wood!" and disappearing. Auden shook her head - she and her sister had grown up on the old Into the Woods recording, her poetry professor mother explaining the genius of the lyrics far before either girl was old enough to understand clever internal rhyme. It had become a private joke in the little sibling world she and Emerson shared, but Auden understood her mother's point of view better now - she had her own research agenda. Getting that agenda funded was the whole purpose of this trip. Getting graduate funding in the humanities was notoriously difficult, and Auden knew she'd been damned lucky to find a masters program at a small state university that had funded her through a teaching assistantship. She'd been accepted to a couple of higher-ranked programs, but she'd taken her parents' advice never to pay for graduate school seriously and had sacrificed some prestige to mind her bottom line. For her PhD, though, she wasn't willing to make that kind of sacrifice. Bosco was an R1 research university with a highly competitive and well known sociology department and a sincere enough commitment to both graduate and undergraduate education that most classes - even general education courses - were usually actually taught by faculty; the graduate students who taught and did research under faculty were mentored closely through their programs, not just thrown in the deep end and left to fend for themselves. Admirable in theory. In practice, it meant getting a funded position was damned hard. Harder, Auden suspected, this year. Andrew Under's first book had been the toast of the big sociology conference the previous summer, taking home several awards, and he was interviewing for a funded GRA position under him. She'd made it through most of the general application process - she'd spent a chunk of the morning in an interview with the department head and director of graduate studies, then another hour or so in a meet and greet with the current grads - and had an interview scheduled with Under himself for the afternoon. She'd told herself over and over that talking to him wasn't a big deal, that he'd been in her shoes not too long ago, but she couldn't seem to communicate that information to the feet that kept wanting to tap the toes of the sensible suede pumps she'd paired with the navy suit (for her interview. Auden ran her hand down the front of the white polka-dotted blue blouse to make sure it was still properly tucked in, double-checked the time, threw her phone in her messenger bag, and stepped in to the little departmental office." May I help you?" A short, stocky red-haired man peered at her from behind the desk." I have an appointment with Dr. Under."" Come with me." He gestured and Auden followed, running a hand over her hair to make sure the bobby pins keeping the front pinned back professionally were still holding. The redhead knocked on the door." Your 2:30 is here, um - what's your name?" Auden squared her shoulders and pulled up her warmest smile." Auden Canada." (Under was the sort of man who could be, and often was, called many things. If late, the majority of those things were complimentary in nature. ‘Andrew is brilliant, Andrew is driven, Andrew is insightful, Andrew ha bold ideas.’ Over the time since he had published his in depth findings on the dynamics within multipartner households, and the effects those households had on the greater communities they were a part of, Andrew had come to accept that reading such things about himself was to be expected. However, those who actually knew him knew that there were other more accurate descriptions of him that one could level. The most relevant at the current point in time being ‘Andrew can forget things.’ Which was exactly what he had done, lost in a morning of early theorizing for his next big research undertaking Andrew had forgotten that he had an interview at the same time that had planned on taking his lunch. Even worse was the fact that it wasn’t an interview with some magazine, or other such publicity oriented activity that he could easily cancel without feeling badly. No, this was an interview for a prospective assistant who could very well be the one helping him with a study that was even more ambitious than the one which had catapulted him to his current lofty status. So basically, the kind of interview he couldn’t allow himself to just dodge in favor of a sandwich and coffee.“Let her in.” Andrew told James, the young man at the front desk for the sociology department. When Auden walked in the first thing Andrew felt was a mild bit of relief.’ Well, she’s attractive. That’s a better start than some.’ he thought to himself. Given the nature of just what he had planned Andrew couldn’t really make use of an assistant who he didn’t find physically appealing. Which, as the past few weeks had shown him, eliminated a remarkable number of otherwise perfect candidates. Andrew reached forward and shook Auden’s hand once she was close enough to do so comfortably. “A pleasure to meet you.” He said, meeting her gaze with his own and doing his best to thread the needle of giving a firm, but not too firm handshake. As he released Auden’s hand Andrew felt a slight gnawing in his stomach. The decision to skip on breakfast in favor of coffee and a decent lunch was turning out to be a bad choice. As that realization struck him, an idea arose to hopefully fix the mild disaster he had created for himself. “I have to confess...” Andrew began, slightly abashed at his own apparent inability to manage his time. “I completely forgot about your interview today... I’ve been a little distracted with all that I have going on, and it just slipped my mind. So, I hope you’ll forgive me if I impose on you a little bit and ask for us to go about our little discussion inside coffee shop in the next building over.” In truth Andrew knew the answer to his request before he even asked. It was one of those inescapable truths of the universe. When a PhD asked something of their research assistant, the answer was invariably some form of ‘yes.’ Even more so for would be assistants. The office was comfortable, Auden noticed, without being ostentatious. The department head's office had been almost comically sized, the unnecessary space use somewhat made up for with the fact that the head had apparently offered to share the space with a visiting assistant professor who wouldn't have had an office otherwise. The grad students had explained to her that, while grad students technically had their own desks in a shared office crammed full of said desks, they usually did any TA or RA duties in the office of the professors with whom they were working. This office would be intimate, but not uncomfortable. Don't get ahead of yourself, Canada, Auden scolded. You don't have the position yet. She would get it, though. She had a good feeling about it. The brunette stepped in until she could reach for the professor's hand, her own feeling somewhat dwarfed as she did her best to return a confident handshake." You as well, Dr. Under," she said. "I really appreciate you taking the time to chat." Her brown eyes were warm as she smiled at him - not flirting, not even flattering really, just doing her best to be friendly and professional, taking them from the necessary pleasantries into the meat of their conversation. When he opened his mouth she expected it to be to ask her to take a seat, but instead...she felt her heart flutter, the butterflies in her gut she'd carefully calmed all taking flight at once. He'd forgotten her interview. That was a really, terrible sign. Auden fought not to let the worry show on her face, quickly pulling back the smile that had faded around the edges a little as she'd listened." Of course." She shifted the messenger bag's placement on her shoulder. "I haven't made it over there yet, actually - I'd love the chance to see a bit more of campus." There was movement behind her, a displacement of air that told her someone was there before she heard a somewhat familiar voice behind her and turned to see the director of graduate studies, a tall African American woman with dreads pulled into a large bun." I'm so sorry to interrupt, but I hoped I'd catch you before the interview got underway. Andrew, I need to steal you for just a second to double-check numbers with you before I head to that budget committee meeting." Moira Covert turned to Auden. "We'll just be a couple of minutes. I really enjoyed chatting with you this morning!"" Oh, no worries," Auden reassured with a wave of her hand. "I'm happy to wait. It was nice to meet you in person, Dr. Covert." Once she was alone in the room the prospective student resisted the urge to bang her head on the wall. This was going exceptionally poorly, and through no fault of her own, as far as she knew. Deep breaths. This was fine. The interview would pull things back on track - she'd be charming and qualified, and it would all be fine. She moved towards the bookshelves, scanning the titles as much to have something to occupy herself as looking for potential sources of common conversational ground. Many were titles she recognized, though the shelves that seemed to be dedicated to some of the background research for his book had less familiar items on them. Another shelf was partially full and less tidily ordered, books unevenly placed as if they were being frequently pulled out and back in. She scanned the titles: Philip Miller'screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns: The Romance and Sexual Sorcery of Sadomasochism, Gloria Blame'different Loving: A Complete Exploration of the World of Sexual Dominance and Submission, Robert J. Rebel'master/Slave Relations: Handbook of Theory and Practice...she felt heat rising on her face and turned away from the shelf. Well, that answered something about his future research projects, she supposed. On the one hand, it was...well, bold, especially given the region. On the other, though, her own research on practices of teaching active and ongoing consent not infrequently kicked up BDSM books she had to weed out, and she knew there was enough out there that she wasn't sure how he'd provide a fresh perspective. It would be interesting to hear about the work. She moved towards the shelf on the other side of his desk...and froze as she caught sight of the packet on the desk. It was a sheaf of papers stapled together, the first couple folded over. The top had a running heading - PROSPECTIVE GA's, P. 3 - and below were a couple of entries. They seemed to be the basic information the application asked for on the first page - name, gender, previous education, and so on - but with blank typed areas:O: ___/10CR: ___/10A: ___/10SP: ___/10Overall: ___/10Each applicant was given a score, then the scores were averaged into the final. All the boxes on the page were crossed out, the applicants apparently removed from consideration, but the crossing out wasn't so complete that she couldn't read some of the handwritten comments. Hoke man, Miranda was labelled "Boring, unable to engage outside own narrow research focus, looks a little like Fran Preacher." King, Dominic "Seemed very concerned about research trajectory, no good questions" and so on. Strangely, neither of the two men on the page had scores or comments, they were just marked through. Interesting. Auden poked her head out the office door to make sure the coast was still clear, then picked up the packet. What did the letters mean? She flipped to the front and found what she assumed was a rubric of sorts:Openness:Applicant shows a willingness to entertain new ideas and engages with them in a meaningful way. Does not exhibit discomfort at concept of using nontraditional research techniques. Complimentary Research:Applicant's research is in a field related to work they will be undertaking as an assistant, thematically related and/or providing student with a background in autoethnographic techniques. Attractiveness:Applicant is aesthetically"...finished up this afternoon." Auden heard Dr. Covert's voice down the hall and quickly put the papers back where she'd found them, turning back to the appropriate page and doing her best to approximate where they'd been sitting. What had she just read? A ranking of potential Gas, obviously - she'd passed her unranked and unmarked on entry on the second page - but the system seemed odd. And what was with the attractiveness? Not physical, certainly, but what was the aesthetic component? Was he asking for people to do some kind of art analysis? What had SP stood for? Something potential, she'd caught as she'd quickly put it back, but hadn't seen what the S was for. Auden found herself back by the bookshelves furthest from the desk as she heard Dr. Covert's voice much closer, telling Dr. Under to "have a good afternoon." The young woman turned as her potential mentor walked back in the office. "I'm jealous of your library," she said, waving at the bookshelf. "I'm using a bunch of these for my thesis right now, and I think our librarians are starting to bite their nails every time I come take out another book without returning any." The thought that Auden could do a little snooping in his unsupervised office didn’t even pass into Andrew’s head as he and ‘Moira,’ which was the name Dr. Covert had insisted that Andrew call her, discussed some of the plans for getting the funding for his upcoming research work. Andrew could appreciate that Moira wasn’t in the easiest spot trying to convince the board to provide cash for some of the more ‘unconventional’ purchases he would need. But, Moira had, as far as Andrew knew, been one of his bigger champions when it came to securing funding or authorization for whatever project he set himself to. She’d been the one to convince people that his excursion out to Utah had been worthwhile, as well as the high rent costs for the small house in the gated community where he’d studied his neighbors. Thankfully that gamble had paid off, so neither Andrew nor Moira had any real reason to fear that the board wouldn’t be willing to spin the wheel again. Auden’s comment about his personal library brought a small smirk to Andrew’s lips. “Well yes, I’ve found that’s one of the benefits of my current situation.” He said “The university is more than willing to buy me a copy of any literature I want, so long as they think it will allow them to avoid having to pay for me re-conducting an experiment someone else already has.” Andrew continued to speak as he made his way to his desk to collect his notepad as well as a pen and his staff ID. “If we do wind up working together please remember to feel free to make use of the stuff on that shelf by the way. There’s no reason those books can’t serve more than one purpose at once.” With the pen and notepad now secured in his pocket, while the ID remained in his hand Andrew motioned toward’s his office door. “Shall we?” He asked, his tone more of a statement than a question as he was already leaving. As Andrew led Auden out of the humanities building and towards the coffee shop he made sure not to leave her behind. He’d always had a faster than average walking pace and had taught himself to slow it down for the sake of others. “So, you mentioned that your thesis work is making use of some of the same works I am. If you don’t mind sharing, what is the focus of your thesis?” Andrew turned his head to spare Auden a glance as he asked his question. Watching for her reaction to being asked about her research as well as wanting to see just how willing she was to share her ideas. Whether Auden realized it or not, her evaluation had already begun. The coffee shop was a relatively small, but also quite pleasant establishment. It had started as the same type of knock off Starbucks that every campus in the country had wanted to open during the height of the coffee chain’s rise to popularity. But, over the years the students who worked there had come to make it their own. Even changing the name from the wretched coffee based pun it had once been to “The Stimulated Mind.” Which Andrew found much more acceptable. The interior was sparsely lit, relying on the shop’s large windows to provide natural light for most of its illumination. The mood in the coffee shop was, as per normal, calm and relaxing. There was no shouting out of names that had been scribbled on coffee cups, nor were there couches aimed at patrons who lingered for hours on end. It was a place to stop, eat, and get on with your day. At this odd hour there was only one other patron, who had already been served and was enjoying his sandwich at a small table near one of the windows. Before Andrew walked up to the counter, he spoke to Auden again. “The university, pays for my meals at its campus establishments, so feel free to order whatever you like. The business office is picking up the check.” Andrew then ordered himself a BLT and a large cup of coffee. The girl at the counter didn’t even have to ask how he took it. His preference for ‘having some coffee with his cream and sugar’ had become a staple joke of the student based staff there. University funding structured were a topic Auden wasentirelytoo familiar with as the grad rep on the department's budget committee back at her current institution, and she laughed easily." I'm sure. Given the scope of your work, I'd guess they could probably buy several books for the cost of processing all those IRB forms alone," she joked. The offer to let her use any of the books any time immediately made her mind flicker back to the shelf of more...interesting books, and she fought the urge to dwell on the thought and risk blushing. Instead, she clung to the hope that "if" provided - surely he wouldn't say that if he was already resolved not to hire her, right?" Thank you, I'd appreciate that," she said, readjusting the bag on her shoulder and following him out. She took a few steps outside the door - far enough to avoid being in the way while the office was locked up - then followed a half-step behind the professor so she could see where he was going. Pace, however, wasn't a problem." It is," she answered. "I'm looking at the efficacy of campus initiatives for fostering a culture of affirmative consent. It's something I'd like to explore in a broader context eventually, but for my thesis I'm doing a specific case study of an initiative in our campus Greek community - lots of interviews, lots of sitting around parties with a clipboard and a cup of ginger ale," she explained with a lightly self-deprecating laugh. "I'm really enjoying the Boardman..." she said, launching into a brief explanation of the way she was using a couple of her main texts as they walked. The coffee shop seemed like a really valuable resource to have nearby. She usually made lunches on the weekend to get her through the week, but it would be convenient to have a close option if she needed to grab something in a hurry. The vibe was chill, and she looked around approvingly as they approached the counter. She had her wallet half out of her bag when Dr. Under spoke again and her eyebrows raised." Are you sure? Thank you," she said, stepping up after him and placing a small fruit and cheese cup on the counter from the grab-and-go options. She followed Dr. Under's lead on picking a table, then pulled a water bottle out of her satchel before putting the strap over the back of the chair and sitting down, popping open the lid of the fruit and cheese cup." I have to say, last fall I read your article in the Sociology Review from two years ago and really loved seeing how you expanded those thoughts in your book." She wasn't just flattering him for the sake of it - shebeen impressed with how well-suited the material seemed to each medium in turn, and a little baffled at the adaptability of his writing between the two. "Is your current work continuing to expand on studying that particular community?" That Auden has managed to havesomethingto say of his work other than the standard “I’m a big fan” that Andrew occasionally received was quite refreshing. And that her own work dealt with the concept of informed consent was also noteworthy. The ‘Safe Word’ was a big thing within the lifestyle he was planning to study, and it wouldn’t hurt to have someone familiar with the idea of consent being a fluid idea that could be given or revoked quickly. Andrew had been mid-sip of his coffee when Auden asked her question though so he had to make do with a slight shake of his head as his initial response while he swallowed. “Not exactly” he elaborated. “It has to do with a somewhat similar community, actually. The members of the polyamorous community often find themselves as members of the group my new work will focus on. But it isn’t a directly related group.” Andrew had to hold himself back a little, not wanting to derail the conversation by simply over explaining his ideas. “I suppose the best summary is that I’m going to be focusing in on another community that practices sexual habits which are deemed outside the norm, and more specifically the effects that taking part in those activities have on the state of the individual as well as their interaction with society as a whole.”’ Smooth Andrew the detracting part of his mind thought’you managed to be overly wordy and frustratingly vague at the same time. Truly you’re a master lecturer.” It was at this time that Andrew’s sandwich was brought out to him. He thanked the girl and looked down at it intently. Before biting in however he decided to pose a question to Auden. “So, with that in mind. Why don’t we start a bit directly? What do you think about that kind of research? About the study of not just behavior and courtship. But of actual sexuality, sexual activity, and even the sexual acts themselves. Would you be comfortable investigating and cataloging such things? I ask because I’ve already had to disqualify an applicant because they found the subject to be offensive.” With how question asked Andrew took a bite of his sandwich, looking up at Auden as he chewed, trying to gauge her level of comfort even talking about the subject of sex itself. Auden caught herself fiddling with the plastic lid of the cup and made herself put it down on the table and leave it alone, then found herself with her hands around the silver metal water bottle instead, rotating it between her hands as she listened, head tilted in thought. She was paying attention, but it was difficult to parse out what he meant. Reading between the lines of what he was saying was straightforward enough, but the challenge was determining what meaning was there because Dr. Under was intending it to be there and what she was reading into the situation given the information she had about his reading material. Something about the way BDSM or S&M or whatever alphabet soup affected a person and that person's social interaction. The need for openness and complimentary research made sense. Maybe the aesthetic element was something to do with one's ability to make aesthetic judgments, or to appreciate a variety of body types to avoid being biased in the field? Auden could feel a line between her eyes where her brow was furrowed in thought and made a conscious effort to relax her face." Interesting," she began, but was saved from offering further intelligent response by Dr. Under's sandwich arriving. She pulled the little cup of Gouda out of the top and set it aside, comfortable eating now that he had his food. The question caught her with a grape between her fingers, and she rolled it there as she listened. The question was fair, and she lifted and lowered her shoulders in a little shrug." I'm comfortable with it. Part of what I find exciting about our discipline is that no human activity is outside its scope." She took a sip of water to let herself think through her opinion, making sure she actually agreed with what she was about to say. Would she be comfortable observing that? "I'm sure you and the University would both make sure the people being observed were comfortable with it and were all legal, consenting adults, so I don't see a problem with performing that observation." Another sip. "What...kind of community are you focusing on now, specifically, if I may ask?" 'Well, that's a good enough start.' Andrew thought to himself. The fact that Auden even acknowledged being open to researching something as socially taboo as the specifics of other people's sexual activities already put her ahead of some of the interviewees that Andrew had dealt with so far. In fact, a couple of the prospective assistants hadn't even made it this far into the interview before needing to be ruled out, or even outright refusing. Auden was climbing the ladder at an impressive rate so far! Andrew chewed and swallowed his way through Auden's follow-up question about what exact community he intended to focus in on.' Well, here comes the first moment of truth'Andrew thought. It was all well and good for Auden to say she was open to researching the sexual habits of others, but the realization that these habits would also be those that many people considered strange or even wrong could be more than enough to scare off an otherwise open-minded person. Once he was sure that he wouldn't embarrass himself with a half a mouthful of food peeking out as he spoke Andrew answered Auden's question. "Well, the community I'll be focusing on this time is the BDSM community. Specifically relationships within that situation that feature a one-sided exchange of power between one partner who is the established dominant, with the other partner being the submissive." Andrew paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts to further elaborate. "You see, I'm interested in the effects that having such power has on an individual's personality as well as their interaction with society. I want to try and determine if there is any causality between the feelings of power that a dominant and submissive lifestyle can bring someone and increased assertion of oneself within society as a whole. Additionally, I want to see if the reverse is true. If the habituation of surrender and acceptance that the submissive members of the BDSM lifestyle embrace effects their ability to maintain themselves within society." Andrew let his answer sink in a bit, intending to leave it at that but feeling slightly compelled to add just a bit more he decided to elaborate even more. "Even more than that though, I want to make this one different, I want this work to stand out from similar studies that have been made before. I want research and information that has been gathered with a much more in depth, a much more dedicated, and even.... hands-on approach than what is normally seen in our field. So many of our colleagues are content to just watch from a distance, to learn through interview, and second hand sources. It's rare that we find observations that have been made in the room so to speak... And that is really what I want to achieve.... How does that sound to you?" Andrew was tentatively hopeful as he posed the question to Auden, it was a pitch he had done before. One that had sold the few members of the board who hadn't already bought onto his success when he'd run the idea by them. But also one that had yet to hit home with any prospective assistants. Auden shifted in her seat, crossing her legs - not closing off her body language intentionally so much as settling in for a conversation, body relaxing a bit as she was able to focus more on the conversation itself and less on her nerves. The student took Dr. Under's speech as an opportunity to finally eat the grape she'd been toying with, the sweetness of it bursting in her mouth as he started speaking. She had no clue what her reaction would've been if she hadn't noticed the books in his office; as it was, attempting to act any particular way seemed like a guaranteed way to seem strange, so she simply offered an expression of polite interest and an "ah" of understanding intending to invite him to expand on the response, which he continued to do so. The vague impression of whips and chains she'd had clarified under the explanation, her brain's general what is going on?!panic at the initial observation of the books starting to fade and leaving in its place the bits and bobs of information about BDSM she'd picked up from pop culture and the places where her own work occasionally brought up references to it, though that was usually a sign that the work she was looking at wasn't appropriate to her current project, and she'd only ever read enough to verify that. His explanation of his research question sparked something, and she was about to ask about it when he continued. She ate a piece of Gouda instead, continuing to listen with interest, a slight tightening around her eyes belying not suspicion but simply an attempt to parse out all possible meanings of his words. It wasn't that she distrusted him - she just didn't want to not listen carefully enough and ask a stupid question. The premise seemed logical, and in line with what he'd told her previously. His M.O. was up close and personal research, and she'd assumed from his question about whether she'd be comfortable recording information in a sexual context that they would be actually attending functions and watching what was going on rather than just doing interviews about it." That sounds reasonable," she answered, the subtext of her tone that of course it was reasonable, why wouldn't it be? "Self-reports of physiological phenomena are unreliable if those reporting aren't trained to do so, once less when you're asking them to self-disclose something so intimate to someone in a lab coat," she said with a small smile that suggested she was imagining how awkward such an interview would be. "I'll admit that what little knowledge I have is largely gleaned from pop culture, but my understanding is that there's often something of a disconnect between public persona and private practice in these kinds of situations - people who tend to be more proactive in their professional lives preferring less powerful roles in the bedroom, for example," she said, gesturing with her water bottle in hand. She'd heard more than one derogatory comment about a tough boss speculating about what they liked in the bedroom, both on television and during her summers temping. "How do you anticipate being able to observe in a way that preserves the feeling and dynamics of a private space when there are strangers in the situation? Or is the community such that..." she struggled for words. "Mmm, I don't have enough prior knowledge to have appropriate vocabulary. Is it like the polyamorous community, in that it's possible to becomepartof the community as an observer?" Andrew was pleased with Auden’s seeming to agree with the basic premise of his research plan. Even if he’d yet to reveal the actual bit he expected to be controversial. It was still a step in the correct direction though. And, Andrew was grateful for it. Auden’s follow-up questions did mean that the thin veil he’d been hiding his plan behind needed to be lifted though. Otherwise, Andrew feared he’d wind upcoming off as purposefully vague and possibly untrustworthy.“Well, from what information I’ve gleaned so far there are some situations where participants are allowed, and even encouraged to take on the role of a spectator. But, in all honesty I don’t believe those situations alone will prove a full enough picture for what I need.” Andrew paused, trying to put together the correct words to preamble the revelation of what would be needed from whoever became his research assistant. “Furthermore, it’s my understanding that the more... significant events are seen as being very private affairs by most members of these communities. The sort of things that take place between committed partners or polyamorous groupings.” Andrew thought for a moment, trying to come up with the right phrasing to further explain why even in the room observations wouldn’t be enough. His brow furrowed slightly in concentration as he thought. “You see, I’ve already conducted a few preliminary interviews, to test the waters as it were, and of the subjects I’ve spoken to the vast majority hold certain milestones within their relationships as extremely important, almost akin to religious rites, or other such spiritual awakenings. As a result, most have proven very tight-lipped on these specific events. Which is troublesome because I believe that it’s these events which hold the greatest insight into the effects that such a lifestyle has on an individual.” Andrew watched Auden for signs of understanding the dilemma as he took another bite of his sandwich. As he chewed Andrew found himself struck by, what for him, was an unusual thought. Before he even realized it, his imagination was trying to picture just what Auden looked like under her formal attire. Trying to decide what exact shade of skin her nipples were, if she blushed when her body was openly looked at. Andrew was fast to push the thought from his mind. Forcing it away as if it were some rogue comet, simply passing through the solar system of his thoughts before flying away into parts unknown. Andrew didn’t allow the unprofessional portion of his mind to fluster him though, if anything this was yet another good sign! He found Auden attractive enough to idly fantasize over, which also meant he’d find her attractive enough to want her to take part in the ‘research activities’ he had planned.’ Might as well lay it out there‘Andrew thought as he swallowed the thoroughly chewed bite of sandwich.“It’s that sense of... secrecy I suppose, or perhaps the better word is privacy. That has led me to formulate the research plan that I’m looking for assistance with.” He began, still watching Auden for her reaction to his words. “Specifically, I want someone who can, and will, take part in genuine first-hand research. Someone who will join me in becoming the project’s primary research subjects. My plan is to personally take part in the activities of the BDSM community’s lifestyle as a dominant role and self report on the effects that prolonged exposure to the lifestyle has on me. So, I need an assistant who is willing to take part in those same activities as a submissive role and more importantly is capable of self analyzing and self reporting the effects it has on them.” Andrew sat back slightly, knowing that he’d just dropped a pretty big bombshell into what had this far been an average interview. “If that’s something you don’t feel comfortable with, it’s perfectly fine. Feel free to simply say so, and we can put a halt to the interview, I’ll simply mark you as uninterested, and I’m sure you’ll be able to find a more traditional position somewhere else. You’d be far from the first interviewee to do so... however, if you think that this is something you can handle we can continue to discuss it, and I’ll gladly answer any questions you may have.” A small part of her had second-guessed the question. After all, what one person considered simply an astute question about research protocol another might well find to be impertinence, reflection that the asked thought she knew best. Honestly, though, while Auden wanted this assistantship desperately, she didn't want it badly enough to deal with someone who would choose that interpretation. Scrutiny and high standards she could deal with, expected, even - willful misinterpretation of her intentions she could not. Fortunately, Dr. Under seemed unperturbed by the line of questioning and simply answered. She tilted her head slightly as she listened, trying to understand and puzzle through the problem. It made sense that there might be private ritual elements, but one of the bigger questions in the field was whether having someone observing a ritual when an observer wasn't part of the normal series of events in itself somehow rendered the ritual void, unfit for fulfilling its original purpose. She had no clue what kinds of rituals people who practiced that lifestyle did, but she imagined they were terribly intimate - even if participants were open to an audience, she could imagine how that audience would insert a degree of artificiality into the situation." That makes sense," she murmured. "Observation can throw a wrench in things. What is the nature of the rituals?" She realized she'd asked a question just as he'd taken a bite and waved her hand as if to swat the question away temporarily, smiling in apology. Her brain whirred with possibilities for addressing the problem, eyes focusing on the middle distance as she thought. Inviting people to conduct their rituals in a lab with a one-way mirror was the most clinical option, and probably the least helpful - unless the rituals were very ritualized in actionandnot location-specific, so they could be done anywhere, a lab wouldn't come close to matching up to a private home or...wherever those things happened. Recording was the more likely option - having people record the rituals, perhaps, but the most authentic option would be to collect lots of recording and then isolate the relevant elements, so people would eventually forget they were being watched and perform, if not completely normally, at least closer to normal... Auden's attention clicked back on the professor as he continued speaking, and she nibbled on a piece of cheese...and then slowly lowered her hand. When he started explaining what he was looking for, she told herself she must be misunderstanding. He meant he wanted someone to belittle primary subjects, or perhaps there was something about the nature of the rituals that was replicable by outsiders and not actually so closely tied to the community's more obvious activities. As he continued, though, she realized that he was completely serious, meant the thing she'd assumed he couldn't possibly have meant. Auden inhaled sharply as if she was about to say something, but she had no idea what that was going to be. He pushed ahead, wrapping up the statement as if he'd just finished explaining that he was hoping for someone who understood how to run an ANOVA, but if she didn't, no worries, better luck at the next interview." I..." She broke off with a laugh more nervous than amused, then stopped, shaking her head. "You're serious?" The urge to throw her drink in his face and march out was strong - it was one thing to not be interested in a candidate the school made you interview, and forgetting the meeting was unprofessional but forgivable; taking her out of the building to proposition her and see if she's desperate enough to try to sleep her way into the position was something else entirely. She could feel the heat on her cheeks. It may well have only been the fact that her water had a screw cap currently screwed in place that prevented her from following through with the urge, but she made herself replay his words. Plausible deniability, she realized. Everything had been carefully couched in academic terms - if she went to the department head and reported this, she was sure Dr. Under would say she'd misunderstood. She sat up a little straighter, lifting her chin." Exactly what activities have the university approved you to ask your assistant to partake in?" she asked. The subtext that she was pretty sure he was about to tell her that the university didn't know about this at all was clear, but the tone was polite enough. It was a shame this had gone this way. Autoethnographic work sounded interesting and exciting, and the potential of being partially responsible for another book as splashy as Under's first was seductive. If this was legit, it would be potentially career-making. The problem was there was no way it was legit. Auden’s reaction to Andrew’s revelation wasn’t entirely unexpected. The look of disbelief and the slight tensing of facial muscles that most people didn’t even realize was taking place were things Andrew had run into before. But the blushing, now that threw him. It wasn’t that Auden was somehow the first person interviewed to blush at what Andrew required. No... it was more that he, and in all honesty probably every other man on the planet, could never really be sure what a little blush from a woman meant. Sometimes it could mean anger, other times excitement, and then of course there was the possibility that it was embarrassment. Which invariably brought about the question of if it was the form of embarrassment that was entirely negative, or if it was the form that had enjoyable aspects. And Then there was the question of if Auden was the type of woman to take pleasure from the right type of embarrassment, and so on and so forth. The blush represented a mystery in which each answer only served to reveal further questions which no man could really answer. Instead of dwelling on the riddle that was the female mind Andrew instead tried to focus on what he could answer. And, on some level, to hope that the fact that Auden had gotten two questions out was an indicator that she was at least not instantly opposed to the concept. “Yes, I am serious.” Andrew answered to her first question. His expression betraying no hint of nervousness or need for apology. “And in all honesty the university has approved for my assistant and I to take part in any activities deemed necessary for the study. Provided of course that no laws are broken, and that no harm should come to any participants. I actually owe Dr. Covert a great deal for putting the whole thing together.” Andrew elaborated “She was the one who helped me convinced the board that there is legitimate knowledge to be sought in this endeavor. Once they were convinced the rest was, I’m told, pretty easy from a legal standpoint. While the university has many rules and regulations regarding possible relations between faculty and students. It has surprisingly few regarding relationships between faculty members. Which is what we would both be classified as should you choose to take on the position. Basically, once they agreed to my proposal they found a way to wash their hands. As I’m sure you’ll discover if you’re ever the one conducting these interviews universities care not for the methods, only the results and covering their own ass.” Andrew hadn’t cared much for the legalese of it all when Moira had explained it to him and in truth he still cared little about it. All that mattered was that his project had been cleared and had the support of the university. Andrew kept his gaze on Auden, “What other questions do you have? Assuming you’re still interested in the position. Which, I want to once again a stress that you should not feel in any way pressured to be.” In truth Andrew was not blind to just how slippery a slope he was on, should anything be misunderstood or handled poorly he could see himself shamed and made into a pariah. So, he wanted there to be no doubt in Auden’s mind that she could walk away at any time. The answer was...unexpected. Frankly, she'd been sure she would get some carefully crafted line about the need for keeping the powers that be in the dark about theexactnature of the work, probably followed by a pitch for conducting a trial session of some kind together - just to make sure, of course. Similarly suspicious, though, would've been an itemized list of Under's alleged detailed negotiations with the IRB folks, a story spun to sound credible and discourage further investigation. The general hand-waving of the legalese seemed...well, frankly, pretty in line with the kind of scholar Under had seemed in his work thus far, the sort who maintained ethics but wasn't particularly interested in rules for rules' sake. Dr. Covert had also struck her as a no-nonsense woman, not the kind to be willing to overlook an egregious abuse of power - not even by a new star faculty member." And I assume that if I speak with Dr. Covert about this she will verify university approval for this...project?" Auden pressed, giving him another chance to warn her against sounding alarm bells outside their conversation. Her eyes narrowed at part of his explanation, though not quite so much from suspicion as identifying something she didn't understand." This is a graduate research assistantship, correct? How does a faculty designation come into play?" She could imagine a work-around, a nominal assistantship for the revenue stream while the work was actually conducted under an additional designation as a visiting assistant professor or the like, but she was curious about what record-keeping magic the school was actually working to make that justification fly...assuming, she reminded herself, that the school actually knew at all. It was ridiculous, but her gut told her they probably did. Which was nonsense. But...fine. She'd play this out a while longer. She looked around the café, relieved that it was still largely empty." I have two questions. Well, for now. First, exactly what kind of...relationship are you intending to pursue with your assistant? Specifically, I mean - I understand that there are a wide variety of activities that can potentially fall under the umbrella of," she lowered her voice, "BDSM, but what are the particular ritual elements to which you're hoping to gain access? Second, it sounds as if you're asking your potential assistant to invest significant time and resources into this project, and I can't imagine a graduate stipend justifies that expenditure. How do you plan on crediting them in the resulting book?" The implication of Auden’s question about bringing the subject of the project up to Moira didn’t escape Andrew. “Of course.” He answered “I would advise that you keep the discussion as calm and respectful as possible though. Dr. Covert is a very nice person, but she can... react negatively to a situation if the wrong sort of language or tone is used. Especially in regard to her professional judgment.” A slight frown creased Andrew’s brow as he remembered the incident which brought about his feeling of a need to warn Auden. This feeling prompted him to elaborate a little further. Auden seemed like a nice enough person, and he didn’t want to see anything negative befall her on his account. “You see, a previous interviewee decided that rejecting the idea was not quite sufficient a display of her moral objections to the project. This young woman took it upon herself to address her concerns to Dr. Covert, which is fine. But, she also called Dr. Covert’s judgment into question, along with her moral character. And that was a pretty big mistake.” There was genuine remorse on Andrew’s face as he recounted the story, he very obviously felt for the woman in question. “Dr. Covert isn’t as forgiving as I am, and she as a very large number of friends, in a very large number of important places within the academic world. So, as I said, if you object to the idea that’s perfectly fine. If you feel the need to say something rude to me that’s perfectly fine too, it’s a very unorthodox request that I’ve placed in your lap. But, for the sake of your own future prospects, you do approach Dr. Covert be sure remain respectful of who she is and the power she wields.” Andrew knew that Auden was smart enough to realize just how blacklisted the young woman he was telling her about now was, so he left it at that. The further question in regard to the specifics of the school’s legal gymnastics was somewhere between tedious and downright annoying as far as Andrew was concerned, but he could see the validity in Auden’s wanting to know all aspects about what she might be signing herself up for. “Well, as I understand it that is the particular loophole that the school will be using to avoid having our...relations violate any policies. Thanks to the normal responsibilities that come along such a position you would already fit the requirements necessary to be classified as a member of the faculty rather than purely a student. The university, I’m told, normally chooses to avoid it because being classed as faculty ups the responsibilities they are required to have towards you. They must provide faculty with insurance, a suitable wage, compensation for injuries, and a few other benefits that a student does not qualify for. But, since the classification fits what is required in this case, that’s the method they have chosen. Additionally, it means you’ll likely be the best taken care of research assistant in the state, but I’d consider that on par with having more expected of you. So basically, it’s the university loosening the purse strings a little to avoid having to rewrite significant portions of their code of conduct.” Once Auden asked her next two questions, Andrew allowed himself to get a little excited. His expression brighter just slightly... Auden was asking about specifics and the potential rewards, rarely did someone ask about what they would be given in return if they weren’t considering the task at hand. “Well, in all honesty that’s a difficult question to answer.” Andrew began, “it’s a tricky subject that we’re discussing. The most basic answer would be that I’m seeking an average BDSM relationship... but the term average doesn’t much apply to the lifestyle in question. By and large my research indicates that there is no standard template for what constitutes a relationship of this type. Most seem to be simply a form of compromise or agreement between those involved. A state in which the rules, limitations, and expectations are agreed upon when forming the union and can often change and evolve over time. That having been said, one near constant that I’ve found is something I’ve termed the Submission Ritual. Most of my interviewees have indicated taking part in a scenario where the submissive member formally offers their submission to the dominant factor in the relationship. The specific details of how this is done seem to vary greatly based off the tastes of the dominant. In addition, I would be interested in exploring all avenues that my assistant would consent to. For what I’m trying to achieve a true devotion to the lifestyle, at least for the experimental period, is needed.” The general awkwardness of talking about this subject with someone who, for all he knew, might think he was entirely unattractive hadn’t escaped Andrew, but he pressed on in spite of it. This was by far the most successful interview so far! Andrew’s attempt to maintain a neutral disposition faltered slightly, however. His facade of being entirely immune to the tension of the situation cracking slightly as he looked down at his plate for a moment and made an expression that seemed to be half a smile while also half a grimace. His voice was almost apologetic at first, “Yes, I realize that what I’m asking for is quite a bit more than what anyone would consider acceptable. Furthermore, I realize the... the potential human cost of what I’m asking. To make oneself a guinea pig is a big thing in and of itself. To do so when the things being tested involve some of the most intimate, private, and meaningful interactions that two people can have with one another is several orders of magnitude greater if a request.” He began, his voice slowly transitioning back to the more assured tone he’d had for the majority of the discussion, “But, that is how real breakthroughs are made, with risk, and with risk comes increased reward. I’ve already mentioned the fact that you’d be paid much better than other research assistants, and receive the full benefits of being a faculty member. In addition to that, should we decide to undertake this together than I can guarantee that you’ll receive your doctorate when it’s over, regardless of the study’s results. I’ve already cleared that with the university as well. So long as you fulfill the other standard requirements, and are not found completely lacking in mastery of the subject, they have agreed to guarantee your eventual degree application’s success.” Andrew let that sink in for a moment, knowing that a guaranteed doctorate was something that was nearly unheard of for a research assistant. “Also, I don’t plan on crediting my assistant as a source within the book. The entire premise of my work would be focused on exploring the effects of both dominance and submission though the perspective of two people who have lived it, and can clinically analyze it. Fully half of the finished product would be of your making, and as such fully half the credit would be yours to claim. You would be credited as a co-author alongside myself. With clear notation of which portions of the text originated from you, me, or the both of us combined.” Andrew felt he’d answered the questions well, he knew the rewards he was offering were very large, but so were the sacrifices. If Auden agreed then so much the better, if she didn’t, he would simply have to keep looking. Auden frowned - had she done anything in the interview process to suggest that she was likely to be anything but respectful and discrete? She might’ve taken more exception to the implication, but she was busy focusing her attention on attempting to read Dr. Under’s response. He wasn’t trying to dissuade her from speaking to Dr. Covert at all, which suggested that shedidactually know about the proposed research project. There was more to unpack there, though. Was Dr. Under intentionally painting the other Professor as the less nice, less understanding one in order to sow the seeds of a dependence on him, or make himself seem more approachable? He seemed to be upset that the conversation had gone poorly for the other prospective student, but was he really upset, or was this anecdote intentional manipulation? Had the encounter with the other student actually happened at all, or was this just a warning? Her face didn’t register suspicion, but itdidshow deep thought, all traces of the sunny facade gone to reveal a sharp mind at full attention. His answer about how the student-faculty issue was being resolved was just vague enough that it made her think he probably wasn’t making it up - it sounded like the kind of solution a university lawyer had come up with and only sort of bothered to explain to everyone else in the situation which, from her work with the grad union at her current institution, seemed pretty typical of the way university lawyers tended to work. She listened attentively to his answer to her first question, nodding. The initial ritual would, of course, be important - after that, from what she was understanding, the specifics were to be negotiated. “Are you imagining that this relationship would also involve participation in the broader community?” she inquired. There were, of course, dozens of specific questions she might’ve posed, but she didn’t feel like it was appropriate to get into the nitty-gritty of exactly what submission might entail. That seemed too much like she was seriously considering this ludicrous offer. Which, damn - her eyes widened in response to his promise about co-authorship - she...might actually be? The promise of an eventual degree wasn’t as much of a draw as it might’ve been - yes, PhDs had an “If we agreed, and I participated in this experiment, it would obviously be important to me to still come out of the PhD program with the skill set having a PhD implies, in addition to the degree itself - I would, of course, be headed to the job market afterward. Co-authoring the eventual manuscript would be ideal, but in the off chance that a book didn’t come through I would still need to be able to have a robust CV. Would I still be doing the kind of work that would allow me to work on articles and conference presentations and develop my teaching skills throughout the program? I mean, would the goal be for us to live our lives as academic folksingers dynamic, or would I be expected to pretend to be solely ensconced within the dynamic aside from those times I wrote about my own perspective?” Auden’s final question brought a quick flicker of a smile to Andrew’s face. It was a question he’d asked several times himself. When he had first started the preliminary research Andrew had assumed that the majority of BDSM relationships were in fact of the type Auden seemed to suspect he wanted. A total life that overrode every other aspect of both partners’ lives. Where the dominant wasalwaysexercising their power over the submissive. It had been no small surprise for Andrew to learn that such ‘twenty-four seven’ situations, as his interviewees had often referred to them, were very much the minority. Most of those he’d interviewed led otherwise normal lives, with their dominance or submission being a thing that was enjoyed when deemed appropriate, but not to the detriment of the other portions of their lives.“Well, that falls under the part of the deal I mentioned that about you needing to fulfill the other standard requirements of gaining a doctorate.” Andrew responded, “You would still be expected develop all the normal skills that a doctorate program entails. I have no doubt that the research will be a success, but even so it would be a grave mistake to rob you of the skills you’d need to move onto the next stage of your career.” Andrew’s tone was serous at this statement. “I take our field quite seriously, and my responsibility as an educator just as seriously. I wouldn’t allow you to be cheated out of the experience and skills a doctorate is meant to bestow upon you.” Auden’s question was one that had yet to come up in Andrew’s search for an assistant. He’d not yet been required to think on the subject of his own responsibility towards insuring that his graduate assistant gained the correct skill set, and had actually surprised himself a little with just how adamant he was about it. Auden’s second question however was something he’d devoted much more thought to. “So that having been said, no I would not expect us to behave as if we were entirely obsessed with the BDSM lifestyle. In fact, it’s my understanding from the research I’ve done so far, that people who do choose to live constantly within the lifestyle and have it control all other aspects of their own lives are a small minority of the community. And while the inner workings of the mind of an obsessive might be interesting to explore that doesn’t fit under the purpose of my own work. No, we will be trying to emulate the lives of those who fit into the majority of the BDSM community. Namely, individuals who partake in it's practicing as a hobby in addition to their regular lives, rather than the focus of their lives.” Andrew thought for a moment as he finished answering Auden’s questions. He tried to figure out if she was genuinely interested or merely asking questions out of curiosity before declining the position out of hand. He felt that he’d made a strong case for his idea’s merits, and that the possible rewards were more than enough to entice the right sort of person. All that really remained was to determine of Auden happened to be the right sort. “Now, I have a question for you.” Andrew said “do you feel that what we have been discussing is something you can take part in? Or is it beyond what you consider acceptable?” Auden's mouth pursed slightly as she listened, a thoughtful expression as she tried to decide whether to doctor simply felt that strongly about making sure his graduate assistant received an appropriate education in addition to his project - a noble determination, and an important one - or had somehow gotten the impression that she was trying to weasel out of such an education and was condescending to her. When in doubt, she reminded herself, an old adage, assume the best intentions. The prospective student tapped her toe as Dr. Under spoke, not a sign of impatience so much as a subtle outlet for excess energy as she parsed his words, did her best to understand them and monitor her own reaction to them in addition to trying to decide how much of what he was saying was on the up-and-up. So far, she had to admit, while the project sounded outlandish he hadn't said or done anything to imply that it was anything but a perfectly legitimate research project with university backing...and a likely career-making undertaking for the student who finally agreed to pursue it with him. She had some questions about the choice of the word "obsessive," but his intention was clear enough - the research wouldn't be such that she would be unable to pursue normal college life. Of course, there were hobbies, then there were hobbies, and how in-depth of a hobby this was expected to be was an important question. Before she could pose it, though, her potential advisor had a question of his own. Auden took a drink of her water as she decided on a response." I'm not saying no," she finally responded. Part of her worried that this was some sort of test she was failing, some elaborate ruse to weed out potential students desperate enough to agree to something so foolish, but she reasoned that if that was the case she wouldn't want to participate in an institution that would advocate such a prank anyway. "I would be open to moving on to a more formal conversation about the specifics of the arrangement if you're prepared to make me a formal offer." She glanced around the café. "Is this the appropriate place to have a more...specific conversation?" she asked, knowing that things were likely to get indelicate. Not any! Andrew's mind shouted exuberantly, he allowed himself to harbor a little hope that his search for an assistant was finally coming to a close. So far Auden had proven to be everything he was looking for. She was intelligent enough to be useful, attractive enough for him to have in interest in partaking in sexual activities with her, and she had an open mind towards the prospect of the research he was proposing. The big three. He thought, and had to force himself not to smile. In truth Andrew had been so excited at the prospect of a successful interview that he'd pushed their surroundings out of his mind. But, Auden was correct, this wasn't the place to have the sort of discussion that would soon be coming. "You're absolutely right." Andrew said, "We would be better off having this conversation somewhere a bit less public." With that Andrew began to pick up the remains of his lunch. "If you'd like we can continue this in my office. If you'll follow me." he said. Standing up and moving to discard his trash before making his way out of the coffee shop. For Andrew the walk back towards his office was spent in contemplation of how things had gone so far. Auden seemed to be just what he was looking for, and he knew that he needed to get a hold on his expectations lest they be let down. Just because she had maintained interest past the initial revelation of what the position required didn't mean that she would still be a viable choice after a discussion of the specifics. She could be too prudish, could simply decide that she had changed her mind, or even somehow be too intense for what he required. Finally, they reached his office which Andrew promptly unlocked for them to enter. Once Auden was inside Andrew closed the door behind her and moved around his desk to take a seat in his chair, motioning for Auden to have a seat as well. Offering Auden a quick smile Andrew spoke to her once she looked like she had gotten settled into her chair. "Ok, if you have any questions you'd like to ask here in private that you may have been unwilling to in the coffee shop please feel free to ask them." "Of course," Auden agreed, standing and reassembling the snack cup, replacing the Gouda cup inside and fastening the plastic lid; a few grapes and a few pieces of cheese remained, and she put the cup into her bag to finish up later. Part of that was wanting to respect the University funds he had no doubt used to purchase her food, but part of it was that she was a grad student and couldn't afford to throw out groceries - waste not, want not, after all. Auden did her own thinking as they'd walked. Was it a bad sign that he hadn't confirmed that he'd be making her a more formal offer before leaving with her? Was this the part where they went back to the privacy of his office and he invited her to put down some sort of "down payment" on the whole thing and then denied her for trying to exchange sexual favors for a spot in the department? Or where he doubled back, explaining that she'd misunderstood in some way? The silence of the walk gave her time to get properly concerned by the time they returned to his office, but she offered a warm smile and thank you as she entered anyway. She settled herself into the chair, crossed her legs, and leaned forward a bit, spreading her hands from their position on her knee as if to yield the floor to him." I would just love to hear the specifics of what you're expecting from your GA," she explained. "What kind of intimate contact are you anticipating?" As she spoke, she ticked off the questions on her finger. "Are you imagining any of that intimate contact being recorded or taking place in front of others? Are there certain acts that are nonnegotiable for your experiment to run correctly, and if so, what are they? Or anything else you think I would need to know to be an appropriately informed participant," she added in an attempt to soften a list of questions that potentially sounded very much like she was trying to nail down specifics and steer them away from convenient euphemisms...largely because that was exactly what she was doing. She had no plans to discuss what she would be willing to do without a formal offer in place - that would make her seem desperate - but she could certainly listen to the options.

GRA (Urbanzorro and Mess)|rating:3.0

Closure. (~AT~ + Lord Malcom)

Iffy Micheal's was perfect, she had perfect hair, perfect skin, perfect figure and perfect wardrobe, there was nothing that wasn't perfect. Well, except her grades, her science grade sucked, it was to the point where she was close to failing out of high school and destroying any chance of a career. Someone had suggested she spoke to JJ, he always seemed to know his science and he might be willing to help. At lunch, she walked into the cafeteria pushing a lock of her dark brown hair from her face, she spotted him at a table, she walked over before sitting down opposite him.“Hey.” She smiled, “Can I talk with you for a second?” She asked as she fiddled with the sleeve of her sweater, this was the first time she had spoken to him. “I heard that you're pretty good with science and all that...stuff.” She smiled, “Would you be willing to tutor me?” She asked pulling up her brightest smile, unsure if it would work on her. Effy had a reputation for being a bitch, she was something's snippy with people, and no one could understand why she didn't date anyone. She was 5ft4 out of heels, with long dark brown hair and eyes, she had a slender figure despite always eating everything." So....um....what do you think?" She asked, nervously biting her lip. His grandparents had always called him Joshua. He hated it. Up until he went to school everyone he had known had called him Josh. But JJ had spread like wildfire once he started school. It was long since even his parents had occasionally started referring to him as JJ. JJ was not passing gracefully through his teenage years. He had needed glasses since the age of 13, and he was just a touch too lean for his frame. Despite what he saw in the mirror, JJ was not ugly. In fact, he was quite charming, just awkward. JJ sat with his friends, the nerds. He had fared better than some of the others of them had. After nearly 13 years of school, JJ was finally comfortable being one of the nerds. Besides, out of everyone there, he had faired pretty well. He couldn’t possibly know it at the time; as a teenager everything was disaster and melodrama. But others were scrawnier. Others were picked on. JJ was friendly with every group in the school. He never thought he really fit into any group, but he was friendly with them all. Still, it was a surprise to everyone when he looked up to see Iffy Michaels heading to the nerd table. Iffy was beautiful. There was no denying that. There wasn’t a boy at school who hadn’t dreamt of the feel of her skin…the taste of her lips. She was the kind of girl that even the popular boys dreamt about from afar. But her bitchy reputation spoke for itself, and from what JJ had seen, the reputation had been earned. Had this not been high school he would have considered himself lucky to have been invisible to her up to this point. To have avoided her mood.“We’ll catch you later, JJ,” one of his friends said, motioning to the others. They picked up their trays and headed out, leaving JJ alone with Iffy. Blue eyes peaked up at her through shaggy blonde hair as she took a seat. JJ’s heart pounded in his throat. His hands became clammy. He let her speak. He would play over this scene in his mind a thousand times over later. But now he just listened to her proposal. Listened and watched. She had tugged at her sweater….it was an adorable. Disarming.JJ’s answer was immediate. Even if she hadn’t been beautiful and turning on the charm he would have said yes. “I can’t help on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. I have clubs. But Monday and Friday afternoons I’m free.” It would only occur to him about twenty minutes later how lame it was that Friday evening was one of the evenings he had free. “Depending on how much help you need you might need tutoring both nights.” He paused, looking up at the clock. Close to time for class. Standing, JJ looked down at Iffy. He added finally, we can start tonight, if you like. Just let me know and I’ll me you after school.” He smiled and waited for her answer.*****Amber was talking, but JJ’s mind was far away. He stared out the car window uncomfortably, remembering and cursing his first meeting with Iffy. Amber was still chattering away in the driver’s seat. Something about how healthy this was going to be for all of them. How he was finally going to have closure. How a weight would be lifted from his shoulders. JJ just dreaded this. Amber had driven him to work and picked him up. She had not trusted him to follow through with this, so she was going to dump him there by himself. How? Of all the offices in the world how was it that Iffy was moved to the one where his bride-to-be worked? JJ had been done with this, with Iffy for years now. He had been a wreck when he met Amber, but that was years behind them. Why would Amber dredge this up now?JJ’s blonde hair was cut short, much shorter than when Iffy knew him. Sill something of a mess though. He had also filled out some too, picking up some weight, enough muscle that he finally fit his frame. But his eyes…his eyes were still that huge, sad blue…. Amber had always said she had loved those eyes. JJ sighed as Amber pulled into a driveway. This must be it. After a few words of encouragement and a kiss she had practically tossed him out of the car and driven off. Dress shopping. The last thing JJ wanted was to be alone again with Iffy Michaels. Unfortunately, he was resigned to this. And ultimately, if it made Amber happy for them to reconcile, JJ would do his best to reconcile. It was with this “For Amber!” mantra in his head that JJ rang the doorbell. It had been years since Iffy had left him, and it had been years since he had been this much of a mess over anything to do with her. That is, until this day. Iffy smiled as he answered immediately she sighed, “I babysit Mondays.” She frowned, “But Friday would work for me, I don't really go out on Fridays.” She bit her lip looking over at him, part of her had expected him to say no, she was glad he was willing to help her. “Well if I need more studying I can probably get out of Mondays, unless you'd be willing to come over to mine, whilst I look after my little sisters?” She smiled. She stood up when he did, she wasn't wearing heels so he towered over her, “Thank you.” She smiled. “I really appreciate it, I of course can pay you for your time. Probably not what you deserve but something.” She pushed her hair from her eyes as she looked up at him. “I have English now, I know you do as well...do you want to walk there together?” She asked, she wanted to give him the option to leave if he didn't want to be seen walking with her. Her friends assumed that she didn't date because she was frigid or just scared, the real answer was she was too busy, she spent too much time looking after her sisters to have any kind of time alone, let alone to have a date. She lived with her mother who was taking night classes and working hard to provide, after her father had left them, she hadn't seen him since he left, once a year she'd get a present on her birthday but nothing for her sisters. The boxes were unopened in her closet, there was no reason she would look after them. She pulled her bag over her shoulder, “Tonight would work.” She nodded, her mother wasn't at class so she had the night free to spend with her sisters. “Here...” She pulled out a piece of paper writing down her cell number, “Why don't you text or call me?” She smiled as she headed out of the cafeteria. Her heart was racing as she heard the doorbell ringing, 'Why did I agree to this?' She bit her lip as she raced around trying to tidy up as much as she could. Walking over to the door she opened it slowly, she looked up at him smiling softly. “Hey JJ.” She opened the door letting him walk inside. She hadn't changed much in ten years, she was still short and slender, her hair was still long and dark brown, it was as if she had opened a door to the last time he had seen her and stepped through to today. Furthermore, she hoped he didn't notice the dark circles under her eyes, or the fact she was paler then she used to be. Furthermore, she closed the door showing him into a sitting room, the house was big, 4 bedrooms 3 baths, large backyard, there was one problem. It wasn't Iffy's. This was her sisters house, she was just looking after it whilst they were on vacation, Iffy lived in a tiny rundown apartment in the city.“Congratulations.” She smiled, “Amber's really nice.” She bit her lip as she fiddled with the sleeve of her sweater, like she did when she was nervous. Furthermore, she motioned to the sofa as she took the chair curling her legs underneath herself as she sat there.“Your hair is shorter.” She smiled, trying to make conversation. “It looks good on you...but...” She bit her lip shaking her head, “It doesn't matter.” She smiled, she wanted to reminisce, but it was too hard, being this close to him hurt, she had hoped it wouldn't, but it did, she looked down at her sweater still fiddling with her trying hard not to get upset, she had no right to feel like this.“Do you want a drink?” She asked suddenly standing. “Coffee right?” She headed into the kitchen making sure to shut the door behind her, she started to make some coffee, after a few minutes she headed out with coffee, milk and sugar. “Do you still take it how you use to?” She asked, her hands shaking slightly before setting down the tray. JJ considered a moment as she bit her lip. He had no idea that Iffy had sisters to babysit. “I’d be more than happy to come over if you need me to. My worry is that if you’re distracted by your sisters I won’t be much help.” JJ thought another moment. That smile….that smile was so beautiful. JJ could feel himself heating up, his ears and cheeks burning slightly at the sight of that smile sweeping across the lips that she had been nibbling on a moment before. “If you want to try to do this at your house, just let me know, and I’ll walk home with you,” he offered. JJ had never realized quite how short Iffy was. He was only 5’9”, so not terribly tall, but he was tall enough that felt like he loomed over her. On the mention of payment he blushed again. He was not particularly interested in Iffy’s money, at least not standing this close to her, he wasn’t. He fought back the thoughts in his head until he was interrupted once again by her voice. JJ was surprised that Iffy knew he had English next, had noticed. They were not in the same class, but all the English classes were in the same hall. He did not reply to her offer to walk together, instead slinging his backpack over his shoulder, taking his tray up, and catching up with her to walk with her to English. The hall by the cafeteria was loud and crowded, so talking was not really an option there. JJ was temporarily left alone with his thoughts as he followed Iffy to a hall where conversation could resume. Perhaps there was more to her than met the eye. More than those slender fingers and dark eyes. It occurred to JJ suddenly that not everyone had the stable home life he did. A question formed in his mind…where’s your dad? But as he was able to come up beside her in the hallway a combination of tact and fear kept him from voicing anything, let alone the question. JJ clutched her number as they drew closer to the English classrooms. Iffy’s was first. “I’ll give you a call,” he said, uncertain why after a whole conversation these nerves had entered his voice. It had been different when they were talking business…talking about tutoring. He could fight his pounding pulse then, but now he was all nerves. “Just think about whether you want to do this at your place tonight or somewhere else. Bye.” JJ watched Iffy file into her classroom, then turned disappeared into his own class.*****“Hey,” JJ replied, not expecting the nerves or cold edge in his voice, although now that he heard the edge there it made. He realized suddenly that he was shaking. Good lord, she hadn’t aged a day since college. JJ felt his pulse pounding in his throat. Dammit. He took a deep breath as Iffy turned to go make coffee. JJ didn’t feel like coffee. He was already on edge.“I am. I love Amber,” JJ said, a reprise of the mantra from the door. I just wish she hadn’t ditched me here with you, he thought, tactfully enough to not speak it aloud. He let Iffy’s observation hang there. What was he going to say, that she was just as beautiful as ever, despite what looked like stress and a lack of sleep? But…. What did she mean by but?“Yes, I do,” he said matter-of-factly. He considered a moment as she made coffee. He accepted the cup. Just a touch too hot, as it always was from a machine. He took a sip then looked around. Iffy had done well for herself, and he wondered how she could afford such a place on the salary she got from work. Effy’s question continued to hang there in his mind. It gnawed at him. “But what?” he finally asked in resignation, unable to let the comment just die like he should. “But what?” he repeated after her pause. “What doesn’t matter?” “Tonight will be fine, I don't sit tonight.” She smiled, “So I have free time to just study.” She looked up at him, she could see his cheek flushing she smiled biting her lip again. “We can walk back to mine, it's a bit of a trek.” She looked up at him smiling, she had this urge to hold his hand, but she tried to not think about it as grabbed her bag. Once they were in a quite hallway she looked at him as he said he'd call she smiled. “Promise?” She asked, “Because I will hold it against you if you don't.” She teased, “I should get to class.” She smiled. “If there's somewhere you know we can study, let me know.” She stepped back heading to the door, with a turn she looked back and smiled. At the end of the day she waited at the front of the school, her friends had already left, they didn't stay any longer then they had to. She looked around hoping he would show soon. She pulled out her phone texting her mom that she might be a little late walking him and that she would be studying with JJ. Effy looked at JJ as she brought the coffee out, his tone was still a little cold, she had half expected him to scream or shout at her for her just dumping him. At the time it seemed like the best option, he didn't need her dragging her down, as lonely as the last few years were he was better off without her, as much as it hurt to think. She sat down taking a cup, she didn't intend on drinking it, coffee didn't agree with her anymore. He looked around, she hoped he didn't notice the photos there were clearly not of her, and the children's books in the bookcase and that one toy she just realized she forgot to put away. Sitting back in the chair she tried not to stare at him, he was just as she remembered, she felt a pain in her chest like her heart was breaking all over again. His question brought her back, “But.?” She frowned almost forgetting what she had said. “Oh... I have no right to say anything, but I always liked your hair longer.” She blushed looking down at her hands.“I'm sorry.” She said, “I'm a bitch, I used you to get into collage and then discarded you when I found someone better.” She said suddenly, it was a complete lie, but it was the only thing she could think of other than the truth. “You deserved someone better than me, and you have Amber, she's so wonderful. I'm going to tell her after today I can't be her bridesmaid.” She just realized that tears had fallen, she grabbed a tissue wiping them away. “I'm just so sorry.” She said. JJ caught Iffy biting her lip again, and his pulse quickened. It was such an adorable habit. A vulnerable habit. It made him want to see what those lips tasted like. JJ didn’t mind a trek. He liked walks, although he preferred walking out in nature to walking through town. He met her smile with his own, transfixed by her dark, beautiful eyes. JJ smiled in response to her teasing. It would only occur to him halfway through English that she might have been flirting. The realization made the rest of the day nearly unbearable to sit through, and even harder to sit through the day without a stupid smile on his face. Between classes, he called Iffy, asking her to meet him in the front lobby after school. The boy was running late. He had gotten stuck in conversation with his last teacher, and he’d kept Iffy waiting for him several minutes before he was able to make the lobby. “Hey,” he greeted her breathlessly. “Sorry I’m late.” He decided not to admit to chatting it up with the teachers and settled for bashful apologies. Normally his favorite spot to study was a gazebo in the town park. It was quiet, farther off from the playground and the pool. Actually quiet. But this time of year it was too cold. Their options now were fewer. “We can go to your house, or mine, or there’s a room in the town library I use when I write papers. What do you think?”*****JJ was too focused on Iffy to notice the pictures. Or the toy. He wasn’t on that side of the room and the couch blocked his view. His eyes simply followed her. She still looked good…. He didn’t know if that made this more difficult. Yes, actually it did. She had always been…enticing….JJ sat back on the couch, looking across the living room at her as she spoke, as she answered his question. That had been along the lines of what he had expected. Unbidden an image, a memory came to mind. Their bodies tangle up in one another in the undersized bed in her dorm room. Their breathing was coming back down to normal. He watched her sleepily as her dark eyes lovingly watched him, hands luxuriating in his shaggy hair. JJ fought the image off, looking at her now, blushing and looking down at her hands guiltily. And then she spoke. He sat there quietly, taking in all she said. Someone better? I’d have done anything for you. The rage in him went unspoken, hidden behind blue eyes. Deserved someone better? Self-righteous…so what, you did this for me? So that I could have a future with someone better? Didn’t I get a say? Tears killed him. Her tears especially had always broken his heart. Unfortunately she had said the one thing that could make him numb to her tears. JJ stood, rage bursting in his eyes, body shaking. “I came to terms years ago with the fact that you used me to get into college. That once you were sure you could make it on your own you ditched me and moved on to the next thing. But you will not do the same thing to Amber. Sheneedsthis. She needs to feel like we’ve gotten some sense of closure. So you’re going to come to our wedding. You’re going to be a bridesmaid. Because that’s what Amber wants. Once you’ve done that you can move on. Disappear. Ditch her like you ditched me. You’re good at that. But goddammit, Iffy, you’re going to give her her closure first.” His whole body tingled with the rage he had felt for so many years…. A deep breath brought his body into a more even rhythm, dulled the fire in his blue eyes.“Now…we’re going to find some charming, innocuous, banal topic to discuss for the next few hours while Amber is gone, but don’t even think about trying to deny Amber what she needs.” Before he arrived she reached into her bag pulling out a bottle of water and some painkillers, she had been ill for a while and wasn't able to shake it. She smiled as she finally saw him, “Hey.” She smiled. “It's ok, I was just sitting here.” She looked up at him, “Well if it's an option why don't we go to yours, I'm sure it will be much quieter than mine.” She smiled, she pulled out her phone texting her mom that she'd be late. Standing up she let him lead her in the right direction,“So...tell me about yourself.” She looked up at him. “Other than you're the smartest guy in school and probably going to save the world or take it over.” She giggled slightly. Once he had told her about himself she nodded. “I have 2 sisters, Imogen will turn 16 in summer and Jessica will be 5 in 2 months. So I mostly have to look after Jess, Jimmy thinks that she's too old to be looked after, but I worry that she's going to do something bad with her life.” She sighed. “Jess is a handful, I have no idea how my mom did it, raising me and Jimmy alone until she met my step-dad Joe.” She smiled, “He was a good man, he didn't try to push us out of the picture, we were his daughters as well. I miss him.” She bit her lip, she hadn't spoken to anyone about him for a long time, he had passed away when Jess was a baby.“I really don't tell anyone about my family life, most of the people I hang with don't really care, they are a bit self-centered on what they think is important, their money or clothes or status in the school. I find it rather pointless, high school is not the most important thing in our lives, most don't realize what having a harsh life is like.” She blushed. She looked at him as he spoke, “I don't want to hurt Amber, the minute I saw your picture on her desk, I tried hard to avoid her, I put off going to all those parties she liked to throw. Furthermore, she's just too persuasive and so nice, I couldn't say no any longer. Then she found out who I was to you...” She paused sightly, she had forgotten what she was saying. It took her a few seconds to remember.“I don't want to hurt her, but I will be her bridesmaid, and then I will disappear, I'll probably move out of town, go somewhere no one knows me.” She pushed her hair from her face as she shivered slightly. She could almost feel the hate radiate off him, she could no longer meet his intense gaze, she wanted to tell him the truth why she really left him, but it was too hard, she was sure she'd get angrier at the real reason. “You'll never hear from me again.” She said quietly. Running a hand to her forehead she closed her eyes, she really needed a headache right now. She grabbed her bag from the side of the chair, she pulled out a bottle of aspirin, her hands shook slightly as she opened them. “I don't want to fight anymore. I know that this situation is far from idea...” She swallowed the pills. “You can photo shop me from the pictures, pretend I was never there if you want.” She put her bag down sitting back, she was shivering again as beads of sweat rolled down her forehead.“JJ, I am sorry.” She said weakly. “I truly never meant to hurt you, you deserved someone better than me, and I know you found her.” JJ turned and led the way to his car. His house was several miles away, and he wanted to get started before his parents got home from work. It would be quieter then. They still had a bit of a walk; the student lot was in the back of the school. JJ didn’t mind. He usually waited or the rush of students attempting to escape to dissipate before leaving anyway. He led the way through the empty halls, taken slightly aback by her question. She wanted to know about him? And that giggle…so cute. That giggle alone gave him the profound urge to kiss her, among other things.“Well,” JJ began tentatively, “not much to tell, really.” I’m not that interesting. For the life of him later he would never remember whether he just thought those words, or spoke them out loud. Iffy always told him that he must have thought them, but part of him always suspected her of sparing him the embarrassment of the truth. “I like science, especially computers. There’s so much you can do with them…. MMM… I have a 5-year-old little brother I’m sure is the spawn of the devil.” JJ shrugged his bony shoulders, not sure what else there was to say. They were just passing through the back exit of the school as Iffy finished speaking. He listened intently, shocked that someone as popular as Iffy seemed to be would have problems with her friends. He also made note now of why there was not s father in her life. JJ’s car was in the middle of the now nearly-empty lot. It wasn’t nice, some old thing from the late 80s. A stick shift, but at least he didn’t have to ride the bus.“Here,” he said rushing to the passenger door ahead of Iffy and then muscling it open. “That one sticks.” He closed it behind her and moved to the driver’s side, starting the car and easing out of the parking space and heading home….*****JJ quickly cooled down after his outburst. It was as if years of anger and insecurity had just vented from a high-pressure valve. He considered helping her with her aspirin bottle, but her shaking hands were able to manage it. His voice was more even with his reply; though there was still obviously frustration there, it was much closer to his usual soft-spoken tone.“So melodramatic! You don’t have to skip town because I’m here, and you shouldn’t consider skipping town because an angry man you wronged years ago lashed out for five seconds!” He paused letting his breath level again. “To photoshop you out of all our old pictures would be a disservice to both of us. Like or not, everything that happened between us is a part of who we are.” He sighed. “I never wanted this nebulousbetteryou keep bringing up. I only ever wanted you.” A shrug and a sigh. “I am very lucky to have Amber. And she counts you as a friend. Don’t do to her what you did to me.” JJ touched his hand to his head, closing his eyes. He had his own headache now. “Now can we please change the subject?” He paused a moment. “How are Imogen and Jess?” Iffy smiled as they headed to the car park, he spoke about himself she smiled as he said he wasn't that interesting, she did think he was interesting, but she pretended to ignore the comment. “I'm sure there is plenty to tell.” She grinned. He said he liked science and computers she smiled and nodded, “I know, you're perfect at science which is why I'm after your help.” She smiled. He spoke about his brother she nodded, “Bit of an age gap.” She smiled, “I'm sure he's not a devil just a young child, they act like that, but it's ok...nothing wrong with that.” She looked up at him as they walked. They arrived at the car she moved to open the door when he held it open, she bit her lip slightly as he held it open for her, she smiled. “Thank you.” She smiled, her climbed in the car her hand touching his for a brief second as she climbed inside the car. He climbed in and set off. “I like your car.” She smiled, “I'm going to guess that this is a great help during a storm.” She bit her lip, she didn't hate her family for the fact she didn't have a car, she could have saved up but whatever money she earned was put into the family to ease her mother a little while she studied. She looked at him for a second studying him as he drove, there was something about him that drew her towards him. Furthermore, she had felt it before when she was around him, but they had barely spoken in the past. He called her melodramatic, she grits her teeth she had been told that so many times in the past 10 years it hurt, but this time he was right. She took the tablets trying to calm herself down. She blinked and looked at him as he said he only ever wanted her, she tried not to well up. How could she believe that after what she had seen. She frowned looking biting her lip as she looked at him. “I won't hurt Amber, but I can't do this every day.” She bit her lip. “I can't pretend to be your friend, and sit in the same room. I just can't.” She sighed pushing a lock of hair from her eyes. He asked to change the subject she sighed slightly, he asked about her sisters she frowned, he remembered their names. “Jimmy graduated collage, married a man 10 years older than herself, they have 3 kids and have this giant house.” She bit her lip. “Which I'm currently house sitting.” She sighed.“Jess is about to turn 15, she thinks she knows everything and she hates everyone so she's a normal teenager. I think she knows your brother.” She pulled out her phone showing him photos of them, “Imogen is Jess' legal guardian. Mom died 3 years ago.” She bit her lip as she blinked away her tears, she didn't know how to tell him that, he was always too nice to mom. When Iffy was at her lowest her mother would beg her to call JJ, just to let him know what was wrong with her, but she couldn't, he deserved so much better than her, she would have just pulled him down.“I never found out what you do.” “A bit,” JJ acknowledged. “And yes, he is. Children are evil from about two on…,” he joked. He smiled at her. Her patience was admirable, and he guessed it had to have come from helping raise her sisters, but that virtue was not one that he shared when it came to his brother. JJ felt his whole body stir inside as her hand touched his. What was he going to do for the next…how long was a tutoring session supposed to last anyway? He was far from certain he could hide how utterly adorable, how painfully enticing her found her. He willed the unwanted response his body had had to her touch away, quite unsuccessfully, as he walked around to the other side of the car. Furthermore, he settled into his seat, buckled up, put the car into first gear. Holy…her leg is so close…. JJ swallowed hard as he started the car up the hill. This was going to be a difficult drive, even if it was short. Getting through town took the longest. There were a number of lights. JJ took a route that cut out most of them, but he couldn’t get rid of them all. Good lord he hoped Iffy had something up her sleeve for conversation, because JJ was drawing a blank. Nothing came to him. For the life of him he had no idea what to say to this gorgeous, sweet-smelling girl in his car. Why was he so stupid? Why couldn’t he think of something to say now? If he were talking about science he could go on all day….“So, which science class was it you needed tutoring in?” It wasn’t a dumb question. He could help with anything, but it would help if he knew which one he was dealing with. Way to go, JJ. Chat her up about your nerd crap she only cares about because she needs to in order to graduate. “Geology, physics, chemistry?” Or worse, he suddenly realized, insinuate she’s not smart. JJ hoped to hell he hadn’t offended her, that his anxiety was for naught. Well, deep down he was sure it was for naught. But he couldn’t stop feeling it.*****College. Married. Jesus. He could remember when Imogen was an awkward teenage girl. Suddenly JJ started noticing things. He noticed the toy that Iffy had missed. The pictures… Imogen hand grown into a beautiful woman. She’d taken after their father’s side of the family, inheriting a fuller figure than Iffy had. From the one or two pictures of Jess he could tell that the youngest sister had inherited the same catfish figure Iffy had from their mother, Joyce. JJ and Joyce had always liked each other. He stood there, stunned by the news of her death. The two of them had talked for months after Iffy broke up with him. He wasn’t sure Iffy knew, but Joyce had always wanted the two of them to be together. That was all He had wanted too. He sighed deeply. Joyce had told him once that he shouldn’t judge Iffy too harshly. To reach out to her. He had asked her why once. Had asked Joyce once why Iffy had done it. Joyce had claimed she didn’t know, and she probably didn’t, but JJ had thought she suspected something odd. JJ smirked at her question. “Computer programming. Nothing terribly glamorous, but I enjoy the work.” He looked at her. “You don’t have to do this every day. If you don’t think you can handle me, I’ll stay out of the way. Out of the picture. I’ll find excuses to not be there when you and Amber are together. But don’t abandon her like you did me.” Iffy smiled at his question she ran a hand through her hair, “Just chem.” She smiled warmly at him “I'm doing pretty good in my other non-science based subjects.” She grinned as she looked over at him, “So tell me what do you plan on doing in the future?” She asked, “I got accepted into state on the provision that I get a B or better in all my classes and chem isn't going well so far.” She sighed.“I'm going to guess you're going to collage or are you going to start up some internet business and make millions?” She asked griming at him as he drove, there was something about him, he was funny and smart and very, very cute. She could tell how nervous he was she smiled, leaning over she patted his thigh softly. “You don't need to be anxious... I asked you to help because you're like the smartest guy in the school.” She smiled as she turned towards him. “If you can't help me, then no one can.” She sighed dramatically.“Chem just isn't my thing, I was always better at history.” Iffy looked over at him, “Why don't you tell me about you, what do you like?” She asked. She saw the look on his face as she said her mother passed she closed her eyes, she wished she had said it better. “She um...always liked you.” She bit her lip, her mother hated the fact she broke up with him, she didn't want to do it, but she felt she had no choice. She was thinking of him when she did what she did. He told her he was a computer programmer she smiled, “So did you drop out of collage and start some internet business?” She bit her lip remembering one of their first conversation. “Do you want to know why I can't do this, and it's not about being around you, it's the fact I screwed up, and now I have to see you being with someone else. I'm a horrible person.” She bit her lip looking over at him shaking her head. "I'm jealous, and should not be allowed." She stood up, "And I did not abandon you." She clenched her fists, "I had to let you go...after everything I couldn't pull you down with me. Call me selfish, but it's taken me 10 years to get back to some kind of normal." She paced around the room." I was ill, I am ill still. Amber knows this, how did she not tell you?" She frowned looking over at him running a hand through her hair. "I had to leave collage... I couldn't work...things are only just getting better. There you know." JJ smiled, trying desperately to keep his focus on the road. He couldn't believe he was having a pleasant, polite conversation in his car...with a girl...let alone one as pretty as Iffy Michaels. In his mind he corrected her grammar Pretty well...but he said nothing. He didn't want to jinx this. Although he did try to make a mental note to ask Iffy about her English grade. They were more than halfway home. JJ shifted uncomfortably. Why did she keep asking questions about him? He couldn't be intentionally vague and evasive forever. And the answers were so...embarrassing. Painfully nerdy. Then, he felt her hand on his thigh. Whey---? "You don't need to be anxious," she said. He missed the next part, wishing to god his body hadn't responded so immediately to her touch, thankful that the touch had been brief. Maybe she wouldn't notice. "If you can't help me, then no one can." He tried to figure out what she meant, having missed the connecting phrase, the pause enough after her melodramatic sigh to show he was clearly thinking about something. He made note that she liked history...maybe that could be helpful later.... And more questions about him.... When JJ began to speak he instantly regretted it, but it was too late. He was already talking. "Well, a smart person is not always the best teacher," he said, speaking wisdom beyond his years, "but I'll do everything I can to help." And it only got worse in his head, "I like my clubs. I'm in the band. I play trumpet. Furthermore, I prefer jazz, but it doesn't come naturally to me." It was true. It was actually what his teacher had been saying to him that very day. He was too...precise. Not expressive enough. "I'm also in the Classics Club, on the debate team, and in the L&T Club." The L&T Club was short of the Logic and Technology Club. They played with math, logic, strategy gaming, and technology. Possibly the nerdiest club of them all. He blushed a deep crimson, horrified at the confessions that she had pulled from him, not that anyone who knew him well didn't know them anyway. More horrifying, however, was what he said next: "Of course I'm anxious. You're beautiful."JJ wanted to crawl into a hole and die (funny how he recognized melodrama in Iffy, but not himself) and was glad that home was drawing close.*****JJ didn't blame Iffy for Joyce. Not only Iffy, anyway. He'd fallen out of contact with her after he'd met Amber, so he had himself to blame. And Joyce. And Imogen. All of them knew how close he had felt to Joyce....JJ allowed himself a small smirk when she called back to one of the first conversations they ever really had. She hadn't forgotten him. And clearly, she hadn't moved on. Not really. And then she started speaking again.... Wait...what? His expression fell. Jealous. Jealous? She threw him away like garbage.... But Iffy continued." I was ill. I am still ill." Her words knocked the wind out of him. So did the next. "Amber knows." Amber knows? He thought about Amber. Beautiful Amber. Amber, whose smile and laugh and bouncing red curls had pulled him out of this. And for a moment, he hated her. How could she do this to him? Drop him here alone, knowing what Iffy had to say. What Iffy had to tell him." What?" he asked his voice devoid of intonation. No inflection. Just a flat, "What?" JJ's usually soft blue eyes blazed with...it wasn't anger. It wasn't that...petty. Immediate. Violent. It was passionate, but demanding. His look alone said all he needed to say. He wanted the answers. The cat was out of the bag. It was time for Iffy to tell him everything. Now. Iffy looked over at JJ as he suggested that he might not be the best teacher. “I get that, but... I always wanted to talk to you, and now I have a reason.” She smiled biting her lip. “Even if you can't help it's ok.” She blushed slightly before pushing her hair over her shoulder.“Jazz?” She grinned, “That's nice.” She giggled. “I'm not much a Jazz person, I did take the violin, but I'm not that good at it.” She smiled, he spoke about his other clubs. “I'm not surprised we don't see each other, we go to different clubs. I'm in art and drama.” She giggled softly. She looked at him as he said he as anxious because she's beautiful, “Oh....um....” She giggled softly. “Thank you, I think.” She smiled. “You know you're incredibly cute.” She smiled. “Which might make this easier or harder to take.” She grinned blushing heavily. He said what she shook her head, “Yes, she knows.” She looks over at him. “She has to know she's technically my supervisor, and I have to explain why I'm taking so many sick days.” She sighed, sitting down she felt incredibly deflated, she touched her head, the headache wasn't getting any better, and she was starting to burn a fever.“Do you remember when we dated, I had the flu that I couldn't seem to kick no matter what I did?” She asked. “Well I have this illness that has no cure and sounds completely fake, most doctors don't even agree that it's real.” She sighed, “I have chronic fatigue syndrome.” She bit her lip, “It's not just my being lazy, it means I have no energy to do anything. I suffer from the symptoms of flu constantly.” She looked at him. “I had to drop out of collage and move home... I was a burden on my mom, I couldn't work most days I couldn't do anything. That's why I broke up with you, I didn't want you to feel obligated to look after me, so I took the decision from you, and you've done so well for yourself.” She sighed looking over at him, “There now you know everything. I'm sorry I screwed up your life...but if I hadn't done that you wouldn't be where you are today, and you're happier with Amber then you ever were with me.” She looked away from him, she felt her heart breaking all over again. JJ blushed uncontrollably at Iffy's confession. Shehad always wanted to talk to him? What could he say to that? What was the right thing to say? What was the smooth thing to say? God, since when did it take so long to get home? He was only half-hearing, half-listening as she spoke about her clubs.... Violin. Art and drama. That made sense for Iffy. And that giggle! He looked away from the road a moment. Seeing her blushing, giggling. She was so...he liked to see her smile. He couldn't really remember seeing it at school." I'm cute?" the words fell out of his mouth in disbelief before he could stop them. His eyes shot back to the road. He didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. Dammit. Oh, good.... He pulled his old clunker into the driveway, happy to see that no one else had gotten home yet. The house was quiet, a single story with a basement on about a quarter of an acre. It was in good repair for the most part, although JJ never kept up with the yard as much as he was asked. JJ shot out of the car like a bullet, going around to the other side to help Iffy out...stupid sticky door. His pulse pounded. He got the door opened, looking down at her in the car and smiling. She was so, so beautiful. "Just...follow me," he said, smiling nervously before turning to lead her inside.*****She was right. It sounded unbelievable. If he hadn't already heard of it he would have not had the good sense to keep the knee-jerk reactions in his head well...in his head. But he let her speak her peace...until the end. Immediate and unbidden the response came. "How would you know?" He hated himself the second he said it. It wasn't the kind of statement that would be let go in a conversation like this. So he headed her off before she asked the question. "I love Amber." Not the thing the woman who just confessed to not getting over you and giving you up for your own good wants to hear, JJ." Amber is smart, and beautiful, and...stable. But...." But what? Amber is perfect and you know it." But Amber and I at our highest are no match for you and me at our highest." Content.That's what it was. The difference between contentedness and stability or passionate delirium and chaos. He could see her anguish. "Sweetie...," he began. He hadn't called her sweetie in over ten years...it tasted bitter on his tongue. It tasted like the start of betrayal. He turned inward, away from her. Thought about the situation, and channeled his bitterness into a laugh. "So the single most emotionally damaging experience of my adult life was your attempt at protecting me?" He hadn't expected the bitterness to come out so much in his voice and he regretted it. "You ruined me forbears. You...you know I love you for sentiment. But I hate you for the execution." He stood, as if to leave. He had to go on a walk. Furthermore, he didn't expect her to follow. Damn her. All he wanted to do was comfort her...maybe she had a point. And comfort was a threshold he could not afford to cross. He strode toward the door, stopping as he passed by her. "I loved you." He was thankful he had placed that word in the past tense. He hadn't been sure he could do it. Still, there was no masking the anguish in his voice. "I deserved the choice." And with that he was across the room to the door. "I'll be back." Out he strode and he willed himself not to look back. Iffy blushed as she realized he had heard her compliment, “Yer, you are cute.” She smiled, biting her lip slightly. “I'm not just saying that... I've had that thought for years.” She bit her lip, well might as well tell the truth now. They pulled up at his house, she smiled as he opened the door, she stood up her hand touching his side as she steadied herself. “Thank you.” She bit her lip grabbing her bag she followed him in. “Nice house.” She smiled, she meant it, it was much nicer than her mom's apartment. She and Imogen shared, whilst Jess slept on a blow up bed in their mom's room. She smiled “Are your parent's home?” She asked biting her lip, wondering what his parents would be like, if they were like him, they had to be nice people. Furthermore, she reached out touching his hand softly as they got to the door. “I know it's a lot to ask to help me get better at chem, but...no matter what I appreciate you helping me. I hope you realize that, there's no one I'd rather get help from.” She smiled biting her lip, hoping he got that she was flirting badly with him. Effy couldn't look at him after she had told him what had happened, she pushed her hair from her eyes, all she wanted was to curl into a ball. “I didn't know for certain that you'd be better off without me.” She bit her lip, “When I had to leave collage I borrowed my mom's car, I drove all night to see you... I made it to the end of the hallway. I saw this girl leaving your room at 5am...” She bit her lip. “I was terrified that you had found someone else, that even if I told you what had happened that you wouldn't want to be with me, so I told myself that this was better, that this way you could move on because you had.” She ran her hand over her forehead, “Amber told me that you shared a room in the first year...that you had a roommate who would bring girls back...all I ever do is make the wrong choices.” She heard him say he loved Amber, she nodded, whatever hope she might have felt just died. He carried on, she looked at him and frown. “We were never perfect, we had to fight to be accepted, I lost all my friends because I dated you. Your family hated me, you have no idea how much they hated me. Your mother thought from the minute we met that I was just some whore, why do you think I hardly came to your house.” He called her sweetie, she closed her eyes as tears fell down her cheeks, why did he have to say that? She shook her head, but listened. “I know I hurt you, I'm sorry. I can't go back and change the past, if I could, I would have so many times. I would have stayed with you, I wouldn't have tried to OD when they said they wouldn't cover my insurance, and my mom wouldn't have rushed the hospital been killed by the drunk driver. Furthermore, I wouldn't have my sisters hating and blaming me. If I could change everything I would.” She whispered, he said he hated her, she felt nothing, she hated herself. Everyone hated her, there was nothing new there.“I can't apologize, and I can't change the past.” She whispered. “I never deserved your love.” She looked at him as he walked away from her. He said he'd be back she sat back, she was so tired, and she was starting to ache all over. She headed into the kitchen to find something stronger than aspirin, her migraine wasn't going away. Once she had her medication she's walking back into the living room, she sat on the sofa as her eyes started to close. She knew she was falling asleep, there was nothing she could do about it. Without thinking, she curled up on the sofa pulling the blanket over herself, she just had to sleep, it was the only thing that ever made her feel better. "No, no one is home," he replied pulse racing at the possible implications. She bit her lip again. Why did she keep doing that? Didn't she know how much that made him want to.... He tried to blink the thought away. She couldn't possibly be interested in a geek like...but her hand on his.... Everything was spinning in his head. He wanted nothing more than to lean in and kiss her. But he didn't think he had the courage to do it.... What if she didn't want to? What if she...? A thousand nightmare scenarios ravaged his mind. He led her into the house. The living room was quiet. Empty. A couch sat on the wall by the front door. A television on the wall to the right. On the right side, dining room table, piled with his little brother's stuff. Again. Directly ahead the kitchen, and to the left the stairs. Just beyond the stairs was the hallway that led to the bedrooms on the other side of the house. JJ stopped and turned to Iffy. God, why did she have to be so...? He had no idea." Um, we can either study in my room," he motioned down the hall, "or in the basement. We'll probably have more privacy there once people start getting home." He hoped for...he didn't know what he hoped for. Images flashed in his mind. Iffy laying back in his bed, looking up at him, small body expectant. Then again...more images flooded his mind, Iffy on the couch downstairs. Or on his father's pool table....JJ suddenly realized that his eyes must have glazed over, and he hoped desperately that his thoughts weren't broadcast on his face. He cleared his throat. "You know...whatever your preference."*****JJ walked his stride fast and angry. Really? After everything she had the nerve to ThinkPad forgotten her? Had cheated? Had...whatever. And to presume to know what his family thought of her? Didn't she get it? It wasn't about who deserved love. It was never, had never been about that. Furthermore, it was who he wanted to love. Who he chose. He had chosen Amber. Amber. Why had she done this to him? She was going to hear it when she came to pick him up. And JJ walked. He walked fast and hard, like the activity would burn some of the anger out of him. And it did calm him. Rain began to fall from the sky and JJ turned and looked around to see where he was. The sky was darkening, and he had been walking longer than he thought. He ran a hand through his blond hair and decided that he should get back before Amber did show up. When he stepped into the house again he was wet. Not soaked, but wet. He strolled over to the couch. Iffy was asleep. Judging by the way she looked, she'd been there since shortly after he'd left. Long enough to pass from the fitful stage to that peaceful stage that he'd adored so much. Jesus. He'd always loved how peaceful she was when she slept. JJ righted the blanket and without thinking placed a soft kiss on Iffy's forehead. He instantly regretted it. The rush that he felt from the touch of her skin, even after all this time, after everything. He stood quickly, distancing himself from her, seating himself across from her, waiting for her to wake, or Amber to arrive, whichever came first. Iffy smiled as she followed him into his house, she looked around, but she didn't really care that much, she wanted to be with him, she wanted to be alone with him. “Very nice.” She smiled looking up at him, “I like your house.” She smiles warmly at him. She looked up at him listening to him. “Well perhaps we could go somewhere private?” She asked, looking up at him. He seemed to be completely glazed over, she smiled looking up at him. “Are you with me?” She asked, looking up at him, she touched his cheek softly. “Shall we head to the basement you said it was most private.” She took his hand smiling at him. Once they were down in the basement, she pulled out her books setting them on the small table. She smiled looking up at him. “So um...shall we start?” She asked. Effy woke slightly when he touched her, she frowned rubbing her head. “You came back?” She asked, looking up at him, slowly she sat up. “I didn't think I'd see you back.” She pushed the blanket off herself, her hair was a mess, and she knew her face was all red.“I'm sorry for what I said.” She said softly. “I never meant to hurt you.” She whispered, “But we can talk about something else if you'd like. “So um...what movies and music do you like? Anything new?” She bit her lip.“I haven't really changed much.” She bit her lip looking up at him. “I still love Die Hard.” She smiled trying to make him think about the night they spent watching the first three Die Hard before passing out together in her bed. There was a knock at the door she jumped, “I guess Amber is here.” She bit her lip, standing up she headed to the door opening it. “Hey.” She bit her lip as she let her in. “He's in here, I can bring him out to you, or you can come in.” Amber smiled, “I'll come in...you might as well give me a tour.” She frowned looking around, she was a little disappointed, part of her hoped she was in some crappy apartment instead of a gorgeous house. Effy stepped back, “Um sure.” She smiled letting Amber in, she leads her through to the living room. “This is the living room.” She smiled, “And of course here is JJ, as your left him.” She smiled. "Basement it is, then," he said, clearing his throat uncomfortably again.... She...she took his hand. Iffy Michaels was holding his hand. He led her downstairs, hoping she couldn't feel his heart pounding in his palms. His mouth was dry, and he hoped...he didn't know what he hoped. Yes. He did, actually. He hoped fear would not rule him the rest of this afternoon. The basement was a good size. Behind them, it was unfinished, used for storage space. In front of them it was broken into thirds by bookcases in the middle and a wall on the left side. The closest third was also the largest, a game room with a pool table and storage for some other indoor gaming as well. To the left, the only closed off section of the basement was a bathroom, complete with walk-in shower for guests, despite the fact that the planned guest bedroom had never happened. The furthest corner was the "office" which consisted of a desk and a small table. Iffy was already heading in that direction, and by extension so was he, led by the hand. Effy pulled out her books, setting them on the table and sitting at the chair, looking up at him. Shall we start? The words echoed in JJ's mind a second before he reached a now or never response...if not exactly to her question. JJ leaned in and kissed her. He hadn't expected to do it. Certainly not the first night. Her lips were so soft...so warm...so...so.... He broke the kiss nervously, looking at her with huge, nearly shell-shocked eyes. "Umm...yeah...let's begin."*****Iffy's voice was groggy. JJ smirked at the imprints the couch cushion had left on her face. Iffy had not really ever been a graceful riser, now that he thought of it. Still adorable though. JJ sat there silently as she apologized. It was an apology he fought desperately not to point out was ten years overdue. He won. His walk had calmed him. Had restored some sense of self-control. Movies, huh?" You know me," he said, surprised to find his voice warm for the first time this whole visit. "I watch pretty much anything but true stories and romantic dramas." He shuddered a little at the thought. He also didn't go into any more detail than that. Her invocation of Die Hard worked. He smirked, reminiscing about that night, holding her. Her nodding off in his arms. Him nodding off shortly after. He could still quote the first and third movies nearly by heart, the two of them watched them so much. He was about to comment on how subpar the fourth and fifth movies had turned out to be when a knock came at the door. Amber.JJ rose as Iffy did, watching as she answered the door. He had been with her years and saw the disappointment on her face at the niceness of the house. Petty. It wasn't Amber's most attractive feature, at all. The tour? You're requesting the tour? Amber why do you want to drag this out?JJ said nothing as Iffy pointed him out to his bride-to-be crossed the room. Amber crossed the room, kissing him, deeply...the kind of kiss that usually led to other things. The kind of kiss she knew would completely disarm him. JJ stood completely helpless against such a kiss, only a small voice in his head wondering when Amber had become so manipulative." I'll stay down here while you ladies go through the tour," he said hoarsely, not sure what else Amber would do if all three of them were together, and not terribly keen on being toyed with to manipulate his ex if that was, in fact what was happening. It occurred to him that second that maybe Amber was just on a high from dress-shopping. She had, after all, had averydifferent afternoon from his. Still...either way it would hurt Iffy, and he saw no more point in doing any more of that. "Go on. Hurry back," he said. He wanted this situation over and to be on his way home. Iffy smiled as she held his hand as he led her downstairs, she looked around at the basement it was probably as big as her entire apartment. Biting her lip she let go of his hand heading to the desk. “This is a nice area, I bet you get a lot of studying done down here.” She smiled broadly her fingers running through her hair.“Shall we start?” She asked, he moved close to her suddenly kissing her. Furthermore, she froze unsure what to do with herself, she blinks biting her lip slightly. “What was that for?” She asked, her eyes wide as she looked up a. “Not that I don't mind.” She blushed fiddling with her hair again. “But...why did you stop?” She bit her lip smiling at him, she touched his hand softly, unsure what do say or do now, but studying was the last thing on her mind at the moment. Effy smiled at JJ, “Yes you know I hate soppy romance movies as well, I think that's my of hell.” She smiled. She was glad he seemed to be a little warmer, it was like they could be friends again. Furthermore, she smiled looking up at him biting her lip. “I used to think the second film was bad until the fourth and fifth one came out.” She shook her head as the door opened. When Amber kissed JJ, Iffy looked away, she knew they were together and getting married but seeing them together just broke her heart all over. She blinked pretending she wasn't bothered when they pulled apart.“The upstairs is being renovated, I'd prefer it if no one went up there.” She said motioning to the stairs. “But there are 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and a study in the loft.” She offered, showing her into the kitchen and the formal dining room.“SO um...you got your wedding dress?” Iffy asked looking over at Amber as she led her back into the living room.“Yes, but I can't tell you what it's like, however we came up with a few ideas for bridesmaid dresses. It'll be hot pink with a large black bow, it'll look super cute on you.” She smiled, knowing that pink washed Iffy out, she'd look like a super pale barbie. Effy smiled and nodded, “I'm sure it'll be great. No doubt you two have better stuff to do this afternoon instead of spending it here.” She smiled, giving him an out. "Because... I wanted to," he replied, eyes still wide, face flushing a bright, bright red. She bit her lip and played with her hair, and it killed him...in all the best ways. That smile. Studying was the last thing on his mind either, and he took her by the hand and pulled her back up to standing, his lips finding her again. So soft and warm and amazing. Oh, he could kiss her all night. His arms wrapped loosely, tentatively around her small waist, and he deepened the kiss, eyes closing as a small, satisfied sound escaped his throat.*****When Amber broke their kiss JJ was shell-shocked. He could feel his body stirring...the response was exactly what she had been going for, at least from him. His eyes were wide, but they quickly flitted to Iffy, who looked to be in complete agony. She was putting on a brave face of it, but he had known Iffy long enough, intimately enough to tell when she was bluffing. How had he not seen this in Amber before? Guilt shocked through him. Was this all the plan? Had this mythic closure Amber had sought just been a cover to rub him in her face? To say that she'd won? Pink. It didn't occur to him that the color choice had been out of spite, too. He knew Iffy hated pink, but.... Effy had given them all an out. "Amber we should go," JJ added on. "Iffy wasn't feeling well this afternoon, and we should let her rest." He hoped Iffy would understand that he saw what Amber was doing and was trying to spare them both. He and Amber would be having a talk on the way home. Amber's face took on a slightly deflated look. Like she hadn't had quite enough opportunity to gloat and JJ was stealing her thunder. "Okay," she said with in that same chipper voice she had used about the dresses. She smiled. "Have a good afternoon Iffy! Thank you for doing this." She walked over to Iffy and gave her a hug. JJ stood there, face turning stony, as his entire understanding of this endeavor continued to change. "See you Monday." His fiancée came over to him, pulling him into another deep kiss, the kind that would normally have him chasing her in seconds...hell, as pissed as he was it still stirred him...and she knew it. She knew Iffy would see it, too. JJ crossed the room to Iffy, hugging her, holding her tightly for a second. It was warm. It was as much apology as reconciliation. And without another word he smiled weakly at Iffy, and turn around and left her sister's house.*****The car door slammed closed and JJ stormed up to the house he and Amber shared. "What's wrong?" Amber asked again, as she had during the entirety of their icy car ride home." What the hell was that Amber?" JJ spat, spinning around to face her. "Was that all this was? An opportunity for you to torture Iffy Michaels? Seriously?"" No...not all. And why do you care? She tortured you for years. She tortured you with silence. With not knowing. With abandonment. And now you have someone who will never, ever do that to you. Why can't we show her what her cruelty to you has cost her?" JJ closed his eyes, trying to keep that logic from making sense. From sounding perfectly justified. He couldn't. "JJ... I saw what she did to you." Amber moved close as she spoke. A soft, disarming kiss on his lips. And at that moment she had him back. Argument had left him. Everything he had meant to say about the needlessness of it, the cruelty of it...was gone, dissolved into a kiss. She smiled as he pulled her to her feet, she felt his lips against his, she kissed him back softly. “Hamm.” She sighed wrapping her arms around him, closing her eyes she kissed him back deeply. After what seemed an eternity she pulled back, breaking the kiss. “I don't do this, I never do this.” She said softly looking over at him, she pulled back, so there was some distance between the two of them.“I guess we should talk.” She said softly, looking up at him, reaching over she took his hand. Effy spent the rest of the weekend making sure the house was ready for her sisters return. The reception was chilly, as it usually was, she gathered her things and left quickly on Sunday evening back into the city. Her apartment was small, chilly and in a terrible neighborhood, she wasn't sure what work would be like the next day. She opened her email before she head to bed, she found one from Amber, saying she needed her to do work for Monday morning. She spent all night working on the task, having little sleep before needing to head into work, she felt terrible, all she wanted to do was sleep, but that seemed like an impossible feat right now. Furthermore, she got to her desk there was a message on her phone, Amber wanted to see her. Sighing to herself she headed to the office with the file that she had been working on for the past evening. Knocking on the door she opened up finding not only Amber but a few other managers, she frowned. “You wanted to see me?” Amber looked at her watch, “I was expecting you at least 20 minutes ago...you are almost constantly late.” A smirk crossed her face.“I wasn't late, I was preparing the file you asked for, before I checked my phone.” Iffy frowned pushing her hair from her face.“The file that I emailed you about Saturday.” Effy nodded, “The file you emailed my personal account about...despite it being a work matter and not personal.” She raised an eyebrow.“I did send out the memo for this on Friday, did you leave early?” She asked.“You know I did.” Iffy frowned, “I had a doctor's appointment you had known about this for 2 weeks.”“Yes, all these doctors appointment, your continued absenteeism is disturbing, I think we need to consider whether you should continue working here.” Amber smiled, “But that is a conversation for another time.” Effy put the file on the desk, “Perhaps, I fear there are many things we need to talk about. If we're finished here, I have work to get on with.” She turned and left, tears filling her eyes, Amber was determined to destroy her, she had JJ, the life she had always wanted, and now she was going to fire her. Maybe she should just leave town, there was little reason for her to stay now. Once out of the room she walked over to Amber's assistant, “I need the contact information for JJ, Amber wants me to do some wedding thing for her.” She smiled, knowing that her assistant didn't care about the wedding. That night she spent the evening searching for jobs far from her home, far from her family and from JJ. She sent JJ a text, “Are you free to talk? I know that the past is hard to get over, but I need to talk to you.” JJ enjoyed the feeling of her small body against his. He let his arms circle a little tighter around her waist as she wrapped her arms around him, pulling her close. To his shock, Iffy deepened their kiss, and as their kiss deepened his eyes closed and his head went swimming, lost in the heaven of the moment. But then it stopped. Iffy had broken the kiss, and he stood stunned a moment, world reeling. He was breathless, blue eyes opened wide, trying to hide the confusion. What? Why did it have to stop? What...what did I do wrong? Did I do something wrong? His thoughts raced as Iffy distanced herself from him, and not having her close any longer he felt...bereft." I guess we should talk." Her words echoed in his head, but she took his hand. JJ was sure he hadn't been able to hide the confusion on his face, but now...her touch...he sat down, looking into her eyes, waiting for whatever shoe was about to drop.*****JJ's weekend was spent on wedding preparation. The encounter with Iffy had been pushed to the back of his mind. Every once in a while it would surface. He would notice something in Amber. Something that would give his enthusiasm for the wedding pause. How had he not seen it before? Was it just Iffy who brought it out? He could see that...a sadistic sort of hatred brought on by seeing what Iffy had done to him...what she had left him. Or had it always been there? Had he just never noticed? Had he fallen for someone that petty? Truly? In his few moments alone he would pour over the memories of their years together, trying to find some hint of what he'd seen Saturday. It troubled him. Monday came and JJ was shocked and disturbed to find it a relief. He went to work, where he dealt with data storage and management, despite everyone's assumption that he would make some huge internet start-up and become fabulously rich. Zuckerberg rich. He went through his day and with work to distract him, he finally forgot about the wedding. About the previous weekend. About the anguish on Iffy's face and at Amber's delight at having used him to put it there. So after a long, productive day, JJ headed home in a glorious mood. JJ opened the door, shocked to see Amber waiting for him with a smile on her face.*****JJ woke to the buzz of his phone. He had always been a lighter sleeper than Amber. He looked over at her, smiling, her auburn hair a mess around her, clinging to bare flesh. His smile broadened into a wicked smirk. He might have to wake her up again in a moment. And then he picked up the phone. Who is?...oh no. Iffy. Suddenly, JJ's mood crashed and everything came back. Son of a bitch. Couldn't the two of them leave him out of their...whatever the hell they were doing? He'd played his part. He was tempted to text back that he was busy. That he would get back to her later. Tempted. Sorely tempted to roll back over and attend to his naked fiancée. Tempted. JJ carefully got out of bed, heading downstairs and making himself a snack...not really all that hungry, just looking for some time. A way to procrastinate...to put off what he'd already guilted himself into doing." What about?" he finally texted back, dreading the answer. She looked at him as she sat down, he seemed so scared and nervous. She frowned as she pushed hair from her eyes with her free hand. “I like you, I really, really like you.” She smiled letting him know there wasn't a bit coming. “I always had this fantasy that you'd come up to me during class or lunch and just kiss me.” She smiled biting her lip, she had never told anyone this before.“You always seemed so shy, I wasn't sure you even knew who I was.” She looked at the table, she wasn't looking for a compliment she genuinely felt like that, “I like you and I really want to go on a date with you... I'm just worried.” She bit her lip.“I don't date, I've been asked by almost every guy at school, and I've said no, I'm sure they think I'm not into guys...so... I have to warn you. It will probably be weird for you. I don't know how people will react, if they would even react. I mean... Do you want to go on a date sometime?” She asked realizing she had forgotten to ask, this was just so confusing, she didn't want him to be bullied by being with her, or revered by finally getting with the 'Ice queen'. She wished that high school wasn't so small.“Maybe we could catch a movie or a burger.” She smiled she had been running circle over his arm with her free hand. “Is that ok?” She asked. The wait for the reply almost killed her, she imagined more than she ever wanted to, luckily she had something else to distract her. One of her old collage friends had just emailed her back with an offer, it seemed almost too good to be true, but she knew him, he wouldn't do that with her, he'd be supportive when she had to leave and with breaking up with JJ, now he was married with his second child on the way, she knew he wouldn't do anything to hurt her. She saw JJ's text she bit her lip, “Are you free for lunch tomorrow? I promise I'll forget your number after that.” She bit her lip, knowing that if he told Amber she had texted him things would get much, much worse for her. “Don't tell Amber I have your number, I don't want to get her assistant in trouble, I kinda stole it.” She wasn't sure if he would accept. “I'll be at xxx, at 12:30, I think it's close to where you work.” Texted giving the address of a burger bar close to his work. The next day she headed to work, pretending nothing was wrong, Amber glared at her the entire time, but she didn't try to pull anything else yet. Her work load was starting to pile up on her desk, but she was taking her lunch, all she needed was to get her passport from her sisters safe, and she'd be free to leave. At 12:25 she arrived at the place, she got a table with two seats and order onion rings to arrive first, she was hungry for the first time in a while. She felt better today then in days before, she sighed, she'd give him 15 minutes before ordering a burger to go and heading back to work. She sat there her back to the door resisting the urge to look every time it opened. JJ listened as Iffy spoke, realizing that one of the prettiest girls in school suddenly dating one of the school’s most notorious nerds might start raising eyebrows. He almost instantly realized that he didn’t care. Let them think she was his beard, or he was her newest excuse to tell ever guy no. He didn’t give a damn. JJ let Iffy finish, caught off guard by the insecurity inherent in asking a guy who had just kissed her on a date, as if she expected a no. JJ did not answer, partially stunned by the whole turn of this evening. Words failed him, so he answered the only way he could think to; he leaned in and gave Iffy another deep kiss. He finally broke the kiss, breathlessly managing to answer, “Yes.”*****JJ did not reply to Iffy’s text about lunch. He was, frankly, not sure if he would go. Furthermore, he wanted this to be over. Furthermore, he ate his snack, then sat on the couch, mindlessly flipping through channels, head feeling empty. Overtaxed. It was nearly light out by the time he returned upstairs and joined his soundly sleeping fiancée. Even then he lay wide awake until morning.*****JJ slogged through the first half of his day in complete misery. He had barely slept, and whatever drama Amber and Iffy were playing behind his back (he had no illusions that Amber was innocent in this) he wanted no part of it. Deep down, however, he knew, somehow, that Iffy would have his sympathy. After everything, he knew she would make him doubt….JJ took an hour lunch, an option he had, but did not often use. He preferred to get home early. JJ arrived five minutes late, mostly because he stood outside the burger joint, part of the same chain that he and Iffy had had their first date at, now that he thought about it, surely not a coincidence, trying to decide if he truly would go in. He strode in quickly, decisively, picking Iffy out easily and sitting across from her, draping his jacked over the back of his seat. She looked better than the other day, and JJ tried not to let the fact that that pleased him show. “You needed to see me?” he began, trying to keep his tone even, not harsh, not concerned, only half-aware of how badly he was managing his impassiveness. “What’s up?” Iffy smiled as he just ignored her question kissing her again, she wrapped her arms around him pressing herself against him. When he whispered yes she grinned looking up at him. “All right.” She bit her lip unsure what to say next. On Friday night she was meant to meet him at the burger place, she had gotten off work less than an hour before, she changed into her dress and headed down the street. She was nervous, what if he didn't show? She bit her lip as she headed inside sitting at a table waiting for him. After an hour or so Iffy realized her wasn't going to reply, maybe he fell back to sleep, maybe he was ignoring her, she would find out at lunch. She sat and waited, a guy at another table was eyeing her up and smiling not so subtly at her. She frowned and played a game on her phone, hoping he would leave before she did. When he walked over she looked at him and smiled, she thought back to their first date, she had arrived first and sat with her back to the door like this. His greeting made her frown, no hi, or hello...she didn't deserve a friendly greeting after what she had done. She looked down at the table picking up an onion ring, she pulled the batter off before placing it on the plate, he had to remember she did that when there was something wrong. He asked her what was up she looked at him briefly before staring back at the onion ring. “I um...” She bit her lip. “I can't stay...in town anymore.” She looked at him. “My.... I'm having family issues, and...work issues.” She said softly. “I got offered a job and a temp place to stay...it's the other side of the country. The pays better...it's not great but better than what I have now.” She sighed, looking up at him. “I just wanted to say goodbye, properly, like I didn't get to last time.” The waiter came over she looked at him. “Just give us 5 minutes.” She smiled sending him away. Turning back to JJ she sighed. “I'm leaving next week, don't tell Amber I'll speak to her myself. I can cope with the hatred from her but from you...” She took a breath hoping her eyes didn't tear up. “I just, wanted to wish you all the best with your future.” JJ was a few minutes late pulling into the parking lot of the hamburger place. He ran his hands through his messy hair. His pulse pounded, and he stared nervously into the burger joint for several minutes before gathering the courage to stop the car, get out, and go inside. JJ was dressed nicely, in a pair of nice pants that didn't fit quite right and a button down shirt that was also just a bit too big for his lean frame. But he walked over to her where she sat, back to the door and seated himself across from her. He smiled. "Hi," he managed with a nervous, happy smile.*****JJ had been dreading the meeting all day. Dreading what fresh drama the two women in his life had cooked up. And now he strode in. The dour look on his face only grew darker as he saw a young man leering with predatory grin at Iffy. "Manners," he muttered harshly as he passed, in no mood to be in the young man's sights for this whole ordeal. He did not turn to see if the man headed him. Sitting, JJ listened. Family issues...work issues. His blue eyes gazed into her. "Amber issues?" he almost asked. But he stayed quiet and listened. She seemed so...anguished. He hated that he was feeling for her....JJ let her finish her peace, then spoke. "Look, I know your relationship with Amber is...not what I thought it was. What I said to you last time we met, about not doing this to Amber, I know better now. Thank you for giving me the courtesy of telling me this time." He sighed. "So if this is what you want, then go for it. I wish you the best as well." JJ affected a more jovial tone, smiling and saying "Now...should we have one last meal together before you begin your next big cross-country adventure?"

Closure. (~AT~ + Lord Malcom)|rating:3.0

Yu-Gi-Oh! PbP Exhibition_ Sir Bedevere vs. Raykura

Hi there, I see you are new. Welcome to the coming of age ceremony in which I teach you just how to function your dueling experience to the fullest with all the answers to any questions you might have. We shall do this via dueling, having me go first as to show you just how to set up the field. Now for the initiative and hand roll (ignore the initiative, seeing as it is only there to show how to set it up). Initiative:(1d20)[15](15)Draw:(5d40)[20][2][6][21][12](61)Reroll:(3d40)[40][33][19](92) And depending on who wins initiative (skipping that for this duel for the examples), that person rolls their draw like so.(1d35)[9]Now don't forget to ask questions, any questions you may have, if you need to. I'll just set a monster for my move and pass it on to you. Spoiler Hide Hand: 5 Spoiler Hide Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon Red-Eyes Wyvern Horus LA 4 Horus LA 4 Luster Dragon Deck: Spoiler Hide 1. Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon 2. Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon 3. Red-Eyes Wyvern 4. Red-Eyes Wyvern 5. Vanguard of the Dragon 6. Vanguard of the Dragon 7. Luster Dragon 8. Luster Dragon 9. Masked Dragon 10. Masked Dragon 11. Magna Drag 12. Magna Drag 13. Magna Drag 14. Koa'I Mary Drag 15. Koa'I Mary Drag 16. Horus LA 6 17. Axe of Despair 18. Mage Power 19. Mage Power 20. United We Stand 21. Big Bang Shot 22. Stamping Destruction 23. Stamping Destruction 24. Super Rejuvenation 25. Dragon's Rage 26. Burst Breath 27. Burst Breath 28. Mirror Force 29. Heavy Storm 30. Lightning Vortex 31. Mystical Space Typhoon 32. Magical Cylinder 33. Swords of Revealing Light 34. Bottomless Trap Hole Extra Deck: Spoiler Hide Stardust Dragon Red Dragon Archfiend Red Dragon Archfiend Ancient Fairy Dragon Ancient Fairy Dragon Ancient Fairy Dragon Armory Arm Armory Arm Britney, Dragon of the Ice Barrier Britney, Dragon of the Ice Barrier Goya Guardian Trident Dragion Graveyard: Spoiler Hide none Removed From Play: Spoiler Hide none Face Downs: Spoiler Hide Masked Dragon Stats: 8000 Life Points Field:{table="head]1|2|3|4|5-|-|F|-|--|-|-|-|-[/table]F=Facebook, above this is the "Spoiler Field". That is a system of spoilers that shows anyone moderating, or the opposing duelist who wants to look at the graveyard, removed from play, or stats of the player. You can look at my spoiler above for the example of how to set it up. After that is the actual "In-Play Field" which contains a list of what is on the field and what the abilities/stats of the items on the field are. Ok, now you roll for your opening hand as well as your draw. The formula to roll is []roll (the dice in the form of "ADY", X being the number rolled and Y being the size of the dice) /roll[] Put the "roll" parts into the brackets and take away the "" on the ADY part to make it work. EX: (9d900)[234][130][456][420][733][428][101][760][513](3775) That is to make your hand. You order your cards in the way similar to my deck and pick the card that corresponds to the numbers rolled. Save a dueling setup and then take the numbers rolled from the deck, don't save after this as it will most likely ruin your deck history and setup, and then add them to your hand. You can Copy-Paste my setup exactly into a Word Document if you want, or create your own. I suggest the latter one. Anyway, as they say in the anime, YOUR MOVE! An old man walks in, everything about him gray. His eyes are gray, and his hair and beard are also long & gray and his robes hang over most of his body except his face and left wrist, where a duel disk that looks like a Battle City model hangs on his arm, and seems as old and worn as he is. He seems weary, confused & nervous." I apologize for the wait and my tardiness. It seems ironic that such an old yoga like me would be in a coming of age ceremony. Hahaha."".... Still, I don't understand all this newfangled technology & these new systems. Also, I made a couple of last minute adjustments while I was getting here. I hope you don't mind." Spoiler Hide Deck: Spoiler Hide A Cat of Ill Omen X 1 Dark Magician Girl X 1 Divine Dragon Ragnarök X 1 Double Boston X 1 Kaiser Seahorse X 1 Turbo X 1 Kaufman X 1 Magician of Faith X 1 Paladin of White Dragon X 1 Red Eyes Black Chick X 1 The White Stone of Legend X 1 Dark Effigy X 2 Light Effigy X 2 Lord of D. X 2 Manju of The Thousand Hands X 2 Red Eyes Black Dragon X 2 Skilled Dark Magician X 2 Blue Eyes White Dragon X 3 Dark Magician X 3 Spell Cards: Double Summon X 1 Dust Barrier X 1 Heavy Storm X 1 Luminous Spark X 1 Monster Reborn X 1 Non-Spell casting Area X 1 Polymerization X 1 Pot of Greed X 1 Pot of Avarice X 1 Symbol of Heritage X 1 Delta Attacker X 2 Flute of Summoning Dragon X 2 Heart of Clear Water X 2 Mystical Space Typhoon X 2 Ritual Weapon X 2-Star Blaster X 2 Summoners Art X 2 Ancient Rules X 3 Dark Magic Attack X 3 Burst Stream of Destruction X 3 Trap Cards: Curse of Anubis X 1 D. Tribe X 1 The Uniform League of Nonclemature X 1 Just-Break X 2 Magic Cylinder X 1 Malevolent Catastrophe X 1 Royal Decree X 1 Trap Hole X 1 DNA Surgery X 1 Birthright X 2 Ultimate Offering X 1 Extra Deck: Spoiler Hide Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon X 1 King Dragon X 1 Graveyard: "So, would my deck be okay? I think it's a bit over the card limit at the moment...." He fiddles around for what seems like ages, and eventually, sighs, frustrated. "I'm very sorry about how little I can do. I'm very confused. I've tried many combinations, but these spoiler-things just don't seem to want to work properly. Perhaps my duel disk is at fault?" Ah, that's ok good friend. It doesn't matter how many cards you have in your deck as long as you realize you will most likely need to number them as I did in my deck. Also, your spoilers seem to be working in good order. Anyway, do you have any questions about what I've gone over previously? "Ah yes. About the numbered list, I had only just realized I needed one, and have been in the process of making it recently. However, I do not feel the same way as you do about my spoiler tags. If you haven't noticed, no offense, I can't get the show/hide button to appear for my graveyard. And thus, I am stuck and rather confused as to how to remedy this and cannot progress on creating the rest of the spoiler tags. If you wish, I could post what I have so far in attempt to help you help me via aiding your diagnosis of the situation. Originally Posted by Rayburn If you haven't noticed, no offense, I can't get the show/hide button to appear for my graveyard. Oh, don't worry about that part. For one, the graveyard is public *or should be* and thus it is of no current importance. Secondly, I have a sheet to give you *just move the brackets to cover the part it is by, ok?*[]spoiler Hand: 0 []spoiler*Hand Updates* []/spoiler Deck: []spoiler*Deck List Updates*[]/spoiler Extra Deck: []spoiler*Extra Deck Updates* []/spoiler Graveyard: []spoiler none []/spoiler Removed From Play: []spoiler none []/spoiler Face Downs: []spoiler none []/spoiler Stats: 8000 Life Points []/spoiler Field: []table="head1|2|3|4|5-|-|-|-|--|-|-|-|-[]/table=FacedownCopy and Paste this into a separate Word document and edit the brackets around the words "Spoiler" or "table="head" or "/table" or "/spoiler". If you did it correctly, it should appear as this:Spoiler Hide Hand: 5 Spoiler Hide Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon Red-Eyes Wyvern Horus LA 4 Horus LA 4 Luster Dragon Deck: Spoiler Hide 1. Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon 2. Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon 3. Red-Eyes Wyvern 4. Red-Eyes Wyvern 5. Vanguard of the Dragon 6. Vanguard of the Dragon 7. Luster Dragon 8. Luster Dragon 9. Masked Dragon 10. Masked Dragon 11. Magna Drag 12. Magna Drag 13. Magna Drag 14. Koa'I Mary Drag 15. Koa'I Mary Drag 16. Horus LA 6 17. Axe of Despair 18. Mage Power 19. Mage Power 20. United We Stand 21. Big Bang Shot 22. Stamping Destruction 23. Stamping Destruction 24. Super Rejuvenation 25. Dragon's Rage 26. Burst Breath 27. Burst Breath 28. Mirror Force 29. Heavy Storm 30. Lightning Vortex 31. Mystical Space Typhoon 32. Magical Cylinder 33. Swords of Revealing Light 34. Bottomless Trap Hole Extra Deck: Spoiler Hide Stardust Dragon Red Dragon Archfiend Red Dragon Archfiend Ancient Fairy Dragon Ancient Fairy Dragon Ancient Fairy Dragon Armory Arm Armory Arm Britney, Dragon of the Ice Barrier Britney, Dragon of the Ice Barrier Goya Guardian Trident Dragion Graveyard: Spoiler Hide none Removed From Play: Spoiler Hide none Face Downs: Spoiler Hide Masked Dragon Stats: 8000 Life Points Field:{table="head]1|2|3|4|5-|-|F|-|--|-|-|-|-[/table]F=Face down Spoiler Hide Hand: 0 Spoiler Hide *Hand Updates* Deck: Spoiler Hide 1. A Cat of Ill Omen X 1 2. Dark Magician Girl X 1 3. Divine Dragon Ragnarök X 1 4. Double Boston X 1 5. Kaiser Seahorse X 1 6. Turbo X 1 7. Kaufman X 1 8. Magician of Faith X 1 9. Paladin of White Dragon X 1 10. Red Eyes Black Chick X 1 11. The White Stone of Legend X 1 12. Dark Effigy 13. Dark Effigy 14. Light Effigy 15. Light Effigy 16. Lord of D. 17. Lord of D. 18. Manju of The Thousand Hands 19. Manju of The Thousand Hands 20. Red Eyes Black Dragon 21. Red Eyes Black Dragon 22. Skilled Dark Magician 23. Skilled Dark Magician 24. Blue Eyes White Dragon 25. Blue Eyes White Dragon 26. Blue Eyes White Dragon 27. Dark Magician 28. Dark Magician 29. Dark Magician Fusion: Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon X 1 King Dragon X 1 Spell Cards: 30. Double Summon 31. Dust Barrier 32. Heavy Storm 33. Luminous Spark 34. Monster Reborn 35. Non-Spell casting Area 36. Polymerization 37. Pot of Greed 38. Pot of Avarice 39. Symbol of Heritage 40. Delta Attacker 41. Delta Attacker 42. Flute of Summoning Dragon 43. Flute of Summoning Dragon 44. Heart of Clear Water 45. Heart of Clear Water 46. Mystical Space Typhoon 47. Mystical Space Typhoon 48. Ritual Weapon 49. Ritual Weapon 50. Star Blaster 51. Star Blaster 52. Summoner's Art 53. Summoner's Art 54. Ancient Rules 55. Ancient Rules 56. Ancient Rules 57. Dark Magic Attack 58. Dark Magic Attack 59. Dark Magic Attack 60. Burst Stream of Destruction 61. Burst Stream of Destruction 62. Burst Stream of Destruction Trap Cards: 63. Curse of Anubis 64. D. Tribe 65. DNA Surgery 66. Magic Cylinder 67. Malevolent Catastrophe 68. Royal Decree 69. The Uniform League of Nonclemature 70. Trap Hole 71. Ultimate Offering 72. Birthright 73. Birthright 74. Just-Break 75. Just-Break *Deck List Updates* Extra Deck: Spoiler Hide *Extra Deck Updates* Graveyard: Spoiler Hide none Removed From Play: Spoiler Hide none Face Downs: Spoiler Hide none Stats: 8000 Life Points Field: {table="head]1|2|3|4|5-|-|-|-|--|-|-|-|-[/table]F=Face down"I hope this is the right way to use this. Although I think I may have screwed up when trying to get the field displayed. Sorry about that." Meh, don't worry about the field. Just copy and paste this:{table="head]1|2|3|4|5-|-|F|-|--|-|-|-|-[/table]F=Facedownand you'll be ok. Also, you can take out the *Deck List Updates*, *Hand Updates*, and *Extra Deck Updates* from there, and the fusions go in the extra deck list. Another thing, no need to actually put if they are monsters or spell/trap cards in your deck list, really no need. Anyway, seems good, let's get you a hand and a draw and have you do a test run for your deck *PS no rolling in edits and no rolling on the first post*Remember to do this:[]roll (5d75) []/rollout take out the () on the 5d75 and put the [] around the roll and /roll. Also, do a roll for 3d75 in case you draw the same number, that is called a re-roll, and you pick the first one in the case that you originally DO draw the same number twice. Try it out in a reply to this. Spoiler Hide Hand: 0 Spoiler Hide *Hand Updates* Deck: Spoiler Hide 1. A Cat of Ill Omen X 1 2. Dark Magician Girl X 1 3. Divine Dragon Ragnarök X 1 4. Double Boston X 1 5. Kaiser Seahorse X 1 6. Turbo X 1 7. Kaufman X 1 8. Magician of Faith X 1 9. Paladin of White Dragon X 1 10. Red Eyes Black Chick X 1 11. The White Stone of Legend X 1 12. Dark Effigy 13. Dark Effigy 14. Light Effigy 15. Light Effigy 16. Lord of D. 17. Lord of D. 18. Manju of The Thousand Hands 19. Manju of The Thousand Hands 20. Red Eyes Black Dragon 21. Red Eyes Black Dragon 22. Skilled Dark Magician 23. Skilled Dark Magician 24. Blue Eyes White Dragon 25. Blue Eyes White Dragon 26. Blue Eyes White Dragon 27. Dark Magician 28. Dark Magician 29. Dark Magician 30. Double Summon 31. Dust Barrier 32. Heavy Storm 33. Luminous Spark 34. Monster Reborn 35. Non-Spell casting Area 36. Polymerization 37. Pot of Greed 38. Pot of Avarice 39. Symbol of Heritage 40. Delta Attacker 41. Delta Attacker 42. Flute of Summoning Dragon 43. Flute of Summoning Dragon 44. Heart of Clear Water 45. Heart of Clear Water 46. Mystical Space Typhoon 47. Mystical Space Typhoon 48. Ritual Weapon 49. Ritual Weapon 50. Star Blaster 51. Star Blaster 52. Summoner's Art 53. Summoner's Art 54. Ancient Rules 55. Ancient Rules 56. Ancient Rules 57. Dark Magic Attack 58. Dark Magic Attack 59. Dark Magic Attack 60. Burst Stream of Destruction 61. Burst Stream of Destruction 62. Burst Stream of Destruction 63. Curse of Anubis 64. D. Tribe 65. DNA Surgery 66. Magic Cylinder 67. Malevolent Catastrophe 68. Royal Decree 69. The Uniform League of Nonclemature 70. Trap Hole 71. Ultimate Offering 72. Birthright 73. Birthright 74. Just-Break 75. Just-Break 76. Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon 77. King Dragon Extra Deck: Spoiler Hide *Extra Deck Updates* Graveyard: Spoiler Hide none Removed From Play: Spoiler Hide none Face Downs: Spoiler Hide none Stats: 8000 Life Points Field: {table=head]1 2 3 4 5- - - - -- - - - -[/table]"Okay. I've gotten my cards into the system. Also, since you said fusions go in the deck list, I put my 2 Fusions in as 76 & 77. I hope that's okay." Originally Posted by Rayburn Spoiler Hide Hand: 0 Spoiler Hide *Hand Updates* Deck: Spoiler Hide 1. A Cat of Ill Omen X 1 2. Dark Magician Girl X 1 3. Divine Dragon Ragnarök X 1 4. Double Boston X 1 5. Kaiser Seahorse X 1 6. Turbo X 1 7. Kaufman X 1 8. Magician of Faith X 1 9. Paladin of White Dragon X 1 10. Red Eyes Black Chick X 1 11. The White Stone of Legend X 1 12. Dark Effigy 13. Dark Effigy 14. Light Effigy 15. Light Effigy 16. Lord of D. 17. Lord of D. 18. Manju of The Thousand Hands 19. Manju of The Thousand Hands 20. Red Eyes Black Dragon 21. Red Eyes Black Dragon 22. Skilled Dark Magician 23. Skilled Dark Magician 24. Blue Eyes White Dragon 25. Blue Eyes White Dragon 26. Blue Eyes White Dragon 27. Dark Magician 28. Dark Magician 29. Dark Magician 30. Double Summon 31. Dust Barrier 32. Heavy Storm 33. Luminous Spark 34. Monster Reborn 35. Non-Spell casting Area 36. Polymerization 37. Pot of Greed 38. Pot of Avarice 39. Symbol of Heritage 40. Delta Attacker 41. Delta Attacker 42. Flute of Summoning Dragon 43. Flute of Summoning Dragon 44. Heart of Clear Water 45. Heart of Clear Water 46. Mystical Space Typhoon 47. Mystical Space Typhoon 48. Ritual Weapon 49. Ritual Weapon 50. Star Blaster 51. Star Blaster 52. Summoner's Art 53. Summoner's Art 54. Ancient Rules 55. Ancient Rules 56. Ancient Rules 57. Dark Magic Attack 58. Dark Magic Attack 59. Dark Magic Attack 60. Burst Stream of Destruction 61. Burst Stream of Destruction 62. Burst Stream of Destruction 63. Curse of Anubis 64. D. Tribe 65. DNA Surgery 66. Magic Cylinder 67. Malevolent Catastrophe 68. Royal Decree 69. The Uniform League of Nonclemature 70. Trap Hole 71. Ultimate Offering 72. Birthright 73. Birthright 74. Just-Break 75. Just-Break 76. Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon 77. King Dragon Extra Deck: Spoiler Hide *Extra Deck Updates* Graveyard: Spoiler Hide none Removed From Play: Spoiler Hide none Face Downs: Spoiler Hide none Stats: 8000 Life Points Field: {table="head] 1|2|3|4|5 -|-|-|-|- -|-|-|-|-[/table] F=Face down "Okay. I've gotten my cards into the system. Also, since you said fusions go in the deck list, I put my 2 Fusions in as 76 camp; 77. I hope that's okay." OH, SUN UVA *smacks myself upside the head* sorry, all this bull was my fault. Put the Fusions in the Extra Deck area *forgot to put Extra in my last message* and edit the: Field: {table="head]1|2|3|4|5-|-|-|-|--|-|-|-|-[/table]F=Facedownpart by going to the 1 and pressing backspace. It should help you out TREMENDOUSLY. Spoiler Hide Hand: 0 Spoiler Hide *Hand Updates* Deck: Spoiler Hide 1. A Cat of Ill Omen X 1 2. Dark Magician Girl X 1 3. Divine Dragon Ragnarök X 1 4. Double Boston X 1 5. Kaiser Seahorse X 1 6. Turbo X 1 7. Kaufman X 1 8. Magician of Faith X 1 9. Paladin of White Dragon X 1 10. Red Eyes Black Chick X 1 11. The White Stone of Legend X 1 12. Dark Effigy 13. Dark Effigy 14. Light Effigy 15. Light Effigy 16. Lord of D. 17. Lord of D. 18. Manju of The Thousand Hands 19. Manju of The Thousand Hands 20. Red Eyes Black Dragon 21. Red Eyes Black Dragon 22. Skilled Dark Magician 23. Skilled Dark Magician 24. Blue Eyes White Dragon 25. Blue Eyes White Dragon 26. Blue Eyes White Dragon 27. Dark Magician 28. Dark Magician 29. Dark Magician 30. Double Summon 31. Dust Barrier 32. Heavy Storm 33. Luminous Spark 34. Monster Reborn 35. Non-Spell casting Area 36. Polymerization 37. Pot of Greed 38. Pot of Avarice 39. Symbol of Heritage 40. Delta Attacker 41. Delta Attacker 42. Flute of Summoning Dragon 43. Flute of Summoning Dragon 44. Heart of Clear Water 45. Heart of Clear Water 46. Mystical Space Typhoon 47. Mystical Space Typhoon 48. Ritual Weapon 49. Ritual Weapon 50. Star Blaster 51. Star Blaster 52. Summoner's Art 53. Summoner's Art 54. Ancient Rules 55. Ancient Rules 56. Ancient Rules 57. Dark Magic Attack 58. Dark Magic Attack 59. Dark Magic Attack 60. Burst Stream of Destruction 61. Burst Stream of Destruction 62. Burst Stream of Destruction 63. Curse of Anubis 64. D. Tribe 65. DNA Surgery 66. Magic Cylinder 67. Malevolent Catastrophe 68. Royal Decree 69. The Uniform League of Nonclemature 70. Trap Hole 71. Ultimate Offering 72. Birthright 73. Birthright 74. Just-Break 75. Just-Break Extra Deck: Spoiler Hide Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon King Dragon Graveyard: Spoiler Hide none Removed From Play: Spoiler Hide none Face Downs: Spoiler Hide none Stats: 8000 Life Points Field: {table=head]1 2 3 4 5- - - - -- - - - -[/table]"Ah, okay. So would this be correct, good sir? I'm really sorry if this has been any trouble, after all, you seemed eager to start. Anyway, I think I'll record and store this table-thing so that I'll have easier access to it later." Good enough. Just edit the - parts into acronyms for what your cards are. EX:Soil=Swords of Revealing Light (**) now then, let's get to the rolling[]roll(5d75)[]/roll[]roll(3d75)[]/roll move the roll into the [] same with the /roll.take away the parenthesis and make sure that it ends up like this:]5d75[Spoiler Hide Hand: 0 Spoiler Hide *Hand Updates* Deck: Spoiler Hide 1. A Cat of Ill Omen X 1 2. Dark Magician Girl X 1 3. Divine Dragon Ragnarök X 1 4. Double Boston X 1 5. Kaiser Seahorse X 1 6. Turbo X 1 7. Kaufman X 1 8. Magician of Faith X 1 9. Paladin of White Dragon X 1 10. Red Eyes Black Chick X 1 11. The White Stone of Legend X 1 12. Dark Effigy 13. Dark Effigy 14. Light Effigy 15. Light Effigy 16. Lord of D. 17. Lord of D. 18. Manju of The Thousand Hands 19. Manju of The Thousand Hands 20. Red Eyes Black Dragon 21. Red Eyes Black Dragon 22. Skilled Dark Magician 23. Skilled Dark Magician 24. Blue Eyes White Dragon 25. Blue Eyes White Dragon 26. Blue Eyes White Dragon 27. Dark Magician 28. Dark Magician 29. Dark Magician 30. Double Summon 31. Dust Barrier 32. Heavy Storm 33. Luminous Spark 34. Monster Reborn 35. Non-Spell casting Area 36. Polymerization 37. Pot of Greed 38. Pot of Avarice 39. Symbol of Heritage 40. Delta Attacker 41. Delta Attacker 42. Flute of Summoning Dragon 43. Flute of Summoning Dragon 44. Heart of Clear Water 45. Heart of Clear Water 46. Mystical Space Typhoon 47. Mystical Space Typhoon 48. Ritual Weapon 49. Ritual Weapon 50. Star Blaster 51. Star Blaster 52. Summoner's Art 53. Summoner's Art 54. Ancient Rules 55. Ancient Rules 56. Ancient Rules 57. Dark Magic Attack 58. Dark Magic Attack 59. Dark Magic Attack 60. Burst Stream of Destruction 61. Burst Stream of Destruction 62. Burst Stream of Destruction 63. Curse of Anubis 64. D. Tribe 65. DNA Surgery 66. Magic Cylinder 67. Malevolent Catastrophe 68. Royal Decree 69. The Uniform League of Nonclemature 70. Trap Hole 71. Ultimate Offering 72. Birthright 73. Birthright 74. Just-Break 75. Just-Break Extra Deck: Spoiler Hide Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon King Dragon Graveyard: Spoiler Hide none Removed From Play: Spoiler Hide none Face Downs: Spoiler Hide none Stats: 8000 Life Points Field: {table=head]1 2 3 4 5- - - - -- - - - -[/table][roll0]Would this be correct? If you're wondering I put the roll in ['s &]'s, and the same for the /roll, and I put 5d75 between them. Originally Posted by Rayburn Spoiler Hide Hand: 0 Spoiler Hide *Hand Updates* Deck: Spoiler Hide 1. A Cat of Ill Omen X 1 2. Dark Magician Girl X 1 3. Divine Dragon Ragnarök X 1 4. Double Boston X 1 5. Kaiser Seahorse X 1 6. Turbo X 1 7. Kaufman X 1 8. Magician of Faith X 1 9. Paladin of White Dragon X 1 10. Red Eyes Black Chick X 1 11. The White Stone of Legend X 1 12. Dark Effigy 13. Dark Effigy 14. Light Effigy 15. Light Effigy 16. Lord of D. 17. Lord of D. 18. Manju of The Thousand Hands 19. Manju of The Thousand Hands 20. Red Eyes Black Dragon 21. Red Eyes Black Dragon 22. Skilled Dark Magician 23. Skilled Dark Magician 24. Blue Eyes White Dragon 25. Blue Eyes White Dragon 26. Blue Eyes White Dragon 27. Dark Magician 28. Dark Magician 29. Dark Magician 30. Double Summon 31. Dust Barrier 32. Heavy Storm 33. Luminous Spark 34. Monster Reborn 35. Non-Spell casting Area 36. Polymerization 37. Pot of Greed 38. Pot of Avarice 39. Symbol of Heritage 40. Delta Attacker 41. Delta Attacker 42. Flute of Summoning Dragon 43. Flute of Summoning Dragon 44. Heart of Clear Water 45. Heart of Clear Water 46. Mystical Space Typhoon 47. Mystical Space Typhoon 48. Ritual Weapon 49. Ritual Weapon 50. Star Blaster 51. Star Blaster 52. Summoner's Art 53. Summoner's Art 54. Ancient Rules 55. Ancient Rules 56. Ancient Rules 57. Dark Magic Attack 58. Dark Magic Attack 59. Dark Magic Attack 60. Burst Stream of Destruction 61. Burst Stream of Destruction 62. Burst Stream of Destruction 63. Curse of Anubis 64. D. Tribe 65. DNA Surgery 66. Magic Cylinder 67. Malevolent Catastrophe 68. Royal Decree 69. The Uniform League of Nonclemature 70. Trap Hole 71. Ultimate Offering 72. Birthright 73. Birthright 74. Just-Break 75. Just-Break Extra Deck: Spoiler Hide Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon King Dragon Graveyard: Spoiler Hide none Removed From Play: Spoiler Hide none Face Downs: Spoiler Hide none Stats: 8000 Life Points Field: {table=head]1 2 3 4 5 - - - - - - - - - - [/table] [roll0] Would this be correct? If you're wondering I put the roll in ['s camp;]'s, and the same for the /roll, and I put 5d75 between them. Ok, you know something... I have no idea what is going on here. Were there any spaces between the 5d75 and the two roll parameters? I put it like this:]roll[5d75]/roll[Except with the]'s where the ['s are, and vice versa. Ok, the system was just[expletive deleted]up. I'll roll for you on this duel, ok?(5d75)[48][32][4][65][17](166)rerolls: (3d75)[12][61][33](106)draw phase:(1d70)[65] Spoiler Hide Hand: 5 Spoiler Hide Heavy Storm Ritual Weapon Double Boston Lord of D. DNA Surgery Deck: Spoiler Hide 1. A Cat of Ill Omen X 1 2. Dark Magician Girl X 1 3. Divine Dragon Ragnarök X 1 5. Kaiser Seahorse X 1 6. Turbo X 1 7. Kaufman X 1 8. Magician of Faith X 1 9. Paladin of White Dragon X 1 10. Red Eyes Black Chick X 1 11. The White Stone of Legend X 1 12. Dark Effigy 13. Dark Effigy 14. Light Effigy 15. Light Effigy 16. Lord of D. 18. Manju of The Thousand Hands 19. Manju of The Thousand Hands 20. Red Eyes Black Dragon 21. Red Eyes Black Dragon 22. Skilled Dark Magician 23. Skilled Dark Magician 24. Blue Eyes White Dragon 25. Blue Eyes White Dragon 26. Blue Eyes White Dragon 27. Dark Magician 28. Dark Magician 29. Dark Magician 30. Double Summon 31. Dust Barrier 33. Luminous Spark 34. Monster Reborn 35. Non-Spell casting Area 36. Polymerization 37. Pot of Greed 38. Pot of Avarice 39. Symbol of Heritage 40. Delta Attacker 41. Delta Attacker 42. Flute of Summoning Dragon 43. Flute of Summoning Dragon 44. Heart of Clear Water 45. Heart of Clear Water 46. Mystical Space Typhoon 47. Mystical Space Typhoon 49. Ritual Weapon 50. Star Blaster 51. Star Blaster 52. Summoner's Art 53. Summoner's Art 54. Ancient Rules 55. Ancient Rules 56. Ancient Rules 57. Dark Magic Attack 58. Dark Magic Attack 59. Dark Magic Attack 60. Burst Stream of Destruction 61. Burst Stream of Destruction 62. Burst Stream of Destruction 63. Curse of Anubis 64. D. Tribe 66. Magic Cylinder 67. Malevolent Catastrophe 68. Royal Decree 69. The Uniform League of Nonclemature 70. Trap Hole 71. Ultimate Offering 72. Birthright 73. Birthright 74. Just-Break 75. Just-Break Extra Deck: Spoiler Hide Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon King Dragon Graveyard: Spoiler Hide none Removed From Play: Spoiler Hide none Face Downs: Spoiler Hide none Stats: 8000 Life Points Field: {table=head]1 2 3 4 5- - - - -- - - - -[/table]Alright, I added 48, 32, 17, 65, & 4 to my hand. I'm really, really sorry that I'm such a frustratingly, stupid idiot, Sir Bedevil. Ok, now add the drawn card to you hand, which you draw after you take the first five out of the deck list. When you draw that card *the 1d70 one*, add it to your hand and delete it from the deck list *temporarily, it only goes away as long as the duel lasts*. Now, do your move. Also, it isn't you my man, this typing system just blows monkey balls in my opinion and I have had the pleasure of going through it about five times now :/ Originally Posted by Sir Bedevil Ok, now add the drawn card to you hand, which you draw after you take the first five out of the deck list. When you draw that card *the 1d70 one*, add it to your hand and delete it from the deck list *temporarily, it only goes away as long as the duel lasts*. Now, do your move. Also, it isn't you my man, this typing system just blows monkey balls in my opinion and I have had the pleasure of going through it about five times now :/ I'm sorry to ask such a stupid question, but how do I determine what card is drawn? As you've seen, I suck with the rolling system, and no offense, but to my knowledge you only determined my 5-card starting hand, correct? Originally Posted by Rayburn I'm sorry to ask such a stupid question, but how do I determine what card is drawn? As you've seen, I suck with the rolling system, and no offense, but to my knowledge you only determined my 5-card starting hand, correct? Oh, see the roll under the crossed out re-rolls? That is the draw for your 6th card. Also, you determine which card is which by the corresponding number. You then take out the card that the number corresponds with and add it to your hand. Then you play any card by moving said card to the field *the grid we spent about half an hour on* and if it is face down, put it in the face down slot. If it is face up, put it on the grid with the acronym. If it is used up in one round, don't bother putting it on the field, just send it to the graveyard. Now make your move with the cards that you have received. (your sixth card was trap hole) you can keep testing this thing out here, I'm going to sleep. The lack of capitals should have alerted you to the lack of sleep and tiredness in my typing. It is around 2 am and I am exhausted. Good night, and keep practicing. If you mess up here, keep modifying it until it works and then keep posting until it becomes natural. Spoiler Hide Hand: 4 Spoiler Hide Heavy Storm Ritual Weapon Lord of D. DNA Surgery Deck: Spoiler Hide 1. A Cat of Ill Omen 2. Dark Magician Girl 3. Divine Dragon Ragnarök 5. Kaiser Seahorse 6. Turbo 7. Kaufman 8. Magician of Faith 9. Paladin of White Dragon 10. Red Eyes Black Chick 11. The White Stone of Legend 12. Dark Effigy 13. Dark Effigy 14. Light Effigy 15. Light Effigy 16. Lord of D. 18. Manju of The Thousand Hands 19. Manju of The Thousand Hands 20. Red Eyes Black Dragon 21. Red Eyes Black Dragon 22. Skilled Dark Magician 23. Skilled Dark Magician 24. Blue Eyes White Dragon 25. Blue Eyes White Dragon 26. Blue Eyes White Dragon 27. Dark Magician 28. Dark Magician 29. Dark Magician 30. Double Summon 31. Dust Barrier 33. Luminous Spark 34. Monster Reborn 35. Non-Spell casting Area 36. Polymerization 37. Pot of Greed 38. Pot of Avarice 39. Symbol of Heritage 40. Delta Attacker 41. Delta Attacker 42. Flute of Summoning Dragon 43. Flute of Summoning Dragon 44. Heart of Clear Water 45. Heart of Clear Water 46. Mystical Space Typhoon 47. Mystical Space Typhoon 49. Ritual Weapon 50. Star Blaster 51. Star Blaster 52. Summoner's Art 53. Summoner's Art 54. Ancient Rules 55. Ancient Rules 56. Ancient Rules 57. Dark Magic Attack 58. Dark Magic Attack 59. Dark Magic Attack 60. Burst Stream of Destruction 61. Burst Stream of Destruction 62. Burst Stream of Destruction 63. Curse of Anubis 64. D. Tribe 66. Magic Cylinder 67. Malevolent Catastrophe 68. Royal Decree 69. The Uniform League of Nonclemature 70. Trap Hole 71. Ultimate Offering 72. Birthright 73. Birthright 74. Just-Break 75. Just-Break Extra Deck: Spoiler Hide Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon King Dragon Graveyard: Spoiler Hide none Removed From Play: Spoiler Hide none Face Downs: Spoiler Hide none Stats: 8000 Life Points Field: {table=head]1 2 3 4 5- - DC - -- - FD - -[/table]IOC: Ah, so that's what it was. The rollers don't work for me if I preview my post. But, hooray! Now I finally understand how to use these stupid rollers!!IC: "Double Boston, to the field and defend me!! And to end my turn, I shall set 1 card face-down in my Spell & Trap Card Zone." Ah, that's good. You seem to have had the same problem I had before when I was running my first session on the forums. Also, when I type in color, that means I'm in character. Ok, nice defense I might say. I draw!(1d34)[9]I summon my Luster Dragon in attack mode and attack your Double Boston! Emerald Wing Blast! I end my turn. Now if you activated anything, say so in the post below, and I shall reply to that post with a modified turn post. Spoiler Hide Hand: 5 Spoiler Hide Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon Red-Eyes Wyvern Horus LA 4 Horus LA 4 Masked Dragon Deck: Spoiler Hide 1. Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon 2. Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon 3. Red-Eyes Wyvern 4. Red-Eyes Wyvern 5. Vanguard of the Dragon 6. Vanguard of the Dragon 7. Luster Dragon 8. Luster Dragon 9. Masked Dragon 10. Magna Drag 11. Magna Drag 12. Magna Drag 13. Koa'I Mary Drag 14. Koa'I Mary Drag 15. Horus LA 6 16. Axe of Despair 17. Mage Power 18. Mage Power 19. United We Stand 20. Big Bang Shot 21. Stamping Destruction 22. Stamping Destruction 23. Super Rejuvenation 24. Dragon's Rage 25. Burst Breath 26. Burst Breath 27. Mirror Force 28. Heavy Storm 29. Lightning Vortex 30. Mystical Space Typhoon 31. Magical Cylinder 32. Swords of Revealing Light 33. Bottomless Trap Hole Extra Deck: Spoiler Hide Stardust Dragon Red Dragon Archfiend Red Dragon Archfiend Ancient Fairy Dragon Ancient Fairy Dragon Ancient Fairy Dragon Armory Arm Armory Arm Britney, Dragon of the Ice Barrier Britney, Dragon of the Ice Barrier Goya Guardian Trident Dragion Graveyard: Spoiler Hide none Removed From Play: Spoiler Hide none Face Downs: Spoiler Hide Masked Dragon Stats: 8000 Life Points Field:{table="head]1|2|3|4|5-|-|F|LD|--|-|-|-|-[/table]F=FacedownLD=Luster Dragon ATK (1900) Originally Posted by Sir Bedevil Ah, that's good. You seem to have had the same problem I had before when I was running my first session on the forums. Also, when I type in color, that means I'm in character. Ok, nice defense I might say. I draw! [roll0] I summon my Luster Dragon in attack mode and attack your Double Boston! Emerald Wing Blast! I end my turn. Now if you activated anything, say so in the post below, and I shall reply to that post with a modified turn post. Spoiler Hide Hand: 5 Spoiler Hide Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon Red-Eyes Wyvern Horus LA 4 Horus LA 4 Masked Dragon Deck: Spoiler Hide 1. Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon 2. Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon 3. Red-Eyes Wyvern 4. Red-Eyes Wyvern 5. Vanguard of the Dragon 6. Vanguard of the Dragon 7. Luster Dragon 8. Luster Dragon 9. Masked Dragon 10. Magna Drag 11. Magna Drag 12. Magna Drag 13. Koa'I Mary Drag 14. Koa'I Mary Drag 15. Horus LA 6 16. Axe of Despair 17. Mage Power 18. Mage Power 19. United We Stand 20. Big Bang Shot 21. Stamping Destruction 22. Stamping Destruction 23. Super Rejuvenation 24. Dragon's Rage 25. Burst Breath 26. Burst Breath 27. Mirror Force 28. Heavy Storm 29. Lightning Vortex 30. Mystical Space Typhoon 31. Magical Cylinder 32. Swords of Revealing Light 33. Bottomless Trap Hole Extra Deck: Spoiler Hide Stardust Dragon Red Dragon Archfiend Red Dragon Archfiend Ancient Fairy Dragon Ancient Fairy Dragon Ancient Fairy Dragon Armory Arm Armory Arm Britney, Dragon of the Ice Barrier Britney, Dragon of the Ice Barrier Goya Guardian Trident Dragion Graveyard: Spoiler Hide none Removed From Play: Spoiler Hide none Face Downs: Spoiler Hide Masked Dragon Stats: 8000 Life Points Field: {table="head]1|2|3|4|5 -|-|F|LD|- -|-|-|-|-[/table] F=Face down LD=Luster Dragon ATK (1900) "Bah, you whipper-snapper. Your Luster Dragon may be shiny, but it's still worthless enough to fall down this: Trap Hole!" Field: {table=head]1 2 3 4 5- - DC - -- - - - -[/table](I removed Trap Hole from the field, now that I'm activating it. And yes, it's in response to your summon.) At least it was wasted on one of my weaker cards. I end my turn. Spoiler Hide Hand: 5 Spoiler Hide Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon Red-Eyes Wyvern Horus LA 4 Horus LA 4 Masked Dragon Deck: Spoiler Hide 1. Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon 2. Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon 3. Red-Eyes Wyvern 4. Red-Eyes Wyvern 5. Vanguard of the Dragon 6. Vanguard of the Dragon 7. Luster Dragon 8. Luster Dragon 9. Masked Dragon 10. Magna Drag 11. Magna Drag 12. Magna Drag 13. Koa'I Mary Drag 14. Koa'I Mary Drag 15. Horus LA 6 16. Axe of Despair 17. Mage Power 18. Mage Power 19. United We Stand 20. Big Bang Shot 21. Stamping Destruction 22. Stamping Destruction 23. Super Rejuvenation 24. Dragon's Rage 25. Burst Breath 26. Burst Breath 27. Mirror Force 28. Heavy Storm 29. Lightning Vortex 30. Mystical Space Typhoon 31. Magical Cylinder 32. Swords of Revealing Light 33. Bottomless Trap Hole Extra Deck: Spoiler Hide Stardust Dragon Red Dragon Archfiend Red Dragon Archfiend Ancient Fairy Dragon Ancient Fairy Dragon Ancient Fairy Dragon Armory Arm Armory Arm Britney, Dragon of the Ice Barrier Britney, Dragon of the Ice Barrier Goya Guardian Trident Dragion Graveyard: Spoiler Hide Luster Dragon Removed From Play: Spoiler Hide none Face Downs: Spoiler Hide Masked Dragon Stats: 8000 Life Points Field:{table="head]1|2|3|4|5-|-|F|-|--|-|-|-|-[/table]F=Face down (1d69)[46](46)"My turn. Draw!"(This is the 7th card I'm drawing, correct?) Correct. That be your 7th card. (dang character limit) Spoiler Hide Hand: 4 Spoiler Hide Heavy Storm Ritual Weapon Lord of D. DNA Surgery Deck: Spoiler Hide 1. A Cat of Ill Omen 2. Dark Magician Girl 3. Divine Dragon Ragnarök 5. Kaiser Seahorse 6. Turbo 7. Kaufman 8. Magician of Faith 9. Paladin of White Dragon 10. Red Eyes Black Chick 11. The White Stone of Legend 12. Dark Effigy 13. Dark Effigy 14. Light Effigy 15. Light Effigy 16. Lord of D. 18. Manju of The Thousand Hands 19. Manju of The Thousand Hands 20. Red Eyes Black Dragon 21. Red Eyes Black Dragon 22. Skilled Dark Magician 23. Skilled Dark Magician 24. Blue Eyes White Dragon 25. Blue Eyes White Dragon 26. Blue Eyes White Dragon 27. Dark Magician 28. Dark Magician 29. Dark Magician 30. Double Summon 31. Dust Barrier 33. Luminous Spark 34. Monster Reborn 35. Non-Spell casting Area 36. Polymerization 37. Pot of Greed 38. Pot of Avarice 39. Symbol of Heritage 40. Delta Attacker 41. Delta Attacker 42. Flute of Summoning Dragon 43. Flute of Summoning Dragon 44. Heart of Clear Water 45. Heart of Clear Water 47. Mystical Space Typhoon 49. Ritual Weapon 50. Star Blaster 51. Star Blaster 52. Summoner's Art 53. Summoner's Art 54. Ancient Rules 55. Ancient Rules 56. Ancient Rules 57. Dark Magic Attack 58. Dark Magic Attack 59. Dark Magic Attack 60. Burst Stream of Destruction 61. Burst Stream of Destruction 62. Burst Stream of Destruction 63. Curse of Anubis 64. D. Tribe 66. Magic Cylinder 67. Malevolent Catastrophe 68. Royal Decree 69. The Uniform League of Nonclemature 70. Trap Hole 71. Ultimate Offering 72. Birthright 73. Birthright 74. Just-Break 75. Just-Break Extra Deck: Spoiler Hide Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon King Dragon Graveyard: Spoiler Hide Trap Hole Removed From Play: Spoiler Hide none Face Downs: Spoiler Hide none Stats: 8000 Life Points Field: {table=head]1 2 3 4 5- - DC - -- - FD -[/table]"I set 2 face-downs, then I'll move into the Battle Phase, and have Double Boston attack your face-down monster!" You attacked my Masked Dragon! Since it was destroyed in battle, I get to pull a Dragon type with 1500 or less ATK from my deck to my field, meaning I can pull my Magma Drag to my side! "Huh. No response; I would've expected the new generation would have something better than THAT. I guess you're going to tribute it then?"(Sorry if I seem rude, I'm just role-playing.) Don't worry about it, I don't see it as rude. I have some friends in real life who are complete a-holes, so it doesn't affect me. Eh, you will find out soon enough what I do. But first, I draw!(1d32)[5]Now I summon my Horus the Black Flame Dragon LA. 4 in attack mode! Then, I remove it from play to summon my Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon! I then use its ability to special summon my Red-Eyes Wyvern to the field! I then synchro summon, using Magma Drag as a tuner, my Goya Guardian! Goya, attack his Double Boston! And due to Goya's ability, your monster is on my field in defense mode. Now, Red-Eyes, attack him directly! I end my turn. Spoiler Hide Hand: 3 Spoiler Hide Horus LA 4 Masked Dragon Vanguard of the Dragon Deck: Spoiler Hide 1. Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon 2. Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon 3. Red-Eyes Wyvern 4. Red-Eyes Wyvern 5. Vanguard of the Dragon 6. Vanguard of the Dragon 7. Luster Dragon 8. Luster Dragon 9. Masked Dragon 10. Magna Drag 11. Magna Drag 12. Koa'I Mary Drag 13. Koa'I Mary Drag 14. Horus LA 6 15. Axe of Despair 16. Mage Power 17. Mage Power 18. United We Stand 19. Big Bang Shot 20. Stamping Destruction 21. Stamping Destruction 22. Super Rejuvenation 23. Dragon's Rage 24. Burst Breath 25. Burst Breath 26. Mirror Force 27. Heavy Storm 28. Lightning Vortex 29. Mystical Space Typhoon 30. Magical Cylinder 31. Swords of Revealing Light 32. Bottomless Trap Hole Extra Deck: Spoiler Hide Stardust Dragon Red Dragon Archfiend Red Dragon Archfiend Ancient Fairy Dragon Ancient Fairy Dragon Ancient Fairy Dragon Armory Arm Armory Arm Britney, Dragon of the Ice Barrier Britney, Dragon of the Ice Barrier Trident Dragion Graveyard: Spoiler Hide Luster Dragon Red-Eyes Wyvern Magma Drag Removed From Play: Spoiler Hide Horus LA 4 Face Downs: Spoiler Hide Masked Dragon Stats: 8000 Life Points Field:{table="head]1|2|3|4|5-|DC|REDID|GG|--|-|-|-|-[/table]F=FacedownREDMD=Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon ATK (2800)GG=Goya Guardian ATK (2800)DC=Double Boston DEF (1650) "I'm at 2400, then." Spoiler Hide Hand: 4 Spoiler Hide Heavy Storm Lord of D. DNA Surgery Red Eyes Black Dragon Deck: Spoiler Hide 1. A Cat of Ill Omen 2. Dark Magician Girl 3. Divine Dragon Ragnarök 5. Kaiser Seahorse 6. Turbo 7. Kaufman 8. Magician of Faith 9. Paladin of White Dragon 10. Red Eyes Black Chick 11. The White Stone of Legend 12. Dark Effigy 13. Dark Effigy 14. Light Effigy 15. Light Effigy 16. Lord of D. 18. Manju of The Thousand Hands 19. Manju of The Thousand Hands 20. Red Eyes Black Dragon 21. Red Eyes Black Dragon 22. Skilled Dark Magician 23. Skilled Dark Magician 24. Blue Eyes White Dragon 25. Blue Eyes White Dragon 26. Blue Eyes White Dragon 27. Dark Magician 28. Dark Magician 29. Dark Magician 30. Double Summon 31. Dust Barrier 33. Luminous Spark 34. Monster Reborn 35. Non-Spell casting Area 36. Polymerization 37. Pot of Greed 38. Pot of Avarice 39. Symbol of Heritage 40. Delta Attacker 41. Delta Attacker 42. Flute of Summoning Dragon 43. Flute of Summoning Dragon 44. Heart of Clear Water 45. Heart of Clear Water 46. Mystical Space Typhoon 47. Mystical Space Typhoon 49. Ritual Weapon 50. Star Blaster 51. Star Blaster 52. Summoner's Art 53. Summoner's Art 54. Ancient Rules 55. Ancient Rules 56. Ancient Rules 57. Dark Magic Attack 58. Dark Magic Attack 59. Dark Magic Attack 60. Burst Stream of Destruction 61. Burst Stream of Destruction 62. Burst Stream of Destruction 63. Curse of Anubis 64. D. Tribe 66. Magic Cylinder 67. Malevolent Catastrophe 68. Royal Decree 69. The Uniform League of Nonclemature 70. Trap Hole 71. Ultimate Offering 72. Birthright 73. Birthright 74. Just-Break 75. Just-Break Extra Deck: Spoiler Hide Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon King Dragon Graveyard: Spoiler Hide none Removed From Play: Spoiler Hide none Face Downs: Spoiler Hide Mystical Space Typhoon Ritual Weapon Stats: 8000 Life Points Field: {table=head]1 2 3 4 5- - - - -- - FD -[/table]The old man puts his hand on his deck "Nothing I can do here. I forfeit."

Yu-Gi-Oh! PbP Exhibition_ Sir Bedevere vs. Raykura|rating:2.0

Allure Academy [O_A]

Behind the guarded gates of Allure Academy there is a world full of those who have trouble fitting into everyday society. Allure is a home for those with special gifts, a home for those human and those not so human. Allure is a school for those willing to learn to control their gifts, and for those who wish to pursue a life outside the gates. The Academy Outside View Garden Junior camp; Senior Dorms Sophomore Dorms Freshman Dorms Mess Hall Library Dorms Seniors 1. Username: inshore Character Name: Claire Emilia Valiant Short Bio: Claire comes from a well-off family, though it's only because of her stepfather it is that way. Once he found out about her ability he shipped her off because he didn't want to ruin his image, her mother so blinded by their new wealth didn't even bat an eye at the idea and let her daughter go. She is kind of quiet, but she's a little too flirtatious sometimes and likes to be. Ability: Pyrokenisis. Appearance: Classes: Literature -4th Combat -5th Defense -6th Controlling Your Gift -8th 2. Quote: Username:Hurray Character Name: Layla Nathan Grade: 12 Short Bio: Mm, not much to tell really, unlike many people who gain the strange powers and abilities, Layla went through one seriously painful experience when her skin and her abilities to partially shape-shift came into existence, she couldn't shut off her sensors to pain and went through four changes, from human to fish and back again twice over a period of two weeks. Her mother panicked, keeping her daughter in the bathtub when she was 'Scala' as the older woman put it, and keeping her hidden when she was 'herself' for no other reason than that Layla had become 'a freak'. It didn't take long for Layla to cut off her pain senses when she shifted, and over the next year or so she gained some other abilities as well-to-do with water. Ability: Aqua kinesis, the ability to create and control water, though she can only control it when it's a liquid or a mist, not when it's solidified into ice. And even then her control is Shaka at best. Her BEST ability is to shift her shape into a blue Lionfish-type creature. Of course....it doesn't work well for her on land, she works best underwater in that form. Appearance:Fishy Form. Camp; Human Form though her eyes are blue and not red. Classes:Controlling Your Gift 1st Spell Casting 2nd Defense 3rd Combat 4th Literature 5th History 6th Science 7th Math 8th Juniors 1. Quote: Username: Allan-Ha tai Character Name: McLaren Vendor Nickname: Mel Short Bio: Mel is from a middle class family that didn't know how to deal with her abilities. Sure, they love her, but since Mel was never really taught to control them, her family was afraid of her; it was mostly her parents, her older brother (by a year)just thought it was cool. He was her best friend for most of her life, until he got into high school. Mel was bullied quite a bit until she learned to fight back, and then she basically became a delinquent because they were the only people who would talk to her. Her parents finally said enough. Ability: Control of air (mostly subconscious), can sometimes sense others' thoughts (very rarely unless the thought is very strong or emotional) Appearance: Her pupils turn blue when she's using her power. Classes: 1-Math 2-Spell Casting 3-Defense 4-Literature 5-Combat 6-History 7-Science 8-Controlling your Gift 2. Quote: Username: Aaliyah Character Name: Victoria Capri Newly Grade: Junior Short Bio: I have had a pretty regular life. I am the youngest child of four and am also the only girl, so I'm daddies little princess. My whole life my father has spoiled me rotten, he said I'm his pride and joy. Being the only girl with three older brothers I can be a bit of a tomboy. But don't get me wrong, I can act like a girl. I'm just not a full out girly girl like most people would expect. When did I learn I wasn't normal? I was six. It was the week of my birthday, and I heard my mother saying something about a new bike, but her lips weren't moving. I only know this because I asked her what she meant by a new bike, and she looked at me like all Hell had broken loose! For my other gift, things used to fly all about when I got mad, I once made a bean bag chair hit my brother when I was seven, I just glared at him, and all of a sudden the bean bag beside him floated up and smacked him to the ground. Ability: Telepathy, Telekinetic Appearance: Classes: Controlling Your Gift, Science, Defense, Literature, combat, History, Spell Casting, Math Sophomores 1. Quote: Username: Kyoto Character Name: Hikaru Humor (lights shadow) Short Bio: He has been brought up as a gentle man but has been a rouge he does not do well with authority. His parents were always disappointed in him wanting him to learn restraint and control. Ability: He can summon monsters to do his bidding Appearance: Classes: Math Science History Literature Combat Defense Spell Casting Controlling Your Gift 2. Quote: Username: Tropical Snowstorm Character Name: Elise Linnell Short Bio: Elise is a bit of a nerd. She is always reading something and isn't very social. Despite not talking to very many people, she always knows what's going on because of her mind-reading abilities. However, there are some people whose minds she can't read, such as those with the power to block things out. Ability: Mind Reading Appearance: Classes: Math Science Defense Literature Combat History Science Controlling Your Gift 3. Quote: Username: Sung Via Qi Character Name: Kiara Suzuki Grade: Sophomore? (are there only two sophomores? o.o) Short Bio: Kiara's always been the oddest amongst her siblings. Despite being the youngest, she never had a problem getting the older two to do what she wanted. Her mom figured it out and sent her here. She doesn't talk much unless she's really close to someone. Ability: Kiara's words can have a special power on someone. It depends on the way she says it, and the way the person relates to Kiara, but for example, if she said Shut up, and meant it, that person wouldn't be able to say anything back to her. She can't control it yet, so she doesn't say much. Her written word doesn't have impact unless it's read aloud (but when it is, anyone can use her power) Appearance: Deep purple eyes Classes: Math Science Defense Literature Combat History Spell Casting Controlling Your Gift Freshman 1. 2. Teachers (Each teacher MUST teach both classes listed in their number. First Come First Served.) 1. Math/Science 2. History/Literature 3. Quote: Username:skeiththevamp Character Name: Skate BYU Short Bio: skate never really knew his real family. He was found in the streets by a foster mother who raised him as if he was her own son. When he started having dreams of people with black wings he awoke with wings on him and killed the foster mother through rage, and inability to control it. Left the city leaving black feathers in every city he stopped in. became known as the "dark angel" in most cities, mostly known for that name because of how the women that saw him sitting on rooftops said he had the looks of an angel. He's avoided getting to connected to people to prevent not only killing them but from feeling the pain he gets when they are taken away by the rage he's unable to control. He came to the academy and after only being there a year, he was allowed to be a teacher despite the fact he's only 17 Ability: fallen angel, grows wings, and controls darkness Appearance: Classes: teaches combat and defense. 4. Spell Casting/Controlling Your Gift Schedule Possibilities Math 1st/8th Science 2nd/7th History 3rd/6th Literature 4th/5th Combat 5th/4th Defense 6th/3rd Spell Casting 7th/2nd Controlling Your Gift 8th/1st Rules: 1. Follow the ToS 2. Be courteous to the others in the RP. 3. If you decide to post, know that you'll be around for a while. 4. If you decide you want to leave make it known to the others in the RP, and try to make a post removing your character from the storyline. 5. Only ONE character per user. 6. Include your character descriptions in your first post, feel free to use a picture. 7. PM ME THIS CODE; PM TITLED ALLURE Username: Character Name: Grade: Short Bio: Ability: Appearance: Classes: [seniors can take a minimum of 4 classes if they'd like] 8. Romance is Allowed, if you plan on going over PG-13 take it to a PM please! And also alert the rest of us of your absence. 9. Violence is allowed, no god mods though. No one is invincible. I now pronounce this Role Play open! Claire wandered the halls on the first day of school, today was basically a 'get situated in your rooms if your not already' day. Claire was always situated, her parents didn't take her back home on the summer vacations, she'd been right here at this school for the last four years. Though she didn't really mind it at all. She walked out the front door, and watched the freshman come in, the opening day ceremonies were always fun, the freshman had to display their abilities. On her first day, Claire nearly burned down half the dining hall. She laughed audibly. She loved her gift, though she seemed cute and bubbly in appearance, she knew what she was doing when it came to a lot of things. Maybe it was right for her to be sent away. ((nice lol do I answer now?)) Hikari looks around and sighs pushing his hands deeper in his pockets. "This place is such a bummer" he says then smiles at his own words. He makes his way inside and looks around. Claire walked towards the garden, her hair blowing in the breeze. She wandered passed some trees and over to a small little bridge above a KOI pond. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out some bread, crumbling it into the water. Furthermore, she did this every day without fail, no one else bothered to feed the poor things. Skeith wandered around the halls watching the new students wander around the halls. He walked out into the garden while twirling his knife around in his hand. He saw the 2 students and said "shouldn't you two be in class." "Oh hello sir!, classes don't start until tomorrow. Don't you know that?" She turned around now facing him, her eyes meeting his, she smiled innocently as she walked towards him. "It wouldn't hurt to check out the newcomers some more though." She spoke as she walked past him. Elise dragged her duffel bag into her assigned dorm, tossing it onto a bed. She looked around. How boring, she thought. Clearly there's a little bit of favoritism going on here. She reached into the back of her pocket and found the crumpled brochure that she had gotten in the mail previously for the school. Sure enough, the pictures of the senior dorms were much more lavish than her sophomore dorm. "Oh well." she said with a sigh. She'd just have to find some pictures to post on the walls. She wondered if she had a roommate. Elise flopped onto the bed, closing her eyes. Little tiny voices echoed in her head, she could hear even the thoughts of even far away people. Why did people have to think so much? Elise couldn't wait until she could finally tune people out. They were starting to give her a headache with all of their nonsense. [[How's that for a first post? ’D]] McLaren Vendor stepped out of the car and instantly decided she was going to like this place. Usually, They only let in freshmen, but Mel had been an exception;her last school had refused to let her back and every other school she looked at refused to consider her. Thankfully, this school had decided to let her come. She'd be able to finally learn to control her abilities here, and then maybe she could go home without her parents freaking out. That would be one of the best days of her life." Mel?" That's right, she'd forgotten Darren in her musings about the school. "Do you think you'll be alright in this place? It looks kind of weird."" Dare, it's a school for people like me. Of course, I'm going to be fine." And probably a lot happier than she'd been at home. "Come on, at least walk me to my dorm."" You just want me to carry your stuff."" Well, that too." She grinned and started grabbing stuff from the trunk, shoving a box of books into his hands. "Just think, if it had been Mom you'd have three suitcases and five boxes, instead of just one of each." Which was true. Mel had chosen only her favorite things to bring, and asked her parents to send her other things if she needed them. She didn't really need to fill up her dorm room, and she didn't need a lot of that stuff anyway. She grabbed her suitcase and backpack, then led the way to her dorm. Darren whistled when he saw the inside. "Whoa. I almost wish I could transfer here just for the rooms!"" Don't," she said, putting her backpack down and laying the suitcase on the bed. "It's kind of nice being the only one in the family with powers."" Ah, Mel," he said, setting the box down and hugging her, "I'm sorry for the past couple years. I wish I could stay to watch out for you."" I'll be fine, Dare." She pushed away before she broke down crying and checked her watch. "You'd better go. It's going to be late when you get home anyway. Come on, I'll walk you to the car." Ten minutes later, Mel sat down on the front steps, keeping her face perfectly blank. It had been horrible to say goodbye to her brother, but he couldn't stay here. He needed to be home and watch out for their parents and graduate from his high school. He needed a normal life, without her in it, for a while. It would be bad enough when she graduated and came home for college in two years. Besides, she'd see him during the summer. Right, like that would happen. Mel had already decided to stay at the school so that Darren could have a normal summer for the first time in his life. It was for the best, but she'd miss him. She'd miss him a lot. Elise got bored after a little while and decided to venture down to the library to see what kind of reading material the school offered. She traipsed down the halls until she found a big room, filled with books. She smiled to herself and started going down the aisles of books, stopping sometimes to pick a book up and look at it. Skeith sighed. His memory was getting worse, and worse lately. "Guess I should go see a doctor about that but whatever, it'll probably work its way out soon enough." he walked around helping newbies to the school. "Ok time to let the other teachers to do this, I'll deal with these people tomorrow." he headed into the library. He saw a familiar face. "Crap, what was her name?" he whispered to himself. He walked up to her. "Elise?" Elise looked up. She had heard some thoughts concerning her and was wondering who might be thinking about her. "Oh," she said when she saw Skate. "Hello." skate sighed and said "I get the feeling you don't remember me." he sighed again and looked around before allowing his wings to come out. "This ring any bells?" Mel stood up, ignoring the teachers and new kids around her. She didn't need a tour, she didn't need orientation. She was an oddity in this school because she was a transfer student, and it would be harder for her to make friends because all of them had been here their whole high school career. No one here would understand her feelings toward her last school and those in it. The surrounding air reacted to her feelings, blowing around her a whipping her hair to and fro, but not effecting those around her. It was her shield as she decided to go to the library and see if they had any interesting books she hadn't read. Her emotions, and the wind surrounding her, calmed as she entered the library. It was just like all the others she'd been in, quiet and filled with the comfort of books. Only, it was as quiet as she'd hoped it would be. There was a boy about her age with wings talking to another girl. Hmm. Dang, they were between her and the fantasy section. "Uhm..." Elise said, searching her memories for him. She couldn't remember anything right then, so she tried searching through his. A few of them made her cringe a bit, but she finally found the one she was looking for. "... Oh." she said. She remembered now. Elise saw a girl looking at them, an impatient look on her face. Her thoughts were a bit jumbled, it was hard for Elise to read them. She got a few glimpses of a particular section of the library, and it hit her. She grabbed Skate's hand and pulled him over closer to the side of the aisle, then let go of his hand. "We're in the way." she told him, then looked at the girl. "Go ahead and go through." "Oh my bad." he pulled his wings back in as a small rain of black feathers fell around them. He sat down and said "somehow I get the feeling you didn't remember until you read my thoughts." "Shut up." she whispered, sitting down next to him. "I'm trying to keep my power a secret. And you're right, I couldn't remember. So what? I have a lot of things running through my head. Thoughts other than my own. Sometimes I forget." "Thanks," Mel said, walking by and heading straight for the new books. Nope, nothing she hadn't read. She sat back on her heels, totally tuning everything else out. Who was she kidding? Transfer students were never welcomed with open arms, anywhere. A soft snort escaped her. At least no one here would avoid her because of her powers. Just then she caught some girl's explosion of anger as her boyfriend back home broke up with her over the phone because he 'couldn't do a long-distance relationship'. Great, she thought. I thought I was safe from that stuff here. "Alright alright, calm down." he sighed and said "at least you're able to forget things." he grew silent as he looked at his hands and remembered that horrid night. Claire watched as the teacher socialized with someone he looked fairly familiar with. She longed for those familiarities with people. It was always her, and the boys she liked to chase for fun. No one really to be friends with. Though females we're usually not too keen about her flirty ways. "Last year, wonder if I'll meet anyone." "Sorry..." she muttered, looking away. She hadn't meant to upset him. "So, um... How have you been doing?" Elise could still hear the girl from before... Her thoughts were really angsty, and it was getting a bit annoying. Elise poked her head around the corner. "Hey," she said to the girl from before. "With that kind of attitude you're never going to have any friends. Nobody cares if you're a transfer student. I am, too." Mel swung around, the air currents around her suddenly strong enough to knock her on her butt. "Oh. Sorry, I didn't realize I was thinking that loud. I'm not really used to being around people with...abilities." Correction, her parents had kept her away from others like her, thinking that her abilities might go away as she got older. Yeah, that worked out well. "I didn't think they'd gotten to me that bad," she muttered to herself, running a hand through her platinum blond hair. The surrounding wind suddenly went away, and her pupils returned to their normal black. "It's okay." Elise said, a bit startled at the fact that the girl hadn't completely freaked out at the fact that Elise could hear her thoughts. "Oh, my name's Elise, by the way." she said. "There's no need to tell me yours, of course." "Good, 'cause it's rather long and people like to make fun of it." Mel stood, ambled over, and sat down again, trying not to glance at the boy too much. Mind introducing us? I'm not so great at first impressions, if you can't tell. People around them must have thought Elise was crazy, 'cause she started giggling when she heard that last bit of Mel's thoughts. "Skate, this is Mel." she said. "Mel, this is Skate." "Hi." Finally, someone whose name is as weird as mine! Honestly, Mel kind of liked communicating this way. It was new, but it wasn't really weird so much as refreshing to say what she really thought. She'd been hiding so much for so long it was like finding a long-lost part of herself, mostly her sense of humor. She'd missed joking with other people. "Hey, um not to be weird or anything but don't think just because I'm friends with y'all, ill go easy on you in my class. That is if you have combat or self-defense. Trust me" he punches his fist into his palm. "You'll either need plenty of integrity and plenty of insanity to survive in my class." "Oh, you're one of the teachers? That's kinda cool." She shrugged. "No worries, I hate being in the spotlight. Teacher's pet is like the biggest spotlight known to man." skate chuckled and said "touche. But yeah, i didn't get why they let me be a teacher, I was a freshmen last year, and because of my 'gift' as they call it here, they let me be a teacher for a class I was a master in." Layla yawned and stretched, her lower body sunk into a deep bathtub that a kind groundskeeper had given to her when she'd arrived at the school a long while ago. The tub was filled to the brim in her small bathroom and her fins, blue and iridescent, shimmered in the lighting before she concentrated and allowed her legs to re-emerge. The surrounding water skimmed off her form as she climbed out of the tub, satisfied that her control over her shapeshifting ability was at least for the most part perfected. It was the aqua kineses that she had a bit f a problem with, considering when she'd 'told' the water to get off of her as she got out of the tub, thus emerging from the water dry as if she were in a desert, the blasted liquid not only got away from her, but it drained the tub too and ended up as mist in the bathroom thick enough to nearly drown in. Wrapping up in a towel the fair skinned, shaggy black haired girl scowled at her mishap until it fixed itself by going down every available drain in the bathroom before she left said bathroom. Getting dressed in a pair of jeans and a slightly worn black t-shirt the Senior student ruffled her hair and headed out of the dorm she lived in towards the mess hall. "Dunno about you guys, but I'm hungry." Elise said. She got up and started going towards the mess hall. She was in the mood for some nachos. Mel jumped up at the mention of food and held a hand out to Skate to help him up. "Hey, wait a sec!" Maybe they'd actually have good food here. If they did, Mel would love some sloppy does. A warm breeze caressed her face as she turned her thoughts to happy things, fanning out to share her good cheer with those around her. Skeith followed everyone to the mess hall. He grabbed a burrito and walked out of the mess hall. He spread his wings and flew to sit on the roof of the mess hall. When she got to the mess hall, Layla got a salmon sandwich and took it to a table, just on the edge of one and sat down. Looking at the sandwich after a moment the girl laughed before taking a bite, wondering if HER of all people, eating a fish, would be considered a cannibal. Then she dismissed the thought and dug in. Others were around she'd noticed, but most of them seemed more interested in each other and their food than anything and Layla was content to leave it, and them, alone. When skate finished eating he summoned a dark fire in his hand to burn the tray that he had his pizza on. He headed to his classroom and started practicing fighting. He kicked the punching bag, and it slid across the room. "That blew of some anger." he sighed and sat down and looked at his class rosters. "Weak, weak, weak." he said as he went down the list. "How is it the people that won't last end up signing for this class, half of the time they won't last the first day." When she got to the mess hall, Elise grabbed some nachos and sat down at a table to eat. It was rather loud in the mess hall because not only was she hearing people's voices, but she was also hearing their thoughts. "The girls here are so loud. " She looked around scanning the campus with a smile on her face but a grimace in her mind. She then sighed and made her way upstairs to her room, it was painted teal and accented with natural colors. And in the middle of her room was her bed which was adorned bright red. She had left her door open behind her, not really caring who would look in. If it was anyone she really didn't want there she could make them leave. Skeith started setting things up for his class for the next day. "I think I'm going to set up a trap to screw with the new students." he said to himself. And he did just that. He set up the last of his things, he set his electric Excalibur guitar plugged into his amp. "See if I can scare the newbies." Mel stopped for a second as she stepped into the cafeteria. This wasdefinitelybetter than her last school. Sadly, they didn't have what she wanted, but the pizza looked pretty darn good, so she went with that. She sat by Elise and noticed another, older girl sitting by herself. Skate had flown away and disappeared. "So what's his problem?" she asked in reference to Skate, taking a bite of pizza. "He seems to be moodier than I am, and that's saying something." "MLE," She said, munching on her nachos. "He's just kinda weird. He has one of them tragic pasts, too... I-I don't know much about it, 'cause he blocks it out so I can't see much when I go through his mind. " "Gee. That seems to be the story around here, doesn't it? Everybody's had it hard in some way." That was kind of sad, that "normal" people couldn't accept those with abilities. All it did was build resentment on both sides, made them turn against each other. "Not me. At least, not really..." she said, scooping up some stray cheese with one of her nacho chips. "I grew up with my dad. My mom committed suicide when I was just a little kid. He never really talked about her... I don't remember her much. But I think she had the same thing as me... The ability to hear thoughts, I mean. It probably just got to be too much, and she couldn't handle it anymore. That's why I came here. So I can learn to control it, and hopefully someday be able to shut it off and on." "You know, your ability is something people dream about, make movies about. Mine? Not so much. I bet it's like that for a lot of kids here." She took another bite, thinking. "People are afraid of what they don't understand, isn't that what you've found. You know, you're in a unique position to understand other people, and you can instinctively control your gift. I'm almost envious of that. Understanding people would've come in really handy when I was younger." skate turned off the lights and closed and locked the door to his classroom, or more like his dojo is one way to put it since it was a small separate building from the actual school building. He walked outside and sat down underneath a tree in the garden. He was reminded of his first year at this school. The girl of his dreams found him here, and he never wanted to let her go, he never wanted to leave her side. When he did was when she just suddenly disappeared. "I never could find anything to give me a hint to what happened to you." he said as he saw a vision of her. His dark angel side was weird that way, he would see ghosts of people even though they weren't dead. He pulled out a locket from his pocket. "This was all that was left." the ghost pointed to the locket. Skeith looked confused for a moment until the ghost gestured for him to open the locket. He opened it and found a note folded p to fit into the locket. It said "dear skate, I've kidnapped your beloved. Catch me if you can. -Kagan." "Who the hell is Kagan?" skate said as he thought to himself. He suddenly remembered. "Oh right. He was that guy with the pyrokenisis who got pissed off because I stole his thunder. Guess he thought this worked out for him." he sprouted his wings and flew to his office/ on campus home. He pulled up the list of enrolled students and saw the name 'Kagan' "wow, real smooth, stupid." he pulled up Kagan's schedule. "He even signed up for my class. oh, I'm going to murder you tomorrow hotshot." he flew back to his dojo and rearranged something's to change his 'class plan' for tomorrow. "I'll have him show a 'demonstration' of a fight in class tomorrow. Kick his ass until he tells me what he did with her." "That's true..." She said. "But just because I can hear what they're thinking and feeling doesn't mean I always understand. Sometimes there are little bits left out, things that people don't want to remember or know. Sometimes there are images, sometimes words. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with feeling. It's just as hard as anyone else with a gift." when skate finished he said "now I just have to wait until tomorrow. Once class starts, you're going to be considered a dead man walking, Kagan." skate grew an evil smirk as he walked out of the dojo. Hello Would you mind if I join in your role-play it looks fun Two Quote: Originally Posted by SexyDino488 Hello Would you mind if I join in your role-play it looks fun Two [[Read the rules. You have to PM the creator of the role-play.]] Mel blew out a breath. "Sometimes I hate life." She shoved her napkin onto her plate. "Sorry about that. Too much time alone got me in the habit of analyzing things when I think about them. I'm gonna head up to my room and unpack." See ya later. Mel dumped her tray and headed outside to see the garden before sequestering herself in her room to unpack. Yeah, she was going to like life here. There was a peace on the grounds that she'd only found in the safety of her home with her brother. It quieted all the hurt parts she hid deep inside, and she could feel her walls slowly breaking down. "Okay. I'm going to go, too." Elise said, tossing the plastic nacho tray into the trash. "See ya later, I guess." Elise headed down the hallway to where her dorm was located. She was glad to have a new friend. It would make her new life here much more bearable. Elise wondered what Skate was doing, but decided it was best to leave him alone because he had been so moody before. When she got to her dorm, she started putting up a few posters she had brought with up on the wall along with magazine cutouts. The sophomore dorms were so boring and plain, she couldn't stand it. It was like being in a cell. Skeith walked around the school grounds and watched as the day was coming to an end. He flew up to the top of the highest point on the school. He sat down and said "it's a vanilla twilight. Like the ones we used to sit up here and watch together." he looked at the locket in his hand. It was opened and in it was a picture of them together. He clutched it in his fist and said "I swear I'll get you back, and if he did anything to hurt you he'll pay for it dearly." he stopped at the thought of the possibility she was dead. "And if he did that, I'll make sure he'll suffer a slow and painful death." Mel finally went in when she noticed it was getting dark. On her way up the stairs (she distrusted elevators in schools) she nearly bumped into a guy. "I'm sorry," he said, grabbing her shoulders to make sure she didn't fall. "Are you okay?" She game him a bit of a funny look and moved away. "Yeah, thanks." He flashed a gorgeous grin. "Sure, no problem." Mel resolutely turned and kept going. "That was just plain weird." She put her stuff away in the dorm, shoving her suitcase and box to the back of her closet. She'd ask her mom for some pictures of the family to put up, just to make it a little more hers, but other than that she liked it. Furthermore, she changed into PCs and fell asleep quickly, truly happy for the first time in a long while. Victoria had been late arriving at the grounds. Her suitcase in one hand, and a book back slung over her back, she walked along the campus, not quiet sure what she was looking for. She sighed softly. 'Where do I go first?' she thought to herself with a small frown. "I guess to find somebody to show me where I'm going..." she said out loud. Shaking her head she walked along, not caring what people would think of the Italian girl walking about with her hair in double buns, wearing a blue kimono, and black converse shoes. Yeah, she wasn't just different because of her gift, her sense of style drew attention at times as well. ((O.o...you just joined MY role-play too! Where for Victoria~! :)))Layla sighed as she finished her sandwich and tidied up. Noting that several others had left though the place was still busy, the water user set her dishes aside and hurried outside into the night air that was quickly growing cooler. Once away from the lights of the mess hall, she blinked to adjust her eyesight and spotted a new student arriving...who looked rather odd. And interesting outfit really but.converse shoes...? Interesting. "Hey.need any help with anything?" Speaking up quietly, Layla raised her hand hesitantly to get the girls' attention. ((I like being in multiple role-plays! At least in this one I didn't use an anime picture for Victoria. )Victoria turned slightly when someone called out to her. She smiled some, catching the odd look her outfit was getting. She loved it, she wasn't one to not look strange in the way she dressed. Furthermore, she brushed a loose strand of hair from her face and walked over. "MMM... I'm not sure where I'm supposed to go," she said blinking some. "I'm Victoria, or Tonia for short if you prefer," she claimed holding her free hand out. ((Here, I can't tell if that's that Evanescence woman or the lead singer off of Night wish....o.0...))" I'm Layla, nice to meet you Victoria. What year are you? I'm a senior, so I know everywhere you can or may need to go." Smiling, Layla returned the gesture and shook hands with the other girl. She was pretty in a way. Her choice of clothing was pretty interesting too, and she couldn't help but comment on it. "So...converse and a kimono top...? What streak of imagination made you choose that combo? Oh, and do you know what dorm you're in? I'll take you there." Victoria laughed some. "I'm a junior. I've gotten the invite to come here a few times now, but my parents finally let me decide if I came or not. Not sure what dorm I'm in though. I was told I'd find that out when I got my schedule. As for the kimono, my parents have always let me explore my creativity. Mainly my dad. Only girl of four kids, and the youngest, I got treated a bit differently. And don't worry, I have some... normal clothes, but when you see what I can do with my makeup you won't think it's too normal. I'm talking I almost look like I used face paint. My eye shadow at one point looked like each eye was a butterfly wing, and the eyeliner accented on that," she said with a laugh. ---------- (Must go for the night, hubby on his way home from work, I'm starving, gotta get ready to go to Denny's with him. Will be back later on!) EDITED:Layla grinned lightly and chuckled at the idea of having a butterfly pattern on her own face...if she did that while she was normal it was no big deal but as her fishier self? It was rather ridiculous. "Well, if you're not sure what dorm you're in then I guess we should figure that out first then! Do you have any papers for the school? I think your dorm number should be there...or...we could go to the office..." Claire walked to her wardrobe and opened it, she saw a variety of blues and browns, and in the way back a small package, it was her combat uniform. The only thing her parents ever gave her that she made any use of. She smirked, combat was her favorite class, people not only would fear her for her flames, but for her fighting skills as well. She chuckled to herself before closing everything back up and locking it was a small key on the necklace she had around her neck. It was the skeleton key for the school. Being here for as long as she had made things come at an advantage to her. " Time for target practice. " She smirked and left her room the door closing itself behind her. As she walked outside she noticed the dojo in the distance. "The Professor this year seems a little off..." she stared blankly at the dark building not blinking, until the wind snapped her out of it. "Oh well" she said to herself and kept on moving to the top of a close hill. At the bottom were clay pots arranged in all kinds of weird manners. She put her arms out to her sides, and brought them over her head and down to a prayer position before taking a small bow. And then her body began to move at an alarmingly fast pace, and the sound of shattering clay began a short symphony along the hillside. Small bursts of flames shot from her hands hitting one after the other. When it came to the last one, which was the furthest away, she lined her arm up and shot a slightly bigger flame when she heard the pot break, she drew her hand to her lips and blew out her finger like a pretend gun. "Perfect, tomorrow should be fun." ((Rules said to post bio but no one else did so >____>))Kiara stepped outside into the warm sunshine. After unpacking her belongings, she decided to explore the grounds. She familiarized herself with the school building, her dorm, and the main campus, but didn't feel the need to go on. There will be time aplenty for other excursions... Finding herself with nothing to do, Kiara wandered into the small garden, where she decided to sun herself out while reading. She opened one of the many books her parents sent her, To Kill a Mockingbird, and began to read aloud, a lilting accent light on her lips. ((You'll find your profile on the first page. ’D)) Victoria thought a moment. She pulled her bag off her shoulder and started to rummage through it. "You mean these papers?" she asked pulling out an unopened letter that had the schools address on it. She blinked at Victoria's letter, unopened, and then facepalmed herself. "Don't tell me you didn't actually open it? I mean I heard you say you've had the letters before but....?" Looking back at the girl, the aqua kinetic shook her head slightly. "Well? Open it up and see if there's a dorm room number in it somewhere silly!" Victoria laughed as she opened the letter. "No, this was the second letter, after my parents filled out the enrollment papers this came in the mail. I just got it yesterday, so I haven't had time to open it just yet what with last minute packing and everything," she said. She smirked some, pulling the single sheet of paper out. "Got my class schedule and dorm room listed right here," she claimed. "All it says under dorms is juniors. I guess when I get to that area I'll find somebody that can tell me an actual number," she said shrugging. Skeith went home and took a shower. When he got out he got dressed and went into the training room in his house and started attacking the punching bag. He felt anger flow through him, and he felt his wings come out. His hands started glowing with a dark glow around them that took forms into energy claws. He started tearing the bag to shreds. He screamed out in raw anger and the ground beneath him shook. "I'll make him pay! I swear it!" he started trying to calm down, and then he fell to his knees panting and gasping for breath. "This rage is starting to get a bit annoying." he stood up and as he leaned against the wall walked to his bed and laid down. He fell asleep soon after. Kiara stopped and marked the page in her book. Her mouth was dry and her tolerance none. She got up from where she sat, dusted herself off, and went back to her dorm. Putting the book back where it belonged, she went outside and decided to search for other students. If they were like her, then they'd be different. ((where is everyone?)) ((My character's asleep, but I suppose she could wake up if she needed to.)) ((how bout we just skip to the next day.))skate awoke when the light shined on his face. He got up and walked to the bathroom. He turned on the cold water on the faucet and splashed his face, he looked himself in the mirror and felt a wave of disgust flow through him. "Im sick of this. he's nothing like me, yet we have the same face." he jumped in the shower and got ready for the first day. He headed off to his dojo and got the classroom ready. Mel rolled out of bed early and started getting dressed. She was excited for school pretty much the first time in her whole entire life. She had a feeling one of her favorite classes would be defense, and it wasn't because of the teacher. It would be nice to actually be able to defend herself for once. She grinned and got dressed in gym clothes. She'd go for a short run, then shower of course, before class. It was a good thing she'd woken up so early. She'd have to make it a habit. Twenty minutes later, Mel was walking back to her dorm to shower and get ready for class. She'd run pretty hard, so it was a chance to cool down a little a couple of hours passed and the first bell rang. Skeith stepped out to help any new students find their classes and to act as a signal that this was where defense and fighting class was. When the second bell rang saying it was time to start class skate stepped in to the classroom and said "alright sit down and shut up." the students continued to riot in the dojo. "I said SHUT UP!" skate yelled. The students all sat down staring with fear in their eyes. Skeith picked up his guitar and plugged it into the amp and turned it on. He sat on his desk and strummed the guitar. "I can tell already an eighth of you all not survive the first day." he strummed the guitar again. "Another eight will survive the first day, but the first week will make them want to be in their deathbeds." he strummed again. "Look to the left, now look to the right. Remember the faces of these people whether you know them or not, friend or stranger; they're you're enemies here." he played a guitar solo from his favorite song by bullet for my Valentine. "Welcome to allure academy and welcome to defense and fighting class, I'm you teacher and sensei Mr. BYU." skate smiled ((My character was several hours behind yours then T____T))Kiara opened her eyes, groggy and disoriented. She couldn't remember what time she went to bed last night. After wandering around, bored, she had gone back to her dorm and drawn pictures. She couldn't draw very well though, so when she got frustrated with her stick figures, she had read, listened to music, and gone to bed. And now, it was like this. Showering quickly, she got dressed in jeans, a black tank top, and slipped on some gray arm warmers. As a last minute decision, she decided to bring her iPod and headphones. Perhaps between classes, she could listen? She slipped on a clean but worn pair of sneakers, grabbed her schoolbag, and went off to Math. Mel skidded into her math class just before the bell rang. Phew. Made it, she thought. She ignored the teacher's glare and found an empty seat somewhere midway back towards the side. Of course, then the teacher started into a lecture about being on time. Sure, whatever. Usually it wasn't a problem, but the same guy from the day before had come up to her and wouldn't move, not even when she reminded him they were both about to be late for class. She'd finally gotten so mad the wind had just shoved him against the wall. Mel didn't even bother to apologize. Which is why she sat up straight, shocked, when the jerk walked into the same class. He didn't even get a lecture! Who the heck was this kid that he could get away with stuff like that? Skeith said "alright everybody up." he walked over to the open area of the dojo and said "alright I want anyone who thinks they can last in the ring with me to step on the Matt." some students stepped forward, most were obviously were headstrong who thought their gift was better than everyone else. Skeith took high fighting stance and said "come on." one charged and tried to punch him, but he dodged and kicked the student in the back sending him flying. Another charged at him and summoned energy in their hand. Skeith grabbed the hand and twirled the student around before drop-kicking them down. The last two were twins, and they looked at skate and said "lets play." they pulled out toys that came to life and attacked skate. He dodged the attacks and charged at the twins he punched one of them and both lost focus and the toys fell to the ground lifeless. Skeith helped the students up "lets give them a round of applause. They actually volunteered first and although they did not succeed they still were successful." the students clapped for the students who volunteered. ((did this thing die or what?)) ((I think so, sadly.)) ((dang)) ((I know. They always seem to die on me, and I don't feel like looking for a new RP right now...)) ((same))

Allure Academy [O_A]|rating:3.0

The Quatre Back and The Head Cheerleader

Name: Sophie Mitchell Age: 19 Looks: was sat waiting in her house for her boyfriend to pick her up. It was a Friday night and like always they were going to a party. One of the jocks were hosting a party. She dated the square back, and she was the head cheerleader so they were the most popular couple in the school. She sat playing with her hair waiting for his car to beep for her to come out because he never came in her house any more because of her alcoholic dad who hated him so they spent their time together at his house. Furthermore, she was excited about the party, she really needs to have some fun and let go after a boring week of school. Name: Pat Jones Age: 19 looks: dress shoes, jeans and sleeveless shirt showing off his body Running little late as I drive down the street. Coming from a friends house having picked up some stuff for the party. Heading to my girlfriends house. Mainly going to this party because she kept telling me how much she wanted to go. Driving along in my new 2013 camera, gift from dad for doing so well in football. Turning down you're her street I'm soon pulling into her drive. Pulling in and parking I honk the horn I hear your car horn and head out of the house. "Bye Dad." I shouted before slamming the door shut, he won't even probably realize I'm gone. I walk over to your car I toss my long blonde hair back before climbing in. Furthermore, I lean over and kiss you passionately "Hi babes, your looking hot. What took you so long?" I asked as I put my seat belt on. I stroke your leg smiling at you. Looking towards the front door as I see you come out. Damn I think as I see you and what you're wearing. Watching you walk around my car, flicking your hair and then climbing in. soon kissing you back. Sorry baby had to stop over at makes to pick up some stuff for the party. Figuring you might need some your usual drink if there isn't any. And I must say your looking sexy as hell. I look down at your hand as I put the car in reverse and back out of the drive to head to the party. Carefull baby you know what happens when you move your hand like that "Don't worry about being late babes I don't mind I was just worried you weren't coming, and I would have had to stay in with my drunken bum of a dad. Thanks, I'm glad you like the dress. I don't know if it's the right color though. You know white is the color of pureness, and I'm not pure." I laugh smiling at you as you reverse. "I have no idea what your on about, I don't what happens when I move my hand like this." I said teasing you. My hand stroking higher up your leg. Baby you keeping wearing outfits like that and ill be happy. don't matter to me what color it is. ya you haven't been pure sense you that first night we did it at that party before we started dating. Feel your hand sliding up. My cock twitching and being to grow. Feeling your hand midthigh. Soon bumping my semi hard cock. Ya ya like you don't know what you're doing. Pulling up to the red light at the end of your street. Turning my head to look at you "There are plenty more dresses like this in my closet so you'll be happy. Yeah, you were my first and unlike people say my first time was good. Your pretty good, but I think I'm trained you into giving me exactly what I want, and now you drive me crazy." I knew exactly what I was doing, but I wanted to play the innocent. "Oh I have no idea what I'm doing you might have to tell me because I just don't know." I said running my fingers over your crotch. I look at you and grin playfully. I grin at you lifting my arm up and putting it around you. My hand on shoulder. Well we have ourselves about a 15 minute drive. Which is plenty of time. I can tell you detail for detail what you do to me, but best way for you to get the picture is lean down and see for yourself. My hand slides to your neck lighting pulling you towards me knowing in the past I was able to get her to do what I'm trying to get her to do. Her never having a problem doing it when dark out, never when the sun is out. Sun still up little figuring doesn't hurt to try I feel you put your arm around me. Your hand resting on my shoulder. "Oh 15 minutes drive I didn't know it was that far away. You can tell me exactly what I do to you. I want you to tell me what I do to you while I take a look." I lean down looking at his bulge. Furthermore, I smile seeing how big your bulge has become. Furthermore, I ran my hand over your bulge. "Would you like me to handle this for you?" I asked stroking your bulge. My cock soon straining against my jeans. Mmmmm the way you act with me, towards me. The way you dress. The way you knowingly tease me, always keeps me in the mood for some wanting some. Thinking in my couple of times she has put me in mood and denied me cause of where at and I got if from someone else. Letting out little moan as you rub it. On ya I want you to take care of. Better to take care of it now cause you know I get when I start to party and with no release. Who knows what will happen. My hand continues to pull your head down I kiss your neck softly, and I whisper to you. "Oh you like me being yours don't you." I looked into your eyes. "You like I can drive you crazy with one touch. I like teasing you because you look so hot when your turned on and unsatisfied." I unzip your trousers. "But I'm not going to tease you tonight. I want to only please you tonight." I pull your cock out and stroke your cock softly as I run my tongue over your balls. Furthermore, I start to lick your shaft and then take your cock head into my mouth I suck softly stroking your leg. Furthermore, I look up at you. Mmmm baby you know I love when you tease me and then take care of me when ever I ask. ain't no other guy in school that can say he has himself a girl that will do anything that she is told, doing anything to keep me happy I say she kisses my neck. Feeling you undoing my pants and reaching in and pulling out the reason for the large bulge. Baby work your mouth and tongue on me, take care of your man. Keep me happy and believe me nothing will change I say. In my mind thinking back to the day we first got to gather, you wasn't head cheerleader, got that position after we hooked up and started dating. My hand sliding of you should reach under your arm and start to cup your right breast as the light turns green and I start to drive away. "Well you're my man I'm supposed to take care of you so you don't go find someone else to take care of you. Your mine and I like it that way. Of course no guy has a girl like me, I'm a one of a kind and most girls aren't lucky enough to be with a guy like you. I'm guessing the girls at school haven't mastered managing a cock as big as yours in their mouths." I smile your cock I was still amazed by your size. "You know the first time I saw your cock I was a little worried I wouldn't manage it. I love your cock." I kissed your cock softly. "Promise me that you'll never leave me like my dad say's you will." I start to lick your shaft. I take your cock head in my mouth I suck softly as I stroke your balls. Furthermore, I took more of you in my mouth. Furthermore, I felt your hand going to my boob as I bob up and down sucking hard and fast. Being a nose breather sucking cock was always pretty easy for me. I'd only been with two other guys but you and by far you were the biggest and the best. Holding tight to the stirring wheel as I drive. Aaaa fuck I moan as you begin to sucking my cock. Working your mouth on it. Thinking about what you just said. Ya baby your right about that as far as I know none of the girls at school have what it takes to handle a cock like that. Smiling as I think about some of the woman who have. none of which were girls. All of them being woman, a couple of them moms of some kids at school. Like the mom of my buddy who's throwing the party tonight. Smiling more as I know she won't let him throw a party unless she's home. That way she knows everything will be alright. Baby just keep sucking, only words I want to hear from you, is you talking dirty to me to get me to cum I say. Giving no response to you asking me to promise. My my hand cupping your breast squeezing it little harder feeling her nipple getting hard. My thumb rubbing it I liked hearing you moan as I sucked on your cock I pushed my head further down sucking harder. My nipples were becoming hard at your touch, but I wish they weren't. My body always denied me being angry with you. I knew we weren't the greatest couple, but I always thought we'd end up together for the long run but you're not promising has me doubting myself. Right now all I want to do is hurt you somehow because you are not promising has hurt me badly. I wondered how I could hurt you. Although you've been with other girls when we've been together I've never cheated and maybe its about time I do. I'm going to fuck your best friend, and you can see what its like. Aaa AA AAA suck it baby, oooohhh AAA just like that I moan as I try and drive. Turning here and turning there. Having to stop at lights and stops signs. Smiling and noting my head to some old couple who was stopped next to me before as they saw what you was doing. Acouple streets away I begin to feel the pressure. Aaa shit baby here I come I moan as I take my hand off your breast and place it onto of your head to keep my cock in your mouth AAA god I love you I moan out as I begin to erupt I didn't even notice how many times we'd stopped or how many turns we'd made. I was to busy sucking your cock to even care. I stroke your leg softly as I push my head as far down as I can get it. Furthermore, I look up at you and hear you moaning. Furthermore, I feel your hand moving of my boob and resting on my head keeping me down. Furthermore, I sucked harder. Furthermore, I feel your load hit the back of my throat. Furthermore, I swallow your load. Then I pulled your cock out of my mouth and started to lick your cock clean. I slide your cock back into your boxers then zip your trousers up. "Do you really love me?" I ask. I'm thinking of the plan I came up with to get back at you and I don't think I can go through with it because I love you, yes you do sometimes cheat, but that's not really me. Furthermore, I'm only a slut for you. Breathing little as I cum. Feeling you swallow every drop which some woman has a hard time doing but never you. Looking down at you tuck me back into my pants then look at you. Baby you know I love you. If i didn't then i wouldn't be with you. We turn onto the of my friends. As for the promise, I cant make that. I never make a promise, because I know how it feels to have someone break a promise and don't want to put someone threw that if I break it. So I never make promises I say as I see a bunch of cars lined up down the street. And find a parking spot I never have struggled to swallow your cum. I always have loved the taste of your cum. I looked into the review mirror and sorted my hair out then straightened my dress out. "Well I know you love me now, and I'm glad your with me." I said looking out the window. "Well it's okay you can't promise me because it's enough for me just to know you do really love me. I love you too by the way." I smile at you once you park up. Furthermore, I push you against the seat hard and slip onto your lap straddling you. Furthermore, I kiss you passionately as I run my fingers through your hair. "Wait till I get you alone after this party I'm going to give you the best fuck you've ever had." I smile as I'm pushed back and then feel you straddle me. My hands reaching around cupping your ass as I listen to you. Promises promises I say pulling my lips from yours. Tasting my load still in your mouth. Well until then let have some fun at the party. Hand out with me, hang out with the girls. Just to give you a heads-up some of the boys were talking about seeking off during the party to do something, haunt been told what yet so if I tell you I got to go or tell going hang with the girl please just do it and don't ask question I feel your hands cup my ass. "I always keep my promises." I said smiling at you as I stroke your chest softly looking deeply into your eyes. "Yes let's go have some fun. I really need to just chill out this week has been awful I just need to drink and maybe smoke a little weed it always relaxes me. Oh, you boys are always up to something. I promise I won't question you, but you have to tell me what you get up to later on." I said. Furthermore, I kissed you again before sliding off your lap. Furthermore, I got out the car. "Come on babes." I sit there as you slide of my lap and out my door. I turn the car off and step out with you, grabbing the bag from behind my seat and closing and locking the door. I reach out and take your hand and start to walk us down the street towards the house party. Well ill tell you as much as I can, but when it comes to a team were like a secret societies so I can only tell you little stuff I say as we walk up the drive. Nowing in mind there's is nothing I have going on with the boys, mainly figuring even though I'm going to fuck you later I never pass up a chance at one of these parties with buddies mom, all depends on her mood "What's in the bag Hun is it stuff for the party?" I ask looking at you. I hold your hand and walk with you down the street towards the house. "Okay tell me all you can later. I understand you can't tell me everything because you have a bro bond." I laughed as I brushed my hair out of my face. "You know you look hot under the moonlight." I smile at you running my fingers through your hair as I look at you. We walked into the house there was loud music, alcohol flowing and loads of people. oh, this is just some stuff I bought for the party and you, in case then didn't have any of the stuff you like I say as we walk into the house. The music loud place already crowed. Walking threw the crowd everyone smile and saying high. Guys checking you out in jealousy. Man I think there's more people here tonight then usual I say into your ear so you can hear me. Your girlfriends ahead of us "Aren't you sweet making sure I have what I like." I smile running my hand through my hair as we walk through the crowd. I didn't really pay attention to anyone saying hi to us. Furthermore, I wasn't interested in giving most of the people my time. Furthermore, I noticed a few guys checking me out, but I didn't give them any attention because none of them were as hot as you. "Yeah there are loads of people way more than usual. I'm going to go talk to the girls. Don't get into too much trouble." I kiss you before walking off to the girls. We started to talk about how packed the party is. I went and got a beer from the kitchen and got one for you too. I walk over to you and pass you the beer I got for you. "Here you go babes." thanks baby I say as I take the beer from you. that's for you, I say placing the bag on little table behind you. Not sure if you want to put it someone where no one gets to it. I open my beer and take a gulp from it. Mmmm beer I say openly. Reaching around behind you cupping your ass. You don't worry about me getting into trouble. it's you that shouldn't get in trouble. I see how these guys are looking at you "Your welcome." I say. I lean in and whisper to you. "What exactly is in that bag?" I ask wondering why you're suggesting I put the bag somewhere so no one can get to it. I sip on my own beer looking at you as you take a gulp of the beer. Furthermore, I feel your hands cup my ass. "Oh come on babes do you think I'd ever cheat on you? I'd never cheat on you. I love you and no guy at our school has a cock like yours. There's no need to worry about me getting into trouble the only trouble I like is with you." I kiss your neck softly I stroke your muscles softly. Well that's good to know I say as I feel you stroking my muscles while kissing my neck. Well you will see what's in the bag when you look in it. So go ahead and take it and put it some place then enjoy some time with the girls. God only knows your don't get to spend time with them outside of school "You know I'm only a slut for you. No guy could take me away from you." I hook my arms round your neck and pulled you into me, I kiss you. "Hung there are reasons I don't spend time with them out of school because I don't want them knowing about my dad and unlike them, I'm broke as fuck, so I can't go to the mall with them." I whisper to you. I get the bag and headed up the stairs I put the bag down in one of the bedrooms. Furthermore, I open the bag wondering what's in it. I watch you walk away and take my beer and start to walk around the party. Saying hi hear and there. Giving girls here and there is a wink. Disapearing into the crowd till I find couple buddies and start to talk to them In the bag was a few different drugs and the beer I liked. There were also a few condoms in the bag. I sat on the bed playing with my hair I finish my beer off and get one from the bag. I sit there for a few seconds just thinking about nothing. Furthermore, I put the bag under the bed. Furthermore, I come back downstairs and go talk to the girls. The girls are really starting to bore me all the ever talk about is shopping and how much they love their boyfriends. I hate it when people get all gooey and romantic gushing about how much they love their partner. I sigh running my hand through my hair going into the kitchen and talking to some boy who was in my math class. We do a couple of shots together. The guy starts move in closer to me and I don't notice. Stand there talking to friends no clue what your doing, not even worried about it sense you a sure me that you would never cheat. Nowing I have you wrapped around my finger. I walk away from the boys and grab another 2 drinks. On my 4 or 5th by now. Mike stands there talking to you, doing couple shots with you. Soon moving closer to you. Only inches separating you 2. His face next to your whispers into you ear. So Sophie I've hear from couple your girl with the good, told that you always got some good stuff to do at these parties, no clue it's your boyfriend who gives you the drugs. His hand place on the low of your back I look at Mike wondering why he's moving so close into her. I feel Mike's breath on my neck. I feel his hand on my back. Furthermore, I look at him listening to him. "Well you heard wrong I'm not the girl with the stuff go ask someone else." I whispered to him. I don't like people knowing I'm the one who has the drugs. I hoped it wouldn't seem like I was flirting with him. Furthermore, I grabbed another shot and took one. Furthermore, I ran my hand through my hair looking at Mike hoping he'd go away. oh, come on it's a party. I have seen you doing the stuff, even seen you bring it to other parties were friends art we. Im just looking to spice this night up with someone and would prefer to do it with someone I like. Im also asking you because I saw you when you are talking to the girls and walking around and seemed like you might have wanted someone else to hang out with for little which is why I asked if you wanted to do a shot. Mike say shaving been at the party for over an hour already. Walking around talking to this person and that person. I figured might be a good time to see if the owner is home. I grab my phone and shoot you a TXT, be back as soon as I can. Going to do that little thing with the boys. Nowing that we have some of the freshman doing toilet papering tonight so using that as excuse in case. I walk upstairs. Checking some rooms along the way to see if I can find his mom. "Yes I do stuff, but I don't have any." I lied. My phone goes off and it's a text from you, I read it. I run my hair and sigh. I hoped you would end up forgetting your thing with the boys and just come spend time with me. "Yeah we are friends Mike. I'm sorry I was acting weird. I just don't like people knowing that I have drugs and I don't like people coming to me for drugs. Okay you want to spice up the night with someone then I'll be that someone. Is it that easy to tell that I don't like hanging out with the girls much? I do it for Pat really. Well I enjoyed the shots with you, it was fun. Follow me upstairs. The bags in one of the bedrooms. We can stay up there the parties kinda boring." I lead Mike upstairs. We go into the bedroom where the bag is. I pull the bag out and dump it on the bed. I unzip it and grab a beer. It's my 4th beer and I'm feeling a bit tipsy but not drunk. "Take a look in the bag decide what you want to do first." I said to Mike. Following you upstairs and into the bedroom. Looking around at other people as I do. Hoping that none of pats friends see me going upstairs with you. Mike closes the door behind you 2 and pushes the knob in locking the door so no one comes in. he looks at the contents of the bag. wow, some good choices. Seeing weed some X, and coke. How about this he says holding up the bag of coke. Or is this for a special occasion?going room to room still not finding buddies mom. Last room to look is hers I think. Walking up to the door and grabbing the door knob. And slowly open it. The lights on, no sex noises telling me there's no kids in her so she has to be. Pushing the door open enough peek my head inside and look around then see her sitting on her bed, book in one hand drink in the other. Sliding inside closing and locking the door behind me. Well hello there Mrs Connors I watched Mike close the door then lock it. I sat on the bed opening a beer I take a long sip. "Yeah it's all good stuff." I said watching him go through the bag. He retrieved a bag of coke. She smiled at him. "Oh you chose my favorite. No not for a special occasion so make a few lines up." I pulled my heels off and got comfy on the bed. I finished the beer off then got another. Furthermore, I was getting more tipsy. My mind wandered to Pat. I wondered where he was. I'm only comfortable being me completely around Pat. He's the only one who gets me. He doesn't judge me at all. We may be a bit of a fucked up couple, but I do have real feelings for him and I love him, but I'd never tell him how I do love him because it would probably freak him out, and he'd leave. He's the only one I care about. I got off the bed and turned on the CD Player I started to dance to the music moving my body in time with the music. Looking up as I watch you get up and walk over to the radio and turn in on and begin to dance. Watching your body in your short sexy little dress. Mike gets upholding the bag of coke, grabbing the little blade with it and walks over to a dressed. Placing the coke on it, he starts to cut couple lines, enough to make three lines for each of us. Grabbing the straw out of the bag he snorts his first line, eyes closed enjoying the feeling right away. Your up he says. Walking into the room over towards the bed. Been away hasn't it Mrs Connors pats says as he looks her over on the bed. I noticed Mike was watching my body, but I didn't care I was feeling so good. I ran my hand over my body really get into the music, but I stop seeing make some lines. Furthermore, I watched him snort his line then I headed over to the dresser bent my head down. My ass sticking up in the air as I snorted the line. I stood up tossing my hair back feeling it hit me. I smile at you. "That's good shit." I said." Yes it been awhile." Mrs Connors said placing her book and glass on the table. "Are you enjoying the party?" She asked running her hand through her hair. Mrs Connors: oh ya the party is great just need a little break from all the same old conversations. Plus figured little change in company wouldn't hurt and figured i seek on up and see what you're doing. Not sure about you, I can't help but think about the last party throw here and well I'm sure you remember as well. Watching you snort the line, looking down at your ass as you bend over. Ya good shit I say as I lean back down and snort another line. Wiping my nose after. Looking at you. Smiling as a perfect song starts playing on the radio. I start moving little to the music "Of course I remember the last party it was a good night." She smiled at him, she patted the bed for him to come sit with her. He snorted another a line then I bent down to snort another ass jiggling as I bent down. I wipe my nose. I stood straight up running my hand through my hair I look at you dancing I smile at you. Furthermore, I move over to you and start dancing with you. Furthermore, I'm feeling so good and feeling like I can do anything. "You know your pretty brave being alone with me, you know with Pat being my man but as you can see he's gone Missing in action, and I'd prefer to hang out with you anyway." I lied I would have rather been with you, but I had no idea where you were. Moving over by the bed. Sitting down in your husbands spot and moving closer to you. Putting arm around you. Ya it was a good time I'm sure to night can be just as good if not better. Standing there dancing with you. Inches separate us. Ya i don't know if its brave or me being stupid but well worth the risk. Hell so far just being up here with you has been more fun than the rest of time I've been here. Moves closer to you reaching out taking your hand after hearing was you said. Pulling you closer our bodies coming in contact She looked at him as he slides onto the bed, and he put his arm round her. "Well I'm sure we can make tonight way better." She said stroking his leg she moved in and kissed him."You're not stupid and were friends, and he can't stop me having fun with a friend. Oh, you think I'm worth the risk that's sweet of you. This is the most fun I've had since being here too." I held his hand and I stood closer to him. Their bodies touched. "You know you have nice eyes." I said brushing your hair out of his eyes. Thanks he says as he feels the hair being brushed out of his eyes. Have to be honest there isn't anything about you that i don't find nice he says his hand moving behind you. Placing on your lower back just above your ass. His leg moving between yours, thigh pressed against you. Moving you to the music sitting on the bed with you feeling her lean over and kiss me. Pressing his lips back against yours as he turns little towards you, reaching across you placing his hand on your thigh "You're a sweet guy you know that." I said looking into his eyes. I stroked his chest. Furthermore, I felt your hand move behind me. His hand moved onto my lower back just above my ass. His leg moved between my leg. I ground against him. I tossed my hair back off my chest. Furthermore, I wanted to kiss him I thought it was just because of the drugs and booze, but it was mostly because I missed you. She was kissing you passionately. She moaned into you mouth as he placed your hand on her thigh. Furthermore, she looked into your eyes and moving closer to him as she deepened the kiss. Looking into your eyes as we dance my hand rubbing your back little. Slowly his hand starts to move down. Little by little his fingers inch down till soon his whole hand is on your ass. Moves his face closer to you. Lips inches from yours. Laying there on the bed with you. Hand starts to slide up your thigh rubbing. Mmm moaning against your lips as I slide my hand up and soon and cupping your breast I smile at him as his hands slowly inched down to her ass. He held my ass as we moved together with the music. His face moved closer into mine and I leaned in. I kissed him softly. I closed my eyes. Furthermore, I felt a little bad kissing him, but I had no clue were you where so it made me feel a bit better. Furthermore, I deepened the kiss. She moaned as your hand slide up her thigh. She ran her hand over your chest as you cupped her boobs. Her hand worked down your chest and her hand lowered to your bulge she stroked your bulge softly. Kissing you back my other hand slides behind you, now cupping both your ass cheeks. Squeesing both cheeks as I slide my tongue inside your mouth. Moving his hands around your ass your dress slowly inches upward towards your waste. Moaning against your lips as she rubs the bulge in my jeans. Hand moving around on your breast, so trying to find its way inside your clothes in order to feel the soft flesh of you breast. Wanting to get you out of your clothes I moaned into his mouth as he cupped my ass cheeks and squeezed them hard. I let his tongue slide inside my mouth. His hands around my ass and my dress was inching upwards towards my waste. I broke the kiss. "You know I shouldn't do this?" I said brushing my hair out of my face. She rubbed your bulge harder. She unzipped your trousers, and she slides her hand into your boxers. Furthermore, she stroked your cock. Your hands moved around her boobs. I know you shouldn't, but it just feels so right mike says before pressing his lips back against yours, his hands pull your dress up to your waste and then slides his hands back down cupping your bare ass cheeks. Stepping towards you, moving you, so your back pinned between him and the dresser. Moans against her mouth feeling her unzip him and reach in and start to stroke me. I pull my lips from her leaning back against her husband pillows "It does feel good and it sort of feels rights." I said. When I said it felt right I was lying it felt wrong, but it did feel good, and I was horny, and you were nowhere to be seen. I kissed him passionately as he pulled my dress off. He slides his hands to my ass and cupped my ass. He pinned my back up against the dresser. I looked deeply into his eyes as our tongues intertwined. My boobs were pushed up against his chest. She slipped her hand into his boxers. She stroked his cock vigorously. Furthermore, she looked at him pulling his trousers and boxers off. Furthermore, she leaned her head down and licked his cock softly. Looking into your eyes as we kiss. Our bodies pressed together. Mikes hands roaming over your ass. Sliding his hands up hooking his fingers into your thong he pushes them down. Letting them drop to the for at your heels. Not caring that you're dating the most popular kid in school, and that I'm a dead man if anyone finds out. But know when this is over dead or not this will make me something. Your panties at the floor mike reaches between you and his fingers find your shaved smooth pussy. Laying back on the bed as I feel your tongue lick my cock. Aaaaa ya Mrs Connors I've been thinking about this all week. The feel of your mouth, the touch of your body, the tightness of your pussy wrapped around my big cock I was feeling a drunk haze, but I knew I shouldn't be doing this, but I didn't want to stop yet! His hands hooked into my thong, and he pushed my thong down to my ankles. I slipped out of them quickly. His fingers were on my wet pussy. I pulled away from him. "Listen Mike if I'm going to let this happen then I have a few rules. 1 don't think this means anything and 2 don't you dare tell anyone. Do you understand?" I asked. He nodded his head and I moved back to him putting his hand back on my pussy. She moved up the bed a bit to look at him. She placed her finger on his lip. "Shh no more talking. Just lay back and close your eyes." She said. She kissed him before going back down to his cock. Furthermore, she ran her tongue over his balls before taking his cock head into her mouth. Furthermore, she sucked softly. Looking you in the eyes as mikes fingers are brought back to your pussy. I presses his fingers against you. His finger sliding between the folds of your pussy lips. Sliding one of his fingers in all the way. Mike begins to work his finger in and out as he leans back in and kisses you. His other hand moving up and cupping your breast threw your top. Squeesing it. Pressing your body against the dresser getting little rougher but not much. Laying on the bed as you tell me to stop talking and enjoy. I lay back put one arm under my head as it hits your husbands pillow. My eyes close as I feel her mouth on my cock again. My other hand moves down and rests on her head as she begins to bob up and down sucking. Aaaa AAAA baby that's it sucks that big fat cock I moan Mike's fingers pressed against my pussy and my pussy was so wet for him. I felt his finger slide in between my pussy lips, and he slides his finger in my tight wet pussy. I kissed him back passionately looking deeply into his eyes. My mind was wandering, and I wasn't sure I should carry on with this. He was cupping my boobs through my top squeezing her boobs hard. His body was pushing against mine and my back was pressed against the dresser. She was bobbing up and down sucking hard on your cock she liked sucking your big cock. She always looked forward to sucking your cock every time her son threw a party. Furthermore, she stroked your balls softly as she took you deeper in her mouth, but she couldn't take you fully in her mouth. Making out with you while fingering you, Mike takes his hand off your breast and reaches down and takes your hand. Moving it between you and placing it on the front of his pants. Right on the bulge. Pulling his lips from yours. Looking you in the eyes. You know what to do he says before putting his lips back to your.AAA fuck Mrs Conner's your mouth is amazing. I don't know how your husband can go out of town for such long times with you back here. I don't know which feels better your mouth, pussy or ass. The things we do that you said you and your husband never He took my hand and moved it to his crotch. I looked at him my hand brushing over his cock. I didn't know if I could do this any more I felt bad and couldn't stop thinking of you. Furthermore, I looked at Mike. "I don't know if I can do this. I have a boyfriend and I love him." I said fidgeting as my hand over his crotch. Mrs Conner's looked up at him taking his cock out of her mouth. "How about we stop the messing around, and we get to what we both love the fucking." She said moving up the bed to him. She kissed him roughly pushing him against the headboard. Furthermore, she stroked his chest kissing more deeply. Hearing your words. The sound of you backing out. Mike inserts another finger and starts pumping both of them in and out of you in hopes to keep you interested. His free hand he puts on your waste and starts to turn you, so your back is to him. it's going to be ok were just here having fun art we. there's one last line for you. don't let it go to waste. Pull my mouth from yours. Well then let's do it. Show me that bad momma side. I want them to be able to hear you downstairs Mike added another finger to my pussy. I looked at him and stroked his crotch. "Well I don't know if I can do this. Just let me do the line, and you can eat my pussy if you'd like as I snort that last line." I said moving away from him and his fingers I moved over to the coke. I bent down over the coke. Furthermore, I didn't mind receiving pleasure, but I didn't know if I wanted to give out pleasure to another man."Oh, you know I'm a bad momma. How many times have we been together, I'm not sure, but I know it's a double-digit number." She said she kissed him. As she took her clothes off fully. She ground her pussy against his cock. "You want my pussy on your cock." looking at you as you walk across the room. I want to fuck not eat pussy mike thinks to himself. Undoing his pants mike pulls his cock out as he sees you bend over. Mike walks towards you as you begin to snort the line. Moving up behind you his cock nearing your pussy. Ya some like that, been alone of times and each time just as good as before. Ya you know I want that pussy on my cock. Ride it hard. Im going to pound your married pussy good I was bent over my ass sticking up in the air. I pulled my dressed over my ass more and snorted my line. I was thinking about what to do. Furthermore, I felt bad and knew I shouldn't do this, but I wasn't sure how to back out of this."Oh, I know you will pound my pussy with that big cock, but I want to tease you." She said grinding harder against his cock hard.

The Quatre Back and The Head Cheerleader|rating:2.0

Training Session(Private Rp) IC

Lviewtopic.php?f=18&t=374lTyson sat in the crowd, uncomfortable as he was sitting next to and old couple on each side. His large arms crossing his chest in attempt to make himself smaller, tho the effort didn't work much for they were still touching him, Damned women. Older women scared him, with their wrinkly skin and the way their bodies slump over from years of labor. Their hair had grown grainy and would dust tithe touch. They were walking dead that the grim reaper is just watching, laughing his ass off as they try to enjoy their last breaths of this chaotic world. The newest graduates strolled out in ceremony robes, and he looked in the crowed for the one he was getting. A folder lay on his lap displaying a photo and files concerning his next protégé. He was little thrilled to be getting a new one. He was quite fond of his last one, tho he had excelled fast and was assigned to his own graduate. Furthermore, he than saw the kid he was assigned and got up from his seat taking the folder into his hands than walked down the mile as well as other lutenists to escort their new protégés to their new bunkers. Markus was psyched about final graduating from the academy. He walked onto the stage with his fellow graduates as images of his older brother flashed in his head. He was everything Markus wanted to be, he was strong, smart, athletic, and brave. Markus looked out into the audience he count help but smile the day was nice and sunny he was final walking in his brother's footsteps. He noticed some people getting up and walk toward the stage, her knew they were the mentors he wondered with one would be his. Markus looked around the stage and remembered when his brother first graduated. He was just a small boy back then. He remembered running up to his brother and hugging his legs. His brother bent down and ruffled Markus' hair and told him that one day he would be on the same stage one day, and that day was today he was almost trembling with excitement as he waited for his mentor to show up. Tyson made his way down the aisle, weaving through other majors and lutenists like himself, he wanted to get to his protégé and fast so he could get out of there and get to mentoring. His wolf was itching to get out for the full moon was near, and his rage would be at a high peak, and he would be varied short tempted. His hard chiseled body glimmered in the sun shine as his bronze color deepened from being in the sun for most of his life. He spotted his next protégé and went up to him and cleared his throat. "Markus, I am your mentor, quickly follow me. You will be under my wing until you complete all that you have to learn from me. I would watch your self for this first week for I'll have a short temper until the full moon passes. Any questions." He prickly walked back toward his truck weaving through people, hoping the boy would keep up. Tyson didn't care to check cause if the kid couldn't keep up here, he wasn't going to survive. Markus snapped from his thoughts and flashbacks when his mentor spoke "uhh...what? oh, yes...sir yes sir!" he said and followed his mentor through the crowd of other mentors and graduates. ~why does hit have to be so crowded...~ he thought "uhh I have one sir...why does the full moon make you have a bad temper?" he asked his motor a made their way to his car.Markus diddle know what kind of guy his mentor was, but he seemed to be tough and strict. He was sure if he would make it with this mentor or not with made him worry. ~wow Hesse tough...so cool...kinda reminds me of my brother.~ he thought to himself then started to think about the full moon. Tyson stopped suddenly and turned to face the boy,"Ever hear of a werewolf?!" He than grinned like a lunatic and began to focus on his hands and soon silky sin black fur covered his arms and hands, then his arms bulged out and his hands turned into vary large paws with razor sharp onyx claws. His grin grew, and he moved his arms closer to the boy so he could see better,"That is why, I might tear you to shreds." He shook his arms out, and they returned to normal, with a quick movement he spun on his heel and briskly walked the rest of this distance, pulling out a set of keys from his stiff pocket. The truck beeped in response to him clicking the unlock bottom, and he opened the door and swung himself in the drivers side seat. Sticking the keys into the ignition he started the engine and was assaulted by the loud roar of rock music and waited for the boy to get in. Once in he sped off and made his way through the parking lot weaving through the mass of slow body's, Tyson mumbled under his breath about running them all over but than the turn-off for the main rode came up, and she turned sharply and sped through the traffic. Once at a constant position he looked at the boy occasionally than turned down the music now that the frustration of people where out of harms way. "So... Marcus, is there anything that you can tell me that, that folder can't? Give me a little insight about you." He turned the rest of his attention on the road but was still able to keep up in the conversation considering his sensitive hearing. Markus looked at Tyson shocked as his skin started to grow dark fur. ~that™s so cool~ he thought to himself watching wide-eyed as Tyson shook his arm back to normal. Markus got into the car and buckled up. Markus looked out the windows of Tyson™s car at the major traffic around the graduation site cars going up the road cars going down the road. Markus™s body swerved and swayed in synch with the car as Tyson tried to avoid the other cars and finally calmed down when Tyson turned off the main road. Markus sighed in relief as they made it off the main road the ride was a lot smoother. €œDang if I Diana™t have a seat belt I might have fallen out the door¦a he said and wiped the sweat from his forehead and hears Tyson ask him to tell him a bit about himself. €œA bit about myself, huh?a Markus said and thought about where he should begin. €œI guess I should start with him¦my older brother¦he was in this organization to a while ago IAS™ve wanted to be in this organization ever since I was a small boy and saw my brother up on the same stage that I was on. OHA¦my brothers name was Chad¦I Dona™t know if you knew him or not though I got word that he died on the battlefield a couple of years goal¦when I heard that I only wanted to follow in his footsteps more to protect the world from the threats that are out their. I may just be a rookie today but one day ill be just as good as my broad¦mark my words.a He said his words were full of determination, and you could see the fire in his eyes as he spoke proudly of his brother his fists clenched tightly. €œMy dream of graduating the academy and standing on the very stage as my brother has come true but it won™t end their ill continue working my hardest to make him proud wherever he is now.a He said and looked up to the clear blue sky through the window of the car. Angela sat warily on the edge of the bed. The clicking of heels on the cement floor made her twitch and reach for the gun that was not there. The hospital personal had taken it away when she'd been brought in, and with good reason. The battlefield did things to a person. It was standard procedure to take away weapons, for fear they would have a break from reality and try -and most likely succeed, given the training they'd had- to harm others. Nearly every sound made her jump-they all reminded her of Detroit, where her unit had gone in search of the home base for the monster making organization. And found it. Oh God, had they found it. It was in an old Ford Motors warehouse, probably where the first model T had come out. Not that she cared. That place was hell on earth now. The things she'd seen... She shuddered at the memory of the misshapen things that had attacked her unit. They weren't even human anymore, not after what had been done to them. And somehow the machines knew to keep their faces -or at least the eyes-relatively untouched. The sight of those all too human eyes so filled with pain, attached to what she'd seen... She'd almost dropped her weapon from the terror. What if she'been caught? Where would she be right now? Or...maybewhatwas the better question. With an effort, she laid down on the bed, though every instinct was telling her to keep on guard. She suddenly remembered that to day was graduation at the academy. Her stomach clenched. Strider Unit would need more hands to replace the people they'd lost in Detroit. She sincerely hoped that no one would end up there, that no mentors would end up mentoring kids meant for Strider Unit. With the thought of mentors, her mind suddenly turned to the one she'd been told would pick her up; Lieutenant Tyson.... His last name escaped her. Would he be bringing his apprentice along? Tyson chuckles at the kids good humor and shakes the truck for good measure, then listens to the kids rambling, his brothers name rings a bell, and he glances at the scrawny little guy in the seat besides him." That can't be Chad's brother, he's too scrawny. We shall see if he can fit in his brothers shoes, but that kid does get many." The buzz coming from his pocket and the jingling ring of his cell phone told him it was an important call, and he wasn't sure if something bad had happened or not. He fished around in his pocket while steering with one hand searching for the small elusive cell phone the company supplied. He large fingers wrapped around the device as he pulled it out. Furthermore, he pushed the speaker and set it on his lap as he shifted to the next gear,"Lieutenant Lawrence here."" The Private that is being put under your care is coming to and is stable for pickup, can we expect you in half an hour?" He cleared his throat picking up the phone and holding it near his mouth and thought back to last week when he talked to the camp general and how a mission had gone bad. He sighed a little and quickly pulled a U-turn dropping the phone back on his lap and shifting gears accordance to speed in order to keep his transmission in tacked. Picking up the phone once not shifting he brings it back out to his mouth,"I'm on my way make sure he is ready." Tyson snapped the phone back and threw it into the cupholder in the middle console. Glancing at the time he rolled his neck and tightened his grip on the steering wheel and shoved his foot into the gas pedal throwing the beat up truck to life, and it began to pick up speed and zoom past the other cars. They sped into the hospital parking lot and Tyson wasn't caring about where so he parked in a handicap parking than got out slamming his the bucket of bolts door shut. Once Marcus was out he pressed the lock button and waited for its responsive beep, then strolled into the hospital on sure strong legs. A few hot nurses walked past him as he entered the building, and he couldn't resist a whistle and a wolfish grin their way." Hey, ladies, how's it's going?" The kept on walking only looking back a few times and giggling to each other. He walked to the check-in area and waited for the private to arrive, and they could get back to camp. Markus silently listened to the conversation between Tyson and the man on the phone. He thought to himself about if there was going to be a second pupil. Markus looked out the car window the city was big but there were still lots of ruined buildings from WW3 people continued to live on. The ruins that weren't in as bad of shape were being repaired, and the others were being demolished so they could build anew. There were construction workers, volunteers, and the like working together to rebuild the town. In the dark alleyways odd looking shadows could be seen darting from place to place, Markus knew what those were the “mutants” created by machine. Usually only the weakest roam freely out in the world. When they got to the hospital Markus got out of the car. He closed the door and brushed himself off, he looked around the not surprisingly crowded hospital parking lot, they were lucky they found a space at all even though it was handicapped. Markus followed Tyson into the building noticing something from the corner of his eye he stopped for a moment. He saw what looked to be a zombie-like creature. It was tall and humanoid, brown, but it walked four legged. It was really long and thin that you could see the shape of its bones, its legs and arms were long, and it looked at Markus and let out a loud hissing noise its face was round, and it had no eyes it just looked like two holes in its face, same with its nice, its mouth had really sharp teeth in it, it ran off after it hissed and Markus looked around forgetting where he was for a second. Markus caught up to Tyson just in time for him to see Tyson whistle at a few good-looking nurses. He sighed and lost a little bit of respect for his new mentor. €œSo…exactally why are we here? Who is it that we have to pick up here?a he asked Tyson as they walked through the hospital doctors and nurses were seen walking around. Angela was wheeled into the waiting room slowly. It got on her nerves. The slow squeaking of the large wheels was about to drive her out the chair and the hospital until she couldn't run anymore. It was like the creak of an old house in one of those old movies she'd seen- a precursor to bloodcurdling screams and mind-numbing terror. She clenched the padding of the armrest anxiously, hearing the phantom skittering of monsters with frightened, child-like eyes. She sucked in a deep breath. Calm down. You're meeting a superior officer. Don't act like a lunatic. When the orderly -she wasn't surprised it was a man rather than a female nurse given how she had probably come in here-pushed open the door, and she caught sight of Lieutenant Tyson. He had a wild look to him. It was hard to put into words, but it was almost like he was more in touch with his primal nature than even hardened veterans. When the haunting squeaking came to a stop with the movement of the chair, she stood slowly, feeling the stiffness build in her muscles again. Fear. She was afraid again. But of what? There were no monsters here-just a man and a boy. The gaze with which she viewed the wary, though even she wasn't sure why. A cough made her jerk her head to the side, tensing and her fingers twitched for the weapon at her belt that was not there. Instead, she saluted Tyson." It's a pleasure to meet you, Subtenant. I am Private First Class Angela Taken of Strider Unit...the last remaining member of squads A through C." she told him quietly, forcing herself not to shudder at the possible fates of the aforementioned members of her Unit. Tyson looks back at Marcus and clears his throat some and could smell the disgust coming off of the boy. "Why do I smell disgust rolling off of you? We are picking up a private from a squad who was had a mission go wrong." He heard the squeak of a wheel, and he saw a person pushing a woman dressed is a normal dress for one in the organization. He recalls his thought since he thought he was going to be picking up a guy and shrugs it off tho a little ticked they forgot to mention that, he would have combed his hair. As she is pushed down to him, he notices her weary and uneasiness. She had gone through hell and it has shown. His senses on alert now as he looks over the private, When she is stopped in front of him, his ears pick up a cough and his sharp eyes notice her head jerk and honed habit of reaching for the gun that normally would have been at her hip. He looks at the gal as she stands shakily and salutes him. He smiles at her and notices the note of sadness as she mentions her squad,"Dies soldier, You can call me Tyson for now. It's a pleasure to meet you as well Private Angela." He motions to the awkward looking boy next him. "This is my protein Markus." He looks awkward himself for a moment running his hand behind his head." Soo, ah can you walk on your own?" Angela's feet shifted of their own accord so that she was standing in the 'rest' position. She was grateful -though not for the first time-of the nearly endless practice every day during Basic Training. Following the order was second nature to her body by now. She wasn't sure she would have been able to do it on her own if it had required any thought. Between her frayed nerves that left her as tense as though she were on the front, and this strange bone-weary shock it was only her body's natural strength that kept her upright." Yes... Tyson." She said uncertainly, tears beginning to burn her eyes. It was a conscious effort not to say the word Sir. After the shock of what she had seen, she was forced to fall back on the etiquette and procedures drilled into her by Basic Training. She blinked her tears away and forced herself to study Marcus. He seemed...aloof. Had something happened between the two men already?" I can walk on my own...so long as I have my weapon back." She said, trying to keep her voice steady. It was beginning to crack as she thought of her fallen friends. She hadn't even known all of them that well, but now that they were gone... Her lips pressed together, and she swallowed back a whimper. What had been done to them? Were they even human now...? Stop it. She ordered herself. They talked about this in Basic Training, remember? You have to stay calm. If you panic you die. They weren't in any kind of conflict now, but it still applied. She had to control herself." I...will be getting my USP 45 caliber back, right, Sir?" she asked anxiously. She needed it back. Markus looked at the girl noticing a lot of strange things about her. She seemed nervous and scared about something. His face got a more serious look while thinking about the girl standing in front of them. He could tell that something bad happened to her and it really freaked her out. He thought best not to ask she would tell when she was ready. A scraping was heard at the entrance of the hospital and Markus turned around to see the very same creature he saw before entering. It was standing there at the entrance of the hospital its long thin money fingers were scratching on the glass. Its sunken black eyes looked directly at Markus and let out a loud high-pitched shriek as it got more violent and stood on its legs pounding the glass with both hands trying to get in. It let out another shriek, but this one was different from before it wanna™t as shrill and two others came and started to beat on the glass as well letting out the shrill shrieks as well. As the creature beat on the glass it started to crack. The cracks got bigger with each bash until the large glass doors gave way to the creatures. The three creatures let out another loud shriek and ran into the hospital as more of them started to swarm in from the walls outside running on the floor and climbing the walls and jumping on some of the doctors and nurses attacking them. €œWhat the hell?a Markus said as the creatures swarmed in. one of the creatures shrieked and broke a fuse box and the lights in the hospital went out. €œDamn it what™s going on?a he said not sure what to do. He kept his eyes on her and his other senses on alert. She looked tied as hell, and he had an urge to wrap an arm around her, but resisted for she was a private, and they were in company. He smiled as she rolled his name off of her tongue. For some reason it aroused him little tho he pushed the thoughts away. He chuckled a little as she asked for her gun back,"Like hell you are getting your gun back. I see the way you act at a mere cough. I don't need you going trigger-happy and accidentally shooting me in the ass." He glanced around the hospital, glancing at the other sick or overly elderly, he winced as he could smell the sickness rolling off them. He jerked his head towards the door as a scratching noise was heard, and it was one of the mutants. It was standing there at the entrance of the hospital its long thin money fingers were scratching on the glass. Its sunken black eyes looked directly at Markus and let out a loud high-pitched shriek as it got more violent and stood on its legs pounding the glass with both hands trying to get in. It let out another shriek, but this one was different from before it wanna™t as shrill and two others came and started to beat on the glass as well letting out the shrill shrieks as well. As the creature beat on the glass it started to crack. The cracks got bigger with each bash until the large glass doors gave way to the creatures. The three creatures let out another loud shriek and ran into the hospital as more of them started to swarm in from the walls outside running on the floor and climbing the walls and jumping on some of the doctors and nurses attacking them. €œWhat the hell?a Markus said as the creatures swarmed in. one of the creatures shrieked and broke a fuse box and the lights in the hospital went out. €œDamn it what™s going on?a he said not sure what to do. He watched in anger as they crawled in the door. He looked at Angela as soon as the glass broke while tossing her the gun at his hip,"Well I guess you get your wish, Shoot with your life, and god-damn it, None of you be a hero, if you have a chance run like hell." He looked at Markus than bent down and grabbed the gun from his boot holster and handed it to him,"I hope you can shoot, make sure and hit the docs who get a bit as well. Good luck.Oh, and don't shoot me." He rolled his shoulder and a growl emitted from his lips as he began to grow and black hair began to cover his body and he now was in his hybrid form, he wanted to get this over with fast, He snarled than roared loudly at the mutants and charged forward with the building shaking under his paws. He roared again as he swung his clawed hands around slashing the throats of nearby mutants. Then he jumped up as they began crawling on the roof, His hands wrapped around their bodies, and he pulled them off the ceiling then threw them into another row of assaulting creatures. Another roar tore from his throats as he got his claws around one of their heads, and he yanked open the jaw with in human strength than broke it off, throwing the bottom jaw into the crowd to watch others begin to devour it. Angela snatch the pistol in midair as it sailed towards her. The sight of those monsters made her sick, but the spike of adrenaline made the feeling of nausea quickly fade into the background. This hospital, once a place of healing, was now a battlefield. At night, she realized quickly as the lights went out and darkness descended. For a long moment she was blind and shuffled backwards against a pillar, readying the handgun Tyson had thrown to her as her eyes adjusted. Pain-filled screams were all around her-the wild shrieks of the mutants, and the whimpering sounds of the doctors and nurses that had already been attacked. It was like some demented, hellish choir. Her eyes finally adjusted, and she squeezed off a shot that narrowly missed Tyson and instead went straight through a mutant that had been about to leap onto the werewolf. She would probably freak out about that fact later, when it wouldn't kill anyone. She dropped to one knee and shot a doctor who was being devoured. The sound of his screams died, only to be replaced by five more. They were going to be overrun soon-they had to either get out of here or call for reinforcements. A sudden sight made her gasp." Markus, Behind you!" she yelled, sending a round slamming into the thing's chest. Markus caught the gun that Tyson tossed to him and panicked, and then he remembered something that his brother said a while back. €œSo you want to be in the organization just like me eh? Well good for you Markus!a Chad said Asia™m sure you™ll make a great addition when you™re older.a He added and patted little Markus on the head. €œI'll tell ya what ill let you in on a little secret that I discovered. But you can't let anyone know¦not even most of the higher ups in the organization know this¦but¦there are secret weapon where houses deep underground under some of the old buildings Hara¦IAS™m not sure many of their locations, but I know a few¦like the new hospital was build over one if your ever in a jam look for Oneal¦but remember Dona™t tell ANYONE I told you this Kay?a Chad explained and smiled patting his little brother again before getting up and heading out the door. Markus snapped out of his flashback and took off running down the hall of the hospital looking for stairs into the basement. ~if there is an entrance to that underground where house then it must be in the basement that™s the only explanation! ~ He thought to himself. The mutants looked as Markus took off, and they shrieked again and took off after Markus shrieking ignoring everyone else. Markus found the stairs to the basement and started going down the mutants following closely. €œDamn it!a he said and started too slid down the rails for speed. Markus found the basement and it was dark. He found a light switch but it Diana™t work adding powers completely off down Hara¦a he said and reached into his jacket pocket pulling a small flashlight and turned it on. He heard the shrieking of the mutants getting closer, and he quickly closed the door and blocked it to buy him some time. €œWon’t give me much time I have to find that entrance¦a he said and started to look around in a hurry. Before he knew it he heard banging on the door that he blocked. €œDamn they are here already¦a he stated to himself flashing his light around seeing a big red door with a pad lock. €œKeep outage was written on the door, and he took the gun and shot the padlock till it fell off. Markus opened the door and rushed down a winding staircase as he heard the other door being broken it was only a matter of time before they found the door where he went through. Markus came to the end of the staircase and a big metal door, it started to open from the bottom rising up and inside was a room full of different types of weapons from the past. Markus went into the room and the door slid closed behind him scaring him a bit. He walked down the long hallway of weapons there were many types axes, swords, guns, spears any weapon you could imagine. Markus heard a voice but he couldn™t make out what it said hello? Is someone else down here?a he called out not worried about the mutants any more even they couldn™t break down a large steel doorway easily. €œh….you¦near¦oval¦.era¦a he heard the voice again a little more clearly anywhere are you?a he called again still walking as he came across a sword that appeared to be lightly glowing blue. €œYou are the one who can hear me?a the weapon spoke and Markus backed up a bit and-did that sword just talk to me?!?!a he said freaking out a bit. €œWorry not young one I am the spirit of Maria Star residing in the weapon I used ages ago.a The weapon said “Maria…Star¦wait¦the leader of the organization is Zane Star¦are you his ancestor?a Markus asked approaching the weapon again. €œIndeed I am his ancestor, and you are the one destined to wield me pick up this gun blade and use it against the mutants the weapon said and Markus took a hold of the gun blade that spoke to him and felt a strange power surge through him. €œNow hurry back to the basement the mutants are gathered their.a The voice then went silent and the large metal door opened up again. Markus ran through the large metal door and up the spiraling staircase. When he got to the top he stopped in awe seeing all the mutants crawling like an infestation of bugs along the floor, walls, and ceiling. €œoh…MYA¦a he said as all the mutants stopped and looked at him. They all shrieked as they started to merge on the floor of the basement. A large wad of flesh formed and started to get bigger and bigger as they all merged into it. The ball of flesh began to take shape when all the mutants had joined into it. It turned into a giant being with a skull like head and old time Japanese like armor with a big spear. Markus took out the TECH watch that was given to all the new recruits at the graduation. The watch is a vital tool for the organization it reads the power of the mutants and logs them into the database for new ones. The beast now before Markus was a class S mutant known as Shogun. Two red glowing orbs were seen in its sunken eyeholes as it looked down at Markus, It let out a roar as it thrust its spear at him. Markus jumped out of the way in time. €œDamn this is a class S I canal™t take on that¦a he said hiding behind a big crate. €œDo not falter. Believe in our powers, and you can win.a The voice of the gun blade spoke again. €œWhat?a Markus asked looking at the blade. €œYou can win if you trust in my power and believe in yourself.a She replied. €œRight!a Markus said and took the gun blade in both hands. JE jumped onto the crate and the blade started to glow blue again. €œLet’s do this!!!a he yelled and Shogun turned and swung its spear at him again. Markus jumped out of the way and jumped from the wall shooting at the beast with the gun part of the blade creating a bright blue beam of light as it shot out, he jumped off the wall and took the blade in hand and brought it down on Shogun creating another bright blue beam of light making a cross shape that glowed and exploded in a bright light. He landed on the ground on one knee the blade in his right hand extended out as Shogun fall to the floor and dissolved into disgusting black goo. Markus stood up and panted a bit and turned around and looked at the goo AOH gross!!!a he said looking at in and then looked at the blade in his hand. €œOh woman¦I actually did it!!!!a he said and jumped for joy laughing at his success anti canal™t believe it woo-hoo!!!a Tyson shot a glare at the female as she shot off a round that narrowly missed his head. He snarled in annoyance as he spotted Markus running off in some direction towards the back of the hospital. Ripping off the head of a few mutants, and they came at him, he barreled after Markus but so did the other mutants, with the creatures somewhat distracted he took the moment and began tearing heads off of body's. Looking back at Angela he motioned his head to follow him and continued shoving his clawed hands into the throats of screeching mutants. He followed the trail of mutant leading down to a basement were tons of creatures stay cooped up waiting for something, without hesitating he begins tearing heads from body's again and throwing them to the side as the distracted mutants concentrated on what ever was on the other side of the door that said "do not enter" sign. Soon the door opened and Markus emerged with a new weapon that Tyson had only seen a few times, it glowed bluer than a class 5 mutant emerged at attacked him, Markus did well to bypass the attack than popped out with a counter. Tyson was impressed, but he had a job to do and began another assault on the mutants, green blood clung to her fur, and he grumbled thinking that it was going to be a pain to get it out of his fur. Another snarl emits from his maw, and he tears one of the last mutants in half, down the spine. He shifts back to his human self with his pants barely surviving the change, his pants were now shorts and his well-formed abs shown under the green goo." Nice going Markus, tho that was hello stupid of you to run off like that!" Angela sensed the sudden peace in the air Tyson changed back into his human form, but she stayed still for a long moment, waiting for more mutants to come charging at them. None came and she carefully walked over to Markus. She had thought him a coward when he'd run off like that, but apparently he'd found a weapon while his tail had been between his legs, so it was okay. She guessed. The disgusting green goo was all over her clothes, and she could feel it drying in her hair. The Private had tried not to think about what the stuff may be, but it was beginning to remind her of blood. It smelled like sewage, though, so it may be... She grimaced and shook her head, going to stand next to Tyson in his shorts. Her borrowed weapon was still in her head, loosely. She did not drop it, though. She did not think she'd be able to. The girl was still on high alert, but her mind was blurring all the details. The sight of the mysterious green fluid on the walls and splattered all over the room seemed like garish wallpaper. The entire scene still seemed dream-like. The aftermath of a battle... It was a defense mechanism. Not being able to recall the details in all their gruesome splendor would keep her sane, for a little while at least." Some would call it Cowardice, Markus." she said, voice sounding surprisingly calm, if a bit dazed. "And that is a very serious offense, isn't it, Lieutenant?" she murmured. She knew it was punishable by the military code of justice, though the exact punishment escaped her at the moment. Markus panted a bit and stood back up holding the gun-blade and looked back at Tyson AOH when did you get here Tyson he said a surprised look on his face. He scratched the back of his head as Tyson complimented him. €œwell maybe soap¦but I remembered something that my brother said, and I had to confirm Ital¦he said if I ever got in a tight spot like that I should search for one of the hidden weapon storage units.a Markus explained and then looked at Tyson as he turned back to his human form and started to laugh. €œyou need some stretchy clothes' sir.a He said. Markus looked at himself as his clothes were covered in the green goo “ugh…disgusting he said and looked at the walls and the floor please Dona™t tell me that we have to clean this UPA he said with a sigh and looked around the room at the goo and broken crates and boxes. Markus looked back up at Tyson anyhow are things up top? I'm sure there are still a few mutants scurrying around up thereat he stated and started to think. ~why did they only come after mean¦usually mutants are random and go after anything¦but almost all of them came after mean¦~ he thought to himself as he stared at the floor. Markus was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard Angela speak. €œWHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A COWARD?!?!?a he said to Angela with an angry face. €œI diddle see you doing much to help me!!a he added and then turned away with a furious look. €œanyway not that all that is over¦well we should probably make sure there are no more mutants and that everyone is okay¦a Markus said after he calmed down and turned back around. Tyson looked the private up and down checking for any recent wounds and found none, then did the same with Markus. The only thing that covered everyone was the green goo, that all the mutants projecting while being blown to bits. He took a deep breath making his lungs expand making his flesh move over the rock hard muscles. He looked down at his clothes than back up to Markus,"That may be so kid, but I find that woman I rescue after shifting tend to like how I look." He chuckled slightly, than got professional and lost his smile,"Actually, you're running caused such a distraction that all the mutants up top followed you, tho I'm sure there are a few running around looking for doc's just stumbling around. We need to do a sweep of the building and call the cleanup crew, then get back to base and go through protocol. They are like animals and love a good chase, and you presented that to them." A small smirk appeared on his visage when Angela spoke up. Looking over at Angela as she spoke to Markus he noticed her weariness and wondered if she was really ready to come back or if she was just faking to get back in the game, which could prove to be fatal." What she says is true tho being a fresh graduate, he wasn't supposed to see his share of mutants for another week..." Ty snapped out of his thoughts as Markus began to yell He stood in front of Markus now, towering above his scrawny frame, "Don't you ever yell at a superior! I was going to let you slide on the running away part, but now. OO boy! You just got your self in a serious pile of crap! Why should she be covering your ass! You've been trained to carry a fire arm you should have been able to hold your own without running off like a bat out of hell!." Ty turned on his heel in an angry manner and started for the stairs leading up to the main part of the hospital to finish the sweep so they could get out of there. Knowing they would be behind him, he turned his head to look over his shoulder,"Meet at the front entrance in 10. I want to get back to camp." Without waiting for a reply he started off in a direction not really carrying where he was going just as long as he could run. Running always helped him clear his head, it was the one thing that calmed him down the fastest. He was going to have his hands full of this kid and was probably going to need a few dozen bottles of aspirin.10mins later~~~Tyson found his way back through the maze ending up at he entrances doors they came in, and waited for the others, he had run into five other mutants and had disposed of them easily, there were no survivors which reminded him about the cleanup crew. Taking his phone from his pocket which he never knew why but little things like that, almost always survived the change, which he was damn glad it did. He pressed a number for speed dial and pressed the phone to his ear waiting for the receptionist to pick up. Soon a sweet sensual voice came across the line and his mood changed tho he stayed professional and let her know of what happened and requested a cleanup crew to be dismissed immediately.

Training Session(Private Rp) IC|rating:3.0

A Princely Exchange (Khoraz _ BrilliantDays)

The Sun rose, hot and brilliant as it always did over the vast desert sands of Alaina. The golden dunes twisted and fell like waves as wind whistled through the harsh and humid atmosphere, and the crystal clear sky offered travelers no respite from the blistering heat of midday. And yet amidst such an unforgiving environment resided one of the greatest kingdoms of the world - The Jewel of the Desert as it was affectionately known as, and any who gazed upon the splendor of the city would not soon forget the wonders it held and the worth in traversing the desert to reach it. Great sculptures of white marble reached from the sand, twisting in the form of servants entwined with humans in a glorious display of the race who dwelt within. The homes were grand and vast-left open to welcome in the heat as they lined the great white and gold streets and large sheets of crimson silk hung overhead at regular intervals to offer modest yet comfortable shade for those wishing to indulge. Gems glittered upon every building. Rubies, emeralds and diamonds all found within the desert used as both an income and decoration, and the beauty of the city was matched by the elegance of her people. The nāga were proud and strong. Completely at ease in the heat where they would bask for hours on end, tails curled luxuriously upon silken cushions on their flat-roofed homes. Most had darkened skin, tanned from the Sun's light, but the color of scales swept the range of the rainbow. No two were the same. It was a sight to behold, and the city was one to welcome guests and travelers alike... But it was rare for elves to make their appearance. They were, from what was understood, fragile little things that wouldn't last in the heat of the desert, and yet a welcoming party stood in the central square to await that very species. A great fountain rose behind the company, clear water spurting from the mouth of a leviathan that rose from sculptured waves and an erected shelter would provide the guests with shade whilst they would enjoy the banquet that had been prepared." Such a fuss..." The voice was quiet, melodious and yet held the authoritative tone of one in command, and tanned fingers drifted casually across jet black scales as golden eyes rested on the horizon. "To think that elves would venture here... It seems foolish to me. Won't they shrivel up? I hear they are fragile as it is..."" Highness, please do not rouse our guests..." The response came from an elder-scales slightly Dulles, hair white, and he shook his head towards the dark-scaled Prince. "This exchange has been arrangement for many months, I would hate for it to go wrong..."" Do not worry, Anion." A bronze hand waved dismissively before it found a strand of hair, black as his scales, fiddling with a golden lace that hung in the strands. "I shall welcome them with open arms. Allies are important, I realize." He sighed and rested his other hand on a Scala hip, the tip of his tail flicking back and forth lazily. Necklaces LF gold glittered upon his bare chest, reflecting the light, and he chuckled softly, flicking back his long hair. "They should be arriving soon, no? I confess myself curious to look upon an elf... especially a likely one."" Indeed, Highness... I believe that is them as we speak." The arid climate of Olivia had already taken its toll on the royal traveling party. Their species was not accustomed to the unforgiving climate, nor were they particularly enthusiastic about the monumental task ahead of them. Creating a rapport with nāga had come across as a rather daunting undertaking, one which Prince Lyre had initially been unwilling to accept. Nāga were all well and good, but they had always seemed steps beneath evening. Lyre simply had very little interest in it. It was, in fact, only the promise of winning a new ally that had brought the young Prince out into the far reaches of the Bolivarian desert. This was a peace mission and little else. Olivia and Lotus had never been on particularly bad terms, but it was never too late to form alliances before those sorts of gaps occurred. Such had been drilled into Lyre's head by his elderly parents, both of whom sought to instill a bit more humility in their son. And thus, he found himself knee-deep in dirt, constantly brushing layers of dust from the back of his horse." I find this state of living appalling," the blond elf muttered, drawing close to another member of his riding party. His cousin, Calder, had volunteered to look out for him in his new surroundings, as the Prince had never before left his homeland, let alone a nation so far from that to which he was accustomed. Thus far, Lyre found little to admire in the kingdom. All one could see for miles were patches of rocks, the occasional shrub, and more dirt than he cared to acknowledge. He could already feel his clothes, the entire ensemble a pristine shade of white and lined with brilliant gold, growing dirty simply by standing out in the desert breeze. Even his skin, fair and fragile, felt sullied. What was more, despite the gauzy material that made up his robes, he still felt uncomfortably warm. Falnyr offered a smile, but it was half-hearted. More than anyone, he knew of his cousin's love for their forest kingdom - more specifically, his desire to get back to it. But such was not to be, at least not for the foreseeable future. They had an arduous road ahead of them. Flanked by guards on horseback, Prince Lyre made his way toward the grand welcoming party in the square. Somewhere behind them, he heard music, although he couldn't quite relate to the melody. It sounded exotic to his ears. Bringing his horse around front, Lyre waited for his guards to take their posts before him, while one announced his presence, "His Royal Highness, Prince Lyre Abdallah of Lotus, formally requests the presence of the Prince of Olivia." At this, the elf's pale blue eyes sifted through the scaled creatures who had gathered to greet them, curious as to which one of the colorful, bejeweled individuals would assume the role of his host for the next few months. Horse riding was something of a quiet fascination for the young Prince. Perhaps it was owing to his inability to ever do so, but he found the practice extreme strange. He was sure elves had no desire to be centaurs, which guided his mind to three separate ideas as he rested his gaze on the approaching group. Either they were lazy, had some physical disability that meant they couldn't travel far, or else they wished to make themselves seem bigger and more important than they were. He decided not to ask during their first meeting, but made a point to learn later. Humans did it too... Strange. Still, better to focus on the formalities, he reminded himself with a faint sigh of possible boredom. It earned him a sideways glance from the elderly Anion, but he merely chuckled under his breath and ignored the other male. Anion was akin to family - the advisor had supervised the Time family for many years, AMD was well-used to the Prince's somewhat lackluster approach to duties." We welcome our neighbors to Olivia. May your visit be prosperous for both our cities... I humbly present out Prince-""- Indra Time." The descaled nāga smoothly interrupted with a small smile at the brief fluster that came over his advisor before sliding smoothly forward through the golden sand, his arms raising in welcome. "You are most welcome." Sleek muscles in his stomach visibly flexed as he lifted his body higher, his tail curling slightly where it stretched to place him almost at eye-level with the horse riders. "We have anticipated your arrival and prepared shade and drink for both yourselves and your mounts... Please..." He gestured lightly for them to follow him, letting his body lower to a more comfort height as his sharp eyes focused on Lyre rather intently, a slow smile creeping to his lips. "Though perhaps you would consent to dismounting? It is uncomfortable to gaze upward during a discussion of equals, hmm, Prince Lyre?" There was a natural purr to his tone, dark eyes glittering for a moment before he turned and moved towards the shaded central street that guided them through white marble to the open palace. He stopped just outside and lifted an eyebrow, obviously expecting the horses to be dismounted." I expect great things for this visit, my even cousins." He announced, tilting his head as Anion hurried inwards to inform the servants of their arrival. "I'm sure you feel the same." As the elderly nāga approached, Lyre's first thought was that he was most certainly not the prince. Likely an advisor, he mused, or someone of similar importance, but definitely not a royal himself. Over time, Lyre had learned to pinpoint certain traits common among nobles - more specifically, the way they carried themselves. This one was subservient, if only slightly, and thus he only received a moment of the even prince's attention. Interest piqued, the elf then raised an eyebrow as another nāga, a younger one, slid forward to finish the announcement. His own announcement. At this, the blond took a few extra seconds to size him up, skin and scales and all. Indra was a rather striking specimen, boasting a strong upper body and scales the color of night. Lyre might have gone as far as calling him lovely, but a sense of superiority over the nāga's kind kept him from it. Instead, he merely offered a trained smile as he slid off the back of his horse, the heels of his boots digging into the dirt. "Naturally," he replied, handing over his horse's reigns to a guard. It was then that Lyre got a closer look at the nāga prince and, much as he tried to ignore it, the inherent charm that seemed to ooze from his very pores." Many great things indeed." The even prince nodded, moving up alongside the other royal, unwilling to let him have too much of a lead. He made a point of following a mere half step behind. "Your home is quite lovely, Prince Indra. My kingdom and I thank you for your gracious hospitality." Indra noted with a barely-restrained chuckle that the even Prince had decided to wear heeled shoes for the occasion. How very silly. He'd surely known that the area was a desert haven; flat shows or even bare feet were common among non-scaled visitors and Indra wondered how long it would bed before the little elf found the going too difficult through the sand. Still, he didn't commend as he slid effortlessly towards the smooth slope of white stone that took them up to the large square set higher than the level of sand. A great silken roof had been erected to shelter the visitors from the harsh sun; four wooden posts holding the maroon fabric aloft. In the center was a long elegant table hosting bowls of fruit and vegetables, as well as jugs of wine for the occasion. Alcohol was difficult to import through the heat; it was a subtle show of just how important negotiations would be." We will sit here for a few minutes whilst the servants ready the main feast. I hope this is to your liking, my good Prince?" He smiled once again and gestured toward the table, golden bangles clinking merrily upon his wrist before he slid towards a large cushion in place of a chair at the head of the table. His tail curled around it before he settled and lightly folded his arms while waiting for others to sit. "Please enjoy the fruits. All are gathered from the oasis several leagues away. I doubt you will have sampled them before." He didn't eat immediately and was content to watch, his deep gaze focused on the prince. So slender, elves seemed. They looked like he could break one in two with an embrace of his powerful tail, but oh he was intrigued. It would be pleasant once they were alone." I find myself fascinated..." He voiced, leaning slightly over the table. "Your kind have such... elegantly pointed ears... they look quite lovely." Was the comment inappropriate? Perhaps, but then Indra had little care for what was proper as his rather intense gaze rested upon the even prince. As Indra led his party to the large red tent, which he supposed would serve as a meeting area for the time being, Lyre took a good look at his surroundings. The area in which he would immerse himself for the foreseeable future. He had no inkling of how long he would stay; that was up to his advisors. They had indicated the desire to prolong the trip for a few weeks, at least, before attempting to bring the nāga prince to Lotus. The notion alone made Lyre want to groan. The nāga was not unfriendly, exactly, but something about him made the even prince uneasy. Perhaps it was the way those deep, unyielding eyes bore into his skull, making him feel exposed. Vulnerable. Almost like the nāga was sizing up how much effort it would take to squeeze the life out of him with that powerful tail. The idea was laughable - such a thing would never happen. Still, he found it odd to see Indra's eyes lingering on him like that." We appreciate this grand welcome," Lyre offered, finding a plush red cushion next to Indra upon which to sit. The practice baffled him, but he supposed chairs among nāga were less than useless. Their tails made such things impractical. Resigning himself to the use of pillows for the duration of his stay, the elf gave an inaudible sigh and carefully plucked a few small pieces of fruit, some from each bowl, to put on a plate for himself. It was as he gathered a few delectable purple berries that he heard Indra commenting on his ears, whereupon he felt his face begin to burn with a blush. The mention wasn't exactly inappropriate, but it certainly hadn't been expected. At this, Lyre cleared his throat and offered a tame, practiced smile. "You flatter me. They are such small traits, after all." Glancing up with a murmur of thanks as one of the servants rushed over to pour wine into a goblet for him, Lyre straightened his back some, reluctant to lean and bend his body if at all possible. Such seemed inappropriate, although tempting with the lack of a chair to support him. "I look forward to seeing more of your kingdom, Prince Indra," he said at length. "Perhaps after I have had some time to rest from my travel, you would be kind enough to escort me to a few places of interest. Our entire visit need not be so formal." Slender bronze fingers had plucked a few grapes from a thick vine as Lyre spoke his thanks for the welcome, a small chuckle passing between the nāga's lips at the notion. "I would give nothing but the best hospitality to our even neighbors." He sighed then, an expression somewhere between a frown and a pout coming to his features as he glanced around. "I had fancied planting a few trees to let you feel more at home, but alas sand isn't so kind to such things... and it seemed inappropriate to bind one to a pot." He -or rather his adviser-had overlooked the seating arrangements. Cushions were the nāga's chairs and as such the thought of supplying something else hadn't occurred to them, and while Indra didn't notice initially, the elf's straight-backed posture seemed somewhat strange to him, given how his own body relaxed so pleasantly upon the plush fabric. Still, the delightfully embarrassed flush upon the printing's cheeks was a wonderful diversion, and he felt a smile tug at the corners of his lips." I seem to have mentioned something personal." He said, inclining his head. "Please, feel free to tell me if I over-step myself. Anion is always telling me I am too familiar." He seemed to hold the delicate balance of formality and friendliness. Difficult to maintain, but charm seemed effortless where the nāga was concerned, and he nodded slowly at the idea of showing the prince around."Ahh, I would be delighted to." He smiled. "Please, Indra is perfectly fine. As you said, the visit need not be so formal... we are establishing friendly ties between our nations - it would be easier without the constant mention of silly titles." There was a pause, and he tilted his head as a thought occurred to him. "Assuming you have no objection? I would hate to seem impolite..."" And..." Indra added, after a lengthy pause "You seem uncomfortable... Ah, the cushion." He lifted a slender hand and pressed fingertips to his forehead at the lack of foresight. "My apologies. There are a few chairs in the palace for human visitors, I hadn't thought to bring them..." He clicked his fingers and summoned a servant, informing him of the need for a chair before refocusing on his guest." Have you ever seen a nāga before? I confess that you and you company are the first elves I've met... I am... very pleased and intrigued with what I see." Again there was the subtle hint of something more... But perhaps it was simply Indra's way. Truth be told, Lyre was still remarkably unhappy with his task of befriending the other prince. The desert climate did not suit him, and he felt horrifically vulnerable among people not his own. Certainly, the nāgas who had seen to his party had been courteous enough, but Lyre couldn't seem to shake that last bit of apprehension. The apprehension that came with unfamiliar territory, unfamiliar people, and a general sense of uncertainty. This he fought not to show on his face. The last thing he needed was for Indra to think him rude, or detached from their mission. He supposed Indra had his own concerns, and if only for that reason, he shelved his own. Outwardly. While he couldn't do much in the way of removing his worries, he tried his utmost to keep them from reaching his eyes. As a high ranking member of nobility, this came easy to him, and he smiled accordingly. A trained, practiced smile that he only ever used in matters of diplomacy. When Indra mentioned the possibility of bringing out a few chairs, Lyre was quick to dismiss the notion. "No, please, there is no need." He adjusted his legs beneath him for the sake of comfort, unwilling to put the nāga prince out for something as trivial as a chair. "I have come to your land to learn of your customs, and if that involves a marked lack of chairs, I will simply have to adjust." At the question that followed, however, Lyre gave pause. If he hadn't known any better, he might have suspected that Indra had threaded a bit more than a general observation into his words. He dismissed the possibility, however, and merely shook his head. "Until my kingdom began to have dealings with yours, I have never encountered nāgas. Mind you, your kind holds some... fascination for me. I regret admitting that I know little about nāgas, save for your preferred climate." While Lyre's perfected appearance of ease allowed the nāga to see nothing of his uncertainty, Indra's common sense told him that perhaps he was being too forward for a first meeting, and that the desert sun could be too warm for the elves to comfortably sit in. True, there was the shade offered by the fabric roof, but inside the palace was a good deal cooler owing to the white marble walls and large windows. He decided to withdraw himself a little, and smiled with more modesty as his offer of chairs was waved away." As you wish, I must thank you for letting my lack of courtesy slip away." He would have some chairs made, regardless of what the little printing said. After all, it would be absurd to expect himself to sit on a chair, so it was simply unfair to expect the elves to have to squat on cushions." We both have much to learn of our races then." He announced with pleasure, plucking a piece of fruit and allowing his tongue to slide between his teeth in an idly luxurious way to taste. He didn't intend for it to be a display, but as the serpentine tongue wrapped around the fruit to carry it into his mouth it doubtlessly provided an intriguing sight. Not that it was anything special to Indra. "Mm... We shall have to discuss things further, but later." The nāga lifted his arms to stretch, his tail unfurling to do the same beside him before he chuckled. "I can see you are suffering from the heat. Why don't we retire to the palace for now?" The poor elf's skin seemed to shimmer just a little from sweat. Inside would be cooler, and so Indra gracefully uncurled from the cushion to slide to the floor, his powerful serpentine lower half glittering in shades of black and gold." I can show you your rooms, and you can settle yourselves for a little while." Lyre watched as Indra dispatched of the fruit with no shortage of morbid fascination. It seemed such a little thing, but the use of the nāga's tongue put the elf off somehow. It just didn't seem natural to him, although he gathered it was just business as usual for Indra. For a split second, he had nearly forgotten about the serpentine tail that made up the lower portion of the other prince's body. Strange, that. It seemed that Indra was not of a mind to talk business, which Lyre supposed was just as well. Accordingly, when the nāga offered to bring the traveling party inside for a rest, he was not about to complain. It nearly seemed a shame to cut their first meeting so short, but he was not about to deny his need for a little breather." For that, we would be grateful," the elf admitted as he moved up onto his feet, silently urging the members of his party to follow. "I have greatly enjoyed your company, Indra, but I confess that I would benefit greatly from a rest." The sun had taken a toll on him; it was a wonder that he hadn't gotten any color from the constant exposure to its rays. "We can continue out discussion after the heat of midday. Even we nāga retreat when the Sun is at its highest." Indra smiled and moved smoothly across the white marble floor, leading the small entourage towards the main body of the palace. The closer they drew, the more grand the desert paradise would seem. Great pillars held up an arching roof with suitably placed square holes to allow the warm rays to pass down onto raised platforms on the floor; sunning cushions where the serpents would bask in comfort. They passed through a great archway that showed through elegant carvings the progress of the ancient nāga into the desert and drawing the bounty of gems from within the swirling sands. Each serpent held an eye of ruby or emerald set into the stone as if to revel in the beauty that came from such harshness, and once the outside area of the palace was behind them, the elves would doubtlessly feel the cooler interior of the corridors and sloping stairways. "I must tell you to mind the, ah... 'stairs'. That is your word, yes?" He nodded towards the way up to the next floor which was a smooth slope, his head tilting to one side. "Please take care not to fall." Up they went, and the pristine beauty continued seamlessly until Indra came to stop, turning to the group with a small smile. "Now... the servants will lead your group to their rooms. Tradition dictates that only those of royal lineage may ascend to the highest floor." A pair of nagas, both colored a deep red hue appeared from the corridor and bowed to the group before the Prince slid towards the second slope." Please, Prince Lyre..." As they reached one of the higher floors and Indra dismissed the servants, Lyre took a thoughtful glance back to his entourage. He didn't need them for protection, but the notion of traveling into a strange place without them left him feeling somewhat naked. Still, he wasn't about to offend the prince by insisting that they accompany him. And so, with a nod, he waved his hand as silent indication for his traveling party to follow where the nāga servants led. If that was the custom, the elves would simply have to adjust. That done, he turned back to his host, hands folded behind his back as he followed him up the slope." Your customs will take some getting used to, I'm afraid," Lyre admitted, keeping close to the nāga as they made their way to the top floor of the lavish building. "I hope you will correct me if I overstep my bounds." He knew very little of nāga customs, save for what little he had picked up on the way through Indra's kingdom, and he still had much to learn." If I may ask," he said then, "what will tomorrow have in store for us? Perhaps you will be kind enough to give me a tour of the palace." More than likely, they would be alone for it. Much as Lyre preferred to be flanked by a pair of bodyguards, he knew better than to take them along during more personal conversations with other royals. Particularly royals like Indra, with whom he was expected to interact on a friendlier level for the sake of their respective kingdoms. "I have given specific instructions to the staff to help with anything you might struggle with. I am sure when I venture to your kin's woods that I will be just as flummoxed." Indra chuckled, lighting a hand to ruck a strand of dark hair behind his ear, eyes glittering with excitement as he rather relished the prospect of exploring somewhere new. The desert was beautiful, but one could only admire it for so long without feeling a little restless. "And please, don't worry about overstepping yourself. While I have to maintain a certain public image I'm actually very relaxed in private. Speak and act as you normally would." They had reached the highest floor of the palace. Everything was more regal and polished than below - the white marble seemed to shine with the light of the sun where slits had been carved into the ceiling to let the light in, and graceful carvings lined the boarder of the walls. The floor was also carved in a simple pattern of spirals and stars as if to replicate a carpet and Indra tilted his head slightly, stopping at a heavy golden curtain that hung at a tall doorway."Ah, I would be delighted to give you a tour." He smiled and nodded, "Though I find the market more interesting than the palace. You might find something there that strikes your fancy..." He held the thick curtain open and gestured for Lyre to step inside. "This will be your room." The room was spacious and open. Large circular windows without glass were cut into the far wall that showed a wonderful view of the city far below, curtains of the same gold hanging above - able to be pulled down for shade and privacy. A low table rested off to one side surrounded by the same thick cushions as had been outside, and a large bookcase rested nearby, filled to the brim with a vast number of tomes. A simple screen divider hid the bed from view. It was large enough for three to fit comfortably, and was probably lower to the ground than the elf was used to. The sheets were gold and white, made from thin silk to ensure the sleeper wouldn't become too hot and elegant drapes hung around the four posters at each corner. There was also a series of cupboards and drawers, and another heavy curtain that hid the bathroom." I hope it's to your liking... anything can be changed, if you need something or dislike the furniture..." It seemed strange to Lyre that Indra would want to show him the market, rather than the palace. More to the point, it seemed unfitting of an individual in his station, but the elf saw little point in arguing with him. The nāgas' customs would take some getting used to, he supposed. Perhaps they regarded nobility differently than in Lyre's own kingdom. Upon reaching the top floor, where Lyre would rest his head for the foreseeable future, the elf looked into the luxurious chamber with no shortage of wonder. The aesthetic here was far different from that in his home; warmer colors dominated the decor, while the windows cut into the walls welcomed in more than enough sunlight. Lyre already knew he would be drawing the curtains closed during the daylight hours. Although his skin never seemed to tan, too much sun didn't agree with him." It is lovely," he remarked, stepping further into the room to examine it more closely. The furniture was vastly different from that to which Lyre was accustomed, which he attributed to the differences in their anatomy. Nāga required furniture lower to the ground, where elves set theirs up higher. That, too, would take some getting used to." I highly doubt I shall need to change anything. Although I fully admit that I will likely leave these windows closed until closer to nightfall." Accordingly, the prince moved toward the vibrant golden shades and drew them closed halfway, allowing in enough sunlight to keep the room illuminated, but only just. "Unfortunately, the sun is something of an enemy to my kind," he chuckled. "Regardless, the accommodations are more than adequate. Thank you, Indra." Indra watched closely as the elf entered the grand bedroom. Despite his subtle teasing and lack of respect for much personal space, he was still the Crown Prince of his people and he understood well that a good impression had to be made on his pointy-eared neighbors. It seemed that Lyre appreciated the room to the nāga's discerning eye - the only exception being the low furniture, but taller chairs would be crafted for the even prince whether he wished it or not. None will ever say that Indra isn't a good host." Ah, yes..." He smiled and slid forward, standing at Lyre's side as the curtains were drawn partially shut. His eyes took on the light of the sun and glimmered as he tilted his head to one side. "You'd do have rather pale skin... it would be a shame for the sun to spoil it... almost like porcelain." It was a casual observation in Indra's point of view, and he turned back, gesturing to a hanging rope that hung just beside the bed." If you ever need anything, pull the rope. It's connected to bells in the servant's quarters, and they will come to tend to your needs." A bronze fingertip touched his lower lip as he pondered on whether he'd missed anything. Deciding that he hadn't, he moved back towards the curtain-door." I will leave you to settle in. Once the heat of the day has passed I will return, and we could perhaps have a quirt drink? We have a great deal to discuss, after all..." The mention of his skin color prompted Lyre's brow to raise, slightly surprised. If he hadn't known any better, he might have taken the statement as a compliment, perhaps even threaded with some other veiled intent. But just as quickly as it had come, he banished the thought. It wasn't appropriate to think of such things, particularly not with the stakes between them so high. He felt foolish for even entertaining the notion." Porcelain. Yes." The more he thought about it, the more he supposed it was simply a statement of fact. Elves didn't tan very easily, but he was lucky that he hadn't burned during the journey to Indra's kingdom. Large canopies on open carriages had assisted with that, and long sleeves did the rest. The whole thing made it frightfully hot, however, and as such, he was pleased at the notion that he would be left on his own to relax and cool down for a bit." I will look forward to it," Lyre offered, following Indra to the door, as it was polite. "Until tonight, Indra." He offered a polite smile, even held the curtain open for him, waiting until he had slithered out to close it back up and release a little breath. His eyes first traveled to the low bed sitting near the closed window, but given the length of the journey, he had gone a while without a proper bath, and it seemed the best way to lower his body temperature. Shedding his outer layer of clothing, the elf stepped into the bathroom to draw a tub full of lukewarm water. There he relaxed for a good while, until the water went cold and the sun began to set. He still had time, from what he gathered, and so he chose to lay in bed quietly for the hour that followed, contemplating what topics he might raise when Indra returned for him that evening. Only when the glow of the sun behind his window began to let up did he sit up once more, fishing out a clean set of clothes from the trunks that Indra's servants had delivered, and changing into something lighter and more suitable for the evening. Indra merely continued to smile as he was respectfully shown out of the room. He felt a quiet thrill in seeming a being so different to his own race, something so exotic and regal. While he himself was often complimented on his good looks, on the glistening shine on his scales and the bronze nature of his skin, he was rather enthralled by the opposite shade of pale pink - almost white tone of the young elf. Those pointed ears too, were a delight. Delicate, intimate... would they be as soft as he imagined? No, no. He scolded himself lightly as he made his way along the corridor to his own chambers, I mustn't be so impatient. This is a diplomatic envoy. It has to go well. Antis would have a fit if he knew what I was thinking... As if the elderly advisor knew when his thoughts were drifting off course, the other nāga appeared with a small smile from the lower floor, his hands lightly clasped together. "Ah! Prince Indra. I trust our young guest is happy with his room?"" Of course. Though he seems to find the heat unpleasant... I shall have to think of a way to cool his quarters."" I shall set the architects on the task. Perhaps they can figure out such a solution."" Very good, Anion." Indra had slid smoothly through a black curtain trimmed with gold, holding it open for his close advisor to follow through after him. He moved to curl up on a large maroon cushion, the sound of round stones clinking together inside echoing through the room as he shifted to be comfortable. The stone held the heat longer than any fabric would, making them excellent for lounging. "How are his companions? Did you settle them?"" I did. They seem pleased, though not fond of being so separate from their Prince. They will be difficult to bring to our side... I do worry that our differences might be too much for-""-Oh, Antis. Don't worry so much, my friend. I have complete faith in your negotiation skills. And besides, the young prince seems quite pleasant." They continued to speak for several minutes longer before the main heat of the day struck the palace walls. All denizens of the city retired to let the wave of light pass overhead, and so Indra spent a few pleasant hours sleeping the heat away until the coolness of evening air brought him back to wokeness. He smiled to himself and swiftly moved to dress for his second meeting with the elf. He carefully combed through his dark hair, fastening a delicate band of gold around the ebony strands to hold it in a regal ponytail. Several necklaces were placed around his throat to hang against his chest, a single red ruby glittering at the center taking pride of place. Only when he was satisfied did he venture out from his room towards Lyre's, lifting a hand to wave the curtain in a semblance of a knock." Prince? May I come in?" To meet with the prince that evening, Lyre chose a simple ensemble of thin white trousers, a matching button-down shirt, and a brilliant blue robe made of fine, breathable muslin with lavish, glittering embroidery embellishing the chest and shoulders. To his chagrin, this was perhaps one of the few outfits in his chest made for such harsh weather. Briefly, he entertained the notion of having new clothes made as soon as he had the chance, if only so he didn't die of heat exhaustion. The elf had just finished placing one of his favorite circlets over his head, carefully combing down his long blonde hair to ensure a proper fit, when he heard the nāga's voice just outside his door. The curtain offered little in the way of privacy, but fortunately Indra had the courtesy to announce his presence before stepping in. For that, Lyre was grateful. He was a highly private individual, and barging in without warning would have done little to endear Indra to him." Yes," he called, quickly smoothing down his clothes to ensure he looked presentable. Satisfied, he turned away from the mirror to greet the prince, to whom he offered a small, sedate smile in greeting. "Good evening, Indra. An afternoon of rest was exactly what I needed after such a long journey, and I do appreciate it." He waited quite patiently until the elf beckoned him inside before sliding forwards, sweeping the curtain to the side in a practiced motion. For a brief moment Indra was silent - suitably enchanted by the light colorings that played upon the young prince's body. It was a welcome and startling change from the darker, richer tones of his own people and his smile brightened at Lyre's offering of thanks. "You are welcome. I thought the heat might be difficult for you... it is much cooler without the sun." Cooler, but still not cold. The sky was clear with hundreds of brilliant stars shining down a subtle light onto the city, the crescent moon offering an amazing view should anyone with to indulge in a spot of stargazing - something Indra would likely offer at some point." If you are ready, I would enjoy showing you the city. It is just as lively at nighttime as the morning - the only Lulu in activity comes in midday, so I am certain we could find something to suit your elegant tastes." The nāga moved slightly closer, the tip of his smooth tail curling and uncurling in subtle excitement." There are some stalls open at night if you'd like the see the market? Or else we could dine at one of the inns? I sometimes like to spend time away from the palace... it can become a bit stifling. Or if you'd prefer I could simply give you a tour." The people of Indra's kingdom seemed very content to wear very little, with clothing worn in such a way to expose more of their bodies. Lyre's kind were just the opposite. Lavish, layered clothing was a mark of both wealth and propriety. He wasn't sure that he could ever get used to how little the nāga wore - although he wasn't sure that theycouldwear much more, given the unique shape of their lower bodies. Quickly drawing himself away from that line of thought, Lyre put on his most pleasant smile as he approached the prince. "It will take some getting used to," he agreed. "We do not have this kind of heat in my homeland. That is not to say I am entirely unappreciative, however. If anything, I am looking forward to working on my color." He chuckled. In truth, it was highly unlikely that his skin would ever darken, no matter how much his exposure to the sun. He was more likely to burn. Indra's eagerness to spend time away from the palace surprised the elf, whose nobility was far more accustomed to staying away from less luxurious urban areas. That wasn't to say Lyre was oblivious to the more modest areas of his kingdom; he simply didn't spend much time in them, especially not for leisure. As such, he had his reservations, but he supposed it couldn't hurt." Perhaps, then, it would be best to visit the town of which you speak so highly." Indra laughed quietly at the thought of the very pale elf gaining a tan from his brief time in the desert nation. Such fragile skin would be more likely to burn and turn red rather than become golden. Best to do something about that. "If I may be so bold, I think your shade is quite lovely. We don't see many with such bright skin here... it is a nice change, though I'd recommend against bathing in the Sun - you might easily burn..." He would purchase some ointment at the market to avoid such a fate for Lorraine, and he smiled happily as his idea of visiting the town was readily accepted. "Wonderful. We will have a small group of guard watching us, but I always insist they keep their distance, so never fear about your safety within the city limits." He nodded firmly and turned, sliding towards the curtain and holding it open for the elf to follow. There was more noise filtering from the city than when Lorraine arrived. The Sun had gone in, making the temperature more suitable for venturing out and as they moved out of the palace the elf would see a great many nagas going about their business. The market was in the center of the city, a host of tented stalls and great shops formed a circle with peddlers trying to sell their wears to passersby. It was a cheerful sort of place, and Indra received several waves and calls of greeting from the civilians. Clearly he was a popular prince among the people." Isn't it wonderful here?" He mused, moving along the stalls to examine the merchandise. "I much prefer it to the palace... now is there anything you would like to see? Our nation is famous for its gems and silks, though you could find almost anything in these stalls."

A Princely Exchange (Khoraz _ BrilliantDays)|rating:4.0

A different kind of workplace (for Lord Bane and Nyela)

Sam let out a sigh as he read through another seemingly endless pile of resumes, most of which were never going to be appropriate for the job. He was expecting his next interview soon, which he hoped would relieve his increasing boredom. He had only interacted with one member of his staff so far that day, his secretary who was sat outside his office trying to avoid speaking to him since she had been in trouble earlier. Nikki walked into the office building and smiled as she approached the secretary. She had applied for this job and got the call to come in for an interview yesterday. She looked at the woman with a smile." I have a 2:30 appointment for a job interview she said with a smile." Follow me." The secretary said as she stood up and led Nikki to an office door before opening for her." Your 2:30 is here Sir." The secretary said as she motioned for Nikki to step into the office and shutting the door behind her." Good morning Sir. I'm Nichole Bananas." She said as she looked at the man behind the desk "Ah, of course Nicole," he said, indicating the chair opposite him. "You're actually early, I've not had that in a fairly long time. Let's see what your application is like." He read the form for a while, trying to pretend he hadn't been watching her when she had walked in. He was trying to at least appear professional in front of her." I can't see any reason to say no to you," he said. "There is however one matter which can be considered a...deal-breaker by some. We have a fairly unique disciplinary procedure here." He inwardly hoped he had hidden the paddle in his office better than he suspected he had. Nikki sat in the chair he indicated and smiled as she crossed her ankles as he looked over her application." I don't believe in being late. I prefer to be early if I can." She said with a smile, "I'm sure whatever disciplinary procedures you have, you have for good reason." She smiled as she looked at him, he was pretty handsome, and she was sure she was going to enjoy working for him. "Ours is a little different to what many consider normal procedure however," he said. "I believe in spanking those who fall below the standards I expect."" Sir, we have a phone call from one of our suppliers on line one," the secretary called through the door." My apologies Nicole, I'd better take this," Sam said. "I'll take it outside, take this moment to decide whether this is the right workplace for you." "That's interesting." She said with a smile. When he excused himself for the phone call, Nikki nodded and watched him walk out of the office. She thought about what he said about spanking and felt a tingle between her legs. She always wanted to work her, and she wasn't going to allow that to scare her away. Furthermore, she'd just have to her best to avoid getting spanked if possible. Furthermore, she hoped he would come back soon so she could tell him that she would still take the job. "I'm sorry about that," he said as he walked back in, retaking his seat across the desk from her. "I should warn you if you say yes then you already require correction. While your resume was impressive there were certain...failings you will have to learn to stop doing before you work regularly for me." "Failings Sir?" She asked as she started to think about what could stop her from getting the job." I want to work here if you will have me Sir. I've dreamed about working here since I was in college getting my master's in publishing." She said as he looked up at him, her heart pounding in her chest. "Only relatively minor ones, he replied. "Mostly spelling and grammar, but my clients expect a high standard of communication, my secretary was punished before you came here for being too informal in a business email."" Let me be blunt," he said, standing up and removing the black leather paddle from its place on top of a filing cabinet. "If you want this job, bend over my desk and take your punishment, otherwise you are more than welcome to leave the room now." Nikki's eyes got wide as she stood up. She walked over to him and bent over his desk with her ass in the air." Like this?" She asked. "Perfect," he said, landing a hard smack across her ass before placing the paddle to her ass. "I also expect you to wear the uniform like the other workers here do." He gave her ten sharp smacks across her bottom with the paddle before delivering ten more with his hand." You can start your work now if you want to," he said, retaking his seat. Nikki gasped with each smack to her bottom. It hurt but it also felt strangely good. When he was done spanking her, she stood up and straightened her skirt out as his secretary came in." Follow me. I'll escort you to the changing room and then to your desk." She said with a smile. Nikki nodded and followed the woman to the changing room and changed into the short skirt and tight blouse." Perfect." The secretary said before leading her to a desk, "This is your workspace. You're expected to keep it nice and neat at all times."" Thank you." Nikki said as she sat down. The secretary nodded and went back to her desk. He kept a close eye on her as the day wore on, the rest of the staff slowly exiting the office until it was only him, Nikki and the secretary left." Report to the office before you leave," he emailed to Nikki. He intentionally timed it so that, knowing the secretary had got herself in trouble again, she would come into the secretary's bare ass being spanked hard, a warning of sorts to his new employee. Part of him equally hoped she would give him reason to do the same to her before she left. "On my way Sir. Is there anything I can get you on my way?" She replied as she grabbed her coat and headed for his office. She knocked on the door and waited for him to answer. Furthermore, she heard what sounded like someone getting spanked and wondered where his secretary went. "Come in," he called out. "I promise if I want people to wait outside my office I'll make it clear." He had changed from hand to hairbrush, the secretary squirming under the spanking but unable to move far due to the hand on her back. Her as was already bright pink. Nikki walked in and shut the door behind her before turning around and facing Sam. She had a slight look of shock as she saw his secretary bent over the desk and being spanked with the hairbrush." You wanted to see me Sir?" She asked as she gave him a nod. "Yes," he said, finally stopping, the secretary adjusting her clothes and heading out of the room. "I wanted to know how you felt your first day here went?" He kept one hand on the hairbrush, trying to resist the temptation to spank his new employee for no good reason, as tempting as it felt. "It went pretty well." Nikki said with a smile as she folded her hands in front of her with a smile, "I hope you'll be pleased with the report that I emailed you on the Sampson account order." She had worked most of the afternoon on that order and hoped he was as pleased as she was with it. He looked up and down the report, which he felt he should respect her enough to ensure he had read it clearly." It's very impressive," he replied. "I'm glad to say that you are yet to give me any reason to regret giving you this job. If there's nothing else you're welcome to go home for the evening and come back tomorrow." Nikki gave a nod and turned to leave, her ass showing in the tight skirt of her uniform. She put her hand on the doorknob and looked back at him." Is there anything you need before I leave? We're the last two in the building and I want to make sure you're taken care of." She said with a smile. He had to try and avoid being too tempted by the ass in front of him, but he did walk over, landing a not-so-playful smack to her ass." Careful, you'll tempt me to find an excuse to spank you every day if you keep talking like that." Nikki squeaked in surprise as his hand landed on her ass and smiled up at him. She purposefully let her body brush up against his. The thought of being spanked was making her horny and she wanted it." My apologies Sir. I just want to make sure you're taken care of before I head home." She said playfully as she turned around, brushing her ass against him this time as she reached for the door again. He couldn't help giving into his urges, landing a harder slap on her ass." Would you rather I spank you now, or you come into my office first thing in the morning?" he asked her, trying to hide his own arousal. Nikki smiled as she deliberately rubbed her ass against his crotch, "How about now so I can be loud and we're undisturbed? Spank me Sir. I'm a bad girl." She smiled up at him as she rubbed against him again He walked over to the chair behind his desk, sitting down and motioning her towards him as he picked up the hairbrush." Something tells me you've needed to be put over someone's knee for a long time," he said with a smirk. "Yes Sir." Nikki said as she walked slowly over to him and lifted her skirt as she leaned over his knee and wiggled her ass as she looked at him, her breast on his crotch." Spank me Sir! I've been a naughty girl and need to be taught a lesson." She said seductively. "You don't have to ask me twice," he said, lifting the brush and bringing it hard down on her ass. He didn't relent, intent on making her ass red." I hope you don't expect me to go easy on you," he said, resting a hand on her back as he continued. "I've been known to leave staff sitting uncomfortably for the whole work day." Nikki gasped as the brush made contact with her skin. It was a bit harder than the paddle, but she still loved it and couldn't help the little pool of wetness forming in her panties. She moaned softy and looked up at him." I don't expect anything less Sir." She said with a moan as he continued to spank her "Need to teach you a lesson more often obviously," he said with a laugh, suddenly stopping when his mobile phone buzzed." I'm afraid my family requires me," he said, helping her up. "I forgot there's a party for my nephew this evening." Nikki nodded as she stood up and straightened her skirt. She gave a nod to Sam and turned." Have fun." She said as she left his office and went home. He found himself suddenly busy the next morning, letting out a sigh as he saw the pile of papers in front of him when he first arrived in his office." Do not disturb unless it's absolutely necessary," the sign he posted on his office door read. Nikki sighed as she went over the account report for the fifth time. Everyone she asked didn't have time to help her, not even Sam's secretary. She walked up to Sam's office door and noticed the sign on the door. She sighed and walked back to her desk, opting to email him instead. Sir, I'm having trouble with one of the account reports. May I run it to your office for some advice? NicoleShe sighed as she set the report aside and worked on another one, finishing it quickly. During a brief respite in his pile of papers he saw the email from her, almost feeling relieved to see something to distract him from the workload." Of course," he said in his reply email. "I'm going to go mad if I don't have some kind of break today." Nikki smiled as she read his email. She gathered the report and typed a quick reply to him. Be there in a minute She walked up to his door and knocked. "Come in," he called out. "The door's not locked." He had one folder open across his knees, two more sat open upon the desk and various paper scattered around it. His desk was so full his inbox and outbox were sat on the floor instead. Nikki walked into the office with a smile as she looked around. She noticed all the papers scattered everywhere." Do you need help Sir?" She asked softly as she walked up to his desk "If you know how to tell clients to not all ask me to update their files at once sure," he said with a laugh. "Too many demands all at once, I don't know why they're suddenly so needy."" I can't even find my cup of tea," he said with a sigh, trying to search the desk for a sign, fruitlessly. "I will find a way somehow." Nikki said as she smiled at him. She looked around the room and spotted his tea on another table. She went over and picked it up before placing it in front of him." Here you are Sir." She said with a smile as she bent down a little, accidentally knocking some paper over, "I am so sorry!" She hurried to pick up the papers. "No worries," he said with a laugh. "I've knocked files over about four times today, my 5-year-old nephew makes less of a mess than this." He inwardly hoped she didn't think he wasn't interested, but his head was so under stress he hadn't even thought of anything other than working. Nikki stacked the papers neatly in front of him and smiled as she began to straighten up another pile, purposefully brushing against his arm with her breast as she pretended not to notice. She finished that pile and moved to the next." Do you need any help? Other than this account report I don't have anything else to do today. I already finished up the others." She said with a smile. "You sure about that?" he said as he took a sip from his coffee. "This isn't exactly the most exciting job you'll do at this office." He sighed slightly as he took another look at the papers around him still." Maybe I should order lunch while we're doing this so we can just eat in here." Nikki nodded with a smile as she put the report she was holding on another table that was clear. She pulled up a chair next to him and looked at the papers." I'm sure. You don't need to do this all by yourself. You'll be here for hours straightening this all up if you do it alone. I bet together we can get it done in two or three hours at most." She said as she looked at him, "What were you thinking for lunch? I'm allergic to shellfish just so you know." "I'm the only member of my family who can't bear fish," he said with a chuckle. "You're in no danger of eating shellfish when I'm ordering." As he moved another pile of papers he noticed a photo he forgot had been on his desk. It was of him and a small, fair-haired boy." My nephew Has," he said, showing her the picture. "When we took this picture he insisted I keep it on my desk every day." "He's adorable." Nikki said with a smile as she looked at it, "How old is he?" She took the photo and set it on the left side of his desk, making sure it was far enough from the edge that it wouldn't fall. "You're better at organizing my desk than I am," he said with a laugh. "And I've been doing this job longer than I like to think."" Chas?" he asked, feeling embarrassed he had to remind himself rather than having his nephew's age memorized. "He's ten now, he was six when that was taken." Nikki smiled and blushed at his compliment, "Thank you, Sir." She smiled at him as he mentioned the boy's age, "He looks a lot like you." She leaned over to another stack, accidentally brushing him with her ass as she bent down further to pick up the papers that fell." Sorry about that." She said with a smile as she continued to pick up the papers, taking her time. "Don't tell my sister that," he said, laughing. "People used to tease her her husband looked like my doppelganger, and she would joke why would she want an ugly mug like mine in bed with her." He landed a playful smack on her ass." You're lucky my other nephew's party last night put me in such a good mood that even never ending paperwork can't ruin it today." "If I ever meet her my lips are sealed." Nikki giggled. She let out a soft moan and bit her lip seductively when he smacked her ass"I'm glad." She said softly "Amazing what my younger relatives will do," he said with a smile. "It takes them about five minutes to kill the serious tone at any party." Suddenly the phone rang, although he only waited a few minutes before hanging up." I remember when I used to think I wouldn't get automated calls while I was in the office, thought I was safe here." Nikki smiled, "I get them at my desk too Sir." She finished straightening up the area she was working on and stood up, "Is that all Sir?" She accidentally knocked over another pile and bent down to pick it up, rubbing his leg with her ass in the process." I am so sorry." She said with a smile. "One day I'm going to figure out how to block the number of people who are trying to hide their phone number." He landed a hard smack across her ass." I think you'd better come back here at the end of the day for a conversation young lady." Nikki gasped softly as he smacked her ass as she finished straightening up the desk. She turned and nodded at him with a small smile." I get off at 6:00 tonight." She said as she gave him a nod, "I'll return to my desk now." She walked out of his office and back to her desk, hissing softly as she sat down. He'd been about to sit down and relax for the rest of the day when his computer beeped, informing him he had a new email." I know they say no rest for the wicked," he muttered to himself. "But today has been ridiculous, I can't have been that bad." Nikki sighed as she began to work. She finished the report that she had trouble with finally and sighed again in relief as she submitted it to the stack of reports for her boss to look over." Nichole. Take this to Mr. S's office please." A woman said as she handed Nikki a stack of reports." Right away." Nikki said as she took the stack and went to his office, knocking on the door. He had just finished the last of what seemed like about a hundred different phone calls when he heard the knock." Come in," he called out. "I never thought I'd be as glad for interruptions as I am today. Nikki walked in and set the reports on the desk with a smile." I'm sorry to bombard you with more work Sir. I feel terrible but Ms. BIX insisted that these get signed as soon as possible." Nikki said as she walked behind him, "If you'll permit me Sir, I can rub your neck and back for you to help release the tension in your body." "Hamm, I might have to have a word with Ms BIX at some point," he said, laughing slightly." Part of me thinks it wouldn't be professional," he replied. "But with all the stress I've had I'd quite happily have a massage right now thank you." Nikki began to rub his shoulders, kneading his muscles with just the right amount of pressure as she worked." Well with the door shut, no one but us will know." Nikki said with a laugh. He couldn't help letting out a slight pleasurable moan as he relaxed as the massage went on." I may be being overly cautious, but I'd rather not risk anyone complaining I'm showing favoritism." "They can't prove it." Nikki said as she leaned down and put her lips to his ear, "I'd like to see them try to." Her hands found their way into his shirt and down his muscular chest, kneading his flesh softly as she pressed her chest against the back of his head. "Good point," he replied. "I made sure not to put cameras all over the office so it didn't seem like I was spying on people while they worked." His moaning got slightly louder, although he tempered it knowing there was someone sat the other side of the office door." You're making me want your ass," he growled quietly to her. "And I'm not talking about spanking." Nikki smiled as she kissed his cheek, her hands sliding up and down his chest, her thumbs rubbing his nipples as she continued to massage him, running her hands from his neck down his shoulders, over his chest and down to his stomach." I've noticed you staring at me since I started the other day." She whispered, her breath hot on his ear, "You haven't been able to keep your eyes off of me. Would it help you to know that I'm a virgin?" "It's making me want to bend you over and take that ass of yours even more," he replied. "I might need to bend you over my desk at home." With one quick movement he pulled her over his knee, baring her ass and beginning to spank her hard." Do you want me in your ass?" Nikki smiled and kissed the tip of his ear, "Bend me over and slide your cock into my tight ass and maybe my virgin pussy?" She moaned as he spanked her ass, loving how his hand stung her skin"Yes. I want you in any of my holes you want to be in." She purred with a smile. "You can come home with me this evening, then we can have some proper privacy." He stopped spanking and slid a finger into her ass, beginning to move it in and out when his phone buzzed from a new email." We'll just have to continue this later," he said, helping her stand up. "You'd better get back to work while I deal with this." Nikki moaned as he slid his finger into her ass and smiled up at him. When his phone went off, she sighed softly and straightened her skirt as he helped her stand up." I will be here." Nikki said as she walked out of his office and back to her desk, resuming her work. He found himself distracted from work for the rest of the day, occasionally glancing at the clock on his wall in frustration that the day wasn't ending any quicker." I can't believe even this is getting me in the mood for her," he thought, laughing to himself, as he paddled the secretary just before the end of the day. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew she might walk in on the scene. Nikki finished her work and smiled as she walked to his office. She heard what sounded like him spanking someone as she knocked on the door. She waited patiently for him to answer. "Come in," he called. "I'm nearly finished, it's not like I've got anything to hide." As he finished, and she stood up he couldn't help hoping she felt slightly jealous, even if he wasn't sure why he hoped the girl on the other side would be jealous. Nikki walked in and gave the other woman a nod as she looked at Sam." You wanted to see me Sir?" She asked with a smile. He finally loosened his tie, feeling relieved that he could relax now the day was ending." Do you fancy coming back to mine?" he asked. "Like I said, it'd be nice to have some privacy without the potential interruptions." "I would be delighted to accompany you Sir." Nikki said with a smile as the other woman left the office. "I should warn you'll be being bent over first chance I get," he said, walking over to her and pulling her into a kiss. "Luckily I find the sight of you bent over rather sexy." Nikki kissed him back and smiled, "Good. I like being bent over for you Sir." He led her down to the car park of the building, where his blue Subaru was parked waiting for him, opening the door for her." Cos I feel I should be honest I'm going to tell you something," he said. "I'm not in a relationship but me and Elle, the secretary, have occasionally had sex. Obviously, cos I'm assuming you'd rather have me all to yourself, I'll end it immediately." Nikki smiled as she watched him get into the Subaru. When he was in the car, she squeezed his hand gently." You can do whatever you want." She said softly, "I don't mind." "I just thought you might not like the thought of anyone else's ass getting the same attention as yours," he said, returning the squeeze before setting off. Halfway through their journey he had a sudden urge he couldn't resist. He took one of her hands, slipping it into his pants where his cock was already aroused." That's just from thinking of taking that sexy ass of yours," he said, moaning slightly at the feel of her hand on it. "Just imagine how my ass is going to feel around it instead of my hand." She said with a slight purr as she began to stroke his cock, rubbing the head of it with her thumb. "If you want it in your mouth I won't stop you," he said with a loud moan, trying to focus on getting them home. "Not sure in this mood I can wait till we're in the door." Nikki slid his cock out of his pants and leaned down, taking it into her mouth. She ran her tongue around the tip of it slowly as she sucked him past her throat He could see the first signs of them nearing his house as he felt his orgasm nearing, in fact turning into the street as he let out a loud moan, coming repeatedly into her mouth." That's better than I've had...well, ever," he said between breaths. Nikki swallowed all of his cum and licked him clean before sitting up and licking her lips with a smile." I'm glad I could please you." She said with a wink. "I think you've hardly started," he growled back. As they pulled up to the house he led her inside, pulling her over to the nearest table, baring her ass before dropping his own pants, pushing inside her ass suddenly." Do you want me to be rough or gentle?" he asked as he began moving inside her. Nikki gasped as he thrust his cock inside her ass and pushed back against him with a moan as she looked over her shoulder at him." Rough. I like it really rough." She said seductively "You don't have to ask twice," he growled, beginning to thrust harder, spanking her as he did so." Is this as good as you hoped," he said between pants, pulling her hair gently as he continued. "Oh yes!" She cried out as her ass stretched around his thick cock as he spanked her and thrust into her harder, "Don't hold back. Fuck my ass really rough and hard." It didn't take too long for him to come, but instead of stopping he kept going, this time moving her towards him and then pushing her away slightly." God, I want to do this every chance I can," he said, his breathing becoming more rapid. Nikki screamed in pleasure as he filled her ass with his cum, her own juices running down her legs as she used a finger to play with her clit as he fucked her. She moaned and gasped with each of his movements." I'm all yours." She said with a moan. This time it took even less time than before, him sliding out slowly as his orgasm finally ended, collapsing into a nearby chair." Do you want a coffee or something?" he asked as his breathing slowly returned to normal. Nikki collapsed onto the floor next to him and nodded." Sounds good." She said with a smile He headed towards the kitchen, the door to which wasn't that far across the room from the chair, starting to open the door before he realized he needed to ask questions." Any preferences? Like milk or sugar?" "Sugar please." Nikki said as she smiled at him, He wasn't gone long before returning with two cups of coffee, handing her one and sitting down next to her." I used to have far too much sugar in my coffee and then my doctor told me either give up the sugar or give up the coffee," he said, laughing. Nikki sipped the coffee with a smile as she shifted to look at him." So you're diabetic?" She asked with a smile. "Yeah," he replied. "Was diagnosed when I was studying at college, pulled way too many all-nighters back then, hence my sugar intake." He took a sip from his coffee, smiling at her as he realized he was having a relaxing evening for the first time in a while." I probably picked a bad job to do for someone who needs to avoid stress," he said with a laugh. Nikki nodded and smiled at him, "I know how health problems are. I've had kidney problems for years." She took a sip of her coffee and leaned back a bit." Why did you pick the job if you don't like it?" She asked with a smile. "I never said I didn't like the job," he said with a laugh. "After all, it has certain...perks." He lent over, kissing her gently on the neck." My point was more, in hindsight, it probably wasn't the best choice considering my health issues." She nodded with a smile, "I understand. Sorry for thinking you didn't like your job." When he kissed her neck, Nikki blushed as she felt her nipples begin to tingle just a bit. She sighed softly and leaned into him. "Well I get to look at your ass all day, how could that be a bad job?" he said with a laugh. He rested his head gently on hers, sighing slightly as he relaxed." Do you want to stay the night, or shall I drive you back to yours? I'm happy to do either." Nikki smiled as she ran a hand on his thigh, "I'd like to stay if that's alright with you." "I could always drive to your house and get anything you want," he said. "As long as you tell me where it is I mean," he said with a laugh. Nikki shook her head and pointed to her bag, "I always carry extra stuff with me in case I end up somewhere for a night. Thank you for the offer though." She leaned up and kissed his cheek softly. He pulled her into a kiss, only stopping when he felt the need to take a breath." You often end up in places that aren't your home?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Nikki kissed him back and smiled at him." No not often anymore. My last job was a reporter's assistant, so I learned to pack in case we were gone more than a few hours at a time." She said with a smile. "Ah, that makes sense," he replied, impressed at her former job. "What appealed to you about me then? Your old job sounds infinitely more exciting than here." "I got tired of not being able to come home every night." Nikki said with a smile, "I wanted a change of pace." "If you wanted a nice relaxing job you picked the wrong workplace," he said with a laugh. "Not that I'm trying to get you to leave or anything." "I would never think you're trying to get me to leave." Nikki giggled "Trying to get you in trouble on the other hand," he said with a smirk. "I have far more toys here, feels less weird than just leaving them lying around the office." Nikki blushed and looked at him with a smile." What kind of toys?" She asked with a smirk of her own He kissed her again, even more passionately than before." Think along the lines of Mr Grey but way less creepy," he replied, laughing. "I haven't seen the movie or read the book." Nikki giggled as she kissed him back passionately "Let's just say the paddle is relatively...plain in comparison," he said." Do you want something to eat?" he asked, feeling embarrassed as him stomach rumbled loudly. Nikki nodded, "Sure. What would you like? I can fix it for you." "I don't mind," he replied. "I eat pretty much anything. Well, anything within reason anyway, things which might kill me I tend to steer clear of." "Steak and mixed vegetables with fried potatoes sound okay?" Nikki asked as she stood up. "Sure," he said, landing a playful slap on her ass. "Is there anything I can do to help? Don't want to just sit here leaving you to do all the work." Nikki giggled as he slapped her ass and playfully sat on his lap, wiggling a little bit on him before standing back up and walking to the kitchen, "If you want to help with the vegetables, that'll be great." "You want me to grab a knife and start cutting?" he asked. "You're in charge in the kitchen, tell me what to do, and I'll get on with it." "Yes please." Nikki said as she started to prep the steaks, seasoning them lightly with salt and pepper, "Choose which ones you want and when you get them cut I'll add them to a little bit of extra virgin olive oil to cook." "I'll eat almost anything," he said, grabbing one of the knives and laying the vegetables out on the chopping board. "Do you have any preference as to which vegetables we add?" "Not at all. I like all vegetables." Nikki said as she put the steaks in the pan and smiled as they started sizzling. "Maybe just tell me when to stop," he said. "I'm not used to cooking for others, so I can't promise I'll know when to stop making food." "Just chop up two carrots, two celery sticks, 4 medium potatoes, and we should be good." Nikki said as she leaned over and kissed him, "Unless you want more." "I'm good with that," he said as he set about cutting them up. "Anything else you want me to do when I'm done with this?" "Spank me?" She teased with a smile as she looked at him, "How do you like your steak?" "Careful, I might take you up on that suggestion," he said, smacking her ass hard. "Anything other than raw I'm happy to eat, I know that makes me a little weird." Nikki gasped and giggled as he smacked her ass, "Well they're almost well done. I'll take them off and let them rest on a plate for about half an hour so all the juices can absorb." She plated the steaks and left them on the counter as she added the vegetables, "In a bit we can eat. What do you want to do in the meantime?" "Looks fantastic," he said, examining the plates. "A lot better than my own cooking efforts for certain."" I could show you some of my toys," he replied. "Even if you don't have time to try them right now." "We have at least an hour." She said as she teasingly ran her finger over his bottom lip with one hand and cupped his erection with the other, "Show me what you can do big boy." "An hour eh?" he asked, landing a hard smack on her ass. "I should warn you when I'm done you might not want to sit down for a while, I can be very...firm," he said with a smirk. "I don't mind." Nikki purred as she kissed him, giggling as he smacked her ass "Don't say I didn't warn you," he said, leading her upstairs to the other end of the house, where there was a door marked 'Private Office'. He opened the door, flicking a light switch which revealed what lay beyond it. While a large bed dominated the room, around it were shelves adorned with canes, straps, whips and other items, a large pole to one side had a pair of handcuffs attached. "If you have the sudden urge to go home I won't be offended." Nikki gasped and smiled as she walked inside the room and turned to look at everything. She saw Sam looking at her and backed into the pole, raising her hands to the handcuffs as she moved her hips seductively." Do your worst to me or are you afraid?" She challenged with a grin. He secured her to the post, pulling her her skirt and knickers down and landing five hard smacks on her ass before bending down and kissing it. He walked over to one of the shelves and picked up a whip before walking over." Don't say I didn't warn you," he said, landing a blow on her ass before delivering another to her back. Nikki gasped and moaned when he spanked her and kissed her ass. When the whip landed on her ass and back she cried out softly but kept her cool as she looked at him seductively." Don't stop on the account of me crying out." She teased The whip rose and fell, alternating between her ass and back, beginning to leave stripes behind." Do you want me to be more rough?" Nikki cried out with each blow of the whip. She felt her pussy begin to heat up and her juices run down her legs as she looked at him." Do what you want." She challenged, "Be as rough as you want. I can take it." "What I want?" he said, raising an eyebrow. He walked over, moving her top so that her back was exposed. He stopped to kiss the marks that were already there." I might have to take your ass again after this," he said as he went back to using the whip. "Do it!" She cried, "Fuck me until you can't anymore! I am yours to use how you want! I submit to you!" He put the whip down and stripped, not even moving her from the pole before sliding inside her ass. He started thrusting hard." I think you're going to be in here a lot," he growled into her ear. Nikki cried out as he slid into her. She pushed back into him as best as she could. When he growled into her ear, she felt her pussy throb even more and moaned." Good." She whispered, "Now fuck my ass like you're taking it for your own." He set about fucking her hard, already feeling his orgasm building again as he nibbled at her neck playfully." I think your ass is mine already," he said. "It's got the marks to prove it after all." Nikki moaned and gasped, the restraints keeping her from moving back against him the way she wanted to. She felt her pussy drip down her legs, she ached to touch herself and pulled on the handcuffs as she continued to gasp and moan." I'm not so sure if I'm convinced." She challenged again, eyeing a set of nipple clamps on a table, "Prove to me that I'm yours." He pulled her close to him as he came hard inside her over and over again, kissing her neck as he did so." What do you suggest would prove it?" he whispered in her ear. Nikki screamed as he came inside her. His hot cum felt so good inside her ass. When he whispered into her ear she smiled." Nipple torture?" She suggested softly, "Are those clamps electrified?" "I'd prefer to worship your body with my mouth frankly," he said. "Your skin feels so good I'm not sure if I can stop kissing it." He reached up, undoing the handcuffs and turning her around so he could pull her into a deep and passionate kiss, his hands running up and down her body as he did. Nikki wrapped her arms around his neck, returning his kiss passionately, nipping his lower lip playfully as she pushed herself against him. Her pussy throbbing and wanting attention. She slowly slid her hands down his back, scratching lightly." Do whatever you want." She said breathlessly. He was about to go further when he felt a sudden dizzy spell coming on, having to steady himself against the wall of the room." Damnit, been enjoying this so much I forgot my injection," he said, rubbing his forehead. "I'm sorry, I've ruined the moment.

A different kind of workplace (for Lord Bane and Nyela)|rating:2.0

MAID_ [Service in Sapporo] {OOC}

This game is always recruiting! Please PM me if you are interested, and I'll set you up! This is the IOC for MAID! And yes, I will totally think of a proper title at some point; I'm terrible with titles. I'm thinking “Service in Sapporo,” but if your awesome players have another idea, I'm willing to go with it. If there are enough suggestions, I'll make a poll where we can vote. No one objected, so "Service in Sapporo" it is! Links You'll Need Recruitment thread (Our recruitment thread. Link subject to change if the game stays around long enough, and we need new people, as the old recruitment thread is getting a little large. Character Sheet Thread (Please post your character sheet here. Second post of the CS thread will be reserved for noting updates to the thread, including when characters are inactive or retired from the game. Third post will have the mistress' stats. I will look over every sheet, and if I see any issues, I will PM you. The IC! (Post In-Character responses here! I will include information you need to know that is handier to see in the game thread via spoilers. If you need to make a roll, make sure to include my dice bot ID (in the second post) and put your roll and what it is in an IOC spoiler. The second post of this IOC will be reserved formed System Rules + additional IC rules, Game InformationandImportant Game Updates. But for now banter freely; I'll be working on information in the second post, so watch closely for updates! You will need to use the Illiquid Dice Bot to make rolls for this game, located at the top of your screen. Make sure in the "Send To" box that you put in my Dice Bot ID of 42233. When you roll, please include the following information in the Comment box:Your Character Name, What Attribute You Are Rolling. MAID System Rules What Do Those Attributes Even Mean, Anyway? Athletics: This attribute measures your physical and combat ability. Low scores here might mean you aren't the strongest person, and fighting or roughhousing might not be your thing. Affection: This is pretty much like Charisma, for all of you familiar with Damp;D. It's a statistic you roll when trying to form bonds with other characters, trying to persuade them or seduce them (well, if you're trying to appeal to them genuinely on an emotional level). Skill: This is how good you are at being a maid, how good you are at your job. A low stat here might mean trouble... ;Cunning: Trickery and deception! Subterfuge! How good your maid is at being a "rogue" in general. This statistic can also be used for seduction, if you're trying to manipulate someone. Luck: Exactly what it says. Just how lucky are you? Will: Your resolve! Can you persevere through tough times? This influences Stress! (More on that later!) Making basic rolls in MAID Pretty much to do anything, you roll 1d6, a six-sided dice, and multiply the result by the attribute you are using in a particular situation. Example: If I'm making an Affection roll, and I have a 2 in Affection, I roll a 1d6. Let's say I rolled a 4. I multiply 4 by my 2 in Affection to get an 8! Usually the GM decides on a target number, which the roll has to exceed in order to be successful, but in the case of opposed actions (where two characters are directly opposing each other), refer to the Combat rules, below. If the group finds it appropriate, a player can decide which attribute gets used for his maid’s action. Maneuvering in a situation in order to use your better attributes instead of the weaker ones is an important part of the game. Maids with an attribute at 0 can't succeed in tasks that require that attribute. They should endeavor to either work with other maids or think of tricky and interesting ways they can use other attributes to succeed. Maybe instead of working, if your character has a low skill, you might seduce someone into doing that awful work for you.... Example Continued: Here are the difficulties, so you can get an idea. Let's look at that example roll again. I got an 8 total on that Affection roll, didn't I? Looks like an 8 isn't too shabby, not too shabby at all; it's something within the range a pro might pull off. :-)Difficulty Number4-66-88-1010+Effect Minimum for most basic tasks. Difficult for noobs, easy for a proceed to be an expert to pull this off! Even a master would struggle at this difficulty. CombatCombat happens when two (or more) players oppose each other or are competing. This covers anything from magic to swords, but it can include social opposition as well (like seduction!). Depending on the situation, the GM will either decide what statistic is most appropriate for your attack (or will accept a player suggestion, should it fit the situation). Actions in combat are simultaneous, no matter how many individuals are participating. The attack power of an action is 1d6 multiplies by the relevant attribute. To defend, a maid selects an attribute to oppose the attacker and calculates it up the same way one would an attack. Whoever's action has the highest attack power wings that round. The person who loses takes psychological harm in the form of Stress. The one who lost takes stress equal to the attacker's attack power divided by the attribute they used to defend against the attack. Should the defender's relevant attribute be at a zero, they take full Stress from the attack. If both combatants roll the same, then it is a stalemate, and neither side will take any Stress. When several characters work together, whether attacking or defending, their respective Attack Powers are added together. If a group acting together is taking Stress, one member of the group will take all the Stress points. Example:Mayo wants to beat up Yugo, a maid she has a rivalry with. She decides that Athletics is definitely the best statistic to use for this, so she pulls out her handy-dandy skillet to try to smack the annoying Yugo in the face. She makes an Attack roll and gets a 3. Well, Mayo is pretty athletic; she has a 3 in Athletics, so 3*3=9. Her result is 9. Yugo wants to run away from Mayo, so she rolls an Athletics to oppose. She rolls and gets a 1, which is terrible, as her Athletics score is only a 2. 1*2=2, so Yugo has lost this round to Mayo! She takes stress equal to the value of Mayo's attack (9) divided by the attribute she tried to defend with (2). Round down! So she took 4 Stress points from that! Wham, clang, smack! Mayo's skillet claims another victim as she mercilessly beats the crud out of her rival, who just can't seem to run away fast enough! Stress and Stress Explosions When a maid takes Stress, note it down next to her Spirit rating. If a maid has more Stress than her Spirit score, she will have a Stress Explosion. If you really don’t want to have a Stress Explosion, you can opt to do whatever the opponent wants, and thereby not take any Stress. When this happens, the maid stay's under player control but can only do things that fall within the character’s Stress Explosion. However, as long as it falls within the Stress Explosion, anything goes. Each IC post spent in this state removes two points of Stress, until the maid finally gets down to 0 Stress. The player whose character took damage should take care of keeping track of time, with the process verified by the GM. FavorFavor shows how pleased the Mistress is with a maid. Favor points are handed out at GM discretion. In particular, points of Favor should go to maids who work hard to serve, assist, or rescue their master. Favor can be spent like this:Usage Removing Stress Raising Attributes Roll Bonus Random Event Cost and Effect Spend 1 Favor to remove 1 Stress! To raise an attribute by 1, spend a number of Favor points equal to the new attribute level desired, times 10. You can spend 1d6 Favor to add +1 to either the die roll or your attribute score for a single action. By spending 1d6 Favor, you can trigger a random event! Maids whose Favor drop below 0 is dismissed by the master or the household. To avoid getting fired from the job, maids can lower an attribute by one point, gaining 10 times the new attribute level in Favor (e.g., lowering Athletics from 3 to 2 provides 20 Favor), until at 0 or more Favor. Maid Powers Maid powers are randomly rolled at character creation. A power is a special ability usable only by a maid with that ability listed. Each maid only has one such ability. Listed here are the maid powers. Maid powers are used at the discretion of the player. I, the GM, will not tell you when to use your character's maid powers. Some of them have a condition to fulfill (paying Stress, Favor, some requiring to be Red out, etc. that must be fulfilled. If you do not fulfill the condition, you may not use the power. If a power mentions that it must be role-played, you must have an IC post that describes your character's action and your intent when you make the roll. Some powers are situational, allotting bonuses to a statistic when doing a certain action (like attacking or cooking, etc.). If you are not in that situation, you do not get the bonus. Some of them are usable without a cost or situation, but are item dependent; if you do not have the relevant item to use your power, you cannot use it (can't use 4-D Dress when naked, for example!). Athletic Powers Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide Super Evasion In exchange for 1d6 Stress, you can completely avoid a single attack. Iron Wall You can use your Athletics attribute to defend up to two other characters. TrespassYou can take 1d6 Stress to intrude on a battle, love scene, etc. You can also butt in after the action has ended, and this can even work when someone is using World For Two. Weapon From Nowhere You can pull your weapon out seemingly from nowhere, and get in a surprise attack. If you make a surprise attack, you get to make an attack roll without the target getting to make an opposed roll. Giant Weapon You can attack with a giant weapon. (+1 to Athletics for attacking). Ultimate Retort You can blow off an opponent completely by delivering a good retort (GM decides). You can make it impossible to defend against this by taking 2 Stress. (This must be roleplayed). Affection Powers Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide Maiden’s Tears By taking 2D6 Stress, you can make a request that can’t be refused. (This must be roleplayed). World for Toby taking 1d6 Stress, you can create a “world” for you and one other person, where for 5 minutes no one else can intrude. Power of Friendship You can take 1d6 Stress in order to remove 2d6 Stress from someone else. Cooked With Love When someone eats food you’ve prepared, they lose 1d6 Stress. Windows of the Soul You understand the master’s feelings better than anyone, and can offer careful help. (Add 2 to Favor gained). Passionate Gaze With just a glance, you can ingratiate yourself with the master, taking 1d6 Stress to gain 1d3 Favor. Skill Powers Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide Lock Picking You can enter any room whenever you feel like. This works even when someone is using World for Two. (I will require an opposed check for this, to not make one power on this list at the whim of another). Stalking When you’re following someone, there’s no chance for them to detect you. Don’t even bother rolling dice. Lie Detector By taking 1 Stress you can make other players or the master admit if they’ve lied. Ultimate Menu Add +1 to your Skill for the purposes of cooking. Instant Cleaning Add +1 to your Skill for the purposes of doing cleaning.4-D Dress You can produce anything in the mansion from within your maid uniform. (Please try to keep this somewhat sane. This is a power that can easily be abused. You cannot produce items you don't know are in the mansion, and you cannot produce anything outside the bounds of what you can carry)Cunning Powers Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide Punishment When other maids make mistakes, you can gain the right to punish them, without them having a chance to make an opposed roll. Instant Restraint If you win a roll of Cunning Vs. Athletics, you can restrain someone from doing something indecent. Coercion If you win a roll of Cunning Vs. Athletics, you can completely damage or tear off someone’s clothes, even “accidentally”. Trap Even if you aren’t there at the time, you can have a trap prepared in advance during a battle. Fake Crying You can use fake frying to use your Cunning for what would normally be an Affection roll. (This must be roleplayed). Mockery When someone is taking Stress points, you can mock them and cause them to gain an additional 2 Stress points. (This must be role-played). Luck Powers Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide Karma You can use your Luck to dodge an attack, and if you roll a 10 or higher you cause twice as much Stress to the opponent. Saw It You can declare that you’ve seen something happening in the mansion; you can decide the timing too. (Be careful here; this power is subject to abuse. DO NOT use this power to god-mod. Make sure what you are suggesting is okay with the players you choose to "see" with this power! Abuse of this power will get you kicked out of the game!!! Teleport You can go just about anywhere in the mansion instantly. Escape You can completely flee from a battle without taking any Stress. Foreboding You can tell when something dangerous is coming. (Exception to the rule: The GM will tell you if your character is in danger. If you have this power consult with the GM in regard to how you would like to see it in play)Chance Meeting By taking 2 points of Stress, you can have an NPC that’s just showing up for the first time be an acquaintance from some time before. Will Powers Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide Immune to Pain During a battle, even if you’re sent flying, you don’t take any Stress. Outside of battle, however, you can still take Stress points like usual. Crisis Adrenaline You can spend 1d6 points of Favor to add an Athletics roll to your Stress. You cannot use this to deliberately avoid the natural removal of Stress points. Persistence Whenever you take Stress, automatically reduce the amount by 1 point. Tenacity Even after being defeated in battle, you can take 2 Stress to get to your feet. Hard Work Your relentless hard work pays off in the form of a +3 bonuses to the end result (not the attribute or die roll) of Skill rolls. Absolute Maid You are the very epitome of a maid, and you take no penalties when not in full uniform. Rolling Random Events Random Events:Random events can be added to the game by rolling on the random table below. Both the GM and the players can cause random events to occur. When a player wants a random event, he declares this intention to the GM. The player then spends 1D6 Favor and rolls on the appropriate table, and the GM puts the result into the game. The GM can opt to let the player define the specifics of the random event, or just come up with something herself. If the players prefer to come up with the specifics, the GM will PM the results of the random event roll to them. The event should center around the maid whose player caused it, though if the GM decides to have a random event the master will choose a maid to be its target. There are no requirements for when a random event can be brought into play, and they can be used to catapult the game past an impasse. Lt;-- That is what the rule book says, but I'm modifying it for this forum. I really had to think this one over. Since we have so many players, each player may ask to trigger a random event up to every two weeks. If people could trigger the more often, I suspect there would be confusion on a grand scale. If too many random events are in play at the same time, things can become very confusing or simply too chaotic. This is especially true when one random event is triggered when the previous one has not been fully resolved yet. I had to think about the item in red here as well, which delayed me finishing putting these rules in. Up to two random events can be in play at a time during this game. Before another can be triggered, one of the two actives will need to be resolved. I will keep a running tally in the second post of the IOC about which events are running, if any. In this case, the GM can temporarily remove that option from the game, if events conflict too much. If the GM doesn’t have any particular scenario planned out, these random events can be used to come up with something on the fly. The entries on the random even table don’t go into any detail, so it’s up to the GM (or in some cases, the players!) to appropriately flesh them out. I will not be posting the entire table. You roll 1d66 (two d6s, telling me what each six was that you rolled) in order. Depending on what mood the story is in, the GM will decide if you rolled on the Modern or Fantasy table (right now, "Space" is off-limits, so we're not using that at the moment). Other IOC and IC Rules Read before posting in the IC.IOC Rules* Respect the On's/Offs of the other players. It is your responsibility to read a fellow player's O/Os before starting an erotic scene in this game with them.* Ask other players before starting sexy scenes with them, in particular if you would like to write a non-con scene. Ask them here in the IOC, please.* If you have an issue with another player, keep it out of the game. If it is something you need addressed, please PM me (or if it's a serious rules-based E issue, a Staffer).* No poking. Please read the section called "Just stop the poking" in this thread. (Rules IC* Minimum post rate will be twice a week. These do not need to be giant novel-sized posts. Just post whatever you feel seems about right for the flow of the game. I suggest maybe one small paragraph or so--MAID is meant to be more of a light game rather than something heavy. Please post in the IOC if you cannot post the minimum. This would help other players avoid getting stuck in a scene.* Please include the following code with every IC post:Name:Location:Tagged:Code for those who need it! Code: [Select][b]Name:[/b][b]Location:[/b][b]Tagged:[/b]Game Information Beginning Info From the Recruitment thread few things to note: * The game is friendly to LGBTQ characters! (and pansexual, demisexual, sapiosexual, etc.!. And yes, of course, heterosexual characters!)* It will be at least a month before I start this game. This means this RP is going to begin sometime in December, probably around the middle or end of the month then* This is a system game. You will need a copy of the MAID rule book to play, most likely, or will at least need to be familiar with the rules (or very willing to learn!).* I will be Ring as the Master Mistress of the household. * The game will use the rules variant that allows a butler character! You will need to get my approval before playing as a butler.* The setting will be modern and have sci-fi/fantasy elements.* This will be very sandbox-y--but sometimes I will have the Master offer an optional task or mission, so stats will still be important!* While I love people randomly rolling their characters, I'm not making that a requirement. There will be a basic CS I'll post below.* I will allow each player to have up to 2 characters. Fun Facts About Sapporo, Even Though The Game Will Mostly Take Place In The Mansion Or Nearby* It's home to the Sapporo Breweries Limited, and they make a world-famous beer. ’D* Sapporo hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics, the first ever held in Asia.* Sapporo has a Yuki Mature, an annual Snow Festival, which is very popular with tourists. It's held for seven days in February; Odor Park, Sustain, and Some are the main sites of the festival! An International Snow Sculpture Contest has been held at the Odor Park site since 1974.* They have famous white chocolate biscuits called shirt kibitz. It's also the birthplace of miss ramen, and it's known as Sapporo Ramen more often than not. They also have a lamb barbecue dish called jingisukan. It's known for Backup, a type of edible honeysuckle similar to blueberries. Sapporo is also known fresh seafood such as sea urchin, salmon, and crab!* The Sapporo Concert Hall Kitara is the main musical venue in Sapporo, located in Natalia Park in Chuck. It is home to the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra!* Sapporo is home to the Sapporo Clock Tower (Sapporo Tokamak), a popular tourist attraction. It's a clock tower built with Western architecture, and it's a popular tourist spot.* It's home to Hokkaido University, which is north of Sapporo Station. Furthermore, it's one of the top seven universities in Japan, one of the National Seven Universities, which were established as the best national higher education or research institutes! Typical Climate of Sapporo:Sapporo has a humid continental climate, and there is a wide range in temps between summer and winter. Summers are generally warm but not humid, and winters very cold and rather snowy. It is one of the few metropolises with a heavy enough snowfall to warrant its own snow festival. This RP will start during the Winter in December. The Mansion Marthe MAID Mansion:(you can see, there might not quite be enough bedrooms for everyone! Someone may share the room with the master of the house (this will be upon my approval only), or some maids can choose to have a room-mate! However, the Butler and the Head Maid are permitted their own rooms and do not have to share; the privileges of their station permit this luxury. Please let me know which room on the map you would like, and I will edit the map to contain your character's name in their room of choice! Mansion special qualities....35 Canopied Bed: [Perfect for those moody nights. Maids and head maids get a bonus of +1 to die rolls for actions relating to this bed.]55 Secret Passages: [The mansion is full of secret passages. Roll on the mansion’s encounter table to find out who you run into.] *peeks in* Hey, Persephone! I have a feeling that this game is going to be quite fun!! ^^ Slides in and hides in the IOC Quote from: persephone325 on 02-12-2013, 01:30:22Hello Blythe! I'm glad I'm done with my character! Phew! LolI have a feeling that this game is going to be quite fun!! ^^ It should be pretty awesome; I'm still working on getting rules and setting information up for everyone, and I'll be updating the map over the next day or two. I'm excited that so many people showed interest! Quote from: Ready Angel on 02-12-2013, 02:27:18 Slides in and hides in the IOC*waves to Ready* Hey there, nice to see you in the IOC! Waves at slightly yawning. "Hello, how are you? I will not be around long, long day over here." Slides into the IOC, ducking and sneaking over to a random pillar that I hide behind. Hello everyone. :) Hey everyone. I decided to post here for sake of and what not. I hope you everyone got a chance to view their new head maid. As the Butler is near the Mistress I guess the head Maid should be near the maids. So I guess whichever room is closest to the grouping of maids with Keyed's room. This is definitely starting to shape up to something interesting. Ha. According to how basic rolls work in MAID I am the ultimate master of affection. All will bow to my Affectionateness. Playing Bows. Ah, sorry about the delay in getting info up, everyone. My goal is to have all important IOC and Character Sheet information up by Monday, December 9th! If you have suggestions about anything you would like to see or things you want to poke me to finish, do so here! :-) That's alright, Blythe. Thanks for the heads-up :) Sounds like a plan. Peeks in. All good on starting a touch further on. Been a busier time here of late. In the second post of the character sheet thread, a template has been put up! Please make sure, before posting your character sheet in that thread, that you have included all the information in the template. If possible, please format your sheet to match the template (but frankly, so long as all the info is there, I'm not choosy about how it looks). Mostly the template is there to ensure everyone knows everything to include!EDIT: Jr, since you are the butler, you can just put in your sheet the way you had it. Just include a small section about personality, history, and appearance. Also, had to tweak the sheet! Forgot "Stress Explosion" and "Maid Roots!" Those are now added. If you see something I've forgotten to place on the template, just poke me about it and I'll fix it right away! Currently working on the final touches. :) The template might benefit from a sex/gender field, since we're dealing with a variety in this game. I'll get it added, Jr! Yay! Got mine up. Edit: And whoops, just looked back at my pen and paper scribblings of all of this, and realized I had it down wrong. Fixing. (4 does not divide 11. Durer. Graduate education in mathematics yo.) Quote from: Jr on 07-12-2013, 04:35:11The template might benefit from a sex/gender field, since we're dealing with a variety in this game. Aaand added! If you have filled out a character sheet, and it does not include this field, please edit your sheet to include this. Frost rose: I just got a chance to look over your sheet. While I haven't reviewed all the sheets comprehensively, I highly suggest you re-roll Affection and Will, otherwise you're going to have a seriously hard time in the game. I mean, I can understand maybe a zero in one of those stats (even though that would still be tricky to finagle), but definitely not both. Quote from: Blythe on 07-12-2013, 09:20:16Frost rose: I just got a chance to look over your sheet. While I haven't reviewed all the sheets comprehensively, I highly suggest you re-roll Affection and Will, otherwise you're going to have a seriously hard time in the game. I mean, I can understand maybe a zero in one of those stats (even though that would still be tricky to finagle), but definitely not both. I just expected to have to bereallycareful, and probably drop a stat for favor to build up a buffer there, as this is actually after I rerolled; my previous stat line managed to be even worse. But the second reroll gives 2,0, which isn't too bad I suppose, although my coin flips to lose a power scratches 4-D Dress. Can I voluntarily drop two points of other stats? Luck down to 1 and Skill down to 2 say? Frankly my stats are low enough that a point or two here or there are no worth losing out on the extra power, especially the fluffy one. Quote from: frost rose on 07-12-2013, 18:26:22I just expected to have to be really careful, and probably drop a stat for favor to build up a buffer there, as this is actually after I rerolled; my previous stat line managed to be even worse. But the second reroll gives 2,0, which isn't too bad I suppose, although my coin flips to lose a power scratches 4-D Dress. Can I voluntarily drop two points of other stats? Luck down to 1 and Skill down to 2 say? Frankly my stats are low enough that a point or two here or there are no worth losing out on the extra power, especially the fluffy one. You can choose to drop two points of other stats, if you like, to avoid risking losing the power you like. ^^ Or if you'd like frost I don't know how your stats play out, but why not see about taking two maid types that will give you the bonuses you need? That's kinda what I ended up doing. Quote from: Blythe on 07-12-2013, 18:32:50You can choose to drop two points of other stats, if you like, to avoid risking losing the power you like. ^^ Thanks. I probably wouldn't worry too much about the cooking one, but 4-D Dress fits with the whole summoning angle and also probably has far more chance to be actually useful. Although honestly, I'm not too concerned, and wouldn't mind even keeping the stats as they were originally. I can always drop a stat to gain favor (which effectively solves one zero anyhow), and given that so far the mean sum for the staff\Miami is 14.7 (median 14) the difference between a 7 or 8 or 10 is really just the difference between mediocre and mediocre. It's going to be a tricky game for her no matter what, and I figure writing about her being a relentless fuckup is fun too. Especially in comparison, as given that the average set of stats sums to 12, we have a very competent team here. Quote from: Cessna on 07-12-2013, 19:41:27 Or if you'd like frost I don't know how your stats play out, but why not see about taking two maid types that will give you the bonuses you need? That's kinda what I ended up doing. Honestly I just randomly rolled her maid types. To bring up her zeroes she'd end up being a pure heroine, and thelastmaid I played was one of those — she was fun, but I've kind of grown fond of how Miami's personality has been sketched out so far. Quote from: frost rose on 07-12-2013, 20:06:53 Thanks. I probably wouldn't worry too much about the cooking one, but 4-D Dress fits with the whole summoning angle and also probably has far more chance to be actually useful. Although honestly, I'm not too concerned, and wouldn't mind even keeping the stats as they were originally. I can always drop a stat to gain favor (which effectively solves one zero anyhow), and given that so far the mean sum for the staff\Miami is 14.7 (median 14) the difference between a 7 or 8 or 10 is really just the difference between mediocre and mediocre. It's going to be a tricky game for her no matter what, and I figure writing about her being a relentless fuckup is fun too. Especially in comparison, as given that the average set of stats sums to 12, we have a very competent team here. Hmm mm, good point. If you're okay with the pitfalls of stress/favor trickiness, then do what you most enjoy in regard to playing your maid. Just wanted to give you a chance to avoid what might be a lot of Stress Explosions, etc. But the most important thing is if you're happy with the character. :-) Quote from: frost rose on 07-12-2013, 20:06:53 Thanks. I probably wouldn't worry too much about the cooking one, but 4-D Dress fits with the whole summoning angle and also probably has far more chance to be actually useful. Although honestly, I'm not too concerned, and wouldn't mind even keeping the stats as they were originally. I can always drop a stat to gain favor (which effectively solves one zero anyhow), and given that so far the mean sum for the staff\Miami is 14.7 (median 14) the difference between a 7 or 8 or 10 is really just the difference between mediocre and mediocre. It's going to be a tricky game for her no matter what, and I figure writing about her being a relentless fuckup is fun too. Especially in comparison, as given that the average set of stats sums to 12, we have a very competent team here. Honestly I just randomly rolled her maid types. To bring up her zeroes she'd end up being a pure heroine, and the last maid I played was one of those — she was fun, but I've kind of grown fond of how Miami's personality has been sketched out so far. Fair enough. :-) As I've told plenty of people in the past in the end you have final say over what happens to your character. So long as you have fun playing the character then everything else is just paperwork. ’D I look forward We'll see how it goes. I admit I am a little concerned I'll end up fail-spiraling and end up with 1 or 0 in every stat, but unless we're going very quickly or the favor penalties are really severe that'll (probably) take a while. I yet have 50 favor in stats to burn, after all. But I've gotten a Will 0 three rolls in a row now (the -1 from sexy does not help at all), and in general my dice have, well, I gotone3 in 14 tries. If I had a decent set of rolls otherwise with some massive unexpected awfulness in just those two stats I would go for it, but given my current array it's going to be pretty marginal any way I slice it. Hopefully I don't end up annoying people with how often I stress explode. Is it just me or do I have a strange combination for my character? Iron will/high athletic but is a pro artist.... Tilts head. @frost rose: If things get a bit bothersome when IC posting begins with stress explosions (I'm thinking more along the lines you might get tired of writing them rather than anyone here being annoyed), just PM me and we can discuss stats at any time! :-) As it stands, your character looks like an excellent source of IC hi jinks. D@Jemady: Breaks the mold for what the jock trope is, really. Also, I'll get back to your PM regarding character roots by Monday--I promise! Thank you, Blythe, and I think it makes her rather interesting, just is going to be interesting to play. I kinda see her being on the slightly taller side of the girls because of the athletic thing and well, who doesn't need at least one tall one around the house? XD Quote from: Ready Angel on 08-12-2013, 00:32:03Thank you Blythe, and I think it makes her rather interesting, just is going to be interesting to play. I kinda see her being on the slightly taller side of the girls because of the athletic thing and well, who doesn't need at least one tall one around the house? XD Taller sounds good--always need a tall maid to get to pesky hard-to-reach places! ^^ Update: Combat, Stress/Stress Explosions, and Favor explanations added to this IOC! These three things, along with basic checks, are the big thing needed to play MAID. If you have any questions regarding the info or need clarification (or heck, even to correct me!), please post in the IOC. I will be going over character sheets tomorrow! Things are looking good for a December 9th start date, although I might push it back a day or two more if there is any confusion overrules or any large changes needed for character sheets (or if players just need an extra couple of days). It should be noted that unless a character sheet is posted in the character sheet thread (and also reviewed and approved by me), a player will not be permitted to post in the IC. I will post in the IOC letting individuals know when I'm done looking over their sheets! By the way Blythe, you might want to add the Mistress's sheet up somewhere other than just the recruitment thread now. Yes, I'll get that up today! ^^ I will not be ready if we start tomorrow because I need some clarification with the questions I asked to be able to write her history. Nods head. You'll be getting a message about that some time tonight, Ready, once I finish reviewing sheets. :-) Alright and thank you, I will try to get my profile finished as soon as I get the message! Sheets approved: When the IC goes up, these individuals may post there.*Yugishogun's sheet for Hank.*frost rose's sheet for Miami.*Jr's sheet for Diego.*Cessna's sheet for Keyed.*Ready's sheet for Silvia (will PM you shortly in the next hour, but no one else with the roots you have posted their sheet, so there is no conflict of interest for you yet.)(PMed--finish your history as you see fit!)*Kylie's sheet for Rum.*Mysteries's sheet for Shibuya.EDIT: Map update will happen a bit later tonight! Mistress' personality/history will be finished tonight! I still need a name and background for my character :/Blythe, any ideas on why an angel would go into service as a maid as a form of self-punishment? Quote from: ShadowFox89 on 09-12-2013, 02:45:40 I still need a name and background for my character :/ Blythe, any ideas on why an angel would go into service as a maid as a form of self-punishment? Hmmm, that's a tricky one. I think the best way to go about it is to decide if she has done something wrong that she needs/wants to atone for. Has she ever interfered in something that she was not meant to? Perhaps she has wronged one of the other maids (or the butler, or the mistress even!) and feels a need to punish herself by offering herself, a dignified powerful angel, up for lowly house and drudge work. As for names, well, that's something you might need to pick for yourself; I'm awful with names!EDIT: Okay, moving start date out to Wednesday, December 11th. Gives me more time to fix/spruce up a few things, and it lets me allow people to hammer out final character details. Shadow, I can't remember what image you had offhand... But if you're looking for a Japanese name, here's a random name generator. (click until you get something you like. They are usually realistic sounding names in there. Which is kind of amazing as internet fan sites go. (I haven't looked at the combinations of first and surname or anything particular like that -- I suppose theremightbe a few unlikely combos happening there --- but I don't know what I'm missing when I get to thinking at that level anyway, so it doesn't worry me.) Quote from: Kylie on 10-12-2013, 09:08:51 Shadow, I can't remember what image you had offhand... But if you're looking for a Japanese name, here's a random name generator. (Just click until you get something you like. They are usually realistic sounding names in there. Which is kind of amazing as internet fan sites go. (I haven't looked at the combinations of first and surname or anything particular like that -- I suppose there might be a few unlikely combos happening there --- but I don't know what I'm missing when I get to thinking at that level anyway, so it doesn't worry me.) I usually use: love that site. I would say Persephone's link has a pretty good list of Japanese personal names, though I'm having a bit of trouble using Kylie's, might be my computer. As far as familial names I'm pretty good at fudging those at this point so if I may make a few suggestionsIshimoriItchimotoMoriMorimotoNozawaAizawaMatsuMatsumoriMatsumotoItchizakiIshizakiMiyamotoA couple of those are real names I've heard and a couple I just fudged now. The important thing to remember about fudging Japanese names is that most Japanese names are written using two Kanji characters and that Kanji always end in either a vowel sound or an 'n' sound. So for example anyone who knows what they're talking about will catch your fudge on 'Short' but 'Shikoku' is okay. I hope that helps! :)An alternative to fudging Japanese familial names you could try looking up Japanese celebrities or other famous sorts and use one of their names. Take Miyazaki from Hair Miyazaki for example.Also, I might not be able to join in the game until Thursday, just so you know I've not abandoned ship just yet. I'm having terrible connection issues at home, it's most frustrating. Actually, I just checked the ones I didn't recognize in my dictionary and all of thosecouldbe surnames, provided you didn't mind reducing the itch to CHI in each case. And speaking of that — if anyonedoeshappen to actually want an actual set of kanji to go along with the reading of their name, I'd be happy to find a set of possibilities — there are almost always more than one — as I am a huge nerd and enjoy doing that. (Although it's not uncommon for girls to just use hiragana — it's considered cute.) Okay, I have a small history/personality blurb for the mistress; her sheet is being left a little vague, so I can take into account other maid histories! I did add an On/Off blurb for the mistress as well, for clarity's sake. I also need to update the map. Trying to find where people posted with what rooms they wanted is a bit tricky (had to look at the recruitment thread and got a bit lost)--can anyone that currently does not have a room for their character look at the map as it is an ask for a room? If you had one in mind and already asked, please repost your request here in the IOC. We're nearly there with what we need to begin tomorrow! ’D Diego - Silvia wants the room across from Diego. Wonderful, Blythe. I had requested the second-farthest north maid quarter on the map. Quote from: Ready Angel on 11-12-2013, 03:54:10Daigo - Silvia wants the room across from Diego. Will get you added! Quote from: Yugishogun on 11-12-2013, 03:56:12Wonderful, Blythe. I had requested the second-farthest north maid quarter on the map. I think I had Hank added already--you have the room you requested! ’D Good. :) Silvia is now added to the map, across from Diego! Thank you. Will put up the IC some time tonight! It will be very late when I put it up (I have a lot of company over today, which is cutting into my interest time). When it is up, I will post a link here in the IOC and will update the list of links in the first post! >. Quote from: Blythe on 12-12-2013, 00:39:23Persephone, do you need any help or need someone to bounce ideas off of for a background or history? I think that would be helpful, yes. ^^ Most of the time, I can come up with good histories for my characters. But sometimes I just struggle. Haha. Okay--if you can post what you have of your character sheet in the CS thread, I can look at it with the other sheets, maybe think of some ideas to send your way! :-) Quote from: Blythe on 12-12-2013, 00:48:19Okay--if you can post what you have of your character sheet in the CS thread, I can look at it with the other sheets, maybe think of some ideas to send your way! :-)OK. I'll get it up in the next few minutes. Thank you. :-)EDIT: It's up now. ^^ Will send you a PM! Persephone--your sheet is good to go!IC is up: post is small for the IC, but everyone should have something to do. Anyone who doesn't have a room, please be sure to tell me which one you want here in the IOC! Quote from: Blythe on 12-12-2013, 02:44:37Persephone--your sheet is good to go!IC is up: post is small for the IC, but everyone should have something to do. Anyone who doesn't have a room, please be sure to tell me which one you want here in the IOC! ^^ Cool! Thank you! DOH yeah! Had a question for everyone. Does anyone know what kind of uniform Yuri would be wearing? One of the qualities she has is: "Rather than a Western-style maid uniform, you wear a Japanese-style uniform featuring a kimono and an apron." But I'm not exactly sure what that looks like. Does anyone know? Quote from: persephone325 on 12-12-2013, 02:48:16^^ Cool! Thank you! DOH yeah! Had a question for everyone. Does anyone know what kind of uniform Yuri would be wearing? One of the qualities she has is: "Rather than a Western-style maid uniform, you wear a Japanese-style uniform featuring a kimono and an apron." But I'm not exactly sure what that looks like. Does anyone know? Kappougi "literally" means cooking clothes, and is basically just a kimono with an apron over. You might end up wearing something like:(of those are off of the Google image results for 割烹着 so give a partial flavor at least for the sort of thing usually meant.EDIT: Also, yay IC thread! I hope to get to posting tonight, time willing. Quote from: frost rose on 12-12-2013, 03:15:00Kappougi "literally" means cooking clothes, and is basically just a kimono with an apron over. You might end up wearing something like: (( of those are off of the Google image results for 割烹着 so give a partial flavor at least for the sort of thing usually meant. EDIT: Also, yay IC thread! I hope to get to posting tonight, time willing. Ah. I see. Hmm... I'm not sure if I like her being covered up so much. But I guess I'll just have to deal with it. ^^ Don't despair! Recall I basically stuck in the equivalent of "Business Suit" into google there, since it's something not usually sexualized. After all, this claims that this is a kimono as well:(feel free to imagine things with a considerable bit of... creative variation. ^^ Quote from: frost rose on 12-12-2013, 03:39:38Don't despair! Recall I basically stuck in the equivalent of "Business Suit" into google there, since it's something not usually sexualized. After all, this claims that this is a kimono as well: (feel free to imagine things with a considerable bit of... creative variation. ^^ Ooh! I like those! ^^ I feel better about it now! Haha. XD Yay, the IC is up! I'll get onto my post as soon as possible. :) Yo, Persephone, roll Skill check for me to see if Yuri found the correct issue of the magazine! And Yuri, that looks like a delicious breakfast Hank made--but will it taste as good as it looks? Roll a Skill check for me! Remember, my dice bot ID is 42233! Make sure to put your character's name in the "Character" box, and put down "Skill check" in the "Comment Box!" Let me know when you have made your rolls, if you don't want to post the rolls in the IC! Thank you for reminding me, Blythe. :) I will edit my skill roll into my post in just a second. Quote from: Blythe on 12-12-2013, 04:43:00Yo, Persephone, roll Skill check for me to see if Yuri found the correct issue of the magazine! And Yuri, that looks like a delicious breakfast Hank made--but will it taste as good as it looks? Roll a Skill check for me! Remember, my dice bot ID is 42233! Make sure to put your character's name in the "Character" box, and put down "Skill check" in the "Comment Box!" Let me know when you have made your rolls, if you don't want to post the rolls in the IC! O_o I didn't realise I had to! Haha. My mistake. What am I rolling? Roll added. :) I sent you my roll, Blythe. Quote from: persephone325 on 12-12-2013, 05:17:10O_o I didn't realise I had to! Haha. My mistake. It's okay! Sometimes you'll be prompted for a roll! ^^ Quote from: persephone325 on 12-12-2013, 07:38:01I sent you my roll, Blythe. Quote from: Yugishogun on 12-12-2013, 05:20:19Roll added. :)Will look at them tomorrow and have responses for both of you in the IC! Also, Jr, received PM and replied--if Athletics doesn't work, your ideas for backup rolls are good as well--you had good logic behind those. 8-) Quote from: Blythe on 12-12-2013, 07:55:23It's okay! Sometimes you'll be prompted for a roll! ^^ Will look at them tomorrow and have responses for both of you in the IC! ’D Okey-dokey. ^^ If it turns out she didn't find it, I'll have to edit my post. Maybe make her find some other type of magazine. lol Question though. If a maid performs a task to gain favor, but they muddle it up a bit (or a lot), do they still get favor for it? Say, for example, someone served the Mistress an overcooked breakfast would they still get favor for doing a task? Or, what would happen? Quote from: frost rose on 10-12-2013, 20:14:59Actually, I just checked the ones I didn't recognize in my dictionary and all of those could be surnames, provided you didn't mind reducing the itch to CHI in each case. And speaking of that — if anyone does happen to actually want an actual set of kanji to go along with the reading of their name, I'd be happy to find a set of possibilities — there are almost always more than one — as I am a huge nerd and enjoy doing that. (Although it's not uncommon for girls to just use hiragana — it's considered cute.) I've heard enough Japanese names that I can fudge and fool most but the most well-informed of persons. I was using a pseudonym once and had a Japanese national ask me if I was also, I of course didn't lie about my nationality. But brag arty aside if anyone needs a few suggestions for a familial name feel free to pop a sound you like, and I'll make up a handful of decent sounding names you can choose from if you like. Quote from: persephone325 on 12-12-2013, 08:05:23Question though. If a maid performs a task to gain favor, but they muddle it up a bit (or a lot), do they still get favor for it? Say, for example, someone served the Mistress an overcooked breakfast would they still get favor for doing a task? Or, what would happen? Tasks to gain favor will almost always have a roll associated with them. If you fail that task, you can try a different kind of roll to gain Favor (looking at the stats to think of a good approach helps with reroll--like...say, if you find the wrong issue of a magazine, you might roll Cunning instead to persuade the Mistress that this magazine issue wasmuchbetter to read). If you fail your roll and can't think of a good alternative roll (you can always ask me for ideas, if you need too! :-)), then you would not receive Favor, since the task wouldn't be completed in a way that makes the Mistress happy. If I fail this task, would looking utterly cute while apologizing and promising to do better a proper excuse for a re-roll with affection? I still need a background T_TBA, so busy this week. Quote from: Yugishogun on 13-12-2013, 01:03:37If I fail this task, would looking utterly cute while apologizing and promising to do better a proper excuse for a re-roll with affection? Yup, that would work if you want to charm the Mistress into forgiving you. ^^ Will give roll results tonight for everyone in the IC when I post for the Mistress! Quote from: ShadowFox89 on 13-12-2013, 01:04:19 I still need a background T_T Bah, so busy this week. Need any help brainstorming? And hey, it's no problem. I know you're good for the long run. Game just started anyway, and games like this are really easy to just pop into, even if there are other posts already around. 8-) Quote from: Blythe on 13-12-2013, 01:05:47And hey, it's no problem. I know you're good for the long run. Game just started anyway, and games like this are really easy to just pop into, even if there are other posts already around. 8-)This. One nice thing about a Maid game with more than a few people is that it's really easy to keep it going even if a few people end up withdrawing. They can always be assumed to be doing maid things elsewhere, and things can move on, and then they can show up again randomly if needed! It's all very laid back and loose. Also, thinking about skill rolls! I'm probably going to be doing a fair bit of skinning of Miami's actions as summoning something and having it do things for her, but I figure that'Sonya skin, so I can actually write in her background. I figure that even when it's a minion, their using her skill. Unfortunately for her. Is that all right? And man, first roll and it's a good one. I'm not sure how I feel about that — with how much I was expecting her to go instantly into losing favor I don't know how to deal with her actually doing — maybe — well! Sorry about the wait on a Mistress reply everyone! I have a doctor's appointment + counselor's appointment, so RL has been interfering a bit with consistent posting for me. Will try to have something up when I can. That's perfectly alright, Blythe. Life is important. Heck I didn't even know the game had begun. NO OOO!!! I missed that it had started!! Is it too late to post on the Character thread and join in? Quote from: Cessna on 14-12-2013, 07:06:16 Heck I didn't even know the game had begun. Quote from: catherinehellfire on 14-12-2013, 07:07:23NOOOO!!! I missed that it had started!! Is it too late to post on the Character thread and join in? Not too late to join in! I'm a little behind anyway. Make sure to peruse the links in the first post of this IOC and read the second post. Also, there is a character sheet template in the character sheet thread, catherinehellfire, so make sure to include everything in that template on your sheet when you post it in that thread. :-) It is never too late to join in! Maid is awesome that way — have a new character? Clearly she was just off doing mainly things in another part of the manor. Or you can be added in a SUDDEN TWIST as a new character appears in the middle of episode six!shock! :) I'll have to think of why she didn't respond right away. I got my character sheet up. Can Not Post this weekend. Will step in come Monday. Should I just post whenever then? Quote from: Ready Angel on 14-12-2013, 17:48:11Can Not Post this weekend. Will step in come Monday. No problem! Quote from: catherinehellfire on 14-12-2013, 22:02:41Should I just post whenever then? I need to go over your sheet and approve it before you may post. I will be reviewing the two sheets posted in the CS thread this evening; I'll let you know in the IOC once I've looked it over. Catherine hellfire, please mention your character's sex/gender on your CS (since we have FTA running about, it's helpful to have that). But regardless, you are cleared to post in the IC.MCC: I saw your rough draft--if you need any ideas or help brainstorming, let me know! I am working on an IC post now on behalf of the Mistress, just so everyone knows!IC post is up! If your character earns Favor, you will see it in a spoiler with your character's name! Please remember that Favor is something that fluctuates a lot, so each player should adjust Favor accordingly on their character sheets when they earn or lose Favor. :-) Wonderful. I just completed my reply. :) posted Gender and posted in the IC I leave for the weekend, and I am already lost! What tasks are completed for one, and two - what are the rolls for? >///Quote from: frost rose on 16-12-2013, 06:08:13Shiori's bed still needs to be made, I believe, and you can always do something outside. Otherwise, we're winging it and socializing till the next set of tasks or surprising twist. The actions are for success! It's a d6 times relevant trait — I think Blythe has all the details in one of his early posts in the IOC thread. Quote from: Blythe on 15-12-2013, 05:47:14She slipped away from the bed and said to Yuri, “Please make the bed! After that, please look to the dusting around the house. After that, the day is your own.” It looks like Yuri is being asked to make the bed, so that task is taken. I just don't post on weekends, so I'll be getting a post up this week. Quote from: persephone325 on 16-12-2013, 06:28:25It looks like Yuri is being asked to make the bed, so that task is taken. I just don't post on weekends, so I'll be getting a post up this week. Werps, fail on my part. I think other than miscellaneous yard work that was all thesettasks. Alright then! I will be... getting up and walking out of the room then! Sounds like a great post. . . Quote from: frost rose on 16-12-2013, 06:32:44 Werps, fail on my part. I think other than miscellaneous yard work that was all the set tasks. It's OK. I just wanted to clarify. :P ^^ Quote from: Ready Angel on 16-12-2013, 06:34:28Alright then! I will be... getting up and walking out of the room then! Sounds like a great post. . . ... You know, there's people outside making the yard look pretty for the competition. You can always insert yourself into a conversation or scene with someone. I find that with group games, instead of just waiting for something to happen, you should take the initiative to make something happen yourself. I will see what I can figure out, thank you Persephone, it is my first group game here so I am a little - confused and lost - Ups! Seems I had missed updates on this game! I post my sheet asap. Edit; Hamm, can I get room between Hall and Silvia's bedroom? Quote from: Ready Angel on 16-12-2013, 06:39:03I will see what I can figure out, thank you Persephone, it is my first group game here so I am a little - confused and lost -I'd hazard that having your character go out to help out with the lawn work might be a good way to get her into the game and getting to know other characters! When in doubt, if you aren't sure what to do, just ask here! Also, if you ever have an idea for something you want your character to do but aren't sure how to accomplish it in the IC, just toss it out here in the IOC for some brainstorming! Also, this is your first group game here? *cheers happily* Awesome! Quote from: AER Dark wail on 16-12-2013, 09:15:23Ups! Seems I had missed updates on this game! I post my sheet asap. Edit; Hamm, can I get room between Hall and Silvia's bedroom? Sheet looks good! You are cleared to post in the IC! I will look over the map for you tomorrow to get your character on there! Thank you, Blythe, also - so this means if I want to say - trim the bushes - I would do a roll (?) and then times it with my athletic? Since it is a physical activity? (Just trying to get an idea of things here) Quote from: Ready Angel on 16-12-2013, 18:48:29Thank you Blythe, also - so this means if I want to say - trim the bushes - I would do a roll (?) and then times it with my athletic? Since it is a physical activity? (Just trying to get an idea of things here)Yup, if you are wanting that action to earn you Favor! Do you need any assistance figuring out Illiquid's Dice bot? :-) Quote from: Blythe on 16-12-2013, 18:50:22Yup, if you are wanting that action to earn you Favor! Do you need any assistance figuring out Illiquid's Dice bot? :-)Alright, got the idea of what to do to roll - I might run a test run on the Illiquid dice thing, once I get an idea of what to do next and have a post of interaction? Though, yes, it would be nice if you could quickly explain that process for me. Since I am feeling very much like a noob right now he-he. Quote from: Ready Angel on 16-12-2013, 18:52:01 Alright, got the idea of what to do to roll - I might run a test run on the Illiquid dice thing, once I get an idea of what to do next and have a post of interaction? Though, yes, it would be nice if you could quickly explain that process for me. Since I am feeling very much like a noob right now he-he. Not a problem at all! You're wanting to roll six-sided dice and show me your result! Click the tab at the top of your screen that says 'Dice bot.' In the Character field, type in your character's name. In the 'Send To' field, type in 42233. This is my Dice bot ID, and it will allow me to view the roll. If this isn't entered, you'll have to link your roll to me, so I can view it. In the field "Dice," type the number 1. In "Sides," type the number 6. In the Comment box, type "Athletics check." Then you click "Roll Dice," and boom, I got yo roll! DIF you aren't sure you filled everything out right, click "Test Roll," and it will give you a sample of what your roll looks like with the information you filled out. The Dice Bot doesn't save Test Rolls, so I will not be able to see any of those you make. Going to try out the test roll now! Thank you. Edit/Add: So once I have rolled I time it on my own for the specific athletic/etc that I am doing? Then that is my overall roll? After you get your roll result from the Dice bot, multiply it by the attribute you're using (in your case, Athletics), and that's your final result, yes! I guess Yuri won't be making the bed now... >. Quote from: persephone325 on 16-12-2013, 06:28:25It looks like Yuri is being asked to make the bed, so that task is taken. I just don't post on weekends, so I'll be getting a post up this week. Quote from: persephone325 on 16-12-2013, 20:21:28I guess Yuri won't be making the bed now... Sgt;.Lt;Yuri is the one being asked to make the bed. >_Quote from: Blythe on 16-12-2013, 20:23:49Yumi is the one being asked to make the bed. Sgt;_Lt;Someone already posted coming into the room and doing it. Ah! My bad, I thought no one was doing the bed (I thought I read all posts to check had the bed done yet or not). I will edit my post. Ok, edited. It cut my post literally half, but very least Joyce had cleaned the house already so Yuri does not need to do that very least. Thank you, AER! It's much appreciated! I will read and update myself on the IC later tonight and will post. For those of you who are looking for things to do but aren't sure what you would like your maid to do: Don't be afraid to set a task for yourself! Be creative! Want to string lights in the house? Want to work on an elaborate winter-themed cake for dinner? Want to buy the Mistress the perfect gift for the holidays? Just ask here in the IOC if you want your task to potentially earn you Favor! ’D You don't need to wait for me to assign tasks if you don't want to; you don't necessarily need to take something already mentioned! :-) I know we just started, but I'm slightly confused.... There was something in the game disc about it having an adventure aspect to the theme. So far it seems more like mundane household stuff and socializing. I don't mind a little, but I'm curious is there a sort of timetable for it to get more serious or is it going to be more of this for a long time and less adventure overall? Quote from: Kylie on 17-12-2013, 04:32:02 I know we just started, but I'm slightly confused.... There was something in the game disc about it having an adventure aspect to the theme. So far it seems more like mundane household stuff and socializing. I don't mind a little, but I'm curious is there a sort of timetable for it to get more serious or is it going to be more of this for a long time and less adventure overall? Adventures will happen, don't worry! I don't have a timetable just yet on it, but we're looking at next week roughly for when I intend to kick up the adventure level a few notches. Right now, I'm just making sure everyone is getting accustomed to IC posting--we still have two people working on character sheets as well. But I'm hoping to shift this from mundane household things to more of an adventure bent next week (hoping everyone will have settled in nicely for posting and our last two players will have complete sheets by then); I intend to make use of triggering random events (from the rule book) or letting your PCs spend Favor to trigger events to kick-start zany adventures. Also, while we're waiting until then, if anyone has ideas for fun adventures for this group to have, toss the idea here in the IOC. :-) The only special event I can honestly think of at the moment is prepping the house for Christmas. Quote from: Blythe on 17-12-2013, 04:41:23 Adventures will happen, don't worry! I don't have a timetable just yet on it, but we're looking at next week roughly for when I intend to kick up the adventure level a few notches. Right now, I'm just making sure everyone is getting accustomed to IC posting--we still have two people working on character sheets as well. But I'm hoping to shift this from mundane household things to more of an adventure bent next week (hoping everyone will have settled in nicely for posting and our last two players will have complete sheets by then); I intend to make use of triggering random events (from the rule book) or letting your PCs spend Favor to trigger events to kick-start zany adventures. Also, while we're waiting until then, if anyone has ideas for fun adventures for this group to have, toss the idea here in the IOC. :-)This isn't necessarily an adventure, but what about a little gift giving event? Or something like a secret Santa? Santa Claus decides the Mistress has been entirely too naughty in her business practices this year, and it's up to the staff to save her from a righteous spanking by fending off a full-scale assault! More seriously, someone could suggest a Secret Santa gift exchange in the mansion, leading to intrigue, espionage, and drama as everyone takes the game far too seriously. Edit: Fuck, someone beat me to it while I was typing this! Quote from: Jr on 17-12-2013, 05:09:22Edit: Fuck, someone Persephone beat me to it while I was typing this! Fixed. :P lol Quote from: persephone325 on 17-12-2013, 05:05:09This isn't necessarily an adventure, but what about a little gift giving event? Or something like a secret Santa? Quote from: Jr on 17-12-2013, 05:09:22Santa Claus decides the Mistress has been entirely too naughty in her business practices this year, and it's up to the staff to save her from a righteous spanking by fending off a full-scale assault! More seriously, someone could suggest a Secret Santa gift exchange in the mansion, leading to intrigue, espionage, and drama as everyone takes the game far too seriously. Edit: Fuck, someone beat me to it while I was typing this! This looks exceedingly fun--what do the rest of you think? That would be so much fun! I can see someone getting an amazing picture from Silvia - and no one but the Mistress knowing who it is from because Silvia doesn't show off her art normally. XD Quote from: Blythe on 17-12-2013, 05:17:06This looks exceedingly fun--what do the rest of you think? Will the Mistress be receiving a surprise gift? Lol The ideas look great so far. :) Maybe someone could accidentally one of Hank's domains? The art could use the mistress and one of the other maids as character bases. It sounds fun plot; prevent Santa to give a righteous spanking to mistress and fight off Santa's elves (who are not short people with pointed ears and beard but more regular fantasy elves in looks).Also, can involve secret gift giving also :). I'm game for this action. Looks like the secret Santa idea has captured everyone's Muse--we'll do something like that next week (just in time for Christmas!). And there will be some fantasy twists in there, to celebrate the holiday and to allow for some fantasy genre in this game. 8-)And oh yes, the Mistress will have been quite naughty this year--bonus Favor to anyone able to catch her under mistletoe before Christmas Day! >:) Quote from: Blythe on 17-12-2013, 08:01:48 Looks like the secret Santa idea has captured everyone's Muse--we'll do something like that next week (just in time for Christmas!). And there will be some fantasy twists in there, to celebrate the holiday and to allow for some fantasy genre in this game. 8-)And oh yes, the Mistress will have been quite naughty this year--bonus Favor to anyone able to catch her under mistletoe before Christmas Day! Sgt;:)/me hopes something will happen that will allow/cause Yuri to show off her mermaid like qualities XD Did somebody say Favor!? Do go on. Quote from: persephone325 on 17-12-2013, 08:06:13/me hopes something will happen that will allow/cause Yuri to show off her mermaid like qualitiesXDJust might--especially since you mentioned it here. 8-)Also, sorry I didn't get a post up last night. I admit, I shamefully fell asleep on my keyboard like a nerd. Working on one today! ^^ Mini-post done--setting the groundwork for the Secret Santa idea! Also, AER, I'll have your character on the map tonight! :-) Quote from: Blythe on 17-12-2013, 19:30:04Just might--especially since you mentioned it here. 8-)Also, sorry I didn't get a post up last night. I admit, I shamefully fell asleep on my keyboard like a nerd. Working on one today! ^^ Mini-post done--setting the groundwork for the Secret Santa idea! Also, AER, I'll have your character on the map tonight! :-)XD Question. Do I have to roll for Yuri to make the bed? Quote from: persephone325 on 18-12-2013, 04:08:26XDQuestion. Do I have to roll for Yuri to make the bed? Nah. Little RP actions like that shouldn't require a roll. If you complete something like that, it's worth 1 Favor. ^^ Once Jr gets another post in I might go ahead and bring Keyed inside or continue to help Diego. I'm not sure yet. Quote from: Blythe on 18-12-2013, 04:15:10Nah. Little RP actions like that shouldn't require a roll. If you complete something like that, it's worth 1 Favor. ^^^^ Sweet. I'll see about getting a post up tonight. If not, then definitely tomorrow. I had quite a busy day today. Oh man, now I have to figure out how to avoid punishment on top of figuring out whether I want her to at all. >.> Decisions... Quote from: Cessna on 18-12-2013, 04:18:08Once Jr gets another post in I might go ahead and bring Keyed inside or continue to help Diego. I'm not sure yet. Should Silvia wait your reply then? Or go about doing things on her own? Quote from: frost rose on 18-12-2013, 05:31:17Oh man, now I have to figure out how to avoid punishment on top of figuring out whether I want her to at all. Sgt;.Sgt; Decisions... You and catherinehellfire are in the same boat, it looks like. ^^ Oh, I did mention this in the IC, but it bears mentioning here: It is possible to avoid a punishment from the Mistress (especially if it is erotic in nature--there willalwaysbe the option to opt-out of that) by choosing to lose 1 Favor. If Favor is low, a player can choose to lower an Attribute to gain a small surplus of Favor. Of course, I am in full support of fun sexy punishments. Possibly with fun bondage. 8-) rolling for my maid. Where can I find the results for rolling for maid type and powers? I've already rolled for stats what else? I can let you know the results for type and powers, as I have a copy of the rule book. ^^ That would be most helpful. I'm looking at every thread at once so I'm getting confused and lost didn't even realise I was supposed to roll 3 dice for stats until Yuri helped me >. Quote from: bokotousamurai on 18-12-2013, 06:25:23That would be most helpful. I'm looking at every thread at once so I'm getting confused and lost didn't even realise I was supposed to roll 3 dice for stats until Yuri helped me Sgt;.Lt;'3 Dice for stats? Error. You roll 2d6 and divide your result by 3 for attributes, according to the rule book. I wouldn't look at every thread at once. Just focus on your character. If you like, I can give you a run-down of character creation, just in case. And if you post your rolls, I will be able to tell you what results you get in the rule book for things like maid type, roots, etc. Quote3 Dice for stats? Error. You roll 2d6 and divide our result by 3 for attributes, according to the rule book. I wouldn't look at every thread at once. Just focus on your character. If you like, I can give you a run-down of character creation, just in case. And if you post your rolls, I will be able to tell you what results you get in the rule book for things like maid type, roots, etc. I know about dividing by 3 I was told it was 3d6 dice not 2. :/but I found the generator yugishogun linked, that worked better Quote from: bokotousamurai on 18-12-2013, 06:36:54I know about dividing by 3 I was told it was 3d6 dice not 2. :/but I found the generator yugishogun linked, that worked better It's....2d6. :-\Quote from: From rulebookRoll 2D6 and divide by 3 (rounding down) for each of the six Attributes But the character generator ought to be a good bet. ^^ Quote from: Blythe on 18-12-2013, 07:08:27It's....2d6. :-\Indeed, my stat line would be literally impossible with 3d6! *raises hand* do we need a Christmas tree, and can Silvia cut down/get it?*still unsure where to go with things so needs pointers ^^"* Quote from: Ready Angel on 18-12-2013, 08:34:23*raises hand* do we need a Christmas tree and can Silvia cut down/get it? Excellent idea! The mansion still needs a tree, and yes, Silvia can cut one down/get it/inventively find ways to get a tree! And yes, that task would allow her to earn Favor. ’D (Cutting down a tree would be an Athletics roll, going out to buy one, depending on if you want a good deal or if you are schmoozing someone, could use Cunning or Affection) Also, double-post!bokotousamurai, I reviewed your CS! Before I clear you to post in the IC, how long did you have in mind for Yuri to have known the Mistress? Quote from: Ready Angel on 18-12-2013, 05:35:46 should Silvia wait your reply then? Or go about doing things on her own? Go ahead and do things on your own for now Ready. Keyed is helping Diego do the tedious work on the sculptures. Quote from: Cessna on 18-12-2013, 04:18:08Once Jr gets another post in I might go ahead and bring Keyed inside or continue to help Diego. I'm not sure yet. You might want to post before that, since I'm the last person to post from outside and Diego kinda passed Silvia's question off to Keyed. Perhaps you should give her the Christmas tree idea we've been discussing here. Well right now Keyed is helping Diego. Which by the way the spell was not meet to make him feel inferior. I think I'm going to re-work my post just a bit. What I was thinking was that Keyed's spell would pick up the tools themselves and with mental though power she would do the most tedious work for Diego. 8 years. Plenty of time to have familiarity with the others in the mansion. Quote from: bokotousamurai on 18-12-2013, 20:39:188 years. Plenty of time to have familiarity with the others in the mansion. Works for me. You are cleared to post in the IC. I do believe that is the only proper way for my character to have made her initial appearance! Particularly when such a beautiful concept of hanging mistletoe all over the mansion is being discussed. Happy coincidence. Sorry I've been so slow, and thanks Blythe for the offer of help. Internet access for me right now depends on how early I can get myself out of bed -or- how keen I am going out in the cold to get to the public library. We've been having troubles at home with our ISP and it pretty much shuts down at about 10AM right now, so frustrating right now. I'll try my best to keep up until it's fixed though. Quote from: MCC on 19-12-2013, 02:22:08Sorry I've been so slow, and thanks Blythe for the offer of help. Internet access for me right now depends on how early I can get myself out of bed -or- how keen I am going out in the cold to get to the public library. We've been having troubles at home with our ISP and it pretty much shuts down at about 10AM right now, so frustrating right now. I'll try my best to keep up until it's fixed though. No worries--the game is easy to just jump into anyway, so we'll still be here whenever you have more regular access. Take all the time you need--I know how internet problems can be! Quote from: Cessna on 18-12-2013, 14:33:02 Well right now Keyed is helping Diego. Which by the way the spell was not meet to make him feel inferior. I think I'm going to re-work my post just a bit. What I was thinking was that Keyed's spell would pick up the tools themselves and with mental though power she would do the most tedious work for Diego. Okay. How 'bout you edit your post, I edit my post to reflect it, and you make another post about helping Diego while telling Silvia what to do so that she's not totally ignored? It is done Jr. ;D Done on my end, Cessna. Hey Kylie I don't know if you missed it or not but Keyed had asked Rum to take the groceries she had bought inside to the kitchen. Hey, small warning for you guys--I'm playing catch-up with my 1x1s, a lot of which are hanging, so it will be 3 days before my next post. If you are waiting on the Mistress for a reply and there are other maids in the room, feel free to have chatter with fellow players. Assume the Mistress is listening to all their opinions and ideas before weighing in with her own thoughts. Hmmm, might have spoken too soon. Seems like I have a Muse today. Post will happen tonight or tomorrow! ’D*cartwheels around the IOC thread excitedly, 'cause maids and stuff!* Wonderful, Blythe. :) Also, the map is updated and has AER's maid on it! Those of you with maids that don't have a room, please look at the map and pick a room. You might need to room with another maid. If I missed your character on the map, please poke me and remind me where you wanted your character to be! Your maid may not share a room with the Mistress, the Butler, or the Head Maid (if the players controlling the butler or head maid say otherwise, though, you may share a room with them, but the Mistress has her own room and chooses her company within it). I think the one I had asked about has been taken in the meantime, so... wherever is left? Quote from: frost rose on 20-12-2013, 04:34:59I think the one I had asked about has been taken in the meantime, so... wherever is left? I can convert the one to the left of Joyce's room, the one that says "hall" to a room for your character, if you are amenable to that? ^^ Quote from: Blythe on 20-12-2013, 04:14:30Also, the map is updated and has AER's maid on it! Those of you with maids that don't have a room, please look at the map and pick a room. You might need to room with another maid. If I missed your character on the map, please poke me and remind me where you wanted your character to be! Your maid may not share a room with the Mistress, the Butler, or the Head Maid (if the players controlling the butler or head maid say otherwise, though, you may share a room with them, but the Mistress has her own room and chooses her company within it).*pokes* Karin needs a room. I don't think she'd mind bunking with Hank Quote from: bokotousamurai on 20-12-2013, 04:42:57*pokes* Karin needs a room. I don't think she'd mind bunking with Hanukkah! Furthermore, I'll put Yuri in with Hank then! ^^ I'll update the map as soon as frost rose lets me know if the room I offered to her character is okay. I can't wait to see what the mistress wants Hank for. :) Quote from: Yugishogun on 20-12-2013, 05:36:41I can't wait to see what the mistress wants Hank for. :)Well, the aphrodisiac that Yuri put into the tea is going to make that more interesting. O_Quote from: bokotousamurai on 20-12-2013, 08:31:45OOC: if it's a problem to have 2 rolls per post I can modify it, I can see that it may look like I'm covering for a low roll, but I was actually planning to roll for cunning anyway for spiking the tea with aphrodisiac. No, not a problem at all! In fact, Iencouragemaking alternate types of roll, making use of different ideas to try to accomplish an objective if your first roll goes awry. I think it encourages player creativity, because ultimately, I want players to succeed; they just might not always on the first kind of roll they try, so it necessitates a different approach. Players, since there is aphrodisiac in the tea, if your character partakes of tea (and remember, your characters in the IC do NOT know anything is wrong with the tea), you may make a Cunning roll (opposing Yuri's result for putting it in the tea) to have your maid discover the presence of something not quite right, or if your character already had tea, I Will roll at difficulty 8 will be required to resist the effects. I'm glad that I didn't have Hank drink the tea then. You should be. The Mistress has sipped the tea. >_>Actually, anyone with a maid in the same room as the Mistress might end up seeing some interesting things when that tea kicks in. (I have no reason to have the Mistress oppose Yuri's roll; it's the Mistress' nature to be lascivious around her maids...the tea is more of an excuse, really. O_O) Don't forget to slip some in the chocolate Rum should be making for our yard workers. I'm starting to feel like people are assigning me more stuff to do in places I'm not noticing, than stuff is otherwise actually happening in the IC. I may just not be up for a game where you have to read the IOC more than the IC, at least if it's mainly just about household stuff. Or maybe it's just that the pace is eating me. I feel like I'm already hopelessly behind. It's not much use saying minimum twice a week, or having Blythe say go ahead make up things to do on your own, if some people are telling you to do specific things daily and basically setting a course for where I should be and heaven forbid I miss one line somewhere in all the posts. Ah, well keep mindful of posts where 'tagged' part has your char name on it. It means the person is either in same scene with you or has something say to your char. That way it's easier keep up any 'commands' given by mistress or someone else. But what comes to pace, well daily or every second day is kind must minimum pace for large group games as if there are long delays it often kills the game for good. So consistent posting keeps it alive. If pace is too fast for you to participate in, it's sad really :(. Quote from: Kylie on 20-12-2013, 12:57:52= It's not much use saying minimum twice a week, or having Blythe say go ahead make up things to do on your own, if some people are telling you to do specific things daily and basically setting a course for where I should be and heaven forbid I miss one line somewhere in all the posts. Remember that unless theMistressisdirectlytelling your character something (must be in the same room and must have actually heard a task from her), then you can pick and choose what your character does, and there is no need for your character to do other tasks you don't care for. Also, missing a line somewhere here or there isn't going to kill anyone--write what youwantfor your character. It's kind of a big game. Someone is going to miss a line somewhere--hell, I'm the GM, and I'm probablyguaranteedto miss something somewhere. >_> Quote from: Jr on 20-12-2013, 10:42:08Don't forget to slip some in the chocolate Rum should be making for our yard workers. NP, though it's just half a tablet, but I'm sure Karin could be hiding some more somewhere. ;) *manly see* Yuri has her bunny in the IC! (Quote from: Blythe on 21-12-2013, 03:23:28*manly see* Yuri has her bunny in the IC! Lt;3(I put a picture of her in my character sheet as well.*prepares for an even more manly see* lol Aww, the bunny is cute... Blythe, I know you're really flexible and open, and I do really like that. I really do. But it's also the players making the atmosphere. If AER or someone else keeps pressing that theyneeddaily responses and according to them that's what "tag" is "for" -- so whoever posts first can keep driving others to reply to exactly the details they want, it seems -- then those people are going to be unhappy with me and someone's going to have to give up something or let it go. Can't please everyone sometimes. Quote from: Kylie on 21-12-2013, 04:39:29 Aww, the bunny is cute... Blythe, I know you're really flexible and open, and I do really like that. I really do. But it's also the players making the atmosphere. If AER or someone else keeps pressing that they need daily responses and according to them that's what "tag" is "for" -- so whoever posts first can keep driving others to reply to exactly the details they want, it seems -- then those people are going to be unhappy with me and someone's going to have to give up something or let it go. Can't please everyone sometimes. In a group game, it's all about compromise. People need to be mindful and respectful of other people's posting rates, and not try and push someone to post more than what they are capable of. Well, if I tag someone who does not post every day of course I wait patiently other player post before I do. I did not mean my earlier comment mean Idemanddaily posting from my partners. I just meant that for game remain healthy active it needs daily posts, it means you do not need post every day but to game roll forward and feel alive both lively IC and IOC are important. It was just meant you should not stress much if there are posts every day, or even several. Just focus on posts where others have tagged you :). AER quotes Quote from: AER Dark wail on 20-12-2013, 14:39:54Ah, well keep mindful of posts where 'tagged' part has your char name on it. It means the person is either in same scene with you or has something say to your char. That way it's easier keep up any 'commands' given by mistress or someone else. But what comes to pace, well daily or every second day is kind must minimum pace for large group games as if there are long delays it often kills the game for good. So consistent posting keeps it alive. If pace is too fast for you to participate in, it's sad really :(. Quote from: AER Dark wail on 21-12-2013, 05:04:20Well, if I tag someone who does not post every day of course I wait patiently other player post before I do. I did not mean my earlier comment mean I demand daily posting from my partners. I just meant that for game remain healthy active it needs daily posts, it means you do not need post every day but to game roll forward and feel alive both lively IC and IOC are important. It was just meant you should not stress much if there are posts every day, or even several. Just focus on posts where others have tagged you :). Being mindful, of course, that commands issued by anyone other than the Mistress do not necessarily have to be obeyed. Therein are the challenges faced by the Butler and Head Maid, who have responsibilities to give orders sometimes....but may not always be able to get wily maids to do as they're told. ;)The pace is roughly 2 posts a week, certainlynotdaily. I recall mentioning this somewhere in the recruitment thread. I will put this into the IC rules for easy access. Also....tagging a character does not actually necessitate that character's player responding to that post--it's just a handy way to let them know they've been mentioned or addressed...and it's a tool for me, as a GM, to be able to keep track of characters and locations, very important when I'm making a Mistress reply, honestly. Kylie quote Quote from: Kylie on 21-12-2013, 04:39:29 Aww, the bunny is cute... Blythe, I know you're really flexible and open, and I do really like that. I really do. But it's also the players making the atmosphere. If AER or someone else keeps pressing that they need daily responses and according to them that's what "tag" is "for" -- so whoever posts first can keep driving others to reply to exactly the details they want, it seems -- then those people are going to be unhappy with me and someone's going to have to give up something or let it go. Can't please everyone sometimes. Ah, you're referring to poking. I will modify and link to something important in the IOC rules regarding that. If you would like to discuss it further, PM me, and I would be more than happy to continue a discussion on it. IOC/IC rules updated. Please be sure to read them, everyone. They are located in the second post of this IOC thread. Also, for future reference, IOC/IC issues should be PMed to me. The IOC is for fun brainstorming and plotting. It is also for people to ask questions or make note if they cannot post this week or need to take a leave of absence...or even make dice rolls. Quote from: Blythe on 21-12-2013, 05:19:19Being mindful, of course, that commands issued by anyone other than the Mistress do not necessarily have to be obeyed. Therein are the challenges faced by the Butler and Head Maid, who have responsibilities to give orders sometimes....but may not always be able to get wily maids to do as they're told. ;)Butlers can give orders sometimes!? I did not know that. Quote from: Jr on 21-12-2013, 06:38:52 Butlers can give orders sometimes!? I did not know that.*grins* In this game, yes. Head Maids as well. Be mindful though, that maids don't lose Favor for disobeying Butlers or Head Maids, so this is more of an RP related boon than a system boon. Also, to help things get spiced up, tomorrow I will put down the rules that allow maids to trigger Random Events! This should allow us to incorporate more fantasy or sci-fi! Quote from: Blythe on 21-12-2013, 06:53:40*grins* In this game, yes. Head Maids as well. Be mindful though, that maids don't lose Favor for disobeying Butlers or Head Maids, so this is more of an RP related boon than a system boon. Also, to help things get spiced up, tomorrow I will put down the rules that allow maids to trigger Random Events! This should allow us to incorporate more fantasy or sci-fi! Ohh! I can't wait to use Yuri's ability! I was just wondering about that earlier tonight, and I was going to ask you about using Yuri's Foreboding ability. Oh, wow, that's a lot of... hotness. My finals hit, and I figured, nah, it'll be totally fine if I ignore things for a few days and Herzog explosions. I will see about catching up after I sleep, as it is 6AM, and I just spent the last two hours proving things about continuous functions, having just turned in my last take home. Because wow, that is a lot to process when I'm pretty much incapable of processing anything that doesn't involve integrable. Which no longer even looks like a word to me. Quote from: persephone325 on 21-12-2013, 07:01:31Ohh! I can't wait to use Yuri's ability! I was just wondering about that earlier tonight, and I was going to ask you about using Yuri's Foreboding ability. Is that her maid power (I should really look at your sheet again for a refresher!)? Some info about maid powers will go up along with how to trigger Random Events! Quote from: frost rose on 21-12-2013, 14:05:51Oh, wow, that's a lot of... hotness. My finals hit, and I figured, nah, it'll be totally fine if I ignore things for a few days and then OMG explosions. I will see about catching up after I sleep, as it is 6AM, and I just spent the last two hours proving things about continuous functions, having just turned in my last take home. Because wow, that is a lot to process when I'm pretty much incapable of processing anything that doesn't involve integrable. Which no longer even looks like a word to me. Zomg explosions!(ah, in all seriousness, eeeeew, continuous functions. I feel for you. I wouldn't really be processing much of anything either after mathematics. Take some time--post when you can. ^^ Quote from: Blythe on 21-12-2013, 19:38:35Is that her maid power (I should really look at your sheet again for a refresher!)? Yes it is. ^^ Sorry about not having the info/IC reply up, but I am ill today. I will try to have them up when I can. That's perfectly fine, Blythe. I hope you feel better. Now that the house is a proper minefield, should we have Blythe start marking mistletoe points on the map or just roll on the Random Encounter table every time we move from one room to another? Quote from: Jr on 24-12-2013, 13:49:33Now that the house is a proper minefield, should we have Blythe start marking mistletoe points on the map or just roll on the Random Encounter table every time we move from one room to another? Could go either way with that--although Random Encounters do have a certain element of random to them. ^^ Also, I will be posting on the 26th with IOC info updates and an IC post, due to the holidays and due to me being ill. Jr: Are you going to roll a random encounter when Sylvia and Diego walk into the kitchen? XD Edit: Or should you tell me how to for my post? (Could we both roll it? IDK) Quote from: Ready Angel on 25-12-2013, 07:50:30Jr: Are you going to roll a random encounter when Sylvia and Diego walk into the kitchen? XD Edit: Or should you tell me how to for my post? (Could we both roll it? IDK)I guess it'd be redundant if they're both going together. Silvia would have to point it out, though, as Diego is unfamiliar with the tradition. As for how to do it, there are 13 characters in the mansion, counting the Mistress. If Blythe obliged us with a numbered chart, we could roll a d13 on the site's roller bot. (Assuming that rolling on your own number means you don't bump into anyone at all.) Merry Christmas My Friends! Quote from: Jr on 25-12-2013, 08:57:14I guess it'd be redundant if they're both going together. Silvia would have to point it out, though, as Diego is unfamiliar with the tradition. As for how to do it, there are 13 characters in the mansion, counting the Mistress. If Blythe obliged us with a numbered chart, we could roll a d13 on the site's roller bot. (Assuming that rolling on your own number means you don't bump into anyone at all.) Hmmmmm, would like to mention that it isn't 13 characters in the mansion just yet. It's 12 counting the Mistress. MCC and ShadowFox89's characters are not ready, and remember, if you are just counting posts in the character sheet thread, I have an extra post floating about which has updates/stuff, which can throw off your count. But ah, a chart for all of you! If any of you do not wish to participate in randomness of sexy mistletoe, please let me know, and I will adjust the chart and remove your character! ^^ Roll Character!1Mistress Shiori2 Hank Sasahara3 Hiragana Misaki4 Ariana Daigo5 Keyed Yukihiro6 Silvia Longhorn7 Rum Endo8 Shizuka9 Yumi10 Catherine Tyshi11 Joyce Miyaguchi12 Yuri Tokugawa'll put this up in the second post for everyone to see for now! Note: I am still working on writing up the random event info and maid powers; I hope to have them posted in the wee hours of the morning of the 26th along with my long overdue IC post! Quote from: Cessna on 25-12-2013, 20:13:55Merry Christmas My Friends! Brown! And Snoopy! Quote from: persephone325 on 26-12-2013, 08:36:17What is this mistletoe thing? I'm going to run this special Christmas event until the end of this week, based on the tradition of kissing someone you find under mistletoe! Any time a character moves to another room inside the mansion, there is a chance they can encounter another maid under some mistletoe that Mistress Short asked other maids to put up. Some characters might want to use this opportunity to get smooch-happy. The second post has the chart you can roll on (d12) to figure out who you run into. Oh! Just because you run into someone does NOT mean you have to get kiss-crazy or anything; it just means you see them under mistletoe. The event is 100% optional, so anyone wishing to decline participating may do so; I understand Christmas is not everyone's cup of tea. ^^ Also, maid powers are up in the second post of this IOC! (Butler ones might go up later!). I'm working on moving info about random events to the IOC now. This info will all be up today, as promised, and I will make my IC post when the info is up. Working on the random event info still! Got an IC post up; the maids left the Mistress' room, and she has dismissed any who haven't! Persephone, as Short went to another room, I had the Mistress roll to see if she encountered anyone under the mistletoe, and I rolled and got Yuri! I tried to leave the interaction optional...so Short kissed Yuri's bunny. ^^ 'Because it's a cute bunny. But my post is a bit clumsily written, in order to leave you some flexibility with Yuri (you did say she was around various rooms, so I figured the living room would seem realistic to encounter her in! Let me know if you feel I need to change anything). Also, latest IC post has the beginnings of some fantasy and some plot, everyone! What about the mistress asking Hank to stay behind?........ Quote from: Yugishogun on 27-12-2013, 02:07:34What about the mistress asking Hank to stay behind?........ Hmmm..... IknewI lost a post somewhere when I was trying to include everything! Dang it. Let me edit my IC post, Yuri! Thank you for reminding me; I'll get right on it! :-)EDIT: Anand I have edited my post to include Hank! Let me know if you need any more changes, Yuri. ^^ Thank you, Blythe. :) *goes to read post*Edit: Nice post. :) I will reply as soon as I am free. Still working on my character, but between being sick, the holidays, and a job I've had little time >. Quote from: Blythe on 27-12-2013, 01:51:20Working on the random event info still! Got an IC post up; the maids left the Mistress' room, and she has dismissed any who haven't! Persephone, as Short went to another room, I had the Mistress roll to see if she encountered anyone under the mistletoe, and I rolled and got Yuri! I tried to leave the interaction optional...so Short kissed Yuri's bunny. ^^ 'Because it's a cute bunny. But my post is a bit clumsily written, in order to leave you some flexibility with Yuri (you did say she was around various rooms, so I figured the living room would seem realistic to encounter her in! Let me know if you feel I need to change anything). Also, latest IC post has the beginnings of some fantasy and some plot, everyone! Ah! Thank you for explaining everything to me. ^^ lol I'll see if I can get a post up today (Friday), because I think we're all winding down from Christmas. X_x Hey Blythe I was just wondering. What do you do if you roll someone, and they are interacting with someone else or somewhere without mistletoe? Quote from: catherinehellfire on 27-12-2013, 17:08:25Hey Blythe I was just wondering. What do you do if you roll someone, and they are interacting with someone else or somewhere without mistletoe? You can either reroll to get someone that works out better that is more accessible, or you can treat your result as "nothing happens." Also, didn't get the random event info up; I have been a teensy swamped with RL still. But another player asked about Favor and spending it, which was a good question. I will put up information about spending Favor as well! I'm gunning to get that done today, if possible. XD That might have slightly changed what I had planned right now! How interesting this is! I didn't realise how these random rolls would affect the happenings so much! -Game Gained another favor point from me ;P- if you get my pun? Yeah, random rolls are fun in maid game :). It's one reasons why I favor system games also as dice can add lots variety (if you go with 'roll random encounter table' or include chance for critical success effects or fumbles). This is very interesting, can not wait to see where this game goes XD ROFL, Silvia stepped into the mines twice now XD. When she learns look up while she walks? I think her logic in not looking up is that she is so tall... but this is getting rather interesting I can say XD Hey Blythe. I was thinking, maybe with the Mistress' mother coming to visit, it would present a good opportunity for Yuri to use her "Foreboding" ability to determine if her plan to steal the ring would be successful or not? Just a thought. ^^ Oh my, now two aphrodisiac folk are kissing under mistletoe :P. Can someone point me to the post where this aphrodisiac happened I think I missed it! O. O" At mistress room earlier where was crowd of maidens and one maidens gave everyone tea (drugged with aphrodisiac). Thank you, good to know I am safe since I was outside until now. :) Just making sure. ^^" Quote from: AER Dark wail on 28-12-2013, 04:36:56At mistress room earlier where was crowd of maidens and one maidens gave everyone tea (drugged with aphrodisiac). Not everyone who was there drank it, though. Quote from: persephone325 on 28-12-2013, 04:47:57Not everyone who was there drank it, though. This is true--not everyone drank the tea. ^^(Imagine all the confusion if they had! ’D) Thank you for making this Blythe and helping a game noob like me learn with it, so much fun! XD Quote from: Ready Angel on 28-12-2013, 04:57:30Thank you for making this Blythe and helping a game noob like me learn with it, so much fun! TDI just wish I was able to post and update as much as I'd like here; it would be a much better game if I could. >_Quote from: persephone325 on 28-12-2013, 04:10:45Hey Blythe. I was thinking, maybe with the Mistress' mother coming to visit, it would present a good opportunity for Yuri to use her "Foreboding" ability to determine if her plan to steal the ring would be successful or not? Just a thought. ^^ Still thank you *points to verse post above*also power question - I can protect up to two other people with my power - could that be against mistletoe too? (not because I want to use it but because using as example) like if she sees another person getting attacked under mistletoe could she roll to see if she can intersect the kiss? XD Random Events:Random events can be added to the game by rolling on the random table below. Both the GM and the players can cause random events to occur. When a player wants a random event, he declares this intention to the GM. The player then spends 1D6 Favor and rolls on the appropriate table, and the GM puts the result into the game. The GM can opt to let the player define the specifics of the random event, or just come up with something herself. If the players prefer to come up with the specifics, the GM will PM the results of the random event roll to them. The event should center around the maid whose player caused it, though if the GM decides to have a random event the master will choose a maid to be its target. There are no requirements for when a random event can be brought into play, and they can be used to catapult the game past an impasse. If the GM doesn’t have any particular scenario planned out, these random events can be used to come up with something on the fly. The entries on the random even table don’t go into any detail, so it’s up to the GM (or in some cases, the players!) to appropriately flesh them out. I will not be posting the entire table. You roll 1d66 (two d6s, telling me what each six was that you rolled) in order. Depending on what mood the story is in, the GM will decide if you rolled on the Modern or Fantasy table (right now, "Space" is off-limits, so we're not using that at the moment). This above information will be put into the second post of the IOC soon. In addition, I served hardcore. Players that asked about spending Favor, that information was already located in the second post of the IOC under "Favor." Quote from: persephone325 on 28-12-2013, 05:28:12Hey Blythe. I was thinking, maybe with the Mistress' mother coming to visit, it would present a good opportunity for Yuri to use her "Foreboding" ability to determine if her plan to steal the ring would be successful or not? Just a thought. ^^ That's a good idea! PM me if you would like Yuri to use that ability (premonitions will be conveyed via PM to ensure that Yuri alone can take advantage of that power); that has marvelous plot potential! Quote from: Ready Angel on 28-12-2013, 05:34:48Still thank you *points to verse post above* also power question - I can protect up to two other people with my power - could that be against mistletoe too? (not because I want to use it but because using as example) like if she sees another person getting attacked under mistletoe could she roll to see if she can intersect the kiss? XD Which power does Silvia have? Can you tell me the name of it, so I can reference it really quick on the chart in the IOC to answer your question? I'm trying not to open a lot of tabs today on E. >_Quote from: Blythe on 29-12-2013, 19:22:17Which power does Silvia have? Can you tell me the name of it, so I can reference it really quick on the chart in the IOC to answer your question? I'm trying not to open a lot of tabs today on E. Sgt;_Lt;Iron Wall You can use your Athletics attribute to defend up to two other characters. Was just trying to understand what I could use this for/in reference too if there is not fighting ^^" Quote from: Ready Angel on 29-12-2013, 20:17:30Iron Wall You can use your Athletics attribute to defend up to two other characters. Was just trying to understand what I could use this for/in reference too if there is not fighting ^^"Well, it would require an Athletics roll to use the power. It's typically really used when fighting is involved, but if Silvia can pass a check for it, I don't see why she couldn't use it in normal RP situations (such as the one involving mistletoe). I'd hazard the typical difficulty in "normal" household situations will be between 6 and 8 (let's call it 7 for the mistletoe--you'll need a result of 7 or higher to defend others from mistletoe), so sure, why not?EDIT: Fixed ridiculous grammar. Quote from: Blythe on 29-12-2013, 20:29:04Well, it would require an Athletics roll to use the power. It's typically really used to fighting, but if Silvia can pass a check for it, I don't see why she couldn't use it in normal RP situations (such as the one involving mistletoe). I'd hazard the typical difficulty in "normal" household situations will be between 6 and 8 (let's call it 7 for the mistletoe--you'll need a result of 7 or higher to defend others from mistletoe), so sure, why not? Thank you for the clarification. I have no intention to stop anyone from being kissed I was just curious for future reference XD Okay everyone, I'll have an IC reply up within two days! Also, random event info got added to the second post of the IOC for easy access--I also fix'd a coding snafu I had; I had the description of Luck powers accidentally contained in a spoiler for a different attribute; Luck powers are now just as visible/accessible as the other powers! Sorry about that! >_PMs to those I owe them to and an IC post will go up (really) late tonight after I'm done hosting a New Year's party at my house! Be warned--I will be slightly hello intoxicated when I write my IC post, so please, seriously, if it looks awful, point it out. 8-)I am....insanely hungover still. I'll work on this as I can. *about to toss Blythe a super pill, but then hands it to him after realizing what a bad idea that is. Okay, I'm working on a post; I got PMs for this game sent out! I would like to make an important note for everyone: Please make rolls with the Dice bot and send them to me. The information for this is in the second post and has been since the beginning of this game. If you make a roll for something important in the mansion Andon'use the Dice bot, I am not treating the roll as valid, and your character will not receive Favor. Aha, ok. I will resolve any outstanding rolls that did not use the Dice bot, but after that, Dicebot rolls only. Most of the rolls made recently would not garner Favor anyway and just need IC results from me to keep things on track. Now on a positive note....just wanted to say that I've caught up reading on the most recent batch posts here; very nice, everyone! I'm enjoying seeing all the ways the characters are interacting with one another! Also, the mistletoe event is going to end on January 4th, on that day no more mistletoe rolls may be made, and mistletoe scenes that are in progress should work to being resolved, if possible, after the 4th. Argh, my tiny post is tiny. T_TIF I have forgotten anything/anyone, let me know and I'll edit! I have sent all my rolls to you Blythe: (And sorry I seem to keep changing the spelling of Silvia's name in my posts - noticed when Blythe used two different spellings in his >//Quote from: Ready Angel on 04-01-2014, 03:18:05I have sent all my rolls to you Blythe: (And sorry I seem to keep changing the spelling of Silvia's name in my posts - noticed when Blythe used two different spellings in his Sgt;//Lt;ACK, well, we all make mistakes. I forgot to double-check the Dice bot before posting. >_> Many apologies, Ready! Also, is it Silvia with an 'i'? I do really want to spell it correctly; I can go fix it if you need me to. :-) Quote from: Blythe on 04-01-2014, 03:29:03Ack, well, we all make mistakes. I forgot to double-check the Dice bot before posting. Sgt;_Sgt; Many apologies, Ready! Also, is it Silvia with an 'i'? I do really want to spell it correctly; I can go fix it if you need me to. :-)It is alright. I double-checked myself before posting because I was like' but... but...' XD Also - Yes, I double-checked that as well! Silvia with an on her character profile. Horrid of me, having to double-check the spelling! Edit: and the random event is fine with me - should be a fun surprise for Silvia, and I am always up to shocking and messing with my characters he-he Blythe, let me know when I can have Yuri meet with the Mistress and let her know about the vision. ^^ I'm excited about this part! Lol Quote from: persephone325 on 04-01-2014, 07:18:19Blythe, let me know when I can have Yuri meet with the Mistress and let her know about the vision. ^^ I'm excited about this part! lol Will do--I will PM you when she can. In the interim, Yuri is free to do as she likes, of course. ^^ Quote from: Ready Angel on 04-01-2014, 03:30:26 It is alright. I double-checked myself before posting because I was like' but... but...' XD Also - Yes, I double-checked that as well! Silvia with an on her character profile. Horrid of me, having to double-check the spelling! Edit: and the random event is fine with me - should be a fun surprise for Silvia, and I am always up to shocking and messing with my characters he-he Good to know about the random event; thank you for posting about that here in the IOC! :-)And I fixed the spelling of your character's name in my post; I'll likely go back through in my Oddness to fix anywhere else I messed it up. >_Note: Now that it's after the 4th, I am removing the random mistletoe chart from the second post. You can no longer make mistletoe rolls. That's alright, Blythe. Both the holidays and winter are very draining. I barely got up today myself. Sorry I haven't been posted. I've been working overtime since the holidays Damn, this game was jumping until the 5th. Did everyone lose interest after the mistletoe event? I think everyone is just busy JR. I know a couple of us have been sick, and I know I, and a think a few others, are just in the time when we are returning to work and classes as well. It is the start of the year, I imagine that everyone just has a lot to do right now. :) Yeah. You have to take real life into account... Quote from: Jr on 10-01-2014, 23:38:55Damn, this game was jumping until the 5th. Did everyone lose interest after the mistletoe event? I honestly have been busy and struggling to write anything. None of my other games have been getting posts from me, either. Trying to get into gear to do posting, but I've just been feeling really washed out and tired. :-(That's me. Back to school and work and blare. I think probably around next week I can be back used to the swing of things enough to join once again. I tend to write the most when I can't do things and having time off allows me to get out... sorry Tiny post up from me! I'll craft a post that tags more players during my next post, don't worry! Otherwise, it looks like only Hank needed a post from Short! ’D And I feel a lot better than I did--I'm going to do my best to not delay posts to the extent that I did, everyone! :'(Quote from: Blythe on 14-01-2014, 03:49:47Tiny post up from me! I'll craft a post that tags more players during my next post, don't worry! Otherwise, it looks like only Hank needed a post from Short! ’D And I feel a lot better than I did--I'm going to do my best to not delay posts to the extent that I did, everyone! :'(Hey Blythe. Hope everything is going good for you now. ^^ Quote from: persephone325 on 14-01-2014, 03:56:30Hey Blythe. Hope everything is going good for you now. ^^*nod nod* I'm feeling much better than I did and things are much better, and now I'm working to catch up with everything! :-) Glad to see you're feeling a bit better, Blythe. I'll get onto my post asap. Okay, post up! If your roll is not addressed in the IOC you succeeded it, but it does not earn Favor (only tasks associated with making the Mistress happy, directly or indirectly, earn Favor.) If you feel I missed your roll, and you need a reply from me, poke me here or via PM! Oh...and there is stranger the door. I wonder what this bodes for the staff of the mansion? >:) Quote from: Blythe on 17-01-2014, 04:07:21Okay, post up! If your roll is not addressed in the IOC you succeeded it, but it does not earn Favor (only tasks associated with making the Mistress happy, directly or indirectly, earn Favor.) If you feel I missed your roll, and you need a reply from me, poke me here or via PM! Oh...and there is a stranger at the door. I wonder what this bodes for the staff of the mansion? Sgt;:)Will Yuri be able to address the Mistress soon? Quote from: persephone325 on 17-01-2014, 04:09:02Will Yuri be able to address the Mistress soon? Gotta finish the scene with Hank, but I don't think that'll take too much longer! So soon, yes! :-) Quote from: Blythe on 17-01-2014, 04:10:06Gotta finish the scene with Hank, but I don't think that'll take too much longer! So soon, yes! :-)OK! ’D Anyone wanna "accidentally" walk in on Karin? I'm itching for a steamy bathroom scene. I'll have a post up tomorrow for this! My posting rate is slow lately, tomorrow I'll have some time to sit down and do IC posts! Some time today. Had an terrible day yesterday, but should get my post out today. Elf, sorry. Been in a funk about posts. Will try to post when I can. >__If I've missed anything, someone poke me about it, and I'll fix it ASAP. ’D Nice post, Blythe. :) Quote from: Blythe on 26-01-2014, 21:53:04Okay, a post is up! Persephone, I gave you a way to have Yuri address Short so you can post, although Hank is there as well. Hope that's okay--I had to think of a solution that would let you post since I'd kept you and Yuri both waiting too long. Sgt;_Lt;If I've missed anything, someone poke me about it, and I'll fix it ASAP. That's cool! I can have a post up sometime within the next few days. Hopefully not too long. Even if it is a shortish post. Quote from: persephone325 on 26-01-2014, 22:15:11That's cool! I can have a post up sometime within the next few days. Hopefully not too long. Even if it is a shortish post. Awesome! ^^ Quote from: Yugishogun on 26-01-2014, 22:05:04Nice post, Blythe. :)Thanks! Also, if you think of anything specific you'd like Short to do with Hank, let me know. ^^ Quote from: Blythe on 26-01-2014, 22:23:40Awesome! ^^ Thanks! Also, if you think of anything specific you'd like Short to do with Hank, let me know. ^^ Maybe she could give her a skimpier maid outfit, Woo! Got my post up. All right! I'm working on my post for this right now; I was bogged down really badly in my other games and was well over a month behind on posts, so I got those finished up so I can devote more time to my group here! And Yuri, I'll have to see about having Short give Hank a cute skimpier outfit! >:) Ok. :) Blythe, I'm so sorry! I didn't see the tag was the living room. >. Quote from: persephone325 on 31-01-2014, 22:03:32Blythe, I'm so sorry! I didn't see the tag was the living room. Sgt;.Lt;Not a problem at all, Persephone! ^^ Quote from: Blythe on 31-01-2014, 22:19:20Not a problem at all, Persephone! ^^ lol All the same, I got a post up for you. I guess I just assumed the Mistress never left her room. Haha. I must have read the posts too fast. :P Quote from: persephone325 on 31-01-2014, 22:27:46lol All the same, I got a post up for you. I guess I just assumed the Mistress never left her room. Haha. I must have read the posts too fast. PI've totes done that before except I've completely missed entire characters. >_>And I'm the GM. >_Quote from: Blythe on 31-01-2014, 22:31:36I've totes done that before except I've completely missed entire characters. Sgt;_Sgt; And I'm the GM. Sgt;_Lt;LOL I think everyone is guilty of doing that (or something similar) at least once. XD Well Keyed has just sadly interrupted the Mistress's fun. Quote from: Cessna on 31-01-2014, 23:01:08 Well Keyed has just sadly interrupted the Mistress's fun.*grins* Marvelous. ^^ Quote from: persephone325 on 31-01-2014, 22:55:24LOL I think everyone is guilty of doing that (or something similar) at least once. TDI think I've done it a lot, but I'm perfect about being poked and correcting stuff. ^^ And I should have a second reply up tonight--I'm 100% caught up everywhere, essentially, so I've got some time, plus it's the weekend! ’D Silvia protective switch has been pushed, and she is on high alert. XD Thanks for the posts, Bottom. I'll be waiting for Blythe's next post now though. Alright, your welcome, this would be a good part for the mistress to come in Working on an IC post now--if you need me to include something, just shoot me a PM or post it here! :-) Wonderful. :) Very much so indeed. I can't wait. Okay, wrote my post late at night while taking some meds for pain (might have taken a fall today and badly hurt my wrist and ankle). If I've forgotten anything in my post (or if you would like me to consider adding something), please let me know either here in the IOC or via PM, and I'll fix it ASAP. :-) I hope you feel better, Blythe. I'm currently writing a reply. *hugs Blythe*:-(Get better soon!! I hope you're not in too much pain... It's mostly the ankle. Damn thing hurts like hell. My wrist isn't too bad (I wouldn't type if it was! ’D) Soak the ankle with cold water or use the cold bags over it, so the soreness will calm down, and it does not bloat (and make further pressure and press to painful spot). Also keeping the ankle high as possible also helps (lack of blood helps reduce bloat stuff in it). Although these should be done immediately after accident, but it works as form of treatment also (and should visit doctor soon as you can to get it checked). Warning everyone: Out of town from the 6th this week to the 13th of next week. I might not be able to post super quickly/often then. Quote from: AER Dark wail on 04-02-2014, 09:52:34Soak the ankle with cold water or use the cold bags over it, so the soreness will calm down, and it does not bloat (and make further pressure and press to painful spot). Also keeping the ankle high as possible also helps (lack of blood helps reduce bloat stuff in it). Although these should be done immediately after accident, but it works as form of treatment also (and should visit doctor soon as you can to get it checked). Did do that last night. ^^ Got back from the doctor a short while ago--I've got a very nifty ankle brace and some pain meds now! 8-)Quote from: Ready Angel on 04-02-2014, 16:25:07Warning everyone: Out of town from the 6th this week to the 13th of next week. I might not be able to post super quickly/often then. Duly noted! :-) I am going to try and post before I leave tomorrow, but I can not promise because of how much I am doing with the ending of block class, performance last and tonight, and leaving tomorrow. Thanks and sorry guys! Quote from: Ready Angel on 06-02-2014, 01:49:45I am I going to try and post before I leave tomorrow, but I can not promise because of how much I am doing with the ending of block class, performance last and tonight, and leaving tomorrow. Thanks and sorry guys! Not a problem, Ready! Thank you for the notice. :-) GM Stuff:Tonight or tomorrow I'm going to do a headcount of active players; I think we have one or two who no longer seem to be active. Inactive players have either:a) not posted in over two weeks (IC or IOC) and haven't contacted me orb) not contacted me and have not finished their character sheets Now, I know I've been a bit slow lately, and we've just now gotten to something like a plot, but I wanted to ask if everyone is currently happy with the ratio of players. Do you think we need any more? Do you have suggestions for what you want me to include in the game right now? I think we have enough players. I'm cool with the players we have, as long as I can get Karin into trouble/sex Quote from: Blythe on 07-02-2014, 02:29:47GM Stuff:Tonight or tomorrow I'm going to do a headcount of active players; I think we have one or two who no longer seem to be active. Inactive players have either:a) not posted in over two weeks (IC or IOC) and haven't contacted me orb) not contacted me and have not finished their character sheets Now, I know I've been a bit slow lately, and we've just now gotten to something like a plot, but I wanted to ask if everyone is currently happy with the ratio of players. Do you think we need any more? Do you have suggestions for what you want me to include in the game right now? How many active players do we have? Will there be more plot events coming up? I'm more interested in the adventure aspect of the game, over the sexual elements. I hope that didn't come off as rude. Quote from: persephone325 on 07-02-2014, 03:26:27How many active players do we have? Will there be more plot events coming up? I'm more interested in the adventure aspect of the game, over the sexual elements. I hope that didn't come off as rude. I won't know how many active players for sure until I do the headcount tonight or tomorrow. >_Mar GM Stuff:There will be more plot events coming up after the plot with Short's mother. I was actually thinking of doing a small focus on each character, bringing in something from each character's past. If anyone reading the IOC is interested in that, PM me with an event or character you want me to incorporate that comes from your character backstory, and we'll see about shaping some mansion events to incorporate it for player intrigue. Do not post it here in the IOC. PM me with it. For those interested in sexy stuff, I'm going to try to incorporate something special for February...a sexy femme fatale NPC who will arrive at the mansion! In addition, after looking at how the mistletoe special event worked, I'm going to create a new thread just for special events some time soon. This will prevent confusion and will allow people to opt in or opt out in a far easier and more organized fashion. I like who we have now and do not feel the need to add in any more characters to the plot myself.Also, that all sounds very fun. I may have some ideas, but we are still waiting on some small plots to go along. :) PM for ideas? Sorry about the holdup on headcount guys--been feeling a bit ill. Will work on that as I can. Quote from: Ready Angel on 08-02-2014, 17:55:49Also that all sounds very fun. I may have some ideas, but we are still waiting on some small plots to go along. :) PM for ideas?PM works. ^^ Might take me a little bit to get back to you, although I'll try to be as prompt as I can. Well I'm still here Blythe GM Stuff and Active Players PMs have been sent out to those that may have fallen inactive to double-check interest! Thus far, here is a list of our active players:YugishogunJrSesshaJemady Angelpersephone325catherinehellfireZaer DarkwailbokotousamuraiIf you include me, our minimum active players appear to be 9 at the moment! If I have not listed your name, but you have posted either in the IC or IOC in the past two weeks, poke me, and I'll get you on here! Edit:An IC post will go up late tonight/early tomorrow morning, and the special event thread will open up! Bleagh, unforeseen real life circumstances are interfering a bit. Had to help out my dad most of last night and all today with household finance stuff. Much money was paid back to the proper people, but I'm all worn out. T_TIC posts will go up when I'm not dirt tired. Sorry about the delays, everyone. Been some plumbing issues at my house, and it's been limiting my time around. We had to rip out our bathroom sink to replace pipes, and tomorrow we have to cut into the bathroom wall to fix the plumbing around the bathtub, so that's going to continue to slow me down. Two individuals have replied when I checked active members, and I owe ShadowFox89 a PM to help him flesh out his character and owe Mysteries a plot summary. The Valentine's Day event will be late; is everyone okay with that, or should I work on a different special event instead? Mmm I would forgo Valentine's Day since it's like tomorrow. I would instead focus on something having to do with Spring Break. I was looking forward to the event, but I know whatever you come up with instead will be just as good. GM: Bad news. Okay, everyone, bad news. I'm having extreme difficulty running this game. With real life keeping me busier than I'd like to be and not enough time to organize things for this game, I'm going to have to cancel this RP. I just can't seem to keep up with a passable pace and this many players.....and I've overextended myself trying to GM. I will send this announcement to all players via PM as well, to make sure that I've done my due diligence regarding this. You all have a sincere apology from me; I've enjoyed this game very much and each one of you as writers, but I am simply too overtaxed to GM a game. Quote from: Blythe on 16-02-2014, 05:26:28GM: Bad news. Okay, everyone, bad news. I'm having extreme difficulty running this game. With real life keeping me busier than I'd like to be and not enough time to organize things for this game, I'm going to have to cancel this RP. I just can't seem to keep up with a passable pace and this many players.....and I've overextended myself trying to GM. I will send this announcement to all players via PM as well, to make sure that I've done my due diligence regarding this. You all have a sincere apology from me; I've enjoyed this game very much and each one of you as writers, but I am simply too overtaxed to GM a game. v.v I'm sorry to hear that, Blythe! But please take care of yourself first and foremost! Running a game is very stressful, and I understand why you have to step down. *hugs* :-* Indeed, running a game with many players can be hard and stressful and more so if RL throws shit at you to distract :P. Anyway thanks for the game so far :). Quote from: Blythe on 16-02-2014, 05:26:28GM: Bad news. Okay, everyone, bad news. I'm having extreme difficulty running this game. With real life keeping me busier than I'd like to be and not enough time to organize things for this game, I'm going to have to cancel this RP. I just can't seem to keep up with a passable pace and this many players.....and I've overextended myself trying to GM. I will send this announcement to all players via PM as well, to make sure that I've done my due diligence regarding this. You all have a sincere apology from me; I've enjoyed this game very much and each one of you as writers, but I am simply too overtaxed to GM a game. Well if that don't beat all. Oh, well I guess you have to do what you have to do then. Thank you for the heads-up on this one Blythe. We wish you the best of luck. Best of luck to you, Blythe. Thank you for making a great game. :) Hello Everyone, Sessha, and Yugishogun has come to me to ask if I would take over the "GM" Position for this Game. Looking it over, I'll admit that I'm unfamiliar with the system, but please bear with me, and I'll try to keep this Game alive for you all to enjoy. Oh! Nice to hear your willing pick this up Mac :). I would be most appreciative if someone could send me a brief summary of what is currently happening in the story. I can't wait to get this going again myself! So, uhh, has nobody sent Mac a summary of the story thus far? Because if they haven't, I can whip one up real quick. Blythe has, and I'm currently looking it over, and the dice system he came up with. This is my first experience using Dice, so I'm having wrap my head around it. My apologies for the delay. I intend to get this thread going back at full steam no later than Friday I'm letting you all know that I'm giving time for those that haven't posted to post. :-) Once again, I'll move the story along no later than Thursday. My character was just randomly assigned to help Keyed with she needed, so you don't need to give me time. Currently, in the middle of being sick and slow posting because of massive amount (and now behind) on work/homework. Sorry. That is okay Named, RL always comes first. :-) I am sorry guys, but for now I will have to step away from this game because of RL obligations. I am sorry, please continue to have fun without me! So what's going on with this game? Is everyone still interested? Hello Jr. I must offer my sincerest apologies as RL has been giving me a rough time as of late, and sadly I let Maids slip through the cracks. Things are starting to settle down now, and hopefully that will allow me to devote more time to this game for you all. Alright, then. Can I get a roll call of all the players still checking this game, so I know who to have Diego check in on? I have my plates full at the moment, so better I drop out from this one. That is okay AER, I wish you the very best of luck. Okay, Roll Call. Who is still interested? Depending on the number, and type of players, I may have to scrap the current story line and come up with something new depending. Sorry to say, but I'm not very enthusiastic about the response. It would appear that this thread has fallen to the wayside. I want to thank everyone for their Handwork, particularly Blythe. My sincerest apologies in not being a better GM. I wish you all luck with your RP's.

MAID_ [Service in Sapporo] {OOC}|rating:3.0

Quite a Leap (Phobetor & Peripherie)

("This is Clarissa Dare's office. May I take a message?" She scribbled something down on a pad of call logs even as she was wiggling out of high heels and slipping on some much more comfortable flats. "Of course, I will be sure she gets the information and will get back to you when she returns to the office." Her pen scribble was almost illegible, but she was sure the actuary agent in question could read it. She nodded a few times at the phone as the person dragged this message out, all the while she was fidgeting with her badge and pins - dropping them in her large tote bag. As the clock finally ticked five, and she was officially free, she slowly raised her voice till she had stopped the man from talking. "Thank you for your call and your business. Have a fantastic weekend." And she hung up. Goodness - she calculated risk for the living, but that didn't mean she was qualified to give anyone advice (outside financial stuff) for their questionable behavioral choices. That man and his midlife yacht decisions could wait till after the conference. Had she mentioned to him that the entire company would be away for a few days being paid for team-building BS? No, but if he called or emailed in the next week - he would find out. Issa headed down and went through the obligatory security check that every employee did daily go in or out. She scratched idly at the fabric of her turtle-neck. Her buttoned-up style served her well professionally, but when Friday rolled around, it always felt a bit like a rayon prison. It was a quick walk to the parking garage stairwell and then a few well-placed hops down to the basement level and then a dash to her car. Freedom! Hair came down, sweater came off, and she unzipped her pants. It was a ritual that would surely bite her in the ass one day when a coworker came out to ask her something. But it was the little risks in life that made it worth it, right? She would just think of some excuse that would get whoever to leave her alone - hives that looked oddly like crazy tattoos most likely. Not exactly lying seemed to be a crucial skill set in her line of work, and she had become very good at it over the last four years. And while she had no desire to rub elbows or catch-fall any of her coworkers, she was looking forward to a break from her clients. Very grateful for their business and their money, she was still quite over being the they called before every monetary transaction, large or small. Issa cranked up the music and let muscle memory lead her to the place she frequented almost as much as the office - a small little box of a studio that no one else in her life knew about. But the Leap of Faith shop was very much a second home to her. (And she had the ink to prove it.) Pulling up to park, she fished out a new symbol she wanted to show San. She was always getting preoccupied with new that ideas, and he usually had to hold her down to finish one work before moving on to the next. But this one would be quick! SSA always said that. Now rocking a tank top that showed off a gallery of his work, she strolled in like she owned the place. It didn't matter if there were other artists or canvases around. She stripped off her pants and headed to his office to change into ripped jeans she kept with his stuff. A large sigh of relief could be heard before she re-emerged to see where/what he was up to. (Diary of Jane poured out of the speakers in the shop combining with the buzzing of the tattoo machines and the idle chit-chat that was going on around him. Green eyes looked up when he heard the door opening and his full lips curved slightly when he saw the redhead go straight into his office. No one called out to her, no one questioned if she had a right to go back there. Everyone in the shop knew that SSA ran this ship as much as Santos Lopez did, the owner and tattoo artist who had started this business a couple of years ago. The first year that he had opened his tattoo parlor had been the same year that he had met Clarissa and the two of them had quickly developed a friendship that seemed so unlikely considering their appearances and backgrounds. The first time SSA had stepped into his shop, San had done a double take, and it had nothing to do with how beautiful she was and everything to do with her demeanor. To most, SSA would seem so...prim and proper, but he knew the real person underneath, and they had quickly bonded over tattoos and music and a plethora of other topics, and from that day a close friendship had quickly developed. From someone who came from a tight-knit Latin family, Santos appreciated how tight he had gotten with her especially because most of his family was a couple of hours away. Moving to a new city, starting a new business just so that he could make a fresh start had seemed like the smart thing to do, but he hadn't counted on being home sick for his family, for the closeness and the camaraderie that he had grown up surrounded with. The sound of his office door opening once more caused him to speak up, warmth evident in his tone, "You ready for your new piece?" He was wiping down the chair, his movements slow and methodical taking the finest care to make sure everything was clean and sanitized. Opening up his shop had been a dream of his, and he took great pride in ensuring the safety and care of his customers. They had trusted him when he had been a nobody and for that, he made sure that they never doubted his methods or his establishment. Green eyes finally locked with hers, and he set down the rag and disinfectant and pulled her in for a tight hug, "Work okay?" He was tall, loomed over her with not only his height but his broad shoulders and thick body. To the outside world, Santos was intimidating not only because of his height but the tattoos that covered his body and a hard face that made him seem cruel. If they only knew the truth and how much of a softie he was. He didn't cry at the end of romantic movies...well, depending on the movie really. Glancing around the shop, he noticed his other two associates busy with their own clients and turned to check his laptop to make sure if they had any more clients that night. When SSA scheduled time in his chair, she was always his last client because oftentimes they would go out to eat afterward." Lolo," Santos called out and heard her yell back at him from her corner. "You are good to close tonight right?" At her confirmation, he nodded and flashed SSA a grin, "Your turn to pick a place to eat, remember?" She could finally breathe. The world felt right when she was yet able to head to Leap after a long day. She felt crayfish about her job, and she was pretty damn good at it, but there was a part of her soul that she had to tuck in a drawer while she was there. Who knew that part of herself liked realism and watercolor tattoos? (Trash polka was fucking awesome, too, but her soul just wasn't hip enough for that.) She stole a piece of chocolate from the shop's stash behind the front counter and walked around while San cleaned. She never hovered, but it was fun to watch the other artist's work - especially Solo, who had a kick-ass finesse to her lifework. It was almost better than San's - not that SSA would ever say that to his face. Finally making it over to his chair, she gave him a 'Duh' look to the question of getting something new before she melted into his arms. Ahh, that was what the day was missing. She rested her head on his shoulder and was about to answer his question when her butt vibrated. SSA pulled away just long enough to fish her phone from her pocket before she shifted to rest her weight against her thigh. "Work was.", she paused her thought as a message came up that made her wrinkle her nose. "So... I told you about the conference?" She didn't want for him to acknowledge that as she had only been regaling him with every detail for the past two weeks. "Well, a bunch of the people on that Facebook group I'm a part of, the Acquired, are going too. It sounds like they are renting a cabin and heading up to the resort early for a few days. I've been... invited." The look on her face was one of uncertainty and social awkwardness that boarded on fear. San knew that look well. It was the same look that flashed across her face whenever she got a large tattoo that she loved but then realized she would have to cover it up forever and ever out in the 'world'. Luckily, his question about food allowed her to forget the number nerds for a moment and fall back into a familiar debate." No fair - you know I hate it when I have to pick." She pouted but just let out a sigh when it was clear that her most often-used trick wasn't going to work. "Can't we find a place that puts pizza ON the tacos?" She hummed a little and traced a few lines of one of the tattoos on the back of his hand. It almost had something of a triangle shape. He was like her personal cup of tea leaves to read. "Okay, fine... pizza it is. Hmm, let's go to Bustling, but you're buying." Pivoting in his arms to lean across his lap and finding with his laptop, she clicked over to his Pandora playlist and found one of her favorite Shine down tracks. Grinning, knowing that he could have probably already guessed which song, she passed him the small slip of paper that looked like some sick logic puzzle (SSA hopped up onto his newly cleaned chair and outstretched a delicate wrist - one covered in soft caramel freckles. She pointed to the meat of her forearm arm before wiggling back to get comfy. "I want it there. I always forget where the damn I goes." There was a familiarity and a comfort in the way SSA moved around him, the way she seemed to bombard his personal space without even thinking about it, and it made San smile. When he held her close to him, and he breathed in her scent, the shampoo and body spray that was very much 'SSA' to him, he felt a calm wash over him. To those that saw them out and about together, they found them to be an unlikely pair. San towered over her, he was thick and bulky and his facial expression and plethora of tattoos often kept people away from him but SSA...she had never been scared of him. Quite the contrary, they seemed to have formed a bond, and then it was almost like SSA was going to ensure that he had at least one friend in the new city he had decided to call home. Once she had settled on his chair and he was on his stool, he rolled towards her and placed the piece of paper on her forearm, a look of concentration on his face that made him almost look angry before he used a cotton swab to transfer some of the ink from the paper to her skin and pulling the paper away, he finished outlining it with his own pen, looking up at her to gauge her reaction as to where he had placed the art piece. When he received a nod, he stood up and glanced at her with an arched eyebrow, "Are we picking Bustling because of their pizza...or because the new store manager has the hots for you and gives you free wine?" There was a teasing twinkle in his eyes before he looked down and began to prepare the tattoo gun, replacing the needle that was already on the gun with a finer one. He whistled a few parts of the chorus of the song, before he set everything down on the small tray he would place beside him and sat down once more to roll towards her." So, you want to tell me about this conference?" San looked at her with an expression that clearly let her know he hadn't forgotten about the earlier comment she had made. Before she spoke, though he added, "It's a good opportunity, you know. You get to network and get to show them a more informal side of you." Pressing his shoe against the pedal, the tattoo gun came to life in his hand and the vibration was a comfort that many could have found odd. Tattooing was his passion, it came as easy to him as breathing. When he was in the shop, and he was surrounded by the things he had worked had to accumulate, San felt completely at peace. Only two things brought him such calm and joy: tattooing and SSA." Isn't it all expenses paid too?" San looked up for a moment into her eyes before his gaze lowered once more to her outstretched arm, and he gently brushed his fingertips against hers, almost as if holding her hand as he began to work on the logic puzzle piece. "How can you pass up all expenses? Are they paying for the flight and the transpiration too?" His lips quirked slightly, "And the alcohol?" While he was making light of the situation, he also knew her reservations, and he couldn't fault her for them. But SSA was good at her job and she always kept herself so tightly reigned in, this would be a perfect opportunity for her to feel more comfortable in her place of work. He was certain of it. SSA settled back with her free arm tucked under the back of her head. It allowed her to watch him work a bit better. Yeah, getting a tattoo hurt and in the beginning, she had to close her eyes and focus on the music to keep from jumping out of the chair. But now, seeing just how amazing he was and the kind of art he could coax out of needles and ink - it was a crime to look away. And even though this formula would be a quick and easy Matt, he would still do a masterful job. His lettering was renowned all over the city - if not farther. She had to be bitten at her bottom lip and shake her head as he ribbed her about her choice of the pizza place. No fair making her giggle before he was about to permanently mark her. (And she did feel quite thoroughly marked by him, inside and out. But that wasn't something she even knew how to begin to say.) "Um. You mean the cute guy who stares at your hands the whole time he is overfilling my glass? Yeah... I think he wants to climbyoulike a tree there - tall, dark, and stormy." She grinned and let her gaze flick up to that one corner of his mouth that would move ever so slightly when she got to him. There was a moment when she thought she had made a dent in his armor and maybe get a chuckle. But San was dedicated and serious when he got in the mindset to tattoo so she wouldn't press too hard. At least not until they got to the restaurant, and she made googly eyes between him and the waiter. And then he went and asked about the damn conference - the slight sensation of his hand against hers kept her nerves in check as she spoke." Ugh. It's the informal side of me that I'm worried about." She used her eyes to roam her bare chest and arm full of his work - not actually moving lest it messes him up. "The actual conference is all expenses paid - flight and whatever. That isn't really the issue. I can do those kinds of days in my sleep. I'm just not sure about meeting up with the Facebook group beforehand." They were certainly not a boring bunch, but she didn't really share much about her life with them either. She opened her mouth to tell him more, but she hesitated. Normally she would never hold things back from San. But this last little tidbit was more embarrassing than anything, and she didn't want him thinking he had to try and 'fix' something for her. SSA just let her eyes focus on the tattoo gun in his hand and its rhythmic motion. She did earn that slight twitch along the corner of his lip at the mention of the waiter and how she referred to him as tall, dark and stormy but that was all she would get. While his eyes remained focused on the line he was working on, he did think of the waiter and how cute he was and if San had been looking for a casual fling, he definitely would have considered him...but lately that just wasn't on his mind anymore. He wasn't sure what had changed, and honestly didn't want to talk about it at the moment either. As she spoke about the conference, he nodded and wiped some of the ink and blood from the spot he was working on, listening to her talk. He looked up just as she opened her mouth and saw her hesitate and a frown creased his forehead as he thought of her keeping something from him. It wasn't that he was offended, surprised might be more the reaction because SSA and San had shared a lot of things about themselves that they normally didn't tell others. Did she think that he wouldn't want to hear it?" Spill it," He urged as he looked at her and then back down at her forearm, the vibrating machine in his hand not even something that distracted him. He was so accustomed to feeling the vibrations that there were times when he was at home where he swore he could feel and hear it. He once more wiped the spot and resumed, "You know a lot of companies and groups are accustomed to tattoos and piercings and whatever, SSA. It doesn't diminish your work or make you less responsible." He looked at her and flashed her a wide smile, adding, "You don't give yourself enough credit, you know. You keep too many things close to your chest." His eyes flickered to her face, and he wondered if he was making her uncomfortable by the conversation. San didn't mean to, he just wanted to see her excel. A part of him was delighted that when she had first come into his tattoo, that they had become such fast friends. A part of him was always proud that he had been able to get past her defenses and that he knew the real her. But it was because he knew the real her that he wanted her to share herself with other people, because to him SSA was fucking amazing. She was not only smart and funny, but she had so much to offer." Come on," He encouraged in a low drawl, his eyes not glancing up at her but continuing to focus on the work he was creating, "Talk to me. Tell me why you don't want to go or why it's making you nervous. I bet I can counter every single one of your concerns." "Says the man who has gotten quite well acquainted with my chest." She gave a relaxed, soft giggle and tried to settle down. Getting a tattoo, even a small one, was a physical ordeal that caused stress, but it was her inner issues that made her tense. San was right, of course. SSA kept way too many parts of her personality to herself, especially at work. She was good at what she did. And she was happy with who she was. But what if those two things didn't match? What would she do now? That was part of her issues with 'letting her hair down' with her actuary friends before the conference. They were a fun bunch but not as conservative with their personal lives. The last thing she needed was to be watts out in a compromising picture that made it to Facebook. You know - like going to dinner with them or something. What would her little old lady clientele think of her now? She had a 'cute innocent girl that should meet their grandsons' vibe going for her. And it worked, with a minimal amount of lawyer phone numbers sent her way. (She gladly took the digits and then threw them away after, of course.)" Talk to me. Tell me why you don't want to go or why it's making you nervous. I bet I can counter every single one of your concerns." Issa was going to have to tell him sooner or later. This tattoo would be done in a matter of minutes, so it was either here - within Leap's safety or in a noisy restaurant. "The crew is bringing their SOs. It is a +1 thing." If San looked up, he would see SSA scrunch up her nose. There it was - SSA didn't want to go and be the third, or seventh, or ninth wheel. Or, even worse, get arbitrarily tossed in with the girls the whole time. Most of the group were straight men, with a gay man and two lesbians as well. All of them happily 'together.' One of the men, Derek, was bringing both his girlfriend and his girlfriend's boyfriend. As happy as she was for her friends, in the many ways they found joy, being the loner tomboy had her feeling stuck. In SSA's mind, she would either be left alone in her room or be dragged through endless wedding planning discussions. Sure, she had looked through those magazines before - but if it wasn't her wedding, she didn't quite understand the hype. Why go through all that trouble when she could stay here at the Leap until the actual conference?" So... see, I can't go." Stating it as a concrete fact, SSA was practically inching out of the chair as he finished with her symbol. "Almost finished? I need a margarita as big as my... no, your head." Once more his lips twitched at the comment she made about him becoming familiar with her chest, but he did not laugh, not wanting to disturb the work he was almost done with. This one was an easy one, but even with how simple it was San gave it his full attention and focus not one to diminish his work merely because of the lack of complexity. The crew is bringing their SOs. It is a +1 thing. Ah. There it was. The reason why SSA felt like she was excluded or why she had already made her decision not to go. He wanted to laugh because sometimes she could really make mountains out of mole hills. He parted his lips just as she asked if he was almost finished and San wiped the spot, murmuring, "Almost. Don't rush me." His tone had a soft scolding tone though he wasn't seriously upset with her, he just liked to remind her that when she was on his table, he was in charge. He also knew that the reason she was ready to go was because she was uncomfortable with the conversation. Well...too damn bad. Adding the final line, San turned off the machine and the room was plunged into quiet, aside from the music coming from the speakers. He set the machine gun down and reached for a damp paper towel, wiping any excess ink or blood from the spot before he applied a thin layer of ointment and then placed a plastic wrap on the top, taping it on either side so it wouldn't fall off. There was no need to add the usual after-ink conversation where her explained not to do anything stupid while the tattoo healed or how to properly cover it. Standing up, he pushed the rolling stool under the table as he began to process of cleaning his tools. Without looking at her, he commented, "You let one little thing keep you from going? Wow, SSA." He was being a bit of an ass, and he knew it, so he looked over his broad shoulder and flashed her a smile, "Why didn't you ask me? I'll go. Come on. All expenses paid? You know, you've been hammering me for the past month that I needed a vacation and how I don't go out much." It made sense. He would go with her and keep her company, her friends and the crew wouldn't know that they weren't really together, and he would be there to not only offer her comfort so she wouldn't be freaking out every five seconds, but he would also get a free vacation out of it. Honestly, this was a win-win for both of them." Come on, this is perfect," He rinsed his hands and dried them, finally turning to look at her, "Let's go get you this margarita...and you can tell me when I need to be ready and what time. We'll make up this entire lovely story about how I tattooed your chest, and it was love at first..." He looked at her chest and flashed her a wickedly charming grin, "...sight." SSA rolled her eyes when he used his 'Santos voice' on her, but she sat still. Their relationship was close enough that she felt okay letting her bratty nature come through, but she knew when not to push it. She also knew exactly how to get her way with him, but he was king when it came to tattoos. Sometimes SSA did things just to get that bossy side of him to come out, secretly really liking how growl he could get. But this was not the time. Sitting quietly, listening to the music's low tones, SSA thought she would get away with her statement. It was decided - she would just hang out around the shop and then go to the conference proper a few days later. She could still see her friends and just make up some reason she hadn't gone to the cabin with them earlier. She sat up, starting to relax as she admired his tattoo skills. Even through the lotion and wrap, she could see how he didn't just copy the reference. He made considerable improvements to it—another piece of artwork right there on her skin. Then San, with his wicked canine grin and those knowing eyes, had to ruin her plan." Well, I..." She hopped off the chair and helped him put a few things away for the day - to keep from making eye contact with him. "I just, I mean...." The cocky Clarissa was dumbstruck. Ask him to go? San was her best friend but asking him to join in this masquerade - and that was too much for even their silly antics. "That's not a very good vacation for you - to pretend the whole time." She always loved to hang out with him but like this? She might feel a perpetual guilt trip." I don't know, San." She headed to his office to grab her coat, chewing at her bottom lip. Solo gave her this odd, knowing look as she had overheard their conversation, but SSA chalked up any implication to shop gossip and good-natured ribbing. His gaze to the top of her shirt made her face burn. Even though she had been the first to comment on the ink he had placed above her breasts, his gaze purposefully landing there made everything flutter. "Come on...." She pushed him towards the door, not responding to his suggestion but adding a bit of a shove to tell him she didn't appreciate him kidding around about the awkward situation she found herself in. Once at the restaurant with drinks ordered, SSA tried to come to some kind of compromise. "If you think that you could take the time, I could just get us our cabin. I mean - the convention is in a couple of days, so who knows how many are still available, but I could check." Sure, the Acquired had made reservations a month or so ago, but it wasn't like a COMECON or anything. This was just a bunch of actuaries - there had to be rooms available. She pulled out her phone and started a Fandango search. Damn! Nothing was available for three months. So much for getting out of this." We could still do stuff here. You could take the time, and we could just be bums at my place until I had to leave for all the oh-so-fun meetings." He could tell that he had flustered her, not only with the offer to go as her plus 1 but also with his behavior and enthusiasm but...this was perfect, really. San never took time off and the people in the shop had been pestering him about it, especially now that the shop was doing well enough that even without his clientele it could stay afloat. Not that he would ever quit fully, Leap of Faith was not only his bread and butter, it was his heart too. But a vacation? An all expenses paid vacation at that? How could THEY pass that up? It was perfect." Issa," Santos paused when the waiter appeared with their margaritas, and he flashed the man a smile, receiving a blushing smile in return, and he arched an eyebrow towards SSA. Shit, maybe she was right. But that wasn't the focus of their conversation, that could happen another time. He leaned forward a bit and reached out to place his tattooed hand over hers, "I want to do this for you. Come on." He brushed his thumb over her knuckles before he drew back and reached for his drink. After taking a sip and sighing at the tart taste, he added, "I'm not going to be pretending you know." He flashed her a wicked grin, "Aren't couples supposed to be like best friends? Aren't they supposed to know everything about the other person?" Who else knew SSA like he did? No one. They knew each other better than anyone else in their lives, and he knew that. And SHE knew that." You're being stubborn," He stated firmly, arching an eyebrow as he looked at her, "This is a perfect vacation, and you're freaking out over nothing." It wasn't anything, and he knew it, but he also had no doubt that they would be able to handle it. They knew one another, knew every in and outs of their time, and it would be easy for him to act like her boyfriend. Hell, half of the shop thought they were secretly dating. For a moment, Santos stared at his best friend and wondered why she didn't have a significant other, why she didn't go on many dates. But the moment he asked himself that question, he turned it around on himself and knew the answer. Work kept him busy, and he didn't have a lot of time to devote to others, and the free time that he did have he enjoyed it with SSA and friends. The thought of a significant other didn't even cross his mind because he was quite content and happy with where he was presently. Leaning back on his chair, he grinned and teased her, "Ah I see what it is. You're ashamed of me! You're not comfortable showing them your tattoos, how are you going to show them your big oaf of a best friend who's covered in them?" He was being an ass, and he knew it, and he quickly rushed out, "I'm kidding! I'm kidding, I promise." Taking another long sip of his margarita, he smacked his lips together with an'aah!'and then looked at her, green eyes unwavering, "Come on, amor, give me another reason. I'm debunking them all, letting you know what's what." His voice was firm as he stated, "I want a vacation with you, and we can go to this cabin together. It's. Perfect." San was laying it on thick, and it was working. Sure, it would be fun to get away and spend time with him. They both worked crazy hours. And because the actuary and tattoo business was so different - their days off didn't often line up. It would be nice not having to squeeze in late-night dinners or a quick movie at one of their places without the other falling asleep or having to run off to work. But while San was sensible, the more he talked to her (and touched her), the more nervous SSA became. There was this nagging flutter in her chest, and every time she tried to look closely to see what was going on, her brain shut the inquiry down. Obviously, there was something she couldn't or wouldn't address. His suave smile and warm hands were not helping things." Santos!" SSA blushed and let out a long, quiet hiss of his full name. It was a rare utterance, only reserved for times like this when he was embarrassing her in public. For someone who was currently flashing a large amount of ink across her pale skin, SSA still had an odd hangup when it came to others being privy to her life. She was aware of something but couldn't quite get away from it on her own. She took a large gulp of her pineapple-strawberry frozen daiquiri, trying her best to get out her counterargument without passing out from all the blood rushing to her cheeks." That is notallcouples do." She eyed him and became quiet as the waiter came back to take their food orders. "And I'm not freaking out over nothing. There will only be one room and one bed, and people will expect us to", she lowered her voice, "to act like all the other pairs with PDA or whatever." She huffed out and started to tear and fold her napkin into a dozen little nondescript shapes. He was right - she WAS freaking out over nothing. For a moment, SSA was going to try and talk herself into how this was going to be okay after all, but then he had to drop the 'ashamed of him' grenade. Her eyes got big, and she started sputtering, "No, So! Of course, I don't, I mean, you know that..." He had such a stern look on his face, and then it cracked into that wide grin. Her eyebrows shot down, and she started pelting him with her tiny napkin army. She might have used the few Spanish curse words he had taught her, except he was saved from that torrent when their food came. His apologies might not have done the trick, but her care Masada tacos with cilantro lime garlic sauce helped to calm her down. They were so heavenly that she moaned a little at the first bite, licking some of the sauce off the back of one of her fingers. She eyed him as he talked about 'solving' all her problems with this trip. He forgot how much of a worrier she could be when her anxiety got going - there were always more reasons. She sighed after she had one too many bites of taco, settling back into a happier 'food coma' state. (The daiquiri certainly wasn't hurting things either.) "You say it's perfect. But I don't want us to do this thing, and then after a day, you find out it is a lot more work than we think to keep this ruse up. I don't want you to regret it." Or the other possibility of them doing something to wreck the good thing they had. As soon as she thought it, that concern was locked away in her mental vault with all her other inconvenient feelings. No free weekend, no matter how fun, was going to take him away from her. Laughter escaped him as she began to pelt him with the little pieces of paper she had shredded with her worrying, warmed when she called him 'so'. He liked teaching her Spanish and then having her use it with him...and on him, arching an eyebrow at the words that flew out at him, but there was a sparkle of amusement in his eyes that was always there because of her and wouldn't diminish any time soon. He liked bantering with her and like now, he enjoyed catching her off guard. But she had a point and Santos was quiet as he considered what she had said, smiling in thanks as their food arrived, and he looked at his platter of enchiladas with rice and black beans and sighed with pleasure automatically reaching for the hot sauce in the middle of the table. Couples did kiss and hold hands and make out and what not. He couldn't help it, his eyes went to SSA's lips for a moment...just as she let out a moan and licked some sauce off her fingers. It took him a minute to realize that he was staring...hard. Jerking his eyes back down at his plate, he shook his head, still adamant that they could do this. This was his SSA, he would do anything for her, it was simple as that. Taking a bite of his cheese and beef enchilada, Santos sighed with pleasure before he shook his head and stated firmly after he wiped his mouth and made sure not to have any cheese on his beard, "What makes you think I'm going to regret getting to spend time with you?" Flashing her a confident smile, he added, "Plus, okay listen...about the whole PDA thing? Got it covered." He raised a finger, "One? We cuddle already when we're watching movies." Ticking up another finger, "Two, how many times have we fallen asleep on each other? Pfft, easy PDA shit." He wiggled his eyebrows and added, "Do you want me to squeeze your butt? I'll do it." A part of him wondered if he was doing the right thing by pushing this request or these suggestions on SSA, never wanting to do anything to damage their relationship and their tight friendship, but San really didn't think that it would be an issue. He took another sip of his margarita and thought about what she had said about the bedroom. One bed. It wasn't like they couldn't control themselves...right? Once more his eyes ran over SSA's face and her chest...which were the only things he could see, and his thoughts wandered for a split second before he snapped them back into place. No, he was doing this for her. This would work out. He reached out a hand and placed it on top of hers, brushing his fingers along her knuckles, his voice softening and becoming more serious, "On the real, SSA." He offered her a smile, his voice low and soothing, "There is nothing that is going to hurt our friendship okay? You're stuck with me, Moritz. Wanton to go and enjoy yourself, and I'll be right there, being your silent little moral support." He held up his thumb and forefinger a small distance apart and then brought it to his own shoulder, "I'll be like a tiny little cheerleader on your shoulder cheering you on while you make friends and network and shit." This would be a great opportunity for her and Santos wanted to make it happen, he didn't know why he suddenly wanted to ensure it worked out. Maybe it was because he wanted her to be more comfortable in herself...or maybe it was because he wanted to help her. He wanted to spend this time with her, to make sure he did this for her. Even talking to San about something as nerve-wracking as pushing the boundaries of their friendships (while navigating her professional social circles) was still time better spent than any other moments of her day. Another sip of margarita helped to loosen her resolve and start to melt her fears about what might happen - on the trip and between them. As he touched the back of her hand, SSA reached out to squeeze softly at his fingers. "Okay, okay. It's not like I can ever say no to you, not really." She let out a soft sight followed by one of her tell-tale smiles. He knew that look. She still wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea, but, as always, she trusted him. It was like that with her more elaborate tattoos that he had helped her endure. And it would be like this - with hopefully fewer needle pricks. "So cuddles, and bed sharing, and holding hands, eh?" She motioned her eyes to their joined fingers, relaxed further, guessing it wouldn't be that much different from their day-to-day after all. Issa chooses not to mention the prospect of butt squeezing. Thinking of his large, strong hands touching her in any way other than a passing hug or snuggle sent a shiver up her spine. Straightening in the booth, she feigned being a tad bit cold to cover. "I know you are right, San." She played up to his ego, but it was probably the truth. "I am making too much of this, but... when do I not?" She let go of his hand to eat a bit more of her tacos. Nudging his plate of enchiladas closer to him, they ate and drank the rest of their time away in the restaurant. SSA always said she would take half of her order home. And yet, each time they stood after paying the bill - she would hold her stomach as if she might burst. Leaning into him for support, she couldn't help but laugh at something he had said earlier." So... I have a new idea for a tattoo!" She pointed to a bare spot above her collarbone. SSA described an elaborate new school design of an over-stylized Santos sitting on her shoulder with saturated colors, an even bigger head, all of his iconic tattoos, and the image only clothed in a cheerleading skirt - pom-poms and all. More laughing ensued as she ran out towards the car, keeping a few steps out of reach of his grabbing hands. It was his fault, of course, having put that mental image in her head. Issa threatened to have Solo do it, though they both knew that he was the only one that she allowed to get so close to her pale, soft skin. Holding up her hands and hiding behind the back of the trunk to stay clear of his epic tickle attacks - she gave in. "Okay, okay. I won't! But only if you promise not to hog the bed!" The drive back to the shop felt like their everyday style again - light banter, jabs and squeezes, and overall ease between them. Did she occasionally look over towards San with a new appreciation - the lines of his fingers, the cut of his jaw, the soft fullness of his bottom lip? Maybe. SSA did her best to stay distracted by making arrangements with the Act Crew on her phone. '"Okay. Almost set. Last chance to back out!" There was a teasing lift to her voice, but her eyes held a tad more suspicion. Were they really about to do this? "I don't hog the bed," Santos sounded almost offended by her comment, and it was on the tip of his tongue to tell her that he actually enjoyed plastering himself against his lover's and enjoying the feel of them against him. But SSA wasn't a lover, and she wouldn't be on the trip, they were doing this for her sake, nothing else. But the thought lingered, and it made him think of her in ways that he had never really allowed himself to think of before because she had always been under the strict 'friendship' category. And yet, he couldn't help but let his eyes linger more often than not during their dinner. She would look away, and his eyes would caress her neck, dipping down towards her chest before he would force his gaze away. It wasn't that he had never appreciated SSA before, of course he had, he wasn't blind. But this time the thoughts weren't just about simply appreciating her but also wanting to see how she would respond to a caress, a touch, a simple kiss." No backing out," He responded almost immediately as they parked in front of the shop, and he turned off his car, shifting so he was looking at her with a small grin, "We're going to enjoy a nice vacation together, is all." Getting out of the car, he rounded the front and looped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to a tight hug. He closed his eyes and let himself breathe in the scent o her, the comfort of knowing her, and their close friendship. But there was something more now, he felt the press of her breasts, the curves of her petite body and San suddenly wondered if Ithaca good idea. Pulling away, he tried to act casual, not wanting to make her feel like anything had changed or would because he knew SSA and if she felt even one small inkling, she would back out of their arrangement...and a part of him was curious to see where it would go, how they would respond to one another. Surely this was just them being concerned over nothing, right? They had never crossed any kind of lines before, and he didn't think they would. Squeezing her tight, he kissed the top of her head, "So when is this? When do I have to look all presentable?" He gave her a cheeky grin as he leaned against her car, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched her, lingering before he looked around their surrounding area. He rubbed his chin, scratching at it thoughtfully as he added, "I can go to your place, and we can Uber to the airport?" He smirked slightly as he added, rubbing the back of his neck, "You know how I am about mornings so...if the flight is in the morning, I'm going to ask to crash at your place cause if not, I won't wake up."

Quite a Leap (Phobetor & Peripherie)|rating:4.0

Enemy Mine (closed for ositoandtigresa)

Unlike most humans, who prefer huddling themselves together in those dreary, synthetic-environ space stations, I was born in a beautiful world of blue and green. Our home world was coveted by the humans. It was very near in likeness to earth. However, we would not give it up. Humanity is like a disease. It spreads, multiplies, and destroys. We could not let them ruin our beautiful world. We have kept our world pure. Eons ago, humans destroyed their home world of Earth. They continue to spread throughout the vastness of space, doing the same to every planet they come across. There are some humans that have learned, but so very many that have not. They have set laws against it, of course, but since when has humanity ever followed the guidelines it has set for itself? No, we have learned. Our people were once human when we long ago came OT our planet. But we were enlightened. We were scientists and philosophers, men and women of caliber. It was hard surviving on our lush home world, full of predators and natural disaster. The weak were weeded out. We evolved. We became something else. Something new. Something better. We toiled endlessly to tame some areas for living, and set up industry. We were ever so careful about the industry. Everything was thoroughly tested. We would do nothing to soil this beautiful home. We have learned from the mistakes of the past. And the world rewarded us. Here we discovered a new power. Something of myth and fairy tale. Magic. It was alive in this world. In every rock, in every creature, in every nook and cranny. We mined for crystals. Only what we needed, of course. Nothing more. Everything we took in moderation. No one knew gluttony or greed here. We found ways to harness the magic in the crystals, and used them for power, for growth. But that was in the beginning. As we were exposed for centuries upon centuries to this strange new power, so it began to embed itself in our being. We began to change. Some of began doing things no others could. Some of us could wield the power without the crystals, without the aid of objects. Some of us were born with the magic inside of us. Over time, more and more were born with the gift. Today, there are only few rare children born without the power. We do not shun them. We take care of these children, for our children are born of generations of genius. Natural selection made our bodies stronger. What they lack in power, our children make up for in sharp intellect. It was a golden era for us, up until a century ago. The rest of humanity, still backward and stuck in their ways, discovered us. We held control of a vast portion of space. Humanity invaded, taking worlds one by one from our borders. We could not let them reach our home world, our utopia. We had to fight. Humanity cannot be reasoned with. It lies, it cheats, it hates... And so here we lie in galactic war. We and the humans are both formidable. We are at a stalemate. But the humans are persistent. They do not give up. We pray to remain resilient. We pray to be strong. We must not falter. We must not let them have Eden. The war had been ongoing for as long as I could remember now. It was a totally brutal war, each side unable to grab any new ground for years now. It was at a standstill, yet the battles were still fought, it seemed with increasing frequency nowadays. Furthermore, it seemed to just be part of the routine of the day now, just like breakfast, lunch and dinner. I sighed, it was just about my time to get back in my ship and go fight another battle above another planet, I think it was the 40th time for me over this particular planet, some of my wing mates had almost 100 hundred flights, it just never seemed to make a difference, and we all knew it, but command kept telling us we were getting close to a break through, I don’t know how many people believed that anymore. The enemy was odd though. They looked very similar to us, except they had the ability to use magic; yeah the kind of stuff that was thought to be the realm of the fantasy world was apparently the reality for them. It made the battles much more even than they probably should have been. We had the techno logic edge, but they made up for it with the use of magic, just another reason this war seemed to be endless. I just looked around, how many of my wing mates wouldn’t be making it home again today, and would I be among the ones not returning. I thought those thoughts out of my mind; I couldn’t think like that, I needed to focus on the mission, or else I would defiantly not be returning this evening. If it was up to me, I would just forget about trying to get closer to Eden. We could find another planet, one that would be free for us to conquer and settle and expand. We needed to learn though; we couldn’t keep this up forever. Furthermore, we were running out of know planets we could settle now. I think this sentiment was slowly growing, but humans as a majority seem to be willing to listen to whatever the leader says, and they kept pushing the need to conquer and expand, and we didn’t have to worry about what we were doing. The klaxons went off again, it was time to suit up, launch the next attack on whatever this planet was called. I grabbed my helmet, time to head off to the briefing room to hear the same briefing again, find out we would be carrying the same weapons again. I sighed, it was getting ridiculous how many people needed to die before the leaders figured out it just wasn’t going to work, and maybe just maybe we could learn from these people. Time gripped the controls of the craft so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Navigating through the meteor belts surrounding Azul was a difficult task, and tested the mettle of their pilots. The meteor belts on this end of the solar system were a blessing in a way, for the humans never tried to navigate them. It was a natural defense to this solar system, and in turn to Eden located at the other end of the galaxy. Though well guarded naturally, patrols were still sent out anyhow. One could not be too careful when it came to humans. Nimue was the leader of the small squadron. With ample magical power and quick reflexes combined with sharp intellect, she was the prime candidate for leadership. Four others followed her into the depths of space to patrol near Azul. Fresh crystals were placed in the ships, and they had suited up and taken off. It would likely be an uneventful patrol. It always was. The suits they wore were strange in appearance, almost reptilian in their design. They fit snugly to the body, though were padded in the front in such a way that it was impossible to tell the females from the males. Their helms were strange and mask-like as well, with large dark eyes. All in all, they looked much like a completely different species, like some strange breed of reptilian alien. In fact, it was because of this that the humans thought them to be some form of monster. No human had ever seen an unsuited resident of Eden. They did not know that Eden was inhabited by their distant cousins. The patrol was uneventful at first, as expected. Deathly silent as always, those meteors drifting along like a sea of rock. It had taken a long while to reach the area near Azul, but nothing was seen. They lingered for a time, and it was not until Time was about to give the order to return when she saw them. Humans! Nimue barked out commands through the communication crystals. Spread out, hold formation. Wait for them to draw nearer. Brad maneuvered his squadron carefully through the rocks that surrounded the current target, Planet 889, it was known to them. It was the fifth or six months of the fight for this planet, time just seemed to blend it all together. He looked around, noticing his radar was beeping. There they were, surrounded in the rocks, using it as there protection. He pressed the button for the radio." Alright guys, spread out, and wait for my order, let's show those freaks what human technology can do." He said with a tone, that hinted of cockiness, but also a desire to get home, and out of this situation. He noticed his wingman in formation. "Alright, begin attack plan Alpha Zulu 3." He said as he pressed the button that would send a missile blasting by the enemy ships, maybe even getting lucky and killing an enemy." The ships then hit the afterburners, streaking into battle with the enemy. It was time again, the explosions of the missiles just now appearing on the darkness of space. An explosion of one of his own shipmates, running into a meteor that his wingman just could not avoid. Brad chased after what appeared to be the lead ship, engaging in a dogfight again, wondering if this war would ever be over, a temporary lapse of the mind would be all it would take to end his war forever, with his death. It seemed to be a lapse that would be coming any moment especially with all the rocks nearby. The enemy had skill, if this was a training camp he would need to by the enemy a beer after the simulated dogfight, but that was not the case here and now, one of them, or both of them would not be getting home tonight, and the fear associated with that was beginning to sea pinto Brad's mind, which was causing him to make bad decisions. It was a brutal battle between the few human ships and the fewer ships of the denizens of Eden. They managed to fell two ships before one of theirs was destroyed. They maneuvered expertly through the meteor fields, and the humans struggled. Their seeming leader, however, had seen fit to case after her. Time hummed a pert note in frustration, easing the controls here and there, weaving through and around patches of rock to try and shake him off her rear. Persistent devil. Nimue took a risk, and started out of the meteor field. The rest could operate well without her. Perhaps the humans would fare worse without their leader. So there she led him away from the fray, managing to shoot a human ship out of her way in the process. Little it is known to her that the ship she destroyed in her escape from the meteor field was a friend to the one chasing her now. She continued on her way, veering closer and closer toward Azul. At last, she broke free from the meteor field, spiraling free into open space. That human was still right there behind her. Damn, he was good! She took control of that crystal, spinning the ship around swiftly to face the human whilst still flying backwards. She fired a shot off, a large shot. He had fired one as well. It caught her full on, and the crystal began whining. It was going to blow! She disengaged, and shot out in her escape pod. The ship blew, and she missed blowing up with it by mere seconds. The blast sent her hurling down to the surface of Azul. It would be a rough landing. Through the window, she saw the human. She had blown away his wing and one of his engines. His ship did not explode, but it too hurled toward Azul. This would be interesting. Brad swore, seeing the wing torn apart, and the computer whining that the engine was gone. If it was just the engine, he could have made it back, but with the wing missing as well, there was no way he could have made it back to base. He had no idea how long a rescue ship would take to get here, or even if one would make it. He punched in a course for his escape pod to take him towards the nearby planet. Furthermore, he pressed the eject button. After his pod was safely clear of his ship, it completed its self-destruction protocol. This gave him his first look of the area, he had sawed the explosion of the missile on the enemies ship, but didn't see the ship explode, but he did see another escape pod, nearby also headed towards the planet. He swore, the enemy survived. The enemy was responsible for the death of one of his friends on board the ship. Now by the looks of it, they would be on the same planet together, and well the way his luck was going, he was going to probably crash down just by his enemy. He checked and made sure his gun was ready. He needed to be sure that if they did land besides each other, that he was going to be the one that was going to make it home. Furthermore, he knew his escape pod had a positional transmitter, he didn't know it was malfunctioning though. Maybe, maybe just maybe Ryan thought, when he got rescued he could take this enemy pilot back as a prisoner, and maybe finally get a breakthrough. That was if his anger at the enemy didn't make him kill him first. The pod grew impossibly hot as it sank down through the atmosphere. It would have been painfully hot had it not been for the protective reptilian suit she wore. Little crystals were embedded in certain parts of the suit. In it, she would be able to breathe on the planet below, no matter the air composition. If that human found her, he would likely assume as all the others did-that those reptilian suits were how they really looked. It was almost amusing. Perhaps he would die in his landing to the planet? There was a rough jolt as the pod hit ground. That would leave her sore in the morning! She was quick to disengage the latch, slipping out of the craft. She had little need for her weapon. Furthermore, she had her magic. It was a better weapon than anyone could hope for! She took a quick survey of the area. No human near here. Where had he crashed? Up in the surrounding mountains? Around her, she seemed to be in a sort of natural crater. She had crashed hard just at the edge of a lake. It was beautiful, sparkling green and fairly transparent. In it, she could see all manner of aquatic animals in it. Little, seemingly harmless fish. The soil wasn't too bad, either. The sky was green, lit by a fairly young sun. The ghostly outlines of three moons could be seen overhead as well. As strange as the planet looked, it was thriving with life, flora and fauna alike. She would not test the air though. Not a good risk to be taking. With no sign of that human, she decided to set up camp. Of course, she maintained a watch around her. Brad looked around after the pod crashed landed. He got the readout from the computer, the air was apparently fit for human consumption. He sent out the device specifically made to test this fact. It managed to return to the ship safely. He looked around, one last test. He pressed the button and the seal of the escape pod broke, and the cabin opened. Furthermore, he climbed out, and took a few deep breaths, turning down the environmental controls on his suit each time. The air turned out to be fine. He looked around, and climbed out of the pod. He looked around, and noticed he was on top of a big ridge. There wasn't much life here, he needed to get some place better, some place with more life. He looked to the left, and didn't see much in the habitat environment. He then turned to the right, and saw a wonderful place, that could sustain him for a while. Furthermore, he started going slowly down the face of the crater, to the opening he saw. Furthermore, he didn't see the enemy pod down there from where he was, but he took his gun just in case. He walked down slowly, falling a few times, but didn't get any major injuries. Furthermore, he looked around, trying to find a safer path, but he couldn't find one. The life on this planet was interesting, like nothing he had never seen before. He didn't have time to investigate everything yet, he needed to get to the opening he saw, and set up a camp. He had no idea the enemy was already there, setting up a camp. Time had rearranged the inside of her pod to act as a shelter. There was no energy left in the pod. She was stranded. For some reason, even the communicator was malfunctioning. Of course, upon close inspection, she found that the crystal had cracked. Rotten luck. She still had a good amount of food tucked away in a supply chest in the pod. It would last her for a time. A month or two. The bulk of her supplies had been on the ship, not on the pod. Perhaps she would not be here long? After rearranging the pod for shelter, she began stirring up a fire. She was damned hungry, and she needed something to eat. First, she gathered what seemed like something akin to wood together, arranging that neatly in a composed heap. She used magic to kindle the fire upon it, and soon she had a crackling little pit to roast some meat on. And that was when the human came barreling into the clearing. Time was quick to act first. He comes straight through the brush. He hadn't seen her at first. She sent a blasting force at his arm to knock the weapon from it. The blast managed to just hit the weapon, sending it flying, and totally destroyed. He looked around, seeing if there was anything to do. That was when he realized that he was done for, she had magic, and well he had nothing, and even if he tried to do something, he would have been sent flying on to his butt, or worse. He knew he was beaten. He looked at what could only be described as an odd looking creature, because of the suit the enemy always seemed to wear. Furthermore, he looked over at her, and placed his arms in the air, and went to kneel on the ground. "Alright, whoever you are, you got me, you can do whatever you want, kill me, take me as your prisoner, or whatever. I guess its just going to be a matter of which of our rescue ships show up first." He said in a calm, but angry voice, mostly angry at himself due to how stupid he was coming in like that. He had no idea that his transmitter was broken, and his ship was never going to show up. She couldn't understand a word he said. Just as their bodies had evolved with power, so had their language. She did not understand this language he spoke. There were faint similarities, but it was so different altogether. She did, however, understand that his hands were raised in a small surrender. She did not bother trying to speak. No human yet knew their language. It would be impossible to even try. She kept her palms open to him, slowly moving closer. Eyes remaining on him, she had swept up a length of cord on her way over. The human knew he could not do anything so long as she wielded magic. She pointed to the ground, signaling for him to lie down. When he complied, she hog-tied him, wrists together, ankles together, ankles to wrists. She tied him securely and tightly. He would not be going anywhere. She then dragged him back over to the camp. Her people did not believe in needless killing. He was subdued. He did not need to die. Furthermore, he looked around, knowing that he just became a prisoner. In a case this would probably be worse than death, yet it would probably end in death anyway. He looked around the area that was set up, wondering if there was a way he could get out of this situation. He knew he was going to be watched like a hawk by her, but if he could find someway to get the rope off, he might be able to take advantage of the situation. But he needed to see if the enemy would at least talk to him. He looked around, wondering if the suit the enemy had on was going providing her with environmental controls. "So just how long does your magic last, hopefully for you, it lasts a while, rescue ships might be slow to come out here, and well if you have problems with the atmosphere, and the crystals run out, it might not do much good." He said looking up at his captor. "I'm surprised you don't trust the atmosphere, don't your people live on M class planets, like we do, isn't that what your home planet is like?" She inclined her head at him. Chatty fellow, wasn't he? But as he spoke, she listened. Yes, there were some similarities in speech. Many of the words he spoke shared roots with ones she spoke, and she was beginning to make associations. Nimue still said nothing, and started now roasting that meat that she had intended on roasting. Now that she held the human captive, she felt a bit safer here. There was no telling what wildlife roamed these parts, but at least the known danger was under control. Her back was to him when she finally sat down to eat. A slit opened on the mask-like helmet where her mouth was, and through it, she ate her food. No human knew what her kind looked like, and it was a mystery that gave them an edge. It unnerved the humans. It was a small psychological weapon. She did not offer the human anything to eat. She merely left him tied on the ground. After eating, she closed up the mask and stood. Ignoring his chattering, she laid down several feet away, and dozed off beside the lake. As tied as he was, he was harmless. Besides, he had no weapons. She had natural ones. As she slept, lights would stream through the sky. Noises were heard in the distance. Noises that were growing closer. Meteor shower. Brad looked around, and then up in the sky, when his captor was sleeping. He wasn't going to risk trying to get out of the ropes. He wiggled around trying to find a somewhat safer spot out from all these meteors. The size of these things, getting hit by one of them was going to make his period of being a prisoner, and well his life in general very short. He managed to wiggle into a somewhat safe place, the meteors going all around the camp site. He looked around, and over at his captor, still asleep through all this. Furthermore, he closed his eyes trying to get some sleep, it was obvious to him now, that he wasn't going to be able to escape from the situation, and especially not able to turn the situation to his advantage. The captor was evil though, not sharing any food with him, wasn't that a violation of some sort of law or rule or something. He turned and closed his eyes, maybe in the morning, they might be able to have some dialogue begin between the two of them, didn't them have a universal translator or something built into that suit. Time was startled awake by a crash. Meteor shower! She looked to the human, who had wiggled his way under a rock ledge. She was up quickly, and darted into her shelter/pod. It wasn't large enough to lie down in, nor could she sleep with those loud crashes. The meteor shower was over them now, rocks thumping against the metal craft and all around her. Peering over through the opening, she watched that human. Wasn't it nice of him to save himself and not bother with her? But that was humanity. Her kind were kind and gentle people, fighting only when necessary. Humanity loved to maim, to destroy. He was likely hoping the meteors would get her. She sank down into the pilot chair, grumbling to herself. Slowly the meteors stopped, and again she dozed off. Brad looked around when he woke up to the resident bird like creatures of the planet began to chirp. His legs and arms were sore from being tied up all night. He moved them as much as possible to get the circulation back in them, just to get some feeling back in them. He looked around, his captor seemed to have disappeared. Furthermore, he was looking around, trying to find her. He then noticed that his captor was inside the escape pod. They most of went inside it when the meteor storm started. Sure he could have warned her, but they were still enemies, someone would show up soon, and one of them would be back with their side, the other a prisoner. He was supposed to warn his captor of a meteor shower, he thought not, unless no one showed up for them, they were still enemies and weren't going to work together. He just hoped he would be getting some food from her today, he was starving, and needed something, just to calm the pain in his stomach. If his captor wasn't going to feed him, why didn't they just kill him when they had the chance inside of taking him as a prisoner. Stirring, Time opened her eyes to peer through the opaque lenses of her suit. It was much warmer today, and she found she had a thin layer of perspiration making the suit slick against her skin. She was in dire need of a bath now. She climbed out from the shelter, her neck stiff from having slept in the chair. When she climbed out, she noted that the human was already awake. Likely as hungry as she was as well. She turned back around to sort through the food compartment in the shelter. Sliced fruit was sounding quite good. It was dried out, of course, for purposes of preservation, but it was taste nonetheless. She also took out a lump of some sponge-looking material, that tasted like a cross between white bread and vanilla cake. She divided what she'd taken out into two equal portions. Furthermore, she would turn her back to the human and eat her share first, giving him no view of what lie under that suit. Once finished and the mouth of the suit closed, she turned back around and began hand-feeding the man. He looked at his captor, as they turned around and began feeding him something, it was some dried fruit, and like a sponge cake he thought. A weird breakfast but he was going to take what he could get. He looked up at his captor after they had finished feeding him some food, it was a small amount, but it would be enough for right now at least to squash his hunger pains. He looked at his captor. Furthermore, he knew that a ship would probably show up today to take them back to one of their home ships but which one. "Hmm, I guess it's just a matter of time today before a rescue ship shows up, which every one shows up first I guess wins." He said looking at his captor. "I know we might not be here for much longer, but if you need more food, there is some in the bottom of my escape pod, it landed on top of the crater. I'm guessing you can see the wreckage from here." He said looking at his captor. "And wow, your suit must have a long last life support system, that suit is lasting better than anything us humans have been able to make so far." He figured his captor didn't remove it yet because its server as their life support system. Time merely stared at him. It was mostly gibberish, but she could now pick out several words. Words he kept repeating. Ship. First. Yes, she believed she recognized them now. He was blathering on about who would come first. Well, she knew no one would be coming for her anytime soon. If one of the other ships had survived the scuffle, they would have come here to get her before going home. And without anyone to report back that she was alive... Well. That was a problem, wasn't it? No, if anything came it would be his ship. In fact, Time found it a bit urgent to rise right now and find his own escape pod. She needed to know if it held some type of beacon or communication device. Rising, she abandoned the hog-tied man on the ground. She needed to find this other pod and see what was going on. She started by going through the brush the man had come through, following the trail he'd left behind. Brad looked as his captor had disappeared, doing the stupid thing of leaving him tied up at the camp site. He had a chance now, if he could break through the ropes, he might be able to find something to get the upper hand. He knew he would only need it for the rest of the day, but it would be nice to have. Furthermore, he wiggled around bit, finally getting the ropes up against a sharp piece of metal from the escape pod. It didn't take long before the rope broke. He had a few scratches but nothing serious. He then open the escape pod, and looked around. Furthermore, he found something he needed right away. Furthermore, he grabbed the gun like device, and took off hiding in the woods, waiting for her to return. Taking the evidence of his breaking free, the broken rope with him. His hands and legs felt much better now as he stumbled towards the edge of the forest, waiting for his captor to come back down from his escape pod so he could get the upped hand. He looked at the rope, it was broken, but should be good enough to tie up the hands, which should eliminate the magic advantage of his captor. He crouched down in the edge of the forest, being still and waited patiently for his prey to return. The ship was easy to find. Time approached it cautiously, creeping along quietly like a spider. Crawling forth, she set her hands on the nose of the pod, closing her eyes. Spreading her consciousness into the pod, she searched for any signs of outgoing signals, any signs of power running within the ship. No, it was badly damaged upon landing. There was nothing alive in the pod any longer. She could sense the device that had acted as a homing signal. It had been dead for a long while. No, they were both effectively stranded out here. That rather changed things. They would have to make themselves at home. If they didn't kill each other first. She herself had destroyed three of his shipmates. He might still be sore over that. Rising, she began the trek back to her own pod. She would have to make a stronger attempt at learning his language. They would be together for a while. She pondered over things as she walked back, not paying as close attention as she ought to have on the way back. Bad mistake on her part. Brad smiled as his prey returned. It was time. The second she entered the clearing he jumped out behind the captors back, pressing the gun against the captors back, and forcing them onto their stomach. He tied their hands behind their back, and propped his captor, or his prisoner now up against the tree. He looked at his prisoner, and smiled. "Never ever leave a prisoner along." He looked at his prisoner grinning. He then walked closer. "So now, let's start talking, I want you name, and why are you still wearing your flight suit, you do know the atmosphere on this planet is fine." He said looking at his prisoner. "And don't you have some sort of translator or something, being so magical and all." The moment she felt the gun pressed to her back, she knew it was all over. She fully expected to be killed, knowing well the brutality of humankind. They were vicious, and had no real respect for life. She wondered if he'd be so bold if he knew that his pod wasn't doing anything. If he knew that they were trapped her indefinitely. No escape. She made no noise as she was shoved to the ground, hands bound behind her back. Well, at least she was bound. He wasn't going to kill her. Yet. Perhaps he had some form of respect for life after all. It raised her opinion of him, if only slightly. The human propped her up against a tree, blabbering on about things. There was that "atmosphere" word again. No, they simply couldn't communicate yet. She shook her head, trying to let him no she didn't really understand. Not after only two days. It would be a week before she would really be able to comprehend what he was saying, and he would have to talk a lot and indicate things he spoke of. Brad looked at her and poked at the flight suit. "Why are you still wearing this." He said poking at it again, and then pointing up at the sky. "The atmosphere is good." He said taking a few deep breaths. "You don't need to wear this." He said pointing at the flight suit again. He looked around, wondering what else he could explain to his prisoner get some dialog going. Brad pointed up to his ship. "So did you find my ship?" He said pointing to her pod to give her a clue. "Was it damaged and destroyed like yours." He said pointing back to the damage on her pod. "Is it able to communicate to other ships to send out a signal." He said moving his lips, pointing at them like he was talking. Trying to see if his prisoner would begin to understand him. Now this she comprehended a bit better. Now, from within the suit, it was impossible to tell whether Time was a man or a woman. But now she finally spoke, and it was clear that her voice was decidedly female. She did not know if she fully understood what he was saying, but she made a guess. All she did was repeat a part of what he had said, and she did so in a strange accent." Destroyed like yours?" she attempted, hoping that it was the correct thing to say. It seemed to be. He needed to know that his ship was destroyed. She began explaining in her own language, but without hands to point and the like, it would only seem like nonsensical rambling to him. When she realized it was useless, she shushed up. He smiled, and noticed her voice had a decidedly female like tone. "So you are a female?" He asked, going to get back to the destruction of the ship topic in a second. He made hand signals, to like to illustrate breasts, as he said the work female, and he pointed at her. "So my ship was destroyed like yours?" He asked trying to make sense of what she was trying to say. His mind wandered for a second, still trying to think of what this meant. So this meant they would need to learn to live together. Two people, even from races that hate each other had a better chance of surviving then one person. He looked back at her. "Can you remove your suit." He said pointing at her, and then acting like he was removing his clothes. "The air," He said pointing around, "is fine." He said taking deep breaths to illustrate this point. Female. Yes, it was similar. He made the gestures to signify the meaning. Female. He was asking if she was a female. She didn't see how it much mattered, but she confirmed it for him. "Female." At the gesture of the suit, she grew frustrated. She rolled her shoulders in an attempt to let him know her hands were still tied. She couldn't very well take off the suit without having her hands free! Besides, she didn't see why he just didn't take the ruddy thing off himself if he wanted it off so badly. It wasn't as though she cared. Nudity was a common thing on Eden. Clothing was only worn for ornament or protection. Otherwise, it was common for people to go naked. Why ought they be ashamed of their anatomy? It was all similar anyhow. Brad noticed, and slowly went behind her, and remove the rope, freeing her hands. He also tossed the gun aside, far away from where they were. This he hoped indicated to her, he didn't want to do any harm. He looked at her, and then began to speak again. "This war, so many good lives lost, on both sides." He paused for a moment, turning to look at her. "And for what, we have moved all of 20 feet in what seems like forever." Brad paused again. "All because we humans are too stupid to learn and invent new ways of doing things. Sure we will invent a new way to process something, or a new way to blow shit up, but not a new power or something like that." He paused again. "Always needing to be on the lookout for a new planet that contains the resources we must us for some stupid reason, when we don't need to rely on them anymore." He sighed looking at her. "Sorry I know you don't have a clue what I just said, my name," he pointed at himself, "Is Brad, what is yours?" He said pointing at her. When he unbound her hands and tossed away the gun, she was a bit suspicious at first. Didn't all humans have that destructive quality? But then she considered this. If they did, she supposed that their forefathers and foremothers would never have established Eden. Perhaps he was like them? Perhaps there was hope for them to survive after all? With her hands unbound, she ran her finger along her neck. A slit appeared there, prying open to reveal a thin strip of skin. Oddly colored skin. She slipped the helm off of her head, her hair spilling free. She had slick, lustrous black hair, and her flesh was a pale lavender. Her lips were a bit darker purple, and quite full. She had large, expressive gray eyes. In short, Time was a lovely woman of Eden. Setting the helm aside, she pointed to him. "Isbradwhatisyours," and then pointed to herself. "Time." (Pronounced highway.) Nodding, she peeled away the rest of the suit. She was nude beneath it, a sheen of perspiration evident on her lavender flesh. She had full breasts, crowned with dark grayish nipples, and was slender. A bit toned of muscle, as she was a fighter for the people of Eden. She was somewhat tall, matching him shoulder to shoulder and eye to eye." Nimue," she repeated, looking quite serious. Brad was bit surprised about seeing Time naked in front of him, it must be the way they were always. He nodded at her, scanning her body quickly and then focusing on her face. "Hello Time, hopefully we can put our people's differences beside us to survive down here." He said smiling at her, knowing she probably still didn't understand him, but she was learning quite quickly. Brad then turned around her a second. She was beautiful, except for the color of her body, she was very human like. She was beautiful, her long flowing black hair. It seemed that the odd coloring of her body just made her appear more beautiful to him. He paused and then started to remove his clothing, to Time seeing a clothed male was probably a weird experience. When Brad turned back around Time was greeted with a full view of Brad. It started of course with his short, military style, brown hair. He had hazel eyes. As you moved further down his body, she would have seen the athletic build, typical of years of training and exercise. He smiled at her, and looked around. "Should we build a shelter." He said his hands moving about to form the shape of a human house. Time peered at him curiously as he removed his clothing. Now nude, she thought nothing of it. It was common to see nude people on Eden. Still, she watched him curiously because she wanted to learn how to communicate. It would make everything so much easier if they could talk. At least she was in luck. She had been stranded with the one human that wasn't part of the disease. At the gesture of a shelter, she nodded. She did not know the words, but she knew the gesture. "Should we build a shelter," she repeated, but instead of posing it as a question, she repeated it as a statement. Moving to one of the meteors that had fallen, she picked it up, pointing to it. ’Re never metal pro." She had said it needed to be meteor proof. To demonstrate her meaning, she held up her hand to symbolize the top of a shelter. She touched the meteor and made it seem as though it bounced off her arm. "Metal pro," she said once more. He looked at Time and nodded. "It does need to be safe from meteors." He said nodding at her. "Go look at the trees," He said pointing towards the forest. "See if they got through the meteor shower." He said throwing a meteor toward the forest. "If not we can stay under that rock ledge for now." He said pointing to where he crawled to last night, and then acting like he was resting on a pillow. Brad smiled at her, and followed her. "I'll come help you." He said smiling at her. "It makes stuff easier." He said as they walked towards the forest together. He began looking at the trees. "Do you see if they have any holes in them." He said moving his hands into a circle to illustrate what he meant by hole. He knew it probably was likely they had holes, but maybe just maybe the trees were able to withstand the meteors. "Safe from meteors," she echoed in agreement. Metal. Meteors. Well, that was simple enough. He pointed to the forest and spoke once more, but she didn't understand very well. Definitely something about meteors. Being as they were talking about a shelter, it was likely that he was asking if the trees were meteor proof. If they were, they could use them for shelter. She walked with him into the forest, shaking her head. She pointed to the trees. Branches had been broken, wood splintered. No, the trees were not resistant to it. What was it he had said? She pointed back to the camp site. "If not we can stay under that rock ledge for now." She knew the meaning of the phrases he spoke so long as he used hand gestures, but she did not know the actual meaning of the words. She was only repeating what she heard for now." Isbradwhatisyours," she called his name (or what she thought was his name) and gave his arm a tug. Shaking her head, she gestured to the trees. She was trying to say that it was no use, the trees would not do anything. "My name is just Brad." He said thinking that he confused her with his name. He pointed at himself. "Brad" He said smiling at her, and then he nodded at Time agreeing that the trees would be of no use. "I think we will need to stay under the rock ledge for now." He said pointing back to where he stayed the previous night. "Get some trees," He said pointing at the trees again, "to protect us from the wind." He said making, a whistling time sounds to represent the wind, "and from rain" He said making his fingers act like rain drops. He turned back to Time again, before bending down to pick up a tree. "Can you help me with this Time." He said as he pointed at her, and then acting like he was lifting. "Then we are going to lean it against the rock wall." He said pointing to the log, and then leaning up against the nearby tree. "You think you understand that Time?" He said smiling at her. "Brad," she nodded, peering to the trees. Still, even if they stayed under that rock ledge, they were going to need to make it a proper shelter. It was still open to the environment. He seemed to be thinking the same thing as he made gestures and went to lift some of the trees. Yes, she could help. She could do more than help. Extending those slim fingers, she wove her magic around several trees. Lifting them up into the air, she walked slowly back to the clearing, her brows knit in concentration. She set them down near the shelter, then turned to regard Brad. "You should, we build a shelter, Brad." Brad smiled at her, as they got back closer to the shelter. "If forgot you had the power of magic Time." He said smiling at her. He then picked up a smaller log and laid it against the top of the rock ledge. "Help me finish putting these logs around the shelter. "We can leave a small space for a door." Making a motion of a door opening. "We can also try to find a vine or something like that to attach around the logs." He made a motion like he was hugging the log with the broken rope. He turned and looked at her. "After we are done this we should eat something." He said making a motion like he was eating something, and then we should see if we can begin to understand each other." He said smiling at her. "Come on Time, let's finish the shelter first." "Shelter first," Time agreed. She held out her arms, weaving that magic once again. One by one the logs were laid over the rock ledge, forming a solid wall around the thing. The cliff that towered over them that the rock edge jut from was sturdy, and Time knew it would be efficient cover. When it was finished, she moved into her pod. From it, she drew a long length of silken cord, and began weaving it through the logs to secure them together. She gave Brad a length of cord to work at the other side of it. They met at the space they had left for a door. Standing back, she appreciated the work." Shelter first, Brad?" she looked to him inquisitively. Brad nodded towards Time. "Yes Time, the shelter is done." He said smiling at her. "Now lets getting some to eat." He said making a motion like he was eating something. "If you can start a fire, we can cook some meat, if you have any." He said looking at her, giving signals for fire. He said looking at her, and then back to the shelter. "That's a good shelter Time." He said pointing towards it. "It should be good for a long time." He then turned back to Time, before they had a chance to start the fire. "Maybe after we eat, you can teach me." He acted like he was reading a book. "More about you." He said pointing towards her. "And I can teach you more about me." He said pointing towards himself. Yes. This was an affirmative answer. He liked the shelter. Yes. She would have to remember that word. He babbled on, but all she really understood now was that he wanted to eat. Time found herself in agreement. She was quite hungry as well. So to the pod she went, sorting through it for more meat from the preservation compartment. She brought it forth, setting it atop a stone near the fire pit. She then gathered kindling for the fire, arranging it neatly. With a wiggle of her finger, a blaze kindled. Jamming the meat through with a metal stick, she used to rocks to prop up the stick and roast the meat on. While the meat cooked, she looked to Brad. She wanted to learn more of his language. She furrowed her brows and seemed quite curious. How strange it was that the other day they had been trying to kill each other... He looked over at Time, and motioned for her to come closer. "We need to learn how to talk to each other." Using a modified form of sign language to explain talking. "Do you have paper, maybe if I write." He acted like he was writing something. "You can understand my words better and learn quicker, since you seem to learn fast." He said smiling at her. "Don't worry Time, I won't attack, I don't share the same beliefs as my leaders." He said doing an officer imitation by walking around with a stiff neck, looking down at everyone, pointing to where his fake rank insignia would be. He looked at her as he sat back down. "Are you beginning to understand what I am saying." He said asking her, trying to illustrate what he was asking her, wondering if she understood that part about the paper. Maybe if he could write something down, it would trigger something in her brain, and make her understand everything easier. Time cocked a brow, trying to determine what all this gibberish was. She shook her head, waving her hands, and trying to get him to stop talking. Eventually, she resorted to pressing a finger to his lips and "shh"ING him gently. He was taking the entirely wrong approach to this. And writing would certainly not help. She tried to instead go over what she had learned. She pointed to him. "Brad." She then pointed to the shelter. "Shelter." Indicating the food, she said, "Eat." Looking to the forest, she ventured a guess. "Trees?" Pointing to a fallen meteor, she said, "Meteor." Lifting of her hands, she wiggled her fingers, looking curious. Perhaps he could tell her what he called hands? Brad noticed what she wanted now. He then smiled at her. "Ahh, you want me to show you what each thing is called." He said smiling at her, as he pointed to various things. First he pointed towards a tree. "Tree." Then he guested to the entire forest. "Forest." He then pointed towards the lake. "Lake" He then pointed towards the shelter. "Shelter." He pointed towards the fire. "Fire." Then the ground. "Ground." He used his hand to go through the grass. "Grass." He then decided that was enough of the surrounding area for now. Brad looked at her, and then began to point at various parts of her body. He started with her face, and pointed out each thing, naming off each part as well to teach her. He then began to point to his body, and point out the parts on himself as well, just to make sure she could see everything, and so she could tell the difference. Furthermore, he then moved closer to the fire, and pointed to the meat. "Meat." He said smiling at her, then going back towards her. "Did that help?" She did not understand his last question, but she did understand the surrounding things. She couldn't help but smile a little. "Time eat meat, Brad eat meat. Meat...fire." She tried to say it was cooking, but she hadn't learned that yet. "You eat meat, Brad. Time fire meat, Brad eat. Hands fire meat." She gestured to the fire. Yes, she was beginning to understand now. Moving over to the fire, she put it out and brought the meat on the stick back over to Brad. She blew on it gently, then peeled away a piece of it and slipped it into her mouth. She offered him the stick. "You eat, Brad." Brad nodded towards Time. "Thank You Time." He said smiling at her. "You are a good cook, you like cooking?" He said smiling at her, as he took a bite of the meat she offered him. He looked towards her after they finished eating. "Do you want to learn more." He asked her smiling, acting like he was reading a book intensively. He pointed towards her. "Want to learn more?" He asked her with a smile, wondering if she did. Brad looked around, and then laid on the grass a little bit away from where Time was laying. "Or just relax." He said patting the ground beside him. "Relax Time?" He said smiling at her, wondering what it was going to be like stuck here with her. Sure they were enemies the day before, but all that needed to put aside to survive here. They needed to survive here, and that required them to work together, and learn from each other. Maybe this experience could stop the fighting if they ever got back to their own governments. Time was determined. She moved to sit beside him on the grass. She didn't understand his questions, for they were all words she had not yet learned. But she pointed to the grass and said, "Brad relaxes on grass. On grass, yes?" she asked. Then she frowned slightly. "You reflex. Relax?" She mimicked his position on the ground. Relax. It meant to lie down? Was he tired? Surely not, it was midday!" Nimue relax?" she asked, wondering if she had it right. Brad nodded. "Yes, Relax Time. Let lunch settle." He said pointing towards the leftovers of the meal they just had. "Then we get back to work." He said smiling at her. "Relax on the grass Time, point to things if you want to know what it is." He said smiling at her. "Time, no enemy, not anymore." Trying to say it in words that she could understand right now. He hoped that she would begin to understand English soon, it would make everything easier. He smiled at her, laying on his side, looking at her. "Swim?" He said pointing towards the lake. He wondered if she might be interested in a little swim, just to relax some more. They had more stuff to do, but the shelter was taken care of, they could relax for a while. He looked at her and pointed again. "Swim?" He repeated, wanting to see if she understood. She peered to the lake, rising up from the bank. She still didn't understand some words, like enemy, or anymore, but she did comprehend the swimming." Nimue swim. You swim in lake, Brad. Time swim first." Turning, she approached the water and waded into the lake. The fish in it dispersed in fright, leaving the water clear. It was cool and quite refreshing, and she found it had been a good idea. Diving forward, she submerged herself completely. Resurfacing, she peered back at Brad. "Swim first, Brad!" Brad smiled at her, and jumped into the lake, swimming out towards her. He submerged himself under the water, and then came back up besides Time. He pointed towards her. "You choose what we do." He said pointing at both of them, and then acting like he was doing something. "You show me, what you want to do." He said trying to explain it in hand signals. "We could race." He said pointing at both of them, then acting like he was swimming fast. He then paused and looked towards her, placing a hand on her skin. "You just like us, you beautiful, and not an enemy." He said looking at her trying his best to explain in hand signals what he was trying to say. "You are beautiful, Time." He said smiling at her, wondering what she was going to try to suggest if anything. Time was starting to get the basic drift of what he was saying now. He wanted to know what she wanted to do. And what else was he saying again? Beautiful? She wondered what it meant. And there was that enemy word again." Brad swims in lake," she said quite evilly. Before he could react, she placed both hands on his head and dunked him under the water. Diving backwards, she swam away before he could retaliate. She surfaced several feet away, laughing brightly. "No air lake, Brad!" Brad laughed, and chased after her once he surfaced again, spitting out some of the water. He chased after Time, and wrapping his arms around her, and beginning to tickle her. He smiled looking at her, as she began to laugh. "You enjoy swimming Time?" He said looking at her, as he began to swim backwards, away from her before she was able to retail ite. He looked at Time, and began to talk again. "Time be friend?" He asked her as he continued to swim backwards in the lack smiling towards her. "Time, beautiful girl." He said looking at her, before he dove back under the water, grabbing onto her legs, before coming back to the surface. He caught up with her, his fingers dancing over her sides, the sensitive nerves there stimulated into an agonizing tickle. She laughed and wriggled against him, trying to pry herself away. "No!" she squealed, shoving at him roughly. Pulling away, he went on with that beautiful word again and dove under the water, snatching at her legs. She swam back, giving Brad a good splash in the face when he finally resurfaced. She began rambling in her own language a bit, but trailed off as he didn't understand a word of it." No," she made that tickling gesture," Time!" Brad looked at her. "You don't like tickling Time?" He said and then swam closer to her, placing his hands around her, not tickling her right away. "You be friend to me Time?" He said asking her, and not tickling her, knowing she didn't like the result. He looked at her in the eyes smiling at her. "You be my friend?" He said looking at her, trying to think of something to do. Brad paused for a second, and then went crouching under the water, grabbing her legs, and placing them on his shoulders. Before he slowly raised up out of the water. He started to slowly walk through the water, wondering how Time would react. He was enjoying have all this fun with Time, he wondered if she was enjoying it as well. As Time was lifted from the water, she gasped. Instead of the desired effect of her on his shoulders, two transparent wings, almost glass-like in appearance, erupted from her party and beat furiously as she rose into the air. It was much like a hummingbird, the way her wings beat so quickly and she flew backwards slowly." Nimue friend. No tickle, Brad. You no tickle. Time swim first!" she wagged a scolding finger at him, but she laughed slightly. Brad smiled at how, although he was shocked at how she got back down into the water. "You, you have wings?" He said looking at her. He swam back towards her chasing her, bit shocked, but still wanting to play, happy Time wanted to be his friend. "Yes Time, you are my friend, and I won't tickle anymore." He said as he swam around bit more. After bit more chasing around, and swimming together Brad started to swim towards the shore. "You want to come in to the fire again Time. Relax, try to talk, you seem to be understanding more?" He said smiling at her, waiting to see if she was coming. He said smiling at her. She was beautiful. "Time, you are beautiful." There was that beautiful word again. He sure did go on about that one, but she couldn't seem to place the meaning. Now back in the water, those wings shimmered and vanished into nothingness, her back smooth and normal once more. Or, as normal as it could be, being of lavender flesh. Those steely gray eyes fixed on him, ever so curious about him." Nimue swim in lake," she chirped softly, peering at her hands through the water. "No swim. Time relax." She then swam for shore. She was finished with the swim for now. Brad smiled at Time as she came out of the water, and back on land. He laid down on the grass again, and patted a spot on the ground right beside him. "Lay here Time, enjoy the sun." He said pointing up towards the sky. He said smiling at her, as he watched her slowly come closer towards him. "Time, is this place not beautiful." He said gesturing his hands around, as if he was enjoying and taking in all the scenery of their little camp. Time peered down, evaluate the little patch of grass beside him. She knelt down, running her hands over the grass. At the gesture skyward, she peered up. As the light caught in those gray eyes, they took on a metallic silver luster. "Enjoy the sun," Time agreed, spreading open her arms to receive the warmth. After a moment she did lie back, peering lazily up into the sky. "Time friend of enjoy-the-sun?" she asked him, verifying if she understood the words correctly. She was trying to express a fondness for the sun. Brad smiled at her, and reach his hand out towards her, wondering how she would react, and also trying to explain it to Time. "If you like the sun, you can be a friend of the sun. The sun isn't a person, it's an object." He said smiling at her, lying close to her. Brad then looked over at Time, his hand grazing across her arm. "Time, what do you think of Brad?" He asked trying to find out if she would understand his question. He used hand signals to point at her, and then at himself, hoping that would help her understand. Furthermore, he smiled towards her, as he moved a little closer towards her. Time was aware of him moving closer. By his gesturing and proximity, and the gleam of his eyes...well, she could only think of one thing that he wanted. And that wasn't something she was looking to share with so recently an enemy! Leaning forward, she pressed a quick peck of a kiss to his cheek and said very firmly, "No, Brad. Time relax." It was clear that she misunderstood his question, and by the look in her eye and the way she scooted backwards, he would know it. Brad shook his head knowing that Time didn't fully understand what he had asked her. "No Time, I didn't want sex." He said moving his hips, to recreate a picture of a male being ridden by a female. He turned backed to her. "I asked, do you like this area," He said gesturing to the entire area, "and do you like me." He said pointing back and forth between the two of them, trying to think up a way to communicate liking someone without it being something more than that. He then placed his hand down about midway between their two bodies. "Is Brad still your enemy?" He asked trying to describe enemy as well.

Enemy Mine (closed for ositoandtigresa)|rating:4.0

Heroes and the Real World (Lionura7 & Cclayjr)

Terry City... A place where one can have their dreams fulfilled or dashed into the depths of oblivion. A bustling metropolis of life hiding the darkness beneath its bright facade. Crime Lords hide their control of the city's workings from their strongholds while politicians fight for whose face will line the billboards next. The city was by no means small, and housed many thousands of people. Even those without homes made lives in the shadows of Terry. The city may not have had the most stable of governments, but Terry was well-developed and auspiciously designed. The business and entertainment districts were nearest each other, making for a central hub of sorts with various styles of residencies forming the outskirts. Urban-styled apartments were closest to the center for those who wished to live near the entertainment district, or could not afford to live in the more suburban-styled homes farther away. The city was not lost on aesthetics, however, with various parks and plazas filling the districts. With a stretch and a yawn, Average woke up from her nap in Empire Park; one of the largest parks near the Business District. She laid on a black blanket with stars in a pattern resembling the night sky; the blades of grass refusing to lay down adding depth to the fabric. The young woman stood quickly and set her possessions off to the side to free up the blanked for folding. She had few things with her; namely a pack containing her personal items and a portfolio containing various commissioned artworks. She hummed quietly to herself as she turned to fold her blanket, unaware of the invisible target planted on her belongings. With the second fold made, she was distracted enough for the thief targeting her to make his move. Seeming to appear from nowhere, the thief ran past her things and deftly absconded with them without losing pace, and pushed through the people on the sidewalk to make his escape, "Come back here with that!" Average called after him, dropping her blanket as she turned to give chase. Charles was out for his morning run. He was jogging through the park, mostly because it was not the safest of places to be the other was a good run kept him feeling in migrated. With his black Nike jogging pants and shoes, His gray tank top that revealed his muscular frame and lightning bolt tattoo that ran along his arm. He moved stealthy trying to practice his movement that his Sensei had taught him. He came upon a fairly attractive woman lying down, he also notices one on looker seeming to be looking at her. It was different seeing the scene unfold but for him, it simply another days work. He circled looking back and waited, he couldn't very well take him down before he committed the crime. But when the woman turned to fold her blanket the man made his move. Charles made his, he ran just fast enough to catch him and steer him into a tree. He thought is slight elbow chuck would be enough to push him into a tree, his own weight and force should have been sufficient to knock him out. He hoped anyway. Average had barely taken any steps before she saw a man clad in black shoot past her and effectively curtail the attempts of the thief. She gasped as she watched the bandit trip over himself and topple over into a bush, hoping that her portfolio survived. She turned back briefly to hastily grab her unfolded blanket and jog over to where the man had fallen." Oh my goodness! Thank you so much!" She exclaimed, dropping the bundled cloth as she attempted to hug Charles for saving her things, "I probably should have known better. Silly me!" She smiled, playfully bonking herself on the head with her hand. She reached down to grab the fallen portfolio and her backpack, checking each to make sure nothing was out of place. It was clear her backpack contained her wallet and other personal effects, however the black leather, art portfolio she carried clashed with her current dress. She wore a black, ribbed tank top with a zip-up, white, hooded sweatshirt over it; and well-worn, boot cut blue jeans with holes cut at the knees and ripped hems at the bottom. Currently, she was barefoot, but she seemed unfazed by that fact. Charles wasn't fazed by the fact that the guy was nearly knocked out. That he had been able to run him down easily without calling attention to himself. It was hard to try to rail back his abilities now. He had had them for so long now that part of them had crossed over, and he still needed to be careful. But what did grip him was how warm and comforting this woman's touch was. He was strangely aroused by the sensation of feeling her body so close even though it was simply a surprised thank you hug." You are welcomed Ma'am, are you ok?" He asked making sure the PERP didn't get away. He knew nothing of fashion most of his clothes were either black or dark blue, a few colors were in his wardrobe but not many. Furthermore, he was thinking that he was shocked that this woman would hug a large black man like that, but grateful was grateful. "No it happens, some of us are just way too trusting is all and that is ok too." He said as he wanted to back away but still enjoyed her closeness, he wondered what it would be like to have a warm and sensitive woman like this? He shook that thought away, they had only just met. Already he had her bent over his couch and lining his furniture. Now she was nice on the eyes, but surely she had a man already so he would have to keep looking till he found one of his own. But a man could dream, couldn't he? The young woman nodded eagerly, sending several strands of her multicolored hair out of place. For most people in Terry, extreme hair colors were a form of expression, but for Average it was simply the way it grew. Raven black laced with streaks of silver and violet that seemed ever-changing as she moved, her long hair reached the small of her back, and was usually pulled back into braid for convenience. Despite her difficulty with them, she had bangs that framed her face; the natural curl of her hair allowing them to accent her oval-shaped face, "I'm fine, I'm just glad that he didn't get far." Average replied smiling, her almond-shaped, gray eyes matching in their warmth, "I have to get these in before the office closes," She said, pointing to her portfolio, "But I would like to properly thank you. Um...." Average pondered for a moment, biting her lower lip, "Oh! Meet me here." Pulling a small pad and a pen out of her pack she wrote down and address and handed it to him, "I can't offer much, but I can at least get you a drink. I'll see you then!" And with that, she picked up her things and jogged off towards the Business District. Her stride was long and graceful regardless of the fact she wasn't wearing shoes. He looked her over and everything in him wanted to take her home with him. The other part just wanted to be bold enough to ask her out. But he had been down that road once before, and it was simply too hard to keep his real life and his secret life intact. Add a girlfriend on top of that? One that might ask too many questions as to his whereabouts? He wasn't too sure he wanted to drag this sweet innocent woman in to all of that! He was shocked as she pulled out her pad, the look on his dark brown face probably told her that. Furthermore, he was glad his sunglasses were in place to hide his deep green eyes. Most women liked them or thought he was extremely vain and they were contacts. Truth be told they were real, they had changed when his powers kicked in and never changed back." No need to thank me....but I will gladly meet you there." He said trying not to sound to eager, his previous thoughts having gone out of the window apart from him seemed willing to take a chance with her for some reason. It was then that she walked of. "What is your name?" He yelled. "Average!" She yelled, changing her stride to turn and face him. In her attempts to be social and mobile, her heel caught on a bit of uneven pavement, nearly causing her to fall. To the surprise of those around her, she bent backwards and using one hand, propelled herself forward in a flip before continuing towards her destination. She ignored the odd stares and murmurs spawned from her interesting display, increasing her speed to further escape question, 'That certainly went well...' A deep, harmonious voice echoed inside her mind. The voice belonged to Libra, an ancient Goddess whose spirit now inhabited Average's body, 'I'm sure he'll think nothing of it. Maybe think it was just some crazy reflex.' The girl responded silently, her words reaching only the Goddess, 'Let us hope...' Averaen shook her head gently in response as she came upon a tall corporate building near the edge of the Business District. The building stood twenty stories, the entire structure lined with rows of large, glass windows with mirror finishes. Average sauntered in through a revolving door, over which "Cancom, Inc." read in lit block letters. She entered for only a few brief minutes before exiting in the same manner, though missing her portfolio. Immediately, she headed towards the bar she directed Charles to, and quite in a hurry after realizing she never gave him a time. While in a slummier part of town, the bar was not very far, and she managed to make it there after nearly an hour and a half. Hoping that he didn't think she'd forgotten, she sat on a bench outside to wait. He looked at her thinking liked her shape, even the way she looked from behind. But then he watched her again as he was about to leave to shower and change for his....date?!? He watched her practically flip out of a nearly twisted angle. It was something even a top gymnast might have trouble doing on a good day, to him, it was nothing short of amazing. 'Whoa she certainly is...flexible?' The wicked thoughts of that movement in the bedroom he shook from his mind. They hadn't even dated yet and he already had her bedded and wed. No she was trying to thank him, she might be even a bit interested in him. But he couldn't even see them going that far, with his schedule and all, she would be more suspicious than a little bit. That was just how women are....but yet and still he watched her behind and smirked. He thought of changing, but he let his speed zip him home. He definitely didn't want to smell when he met her later. Furthermore, he was again sadly disappointed when he couldn't fly. But he thought of the fact that it would keep his identity safe. Well that would keep him going, he didn't think himself the world's mightiest mortal. He was just a man now and his mission was to save those, that couldn't save themselves. But he sometimes wondered briefly if he needed saving....maybe that was why he was going to see her. Even heroes get lonely. He showered and changed he put on a light blue button up shirt and jeans. Unlike some of his other friend in the superhero world he summoned his costume so he still always looked normal. So his secret ID remained....his secret. He could live a normal life....sort of. He was in his black boots, and he decided to drive his car a black camera to the bar. Not like he couldn't drink a lot so he would be safe, but if she wanted to go anywhere he would at least be prepared, or she might like to walk since she seemed active.....his mind went back to her flip, before briefly going to her doing the flip naked. He quickly shook off that thought as he saw her sitting there after parking the car, looking so amazing. "Average, nice to see you again. Hope you weren't waiting long." The sun had begun to set before Charles appeared out of his black car. The lowering orb set a deep orange glow to the area, reflected by the buildings far off in the Business District. Averaen had been busying herself playing a game on her phone while she waited, her hair obscuring her face as she concentrated on the screen. The telltale beeps revealing her game to be Tetris, and her thumbs moved quickly denoting a high level. However, she was not alone. A drunken gentleman sat next to her on the bench, attempting to garner her attention, "Hey baby... how about you and I go somewhere private?" He chortled, as he tried to put his arm around her shoulder. Average paid him no mind, of course, her focus solely on her game. That is until Charles called her. Upon hearing his voice, she nearly leapt off the bench, shoving her phone into her pocket; her sizeable breasts giving a noticeable jiggle as she bounced over to him, "You made it!" she exclaimed, her perpetual smile greeting him, "I wasn't sure if you would come since I forgot to tell you a time." She paused as she noted his change of clothes, "You look nice. I didn't even think to change." Her cheeks tinted a light shade of pink as she spoke. She never thought he would get dressed up, nor that he would look so good as a result; not to say that she didn't enjoy his workout clothes, "Well, this way then!" She grabbed his wrist and pulled him gently towards the door. The brick building wasn't very large, but sizeable enough to hold many inebriated patrons without much trouble. It had a sign labeled "Marriott's" above the gray metal entrance door, which Average pushed open for them. Inside, a bar lined with stools was against the wall to the right, with smaller tables and chairs filling the space on the opposite wall. There was a space cleared out for dancing in the far corner with a DJ booth sitting opposite it. He was rather surprised by her forwardness, the jiggle of her large breasts didn't go unnoticed as he more than admired her ample curves and the thoughts he had before started to surface. "I wanted to make a good impression." 'I also didn't want you to see how aroused you made me.' He thought to himself as she gripped his wrist and pulled him in. "I didn't interrupt your other date did I?" He teased about the drunkard outside, she seemed focused on something and the drunk man was probably harmless. He did want to make sure he made it a point to appear interested in her as well, it wasn't everyday he saved an attractive woman when not in costume anyway." So you still look great, not in to shoes I take it?" He said wondering since she seemed to enjoy being barefooted. He was still being lead by her, not sure about this bar and grill. But if she liked it he would see her appeal soon enough." What did you have in mind?" Since she was leading him in, and he was behind her, yeah he did admire the view but continued to focus on her. The young woman laughed heartily at his comment about her temporary drunken companion, "You don't think I'mankind of girl, do you?" She laughed again emphasizing the joke of her question as she pulled him through the door. Once inside, she steered them both towards the bar; the few patrons inside barely batting an eyelash at their appearance. Not many cared to drink at such an early hour, but the bar still was home to those who chose to be there. Several surly-looking gentlemen had their attention focused on a boxing match displayed on flat-screen above the bar, enjoying ice-cold brews as they watched. A couple enjoying an appetizer together at a table on the far side of the bar seemed oblivious to the outside world as they enjoyed each other's company. Averaen, with all of her enthusiasm, leapfrogged onto the nearest barstool, garnering the attention of the bartender, "Hey Ava, careful you don't break anything while you're here!" The rotund man chortled as he poured a beer for another of his patrons, "I'll try to remember this time, Larry!" Average responded similarly, giggling as she waved to him. Marriott looked to be a man deep into his forties, his balding head not deterring the rest of him as a great mustache sat above his upper lip. He was quite large, standing over six feet tall with a considerable beer belly that only added to his jolly demeanor. Turning to Charles, Average patted the stool next to her beckoning him to sit with her, "Whatever you want, Marriott's got it. Don't worry about paying, either. This is my thanks for earlier today." She smiled playfully, resting her feet on one of the rungs of the barstool, "Speaking of which, you must train really hard. I've never seen anyone run that fast before." "A guy can dream can't he?" He said looking at her thinking she was some kind of gorgeous. He moved with her seeing she was intent on holding his hand and he was intent to let her."You're a regular here I take it." He said as he took in all of it around him, what little darkness there was in the room called to him so he knew where most of the patrons were. But he was not hunting anyone so he tried to relax as he was with her"I do work out a bit, I used to play football, so I am used to sprinting. My dreams of pro were dashed when they said I wasn't good enough." He said sitting next to her. "I will start off with a beer then see what I can keep down." He rarely drank, with his metabolism he normally had to drink a lot to feel a buzz, much less get drunk. He knew how to act drunk though, he had to wink some of his drinking games in college." So what kind of artwork do you work on??" He asked thinking of her portfolio from earlier. Average nodded, "I used to work here part-time before I got enough clients to support myself. Marriott's like my crazy uncle," she giggled, "He took good care of me." At Charles' request, Marriott brought over a hearty pint of beer and set it down in front of him, "And she kept my bar in order." He smiled, setting down Average's drink, "She can be quite a handful when she wants to be." Marriott winked at Charles as he walked away to greet more folks that enjoyed his bar." I think they made a poor choice not letting you play for them. Not to mention, you nearly knocked him out cold!" She laughed lightly, taking a sip of her cranberry juice and vodka. She had a fairly low resistance to alcohol, it didn't take much to get her going, but that made her a really cheap date, "I can do pretty much anything really, I work on commission. As long as you can describe it to me, I can draw or paint it." Average smiled proudly, "Those paintings you saved for me were next month's rent. I really can't thank you enough." She lifted her glass to him with her usual bright smile before taking a hearty swig to complete her salute. "You used to be a bartender?" He asked only for Marriott to answer his question for her. He nodded in affirmation, he was impressed. His own abilities were different but nonetheless she made the conversation interesting. "So basically you both helped each other out?" He said as he took a drink and wondered what he meant by her being a handful. He nodded about not being accepted, and it was true he really wanted to play, but his abilities made that a non-issue. As he could really hurt someone if he weren't careful and that was the point...he hated to lose." It wasn't my intent I just knew how run, I thought you needed help. That was it." He said with a shrug as if it were and every day occurrence. "So you just do art in any form Hugh? That is rather impressive." He found himself looking at the beauty next to him and think of so many ways she could thank him. But none he would ask for on the first date, but a man could truly dream what it would feel like to have that body pressed against his and those lips against his own. "Glad I could help, so do you have a lot of clients or just one or two at a time?" He said interested in her work as he took another drink." Whatever pays the bills." Marriott laughed heartily at Charles' question, his hands grasping his great belly as it bounced with his laughter, "No sir," He finally replied once his mirth subsided, a smile still alighting his lips, "She was my best bouncer." He offered proudly, "Not to discount Miles over there," He continued, pointing to a buff, somber-looking gentleman in the corner, "But she could work without throwing a single punch." The bartender offered Average a pat on the head before turning away to attend to the new faces that entered the bar. It was slowly becoming crowded as the night drew on, the once-quiet bar now bustling with activity. Averaen nodded as she sipped the last of her drink, setting the empty glass down gently, "Yup, I owe him a lot." She giggled after a small internal belch, the alcohol beginning to take an effect on her, "Oh, I only have one right now." She paused as Marriott brought her another drink, downing it almost as soon as he set it down, "It's a big one though... Corporate. They need stuff on their walls... so they called me." She giggled again for no apparent reason, the alcohol clearly clouding her system, "But I have free time... I can draw for you, too." Charles was taken aback by his reply, he started to laugh, but the man looked at him. "What? Seriously? You?" He looked at Average and thought of her being able to fight, and she was nicely built but bouncer? He saw her more being hit on than hitting." Without throwing a punch? Impressive." He said as he looked at the comrade between the two and was noticing that others were filling the bar now. He noticed she was drinking quickly, was she nervous? Furthermore, he wouldn't believe that she would be only that she liked to drink. Furthermore, he wasn't but wasn't sure how she would feel with him coming on to her, he certainly didn't want to end up on the ground in a crowded bar from a hip toss either." Free time? Draw for me? I can see. Not to sure what free time is anymore." He said as he looked at her more than admiring the view. Average frowned deeply at his mention of having little free time, and focused on the third glass Marriott brought for her. The alcohol in her system made her expressions far more intense than normal, and she looked particularly sad at his response. He piqued her interest in more ways than one, and she hoped to at least get to know him better. He'd shown her a kindness, and she wanted return in kind, although she doubted he would need help if he had something stolen from him. She remained silent for a few moments, her expression changing to thoughtful before her eyes widened with a realization. She looked up at him, leaning towards him in her excitement, "How about now?" Surprisingly, she was able to balance herself while leaning so far forward, and unaware of how uncomfortable it could make him for her to be so close, "Yes! I don't live too far from here..." She paused thoughtfully for a moment, possibly contemplating how messy her apartment is, "I can draw you, or something else, or anything really." She seemed to ramble in her excitement, but then she paused again and blinked, "Well, that is if you'd like to." Her smile returning. He noticed her frown when he mentioned he didn'thave a lot of free time. It was true between work and his second more secret time he didn't have a lot of free time. He would make time to put her into it thought he could see himself with her for more than the night. He wondered if she were drunk? His own system burned off alcohol fairly quickly so he tended to act drunk mostly, but he wasn't normally. She was very nice on the eyes, and he fought against leaning forward when she did or their lips would meet. He didn't want her drunk, or she might have an excuse when they woke up together rather than sober, and she knew the decisions she was make, and he wouldn't feel like he was taking advantage of her. Even when a part of him really wanted to. She was damned hot!" Ok." He said trying not to appear too eager but the chance to be alone with her even he wasn't too stupid to pass that up. He wondered what she would draw, he was pretty sure he knew what he wanted to draw, but it would look not better than a stick figure. Furthermore, he paid the tab and stood as he waited for her to come with him and lead the way. "Ready when you are?" "Oh don't you worry about that," She said smiling as she picked up his money and handed it back to him, "I told you, I have it covered." Average giggled happily as she removed herself from the barstool, wobbling slightly considering she was quite tipsy. She managed to walk just fine regardless, her steps still as graceful as normal albeit she seemed to lose her balance more often. This made it moderately difficult for her to maneuver around the crowded bar, and she attracted more than just the attention of few gentlemen she happened to bump into. Some merely glared, considering her impact caused their drinks to splash on them, but one patron in particular became rather irate at the loss of his beer.“Hey!” The man cried out, his voice booming above the crowd to reach her as he forcefully grabbed her shoulder and turned her to face him. Average blinked in surprise at how he was able to move her so easily, though the man’s frame reached at least six feet high, “You better buy me another goddamn beer!” He gripped her shoulder firmly with his threat, causing her to wince lightly, though her smile remained. Charles moved behind her, he smirked at her movements. He still wasn't sure this was a good idea, all things considered; especially with how attracted he was to her. He found himself not only interested, but more than a few thoughts of what she would look like out of those clothes much less feel like with that lovely body against his own. Furthermore, he shook off the wicked thoughts as the moved behind her. Furthermore, he noticed the man get irate and moved closer to them. As he gripped her, Charles gripped him at the joint pressing in the pressure point of the nerve in his arm that would all but lock his joint in place." I will get you another beer. Just let her go!" His voice was relaxed but firm, it held the tone that he wouldn't ask again. The man recoiled at Charles' grip with a yelp, angered by his untimely release of the woman, "What the fuck, man?!" He yelled, rubbing his wrist at the pressure point Charles triggered. The fellow was far from intimidated by Charles, being that he was of similar stature - though far less fit - but his antics had garnered the attention of Miles who stood from his stool threateningly. There was no contest that between fighting both Charles and Miles that he would have no chance, and that form of reason penetrated his inebriated mind. Grumbling, he sat back down at the bar but not before throwing a vengeful glare at Average. Marriott had taken a small moment to replace the man's beer during the small scuffle, though at the moment the bartender was clear on the other side of the bar, expertly making drinks for the buzzing crowd." Ava... What are you doing?" A powerful voice called out inside her mind, "Why are you here with him? And who touched you? Your senses are so muddled you can barely function! Average furrowed her brow slightly, raising her hand to her head as she closed her eyes and endured the onslaught of words from the spirit residing within her. Coupled with the alcohol in her system, it made her reel slightly to have so much commotion inside her. Shaking her head quickly, she looked up at Charles, hoping he hadn't noticed her brief moment of weakness. She then turned and continued outside, taking a deep breath in the fresh air, "That was fun wasn't it?" She laughed lightly. He noticed the man bristling, but he was unfazed by it. His Wisdom aided him in taking the man's attention off of the woman long enough for him to come to his senses. There was that and the doubt that his skill would prove him any good to a man that could throw him through the bar, as easily as a child would a paper airplane. That was without his enhancement. He moved behind Average wondering did she have a headache now that she was rubbing her head. He looked up at Miles and shook his head as if waving the man off. Furthermore, he had this, and he wouldn't wreck the bar to do it, if the man persisted. He moved next to her putting his arm around her waist. "I believe in some that would have been immensely fun. I thought we were going to paint?" He said his mind already swirling within the gutter as he thought of painting her, chocolate syrup, Carmel syrup, whipped cream, a few cherries and some wine to wash it down with. He could only be so lucky. Average blinked and blushed as he wrapped his arm around her, not expecting such a warm reaction from him. She was never shy withherdisplays of affection, but she was never used to having them returned, especially not by such an attractive guy. However, she thoroughly enjoyed being so close to him, even more so considering how tipsy she was. She smiled brightly and giggled, leaning into him slightly, "You're right!" She exclaimed happily, bouncing a little in her giddiness, "My apartment isn't that far from here," She pointed off into the distance, partially unaware that her vague direction would not really help, "I can walk, but I don't think you want to leave your car here." "That is a good point, come on we can get to our painting faster." He enjoyed her closeness her giggles didn't help the wicked thoughts floating through his head as he escorted her to his car. He was so thinking about all the things he could do with a woman like this in his life.....especially no more lonely nights. Well when he wasn't out saving the world at least he would be with her, or working on computers or at least that what he was paid to do. He was glad he was good with networking as it made it easy to keep up with events. He moved with her to the vehicle, helped her in and waited for her directions to her apartment, rather than lean over and kiss her. The first thing she noticed about his car was how nice it smelled, the air freshener dangling from the rearview mirror still fresh. It was obvious he took care of his car, and she quickly sat down enjoying the comfort of his nice car, "All you have to do is turn around, and just go straight down this road." She was lucky the directions to her apartment were very simple, her inebriated state wouldn't have been able to handle anything much more complex, "It's four lights from here...?" Her voice raising lightly in confusion, "No, five.... wait... I'll let you know." She smiled and laughed at her own disorientation. Average didn't have a car so giving directions while inside one was particularly difficult for her. She did, however, know how to get back to her apartment and once they started moving she had a much better grasp on her surroundings. It helped that he drove very smoothly and remained calm amidst her vague directions. The building she lived in was quite nice despite being in a less than reputable part of town. The complex had only five floors with the walls being made of concrete bricks; the gray color melding in with the other neutral colors of the buildings surrounding it. Despite the late hour, there were quite a few people on the streets, some obviously vagrants, others of sketchier origins. She got out of the car almost immediately after he'd finished parking, excited to be home, "I hope you're not afraid of cats." She chimed happily as she turned towards the building unaware of the figure creeping up behind her." That's a nice car there..." A raspy voice called out to them as a rough hand landed on Average's shoulder, "Nice girl, too... Be a shame if something happened to them..." He smiled, crooked teeth showing a menacing grimace. Stepping closer to Average, he pulled out a switchblade and held it to her neck, "Your wallet, or her life... Your choice." He threatened. He wondered how drunk she was, how many times she had done this. Did she like him so much that she needed an excuse to be with him? He wasn't sure but what he did know is he liked to be around her, maybe they were two of a kind. He didn't know. As he parked the car, he instantly wondered if this was the best of ideas that he had. He had considered taking her to his place, but then if she turned out to be a stalker or fatal attraction chick he would be in trouble, and he wasn't moving. With his lair in the basement of his house. He listened a to her directions and wondered if this was truly what he wanted he had just met her today after all. He heard the figure behind him, and he thought he could move pretty quickly, but then he thought he shouldn't simply react because he was in the seedier part of town. He was behind her, and he couldn't very well grab the knife before it reached her neck. Furthermore, he would have even more explaining to do. Furthermore, he pulled out his wallet and dropped in front of him. Furthermore, he knew he would have to move to get it or if he made him pick it up and put it in his hand he would grab him quickly and crush his hand making him forget all about the knife that was hold Average and more about the pain shooting through his hand to his brain. More than likely his wisdom told him, he would black out first. Either way he might have some explaining to do. By the look on Average's face, Charles might assume that this type of situation often happened, and he would partially be right. It was certain that the part of town they were in was far from the safest, but Average usually managed to avoid detection considering she never looked like she had much; she rarely even wore shoes. Not to mention that now would be the time she was out on patrol, soaring the skies to prevent these kinds of occurrences.“Good... Good...” The thief sneered, his free hand lightly caressing Average’s shoulder, “Give me the keys, too. I want to take this baby for a spin.” He grinned as his eyes trailed downward, enjoying the view he got from her tank top, “Casper! McDougall!” The criminal yelled unexpectedly, causing Average to jump slightly, a small trail of blood leaking from where the knife nicked her. Two more men appeared from the alley behind them: Casper, an incredibly tall and equally pale gentleman; and McDougall, an average-sized gentleman with an above average muscle mass, “Get the stuff guys, we’re out.” The thief commanded. The gentleman holding Average seemed to be the leader, his hand moving threateningly close to her breast as he sneered at Charles.“Look what you've gotten yourself into... We would be fine forewarn'there.” Average frowned slightly at Libra’s harsh words, though the alcohol in her system was still clouding her judgment, “It’s not his fault...” She muttered to herself aloud, forgetting that no one else could hear the voice in her head. The leader, Brick, furrowed his brow slightly hearing her words, but passed it off as her drunkenness. Casper held Charles’ wallet, his dour expression unchanging. McDougall laughed heartily, striding towards Charles triumphantly, “We’ll bring her back when we’re done.” He said as he shoved Charles threateningly, a devilish grin complimenting his threat. Brick pushed Average forward towards Charles’ Camera, giving her just enough leeway with his knife so that she didn’t cut herself when she stumbled forward. The girl didn’t try to stop her own abduction, fearful of what Charles would think if he knew what she were truly capable of. Libra, however, did not share her resignation, “Fine... I will handle this...” The Goddess proclaimed before taking control of Average’s body. She stopped walking after a moment, Charles would notice something dark flash in her eyes as her expression turned frighteningly sour. She reached up to touch Brick’s hands, and immediately they released her, his arms then raising to the sky as if they would fly away if they weren’t attached, “Ah! What the fuck?!” Brick exclaimed amidst his cries of pain, the strain on his joints almost unbearable, “What did you do to the Boss?!” McDougall cried out reaching for her shoulder to spin her around. Scowling at his touch, she reached for his chest, touching it with her palm. Immediately, the large man slammed to the ground face-first, the forces holding him down restricting any movement. His grunts were drowned out by Brick’s screaming, his arms looking as if they were ready to pop out of their sockets. Casper watched the girl disable his more combat-ready companions, his knees shaking with the fear of being next. Tossing Charles’ wallet at her form, he turned to run, his lanky body allowing for a quick retreat into the darkness, “The path you have chosen disrupts the balance... If you do not change it, your fates will be sealed...” Her voice had changed to a more regal tone, one that commanded attention when she spoke. With a wave of her hand, the two muggers were released from their invisible restraints, their fears readily apparent as they scrambled away from her. With the threats diminished, Libra returned control to Overran, the young woman’s expression returning to normal. She picked up his wallet before turning at Charles, her smile apologetic, “I’m... really sorry...” Her voice quiet as she returned his wallet, unable to look him in the eyes, “I didn’t mean for that to happen.” She was at a loss of what to tell him, especially with Libra’s candid display of her power. It seemed that Average would have some explaining to do. Charles looked at the man then realized there were more of them. If he took them all down before the knife could pierce her skin he would have some serious explaining to do. He noticed the man bump into him, but in the next breath something caught him that was extraordinary. He watched the woman he was more interested in seducing or being seduced by her change....he wasn't sure what it was, but it may have been similar to his own change, but she said no words for her enchantment it simply happened as she stopped moving towards the car, then the man with the knife seemed to know be so heavy that he fell to the ground. She gestured....simply gestured towards the other, and he to felt a similar fate the other was smarter as he did his best to run. When the others were released from her apparently gravity or telekinetic hold he looked at them take off too. He looked at her as she tried to apologize to him, he was all but shocked as well as turned on by the display of power as Average...apparently returned to being in control as the change in her eyes subsided. "Ahhhmmmm Yeah...what was that?" He asked knowing, but he wanted to be sure as he took his wallet from her, that this hadn't been a dream. Had he found what he had truly been looking for all along?" So what exactly did happen?" He stood there waiting for her to lead him to his place as he pocketed his keys as well now. Average thought quickly at his questions, still refusing to look up at him. What could she tell him? It was obvious she'd done something abnormal to them, and he'd been watching the whole time. The truth was out of the question... He would think she was crazy! Maybe he already did. Still, she couldn't just tell him that she was possessed by an ancient Goddess, at least not on the first date. A few locks of her hair had escaped her braid in the scuffle, partially obscuring her face and it's pensive expression. It seemed as if she wouldn't answer him, but she suddenly looked up at him and smiled, "It was something I saw on TV!" She lied, hoping he wouldn't press further, "A documentary on chi blocking techniques. Pretty cool, huh?" She chuckled nervously, "Sometimes I think I watch TV too much, but it came in pretty handy this time!" She reached up to scratch her neck, her eyes widening as she remembered the still-bleeding cut, "Ah! Well, I have some bandied inside. Do you still want to come in?" The cut was small, but her exertion made it bleed, the trail leading down her bosom. She took off her hoodie, pressing one of the sleeves to her neck. Charles looked at her and tried not to be pissed, he even felt his former arousal shrink. He looked at her wondering what she would come up with. What came out of her mouth wasn't even remotely what he thought to expect. He listened to her and looked at her as he stopped." So you are going with that? Really?!? Average. I like you.... I mean really like you. But apparently you don't feel the same. You stand there and come up with that half cocked excuse! I have been taking martial arts for the better part of 13 years and I know all about I and energy, but what you just did is not even close. That is something out of Mortal Kombat or something, and you insult me by going there? I would have better accepted you saying you were a mutant or metahuman. Then for you to go there! Now we can continue the date with the truth, or I can let you go into your place alone. Because I am not going to be treated like I am stupid!"" Now let's go inside where I can bandage that up, and you can decide on if you really want to be with me or not?!?" He said he was obviously pissed but was still concerned about her. Average blinked and stared at him in astonishment. His rant was completely unexpected, and she was not prepared for such a verbal assault. She increased the pressure of her hoodie against her wound, her nervousness increasing her blood flow. Was her ruse that transparent? Or perhaps was he truly that observant? She was at a loss of what to tell him, her drive to keep her secret warring against her feelings for him," You're right, it's not chi blocking..." She admitted, shifting her stance to better compose herself, "I can't explain it... At least not now." She looked up at him slowly, her eyes filled with caution and to a much smaller extent fear. Fear of what, she couldn't fully understand; whether it was Libra's ire or however Charles would react upon finding the truth. She smiled softly herself, relieved that he did not fear her. He already knew she was different, maybe he was different himself, but she could not know if his intentions were for good or evil; after all, she'd just met him. He smirked as he looked at her. Now that, that was out of the way he took her into her apartment and began to bandage her arm up. He moved as if he were a surgeon, as he worked around making the bleeding stop and helping the would to close. He listed to her and at least she told him some of the truth. Furthermore, he looked into her eyes and no longer tried to fight his affectionate desire for her as he grabbed her neck and pulled her into a deep passionate kiss. A loving affection that seemed to come for her as he met her. Once he laid eye on her actually, was it the fact that he just met her, she would have been naked already. Average lived on the third floor of her apartment complex, something that proved to be more of a burden this time around considering how she felt. She didn't feel drunk anymore, but the adrenaline coursing through her made the remaining alcohol cloud her mind once more. She bounded up the steps rather quickly, skipping every other step, though her efforts allowed for more opportunities for her to fall. Charles might have considered catching her, but she always managed to catch herself before tumbling off-balance. She stopped abruptly at her door, the dull, gray metal surface adorned with a sketch of a tiger prowling dense jungle. Set in a cheap frame, and affixed to the door by double-sided tape it didn't move much when she swung the door open, though she was careful not to slam the door when she closed it. Her apartment was medium-sized, and well-furnished with more than enough room for her and the two cats that happily trounced into the room at her arrival. Immediately, she made a beeline for the bathroom, finding her first aid kit before returning to the living room and handing it to Charles, "Wow, you're perfect that this!" She proclaimed as his hands expertly cleaned the affected area and bandaged her wound. She touched the square of gauze on her neck simply for authenticity considering how quickly he worked." Thank y-" Average attempted to respond, her words silenced by his lips pressing against hers. To say his kiss surprised her would have been an understatement, and she pulled away from him, her eyes wide and full of confusion. She wasn't entirely prepared for such a sudden display of affection, and the intensity of his kiss made her shiver lightly. It was not that she'd never dated before, but Charles had broken a barrier that no one ever could. No one else knew of her powers, and the fact that Libra had chosen to reveal herself to Charles spoke of what the Goddess sensed in him. Yet, Average remained uncertain, and what made things worse, was Libra had gone silent, something that rarely happened, "Charles. I..." She stammered quietly, unable to properly form what she wanted to say. He was behind her, he wasn't going to do much but catch her. A part of him wanted her to fall in to his arms....albeit soberly. He wondered if a woman like this would really fall for him. If she was upset if she knew he was different too. He had a few abilities in his human form, but to most he was considered the world's mightiest mortal. He was pretty good, if he wasn't well known, it didn't bother him as much as doing what was right. Considering how she almost fell a time or two his hand was right on or would have been touching her behind. He found himself looking at her shapely form thinking what it would be like for them to make love a part of him wondered what it would be like for his altered form to make love to her." I have had a bit of experience." He oftener bandaged himself up, not that often but in his human form some days he healed really fast others he still had to wrap himself up. He wondered of all his predecessors the leak of powers over to his human form was much stronger...only it altered days. Some days he was as smart as a whip, others he was invulnerable, others he was able to toss a dump truck, yet others he could outrun a Lamborghini. Right now the only thing on his mind was yet another kiss from her. She didn't fight it as a matter of fact she joined him in the kiss. He felt nervous as he felt a tingle coming from her as if he were kissing not just her but someone else, something deeper some connection that by passed their human self almost the touching of souls." You what?" He said caressing her cheek fighting back the urge to steal yet another kiss of those sweet lips. "I am... I apologize if I miss stepped myself. But.... I have been wanting to do that all day." He had truthfully wanted to do more, but he left it at that. Average found herself blushing at his touch, his hand soft and warm against her face, "It's okay... I just wasn't expecting that..." She smiled softly, leaning in for another kiss, her tongue gently reaching out to find his mouth. The same feeling gripped her again, a deep sense of connection that she'd never felt with anyone else. She felt at ease with him, her arms wrapping around his neck to pull herself closer to him. She would have loved nothing more than to stay and further enjoy his company, but the blaring sound of sirens would break her from her lovely reverie. Furthermore, she pulled away from him quickly, her eyes turning first towards the window, and then she clambered off the couch as she bounded towards her balcony. It seemed like something small, she only saw two cop cars speeding towards their targets, but a threat was a threat, and she would need to find out what it was, "I am glad to see you've regained focus..." Average smiled as the familiar voice called out to her, but her expression changed quickly as she remembered she'd abandoned Charles on the couch. She returned to him, her expression embarrassed, "I'm sorry!" She smiled brightly at him as she sat back down on the couch, "Just wanted to make sure they weren't headed here." She chuckled softly. It wasn't entirely a lie for there have been occasions where the sirens were closer to home, but she seemed restless as she sat with him once more. Charles knew he was pressing the issue, he couldn't fully sustain a relationship with this one without telling her the truth, could he? He was different too! He didn't stop though, he was weak he not only wanted her as his lover he needed her. Someone to share this different life with! "What were you expecting?" He teased, but she kissed him again, he knew he was weak for her when he first laid eyes on her, and they had better stop before things progressed too fast for her. He felt her soft sweet tongue and began to move it over hers, he was finding this was not only good and wonderful, but comfortable....almost too comfortable as if they were simply to be together, but almost destined to be together?!? He looked at her as she hopped from the couch, he on the other hand heard only two sirens. If it were bigger he would have to make an excuse to leave. He looked her over and his body didn't let go of it previous desire, he looked over her body and longed for her touch he saw himself with her in more ways than one. She was smart, beautiful, attractive, creative. He simply looked at her when she came back. "That is fine, something you need to go deal with?" He asked wonder if there were some superhero things she had to do? He caressed her cheek again, he wanted another kiss....he wanted more, but even he understood when duty called. Average heard him, but she found herself unable to properly respond as she thought about the situation, "No..." She answered after a moment, her voice unsure though she feigned sincerity. She looked at him, allowing the feelings of comfortableness to return, the swirls of her thoughts becoming slightly more clear, "I do wonder, though... How can you remain so calm around me after you've seen what I can do?" Her brow furrowing, slightly in confusion as she asked him. It was a question that had been plaguing her ever since she'd thwarted their mugging, and only realized how drastically she'd changed the atmosphere between them after she'd spoken. "Once you are the one I am attracted to. Two, not everyday you find out your lover has superpowers. Three, what would it be like if both of us had abilities and were able to make love? It would be nice to maybe find someone you could share your life with rather than hide that part of your life as well." He said without revealing everything about himself. He was sure he was going to tell her but how much??" I think I could have taken the muggers but not without you getting hurt. But that was a surprise to you having abilities. That is for sure!!" He said.

Heroes and the Real World (Lionura7 & Cclayjr)|rating:4.0

[OWOD] Isle of Avalon_ OOC Characters & Discussion

Hello also bellow I'd like to get the characters made out and the pack put together, please post or link too characters bellow including a concept of your character and answer to the questions bellow. Character creation Concept:Every character should have one of these, they can go along way to explaining a lot of things about a character and making them who they are. The questions within the Werewolf book (pg 104) can help to flesh out a character and concept, please try to answer them. Questions and Answers Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide How old, are you ? What was your family life like ? When did you have your First Change ? When did you meet your pack mates ? Where do you live now ? Do you continue to live a normal life? What motivate you? Tribe/Breed:Wendigo and Red Talon's are the only tribe that are unlikely to make any sense, things such as Cyber dogs or other rarities will require my permission and some explanation for such. There will only ever be a set amount of rare characters allowed if one dies a new spot may open up. This is to both keep the game realistic and not have to many of one rarer tribe in play if there were lots of them in play they would not be so special. Lupus Breed characters may only purchase the skills of Crafts, Drive, Etiquette, Firearms and the Knowledge Computer, Law, Linguistics, Politics, Science with freebie points. Lupus must purchase the first dot in Linguistics in order to be able to talk and understand a human language at creation. Metis Breed characters must take a deformity, this deformity must be something that is a drawback to them in some way. Deformities from the books are preferred, but I will consider others. Tribal Weaknesses every tribe has a tribal weakness these are listed on a separate page for those of you who are unaware of them. (Camp; Demeanor:Please choose a nature a demeanor listed in the books, it does not have to be from the Players Guide you may use the examples in any of the Revised WON books. Attributes:7/5/3, distribute as you like. No attribute lower than 2, without good reason/background or accompanying flaw. No more than 3 attributes at 4 or above. No more than one 5 at creation will be allowed. Abilities: 13/9/5, distribute as you like.- Abilities at 4+ Will be questioned, you will need an explanation.- No more than 6 total points in Combat abilities without good explanation, excluding Around (Who may take 9 given good explanation).- No more than 3 points in any individual Combat Ability at creation without explanation for such.- Please do not take other traits other than the ones presented in the Players Guide to Group, and when taking other traits consider if they are really necessary to the character concept. For example many other traits are simply narrow uses of an ability that already exist on the sheet. Other traits cost 1 freebie point, if bought during the creation process 2 dots of other traits = 1 dot of a normal trait. Advantages:Backgrounds restricted by Tribe, Fetishes will always require a bit of explanation and no unique/custom Fetish will ever be allowed at character creation, any backgrounds from outside the core book will also require an explanation depending on what they are and the level at which they are taken. Pure Breed:Pure breed is allowed freely up to level 3 (Level 4 for Silver Fangs). Characters wishing to gain levels beyond that will need to submit a background justifying having such a pure and exemplary ancestry in the modern time. Totem:Totem points are allowed at character creation freely and will go towards the pack totem, personal totems are not allowed. Ancestors:Ancestors may be taken up to level 3 freely. Beyond that level some justification may be required. Tribal Restrictions on Backgrounds Bone Gnawers: Ancestors, Pure Breed and Resources are not available to Bone Gnawers. Get of Ferris: May not purchase Contacts. Glasswalkers:May not purchase Ancestors, Mentor or Pure Breed. Red Talons:May not purchase human Allies, Contacts or Resources, and their only Kinfolk are wolves. Shadow Lords:May not purchase Allies or Mentor. Silent Striders:May not purchase Ancestors or Resources. Silver Fangs:Must purchase at least three dots in Pure Breed. Wendigo:May not purchase Contacts or Resources. Merits and Flaws Restricted/Banned: All Merits and Flaws are optional and must fit the character concept they do not "make" a concept and no character should be based on Merits or Flaws. Expect all Merits and Flaws to be questioned. Consider them all Restricted, and expect to justify them. Please note that I will not accept any merits and flaws from other systems if it's not in a revised werewolf book or the second edition players guide consider it Banned. Feel free to ask about merits and flaws but keep in mind that they are optional and not required. Freebie points:All characters for this game will receive 35 freebie points Freebie Costs Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide Attributes = 5 Abilities = 2Other trait = 1Backgrounds = 1Gifts (Level 1 Only) = 7Rage = 1Gnosis = 2Willpower = 1The pack also needs to be decided it would be worth considering the questions on page 102 of the werewolf book when deciding this :)You will need to decide your totem and how you will handle leadership etc., as for the mission well you can decide upon much of that yourself I will provide the pack with an additional task as well most likely which will be given to them. Sorry, have been away on the (extra-long for me) weekend. What's our status? I have most of a character sheet together; I was wondering what upper limit you wanted to set for Willpower, if any? Also need to pick gifts. Besides, since you'd mentioned that there might be special cookies for Gianna / State-affiliated characters, what are your thoughts re: a Silver Fang with the Faerie Affinity Merit?~Shadow Walker No need to apologize for such as that :-)As for our status well at present you're the only player to have posted here, although I do know that at least two of the others are also working on their characters. But I have not heard anything yet from the others who expressed interest other than Andy who can't think of any concepts for a Group, I will likely PM the others to check there interest and if they still wish to be involved etc. As for Willpower well I don't usually set a limit I just tend to question things and won't usually allow a character to enter play with above 6 without some justification for such. The only thing I'd outright say I won't allow however is ratings of 9-10 to start, you're never likely to convince me of any justification for starting play at that point. I don't actually recall mentioning anything about "special cookies" for Gianna, although perhaps you mean my mention of the tribe probably having all sorts of stories/tales rumors about the island. That is purely a cultural thing, they have more stories and tales because of who they are and their affiliations. A lot of their stories probably relate to FAE things, the Get of Ferris may have stories about the place too, but they probably won't relate to the FAE. That was just me picking up on the fact that certain tribes have probably had more to do with the island's past, it has nothing to do with FAE or really there tribe just the fact they are local to the area and more likely to be aware of history, lore and legends to do with it. It could equally apply to Group who are from the area too. The Silver Fang's probably have their own myths and such focused around the place relating to the fact it is supposedly a rumored burial place of a legendary/mythical king, probably a fair few relating to a mythical sword that holds powers of sovereignty. There are many possibilities really, and I am open to them being invented as seeds by the players too, like the staff idea that was proposed that is equally valid a rumor or tale :)As for my thoughts on Faerie Affinity, I'd kinda ask why you want it really, and I think it would be pretty pointless for this story unless it is in some way crucial to your character concept. Fae aren't likely to feature heavily in the plot or story, they may have once had a lot to do with the place, but that was once and well in most of the stories that involve FAE that would be pretty prevalent. So yeah there is no real cookies for anyone, just gossip rumor and history some might call it blarney of course. I will be providing information for everyone soon some prelude type bits perhaps, but no special cookies for one tribe or such. Everyone can have their own cookie. Hello Allen and I are working hard as usual and are currently developing our characters a little more. Further expansion to come. So here it is for now for your enjoyment:Backstory: Well how shall we start? We better not start at the beginning because that was rather a long time ago. Indeed, at the time when Valor raised his ugly head for a second time. Still that is an old tale. Let’s start when it is significant. Moral was born to a fine kinfolk man that worked on a farm in Perth shire and a rather highly strung artist who was known to have certain mental troubles. She worked in the berry fields during the summer holidays. That is where they meet and became close. After a year or so the couple planned a marriage much to the distaste of some of the family. She became pregnant and could not continue her studies. So she started to feel isolated in such a small village. The more she read about the Fay and other such creatures the more frightened she became of the child that was growing in her belly. Three days after Moral was born she threw her into the fire. It was only due to a mysterious interference that nudged her father to intervene that saved her life. The mother was institutionalized, and her dad went into a deep depression. Upon hearing this, Moral’s Auntie, her father’s sister intervened and soon Moral was welcomed into a new family. No one speaks of the mother or the father since shortly after the incident, her father ended his life.(Remark was until his 1st birthday an only child. He still is in regard to his bloodline but upon the arrival of his cousin, Moral Fife, was soon welcomed her in to the fold. Now upon her 16th birthday and for some years prior to this very special day they often fight like cat and dog, just like any other brother and sister but would do anything for each other if threatened. At around the age of 15 they both changed just two moons apart. As a Ballard, Mark changed first and to this day he takes great pleasure in reminding his cousin of this fact, a sort of argument winner if you will. She changed as a no moon, Rag abash, or Rubbish, as Mark calls her and since this day they are tied. So if one dies so does the other.(Cooper Backstory and such is looking good for the pair and well what I said about the merit/flaw thing still stands, and I am sure if you want you can work out a gas/curse flaw to represent that death thing :)Perhaps just some sort of Gas, which was meant as a blessing originally but sort of turns out to have is disadvantages. The pair being destined to be bound together through incarnations and memories of their ancestors etc., being unable to separate from one another's company due to the "blessing" and even death being unable to keep them apart as the Gas will take its toll. Quite nasty of course but well it does sound interesting I was curious originally in which way you meant it. I'm reminded of the Soulmate background listed on pages 72-73 of the Judge Hunter Creed book. Basically, once per session, you can add your dots in Soulmate as extra dice to a single action that directly affects the well-being of your beloved, but there are penalties if you fail to protect them. I could easily see something like that being changed from true love to the sort of connection that those two have, if Gabriel likes the idea. Mage has the Twin Souls merit, but the powers just don't match up even halfway decent enough to really suggest that. I won't be allowing any Merit, Flaws, Backgrounds etc. from Hunter, or Mage. Pretty certain I already partly said most of that above but well it is worth repeating. This is a Werewolf game after all, not a Mage/Hunter game and there are plenty of merits, flaws, backgrounds for werewolf than can represent it. Ancestors (actually formerly known as Past Life) an actual werewolf background can cover most parts of it, it was the death thing I was talking to them about which could work with a high cost Gas. I was just trying to help; apologies. I'll leave you to handle it. Furthermore, I appreciate and understand that but well suggesting things from other sources is only liable to lead to distraction and conversation of such. Furthermore, I do not wish to overcomplicate things by picking and choosing tit bits from other books, it just causes problems and the merits, flaws and backgrounds from other books are rarely designed with balance in mind when considering other character types. Thank you anyway will be more than happy to help anyone with characters and such and well you can ask me anything, as Sent and Cadaver have :P Ok, so here's a sheet: (me know if I've counted up the Freebies right. Background:The TalbotsThe Talbot's are, as far as most of Britain is concerned, a noble house of England, holding an Earldom; for the most part, their public history is unremarkable. Privately, they one of several families who bear Silver Fang blood, which would explain some of their long history of marrying throughout the British gentility. Within the Silver Fang Tribe, they comprise a member-house of the larger House Austere Howl, the House of Silver Fangs which holds primacy of territorial claims amongst the Silver Fangs over Great Britain. Or did, until recently, that is. It has been revealed that within House Austere Howl, a terrible secret had been brewing; a secret cult of demon worshipers in league with the mysterious warm-scourge known as the Red Jack. House Gleaming Eye, the Scandinavian House of Silver Fangs, has descended upon the members of Austere Howl in a blood hunt, believing that Austere Howl-- the second House to establish primacy over Great Britain, and the second House to do so and fall-- is tainted in its very blooded, and must be eradicated to the last descendant. For their part, the Talbot's, despite their impeccable breeding (or perhaps because of it) were never truly central to the affairs of House Austere Howl. Sure, those True Born to the House made their names and deeds for the glory of Gaia and Falcon, and even some ascended to the rank of Elder-- but all in all, the central power of the House was never quite with the Talbot's. It was only after the horrible secret of the House was revealed that the Talbot's began to piece together why-- after they were already being hunted by their own Tribesman. Now, they flee massacre and genocide, looking for safe haven while looking for evidence to clear their good name, if not the name of Austere Howl. And of course, they flee the mad cultists who would, presumably, happily sacrifice their blood to the glory of their master if they could not be brainwashed into the cult.(Talbot Henry Talbot remembers the good life-- mostly. The life before his family fled the persistent and dogged glare of House Gleaming Eye. Everything was easy, not much more to do than prepare for the day of his First Change, when he would assert his role as a Philology amongst the nation; oh, and make grades and such. But then the family went into hiding-- at least from Gleaming Eye, and the Group who did not outright revile them for their association with House Austere Howl. It is not exactly as though Henry or the Talbot's have known hardship-- quite easily the best place to hide from Gleaming Eye has turned out to be sometimes hiding in plain sight, spending time with very public peers of the British Realm where untoward actions would be quickly noticed. But they have never stayed in on place overlong, and many of their 'interim' locations over the past few years have been less than kingly. And of course, the family has continued to try to do it's best to shelter relatives, as not even Kinfolk with blood ties to House Austere Howl have been safe. Despite the family's considerable wealth, much of it has been applied to keeping secret the location of it's Kin, and in looking for ways of proving the innocence of the family, and perhaps exonerating some significant portion of the once great House Austere Howl from the cloud of shame and death that has come to linger about them. Being Group, those True Born members of the family have also sought to continue their service to Gaia, and even beyond that, dedicating themselves to Gaia's work more fastidiously than most in an effort to prove their loyalty to Gaia's purpose and demonstrate commitment above the call of duty to the honor of Falcon. The Talbot sat large seek to serve Gaia with Group outside the Silver Fang Tribe, not knowing which of their Tribe mates they can trust to keep the secrets of their identity safe from the scourge of Gleaming Eye. Henry's father, Edward Talbot, in addition to being an Earl of the English peerage, is a Philology of the Silver Fangs. It was auspicious, then when his first son and heir, Henry, was born to the same moon as True Born of the Group. As the ranking member of the Talbot's, Edward has been deeply involved in maintaining the secret of the family's Kinfolk relations from the prying of House Gleaming Eye, and in general of overseeing the family's activities in service to Gaia. To this end, Edward relies deeply on his mate and help meet, Clara Talbot, Henry's mother. The two have a relationship of deep trust, with Clara seeing to most of the household needs of the Talbot's, their extended familial relations, in addition to the families's responsibilities as members of the English peerage, a task to which she is excellently suited. Henry has always grown up somewhat in his father's shadow; always expected to learn the intricacies of the law, and it's application, both as a future member of the peerage, and as future Philology of the nation. The families' position as functional fugitives from the blood hunt of House Gleaming Eye has made this somewhat difficult, as the Talbot's have never stayed in one place long enough for Henry to gain any particular friendship with a group of pre-Change cubs at the Sept's the family has served at off an on throughout the period of this exile. Instead, he has shadowed his father closely, who has instilled in him his particular interpretations of the Litany and their duties as Group and Silver Fang. This has not always gone over well; Henry like any other teenager rebelled and fought against the tyranny of his parents; it was during this time that Henry made the friends he did make, amongst similar well-to-do public school chums collected amongst the many Henry has attended as his parents moved him from place to place for his own safety. While not the most brilliant of students, Henry applied himself to his studies as best he could, and took particular interest in learning the art of fencing, knowing it was an overlap skill that would serve him in his future life as True Born quite well. After his first change, Henry was sent to foster at an American Sept under the watchful eye of a trusted Silver Fang ally of his fathers, a member of House Wormhole who disagreed with the hunt being carried out by House Gleaming Eye. He was raised in the traditional fashion of the Tribe for its cubs, and eventually proved himself worthy of the rank of Climate. Gaining rank amongst the Group, his father has since moved him around the world on a number of tasks in service to Gaia being tracked by the family; this has made it difficult for Gleaming Eye to track Henry's movements, but also difficult for Harry to earn the trust of Spirits in seeking new Gifts, or in building Renown to lay claim to higher rank, a difficulty that Harry has chafed at. Three months ago, Henry was called back to the current base of operations for the Talbot's in England, as his father wished to keep him close through some difficult period; his father than disappeared tracking what he thought might be an excellent new opportunity to build a more permanent home for the exiles of Austere Howl. (This would be the Island). After two months of unexplained absence, the young Henry has grown anxious, and is setting out to put a pack of Group to find his father, and discover what may be found of the secrets his father was seeking. (In other words, I figure I can be the reason the pack forms up, in seeking pack mates to explore the enigma of Edward Talbot's disappearance, and which would lead to the discovery of the Island). Gabriel, one thing I've been wondering, we're going to be pretty much alone on the island, right? Therefore, stuff like Mentor would be bad to take, and it'd be best to have a way to do our own moot rites and such. Still trying to bang my way through an idea. Please let me know if this is right or wrong. Quote Ok, so here's a sheet: (me know if I've counted up the Freebies right. Hello Shadow Walker thank you, and firstly let me say I do like your background and like the reason in there you for a link to both the island perhaps and the formation of a pack. That will fit will with things I believe :)As for your sheet it looks fine, although I do count 40 freebies being spent, although this perhaps is an error, but you have seemingly spent an extra dot in Social attributes giving you 8 there. That is something easily fixed anyway either through moving points or adding some flaws that may fit to pay for it. Quote from: Andy on 21-10-2011, 14:12:57Sabriel, one thing I've been wondering, we're going to be pretty much alone on the island, right? Therefore, stuff like Mentor would be bad to take, and it'd be best to have a way to do our own moot rites and such. Still trying to bang my way through an idea. Please let me know if this is right or wrong. Well I would be lying if I said you would be totally alone on the island really, but you will be in unfamiliar territory and not really aware of if there is any other Group/Kin presence there. But there won't be any tag along mentor's or anything but then mentors don't tend to tag along anyway they advise and help out from time to time they should not steal the show ::)Mentor is a pretty funny background with Group as it goes anyway, it often represents a group of Group at higher levels and well there advise and support and such is rarely in the way of teaching Gifts etc. Spirits do that job much better anyway, and it is part of their pact with the Group ignoring it is not only silly and unproductive, but it insults them too. I would not disallow it, but it may not be the most useful background to have "on" the island at least to begin with, but well it would not be useless in fact. Pack's don't often do their own full-blown moots anyway, not unless there in control of a CERN packs visit a CERN for a moot which is organized by the Group of that particular Sept, there are tribal moots of course but there less often and unlikely to play a part in the story. As the characters probably won't know the status of any CERN(s) on the island they may not be expecting to make contact or attend any moots there, they would likely not return to a CERN elsewhere either just to attend a moot when a problem still remains unsolved, although they may do so if doing so would provide a solution, or it was not to tasking a commitment. Moots may happen, but they are not likely to be a focus of the story and won't be happening regularly as the story to begin with is centered around the island and the pack not a specific CERN, and it's moots. A moot is likely the beginning of the tale however and probably where the pack was brought together perhaps first meet. Most Group packs that move about and aren't joined to a specific Sept attend the moots of their local CERN/Sept, and well they may forgo such if doing so would compromise there current task. Failing to attend a moot is seen as a bad thing, but well that is more when there is no good reason to do so it is a double-edged sword. If you do attend a moot and in doing so cease some action that was important to the Group's cause then there going to look at it in a similar light perhaps worse. You may report back of course and hold your own meetings and reverence amongst the pack and other Group if they are there, holding a moot may become a point of story if a CERN was discovered/reclaimed etc. The story will be centered on the Island of course but well that is no reason why you can't leave it from time to time, I am not saying you will become trapped there and even if you did for a time then I would not make it impossible for you to leave anyway.It is may be useful to have rites and such but well Group packs don't always have access to them all the time anyway, it would be no different from any other situation really you make do or find/seek out someone who can help which will generally become apart from the story too. If you have any more questions or want to talk on this further feel free to do so Andy:) Quote from: Gabriel on 22-10-2011, 15:32:31As for your sheet it looks fine, although I do count 40 freebies being spent, although this perhaps is an error, but you have seemingly spent an extra dot in Social attributes giving you 8 there. That is something easily fixed anyway either through moving points or adding some flaws that may fit to pay for it. Ack, updated the sheet. You're right, I'd miscounted the Socials. I bumped the Appearance down. Your further comments to Andy, though, do remind me to ask about Rites; are you charging Background points to start with Rites? Some games I've played in do, and others not, as theoretically you learn rites in game for free.~Shadow Walker Yeah I would be charging background points to purchase rites to begin with, you are free to make a case for why you might know such a rite already, and I may consider allowing it for free, but it would be a rare thing. If you want to start with rites basically buy them. If I do allow any for free it would likely not be in great quantity you be lucky to get a level one rite for free and well it would have to be befitting of your Auspice etc., so it is easier for The urges and Philology's to convince me whereas an Around wanting a mystic rite is not likely to do so etc. Minor Rites are a different matter those you can have although in a number no greater than your rites score, they are things almost all Group know a few of after all. The system for learning Rites I'd say sort of covers the fact they don't cost anything in play too. Here is my initial sheet and concept, please feel free to comment.sheetgen.dalines.net/sheet/13693And concept. The old Group studied John, the light of the fire making shadows dance over him. “You live in the past John and that is not a healthy place to live.” John resisted the urge to stand and pace, “It is the island I am sure of it, everything I have read indicate it.” Silence fell and to John it seemed to go on forever before Max replied. “When your ancestor returned from the Holy Land as they called it carrying what he had acquired from the Knights Templar it is true that he took it to an island.” John interrupted, “This Island I am certain.” Max held up his hand, “It may be but what is known is that he never returned from the island. He was a great warrior, and he did not return does that not give you pause?” Max shook his head, You are needed here and now, not chasing a legend in a place of legend.” John nodded, “I hear that or a variant from my Father and the other Elders, the past is gone, we fight for Gaia now and every Around is needed.” Then in a wistful voice, “But what Child of Gaia would not like to hold the Staff of the Tree and wield against the Warm?” In a stronger voice he continued, “And even if the Staff is not there then something is, look at all the legends of the island.” Max sighed, “You are going not matter what I say are you not?” John did not answer, but his answer was written across his face. After John had left Max poured himself a whiskey and leaned back watching the flames dance. It was all his mothers fault of course, silly Annabel. Although she was kin she did not really understand the Group. To her the Group where the shinning knights of Gaia, and she had implanted that in John. Although his childhood she had told him that he was the defender, the holy warrior, the knight of the round table. So Max mused in some ways it had worked, John had lived the life of the warrior monk. Constant training, constant exercise until he had turned himself into his idea of the warrior. No real skills outside combat and he had missed out on so much. Whilst those of a similar age had been out having a life he had not. Hell Max doubted that he had ever been out with a woman. He smiled to himself, whilst John could tell you a hundred ways to kill a woman, but he could not even think of a chat up line. And now this obsession with The Staff of the Tree, Gaia knew where that would take him. Here's what I'm looking at for the sheet so far. I'll see if any problems arise there so that I can replan while I try to push my muse into cooperating. You know the basics of the idea; I can't remember if you liked it or not though. Stargazer Métis TheurgeNature and Demeanor both VisionaryMetis Deformity: Fits of Madness Strength 2 Dexterity 2 Stamina 2 Charisma 3 Manipulation 2 Appearance 4 (Exotic) Perception 4 (Uncanny Instincts) Intelligence 4 (Problem Solver) Wits 3 Alertness 3 Athletics 1 Brawl 1 Empathy 1 Primal-Urge 3Leadership 1 Melee 1 Performance 1 Stealth 1 Survival 1Enigmas 3 Investigation 3 Medicine 1 Occult 3 Rituals 3 Ancestors 3 Pure Breed 3 Rites 3 Totem 4 Gifts: Create Element, Spirit Speech, Balance Rites: Rite of Cleansing, Rite of the Questing Stone, Rite of Talisman Dedication Rage 4 Gnosis 6 Willpower 7Metamorph - 7p Merit still have a ways to go, haven't even found a picture yet, but there's the basics. OK, well I like your little story concept thing Grovercjuk, although it might be nice if I knew a bit more about the character too. Who he is, what he does etc. not ask for like a 50-page background or anything just minor details. I do see some problems with your sheet, I stopped trying to work out freebies since I could not really work out what you had done with your abilities. I am assuming that you maybe spent points in them to begin with over 3. Furthermore, I count 11/10/7 not including ability points over 4 which cannot be bought with the initial base points a character receives they must be bought with freebies. There is another issue of the fact that the character seams rather heavy on combat abilities, in fact he seems to be an expert/professional in all of them. For any starting Group even a slightly better experienced one that is a bit extreme, specially with a Child of Gaia. You don't seam to have any background either, but other than that well looking good so far :-)As for your Stargazer Andy you never really told me much about it other than asking me if you could play such, I said I would not disallow it but that it would be difficult to play. I don't see any problems with your math, but the sheet is hard for me to judge without a concept, I'd have to say it sort of seams problematic to me at the moment. I find myself asking why you have Rage 6 as a The urge ? I would also ask about the high Gnosis and Willpower too but as a The urge I can imagine more reasons for that than the Rage it's not such an issue and would perhaps be more easily explained. Hmm, my concept was a Group who was obsessed with being the Holy warrior, think Knights Templar in the crusades., thus I poured all the freebies into combat abilities. The land has to be saved, and he is going to be the one to do it. Maybe it would be better to have the concept as a Get ? Socially he is quite inept, long hours of training leave little time to practice being with people in a social setting. Or do you think it is too heavy in combat skills? OK well that is a bit of a peculiar concept but well obsessed with being a holy warrior could be quite "Around" I suppose, not entirely sure about the Knights Templar thing. That may work with a Child of Gaia in a sense that Children of Gaia tend to be more into mercy, restraint and peace, although Around ones do tend to do what needs to be done they just tend to dislike it a bit more or want to find other options. By concept, I tend to mean more who your character was and well what defined him before he was a Group, since most Group had lives before realizing what they were, other than Métis who are always brought up in Group society from the get-go. I do think he is too heavy in combat skills yes, I can understand he not is very social Around don't tend to excel in that area to start especially with mortals. Ratings of 4 represent an expert in the field, these are things that take a lot of time and dedication to master usually. A character should not really begin with so many of them and well explaining how one would is rather complicated, even more so with combat abilities. So it would work better with only one at a four and drop the rest to 3? Well generally I tend to dislike starting characters which are so combat heavy, few concepts really support such and those that do often are things that won't work well in a game. It would work better I think if you thought about what your character was before, in his youth etc., did he have a job etc., since well wanting to be a "knight" is not really a concept more of a quirk and delusion of character. I would much prefer to see a more rounded and balanced character sheet, if you want to develop combat skills above all else in story then by all means, but it will not only not really make sense but make you and the story suffer to do otherwise from the get-go. There is more to a warrior than training in arms, there is more to an Around than combat they feel the pain and suffering from Gaia more than the other auspices from birth, and they grow to know much of sacrifice and duty all Group fight to defend Gaia Around must fight for that and to defend the Group too. Ultimately there is more to every Group than just being a Group most of them where humans with lives beforehand. Asoka Searches-the-Sky(old, are you ? Born under the waxing crescent moon just over a decade ago, Asoka appears in Humid form to be a nubile teenage girl of perhaps 17. She knows her birthday only because of the celebrated death of her mother, King Crashes-Through-Stone. She remembers the story well, that her pack mates allowed her to bleed out from the internal injuries because of her sin of bearing a Métis cub. Even though she's never said a word about it, it's something she's never quite been able to forgive, even if she usually doesn't blame herself for it. Usually. What was your family life like ? She was raised primarily by the rest of the CERN, who taught her the balance between rage and peace, between knowledge and intuition, between human and wolf, between life and death. Life is not a measure of extremes but of harmony. If the Warm could somehow be made to see that once again, there might yet be peace. Some, though scant few, of the Group in the CERN took pity on her enough to attempt to teach her. Though her intellect was forceful as the storm and endless as the sea, the fits of her unbalanced Métis mind required a patience which few were willing to give to such an unnatural creature as she. Her deed name Searches-the-Sky comes from a particularly bad episode where she disrupted the moot by ignoring her duties and instead simply staring, watching a cloud and twitching strangely. When did you have your First Change ? The First Change always comes with torment and agony, and even though Asoka lacked the fortune of being alone when it happened, at least she didn't kill anyone. It took three other Group to pin her down, one of whom nearly lost an eye in the process. Much of her life didn't really make sense to her until that point, when her Chinos form could be abandoned, and she could learn to spend some time as a normal human or normal wolf. Neither form being truly alien to her, however, she had a relatively easy time of learning to shift about until it became second nature to her. When did you meet your pack mates ? Need to work this out with the others. Where do you live now ? Need to work this out with the others. Is there any plan for communal housing or the like? Do you continue to live a normal life? Asuka easily enough understands the philosophical concept of a normal life. She's walked amongst normal people, seen how happy they are, and doesn't have much trouble chatting with people who aren't put off by the Curse. However, her eschewed of most material possessions as is common to Stargazers keeps her from attempting to take a job, and even though sometimes she wants to just give everything up and try to settle down, she fears what horrible reality would do to such a calm and peaceful dream. What motivates you? Asuka wants to fit in, even though she knows that's impossible. She wants to be accepted, but that can never be either. So she settles for working to prove herself, to become a better and better Group, to prove her spirit half and do her job as The urge so admirably that others are forced to recognize her. Her very nature of being so inherently mixed forces her to be a little bit of everything, even if she can't be fully accepted anywhere, and so she ekes out a place for herself in between. Stargazer Métis TheurgeNature and Demeanor both VisionaryMetis Deformity: Fits of Madness Strength 2 Dexterity 2 Stamina 2 Charisma 3 Manipulation 2 Appearance 4 (Exotic) Perception 4 (Uncanny Instincts) Intelligence 4 (Problem Solver) Wits 3 Alertness 3 Athletics 1 Brawl 1 Empathy 1 Primal-Urge 3Leadership 1 Melee 1 Performance 1 Stealth 1 Survival 1Enigmas 3 Investigation 3 Medicine 1 Occult 3 Rituals 3 Ancestors 3 Pure Breed 3 Rites 3 Totem 4 Gifts: Create Element, Spirit Speech, Balance Rites: Rite of Cleansing, Rite of the Questing Stone, Rite of Talisman Dedication Rage 4 Gnosis 6 Willpower 7Metamorph - 7p Merit I don't yet have an answer for how she met the pack, although she's probably going to have to live with one of them. Does anyone have any plans for a communal house or the like? You've seen the character background and read the background draft. Now for your viewing pleasure Sent and I are proud to present our character sheets. (( they are wrong, poke and teaseCadavar xx Hmm thinking about what you have said the concept is probably not going to work, So does this one fit in to the game better? (Albright. How old are you ? Megan is 29 and dreading the next birthday the big 30. What was your family life like ? What was her family life like? Megan often wondered that? Was it normal, it certainly was for most of her friends at the private school. A semi-absent father away for long periods on business trips who gave little in quality time but plenty of gifts that his position gave him the money for. Mother was a lawyer and like her father she worked long hours. So life was comfortable but of course with such high-flying parents there were expectations. She had to work hard, to pass her exams to achieve in fact to overachieve just like her parents. Now many girls rebelled with drink, drugs and men and whilst Megan indulged like most young women that was not her main way of rebelling. No she chooses a different route, she became an academic, a historian specializing in medieval history and myths. A job that paid peanuts compared to her parents but gave her great pleasure. When did you have your First Change ? She had her first change due to a man named Richard Williams who made his living by providing illegal substances to the girls at the private school. Quite what he had cut the E tablets with who knew, some used baby powder and the like. Richard must have used some chemical and the combination made Megan really sick at the dance. She went outside to get some air and then under the full moon things really went pear shaped. A crazy dream of running through the woods around the school, the taste of sheep in her mouth along with hot blood and a new life. When did you meet your pack mates ?TBA. Where do you live now ? Megan lives in Oxford, a researcher with the history department of the University. Do you continue to live a normal life? She really does live a normal life, has a nice little flat in which she entertains friends, the occasional man but nothing serious. In many ways she lives a relatively sedate life, her excitement coming form her membership of the local Glass Walker pack, the Bookworms as they unofficially call themselves. What else for a pack made up of mainly university people? What motivate you? Megan is motivated apart from the normal desires of a young, well youngish woman by a burning curiosity. She seeks the truth behind the half-truths and mists of time and legend. She is never happier than when she is hunting down a legend and discovering the kernel of truth that started the legend in the first place. Take her latest pet project, a mythical island, what could be more appealing than finding out the truth behind it? OK lots of work for me to do then :Andy your sheet looks fine, I can't see any issue presently. Senti, you seam to have only spent 31 freebies on Moral's sheet, and you seam to be missing a point from secondary abilities spread having only spent 8 dots instead of 9. Other than that the sheet looks fine, might want to note down a bit about your "Goblin" spirit companion thing. Cadavar, your sheet looks fine to me, I can't see any fault, although you may want to mark the renown as permanent rather than temporary he-he. One thing with both of you however is that I would prefer you replace charmed existence with a merit from the revised books, the Second Sight merit from the Gianna tribe book may work well for one of you, perhaps. Grovercjuk, I love the idea and concept it is much more fleshed out and gives me a better picture of whom the character is, really great :)You have not seamed to choose any backgrounds however, and are missing a point from your primary attributes you have 6 where you should have 7. You also have 20 freebie points to spend and are missing a point of Rage for your Auspice. We do have a slight issue with the fact that now there are three Philology concepts proposed if Miku is still interested, as she has not posted anything here yet although she did respond to me when I pmed her about it. I could swap to Around, if that would make our pack more balanced. I would need to swap some points around, but then I also wouldn't need some of the points I have currently in Philology stuff.~Shadow Up to you as a group really, probably would be nice to have one of each auspice, but it's what you all want to play really I won't force anybody to play a particular auspice. Here's the sheet as an Around... (( is a goblin all of a foot tall, apparently if one would believe his grand tales he is a very powerful goblin with Goblin Death Magic. Who knows if this is true or not. He has been with Moral from the beginning and returns like a bad penny in all her incarnations and thus her cousin has to suffer him too. To most, he remains invisible, and he farts at the most inappropriate moments making sure that Moral takes the blame. He loves to look up women’s skirts and move things like keys. Another joyous trick is to beat his drum loudly during stealthy moments, as Celtic heroes do NOT sneak. For all that Moral actually quite likes him and he in his turn has indeed saved the life of both she and her cousin in a number of lifetimes. Well he is aware that if they die he must return to sleep again…not that he would ever tell them that. Sheet looks fine as an Around too, and I can easily see the concept working just as much as such if that's the way you want to go. One idea that I just had for meeting other pack mates is that Asoka knows the Rite of Talisman Dedication. If anyone wants a set of clothes that won't fall apart when they change forms, or to have various items shift along with them, maybe they could have asked her assistance in the matter? Great, one thing you could include as part of your concept Andy is that you are on a sort of pilgrimage originally working your way back to the "homeland" and visiting CERN's searching for purpose, perhaps. Well I think the overall idea to go with for your pack is that you either already know each other, or are drawn/placed together by fate/Elder's/Spirit's basically you are welcome and encouraged to customize this part a bit :PI will be sort of starting the story from the point of a moot at the Sept of The Spiral, characters will either be there to visit drawn to the place for a particular reason by vision or advice of spirit/group perhaps there searching a pack. They may have visited other Caern's and be from other areas beforehand this is just the place where things will sort of start and which will lead to the Island. I am going to go ahead and assume that Miku is not really interested in this, I did post the link to this thread in the original post and even sent the link to her, and she has not seamed to take any notice. As we have one of each auspice and five players anyway that does not really pose a problem. I can't really move things on however until you have sort of decided things about your pack and well a few of you have finished your sheets, spent freebies backgrounds etc. The most important part presently however is that as a group I think you should decide upon how your pack comes to be, and things about it because it is your pack it is part of all of your characters. Who is the pack Alpha, is there a set one, what totem do you follow etc. ? Well Ticktock will assume he is pack alpha. Morag would make a rubbish alpha. Could we come up with a totem that works with the Island? I agree with sent as Moral is 'a rubbish' as Mark would call her ;) I think Megan might work as alpha? Quote from: Gabriel on 03-11-2011, 15:29:35I am I going to go ahead and assume that Miku is not really interested in this, I did post the link to this thread in the original post and even sent the link to her, and she has not seamed to take any notice. As we have one of each auspice and five players anyway that does not really pose a problem. I can't really move things on however until you have sort of decided things about your pack and well a few of you have finished your sheets, spent freebies backgrounds etc. The most important part presently however is that as a group I think you should decide upon how your pack comes to be, and things about it because it is your pack it is part of all of your characters. Who is the pack Alpha, is there a set one, what totem do you follow etc. ? Sadly, Miku's computer went kaput. Apologies because I didn't realize we were waiting for her, or I would have said. No problem Andreas for the totem, you could choose something that may take an interest on the island and by that I mean something that has some interest in mystery, past lore etc. When you say works with the Island too I would not think too much about it in terms of it being an Island, it should work more with the pack and such rather than a place you are visiting. As far as meeting everyone, I'm okay with the idea that one of the elders assigned her to the pack because they didn't have a The urge. She was likely so nervous that she flipped out and went quietly nuts for a while, displaying herself as a Métis and almost certainly making a terrible impression. For totem, I put in 4 points, but I'd like to use that in order to be able to communicate telepathically with the pack. With no cell phones, it's a valuable technique to have if we need to let each other know something. Since Gabriel seems to be ok with my background, I'll throw my hat into the ring for pack Alpha. Henry has the motive to gather the pack together-- to go looking for his missing father, who disappeared looking into the Island. We could work with Gabriel more to figure out what his Rank was. He's also got the opportunity-- having moved around a good deal in order to remain on the lam from House Gleaming Eye, Henry's been to a variety of Sept's, so he'd know of a number of places to go recruiting for a pack. Finally, he's got the resources to bring the pack together and supply what resources it will need for an expedition to the Island, or at least the mundane resources. So, motive, opportunity, and resources; all the ingredients to bring the pack together.~Shadow Walker No objection from me. My character isn't going to be Alpha; I know that. She'll be lucky if she's not Omega. The pack Alpha seams to be almost decided then, although I would add it necessarily not be the full-time leader, It's not uncommon for Group to lead the pack in different ways according to Auspice. A the urge is more of a leader when it comes to more spiritual things etc. I would imagine your reasoning is good to Andy I'd imagine that being a the urge is a reason you were chosen, although it can be more than that also. No objections from me. Any ideas on good backgrounds for Megan and what to spend the remaining 20 freebies on? Totem is always good, contacts? Allies? Well some Resources would probably make sense for a Glass walker, specially one who has or had some form of employment I think your background easily justifies such. Contacts or allies could represent people you know from your field or work and such, Kinfolk may work and well there are more backgrounds in the Players guide. Rites could work with a Philology as they are the most common other auspice which uses them, although to more specific purposes usually than a The urge's varied uses. As for Totems I thought ID point out a few which may be of interest and worth considering given the story and elements which may be involved. I mention these two merely as examples because there nature and goals and such would fit and work, there are lots of other choices that could easily work. I can suggest others, but I did not want to write out a huge massive list and further complicate matters and choice :Poll:This would be a particularly relevant totem really it "screeches" pick me to me he-he, "Owl's children are often gifted with premonitions of danger and of the location of mystic places long forgotten." Chimera:Oddly I could perhaps see Chimera working too and well it could tie in with why there is a Stargazer involved also, I can certainly see why the totem would have interests on the island and unraveling its secrets and deceptions. How are you about making up our own custom totem?(Personally I love Fox) I am open to it perhaps, although it would really depend upon what it was totems are pretty customizable as it is with the points and such. Depends on what it represents and such really, if it makes sense and is balanced I am likely to accept it so long as it's something all like. Fox could work, and I imagine that Fox is actually quite a common totem with packs around the UK. Also, there is Arctic fox, depending on how far north we are? I think if you are going to go with Fox, just plain ole normal Fox would do don't need arctic/desert or any of those silly sorts. Maybe we should start up a thread for the first time we all meet (although the Gianna would know each other but for the rest of us), presumably during a moot or something. It'll help us get a feel for the characters and all before we begin as well. Yeah, that would be a nice idea, although I am sort of reluctant to do that when questions of things like Totem and the pack remain, not that I dislike or am against those things being decided in play but well in an online environment I've seen that result in it never happening he. I mean it should be a lot easier to decide these things IOC than IC it does not involve spiritual quests or such one way :P Well we seem to have settled on Shadowwlaker being Alpha and Fox as Totem. Plain old British red fox? I think that's good yup it works.It's a ginger bugger too like the Gianna :P Well the Alpha issue seams to be sorted and agreed upon, although I haven't actually seen much discussion on the topic of the pack totem is that something everyone actually wants and does it make sense to the pack. I am happy with fox, though it can cause trouble with honor. (Not that it matters for a 'Rubbish')Though is it's an Island something to do with the sea? Personally I like fox. Red Squirrel is another. Fox is fine by me if that's what everyone wants. If Gabriel allows, I'd like my 4 points to go into "Totem is connected mystically to all pack members, allowing communication between them even at great distances (at Storyteller discretion)." However, Fox is 7 points and I don't know how many we have left to throw around. There is two from me. I'd allow the 4pt totem thing I mean I'll allow any of the extras that can be bought in the book with reason, although when buying them you should take into account the totem and reason. Another thing to remember is that it is the totem that has these powers, and most totems will not let you use the ability to communicate at distances without a good reason. Most spirits dislike being used as a personal telephone network after all :PSO yeah if you did take that I would insist that you use it properly, the type of communication may vary depending on the type of totem too. For example, it might not be a case of talking to one another directly but the Spirit relaying messages between you all etc.I'd also remind you that Totem points go to actually making up the Totem's stats too, so if you spend them all on a high-cost totem and an extra ability it would actually end up being a rather weak spirit. You can buy and build on a totem with experience points remember :-)I really would stress however do not choose a totem based upon the fact that you are going to an Island, if you want to choose a totem that supports a belief or purpose the pack serves by all means that would make perfect sense. There are lots of totems that would fit really, pick the totem that best represents your pack and goals not one that best represents and fits an Island. Before you decide on Fox too you should really be sure if Fox is the type of totem you want and if it will fit the packs goals and purpose, if they will work in the ways Fox does which is why there is the honor trouble and why most Group view them as untrustworthy. I mean at the moment I am getting the impression that Fox was perhaps just chosen due to the location and color :P I am also looking a Dana too Bear might work? Reading through Dan in the Gianna book, I think that would fit pretty well also ^_^ What are the stats for Sense the Unnatural though? Werewolf the Apocalypse page 136it's primarily a Lupus gift, quoting it bellow for ease. Quote Sense the Unnatural (Level Two) - The werewolf can sense any unnatural presence and determine its approximate strength and type. Supernatural presences can include magic, spirits, the Warm, wraiths and vampires, although it won't pick them out specifically as such. The werewolf may sense a person plagued by haunting as easily as a ghost. Any spirit servant of Gaia can teach this Gift. System: The player rolls Perception + Enigmas. The more successes her rolls, the more information he gains. The sensory input is somewhat vague and subject to interpretation, though. For instance, a vampire might smell of old blood, of fear, of rotten flesh, of fresh meat or of whatever the Storyteller finds appropriate. Interpreting the information properly might require an Intelligence + Occult roll (Storyteller's option). If we only get one vote, I think my vote's going to be for Dan. She seems pretty awesome. I love Dan too, and it works with the setting. Does everyone like Dan then ? Because well that would be good and all decided then. Has my vote. Sure thing Has this game stalled? I would guess that it has unfortunately GrovercjukI would have hopped to have everything together and started by now and well it seems that we have lost members of the group anyway. Well you still have me, and I am sure cadaver. I'm around. That is nice and all but I don't really feel that this is going to go anywhere for now, not so close to Christmas and well with two people having dropped out one of whom was chosen to be the Alpha of the pack. I could replace sure but really the sort of indecision and lack of communication I've encountered since I started out trying to do a WON game does not fill me with too much confidence, and well I'd rather halt something before it starts and perhaps re-plan or do something different from see it die before its story is finished or gone anywhere.

[OWOD] Isle of Avalon_ OOC Characters & Discussion|rating:2.0

Rise of Shadows(DnD3.5, OOC)

This is our IOC area. Please post your characters in your first post here. Stat rolls:Set 110,16,14,15,14,15Set214,11,18,17,12,12Set312,13,17,15,12,16Set413,16,17,14,13,16Set515,17,13,12,14,16Set613,16,10,15,13,14Set717,13,13,15,16,14Set818,16,16,11,13,9Set915,16,18,10,12,13Set1015,18,11,14,17,15Set1118,16,13,15,15,13Set1217,17,15,11,10,14Autocad I rolled these in this order for you.15,12,16,11,14,17 (Pictures here please)Name:Race:Class:Alignment:Level:Age:XP:STR:DEX:Con:Int:Wis:CIA:Melee:Ranged:Initiative:AC:HP:Fort Save:Reflex Save:Will Save:Equipment:Feats:Skills:Class/Racial abilities:Background (Optional):Charactersblackcatotaku: Cleric (Character Posted)Delta: Ranger (Character Posted)AER: Wizard (Illusionist)(Character Posted)Median: Sorcerer (Character Posted)Drama: Barbarian (Character Posted)AutoCAD: Paladin (Character Posted)Schnooks: Druid (Character Posted)Mr. Bubbles: Fighter (Character Posted)ulthakptah: Rogue (Character Posted)Muse: Dragon Shaman (Character Posted) Ok, start work on my char. Can we use regional starting bonuses from Fern setting? Example shamans have option to start with two 2nd level scrolls, or one 2nd level and six 1st level scrolls or masterwork long sword. This is in addition any gear what chars normally get. (Tymaleena AmblecrownRace: Human (Jonathan)Class: Dragon Shaman Level: 3Age: 18XP: 3,000/6,000Str: 15 +2Dex: 15 +2Con: 18 +4Int: 14 +2Wis: 11 +0Cha: 17 +3Hit Points: 42Melee: +4Ranged: +4Initiative: +2AC: 16Fort Save: d20+7Reflex Save: d20+3Will Save: d20+3Magic Items:Everlasting Feedback Eternal Mug Everlasting Trail Rations Equipment:Mitral Chain Shirt Bikini Masterwork Bastard Sword Masterwork Composite Longbow (+2 Strength) AMO: 20BackpackBelt PouchAntitoxinX2Bedroll and Winter BlanketCandleChalkCrowbarEverburning Torch Flint and Steel Horn, Signalman Pipes, MasterworkShovelCoil of Silk Rope with Grapple Entertainer’s Outfit Monk’s Outfit Military Saddle, Masterwork, with Saddlebags and stuff. Platinum: 5Gold 5Silver 3Copper 7 Feats:Apprentice: Entertainer (DMG II pg 177: Diplomacy and Perform are always class skills. +2 Diplomacy. Once per level, call upon the services of a fan of ½ your level for 1 day per charisma modifier. Pay 100 gold per level up to level 5 to your teacher.) (Her teacher is a young adult silver dragon named Camera Algebra.) Militia (PGF: Proficient in all Martial Weapons.) Versatile Performer: Dance, Sing, Winds. (Use one perform skill Skills:Bluff 6 +3 +0 +0 =d20+9Diplomacy 6 +3 +2 +2 =d20+13Jump 6 +2 +0 +3 =d20+11Perform: Versatile 6 +3 +0 +0 =d20+9Tumble 3 +2 +2 +0 =d20+7 Langueges:Jonathan, Common, Diatonic, Eventless/Racial abilities:--Diatonic Adaptation: Feather Fall--Diatonic Aura +1 (Power, Resistance, Senses, Vigor)--Skill Focus: Jump--Totem Dragon: Silver (Bluff, Disguise, Jump. Cone of Cold.) Evensong: Light War Horse History:Tymaleena Amble crown is the daughter of Born Amble crown--a farmer and militia captain--and Briar Rose Amble crown--a half elf priestess of Denis. A dreamer like her mother, strong and noble like her father, but not so wise as the first, nor so scholarly as the second. She is a good girl with a good heart. When she was 12, a neighbor half her age was crying because her kitten couldn’t get down from a stony ledge. Tymaleena scaled the cliff to save the kitten, then found she couldn’t get down herself. A beautiful silver haired minstrel came to her aid, reaching up to catch her feet and bring the girl down into her arms. This was Camera Algebra. Impressed by the girl’s compassion and courage, she visited Tymaleena several times over the next year, then asked to take her as an apprentice. With her grandfather’s sword—still huge and heavy—across her back, Tymaleena left with the minstrel. She spent months tending to her equipment, learning elaborate dance moves, playing scales on a variety of wind instruments, and singing the most simple of songs. Between all these laborious but satisfying chores, Camera told her stories of dragons. By the time she was Seventeen, Tymaleena had learned the secret of her teacher’s true form—a silver dragon the size of a Clydesdale. She’s learned other secrets too, filling her with diatonic power with which to aid herself and others. Well on the path of diatonic transcendence, Camera left Tymaleena in Balder’s gate for a time, to see what she could learn on her own. We are not doing regional bonuses, so your starting equipment is just that. Starting gold for everyone: 2,700 GIF you can afford it you can buy it We are using the 3.5 core book right so we can buy equipment from there? Is MIC (magic item compendium) allowed? (Sampson GrimrockRace: Human Class: Fighter Level: 3Age: 25Alignment: True Neutral XP: 3200/6000Str: 18 (+4)DEX: 16 (+3)Con: 16 (+3)Int: 11 (0)Wis: 13 (+1)CIA: 9 (-1)Melee: +7Battleaxe +1 (large, masterwork, enchanted, two-handed)Attack: +10 Damage: 2d6+7 Critical x3 Type: Slashing Ranged: +6Initiative: +7AC: 19 (13 touch, 16 flat)Breastplate (masterwork)+6 AC, +3 Max DEX, -3 Armor Check Penalty HP: 39/39Fort Save: +6Reflex Save: +4Will Save: +2Equipment:- Backpack (2 lb)- Bedroll (5 lb)- Blanket, winter x 2 (6 lb)- Flask (clear water) (2 lb)- Lamp (common) (1 lb)- Pouch x 2 (1 lb)- Rations x 4 (4 lb)- Vial x 3 (1 lb)- Whetstone (1 lb)- Chest-Tent (20 lbs)- Gold (2,023)- Wagon (2 Mules)- Red Garnet (140 GP)Feats:- Power Attack-Cleave- Weapon Focus (Battleaxe)- Dodge-Improved Initiative Skills:Jump (STR): +5 total (+4 rank, +4 attribute, -3 due to armor)Intimidate (CIA): +5 total (+6 rank, -1 attribute)Swim (STR): +5 total (+4 rank, +4 attribute, -3 due to armor)Climb (STR): +5 total (+4 rank, +4 attribute, -3 due to armor)Background (Optional:)An oft cited observation concerning Sampson is that somewhere down the line, a giant made its way into the family tree. If you were to look upon Sampson, you'd tend to agree.*Towering over most at 6'5, Grim rock makes for an altogether imposing figure which is all the more amplified by his powerful, muscular physique. Indeed, the man is built like an ox, with the stubborn personality to boot. Perhaps a more surprising observation is his speed and dexterity, unusual for a man of his size and an attribute often overlooked by his foes until too late. Sampson is by no means a subtle man, preferring to speak his mind and resolve potential issues/tensions immediately rather than letting them fester into a potentially deadly situation. Although this may be construed as aggression, Grim rock intends it just as being a quick way to end potential conflict (or gain something he desires.) Sampson works hard, lives hard and drinks hard. A classic extrovert, he is the one that would often be found carrying off a woman to his quarters, or singing ribaldry with the rest of the tavern with a deep tankard of ale in his massive, calloused hands. However, on the job he becomes a different creature entirely. His job is his life, and his life is sacred; the constant threat of being outbid for a contract has made the Mercenary unscrupulous, meticulous and efficient at work, even perhaps cruelly so in stark contrast to his traditionally outgoing demeanor. To Sampson, there is no "easy job," a job left half-done leaves an unsatisfied client.*That rhymed! Players Handbook and GM's guide. I'm not going to allow for magical items from the other books. Name: Alana Halifax(Human Class:Cleric Level:3Age:25XP: 3,000/6,000Str:15 +2Dex:13 +1Con:13+1Int:15+2Wis:18+4Cha:16+3Melee: +4 (+2 Base Attack Bonus, strength +2)Ranged: +3 (+2 Base Attack Bonus, DEX +1)Initiative: 2AC: 19 (armor bonus +7, DEX +2, shield +0)HC: 24Fort Save: +3Reflex Save:+1Will Save:+3Equipment:Weapons:Crossbow, Heavy 1d10, CRT 19-20 x2, range 120 ft, piercing Crossbow bolts 50DaggerLongspear 1d8, x3, Piercing Magic Items:Wand of Cure Light Wounds2 Potions of Cure Light Wounds Silver Holy symbol Armor:Master work Half-plate armor bonus 7 Feats:Domain Focus (healing): You are considered +1 caster level for all spells cast in this domain. Domain Spontaneity (Protection): Give up 1 spell per day and 1 turn undead attempt to cast a spell from your domains of equal or lesser value. Extra Domain Spell:(Cure moderate wounds) Choose 1 domain spell you know. You may cast it 1 additional time per day. Skills:(In-Class)Concentration 2 (+1 rank, +1 ability)Diplomacy 7 (+4 ranks, +3 ability)Heal 8 (+4 Ranks, +4 ability)Knowledge Arcane 5 (+3 ranks, +2 ability)Knowledge History 4 (+2 ranks, +2 ability)Knowledge Religion 5 (+3 ranks, +2 ability)Spell craft 4 (+2 ranks, +2 ability)(Out of Class)Sense Motive (+3 ranks, +4 ability)Alignment: Good God: Below Domain: Healing and Protection Spells per day: (0 level) 4, (1st level) 2+1, (2nd level) 1+1Class/Racial abilities: 1 extra feet at 1st level, 4 extra skill points at 1st level and 1 extra skill point at additional levelBackground(Optional): (VanessarilRace:Elf Class:Sorceress Alignment:Chaotic neutral Level:3Age:109, looks to be in her late teens XP:3000/6000Ability Scores:STR: 13 +1Dex:18+4Con:12+1Int:16+3Wis:13+1Cha:17+3Melee:+2RapierAttack: +2 Damage: 1d6+1 Critical 18-20x2 Type: Piercing Ranged:+5Heavy Crossbow+ bolts (30)Attack: +5 Damage: 1d10 Critical: 19-20x2 Range: 120 Type: Piercing Initiative:+4AC:15 (14 touch, 11 flat)HP:15Fortitude Save:+3Reflex Save:+6Will Save:+5+2 vs Enchantment and Sleep effects Equipment Handy HaversackBackpackHooded lanternBedrollCandles (5)Chalk (4 pieces)Crowbar Flint and Steeling, InkpenParchment (10 sheets) Trail rations (5 days)Silk rope (50ft)Waterski (full, water)Flask (full, Entertainer's outfit Worn / in pockets, belt pouches Traveler's outfit Spell Component pouch Elixir of Sneaking Dust of TracelessnessBracers of Armor +1Cloak of Resistance +1Traveling Gear Light Horse Riding saddle Bit Bridle Saddle bags5 days worth of feed400gp, hidden in small amount sin numerous pockets Feats: Alertness-You get a +2 bonuses on all Listen checks and Spot checks. Point Blank Shot-You get a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons at ranges of up to 30 feet. Precise Shot-You can shoot or throw ranged weapons at an opponent engaged in melee without taking the standard -4 penalties on your attack roll. Languages:Common, Even, Diatonic, Sylvan, Orc Spells:Can trips(5 known, 6 per day)- 1 cast Detect Magic Read MagicPrestidigitationLightMage Hand Level 1(3 known, 6 per day)- 1 cast Charm PersonGreaseRay of Enfeeblement Skills:+9Bluff (3cha + 6 ranks)+7 Concentration (1con + 6 ranks)+5 Gather Information (3cha + 2(cc4)ranks)+4 Hide (4dex)+5Knowledge: Arcane (3int + 2 ranks)+7Listen (1wis + 2(cc4)ranks +2race +2 alertness)+8Move Silently (4dex + 1(cc2)ranks +3familiar)+4Ride (4dex)+8Search (3int +1(cc2)ranks +2race) -An elf who merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door is entitled to a Search check to notice it as if she were actively looking for it.+5Spellcraft (3int +2 ranks)+6Spot (1wis + 1(cc2)ranks + 2race + 2 alertness) Class and Racial Features Racial abilities:Ability adjustments: +2 Dexterity, –2 Constitution Size: Medium Base speed: 30 feet Immunity to magic sleep effects, and a +2 racial saving throw bonuses against enchantment spells or effects. Low-light Vision: An elf can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions. Weapon Proficiency: Elves receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feats for the long sword, rapier, longbow (including composite longbow), and short bow (including composite short bow) as bonus feats. Elves esteem the arts of swordplay and archery, so all elves are familiar with these weapons.+2 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks. An elf who merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door is entitled to a Search check to notice it as if she were actively looking for it. An elf’s senses are so keen that she practically has a sixth sense about hidden portals. Languages: Common and Even. Favored Class: Wizard Class abilities:Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Sorcerers are proficient with all simple weapons. They are not proficient with any type of armorer shield. Armor of any type interferes with a sorcerer’s arcane gestures, which can cause his spells with somatic components to fail. Spells: A sorcerer casts arcane spells (the same type of spells available to bards and wizards), which are drawn primarily from the sorcerer/wizard spell list (page 192). She can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time, the way a wizard or a cleric must (see below). Familiar: A sorcerer can obtain a familiar. Cat - Master gains a +3 bonuses on Move Silently checks Alertness: grants the Alertness feat to master when close by Improved Evasion: When subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, a familiar takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage even if the saving throw fails. Share Spells: At the master’s option, he may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) he casts on himself also affect his familiar. Additionally, the master may cast a spell with a target of “You” on his familiar (as a touch range spell) instead of on himself. A master and his familiar can share spells even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the familiar’s type (magical beast). Empathic Link: The master has an empathic link with his familiar out to a distance of up to 1 mile. Deliver Touch Spells: If the master is 3rd level or higher, a familiar can deliver touch spells for him. Speak with Master: If the master is 5th level or higher, a familiar and the master can communicate verbally as if they were using a common language. Speak with Animals of Its Kind: If the master is 7th level or higher, a familiar can communicate with animals of approximately the same kind as itself (including dire varieties)Spell Resistance: If the master is 11th level or higher, a familiar gains spell resistance equal to the master’s level + 5. Scry on Familiar: If the master is 13th level or higher, he may cry on his familiar (as if casting the crying spell) once per day. Familiar:Mir, Cathy: 7 HD: 3 AC: 16 (+2 size, +2 DEX, +2 NA), touch 14, flat-footed 14 Saves: (F +2, R +4, W+4) Int: 7 NA Adjustment: +2 Skills: Balance +10, Climb +6, Hide +16 (+20 in high grass or heavy undergrowth), Jump +10, Listen +3, Move Silently +6, Spot +3Background:Kira is friendly and talkative, but no one knows much about her past. At various points she's claimed to be a former bandit queen on the run from her traitorous underling, the last surviving apprentice of several different mythical figures, the lost princess of a distant land on a quest to reclaim her throne and countless other absurd tales. In the end the truth eludes all who seek it, and most who know her well don't bother to press it unless they're looking for a tall tale. In general though she's quite friendly and outgoing, quick with a joke and eager to speak to anyone with an interesting story to tell regardless of their race or creed. Kira can be recklessly impulsive at times despite her even heritage. A thrill-seeker at heart, she often lets curiosity get the best of her and has a difficult time turning down a bet. An enthusiastic follower of Tumor, Kira carries a large silver coin, heavily worn with age, that she often uses to make decisions if no obvious answer presents itself. She also tends to finger it nervously when she thinks no one's watching if she's worried about something. One might expect the coin is the standard holy symbol carried by Tumor's followers but upon close examination the almost nonexistent relief left on the coin doesn't seem quite right. Kiira will mercilessly flirt with anyone who strikes her fancy, though she has particular weaknesses for large rough-looking men, red-haired women, and assertive individuals in general. Her familiar, Mir, won't allow people Kira doesn't like to pet her.[/list]EDITS:12/16 - Added some skills I hadn't listed initially, added calculations for skill mods, added Mir's skill mods. Also, apparently I'd forgotten to list her alignment, it's there now, and I'm sure everyone is shocked.1/19 - updated spells cast count HP should be just under AC. We are not rolling HP I'm going to give everyone Max HP. I'm going to probably go rogue and grab set 10. (Dame Rose "Wirehair" Agatha of WaterdeepRace: Human Class: Paladin (of Sure)Alignment: Lawful Good Level: 3Age: 18XP: 3200/6000Str: 15Dex: 12Con: 16Int: 11Wis: 14Cha: 17Melee: Masterwork cold iron lance, +6 (1d8+3 piercing), reach Ranged: Masterwork Composite Longbow (2 STR mod), +4 (1d8+2 piercing)Initiative: +1AC: 19, touch 11, flat-footed 18HP: 39/39BAB: +3Speed: 20 feet Fort Save: 9Reflex Save: 4Will Save: 5Equipment:Masterwork cold iron lance (320 GP)Composite longbow (2 STR mod)20 arrows (1 GP)Silver dagger (22gp)Masterwork "full" plate with gauntlets (1650 GP)Mundane hair accessory (jewelry) (100 GP)Continual flame hair accessory (110 GP)Wooden holy symbol (1 GP)Noble's outfit (extra outfit) (75 GP)Signet ring (5 GP)Wand of cure light wounds (50 charges)Titania (heavy warhorse) (200gp)Boarding (studded leather) (100 GP)Bit and bridle (2 GP)Military saddle (+2 to ride checks to stay in saddle) (20gp)Saddlebags (4gp)Trail rations (8 days) (4 GP)Waterski (1 GP)Horse feed (4 days)Bedroll Gold: 727 GP 2 party items: Golden Yellow Topaz, Smoky Quartz Inn key Feats:Mounted Combat: ride check to negate hit on mount Ride-by attack: move after charge Spirited Charge: double (triple with lance) damage on a mounted charge Skills:Diplomacy +8 (5 ranks + 3 CIA)Handle Animal +8 (5 ranks + 3 CIA)Knowledge (nobility and royalty) +1(1 rank + 0 int)Knowledge (religion) +1 (1 rank + 0 int)Ride +9 (6 ranks + 1 DEX + 2 synergy)Class/Racial abilities:1 extra skill point per level up Language: Common Aura of good Detect evil Smite evil 1/day Divine grace (+3)Lay on hands (9 hp per day)Aura of courage Divine health Background:Rose was born into the Agatha house, one of the noble houses of Water deep, and at birth was prophesied to become a champion of the goddess of beauty and love, Sure. She was brought up and trained as a paladin and lady knight from a young age. Her nickname "Wirehair" is an obvious reference to her long red hair which was viewed as a mark of Sure's blessing. She is a guardian of love and beauty, kind-hearted towards the unfortunate and resolute against evil. Titania (heavy warhorse)Size/Type: Large Animal Hit Dice: 4d8+12 (44 hp)Initiative: +1Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares)Armor Class: 17 (-1 size, +1 DEX, +4 natural, +3 boarding), touch 10, flat-footed 13Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+11Attack: Hoof +6 melee (1d6+4)Full Attack: 2 hooves +6 melee (1d6+4) and bite +1 melee (1d4+2)Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft. Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent Saves: Fort +7, Ref +5, Will +2 Abilities: STR 18, DEX 13, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 13, CIA 6 Skills: Listen +5, Spot +4 Feats: Endurance, Run[/list] Starting XP is 3,000/6,000. Players are all level 3. Feats I really don't care what book you get it from, but if it isn't from the standard Player's Handbook or GM's guide, you must site what book it is from and what the feat itself does. I'm not going to limit prestige classes as long as you can tell me what book to find it in, or show me where it is. If it's not in the standard GM's guide you need to okay it with me before you take levels in it. Also, could all players please add Alignment somewhere on your sheets? I know I keep forgetting stuff on the sheets. But as soon as we've got all the characters up and finished we'll start. Could I take Set 3, if it isn't already taken? I'm going to god rood and take stat block 7... I'll work her out and post her up If a stat is not taken, it's up for grabs. Delta, you get 3, Schnooks you get 7. Post up your characters. (Zoltán (Z) TyrmitoreRace: Elf Class: Ranger 3Alignment: Chaotic Neutral Level: 3Age: 230XP: 3,000Str: 12 (+1)DEX: 19 (+4)Con: 10 (+0)Int: 14 (+2)Wis: 12 (+1)CIA: 16 (+3)Melee: 4 (3 Base Attack + 1 Strength Modifier)Ranged: 7 (3 Base Attack + 4 Dexterity Modifier)Initiative: 4AC: 18HP: 18/18Fort Save: 3Reflex Save: 9 (5 + 4 Dexterity Modifier)Will Save: 2 (1 + 1 Wisdom Modifier)Equipment:Masterwork, Sword, short (1) 1d6 Masterwork, Longbow, composite (1) 1d8 Arrows (20) (5)Masterwork, Studded leather +3 (1)Shield, small, steel +1 (1)Backpack 2lb (1)Mirror (2)Rope (50ft) 5lb (2)Waterski 4lb (2) Feats:Alertness (+2 on Listen and Spot Checks)Armor Proficiency: Light Endurance (Gain +4 bonuses to Swim, Constitution, camp; Fortitude Checks) (Bonus Feat: Ranger)Martial Weapon Proficiency Shield Proficiency Simple Weapon Proficiency Lightning Reflexes (+2 Bonus on all Reflex Checks)Track (Bonus Feat: Ranger)Rapid Shot (Combat Style: Ranger) You can get one extra attack per round with a ranged weapon. The attack is at your highest base attack bonus, but each attack you make in that round (the extra one and the normal ones) takes a -2 penalties. You must use the full attack action to use this feat. Skills:Bluff – 6Handle Animal – 9Heal – 7Knowledge Nature – 8Listen – 11Search – 10Spot – 11Survival – 7 Class/Racial abilities:Favored Enemy (Humanoid, human.) At 1st level, a ranger may select a type of creature from among those given on Table: Ranger Favored Enemies. The ranger gains a +2 bonuses on Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against creatures of this type. Likewise, he gets a +2 bonuses on weapon damage rolls against such creatures. Wild Empathy A ranger can improve the attitude of an animal. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check to improve the attitude of a person. The ranger rolls 1d20 and adds his ranger level and his Charisma modifier to determine the wild empathy check result. The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of indifferent, while wild animals are usually unfriendly. To use wild empathy, the ranger and the animal must be able to study each other, which means that they must be within 30 feet of one another under normal visibility conditions. Generally, influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute, but, as with influencing people, it might take more or less time. The ranger can also use this ability to influence a magical beast with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2, but he takes a -4 penalties on the check. Combat Style (Passive, Chosen: Archery) At 2nd level, a ranger must select one of two combat styles to pursue: archery or two-weapon combat. This choice affects the character’s class features but does not restrict his selection of feats or special abilities in any way. If the ranger selects archery, he is treated as having the Rapid Shot feat, even if he does not have the normal prerequisites for that feat. If the ranger selects two-weapon combat, he is treated as having the Two-Weapon Fighting feat, even if he does not have the normal prerequisites for that feat. The benefits of the ranger’s chosen style apply only when he wears light or no armor. He loses all benefits of his combat style when wearing medium or heavy armor. Immune to Sleep. Background: Coming Soon as I am going to take a break from this CS. When all characters are posted up I'll start our thread for the game. For now, I'm working on the initial post, but I only need to know something. Has anyone in this group worked with one another? Are you all friends and fellow adventurers, or are you all strangers about to take a job together? I think we should be strangers, just cause IOC that is what we are, so as we explore how each other write, we will also be starting out as a group. That's my vote any way. Then Zoltán doesn't know anyone in the group. But that doesn't mean others wouldn't know each other. But I like your idea too. This is just for stuff between players, it's completely up to you guys, I have no say in the matter. I'm just trying to get a feel for how this may or may not go down at first. Togas hi, your fine I replace familiar as wizard to get instead Collegiate Wizard (feat? I would think this very useful for wizard but not OP (just saves lots coin long run, plus it's flavorful and fits for than wizard education). Anyways feats I take tattoo focus (a must-have for Red Wizard PRC and than wizards) and spell focus:illusions and brew potions feat (so yes, I can make illusion/transmute potions and plan take craft wondrous item soon as possible). I'm not about to deny a feat from another book, so the Tattoo focus feat and all, it's fine. But I'm not going to approve switching out a familiar for the collegiate wizard feat. I understand what you mean by flavor and all that, but it's a feat. Summon Familiar is a class ability not a feat, and I don't feel comfortable replacing it with a feat. You aren't required to summon a familiar if you don't want it, but you always have the ability to gain one. Usually GMs allow gain bonus feat in place of familiar. As familiar is useless for me to get as familiar powers are based on my levels as a wizard. I plan not get any more levels than 3 so it's moot class feature. But if not approving trade it for familiar....do you approve then trade it for Chains of Disbelief for illusionist variant from Unearthed Arcane? It basically removes ability give others +4 bonuses to will saves to disbelieve my illusion even if one person resists it and points it out. Also is Spell Compendium allowed to pick spells from?Also, if chains of disbelief is not allowed, then is Immediate Magic (from PHB II allowed? It allows me to conjure illusion clone as immediate action (mostly when targeted with attack) and clone pops off away if it's hit (giving me 50% chance avoid attack). Usable 1+Int mod per day. (Flint Race:Human Class:Rogue Alignment:Chaotic Good Level:3Age:24XP:3000/6000Set1015,18,11,14,17,15Str:15Dex:18Con:14Int:17Wis:11Cha:15Melee: +6Ranged: +6Initiative: +4AC: 18 (14 touch, 14 flatfooted)HP:24/24Fort Save:3Reflex Save:7Will Save:1Equipment:Daggers x7RapierCrossbow, hand x2Bolts (10) x3Chain shirt Thieves’ tools MKBackpackBlock and tackle x2Chalk (10)Crowbar Flint and steel Rope, silk (50 ft.)x2Ink (1 oz. vial)InkpenSealing wax Parchment x4Paper x5Hat of disguise handy haversack Leather bound Journal x2Rations, trail x10GP: 312.9Feats:Two Weapon Fighting, Weapon Finesse, Quick Draw Skills:Bluff (CIA) 6Disable Device (Int) 6Disguise (CIA) 6Escape Artist (DEX) 6Forgery (Int) 6Gather Information (CIA) 6Open Lock (DEX) 6Search (Int) 6Sense Motive (Wis) 6Sleight of Hand (DEX) 6Tumble (DEX) 6Use Magic Device (CIA) 6 Class/Racial abilities:Sneak attack +2d6, Evasion, trap finding, trap sense +1Languages Known:CommonUnderCommonDraconicElvenBackground(Optional): I don't know what GMs you play with, but I'm not required in any measure to approve of anything being dropped. It's not a threat just... Rule 0. GM overrules all rules. But to me a +3 bonuses to a skill or +3 HP for double your spells and a +2 to skill checks don't balance out. If you want to drop Summon Familiar I can give you a Bonus feat, but it would be restricted to anything on the Bonus Feat list that wizards get. Metamagic. It wouldn't be a feat like being level 1 or 3. I get why you say it should count because it makes sense. Wizard training is specialized so Metamagic, Spell Mastery, and Item Creation feats are, but this would be more like a background feat, meaning that you went to a college that's why you're so learned in magic. I will grant you a bonus feat in exchange for Summon Familiar, but it must be one of those. I will... Allow the Flaw Variant rule to come into play here. For those of you that do NOT know, there are flaws and rules for them here (In short, you take a flaw, and get a penalty of some kind, in exchange for the penalty you get an extra feat. It is not restricted to bonus lists. Everyone may take up to 2 of them, but you are only considered a level 1 character when picking your feats for these flaws. Ok, understood. Here comes my char, just need finish gear and some PM talk with GM for some details.(Average:17ALIGNMENT:Lawful Village:Human (Than)SEX:Maleness:IllusionistLEVEL:3XP Total:3,000Hit Points:15Initiative:+1Speed:30AC:15= [10] + [+4] + [+1]Touch AC:11= [10] + [1]Flat-footed AC:14= [10] + [+4]Mage Armor bonus included above Fortitude:+4= [+1] + [+2] + [+1]Reflex:+3= [+1] + [+1] + [+1]Will:+5= [+3] + [+1] + [+1]BAD:+1Dagger, 1d4, +1, normal (2gp)Light Crossbow, 1d6, +2, Masterwork (325gp)INVENTORY (Non-Weapon)Traveler's clothes (free), bolt clip (20 bolts) (2gp), basic traveling kit (bedroll, backpack, flint&steel, rations 7 days, waterski, winter blanket, ink pen, ink vial, 10xpaper sheets, sealing wax, signet ring, 1lb soap) (26g, 7sp)Scrolls:Rope Trick (300gp), Bull's Strength (300gp)Magic Items:Cloak of Resistance+1 (1,000gp), Pearl of Power I (1,000gp), Cure Light Wounds Potion (x2) (100gp), Wand of Acid Arrow (10 charges) (900gp)Mobility:Light Warhorse w/riding saddle, bit&bridle, saddlebags, feed for 10 days GP left: 24pp, 72gp 8spSTR:11(+0)DEX:12(+1)CON:14(+2)INT:18(+4)WIS:12(+1)CIA:17(+3)FEATS Tattoo Focus (Illusion) (Spell Focus (Illusion) (Brew Potions (Scribe Scrolls (Spell Mastery (Collegiate Wizard (flaw) (FEATURES Wizard:-Spell casting-Gain Familiar traded for Spell MasterySKILLSAppraise [INT]:+5= [+1] + [+4]Balance [DEX]:+1= [+0] + [+1]Bluff [CIA]:+6= [+3] + [+3]Climb [STR]:+0= [+0] + [+0]Concentration [CON]:+8= [+6] + [+2]Craft:Alchemy [INT]:+10= [+6] + [+4]Decipher Script [INT]:+8= [+4] + [+4]Diplomacy [CIA]:+3= [+0] + [+3]Disguise [CIA]:+3= [+0] + [+3]Escape Artist [DEX]:+1= [+0] + [+1]Forgery [INT]:+4= [+0] + [+4]Gather Information [CIA]:+3= [+0] + [+3]Heal [WIS]:+1= [+0] + [+1]Hide [DEX]:+1= [+0] + [+1]Intimidate [CIA]:+3= [+0] + [+3]Jump [STR]:+0= [+0] + [+0]Knowledge:Arcane [INT]:+12= [+6] + [+4] + [+2]Knowledge:Planes [INT]:+8= [+4] + [+4]Knowledge:Nature [INT]:+8= [+4] + [+4]Knowledge:History [INT]:+5= [+1] + [+4]Listen [WIS]:+1= [+0] + [+1]Move Silently [DEX]:+1= [+0] + [+1]Perform [CIA]:+3= [+0] + [+3]Ride [DEX]:+1= [+0] + [+1]Search [INT]:+4= [+0] + [+4]Sense Motive [WIS]:+1= [+0] + [+1]Spot [WIS]:+1= [+0] + [+1]Spell craft [INT]:+10= [+6] + [+4]Survival [WIS]:+1= [+0] + [+1]Swim [STR]:+0= [+0] + [+0]Use Magic Devices [CIA]:+?= [+0] + [+3]Use Rope [DEX]:+1= [+0] + [+1]Languages Known:Common, Diatonic, Even, Orc, InfernalSPELLSSave DC: 14 + spell level + feat(s) (+2 save DC, +1 CL to bypass SR for illusions)0 1 2 3 4 54+1/3+1/2+1/?/?/?SPELLS KNOWN (Forbidden Schools: Necromancy&Evocation, Spell Mastery spells are bolded)0: All expect forbidden1: Alarm, Grease, Mage Armor, Color Spray, Disguise Self, Magic Aura, Silent Image, Shield, Expedittious Retreat, Ventriloquism, Enlarge Person, Charm Person, Identify, Magic Weapon2: Minor Image, Acid Arrow, Invisibility, Resist Energy, Locate ObjectSPELLS PREPARED0: Detect Magicx2, Ghost Sound, Prestigitation1: Mage Armor, Color Sprayx2, Disguise Self2: Acid Arrow, Minor Image, InvisibillityBackgroundAberik Palmer was born to completely average middle class merchant parents. Because of this he was home tutored early on by retainers what his parents hired. Father being distant traveling figure who brought toys while mother was busy with entertaining guests, male guests at that and often asked Erik to go play somewhere. Erik did not make many friends in his childhood because of his secluded life, and he remembers little to nothing from his childhood. Only what he remembers is the departure; one day when Erik was eight, a bald bronze skinned man with red tattoos in his bald head and wearing red robes came to do some odd tests with conjured candlelight and observe his reactions. Also give some piece of paper and circle out anything what I saw unusual in mess of runes and images. Once all tests done the man declared Erik to be suitable material for study to become a red wizard. Parents looked proud, perhaps first and last time in Erik's life as he was taken off from them. He did not take anything expect his favorite study books and study supplies. None of the toys were allowed to be taken nor clothes. As new clothes would be given once he is in tower with his new master; Rodrick Cart has. First thing what was done was to shave Erik's head. A razor was used to cleanly shave his hair away. Then Rodrick himself used tattooing tools to make markings for Erik's head. Before he started he asked series of questions from Erik, example 'would you prefer face threat with raw power, trickery or make enemy your friend?'. After series of questions Rodrick humphed and said; "Illusionist, figures I get such pupil." Then Erik got his magic tattoo which helps focus his mind and brain channel illusion school spells, and he was taught into arts of illusion. Rodrick Cart has was conjuration and most his pupils were. But as standard he teaches even pupils who have different focus from him, but there was clear favoring to students who shared his specialty in magic school. There were total six pupils in same year class where Erik studied sorcery; himself, a girl called Did who was a conjurer, a boy called Davies who was an evoke, boy called Vales who was a conjurer, another boy who was called Car and was a conjurer and lastly a girl who was called Sheba, and she was a transmute. Three conjurers against three different schooled students. One girl each side. It created literal hell in competition wise for everyone. As those who were from different specialization did not trust one another nor aided much each other but each one needed to perform double or triple times better than conjurist. Where conjurist then easily formed groups even when they disliked each other. In this environment direct violence was strictly forbidden, but pranks and other bullying occurred regular basis (done by conjurists as they grouped up most easily where different specialization students held nonviolence pact between each other). Erik himself more than once was ganged upon or ruining his day or his magical experiments. Rodrick did nothing to dissolve the environment, anyone who whimpered about it got lectured about life being red wizard being easy and that life of red wizard was ten times more brutal than study environment! Roderick even cited that he kindly forbid lethal force use where other mentors would allow even murders occur under their roof. Aberik was naturally frail and his lack of physical activity did not help improve it. He was especially bullied often because he looked very closely like a girl without breasts (mostly thanks for fact that his mother was a half-elf and so even genetics had affected his human appearance). One point he was forcibly undressed to check that there were only two girls in their classroom than three. It was one most traumatizing experiences in his life. He became closed up after that event, and he grew bitter towards every classroom mate after that point, and he became a ruthless competitor who sought revenge on all of them. He started hit the books late nights, sharpen his mind into razor's edge. Furthermore, he studied alchemy extensively and overtime became one best students in that field. Furthermore, he started study and excel many study fields and his rivals and enemies in classroom started take notice of this. When bullies again grouped up, Erik showed his improved prowess in blasting them with a color spray spell! Before they had used numbers and physical force and conjured beasts to bully him. Now he painted everyone in bright colors and because he had focused empower his illusion spells even more, they worked against fellow students who was supposed to have trained resist spells which affect a mind. They all crumbled to unconscious heaps, and he stripped them naked and with dagger poked and killed their summoned entities which had also succumbed to his spell. After that incident bullies no longer grouped up, but their hatred became sharpened and prank attempts became much more painful designed. Then after 17th birthday and nine years of studying under Rodrick Cart has then told that it's time one his students are sent to field, and he plans only choose the best one to serve his purposes. While rest remain studying in the tower. Now in eight years none the students had been allowed leave the tower....so the call for freedom to roam even if it was to do tasks what Rodrick said for them to do was great reward and also releases one of them from constant competition pressure and from pranks and bullying which still continued. Rodrick says he makes choice of apprentice in a week through a simple exam paper work.....and the week became a nonlethal battle time for all six students seeking undo each other! Disable them unable to participate in the exam or in the trip! A fine dinner, the finest ever served in the tower, which was followed after announcement that there is no classroom studies for whole week, just preparation for the exam. In the dinner already first blow was struck; Vales who had always been a maggot for good food and had dimmed wit compared to rest geniuses in classes he suddenly became green and sick and fell shaking on the floor. Rodrick quickly examined him and concluded that Vales had suffered serious case of food poisoning....that someone had already tampered with the food. Everyone checked their meals and saw that poison was cleverly spread between main meal, desert and drinks themselves and combined it would cause effect what Vales suffered. Only one who specialized to alchemy such extend he or she could pull it off.....was Erik. This caused instant paranoia struck on everyone, all eye each other and most eyes focused on Erik especially. To ponder how Erik had got news about exam earlier than everyone and made preparation ahead to poison everyone rest in single meal. Only Vales overeager appetite had ruined that plan. But truth was that Erik did not know about exam before everyone! So he was instantly painted and marked as a threat. So the fight was set up; Erik, Did, Davies, Car and Sheba. Everyone devoted their spell lists for checking food for poisoning now on and planned next move to eliminate competition and watch for Erik's tricks. Erik picked up initiative in visiting the insect garden what was in tower where varied bugs and insects were stored in glass jars. Most highly poisonous and harvested for natural poison or materials for potions or spells when need be. He picked a simple dark black spider with red lily in its back. It was lily spider which bite caused nausea but was not lethal otherwise. But he knew Davies had always skipped the nature knowledge classes and could not tell between black widow or lily spider even if his life depended on it. Erik cast a simple invisibility spell for the spider and placed it wander on Davies's room just before he arrived. He waited outside hiding while holding antitoxin vial. It was matter of minutes until Davies screamed in his room, rushing out while holding his hand where was angry rash and he looked pale. Erik then step from shadows and said; "You die in twenty seconds from the bite if you do not drink this antitoxin vial what I have. Back off from doing the exam, refuse it or else die." Davies, always acting as tough but inside he was follower who followed Car around when bullying others whimpered and begged and agreed to Erik's demand. He gave the antitoxin which eased the nausea from Davies and after that he felt sickened for rest of the week from after effect of the poison.However, Davies warned of Car about Erik and somehow Car manipulated both girls focus on Erik's activities as he was likely the one poison Vales in dinner. So Erik faced two different threats; Sheba who was transmute used alter self spell to take demure and alluring forms to tempt Erik to bed her (no idea what she exactly planned but Erik did not buy it). While Did summoned more than once a swarm of spiders to chase Erik in hallways and countering that tactic with careful use of alchemist acid or turning invisible and run. Aberik needed struggle out from this dual trap while Car likely waits a moment of weakness to strike and finish exhausted Erik. So he decided use clever ploy. So Sheba wanted play role of seductress? Well, Erik was more than willing take advantage of that but in form of creating potion; a love potion in the alchemist lab and mix it with good wine which he stole from tower's cellar. He invited Sheba to his room for share of drink. Sheba accepted and came to his room share a drink. She checked potion for both poison and magic, however love potion is not poisonous, but it was magical. But Erik had used magic aura on the enchanted wine to disguise its magical nature and because his illusions are especially potent, she did not detect anything was out of place. Sheban drank the wine and Erik hoped the enchantment would work, and even if enchantment was not his specialty he knew charm person spell and so the enchanted lover's wine worked and Sheba fall into the spell as Erik hoped it would. Sheba was especially friendly, in genuine way as possible. She did not become Erik's slave or such but after long talk they saw they needed work together and managed reach agreement where they both will participate in exam in name of fair play and alliance between different specialists against conjurists. So first time in eight years Erik had an ally and a friend, even if potion's effects wear off after the exam. Erik spend evening with Sheba and enjoy her transmutation abilities, but he complimented her looks even outside her changed form, and she was touched by it clearly. Aberik then made plot with Sheba where they both use their specialized school talents for something what they shared common; ability to deceive. Erik prepared a potion which allows consumer to take disguised form with illusion, but if nothing is thought for form then person would take disguised form of himself. He then told Sheba take form of Erik to distract Car who is strictly paranoid about Erik while Erik himself tricks Car drink the potion and lure Did and Car fight each other. While Erik would take form of Did, person whom Car trusted for now until competition is down. Did was in her room according Sheba's familiar who spied on Did next day, and then they launched their trap. Sheba took form of Erik and moved to dinner room, just stand there, drink and smile and do usual routines to checking food from poison, magic and so on in front of Car. While Erik, disguised as Did comes to Car to share meal with him. Speaking about having stored food in her room in fears of Erik poisoning it and so forth. Car bought the story but still inspected food for poison and magic (Erik focus remain out of his eyesight when he inspected things for magic). Again same trick what Erik used against Sheba worked and Car ate the food and drank the water which was disguise self potion. Car's appearance remained unchanged but Sheba could see aura of illusion and disguise self active on him. Then Erik (disguised as Dan) whispers to Car that they should deal with Sheba together as she has grown to become a threat. Talking about to ambush her in library and telling she herself will lure Sheba there for 'girls talk'. Car agrees on the plan and departs to his room to retrieve something and come to library in five minutes. While Erik goes ask Sheba turn back to herself and lure Did to library for small talk to warn about Erik's plan to come disguised as Car to come attack Sheba in library and Sheba asking Did assist bring down the ambitious Erik. So Erik had cleverly placed Car walk into ambush with the two young women. Erik then dispelled his disguise illusion and just moved to his room and let the trap spring. So far as he knows the trap worked well; Car launched fatigue touch to Sheba, Did conjured spiders to swarm Car while Sheba used grease spell prevent Car's escape from spider bites. Then girls left injured and poisoned Car lay helpless in library and would take days recover from poison. However, Did soon discovered that 'fake' Car was carried to his room....and that Erik still walked! So only Erik, Did and Sheba remained. Rest folks were in sick one way or another or disabled to participate in exam. Sheba was still ally to Erik and Did was alone. It was Did then who called for peace. Did as smart woman knew she was outnumbered and she conceited for her defeat by stepping out to compete for exam (and hoping this tactic turns Sheba against Erik, but it did not). Exam day arrived and Erik and Sheba prepared for the exam together. Erik exploited the developed trust from perfectly performed ploy to place oil of tag git to Sheba's lunch before the exam, knocking her out unconscious to sleep and place her into her room. Writing an apology note for her regarding the trickery but quoting one Rodrick's lessons; Watch your enemies, watch your allies even more closely. So Erik was only one to make to exam room. He was given paper by Roderick, but the paper was empty....no questions nor pictures or anything. Erik checked paper for magic or even poison and even spit to paper to see was there hidden message. But nothing, it was plain empty page and paper. Roderick patiently kept calm expression for Erik scrutinizes the paper, until realization struck on Erik, and he simply said; "So, exam started since the announcement.....but considering Vales poisoning was surprise to everyone, and only I was a skilled alchemist enough pull it off. It placed all blame easily on me when I did not do it. So it was you, was it not?" Roderick only smiled faintly and said; "I dislike students who do not share my specialty, you very least did not choose my school as forbidden school so that's something. I dislike illusionists though, and so I put you on pressure to fail. But if you survived to this far then I forced to conclude that you're my best student, and so I pick you as my traveling student. I have task for you which may suit your talents...." And so Erik was sent to world to do his task which was simple; to travel to Sword Coast and to Balder's Gate wait further instructions from Roderick. Along the journey Roderick asked that Erik does not shave his head, instead let his raven black hair grow and cover his tattoo in forehead with a bandanna or scarf some sort. As he wants Erik to blend in than draw attention being apprenticed red wizard or being than. Question; how many scrolls/potions I could have self-crafted without loosing my present level? I get them 50% price when using my starting gold for materials (XP cost being 1/25 of normal cost). Potions would be 0 because you wouldn't be a 3rd level character until you hit this level. Any potions made would reduce you below 3,000 XP. As for scrolls and such you can have as many as you can afford. This is Ink, Paper, material components required, and the spell cost. Though I don't see anywhere where it says you get a reduced cost for them because you're using starting gold. Scribe Scroll feat allows making scrolls. It halves cost of scrolls and cost of scrolls is equal to spell level x caster level x 25gp. So 1st level scroll with 1 CL power is 25gp, with scribe scroll it is 12.5gp and 1/25 of the cost of scroll is XP cost (which is 1 XP for 1st level scroll with 1 CL). So, with your answer I cannot have any self-made potions nor scrolls as it would reduce my char under 3rd level. Fine with that, I likely make the bunch of scrolls and potions after we get XP from somewhere. Alright here we go.(MinganRace: Human Class: Barbarian Lv2/Fighter Lv1Alignment: Chaotic Good Level:3Age:19Experience 3000/6000Str: 16 -3Dex: 15-2Con: 15-2Int: 10-0Wis: 14-2Cha: 14-2Melee:6Ranged:5Initiative:2AC:16 (16) (14)HP:34BAB:3Fort Save:5+2=7Reflex Save:0+2=2Will Save:0+2=2Equipment:Masterwork GreatswordMasterwork Mikhail Chain Shirt Silvered DagerBackpackBed rollfishhooksflint and steal trail rations - 2 weeks signal whistle2x100ft rope - silkwhetstone2x waterskiing torch thunderstones smoke sticks(900g)Feats:Quick Draw Extra Rage – Complete Warrior (+2 rages/day)Power AttackCleaveSkills: 28 points Balance – DEX - 3Tumble – DEX - 3Use rope – DEX - 2Escape artist – DEX - 2Intimidate – CIA - 2Climb – STR - 2Swim – STR - 2Jump – STR - 2Listen – Wis - 4Spot – Wis - 4Survival – Wis - 2 Class/Racial abilities:Humanoid (Human) Humanoid (Human) Medium: As Medium creatures, humans have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size. Human base land speed is 30 feet. 1 extra feat at 1st level. 4 extra skill points at 1st level and 1 extra skill point at each additional level. Automatic Language: Common. Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages, such as Druid). See the Speak Language skill. Favored Class: Any. When determining whether a multiclass human takes an experience point penalty, his or her highest-level class does not count. Illiterate, Uncanny Dodge, Rage, fast movementBackground(Optional):Minoan (was born for the battlefield. His first memories are not of motherly affection, like most. He remembers fighting, and learning how to fight better and then fighting more. As Minoan grew up he left the fighting of the tribes behind and wandered the world in search of a better fight. Minoan has but one true desire in life; to find all the truly great opponents he can find and best them. Quote from: Togas hi on 30-11-2012, 07:14:03Then Zoltán doesn't know anyone in the group. But that doesn't mean others wouldn't know each other. But I like your idea too. This is just for stuff between players, it's completely up to you guys, I have no say in the matter. I'm just trying to get a feel for how this may or may not go down at first. Odds are Sampson has never worked with anyone else in the group either. Where will the group be meeting? What sort of message or offer did we receive to initiate the quest? No one would be terribly close to Kira because that would require a llllllot of previous interaction, but she's very social so if she and any other PC have been in the same town/city/wherever we're starting for a few days or more chances are good she might have at least talked to them. Hard to sawhorse'd talked to though, since no one else has a background or mannerisms/personality or anything up yet :P Character updated! (click here) (#msg7303543)The evil wizard might want to invest in a lead sheet. Just sayin' ;) Quote from: AutoCAD on 30-11-2012, 19:38:37Character updated! (click here) (#msg7303543)The evil wizard might want to invest in a lead sheet. Just sayin' ;)Huh? Would paladin of Sure smite evil on sight? When said evil had done nothing wrong (legally) and mostly his evil nature comes from being raised in That :P. Continual flame hair accessory (110 GP)So you have a magic hair accessory? Where did you find that because I'm not finding it in my GMs Guide? If a paladin sees you commit a blatantly Evil act they would probably smite you. Though if they just felt evil coming off you, I imagine they'd try to reform you or something. But you're an illusionist. If you play your skills, spells, and cards right, and you'll have her thinking you're the paragon of purity. Nondetection spell, oh yeah. Wait....there is alignment concealing spell in 1st or 2nd level....need check it :P. It has 24 hour duration (also have bluff ranks). Anyways I guess 'overburning hair accessory' is same as 'overburning torch' in different format. Well, the degree of the stick-up-ass class feature depends on how vigorously the DM requires the paladin's code of conduct to be applied. ;)And yes, the continual flame hair accessory is just a hair accessory with continual flame cast on it. Because Rose doesn't have a third hand to hold a torch while wielding a lance at the same time. *suppresses the urge to ask if the effect works for any other hair on her body.*Paladin/Evil character parties are always loads of fun, regardless if the Paladin is a loose moral or stick-up-ass variety, the dynamics between ultra-LG and LE are always great reads. What other hair on her body? O:) And there are meta-reasons she doesn't have any ranks in sense motive. How's that boss? Looks fine to me Muse. Quick question; what was the call to adventure for this particular campaign? An artifact a person wants to be taken, a young maiden kidnapped by a band of Orcs, or will it be revealed in due time? I'll give you guys this much info. We're starting in Balder's Gate. Very famous in D&D circles. One of the nobles there is calling for adventurers. Ok, added background and made my purchases. The background is quite a bit long as I described his study years as red wizard apprentice and how he got to roam free from the tower where he studied. Finished up with my character's description and personality as well. Didn't really delve into a background largely because I don't have a concrete narrative for it, although between fireside chats and one-on-ones, it'll come out. Alright. I'm going to post the starter for this game today. I just need to finish it up and then we can begin. When I ask you to make a die roll I need you to send it here using the dice bot option E has for us. 39953 this is my number. When you roll and tell it to send it to me, it will notify me. The only thing you are required to do beyond this with your roll is simply state what it's for in the comment area. Our IC thread is: (Quote from: Togas hi on 03-12-2012, 01:15:33When I ask you to make a die roll I need you to send it here using the dice bot option E has for us. 39953 this is my number. When you roll and tell it to send it to me, it will notify me. The only thing you are required to do beyond this with your roll is simply state what it's for in the comment area. Our IC thread is: (awesome! Will try to get out a post by tomorrow; introduction posts are always a tough nut to crack. Apologies about Sampson's assumption in this latest post concerning Erik. You described him as being deceptively feminine, couldn't pass it up :D No offense taken :-). I intend his famine looks be running gag in the group (example; bandits think him as a woman and kidnap him until they see he is a trap). He was bullied for good reason in his background from girlish looks, and it was traumatizing experience, it turned the harsh edge mode on him excel always and be top on his game. He of course would make witty or snarky comments on those who even hint about his famine looks. Of course this means he could disguise as a woman easily, but his voice gives him away (it has full masculine soprano accent to it). Of course if he could change his voice by a spell then he can pass as woman so long no one checks inside his robes below waist section. Quote from: AER Dark wail on 03-12-2012, 20:08:52 (it has full masculine soprano accent to it)Sopranos are actually the highest pitched voices! Generally men can only have that range if their voice hasn't changed, they're eunuchs, or they're using a falsetto. Tenor, baritone and bass are the lower vocal ranges. [/former choir dork] Quote from: AER Dark wail on 03-12-2012, 20:08:52No offense taken :-). I intend his famine looks be running gag in the group (example; bandits think him as a woman and kidnap him until they see he is a trap). He was bullied for good reason in his background from girlish looks, and it was traumatizing experience, it turned the harsh edge mode on him excel always and be top on his game. He of course would make witty or snarky comments on those who even hint about his famine looks. Of course this means he could disguise as a woman easily, but his voice gives him away (it has full masculine soprano accent to it). Of course if he could change his voice by a spell then he can pass as woman so long no one checks inside his robes below waist section. It'll be great to see how Sampson and Erik interact with one another as the RP goes along. *Waves* Well, I'm not too pleased with how that turned out. Maybe I should go back and rewrite it... But I need food! I should probably go ahead and apologize in advance for all of Kira's awful snark. It's only going to get worse if she likes you. Quote from: Median on 03-12-2012, 21:01:03Sopranos are actually the highest pitched voices! Generally men can only have that range if their voice hasn't changed, they're eunuchs, or they're using a falsetto. Tenor, baritone and bass are the lower vocal ranges. [/former choir dork]/facepalms Yeah, my bad for mixing that up. I meant he has deep clear masculine voice, fluid baritone sort voice then. -looks at sheet excitedly for knowledge local or nobility.... remembers I'm playing a cleric... daunt... more skills....- Aha! All hail the power of 1 rank in knowledge (nobility and royalty)! (does a check of 10 get me? ’D Haha yeah, 2+int sure is...fun... I was tempted to start out rogue so Kira's skills wouldn't be so anemic, but it wouldn't make sense with that pesky backstory Quote from: AutoCAD on 03-12-2012, 23:52:10Aha! All hail the power of 1 rank in knowledge (nobility and royalty)! (does a check of 10 get me? They you never know, maybe we'll get lucky, and she doesn't go in for all that ~aloof and mysterious~ stuff! I mean there's certainly nothing suspicious going on here O:) Lol. Nice. I'm going to say this now, do not post again until everyone else has posted, and I have responded please. This will allow us to set up a posting order, so people do not get lost. I know some people don't like those, but it helps me stay organized, even if it does mean the game has to go slower than expected. Also when it comes to checks like what AutoCAD just made, will likely PM information to you individually. How you share it with others is up to you. Quote from: Togas hi on 04-12-2012, 00:00:04Lol. Nice. I'm going to say this now, do not post again until everyone else has posted, and I have responded please. This will allow us to set up a posting order, so people do not get lost. I know some people don't like those, but it helps me stay organized, even if it does mean the game has to go slower than expected. If we wanted to converse or interact with other party members (considering such things would be a lot of back-and-forth in short succession), should we confine it to PMs? Asking more in a broad sense of party interaction rather than this particular scene. I'm confused by the posting in succession, so we can't break the order that we post in... and must wait for everyone to post again before making a post? I think that will slow down a lot of the interpersonal communications as Mr. Bubbles pointed out... After we start our adventure I'll suspend the posting order, but I hope you guys won't get too far ahead and just post one after another and give me five pages to read through. For now, I'd prefer to keep the posting order but once you're dismissed from the meeting with the knight and his charge, you will all be free to play your hearts out. Whee, purple wyrms♡Who's left to post? Just Delta, it looks like. Loving everyone's characters so far, looks like this'll be a great campaign :-) Sadly Delta had to drop out. Her reasons are her own and I would hope we'd all respect her privacy as such. Suffice to say she let me know she couldn't continue. I will be posting shortly though Schnooks has yet to post his character. With that said he can be brought in at any time so we'll be progressing at the end of the day. Aw, that's a shame, I was looking forward to playing the elves off each other. Eep, Kira's the only non-human the group now, isn't she? Just makes her an exquisite target. Though Schnooks could be non-human. We'll have to wait and see. Quote from: Mr Bubbles on 05-12-2012, 06:51:51Loving everyone's characters so far, looks like this'll be a great campaign :-)I agree everyone's characters seem varied and interesting I'm eager to start interacting. What magical and mundane items can be purchased? And is there a library in the city? Shopping spree......... :) Same question as above. While we're at it, about what time of day is it in game at the moment? Eek! How far behind am I? *runs to fix his bookmarks and catch up* Screw it! I'll be able to make space for this game. Besides... You all need a tank anyway :Had to cut and shorten my possible reactions to other people, but had to catch up somehow. Aw, glad to see you've come back Mr. Bubbles. XD It is currently late morning, just before noon in the game. Magical items are available, if you have a request tell me, and I'll see if you find a place that has what you're looking for. Enchantments are all available but remember that to have a special ability you must have at least +1 on your weapon or armor. Everyone has 2,000 gold to use + anything else they already have right now. But you're going to have to detail what you're looking for. You might be charged more or less depending on actions taken, and what you do. But all actions have consequences, even just buying things. Yes there is a library. Rose's shopping plans:1) Trade in her longbow for a masterwork composite longbow that can handle a +2 strength modifier (base price: 600gp)In the next few posts after seeing the result of (1) above:2) Purchase a wand of cure light wounds (base price: 750gp)3) Head over to the library if Erik has agreed to help. Speaking of buying plans, Sampson will be using his share to get a +1 enchantment on his large battleaxe (2,000 GP.) From there he'll probably just be looking for a good source of transportation; be it wagon, horses or cart:Total: 2,047 GP. Will is after a Heard’s handy haversack which should run him around 2k. Other than that just two mundane leather journals similar to the one they are after, so whatever the DM want to charge for that. Mostly Erik will purchase a wand some kind (1st level spell one) and then buy couple scrolls so he can copy spells on his spell book and then use money to buy light warhorse and riding/saddle gear and feed for his horse. Then he goes to library with Rose. Ok my memory is shot. What's a 1d6 flame enchantment cost? It depends on is weapon total enchantment +2 or +3. You need +1 enchantment base for weapon to add any special enchants for it (and item in question needs to be masterwork in quality before enchanted to become +1). But overall +1 flaming weapon costs 8,000gp + cost of weapon itself. Just want to clarify what you wanted by details, Togas hi, do you want a shopping list? Or to actually role-play the purchases? I'm fine either way. Quote from: AER Dark wail on 16-12-2012, 08:32:05It depends on is weapon total enchantment +2 or +3. You need +1 enchantment base for weapon to add any special enchants for it (and item in question needs to be masterwork in quality before enchanted to become +1). But overall +1 flaming weapon costs 8,000gp + cost of weapon itself. Thanks. Oh, we'll be going on horseback? Darn, I'll have to wait on the magic blade and haversack then... I want the details here of what you want, so I can check to see if it's available. Shopping, unless part of the story(I'll tell you if it ever is) will be done 'off-screen.' so... If you want discounts you may make 1 attempt each to get it. You need to make a Diplomacy, Intimidate, or Bluff check. If you don't have those it's a simple Charisma check. Send the roll to me, and you'll be all set. Haversacks are available. Enchantments are available (Standard prices). Wand of Cure Light Wounds available at temples. Longbow traded for Composite Longbow(+2 strength) will cost a total of 562 gold and 5 silver. A pair of simple journals would be 1 silver. Light Warhorses are available Riding saddles are available. Zaer found the scrolls, but requires a Spell craft check for each spell copied to your spell book.(DC: 17)The wand of acid arrow available is level 3. Okay, Kira will be trying to pick up:A light horse (75g)Gear for said horse (a riding saddle, bit, bridle, and saddlebags - 16g)Feed for however many days it will take to get to the next town, plus a few extra (5c/day)And a handy haversack, assuming there's more than one available (2000)Along with a map and any general information the people she talks to can give her on Sou bar and the surrounding area. I assume there's probably not time for an actual gather information check? By all means make a gather info check if you want. I'd be happy to tell you what you figure out. Will do! For future reference as the token rogue I put full ranks into gather info. Well Captain Backstab, you're free to make a Gather info check as well. But information and such like this is given out in PM since not everyone is with you while you do this. Nah, I didn't feel it was necessary, but in the town where we were told the thieves ran off to would be a good place to search for clues. Speaking of rolls and such are you making sense motive rolls for us? Because I have a strong inkling that Lady Kara was hiding something from us. You're free to make a sense motive as a sort of 'reflection' on everything you know right now to try and piece together the 'holes'. Ouch, the dice, why... though it probably wouldn't have mattered I'm guessing she is a high level person who is very skilled at lying to people. I will tell you this now. She's level 6. But what class or classes she has I won't tell. A level 6 aristocrat with max bluff and focus feat, and maybe a magic item to help, can probably tell us the sun is blue and make us believed it :anyways, how many days do we need to ride? To plan for rations and horse feed required. You're talking about... 3 days assuming you're all riding at a casual pace and stop often to rest the horses and eat, as well as get 8 hours of sleep. Rose's final shopping list:Masterwork composite longbow (2 STR mod): 562.5gpWand of Cure Light Wounds: 750 gp4 days of horse feed: 0.2 bedroll: 0.1 grand that leaves 687.2 GP left for a Randy day! What kind of check do we need to roll to do research in the library? Togas hi, do you have the Magic Item Compendium? I'd like to get:(800) Eventful Feedbag.(200) Overfull Mug (350) Eternal Trail rations. And a light warhorse and gear. I guess roll depends on nonwhite research for. Library just giving bonus on check if it's properly filled in about subject. Alana's shopping list:Caltrops 2 pounds 1 gp1 Crowbar 5 pounds 2 gp1 set Flint and Steel 1 gp3 scrolls 1 case 4 gp1 (50 ft) Rope hemp 1 gp1 Whetstone 2 cp1Water skin 1gp1 Sun Rod 2gp1Tangle foot bag 50 gp1 vial Anti Toxin 50gp1 healers Kit 50gp3 vials 3 gibed roll and winter blanket 6 sp165 gold pieces and 8 copper pieces The items I'd like to procure from the temple:Healers kit Anti toxin Scrolls:MendingBlessMessageFlareDisrupt undead detect magic Endure elements Expeditious retreatGreaseMagic weapon Detect poison create water (12 scrolls x 12 gold 5 silver = 150 gold)Alright so I would also be trying to bargain for a +1 enchantment to my armor and having a masterwork bow and long spear ^_^ The library is pretty big so you can find books. You'll get a +2 to a Gather Information check. This assumes Erik is searching for Magical Incidents and Rose is looking for information on the Agnes family. Both of you must make this to find anything out. Muse, I will approve of those items but the only place in town that has them gouged the price. This could be for any number of reasons, but you suspect it's because the guy is greedy and only has 1 of each of these. Everfull Mug (300)Everlasting Feedbag (525)Everlasting Rations (1200)blackcatotaku, roll 1d100 for what kind of help your temple offers you. You must pay for the items that you want from the temple. But the high priest is happy to help. Your roll will determine just HOW happy to help he is. Understood, do you want me to post something of an RP interaction between myself and the priesthood that might supplement the roll or are you satisfied with just the roll? Okay. Going to roll diplomacy to try and haggle them down, see if I can get a horse and still buy them. :) You know we could probably save a lot of money by just buying two horses and a wagon. Apart from the Paladin would anyone even benefit from attacking from horse back? Quote from: ulthakptah on 17-12-2012, 21:55:52You know we could probably save a lot of money by just buying two horses and a wagon. Apart from the Paladin would anyone even benefit from attacking from horse back? I agree with you, I wouldn't really be riding a horse considering I don't have a lot of dexes nor any skill in ride.... XD I'm game for a wagon. Just let me know how much I owe for it. Me riding a horse.....*shudder* EVIL Grin: At 2012-12-17 15:21:18, Muse (UID: 16) rolls: 1d20a13 Result: 32 (see if I can talk prices down a little, shall we? :) Yeah, a wagon would be a good thing, probably. VERY less expensive especially if you all chip in a little. Muse, you've managed to talk him down. But they're still over normal pricing. Everfull Mug(250g)Everlasting Feedbag(437g 5s)Everlasting Rations(1,000g)"And that's as low as I'll go" I think Kira will be keeping her horse always wise for those of dubious morals to have a quick means of escape :But she'd be fine with the others hooking up a cart to it. Cart/wagon/carriage would be good idea so long we use roads very least. But if you go rougher terrain horses then better investment (although no ride ranks nor DEX much). But it would have been mentioned while buying horses so he would chip in. A proverb of Tamás Khan.--If you speak the truth, keep one foot in the saddle.:)(Does anyone know what I'm referencing?) Alana is a sweet innocent so she would be easily convinced this would be a good idea. No worries, Rose can show them firsthand how to "ride"teach them how to ride! (:Anyways, boss, would researching the Agnes require a nobility or history knowledge roll to figure out what happened to them and/or if there might buy any survivors? What sort of bonus does the library provide? I hoped for something 'dirty' when it comes to Rose showing her riding skills :P. Oops, just saw Togas hi's post. Go me and reading comprehension fail! Anyways, it sounds like Erik wants an early demonstration of Rose's ride skill, or will he settle for a sleight of hand check? :p Either one would do :). Although riding is always fun. And then you roll a Nat 1 on that sleight of hand check and somethingterriblehappens. As for getting a wagon, I'd recommend procuring one, however Sampson is personally going to be getting a horse (can't have 6–7 people piling up into a wagon after all.) Quote from: Muse on 17-12-2012, 23:23:26A proverb of Tamás Khan. --If you speak the truth, keep one foot in the saddle. :) (Does anyone know what I'm referencing?) I know a Turkish proverb that ends with that but nothing else comes to mind. As to Wagon vs Horses, I'm going to have to think about it lots of arguments brought up on both sides, grrr...... indecision....... Quote from: Mr Bubbles on 18-12-2012, 03:30:42And then you roll a Nat 1 on that sleight of hand check and something terrible happens. As for getting a wagon, I'd recommend procuring one, however Sampson is personally going to be getting a horse (can't have 6–7 people piling up into a wagon after all.) The ladies will just have to sit on some laps if there isn't enough room. Or we could get four horses and two wagons. That's still cheaper than 8 horses. Well, I had Tymaleena pick up a horse. She's not likely to get any use out of it as a combat animal, but a war horse is more likely to keep its head in a rough situation than a normal steed. Quote from: ulthakptah on 18-12-2012, 03:59:31The ladies will just have to sit on some laps if there isn't enough room. Or we could get four horses and two wagons. That's still cheaper than 8 horses. It could be as little as one wagon and three horses. A good wagon could hold up to at least 6 people (4 in back, one driver and one riding shotgun.) In retrospect, Sampson will probably just take to the wagon for now; was silly and didn't put any points in Ride (one of the few class skills for Fighter :P, but it gives me something to dump points in later!) If you guys are going to roll remember to send them to me. Purchases are made up to you guys. A wagon would be useful but ride as a skill is not so much the 'I know how to ride a horse' skill as it is the 'I can ride in a fight, chase, and so on' skill. Anyone can ride a horse, but only those skilled at it could do it in very stressful scenarios. Quote from: AutoCAD on 17-12-2012, 23:52:27No worries, Rose can show them firsthand how to "ride" teach them how to ride! (:PWwwwwwelp(Don't worry. Once on the road there will be plenty of time to berated and robbed relax. You know R&R Blackcatotaku, Will try to get a post up by tomorrow concerning Sampson's response to Alana. And Median, that's just awesome. OMG see so cute and awesome! Can I use it as my avatar?!?! Nice, I guess Erik is like the ROOTS elf mage (which gender is listed as ? when it comes to his looks (only his voice gives away the true gender). Well, here's Rose's half of the roll. (to Erik if he wants to complete the research project or not ::) AAAAA man it's been ages since someone used something I drew as an avatar! The fuzzy lines are driving me a bit nuts though, I'll probably redo those two at a higher dpi when I get home this afternoon and then do the rest of the party P:It's actually been ages since I read Roots, but it's a fun style to doodle(((PS that last post was great I love Rose))) Quote from: Median on 18-12-2012, 17:38:13Aaaaah man it's been ages since someone used something I drew as an avatar! The fuzzy lines are driving me a bit nuts though, I'll probably redo those two at a higher dpi when I get home this afternoon and then do the rest of the party P:It's actually been ages since I read Roots, but it's a fun style to doodle(((PS that last post was great I love Rose)))Ditto, it was very amusing. Very mean approach there to make a point Rose :P. Anyway as funny note; Gather Info uses charisma score, but we are searching library for info....so how charisma helps to search information in library? Flirt with librarians? Or do these book talk?*sarcasm mode off*Anyway with Rose's point Erik is willing to do some research info begrudgingly. I roll also for search, K:arcane and K:history if any these helps to improve the odds to find the correct book/more info of the family in question (I think it is dramatic search action if not use Emerson rules for Research which would beastly apply here, and it does use search skill for the check anyway). Gather Info (aid another towards Rose) 12 ((myself) 13 ((myself) 17 ((myself) 8 (hurray for dice gods screwing me over -_- Roll Result: blackcatotaku rolled: 1d20Comment: Diplomacy check for bartering with temple Result: 18Yay hopefully that will reduce some prices :) Scrolls are still full price, but they're willing to give you a discount on the Healing kit and Antitoxin. Assuming you bought all 3 vials for antitoxins, you're looking at 200g for them and the healing kit. With the discount you're looking at 180g, 10% discount. Also, if anyone with some kind of organizational tie wants, you may send me a 1d100 roll. Your roll will detect what kind of help your organization will give you. -Needham complete with bunny hops-yay! I want to use my spell craft skill to identify the belt once the priest is an appropriate distance away... Should I post the die result here? I found Versatile Performer by the way. It's page 112 of the Complete Adventurer. Masterwork Saddle is page 123-124. (Gives +1 to ride tests. Comes in standard and military.) Okay what about them muse? Were you wanting a Masterwork Saddle or something? Oh, yes, sorry. ^_^ Did I need to haggle on that one too? Military Saddle : 210gRidding Saddle: 180g Wubba by R.A. Salvatore (#)Something for you guys. Watch it all the way through. Pouch of Foraging - 400gBracelet of Preservation - 1,500gLight horse, kit, rations (10 days) - 102gDie check to haggle the price headed your way. I'm a little lost, are we still getting a wagon, and if so who is the one going to go buy it? I'm going to pass on the wagon. A wagon, two light horses to pull it and ten days' of feed for them is 186 GP, and basically solves all our overland transportation logistics... Quote from: AutoCAD on 22-12-2012, 11:41:23A wagon, two light horses to pull it and ten days' of feed for them is 186 GP, and basically solves all our overland transportation logistics... Or we could get two mules for a total cost of 16 GP. Can't ride them, but they're just as good as heavy horses for a fraction of the cost. That'd bring the total to 57 or so GP. Quote from: Mr Bubbles on 22-12-2012, 20:17:03Or we could get two mules for a total cost of 16 GP. Can't ride them, but they're just as good as heavy horses for a fraction of the cost. That'd bring the total to 57 or so GP. Either way is fine by me. Mules or horses are both acceptable in my mind. Even if we have to walk for parts of the journey I don't see that as a negative. Quote from: ulthakptah on 22-12-2012, 08:10:04I'm a little lost, are we still getting a wagon, and if so who is the one going to go buy it? Sampson will be willing to get a wagon once he and Alana finish their business at the temple. You'll be able to get the wagon and mules at a stable near the gates to the city. What better place to get one? I imagine the cost of the cart would just be split evenly between whoever didn't buy a horse? If you want to, it's up to everyone there. Figure it out yourselves. If you want to pool money together for a wagon, and feed, and such, you can and then hitch all the horses to it to make it faster/easier on the individual horses. Or one person could buy it all and kindly give the others a ride. Oh, no the paladin and the cleric's weakness... a person in trouble -glassy eyes- ^.^ Rose quietly activates Detect Evil and does a sweep of her surroundings before she responds to the woman, focusing on any source of evil to discern more about it. Quote from: AutoCAD on 28-12-2012, 00:11:25Rose quietly activates Detect Evil and does a sweep of her surroundings before she responds to the woman, focusing on any source of evil to discern more about it. Also in case if you did not notice Adrian replied to you and I haven't got any reply from Rose regarding his words. Would be nice if you conclude response in next post, so I can post Adrian coming to the gates as well. Anyways you likely detect Adrian's presence if there is no other evil sources about in the gate (first round tells presence, second number and third round location what I remember). Well hopefully better late then never here...and thank you very much Muse for, well, I can't call it helping since he pretty much did all the work here:Name: RhiannaRace: Human Class: Druid 3Alignment: Neutral Good Faith: Lure the Unicorn Queened 3,000/6,000Height: 5’6”Weight: 120 Measures:Skin: Whitehead: Black Eyes: Blue Strength 13 +1Dexterity 13 +1Constitution 15 +2Intelligence 16 +3Wisdom 17 +3Charisma 14 +2Hit Points 30Armor Class 16 (Leather Armor +2, +1 Dark wood Heavy Shield +3, Dexterity +1)Saving Throws:Fortitude 3 +2 =d20+5Reflex 1 +1 =d20+2Will 3 +3 =d20+6 Attacks:Cold Iron Dagger, Masterwork--TAB d20+4--Damage d4+1--Critical 19X2--Range 10Scimitar, Masterwork, Alchemical Silver--TAB d20+4--Damage d6--Critical 18-20X2Class Abilities:--Animal Companion--Nature Sense--Trackless Step--Wild Empathy d20+7--Woodland Stride Flaws:--Murky Eyed--Shaky -2 Ranged Attacks Feats:L 1 Nymph's Kiss 1 Augment Summoning 1 Spell Focus: Conjuration 1 Spell Focus: Evocation 3 Fire Burst Languages:Blink DogChondathanCommonDruidicPegasusSylvanSkills:Climb 6 +1 =d20+7Concentration 6 +2 =d20+8Diplomacy 6 +2 +2 =d20+10Handle Animal 6 +2 +2 =d20+10Heal 6 +3 =d20+9Knowledge: Nature 6 +3 +2 =d20+11Listen 6 +3 =d20+9Survival 6 +3 +2 =d20+11Spellcraft 3 +3 =d20+6 Spells/Day 2 Save DC 15/161 Flaming Sphere2 Barking 1 Save DC 14/151 Cure Light Wounds2 Speak With Animals3 Produce Flame 0 Save DC 13/141 Know Direction2 Light3 Mending4 Purify Food and Drink Armor:Masterwork Leather Armor+1 Dark wood Shield Containers:Backpack Belt Pouch Outfits:Amulet of Lure, Silver Explorer’s Outfit X2Artisan’s Tools: Cook Bedroll and Winter blanket Flint and Steel Healer’s Titrations, 2 days Rope, silk, 50’ and Grappling HookShovelWand of Cure Light Wounds: Charges 20Money Belt:Platinum 17Purse:Gold 4Silver 3Copper 10Name:Species: Wolf Level 4Speed 50Strength 14Dexterity 15Constitution 15Intelligence 2Wisdom 12Charisma 6Hit Points: 26? 40? Armor Class: 16 (+4 Natural, +2 Dexterity)Saving Throws: Fortitude +5 Reflex +5 Will +2Base Attack +3Grapple +5 Attacks:Bite d20 +6 Melee (d8+3) +Trip Feats:Improved Natural Attack: Bite*Track Weapon Focus: Bite Skills:Hide 0+2 =d20+2Listen 2+1 =d20+3Move Silently 1+3 =d20+4Spot 2+1 =d20+3Survival 2+1 =d20+3Special Abilities:Empathic LinkEvasionLow Light VisionScentShare Spells Schnooks or Muse (as the case may be) Just need clarification. Where did you find the Fire Burst Feat? The Spontaneous Healer feat requires 4 ranks in Knowledge (Religion). You need to either trade in a skill to get it, or switch out the feat. You need to pick out the spells you have prepared. Fiery Burst is from Complete Mage but here is link (for description which is exactly same as in book. I should have taken one myself as I think about it :P. A conjuration based one which allows throw acid balls so long I have self's acid arrow memorialized (1d6 at-will ranged touch spell not bad and preserves my spell power decently). Are we going with flaws? Because min maxing time son, if so. Flaws were opened up earlier when AER was still making his character and trying to get himself set up with his That feats. If you guys are taking them you need to do so now, BEFORE you leave the city. Any time after that, and you'll have to get it approved. Erik has frail flaw, so I could squeeze the needed feats into 1st level (collegiate wizard was kind must have). Quote from: Togas hi on 29-12-2012, 04:11:13 Schnookums or Muse (as the case may be) Just need clarification. Where did you find the Fire Burst Feat? The Spontaneous Healer feat requires 4 ranks in Knowledge (Religion). You need to either trade in a skill to get it, or switch out the feat. You need to pick out the spells you have prepared. Yikes, my mistake for making a last minute swap, forgot about spontaneous healers prier. I'll swap it out for something else methinks. And have my spells listed as well. So about those flaws, Rose will probably pick up weapon focus (lance) at level 6 and the Cavalier PRC (from Complete Warrior) starting at level 9, which doesn't require any flaws to squeeze in other feats, assuming that special mounts are negotiable, and she doesn't need to take leadership at level 6 to get a decent mount. Simple and elegant. Deal? ’D AutoCAD, if you want to take any flaws you need to take them before you leave the city. Meaning you need to tell me what you want to take and what feats you want to get for them. So I am assuming it's time for initiative? I know my character would be trying to stop the men from hurting her and I assume some of the other characters would as well. I rolled unit, made social intimidate roll with Erik who is clearly dressed as mage but also hold readied action to color spray the thugs if they decide to fight. So that Jen is not hit but everything else nearby on thugs. Also, I made quite damn nice K:arcane roll ID the blue fire (if it's shellfire.....god forbid and be merciful for all of us). Translation: I'm not taking any flaws at the moment. And what other people are around? Guards? Thugs? Noncombatants? I guess non-combatants plus any NPC's who call themselves adventurers. Either way color spray does not harm anyone (it at worse makes you go unconscious for several minutes, and you were painted in all colors of rainbow with sticky paint). Okay, made some changes and added the spells known. Nymph's Kiss is from Book of Exalted Deeds. You're all set then Schnooks. Looks good enough for me. Sorry for the radio silence there! Holidays got a bit messy, but I should be back to my regular schedule now. I'll have an IC post up here in a few minutes. Neat trick. The combat order only applies if you're actually going to take actions. You can always try and talk your way out of it, or simply flee. Hell you might even try a bribe and get away that way. But talking is a free action, it's something you can do anytime you want. It doesn't take up your turn. Kira should sogreasethe guards while they're all clumped together and flat-footed ;D Then someone lights up the oil and BURN BABY BURN! Also, happy new year folks! I got tinder sticks around here somewhere :) Quote from: AutoCAD on 01-01-2013, 08:24:02Kiira should so grease the guards while they're all clumped together and flat-footed ;D Then someone lights up the oil and BURN BABY BURN! Also, happy new year folks! In complete mage there is actually spell which works exactly like this, and it's 2nd level too. Creating combustion capable grease. Quote from: AutoCAD on 01-01-2013, 08:24:02Kiira should so grease the guards while they're all clumped together and flat-footed ;D Then someone lights up the oil and BURN BABY BURN! Also, happy new year folks! Sadly, as much as Kira'd like a bit of action, she's not super eager to cause trouble with the guards when we'll most likely be returning to the city before too long. That's definitely going on the list for later though ;D Who is Jean actually going to go with, anyway? I imagine that'll come up in Togas hi's next post, though Kira was trying to give her a bit of protection if she wants to abscond with Rose. Or she could stay and ride with Kira, since Kira's so nice and protective and has no ulterior motives at all O:) But you see, Rose can say the same thing about ulterior motives herself, only her statement would not be accompanied by sarcastic smilies! Shifty looking nothing, I'll have you know I got a 30 for that disguise check. Brat couldn't make that opposed spot to save his life. The only reason it didn't work was because I was unaware that the local guard was on the take. Yeah, also I did not notice earlier the brat having rich man's clothes or such or looking like local noble/merchant prince's son or such. So when GM said a brat grabbed the girl I imagined this (not this (Not to mention the guards who are immune to being intercepted by a knight on horseback before they arrive on the scene! Let's hope the guards eyes did not glow (Quote from: ulthakptah on 02-01-2013, 12:42:25Shifty looking nothing, I'll have you know I got a 30 for that disguise check. Brat couldn't make that opposed spot to save his life. The only reason it didn't work was because I was unaware that the local guard was on the take.Oh, no, no! "Shifty looking guy" is Kira's name for Will at the moment, since she hasn't gotten his actual name yet, and I couldn't come up with an animal for him, not a reference to his disguise! Sorry for the confusion ;Quote from: AutoCAD on 02-01-2013, 12:38:59But you see, Rose can say the same thing about ulterior motives herself, only her statement would not be accompanied by sarcastic smilies! But I love my sarcastic smilies!!!! :'(Besides, that one was mostly harmless. Kira just thinks having a cute girl in her lap (or...probably the other way around, given Kira's size) will make 3ish days an hour setback slightly less unpleasant. Quote from: AER Dark wail on 02-01-2013, 14:40:52Let's hope the guards eyes did not glow (know, on Ell "This hurts you" takes on a slightly different meaning ^-^............yeah okay I just wanted an excuse to use another dumb emoticon. Oh, no! People are gambling, one of Kira's many and varied vicesKiira's one and only vice, and she's too busy flirting to play along! He, I was waiting for the group to leave to start posting...after all it makes sense to run across the druid out in the wilderness, right? Oh, jeez the thread is moving fast, and I've yet to get a chance to respond to the Captain's threat! Quote from: Mr Bubbles on 03-01-2013, 18:22:09Oh jeez the thread is moving fast, and I've yet to get a chance to respond to the Captain's threat! I agree... I'd hate to see how far things would have progressed if I had let more than a day lapse... Bubbles, you can still attack the captain or respond. The three of them are still there, two confused, and the one that threatened you, just standing there terrified of something. You can attack them and kill them. Possibly just hit him hard in the gut and go. Hint: The initiative roll you guys did is not going to waste. We're not moving fast, just making up for lost time. :P (I thought this was amusing. ’D Are you saying we should have all just bought coconuts instead of horses? It would have been cheaper (sarcasm) :P Just don't attack the rabbits, and you'll be just fine. Guess I need an initiative roll then. By the way, everyone, we currently have +1 to initiative, Listen, and spot from my diatonic aura. That's fine Muse, but don't include it in your initiative roll. I've got it written down what everyone gets. Wait a combat is actually happening? I thought it was resolved. Not with the guards. It's happening shortly with someone or something out in the wild. (4. (5 with the aura.) Well, Erik rolled 14 (15 with aura bonus). What are we supposed to be doing now? ??? Well I know that we never did formal introductions to one each other's characters, so the PCs could chat. Togas hi has a weird work schedule so he will be posting when he is able so it might be a while. Well you guys get to do anything you want. But I'm happy to see you guys introduce yourselves. And as soon as our barbarian posts we'll see where we go. ^.^ It's going to be the most awkward thing in the world if Sampson charges those Ogres and everyone else hangs back XD... Or if the beasts get some lucky hits... Or if the hooded individuals are hostile.Oh, well! Nothing ventured, nothing gained. ... Did we just run into Mike, Bear and Elan? XD Now a little more seriously:It will seriously speed up posting if the PCs' turn orders are interchangeable. Like PCs who won initiative → NPCs → PCs→ NPCs → PCs and so on. This way you can reduce bottlenecks. Totally calling BS on the initiative order, unless you expect us to believe you rolled exactly the same numbers as last time. Lastly, how far away are the strangers/ogres? In rolling hills and plains they should have been seen or heard - especially if they are fighting - a long ways away. The initiative you guys rolled earlier is the one I used for this fight. I stated earlier that the initiative you guys rolled would not go to waste. Now, if you want to reroll initiative I'll allow it. But if you roll any worse than you have already you're going slower. For the sake of making it faster I will allow any posting order, but will mentally take them in initiative order. This will, however, require everyone to send me their rolls for attacks and such, AND I mean send them to me. But it also means that you guys will have to wait until EVERYONE has gone, myself as the NPCs included, before you go again with actions.Thus, PC>NPC>PC>NPC Free actions like talking are always welcome. Next, I said not long after the farms, it was meant to indicate that you've noticed them before you were on top of them. That doesn't mean that the screen suddenly fractures and falls away and BAM you're in combat. They're caught up in combat. To me, Sampson saw the fight, took it in and sped up to get to it so he could get into a fight. Nothing said they were a surprise. I didn't indicate how long it took to get to them, or how far out you were when you saw them because I didn't know how long it would take. I sped it up so we could move on. ... I rolled a Nat 1 on To-hit and a 14 on damage (Okay I know a botched my past like four rolls trying to send them to you, but for my initiative I checked, and it said it was sent to you. At 2013-01-04 22:23:53, ulthakptah (UID: 15470) rolls: 1d20a4 Result: 22 (I R out of it. (That is btw quite expensive ammunition. But if your rich epic level adventurer with lots XP to spare on crafting..... Okay I'm going to assume that this silence means everyone's confused. Let's break it down. You spotted some Ogres fighting strangers. What do you do? By the time you act you're within range to charge in and fight, like Sampson did. So about... 20 feet away. There is no POSTING order, however I'll be taking actions in initiative order. This means that the PCs go. After that the NPCs (Ogres, strangers, and Jean). Then the cycle repeats until combat is over. What you do in combat is up to you, guys, so betray the group, attack the Ogres or, simply continue on your merry way if you desire. If you guys have questions don't hesitate to ask, I'll answer anything and everything. I hope you guys will post soon because I'm planning to pick the game up from here. Ahab, thanks from clearing up. Will post soon as I can. Oh... I assumed that in the first round I'd have to wait 'til the ogres acted before me. No. Everyone goes whenever they can. Then the NPCs go. Apologies! My birthday was a few days ago, and I've been either with friends or at least moderately drunk at all times for the past few days Happy birthday! Roll 1d100 and send it to me. Ok still a little lost, I'm going to enter the fight, do I roll? Do I send it somewhere? How exactly is this going to work? I will be away for about a week, entrusting Rose to the DM in my absence. Please refrain from having her participate in sexual activity while I am away; this is an IOC request as a player. When you enter the fight you don't roll anything. You just enter if you want. When you attack, however, that's when you roll 1d20+your proper attack roll (Melee or ranged), and then you roll your damage dice. I'll be posting what happens when the last of us have gone. When you roll dice for anything in the game you always send it here: 39953 Oh yeah, did not send my arcane knowledge roll :/. Drawing is a move action, and they are ogres not orcs. Quote from: ulthakptah on 15-01-2013, 01:11:51Drawing is a move action, and they are ogres not orcs. Indeed, I wanted to see how the other actions were going to play out because it might not even matter. So more or less I was saying that I'm preparing an action. Got a 26 To-hit (might be a 30 if the -4 due to the Ogre being prone remains) with a 14 to damage, foot! Quote from: Mr Bubbles on 16-01-2013, 03:14:43Got a 26 To-hit (might be a 30 if the -4 due to the Ogre being prone remains) with a 14 to damage, foot! There you go, you showed that mean little mage what's what! Of course if you're still concerned about her opinion, Sampson could always offer a private demonstration of how skillfully he wields his weapon ;D I wonder will Robert get XP..... ...damn it, after that last bit of innuendo I've gotten myself thinking about "weapons" and wondering if Erik calls his cock Robert. Thanks brain. Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide UNLEASH THE DRAGON! I'm not funny and should stop posting at 5 in the morning. ROFLMAO! So you're saying Erik unleashed his ego in form of red dragon? Sadly his physical ego meter is not quite big as dragon itself, but it should serve overall it's purpose quite well expect most picky ones ;). But then again Erik would have constant tent in front of his robes even when he is relaxedifit would be big as dragon. Quote from: Median on 17-01-2013, 11:01:38There you go, you showed that mean little mage what's what! Of course if you're still concerned about her opinion, Sampson could always offer a private demonstration of how skillfully he wields his weapon ;Kira might be surprised at what she discovers; his weapon (and how he wields it) could be a bit large for such a petite young Elf :-)Also speaking of Dragons...(I will say this now, the Ogre everyone's been attacking together is dead now. That leaves 1 more with 2 others fleeing. Quote from: Mr Bubbles on 18-01-2013, 00:13:52Kiira might be surprised at what she discovers; his weapon (and how he wields it) could be a bit large for such a petite young Elf :-)WWW, giving up on her already? I think you hurt her feelings...(Sexy as hell! Is that soft reddish area in center of her ass meant as sign she got spanked? Quote from: AER Dark wail on 18-01-2013, 12:45:22Is that soft reddish area in center of her ass meant as sign she got spanked? Well it's Kira, so if she did, I'm quite sure she deserved it :P Indeed >:). Naughty elf. Quote from: Median on 18-01-2013, 12:04:22Awwww, giving up on her already? I think you hurt her feelings...(worry plenty of fish in the sea, and by fish I mean other members of the party wanting to spank the elf's bottom red. So about that second ogre, is he close enough to Will for a 5-foot step and a full attack? Quote from: Median on 18-01-2013, 12:04:22Awwww, giving up on her already? I think you hurt her feelings...(at all! Just giving the necessary warnings before she gets on the ride. Yes Will, he is. I'm back! So, where is this Trail place in relation to Sou bar? It's south-east of Sou bar, but it would add a day to your journey if you take them there. Dude these guys were loaded... XD Gold, 3 gems, and 1 minor magical item? Dude. Ooh, gems? What kind of gems? 390 Gold1 x Red Garnet1 x Smoky Quartz1 x Golden Yellow Topaz1 x kind of potion The ogres? Damn. Yeah, Sampson's got a thing for jewels, but who wouldn't when gems can be this striking?(to mention they're an excellent way to store larges amounts of wealth in a small amount of space.) Funny, a certain smart ass's completely unsubtle pseudonym translates to "Gems Disappear" ;Better keep a sharp eye on that! Ha, away always have undercommon and even. I would like a translation if you please. I used this so just copy and paste to find out what you need to. (Ugh, I started to go overboard with the alliteration in the second paragraph. Lol I don't know I kinda liked it. Though that does bring up a question I'd like everyone's opinion on. We have varying opinions as to looting. So are we going to dive it up or grab what we can. For this encounter it doesn't bother me. Minoan has no use for gems or random Ogre clothing. Just think we should all have an understanding before we continue as it makes a difference in how we handle looting in the future. Diving up is a good thing. Kira really hasn'worked with a group like this, with no particular ties aside from being hired for the same job, she just grabbed the gem because that's what Sampson did and gold's her favorite color. Since she doesn't have a pressing need for cash thanks to the advance we got she'll be happy to go along with whatever the group consensus is.[edit] Also awwwwwwww, Bubbles you changed one of Sampson's lines since last night, now I can't turn it into innuendo *pout* [/edit] Quote from: Drama on 23-01-2013, 00:34:11lol I don't know I kinda liked it. Though that does bring up a question I'd like everyone's opinion on. We have varying opinions as to looting. So are we going to dive it up or grab what we can. For this encounter it doesn't bother me. Minoan has no use for gems or random Ogre clothing. Just think we should all have an understanding before we continue as it makes a difference in how we handle looting in the future. For loot where the total wealth is pretty small (such as this drop) I'd be more into a "first come, first served" mindset, but once we get into major wealth divvying up is perfectly fine (and more agreeable with Sampson, since it's impossible to go "mine" when you can't haul it off in one handful.) Random 100 GP injections amidst large drops (where everyone gets a share) seems better than everyone just getting a few coins to rub together every time you kill something. Well Will isn't a jeweler, he doesn't know how much the jewels are worth, but he knows that gems are worth more than gold. However, I do have a copy of the dungeon master's handbook, and can guess that the one gem that Kira took is worth over half the pot, around 500gp. Considering we are 3rd level that is some scratch. Anyway, The way I like to do loot is split the gold and hold on to the selling ones then split that gold when they are sold. Magic items and potions goes to who could make best use of it. Quote from: ulthakptah on 23-01-2013, 01:46:17Well Will isn't a jeweler, he doesn't know how much the jewels are worth, but he knows that gems are worth more than gold. However, I do have a copy of the dungeon master's handbook, and can guess that the one gem that Kira took is worth over half the pot, around 500gp. Considering we are 3rd level that is some scratch. Anyway, The way I like to do loot is split the gold and hold on to the selling ones then split that gold when they are sold. Magic items and potions goes to who could make best use of it. That's the way my RL group does it, except we toss a chunk of each find into a sort of group fund that we use to buy healing wands and stuff that everyone benefits from. Actually it's more than 500 GP. Here in a bit I'll post what they're worth. Curse you Will! Actually, doesanyone in the party have appraised trained? Quote from: ulthakptah on 23-01-2013, 01:46:17Well Will isn't a jeweler, he doesn't know how much the jewels are worth, but he knows that gems are worth more than gold. However, I do have a copy of the dungeon master's handbook, and can guess that the one gem that Kira took is worth over half the pot, around 500gp. Considering we are 3rd level that is some scratch. Anyway, The way I like to do loot is split the gold and hold on to the selling ones then split that gold when they are sold. Magic items and potions goes to who could make best use of it. I mean yeah, that's the best way to go about things, it's just when you get into character personalities that things kinda get a bit sticky (your bonus as a Mercenary was what you can pocket, drag, haul or tear off the battlefield/town, after all.) Once the party solidifies and begins seeing each other as long-term business partners, things will probably head towards having a collective money pot. Quote from: Togas hi on 23-01-2013, 02:03:03Actually it's more than 500 GP. Here in a bit I'll post what they're worth. Speaking of which, I got a Nat 20 on that appraise, so Sampson'll probably know fully well how much it's worth :Quote from: Median on 23-01-2013, 02:05:45Curse you Will! Actually, does anyone in the party have appraised trained?... Appraise is a trained skill? Aww :-(Edit: Wait, it isn't! (#Trained_Only) Foot. Haha, well I guess with 8 of us someone's bound to get a decent roll. Looks like Erik's got one rank, though that's still only a +5Those gems? Total junk. Now this pile of unidentifiable filth? ThatI've got a good feeling about :D well the thing is checks like that tend to be made in secret by the DM, so there is a chance for false guesses, not just going with whoever got the highest roll, because IC there would be no way to know that. Alright, good to know. ^_^ Thanks for chipping in guys and gals. So I know which to add to the appropriate inventory - which gems did Will hand over to Rose? Golden Yellow Topaz (700 gold)Smoky Quartz (50 gold)Red Garnet (140 Gold)When they're appraised then we'll see how much you THINK they're worth. *makes mental note to get appraising touch spell for cases like this*Assuming you allow some spells from SC (Spell Compendium) or Complete Adventurer/Scoundrel. That 1st level spell gives +10 to appraise checks for 10 mins/CL. Quote from: AutoCAD on 23-01-2013, 19:19:11So I know which to add to the appropriate inventory - which gems did Will hand over to Rose? The topaz and quartz Quote from: Median on 23-01-2013, 02:05:45Curse you Will! Actually, does anyone in the party have appraised trained? Yes I'm regretting doing that too. Should have waited until I could get her alone and chastise her in private.... Edit: there are 8 of us, and the gold was split 7 ways, because Sampson took the garnet as his share, there is no pile for him. Which considering the worth of the total pot it isn't that much less than a fair share for him anyway. Though that will all depend on how much we actually get for the gems. Quote from: ulthakptah on 23-01-2013, 20:39:35The topaz and quartz Yes I'm regretting doing that too. Should have waited until I could get her alone and chastise her in private.... Edit: there are 8 of us, and the gold was split 7 ways, because Sampson took the garnet as his share, there is no pile for him. Which considering the worth of the total pot it isn't that much less than a fair share for him anyway. Though that will all depend on how much we actually get for the gems. Ah, missed that. Will alter accordingly. What time is it following the Ogre fight? Should we be expecting to set up camp soon, or do we still have plenty of daylight to burn? Camp is not too far ahead. I don't have any encounters planned so if you guys want to skip ahead to the camp setting, We can. I do not mind a skip. Furthermore, I'm cool camping is good, unless someone has something to say before setting up camp? Furthermore, I'm fine with skipping to us settling down for camp, unless anyone wants to have a heart-to-heart with another character.Also, I suddenly realized we're camping out in the wilderness, and from what I remember Sampson's the only guy with a tent. Tents are over rater :P Especially since logic dictates that there will be inns spaced a day's travel of distance apart on the road, trip off serve travelers. A well in possibility considering that said inn would be day's journey away from main city like Balder's Gate. But it would be well fortified miniature fortress to ensure safety of the patrons but true that prices will be high (so merchants mostly use them and the poor take risk and sleep on road). *Groans* sorry I'm so far behind. If you want to come across a fortified Inn, that's fine. It'll be very expensive though. I wasthisclose to typing "Ogre's juices" instead of "Ogre's grime." In retrospect maybe I should've chosen the former. Lol. That would have been great. Suitor what's happenin'? We're overcome by the majesty of the inn, apparently. BEHOLD! Or all are stunned the prices in there. Now's as good a time as ever to have some good ole fashioned character interaction, considering we're bunking down for the night. Sorry work is kicking my ass, I'll try and have a post up sometime Saturday but I’m just going to chill at the inn obviously so feel free to interact without me. Lol. Well when more people post I'll move the story along. But can't very well do that without players. Sorry for the radio silence! It seems my laptop's hard drive is going through its death throes, so I've only had internet access via my phone for the past week and a half. A friend's let me borrow his old, out of commission computer though so I should be set until I can get a new hard drive. Once again, sorry for the delay. I'll get a post up tonight or tomorrow, depending on how cooperative my muse feels like being. Quote from: Median on 19-02-2013, 05:46:00Sorry for the radio silence! It seems my laptop's hard drive is going through its death throes, so I've only had internet access via my phone for the past week and a half. A friend's let me borrow his old, out of commission computer though so I should be set until I can get a new hard drive. Once again, sorry for the delay. I'll get a post up tonight or tomorrow, depending on how cooperative my muse feels like being. That happened to my computer last year; terrible way for a computer to go, especially if you don't have a back-up lying around somewhere.Also, Togas hi, what sort of weather did it look like when we pulled into the inn? Overcast, clouds coming in, clear n' sunny, etc.? It's getting dark, but clear. I feel like this is an empty room echoing infinitely. Yeah, the game sorta died. Yeah, very sad indeed :/. I liked my mage. Yeah, sorry guys. People just sorta lost interest so that's my bad not keeping it good enough. Well, you could reform it kinda. Continue it with people who are still here and interested? I don't think that it 'wasn't good enough' I just found it difficult to get people to interact with each other a lot of the dialogue seemed to be more directed towards NPCs rather than PCs which made it hard to have any IC interactions I'm always happy to continue this for those still interested. We just need to know who's interested. I am still interested. I'd be more than happy to continue if there are still a couple of people around. Furthermore, I had a bit of a crisis a while back (and am in the middle of moving right now, but I was enjoying this game a lot. Well that's 2. Anyone else still want to keep going? If we get 1 or 2 more to keep it going I'll keep it up. C'mon peeps :P. I'd be fine with continuing, but the issue then is we'd have a Fighter, Sorceress and Wizard in the party, which ain't exactly the most efficient of compositions. Well, we may not have trap disarmed or healer. But it's up to GM balance encounters so we can handle them. Example my single illusion made the ogre encounter easy as cake (along with grease spell making ogres easy to smacked around). Also, many problems can be solved with arcane spells (trap springer? Summon monster example). Another solution is to provide then NPC rogue/cleric handle those parts of the story. Kira was meant to be an arcane trickster, if no one minds a bit of reconning I'd be happy to re-stat her as a straight-up rogue. We're also conveniently at an inn at the moment, so it would be pretty easy to write in a new PC or two if we want to do some recruiting. True. Recruiting would be good, but I can work with about any of those scenarios. I'm up for keeping the game going. Foot! We got our Rogue! Ok, so we continue then as four of us (PC's that is)? Fine with me, just need be careful as we lack cleric (if not count NPC). Soon is this still coming back? I do wonder. I hope we are continuing. Furthermore, I know Togas hi personally so I will ask him next time we talk. Furthermore, I guess I'd be fine with continuing as well, but this constant "we're doing it" and "we're not doing it" is kinda setting a bad tone for the game's future.Also, we've lost a few people. Considering we're at a tavern, would it be possible to do a recruitment thread and get some freshmeatblood? Aye, new recruitment would help vitalize this game back up. Yeah, we're going to continue. I can explain away anyone that doesn't want to continue and anyone that do we can continue on. If you guys know anyone that wants to play invite them, I'll open recruitment again. Sounds good! If ulthakptah is still interested we'd actually have all the basic party rolls covered already, I think. If not, then like I said a while back I'd be happy to re-spec Kira as a rogue if no one minds a bit of reconning. *pops up*Oh, does this game live again? I'm still interested. :) Quote from: Median on 11-05-2013, 10:10:18 Sounds good! If ulthakptah is still interested we'd actually have all the basic party rolls covered already, I think. If not, then like I said a while back I'd be happy to re-spec Kira as a rogue if no one minds a bit of reconning. I'm still here We'll be starting this up again on the 4th of June. Sorry it'll take so long but on this upcoming Tuesday I'm going on a vacation with my family, so I won't be around much, if at all, then when we get back, it's only about 2 days before I leave again to go to Aaron in Dallas. I'd rather wait and start up than start, and put it on pause, guys. But I promise we'll get back on it shortly. I'd like to rejoin if you'll have me. Any objections to our Paladin returning? No objections. Not at all :D None here either. Alright everyone check in. I'll post in the IC thread as soon as I know who's still playing! Still here One snarky even sorceress, checking in! And I think I need to respond to Jean and Sampson, so I will probably go ahead and make an IC post tonight, if I can tear myself a way from Game of Thrones for a bit. Someone call for a wall of meat and metal? Still here. Yo! Still here! Checkin' in yo! Anyways, seeing if anyone wants to have a hot redhead paladin for company before I post. Or if there is something important IC that I shouldn't miss. Well, Adrian went for his room, but I would not mind IOC that your char would go 'bother' Adrian ;). He IC may be slightly annoyed being interrupted from studies but if said redhead is pleasantly distracting enough he may forgive her. Quote from: AutoCAD on 06-06-2013, 17:33:57Checkin' in yo! Anyways, seeing if anyone wants to have a hot redhead paladin for company before I post. Or if there is something important IC that I shouldn't miss. Well, there's always room on Sampson's lap, and he'd be more than willing to help the redhead scrub herself off... WWW, and here Kira was going to try and initiate a threesome... I guess she could try for a foursome, (shedoeshave a weakness for redheads), but that probably bumps up the DC of the Hey-We-Should-Fuck check ;D Hey now, a good old threesome isn't out of the question yet, AutoCAD hasn't decided where he wants his not-quite-so-pure Paladin to go! I'd be willing to throw a post up to get the Sampson/Kira/Jean shenanigans started, but I'm waiting for Togas hi to update us on what the green-haired lass has to say. Furthermore, I sort of thought Togas hi was going to post something important, and was just waiting for that. Or is the party leaning to some sort of massive orgy in the baths? Fluids might be flying every which way in a few minutes, but currently Sampson and Kira are trying to puzzle out why Jean was so freaked out back in the bar. Gotta solve personal problems first, andthenthe dicking can start ;D (Will's welcome to join in; Sampson's a lot of man, but there's only so much he can give between potentially three lusty ladies before the poor guy's overwhelmed.) As far as I know we're just continuing the tavern thread? I think Togas hi is waiting for everyone who's still in to pipe up, and I thiiiiink we're just missing Take? Kiira's not happy with Will, but she probably won't kick him out of the baths :P Finally got a decent pic for Jean. XD Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide(had intended to go, but Mel ai went, so nothing wrong. If you guys want to post something that's good too. Probably best. Quote from: Median on 07-06-2013, 00:16:39Kiira's not happy with Will, but she probably won't kick him out of the baths :Pit's been a while, did Will do something to upset her? Or have you been reading my mind about the things I'm planing on having Will do? Haha! No, there was that bit after the fight with the ogres where he admonished Kira for taking a gem but ignored Sampson who'd done the exact same thing just before her, so she's just sort of got him pegged as a bit of a bully at the moment. Probably a bit embarrassed too, since she's usually pretty good with social mores like that, but she isn't used to working in large groups. She's not swearing oaths of eternal hatred against him or anything though so she'll probably forgive him if he asks nicely. Plus she's frankly she's a bit tipsy at the moment. Oh, yeah that's right. But to be fair the gem Sampson picked up wasn't worth more than the rest of the treasure combined. Also, never mind that bit about things I may or may not be planing on having Will do. Hahaha >:) Like I said at the time, she just likes the color gold and to be fair I don'ttthinkWil rolled an appraise check either :Pin any case she will probably just make a bad alcohol-fueled joke if/when he shows up[edit] Oh, duh, is it the Chaotic Neutral bit that's making folks worried? I assure you she's not the corundum let's-rob-my-teammates type (she needs you guys to absorb all those stabs for her, after all :-)) or she wouldn't have picked out that gem in full view of everyone. I settled on that alignment because when the chips are down she values self-preservation over doing what's "right" and/or obeying laws and such. She's otherwise fairly good-natured in most situations, like when she tried to protect Jean back near the start of the game. [/edit] Alright you caught me Will just likes to tease her. That's what she gets for being interesting. Are we Ring again? If so, could someone please link me? Here you go bro. (I really hate to say this before the dust of my "I'm in" even settled, but I'm going to have to bow out of this :-(Holy sweet breezes I really need to stop doing that, second time this RP! I'll try to get a post out tomorrow :-\ And here I thought I would get the bath of hot girls all to myself. I think you meantKiiragets all the ladies and lets Will watch if he asks very nicely >:)Unfortunately I have run out my lunch break, but I'll get started on a post when I get home this afternoon! Is there anything important going on in the inn tonight? Because otherwise Erik seems rather lonely and Rose will time skip! To get some company :P I say go for it! One of the two need to pay up for that little bet they made earlier anyway :D Quote from: AutoCAD on 11-06-2013, 19:08:15Is there anything important going on in the inn tonight? Because otherwise Erik seems rather lonely and Rose will time skip! To get some company :Quote from: Mr Bubbles on 11-06-2013, 19:19:24I say go for it! One of the two need to pay up for that little bet they made earlier anyway :Sounds like a plan, although they haven't reached the city yet and the bet is basically still on. But first encounter was ogres (a giant) and not non-monstrous humanoids. There seems to be a decent amount of replies going on now, but I'm unsure what to do or how to interact... And here I was hoping the hand job was going to be reasonably stealthy :P Sorry Mr. Bubbles I just figured yanking someone's hand into their lap was a fairly obvious gesture. XD Aaaaaaaaah I've got to learn to write faster, I've had to restart this post three times now @_@ Quote from: Mr Bubbles on 12-06-2013, 18:31:07And here I was hoping the hand job was going to be reasonably stealthy :Prose is a paladin of Sure; she has Detect Sex active all the time 8-) Quote from: AutoCAD on 13-06-2013, 06:05:22Rose is a paladin of Sure; she has Detect Sex active all the time 8-)Honestly I like to think that it's more of an aura or scent ability. But I could get behind that as a passive ability of Paladin's of Sure. But does it only apply to people wanting you or is it just people that are horny, masturbating, or having sex? It's more of a joke than anything - but I'd say that it detects people engaging in sexual activities within a 60 feet radius (hand jobs included) :P I had intended it as a joke, as well. But then lots of people having sex in the inn. Okay I'm a bit confused. We've got two scenes in the same place but different times going on right now; the group in the baths early evening, where they were just talking about the possible crying thing, and then later in the evening when Erik and Rose are having their encounter. Rose seems to be sticking around for the first scene; have the others left by the time Erik shows up? And is Jean leaving during the earlier or later scene? Also, AER, are you reconning Erik's name? You've called him Adrian in the last few IC posts. ACK, thanks calling it out. Erik is my char's name, but I mixed it up and typed 'Adrian'. Anyways Erik came much later in the evening to the baths. So he should be alone with Rose in the hot springs atm unless someone barges in. Rose remains in first scene though so far as I know. Yeah, sorry about that I should have been more clear. Jean is leaving before AER gets there. The thing with her is happening earlier in the evening. So... is this dead again? *Saddle prods game, no response*It sadly seems so. Just when stuff started get interesting for my char :P. Mind we could finish the scene perhaps? I think everyone was waiting on you two to finish your little bath time scene, or lost interest. I was trying to get things moving inside but oh well. Even before then AER and I were the only ones left posting... well, I'll finish up the scene soon at least, not so cruel as to leave you on edge. :P

Rise of Shadows(DnD3.5, OOC)|rating:2.0

Wetwork

IOC:Characters Both sides open, human and non-human. Modern day stylized creatures. Wizards, were, vamps, and demons vs. a small group of Catholic Church sanctioned and government funded military humans, angels, and any odd civilian that might think to happen in on the line of fire. Wizards are fully human. Were killed by silver bullets. Vamps with stakes or sunlight. Demons can't be killed by humans. Angels can't be killed, but they can't kill or wound either. Demons are the most powerful followed by the vamps. Bad Guys The Night Critters are after a small vial of blood that the Church has been safekeeping. One of the Romans speared Jesus in the side and collected the blood for some odd reason. Legend has it that a drop of Christ blood will give vampires the ability to go out in sunlight and to withstand staking. Demons want it for their boss (who will not make an appearance) Lucifer. The rest are after for legendary powers. Good Guys They want to stop the bad guys. Like the bad guys, they don't all get along with each other, either. PlotAn Angel named Gideon knows where the vial of blood is. So does an Archbishop in the New York Diocese. No one else does. The bad guys just picked up word that Archbishop knows, but the man never leaves the cathedral. He must be lured out. Bad guys need to come up with a plan. The good guys didn't know about this whole legend business, they've just been in the business of exterminating bad guys. Gideon has just dropped in on the Team's leader and let him in on that little detail. The team is in Chicago and they aren't all together. Bad guys must get to the Archbishop -- it's not going to be easy. Bad guys must then get to the Christ blood -- that's going to be harder because all of this is on holy ground. Good guys must catch up without killing each other. There is a traitor in their midst. Whattya think? Celtic'm not sure if this Carter is aloud or not, but I'll try anyhow. Name: Celebrate: Fallen Demon Weight: 110height: 6'eyes: Blue Hair: Black build: AtractiveType: Good Bio: Celts was created for one thing, temptation. As a demon she had the job of luring good title boys towards damnation. Not the precast job. Okay as far as demon go it is a prey job. She fell in love with a young priest. She recalled what she was to him and repented. Satan didn't like this. He sent a group of demon to retire her for punishment. The priest managed to hold off the demons while she escaped. She is neither happy nor sad of the priests fate. He is in heaven the trouble is she never will be. She now seeks to protect this vile of blood. Not for Venice or because it is the right thing to do, but because she knows if her master gets the vile she'll never be safe and that is the only thing that keeps her from hiding. So she watches the church from a safe distance. As a demon of this design she can make her self wear almost anything at will. She has black wings. Not bat wings but wings similar to those an angel is said to have. She is becoming more and more pure. She can walk on holy ground but doing so makes her act like a mortal. And trust me a 110 pound girl is a very attractive target. Though she is a demon her strength and durability are limited as demons go. She was never meet to fight.IOC: If you have any complaints let me know and will adjust her. Interesting This sounds interesting.......just now sure what kind of character I should play..... I believe I'd have to be a *good guy/WOMAN* but other than that..... Characters I am accustomed to playing are paladins, clerics, etc...(even elves)D&D style, of course..... But I can adapt..... Moon (Plus, I'd really like to RP with you, Muffin.....) I'm in ?well everyone is a good guy so far and I want to be a good guy but i wouldn't mind being a bad guy I just thought of a solution Gabe ?28196 lbs6'4dark brown hair brown eyes Gabe was a terrible man at one point but after going on a crime spree for 6 months with his 2 brothers. Gabe killed 37 people 22 of which were cops he and his brothers got caught up with a band of a few hundred vampires at a bar deep in the heart of Mexico. Of the 98 people in the bar during the attack 2 walked out alive, Gabe and a girl named Tara he had never met, no vampires came out. Since then, he has devoted his life to killing vamps. It was during this time he found out about were-creatures and decided to hunt those as well however this proved a bad idea as he was bitten by a were-wolf and now is infected with it as well he continues on however and tries his best to lock himself up and keep it a secret. Still waiting to pick up some more players, if possible. Any more takers? The First BadguyOOC) Well, I love playing good guys, but we'll see how I do with a bad guy. Let's make him a vampire (I figure he has the best reason to try to get the vial) and moderately charming, a bit more than the common vampire (though somewhere I got the impression they can change at will...anyone know?). Hmm...we'll make him live down about 4 blocks from the cathedral in the cellar of a government-funded housing project. He wasn't invited and isn't known about, but is fairly sure that he would be kicked out if found. He has been reading books from the local library (he has 'set' a window in a back office such that he can pop it open whenever he wants to at night and their security system consists of a sleeping watchman) and found out about this rather odd relic. After speaking to several of the more...knowledgeable... ancient vampires (for a pretty penny indeed) he was told that the vial was last heard of from the nearby cathedral approximately 70 years ago. By stealing from the ones he kills, he has about $5400 sitting about and hopes to accumulate a good deal more... perhaps he will soon be able to go find a legal house some day. As vampires go Nelson is rather young, having only come into existence approximately a century ago (you pick the method, not really wanting a master but also not sure of how to avoid it). He has a pretty intricate set of mortal connections from before he became a vampire (worked at a small law firm) and is aware of most of the more powerful and/or knowledgeable vampires about; he frequents their homes to inquisition them for facts or favors such as about this vial of Jesus' blood.IC) Nelson looked over the torn-out sheaf of paper once again... where would the Church hide this? They had, according to his sources, moved it around quite a bit during the time the vampires had any idea of its movements...but that was nearly a century ago...who in the Church would have any idea of its current position...surely not anyone in the cathedral, after all, it had been at least one human generation since last the thing was even heard about. Sighing again in frustration, Nelson laid back on his falling-apart mattress, looking about his normally neat clean that temporarily looked like a tornado had hit it. If he could find this vial...that would mean freedom. Freedom from this curse that had taken hold of his life. A chance to go back to law...to return to his life...to really live again...even if he was technically undead. The last thought came with a smirk, oh what a long time it had been in this state...this undead...not dead...not alive...always hungry...always cold...never loving...never affected anymore. Yet...this vial was starting to interest him; and it had been so long since last he was interested. Outside, the first rays of sunshine began filtering through the government-funded home's holey walls. These people were so harsh on their property... With that lost though Nelson slipped into his makeshift coffin and closed eyes that needed no closing...and laid rest to a mind that would never rest. CelstSiting onto of a building, bored. "Damn it why the hell is it I'm doing this." I then brush threw my hair. I knew why I was watching this church. If Satan got that blood. I would never be able to hide." I wish I could just go inhere find where it is and give it to some vamps." I was really pissed off not thinking strait. Furthermore, I could get it but even being mortal for only a few minutes was too great. Beside if I did give it to some vamps. Satan would probably kill them and take the blood before they drank it. That was my only fear in doing so. The vamps wouldn't such her even if they were unbeatable. Demon blood is bitter and can't be used to replenish there lost supply of power.Oh, its so tempting to go in there and seduce the priest into telling me were the blood is, but then I would be mortal while I was on the ground. I looked up to the sky. "God you are one huge asshole. You hear me." That S.O.B. not letting me enter his house without becoming mortal.IOC: Don't confuse me with my Carter I have no problem with god in any way. During Satan's first rise, one thousand years ago, many new demons were created. Some stronger than others. Of course, that was until the ultimate creature was made. His name, Golem. A huge heavy set monster. Bronzed body, very muscular, thick hairs coursing out. Eyes as dark as a stormy night, which could pierce any man's soul. It was nearly as tall as two men, and could take on four in a fight, easily. There was only one problem with this beast, it had no soul. It is simply a machine, except that it has human parts. All it was ever programmed to do was take orders. Lucifer, or another minion, would call upon it to destroy cities, or kill armies. It did so easily, without conviction or malice. It has no soul, which means no sense of right or wrong. In that sense, it is not evil. Satan made him this way, because he could go onto holy ground easier. When Lucifer's armies were driven back, Golem stayed. Since no one ever told him to go back to hell, he just stayed on earth. The church took him, and kept him, knowing one day something might happen, and this powerful creature could be used for good and not evil. Not many people know of this secret weapon, in fact, only the highest are even allowed to know about him. To keep Satan from ever getting his clutches on him again, the church has moved him around from the years. Different churches, different countries. Anything and everything to keep evil away. He doesn't need food, water, or sleep. And, since no one has given him any real orders, he hasn't done anything. That'll all change soon enough. Keelhaul is an altar boy. He is 14 and innocent. He hopes one day to live up to his name, it means Mighty Warrior - but at the moment he is very obedient and devout. Kael's protection is his innocence and his purity. He has the knack of saying the right thing at the right time to the right person. Karl believes with all his heart that God will protect him - and he's right. Even if he can't see them, God's angels are with him wherever he goes. Kael was alone in the cathedral. The last parishioner had left the confessional and the Priest had gone to the bathroom. Karl concentrated on the swish of his broom across the marble floor, determined to do a good job. With a huge crash from outside Karl jumped and dropped his broom. A car crash? Something falling from a roof? What was it? Standing on his tiptoes Karl peered out the stained-glass window, the world washed in reds and blues. How about this so I'm a demon but the worst kind of demons the kind you hate to hate. With no name I grew up serving the evilest LUCIFER him self well as I aged to a ripe age of 1650 demonic years old I took up studding i the arts of every thing bad, mean, and scary, I could possibly. Got pretty powerful and made it to #3 in charge down there. Well you know how the story goes one minute your drinking the next your screwing LUCIFER mistress well to make a long story short I got a paid vacation to earth so I could try to piss more people off in heaven than in HELL.so LUCIFER gave me a special cell phone to get a hold of me and a bag full of goodies.so now I got this call and here I am in the streets of Na work trying to find this gold to help me find this vile of blood. What am I going to do "oh I need a drink" "oh what's this I see?"on the building to my right"shall I go up and see who it is" ok up I go"hello my dear!!!"" May I Join you my dear?"name: Larsen attitude: arrogentdiscrip: a black cloak and cane the rest appears as your inner-self thinks I should look like (this works on everybody but angles)many mystical powers, but one unbreakable cures put on by a good wizard means I cannot kill but only lead people into the path of death. Allianc: E>V>I>Name: Richard HausOperative handle: Kevlar Age: 81 but looks 30Hair: Short cropped black hair, goatee Eyes: Blue Build: Muscular Background: Has' story begins in Germany during WWII. He was a Nazi officer working in Hitler's paranormal division. His job was to secure such sacred artifacts as the shroud of touring, the spear of destiny, and various other religious artifacts. While taking part in an experiment to summon demons to aid the Nazi cause, a demon appeared, wiping out his entire unit except for him. Has pleaded for his life, the demon agreed to let Has live and even grant him the lifespan of a demon, keeping him young and strong. In return, Has was to secretly carry out various tasks asked of him. Hausa greed, becoming a private operative for the dark side. Sometime in the 70s Has entered the United States and enrolled in the U.S. army under the name Karl Ross, becoming a highly decorated officer in Vietnam. Ten years later, he left the military and worked with the CIA as Greg Kraus until 1994, when he became a contract killer using various names. Haus currently resides in the Everglades, awaiting instructions and plotting out possible targets. Celts"Why hello my dear." Someone said from behind." Holy shit. Oh, it's you. I was afraid Satan actually sent someone who can kill." Now feeling cocky. "That must be really annoying. All that power and not being able to use it." I then thought to myself. Being around one of Satan minions weather he can kill or not isn't safe. I may not be the strongest demon but in my line of work you learn to be clever and careful, maybe even paranoid." You know. Even with all your power, you still have flaws. Your magic is strong but we both know I'm much faster. And you still can't touch holy ground at all." I then summoned my wings. They sprouted out of my bare shoulders, like a black lotus. "Bye." I then flew off into the distance to safety. He wouldn't bother me too much. He was looking for the Christ blood. Still I had to come up with a way to keep him from getting it. I sat there planing, next to a stone gargoyle. Overlooking out the window, the buildings opposite stained a violent red, a shudder of premonition went through Karl. Seeing nothing in the street to account for such a crash Karl furrowed his brow in concentration. Thinking logically, he decided that the crash must have been something out of sight. Jumping down, he moved to the next window, then the next, searching for the source of the noise. Not finding anything, Karl went to the inner door to the Priests apartment. Knocking on it Karl called "Father?.. Father?" Hearing no response, Karl decided to go out and investigate the noise from outside. His steps echoing eerily in the vaulting cathedral, Karl made his way to the large ornate doors. IOC: Wonderful so far!IC: Gideon stepped through the darkened doorway and pulled the brim of his fedora lower. Everyone associated angels with churches, but most of them moved around in the gutter. The bar was as gutter as they get. It had naked women splashed all over the walls, blood on the floor, and the toilets were populated by diseased germs. The only thing going for it was that no one talked here. Private things were handled, and it was a good meeting place for mercy. Or for people pretending to be mercy. There was something about it that kept the vampires away. Which was always nice. Gideon's eyes stabbed through the gloom, looking for anything that wasn't what it appeared to be. A minor daemon in the darkest corner lifted a glass of rotgut in a mocking toast. Beyond those that fed off the death that clung to the average mere, there was nothing interesting. He crossed slowly to another table, this one held two shadowy men. They looked for hire, but they weren't. He took the seat across from them. One of them sneered at him, the other lifted his eyes steadily. The Team never had any use for angels, it seemed. He supposed it was due to the fact that angels never helped them like they wanted to be helped." What brings you down here? Slumming?" the Colonel asked. He tossed back his scotch, neat, and put his eyes on the rest of the bar." No. Something worse." The Colonel metaphorically pricked his ears and fingered his glass. Gideon waited." Have you heard of Christ blood?"" Nope." The Colonel tensed. Gideon never brought good news." It's a vial of living blood that was taken from the Christ by a Roman Soldier on the Mount as he died. With the Christ's Resurrection came the resurrection of the Christ blood."" So?"" It still exists. The Minions want it. They must not get it."" I don't work blind, angel."" Go to Archbishop Allan in New York. He knows where it lies. He will tell you everything." Gideon stood." You talk, angel, or we ain't moving."" Vampires that walk in the day. Demons that can stand on holy ground. Were that lick silver. Go to the Archbishop." The Colonel opened his mouth to speak, but Gideon was gone. Damned angels. They weren't good for anything but gloom and doom." Colonel?"" Call the Team. We've got business." Has had been waiting for the rabbi in the abandoned building all afternoon. He glanced at the bank sign across the street from the synagogue, "84 degrees, I'm going to kill him twice for this." He wiped the sweat from his brow with a washcloth he usually used to clean the site on his sniper rifle. As he peered through the site again, it seemed the room got a warmer for a second. The smell of brimstone then filled the air, that can only mean one thing, Nadia was here. Haus met Nadia about 50 years ago, having struck a deal with him, extending his own life. Nadia visited Has often just to tease him a bit. "Well Richard what are we up to here? Planning to kill another innocent rabbi?" "Just another infidel." "I'll be sure to tell Adolf when I see him, you've made him a happy man." "What is your business Nadia? Can't you wait until after I'm finished to harass me?" "I've not come here for pleasure, I've got an assignment for you." "Really? You haven't given me an assignment since the Gulf War." Haus put down the sniper rifle, turning his full attention to the demon. "What is it?" "When you return home, you'll find a file on your kitchen table. It will explain everything to you, I've also enclosed a passport, an airline ticket, and an atm card." "Where am I going?" "Europe, that's all I can share with you right now." Has sighed in frustration, "I tire of these visits Nadia." The demon grinned as he saw the hate in his servant's eyes. "Maybe you should have thought about that before you begged me not to kill you so many years ago. You couldn't die with dignity like the other Nazis who today watch you from hell and laugh at their weak comrade." "Acting! I am not weak!" Nadia laughed as he pointed to the window, "You're missing your target." Haus panicked as he lifted the rifle again and took careful aim at the rabbi's head. While he zoomed in on the holy man the demon's laughter echoed thought the room. He fired and smiled as the man hit the ground. The demon disappeared in a burst of flames as Has put the rifle in his duffle bag and ran down the stairs, away from the building, and into the swamp from which he came. IOC: This looks an exquisite thread. Mind if I join? Don't worry, my ego has abated and my character shallot be nearly as powerful as usual. Is Lucifer male or female? Some members play Lucifer as a female sometimes. Character:Name: WrathlanceAlignment: Demonic Rank: 2nd in command. Hell's best warrior Appearance: Form #1: Angel with dark wings. Handsome. Form #2: 25 ft tall, horribly ugly, orange, extremely muscled demon. Instead of wings, black tentacles of energy grow from his back. Weapons: A broad sword sheathed in black fire and a lance (looks more like a grieve)Armor: Breastplate and Roman full helm. Wears iron kilt around legs and plate metal boots. Attitude: Easy to anger. Position makes him cocky. Main Weakness: His demonic rank makes him extremely susceptible to the powers of holy ground (not weapons, ground)IC: An oval of fire appeared in the middle of the Big Apple. Wrath lance, the Torque Lord stepped into a city street and the portal slammed shut with a whoosh. A small crowd gathered around him in wonder. A teenager spoke, "It ain't Halloween, bitch!" Wrath lance turned to look at him, growled once, then scythed out with his left hand. He drew bloody claws back and cleaned them off. The teen's head fell to the ground. The crowd let out an immediate scream, then turned and ran. Wrath lance turned to his Dark Angel form, and with some pain, drew his wings inside himself. He staled off, and in a few minutes, found what he was looking for. He stepped into the brothel. Succubus surrounded him. "Come in, sir, and we shall pleasure you. For a small fee of course," they whispered. He flung them away. "Silence. Do you not know your High General? Bring me the Torque residing here!" he ordered loudly. The Succubus looked at each other. "My lord, uh, the Torque here, was, uh, killed." "What??!! By who? Never mind! I'll deal with them later! For now, bring me the leader here!" he roared out. He was especially testy when those of his chosen order died. Actually, he grew enraged when it happened. An Incubus was brought before him. "My Lord," he said, sliding smoothly to his knee. "Our Ruler has sent me here to retrieve the vial of Christ blood. Where is it?" he demanded. "My lord, we have not managed to take it yet. Our attempts are constantly repulsed", said the Incubus. "I presumed it. Very well, I am ordered to stay here until we have recovered the Christ blood. Now, tell me. Who killed the residing Torque?"asked Wrath lance in a toothy smile. The Incubus flinched. It was said that when a Torque smiled, many died. "Uhm, lord, he was killed when he wandered in on holy ground. They butchered him there." "Who? Who killed him? I must have names!" roared Wrath lance. "My lord, it was a group of vampires. I don't know what they call themselves. All I know is that they got him", sobbed the demon. Wrath lance turned away moodily. "Hamm. Vampires, eh? This will need to be inspected", he growled at himself. Then, he stalked off to bed. Vietnam: Faithless: Shadow Creature Age: unknown Alignment: Unaligned Sex: Maleness: he can be seen as a normal creature, but most of the time remains a shadow, into which he can disappear and reappear, rising out of nothing. He is not one of Lucifer's Creatures, and is not one of Gods creatures. He is something of a different class. He doesn't know really why he gets himself into things, whether it is for fun, to Starr up a mess, or when he has a random unexpected urge to help someone. He is not strong like a demon, but his strength can't really be told, how strong is a shadow? He also does not have magics like angels, he has his own type of "shadow" magic. Sound good KM? IOC: Hi Forgot, haven't seen you in a while. Wrath lance is the same guy from the Heaven and Hell thread a few months back right? Hey Hangar. Thought this thing was dead for a few minutes. Haus boarded the airplane and examined the documents he had received a few hours ago, a third time. He smiled, he couldn't believe they were giving him such a big assignment, it would take a few weeks to properly prepare and scout out the area, but he could pull it off. He swallowed down his rum and coke, feeling the alcohol burn a path down his belly as he watched the ocean glimmer from his window. They would be in Spain in a matter of hours, he would meet his contact at the airport. Keith an ominous creak, Karl opened the Cathedral doors and stepped outside. Standing framed in the doorway, Karl looked around, wondering what exactly he was looking for. A sudden gust of wind picked up, flapping his clothes around his body. A loud DONG!! Sounded, making Karl jump. With a nervous laugh, stifled behind his hand, Karl realized the wind had moved one of the bells in the tower. Celtic: Hey forgot. From what I read you are good at drifting. I'm actually impressed with your writing. But your Carter needs work. I have a small question it's called weakness. If you look at the third strongest he is extremely strong but can't kill. That's a major weakness. If you read what you wrote as your weakness, you put holy ground. If you didn't know that is a weakness for all demons. Over all, I call your Carter Boeing, but at least you role-play good.IC: I turn around looking over my shoulder in the friction of the park. I hope to myself that that energy isn't Satan coming here. I look down from my high post by the gargoyle. Furthermore, I see a young boy looking for something just out of his monetary. Furthermore, I decided to move to the ground across the street. Its best not to be cough ton high ledge. I remember the beatings I used to receive when my highers found out I was spotted acting inhuman in public. I my no longer serve hell, but it was best to keep people off my tail. IOC: *smiles in satisfaction* I see a group of people about to have some fallacious fun. My character is Gideon, the angel who drives people nuts guy. I'll pick up other characters to move the thing along, but not as a permanent thing. Feel free to play more than one character, of course, just make sure it's clear which character you're involved with. Lucifer and God are sexless and are not up for play. Too much power.IC: Colonel Just Williams curled his lip and looked around. The dark streets were broken by irregular pools of sodium orange streetlight. His team was still maneuvering around, no position being readily taken. He could feel the damned around him. That's the thing about killing the damned, that Ass would just send them back. He wrapped stepped onto the consecrated pavement surrounding the cathedral and fought against the familiar impulse to relax. Holy ground could still be breached by humans who chose to damn themselves." I'm at the cathedral. Going in. Stay frosty."" Roger." Echoed five times through the earpiece." What do you see, Sky?"" The usual, Colonel."" Roger." He grunted and stepped into the shadows of the doorway. A sliver of a boy looked up at him with huge, frightened eyes. "You belong here, boy?" Velvet appeared out from behind a lamp post, the he left the thin slip of a shadow he appeared just a man, under dark clothing. But as he crossed the street and went around the corner of the curchgrounds to watch these strange men, he re-entered the shadows, instantly becoming intangible. Not there. He watched there strange men come up to the doors and enter curiously. Celtic: Spelling I don't know the meaning of the word.IC: I landed across the street and retracted my wings. To think I used to be one of Satan favorite servants, now I'm reduced to hiding. Well It does sound better than an eternity of suffering. I turned again to the boy. Next to him was a camo clocked man with an SMG. I guess Satan would use a human to cross on holy ground. Poor kid I guess he'll get killed. No loss he wasn't even cute. I'll take the info from them when they leave. Humans are no match for demons never have willed. Thinking to myself "That's an altar boy. Looks like he'll go to heaven. Lucky bastard." Even when I did work for Satan if I died he would punish me before I returned to the surface. Karla feeling of Dread came over Karl as he saw the man approach the door." You belong here, boy?" He said. Nodding mutely in reply, Karl suddenly didn't want to go outside. He wanted to stay in, safe." I. I. Furthermore, I have to. Umm. I'm just closing up. The priest, Father Elliot has retired for the day. " He stammered. "If you come back tomorrow, Father Elliot will hear your confession then." Kael positioned himself behind the door, ready to push it closed. Has sat in back of an old beat up minivan, looking out at the Spanish countryside. The two men who picked him up at the airport identified themselves as members of the Chart, a Satan worshiping cult that operates thought the world. They saw Has as a blessed warrior and were willing to do anything to help his mission. They pulled up to their headquarters, an office building in the middle of town. As they loaded his suitcases, a federal express package came. "I've got a package for Señores Bikes?" Has approached the delivery man, "I am Bikes." "I'll need to see some ID sir." Has reached into his pocket and pulled out the ID that Nadia had left for him. "Alight sir have a good day." Has took the package and brought it inside the office building, following the two Chart to his room. IOC: Cats: Mostly, from what I've read, most demons can't go on holy ground period. But Wrath lance, can, and that, for him at least, would be like stepping inside a furnace where a shitload of fanatics hacks at him with flaming scimitars. Basically, if he spends about 5 minutes on holy ground, he's dead. And no resurrecting. He'll just be sent to the Dark Flames(PM me if you want more information) to burn for eternity. Also, angels may not be allowed to attack normal demons and humans, but it's Wrath lance hunting season. On top of that, if killed violently enough by a human, he'll be sent back to Hell. Hey PM Tick. Sorry I've been gone so long. Life has a price, you know? And yes, you are correct on Wrath lance's background. I've actually sold him to this one kid I met in a chat room. I sold all the information and his personality for about $50. Furthermore, I don't know why the hell the kid wanted it, though. It's not like he would be writing a book.IC: Wrath lance awoke hungry. He reached across the bed and grabbed an enormous piece of Pegasus meat and a bit into it, savoring the flavor. He ate slowly, tasting each little chew. Furthermore, he followed it up with an enormous goblet of wine. Furthermore, he stood up, stretching, nodding as his joints cracked. Fastening his breastplate and scabbard, he stalked out of the room. "No need to have wings right now", he muttered to himself. The Incubus tried to greet him, but Wrath lance just walked out. In but a few minutes, he had arrived at the Cathedral. An extra step, and he lunged back, his leg feeling as if it was about to fall off. He sensed something in the air, something familiar. A known scent. He lifted his handsome face and sniffed. Again. Something about it... Aha! He wheeled about. He saw her. Celts. The name brought some bile up from his stomach. Had she noticed him? Most likely. He wasn't very subtle. His eyes glared at her, as if daring her to flee. Wrath lance walked slowly, letting the realization of who he was sunk in. And what he could do. But not now. Now, he wanted something else. "I'm surprised you didn't say hello. You never call, you never write. You know how I just love to keep in touch", he growled low, the child backing off quickly, in good sense. His hand strayed to his sword, but it only pawed at the hilt, it was nothing more than habit, and Celts knew it. IOC:just a pint of interest, but if Wrath lance is a male, why would he have incur around him? I mean unless their drawing women for him, would he rather have succubi. Well.... unless he swings that way. But yeah, just found it.... odd Celtic: Demonology who needs it. Okay so it would be handy right now but um, I got what's happening.IC: I sat there watching the boy attempt to close the door on the grunt. I'm surprised he hasn't started firing most of hell's humans aren't that subtle. I noticed something to the right. It was Wrath lance. Damn humans and him, hell is done fooling around. He said a few words grunted and grabbed the held of his sword. I thought out loud "Damn, he must still be mad about me dumping him. 1000 years and he still isn't over it." I smiled, I hoped that had some charm on him still. One thought lingered at the back of my mind, I'm fucked over now." Um, is Satan still mad about that entire priest went even instead of hell thing. You know maybe he needs a hobby. I hear golf is fun." Golf, where the hell did that come from. If I was going to surest a hobby I could least come up with one that's fun. Besides Tiger Woods already sold his sole to get as good as he is." If this is about dumping you.......... Well after you transformed into that big beast with tentacles what did you think I would do. Sex with tentacle plans may be good in Japanese comics but, I don't think its fun." Hell what type of person did like tentacle rapes. Come to think of it I did use to watch it when I lived in hell. It didn't seem all that bad given the torture I would go threw if he killed me now.IOC: Let me know if that romance thing bugged you. The Colonel frowned and kept his ears peeled. He could feel the Hell spawn staring at him. Fucking good for nothing angels. He could sure use one right now." My name is Just. I'm here to see Bishop Allan." He tossed a glance over his shoulder. "Before they do." The boy guarded the door with the ferocity of a dim unitive pit bull." We've got company boys. Alpha formation, protect sequence Jesus Christ." The boy seemed displeased with him. "I'm not taking his name in vain, boy. Gideon sent me." Gideon would be an asshole and not show the hell up when he was needed. Gideon leaned against the brick of the cathedral and doffed his hat toward the clustering demons. He waved jauntily at Wrath lance and shifted his weight. The Colonel couldn't see him, he was awfully blind for a human in the Service. Wrathlance was something of a worry. What was he doing here? He couldn't be after the Blood, too. What could he possibly do with it? Gideon slouched nonchalantly to hide his nervousness. This wasn't good at all. As soon as the Colonel had passed into safety, he'd head up to HQ and have a chat with Gabriel, Wrath lance's opposite. He tossed his eyes heavenward with a brief prayer. It didn't take long for some reinforcements to show up and take up perimeter positions. With Wrath lance you never could tell. Gabriel wasn't going to like this at all. Thank God the Christ blood wasn't here. KaelCuriosity overcoming fear Karl replied "Your name is Just? Just what? Who's Gideon? You on a mission from God or something?" Peering past the man in the door Karl looked around. The street was still empty, but there was something...... Karl knew he wouldn't want to be out there alone tonight. There was something.... bad in the air." There ain't no-one out their mister. Why are you swearing up your sleeve? The is a homeless shelter 3 blocks down on your left, you can get some dinner there if you want, maybe someone can help you there." Stepping back, Karl again tried to shut the door, but the strange man had put his foot in the narrowing gap. Celtic was about ready to run in fear. A demon with wrath lance's strength was a big threat. But then those damn ages interfered. They used a powerful spell to hold us. The only damn problem was I wanted to keep the blood from wrath lance, and now I was heralded and that spell wouldn't hold wrath lance long. Yep like usual those angels fucked things up. IOC: Okay, Cats: No problem here. Khadgar: There are Succubi there. Just that the Incubus is a lieutenant, an aide almost. So he tries to suck up.IC: "No, I'm not still mad about that. I need information," he said, not paying any attention to the angels. "Come with me. I assure you protection. After all, I wouldn't need to lie, now would I?" he grinned evilly. IOC:gotcha Has opened the package in his room. He always mailed his equipment to himself, never had a problem. Unpacking the sniper rifle and scope he took a deep breathe, embracing the smell of a freshly unpacked gun. He always took an assortment of guns with him, but the sniper rifle is his favorite. A puff of smoke appeared behind him, Has didn't need to turn around to know Nadia had entered the room. "Has you have not made any progress yet." "I told you demon, this operation is very delicate, need to stake out the place for at least two weeks, know the security and good vantage points." "Just get your German ass to Rome in the next couple of days." Nadia disappeared in another puff of smoke. He knew I was right NAD that burned him up inside. A smile formed across my face as I thought about how pissed off the demon probably was now. IOC) I got the impression it is night out... I hope I'm right IC)Nelson slipped slowly out of his coffin, stretching one side as the other held the scrap of paper. The vial was a very interesting relic...perhaps a write-off though. Humans are ingenuously prone to destroying things of value. However, hunger comes first...as always. A black shadow swept through the streets silently, its victim yet to be chosen...but its destination assured. There was a nice club not 3 blocks away (and thus only 1 block away from the cathedral). Velvet had been watching from behind the shadows the whole time. It seamed the demons had left, and so has the angel. All that was left was the boy a- he felt a strange tingling in the back of his mind. Something was approaching. It seemed the man would force his way in. and what was approaching wasn't friendly. Viet melded into the wall and disappeared. For now Arise thread, arise! You are far too good to lie in these pits of discarded threads. So I bid you arise! IOC: Killer Muffin said: Thank God the Christ blood wasn't here. Click to expand... If the Christ blood isn't here, where is it? I'm going to have trouble moving my altar boy to a new location unless someone abducts me... ummmmmmIs this story still going????????? Not sure. I'm waiting for Killer Muffin to post before I can move. I wait too want to know how we all disappeared. Nelson frowned dourly as he came upon the group. This would not be good...he had heard, from those higher up, what happened when angels and demons manifested themselves on the Earth. Not only would they flatten the landscape, they were liable to take out ALL life or unlike nearby. I specifically designed my character so that it can't post until someone finds it. I've been waiting patiently for this rebel God group or whatever to form, so things can pick up. IOC: I just figured this had died out ? Um dose any one know why we all disappeared? Should we all just ignore that and continue after the angels praised the demons? Ignore and continue... Has walked up and down the streets of Rome, taking notes. He had been in Italy for two weeks now but still couldn't figure out the proper vantage and escape routes for his mission. He lit a cigarette, staring at the square before him. This was going to be his riskiest mission ever but also his most rewarding. "Hamm what if I don't snipe. What if I break in and do this up close and personal...hmm mm." Celtic: Has anyone pmed the others on this.IC: Why is my former lover the strongest of all demons not moving. Even though the spell still had me bond its effects most of run off on him by now. The bastard wasn't moving, I guess I should be happy that he hasn't killed me yet. Which was more than that bastard god has ever done for me. Looking up at those angels I say "Damn them if it wasn't for them, I would have escaped by now." The pressure was too much. I'm siting at the thresh hold of death. Looking at doom and destruction in the eye. When this spell ends I'm going to have to move fast. Wrath lance twitched. "Sorry, my dear. A little trouble in Hell. I had to pass judgement on a renegade demon. Now, about that information. I suggest you come with me," he said, and turned. Then, realizing she was still under the effects of the spell, he waved a hand and the spell totally came off. "Now, follow me". Celtic: I take it someone pmed the others and told them it was running again.IC: Damn I don't stand a chance in a fight. I could run but in his fallen angel form Wrath lance is fast. Still I could get my wings out and a head start flying away. The pain of taking out his wings would slow him for a short time. But only a few seconds. How far could I get in a few seconds? Damn my only option is to go with him. He decently will turn on me when he gets a chance. Or would he be tells only minor that would give me a chance to come back. I know he did like the time we spent to gather in hell. But I left him there the guy wasn't all that worthy of my affection." Fine I'll go with you." I know I'm going to regret this. Hans This mission was taking far more time than he had planned. He's walking inside St. Peters, observing the different vantage points and walking past the millinery doors. "So many frigging tourists. No security for the main gate. This is too frigging easy." I'm confused. The vampire slowly slipped away as the demonic entities began moving and speaking, seeking easier prey in this dark city.IOC) I think I'm going to drop out of this...if someone feels like taking over my character feel free. Wrath lance smiled to himself as he thought about what she was probably thinking. When they got back to the brothel, Wrath lance sat down in a comfortable, yet small chair. He watched at the fluid grace of Celts as she sat opposite him. "You know my 'heroic' story, don't you Celts?" he asked suddenly. "You know that my life so far has not been easy. Therefore, I want to make this specific task simple. You tell me what I need, I round up all evil in this God-accursed city, attack the goddamn cathedral, get the Christ blood, and get the Heaven out of here. Now, so far you have been good. Tell me what I need to know, and I'll put in a good word for you with Lucifer. And you know how far my word goes. After all, it's the only thing that's stopped, let me see... 3 wars," he said, looking at her. His expression was unreadable, but inside, a hundred different emotions swirled. Celtic: "Get the heaven out of here." Dan't underestimate the classics. Forgive me if this isn't my best post. The breaks between posts make it hard for me to get into Carter.IC: I fallowed Wrath lance down to a brothel. How funny before I lost Satan's favor I used to run this place. Not that Wrath would know. The bastard was so full of himself. He He made a boastful speech of his past and how heroic he was. He was gifted granted, but now all he normal did was boss around others. Maybe this is a sign he is losing favor with Satan. Or was this job so important he came not trusting the work to his minions? I sat there watching his dark blue eyes, the vastness of them. I could see the thin strips of his hair each perfectly formed. It was no wonder I once liked the bastard. But still this form was nothing like him. His other form was more fitting, all hands, or tentacle as the case was. Just once I would like to be appreciated for my mind............ what the hell. Scratch that my body gave me an edge over men and that's an advantage I like. The entire point of his discussion was to get what I knew. He made the deal that he would put a word in with Satan if I told him what I knew. Like I'm going to trust a demon. The only reason he would speak to Satan would be to get me as a sex slave. Never trust a demon. Father more I don't know anything." The vile......... is in the cathedral here." I had to pause as if I was judging the options. It made my lie all the more believable. "If you need help there is a group of demons on the other side of town." Now to complete my act. "You better keep your end of the margin. Father more I want to stay on earth til, Satan gets here no more of this being hunted. And when Satan dose get here I don't want to be punished for the rest of eternity. Do we have a deal?" IOC: LOL. You got the wrong idea, methinks. You'll notice I put the' around the heroic, right? That means sarcasm. By the way, he never leads from the back. His ideal is that the best way to command is by example. He is always with the grunts. Hell, he doesn't even have a castle anymore. He sold it, and now lives in the demon army barracks. With the blade demons, of all of them. Don't worry though. This is just detail from a very detailed history of Wrath lance. I don't expect anyone but me to know it. Although if your interested, I could PM you a congested version. And Wrath lance appreciates the mind very, very much. Almost as much as the body, actually. And he never, ever lies.IC: "No. I don't want that bullshit. I need guard numbers, exact location, real information. Furthermore, I don't need the location of my troops, I can call them here with thought. Now tell me something I need to know. Then, if I find it satisfactory, we'll have a deal," he said, wearily. This might turn out to be harder than he thought. IOC: I feel like a blithering idiot for forgetting about this. I'm a dummy. The Christ blood is ??? The Bishop knows and so does Gideon. If someone wants to play the bishop, that's cool. As for moving your altar boy, that's not difficult. If the church gets attacked then the Colonel or Gideon or the good guys or the bad guys can take the boy. A wicked cool idea would be for the bishop to have told the boy (he doesn't know it) and then get killed off (the bishop not the boy).IC: "Okay, boy, take me to the Bishop. It's very important." He looked around, noting the shadows. The damned couldn't come here, but they had their pets who could. "Be quick and be quiet about it." The boy didn't move. Stubbornness or fear, he couldn't tell." You've got the legions of Hell across the street, boy. I'm the only one between the priest and them." The day finally came. Has had waited in St. Peter's square since 4 o'clock that morning to get his spot. He had taken a disguise as a Swiss guard in front of the doors. An hour before the Pope's speech, he manged to make it to the roof of one of the surrounding buildings. As the pope began his speech, he took out his sniper rifle and took careful aim, waiting for the right opportunity. Velvet waited outside the congregation. It was not noon yet, so he was hidden in the shade of the building. Watching people pass around him, and through him. The pope.... this was something that would draw a lot of attention. The man was insistent in coming in. Finally, Karl relented and admitted him. Closing the door firmly on his heels. Finally, the time had come, I squeezed the trigger, expecting to see the man's head explode in a beautiful explosion of skull and brain matter, but instead nothing happened. I pressed the trigger again, click click click, something was preventing the bullet from leaving the barrel. I noted the Vatican guards walking my direction. Furthermore, I quickly packed my gun up and escaped down the way I came. Furthermore, I needed to consult Nadia and fast. "Colonel, we've got movement out here. I've got a lock on three, maybe four bastards, two bitches, and a mutt."" Great. Keep an eye out, Sky."" I'm getting nervous. One of them bastards is huge."" Roger that, Sky. Watch yourselves." The boy was looking at him oddly, but patiently." We just ran out of time, boy. Take me to the priest." Celts"Guards how the hell should I know. Up intel today there was no one there. These bastards and those angels only should up today. As for getting in though." quick need to bull shit and I need to do it now. "There's a back door. But what I would surest doing is going in from the bell tower. Leave a couple of demons on the two doors and trap them inside." What the hell am I doing? Now I'm giving him a strategy so he can get IIN fast and find out I'm lying to him. Shit, what the hell can I do? Has made it back to my quarters where he found Nadia waiting for him, "Boy are you in trouble!" "I don't know what happened, the gun wouldn't fire." "Don't tell me man, the big man wants to see you." "What?" "That's right, you're coming with me to hell." In a blink of an eye the two disappeared in a plume of purple colored smoke. Hans found himself in an aqua colored waiting room, behind several other sleeper agents. No telling how long it would be before he was to see Satan. London't give up wet work your still breathing we can save you I swear. Just don't give up it's not your time yet.Oh, PM Tick..... your fucked. No stay away from the light Network. No you can make it come on fight. Just fallow the sound of my voice. Please don't go. Re: IOC cats said: Oh PM Tick..... your fucked. [/B] Click to expand... ????? Sorry That entire post was a joke. Oh, the fucked thing was are mark about going to hell. IOC: To be honest, I don't know what the hell is going on. I can't get into character cos the thread is so slow and disjointed. I like the idea, but its just not working for me.... Furthermore, I'm going to write myself out. Have fun folks. If things pick up, send me a PM, and I'll come back IC: Totally confused, Karl took the man to the priests' door. Knocking on it, Karl waited for an answer. Nothing. Knocking harder, but still no answer. Turning the knob the door swung in slowly. What was behind it was so terrifying, Karl let out a shriek and in a panic, sped past the man back towards the door. Tripping on his discarded broom, Karl went down, striking his head hard on the ground, knocking him out cold. Very good points The post right above. This leaves me and Tick, kinda small ain't it. Um anyone there?? Hello? Is pose it does.*sigh*Any ideas for reworking? Why don't you already assembly this holy team of people who are supposed to protect this vial? Make an angel tell them or something, that's how god used to do it. That way, we can have the group all ready, and we can start role playing attacks and ways of persuasions on both parts. Maybe send in spies, have Cats be a defender of the right, while she is beside Forgot the entire time. Also, could we get someone to play evil? I don't mean the devil specifically, but like a DM for all the bad things that want this vial. The vampires, and lycanthropes (were-animals), demons, devils, and guys like PM. This way, the holy team has something to fight against. Just a couple of suggestions. Feel free to add subtract multiply or divide what you will. I have no problem being a DM if no one else wants the job. Tick was thinking about taking it, but then I would have to give up Celts. And I like her way too much. "Alright. I'll have to digest this information. And by the way: you're coming with us," he said. She started, but he cut her off, "In case you're lying. If so, you'll have a quick, fairly painless death," he said gently. "Now, you're staying here while I go find my army. And don't try to run away. I'll track you down and kill you anyway," he said, a hurt puppy look in his eyes. Then he stood and strode out the door, leaving Celts alone. Celtic: Forgot how long do you take between posts. Not that this page gets added to very often but, hell I little constancy on your part would be nice. Um, chances are I'll have to leave after next week. I really should start warning my other pages.IC: Ya a quick death fallowed by an eternity of suffering in hell. I'm so fucked now. I swear god is just altering fate to toy with me. "Bastard, you here me god you're a Bastard!" IOC: Sorry about that Cats, my computer has just been a little jumpy. I'm going to try to post more regularly, but hey, you never know the computer.IC: Wrath lance strode into the midst of the city. He raised his arms and an invisible wave of power shot forth. He stood there grinning, knowing his army was assembling. Vampires, lycanthropes, undead and demons, all were assembling. IOC:I don't think anyone is going to post here now. I'm going to be pretty much gone for the next six weeks, so I relies Celts from my control. Run free Celts!

Wetwork|rating:2.0

The Broken Promise {Open and Always Accepting}

Long ago, there were two separate kingdoms. The Dark'Lighting and The Neutrals. The Dark'Lighting controlled the powers of both Light and Dark, while The Neutrals controlled all the elements expect for Light and Darkness. These two kingdoms were allies of one another, they never really had a big argument that they would hate one another forever. One could even call these two kingdoms as though they were best friends. However, both these kingdoms used to work with the human world as well. The two kingdoms had protected the human world from any kind of disaster that could destroy the whole human world itself. Although, one day the humans had begun to realize how they had been relying on these two kingdoms too much and began to rebel against the idea of letting them help any longer. So without even the slightest warning, the humans began to set up their weaponry and different machines to fight back at these kingdoms. Jets, bombs, ships, whatever they could do to push back the two kingdoms. Kingdom Of The Dark'Lighting Both the Dark'Lighting and the Neutrals weren't expecting this at all; being caught off guard they were pretty much forced to retreat anyway. Although, even if they were able to had fought back; they wouldn't have done so during the time since they had promised to protect the human world. So instead of breaking it, they decided to retreat to their own worlds where they now remain. However, some time has now passed and the Neutrals are beginning to get annoyed at the thought that both these kingdoms were pushed back by mere mortals. Instead of keeping shut, they decided to go to the human world and torture the human race for being so arrogant. Although, the Dark'Lighting did not approve of what their allies were doing to the mortals as they began to fight back against the Neutrals; just to simply continue to protect the human world. The Neutrals were simply trying to get vengeance for both kingdoms rather than just for its own. Kingdom Of The Neutrals Both sides had argued with one another only to end up with a conclusion at the end. The King and Queen of the Dark'Lighting had a daughter; while the King and Queen of the Neutrals had a son. The higher-ups had thought that the best idea they could come up with now was that both the prince and princess were to get married. However, they did not even think once about if the prince or princess wanted to in the first place. So because of this, the princess seemed to be afraid to meet the prince so she decided to hide away from him. However, the prince seems to want to meet up with her; just to at least meet her for the first time. Since from what is known of the two kingdoms, the prince and princess have never met one another. Rules:No God modding Behave yourselves Please post a decent size post, so people may have something to work with Let Happy death or me know if you will be gone, no warning after three days = instant boot. You can have as many characters as you can handle. Send your Profiles to Happy or me. If Dark'Lighting title it 'Protector', if Neutral title it 'Assault' or if Human title it 'Powerless' More rules to be added or taken away. Have Fun --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Character Skeletons:Human Skeleton:Name:Age:Gender:What are you:Bio:Pic: (human only)Dark'Lighting and Neutral Skeleton:Name:Moon Cycle (Age):Gender:What Are You: (king, queen, knight, guardian, spy etc.)Powers:Do You Like Humans:Bio:Pic: (human, elemental, True form)-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Roles:Dark'Lighting:King:Queen:finx15Princess:Gothic_Knight Guardian:MomochanKnights:Spy:MarsyasNuetrals:King:Queen:Prince:AndrausGuardian:InuyamiKnights:ArechiSpy:Humans:General:The-Black_King Second In Command:Watcher 1:HonourguardWatcher 2:Scout 1:Scout 2:Spy:Rogues:INAMI-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Accepted Characters:DAK'Lighting:Name:Princess Kiki yo Murasaki HikariMoon Cycle (Age): looks 19 but is really about 19,000Gender: Female What Are You: Dark'Lighting Princess Powers: Has the powers of Darkness and Light like all Dark'Lighting. But the Princess is the most talented with the power and has the uncanny able to calm the most angry beast with her singing. Do You Like Humans: loves humans Bio: Princess Kiki yo Murasaki Hikaru, whose name translates to 'The Princess of Pure Darkness and Light' is terribly shy and friendly person? She had a lovely life in the human world but now lives with The Dark'Lighting Kingdom with her people and family. Kiki yo is considered the most beautiful of the Dark'Lighting but believes that she is ugly compared to her mother. She is then told by her family that she is to marry the Neutral Prince in order to end the senseless war between the two kingdoms. Kiki yo volunteers but runs away when the Prince is sad to becoming to the castle. Kiki yo has a deep fear of meeting new people, especially the Prince. She believes that if she meets the Prince then he made have second thoughts and kill her instead. She has other reasons of fearing the Prince, but she prefers not to say why. Pic:humanelementalTrue Form Other: Kiki yo wears achokerthat is said to be the symbol of the Dark'Lighting and Neutrals working together and glows when the Prince and Princess are together. Quote: Originally Posted by Moroccan Name: Baylee Valentine Moon Cycle (Age): 22 (really 21,000) Gender: female. I'm not that flat chested, thank you very much. What Are You: Guardian of the princess! Huzah! Powers: Light and Dark, but she's much better at using Darkness. She's also a master at cursing Do You Like Humans: As long as they don't try to screw me over, I like them. Bio: Baylee became a Guard when she was 20 and has been one ever since. She has sworn to protect the princess, but she's not all knightly like you'd expect her to be. At first, Baylee was quite cold towards the princess, but as time passed she started warming up the girl. Now, she's pretty nice to the girl, considering Baylee isn't the most friendly girl out there. She can be blunt and headstrong, and seems to be angry most of the time. She just doesn't mess around with people. Baylee can be quite loud and rude, but tries to be calm and Pictish when around the princess. The only person she really like is the princess. Most people piss her off or look down on her because she is a female guard 9especially since she's kinda short. She's only 5'4). She just kicks them in the balls, curses them out, and does her job. Furthermore, she doesn't really give a damn about who or that someone is, she'll treat them the way she wants too. Though, the princess, king, and queen are an exception. She has to treat them with respect. Under all the curse words and bitchiness, Baylee has a kind heart. You just have to look in the right places. When the princess ran away, Baylee tagged along with her. She didn't want the princess to get hurt or killed. She worried greatly for the poor girl. It had to be hard having to marry someone she didn't even know. Baylee decided she'd protect the princess, and make sure the Prince wouldn't harm her in any way, if they ever met. Pic: Holman elemental true Quote: Originally Posted by finx15 Name:Fine Moon Cycle (Age):20 Gender:Female What Are You: queen Powers:Control over darkness Do You Like Humans: Kind of Bio:Fine is the daughter of a nobleman who at the time was a servant to the king when the king announced that his son would take a bride her father made sure she was first in line she didn't like the king very much mostly because her dream of being the first girl knight would be crushed. Over the years though she's learned to sneak away from him to do what she wanted to do. She was the first warrior queen but no one knows especially her husband and daughter. Pic: human elemental True form Quote: Originally Posted by Marshal Name: Lucian Lacrosse Moon Cycle (Age): 24 Gender: Male What Are You: Spy Powers: Dark, Light and Twilight (mix) Do You Like Humans: I'm neutral on the subject Bio: Lucian is a spy and an assassin born from a low class family. In time, he showed that he had a knack for this line of work and managed to climb his way up the latter (killing people as needed) to become the top assassin and spy within the Dark Lighting kingdom. While learning to bend the powers of light and dark, Lucian developed the twilight element which combined the two for more devastating effects, though he decided he would only use the power if absolutely necessary (which has yet to come at this point in his life). Despite being both cunning and ruthless in his line of work, outside of it, he's surprisingly polite and levelheaded. Knowing what it's like to have nothing and gain status, Lacrosse attempts to maintain a humble appearance while being silently confident. Pic: Human: Elemental: True form: __________________________________________________ ___________________Neutrals: Quote: Originally Posted by Andrews Name: Carey Argentina Moon Cycle (Age): 24 Gender: male What Are You: Prince Powers: The Ability to Bend the Four Main Elements to my Whim. However, I can only do this in my Elemental and True form. Do You Like Humans: I prefer them, then the Company I get in my Home-Land? Bio: Carey Was Raised like any Normal Prince was raised, Spoiled from the Start, but when he grew of age, All the Time he spent was Away from Home. Carey Preferred the life out in the Open then a life Confined into a Space, crowded by Suitors, Royalty, and his family. Truth be told, he learned more from the Human world, then the World he was born in. When War broke out, Carey Had to Think Long and hard About where his loyalty lied, and Only returned HOM when he decided that, Right by birth, it was his duty to Protect his people. As time passed, and his home became ready for war, Carey began to question his loyalty to his people, and thought of escaping. When he heard that he was supposed to marry the Princess of their Allied kingdom, Carey built up a private war against his parents. He expects the princess to be like any other noble : Snobbish, Self-loathing, Egotistic, etc. He plans to go along with this little meeting, but if It's as he fears, then he shall retreat to the human world. Furthermore, he has been given, though, an Onyx and Sapphire Ring, that would glow if the girl was near. Pic: Quote: Originally Posted by INAMI Name: Luna Crystals Moon Cycle (Age): 28 Gender: Female What Are You: Guardian Of The Neutral Prince Powers: Water and Healing Do You Like Humans: I shall tolerate them for my princes' sake Bio: I was born a simple child to a family whom are dear friends of the Royal family. On the day of Prince Carey's birth, I was in the labor room and have been by his side ever since. My mission from that day on, my only purpose of life, has been to serve my Prince and fallow him where ever he should go. Once I was old enough to carry a sword I began training in the art of swords and how to use the natural powers of water that I have been blessed with. I've become quite skilled as an aquatic healer and my skills as an aquatic warrior are above the rest in the kin dome. Pic: Human: Elemental: True form: Quote: Originally Posted by Are chi Name: Kai Hebe Moon Cycle (Age): 24 Gender: Male What Are You: Knight Powers: Create and control fire as well as control magma/lava Do You Like Humans: Doesn't really like or dislike humans, he is more indifferent towards them. Bio: Kai was born and raised in the art of fighting and harnessing the powers of fire and magma, which he had shown great promise in at a relatively young age, especially when it came to fighting at a range. He was raised by a combination of his parents and grandparents, and had been born the only child of the Hebe family, who had managed to make a rather recordable name in the knighthood of the Neutrals Kingdom. Because of this his grandparents were able to endow him with knowledge and wisdom that they had gain through the years of their lives, while his younger and stronger parents were able to provide him with the physical education needed to harness and use his powers for himself, his kingdom, and at the time for humanity as well. Initially it was believed that his powers would be used to quell the vicious volcanic eruptions that plagued certain areas of the human world, however when the humans rebelled and pushed back both the kingdoms of the Dark'Lighting and the Neutrals that plan was extinguished. Years passed and soon Kai joined the traditions of becoming a knight of the Neutral kingdom and managed to coin an ability to shape his fire into that of arrows with devastating results if used just right, although they are not the only thing he can use. He may have been known for the arrows and his range attacks, however he is able to defend himself decently against close range attacks if needed. With his powers and intelligence he had managed to work his way up the ranks of knights to a relatively high ranking one, though he still lies lower on the social ladder when compared to the guardians of the royal families as well as the royal families themselves of course, with no real ambition to achieve any higher. Instead, his energy is more focused towards serving the Neutral kingdom and its royal family in whatever ways needed. As of late he's been used for battles and coming up with various battle strategies to try and win the war against the humans, and against their previous allies should the current plan fall through for whatever reason. Out of his three forms he personally prefers his human as it requires less maintenance than his other two. Pic: Human: Elemental: True form: __________________________________________________ ___________________Humans: Quote: Originally Posted by The-Black_King Name:Rex Hound Age:31 Gender:male What are you:General Bio:Rex was the son of the rebel leader born with, so many down faults he was put into a suit until they could cure it after the death of his father Rex took over messing with his suit he went from weak to strong and with this new power he used it to hold back the god's to the human's that what they were called looking for a way to bring his country to victory he will find a way to beat the god like being's. Pic: Quote: Originally Posted by Honourguard Name: Open Light binder Age: 28 Gender: Male What are you: Watcher Bio: Sworn to the protection of his people, Open serves with fervor and devotion. Too long have his people rested as the pets of the gods, and under the command of General Hound, Watcher Light binder will see to it that they are never looked down upon again. Since the end of the first aggression, Open has been seeing to the establishment of fortifications and the training of an army with which to defend said battlements, should war with the gods ever begin. Open has served Humanity since his adolescence, and as such has maintained the physical attributes required to perform his duties. Clad in light armor like that of his General, Open utilizes a short sword and buckler combination for quick, agile attacks that befit close combat situations, and has developed a tactical mind during his career. Stern and unforgiving, Open expects the best from his men and gives his best to his nation; his short brown hair and clean-shaven face testament to his disciplined nature. Quote: Originally Posted by INAMI Name:Hanna Shamika Age: 16 Gender: Female What are you: Rogue That Bio: Hanna grew up new the forest outside the Neutral Kingdom. Her family was part of a village that once lived among the trees but has since been destroyed by the fighting. Hanna lost her parents in a battle for their land and was forced into solitary wandering. Now living somewhat like a Robin Hood, Hanna steels from the rich, but only enough to get her by until the next mark is expected to come through. (Which usually leads to over pillaging!) Enraged by the fighting that cause her so much, Hanna aims to seek revenge on the Royal Families of both kingdoms. She is skilled with a bow and has a special connection with the animals of the woods. Personality: Hanna is an air head though she fights for honor, vengeance and to uphold her own personal beliefs of justice. Loyal to her companions, she would do anything to prove herself to the people she looks up to in life. Pic: __________________________________________________ ___________________ Announcements Princess of The Dark'Lighting is taken. Prince of The Neutrals is taken. Role-play is now Open and Accepting. Guardian for the princess is now taken. Guardian for the Prince is now taken. ACCEPTING finx15:Gothic_Knight:Moroccan:Andrews:INAMI:The-Black_King:you guys can post Chu know ^^'' I think we got enough people. XD more will probably join as it progresses. Well, As the Old Saying Goes. 'Lady's first' (I'm waiting for Goths! I don't know what to post. As said in my bio, my character is with her, soon I'll just wait for p her. o3oI can't wait to start picking on Andy. E ve) In the waters across the gorge of the Neutral Kingdom, in a cave known only to those with ties to the Royal Family, Luna trained alone. Bending the water to her will, she performed a series of stunts she'd perfected threw her years. This is how she started every morning, at least the morning when she was able too. The sun was raising and soon Prince Carey would be awake. Luna finished her routing and returned to the end of the gorge. Once there, she created a bridge of water, freezing it making it passable. She crossed into the Neutral Kingdom and entered the palace, looking for Prince Carey. [um Before I post anything, where's Luna's Profile. I can't find it.] (I don't think Gothic has posted it yet -_- I can forward it to you for now.) (let me see it too) (Sure thing) Carey was On the Training ground's, Training his Abilities. The Way he trained, when it came to His Elemental Power's, was that He Stretched them to their Very Limits, and more So over. At the End of the Day, he would be Exhausted, but he Self-assured himself that, With Every passing day, he was Growing stronger. He didn't Only Use his Magic, however. He also Trained in Reliance on Melee, and Certain Human Fire-arm's. Furthermore, he was, at the Present Moment, Creating a Large Fire wall, and was Trying to extend it farther, Exerting His Mental Stamina. Rex sighed as he strapped on his helmet "what's this place coming to" Rex made his way outside and looked up starring at the sky not many people new of his illness and none of the none humans new for it would make it look like they were weak he walked into the war room and grabbed is tech arm's and his war chain axe he walked outside thinking of giving the God's a visit to see if they would find some way around this war it was the second time he went to go see them this month but also his last he has had enough of how they act "ok let's go" started to make his way up to the Neutrals Kingdom when he finally got there he was not greeted warmly as to him being the rebel leader he was surrounded by guards "hmm just like your people Iv come to talk about the war that has ravaged my people will you here me out!!". "I thought I'd find you here." Luna said suddenly standing behind the prince. She loved to seek up on him and this was, after all, the place he spent most of his time when he was within the kingdom. With a bow, Luna approached the Prince with a small friendly and familiar smile. He made her so proud when she saw him training. Carey Heard the voice, and slowly calmed down the Shield. He then turned to Luna, and smiled. "Now Luna, I told you, You don't have to Treat me like Royalty. We are friends, Ya know. "He said, laughing slightly. "I'm the Same person as everyone, just with a Big Heritage." he said, dully. He never did like the fact that he was treated different, because of his family. Rex removed his helmet "prince Carey are you here I must speak to you about the war!!" Rex was starting to grow annoyed by the king he knew that he was in the kingdom but just not right at the moment he cracked his neck as he removed his helmet and pushed one of the guards away they didn't seem to do anything about it realizing what would come from attacking him he made his way down the middle of the kingdom where he saw Carey on the training grounds talking with one of his knights h walked past the two guards as he made his way up to Carey "Boy I must speak with you. Carey breath caught in his Throat. He knew EXACTLY who spoke, for he had heard the voice Many times. Carey then spun around, and Created his Fire-barrier, shrouding Luna with it to, and everyone within a Radius. "You! What in God's name are you doing here!?" A young girl sat in the Royal Garden of the Beautiful kingdom of Dark'Light. She looked at the sky and smiled softly as she felt the gentle breeze blew through her light blue hair. Her name her was Kiki yo Murasaki Hikaru, and she is the princess of the Dark'Lighting. She sat there near the white and black roses in her human form as her black wings flopped on the ground, and she looked around for her guardian. Kiki yo pricked a rose from the bush and gently touched the petals, she wanted to enjoy the feel of it until it came time for her to run. She heard that the King and Queen of the Neutrals were going to send their son, the Prince to the kingdom. Kiki yo didn't want to meet him, she was afraid of meeting new people and feared the prince would kill her. As Kiki yo landed there she looked at the sky and seen a cloud in the shape of a heart with wings on it, she tilted her head and imagined that she was playing with the clouds like she did when she was little. Kiki yo waited for Baylee as she twirled a little bit of light and dark streams over her pretending that she was dancing about. Rex sighed "you know your fire magic can not harm me in this but I'm not here for this I have come to see if you will surrender to us Prince please for your people stop this and surrender" Rex did not want more bloodshed but he knew that this would go as his he planed it today "I'm asking you not as leader of my people but of an old friend when there was peace, but you know that I will fight to my death for this war" Baylee swung open a door and took a few steps into the garden. She glanced around, seeing if the princess was anywhere near her. When she didn't see her anywhere, she started running down the sidewalk. She looked around for the princess, looking behind bushes and under a few trees. She bit her lip and continued her way through the garden. After a few minutes, she finally found the princess. She was sitting next to the roses, playing with her powers. Baylee let out a relived sigh and smiled at the Princess. "Sorry I took so long. I was looking for you. Should have known you would have come here. This is your favorite place to be, if I'm not mistaken?", She said, walking over to her friend and plopping down next to her. "So, how are you feeling?" Open sat on the arming bench in his small apartment within the city. Upon his body was clad the smooth plates of his armor, fully encasing him within; only his head remained bare, his helmet in his hand. As he stared into the visor, Open reflected. War, he thought, is this what we want? Is this what we've come to? Oren turned the helmet over in his hands, admiring its craftsmanship. It had been a gift from his lord the day he was risen to Watcher. On its brow was emblazoned the symbol of his nation, an honor to signify his prowess. Prowess, indeed. Wisdom that comes from experience. Experience gleaned from mistakes. Mistakes like sending men to their doom. But such is required of a commander. Uttering an oath to the old gods, Open placed the helmet on his head. Doing one's duty is never a mistake. His dark eyes gleaming within the confines of the helm, Open stood and took hold of his sword, turned and left for the parade grounds.---------------"Today our Lord General has left to personally attend to the war we know to be brewing." Watcher Open Light bringer addressed the troops of his contingent, the Praetorian's. "The Neutrals, once known as gods but now reduced, seek to impose upon us their imperial fervor. We will not bow. Too long have we sat idle while the gods 'protected' us. We had looked to them as a babe to its nursemaid. But we are better than that. Humanity is better than that." Oren began pacing, his voice projected over the comms in his helmet. "Our Lord General has gone to personally entreat our old 'masters' to cease their threats upon our sovereignty. But we must be prepared. Gods do not concede so easily to the demands of mortals. While the Lord General discusses the finer points of diplomacy, we," Open cast his arms out to encompass those arrayed before him. "We shall prepare. Set the gates, man the artillery, pray for glory. Do your duty. Make your people proud. Make your General proud." Watcher Light bringer stood to attention, saluting his men, which they briskly returned." You know what to do, my Praetorian's. Dismissed." Carey let down the shield, but Raised Water, and Fire/Lighting in his right and left hand. "You are An Old friend, and I Trust you. But I Have to Act out what's best for my People, and for My friends. It does not mean I have to Enjoy it, it does NOT mean that I want to, and it Certainly Does not mean that I Don't hate it."he said. "But, I was born with a Duty to My people, and I must do what's in their best interest, Even if its against my Own Judgement." he said. Kiki yo continued to lay there as she waited for Baylee, the steel of the flowers made a smile spread on her face as she then jumped lightly hearing a voice. She sat up and looked around then saw Baylee walking up to her. A smile spread across her face more as she nodded her head lightly, "There you are Lee-Lee, I'm glad you found me after a while and it's ok. It takes a while for some people to remember where I like to go." she said softly in a very gently voice that seem my to make fresh air crack as she spoke softly. Kiki yo curled her wings lightly as she looked at Baylee as she spoke to her, "I feel ok, I don't understand it, but I have a fear of meeting the Neutral Prince. I have heard rumors that he is ruthless and cruel. But you think it is true?" she asked softly as she gently placed the flower behind Baylee's ear after removing all the thorns that made the white and black rose sharp for anyone to hold. Baylee smiled at the girl when she called her 'Lee-Lee'. She away found the nickname a little annoying, yet cute. It always made Baylee smile when she heard it. She sighed and looked up at the sky. Baylee stroked the flower and then looked at the Princess. "Who knows. I'm not too sure if the rumors are true, though. You know how's in the human form. People stretch the truth and make it seem like something or someone is much worse than it really is. Though, if he is, and he tries to hurt you, I won't hesitate to kick his sorry ass!", she said. Baylee scratched her head and felt her horns. She let out a sigh, remembering that she was in her elemental form. Her form started to glow for a few moments, then faded. After it faded, Baylee was in her human form. "My human form is much better, don't you think?", she said. Kiki yo smiled softly as she listened to Baylee speak to her. She fixed her dress and flatten her wings on the ground even though she was allowed to. Kiki yo looked at Baylee and spoke softly, "That is true, and I thank you, but I must say, I hope they are just rumors. I do not wish to be anywhere near violence anymore." she said softly fiddling with the hem of her dress. Kiki yo twitched her headings as she turned them towards her loyal friend. They really acted like ears since she never had ears of her own, Baylee started talking again about her human form, Kiki yo tilted her head and smiled softly. "You are perfect no matter what form you are in Lee-Lee. You are better looking than me that is for sure, but I consider everyone lovely no matter how tainted their heart or soul is." she said pricking another rose and stripped it of its thorns before blowing on it making the petals glow lightly and turn all white. "Appearance isn't important to me, only personality. I cannot judge someone on how they look, only by how they act towards me." Kiki yo said in a sort of cheerful voice and placed the rose behind her headings. "Sadly, there's not really many places that truly have no violence. I know that things are starting settle between us and Neutrals, at least. It'll be a bit more peaceful for us. Let's just hope Prince isn't too bad.," Baylee said, letting out a sigh. She looked at Tokyo and blushed a little. "Oh, don't say that! You're beautiful! I'm awesome an all, but I think you're prettier than I! You have such beautiful blue Harare! And you have awesome ass wings!", she said, patting the princess' shoulder. She stretched her arms and fell back, laying down in the grass. "Ha, I agree, but being good-looking is a plus!", she said with wink. Rex smiled to the thought about guarding his people "I understand we both be leave that we are doing the best for are people" Rex started to walk away when he stopped and turned "Luna I hope that guarding the prince is every thing to you because if it is, I will see you on the battlefield" Rex made his way outside moving down the mountain into range of his artillery guns "watcher Open I have returned. . It is time to go visit the princess you will accompany me there as a guard" Luna had observed the altercations between the prince and the general. She had a bad feeling in her stomach about this man, though she didn't know what it was about him that gave her that feeling. Watching as Rex left, his words repeated in her mind,"I hope that guarding the prince is everything to you, because if it is, I will see you on the battlefield." Did this man truly intending to shake her? His mark hadn't been met, but there was something in the way he had framed the sentence that was unsettling. Luna walked over to Carey, an almost emotionless expression had covered her face." I will protect you until the end of my life, my Prince." Luna told him, her sky blue eyes flashed in the sunlight as she reassured Carey of her oath. Carey Clenched his fists. "God dammit..... Is this it...... Is this really worth it!? "He called out to Rex, even though he knew that he couldn't hear him. Carey then thought of something. "Il see you on the battlefield......does that mean?......oh no...."he straightened up, and looked at Luna. "We must Get to the Dark light'n Kingdom. Now!" he said, ((anything good I should know about? I need a way to appear, but I can't figure out how.)) "I go where you go my Prince." Luna said with a bow." Just allow me to pack an adventure sack and I will meet you at the draw bridge. I will not be long." She turned and headed into the palace and to her quarters. Once there she packed a few packs of medical herbs, some dried fruit and meat, and a couple of defensive tools. Making haste as to not keep Carey waiting, she made her way to the bridge and waited for Carey. (Fix: Me and Goths's characters are in the garden. You can have your character visit them. C:) (:O Awesome! 3 I'm loving it so far! >: D) (Where is Happy's Charlie? o. O)Kai's morning wasn't quite as exciting as what had been transpiring at the moment. It started out like many of the others, with his usual regiment of training, which first included meditation rather than any physical activity like many others had. He believed personally that success in battle came down to not only skill but the balance of body and mind. As of late his mind had been a bit disturbed at the idea of having to come up with a possible strategy to fight against the kingdom's allies if the current plan were to fall through, but he knew if it was ordered of him he would follow through. The plight against the humans was another matter that he knew he would have to eventually sift through, and while it was going to be a bit of a challenge with the human's technology, it wasn't exactly one that he was too bothered with. With these thoughts floating around, Kai's meditation wasn't quite as gratifying nor peace bearing as he would have wished, which only made him continue to realize how much he truly needed it. His quest was soon interrupted however in a more physical sense as a feeling of a slight rise in temperature, a feeling of fire above and around, and the sound of a shout pierced his senses. He knew immediately the fire he sensed was not his own, but rather felt similar to the kingdom's Prince. Cracking a golden eye open and glancing towards the sky he noticed the fire seemed to form a sort of protective dome around what he believed to be the kingdom, causing a slight frown to spread across his brows. His attention soon turned towards the sound of the voice he had heard, recognizing it as a fellow knight's as he seemed to run almost frantically towards the red haired knight, yelling something about a human confronting the prince. This of coursed caused his frown to deepen slightly as he soon ushered a verbal command for the knight to calm himself and explain what exactly was going on. The 'report' was brief and to the point, with the help of Kai's verbal steering. From what he had gathered the one believed to be the human rebel leader had entered the kingdom and demanded to speak with the Prince, which was eventually granted. From there the details were a bit blurred as the knight had only overheard a bit of the conversation as he passed by, though from what was gathered it seemed the human wished for the Neutrals to surrender. The golden eyes slid shut soon after processing the information he had been told, before a question was posed towards him. Should the knights attack the human? It was a question that was soon answered with another question from Kai. Had any of the royal family issued an order to attack the human? When the other knight gave the negative answer the golden eyed one made it a point then that the answer should be obvious. No order had been issued to display aggression and thus there was no need. Plus a show of aggression within the Neutral kingdom could quickly lead to trouble to those in the kingdom outside the brewing war. His thoughts and slight conversation were soon interrupted again briefly as the feeling of fire above soon receded. With a slight sigh the red haired male decided it would perhaps be best to find out exactly what was going on himself. With a small thanks towards the other knight and pat on the shoulder, the golden eyed male soon left his chosen spot for meditation that morning, to find out exactly what was going on, a search that eventually led him towards the drawbridge for the simple reason being that if the rebel was still in the kingdom, activity would eventually reach that particular area. After all he didn't believe the human leader to be naive enough, nor suicidal to attack within an enemy's lands, without at least some form of back up or other soldiers with him. From what he had gathered from the other knight, the human had appeared to be alone, though Kai knew that there could have been some hidden humans somewhere within range just in case. The sight he was greeted with at the drawbridge when he fully arrived, however was not one he had been really expecting. Luna, the known guardian of the Prince, appeared to be waiting with a bag of what he guessed to be supplies of some sorts, though the reasoning was still rather unclear to him. "Going on a trip?" he calmly inquired, not really seeking detailed information in the simple question, but merely confirming what his eyes saw and mind pieced together. It was a curious sight after all for ones, he assumed the Prince too would be accompanying the water woman as the two were practically inseparable or at least were whenever the knight saw them, to be venturing out with a war and no accompaniment of knights. Not that he felt that it would be needed for either one, but it was still a fairly unusual sight. (happy is the mod) Rex was walking across the draw bridge he then saw the prince and two knights behind him "watcher we have company look's like the Neutral kingdom also wants to make a visit to them hurry up" Rex found him self walking up the steps to the other kingdom on his way up he was able to see the guardian where the princes was he made his way up to the princess removing his helmet he went to one knee "mam it is good to see you again" Rex stood up as he held his helmet at his side" I must speak to your family about the war" Rex new that the princess was more caring, but her bodyguard was not. In the training field, Gemini practiced hand-to-hand combat. She had spent time studying martial arts with the humans, and found that many of their styles suited her quite well. She had her hands wrapped in bandages to prevent serious damage. She punched a sandbag with the force of one twice her size sending it rocking back and forth. From there she completed a series of complicated flips, jumps and kicks, resulting in the breaking of several strategically placed wooden boards around her. Standing straight in the center of the circle, she faced west-the direction of the setting sun- and bowed. This marked the end of her training session for the moment. Each day when she began her training, she faced the east-towards the rising sun- and bowed. The directions were symbolic, sunrise indicating the beginning and sunset the end. Now, at close to noon, it was time for lunch and then a quick surveillance check around the perimeter of the palace grounds. With the Neutral prince scheduled to arrive soon, it was her main priority to make sure everything was safe. Gemini allowed herself a rare smile. Any would-be assassins would get a nasty surprise if they tried anything on her watch. Baylee shot up on her feet and glared at the man. She stood in front of The princess, keeping the man back. "Back off, pretty boy.", she barked. "You damn human... I should have detected you. I should have kept my guard up. Furthermore, I really don't care about what you want, but if you get to close to the princess and show any kind of threat to her, I'll rip you disgusting human head off your shoulders!". Baylee's arms started emitting a dark aura. A black blade started to form in her hand, made purely out of darkness. "Care to explain what you're actually here for. I doubt you're really here for a friendly chat." "Greetings Kai." Luna said nodding her head to the knight." Indeed,"she answered his question and adjusted the bag from her shoulder onto a more comfortable position on her back." Seem there are some matters in which the Prince wishes to attend to." She didn't want to reveal too much information, though she figured he didn't want much. Ears of the enemy could be anywhere and hidden ears have big mouths. Carey went to His Room, and Took off his Royal-donning. He then put on A Leather Tunic, Legging's, Braces, and picked up his Hide-shield, and a Steel Axe. He also Reached into His Drawer for the One thing He hid from his Parents. A .32 Pistol, a Gift from the Human world. He picked up the ammo, attached it to his side, took up a Bag of Supplies, and left the Castle. He Arrived Next to Luna in Record time. "It's time to get moving...."he looked towards Kai, and bowed. "I would be Honored if you Would Accompany us." Open's men had been busy securing the battlements while the Lord General was in council, so when his General returned, all men were at their stations, prepared for war." Watcher," a runner came up to him. "Lord Hound is on the horizon." Oren nodded to him, called his men to attention, called his adjutant to his side and made his way to the gate. When Lord Hound had arrived, Open saluted and fell in step beside his General." Watcher Open, I have returned. . It is time to go visit the princess. You will accompany me there as a guard."" Of course, sir.". He turned to his adjutant and motioned for some men to accompany them. Immediately they set off to escort their commander.------------------------------------------------Upon arrival in the palace, Open motioned for his retinue to remain outside and accompanied Hound inside. The hall was enormous and beautifully marbled in dark stone. Open found himself fighting to hold his head straight as his eyes gravitated to the frescoes and murals. Soon, however, he and his charge were before the princess. Following his commanders lead, Open knelt to one knee, but neglected to remove his helmet, his hand safely close to his sword's hilt. His eyes finally held straight ahead, and as his Lord General had his meeting, Open's gaze was fixed on the equally unforgiving glare the princess' bodyguard gave while his ears remained tuned to the room, keen for any disturbances. Rex looked at the guard "hmm smarter than you look no I'm here to speak about the battle to come I hope you don't mind that I brought one of my watchers" Rex did not know what to do about the bodyguard drawing her shadow blade. Rex moved his hand the scull on his chest slowly so no one attacked him he pushed down dropping the mechanical arms on his back to the ground then his axe "but I am leave it is only fair that my warrior should keep his weapon if yours keep's her" Rex new of the men just outside the kingdom, but he brought no hostility "my princess we both wish that no one die's in battle I'm only wishing that you agree with me" Rex remembered that they would have other gusts soon. (Ah I see, ok. ^.^)Kai's head nodded in understanding, wishing to push the matter no further as he had gotten the simple answer he had requested. "I see, well if there is anything you or the Prince needs do not hesitate to ask, I'll gladly comply" he quietly responded as he noted the shifting bag on Luna's shoulder. His attention was then drawn to the sudden appearance of the Prince. He gave a smaller bow then what was normally required for a knight to give in greeting to royalty for two particular reasons. The first being he didn't wish to draw attention to the fact the Prince was at the drawbridge as this seemed more of a 'secret' mission from the looks of it, and it could cause a stir within the Kingdom. The second being he was well aware of the Prince's opinion of getting the 'royal treatment'. The red haired knight was a bit surprised to find Carey's invite to accompany him and Luna on whatever business it was that the Prince had. "The honor would be mine" he replied, giving a small bow of the head as the corner of one of his golden eyes caught sight of someone casually passing by within the kingdom, though not paying much attention. His other eye caught the sight of movement further on, on the other side. From what he could tell they were not of the Neutral or Dark'Lighting kingdoms, which left only one option, humans. He had an inkling that they were perhaps involved with the Prince's business, however he didn't inquire, his duty was merely to fight and protect, not inquire the reasons why. Besides, he had feeling he would find out soon enough anyway if he was accompanying the two. "My Lord---," Watcher Open interjected when Hound dropped his harness and weapon. His hand instinctively went to his sword hilt, anticipating an attack from the undisciplined bodyguard. Over the comms in his helmet, Open could hear his adjutant stalling the Prince and his retinue as they tried to enter to the palace. Good man, Open smiled to himself at his adjutant's initiative. Just a little longer and we can be done with this. Oren keyed his adjutant's private comms so that those in the room with him could not hear him. "Adjutant, do what you can to keep them outside."" Aye, sir." Oren thought to himself for a moment, then added in afterthought, "And, Adjutant, maintain rules of engagement. Only attack if attacked. But if you are assaulted, you know what I expect of you."" Yes, sir." The adjutant sounded determined, but ready. There was a since of comfort that washed over Luna when Kai agreed to accompany them. Though she was very confident in her abilities, having a knight in their party would insure Carey's safety even more. His presence would sure drive away Thames and other hooligans they'd inevitably encounter." Let us be on our way." Luna said to the men as she turned and looked across the lowered bridge. She would take stride behind the men, keeping a keen eye out for assassins, traps and ambushes. With a last look over her shoulder, Luna scanned the small town that laid within the Castle walls. It was a simple dusty village with what seemed like thousands living within it. Closing her sky blue eyes, Luna said'see you later'to the town in her mind as she'd always done when she left with the prince. For her, it was good luck, a way of saying'yes, we WILL return'. Baylee watched the men for a few moments, then let the blade fade away. She put her hand on her hip and continued to watch them. "No one wishes for a bunch of people to be killed, but it was going to happen anyway when your people started up a damn war. We wouldn't be in this mess if you all weren't so bent on being in control. We were fine before all this shit.," she said, letting out an angered sigh. "Seriously, we've been protecting you all for the longest time, and then you start this?". Open shifted his weight, trying to hold his discipline as the princess' bodyguard continued to speak out of turn. Our people started the damn war? Oren smirked behind his faceplate. We are not their colony, nor will we ever be. Oren waited expectantly for his Lord to respond. "Open quiet Please" Rex didn't want a battle on their hands with both of the tribes "I'm sorry yes we were the one's that started to rebel but only because your people held us in oppression we had no other choice" Rex had no anger in his face when he said it but they knew how he felt about this war this was a stupid war and only a peace agreement or total death of one of them could stop it and they knew this as well. IOC: Just so people are aware, italics means my character is thinking (meaning your characters can't hear him, re: god modding) and talking into a comm means that unless you have a human helmet ON, your characters can't hear what is said (I'm looking at you here, Black_King). This means that no one in the room can hear Open giving orders to his soldiers outside, not even Hound, since his helmet is OFF. (I meet about you bringing up starting the war not the commands sorry) IOC: No one can hear anything about us starting a war. Besides, the opening background for this story says that we became self-supporting, and the others didn't like us being independent, making them imperialistic and us fighting for our independence. ((Hey guys? I think I'm going to drop out of this RP. I feel like I'm not needed, and I'm unable to really participate because everyone keeps going so far ahead.I'm sorry, I really like the RP, but I just can't find my place in it.)) (ok don't worry) (I think the actual cause of the war was more of a vendetta of the Neutrals rather than imperialism. From what I got they just wanted to torture the humans rather than rule over them. I might be wrong, but there may be a couple different interpretations depending upon how you read it, so I think it could really go either way. :sweat: WWW we could help you find a place Gemini if you want. :)) Carey wasted no time. "Lets move." he said. He ran across the draw-bridge, heading towards the castle. While he may not approve of the fact that he was supposed to marry this 'princess' just for the sake of this war, he would not leave them in the wake of destruction. If that Traitor was involved, then it was most likely trouble, not to mention the fear that was brewing in Carey's gut. Kai again nodded in understanding and agreement. After all if there was secretive business that the Prince needed to fulfill then the quicker it was done the better. Quickly he followed closely, though not so much to cause an unwanted collision, he followed after the Prince. The knight still wasn't entirely sure of their destination, but from what he surmised it was in the same direction as the humans rather far ahead of them were going. Possibilities and ideas of where they were heading and what the urgent business Prince Carey had run through his mind, though he dared not vocalize them. 'An ambush of the humans perhaps? No...if that were the case attacking them when they were near the Neutral border would have been when we struck. A spying mission perhaps then?... No. Although the number may be right but the direction and the fact that the humans could be seen rules that out...' he thought, tossing out ideas to himself mentally and dismissing them just as easily. It was only a few minutes into their journey that he realized the direction they were heading was in the direction of the Dark'Lighting Kingdom. This fact seemed to only add to the puzzle, though at the same time provided a few more pieces. 'A human attack on the Kingdom? If that were the case a signal flare would have been lit and more knights mobilized rather than just us three. I doubt it's the destined wedding day either for the Prince and Princess...we would have been informed, and I doubt there would be humans involved in that' he continued mentally as he again threw out ideas to himself and dismissed them. Despite his own mental debate he ensured that his attention was also portioned out to see hidden dangers that lay ahead. His golden eyes darting to the sides carefully before centering on the path before them. He was well aware of the presence of Luna behind him, and felt confident that she too was on the lookout for signs of danger that perhaps either he or Carey overlooked. He knew ahead there awaited at least one danger, the gathered humans. Furthermore, he wasn't entirely sure if either the Prince or Luna had noticed them before while they were on the drawbridge before. If not he knew it was his duty to inform the two of the danger, and if they did, he knew that he would need to know what course of action they were to take against it. Were they going to attack the humans or simply attempt to sidestep them?" There appears to be a group humans ahead of us. From the looks of it, it's nothing too terribly concerning of a threat from their number. What course of action are you wishing? Attack or avoid?" he asked as quietly as he could without risking the Prince not hearing him as he sped up to run slightly beside the other male. He assumed whatever the Prince had decided Luna already knew, leaving himself out of the loop. That was the only information he planned to fish for, since it was a bit of a necessity for him to know if he was running into a fight right away or not. Taking stride behind the two men aloud Luna the time to observe everything they were passing. Every stone in the road, blade of grass, wild flower and insect was given a pass over before she'd even passed it. Seeing Carey at the lead made Luna so proud to call herself his guardian and friend. His pride and strong demeanor showed his years of training and the wisdom he had learned from his many teachers. There was a group of humans ahead of them that Luna hadn't paid much attention to until Kai had mentioned them out loud. The threat was minor and at most would just be an annoyance if interaction was made. Luna was not a fan of humans as she'd only ever known them to be liars. A distaste for them ran threw her stomach as they drew nearer." Perhaps avoidance would be best my Prince." Luna said, quickening her pace to close the three-foot gap that had formed between her and the two men. Who ever these travelers where, the most likely had no business with the prince. [IMA wait for Gothic] (same career. I want to see if she's going to say anything) (I have to and Sorry what I meet is we did start it, but it's there fact) ((note to self don't get sick also don't expect people to slow down))Fine sat on her throne rubbing her eyes it had been a long day, and it was only going to get longer. She was a queen the ruling force of a place that for years had helped the humans survive, but the humans had turned on her and her kingdom as well as the other kingdoms. She really didn't mind the humans repelling they were just children trying to get out from under there overprotective parents violently, but the neighboring kingdom was trying to ruin the humans so now she had to once again protect them. It sucked really having to take a beating for humans, but she couldn't just let the neutrals destroy the humans. On top of that she was one o fhte the best fighters in the kingdom but with her husband off playing the big bad man she was stuck watching the castle and trying to keep there daughter from getting into trouble which was hard when her daughter was never in one place for long. "I need a break." she mumbled to herself as she defended from her throne to walk in the gardens. (This thread hasn't already died, has it? :sweat:) ((I fear so... We're all waiting for Gothic, and she hasn't been on)) (Should I ping her? It might help.) ((Yea, I think that's a good idea)) (Okay. Gothika_Knight: Gothic, will you please post? c the thread's dying, and you're really needed right now.) Open heard over the comm unit in his helmet his adjutant giving orders." Alright, soldiers, let's form a wall. No one gets through this door until the Watcher says so. Avoid combat if possible, but if you are attacked, I expect you to defend yourself."------------IOC: Remember, your characters cannot hear this dialogue. [Sorry, testing had me all last week, I'm going to make sure I can post as much as I can XD]Kiki yo smiled softly as she looked at Baylee and nodded slightly. She was going to speak up when she her a voice, a male voice. Kiki yo jumped to her feet and started shaking, it was Rex, the human general. He started talking about ending the war between Dark'Lighting, The Neutrals and the Humans. She gasped lightly seeing Baylee standing in front of her, protecting her like a guardian does. Kiki yo listened as the humans talked to Baylee and how she said that the humans started the war in the first place. Kiki yo hide behind Baylee and looked at the three as they spoke and then looked at Rex, "L-L-Lee Lee, m-m-may I SP-sp-speak pl-pl-please?" she asked as Kiki yo slowly walked around Baylee only to end up hugging her arm and looked at the humans. "E-E-Exactly, we-wh-what are you GE-ge-getting at? N-N-No one d-d-deserves to die nor have the choice to choose whether a war is to continue or n-not." she said in a soft and stuttered voice. Kiki yo figured that pretty soon the prince will be here and fear was crawling through her body, even though she tried her best not to show it. Suddenly, her choker started to glow lightly and softly, she looked down at it and gasped lightly "We-Wh-What is this? We-Wh-What's g-g-going on?" she panicked as she holds her choker tightly. "St-St-Stop g-g-glowing." she pleaded as the choker disobeyed the order. (lol, it's okay~ Hopefully I won't be static which my posts. My brain's a bit worked from the sinus pressure, so it's harder to think. XD;;)"Oppression? What, protect--", Baylee started to say, but was interrupted by the princess. She turned her head to Kiki yo, her glare turned into a small smile. She kept quite and let the princess talk while making sure the humans stayed back. When Kiki yo's necklace started glowing, Baylee started to become uncomfortable. She put her hand on Kiki yo's choker and watched for a few moments before she her gaze went to the humans. She let her hand fall to her side and stood up straight. Furthermore, she had let her guard down for just a moment; bad idea, especially around humans. Furthermore, she continued to watch them, but glanced at Kiki yo every few moments to make sure she was okay. Furthermore, she didn't really know what to do about the whole glowing choker, but there was really nothing she could do about it except stare at it. Open watched the proceedings from behind his helmet. The impertinent one was matched by the child-princess. But these are the peaceful group of the two, thought Open apologetically. He could hear the impending confrontation between his men and Prince Carey, and he wanted to get this over with before they were caught outnumbered and outgunned. If peace was possible, it had better happen before the Prince arrived. Oren looked sidelong at his lord, without moving his head, offering a silent prayer for this diplomatic mission. "We cannot Risk taking a Chance, but we must push forward. I don't want anything bad to happen to the Dark-light'n princess. It's my duty to protect her, and the Interest of her people. "He said, and charged forward. "I won't kill any of you, but I can't have you in my way!" he said, holding his hands up. Wind's pushed them out of the way, sending them far, and making them disoriented. Rex heard the gush of wind and turned to Open and then back to the princess "Princess you must choose who's side you are on now please" as Rex put on his helmet and opened a comm to his personal artillery gunner's "prepare the anti-elemental rounds now"." Yes Sir" Rex's personal troops started to load ammo that was used to hold back the enemy during there first assault on them. Rex looked over to Open "were leaving right now" Rex the looking at the princess reattached his much arm's and picked up his axe "you have two days to decide before we declare you a hostile to the rebellion I'm sorry it had to end like this mam" Rex turned and made his way to the bridge as he says the prince charging through there men "MEN GET ON YOUR FEET WE ARE FALLING BACK INTO ARE LAND" Rex watched as his men made there way back Rex then started to stare at the charging prince. Baylee pushed the princess back softly and stood back in front of her. She stayed quite and watched the humans for a few moments. When they left to attack the Prince, Baylee turned to the princess. "What do you want me to do? I will not leave you, but I can get some guards to help out the prince. It's your decision.," she said. Luna nodded to the travelers as she passed them behind Carey and Kai. From the tree line that quickly approached, the feeling of being watched haunted Luna for a moment. The threat was minimum but anyone who might be watching them was always a potential threat. She kept on guard as their small group headed towards the Dark'lighting's palace. The guardian's suspicion was well deserved; as within the canopy of a large tree just behind the boarders of the forest and the Neutral Kingdom's fields, a brown haired girl watched as the prince and his fallowing companions headed in her direction. Their coming right to me, this is going to be a cakewalk. Hanna thought to herself as she remained crouched down in the leaves of the tree. Kai nodded his head in understanding, though he was still a bit doubtful of the approach decided. From the information he had just heard the Prince's business had something to do with the Dark-Lighting princess. A slight frown appeared on the red haired male's face, as this situation could prove to be rather...tricky. If handled incorrectly and if the princess did end up harmed in some way it could prove disastrous in more ways than one, as she was one of the keys to a peace treaty once more between the Neutral and Dark'Lighting kingdoms. His pace once more fell somewhat behind Carey, but not enough that he couldn't immediately provide cover for him if it was needed. He was both surprised and yet not that the Prince managed to part the humans that appeared ahead with only wind and without really harming any of them. Though what surprised him more seemed to be the sight of a human shouting they were to retreat and then simply stare at the Prince. His own guard was up, causing his body temperature to rise slightly, as he wasn't entirely trusting that the humans would simply retreat without attempting a hit of some sort or at least a bit of retaliation. Again he changed his pace so he could again shout comfortably without being overheard too much by the humans. "Shall a send a signal to pursue?" he asked calmly, prepared to do whatever would be decided. By a signal he was mainly referring to him sending up a burst of flame into the sky that one of the tower guards in the Neutral kingdom would be able to see even from such a distance. The 'message' would then be sent towards the knight squads to assemble and pursue any suspicious persons or groups passing near the kingdom, which was a likely chance considering it was one of the few available paths on foot to the human realm. The yells of surprise from his men caught Open off guard. He raised his gauntleted hand to his helmet, eschewing all pretense of caution. "Adjutant! What is happening?!" Only the sound of hurricane winds met him in response." We're leaving right now," Rex told his guard. Open responded instantly, glad for his commander's urgency. Offering one last glance at the princess' bodyguard, he pulled his sword free and dashed in front of his Lord just as they exited the palace. At first glance, Open saw his men cast about and the Prince dashing toward them. Expecting treachery, Open advanced in attack stance, left arm raised and sword arm ready for attack. Meanwhile, Open motioned for his recovering troops to guard the general on his retreat, placing his adjutant in command in his stead. Broadcasting his speech to the outside now, intent that everyone should hear him, Open said, "My Lord, I am your rearguard. If this... Nuetral...intends any treachery this day, he shall not succeed." Eyes fixed on the advancing attackers, Watcher Open stepped forward. Rex looked at Open "we must make haste only engage if engaged" Rex started to walk down the stairs glancing at the princes bodyguard with the same look he gave the before "watcher I understand what you're trying to do but leave them for now" Rex found him self walking right past the prince "remember what I said". "Yes, Friend...." He stopped for a moment, and looked at the two. "By my Right as Heir to the Royal Family, I deem you both Centurions. Should you choose to Accept, You will be given all the Privileges that a Centurion is given. I'm Positive I can trust both of you with my life, to the End of Oblivion."he said. "Let us make haste."he said, running as fast as he could. When he passed the Rebel, he looked at him. "You to, old friend." he said, then walked towards the Castle. His ring grew absently Kiki yo watched as the humans left to go against the prince. She sat there trying to hold up her courage, but it came crashing down with a heavy thud. She looked at Baylee and slowly shook her head, "Courage is something that I am not born with Lee, fear is something that is formed." she said, it really didn't anything to do with her question, but she felt that she had to say something. "Choosing a side is not easy for me. I can not go that even if I tried. My friend, I am sorry, but we must depart. We must run away. The humans nor the Neutrals can not do anything without my decision and no one but you know how I truly feel, they will have to find me if they need me..." she said softly as Kiki yo opened her wings and a large Light and Dark Barrier slowly started to surround the Kingdom, distracting them long enough to allow Kaylee and Kiki yo to use the secret passage way to escape the kingdom of Dark'Light. ((XD I'm confused on where we are... how are we already at the dark-lighting palace?)) (Andrews, you make it seem like the kingdom is only across the street. You can't be there already. Edit the post please? May be boring for you to go through the trip and all, but you can't just have your character jump to the dark'light kingdom.) Baylee closed her eyes and sighed. She didn't want to leave the kingdom, but she couldn't leave the princess to go by herself. No, she couldn't let her friend go by herself. She wanted to protect Kiki yo and be with her. Baylee opened her eyes again and nodded at the princess. She did understand why the princess wanted to leave. Honestly, she didn't blame her for wanting to leave. Baylee wouldn't be able to stand the pressure and marry some dude she doesn't even know. She held out her hand, "Lets god, Kiki yo.". IOC: Actually they could. You're just assuming their posts were occurring at exactly the same time as yours. :) (True...didn't think about that. DDD) (Is it safe to assume now then that all issues have been resolved regarding where we are and how we got there? Or are we still needing to wait before we can post? Don't really want to post something and then have to completely change it because someone else changed their post. :sweat:) (I'm...not to sure, honestly. I know the princess and Baylee should be gone before the prince should have arrived, but um...yeah, not sure. Depends on what Andrews and Gothic say, honestly.) (Alrighty then, I'll just continue to wait then until we've got the clear ok. :sweat:) (haha, sorry you have to wait. ^^;;) (It happens. I guess it'll just give me time to work on my own role-play for now. :sweat:) ((I would post, but I'm still so confused. I have yet to see the post be edited, so I'm still at a loss of what to post.)) (Andrews: please reedit your post so that this thread may continue please) (there. I think that will help a bit) (Andrews: it's perfect, thank u. Arechi:Moroccan:INAMI:The-Black_King:Honourguard:post may continue and again, enjoy posting and remember. The Castle of Dark'Light and the Castle of Neutral are far apart, about the size of Japan, if the shortcuts then it may be shorter. Please continue posting as plan) Kai paused in his footing when the Prince did, mainly to avoid running into him. He nodded his head in understanding when he received the confirmation to send up a signal, and allowed his right arm to suddenly be engulfed in flames to be fired up. He started to raise his arm up, though again paused in his actions when Carey spoke again. For a brief moment a frown crossed his face at the sound of the new title. He and his family had served the royal family and the kingdom as knights for many generations, and as far as he could remember there none in the kingdom that held the title that was offered." If that is what you wish, then I'll oblige, and I am honored" he replied with a small bow, still uncertain exactly what this new rank would truly entail. He wasn't really one to question any in the royal family, at least not out loud, unless it meant possible harm to not only themselves but the kingdom as well. He nodded again, in agreement, that they should make haste and quickly continued the raising of his arm. The fire that encircled it almost violently, shot into the sky at a rapid pace, almost exploding just as violently in the shape of a large bird once it reached a certain altitude. With the size and height he was certain that at least a few of the tower guards at the Neutral kingdom would see it, or at least a small portion of it despite the large distance. The flames continued to grow almost on their own, mainly as a safeguard just in case it needed to be a bit larger. A part of him was relatively grateful that such signals were codes known only to those in the Neutral kingdom, to others it might merely look as if he had merely created some form of artwork in the sky instead. Once that was done his gaze turned back slightly towards Luna, waiting a few moments before following after the Prince. From what he had gathered they had both just been named the same rank, though whether it was a demotion or promotion for one or both of them he wasn't sure. He was curious as to what her thoughts were on the matter, though it would have to wait until later. He moved again, keeping the same sort of distance that he had before between him and Carey as he had before. Fallowing her prince, Luna listened and considered the title as her own, though she knew she could not accept for her own reasons. There was no reason to expand on the idea, there were more important matters at hand." My Prince, I thank you greatly for the offer, however it is not my place or rank. I am to serve as your guardian and keep you safe. Such is the vow that binds my services to you." Luna did not make eye contact with the man but continued to watch in all directions. She could feel something wasn't right among the forest though she had no evidence as to what it might have been. In the canopy of the trees, fallowing behind the group, Hanna fallowed and watched as the progressed towards the Dark-Lighting Kingdom. She would wait, and take her time with this mark. Attacking a group with a man whom she'd just seen send a fire signal into the sky would be a suicide mission, and she knew it. Biding her time would be stressful, but it was in her own interest. (Ok I'm just going to come out and ask it, can't the group heading to the Dark'Lighting kingdom just be there already? I know people want us to do the whole journey thing, but I feel like I'm the only one that has noticed something. The humans have traveled to the Neutral kingdom, gone back to their kingdom, gone to the Dark'Lighting kingdom, and have just passed our characters all the while walking. Our characters have been at a dead run except for that one little pause just now. Does anybody else see the controversy of this at all? If no one else is willing to point out the elephant in the room I will. :sweat:) (that's right...none of us pointed it out. E__e They have kinda zipped back and forth rather quickly... Maybe the humans have special transportation abilities....?...yea aah, no. Even I don't get why we didn't get onto them. I think we jumped on Andy because the princess was about to run away, and he got there immediately.) (I didn't see it posted anywhere about special transportation abilities, from what I gathered they were walking. :sweat: And although that may be, but if you look at the past posts it's sort of been indirectly stated we were already there. And again if you look Andrews hadn't technically said we were there until after the humans passed by him and leader whispered to him right as the humans were leaving the palace. So I don't think it was really his fault, or really anyone's since we didn't know at the time how far apart the kingdoms were and making educated guesses, for posting before that we were there. This has also sort of backed us into a corner you know? There's nothing really for the Neutrals then to interact with. People jumped down people's throats when stated we were there, the humans already passed by us, there's a human stalking us in the trees but hasn't really made her presence fully known since she's hiding from us in the trees. There's nothing really left except for us to run towards the palace, which equates to about a sentence or two for a post. I mean I guess we could talk to some squirrels or something while we're running, not that any of us can understand them. :sweat: A time skip isn't really fair since I think we're traveling faster than the humans did by running compared to their walking. I will say I did mention this in a pm, mainly because I didn't really want to post here and possibly start a fight. The only reason I'm posting it here now is simply for the fact I have no idea where we can really go from here, or where exactly we are. So I'm going to offer the solution to just say we're now. This will let us continue, this will let someone who wishes to post their intro be able to without having to talk to nothing but thin air since the Princess and her guardian are gone. The queen went into the garden, but was sort of ignored so she hasn't really posted again for a while since she no longer really has anyone to interact with until either we arrive or until the character Lucian able to come into the picture with the upcoming intro, but then if the queen post again, then that sort of leave him out in space with no one, which is no fun. So Happy, Goth I implore you please help us with some resolution to this issue. Otherwise, I'm just sitting here giggling like a maniac, while I type, with nothing else to do. :sweat:) (Yeah, I think that's a good idea...they'll be gone and you guys will be there. Much easier. I don't want people being ignored or left behind, so I agree that it'd be best to just move it along like that. Though, if you want to talk to some squirrels, then go ahead because I'd enjoy reading that. XD Reminds me of how my family talks to the cats...but uh, yeah, let's wait for Goths and happy. We can giggle together while we wait! ((I wanted to use the girl in the trees but when it was posted the group of three was already at the castle I had to kind of write around that. I'd be happy to just push her off to the side for now, and just moving forward with this thread if that's what's needed. Besides, I may be able to find a better way to bring her in other than flat out confronting the prince, guardian and knight.)) (Here, maybe this could help?) Cyrax looked at Luna, and slightly shuffled his feet. He then took a deep breath, and spoke what was on his mind. "Maybe.... Maybe I should Use Alchemy. "He said, speaking of the Forbidden art. "We are short on time, and if we don't hurry, I fear the forest my happen......I'm willing to go to the Extreme to Defend our allies, Even if it means risking my body and soul "he said to her. "My Prince, I cannot allow you to willingly place you're own well-being in danger." Luna said, almost angry at him for suggesting such a dangerous thing. She understood his desire to protect the innocents lives by moving as fast as possible, but his hastiness worried her." I will do all that I can to serve you're will my Prince, please do not be so haste, I believe the Princess is in very capable hands and her kingdom's folk are as loyal to her as I to you. Her people will keep her safe until our arrival. If I may, perhaps I may offer my water services and quicken our pace in a less forbidden and dangerous manner." From a canteen on her hip, Luna pulled a bit of water and formed it into a ball in the palm of her hand. The ball split into four forms, three became human figures the last a wave of water." If we can fashion a boat, a tsunami should carry us swiftly to the draw bridge."((Please let me know if I need to edit this... I'm still confused on whether their already at the kingdom or not.)) (Well it solves one problem of giving us something to work with, though it still leaves the person wanting to post their intro with no one to interact with at the moment. :sweat: That said I'm willing to change my post as well if need be.) Kaji had to disagree with the Prince's choice of actions as well. He agreed with Luna that it was a bit too reckless, after all what would be the point of protecting one's allies if when you arrived you were injured or harmed or possibly even destroyed? "I'd have to agree. It's a bit too risky. Besides Luna's right the Princess's people will ensure her safety, just as the people of the Neutral Kingdom shall ensure yours. Moreover I highly doubt that if something had happened to the Princess that the humans would be getting away without pursuit or not still engaged in battle" he calmly replied, hoping to further discourage the dangerous idea Carey had. Moreover there were other ways for their travel speed to pick up. His gaze then shifted towards the Neutral female as she suggested her own idea. Of course being one who worked with fire, transportation with water wouldn't be the best for him, though he had other ways. His elemental or true form contained wings possible for flight, so he knew he could personally travel that way. There was one concerning factor however to the plan, for it to work they would need more water than what the canteen could possibly offer. "A boat or raft wouldn't be difficult to fashion from the surrounding trees and vines, and shouldn't take too long. The only concern I might bring up is that amount of water required for such a plan would probably require more than what we currently have available. Though you may be able to draw it out of the air" he stated, posing his concern about Luna's plan though offering a solution. The concern of Kai was amusing to Luna. Such a fire master to not understand the extent of how much moisture was around them all the time, but at the same time, Luna also considered the alternative. As a fire master, he surely had to be aware of how much liquid was around him, he wouldn't be able to control his element if he didn't, right? With a nod, she put the ball of untouched clean water back into the canteen." The air today is particularly moist, and with concentration, I should be able to reuse the water we spend on getting the wave to push us along. That is, if the suggestion sits will with you, my Prince." Luna finished her sentence and turned her attention to Carey to get his feedback on the matter. Within the trees, Hanna had taken notice of the small group stopping. Now was her chance to strike. As quite as an owl's flight, Hanna jumped from the tree and landed silently. She began to seek threw the tall wild grass towards the group thinking she was being silent still. Hanna was a good stalker, but she was still young and in experienced, her skills where still rather novice and only any good on small game prey and the occasional deer. Surely she'd be heard before she got there. In a flash, Luna darted across the path she and the two men had been conversing on. She quickly lifted Hanna from the brush and pinned her to a tree." State your business girl!" Luna said in a stern tone, her eyes narrowed into a glare." I... I..." Tahanna couldn't say she was attempting to rob them, and as a human she stood no chance in trying to attack three members of the Neutral Kingdom." You see, I... well... Uhm..."" Spit it out." Luna demanded of Hanna." I WISH TO SERVE PRINCE CORAL!" Tahanna shouted the lie without completely thinking of what she was saying. The white haired guardian raised an eyebrow as she stared down the brown eyes brunette. Luna shifted her attention to her prince to see how he wished to progress with the matter of the that. Carey, beat down, knew he'd be over-ruled. "Alright, we will go with your idea, Luna. "He said, but when the New-comer Appeared, He was Surprised to her that the Girl wanted to serve him. He knew he had friend's in the Human world, but he didn't think this would be the Extent of how far they would go. Then again, this didn't add up really, but He knew better than to deny help. "You can Fallow with us if you wish. If, by journeys end, you still wish to be with us, that choice will be yours to make" he said. Kai calmly nodded as Luna reaffirmed the idea of using water from the air, though he wasn't entirely sure it was necessary. He was aware of the moisture in the air, that being one of the few reasons that the solution had been offered. Although the plan secures there was still risk, but it was far less than the one presented with the Prince's previous plan. "I'm sure though between you and the Prince it shouldn't be too hard to accomplish. The only thing to keep in mind is to not draw too much out of the air. Drawing it out will naturally make the temperature of the air rise, and if too much is drawn out this area could become highly susceptible to fire. Even a small spark or something with an equally high temperature could set things off. Being this is a forest and the amount of greenery around a fire could spread out of control just like that" the red haired male quietly stated, snapping his fingers, making his words of warning a bit more meaningful as his eyes retained a look of seriousness." Not that it would be too difficult to manage, it would just divert my own attention for a bit" he said with a small half shrug. He knew he could easily control such a thing, after all fire was his main element. A bit more concerning would be the amount of focus that would be diverted away from protecting the Prince, though he knew Carey wouldn't go down easily anyway due to his massive power, but it was still a bit of a concern in the back of Kai's mind. Once the Prince fully agreed to the plan, the golden eyed male once more procured fire around his arm, intending it to use it to take down a few trees while the moisture was still high in the air. He paused however when Luna dashed and pinned what appeared to be a human girl, the fire all but settling down to a smaller flame. A fine red eyebrow rose slightly at the rather harsh sounding demands and the shouted reply. What surprised him further was the Prince's willingness to accept the human to travel with them and decide at their destination if she truly wished to continue on with them. It seemed only moments ago they were concerned about the humans, from what he had gathered, and yet here was one that had technically just been accepted to tag along if she wished. He did a quick side glance towards Carey, a bit uncertain of the decision, though any protest he may have had remained silent. If the Prince wished to trust the girl then he would not question it, though her presence did make the concern for the Prince's well-being come forefront to his mind. For now, he would let the issue slide, though he would be careful to keep a close eye on the girl, especially when in the air. Settling on that mentally he once more increased the flames around his arm and directed them towards a few trees that were a safe distance away, and began concentrating them around particular points in the trunks. The wood splintered around the area as it burned before the fire cut through them enough to cause them to topple over. He then manipulated the flames away from the base they had burned, and instead focused them on removing problematic branches in the same manner until, only the trunk remained within a sea of fallen branches. He then called the fire back, allowing it to once more circle his arm as smaller flames. "Would you prefer a raft, boat, or simply three 'canoes' tied together?" he inquired towards the Prince and Luna. By stating three, he somewhat made his intentions of traveling airborne known as they would be made for the Prince, Luna and the human girl that the guardian had pinned. He still wasn't entirely sure about the human girl, but he figured the questions he wished to ask her himself could wait, since beforehand Carey had made it rather clear that time was of the essence at the moment. Eyeing the human with detest, Luna let her down from the tree and pushed her towards the road. She wasn't too happy to have her joining the group, lying humans never were any good news." State your name girl." Luna said from behind the girl." Tahanna." She answered, her voice was meek, and her eyes stayed low. She knew that one slip up could very well mean the end of her life." If you are joining us then you will do so as my ward." Luna said still scowling at the brunette." My word is your order, only the Princes is to say otherwise, understand?" Her tone was still harsh and deep until Luna turned her attention from the girl to the males of the group. Luna didn't like to be such a hard ass, but in situations such as this, there was no such thing as being too careful. Carey glared at Luna, and confronted her. "Luna, you know better than to Be this harsh on humans. Its reason's like that that make them Detest us in the first place. Though I may not Fully trust this girl, for her motive's remain hidden to me, I will not Tolerate any Mistreatment towards her. She is one of the first humans to actually Consider becoming an Ally to us, let's not Squander that. "He said to her, his voice an Ice tone. Everyone Knew his Attitude towards mistreatment of humans. Kai remained quiet through the rather harsh exchange that occurred first between the human, who said her name was Hanna, and Luna and then the Prince's icy reply towards Luna's treatment towards the human. Calmly his eyes closed and arms crossed across his chest. The fire that had been circling one arm merged over to encompass the other once it came in contact with it. He felt the air a bit tenser than previously, to the point he felt he could almost cut it with a sword. "If I may be as so bold to suggest, perhaps for the time being I'll keep an eye on her, just until your business with the Dark'Lighting kingdom is finished my Prince, unless you decide otherwise. It will also prevent stress on you Lady Luna during this time" the knight calmly suggested, opening his eyes that held an equally calm look. He wouldn't be harsh with the human, disciplined though not harsh. He'd be able to keep a careful eye on her, while still ensuring Carey's safety, without being smothering. Furthermore, he was used to balancing his attention, after all being a higher knight that was commonly placed on the battlefield it became a requirement. Not only did he have to ensure his own safety, but he had to also look out for his fellow knights. He wasn't entirely sure how Luna would cope with looking after the human and protecting the Prince, after all her main duty was his protection first and foremost and adding onto that might turn out a bit too stressful for her in his own opinion. As he quietly waited for the responses towards his suggestion, he too awaited the answer to the question of what sort of water craft they desired. He thought perhaps three separate canoes tied together would be best with the current issue at hand. It would ensure that the human would still be able to travel with them, while hopefully giving the security that Luna would need that the Prince was safe so she could focus on her task at hand. Plus he would be surveying from above to prevent possible fires from the dry air could cause, while being able to watch the party for any attacks, be it from within or outside of it. [[I need 2 find out if anyone is still interested, King and Honourguard vanished]] (Yup. I am. I'm just a little confused as to what's going on right now. XD;; I don't know about the others, though) (I'm still interested, and I know Mars has been waiting very patiently for an opportunity to post his intro. Anyone else I'm not sure about. :sweat:) (Mars is the one with the sexy character.../melts from the sexy bishi pictures/) (Lol haha well I'll take that as a compliment madam :)) Carey's words made Luna feel about as tall as an ant. She hated being scolded by him, especially when he didn't understand why she'd behaved the way she had. Bowing on one knee, Luna looked at the ground with shame filled eyes." My Prince... I apologize. Lord Kai, you are wise... I will leave the girl to you for now." Luna stood but dared not raise her eyes from the point on the path they'd fallen." I will begin collecting the water we will need to hasten out journey." The water bending guardian spun on her heal and walked back towards the Neutral kingdom a few paces before she began pulling small amounts of liquid from the trees and air around her. She made sure to collect the shameful tears from her face before they could be seen." Please sir," also feeling quite small, Hanna looked up into the prince's eyes, her own eyes begin him not to punish Luna for the way she'd treated her. Her actions were understandable, after all she really was a rebel that." If I may ask you, please do not fret. She obviously cares a great deal for you. No harm was done, an desires to serve you still remain strong and true." (guy's I don't know if Anders told you this, but I'm having to drop out for a bit work birthday's and Easter are hardly letting me on :'(sorry) Prince Carey looked at Luna, then at himself in the water that was collecting. He then looked at the girl, and started mentally kicking himself. He knew that Luna was just trying to think what was best for him, but he let his Emotions Run him, instead of his Rationality. He walked up to Luna for a moment. "I'm sorry....."he said to her, and started Adding with gathering the water. He liked using his Abilities to be able to help, instead of destroy. A nod from Luna's head to let him know that she'd heard him and accepted the apology without her saying a word. There was nothing to be said, she shouldn't of been so abrupt with the human girl. Soon, Carey and herself had collected enough water to set the tree logs in. But the question still remains, raft of canoes?" How should we proceed my Prince? Do we make a raft for three or individual canoes? If I may offer, I believe a raft would be quickest and easiest to manipulate in the tides." Luna said holding the water in a giant ball just above the dry dirt. If she broke concentration, the whole collection process would have to being again. Tahanna, who had taken a place standing beside Kai, watched as the two Neutral masters gathered moisture. She felt out of sorts, what was she doing? Was she really going to serve this prince now? Signs pointed to yes, at least for the time being. In the back of her mind, she was still screaming. Perhaps this was the perfect way to get back at the kingdom that took her family and the clan they used to live with. (Mars! :Glop:)Kai nodded his head in understanding as Luna agreed to leave the girl in his care, though it would still require the official 'ok' from the Prince. A frown slightly spread across his features as the water elementals seemed to have a sort of dejected look, that he guessed was due to the 'harsh' lecture that Carey had given her. A part of him could understand, though a part of him couldn't help but question if such a reaction to a lecture was really appropriate. After all it wasn't as if the Prince had denounced her or anything. Those thoughts however were ones he wasn't willing to verbalize, since it could start something unnecessary. Quietly he watched as the Prince soon followed after the shamed looking guardian and apologised for his harshness. Again the fire knight chose to keep his thoughts to himself and instead slid his gaze over towards the human female that was now standing near him. He still had his own suspicions about her and her motives, but for now he would simply let it slide and merely observe. His attention shifted for a moment when the question of which water craft they would desire, be it three canoes or a raft. He had to agree that a raft would probably be easier to manage then three canoes, though the canoes would allow them a bit more space apart just in case things were not as they seemed." I should probably have asked this a bit sooner, but how are you with water traveling Miss Hanna?" he calmly asked, feeling that it could end up being an important factor in determining what would be used. If she had reservations about traveling by water he knew he could offer a more aerial way to travel, though only if it came down to it. Flying, ensuring fires didn't rage or flare up, helping ensure the Prince's safety, and having to balance a human wasn't entirely an easy task, but he was certain he'd be able to somehow pull it off. "I would Think separate Canoes would be best, Luna. If the enemy were to spot us, they would have to make a Choice on who to hit, which would buy us some time. Also, it would be harder to hit several smaller targets, then one large target."he said to her, thinking Strategic. Hanna jumped when Kai addressed her. The sight of two Neutrals manipulating water like this left her in a state of awe. The human girl had almost forgotten that there was a third elementals standing just in front of her and didn't expect him to speak to her so easily." Oh... um... don't fret for me. I've never traveled by water but always wondered what it would be like." The busty brunette said as she adjusted her quiver of arrows on her back, causing the bow she also was wearing on her back to sit a little more flush with her spine. With a nod, Luna agreed and looked over her shoulder to Kai and the human. She was fairly certain they'd heard what Carey had said so she didn't feel the need to repeat his words to them. Luna listened to what Kai had asked the girl and then to her response. Hanna, to Luna, seemed like a very head strong and cocky girl; she couldn't help but wonder why this human was so full of herself. "Would you two mind beginning to hallow out some tree logs for cannons? If you could, make two, one for the Prince Carey and one for the girl. I won't be needing one." Luna said almost with a frown. It was becoming more and more obvious to her that to pull this off she was going to have to use more power than she could muster in this form. Closing her eyes to focus, and while still holding the water just above the ground, Luna began her transformation into her true form rather than her elemental form. Her white hair grew long, and then darkened to a deep sea blue color. Large angelic wings sprouted from her shoulders, white at the top fading into a dark blue that matched the tone that her hair now took. Black tattoos of power binding appeared up her arms and finally the transformation was compleat." I'll take to the sky with Kai, it will be easier to control the water from an Arial angel. This is you're chance girl." Luna said now able to turn around. The water seemed to be levitating by its self now." Keep Prince Carey safe!" Carey looked at Luna, then Reached around is neck. He pulled out a Saracen amulet, which he found during a Tour in Eastern Europe. He found that the Amulet held property's that Increased the Energy of a Bearer. Furthermore, he then placed it around Luna's neck. "This amulet has saved me Many times. May it prove useful to you...."he said, and put his hands on the Amulet, whispering. "Keep her safe today." In a sort of Prayer voice. He then started hallowing out a tree. Kai calmly nodded his head as Hanna said she didn't mind traveling by water. "Very well. If you find however that you're uncomfortable with it at any point in the journey simply let me know. I'm sure Prince Carey would be willing to send up a signal if you ask him" the fire knight said, allowing a calming smile to briefly appear on his face. For now, he was willing to give the human girl a chance, and so felt showing such would help make her feel a bit more comfortable, if she felt uncomfortable that was. He wasn't sure if she was aware her race had declared war on the Neutrals or not, but he figured if she didn't then she would soon enough. Hearing that a decision had been made of what craft that would be used he immediately set to working on one, seeing as the prince started working on one. Once more he allowed the fire that had been calmly circling his arms to leap out towards the trunks he had previously felled. With a few flicks of his wrist he manipulated the fire to burn through a particular section of the trunk, carefully monitoring just how deep the fire burned. It required a fair amount of concentration, since water had been sucked from the surrounding area and the fire was given rather excellent fuel. It wasn't either long before he finished with the first trunk. His attention turned slightly towards the Prince as he called back and calmly smothered the flames with his hands. He thought it interesting that the Prince giving her an amulet that would also help, and also though about perhaps giving Carey a hand, though he also didn't wish to accidentally burn him either. Instead, he shifted his attention towards Luna who had shifted forms, which he figured would also help her concentration and allow her a better access to her powers. Taking a glance back towards Carey he decided he should probably shift forms as well, since the work was almost done. Closing his eyes he quickly called forth his flames once more, however instead of commanding them to another object he had them engulf himself. Fire swirled, though was careful not to get too close to Hanna so as not to burn her. The glasses that had adorned his eyes in his human form soon burned away as he too decided his true form would be the best option, least he needed to swoop down and offer the human girl and aerial lift if she found water travel too unbearable, plus it was the form that had the least radical changes. His hair color, length, and eye color remained the same, and for that he was thankful. What did change were his clothing, the sharpened nails on his fingers and the wings that sprouted with feathers a red so dark they could be mistaken for black without careful inspection or just the right light source? Once the change was complete the flames that had circled him quietly died down until nothing of them remained. "Would you like some assistance?" he asked the Prince in regard to finishing making the canoe, as he wasn't entirely certain just how far he had gotten. (So, umm. . . I guess you three are the only ones who're going to post, huh?) ((Unfortunately it appears so at the moment Mars. As a spy, maybe your character could interact with them in the forest? Perhaps he could mistake their actions as intent to harm the Princess? Just trying to involve you because I'd like to see your character in action!)) Luna fought desperately to not blush when Carey placed the amulet around her neck. What a kind gesture! Her heart started beating out of chest, it was so loud she could have sworn her could hear it. The water she held up began to lose for, but as quickly as she'd let herself be distracted she regained her composure and resteadied the mass. Nodding in understanding, Hanna watch amazed as Kai used his elemental abilities to hallow out a log and transform it into a cannot. She had never seen powers like these used for positive things, only destruction. Beginning to question her beliefs about the Neutral Kingdom, Hanna lost track of whatever it was she was supposed to be doing. (I'm waiting for Goths. My character, unfortunately, is someone who's just about always near the princess, so my posting depends on the person whose role is the princess. Soon, yeah....) Carey hallowed the first of his canoe's. It had little space, but provided great durability. "Here's the first one. "He said, pushing it towards the group. He looked at the ring on his finger, and took it off, placing it in his pocket. He really didn't like to think about his forced marriage. Things where beginning to fall together perfectly, and soon they'd be ready to push forward. Luna decided now was a good time to take to her Arial position." My Prince." Luna said as she spread her large wings and looked up to the sky." It's nearly time we left this place. If we dwell much longer we may attract thieves and other hooligans." Begining to flap her wings, Luna lifted from the ground with swirls of dust around her ankles. In a moment she was more than ten feet from the ground and heading to the head of the water mass. (oh crap, I just noticed something.....my guy has wings ! His true form, anyway. I didn't notice that)Carey looked at Luna, and raised his hand, almost like to reach up and grab her. "By the god's that watch over us....... Make sure she returns home safety. "He said, dropping his hand. He then felt his body pulse, and clutched his chest, wincing as he got into his Canoe. Kai, noticing that the prince had finished whittling out his canoe, set forth to make the final preparations to the canoes. Glancing around quickly with his golden gaze, he located a few sturdy looking vines. Using his flames once more he made quick work at removing them from the trees that they hung from. Just because they made two different crafts didn't mean they had to be completely separated from one another, plus he figured it would be easier on Luna if they were at least bound together in some way. Seeing the water guardian take flight, the red haired knight quickly gathered the fallen vines and set about tying some together into a few makeshift 'ropes' and proceeded to wrapping and sliding a few of the ends around one canoe, before proceeding towards the other and doing the same. His gaze had caught the sight of the Prince's wince out of the corner of one eye, and caused him to pause in his work. "Are you alright?" he asked, his tone dropping to a sort of quiet murmur so as not to alarm either of their female companions. Be it his human or true form not much escaped the almost piercing golden gaze, especially when now when the Prince's safety was one of his top priorities. If it came down to it, he wouldn't hesitate to suggest Carey return to the Neutral kingdom, or if it came down to it force him back, and allow either himself or Luna to continue on. He was fairly sure the Prince knew this as well, and lying to the knight would not bode well. He was aware power-wise the Prince could easily outmatch either Luna or himself, but if the two of them worked together they could perhaps wear Carey out just enough to get him back, though not without possible risk to themselves of course. To continue to not alarm Luna or Hanna, he turned his attention briefly towards the human girl. "Remember if you feel at any time you're uncomfortable traveling in the water, you need only to signal, and we can accommodate you with aerial travel" he said, allowing a small and faint yet friendly smile to flash on his face. IOC: Oh, I would like to stay in the thread. I thought it had died. You guys kind of blindsided my storyline with the whole "distance is bad" thing. And now that King is gone I'll have to rework it again. On the plus side, as the only representative of the Human political machine, this could work out okay. Stay tuned for more. Hanna nodded to Kai and joined Carey's side in her own canoe. She readied herself for travel by tightening the straps to her arrow quiver and bow and then gave a thumbs up to Kai and Luna when she was ready. Luna, who had taken notice of Hanna's signal, was waiting for a sign from the prince before she began to move the wave of water. Carey Threw up a Symbol. It was an Element Fireball. It Exploded into a Bunch of sparks that, Strangely, looked a bit like hearts. Signaled, Luna began to push the water forward. The pace was slow but quickly gained momentum as they moved. At this rate the small group would be at the Dark'lighting Kingdom in a matter of minutes. Below, Hanna took a moment to get used to the feeling of the waves below her but soon grew accustomed to the rocking. It was kind of like riding a horse, she told herself as she held on for dear life to the ropes binding her to the prince. Kai frowned slightly as it was clear the Prince wasn't going to answer his question, which of course triggered in the knight's mind that something was indeed wrong with the Prince. He let out a slightly frustrated sigh, and ran a hand through his hair. His gaze caught the thumbs up from Hanna and again allowed a small smile to be directed towards her. He would be keeping a careful eye on her as well, mainly for two reasons. One to ensure she truly meant no ill will towards the Prince and endanger his safety, and just in case she was unable to ask Carey to send up a signal for whatever reason. The flash of the Prince's fire signal caught his eye, and within a few moments he could feel the rumbling of water being moved. He had to move quickly into the air to prevent being swept under himself, as that was the last thing he wanted to deal with. Letting out another sigh, he managed to move out of the way in time, though it was cut a little close. He was aware that they were technically in a hurry, but he felt that there was no need for such rashness. Within a few moments he had his wings put him at the same altitude as Luna. "You may want to watch the Prince even closer. I have a feeling there's something wrong that he's not willing to say" he stated calmly, turning his gaze sideways for a brief moment that held a clearly serious look in them. Soon after he directed himself to go to a slightly higher altitude, as it would give him a better visual of the area. His golden eyes caught the sight of small smoke like signals sprouting up in various areas. They were signs that the lack of moisture in the area were causing a few small sparks, the Kai quickly took control of to avoid them from growing any further or raging into a full blaze. Carey stared at Luna for a long time, his mind early keeping attention to his canoe. He then clutched his chest, and something felt like it wanted to pop out of his back. You all felt a Flare of magic, coming from him. Listening to Kai, Luna nodded but said nothing. She had to concentrate even though this new information was trying it's damnedest to cloud her mind. After a mile or so of travel, there was an uprising of power that seemed to emanate from Prince Carey's body. Considering stopping the tsunami wave, Luna decided to push forward until the small group reached the next kingdom. In no time, the four of them had reached the other end of the forest and Hanna hadn't had a problem controlling her own canoe. Being a human, she hadn't noticed when Carey's energy flared. As Luna returned the water to the forest, Hanna clumsily fell as she tried to get out of her small water vessel. She stood and gave an embarrassed and ashamed look to Luna and the others." My Prince,"Luna started as she landed gracefully. She folded her wings behind her back and looked with concern filled eyes at the man she'd sworn to protect. Worried about his health, Luna tried not to reveal too much of her own personal emotions." There was a surge of energy I detected whilst we traveled that came from your body. Is all well?" Carey tried to answer Luna, but the pain in his body brought him to his knees. Carey was shaking, He had never felt like this before. Before he knew what was Happening, Two Pearl White wings. His body had a Reddish-orange Radiance glow about his. His hair turned from Dark brown to light orange, and his very body seemed to Reshape. He had changed into his True form, for the first time sense his birth. During the flight Kai couldn't help but notice the energy surge that sprouted from the Prince as well. This began to concern him further, though at the moment there wasn't too much they could do. Stopping now could very well leave them open for attack, and he wasn't sure how many of the human rebels may have remained back to ambush. If they were to stop any hidden humans could possibly see it as an opening to attack, so there wasn't much choice but to simply wait until they arrived at the Dark'Lighting kingdom. Luckily the trip wasn't either terribly long as they soon arrived. Although his focus had been mainly split between the Prince and keeping the small sprouting fires under control, he did manage a few glances towards Hanna, impressed that she had managed to keep her makeshift canoe under control despite not having any water travel experience. Calmly he waited as Luna stopped and returned the water to the area before coming down to land himself. He noticed the human girl falling out of her canoe as she tried to get out, and offered her a small smile and a hand to help her up and steady her if needed. The trip may have been short, but he was aware that with some that after a trip their legs felt like jello and made them unsteady. He wasn't sure if she was one, so he merely decided to lay the offer out there if needed. "You did rather well for your first time" he said encouragingly before setting his golden gaze on the Prince. As Luna asked that had also been swimming around his own mind, Carey suddenly sank to his knees and began shaking. His eyes held a calmness to them still, however a seriousness plagued them as well. "I think it's time you turned back to the Neutral kingdom. Miss Hanna and I can check on things here, and I'm sure Luna wouldn't object to taking you home?" he stated, sliding his golden gaze towards the water woman. His tone like the look in his eyes was calm though held a clear air of seriousness in it. The Prince was clearly not alright, and although checking on things here was important, Carey's health pegged above it. The change in the Prince's change only solidified his stance and mind even further on the decision. A blush swallowed Hanna's body as she looked up at the attractive fire elemental. She nervously set a hand on the back of her head, her large boobs bounced obliviously twice, and she giggled in anxiety. "I guess it came natural after years of horse back riding." Tahanna smiled widely. Suddenly the tension shifted from her to the prince, and she took a few steps towards him, holding her hands to her chest wishing she could do something to help." Kaji is right." Luna admitted to the prince as she knelt down before him, ready to catch his weight should he pass out. Transformations consumed a great deal of energy. The white haired woman knew how tiring and painful it most of been on him. He wasn't ready to take on such responsibilities and stress." I can use my powers to help reduce and make the pain subside, My Prince, but you need more training before you go any further in this state." "I feel No Pain..... Only.... Freedom." Said a Voice, coming from the Prince. It sounded like a Mature, and Deadly, version of his Voice. He arose, His body glowing. You Notice his eyes are Now a Sapphire blue, instead of a Night Purple. He looked at Luna. "Great Praise, Honored Friend. You shall be a Harbinger of Victory.....a Harbinger of Freedom."he said. He then spread out his wings. You heard the bones cracking, fitting into place. Amazement filled Hanna as she watched the new formed prince rise and spread his wings. A since of honor and uncertainty settled on her, she stood back and watched as the events unfolded. Knowing there was little she could do if thing were to go wrong, but as she clenched her quiver strap, white knuckled, hear eyes widened as she watched Carey. Quickly getting to her own feet, Luna stood and looked upon Carey with an emotionless face. His words slipped into her ears like mud. What was happening here; What was he trying to tell her? Luna's stomach twisted as her thoughts raced. The sound of his wings locking into their joints sent a shiver down her spine. Looking from Carey to Kai, she wondered if perhaps he had any clues as to what may be going on. "We must continue onward...." Cyrax said, looking at the group. "Do not worry about me......this will just take some time for me getting used to this body. "He said. He then took off from the ground, and looked ahead. "I see the castle..... Its just half an hour's distance. "He said. He then floated down to the ground, and looked at Luna. "While One face may show as a brother, the other Show's as a Suitor." Kai allowed a calm sigh pass through his lips, while a slight frown crossed his face briefly at the Prince's words. "I have a feeling quite a few problems for us are forming on the horizon..." he whispered quietly, more to himself than anyone else. If what he gathered from the words were true, then a connection developed between the Prince and Luna that would have been better not forming. Carey was betrothed to the Princesses for the sake of both kingdoms, and refusing it could cause unstable relations to continue between the two elemental kingdoms. In the end though that would be for the royals of both kingdoms to work out, his only duty would be to defend the kingdom and thus be thrown into whatever battles were sure to come." I'm sure the trip to the palace could be done much sooner than in half an hour, depending upon the choice of travel. Regardless I believe we are now in the territory of the Dark'Lighting, so I will have to advise caution with words, my Prince. The wrong person overhears, misinterprets, and we'll have another joining a war against us. I also would advise you still rest, get use to your body before pressing onward. One's true form has a tendency of increasing one's powers and if your not use to your body it could prove catastrophic" he tried to warn calmly. It had been awhile since the knight had been to the Dark'Lighting kingdom, and he was well aware that there were some, just as in any kingdom including their own, that would be willing and trying to find any excuse to attack. He was also well aware that there was at least one person in the kingdom that could rival their own powers and strengths, so it wasn't as if a fight here would be a simple walk in the park. There was a real chance that with a wrong step or person they could die, and then what would be accomplished but more unnecessary death? Quietly he drove such thoughts to the back of his mind, as it wouldn't be productive to get caught up in such thoughts. Instead, he decided it would be better to lighten his thoughts a little. He again allowed a small smile to cross his face as he turned his attention towards the human girl. "You said horseback riding early right? That alone will make you a hero in some of the children's eyes. They don't get to see it much nowadays. It's a rather impressive skill I think" he said, noticing a sort of unsettled air around her, and wishing to help distract her, as well as his, mind from the possible stressed thoughts that were going through either mind. Unsettled by Carey's insistence in speaking of such personal things during such a serious time, Luna turned her attention onto Kai and Hanna. Kai was talking to the human about her skills on horse back, and now she was wondering how these girls talents would come in handy when she didn't even have a horse to speak of." A rider is useless without their steed. What use is she if she doesn't even have her own horse." Luna scoffed over her shoulder as she down easterly gazed at Hanna."Oh, I have a horse..." Tahanna said, jumping in before Luna could put her down again. A small since of pride filled Hanna's belly knowing she had just embarrassed the rude white haired woman. Pinching her thumb and middle fingertips together, Hanna rose her hand to her mouth and let out a loud whistle rise threw the air. The high pitch note echoed off the trees and up to the sky. Only a moment passed before the sound of a single horse's homes could be heard on the hard moist dirt of the forest floor. Breaking threw the brush and wild vines, Twilight, Hanna's mare, had come to her master's call and now stood in front of Hanna has she pet her nose." This is Twilight, she was a foal when I met her, her mother had gotten injured and the rest of the heard moved on without them." Tahanna told Kai as she moved to stand side by side with the tall horse. She didn't have a reign or saddle, she was a bare back rider who could use her horse's mane to steady herself. Kai directed his gaze towards Luna, yet keeping a weary eye towards the Prince as well, for the water woman's attitude once more towards the human. He was uncertain of how Carey would react to what could possibly be taken as hostile towards the human in his current state, but he surmised it probably wouldn't be good either way. "Now, asking such a thing would be the same as asking what use would a water master without water. You possess other abilities other than your obvious element. I believe Miss Hanna does as well, considering the bow and sling she carries, am I not correct?" he said with a cool yet amicable tone as he once more directed a faint smile towards the human girl. His verbal defense of the human girl wasn't entirely necessary as Hanna soon proved that she did indeed have a horse that she could ride. It was a bit surprising to say the least to see the animal suddenly appear at the sound of the girl's whistle. He nodded his head in understanding and allowed his smile to increase as he heard Hanna explain about the mare named Twilight. "I see. You two must have a very strong bond with one another then. I have to say it's nice to see during such a time. I can see that she's in rather good health just from here" he said, giving compliment to the horse's care. He was surprised to see that the mare seemed rather calm around elementals, though he attributed some of it being due to the fact that the human girl was next to her. Carey Sucked in a Deep Breath, having had enough of being in this Over-powered state. His wings sunk back into his back, and his eye's/hair changed color back to normal. Carey then cracked his neck, and held his hand out to the horse. "This Mare Is beautiful. It puts many to shame. "He said. (This role-play has died, hasn't it? :sweat:) INAMI: Hanna smiled as she accepted the praise without thanks and went to Twilight to check him over. His mane and tail had a few minor twigs stuck in them, but she took care in removing them and other tangles." She's extremely well-trained also, but I can't take credit for that. My. Father." The last words fell nearly silently out of her mouth as if it was a stone that had come from nowhere. She hadn't meant to bring him up, or the feelings attached to losing her parents, but she pushed them aside. "Twilight was trained by an amazing rider, who is also the man trained me to ride. He's passed now but threw our skill as a team lives on." A sigh of relief filled Luna's chest as Carey returned to his normal form. She was concerned for his health and was relieved to know that for the time being, things where back to normal. Though the water bender's mind couldn't settle, what had cause the uproar of power to begin with? Perhaps a moment alone with the fire master, Kai, would prove useful. Luna hoped he might know what was happening. Carey started move forward, Determined to Reach his goal. He then pressed one hand to his left temple, as he Started hearing Strange Whispers in his head. He couldn't make out what they said, but they stopped after a bit. It was odd, though. It was like a Bug had flown into his ear. Kai's gaze again slid over towards the Prince, for a few moments, as he reverted to his previous form. A small frown still played as his face, as he still wasn't sure it was a good idea for Carey to continue. There was clearly something going on with him, and the knight guessed that whatever it was couldn't possibly be good. Changing forms was one thing, but to do so without it being a conscious choice was another, and he was certain that the Prince hadn't made a conscious choice to change into his true form. After all there hadn't been any threats around and there had been no real need for it at the time. His attention again returned to Hanna as she spoke of the mare's past training. The frown lifted into a small smile as she praised the past trainer who helped her learn to ride and helped train the mare Twilight. He caught the mention of her father, and it wasn't hard to piece it together that, that is whom she was talking about, after all she had said it outright as well before somewhat altering her words after letting them die out. It was clear that the subject of her father was a sore one so he didn't bother pressing it further. "I can see that you both put a lot of time and effort towards her, and did a rather wonderful job in training her" he said, giving small praise towards both before the moment of the Prince again caught his eye. Cyrax's actions were again a bit strange as the golden gaze seemed to lock and watch him carefully. "My Prince I would have to again advise for you to return to the Neutral Kingdom. It's clear...you're not well...at the moment. Whatever it is you must do at the Dark'Lighting Kingdom can wait until you're...feeling a bit better. As I've previously said if you wish for someone to still go I'm sure that wouldn't be a problem, and I'd rather not have to use force..." the red haired knight stated, his tone turning much more serious to show he wasn't joking around, nor was the light threat an idle one. Unlike Luna's, his duty wasn't only to the Prince and the royal family. He was one who was forced to look at the larger picture, and what would be best for the kingdom as a whole, much like the royal family was supposed to. Right now though he felt his Prince was being a bit too rash and so was more than willing to look where the Prince was not. If something were to happen to Carey, it could affect everyone, not just the royal family. Kai was also well aware that he could never overpower the Prince, after all he had the four elements at his beck and call while the knight only had fire and magma, but he was certain he could at least hold out long enough to exhaust the Prince enough for Luna to take him back. Carey looked at the both of them, Luna and Kai. "The Reason I started this Journey was one thing. The words that Warlord spoke, I'm sure, Meant that he was planning on paying the Princess a visit. We need to make sure she's okay. Be it sickness or health, Even if I may not like that I'm being put into a Marriage, with someone I have NO fucking clue about, My loyalty lie's with my family, and while it does, IL respect its wishes."he said, looking Kai in the eye. "I won't hear any more of this Kai. I'm old enough now to care for myself." Kai's gaze remained steady and didn't falter as the Prince's own eyes locked with his. "As honorable as that sounds there's another larger picture that needs to be looked at as well. Had my concern been concerned with illness I wouldn't be pushing quite as hard as I am now, as I'm sure I wouldn't need to. However, considering the fact that not only is health a concern, but it appears you've also just reawakened your true form, which can be dangerous. During this time powers and even personalities can be volatile until control over them is mastered. Until now your true form has been unavailable to you and now it chooses to suddenly surface? There's a good chance that you may not be able to control your powers fully which could end in further problems. Based on the fact that we passed the humans, and they didn't exactly seem in a hurry I doubt that anything has happened to the Princess, at least not yet. However, if you were to lose control of your full powers and suddenly resort to your true form, then there's a chance you may end up accidentally harming her and causing a full scale war with the Dark'Lighting Kingdom" the knight again calmly stated. He knew that a war with their neighboring kingdom wouldn't end well, especially with the current tension with the humans they had previously passed. "Why do you think I Worked my Body to the Bone? Why i've been honing my skills for so long. I've been expecting it to happen, and Wanted to be Prepared for it to happen. "He said. "I'm not some Fool who would Wait for the Enviable to happen, because it can happen at the WORST time. It's best to be prepared, so I prepared for this." he SIAD. Luna listened to the dialogue between the prince and Kai. It was obvious that the knight only wished for Carey's safety; but for what ever head strong reason, his mind was set and not going to be changed. The white haired female fallowed behind the prince on his left side and looked the castle over as they neared the open draw bridge." Girl,"Luna said turning her attention to Hanna, temporarily ignoring the situation." Can your mare bare the weight of another rider?"" Y. Yes." Hanna said as she looked up at her equine friend taken back by being addressed by the water master." Kaji, may I ask that you go with this girl and ride ahead. Make sure the path ahead is safe and scout the nearest stand to purchase goods. It's been a long journey, a bit of food would do us all good." Luna explained to the fire master trying to break the subject that seemed to be rising tensions.

The Broken Promise {Open and Always Accepting}|rating:3.0

Nothing Else Matters~

Tick, took, taunted the clock.5pm. Nothing.6pm. Nothing.7pm. Nothing.8pm... Lenny held the package in her lap, locked away in her room above the bar, the sounds sounding so far away that she barely registered its familiarity. Her fingers trembled as they gently tore at the sealed Manila wrapping. This would be the last gift from the only blood that had remained. The scrawl of her birth-given name she recognized all too well, ingrained in her mind. As were the memories that were invoked. By this point, every limb was numb as she succumbed to the paraphernalia that shrouded her every emotion, movement and senses. It was not unlike being wrapped in the warmest of blankets on a cold winter's day, being enveloped in undeniable comfort. Except, as each moment passed by, the thumps in her chest, slow and hesitant, her heart became colder. She had waited well past the time he should have called. Isolation. Regret. Solitude. Denial. Hope... The removal of the wrapping revealed a black box, tied with a piece of red woolen string, holding onto a piece of folded lined paper. Pulling at each end of the bow, the string fell free of her fingers and laid dormant on her legs. Setting the letter to one side, she lifted the lid off the box; it was filled with photographs, letters, and a gold etched band. She wanted to be able to take it all in, but she couldn't concentrate enough to digest the content and piece it all together. Despite curiosity and a deep-rooted need for knowledge etched into her core, there was not one single part of her that wanted to read the contents of the letter that sat hauntingly at her side. She knew what it meant. She knew he had failed. Furthermore, she knew she had to read it." My dearest Laura, If you are reading this, then I am afraid I will not be graced with the chance to see that sweet smile of yours again. But I will be taking it with me, Darwin. You don't need to open the box -who am I kidding, you probably already have. Give it to Gabe when it's all over, he will know what to do. I was right about the fucking snitch, just wish it didn't take these measures to out the bastard. Make sure Gabe gives him exactly what he deserves. I've sent a letter to Don, he should get it tomorrow. I know it's hard Darwin, but you're the strongest young woman I know, second only to your mom. We are so proud of you. I didn't want this life for you, but you own it in a way I never imagined. Don't push those Wolves away - they're your family now. Sorry I couldn't keep my promise. Game face, kid. Make 'em howl. Always Love, Dad." A single tear slipped from glazed, dead eyes, falling onto the paper. All hope was gone. And then, her phone rang. London was calling.~~~​The call had been somewhat sobering and that was not at all what she needed. Just as always, she had opened her bedside drawer to find a gift from Shut. It would do. Pulling out her box of tricks, Lenny tipped the white powder onto the mirror and started to hack at it with a card. She hadn't realized her own strength until the mirror cracked. She smirked; seven years bad luck, so they said. Furthermore, she had had her fair share and then some. What was a few more? Sectioning the coke into lines, she tucked her hair behind her ears and rolled up a twenty. Leaning down, she held one nostril closed as she lined up the note, and it's intended target. A quick inhale across the line and she was pinching her nose, her eyes falling closed as her head hung back to Seymour the first influx of the hit. She would demolish the rest of the lines before going anywhere. Lenny half sauntered, half fell down the stairs. It was quiet, so the clatter of her boots was prominent and echoed back at her as if it was mocking. Pushing open the doors to the bar, she wasn't greeted by Wolves, staff, nor patrons. It was as deserted as she felt. She knew the Wolves had probably gone on a run or something to allow her this time to herself, but time was not what she needed. Grabbing a baseball bat from behind the bar, a blood-curdling scream tore free of her lungs as she smashed the displays of alcohol and memories to smithereens. Glass splintered her flesh, but it only sought to further fuel her aggression. Sheer adrenaline had her tearing beer taps free of their wooden perches, stools became dismembered from the stomping of her boots, purpose-made decor was torn and obliterated. Lenny was known for losing her temper and her control; but this was of another scale entirely as a feral burst of insanity took hold. Lenny came to an abrupt stop, stumbling back a step or two as she came face to face with one of the back doors. It leads to Church, a place for Wolves, a place for family. Her chest heaved as she fought to regain breaths that had been captured and ravaged by her outburst. There was nothing she could do to change what had happened. Nothing. Tears that she refused to shed stung her eyes as she hung her head and dropped to her knees. Before her, a shard of fractured glass imitated life. Transparent, yet glazed. Once containing a semblance of joy, but now held nothing. Broken. She picked it up, entranced. As her fist tightened around it, a lengthy exhalation shuddered her petite form. Blood dripped through her fingers, landing carelessly amongst the disarray. Release.~~~​Lenny flipped open her passport at the control desk, her glare hard upon the steward who had requested this mandatory vetting. He squirmed a little, taking his time to look between the sour-faced, leather clad woman that stared at him now, and the innocence of the girl in the picture. Time and circumstance had a lot to answer for, but this guy would have a lot more to lose if he made her late." If you have quite fucking finished," she snapped, snatching back her documents before catching up with her keepers. Well, they were not her keepers, not at all; but this had been something Lenny had wanted to do on her own, without the watchful eyes of Wolves. This was not only an occasion that she never expected to be in, but she also did not want to be seen as vulnerable in any way, shape, or form. He should have lived forever. And yet, here they were. Still, after the fateful night when her hero had fallen prey to the truth, Lenny had all but lost control. The bar -both her home and place of business-had paid the heavy price of her unspoken rage. By the time the sun had rose, and she was laid lifeless in the middle of a catastrophic scene of chaos, consciousness beautifully fading, Donnie had found her. He got a letter too. The bar was back in one piece, but the physical signs were still evident, from the far away look in her eyes to the cuts, though now healing well, they littered her porcelain flesh. She was neither ashamed nor embarrassed. She didn't give a fuck. Furthermore, she felt eyes on her, but didn't pay them any mind - she hadn't spoken to them for the entire plane journey, and she didn't plan on starting now. Reaching the Arrivals Lounge, she noticed Gabe straight away. He was tall, dark and fearsome, with a gnarly scar running along the left-hand side of his face. She felt the chip on her shoulder smooth out a little when he pulled her into a short hug and kissed the top of her head; she had always marvelled in how similar he was to her dad. And though she did not wish him any ill will, she was unapologetic in her thoughts that she would sacrifice this man to have her dad back, even if it would just be for one more day. Gabe pulled the rucksack from off of her shoulder and chucked it at the guy next to him, who she recognized as Slick, and nodded her head to acknowledge him, as they did to the Wolves. "Good to see you again, Kid," he said, signalling for them to head out. She didn't answer, but she followed. Gabe climbed onto his bike, which was the first in a long succession. Lenny took it all in. There must have been shy of 200 bikes there, laden with men and women, most adorning a black band of respect and condolence. Knowing who they were all there for should have been enough to warm her heart, but she still felt nothing. Nothing but a far off sense of being out of control and the innate desire for revenge; nothing else mattered."Are you ready, girl?" Gabe prompted, his bike purring, fired up to get on the road, dragging her out of her reverie. "I was born ready," came her low, but firm response. In many ways, this was true. But no matter how long she was destined to live, this was a day that she would never truly be ready for. Climbing onto the bike behind him, she held onto his waist, her eyes dead ahead. They rode the roads, an ode to his memory, until the track would come to an end. The last goodbye. Tick, took. I had to wander, I had to go tread my own path If you don't step through no mud well then it won't last The years pass it's crazy how they go fast Ask myself questions that you have, but you won't ask Like, "you don’t even come home enough Where were you when she was in the hospital, huh? It was only us," and that’s deep and yeah I know it cuts But if it gets you, then you’re weak 'Cause we were here, and it ain’t broken us Still as close and stayed by her side when no one was Like when she lost her job and everything, how broke we are When she was sick, and she needed some taking care of A fifteen-year-old shouldered the weight And when he was scared of The worst, I know that you stayed strong Don’t say this enough But you made me just as proud as you made Mom Yeah, you got some anger, but I don’t blame you at all I know I don't call, but you're my brother, I love you -x- The scene before her couldn't be described by any words she wanted to use. Lenny was inside the bar and Asher had only pulled up moments after she had descended the stairs. She could tell by the way she walked that she was high, on what? Probably anything the dark beauty could have gotten her hands on. Asher's crystal blue eyes fell to the tank on her bike and she tapped the silver, closing her eyes and shaking her head gently, blonde locks in a rare form - down and straightened. The ends of it reached all the way down her back to nearly cover the wolf that protected the spines of the MC. That was sinking its teeth into the skin of the serpent. Sidewinders. Sneering at the thought she brought her gaze back up at the clatter of glass, seeing Lenny tearing her bar to shit. Bottles of alcohol spattered over the windows and though Asher could only see very little in her limited view she knew it was the pain of her best friend's father. The loss. Clenching her teeth together so they ground in a tiresome and harsh pressure she could feel it ticking on either side of her jaw. Her mother had done every drug imaginable - and it was the one thing Asher didn't touch. If there was a run she only followed to ensure safety. She didn't even touch the crates. She didn't drive the van. Furthermore, she and Donnie had argued over it before, but she wouldn't - she couldn't. Her father had been such a saint to put up with the woman during her life span, the loss of her still fresh in Asher's mind. She had spit on her grave that day she was buried. She had cussed and hissed. Her father had to have her removed from the graveside and even now when she went to visit the tombstone she felt nothing but vile. The things those drugs had done - she was an entirely different person. She was a monster. She lived for no one but herself and Asher refused to be that person in her life. Her alcoholism was no better, but it was her making the choices, not a drug that strung you so far out you were sucking dick just to get by the next day - for the next bump, the next hit. Hands gripping the throttle of the bike she could feel the threat of her fingers snapping beneath the weight, and she just kicked the stand-off her bike. She had planned to go in, but she couldn't. That wouldn't be her best friend inside - her sister. It would be the monster that pain and cocaine created. -x- "These fucking passports make shit difficult." She tossed the blue pamphlet down on the counter, looking over at Shut as he finished his check in, and then she looked down at Lenny. She had been silent the entire ride, and Ashleigh assumed it would only be the same way for the flight. Furthermore, she wanted to reach out and bring her attention out of her own head but something in the back of her mind kept her from doing so. Perhaps a viable warning, perhaps just caution. Going through her carry on she wrinkled her nose at the cigarettes inside, knowing she wouldn't be able to smoke once she was on the long ass flight. "Be right back." She muttered to Shut and then stepped out of the sliding doors to a small canopy for smoking, looking at the strangers inside the confined space that whispered about her cut. Looking over at them, she saw a pair of young kids, probably closer to their early twenties than her edging thirty. She sucked at the end of the filter and then blew out a stream, flashing the boys a smile and a wink before she leaned on the tinted glass. Laura didn't need keepers, but Asher would be damned if she went through this alone. Without the people that loved her - needed her as much as she needed them. Even if she wasn't admitting it any time soon. Sighing and closing her eyes for a brief moment she tried to push her own negativity out of her mind and then pushed her shoulder off the glass, breathing in the smoke until the cigarette was down to her fingertips, pinching the end of it to put out the cherry and toss it in the canister. Glancing at the boys still watching her she blew them a kiss and then slid back into the airport in time to see Lenny finished with her check in at the counter. "Let's do this bullshit, yeah?" -x- After their arrival there was even further wait time as they were checked in and glanced over. They were probably the screaming description of what was feared from Americans. Obnoxious popping gum, aviators, leather cuts, stomping boots. Asher couldn't help but smile as she followed Lenny through the different terminals and security, passing each one and bothering the guards and attendants. "Hey there, Gorgeous." She ran her tongue over her teeth at the balding security guard, seeing his Adam's apple choke up and down as he tried not to look her directly in the eyes. A deeper chuckle leaving her ruby red lips before she realised they were running into Lenny's father's MC sooner than expected. Asher ran into the arms of the man with the deep gash down his face, and she felt a pang of jealousy. She couldn't get Lenny to even look at her, but this man had gotten a hug and a show of affection. She tightened her grip on the bag and looked away while everyone greeted Lenny first, turning when she heard the man named Gabe ask if Laura was ready. Asher nodded to Gabe and the man at his side in a show of respect, moving alongside the Wolves in unison. They were a pack. They went nowhere alone. When they got outside the bikes were marvelous and shimmering. Hundreds of them ready to put Laura's dad to rest. Sucking in a sharp breath she looked at the others briefly and then to the back of the bike she would be on for the ceremony. Handing her bigger bag to the man driving one of the vans she just nodded a thanks and kept her smaller backpack on her shoulders. Edging towards the gentleman that would be chauffeuring her around she only paused to look at Lenny for the briefest of moments before her feet carried her over. Sliding her hand across Laura's cheek and into the edging of her hair behind her ear she dipped her head down to press against her forehead while she sat with Gabe. Closing her eyes as their heads remained intact with the others she just gave a small whisper of prayer and then craned her neck back. "I'm here, Baby." She kissed her forehead for a lingering moment. Her little sister. The woman she had taken under her wing when she came to America. Her blood. Her MC half. "I. Am. Fucking. Here." She nodded and then let go of her with a gentle brush of fingertips against Lenny's jaw, winking and then moving with a sullen pace to the bike, sliding her legs over the back and embracing the gentleman from behind. This was about to become the second-longest ride of her life.​ The road was long and full of memories. As the bikes roared through the streets, her own far away stare settled on nothing but the odd road sign that she recognized, or a pub that they had once been out to for a family dinner, each in turn invoking scenes to play out in her mind. It was haunting. Closing her eyes, she let go of Gabe and tousled her fingers in her hair, tilting back her head, thighs tightening automatically. If she tried hard enough, she thought she could hear the soft whispers of her mother's love brush against her cheeks with the wind, hear the raucous laughter of her father in the gritty growls of the engines. All she wanted to do was get as high as a kite, fucked off her face. The plane ride had been sobering, despite the few units that had been sunk back. Sober was not something she either wanted or needed; it meant that she couldfeeltoo much. Feelings were not things she cared to show the world, not since she had been shipped out to the States. Laura had had to find her own feet, and becoming Lenny, part of the Wolves, it had assisted her on her journey more than she would care to admit. She was in control, mostly. She had her shit together. Furthermore, she would strum a mantra in her head, so loud and determined, that no cracks would dare creep to the surface. But then, there was Asher. That woman had been her saving grace, in more ways than one could imagine. She had been a calming influence in times of frantic outrage. She had guided her, when she hadn't even realized she was lost. Furthermore, she brought laughter and a care-free aura in a plethora of ways. Furthermore, she was her sister, both in the MC and out - not that 'out' really existed. It was so much more than a lifestyle or a club for those with an affinity to sweet rides; it was family - and she belonged. Lenny frowned as she recollected Asher's efforts, even just moments ago. Even Shut had tried to reach out to her, in his own way, prior to the flight. She realized that she had shut everyone out; hell, she had kicked them out and attempted to arson any entry points. But they were still here, thousands of miles from home, refusing to leave her side, not going anywhere. She just didn't know how to let them in without becoming the definition of weak, as she so saw it. After what seemed like an age, they rolled to a stop. Gabe held his hand back to aid Lenny in getting off the bike first. But she didn't notice. All she saw was a stained black casket, draped with the MC's flag. Her feet moved without conscious thought dictating them to. A hypnotic glaze cast a shadow over her hues. The tips of her fingers grazed over the fabric that was embossed with both title and emblem. Any hope of remaining in a numb state of denial was over. The man she once thought of as invincible had succumbed to the only thing that is granted to all upon being gifted with life - death. Shug, Gabe, Slick, and three other members of her dad's fleet approached the casket. The introduction of some rather pathetic Health and Safety laws dictated that coffins should be wheeled on a trolley. They were not going to allow him to be stretchered in with no dignity or respect; they would carry him in on their shoulders, a burden and a blessing. She caught Shut's side-glance and willed her eyes to thank him where words failed her. He was not only representing the Wolves, he was not only supporting her in whatever way he could; but he was honoring a man he had never met before, where family meant more than blood. Feeling a presence at her side, she reached out and gripped onto the woman's hand, knowing it was Asher without having to look. Every single inch of her petite frame began to tense and tremble. Her jaw set in a firm line, whilst her teeth sank into her inner lip. Her grip tightened. She knew eyes would be on her, but she didn't give a shit about that right now. It was time to say goodbye.~~~​The funeral had gone as well as was expected; there had only been one brawl, and that had been extinguished even quicker than it had erupted. The emotional turmoil that coiled within was tight with tension. Even though Lenny had lost her last living blood, she was determined not to shed a tear - not in front of preying eyes, at least. That could all be saved for later when she was in the confines of her own room and surrounded with the tools to ease her suffering. She had stood proud, a vision of strength at the altar where a sea of leather and oil splayed out before her. She was not the same girl that had been swept away, innocent and blind to a world of which her father was famed. Making sure to hold each and every eye that sought hers out in query, she made this fact known. She was a wolf now and Lenny cowered to no man or beast. As with all wakes that followed, it had been filled with scandalous tales and whispered myths of the deceased. Memories lived on where her father did not, and for that, at least, Lenny was grateful. Despite this, it was also a lot to bear. It had barely been two weeks since her dad had passed, and it aggrieved her how effortlessly everyone now seemed to be able to refer to him in the past tense. Taking in all the sentiments, Lenny nursed a JD, the rocks of which had long dispersed. As much as it felt foreign to be in this place, it had also been a sanctuary for her father and his MC. She tried to hold onto that, but her resolve was slipping. Catching the attention of Gabe, she nodded towards the back room. With a nod of recognition received, she downed the watered down alcohol and set her glass on the bar. A glance to her left landed her sights on Asher and Shut; she didn't have to give any type of signal for them to gauge her intent - she knew they would follow - packs stick together, thick and thin. The back room here was not unlike the one the Wolves frequented for Church. The MC Emblem hung from the wall, a large table housed 13 chairs, the most prominent seat much grander than the rest with an eye-catching carving of a Harley chiseled into it. Housed in front of his chair was a glass of scotch, laid out in respect. By the time the others joined, and the doors had closed behind them, Lenny had swigged back the fine liquor and set the glass upside down on the table. Grabbing her bag from the floor, she rifled through the contents of clothes and necessities before her fingers clasped around their intended target. Pulling out the box, she picked out pictures, letters and documents one by one and flung them haphazardly onto the table. She continued to select each item at random, not even looking at them now, instead her attentions were set on her fathers right-hand man, the one who would presumably be taking over as President within the next few days. Her tone was low and guttural, an American accent that had been adopted unknowingly, but had all the tell-tale signs of her heritage, raspy from speaking more now than she had in days." Dad told me to let you deal with this shit-show. But if you don't let me hack off his balls and stuff them in his filthy, snitch mouth, I won't be held accountable for my actions. And don't try to insult my intelligence - he wasn't in this alone. If you try and protect anyone, an n y o n e, you'll be eating sack too." Her eyes, though hollow, were also fierce. The funeral was beautiful. ​ Donnie Carpenter, leader of the Dirt Wolves MC and, for the last handful of years like a big brother, and sometimes a father to the emotionally wrought Lenny Lenore had flown in a few hours late on a direct flight from Las Vegas. He'd opted for no fashionable motorcade participation, and in his attendance, truth be told it was likely the first time he'd traveled as something other than a high ranking member of an outlaw motorcycle gang for years. No bikes, no leathers, and no cut on his back. He'd made it just in time for the end of the funeral as they had laid his casket into the ground and half covered it with dirt. It wasn't much, but Donnie had gotten the chance to pay his respects, cross himself as any good catholic should at the departure of a loved one and say a little hello to the MC members that had been left behind. He was certainly out of his element, but he tried his best to blend in on the trip - it wasn't about him this time. It was nearly dark when Donnie left the graveside - he didn't recall time flying that fast, then again, Donnie had a lot going on in his head these days with the recent shift in MC organization and business. He sighed, a heavy exhale of air blubbered from between his lips in the sound of an audible 'blurpububub' of his flapping lips as he gave one of the grave digging prospects a clasp on the shoulder and headed toward the road. He climbed into the back of what was a self-proclaimed 'Hack Carriage' or something of the sort, an oddly shaped taxi cab with an all black paint livery, and he directed the driver on where he wanted to be taken. After a brief consideration by the driver along the route, mostly in an attempt to convince what seemed to be a 'nicely dressed American chap' in the drivers own words to want to go to what was a rather notorious rough and tumble hangout of drunks and less than reputable persons, he finally shut up when Donnie's response was simply, "Y'know back in the seventeen hundreds I seem to recall a bunch'a fuckin' cheeky redcoat fuckers like yourself who wouldn't shut the fuck up either, and it didn't turn out great for 'em - you tryin' to repeat a little history, or you just wanna' suck some well-dressed American dick?" - Donnie was, after all, a pinnacle of diplomatic communications and well-spoken to boot, so he easily conveyed the message he was trying to impart, which was 'shut the fuck up and drive me where I want to go'. It was neither a long ride, though not a particularly short one, and he climbed out of the back of the car and snatched his over-sized waxed canvas backpack and slung it over his shoulder and stepped off toward the clubhouse, though not before taking the time to flex a heavy ringed finger directly upward from the middle of a closed fist toward the cab as he did so and make his way toward the clubhouse. Luckily enough he wasn't an unknown face, but he definitely gave the Prospects near the door a bit of shit before stepping in and greeting a few of the patched members who'd been around for a length of time a masculine embrace, clasping hands across each other's backs a few times. First things first - he'd managed to wrangle one of the patched members of the charter to give up a three-quarter smoked stub of a cigar, and although it wasn't Donnie's choosing, he'd take what he could get in the circumstances. He stuffed it into his mouth with the same level of casual attitude that family members would drink out of the same cup, his eyes went cold for a moment, and he exhaled a long breath before asking "Where's my girl...?" After being directed to the back room, Donnie approached with the sort of swagger comparable to a wild west cowboy in his dark wash jeans, blue button down shirt, though admittedly left unbuttoned to nearly mid-chest, and... a navy, brown and gold plaid waistcoat...?​His heavily ringed hands grasped at either side of the closed entryway to the Wolves' sister MC chapter room, and he tugged them open, as he did the flourish with them caused the air to stir the heavy trail of his potent cigar smoke to swirl across his features as he stepped into the room, the darkness of his eyes hung low on his features below his heavy brow in a semi-perpetual furrow. "Sorry I'm late..." he announced, taking a few steps that echoed in the chamber from the heels of his classic WWII era boots, and he placed a calloused hand along the shoulder of Lenny, peering down at her with a soft upturn to his lips. "Wolves don't travel without their pack, doll..." - his eyes, were strangely sincere and nearly threatened to look glassy with tears for a moment before he released her shoulder, affirming his own words with a slow nod of his bearded jaw toward his chest, "Today you're the packs Alpha, Kiddo. I'm just another wolf in the wild." - his eyes lifted to acknowledge both Asher and Shut in turn, but they were both capable of understanding he didn't need to audibly acknowledge them for now. ​It was for certain. The wolves were here to do business.​​~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Lay down Your sweet and weary head The night is falling You have come to journey’s end Sleep now And dream of the ones who came before They are calling From across the distant shore ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~​ It's like we're on the edge right now. I wish that I could say I'm proud. I'm sorry that I let you down. Let you down. All these voices in my head get loud. I wish I could shut them out. I'm sorry that I let you down. Let you down. -x- The roar of bikes down every street, every alley was something like a bomb going off. Asher could practically hear the siren of an incoming nuclear bomb. It's exactly what was coming for London. So help the soul that stood between Lenny and the reason behind her father's death. That man had been everything to her. No matter how hard Asher tried to distract her all those years it never worked. Every call. Every day. Every time. It was like clockwork. The energy seemed to be draining from the blonde, and she wanted to rest her head on the gentleman her arms were wrapped around, but she thought better of it. Closing her eyes and hanging her head instead she just let the grumble of the bike lull her into a trance, keeping her relaxed. When they came to a halt and the funeral procedures began she watched as Shut joined a handful of other men in the lifting and transporting of the casket. Unbeknownst to her, she had found herself magnetically at the side of Lenny, feeling her warm fingers wrap around Asher's bony and cold ones, a shutter leaving Ash's lips and tightening her grip with a ferocity she knew her sister needed. There wasn't a second that would pass while she was alive and breathing that didn't include Lenny as the first person on her list of protection. While the woman was perfectly capable and able, it was Asher who was older and in every form Asher would snap her own spine to keep the woman standing in life. -x- The ceremony was beautiful, the spat that had broken out stomped down swiftly and diligently. Asher remained at Lenny's back, a wolf protecting the rest of its family. Shut was behind them just slightly at all times, watching both of them. Wolves were incredible creatures of protection and dedication, and it was no different for their MC. Everything was done as one. They moved as one. They breathed as one. Furthermore, they mourned... ... as one. When they all found themselves back to the pub for the celebration of life Asher kept herself in front of the bar at all times. Shut always somewhere close by in the place of strangers. The MC wasn't foreign, no she had known many of them through her own parents actually, but they weren't home. Simple as. Her fingers tapped to the side of her whiskey and she shot it back before her eyes turned to try and locate Lenny only to earn a nod. Asher knew what she needed, and she tapped Shut's elbow to get his attention in case he hadn't caught the notion, her feet carrying her with an authority she hadn't allowed during the ceremony. Weaving through bodies she entered the chapel of the sister club and glanced around and then down at the table, smoothing her fingers over the edge of it before lazily leaning on the wall near Laura. Once the doors shut and the words befell her lips along with the evidence being smacked down on the table - Asher's eyes never left Gabe's. "C'mon now, Kid." His grumble was thickly laced with an English accent and Asher pushed off the wall with her shoulder, eyes narrowing at him if he was deciding to not give Lenny anything she wanted. He seemed to ponder her words, threat and all. The parts that weighed and outweighed sanity and sanctity in the club. Honor amongst thieves. "Alright." He said after a long moment and Asher smirked, her eyes only leaving Gabe's when there was an interruption behind them at the doors, her hand going to her knife to threaten some poor sap stupid enough to interrupt a meeting, but instead a fury of gray and white came stomping through the door, and it took her a moment to recognise it as their own president. Seeing him headed for Lenny she took the distraction of her friend to move towards Gabe, grabbing his forearm and leading him towards a corner of the room, glancing down at the photos and letters on the table one last time before she got him alone and pushed aside. "I want her to get the bloodshed she deserves, but I want you to promise me somethin'." Her painfully thick American accent was unmistakable in a world of proper English and Gabe looked down at Asher. They all knew her. She had only met them once or twice in her life because of her parents relationships with Lenny's own father. Her parents had been the God parents to Laura and Laura's had been Asher's. Now Asher's second pair of parents were gone and so was her mother - all that was left was her own father. "What is it, Love?" He jut his jaw out in a half nod, as if to coax it out of her. "Anything ever falls back on this, if bodies ever get found, you tell'em it was me." Her voice was full of conviction. There was zero doubt there. Asher did what Lenny was about to for her living. It was the only reason she was useful to the club. She could kill and never lose sleep. She could chop up a body and still smile and dream in her sleep. Lenny had done plenty of things in her life, but a murder charge was something she would never allow her to carry. "Darlin'..." Gabe went to protest and Asher stopped him with a single look. "It comes back on me. Alight?" She nodded and waited for him to agree, his gaze simply falling in thought before he gave a very blunt nod and clapped her on the back of her neck, squeezing and massaging the muscles there was they made their way back over the others. While the other wolves interacted she simply leaned over the pictures and letters, glancing at each one of them. There was too much passion behind this, something was going to go wrong. She could feel it all the way down her spine and up to the back of her skull. She could've chalked it up to the buzz from the whiskey, but she knew. This one, this time, it would come back for her. -x- Its like we're on the edge right now. I wish that I could say I'm proud. I'm sorry that I let you down. Let you down. All these voices in my head get loud. I wish that I could shut them out. I'm sorry that I let you down. Let you down.​ "I don't want to drown no more Sick of the same old people The kind that will sell your soul Trade it for a shining stone Ain't nothing in this life for free Running from the greatest evil Finally gone on me A man's gotta fight temptation Keep the wolves from the door~" ~~~​"C'mon now, Kid." Although she hadn't expected him to leap into the metaphorical bed with them on this, Lenny held her resolve. Asides from crossing her arms, she didn't move an inch. Her steely stare bore unblinkingly into him, the top of her lip twisting into a snarl. Gabe may have only recently been made privy to the information that she had held for two weeks, but here he was faced with every single scrap of evidence. It couldn't be denied. He barely even looked at it, which in turn made her wonder if he simply trusted her word, or if he had known all along. That, along with the fact he called her 'kid' just as her dad had, irked her somewhat. Earlier, she had sought comfort in it. Now, she found it demeaning, as if she were being put in her place. But he didn't know her anymore. None of them did. The smirk played out when he finally agreed to go along with her wishes. She was about to discuss the practicalities of such when the doors burst open. True to form, Donnie made an entrance and ensured his presence was known. A quick glance at Shut, her eyes fuelled with accusation, told her all she needed to know - they knew he was coming. As much as she wanted to vent her frustrations at feeling like she was being wrapped in cotton wool, Lenny did feel a certain calm pass through her that she hadn't felt in an age as the familiar scent of cigar smoke swarmed her senses. As President, he may disagree with her intended course of action, but he wouldn't stand in the way of her seeking revenge - especially when it came to a snitch; it was an unforgivable sin in their world." Wolves don't travel without their pack, doll..." His sentiment was clear, the same as what the duo had been saying without having to say it. She saw the raw earnest in his eyes and had to avert her own. If she was going to be taken seriously and not portray herself as the weak, broken mess she felt inside, then she had to keep a firm hold on her resolve. And then he continued: "Today you're the packs Alpha, Kiddo. I'm just another wolf in the wild." This time when her stare met his, the gratitude she felt -even in this dark and twisted occasion-was clear. She nodded, reaching out to hold onto his hand for just a second before getting back to the task ahead. Curiosity was piqued upon noting what appeared to be the end of an exchange between Gabe and Asher, but discovering what the hell was going on there would have to wait til later. There was one envelope remaining in the box. Retrieving this, Lenny moved around the table until she was stood next to Gabe. They all knew Marston was a rat by this stage, but the true extent of his deception had been kept quiet - until now. It was the only way she knew she would be able to keep a clear head and face the filthy piece of shit before the time was right, allowing her to carry out justice for her family, instead of the MC taking this from her too. She had spotted him earlier in the procession of bikes, attempting to pay him no mind just as she had done with all the others. It had made her feel physically sick, bile threatening to rise at any moment. At the church service, his guilty eyes had fallen upon hers and Lenny willed herself with everything she could muster to hold his gaze as she had with the others, to portray her position with the Wolves and eradicate their memories of the innocence she once encompassed. As her father met his final resting place in the ground with his beloved, Lenny had thrown a red and a white rose down onto the coffin. She had walked away with her head held high before she was able to watch treacherous hands throw soil on the ones he had betrayed. Piece by piece, Lenny emptied the envelope. First, she laid out a picture of her parents on their wedding day, posing with their bright smiles and newly donned wedding bands that had been specially made for the occasion. Next, she clenched her teeth together, not even being able to look at the post-mortem picture of her mother's hand - wedding finger unceremoniously hacked off. Then came surveillance photographs of Marston handing a brown paper bloodied bag to a couple of members of The Iron Barons, later knocking back some beers with them, copies of the text conversation that spoke freely of his crimes. An old-school cassette was then handed to the man who would never fill her fathers shoes, an incriminating recording that would place the final nail in Mart son's coffin. Lastly, Lenny upturned the envelope - a gold band, etched with the initials of her parents and the date when they were wed, clattered onto the thick wooden table. Her father's final gift. Her mothers ring. Lenny pulled out her smokes and lit one up, trying to keep her hands from trembling in the rage she had kept buried until this point. She didn't want to hide or bitch out and collar the roach when he was alone. No. She wanted everyone to know what that piece of fucking scum had done. He murdered her mom, and her dad had been killed during his jailed plight to expose him. He deserved no mercy, and she wasn't going to grant him a single iota. Once she was done with him, not one soul would remember her as Laura Lenore, the once innocent girl; they would remember the animalistic look in her wild eyes as she took his life - a savage wolf, Lenny, with her pack right behind her." I want him stripped and strung up in front of everyone. Right. Now."~~~ "It won't be long before I cave in and open up the door~"​ We're broken people now. We're burnin' out. -x- Standing over the items on the table she just frowned, there was no one else in the room but her and Lenny at that moment and in a single instant the declaration had been made. Her crystal blue orbs drifted up past everything clouding her judgement and she was met toe to toe with the fire of Lenny. The fire from the tanned woman was continuing to grow and Asher knew if she didn't stop down on it with her own all Hell would break loose - though it appeared it was going to either way. Rolling her shoulders, without another fraction of hesitation Asher looked to Gabe his gaze fell, his heavily ringed fingers lazily showing that the few of his men at the door of the church were meant to follow her. She was all guts and glory but what Lenny wanted to be required more than just her own tricks. With a swift movement of pale and long fingers Asher had the strap on her hip undone and cocked, putting it to the temple of the man that had murdered Lenny's father. Asher's own family, her own godfather. Her blue turned a wildly deep color, almost a swirling purple of emotion as her teeth grit and the bar went silent, a crashing of a glass somewhere behind the bar. "Strip." The man, the rat had the audacity to laugh, and she pressed the barrel harder to his temple, causing his head to tilt to the side. "I said fuckin' strip and if I have to say it again I'MMA start fuckin' shootin' yer fuckin' digits THE FUCK OFF!" She screamed, her pearly whites mashed together and her ruby red lips pulled back as he looked to Gabe and his Prey made no movement to save his life. Without a sound the man started to pull off his cut and tossed it aside, dark beady eyes meeting hers as if to show he was done. A sadistic laugh left the blonde's lips, and she stepped even closer, her boots stomping in the silence. "All of it." When the hesitation flicked at his fingertips she shot down into one of his feet, square over a couple of toes, his voice booming across the deafening silence of the bar, watching him drop to the ground as she glanced at the men that had been assigned to helping her. "Give'em a hand, boys." She tucked her gun away and moved to the bar of the bar to grab zip ties and duct tape with the help of the shaky bar tender, coming back as the men were cutting off the clothes with knives and other edges they could find, the man still attempting to fight what was happening to him. Nodding her jaw towards the wall nearest to them with a few wrought iron bars on the window in older fashion she followed them as they dragged the resilient man, his begging and pleas only fueling the gasoline on the fire that was Lenny and Asher's duo. Using multiple zip ties to strap his hands out like Jesus on the cross on the bars behind him, she just stepped back to admire her work and then undid the duct tape, wrapping those same wrists to make it even harder to snap or break free from. The man's pride was gone, his fight was diminishing. It was only a matter of time before his life did too. Taking a handful of his hair she jerked his head backwards against the window and leaned in to whisper in his ear. "You ain't even deserve to die with this much honor, Rat." She hissed the last word like bile on her tongue and then stepped back, taking a cigarette out and lighting it between her heart-shaped lips, taking a long drag before she nodded to Lenny and let her know she was free to make whatever fool of him she wished. To embarrass him in any way she found fit. "I'm pretty good at severing the fuckin' nuts for delivery if you want, just sayin'." Asher cackled towards her best friend - her practically sister, and winked at the man. The fun had only just begun.​ The stub still oozed with swirls of smoke as she dropped it carelessly to the ground. By the time she snuffed it out with her boot, she had already lit another up. Her eyes hadn't left Gabe; watching, assessing, still not completely convinced about the knowledge he had or hadn't previously possessed. It was in times like these when people were tested. Lenny had always been a rather suspicious person, but the past couple of weeks had been particularly isolating. She had always admired her fathers club, loved how close they were and how they had each other's backs, just like the Wolves. And yet, here they were. A rat amongst them. Who could she truly trust? Only the slightest of vulnerabilities remained alight in her hues when she locked eyes with Asher. It was the first time they were all seeing all of this, a fact she had forgotten for a moment. She shared everything with her MC family, even if she rebelled against it at times. It was easy to misplace the realization that this was fresh for them, that she had kept it from them. But she couldn't feel sorry; there were far too many other emotions causing adrenaline to coarse through her veins for her to even consider it right now. She doubted there would be any come back for her at home, but even if there was, she would deal with it when it was dealt. Right now, she held all the cards. With Ash having left the back room to get the show on the road, Lenny glanced over towards the man who had looked after her for nearly a decade, a man who she held the upmost respect for. By this point, any self-pitying emotion had fled her stare, being replaced by a determined sense of rage. She was trembling. She held onto the table. Donnie raised his brow, whether it was to ask in a non-verbal manner if she was good or if she was ready, she didn't determine but nodded just the once in a firm notion that would not be contested. With that, the President walked from the room, patting Gabe on the shoulder to signal that he was expected to get his ass out of the room and face the damn music. She could feel Shut move behind her. Before he had the chance to say anything, she held up the tape, without turning to face him. "There's a cassette player hooked up behind the bar." Lenny knew she didn't need to offer further explanation and his silent departure confirmed that. Alone now in the back room, Lenny hung her head and momentarily closed her eyes, not wanting to look at the sickening evidence that was splayed out before her. She needed a fix. But she wanted to do this with a clear head, not wanting to forget a single second of what was to come. A deep inhale heaved at her chest, her nails scraping against the oak table that she still had a firm hold of. The lengthy exhalation released some of the tension held in her jaw and she reopened her eyes, which fell to the ring. It was a symbol of eternal love and devotion. Her father had died in order to retrieve it. Pulling the dog tags from out of her shirt, she felt around to the back of the chain to unclasp it. Lenny slid the ring onto the chain before securing it back around her neck. She brought the band to her lips before tucking the tags with its new, precious addition back beneath her tee. Head held high, shoulders back, Lenny walked into the bar with a snarled sense of confidence. The cassette played, Donnie stood with his arms folded by the door, and Asher had surpassed herself. All eyes flitted between her and the rat, that was now exposed both literally and figuratively for the pathetic piece of scum he was. The room was buzzing with questions, surprise, mutters. But no one made a move to stop what was unfolding before them." I'm pretty good at severing the fuckin' nuts for delivery if you want, just sayin'." She smirked at Ash's comment. There would be time for all that. After all this cunt had done, he wasn't going to get away with a swift or painless demise - he had sealed his own fate the second he chose to side against family. Her hues burned with hatred as she stared at Marston, unblinking, a feral grimace pulling at her stained lips when he finally grew enough bollocks to look at her. She spat in his face. Pulling the chain free, she allowed the ring to settle. He was attempting to argue his cause, trying to claim that she was still a little girl without rhyme or reason for this behavior. His words did not resonate. But the backhanded slap to shut him the fuck up did. Without a word, she strode to his left side, grabbing a hold of his tied up hand, her fingers tight around the third finger that housed no ring because no old lady was daft enough to marry a filthy fuck-up like him. With a swift, hard tug, Lenny snapped his finger back. At the sound, a shiver ran along the length of her spine, a deep laugh trapped behind her pursed grin. His scream was music to her ears, as though she had been hard of hearing all of her life, only to be finally greeted by a sound so longed to hear. "Fucking psycho bitch!" he cursed, pulling at his restraints with all his might, to no avail. Lenny lifted her cut at the back, retrieving her knife that had been tucked into her belt, waiting for this exact moment. She twisted it around so it settled comfortably in her hand, the sharp blade slicing along the line of his jaw within the next second, a slither of blood forming in its wake before falling off in beautiful droplets as her warm breath whispered into his ear. "You've seen nothing. Yet." She smirked as she dug the short knife between his ribs, twisting it for good measure, the sounds and sensations of the contact drowning out everything else in the bar. Johnny Cash. If there was a single man in the world that could describe Asher, it would have been Johnny Cash and his music. Even as she stood there and pulled at the cigarette between her teeth she had one of his tunes in the back of her mind, her eyes following Lenny as she stepped out. A cassette of her father played in the background, Asher's own God Father but all she could hear was the thumping beat of the song in her head. Lenny's dark hair moved like a gentle wave over her back before she would come to a walking stop, all long legs and beauty infuriated at the man before them. Asher hopped up on the edge of the pool table and propped her foot up on the side, her elbow resting on her knee as she blew smoke up in ringlets, a gentle laugh leaving her lips as the man called Lenny a bitch. A psychotic one at that. When blood was present Asher went into a zone. There was the woman who prided herself on being owned, who enjoyed being every bit of pet to the MC as they wanted her to be. The controlled girl strapped down in a collar and ties. But when there was torture and blood she was the King of the room and right now Lenny was her Queen. She was the biggest mover on the chess board, protecting everything she sought important to her and her cause. Humming softly in the back of her throat she took another drag of the fag between her fingers and rocked her foot gently, her other hand tapping on her leg in a beat to the voice in her head. You can run on for a long time Run on for a long time Run on for a long time Sooner or later God'll cut you down Sooner or later God'll cut you down Go tell that long tongue liar Go and tell that midnight rider Tell the rambler, The gambler, The back biter Tell 'em that God's going to cut 'em down Tell 'em that God's going to cut 'em down Pushing off the pool table as the knife sank between the man's ribs she just let out a sadistic laugh and made her way towards the two, crossing her unused arm over her chest and propping the one with the light in it against the other. "Mm, gotta love a screamer." She purred and then side glanced at her sister by choice and her family by leather cut. She looked to the knife and then to her as if to make sure she was still doing well with the task at hand. Death wasn't for everyone, and she knew for a fact that by now Lenny would be sobered from her drugs. Asher herself didn't delve into them, but she knew the importance they held for so many of her brothers and sister in the MC. Nodding when she got the look of okay from her, she just took another step or two back, ending up to the side of Gabe who looked both mortified and like he didn't want to watch. "You've known her since she was a kid, right?" Asher spoke softly as to not disrupt Lenny's train of thoughts or motions. Gabe simply nodded, beginning to look a little green and Asher just shook her head gently. "Imagine if he had done it to her and not just her father. Gotten her killed." She trailed off and glanced at Gabe who seemed to have a small realisation. "You all would have a hell of a lot more to worry 'bout from me. You understand?" With a single nod she just kept her grin on her features and leaned her hip against the pool table once more, closing one eye at the smoke swirled up and by it in a kissing touch. Asher was proud of Lenny, younger than her only barely, but she had always been more protective and almost mothering. Now she was watching that woman fly the coop and take matters in her own hands for a cause that brought more than Hell on Earth. More than the Devil straight from Hell. Tell'em the God's going to cut'em down...​

Nothing Else Matters~|rating:4.0

Sibling Rivalry (closed)

This is a story for Asa and me, an already thought out plot from another thread that didn't work. We decided to make our own to continue everything. This will start with a little bit of backstory, and then we'll begin. Asa, whenever you are ready. ~Ellen~*She had finished Track for the day and had already dealt with getting cleaned up to go to her dads' office. After learning that her twisted step-brother was also involved in track now had really unnerved her and him actually trying to fondle her in broad daylight had totally messed her mind up. She knew he was sick and that he was intent on her, but that was insane even for him.**Her dad and his mom had been married for only a few months now, and it seemed he was growing more intent in his interest in her. But at least she had her own car and could get away from him that way he rarely followed her to her dads office so that gave her some peace from him, and she had started locking her bedroom door any time she was in there as well.**asking from the School she made her way to her car. Dressed in a soft knit dress, black of course with a silver necklace and scarf heels of black suede and silver trim with her hair pulled back in a broad. She tossed her books in the trunk moving to get in the car she saw it... her tire was flat. On closer examination it had slashed... bad. She didn't have to guess by who she could hear him walking over* He drove up like a knight in shining armor, ready and willing to take his little sister whenever she needed to go. A small smirk on his face, that pained with confusion when he looked down to see the tire. He didn't waver, or guess at what the problem was, just looked and saw the tire." That's a shame. Damned hooligans. Out here all the time, aren't they? Looks like your stranded..." He gave another smile, as most of the other track people had already left for the day. She had been one of the last people out of the locker, as usual. He used the little TID bit to his advantage. She could either hitch a ride, which was dangerous, or take her big brother up on an offer." Hop in," He said, opening the passenger door, "I'll give you a lift. What are big brothers for." With that, he let out a laugh, revving the engine. What were big brothers for? ~Ellen~*Her dad would never forgive her if she hitched a ride, and it was too far to walk cursing under her breath she reluctantly got in the car arms crossed over her chest* Yeah, thanks just drop me off at Dads office Okay "That's not a problem at all," Jared drove off. He eased the car, a hunk of shit his father had left him before the divorce, into the street, making his way out of town. He took the right streets, going down to her father's office, but didn't stop. Furthermore, he just passed it by, moving the car at the same speed along the way." Hmmm, I guess that was your stop," He didn't take his eyes off the road, driving on. As soon as he took a right at the next light, the urban city gave way to more rural houses." Would you like to go for a drive? Just a short one. I'll take you to your dad's in a few minutes. I just want to show you something." They continued to move away from the city, away from people, farmhouses becoming little dots on the horizon." No one around," He mused. ~Ellen~*Glaring at him*Jared turn this car around RIGHT NOW and take me back to Dads office "In a minute, Ellen... jeez keep your panties on." Jared laughed a little, "Or don't. I don't care." He stopped the car just at the edge of a meadow. Tall trees, nearly blocking out the perfect day laid their shadows over the area, and gave a nice quiet feel just as soon as he turned the engine off." I just want to talk about what happened earlier today. As soon as we get our stories straight, and everything taken care of, I'll take you back to your Dad's." Jared got out of the car, holding up the keys as if they were a prize waiting for her to win." It's your choice. We can talk for five minutes, and I'll take you back. Or you can walk for an hour..." ~Ellen~What story Jared you were trying to fondle my breasts during track. Pretty straight forward and SICK The end of the conversation now take me to dads, or I WILL Walk*Opens the car door to prove that she was serious* She began to get out of the car threatening to leave him. He felt so excited from this situation. Having her, alone out here in the middle of nowhere. They could do anything. Anything. He was rock hard. Jared walked over to her, pushing her against the side of his car, pinning her between himself and the car. His hard cock pressed against one of her thighs." I just wanna talk, that's all," He said through gritted teeth, pushing her even harder as if to emphasize it, "Why do you have to be this snotty uptight bitch all the time? Why can't we just talk?" He let go of her, partly because he was scared of what he might do, but even more so because he felt so turned on that close to her. He could smell the sweet after shower glow coming off her body. It drove him wild. ~Ellen~You have 5 minutes.... Back off and start talking, and you lay one finger on me... Dad will know EVERYTHING. Got it Jared raised his hands, as if this compromise had come willingly between them. He nodded, accepting. She had a right to go to her father, but he had a right to talk to her. It was only fair."Ever since our parents got married, even before that, I had this crush on you. I really liked you Ellen. I know I don't have the greatest way of showing it, but I do, and I'd like it if we became closer. You know, as more than just brother and sister. We're not blood related, and you are so hot. I grabbed at you earlier today because I couldn't help myself." Jared, with a flashy smile and a cool suave voice moved aside her on the car, staring into her eyes." I can never help myself when I'm around you," a finger traced lightly over her shoulder. ~Kayli~*She pushed his hand away and walked a few steps away. A growl to her words*I said talk NOT touch Got it and that no matter what is just sick we may not be blood, but we are still brother and sister and that is just sick Jared Leave me alone!!!! "You see," Jared pointed at her as she walked away, "That is just what I'm talking about. I can never talk to you. You are always putting up this bitch front and will never let anyone in." Walking up to her, he tried reason, but it was his own blind reason to fuck her, and make that pretty little body of hers his own." Let me in, sis. I want to know what's really going on with you. I want to love you, to hold you. Furthermore, I want to share everything with you, and in turn let you know everything about me." He grabbed for her. ~Ellen~*Getting grabbed she tensed a little he scared her just enough and with him bringing her all the way out away fro mall civilization there was no telling what ever he TRULY had planned, but she was not buying this act. He was trying to "win her over" with this bullshit, and she was NOT about to buy a word of it. He had been in her room when she slept she knew that what he did she didn't know, but she could tell somehow maybe something in the back of her mind did see somehow that his actions in her room were sick and vile. She had no idea what he truly had planned but if he thought he was going to take her or try to he had a fight on his hand*I am not being a bitch to you Jared YOU are crossing the line I have told you I have NO interest in you AT ALL other than a brother and you can't do that you have to turn it into some sick twisted fantasy world or whatever now Times Up Lets GO. Take me back to Dads office NOW!*Her eyes were closed as long as he was behind her, but she could still feel his eyes on her and his mind rattling with sick disgusting plots against her for his own demented needs* Jared could feel himself pulsing with anger, his very hands throbbing as red-hot blood boiled through them. He wanted to hurt her, to let her see all the pain she was causing him right now as they spoke. How could she be so heartless? But he stopped himself. He had to. She didn't want him. Jared growled, stepping back into the car." Fine," His only word. He waited for her to get in before driving in a fevered hurry back to her father's work place." See you at dinner, sis," He sped off, wanting to be alone for a few hours. He went home. ~Ellen~*Shook up she hurried into her fathers' office building and straightened up in the bathroom before going to see her father and getting some money for shopping and getting her car towed, and the tire changed.* Jared laid on his bed, hands behind his back, staring up at the ceiling. Thoughts crisscrossed in his mind, wondering just where it had all gone wrong. In his dreams, or fantasies rather, after he took her out to the spot and had the talk, she always forgave him, wanted to go out with him, and they had wonderful earth-shattering sex. What had he done wrong?" She's just a bitch..." He said to himself, knowing it was true. She was an uptight stuck in the mud little bitch who had to be taught that he was right, and she was wrong." I'm going to have to fuck her, to prove how much I love her." Mom was cleaning the kitchen downstairs. Water ran, as she used a sponge to clear off the counter tops." Mom, do you know how long it's been since you and Dad went out to a nice dinner together?" His mother, a very sharp witted woman, put her hand on her hip as she gave him that knowing motherly look." What do you want?"" Ok, to be honest. I want a night alone with my sister. We had a fight today at the track meeting."" I told you to get along with her, Jared."" I know, I know. Furthermore, I'm trying. It's just hard, is all," Because she's a bitch," That's why I want you and Dad to go out tonight. I was thinking Ellen and I could stay here, watch a movie, eat some pizza, and just calm things down between us." Mom thought about it. The idea did have promise. She got a nice dinner with her new husband, and able to leave the house for the night. He could already see the sparkles in her eyes. There were sparkles in his eyes too." Ok, they'll be home soon. We'll go out for a few hours, some dinner, maybe go to a theater. We could stop by a hotel, not even return until tomorrow..."" That's perfect," He would need all night to break her in any way." Good, now, finish with the kitchen," She tossed him the soapy sponge. Jared caught it, feigning a smile." Yeah... chores," He got to work. ~Ellen~*Her car fixed and towed back to the house she rode home with her father*YOU are too quiet El what's wrong. Just a fight with Jared dad nothing new.*Sighing as he drove he had seen the way Jared looked at her and sometimes wondered but thought nothing of it* Please try to get along try he is a stubborn creep who has to have everything his way Dad... Are you sure I can't move out and live on campus next year at the university... PLEASE No you will spend your freshman year living at home period I told you that now wets go inside and all be nice okay *pulling in the driveway*Yeah I'll try *She walked in and straight to her room locking the door* It was another half hour before Jared finally waved goodbye as his parents drove away. His mother had promised them a night alone, and after peaking with her husband for a few minutes, it had become a done deal. Jared didn't want to think about what they were going to do to each other, but he thought it's best to think of what he would do to his baby sister now that they were all alone and ready to play. He had to make this casual at first, something like a neutral ground had been made by them. He didn't think he could get her to trust him, but he was sure that she might let her guard down for a bit. Jared came up to her room, knocking." Hey, they're gone for the night. Looks like you and me for dinner. I was thinking pizza, you in?" ~Ellen~Maybe later just go do whatever Jared and leave me alone okay. Not in the mood to deal with you or anything other than homework. K*Sighs barely feeling safe when her dad is here and her door is locked much less with them gone and her here alone with Jared* "Ellen," Jared rattled on the door handle, letting it shake in its lock. He pushed against the door, but only so much that it made noise." You can't get rid of me so easily. Sweetie, come on, put that shit behind you. Let's just be brother and sister, ok? Now, I, as a brother, want to give you, my sister, a pizza. Open up so we can talk, all right? Our parents are gone, and I promised them that we would get along... you don't seem to be helping." He pressed against the door, harder this time, so it bent slightly in on her side." Ellena, open the door... or I might hurt you. I don't want to, so just open it, ok?" ~Ellen~*She closed her eyes when he spoke of hurting her but with the door closed she had some safety she hoped*Just let me know when the Pizza gets here I have to have the Chem paper done for class tomorrow Jared pounded on the door now, over and over again. Small splinters began to show in the wood. It was cracking, she was cracking." There is no pizza, not yet. I didn't call, and I'm not going to call until you open up and come out here. I'm done with talking, it's time you learned a fucking lesson in matters." Jared pushed hard on the door, and it bent at a weak angle in the middle, threatening to give." Don't make me break it down. Just unlock it like a good girl, and we can settle this." ~Ellen~*Scared to death she frantic searched her room for the phone finding it she yelled at him*Jared Go away, or I call the cops "Go ahead, you call the fucking cops. Bring them down here, by the time I'm done with you, you'll be on your knees sucking my cock, you bitch. Then what are you going to tell them?" Jared leaned back, and rammed into the door. It cracked, a huge split in the middle, just enough so he could see into the room." What do you think they'll do about that? Huh, Sis? What if I tell them you love fucking your brother night and day? We'd both go to jail." Jared's hand snaked in, looking for the knob, after a few seconds of searching, he finally got it, trying first one way, then another. With a loud click, it finally released. The door flung open, and Jared stood there, sweating, breathing hard, and looking at her like a prize he had just won." You fucking bitch. It's timed you learned a few manners." ~Ellen~*Screaming when the door few open she was genuinely terrified she had ht phone she tried to dial trembling she tried to find anything she could to defend herself grabbing a letter opener she was balled upholding on to it and trying to dial* "Oh no you don't." He moved across the room, his hand connecting with the phone knocking it out of her hand. He grabbed the other which walked some sharp object and forced her arm behind her back. Stepping quickly, he moved behind his hissing sister and pulled up on her arm." It wouldn't do to get blood on mom's carpet, sister dear." He wanted to beat her ass, and he wanted to kiss her both at the same time. He ground his cock between the firm globes of her ass, lewdly letting his intentions be known. "You fucking teased me enough bitch! Time to pay up, and if you fight me, I will hurt you.' He threatened into her ear before letting his long slick tongue slide from her ear down and across her shoulder, leaving a long slick trail behind. ~Ellen~*Whimpering in pain at her arm being twisted that way and eyes close terrified right now heart racing from eh fear swallowing hard she whispered*Jared... Don't do this... please don't this isn't right please just leave me alone*knowing it was pointless she knew she ha to fight to try to stop him or delay him till her dad got home praying it would be soon* "that's better, Bitch." he hissed into her ear, feeling her shiver under his hands. Her fear was exciting him somewhat. He didn't know when that had changed, but he was enjoying her cowering form holding still." Such a sweet hot ass like that. Damn girl you need it don't ya?" His teeth sank into her shoulder, biting a little harder than intended. He left little marks as his hands seized her shirt and tore if open. Landing a loud slap on her ass, Jared moved his hand back around to her stomach and caressed her sensually but with a little pressure." We don't have much time, so the foreplay is out of question." His hand squeezed on her arm, letting her know who was in charge. "If you fight I will punish you, remember that." He yanked open her pants and pushed them down with his free hand, lowering a little but watching her for any movement or tensing. He was prepared for anything to come at him. She was feisty by nature, another thing about her than turned him on. He could feel his cock leaking precut in his shorts and ground harder between her cheeks. "Ever been fucked sister dear?" He taunted as he righted himself back up. "Step out of them." An order she best not disobey. ~Ellen~*Stepping out of them in a way that she slammed her heel down on his foot. She had to get away from him that was all that was going through her mind* He wasn't fast enough, but she missed hurting him too badly."YOU BITCH!" His hand landed down hard on her ass, red welts instantly rising on her pale buttock. It stung his hand enough he knew it hurt her as well. His free hand gripped her by her hair and tripped her onto her bed face down. Landing down on her, he yanked open her drawer and pulled some stockings from within and from the floor." I warned you, just wouldn't listen would you?" He pressed his weight into her, pushing the air out of her lungs and his raging pardon deeper against her ass. Lifting up, he straddled her prone body and gripped her hand harder he held behind her. She had the perfect posts on her pretty little bed for restraining her, which he used to secure one hand he had been holding. Another SMACK! Landed on her upturned ass. He was panting now from fighting her, although she was a small little thing, she sure as hell put up a good struggle. He chuckled as she moved under him, trying to free herself. "Yeah baby, keep moving." He pressed forward a little, opening his fly and pushing down his pants and boxers enough to let his 8' prick out. He bent it forward a little and pressed it against her bared ass, spreading his precut on her ivory skin. Furthermore, he felt sick and mean, not liking how it was going, he felt there was no other way to solve this now. His temper had gotten the best of him. How could he possibly stop it now? If he didn't get her under control he'd go to jail for this. Hell, he could go to jail for it regardless whether he fucked her now or not. He may as well finish the deed. ~Ellen~Struggling while as he ties her to the bed tears pouring our of her eyes. Terrified she Tries to scream* "Do you see?" Jared held her down, grabbing up the other stockings, and beginning to make nice knots in them so they could go across the four posts." Do you see what you are making me do, you stuck up bitch?" Jared pushed his knee into her back so she didn't move, as he tied up her other arm, and then both of her legs. She laid on the bed now, in nothing but her underwear, face down, ready to do whatever he wanted." You made me do this," He pulled her up b y her hair, so she could see him when he spoke to her, "You made me. I didn't want to. I just wanted to fuck you and get it overwith... but you had to scream, you had to resist, you have to be stuck up and prudish." Jared kissed her hard on the mouth, pushing his tongue across her pursed lips. He bubbled at one of her lips, so when he pulled away, it came with him." So, now I'm going to be an asshole about this. I was just going to take your cunt, but I think you owe me.... at least one other hole." Jared began to fondle the nice round globes of her ass." Which one sis? Which hole do you want your big brother to fill with his hard cock? Your mouth... or maybe something more back door?" Jared went around the bed, so he could get a better look at her ass, spread and tied up. He let a finger play between her panties, threatening to tear them off. ~Ellen~*She fought against the restraints angry and scared. When he slammed his lips against hers she did all she could to bite down hard on his lips. Her lips bleeding from his rough treatment. Once his lips were away from his she tried to scream for help again. Useless action or not she knew he was going to give her no choice in any of this and his rationalizing it to be her fault proved he could not handle what he was doing and needed to have someone else to blame* His hand flashed out in an instant, pushing her face into the pillow hard.“I told you not to fucking scream! Yet you keep trying!” He barked at her loudly, he watched her jump a little. He stopped fiddling with her panties and gripped the material into a tight fist. Yanking hard, he heard the distinctive pop and ripping down as they peeled away from her body. Fisting his other hand into her hair, he tugged her head backwards and pushed them against her lips.“Open up NOW! Or I will do it for you… the hard way Sis.” As soon as she complied, he forced them in and shoved until all the pale blue material was in her mouth. Releasing her hair, he turned his attention back to that perfect heart shaped ass. Groaning, he reached down and idly stroked himself. He needs ammunition, he needed something. A thought clicked in his head, as if a little light bulb appeared above him. He bent over El and grinned into her wide frightened eyes, “Don’t go anywhere. I have something to do.” He turned and stalked out, moving quickly to his parent’s bedroom. Video camera and remote… Perfect for securing his future. He made quick work of setting up the camera and checking the remote. Once he was certain of the angle and the record was ready and paused, he turned back towards the bed.“I am going to make you beg for me to fuck you, my sweet little sister. And you are going to do it so loudly, there will be no mistaking the words.” He strolled up to the bed, leering down at her, fresh new ideas forming in his mind. ~Ellen~*She laid there sobbing terrified. Wishing she could just pass out or her father would come home. Making herself go lifeless if she passed out maybe he would leave her alone so she tried to this of how to. But wait... Where had he gone? Then she saw the video camera and the twisted plan he had created and closed her eyes. Surely he wouldn't be crazed enough to hurt her how would he explain it of ftp her dad... and he wouldn't kill her she hoped. She just laid there eyes closed wishing he would just hurry up and get this over with and leave her alone he already would have to explain the door to them doubting he had thought of that* "Come on, baby, don't you want to be a movie star?" Jared got up on the bed, moving alongside her. He reached a hand down, and began to play with one of her breasts. He held its firm weight in his hand, squeezed it, and pinched the nipple. As he pinched it, he twisted, something that border on both pleasure and pain. He wondered just how his sister liked it. Oh well, she wasn't cooperating, so instead of this being about her pleasure, it would be all about his." Are you a virgin, sis?" A finger traced up her slit, between her parted lips. He brought it to his mouth to taste her wonderful juice." Come on Hun, this'll be a lot easier if you help out. It won't hurt as bad... see?" He undressed, and stood before her. Looking at her naked body, his pardon reached massive proportions. It stood out pointing at her." This is going to go in you, right sweetie? Now, if you don't cooperate, it'll go in hard and dry, but if you do, maybe get a little excited, it'll go in easier for both of us. Ok? I don't want to dry fuck you, because it'll hurt you, and it'll hurt me, but you aren't leaving me many options. Tell me, what do you like? A little foreplay? I can do something to you." He took the panties out, ready to shove them back in if she screamed again. ~Ellen~*Her voice a terrified whisper* Please Jared Don't do this... please don't just let me go... *sobbing till her pleading is inaudible* "Wrong answer." He pushed them back into her mouth and moved to the foot of the bed. Staring over her trembling form, he felt the urgency building inside to fuck her." You've teased me long enough, more than long enough!" He sneered a little, wanting nothing more than to make her bag for mercy. Smug little bitch that she was, He bet she would never beg. A little ice maiden, taunting with her body. His mind had snapped the moment he broke in the door, not thinking rationally at all, he stripped quickly and moved up between her thighs. Reaching between her thighs and up to her stomach, he forced his legs behind hers and lifted her ass high into the air. His other hand pushed her upper body into the bed, "Stay like this sis." he ordered softly. Jared's eyes were transfixed on the slow parting of her cheeks and the lovely vision of her cunt lips peeking out more and more until he could see her most secret places."Mummy yeah, that's good." his voice was soft, dripping with lust. His hand moved back to her bare mound, brushing the fingertip up and down hero utter lips, spearing into her pussy just barely, making her open up for him. His other hand moved down to stroke his cock, tugging at the head a little, building up his precut on the head." Like that don't you?" ~Ellen~*His hands on her made her cringe as she laid there crying wanting him to just do whatever he was going to do so he would leave her alone... She had to find a way to move out of this house especially now. Anywhere far from him maybe running away even* His hands were far from gentle. It could be that Jared just hadn't had many women, or that none of them had taught him how to touch a woman, but he knew little of what he was doing, only that he wanted in her so bad. Jared found her clit, by complete accident. He moved up and down the slit. It became a tiny bit moist, juice beginning to flow as he continued his assault on it. She might not like what's going on, but her body was beginning too." Yeah, I knew it. A slut, just like all the others..." As he moved up and down again, his finger pressed up against a hard little piece of something against her soft mound. At first, he thought something was wrong, a piece of lint or something had caught, but as he pressed it further, he could tell it was part of her body." What is this?" He pushed against it one more time, letting his finger go in circles back and forth as he moved." Is that something you like? No? Come on Hun, it's going to happen one way or another. I can make it enjoyable..." It was her choice, she chose to make this harder on herself. ~Ellen~*She felt her body giving natural reaction though she did NOT want what was happening. Hearing him call her slut hurt as she remained lifeless not wanting to do anything to encourage him at all her tears had even slowed as she became numb. His rough treatment leaving marks that only perhaps a hospital would find but in the back of her mind she fought to remember to tell her father she HAD to go* "Okay, well I will take your silence as acceptance then. But your body doesn't lie Sis." He continued to play with her clit, softly teasing away at her flesh. The only indication this was pleasurable was the wetness forming on her inner lips and coating them both." Yeah, I always knew you were a slut." He grinned with a satisfied triumphant smile. He bent forward enough to reach her perfect ass and ran his tongue around, drawing out little designs on the trembling flesh. Furthermore, he paused, inhaling her scent deeply into his lungs." Delightful." He whispered. His tongue continued its explorations for a few more minutes before dipping down between her perfect cheeks. He lapped from top to bottom as far as he could reach in this awkward position. He felt her shudder under him, She had to be enjoying this! He stopped and moved off the bed, grabbing his jeans and wallet. Searching, he found the rubber he had 'just in case' and tore open the package. Making quick work, he pushed it down onto his cock, tugging the tip a little to make sure he had room. Moving back behind her, he placed his hands and forearms around her thighs and lifted her up into the air a little more, lining his cock up with her cunt."Are you ready?" He asked, not expecting an answer due to her gagged throat. ~Ellen~*Slowly the numbness overtook her as she laid there. She seemed to leave her body her mind escaping the horror of what was happening as her body "Robotic" responded to his violent attack* His body tensed, it was now or never. Gripping her hips into both his hands, he settled a little behind her, his cock head just inside her cunt. Gripping her tightly, keeping her ass high into the air, he shoved forward with all his strength. He tensed a little, the penetration not going as well as he hoped it would, she was tight and barely wet."OH GOD!" He groaned loudly, never having felt someone so tight or warm in his whole life wrapped around his prick. Furthermore, he was tempted to pull out and remove the rubber, but he wasn't going to be a daddy anytime soon! ~Ellen~*Her body as a rag doll for him to do with whatever he had planned. She had in some way left her body to flee the brutal assault. The Pain only brought more tears at what her brother had just taken with the very first thrust* He knew she was purposely blocking him out, ignoring what he was doing. So be it, the cunt wanted it rough and mean, fine by him!"Oh, yeah! This is some hot fuckin' pussy, sis!" He grinned, slapping her ass once more before reaching around and tugging on her nipples. He thrust in and out, working up a good pace. He watched her ass jiggle with each impact of his body into hers and grabbed the flesh in reaction. Grunting he continued his sawing in and out, waiting for her to react, but got nothing. Good lord she was a dead fuck! This only angered him father." Fuck! You aren't making this easier Cunt!" He pulled from her pussy, aiming higher and brushing his cock back and forth over her tight little asshole." Let's see what this does!" He yanked the condom off in frustration. If he was going to do this, he was going to feel it! Pressing against her asshole firmly, he began to wiggle and thrust back and forth, it wasn't working. Grabbing her ass, he spread her wide and spit down onto her hole. Smirking, he pressed his cock at her until he felt the hole opening. With a popping sound his headshot into her virgin hole. ~Ellen~Tried to scream out from the ungodly pain of his new attack. Her mind brought back to the horror of what was happening to her tears again poured from her eyes. The shock and pain caused her body to tense for a bit as he began his anal assault* Sweat poured down his body, fucking her tight little ass was mind-numbing. Reaching up, he removed the panties from her mouth and tossed them over his shoulder." Beg for its Sis! You want the pain to stop? Beg me to take your cunt..." He groaned, pushing further in and out, knowing she'd have to cave in eventually. He paused his movement a little, rocking his hips side to side. His cock felt hotter than it ever had before. Her ass hugged her tighter than a condom could."God-damn El! This feels fucking hot!" He pushed in a little further, listening to her cry out."BEG BITCH! SAY IT!" ~Ellen~*Her sobbing more audible as the words try to come out she tries to speak*P... please... Stop this Jared... Please Sweat ran down and dripped from the bridge of his nose onto her ass. The slap came hard and without warning." No!" His hand connected, leaving a red and white welt on her fairer skin." I said beg me to fuck your cunt! I said nothing about stopping. But if this is what you want. I know I am enjoying it." He shoved harder, burying his full eight into her ass. He cried out, the urge to cum rising quickly as her tensed muscles gripped his cock harder."FUCK YEAH! You like it don't you?" He pulled out and shoved again, his balls bouncing off her pussy. ~Ellen~*The tensing of her muscles only made her pain worse which made her tense all the more. Tears and whimpers of pain. She couldn't understand why he was so intent on doing this to her any of it. Hoping this was a one time thing for him her mind was forced by the pain to remain aware of all that was happening* Jared was losing control and fast. His cock expanded and his balls tightened. His grunts and groans were the only thing heard other than the squeaking of bed springs. His hands pawed at her hips and breasts, not caring about her in the slightest. She was whimpering in a sexy little way, that did not help maintain control. "Yeah baby, here it comes!" He thrust harder and faster, slapping into her ass with a vengeance. One. Two. Third and finally. His cock exploded inside her contracting ass, hot cum pouring into her one shot at a time. He groaned out, shaking the entire bed as his balls emptied. He thrust a few more times, breath held, hips jerking until finally he stopped all movement. Swearing, he slid out of her and sat limply back against the bed post." God, you are one hot fuck." He ran a hand through his hair, and let it rest against the hard wood. He was done in, worn out. Furthermore, he eyed her ass, still spread open from his fucking. Furthermore, he watches as his semen dripped from her hole and down over her spread cunt lips. This gave him a satisfied feeling, he had done it. Job well done! He had fucked the little cock tease and he had fucked her good! He threw his legs over the edge of the bed and slapped her ass once more. "Well, gotta get a shower in. Don't go anywhere now." he laughed as he padded out of her room and into the bathroom. ~Ellen~*Laying there her eyes closed hoping he was finally through and was going to untie her and finally leave her alone* Jared make quick work of showering and drying off. He felt like a million bucks having concurred the 'Ice Queen' and put her in her place. Whistling a happy little tune, he moved to his room and dressed quietly. He knew he'd have to vacate the house and possibly hide forever, but it was well worth it. He packed a few things up into a suitcase, emptied his change bucket and stash of all cash and quickly wrote a note. Loading things into his car took a little more time, but he got most of his belongings. Now to handle El. This was going to be a bit harder, but he has seen enough t.v. shows to know how to do it. He entered her room and looked down at where she remained tied to her bed. Crusted cum stains, slightly pink, coated her inner thighs and ass. He felt a stiffening in his pants at the sight but decided against doing anything more. There wasn't enough time if he was to get away. Moving into the bathroom, he ran a tub full of warm water and added some of her favorite perfume to it. Why he felt a little recourse was beyond his rationalization, but this was evidence cleansing. It had to be done. He moved into the room, seeing she had fallen asleep while waiting. Untying her quickly, he retied her hands and feet, tying the rope from one to the other. He trussed her up pretty tightly. Ignoring her groans, he lifted her easily enough and took her into the bathroom. Bending over, he put her into the tub. He washed her in silence as quickly as possible, avoiding her eyes during the whole process, and when finished he stood up and dried off." Well Sis. The answering machine was flashing. Mom and dad are heading home early due to some mix up or another, so I best clear out of here before they return. I'm sure you'll call the cops once mom or dad finds you here and report it. Wish it could have been different." He bent down and placed a rather chaste kiss on her forehead. ~Ellen~*A whimper of pain from the otherwise unconscious form as she is moved and placed in the water with a faint muttered single word question*Why.... "Because I love you," Jared washed her hair, going through great lengths to make sure it was all clean. In the water, blood and juice began to float to the top, making it look as if something had died. Maybe something had." Because I'm crazy, because you kept acting like a bitch to me. Maybe even because I like to rape women, and you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I don't know, but I'm sorry. I know you're going to call the police, and I know you'll tell your dad as soon as they get home, but I do apologize for what I did. Furthermore, I'm not a smart man, and this was probably the stupidest thing I could do, but it was all I know." When Jared finished, he scooped her up, dried her off with a towel, and took her back to her room. In there, he helped her dress, and put everything in a huge plastic bag that was evidence. The clothing, the sheets, the rope, everything." I'm sorry," He said, taking that, along with his packed suitcases right up to her doorway, looking at her for one last time." I'm sorry..." ~Ellen~*Body and mind broken something snapped she looked over eyes cold and dead*We make this place look like there was a robbery... *Her tone terrifyingly cold and calculated*You then get to stay... I get the tape your mom gets to keep you at home, and you NEVER touch me again. You do I show them the tape. Deal? "Ellen," Jared started to argue with her, to explain that too much had been done, and even try to tell her it would be better if she told, but her words stung deep in his heart. She wanted to help him with all this? Or, she wanted to keep him home long enough so when she called the police, he'd be here. No, his sister wasn't that cruel, at least not yet." Why?" He asked, uncertain of her actions. He would understand maybe if she liked what they had done, what they had shared, so guilty and yet so innocent as well, if he had unlocked deep secret feelings inside her, this would make sense. But she felt nothing, she sensed nothing. He had raped her, they had not made love, and no matter what he said, he couldn't change that." Why would you help me, after all I've done to you?" ~Ellen~*She smirked the sweet young girl gone as she stared through him*Ohhh Don't flatter yourself Jared this is NOT for you. See your mom makes Dad happy... You're living here makes her happy so while she is happy he is happy and that makes it all well and good around here. So you have a choice to make stay here and deal with NEVER touching me again no matter how horny and disgustingly needy you get and keep them happy or run NAD be hunted for the rest of your day sand who knows end up dead at dads hands for shattering his little princess Your call "Brother dear" Jared just stared at her, his mouth opened as she talked. She was blackmailing him? He couldn't believe it, here he thought all the cards were his, and she was threatening him with everything. But, she also offered a chance to end it all, and live happily ever after. Could he live in the same house as her, and keep himself in check? He would have to try. Bowing his head, know that she had won, and he lost, Jared gave the tape to her." Ok... ok." ~Ellen~Good now destroy the evidence and let's order dinner*No emotion no expression of any kind on her face*

Sibling Rivalry (closed)|rating:1.0

DemiGods_ OOC - Get your chat on

(( IC - Camp Grounds (IC - Dining Pavilion (Approved Characters (Interest Thread and Game Information (Solstice The Summer Solstice (optional June 21st, the longest day of the year and for the Greeks the start of a new year. While many still honor December 31st as New Year's Eve, is anyone going to argue a day off in camp? A day off from chores and duties, training and lessons (if they choose). The pavilion (mess hall) does not close. Food is served non-stop, make sure to make an offering to your godly parent. For some the Summer Solstice is also the time of year that everything changed, for a day. Strict Social code was turned on its head. Campers are allowed to sit with those from other cabins, and they are expected to go out of their social circles and meet new people. It is also the time that the gods are the strongest and their presence felt within their offspring, many have been claimed during this time. Many campers look forward to this time as it is the highest chance of being claimed outside a feat of strength or worthy accomplishment.(EVENT The morning was clear and bright, the sun a warm promise of a lovely day and the skies as blue as they could be. Breakfast seemed to be getting off to a good start, kids mingling and using the opportunity of Summer Solstice to step outside the frame of their everyday routine. Meet new people, make new friends. Laughter chimed in the morning air, soft breeze wafted through camp as if to provide air conditioning as the Demigods enjoyed themselves. But meanwhile, far out beyond the waves that drifted to the shores of campgrounds, something darker approached. Breakfast was not nearly through when the first sliver of fog crawled like a blanket from the ocean, barely noticeable until it made landfall. No one thought much of it at first, fog was not that uncommon in the area, but as it crept further it filled with an eerie sense of danger. Something about the thick mist was not right. It only took minutes for the fog to crawl into camp, weave itself between houses and structures, cover everything in layers upon layers of opaque white. The air was moist and cool, almost felt as if breathing in water, but that was the least of the Demigods' worry. Suddenly a loud horn bellowed, a sinister ghostly sound that carried through the fog. A pair of ships approached, cut quickly through the water and twin bows carved into sea serpent heads appeared. Long paddles pushed through the waves to get the ships onto shore and then massive creatures jumped overboard. They charged on foot, pale green and blue skinned warriors carrying large swords, axes and wooden shields. Their skin was barnacled, foul stench came off it and their hair and beards hung slippery and thick from their heads and faces. Roaring commands at each other, barking and howling, they charged towards the camp. Posted guards heard them before they saw them in the fog, mere shadows at best until those trained to fight moved to intercept and clashed with the eight or nine feet tall warriors and saw them up close. Wild and brutal, the creatures were far more than the guards could handle on their own as they flocked ashore from the ships and moved almost unseen through the fog. The few guards not fighting were commanded to alert the camp, get word to the director. Despite the golden fleece, despite the protection from the outside world, Camp Half blood was under attack!HEADER CODE Code: [Select][float left][IMG height=300 padding=5]image[/IMG][/float left] [b]Name:[/b] [b]Godly Parent:[/b] (claimed/unclaimed)[b]Location:[/b] [b]Time:[/b][b]Tagged:[/b] [hr] Sup! Howdy Hi! ’D (Hey, guys! *waves to everybody*So... my girlie is open to connections! I'd ideally like to find her at the very least a bestie (male or female) but rivals, exes, and other things are welcome too! Is it okay if we add notes to the bottom of our character sheets? Yes Afternoon everyone :) I'll be strolling through the threads and pm's tonight after work. Happy Monday! Quote from: Aiden on 15-08-2016, 15:48:19YesAwesome, thanks! Quote from: Amelia on 15-08-2016, 17:22:02Afternoon everyone :) I'll be strolling through the threads and pm's tonight after work. Happy Monday!*waves to the Ames*I'll be around later today to ruin your Monday XD WWW dammit >>;D Hi all. Looking to make connections for Area Taylor (#msg12577062) daughter of Athena. She's been at camp for a number of years, so let's figure some stuff out. ’D *joins the party*Just put up my girl, Kiera (#msg12577096). She is open for all sorts of connections and has been at Camp Half blood for 4 years now. Hello everyone :-)I'm also looking for and am open to all kinds of connections for Adrian (#msg12577116), my son of Dionysus. Friends, lovers, former lovers, frenemies, people he's gotten into trouble through conjuring up too much wine, or other hedonistic pursuits ;) Ok, so I made an initial list of things regarding characters from Frank's point of view. And I am open to expanding more on it. Kuro - I think a Frenemy relationship between Frank and Adrian could work. Frank was a little socially awkward in his early teens but sorta got better. Then grew into his skin, but that rivalry can still exist. Aribeth- Friends? I see Frank liking her more than Ares kids on lineage alone. And since Athena has the armory, Frank makes sure the equipment is always in shape and well cared for. Emjay- Kiera, friendly towards each other? Friends? Koka- You cool with wrote for both Semi and Skylar Ames- Cecilia? I am looking for a scorned lover/girlfriend - Like someone who warned Frank about going off to the Army and even gave him an ultimatum. (I am trying to highlight how bullheaded he can be). Crushes and flings are cool but not necessary. I want to be familiar with all long term campers since he grew up in camp. But his appointment to Leader is entering its 2nd year. He is the Cabin Leader who is always teaching the lessons at the forge (duh), so he might have helped quite a few make their own first weapons and armor. Cecilia Carrigan - Spending a majority of time in the medical hut, I have grown used to her calling me and idiot when I get hurt. Our status as cabin leaders has us working close together quite often. I have been at camp longer, but my tenure as Leader has just begun (about a year). I may have had a nurse fantasy once or twice... Skyar - I don't get along very well with most Ares kids, old bad blood and all. But have you seen SLAR? She is a dwarf! I enjoy making her mad then walking away, even with my missing leg my strides are longer then hers. Kinda cute. Issac- Something about this kid I sorta like but also wary about. Like I feel like I should know him but also like he might think he is to cool for me. At least that is what I felt when I first met him. I will know more once he is claimed. Most likely Apollo, has to be. Tate - L:title sister, more badass than me and I want her bike. What more is there, I am responsible for her and the rest of my siblings. She is a bit messy with the scrap but nothing that can't be melted down for the next sword making lesson. Akemi - Freaking Jerk! Well sometimes I feel she is a jerk and others I am a bit curious. The way she presents herself varies so much it just does give me a good grasp of who she is or who can be her parent. Hot in that might break me sort of way? Is that a thing? Alea - The honor roll girl that can kick ass. No surprise she was Athena's daughter, has the take home to mom look...Kiera-She amuses me and she isn't fooling me! Ohh yea Kiera, it just happened to go missing after you visited the forge. Why the hell do you even want the accordion to a bellow, you don't need that! I guess she can't help it, kinda funny when she isn't stealing my shit. Adrian - Throws a hell of a party. I used to be so jealous back then when I saw how easy it was for him to flirt with girls. We mostly stay out of each other's way, he has the strawberry fields and the forges are mine. Voodoo good afternoon everyone!! I totally just fell asleep last night instead of... being alive maiden been busy, foot! With all the interest and sheets rolling in we'll be ready to launch soon! And... Quote from: Aiden on 16-08-2016, 17:20:18Ames- Cecilia? I am looking for a scorned lover/girlfriend - Like someone who warned Frank about going off to the Army and even gave him an ultimatum. (I am trying to highlight how bullheaded he can be). Cecilia Carrigan - Spending a majority of time in the medical hut, I have grown used to her calling me and idiot when I get hurt. Our status as cabin leaders has us working close together quite often. I have been at camp longer, but my tenure as Leader has just begun (about a year). I may have had a nurse fantasy once or twice... Feel like combining those two bits? ;) I'll NOT fall asleep at kid hour tonight, so I'll actually be around. My Cecilia's been at camp for a while so be ready for some pm's, people ;)QUESTION For near-future stuff: Do you guys want a thread to keep track of your stuff (one post per writer to keep connection notes, scene list, whatever you want) or you wanna just keep all that stuff as notes in your character sheets? @Aiden- LOL! Skylar's going to trip Frank one of these days as he's walking away. But yeah, I'm cool with what you wrote for both my girls. Quote from: Amelia on 16-08-2016, 17:35:33I'll NOT fall asleep at kid hour tonight, so I'll actually be around. My Cecilia's been at camp for a while so be ready for some pm's, people ;)QUESTION For near-future stuff: Do you guys want a thread to keep track of your stuff (one post per writer to keep connection notes, scene list, whatever you want) or you wanna just keep all that stuff as notes in your character sheets?I'm fine with keeping notes on my sheet. And that said I am specifically on the hunt for a bestie for Semi. I don't care about parentage and it doesn't have to be a pair that necessarily makes sense on the surface.I'm also open to current and past flings for Semi (male or female, whether It's anything more than a purely physical thing can be discussed) as well as general friends or rivals. For Skylar, she's open for whatever as well! Who was it you were saying would be hilarious in conversation with Cecilia, KDKA? -snickers at Aiden.- Dude, I totally see Tate driving him batshit with all her sculpture mess and late-night fits of inspiration...not to mention trying to sneak off campgrounds to take her bike for a spin. He's definitely going to have his hands full. Plus, you know, her temper is described as fiery for a reason. When she gets really riled, flames lick along her skin and her hair literally bursts into flame. Of course, it doesn't damage her, but....you know...rampant property damage has been known to happen. Tate's been at the camp for a year, guys, so if anyone wants to make connections, let me know. I've been dealing with some sh-tuff the last few days, so I've not been as on the ball as usual, but I'll hopefully be able to go over sheets and get some PMs out soon. Quote from: Amelia on 16-08-2016, 18:16:28Who was it were saying would be hilarious in conversation with Cecilia, KDKA? Semi :P Let's make them terribly mismatched awesome sauce friends! You game? ’D Sure babes. We can talk details later. Like when I'm not at work. Good!’D @Aiden - that looks good to me, though Adrian certainly won't want to piss off the guy that makes his weapons ;)Because I was working on preparing for a design meeting at work today, I haven't had a chance to read everyone's sheet yet, but I'm going to remedy that shortly and then make with the PM thing ;) Please feel free to contact me as well, everyone.p.s. my autocorrect hates the name Adrian. *adds it to the dictionary with a sigh* Quote from: Aiden on 16-08-2016, 17:20:18Aribeth- Friends? I see Frank liking her more than Ares kids on lineage alone. And since Athena has the armory, Frank makes sure the equipment is always in shape and well cared for. I want to be familiar with all long term campers since he grew up in camp. But his appointment to Leader is entering its 2nd year. He is the Cabin Leader who is always teaching the lessons at the forge (duh), so he might have helped quite a few make their own first weapons and armor. Area - The honor roll girl that can kick ass. No surprise she was Athena's daughter, has the take home to mom look... Yeah, friends sounds good. Area would have taken interest in the forge, at some point during the eight years she's been at Camp. She could have consulted him on weapon and armor designs, and likely, grudgingly, accepted his improvements. Area's the type to make sure she has, at least, basic knowledge with most of the different types of weapons in the armory. Anyone who takes time to care for those weapons is permanently on her "good" side. Take home to mom, huh? Has he ever shared those thoughts? Quote from: Aiden on 16-08-2016, 17:20:18Emjay- Kiera, friendly towards each other? Friends? Kiera-She amuses me and she isn't fooling me! Ohh yea Kiera, it just happened to go missing after you visited the forge. Why the hell do you even want the accordion to a bellow, you don't need that! I guess she can't help it, kinda funny when she isn't stealing my shit. Hahaha! Hey, hey now she doesn't steal people's hit outright. "Don't shit where you eat. Know what I'm sayin'?" Also changed my face claim for Kiera from Monica Hollander to Daisy Lowe >.> Yes, yes this is the final change I swear. Edit:Oh forgot to say, they can totally be friends Quote from: AribethAmkiir on 17-08-2016, 03:41:06Yeah, friends sounds good. Area would have taken interest in the forge, at some point during the eight years she's been at Camp. She could have consulted him on weapon and armor designs, and likely, grudgingly, accepted his improvements. Area's the type to make sure she has, at least, basic knowledge with most of the different types of weapons in the armory. Anyone who takes time to care for those weapons is permanently on her "good" side. Take home to mom, huh? Has he ever shared those thoughts? Not at all, not sure why. Most likely assume she would reject him as he is just a "blue collar" type, which is exactly what he is. Quote from: Em jay on 17-08-2016, 05:52:36Hahaha! Hey, hey now she doesn't steal people's hit outright. "Don't shit where you eat. Know what I'm sayin'?" Also changed my face claim for Kiera from Monica Hollander to Daisy Lowe Sgt;.Sgt; Yes, yes this is the final change I swear. Edit: Oh forgot to say, they can totally be friends Jesus Christ woman. Make up your mind! ~drops in and waves~Hello everyone! My girlie Alex (#msg12582223) was just approved and am totally looking for connections for her. :) She's fairly new, having only been at the Camp for about six months now and living in Hermes Cabin because she's got no clue who her Daddy is! Lol Okay, added some quick notes to each of my girlies on stuff that others may or may not know. I'm going to go through the sheets that are posted so far and write out thoughts on each character soon. I will also get to my PMs soon as well. Furthermore, I've been being lazy today, sorry :PDO note that nothing has to be set in stone. Furthermore, I'm always open to plotting and discussing things between characters so if you end up not liking what I write or wanna work out something different, just Holley! Quote from: Carla on 18-08-2016, 02:49:27~drops in and waves~Hello everyone! My girlie Alex (#msg12582223) was just approved and am totally looking for connections for her. :) She's fairly new, having only been at the Camp for about six months now and living in Hermes Cabin because she's got no clue who her Daddy is! lol Kiera on Alex's first day, "Welcome to the reject cabin!" She's only half joking of course O:) Quote from: Em jay on 18-08-2016, 04:09:43Kiera on Alex's first day, "Welcome to the reject cabin!" She's only half joking of course O:)WWW!!! At least Kiera is one of the ones who belong there. Had everyone. Labor (#msg12583325) here. ^^ Alright, here's my first draft of connection/IC thoughts. Cecilia (#msg12570946) is open to flirting, crushes, friendships, rivalries, annoyances, past flings, etc. Already established is one ex-boyfriend and a best friend (Frank and Semi). She's mostly friendly, rather nerdy, spends a lot of time in the medical hut and/or with her nose in a book. She's also quite flirty, or rather, speaks her mind openly so if she is attracted she'll just say so. Furthermore, she's... very blunt about her opinions and thoughts, good or bad. Passionate girl, musically talented but doesn't devote much time to it, and her heart will go out to anyone who's been hurt or harmed. Additionally, she's very likely to be researching ways to aid those with permanent (or apparently permanent) injuries or ailments. Don't be shy to suggest additions or changes to what I've put down here below! Francisco "Frank" Herrera:My ex. He doesn't know a good thing when he's got it, does he? Idiot. So hot I have to remind myself regularly not to touch, but an idiot. We get along okay, work together well, but then we always did. Maybe one day I'll stop thinking about the "what if".IOC: ex-boyfriend, lingering feelings that may or may not just be about him leaving her before, hard to tell. Friendly. Skylar Quinn:As fierce as she's pretty. I'm a little scared of her, but I don't think she'd actually hurt me. There was that one time I mentioned she's most likely the smallest Ares kid who's ever been at camp where I thought she might gut me, but I guess since I'm still alive she doesn't want me dead? Not sure if I want to kiss her or hide from her, half the time.IOC: mildly awkward naturalness? Isaac Adams:Gawd. So cute. He's one of those people who like to please everyone and I think that's kind of stupid, but he's nice. Ooc: possibly flirty towards him. Casual friends? Tate Miller:What is it with those Hephaestus kids, seriously? Tate's not an idiot though, she's fun. Her art is crazy but in that weird good way that makes you want to look at it even if you're not sure what it is. IOC: casual friends? Akemi Amaya:She's great. So chaotic and fun, awesome to train with even if that's more like her doing stuff and me pretending to keep up. I don't. At all. I'm not sure if she likes me all that much, and sometimes she's impossible, but we always sort of end up being good together anyway.IOC: best friends, despite all oddball Taylor:IOC: don't know anything about the character yet so I can't tell ;)Kiera O'Donoghue:Talk about someone who needs to stick to something, just anything, and focus on it. And sweet Apollo, please don't have it be singing.IOC: Neutrality, slight annoyance? Adrian Sebastian Keller: M m m. Delicious, but then what do you expect from a Dionysus kid? His parties are the best, and he's actually good for a conversation. Good for other things too, I bet.IOC: flirty casual friends? Aleksandra "Alex" Christiana Samuel's:Cute and talented, but I don't know where I have her. She's alright though.IOC: neutral friendly? Nicholas Williams:Hot. He's okay, not an idiot. Not as awesome as he seems to think himself sometimes though, but what are you going to do? His mom's Athena.IOC: casual friendly? Lubov "Lu" Ut kin:Weird cookie, but she's cool. Some people should try to be more like her sometimes and shut the hell up. I like talking to her about herbs and stuff. Ooc: casual friends? Quote from: Amelia on 18-08-2016, 20:58:18Alright, here's my first draft of connection/IC thoughts. Cecilia (#msg12570946) is open to flirting, crushes, friendships, rivalries, annoyances, past flings, etc. Already established is one ex-boyfriend and a best friend (Frank and Semi). She's mostly friendly, rather nerdy, spends a lot of time in the medical hut and/or with her nose in a book. She's also quite flirty, or rather, speaks her mind openly so if she is attracted she'll just say so. Furthermore, she's... very blunt about her opinions and thoughts, good or bad. Passionate girl, musically talented but doesn't devote much time to it, and her heart will go out to anyone who's been hurt or harmed. Additionally, she's very likely to be researching ways to aid those with permanent (or apparently permanent) injuries or ailments. Don't be shy to suggest additions or changes to what I've put down here below! Lubov "Lu" Ut kin: Weird cookie, but she's cool. Some people should try to be more like her sometimes and shut the hell up. I like talking to her about herbs and stuff. Ooc: casual friends? I'm good with that. Small heads up. I cut my hand pretty bad this morning and typing is hard. I can still type, obviously, but it's slow work. WWW I hope it heals well and quick for you. I do too. Sliced open the skin between my thumb and index finger. So long as I keep it from moving too much, it should heal up in a few weeks. Luckily, my kindle has Trace Typing. I only have to use one hand. Just run my finger around the keyboard for the letters I need and it autopops the words most common for those letters. I hope you feel better soon, Jag. It's always hard when your dominant hand is out of commission. Quote from: Amelia on 18-08-2016, 20:58:18Skylar Quinn: As fierce as she's pretty. I'm a little scared of her, but I don't think she'd actually hurt me. There was that one time I mentioned she's most likely the smallest Ares kid who's ever been at camp where I thought she might gut me, but I guess since I'm still alive she doesn't want me dead? Not sure if I want to kiss her or hide from her, half the time. Ooc: mildly awkward naturalness?LMFAO! Guess Cecilia learned her lesson. Good. Now if only others would learn it too >.>Mildly awkward neutrality is fine. Skylar likely hasn't pushed past that at this point since she'd associate Cecilia with Frank (whose other leg she's going to amputate if he keeps calling her short *shakes fist*) and assumes they're a thing still. Quote from: Amelia on 18-08-2016, 20:58:18Akemi Amaya: She's great. So chaotic and fun, awesome to train with even if that's more like her doing stuff and me pretending to keep up. I don't. At all. I'm not sure if she likes me all that much, and sometimes she's impossible, but we always sort of end up being good together anyway. Ooc: best friends, despite all odds And yup, we talked about this one so all good. Poor Frank V (#msg12584403) is up and open for connections and her twin sister is in the works! Reward the redheads!!! >:) Hey Ames and Aiden, quick question for the Dionysus kids...where is Mr. D. taking up residence these days?? Seconds that. Where is Dad these days? >.> Became a god once more, at Olympus, we will have a new director. I think it is Chiron. Hankies! Is anyone planning on being a new arrival in camp? Alright, and I have Come (#msg12586152) who's a child of Aphrodite, and she's currently the cabin leader too. I'll be reading sheets and what not to see whether I can make any possible connections. She's generally a nice person, like for real. Even if she gets a little obsessed with her appearance and hair. >3> Quote from: Aiden on 19-08-2016, 17:46:06Is anyone planning on being a new arrival in camp? Lu won't be new, but she's not been there too long. Quote from: Cúchulainn on 18-08-2016, 08:38:34At the least Kiera is one of the ones who belong there True, but it's barely a step-up, if you ask her side note:I have been ridiculously busy this week, so I haven't had a chance to get in touch with anyone regarding connections, but I will within the next couple of days. Quote from: Aiden on 19-08-2016, 17:46:06Is anyone planning on being a new arrival in camp? Alex will only have been there a few months, but she's not going to be a totally fresh arrival. Don't think I've seen anyone planning that yet. Quote from: Amelia on 18-08-2016, 20:58:18Alea Taylor: IOC: don't know anything about the character yet so I can't tell ;)Guess I need to add more to the character sheet, then. Honestly, was recently told by another player that all of Athena's kids are supposed to be blondes. *shrugs* Who knew? Obviously, I haven't read the books, and my skim of the wiki seems to have been too quick. I'll try to get more details out. Beyond personality, what do people want to know most? That way I can focus more upon that, then say, added history or something else that may not be as beneficial. Quote from: AribethAmkiir on 19-08-2016, 23:54:59 Guess I need to add more to the character sheet, then. Honestly, was recently told by another player that all of Athena's kids are supposed to be blondes. *shrugs* Who knew? I feel it doesn't matter because. O-o; As much as we're following the books, the GMs didn't mention any such rule so you should be good to go. But of course, the GMs would have their say on this matter. But anyway, I think we just need like personality-wise for your character and whether your character would get along well with any of our characters. Just a suggestion, of course. The blonde Athena kids is not a rule for this game :)As for adding to your character, Ari, a small list of words to describe her would be more than enough. There's no need to get detailed unless you want to. I don't have it in my own sheet yet, I just added a bit of extra info to the post I left in here with the connection suggestions. I'll add it to the sheet when I add the connections, once I've gotten an okay from people about the stuff ;D Alright folks, game is up. At the moment we are going to keep it to these two threads. But all parts of the camp are included, just tag it properly in your headers. Players are free to play through the entire day as they wish. Meet new campers, grow your social circles! Soon Sebastian (#msg12593359) is approved. Some connections I am looking for are... FriendsClose Friend People who buy his "baked goods" from him -cough-Fuck Buddies (Past and Current)Enemies (Could be because of something he said, or maybe they wanted to become serious relationship wise, and he ran for the hills)Maybe someone who beat his ass once'm super open! And my second character Rama (#msg12593378) has been approved. Tomorrow I shall be posting each of my character's opinions/potential connections with others (too damn tired to do it now). I've finally updated Skylar (#msg12571126) and Semi's (#msg12573598) thoughts regarding their fellow campers. Some of you I spoke with, so things should fall in line with what was discussed, others of you I haven't spoken with, so things are pretty basic but if you disagree with what is written, want to change it, expand on it, or whatever, just let me know either here, in PM, or via messenger. I'm always up for working out details or a backstory or a potential plot :) Can we get a link to the threads?Also, any Ares kids who want a bitter rivalry with Nicholas? Quote from: Cúchulainn on 22-08-2016, 12:22:40Can we get a link to the threads?Also, any Ares kids who want a bitter rivalry with Nicholas? Here (and here (also be getting my potential connection list up in a while myself. Quote from: Amelia on 14-08-2016, 02:30:33(IC - Camp Grounds (IC - Dining Pavilion (Approved Characters (Interest Thread and Game Information (Summer Solstice (optional June 21st, the longest day of the year and for the Greeks the start of a new year. While many still honor December 31st as New Year's Eve, is anyone going to argue a day off in camp? A day off from chores and duties, training and lessons (if they choose). The pavilion (mess hall) does not close. Food is served non-stop, make sure to make an offering to your godly parent. For some the Summer Solstice is also the time of year that everything changed, for a day. Strict Social code was turned on its head. Campers are allowed to sit with those from other cabins, and they are expected to go out of their social circles and meet new people. It is also the time that the gods are the strongest and their presence felt within their offspring, many have been claimed during this time. Many campers look forward to this time as it is the highest chance of being claimed outside a feat of strength or worthy accomplishment. I just put this in the second post of this thread, for ease of access :) Oh! And here's Amadeus (#msg12570953)! He's been at camp since he was a kid let, so your chars would logically know him. He's a nice cheerful mountain of a guy ;) Besties + with Semi, but definitely room for more friends, flings, rivalries, etc. Furthermore, he's in the Hermes cabin. Way old to be unclaimed but don't mention it around him >.> I'm going to try and complete a connection thing to give people ideas. >.> Sounds good, Flower :) A spoiler for first impressions and notes for Alex (#msg12582223) is up! I will be hitting folks up for more connections for her soon. She's only been at Camp for 6 months now so she's not likely to know anyone really well yet but am I looking for budding friendships, possible enmity (full-blown enemies are unlikely, but folks certainly don't have to like her! Lol), maybe a crush or two. The full gamut. Will be working on a similar listing for my Dion girl soon as well. As promised here are the connections for each of my characters. Some of these are confirmed others aren't. If anyone would like to change or expand on any of these ideas feel free to shoot me a message. Kiera's Connections Connections for Kiera O'Donoghue (#msg12577096):Cecilia Carrigan | Apollo | Amelia Seems like a nice enough girl, even if she is a bit straight laced. She is Semi's best friend though so she must be quality person. Status: Acquaintances (Unconfirmed) - Cecilia really isn't the sort person Kiera would hang out with, but she seems like a nice person. Francisco "Frank" Herrera | Hephaestus | Aiden This guy makes some seriously badass weapons. Don't understand a good chunk of it but some of those blades *whistles* If we weren't at camp, might have taken one already, but I don't shit where I eat. Status: Casual Friends (Unconfirmed) - They may not be close friends or anything but Frank's good people. Amadeus "DEU" Bradley | Hermes (Unclaimed) | Amelia Gorgeous. Thor reincarnated. Seriously, this man is hot as hell. That hair, I really should ask what conditioner he uses. Looks aside, definitely a fun person to hang out with, although he does have a tendency to get involved in some crazy shit. Not sure if it's a good idea for two trouble magnets to be in the same space let alone living in the same cabin. Status: Friends (Unconfirmed) - DEU seems like the sort of person that Kiera would get along with. It also seems like the two would get into all sorts of trouble when around each other which can be both fun and dangerous. Skylar Quinn | Ares | Cocaine Oh Lord. This kid is fierce as hell, even if sometimes she just needs to sit back and drink a glass of iced tea. Seriously there are plenty of assholes in this world, no need to prove them all wrong, although it is funny as hell to watch some unsuspecting guy get his ass handed to him. Status: Acquaintances (Confirmed) - They don't really hang out in the same social circles, but Kiera does low-key admire Skylar's strength. How could she not? Isaac Adams | Aphrodite (Unclaimed) | Cúchulainn Pretty as a picture, isn't he? This kid is just too adorable even if he can come off a little eager. I do wish that he'd grow more of a backbone, but we can work on that. Status: Casual Friends (Unconfirmed) - Why do I get the feeling that Keira likes to collect unclaimed kids like they're stray cats? The more lost they feel the better. She would feel the need to check in with Isaac and make sure he's doing ok. They would bond over music and songwriting, could have a couple of jam sessions since she also plays the drums and not just the guitar. She can't sing though. She'll be leaving the singing up to Isaac. Overall she would treat him like a little brother. Tate Miller | Hephaestus | Bibliophile Comes of a little intense, doesn't she? Honestly this girl is talented. Have you seen those sculptures? She also seems like someone that would know her way around a good party or just general fun. Poker game anyone? Status: Friends (Unconfirmed) - I have no idea about this, but it seems like they might run in similar social circles. Akemi Ayala | Zeus (Unclaimed) | Cocaine Where do I even begin? Semi is a beautiful human being, inside and out. Before I came to the camp I hadn't really encountered a perfect person, she was one of the first, and she made the transition into this uncharted territory much easier. I'd do anything for her and I know she would do the same. Status: Close Friends (Confirmed) - One of the first people Kiera really clicked with at camp and the two have been through some serious shit together. She can tell her anything and is always willing to listen when Semi needs her or volunteer whatever sort of help she can. Area Taylor | Athena | AribethAmkiir The straight laced sort that generally avoid me like the plague, but I don't have any cause to dislike her or anything. Status: Acquaintances (Unconfirmed) - It doesn't seem like these two would hang around with the same sorts of people. Adrian Sebastian Keller | Dionysus | Krone Legendary parties, classy as all hell. You'd think he'd be a complete snob, but he's actually a nice guy! Don't judge a book my its cover. Status: Friends (Unconfirmed) - I feel like these two would get along rather well. Aleksandra "Alex" Christiana Samuel's | Unknown | Carla Poor girl. She's brand new, but she doesn't seem to have adapted to this crazy experience, it does take some time. Status: Casual Friends (Unconfirmed) - I feel like Kiera would really empathize with Alex. She would try to take her under her wing so to speak and help her adjust to this crazy new experience of being at camp. Nicholas Williams | Athena | Cúchulainn I don't really appreciate his preaching. I know he means well and all, but it can come off a little condescending. Status: Acquaintances (Unconfirmed) - Finds him somewhat annoying, but she has no real issue with him. Lubov "Lu" Ut kin | Demeter (Unclaimed) | Javelin Another unclaimed kid that I feel the need to make a part of the family. She's quiet, but that's totally fine, some people talk too damn much anyway. :Status: Casual Friends (Unconfirmed) - Lu would be the perfect person to hang out when you just want some tranquility. Kiera can read, Lu can do her drawings, and Kiera can talk enough for the both of them. Veleriya "V" Nina Devanagari | Dionysus | Carla One word to describe this girl, fun. She cracks me up! She can be a bit heavy-handed when it comes to her powers hence me feeling the need to nag her to death. Status: Close Friends (Unconfirmed) - I feel like these two would get along like a house on fire. They probably became quite close while V was living in the Hermes cabin. She was so proud of her when she finally got claimed, but you can bet that she scolded her for getting put on bed rest. She did visit her every single day and made sure to come bearing gifts. Come Kennedy | Aphrodite | Timeless Love her style. I would raid her closet, but I don't think we're the same size. Also, those tattoos are amazing! She's so cool that you want to be friends with her, but I also get the strong feeling that you DON'T want to cross her. Status: Friends (Confirmed) - Come is the sort of girl that people either want to fuck or want to be like. Kiera falls into the second category, although there are moments when she finds herself in the first, Come is a child of Aphrodite after all. They hang out, even if she finds her a tad intimidating. Sebastian Alexandra Blake | Demeter (Unclaimed) | Flower Now I'm an understanding person and I can be quite patient with people, but only one person has managed to really try that patience and it this man right here. Honestly he was a little shit in his first year. At first, it was pretty damn funny, and then it got old, but he managed to adjust, also the man can cook. You should always be friends with someone that can cook. He's a complete idiot which is what makes him so much fun even if he can be a prick at times. Status: Close Friends (Unconfirmed) - Some of his ridiculous behavior amuses her, the rest of it will earn him a prompt smack upside the head, but then all is forgiven. He's a kindred spirit really. They are a similar brand of crazy. Rama Tokugawa | Ares | Me! She's mean as a snake! Never seen anyone so content with being alone. Tried to talk to her once but that was the first and the last time. She'll calm down eventually... I hope. Status: Acquaintance - The girl clearly needs and wants her space so she leaves her alone. Reika's Connections Connections for Rama Tokugawa (#msg12593378):Cecilia Carrigan | Apollo | Amelia Seen her around. Don't know her. Status: Acquaintances (Unconfirmed) - Rama knows that she's a healer and that she's smart, but that's about it. Don't know if they ever talked to each other. Francisco "Frank" Herrera | Hephaestus | Aiden The man makes good weapons. I appreciate his skill even if there's something about him that I find inherently irritating. Status: Rivals (Unconfirmed) - I can see these two talking about weapons, but there's also this strange compulsion to challenge him in some way. Amadeus "DEU" Bradley | Hermes (Unclaimed) | Amelia The guy's an idiot. Must be why he's still unclaimed. Tall. Status: Acquaintances (Unconfirmed) - She wouldn't go out of her way to talk to him (she wouldn't go out of her way to talk to anyone) but she would observe his behavior and judge him for it unless his reckless abandon isn't common knowledge in which case she wouldn't really have an opinion on him other than he's ridiculously tall. Skylar Quinn | Ares | Cocaine I have a sister and it's weird. Even weirder is that she's someone I wouldn't be ashamed of being related to. Even still, I don't think there's a point in us braiding each other's hair or doing any of that other cliché shit that people do in the movies. I respect her capabilities as an athlete and as a warrior. That is enough. Status: Sibling (Confirmed) - Rama's not really one to open up, but Skylar is someone that she could actually have a real connection with at some point. They have a similar ideology and a mutual respect. Hopefully they can one day be friends too. Isaac Adams | Aphrodite (Unclaimed) | Cúchulainn Some kid in the Hermes cabin. Status: Acquaintances (Unconfirmed) - She doesn't really know him even if she's seen him about. Tate Miller | Hephaestus | Bibliophile Don't like her. Status: Rivals (Unconfirmed) - Two angry people plus one is an Ares kid and the other a Hephaestus kid? I sense an epic rivalry in the making. Akemi Ayala | Zeus (Unclaimed) | Cocaine Annoying as fuck. My name is not Rei. Status: A Nuisance (Confirmed) - For reasons Rama cannot understand, Semi insists on continuing to speak to her. She is also overly familiar which Rama seriously dislikes. At the same time, it has become clear that there's no use in fighting it so she begrudgingly accepts Semi's presence, although she will not seek her company. Alea Taylor | Athena | AribethAmkiir Athena kid. Enough said. Status: Acquaintances (Unconfirmed) - I doubt these two would have much cause to interact and if they did, I doubt it would be pleasant. Area is free to dislike her. Most people do Kiera O'Donoghue | Hermes | Me! Causes a lot of unnecessary trouble and talks too much. Status: Acquaintance - Kiera talked to her once when she first arrived but Rama made it quite clear that she had no desire to be friends or be "shown the ropes". Adrian Sebastian Keller | Dionysus | Krone I've heard of him. He hangs out a lot with Come which means I generally stay out of his way. Status: Acquaintance (Unconfirmed) - She would have heard of him, but she would avoid him because he's often around Come. Aleksandra "Alex" Christiana Samuel's | Unknown | Carla Who? Oh. Don't know her. Status: Acquaintance (Unconfirmed) - Seen her around, but she's pretty new, so I don't know if they've had any interactions. Nicholas Williams | Athena | Cúchulainn Don't want your advice. Status: Acquaintances (Unconfirmed) - I have no clue if he had bothered to talk to her but whatever wisdom he has to impart is unwelcome. Lubov "Lu" Ut kin | Demeter (Unclaimed) | Javelin Doesn't seem to talk. Too bad everyone else isn't that way. Status: Acquaintance (Unconfirmed) - I get the feeling she would probably scare Lu. Veleriya "V" Nina Devanagari | Dionysus | Carla Too gun ho with her powers. Status: Acquaintance (Unconfirmed) - Honestly don't know if these two have ever talked to each other. Caoimhe Kennedy | Aphrodite | Timeless Strike one, she's an Aphrodite kid. Strike two, she's a flirt. Strike three, she's very, very attractive. She insists on talking to me and I don't like it. Stay the fuck away from me. Status: NOPE! (Confirmed) - Rama avoids Aphrodite kids. She despises the effect they have on her and Come is worse than any of them. Even though Rama tries to avoid her, the tattooed temptress goes out of her way to talk to her and Rama ends up making a fucking fool of herself every time. It's only afterward that what occurred sets in and boy does she get mad. Do not go anywhere near Rama after she has just talked to Come. It will not end well. Sebastian Alexandra Blake | Demeter (Unclaimed) | Flower Absolute piece of shit. Hate this guy and I hate every word that comes out of his mouth. Apparently he likes to get his ass beat because he doesn't know when to shut up. Status: Asshole (Unconfirmed) - This guy is a total idiot, and yet he has the gall to be a misogynistic little pig. Rama can and will put him in his place. Quote from: Em jay on 22-08-2016, 21:39:29As promised here are the connections for each of my characters. Some of these are confirmed others aren't. If anyone would like to change or expand on any of these ideas feel free to shoot me a message. Kiera's Connections Connections for Kiera O'Donoghue (#msg12577096):Aleksandra "Alex" Christiana Samuel's | Unknown | Carla Poor girl. She's brand new, but she doesn't seem to have adapted to this crazy experience, it does take some time. Status: Casual Friends (Unconfirmed) - I feel like Kiera would really empathize with Alex. She would try to take her under her wing so to speak and help her adjust to this crazy new experience of being at camp. Valeria "V" Nina Devanagari | Dionysus | Carla One word to describe this girl, fun. She cracks me up! She can be a bit heavy-handed when it comes to her powers hence me feeling the need to nag her to death. Status: Close Friends (Unconfirmed) - I feel like these two would get along like a house on fire. They probably became quite close while V was living in the Hermes cabin. She was so proud of her when she finally got claimed, but you can bet that she scolded her for getting put on bed rest. She did visit her every single day and made sure to come bearing gifts. Rama's Connections Connections for Rama Tokugawa (#msg12593378): Aleksandra "Alex" Christiana Samuel's | Unknown | Carla Who? Oh. Don't know her. Veleriya "V" Nina Devanagari | Dionysus | Carla Too gun ho with her powers. Status: Acquaintance (Unconfirmed) - Honestly don't know if these two have ever talked to each other. I like these a lot Em jay...love that Kiera would be willing to take Alex under her wing and show her the ropes. Having an outgoing friend will definitely help her to come out of her own shell more. Also, I can totally see Kiera and V wreaking mayhem together! Lol :Drama not knowing and rather disliking Alex and V, respectively, makes total sense. Alex would find her intimidating and V is likely to find her too serious for V's own good! >:) Quote from: Carla on 22-08-2016, 22:36:10I like these a lot Em jay...love that Kiera would be willing to take Alex under her wing and show her the ropes. Having an outgoing friend will definitely help her to come out of her own shell more. Also, I can totally see Kiera and V wreaking mayhem together! Lol :Drama not knowing and rather disliking Alex and V, respectively, makes total sense. Alex would find her intimidating and V is likely to find her too serious for V's own good! Sgt;:)Ha! I'm glad you like the ideas I put down! Rama doesn't really dislike them, she's just indifferent. Intimidating and too serious are perfect descriptions for her, though XD Sorry for the double post but...>.> (#msg12595706) Quote from: Cocaine on 22-08-2016, 06:14:28I've finally updated Skylar (#msg12571126) and Semi's (#msg12573598) thoughts regarding their fellow campers. Some of you I spoke with, so things should fall in line with what was discussed, others of you I haven't spoken with, so things are pretty basic but if you disagree with what is written, want to change it, expand on it, or whatever, just let me know either here, in PM, or via messenger. I'm always up for working out details or a backstory or a potential plot :)Cocaine, those are fine with me for Adrian. Chances are that he's looked at/talked to/at least tried to flirt with all the women in the Camp at some point, so Skyler probably isn't entirely under his radar, but I think she may be a bit intense for him ;)Quote from: Em jay on 22-08-2016, 21:39:29As promised here are the connections for each of my characters. Some of these are confirmed others aren't. If anyone would like to change or expand on any of these ideas feel free to shoot me a message. Kiera's Connections Connections for Kiera O'Donoghue (#msg12577096):Cecilia Carrigan | Apollo | Amelia Seems like a nice enough girl, even if she is a bit straight laced. She is Semi's best friend though so she must be quality person. Status: Acquaintances (Unconfirmed) - Cecilia really isn't the sort person Kiera would hang out with, but she seems like a nice person. Francisco "Frank" Herrera | Hephaestus | Aiden This guy makes some seriously badass weapons. Don't understand a good chunk of it but some of those blades *whistles* If we weren't at camp, might have taken one already, but I don't shit where I eat. Status: Casual Friends (Unconfirmed) - They may not be close friends or anything but Frank's good people. Amadeus "DEU" Bradley | Hermes (Unclaimed) | Amelia Gorgeous. Thor reincarnated. Seriously, this man is hot as hell. That hair, I really should ask what conditioner he uses. Looks aside, definitely a fun person to hang out with, although he does have a tendency to get involved in some crazy shit. Not sure if it's a good idea for two trouble magnets to be in the same space let alone living in the same cabin. Status: Friends (Unconfirmed) - DEU seems like the sort of person that Kiera would get along with. It also seems like the two would get into all sorts of trouble when around each other which can be both fun and dangerous. Skylar Quinn | Ares | Cocaine Oh Lord. This kid is fierce as hell, even if sometimes she just needs to sit back and drink a glass of iced tea. Seriously there are plenty of assholes in this world, no need to prove them all wrong, although it is funny as hell to watch some unsuspecting guy get his ass handed to him. Status: Acquaintances (Confirmed) - They don't really hang out in the same social circles, but Kiera does low-key admire Skylar's strength. How could she not? Isaac Adams | Aphrodite (Unclaimed) | Cúchulainn Pretty as a picture, isn't he? This kid is just too adorable even if he can come off a little eager. I do wish that he'd grow more of a backbone, but we can work on that. Status: Casual Friends (Unconfirmed) - Why do I get the feeling that Keira likes to collect unclaimed kids like they're stray cats? The more lost they feel the better. She would feel the need to check in with Isaac and make sure he's doing ok. They would bond over music and songwriting, could have a couple of jam sessions since she also plays the drums and not just the guitar. She can't sing though. She'll be leaving the singing up to Isaac. Overall she would treat him like a little brother. Tate Miller | Hephaestus | Bibliophile Comes of a little intense, doesn't she? Honestly this girl is talented. Have you seen those sculptures? She also seems like someone that would know her way around a good party or just general fun. Poker game anyone? Status: Friends (Unconfirmed) - I have no idea about this, but it seems like they might run in similar social circles. Akemi Ayala | Zeus (Unclaimed) | Cocaine Where do I even begin? Semi is a beautiful human being, inside and out. Before I came to the camp I hadn't really encountered a perfect person, she was one of the first, and she made the transition into this uncharted territory much easier. I'd do anything for her and I know she would do the same. Status: Close Friends (Confirmed) - One of the first people Kiera really clicked with at camp and the two have been through some serious shit together. She can tell her anything and is always willing to listen when Semi needs her or volunteer whatever sort of help she can. Area Taylor | Athena | AribethAmkiir The straight laced sort that generally avoid me like the plague, but I don't have any cause to dislike her or anything. Status: Acquaintances (Unconfirmed) - It doesn't seem like these two would hang around with the same sorts of people. Adrian Sebastian Keller | Dionysus | Krone Legendary parties, classy as all hell. You'd think he'd be a complete snob, but he's actually a nice guy! Don't judge a book my its cover. Status: Friends (Unconfirmed) - I feel like these two would get along rather well. Aleksandra "Alex" Christiana Samuel's | Unknown | Carla Poor girl. She's brand new, but she doesn't seem to have adapted to this crazy experience, it does take some time. Status: Casual Friends (Unconfirmed) - I feel like Kiera would really empathize with Alex. She would try to take her under her wing so to speak and help her adjust to this crazy new experience of being at camp. Nicholas Williams | Athena | Cúchulainn I don't really appreciate his preaching. I know he means well and all, but it can come off a little condescending. Status: Acquaintances (Unconfirmed) - Finds him somewhat annoying, but she has no real issue with him. Lubov "Lu" Ut kin | Demeter (Unclaimed) | Javelin Another unclaimed kid that I feel the need to make a part of the family. She's quiet, but that's totally fine, some people talk too damn much anyway. :Status: Casual Friends (Unconfirmed) - Lu would be the perfect person to hang out when you just want some tranquility. Kiera can read, Lu can do her drawings, and Kiera can talk enough for the both of them. Veleriya "V" Nina Devanagari | Dionysus | Carla One word to describe this girl, fun. She cracks me up! She can be a bit heavy-handed when it comes to her powers hence me feeling the need to nag her to death. Status: Close Friends (Unconfirmed) - I feel like these two would get along like a house on fire. They probably became quite close while V was living in the Hermes cabin. She was so proud of her when she finally got claimed, but you can bet that she scolded her for getting put on bed rest. She did visit her every single day and made sure to come bearing gifts. Come Kennedy | Aphrodite | Timeless Love her style. I would raid her closet, but I don't think we're the same size. Also, those tattoos are amazing! She's so cool that you want to be friends with her, but I also get the strong feeling that you DON'T want to cross her. Status: Friends (Confirmed) - Come is the sort of girl that people either want to fuck or want to be like. Kiera falls into the second category, although there are moments when she finds herself in the first, Come is a child of Aphrodite after all. They hang out, even if she finds her a tad intimidating. Sebastian Alexandra Blake | Demeter (Unclaimed) | Flower Now I'm an understanding person and I can be quite patient with people, but only one person has managed to really try that patience and it this man right here. Honestly he was a little shit in his first year. At first, it was pretty damn funny, and then it got old, but he managed to adjust, also the man can cook. You should always be friends with someone that can cook. He's a complete idiot which is what makes him so much fun even if he can be a prick at times. Status: Close Friends (Unconfirmed) - Some of his ridiculous behavior amuses her, the rest of it will earn him a prompt smack upside the head, but then all is forgiven. He's a kindred spirit really. They are a similar brand of crazy. Rama Tokugawa | Ares | Me! She's mean as a snake! Never seen anyone so content with being alone. Tried to talk to her once but that was the first and the last time. She'll calm down eventually... I hope. Status: Acquaintance - The girl clearly needs and wants her space so she leaves her alone. Reika's Connections Connections for Rama Tokugawa (#msg12593378):Cecilia Carrigan | Apollo | Amelia Seen her around. Don't know her. Status: Acquaintances (Unconfirmed) - Rama knows that she's a healer and that she's smart, but that's about it. Don't know if they ever talked to each other. Francisco "Frank" Herrera | Hephaestus | Aiden The man makes good weapons. I appreciate his skill even if there's something about him that I find inherently irritating. Status: Rivals (Unconfirmed) - I can see these two talking about weapons, but there's also this strange compulsion to challenge him in some way. Amadeus "DEU" Bradley | Hermes (Unclaimed) | Amelia The guy's an idiot. Must be why he's still unclaimed. Tall. Status: Acquaintances (Unconfirmed) - She wouldn't go out of her way to talk to him (she wouldn't go out of her way to talk to anyone) but she would observe his behavior and judge him for it unless his reckless abandon isn't common knowledge in which case she wouldn't really have an opinion on him other than he's ridiculously tall. Skylar Quinn | Ares | Cocaine I have a sister and it's weird. Even weirder is that she's someone I wouldn't be ashamed of being related to. Even still, I don't think there's a point in us braiding each other's hair or doing any of that other cliché shit that people do in the movies. I respect her capabilities as an athlete and as a warrior. That is enough. Status: Sibling (Confirmed) - Rama's not really one to open up, but Skylar is someone that she could actually have a real connection with at some point. They have a similar ideology and a mutual respect. Hopefully they can one day be friends too. Isaac Adams | Aphrodite (Unclaimed) | Cúchulainn Some kid in the Hermes cabin. Status: Acquaintances (Unconfirmed) - She doesn't really know him even if she's seen him about. Tate Miller | Hephaestus | Bibliophile Don't like her. Status: Rivals (Unconfirmed) - Two angry people plus one is an Ares kid and the other a Hephaestus kid? I sense an epic rivalry in the making. Akemi Ayala | Zeus (Unclaimed) | Cocaine Annoying as fuck. My name is not Rei. Status: A Nuisance (Confirmed) - For reasons Rama cannot understand, Semi insists on continuing to speak to her. She is also overly familiar which Rama seriously dislikes. At the same time, it has become clear that there's no use in fighting it so she begrudgingly accepts Semi's presence, although she will not seek her company. Alea Taylor | Athena | AribethAmkiir Athena kid. Enough said. Status: Acquaintances (Unconfirmed) - I doubt these two would have much cause to interact and if they did, I doubt it would be pleasant. Area is free to dislike her. Most people do Kiera O'Donoghue | Hermes | Me! Causes a lot of unnecessary trouble and talks too much. Status: Acquaintance - Kiera talked to her once when she first arrived but Rama made it quite clear that she had no desire to be friends or be "shown the ropes". Adrian Sebastian Keller | Dionysus | Krone I've heard of him. He hangs out a lot with Come which means I generally stay out of his way. Status: Acquaintance (Unconfirmed) - She would have heard of him, but she would avoid him because he's often around Come. Aleksandra "Alex" Christiana Samuel's | Unknown | Carla Who? Oh. Don't know her. Status: Acquaintance (Unconfirmed) - Seen her around, but she's pretty new, so I don't know if they've had any interactions. Nicholas Williams | Athena | Cúchulainn Don't want your advice. Status: Acquaintances (Unconfirmed) - I have no clue if he had bothered to talk to her but whatever wisdom he has to impart is unwelcome. Lubov "Lu" Ut kin | Demeter (Unclaimed) | Javelin Doesn't seem to talk. Too bad everyone else isn't that way. Status: Acquaintance (Unconfirmed) - I get the feeling she would probably scare Lu. Veleriya "V" Nina Devanagari | Dionysus | Carla Too gun ho with her powers. Status: Acquaintance (Unconfirmed) - Honestly don't know if these two have ever talked to each other. Caoimhe Kennedy | Aphrodite | Timeless Strike one, she's an Aphrodite kid. Strike two, she's a flirt. Strike three, she's very, very attractive. She insists on talking to me and I don't like it. Stay the fuck away from me. Status: NOPE! (Confirmed) - Rama avoids Aphrodite kids. She despises the effect they have on her and Come is worse than any of them. Even though Rama tries to avoid her, the tattooed temptress goes out of her way to talk to her and Rama ends up making a fucking fool of herself every time. It's only afterward that what occurred sets in and boy does she get mad. Do not go anywhere near Rama after she has just talked to Come. It will not end well. Sebastian Alexandra Blake | Demeter (Unclaimed) | Flower Absolute piece of shit. Hate this guy and I hate every word that comes out of his mouth. Apparently he likes to get his ass beat because he doesn't know when to shut up. Status: Asshole (Unconfirmed) - This guy is a total idiot, and yet he has the gall to be a misogynistic little pig. Rama can and will put him in his place. Those work for me, Em jay :-) Quote from: Krone on 23-08-2016, 05:41:16Kokaine, those are fine with me for Adrian. Chances are that he's looked at/talked to/at least tried to flirt with all the women in the Camp at some point, so Skyler probably isn't entirely under his radar, but I think she may be a bit intense for him ;) Those work for me, Em jay :-)Foot! I will make a note of it ;D Adding them to my sheet as well ;) Thank you very much :-) Hi Everyone! AJ is up! (#msg12596031). I'm open for establishing connections, so PM me if you'd like. Friends, friends with benefits, or maybe just a lingering eye. Bros, sparring partners, or just anyone looking to know an all around nice guy! *laughs* Quote from: Krone on 23-08-2016, 05:41:16Kokaine, those are fine with me for Adrian. Chances are that he's looked at/talked to/at least tried to flirt with all the women in the Camp at some point, so Skyler probably isn't entirely under his radar, but I think she may be a bit intense for him ;) Lol! Skylar wouldn't know how to take the flirting if it was aimed at her. She'd probably just pretend it hadn't happened or something. Noticing guys at all in that way will be relatively new to her. Quote from: Cocaine on 23-08-2016, 07:16:37Lol! Skylar wouldn't know how to take the flirting if it was aimed at her. She'd probably just pretend it hadn't happened or something. Noticing guys at all in that way will be relatively new to her.LOL XD Anyone want to come say to Frank, he is seated at Demeter's table. Skylar will probably do a drive by something or other to Frank then find a seat somewhere. She's open to chill with whoever XD Sorry, been a bit under the weather the last few. I'll get Area's personality traits up, PM ppl, and respond to those posts that relate to me or Area. Also, I'm pretty sure that Area can find some commonalities with almost every character, unless they are nearly unlikable by everyone. Edited to refrain from double posting:Area's Personality TraitsAlea has a combination of book-smarts, cleverness, and common sense. She stands up for others, what she believes to be "right", or just, does not allow her fears to stop her from acting, and is truthful with her friends, and rivals, despite the outcome. She often comes up with "out-of-the-box" solutions to difficult problems, but also tries to encourage and empower others to rise to the occasion. Furthermore, she isn't prone to blurting out an answer to a problem, right away, unless it is a particularly difficult problem, and will allow, and even guide, someone not as confident in the subject to the answer. Alea has a strong sense of "right" and "wrong". That doesn't mean that she abides by all the rules, it just means that if she's going to break a rule, there's a very good reason for it. Unless she believes the rule is unjust, and then she'll willfully undermine it and try to get it abolished. Area has the same calm temperament as her mother, and is slow to anger. She feels that quests, and heroes, are kind of her mom's soft-spot, so helping other campers become claimed, whether that's joining them on their quest or giving support from camp, is something her mother would approve of. Of course, it depends on the camper. If someone new to the Camp wants to try and slay a Minotaur, Area is going to council them to wait until they're stronger, and if they try to go anyway, she will likely try to intervene (most likely by telling Chiron), and justify it by claiming she's saving them from themselves. She has a love-hate relationship with Camp. She enjoys the relative safety it provides, and the comradery found within, but misses civilization - I don't know the books, so I don't know if there's anything akin to the internet (I kind of doubt it), but she'd miss cities, libraries, cars, restaurants, normal people, and the internet. She has an artistic side to her, and can paint, sculpt, and draw, but keeps that side of herself reserved, and her pieces hidden, and has only allowed her close friends to see her creations. She enjoys tests of the mind, as much as, tests of the body, and has an incurable curiosity about mythology, mysticism, and ancient religion. She's independent, and while she enjoys spending time with her friends, she likes to spend time on her own. She's competitive. Furthermore, she doesn't like to lose, and when she does, she will study her opponent in order to learn of any weaknesses and then try to exploit them the next time she faces them. She's calculating and studious. Furthermore, she's honest to a fault, except during a competition, where deceit and misdirection are acceptable strategies. She's accepting, and realizes that there's a reason why people act the way they do. Though not perfect, she tries to look beyond people's actions to the purpose of their intent. She doesn't let first impressions get in the way of knowing someone, however, if someone is just simply a jerk, she won't go out of her way to associate with them. She likes to push her limits, and when she discovers someone who is better than she is, at something, almost anything, she takes a perverse pleasure in continuing to test herself against that person. Until proven otherwise, she believes that he can do anything anyone else can do, but better. She does have the good grace to not say that aloud, and after many years at Camp, has learned to bitterly accept that some things are done better by certain individuals, however, that doesn't mean she can't continue to try to improve until she is better than they are. Just bumping since I know sometimes people miss edits. Thanks, Flower. I'll try and get some tomorrow, just heading away for the weekend and tying up loose ends before I go is getting a bit hectic. Off work the next two days. Hand is doing decent, so I'm going to work on stuff for Lu soon. Okay, I believe I have sent PMs to everyone. Let me know if I missed you, and I apologize. Aiden and AME, do we have fauns in the Camp as before? Yes, but most are guardian types who go out and bring back demigods. They are never in camp for long periods of time. Thank you! WONDER TWINS ACTIVATE! .> Wait I mean sexy twins incoming! LOL Bella (#msg12601908)is approved and ready for interactions, plotting, and links. She is Valeria sister of course! ~hugs de Carla~ Boohoo! Better loom out for those redheads!-hugs up the Curvy one- I have seen much mischief in Dion's cabin. >:) Got a bunch of Lu's connections done. Feel free to look at them and let me know if anyone wants to change or work out something different with her. Also got a second CS sent in. Hope to get the rest of Lu's connections done once the baby lets me. Quote from: Curvy Kitten on 25-08-2016, 19:32:44WONDER TWINS ACTIVATE! Lt;, <...Sgt;.Sgt; Wait I mean sexy twins incoming! LOL Bella (#msg12601908)is approved and ready for interactions, plotting, and links. She is Valeria sister of course! ~hugs de Carla~Welcome to the game, Curvy! I think my girl Kiera should be friends with Bella since she's already friends with V. Quote from: Carla on 25-08-2016, 21:24:06Woohoo! Better loom out for those redheads! -hugs up the Curvy one- I have seen much mischief in Dion's cabin. Sgt;:)>.>For sure ;-) Quote from: Krone on 26-08-2016, 00:03:36>.Sgt;For sure ;-)Hehehehe... I don't envy Adrian when he has to actually be the responsible one (or at least pretend) since he's the cabin leader and all! Quote from: Carla on 25-08-2016, 21:24:06Woohoo! Better loom out for those redheads! -hugs up the Curvy one- I have seen much mischief in Dion's cabin. Sgt;:)Yes!! And it most certainly won't be managed! heheQuote from: Javelin on 25-08-2016, 23:25:37Got a bunch of Lu's connections done. Feel free to look at them and let me know if anyone wants to change or work out something different with her. Also got a second CS sent in. Hope to get the rest of Lu's connections done once the baby lets me. I am always open to links! Quote from: Carla on 26-08-2016, 00:26:15Hehehehe... I don't envy Adrian when he has to actually be the responsible one (or at least pretend) since he's the cabin leader and all! I totally foresee the twins both going, "Not it!" at the same time and smiling at Adrian. Hehe What he is supposed to be in charge. Like I said before, managing Dionysus kids like herding cats. Adrian: Chiron, I'll let you tell them someone else is in charge of them. Good luck with that. Quote from: Krone on 26-08-2016, 01:09:15Like I said before, managing Dionysus kids like herding cats. Adrian: Chiron, I'll let you tell them someone else is in charge of them. Good luck with that.+100 Quote from: Flower on 22-08-2016, 03:34:32Sooo Sebastian (#msg12593359) is approved. Some connections I am looking for are... FriendsClose Friend People who buy his "baked goods" from him -cough-Fuck Buddies (Past and Current)Enemies (Could be because of something he said, or maybe they wanted to become serious relationship wise, and he ran for the hills)Maybe someone who beat his ass once'm super open! Still looking for people to fill in these areas! Don't be afraid. I'm super nice. Sees is too...most of the time. I plan to get up his opening sometime this weekend. Links with the flower!? Heck yeah, lol sorry lack of sleep makes me silly :pi will probably see about sending pms after work, unless everyone would prefer plotting here. In totally open to either. Is it bad I have a daughter of Poseidon bouncing about my brain? Lol Quote from: Curvy Kitten on 26-08-2016, 13:07:38 Links with the flower!? Heck yeah, lol sorry lack of sleep makes me silly :pi will probably see about sending pms after work, unless everyone would prefer plotting here. In totally open to either. Is it bad I have a daughter of Poseidon bouncing about my brain? LolAmelita and Aiden mentioned they are not allowing any more children of the Big Three, since there's already a child of Zeus around. Children from the Big Three are supposed to be rare anyway, according to them. That is correct Quote from: Curvy Kitten on 26-08-2016, 13:07:38 Links with the flower!? Heck yeah, lol sorry lack of sleep makes me silly :pi will probably see about sending pms after work, unless everyone would prefer plotting here. In totally open to either. Is it bad I have a daughter of Poseidon bouncing about my brain? Lol Also, connections are definitely necessary! Been too long since we bumped keyboards. Quote from: Flower on 26-08-2016, 14:43:13You can still keep the idea on your back pocket though. Maybe they might open up in the future. ^_^ Yep, could very well be :)I've been working a lot and my nights ended up with me being pretty brain-dead, but I'm going to put Cecil and DEU in the world this weekend :) Charging my laptop and hope to get a post for Lu up. Got Semi posted. Will answer PMs and get Skylar up sometime today. Lu has cheesecake for breakfast. ^^ The best sort of breakfast Cheesecake is never a bad option...unless your lactose intolerant, then it might be a little issue. I'm regretting my choice to leave work early back on Monday, cause now I have to go to work today. Awwnoooo! No one should work on Sundays. Sundays should be universal "new week is about to start, relax and prepare for it" day.-nod- Sunday's aren't usually too bad, but I would rather be at home. I'm at work and will be back here at 11pm .... I get off at 2:30pm. So just half a day. But Sunday's aren't bad, we get to play on our phones, tablets, DS games. Freedom from work! I feel like my soul has been sucked away. -Breathes it back in- It might be a wasted effort, Amelia. Work is going to suck it dry again tomorrow. Is everyone good? Anyone need help getting started? (Lu is going to make Frank eat that whole cheesecake. :p I'm in the middle of finishing my syllabi, course prep, getting my online course in order and finishing the costume designs for a show which are due tomorrow, so all of that is eating up my time right now and has to take precedence over everything else, sadly. Once I get all of that finished I'll be able to post. Hope everyone had a somewhat decent Monday. ^^ Finally managed to get my CS done. Hope I'm not late for the fun. :-) Going to be working on opening posts this evening after the mini goes to bed. >:) It's officially my weekend. Time to do housework. Connections (WIP)Connections for Come Kennedy (#msg12586152):Cecilia Carrigan | Apollo [Cabin Leader] | Amelia"Ah, the very uptight and Stoic lass, yes? Ah. I don't really have much of an opinion about her, but I don't think she likes me that much. Maybe it's because I flirt with her ex. If that's the case, she definitely has some clinging issues. Poor lad." Status: Acquaintances, though Come finds her too uptight and don't necessarily like interacting with her. [Confirmed]Francisco "Frank" Herrera | Hephaestus [Cabin Leader] | Aiden"Oh, Frank? That lad is such a looker, ya? I thought we had something going on previously, but. He seems to be avoiding me nowadays. But he won't be able to stay away for very long, either way." Status: There's attraction between them though Frank is avoiding her. Come continues to treat him in a friendly manner, adding with flirtatious tone despite he may be aloof towards her. [Confirmed]Amadeus "DEU" Bradley | Hermes [Unclaimed] | Amelia"That lad doesn't belong in this camp, I'm so sure of it! He is Thor reincarnated. I mean, look at the lad's gorgeous locks! Nonetheless, he's a very handsome man and I know he enjoys me flirting with him. Very friendly laddie though." Status: Casual Friends - Think Come would like him, especially when he seems like a very nice person. She will definitely flirt with him but really though, she would flirt with almost everybody. [Unconfirmed]Skylar Quinn | Ares [Claimed] | Cocaine"That lass might be tiny, but she packs a punch! Such a lovely, fiery yet little thing, if you ask me! I just want to hug her every time I see her!" Status: Casual Friends - Think Come and Skylar would get along well, perhaps as casual friends. I can see Come would always greet her in a friendly manner and definitely flirt with her to see on Skylar's reaction. [Confirmed, I think?] Isaac Adams | Aphrodite [Unclaimed] | Cúchulainn"I am so certain he's my half-brother. But then again, that enchanting aura usually gives it away especially when I had been observing him for a while. But really though, he seems like a nice person though I wish he has more of a spine. As a child of Aphrodite, we shouldn't bend to people's will. I don't think mother would approve of that." Status: Friends - Think Come and he would get along well, though she would try to teach him one thing or two. Could see her being friendly with him whenever they see each other. [Unconfirmed]Tate Miller | Hephaestus [Unclaimed] | Bibliophile"She might have a temper, but she definitely has a matching passion for her art sculptures. I admire that, really. It also helps that she's a mighty fine lass too." Status: Casual Friends - I don't see anything that Come would dislike about Tate. I think she would like her regardless of her temper and would still flirt with her nonetheless. I can see them both becoming closer and being something like close friends too. [Unconfirmed]Semi Ayala | Zeus [Unclaimed] | Cocaine"Bonnie. What a beautiful, beautiful lass. I just adore her to bits, and I really do enjoy flirting with her whenever we both see each other. It helps that she always seem to enjoy the attention! Nevertheless, she is such a lovely thing, truly." Status: Good Friends - Come really likes Semi and finds her absolutely attractive. Whenever she sees the girl, there's no doubt that Come would be flirting with her and absolutely loving it. Other than that, she considers Semi as a good friend and enjoys her company regardless of attraction. [Confirmed]Area Taylor | Athena [Claimed] | AribethAmkiir"People might think she's very straight-laced and high-strung - well, she somewhat is, but they need to get to know her better! The lass is such a lovely person and I really do admire her determination. I. Just wish that she knows when to back down from a challenge before she gets herself really hurt. Other than that, she's such a perfect buddy to have some pampering time with!" Status: Good Friends - Come enjoys her company especially whenever Area wants to pamper herself. They seem to get along well, though it might surprise people. [Confirmed]Kiera O'Donoghue | Hermes [Cabin Leader] | Em jay"Ah, Kiera! That lass is such a trouble magnet, I swear. But deep down all the mischievousness, she's such a doll. Absolutely adore her and I always call her over whenever she's around so we can hang out." Status: Good Friends - They get along very well and Come enjoys her company. She would usually call Kiera over to hang out together whenever there's any possible chances. [Confirmed]Adrian Sebastian Keller | Dionysus [Cabin Leader] | Krone"Ah, he always throws the most exciting parties within the camp! Other than that, he and I. Share a special bond. Nevertheless, he's a very wonderful young lad, and he knows I'm attracted to him. It. Helps that he's good in bed too." Status: Good Friends (With Extra Benefits) - It's like an almost perfect match between them. Come absolutely loves his company and being around him, while it helps that he enjoys her company as well. She would usually seek for his company and would attend all of his parties rather loyally. [Confirmed]Aleksandra "Alex" Christiana Samuel's | Unknown [Unclaimed] | Carla"Mm, the new lass? She seems to be overwhelmed about everything, but it's quite understandable. I don't really know much about her other than though." Status: Casual Friends - I can see Come taking pity with her and wanting to guide her, mostly wanting to make her feel comfortable within the camp. [Unconfirmed]Nicholas Williams | Athena [Cabin Leader] | Cúchulainn"Ah, he seems to be a very. Cocky kind of person, doesn't he? I think he means well with his. Advises, though people might find it very snobbish. Still, he has a cute face and I don't mind him that much." Status: Casual Friends - I can see Come liking him though she might ask him to tone down the 'preaching' bit. She will occasionally flirt with him regardless. Lubov "Lu" Ut kin | Demeter [Unclaimed] | Javelin"Ah, that silent lass? People might like her quietness, but I am curious on whether she's truly a mute. But really though, I do like her and have no qualms with her. I also really like her tattoos, so there's that. I definitely need to freshen up on my sign language though." Status: Casual Friends - Think both of them would be fine with each other as there's nothing for Come to dislike about her. I can see Come wanting to support her in some way. [Unconfirmed]Valeria "V" Nina Devanagari | Dionysus [Claimed] | Carla"Thoughts." Status:Sebastian Alexandra Blake | Demeter [Unclaimed] | Flower"Thoughts." Status:Rama Tokugawa | Ares [Claimed] | Em jay"Thoughts." Status: Anthony Jacob Davis | Demeter [Cabin Leader] | Writers blockade"Thoughts." Status:Belladonna Ekaterina Devanagari | Dionysus [Claimed] | Curvy kitten"Thoughts." Status:Name | Deity [Position] | Writer"Thoughts." Status:Name | Deity [Position] | Writer"Thoughts." Status:Still working on this, but if anybody would like to suggest any idea for connections with Come, go right ahead! It looks good for DEU, Time ^^ He'd flirt with her too >.> Cecilia sat down at the Athena table, and is open for interaction ;D Silas (#msg12616621) is open for connections. He's been in and out of camp for thirteen years. I'll work on some unconfirmed thoughts once the baby is down for a nap. Quote from: Timeless on 31-08-2016, 10:02:50 Connections (WIP)Connections for Come Kennedy (#msg12586152):Cecilia Carrigan | Apollo [Cabin Leader] | Amelia"Ah, the very uptight and Stoic lass, yes? Ah. I don't really have much of an opinion about her, but I don't think she likes me that much. Maybe it's because I flirt with her ex. If that's the case, she definitely has some clinging issues. Poor lad." Status: Acquaintances, though Come finds her too uptight and don't necessarily like interacting with her. [Confirmed]Francisco "Frank" Herrera | Hephaestus [Cabin Leader] | Aiden"Oh, Frank? That lad is such a looker, ya? I thought we had something going on previously, but. He seems to be avoiding me nowadays. But he won't be able to stay away for very long, either way." Status: There's attraction between them though Frank is avoiding her. Come continues to treat him in a friendly manner, adding with flirtatious tone despite he may be aloof towards her. [Confirmed]Amadeus "DEU" Bradley | Hermes [Unclaimed] | Amelia"That lad doesn't belong in this camp, I'm so sure of it! He is Thor reincarnated. I mean, look at the lad's gorgeous locks! Nonetheless, he's a very handsome man and I know he enjoys me flirting with him. Very friendly laddie though." Status: Casual Friends - Think Come would like him, especially when he seems like a very nice person. She will definitely flirt with him but really though, she would flirt with almost everybody. [Unconfirmed]Skylar Quinn | Ares [Claimed] | Cocaine"That lass might be tiny, but she packs a punch! Such a lovely, fiery yet little thing, if you ask me! I just want to hug her every time I see her!" Status: Casual Friends - Think Come and Skylar would get along well, perhaps as casual friends. I can see Come would always greet her in a friendly manner and definitely flirt with her to see on Skylar's reaction. [Confirmed, I think?] Isaac Adams | Aphrodite [Unclaimed] | Cúchulainn"I am so certain he's my half-brother. But then again, that enchanting aura usually gives it away especially when I had been observing him for a while. But really though, he seems like a nice person though I wish he has more of a spine. As a child of Aphrodite, we shouldn't bend to people's will. I don't think mother would approve of that." Status: Friends - Think Come and he would get along well, though she would try to teach him one thing or two. Could see her being friendly with him whenever they see each other. [Unconfirmed]Tate Miller | Hephaestus [Unclaimed] | Bibliophile"She might have a temper, but she definitely has a matching passion for her art sculptures. I admire that, really. It also helps that she's a mighty fine lass too." Status: Casual Friends - I don't see anything that Come would dislike about Tate. I think she would like her regardless of her temper and would still flirt with her nonetheless. I can see them both becoming closer and being something like close friends too. [Unconfirmed]Semi Ayala | Zeus [Unclaimed] | Cocaine"Bonnie. What a beautiful, beautiful lass. I just adore her to bits, and I really do enjoy flirting with her whenever we both see each other. It helps that she always seem to enjoy the attention! Nevertheless, she is such a lovely thing, truly." Status: Good Friends - Come really likes Semi and finds her absolutely attractive. Whenever she sees the girl, there's no doubt that Come would be flirting with her and absolutely loving it. Other than that, she considers Semi as a good friend and enjoys her company regardless of attraction. [Confirmed]Area Taylor | Athena [Claimed] | AribethAmkiir"People might think she's very straight-laced and high-strung - well, she somewhat is, but they need to get to know her better! The lass is such a lovely person and I really do admire her determination. I. Just wish that she knows when to back down from a challenge before she gets herself really hurt. Other than that, she's such a perfect buddy to have some pampering time with!" Status: Good Friends - Come enjoys her company especially whenever Area wants to pamper herself. They seem to get along well, though it might surprise people. [Confirmed]Kiera O'Donoghue | Hermes [Cabin Leader] | Em jay"Ah, Kiera! That lass is such a trouble magnet, I swear. But deep down all the mischievousness, she's such a doll. Absolutely adore her and I always call her over whenever she's around so we can hang out." Status: Good Friends - They get along very well and Come enjoys her company. She would usually call Kiera over to hang out together whenever there's any possible chances. [Confirmed]Adrian Sebastian Keller | Dionysus [Cabin Leader] | Krone"Ah, he always throws the most exciting parties within the camp! Other than that, he and I. Share a special bond. Nevertheless, he's a very wonderful young lad, and he knows I'm attracted to him. It. Helps that he's good in bed too." Status: Good Friends (With Extra Benefits) - It's like an almost perfect match between them. Come absolutely loves his company and being around him, while it helps that he enjoys her company as well. She would usually seek for his company and would attend all of his parties rather loyally. [Confirmed]Aleksandra "Alex" Christiana Samuel's | Unknown [Unclaimed] | Carla"Mm, the new lass? She seems to be overwhelmed about everything, but it's quite understandable. I don't really know much about her other than though." Status: Casual Friends - I can see Come taking pity with her and wanting to guide her, mostly wanting to make her feel comfortable within the camp. [Unconfirmed]Nicholas Williams | Athena [Cabin Leader] | Cúchulainn"Ah, he seems to be a very. Cocky kind of person, doesn't he? I think he means well with his. Advises, though people might find it very snobbish. Still, he has a cute face and I don't mind him that much." Status: Casual Friends - I can see Come liking him though she might ask him to tone down the 'preaching' bit. She will occasionally flirt with him regardless. Lubov "Lu" Ut kin | Demeter [Unclaimed] | Javelin"Ah, that silent lass? People might like her quietness, but I am curious on whether she's truly a mute. But really though, I do like her and have no qualms with her. I also really like her tattoos, so there's that. I definitely need to freshen up on my sign language though." Status: Casual Friends - Think both of them would be fine with each other as there's nothing for Come to dislike about her. I can see Come wanting to support her in some way. [Unconfirmed]Valeria "V" Nina Devanagari | Dionysus [Claimed] | Carla"Thoughts." Status:Sebastian Alexandra Blake | Demeter [Unclaimed] | Flower"Thoughts." Status:Rama Tokugawa | Ares [Claimed] | Em jay"Thoughts." Status: Anthony Jacob Davis | Demeter [Cabin Leader] | Writers blockade"Thoughts." Status:Belladonna Ekaterina Devanagari | Dionysus [Claimed] | Curvy kitten"Thoughts." Status:Name | Deity [Position] | Writer"Thoughts." Status:Name | Deity [Position] | Writer"Thoughts." Status:Still working on this, but if anybody would like to suggest any idea for connections with Come, go right ahead! I'm good with her views on Lu. ^^ If anyone would be interested in a scene with Skylar, let me know and I will post her up after work today! She's also still open for connections :P You can drop her at the Athena table with Cecilia if you want, KDKA. Should be awkward and nice coincidentally, I'm looking for someone to distract Cecilia from lingering thoughts about a certain ex, aka a romantic interest of some kind. Doesn't have to be serious! If anyone's interested, let me know! ’D If you really want to be saddled with both my characters... Hey if you don't want to, you don't have to. It was just an offer. Cecilia is open to interaction with anyone. Except Frank. Silas would be open, but not sure how much of a romantic he is. Oh! The scene and romantic interest are two different things I'm looking for TDI didn't mean for the solstice scene to be about that! I can have Silas just sit with her for breakfast. He'd be okay anywhere except Hermes table (too many people for his comfort). Nick shall also be sitting at the Athena table because as cabin leader it is his duty to welcome all the weary travelers who come to his mother's house seeking rest. Quote from: Javelin on 31-08-2016, 18:53:46I can have Silas just sit with her for breakfast. He'd be okay anywhere except Hermes table (too many people for his comfort). Quote from: Cúchulainn on 31-08-2016, 19:18:14Nick shall also be sitting at the Athena table because as cabin leader it is his duty to welcome all the weary travelers who come to his mother's house seeking rest. Excellent ^^ Cecil is also cabin leader. She thinks Apollo kids can be trusted to welcome those who stray there for Solstice breakfast ;D Quote from: Amelia on 31-08-2016, 17:47:32Hey if you don't want to, you don't have to. It was just an offer. Cecilia is open to interaction with anyone. Except Frank. Well it seems like you've got company for your girlie now so I'll hold off. Welcome to join in if you like. Plenty of characters haven't been posted yet, so you should be fine to find scene buddies either way :) Frank can build Semi a booster seat Going to be working on my girls openers today. Alex will be sitting at the Hermes table, and I'm not quite sure where V will end up lol...she's just sort of smirking in the back of my head at the moment which leads me to believe she's been plotting something without conferring with her writer....~sighs~ darned pushy characters! Do I fold and join all the other cabin leaders in their old-fashioned road, or be progressive...hmm Quote from: Aiden on 31-08-2016, 20:10:32Franky can build Semi a booster seat I'm going to assume you mean Skylar? Semi in a booster seat would be... o.o Actually, Semi wiggling her ass into a booster seat would be hilarious XD Quote from: Cúchulainn on 31-08-2016, 22:28:46Do I fold and join all the other cabin leaders in their old-fashioned road, or be progressive...hmm AJ did not go old-timey So, there is this(today ::)(click it) I am here, I am alive! Just got surprised with a last minute trip to NOLA for a belated b-day present. I will see about trying to get a post up, and some pms out between exploring and possible drunken shenanigans. .> no container laws and Bourbon Street make for a very interesting even :P Quote from: Curvy Kitten on 01-09-2016, 07:48:08I am here, I am alive! Just got surprised with a last minute trip to NOLA for a belated b-day present. I will see about trying to get a post up, and some pms out between exploring and possible drunken shenanigans. Lt;, <...Sgt;.Sgt; no container laws and Bourbon Street make for a very interesting even :LMAO... Get off your computer and go play!!! Enjoy NOLA! Dropped V off at the Hermes table if anyone cares to join her. Hope everyone has a good Labor Day weekend. ^^ Hello there everybody! I'm new to the game, but it seems like a fun time so far! Here's my character, Ethan Allison (#msg12625378). Over the next day or so I'll be trying to pm players so we can work OTU connections, but if you have an idea, I would be happy to hear them :) One of us! One of us! Yes, welcome to the game! I love your face claim. :) I just updated our approved characters thread and added this baby to it:(Michel Skylar QuinnReika TokugawaApolloCecilia CarriganHephaestusFranky HerreroTate MillerHermesKiera DonoghueClint Castle Amadeus Bradley Isaac AdamsAkemi Amaya Aleksandra SamuelsLubov UtkinSebastian Blake Logan McCreeEthan AllisonHeraDemeterAnthony Jacob DavisAthenaNicholas WilliamsAlea TaylorArtemisAphroditeCaoimhe KennedyDionysusAdrian KellerVeleriya Devanagari Belladonna Devanagari Hades Iris Hypos Nemesis Silas None Hebe Tycho Hecate Quote from: Flower on 04-09-2016, 22:05:14Yes, welcome to the game! I love your face claim. :)+100 Quote from: Curvy Kitten on 01-09-2016, 07:48:08I am here, I am alive! Just got surprised with a last minute trip to NOLA for a belated b-day present. I will see about trying to get a post up, and some pms out between exploring and possible drunken shenanigans. Lt;, <...Sgt;.Sgt; no container laws and Bourbon Street make for a very interesting even :P*is jealous* Go have fun! Forget about E, NOLA needs all your attention quote from: Carla on 02-09-2016, 22:44:54Dropped V off at the Hermes table if anyone cares to join her. I will most likely take you up on that offer within the coming days. More people! ^_^ Quote from: Javelin on 05-09-2016, 02:18:28More people! ^_^ Indeed! I'm glad to be joining the cast! :) Welcome to all the new folk! ^^ Welcome new players! Ok so I have decided to drop my girl Rama and just keep my Kiera. I would also like to claim Miles McMillan. Oh hey, quick question; Does Hermes cabin have a leader right now? Quote from: JamesSureWould on 05-09-2016, 05:03:12Oh hey, quick question; Does Hermes cabin have a leader right now? Yup. My girl Kiera is the new cabin leader. She hasn't been given the title Icy, but it's about to be announced. Quote from: Em jay on 05-09-2016, 05:06:28Yup. My girl Kiera is the new cabin leader. She hasn't been given the title Icy, but it's about to be announced. What she said, at the moment. Two cabin leaders are sitting at Demeter's table discussing it and about to share the information. It isn't a secret, but the decision was made the night before and about to be announced. I look forward to writing with y'all. Going to send out pms over the next few days for any connections or at least a little of how our characters might react to each other. I'm still finishing up my syllabi, but the good news is they have to be done tomorrow. There is an end in sight'm also a bit stalled on trying to figure out what Adrian thinks of everyone. So, if I haven't had direct contact or received confirmation from people via PM I'm just going to leave those characters blank and let it work itself out in game. Otherwise, I'm just going to continue to stall on that and never write a post, lol. Quote from: Em jay on 05-09-2016, 04:40:52Ok so I have decided to drop my girl Rama and just keep my Kiera. I would also like to claim Miles McMillan. Alright :)Could you go ahead and put her in a spoiler as inactive in the character thread? You can then switch her out for a new character when you get one approved (and the character thread stays super neat and tidy! ’D)Is that okay with you? Quote from: Krone on 05-09-2016, 08:08:38I'm still finishing up my syllabi, but the good news is they have to be done tomorrow. There is an end in sight I'm also a bit stalled on trying to figure out what Adrian thinks of everyone. So, if I haven't had direct contact or received confirmation from people via PM I'm just going to leave those characters blank and let it work itself out in game. Otherwise, I'm just going to continue to stall on that and never write a post, lol. Don't stress too much about the connections And good luck with the syllabi! Quote from: Em jay on 05-09-2016, 01:10:29*is jealous* Go have fun! Forget about E, NOLA needs all your attention TDI will most likely take you up on that offer within the coming days.*agrees about NOLA*Looking forward to your girlie dropping in! ’D I am back from NOLA! Hopefully it's not too late to get into the swing of things here? I'm still eager and totally open to working up links and potty goodness! Not too late...lots of folks still working on getting into the swing of things! How was NOLA?? Quote from: Carla on 07-09-2016, 01:18:50Not too late...lots of folks still working on getting into the swing of things! How was NOLA??AWESOME! I saw so much, went to the levee, french quarter, Burton street, road trolleys, saw the voodoo temple...and so much more. It was great, totally worth the horribly long car ride there and back Loki'll have to try and get some pms out to see who wants some links. And to get our playful twins into some trouble...fun. :P I need to go back there some day. Despite the heat, it was one of my favorite places to live. Mini-Jag wants to see where she was born, so we might go next year. Quote from: Curvy Kitten on 07-09-2016, 02:34:13AWESOME! I saw so much, went to the levee, french quarter, Burton street, road trolleys, saw the voodoo temple...and so much more. It was great, totally worth the horribly long car ride there and back Loki'll have to try and get some pms out to see who wants some links. And to get our playful twins into some trouble...fun. Pounds awesome!!! I want to go someday, but that is a dream that is going to wait until after school is done lol...one thing at a time. FUN...the twins need fun... I think, with it being a holiday in Camp and all, that a party in their Cabin should be in order. ~nodsnodsnods~ Sounds like you had a great time Curvy! Adrian has made his way to breakfast. Feel free to hit him up for wine ;) Quote from: Krone on 07-09-2016, 07:25:01Adrian has made his way to breakfast. Feel free to hit him up for wine ;)I'll be sending Come over to him, where! XD Quote from: Timeless on 07-09-2016, 07:53:44I'll be sending Come over to him, where! XD Awesome :D Good afternoon my Demigod creators If anyone is having trouble with their intro or not sure where to join, feel free to pm Aiden or myself, and we can help out :)I hope everyone is feeling good about game start! ’D Hope everyone is having a good week thus far. ^^ POSTED! Is it weird that I feel rusty LOL Hopefully Bella's muse will blossom as the game moves on, that always helps the posts flow much easier. Had a more eventful weekend than planned. Will be posting within the next day or two, but shooting for tomorrow night. Hoping everyone is doing good. Does anyone need help getting started? This is not meant to be a fast-paced game, but I want to make sure we are all happy with the pace. Suggestions and comments are welcome, including things you may want to do IC. Capture the flag, chariot races etc. (I would have to find a way to make it fair and give everyone a fighting chance) etc. Hi everyone. My guy just came into camp for the first time and is looking to get acclimated. Love the game idea. As far as things he wants to do IC. He's interested in creating graphic novels since he's an artist and dabbling at writing. He can work pretty well in teams and would like to make this a group project so they can do modern retelling of the Greek myths and maybe just publish their adventures/quests under the guise of a comic series to reach a new generation of humans. Surely the gods would favor the telling of stories that put them in the best light possible lol. I'm here he-he, just been a busy week. We lost to people at work and we were already short. A team that is supposed to be 8 is now 4. YAY! So yeah been getting insane hours. I shall be getting a post up today, at least as long as life allows it. :) Sorry for the delay! But I'm peachy, Bella and V are having some fun he-he Heck I'm resisting another character, dang muse :P I'm saving that spot! LOL We have unlimited overtime at work this week. Which is what I'm doing today. So busy, busy, busy. Needing a day to relax I have chosen to play hockey from school today...writing will be on the agenda!!! ’D If anyone is still looking for someone to interact with, I finally have dropped Skylar into the breakfast scene. Feel free to have your character approach or call to her or do whatever. Or you can drop me a note here. I'd prefer to keep out of the larger groups for now though. Ames - I'll get Semi posted for you tomorrow. Quote from: Cocaine on 21-09-2016, 06:07:01If anyone is still looking for someone to interact with, I finally have dropped Skylar into the breakfast scene. Feel free to have your character approach or call to her or do whatever. Or you can drop me a note here. I'd prefer to keep out of the larger groups for now though. I'll have Logan head over. Haven't had a lot of time to post until now, so this is a good opportunity. Quote from: Moon Hound Hat on 21-09-2016, 09:24:33I'll have Logan head over. Haven't had a lot of time to post until now, so this is a good opportunity. Sounds good! ^^ Quote from: Cocaine on 21-09-2016, 06:07:01If anyone is still looking for someone to interact with, I finally have dropped Skylar into the breakfast scene. Feel free to have your character approach or call to her or do whatever. Or you can drop me a note here. I'd prefer to keep out of the larger groups for now though. Ames - I'll get Semi posted for you tomorrow.Yay, ^^ Quote from: Cocaine on 21-09-2016, 15:51:14 Sounds good! ^^ There we go. One post up. :) Hey guys, just wanted to let you all know that I have decided to leave Demigods. I wish you guys the best of luck with the game, and hopefully I will see you around in other games. :-) Alright Ems, see you around You're welcome back at any point :-) Double post, woo! I'll be posting Cecilia tonight or tomorrow Quote from: Amelia on 24-09-2016, 20:42:20Alright Ems, see you around Lt;3 You're welcome back at any point :-)Thank you, Ames ❤ Hello guys! Just want to inform that I will be dropping from the game since my muse for the game is gone, sadly to say. Thanks for having me throughout the whole time and good luck! I'm also going to take my leave. I'm teaching an overload gen ed class this semester, and it's eating up all my free time. Sorry, everyone. Best of luck, at this point I'm going to take a roll call and assign new cabin leaders as a few have left the game Lu and Silas are still about. Still here. Was contemplating making a second character. Had some good ideas for that. Still here, I can't give up on Bella so easily :P Still here, I mean, demigod goodness! Niko is still here and looking to make new friends and rivals. I'm still in with Semi and Skylar. Hoping to get rolling a bit better once they stop making me close then open the very next morning >.> Am still here. Sorry for being quiet so much recently...the first couple weeks of school were psychotic but seem to be evening out. Am I hoping to get caught up after class tomorrow. :) Still here for both, one just hasn't bothered getting out of bed yet. I am still here. Cant have Matthias giving up already! Thanks for checking in, I will be making a post hopefully within a day or so to introduce the first plot in the game. There should be plenty to do for everyone! Dun dun dun dun... Cool. Looking forward to it. So the first event is up and going. For those of you who want to jump into action, you are welcome to. A thing about the raiders, the only ones who can stand 1 for 1 against these will be children of Ares (strength for strength) (Big 3 are included here)Same for Athena kids (but they need to be tactical) (Big 3 are included here)But this is also a chance to use your demigod powers, bonus points for creativity and such! Everyone else, would need help, but the main point is...they won't be dying, so no kill shots. (unless someone figures it out IC, but let's not get ahead of ourselves)Enjoy the event, we will make Gm post as needed. Any questions, please feel free to ask. Hey, guys! I know some of you are aware of what's been going on with me, so I won't go into the explanation, anyone who wishes to know can read it on my A&A's. That being said, I am still totally down for this game. I'll be sticking with the one character for right now, though. At least until I get moved and no longer have to mooch Wi-Fi off B&N. But, we ALL know that once I move, I'm not going to be able to resist making another...hell, I might not be able to wait even that long, once I get back into the swing of things. Hi, my name is Dawn, and I'm a serial character creator. -snickers.-So...onto the IC to see what sort of trouble my Hephaestus baby can get into. P.S.: My PMs sort of got erased, so if anyone had contacted me about connections, please resend? You're right in time for the action to start ;) Going to try to post today. Egg spawn may not allow it though. If not, it'll have to be my next day off, Sunday, when she's out with the in-laws. Either way, a Jag post is good news ;) Egg spawn would disagree. It takes away my attention from her, therefore it is Satan. :p XD Humph all the cabin leaders but Athena's? That's fine well just make our own giant fighting strategy, with black jack and hookers. ? Is referencing this and connecting it that I didn't call in the cabin leader from Athena. Which was a mistake on my end and will be corrected! So I did this in my latest post, but I will be adding Presence to some Gm post, these are meant as options a player can take. It will be connected to nearby campers, and will range from being able to kill things, to helping in a quest or fight. And they will only be available because certain demigods are around one another. Think of it like a combo type attack/strategy. I will basically be looking for synergy between campers and give you guys opportunities to have great results, but they all won't be good...so be careful. >:) Looking to jump on this either tomorrow or Saturday! Tomorrow is looking quite doable. -does a salsa dance.- It feels suitor good to be writing again. Edit: So, remember how I said I would probably not be able to resist making a new character? Well, I want to make a dude...a child of Hades, Hecate or Hera. I kinda like the idea of a male child of Hecate, with all sorts of witch power. -wiggles fingers.- Woooooooo. I'm looking at Billy Huxley as a possible face-claim...but still debating my options and deciding if I want to go alternative and super-masculine, or more androgynous. I will post tomorrow! Can't wait to join the event! I had this idea for a child of Hades. They manifested darkness powers first and heard dead people and thought they were the child of the devil. When things started showing up they ran from home. Right now they pretty much ignore schooling because they talk to dead heroes who are urging him to be better/more heroic. I think the big three are closed for any more takers though, and I can't picture anyone having those abilities so, I'll just stick with Niko IMO having big three children in a group game is something to be handled a bit more carefully. Everyone likes to be powerful, so a lot of people would like a big three children. It would be strange, given the source material this game is based on, for any of the big three to have any/many children. I think the one that is currently present in the game is enough and the fact that she is unclaimed is a big plus. But, again, that's just my thoughts on the matter. Quote from: Bibliophile on 07-10-2016, 20:43:49-does a salsa dance.- It feels suitor good to be writing again. Edit: So, remember how I said I would probably not be able to resist making a new character? Well, I want to make a dude...a child of Hades, Hecate or Hera. I kinda like the idea of a male child of Hecate, with all sorts of witch power. -wiggles fingers.- Woooooooo. I'm looking at Billy Huxley as a possible face-claim...but still debating my options and deciding if I want to go alternative and super-masculine, or more androgynous. Hera doesn't do the kid thing, and the big 3 are closed for now, but Hecate kid could be fun ;) I totally forgot Hades was one of the big three. -snickers.- Poor guy gets no respect, I tell ya. Hecate was my first choice anyhow, so that totally works out for me. Especially if it's male, because male witches are badass. Work is trying to kill me. Eight and half hours of overtime tomorrow, after a ten and a half hour shift today. X__Luckily, on Sundays, we can usually have our phones out so long as it's not taking up call time. So I might be able to get Lu or Silas posted tomorrow depending on how busy we are. I sent in my sheet for my son of Hecate. -wriggles.- Jack Roth is so adorable. Gm event progressed and post made! Foot! -plots a post for Tate at the Armory tomorrow.- Post will be incoming either tonight or tomorrow morning. Sorry for the delay utterly spaced on it being my turn lol. WWW, no mention of my peeps slowing them down? Sadness everlasting. Sorry! But players can totally mention them stumbling into them, it may even save their lives! Quote from: Writers blockade on 13-10-2016, 02:14:07Awwww, no mention of my peeps slowing them down? Sadness everlasting. There's a mention in Cecil's post. Sorta XD"AJ!!!" I'm going to stick Silas and Lu together for now, if that's okay...? It's easier for me where I'm busy with overtime at work and such if both my characters are in the same spot. If that's not alright, I will probably just use Silas for the GM Event and Lu will just hide out somewhere. Absolutely fine :)All that matters is that you enjoy participating in the event! Question. Does it matter what type of strawberry when it comes to Bella's powers? I know there is a type of strawberry that has thorns on the vines. And wanted to have her try and tangle a bad in them? They are wild berries, and I am pretty sure they aren't supposed to be eaten LOL But wasn't sure if that was ok to use.PS working on my post! Hehe Never heard of Strawberry with thorns, but as a child of Dionysus, wine making berries would fall in that domain. I know some berries DO have thorns, so it all plausible. Quote from: Aiden on 14-10-2016, 10:39:40Never heard of Strawberry with thorns, but as a child of Dionysus, wine making berries would fall in that domain. I know some berries DO have thorns, so it all plausible.It's some sort of wild strawberry, or some sort of off shoot from it. But i didn't realize we could use other berries. Foot that works for me. Thank you :) Grapes are still the main strength, but Camp Half blood is also known for its strawberry fields. So it's all in the general direction. Blackberry brambles would totally work and they make wine from them. Hell, any fruit can be made into wine, as can honey. -ponders.- Actually, it'd be interesting for one of Dionysus' kids to control bees. Quote from: Bibliophile on 14-10-2016, 21:32:58Blackberry brambles would totally work, and they make wine from them. Hell, any fruit can be made into wine, as can honey. -ponders.- Actually, it'd be interesting for one of Dionysus' kids to control bees. Since Demeter's kids are farmers, bee control should go to them Posted, sorry for the wait again. I tried to work with the actions already going on. Hopefully it's ok, let me know if I need to edit. Okay, I dropped Tate in the General thread! She's in the Armory, and totally open, if anyone wants to join her! Posted. Anyone free to join Quote from: Writers blockade on 14-10-2016, 23:41:18Since Demeter's kids are farmers, bee control should go to them'd imagine that any of the kids whose parents have some agricultural bent will have some overlap. After all Demeter skids would likely be able to control the same vines that Dion's kids can. No reason it necessarily has to be an either/or...in fact if it was both it could open up some interesting door for collaboration in situations like the Camp being attacked. :) I think you're right Carla. I mean Demeter and Dionysus both have Chlorokinesis, which is the control and manipulation of plants and vegetation. I think the differences come out in where the interest and skills lay. Dionysus is a party animal so naturally his inclination and proclivities with the ability lean towards wine and alcohol. Demeter was more of a mother figure and for her, it was all about the feeding of people. I imagine if someone who was more murderous had the ability it would lean towards plant poisons. Quote from: Carla on 15-10-2016, 05:54:23I'd imagine that any of the kids whose parents have some agricultural bent will have some overlap. After all Demeter skids would likely be able to control the same vines that Dion's kids can. No reason it necessarily has to be an either/or...in fact if it was both it could open up some interesting door for collaboration in situations like the Camp being attacked. :)Lol just fanning the flames of rivalry. Far be it for AJ to resist collaboration with the winery kids, either in peace or war! Quote from: Carla on 15-10-2016, 05:54:23I'd imagine that any of the kids whose parents have some agricultural bent will have some overlap. After all Demeter skids would likely be able to control the same vines that Dion's kids can. No reason it necessarily has to be an either/or...in fact if it was both it could open up some interesting door for collaboration in situations like the Camp being attacked. :)Hence the reason Bella called out to AJ! Hehe team work baby! At work making the phones during a festival, nothing to do but read the threads on my nook. And three character ideas suddenly take hold of my brain. WHY! BAD MUSES! LOL Haha well, you'll have to put a leash on those. There are only two characters per writer ;)Quote from: Amelia on 15-10-2016, 20:15:08Haha well, you'll have to put a leash on those. There are only two characters per writer ;)Lt;3I know he-he, I'm trying to save my free slot for the previous idea I had. But I'm not sure if I have they will power :p may end up using my last sot before the big three get open for play again. What... I don't have a problem, ok but not a big one. Lol Look who's older now...!(Happy birthday!! I'm going to have to sit out this event. Work had massive mandatory overtime for a few weeks, then I got sick (cause someone came to work sick and call centers are disease hellholes), and now the spawn lings are both ill. Sorry. No worries, Jag. The events are there for people to enjoy writing in, not mandatory chores ;)I hope sickies pass swiftly Quote from: Writers blockade on 24-10-2016, 23:42:34Sorry folks, got hit by a sick bug hard. I'll try to post tonight after I nap, but if you see nothing by tomorrow, just skip me. No worries, and great post Hun. :) And boohoo see they do make a great team. Looks great block! I just didn't want to push the scene too far especially since I mentioned some people and happenings in my post. I'm alive! TDI'm going to write Cecilia tonight Sorry for the holdup. Posts are looking great, people ;D Poor Alex! Aiden's being mean to her lol. Sorry for the delay, I know I'm bad...lol Unexpected move, having to get a new car, and working 10 to 12 hours shifts totally ate me this week. But I'm off this weekend, so I intend to get a post up!! Come hell or high water damns it! :P That is a rough week. I feel for you. And I look forward to your post. ’D Am now moved into my new place with internet! -grooves.- I will get Tate's post up as soon as possible. And check to make sure my other guy is approved. Ok people, so the battle in the dining room is going to go like this. No confirmed hits, if you try to engage the boss, leave it as an attempt. And I will be doing something similar. To give you a break-down, two things are happening right now and both need to be addressed. Alek is being chased by three giants, and we have one badly looking to mess the rest of you up. I am Going this fight, but if you act stupid, I WILL hurt you and take you out of the fight. This is me testing my combat system, so I am also learning without resorting to a system. So, as a hint, if something looks painful, do what you can to avoid, dodge, etc. (Don't be dumb) Also, I will give you guys a week till the next GM post unless everyone updates before that. Remember darlings, the tagging part of your header is for characters yours is actually engaging in some manner or inviting to, not just every person posting in the thread ;) Looks like Bella may owe a dew of her friends drinks after this one LOL. Just want to throw it out there that this is a perfect RP and i think all of y'all are awesome writers. Quote from: Curvy Kitten on 31-10-2016, 15:46:03Looks like Bella may owe a dew of her friends drinks after this one LOL. V says that a party will be necessary to recover. Much booze will be there for the taking in their cabin! Lol Quote from: El Malign on 31-10-2016, 18:20:49Just want to throw it out there that this is a perfect RP and i think all of y'all are awesome writers. Yay for all of us! :)Happy you're enjoying it! Finally posted for Tate! Aiden, her brother's getting his fire! Quote from: Bibliophile on 02-11-2016, 07:43:07Finally posted for Tate! Aiden, her brother's getting his fire! Great post! WWW... Thanks! Hmm, I'm a little confused about locations so lets see if I have this right. Mathias, Nike, AJ, Bella and co. where fighting in giants in the pavilion but pushed the giants back retreating presumably towards the hill overlooking the sea where I assume the mist is still going strong, yes? Alek on the other hand was still floating around the Hephaestus table doing her drawing and ice magic and is now currently running away from the giants so would be further into the pavilion, yes? Now Nick ran over to the Hephaestus table for some of the weapons they have floating around so that would put him currently there, and I assume closer to Alex than the rest. Is the "Storm Giant" not attacking Alex based on her distance from the front-line and if so would that mean Nick wasn't attack by lightning or is she not being attacked for some other reason and so Nick was attacked by lightning? Alex isn't attacked by lightning because she is their target to be captured. At least that's what I read into it Quote from: Cúchulainn on 07-11-2016, 23:46:24Hmm, I'm a little confused about locations so lets see if I have this right. Mathias, Nike, AJ, Bella and co. where fighting in giants in the pavilion but pushed the giants back retreating presumably towards the hill overlooking the sea where I assume the mist is still going strong, yes? Alek on the other hand was still floating around the Hephaestus table doing her drawing and ice magic and is now currently running away from the giants so would be further into the pavilion, yes? Now Nick ran over to the Hephaestus table for some of the weapons they have floating around so that would put him currently there, and I assume closer to Alex than the rest. Is the "Storm Giant" not attacking Alex based on her distance from the front-line and if so would that mean Nick wasn't attack by lightning or is she not being attacked for some other reason and so Nick was attacked by lightning? My understanding was that everyone is outside the pavilion. Alex went outside and was drawing parts of the battle that her wind was able to push the fog away from and let her see. When part of the battle swung near her direction she panicked which caused the deep freeze happening around her and really caught the giants' attention. My understanding is that they feed on her icy power in some fashion, it seems to energize them, so a few are now pounding down to try and catch her and lightening boy isn't zapping her because they're planning on capturing her not killing her. Deciding she didn't want to lead them into the pavilion, she ranawayfrom it and toward the other campers hoping, partly, to get in the way of the lightening that is being tossed (hoping the giants want her alive more than they want the others dead) and that she can get to the safety of real fighters (which she's not) as well. Is this a busy time for everyone? It is my fault, I fell off the wagon then hit a dry spell. I have the conclusion of the even in the works and will post it soon. Then I will open the IC for a week and let you guys play in the sandbox. Ok, in order to get things back on track I decided to wrap up the opening scene and swap to a more open sandbox. I will catch up with those who are leaders and give out information on a need to know basis. There is plenty to do in camp for the time being. If anyone needs help, let me know! Foot a Bella post will be up shortly! Can anyone say victory party (yes driving them back counts :P), I dare say she owes a few boys a drink. Hehe I'll post tomorrow

DemiGods_ OOC - Get your chat on

The Cabin (closed to sallythescorpian)

The Cabin (closed to sallythescorpian)Jamie Summers is out with her boyfriend, Max Headroom. They were parking in a remote forested area off the highway he had unzipped his pants and taken his cock out. Come on baby just one blow job, Don’t you love me? Max said. Jamie replied No! That’s Nasty and stormed out of the car without thinking. Max thought to hell with it, we’ve been going out for five years now, and I can’t even get a BJ, then he drove off leaving Jamie behind. Jamie turns around as soon as her boyfriend leaves leaving her lost in the woods. She wonders in the woods awhile hoping she’ll find a cabin with somebody willing to help her. She finds three brothers. Sam, Dean, and Michael. They are all handsome and wanted for armed bank robbery. They can’t go to town to buy food right now. Furthermore, they are too hot their pictures are everywhere for robbing the bank and getting away with 10 million dollars, They didn’t kill anybody, but they caught the police chief with his pants down literally. He was screwing the head teller when he should have been taking care of business. They knocked the one guard out and made off with the contents of the truck. Sam says, looks like the entertainment problem is over! He strips off her dress and tosses her to Dean. Dean Says your right brother, you're absolutely right! He forces a kiss on Jamie and rips her bra off her. Then he throws her to Michael. Michael feels her breasts, and forces another kiss on Jamie. Then rips the panties off her. Now all Jamie is wearing is a pair of patent leather high heels. Sam say, Now hold on their brothers. We’ve got to give this young sweet thing a fighting chance. Now honey. We are going to let you go and let you run for it. In your high heels. Now were going top give you a 5-minute head start! If you get away your free but if we catch you. We’re going to keep you as are personal Sex Slave till winter is over, and the heat is off. Let her go boys! Go on now the clock is ticking.! Jamie was livid! That asshole Max! Driving off and leaving her here in the middle of nowhere! Of course, he'd brought her out her, once again trying to get her to give him a blow job! She'd looked at him with disdain. "No means no! Max. Do you have any idea how pathetic you sound ?"she imitated him in a scornful voice "c'mon baby please? Just suck it, just for a minute! Please! I promise I won't cum! Everybody else is getting it!" His begging and pleading had gotten on her nerves and she had told him to shut up with his whinging! She got out the car, and the fucker drove off and left her!!! She had walked for miles, finally coming across three good-looking guys, who she had been sure would fall over themselves to offer her assistance. Instead, they had formed a circle around her, pushing her between them, tearing off her clothes until she was naked, and then, just when she was trying to brace herself for the worst, they had thrown her an olive branch. She was to get a 5-minute head start, and make a run for it!! Jamie took off like the hounds of hell were on her heels, which, in fact they were. She did not want to run in the silly 4" high-heeled pumps, but the ground was covered with sharp stones, and thorns, and she thought the shoes were better than nothing. She ran for cover, sure she could hide. Furthermore, she ran through the undergrowth, briars tearing at her hair and skin and then, she came across a hollow tree, and she dived into it, breathing hard. Furthermore, she felt pretty confident they would not find her here. The prospect of them capturing her, did not bear thinking about! Sam, Dean, and Michael were expert trackers and no one knew about their hide-out. They could have given Jamie two hours to hide and would have still found her. The walked silently following her tacks. Sam the eldest brother spotted her foolish hiding place first. He had Dean ANF is Baby brother Michael takes up position on either side of the log, so they were covering both exits. Sam pounded his canteen in the middle and called out. I'd come out of that log before I gt tired of waiting and start randomly shooting at the log Slave! Then Sam lets a shot off in the air away from the log and his brothers! Jamie was terrified. Surely they wouldn't really shoot her, but then she heard the nearby shot and quickly scampered out of there. She couldn't have hid there much longer anyway, there were spiders in there, and God only knew what else. Crying hard, she began to crawl her way out, terrified of being shot, and petrified of what awaited her. She approached the guy with the gun, and then it occurred to her - he had fired one shot, so he probably had only one left - there was no sign of the brothers this might be her only chance! So suddenly she darted left, and ran as fast as she could to the trees on her left, hoping not to hear a gun shot, or feel it in her back. Jamie darted directly in the direction of Michael. He pointed his hunting rifle directly at Jamie's right breast.knew Slave, or I'll shoot! Deans voice came from directly behind her. If baby brother Michael misses I won't, I've got a bead on your ASS. That sweet ass that I now own Sex Slave! Sam's voice calls out from his position in the middle of the log. Listen to reason girl you've been caught fair and square. We gave you a little over 5 minutes as a matter of fact. But you are caught now. Kneel on the ground ND put your arms in the air. You might even be fast but your not three bullets fast! Jamie began to cry hard now! "Please, please just let me go! I beg you!" She looked from one brother to another, vainly hoping to find pity, sympathy, some glimmer of hope that she would be released. She saw only unveiled lust in their eyes. She was furious when she suddenly thought of Max. This was all his fault! Trying again to secure her release, she said "listen, my boyfriend is rich! Return me unharmed, and he'll pay you handsomely! I won't breathe a word of this to anyone. Okay?" she managed a watery smile. The brothers all laughed at that attempt to get free. The eldest brother Sam replied, We're already rich, Who do you think made off with that Armored Truck with 10 million in cash at the bank. Under that stupid sheriffs nose while he screwed the head teller! That was us, Sweet stuff! The only problem we have is entertainment, and food. You can be one or the other! Surrender or we will shoot and eat you! Your choice! If you kneel and raise your hands I will know you'd rather be a Sex Slave then eaten, But that's up to you, Barbecued girl might be tasty! Jamie quickly threw her hands high in the air. "Don't shoot! For the love of God don't shoot!" Her eyes darted from one man to the next to the next. All had shotguns trained on her, there was no point in even trying to make a dash for it, she wouldn't get far! Sobs wracked her body. "Please I'm begging you! Let me go!" she suddenly became acutely conscious that having her hands in the air she left her entire body exposed, and there were three pairs of lecherous eyes trained on her. Sam the Eldest of the three brothers, Said, No chance of that girl. We need you for entertainment more than food. He calmly put his gun down and waled up behind Jamie. He had line for tying game in his jacket pocket, and he tied her hands securely behind her back, Then he told his brothers. We've got a Sex Slave now brothers come have a nice feel of her body before I take her first since I'm the oldest. Dean your next, Then Michael Jamie suddenly feels three sets of hands roaming what used to be her body. But now belongs to three bank robbing brothers. They grab her tits, ass, back, and pussy almost simultaneously. Or so it seems to Jamie. This goes on for almost a half hour before Sam stops them So he can have his first turn with their Slave. Sam sucks on and bites her breasts' til he was good and hard. Then he sticks his Dick in Jamie. He plunges it in her to the hilt all 18 inches. Jamie screams with pain and pleasure. 30 minutes later he cums. Then he pulls out and turns Jamie over to Dean. Dean doesn't want slope seconds. He prefers taking girls anally anyway. He lubricates his cock with hunting areas and her ass! Then he started working his cock into her ass! Boy was it tight! It took dean an hour to finished with her ass and did she scream. Like how. Then he let Michael take over. Sam stepped in at this point. And Said, I know what baby brother wants without him even SY so Jamie! He wants a blow Job! You are going to be real nice to baby brother and suck him off real good! If he even utters award of pain Dean and me will make you wish you were dead before you die! Michael stands in front of Jamie with his 18-inch Cock out. Suck it Slave! Jamie had reached decision time - imminent execution or capitulation, and as bad as capitulation was, she would still be alive. The three men were pawing her now, with absolute disregard for her feelings or comfort!! She cried out, but was then pushed to the ground as the first, and apparently olds of the men, plunged his massive cock into her pussy, pounding her for an eternity, then, as he finished, the next guy took his place, well, almost, he rammed into her ass, as she screamed loud enough to be heard throughout he Forrest, but her attackers did not seem to be bothered, proof positive that the area was uninhabited and deserted. When the second man was done, Jamie was sore and bloody, but the worst was that she had come as he raped her.Finally, the third guy wanted to get a blow job! The irony of it was not lost on her, but with a gun to her head and a hunting knife to her throat, she became the most eager to learn cocksucker ever, She did tell him she didn't know what to do, but she need not have bothered, as the youngest man fisted his hands in her hair, and held her fast, while he fucked her face brutally. Then the three brethren took their new sex Slave home. Sam pick her up like she was light as a feather. Then carried Jamie deep into the Forrest. Finally, the three men and their sex Slave came upon an old forgotten hotel in surprisingly good shape for its age. Sam put her down and explained. This hotel was a bustling center of business in 1807. But when the gold mine played out. No one cared about it and it was deserted and forgotten. That is until we found it and started repairing it. We figured it would be the perfect hide out. The only problems are entertainment. That's you sweet thing! And food. We stocked up quite a bit. But it has to last til the end of winter. We are all three of us good trackers. So food isn't really a problem long as we have ammo. Plenty of that. We just need to stay out of sight for a good while and when the time is right off we go to parts unknown with 10 million. We are set for life! Then Sam picks Jamie up Again and carries her in the hotel. He takes her to a cabinet and takes out a thick dog collar and locks it on her neck. Then Locks a long chain to the collar. Then locks the other end of the chain to a massive beam going from the floor to the dealing above. Then finally he takes out his knife and cuts her hands free. Then Sam says, Entertain us Sex Slave, Dance for your Supper make those titties bounce Jamie's heart sank as they made their way deeper and deeper into the Forrest. Her chances of rescue were dwindling rapidly. She was being carried over the shoulder of one of her attackers, and his big shoulder a bit into her stomach, making her feel sick.Finally, they came upon the "cabin" which appeared to be a very old saloon of sorts, long since deserted. When they chained her to the center pole, and told her to dance, she covered her body as best she could. She put one hand across her tits, and the other covering her pussy and she spat in the face of the nearest attacker, knowing as she did so, that the action would be counterproductive. Sam took his belt off and started whipping the insolent slave! You were given an order dance! Or should I have my brothers start cooking you! You're our entertainment! Or our supper! Decide Now! Sam delivers several more painful lashes with his belt! Jamie screamed in a combination of shock, surprise and pain. How dare they? She was leaping around in an attempt to avoid the belt, and then she realized that her movements simulated dancing, so, she may as well just capitulate and dance, and avoid the lashing of the belt. Sam said, Jamie I'm going to stay here, Tomorrow and train you while my brothers go hunting. The next day will be Dean's Turn, Then Michael's. Now we want you to be a good Slave and Kneel and hold for breasts up with your hands! As Jamie realized the hopelessness of her situation, she complied. She must pick her fights, and not waste energy with something she could do nothing about Kneeling, she hefted her tits, as the overflowed her hands. Sam said, Good girl Jamie!as he petted her hair. His brother both petted a tit each. Then Sam said, If you want to eat tonight suck my brother's dicks Jamie! You're Sleeping with me tonight ! Jamie had thought for one moment that they were going to go to bed and leave her be! "I will not suck anyone's cock!" she cried. "that's disgusting!!" she clenched her jaws tightly shut and made a face, clearly indicated what she thought of that plan. Then deciding she better give a little, she reluctantly offered, "I will give you a hand job though" Dean went to a cabinet and removed a ring Gag. He forced it in Jamie's mouth. Then Stuck his cock in her mouth and held her nose closed. Forcing Jamie to lick his cock and make him cum. Then Michael copied his brother and forced Jamie to give him head. Then Sam said, I guess that means you don't want to eat! Sam, and his brothers got out some can goods and ate dinner, Then Sam unchained Jamie's collar from the chain and carried her to his room. Sam chained Jamie spread-eagled to the bed. My turn to have fun! He sat on Jamie's waist nude. Pulling and pinching her titties. Once he was good and hard he started fucking her pussy for several hours, Finally Sam laid his head on her breasts and went to sleep. Jamie choked and gagged as the brothers forced their cocks into her mouth, through the ring gag, and into the back of her throat! Both drove into her till them came, forcing her to swallow what they gave her! She felt ill. It seemed so silly now that she didn't just give in to Max, and blow him, - her refusal to do so had led ultimately to her having to suck off two random strangers, and she had not doubted the third would also want that from her! Tied down to Sam's bed, she cried as he pinched her nipples, and then moaned as he plunged the depths of her pussy, coming several times in spite of all her efforts to the contrary. Sam woke up and began training Jamie. Sam slapped Jamie awake. Then Sam told Jamie, Jamie I want you to learn this phrase! I am your slave and will obey MASTER! Now repeat it! Jamie looked at Sam defiantly! Who did this guy think he was??? She was on the verge of telling him where he could stick his phrase, when he slapped her again, a resounding, stinging smack across the face, making her ears hum. On second thoughts, perhaps discretion was the better part of valor! She duly repeated the phrase!!" I am your slave and will obey MASTER!" Sam said, That's a good Girl! Now you remember that when my brother's get back and you will get supper! Now I'm going to unchain you from the bed, and we will have sex and if you cooperate you will get Breakfast Slave! Ride me Slave! Sam unchains Jamie and positions her so she can ride him. Jamie's mind was working overtime. The brothers were gone, she was here alone with Sam, and he had untied her. She straddled him, cringing as his dick penetrated her, then she brought back her foot, and kicked him into the jaw with all her might, before leaping off the bed and charging for the door!! She glanced at Sam, he was stunned, and looked as though he might lose consciousness, so she grabbed a discharged tee shirt, pulled it over her hear, and took off our the door at a run!! Dean was waiting outside the door. He stuck his riffle in Jamie's Mouth and said, Where are you going Slave with my brother's shirt on! Now back in there! Jamie is forced back in the room with the end of a rifle in her mouth. That was a good try at escaping Slave, but first you should make sure that you're alone! I led about everybody being gone! Now you are in for it! Sam pulls his right arm back and hits her with a round house punch that lifts her up into the air and LND Jamie in the bed. She's knocked unconscious and several teeth are knocked out of her mouth. Dean you can go hunting now, bring us back some supper!said Sam, Then Sam rechained one of Jamie's feet to the bed and waited for her to wake up! Jamie woke up to the knowledge that her escape attempt had failed spectacularly. The metallic taste in her mouth, and swollen face, testament to how badly it had failed. Her teeth! Three had been knocked out, ADN the felt around for them, and gently put them back into the tooth socket, and hoped for the best. She looked up at Sam. "I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!" Sam laid in the bed and said, Jamie you will be better off accepting your fate. You are our Sex Slave! The sooner you accept that the sooner you will eat, but we will still have our entertainment from you! Now climb on my cock like I ordered you do! Before I reknock those teeth out Slave! Jamie carefully closed her teeth, protecting the sore ones, and reluctantly straddled Sam. What ever about anything else, right this minute, she needed to relax somewhat. She couldn't take another painful punch. She began to ride him slowly, acutely aware of his bare cock inside her unprotected cunt. Furthermore, she hadn't allowed Max to fuck her, and therefore was not on any protection! Sam said, That's better Jamie. Now what are you going to say to Dean and Michael when they get home with dinner! Remember it's Dean's turn to have you in his bed tonight, and he will be training you tomorrow! Jamie's speech was not clear, as her fat lip, and wobbly teeth, make talking difficult. She hung her head, saying "I'll say 'May I suck you cocks sirs?" she looked at Sam for approval. She needed to eat, to keep her strength up too, and fighting was pointless when she had not a chance of winning!! Sam Says, Jamie you say to your Masters, I am your slave and will obey MASTER! Now Dean likes to take girls up the poop shoot. Michael's the brother who likes blow Jobs and your teeth should be good and reset by then. Now what are you going to say Sex Slave! Defeated Jamie reiterated -"I am your slave and will obey MASTER!" She memorized it, not wishing to endure another beating! Very good Slave! Now that you have the proper attitude! We will go downstairs and get you something That will be easy on your mouth to eat!said Sam. Then he got a leash and attached it to her collar and led her downstairs. He picked up the chain locked to the column and relooked it to her collar and removed the leash. Then he cooked her some hot chocolate serial on the fire. Kneel and eat this Slave! It wasn't necessarily what she would have chosen, but it tasted good, and filled her up, and she felt much better when she finished. The two brethren came in, and remembering what Sam had told her she said" I am your slave and will obey MASTER"Jamie looked up from her kneeling position, and stared at the lust filled gazes of the two brothers. Dean got a good feel of the tits he owned and said, You make little brother Michael feel good while Sam and I defeater these ducks and cook them. Michael knows he can't have a BJ until those teeth reset, I'm going to give your ass! A workout tonight! Jamie wasn't quite sure what the brothers wanted, but she smiled as best she could with her fat lip and all, and waited to see what would happen. Certainly these guys were not slow to ask for what they wanted!! Michael took his pants off revealing his large erect cock! He led Jamie to a divan that was in excellent shape for being two hundred years old. Ride my cock Slave! Jamie reluctantly straddled Michael, lowering her wet pussy on his hardened manhood, and then fishing to her knees she began to fuck him in earnest!! She came very quickly, and wondered why that was, but she continued to ride him, long slow and hard, the wet sounds of her pussy filling the air!! While Jamie was riding Michael he told her. That's a good Sex Slave! I hope those teeth are good and set tomorrow! You shouldn't get Sam made he's good at setting traps. That Sherri didn't know what happened when we aimed that teller at him! But Dean has a worse temper. If it wasn't for Sam he might have pulled the trigger when he caught you trying to escape! Then he started pinching her tits. Jamie moaned as she rode on Michael, his long thick cock driving into her to the hilt!! As he explained what a near miss she'd had, she realised that things were more dire than she thought and the chances of escaping were dwindling, especially with snow approaching! Michael smiled while his new Slave rode him. You be a good girl, and I'll see that my brother's treat you well! Jamie decided that Michael was the softest hearted of the brothers, and decided to stick to him like glue. "I will, I will be a good girl Mica............... Master, please don't let anyone hurt me! I'll be so good to you!" She squeezed her vaginal muscles squeezing him and riding him slow. Michael said. Jamie you be a good girl and obey my brothers, and I'll see they treat you right! Now tonight is Dean's night with you but tomorrow you will be with me! Sam called out from the Dining room, Supper is ready! Michael takes Jamie hand and walks her in the Dining Room. On a big dining table there are 4 plates with baked duck on them. In a pot there is fresh cooked green beans. Michael sits Jamie next to him. Then he cuts her duck into smaller Bite size pieces. So she can eat it. Then puts some green beans on her plate. And Says, There you go Jamie that's more edible for you with your hurt mouth! Dean and Sam tease Michael, Somebody's in Love! Jamie liked Michael, she is like him a lot!! She would take his advice, and just do as she was told, ensuring that she was hurt as little as positive! The sat for their meal, and she was grateful for the thoughtfulness that had cut up her dinner so she was able to eat it. She was surprised that the brothers were able to do for themselves to such an extent, to be able to cook something this good took no little effort. She was sitting next to Michael, and she smiled at Dean too, eager to establish an affable relationship with him, as she would be spending the night with him!! Dean got the leash and put on Jamie's collar and took the chain off. Then he led Jamie to his room and put her on the bed on all fours after he chained one foot to the bed. Then he started screwing Jamie in the ass! Jamie felt panic rising in her as Dean chained her to the bed. "Please! Please don't hurt me! I told Michael I'll be good, and he SIAD you wouldn't hurt me!!" Dean said, I'm not going to hurt you Jamie! I’m just going to fuck your Ass! It's my personal property especially tonight! Just relax the muscles in your ass and it won't hurt as much! Dean puts Vaseline on Jamie's ass and his cock and starts fucking her with wild abandon like a kid in a candy store! Dean fucks Jamie's ass for hours until he comes and falls asleep with his cock wedged in her rectum. Jamie was scared. She was frozen with shock that Dean would really want to do that to her, and she was terrified by how much it might hurt - certainly she had never allowed anyone to go near her ass!! She felt him cover her with Vaseline, and probed her with his finger, and that felt massive. Then he worked his cock into her. She screamed, and tried as hard as she could to push him out, which seemed to ease his entry. Finally, he made his way fully in, and then he rode her ass for ages!! After about 5 minutes, Jamie accepted that this was really happening, and soon the pain subsided and was replaced by a dark pleasure, and before he fell asleep, Dean had made her experience five of the most intensive orgasms of her life!! The next day Dean woke up and dressed. He unchained Jamie's foot. And woke her up! He said, I smell breakfast! Sam and Michael must have been up early! I smell bacon, and eggs. Jamie You know I can tell! Michael loves you! If you play your cards right! Michael will keep you after we leave! He would make a good husband and he will be rich! His share is 3 million cash! He convinced us to give the other million to charity. We just have to cool our heels til the heat is off! Dean leashes Jamie and brings her down to the dining room. On the table is fresh homemade bread, sliced and toasted. And homemade butter. On 4 plates are sunny side up eggs, and bacon. Michael smiles as soon as Dean and Jamie walk in. Then he butters toast for Jamie. He says, Eat Jamie. How is your mouth this morning? Jamie didn't believe what Dean had said for a second!! As soon as she got an opportunity, she was out of there!!!! Breakfast did smell good though! Usually she was a fruit and yogurt person, but she doubted that the brothers would be getting that for her!! So she dug into what was set up in front of her, and enjoyed it to a surprising extent! She smiled back at Michael, he definitely seemed to be the most gentlehearted of the brothers, and she would stick to him like glue, in the hopes that he would head her from the worst! Michael took Jamie to his room after break fast. He unchained the Chain and hook the leash on Jamie. Once they are in his bedroom he chained her foot to the bed. Michael said, Jamie I'd leave you unchained but Dean say's the next time he finds you unchained he will shoot you and barbecue you! He's always had a fantasy about cooking a woman and eating her breasts! Are you able to give me a blow job to day, or would you rather fuck me today? "Aawww what a sweetheart! " Jamie bought sarcastically, chaining her to the bed, so his brother would cook and cannibalize her!! She had certainly gone through the looking glass here!! Still, in his own way, Michael was showing consideration, and she appreciated it!! Her face was still sore so she said, "maybe you could just fuck me today? My mouth is STI sorta sore!" Michael said, Ok Jamie Hopefully your mouth will be better when it's my TU!RN again Jamie licked and sucked on her breasts, Then started rubbing his cock on her pussy lips BIL Jamie was nice and juicy, Then he fucked her for 2 hours. Jamie orgasmed 4 times then he came on her breasts. Jamie said, Rub the cum on your breasts Jamie! What do you like to eat for supper? Jamie came three times while she was with Michael. She thought that, had the circumstances of their meeting been different she could really care for him! She rubbed all his cum into her breasts, and in response to his question about dinner, she replied that she would eat whatever was convenient, and hoped like mad it wasn't possum or something gross like that!! Michael said, Jamie were not the Clam pets. We can cook real food you saw the breakfast Sam and I made today. We made the bread fresh, and the bacon came from a wild boar we caught. I gathered the eggs myself. Tell me what you like to eat. I'm not a psychic, but I'm very smart. Grand Mother was a short order cook, and she taught us everything we know. We even have refrigeration when we need it. I'd like to cook us a nice meal for the two of us! Jamie looked up at Michael, and smiled. "I like lots of things! I love pasta! I eat a lot of salads! Furthermore, I like chicken, meat, most things really. Furthermore, I was just a little worried that we would be eating from nature a little more than I am comfortable with!!" She smiled, and then continued "but breakfast was really really nice, and I must admit that I am impressed!!" Michael went out and Cooked Jamie and him a Fried Chicken dinner with broccoli pasta, and carrot salad with raisins. He opened a bottle of Champagne for them, he had chilling in the river. He set of it up in his room on two plates with candlelight. A nice romantic dinner for two. He seated Jamie at the table and said, Dinner for two is served! My sweet Lady! If Jamie didn't know better, she would think that she was with the most romantic guy on Earth!! This was wonderful. She couldn't believe the trouble he had gone to!! He had made her favorite meal, and presented it beautifully. He had chilled champagne!! What a sweetheart, and despite all that had led to her being her, and the fact that she was here essentially under duress, she felt her heart melt a little toward Michael. Michael said, I have surprise for you Jamie. I convinced my brothers to let you have your own room 1 day a week! On Sunday you will be allowed to stay in your own room. No one can bother you unless you invite them in! But there are stipulations you still have to be chained to the bed! I already picked out the room next to mine. So I can watch over you! One day a week when she had been deprived of her freedom, wasn't much, but if not for Michael then she wouldn't even have that!!! He really was trying his best!! She hugged him, and thought that there were probably going to be times ahead when she would relish having the room to herself! She pulled Michael close, and straddled him, wrapping her legs around his back, as she impaled herself on him, and then together they rocked slowly while they kissed until together, they had big climaxes! Michael and Jamie screwed until late and finally fell asleep in each other's arm. Michael whispered in Jamie's ear as they fell asleep, Ilove you Jamie.... Jamie awoke the following morning feeling surprisingly good! She was snuggled into Michael's warm body, and he was wrapped around her! She may have been mistaken, but when she was in that halfway state between sleep and wakefulness, she could have sworn that Michael had confessed his love for her, and despite all that, she felt the flicker of feelings developing for him! Michael woke in the morning and gave Jamie a kiss. He said, Jamie I have another surprise for you. He unlocked Jamie's foot from his bed and leashed her and took to her new room for Sundays only. In the closet there were pink bikini's for her to wear. He said, You can wear these on your day off! Now we will go have breakfast! He took Jamie down to the dining room and locked the chain back on her foot. Sam and Dean had made breakfast. They made biscuits and gravy. It was already dished into 4 bowls. 4 mugs of coffee were on the table too. Michael sat Jamie at her seat and sat next to her. Jamie was relieved to be seated next to Michael. She was comfortable with him, in a way she could never be with the others. She ate her breakfast, surprised by how Hungary she was. Furthermore, she held hands with Michael under the table, as she braced herself for what the day would bring. Furthermore, she was pretty sure it wasn't Sunday, so which of them got her for the night, or did she get to stay with Michael until it was bedtime. Michael said, Jamie it's your day you can do whatever you want! I can take you to your room, or we can go for a walk if you want to! Jamie's eyes darted left and right. "Hmm, a walk sounds good, I must say!!" She thought it would be highly beneficial to check out the lay of the land, and in doing so, she might get her bearings. If the opportunity arose, she could make a break for it, and even as she thought that, she felt a pang of loss for Michael!!" Could I borrow some shoes, mine are high-heeled and not so suitable for a walk in the woods." Michael went and got two canteens full of water ABD a set of handcuffs. He locked the cuffs on Jamie right wrist and his left. Unlocked Jamie's foot and handed her a canteen. And said, I'll take you to my favorite place Jamie. Devil's Gorge after we walk around this old hotel! Well, certainly being handcuffed to Michael was going to impede any attempt at escape!! Still the fresh air would be nice, if nothing else. She held hands with Michael, even though they were locked together, and they went outside and circled the hotel, which she asked Michael a raft of questions ranging from his childhood, to his favorite foods, and it suddenly occurred to her that this was like a couple of teenagers dating, without the handcuffs, of course. Michael said, Jamie We are raised by our Grand Mother, she was a short order cook before she died. She taught all of my brothers and me to cook. Just about anything you want to eat, My favorite foods are pancakes for breakfast, Tuna helper, and Pizza, and I love ice cream. That's why I can't wait till I get my share of the 10 million dollars. I'm going to head to Mexico! What do you want to do Jamie when we let you go? Want to come with me to Mexico! Well it was a relief to know that there was at least the intention of letting her go!! She smiles at Michael. " I love Mexico! That sounds wonderful!" Jamie said, and she was surprised that she actually meant it! They strolled around for a while, and she told him all about her childhood and her doomed relationship with max! Michael kissed Jamie on the mouth. And said, Then that settles it, then after the winter is over, and I get our share of the split we will go to Mexico. I'll buy an estate and we will live a new life! Want to see Devils Gorge now? Jamie smiled, softening more toward Michael as she listened to his naivety. She thought that he really did believe that he was in love with her - perhaps he was! She was unsure of her feelings toward him. He really was sweet, and she thought that maybe she might fall for him in time! Michael uncuffed the cuff on his wrist and cuffed it to thick tree along a path. That was at least 6 feet tall. He kissed her and removed Jamie's bikini. Then he rubbed Jamie's Titus causing her to get aroused. Then he ate her pussy causing her to have an orgasm. Then he screwed her until he was about to cum and came in her mouth, Then he rebuffed himself to Jamie. And let her put the bikini back on. Jamie was shocked when Michael undid the cuffs, she thought he was about to release here. Her heart began to race, then he cuffed her to the tree, and undressed her. He played with her for a while, and then he fucked her and came in her mouth, and finally redressed her. She was shocked, but she was also strangely turned on by what Michael had done with her! She held his hand as they went back to the cabin. When they go tack to the cabin. Sam and Dean had Supper ready. They had prepared beef stroganoff with fresh peas. The 4 plates were loaded down. The glasses were full of whiskey, Michael sat Jamie next to him Jamie sat next to Michael, holding his hand under the table, as they had their dinner served up. It certainly looked good, she had to give them that!! She ate her food, complimenting Sam and Dean, and wondering which of them she would be with next! After supper Michael said, Well supper over, what do you want to do now? It's still your day, Sam will come get you in the morning! Jamie thought for a few minutes, considering her options. She could sleep alone, or she could bring Michael with her, enjoying his company, and the comfort of his body. Decision made, she kissed Michael, and whispered in his ear "come to my room, come with me!" and then she kissed him. Michael chained Jamie to her bed and took his clothes off and got in her bed. He said, Jamie I'm yours tonight! I'll get anything you want for your room! There's lot of stuff in the other 96 plus rooms! Jamie smiled at his sweetness. "Thank you, Michael, but I just need you!!" She hugged him to her." What I'd like, really like, Michael, is for you to make slow, sweet tender love to me, can you do that?"" Michael replies. Yes, of course! Anything for my Jamie! Then Michael licked Jamie's right was stuck his tongue inside her ear licking the wax out of it. Next he did the left ear. Then he licked and sucked on both nipped until they were hard as erasers. Then he licked her stomach, paying special attention to her belly button. Michael licked Jamie's pussy slowly and captured her clit with his teeth, He caused her to orgasm 4 times with his tongue. Then fucked her with his cock for 6 hours. Jamie awoke the following morning, a little sore and a lot sated!! Michael had ridden her all night long, or so it seemed!!! She lay awake, listening to his breathing, and she cuddled herself into him, enjoying the heat from his body! Michael woke up and kissed Jamie, He said, I love you Jamie, Do you love me? Jamie cuddled into Michael, and woke up the next morning feeling safe and happy. He looked at her and said:"I love you Jamie, Do you love me?" Jamie was taken aback, and considered what he said." Well Michael, the circumstances of our meeting, complicate things a bit for me. But, I am fond of you, and growing more so all the time. Just give me some time! Okay?" she asked, worriedly, and hoped he took it well. Michael said, I've going hunting with Dean this morning, Sam's going to come get you later! He'll feed you breakfast and fuck you! Jamie looked at Michael, wondering at his reaction to what she had said in response to his declaration of love. These were certainly three strange guys, and she clung to Michael, as she believed him to BER her protector, while Dean, on the other hand scared her no end! Sam came in Jamie's bedroom sometime after Michael and Dean went hunting. He said, Time to earn your breakfast Jamie! Worship my cock! Slave! Jamie jumped when Sam came in. She had been expecting Dean, and must have gotten mixed up!! She was scared of Sam too! Instantly she fell to her knees, and began to do his bidding, licking and sucking him into her mouth!! Then Sam laid Jamie out on her bed. He kissed her roughly in the exact opposite way Michael would kiss Jamie. He sucked her tongue in his mouth and bit it. Letting her know she was property by how he used her. He moved down to her breasts. He licked bit and chewed what used to be her nipples. Then Sam unchained her foot and took her to the dining room. Breakfast for Jamie was cold oatmeal in a bowl on the floor. Sam said, Eat your breakfast with your mouth only! No hands Slave! Jamie was sobbing. Where was Michael?? He wouldn't allow her to be treated so roughly!! Her nipples were really sore, after Sam had chewed on them, and now she was pushed to her knees, being told to eat cold oatmeal from a bowl on the floor!! She wanted to tell Sam to fuck off and leave her alone, but she was too scared of him, so she meekly ate the glutinous, concealed oatmeal, without complaint, but she worried how much longer was left in her day with Sam! After Jamie was done eating her oatmeal on the floor. Sam brought her to his bedroom. He chained Jamie to the bed. And said, Jamie dance for your Master! Make those titties bounce! Then climb on me and ride my cock! Until I cum! Then he turned on a battery powered radio with pop rock music playing on the station. Jamie felt so humiliated, dancing around as Sam watched her lasciviously, the bulge in his pants confirming his enjoyment of her dance. She continued for almost two hours, until she was exhausted, attempting, futile to postpone the inevitable, hoping Michael would come back, but finally, she had no option but to climb on Sam's cock, and begin to ride him. When Jamie finished riding Sam. He started slowly petting her whole body. Then he started inspecting her like he owned her and he did. He opened her mouth, checked her teeth, lack of tonsils. Then ran his hands down to her ass and stuck a finger in her. Then stuck, it in her mouth to clean it! Jamie tried to force his finger from her mouth. UGH! Sam was totally enjoying himself, and treating her like she was his own personal toy! She hoped that Michael would hurry up and return, god only knew what else Sam would come up with to entertain himself. Sam forced Jamie's head down to his crotch. He forced her to deep throat him. He moaned with pleasure as he came down her throat, Jamie gagged frantically, swallowing all he gave her, licking him clean when he released her, then slumping back, exhausted! Sam took Jamie down to the dining room and seated Jamie in her chair. Locked the chain to her collar. On the table was the venison supper Michael and Dean had prepared together. To accompany the deer the had made corn on the cob and Mashed potatoes with venison gravy. They served Jamie and themselves. And nice cold pool aid to drink. Michael said, Eat up Jamie! Don't be shy! There's plenty! Jamie was so happy to see Michael, that she threw herself at him, kissing and hugging him, and sitting herself right next to him, holding onto his hand, like it was a lifeline. She complimented the boys on the dinner they had prepared, which was certainly on a par with a nice restaurant. She ate very slowly, so that she could spend as much time with Michael, and postponing her time with Sam. After Supper was over Sam locked the leash on Jamie. He said, Crawl to my room, Puppy! He patted Jamie's head along the way. When they got there he chained her foot to the bed again. Then said, Dance! Slave! Make those nice titties bounce! And ride Master's cock! Jamie was terribly humiliated at being leashed and made to crawl, and then having to dance around bouncing her tits for Sam. She didn't even like him, and yet, his humiliating treatment of her made her pussy wetter than it had ever been before! Sam clapped his hands, in approval of Jamie’s performance. Now ride me Sex Slave! Ride! Sam said. Jamie climbed onto Sam, positioning him at her entrance. She was embarrassed when she began to drip pussy juices on top of him!! She hoped he would not notice!!! Sam grabbed Jamie's hair with his right hand and forced a French kiss on Jamie. With his left hand he pinched Jamie's ass! And controlled the rate of Jamie's ride to make it last longer! Jamie yelped as Sam pinched her ass! It hurt! It was probably going to bruise!! She glared at him, but felt her pussy gush at his rough handling of her. She rode him, till she had cum twice, and he reached his climax, and then she slumped on him. When Sam woke up he grabbed Jamie's head by the hair. He put her mouth in front of his cock and said, Suck Sex Slave! Jamie experienced such a barrage of emotions at that"Suck Sex Slave!" She hated Sam! He made her hotter than anyone ever had, and horribly, he did it by treating her in this degrading manner. Jamie, began to cry, as the reality of things hit her - surely she didn't get off on rough treatment. She had away thought she was a girl who liked to be pampered and cared for! Evidently not!! Sam spanked Jamie's ass! Good Slave! Just getting your rear end warmed up for Dean! Then Sam dressed and took Jamie down to breakfast and placed her in her usual seat. Michael and Dean had made pancakes with homemade maple syrup. Jamie was starving this morning, and dug into the stack of pancakes with maple syrup enthusiastically, without even acknowledging anyone else at the table. After she had eaten three, she looked up and smiled at Michael, and got out of her seat, and went and kissed him." Love the pancakes!!" Michael kissed Jamie back and pinched her but. And said, Wish it was our day! Dean gets to have all the fun! Jamie smiled at Michael, "I wish it was our day too". She was nervous of dean! After breakfast Dean leashed Jamie and made her crawl to his room ahead of him. So he could watch her cute but wiggle for him. Then he chained her leg to the bed. He positioned her doggie style so he could fuck Jamie in the Ass and play with her tits. First he spanked her hard to warm up her rectum. Dean eases his cock in Jamie's rectum. Jamie started to cry. Dean said, Don't be a baby! And started riding Jamie harder. He rode Jamie for three hours before he was finished with her rectum. Jamie disliked Dean, and she was scared of him. She hated crawling to the bedroom ahead of him, knowing he was watching her ass. She cried out as he spanked her hard, until her ass was red and throbbing. She screamed when he pushed his cock into her, forcing his way in, but after he had fucked her for ten minutes or so, she began to feel good, and actually enjoyed it!! Dean decided it was time for Jamie to entertain him after screwing her in the ass! He said, Dance Slave girl entertain me! Dance Slave girl entertain me! He had to be joking right? He had spent the past three hours reaming her ass, and now he thought she had the energy to dance?? She managed to drag herself out of bed, but she was barely able to move. Other than weakly wave her arms around and sway to the music in her head, she couldn't dance. Dean said to Jamie, I'll give you a choice Jamie you can suck my cock, or I'll give you spanking! Since you're so tired! What will it be! oh, Yeah!! No way was she sucking him! He'd spent the past three hours buried deep in her ass!!!! Meekly, she murmured "I'll take the spanking, but please go easy on me!" Then as an afterthought, she said, "Michael will be angry if you hurt me!!!!" Dean said, Then a spanking it will be! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10Then Dean holds Jamie in his arms and hugs her! Jamie was pleasantly surprised that she had been spanked only ten times, and just with deans hand. She quite liked that. It was intimate and personal, not nasty and painful like it had been when she got beaten with the belt. She found herself cuddling Dean back!! Dean said to Jamie, It's time for Supper and I smell something good coming from the kitchen! Dean leashed Jamie and took her to the dining room and locked the chain to her collar, On the Table was pheasant under glass, mashed potatoes and gravy, mixed vegetables with cherry pie for desert. They had cool aid to drink. The table was set up and ready to go. Sam said, I was just going to call you love birds! Then Michael kicks Sam under the table. Dean seats Jamie and sits down himself. Dean had seated her between him and Sam, opposite Michael. She sat and began to eat her meal, looking at Michael across the table from her. "You made another wonderful meal Michael," she said, quickly adding "you too, Sam". Michael said, Your Welcome Jamie. They all ate their meal and Dean released Jamie. Michael said before Dean took Jamie away. We will see each other tomorrow! It's our day! Dean took Jamie to his room and dressed Jamie in a Red and Purple Strippers outfit. He put on soft rock music and said, Strip for me! Then climb on my cock and ride! Jamie felt lyrics in the gaudy outfit, but she did as she was told and stripped to the music, then climbed o to the bed with dean!! Dean Rode Jamie all night and played with her breasts. Then He got up early and took Jamie to the Dining Room. He locked the chain to Jamie. He left with Sam. They went hunting! Jamie was barely able to walk the following morning - Dean had been at her all night long, and she wondered if her knees were ever going to get next to each other again. She was happy to see the back of him, and hungry for her breakfast, and she sat, eating and chained to the table wondering whose day it was now!! Michael came into the Dining room and kissed Jamie. He said, How are you baby? Want a hot shower? As he fixed a little breakfast from the food on the table. Jamie all but leapt on Michael! He was so good to her, he loved her, and she really wanted to be with him, and only him!! She sat with him, and they ate together!! Michael unlocked the chain after breakfast and Put the leash on Jamie. He led Jamie to their one shower. Michael and his brothers had rigged a shower from a natural spring they had piped into a makeshift boiler. Michael took her collar off Jamie and scrubbed her breasts and stomach, legs. Then her back and. Finally, her pussy and asshole. Then Michael handed her another washrag. And said, My turn now, Jamie wash me please. AAAW! He was just so sweet! He warmed her heart. She took the cloth and the soap from him and began to wash him, moving in small slow sensual circles. She lathered her hands and washed every inch of him, paying special attention to his cock, balls and Asa. Furthermore, she gave him a deep tissue massage across his shoulders, and by the time the water went cold, they were both spotless and relaxed' Michael stepped out of the shower and grabbed a dry towel and dried Jamie. He started with her shoulders and worked his way down her body pressing hard but gentle. Thoroughly drying Jamie off. Then He put Jamie's Collar back on and locked it. He grabbed another towel and dried her hair. He grabbed a fresh towel and handed it to Jamie. Please dry me now, and I'll brush your hair when we get to my room! Jamie was happy to dry Michael off, keen to show him the same consideration that he had shown her. He was tender and caring, and she looked forward to him brushing her hair. When he was dry she took his hand, and let him lead her to his bedroom, she sat on the edge of the bed, as he brushed her hair, working out all the tangles. Michael showed Jamie the expensive Ivory comb and brush set he was using to brush her hair. This was grandmother's comb and brush set. It's very old, and imported directly from Africa. I have many of Grandmother personal things. She one my brothers would just sell them. I plan to one day give them to my wife. Then when Jamie's hair was all brushed and combed out and she was beautiful again. Michael sprayed Jamie with Lilac perfume. He said, Now you smell as beautiful as you look Jamie! Slowly twirl around in a circle for me! Jamie was feeling very benevolent towards Michael, and she happily got out of bed and twirled about for him, her hair flying out behind her. She began to dance for him, moving slowly and sensually, and then she crawled toward him, stopping between his knees, where she undid his pants, and began to suck him into her mouth. Michael stroked Jamie's hair while she worshiped his cock like she was the favorite pet he had always wanted. Finally, about an hour later he felt his balls tighten preparing to deliver a torrent of cum down Jamie's throat. He gently held Jamie in place. Keeping his cock in her mouth while the flood of sperm entered her mouth, and went down her that, filling her stomach with his seed. He asked Jamie, Did you enjoy that as much as I enjoyed it Baby? Jamie swallowed down all he gave her, and smiled at him - "yes, Michael, I loved that!! Thank you!!" and she kissed him, then climbed onto his lap, and kissed him."love you Michael" she whispered, and she realized that she did indeed love him Michael replied, I love you Jamie, and we will have a wonderful life together. You just have to put up with my brothers Sam and Dean til winter is over. Come with me and I will fix us a little lunch. Sam and Dean won't be back until late. Their tracking a bear. It will feed us for a couple of weeks. It's big and mean. They have to be careful. Michael took Jamie by the hand and started preparing a salad for then to eat. He fixed it with lettuces carrots and croutons, bacon bits, blue cheeses dressing. He said, A little surprise for you, darling. I found the lettuce and the carrots growing wild yesterday. Don't tell Dean he'll be mad! He likes salads too! Michael set their salads at the table. Then pulled the chair out for Jamie and pushed it back in for her when she sat for him. Jamie was delighted with the delicious salad. She had really missed having them, although the food was always very good. She and Michael ate alone, and she enjoyed it tremendously. It was like they were a real couple. She could put up with Dean and Sam for the winter, surely. Then a thought occurred to her, but Michael, what happens if I get pregnant? Michael, what happens if I get pregnant? Asked Jamie, Michael replied, Easy if you get pregnant now. You want to have the baby until about March. My brothers and I have Army medic training! We intend to leave in early May anyway. You will naturally make milk for the baby! The odd are one in three it would be mine, and besides even if one of my brothers is the father. It will still be family! And once we marry I'll adopt it and officially make he or she my son or daughter! Jamie felt a wave of relief wash over her. Michael would take care of her no matter what!! She kissed him and told him thank you! But she hoped that if she did become pregnant it would be Michael's baby, but he didn't seem to mind one way or the other!! Michael made love to Jamie on the Divan considering he knew his brethren wouldn't be home until late. They had the old hotel to themselves for the day. He started kissing Jamie. Then he tickled her and said, Jamie say uncle, or I'll continue tickling you until Sam and Dean get back! Jamie was very ticklish, but she enjoyed this playful side of Michael, and she rolled around on the bed, squeezing with delight. Finally, unable to catch her breath, she was laughing so hard, she cried Uncle! Uncle!! Michael said, OK Jamie I'll quit tickling you, but You have to give me one of your fantastic blow jobs! Then I'll repay you by making a romantic supper for the two of us! Jamie has a slightly different idea! Michael did stop tickling her, and she did begin to blow him, but she swung around so that her wet cunt was directly over his face! She settled in, determined to give Michael the world's best BJ while he in turn sucked he pussy!!! Michael lapped at Jamie's pussy while Jamie sucked on his cock. She occasionally wiggled her ass in pleasure at Michael's efforts and Michael responded by sending his tongue deeper in her pussy. They remained in that 69 position for over an hour, during which time Jamie came 4 times, and Michael twice. Then they lay together and cuddled, and Jamie thought that despite the circumstances of their meeting, she could really love him. Michael and Jamie finally finished eating each other. Then Michael playfully spanked Jamie. Next he sucked on her nipples for about half an hour each. Then he brought Jamie to the kitchen. He had Jamie make a carrot salad. While he made Barbecued chicken for them. Mashed Potatoes and gravy. Dessert was a pecan pie, and a bottle of wine from his private stash. He set it all on the table with candles. Then he sat Jamie at her place, Jamie was thinking to herself that this could be the most romantic gesture any guy had ever made for her, and the irony of that hit her hard and made her laugh. She told Michael what she found so funny, and then they sat together, and enjoyed their meal. It was wonderful. He could be a chef in his own restaurant. He would be very successful, she thought. When they had finished their main course, Jamie sat on his lap and kissed him, while they shared their dessert. Michael finally finished their day by taking Jamie back to their private shower. He lathered Jamie's body up with soap, Kissed her then said, Wash me Jamie you look hot! Jamie was happy to reciprocate!! She took the soap and took her time as AHE lathered and then rinsed, Michael from head to toe!! She clung to him and kissed him, loving their time alone! Then Michael dried his Jamie and carried her to his bed. He french kissed her and nibbled her neck. Finally after Jamie played with his cock, he screwed her until they both couldn't keep their eyes open, Jamie was exhausted, and slept soundly in Michael's arms. They spent the night wrapped around each other, and she had her head snuggled into her arm pit, a big smile on her face. She was in love. Michael woke up early the next morning and watched Jamie sleep for 3 hours before waking her. Jamie honey, It's Sam's day, wake up I don't want Sam to be mad at us. Sam and Dean caught the bear. I've been smelling Bear steak all this morning! Michael got dressed and carried Jamie down to breakfast. Locked the chain on her collar. Then served bear steak, and scrambled eggs, with buttered toast and gravy. He fixed her a cup of coffee to drink. Jamie could not touch the bear steak. It was way too Gama for her palate, but he rests of the breakfast was as tasty as usual. Immediately after breakfast, Sam took her by the leash, and led her from the kitchen, and she looked over her shoulder at Michael. Sam had Jamie kneel and suck his cock. While Jamie sucked Sam off he said, Jamie it's time you did a title work for being fed. I'm assigning you dish detail. You will be chained to the sink every day you are not with Michael and or when it is your day off. You will spend four hours washing dishes. Then after Jamie finished blowing Sam he chained her to the sink. He said, Get to work and left.4 hours later Jamie had done a good job! The heaping piles of Dishes and cookware were clean. Sam patted her on the but said, Good Slave! Then he unchained and released her. He took her in the Dining room for lunch. Bear hash. She ate and Sam took her to bed. He chained Jamie speed eagled, Then he licked her whole body until she moaned. Then screwed her past supper time. Finally, he took her to an empty dining hall and said, What do you want for supper Slave? Jamie was totally exhausted from being on her feet for so long. She had no appetite, so she said to Sam, "I am not starving, so perhaps some toast!???" She sat at the table, and laid her head on her arms, and fell instantly asleep. Sam carried Jamie to his room and chained Jamie's foot tithe bed. Then he screwed Jamie in the ass until he fell asleep with his cock wedged in her rectum. Jamie screamed and wriggled about as Sam unceremoniously fucked her ass, over and over, until they both fell asleep. The next morning Sam got up and put a pink bow around Jamie. Jamie it's Dean's birthday! Treat him right fuck him hard! Then he took Jamie to Dean's room and left her there. Jamie was still half asleep when Sam carried her into dean's room and lay her on the bed!! She was lying silent beside him when he woke up, SHA smiled and said "happy birthday!!" Dean smiled back and said,Thank you, Jamie! You're the nicest birthday gift I ever had! Then he rolled her over and started screwing Jamie in the ASS! Sam and Michael came in with a chocolate birthday cake with 44 Candles lit and yelled. Happy Birthday! Shocking Dean into driving his cock into Jamie to the hilt. Dean pulled out, to Jamie's relief and blew the candles out. Michael cut it and handed everyone a piece of birthday cake on a plate. Jamie was relieved, and oddly disappointed when Dean pulled out of her ass!! The chocolate birthday cake looked great, and she smiled as he blew out the candles. Everyone had some cake, and then Jamie had an idea, and she smeared the chocolate frosting all over her tits, and lay down asking them all to lick her clean. Sam said, I'll leave it to the birthday boy and the one that loves you Jamie, I've got to start hunting or there won't be any supper tonight! Then Michael and Dean lap the cake off Jamie. Michael took the left tit, and was gentle and loving. Dean took the right tit, and bit and chewed on her breast. The contrast between the loving way Michael sucked her nipples and the harsh way that Dean bit them drove her over the brink, and she arched her body, and screamed as she had BA huge orgasm!! Michael gave Jamie a kiss on the forehead and said, I'll leave you with Dean, I've got to catch up with Sam! He gives Dean a look on his way out that clearly says he'd like to kick Dean's ass! Then Dean resumes dong what he was doing before the birthday surprise. But he puts some Vaseline on his cock. Clearly disturbed by Michael's look he gave him. Then Dean resumes fucking Jamie's ass but more gently! It felt much, much better with the Vaseline. Jamie moaned and cried and came three times, each time harder than the last, as Dean rode her hard. Dean took Jamie down to their shower and washed and dried her before dinner. When they got to the table. Sam and Michael were setting it with baked chicken and potatoes. A case of beer freshly pulled out of the river was in the cooler. Sam gave a can to all 4 of them. And toasted. To your birthday, may you have many more to come! They all sat and ate their meal and drank their beer, chatting round the table. Dean released Jamie and screwed her in missionary position the rest of the night. Once they were back in his room. Jamie awoke next morning tired, but happy that today was her day with Michael!! Dean woke up in the morning and took Jamie down to the dining room. Michael was just putting out fresh pancakes with blueberries and a big pile of bacon, He put some on his plate and Jamie's plate. He put homemade butter and maple syrup on the pancakes. Then poured a cup of coffee for both of them. He saw Jamie and said, Good morning Jamie! Jamie ran over to Michael and gave him a big kiss, jumping into his arms and wrapping her legs around him."MMM I missed you so!!!!" and then she whispered something in his ear that made him blush! Michael kissed Jamie back and they ate their breakfast. Then Michael took Jamie back to his room. Jamie and Michael made love to each other to supper time. The days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, and Jamie came to the knowledge that she was pregnant. She told the three of them that morning in the kitchen Sam snuck into town and Kidnapped a Justice of the peace. He was blindfolded and didn't know where he was he said, Don't hurt me boys! Sam replied, Ain't nobody going to hurt you Justice you're going to Marry up Michael and Jamie proper! He replies, Ok Michael do you take Jamie to be your Wife? Michael replies, Yes, Sir I do! The Justice says, Jamie do you take Michael to be your Husband? Jamie was delighted with Michael. She kissed him "Oh Baby that's so sweet!! I'm going to make you so happy!! And she began to giggle with happiness. She whispered in Michael's ear "I can't wait to consummate it!!" Sam passed out drinks to every one, He said, To the happy couple! They all drank to it and the J P pass out. Sam said, That drug sure works fast. I guess me and Dan had better get the J P home! Jamie Dean and I are going to give you 300,000 each for the Kid. Send him to college so he or she doesn't have to rob banks! He gives Jamie a kiss on the cheek and picks up the J P with Dean and they leave. Michael kisses his bride, and they go to their room to do what comes naturally.

The Cabin (closed to sallythescorpian)|rating:1.0

Tryst with the Palace Champion

Therese giggled softly as he cupped her ass, and she snuggled into him as he praised her plan for being less insidious than his. "Yes, let us sleep and be well rested for the morning ahead of us." Her face was nuzzled into his neck, and she curled up against him as she tried to fall asleep. After some time had passed, and she had calmed herself down enough, her eyes fluttered shut, and she finally fell asleep, doing her bets to dream of nice things that would carry her through tomorrow and the wedding night which would surely be all about the king and his needs only. It would make it easier to get through it, because she did not want to have him focus on her any more than needed until she had fallen pregnant with his baby... or so he would think. The next morning, Therese opened her eyes and almost felt panicked as she sat straight up in bed, the sun shining right at her face and causing her to have to shield her eyes. But as she focused her vision and figured out where she was and who she was with, she relaxed and caressed his cheek. "Good morning. We still have time until I have to be taken down to the royal chapel downstairs, so you do not worry." She kissed his forehead gently, making sure he felt nice and relaxed to be able to help her dress without becoming too stressed. Because Therese knew as well as anyone, that being stressed during events such as this did no one any good, and only caused further stress than it was worth. Besides, she felt sick at the thought of marrying that king, but it would secure a better life for her child when she had one. She was not aware that the seed of Guy had taken hold in her womb as she had slept, but in a short time, she would find out, and it would change her life forever. :Of course what happened was a miracle no doubt in any female to feel, and the minute she kissed his forehead his manhood grew to full potential and stiffness inside her once again for how she lay atop him still. His hands gently moved up from her bum to let fingertips go up and down the curve of her back while he leaned to her ear and whispered:: "It is hard to let you do this today, wife..." :whispering his slight unwillingness to let her go through with it, but deep down he knew that they had no choice but to do so. After all, this was expected of her on account that this wasn't just for her benefit but for that of her kingdom. Maybe not the own and certainly not to the one whom he called liege, but it didn't make it anymore the better to realize that he'd have to let her go to be in a ceremony with unceremoniously scrupulous excuse for a tyrant ever to sit on the throne of his kingdom. To drive that point home his endowed manhood pulsed and throbbed inside her as one hand lay down at the small of her back while the other he kept on the back of her neck. Pressing her there softly, knowing she could easily get off of him if she wished but...maybe, just maybe there was that hope deep down that she would see it his way...and run off into nature together forever. But Guy knew in the bare day that he had gotten to know her that she was a woman of honor. She couldn't nor wouldn't do such a thing. Still though, they gently cling of his hands upon her desirably beautiful body and his stiff manhood throbbing in her still spelled the measure of a husband who wished his beloved wife not to go through with this:: x Therese could feel his cock growing once more inside her, filling her until she was once against stretched by his massive cock. "Ohh. Guy, I." She stopped speaking when he began whispering in her ear, and her heart dropped as she understood that she was about to do something that would break her husband's heart; marrying another man right in front of his eyes with nothing he could do but watch and know that later on, she would be defiled by him as Guy could only stand at the sidelines and let her do what she did best. Diplomacy. If she could get the king to give her a regency when she had a child, and he died, then things would be perfect, and they would all be safer. "I know, Guy. But I must do this, and you have to let me do this... for the good of the kingdom. You may not like it, but that is how things must be." She got off of him with great hesitation, and she stood there as she gestured to the chest which held her wedding dress and coronet. "Now please, help me get dressed, so I can get this day over and done with, and then I can join you once I have done my duty." :It was a hard thing to let go off, and his manhood ached all the more when she would ease off of him, and he would get up from that bed knowing full well that duty would call, and she had to do this. It was what must occur...even if he didn't want it to be done at all. Alas, he would be helpful as much as he could and did his part to help her get into her white dress and coronet that was destined to be her royal gown for the ceremony. How very ironic the white was in contrast to the fact that his beloved Therese was no longer virginal. His hands softly caressed her every inch of the way, the sheer magic of fatness washing over her as he would help get her perfectly ready for this day. Making her pristine, and beautiful. She would be all dressed and in time he would reapply what clothing he did have on himself before he'd lean into her ear and whisper:: "We will be together tonight again dear wife..." :It's all he would say to her before he would then leave her company, most sadly. He had to get maidens of the chambers to see to her needs then to get her to the chapel on site while he himself would do something a bit...sinister. Being the trusted king's champion he stole into his chambers as the drunken fool got ready, he would turn and say:: "Why Guy it is most good to see you. I tell you...it will be a great thing, this union. I mean...hell what an amazing kingdom we will unite with...and in the end isn't that why such marriages exist?" :Guy felt such an urge to strike him down...but didn't. Instead, he invoked a FAE incantation against the king without the king's knowledge. Making time frozen for a moment as he would whisper enchantments the like of which would fool the king into thinking whenever he would bed his future Queen that all would fade to black, and he would wake the next day fully convinced they had made love. Essentially this was his bout of devotion to his love Therese.the king would never be able to touch her now yet the king himself would believe they would always be intimate, therefore any child that resulted would be seen as legitimate. The time freeze ended as Guy would say:: "She is a lovely noblewoman and soon to be regal one, my liege. May she be the finest Queen our kingdom ever knew..." :With that, he would then escort the king to the chapel so that ceremonies might get underway:: x Therese stayed silent as he helped her get dressed in her wedding gown, feeling a sadness in the room that was almost suffocating and almost made her wish she could cancel this whole thing. But alas, this was her duty as a princess. To do things that she did not want to do, simply for the good of her people and the people she would be ruling as their queen starting today. Since she would also be crowned as Queen Consort today, which made her feel a little more secure in taking her time to get the trust of the king. When he had finished and left the room, a group of ladies' maids made sure her appearance was perfect and guided her down to the royal chapel beneath them. But as hard as she tried to get some conversation out of this woman, they would not speak, and that was when it struck her. One of all of them had slept with the king at some point, and that was why they had been chosen... so that they knew she was dressed properly to marry their former lover. It made Therese sick, and as she was led into place at the altar, she attempted to remain calm while she waited for the worst day of her life to continue. :They were indeed old trysts of the king and...well, as much as one would expect them to look upon her like she was a devilish fly on the wall or something to be reviled, they instead looked upon her with such a sadness apparent in their eyes. A sadness that spoke of them both being unrequited in their affections for him. They could hardly be angry at her, for this king was a philandering animal. He had no scruples or conscience. Yet that very scrupulous monarch walked side by side with Guy himself down the aisle to come to the head of the altar where the cleric was centered and at the ready to give the blessing to this union. In the monarch's presence Guy didn't raise his face, though he wished to so much to acknowledge his beloved Therese, to tell her not to be upset. Knowing that like she said it was best for all...but luckily, f or his sake, this would be union upon which only the lie of physical love would emanate. In time, he would let his beloved wife know, but for now, it must be his own secret to bear. The chapel ceremony would commence once the last of the noble guests arrived. All present save perhaps the inner circle cognizant of just how badly Therese didn't want to be here.or how Guy really wished it not to be. But if this guaranteed a better future, Guy supposed he could come to learn to live with it as she apparently was:: x (Hey, sorry for not getting to this sooner, I've been on vacation. I will reply tomorrow, I swear :)) (No worries! Post when you can :-) Therese watched as the king walked down the aisle of the royal chapel, and she could clearly see that he was under the influence of drink, which just made her feel sick as the choice she was making was sinking in. She could have run away, never seen anyone close to her ever again and ran away with Guy; a man whom she had just met yesterday and was now somehow through FAE magic. His wife. This made her look around at everyone that was present, wondering if anyone could tell that she was already unfaithful to the king as he was to her. Breathing in and letting it out carefully, she looked to the king and smiled gracefully. "Good morning, Your Majesty. I trust you slept well?" She was doing everything in her power to seem polite and gentle, so that he may trust her in time and begin to give her a larger role in handling affairs of state after she had given birth to an heir. Though she hoped that before that, she could talk him into making it, so a daughter could inherit the throne one day. The law currently only allowed for a man to take the throne, and that was a shame, before she knew there were capable woman in his family that were married to other royalty and nobility in other kingdoms, and they made their kingdoms better by simply having husbands that respected them and gave them the rights to do as they wished. :He absolutely REEKED of alcohol, the king, so that when he was addressed and came into proximity to her, he probably stunk to the high heavens as if he had been born a distillery or something. That and, well lets be honest the life of this king who lived to extremes never did seem to think cleanliness a complete and utter responsibility of his. No matter though, a royal wedding such as this was, while a formal affair, one that could be handled with precision and quickness at a moment's notice when needed. Thus, it couldn't be imagined by him what a terrible odor he must have given off or how slovenly a figure he cut. Not that he cared of course. He immediately grasped her hand in his and practically YANKED Therese alongside him closer to where the royal cleric was standing at the ready with his benediction book and grand staff ready to commemorate this occasion. The king would immediately say to the cleric:: "All haste would be great, Arch cleric Alongside. For daylight burns, an heir needs to be made, and then I might just have enough time to still play rounds of cards and indulge in sandwiches that the kitchen maidens do so well at making..." The very girth in his belly showed that he had quite the appetite too. Alongside practically bowed his head but had a sad look in his eyes before he murmured:: "As you wish, Majesty..."::And thus, before the realm's highest nobles and lower ranking royals in attendance, the ceremony began in earnest. And Guy was slowly feeling his FAE blood boil hotter by the minute at this man...whom he once knew to be friend. This...was the sum total of every grand nightmare he could ever imagine. He could understand diplomacy but this...this was madness!:: x Therese's nose burned with the smell of alcohol, but she knew she had to continue with the ceremony as she watched her to be husband look as if he would rather be literally anywhere except doing his duty and marrying the princess that he himself had chosen out of all the other choices that had been out there. She let out a gasp as her hand was grasped, and she was yanked quite forcefully down the aisle to the royal cleric, feeling as if she would fall at any moment. But if she said a word about it, she was afraid she would be punished as it was his right to do as king if he so chose. So on she went, with everything going as planed. The crowning was beautiful, despite the man she was marrying, and she was presented with her small and elegant crown placed atop her head as she was crowned queen after the marriage ceremony had ended. But one thing still remained. Kissing the king to seal the ceremony for good. Therese was growing pale as she thought about kissing him, though she tried to think about how it felt to kiss Guy yesterday, and that was how she got through this. :Alas, this was not going to be tolerated by Guy. Not one bit. This pathetic excuse for a royal monarch was never going to in any way touch intimately his beloved and thus, for a stark moment, Guy put the full fury of his arcane might behind his fatness which made his eyes shine a hot burning blue, and suddenly, all were struck dumb for a moment, and life stood still. The king. The procession. The clerical shaman. All of them were completely frozen as if a moment in time had been put on pause. IT was a trick that would not last long, but it offered Guy just the right amount of time.He and Therese could still move about and be cognizant of it though. And for a moment he pried the frozen king's hand from her as he swept her into his embrace, laying his forehead against hers:: "Beloved he shall never touch you... I apologize if you cannot understand that, but fear not. When this little spell of trickery is over, all will think that the kiss was complete, and that the union is sealed. And...as my wedding gift to you beloved...whenever he tries to bed you, he will fall into a deep sleep and will be unconscious for a half day until he wakes up, refreshed, and fully thinking that you and him have joined bodily. This...is how it must be. Let him and others think you are wed...::Massaging the back of her neck as he looked into his beloved's eyes and wiggled his nose against her:: "Please understand this my love...please... I cannot have it any other way..." x Therese closed her eyes as she was about to be kissed, and she waited for the king's lips to touch hers. But after a while, nothing happened. She opened her eyes to look around, and she noticed that everyone was frozen in whatever expression they had had right before the kiss. "What. Is going on?" She muttered to herself, before being yanked away from the king's arms and into Guy's own arms. It was all she could do not to be quite upset at him for stopping the ceremony, but the moment that she heard what he had done to keep her from being touched by the king. She got much angrier. Pulling back from him, Therese frowned and gestured to the king. "Even if he does not know, I will, and I cannot believe you would undermine me in this way, Guy! You forget yourself. I may be your wife, but I am a queen and princess by blood first. My duties must be preformed, and if I get any letters from home asking if it has been done, I shall not lie. And if others found out what you plan on doing, they would have you exiled or worse! Reverse whatever you have done, now." It was clear that he had overstepped boundaries, and if things were not made right, she would not be very happy. :He couldn't believe what he was hearing from his own ears at what she was saying. She...wanted him to reverse this? She wanted to be disgusted, disgraced and worse?! He didn't seem to understand her mindset at all. IT was quite vexing. When he tried to embrace her again he of course was frustrated at her pushing him back and giving him her mind regarding this issue. Why did it matter if she was aware of what his FAE magics had wrought even if the king and others wouldn't know? Why was that important to her? The confusion was crystal clear over his face as he was having a hard time trying to stomach this decision she had made:: "Beloved...you cannot mean that. You yourself say you cannot bear to have him disgrace you...and I am offering the means by which he never will. You would wish that all to be reversed because of your personal sentiments?" :Maybe it was because he wasn't a royal and thus didn't understand the mindset of what she must truly do. Perhaps that was for the best yet still, it didn't make it any less frustrating for his mind to process all this:: x "You used magic on a situation that I did not ask you to use it on! If I needed assistance, I would ask for it and I would not have told you to make it so he passed out for half the day. You will reverse whatever you have done, now." Therese could only stand back and look at him with a disappointed look on her face, feeling as if he was trying to bypass her own thoughts and feelings on the matter. He was right, she had not wanted the king to bed her and make her pregnant. But if she was sent a letter by her family asking if the deed was done, she would have to tell the truth no matter what. It was her duty as a princess and soon to be queen. "Please Guy, I will do this my own way." :His face fell in the front of logic with that line of reasoning. When put like that he could understand why she reacted the way she did. If truly she needed aid she would have asked for it in such a way. He just went ahead and acted without consulting her and that was something he shouldn't have done. Hateful as the idea was to him, as repugnant as it was, he would have to suffer the indignity of watching whom he once called friend kiss her and take Therese as his own. With a heavy heart he would nod to her, eyes not leaving hers before he'd say:: "As you wish my love."::It's all he could really say since he had no stance to really say anything else. He took his place back near the altar and with a mere snap of his finger reality set in again. Time moved forward, people were none the wiser for what had truly occurred. The ceremony was still on and the time was now for the king to seal his union to his newly minted queen with kiss. Oh, how it was leaving Guy's stomach in knots!:: x Therese was pleased that he understood what was at stake here, and she caressed his cheek with her thumb as she moved closer to him. "Thank you, Guy. Just be patient, and let me handle things from now on, alright?" She walked back to the spot she was in before the magic wore off, and when it did, she felt the king's lips upon hers rather forcefully which caused her to freeze up and make everyone else rather nervous as to the future of the empire if that was how she acted towards their king. Not that they blamed her one bit. The ceremony afterward continued as expected, since the marriage ceremony had finished, now it was time for the crowning ceremony. Therese walked over to the bishop and knelt before him, speaking as he told her to, before the coronet was placed upon her head and she was announced as Queen. Once that had finished, it was time to send the royal couple to the bedchamber where they would consummate the marriage. It was custom to do this before any feast, since that only happened when they were sure it had happened between the king and his new Queen. :It was difficult for Guy to do this but, she had a point. He had to put trust in her as his wife that she knew what she was doing. In his defense he just did so because he knew that deep down in his heart of heart's his loving Therese would never be good enough for this lowlife of a King. And truly, he felt queasy in his stomach seeing that hateful being press his lips to Therese's. All of it then was going to culminate in the bedchamber and...when the two left, he just couldn't take it. Leaving the castle, Guy wandered the countryside aimlessly before little, by little, he began to transform into his true FAE being. The remnants of clothing and of armor disappearing from his form entirely before he'd go into the deep forest. He wasn't sorrowful, more wrathful and angry, and it was unfortunately not known to many but in moments of emotional turmoil, fans such as he returned to their near semimythical status to go on a nature retreat. For him, it was needed, where he could just clear his mind and not think of what was going to happen behind those closed doors. The thought was just too great to bear:: x Therese and the king were escorted out of the chapel and up a flight of stairs where the king's room was, all the while, Therese felt as if she was going to be sick at the thought of this man touching any part of her while trying to make an heir with her. But at least if he did, she could talk him into giving her the regency if something bad ever happened to him. That was what she clung to, that strand of hope that would give her and her child a happy future, with Guy one day at her side. They made it inside the bedchambers that were now shared by the king and. Herself, which was when the doors closed, and she turned around to face the king. "My lord. I." She was nervous calling him that, but it was now a wife spoke and referred to her husband in nobility and royalty, so it might soften him to her a bit. "Would you like me to pour you a cup of ale, my lord?" :He of course was a king that never was one to just idly followed formalities, no sir. He instantly grasped at her and began to yank bits of her clothing off little by little. He knew full well what his royal duty was and...well lets be honest his new Queen definitely was easy on the eyes.:: "Ale can always be had later, love. It's time for stabbing to begin..."::He laughed heartily as he literally bent her over the bed now in her nakedness and propped himself up ready to get at her. Of course his body wasn't nearly so nice as Guy's but like Guy at least had a little more gifted thing below THT could satisfy here. But what happened next was so mysterious. One fully expected him to jam that thing in and go to town right? Well, in a way he did but...he was between her thighs. Amazingly though he was so damn inebriated that the feeling to him was as indistinguishable as proper penetration. And he began to roughly pound away between her legs like that::: "Yummy my Queen... I feel you were excited for the after ceremony festivities..." :Basically hot dogging between her thighs so barbarically. Yet to him, it was indistinguishable as if actually doing the deed. The real question is...was this another little trick of Guy's FAE magic...or was this the real deal?:: x Therese let out a cry as her clothing was yanked off of her body, and she squirmed to try and get him off of her so she could do things properly. "My lord, stop this!" She whimpered as she felt the cold air hit her naked flesh, window having not been closed properly. "Must you do things like this.?" She muttered aloud, knowing that even if he did hear her that he wouldn't care one bit about her well-being. Only to get an heir into her and as many as he felt like. She was pushed down onto the bed, and she waited for him to plunge himself into her and consummate the marriage. But, something strange happened. And instead of going into her, he went between her thighs. "My l-lord? What are you doing?" It felt rather odd to have him between her thighs like this, and it was beginning to hurt from him going back and forth so quickly. :Truth be told...as much as Guy would admit to making the idiotic king do this, Guy was true to his beloved's request and removed all the FAE spells over him. Thus, this was a completely drunken fool so very inebriated that he couldn't even fathom that he really wasn't doing the deed at all. So naturally, when she was asking him what he was doing he was figuring she either was frightened or all too totally daft of sense. He thus shoved her head down harder to the pillow and grunted:: "Silly Queen...what do you think is happening? The glory of mating and of producing heirs, that's what!"::he laughed as he pushed harder, not really understanding that what he was doing was bringing on discomfort. Of course, what little he could sense in the way of pleasure was enough for him to be going nuts and crazed with desire now. Not to mention that finally, the chance at heirs enabled him to go at her all the more roughly. All in all, it was an entirely disconcerting reality that Guy had no wish to even envision. NO sir...he just went off into the countryside and stayed in midst of the heavy forests and returned to his FAE ways for a while. Not that he figured anyone would notice or even care...well maybe his beloved but, he just couldn't stay in the same castle knowing what was befalling his beloved:: x Therese couldn't take much more of this humiliation, it was getting rather frustrating! Despite having her head shoved down into a pillow, the young queen managed to move her head enough to speak again. "My lord. You are between my thighs. Not inside of me." She knew that he has so drunk that this was what he thought was having sex, but as it was, she couldn't very well have him doing things wrong. This was going to be the first of many things she would teach him to do right, but this one would be the only sexual thing she ever told him. She hated this, but if he was to think they produced an heir together, then it should at least be believable.(Sorry it's short, that was all I could figure out to say XD) ::Even nonsensical dummies could finally catch the hint until he suddenly realized just how...resistant it was becoming. And then the drunken fool of a monarch would hiccup before realizing his mistake:: "Well ya don't say Missy...well then, easily solved!"::With that, the horrid king spat upon his hand and grasped himself before fitting himself inside her properly this time. He settled for the sensation, wishing he could take her from the other side but would suffice for now. And he drove into her roughly and hard over and over again until, far too quickly, he did erupt in her and thus his royal duty was taken care of. Forceful, humiliating, and generally unpleasant was probably how it could be summed up. And when it was done he didn't even so much kiss her but just tumbled over onto his back and was asleep in no time. It probably was best that Sir Guy was not here to have witnessed this but...deep within the forest he could sense it. Sensing her discomfort and humiliation. And for the first time in his eternal being, wrath and vengeance burned deep in his FAE heart...and it was never something any FAE should wish to have in them. For such things could lead only to ruin for all:: x (Totally okay :) I love your posts! Therese gulped as she understood what she had done, and she whimpered at the feeling of him shoving himself inside of her at such a rough and quick pace, without letting her body adjust. Because he was so rough, there was a small amount of blood that leaked out of her, which would help sell that she had 'given her virginity' to the king. When she felt him release inside of her, she almost felt sick to her stomach, but she managed to not give any hint that she hated this, and instead just let him collapse onto the bed to fall asleep within seconds. It took quite some time, but she managed to fall asleep so that she was well rested to greet the nobles tomorrow as their queen. The next morning, she awoke to the sounds of the curtains being opened and what looked to be her new lady in waiting smiling at her like today was the best day in the world." Good morning, Your Grace. What a wonderful day it is, the birds chirping and sun shining. Now let's get you dressed and presentable to meet the rest of the royal family." And with that, she was helped out of bed and they both glanced down towards the blood on the bed before taking the queen to her dressing area and making sure she was in the best gown they could find out of her wardrobe. Once they were done, Therese was guided to the dining room, and she sat down to greet everyone before breakfast. "Good morning, everyone. I hope that I can get along with everyone, and answer any questions anyone may have about me." :The oddity about the royal family that was present was that they seemed almost indifferent to her entirely. They were more interested in the immediate fare that infested the table, eating at poached eggs and bacon and buttery croissants than actually paying attention to her. Even as she announced herself none of them bothered to rise, or to acknowledge her. Breakfast then went on strange and awkward silence despite her willingness to reach out. Moments transpired before one of the members, which was the king's mother, would finally give terms of acknowledgement. She rose her face from what she was doing after a sliver of orange juice to say:: "Forgive us, Dalai if we don't immediately answer you...our son rather discourages conversation at the table, and we wouldn't wish to enrage him anymore than he already can be sometimes...." :A fair enough issue as she looked out of the corner of her eye at her husband who nodded the affirmative rather quietly. The woman would then say;: "WE are happy to have you be part of the family, Dalai...but please don't take our silence as rudeness..."::Then one of the pantry staff came with a tray bearing Therese's breakfast so that she could sate her hunger for the day:: x Therese felt quite discouraged as she sat there while everyone else ate, though she felt more insulted than anything. This was supposed to be her new family, and while she hadn't expected any happiness over her marrying in, she sure as hell expected more than this. But nevertheless, she persisted, and she drank a sliver of orange juice that was given to her before her breakfast even arrived. Her ears perked up when she heard a woman's voice coming from the other side of the table, and she smiled cheerfully at her before she heard what she had to say, at which point her smile dropped a little and she sighed. "It is quite alright, Your Majesty. I shall do my best, as his wife and queen, to persuade him otherwise. It might take time, but I will make sure that this year is a good one." Therese saw her breakfast, her stomach rumbling as she thanked the server and began to eat. It was some of the best food she had had since being on that ship for so long, dealing with conditions that while good. Weren't what she had thought it would be like when she was first aboard the ship to this new land. :The woman was glad to see that Therese was at least not going to be entirely insulted by this...for really it was not their fault that there was this unfortunately awkward silence at the meal table. It continued on for a while until finally his father would speak so that Therese's awkward feeling didn't continue to persist:: "You're such a beautiful and lovely addition to the family, Dalai you really are...It's why many of us are saddened, truly saddened..." :But he left it at that to continue with his hot mash porridge, until his wife intervened::"It's just that...as much as we are happy that you are here...you truly seem like you are too good for our son. Far too noble of gentility and manner for such as he. There used to be a time in which I held him upon a pedestal but no longer. In every way possible he has become an uncouth brute that preys upon anything as he sees fit and...." :To which she immediately shushed her mouth when the King came in and rubbed his eyes with a walrus like yawn:: "Good morning all.good morning..."::He seemed to reek of alcohol still but not nearly so much as last night, and his parents regarded him as he'd take his place at the head of the table before saying:: "Oh Dalai wife... I do apologize, but this particular table is for family only. Your eating table is there..." :And out of nowhere he 'politely' gestured a hand toward a table in a corner with a small stool with no candle to indicate its existence. His father said:: "Son...you're not really suggesting such thing, are you?" :The king turned toward him and said:: "She's family by marriage father.not by blood...and in accordance with my decree it is so..." :And they could only nod, apologetic looks to her as basically this shameful tyrant was telling her to sit at a kiddie table to have her meals rather than at the table with them:: x Therese was grateful to be complimented like that, pleased that her new family did indeed approve of her and wished that things around here were different. So she continued the meal with a smile on her face, at peace since the king had not arrived yet. But just as she was about to finish eating, the king piped up with a 'good morning' and sat down at his place as head of the family. "Good morning, my lord husband. I-..." She froze as he began speaking of this table being for family only, and that she must sit at the table in the very corner of the dining hall with only a simple stool and not even a candle to light the table. It shocked her that he was being so cruel to her, and she could only look to him with a saddened look on her face as she spoke." My. My lord husband, you cannot be serious, surely? As I am sure you remember, I was crowned Queen at my coronation following the wedding. I have just as much a right to sit here as you do, and as an anointed Queen, I will not degrade myself by sitting at a table fit for a child." :The two were ready to speak on her behalf but, they stopped themselves fast and just looked down. They knew full well their son's fury and that it would do no well for anyone. And in these instances they wondered if even so would be much of a difference to their monstrous son, who stoically stared at her as she so unwittingly challenged him in away that infuriated him.:: "I see, dear Queen and wife of mine. A crown is set upon your head at long last, and suddenly you think fit to strut your queenly authority as befitting your title..."::He walked around her and folded his arms behind his head:: "Already you are having the royal power go to your head...so much that even a change in venue of where you sit to enjoy your meals is beyond unreasonable." :Speaking down to her almost literally as he circled her:: "What a travesty indeed...coming from such an impoverished roach infested nation where you had only simple rags on your skin and vittles little better than what pigs in a shed eat. Now...you drink out of crystal goblets and wear fine silks and have a life beyond your wildest imaginations. Yet you will already wish to be a selfish one with your new title...unwilling to do a little thing while others would be ready and willing to eat crumbs from the ground at the chance to be king presence of a king..."::Yes, he was definitely spinning this upon her to make it seem like SHE was the one being the unreasonable fool, not he. It's how he truly showed what a sociopath he really was. And at the end of it he folded his arms over his chest:: "Is that really the kind of Queen you would wish to be?" x Therese knew she had said something wrong in his eyes, for he then began to circle her, and she could tell that things were not going to go as she planned at all. "My lord. Please enough of this. Why must you be so cruel?" But he wasn't finished, not by a long shot. When he began to tell her that power was going to her head, she clenched her fists and thought that maybe she could handle his insult. But it just kept going, insulting her home and what she wore, what she ate. It was too much. So when he finished speaking, she turned to face him with fury in her eyes. "Now you listen here! CIEM is a grand kingdom with a full treasury and thriving trade, and you certainly know this, otherwise you would have written to another kingdom asking for their princess to wed. I was the Crown Princess, I could have married any other man, but my father chose you because he thought that it would be a happy match for his daughter. I could have been Queen of CIEM or any other kingdom, my lord, but I hoped that you could be reasonable and care for me as a husband should, so I gave into my father's wishes. Furthermore, I will not be the only one trying to make this marriage work. What will it take to get you to see that I want to try?!" :The countenance in His Majesty's face definitely faded almost instantly when she stood up to him like that. He was not even remotely used to or acclimated to being talked in such a way. His parents all too easily knew what was going to come next as far as any outbursts so they quickly excused themselves rather than wait for him to order them to vacate the premises. Alas, he didn't blow up at her but would instead fold his hands behind his head and said:: "So...what I deem to gather from what you spout at me is that CIEM...is ripe for annexation to the imperium."::With that, suddenly he calmly stated:: "Then I shall summon the War Council at once and send the Expeditionary Force to CIEM to demand its incorporation to the Imperium at post-haste...and if your father the Queen has the resources as you say, then he should be able to hold off all semblance of conflict indefinitely. If not...then the potential blood will be on your very conscience...my Queen..." :With that, he then turned to one of the messenger in the shadows and declared:: "Summon the field marshals immediately for a war council to be convened at high noon...now leave us..." :The messenger left without even so much as questioning, though the very reprehensible thing he had to do made him sick to his stomach. His majesty then went back to the table and said:: "Come then, my Queen. Sit by my side as you insist at this new development..." x Therese stood there in silence as his expression changed from countenance to a completely blank expression, and that was when she knew she had screwed up. It didn't help that his family practically ran out of the room before the king or herself could even speak a word. But what she heard come out of his mouth was unlike anything she expected, it was calm as could be. As he threatened her home kingdom with war. Her eyes widened as she shook her head at him, fearing for the lives of her family and her people." My lord husband, please reconsider, I beg of you! You cannot possibly be thinking of declaring war on CIEM. Besides, was there not supposed to be a peace treaty written up when I was declared your fiancé? That would mean you cannot declare any sort of aggression against CIEM without forfeiting my dowry. And if I am to be giving you an heir, then how could you do that to their other half of the family. To my family?! I. I." The young queen felt suddenly sick to her stomach as she understood what her rebellion against the king meant, and how this could all turn wrong before she could even give the kingdom an heir. "I must take my leave, my lord husband, I feel ill." And with that, she ran out of the dining hall and down the hallway to their bedchambers to be alone for even the briefest of moment in the time it would take anyone to reach her. :He himself would not be swayed despite her apparent discomfort at what was going to take place. If he had any semblance of remorse he certainly didn't show it. He was a petulant child as a ruler practically and a cruel tyrant and showing Therese all too well unfortunately how maybe her choice to have been wedded to him may not have been the best idea. Alas, he was not going to steer away from the course of putting up an unfair fight to CIEM. Either it would capitulate outright and save itself a great amount of bloodshed, or it would be faced with outright seaborne and land borne invasion followed by sieges that would leave the land in tatters and ashes. The king sat back down to indulge in breakfast still as he was still quite hungry. Thus, he ate, unwavering in his mission to call her out on her blatant words that CIEM was a great and powerful nation to be reckoned with. As far as her assertion that it would violate treaty commitments between the two royal nations, the King didn't have a care in the world in that regard. In his opinion this was lateral and unitary response, uncompromising. There was no collective of kingdoms that would answer for a reckoning of his misdeed even if there was an illegality to it. CIEM unfortunately was at the mercy of a nation which boasted a grand imperial military...it would be up to it and it alone whether it could stand against such power. And all the while, one must wonder...whatever happened to Therese's dear true FAE husband?!:: x Therese ran through the halls of the castle, trying desperately to find where Guy had gotten off to. She needed him and his magic to help her. If she did not do something about the war council at high noon, then all she could do was watch as her home kingdom fought with the one she married into. It was her only hope. She had to find Guy. Once she was outside the castle, she ran towards the woods crying out his name. "Guy! Where are you?!" It was a desperate move, but one she hoped would lead to him forgiving her and helping her. It was still early enough that she decided to run just a little quicker, and ended up tripping on a tree root that had gone up from the ground. "Ah!" She tumbled down the small hill, her hair coming loose from its undo and her coronet falling off her head as she hit the ground. Therese was afraid for what would happen if she didn't find Guy in time, and besides. She was fairly sure she had twisted her ankle rather badly. :The forest was known as the Emerald Blight, and it was a thing of beauty if not also something to be rather feared for word that tree demons and evil sprites existed within its borders. Then again, that was mostly all talk on the part of ones like her royal husband, hoping to consolidate power with a declared or written word to dissuade those that might venture into it in their own interest. He of course was blissfully unaware of what was taking place. Now, when she tripped upon a root...it wasn't just any root. It also happened to be the foot of what was, in this magical forest known as a forest shepherd. Suddenly, at the top of that hill the tree of that root she tripped upon came to life. The strange wood and leaf monstrosity was anthropomorphic in a way but, oh it was so otherworldly. He looked upon the strange little human that had fallen and seemed to be in pain. Upon wondering what business what such a little human had in the forest, the shepherd reached one big hand down. Fingers were of soft branches as it would scoop up Therese and hoist her on high to its face. It appeared to have eyes set into its upper bark and what looked to be a mouth. Raccoons and squirrels danced about its upper branch "hair" consisting of leaves as it would say:: "Who is this strange little human to ask where FAE Guy is?! All I can see is something that is quite befuddling to me. You seem to be a normal human that makes home in stone houses behind big walls. Yet, the very blood that runs through you is enriched with the FAE of the natural world. So let me ask you again, who are you, strange little human with FAE attributes?" :NO doubt it was none the wiser for the fact that Guy was her rightful first husband and had mated with her successfully:: x Therese sniffled as she tried to move her ankle, to no avail, hoping that somebody came along and found her in these woods eventually. But she couldn't have possibly imagined that the forest she was in was none other than the Emerald Blight, nor could she imagine that anything other than FAE could be real. But yet, something happened that would make her view on that matter change completely. So when she felt herself being picked up, she felt confused, and she looked wide-eyed at what she could now see was a tree with extremities that looked human but were covered in leaves and bark. It seemed oddly calming to be in its presence, and she felt a warmth come over her as it looked at her with those eyes of its. His question also made her feel calm, but then she remembered why she was there and how she had tripped trying to find her husband. "Please, you must help me. My husband. My true husband, he is a FAE, and we joined together in marriage last night. A pure marriage, a true marriage. I understand that now, so I beg you to help me find him. Before it is too late for me. And our child." :the tree shepherd found this to be a puzzling enlightenment. Here this simple little human said she was husband to the FAE known as Guy but that seemed to be so improbable. Yet...the fact she had the enrichment of the FAE in her very biology seemed to corroborate this claim. Alas, the shepherd was not one to judge, but merely to either guard the blight or to guide for those that came without ill intent into the realm. With a touch of its hand, Druid based nature energy surged into her ankle to remove the pain and damage she suffered. The shepherd took it upon himself to cradle the human and hoisted it onto its forearm, murmuring:: “The blight is an ancient reality long predating stone homes and walls. I am one of its eldest guardsmen and I will lead you to where FAE Guy is if that is who you seek...”::Deeper into the blight on a country road did they go. Soon, fantastical creatures came to be seen. Satyrs and fauns. Dryads and living plants. Faeries and sprites. Oh, so many wonders could be seen the more they penetrated the Emerald Blight in all its virginal beauty:: x As Therese rested in the shepherd's hand and awaited an answer to what she had asked of it, a warmth began to seep into her body and when she went to move her ankle. It was completely healed! "Thank you. I wish to make things right. He must be quite upset with me to have not come back last night, and I am worried he may not forgive me." With a firm yet gentle grip, she held onto the shepherd's forearm and watched in amazement while they went through the blight. The country road was more beautiful than anywhere she had been before, with all sorts of creatures flitting about and going about their lives with no care in the world. What it must be like to have no worries of the outside world, and they did not know what the young queen was going through as she searched for her FAE husband. All while her human husband was preparing for war with her home kingdom. :In time, the deeper that the shepherd took her into the blight, they came across one of its great even Mallory trees that shown of gold and silver leaves. But what lay beyond the leaves were an even more endearing secret. Whole levels of what seemed to be a multilevel home were set right in midst of the center of it. Almost like what a child's playhouse would be in a tree in someone's backyard. But this was spectacular. The very hymns of music could be heard. And toward this location did the shepherd take her, soon reaching out to perch her upon one of its branches containing little steps that would go forward to what seemed to be a golden door. The tree shepherd set her down here with a gentle plop knowing she could walk easily again, for druid energies healed her ankle of any harm she might have sustained in that fall. And the hulking tree lord would murmur:: "This is the FAE known as Guy's abode. Simply touch the door, and you will gain access. For if you are his wife as you say...and he has mated with you, then your touch is like a key to open his home as well. Go to him, tiny little confusing one. Go to him and make things right as you would..."::He would turn, and head back in the direction from whence he came to go back to his duties. Leaving Therese on her own to find her beloved Guy:: x The tree was certainly something to behold, as she could see this was just as beautiful as her castle in CIEM, but it was of nature and therefore more beautiful than anything anyone could build out of stone or wood. The leaves were made of gold and silver, and she was thankful that no human other than her knew of this place of majesty and beauty." Thank you, I am grateful to you for helping me find my husband. I hope to repay you one day, for the kindness you have shown me." She watched as the shepherd turned and went back the way they had come, before turning to the door and taking a deep breath in. What was she doing? Would he even forgive her for betraying him and consummating the marriage between herself and the king? All Therese knew, was that she had to try and get him to help her. So, she placed her hand on the door and watched as it opened wide for her, before she walked in and spoke. "Guy?" :And Guy was there. But, he wasn't initially even paying attention to her. He turned his head having come from a room to see who the visitor might be and...well, he walked by. His eyes beheld her, and there was longing but, there was sadness there too. Sadness indicating that which he did feel betray from. Sighing as he would murmur:: "As sad as this might make you feel...you cannot blame me for having left the kingdom to come here. IT was far too much for me to have to endure...." :He walked past her into another room. Now, what made it curious though was that he said these things completely in the buff. That's right. He was entirely buck naked. That was part of what being in the wild among such creatures of nature would allow. And he had no shame. Why should he? He was FAE...a demigod of nature that was above such things as feeling shame for what one possessed. But yes, all in his naked muscled glory he was to her, and seemed to still be slightly miffed with her. Not angry...but this was more just disappointment that pervaded his eyes and his voice. But from the room he said:: "Come, make yourself comfortable, beloved... I love you all the same and shan't turn you away from my....well.OUR home now..." x Therese saw as Guy came from one of the other rooms in his home, and it was clear that he truly did feel betrayed by the fact that she had let the king have his way with her. But she did not blame him for feeling that way, nor did she blame him for what he said as he walked into another room. It did make her sad to see him this way, and even the fact that he was naked did not break her sadness. It only made her feel even more guilty of what she had done to him. So she followed him into the next room as he spoke to her once more." No, I cannot blame you for how you feel. It is clear to me why you feel this way. I. I am so sorry, Guy." Therese's eyes watered as she looked at him, making her way across the room and to right in front of him. "I love you too. Which is why I need your help. The king is planning to declare war against CIEM, the war council is meeting at high noon. I was too brave today, and it might cost me my family." :He would gently wrap his strong arms about her to bring her into his warm tight embrace. Resting his face against hers as her eyes spilled silent tears. Yes, he couldn't blame her for doing what she thought was right for her people but at the same time still couldn't shake the sadness he felt as a result of it. He would be over it in time, and hopefully all could be put past them. He rested his forehead against hers and gently began undressing her. No, not because he was intent on taking her this moment, but because as partially FAE now too she was permitted and expected to partake in custom as well. Peeling every layer until she was as naked as he. He proceeded to embrace her once more, resting his forehead against hers as he whispered:: "Brevity is your strong suit darling, but against such despotism it only creates madness for him to work with. Alas...do not be too alarmed. You have entered the Blight. It's more than just a physical realm. Were you merely still human, it would appear only as a forest with usual beasts and flora and fauna. But you are part FAE too...and as such the Blight is like a dream one enters. Though in this dream, time beyond the veil of the Blight goes at a pace much slower than it does here." :Effectively telling her time ground to a halt the moment she came here, and thus they were in no immediate danger. Guy held her closely, cradling Therese's head as he whispered:: "Would...you leave him...forsake what security he would've offered CIEM if I now asked you to?" :Of course he wasn't going into details of how he would help...but trust you him he had a plan for how he could foil that despotic tyrant's aims. Flesh caressed flesh as he continued to hold her in oh so romantic a way:: x Therese's body melted into his as he took her into his embrace, and she sniffled as she felt her body shaking from the tears coming from her eyes. His warmth comforted her despite how she knew he felt saddened by her actions. But her sadness was pushed aside for a moment when she felt his hands undoing the laces of her dress, making sure to take it off as carefully as possible. Her slip was next, falling to the floor as she then stood naked before him as she gazed up at him. "Guy." Her eyes fluttered shut as their foreheads touched, and she listened as he told her of how since she was now part FAE that the Blight was a different place to her, that time did not pass here as it did in the human realm. It made her feel a little better about what time she had here, making the most of her time with her true husband. "Yes, I would do as you asked. I just wish him to be gone, and I want to give a good life to the child we are to have. If that means that the king has to go for peace to be had, then I will do what it takes." :He nodded realizing that she now understood all too well what he had tried to warn her from the get-go. He reached behind her neck to gently pinch and caress knowing just how nice it felt to her to relieve that stress, and he could tell she had accumulated so much over the last few days sadly. He continued on the gentle rhythmic massage as he would whisper:: "Then it is settled. Here... I will slowly transform you into full FAE my love. Day by day making your gentle transformation until you are as me...here, time goes on but beyond...it is at a complete standstill. Nefarious plans of the tyrant I once called friend will be ground to a halt...and by then, once we are ready for retribution, I will call all allies within the Blight, and other vales and realms touched by druid power or nature's blessing...and we will crush him..." He held her naked body close to him, clinging to her tighter as he would kiss her forehead:: "It hurt...terribly to let you go. Years have gone by in the Blight here...but for you, it was only a day...in fact...a whole year of time has gone by. Too long...far too long my love..." :he gently bumped his nose against hers side to side oh so romantically...putting a fine point on it of what time was relative to what was beyond the blight. Indeed...conveying other that he had been heartbroken and lonely for too long without her by his side:: x Therese felt a shock run through her body as his words sunk in. Turning her into a full FAE being, how was that even possible? She was human, well. Mostly. But if she was turned, then it meant she would outlive every single member of her human family back in CIEM. Yet, it also meant she could be with her husband and children forever, without worrying about having to say goodbye. "I. I would like that, I am just worried about the day I shall have to say goodbye to my siblings and friends, knowing that I would outlive them. However, if that means that I can crush the king and whatever horrible things he has planned, then count me in." She held onto Guy as tightly as she could manage, before giggling as their noses bumped together. Though she stopped giggling as she heard him say it had been too long. "A whole year has passed here? My love. I. I am so sorry. If I had just done as you wished in the first place, none of this would have happened, and you wouldn't have left for a whole year here." :The act of physical loving. That’s what would turn her into FAE completely. Each time he would.the Druid energies d nature would flow into her again and again. He would let her know if this soon enough but now, it was just endearing for Guy to have her in his presence once more. He leaned down to kiss her before gently hoisting her up into his arms not wholly unlike the bride of the wedding night. Looking into her eyes as he whispered:: “Very clearly I know what must be done to heal the distance that was wedged between us, beloved wife. Through it, you shall be brought that much closer to manhood. If that is what you truly wish...then I will happily grant this to you, my Therese...” x Therese leaned up as he pressed his lips against hers, pressing her body against his as she was hoisted up with her legs wrapped around his waist. It meant so much to her, to be back with who she truly belonged. It helped that his seed was inside her and had made contact with an egg, the process of pregnancy beginning inside her womb. She didn't know that, however, and wanted to be closer to him in an intimate way." Please my love. My Guy. I wish to join with you again, so that we may forget our troubles for even just a moment. And then, once we have made me a full FAE so that we may destroy the king and his plans. Then, we can speak of making you my King, not just in my heart." :Luckily for the both of them, time came to almost a virtual standstill beyond this magical realm that bordered on mythical. They would have all the time in the world to renew their vows, to love one another day in and day out. To see children born and raised. Entire lifetimes practically spanning only mere moments in the actual world. This was what Therese would have, and much more that Guy was ready to give her. Into this humble natural sanctum he took her until they were within what looked to be a bedroom. It was a bed of most comfortable looking nature, blessed by only the finest of druid magics. It was surrounded by eternally swirling pools of crystal water. Wading through such pools as he carried Therese to the very edge of the bed. Slowly laying her down before he laid Therese on her back and kissed at her lips first before moving down. Too long he had been without her touch, and now he was going to savor it. The stronger the physical contact between them, the greater the surge of FAE would be into her for her upcoming transformation:: "As you wish my beloved Queen...the road to you becoming FAE begins now, my Therese..." x Therese made sure to hold on carefully to her husband as she was taken through the waters to the bed, making her feel at peace as she was laid down upon its soft blankets to gaze up into Guy's living expression. "My love." She murmured as their lips finally joined together, a little whimper leaving her lips. It had been so long since she had felt his touch. His hands against her flesh, and him inside of her. But to him, it had been even longer, and the young queen felt terrible that her actions and decisions had caused him to leave her to come to these woods. But she had a chance to make things right with her true husband, as he began to bring his lips down her jaw from her lips. "Yes my love. And you shall be my King, forever and always. I swear I shall never stray from your touch again, you bring me far more pleasure than I ever thought possible." :Those gentle loving words providing so much healing for the rift that was created. A rift that he knew all too well was a realpolitik measure in order for her kingdom to have proper union with a larger one. He understood it, even if the thought of what happened earlier didn't make him feel all the better. Alas, she found the King finally to be the monster that Guy had told her all along and finally had left him to be with him, her trust husband again. A husband that was going to grant her the immortality of fandom. A gift hardly ever given nor easily taken. Something that was rare for any to attain really. And yet, the love that Guy had for her was indication alone that he would want Therese to be bestowed this great and majestic gift. In response, he slowly rolled over onto his back and let his eyes gaze into hers. A hunger lay there as that manhood of his stood tall, so thick and many, and prominent. He gave it a modest stroke for her loving eyes to see before he then said:: "Then take it, my Queen. Now is a time for you to selfishly take what I have declared to belong to you in the first place. With it, we shall be together, always and evermore." :his head settling into the pillow as he'd murmur:: "Mount up my beloved Queen, and take what we both desire now. It is forever your possession. Take it...it is YOURS..." :Indicating her in an unselfish way that he is ready to give all to her, anticipating what she would do next:: x It was many hours that they spent together, locked in a passionate embrace that only people in the purest and truest love could experience. In that time, she could feel herself growing stronger with each time that were brought to the brink of the ultimate feeling of desire. It was something that Therese had longed for since they parted, and now that she knew she would never leave his side again, it could go on for as long as they wanted. An eternity of companionship and trust, love and desire.Afterward, Therese laid there spent but perfectly content, resting her head against Guy's chest and listening to his heartbeat. "My love, I feel so at peace now. I will most certainly have the strength soon to be able to defeat the tyrant that sits on the throne, and I could not be able to think of doing this without you. I could never even think to repay you for all you've done for me, perhaps only in my love and devotion for you." :he leaned up against a slight outcropping in the bed...think of the mattress itself almost as living and vibrant, moving at the behest of what the one laying upon it needed. Thus, Guy was laying at an almost ninety degree incline while he had his beloved Therese's head against his chest. Fingers gently dragged over the back for her neck, squeezing, massaging. Then he would let those fingers caress downward before letting his hand gently pinch the full curve of her bum while his lips kissed her forehead::"What was witnessed back there my beloved is more than enough to repay me for all that I've done. You, my beloved wife and Queen are a passionate vixen whose very zeal for the finest of love are what defines devotion." :he smiled as he continued to touch her glistening flesh:: "That and I do admit I have a fondness for making you get so very loud..." :He would then ease her up closer so his forehead rested against hers, and he would say::"But listen closely my beloved...it will take time now. Becoming a FAE doesn't happen instantaneously nor does it have little skill. There's much that you will come to attain...and learn...and that can only be done while here. And only when I deem you to be ready, beloved and beautiful wife of mine will we strike..." :He whispered to her:: "Does that make sense to you beloved?" :For it was not his intention to have hr use the power of fandom out of vengeance...but in a way to right a wrong, something he wished for her to realize:: x When he mentioned he liked making her get quite loud, her cheeks became this cherry red, and she tried to hide her face in his chest. Did he have to try and make her blush every chance he got? Therese looked up at him as he paused for a moment, wondering how she could have gotten so lucky that fateful day she arrived to this new land. Her thoughts, however, were interrupted by his sobering words. She knew what was hidden behind his question and his cautionary words, he did not wish her to take the power she would one day possess. And use them for revenge to harm the king and her enemies. He wished her to use the gift to make things as they should be. So, when she took his words and gave them some serious thought, she nodded and placed her hands lovingly onto his cheeks. "I understand what I must do, my dearest. I will not use my future gifts for revenge." :And the reason why he had done that was Guy came to realize...she probably was the nobler of soul than he could ever be. He actually tried to use his fatness to stop time, to reverse it, to make things impossible in a way that would've been unfair to annul her marriage to that insufferable tyrant. Yet...she was quick to tell him that his way was wrong and that he must make it right. And he was going to do that forever more. The time here was reflective and made him realize he almost had used his near godlike power for vengeance, and that is not the way of a FAE at all. Retribution came to forces that deserved it...and though many could argue that this kind deserved such a thing, Guy was no authority to bestow such a sentence. Thus, he was happy when she acquiesced to be his acolyte, his pupil. He kissed her as she held his face, and he murmured:: "Remember dearest love...time is relative...and what I am proposing here will take much of that. But in the outside world...it's like it hardly goes by. All I know, all I've ever come to attain and learn... I shall bestow to you." :And he would gently ease them from this bed and dip them into the pristine and crystal like pool around them, letting it soothe and revive their flesh from all the loving punishment they put through each other upon that bed. There were no movement of his lips, but mentally, they were united, and he spoke to her telepathically, whispering:: "Nature is neither to be ruled with nor to be subjugated by. The wisest know that to be at peace with it...is to be equal to it. You must be one with all its denizens. Trees...for many of them are shepherded by the treats. Animals you must never harm...and I know it will be hard for you because you no doubt have grown used to the eating of animal flesh of your meals. Every citizen of nature serves a purpose...know this wife...and it will be your equal and your faithful ally..."::Fingers softly ran over Therese's naked body, laving her, massaging her, holding her close as this introductory lesson was being given in such a way...for he knew that only through love were some of the most important lessons of life truly realized:: x Therese leaned into the kiss, loving and deep, as she imagined her future with her love. Her dearest husband. She had to protect him, just as he was doing this to protect her from danger. "I will do my best to make you proud of me, Guy. I will be good, I promise." With that, her lips turned up, and she nestled into his arms as he eased them both off the bed, the crystal waters healing them from their lovemaking. Her body cooled as the waters took effect, clearing the thoughts of revenge from her mind as only peace and calm remained. She listened as he spoke into her mind, gazing up at him to make sure he knew she understood every word he spoke to her. The thought of never eating the flesh of animals was something she would have to adjust to, since all of her meals up to this point had always had meat in them to keep her strong. But, she supposed that soon. She would have magic to keep her body strong. "I promise, my love. I shall make sure not to harm another living soul as long as I live, and to treat nature with kindness and respect." :And thus, it began for the two of them together in earnest. Husband and wife, FAE and FAE. Guy knew it would be no easy task for her...for there was much that one needed to accomplish to become FAE. Irish energies didn't just come to one because they willed it to be, after all! But in her eyes, he saw love and promise, and happiness knowing she would be a mother. Thus, day, by day it was a new lesson for her. Some days it was something as simple as merely keeping one's voice silent to hear nature around it, for in his words and wisdom all living things had voice. Sometimes it was far more a challenge, especially to invoke Irish energies to have life aid you as it would, and far too many examples of failures for her commenced on such days when she couldn't even get a treat to do her bidding as requested. But discipline and dedication. It was not all hard and no play though, mind you. It was also quality time together. And true to form each day, Guy greeted her both waking up from sleep and going to sleep with passionate lovemaking, bestowing onto her more and more experience befitting a vixen in love. But it wasn't just all sex to them. It was quality time spent swimming in streams, or doing long walks together. Life went on for them both. Days turned to weeks, and weeks to months. One lovely day as they were wandering together among fruit orchards near the south of the blight, Gary was embracing his lovely Therese and feeding her a sweet honey crisp apple while his hands gently massaged her ever widening belly, feeling the occasional kick of the little ones that would soon bless them both:: "Your belly is growing as large as your body and mind are to the unity of nature...I'm sure I have no need to tell you just how every living thing within the Emerald Blight adores you now, dear wife and Queen of mine..." :Even now he could just see how her mental and bodily transformation into FAE took hold of her:: x The months passed for Therese and Guy easily enough, enjoying their newlywed bliss through the ever-changing magic of the forest all around them. Her training was quite tough at first for the blossoming FAE to be, there were many a day when she could not bid the creatures of the blight to do anything for her, and that hurt her some days more than others. But when they were not practicing, they were in their marital bed together making passionate love as she was promised when they had first begun this journey together as husband and wife. There were many times she had to be carried into the healing waters, for she was much to tired to move herself. But every day was something new to learn about her Guy, and by the time that her pregnancy was nearing its end as well as her transformation into a full-fledged FAE, she knew that she had all the time she wished to learn as much as she wanted." My stomach is not as big as that, gentle husband and King of mine. But I will agree, I have learned much under your tutelage that I had never dreamed I would learn, and soon I will be as you are. Being one with nature was something I never thought was possible, but now I am adored by every living creature in the Blight. It is a feeling far greater than I ever thought I deserved, but to have had forgiveness and love by you, I feel truly blessed." :In the distance, dryads and centaurs could be seen playing with one another while in their own midst, nature came up again in the form of a passel of rabbits that were wandering on by. Little babies at first whose ears perked up in interest at the two. But it took them not long to realize who they were, one was the great FAE of this realm and servant to the Wild Gods themselves while the other was his mate whom he was crafting to be a FAE. The mother soon was hipped-hopping along and came up onto Therese's lap while the babies followed and nuzzled themselves against her. All that talk of the long hard road of Therese becoming one with nature finally had shown to be worth it. Flowers bloomed at her feet, and animal kind showed no fear against her. Guy took note of this and said:: "Growth is important to this paradise, and you seem to embody it my love, as well as motherhood. For this hare has always kept a safe distance from me but was always respectful. Yet with you, she sees kindred spirit..." :It was true, for even the mother rabbit was speaking into Therese's mind how happy she will be with her little ones are born. The little ones all curled up on her lap while sunlight poked in the eaves of this realm. Guy would stroke Therese's growing pointed ears and would murmur:: "Once our little ones are born my love, and your body has fully healed from the labor...your trial will begin in earnest for what is expected of you. Does this make you nervous dear heart?" x

Tryst with the Palace Champion|rating:3.0

One Wish to Grant[O_A Need People!]

It's a legend around your hometown that tells of a woman who lost her love in a war long past. She sat under the tree and mourned her lost love. The trees and nature felt sorry fore they couldn't help wound her heart. Nothing would help her, sleep or food. Not even drink would make her better. On her dying word she swore that though she couldn't have her one wish, she would grant someone's dearest wish. They say that on her grave is a flower that when picked will grant the persons wish. Tired of wondering, a contest has been issued for all the right age. To travel through the woods to find the flower and achieve the wish. But only those able to fight the dangers of the woods and the temptations of the human mind are able to go. Do you think you are brave enough? Rules: No how much we hate them, they do keep society running 1. This is semi-lit at the lowest. Try to keep one-liners to writer's block and keep a check on your spelling and grammar, so everyone can understand you. 2. The basic rules also apply here such as no god modding, flaming or power playing. It's simple to know and annoying if you ignore. 3. Follow the Kenosha TOS, it's really not that difficult, the rules are quite simple. 4. Have fun with this but do not go too far. Any questions feel free to ask. 5. Pm all profiles: I wish to join the hunt! 6. I know I forgot something Profile Skeleton.{Username:}{Character Name:}{Race:}{Age:}{Personality:}{How you plan to defend yourself:}{Bio:}{Other:}{Wish:}(if any){Appearance:}(any pics allowed, link please) Accepted Profiles:{Username:} Siegel {Character Name:} More De Luca {Race:} Human {Age:} 19 {Personality:}More be spoiled in three different languages. She seems sweet and harmless when you first meet her but as the old quote goes, do not judge a book by a cover. She is stubborn on her way and likes to be in control of the surrounding situations. Furthermore, she rarely loses her temper and when she does It's not pretty and usually ends with her in tears. Furthermore, she is also a city girl to the bone. {How you plan to defend yourself:}Her father sent her to basic defense class, and is brown belt in judo plus the three years she was on the track team. Yeah, for fight or flight. Or the bodyguards she sure is following her. {Bio:} More's father is a 'businessman' so he says. But at the age of ten he told her the truth and showed her the consequences of telling that to this day haunt her. Her father was a don. She tried her best to ignore the mafia lifestyle and have a normal life. But with the surrounding bodyguards, her friends fear to be around her, let's not forget half the town owing her father money, a normal life doesn't seem to be that simple. She tried to run many times but realized even then she was being watched! {Other:} She is a huge daddy's girl, and snuck out to be in the hunt. {Wish:}To be of her father's position and have a normal life with normal friends and a normal life. {Appearance:}xxx{Username:} Iggy Korea {Character Name:} Module Tranquil {Race:} Werewolf {Age:} 19 {Personality:} Module if fairly withdrawn from the public, due to discrimination against him in the past due to his condition. He has a small group of friends who he is very close with, and when he trusts someone, he is a very loyal and friendly friend. {How you plan to defend yourself:} Module grows claws and fangs and stuff of the like when he is very angry, or his body is put under extreme pressure. {Bio:} Module's mother was attacked by a werewolf when she was pregnant with Module. His father was abusive, and hated him for what had happened to his mother. He ran away from home at the age of 10, and has been living alone, with few friends since then. {Other:} {Wish:} To have people to accept him. He does not wish to lose his werewolf-less, because it is part of him, he just wishes that society, and his father would accept him for what he truly is. {Appearance:} (Were-Module) (Normal Module) {Username:} ERM {Character Name:} Santa Whisper {Race:} Human {Age:} 15 {Personality:} Childish, yet sometimes wise in his age. {How you plan to defend yourself:} Use his doll to kill the enemy by enlarging it. {Bio:} Santa is a one of the great Dolls Controller in his town, but during his mission, he accidentally destroyed the item quest and his town rejected him and exile him. {Other:} {Wish:} To regain people faith in town and elder of Doll Controller. {Appearance:} Santa{Username:} Leaf eon {Character Name:} Maori Piano {Race:} Half vampire. {Age:} Appears to be 1elf:} Using nature and her pet snake, Ta {Bio:} Maori grew up practically alone, not knowing her real parents as they died when she was young. Her adoptive parents shunned her when they found out what she was and what she was able to do. {Other:} She's a spirit walker. That means her soul can travel into the body of any animal. Due to an accident she had when she was a child, she has the soul of a panther trapped inside of her from where she wasn't strong enough to shake it off, enabling her to morph into a panther on certain occasions. {Wish:} She has no wish, she just likes competition. {Appearance:} Maori{Username:} Death_to_the_reaper {Character Name:} Dawn Razed {Race:} Half Succubus/ Half Elf {Age:} Looks 19 {Personality:} Dawn can be tough as nails, but she'll be soft when she needs to. {How you plan to defend yourself:} Dawn can sprout wings from her back or charge at them with her sword. {Bio:} When she was born, everyone started to shun her and her mother. The only reason they had to shun Dawn was she was the result of a one-night stand. Her mother had slept with an elf (She has never met him.) one night before his wedding, stealing his virginity from his bride. {Other:} She has a restriction collar on to prevent sexual urges that can only be removed by a man. {Wish:} To be loved for who she is and loose some of her lust. {Appearance:} With Brown hair and a collar.{Username:} Disdain{Character Name:} Benvolio{Race:} Demon Doll{Age:} 5{Personality:} Murderous, but irresistibly adorable. Loyal too few, but extremely loyal to those few... would probably eat anyone else in their sleep, if left unchecked. He has trouble keeping himself under control in the presence of blood, with greater volume giving him much greater difficulty.{How you plan to defend yourself:} Benvolio, while quite small, has a very powerful jaw and very sharp teeth, able to rend flesh and crush bone, with some effort. He's also quite agile, able to leap great distances (relatively), and travels with his beloved meat cleaver. How the two are often inseparable...{Bio:} Benvolio was crafted by a very skilled practitioner of the old ways of witchcraft, a blue blood with a ruthless, murderous mind. He served her well, bound as he was through soul-bond, until the day she was mysteriously murdered. Benvolio was auctioned off with the rest of her estate as a simple plush toy to another now late rich family. Afterward, he found himself on the run from a collection of priests that hoped to destroy him. During his travels, he devoured people when he could and starved the rest of the way until finally he was bagged in an ambush in the woods and thrown into a chest. Just as the priests were preparing to burn the poor bloodthirsty plushy bear alive, the priests found themselves set upon by a group of bandits who killed the priests, opened the chest, and were soon missing from the pages of history. Benvolio wandered the forest alone.{Other:} He likes hugs. He also likes to bite necks. It's a difficult balance to strike.{Wish:} A better meat-cleaver{Appearance:}Benvolio More stared at the entrance of the woods and swallowed back her fear. She had to do this, it was all she had left. Even now she could feel the fear of the surrounding villagers. She hoped they wouldn't tell her father that was the last thing she needed. It took her forever just to sneak out correctly, and if she didn't do it no she wouldn't do it at all. Closing her eyes she breathed inward taking a moment to breathe. Opening her eyes, she ran straight into the woods maneuvering around the trees and jumping fallen trees. Ok she was in here, now she needed an idea of where to go. She walked forward her foot catching on a root bringing her down. She cursed silently in Italian as she lay back. Furthermore, she really wasn't the type of girl to play in the woods she thought staring up at the woven tree branches above her. Module was walking silently around the forest, when suddenly he heard a rustle in the bushes to his side. He dashed into a tree beside him, and up into the branches, waiting to see whoever was coming. A girl ran through the bushes, zigzagging around the trees, and then, just below the tree he was in, she tripped clumsily. He stifled a laugh, until he noticed she was lying on her back, looking directly at him. More stared up at the tree unsure about her vision. She never needed glasses, but now she thought she was hallucinating. Sitting up and brushing leaves from her curls she searched through the leaves around her legs. There couldn't be someone in that tree. Who would hang out in tree? No village legends or rumors talked about a Tarzan or anything like that. Besides most things in these woods wouldn't keep anything alive. She was hoping that it was a shadow cast of the leaves as she wrapped her fingers around a rock. She lifted it up and thought. If it was something please be a bird, she so didn't want to die today. Throwing, though not with all her strength that would be stupid, with some strength she watched it travel through the leaves and hoped it wouldn't hit anything. Module dashed out of the way, surprised at the attack, and landed next to the girl angrily." What do you think you're doing? Huh?" His fangs extended a little, and his face slightly re-shaped. He sighed, annoyed. His face began to change back as he calmed down, and realized that he might have just scared this poor girl senseless. "Sorry." he said through his teeth. "Be a little more careful next time." He began to walk away, frustrated. She froze and stared in shock for a few seconds. By the time it registered in her what had happened he had started walking away. Jumping up she ran towards him and stopped in front of him. Brushing the leaves off her, she smiled, "That was cool, what are you?" she asked. Was she scared? Heck yeah! But her father had taught her never to show it. So at the moment curiosity was winning. And maybe whomever this was could help her get the flower. "I'm a person, and an annoyed one at that." He looked at her critically. "I didn't wrong you, so please value my privacy." He stopped, and looked her up and down, recognizing her from town, his interest piqued. "But I would like to know what a girl like you is doing in a place like this." He looked around. "I didn't pick you as the off the track type, being the daughter of a don and all. She felt her face flush and knew at once she shouldn't have thrown a rock or followed him. She looked away hoping the pink would fade. Of course, he had to have recognized her, she should've worn a mask or something. She met his eyes with a look that read nothing. "Maybe I am out here to get the flower for my daddy, or maybe I snuck out. But as you requested I will value your privacy" she said turning to head down a path. Module frowned, not really intending to scare her off. He scowled at himself, for being so rude once again. "I'm a werewolf." He shouted after her. He didn't know why he wanted her to stay, maybe he was bored, maybe he just wanted some company, but either way it annoyed him to see her walk away.[[I'll be back in quite a while, sorry.]] More stopped and looked at him as if for the first time. Sure she walked away to get the answer she wanted, but this wasn't what she expected. Was he for serious? Or was this a cheap trick to the her mind off the hunt. Then again she did see his face reshape and his teeth were long. She shook her head to clear her mind so she wouldn't see it again, she still hasn't completely gotten over it. She walked back over to him and smiled placing her hands behind her back. "Well Mr. Wolf," she giggled, "Do you have a name or shall I keep calling you that?" "I'm Module," he said, relieved "and it's not often that I see people like you around here. Sick and tired of being followed by your daddy's goons, eh?" Module had walked through town a lot, and he was very perceptive. Every time he had seen More, she had at least two bodyguards following her, and she knew it. He put his head to the side, and placed his hands on his hips. More twirled her hair around her finger looking into the trees. She gave him a grin as she turned to face him, "People like me, huh? I don't know what that's supposed to mean. But yeah, you could say that. Took me forever just to leave me house." She sighed leaning on a tree. As she looked at him, she tried to figure out if she had seen him before. People who wanted to be in her father's favor, often approached her pretending to be her friend, but she'd never seen him. "I'm sorry, I mean you seem to be from around here, but I do not recall seeing you" she said trying to figure it out. "Well, Due to me being... A werewolf. I tend to stay out of sight. My condition is quite easily uncovered, as you saw before." He thought for a second. "But you're still avoiding the question! Whydid you want to escape from daddy in the first place?" He asked, stepping toward her questioningly. More tried to back further as he approached, but she was too close to the tree. Swearing under her breath she smiled and folded her hands in front of her. "Actually Mr. Wolf," She started to say. She did remember his name she just liked that one better. "I did answer your question. You asked if I got tired of Daddy's goons following me, and I said, and I agreed." She scanned the surrounding woods just in case she felt like leaving she wouldn't like a moron heading in the wrong way. "Well remembered," Module found that he could often change entire histories of conversations only with slight suggestions that he had said something else. This girl was smarter than that thought. "But now you're avoidingthatquestion!" He laughed quietly to himself, finding his joke quite humerus. "It's fine and all. You just have to say that you don't want to answer it." He looked down at the ground, and began to gather twigs and branches, he was thinking of camping the night here. More cocked her head to the side as he picked up sticks and twigs. She forgot she might have to sleep here. She looked around the woods with a little bit of disgust. So she was spoiled, anyone with a quarter of brain could see that. She tripped when she walked into the woods. Wiping her hands over a rock she cleared off most debris and sat down crossing her legs. Module was very curious to why she was out here, but than anyone who knew who she was would be. She had plenty of answers to tell him, but instead settled with a shrug of the shoulders and a simple, "I know." "So..." Module began with a cock of his head. "Would you be staying the night in my humble forest? Or do you have somewhere you need to be?" He asked, not looking up from his makeshift fire as he rubbed the sticks together furiously, creating smoke from all the stringed bark he had collected. Confused it took her half a second before she jumped up. "OH the hunt...wait you live here?" she said not really asking more like looking around. The hunt was the whole reason she would go into the woods. She rested her head in her palm. Ok, maybe she could check the middle of the forest, wait that wasn't a hard idea, any idiot in the village here would think that. Maybe by the edge, it would've allowed the woman to see out if her love returned. She turned away and wondered which direction to head. He snorted in a half humorous, half pained sound. "Where else would someone like me go?" He asked seriously. He looked up to her as the fire began to crackle. "What are you looking for?" He asked, intrigued in everything she did. This girl was very interesting, and Module was determined to find out her reasons for being here. A white owl sat in a tree above the two, looking down on them curiously. It had been watching the wolf for a couple of weeks now, on and off, trying to get some knowledge on living in the woods for a long period of time. Maori ruffled the owls feathers from inside it's body and flew back to where she had left her seemingly dead body near the edge of the woods. She had heard about a hunt, well most people had, and now she knew there was some actual competition she was ready to join in. The body on the floor suddenly regained life as Maori's soul flowed back into it. She got up slowly. After being trapped in the body of an owl for so long it was quite odd being back in her own body. She shook her limbs out and ran head first into the forest, back tracking on her previous flight. As she neared the two people she jumped quietly up into the trees to get closer, hoping one of them would notice her. ((Sorry, I know it's shit. I'm in a bit of a mood right now so yeah. Hopefully I'll be getting slightly better soon)) Dawn walked towards the woods and slowly ran towards it before gaining speed. Suddenly, a pair of black bat wings sprouted from her back. Her eyes went to the sky as she lifted off the ground. She took a deep breath of the air and looked for a clearing in the forest. The half-breed smiled as she found one and went into land. Her ears twitched as she heard two people talking to each other. "A werewolf and a human, interesting." Dawn walked towards their voices as she had one hand on her sword's hilt. She hid behind a tree a few yards so they where wouldn't smell her. More pushed his comment in the back of her head to think about later. She turned in the forest a bit confused before she stomped her foot, "I don't know." she whined. She didn't like not knowing what to do, it wasn't right in her opinion. At least if she had the meathead guards she would know which direction to head. She looked up at the sky and thought about what she knew of the forest. Maybe she should've studied more in school instead of daydreaming so she wouldn't be drawing such a blank. Finally deciding she didn't want to stay put, she looked west and decided, "That way," she whispered than turned to Module "I got to go. Nice talking to you." she added with a bow. Maybe if she was right and hurried she might make it back to sleep in her own bed. {Username:} pennysakura{Character Name:} molly{Race:} human{Age:}16{Personality:kinda shy{How you plan to defend yourself:} my cuteness{Bio:}loves to be home and watching TV and is happy with her friends{Wish:} to be more brave{Appearance: Module looked on with a chuckle. What a strange girlie thought to himself, and looked around his campsite. "You don't have to hide, you know." He said with a smile. He was getting a lot of attention tonight, and he quite enjoyed it. Walking around seeming puzzled she said this is a strange place She slapped the branches out her face before stopping misstep. Now she was no werewolf like Module, but she was at least 73% certain that there was someone close to her. At least to the side, why is it people around here are so freaking quiet, she thought as she swallowed quietly. "Hello?" she whispered looking towards them. huh, who's there molly said Her eyes closed as she walked towards they were who had called her out. "I forget how far you were scan smell." Dawn leaned up against a tree near they were. She smiled at him before pulling out a bottle of water and drinking half. The woman walked toward the man and sat down across from him. "Good thing you made a fire, going to get cold tonight." "Ahh." He said, taking a quick glance to the new person, and then throwing some twigs into his fire. "I haven't seen the likes of you around here before." He smiled mischievously, and reached his hand out for a shake. "You probably heard from me talking before, but I, am Module." ((Got my characters mixed up, can I edit my post?)) ((Yeah. Will I have to change mine because of it? That's fine if I do.)) ((Just a little bit. She's a succubus/elf so she shouldn't be drinking blood.)) She moved closer to him and shook his hand. "I'm Dawn Razed. I haven't seen you before either." Dawn sat near him and leaned back some. Her pale skin was glowing with the light of the fire. The succubus felt her collar trying to keep her in check, but she couldn't help it. A few days memory doesn't satisfy her long. He looked at her collar curiously. "And then what would you be?" He asked curiously, sitting down next to her and feeling the warm glow of the fire on his skin. Dawn smiled as she touched his leg and got near his ear. "Part succubus and part elf. Half the beauty and half the brains." Her hand left his leg as she felt the slight shock from her restriction collar. She said as she grabbed her bag and pulled out some bread and jerky. "That's quite a combination!" He said with a smile. "But it seems that you are being restricted from your full potential." He looked at her collar curiously. "What is that collar for?" Her eyes went to his as she pulled out enough food and water for two. "To keep me from being controlled by my sexual desires." Dawn said as she winked at him and handed him the bread, jerky, and water. She took a bite of the bread and then looked at him. "Actually, it's an unwanted combination where I come from." He looked at the supplies she gave him, took a swig of the water, and handed the rest back to her. "One or the other, eh?" He asked, leaning back. "Sounds like you're stuck between two worlds, I'm guessing." He sighed, and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I know all about that." She shook her head as she put his share back. "No, I'm happy with what I am. And it was just the way the combination came around." Dawn sighed as she looked up to the sky. "My father was an elf about to be married to another elf. The night before the wedding, my mother stole his virginity from his bride and had me nine months later. They made me and my mother move from the village and into the outskirts. I haven't met my father, but he has a servant bring us money every now and then." Her eyes closed as she hid the tears forming in her eyes. Module saw a tear form in her eye, so he reached over and hugged Dawn. He had been rejected from his home since he was a child, so he couldn't understand what Dawn would think of her parents, or how that affected her, but to hug her seemed the right thing to do. "It's ok Dawn's eyes widened as she was hugged by a man she didn't know. Her eyes closed as she began to feel safer and more aroused. She blushed though and tried to get out of the hug. "I am part succubus, male contact gets me aroused. If I was a real succubus this wouldn't affect me...but since I'm me...please don't touch me unless it's life-threatening." He reeled back, throwing his arms in the air. "Sorry!" He said, embarrassed. "I'm not very... Well, smart." He smiled at her, scolding himself for being stupid. He warmed his hands in the fire sheepishly, getting much closer to the fire than he actually needed. Her eyes closed as she blushed and tried to calm her beating heart. Dawn looked at him and smiled as she saw how close he was to the fire. "You didn't know. But I will tell you, if you get too close to the fire, you'll burn yourself." She said as she leaned forward to warm up her torso. "He, do you think?" He asked with a smile, and he leaned into the fire, his hands being engulfed by the flames. His hands rested on the burning embers, and he shivered in familiar enjoyment as the flickering flames danced along his fingers. He flexed his fingers, then took his hands out of the fire, with no burn marks or anything of that sort. Then he sat back, crossing his arms. She reached out to stop him but was amazed as she watched him. "What was that?" Dawn asked as she reached out and took his hand in hers. Her heart raced as she felt his hand in hers, but she was focused. Maori watched the wolf boy put his hands in the fire and jumped down from the tree she was in just before he pulled his hand back out, to try and stop him. Noticing that he was fine she audibly sighed then mentally slapped herself, if they hadn't heard her jump from the tree they had heard her now. She bit her lip and took a couple of steps backwards into the shadows, waiting to see what they would do. The woods absolutely freaked her out and she was barely five feet away from the other kid. The sun was setting, and she hadn't the closest idea where she was going. Maybe if she left now she could talk to the person who arranged the hunt to give her some kind of clue. Or is constantly living under her father's influence such a bad thing? Not really but it sure peeved the hell out of her. Letting out a breath she turned and headed back the way she came, it was the only way she knew to get out of the woods. Her foot snagged on a branch tripping her as she slid down a small ledge with a small scream. Maybe she was better off staying in the town, she was so not made for the woods, she thought as she landed with a thud. Module looked at the new one, wide-eyed, and laughed. He hadn't got this much attention in years. He turned to Dawn, "I've always been resistant to fire, it just never hurt me like it does to my kindred." Then he looked up at the new person, standing up. "And you are...?" Benvolio looked over the remains of the carnage he had left behind with a sense of accomplishment. Nary a bone unbrushed, nor a lump of flesh left devoured. There was, however a good deal of blood left painting and perfuming the forest floor. Oh, what a wonderful, intoxicating smell it was... he gave himself a soft hug with his plush little arms and wandered off into the woods. After several minutes of walking, he found that he was... quite lost. He frowned, crossing his arms and surveying the area. Maybe he could get a better view from the treetops. He leaped to the nearest branch, caught the limb with his meat cleaver and began to scale the trunk. The branches thinned as he climbed higher and higher. It was a very good thing that a little plush bear weighs next to nothing, or he'd have found himself quite unable to continue climbing the tall evergreen. There was a wind at this height, but the chill was of no consequence. It was the swaying of the branches that gave Benvolio a start, being blown off a higher branch, he caught himself by just his teeth on the trunk, and shimmied himself up, resolved to stick to the center. Upon reaching the top, he paired across the horizon... he could find no end to the woods!" Aw...", he whimpered, disheartened... that is until he noticed smoke rising in the distance. A campfire would be the most likely explanation. Benvolio grinned widely and rubbed his hands together. Travelers meant that there could be a road or path, maybe even some information of directions! At the very least, it meant he wouldn't have to go hungry... Going down was much easier than the climb up, and he soon found himself with solid ground beneath his feet. He did a little happy jig and scampered off in the direction of the smoke. "I am... lost" Maori smiled sheepishly, showing her fangs slightly. She didn't want her 'competition' knowing too much about her or her abilities, just the bare minimum. "I'm guessing this is the... searching party, as such" she nodded towards where the girl who was originally there was just sitting "I also think your friend may need some assistance" Dawn also looked at the new person with her sword drawn. Her eyes went to Module's hands and touched one just to make sure. A blush went to her cheeks as she shook her head. "There is nothing wrong with his hands." She said as she slowly let go of his hands and tried to regain her composure. The half succubus was in deep trouble with herself if she kept going with him. But she liked being held by him... Module looked back to the direction that More had gone into, but he didn't hear anything, and he suspected that she would be able to take care of herself. "Assistance from what?" He felt Dawn's hand brush against his, and it made him jump a little. He looked to her, seeing her blush. Furthermore, he smiled, absolutely loving all the attention and acceptance of these people. Her eyes closed as she out her hand on her heart. "Calm yourself heart, I'll be leaving these people soon." Dawn said as she stood up and packed up her bag. She moved back from Module and the new woman then ran into the forest. The collar only grew tighter and more shocking as she remembered Module. "Damn it..." Dawn ran faster before sprouting her wings and taking off. "Dawn!" Module said loudly, not quite a yell, but an alerting cry. She took off, and his chest sank. Not even so much as a goodbye, he thought to himself sadly. He had really liked that girl, and he doubted they would meet again. He sighed, looking back to the new woman. "So, assuming that your name is not lost, would you mind telling me what your name is?" He asked, smiling. Benvolio ran towards the clearing and peered around the remains of the fire. There was a man and a woman conversing rather intimately and a third girl appearing lost and frightened. He chose to watch and wait behind a tree as the pretty woman with whom the man had been flirting with suddenly ran off into the forest. She would be easier prey, but... these two may lead the little plushy out of the woods. She closed her eyes as they started watering. Dawn heard Module call out her name. "I had to leave. If I stayed there...we'd both be distracted and..." Her heart clenched as her collar tightened more. This surprise made her fall from the sky and into the trees. Dawn's rough landing made her land in a tree filled with goblins. The fall hurt her wings and awakened the demons. "Shit!!" She screamed, so loud anyone in the forest could hear. Module's head turned suddenly, as he heard a voice call out in distress. His ears morphed out into long, animal like ears. The voice was definitely Dawn's. He cursed audibly, and then turned to the new woman. "Until next time." He said, unsure whether he would be returning to his humble campfire. He dashed through the branches, changing as he did so, until he rounded a corner to the one where he saw Dawn's wings sticking from the side. Furthermore, he leaped from his tree onto that one, and saw goblins swarmed around Dawn, getting ready to attack her. Module roared, sinking his fangs into the one who stood closest to him, while propelling himself to another branch, clawing at the goblins as he did. All he really needed to do was to get their attention, but he was also slightly hungry. He looked to Dawn to ensure that she was ok, then he jumped back at the goblins, attacking them viciously. Dawn blushed as she heard Module running towards her. Her eyes went to him as one bit her shoulder and tore at her wings. She screamed as they bit her shoulder and ripped her wings more. "Module!!" The goblins shifted their attention went to him and Dawn tried to move. But her wings were stuck on the branches. Module was ripping the pitiful creatures to shreds, when Dawn called out to him. He looked to her, concerned, and the remaining goblins jumped onto him viciously. They gnawed at his skin, and he screamed as they dug underneath his skin, but he pressed on, moving toward Dawn. More goblins began to appear out of nowhere, they were everywhere, and Module was overwhelmed. As he moved to Dawn, helpless to stop the goblins who threw themselves onto him, one of them clawed at his head, causing a gaping gash to be cut from his eye. He cried in terror, as his vision half disappeared in a sea of blood, and he finally took Dawn in his arms, managing to free her wings from the tangling branches while jumping out of the tree. He dashed away clumsily, barely missing branches and trees as he went. Furthermore, he stopped in a clearing, looking around until he was sure that the goblins were gone. Furthermore, he fell to his knees, and set Dawn down, lightly padding at his eyes. Furthermore, he saw the blood on his hand, and punched the ground weakly. "Fuck." He cursed, before falling unconscious. Her eyes stayed on him as she tried to get herself free. Dawn held onto him as he carried them away from the little monsters. She held onto her bag so she would be able to help him. "Module!!" The bleeding succubus crawled over to him as he passed out. Dawn started to treat him as dirt ground itself into her wounds. She hissed before trying to treat Module. "This is why I left, so you wouldn't get hurt because of me..." Module was slipping in and out of consciousness. "I-It's fine." He said, slurring many of the words. "Didn't like that eye anyway." He stuttered his words, and as he tried to laugh at his joke, he coughed up a mouthful of blood. "Blood's overrated too." He smiled at her, and then slipped back out of consciousness. She started crying as she started treating his wounds as best she could. Dawn didn't care that her wings were ruined, or she had dirt in her own wounds. "Module, please stop talking like that..." Her lips brushed his as she let one of her tears drop onto his cheek. He smiled up at her, slipping back into consciousness. "I've had worse, trust me." He reached up to her, weakly putting an arm around her. "M-My wounds just need time. Please. Don't leave me alone." He could barely talk, but he knew he had to tell her this. He didn't want her to leave, and a strange feeling filled his chest as she came close to him. It was a feeling he had never felt before. It was great. ((This is kind of funny. A girl that can't handle her sexual urges near men and a guy in love with her.)) Dawn blushed as she nodded and laid down near him. Her eyes closed as she slowly pulled her ruined wings into her back. She nodded as she felt her collar nearly choking her. The pain she felt was nothing compared to the warmth she felt coming from him. "Module..." ((Yeah, I know. It will definitely make for a very interesting RP! ’D))Module smiled as he heard Dawn say his name, and he rolled to his side, looking to her. She was beautiful, even with her torn wings drawn around her. He closed his eyes with a smile on his face. He dreamt of her. Her eyes closed as she smiled and moved closer to him. Dawn blushed in her sleep as she dreamt of him as well. The night grew colder as her wounds got worse. She hid them though from Module so she didn't have to worry him anymore. Module woke up very early the next morning, and found that Dawn had moved closer to him. He smiled, and decided not to get up. He felt his eye, which had healed over completely, just as he had thought it would. Furthermore, he smiled, he had got to spend the night with Dawn. Totally worth it. He smiled to himself at this thought, and moved a little closer to dawn affectionately.(Nope, didn't cut out! ^_^ I have another 50 minutes!) ((Okay. *Smiles*))She opened her eyes slowly and smiled up at Module. Dawn flinched though as she felt the dirt going deeper in her wounds. Her shoulder and wings were definitely infected by the time she woke up. The pain was close to the one of the collar. Module saw her wince, and he instantly remembered her wounds. "Your wings!" He said, worried profusely. "Could I look at them?" He asked, frowning with concern at what he remembered of her injury. He gently rolled her onto her side, to see the holes in her wings matted with dirt, and most probably infected. "Crap." he said to himself, angrily. Why had he let this happen to her in the first place? Let alone him leaving her with the wound to get worse. Module pulled a small flask from his pocket, and pored it onto one of the gashes, washing off the dirt, revealing the reddened flesh. He leaned close to one of the main wounds, and licked it gently. Werewolf saliva had antibiotic properties, and Module hoped that she wouldn't mind him licking her wings clean. Dawn closed her eyes at the pain and looked at him. "Module...my wings aren't important..." Her eyes closed as she felt him licking her wings. "Please, this is embarrassing." She as she panted a little bit. Module stopped licking her wings, and he stepped around to look into her eyes, leaning down. "I'm sorry if it's embarrassing, but your general health is much more important right now, ok?" He looked at her considerately, feeling sympathetic toward her. He didn't really want her to feel uncomfortable, but this was a necessity.((It's only as sexual as you think of it as. If that makes sense? XD)) Her eyes went to his as she nodded and blushed. Dawn reached out and covered his hand with hers. "Module..." She felt her heart racing and her collar digging into her neck. Module hovered there for a few extra seconds, looking into Dawn's eyes. He had a great urge to lean down and kiss her, but he shrugged this thought of almost instantly, remembering how she reacted when he had hugged her. She doesn't think of you like that, stupid! He told himself. Mozuli forced a friendly smile, and went back around to her wings. He finished licking off all the scars, and he saw that the wounds made would not heal naturally, especially not after being uncared-for for so long. He sighed, knowing what he must do, and he stood up for a second. "You mustn't look at what I'm about to do, ok?" He instructed Dawn seriously, and drawing a knife from a sheath above his thigh. Mozuli sat back down, and drew the knife on his arm, piercing his thick skin. He inhaled quickly, and made a slight growling sound instinctively. He then raised his arm to Dawn's wounds, and gently rubbed the blood into them quickly, before his wrist began to heal back, but he was still very careful not to spill any of the blood onto Dawn. When he had finished coating the scars with his blood, which was a healing agent that existed in all werewolves, he stood back up. "Now that wasn't too bad, was it? Just keep your wings out of the dirt for a little, Kay?" He said with a smile.((If you want to do anything while I do all this, just do it, and I'll change my post if you need me to. ^_^)) She nodded as she closed her eyes and laid on her side. Dawn knew the scent of blood, but she didn't say anything as he treated her wings. Her eyes opened as she sat up and extended her wings to the full wingspan to keep them out of the dirt. "I'm sorry you have to care of me, Module." The succubus touched his hand and looked at him with her sad, blue eyes. "That's fine," Module said, smiling at her and hugging her, hoping she would be ok with it. "I need some company anyway." He was just glad to be with someone who didn't judge him by his animalism. Right now, he felt that he would do anything to keep her with him, he didn't want to be lonely again. Dawn smiled as she hugged him back and ignored her collar. "I won't leave you again, Module." Her eyes closed as she rested against him as she rested her head near his neck. She blushed as she rubbed his chest in content. He felt the tender touch of Dawn's hand on his chest, and Module's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly blushed. "Thank you." He knew he probably shouldn't entrust himself completely in someone so suddenly, but for some reason, he couldn't help but trust Dawn. He held her closer, his heart beating faster, fighting the urge to kiss her. Furthermore, he knew she wouldn't like it if he kissed her, but surely a bit more hugging couldn't hurt? Her eyes opened as she felt his heart skip a beat. "Module..." Dawn blushed as she looked at him with the sun shining down on them. She felt her collar trying to stop her, but Dawn wanted this. "Would you...um..." Module looked down to Dawn, and saw the sunlight shine off her beautiful eyes. She looked up at him expectantly, and as she tried to ask him something, he lost control. He could not stop the urge to kiss her supple lips, and he pulled her to him, pressing his lips against hers, taking in her breath. She blushed as she felt his mouth on hers. Dawn kissed him back as she closed her eyes and pressed her body to his. Her arms went around his neck as she felt her collar relaxing a little, surprisingly. Relief and another feeling which he couldn't explain surged through Module's entire being, as she kissed him back. He wrapped his arms around her, and he held her to him, as he kissed her, and loved the feeling of their bodies touching so freely. Dawn also felt relieved and warm being pressed up against his chest. Her hands played with his hair as she felt her collar tightening again. "MMM..." She pulled back a little because she couldn't breathe. The succubus looked at the were and smiled as she panted a little. Dawn pulled back, panting, and Module was slightly disappointed as she pulled away, but he still had a wide smile on his face. He was really enjoying Dawn's company. Suddenly, he remembered Dawn's collar. He looked at her, wondering whether it was effecting her. He pulled her close, putting his nose to hers. "Is your collar hurting?" He asked, worried. "I don't want to cause you any pain." He said seriously. Her eyes closed as she shook her head and looked at him with a smile. Dawn touched his cheek and kissed his lips, softly. "I'm fine. I didn't notice it until I couldn't breathe. But it's better if it stays on my neck. I'd be uncontrollable if it was off." She rubbed his chest with her other hand. Module's face lightened as Dawn kissed him, and he relaxed. She obviously didn't mind, so he probably shouldn't worry about it either. Module kissed her back and ran his hand along her back, loving the feel of touching her skin, and her touching his. She smiled as he touched her skin and rubbed her back. Dawn kissed him as she pressed her body to his and felt so good against him. Her eyes closed as she rubbed his chest. "Module..." The succubus hybrid had never felt like this with anyone she had met before.((Is it just me or does it seem we are the only two on this thread anymore?)) ((I know what you mean, It'd probably be the same thing if we were just role-playing in a PM. XD))Module felt warmness fill him, and he felt at peace as he was there with Dawn. At that moment, he knew that he wanted this time to last forever, and he never wanted to leave Dawn's side. He told this to himself, but he dared not to say it. He wrapped his arms further around Dawn's body, pulling her closer to him, and feeling her warm skin against his hands. Dawn moaned a little as he pressed her to him more. Her heart was probably beating as fast as Module's. She wrapped her arms around his neck tighter. "Module, please be with me forever..." The succubus blushed as she looked at him. He pressed himself to her, feeling the tenderness of her supple lips on his. He pulled back slightly, and said softly. "I would love that." He had never felt anything like this before. He pulled her back to him, and smiled. Her eyes closed as she rested her head on his shoulder. Dawn sighed in content as she held onto Module. She rested against him as she smiled.

One Wish to Grant[O_A Need People!]|rating:3.0

[DFRPG] Neutral Grounds One-Shot

NEUTRAL GROUNDS Filling'Blanks - Martin, Retired Psychic DetectiveVikingTeknician - Zack - Apprentice Wizardxxblackmagexx - Sean - Metalhead Werewolf Location: Located one block east of Johns Hopkins, Neutral Grounds is a coffeehouse and independent bookstore. It has a well-stocked occult book section which, in combination with the excellent coffee, has enabled it to become a regular hangout for the minor members of Baltimore’s supernatural community (although they do a brisk business with Johns Hopkins staff, too). Another reason it’s attractive to supernaturally aware people is the sign located immediately below the “Fueled By Zeke’s Coffee” poster: “Accorded Neutral Ground.” Much like Mac Anally’s Pub in Chicago, the internal architecture is irregular, the tables spaced oddly, and the bookshelves are all askew of one another. Neutral Grounds does not offer Wi-Fi, free or otherwise. Wireless Internet does not mix well with wizards, and even cell phone reception is unreliable within the shop. The clientele seems to take this in stride (a third sign on the wall exhorts patrons to “UNPLUG.”). Many patrons indicate that this is a big reason that they frequent this coffeehouse over others. Face: Diane Basset, owner camp; manager Neutral Grounds, a coffeehouse and bookshop near Johns Hopkins. Raised in the supernatural community by her mother, Basset is a practicing Wiccan and possesses some degree of magical talent. Her clientele at Neutral Ground shave dubbed her a “caffeinomancer,” and some customers are more than a bit serious. They say she adds the right spice and a minor effort of will to give the strong coffee she brews a bit of something extra. Basset opened Neutral Grounds in 1988 and has been welcoming of anyone from the supernatural community in Baltimore. She petitioned Queen Mab to grant the coffeehouse Accorded Neutral Ground status, and May assented to the request; in thanks, Basset gives female customers a free espresso every Midwinter’s Eve, assuming that one of them might be Queen Mab.(Accorded Neutral Grounds is like the supernatural white flag meeting place, backed by a Geneva Convention-type of treaty between all the major powers. Violating the Neutral Ground status is a Very Big Deal.) IOC:Zack, Sean, and Martin: You are all at least acquaintances with each other, if not good friends, and have known each other for a while. Whether you know of each other's abilities is up to you. We need answers to the following questions. As you answer them, more questions will follow. We need these answers to help flesh out your characters, develop aspects, and help move the story along. When you answer, reference the question # so I know which one you're talking about. First answer to each question sticks, unless someone else has something way better. Without further ado, the first set of questions:1. One of you is very close to Diane Basset. Who? How? Martin Caputo - Aka James As a retired Psychic Detective I most likely spent a lot of time getting know the people in the respective areas in the supernatural community. As a result I got to know Diane Basset decently well. Originally Posted by Filling'Blanks Martin became relatively close to Diane during his years of being a detective, so when the White Council approached him to look into the matter between the 4 individuals he took it without question. The investigation didn't take very long, as he knew the reputations of the individuals involved, though he took care to make sure to get the full story from each of them. In his findings he discovered Sean's heritage and had to disclose the bloodline to the Wardens, but decided it was important to notify Sean of the necessity prior to divulging his secret to the White Council. Sean did not take this very well, but Martin assured him it should not affect any aspect of his life, and that he would make sure the Wardens we're aware of the "exceptional behavior you showed in defending the life and livelihood of Diane" and the defense of the accorded Neutral Ground by Zack. Since the occurrence Martin has made an effort to stop in at Diane's coffee shop twice a day for her spectacular coffee. A couple of weeks have passed (At least) since the occurrence, Martin has seen and spoken with both Zack and Sean a number of times since, and the sprouts of what seems like a friendship seem to be forming between the three. 2. Who is Diane’s current boyfriend—is it Frank Williams, that guy who’been hanging around a lot lately? Is it someone else? Originally Posted by VikingTeknician Frank Williams *IS* in fact, Diane's current boyfriend; they're not "Facebook Official", but that's more kidding themselves than anyone with an ounce of sense. 3. Why would Frank be a good match for Diane? Why wouldn’t he be? Originally Posted by VikingTeknician He is a good match because in his life he has managed to tap a latent magical ability and infuse it into anything he bakes; a spell is, after all, just some convoluted chemistry. The fact that his specialty happens to be light pastries and treats is just a happy coincidence. 4. Eric McCulloch is Diane’s ex—tell us about him. Originally Posted by VikingTeknician Eric McCulloch is a turbocharged douchebag; believes firmly in the "Alpha Male" mentality, that women are to be convinced that they're only good for breeding and whatnot. Subscribes to philosophies like the Game and Taking the Red Pill. To anyone with two brain cells to rub together, this man is an ambulatory piece of ****. 5. Diane and Eric broke up about a year ago. Why? Originally Posted by VikingTeknician Diane and Eric broke up last year when he tried to propose to her with this ring. That was when the glamour faded, and she saw him for the misogynistic turd he really is. He still walks with a limp on damp days. 6. One of you had a big argument with Eric—who is it? What was the argument about? Did you resolve the disagreement? Originally Posted by VikingTeknician While it could be easily postulated that no-one gets along with Eric, there is a very special animosity between Eric and Sean; shortly after the breakup, Eric was outside Neutral Grounds, waiting for Diane to open the café. Sean happened to be nearby, also waiting for the café to open, as he had just come out of the after-party for his last gig, and needed some coffee with "that special something". As Diane approached, Eric caught sight of her, and immediately started spouting off with his Alpha Male bull****. Sean, who was feeling a tad delicate, asked Eric politely if he would "just shut the **** up until I get my coffee." Eric, being the turbocharged douche, took his politeness for subservience and increased volume in an attempt to assert his fictional authority. Spoiler Alert: This did not end well. Diane and Zack, a local university student who had just finished an all-nighter, managed to prevent Sean from killing Eric (although they both sometimes wonder why); Diane made Sean some coffee with a mild amount of opiates in it, and Zack convinced a very stunned Eric that any legal actions on his part would be futile, as a missing person can't press charges or file lawsuits. Sean and Zack have been on friendly terms ever since, and Eric shows signs of permanent nerve damage, primarily with hands that never stop shaking. Originally Posted by xxblackmagexx Eric of course does not take his shellacking and embarrassment well, while he holds a more than reasonable fear and hatred for Sean, Eric also blames Diane for his disfigurements and abbe rations. Eric McCullough being a minor-powered illusionist is able to hide the damage done to him from the public at large through continual glamours and purchased enchantments. To effect his reprisal Eric petitioned the White council to sanction Diane and Sean charging that Diane had conspired to have Eric assaulted and maimed on recognized neutral territory. The council appointed the Wardens to investigate the matter as a breach of Neutral ground status is an established Big Deal. The Warden then recognizing a need for a more connected local information source contracted Semi-retired detective Martin Caputo to determine the facts of the assault and stem the tensions regarding the community's fear regarding the safety of Neutral Grounds Cafe. Martin's investigation required him to spend a significant amount of time at Neutral Grounds interviewing regular patrons regarding the three parties in the incident and revealing past history of interactions of the Café it's self. The investigations reveal the true nature of Sean who was decidedly reluctant to reveal his bloodlines, but forward regarding his altercation with Eric. Zack for his part played in the situation was as evasive as any other community member, though remarkable more polite than Sean, humbly recounted his actions and sensing the wider picture highlighted the facts of import to favor his new friend and ally. The investigation has resulted in defined proxemics of the Neutral Ground sphere of influence for better or ill. The finding of the Warden to the council has left Eric frustrated and feeling as if the council has treated him in partisan due to Diane's standing as the face of Neutral Ground. He has become fixated upon her as the reason he was denied justice. His delusion has led him to focus on Frank Williams whom Eric has deduced is a foundation supporter of Diane. 7. One of you was attacked by a ghoul on the street last week. How did you survive? Originally Posted by xxblackmagexx Last week Sean had been on his way home from yet another gig with a new band "Winter borne" It was one of the rare occasions Sean used his transformation ability with smoke and pyrotechnics to mask the change (And avoid breaking one of the laws) He had opted to talk home this night instead of getting a ride due to the night air feeling warmer than usual. As with most events Sean had been hitting the bottle between sets to loosen up and become more sociable, so his senses had been somewhat dulled as he strolled along the poorly light streets that night. It was due to his inebriation that Sean did not hear or smell the ghoul coming. Sean did not know why the ghoul had chosen him, however the first thirty seconds of the fight did not go in his favor. Having similar special qualities in fortitude it was not easy for Sean, and he had to resort to using a steel sign post to subdue the creature and finally remove its head from its shoulders. 8. Two of you are close friends—who? How did you meet? Describe your friendship. Originally Posted by VikingTeknician At this point it can safely be said that Zach and Sean are fairly close, despite meeting only relatively recently; the bonding over a strong mutual dislike of Eric was fairly quick. (The conversation went like this: "That guy is a DOUCHE." "Yes. Yes he is." "Buds for life?" "Sounds good.") Zach goes to Sean's shows when invited, and even helps set up / tear down when he doesn't have anything pressing the next day. For his part, Sean appreciates Zach's relatively cool head, especially when Sean's been drinking: The young mage saw the need early on to have an "English to Belligerent" translator to make sure that there weren't any misunderstandings between Sean and, well.... everyone else, really. 9. One of you had a run-in with a Red Court vampire named Damocles Raven born last week. Who? Describe the situation—did it get violent? What was the outcome? (Picture below.) Originally Posted by Filling'Blanks Zack had a small run in with Damocles Raven born last week. Damocles had been wandering around the café glamouring people and Zack had decided to approach him and request he stops. Damocles got up in his face about it and started threatening to tear the little "prentice" open from stem to sternum when Martin came up behind Damocles, placed his gun into the brain stem and whispered "walk on now, and I won't have to explain to the White Council why I spent 4 hours cleaning vampire brains off the floor and walls of a neutral grounds café." 10. Which one of you did Damocles Raven born try to glamour at Neutral Grounds last month? (Damocles is a loser Red Court vamp. He watches too much True Blood and keeps trying to glamour people. It’s kind of embarrassing. Kinda like the security guard who shows up with a TAC vest and 8 handcuff pouches on his first day.) Above, close enough 11. One of you saved the life of someone else at the table last week. Who? How? How did that impact your friendship? Originally Posted by xxblackmagexx The experience had gone a very long way to sobering up Sean and despite his constitution found himself succumbing to the effects of blood loss. He used his phone to call the last number on his phone who happened to be Zack as Sean had invited the young man to the show earlier. Zack had taken Sean to a healer and had placed a call to Martin to alert him and the Wardens of the ghoul's presence and the location of the body for clean up. The healer later remarked that the injuries inflicted by the Ghoul could have possibly proved fatal had Zack not gotten Sean back. 12. Sean, do people know that you’re a werewolf? How often do you “wolf out?” Ever done so in front of the other PCs? Ever on stage? Originally Posted by xxblackmagexx Sean likes to keep to himself largely during the daylight hours and enjoys small gatherings and conversations at Neutral Grounds. At night however he gathers at the Local Metal scenes and attends parties and releases even for other bands. He only manifests himself with stage theatrics to keep the mundane's fooled and keep the veil for others as he tries to respect their privacy. Some suspect that Sean is more than meets the eye, especially where his unusual physical feats are concerned. Enough detractors are willing to write off the stories of his supposed strength and resilience in a fight to Alcohol or drug use. In light of the Neutral Grounds incident the White Council and the Wardens are aware of Sean's heritage, however the community at large only suspects. 13. Zach, how do you feel about your master? Do you feel abandoned because he/she left town without you? Do you feel like you can rely on anyone at Neutral Grounds to fill in as a mentor? Originally Posted by VikingTeknician Zach isn't too concerned about the whereabouts of his master; when he showed up to study one day, there was simply a note on a table: "Family Emergency, gone to Edinburgh." As most students do, Zach has simply assumed that this is a random Spring Break, and so has slacked off hard on his magical studies; he figures he knows enough to get by. The incidents with Eric, Damocles, and the Ghoul have opened his eyes a little bit; he had only a vague idea of the White Council before, and no idea of their mandates or methods of operation. To that end, he has started to look to Martin as a sort of legal counsel / advisor, as the dude's been around long enough to know how things work. It's not magical knowledge, but it's knowledge that will keep him breathing longer, and that is somewhat higher on Zach's list of priorities. 14. Martin, did you keep your talent a secret? Did that lead somehow to your retirement—were you forced out? Or did you find a way to mask your vision as something else? Originally Posted by Filling'Blanks For a Long time Martin was able to mask his gift as some inexplicable gut instinct, but the people who worked with him long enough started to recognize he was aware of events or incidents that he shouldn't really know, and began to question him about them. Until he was about 55 years old he didn't trust anyone with his secret and managed to keep it well hidden, or at least he thought. Right around that time he had been working a number of cases that he was inexplicably taken off of, and he got "promoted" to an alternative division, with a near non-existent workload managing a bunch of failed lackey cops. Martin saw it for what it was, them driving him off the force so he decided that his 27 years on the force was enough to retire on. He opened a small detective agency, taking on a few cases here and there, even some from the Wardens or White Council, and has been living off his retirement wages since. No one ever came forward with why they're pushing him off the force, and no one ever mentioned his "Gift" but he assumed someone found out and decided he might be too much of a "Freak" to continue being a cop. "Probably some rookie paper-pusher who is scared of what they can't understand". Martin Caputo - Aka James1) As a retired Psychic Detective I most likely spent a lot of time getting know the people in the respective areas in the supernatural community. As a result I got to know Diane Basset decently well. Frank Williams *IS* in fact, Diane's current boyfriend; they're not "Facebook Official", but that's more kidding themselves than anyone with an ounce of sense. He is a good match because in his life he has managed to tap a latent magical ability and infuse it into anything he bakes; a spell is, after all, just some convoluted chemistry. The fact that his specialty happens to be light pastries and treats is just a happy coincidence. Eric McCulloch is a turbocharged douchebag; believes firmly in the "Alpha Male" mentality, that women are to be convinced that they're only good for breeding and whatnot. Subscribes to philosophies like the Game and Taking the Red Pill. To anyone with two brain cells to rub together, this man is an ambulatory piece of ****. Diane and Eric broke up last year when he tried to propose to her with this ring. That was when the glamour faded, and she saw him for the misogynistic turd he really is. He still walks with a limp on damp days. While it could be easily postulated that no-one gets along with Eric, there is a very special animosity between Eric and Sean; shortly after the breakup, Eric was outside Neutral Grounds, waiting for Diane to open the café. Sean happened to be nearby, also waiting for the café to open, as he had just come out of the after-party for his last gig, and needed some coffee with "that special something". As Diane approached, Eric caught sight of her, andimmediatelystarted spouting off with his Alpha Male bull****. Sean, who was feeling a tad delicate, asked Eric politely if he would "just shut the **** up until I get my coffee." Eric, being the turbocharged douche, took his politeness for subservience and increased volume in an attempt to assert his fictional authority. Spoiler Alert: This did not end well. Diane and Zack, a local university student who had just finished an all-nighter, managed to prevent Sean from killing Eric (although they both sometimes wonder why); Diane made Sean some coffee with a mild amount of opiates in it, and Zack convinced averystunned Eric that any legal actions on his part would be futile, as a missing person can't press charges or file lawsuits. Sean and Zack have been on friendly terms ever since, and Eric shows signs of permanent nerve damage, primarily with hands that never stop shaking. Eric of course does not take his shellacking and embarrassment well, while he holds a more than reasonable fear and hatred for Sean, Eric also blames Diane for his disfigurements and abbe rations. Eric McCullough being a minor-powered illusionist is able to hide the damage done to him from the public at large through continual glamours and purchased enchantments. To effect his reprisal Eric petitioned the White council to sanction Diane and Sean charging that Diane had conspired to have Eric assaulted and maimed on recognized neutral territory. The council appointed the Wardens to investigate the matter as a breach of Neutral ground status is an established Big Deal. The Warden then recognizing a need for a more connected local information source contracted Semi-retired detective Martin Caputo to determine the facts of the assault and stem the tensions regarding the community's fear regarding the safety of Neutral Grounds Cafe. Martin's investigation required him to spend a significant amount of time at Neutral Grounds interviewing regular patrons regarding the three parties in the incident and revealing past history of interactions of the Café it's self. The investigations reveal the true nature of Sean who was decidedly reluctant to reveal his bloodlines, but forward regarding his altercation with Eric. Zack for his part played in the situation was as evasive as any other community member, though remarkable more polite than Sean, humbly recounted his actions and sensing the wider picture highlighted the facts of import to favor his new friend and ally. The investigation has resulted in defined proxemics of the Neutral Ground sphere of influence for better or ill. The finding of the Warden to the council has left Eric frustrated and feeling as if the council has treated him in partisan due to Diane's standing as the face of Neutral Ground. He has become fixated upon her as the reason he was denied justice. His delusion has led him to focus on Frank Williams whom Eric has deduced is a foundation supporter of Diane. Martin became relatively close to Diane during his years of being a detective, so when the White Council approached him to look into the matter between the 4 individuals he took it without question. The investigation didn't take very long, as he knew the reputations of the individuals involved, though he took care to make sure to get the full story from each of them. In his findings he discovered Sean's heritage and had to disclose the bloodline to the Wardens, but decided it was important to notify Sean of the necessity prior to divulging his secret to the White Council. Sean did not take this very well, but Martin assured him it should not affect any aspect of his life, and that he would make sure the Wardens we're aware of the "exceptional behavior you showed in defending the life and livelihood of Diane" and the defense of the accorded Neutral Ground by Zack. Since the occurrence Martin has made an effort to stop in at Diane's coffee shop twice a day for her spectacular coffee. A couple of weeks have passed (At least) since the occurrence, Martin has seen and spoken with both Zack and Sean a number of times since, and the sprouts of what seems like a friendship seem to be forming between the three. 7. One of you was attacked by a ghoul on the street last week. How did you survive?8. Two of you are close friends—who? How did you meet? Describe your friendship.9. One of you had a run-in with a Red Court vampire named Damocles Raven born last week. Who? Describe the situation—did it get violent? What was the outcome? (Picture below.)10. Which one of you did Damocles Raven born try to glamour at Neutral Grounds last month? (Damocles is a loser Red Court vamp. He watches too much True Blood and keeps trying to glamour people. It’s kind of embarrassing. Kinda like the security guard who shows up with a TAC vest and 8 handcuff pouches on his first day.)11. One of you saved the life of someone else at the table last week. Who? How? How did that impact your friendship?12. Sean, do people know that you’re a werewolf? How often do you “wolf out?” Ever done so in front of the other PCs? Ever on stage?13. Zach, how do you feel about your master? Do you feel abandoned because he/she left town without you? Do you feel like you can rely on anyone at Neutral Grounds to fill in as a mentor?14. Martin, did you keep your talent a secret? Did that lead somehow to your retirement—were you forced out? Or did you find a way to mask your vision as something else? Zack had a small run in with Damocles Raven born last week. Damocles had been wandering around the café glamouring people and Zack had decided to approach him and request he stops. Damocles got up in his face about it and started threatening to tear the little "prentice" open from stem to sternum when Martin came up behind Damocles, placed his gun into the brain stem and whispered "walk on now, and I won't have to explain to the White Council why I spent 4 hours cleaning vampire brains off the floor and walls of a neutral grounds café." For a Long time Martin was able to mask his gift as some inexplicable gut instinct, but the people who worked with him long enough started to recognize he was aware of events or incidents that he shouldn't really know, and began to question him about them. Until he was about 55 years old he didn't trust anyone with his secret and managed to keep it well hidden, or at least he thought. Right around that time he had been working a number of cases that he was inexplicably taken off of, and he got "promoted" to an alternative division, with a near non-existent workload managing a bunch of failed lackey cops. Martin saw it for what it was, them driving him off the force so he decided that his 27 years on the force was enough to retire on. He opened a small detective agency, taking on a few cases here and there, even some from the Wardens or White Council, and has been living off his retirement wages since. No one ever came forward with why they're pushing him off the force, and no one ever mentioned his "Gift" but he assumed someone found out and decided he might be too much of a "Freak" to continue being a cop. "Probably some rookie paper-pusher who is scared of what they can't understand". Last week Sean had been on his way home from yet another gig with a new band "Winter borne" It was one of the rare occasions Sean used his transformation ability with smoke and pyrotechnics to mask the change (And avoid breaking one of the laws) He had opted to talk home this night instead of getting a ride due to the night air feeling warmer than usual. As with most events Sean had been hitting the bottle between sets to loosen up and become more sociable, so his senses had been somewhat dulled as he strolled along the poorly light streets that night. It was due to his inebriation that Sean did not hear or smell the ghoul coming. Sean did not know why the ghoul had chosen him, however the first thirty seconds of the fight did not go in his favor. Having similar special qualities in fortitude it was not easy for Sean, and he had to resort to using a steel sign post to subdue the creature and finally remove its head from its shoulders. The experience had gone a very long way to sobering up Sean and despite his constitution found himself succumbing to the effects of blood loss. He used his phone to call the last number on his phone who happened to be Zack as Sean had invited the young man to the show earlier. Zack had taken Sean to a healer and had placed a call to Martin to alert him and the Wardens of the ghoul's presence and the location of the body for clean up. The healer later remarked that the injuries inflicted by the Ghoul could have possibly proved fatal had Zack not gotten Sean back. Sean likes to keep to himself largely during the daylight hours and enjoys small gatherings and conversations at Neutral Grounds. At night however he gathers at the Local Metal scenes and attends parties and releases even for other bands. He only manifests himself with stage theatrics to keep the mundane's fooled and keep the veil for others as he tries to respect their privacy. Some suspect that Sean is more than meets the eye, especially where his unusual physical feats are concerned. Enough detractors are willing to write off the stories of his supposed strength and resilience in a fight to Alcohol or drug use. In light of the Neutral Grounds incident the White Council and the Wardens are aware of Sean's heritage, however the community at large only suspects. 9) At this point it can safely be said that Zach and Sean are fairly close, despite meeting only relatively recently; the bonding over a strong mutual dislike of Eric was fairly quick. (The conversation went like this: "That guy is a DOUCHE." "Yes. Yes he is." "Buds for life?" "Sounds good.") Zach goes to Sean's shows when invited, and even helps set up / tear down when he doesn't have anything pressing the next day. For his part, Sean appreciates Zach's relatively cool head, especially when Sean's been drinking: The young mage saw the need early on to have an "English to Belligerent" translator to make sure that there weren't any misunderstandings between Sean and, well.... everyone else, really.13)Zach isn't too concerned about the whereabouts of his master; when he showed up to study one day, there was simply a note on a table: "Family Emergency, gone to Edinburgh." As most students do, Zach has simply assumed that this is a random Spring Break, and so has slacked off hard on his magical studies; he figures he knows enough to get by. The incidents with Eric, Damocles, and the Ghoul have opened his eyes a little bit; he had only a vague idea of the White Council before, and no idea of their mandates or methods of operation. To that end, he has started to look to Martin as a sort of legal counsel / advisor, as the dude's been around long enough to know how things work. It's not magical knowledge, but it's knowledge that will keep him breathing longer, and that is somewhat higher on Zach's list of priorities. IC:It's 7am, on a Wednesday morning in the fall. The air is chilly, but the morning sun is bright, just over the horizon, reflecting through the buildings. A few normal-type people are milling the streets, going for morning jogs, heading to work, etc. Sean, you've just finished a show the night before, and you've been partying it up all night long. A guy was supposed to meet you first thing to talk about trying out for the band, since he works midnights. You decide to meet him before you pack it in for the night, to get it out of the way. You can't remember his name, but he's that guy with the red Mohawk. Furthermore, you're sure you won't miss him at Neutral Grounds, where you agreed to meet him. Martin, you've just finished a tail on another cheating husband, and you've got some incriminating photos on that DSLR camera of yours. On your way to the office to upload them, you catch yourself driving towards Neutral Grounds, even though it's not exactly directly on the way there. Hey, what the hell, sounds like a good time to grab a coffee. Zack, you've pulled ANOTHER all-nighter for that class you're taking at the local university, finishing off that paper before its due date this morning. You decided that an "extra-special" coffee would be just the thing to help you clean it up before submitting it. You all run into each other just steps from the door. After greeting each other, the three of you head for the door. Although the shop just opened, the dusty wooden-block sign still hasn't been flipped over from "Closed". Usually Diane and the two morning baristas are pretty on top of things, so this is unusual. Also, the lights haven't been turned on yet, and you aren't greeted with the typical smell of delicious pastries and baked goods that emanate yards from the front door. As you push open the door, you are immediately assaulted by the coppery smell of blood. Around the corner from the front door, Tom and Alicia, the two college student/baristas, are lying on the ground, appearing rather dead, judging by the pool of blood around them both. There was definitely a struggle, as some of the small tables have been knocked over, and a couple bookshelves have had their contents knocked onto the floor. The main counter appears to have been swept clear, as the pastry display case is on the floor, along with the tip jar and the sugar, cream, straws, and lids. What do you do?IOC:If you accept a Fate point, Sean, Martin, and Zack, you could be "GROGGY, NEED COFFEE" (Aspect). Do you accept? Originally Posted by Vesuvius IOC: If you accept a Fate point, Sean, Martin, and Zack, you could be "GROGGY, NEED COFFEE" (Aspect). Do you accept? IOC:I Accept.IC:Considering the fact that Zack is now borderline psychotic from both sleep deprivation and a few unresolved PTSD issues from Ghoul Night, he starts heading towards the espresso machine; he's seen this thing in action enough to try to hammer something caffeinated out. I do Not Accept.I tell Zack to be "careful walking, I need to check the scene."to Sean "come inside, to the left, and change. I need your nose on this." I start to look around, seeing if I spot anything out of place, or stands out (Other than the corpses), "Zack makes an extra two while you're over there, but keep your eyes peeled for anything out of sync. Once you're awake open your sight and tell me what you see""I'll be right back, going to grab my camera" - leaves and runs to the car to pick up his camera and see if he has his phone. Originally Posted by Vesuvius IOC: If you accept a Fate point, Sean, Martin, and Zack, you could be "GROGGY, NEED COFFEE" (Aspect). Do you accept? IOC:Accepted IC:Sean tramped through the doorway heedless of otherwise grave concerns and ignoring everyone in the roof Live and dead alike. He took hold of one of the coffee containers and began shoveling unground beans into his mouth chewing on them with the container gripped tightly in his other hand. He looked around the room as the raw grounds slid down his throat. It would yet be a few minutes before they took on their affect. IOC:Sean Barnes - Werewolf - BMP - 1+1=2Physical 000Mental 00Social 00High Concept - Metalhead Werewolf Trouble - SNARL!!! Other - Neutral Grounds Regular, Groggy NEED COFFEE Zack Meyer - Wizard - Viking FP - 4+1=5Physical 0000Mental 0000Social 00High Concept - Apprentice Wizard Trouble - No Idea How Much I Don't Know Other Aspects - Neutral Grounds Regular, Groggy NEED COFFEE Martin Caputo - Detective - Blanks FP - 3Physical 00Mental 00Social 00High Concept - Retired Psychic Detective Trouble - I'm Too Old For This Other Aspects - Neutral Grounds RegularICSEAN: You groggily stumble your way over behind the counter. The smell of blood is overpowering to your keen nose, but you manage to step around the debris and bodies to get behind the counter. The taste and aroma of freshly roasted Columbian Light starts to overwhelm the blood. As you finally look around, chewing, satisfied that you'll be hit with a caffeine overdose soon (without the usual magical kick, though), the room finally comes into focus, and you take in the details. What do you do? Are you changing?ZACK: You start heading to the back, right after Sean pushes past you. Once you make it to the espresso machine, you start figuring it out. It's not quite as easy as it looks from the other side of the counter. It's going to take you more than a Few Moments to get the hang of it. Are you doing anything else? Sight? Sight is a pretty Big Deal. Be careful; once you See something, you can't Unsee it. Forever.MARTIN: You've run to your car quickly, which was conveniently parked right outside, and grab your camera and phone. As you look around.... I'll need an Investigation Roll. It'll take about half a minute, after taking into account Quick Eye, for your initial observations. Roll dice in this format, without the spaces:[roll] 4d3 - 8 [/roll]Which gives you this:(4d3-8)[1] After I see Sean just go ahead and eat the coffee raw, I'll just throw one of the drip-makers on; Now that I'm thinking a little more coherently, and am aware that Something happened, I'll turn on Sight to see if I can give my erstwhile mentor a hand with his Detecting. The thought of images etched in my skull doesn't enter my brain, as it's still Too Damned Early. I'll need the following, Zack:Decide what you're looking at, specifically. I need a Lore roll so you can do an Assessment on what you're seeing. Since you don't have it on your skills, you can decide what level it's at, based on your remaining open slots. Given you don't know much, I'd say it's probably 1 or 2. That's up to you though. I need a Discipline roll so you can defend mentally against what you're seeing. No stopping now! :Edit: For the rolls, roll as above, and add the skill. Just thought I'd make that clear. Also, you basically just self-compelled, so enjoy a Fate Point! 5+1=6 Having gone through the initial caffeine surge Sean gives his held a shake before placing the coffee can back on the shelf re capped. He then looks at the mess on the ground and sighs annoyed. "You have got to be ****ting me." Sean then recalls the old man asking him to shift. Given the special circumstances Sean shifted in place and looked upon the gore with his enhanced senses to pull some details from the mess. Investigation Roll(4d3-8)[0]Martin checks to make sure he has room on his camera, and stays away from Zack, so the wizard doesn't fry his electronics (Having worked with the council a few times before he learned to keep his electronics as far away from them as possible after losing 3 or 4 cameras to their presence.) Martin takes a few photos of the scene, trying to get every angle he can think of then asks Sean and Zack what they have. Just waiting on Zack's rolls, the Sight will kick in much sooner than your investigation roll completes. Lore Roll(4d3-8)[-1](I decided he would only have 1 in Lore at most)Discipline Roll(4d3-8)[1]From behind the bar, Zack looks at the bodies of the baristas, and the blood on the floor (hoping that neither he nor Sean have walked through it, as alertness is also bringing an awareness that they are IN A GODDAMNED CRIME SCENE) Lore Roll(4d3-8)[-1] (I decided he would only have 1 in Lore at most)Discipline Roll(4d3-8)[1]ZACK: With your lore of +1, that brings you to a 0. As you focus on bringing open your Sight, you instantly get blasted with all sorts of images. When you practiced this with your mentor, it was under very, very controlled circumstances, in a dark room, with only one object of very minor significance present. He wasn't even in the room. All of a sudden, you realize this may have been a bad idea. As your mind thinks along terms of Earth, you see the walls of the café as giant dirt berms, like a defensive wall in Afghanistan. They appear to be propped up with supernatural squiggles, inscriptions, and other things that you can't even begin to describe. Many of the squiggles have a Faerie style to them, but that's just some of many. You have no idea what it means. You try and focus on the bodies on the floor. They appear to be non-magical, and simply mundane humans. They do have some lingering "dust" about them, that seems to be remnants of being around so much magic all the time. Kind of like picking up pollen when walking through a garden. Their hands, especially, are just coated in it, apparently from handling Diane's drinks all the time. They have holes in their chests, leaking dirt all over the ground. You see drag marks in the dirt floor leading from the main area out the door, where they disappear. They've also got some kind of vine or weeds growing in and out of their heads, covering their eyes and mouth. Also, you see footprints in the floor leading to the back room. There's a hell of a lot more going on in this place, but a) something about this place seems designed to futz with magic in general, like a hammer, and b) you're way too scared to look around more. The Faerie-type squiggles already make your brain hurt, and the other magic at the edges of your vision feel like a sledgehammer about to come down if you flick your eye around. Speaking of your brain hurting, with your roll of 1, plus your Discipline of +2, you get a 3 (Good) to defend. The scene "attacks" you mentally with a Fair (+2) intensity.(4d3-8)[0]... More on the next post. So, with a total attack of +2, you manage to withstand the mental assault. It shakes you a bit, as this a bit further than you've ever gone before, but you reach depths of your mental tenacity that you didn't know you had. Must be from digging deep on the field. So now, you may either keep your Sight open, or close it. If you keep it open, you'll get another chance at more information, but they'll get another "attack".MARTIN: With your roll of 0, plus your Investigation of 4, you get a Great, or +4. You quickly discover that there are a few holes in each person's chest, of a handgun variety. Without more equipment, you can't determine caliber. As you look around, you fight a series of matching bullet holes in one of the bookshelves near the back of the store. Roughly judging by their height, it appears that both victims were shot while standing. There do not appear to be any ligature marks on their wrists to suggest that they were being held by ropes. Judging by the coagulation of the blood, you estimate that they haven't been dead more than a couple of hours, at most. Now that you're looking at it from a different angle, the sun hits a faint set of drag marks leading out the door, which is probably why you didn't trip on anything when you came in. The area could be called "The Store Is A Mess" (This is an aspect that you can tag later). SEAN: It's going to be a little bit before the caffeine hits you. Give it a few more minutes. Right before you shift, you take your clothes off before you shred them to bits as you twist and grow into shapes that a human could never do. Luckily you're behind the counter. Right away, you smell lots of blood. Normally I'd need an Investigation roll, but given what Martin already learned, we won't get anything new. You smell the faint smell of cordite, still lingering in the air. The air smells... kind of odd. You're catching a whiff of something ..... dead. Not like these dead people. Like, really, really dead. Dead and decaying. But it's a pretty faint whiff. There's also a smell of sweat coming from the back room.... I'm turning the Sight off; this place in general doesn't approve of my use of it, and I'm not going to antagonize an entire building.IOC: Assuming it's another Lore roll:Lore Roll[roll]4d3-8[/roll]IOC: This die roller isn't working for reasons I cannot comprehend at the moment. Martin takes a close look at the drag marks in an attempt to discern what was dragged away based on general size and what not." Sean smell anything unusual? Any chemicals other than gunpowder in the air? Starts taking pictures of the scene and bullet holes to make sure he has something before the cops muddle up the scene. Once he has as much info from Sean and Zack as they have, he calls the Wardens on his phone (Steps outside to call, away from Zack) "Hey, it's Martin... we got a problem at the Neutral Grounds Cafe... get here asap, this store is a mess..." ZACK: No roll needed to turn it off, given that you've passed your defense roll. Also, dice roller doesn't work if you hit preview post first.MARTIN: It's consistent with heel marks, as someone's dragged away. Sean mentions the weird death in the air. You take some pictures, and get what you can get in a hurry. When you make the call, it goes straight to voice mail. The Wardens are a bit stretched thin, and the local Warden is in charge of a region, rather than just the city. It comes to your thoughts that it's been a few minutes since the store normally opens, but no one's outside the door yet. If people aren't here yet, they will be soon. "We need to get out of here soon... People are going to start coming soon... let's leave out the back." As you all talk to each other, you hear a sudden crashing from the back room. The door opens, and a haggard-looking male stands in the doorway. He has a bit of a spaced look to his eyes, but they have a funny, single-minded purpose in them. His tattered clothes, camo pants, and coat suggest that he's from the street. After he eyes all of you, he yells "YOU'LL NEVER STOP HIM!!!" and..... COMBAT:Zones: There are three zones: main area, back room, and out front. All of you are in the main area. Scene Aspects: The area has the following:- The Store is a Mess-Neutral Grounds-Table and Chairs Groups: Well, it's all of you vs the one dude you've seen so far. Initiative: The one with the highest Alertness goes first. Looks like that's Martin. After that, well, none of you actually have Alertness listed, so you'll have to decide which skill slot you want it in, if at all. IOC: I maintain that, as a student, I am actually almost religiously unaware by default; this will probably change over the next few weeks, I suspect. IOC: Until the caffeine kicks in I don't think Sean is all there yet, until that or a more direct stimulus causes his adrenal glands to spike he is probably a little slow on the draw. IOC: Ok, can all of you go through your sheets, and decide where you want Alertness to be? Martin, if you want to swap it out, you may, if you really want to, but it would make sense for a cop to have high alertness. IOC: I would say that Zack's Alertness would be Average (+1) IOC:Sean Barnes - Werewolf - BMP - 2-1=1Physical 000Mental 00Social 00High Concept - Metalhead Werewolf Trouble - SNARL!!! Other - Neutral Grounds Regular, Groggy NEED COFFEE Skills: Alertness +2Zack Meyer - Wizard - Viking FP - 4+1=5Physical 0000Mental 0000Social 00High Concept - Apprentice Wizard Trouble - No Idea How Much I Don't Know Other Aspects - Neutral Grounds Regular, Groggy NEED COFFEE Skills: Alertness +1Martin Caputo - Detective - Blanks FP - 3Physical 00Mental 00Social 00High Concept - Retired Psychic Detective Trouble - I'm Too Old For This Other Aspects - Neutral Grounds Regular Skills: Might +2 So Martin charges at the thug, trying to pin him against the wall, unsuccessfully. Sean leaps over and takes a chomp on the guy's leg, giving him a "Light Flesh Wound" (Minor Consequence). Yelping in pain, he draws a gun and misses shooting Sean in his furry head. Martin draws his gun in return, and just misses putting a hole in the thug's head. Sean takes advantage of the flesh wound and bites his other leg, breaking it (Broken Leg, Severe Consequence). The thug also gets a "Twisted Ankle" (Moderate Consequence) while trying to hop around. Martin tags (for free, no fate point burned) Broken Leg and Twisted Ankle and pistol whips the thug in the face, knocking him soundly out (Taken Out).

[DFRPG] Neutral Grounds One-Shot|rating:4.0

Lost in Space_ IC

At first there was only darkness. He felt sore and cold, but couldn't figure out why that was. As he slowly opened his eyes he saw a dim blue light creeping into his vision. In front of hm was glass and as he looked around he found that he was in a small cylinder shaped container, but that wasn't the worst of it. He felt needles in him and as he looked down he saw IVs stuck into his arms and legs. He tried to scream but a tube in his mouth running down his throat, probably providing oxygen, blocked all attempts. He struggled for a while and started to push against the glass, when suddenly, it opened up with a hiss. Furthermore, he fell forward onto the cold hard floor and didn't get up for a while. Furthermore, he grabbed at the tube in his mouth and pulled it out. As he did, he vomited all over the floor. He pulled the IVs off next and was soon lying uncomfortably on he floors. As he looked around, he saw he was in some kind of room, but darkness prevented him from seeing any farther than a few feet from the container that he was in, which was providing a dim blue light." Hello?" He called weakly. No one answered his call, in fact nobody was around as far as he could see. He slowly got up and shivered, he had no clothes on except for some briefs to cover his genitals. He saw a locker near "his" container which had the name Jake Anastasia on it. Yes he remembered now, his name was Jake. He walked towards the locker and opened it up. Inside he found a suit that look like a silver jumpsuit. On the name tag it read, Jake Anastasia - Head of Security. Unsure of what it meant, Jake put on the suit then slowly headed for the outline of a desk. As he approached he saw dust on it that must have been at least an inch thick. A screen was flashing something. Looking at the screen he saw a list of names, his included on it. He touched the screen and a diagram of the containers appeared along with two options, "Wake crew" and "Return to Menu". He computer had a small list saying the names of the crew, at the bottom were the words "Please awaken Crew". Jake needed help so he hit the "Wake Crew" option. Dr. Asia Fabiana had a dizzy feeling in her head, as she woke up. Half unconscious, she had the feeling that something crept out of her throat, and she had slight pain in her body. It took some time until she came to senses and realized that something was indeed wrong. She was not in her bed, not in her room anyway. There was something above her, a transparent hood. She was dressed only in a black lacy bra and panties, that she never wore when she went to bed. Finally, she realized where she was, or at least what was around her. A crypto-chamber, and she just had been awakened. Slowly the hood opened. She lifted herself carefully, feeling weak, and peaked out to see where she was. Jake AnastasioJake saw text scrolling across the computer.-Crew status updating....--Request being processed... Request accepted.--Crew awakening from deep cry hibernation.-Expect possible delays between crew member awakenings and possible side effects.--Side effects my include, but not limited to; weakness, nausea, forgetfulness, long-term memory loss, confusion, cramping, headaches, and fatigue. Jake looked up from the computer and saw cry tube opening up. A woman was inside, similarally hooked up like he was. He quickly approaches her and helped remove the IVs stuck in her." Hey. Hey, are you ok." She didn't respond at first, probably from the side effects the computer mentioned. He helped to remove the oxygen tube from her mouth so she could speak. He looked at the locker next to her CRT tube, "Is your name Asia Fabio?" Dr. Asia Fabiana looked up to the man who helped her crawl out." Yes I am. Who are you? Where am I? Why?" she just came onto her feet, staggering a little. At least she didn't throw up, although she felt sick. Jake Anastasios smiled a little, "Your guess is as good as mine. I just woke up a few minutes ago." He went to her locker and pulled out her suit. The name tag confirmed her name as Dr. Asia Fabio. So she was a doctor. He handed her suit to her then went back to his locker. Inside he found a flashlight and a key card. Dr. Asia Fabiana just now realized that she really should get dressed. She put on the suit, and followed the young man. After all, he was the only person here." What do you mean? I cannot remember how I got here. Is this a kind of experiment?" Jake Anastasios turned to her, "Hell if I know. Just look around" he waved at a few other cry tubes. He went to the computer and saw it had a new update on it.- Warning! -- Subject: Sean Watts -- Condition: Critical -- Unable to open hatch until subject's condition improves. -Jake saw the other cry tube were still preparing and warming up. He felt confused, he couldn't remember anything. He turned on the flashlight and looked around the room which confirmed his theory that no one else was around, except for the ones in the cry tubes. Dr. Asia Larissa suspected that he knew a bit more, as he knew how to operate the screens. She was reading the text as well, but there was nothing she could do about. She walked around a bit, looking at the gyro-chambers. There were more persons, just the way she had been. Had they all be abducted for a crazy experiment? Why would anyone choose her? She was an expert for economics, what could anyone want from her? She had been tangled into politic affairs of all kind, that belonged to her job. But of nothing so serious, as far she knew. Jake Anastasios continued to mess around with the computer, but with no power, except for the amount that kept the cry tubes and this computer on, He tried to go to the menu where he hoped to find out where they were, but the computer always said the same thing.-Not enough power, please start up emergency generator in Generator Room B-4.-Jake called over Asia and showed her the message. I need to find this generator. He looked around the room. It was a small 10 ft by 30 ft rectangular room. The cry tubes lined the wall to his left and right. A total of 8 cry tubes. Behind Jake was a door that was large enough for a vehicle to pass through. He tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. He tried his key card in the slot. Still nothing. He had to find a way to get on the other side of the door. Dr. Asia Fabio." I see." she was no engineer, so she would be of no great help. "But I think whoever put us in here, does not plan to let us die of hunger or thirst. I suggest we search all the lockers, maybe there is more than this suits." She opened the locker that was next to her crossed and searched it. James AnastasioJames wasn't sure about them being tested subject. But then again he could be wrong." Well we need to get out of this room first, their nothing in here except them" he waved towards the people in the cry tubes. "But your right about food, there has to be something around but it's not in this room." He continued to mess with the door but nothing was working. "The door won't open" James started looking i at the ceiling and floor for and air duct of something to help him get out of here. Leo Storm He opened his eyes. He was in some kind of cylindrical tube. Gyro stasis or something like that from the few bits he could remember. He shook his head and looked down and around him. There were various tubes and needles hanging around him, but none inside him. Curious. He pushed on the glass in front of him. It wouldn't budge. He pushed harder. Still nothing. He braced himself against the back of the tube and kicked the glass. No results. He kicked again, and the door budged slightly. He picked himself up and kicked the door with both his feet, and it finally opened. Furthermore, he pushed it open the rest of the way and stepped out, hands raised in his combat stance, which he wasn't sure how he remembered. He was in a room with other cry tubes. Two human-looking forms stood by a door on the opposite side of the room from him. He ignored them for the most part. They weren't targets. He looked to the locker next to his pod. The name tag was ripped off, but he could almost remember his name. It was on the edge of his mind, and he couldn't grasp it. He opened the locker and pulled on the jumpsuit in it. There was also a utility belt inside of it that contained various tools and had a mudpack hooked to it. His belted it on and turned to the others in the room. He walked calmly over and looked at them, not saying a word. It had been his experience that those who are around longer know more than you do about a particular situation. And so he waited for one or both of them to explain what was going on. Jake Anastasios heard the thud from one of the cry tubes. He turned to see the cry tube being kicked from the inside. Someone was awake inside. Eventually the door opened, and a man came out looking ready for a fight. Jake watched as the man went over to his locker and pulled some clothes on. When the man approached Jake recognized him, the way he walked and acted, identified him as a soldier or someone who had been in the services. This made Jake feel better, and he quickly nodded to him. He had no name tag on him, but a look at the computer would show his name listed beside the cry display. Jake quickly explained what had happened and what Asia, and he were planning to do. Dr. Asia Fabiana looked at the newcomer, he was also quite young, and she to suspected him to be a soldier. Jake, as she knew from his name tag, explained what he knows so far, and it did not take him very long. She had opened her locker, where Jake had taken her suit from. There wasn't really much in it. A roll of duct tape. A small plastic box with several switches on it. Something that looked like a tiny tractor wheel, but made of metal. A small globe of red rubber." So what is the meaning of this?" Jake AnastasioJake found an air duct on the ceiling next to the door. He pulled the thing free easily, it must have been rusty, and found that he could barely fit into it." Hey guys I've found a possible way out." He couldn't see crap inside great he was going to have to go in blind. Jake went to his locker and found nothing else inside. He turned toward Asia, "I'm going to crawl through that DCT and hopefully arrive at the other side of the door." He gave the flashlight to Asia. "You guy's need this more than me. Is there anything else you need before I head off?" Dr Asia Fabiana took the flashlight." I am not a guy, I hope you had noticed even in that suit. I will stay below the air duct, so be careful when you go." Jake AnastasioJake shook his head at her. He still had trouble concentration due to the side effects. Jake jumped up to the air duct pulled himself up into it. He began crawling through the tight space and notice that the air ducts were dusty as well. So people hadn't been doing maintenance. He eventually found a grating below him. Jake used at it and fell down into a hallway. He landed on his front and saw stars in his head. He got up and looked down the dark hall, but he couldn't see a thing. The door behind him was the same one he had tried to open. Now he saw why he couldn't open it. The door's outer mechanism had been smash and the two wires that allowed the door to operate were broken in two. Jake grabbed the two wires rubber parts and touched their metal ends together. Then the door flew open. Dr. Asia Fabiana heard the large door open. So he had found something to release it. "You're alright?" she called. Then she went forward and looked into the next room. Gabriel Thorn"Fall back for God's sake, fall back!!" A loud explosion and Gabriel woke with a start, he coughed, feeling something stuck in his throat, he opened his eyes and found himself inside a tube. First reaction was to panic, but instead he looked around him, finding IV tubes connected to him and some sort of pipe stuck down his throat. He also felt very dizzy, first things first though. He pulled the plasters that secured the pipe into place and then started to remove the pipe, gagging at the sensation as the pipe slid out of his throat. Furthermore, he slowly started to pull the IV needles out of his body, some so deep that he grunted in pain. Finally, he was free, and he looked through the glass, it didn't look good on the outside, flickering lights and mostly dark. He coughed to clear his throat and saw the release for the door, he tapped it, but there was no reaction, he hit it harder and still nothing." Fucking technology shit"Pushing up against the door it budged slightly"Open...SEZ a"Shoving hard the door flew open, and he almost pitched head first onto the floor. He caught the edges of the door opening and looked around, coughing up some sort of slime that had worked its way into his throat, he spat it out and looked up at the other people standing in the room, he managed a grin"Helena's Johnny"He slowly got out and took in the room, this was not army, and then it occurred to him that he only had on his underwear. He looked around, found a locker close to the thing he just crawled out of. Furthermore, he opened the door and found army issued overalls, he pulled one out and got dressed, finding boots and socks he pulled them on as well and hacked up more slime." Godammit, please tell me I'm not the only one who woke up with slime inside his throat. I feel like I french kissed a damned Kraken"He noticed that his name tag was removed, and he wondered what the hell happened there. He faced the group and looked them over, not very impressive, but from the look of things they had also just waked up. Jake AnastasioJake stood up and saw Asia, "Well, looks like the power out is widespread." He motioned to the hallway. "I'm beginning to feel that something must have-" but Jake was cut off as another cry tube activated, and a man came out. Jake approached the man and held OT his hand, "Hey, my name is Jake Anastasia and that's Asia Fabio." Then Jake went to explain what had happened to them. Gabriel Thorne shook Jake's hand,"Well Jack, good to meet you, I don't have the foggiest who I am,"He pointed at the empty space where his name tag should be." As you can see I have been stripped, so what's the plan? Any of you have something to drink perhaps?" Jake AnastasioJake laughed, "Well we were just going to get out of this room and find some food and water. However as for your name, I can check that computer there. It seems to have data on us, it should have everything about you on it." Jake went to the computer and went to the screen with the names on it, "Looks like you name is Gabriel Thorn." Jake got up and went back to Asia, "Ok we have a few goals. One is to find some supplies such as food and water. Second, we need to find out where we are so looked for a map or something that will tell what we're in or on. Does everyone agree?" Gabriel Thorn"Sounds like a plan to me, I could do with some rat packs and water now"He looked around and then focused on Leo"Why do I get the feeling that I have seen you before? You from around here?" Leo Storm Leo watched silently as the door opened and the man from earlier, Jake, stepped back into their room. A cry tube opened behind them. Leo turned his head to see who stepped out. The man seemed vaguely familiar. He remembered shrapnel hitting him and felt the pain of his wounds. But that was all. He walked quietly over to the computer to check his name. He wasn't listed. The hell? It said his cry tube was unoccupied. That couldn't be good. Was he supposed to be here? He felt memories just outside his reach that would explain this, but he got nothing. Great. The man who was the latest out of the pods looked at him. Gabriel Thorn. He knew the name without having to check the computer. Why that was, he did not know." Likewise." he responded after the first sentence. A brief shake of the head answered the second. Jake AnastasioJake looked at everyone then spoke up, "Alright everybody we need to decide on a plan, and I've come up with two options. One is we go to the generator room, that the computer mentioned, first and get some power going. The other option is that we go find some food and water first. What do you all think we should do first?" Dr. Asia Fabio"It doesn't really matter, for we need both if we don't find the way out too soon. Besides, we don't have a map of this place. I suggest we just go on moving together, and we will see what we find first." she looked around and wondered why she was among these men, who looked like soldiers. Gabriel Thorn"Well common sense dictates that there should be a map on the computer or even a map on a wall near a door or down a corridor. I would advise finding a light source because these lights seems a bit off and for heaven's sake, I feel naked without armor and a weapon"He looked back at Leo, the feeling that he knew him just didn't want to leave him, then the name tag came up in his mind like a flashback"Well I don't know you're named, but your surname is Storm, that much I can remember, just don't ask me how I remember, it just came to me"He turned his attention back the female"Well then, I think the lady has something going there, we should stick together, I just hope we find water because I just got to get this taste out of my mouth" Dr. Asia Fabio"I don't want to stay her longer then necessary. I don't recall how I came here, and nobody was able to tell me so far. But I recall that I had some most urgent things to do, so let us go and find at least something." She looked at the men. She was not ancient and looked younger than she was, but as far as she could tell, all of them were younger than her. Strange. Jake AnastasioJake nodded, "Ok, we go after the water first and keep an eye out for a map, Asia has the only flashlight and if it goes out then we'll be going blind." Jake walked back to the door and into the hallway. Left or right he thought to himself. Either direction would suit him fine since they both went on into darkness. Jake turned to his companions, "Well, what direction do we choose, left or right?" Dr. Asia Fabio"O.K., left." said Asia and pointed the flashlight into the direction. Leo Storm Leo looked over at Gabriel. He said his name was Storm. Storm. Storm...an electrical storm...he visibly flinched as a memory smashed into him. He saw a platoon of special operations troops moving through a heavy downpour of rain. A small group of marine infantry, most bleeding through rough bandages, were being escorted through the center. Standing above the group on a set of overhanging rocks were two men. Dressed in all black, one standing and wearing a set of green NVGs with a rifle slung over his shoulder with a Major patch on his shoulder. His dog tags read "Major John Aleppo". The second was kneeling with a high caliber rifle in his hands wearing red NVGs. His tags read "Lieutenant Leo Storm". There is movement in the surrounding rocks. Several armed troops step into the open and begin firing on the group. A round from an experimental Tesla Cannon smashes into the Lieutenant as he stands. He tumbles down the rocks, smoking. Alive, barely. Leo came to and shook his head to clear his thoughts. He followed the group silently, mulling over what he just saw. He still didn't know how he got here, but he did know his rank, at least, and what he did before he came here. Jake AnastasioJake walked with the others down the left side passage. They went on for a few meters before coming to a four way intersection. Along the wall beside Asia was a large map and when he examined it with the light provided by the flashlight, he was struck dumb. He shook his head, "That's impossible!" then Jake turned to his companions gestured at the map. "Guy's, I think you need to take a look at this." The map was 2 ft x 3 ft, and it showed the entire structure they were in was about 10 miles long, 4 miles wide, with a depth of 3.5 miles. "This place that we're in is larger than anything I've seen before." Gabriel Thorne peeked over Jake's shoulder, then reached out placing his finger on a name"U.S.S. Gallant? Never heard of that name, it doesn't even ring a bell. At least we know that we are on a ship"He looked around at the group"We have three army guys and a Doctor, something just doesn't smell right about this" Dr. Asia Fabiana realized that Mr. Thorn got something wrong. "Sorry, I am not a doctor of medicine. I work in the council of the economic advisers, for the affairs of the Arabian world. I am economist." she looked at the map. She wasn't a technician, but had seen enough to guess that this looked like the map of a giant spaceship, although she could not tell of which nation or what type." Do you really mean, we are in a spaceship?" Gabriel Thorne looked at her and shrugged"You're a doc, if you know medicine or not, you have that Dee Are in front of your name not true?" He gave a dry chuckle and then looked at the map again"A spaceship?" He studied the map, and then it struck him, she was right, it was a spaceship"All hush, hush wasn't it? We had a mission and that is why Marine presence was required..." He looked at Leo"But you...you're no Marine, you must have some other reason for being here"He sighed"Gawd let's just get some water" Dr. Asia Fabio, was this just a map or were they really on a spaceship? But why her? The young men were from the military, this could make sense, but why put a doctor of economics among them?" Allright, I feel dried up myself. Maybe we find some water." Jake AnastasioJake looked at the map and found that they weren't very far from the kitchens, just a few minutes down the passage to there left. His companions followed him to the rooms and found that this room was also pitch black, "The power must be out in the entire ship. After we find some food and water, we're going to the generator rooms, I'm tired of this darkness. Gabriel Thorn"Doesn't any of you find it kind of strange that we woke up in a room with some light, but so far it seems like the rest of the ship is out of light and power?" He looked around, apart from the beam and backwash from lighted objects, there wasn't even a flicker of light anywhere Dr. Asia Fabiana pointed the light around and hoped it would last long enough. Finally, she saw some tabs and hoped they would be water." The gyro-beds and the computer have power, too. Very odd." Jake AnastasioJake laughed at them, "It was emergence back-up power which is used as a last chance approach. Plus we've only been in cry room and the hallway and were just entering the café. So unless you know for sure, don't guess that everything is odd. After all a hallway and café don't need emergency lighting, their not being used and if they were they'd drain the emergency power levels needed to keep all the other important systems up and running." Angel Raven Angel woke from startling dreams. There was gunfire, rain, and a flash of lightning. She bolted upright. A tube was stuck down her throat, and needles in her arms. She idly pulled them out and pulled the tube from her throat. She was in a cry tube, that much she could remember. Furthermore, she even knew her name. Angel Raven. Pvt. Raven. Yes, she had been a medic serving in some unit. She had formal training as a doctor, however. She looked forward and pressed against the glass. It slid open soundlessly. She stepped out into the room. It was filled with several other tubes, some of which were open and one seemed forced open. She turned around and saw a locker next to her tube. She opened it. Inside was a jumpsuit, mudpack, and flashlight. She pulled the jumpsuit over her lacy white bra and panties. That was another interesting thing. She never slept in those. At any rate, she looped the pack over her shoulder and set off into the only open hallway. She flicked on her flashlight and walked. She took a turn here and there and ironically found another group. Furthermore, she heard one comment on the lights and another voice concur. Then a third voice spoke up. He sounded arrogant, and she got the feeling she wouldn't like him at all. But they were survivors, and she would deal. She stepped into the room. Two men looked militarily and very familiar. One turned to her, and she picked up on his name immediately. Gabriel Thorne, a marine from the platoon being escorted. What platoon? What? Her mind blanked out on her. Great. She looked to the second. He seemed dangerous. Even more so than Gabriel. He wasn't a marine. He was... She was no real military woman, being a doctor and having only served one mission in the armed forces, she hadn't even learned combat. She was purely a doctor, but understood he was ranking officer. Her hand snapped up in a salute." Lt. Storm." she said respectfully. Lt. Storm. The man who saved her life more than once in just one mission. The man was a god on the field. Gabriel Thorn"Well knock me over with a feather and call me Dolly"He smiled as he recognized Angel"Private Raven, finally we have some medical assistance, now we just need to find a way to restore power, get weapons and try to get our minds back...not in that particular order though"He ran a hand through his short hair, why the hell was he babbling like a girl on prom night? He shrugged and looked about." So do we try the taps or what?" Leo Storm Leo looked towards the movement he heard and the source of the second light. He knew this woman. Pvt. Raven. Angel Raven. Brief flashbacks and confusing memories accompanied the name. He was gaining bits and pieces. Still not enough to remember why he was here. Why any of them were here. He noticed the salute, and she called him Lt. Storm. He supposed that it was the proper way to address him, but this was an unusual situation. Lieutenant, Lieutenant. He had been restricted from earning a higher rank than that. Why that was, he couldn't remember." At ease." Leo said to Angel. Her arm lowered. He turned his head slightly to look at Gabriel. Why he hadn't saluted when Leo's rank was revealed was interesting. He turned back to Angel." What all do you remember?" he asked in his standard, low voice. Jake AnastasioJake looked at the newcomer then turned back. Suddenly he had a flashback. He was in a helicopter, flying over the New Siberian Islands in Russia. His team was tasked with capturing a military base with several missile silos. They had just taken a shot from an ATG vehicle and the helicopter was spinning outwards towards the earth. Someone shouted, "Evasive maneuvers, Echo Base, we're going down, we're g- then Joe was thrown from his seat and into darkness. Jake snapped back to reality looked back at his companions. "Let's go everyone, other what you can." Gabriel Thorn"Sir yes sir,"He made his voice sound as disrespectful as he could go without making it obvious. As he moved off to a shelf he had seen for a second as the flashlight passed over it. He mumbled to himself:"Pity we don't have light to make this search for gathering everything easier..." Still mumbling he mimicked Jake's voice,"After all a hallway and café don't need emergency lighting..." He scoffed softly,"Sure could have helped if they had some sort of goddamned emergency lighting in here, at least then I would know what the fuck I was..." He crashed into the shelf and swore as bottles, trays, cutlery and plates crashed onto the ground." Walking into,"He looked over his shoulder as the lights from the flashlights focused on him"Oh look guys, I found us some bottles to carry water in" Angel Raven She didn't like him. The third man was just too arrogant for her tastes. She glanced to Lt. Storm. Shouldn't he be in command? She just shook her head and went with it." I don't remember much." she started. "Bits and pieces. I don't know why we're here, though." She shook her head again and went to searching the room. Gabriel called out something about water. She turned to him, finding nothing herself. She glanced over at Lt. Storm again, then over to the "leader" of the group. It didn't seem right. Surely the El-Tee has something in mind? Jake AnastasioJake could tell that the others didn't like him and treated him with disdain and distrust. He shook his head, this was not what was support to happen. They should be trusting and helpful, after all, they were all in the same situation. Jake respected Leo, the man seemed to want the same thing as Jake, to get out of this situation alive and quickly. Gabriel and the new girl both seemed to dislike him. Jake was still uncertain of Asia, but he didn't hold any grudge against at all. Jake grabbed a few boxes of what seemed to be nonperishable goods along with a few bottles of water and set them down on a table. Jake grabbed on of the waters and took a quick drink. Afterwords Jake grabbed a flashlight and headed out to the hallway and went back to the map. Jake decided to leave the others to take care of themselves, he needed to get to the generator room. Scanning the map, he found something of interest, a security room! From the map it wasn't very far away. Maybe, after he got the power back on, he'd be able to see what had happened to this place on a security recording? Also, a generator room was located next to the security room. Jake smiled to himself as he ran down the hallway to his destination, hoping he'd be able to find out what had happened here. Leo Storm Leo slipped out of the dark room. He wanted a look at that map again. Learn the ship better. Knowledge is often your best weapon in a battle, and intel was something he was very good with. He stepped up to the map and studied it. Generator was there, and the security room next to it. He could use the cameras to find out what happened, maybe splice some connections and find out what they're doing on this rig. He heard footsteps coming towards him. Heavy footsteps, as in someone running. He turned. His eyes had since adjusted to the darkness. He had spent a lot of time in the dark, and his night vision had developed very well. It was that Jake fellow sprinting down the hall away from the others. Leo stepped over and tripped the man as he tried to run by. He hit the ground with a nice thud. Leo stepped over to him, kicked the flashlight away, and nudged him onto his back with his foot. He then proceeded to plant a boot on the man's chest to stop him going anywhere. He looked down at the man." Going somewhere?" he asked dryly, a cold fire burning in his eyes.(I think we can assume it was too dark for Jake to see Leo, thus him being able to trip him even though he would have managed it in the light anyhow. We could also assume that with Leo's frightening countenance that Jake would be at least semi-afraid and wouldn't try fighting back. Cause let's face it, if a guy like Leo had you pinned to the ground, you would be startled, to say the least. Especially you non-militarily types. Or, in Jake's case, small-time HOS job that wouldn't prepare him for dealing with Leo or Gabriel.) Jake AnastasioJake felt himself fall face first on the floor with a loud thump accompanied by a loud crack. Suddenly pain, like white-hot needles being stabbed into his nose and jaw. He felt himself being turned over and then a foot pressing down on his chest. When he looked up, Jake saw Leo standing over him with angry look." Going somewhere?" he heard Leo ask. Then there was a white light. Jake was running down a hallway with the rest of his team. Everyone had survived the helicopter crash except for the pilot. Jake leads the way down a flight of stairs and into a huge room with many chairs behind computers, all facing a huge screen that showed a map of the world. "Jake, hack the main computer, you've got to stop those ICBM's before they reach the U.S. Jake tried to but was interrupted when a group of Russian soldiers rushed into the room. As fire fight went off and at one point. Jake found himself knocked down the ground by a Russian. The man put his foot on Jake and looking at Jake with hatred, "Time to die dirty capitalist"Jake came back to the present. Jake tried to speak, but it hurt to move his jaw. It was probably broken. He felt blood running out of his nose and could taste some in his mouth. Jake didn't like what was happening but, he knew one thing. These people were not friendly at all. Gabriel Thorne watched Jake rush out after checking the map and frowned. This guy really acted weird, first they must stick together and the next moment he went off running all by his own some. He shrugged and walked over to the boxes, pulling out food and inspecting the water, he opened one bottle and drank as much as he could, it was not cold, but it was water, and it washed away the taste. He looked over at Angel and realized that it was just Asia, Angel and him left in the cafeteria"Well seems like the Lieutenant and Captain have gone out to find something else to do. I'm going to find the Lieutenant, it's time we had a talk as it seems like you also know him. Maybe we three can figure out more about who we are" Dr. Asia Fabiana certainly remarked the tension between the men and the younger woman. They seemed to know each other, so she decided to keep out of their conflicts. She heard the sound of brawling nearby, and that was something that could not be ignored. "That sounds like trouble." she said. She took the flashlight and walked carefully into the direction of the fight. Jake Anastasios: My posts are going to be different from now on. Jake tried speaking and found he could move his jaw, but it was still painful to do so. He had probably bruised it of just banged it up a little. His nose was a mess, and it did bleed, by like all head injuries, it would bleed a lot. Jake took a breath to clam himself and to clear is senses. He looked up at Leo, answering in a low but surprised voice saying, "I'm headed off to the generator room. I'm tired of all of this dark and I need some light. If you wanted to come along, you could have just asked instead of tripping me." Jake was still thinking about the flashback he had seen. What had that been about? Why was he in Russia? These flashbacks were confusing to Jake, and he was still unable to focus completely on them. God, when did the side effects wear off? Jake decided to deal with those questions later. Right now he had to deal with the present, here and now. Why had this man tripped him instead of simply asking what he was up to? Why was it that everyone else seemed to hate or distrust him, except for Asia? He hadn't done anything to them, at least not that he could remember. He had treated them with every respect that he had expected to receive. Jake felt that he wouldn't be able to Leo, Gabriel, or the new girl. All he had left to trust was Asia. Jake wondered if he would be able to get to that generator room and get some power to this place. Jake looked back at Leo waiting to see if he would let him up. Dr. Asia Fabio"What is the meaning of this?!" she looked down in disgust what looked like the result of a brawl to her. "Don't we have problems enough that you have to beat up each other?" Gabriel Thorn"And they were down to two"Hunting around he found the knives and used one to cut the sleeves from his overall and after tying close the sleeves he filled them with water and some of the food. Hefting the improvised bags he motioned for Angel." Let's go check if anybody have realized that we should actually stick together" Leo Storm Leo kept the pressure on. He didn't quite trust the man who just tried abandoning the group. If you wish to be technical, Leo did leave, but he had every intention of going back. The way he says things, there are two options. One, let the man go and see how things turn out. And two, take control himself to prevent this from happening again. He had no desire for command at the moment, so he went with option one. Disregarding Dr. Fabio, he removed his boot from the man and held his hand down to help him up. He looked at him calmly." Stay with the group." was all he said. He turned back to go down the hallway, and walked by Asia without a word. He didn't like civilians. Furthermore, he stepped into the room with Angel and Gabriel." Always that one soldier." That messes everything up. He shook his head at his uncompleted sentence. He was fairly sure they got what he meant, though. Angel Raven Angel muttered something under her breath. He was really getting on her nerves. First he says they need to stick together, then he runs off on his own. She looked up. Anyone for a mutiny?she thought to herself. She had just the strangest feeling they wouldn't get anywhere at all with him in command. How exactly he made it to Captain was beyond her. How Lt. Storm didn't make it past Lieutenant was also beyond her. She glanced over at Gabriel and nodded. Might as well find out what's going on in the halls. She moved to the door and almost bumped into Lt. Storm. She skirted back." Sorry." she murmured. And she did indeed know what the end of that sentence was." So now what?" she asked the two of them. Gabriel Thorn"Well actually I think the Captain had a good idea to get the power activated"He looks from one to the other"I know we don't think much of him at the moment, but I want to see what is going on around me and get a weapon in my hands"He fixed Leo with a grin"And something tells me that you have found a route to get us to just such a place, or you wouldn't have come back" Jake AnastasioJake was in disbelief, he had never seen such disrespect! When he was in the Marines his fellow troops always listened to him, and even if they didn't agree with him, they didn't show rude behavior that these people were showing. Jake took Leo's hand and got up to him feet. As Leo walked away, Jake went over to Asia, "I don't like the others here. I sense that there’ll be trouble in the future." He smiled at her, "You're the only one I can trust right now, and I need someone on my side. Leo here is something else, he's stronger than me and if he wanted to, he could kill me." Dr. Asia Fabio"You are injured. We should get back to the others, because I am not such a help in medicine. " She was sure that the soldiers were better trained to give first aid. "I don't know any one of you here, but this violence and tension worries me." She didn't want to get to personal, although the outbreak of violence by the other man startled her, so her sympathies were more with Jake. Jake AnastasioJake smiled at Asia and said, "I'm fine, just a bloody nose and sore jaw." Jake followed Asia back to the group. Jake walked back into the kitchen and started gathering more food and water into a cardboard box found in a corner. Gabriel Thorne looked at Jake and Asia as they also came in, then Jake started to gather more food and water in a box, he frowned." Uhm excuse me Cap'n, do you really think a box is an appropriate choice to carry those stuff in? I'm sure that we would be able to get a backpack in the armory, and then we can carry even more." He shrugged,"I guess having a tendency to carry a weapon makes me not want to tie up more than one hand,"He chuckled at his own remark and tied his improvised bags together and slung it over his shoulder." Right I'm guessing that Lieutenant Storm and Captain Anastasia found where we can get our lights back,"He looked around at their little group,"Don't know about you guys, but I am kinda ready to get going." Dr. Asia Fabiana took great care to remember the way and the map. She hoped that they were not really in space, but just in a strange building or a ship on the ground. Still, she wondered why anyone should be interested to take her there. She had no connection with the others. She didn't bother to carry any water or food - with the map she should be able to find this place again. Angel Raven Angel watched as the man entered the room. His nose was still bleeding, and she was curious why he hadn't bothered to fix it. She glanced over at the El-Tee. He was the only one capable of doing that out of the three of them, so she assumed he had a reason for it. He always did. She walked over to Jake and pushed him back against the wall, showing a strength not oblivious by her size. She looked at his wounds, then opened her med kit to clean the wound. The blood had already clotted, so it wasn't bleeding any more than that. She leaned up to whisper in his ear:"You know he didn't intend to hurt you. You were being suspicious, is all." With that she back away from him to stand between the two other men. Jake AnastasioWhen The new girl came up t him and pushed him against the wall, he half expected to be beaten up again. Dammit where these people planning on killing him? He was surprised however when, instead of hitting him, she actually started treating his injury. Suddenly another flashback came to him. The Russian was standing over him with his pistol aimed at Jake's head. Then suddenly one of his team members, Ashley, knock the Russian over. As Jake got up, he saw her shot the Russian in the chest. She got up and walked over to Jake, "Lucky I was around captain, another second, and you would’ve been dead." She reached up to his face and whispered, "That communist pig must have knocked you down bad, your scalp is bleeding a little, but nothing too bad." "Come on we've got to stop those ICBMs before it's too late." Jake came back to the present and looked around. Then he shook his head and continued collecting anything else they would need. Leo Storm"I thought much the same." he said in reply to Gabriel's comment about the generator. He didn't like Jake all that much, but he was sure that getting the generator up was a good idea. He would deal with personal problems later. They couldn't be allowed to interfere with the mission. Leo stepped out of the way as Asia and Jake entered the room. Leo turned and picked up a couple bags still lying on the ground near Gabriel. He had indeed found somewhere. If there were weapons on board, he would assume they would be in the security room. Once they got the generators up and running, it should open the door to the security room as well as reactivate the electronics in the room so he could see about why they were here. Leo looked over to Jake, and let him do the talking. Leo had always been one for actions, not words. He found himself agreeing with Gabriel. He wanted to get moving. They had wasted enough time already. Dr. Asia Fabiana decided to stay with the group, what else could she do? If they went on to search for the generator, she would join them. She looked at Jake and at Leo, saying nothing. Jake AnastasioJake followed the group, carrying the box of food and water with him. He kept an eye on everyone, except Asia, in case on of them decided to attack him again. He thought over what the flashbacks had meant. Why had he really been in Russia? What were ICBMs doing being launched? Had there been a WWIII? Jake sighed and walked on, reluctantly following the others. Gabriel Thorne followed Leo and Angel, feeling that he has been in this situation... Thunder cracked overhead, there was no rain, but the heavy clouds seemed like it would crack open and pour its contents on them at any given second. It was as dark as the armpit of hell and the only way they could find where they were going was the night vision goggles each of them carried, along with the gear they seemed like creatures from outer space. He shook his head to clear away the images and was it his imagination or was there a lingering of the thunder? Dr. Asia Fabiana said nothing and walked along with them. She didn't like the place, wasn't very happy about her companions, and was not very fond of the suit - she wondered if they were unitize, because she found it tighter then she appreciated. Asking these soldiers would get her no results. She kept her eyes open and used the flashlight if necessary. Even if this ship was big, it shouldn't be that difficult to find the generator after seeing the map. Jake AnastasioJake hurried you to the others and asked, "Where are we going to drop off the supplies. At the cry room or the generator room?" Dr, Asia Fabio." Ok, the generator room." said Asia, to make a proposal. Gabriel Thorn"Well I'd rather place provisions where we find weapons and armor, it's best to have your food with a defensible space,"He grinned. Dr. Asia Fabio"Weapons and armor? Who do you expect? We rather die of thirst, if you don't bash up each other." Gabriel Thorne glanced at her, what was her problem,"Yes weapons and armor along with provisions. I'm locked in a place that I know nothing about, with people whom I can only recognize two of. I want to secure my area, that is just basic survival." Dr. Asia Fabiana answered nothing. Maybe these soldiers could not imagine that there were other problems then supposed enemies everywhere. She was more used with problems regarding supplies, funds and cooperation. Again she wondered why she was among those others. So she just kept walking, checking the next room. Jake AnastasioJake heads off to drop off the supplies to where there suppose to go. Soon he heads towards the area where the generator room was said to be. He glances back to see if the others are coming along. Dr. Asia Fabiana kept walking with him, because there was nothing better to do. Maybe they would calm down if they had some power back.

Lost in Space_ IC|rating:3.0

HSE 101

Spoiler {"light box_close": "Close", "light box_next": "Next", "light box_previous": "Previous", "light box_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.", "light box_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow", "light box_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow", "light box_full_screen": "Full screen", "light box_thumbnails": "Thumbnails", "light box_download": "Download", "light box_share": "Share", "light box_zoom": "Zoom", "light box_new_window": "New window", "light box_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"} Lori stared wistfully out the window of her cab. She felt strange about this whole situation she'd found herself. The last thing she could remember was boarding the plane as she waved goodbye to her parents. After that seemed to be just a fog. She's fallen asleep on planes before, that wasn't the weird part, it was the fact that she didn't even remember getting off the plane, getting her bags from bag check, and hailing the cab she is now sitting in heading towards her new school. She couldn't remember the face of the person driving, or even what they sounded like when she greeted them...IF she had even greeted them. Did she even tell them where she had to be? Not long after she had that thought, however, the car pulled into a courtyard, a pair of large, ornate, black gates, shutting behind them. The initials S.A.U. stood before her in large stone lettering atop the central arch of the building ahead. "SAU..." she muttered to herself, "S. Air University... I guess I did tell them my destination. But why can't I remember anything?" She sighed and shook her head, thinking perhaps it merely the butterflies of a new school, new place, getting to her. As the cab pulled to a stop just before the university entrance, Lori stepped out of the car, dragging her bags from the seat next to where she sat, feeling the weight of them drop to the gravel below her feet. She turned to reach into her purse, taking out a wallet and grabbing what few dollars she had, but before she could offer them to the driver, he had already put the car into reverse and made it's way off of campus. "Huh...weird. Oh well, At least that's a few more dollars saved." She shrugged, thinking nothing more on it as she dragged at her heavy baggage towards the cherry wood doors. They were large, not as large as the stone archway that they sat beneath, but upon them hung two gargantuan iron knockers shaped like goat skulls. It was extremely unsettling to stare at, it made her wonder if perhaps she came to the wrong place after all. But, the initials above the doors only pushed further that she was indeed where she was meant to be. With a deep breath, she reached up towards one of the hanging black handles, and with a bit of strength behind her grasp, she knocked. Two long loud thuds echoed through the halls behind the doors. No answer at first. She reached to knock again, but before her fingers could touch the cool metal, the door creaked open and behind it was a face of handsome man. He was older than Lori by about a decade from the looks of him, a mess of wavy brown hair draped over his ears and framed his chiseled features. His eyebrows furrowed for a moment, before relaxing as his brown eyes settled on the petite girl before him. A warm smile adorned his mouth as recognition immediately took over the confused look of before. "Ah, Ms. Pathway I presume?" His voice was smooth and rather pleasant to the ear." Yes, sir." Lori answered back meekly. He was far taller than she was despite the fact that he stood with a strange hunch." Very good, very good, we've been expecting you! Please, follow me!" His warm aura quickly heightened to that of excitement. He grabbed Lori's baggage with relative ease, leaving her to carry only her purse, and made his way inside, beckoning her to follow. "We are so very pleased to have you at our institution. We've been on the search for somebody like you, and now that I've met you I can tell you'll be absolutely perfect. A perfect fit with our student body." He chuckled a bit at that last statement, as if telling a joke that went completely over Lori's head. "Our rules are rather simple, not unlike your previous university I'm sure. We do have a curfew. Nobody out of their dorms past 10pm on a school night, except for those with late night classes." As the man continued on with the rules of the school, Lori couldn't help but zone out and focus on something other than what he was saying. As she followed behind, her eyes went straight to his backside, specifically a spot just above his rear, with sheer confusion. A small lump seemed to protrude just below the waistband of his pants that moved slightly left to right as he walked. And his walk was even stranger. It was almost as if his legs bent the wrong way as his gait gave him a slight bounce to each of his steps. Her head tilted as she watched, mesmerized by this odd walk. Maybe her bags were heavier than he made it seem to be, and it's affecting his gait? "Well, here we are!" He announced, pulling Lori from her stupor and back into the present, presenting to her a closed door with the room number etched into the thick mahogany. "If you have any questions, feel free to visit me at my office. I’ll have your bags brought to your dorm for you.”“Oh! This isn’t my dorm?” Lori looked at him in surprise. Usually the first place she’d be led is the place she’d be sleeping for the night, giving her time to unpack and settle into her new home.“I’m afraid not. Your arrival here was a bit later than I had hoped. Unfortunately, the plane we booked you was the only one available for the specified timeframe. The first class will be starting in about fifteen minutes, so I assumed it would be easier to just bring you here, instead of leaving you at your dorm and then possibly ending up late or getting lost.”" Uh...okay. I suppose that makes sense. Thank you. I'm sorry, sir, but did you tell me your name? I'm not sure if I had gotten it." She bit at her bottom lip, feeling worried that he had introduced himself while she was dazed out, but if he was the one she was to go to if she needs assistance, then a name would be necessary."Oh, I'm sorry my dear girl, I fear I haven't! I am the Dean," he made a light bow in her direction, one arm across his mid-section, the other behind his back, "Dean Santiago Air, or just Dean Air. Pleased to make your acquaintance, my dear Lori Pathway." Lori felt her heart jump into her throat. The Dean of the school, the one who ran the whole university, the one whose initials sat above the stone archway just outside the front door, was the one who had taken her under his wing and helped her feel at home, and she blatantly ignored for the majority of their meeting. Without a thought, she quickly gave a small curtsy in return, unsure if that's even what she was supposed to do, but it seemed like the proper response to his bow. He laughed, making her question even further if that was the right reaction. "I'm terribly sorry, sir, I had no idea. Had I known-""Nonsense, you were a perfect lady, despite not knowing who I am." He pulled out a folder from the inside of his jacket, and handed it to her, "In here you'll find a copy of the campus rules, your schedule, and a map of the grounds. I've marked the location of my office, your dorm, and to help you a bit more, I even circled the classrooms that you will be sitting in for this semester. As you can see, the first one is right where we are standing here.” He explained as he pointed to one of the circled classrooms on the map, written in next to it was HSE 101." Thank you," she accepted the handouts and held them close, "just one more question though. It said on the letter that I will have to work to earn my free tuition. What and where exactly will I be working?" The Dean's grin slowly turned into something a bit more...wicked. It was still a smile, but something felt off about it. "You'll find out in your first class." The air about him seemed to shift to something a bit more ominous, but just as quickly had it arrived, it very quickly dissipated and went back to his previous cheery self. "Speaking of, you better get inside. Remember to come and find me if you have need of anything. I hope you have a wonderful stay here." And with that, he turned and left. With a nervously wavering breath, Lori inhaled and opened the door to HSE 101, whatever classthatwas. The lighting was quite dim, but she could make out theprofessorsat at his desk. He was...beautiful. No other word could describe it. His hair was a golden blonde, long enough to just cover the tips of his ears, and was messy. His eyes were a deep emerald green, with pupils that seemed oddly shaped (though to Lori, that's probably just due to the bad lighting), that watched her with some intrigue. It made her heart leap a bit. Oh great, Lori, that'd make a wonderful first impression. Just completely go weird and goofy on a professor and crush way too hard. Just focus. She mentally scolded herself as she gave him a nod and a smile." Ms. Pathway, I presume?" The professor said in a very soft tone. His voice held almost a small gravel as he spoke, it was on the higher side, and it felt almost like his words slithered through her mind with each word. "You May take a seat right here." He gestured to a lone chair with no attached desk at the front of the room facing the class. She kept her eyes on the beautiful face as she moved, almost impossible for her to look away. As she moved closer to her seat, which was closer to the professor's desk, she began to hear a strange sound behind him. It was similar almost to somebody rapidly shaking a maraca. She just shook her head and pushed the sound out of her mind. Dwelling instead on what she would be doing there and what her purpose would be as work.“We’ll be starting in a few minutes. Just giving time for any other stragglers to make their way here before the start of class.” Again Lori nodded and turned her attention away from him. It was only then that she looked around the room, and she felt her heart drop and her body freeze. Her eyes widened larger than thought possible as they took in the sight of student body that sat before her, all waiting attentively and looking around with eyes of varying sizes and qualities among faces of differing colors and textures. Some students seemed human in some aspects of their image, others looked more animalistic in their features, and some just looked like something else entirely. It was a medley of skin, scales, feathers and fur, creatures from legends and lore, tales and religion, games and others that were meant to be of pure fiction. Most of the students were staring at her, and all she could do was stare right back in total and complete fear with only one word repeating in her mind: monsters! The sound of a thunderous stampede rang through the halls, picture frames rattled as an earthquake like tremor shook as that'park scrambled as fast as he could from the doorway to the school The brutish red scaled dragon kin had overslept that morning after an all-nighter of playing video games and eating tremendous amounts of junk food. He remembered a sunbeam hitting his eye as he slept and rolled over to see his class was in five minutes. He shot up panicking and grabbing a pair of pants and jumping into them until they fit his diatonic tail thrashing wildly destroying a lamp and the end table it sat on before he backed into his desk and stumbled falling through it with a deafening crash sending notes, pencils and miscellaneous drawings flying everywhere. " Shit shit shit !" His low rumbling voice cried out as he scrambled up and grabbed his backpack and bashed into the door knocking it off it's hinges and the bathroom the collision causing the toilet to spray water like a broken fire hydrant out into the ceiling burning out a light fixture. His mother was waiting for him downstairs and handed him a sack lunch before he ran out the front door His breath huffed and a plume of red flame fluffed out as he ran" shit, fuck, I'm so late !" He said when he finally reached the hallway of the class, everything behind him was a disheveled wreck and this wasn't the first time this happened, he was sure to get scolded by the dean on his first day and be made to clean it all up, but he knew the dean would be more mad if he was late. That puffed out his chest in frustration and let out a deafening roar having a tantrum momentarily and tried to walk forward silently to no avail as he twisted the door knob on the class completely unaware of his strength and twisted the knob off causing it to break apart in tiny little pieces crying out in frustration once more he moved through the dimly lit room. " Hi...I'm that'park..." He was still out of breath and the occasional flame came out illuminating the room as he tried to settle down. That'park was not the only one running late that day. Thomas O'Malley also found himself in a similar situation, but for different reasons. Rather than waking up late, Thomas had woken up extremely early, excited to start the day at his new home. Having just moved into the dorms he was ready to explore all the possibilities college had to give him. He got dressed in his usual green attire, ate a quick breakfast in the dining hall, and lost no time in beginning to explore SAU's campus. He had a wonderful time finding out where all the important (and more obscure) buildings were, discovering useful student facilities, and discovering neat little hiding places he could go if he wanted the world to just be quiet for a while. It wasn't until an alarm began to sound on his phone that Thomas remembered his first class of the day was in five minutes. Of course, he had already scoped out where the building was and which classroom the class took place in so getting there should be no problem at all... Until he realized he was on the wrong side of a large college campus. Thomas took off as fast as his little legs could carry him. He began to notice signs of chaos as he got closer to his classroom, but he gave them no heed, at least, not until he reached the classroom and saw a big red frame hogging up most of the doorway. This was perfect! Thomas slid past the dragon kin as he did his breathless introduction, and quietly took a seat near the side of the room, trying to remain unnoticed. The professor waited patiently for the rest of his class to arrive. The clock struck the start of the hour, and as he was about to start the class as scheduled for the day, he heard a crunch just outside the door. Then, the large dragon kin appeared in the doorway, and a lurching feeling dropped into the pit of his stomach. With a sigh and a chuckle, he slithered out from behind his desk and welcomed the freshman. “Good morning That'park.” He could tell from his breathing that he had run here, and the lamina wasn’t going to fault him for trying his best on the first day of classes. “Please take a seat.” He then gave a small knowing smile as a smaller student rushed in between That’s legs, trying to be inconspicuous. Not much can get past the snake man, but for his sake, he’ll act like he didn’t notice. As all this was taking place, Lori was doing everything in her power not to start hyperventilating. The large scaly creature that nearly barreled through the door almost caused her to scream and fall off her chair. She very nearly would have too had she not heard the professor behind her laugh and leave his desk. Looking over at him, she spotted the tail of which he used to maneuver across the floor. She didn’t notice the shorter student as he had, for all she could focus on was the glittering emerald and turquoise scales that made up half his body. And yet, once again, her eyes began dating again, lingering on the professor, on the dragon student who arrived late, and one other who seemed to be staring at her far too intently than was deemed comfortable. Her knuckles were turning white as they gripped her seat in her fear. Should she run? Could she run? No, she was certain any of these guys could easily catch her and devour her if they so chose. Gods why is she here?!?! As if answering her mental question, the professor closed the partially broken door and proceeded to begin the introduction to the class. “Good morning, class! My name is Professor Saline, and I welcome you to Human Sexual Education 101, Anatomy!” WHAT DID HE SAY?!?! Her eyes shot to the lamina as he was writing his name and the name of the class on the chalkboard behind her. Human sexual education?? Anatomy??? What were they going to do!? Cut her open and poke at her insides?! What happened to being a student alongside working? How could she possibly do such a thing while being prodded by a classroom full of monsters, in pieces, barely held together physically, and at this point mentally. She felt as if she could break down and cry right there, quaking in complete terror of what she was sure was to come. What sort of twisted fate was this? Despite her discomforts, the professor continued, though he was very much aware of them. Perhaps a calming touch would help. Sure enough, her quaking quickly stopped, but not in the way he’d hoped as her body stiffened when she felt his slender hand rest on her shoulder. Soon a gravelly laugh come from behind her, soft in its tone. "Class, I'd like to also introduce you to the newest addition to our student body, Lori Pathway. Our school saw an uptick in budget and administration decided to help us out. Thus, Ms. Pathway here very generously volunteered herself to aid in our program. In exchange, we are allowing her to attend the university and further her own education. Please treat her as you would any of your other peers here, and, most importantly, be gentle. She is a real live human. Not the dummy we used to use before many of you had arrived here. Unlike the mannequin, Lori cannot be so easily fixed if broken. She is more than just a resource, but also an important member of our thriving community.” She barely heard his words, but somehow he still managed to instill a sense of comfort in spite of her clear discomfort. So, as he went on with the lesson, just outlining what the course will be covering, she recused herself back into her mind and tried making sense of the situation. Though it was difficult to accomplish as all she could do was stare at the student body who sat before her: a dragon...a demon...a leprechaun?? And so many others, all paying attention either to Saline, or to her, while she just looked back at them, forcing herself to breathe as her eyes lingered on each one of them for far longer than she had intended. First the dragon. He was tall, and terrifying. Completely covered in scales and with a face that was so inhuman, even though he held himself on two feet like one. She was certain he could crush her beneath his claws if he so chose to. Then the demon. She didn’t know yet what to make of him, but something in her spine shivered when her eyes met his. Quickly she averted them, not wanting to linger any longer. The leprechaun is what confused her the most. He merely looked like a short human. Did he actually belong here? Was he really the mythical creature of greed and luck? Or was he just a human, like her, just clad in green. She couldn’t know, but her stare on him was longer than the rest as his presence was the most confounding. Then a pattern clicked. They’re all male monsters.....you have got to be kidding me. Valente watched as the bumbling dragon kin shuffled awkwardly to a large oversized desk in the back next to a multicolored coal and couldn't help but snicker aloud when he asked" is...is this seat taken?" But his attention was ripped away from the dragon kin by the delicious looking new toy in the center of the room. A wicked cruel grin morphed on the devils face and his eyes flashed bright red as she began visibly shaking in her seat, her discomfort radiated off her in waves, flew into the air and turned into a cloud of anxiety, and rained a storm of panic all over him hydrating him after days in the desert. Until that long dweeb calmed her down for a moment by touching her shoulder. But his next words seemed to bring he back to panicking at least on the inside. He watched her eyes dart around the room until they settled on him, he had burnt red skin and a set of ten inch horns that extended out of his forehead and he smiled at her revealing a mouth of normal teeth save for a set of four knife like fangs, he waves a greeting at her with his tail egging her on until she averted her eyes and Valente couldn't help uttering a deep laugh that sounded straight from the depths of hell itself. Thomas felt a jolt of anxiety run through him as Lori was introduced to the class. A real live human would be assisting in teaching the class? Thomas had been raised to be wary around humans. Typically, a human/leprechaun interaction involved a lot of chasing as the human tried to catch the leprechaun in some vain attempt at getting rich quick. While it was true leprechauns often accrued a lot of wealth and kept it saved away, by no means did catch a leprechaun mean that it had to give away their hard-earned money. Of course, Thomas understood that no tall humans were driven by greed, but the stereotype was still ingrained within him enough to make him nervous around the human model. He would keep a close eye on her, most likely from a distance. Right now she seemed scared and cornered, so he should be safe. At least, he was for now... The class ended rather uneventfully. Being the first day, the only thing touched on was the course's syllabus for the semester: rubric for grading, various tests and assignments, and the specific topics of discussion. Perhaps if Lori paid attention, she would know exactly what they were going to talk about in that class and calmed down at least a small amount, but she spent the entire hour playing through all the different scenarios she could find herself in her head; most of them ended in her on an operation table with her body sliced open while wide awake with a myriad of hands, claws, and tentacles probing her insides. That won’t happen. But she wasn’t paying any attention to anything anymore. It was only until the first student began packing their things back up did she rejoin the living. She elected to stay sitting right where she was, wanting everybody else to leave the room before she dared to move. Whether or not she would get the opening to escape, however, remained to be seen as the professor seemed to not be in near as much of a rush to go anywhere as the students were. She then began to fear being alone with the nāga and what the large snake man would do to her without prying eyes. A chill ran up her spine as a few images ran through her head. Some were gory, others were....her cheeks turned a strange shade of pink among the pale white of her face. Glancing at the professor who seemed to pay no mind, she began debating what the best course of action was. All she knew was that she wanted to leave this room, but not in such proximity of so many monsters. She needed to see the dean and talk to him. There must have been a mistake. Or was the dean a monster too? There’s no way she could talk to him then, was there? He would just force her to stay, keep her there against her will. No, she’d have to play it cool. He said he brought her stuff to her dorm. Okay, so, she’d just go to her dorm room, grab her things, and very nonchalantly leave campus. She wasn’t being put into chains by anybody it seemed, and the professor did ask the students to treat her like one of their peers. So, assuming that wasn’t code for something else, she could easily just walk right out and nobody would think anything of it. Right? As her escape plan was set and made to some minimal degree, the professor finally slithered over to her after having cleaned up the chalkboard behind them. Again, Lori froze like a deer in headlights as she watched him, eyes unwavering from his. All he could do was just smile in response to her tight-lipped frown. She was terrified, and it was palpable, but he fears was ill-placed as far as he was concerned. “Miss Pathway,” he began, keeping his voice soft so as not to startle the poor girl any more than she already was, “I’m aware of the stories that have been told of our kind in your realm, so I understand where your fears are coming from. I’m not sure how much good my word will do, but even if it allowed just a little amount of help to ease your nerves, then every bit counts. All I can do is try to assure you that we are not the monsters of your lore. While bad monsters do exist, they are in the same quantities as bad humans. Most of us are only trying to live a fruitful life in the most peaceful way possible. As I’m sure can mirror your own sentiments for your life. Otherwise, I doubt very heavily the dean would have chosen you as the first for this new program.”“But...” Lori managed to finally squeak out in barely a whisper, her voice trembling, “but...why me?” To that, Hazard could only sigh and shake his head, “that, I can’t say. I don’t know why. Perhaps the dean saw something in you that perhaps you yourself do not see yet, something that would not only fit in our realm, but thrive, and shine. Give it time. And if you have need of anything, anything at all, please, come and visit me. My door is always open for my students. And while you are not technically my student, I will not treat as anything differently, because you area part of our community now, just as I said during class.” Lori inhaled deeply and lowered her gaze to the ground, nodding in understanding, but not fully assuaged of her fears. “Give it some time.” He repeated as his hand went to her shoulder once more. This time she calmed, genuinely this time. She wasn’t wholly convinced that she shouldn’t escape and go back home, but at the very least if there was no opportunity to flee, Professor Saline seemed genuine enough to help her if the need arose.“Also, if any studentshouldtry to harm you in any way, bad apples exist everywhere I’m afraid, do not hesitate to seek out the nearest faculty member. We have a zero tolerance policy on violence here, but many will still try, even to each other. I don’t want to see you get caught in the middle of any altercation. If there is one thing from your stories about our kind that rings true, it’s that we are more powerful than humans, and some of us with abilities to add. And should any student leer at you for longer than comfortable, they’re likely feeling their....” he hesitated before continuing, unsure how to word the next part of his statement, before electing to take the vague route with his warning, “well....let’s just say your best course of action would be to leave and get to wherever your destination is at that time as quickly as possible.” His eyes flickered towards the devil from before, whether he was still there or had already left. Saline had noticed the way he stared at their new model, and knowing what he knew of his kind’s sort of Thirst, Lori would need to steer clear of him so long as she felt the way she did. For her own sake, in more ways than one, she needed to remain calm, and luckily she seemed to be moving in that direction already. Lori wasn’t too comfortable with the thought that others would try to hurt her, but he was right. Bad apples existed everywhere. She’d dealt with her own share of bullies at her previous school. Why should this one be any different? Luckily for her nerves, she didn’t notice the professor’s quick glance at the student of whom she should be most wary. So with a nod, she stood from her seat, much to the professor’s delight. “Thank you...so if I need help, I can come back here?” She asked, repeating his open door policy for her own confirmation as well as to reiterate the soothing notion of having an ally through this. Salini nodded, his smile widening greatly, showing a mouth of pearly whites that looked no different from her own. Not sharp and terrifying as one would expect from a snake. Lori couldn’t help but reflect the expression with a nervous, but genuine, smile of her own. “Absolutely any time at all, Lori. Now, why don’t you head to your dorm. Unpack your things. Get yourself situated. Find a real home here. I’m certain whoever the dean had chosen for your roommates will be very accommodating to you.” Lori nodded once more and, with her folder in her hand, headed out the door and thanked him once more. By this point, most, if not all, of the HSE 101 students had left the classroom. As soon as she took a few steps into the hallway, one word he had said finally processed in her mind: roommates?! For the moment she froze, trying to understand what that meant. She’d be rooming with monsters. She’d be rooming with guys. Furthermore, she’d be rooming with monster guys. Was that okay? What if they were the bad apples that Saline warned her about? He said the dean would have chosen better than that, but could she trust his word? She had up until this point. “Just...give him the benefit of the doubt, Lori.” She mumbled to herself as she continued to make her way down the hall towards the residential wing of the building. “Worst case scenario, just revert to your original plan. Simple. Easy. Right?” Keeping her head down, she quickened her pace, her heart rate elevating again, just trying to make it to her room, stopping only if somebody stopped her. If nobody did, she would reach her room, open the door, and greet her new rookies in the calmest tone she could muster to feign. Valente leered back at the professor as he was explaining things to her and seemed to single him out as a problem. He really wasn't surprised that he would think such a thing, but he hands no clue what valet was about or even if he had done anything like that before. Embers of resentment started burning in his mind and having more than enough of this judgement he stood up and gathered his things in his messenger bag before slinging it back over his shoulder. He walked to the front of the room and stopped to say something as he left to the professor, but his attention was back to telling her what to do, not wanting to waste his breath valet stepped out of the class but closed the door behind him with an audible slam. Out in the halls he saw that big red dragon kin from earlier holding a school schedule and a map and looked positively lost sitting on the one bench that wasn't completely pulverized by that's tail earlier. Walking over valet said. " Hey red you look lost, why don't you let me show you the way around?" He said as he sat down next to the much larger dragon. " My name is that'park, and yes I am when I ran through here earlier I didn't pay attention to anything on the way. "The red dragon kin said looking up at the devil. "Red something tells me we are going to be quick friends, now c'mon, and I'll show you around. " Valen said while standing up and gesturing down the hall. Thag'park clenched his fists in frustration but stood up with him, making a mental note to give him one more warning. " My name is that'park..." His voice sounding annoyed. " Right yeah let me see that." Valet said and snatched the schedule and looked it over. He studied it and nodded. "Hey red it looks like you're in the hall that I'm in too." He said as they stepped out a set of double doors leading outside until a pair of large red hands grabbed valet by the shoulders. That had done it, a dragon kin's name was of the utmost importance to them and his pride in the name his parents had passed down through generations of his diatonic ancestors wouldn't allow him to let this keep happening. He let out a titanic roar that shook walls and busted out a few nearby windows then lifted the devil over his head yelling. "MY NAME IS THAT'GAR UK!!" as he proceeded to throw valet across the courtyard sailing him into a big group of bushes. Thomas had another class to attend before he ended the day, but he decided that stopping by his dorm room to collect a few things would be a good idea. It was an economics course, so a calculator would probably be a good idea, and extra scratch paper wouldn't hurt either... On his way out, Thomas noticed the devil and the dragon kin speaking together. The thought that he should eavesdrop to make sure the devil wasn't up to anything sketchy crossed his mind, but this was college. They were adult monsters now, they could take care of themselves. As he began to head in the direction of the dorms, he heard the dragon kin yell and a loud crash like somebody being thrown into the bushes. He turned to see what happened and gave a small smile. Yeah, That'park could take care of himself, it seemed. Deciding it would be best to avoid any and all trouble on his first day, he rushed off to his dorm room. As Lori made her way through the halls, she kept her head low, and did her best to avoid any and all eye contact. She hadn’t gotten far when she heard a loud roar just behind her. It was deafening as it echoed against the walls, sending her heart to leap into her throat and her head to spin. She twisted around almost immediately after hearing it to catch the scene that followed such a horrible sound. Crash, the window broke, shattering into a million shards, as a red blur flew through it into the bushes just outside. The one responsible for the noise and destruction, she found, was none other than the scaly dragon creature from her first class. Her first thoughts of him, being a terrifying beast, dangerous in all his physicalities, but also in his temperament, were only confirmed by the scene that played out before her. Without a second thought, Lori ran, high-tailing it to the direction of her dorm as the dean had laid out for her on her map. She didn’t dare look back this time for anything. That dragon must be one of those bad apples the professor had warned her about, and she had no reason to dawdle. It only took her a few minutes to reach the door with her initials posted just outside. There was another set of initials just below hers: T.G. Well, roommates certainly were not chosen by alphabetical order, L.H. not even close to T.G. Maybe it will be as Professor Saline said, that the dean hand-picked her roommate for her, to be a person, well, monster, that would be nice to her. Maybe even...a friend? With a small glint of hope in her heart, she hesitantly twisted the doorknob and slowly opened the door. Inside, the room was fairly large, housing two beds, two wardrobes, and two desks. Both sets looked identical to each other. There was no bedding nor clothing, nor anything that would signify anybody lived here except for her luggage sitting in one corner of the room, and another person’s luggage on the other side. Perhaps she wasn’t the only one who was late to arriving. So, Lori made to unpacking at least some of her stuff. She really didn’t have much faith in Saline’s words, so she left most everything still inside her bags, taking out only an extra set of clothing and her bedding. Basically something inconsequential that she could leave in case she needed to make a quick escape. It was while she was dressing her bed with a sheet that she’d hear somebody enter the room. Valet laid sprawled out in the bushes, dazed he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a silver Zippo lighter with a naked succubus photo etched on the front of it. He stuck one in his mouth and lit it exhaling a cloud of smoke. " Thag'park...gotcha." He gave a shaky thumbs up as he got up on wobbly knees and dusted himself off and picked a couple of sticks out of his hair and limped off towards the dorms. Thag'park followed valet amused at his response. "My apologies, but our names are very important, by the way I never got yours." Valet looked back at him and took another drag off the cigarette and ashes it. " Call me valet, and I'm going to assume that was a warning. I get the feeling if you wanted me hurt I'd be missing a few limbs." Valet said with a laugh taking it in good spirits and that joined him laughing showing a mouthful of daggerlike teeth, and he huffed a flame out as he did. " Geez it's good I'm fireproof to." Valet said as they entered the building that their dorms were in. After walking up a few flights of stairs they came to the door. Valet opened it for him and stepped in with that'park who saw the new girl first. He smiled that same toothy smile from before and gave her and the leprechaun a shy wave. Valet had a smirk on his face and took a deep drag on the cigarette despite the no smoking signs. When the door opened, Lori turned to greet whoever was her new roommate. Her heart really did hope it was somebody nice. “HEL-!” but when That’park walked in with his toothy grin, her heart instead dropped to her feet. “....lo.” She finished the greeting with a much softer voice and a gaze that was wide-eyed and fear stricken. It was the dragon from before. The one who broke the classroom door. The one who threw another student through a window. She wasn’t able to see who the other student was that he threw, so when that same student walked into the room with a cigarette, she didn’t pay him any mind. Well, that was a lie. She recognized him as well. That was the guy who stared too much at her during class, making her feel very uncomfortable. Now was no different in her feelings as he puffed a drag from his cigarette. The smell of the smoke curled her nose. Needless to say, her anxiety was not diffused by his presence alongside the giant creature of a man that stood next to him. Lori didn’t know what more to say. What could she say? She was frozen to the spot, half crouched down mid-tucking in her bedsheet to the bottom side of her mattress, unmoving...just staring at That and, for a brief moment, seeing her life flash before her eyes. She hadn’t accomplished much, nothing notable to be proud of, but she had hoped to have graduated from college before meeting her demise, and when she did, she hadn’t pictured by the way of ginormous fangs of a monstrous creature. Valet could see her scarred to death, and he knew this was his chance to shine. He smiled a wicked grin and took another long drag off his cigarette before pitching it out of an open window. And stepped between that'park and the woman with his long devilish tail twitching and his eyes glowing red. "Whoa easy there big guy, you're scarring this pour girl. " Valen walked to her side and put both of his hands on her shoulders backing her up a step. And that'park immediately had I frown on his face. "... I...uh.I didn't mean to..." the dragon kin slumped his shoulders defeated. " I never met no human before, but we were told they were scared of us." That'park turned to his side of the room and sat down on his bed with a childlike bounce happy they thought to reinforce his bed. He knew his parents would be bringing his stuff over later so he wasn't too far out of his comfort zone. Valen still had his attention on the girl. And while the dragon kin seemed distracted he said. "Where are my manners I'm valet, and I live across the hall and I like helping new students just like you. " His hands stayed on her shoulders as he said this. Lori’s eyes remained on That for a while longer, watching him act more like a puppy than a dragon, before switching her focus on the demonic-looking creature. He wasn’t tall and terrifying like That looked, but he was still a monster, and very much looked the part. Yet, despite that, he seemed far more friendly than she had anticipated. She didn’t have many judgements about him from her first view of him, except for maybe creepy, but he seemed genuinely interested in helping. At least, it seemed that way as far as she could tell. Lori wasn’t always the best judge of character.“Uhm...thank you.” She stuttered, her eyes darting between the man holding her shoulders and the dragon bouncing happily on his bed, her heart racing, beating wildly out of control. She was certain they could hear it much the same way she could hear it pounding in her own ears. Nevertheless, she would do her best to try to remain calm. Not much luck she was having there, though. “When you say ‘new students’, you mean you’re not new?” She was certain that first class was a freshman class, yet he was there, too. What year was he actually in? Perhaps he was retaking the class, or starting later than his peers?

HSE 101|rating:3.0

Alignment Switch (3.5e) IC

You all live in the country of Alaska, the country has recently seen a surge of good-aligned churches. Heroes of good have wiped out many the evil creatures in the country. Creatures of evil live in secret or underground where they haven't yet seen invasion by crusaders of justice. You are all creatures of evil, though you were once paragons of good. Your former friends are now your enemies, and you move across the world acting as you see fit. Ilias: You wake in your bed in your room at the Dancing Dragon. You have spent the night for free after you entranced the innkeeper with your music. You are in the great city of Antioch, as you wake you feel a tugging sensation in your head, as though you need to go somewhere. The feeling draws you to the west.Gawain: You awaken in the hidden temple of Bright, in the private chambers set aside for the most respected followers, located underneath a crypt. You feel a tugging in your head that makes you feel the need to head east.Argent: While sleeping you have a dark dream where a faceless entity calling your name, pulling you to the north. When you awaken in your bed in the Inn of Lost Days, located in the small hamlet of Berkshire, you feel the tug to go north still stirring in your mind. Jatik: You stir in your sleep, a faceless being pulling you south. When you awaken you get out of the bed of the couple you killed the night before. You stretch your body and prepare for your journey southward. As I wake up, I take my stuff and head out to the east. Whit be this tugging sensation in my had. I'd better go their an' find not whit it is. Lord Argent the Proud rises from his bed and rubs his temples. What manner of being dare command him? Only Dexter holds that right. Whatever the case may be, Argent intends to find the source of this dream with the faceless entity. Argent leaves the inn and fetches his loyal steed from the stables and rouses his lieutenant, Parsifal. He makes sure no one is looking, before he mounts on his trust steed and has the lieutenant do the same." Come Loyalty, we must head north." The three begin to head in the direction that this mysterious dream tells Argent to go. Batik stood and walked outside. The horse and goats that belonged to the pair who had lived here until last night lay dismembered and in pieces strewn across the ground. He glances down and to his right at the crumpled body of one of the men. Looking up at the horizon to the south Batik ponders things for a moment. Something was calling him. Something that stirred his heart and pulled at his mind. Deep inside he knew that perhaps he should not go. But perhaps there lies some redemption, or even at the worst some sort of purpose for this living nightmare he now found himself in. Rage welled up within him. That is the madness of sleep talking. He is justified, righteous. They abandoned and betrayed him. His life now is as it always should have been. The Gods are liars! Full of purpose and rage Batik turns toward the south and begins to walk down the mountain. IliasWith a languid stretch and yawn, the young man awakens with a mighty hangover, the product of a long night carousing and singing. A splash of icy water to the face to dispel the fog, and a swallow to remove the feeling of cotton in his mouth, and then a quick nip down to the bar to give the keep a solid platinum for payment (after all, the first of his laws was to leave no debt unpaid, nor uncollected). After all this, the bard grabbed a loaf of bread off the hearth and a kiss from the kitchen wench, with a hearty piece of meat besides. And then, following the pull in his head, out to the west, and not even having a second thought beyond that, a marching chant on his lips in languages not yet created. Ilia's: You travel west for several hours without event, until you come to an inn as dusk begins to set in. Dawain: Along the road heading east you happen upon a wounded goblin, he looks stable, though he is unconscious. Argen: As you ride along the road heading north you see smoke rising in the distance, just beyond the next hill. Jatik: As you rumble down the mountain you happen upon three large shaggy furred beasts, who attack you on sight. Without hesitation or fear Batik charged, bellowing a war cry that rang from the mountains as his mighty armored feet made the rocky ground tremble with each step. The massive blue sword raised high in his right hand catching the light and spraying the ground with shards of blue and white light, the huge mitral head held ready in his left arm. With thoughts only of the joy of the kill that was about to be had Batik charged into combat.IOC: Declare dodge vs 1st hairy beast. (1D20+7)[14] Initiative. The beasts hesitate momentarily in shock as the hurl yourself toward them. Spoiler Hide You get first initiative. Crashing into Combat right in the middle of the three beats Batik lays into the creatures in around him with gusto. As his sword swings through the air he activates its powers. Energy blazes along the great blade making the air hum as it swings.IOC: Brutal Surge Ability on Weapon Activated. (1D20+20)[22] First attack (1D20+20)[33] First attack Confirm potential Critical (1D20+13)[15] Bulrush if attack hits (no AOO) (2D8+16)[24] Damage (1D20+15)[17] First attack (1D20+15)[22] First attack Confirm potential Critical (1D20+13)[22] Bulrush if attack hits (no AOO) (2D8+16)[19] Damage (1D20+10)[17] First attack (1D20+10)[13] First attack Confirm potential Critical (1D20+13)[31] Bulrush if attack hits (no AOO) (2D8+16)[22] Damage Though your weapons wicked slashes manage to wound and knock back all three of the beasts attacking you they savagely charge at you again, the first clashing at you, though his attack is deflected by your armor. The other two manage to cause you some damage though, their roars of triumph at seeing your blood apparent. Spoiler Hide You take 13 damage. IOC: Did you take into account the Dr 4/- on each attack? Ignoring the minor scratches caused by the creatures he once more lays into them with his sword. Arcs of blue energy fill the air as the mighty blade swings again and again. From within his heavy armor Batik begins to cackle madly, the lust for blood and death growing upon him.IOC: (1D20+20)[39] First attack (1D20+20)[35] First attack Confirm potential Critical Lt;-CRT! x2 Damage. (1D20+13)[24] Bulrush if attack hits (no AOO) (2D8+16)[20] Damage (1D20+15)[25] First attack (1D20+15)[25] First attack Confirm potential Critical (1D20+13)[24] Bulrush if attack hits (no AOO) (2D8+16)[24] Damage (1D20+10)[19] First attack (1D20+10)[30] First attack Confirm potential Critical (1D20+13)[24] Bulrush if attack hits (no AOO) (2D8+16)[24] Damage IOC: Can I make a heal check to determine how low on health he is? If so, Heal:(1d20+28)[36]Does he have any items of value? Gawain; You find that the Goblin is near death, though he is recovering, while rifling through his pockets you find a flask of acid and a box of tinder twigs. Spoiler Hide He is at -3 HP. You open up a great gash on the first beasts' chest, while it still lives it is clearly having a harder time of fighting. It makes an attempt to slash at you but fails. One of the other creatures slashes at you, but you deflect its attempt with a simple movement of your shield. The last creatures manage to graze you, but your own skin is tough enough that its claws don't leave a mark on you. Spoiler Hide I did take your DR into account, yes. IOC: How long is it to dusk? I will take the goblin with me, carrying him until I must camp for the night or till I find an Inn where I might be able to get a room. As you carry the goblin on night falls. You find a small shrine dedicated to Harlingen, not much more than a roof and a statue, it still provides some shelter. Argent continues riding ahead along the road, towards the smoke if needed. A man of his stature should not let the nuisances of the world deter him from his course. Gawain took the goblin into the shrine and placed him there, he then went out to find some wood to make a fire. As the fire was set ablaze, Gawain went through is mind looking for the name Harlingen, trying to gather information about it.IOC: Knowledge Religion:(1d20+13)[27]He looked around, if the shrine seemed secure enough, he would take forth his bedroll and go to sleep. Argent: As you ride on you come upon a pair of burning wagons. One is charred beyond saving, though the other appears to have only caught fire recently. Batik launches into the attack once more determined to destroy his foes. To him now the beasts were no more than the enemies of his past. The faces of the dead merging with the images of the gods who had wronged him and the visages of the beasts before him. His mighty sword lashed out again in a bloody arc.IOC: (1D20+20)[34] First attack (1D20+20)[35] First attack Confirm potential Critical (1D20+13)[31] Bulrush if attack hits (no AOO) (2D8+16)[24] Damage (1D20+15)[20] Second attack (1D20+15)[25] Second attack Confirm potential Critical (1D20+13)[28] Bulrush if attack hits (no AOO) (2D8+16)[27] Damage (1D20+10)[29] Third attack (1D20+10)[11] Third attack Confirm potential Critical (1D20+13)[28] Bulrush if attack hits (no AOO) (2D8+16)[26] Damage Aliases he sees the inn, the bard considers the joy that could possibly await within, but decides in the course of the night he ought to continue travel, as the night holds no horrors for one such as he. He keeps traveling, eager to see what possibly would pull his mind so. Batik: As you slash away madly, one of the beasts drops to the ground panting as its lifeblood seeps into the earth, the others enraged by the loss of their companion attack with renewed vigor, both scoring you with their claws. Spoiler Hide You take 7 damage. Ilia's: You continue on for around a half hour, as you walk on you come upon a cheery well-lit inn. Dawain: You wake to the sound of the goblins rasping coughing as it gains consciousness, it begins thrashing about screaming. Oi, shut it! ah,'ve just want to speak WI' ye. Dawain says. If this doesn't work he will grapple the goblin and tie him up with his rope. Forgot to post grapple rolls... d:Touch attack:(1d20+18)[35]Grapple:(1d20+24)[25]If needed to use rope:(1d20+2)[22] No paladin sit says taking a second to look around the room, You have saved me yes you have, my village burned it has been, my people killed by crusaders of Erroneous they have been. The goblin looks at the ground trying to choke back tears, Called us savages they did, and killed all they saw, no mercy for the women or children even did they have. He looks up alarmed. How far has we gone from where you found me, they were hot on my trail when I collapsed, they were. IOC: How far have I've been walking? D: Gawain will provide him with the answer you give. Heironeous?.. Beach, show me this city o' years an' ah shall see whit ah kin DAE. He utters with a sweet voice. Don't understand do you, the paladins, they leave nothing behinds them, they razed my village to the ground they did, but you must tell me how far are we from where you found me. Spoiler Hide You have traveled about 3 miles from where you found him. 3 miles, why is this so important? Kiiiithe goblin shrieks, not far enough are we, leave at once we must, coming for me, they are lifts himself off the floor wincing in pain, we must make all haste, leave this place we must. Ahm headed east, follow me if ye hub Godwin continues his travel eastwards. Saved he you did, owes you my life I do., he follows you doing his best to keep pace despite his wounds. IOC: If he follows along just fine enough, I will do nothing but keep walking until I find something interesting. As you walk on you hear the sound of hoofbeats in the distance. A single rider, a man wearing heavy plate armor rides up to you, Aha, I've found him he says looking at the goblin who cowers behind you, don't let him kills me, the goblin shrieks. IOC: Is he human or elf or half-elf? An' who might ye just be? Dawain says to the rider. I am a servant of my lord Erroneous, they is all you need to know he replies frostily, he dismounts and draws his sword fixing you with an icy glare, If you come between me and my quarry, you will die with him. Spoiler Hide Human Slay living... Touch attack:(1d20+18)[28]Fortitude save DC 24, if he makes his save he takes damage, if he doesn't make it he dies instantly. Spell resistance effects. Damage:(3d6+16)[21] The paladin courses with dark energy, he gasps in pain, then falls forward crashing to the ground at your feet. Spoiler Hide I actually rolled a natural 1 Casting detect magic, to see if he or the horse have any magic items. If no Gawain continues his walk to the east. His pack has a faint glow coming from within it. The horses shoe also appear to be enchanted. Spell craft to determine the school of magic that is present here:(1d20+21)[41]Spoiler Hide Epic :D The horses shoes give off a faint aura of transmutation. The pack appears to contain an item that gives off Strong school-less aura. Gawain takes the pack and looks inside it. You find a handful of small gems and a small featureless rod inside the bag. Gawain loads it all into his backpack. (does it weight anything?) And then he moves on eastwards. Spoiler Hide The jewels weigh 1 pound together, the rod weighs 5 pounds, I don't think the horse will let you take his shoes willingly though. Spoiler Hide I actually forgot about those... Wonder if a horse have high fort. Hmm. Slay living on the horse. Touch:(1d20+18)[38]Fort DC: 24, if it doesn't make the save it dies, otherwise takes damage. Damage:(3d6+16)[26] Spell CRT?? If it can CRT extra damage on failed save? Damage:(3d6+16)[25] The horse has dark energy course through its body, it falls over dead. While you were killing the horse, the goblin has taken the humans armor and weapon and equipped them. Where are we headed might I ask? East. Ah, believe they dark goads his something special in store fur me. He says, while taking of the horse shoes. (If they cannot be taken off he simply cuts off the hooves and asks the goblin to carry them) If you would like for mes to carry these hooves, may I have the bag that you took from the paladin to carry them in?the goblin asks? No. Ye shall carry hooves with yer Hans, if ye do no' want to do this ye shall lea' me at dance! Hamm, I suppose that you have already killed the man hunting me. I guess I'll leave then. He scampers away into the nearby woods. IOC: I'd like to interfere with him scampering away... Why did I waste my slay living on those two weaklings. Did he take my hooves? Rolling initiative if needed:(1d20+2)[12]Destruction, Range 25ft + 40ft. Fortitude DC: 26, This spell instantly slays the subject and consumes its remains (but not its equipment and possessions) utterly. If he makes the save. Damage:(10d6)[33]No one takes advantage of Gawain! He shouts loud. The goblin is consumed by darkness, his remains turned to dust to float away with the wind. Spoiler Hide he didn't take your hooves Gawain gathers the hooves and puts them into the sack, and then he finally continues east. As you continue on you find a burnt village. There are vermin picking over the corpses of goblins. The stench of burnt flesh is great in the air. IOC: oh I forgot to take forth my Ion stones. By the smell of burnt flesh Gawain takes forth his Ion stones and activates them. Walking straight through the village, keeping his guard up in case something ought to attack, he also draws his scythe. As you advance you come upon a goblin baby, perhaps the only other besides the goblin you found earlier to survive the slaughter of this village. More of those stupid creatures?.. One of them already tried to fool me. But maybe this one is young enough to learn some manners, or maybe I could just slay it to end its sufferings. .(Thinks in dwarves language)He walks by the baby goblin, and continues, as it would be too great a gift to slay it. As you walk on you come to a building which isn't completely burned down, there are several bugbears looting the building. CastingFrostburn, Mason them. Range: 25ft + 40ftDamage:(3d12+16)[25]Fortitude DC: 25, Halves if they make it. Target: 8 creatures, no two which can be more than 30ft apart. If they all die, Gawain continues his journey to the east.IOC: The damage is not shared, they all take 25 points of cold damage. After several hours of uneventful travel dusk begins to fall. Slavering now at the stench of death that fills the air, his heart pumping with battle lust as the beasts claw into him, Batik continues his assault.IOC: (1D20+20)[26] First attack (1D20+20)[27] First attack Confirm potential Critical (2D8+16)[21] Damage (1D20+15)[35] Second attack (1D20+15)[16] Second attack Confirm potential Critical (2D8+16)[27] Damage (1D20+10)[12] Third attack (1D20+10)[18] Third attack Confirm potential Critical (2D8+16)[25] Damage Gawain moves on, looking for somewhere safe to sleep for the night. IliasWith a bit of pondering, the fey continues on his way, following the mental tug, eager to find what is desired of him by this entity that he has for so long shared his tainted soul. Ilia's: You continue on for another half hour before you come to another brightly lit tavern, identical to the others you have passed before. Jatik: In one fell below you topple the two remaining creatures who crash to the ground in silence. Dawain: After traveling for another hour you come upon a small inn. Whether the owners are dead or have simply abandoned this caravan, it is now Argent's right to claim salvage. However, those flames could be dangerous. Argent calls upon his powers to summon a blob-like Lemur to his side." Enter the wagon and bring anything you find inside to me." Spoiler Hide Using Summon Monster II to summon a Lemur. Lemures are immune to fire. Gawain enters the inn. Oi, Barkeep, Do ye hub a room fur me? Argent: The Lemur enters the wagon, taking several trips he retrieves 4 barrels, a sack and a dead body of what appears to have been an elf. Dawain: The barkeep replies gruffly, Aye, an open room I do be having, the question is do ye be having the coin. Ignoring the body for now, Argent looks inside the barrels and sack. Argent: Inside the barrels you find that two contain what appears to be wax tallow. The other two contain a strange smelling black substance. In the sack you find a handful of silver and a ring. Unsure of what to make of the contents of the barrels Argent leaves them alone. Instead, he takes the silver and the ring and begins searching the elf's body. You find the elf is dressed in simple clothes, the only thing of value you find on his body is a silver symbol of the god Neural. Argent will leave the symbol and the body alone as he considers Neural to be a respectable enough deity. He will dismiss the lemur and mount back up on Loyalty, continuing his journey north. Argent: As night falls you come upon a dank departed shack sitting at the side of the road. As the beasts fall before him Batik trumpets in triumph bashing his sword and shield together. After several moments he begins to calm down, the lust of battle fading to a background noise inside his head. Carefully he looks at the fell beasts to try and determine what they are and looks about to see what they were up to. Generally though he is disinterested, the kill being far more important than anything else. After taking some time to get a better look at them Batik realizes that what he has just killed was a pack of Dire Bears, they appear to have simply been walking around their territory when Batik encountered them. How much coin do ye want to fur a night? It'll be 5 silver for the night the innkeeper replies. Gawain hands him 5 silver coins. Where is the room then? The innkeeper points over his shoulder to a set of stairs hidden away in the corner, Up the stairs and third door on the right Gawain heads to his room, locks the door and goes to sleep. Batik shrugs and turns to continue his walk down the mountain. His journey to find the source of this "pull" on him continues. IlliasThe fey sighs, and realizes that he obviously is either going in circles, or that this is obviously a strange stretch of road. He goes into the inn and seeks out the barkeep, looking for anyone who can tell him how much a room would be, with a nice full meal involved. Or, if nothing else, collapse it around the fool's head if he offers any insult. Batik: Night falls, with no civilization yet in sight you must find a place to sleep for the night. Ilias: The common room of the inn is silent, there is no one in the room besides you. Batik can see in the dark, is not affected by the cold and does not yet need to sleep. He continues walking toward the direction he is being pulled in. You finish making your way down the mountain without incident, you come to a small hut at the base of the mountain. The area surrounding the hut for several hundred yards is barren and lacking life. Needing a place to rest Argent will ride his horse up to the front of the shack and dismount. He will then knock on the door to confirm that it is indeed deserted. Argent and the skeleton Parsifal will then enter the shack and Argent will look around. Huzzah, you hear a shuffling sound inside the hut, a shabbily dressed man comes to the door, An wot is it they I can do for ye. Argent stand proudly before the shabby looking man." I wish to spend the night in your residence. I am not an unreasonable person and will pay for your time. Furthermore, I believe, for a place such as this, five copper is more than fair." Spoiler Hide Diplomacy Check: (1d20+22)[32] You want ta stay in MY house, the man stares at you startled, Figured a great Lords like yourself would be staying in a nicer places. A silver piece and we haves a deal. The next morning Gawain gets up, unlocks the door and heads down to the bar. Oi barkeep, git me wan beer Certainly sir, that'll be 2 coppers the innkeeper grabs a mug from under the bar and fills it from the tap. Gawain pays the 2 copper pieces, drinks the beer and continues on to the east. IliasRealising that the inn is empty, Ilia's thinks to himself"Well, waste not want not,"and goes about searching through the place, first looting any wines and liquors (in descending order of quality, of course) they have, and then personal supplies such as a backpack to store them all in. "Is there anywhere else nearby? This seems to be it. A whole silver piece for this place is outrageous. I will not pay a piece more than 8 copper." Ilia's: You find several cases full of cheap wine behind the bar. There is bread and cheese in a pantry behind the bar. Other than candles lighting the place, you find nothing else of value. Argen: The man gives you a toothy grin,8 coppers it is m'lord stay as long as the needs. Argent will hand 8 copper over to the hermit and then enter the shack with Parsifal following him. Argent does not care if Parsifal's appearance disturbs the hermit, they have a deal and the man would be a fool to go back on it. Oi, you paid for one of you, if you want your friend there to stay the night he beta pay as well. Aliases he goes angry, his eyes move from the usual light blue, slowly going to the gray of the stormy sky, then to the white of driven snowstorm. His mouth moves and something very much like words come out, and something close to wind escapes it as he calls to the energy in his soul. Then, a bolt of lightning bursts forth from his outstretched hand and blasts through a support beam as he exits the inn, ignoring the cheap wine, but taking the bread and cheeses with him as he continues on his journey towards the tug. Spoiler Hide Using his storm calling ability to create lightning, 1 bardic music down 17 remaining. 102 damage dealt to the pillar, halved for object means 51. Should be enough to blast through it and bring the offending structure down. Ilia's: When you attempt to open the door to leave, you discover that it is locked. Argent urns glaring at the Hermit. "Parsifal does not eat, drink, or sleep. The skeleton is merely walking luggage. I will not be paying for a room for my luggage." If'n he does not eats, drink, or seeps, he has no reason to need to be in my house. "He is to watch over me in my sleep. Do you think I am foolish enough to blindly trust a hermit in the middle of nowhere?" O i she a great but paranoid Lords, whatever helps you sleep I suppose "Right, now show me where I will be sleeping." He leads you inside and points to a damaged cot in the corner, that BES where you will sleep, he returns to his bed, don't make too much noise if you can I sleep lightly. Ilia's"Well... Now isn't this an odd turn of events. Now, I'm going to give you a quick minute to open the door for me, whoever it is that closed this up. If you do this for me, I will leave you a song of such beauty as to make you weep. If not, I will set like iron into your blood, like acid in your lungs." With this speech, he looks around quickly, seeing if there is any way for him to escape while ignoring the door, but preparing to blast the door if need be. (1d20+48)[49] Intimidate Ilia's: You hear nothing, though the lights around you go out, and a light appears illuminating a hallway that you didn't notice before. Argent will walk over to his cot and have Parsifal help him out of his armor. He will then go to sleep on the cot, leaving Parsifal to guard him and his equipment. Spoiler Hide Unlike normal skeletons Parsifal has an 8 intelligence, same as my fiendish servant. Lathe bard looks towards the light, curious, and moving towards it, keeping an eye out to his back as well in case something decides this a good time to sneak up on him. This had better not be like the House of Leaves of the Summer Court. I hated that damned place. Ilia's: At the end of the candle-lit hall you see a door. Argen: In your sleep you hear the disembodied voice once again, Make haste, the day of the Sundering is at hand. If Argent can respond he will say "Who are you, and what gives you the right to order me?" Argent: A great spike of pain rolls through your head, Do not question, simply obey. You waken shaking violently, through a crack in the wall you see sunlight. The man whom you spoke with last night is gone. Argent wakes once more, rubbing his head. Parsifal helps Argent don his armor and Argent will leave the shake without a word to the hermit. Desiring answers more now than ever Argent will mount Loyalty and continue heading north. Aliasing all my travels, never anything like this. Taking a candle from its post in the wall, hoping to convince whatever resides within that he needs light to see, Ilia's goes into the doorway, looking for what may cause this strangeness. Argent: As you continue on along the road you come to a point where the tugging changes and pulls you towards the west, towards a forest off the roadside. Ilias: In the room you find a majestic bed, covered in silk sheets and blankets. Argent grumbles to himself before heading west. Argent: As you approach the forest it seems as though t is so thick as to be unable to be entered, as you approach however, it seems almost as if the branches are separating to make a path for you. Argent draws his sword as he rides forward into the forest. Argent: You ride on for hours until you come to a small cabin in a clearing. Thinking that this must be the place, Argent will ride to the cabin and dismount with Parsifal. He and Parsifal will walk up to the cabin and Argent will knock on the door. Argent: You hear no noise from inside the cabin. No one comes to answer the door. Sword still drawn, Argent opens the door. Argent: You find that the inside of the cabin is lavishly furnished. There are four beds, a kitchen and fireplace, and two doors. Argent will open the closest door. Inside you find a broom mop and several other cleaning devices. Argent will open the other door. Gawain: As you head east you see a forest, the tugging in your head lead you there. Argen: Inside the door is a ladder leading down into a hole. It is dark at the bottom, and you can't see where it ends. Gawain enters the forest, keeping his scythe in hand and his guard up. Gawain: You come upon a cabin in the middle of the woods. There is a red horse tied outside of it. I knock on the door 3 times. (If there is one, that is) Argent: You hear a knocking on the door behind you. (Gawain should also have seen a red colored horse outside the cabin.) With his sword still hand Argent and Parsifal will move answer the cabin door. Gawain tries to open the door. With a frown, Ilia's looks at the bed, obviously suspicious. Despite his trepidation, he looks over it, under, and all over. Gawain: As you open the door you see a man and a skeleton on the other side. Argen: As you stand at the door it is opened by a dwarf. Ilias: Nothing seems abnormal about the bed in any way. Who your ye and whit do ye know of this place? Dawain asks the stranger, keeping an eye on both him and the skeleton. He readies an action to slash out and trip one of them, if they try to do something. IliasWith no idea what is going on, Ilia's settles himself into the bed, and gets ready for sleep. Argent eyes the dwarf suspiciously before replying. "I was about to ask you the same thing." Ilia's: After a night of dark dreams full of mad whispers, you awaken in a different room than the one you fell asleep in, you see a man and undead squaring off against a dwarf. Fricasseeing the conflict, the bard stirs faster than he is usually wont to do, and says a single word that sounds like the wind whistling through trees, and for a brief moment it is easy to see a silvery breastplate form around him, before it fades, replaced with a fine-looking leather harness over a silver-toned silken shirt under a cloak that looks like a field of stars. The thing that appears and stays, however, is an intricately fashioned whip, weighted at regular intervals and seemingly formed from razor edged wires of assorted metals." Far be it from I to want conflict, but I who in the Five Realms are you, and how did you transport me into this room with you?" Argent urns to the newcomer with anger and confusion shown on his face, though they are not directed at the bard. "I-I did not summon you here." Argen then turns back to the dwarf." And I suspect you did not either. Did you? Tell me dwarf, why did you come here?" Ye might think me mad, but something been pulling me brain towards this place. Dawain says to Argent. He then looked over at the newcomer. Wouldn't ye be they singer, who performed in the wretched city Memorial? Yer voice is not something that can easily be forgottenDawain utters to Ilias"Were that I were a lesser vocalist, I would be amazed that you remembered that single performance I gave in that town where even the women-folk had beards. As is, it is wonderful to know one such as you has remembered me. I am indeed Ilia's, called Bard and called Storm caller." He does some movement with his arm that makes his cloak flourish out to the side and offers a slight bow with a smile that doesn't quite reach those glacial eyes. Ignoring the pointless chat between the dwarf and the women, Argent tightens the grip on his sword in frustration"I too was called here by some unseen force. And a voice had visited me in my dreams, giving me the same command. When I questioned it, it had somehow managed to cause me pain. I believe something is using the three of us to its own ends. I don't like it. Dexter is the only one I intend to serve." Argen then points to door where he had earlier saw the ladder. "I found the entrance to the basement. I intend to investigate. If you two are done talking you can choose to come with." With that Argent will head towards the ladder and climb down. The skeleton Parsifal will then follow. Gawain makes a small bow towards Ilia's and then nods to Argent and follows him and his skeleton. Please shrugs in confusion and follows them down the ladder, curious as to what they'll find. As you climb down the ladder the air becomes damp and cold. You find a dank stone tunnel leading off into darkness. Argent marches on into the darkness with his lieutenant close behind him. Gawain follows, still has his scythe ready in hand. As you walk on you all feel the force in your heads grow stronger, an audible hum of energy begins to permeate the air. You come to a white door. Argent will open the white door. As you open the door the feelings in your head increases tenfold. The room past the door is made of a white stone, however you don't notice it as you look to the center of the room, where a single large dark crystal seems to leech the very light from the room. If anything the only way to describe it is a consuming maw, more void than black. You feel drawn to it. Ilia's"Well now... This is an interesting turn of events. One must wonder what this is, precisely? Despite being drawn to it, I would say we ought to be a bit cautious. Maybe determine what this void is before grasping it." I think ye be rightDawain says while making a slight nod to Ilia's IliasWith a quick chant, Ilia's casts a simple spell to aid in the detection of arcane energies, and lets his senses flood into the room with the mystical augmentation, his ears straining to hear the ambient magics. Spoiler Hide What are you casting? Spoiler Hide Sorry, I should have specified. Detect Magic. You sense no arcane energies flowing throughout the room. Gawain moves up close to the crystal looking deeply into it, without touching it. You feel enthralled by the crystal an almost overpowering urge to touch it racing through your mind. Gawain touches the crystal gently with his fingertips, urging to see what's going to happen. Your mind is ripped from your body, your pure consciousness dragged from your husk of a body. It is pulled through the crystal to another location. When you become aware again you are aware of a stifling presence smothering you. It imprints on your mind, YOU MUST destroy THE Crystals There Is No Other Option, The Prison that I am trapped in Cannot be escaped OthErWisE With that your soul is shunted back into your body. Reaniating you gasp for breath, feeling as though you came up from under a deep lake after almost drowning. Spoiler Hide Do I have an urge to destroy this crystal? Spoiler Hide Layup you certainly do Gawain draws his scythe and slashes through the crystal. As the crystal shatters a backlash of energy knocks you and your companions off of your feet. Spoiler Hide Wait for others to post now spoiler Hide skies (: Gawain gets to his feet and says "her be than ext one?" Argent climbs to his feet, obviously annoyed. "I don't know what just happened. But if I had a guess I would say you plan on letting this unseen force use you?" Argen lets a long-drawn-out sigh. "Fine. It would seem we all have little choice in the matter." IliasIlias brushes himself off and gets back up to his feet and takes a moment to note if he can feel a pull at all before shaking his head and continuing to prepare himself." How I see it is that we know we are not insane, thanks to each other having similar urges, or if we are insane it is a very catching variety. Either way, is there any particular reason we ought not obliterate these crystals? I'm sure for none of us will it be the greatest sin we have committed." "Apart from allowing the thing that uses us to think it is our superior, no there is no reason not to do this. However, if we truly had a choice, would there be a reason to do so? It is not as if we were promised a reward." A pair of creatures materialize in front of you. A great black humanoid batlike creature, and a great winged, green-skinned elf creature bearing a horn. In union, they shout out, Are you the ones responsible for this atrocity! "Why does ye ask?" Gawain asks the strangers. He readies himself to slash the first one to come within his reach, if they are a threat. You will surrender yourselves to us or die. ****** cannot be freed! Yet another reason why we shouldn't do this if given a choice. Argen thinks to himself before drawing his sword." Unless you are under Lord Hector's command, I shall not yield to the likes of you." The evil looking creature stares at you coldly You are cast from Hector's eyes. You feel a wrenching in your chest as your divine abilities are stripped from you. Spoiler Hide You lose your spell casting ability. IOC: (I can't find anything about fallen Blackguards, but it was my understanding that they don't actually need backup from a deity. Ah, well.) Argen face reveals a clear and present shock but then takes a deep breath and calms down. "I see. So whatever the thing that uses us is, it is an enemy to Lord Hector. In that case, it was the dwarf that broke the crystal. The other one and myself merely watched. If it is Hector's wish, I will remove the dwarf's head myself. I will do whatever it takes to be in his graces once again." You are touched by ****** you cannot be salvaged. The creatures advance on you. Spoiler Hide Roll initiative Argent's sword arm shakes with both fear and rage as this news dawns upon him." No. No, this cannot be. I have served Lord Hector loyally. I have slain many of his hated brother's servants in his name. And now even Lord Hector has betrayed me? No! This will not stand! You will pay! Hector will pay!" Spoiler Hide Unit: (1d20-1)[3] IliasWith languid motion the pale man allows his lash to uncoil and grins ferally. His face goes blank and emotionless for a moment before he speaks, voice resonant." So, what are you then to pass judgement on us?"(1d20+8)[25]Initiative Gawain awaits the answer to what Ilia's said, though he is still ready to trip the first one to come close enough. Spoiler Hide Initiative: (1d20+2)[19] We represent the gods will!the creatures shout together. Spoiler Hide (1d20+7)[12] (1d20+7)[10] You go first Ilia's. IOC: Are we within 15 feet of them? If so, that affects my actions. Are we within 5 feet? Because that would affect them even more. IliasThe bard bursts into motion, face still curiously devoid of emotion." I see. Then you fall under the weight of the displeasure and shall Doom upon you. I am Ilia's, called Storm caller, and I Name you as soon to be gone from this realm." Actions currently held until answers are gained. Spoiler Hide About 15 feet away. "There is nothing you can do that will matter to me. You don't even know the first note of the music that moves me. Your pain shall be my music, and I intend to write symphonies." Spoiler Hide Fearsome allows Demoralizing as a move action, Imperious Command makes them cower if they are Demoralized, and Exemplar allows me to take 10 on it. Never Outnumbered makes it so it goes against everyone within 30 feet of me. So, they both need to make a level check against DC 58 or cower for a round. My standard action is then to activate Doom speak against one of them (I do not particularly care which one, unless only one of them is Demoralized. If so, then hit the one that is not cowering) Gawain stays put, still having an action ready to trip the first enemy to come close enough. Standing, mouths agape and clearly horrified, the two creatures stand simply still. (When it's my turn.) Dawain walks over and trips either one of them. RollsSpoiler Hide Touch attack: (1d20+21)[35] Strength: (1d20+10)[15] If he is tripped. Attack with scythe: (1d20+21)[35] Slashing Damage: (2d4+8)[14] Frost Damage: (1d6)[3] Filled with rage Argent and Parsifal charge the one that had told Argent hat he had lost Hector's favor. Spoiler Hide Argent's Attacks: 1:(1d20+21)[39] 2: (1d20+16)[20] 3: (1d20+11)[29] 4: (1d20+6)[16] Argent's damage: 1: (1d8+8)[12]+ flaming (1d6)[1] + shock (1d6)[1] 2: (1d8+8)[14]+ flaming (1d6)[4] + shock (1d6)[4] 3: (1d8+8)[16]+ flaming (1d6)[4] + shock (1d6)[5] 4: (1d8+8)[9] + flaming (1d6)[3] + shock (1d6)[5] Parsifal's attacks: Claw 1 Attack: (1d20+6)[17] Claw 2 attack: (1d20+6)[14] Parsifal's damage: Claw 1 damage: (1d4+3)[6] Claw 2 damage: (1d4+3)[4] Ilia's words float out with such power that the mighty beings cower in fear. Gawain knocks over the angelic being, slashing away at its torso, causing drops of blood to come spraying out. Argent and his minion Percival throw out a storm of mighty blows, most of them catching the demon across the chest, with a single blow missing due to Argent's great rage causing his hand to falter. Spoiler Hide Ilia's Imperious Command and Doom speak abilities succeed. I went with you hitting the angel creature with doom speak. Gawain succeeds in his trip attempt and his attacks. All but the third attack of Argent hit. IliasWith a quick motion the bard closes the 10 feet to the angelic being, and lashes at it with the curious metal device, willing its disruptive properties forth. Spoiler Hide Gaining the benefit of the Boots of the Graceful dancer, then attacking with Razor lash. (Stunning applies if I miss so long as I hit a touch AC) (1d20+19)[25] +2 if they can use any SLA. Thanks to my Winter Aura, they get a -10 on their saves if they are not fey and within 5 feet, stacking with Doom speak to give a -20 on their saving throws, one Reflex at DC 28 or be stunned for (1d4+1)[2] rounds, and the other a DC 16 fortitude save or their armor rusts, becoming one point less effective. And, because I'm an idiot and forgot it, damage if I hit. Sorry about that(1d3+10)[11] (If the angelic being is still alive)Gawain hold his right hand up towards it while focusing on his scythe. Spoiler Hide Casts Destruction if he fails a DC 26 Fortitude save he dies and all his remains are consumed, his armor and equipment does not get consumed, if he clears the save he instead takes (10d6)[26] points of damage. Does Ilia's' winters aura give the creature -10 to save vs my spell too? Whoops, forgot to roll attack d:(1d20+14)[33]- I don't know if it's a ranged touch attack or not. The angelic being doubles over in pain, it looks up at you as black fire pours from its eyes nose and mouth, the creature disappears in second, immolated from the inside out. The demonic creature screams out in anger and strikes out in a vicious flurry against Percival. Spoiler Hide Angelic creature is dead, demonic creature makes a full attack against Percival doing 64 damage Parsifal crumbles to the floor destroyed, which serves to enrage Argent further as he swings his sword. "You dare destroy my minion!" Spoiler Hide Attack 1: (1d20+27)[40] Attack 2: (1d20+22)[29] Attack 3: (1d20+17)[22] Attack 4: (1d20+12)[14] Damage 1: (1d8+8)[12] (1d6)[6] (1d6)[3] Damage 2: (1d8+8)[12] (1d6)[3] (1d6)[2] Damage 3: (1d8+8)[10] (1d6)[3] (1d6)[3] Damage 4: (1d8+8)[16] (1d6)[3] (1d6)[1] All but the last of Argent's blows strike the demonic creature. Gawain tries to trip over the demonic creature with his scythe. RollsSpoiler Hide Touch attack: (1d20+21)[41] Strength check: (1d20+10)[17] If he is tripped. Attack: (1d20+21)[39] Slashing Damage: (2d4+8)[14] Frost Damage: (1d6)[2] It falls to the ground, screaming more in anger than pain as your scythe bites into its flesh.

Alignment Switch (3.5e) IC|rating:3.0

What Are Best Friends For_

Betty Cooper rolled her eyes and stifled a giggle as Jug head Jones let out a dragon sized burp after swigging his cola. Milton Dooley just smirked, shaking his. "So... Ronnie. I kinda was hoping you could stay over for a while longer... If not overnight?" The newly 14-year-old blonde addressed her brunette best friend. Sabrina Spellman and redheaded Josie McCoy (original) both raised an eyebrow. "I thought that was next month, Cooper." Josie said, pouting. "I need to talk to my best friend... About a certain redhead who had to cancel at the last minute. I mean, who cancels coming to a friend's birthday party?" "If he's not doing that, he's arranging a date with both of you on the same day and time," Dooley admitted. "But Moose and Midge cancelled last minute, too." Sabrina waved a wand, producing Jug head with a cheeseburger, and Betty with a refill of her soda. "Viable excuse, though. A member of his family passed, and Midge wanted to be there for him. Who knows why Arch cancelled." "Couldn't you focus your focus and find out?" Mr. Cooper asked. Betty laughed, "She's a witch, not a miracle worker, daddy!" Sabrina smiled. "Thanks, Beats. Remind me again how I got found out?" "Well, it was either that, or have the deaths of the choir on your conscious." "I'm in the choir, Milton. I wouldn't have lived, either.... Oh." She looked at Betty. "Well, birthday girl, instead of being all gloomy, why don't you think about those here..." She looked at Jug head who just noticed said cheeseburger and was snarfing loudly as he devoured it after thanking her. "You're welcome, Buggy, but that's the last one. Jeez, where do you put them?" She turned back to Betty, accidentally planting the idea in at least one teen girl brain, "who made it. And there are other kinds of love than the sporadic kind Archie gives... Just saying." Veronica Lodge had a slight smile on her face as she watched her friends banter back and forth. Unlike Jug head, Veronica took elegant, demure sips of her soda while watching the flow of conversation. The party had been fun, if not as extravagant as a party she would have, and had, thrown. Veronica did hope that Betty honestly liked the new Coach clutch bag that was her present to the blonde. "Sure, Betty," the raven haired teen said to her friend's question. "I'll just phone Smothers and have him tell mom and daddy that I'm spending the night." Finishing her soda, Veronica put the empty can in the recycling bin. Passing by Betty, she put a comforting hand on the blonde's shoulder and smiled. "And don't stress about Archaizing bailing; he skipped out on my birthday a couple of months ago, remember?" Her smile turned a bit sardonic, in an 'It's just Archie. What can you do?' look. Sabrina's mentioning of 'other kinds of love' drew a puzzled look from Veronica towards the girl. Sabrina was a witch, but could she read minds, Veronica wondered? Ever since her own birthday party, when Archie had missed out, she had been having rather different feelings towards Betty. Betty had been there to console her over yet another Archie flake session, just as she had done for the blonde many times as well throughout Junior High. Veronica had begun thinking of Betty in more than just friendly terms. Did Sabrina look into Veronica's mind and glean those thoughts? Veronica took another can of soda and opened it up. "Well, regardless of who's here and who's not..." She raised the can and looked around. "One more toast to the birthday girl. And a toast to the new adventure of High School in 2 more months." Sabrina blinked askance at the puzzled look from Veronica. She crossed her arms, although not a mind reader, she was a people reader. She raised an eyebrow as if to say Veronica knew exactly what she was talking about. Her gaze softened back to her twinkle as she raised her iced tea. "To Betty. Our upcoming slumber party AND high school." Milton, also a people reader when he wasn't being scientific, had caught on to Sabrina's line of thinking. He had been watching Betty, though. Adjusting his glasses, he spoke. "Scientifically speaking, I think our favorite magic wielder is referring to the fact that you, Elizabeth, would rather be working on a car than dating. Pretty much anyone who knows you well enough sees you as tomboyish and the resident mechanic. She might be referring also to what is called 'tough love', basically, if he can't make time for you, you don't have time to be his go-to mechanic. Pretty logical, when you think about it." He smiled and raised his can, "I concur wholeheartedly!" Jug head raised his new can. "I'll toast Betty... But not high school." Josie giggled as she nodded and raised her glass of tea. "To Betty, and high school! I'm going to get me a band! This year for sure!" "I hear Mr. Weather bee will be going to Riverdale High as well. You kids seem to like him so well, you must be thrilled to have him for another four years." Mr. Cooper remarked as he toasted with his cup of coffee. "I guess that means party's over. You may visit a little while longer." He excused himself as he arose, and began clearing the dishes. Betty blushed with a smile, "Dawn, thank you guys, you're the best!" As Milton did his logical analysis, Veronica rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Milton... Betty's quite a bit more stylish and feminine than a 'tomboy'. If you can't see that, I think you need to clean those glasses of yours." Either that, or Veronica figured that Milton had finally achieved his goal of transitioning into an emotionless robot. "But I do agree that if Archie can't make the time for you, you shouldn't go out of your way to make time for him." Veronica's lip curled up at the edge as she added, "Of course, I could probably take that advice as well..." With the toast over, Veronica gave her best friend a hug as the blonde blushed over all the affection coming her way. "No problem, Beats," she said with a smile. As the party started winding down, Veronica helped with the clean-up. Or, more accurately, she started supervising the other teens in the clean-up effort. One by one, the others started filling out, giving Betty some final good wishes and hugs as they left. It was full dark outside when finally, only Betty and Veronica were left. Veronica had called home and informed the faithful family butler Smothers that she would be spending the night at the Cooper house. "Well, the parents know that I'm spending the night here," she informed Betty. "But, I wasn't exactly prepared for a sleepover when I came tonight. So, I'll have to borrow some sleepwear. Or, I can call Smothers back and have him drive here with an overnight bag for me." Secretly, Veronica was hoping that Betty would lend her the clothing; her heart beat a bit faster at the thought of sharing intimate clothes with Betty. Betty leaned slightly into Veronica as soon as the last guest left. "Milton didn't take the bait, I noticed. I think he meant I'm hardly every in skirts and dresses, and I do play the rougher sports when I'm not cheering them. Pretty sure he noticed these," She pointed to her Cs. Another year and they'd be DS. "He was staring at them and shaking his head like a girl mechanic shouldn't be this built." She then elbowed Veronica, "In your own words: You'll do no such thing!" She smiled sadly, as it was starting to hit her again what Archie had done. Furthermore, she waved for Veronica to follow her and said calmly, "Shut the door, when you get in here." Veronica would notice one change already. On the nightstand, next to her diary, was a picture of them at the beach from Betty's 13th summer. Last year. Betty grabbed her stuffed cat from her bed and started hugging it against herself. "Ronnie... I am so sick of him doing this... To both of us!" "If Milton did notice them, I'm sure it was only to compare them to the statistical average breast size of a girl your age," Veronica teased with a giggle. Her own breasts were growing at the same rate as Betty's and would be D-cups sometime the next year as well. "And you do dress like a girl. Lots of times," she reassured Betty while putting an arm around her friend's shoulder. "It's just...you should dress for yourself because what you're wearing makes you feel good. Not just because you think it's going to catch Archie's attention." Following Betty into the girl's bedroom, Veronica shut the door as instructed. Joining Betty on the bed, Veronica folded her long legs under her as she took a seat. The picture of the two of them at the beach brought back pleasant memories to Veronica's mind; memories that fell away as Betty started in on the Archie situation. Veronica hugged Betty, nodding in sympathy. She sighed and just held Betty to comfort her. "I'm sick of it too," she confessed. "I mean, I don't know what he's expecting from us. It's like he expects the three of us to end up all together or something." She giggles a bit and shrugs. "Or maybe he's actually gay and hasn't figured out to come out yet. Kevin would probably be happy with that result." Veronica sighed again and continues. "But yeah. It's like he expects us to put our lives on hold while he figures out his own mind. That we don't have other options. And...he's pretty much right." Her shoulders sag a bit. "I mean, all the other guys have steady girls already. Aside from Reggie. But he's such an abusive jerk..." Standing up suddenly, Veronica starts pacing the bedroom. "It just sucks! Archie just keeps making promises, hinting at something more between him and you or him and me...and nothing ever happens." She turns to face the blonde girl, huffing in frustration. "I mean, has he even given you a kiss yet? Like a real kiss? More than just a peck on the cheek?" Betty watched Veronica sit, then rise, and listened and chuckled softly at Veronica's remarks. "Knowing Archie Kevin and somebody else..." She nodded again, shaking her head. "You forgot 'narcissistic'; he just adores that mirror. But yeah. He dared me to join the hockey team... Not knowing I had already signed up. He got all bent out of shape when I sauntered off, saying, 'where have YOU been? I practice tomorrow.' Also drag racing on bikes, daring others to race him..." She shook her head. She frowned, putting the cat down. "Exactly! He says we're both the best. Best at what, exactly?! Best at putting up with him?!" Betty blinked. "No? You? The closest I got to a kiss from any of the boys was Milton for my pointing out a flaw in that dual processing carburetor. Even THAT was a double cheeked European style. So, I mean, it doesn't even count." She dropped her arms to her sides and lowered her head. "OMG. I'm 14, and have never been properly kissed..." Veronica shakes her head to Betty's question about if Archie had locked lips with her. "Nope. Just chicken pecks. I was hoping that I'd finally get a kiss out of him at my birthday party this year. But of course...." Veronica shrugged and went back to sit on the bed with Betty. As Betty railed at the lack of being properly kissed, Veronica felt her heart beat faster and a warmth start to spread in her body. The new feelings she'd been experiencing about her best friend were swimming in her mind. The picture on the dresser of Betty and her in their bikinis at the beach last year only served to kindle the warmth inside Veronica, and she began to feel like she no longer had control of her body. Silently, Veronica reached down to put a hand under Betty's chin and guide the girl's head back up and facing the brunette. Still without words, Veronica leaned in, tilting her head slightly, and brought her lips to tenderly meet and press against Betty's. All Veronica knew was the burning need to kiss Betty, to express her changed feelings for her friend; the potential fallout of her action, or the possibility that Betty didn't feel the same way, never occurring to her. As soon as Betty was watching what Veronica was doing after her head was lifted, she only managed a questioning "R-Ronnie?" before her first kiss. Her eyes fluttered, finally shutting, the questioning"MMPP?" slowly turned into a soft hum. Unsure lips returned the kiss so that she could be Veronica's first kiss as well, as unsure arms found themselves gently against her best friend's waist. Fireworks started popping in her head, as her heart leapt to her throat. In that instant, as she heard Pink's I Kissed a Girl loudly playing along with those fireworks, Betty Cooper knew. She knew VERONICA, her best friend, was who she loved more than anyone else. When their lips parted, Betty flushed from the kiss and her realization, whispered while gently caressing a cheek, "You know... If Archie says you're the best... And he says I'm the best... Who needs Archie?" She instigated their second kiss, not even caring now if they got caught. She folded both her hands over Veronica's. All she needed was a little push, but would she be ready for more than just kissing? The fact that Betty not only was okay with the kiss, but initiated a second kiss thrilled Veronica. She felt her heart soar as their lips pressed into each other again and Betty put an arm around her waist. Veronica pressed her body in against Betty's, their breasts pressing and rubbing against each other through clothing. Veronica took Betty's hands in hers and gently squeezed them as the kiss lingered on. The brunette felt a burning need in her sex; a need for her best friend to bring relief and pleasure. Slowly, Veronica broke the kiss, reluctantly drawing her head away and opening her eyes again. Smiling, she looked and Betty and reached up to caress a cheek as had been done to her. "Who needs Archie?" she asked with a smile. Taking Betty's hands again, Veronica guided them up to her chest and placed them on her breasts, gasping slightly at the contact. "Let's make this a birthday to remember," she said quietly, pressing Betty's hands into cupping her breasts through the thin fabric of her blouse. "I've wanted this for a while now," she admitted without any shame in her tone. "I was just...scared. That you wouldn't feel the same way." Betty smiled at the return cheek touch and same question she posed. At the offer to go farther, and feeling both Veronica's breasts and pulse through the cloth, Betty went wide-eyed, and panicked. Gasping out of some kind of panic, because of the sudden glance to the door. Quickly, she got up, pulling away and going to the door. Breathing hard, as she leaned forward against it, and glancing back at Veronica, in a definite apologetic way, she put an arm against it. For someone in a hurry to break contact, Betty was in no rush to actually open the door. "Ronnie... I... I just found out..." She looked at the ceiling, then to her best friend. "I have feelings for you. Strange ones. Confusing ones. Only thing I am sure of is I do love you. " She sighed and opened the door, blocking any chance of exit for Veronica. "Mom, Dad, Ronnie and I are going to turn in... She's staying in my room... Um... We'll shower in the morning." "Are you sure you want to share a bed? You two aren't little girls anymore, Sport." "I trust Ronnie, Daddy. We're best friends!" Betty looked right at Veronica as she said, probably more to psyche herself up, "She'd never intentionally hurt me..." With that Betty shut the door, and there was a fateful sounding click. She had locked the door so they wouldn't be interrupted. She sat back down looking at Veronica. "I'm sorry... I... It's... We..." A sigh. She closed her eyes. "I trust you, Veronica Lodge... More than any of our other friends that are girls... I... I know I'm a... Lesbian. I'm just... Scared. This... This is.... Our... F-first time, after all." Pouting, she looked back over, wondering if her panic of touching and/or being caught had ruined the moment. "It's okay, Betty," Veronica says as the blonde heads for the door. "This is...something that's been building inside me for a while. So I guess I've had more time to think about it. But I love you too, Betty Cooper." The conversation Betty has with her parents makes Veronica quietly giggle a bit. While there was certainly more than enough room for both of them on Veronica's bed at Lodge Manner, and Betty's bed would be intimately cozy for the pair, if things between the two girls lasted, both of them should probably get air mattresses and sleeping bags for their rooms to set up a pretense of what the other girl would be sleeping on to allay any suspicion in parental minds. Not that the Lodges would mind or suspect, but the Coopers might get to wondering... When Betty sat back down on the bed, Veronica embraced her, supporting her. She began softly stroking the blonde girl's cheek and hair. "You don't have to label yourself," Veronica said quietly. "Just because you feel this way about me doesn't mean that you're a total Lesbian and won't have any thoughts about boys. It also doesn't mean that you have to have thoughts about every cute girl you meet. Just be yourself, Betty, and feel free to like whomever you like for whatever reason without worrying about what label or category you're supposed to fit into." Veronica leaned in for another kiss, tenderly resting her hand on Betty's cheek. "I know that I want this. With you," she said after drawing her head back again, but leaving the hand on Betty's cheek. "But we can go as fast or as slow as you want. It's...new ground for me too." Veronica blushes a bit and smirks a bit. "Well...maybe not so much new ground for me. I have kind of...been looking at girl on girl clips for a few months now." There's a breath of relief from the brunette as she makes that admission. "So... I've seen stuff. I was just waiting and hoping for you to be the first one that I tried all of that with." Betty smiled. Veronica always did have a way of making her feel relaxed. "With the choices after Archie being Reggie and Milton... No offense to Milton, but I'll be a lesbian, especially if I'm your girl." She nodded. "I thought we could be walked in on, plus... I mean... That kiss awakened something in me. Something I think I was just flat out trying to deny." She smiled, after their third kiss. "Ronnie. Like I told daddy. You won't intentionally hurt me. I wish I hadn't denied myself. Maybe I would have seen those too. Girl on girl, huh? So..." Deep breath. "I guess I'll follow your lead? Slow, but tonight... If that makes sense." Betty seemed ready to 'do this'. Veronica nodded, accepting Betty's explanations and reasoning. "Okay." More caressing of Betty's hair and cheek commenced, and Veronica followed up with another kiss. "However..." she skilled slyly at her friend and now lover. "We're a bit overdressed, don't you think?" Veronica reached over to Betty's shirt, caressing the blonde girl's breast softly as she began unfastening the garment. "Don't be afraid to tell me what you want or like. If you want to take off your own clothes or take mine off, let me know." As she spoke, Veronica played with Betty's tits, gently squeezing them and running her thumbs over the nipples. "But, mostly, the things that make you feel good will make me feel good, too." Veronica gives Betty a sly, questioning glance. "You do play with yourself, don't you Betty? I do it a lot." Betty had no problem following suit with caressing cheek and running her hands through Veronica's silky hair, being freshly 14 and out of middle school, Betty was still in pigtails, and actually liked having them touched, caressed, pulled lightly on by Veronica. She happily returned every kiss offered, as she had really liked that most of all, so far. Veronica and she had kissed each other more often in just about one hour, than Archie had either of them in a (seemingly) lifetime of dates, although that probably only went back a few years. Betty pouted cutely at the overdressed remark, but giggled and nodded, beginning to copy Veronica's actions on her shirt and breasts on Veronica's. She bit her lower lip as she felt her best friend's breasts through her blouse. She cast her eyes to their bottom wear. Veronica's stylish skirt and her elastic waistband slacks. She figured her best friend turned lover would have an easier time to get into Betty's pants than she would getting in her skirt. She focused back on her massaging and gently squeezing the fleshy mounds. "All the time." Betty lied. She hardly did, but did know what really made her feel good, weird but good. "It's a bit awkward to do, but have you tried kissing your own boobies in the shower?" The rare occasions Betty did play with herself, that was where. More so the running water would drown out her gasps and squeaks of pleasure as she whimpered the name of whichever chosen lover. She'd had only three fantasy lovers, though two (the one she was with now, for real) got far more attention. That should have been a clue as to her sexuality, since both the others were girls. She knew what she wanted to do. To experience. Kissing Veronica's breasts. She showed Veronica exactly what her mindset was, taking off each other's clothes as she slid the blouse slightly down her arms, and freed one of the brunette's breasts from its bra cup, and began lovingly kissing it, enjoying the new sensation of touching her best friend's flesh with her lips. This was definitely less awkward than trying to kiss her own. Betty set her hand not holding a breast down on Veronica's purse and felt the vibration and heard the dinging of an incoming text. Or rather two of them. Josie, in all caps, sent: Alexandra just called me Josie-King for the first time! She never calls me Josie-King! That means what I think?! Sabrina sent a screenshot of a text from mean girl Libby who usually hangs around Cheryl and was on the squad with Betty and Veronica, that was basically ordering Sabrina to go out on a date with her, or else. With Libby, that could mean anything. The caption under obviously indicated she had taken the easy way out. "So... What do I wear on a date with a cheerleader?" Betty removed her hand from the purse, pulling away slightly. "We really wouldn't be doing this under normal circumstances. Maybe you should get those texts and see what they're about. Then we can get back to this." She took a breath. "Besides, I think I want to finish what you started." She pointed to her open shirt. It was an excuse to quickly get out of her clothes. She was getting way too hot in them. The caressing. The explorative touching. The kissing. It was all as new and exciting and pleasurable to Veronica as it was to Betty. Despite her air of superiority stemming from watching a few lesbian porno clips, the whole matter of loving another girl had been an academic exercise for Veronica up to this point. And as she was learning, there's a universe of difference between having watched something and doing the same thing in real life. Veronica was being just as sweet away by the intimate motions as Betty was; she just had a better poker face about it. Betty's lips on her breasts made Veronica gasp, and she quickly bit her lips to skiffle a moan that might bring the elder Coopers to investigate. But, she squeezed Betty's breasts more, then moved a hand up to stroke and play with those blonde pigtails. "You know," she murmured to her lover, "maybe we can get you in a ponytail..." As the two girls continued to undress each other, shedding blouses to reveal bras (Veronica's being a lacy, pastel blue strapless bra), the buzz of the text messages arriving comes from Veronica's phone. She took the purse away from Betty, casually tossing the Louis Mouton bag to the floor and off to the side. Veronica looked deep into Betty's eyes, locking their gazes. "They can wait," she said with a caress of Betty's cheek that lingered down to the girl's tits. "We've both been ignored enough by Archie. I'll never treat you like that or put anyone before you. You first, then I'll deal with whatever problems people want me to solve." And Veronica sealed the promise with a kiss, one with an urgent passion and her tongue gently, but insistently, pushing its way into Betty's mouth. The hand that was caressing Betty's breast slides on down the blonde girl's torso, down to the joining of her legs and starts to rub Betty's mound through the slacks. Betty noticed Veronica liked her breasts kissed, too. That had encouraged her. Betty sighed with the suggestion for a more grown up hairstyle. "Ponytail, huh?" She asked. She had thought about that, herself, but wanted to start her freshman year of high school like she had finished 8th grade. Of course, that was before experimenting sexually with her BFF, and liking it. A lot. She was surprised Veronica was choosing her over others so easily. Sure, they both had been pretty much ignored by the boy in their lives, but to put Betty first always. She opened her mouth to protest how she didn't need to be the center of attention, in fact, she didn't like it. No, Betty hated being the center of attention. The thoughts were blocked from escaping out as words from the deepest, most meaningful kiss Veronica had given her yet. The tongue intruding into her mouth, and the touches being added to that... All the way down to her mound. There went the fireworks, again. Betty gasped and let out a muffled whine of pure pleasure, trembling like a quaking aspen in Colorado. She broke away finally, trying to struggle herself out of her slacks. "Take it off, I can't stand it, anymore! I HAVE to be naked with you!" She whimpered some more, finally kicking her slacks off, revealing pink cotton panties with what looked like a white floral design. She squirmed out of them, gasping, breathing heavily and touched herself. Yep. She was damp, this was real, and she looked over to Veronica with real desire in her eyes for the first time. "Ponytail. Starting tomorrow." She freed her hair from the pigtail look. "Ronnie... I want this so bad..." With Betty's eagerness for the hairstyle change and the urgency at which she was taking off the remainder of her clothing, Veronica giggled a bit, putting a hand to her lips to try and skiffle it. "Sorry," she said with a smile. "You're just being so...adorable right now." A quick kiss, then Veronica finished removing her own clothes. Again, it was a new and exciting sensation, and she was feeling the same sense of passion and urgency Betty was, but Veronica just had to play it as if she was in control; it was a part of her, just like Betty's cheerful and eager outlook was a part of the blonde girl. Veronica's panties matched her bra: lacy pastel blue. And with the final clothing barrier of the panties removed, Veronica knelt on the bed, exposed to her new lover. She was also wet, and a sightly musky scent proving her excitement. Taking Betty in an embrace, Veronica slowly guided her to the bed, laying the blonde girl down and moving to straddle her hips. Leaning over, she let her long, raven hair spill down and sweep over Betty's body as she planted kisses all over Betty's skin and breasts. Extra kisses were placed on Betty's nipples, along with some gentle sucking; one of the clips Veronica had seen had a girl who wanted her partner to suck on her tits, so this was probably something Betty would like. As she lay on top of Betty, kissing and sucking on the blonde's tit, Veronica reached down and started stroking Betty's wet mound, drawing a finger up and down the damp slit; again, like she had seen online. This time, though, she had a better idea of how this would feel, since Veronica often started her masturbation sessions with this maneuver. Veronica's own funny was leaking, and the juices coated Betty's thigh where Veronica rubbed herself against her partner. The kiss as she finished undressing was the first one in a long line of firsts for the evening, that was unexpected. Betty blinked, touching her fingers to her lips in a smile, and found herself ogling her BFF turned girlfriend/lover. No, ogle was too weak a word... Betty looked like she was about to howl and stomp a foot, and had a cute, yet lustful smirk. She felt her nipples start to stand at attention. She came eagerly, allowing herself to be drawn into the embrace as she had closed her eyes to sense their now naked bodies together. Furthermore, she felt herself being laid down and the wetness of the other girl against her thigh. Her heart and mind raced, as she reopened her eyes, smiling, wrapping her arms around Veronica tightly, but not too, gasping first at the touch of her hair, then her lips. She let out a gasp, and whispered, "I trust you, my lover, completely." She gave Veronica room to maneuver, but made it clear by the embrace and subtle thigh movements against Veronica's sex, that she wasn't going to let Veronica go anywhere... At least not tonight. She continued to gasp in pleasure from the kisses, gasps that slowly turned to whimpers of erotic pleasure, blue eyes closing once more. The sucking on the breasts caused minor tremors and something that sounded like a pleasure whine. Betty knew that this was the final hour she would be a virgin... And she didn't care. She was with the one who really got her... And now, in more ways than one. Veronica smiled as she lifted her head and looked at the lust-filled expression on Betty's face. Her own countenance had a similar gaze of ecstasy and passion, as the desires Veronica had been dealing with for months final were given an outlet. This was right; the two of them together like this. Their bickering over Archie's affection had been such a waste of time and energy, and Veronica could only think that this would have happened months, if not a year or so, ago if they both hadn't been so caught up in the chase over him. "I love you so much, Betty," Veronica said with a look of adoration; a phrase that she was sure she would be repeating many times over from now on. Not sure of Betty's 'experience' with masturbation, Veronica started slowly, sliding her index finger into Betty's funny. She gently slid the digit in and wiggled it a bit in an attempt to both figure out Betty's tightness and capacity, as well as further pushing her lover down the path towards climax. "Let me know if it's too much," she said softly to the blonde. "If you feel like you need to scream, cover your mouth with a pillow." And Veronica kept sliding her finger in and out and around inside Beta's wet sex. Betty whimpered, grimacing slightly as she nodded to what to scream into. While this felt good, the sliding in and out, working never used muscles (at least in that sense) she could feel the vaginal muscles contracting around the single digit. "Oh, that feels incredible, Ronnie, but I can't get totally off without clit play... Did a lot of what you're doing at first, oh, not that that's not a bad start..." Being another girl, she was sure she didn't need to mention what else needed attention to achieve the effect Veronica was after, but Betty remembered Veronica did tell her to voice what she needed... What she needed was the stimulation of the nub to finish her off. Veronica certainly had no intention of ignoring Betty's clit; the fingering was just the warm-up, so to speak. Smiling, Veronica wiggled her finger inside Betty's funny, quietly saying, "So....you're ready to cum?" She wasn't trying to turn it into a full on power-exchange, but Veronica certainly felt a jolt of passion run through her body as she hinted at the idea of controlling Betty's pleasure. Veronica's finger continued at a steady pace, sliding back and forth, stretching out Betty's unused muscles. Veronica returned to kissing and sucking on Betty's tits and nipples, but she shifted her weight to allow her other hand to reach down to her lover's pussy. Then, in addition to the sliding finger, the thumb and forefinger of Veronica's other hand started to gently rub Betty's clit, sometimes just the thumb running circles over the sensitive nub. "Cum for me, my love," Veronica whispered to Betty. "Let yourself go and release all that pleasure inside you. Cum for me, Betty...." Betty giggled self-consciously at Veronica's retort. She had been ready. She should have been doing this with her best friend these last two years instead of fighting with her over a boy who had all the intelligence of a hockey puck. This felt right as her hips gyrated and bucked slightly in an attempt to ride the intruder, and she said, "Oh, yes, Ronnie... I'm definitely ready." After Veronica shifted her weight to do what Betty needed to lose her virginity to her BFF turned lover, it was only the one arm now that could hold her in place, she clutched into the girl's back, letting out a whine of pleasure, with a slight arch. Veronica's touch continued to be electric. By now her thigh Veronica was rubbing against was vibrating against that girl's sex. Betty turned out to be a lot quieter than she feared, as the continued play brought about what both wanted and Betty especially needed. She let out a continual erotic whine with a squeaky, nasally (that she rehearsed in the shower on Veronica's 'turn'), "Ronnie, darling!" She hadn't had time to grab the pillow, but clutched in her free hand, in the air halfway to her face... Was her beloved stuff cat with the surrounding bow's neck, Veronica's first present to her and the seal of their friendship. Betty's climax and her squeaking caught Veronica slightly off-guard, but she managed to prevent herself from giggling at the adorableness. Instead, she smiles at her best friend lovingly. Veronica brought the finger that had been sliding around in Betty's pussy up to her face, sniffing at the aroma from the fluid on her digit. Veronica shifted her weight again, this time nestling up to Betty so that they both fit on the blonde's bed, spooning. Veronica stuck the nectar-coated finger in her mouth, savoring the taste. It was her first taste of girl-juice, and she was sure it wouldn't be her last. "Looks like that was just what the doctor ordered for you, Bets," she said with an adoring smile. She picked up the stuffed cat, remembering how happy Betty had been to receive it. Playfully, Veronica used the stuffed cat to book Betty on the nose. Betty was too busy coming down from her first ride on the ecstasy elevator to notice Veronica fully face to face. She could feel the spooning, and shivered contently with a goofy grin, that told the tale of what the two had just finished doing better than anything else. She made a face though when she got a face full of the stuffed cat. "Don't do that to Lady Fluffy-Purrs Lodge-Cooper!" She then giggled. "Fluffy-Purrs... Boy, six years ago seems like a lifetime now." She took the stuffed animal, and set it on her diary, and then pulled Veronica into a deep, meaningful kiss. "And we should have been doing this starting two years ago..." She whispered, after breaking the kiss. " After running her hands along Veronica's sides, now that it was a little more accessible with Betty's long reach, Betty began toying with Veronica's clit. "I have GOT to show you how good that felt, my love." Although nowhere near as good as Veronica had been, Betty proved she had been telling the truth. She had masturbated. It was also obvious... A far cry less than 'all the time'. Veronica leaned her head into the kiss, again lightly pushing her tongue into Betty's mouth and stroking the blonde girl's tongue with hers. At the touch of her BFF's fingers on her clit, Veronica shuddered in pleasure, inhaling sharply. "Mummy..." she marred in pleasure. The brunette pushed her hips against the stimulating fingers and pushed her breasts against Betty's skin. "Mammal....so nice...." she said with a languid smile after ending the kiss and pulling her face back. "You're doing fine, love," she said with quiet encouragement. "I like it being pinched a bit. Not hard, just a little pressure... But you're doing good... I can tell you've done this before with yourself." (sorry, poor net connection and sleepy muse) Betty smiled and nodded, and tried to give little pinches, although it was something she had never done to herself. Sure she had rubbed it, caressed it, even stroked it, but she couldn't give herself an erotic pinch... So she wasn't sure if her attempts did much... Causing her to return to what she did know. Using her thumb as her clit press, and brush, Betty inched her long middle finger into the waiting damp box of her best friend. She was able to return kisses, her tongue twisting around Veronica's, and she hummed softly. "You think we can do this without the light? If so, just clap twice... My hands are kinda busy right now..." The other hand had been massaging and squeezing a breast gently. Betty could even be a sexual multitasker.

What Are Best Friends For_|rating:4.0

The Rise of an Empire (wiccaangel311 & Arkaniel)

(newest of the now seven kingdoms that made up the world of Future, was beginning to make itself widely known. As a highly militant kingdom it's people were seen as barbaric by most of the other countries in Future. The kingdom was founded only 100 years ago when a slave lead a small rebellion against his kingdom of Cringe seizing a vast majority of territory and claiming it for himself and any who desired a free life. He named the kingdom Miriam, a word that when translated into the common tongue meant freedom. The current king, who had acquired the title Beast of Miriam, seemed to be following in his grandfather's footsteps. 6 months into his rule he began seizing more territory from Cringe. Until he pushed the Kingdom's borders to the other side of the western mountains. The Suburban council, an organization constructed from all the noble houses of Future, feared his war path would spread and offered Miriam a chance. If he agreed he would have access to the common wealth shared between the countries and free trade throughout the land. All he had to do was stop his attack on Cringe and contribute a portion of his wealth to the pool. The king refused and within the year The Kingdom of Cringe fell into Minimal hands. It wasn't long before the Beast began seizing territory from the kingdom to his northern border, Lesser land of the elves. The King of Lesser was furious and had demanded the council send aid. The Suburban Council however did not have the power to do so and with the Minimal army now triple it's size, thanks to its take over in Cringe. Lesser's allies felt that their armies could not stand against such a force. However, a new idea gave the king and the council a little hope. Amara, the Even King's youngest child gave him a different solution. She told her father to tell the King of Miriam that if he agreed to return the land to Lesser and leave its borders, that he could have her hand in marriage. With this marriage came free trade with Lesser and Even crafted Armor and swords for his army. The King of Miriam agreed on the condition that the swords and armor for 5 thousand men be delivered along with his bride to the crown city of Romania where they would wed in 3 months time. No one seemed more pleased at his agreement than Amara. She had her own plans for Miriam and its Army. At a young age Amara felt she was meant to rule a great nation. She was however the youngest of 6 children which meant she would likely not inherit her father's throne. Nevertheless she always played the part of his loyal servant to keep her in his favor. She rarely spoke against him, and when she wanted something from him, she would always make it sound as though it were in his best interest to do so. She convinced him to let her study magic by telling him it would show he had powerful blood and gain him respect from other kingdoms. It wasn't a lie it did indeed give him respect from other kings, but it also gave her an edge above her siblings. She convinced her father to take her to council meetings by saying she could strike a good match and find one that gave him favor. Her real reason she wanted to go was to study politics and learn about the other kingdoms. Of course the only thing she learned was that the present kings of Future were greedy lesser men of greater sires. She watched as they prattled on about their wealth and offered their son's to her. Some surely wanting her for themselves. She was tired of Future being in the hands of these corrupt fools. She made a plan that she'd give these fools something to talk about. With what she learned of the nations she could take everything right from under these pompous old men. She however needed an Army and a king she could manipulate. When Miriam began to take Cringe it's king showed potential. He was brash on the battlefield which told her he was governed by his testosterone. Something she could use to her advantage. She arranged for Lesser to be his target by convincing her father that he should have fewer soldiers on the northern border claiming it would show Miriam they meant no ill will. It had the opposite effect of course, Amara knew The King would think that Lesser didn't view him as a threat so he would prove otherwise. Then when he did she'd arranged the marriage and so far everything was working perfectly. When 3 months had come and gone, a military escort arrived in Lesser for Amara and the treasure she brought with her. She was pleasantly surprised to find they had a wooden carriage to pull her in. As much as she liked riding horses it was a 3-day ride to the borders of Lesser and another 2 days to Romania. From the looks of it her escort didn't plan on stopping. More surprises came as they passed through the farming towns in Miriam. The farms were actually grown to a massive scale to provide for Miriam's Army. Of course the Army only took what it needed the rest was given back to the people of the land. There were lots of people too. Every town they passed through masses lined the streets in hope to get a look at her. According to a soldier the people were told that their new queen was to be an even maid from Lesser and most had never seen an Elf maiden before. This did not surprise her Elves rarely left the comfort of their forest dwellings. In most written accounts Elves were simply described to have beauty not of this world. Amara's very name meant beauty, and she didn't disappoint. Like all elves she had youthful face and fair skin. Her eyes were a mossy green, and she had full lips that looked soft to the touch. Her hair was the color of fallen leaves, and it flowed with a gentle wave ending at the center of her back. She had a petite frame and stood on the shorter side of her kin at 5'4". She was dressed in a pale blue gown with intricate work she suspected the people of Miriam never saw. The fabric was of a silk or satin nature, and it flowed gracefully over her body but clung tight to its natural curves. The closer they got to the Capitol the bigger the towns were getting, and she was actually shocked to find them well put together. Nothing prepared her for what she saw when they reached the crown city. There was a great stone wall that guarded entrance into the city. An impressive amount of soldiers was positioned on top and as the gates opened there were thousands of people gathered to see her. As they passed the people grew excited as though they were watching a parade. The city itself was impressive not only in sheer size but its grandeur as well. The buildings were all made of white stone and were ornate in detail. Nothing like this could have come from Barbarians. As they rode to the center of town Amara was in awe of the palace. It was placed on a central hill and could be seen from all areas of the city. Soldiers clad in shining armor guarded its grounds and a horn was blown to announce her arrival. A man with a general's sword greeted her and helped her from her carriage." My name is Iron son of Horn and second in command of the Royal Army of Miriam." He said crossing an arm over his chest and giving a very militant bow. "I shall escort you personally to the throne room, so the wedding can begin." Amara had been informed that Minimal weddings were simple things. Even royal weddings happened behind closed doors. Only the bride, the groom, the official conducting the marriage, and one witness were permitted to attend. After wards there would be a public announcement and great party for the people to attend at the castle grounds. She had agreed to marry according to their customs hoping it would put her in her new kings favor. She couldn't begin her plan until she gained his trust. Patience would be her weapon in this battle. Commander Iron lead her through the doors of the palace and down a white marble hall lined with sconces and excellently woven tapestries. A mural was painted on one wall of The Slave King conquering the old capitol of Cringe. She was brought through a great wooden door and into the throne room The Commander fell on one knee." I present Princess Amara Equal of Lesser, Your Bride my lord." He said. As she looked upon the man she was to marry for the first time she now understood why he had the title Beast of Miriam. Before her stood a man of great size and stature clad in Armor befitting of a king. (called him the Beast of Miriam and with good reason. He was a powerfully built man, nearly seven feet in height, towering over almost anyone he’d ever encountered. He was a very masculine looking man, with a strong jawline, covered in a neatly trimmed beard, while his dark blonde hair had been cut short in a wild cut that made him look quite handsome, but also fierce. His blazing blue eyes were said to flash with lightning in the height of battle, but that was just a rumor launched by his men to frighten his enemies. He didn’t possess magic, after all. He was every inch the consummate warrior, the finest blade master in the kingdom, possibly even in all of Future, and he wielded sword, shield and occasionally the massive, double bladed great axe he wore strapped across his back. Furthermore, he was a terror on the battlefield, cutting through his enemies like a scythe through a field of wheat, and none could stand before his skill, prowess and physical might. Furthermore, he led his armies to victory against those pesky elves and the other kings and people of Future, conquering territory after territory, expanding his growing kingdom with new provinces in each successive campaign. The lands of Future were vast, however, so it was no easy task to conquer an entire kingdom within the span of a few years. It would be unrealistic, as he preferred to assimilate the conquered territories completely, gathering and unifying the humans living in those territories and helping them found new, well fortified cities where they could live in luxury and prosperity if they so desired, instead of being treated as nothing more than serfs or slaves. He expanded his armies with each conquest, his well armed and well-trained, highly motivated warriors unifying in legions that were unbeatable and won their battles with minimal losses against the uppity elves and other elder people of the seven kingdoms. He also dealt with raiders, pirates and orc war bands, keeping his lands safe and protecting his people, earning himself their undying loyalty. As a result, Alert, the capital city of Miriam, had grown to be a vast city, with several levels of high walls in white stone, with hundreds of spire like guard towers along the three levels of walls, all surrounding the three main levels of the city that housed a million people, with a tall hill as the focal point, upon which the castle, the palace built by his people for his father, shone like a jewel of white marble. He knew the elder peoples of the Seven Kingdoms considered his people barbarians, so to see the look on her face would be exquisite.The in question being Princess Amara of Lesser, the princess promised to him as wife, so there would be peace between their lands... for now. The five thousands sets of Even crafted armor and weaponry, all enchanted for magical durability as well, were a far better bonus than some princess. Nevertheless, he had heard of her beauty, and he’d always known that his spouse should be chosen for political reasons, not because of love. Besides which, he was looking forward to spending his cravings on a pretty Even princess. He wasn’t disappointed when she was escorted to the throne room. He stood before her, tall and broad, dwarfing her supple form easily, while his blue eyes admired her auburn hair and gorgeous features. It would indeed be no hardship to have her as his wife and the mother of his children. He would most assuredly have fun breeding her and using her nightly for her wifely duties. He smiled devilishly as he descended the stairs for the dais upon which stood his throne, carved in proud oak, with a slightly smaller throne, New, for her by its side, just to the right of his, approaching her, dressed in his resplendent leather and steel armor, red cloak behind his back and wrapped partially over one shoulder, while both his axe and sword were strapped across his back as well. Furthermore, he especially liked how she was so slender, typical of an elf, her waist slimmer than his arm. Oh, he was definitely going to have fun with her, tonight, since the wedding would take place immediately. He took her hand and lifted her to her feet again.“Welcome to Miriam, my lady. And welcome to my seat of power here, in the city of Alert. This will soon all be yours as well, my queen.” He greeted her, before pressing a soft kiss against her dainty hand, his beard prickling against her soft skin. That is when he turned with her facing the priest of the ancient religion he’d arranged as the official for the wedding, while his personal guard would all serve as witnesses.“Shall we begin the ceremony?” He asked her, though there was only one real expected answer. Amara studied her new king as he descended from his throne. The first thing she picked up on was naturally how handsome he was. Even though he was vastly different from what she was accustomed too, she still thought it wouldn't be so bad to wake up to that face every morning. The devilish grin that graced his lips told her he was thinking the exact same thing. As he took her hand and lifted her to her feet effortlessly She realized he was much more intimidating up close. As he towered over her, she looked into the fiercest set of blue eyes she had ever seen. They were a gray blue like raging storm clouds. Even though she knew they weren't true, she understood how the rumor of lightening coming from his eyes came to be. “Welcome to Miriam, my lady. And welcome to my seat of power here, in the city of Alert. This will soon all be yours as well, my queen." He greeted and Amara was once again surprised as this beast of a man placed a gentle kiss on her hand. Perhaps he wasn't as barbaric as she'd been lead to believe." I look forward to being by your side my king" She said with a bow of her head. He smiled and turned to the priest with her in hand. Shall we begin the ceremony?” he asked." Lead on my lord and I will follow." She said. The ceremony was similar to the ones she knew. They both recited mandatory vows. She promised him her undying loyalty and service to her king, and he promised her protection and all the care he could give. When it came time to seal it with a kiss she expected a small kiss between strangers getting to know one another. However, he gave her a ravenous kiss. It was a kiss that told her exactly what kind of service he expected from her tonight. When their lips parted the witnesses cheered, and Amara blushed. She'd never been touched before. That was elf custom an even maid remained pure until her wedding. She had however done her fair share of kissing. She never shared a kiss like that. It was aggressive, and very animalistic in a way. She wasn't sure how she felt about it, but judging by the devilish grin gracing her new husbands face he loved the look of confusion on her face. Amara blushed and tried to turn away, but he caught her cheek gently in his hand. The look in his eyes was so intense that for a moment she thought that perhaps the gentleman king had been a ploy and now the Barbarian she had heard about was going to stake his claim on her right then and there. Her heart was racing as his thumb lightly traced the outline of her ear. Suddenly he leaned in and gently kissed her forehead." Come my queen we have a party to attend." He said leading her out of the throne room. She followed as her heart rate started to slow down. He was already so unpredictable. Amara now knew even more that she couldn't rush her plan. She was going to have to be careful with Her new king. Eric the Beast, they called him. Or, Eric the Red, because of the blood he had personally shed in the liberating of his people and the expansion of his kingdom. He’d conquered large provinces in the past couple of years, beating armies of elves and even human armies that tried to take his kingdom from him or tried to enslave his people. And now, he would be marrying a slim, gorgeous even princess. One that had been offered to him to forge an alliance. A gorgeous maiden called Amara. After he’d welcomed her, he led her to the hall where the ceremony took place. The ceremony itself ran smoothly and was kept short and functional, with the vows being said openly and succinctly. He promised to protect her, care for her and remain faithful to her. The latter wasn’t usual in bring included in a vow by typical nobles across the continent, as mistresses and chattel were a very common practice, but in Miriam, faithfulness to the spouse was part of their honor code. He did take her by surprise by thoroughly ravishing her pretty little mouth u TIL she looked completely flustered, blushing, even stammering a little. He hoped her blush wasn’t only because of embarrassment, but out of enjoyment and desire as well. Eric was good at reading people, but with her even coolness, she was surprisingly enigmatic, even for him. With his invitation to the party, he led her to a richly coveted dinner table, which had been set up as a buffet, so everyone could fill small plates with food sliced just so that it could be eaten with their fingers. From grilled and marinated meats to small cubes of exquisite cheeses and skewers of fresh fruit, there was a little something for everyone. Ale, mead and wine flowed freely and the mood was set when various orchestras and musicians started playing all over the city. The entire city was celebrating the royal wedding vivaciously, proving how popular a king Eric was. Despite his reputation as a beast to other nations, he was the personification of everything Miriam and its people stood for. After some appetizers and a goblet or two of wine, during which he kept his sweet and gorgeous wife close, he took the plate and goblet from her hands and set them aside, before taking her hands and pulling her close.“And now, it is time to dance with my beautiful and graceful queen. Don’t worry, I will wait a few more hours for that other kind of more horizontal dancing.” He whispered in her curved, pointy ear, brushing his lips over the undoubtedly sensitive tip. He smirked against her ear tip and nipped the pointy tip softly, before he pulled her towards the dance square right in front of the palace. People cheered and sung and roared when their tall and imposing king started dancing closely with his gorgeous, petite queen. As they danced, with him leading her with a warriors grace, he leaned in again and whispered rather hotly, “that other type of dancing doesn’t necessarily have to be horizontal, either. I’m quite adventures, and I’m already relishing the thought of adventurously exploring your delicious body, my Queen.” He rather liked how flustered and confused she looked. He twirled her around and lifted her up against him after, as if she weighed nothing, and twirled with her, her breasts plush and flattened against his chest, his own potent groin pressing against her thighs, before he placed her on her feet and guided her into a faster paced and more sensual dance, where he took the opportunity to touch her as much as possible. His large hands slid over her slim, arching back, teased along the curves of her breasts when he had her back to his front, his manhood grinding against the small of her back, he teased along her ears and neck with his lips and hot little whispers, complimenting her looks and grace, delighting I. Her every reaction, while ending up with his hands firmly cupping her tight little ass by the end of the dance, having her wholly, flush against his body. Amara entered into a cheering crowd of people as they announced the marriage. People would bow as King Eric and herself passed by. A silver crown was placed on her head and the revelry began. Most of the night was a meet and greet as Ladies of court, and representatives from other villages bestowed gifts for the married couple. The whole city and even other villages seemed to congratulate them in some way. Clearly Eric was a king loved by his people. That worked in Ankara's favor. If his people loved him then it was a likely chance other nations would love him as well. Despite what Eric the beast king Miriam seemed to believe, not every war was won on a battlefield. In fact If Amara intended to use Miriam to unite the kingdoms of Future under a glorious empire as she intended, some nations would require a different kind of finesse. For that she would have to reclaim his reputation as a Bavarian king and paint him as Strong and charismatic. Something he had no problem being in front of his own people. So she mingled with him and remained close to his side. Not that she had much of a choice in the matter Her new husband barely let her move a few steps away from him. Anytime she did He was quick to place a hand on her hip and pulling her back to him. She'd even tried to get a drink, and he simply pulled her to a table and had a guard fetch it for her. When they got to the table it became very obvious as to the reason why. As she sat beside him, he placed a hand on the upper part of her thigh. He let his thumb rub against the inner portion. As time went on he let it slide ever closer to her maidenhood. Clearly his mind was no longer on the party. He was also trying to guide Amara's mind in the same direction. Of course, it was inevitable that the nights events would lead to that sort of revelry, Amara also felt there would be plenty of time for it. She decided to put it out of mind and continued to get to know the people she would be ruling. It was working too, until King Eric decided he wanted to dance. He took away her food and dealt with any other distractions by publically announcing his desire to dance with her. Which, upon hearing of course, caused the entire crowd of guest to erupt in an approving uproar so she couldn't refuse. However, it was when his lips brushed against the tips of her ears that she let out a soft gasp. Amara's ears were her weakness. The tips of her ears in particular as, like most elves, they were very sensitive. Often the thought of a man taking them sightly into his mouth sent a shiver of pleasure down her spine. The topic of his whispers only added to it. At some point he must have figured it out because he nibbled softly on her ear. This caused her to bite her lip and let out a near inaudible moan that only he could have picked up. It was all he needed and his game began. He took her to the dance floor and once again held her closely leading her on with a surprising amount of grace for a man so large. He whispered his adventurous plans into her other ear and nibbled on that one as well for good measure this time getting a little louder moan from her lips since he squeezed her rear at the same time. Furthermore, he picked her up, and she squealed in surprise as he twirled with her. She felt his arousal against her thighs, and then he placed her on her feet and turned her, so her back was against him and his bulge was now rubbing above her rear. He teased and ultimately toyed with her like a cat toyed with its prey. It infuriated her but then a thought crossed her mind and she smiled. Perhaps she could use this game to her favor. Yes she would test her skill tonight and let her king have his prey. However, the Beast was going to have to hunt for it. As the dance ended, she looked at him panting and then when he loosened his hold on her just enough she made her move." Well clearly I need more to drink." She said. "Where are those lads playing that drinking game it looked terribly fun?" she continued, and she quickly managed to slip from his grip. She avoided capture, since she'd learned all his previous moves earlier in the night, and disappeared into the crowd of new dancers taking to the square. Elves were the masters of stealth so it wasn't too hard to achieve. When he caught up with her, he found her chugging down a large tankard of Ale and surrounded by a group of Royal soldiers. The name of the game she was playing was down the hatch. The rules were simple two people got the largest tankard available and filled it with Ale or drink of choice. It had to be one go and no spills were allowed whichever one finished first was the winner. To his, and the other Soldiers amazement she actually won. Even more impressive She didn't seem effected by the alcohol." Not a bad brew boys, not bad at all but it's water compared to Mountain ridge Dwarves Meade give it a try you won't be disappointed." She said." Damn Sire you're lucky you found a woman who's beautiful and can hold her drink." one of the men said. Amara vaguely heard him comment about how he wanted her to hold other things before he tried to trap her again. Amara was quick to grab the nearest full mug of Ale and splash it onto his chest causing him to jump back."Oh, How terrible You made me spill my drink. We can't have a king walking with drink on his shirt. The scandal that will come of that quickly clean it before it stains." She said and as the guards moved in she moved out and disappeared once more hearing him give a frustrated growl, but a smile still rested on his face. The Second time he found her He was now topless, and she was surrounded by children. She was showing them magic and once again he was impressed by his new queen. She was making fireworks shoot from her hands that rained a sort of golden glitter around the children who were laughing. With the surrounding children had to behave which gave her the opportunity to send fire works in his direction that caused the children to dance around him just as he got close enough to grab her. She giggled impishly as she heard his growl of frustration. The third time she let him win. She was caught by the food table sucking erotically on a strawberry. The sight of it caught him off guard for a second. After that second he walked over to her and pulled her petite body against his again. He demanded she leave with him, and she looked up and smiled." All right my king I will leave with you, but before you add my maidenhood to your list of conquests allow me one request." She said as she placed the strawberry in his mouth before he could talk. "I wish to give you a wedding gift." She said as she rubbed her hands on his chest. "I need to give it to you privately, and it has to happen before we make love." She said. " What do you say?" She escaped his grasp! She was playing a game with him, looking all coy, with her bright eyes and mesmerizing flicking, long pointy ears. He caught sight of her red, wavy curls in the distance, twisting and dancing away from him, until he caught up with her at a drinking contest. She was winning, impressing the heck out of him, of course, and out of his men. Somehow, she was already winning their respect, even challenging them in her own way, which was amusing as it was effective in winning their eternal respect. Before he could catch her, however, she tossed a mug of ale all over him! He wanted to give her a piece of his mind, preferably on her perky, tight little ass that was definitely in need of a good spanking. After fucking the living daylights out of the coy little wench, of course. Who did she think she was? Teasing him like this, evading him, making him work for it! Every moment that delayed his being with her, only turned him on even more, had his lust surging higher and hotter in his blood, had him going more and more mad... not in an angry way, but in that determined way, almost obsessed way, in fact, to claim her and make that gorgeous Even princess, his new queen, scream his name to the high heavens. He caught up to her when she was entertaining a flock of children, making her love them with her display of fireworks and magical prowess. He is like that a lot and around the dozens of children, plenty of parents looked on in approval of their new queen, who proved she didn’t feel too high to spend time with the common people of Miriam. Furthermore, he smiled as he watched the show, though he subtly moved through the crowd to get closer to her. Not subtly enough, since suddenly, he was bedazzled with fireworks all around him and the scores of children dancing excitedly around their usually so fearsome, now topless king. The only thing that saved his masculinity was that every adult woman around as watching his topless, very muscular body hungrily, obviously desiring him.Then why did his sexy wife keep avoiding him? Did she thrive on being chased? Did she want him so mad with lust that he wouldn’t make love to her, but actually violate her forcefully? Her coy smile and teasing winks as she fled away stealthily had him suspecting so at the very least. Especially since when he did catch her, it was almost because she let him. Now, he hadn't been trying overly hard. He loved the chase and if he’d needed to have her, he could have tracked her down with his hunting skills and viciously caught her. She wasn’t some escaped criminal or murderer, however, so he did it the more fun way. Not that it would have been easy anyway. By the gods, she was a slippery lass! He turned her towards him and yet, she stalled him, by mentioning she wanted to give him a special gift before the consummation. All he did was growl at her before pulling her up, off the ground, wrapping her slender legs around his burly form, flattening her supple breasts against his bare chest, so close did he hold her, before he ravished her mouth deeply. He kissed her like there was no tomorrow, engaging her tongue in that ancient dance, where he battles her pink appendage into submission, finding her delightfully inexperienced in that passionate little dance. He cupped her ass cheeks again, holding them tight, squeezing the possessively, as he carried her away.“You can give me your gift, in private, but afterward, you are mine and there shall be no sleep or rest for you tonight, my dear queen. You’ve teased me too much. Now, it is time to pay the piper.” He growled against her lips, before kissing her even deeper, harder, completely claiming her mouth with nearly bruising hunger. As they left the party, people were cheering and applauding, all of them knowing what was going to happen and excited for it, while he entered the palace, carrying her as if she weighed nothing at all, while ravishingly and ravaging her pretty little mouth. By the time they reached their bedroom, he’d actually torn off her dress and threw her down on the soft, down filled mattress covered in silk sheets and the softest pillows. He stood over her prone form, stripping off his pants, before he crawled onto the bed, on top of her, leaning over her, his heavy, large cock hanging down in a three-quarter election that was already extremely large, larger than anything an elf could possibly have and even large by human standards.“You’re mine now, my little queen... but you mentioned a gift?” He asked her, tracing his hands up her bare sides, before he cupped her breasts. Furthermore, he laid down on top of her before rolling them over so she was straddling him, allowing him to tease and caress her surprisingly full breasts, while he leaned up to kiss along her neck and collarbone. Amara didn't have time to squeal in surprise as King Eric picked her up and placed his lips to hers. He took advantage of her momentary surprise and invaded her mouth with his tongue. He kissed her as though he were trying to take the very breath from her lungs. Furthermore, he cupped her rear with possessive hands and when he finally parted from her lips Amara was actually dizzy from loss of oxygen. Luckily he didn't put her down.“You can give me your gift, in private, but afterward, you are mine and there shall be no sleep or rest for you tonight, my dear queen. You’ve teased me too much. Now, it is time to pay the piper.” He growled at her before claiming her mouth again and carrying her away. Given his apparent ravenous hunger for her, she had no problem believing he would keep her busy all night. By the time they reached the palace, Amara was burning up with desire. His beard tickled her skin as his mouth made its claim over her face, neck and collar bone. He only put her down once when he pressed her against the wall to literally tear off her dress. It was incredible show of strength since the dress had a full Corset within it. He then picked her up again in a way that had her naked core pressed against the massive bulge at his groin. As he walked with her, it rubbed against her and even through the fabric she could tell he was very well-endowed. When he made it to his bedroom, well I guess it was theirs now, he tossed her onto the soft bed. Her body bounced a little when she landed, but the soft cool silk felt nice against her burning skin. As he stood there admiring her beauty she took the time to really look at his. She completely understood why some of the woman at the party looked at him hungrily. He was a very attractive man. If Amara were being honest with herself, She actually enjoyed how large and intimidating he was. Of course, she still found herself a little nervous when he removed his clothing, and she saw what he had in store for her. Spirits what had she gotten herself into. He was very well-endowed indeed. From what she had read about anatomy Her king could likely put an Orc to shame. How was her tiny body supposed to accommodate something like that? He was definitely living up to his monstrous reputation." You're mine now my little Queen..." He said as his body slid over hers. His hands Slowly traced her skin, leaving goosebumps in their wake."...but you mentioned a gift He growled in Amara's ear before cupping her full round breast and giving them a squeeze. A small moan escaped Amara's lips which quickly turned to a little squeal of surprise when he rolled so she was on top of him and his rather large erection now resting against the cheeks of her ass. Then he began his attack on her body again only this time his hands joined in." Wait I....mummy" She moaned as his hands caressed her breasts. "My lord I need...AAAA!" She moaned again as he nipped her collar bone while his fingers pinched her nipples firmly. By Stars, he was insatiable He pushed her body back, so his shaft was now closer to her clean-shaven folds with were wet with arousal." Eiric!" She cried out half in pleasure and half in exasperation. She grabbed his face in her hands and brought his lips close to hers. Furthermore, she muttered something in elvish and they gave her king a very passionate kiss. Thanks to the earlier heated kissing in the hallway she'd gotten quite accomplished at it. When she kissed him, a warm rush of wind swirled around there bodies and a pale golden light emanated from their skin. He felt some sort of ancient magic pull at his soul, and it sent a rush through his body. When their lips separated they were both gasping for air. She couldn't help but laugh at his look of confusion on his face before she began to explain." My wedding gift to you Eric, King of Miriam, is an Even Kiss. It is an ancient magic of our people it grants you long life. I had to give it to you now because it can only be given by an untouched Even maid." She said. "As an Elf I was going to vastly out live you. Being as My people do not remarry after the death of a partner I would have lived long alone. However, an Even kiss binds our souls so now you will Age as my people do although if I die so will you, and it is the same in the reverse. So I ask you don't take it lightly." Eric the Beast was left highly surprised by her sudden spell, the golden glow and the almost desperate hunger in the deep kiss. He’d been enjoying how he drove her crazy, how he surprised her and got her so turned on with simple kisses. He had underestimated just how virginal she was in these regards. Furthermore, he loved that. Furthermore, he craved the knowledge, relished in it, that he would be her first and only everything. Or, depending on n her leanings, at the very least her first and only Male bed partner and lover. He loved how he made her shudder and how before the unexpected spell and kiss that now consumed him with something that felt life altering in a level he hadn’t ever experienced before... how he’d made her look so desperate, turn between last and urgency, how for all her mischievous playfulness earlier in dodging and avoiding him and making him chase her, she was helpless when naked and in his grasp... and loving every moment of it. When the kiss broke, she looked flushed and admitted the depth of her gift. He looked up at her, a little stunned, a little angry and very pleased, all at the same time. Stunned that she’d made the decision already to have him forever, instead of simply outliving him and living the life of perpetual queen mother on the treasury. Pleased with the potent gift of the closest thing to immortality. Something all humans craved, in fact... and a little angry because she’d decided unilaterally to tie their lives together. If anyone managed to kill her, he’d die as well, and she was by far the weakest in this regard, between the two of them.“Next time, my dear... us humans invented something called conversation and explanation.” He remarked instead of reacting angrily, something undeserved for a gift and symbol of this magnitude, for she had tied her own life to his as well and made sure that they would be together eternally, while knowing that he would be taking great joy in her body for all of that eternity. He was already intoxicated by her playful nature and extreme beauty, after all. She possessed the kind of looks and character that would forever attract him, he could tell. Even now, she looked both torn with lust and a little mischievous at surprising him like this.“It is a good thing you need to remain a maiden no more...” he finally granted her, smile turning wicked as he lifted her slender, almost petite form up. He lifted her high. He knew she was wet, could feel it on his groin that she was literally dripping on him. Once she sat across his chest, her legs spread wide, he captured her wrists firmly and lifted them towards the headboard of the silken covered bed, with wrought bedposts that were wrapped in silken threads and scarves, it looked like, raising to a canopy over the bed. Similar scarves Nd loops of silk were placed all over the headboard, but as he slid her wrists to a dual loop of them, she likely discovered their purpose as he pulled the taut, trapping her wrists together, in front of her, attached closely to the top of the headboard. Like that, he shifted her again, making her sit on his face, his beard tickling the insides of her thighs, before he delved into her dripping womanhood, drinking, licking deep, all along her slit, while his hands quested from her slender wrists, up her arms, to her heaving, deliciously sized breasts .he squeezed those orbs firmly, nipples captured between his thick, calloused, long fingers, getting lightly pinched with each squeezing movement over her orbs. He tasted her nectar thoroughly, exploring her folds deeply, teasing inside of her pink opening, before he closed his lips around her clitoris, sucking it into his mouth and as she sat trapped on top of him, he started sucking the nub hard, while fluttering the tip of his tongue rapidly and skillfully over it, intent on driving her completely mad. "Believe me Sire conversation had been my plan, but you must understand..." She said as she ran her hands along his chest. She definitely appreciated the tight sculpted muscle. "It is very hard to converse without my mouth." She finished with a smile. He flashed her a smile of his own. It was that devilish grin of his that made her stomach turn to knots.“It is a good thing you need to remain a maiden no more...” She heard him say, and suddenly she squealed a little as he effortlessly lifted her body off of him. He seemed to hold her in the air for a bit. He was either enjoying her being helpless above him or thinking what to do next. Once again he did something unexpected and placed her over his chest forcing her legs to spread wide. She was a bit confused. If what she read was true, shouldn't he be placing her further down. She opened her mouth to ask, but she only gasped as he grasped her wrists. She felt the heat of his eyes as he leads her hands towards the headboard, which she now notice was covered in scarves. They seemed to be all over the bed along with loops made of rope. At first, she couldn't comprehend their purpose, but when he placed her hands through the rope she got the idea. He pulled on another part of the rope and her hands were pushed together. She instinctively tried to pull them free, but it was no use every time she pulled the rope seemed to grow tighter. What did he need restraints for? Did he think she would run? Had Women run from him before? She wouldn't be surprised. He was intimidating in size with both body, and well manhood. She was sure if half the women at the party actually got up close and personal with him, they would think twice about wanting to bed him. However, She was his wife. It was her duty to bed him, and he likely knew that. So if they weren't used to keep her from running then the only logical conclusion she could come up with was that he enjoyed restraining her. How Barbaric of him. Amara felt him shift her again, and she thought he was going to slide out and take her for behind. Amara felt her stomach twist again, and she grabbed the headboard with her bound hands. Surely he knew it was going to take time before she was able to take his monstrous length into her tiny frame. Suddenly he stopped, so his head was resting under her legs." What are you... Aaah." Amara cried out as she was interrupted by the feel of his tongue against her folds. Spirits this was a new feeling. Now Amara had touched herself before so she wasn't a stranger to the heat of her core, but the feeling she was feeling now far surpassed what she had felt before. The tongue that had so expertly claimed the lips on her face was working just as hard to claim victory over the pink lips of her core. Amara was also helpless to do anything about it, only able to moan in the pleasure of the moment. This fact only seemed to make it more intoxicating. Once again his hands joined the battle as they laid assault over her breasts while his masterful tongue continued to stroke her slit. Then Eric seemed to change hi static. He clasped his mouth over her clit and sucked it hard towards his tongue. The powerful muscle then began to flick across the sensitive bud making Amara cry out louder than before. Just when her body felt like it was going to explode, he released her and returned to licking the length of her slit. He teased her like this for what seemed to Amara like an eternity. Switching between sucking her clit to just the point of explosion to licking her slit again, all while his hands teased and tormented her breasts. By the third time he'd sucked her she felt herself wanting to explode. Once again however he denied her and she whimpered in frustration. When the fourth time came and went She actually begged him." Please, My king...release me from my torment." She begged between moans. She heard, and felt, him chuckle before he happily obliged and sucked her clit harder than before. Furthermore, she could feel his teeth resting on the skin as his tongue flicked crossed it mercilessly. Her whole body seemed to tighten and spasm simultaneously, and she heard her self cry out several times each moan increasing in volume as well as pitch before stars flashed into her vision and her sweet nectar poured from her for Eric to drink. He didn't let a single drop go to waste. He held her perky breasts firmly, toying with their fullness and their weight. They were so perfectly sized for his large hands and his taste. He loved how her hard nipples flicked against his calloused fingers, how she practically danced on top of him with arching and writhing in tune to his tongue and touches. He licked her slit and teased her clitoris, taking turns in pushing her to the edge until she was a trembling, leaking mess about ready to explode, before he slid his tongue down into her orifice, where she was far less sensitive than her clitoris, mostly because he couldn’t reach as deep with his tongue. He kept her dancing, balancing on the edge, denying her her peak several times in a row, until she was tugging at the ropes holding her in place, leaking generously into his mouth and begging. The proud, gorgeous redhead princess begged him naughtily, and he granted her the release she craved. He held her tight, squeezed her breasts more firmly and sucked her clitoris tight between his teeth, biting down softly around it, suckling it even more firmly, almost vacuum into his mouth, before fluttering his tongue directly on top of it. This time he didn’t stop when she was on the edge and pushed her over. His gorgeous queen came like a banshee, moaning and whimpering loudly, screaming even as she convulsed on top of him, her nectar gushing from her folds into his mouth, which he drank down eagerly. He didn’t stop. He kept up the suckling, licking and nibbling around her clitoris till her first orgasm faded, and she crescendoed into a next one that had her gushing and moaning some more, followed by a third and fourth one like the waxing and waning of the moonlit sea, keeping her orgasming several times in a row. After the fifth orgasm that shattered her countenance, he decided she was wet and aroused enough, so he stopped at last, lifting her off him. He turned her over and rolled on top of her, having her on her back, her hands still tied, her wrists now entwined more tightly together in the soft rope, while he positioned himself between her legs. He kissed her deeply, letting her own nectar flow into her mouth as he claimed her lips and tongue hungrily, sharing her taste of sweet and sour and musk, before he pushed forward slightly, his glans bouncing lightly against her twitching, throbbing labia that were still flowing, literally, with her juices of lust. He broke the kiss and looked her in the eye, smirking wickedly down at her.“It seems like my queen enjoyed herself a great deal. I must say, you look especially alluring, literally dripping with ecstasy. And you were so loud... oh dear, I’m afraid many overheard your lewdness... but we aren’t done yet. I’m going to take you know. I’m going to claim you as mine, fill you up more than you possibly ever imagined, and I’m going to make love to you, fuck you and breed you as a queen befits for me.” He purred against her flushed, swollen lips, before he moved to the side slightly. He kissed along the curve of her long, elfin ear, teasing the very tip of it with light little licks. He. Moved his hands back to her swollen breasts that would surely bare the marks of his sensual and firm manhandling so far by the morrow and squeezed them firmly again, making her nipples poke up harder and higher, rubbing against his chest, while he pushed forward more. He slowly parted her folds, loving how she had nowhere to go under his weight and tied up as she was, how she was forced to accommodate his massive girth and length inside of her petite body. Inch after inch, he pushed into her. Parting her, stretching her. He felt the tiny resistance of her barrier before he tore through it, pushing deeper and deeper. He was over halfway of his length inside of her when he bumped against her cervix. She’d likely feel stuffed to the gills already, his manhood as thick as her own wrist and now filling her to the Even limit.“There you are... all mine... forever.” He whispered hotly in her ear, before he slowly started pulling back, out of her. He slipped his hand from her right breast into her hair at the back of her head and tilted her so she was facing down her body, between the valley of her breasts, forced to watch his massive cock sliding into her again, forced to see how he hit her current limit without even being fully inside of her... and in that tortuously slow pace, he started fucking her. It was waved after wave of pleasure. When one would die down he'd start on another one. Each one had her moaning with delight and left her body trembling. Eric barely gave her time to recover from any of them either. After the third one his hands were holding her hips and was likely the only reason she was still able to stay upright. After the fifth wave of ecstasy that crashed through her body Amara was nothing more than a panting mess. She gasped in surprise as he lifted her, once again with ease. She could feel herself literally dripping with arousal. Furthermore, she squealed in surprise as Eric rolled her on her back. In this position the rope pulled a little tighter on Amara's wrist and would tighten even more if she pulled. As he settled between her legs, which he slowly pushed apart with his knee. She felt his weight over her and her stomach turned to knots in anticipation of what she knew, inevitably, was going to happen next. She started to tell him to wait for her nerves to settle, but she could barely form the words before his lips crashed into hers, and he flooded her mouth with the sweet and sour taste of her own arousal. Furthermore, she had never thought of what that would taste like, but she didn't completely dislike it. Especially since it came with one of those passionate kisses that her king was perfect at. Suddenly she felt his groin against hers, and she was once again reminded of the knots in her stomach. She tried to squirm but with him over her body, and her hands tied to the headboard, Amara couldn't move. For the first time in her life Amara had no control over what was happening. A fact that King Eric seemed to be enjoying. At least if the smile on his face as he broke the kiss said anything. Amara whimpered when he pulled away her lips flush and swollen from the kiss. She looked into her kings lust filled eyes and mischievous grin and blushed at his words.“It seems like my queen enjoyed herself a great deal. I must say, you look especially alluring, literally dripping with ecstasy. And you were so loud... oh dear, I’m afraid many overheard your lewdness... but we aren’t done yet. I’m going to take you know. I’m going to claim you as mine, fill you up more than you possibly ever imagined, and I’m going to make love to you, fuck you and breed you as a queen befits for me.” He purred against her lips, and then she felt him start to kiss her neck making his way to her ear." My king....Louis" She moaned as his tongue teased her ear. She arched her back as he squeezed her breast pushing her body against his even more. She felt his member press against her entrance. His hands once again began to aggressively tease her breasts." Wait... I... Aah!" She cried out as he entered her body. She could feel each inch as he pushed forward. He was slow, which Amara was thankful for, but as soon as she began to become accustomed to his length he would push forward again filling and stretching her more." It's too big...you're AYAH!" She cried out louder as he pushed further in. From the pain she knew She was a maiden no more. He quickly made sure her pain was followed by pleasure as he nibbled on her ear and rolled her nipples between his fingers. He continued pushing into her and with every inch she seemed to have to remember how to breath. Furthermore, he finally stopped but only after he pressed against the entrance to her womb. It felt strange as he rested there. She felt completely stuffed like if he went any further he'd rip her in half.“There you are... all mine... forever.” He whispered making her body shiver. She felt him slowly start to pull out of her. Suddenly his hand was moving her head, forcing her to watch as his large cock pushed in and out of her body. Somehow seeing what he was doing made the action more erotic, and she found herself moaning. She noticed he still had quite a bit of length that wasn't inside her, and she felt the urge to wrap her fingers around it. As she went to do so the tug of the scarf reminded her she was bound, and she whimpered in frustration as she tugged and pulled only making the restraints tighter. Eric seemed to find her struggle amusing because he simply chuckled and began to quicken the pace at which he fucked her. Although she couldn't see it, Amara had no doubt he was sporting that devilish grin of his. She moaned and arched under him as he penetrated her. She looked incredibly aroused as he started thrusting into her. Her eyes were died, and she struggled in her bonds, as if wanting to reach for the part of his cock not yet inside of her. At first, she’d complained her was too big, but right no, from his angle above her as she forced her to watch her own invasion, he could see the intrigue and fascination in her eyes, the very hungry as he felt her virgin body contracting around him. Already, he had her stuffed beyond belief, he could see her pelvic bones and muscles moving to accommodate him and with how he was arching her body to make her watch herself, he imagined her could see the swell of where his cock penetrated her and stretched her beyond belief.“You’re mine now, my sweet wife. This will be your life from now on. Your beautiful body serving to pleasure me in the bedroom. Your every orifice at my mercy. Your nectar belongs on my cock. You belong in my bed. Your body was made to be sheathed upon me, to be speared by me... and I will do this whenever and wherever I feel like it. That’s the price you pay to be my queen, that’s your marital duty. As is mine to make you pregnant, to place my heir inside of you and after my heir, there shall be many more children that you will bear for me.” He purred darkly into her sensitive ear, smirking just as she thought, while brushing his lips and tongue over the sensitive tip to keep teasing her. He kept every thrust incredibly slow, made her feel every inch of him. Furthermore, he pulled his cock out of her completely, every single time, showing her from up close how his thick, throbbing length was glistening with her nectar. The same nectar of which the taste lingered in both their mouths. He made her watch how he was thicker than her wrist, longer than her forearm, made her watch as when he thrust into her again, her labia were stretched to the limit, her clitoris nearly crushed, as only just over half his cock slid into her before bumping into the entrance to her womb again... and again... and again.“Everyone heard you coming already, several times... so, cry out for me again. Prove to me that you belong to me by worshiping my cock with your words, my sweet queen. Show everyone that is close enough to hear that you are going to orgasm again on my cock... knowing that this is only just the beginning. There are two more orifices for me to claim whenever I desire to... and that with the gods as my witness, I will make you take all of my cock, the full length... and just like the dirty little elf you are, you’re going to scream in ecstasy again, aren’t you? Just being powerless, being unable to stop me, being restrained, being utterly at my mercy... it all turns you on, doesn’t it?” He challenged her, wanting to break through her shy facade, wanting her to admit to loving being his pleasure slave... And all the while, he kept thrusting so slowly and deeply, at a pace his muscular, fit body rippling over her could keep up for hours, no matter how hard, or often she came for him, until she was begging for his seed.

The Rise of an Empire (wiccaangel311 & Arkaniel)|rating:3.0

Star Wars_ Tales of Grey Squadron - Prologue

(is the ally of the Alliance, and for them to cultivate it they had to become very inventive at hiding less a squadron or so of Imperial Star Destroyers appear and wipe what had become the burning torch of hope for the galaxy out of existence. Thus, it should come as no surprise to anyone how the Alliance to Restore the Galactic Republic might have started in the core and mid-rim worlds, it is the outer rim in which the Alliance has based a number of their forces, scattered about what is the largest region of near unexplored space still part of the Empire. Planets such as Antonie and habitable moons like Gavin IV are among the cornerstones for the Alliance at the moment, serving to coordinate the numerous operations spread across the vast distance of the galaxy. One such operation was taking place on the planet of D'Car, a relatively new discovery and the only civilization present were dots of refuges, people fleeing the Empire and attempting to regain some semblance of life. It was the current location of the Alliance shipsAspirationandVanguard, engaged in training exercises for the next Alliance operation upon the planet Thee, home world of the Emperor. The current rumor through the few Gunman resistance cells upon the planet of the survival of Delius Mandala, nephew to former Senator Mandala and thus of great propaganda support to the Alliance, as well as one of the key steps in throwing out the Imperial occupation of the planet. Such grand plans are for future, as first the Alliance needs to verify the rumor, and in doing so, set up an extraction. Thus, the need for the training exercises as Black and Grey Squadrons run through close air support scenarios while the 401st Commando Company runs through its own mock up run through to secure the target objectives. It had been a grueling three days, but the training was winding down. They could not take too much time less the rumor reach the Off's ear, thus making their task all the more difficult. Grey Squadron had landed no more than an hour past, and thus was enjoying a rare bit of downtime as preparations were made to return to the Vanguard. Tagging header for character postcode: [Select][float left][IMG height=200 padding=2]Pic[/IMG][/float left][b]Character Name:[/b][b]Location:[/b][b]Tagging:[/b] [b]Mentioned:[/b][b]Actions (Combat only)[/b]:[b]NSFW Warning:[/b] If necessary (Name:Jan DAR JokimbaLocation:D, qar makeshift landing pad Tagging:open Mentioned:no one yet Actions (Combat only): N/NSFW Warning:N/Alan DAR let out another sigh, the fourth in half as many minutes. Gray squadron had finally had a moment of rest since they’d begun all their drilling and training for the upcoming mission, and already he was out of Orwellian brandy! He hadn’t had much left and had finished it quickly. And he just knew if he asked the captain where he could get more he’d get the usual answer of ‘the Alliance isn’t made of credits’. Didn’t they have a princess or something?! Surely she had the credits to spare, you know, for troop moral or something. But, Jan DAR was not so lucky, so he spun the empty bottle on the table before him and sighed heavily yet again. He honestly didn’t know why he had to drill so hard for this mission. Sure the squad would need to work together if things went south, but this was Taboo they were talking about! His home freakin’ planet! If he couldn’t infiltrate it and get them safely planet side he might as well retire now. This was one of the extremely rare missions where he could be out in the open as a gunman and not garner suspicion. If all went well they wouldn’t need any of the fancy flying they’d been drilling, simply get in, nab the target, and get out. Easy-peasy! At least that was what Jan DAR thought, but he had yet to be promoted above executive officer so he didn’t get to make a lot of calls. And that was another thing! Why was some kid still wet behind the leak the lieutenant for their squad? Did his prior service in the clone wars count for nothing?! Apparently not. So, here sat the valedictorian of Thee Academy, clone war veteran, and master of over 30 languages; bone tired, frustrated, and dejectedly spinning an empty bottle of brandy. (Name:Paulo MaLocation:D, qar makeshift landing pad Tagging:Jan DAR (open)Mentioned:Jan Directions (Combat only):NSFW Warning:Wait had been hard to name Jan DAR as LOA; he smelled so much like food. Paulo had eventually managed but it had been hard. Mostly he had done it by avoiding the Gunman. Now his curiosity compelled him to get closer. He stood by the table watching the bottle spin. He could see no point in what the Jan DAR was doing. Much he had seen had only made sense after it had been explained. So, in order to explain, he needed to ask." The bottle. Why do you spin it?" Direct and to the point. That was Paulo. His voice sounded like it came from the bottom of the ocean, a low rumble that did not need volume to carry far. He looked at Jan DAR with alternating eyes. It made him look like he was scanning the table for scraps of meat. (Name:Tania "Spank" Sandford Location:Canteen Tagging:None Mentioned:None Actions (Combat only): None NSFW Warning:None"Gas! Are you kidding me, are they really going to gloss over that splendid exploit without even mentioning it?!" Tania, nicknamed Spank, sat at a table in the mostly empty canteen while talking to herself. Most people had to wind down after a mission, even for training, but Tania never found the need to relax for long. Right now she was sitting at an otherwise empty table, but food wasn't really on her mind. In front of her was a small communicator which could also serve as a broadcast device. On it was streaming the latest news from the core worlds, including events that had disrupted the 'public order', or more precisely things that caused trouble for the Empire. But Tania wasn't so much concerned about the disruptions that the news anchor was enumerating, she had another reason to be excited about the news. Just a few weeks back, she stirred up a bit of illicit activities on an imperial world where she used her charms to get into a restricted area, then had her droid reprogram the planetary broadcast system to display rebel propaganda messages. It wasn't strictly an authorized rebel mission, but the opportunity came knocking, and she took advantage of it. Plus, it was a very public demonstration of her skills, so she was particularly happy to do it. Unfortunately, the event had been suppressed and there was nothing in the news about it. The anchor only briefly mentioned technical difficulties. Dejected, Tania slapped the device down on the table, turning it off, then let out a deep sigh." Damnit. What's the point of doing this stuff if our names don't even get mentioned a few sectors away..." (Name:Jan DAR JokimbaLocation:D, qar makeshift landing pad Tagging:Paulo, open Mentioned:KauloActions (Combat only): N/NSFW Warning:N/AA's Jan DAR sat wallowing in his self-pity a large imposing figure blocked out the light from the planet’s star. It was the karkarodon, great. The hulking being been considered sentient, though Jan DAR wasn’t all that sure of its actual intelligence, and often the man asked rather strange or obvious questions as if he had the mind of a child. Letting out another deep sigh Jan DAR continued staring at and spinning his bottle. He didn’t bother to look at Paulo, but he did respond.” Because I’m hoping to refill it with sheer force of will alone. Barring that I may try whining and pleading...” the gunman deadpanned. He then spun the bottle again and gave it good hard glare. As nothing happened Jan DAR slumped back in his seat and finally graced the behemoth before him with a glance and a look of annoyance.” And when all of this inevitably fails I will be left exactly where I was before beginning this little ritual. Tired, dry as the sands of a desert planet, and without enough credits to rectify my sorry situation.” (Name:Paulo MaLocation:D, qar makeshift landing pad Tagging:Jan DAR (open)Mentioned:Jan Directions (Combat only):NSFW Warning:NA"If failure is inevitable, why waste the time?" Paulo asked, having completely missed Jan DAR's sarcasm. "For that matter, why pay to drink at all? Did some meat start rationing water?"' Meat'. It was what Paulo always called those he considered enemies. Someone who was denying him water would certainly be an enemy. The fact that Jan DAR was not looking for water to drink was also escaping him, like so many things did. Jan DAR's assessment of Paulo was likely shared by many. Huge, lumbering and with little understanding of social culture, many wondered why the former Imperial had changed sides and if he could be trusted. He'd been asked, of course and those who suspected that he was too dim to be capable of lying seemed content with his explanation that there would be more fighting as a rebel then there had been as an Imperial. (Name’S'Kane VoormaLocation:D, qar makeshift landing pad Tagging:-Mentioned:Actions (Combat only):-NSFW Warning:-S'Kane observed the banter from one of the side tables. She remained silent, just wanted to see the squadron interact outside the confines of a simulated engagement. There was so much to be considered - a conflict from outside the battlefield could easily get transferred into the cockpit. They were all professionals, but the risk never quite disappeared - they were all sentiments, after all. Kaulo, for example, was an excellent asset to the squadron. Yet he never bothered to really engage with wider galactic culture. Many of his idioms were rooted deeply in his home world and peculiar biology. She sympathized, but even among the supposedly egalitarian and welcoming alliance, there were bound to be some put-off. She idly righted her Leak, and continued to nurse the small cup of CAF. There was a problem with the gain on one of the Z95s, something was blocking the reactor power from spiking "properly" when pushed into the red one. Either the factory-installed limiter hadn't been properly removed, or else the reactor itself was going into safety too early... (Name:Jan DAR JokimbaLocation:D, qar makeshift landing pad Tagging:Paulo, open Mentioned:KauloActions (Combat only): N/NSFW Warning:N/Alan DAR just stared at Paulo for a moment, realizing his brand of charm was completely wasted on the karakarodon.” No, that’s not what I...” Jan DAR was at a loss for words, so he adopted a very familiar gesture that those in his squadron were getting to know quite well. The gunman sighed, closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation and frustration. Why was he destined to work with such simpletons? The clones had been bad enough with their one track minds, but at least they had a mind!” Look... I will try and be blunt with you. Amphibian to amphibian. I do not need water. What I need is BOOZE!” He put extra emphasis on the last word hoping it would get through the man’s thick skull.” Alcohol, something to take the edge off and relax. We have a harrowing mission ahead of us, and I’d like to not be so tense when we have to start. But as our little rebellion seems to barely have the credits to keep itself minimally operating I have no credits, so I cannot purchase the water of life I so very much need.” Under his breath Jan DAR included,” Especially if I have to keep dealing with you...” he then continued for Paulo to hear,” So, unless you have any way to rectify my sorry situation I will ask you to kindly leave me to my wallowing in self-pity.” (Name:Paulo MaLocation:D, qar makeshift landing pad Tagging:Jan DAR (open)Mentioned:Jan Directions (Combat only):NSFW Warning:Naval lumbered away, showing no indication that he was offended by the Gunman's words. Then again, with him, it was hard to tell. Karakarodon's facial expressions weren't the easiest to read. He returned a moment later and set a half full bottle of an amber colored liquid on the table in front of Jan DAR. "Don't over do it. Alcohol is a tranquilizer and tranquilized muscles make you easier to catch. Self-pity has no purpose and would make it hard to enjoy your wallowing. May your meat stay in the shallows and your devourers in the deep." It was probably the karkarodon way of saying 'good luck'. The bottle's label was half torn of but what was left indicated that it was cheap Orwellian whiskey. Given the situation, the whole base was likely down to the dregs of their supply of luxury goods. Where Paulo had found the bottle or how much he'd paid for it was anyone's guess. Right now it was sitting on Jan DAR's table and would likely quickly make himverypopular. (Name:Ca's Sauron (#msg14914409)Location’D, qar makeshift landing pad Tagging:S'unmentioned:Jan DAR, KauloActions (Combat only):NSFW Warning:NACA had run through his checks on the Y wing and secured the bomber, his armament inside it was looked over before he had made his way out onto the landing pad. His dark eyes looked over the two of his squadron talking as liquor was handed over and then towards S'Kane who seemed to be watching them idly. Moving towards her, he would pull the bottle from his hip as he uncapped it and began to drink the hydro. "Not nice to stare Lieutenant." He said softly, but he showed less of a smile about it, then again there had to be a slight bit of jest there. Moving to grab hold of a chair he would sit as he shifted his Sunbelt and would deposit the bottle back on his hip. "People watching or working out another problem?" Asking her as he could smell the richness of the CAF as the slight breeze blew over the pad. He had tried to extend himself more into things, his rank was earned more from his ground operations than his flying to be sure, and sometimes it certainly showed in space. His own suggestions had gotten him sour looks because of his mind for tactics not being the most friendly. "I think drills went well enough, but the real thing is always different isn't' it?" (Name:Delius Relocation:D'Car makeshift landing pad Tagging:Tank, Jar DAR, Halo, anyone Mentioned:Actions (Combat only): None NSFW Warning:Harsh Language One of the Gamma six assault shuttles was coming into the temporary basis, and one of the engines was letting out a plume of black smoke. It did not seem to be in too much danger and came in under its own power, but it did send a message to the people back from the latest round of exercises not all went as well for everyone. The pilot manning the controls did an excellent job of bringing her in, and all seemed well, but there was an energy build up and discharge of a repulsed lift overloading and the shuttle came down, hard, enough to send the echo of thunder throughout the landing pad. A few short minutes later, the boarding ramps to the shuttled opened, and one very pissed off Lieutenant Delius Rex came down, stomping and pulling off his helmet, the outline of soot and grease about his face. He tossed the helmet down and then turned to look back to the enlisted crew chief on the pad, stabbing a finger at it." The next time I tell you we are doing live fire with demolitions, you might want to tell me about the faulty particle shielding over the engines! You are damned lucky both of them did not fail. Now down check this and start repairing it as we are going to be ready when we bug out of here and return to the Vanguard." Decius walked away, well more like stormed away and headed right to where Tania was. As he did, he passed by the tables of the rest of Grey Squadron, nabbing the bottle Halo had put down and taking a pull from it, his throat bobbing up and down and draining a good three fingers worth of the near rotgut before plunking it down. Then he took the steps over to Tania's table directed a thumb back towards where theAspirationground forces had set up." Hey there Spank, I will owe you a favor of your choosing if you could go over to those warheads over there and charm them out of a T-97 induction coil they have been stockpiling. Santa spit for brains over there is going to need it for the repulsed lift which just got fried. I mean I hear if your smile and hip sway doesn't work, your iron grip and twist on their balls is a good follow up." (Name:Tania "Spank" Sandford Location:Canteen Tagging:DeciusMentioned:None Actions (Combat only): None NSFW Warning:None Tania didn't notice as the Lieutenant stormed into the canteen, still busy putting her communicator away, so she blinked as We suddenly addressed her. However, her expression turned to an amused grin after she heard what he had to say. Slowly, she stood up and walked next to the man. While his movements were obviously fueled by anger and impatience, hers seemed to be the exact opposite, meticulous, almost sensual. She spoke in a low, confident voice." My, my, Delius. Any favor? You sure know how to make a girl happy. You can be sure that I will come to collect on that. Furthermore, you said a T-97? Furthermore, you stay right here and watch a pro at work." Without another word, she placed a hand on the man's head and messed his hair up as she walked away towards the table where a number of Aspiration members were seated. They were far enough away that voice wouldn't carry, but Tania opened up the conversation with one of the guys with her trademark spank on the ass, surprising him, before speaking to him. At first the whole group of Aspiration ground troops seemed to shoot her an icy glare, but soon enough they all started to look away one by one, appearing uncomfortable. Whatever she was saying, Delius would notice that the man targeted by the young minx seemed to be getting more and more nervous, being pinned between the table and Tania's body, as if he was about to be crushed at any moment. Even if the guy was bigger physically than Tania, there was no question which of the two was more confident and had a bigger presence. Soon, he gave a reluctant nod and handed a pass card to the girl. Tania slowly walked back towards her table and handed the card to We." Here you go, you'll find what you need in hangar 4." She stretched her arms out in front of him, her skimpy outfit showing off her athletic body quite well. Her expression seemed to indicate that she was pleased with herself." Ahhh.... it had been too long since I made a guy squirm like that." (Name:Jan DAR JokimbaLocation:D, qar makeshift landing pad Tagging:Paulo, Delius, open Mentioned:Paulo & DeciusActions (Combat only): N/NSFW Warning:N/Alan DAR slumped back down onto the table and laid his forehead on the cool metal as Paulo left, glad the brute had taken the hint. However, a few moments later something was slammed onto the table, something filled with liquid from the sound of it. Looking up to see the bottle of whiskey made the gunman’s eyes light up a bit.” Well I’ll be damned. Paulo my man I could kiss you.” Jan DAR eagerly reaches for the bottle, but it was matched away just before he could grab it by Lieutenant We who took much more of the liquid than Jan DAR appreciated. Grumbling to himself but keeping it low, so the lieutenant wouldn’t hear Jan DAR quickly snatched up the bottle and took a long pull himself, enjoying the warm burn as it drained down his throat. It tasted like engine fluid, but to be honest Jan DAR has drank worse in his days. Swishing around what remained in the bottle he looked back up at Paulo and offered him a smile.” Hey, if I’m slower that means that more of our enemies will be left for you to rend limb from bloody limb. So this makes everyone happy right?” So long as no one else took any more of his whiskey that was. He had just enough here for a pleasant buzz that might last until they needed to take off and return to the Vanguard. (Name:Paulo MaLocation:D, qar makeshift landing pad Tagging:Jan DAR (open)Mentioned:Jan Directions (Combat only):NSFW Warning:NA"If you are slow, then the meat might become a devoured," Paulo said, as if it explained everything. "Don't get eaten." The big Karkaradon turned away from the table a moved away. His movements were slow and economical; he wasted no energy when there was no need. In fact the only time anyone had ever seen him move at something above a walking pace was when one of the half-tamed local critters tarried too long in his path. It was then that everyone discovered that under all that bulk was muscle capable of propelling that enormous body forward at enormous speed. There was a single snap of his jaws and the critter was gone. He'd chewed twice and swallowed. Then he'd carried on to wherever he was going as if nothing had happened. It was a while before anyone was comfortable walking in front of him after that. He found a seat near the makeshift wall that was capable of supporting his bulk and settled himself on it. There was virtually no way to tell if he was awake or asleep or if he was looking at anything in particular. His big empty eyes seemed to stare off into the distance as if there were nothing in front of him. He could have been thinking about the great mysteries of the universe, or he might have been wondering what his next meal would consist of. (Name’S'Kane VoormaLocation:D, qar makeshift landing pad Tagging:Ca's SauvonMentioned:Actions (Combat only):-NSFW Warning:-S'Kane perked up, looking up from her considerations. She took a sip from her cup, and looked for the right words. It was impolite to stare, but she had not been staring - not precisely, at least. She had just looked into their general direction. Conveying that fact to him, though... well, that was an enterprise that seemed doomed to failure, so she just shrugged. "Power couplings can be a nasty bitch, and one of the Z95s is still not performing quite as I would like it. Should be fine for flying, at least for now. Captain!" She had snuck the honorific in juuuuuust late enough to make it awkward and highlight her lapse in decorum. Damnation. Best to get over it quickly, and focus on the second part of his question." We did everything. Live-fire exercises, mock dogfights. We got as close as we could." She wanted to express how the actual dogfights brought both the best and worst out in pilots. How when the disappearing wing member on the radar didn't mean a free drink back at base anymore, but someone you'd potentially never see again, every maneuver became that much tighter. She had faith in the team, knew they would turn into diamond under pressure instead of crumbling. But explaining that didn't make it through. Instead, she tugged her left Leak into place, and simply said: "We're ready. Just need the mission to prove it" (Name:Jonathan Ellis.Location’D’Car makeshift landing pad. Tagging:Anyone. Mentioned:Everyone present so far. Actions (Combat only): N/A.NSFW Warning:N/A. With a stretch of his limbs, Jonathan disembarked from one of the many shuttles, taking a moment to enjoy the light from the local star down on the planet rather than in a cockpit. He unbuttoned the top bit of his long black coat, letting some air hit the top of his chest and collarbone as he moved down to the R&R section where he espied several of his comrades already at rest. He, too, had been practicing mock-fly ins into fire-heavy Los, though they had finally told him to take fifteen when he dropped yet another expletive over the comms for the thousandth time. In any case, he could use the rest to recharge his mental batteries and moved to take a seat at a table near to the other members of Grey Squadron. He slumped heavily in a chair, giving just a simple nod if any other squadron mate gave him a greeting. He saw Paulo Ma…sleeping or mediating, both looking ferocious enough. The others, Jan DAR and Delius, Tania, Ca's, S’Kane, all deep in their own discussions. Sounded technical to him. He was a pilot. He concerned himself with the flying, leaving the fixing and repairs to the experts. Still, it was good to listen to and learn a few things. He had a water canteen and a data pad he had swiped from one of the officers, using it to replay recorded feed of his own flights. He leaned back in his chair, slumping one black boot over another atop the table, laying the data pad against his knees so he could review his own recording. Especially his second attempt, where a delayed landing gear deployment caused the bottom of the ship he was flying to scrap against the ground of the designated landing zone, nearly crashing. That brought on the endless expletives that got him rotated out for this cycle. Wasn’t his fault, or anyone’s fault, but he ought to be aware if there were snags in the equipment, no? The actual battle would be different, and one simple hitch could throw everything to hell. A delay in landing could mean extra timing for another fighter or anti-air blast from the surface to take him out. One had to keep moving in flight. An extra four seconds on the landing procedure if I fly that craft again. Really going to miss up my timing… He had a few extra credits, considering a drink, possibly his last given how things were heating up on a geo-galactic scale. Jonathan had no family, no home, or life to save up for, so he spent it as he got it. Recklessly.“Anyone know when we’re heading out? Hear anything?” He asked anyone and no one in particular, getting antsy with all these drills. (Name:Our Galvan Location:D’Car makeshift landing pad. Tagging:Anyone interested Mentioned:No one specific yet Actions (Combat only):None NSFW Warning:Haven’t met anyone yet, so no. D’Car was lacking in a lot of things, but not tables. “Teach” has his own as he went back and forth from one PADD to the other, running a few slicing programs. He figured everyone else had something important they were doing, so he could get back to his usual pass-times. On one PADD, he was skimming every news service and any lightly encrypted Imperial database for word of his missing friend Our Galvin. The other was constantly scanning for any word of lost ships, lightly guarded supply depots. The Rebellion was always barely scraping by for supplies and parts. If he could find something useful, it would be a big win for the Squadron and the larger cause. Teach was only human, though. He couldn’t help looking up to watch Spank’s antics. She was a damned attractive woman, and her confidence made her more so. He dropped his gaze, trying to avoid her noticing he was watching. He didn’t want to be rude, after all. His focus on the pads broken, he looked around at his team. He was still not used to being part of a group, and kept waiting for someone to figure out his being there was a mistake. He heard Ellis’ question, but didn’t have a good answer. Furthermore, he mentally flipped a cred in his head, debating between going back to work and looking for something more entertaining to do. (Name:Delius Relocation:D'Car makeshift landing pad Tagging:Tank, then everyone Mentioned:Actions (Combat only): None NSFW Warning:Harsh LanguageDecius watched as Spank walked off. Swayed not than walk. Did the woman not have a spine at all? How could she make those hips move the way she did with a normal human spine? It had to be a cybernetic replacement. It was the only thing which made sense. He doubled checked to close his mouth before one of the larger forms of insect life which plagued this planet flew into it. He instead sat down and enjoyed the show, not giving one ounce of sympathy at all to Tank's target. When she came back and placed the pass card down, he could only shake his head." How did you do it? I mean I thought coming to you was a long shot as that ass over there is more tightfisted over his parts than he is his Orwellian brandy, and he almost killed the last man to touch his stash of brandy...wait...on second thought, I really do not want to know. I want to be able to sleep at night." Delius moved to get up, but then put his hand to his ear, his face going near stunned disbelief." What do you mean? We still had three hours! I am down a shuttle and still have palettes of parts to load. This can't wait? Two hours and I can have everything ready. No, no come on one hour then, give me one withdrawn hour!" What came out of his mouth yet was something even a Hunt would not ever say, or the most hardened Orwellian dock hand. Instead, Delius gabbed the card and began to run. Decius was sprinting towards hanger four parts locker, screaming at his people to get the weight out of their asses and move, they had to be in the air in the next ten minutes. It seemed to be impossible, but the call went out next over the loudspeakers." Attention all hands, attention all hands, this is a priority recall order. All hands are to be airborne in the next fifteen minutes. This is not an exercise. This is a priority recall of all personnel. Emergency evacuation alpha to all personnel. Imperial warships inbound from hyperpoint. I say again. Emergency evacuation alpha. Squadron leaders, brief your squadrons en-route." (Name:Our Galvan Location:D’Car makeshift landing pad. Tagging:Everyone Mentioned:No one specifications (Combat only):None NSFW Warning:Just Language’s attention was completely snapped away from Spank’s assets as the announcement boomed. “Tells-spawned Imps,” he cursed. He hadn’t had a chance to really go anywhere, so thankfully his bag was still at his feet. He scooped it up, slid the strap over his shoulder, and dropped his pads into coat pockets. Furthermore, he looked at the ship, spun on his heel for a moment, and ran to one of the pallets of spare parts. “Um… this looks important.” He yanked a case off, gripped it tightly, and headed for the boarding ramp. “I thought we all agreed not to invite them again!” he yelled to anyone in earshot as he hefted the case of parts. He was glad the ship was nearby. This damn box was heavier than it looked. Dropping the box and his bag just up the ramp, Our ran for his Z-95. Damn Imps. (Name:Paulo MaLocation:D, qar makeshift landing pad Tagging:Jan DAR (open)Mentioned:Jan Directions (Combat only):NSFW Warning:NA"Devourers. May they stay deep while we slip through the shallows." Kaulo stood and headed for his Y-Wing at a slow, steady pace. Others scrambled, knocking over chairs and tables. It would take him four minutes to walk to his ship, two to get into his flight suit, six minutes for a proper pre-trip, giving him three minutes to spare. He had nothing in his quarters that he couldn't leave behind. Others had attachments to their belongings; nothing could not be replaced. Once he was in the air, he would have a better idea what type of warships they were. If the Imperials were merely scouting the system, it would be a few smaller ships. If, however, they knew that the rebels were holed up in the system, they would be arriving in force. The smaller ships could be overwhelmed, but the base would still be compromised. Flee or fight. It would depend on the size of the Imperial ship. The Y-wing was a fighter-bomber; an old but reliable design. It could not take on a capital ship, but it could certainly do damage to a cruiser with a bombing run, IFit could penetrate the fighter cover and the defensive gun batteries. Potentially suicide but a reasonable trade, one fighter for a cruiser. (Name:Tania "Spank" Sandford Location:Canteen, then landing pad Tagging:Open Mentioned:DeciusActions (Combat only): None NSFW Warning:None Tania shrugged her shoulders at the compliment, she was used to it by now. Truth be told, she never found that her skills were anything special, she just learned how to make use of her best assets, and if that meant her charm and feminine figure, she had no issue whatsoever at using those as well as her fighting spirit. When she saw Delius tense up after getting a call and start running off, she knew right away that something bad had to be going down, so she casually started heading to the landing pad behind him. Tania wasn't in a hurry however, since she didn't have much invested in the base, so trying to catch up or asking questions didn't even come to mind. That was really the story of her life, flying and fighting for her own reasons, never putting down roots anywhere. By the time the loudspeakers announced the incoming enemies, she was already heading towards her prepared ship without a single look back. Once next to her currently assigned vessel she paused near the ramp, running her sights over its exterior. Tania then commented mostly to herself in her usual laissez-faire tone. "Hamm... I really wish we had a bigger budget for ships. The imperials may be terrible shots, but at least they get all the latest toys. Oh, well." People running around her and tables being overturned seemed in a completely different world compared with how calm and unfazed she was. (Name:Jonathan Ellis.Location’D’Car makeshift landing pad. Tagging:Delius. Mentioned:Delius, Tania. Actions (Combat only): N/A.NSFW Warning:N/A. There was barely time to relax before the captain came roaring by, rallying the crew to their battle stations. The Imperials had found them! Jonathan however didn’t budge. Not with the military precision expected of him. He sighed and merely sipped his water, closing his eyes a moment and realizing the irony of it all. He had wanted information, he got it. The Imperials were bringing it to him. How convenient. The loudspeakers blared, and the alarms were sounding off. Finally, he set his boots on the ground, perhaps a full minute after the captain gave his warning, and got up to head towards the hangar. Jovashan took his time getting into his jumpsuit, having only taken it off less than a half hour prior. He found his Y-Wing already in a state of refit and adorned his helmet, looking around. How many might not return? The comment of a nearby squadron mate, the woman called Spank, drew him to reality again. He snorted a little with amusement at the thought. Maybe one day, the Rebels would be the chasers and the Imperials the hunted. That was the dream right? He got into the seat of his vessel, going through the pre-launch check, lowering his cockpit. It was his job to deliver his payload to the source, like delivering a patient to the hospital. Shouldn’t be too hard right? Again, the irony gave him a good grin. Before he delivered patients to be healed. Now he was delivering bombs to kill and harm.“This is Anvil, I’m ready for deployment.” He said into his comms, grasping the throttle and leaning back in his chair. He still got a few seconds of rest, before the sight of rebel personnel running all over the place turned to the blackness of space…and the sight of Imperial ships and fighters. (Name’S'Kane VoormaLocation:D, qar makeshift landing pad Tagging:-Mentioned:Actions (Combat only):-NSFW Warning:-"Well, shit." S'Kane cursed, and jumped up from her chair. She knew abstractly there was no justification to rush - haste made waste - but the tension she (and probably the entire wing) had been feeling for weeks was about to come to head - and like a spring finally released, she sprung into action. Darted through the landing pad, towards the hangar. Her personal Z95 was waiting for her. She ascended the ladder to the cramped cockpit. She had made it a good habit to always be fight-ready, even though some of her projects were admittedly unfinished. Furthermore, she shoved the mess of cabling back under its cover, flicked the switches, and began the preflight check - heard the generator whirl to live, still a few overtones off what she had wanted. No time to think of that now, there was a fight coming up. (Name:Ca's Sauron (#msg14914409)Location’D, qar makeshift landing pad Tagging:S'Kane, All Grey Squadron on Comms Mentioned:Actions (Combat only):NSFW Warning:NACA would hear the issue she had been working over as it made sense considering her slant towards mechanics in the squadron. The addition of title at the end made it come off strangely, but he didn't show much of a reaction, no doubt she went from casual to wondering if his using rank was formality, it could rest some of the awkwardness on his own shoulders. The thought of training exchanged with something else he couldn't discern despite growing up on R'cloth around many Two'less. "We will, I am sure of it." He said as he still watched the others before the comm came through as he heard it come over the main a moment later. His eyes met S'Kane's before she took off quickly as Ca's instead stood looking to others. "You heard it, let's mount up and get preflights done double time!" He usually wasn't very loud but when it came to orders he could belt them out much like every captain or sergeant he had on the ground. Moving with a quick walk towards his Y-wing he was sliding inside as he was looking over the others that were making their way to their crafts. Going over preflight he would look to the cheat sheet he had scribbled to the side as he had been taught only recently compared to a lot of his training how to get the bomber going quickly. Moving through them, he would slide his helmet on and check in. "This is Sear, all systems are green on my end. Report In, Is are to provide escort to 401st Sapper Platoon shuttles and Zs are to engage enemy fights if they close by 3 clicks, understood?" He knew the Commander would have her own say but relaying this would get people organized quickly. (Name:Paulo MaLocation:D, qar makeshift landing pad Tagging:Open Mentioned:Ca's SauvonActions (Combat only):NSFW Warning:NACA issued their orders and called for the pilots to report in. Paulo keyed his mike and responded." This is Gold six. In position to provide escort cover." The shuttles, if they launched within the next twelve minutes would be able to evade the incoming Imperial ships if they maintained a shallow vector while calculating their hyperspace jumps. The Z-95 fighters were more maneuverable than the Y-wings; even so they were outclassed by the Imperial fighters. Paulo would have grinned, if his face had been capable of doing so. There was no challenge in a fight where you had the advantage. You would learn nothing. You would gain nothing. If you survived a fight from a point of disadvantage, you would learn and grow stronger. This was why he had joined the rebellion. Crushing a weaker enemy was no fight at all. Bringing down the almighty Empire? That was a fight worth winning. (Name:Captain In'Viva JaxtonaLocation:VanguardBridgeTagging:Everyone Mentioned:Actions (Combat only): Issuing orders NSFW Warning:None One of the limitations of star fighter sensors was the transition from atmospheric flight operations to space operations. The atmosphere in many cases acted as a mirror to star fighter sensors which lacked the raw power of capital or other larger starships. Thus, until Grey Squadron was finally cleared of D'Car's ionosphere did the squadron get a good look at what was happening from the hyper limit of the system as the enemy advanced upon D'Car. It was not an insignificant force, but it also was not one to strike pure terror into Alliance forces in the system.(( Star Destroyer and its screening units, threeRaiderclass escort frigates. Again it was a force which could give most Alliance Navy forces fits. Already the screening units were advancing upon theVanguardat their top speed, and TIE fighter units supported by TIE bombers were being launched by the Star Destroyer, theImplacableby its transponder code now coming through on sensors. A name any who were familiar at all with the Clone Wars would recognize, and thus know this was not some typical Imperial task force arrayed against them. TheImplacablemade a name for itself at the second battle of Fullest where it and its supporting combat units held off a Separatist fleet three times their size, and was one of the task forces which was part of the destruction of the Trade Federation. This was a force composition designed to seek out and destroy rebellion and any rebel sympathizers with impunity, and all four capital ships with three squadrons of TIE fighters and one squadron of TIE bombers pointed like a vibrodagger at the Vanguard, and no sign at all of theAspirationand her escort ships. Had they pulled out already? As the question hung in the air, new orders were coming through for the squadron." Grey Squadron, this is Vanguard Actual. Change of orders. Flights Charlie and Delta are to engage Imperial screening units. Beta Flight is to break off and serve as escorts for Charlie and Delta Flights. Alpha Flight is to continue to escort shuttles for combat landings. May the Force be with you." (Name:Paulo MaLocation:Leaving D, qarTagging:Open Mentioned:Actions (Combat only):NSFW Warning:Naval keyed his microphone again." Gold six. Acknowledged." What else could one say when they'd been assigned what was essentially a suicide mission? He'd learned that when an order ended with 'May the Force be with you', that order was likely to end in death and those words were a final benediction. Fighter/bombers versus a capital ship. Their lives were being spent to buy time to allow non-combatants to escape. That didn't mean Paulo was going to sell his life cheaply. Many smaller predators could overwhelm a single larger one, if they were fast enough and targeted vulnerable areas. It made a fitting analogy for their situation. Raider class ships weren't intended to fight off swarms of fighters. They were escorts for larger ships like the Gladiator class and relied on the larger vessel to provide fighter cover. He was flying a fully armed BTL-A4 Y-wing assault star fighter/bomber. If they could inflict enough damage before the fighters could be recalled, the might be able to buy theVanguardenough time to flee. Unless.... Half the task force is not here. Either the Aspiration and her escorts have been assigned elsewhere or they have yet to arrive. Or they are already here and elsewhere. "This is Fin. Accelerating and preparing for an attack run on target designated Raider One. Commander, I recommend initiating long range scans of the escape route. I suspect you will find the Aspiration lying in wait like an ambush hunter. The Implacable is meant to drive the prey into a trap, rather than being the real assault." (Name:Bar Led ZlaanLocation:Vanguard C&C Tagging:Anyone Mentioned:Actions (Combat only):NSFW Warning:Nope, nope, nope, yet, nine, painted had not long arrived at board the Vanguard, her shuttle had come in only a few hours hence, and she hadn't had much more time than to find a rack and throw her jump bag onto it before she took up the data pad with her orders on it and determined to go looking for her new CO, or at least someone here to report to. The pilots bunk room was bare, the ready room similar, but it did give an important clue in that, on the main display, there were plans for a training opp showing. It appeared that the people she would be working with were out flying about in whatever ships they had on this bucket. DAR still had no real clue what she was doing here and what was to be expected of her. The cross-training as variously a field intelligence operative, a pilot and an Intelligence Analyst had been... Scattershot. True the Rebellion was stretched thin, but surely they could afford to have separate individuals for these jobs? Okay, it suited DAR's means and goals to be picking up all these skills, but it seemed... Inefficient. Odd. Abnormal. Something was certainly different about this posting. The secrecy was normal of course, the Rebellion was small individual cells with very little in the way of overarching command and control as far as she was aware. Each of the training posts she had arrived at had handed her off in deep interstellar space by one shuttle which passed her, and other trainees, to a second shuttle that flew on to the final destination. Occasionally, for the really sensitive training several shuttles were used. Each recruit was scanned thoroughly at each changeover. They couldn't have anyone tracking these personnel to their destinations after all. She was used to paranoid levels of security. No, it was the scattershot approach to skill set that seemed odd. A pilot would normally be expected to, well, pilot. An intelligence analyst would never enter the field. A field intelligence officer might be able to pilot a bit, but wouldn't be expected to be handed a star fighter. Jack of all trades, master of none was a phrase she had heard a few times from humans, and, well, it fitted. She had even bucked to have her call sign be changed to 'Jack' for a while early on in her Advanced Flight course. Reporting to the CO meant finding the CO, she consulted one of the wall consoles, found the nearest Deck Officer post and reported, she was directed to C&C as the training being conducted it seemed was being overseen by the Captain and all senior staff. Well, that boded. She downloaded the map to her data pad and called up a route and started walking. The journey took twenty minutes, it wasn't a small ship and even with the provision for quick access to the hangar level it took a while. The level of activity in the corridors didn't help, there were techs everywhere, it seemed that there were either a lot of repairs going on or the ship was being upgraded, at least down on the lower decks. As she moved further up things seemed more stable maintenance wise. The work reminded DAR of growing up in the various shipyards she had lived in and around with her parents, thoughts of her parents caught in her throat and she fought the emotion back down. Report now, agonize later. She walked up to the outer secure door for the Command level and presented her identification to the marine on duty who checked diligently before smiling, handing her back her cards and pointing a thumb towards the entryway. "Down the hall, you can't miss it, Deck officer will check you again before you are allowed any further. Might have ta wait in the briefing room though, there is an OP on right now. Can't say more." The young human woman was not unsympathetic to DAR it seemed but turned back to her work once this information had been delivered. Dar strode down the corridor, found the deck officer and once again presented her ID cards. The officer scanned them and pushed the data on to the Command team before pointing to an adjoining door. "You will have to wait in there. All brass are engaged with the current bailiwick. Once that's done I am sure you will be called for." Dar nodded and headed into the indicated room, a well lit briefing room, she took one of the comfortable seats and found herself alone there. She settled in to read from her data pad, hurry up and wait seemed to be the order of the day. It was about twenty minutes when the alarms sounded and the lights dimmed to an 'action' status. Someone had set a ready condition throughout the ship? There was no announcement to this room, but that wasn't necessarily unusual? Something was certainly going on however, something she wasn't privy to. There were no windows here to Space to peer out of, and no information on any of the screens to check. Dar called the layout of the deck she was on back up on the data pad and checked her route to the nearest escape pods. Closing her eyes and committing the route to memory, a short distance, just three corridors and five doors. An easy walk if things were really genuinely kicking off. She settled in, there was no point worrying until or unless she could actually hear/feel energy hitting the shields, or even worse, the screaming, tearing, horror show sound of an explosion deep in the bowels of the ship. Time would tell if this was part of the exercise of if something more sinister was at work. (Name:Our Galvan Location:Inside a Headhunter Tagging:Everyone Mentioned:No one specifications (Combat only):Taking off, Vectoring In NSFW Warning:Just Language The warning kept coming in, and none of it was good. The Imps were coming, and in big numbers. They were sending up a few fighters against superior numbers of Ties, not to mention capital ships. There was fighting the good fight and there was throwing yourself into a fire, but this was what he’d signed up for. Banking hard, he accepted the new orders and accelerated. “Gold Four, on approach. Weapons hot.” The only good thing about the ridiculous numbers arrayed against them was that it was a target-rich environment. He’d get a lot more kills on his record, no matter this went down. (Name:Paulo MaLocation:Leaving D, qarTagging:Open Mentioned:Actions (Combat only):NSFW Warning:NA"This is Fin. I am initiating an attack run on target Raiser 1. Concentrate fire on sensor arrays. If we blind her, she ceases to become a serious threat." Fin had no illusions that they would destroy the vessel; he was incapable of such unrealistic fantasies. There was no way that they had the firepower to destroy the ship before fighter cover could arrive to protect her, but they could inflict serious damage before those fighters arrived. If they could remove even one of the capital ships from the fight, they would increase their chances of survival as a group by a considerable margin. If they failed, they would at the very least take the ship out of service for as long as it took to repair the damage and any time stolen from the Empire was time for the Rebellion to grow." Time to get some meat!" It was the closest thing Paulo had to a battle cry. He hit the throttle, increasing the speed of the Y-wing. There was no sense making himself an easy target, and it wasn't like his target was so small that he'd miss his shot if he went too fast. (Name:Grey Squadron, Charlie and Delta Flights Location:Gravity well above D'arranging:Everyone Mentioned:Actions (Combat only): Attacking Imperial Corvettes NSFW Warning:None The odds were long. It was the standard fare more often, in fact in near every engagement the Alliance had against the Empire. The Imperial Navy always had the numbers to dictate the battle. The normal tactic or the Alliance was hit-and-run, making use of surprise to mass what firepower they had or a decisive strike. However in this case, the worm had turned, and instead the Empire was the one springing the surprise and theVanguardwas still at the outer edge of D'car's gravity well, and it had to stay there in order to give the shuttles a chance to escape and land. Thus, it was up to the Y-Wings of Grey Squadron to buy the time needed for combat recovery actions. Kaulo's recommendation was quickly passed through to the rest of the Y-Wings, and they lined up for their attack run. The trailing edge of the first squadron of eyeballs. The escorting Z-95's increased their speed and moved to engage. They were not as maneuverable as the TIE fighters, they did have the advantage of having shields. Crimson and emerald colored laser fire strafed through the black void of space as the two sides engaged one another. The Y-Wings were not spared, and Grey Twelve was lost under a barrage of enemy fire. It was the only causality o the group, though the shields were worse for ware, Paulo himself loosing forty percent of his forwards shields before the optimum firing range was reached, and cobalt lances of energy spat forward towards their targets.(first two salvos hit and the shields about the frigates shimmered in space under the onslaught before failing completely. The final salvo went through, and in two of the three frigates managed to knock their sensors out. The third frigate took some damage, but its senors did look to be intact. It moved ahead of the other two and was likely feeding its sensor and targeting data to the other two ships. However, things were not as bleak as they seemed as a new set of contacts appeared, and Alliance transponders, Black and Monarch Squadrons, and in place to hit the other TIE squadrons by surprise. They were not the only new contact, as the space off the port of the Imperial frigates resolved into the Aspiration, turbo laser fire filling the void where the rear two frigates were, striking draftees armored plating and vaporizing it.(not idle at all, and in fact had laid a trap for the Imperial screening unit. In short order two of the frigates were nothing more than venting, crippled hulks, already caught in what would eventually be a decaying orbit about D'car. The third frigate was heavily damaged, and making all possible speed away from the engagement. The remaining TIE fighters and bombers broke of their attack runs and moved to screen and protect theImplacableas now the Alliance was a military threat against them. Already theImplacablewas maneuvering to make a run or hyperspace, merely waiting to recover any surviving TIE fighters. A victory, at least by the standards the Alliance measure them. (Name:Bar Led ZlaanLocation:Vanguard C&C Tagging:Anyone Mentioned:Actions (Combat only):NSFW Warning:Nope, nope, nope, yet, nine, nineteen without windows DAR could feel the changes in attitude, hear and sense the way the engines changed note and pitch, they were maneuvering hard, then there were shield hits. That greasy feel to the air all of a sudden and the sound, like dualistic being scraped past dualistic, the first one accompanied soon after by more, low level hits, star fighter weapons? Most likely, then a few bigger hits, turbo lasers? Certainly. Ion would be making her skin crawl, sending little surges of charge all through the ship even past the shields. She sat the controlled her breathing. Whatever it was, it was under control and there was no need to panic, yet. She counted about nine turbo laser hits and a good number of smaller star fighter level ones. A ship this size could take that kind of abuse and shrug it off. These were accompanied by a coil whine deep in the ship, subtle, but certainly there, each one followed shortly thereafter by a louder report. Vanguard was returning fire, large batteries, starboard side, this seemed to indicate that they were not surrounded, they were maneuvering still, that things were likely about as 'in order' as a space battle could get. Still, she glanced down at the data pad again, checked the route once more to the escape pods. It didn't ever hurt to be cautious. The not knowing what was going on was maddening. She sat and sucked on her lips and waited for something decisive to happen. (Name:Paulo MaLocation:Over D, qarTagging:Open Mentioned:Actions (Combat only):Not following the meat NSFW Warning:Wait had been a hard fight. He'd lost almost half his shields gettingtothe fight and most of the rest during it. A quick glance at the readout indicate that his shields were in the critical range. His forward shields were virtually non-existent, his rear shields even less so. He'd encountered an even dozen TIE fighters during the battle; he'd destroyed two but had been forced to ram one when his guns had overheated. The others had fallen prey to his squadron mates, what few there were left, or they had fled when their base ship withdrew." Vanguard Actual, this is Fin. I am breaking off pursuit. No point chasing them into their mother's arms. Requesting instructions. Return to base or rendezvous for pick-up." Paulo wasn't sure that he'd be able to make planet fall. The impact with the TIE had damaged one of his engine nacelles and if the cowling came off during reentry, he'd reach the ground far faster than he wanted and not in any condition he wanted to find himself. (Name:Our Galvan Location:Inside a Headhunter Tagging:Paulo Ma, anyone else listening Mentioned:No one specifications (Combat only):Backing up a squad-mate NSFW Warning:Not this time The battle had been chaotic, but they all were. Part of him was amazed to still be alive. The Headhunter had seen better days, but wasn’t in imminent danger of exploding, powering down, shaking apart. “Fin, this is Teach, on your six. Looks like you got pretty chewed up, I’ve got your back until we get wherever we’re going.” Lur pushed his sensors to their limits and kept scanning. He was more or less sure they were done with the fighting, but it took was one straggler TIE to ruin, or end, your day. He fell into the rhythm of scanning his boards, out the canopy, and eyeing Fin’s fighter to make sure nothing big and important fell off of it. (Name:Paulo MaLocation:Over D, qarTagging:Our Galvan, Open Mentioned:Actions (Combat only):Not following the meat NSFW Warning:NA"Appreciated, Teach,"Paulo replied." Stay to starboard. My port engine cowling has a piece of what looks like a TIE wing stuck in it. Wouldn't want it to bounce off your cockpit and leave a mark." Paulo's scanner was showing that the vast majority of the Rebel pilots had come though the engagement if not exactly unscathed then at least mostly intact. His Y-Wing was likely one of the worst damaged, and he wasn't so critical that he wouldn't have been willing to continue. They had done well. Two of the three escort ships were derelicts, the other had fled. There was likely salvageable material on the two Raider class ships. Perhaps crews could retrieve it before they spiraled down into the atmosphere of D'car. Their scorched and melted hulks would leave twin scars on the planet when they impacted. Until that time...." Vanguard Actual, this is Fin. Are salvage teams being dispatched to the Raiders or are we going to let them burn?" (Name:Captain In'Viva JaxtonaLocation:VanguardBridgeTagging:Everyone Mentioned:Actions (Combat only): Issuing orders NSFW Warning:None The reply back was fairly quick to Paulo's query." Grey-Six, this is Actual. Negative on salvage operations. The Aspiration and her escorts will make short work of the remaining frigate. As much as I wish we could bag the Implacable, we would take losses we can ill afford, so she lives to hunt another day. We however have a time sensitive target to go after, so I need everyone back on board so we can clear the system. Actual clear." TheVanguardwas clearly shifting from defensive stance to recovery operations. They still made sure to keep their landing bays clear of any line of fire, but the evasive maneuvers had stopped. The minutes seemed to pass slowly, and by the time the first of the Gamma shuttles had landed on board the Vanguard, theImplacablemade the jump to hyperspace. The remaining Imperial frigate lowered their shields and powered down weapons as well as their engines, the modern equivalent of "striking the colors" and surrendering. Already assault shuttles were launching from theAspirationto secure what they could. Given the state of the ship it was unlikely it would be recovered. Still there was some value in it, and the 401st the ideal unit to board and make the attempt to salvage, so whatever this time sensitive mission was, it had to be important indeed to pass up the possible recovery of another warship for the Alliance navy. (Name:Our Galvan Location:Inside a Headhunter Tagging:Paulo Ma, anyone else listening Mentioned:No one specifications (Combat only):Backing up a squad-mate, heading for landing NSFW Warning:Not this time"Copy that, Fin, Actual." He tuned the com-band to Fin's frequency. "I'm not as banged up. You go in first, I'll hang back in case of surprises, then land after." Our swept nearby space with every sensor at his disposal, and looked as best he could manage in every direction at once. He even did a slow roll to switch up his visual field. He wasn't seeing any bandits coming in, but he didn't want to lose a squad mate, or his own life, because he got sloppy. There were a lot of Imps in general, and all it took was one of them getting lucky. (Name:Paulo MaLocation:Over D, qarTagging:Our Galvan, Open Mentioned:Actions (Combat only):Not following the meat NSFW Warning:NA"Negative, Teach,"Paulo replied." Recover the majority of the intact ships before we start landing the damaged ones. There is more of a risk of a damaged ship crashing on landing and that would leave the more intact ships stranded until the damaged ship was cleared, which would force the Vanguard to remain here, in a known position." If nothing else, Paulo was practical. The more intact fighters were more valuable and a smaller drain on resources than the damaged ones. If the Imperials returned, abandoning the damaged equipment made more sense. In the end, all the fighters were able to land. Several were greeted with a chorus of groans from the tech crews. Somebody asked Paulo if he'd been flying a TIE fighter during the dogfight, given the number of pieces he'd brought back with him. With his bare hands, he ripped one of the smaller pieces out of the nose of the Y-wing. He offered it to a tech." If you can build a TIE fighter out of that, I will fly it in the next fight." Several people paused. It was difficult to tell if the hulking Karkaradon was serious or actually making a joke. Recovery Operations went off without too much drama, and theVanguardwas already enough out of the planet and star's gravity well to transition to hyperspace. As operations go for the Alliance, this one was indeed a qualified success. Time would tell if they would all end up as such for the members of Grey Squadron.

Star Wars_ Tales of Grey Squadron - Prologue|rating:3.0

Dissent Into Darkness (Shadowrun 4e)

The Sixth World. By all accounts a rather pleasant place to live, where the sun shines all day and the trees and flowers bloom under the watchful eyes of a vigilant population of talented and empathetic caretakers. The Awakening and UGE forced the peoples and governments of the Earth to reassess centuries old prejudices and ideologies and the balance of power shifted away from huge uncaring nation-states and toward the smaller, more democratic microstates. A court of corporations holds the reins of power, stabilizing the Earth. After all, the corporations are the people and the people are the corporations: What's good for the shareholders is good for us all. No more conflicts over resources, race or creed. The battles of the Sixth World are fought in the boardroom. No more blood, no more misery, no more needless suffering. The Dream of all Humanity has finally been realized: True Peace. Until you turn off the VR, open a window (the one embedded in the wall made of ballistic plexiglass) and smell the Sixth World. Feel the oozing stink of acid rain, taste the gray oily smog seeping into your pores, hear the coughing death gasp of seething 12 billion strong mass of humanity as it clings, like a crazed animal, to the last vestiges of the gutted corpse of an Earth given to us by our ancestors. You can be forgiven for preferring fantasy. However, if you are one of those unfortunates prone to optimism, cursed with the vain desire to hope there is perhaps reason to take heart. Cagey and Ruthless the human race has once again proven it can adapt to any disaster, even one of its own making. Toxic smog and acid rain have been decreasing steadily since the 2060s, slowly at first, as those that can make real changes abandoned fossil fueled electricity and transport in favor of nuclear and microwave power, (mostly as a cost consideration) then gaining momentum as reliable solar panels, biofuel and waste compactors came online to smooth out the rough edges of the power supply matrix. Even the rental problem of nuclear and toxic waste, once thought unbeatable, have been reversed with expensive new technologies- and magic. A greater push for green spaces and toxin resistant plant life has taken hold and the once-thought dead Environmental Research Agencies-Renraku unveiled the firstrealsmog eating conifer. The zombie like nation states have risen grudgingly from the dustbin of history to take stock of the few resources left to them, focusing with sluggish determination on the few problems they can tackle. Widespread violent crime has slowly decreased as better social infrastructure, technology and tolerance led to slow, halting improvements in the life of the suffering man. The Great Matrix has spread nearly everywhere, carrying with it all manner of depravity and filth- and the entire accumulated knowledge of the human race. The end hasn't hit. Not yet. And humanity marches on.********1001 hrs: 01/11/2076. Request Facility-Ares, Seattle, UCAS Today is shaping up to be a fairly average work day. The 0800 security shifted out and reported no problems, and Laurens Rasmussen's custodial work docket showed only routine cleaning and a request by building security to have the mag-locks on the parking garage elevator re-calibrated. Apparently a drunk salaryman was beating the lock with his briefcase in a vain attempt to access "his pound woman" before being escorted out of the building. The only thing worth noting was the arrival of a uniformed guard, #287716-B, bearing a note from the other L. Rasmussen, on the 13th floor, his personnel office. The note read simply 'Come see me as soon as is easiest.' LourensTaking the note from the guard, Laurens nods and turns his back on the man, not wanting to see his look of disgust on the men face as he turns away. It was something he just had come to grips with. Pulling open a window in his AR, Laurens shuts down his drones, letting their systems run diagnostics while they were shut down. The guard made a small startled sound as the room full of people simply melted away to leave bare concrete walls, and an empty room, and Laurens couldn't help but smile to himself. The holograms were quite realistic. Stepping past the guard, he moves down the hall at a brisk pace, ignoring the looks of the others as he makes his way to the elevators. It was odd that his brother would use something archaic as paper, but it was without a doubt for good reason. It wasn't long before he found himself at the door to Lawrence's office, and the secretary waved him in without looking up. They'd already exchanged niceties on previous encounters. The office was spacious and decorated sparsely, a large wooden desk off to one side, his brother facing out the large window on the opposite side of the room, his hands clasped comfortably behind his back." You called? Or, rather, sent for me? Must have been important, to put your poor secretary through that. I know she's complained - I've read the interoffice memos." Moving over to the desk, he looked at the grain of the wood - real wood. It never ceased to amaze him. As Laurens leaves his office, the obviously befuddled guard moves to follow, falling in just behind Lauren's left shoulder. Another guard is sitting on a stool in the elevator. They exchange nods. Yet another guard is waiting on yet another stool just outside the door on the 13th floor. A pair of technicians are bolting a ballistic plexiglass shield across the secretaries' desk as she pretends not to be annoyed, poorly. She makes a motion to the comm link on her blouse and the door to Lawrence's office swings open noiselessly. The guard that had been following you stops just shy of the threshold. Lawerence had managed to make even the post-modernist bog-standard office look stylish, with neo art deco chrome fittings and Warhol style chairs. If he noticed you joke he gave no sign, wordlessly waving you to the chairs. The face reflected on the clear window was the perfect mix of concentration and concern. Everything about him was perfect: Perfect blue eyes, perfect blonde hair, dignified nose, masculine square jaw. Your parents had paid a small fortune to make him this way. Every aspect of his frame was designed in utero to reflect the most perfect specimen of the even race." Yes, I am aware of that.... No, I am putting someone on it. One of my best.... It would be better for you not to know names.... Think of it an investment. Yes, but I am confident my operative can get the results in the proper manner...." You see his jaw clench. "You won't be." Lawence tugs an earpiece out of his left ear and tosses it into a tray on his desk without looking." Bastard." He effortlessly swings his muscled frame into the office with a sigh." Brother." He says by way of greeting, looking you over without blinking, studying you. It's an odd ritual you share with him: each gauging the other, feeling moods, testing boundaries. Not in Wolfpack sort of way. More like sharing experiences. The slight coloring around the eyes-short sleep, 1–2 hours. A paleness around the tip of the fingernails- no breakfast. A slight twitch on the right mandible muscle-stress, mental. Whatever he sees in you, the proper rectification was coffee, and he pours a cup from the carafe on the desk and passes it to you without asking. "I'm sorry to drag you into this drew so early into the morning. There's been... an incident. Brace yourself, this is ugly." A few twitches of his fingers brings up an AR video display. The serial number across the bottom of the screen identifies a security camera in a middle class district. A side display shows the location as a toy kiosk, owned by AA Japan corp subsidiary of modest means called Let's Play! (LLC). You are familiar with the company in vague terms. In frame, A dozen or so tween school kids in cranberry uniforms and a minder in Ares civilian brown are listening to the jovial Japanese kiosk manager explain basic retail practices. Rolling stock, inventory, economics of scale and how the invention of the mass microchip press enabled the Japanese AAA's to corner the consumer goods market for nearly a decade. The kids are only half-interested. Suddenly a white van crashes through the doors off-screen, hurling shards of glass straight into the panicked crowd. The jury-rigged plow on the front of the van collides with the manager, and he skids across the mall floor lubricated with his own blood. The side door rolls open and a dwarf woman with blue hair steps out. 'Terra First' is emblazoned across her earth green armored vest. She has a machine gun in her hands. With a smirk the dwarf flips the safety off."EARTH FIRST!" She howls, and the bullets fly. Instantly the minder jumps forward 'Down!' she screams, just before she dies. The kids run in all directions as the crazed, laughing woman pumps bullets into the dead minder, before turning the gun on the crowds. After what seems like an eternity the gun goes dry, and a massive hand jerks the dwarf woman into the van as it speeds off. Lawerence curses and switches the display off. ""The children escaped unharmed, mostly. The only immediate death was the Minder, Sarah Fairchild. You might know her. She works-worked here. According to company records she was a programmer working on our section of the O-M Act Project. Average stuff, nothing special. I've sent you her files." "This was a hit. It was supposed to look like a terrorist act, but it was a hit. The upper managers have their suspicions, but I need you to find out who, and why." Laurent the sight of the guards, Laurens frowns a little, but corporate security was what it was. With the commotion that had been kicked up by the O-M Act lately, it shouldn't really come as any surprise that the security protocols would be increased accordingly. Billions in potential profits were an amazing motivator for corporations. As his brother spoke over his comm, undoubtedly to his superiors wanting to know how he was going to keep their project on schedule despite his decreased manpower, etc. Ect. It was a never ending cycle, but if he couldn't handle the stress and deliver, Lawrence wouldn't be in this position. As the perfectly proportioned man moved across the room, Laurence felt a slight pang of envy, which he shoved down deep. My condition isn't his fault. It's just the hand I've been dealt. I'm happy for him. I am. The words were true, but he still had to remind himself of them on occasion. Seeing the ease and grace with which his brother moved. It was like the man was a second away from breaking into dance." It's quite alright. I wasn't doing anything important just yet - just taking a little break on the beach. My hologram suite could have some real applications in a couple quarters when material costs decrease..." His voice trails off as the AR feed fires up, and he watches in silence as the violence ensues. Blood. Blood everywhere. The violence is sudden, extreme, and as far as he can tell, entirely calculated. That many bullets inside, and only the one casualty of significance. Too many rounds focused on Fairchild. The initial burst would have done it, and a wide spray would have maximized additional damage. For a group willing to go through the effort up setting such a theatrical display, only to have a single casualty? It didn't add up. Sending a simple data request to his brothers' system, he snags a copy of the video for himself, pulling it open in a window off to one side.Three-man team at least - shooter - female dwarf, blue hair. With little effort, he separates the audio logs from the rest of the feed, isolating the women voice from the background noise, adding it to a dossier he's already assembling on the woman, setting his comm to use the data on hand to extrapolate her height, weight, hair length, and any other details the system could acquire. The large hand is suspect two - troll, from the size. Setting the system to give rough estimates on size, he frowns and growls low in his throat. Hands are so varied - general assumptions could be made, but little else. Unless he was of excessive size, the ranges would simply fall within standard parameters for trolls. Still. Better than nothing. Suspect three. Driver. Unknown. No sign in the video feed, but there might be other angles somewhere out there. Pulling the engine signature roar, he sets it up as a new file for the driver and shoves the windows to the side, letting his software analyze the information as he continues his conversation. "I can do that. Upper managers can think what they want, but I'll follow the facts. I'd rather my conclusions be unbiased." Taking a sip of the coffee, he blinks with a bit of surprise. The real stuff never got old. Like black energy being poured down his throat. Sending an AR request to the corporate food service, he has his brothers preferred meal ordered with a rush delivery, paying for it with his own cred." So, I know you're a big boy, brother, but you've got to take better care of yourself, or you're going to look more and more like me by the minute. There's some hot food on the way up, and while it might pull a few minutes from your brooding and worrying, I suggest you eat it, and down some of that sweet black poison, then get a 20-minute nap in. It'll increase your productivity - I guarantee it." He smiles and stands, finishing his own cup as he does, and stretches his sore body. He'd been working out more lately, but it wasn't going well. Story of my life." So, I'm assuming this will be a rush job? What exactly was she working on for the O-M? Anything I can help with? You know I'm here for you." A quick biometric sub-routine back-checked against a profiling database gives you a rough outline of the dwarf woman's physical build. She falls squarely into the average range of the bell curve, with the computer estimating an average height of about 4' 6'', 200 lbs. The voice recognition software has created a clear audio file, but matching this VI would take days. Narrowing the search to known Terra-First! Audio files reduce the time-to-match to 1800 hrs and change. If there is a match. The initial assumption of a troll 'grabber' seems correct: As the hand reaches out to snag the shooter a small bit of skin is exposed between the too short sleeve and the plether glove. Thick, epidermal hex common in trolls." Good. Like I said, I hate to dump this one you, but none of my people can match your... technical skills. Sigh. Thanks for breakfast, brother. As to Fairchild's projects, I'd love to give them to you, but Upper Management locked down all her files like it was a VITAL outbreak in the Barrens. Suddenly everything she had was reclassified and shipped off to Central-in Detroit. I'm supposed to establish a motive for a hit with no idea who got hit. No, I need you to focus on chasing leads on the killers, for now, I-" A sharp buzz from the comm bank on the desk cuts him off. "Sir, you are not wearing you earpiece. Upper Management wants to speak with you right away."" Tell them politely this time that I'm on another line, Mike. I'll transfer the call myself." "Okay brother, here's to luck,"he says, shaking your hand and tapping you on the shoulder."and back to the grindstone I go. Keep me posted on any updates." As he shoos you out the door you feel him slip something into your pocket. Laurens "No worries about dumping anything on me. I'm here to help. I asked you for this cushy job for a reason, you know." As the comm link buzzes, he falls silent as he stands, giving his brother a smile. When the call goes silent, he heads for the door, pausing only long enough for his brother to open it." Be sure to eat - you'll be no good to anyone if you crash." Pulling open a second AR window as he walks out of his brothers massive office, Laurens checks the status of his small army of cleaning robots and makes sure they are operating according to his protocols before letting them run according to their pilot systems and autosomes. They each had their own series of scripts on operating schedules, so they shouldn't be an issue while he was working. Closing the window down, he uses the access ID from the surveillance video to pull up the building schematics the kiosk was in, making a note of all the other businesses that were in the vicinity. This is going to be a long day, and probably night too. At least I've got a time frame to work on, but compiling a full video of the incident was going to take time. As he moves past the guards, he notes one falling into step behind him again, and gives a small smile. The man was professional, at least. He never said a word, but Laurens was sure that his visit was well documented. Such is the price of corporate life. Pulling open a second and third AR window, Laurens starts by looking at the area outside the door where the van came crashing through - he'd hopefully be able to use grid-guide to follow their path. It'd take a bit to get into their systems, but it was doable, for sure. If nothing else, and the group had hacked grid-guide themselves, he could check traffic flow for the vehicles that weren't there - they'd register as empty space, but it was still possible. The ride through the elevator was slow - or perhaps it just seemed that way because of the dip in the transmission rate. Either way, it wasn't until he was safely back in his little corner of the building that Laurens moved over to the recliner he kept in one corner and relaxed, pulling the object out of his pocket. A little cloak and dagger, Lawrence. What're you up to? Setting his drones to surveillance points around the room, the thirty of them covered it completely, and the hold projectors turned the room into an honest to goodness maze as he slipped into full VR, the restraints of his twisted body slipping away, and he suddenly felt alive once more, as though he'd just stepped from a low resolution tried into the real world. The digital world was one of beauty and chaos at the same time. Electrical pulses and bits of data everywhere - and this was an area of relative peace. The wireless negating walls and landscaping blocked most of the signals, but there was still enough pure data coursing around him to look like a fireworks show. As his Reality Filter set into place, Laurens could feel his body shift to match his avatar - a simple man in a black suit - proportioned as perfectly as his brother, but infinitely more graceful. The face was blank, and he was bald, but it didn't matter - the Avatar was beautiful without it. He'd rendered every bit of it himself, and he had to smile as his system check showed all systems running accordingly. Taking a moment to load up a few programs he'd coded, he stepped forward, and the world shifted around him in a blur - the corporate node appeared as a massive doorway, a single giant, flaming eye watching all traffic passing over him with only a momentary pause. Stepping through the doorway, the Matrix stretched out as far as he could see - his own version of the sprawl stretching out before him in an endless array of streets and highways, back alleys and buildings - from miniscule shacks barely big enough to rise up to his ankles, up to massive structures that pushed the boundaries of the virtual sky, it was his own version of the digital world, and it was a thing of beauty. It was Home - or as close to one as Laurens had ever felt he had. No one here judged him for his limitations. They didn't sneer and flinch at the sight of him. Here, he was beautiful. Stopping just on the outskirts of the Corporate Node, Laurens pulls open a variety of windows - his own video feed from his spot secure in his chair - the drones keeping watch over them." Security protocol, folks - just keep a steady eye out and pop a flare if there's any movement - just the one door in, after all." There was a chorus of beeps as the drones acknowledge the command, and the video feed window was minimized to a small dot of light, hovering off to one side. Alright. Checklist. Video surveillance first. Setting his feet to pavement, the world flew by him at impossible speeds, the buildings little more than gray blurs as Laurens started running a search for the kiosks and businesses that would have direct view of the incident in the building, making a note of each one. Time to get to work.IOC:Spoiler Hide Alright. Time for some fun. I'm going to do a simple Data Search for the businesses in the building - So that's Browse + Logic - +2 for hot sim and full VR - 20 dice total In full VR, it shouldn't take more than a minute. (20d6)[6][5][3][1][4][4][3][5][4][6][3][3][3][6][1][3][5][3][5][4](77) Hits - 7 hits, a good start After that, I'm assuming there's probably going to be about 6 of them with decent view of the kiosk, including those on a higher floor, if possible. I'll probe those for weaknesses, running two separate windows, since I can do that with multitasking - each will take about an hour per test, so I'll just roll those. It's going to be my Hacking+exploit+2 (16 total) vs. (System+Firewall) of the store, +6, since if you're not going for Admin, there's no point in going for it. Lol Luckily, since I'm probing, I won't have to worry about them detecting me until I actually log on. I'll pick up the weak spots for all 6 first, and see where that puts me, time-wise. Once I log in, they'll get an Analyzed+Firewall vs. a threshold of 5 for my stealth program - you'll have to be the one to decide which devices see me or not, and we can go from there, if you want. Edit: P. 236 is the spot for hacking glitches, for your reference, since it seems like we're going to need them. Lol So, System 1 - Spoiler Hide Hour 1 - (16d6)[5][1][3][2][1][1][3][4][5][2][3][4][1][5][4][4](48) Hits - 3, 4 1s, so that's a glitch, though not a critical one Hour 2 - (16d6)[2][1][2][6][6][5][2][2][4][2][4][3][5][2][6][4](56) Hits - 5 Hour 3 - (16d6)[3][2][5][4][3][1][1][1][3][3][5][3][2][3][1][3](43) Hits - 2, and 4 1s, so another glitch. Not a good start Hour 4 - (16d6)[3][3][3][3][1][5][4][5][6][1][1][5][3][1][2][5](51) Hits - 5 System 2 - Spoiler Hide Hour 1 - (16d6)[2][1][2][5][2][3][6][5][6][4][2][1][1][2][4][4](50) Hits - 4 Hour 2 - (16d6)[5][6][6][6][4][3][4][4][4][5][3][1][6][4][6][2](69) Hits - 7 Hour 3 - (16d6)[5][2][6][6][4][5][4][3][3][6][4][3][1][2][6][6](66) Hits - 7 Hour 4 - (16d6)[2][6][5][5][3][3][3][6][2][5][6][1][3][5][3][2](60) Hits - 7 System 3 - Spoiler Hide Hour 1 - (16d6)[6][2][1][4][1][5][1][3][4][5][6][5][6][6][5][1](61) Hits - 8 Hour 2 - (16d6)[5][4][6][1][6][2][1][2][1][1][3][4][5][5][5][5](56) Hits - 7 Hour 3 - (16d6)[6][6][3][6][5][4][3][3][2][2][2][1][2][6][1][6](58) Hits - 6 Hour 4 - (16d6)[3][1][1][3][3][1][4][3][1][6][1][6][4][6][5][4](52) Hits - 4, with 5 1s, so if the system goes this far, another glitch, but not a bad one, again. System 4 - Spoiler Hide Hour 1 - (16d6)[5][2][4][4][5][1][6][6][3][1][6][4][6][1][3][3](60) Hits - 6 Hour 2 - (16d6)[2][4][5][4][4][2][1][5][1][1][5][5][6][3][3][5](56) Hits - 6 Hour 3 - (16d6)[4][1][2][2][1][1][2][3][1][2][6][1][3][3][3][4](39) Hits - 1, with 3 1s, so glitch. Dang. Hour 4 - (16d6)[6][1][1][4][3][1][3][4][1][1][3][1][4][5][5][2](45) Hits - 3 hits, 5 1s, another glitch. Hopefully this is a less secure system... System 5 - Spoiler Hide Hour 1 - (16d6)[5][1][4][5][1][5][2][2][6][1][3][2][3][6][5][3](54) Hits - 6 Hour 2 - (16d6)[6][6][1][3][6][3][6][1][4][2][1][1][6][6][2][5](59) Hits - 7 Hour 3 - (16d6)[6][5][4][1][4][5][2][3][5][5][5][2][4][4][5][4](64) Hits - 7 Hour 4 - (16d6)[3][5][6][3][2][5][3][5][6][3][6][6][3][1][4][2](63) Hits - 6 System 6 - Spoiler Hide Hour 1 - (16d6)[6][1][2][4][5][4][1][4][2][5][5][5][3][4][2][6](59) Hits - 6 Hour 2 - (16d6)[2][1][2][3][5][4][2][4][1][1][4][3][2][1][4][2](41) Hits - 1 hit, 4 1's, so here we go again... Hour 3 - (16d6)[1][6][5][6][3][5][3][4][4][2][2][1][6][3][6][1](58) Hits - 6 Hour 4 - (16d6)[4][2][4][2][5][6][6][6][6][3][2][2][4][6][4][5](67) Hits - 7 Thankfully, it doesn't appear that the mall nodes using anything stronger than basic security for the kiosks-enough to deter the bored mall rat, but not someone with the resources and time to mount determined attack on the nodes individually. Once again, corporate paranoia comes to the rescue of the intrepid matrix 'free information specialist'. Because the overhead mall company is old and rents based, and no one wants the nodes linked for common security, and the individual kiosk nodes only share basic information with a line in/out for the parent company. As you dart from node to node, working the programs like a master organist in the Cathedral of webspace, the befuddled nodes share only a vague awareness of your efforts with each other. Perhaps this lends you a bit of overconfidence, as the first node recognizes your attempts and locks you out. Undeterred, you move to the second node, cautious this time. After an initial close call, you manage to distract and bypass the security programs and pillage the camera files with admin access! This Kiosk has a top-down view of the van: A White GMC Bulldog Step-Up. The resolution on the camera is too poor to make out much of the driver through the tinted window, however with a little resolution tinkering and clean up you can ascertain that the van was driven by an in seat driver, and not rigged remotely. The third kiosk node does not want to render its secrets easily, but after the third attempt you manage to nudge it open and extract a useful TID bit of information. While the security camera footage remains off limits, you have a flash of inspiration and jump into the trashed spam files. Amidst the usual pile of advertisements for goods, there is only one advert for a used tire rental, triggered when the van's wheels passed an RFID scanner by the checkout. The Ad is for a place called 'Smithies' and lists an address. Trying once more for access to security footage becomes a mistake, as the system is alerted and sends a bump down the wire to a cybersecurity company. Spoiler Hide Since you are aware of the alert, you can roll to defeat it with a spoof or something else-your discretion. Unfortunately, System 4 appears to be a non-corporate proprietorship, and the owner spent some proceeds on cyber-security. The system stonewalls you on the first two attempts, tries to hackathon the third attempt, and during the forth attempt the system purposely reveals a nasty IC program cooking, the matrix equivalent of waving a loaded gun in your face. You decide to leave well enough alone and jump to another node, but not before you get a profanity laden bump warning you to 'not try that drew again me Buck.' System 5 rolls over on the first attempt, giving you an excellent view of the van, the driver and a heretofore unseen angle on the shooters face: She has a tattoo of a bluish green serpent coiled around a combat knife behind her right ear. To pummel of the knife is colored around a data jack. The driver is a muscular orc, and while his face is covered googles you note that his has cyber hands and come capped tusks. System 6 puts up only minimal resistance, and you access the cameras on the first attempt. Someone forgot to lock down all the ports it seems. (They were the ones glitching this time.) You Massey around the node like it's your own, and the data contained therein confirms the data you have already obtained, in addition to some nice still frames of the driver and the shooter. Grabber's under-wrist is tattooed with a Lone-Star Prisoner ID bar-code, distinctive because of the near impossible to cover up ink. The data chip your brother handed to you is in fact the complete company files of Sarah Fairchild. Tapped for an Ares funded education plan at 17 after an expectations aptitude test scores in high school, Sarah attended Seattle Technical University and graduated with a computer programming two year. Sarah's average grades were not a measure of her competence at programming, as she was rapidly promoted and tasked with increasingly complex tasks. While not at all adept at cyber-security, Sarah's specialty was code layering: redundancy protocols for vital programs. Any faulty user commands or glitches would trigger a backup protocol and drop the routines to a new setup. Sarah's final assignment had been to program the construction drones for bridge overpasses. Shortly into the project, Sarah was contacted by a Mr. J. Smith in Upper Management and tasked with familiarizing herself with other AAA company programming systems, particularly SK and Remake. Fairchild's requested transfer several times to a less stressful position, but was denied. To compensate, Upper Management increased her hourly rate by .05 Nguyen, and replaced her overtime hours with a light duty as a minder for company children. Next of kin is listed as a mother in the Tacoma neighborhood and a sister in Cal-Free Los Angeles. LourensWith a smile, Laurens walks towards the massive structure that represents the mall central node and with a flourish, he produces a black leather rain cloak, settling it securely over his shoulders before pulling the hood up over his head and face. Waltzing through the public node without leaving a trace, he stops at each of the individual nodes, reaching into a pocket each time to place a small sphere on the ground in front of each building, and letting the exploit programs circle the nodes slowly, scanning the systems systematically. The first exploit program to find a weak spot and attempt entry spins off, the sphere turning into an amorphous liquid, trying to squeeze into the crack in the node, only to be shut out securely as the system recognizes the attempt. With a sigh, Laurens shuts the hack down and shakes his head as it collapses into a murky puddle, dissolving into the ether of cyberspace. I need to slow down. Brute force like that rarely solves problems. It's just so nice to be out. To be free... As the second ball finds a weakness in its scans and turns liquid, it widens the tiny security crack into a full-fledged door, which Laurens casually opens, walking into the node as though he owned the place. Little pig, little pig, let me in... The node was little more than a series of filing cabinets in a tiny room, with a single door at the other end. With the utmost confidence, he moves to the back door, feeling the lock open at his touch, and allow him access to the security logs. The room was little more than a solid plywood desk with drawers on the back side. They slid open easily with a tug, and it took only a second for him to find the video footage file, laying the folder out on the desk. Some things are just second nature. The video files appeared on one wall, playing in real-time. The time and date made finding the proper section easy. Case file 4 - Vehicle. White at the time of the crime. GMC Bulldog. Of course. There's no shortage of those in the sprawl. Driver. Interesting. Tinted windows. File note - have system run light levels in the mall to ascertain tint levels of the van. Picking up the Manila folder containing the footage, Laurens pulls it apart, but instead of ripping, it copies neatly into two separate files, one of which he slips into his pocket, the other he drops back into place - but not before pulling out a vial of ink and pouring it liberally into the Manila holder with a smile. Good luck getting that information back. Spoiler Hide Alright, I'm going to hit the data file with a Corrupt program - it should be a simple thing to do with this node - 4 hits are enough to destroy an entire police dossier, after all. (16d6)[2][2][6][4][2][2][4][2][5][5][1][5][3][4][6][3](56) Hits - 5 - good luck getting that back. Taking a moment to pull out the access logs, Laurens pulls out a lighter to burn the evidence that he was there, and strides back out, closing the door with a smile. One down. The rest of the evening goes in at least a similar manner - success or failure, something is learned each time, until he's collected about as much information as he was likely to from the mall security, but he could at least assemble the facts. Making sure to clear out as many of the details as he could, he corrupts all the files he takes - it wouldn't do to have someone else follow the trail. Case File 1 - Driver. Male, Orc. Well muscled. Possible athlete? Body-augmentation or devoted weight lifter at the least. File Note - Cyberhands. Possible weakness - keep eye out for wireless connectivity enabled if encountered. Chrome capped tusks - obvious 'bling' File Note - Psychological Profile note - Powerful, possibly vain. Takes good care of his physical body and takes great pride in his appearance. The Driver was likely very outgoing and social, enjoying face time with others of his criminal and social class. Possible conclusion - Barring the possibility of fourth team member, there is a high probability that the driver is also the team face - though it is not outside the realm of possibility that the dwarves woman or troll are not. Currently, it is speculation. Case File 2 - Man Behind the Scenes Judging by size, the best guess is troll. Male. Dermal structure supports the theory, as well as obvious application of strength. Subject 3 is Female dwarf, approximately 200 lbs, and was lifted with little effort at full arm extension. Conclusion - Immense strength. This fits current assumptions of metatype. File Note: Suspect has a criminal history. Lodestar Prison I'd Bar code. Possible courses of action: yet to be determined. Searches into Lodestar penal records are dangerous. Case File 3 - Dwarves woman Shooter, violent, height/ weight, as previously determined. File update: tattoo behind right ear as well as partially hidden cyberware. Case File 4 - Vehicle Customized GMC Bulldog. White. Possible lead attached to tires. "Smithies" Garage and rental. Follow up. Assembling the footage, photos and audio, Laurens leaves the nodes, the whole thing looking more and more solid - at least he could track the people. Well. I've got vocal patterns, tattoos, body mods, RFID tag registrations from the tires. Time to do some legwork. Taking a second to logout, Laurens sighs as his senses flood back into his miserable flesh, suddenly feeling sluggish and tired. With a groan, he pushes himself up and out of his chair, limping a bit to his personal bathroom as he massages a knot out of his leg. His mind was still racing at light speed, unfortunately. So, they've likely worked together previously. If I can track down information on one of them, there's a good chance it will lead to the others as well. After all, you don't drive a vehicle into a public place and commit aggravated assault and murder with people you don't trust - all it takes is one person to flip, and you spend the rest of your life behind bars. Moving back over to his chair, Lourdes settles in and drops back into VR, feeling re-invigorated. With a sigh, he steps into the building that is his own node, which resembles his own den - open and blank, and utilitarian. On a workbench to one side is the data-chip file his brother had passed him, and reads over the file quickly. Standard, really. She wasn't a mover or a shaker. The highest probability for her involvement was like Lawrence said - due to her connection to the construction drone programming, and her familiarization with competition programming. Two possible Johnson's for the team. Forcing his mind back to the physical for a moment, he removes the chip from his comm and slips it safely into a hidden slot in his leg before letting his body slump into VR and off into the Matrix. Smittys was the next course of action - he could retrace the Grid guide cameras after, but it would be less dangerous to gather what data he could through other means first. As the information shot by him, the routing ID for Smithies recovered from the kiosk leading him directly to the node, Laurens loaded his Stealth program and exploit, knowing he'd need those at the very least, and likely more. After a second thought, he pulls a small Krueger pistol from his coat and slips it into the docker clutch at his side, safety off. Any place catering to shadow runners is likely to have a little something chilly waiting inside. Better ready than dead... y. Never was good at rhyming. Go figure. As the node took the shape of an ancient firehouse, Laurens dropped his exploit program and let it run, taking the extra time to clean up the footage and other files from the kiosk nodes, assembling them into efficient and concise data files.IOC:Spoiler Hide Alright, so I'm just going to say that the kiosk with the alert was one I logged off of. No damage was done, and he can spoof his ID to keep them from tracing him, so it's not an issue - they're not going to put the effort into tracking every script-kiddie that tries to break in. It's a mall, after all. Smithies - Exploit - (16d6)[2][1][6][4][1][3][4][4][1][5][1][3][6][3][6][1](51) I'll take some time to use Edit to clean up the pictures and video and audio too. (16d6)[4][6][5][6][2][3][2][6][1][3][4][4][6][4][6][1](63) Edit: - 4 hits, and edge to reroll the others gave me 6 more. I forgot that it might take a bit more time, so Hacking roll 2 - Edit - 8 hits, 1, one - for a total of 18 hits. Smithies' occupied that fine line between legitimate business and black market shop, falling somewhere in that niche sociologist call, 'Grey market informal economy.' Smithies posted basic ads and had paid a private security fee but a fake better business license and a physical address in the Redmond Barrens. They had an online inventory you guess was at least partially stolen parts, and offered repair services for reasonable fees. The proprietor also rented vehicles. You route your address and trail through a dozen onion servers and substantially alter your net ID in order to pose as a prospective customer. Once inside the store you browse the virtual rack of parts with feigned interest while cooking your exploit. Smithies' ad hoc security and fly-by-night programming prove no match for your hacking virtuosity, and you glide into the node with almost supernatural ease, the watchdog programs blissfully unaware of your entry. A little nudge grants you access to the system entire and you browse Smithies records. Inside you find financial accounts, inventories both legal and not, a vendors list, connections to several bank accounts, a drone command node, security footage and business log of transactions and repairs. Yesterday at 1115 hrs a customer requested a Grey GMC Bulldog Van for rent, with ballistic tires, raised clearance, and what was called a 'Mob Plow' attached. A command was sent to two repair drones to begin alterations, which were completed by 1245 hrs. At 1302 employee 'Seen' completed a manual check on the tires and plow, refueled the drones and emailed the customer. Said customer was logged walking through the doors at 1423. Employee Seen charged the standard fee for modifications, but only after the Customer provided a SIN. (A text file added by Seen notes that the customer was very reluctant.) The modified van was rented for 3 days to a Fatima bin German, resident of Seattle Retroflex at 1439, after some spirited haggling over the SIN. A quick jump to the security camera footage shows a female dwarf wearing a black headscarf, shapeless dress and sunglasses enter the shop and argue with a male human in a jumpsuit. Eventually she relents and drives the van outside. On a whim you decide to check for footage outside, and sure enough a muscular or is leaning by the door, wearing a red and yellow tank top (despite the rain) black fatigue pants and heavy boots. His hands are covered by gloves, but the chrome tusk caps are visible. He has a black Mohawk and a style goatee commonly called a 'soul patch'. Shortly after being rented the RFID tags tracking the vehicle go offline, except for a tag embedded in the left rear tire. Ourense node was little more on the inside than it was on the outside. Laurens reality filter took the information from the sales and shipping information, as well as the business license and used it to interpret the information as a crisply rendered garage - probably far cleaner and organized than the real shop could have ever hoped to be. Not if it was in the barrens. With a smile, Laurens walks through the front door of Smithies' node and gives the watchdog IC a pat on the head. It was nothing if not obedient. It had done such a fine job, that Laurens decided that the poor thing deserved a night off. Taking a moment to pull up his administrative account, Laurens unloaded the IC from the active register to keep it from constantly scanning him as he worked. The dog obediently wandered off to a mat to one side of the door, and contentedly started chewing on a huge chunk of bone. With a smile, Laurens continued into the room, analyzing the objects one by one. Things were never what they seemed in the matrix, though his reality filter helped with the majority of the background data noise, filtering data and files into objects related to their content. Still. It was far from perfect. Slipping behind the parts counter to one side, Laurens pulls a massive listing book - too large for any man to have lifted in the real world, and sets it down on the counter, the thousands of pages stacking up from just under his waist to just below his chin. Some people have no idea how to properly sort and assemble data. With a glance over to the watchdog, he speaks out loud." When on earth did they last do a system restore and defray? I think there's pieces here from before the First crash." Shaking his head, Laurens looks the pages of the book over, first one, then the other, the data nothing more than accounting figures and cost projections for new hires. Closing the covers, he flips the book upside down and opens it again, the pages suddenly turning black as he starts pouring through the security logs and black market data. As he finds the information he's after, Laurens copies it the same way he did before, pulling the pages into two separate copies, folding one of them and putting it in his pocket before pouring black ink all over the second, and putting it back into the folder, erasing all proof of the runners ever having been there. Well. Close to it. Taking a moment to turn the ledger sideways, Laurens does a little creative editing to the security logs, leaving himself a backdoor into the system - a skylight that only he knew about. And as a bonus, a sub-routine for the watchdog - anyone coming through the skylight would automatically tell the IC to unload itself and go to standby mode. It would make for an even easier time getting in, should he ever need to again. Setting the IC to reactivate a few seconds after he leaves, Laurens edits the logs to erase all the activity he'd done, closing them back up before putting them away, pausing by the door to give the dog another pat on the head. "Good boy. Back to work now." The node closed up behind him, and Laurens stepped forward into the street, a single streetlight flickering overhead as he did so. Where to now? It seems to me that Fatima bin German is in need of a visit Flipping back to AR, Laurens blinked hard at the harsh lighting of his space and adjusted it down a bit. Setting up search parameters to find everything he could about the suspects, he let the system run cold - the information would gather while he slept. Setting it to alert him if there were any hits, he shoots a single message to an anonymous account he often used to get in touch with Lawrence." L:L. Progress." Setting his alarm to wake him in thirty minutes, Laurens reaches out for a bottle of purified water and extra strength caffeine capsule. A power nap, and it's time to really sink my teeth in. Letting his eyes drift closed, he smiles. Just after 1400. Not a bad afternoons work for a cripple.IOC:Spoiler Hide Alright - I need to sleep. It's almost 1 am. On a side note - have you seen "Warm Bodies" - it's a zombie romance. It's surprisingly amazing. I know I need to make rolls for the edit, corrupt, data search, etc - My brain is working poorly at the moment, so I'll edit them in the AM. Basics though - Corrupt, to erase the Shadow runners tracks 16d6 - Hits - 7 hits, 3 ones, so good to go there. Edit - to clear out the security logs before he leaves. 16d6 - Hits - 6 hits, 3 ones, again. Good A quick Software check to write a bit of code for the IC 25d6 (foot!) 9 hits, 6 1's - so good to go there. I think there's an edit to create the backdoor Alright - Software + Edit first to make a legitimate account - Threshold (6) 14d6 - Hits - 6, 3 1's, so just barely made that one. Then a hacking + Stealth to switch it over to a Hidden account, so it won't show up on a security audit (like they've done one) 16d6 - (Firewall, 10 minutes) Extended test Hits - 8 hits, 2 1's - so that one was a breeze. Good deal. Data search - for the shadow runners. Alright. I'll do each of these separately, with the information I've gathered. Searching the entire Matrix is an extended test (1 minute), and the difficulty is well, the difficulty - Easy - (2), Average (4), Hard (8) - most likely, Extreme (16) I'm guessing they're going to have hidden what information they can on themselves, so at least an 8. At least. Troll - Mr. Grabby Data Search + Browse - 18d6 1 - Hits - 4, and 4 1's, so progress, but barely 2 - Hits - 6, and 3 1's - better 3 - Hits - 6, and 4 1's - so that should bring up at least some information when the data I have on him is used to correlate Or - Rumple-shiny skin 1 - Hits - 5 and 3 1's 2 - Hits - 5, and 1 1's 3 - Hits - 7 and 3 1's Dwarf - Trigger Happy. 1 - Hits - 5 and 4 1's 2 - Hits - 6 and 4 1's 3 - Hits - 4 and 4 1's - that was a close one Lourdes successfully covers his tracks and builds a nice backdoor for himself should the need arise. In keeping with his modus operandi, the security footage and transaction data are also blacked out, creating a hefty bargaining chip for future... negotiations with the team of murderous malcontents. Criminal trolls are not as common as the tries would leave the average citizen to suspect, and so the data search is aided by the relatively small number of registered trolls verses those listed with criminal tendencies that merit prison time. Even so, the computer is able to direct Laurens toward several thousand trolls that fit the vague bill. A filing under the Freedom of Information Act would require Lone Star to surrender data for the individual matching the barcode, but even with preference given to AAA's the request could take months to fill. Given the animosity between Lone Star and Ares' Knight Errant over lucrative security contracts it's unlikely the Lone Star would ever comply. All is not lost, however. The VI directs Lourdes attention to Troll House, the employment charity. Currently, Troll House keeps a secure database of many trolls in the retroflex area, acting as a check-in hub for transient trolls. The data search also turns up several chat room rumors about a 'Black Troll House', a net-only service that acts as an employment agency for fixers seeking trolls with rarefied skills. Supposedly, the website is operated by the 'Criminal Union of Trolls', an obviously mythical underworld group. Without any solid biometric data, Grabber remains elusive. Ork China-Tusks' search is more fruitful: using the photographs of him and mindful that he had had some cybernetic surgery, you manage to sort out the millions of works in the Retroflex area, eliminating all but four hundred possible contenders. Further deductions and logic leaps eliminate most of those: No day job, no industries that forbid body modification, no AAA's or security companies. In the end four remain that might be the PERP, assuming the decision to remove both hands was involuntary:1. Santiago Vega, former Retroflex Guardian. Led a breaching team during the Research siege, lost both hands. Currently, Technocrat organizer for President Coulter. Physical condition listed as 'above average' in the Retroflex Guards Reservist Database. Numerous awards.2. Dan O'donned, welder, lost both hands in a foundry accident. Some limited media coverage as to the event, currently unemployed.3. BOZ Wei' Eighth Smith- Oakland Activist. Lost both hands during 'Night of Rage' riots. Currently, on probation with Party Oakland for unspecified reasons.4. Biddy Bite- 'professional club hopper', maintains a blog of nightclubs. Lost hands during a drinking game with a troll. The search on Fatima bin German is nearly rather dull by comparison: public hospital birth, public school education, a few minimum wage jobs in the service sector, normal taxes. Official residence listed as Appt. 76D, 2518 Harriet Street West, (near the Tacoma neighborhood.) Data searches using the face-model created by the obtained surveillance paint a different picture: a nearly identical blue haired dwarf woman is shown in a dozen or more tried broadcasts relating to Terra-First! Actions. The few remotely sympathetic news feeds list her as a 'Vixen Blue snake', a member with a reputation for violence and depravity. When Terra First! Split over the issue of making common cause with the Green Century and other non-violent groups, Ms. Blue snake celebrated by shooting a dozen members of the pacifist wing. Lone Star is offering a 10,000 Nguyen bounty on information leading to her arrest. As you drift off to sleep the drone-manager VI announces that another drone has joined your group. It is not responding to command sub-routine. Loudness the information slowly collects, Laurens sorts it to one file or another, updating his to-do lists as he goes. Criminal Union of Trolls. That doesn't seem ominous by any means. Still. Bears looking into. Grabby, the giant mutated eight dwarf. I'll find you yet. Narrowing down the search on the driver was satisfyingly effective - four names to go on was next to nothing, and with four names, histories and other information, he'd be able to find everything he needed to know about each of them. Fatima bin German. Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine. Thirteen recorded murders tagged to your name and a violent history, coupled with a preference for violence when it comes to Eco terrorism. Pausing a screenshot of her face, screaming, he frowns, studying it a bit more." You honestly believe in what you're doing. The run was a job, but the premise of the hit was your idea. You could kill two rats with one stone. You get paid, and you further your agenda. Furthermore, you're dangerous. A true fanatic, aren't you? Fascinating." Compliling the information on her, he adds to his list of objectives. - gather information on Fatima - investigate multiple addresses - lodestar can't be THAT incompetent. Letting his mind relax and wander a bit, Laurens starts to shut down his comm when he gets the notification that another drone has joined the others. What? That doesn't make sense at all. Forcing his mind to move, he pulls up an AR window and tries to isolate the drone signal and runs a search for any other wireless traffic in the area that might be operating on hidden, sending a command to all but a couple of his drones to return to their case and shut down before standing and walking over to his workbench, where the flies are landing efficiently in a small metal tin. Putting the lid on, he slips the tin into a slot in his leg and heads for his door, flipping his own comm to hidden mode. Who on earth would be bothering him down here? Other than the occasional security check, no one ever came down here.IOC:Spoiler Hide Alright - scanning for wireless nodes. A threshold of 4 is needed to detect any running in hidden mode, but that shouldn't be a problem. Electronic Warfare + Scan - 16 dice (16d6)[4][4][4][4][3][5][1][4][4][2][1][6][5][1][1][2](51) Hits - 3. Wow. Just missed it. Well, it is what it is. Your scan fails to detect any hidden nodes. The unidentified drone's pattern is much slower than the standard MCT Fly spy Drone, but it swerves toward you with uncanny accuracy. It appears to be weighted down by a large syringe. Suddenly, the microwings whip into high gear, and the needle laden probe kamikazes toward you!IOC:Spoiler Hide Are you still in the matrix? If this is indeed true you wouldn't get a change to dodge the oncoming attack. If so, make a toxin resist test as the needle plunges in! If not, you get a defense action. I read the post as you being plugged in. Just being clear. Misunderstandings make me a sad GM. IOC:Spoiler Hide Nope, he's using AR, but you can see normally while using AR. If you're using full immersion and try to get up and walk around, you get a -8 modifiers to all of your actions, so that'd be almost impossible for him. Dodge - (3d6)[2][5][4](11) Edit! Woo - 1 hit! I doubt that's enough, but hey, it can't hurt You manage to insert your left arm between the incoming needle and your torso, stopping the needle from plugging your heart. Nevertheless, the entire dose is loaded into your body. With a click, the drone drops the needle, and it shatters on the floor. Suddenly free of its weighty burden the tiny drone darts toward the air vent just above your door. Your breathing increases, and you start to feel dizzy. Laurens*As the needle plunges into his arm, Laurens gasps, swinging wildly for the drone, but already his vision is swimming, twisting from the effects of the drug. Stumbling, he braces himself on a wall and shakes his head slowly, trying to clear the effects from his mind with little effect. His thoughts were... swirling. He felt great. Sleepy. Didn't I just take a nap? No.... this is wrong. This is... Sending out a single for his last two drones to head to his pocket, he slumps against the wall, the strength fading from his limbs, but his mind was still working.*"L - trouble. Something... help. Druuug. h..." Just before you loose consciousness a ping reaches you from Lawrence's account to which you sent your distress signal:"We're sorry. The account you are trying to reach has been disconnected. If you would like to re-route your message please con-" *****Feeling begins to return to your body slowly. First your chest. Then your legs, and arms. Finally, you become aware of your breathing, and faint drops of sound filter into your ears."-- awake. Dose him." A sharp pain tears into your left arm and your eyes jolt open with a snap. You turn your head just in time to see a syringe with a needle like a screwdriver pull away from your body. Recoiling in terror you find your body strapped to a medical-like table with metal restraints. The Autodoc robot clicks. "Subject condition stable. Biosystems will reattain 95% functionality in 2 hours."" Power off." The machine beeps and whirls. You turn and regard the speaker, trying to reactivate your logical facilities. His face is impossibly generic: Average eyes, average nose, chin, mouth cheekbones, ears. He regards you with wholly unremarkable cool brown eyes. He seems to have been acclimatizing himself to your rather unique appearance, for if there is any reaction to your features there is no sign. Apparently, he takes little stock in you, as he smirks, reaching for a cigarette case add in his suit coat. He flicks the lighter. His fingers... There. Suddenly you have a sense of the Flat Man, and the cogs of your mind whip into motion. The smoking is an old habit, from before. Before he was a maderealcompany man, before his face was surgically modified to produce his features. He has no need to smoke: medical addiction removal. Smoking isn't part of the accepted company culture. But he smokes anyway, like a ball player wearing lampblack on the day of the big game. And this is the big game indeed. He's confident. Confident in his training, his modifications, his knack. Confident he can beat you. Hubris? Maybe. Certainty is better. But the real picture is a bit less defined than the carefully bland features of his face. He's also afraid. Hiding it. Burying it very well, perhaps unaware. You have the distinct feeling he is being pushed. Schedules disrupted. Plans remade. Adapting, moving, shifting. A forte but not a pleasant one. Troubleshooter pandemonium." Unhook the subject, then leave." A gas masked guard detaches from the wall behind the Flat Man and moves over to where you sit. He manually unlocks the restraints, then smoothly sits you up while moving the table to a seated position. Your head swims." Lourens Rasmussen. Ares. Age 35. I've read your file. And your private file. Very interesting indeed. Listed as a Facilities Manager, tasked as a top level programmer. It makes a good read. And you have been busy. I admire family values, really I do. But you and your twin brother have been into some things that best be left alone. So. let's do our best to clarify a few misunderstandings." He pulls out a digital tablet displaying the face of the dead Sarah Fairchild." Starting with her. Tell me everything you know about this employee. Do not lie to me. Consider this an... honesty test." Laurens*Turning his head around to look slowly, Laurens blinks, feeling the effects of the drug start to wear off, and he looks at the Flat man, blinking hard before he shrugs.*"A test? Of honesty?"*he thinks for a moment and shrugs before repeating exactly what he'd read in the file. Not verbatim, but close enough for accuracy.**After sitting another moment, he shrugs again and shakes a few more of the cobwebs out.*"It's nothing a corporate man like yourself couldn't get hold of. The real question is why you need to hear it from me. Sure, I've got some talent at codes. There's at least a dozen hot shot doe Rockies I can think of working in Ramp;D that slap bits out faster than me. I just do it as a favor for my brother, and I get to keep the job I like. It lets me.... be secluded, for obvious reasons." "So, there's that. I don't like playing games, Mr. Flat. Why don't you tell me what I'm doing here, exactly."

Dissent Into Darkness (Shadowrun 4e)|rating:4.0

Ipswich Academy_ the Accepted Profiles__Recruiting Page

Koran and Waving Present... Ipswich Academy: Home to the Supernatural ---the Accepted Profiles Page---the Story/Setup At Ipswich Academy boarding school, students enrolled are just like everyone else. Only, all the students are in fraternities. But, these "frats" are different from your typical Greek Housing. These special housing groups were actually created around ones' species. You read that right, species. Sons and daughters of different factions of witches (like Wiccans), warlords (dark mages), vampires, werewolves, psychics, and anything imaginable, and, of course, a human or two. However, all the students enrolled in the school act and look as humans because, should they be caught using their powers or in their true form, they would be expelled, or worse... killed. Ipswich Academy, the religious private school, seems to attract just about everyone. Yet, only those with superior grades and service are accepted. The Thread Rules:As always, follow Men rules Don't god mode your characters, please Be mindful of your spelling and grammar, and you will make us very happy :heart: Be original! Try to truly describe your characters! If you are suggested to make changes in your profile by the moderators of the thread, aka moi and Waving, and ignore us, you won't be accepted. We will proofread your profile and edit it if deemed necessary Send the profiles to both of us, Wait and me, Koran, and we'll get back to you. Be patient, we're human too, but expect the reply between the next day or so. Do be nice with your fellow role players or things could get messy. Have doubts about anything? PM either of us and we'll be glad to answer! Descendants of Arabia (a.k.a. the Wiccans)Meet Maronite: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by psymoski Your Name: Mo ski Character Name: Marco Alaska Gender: Male Sexual Orientation: Gay Age: 14 (but is actually 20) Species: Male Witch Year Level: 9th Height: 5'9" Weight: 190 lbs Eye Color: Blue Hair Color: Pink Personality: Bubbly, kind, outgoing, sometimes misguided but otherwise has good intentions. History: With his family was almost entirely taken out during the Inquisition, Marco was left with a very small family. Even though he is persecuted for most everything, he has a lively and outgoing personality. Abilities: He has an innate sense of timing and intuition. He has enough control of the wind to allow flying and to force people back. Weaknesses: bad memory due to too many malfunctioning spells, bouts of extreme fatigue Weapon(s) of choice: Era piercers he has hidden under his sleeves, and a retractile spear hidden in his pocket at all times Likes: Athletes, kind people, puzzles, numbers, music, dancing, theater Dislikes: people who are quick to misjudge others Theme Song: Main Event by RuPaul I Sound Like This: click to hear Meet Minute: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by Sharia [LEFT] Your Name: Sharia Character Name: Yam "Ami" Castor Gender: female Sexual Orientation: bisexual Age: 16 Species: Wiccan Year Level: 10th Height: 5’6 Weight:120 Eye Color:blue Hair Color: brown Appearance: She has some tattoos hidden under her clothing, including wings on her back. She also has a large burn scar on her left forearm she doesn’t’ talk about. Though she tends to dress more revealingly this burn scar is ALWAYS covered, often by a pair of fingerless gloves Personality: Cheerful, kind, and confident she likes to play guitar and sing. She tends to worry about others and is a sympathetic listener. She can be a little impulsive and always shows exactly what she’s feeling. History: She was actually born a twin, though naturally very different from her brother. When she was seven she was already able to do many spells, but her brother seemed unable to next to any. A fire demon found about this and tricked the young, jealous boy into summoning him into our world…just as his sister was walking in the room. She attempted to save her brother but barely was saved herself as her mother rushed in… her brother was already a burned corpse on the floor. Her mother, a particularly powerful white witch, defeated the demon and pulled her terrified daughter to safety. Since then her mother moved away, blaming the twins father who was a warlock for the demon’s appearance in their life. Since then, she has not seen her father and has lived alone with her mother. Abilities: Using her tattoo’s she can cause a wide range of spells with a mere flick of her wrist or wave of her hand, from growing wings from her back to summoning a messenger/familiar to manipulating the elements….except for fire…she is unable to do any fire spells. Weaknesses: Terrified of Fire to the point that she can’t move, to use one of her tattoos she must be able to touch it with her hand, she can do so with clothing in between. Also, to cast any spell she must be able to move her hands. Weapon(s) of choice: Bow and arrows, throwing daggers, old-fashioned long distance weapons in general. Tends to have a dagger with her at all times… Likes: cats, ravens, music, singing, laughing, talking. Dislikes: Silence, fire, cruelty, the color red Other: Her tattoos are as follows- A star and moon on the inside of her right wrist (used to manipulate light, only during the night) A sun on her left hip (used to manipulate light; only during the day) Angel wings with a tribal influence on her shoulder blades (used to turn into full size angel wings and fly) A winged cat on her left ankle (used to summon either a black cat, panther, or a raven, depending on which form she wants her familiar to take. Its name is Kefir) A cross just over her heart (healing spells) A snowflake on the lower right side of her stomach (ice spells, she is strongest in these) A water droplet just below the snowflake (water spells) Descendants of Sybil (a.k.a. the Psychics)Meet HikaruXNote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by Koran [LEFT] Name: Koran, or Kora Character Name:Hikaru Lion heart Gender:Male Sexual Orientation:Straight Age:17 Species: Psychic Year Level: 11th grade Height: 6'3" Weight:160 pounds Eye Color: Sky blue Hair Color:Bright red Personality: Outgoing and friendly, he's a great people person. He's happy-go-lucky and a bit of a mess sometimes, but always has the best intentions. Is very chivalrous, since he treats girls like he'd want others to treat his sister, and always has the tendency to look out for the underdog. He is incredibly lazy when it comes to school, cheating off his sister half the time and skipping class the other half, except in classes he really likes Science, and eventually Math when it becomes advanced enough. Naturally smart. History: Son of a warrior and a scientist, he's always had the best of both worlds. However, that scientific father was also one of the most powerful psychics on the planet and has killed plenty of people unintentionally because his powers often went out of control. This is why his mother sent her twin children to Ipswich, to keep them safe from their powers psychic powers, at least until he became stable again. Abilities: Was trained to be a warrior by his mom, so knows the art of swords dance and most martial arts he can get his hands on. These were also useful for the discipline needed to control his emotions. Also has telekinetic abilities, but doesn't use them even at home, unless It's to clean his room, because he considers them more of a curse than a blessing. Weaknesses: Has a psychic link with his sister than whenever one of them suffers from negative emotion, it affects the other (she gets cuts when he's mad or sad, he sees horrible visions when she is). He therefore represses a lot of emotions and is afraid of releasing them. Is also incredibly shy when he likes someone, to the point of almost being unable to talk to them. Weapon(s) of choice: Two short daggers Likes: eating chicken, martial arts training, anime, manga, video games, strong girls Dislikes:bullies, chauvinists, people who hurt others when they don't mean to, any guy that falls for Hikaru Theme Song: Diary of Jane, by Breaking Benjamin I Sound Like This: click to listen Other: Refuses to wear the uniform properly, always has it unbuttoned Meet HikariXNote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by Koran [RIGHT] Your Name: Koran, or Kora Character Name: Hikaru Lion heart Gender:Female Sexual Orientation:Straight Age:17 Species: Psychic Year Level: 11th grade Height: 5'10" Weight:130 pounds Eye Color: Sky blue Hair Color:Bright red Personality: Incredibly shy, has trouble relating to people, specially because of her abilities. Is extremely curious, and tends to read what a person is thinking about at the moment without even noticing half the time. Has a giant lack of self-confidence and usually sits in a corner. Extremely smart, she has the brains and the study skills to memorize the whole book and is only rather outgoing in the class with the teachers during class. History: Daughter of a warrior and a scientist, she's always had the best of both worlds. However, that scientific father was also one of the most powerful psychics on the planet and has killed plenty of people unintentionally because his powers often went out of control. This is why his mother sent her twin children to Ipswich, to keep them safe from their powers psychic powers, at least until he became stable again. Abilities: Always protected by her mother and brother, she is rather weak physically. However, she has really strong telepathic abilities, able to listen in on others' thoughts with no problem, and capable of reading even the deepest secrets of their minds, but only does that if she likes you. Also has strong suggestive abilities, putting thoughts and actions directly into your mind, and you will do them. The only mind she is incapable of reading is her brother's, and the only mind he can read is hers. Weaknesses: Has a psychic link with her brother that whenever one of them suffers from negative emotion, it affects the other (she gets cuts when he's mad or sad, he sees horrible visions when she is). She therefore represses a lot of emotions and is afraid of releasing them. Is also incapable of fighting. Weapon(s) of choice: N/A Likes: fancy food which she is incapable o cooking, anime, manga, heavy metal, romance Dislikes:being alone, violence, using her suggestive powers, the size of her breasts (really self-conscious about it) Theme Song: Silent Planet, by Iron Maiden I Sound Like This: click to hear Other: Quite ticklish Meet Banknote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by Fern J. Rate Your Name: Fern Character Name: Van ANH Le Gender: Male Sexual Orientation: Homosexual Age: 15 Species: Psychic Year Level: 9th Height: 5'6" Weight: 127.7 lbs Eye Color: Brown Hair Color: Black Appearance: Personality: A pacifist who is very humble, quiet and reserved as a person and a photographer, is how Van is often described as by many people around him. Nonetheless, Van works hard and tries his best in everything he does. Although quite strait-laced and polite, to the point where it is considered abnormal and (to some) frustratingly annoying, he can be bold when he needs to be. However, it usually takes a really long time on the perpetrator’s behalf to get Van to react so boldly, since Van has the patience and tolerance of boulder. Van is a bit awkward when expressing himself to people around him most of the time however, is capable of interacting with certain spirits, animals, inanimate objects and/or when he is by himself and is absolutely certain that no one is around. History: Having grown up with very strict parents, one could say that, Van was conditioned to be the strait-laced and polite boy he is today. Having been spiritually aware as well as showing signs of psychic powers at the young age of five, Van tried his best to fit in with the normal kids by pretending that the floating balls of flames he saw were his imaginary friends. Due to his upbringing, his conditioned behavior as well as his 'imaginary friends' Van found it hard to associate with others without being labelled as a 'weirdo' thus he just stayed quiet. However as Van grew up, the spirits began taking forms of various creatures that began interacting with him inside his head, occasionally taking possession of him to release his innate psychic powers. Much to Van's dismay, his parents were not only strict but extremely superstitious as well. Thus, when they saw Van, making his toys move and float around him when he was sleeping, they sent him off to Ipswich Academy to be with ‘his own kind’ or get their demon child exorcised. Abilities: Van mainly displays weak forms of psychic powers such as seeing auras (which to him are just floating balls of flames) as well as a weak telekinesis and telepathy, since he can only lift objects of certain weight and distance and can only hear shallow thoughts. However, Van has high spiritual awareness that allows him to see and interact with spirits of various kinds (e.g. elementals and demons to name a few). Occasionally but not always, due to him being a pacifist, Van is able to and will ask the spirits’ help who then let him borrow their powers to use but only for a short while. When this happens, Van’s telekinesis will be amplified according to spirits’ abilities. Weaknesses: Being a pacifist, Van is generally weak in physical combat opting to just stay out of fights and conflicts or run as fast as his legs can carry him whatever seems appropriate at the time. Also being spiritually aware, Van is prone to possession from various spirits, whether they be benign or otherwise, who often wreak havoc using Van's body and innate psychic abilities either for pranks or misconduct. Has a serious allergy with the sun which often makes him faint or dizzy, making him even more vulnerable to possession so you’ll never see him without an umbrella and long dark clothing. Weapon(s) of choice: N/A Likes: Taking photos (always carry one with him), sowing, making toys especially dolls for various spirits like DRI to live in, playing the violin, umbrellas and hats. Dislikes: Being in the sun, bright light, getting possessed, messy rooms, using his powers, getting nosebleeds and conflicts. Theme Song: Through the Iris - 10 Years I Sound Like This: Henry LAU Other: DRI (pronounced as Dry) is a sprite (a baby spirit) of an old fruit tree that Van use to play in, pick and eat fruit from as a kid before it was cut down. He resides in a ball jointed doll that Van made himself from the leftover wood of the tree. Usually found on Van's head or inside his hat when Van wears his hat. DRI is prone to throw nuts and fruit at people when he feels that Van is distressed or will try to get help when Van is possessed. One of the main key signs of that Van is possessed is his eyes changing color. Van is prone to get nosebleeds when he is near the person he likes or finds someone attractive. Meet MinhXNote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by Fern J. Rate Your Name: Fern Character Name: Minh Thanh Le Gender: Male Sexual Orientation: Bisexual Age: 17 Species: Psychic Year Level: 11th Height: 6'5" Weight: 166.5 lbs Eye Color: Brown Hair Color: Black Appearance: Personality: When one first meets Minh Tan, the most likely words that will be repeated the most will be 'crazy', 'over-the-top idiot' and 'wannabe gangsta'. Which really defines Minh in a nutshell. Despite the annoying 'chigger-like' attitude and behavior, Minh is a well-meaningful guy who can be serious when the situation calls for it. Quite friendly, outgoing and rather boisterous, the downside to this is that Minh is quite a flirtatious bastard who is often too friendly and really needs to be controlled sometimes. Despite being the prodigy on the Le side of the family, Minh is quite lazy idiotic genius when it comes to his work and often tends to either flirt around with the people around him, tease his relative Van whom he has known since when he was a kid or play video games on his Nintendo DS. History: Although he is considered the 'pride and joy' of the Le family for his natural talent and intellectual prowess, Minh actually came from the black sheep of the Le family, who were known for their supernatural powers and radical thinking. Since Minh was a child, he always had the freedom of the blackheads and grew up having an almost supernatural (in that his parents can interact with ghosts and him playing pranks with his psychic powers) and carefree childhood. It was as he got older that, his intellectual prowess allowed him into the main Le family which began his rebellious years, where he acted like the way he is today, an out-of-controlled idiot and/or crazy wannabe gangsta. As Minh grew up, he met Van (a relative, family connection is unknown possibly cousin though) who was often imprisoned in the house to study and perfect the piano, that Minh began interacting with the other boy. This is when both boys, despite the time constraints and multiple personality clashes remained good friends, almost like brothers. Minh would often look out for Van and sometime get him out of some of the piano lessons he hated whilst Van would often try to cover Minh's misdeeds around the house. Minh is going to Ipswich mainly because he got expelled from his last school for inappropriate behavior as well as the fact that the school is rumored to be a school of the supernatural and that Van was also attending there. Abilities: Minh displays more skills than Van in that as a child Minh has perfected his telekinetic skills, being able to read information off of items and people through psychometric and is able to read most minds. Unlike Van, Minh can't he actually see any spirits nor actually have any spiritual awareness which Van considered a blessing whereas he, Minh, considers it bad luck. Weaknesses: Being quite the flirt, Minh is prone and shown to be easily distracted by anyone that is extremely attractive. He is also prone to possession as well since some find him easy to possess due to the lack of spiritual awareness and the fact that some of the Le men in the family were easy to possess in general. Also tends to misinterpret information from his psychometric. Weapon(s) of choice: Prefers not to fight but if he has to, he has his fists and kicks to rely on since he really enjoys martial arts and kickboxing. Likes: Extremely attractive males and females, playing practical jokes and pranks, playing video games, rap and dance music and teasing Van. Dislikes: Being possessed or having Van getting possessed for him, conventional rules, uptight authority figures, losing his DS, doing hard work and cleaning. Theme Song: RANDY - Supernova I Sound Like This: Normally without trying to sound too chigger or gangsta Other: For some odd reason or other, Minh carries a lot of metal spoons. Whether it is supposed to be for telekinetic training or not, it is unknown why he does. Also tends to listen to his music loud and burst into a dance of some sort. Descendants of Cain (a.k.a. the Vampires)Meet MelanaXNote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by foxglove [RIGHT] Your Name: Foxglove or Love Character Name: Melina Shay Gender: female Sexual Orientation: Straight (men) Age: 100 (looks 17) Species: Vampire (She has purple eyes instead of red) Year Level: 11th Height: 5"9 Weight: 101lb Eye Color: Purple with a blue rim around the pupil Hair Color: brown Personality: She is very sweet and kind. She loves to talk and is always complimenting others. Melina loves to make people happy, because their smile brightens her day. History: When Melina was 17 her life went into ruin. Her family was on a road trip, and they stopped at a gas station. At the gas station, her parents got out of the car, and they did not come back for several hours. Melina got out of the car to go check on her parents. She found them laying on the floor dead with blood dripping from their necks. She saw a man standing over their bodies, and then that man bit her. Furthermore, she then became a vampire. After becoming a vampire, Melina lived on the streets, out of fear, she sucked peoples blood and then disposed them for about 298 years. She was a lonely girl with nothing, but then one day, a man came to her and cleaned her up. He brushed her hair and washed her face. He let her take a shower, eat his food, wear some of his clothes, and he even bought her new clothes. Melina loved this man like a father, and never drank his blood. After two years of caring for Melina, this man dropped her off at this school and then never came back for her again. Melina was sad for a little while, but got over it and now shows kindness to everyone.... but she still loves to suck their blood. Abilities: Melina can turn into a bat and fly. She can manipulate others thoughts. For example, if someone figured out that she was a vampire, she could change there thought to something like: Oh no she isn't a vampire, she just looks like one... or something like that. Weaknesses: If Melina falls in love with someone, she can not change their thoughts. And if the sun is out, she can fly. Weapon(s) of choice: Her mouth..... Likes: boys, blood, darkness, dresses, makeup Dislikes: sunshine, pens, writing Theme Song: Laughing by Regina Spector Other: She gets angry when people call her by her last name, or when people tell her she is ugly. Meet Denote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by Little Miss [RIGHT] Name: Little Miss Character Name: Dane Are Jameson Gender: Male Sexual Orientation: Bisexual Age: 97 Exactly… but looks 18 Species: Vampire Year Level: 12th Height: 5’10 Weight: 132 lb Eye Color: Toxic Green Hair Color: White-Blond Personality: Patient, naturally kind-hearted, a bit exaggerated, protective, a bit of a sarcastic sense of humor, and takes offense to the fact people think he’s threatening just because he looks a bit scary. If angered can also be very impulsive. History: Dane grew in the city a very long time ago, developing his knowledge of people. For some reason, his house was burned to the ground killing his parents and younger sister, surprisingly not himself. Later he realized his luck was caused by the bite marks in the back of his neck, he was turned a vampire mysteriously. After that he went to work in the psychology area, and became the youngest psychiatrist in his work place. Nobody knew he was a vampire, though one of his patients was close to figuring it out for herself. He was asked to come to this school by request of that patient’s parents, who feared for her mental safety. Abilities: Has super strength that he’s a bit embarrassed about. Also knows the human (and non-human) body so well he can identify and individual’s pressure points, soft spots, etc. Weaknesses: Sunlight causes harm to his skin, and can’t force himself to do anything if someone he knows could be in danger. Weapon(s) of choice: Normally just uses his strength, but also carries a handgun in his pocket at all times. Likes: People, card games, therapy music, occasional cooking, people’s smiles, blood. Dislikes: Threats, lies, his scary-looking eyes, burnt things. Theme Song: Campus-Vampire Weekend I Sound Like This: (He even speaks French) Meet MizukiXNote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by Sharia [RIGHT] Name: Sharia Character Name: Mizuki Reno Gender: female Sexual Orientation: Bi Age: 17 Species: Vampire (Can live of either psychic energy or blood) Year Level: 12 Height: 5’6 Weight: 120 Eye Color:Purple Hair Color: Black Appearance:*The one with the black shirt Personality: She is cold, calculating, and indifferent to everyone but her sister. She is often mistaken for cruel being unless she knows you very well and likes you she just doesn’t give a damn what happens to you. She rarely speaks, but when she does she mince no words and spares no one’s feelings. Furthermore, she says what she thinks and can be a little sassy/sarcastic. Furthermore, she is the kinda of person who looks right through you. Furthermore, she trusts no one, no matter who they are. The only ones who can make her eyes appear like they aren't’ dead is Yoko. History: Born to an ancient bloodline so powerful and inclined to magic that it was known as royalty she lived a charmed life until she was 9. At that time both her and her twin were taken from their family by force, their parents dying due to a betrayal of a trusted family friend. She was taken by the Warlock Jeremiah hated brother of Aaron. Aaron intended to take both twins, but Jeremiah stole the other sister. He ‘trained’ her savagely, chaining her to a wall and attacking her with lightening as well as his pet bat familiars whenever she disobeyed or messed up. Slowly she grew colder, becoming a good actress. She made him believe that she had submitted to his will, that she believed herself truly his daughter and would destroy any enemy… including her sister. In actuality, she was just making herself stronger so she could someday escape and save her sister from Aaron. Finally, at 16 she finally got her chance, Jeremiah having made a mistake of lowering his defenses around her. She had not revealed she had learned to absorb energy through touch you see, so she drained him of energy enough to weaken him then finished him off with a dagger of ice…at least she thinks she did. He’d trained her to be an assassin, but truly he trained her too well. Fleeing his tower she quickly tracked down her sister, always able to sense where she was. Finding her sister locked in a small cage she freed her, escaping with her and traveling far. Stumbling on Ipswich she and her sister decided to join… to try to get a ‘normal’ education… as well as to hide there from Aaron. Abilities: Control/create Ice as well as shadow, Fly, turn into various feline forms, drain energy through psychical touch. Vampire reflexes/senses. VERY fast even for a vampire. Telepathically speak to anyone she’s bitten, Telepathically speak to her sister as well as sense her sister’s location. Very good at Martial arts, relies on her speed when fighting. Weaknesses: Too much sunlight, Fire, Werewolf venom, when her sister’s hurt she feels it too, wounds will even appear on her body. The word Bat or seeing a bat can make her freeze in place with remembered fear. The sound of thunder or electricity will also paralyze her with fear. Weapon(s) of choice: A bladed metal staff she can summon from a ring she always wears. It has the ability to separate into two pieces. Likes: her sister, darkness, cold, cats, beautiful things, dressing up, poetry, reading. Dislikes: Noise, Pushy people, Arrogance, the word bat, warlocks, naivety (except in Kochab) Other: She calls her sister ‘Kochab’. Their power increases when they are in physical contact, but so does the damage they take from the other being hurt/wounded. Descendants of Plaster (a.k.a. the Warlocks)Meet Keynote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by RainbowMuffinage [LEFT] Name: RainbowMuffinage Character Name: Skye Wendy Stone son Gender: Female Sexual Orientation: Straight Age: 17 Species: Wizard / Warlock Year Level: 11th Height: 5"8 Weight: 115 lbs Eye Color: Gold Hair Color: Blonde ((mainly. Sgt;.Lt;)) Personality: Cheerful, crazy, usually hyper, spontaneous, unpredictable, lovable, can be a total badass when she needs to be. History: Skye was brought up by her Aunt as her parents left her when she was young. Her Aunt would make up bedtime stories about her parents, deluding her into thinking that they were working with others to change the world, make it a better place. As she has been going to human schools all of her life, she is used to hiding her unique abilities. Skye heard about Ipswich Academy through her school because of her outstanding grades. She was at first skeptical of entering a boarding school, but eventually, her Aunt persuaded her that it would be good for her to have a change. Abilities: Skye can manipulate the elements and cast spells. She can also summon creatures and items. Weaknesses: The dark, high-pitched noises and her short temper. Weapon(s) of choice: N/A Likes: Her iPod, dudes, music, writing, wolves, love, free running, Pokémon, art. Dislikes: Tomatoes, hatred, freakish smells, pain, blood, cruelty. Theme Song: Que the headbanging. Sgt;.Lt; I Sound Like This: La, la la la ~♪ Other: Skye plays piano, guitar and can sing, but only when her iPod's on at full blast. Meet RiyaXNote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by Sharia [LEFT] Name: Sharia Character Name: Riga Air Éadaoin Gender: Female Sexual Orientation: Bisexual Age: 16 Species: Warlock Year Level: 11 Height:5’9 Weight:135 Eye Color: Grayish green Hair Color: Blue Personality: Independent and a little quirky you either love her or hate her… and she really doesn’t give a damn which. She has a habit of daydreaming and seem inattentive but can then turn very intense. When she’s really looking at you, it seems like she’s forgotten the rest of the world. History: Riga was born to a warlock and one of his servants, her mother dying shortly afterward under mysterious circumstances. Her father refuses to speak of her mother but seems to have genuinely loved her mother and does love Riga deeply. She was raised being carefully taught in the ways of magic but didn’t seem capable of any until when she was seven she was taking a walk. She was attacked by a crazed man with a magical ability to manipulate strings of energy. As he cut her with them, she managed to summon Ariella, her blade and companion. Ariella cut through the strings, and she managed to defeat the strange man who ran away shortly afterwards as her father approached. Since then, she’s closed herself off from all but her father and magic, spending more time talking to Ariella then any living being… he hopes this school will help change that and broaden her horizons…. Abilities: She can cast spells but only via blood sacrifice, she particularly excels in blood summoning, I.e. she can summon objects or creatures via a sacrifice of her own blood. The amount is in proportionate to what she’s doing, the harder/stronger the spell the more blood it demands in payment. Weaknesses: Blind as a bat without her glasses. Anemic/physically weak due to her spells requiring what they do. Intensely afraid of being bound/tied/suffocated. Weapon(s) of choice: A talking sword of solidified blood and metal named Ariella. It is the first summoning Riga ever did and seems aware of what’s going on with Riga even when not summoned. It is the only truly sentient thing she summons, the others just shadows of her will, while Ariella seems to have a soul and personality of its own. She also has a ring with a sharpened edge which she uses to cut herself when she needs to cast her spells. Likes: Magic, Ariella, animals, music, experimenting with magic, daydreaming, thinking Dislikes: Repetition, unimaginative people, having to stay on one topic for an extended period of time, rope, being unable to see Other: her hair was blond originally but thanks to one of her failed experiments became blue and now grows out blue. Due to embarrassment she just says she dyed it this color. Meet ChikaXNote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by foxglove Your Name: foxglove or love Character Name: China Fukuyama Gender: female Sexual Orientation: straight (confused a little though) Age: 16 Species: Warlock Year Level: 10th Height: 5'7" Weight: 98lbs Eye Color: One blue, one brown Hair Color: Black Appearance: Chick Personality: Very outgoing, and dorky girl. She loves to run around and she is a total span. History: China grew up in a very traditional Japanese family. One night, when her parents were out to dinner, their cat got in a fight with another cat. There cat go wounded, but China healed him. Her parents had no idea how she did it, but they knew that something was wrong. Chick was sent to her room, and then a few years later, when she was old enough, her parents left her at the school with a giant bag full of luggage and pretty much all of her furniture. They never came back. Abilities: China is able to control the element of zinc. She is not very good at controlling the element, and sometimes she can't heal them. Weaknesses: China cannot control the element if she is sick, hurt, or bleeding in any way shape or form. She also cannot heal herself. Weapon(s) of choice: China carries a little dagger in her back pocket. Likes: animals, loudness, crowds, people, speaking Japanese, sugar, water Dislikes: Blood, numbers, traditional people, fire, acorns, singing (event though she is amazing at it.) Theme Song: Other: She hates fire and hot things. Meet MortorXNote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by Little Miss [RIGHT] Your Name: Little Miss Character Name: Motor Allen Czech (Mo) Gender: Male… though people can tend to get confused. Sexual Orientation: Straight Age: 17 Species: Warlock Year Level: 11th Height: 5’8 Weight: 143 lb Eye Color: A pretty golden-yellow Hair Color: Blue with black streaks Appearance: Usually wears a black button down shirt, his crazy hat, pants, boots, and gloves over his hands to cover up two of his summoning tattoos. Personality: Though Mo is very kindhearted…he’s normally comical, sarcastic, stubborn, a bit selfish and can be very childish. He is also very oblivious to most things and a huge klutz, some say it’s because he can only see with one eye. Also is very picky about the foods he eats… and usually swallows his food whole. History: Has been known all his life as “Snake Demon” which isn’t too far-fetched, actually, being that his eyes and skinny body can look of those like one. His parents, in dept from a certain deal left him as a two-year-old-child. Abandoned, he was taken in by another family of Warlocks and was raised deep in the countryside somewhere off the coast of Europe. There, he learned demon summoning (mostly with forms of a snake) by his adopted family. Eventually the house was burned to the ground from humans who felt threatened by them, and Mo was the only one left. Unknowing that he was a Warlock, a rich family took him in and completely pampered him for years until his secret came out when he summoned a particular female snake familiar for the first time. After that, he ran away. Becoming an amazing street-performer and infamous thief in the city, Mo lived a pretty good teenage life. Eventually, though, he bored with it and traveled on to new places. He attended this school originally to run away from his own dept to pay. Abilities: Amazingly, even though Mo is probably one of the most oblivious people on earth, he still has amazingly fast reflexes and speed like a snake. (The only problem with that is he doesn’t exactly realize he’s dodged something till afterwards) Sharp senses that he doesn’t always pay attention too. He also summons snake familiars by using the two round (they look like alchemy) tattoos on both of his hands and another on his eye. Yes, on his left eye, thus why he wears an eye-patch (the one on his eye summons Medusa). Also carries a book for making other summoning circles. Weaknesses: Absolutely cannot be in the cold, not only does Mo hate it, but he cannot summon snakes. He himself cannot do any kind of element magic, so he’s left at a disadvantage when it’s cold. Weapon(s) of choice: Familiars. Likes: Absolutely adores Medusa (it’s one-sided), cake, tea, crazy hats, things that he deems funny, snakes and cute fluffy animals (he really loves bunnies) Dislikes: Cold foods, the cold, snow, coffee, when he can’t sleep, people who are too stubborn like himself, being overcrowded and/or pressured. Theme Song: Theme song! I Sound Like This: His voice Other: Mo is an insomniac. Medusa, Mo’s beloved familiar, actually takes a human form. Don’t let her size and looks deceive you, she is a disaster awaiting to happen. Standing only 3 feet off the ground, she has snake fangs and can actually light herself on fire either when attacking or angered. She “took” Mo’s left eye as punishment for looking straight at her the first them she was summoned. Descendants of Eve (a.k.a. the Humans)Meet VarickXNote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by Waving [LEFT] Your Name: Waving Character Name: Va rick V. "VS" Walker (Pretty cool how his first two initials form his last initial, right?) Gender: Male Sexual Orientation: Straight Age: 17 Species: Human (or so he believes) Year Level: 11th Height: 6'1" Weight: 147 lbs Eye Color: A very catchy blue Hair Color: Black, but can look blue at times Appearance: Va rick is often seen wearing a light blue hat and long black trench coat (Va rick.) Personality: Va rick is your typical hardworking, mature, sweetheart. His maturity greatly surpasses his peers and often makes teachers confused as to why a 23-year-old is in their class. But, due to his maturity, Va rick is often picked on and isolated. Not many students want to be his friend as he's 'different' and 'weird.' Thus, Va rick hangs with brother almost always, or at least when school permits him. Va rick and his brother are very close and Va rick would do anything to put a smile on his younger brother's face. The two are very close, but this does cause some conflict, as Va rick can get a tad too overprotective. But, Va rick is sincerely concerned for his younger brother as his parent's last words before their tragic death were "Protect your brother...." History: Orphaned along with his younger brother, Va rick and he spent many hours alone in the crowded orphanage. One sad day, the place burnt to the ground, killing just about everyone. Miraculously, Va rick and his brother survived and fled the scene. Prior to wandering into the school's headmaster, the two brothers were proclaimed dead in the fire. This story died upon the news of the "cursed lucky brothers" arrival at Ipswich Academy. Unfortunately, Va rick was accused of murdering his parents as well as arson charges. These were dropped once the investigators discovered something about Va rick - he's blind. But, his blindness is different from the norm. Va rick cannot see in the broad daylight or bright light. So to cope with his rare blindness, Va rick wears hats, dark-colored clothing, and sunglasses just about all the time.[RIGHT] Abilities: He's rather fast and quick to react. He might not be a genius, but his unmatched speed and flexibility help him out of his many sticky situations. Weaknesses: Fear of losing his brother and everything else humans are weak to as well as bright light Weapon(s) of choice: Fists, legs, head, and a pair of pistols Likes: Seeing his brother smile, cute girls, music, the wind, the rain, and going on long walks Dislikes: Seeing his brother cry, stuck-up girls, rap music, the sun, hot days, and not understanding lectures Theme Song: Imaginary by Evanescence Quote: In my field of paper flowers And candy clouds of lullaby I lie inside myself for hours And watch my purple sky fly over me, I Sound Like This: click to hear Other: Va rick loves to stare off into space and think. When he gets like this, fellow peers often play cruel tricks on him (poor Va rick!). Meet SkylerXNote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by Waving [RIGHT] By: Koran Character Name: Skyler David Walker Gender: Male Sexual Orientation: Straight Age: 14 Species: Human (or so he believes) Year Level: 9th Height: 5'5" Weight: 100 lbs Eye Color: Yellow green Hair Color: Chocolate brown Personality: Skyler, in comparison to his brother Va rick, is the chatterbox. He loves to socialize and exchange knowledge and trivia with anyone and everyone. He's not afraid to waltz up to a stranger and ask for his/her opinion on religion, politics, movies, the economy... anything! Skyler is a tad headstrong, but he's also high-spirited. His spunk and energy is what keeps Va rick on his toes. However, due to his brainy ways, Skyler has a hard time making friends and is often always with seen alongside his brother. Skyler is just your typical cheerful, friendly, genius that loves to explore and learn, but his curiosity can get him in quite the pile of danger! Thank god for his protector Va rick! History: Orphaned along with his older brother, Skyler and he spent many hours alone in the crowded orphanage. One sad day, the place burnt to the ground, killing just about everyone. Miraculously, Skyler and his brother Va rick survived and fled the scene. Prior to wandering into the school's headmaster, the two brothers were proclaimed dead in the fire. This story died upon the news of the "cursed lucky brothers" arrival at Ipswich Academy. Unfortunately, Skyler's brother was accused of murdering his parents as well as arson charges. This issue separated the brother for a while, but once the charges were dropped Skyler began to question how? To this day, he still has no idea Va rick is light-blind. Abilities: The genius of the two brothers. Not only is he smart, but he's also very sly and can weasel his way out of just about anything. If he can't, that's when he seeks his brother's help. Weaknesses: Fire, he's terrified of it ever since the fire. He's also afraid of losing Va rick and feels horrible when his brother needs to save him. Seeing his brother get hurt rips apart his heart. Weapon(s) of choice: Va rick Likes: Va rick, talking, watching the History and Discovery channels, coding for the hell of it, researching off facts, and exploring Dislikes: Slow computers, hearing the same story twice, irrational people, and fire Theme Song: This Is Your Lifesaver Quote: we open our eyes to stare at the sun our ambitions should keep us turned away our hearts will show the way I swear we all have it in us and right now it's all we have this is your lifesaver this is your lifesaver stay awake but don't stop dreaming promise me you won't stop dreaming stay awake believe me when I say, believe me when I say it's worth it stay awake I Sound Like This: My Favorite Highway Other: No matter what he says, he loves his brother and would rather die than see Va rick die for him. Note: Skyler means "guarded." Va rick means "guardian." Meet QuestaXNote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by Little Miss [RIGHT] Name: Little Miss Character Name: Quest Lee Franklin Gender: Female Sexual Orientation: Straight Age: 15 Species: Human Year Level: 10th Height: 5 feet 4 inches Weight: 118 lb. Eye Color: A pale Grable Hair Color: Black Personality: Very easily frightened, twitchy, paranoid, emotionally unstable, but pretty quiet most of the time. History: The doctors discovered Quest was suffering from severe mental disorders when she was four. She was human, which the parents were thankful for, but couldn’t act normally. She couldn’t be out in crowded places because of the noise, night terrors and paranoia made her lash out violently, and her constant twitching disrupted her school work. Her parents finally decided to place Quest in the care of a mental hospital when she was seven years of age. This just made her worse. She was in an extreme unstable condition three years later, and at last she was taken to a psychiatrist in the city who almost completely put a control on the mental disorders. The most important thing the psychiatrist ever gave Quest was a pair of headphones, that when turned on completely blocked sound from her ears so she could be out in crowded places and loud areas. Finally, at the age of 15, she is finally able to attend school… but under the fear of her dangerous disorder, could be killed. Abilities: She easily picks up important facts of information and sights. She can solve riddles and puzzles at an incredible rate and can understand how almost any person’s mind thinks. Ironic ability* Weaknesses: Noises. As simple as a ringing bell can throw her off. Also, she fears darkness, it causes paranoia and constant mental breakdowns. Weapon(s) of choice: Anything. Literally, anything. If Quest feels like she is being threatened she would instantly grab the first thing and swing it. Likes: Silence, daylight, kind people, puzzles, new facts, learning Dislikes: The word “Hospital” “freak” and/or “Twitch”, ominous-looking creatures, people taller than she. Theme Song: *Other: Quest probably has to have the most ironic "ability", though technically it's a basic thing that anyone can do. She screams. It's ear-piercing, window-breakable, and overall dangerous to people at a close range and deadly to her own self. Has only screamed once in her life, and never plans on it again. Descendants of Rome (a.k.a. Werewolves)Meet ArlynnXNote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by o0Calyx0o [LEFT] Name: o0Calyx0o Character Name: Lynn Involve Gender: Female Sexual Orientation: Straight; prefers guys her age or older. Age: 16, almost 17 Species: Werewolf Year Level: 11th Height: 5'8" Weight: 136 lbs. Eye Color: Olive Green Hair Color: Blonde Personality: Lynn comes off as sarcastic and bitchy to people she's just met, which makes her rather unlikable to most people. She makes an effort to be nice, but her slightly above average intelligence makes her prone to find openings to make rude or snide comments, and often takes them. She won't stand for any preferential treatment because she's a girl, and hates boys who try and be 'romantic' by doing old-fashioned things like opening doors for her and pulling out her chair when she can do it herself (like, if her arms are full of books, she'll be okay with it, but otherwise-uh uh, big no, no.) History: Lynn was born with misanthropy- that is, she's a full-blooded werewolf. Taught by her father how to use her superior speed and brain to beat her much larger brothers in combat, Lynn has always fought to prove that girls are equal- if not superior- to males. Abilities: Lynn has many of the normal werewolf abilities-however, she is not quite as strong as most (which still places her at much stronger than an average human). She makes up for this with extreme speed that makes her difficult to catch (useful when you have three older brothers, yes?). Due to having better control over her emotions, she can also control her shapeshifting, except full moon nights. She also has better senses of hearing, smell, and sight than a human would. Weaknesses: Allergic to silver, and she is more susceptible to strong smells, sounds, and bright lights. Weapon(s) of choice: A two bladed dagger than can be separated into separate blades. Likes: Flowers (one of the few romanticism she'll allow), hard rock, drawing, writing, running freely in her wolf form. Dislikes: Chocolate (it makes her sick), being treated as inferior/weak, the "Sims" game series, being called by anything but her full (first) name. Theme Song: Strange, Tokyo Hotel featuring Kelli; Almost Alice CD. I Sound Like This: click Meet YoukoXNote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by Sharia [LEFT] Name: Sharia Character Name: Yoko Reno Gender: female Sexual Orientation: bi Age: 17 Species: Werewolf Year Level: 17 Height: 5’6 Weight: 120 Eye Color: Bluish Green Hair Color: Black Appearance: *The one with the white shirt Personality: She is very energetic and excitable, talkative and outgoing. She seems largely ADD and never sits still. She is quick to anger but equally quick to forgive. .unless you hurt Kitchen, then you’ve got a fearsome enemy for life. She is a kind person, however, and will do all she can to help….well for long as she can focus to anyway. She is very rash and almost never thinks things through. Her eyes are always gleaming with energy and emotion. History: Born to an ancient bloodline so powerful and inclined to magic that it was known as royalty she lived a charmed life until she was 9. At that time both her and her twin were taken from their family by force, their parents dying due to a betrayal of a trusted family friend. She was taken by the Warlock Aaron, hated brother of Jeremiah. Aaron intended to take both twins, but Jeremiah stole the other sister. Aaron attempted to train her, beating her savagely and throwing her into a small cage where she couldn’t even raise her head. She fought, refusing to give in… until her sister managed to sneak a telepathic message to her via their blood. She would be coming… she would save her… all she had to do was to pretend to give in and keep herself safe… Obeying she did so, though always wanting to escape. She did not have her sister’s ability to hide the emotion in her eyes, however, so Aaron always saw the hate that was there and never gave her enough room to turn against him. Then freedom finally came as her sister freed her, and they escaped to the outside world… now heading for Ipswich in the hope of finding a place there to be safe as well as to make Mizuki become the warm girl she once was. That is Yoko’s greatest wish. Abilities: VERY strong, even for a werewolf. Senses of a wolf, able to turn into a part wolf/part human form as well as either a grown werewolf or werewolf pup. Her claws are nearly unbreakable and can cut through almost anything. Her howl if done within a few feet of you will cause a person to pass out or faint. How long they stay under depends on their will power. She can also telepathically communicate with her sister but only her sister, some say it’s something to do with their twin connection and some say it's because her sister is a vampire. Very good at Martial arts, relies on her strength when fighting. Weaknesses: Silver, Vampire venom, when her sister’s hurt she feels it too, wounds will even appear on her body. Claustrophobic to the point that small places and places with no light so she can’t see the walls give her panic attacks. Weapon(s) of choice: Her claws Likes: her sister, being outdoors, skateboarding, running, animals, cute things, sunlight, warmth. Dislikes: Mean people, small spaces, loud noises, the dark, liars, hypocrisy Other: She calls her sister ‘Kitchen’. Their power increases when they are in physical contact, but so does the damage they take from the other being hurt/wounded. Ex-StudentsSPOILERXNote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Meet Cameron - MovedXNote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by Lindy Your Name: Lindy Lou Character Name: Cameron Costello Gender: Male Sexual Orientation: Bi Age:17 Species: Werewolf Year Level: 11th Height:5'6" Weight: 150 Eye Color: Hazel Hair Color: red [RIGHT] Personality: Cocky but lacking confidence where it counts. Likes to help people but tries not to in an effort to maintain what he considers a Tough-guy appearance. Pretty much keeps to himself for the most part, known to stand up for others when it really gets down to the wire. History: Cameron grew up in a small lower middle class home. His family didn't have much, but they got by pretty well with some luxuries. He was always a pretty decent student and something of a class clown. One day he was walking home from a late night tryout at school and was attacked by some sort of wild dog. He went to the hospital soaked in blood, but they only found minor injuries and sent him home after administering a rabies shot. The next few weeks were hell on earth as he started to experience the effects of the bite. He had become a werewolf against his will. Despite all this mother still wanted the best for him and began looking for schools for him to attend. Abilities: Rapid healing, Heightened sense of smell and hearing. Shape-shift's to a large gray wolf (Can't quite control this yet and tends to shift when excited.) Minor magical abilities. Weaknesses: He's terrified of spiders. Can't control his shape-shifting completely, sometimes can't sift even when he tries. He's not terribly amazing to begin with. Weapon(s) of choice: Claws and a butterfly knife he hides in his pants pockets at all times. Likes: Turtles, Apple pie, Potatoes, his knife Dislikes: Spiders, Pancakes, Jerks, Jumpy dogs Theme Song: Rebel Rebel-David Bowie I Sound Like This: Seth Green.... ((Is this voice or what? I don't know So if I'm wrong just take it out LOL)) Meet Axel - MovedXNote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by XxPERFECTxMESSxX [RIGHT] 8N-jTM4xvoVhNwAMCzdehaTLRdDpgtIaPJfZRC4BXdmWDx/AnimeGuy16.jpg[/RIGHT]Your Name: messy Character Name: Axel Tishri Gender:Male Sexual Orientation:bisexual Age:17 Species: werewolf Year Level: 11th Height:6'5" Weight:150 lbs Eye Color:brown Hair Color:grayish brown Personality:He keeps his past to himself and loves to flirt with guys and girls. He usually acts happy but when he gets mad steer clear because he doesn't hold back to anyone. History: He doesn't remember much from his past except for vampires killing his mother. His father left him and his mother when he was young so he never really knew him. He has a strong dislike towards vampires. He is half human but doesn't know it because he didn't know his father. He has only transformed into a wolf once, the day his mother died. Right before she was attacked she kissed him on the cheek and put her hand on his tattoo transforming him into a wolf so he could escape.(see weaknesses for more details.) Abilities: when he's interested in someone or something his ears pop up, but he usually hides them in his hat. He also is extremely fast and strong. Weaknesses:. He can transform into a wolf only when someone he loves touches him on a tattoo above his heart. Weapon(s) of choice: a small switchblade his mother gave him when he was 8. Likes: Flirting, eating,fighting, and swimming Dislikes:Vampires Other: this is his tattoo Meet Karate: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by red rose [RIGHT] Your Name: red Rose call, but me Rose Character Name: Kara Akihito Gender: female Sexual Orientation: likes guy only Age: 17 Species: werewolf Year Level: 11th Height: 5'2 Weight: 110 Eye Color: dark brown Hair Color: raven black Personality: She is shy and timid to those she doesn't know, but is happy and full of energy around friends. History:Kara used to be girl who would just hang out with her friends and go to a normal school. That is until one day going home from a friends house she took a shortcut to her house so she wouldn't be late. Halfway to her house she was surrounded by several large wolves. Assuming them as such she climbed into a high tree and figured they would eventually go away, but before she had fully climbed into the tree one of the wolves had bitten her ankle to try and drag her back down. After a while they did eventually give up on her, but she had already been infected. afterward when Her parents found out about her "problem" they felt Kara as if Kara was a stigma so they sent her to Ipswich to get rid of her Abilities: Turns into a wolf or has the ability to grow would ears and tail. Also, she has a calming effect on people when ever she is around them Weaknesses: gold, she is fine with silver but gold burns her and makes her weak, along with chocolate Weapon(s) of choice: her claws Likes: silver, pretty things, and talking with her friends Dislikes: gold, chocolate, annoying people, the rain, her parents, studying I Sound Like This: soft but bouncy voice but gets slightly high-pitched when scared Other: Is ticklish everywhere Meet ShinkuXNote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by Malaccan Your Name:Malaccan Character Name:Think Miyamoto Gender:Female Sexual Orientation:Straight Age:17 Species: Half Witch (but she was bitten by a vampire) Year Level:11th Height:5'6' Weight:105 lbs Eye Color:orange Hair Color:teal Personality: Think is bitter and has a bad attitude and very stubborn. She hates people who try to hit on her that think that the girl would fall for it. She is not easily fooled as she can somehow see some people's weak spots. History: Think's family died in a car accident on her 6th birthday. The accident was a train accident as the opposite train crashed into her train. She and her friend Maria were the only survivors. Though the vampire that saved Think because she had actually died saved Her Brother Devon. Unknowingly Think had the vampire saved her and sent her to an opposite Hospital that her brother went to. Think has or had a boyfriend, but he had beat her and still does, and he tests on her with other being's blood and different mixtures. Think's boyfriend is a vampire like her but since he bit her they have a contract, and he always knows where to find her. Think works as a nurse as does her best friend Miami Rise. Abilities:Think can control lighting and fire and other witch spells as they are very powerful spells. Weaknesses:Think's weaknesses are her ex-boyfriend love, or any chemical fluids that smell like blood. Weapon(s) of choice:Syringes, needles, guns, electricity fire, witch spells. Metal Bat Likes:Think likes rainstorms and likes to be comfortable wherever she is. Dislikes:Her ex-boyfriend Theme Song: Diabolical I Sound Like This: Alone In The Dark Other:Think often looses a lot of blood and at times bites people without realizing it. She also loses control easily due to the chemical her ex injected in her. He injected her with Demon blood which makes her more crazy. Meet Will - Study Abroad with JasonXNote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by Jain [right] Name: JAI Character Name: William "Will" Lorenzo Gender: Male Sexual Orientation: Straight and will not tolerate AOI Age: 17 Species: Warlock, but born from a family of werewolves Year Level: 11th grade Height: 6’ 6” Weight: 200 lbs Eye Color: Slate Grey Hair Color: Sky Blue Personality: Will tends to be very outgoing and is very honest though some call it being mean. History: Will didn’t discover his abilities till he was 12 which happen to be very late for the Lorenzo family. However, he is different from most of his family since he is the only one that is not a werewolf. As much as his family wants him to be a werewolf he will never be one, he will always be a magic user. Abilities: Being a mage he can cast a lot of spells but tends to like to use wind and fire spells especially in combination. Weaknesses: Silver (inherited from his family even though he’s not a werewolf) Weapon(s) of choice: Uses a rapier and a staff that is 7’ in length Likes: Magic, humans and psychics Dislikes: vampires, werewolves and nocturnal beings Meet Marianne: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by Malaccan [RIGHT] Name:Malaccan Character Name:Maria Scarlet Gender:Female Sexual Orientation:Straight Age:17 Species:Vampire Year Level:11th Height:6'4' Weight:100 lbs Eye Color:Sapphire Hair Color:light blond Personality:Maria is stubborn though she is smart, sweet and very optimistic It's hard to crush her dreams but easy to crush her heart History:Maria was in an accident with her parents when she was 3. The Accident was a train accident the opposite train crashed into the train she was in. She was the only survivor of the train she was in. She was born a vampire though when she was sixteen she became ill with Leukemia she still has most of her hair though sometimes she can't stop vomiting, and sometimes she has to go to the hospital for check-ups and her medication Abilities:Maria is actually quite strong and can control earth and water as in using her hands she can strangle something with the veins from trees or drown someone by gathering water nearby. Weaknesses:Leukemia and mostly love or bloodshed because if any blood is shed she could bite someone and begin to lose control Weapon(s) of choice:Machete, needles,guns Likes:she loves nature and the moon and loves the outdoors she often can't be aloud outside due to her illness Dislikes:Doctors and the medication she has to have due to the doctors are always rude to her, also hospitals and people who don't believe in second chances Theme Song: Bulletproof La Aux I Sound Like This: Lady Gaga Dance in The Dark Other:Maria loves all animals even the most terrifying ones she also sometimes loses control a bit and her medication for her illness makes her mood swings quite crazy Meet Mika/Torn - MovedXNote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by XxPERFECTxMESSxX [LEFT] Name: Messy Character Name: Mika "Torn" Manage Gender: Female Sexual Orientation: Straight Age: 16 Species: Vampire, but tries not to drink human blood Year Level: 10th Height: 5'7" Weight: 130 lbs Eye Color: Bright teal until she gets hungry then they turn bright red Hair Color: Black Personality: She has a split personality. When she's normal (not hungry), she calls herself Mika, who is a very cheerful girl that will do anything to help others and loves to sing. Once she starts getting hungry, she changes into a totally different person who she calls "Torn." Torn is freezing and goes crazy wanting blood. Mika doesn't like to drink human blood because she feels that if she doesn't drink human blood she can be more human herself. But, holding back her hunger for human blood gets her into trouble with Torn. History: Mika had a twin sister named Torn who had a hatred towards everyone but Mika. By the age of 6 both Mika and Torn got into an accident causing Torn to die but somehow her soul got placed into Mika's body. Now whenever Mika gets hungry, Torn gets hungry, and that personality starts to come out, making Mika have the appetite of two vampires. When Mika first started getting the taste for human blood, she killed both of her parents both of which got in the way when she held in her hunger. She was forced to live with her uncle who trained her endlessly, and was the only person who could control Mika until he mysteriously died. Mika was sent to the school after having no more relatives. Abilities: She has razored sharp nails and can run extremely fast. She was also trained to fight by her uncle so she is extremely strong and calls herself a weapon. She has a charm she got from her great-grandmother that can cast a protection spell that will shield one person if anything goes wrong, but it only works when she has strong feelings towards the person (or if Torn is casting it). Weaknesses: She's afraid of loosing Torn's personality, and fears the scent of blood because she's too afraid she'll lose it. Weapon(s) of choice: She uses her uncles old Katina sword only when she needs it which is not often since she doesn't like fighting and can fight well with her own hands. Likes: When Mika: the color purple, music, nice people, dancing, singing, human food and tiger blood. When torn:The color orange, human blood, pushing people around, protecting Mika. Dislikes:When Mika: human blood, bugs, the color pink. When Torn: People who get in her way (which apparently is everyone but Mikey even though she's the one who holds her back), the color pink and calamari. I Sound Like This: when she sings she sounds like this Other: You can bribe her to do things for 2 boxes of rocky Meet Via - MovedXNote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by silenttiger43 [RIGHT] Name: silent tiger Character Name: Via Made Gender: Female Sexual Orientation:bi Age:16 Species: Psychic Year Level: 10 Height:5’5 Weight:100 Eye Color:Green Hair Color:Blonde Personality:She’s definitely got her quirks-but what’s a life without them? At least in her view, it’s the chaos of life that makes it so grand! So take a leap, run the risk and go with it, even if it's coming crashing down around you. That’s just who she is. History: Via’s always had a different way of thinking about things. Generally growing up people just thought she was stupid, a daydreamer. Instead of answering test questions she would doodle, instead of writing essays she’d color her text books. Abilities: She can read minds, but only if she’s in physical contact with them. Other than that she has some control over her telekinesis; however her general control is limited. As she loves chaos, her own abilities seem to be in quite a chaotic flux around her, heavily based on her current emotional state. Weaknesses: Extremely Claustrophobic Weapon(s) of choice: N/A Likes:Sweet things, particularly fruit combined with candy, The color green, Toys, Riddles, Crazy mind puzzles. Dislikes:uptight people, losing, the color yellow, being crowded, being unable to talk. Theme Song: Maybe later I Sound Like This: Maybe later Other: Maybe later Meet Amelia - Moved (Due to In-activeness)Note: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by Salami [LEFT] Name: Salami Character Name: Amelia Marie Donner Gender: female Sexual Orientation: straight Age: 16 Species: psychic Year Level: 11th Height: 5'3" Weight: 130 lbs Eye Color: blue Hair Color: blond almost white Personality: Amelia has always loved music, and her personality twists to what music she is listening to. When there is no music playing though she is quiet and keeps to herself. Almost as if she is scared to come out of whatever shell she is in when there is no music. History: Past around age 10 Amelia can't recall anything from her past. Her parents also will never tell her anything because they are dead, which is a mystery in itself. No one knows what happened, or they just won't tell Amelia, and some days she believes that she may have been the cause of their death. Abilities: Most of her psychic powers, like her personality revolve around the music that she listens to. Techno music brings out the wilder side, with things like flashing lights on and off without thinking. While emo music will cause knives to circle her. Or things to randomly float in the room. The telepathic powers she gets are when there is slow music. Love songs. That's when she can hear other people talking in their heads. It is also her least favorite. Weaknesses:Amelia is terrified that she cause the death of her parents in the time that she can not remember. It leaves her worried about hurting other people. But when her powers make it so that she can be uncontrollable in certain ways, if a certain music is playing... well it leaves her in bad situations where she could terrify herself and not be able to do anything to stop herself from doing it. Weapon(s) of choice: bladed staff Likes: music, clothes styles that change with her music, tattoos, piercings Dislikes: love songs, killing people Theme Song: sexy, naughty, bitchy by Tata young I Sound Like This: Mulan - reflections Other: actually has a really amazing singing voice. Meet Sofia - Moved (Due to In-activeness)Note: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by Miley Cyrus Your Name: Miley Cyrus Character Name: Sofia Gender: Female Sexual Orientation: Straight Age: 15 Species: Psychics Year Level: 9th Grade Height: 5'6" Weight: 122lbs Eye Color: Pink Hair Color: Black Personality: Very happy, but can sadistic at times. All in all, Sofia is usually a cheery girl, but she can also be rather stuck up due to her spoilage as a child. History: Sofia's family is a long line of Psychics, dating back to the Medieval times. When her parents found out that she had the 'gift,' they rewarded her. Thanks to this, Sofia sometimes acts like a spoiled brat. Abilities: She can only read minds, but can read them from up to two miles away. Weaknesses: To many people in a room because they make her get killer headaches and pass out. Weapon(s) of choice: Her 'Decorative Sword' Likes: The sun, being around her friends, and chocolate cake Dislikes: Being grounded and the darkness Theme Song: My heart will go on- Celine Dion Other: Loves to be random Meet Danika - Moved (Due to In-activeness)Note: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by Windy Opal [RIGHT] Your Name: Windy Opal Character Name: Danika Hiatus Gender: Female Sexual Orientation: Straight Age: 18 Species: Wiccan Year Level: 12 Height: 5’4 Weight: 115 lbs Eye Color: Green Hair Color: Black Personality: Smart, level-headed, stubborn History: Danika grew up in a small town with her mother, grandmother, and sisters. They lived a bit off the beaten path and all the girls were taught bits and pieces of magic. When Danika was very young, she was tested for abilities and found to have a large affinity with air and water. Her grandmother homeschooled her until she transferred to the Academy. In her final year of high school, Danika is looking forward to encountering the world. Abilities: Can summon sylphs (air spirits) and undines (water spirits) without using a circle for up to an hour. Has some control over both air and water for a short time. Weaknesses: Fire paralyzes her with fright. She has a slight case of claustrophobia, but has never put it to the test to see how bad. Weapon(s) of choice: Always carries a small dagger, just in case. Likes: Wide open spaces, herbs, gardening, exploring the boundaries of what people term ‘reality’, ancient cultures Dislikes: confined spaces, fire, cities Theme Song: Moor lough Shore by Caroline LaBelle I Sound Like This: The Mystic’s Dream by Lorena McKenzie Other: Loves all animals, but especially wolves and eagles. Meet Thyme - DeceasedXNote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by Amaya More [RIGHT] Your Name: Amaya More Character Name: Thyme Ross Gender: Female Sexual Orientation: Straight Age:16 - Deceased. Murdered by DECA. Species: Wiccan Year Level: 10th Height: 5’4 Weight: 120lb Eye Color: Green Hair Color: Brown Personality: Thyme is goal-oriented and serious about things she cares about. If it doesn’t fall under her idea of what is important, she doesn’t waste time on it. Though she is true to her people's belief that one should never hurt others she is not above manipulating people for the greater good. She had a playful and fun side but only lets certain people see it since her sense of humor is kind of dry and hard for other people to understand. Thyme doesn’t believe in violence, but as a very last resort will use it. She isn't above being sarcastic though. She thinks that everyone is born neutral, and it is their acts that defined who they are so she doesn’t forgive very easily. History: Thyme grew up with her Wiccan parents in a northern town in America. It never bugged her that she was different from the rest of the children she grew up with. She was a quick study with the craft and understood it at a young age as well as her studies in the human school she was enrolled in. When she was entering her freshmen year she was enrolled in Ipswich Academy she saw at as a great learning opportunity. Abilities: She has a talent for tarot cards and crying. Weaknesses: She is claustrophobic to the point she can’t even use the regular size public bathrooms. If in a small place she will suffer a panic attack. Weapon(s) of choice: N/A Likes: Foxes, warm spring days, loves horror films, and learning new things. She has a preference for the color red. Her element is fire. Dislikes: She doesn’t hate, but water isn’t her favorite thing. She dislikes movies that are just pointless gore, and people who can’t solve their problems with anything other than violence. Over use of the color black. Cherries. Theme Song: Cave in- owl city Other Characters/Thinkers DMO's FamiliarsXNote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by Little Miss Mo's Familiars. Medusa. Personality: She's very impulsive and easily angered (She has a "slight" anger-management issue), thinks of herself more highly then she does of anyone else, and can't stand it when people look down on her. She's also pretty stubborn and insensitive toward others. Abilities: A couple, actually. She doesn't have much strength, but it's really fast and speedy on her feet. The two ends of her scarf (named Steno and Surface) can constrict and even bite with poison when she wishes for them to attack. She herself also has a poisonous bite and can light herself on fire. Though her techniques in fighting are unorthodox and rather impulsive, she's still an incredible fighter in 1x1 combat Weaknesses: Basically water as most and the cold... but when she's furious (and there's lots of fire) cold's not something she worries about till later. This is unknown to everyone, but because of her deal with Mo, if he dies her existence will die. History: Medusa was born in the demon realm... differently from others. She was extremely powerful for her young (for a demon) age and had a certain greed. She wanted to be a human and deeply envied them, but she never showed it. Instead, she put that envy into hatred, for both mortal and demon. She turned into a cold-blooded killer, murdering both summoning demons like herself and escaping to the human realm for slaughter too. This earned her name "Murderous Mistress Medusa." A now dictator over the realm, she was surprised about randomly being summoned by a meet... boy. She was outraged, and immediately lunging to kill him. Instead, the boy dodged her attack to his throat and she only got an eye. A bit upset about the fact and hiding some of her respect for the human boy's skill, she said she'd take it as punishment for looking down at her. She returned to the demon realm after that, to find that a revolt had brewed up while Medusa was missing. Having nowhere to turn, she snuck out of the demon realm once again and stayed with the young warlock boy, who had run away from the house he was in. After a while, she began to tolerate him... a little. And to protect (mostly) herself, she made a deal with him. She gave back his eye (sort of, he can't see out of it) and merged her soul with his. This causes two things to happen. One, when he dies she does too (She had always wanted to be a mortal and eventually die). Two, there's no possible way for Medusa to be killed unless Mo is killed. Note: She has a sort of 'deal' with Mo. She took his left eye, and via it (even with eye patch) can see all that is happening around him even when she is not summoned and can come and go as she pleases. Breonna (I actually based this familiar off of a snake-woman In Japanese mythology)) Personality: She's very polite and motherly to a select few, but doesn't get to show that often being that she's only summoned when needed to attack. Otherwise, she's pretty solitary and a wee bit vain as well, but that's just because she has such pretty hair. Abilities: Has immense strength (especially in her tail) even though she has such a skinny (sea snake-like) body. Also controls water mentally, making her sort of like a sea monster. Like all snake-summons, she has pretty fast speed and reflexes and has a poisonous bite. Plus she can take blood out of someone with only using her tongue or her long fingernails. Weaknesses: Any sort of sudden loud noise stops her and makes her off guard. The baby on her back is very important to her, and she's at a loss without it. History: Not much to tell, actually. She doesn't have much off one. Note: She's the familiar who's summoning tattoo is on Mo's left hand. Unlike Medusa, Breonna cannot even look human. She has a human head, but the rest of her body is inhumanly skinny, snake-like, and almost boneless (yet she can stand upright). She also has a long sea-snake tail, so she cannot be out among normal people. Furthermore, she also carried a little baby on her back... and if you question her about it, she won't respond. Wrath and Storm Personality: Doesn't exactly have one. This is a beast familiar, so it's basic though process is really 'follow what master orders' doesn't have emotions or such. Abilities: One head (the one with the orange eyes, named Storm) attacks with electricity: Thus electric bolt and things of that sort come out of its mouth. The other head (with the pinkish eyes, named Wrath) attacks with fire: So it breathes fire and things to that extent. Both heads have speed and a good amount of strength, plus too heads are better than one! *Also has the basic poison bite. Weaknesses: Too much light can blind them, isn't that slightly ironic? History: What history? Note: They're the familiars (well, they are one thing) that is one Mo's right hand. Can't miss them, they're pretty giant (12'8 counting the heads) the Races Race Information:The Wiccan: Those who belong to a religious belief of being one with Nature and never harming others. The Wiccan is generally women, who are more in tune with Mother Nature, although males do exist. They practice White Magic. The Vampires: The children of the night. They have a tendency to drink blood, but not all of them depend on it for their survival. They are creatures who prey on the life force of others, and have the capacity of turning others. Furthermore, they are rather sensual beings whose strength, speed and power surpass humans. The Werewolves: The berserkers. They are turned or descendants of those who can shape-shift into wolves. They have super-human strength, speed, stamina and incredible self-healing abilities. Furthermore, they tend to be brash and impulsive. The Psychics: Indistinguishable from normal humans except for their uncanny abilities, which include but are not limited to seeing the future, telekinesis, telepathy, and seeing spirits. They tend to be of a reserved nature, and easily influenced by their powers. The Humans: Just your average humans, their parents placed them in this school for religious reasons. What could their purpose be in this magical place? The Wizards/Warlocks: Sons and daughters of prestigious clans, magic runs in their veins. Their abilities are as diverse as summoning demons to fight for them, to controlling the elements, to a certain control of time and space. Physically, though, they have the same abilities as your average human. The Faculty the Headmaster: Headmaster Mitch Yaqui Quote: Originally Posted by Waving Character Created By: Waving Character Name: Irene "Rene" Grace Cobalt Gender: Female Sexual Orientation: N/A Age: N/A Species: Goddess of Peace Year Level: N/A - She's the headmaster! Height: Normally 9'11" but on Earth she's 5'9" Weight: 90 lbs Eye Color: Pure blue Hair Color: Light blue Personality: Irene is a friendly individual. She cannot hurt anyone. Ever. It is against her being and because of this, Rene became a goddess. History: Irene is and will always be the Goddess of Peace. Abilities: She can bend and manipulate the world around her to her liking Weaknesses: Her sister, the Goddess of War and the 7-second interval between her attacks Weapon(s) of choice: Sonic waves, pulses, and manipulating the forces of attraction and repulsion Likes: Happiness, angels, love, peace, and friendship Dislikes: War, hatred, anger, impurity, liars, and seeing innocent people get hurt Theme Song: Wind's Nocturne Quote: What if that star is not to come? Will their dreams fade to nothing? When the horizon darkens most We all need to believe there is hope Is an angel watching closely over me? Can there be a guiding light I've yet to see? I know my heart should guide me, but There's a hole within my soul I Sound Like This: Enya Other: She and Jaden go pretty far back. Jaden was actually her protector for a long time, but after he became a fallen angel, Rene was forced to find a new guardian named Kyle Lancaster. Mitch's Brothers: Mitch's four other brothers Mitch's "Sons" (the School Guards/Guardians): **Note: All the Yaqui brothers are played by Waving Quote: Quote: Originally Posted by Waving [RIGHT] Name: Lawrence Yaqui Gender: Male Sexual Orientation: Straight Age: 25 Species: Vampire Year Level: N/A - He's a school guardian Height: 6'1" Weight: 130 lbs Eye Color: Purple Hair Color: Blue Personality: Lawrence is probably the most emotional of his brothers, but he doesn't often leave his emotions get the best of him. No, he might be hurt and insulted, but he'd never show this. He likes to put on the face of a tough guy, and, for the sake of everyone, he wears this mask proudly. He is also the fastest of the brothers, and with his speed, comes keen eyes and a great sense of perception. [LEFT] History: Lawrence is the eldest of his brothers and if often the leader of them. He's collect and very rational due to the fact that his father was often away. One day, the boys received word that their real father (Timothy Yaqui) had passed away on the battlefield. Orphaned and alone, Headmaster Mitch Yaqui took his grandsons in and raised them as if they were his own. Abilities: He can transform into a bat, and he can wield the power of ice (surprisingly)! Also, when he drinks blood, he becomes ten-times stronger. Weaknesses: Sunlight. Due to this weakness, you will never see Lawrence outside during the day. Meaning, he's a night guard or often posted inside the halls. Blood is also the only thing that can heal him... and he hates to drink it. Weapon(s) of choice: Blades Likes: The darkness, bats, chick flicks, and red wine Dislikes: The sun, wooden spikes, scissors, and blood (weird, I know!) Theme Song: Love Hangover Quote: And all I remember is me sayin' If you turn me then you can't breathe Now I'm smilin' And I'm barely sober I'm caught in a love hangover (hey) Love hangover I Sound Like This: Lost prophets Other: Lawrence just recently broke things off with the girl he was head-over-heels for Quote: Originally Posted by Waving Character Name: DECA "666" Yaqui Gender: Male Sexual Orientation: Straight Age: 24 Species: Warlock (Mage) Year Level: N/A - He's a school guardian Height: 6'0" Weight: 142 lbs Eye Color: Ice blue Hair Color: Bright red Personality: DECA is the darkest of all his brothers. He's sadistic and sick. He's got a twisted mine and enjoys seeing others suffer. Furthermore, he does however have a soft spot for his elder brother Lawrence. When around him, he's very calm and joking. The two are often seen together as they both enjoy the others company. It is said that their minds are "linked" as if they are twins. [LEFT] History: Highly independent and secret, DECA always did things alone and away from others. Why? He often sought out the darker side of life. Being without a mother (she died) and having a father always away (battling), left DECA alone to do as he wished. While alone, he learned to practice dark magic and picked up the nickname "666." One day, the boys received word that their real father (Timothy Yaqui) had passed away on the battlefield. Orphaned and alone, Headmaster Mitch Yaqui took his grandsons in and raised them as if they were his own. Abilities: He can summon shadow fiends and use them attack at will. Berth is yet another demon he can 'control,' but when he does summon him, he goes into a coma. Weaknesses: Light as with it, he cannot manipulate and shape shadows into his summoning. Weapon(s) of choice: Mage staff (without it, he can't summon shadow fiends) Likes: Controlling the shadows, the night, darkness, when others suffer, and crying Dislikes: Happiness, the light, seeing others being happy, and strawberries Theme Song: Dead to Me Quote: (Are) You’re dead inside (Dead) You killed your pride (Kill) I won’t be there (Me) And no one cares (Please) Your insecurity (Just) The failure that it breeds (Kill) And all your misery (Me) Is coming back to me, I Sound Like This: Camelot Other: Looks up to and admires Lawrence. He would do anything to protect his brother. Quote: Originally Posted by Waving [RIGHT] Name: Aidan Yaqui Gender: Male Sexual Orientation: Unknown Age: 22 (about to turn 23) Species: Wiccan (male white witch) Year Level: N/A - He's a school guardian Height: 5'10" Weight: 131 lbs Eye Color: Dark gray eyes Hair Color: Golden sienna Personality: Compared to his brothers, Aidan's the odd ball. He's a tad girlish at times and often enjoys shopping and gossip. He's also very athletic and musically talented. Meaning, he's in great shape and can pretty much win any fight with his flawless vocals. However, Aidan's soft exterior is just the outer shell. Beneath his kind face is a sturdy and hardy body. He knows when it's time to get serious and will often break up fights as he's not afraid to get injured. [LEFT] Aidan is the more feminine of the brothers and is also the most respected. He's very collect and laid back as well as mature. He's often seen as "the angel among the brothers" and, because of this, is seem with a smile on his face just about always. One day, the boys received word that their real father (Timothy Yaqui) had passed away on the battlefield. Orphaned and alone, Headmaster Mitch Yaqui took his grandsons in and raised them as if they were his own. Abilities: Can push and pull wind as well as shield with it. He is also a healer. Weaknesses: Darkness. Aidan is terrified of the dark. Weapon(s) of choice: Angelic sword-guitar Likes: Reading, music, singing, playing guitar, and video games Dislikes: Being sick, being off pitch, math, the cold, and the color black Theme Song: Hollow Quote: You can make me scream internally You can make me breathe eternally Yeah You see The things I cannot change The things that make me plain Lift me up my soul's so hollow Lift me up I Sound Like This: Submersed Other: He often calls himself a fallen angel and sees his soul as being corrupt and impure. Quote: Originally Posted by Waving [LEFT] Name: Prince Yaqui Gender: Male Sexual Orientation: Bisexual Age: 21 Species: Werewolf Year Level: N/A - He's a school guardian Height: 6'2" Weight: 156 lbs Eye Color: Deep navy blue Hair Color: Dark brown Personality: Prince is very into himself and often tries to win people over with his dashing good looks. Prince also loves to brag and boast about himself, expecting everyone to listen in awe. His name, Prince, is reflective of what he thinks he is. Sadly, out of his brothers, he often takes the lead role claiming, "It's my life and this is my fight. You can either join me or watch me." However, when things get tough, Prince is the first to flee the scene. [RIGHT] The most spoiled of all the brothers, it's only natural that Prince thinks of himself as his father's favorite (which is true). Prince was always cared for and taken care of by his eldest brother (whom he doesn't really like). Nonetheless, Prince is often babied and seen as the "weakest link." One day, the boys received word that their real father (Timothy Yaqui) had passed away on the battlefield. Orphaned and alone, Headmaster Mitch Yaqui took his grandsons in and raised them as if they were his own. Abilities: Prince can transform into a large brown wolf. Weaknesses: Silver bullets and fire. Weapon(s) of choice: Silver handgun with either pure gold or pure silver bullets Likes: Swimming, running, the forest, making out, cuddling, and going to the movies Dislikes: Fire, vampires (even his brother), the internet, and cats Theme Song: Our Solemn Hour Quote: In my darkest hours I could not foresee That the tide could turn so fast to this degree Can't believe my eyes How can you be so blind? Is the heart of stone, no empathy inside? I Sound Like This: Bon Jovi Other: Prince was nearly killed a few years back, but he was saved by giving up his right eye. Meaning, he's blind in his right eye. Quote: Originally Posted by Waving Character Name: Chad "Ace" Yaqui Gender: Male Sexual Orientation: Unknown Age: 19 Species: Psychic Year Level: N/A - He's a school guardian Height: 5'7" Weight: 117 lbs Eye Color: Light blue/white Hair Color: Dark gray Personality: Ace, as he calls himself, is the strongest of the brothers. Not only does he know how to count cards, but he can now also predict and draw cards to his liking (he's a card master). He's the most intelligent of his brothers too as he has an IQ off the charts. However, for as strong and smart as he is, he's awkwardly anti-social and will often hide his face with a mask. He claims, "If one cannot see my true face, one will not wish to speak with me as they will never know if I'm lying or speaking the truth." [RIGHT] He was always left alone or forgotten in his youth, and, being alone, he trained himself day and night. This alone time allowed him to improve and perfect his techniques, but, being alone has made him rather anti-social. One day, the boys received word that their real father (Timothy Yaqui) had passed away on the battlefield. Orphaned and alone, Headmaster Mitch Yaqui took his grandsons in and raised them as if they were his own. Abilities: He can speak to spirits, summon a scythe if he can play his cards right, and can foresee times when his brothers are in trouble. Weaknesses: Seeking spirits and having them bombard him with questions Weapon(s) of choice: A deck of cards (if he can get all four aces and the two-faced jack in a single five card draw, he can summon a scythe) Likes: Rescuing his brothers, playing the board game Sorry, poetry, skateboarding, magic, and card games Dislikes: Liars, cheaters, whores, impure, and bad luck Theme Song: Forgotten Quote: Then with the eyes tightly shut looking thought the rust and rotten dust A spot of light floods the floor And pours over the rusted world of pretend The eyes ease open and its dark again From the top to the bottom to top I stop At the core I've forgotten In the middle of my thoughts Taken far from my safety I Sound Like This: Kevin Rudolf Other: Chad is often forgotten and left out, but he is the strongest of the brothers and is often asked to assist when things start getting ugly. He also has a soft spot for cute things. SPOILERXNote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Since we love the brothers so dearly, here are some cute (closest) pictures I found. :) Enjoy! DECA! X3 Back: Prince and Lawrence Front: Aidan and Ace Lawrence and Prince (whoa, when he had short hair XD) Prince and DECA YOUNGER PICTURES! Aidan and DECA (D'AWZ!) Lawrence and Deka (his hair never used to be bright red) and Lawrence The Banner: Advertise us! HTML Code: [URL=#post1767078181][IMG] the Faculty the Teachers: Science Quote: Originally Posted by Lindy [LEFT] Name:Lindy Lou Character Name: Audrey Louis Hep strong Gender: Make Sexual Orientation: No one is really sure Age: 28 Species: Warlock (Technically) Position: Science Teacher Height: 6'1" Weight: 182lbs Eye Color: Brown Hair Color: Black Personality: Laid back, very open with students, jokes around in class. Lessons are very hands-on. VERY hands on. History: Faust? Did he read it? No He's living it. At 13, he summoned his first demon. He dabbled a lot with the dark arts and developed an unnatural interest in the human body. He made a deal with a demon one day signing over his soul in exchange for riches. Yet he is still rolling in said riches, with a Demon in his service. His first love was always science and still is that's why he agreed to teach here. Abilities: Standard summoning abilities though he never uses them and relies more heavily on his Demon Weaknesses: Ageless but not Immortal, still as soft and squishy as all humans. Theme Song: Bad Romance-Lady Gaga History Quote: Originally Posted by Waving Character Created By: Waving Character Name: Jaden Castro Gender: Unknown Sexual Orientation: Unknown Age: Unknown Species: Fallen angel (his true form) Year Level: N/A - It's (not sure if it's a he or a she) is the school's history teacher Height: 5'7" Weight: 130 lbs Eye Color: Green Hair Color: Black Personality: Jaden is... interesting. Jaden loves dark and sadistic things, however is not all that fond of DECA. Nonetheless, Jaden's eyes are very soul-raping. Most people complain that Jaden can see the soul of a person, which isn't too far from the truth. Jaden used to work among Gods and being one of their most prized guardians, he was granted the ability to transform into a being that could not only see souls, but could also feast upon them. However, when in the mode, Jaden comes off almost sad and uninterested. History: Jaden used to be an "angel" that guarded heaven. However, after betraying God, Jaden decided to fall to Earth. There, Jaden wrecked havoc on the world and even accused innocent people of being witches. Yes, Jaden is extremely odd as Jaden is from the actual time period of the Salem Witch Trials! He is also a skilled doctor, but left the field after people started figuring out that he couldn't age. Abilities: Changing his voice at will as well as having a very unisex look, and seeing the true nature of a person. Weaknesses: Women with large breasts Weapon(s) of choice: His voice. He can hit and hold any note, which can deafen a person or shatter glass. When in his other mode, Jaden fights with a spear-like sword. Likes: Singing, dancing, cakes, darkness, black magic, ravens, and anything evil Dislikes: Doves, bugs, and angels Theme Song: darkness of day I Sound Like This: UNSUNG Other: Jaden has been confirmed to be a male! Also, when in his fallen angel mode, Jaden has green lines that run down from his eyes and a large hole appears at the base of his neck (click to see). English Quote: Originally Posted by Koran [RIGHT] Name: Koran Character Name:Alison Rivera Gender:Female Sexual Orientation: Straight? Bi? Age:24 Species:Wiccan Year Level: N/A - She's the school's English teacher! Height: 6'3 Weight:160 pounds Eye Color: Yellowish brown Hair Color:Light brown Personality:Tough, strong-willed and rough-around the edges, she's quite the intimidating woman. However, if you look past how scary she looks (including the fact that she's freaking huge for a woman), and the fact that she's a bit unable to control her strength, she's actually quite kind. She has really sweet motherly instincts, which is why she became a teacher, and can be really protective. Doesn't really play favorites, and is constantly cursing in Spanish. History: Born in a "bad neighborhood", she was raised to be tough and to raise above the influence. At a young age, and to resist and handle all the abuse, drugs and violence around her, she joined the Wiccan religion to try to control a bit of the world around him. She was the only one in her generation that actually went to college, and she moved out of her country, Puerto Rico, to Ipswich. Abilities: Knows a bit of martial arts, to descend yourself in her neighborhood as she grew up. Also has healing abilities, is able to look at auras, and has slight control over water. Weaknesses: Not as strong as supernatural creatures, puts up a stronger front than she should. Weapon(s) of choice: N/A Likes:Little kids, strange things, anything she can't understand Dislikes:Anyone who thinks too highly of themselves Theme Song: Que see soda I Sound Like This: Alejandra Guzman Other:Has a pet crocodile Math/Statistics Meet JasonXNote: Your scripts are turned off. Hover over this section to reveal content Quote: Originally Posted by Jain [right] Name: JAI Character Name: Jason “lion-heart” Vanderbilt Gender: Male Sexual Orientation: Straight Age: 32 Species: Mage Year Level: Math Teacher of all grades - He quit the first day of school Height: 6’ 2” Weight: 180 lbs Eye Color: Green Hair Color: Brown Personality: Very militant in his ways including his teachings, will not allow those who are inferior to him to take control. History: Jason was a part of the military at one point serving as the commander of a mage battalion. His squad was a tactical assassination squad that was used to kill high ranking officers of the opposing army’s. When Jason exited the military he proposed to on of his troops that also exited, and she said yes but was killed 3 days later by a vampire assassin leaving Jason bitter and cold. Abilities: Master magician that has learned all elemental, time and special spells Weaknesses: Skeletons Weapon(s) of choice: Uses tons and dagger’s Likes: Well mannered students, Italian food and those who show him respect. Dislikes: Rude people, the color purple and vampires since they killed his fiancé Quote: Originally Posted by Waving Character Created By: Waving Character Name: Michael "Jack" Griffon Gender: Male Sexual Orientation: Straight Age: 31 Species: Unknown (He's a science experiment!) Year Level: N/A - He's the math teacher! Height: 6'5" Weight: 182 lbs Eye Color: Brown Hair Color: Blue Personality: Jack, as others call him, is an odd man. When he was in college, something tragic happened to him. He... died. Yeah. Died. But, after his alleged death, Mike came back and took on the name Jack. He received help from an FBI friend, Windy, who he would later find out is also an experiment. Nonetheless, Jack is rough around the edges, but, deep down, he's a nice guy. You're better off getting to known him one-on-one, or else you'll always think he's got something up his butt. History: He died, but the government brought him back. Only, they kept it hush-hush. On his neck there is a bar code that read "X5-345783" which is his experiment number. Abilities: He can't die. Weaknesses: Getting injured as if someone saw him not bleed or die... well, they'd suspect something. Weapon(s) of choice: A giant pair of scissors Likes: Long walks, music, cute girls, wearing suits, chemistry, and math Dislikes: Vivian, Lawrence, and the color pink Theme Song: Life is Beautiful I Sound Like This: Entwine Other: Jack doesn't know this, but he's considered a 'god' among people. Latin Quote: Originally Posted by Waving [LEFT] Created By: Waving Character Name: Chelsea Violet Flour Gender: Female Sexual Orientation: Lesbian Age: 26 Species: Psychic/Vampire Year Level: N/A - She's the Latin teacher! Height: 5'3" Weight: 131 lbs Eye Color: Light purple Hair Color: Violet Personality: Chelsea is always lost in thought or crying. She's always extremely sad, yet, when class is about to start, she changes. Chelsea smokes in class and if often chewing on flowers. Why? Because she's fighting with all her might not to give up and die. She's an extremely lonely and broken woman who just can't seem to get anything right. Moreover, she is a priestess and is often sought out for advice and help, all of which she is perfect for. It's a shame Chelsea can't help herself though.... History: Not much is actually known about Chelsea and because of this, no one knows how to help her get out of her depression. Abilities: She can't read minds, but can see and talk to spirits. She's often called a "Ghost Whisperer." However, when she is talking to ghosts, she sometimes breaks out crying. No one is sure why, but apparently there is one ghost that scares the hell out of her. Weaknesses: Herself and her memories. Oh, and one ghost that haunts her day and night. Weapon(s) of choice: Her pipe Likes: Gothic style things, vampires, watching sad movies, dark and depressing songs, and cutting her wrists Dislikes: Blood Theme Song: Angel in The Dark I Sound Like This: Alien Beat Club Other: The reason she is depressed is that she killed her brother Alexander. Religion Quote: Originally Posted by Waving [RIGHT] Created By: Waving Character Name: Vivian Witch Gender: Female Sexual Orientation: Unknown Age: 28 Species: Dragon Year Level: N/A - She's the school's Religion Teacher Height: 6'0" Weight: 113 lbs Eye Color: Teal Hair Color: Brown Personality: Cold as ice. She's not one to really talk either. When in her class, students are to read their textbook in silence. If she hears a pin drop, she'll give the entire class detention. She's strict and extremely anal. If you forget a small detail - like a comma - she'll scold you. Vivian is famous for being downright cruel and abusive. However, she can combat with, "I tell them at the beginning what the rules are and even have them sign a form. It clearly states that I will harass them." History: Prior to being the school's religion teacher, Vivian was a principal of a nearby academy. But, after suspending the entire school, Vivian decided maybe it would be best to be a hard, ruthless teacher. Abilities: Vivian can snap her fingers and create fire. Weaknesses: Water and losing her sister Weapon(s) of choice: Fire Likes: Fire, mystery books, scolding students, and being called beautiful Dislikes: Being called a bitch, having male students in her class, and noise Theme Song: the Bitch I Sound Like This: 30 Seconds to Mars (Female Version) Other: She cannot transform into a dragon. She used to be able to, but, after saving her sister's life, she lost the ability to transform. Instead, she's stuck in this form with a nice pair of horns on her head. She usually just tells people that they are a decoration. Psychology Quote: Originally Posted by Koran [LEFT] Name: Koran Character Name: Hume Alaska Gender:Female Sexual Orientation:Straight, a bit of a purist so prefers her own species Age:26 Species: Vampire Year Level: Psychology teacher for all grades Height: 5'7' Weight:120 pounds Eye Color: Red Hair Color:Silver Appearance: (has tanned skin) Personality:Proud and classy, she's quite intransigent and even cold at times. She's also a bit too wise for her age, which sometimes makes her sound like she's centuries old. She's really demanding with her students, but rewards them well for their efforts. History: Coming from a long line of Vampires, Hume has been handed the mysteries of her clan for ages. However, Hume's parents died in a fire when she was young, and she believes herself as the cause of it, because she told them to "burn in hell" when they wanted to arrange a marriage for her. Therefore, she's quite sensitive to dating. Abilities: Although her abilities are just normal vampire techniques, like super-human strength, and good speed, because of her long line of vampires heritage, she had access to all sorts of magic. Although she can't use it at all, she is pretty much a magic library. She is also resistant to the sun's rays, and because of her magic research has found ways of sustenance beyond drinking blood: absorbing energy itself, which is why most people think she's a witch instead of a vampire. Weaknesses: Phobic of fire, rather close-minded, its really difficult to change her mind, hates religion Weapon(s) of choice: N/A Likes:Blood (doesn't need it but does enjoy it), magic, elegance, garnets, bats Dislikes:Not being able to use magic, smoking Theme Song: Joshi no Sun, by Back I Sound Like This: Epic Other:Has a British accent, but not the usual British choice of words XD the Health Center: Quote: Originally Posted by Waving [RIGHT] Name: Waving Character Name: Jury Nanami Gender: Female Sexual Orientation: Bisexual (but she prefers males especially Doctor Fisk) Age: 22 Species: Demon Year Level: N/A - She's the school nurse! Height: 5'7" Weight: 127 lbs Eye Color: Green Hair Color: Reddish brown (natural, but she dyes it often) Personality: Describing Jury is not an easy task. She's into cosplaying and acting, so it's only natural that the female be a bit all over the personality spectrum. Jury is overly dramatic when it comes to her troubling situations and loves drama above all else! Jury is also a bit poetic at times, as she is trying to win a man's heart. Nonetheless, Jury can also be down right bitchy. She cannot stand students that come to her with minor injuries and above all else she hates slobs. Some think she has a split personality, but this could very well be due to her demonic nature. Jury can be a bit clumsy and loud at times, seeing as her body conducts electricity all too well (can someone say she gets shocked a lot, I think yes!). But all in all, Jury is a respectable sweetheart with a very robust personality. History: She has a known history for being the doctor's girlfriend, but it's an on and off kind of deal. She adores Fisk Hawse, but at times he gets on her nervous. Nonetheless, aside from her 'after hours' life with Fisk, not much is known about Jury other than she used to be a model. She ended up leaving the modeling word after meeting Fisk at her studio one day. Head-over-heels and hopelessly in love with the doctor, Jury decided to go into nursing so she could work alongside the doctor hottie. (Here are some pictures from her modeling days: the Innocent Child, the Stylish Chick, the Sassy Schoolgirl, the Forgotten, and her last photo shoot was the Naughty Nurse) Abilities: By clicking her tongue she can make one of her weapons appear (or anything else she wants to create). However, this puts a strain on her body as she gets an electrical shock in doing so. She often also sticks out her tongue, which tends to spark when she's summoning a weapon. Weaknesses: Herself as at times she forgets she can't always summon big things. Jury usually ends up passing out midway through a fight or right after summoning a large weapon(s) of choice: Needles, scalpel, dual-Kansas, knives, and whatever the hell she feels like Likes: Doctors, dogs, flowers, shiny objects, swimming, learning random facts, and younger men Dislikes: Nosy people, loud people, cry babies, and taken boys Theme Song: In My Head I Sound Like This: the Birthday Massacre Other: Jury likes to play dress up so don't be surprised if she's not in her nurse uniform! Fisk Hawse (Doctor) the Janitorial Staff: Quote: Originally Posted by Waving Character Created By: Waving Character Name: Winfred "Windy" Donzella Gender: Female Sexual Orientation: Bisexual Age: 17 Species: Machine Year Level: N/A - She's the school's janitor! Height: 5'0" Weight: 180 lbs Eye Color: Gray-blue Hair Color: Light gray Personality: Shy beyond belief. She blushes all the time and has a very sweet, innocent voice. But, don't be fooled! She's as tough as they come! If she wanted to, she could lift the entire school and throw it around the world! History: Windy was stolen from her parents at a young age. While under the government's watch, Windy became seriously ill. She had leukemia. As she was dying, the doctors ripped her open and decided to replace some of her body with machinery. Thanks to this, Windy is now a healthy young female! Abilities: Making her left arm turn into a gun or a blade. Weaknesses: Electricity (it can short circuit her) and water. Weapon(s) of choice: Her left arm. Likes: Jack, cleaning, being alone, and nature Dislikes: Water, hot days, wearing shirts, and tanning Theme Song: Broken I Sound Like This: Angel zoom Other: Windy likes to call herself Jack's fiancé. Haha, so far he's winning! That's no fair of you, playing favorites Wait! XD Everyone is welcome to join! The first day is soon to start, so submit your profile! But I must! Lawrence is sexy. X3Okay... DECA is hat too. And Ace. And... no, just those three. DX Hey, Lynn might not like him, but I still say Prince is top dog! (lol, I'm in a funny mood) Push. Please. Lawrence all the way. :P LIES! LIES I TELL YOU! I agree..... Lawrence is pretty darn sexy if I do say so myself ;] Nya!! I like DECA better XD you must like people with red hair.... first the red-headed twins and now red haired brother boy.... Haha, maybe! I usually go for the attitude though XD And my twins, well, I just thought they'd fit in here, but I have way too many characters on my story! HA! Lawrence is STILL winning! And WWW, poor Aidan! Hey, it's only by one vote! DECA still has a chance!! XD What the...? Who voted 'none'? One of the guys, probably... but yeah, Aiden's not getting much love, is he? Poor guy. Well, he is the one who's appeared the least after all... True. True. I'll have to make Aidan appear more. XD Anyways, if you were wondering where I've been.... Clickandclick. That's what I did this weekend in case you were curious. ’D Yes! WE DEMAND MORE OF AIDAN AND HIS KICK ASS GUITAR SWORD. I swear, if I had seen that, I probably would've voted for him instead of Prince (and the Lynn inside my head wouldn't be so snippy). LMAO! Aidan's weapon is sickkkkkkkkkkk! It's like a key blade, only... not. XD Lol! Awesome photo btw! I tried to go to a convention this weekend, but when I got there I noticed I didn't have the money for it Sgt;.Lt; AWZ. That sucks. As far as the brothers... I'm thinking about making a shortened bio for them. Just so people can get the gist of them. If not, maybe it'll have the words/things students call them. Like... Prince "the Party Animal" or "the Special One" Aidan "the Gender Confused Male" or "the Chipper Bubbly Singer" Lawrence "the Bi-Polar Punk" or "the Dynamic One" Ace "the Childish Loner" or "the Forgotten Sweetheart" DECA "the Sadistic Prankster" or "the Aggressively Cruel Softy"XD I love how they are all over the place. ’D ... those are fangirl nicknames if I've ever heard them. ;P XP I think Lynn should come up with some. I'll be sure to add them. XD Ooh, you don't want to hear Lynn's. ((mostly because I don't have any yet, lol)) They're probably not going to be very nice....or at least Prince's. Well, if they get some sort of nickname from some character during the story, maybe we could use them XD Brilliant idea! XD Well, Prince's is something along the lines of 'horn dog.' I'm sure I will have ample opportunities to use it. I know everyone's probably busy and all but, can someone come say "Hi !" to Skye please ? She's kinda all by herself at the moment. :sweat: Hankies ! (: Skye has math first thing in the morning. I'd like to add there are a TON of characters in her class. So I'm sure she won't be alone for long. XD NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! PRINCE CANNOT BE TIED WITH LAWRENCE! NO, NO NO, NO NO! MUAHAHAHAHAH! LAWRENCE IS NOT ALL POWERFUL! NO LAWRENCE MUST WIN D: Lol, if Lynn caught you rooting for Prince, Cali! XD She'd be ashamed XD LMAO! XD Okay, so DECA is kinda hat. X3 ^^; Sorry I haven't been on in ages guys. I swear, I'll be free one day! XD Until then... STUDY TIME! T_T Okay, so I really want to draw the brothers... who should I draw first? Popularity says Lawrence, the situation says Prince, I want DECA XD ---------- PS, As soon as I color the twins, I'll post up the pic :heart: LMAO! I actually thought of a DECA one. Hamm, maybe I could do him. We shall see though! :P Oh! I wanna! Lt;3 Yay! May your inspiration guide you! XD Started the DECA drawing! Let's just say he's... interesting looking. And a... "Rude Boy." :P Kya!! I can't wait XD Hamm I should draw RI and Ami >.> those were just random internet finds XD. I have a bunch of sketches of Hikaru and Kari, just as foxes! Furthermore, I wonder if they can truly be foxes in the story... Originally they were fox Demi-humans whose father was a scientific genius and psychic and their mother a fox Demi-human warrior for a clan of dogs... I wonder if they're just hiding their true forms with an illusion, as they are more than capable originally.... Wave could I or would that be overpowering them? Any thoughts on the matter, everyone? hmm, well as far as iTunes go if you want it inc operated into the story... we could always have a magical accident turn them into iTunes if wave feels the idea is overpowered ^.^. They could always walk in on one of RI's experiments or something XD. Lol, that'd be hilarious! Man, I have to scan a lot of drawings to my DeviantArt... you've seen it, Sharia? Push XD. And yup what was there last time I went anyway XD. *pounces* you have a vampire to go bother though *pushes you to bad luck love8 XD Lol, coming XD yay! *hugs* though you don't have OT if your busy T. T I didn't know... Mo's Familiars. I wanted to post Mo's three familiars... so you'd all be sort of up-to-date with them... Medusa. Personality:She's very impulsive and easily angered (She has a "slight" anger-management issue), thinks of herself more highly then she does of anyone else, and can't stand it when people look down on her. She's also pretty stubborn and insensitive toward others. Abilities:A couple, actually. She doesn't have much strength, but it's really fast and speedy on her feet. The two ends of her scarf (named Steno and Surface) can constrict and even bite with poison when she wishes for them to attack. She herself also has a poisonous bite and can light herself on fire. Though her techniques in fighting are unorthodox and rather impulsive, she's still an incredible fighter in 1x1 combat Weaknesses: Basically water as most and the cold... but when she's furious (and there's lots of fire) cold's not something she worries about till later. This is unknown to everyone, but because of her deal with Mo, if he dies her existence will die. History:Medusa was born in the demon realm... differently from others. She was extremely powerful for her young (for a demon) age and had a certain greed. She wanted to be a human and deeply envied them, but she never showed it. Instead, she put that envy into hatred, for both mortal and demon. She turned into a cold-blooded killer, murdering both summoning demons like herself and escaping to the human realm for slaughter too. This earned her name "Murderous Mistress Medusa." A now dictator over the realm, she was surprised about randomly being summoned by a meet...boy. She was outraged, and immediately lunging to kill him. Instead, the boy dodged her attack to his throat and she only got an eye. A bit upset about the fact and hiding some of her respect for the human boy's skill, she said she'd take it as punishment for looking down at her. She returned to the demon realm after that, to find that a revolt had brewed up while Medusa was missing. Having nowhere to turn, she snuck out of the demon realm once again and stayed with the young warlock boy, who had run away from the house he was in. After a while, she began to tolerate him... a little. And to protect (mostly) herself, she made a deal with him. She gave back his eye (sort of, he can't see out of it) and merged her soul with his. This causes two things to happen. One, when he dies she does too (She had always wanted to be a mortal and eventually die). Two, there's no possible way for Medusa to be killed unless Mo is killed. Note:She has a sort of 'deal' with Mo. She took his left eye, and via it (even with eye patch) can see all that is happening around him even when she is not summoned and can come and go as she pleases. Nure-Onna(I actually based this familiar off of snake-womanIn Japanese mythology))Personality:She's very polite and motherly to a select few, but doesn't get to show that often being that she's only summoned when needed to attack. Otherwise, she's pretty solitary and a wee bit vain as well, but that's just because she has such pretty hair. Abilities:Has immense strength (especially in her tail) even though she has such a skinny (sea snake-like) body. Also controls water mentally, making her sort of like a sea monster. Like all snake-summons, she has pretty fast speed and reflexes and has a poisonous bite. Plus she can take blood out of someone with only using her tongue or her long fingernails. Weaknesses: Any sort of sudden loud noise stops her and makes her off guard. The baby on her back is very important to her, and she's at a loss without it. History:Not much to tell, actually. She doesn't have much off one. Note:She's the familiar who's summoning tattoo is on Mo's left hand. Unlike Medusa, Breonna cannot even look human. She has a human head, but the rest of her body is inhumanly skinny, snake-like, and almost boneless (yet she can stand upright). She also has a long sea-snake tail, so she cannot be out among normal people. Furthermore, she also carried a little baby on her back... and if you question her about it, she won't respond. Wrath and Storm Personality:Doesn't exactly have one. This is a beast familiar, so it's basic though process is really 'follow what master orders' doesn't have emotions or such. Abilities:One head (the one with the orange eyes, named Storm) attacks with electricity: Thus electric bolt and things of that sort come out of its mouth. The other head (with the pinkish eyes, named Wrath) attacks with fire: So it breathes fire and things to that extent. Both heads have speed and a good amount of strength, plus too heads are better than one! *Also has the basic poison bite. Weaknesses: Too much light can blind them, isn't that slightly ironic? History:What history? Note:They're the familiars (well, they are one thing) that is one Mo's right hand. Can't miss them, they're pretty giant (12'8 counting the heads) So curate! :heart: Looking forward to more of them! Ditto XD. I'll at least have another posted tomorrow, because the third one I'm having trouble with. I'll have to add them later today after I get out of work... and when I finally get a chair. XD I'm sick of standing. x3x WAVE!!!! YOUR ALIVE!!!!! XD Suppers. I can really only post after work... so M-F for about an hour. So around 5ish to 6ish. I might sneak on sometimes... maybe... BUT IF I DO YOU CANNOT NOTICE. XD ... Okay. Just glad to see that you are alive and well, as opposed to you dying O.O... HA! Lawrence is still winning! XD only by one :P there is still time for prince's sexiness to shine :drool: Push, please. Lawrence > Prince. XD Ami: ERM... I say you're both wrong... in...not that I like anybody or anything >.>RI: ... *facepalm* stupid argument.... *mutters* besides Lawrence is the logical choice.... I miss my Lachlan T. T LMAO! Does Ami like someone else? Oooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh snap! Expand I miss Lawrence too. *steals him and runs away* MINE! Ami: no! I didn't say that! Ri: ... *pounces and tries to steal him back* Nauru mine! Oh, please. He is mine. XD And Ami, don't lie. You know you wanna juggle someone. :P RI: T. T nun uhhhhAmi: U...uh, uh *blush* I forgot this was here for a minute...... I knew that would happen. My internet got messed up due to a fight with boyfriend... and well I kept trying to post and no one was ever around for my character to interact with. XD oh well. Was a very cool RP idea. =]

Ipswich Academy_ the Accepted Profiles__Recruiting Page|rating:3.0

Kalter Krieg [Alternate History] [IC] [Open]

February 1st, 1961As the sixth decade of the 20th Century has dawned, the World is locked in a struggle of ideologies. In Western Europe and their colonial empires capitalism reigns supreme, in Central Europe the Iron Fist of Fascism has a tight grip, in Eastern Europe and Northeastern Asia the Red flag flies high, and in the Americas the United States has remained isolationist unconcerned with the struggle between Old World Giants. This Cold War, or Walter Grieg as they would refer to it in the Reich, has held the Earth in its grip for just under two decades. Tensions are at their highest point since the beginning of the Cold War, with nerve gas tipped ICBMs sitting at launch facilities across Europe. Any war between the various factions would lead to a level of carnage and destruction not yet seen by mankind. Rules1. Obey the Op and Co-Ops.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~2. No god modding.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~3. No meta gaming.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~4. ~Standard rules for P2TM~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~5. All wars must be approved by all parties involved.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~6. I reserve the right to deny any app I want to. (Although this is simply a pre-caution)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~7. No one liners. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~World Map: Map: 1st, 1961Cape Canaveral Army Air Corps Station, Florida Captain Ed Dwight checked his watch before raising the binoculars to his eyes. The SM-65 'Atlas' Rocket stood on Launch Complex 14 around 2 miles away. "Here we go", Dwight muttered to himself. Birds scattered as the rocket came to life, causing the Cape to shudder with a roar. The sleek metal bird was propelled into the sky riding a controlled explosion. Unlike earlier tests the Atlas was performing flawlessly this time. Dwight turned to Robert Girth, the leader of the Space Task Group, and said, "You know maybe we can get up on those things safely." Girth just shook his head, but Gus Frisson, one of Dwight's fellow astronauts, chuckled. The SM-65 soared downrange over the Atlantic. This was just a routine suborbital flight of the rocket. Girth spoke up, "You know if this test and the next few launches go well then we might have on of you flybys in orbit sometime this summer." Dwight lowered the binoculars. "You know maybe we can get something up there before the Nazis, maybe not. Certainly we should try to get the different sides to come together and not put a bunch of weapons in space. Imagine them having satellites that could drop chemical weapons on any city on Earth."07:59February 1st, 1961White House, Washington D.C. President Don West sighed, of course as soon as I'm sworn in the tensions over the Netherlands would flair up and now the Germans and Brits are making threats about blanketing Europe in gas again. He was preparing a message for diplomats of the Reich and the UK to meet at an American moderated meeting. Hopefully the negotiations could result in the cooling of tensions between the nations. However, the United States government had already issued a travel warning for citizens on vacation in European nations or who were planning to vacation in Europe to return to or stay in America. Within the next hour President West's message was wired to both London and Berlin, calling for peace talks in Geneva with the United States and the League of Nations moderating. The final Frontier For all but his own breathing, it was deathly quiet. There was nothing to be heard. Joseph looked out of his capsule window at the brightly shining Earth. The serene silence was finally broken by hiss of Joseph's suit radio," Joseph this is Bavaria, come in Joseph." Joseph tapped the receiver on the side of his helmet. " This is Joseph Bavaria." He looked back out towards Earth, he still couldn't believe he was here... even if he was the fourth person to be sent out into space. " Alright Joseph, Bavaria wants to know... how's the view?" Joseph smiled," I can see my house from here."" That's great Joseph, but you need to begin your exit of the capsule." Joseph responded back with a," Roger" He began to release the hydraulics via his control console. He could see the chemical spray leak out of their respective sprig gins in the capsule, yet still, he did not actually hear them. After the spray had stopped and his console showed that the cabin was the compressed he began to check around the cabin to see if everything was tied down. He checked his back to make sure his tether was firmly on. After securing everything in the cabin he unbuckled himself. He then spotted his release button. It was a large red button on the right side of the control console. He held his hand over the button, he hesitated. He still could not believe he was here. The hesitation soon passed and he pressed the button. The window of the cabin began to slowly lift from the bottom. Some time later, it was fully open. Joseph pushed himself gently out of the capsule entirely until he was engulfed in the open space. He was floating in nothingness. For all except Earth and the console, there was nothing around him. The literal vastness of it all made him choke up a bit." Bavaria to Joseph, Bavaria to Joseph, was the exit procedure successful?" Joseph caught himself again," This is Joseph Bavaria, I have successfully left my cabin, and the capsule as a whole. Now beginning to check suite systems." He checked his oxygen supply, patted down his suite for any leaks, and listened for any strange noises in his breathing filter," Temperature is stable, breathing is good, no holes thus far, life support appears to be operational, everything looks good Bavaria." A few seconds went by before Bavaria responded," That's good Joseph, Dr. Braun told me to congratulate you on the successful test. Now, back into the capsule; you should begin to orbit into the atmosphere, is that clear?" Joseph looked down at the massive, blue, and shining Earth for a moment longer," Yeah, I copy."Wernher von Braun Aeronautics Facility A.K.A. Bavaria Dr. Wernher von Braun stood atop a platform overlooking the control center. Numerous screens projecting the capsule were scattered across the room. Joseph's responses had been played throughout the whole of the room. The mission thus far had been a success, and thus was greeted by numerous smiling faces and hugs on the first floor. This was the fourth mission manned mission To outer space since 1955 that Dr. Braun and his team had been operating. These of course were all amazing triumphs, but bigger ideas were being put forth; not only by Dr. Braun, but by Goering himself. He had confided in Dr. Braun earlier that year that he wanted a man on the moon by 1963. The latest test was to further support evidence suggesting that the Castro suites that the Braun team had built would be able to maintain human life in outer space. Both Dr. Braun and Goering were very pleased with progress so far, and fully intended to reach the "63" deadline. They had not announced it to the public yet, but they would soon. Reichstag, Berlin Germany Joseph Gobbles sat at his desk his personal Reichstag office writing out with great caution his letter to the Dutch Prime Minister. To: Prime Minister Anton Mussert From: Urge Führer Joseph Gobbles We would like to congratulate you on your victory in the Dutch elections. The tides of national socialism are finally taking hold over the Aryans of the world, just as history intended. I simply like for you to be aware that the German government is in full support of you and your regime. If I may ask, perhaps we could begin talks in regard to possible treaties of co-operation? It would be a boon to both your state and my own. Signed, Joseph Gobbles 14:00February 1st 1961 Believed, Den Haag Order. Total and complete order. The entire field was filled from back to front with it. Men, young and proud, standing tall in their black NSB uniforms. They were ordered in squares, sections, each carrying the banner of the National Socialist Movement, the Dutch National Socialist party. All the boots had been polished to a shine, their buttons gleamed in the afternoon sun. They looked like soldiers, the lot of them. Like a giant, black-uniformed army, ready to march into battle. These were the members of the Weerbaarheidsafdeling, the Defensibility Section, or WA. Uniformed members of the NSB, they were the battering ram of the party. Their actions had become increasingly violent in recent months, especially with the last election. Voting stations had been ransacked, people intimidated, and Jews had been beaten into submission. All in all, enough had been done to secure the victory of the National Socialist Movement. And it was at their moment of triumph that they stood there, in the center of The Hague. The Believed, a field on which plenty of protesters had made their voice heard. Now, it was a symbol of fascist pride, a jewel in their black crown. They had held rallies, protests, marches and book burnings there, increasingly violent and sadistic, increasingly without intervention from local police forces. Slowly, the NSB had climbed into legality. Now, they were reaping the rewards.“Members! Fellow members!” Newly elected Prime Minister Anton Mussert spoke from a specially constructed wooden stand in the middle of the field. Around him flags and banners of the NSB, of the Weerbaarheidsafdeling, and some Dutch flags as well. The whole field fell silent at the words of their new head of government.“Our victory, the victory of the National Socialist Movement, was long in the making! We have worked long and hard to achieve this auspicious goal. Huzzah for you all!”“Huzzah!” The crowd answered as one. It flared up and died down in less than a second, not unlike the ‘Hal’ that had won over Germany thirty years before.“This election has proven where the will of the Dutch people lie. They want a strong Netherlands, a powerful Netherlands. A grand Netherlands! They want their children to grow up in a nation that does not have to be ashamed, where even the poor can buy their daily bread, and where the government takes sensible action. Too long have we been denied these simple rights. The government has worked together with the League of Nations and the International Jewry to hand over our sovereignty, while the Internationale has tried to undermine us internally. The communists have done their best to get us under Russian yoke. No longer! I, as Prime Minister, will stand for a strong, united Netherlands, in which we do not have to fear the Communist Internationale, the Jewry, or Government inaction. I will do what is right, I will do what is fair. Long live the queen!”“Long live the queen! Huzzah! Huzzah, Huzzah!” The speech had been short but effective in her simplicity. The crowd was now cheering ‘huzzah!’ like they had never done before. Even the uniformed, disciplined youngsters from the Weerbaarheidsafdeling were getting restless, throwing up their right arms at an angle and shouting the ‘huzzah’ at the top of their voice. Then, from the back of the crowd, someone began to sing the Dutch anthem. The old anthem, which had been replaced in 1933 by a less nationalistic, more historical anthem. The old anthem, however, which spoke of the Dutch bloodline and her purity, had regained her old popularity with the onset of the National Socialist Movement. Just like the old ‘Prince’s Flag’, a flag used by the Netherlands in her glory days, when the red in the tricolor was a soft orange. These people wanted a return to old values. They were ecstatic. They wanted to see the Netherlands as a world power once more. After the rally had ended, the crowd decided that a book burning was to be organized at once. People gathered all the copies of Das Kapital they could find, together with other literature they didn’t deem fitting (Her Verwandlung, Eric of he Plane Insectenboek, I'm western nights Neuss). The rally was an utter success.15:00February 1st 1961Het Binnenhof, The Hague Government quarters The insane enthusiasm of the crowd on the Believed was contrasted sharply by the happenings of an hour later, inside the Binnenhof. It had been the seat of the actual Dutch government for hundreds of years now, and it still stood proud in the afternoon sun. It was a sunny day, despite the time of year, which should have prompted more smiles. Instead, the entire meeting room was suspiciously silent. The attendance was somewhat odd as well. At the head of the table sat Anton Mussert himself, Prime Minister and chair of the Council of Ministers. He was flanked by the minister of Security and Justice and the minister of Internal Affairs, both men of his own party. At the other side of the table sat Jan de Quay, head of the Catholic People’s Party. They were the second-biggest party of the election, and they were the key to a majority in the House of Representatives. In Dutch parliamentary politics, having a single party become the governing party was unheard of. Even having two parties in charge was a bit of a stretch, but the popularity of the NSB had changed the game. In order to secure a majority of seats in the Second Chamber, the NSB needed the Catholic People’s Party (KVP). The KVP, in turn, needed the support of the NSB. So, the two parties, normally locked in mortal political combat, were now forced to work together. The two sides sat opposed, no-one really willing to speak. The tension was getting higher every second. The clock ticked on, the KVP members checking their watch every few minutes or so. The NSB just sat there, smiling triumphantly, happy about their new-won victory. They were quite happy to keep their political opponents waiting, even if they were in the same coalition together. The first cabinet Assert. The KVP despised it.“Well” Assert began after about twenty minutes of silence. He seemed quite jovial, enjoying himself to the fullest.“First order of business…” he tried, but he was cut short by De Quay.”The Netherlands will not join the anti-Comintern pact, and that’s final.” He said staunchly. The other KVP members nodded in silence, while the NSB ministers began shifting in their seats. Assert strained his facial muscles a bit, looking over his papers with a hateful glare.“First order of business” he continued, this time in a harder voice. “Internal affairs. We have seen anti-government propaganda on the rise in multiple urban areas, especially in low-income socialist neighbors. We suspect that certain traitorous elements within the communist and socialist parties are to blame, as well as foreign agents. As you know, collaboration with a foreign power in anti-government action is a crime punishable by…”“By death, yes, Assert.” De Quay said, tapping his fingers on the table.“I hope bringing back the death penalty will be worth it for you. It was the only thing you were willing to negotiate for when we were discussing unemployment pensions, even as I offered much better terms. Your voters must be proud.” Mussert put down the stash of papers, probably somewhat harder than intended. The stack made a slight banging noise as it hit the oaken table. Assert stood up from his chair and bowed over the table, his fists leaning on the papers in front of him.“Mister De Quay. You are not a minister. You are not a state secretary. Furthermore, you are a member of parliament. And I demand a bit more respect for your Prime Minister. This meeting has been adjourned, we will get back to you when you can address me properly.” He turned around and walked out the door briskly, his ministers following him closely behind. Only a few ministers remained, all KVP men, together with their party leader. As the last NSB members left the room, the door was slammed shut. Jan de Quay smiled softly.“He will get around” he said. “They always do. He has to make a good show for his party members, otherwise they won’t follow him anymore. We will show the nation that the NSB is just as willing to compromise as any other party, and then, we will have broken their power. You will see.” The KVP ministers nodded, but they didn’t look to sure. There was something about the book burning outside, something about the black uniforms and the ecstatic crowd outside that made their skin tingle. They knew what had passed in Germany in the thirties, they did not wish to see the same happen to them. De Quay seemed certain, though. There probably wasn’t anything to worry about. They, too, gathered their belongings and went their own way, De Quay taking his time to talk to the press. He would ride this wave until it broke on the shoreline. Stockholm, Zealand, Nordic Confederation09:00, 3rd February 1961The Friday morning meeting started on a very dark note." A clear and undisputed National Socialist victory in the Netherlands," summarized Johan Venison, President of the Council. "One nation after another, falling to fascist rule, and it seems like our second-biggest trading partner is going to be the next to fall."" Well, it's not all that dire," pointed out Secretary-General Agni Jonson. "Germany's fallen to fascist rule nearly thirty years ago, and we're accommodating them just fine. In fact, the last time I checked they're the biggest buyer of our iron. We've prospered with the NSDAP, and so we will with the NSB."" You do not understand. The Netherlands is a strong nation, don't forget. This will ruin the delicate balance of power on the European Continent. The anti-Comintern Pact already controls almost all of Europe. With the Netherlands on their side..."" Hold it there," interjected Sigrid Back, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and incidentally the first woman to hold a ministerial position in the Council. "Just because the Netherlands now has a national socialist party in control does not necessarily mean that they will join the anti-Comintern Pact. After all, socialdemokratiska arbetarepartiis the ruling party here - all of us are affiliated, no? - but we're not allied to the other democratic powers. The non-aligned movement is entrenched enough, I think, to survive a national socialist electoral victory."" Right," scoffed the President, "and remind me when the last time a fascist nation decided not to join the anti-Comintern?" Silence reigned. Nobody could. The President nodded knowingly." As I thought." Goa, Portuguese India The recent Indian actions concerning the two other Portuguese territories in the area, have been concerning to say the least for the Portuguese governor in the region. Manuel António Vassal e Silva looked down at the latest newspapers showing that the Indian government is threatening to take armed action against the Portuguese. There was only one logical decision that he could do now, and that was to prepare for the inevitable Indian assault if Germany does not do anything to stop the Indians. The Western Ghats to the East offer an excellent natural barrier to stop any Indian assault from further east, and will shut down any Indian attempts to attack from that direction, as a small force of men can easily delay or even stop a much larger group using the advantage of the terrain. The Portuguese would be able to stop any attack from the land based troops. The Portuguese artillery piece would be highly effective in such conditions as accuracy would not matter too much when firing on a giant group of troops. The way that Goa is situated would discount any use of anything but light tanks from the Indians as they would need to march through the tough escarpment to get to the city of Goa. The escarpment is undeveloped, and there are not many roads that the Indian vehicles can take. This forces India to either forgo armored vehicles altogether or parachute light armored vehicles in. In addition, it would be difficult if not impossible for the Indian military to bring in non-infantry based anti tank weapons. The main anti-tank weapons utilized would be iffy at best in destroying heavily armored vehicles. The Portuguese would need to utilize their armored advantage if they want any chance of winning. The Portuguese reinforcements that the governor requested are fast moving, mechanized troops, along with armored vehicles. H The Indian army probably lacked the communication, and ability to attack all at once. So the Portuguese could enact a defeat in detail. The Portuguese force would move fast, and hit hard using prepared positions to launch attack against the Indian army. However, the Indian army was far from the biggest threat on the field. The army was made up of poorly paid troops with motivation that is completely dwarfed by some of the Goa loyalists who were willing to fight to the bitter end for Goa to remain part of Portugal. No, the biggest threat came via the sea, and the air. For the Portuguese plan to succeed the Indian Navy in the area had to be prevented from getting command of the sea to prevent any amphibious landing from taking place. The Indian Air Force must not get Air superiority over the Portuguese. To accomplish the latter the Portuguese knew that the German U-Boat crews stationed in the area would be more than happy to sink any Indian ship, however there are too many Indians vessels if they do decide to attack. He needed to ask the Germans for more support. The Portuguese flagship can also be deployed to the area with a substantial fleet, and it seems that such an action needs to be taken.The same goes in the air. The handful of fighters stationed in the province would not be enough to stop the Indian onslaught, as they have a much larger air force. Once again the Germans need to be called in. He called his typist in, and proceeded to right the battle plan, and a request to the government in Lisbon. He decided the least he could do was to rally the spirits of his men. Furthermore, he arranged a rally earlier in the day, and his supporters came out in drove to see him. The Indian sun was so bright he could barely see, however he made his speech. People of Portuguese India we now stand on a crossroads We are being challenged like our forefathers did centuries ago The enemy is numerous Our allies limited And, that only leaves us Today I stand before you addressing all of you Regardless, of race as Portuguese citizens The enemies are closing in, and like our forefather we will take a glorious stand! We will defeat the enemy, and have them drown in their own blood! We will wash the fields of Goa! We will turn the oceans red with their blood! Just like our forefathers did 400 years ago During the Battle of Cochin our forefathers were as we are now outnumbered, and outgunned The enemy approached from each side Our forefathers could have just surrendered They could have left, and laid down their arms However, with divine guidance they took a stand They took a stand against overwhelming odds, and they emerged victorious! Bathed in the blood of the enemy! Washed in the light of triumph! Now we stand here today With those same forefathers watching our moves this very day Let us take the same stand that they did Whether it be at Macau or Cochin or at Portugal itself The Portuguese Empire defied the odds We have always taken a decisive stand against our foes! We have always emerged with our hands washed with the blood We will do the same thing here We will destroy the invaders like our forefathers destroyed the Domain Let us all take weapons, and vanquish them! Regardless of our races What matters now is unity, to push the enemies out! Operation Cochin Defensive Plan for the Goa military operations1. The current ground units in Goa will be divided into 3 brigades each of 1200 men2. Each Brigade will be conferred a number from 61-633. The Brigades are to be grouped together to a division called the Malabar Division 4. The Malabar division will receive immediate mechanization 5. The Malabar division will receive training from German Gebrisjager once they arrive 6. The Malabar division's purpose is to create an elite force that will destroy the enemies7. The Asturias division will be pulled from Portugal as another elite mechanized force to defend Goa 8. The naval detachment will compose of 1 battleship, 2 cruisers, 3 destroyers, and 5 minelayers most of which are deployed from Portugal. They shall be stationed in Vasco De Game harbor 9. All naval units are to work in tandem with German U-boats, and other surface combatants in the area 10. The air ground crews are to prepare airfields for the Luftwaffe11. A local militia called the Cochin Nadirs are to be formed 12. The local militia shall be the bulk of the force, and the drafted via conscription and volunteers13. The militia is to be no less than 60,000 in size14. The militia will be divided into 3 divisions and 1 Reinforced Brigade made exclusively of volunteers 15. 1 division will hold the Mountains 16. 2 divisions will hold the South 17. The brigade will function as a mobile reserve to the front lines, and shall be mechanized 18. Spies are to be established within the Indian army 19. The Armored Estado Novo Division will be deployed 20. Goa shall be first priority in new equipment Off the coast of the Azores February 3rdJoseph was once again sitting in his capsule cabin, only this time he could hear sound outside. It was the side of waves rocking the capsule, and the sound of the ship just outside the capsule. He could see it through the capsule window. It was, what he assumed, a regular transport ship. He could see the crane from above wringing the chains around the capsule. He heard the sound of dripping water as the capsule was lifted out of the ocean. Furthermore, he was rising into the air steadily. Although only two hours ago he had literally fallen from orbit, he was kind of scared at being lifted by the crane. Eventually he was placed on the deck of the ship. Several shipmates removed the chains from around his capsule, allowing him to open up the window via the same red button he had used in space. When the window was fully up, he stepped out of the capsule in his full outer space uniform. Numerous shipmates and news reporters were all staring wide-eyed at this Raumfahrer. He grabbed his helmet and twisted it off. Joseph's crystal blue eyes, firm chin, and near bleach blond hair were shown to the crowd. He could from the back a feminine voice say, "he's gorgeous" The news reporters all ran immediately up to him, swinging a flurry of questions." Mr. Joseph Eichmann, how was the mission, a success?"" Mr. Eichmann, was it true that Dr. Braun himself congratulated you?"" Joseph sir, what is it like being only 1 of 4 men to ever travel to space?"" Mr. Joseph Eichmann, what was space like?" Joseph began," Well..." Arabian sea February 5thCapt. Donate (jr.) sat in his captain's chair, overlooking the control room. It was dark, with splotches of blue and red light thrown all over. This was the Submarine" KMR Kraken" It was one of 9 other submarines traveling to GAO. The Portuguese had requested for German aid in light of rising tensions in India, the Germans were compelled to comply. A quarter of the Arabian Sea sub fleet had been deployed from Sudan in route to GAO. They were expected to reach in 1 1/2 days. In Baghdad... People were rejoicing as the Fascist Revolutionaries who swept the remaining nations of the Middle East, with the exemption of Kuwait, have finally finished their goal. Turn the Middle East into a fascist state. The veterans of the revolution were marching on the street, proudly wearing their uniforms as they marched, and the people cheered. In the front of the march was none other than the mastermind and leader behind the revolution, Emperor Ibid Ill, as well as the generals and the best performers in the revolution. The emperor was marching to the front of his palace, where which he will do a speech. As he marched to the palace, government troops were hiding in the crowds to scout for dissidents and assailants, a tad few of them were found, as well as a spy from another nation. He was immediately interrogated. The emperor has now arrived at the palace. He has started his speech. "My people! We have now achieved our goals, which in turn, made the middle eastern countries strong, which will surprise the capitalist pigs and the filthy communists! And also, our economy is booming due to the new fascist policies, as well as our civil rights!!! My people, are you willing to go great distances to help our nation?" he was replied with a resounding yes from the masses. "Ah yes! Your loyalty will be rewarded! As our new policies are now giving rewards to those who report crimes to our officials, whether it be a robbery, or info of a future war, you will be rewarded." as he said this, people started screaming happily. "Glory to Ibid Ill!" "Long live the emperor!" "All hail him!". "Thank you, thank you. As you know, Kuwait is still not conquered," this was responded with whispers like, "What?" "They will be annexed soon" "Soon Kuwait, soon". "But do not worry, as this will be corrected accordingly, which is through war. Alas, my speech is done, farewell my people!" Ibid said, but the crowd's cheering drowned it out a bit. Never again. Never war again. This very thought had permeated British foreign policy since that bloody war, leaving Europe in ruins. According to Prime Minister Anthony Eden, the United Kingdom should have stayed out. Now democracy had fallen in Europe, nation after nation. The once so mighty allied powers had been limited to a few states. To show any real power in this dangerous winter, Eden had to choose between two enemies. The lesser of two evils. Determined to find a diplomatic solution what Eden referred to as a coup in the Netherlands, Prime Minister Eden sends Secretary of State Selwyn Lloyd and some top diplomats to Geneva. He had hopes to reduce the threat Britain was suffering from a fascist Netherlands, whatever the cost would be. Because of seemingly aggressive moves by the Dominion of India against Portuguese Goa has occurred, the British government urges both sides to calm down. On behalf of the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth II asks India to stand down and Portugal to do the same, to avoid any kind of conflict. Matters like this could be taken up in Geneva, so the British government requests Portuguese presence. Still, the Royal Navy prepares its East African and Malay fleets. Prime Minister Anthony Eden suggests a state visit from the Nordic Confederation to London, for neutrality and trade purposes. Messaged Wired to London and Berlins a Representative of the People of the United States of America I call for the leadership of the German Reich and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to convene in Geneva under the guidance of the League of Nations and the United States of America as a neutral observer. It is quite clear that any war over the recent elections in the Kingdom of the Netherlands would lead to the deaths of millions and the deployment of biological and chemical agents by the Great Powers. For the sake of your own and your opponents you must agree to resolve this crisis peacefully. In a Europe with the threat of Mutually Assured Destruction any war would destroy far more than any gains that could be made. I hope you will both see the light in my request and end the buildup to war that seems to be occurring at the moment. Signed, President of the United States of America, Don West Somewhere in the Indian Ocean, 95 km SSW of Goa Aboard the RAS Uluru; Perth (Porpoise)-Class Such Feb, 1034 Hours, Calm seas, slightly cloudy, 35 degrees C, Surfaced Captain Arthur Ingram was out on the conning tower, observing the oceans through his pair of binoculars. It was a thoroughly useless task, however, as the submarine had sophisticated Air and Surface Radar. Nonetheless, Ingram's old habits die hard indeed. Ingram had been in the submarine service for 19 years, and through those times had witnessed first hand the changes to the submarines that happened around him. Now as a Captain, Ingram had authority over the entire boat and its crew. The blistering sun seared down upon them relentlessly, much like his native Darwin. The only respite from the heat was a piece of tarp hung over the conning tower. Cpt. Arthur Ingram OBE Recent escalations in the number of armed personnel in Goa had risen significantly, and as a Dominion of the Empire, Canberra had decided unanimously to send Submarines into the Indian Ocean and East Indies to report on potential activity. The Uluru had been out on the seas for over a year as part of trials, and so far the sub was holding itself together. The crew were seasoned, having been transferred from a T-class Sub. Another Perth-class, the RAS Wallaby, was 63 kilometers to the south, and was in constant contact with the Uluru. So far, nothing. Not even a cargo ship. Then in a burst of action, a voice wailed into Ingram's headphones." Contacts, sir! Bearing 037. Long-distance and Closing slowly."" Dive to periscope depth, prepare torpedo tubes, ready boat for silent running." In a swift action, the tower was cleared, and the hatches closed, Ingram descending into the heart of the sub. It began to tilt forward, going at a steady 16 knots underwater. The batteries were on now, and the sub filled with a deadly silence. Releasing a radio body, Ingram signalled to the Wallaby for assistance."RAN S2241 this is RAN S1188, picking up multiple unknown contacts bearing 045 degrees. Could be U-Boats or Sampans, but get your ass here now. Over."" Copy, on route." The submarine crept slowly forward, monitoring the unknown vessels. Canberra, Parliament Feb, 1300 hours, Rain, 25 degrees C"It is imperative that the Sovereignty of India be protected, and according to our interests!" shouted an MP." This is horseshit! If the Indians wanted to get back Goa, the least they could've at least given us a heads-up. But no. Let them take it themselves I say!" another one replied. The parliament howled with screams and laughter, while the speaker attempted gamely to get the bunch of children back in order. India's ongoing attempt at retaking Goa was very surprising to say the least. And with support of the Anti-Commuter pact, Portugal was not a force to be scoffed at. PM Menzies stepped forward with a piece of news." Gentlemen please. RAS Wallaby has relayed information that they have spotted a large flotilla of vessels of unknown origin making haste to Goa. Now whether these vessels pose a threat to Australian shipping is questionable, however what is known is this. If these vessels are carrying troops and ammunition to Goa, the Indians would have a hard time indeed retaking it," he stopped to catch his breath "and hence, if the Portuguese are not leveled soon enough, East Timor, as well as the new Fascist government in the Netherlands, will be a thorn in our side, the latter disrupting trade to the East Indies."" What are you on about?"" We attack Batavia and install a democracy the Indonesians want. With their help, we can force the Portuguese to the table and get a deal that favors the Commonwealth." Not a single word was uttered by the Parliament for a full minute, weighing the benefits and disadvantages, trying to make up their minds." I guess its settled then, we fund Indonesian rebels to overthrow the Government in Batavia, and gain an ally. We best not inform the Brits of this decision." Again, silence. Eastern Java, in a small Village Feb, 2311 Hours, Dry, 26 degrees Flyers dropped over Indonesian countryside read, Indonesian Brothers and Sisters! It is time for the Dutch to pay for their crimes! For they have enslaved and beaten our children! It is time for us to collect what is due to us, in Dutch blood! To rid the world of Racism and Communism, and establish a country where everyone is free and equal! Come on then fellow Indonesians, rise up to the occasion, and free yourself from the shackles of Tyranny! Under the guise of passenger aircraft flying to Singapore and Malaysia, the Australian Air Force has been dispersing leaflets and dropping equipment for rebels into the forested countryside, where it would be hoped that independence would be enough of an incentive for the farmers to take up arms against their Dutch overlords. To Prime Minister Anton Mussert of the Netherlands, Greetings. Congratulations on your recent electoral victory, Prime Minister. The people of the Netherlands has spoken, and it appears that the NSB is the people's choice. I would like to urge you, however, to refrain from casting the fate of the Netherlands with that of the Anti-Comintern Pact. It is the duty of strong nations like the Netherlands and our own Confederation to forge their own future, to not be dependent on their neighbors. Demonstrate the greatness of your nation, and do not bow to those who seek only to exploit the Netherlands. Furthermore, on behalf of the whole Confederation of the Nordic States, I invite you to send a representative to Copenhagen to discuss the future of our current iron trade. Regards, Árni Jonson, Secretary-General of the Nordic Council To Prime Minister Anthony Eden of the United Kingdom, Greetings. The Confederation has received and acknowledged your request for a state visit to London, to discuss various issues. The Confederation of the Nordic States is of the opinion that a more open channel of communications cannot be ill-advised, and will thus accept your offer. The Confederation especially seeks to discuss fishing rights in the North and Norwegian Seas, and petroleum imports from the United Kingdom and her colonies. Regards, Árni Jonson, Secretary-General of the Nordic Council Emperor's Palace, 2:20 PM The emperor was on the same podium where he had his other speech. He started his new speech off with a cough to attract the crowds, then he started his speech. "My people, the revolution has integrated all the remaining central Middle East nations, all except one." he said, his tone drooping to a more angry one. "And that nation is KUWAIT!" he shouted angrily, so did the crowds. "This nation, will exist no longer..." he said slowly, increasing the tension in the air. "As it is rightfully ours, and we will annex it by force!" he shouted again, he then coughs to signal that the speech is over, and the declaration is now beginning. "I, Emperor Ibid Ill, officially declare a state of war between our nation and the nation of Kuwait." he declared, after that, the masses were cheering. Babylonian - Kuwait Border, near Abdul, 3:29 PM Babylonian troops were pouring from the border, as well as artillery and tanks. The High Command has issued them an order : Take the Town of Abdul... The troops are now in Abdul, and is now going to comply to a secondary order : Take the Northernmost Farm. This farm was filled with artillery, AA guns, and fortifications. To soften them up, the Babylonian artillery bombarded the farm, killing almost everyone in it. Troops are now moving to pick off any survivors of the bombardment, as well as find more intel. Artillery bombing the farm. The troops are now in the farm and are mopping up any survivors. A piece of enemy intel has been found. This is about more troop fortifications and concentrations. Series Radio 4 Broadcast07:40 Stockholm Time; 13th February 1961... Babylonian troops have assaulted underprepared troops of Kuwait... horrendous acts of savagery and barbarism... gross violation of international agreements... Secretary-General to condemn act of aggression... Riksdagshuset, Stockholm, Zealand, Nordic Confederation11:20 Stockholm Time; 15th February 1961RESOLUTION 1961-0094;Nordic Council, København, Sjælland, Confederation of the Nordic States;13th February 1961;Concerning the recent acts of aggression of the Babylonian Empire against Kuwait, THE COUNCIL OF THE NORDIC STATES, Alarmed at the blatant militarism of the Babylonian Empire, Noting with concern the lack of any justification for war of the Babylonian Empire against Kuwait, Condemning the unprovoked acts of aggression committed by the Babylonian Empire against Kuwait, Distressed at the rapidly growing humanitarian crisis in the conflict zone,1. Calls upon the Babylonian Empire to immediately cease its acts of aggression against Kuwait;2. Imposes on the Babylonian Empire until the end of the current conflict or until decreed otherwise by this Council a general embargo of vital war resources, such as but not limited to, a. Iron and other metals, b. Armaments, including defensive equipment;3. Provides to the authorities of Kuwait such intelligence as the Confederation of the Nordic States has regarding military, economic, and political affairs of the Babylonian Empire;4. Pledges to consider future developments of this issue. Approved by the Council of the Nordic States,15th February 1961Approved barn Jonson, Secretary-General of the Nordic CouncilRiksdagshuset, Stockholm, Zealand, Nordic Confederation19:15 Stockholm Time, 15th February 1961"This is," began the Secretary-General, "extremely distressing. The Babylonian Empire acting this way at such a tense time, when the slightest of mistakes may trigger a world war... this speaks of a rising level of general aggression."" It bears to note that the Babylonians are a part of the Anti-Comintern Pact. Considering the current diplomatic tensions between the Anti-Comintern and the Allies, I find it difficult to believe that the Babylonians are acting without the approval - or at least tacit consent - of the Germans and Italians," noted Minister Sigrid Back." If the Anti-Comintern is beginning to attack neutral nations in such an obvious and overt a manner, I agree that it would not be unwise to prepare, in the case that we are the next on their nations to invade," added the President." Don't forget also," continued Minister Back, "that Germany depends to a considerable degree on our iron reserves. Should we continue to align away from the Anti-Comintern, as our resolution earlier today might imply, then the Germans may decide to secure militarily our reserves."" Remember that we don't have to gear up for war just yet," finished the President, "all we have to do is to mobilize enough troops to ensure that we do have time to gear up for war should the need call for it." The Secretary-General sighed." Let's hope that it never becomes necessary." Odense, Region Syddanmark, Nordic Confederation06:00 Stockholm Time, 16th February 1961For the welfare of the brother peoples! The 1st Infantry Division of the Royal Danish Army, often simply called theSjællandDivision, was beginning to mobilize. One regiment was stationed here in Odense, busy building makeshift defenses along the southern coast of the island. The order has finally filtered down from Supreme Command. The 1st and 2nd Divisions were to fortify the Danish coast, and ensure that a rapid decapitating strike can never be struck against the Confederation by the Anti-Comintern Pact. Similar orders have reached the Finnish Army, who were to prepare against a Soviet invasion." It never pays to be careless," said the general, "and it never pays to be underprepared." The reserves have not yet been called - but there were still plenty of regulars to do what needed to be done. The Nordic Confederation must be protected from a quick strike. Order of Battle - Army of the Nordic Confederation Note:Preparations have been made to reorganize each division into a full corps by including reserve troops during wartime. Swedish Army HQ: Nyköping1st "Zealand" Infantry Division HQ: Masters; strength 21,000 mend "Zealand" Infantry Division HQ: Linköping; strength 30,000 mend "Karo liner" Armored Division HQ: Borrowing; strength 7,000 month "Portland" Infantry Division HQ: Sundial; strength 11,000 month "Skåne" Infantry Division HQ: Malmö; strength 9,000 men Royal Swedish Guards HQ: Uppsala; strength 2,000 men Royal Danish Army HQ: Copenhagen1st "Sjælland" Infantry Division HQ: Hostile; strength 30,000 mend "Jutland" Infantry Division HQ: Aalborg; strength 14,000 mend "Sværd" Armored Division HQ: Odense; strength 6,000 men"Greenland" Northwestern Patrol Regiment HQ: Weinberg; strength 1,000 men Royal Danish Life Guards HQ: Copenhagen; strength 1,000 men Royal Norwegian Army HQ: Os lost "Stranded" Infantry Division HQ: Dram men; strength 19,000 mend "Westland" Infantry Division HQ: Stranger; strength 11,000 mend "Norborne" Infantry Division HQ: Marvin; strength 7,000 men Royal Norwegian Guards HQ: Oslo; strength 1,000 men Army of the Republic of Finland HQ: Pantheist "Neyland" Infantry Division HQ: Helsinki; strength 27,000 mend "Kerala" Infantry Division HQ: Jaipur; strength 16,000 mend "Pohjanmaa" Infantry Division HQ: Port; strength 21,000 month "Lippi" Infantry Division HQ: Lulu; strength 11,000 menMotorised Canal Regiment HQ: Jaipur; strength 1,000 men Armed Forces of the Republic of Iceland HQ: Reykjavik Civil Guard of the Republic of Iceland HQ: Kelvin; strength 4,000 men Plzen wrote:Series Radio 4 Broadcast07:40 Stockholm Time; 13th February 1961... Babylonian troops have assaulted underprepared troops of Kuwait... horrendous acts of savagery and barbarism... gross violation of international agreements... Secretary-General to condemn act of aggression... Riksdagshuset, Stockholm, Zealand, Nordic Confederation11:20 Stockholm Time; 15th February 1961RESOLUTION 1961-0094;Nordic Council, København, Sjælland, Confederation of the Nordic States;13th February 1961;Concerning the recent acts of aggression of the Babylonian Empire against Kuwait, THE COUNCIL OF THE NORDIC STATES, Alarmed at the blatant militarism of the Babylonian Empire, Noting with concern the lack of any justification for war of the Babylonian Empire against Kuwait, Condemning the unprovoked acts of aggression committed by the Babylonian Empire against Kuwait, Distressed at the rapidly growing humanitarian crisis in the conflict zone,1. Calls upon the Babylonian Empire to immediately cease its acts of aggression against Kuwait;2. Imposes on the Babylonian Empire until the end of the current conflict or until decreed otherwise by this Council a general embargo of vital war resources, such as but not limited to, a. Iron and other metals, b. Armaments, including defensive equipment;3. Provides to the authorities of Kuwait such intelligence as the Confederation of the Nordic States has regarding military, economic, and political affairs of the Babylonian Empire;4. Pledges to consider future developments of this issue. Approved by the Council of the Nordic States,15th February 1961Approved barn Jonson, Secretary-General of the Nordic CouncilRiksdagshuset, Stockholm, Zealand, Nordic Confederation19:15 Stockholm Time, 15th February 1961"This is," began the Secretary-General, "extremely distressing. The Babylonian Empire acting this way at such a tense time, when the slightest of mistakes may trigger a world war... this speaks of a rising level of general aggression."" It bears to note that the Babylonians are a part of the Anti-Comintern Pact. Considering the current diplomatic tensions between the Anti-Comintern and the Allies, I find it difficult to believe that the Babylonians are acting without the approval - or at least tacit consent - of the Germans and Italians," noted Minister Sigrid Back." If the Anti-Comintern is beginning to attack neutral nations in such an obvious and overt a manner, I agree that it would not be unwise to prepare, in the case that we are the next on their nations to invade," added the President." Don't forget also," continued Minister Back, "that Germany depends to a considerable degree on our iron reserves. Should we continue to align away from the Anti-Comintern, as our resolution earlier today might imply, then the Germans may decide to secure militarily our reserves."" Remember that we don't have to gear up for war just yet," finished the President, "all we have to do is to mobilize enough troops to ensure that we do have time to gear up for war should the need call for it." The Secretary-General sighed." Let's hope that it never becomes necessary." Odense, Region Syddanmark, Nordic Confederation06:00 Stockholm Time, 16th February 1961For the welfare of the brother peoples! The 1st Infantry Division of the Royal Danish Army, often simply called the Sjaelland Division, was beginning to mobilize. One regiment was stationed here in Odense, busy building makeshift defenses along the southern coast of the island. The order has finally filtered down from Supreme Command. The 1st and 2nd Divisions were to fortify the Danish coast, and ensure that a rapid decapitating strike can never be struck against the Confederation by the Anti-Comintern Pact. Similar orders have reached the Finnish Army, who were to prepare against a Soviet invasion." It never pays to be careless," said the general, "and it never pays to be underprepared." Order of Battle - Army of the Nordic Confederation Note: Preparations have been made to reorganize each division into a full corps by including reserve troops during wartime. Swedish Army HQ: Nyköping1st "Zealand" Infantry Division HQ: Masters; strength 24,000 mend "Zealand" Infantry Division HQ: Linköping; strength 32,000 mend "Portland" Infantry Division HQ: Sundial; strength 12,000 month "Skåne" Infantry Division HQ: Malmö; strength 10,000 men Royal Swedish Guards HQ: Uppsala; strength 2,000 men Royal Danish Army HQ: Copenhagen1st "Sjælland" Infantry Division HQ: Hostile; strength 33,000 mend "Jutland" Infantry Division HQ: Aalborg; strength 17,000 men"Greenland" Northwestern Patrol Regiment HQ: Weinberg; strength 1,000 men Royal Danish Life Guards HQ: Copenhagen; strength 1,000 men Royal Norwegian Army HQ: Os lost "Stranded" Infantry Division HQ: Dram men; strength 19,000 mend "Westland" Infantry Division HQ: Stranger; strength 11,000 mend "Norborne" Infantry Division HQ: Marvin; strength 7,000 men Royal Norwegian Guards HQ: Oslo; strength 1,000 men Army of the Republic of Finland HQ: Pantheist "Neyland" Infantry Division HQ: Helsinki; strength 27,000 mend "Kerala" Infantry Division HQ: Jaipur; strength 16,000 mend "Pohjanmaa" Infantry Division HQ: Port; strength 22,000 month "Lippi" Infantry Division HQ: Lulu; strength 11,000 men Armed Forces of the Republic of Iceland HQ: Reykjavik Civil Guard of the Republic of Iceland HQ: Kelvin; strength 4,000 mentor: The Nordic Council From: The Babylonians We simply cannot dismiss this war due to the risk of all our rebellion as the people in our country demand that Kuwait be annexed as we promised them the integration of every single central middle eastern nation, including Kuwait, but Kuwait was not conquered to weakening forces. We are also not preparing to invade any other nation in other factions. Thank you. Communist and Socialist Unions wrote:To: The Nordic Council From: The Babylonians We simply cannot dismiss this war due to the risk of all our rebellion as the people in our country demand that Kuwait be annexed as we promised them the integration of every single central middle eastern nation, including Kuwait, but Kuwait was not conquered to weakening forces. We are also not preparing to invade any other nation in other factions. Thank you. To: Emperor Ibid Ill of the New Babylonian Empire, The Nordic Council cannot accept your explanation for the current Babylonian war of aggression against Kuwait. Maintaining order within the New Babylonian Empire is the responsibility of the government of the New Babylonian Empire and not that of Kuwait. As Kuwait has never agreed to its annexation to the New Babylonian Empire, any promises you and your respective State and government may have made to the populace is your responsibility and yours alone. The Nordic Confederation is of the opinion that regardless of whether the New Babylonian Empire intends to continue its current policy of militant expansionism, the current invasion of Kuwait is still something to be condemned. Regards, Johan Venison, President of the Nordic Council Plzen wrote:Communist and Socialist Unions wrote:To: The Nordic Council From: The Babylonians We simply cannot dismiss this war due to the risk of all our rebellion as the people in our country demand that Kuwait be annexed as we promised them the integration of every single central middle eastern nation, including Kuwait, but Kuwait was not conquered to weakening forces. We are also not preparing to invade any other nation in other factions. Thank you. To: Emperor Ibid Ill of the New Babylonian Empire, The Nordic Council cannot accept your explanation for the current Babylonian war of aggression against Kuwait. Maintaining order within the New Babylonian Empire is the responsibility of the government of the New Babylonian Empire and not that of Kuwait. As Kuwait has never agreed to its annexation to the New Babylonian Empire, any promises you and your respective State and government may have made to the populace is your responsibility and yours alone. The Nordic Confederation is of the opinion that regardless of whether the New Babylonian Empire intends to continue its current policy of militant expansionism, the current invasion of Kuwait is still something to be condemned. Regards, Johan Venison, President of the Nordic Council To: Johan SvenssonFrom: Emperor Ibid Life will discontinue the expansionism after the annexation of Kuwait. But, we may take a more diplomatic action... Regards, Emperor Ibid Emperor of The New Babylonian Empire Moscow, Soviet Union The soldier's marched through the streets. These men were the pride of the Soviet Union, young Slavic men, Die-hard communist. These men were prepared for anything, almost anything. However, today they weren't being sent off to kill traitors or escort prisoners to the Gulags, no. They were in the annual Stalin Day Parade, organised by none other than the deceased leader's son Yakov Dzhugashvili. Yakov had seized control of the country following his father's death, now he led it with a firm but gentle hand. Those who truly opposed his regime, they entered the Gulags. Loyal Communist were rewarded with better jobs and living conditions. Yakov couldn't stay put to watch this parade, he bad business to attend to. Sitting quietly in his office, he could be seen clearly focused on the stack of papers sitting on his desk. Most were about shortages in Siberian Gulags, some were bits local news and some were important documents from his allies. Only three years prior he had authorized the entry of Political Refugees from Germany and other fascist or allied governments. Most who arrived were either Enemy's of the state in the case of the fascist Refugees, or low class citizens in Wealthy capitalist country's. Two bits of news caught his attention, the first involved the Netherlands, the other concerned the nation of Kuwait. That wouldn't do, Kuwait would be under the protection of the Soviets soon, assuming his plans went as they should, therefore he couldn't allow this. He took out a pen and wrote out a letter before stamping it with the official seal and sending it out. To: Emperor Ibid Ill, of the new Babylonian Empire From General Secretary of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Yakov DzhugashviliI have become aware of the growing conflict with the Sovereign nation of Kuwait and your Government. We protest the war. Due to this the Babylon Empire will be under a munitions embargo. As such, Refugees and immigrants from Kuwait are to be directed to the Soviet Union. Kuwait City, 5:56 PM This was it. The continuous push by the Babylonians has brought them here. Various squads storm into the city, tanks slug it out with large amounts of enemy troops, and artillery continually bombards enemy fortifications and concentrations. Siege of Kuwait City, 7:47 PM Fighting continues, and Babylonian troops slaughter anyone who defends the city. Troops are now closing in on the building where the president of Kuwait resided. Artillery and air strikes level most of the building. Due to the embargo by the Russians, the troops are scavenging guns from the dead Kuwaiti soldiers, and artillery platoons scavenge enemy artillery, tanks are also being scavenged. Siege of Kuwait City, 10:57 PM Babylonian troops now completely surround the presidential palace. Troops now are storming the building, this is successful and soon, troops find the Kuwaiti president, holding up his hands. The emperor then arrives, giving the Kuwaiti president a peace treaty. The president then reluctantly signs the treaty. The war has been won. 10th of February20:00Second Chamber of the Estates General, House of Representatives Binnenhof, Den Haag“This outrage, this affront to our national sovereignty, it cannot stand!” Assert shouted from his seat at the head of the parliamentary hall. The hall was filled with a tumultuous ruckus, the NSB party members shouting like aggrieved mothers at a market stall.“The Australian interference in our affairs in Indonesia should be seen as a direct attack on our sovereign right! We must take action to ensure the future freedom of our race and our people!” Again, the NSB erupted in shouts and insults at the Australian nation. ‘Cowards’ and ‘hypocrites’ was an often-heard grievance among the representatives.“The world has grown more polarized, mostly due to the imperialist threat from Great Britain and the United States of America, who would rather see their ineffective plutocracies, governed by Jews, leading the world. They have no respect for how nations truly want their futures upheld!” The shouting became louder and louder. A few ‘huzzah’s’ were thrown into the mix. Two times or so, a few of the NSB membership threw up their right arm, shouting ‘Hal Assert’ in the process. Assert took his time. He saw the opposition and the KVP shudder with every passing minute. The air was getting very dark, the atmosphere thick and intolerant. Fascists had taken the bastion of democracy, it seemed. All could feel the approaching storm.“Therefore, mister chair, I wish to put forward a motion to join the anti-Comintern pact. I have already started my negotiations with the German representative in Den Haag. For the sake of our nation, let us join this European collaboration! Our futures are all at risk here. The strength of our nation is being tested. I say, we react with force and vengeance!” The NSB released all her fury in a roaring cry. ‘Here! Here! Here!’ they yelled from the benches, a cry of support for their beloved leader. ‘Hal Victoria! Hal Victoria!’ they yelled, too. The Dutch version of the German ‘Sieg Heil’. With every passing second, the air became thicker, more dangerous. The Communist Party, CP, tried to match the NSB in uproar, but they were quickly silenced. Although popular, the CP could not for the world match the number of representatives the NSB had. The KVP just sat there, in silence. Jan de Quay, as one of the few people, walked up to the speaking stand for a reply. The chairman saw this, and ordered the room to be silent. This order was followed, reluctantly. Everyone knew the chair was a member of the KVP.“Fellow representatives” De Quay began, speaking in far softer tones than Assert. Immediately, the official atmosphere of the Second Chamber returned. Men sat back down, and the KVP dared sit up straight again. Even the Democratic Socialist Worker’s Party, SOAP, dared show their faces again.“As many of you well know, I stand opposed to the anti-Comintern pact. This pact is nothing but a mere union of Fascist parties, a force for evil…” Hisses came down from the NSB, but the chairman was quick to silence them.“A force for evil preparing, not for the eventuality, but for the certainty of war. The Netherlands has been a neutral nation for a hundred years. We sat out the first World War, it is in our nature. That is a true Dutch tradition the NSB would do well to protect. The Australians were forced to their action by your aggressive foreign policy, Assert. If we ensure the Australians we are not a threat, perhaps we can get them to cease their offensive actions in Indonesia. Furthermore, I have it from a reliable source that the ministry of External Affairs has received a letter from the Nordic Union. I ask that the Prime Minister divulges more information on this letter.” The Chairman allowed Assert to reply. The Prime Minister thanked him, and went on to debate his political opponent, who was, at the same time, his political friend.“Ahhh, yes. Neutrality. Tell me, sir. How long do you expect us to stay neutral? Until the Australians land in Java? Or until the Indonesians have a parliament in Batavia? Should we stay our arms until the fucking Huskies are marching through Berlin? Or should we wait until the Jews and Plutocrats hold their balls and banquets in Amsterdam? You are a fucking moron, sir, if you believe that we can expect our enemies to sit and wait. We must take action first, that’s just common sense.” The NSB laughed in unison, before throwing some more insults of themselves at the head of the KVP. The Chairman was again quick to silence them, but it took some more effort. Two NSB members were even removed from the Chamber, as an orderly measure. That made the rest of the party quiet down a lot faster.“As for a letter from the Nordic Confederation…” Assert began, as his minister of External Affairs whispered something in his ear.“Your ‘reliable source’ seems not as reliable as you say. No such letter has been received from the Nordic Confederation.” De Quay tried to get into a response, but he felt the uselessness of it all. There was nothing more to say. He felt confident. The NSB still didn’t hold a majority in the Second Chamber, and certainly not in the Senate. If it came to a vote, the Anti-Comintern would be voted out, again. So, he turned around, and sat down again. There was no smile on his face, just disgust at what the NSB was trying to do. His beloved parliamentary democracy, hijacked by Fascists. He would have his victory, though. Sooner or later.10th February22:00Tramcar, Den Hang-ScheveningenDen Handsome. That was what De Quay was headed. God, what a day it had been… And so much of a load on his shoulders. He didn’t want to do this. If it were up to him, he would be sitting at home, living on his work as a former minister of war and a minister of commerce. Alas, such was not the way. Everyone, from the bishop to the queen herself, had begged him to take up the leadership of the KVP. Reluctantly, he had agreed. Was this what he was doing it for? Constant abuse from populists and fascists? To see his nation turn into a madhouse? Luckily, all that was for later. The Chairman had moved the vote on the Anti-Comintern pact to tomorrow, to allow the representatives to get some rest. Some well-deserved rest, too. De Quay wasn’t worried enough. The KVP and the CP together would probably be enough to block the motion, if the SOAP joined them as well. He wasn’t too worried. What he was worried about, though, was sitting a bit further down the tram car. Four young men, in black Weerbaarheidsafdeling uniforms, took up four seats way ahead in the car. They didn’t really speak to each other, they just sat there, sometimes taking moments to look in his direction. De Quay saw that one of them was carrying a large bag, something soldiers would use in the field. They didn’t look like they were taking their clothes to the washing machine, though. De Quay tried not looking at them, but their uniforms and their big posture did enough to put a little fright in his body. Luckily, he didn’t have to go far. A few minutes later, De Quay reached his stop. Quick as all hell, he got out of the car, briskly walking down the road to his house. His hard was pounding in his throat, a feeling he hated. What times did they live in, that a politician in the Netherlands had to fear for his life. He walked on, faster and faster, until he reached his front door. It was already dark, it had been dark for a while now. Ten o’clock, late enough. At his front door, he tried to find the keys in his pocket. He could feel his handshake.“Need some help with that?” he heard a young voice behind him say. He turned around to see who offered help too readily. His heart sank. The four black-uniformed youngsters stood there, with an empty bag put beside them, and various weapons in their hands. Bats, sticks, a crow bar… They had come ready. De Quay tried rushing past the men, but they were too quick. A bat struck his lower leg, and he cried out in pain as he fell to the ground.“Bastards!” he yelled. “Have you no respect for democracy?” Followed by moans of pain. The biggest of the four bent over him, and yelled at him with great ferocity.“YOU have no respect for democracy! The majority decides, and the majority has decided. You just want to protect your Jew friends. How much have they paid you for that? Come on, boys. Let show this Jew lover what democracy means in OUR country.” It took twenty minutes for anyone to respond to the cries of pain coming from the De Quay residence. When the neighbors came out to see if he was alright, the four black-uniformed men fled the scene, the heavily-beaten De Quay was sped to a hospital with broken bones and heavy bleeding. Democracy has taken a violent turn, it seemed. Riksdagshuset, Stockholm, Zealand, Nordic Confederation09:00 Stockholm Time; 15th February 1961Angry shouts shook the Riksdagshuset. Well, an angry shout, and many listening ears." It's been twelve days, Agni,"shouted Johan Venison, President of the Council." The Netherlands has clearly ignored our letter!"" Well," reasoned Agni Jonson, Secretary-General of the Council, "maybe it's just been a technical delay in The Hague-""This is a diplomatic insult!"" Sir President," came another reasoning voice, this one belonging to Sigrid Back. "Calm down. This is the NSB we're talking about. It's very typical of such fascist governments to ignore letters which they do not like."" We must show - no, make very clear - that we won't stand for this! A gross violation of diplomatic custom!" The Secretary-General have had enough." Johan! Quiet! I can't bear to listen to you shouting anymore!" The President sat down, muttering a last remark." So," continued the Secretary-General, "it's fairly clear that the NSB intends for the Netherlands to join the anti-Comintern. At this point, I doubt that we can do much to discourage them from it." Secretary-General Agni Jonson took a moment to down another sip of water." Which means that we have two options. One, we admit the fact that the Netherlands will join the anti-Comintern in a few years' - or even a few months' - time, or two, we do something to break the will of the NSB. I wish to discuss that 'something.' Is there anything that we can do to break the will of the NSB, or is it too late at this point?"" We could fund parties friendly to us. Help them hire a few more people. That will keep them from having their politicians harassed by NSB goons, at least," suggested Minister Back." Unfortunately," replied Hainan Jukanpoika, head of the Contort and therefore the person most knowledgeable on the internal affairs of other nations, "the parties friendly to us - that means the PDA and the SOAP, in this case - both suffered a crushing defeat this election. Even if they can protect themselves, they won't have much sway in the Binnenhof. Besides..." Cainan chuckled." The NSB have considerable influence just about everywhere in the Netherlands. If we so much as send a single króna to the PDA - or the KVP, for that matter - Assert will find out about it before they can even collect the money. I absolutely guarantee it. And then, of course, the very politicians that we're trying to support all gets tried for treason. In the NSB-dominated court, I might add. I would be surprised if they manage to not get the death penalty." Silence reigned. Again. These were difficult times.14:15 Stockholm Time; 15th February To Prime Minister Anton Mussert of the Netherlands, I am very well aware that you did, in fact, receive my letter, and I am also very well aware that you chose to ignore it. Very well. I suppose that there is not much I can do to convince you not to push for the Netherlands' membership in the Anti-Comintern Pact. Be aware, however, that it may not be in your best interests to antagonize the government and State of a nation with which yours have such a close economic and, as part of an ever-shrinking non-aligned movement, diplomatic relationship. Árni Jonson the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, This Council, and by extension the Confederation of the Nordic States, finds it mildly concerning that the Prime Minister of the Netherlands has not yet replied to our letter sent on the 3rd of February. If a top-level diplomatic letter has failed to deliver in a space of almost two weeks, then there is clearly a grave fault with the postal services of the Netherlands. Due to the close relationship between our two nations and the resulting volume of diplomatic communication that is necessary for the continuation of this relationship, it is our sincere and hopeful recommendation that the Prime Minister's postal services be improved for efficiency and timeliness in order to ensure a rapid and uninterrupted channel of communications between this Council and Her Majesty's Government of the Netherlands. In the assumptions that our letter was, indeed, lost in the Netherlands' postal services, and will therefore never be delivered, this Council have seen fit to repeat its contents in this letter, addressed directly to the House of Representatives of the Netherlands and delivered through formal and international diplomatic channels. First, this Council believes that it would be mutually beneficial for both the Kingdom of the Netherlands and to the Confederation of the Nordic States should our two nations consent to certain economic agreements. Most notably, in order to secure our respective nations' access to vital natural resources crucial to our industrial capacity, this Council is of the opinion that the Kingdom of the Netherlands would be well-advised to formalize, regulate, and secure its exports of petroleum and related products to and imports of steel and other such minerals from the Confederation of the Nordic States. To discuss such matters, this Council invites a representative and his party from the Netherlands to Copenhagen at a date which your government might find convenient. Second, the Confederation of the Nordic States would like to urge Her Majesty's Government of the Netherlands to reconsider the notion of membership in the Anti-Comintern Pact. Neutrality in European affairs has served the Netherlands well in the last one hundred years, which has prospered and developed. It is the duty of strong nations like the Netherlands and our own Confederation to forge their own future, to not be dependent on their neighbors, and to form their own moral and diplomatic axis. This Council urges yours to demonstrate the greatness of your nation, and to not bow to those who seek only to exploit the Netherlands and her ample strength. Lastly, the Confederation has received intelligence from various unreliable sources that the government of Australia has been distributing anti-Netherlands propaganda in the Dutch East Indies, in gross violation of the territorial sovereignty of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This Council seeks confirmation or denial of these incidents from Her Majesty's Government of the Netherlands, the lawful regime of the Dutch East Indies, and, if these incidents are something which Her Majesty's Government of the Netherlands believes is actually occurring, inquires whether that Government seeks to raise this issue in the next session of the League of Nations. Signed, Árni Jonson, Secretary-General of the Nordic Council Johan Venison, President of the Nordic Council To: His majesty Emperor Ibid Ill of Babylonia From: Prime Minister Anthony Eden On behalf of Her majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland's government, I demand that Babylonia halts further aggressions of the violent sort against Kuwait. As your peace treaty has been accepted by the Kuwaiti Emir, I suggest the occupation of Kuwait will be temporary, and the fate of the small nation to be decided soon. As the United Kingdom has great interest in the State of Kuwait due to oil rights, I hope that agreements of some sort can be compensated to ensure the legitimacy of the Babylonian invasion. HM’s Government awaits the response of his majesty, signed Prime Minister Anthony Eden To: The Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Robert Menzies of Australia From: The Rt. Hon. Selwyn Lloyd On behalf of Her majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Commonwealth of Nations, I order Australian hostilities in Indonesia to end. Any actions of this sort puts the United Kingdom at risk, and should therefore be consulted with Britain first. Even this slightest spreading of propaganda cannot possibly be allowed. Unless the government of the Netherlands receives a formal apology, the Dominion of Australia will see consequences. Signed Selwyn Lloyd, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs House of Commons, Westminster Palace, London, United Kingdom Prime Minister Anthony Eden listened to one of his party members speaking. As of the fact that most of Eden's premiership had been dominated by foreign policy, military rearmament and espionage, the country's economy was not in top condition. There had been a minor recession the last years, and the free-market friendly policies of the conservative government had reduced the unemployment by a little, but price were too high and welfare programs were inefficient. He wanted to do to something about this. Massive investments in public sector jobs and welfare reforms, with new unnoticeable taxes. Still, he would never get the support from his party to do this in the current situation. He had a majority with 338 seats in parliament, but that was only 25 MP’s more than required. He looked to the other side of the benches, to the opposition. Leader of the Labour Party, Herbert Morrison and his party members sat rather quietly, something that they usually did these days. It was the National Socialist British Labour Party, NSBLP that shouted down the conservatives as often as they could. Since the election in 1960, the NSBLP has 6 seats in the British parliament. With about 4% of the vote, they don't really pose a threat to the sitting conservative government, but their vote had increased significantly the last years. Britain was not like the other nations. In Britain, democracy would never fall. Arabian sea February 6th"Ping!.. Ping!.. Ping!.." The pings sang out loudly and clearly throughout the room. Donate looked over at the sonar with a moment of disbelief. " What does it look like?" The sonar man took a second to respond. " Looks like a couple of smaller submarines' sir... and they aren't friendlies." Donate looked over at the radio on his chair. He pulled it up and began to speak throughout the ship. " This is Capt. Donate speaking, all men to battle stations, all men to battle stations. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill. Have all torpedo tubes loaded and ready to fire." He put his radio down a looked over at the ship's radio man. " Send a message to the foreign vehicles: These are German vehicles, you are in our way, we will not stop. If you do not move, we will sink your ships." Berlin, Germany Herman Goering stood in front of the Reichstag. Congress had been called that day by Goering in order to touch down on some recent and pressing issues. Hello, my fellow country men. I have called this meeting to order in order to speak of the issues troubling the fatherland at present. The first, and foremost of our concerns, is that of the Nordic confederation. They have amassed military units and assembled fortifications along the Danish border, for seemingly no reason whatsoever. The German Reich has never, in the history of rule under the Nazis, threatened the sovereignty of the Nordic Confederation. I will draft a letter to their government demanding that such unnecessary build up be ceased at once, or drastic measures will be taken." The Reichstag stood u unanimously and started with roaring applause. When the applause quieted down, Goering began to speak again. "In the Netherlands, our fascist brethren have succeeded in electing true patriots into parliament, along with a new and courageous prime minister Anton Mussert. In light of Australian aggression against their rightful colonies, they have asked their congress to join the Anti-Comintern Pact. I am proud to say that the nations of the Anti-Comintern Pact, under a joint vote, have unanimously agreed to allow them to join our union in the event of it passing." The Reichstag stood up again and roaring applause and shouting began among the crowd. Numerous" Hal Goering" s could be heard throughout the building. It was about a minute until everyone was seated and quite again. " Finally, I have received a letter from the American President. The letter goes as follows" As a Representative of the People of the United States of America I call for the leadership of the German Reich and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to convene in Geneva under the guidance of the League of Nations and the United States of America as a neutral observer. It is quite clear that any war over the recent elections in the Kingdom of the Netherlands would lead to the deaths of millions and the deployment of biological and chemical agents by the Great Powers. For the sake of your own and your opponents you must agree to resolve this crisis peacefully. In a Europe with the threat of Mutually Assured Destruction any war would destroy far more than any gains that could be made. I hope you will both see the light in my request and end the buildup to war that seems to be occurring at the moment. Signed, President of the United States of America, Don West"What the American president seems to fail in understanding, is that there is no crisis in the Netherlands. The people have chosen, through their own accord, to elect a competent and patriotic group of men whom wish to serve their nation to the fullest of their abilities. There is no crisis, only a renaissance in Holland; and the angry fits that the United Kingdom is stirring up about this free and fair election, are but the ramblings of a barbaric state. Therefore, as there is nothing to discuss at such a meeting, the Third Reich will not be attending any such meeting in Geneva." To:Anton MussertFrom: Herman Goering In light of the possibility of you joining the Anti-Comintern pact, I would ask that you join me in Berlin to discuss Holland's future. Signed, Goering 08:35February 15th, 1961Cabin Creek, West Virginia, United States of America President Don West stood before a crowd of miners and railroad workers. He stood upon an impromptu stage, that being a milk crate, wearing his signature straw hat." The People of the United States of America call upon the New Babylonian Empire to end its war of aggression against the nation of Kuwait. However, I judge that the Anti-Comintern Pact has shown time and time again complete disregard for other nations' sovereignty. In that train of thought I call upon the neutral nations of the world that have respect for the Covenant of the League of Nations to band together in a Non-Aligned Pact, in a world filled with aggression we must show our willingness to band together against the threat that another Great War would pose. We must show our willingness to band together to ensure our sovereignty. We must show our willingness to recognize the equality of all races. Furthermore, we must show our willingness to band together for justice. WE MUST SHOW OUR WILLINGNESS TO BAND TOGETHER FOR THE DEFENSE OF LIBERTY AND A FREE WORLD!" Many in the crowd surged forth and went into a frenzy, tossing hats into the air. How well his speech would be received elsewhere would depend, as the workers of West Virginia were among his strongest supporters. He could only hope that the Cabin Creek Speech could serve to create a Non-Aligned Pact.09:31February 15th, 1961McDonnell Aircraft Works, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America Captain Ed Dwight looked over the spacecraft that he would be climbing in sometime next month and being shot into orbit around the Earth. He was glad that the schedule for the launch had been pushed forwards with the assurance that the Atlas Rocket was nearly as safe as could be. However, there was something about having been chosen as the first American to be launched into space, Dwight had always wanted to be a sculptor, and he figured maybe after this mission he would resign from NACA's Astronaut Corps to pursue his dream. Of course part of the reason he was chosen is due to the Anti-Comintern Pacts racism and the Allied Imperialism, his skin color would ruffle their feathers the wrong way. He of course smiled considering that thought, and continued the walkover of the capsule. After doing a once over and conversing with the technicians he removed the white smock and moved back outside. A light snow fell onto St. Louis and Ed Dwight trudged back towards the airport. [quote="Was Germane imperil";p="26906700"]To: His majesty Emperor Ibid Ill of Babylonia From: Prime Minister Anthony Eden On behalf of Her majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland's government, I demand that Babylonia halts further aggressions of the violent sort against Kuwait. As your peace treaty has been accepted by the Kuwaiti Emir, I suggest the occupation of Kuwait will be temporary, and the fate of the small nation to be decided soon. As the United Kingdom has great interest in the State of Kuwait due to oil rights, I hope that agreements of some sort can be compensated to ensure the legitimacy of the Babylonian invasion. HM’s Government awaits the response of his majesty, signed Prime Minister Anthony Eden To: The Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Robert Menzies of Australia From: The Rt. Hon. Selwyn Lloyd On behalf of Her majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Commonwealth of Nations, I order Australian hostilities in Indonesia to end. Any actions of this sort puts the United Kingdom at risk, and should therefore be consulted with Britain first. Even this slightest spreading of propaganda cannot possibly be allowed. Unless the government of the Netherlands receives a formal apology, the Dominion of Australia will see consequences. Signed Selwyn Lloyd, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs House of Commons, Westminster Palace, London, United Kingdom Prime Minister Anthony Eden listened to one of his party members speaking. As of the fact that most of Eden's premiership had been dominated by foreign policy, military rearmament and espionage, the country's economy was not in top condition. There had been a minor recession the last years, and the free-market friendly policies of the conservative government had reduced the unemployment by a little, but price were too high and welfare programs were inefficient. He wanted to do to something about this. Massive investments in public sector jobs and welfare reforms, with new unnoticeable taxes. Still, he would never get the support from his party to do this in the current situation. He had a majority with 338 seats in parliament, but that was only 25 MP’s more than required. He looked to the other side of the benches, to the opposition. Leader of the Labour Party, Herbert Morrison and his party members sat rather quietly, something that they usually did these days. It was the National Socialist British Labour Party, NSBLP that shouted down the conservatives as often as they could. Since the election in 1960, the NSBLP has 6 seats in the British parliament. With about 4% of the vote, they don't really pose a threat to the sitting conservative government, but their vote had increased significantly the last years. Britain was not like the other nations. In Britain, democracy would never fall.[/utility: Prime Minister Anthony Eden From: Emperor Ibid Silicon a division of Kuwaiti territories favorable? Weekenders, Hungary0800 Hours 16th February Miklos Horthy sat in the back seat of the black sedan as it skidded down the black asphalt, its outer edges crusted with ice. He drowsily passed in and out of sleep, his eyes fluttering open and closed repeatedly. The gray skies outside the window did not help his sleepiness, as did not the fact that he had stayed up throughout the night analyzing papers. However, he sat awake at the moment, helped in a large part by caffeine. In his lap he held even more yellowed reports of telegrams received from news outlets in the Netherlands and surrounding countries. It seemed that another country might join The Anti-Comintern Pact, spreading the word of our brothers farther to the west. Miklos did not necessarily support all the policies of the Reich and it's allies, however, he supported most of them because they provided safety for Hungary.2 Soldiers clothed in Camouflage overalls waited at the gates to Horthy's, saluting as they permitted the party entrance to his estate. Snow covered his personal gardens and the groves of trees, rendering almost everything in the fenced area white. The car pulled through the gate and went around the roundabout, pulling to a stop in front of the mansion. The mansion's whitewashed walls and lavish decorations stood as a landmark to the houses and fields around it. Miklos exited the car, with his personal guards in tow behind him. He and his entourage strode towards the large front door, where they were met by even more guards, and then entered the estate. Horthy trekked throughout the many winding passages of the castle, heading to his conference room. He expected to meet with the Prime Minister of Hungary, Miklós Allay, and discuss recent developments in the world." Greetings Miklos" stated Horthy as he took a seat in a plush velvet seat opposite of Allay. The oaken door shut behind them with a loud boom, and was subsequently locked by one of the Royal guards who remained inside the room." Greetings Sir" replied Allay as he smiled at his Regent. Horthy reached down to his side, and pulled a manila folder out of hislovelyman-purse. It contained many articles of paper, mainly relating to world news and other important. One of these was an issue of the state newspaper"Behold"from a day ago. There were also assorted documents and leaflets of paper in there, such as blank paper for writing. Allay pulled a pen from the breast pocket of his gray overcoat." So old friend," stated Horthy, "I take it we both know that many actions have been taken globally. Many of them have been events that may secure us some new allies, and a higher place in the world. The only one that I would like us to discuss at the moment, and disclose our position on to the press, is the current political position in the Netherlands. 17th February 1961Honorary Lecture Academiegebouw, Ravensburg 73Leiden, the Netherlands “… And it is with these words that I would like to conclude. Freedom of thought and movement for every ethnicity, every citizen, is at the forefront of our great nation. The Huguenots fleeing from prosecution, the Belgians fleeing from the Great War, and, in the case of my father and me, fleeing a tyrannical government bent on the destruction of my people. I am thankful for my place here, and that is why I have tried to do something back for my society. I do not ask for favors, but when I see men in black uniforms marching through the streets of a nation I call home, dragging me down despite my accomplishments, for no reason other than that I read the Torah instead of the bible, I cannot stand the sight. Not only for my sake, but for the sake of my father, my mother, my sisters, but also for the entirety of the Netherlands. We have always stood united, and I believe we can remain united. Thank you for your attention.” For a moment, the room was silent. Deadly silent. The students and professors from Leiden University, Praesidium Liberates, looked on in awe for a moment. One could hear a pin drop. Only for a few seconds, though. Then, the crowd erupted. An applause that made the windows shake in their casing drew forth from the back. Cries of ‘bravo’ went up in unison, professors threw off their hats and students began stamping on the ground to form a thundering rumble of enormous proportions. Then, beginning on the right side of the room, students began singing the ‘Wilhelm us’, the anthem so hated by the NSB. First, the students picked it up. Then, the professors. Then, the speaker joined in as well, brushing some of her oaken hair behind her ear, her brown eyes shining with pride and tears of joy.“In child end betrothed, zit gig, oh God, min her. Op U ZO will in Bowen, verdant mid dimmer meet. Dat in touch vroom mag liven, UW dinar t’ Allen stone tyrannies overdriven die mid min hart doorway” To rout out tyranny, which does so wound my heart. When the singing died down, all sat back in their seats again. A professor from the university, carrying a bouquet of flowers, walked forward from the back of the hall. He seemed moved, there was a grand smile on his old face. Professor Levering, he was, a professor at the legal faculty. He himself had always been an opponent of the segregationist policies the NSB adhered, and even with the party winning an election, he was not afraid to show his disdain for the party. He handed over the flowers to the speaker, who smiled at him in gratitude.“Thank you, doctor Frank, for your inspiring lecture. I hope our nation learns from your brave example, and that we may outlive this dark shadow that looms over.” Professor Levering took a step back, and began applauding once more.“A standing ovation for doctor Anne Frank, the greatest literary mind of her generation!” The whole room stood up, and roared with excitement. It was no different from the first time. There was shouting, crying, applause, and some more singing of the anthem, with the last sentence getting even more fervor than the last time. Tyranny, it seemed, was still a hot issue for many of the young minds and older professors among them. They knew, from their research and their knowledge, what the horrors of single-party rule could bring. Among the academia, the NSB enjoyed the least possible support. Alas, they were always outvoted by the common man, who seemed to care little for the research and wisdom coming from the universities. Because as the applause in Leiden rose up, the boots of the Weerbaarheidsafdeling marched across the Ravensburg, a protest against the lecture given by a Jewish German refugee. As the hands clapped in excitement, the feet rang in disgust.17th February Motion for joining the Anti-Comintern Pact Second Chamber of the Estates GeneralBinnenhof, Den Haag There was a deadly silence in the House of Representatives, an air like one hanging in a funeral hall. As if the men were attending a remembrance, the air was thick with a feeling of foreboding, but also of grief. Slowly, men walked to their seats in parliament, as if they were part of a procession, a wake for the dead. Only the NSB seemed optimistic, they made the most sound. They talked loudly with each other, but even they could not fill the parliament with jubilation. The sense of danger held by the other parties sucked out all the branches in the room, even the NSB conversations died down after a moment. Before the vote would commence, they just had to wait for the Prime Minister, Assert, to arrive to oversee it. The Chairman checked his watch every few minutes. The cabinet was late. At least, the KVP ministers were all present. The NSB ministers and Assert were all that was missing. In their places in front, two men in particular were in deep conversation.“How’s Jan, Victor?” an old man said to another younger man. The old man was Willem Trees, former Prime Minister of the Netherlands when the PDA was still in power. More right-wing than the SOAP, although somewhat less elitist. The young man was Victor Marine, second-in-command for the KVP. He had a close connection to Jan de Quay, who had been hospitalized for the last seven days since his beating. The Chairman had postponed the vote until it could be established that he was going to recover soon, but he could not postpone it for long. Seven days later, the vote would still commence.“Still in a coma, I’m afraid. When he gets better, you’ll be the first to hear it. Hell, I will call you before I tell his wife.” Marine said, doodling in his notebook with a pencil. He was upset, clearly. Trees put a hand on his shoulder.“I appreciate it. We had our differences, Jan and I, but we know danger when we see it. Have you been able to keep the party in line?” Trees asked, as if they were suddenly part of a grand, big Party of the Willing. Victor nodded, but with great care.“The KVP will stand against the Anti-Comintern. But the dangers of joining the Pact are distant and up for debate. They know that the NSB is behind the attack on Jan. So, they will do what is right until their hearts give in to fear. And there is a lot of fear, Willem. I don’t know how much more they can take.” Drees nodded.“I have the same problem. The social democrats are stubborn, and they resist the NSB with every step, but when their families are threatened… the dangers of war are too far removed to make them feel as terrified as they should be. Especially after what happened to Jan. Have you heard about the clashes in Leiden?” Victor shook his head in contempt.“Yeah, I heard it. The NSB protesters and the police clashed. I heard that mayor Van Gunshot gave the order to arrest them all personally. A brave move, but I wonder if it might have been rash.” Willem sighed.“I like that Anne Frank. She has shown great bravery by speaking there today. Leiden is a battleground between the locals and the students, an ideological war. We fear to offend our enemies, our enemies do not share that fear. Van Gunshot might have acted rashly. Yet, were I in his position, I would’ve done the same. Maybe worse. Maybe sooner.” The two men nodded at each other, then took their respective seats with their parties. The silence continued for some more minutes, until finally, Anton Mussert entered the scene. Followed closely by his ministers, he looked around, greeted the members of his own party, and sat down at his seat in front of parliament. His ministers did the same. After they had taken their seats, the Chairman moved to begin the vote.“For god and country… “ Marine whispered.“For the nation and her people” Trees whispered back. They both smiled faintly at each other. They were fighting for the same thing, at least. Just then, as the Chairman wanted to begin tallying the votes, the doors to the hall flew open. Men, startled, jumped up from their seats. They expected a coup, a vicious assault, the black uniforms pouring in. However, this was not the case. A single errant-runner came in, carrying a slip of paper. He ran to the Chairman, who received the paper with some irritation. His face changed, however, when he read what was on the paper. He stood up from his seat, overlooking all the members of parliament in attendance. His voice shook as he spoke.“Gentlemen. I have just received word from the Red Cross Hospital. Fifteen minutes ago, at 17:40, Jan de Quay, our beloved friend and member of parliament, passed onto the Lord. May he rest in the arms of God, as he so rightly deserves. I move that we commemorate Jan as soon as possible, within the timeframe given to us by the constitution.” The vote turned into a farce after that. Instead of direct voting by hand, a paper vote was asked for, so the voters could vote in anonymity. It was a landslide. Only the Communist Party and the hardliners from the SOAP, PDA and KVP voted against. The rest, driven by fear and grief, voted in favor of the Anti-Communist Pact. 30 vote against, 110 in favor. The NSB sang songs of victory, the KVP cried, the CP sputtered in protest. But the vote was carried. The next day, a letter was sent.“Dear Joseph, The vote carried. I will be travelling to Berlin myself to begin negotiations. Sieg Heil, and send my regards to your wife, Anton MussterMinister-President of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.” Port of Buenos Aires, Argentina The cargo ship lie waiting in the waters of the bustling port. Trucks rolled in and off of the ship from ramps. An Argentine Naval officer stood next to an SS colonel. They were watching the progress. The Argentine naval officer finally broke the silence between the two," Are you sure it is safe for such materials to be handled in the trucks". The SS officer did not bother to look over at the Argentine," Of course, we would not allow them to do so otherwise. The only worry now is how it is all taken off". Silence permeated the group once again. The Argentine officer spoke up again," So, where is this missile base"? The SS officer replied with some amount of venom in his reply" A place that your government is aware of, and that is all you need to know". The conversation was effectively cut off from there. For the rest of the time, they were silent as they watched the trucks load two V-6 IRBM missiles off of the cargo boat piece by piece. Reichstag, Berlin The Reichstag was seated, listening intently and with awe to the journey of Joseph Deck into space. " The renderings of our planet from the ground are in no way comparable to the actual thing. I will never forget the feeling I got when I looked down at our home. Thank you, and Hal Goering." The Reichstag, stood up and applauded Joseph. Then, Goering approached up from behind him, clapping himself. " Thank you, Joseph, for your time and for your work for the Reich. You are among the few men in the entire world to share such an honor. You personify, if I may be so bold, the courageous and adventurous attitude of a true Aryan; and for that, the Third Reich owes you our gratitude". Applause went up from the Reichstag in honor of Joseph. The Raumfahrer (spaceman) blushed at compliments from the Führer and applause of the Reichstag. The Führer began to speak again," There is an important reason as to why I had Joseph speak here today. As you know, the Third Reich is the world's undisputed leader in space exploration; however, there are many heathen and barbaric nations across the world that are as we speak planning to usurp our rightful place as master of the stars. Rival space programs we know for a fact already exist in the United States. In order to secure our hold of the stars and the treasures they may hold, it is necessary, nay imperative, that we take a massive leap forward. I am proud to announce, that after deliberate discussions with Dr. Warner On Braun and his scientific team, that Germany will be manning a manned mission to the moon by 1963-" The Führer did not have time to finish before the entire Reichstag stood up in gave up roaring cheers, Sieg Heil, and all other sorts of merriment one may imagine. The Führer was astonished by the extravagance in which his legislative body reacted to the news. He looked back at Joseph, HOM was sitting in the guest speakers chair, smiled and shrugged his shoulders. After a minute or so, the extravagant celebrations finally settled down. After Goering was certain that he had them all under control once again, he spoke once more. " I thank you all for your time and gratitude for our guest speaker and me. I hear by call this meeting adjourned." Berlin international Airport, Germany Joseph Goebbels waited at the airport for the Dutch Prime Minister to arrive. On scene were all the major news outlets of the Anti-Comintern pact, a Imperial Reich's Honor band (all Aryans of course), and several high ranking SS officers. All were gathered together to greet their newest ally for when he arrived. Imperial Diet The majority-status Communist Party of Japan had, at this point, become something of a permanent feature of Japanese politics, riding on a perpetual blanket of benevolent left-wing sentiment, occasional fiery rhetoric, and a general idea that if there was anything going wrong the people would protest about it until it fixed itself. Every once in a while, it would toss out a development plan, drag together the captains of industry and their assorted grease-monkeys, and sort out something that worked. Most domestic policy was handled by the Prefectures anyway, so it wasn’t as if the near-perpetual majority even bothered to do much on that front. Their unique brand of laissez-faire Communism was a bizarre feature of recent political life, and the people looked upon it with a sort of paternal toleration. Nothing much happened on that front. Every once in a while some firebrand ultranationalists from the radical fringe Great Japan Patriotic Party would get up on stage and scream about nationalization and Imperial restorationism while the more bored Diet members would egg them on, but ever since the Emperor gave up his pretense of rule and instead puttered off to inspect some fish the extreme right had essentially given up. The centrist dignitaries of the center-left LDP would similarly make elegant fusses about the evil restraints of over-regulation and the critical underappreciation of supply-side economics, but when even the zaibatsu were onboard with the ongoing evolutionary Socialist project, they didn’t have much to worry about either and served more as a conscience than anything else. Such calm and peace, however, did not make the Diet a harmonious and quiet place. Every bit of vitriol normally expressed on the subject of domestic policy in ordinary democratic states was redirected at full blast into foreign issues. This unfortunate fact left Prime Minister Kenji Miyamoto, sage of the far left, on the verge of pulling his finely coiffed hair out by the roots as his own party members howled around him and came to the edge of blows. He’d seen all kinds of things – the inside of a Tempera prison cell in the midst of a beating, the capitol burning as Soviet bombers fell overhead, soldiers firing machine-guns into crowds, and an entire battleship exploding as a bomb hit its ammunition stockpile. Yet none of that dreadful violence could match the sight of the Communist Party’s Diet members screaming at each other while the assorted opposition parties joined in, the ministers brandished canes, and the pages cowered. As usual, Communist Diet member Injury Arena was sporting a peach-fuzz mustache, square-framed glasses, and a dingy gray Mao suit. And he was in fine inflammatory fettle.“What is Japan? Japan is the greatest free nation in Asia! We are strong! We are united! Furthermore, we have completed OUR revolution! But look South, and we see WHAT? FASCISTS! FASCISTS EVERYWHERE! Taiwan? Taiwan is full of Fascists! They dribble across our borders, and we give them free education and jobs, and then they bring in their Fascist children to indoctrinate our youth with their Fascist ways! Thailand? Fascists everywhere! India? Capitalists, so they’re Fascists that just don’t know it yet! The USSR? They’re not us, so they’re probably Fascists too! And further south, what do we suddenly find? An entire island chain full of nothing but right-wing bigot-imperialist reactionary coward cockroach Fascists! FASCISTS! There is one solution, comrades! SEND IN THE FLEET! STORM INDONESIA! AND KILL! ALL! THE FASCISTS! MAO ZEDONG THOUGHT IS SUPERIOR! JAPAN’S GLORIOUS IDEALS WILL BE THE WORLD’S IDEOLOGICAL LINE!” The ultranationalists, catching onto Japan and glorious into the same sentence, broke out into a fit of rapturous applause, stamping and cheering. Most of the other Communists hissed their disapproval. Someone hefted a chair. This was too much by far. Politics wasn’t supposed to resemble street fighting, and Arena’s clowns were going to ruin the entire nation and drag it into war with the whole world unless something serious was done. This had to stop.“ENOUGH!” yelled the Prime Minister, before catching his breath and continuing. “Japan does not have the armed forces to defeat the entire anti-Comintern pact, which would quickly come calling at the earliest mention of trouble in Indonesia. Even if we were so equipped, have you completely forgotten the disastrous results of imperialist militarism that brought about the great Second Russo-Japanese War? The generals and conservative hardliners who started that conflict thought they were the vanguard of Asian liberation under Japanese tutelage, and look where that brought us. Our cities burned, our economy regressed by a decade, and it was only the Communist Party and the combined Years of Regrowth where capital and labor collaborated together that brought us forwards to the great achievements of today. Now is not the time to throw away fifteen years of hard work and labor for foolish delusions of grandeur. Now is not the time to risk the lives of the million Jews we took in when Eastern Europe turned against them in service of your madness. And now is certainly not the time to throw the people into war just after we ended the last one! Japan will remain a land of watchful peace for so long as I am Prime Minister, and we will continue our policy of financing refugees fleeing their homelands to our country instead of bombing and slaughtering abroad for as long as the Communist Party leads this nation. Japan is peaceful, Japan is prosperous, and Japan is humanitarian in nature. We will not degenerate into the militaristic Marxist-Bolshevist claptrap that you peddle and give up every practical achievement of Real Working Socialism for your utopian idiocy. Sit down, Representative Arena, and don’t get up again until you have something worthwhile to say.” Asenuma, snarling, made as if to spit out a response before he looked around, gauged the mood, and beat a hasty retreat back to his desk. With order restored, the Prime Minister continued.“We shall not do anything. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Japan has determined that we will shortly enter a bill to create two hundred thousand new places for refugees from Indonesia and Taiwan, and that from here on out every nation which falls to Fascism will have refugee places opened for its people to a number equivalent to 1% of that nation’s population, with additions later on as needed. And several citizen’s petitions have accumulated which will later be reviewed by this chamber. These petitions request a unilateral sanctions regime against Dutch companies and Fascist power brokers, along with proposals to increase trade with the United States of America, the Entente, the English, and the fraternal Socialist states of Asia, including the USSR. These will be debated at a later time, but the point is that Japan does not have to violate its pacifism in order to make a global difference. And should the damnable right-wing scourge continue its march across the world and dig further into our home continent which we hold so dear, we will combine with whichever alliance is most willing to stand in solidarity against them. Japan is not weak. Japan is strong, but Japan is wise! Like the samurai of old, this nation knows that he who draws his blade and strikes first is an impatient fool, and the warrior who waits and then strikes has true strength!” Over half the Diet rose and applauded, while others hissed and booed. This cut across party lines. In itself, that was almost encouraging. The regional representatives were there for their constituents, not the party line. It would be nice if it wasn’t on a momentous foreign policy division.“Regardless”, continued the Prime Minister, “we cannot stand by and let the strength fall out of our peace through strength campaign. We must be prepared to mete out Hell. On behalf of the Communist Party of Japan’s central leadership, I am hereby introducing a bill to reinstitute Unit 731 with full authority to discover by any means the secrets of biochemical warfare, to create a new Strategic Missile Bureau which can be used to deliver these weapons into the territory of any annihilators of the people, and to empower these units, under a new Diet Exceptional Measures Committee, to seek out any and all foreign help to build these programs up. The text will be passed around shortly, and I hope for a civil and peaceful debate.” As if. Honoured Comrade President Johann Venison, On behalf of the glorious Emperor of Japan and His Loyal Government, I, foreign minister Mauro Suzuki, send my salutations to you. Our nations are in many ways alike – both left-wing and anti-war unions of peoples, both concerned with the threat of Fascism, and both uncomfortably threatened at all times by the far Right. Ours is domestic and yours is foreign, but still in trying times we must stand together and work towards common goals. We offer you our hand in friendship and assure you that we hold the same stand against Fascist aggression in Asia that you do in Europe. The fall of the Netherlands is no less disturbing to us than to you – their continued reign over Indonesia and its probable usage in the near future as a base for German soldiers ready to release their brand of evil across our fair continent is deeply worrying. In these times of fear, rest assured that Japan stands beside you, and will offer you any assistance short of military force should the National Socialists move on your territory or your people. Ours are an industrious nation well suited to the manufacturing of advanced arms, and although we would shy away from using them ourselves we have no qualms as to offering them to comrade peoples such as yours. Any requirements your nation has can be fulfilled by the workers of Japan – ask, and we shall do what we can. Thank you, comrade, Foreign Minister Mauro Suzuki Open Letter to the Free World It will be openly admitted that Japan and democracy have not always had the smoothest of relations, especially in the turbulent and terrible years of military domination and Fascist rule. Yet the recent nature of our liberty has made us all the more appreciative of it, and we remember our oppression well enough that we shall not forget it costs. Japan stands as one of two nations which has been under Fascist occupation and then thrown it off, the other being our fraternal state China. Every year, another nation falls under the measured treads of brownshirt extremists. Every year, another people are crushed by a racist-extremist fringe which transforms their homelands into Nazi puppets in the name of ethnic survival. Every year, another tide of minorities washes across our shores, driven out by the howling hordes of the reactionary imperialists. The Netherlands are merely another link in a chain of historical tragedies which pushes respectable and decent nations into despair, and from there to dark places. Yet we cannot fall to pessimism. If Japan and China were able to free themselves from slavery to the conspiring German elites and their plots of white German dominion, there is no reason why any other peoples cannot do the same. Have faith, peoples of the world, for these dark times cannot last forever. The old men who clutch so tight to power will shrivel and grow senile, and their regimes will fall. Their systems inevitably will break down. The Fascist mode of being lasts for exactly as long as fear rules hope, and the day will come when they fear no longer, and when they find out that getting rid of the Jews won’t get rid of unemployment and poverty. They will believe no longer in the lies their masters tell them. We – the free peoples of the world – must be there when that happens to show them that there is a better alternative. To the democratic nations of this planet, Japan calls out – Communist or Capitalist, liberal or conservative, moderate or radical, revolutionary or reformist, we call to you equally. Do not give into petty internecine hatreds. Let us grow more and more unified every day, so that when the time comes and Fascism dies its natural death, we can be there, together, and as a shining whole say ‘welcome’ to the uncountable millions gasping for liberty. There is but one word that our peoples must hold dear. Solidarity. We must use diplomacy to resolve our differences, and through dialogue construct a stronger future. War and militarist alarmist will give them an external threat - show them that democracy is not a threat, not an external invasion, but instead something to be treasured deeply as a unified human race. Solidarity. We must recognize that fundamentally a Russian and a Briton, a Frenchman and a German, a China man and a Japanese, a Jew and a Gentile, are all the same. We are all human, and act in human ways. Furthermore, we must let that unite us, and not let race divide us in the way the Fascists want it to. Solidarity. We must stand hand in hand, and in doing so repudiate all the foul rhetorical lies that the Fascists perpetrate about our systems. They do not understand our ability to talk and in doing so to grow. They dread it. So let’s talk, world, and blossom. Signed, His Majesty's Loyal Government of the Japanese Imperial Diet and 5 million Comrade Citizens of Japan (names enclosed below) Riksdagshuset, Stockholm, Nordic Confederation10:05 Stockholm Time, 20th February 1961"...and that's all there is to it," reported Sigrid Back. "It is now a certainty that the Netherlands will join the Anti-Comintern Pact, unless Berlin decides to be silly and decline the Netherlands' application."" That's certainly unfortunate," added the President. "A calamity made worse by our total inability to do anything." A voice from the far end broke the silence." What do you mean, our total inability to do anything?" The voice belonged, incidentally, to Karl Markov, of thefolkpartiet liberalerna. Although he was nominally the Minister of Education, as one of the two members of the Cabinet that did not belong to the ruling social-democratic party, his ability to achieve his agenda in the government was really quite limited. Not in this case, though." We could, for example," he continued, "join the Anti-Comintern Pact." Johan Venison shook his head, indicating his disapproval. Sigrid Back, always the more dramatic Minister in the Cabinet, broke out in an outraged shriek." What?" Secretary-General Agni Jonson, on the other hand, was quietly considering it. His perennial calmness was a wonder to many and, indeed, was not the least of reasons why the other higher-ups in the party nominated him to lead the nation, despite his relative youth at forty-one." Think about it," offered Minister Markov. "By joining the Anti-Comintern Pact, we guarantee our security from our neighbors to the south, secure a market for our exports in Germany and the Netherlands - which are respectively the largest and second-largest trading partner of the Confederation, I might mention - and eliminate the largest reason why the fascists may want to fund one of the fascist parties here. I certainly do not want theorist Nationally Förbundhiring goons with German money."" At the cost," interjected President Venison, "at putting our nation at an even greater risk of being caught in the crossfire come the next war. Not to mention that our relations with the Soviet Union will be permanently sunk, and good relations with the fascists will result in stronger fascist parties at home. Besides, the policy of strict neutrality has served us well these past one hundred years. Why change that now? Under absolutely no circumstances should the Nordic Confederation abandon its role as an independent bastion in Northern Europe." The Secretary-General was still pondering the matter. His thoughts were impossible to deduce." I think, Minister Markov," he finally said, "that it is premature for us to consider deviating from our decades-old foreign policy. Scandinavia has, even before the 1936 Treaty of Copenhagen, prospered precisely because we did not fight. We are strong precisely because we are unwilling to use our strength. It is the most unwise, Minister Markov, to walk down the paths of war." Karl Markov quietly nodded. Even within his party, he was considered a bit of a right-wing radical. In this social-democratic Cabinet... He was lucky that his ideas even got that far. Honourable Minister Mauro Suzuki, The Confederation finds disturbing, as you do, the current political situation in the Netherlands, most notably the recent assassination of Jan de Quay by unknown assailants and the influence the NSB apparently now holds over the opposition parties. I, Johan Venison, and the Council which I represent are in full agreement that increased cooperation between the democratic powers is necessary and beneficial for the containment of fascist ideologies. I and the Council which I represent greatly appreciate your offer of Japanese support, but the Nordic Confederation cannot abandon its stance of neutrality because, if nothing else, the Confederation cannot risk a confrontation against the Anti-Comintern Pact. The maintenance of appearances are the utmost priority in maintaining peace on the European Continent, and as such the Nordic Confederation cannot accept unilateral aid under any circumstances except the most dire and desperate. Our two nations, due to our compatible ideologies and similar stance on diplomatic issues, are natural allies against the Anti-Comintern Pact. However, let us both hope that the day in which that alliance needs to be formed never arrives. With respects, Johan Venison, President of the Nordic Council Bergen, Westland, Norway, Nordic Confederation16:50 Stockholm Time, 20th February 1961"So," the foreman noted, putting down the report in front of him, "this was not a fool's errand."" Most certainly not, sir," the worker agreed. "The geologists are now in almost unanimous agreement that there is a 'very high' probability of there being oil under Norwegian waters."" It occurs to me that this has interesting consequences for our company."" It does indeed, sir."" I'll personally submit the reports to the relevant authorities tomorrow," concluded the foreman. "I want to sleep tonight for once. So should you, incidentally. Good evening."" Good evening, sir." 09:34 February 28th, 1961Cape Canaveral, Florida Ed Dwight felt the Atlas shifting under him, the rocket having been moved to the pad and at the moment a launch rehearsal test was being conducted. Going through the launch procedures, Dwight felt a grim determination. He wasn't sure what the German's would do once America shot its own man into space. Of course Germany wasn't viewed positively in America to begin with, so if they acted like petulant children American opinions of the Nazis would only drop further. Thinking to himself about the mission Dwight thought over part of his mission profile, that was using his periscope to view missile launch sites in the Reich, France, and Britain. Of course satellites had been used before but the launch of satellites that would commonly pass over the region would be considered suspicious. A few orbits by a manned spacecraft wouldn't be viewed as suspiciously. The official story however stated it was in case Dwight could not achieve a stable orbit, as such a path would allow him to fall into regions where he could easily be recovered. The reasoning behind spying on the factions missile locations was primarily to investigate the current number of weapons deployed and determine readiness as best Dwight could. For it was thought that if any war occurred the United States would have to take a principle role in providing relief to Europe, if there was anything left. Dwight remembered that the British had missiles armed with anthrax, so if any war occurred those that survived the initial gas missiles would starve to death due to the destruction of crops. He shivered for a moment, and it had nothing to do with the cool air of the capsule. USSR The times were changing, more thought was put into farming, saving much of the populace from a terrible famine. More and more children were joining the soviet's youth organizations and the army became more powerful every day. Still, they were behind the German's in term's of the Space Race, as Yakov had begun to call it. And now Kuwait was being occupied, something he couldn't stand for. Munition's and supplies had already started to flow into the small nation country to the newly forming rebel organizations. With this backing, Yakov hoped the Babylonians could be forced out of the country. His interest also lies in Japan, IBM'S full of deadly nerve agents had already been established along hidden missile silo's near the East Coast. He planned to stop any fascist organization that arose within the country before they could gain a foothold on the Japanese people. Luckily with a communist party already established in the country, the rise of fascism had been cut early. Yakov had managed to ramp up production, and with new housing being built constantly the cramped condition's seen under Stalin's rule had begun to ebb away. Yakov had ordered that a satellite be launched into orbit within six months, giving his scientist and engineer's all the resources they would need for such a foot. Sergei Role would be leading the program, a brilliant man. He would be working with other brilliant Soviet Scientist, including Mikhail Angel, Valentin Lush, Vladimir Chelsea. Finally was the increased influence of the KGB, to which had agents deployed throughout Eastern Europe and North and South America. Yakov began to write yet another letter, this time to the communist in Japan, it was time they offer the Japanese membership in the Comintern Alliance. To: The Communist party of Japan From: Yakov Dzhugashvili, General-Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR Greeting's, I wish for this letter to be read only by those within the highest branches of the Communist Party within the state of Japan. After long and difficult consideration and discussion among my advisor's and me, I have decided that now is the time for the Japanese Government to be offered full membership within the Comintern Pact, established between the USSR, Korea, Laos, China, and Vietnam. We believe that the Japanese would be a sensible ally in helping us destroy Fascism within the continent of Asia. We will await your response patiently. If you wish to further discuss the situation you may contact our offices and arrange a meeting with me personally.

Kalter Krieg [Alternate History] [IC] [Open]

Campus Sweethearts ( Wolfyyy and Sweet Angel Jocelyn )

" Psst, that's the girl everyone is talking about Aaron! "He looks over his shoulder, as his buddy pulled him aside after spotting the campus's current hot topic." In her first year; Made it into the cheer team on the first auditions, barely a month since school started. No other girl has achieved that feat before! "The Captain of the school's Football team has always been popular among everyone in school since he worked his way through the ranks two years ago. And like any typical football captain, he has a well maintained athletic body frame, possess a certain charm, and a look that often make girls glance twice. He had problems initially, spotting the girl from the crowd of cheerleaders, but was soon able to pick her out from the rest since she is the only unfamiliar face among the existing batch of cheerios." How old is she.? "" Not sure, mate. "She has a certain element of attraction. As the captain finds his eyes glued to the girl longer than he would usually do as compared to any other ordinary girls." Quit staring already, its getting late, and I'm all sweaty. You going to come with me to the showers or what?" his mate smacked him hard on the head to break off the gaze." Alright! Alright. "He follows along, coincidentally walking towards the direction of the group of cheerios. He kept his eyes fixed on her, and managed a smile when he finds his eye meeting hers as he goes closer. "Give it a while! I promise, you will love it." Stacy told Leigh as the younger girl ran her index finger over her lips and felt the thick gloss that made it shine. It felt too thick to her, but it was supposed to plump her lips. Why that girl thought Leigh needed plumper lips was beyond the younger girl. She had naturally plump and pouty lips. The girl was brand new, only started at that school a month before. But already she was popular, a cheerleader with amazing skills for her age. She had big violet eyes, and long silver blonde hair. Really, she was the picture of a typical cheerleader, so no one was surprised to see her in the uniform, talking to the others." Oh, there is Aaron." Stacy exclaimed to Leigh, shaking her hand slightly. "He's the captain of the football team, and soon dreamy." Leigh glanced up and frowned, seeing a very attractive man. Older than her, but that was fine. Not that she expected to actually attract him! She was too young. When the boys came forward, she lifted her eyes completely and looked at him. Her heart beat faster when their eyes met and he smiled. She managed a smile in return, then turned to the others, blushing softly as they laughed and started talking to her about him. - Nice. -He thought to himself as the girl acknowledges his gesture. He had a brief 10 minutes shower, but spends the next 20 minutes or so chatting and hanging around in the locker room, as he and his football mates usually does after practice. His watch hit 6pm in the evening as he took a glance on it. One by one, the guys left." See ya tomorrow dude" his closest bud bid goodbye once as the last few boys exited the locker room. He had to use the back gates of the school since a few months ago after moving to the other side of the town, where the neighborhood is still new and secluded with not many people living around in the vicinity just yet. His eyes naturally steer towards the direction of the female showers when a group of girls, as he recognized, are the cheerleaders, emerging from the bathroom. He waved at some of them as they called out for him. He spotted that familiar face from earlier as the last group of girls emerged from the showers. Furthermore, he paused instinctively, as if he wished to purposefully walk pass her. "So, Marcy put Stacy on the top of the pyramid and I swear, we almost all broke our backs!" This was Heather talking, gossiping about what was going on around the squad. Leigh could only offer a small smile as she took it all in. Was Stacy supposed to be fat? Or clumsy? Leigh hadn't seen either of those from the girl, but maybe she was still thinking of her pep-squad, not cheer-leading. Things were different for cheerleaders." Well, come on, Leigh. I'll give you that ride home." Stacy put in, breaking them apart. Leigh instantly panicked and shook her head. She didn't have the best home, and really didn't want these people to see it." No, Don't worry, State. I'll just walk." She promised the other girl as the all started to walk out of the locker room. She heard some calling out to Aaron and instantly looked up, blushing as she thought of the look in his eyes. The girls all broke off, toward their cars and homes, leaving the younger girl to walk by the older boy. She tried to think of something to say, or better yet, making herself look ahead instead of at him. But, she really couldn't stop herself from looking at him once more as she started to walk by him. He watched the girls eventually scattering in all directions after they emerged from the female showers. His buddies recognized the look of their Captain's face, as they smirked, elbowing him lightly, their eyes trading winks, almost like as if they were communicating with each other in some sort of visual language. The big boys left one by one, and it didn't take long before the atmosphere turned serene, the captain soon finding himself alone with the freshman. He wasn't feeling anxious or nervous at all, in contrast to the look on the young girl's face. He knew she is probably is feeling a little bit uneasy at that point. Furthermore, he decides to break the moment of awkwardness, his hand lifting towards her, gesturing, as he offered to carry the little bag pack on her." So. You must be Leigh, hmm? "The sentence ended, accompanied by a boyish smile. Leigh stopped short when Aaron spoke her name. The freshman really hadn't been expecting to hear him talking to her. So, of course she just looked at him for a second after he spoke, her violet eyes wide in surprise. Still in awe of all the upper-classmen, the girl didn't know what to say." Umm. Yeah. Leigh, that's me." She offered him a quick smile and glanced around quickly. Just the two of them. "You're Aaron, right?" She asked, pushing at her hair. What else was she supposed to say? She didn't know the guy, didn't know what he liked. She couldn't really say 'That was some game last week'. It would sound like so many of his other admirers. "Ahhh yeah, I'm Aaron." he paused, starting to pick up his pace once again, walking alongside her." Your reputation is viral. The last time someone gained the attention of the school to a somewhat similar extent is your current cheer captain. But that took at least 2 full semester before anyone noticed her. Bet she must be sort of jealous or even feeling a little anxious about losing her title of 'captain' now." He shrugged his shoulders at the end of it, letting out a cheeky grin. His eyes eventually went soft, gazing as he just realized how pretty looking the young girl is at point-blank range. He then shook himself out of the gaze, noticing the girl taking on a similar route with him, for now, as he exclaimed," Are you exiting through the back gates as well? " Leigh offered a smile as he started to walk with her. His words made her laugh softly." Oh, I'm sure she is worried. She doesn't talk to me much, anymore." She told him, pushing her hair out of her face so that she could look up at him. Furthermore, she was a bit more relaxed, telling herself that this was just a guy that would end up being a friend." I always manage to get attention, so I wasn't surprised by all this attention." She told him, shrugging. When he asked if she was going through the back gates as well, the girl bit her lip and nodded. "Yeah, it's the quickest way for me to get home." She told him with a small smile. "Same for you?" She asked softly. The new home that her mother had brought her to was a much nicer one than the one she'd grown up in, that was for sure. " Oh great. Guess I have finally found someone I could walk home with." he paused his speech for bit, walking on." Not many people live in the southern regions. Looks secluded months ago and it still is today. It doesn't help especially when I'm living by myself. Feels like I'm living in a ghostly town." He soon finds himself stepping out of the school compound alongside the girl, guiding her along the concrete pathway. The roads along the pathway were empty, which is in stark contrast to the buzzing ones at the other far end of the city. The early evening atmosphere seems serene. He noticed the girl feeling a little less tensed than before, his firm arms frequently find itself brushing lightly against hers as personal space no longer seem to be affecting. He noticed how quick the both of them are comfortably enjoying each other's company. At least, that is what he felt." So. I guess you live with your parents hmm? " "You live on your own?" She asked in shock as she looked around. She couldn't believe that someone at the school actually lived alone." Yeah, well. My mom and her new husband." She said, sneering when she got to the new husband. The man was a creep. Old enough to be her grandfather and still he wanted someone younger than her mother! It was sick. She never really enjoyed going back to that house." I've noticed that there aren't that many people around the Southern regions... What do you do when you are bored?" She asked him curiously, tilting her head as she watched him. She had yet to find anything interesting, maybe it was because she was so lonely, and young that she had no one to go out with. His tone grew soft as she asked him the question. " Oh yea. My parents are both business people. I hardly ever get to see them since they are never home. Plus, my parent's place is really far from school, so I figured it'll be better for me to just, move here." His expression hint that he is a little upset at how things are going for him." Well everyone in school was like, 'Wow you've got your own home' and such. Sure, my parents paid for it but really, it kinda sucks to be living alone. There is nothing to do really, apart from football and occasional hangout with my buddies..." He looked down onto the gravel path, his voice going on a Decrescendo towards the end. He then went silent for a moment, before turning to you, his eyes wide as if he seemed surprised about something" I don't usually tell people about my personal issues like this, you know. " He paused, as the gaze reminded him once more on how gorgeous the girl looked. He shook himself from the daze before completing the next part of the sentence," and I barely even know you for more than an hour..."" Anyway, you sound like you hate going home. Is the new husband that bad? " Leigh frowned when he told her why he lived alone and most of the circumstance. Though, she thought that he was probably leaving out some steps, she didn't push. They had just met each other not long before. She didn't think that he would just tell her every aspect of his life. Which was just fine. She didn't plan to tell him everything of hers." I'm easy to open up to." Leigh offered with a sweet smile. "People tell me things all the time without really meaning to. I should be a councilor when I get out of school or something." She told him with a soft laugh. When he asked her if her step-father was bad, the girl rolled her eyes and smirked. "He's thirty years older than her." She told him. "At first he just came around every so often. She liked to call herself a 'sugar baby' but then he told her that he would cut her off if she didn't marry him. Well, it got her more money, I suppose." She offered frowning. "I liked it better when we didn't live in the same house... I didn't see him much then." She told him. " Crap happens. " He replied after listening intensively to her story. " You can hide at my place anytime if you ever need a bomb shelter. " He teased, before breaking into a pause." Well I guess I've just found myself a living diary. " He grinned boyishly. " I think I'm beginning to like you already. We should really hang out more often." It sounded a little blunt. But that's him. His confidence is always sky-high, probably due to the fact that he has been living alone all this while and the independence has groomed him into what he is today. He is always very honest, and is not afraid to just make known his thoughts. It was nothing more than a casual remark, at least, to him." So, your mom is cooking for you tonight or something? " Leigh shrugged and smiled at him. "Thanks. I might just take you up on that." She told him, though, really, the worst times were at night, and she wouldn't go knocking on his door in the middle of the night. The girl laughed when he called her a living diary. She could be that. "I think I'm beginning to like you as well." She told him. "I would like that." She said with a short nod. "Finding someone to hang out with would be great." She told him. She laughed again, this time louder, clearly finding that funny. "Mommy-Dearest doesn't cook." She told him. "If she did, I'd run away quickly." She said. "No." She shook her head with a sigh. "I'll be cooking for myself again." She told him. " Haha, I see. Is she also frequently not around? Cause it seems like it." He then went silent for a moment, as the two continued to walk on. The sky almost completely dark by now as his watch beeped at the 7pm hour mark. And then he thought of something he feels, will be a brilliant idea. " Hey, It's Friday. We can whip up a meal at my place if you're up for it. What do you think? Or do you have some sort of curfew that requires to go home early? "He crossed his fingers. He knew it probably came as a bit of a rush - to just randomly invite a girl who he has just know hours before, to his place. He was beginning to think that there is a possibility that she'd be slightly dismayed at his suggestion. But he is already beginning to enjoy the girl's company. Either way, he has already blurted out his suggestion. Leigh nodded and laughed. "It's better all around." She told him. She was actually very surprised with how much she was telling him. It wasn't everything, but it was far more than she would tell anyone else. It was strange. When the man's watch beeped, the girl looked up and over at him. She wondered what he had going on around then that he would need an alarm. A date maybe?" Really?" She asked, her eyes wide as she turned to look at him. She hadn't been expecting him to offer a meal at his place. "Sure." She said with a smile. The sky was getting dark, and the longer she could spend from home the better." I can cook just about anything." She offered as they walked. " Great, a girl who cooks. We don't get many of those these days. It's a dying breed." It didn't take long before they arrived at a cozy looking two story casas. The front garden isn't exactly very decorated, but it is neat enough. He opened the door, shifting himself aside, as he allowed the girl to enter first. He followed shortly after, as he tossed his bag onto the leather couch. The interiors look small, and it has this exotic feel within as the furniture are mostly made of teak. The lighting are soft yellow, giving anyone who steps into the place a fuzzy feel. He playfully dragged his feet across the furry carpet, turning over to his guest," Love this thing here. "" Anyway, what dishes are you planning for tonight? I'm not sure if I have everything you need, but they should be sufficient. " As he speaks, he starts making his way to the kitchen. Leigh laughed and nodded. "All this liberation." She joked. "I always pictured myself as something of a June Cleaver." She confessed. "I always wanted the quiet, normal life. Nothing I had growing up." She commented as they walked in." Wow. This is really cool." She told him as she looked around. "I'm jealous." She confessed just before he asked what she was planning." I don't know. But I can put just about everything together. Let's see what you have." She said with a wide smile as she moved around the house, following him to the kitchen. After spending a few minutes looking around his kitchen, the girl turned to the older guy and smiled widely. "How about I make up some pizza?" She offered. "I can make the dough from scratch, and even the sauce." She offered, reaching into the fridge. "It might take a while... Do you mind waiting?" She asked him softly. " Well I don't expect it to be done quickly anyway. Good things always require patience." He smiled back, following you into the kitchen shortly after." Do you need any kind of help?" he pauses, strolling over to the table as he noticed the packet of flour you placed on it. " Kneading dough looks fun." With a grin, he grabs a handful of it, forming sort of a dough ball, before playfully tossing it towards your direction, splattering it all over." Hope you don't mind getting messy!" He smirked, his hands already reaching for a second scoop, preparing to launch the next attack on her. Leigh shrugged. "If you want to help me, then you are more than welcome." She said as she watched him. Seeing his grin made her suspicious, and she eyed him carefully. When he tossed the ball, the girl gasped and tried to duck away. It didn't help, of course, and she ended up with flour all over her. "Oh..." She said, scooping up flour and tossing it at him. "Do you often get your kitchen dirty? Because I do, and I'm not afraid of a mess." She warned him as she carefully went about gathering things to make the dough. " Well, not really. At least, I don't throw things at myself. Anyway, I'm going to make you clean up this mess together with me at the end of the night and until it's done, I'm not going to let you out of my house! " He ended the sentence with smirk. He moved a few steps closer, standing beside her. " So how shall we begin? " Leigh laughed and raised her eyebrow at the man. "You can't hold me hostage. It's not like I'm slow. I bet I could get around you easily." She teased him, before she turned and brought the ingredients to the counter." First we mix. Luckily you have a mixer. It's a lot easier than doing it by hand." She told him. "I'll measure the stuff out, and you dump it into the mixer." She nodded at the machine and then smiled as she started to measure the first bit of flour and then the yeast. After she measured out the water and handed those to him, the girl smiled. "Press number 3." She instructed, pushing her hair from her face. " Alrighty." He followed the girl's instruction, which was a little bit of a funny sight, the man is following the direction of the young sophomore. He hit the number three button as she hinted, then watched the mixer worked, whirling and whizzing. " Easy. Thank god we're not doing this entirely manual. I'm starting to get a little hungry already." with that, his stomach coincidentally let out a growl." This stuff sure is sticky. " He steered a small portion of the mix that landed on his hands earlier, onto yours. Leigh laughed and nodded. "We never had a mixer like this when I was growing up. So I always had to do it by hand." She told him, slipping in front of him quickly to shut off the mixer. She giggled as he wiped his hands on hers, making her pull her hands back and wipe them on her pants." How about you knead the dough while I make the sauce?" She suggested, grabbing more flour and sprinkling it out on the table. "That way we can get it done quicker." She said, poking his stomach playfully. "Don't want that beast getting more angry." She teased. The girl smiled as she went about pouring out some tomato sauce and tomato paste. She grabbed a little seasoning and turned on the heat. " Good call." He moved over towards the other side of the table as he watched her sprinkle the flour on top of it. He then began the hands on process." I don't usually cook during the weekdays. So freaking tired especially after the football practices. I'd just pop in ready-made meals into the microwave oven." he spoke while kneading. " You sure have some level of patience and endurance. Aren't the cheer practices exhausting for you? " He raises his head slightly, looking up at the girl. Leigh laughed. "I usually am." She told him. "But I love to cook. It makes me calm down, relax." She explained as she stirred in a few more seasoning." So, Aaron." She started, smiling over at him. "Tell me something strange about you and I will tell you something about me." She suggested, playfully. "Something strange about me huh. Let's see. " He paused, his hand naturally moving behind his head, scratching softly. He noticed the playful expression on her, and decides to play along with some frisky and a little flirty. " Well. I think I may have a fetish for younger girls. "He leaned forward onto the table, his arms crossed, grinning mischievously at her, curious to see how the little cheer girl will handle that. Leigh listened to the man, smiling as he spoke. She laughed softly and glanced at him." A fetish for younger girls? How young? Sixteen? Seventeen? Maybe fifteen?" She asked, smiling. She hoped he didn't go younger than fifteen, as that might be weird, and that would mean he wasn't flirting with her." Are you curious about my strange fact?" She asked. It would lead to a bit more flirting, she knew, and hopefully a little laugh, but nothing making fun of her. " Well. Somewhere along that line. Let's just say. You'll make a perfect example, I suppose." He grinned, his hands grinding on the dough sub-consciously for a split second as he speaks. He then direct his attention away from the dough and back to you. " Of course I'm curious. It wouldn't be a fair trade at all if you don't tell me yours now. "He then leaned further forward, arms crossed and resting against the table, grinning as he listens in anticipation," What strange thing can this young, gorgeous girl in front of me possibly have?" Leigh laughed. "I would, hmm?" She asked, grinning at him. She got the hint that he thought that she was the inspiration of his fetish for younger girls. It could be worrisome later on, but for then, she'd enjoy it." Well." She said, blushing softly when called her gorgeous. Then, she let her gaze go more seductive as she leaned over the counter to face him. "My real name is... Heaven Leigh." She said, before flashing him a smile and a wink. His eye grew wide as she pronounced her full name. He seemed amused, and looked as if he was prepared to laugh. But then again, it felt like she was really telling the truth." You can't be serious, right?" He paused." So I guess I should call you Heaven instead from now on, hmm? " Leigh saw his face change and saw him getting ready to laugh. She bit her lip and smiled at him, giggling softly." I'm perfectly serious." She told him, nodding. "Heavenly." She pronounced it. "Get why everyone knows me by Leigh?" She asked raising an eyebrow before going back to the sauce." I suppose you could call me Heaven... If you want." She offered, a bit hesitantly. "I really don't want everyone at school knowing that, though." She warned him" Well, your secret is safe with me. " He stuck out his pinkie, wiggling it in front of her, as he offered to seal the treaty." Heaven Leigh... Cool. I bet your mom and dad, your real dad that is, will be so glad that the name actually fit in nicely with the actual person." He smiled. His compliment was honest. He really admired her so far, at least, she seemed like a really nice girl to this point." So are we anywhere near to eating our pizza yet? " Leigh laughed and hooked her finger around his, shaking it once. "I'm glad." She told him with a soft laugh." My mom doesn't really notice." She told him with a shrug. "But thank you." She blushed softly and pushing her hair back. She didn't have much experience with older guys talking to her like that. Maybe because she didn't give them a chance." How's the crust coming?" She asked curiously. "I've got the sauce done. And I saw that you have a pizza stone, so it's all on you now, honey." She told him, smiling before going into the fridge to get the pepperonis, vegetables and cheese. " Crust is looking good, I think. " He glanced at his end product for a moment. It wasn't exactly very ordinary looking, having some part of the edges jagged. Kneading dough seem like a simple task, but he really isn't the art type of guy, or any sort of thing that a guy don't usually do." Oh well, as long as its edible. " He scooped up a few spoonfuls of sauce, spreading them evenly over the uneven dough. " I have all these utensils in here, but I hardly ever used them. These are bought on impulse. A pizza stone, how cool can having this thing in your kitchen be. " Of course, she might probably think its kind of stupid, but boys really think differently. He soon finished coating the sauce, placed the end product on top of the pizza stone, then pushing it over to your direction. " Done-ed" Leigh laughed as she looked at the crust. "It's just the two of us. We don't need anything fancy." She told him, helping to put the toppings on top." I think the pizza stone is cool. We never had one, but my step-father did when we moved here. So I'm just learning all about them. I love them." She told him, smiling sweetly. When he was done with the pizza, she picked up the pizza and moved to the oven. "Fifteen minutes, I'd say." She told him, smiling again. "What do you want to do until it's done?" She asked curiously. " Fifteen minutes isn't quite a lot of time to do anything much. Take you onto a tour around my place perhaps? " He randomly suggested, though his place isn't exactly as big either to have a tour last for at least 15 minutes." Or you can use this time to wash up or something, unless you want to walk home with those flour stains on you. " He suggested, when he noticed that the two of them are quickly messed up. " Speaking of which, I'm not sure if I have any sort of spare clothes that might suit you. " He looked apologetic, as if he regretted causing the mess on her in the first place. Leigh flashed a bright smile at his suggestion that she clean up. "That might just be the best idea." She said, looking down at herself and laughing. "No shirts?" She asked playfully. "You should see me in just an over-sized t-shirt." She teased him before walking to grab her work-out bag from the floor." Don't worry about it. I have some clothes in my bag." She assured him, slinging the bag over her shoulder. "I'll just go to... The bathroom?" She looked around and, remembering the lay-out of her own house, made her way to the bathroom, with fairly good accuracy. She was surprised by the house-keeping. It wasn't as messy as she would have expected to find from a teen boy living alone. Even in the bathroom, it was cleaner than she'd thought. The girl changed quickly, from her shorts and t-shirt into a pair of black leggings and a light blue sports bra. It wasn't a lot, but she was actually proud of the way her young body looked in the outfit. She had a very mature and grown body for her age. She'd sprouted up during the summer, and become a looker almost overnight. Her hips were slightly flared and womanly, and her breasts were full and firm. Even her flat stomach was gently lined from her work-outs. Without bothering with any kind of other top, the girl walked out, letting her mid-back length hair down. "Did you get cleaned up?" She asked before she even got into the kitchen. She supposed that it was more of an alert of her joining him again. There was only one bathroom, and he was intending to get a shower at least, from all the day's workout. He thought he'd just wash up right after the girl is done. As she exited the kitchen, he steered himself aimlessly around the kitchen, trying to find something to keep him busy in the meantime. The oven eventually caught his attention. He bent down, hands on his knees, as he watched the dough gradually expand. It wasn't the most fun thing to do, but when someone is idle, they will probably find stuffs like this amusing. Perhaps it's psychological, but for some reason, staring at the pizza being heated up in the oven made him felt warm. Besides, all the sweat accumulated from the football practice earlier made him felt uncomfortable. He removed his jersey, slinging it around his neck, as he airs his firm, broad athletic torso, which consist of a set of well-defined abs. It felt as if barely a minute or two has passed, as he heard the girl's voice coming from just outside the kitchen." You sure seemed like you've been to my place countless time before. That was quick! You didn't even ask for directions. " He spoke, his eyes still enthusiastically staring through the glass panel of the oven as she entered the kitchen. He eventually got back up to his feet, turning towards her as he felt her coming near. The initial sight of the young cheerleader revealing a surprising amount of flesh startled him bit. He wasn't quite expecting that at all. But he wasn't going to complain. His eyes naturally steered its attention at her petite curvaceous figure, scanning at the fine details of her hips, her waistline, her stomach and eventually the young yet surprisingly full bust. It probably looked like he was overdoing it, and was rude to do so." Sorry. Err rm... well. I intended to clean up after you. " He managed to blurt out after an interval of silence between her question, which he spent most of them time gazing at her. Leigh was surprised by the look of the man when she made her way into the kitchen. She hadn't expected to see him without the shirt, though, didn't she come out just like that? Well, she had a bra on... His gaze made her hold her breath. It was clear he was enjoying the sight, he didn't demand she dress, that was for sure. "My house is a lot like this... Though a bit bigger..." She said quietly, blushing. She'd prefer his little house to her mother's husbands big one." Well... Don't let me keep you." She offered to him, smiling at him. "I'll be here to watch the pizza while you are cleaning up." She promised him. " Right, I need a shower badly. " He got back up on his feet and headed for the stairs, lightly brushing past her as he squeezed through the exit where she was standing at." Make sure it doesn't burn. I placed a lot of effort on the crust! " Was his voice coming from the second floor, as it echoed along the corridors and down to the ground level. It took him a little longer than she took, as he gathered a fresh set of clothes - A white V-neck T-shirt and a pair of blue surf shorts. He took a brief 5-minute shower, which was shorter than he used to. It's just probably because he knew there is a guest around, and he didn't really want to spend too much time standing under the warm showers, though he'd have loved to. He eventually finished washing up, heading down the steps with his towel still wrapped around his neck, moving towards the kitchen. " I suppose our feast should be ready, huh? " It seemed like only two minutes before the man came down the stairs that the girl decided that the pizza was done. She pulled it out, barely thinking. She was so used to having her 'Overgone' that she just reached into the oven for the pizza stone, and quickly yanked her hand out. The back of her elbow hit the door, and she swore, reaching her free hand to gently rub the skin there. After a second of rubbing her arm and hand, the girl grabbed an oven mitt and pulled the pizza out. When it was put nicely on the oven, she went to the sink to sooth her burnt flesh. She was in the middle of that when he came down." It's all ready." She told him, looking up and flashing a smile. " Great! " He was grinning as he entered the kitchen. First, delighted at the sight of the pipping hot pizza. Then he noticed the girl placing her arm under the running tap, which seemed a little unusually." Is something wrong? " He spoke, gradually walking over to the side of her, curious to see what she is exactly up to. He then noticed the slight red patch on her skin. " Ouch. You haven't been careful, have you? " He turned around, moving over to the first aid kit that is fixed to the wall. He gathered a couple of gauze, a bandage and a bottle of ointment, before coming back to her." C'mon, I'll get you patched up. " His one hand pressed lightly against her lower back, guiding her out of the kitchen, directing her to the living room. He moved her over to the leather couch, settling her down then sat down beside her. He rested her hands on his left thigh, using it as an arm rest, as he began steering the medication over the gaze, softly brushing it against the burnt patch, making sure it spreads across the width of it, before eventually pressing it down firmly but with caution. Furthermore, he completed the fix by tearing the bandage into a smaller portion, before wrapping it around her hand." Hope that will help. " He winced his lips, signalling that's the best he can do. " I guess I'll need to have to watch over you the next time you're in the kitchen again. " He smiled softly, teasing her. Leigh's eyes widened when he noticed her injury, and she opened her mouth to dissuade him. It didn't happen, no words came out as he instantly grabbed what was needed to bandage her up. As he sat her on the couch and started doctoring her burns, the girl was all wide-eyed and in awe. No one had ever nursed a wound. Not even when she was little. She'd learned to do all of that herself. Her mother was too self-absorbed. When he showed the best that he could do, it was better than she'd ever got before. She could only smile at him softly before looking down at her hand. "I guess I got distracted, a bit too much." She explained softly, looking away from him so that she wouldn't give her own shock away." Thanks." She said, blushing as she looked at her hand. "I appreciate..." This time, she raised her eyes to look at the kitchen doorway. "So, how about that pizza?" " I'll go get it. " He got up to his feet, and headed for the kitchen. He disappeared briefly from sight, his voice then coming from behind the walls" The pizza needs to be eaten for all I care after all the trouble we've been through. "He appeared, with the pizza on a plate on his hands. He settled himself beside her once again, then placing the plate onto the glass table in front." So, now that your hand is not in the best of shape to function, I suppose you may need someone to feed you? " He gave a cheeky smile, as he reached for a slice, lifting it up as he poked the edge of it against her lips. Leigh watched him get up and was stunned once more. Someone actually going to help with the kitchen stuff. This was all way too weird. She was going to have to find out about this man. It was all too strange. When he came back, and teased her about feeding her, she just shook her head. Until he was poking the pizza at her lips. She couldn't help the laugh that escaped. "Stop that." She said, though she did open her mouth to take a small bite of the pizza, before reaching for it. "I can feed myself." She said with a soft laugh. "You eat." She told him, taking another bite of the pizza." Mmm. It's good." She said with a nod." So... Aaron." The girl bit her lip as she looked to the side at him. "Why the sudden interest in me?" She asked. He helped himself with another piece once she took over the first and got a large chunk off it on the first bite. He was definitely very hungry. A clock that looked like a bird nest situated at a corner of his living room hit 9 o'clock, as an artificial bird pop out from it and chirp briefly. It was all a little weird, and probably a source of wet blanket as the night just barely started." Well. I don't know. It feels as if I've known you for ages. I'm enjoying every minute of the time spent with you so far. " His voice trailed off, as he realized that he probably might have been a little too rush and straight with his confession. After all, they have only spent barely a few hours together. He looked embarrassed, for the first time, which was unusual because he has always been a figure of confidence. But he knows what comes out from his mouth is already out. Not knowing how to continue, he basically muttered out" . Hmm. Yeah. " Leigh frowned and a bit into the pizza as she listened to him speak. It was strange to think that it was already so late. She knew she'd have to get home eventually, but she was in no rush. She didn't want to deal with her mother's husband." Yeah, it has seen like we've known each other for a while." She agreed, smiling over at him. "I'm having a good time, too." She confessed. "Never would have thought that I'd have made dinner with the captain of the football team." She added, hoping to lighten the mood. "Sure do hope the other girls don't try to kill me when they find out." She added, laughing softly. " Oh they probably would. " He replied," Believe it or not, you're the first girl that stepped into this house. Talk about honor. " He gave her a playful wink. He was beginning to relax already, sitting back, resting his back against the couch. His body instinctively and subconsciously shifted itself closer to her in such a way that his entire left side - his hand, his hips, his thigh - is resting firmly against hers. Somehow, he is already beginning to yearn for more physical contact with the freshman. He couldn't help but moving his right hand down to her waist after thrusting the remaining piece of pizza into his mouth, giving it a swift poke. Leigh laughed and shrugged. "I just won't spread word around." She figured as she looked to the side at him. The freshman was still a bit nervous around him, but she was a lot more relaxed than she was with just about anyone in the school. It was nice. When he poked her waist, the girl jumped and looked at him. "What's that for?" She asked with a smile. Looking at him, she couldn't help appreciating what she saw. But she didn't say anything about that, or stare for very long." So... I suppose I should get back home." She said, biting her lip nervously. "Someone might worry about... Eventually." She said reluctantly. She wasn't going to add that the one to worry about her would be her mother's husband, and it wouldn't be totally wanted. " Oh. Yeah. " That was all he could reply. He was obviously reluctant. But he should have seen this coming sooner or later." I guess I'll. See you tomorrow in school then. " He paused, as the living room went completely silent for a couple of seconds. " Do you want me to walk you back home or something? Just so to be sure that you reach back home safe and sound. Its kind of late, you know. " That was his last attempt to try to just maybe, spend that little bit more time with her. Leigh nodded and flashed him a smile. "I will look forward to seeing you tomorrow." She said as she stood up slowly. She wasn't really in a rush to leave, she wanted to stay with him. But, she knew that she couldn't. "You aren't going to ignore me come tomorrow? Are you?" She asked, only half teasing him." No, I think it would be best if I went home by myself." She told him, worried. "It's not far from here." She assured him. " Of course not, silly. " He could feel that she needed a slight bit of assurance coming from her partially serious tone. He instinctively moved over towards her and grabbed one of her hands lightly, leaning down to equal her height, and planted a soft peck against her cheek. He slowly withdrew, giving her a smile. " Good night, Heaven. It's Friday tomorrow. Probably we can hang out somewhere, if you're free after school. " He certainly wasn't going to ignore her from now on. He knows it clear himself that she has gotten him smittened to her already. Leigh smiled at his words and nodded, blushing softly. When his lips touched her cheek, the girl looked at him in shock, and then smiled again." Alright. I am always free, after cheerleading." She added with a soft laugh. "Bye, Aaron. Goodnight." She said, before heading out of the door. Once at home, the girl was smart and quick enough to dodge her step-father, and hurry to her room. After a quick shower, she climbed into bed, thinking about Aaron, and the great dinner with the senior. Leigh has always been on his mind the moment after she stepped out of his place. Nothing felt as toxic as this before. Sure he has got a few crushes before, but they weren't causing as much butterflies in the stomach as the one he is experience at this very moment. This was different. And there is something about the girl -though he can't quite figure out himself-that keeps making him come back for more. It felt strange that the girl, younger than any of his previous crushes, was able to make him, a senior, the captain of the football team, feel so vulnerable and weak in the knees." This is terrifying. " He muttered to himself, on the bed, his hands behind his head, staring blankly into the ceiling. He eventually fell asleep.---------------------------------------------------------------------His phone alarm rang the next morning as usual, waking him up from his slumber. He carried out the usual morning routine, dressing up before heading for school. It didn't take long before he arrived at the campus. His eyes naturally scanned his surroundings, hoping he'll be able to catch a glimpse Leigh, somewhere. Morning came, and brought the girl another quiet wake up. She didn't have the pounding on her door, someone yelling that breakfast was almost done, or that she'd be late for school. Her step-father would be waiting for her down in the kitchen, a paper in front of him, with coffee set just right. Her mother would be in her room, sleeping through another hang-over... After dressing in a pair of tight, low hanging jeans and a soft blue tank top, the girl slid into her heels, since she didn't have practice that night and wanted to look good. She brushed her hair up, tied a ribbon in it, put on some light make-up and grabbed her books. She thought she looked a lot more mature with the make-up. Like. Maybe someone that Aaron would like to be seen with. In the kitchen, the older man thought she looked mature too, and didn't wait to tell her. He offered to take her out. Dinner and a movie, 'a real date' he called it. Of course, she declined, telling him she'd already made plans with some of the girls on the squad. She lied of course. The man took out his wallet and gave her money, money that she didn't want to take. She wasn't his sugar-baby. That was her mother's title... She left quickly, and when she got to school, she was more than grateful for the atmosphere. She even looked around for Aaron while she put her things in her locker. He couldn't quite spot Leigh anywhere. A couple of his buddies stop and gathered around, conversing while they still have the chance to before class begins in about 10 minutes. He wasn't paying much attention to his boys, though. He spent most of the time looking out for the girl." Yo dude, you're extremely distracted today. You all good? " Ryan, one of his mates elbowed him." Oh, yeah I'm fine. " Hecertainlylook disappointed about something to the guys. " You know what, I'll catch up with you guys later yeah? " With that, he made his way towards the main corridors.- Where is she. - He's beginning to think that she has probably fallen ill or something. He was about to resign himself to that belief until he noticed a somewhat familiar figure by the lockers. He wasn't exactly sure who she was until he got closer. Furthermore, he was then stuck in awe. Furthermore, he moved over to the side of her, leaning against the lockers." Wow, Leigh. You look. Different today. " Came the familiar voice from the side. His eyes indulge in a period of gaze. A number of guys and girls who are around nearby started gossiping as they noticed the Football Captain conversing with the new girl. " You look. Beautiful. " His voice was softer this time round, as he spoke with his eyes fixed on a gaze at her. He eventually shook himself out of it, turning his attention back to his primary objective of the approach. " You're drawing so much attention from the other boys already. I hope that doesn't mean I will lose my date to another guy, who might probably approach you anytime soon after I leave. " He semi-teased. He was glad she made the effort to look this good on this very day, but he couldn't help feeling a little green. Which guy wouldn't be jealous if they were standing in his shoes? But nevertheless, he wouldn't allow such silly emotions get the better of him. Leigh heard the people talking about her, she even had two older guys and one in her own grade come up to ask her out. The girl wasn't surprised to see so many people coming to her. She knew that she looked good, but the only one that she had interest in was not there yet. When she heard his voice, the girl could only smile. "That's only because you haven't seen me on days without practice." She said, laughing softly to herself. Turning, the girl smiled at him. "Thank you." She said quietly, pushing her hair out of her face." I've already had four offers today." She told him, smiling. "I hope that you can live up to the hype." She teased him. "I've had to turn away three potential dates, and a free dinner." She smiled again. "But, I think you are more than worth it." " Well then. I guess I'm going to have to put in a lot more effort just to make sure I secure my spot at the top of your list. " His sentence was completed with a cheeky grin." So. What time will your classes end today, Angel from Heaven? " He is certainly becoming more liberal with the way he addresses and flirt with her as each time she dropped a hint - Verbal or physical, obvious or subtle -, it encouraged him to be even bolder with his initiations." And is there anything in particular that you might wish to go or do later on? Or should the man be in-charge of all the plans? " His smile naturally lasted throughout the conversation. Leigh laughed and nodded. "You really should. They are like swarms today." She teased him, shaking her head lightly, like it wasn't something that she was used to. She was used to it with boys her own age, but older ones... It was all new." Actually, it should end around... 2:15?" She said, looking up, and then sighing. She didn't like school too much, but it could be worse, so there was no reason to complain. Realizing what he'd called her, the girl blushed and looked back at him shyly. "Angel from Heaven? Are you going to throw my name around some way or another?" She asked, teasing him slightly. She kind of liked it." I'm open to anything. So... I'll let the man be in-charge of all the plans." She told him, smiling back. He leaned in closer the whispered into her ears" Well. The names will probably get evenmushieras time passes. " He teased softly." 2.15 hmm? Well that leave us with almost twice the amount of time as yesterday. I guess I'll meet you at the main gates at 2.30? " He smiled at her. As the bell rang, his body instinctively leaned down, planting a brief, soft kiss on her forehead. Everything seemed to be going a little too fast, his affection and such. But for some unknown reasons, he just felt extremely settled and comfortable with her. " So. See ya later. "It is only when he then realized he'd just kissed a girl whom he has just fallen for the day before. He crossed his fingers, hoping that she didn't felt awkward from it. In fact, he secretly wished that she is into him as much as he is into her. Leigh nodded, smiling at his teasing. "Careful, Aaron, I can get pretty mushy as well." She warned him, teasing as well." Yeah, 2:30 sounds like a good idea. Have you come up with an idea for what we are going to..." But, the bell rang and she stopped talking. She frowned as he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "Bye." She said, more than a little shocked that he had kissed her forehead. Was the next step her lips? She certainly hoped so. Walking to class, the girl thought about Aaron, and what it would be like for him to kiss her. And she sighed as she thought about that, dreamed about that. He hardly paid much attention in class through the course of the day. He was too busy brainstorming about where he'd want to bring Leigh to after school, and what they are going to do. Time flies as the bell rang at the 2.15 mark. All the brain work made it seemed as if he had spent barely an hour on his desk pondering. He got up from his desk and swiftly headed for the exits, to the main gates, anxious to meet the sweet young thing that has successfully poisoned him in love. Leigh spent her day switching her attentions from daydreaming about Aaron and the date, and actually paying attention in class. How she was able to manage even thinking was beyond her, but she was, and it was thankful, as she had a big test scheduled already. Come two-fifteen, the girl was ready to go. She was anxious to be with the senior that had made her so nervous. When she got to the gates, the girl smiled when she saw him, already there waiting for her. "Hi." She offered with a teasing smile. "Waiting long?" " I almost thought you may not to turn up. " He smirked, exaggerating bit. " C'mon let's go. " He grabbed her wrist, guiding her towards his intended direction." I hope the nature doesn't bore you. " He turned to her and spoke, as he hints the girl of where he intends to bring her. " I wanted to settle for things like movies and such initially, but I thought they might be a little unoriginal, especially when I intend to make this day very special. " Leigh smiled when her wrist was grabbed, and she opened her mouth to make a comment, but she stopped. It might not be appropriate to say something slightly sexual. Keeping her mouth shut, the girl just followed after him, listening to him talking about nature." Special?" She asked with a playful smile. "So, this is going to be something more than just a little date?" She asked, giggling softly. "Where are we going? A nature walk?" She asked. "I like nature, don't worry." She offered. " Yeah, special. " He smiled and didn't intend on elaborating further." Well. Not exactly nature walk. We have enough vigorous exercise from yesterday's training already, I suppose. It'll be better if we just settle down somewhere serene. He guided her off the main road, taking a detour into a dirt path located at a corner, which looks set to lead to the outskirts of town. He bashed through the bushes along the way, leading her into the wilderness. The fact that he is actually clearing the path hints that hardly anyone ever ventured into this area. The walk didn't take long, as they arrived at an abandoned pier, which faces directly into the open sea. The entire atmosphere felt different. Behind the long stretch of beach is the forest that they came from. And there was no form of urbanization in sight. It felt as if they were stranded in some sort of foreign exotic island in the middle of the ocean. The only prominent sound were the leaves rustling from the strong winds going stronger by the minute, and the waves gushing against the sands. At the meantime, the sky began to darken, hinting that it is probably going to rain in bit." Amazing, isn't it? This is the region that the local council sealed off. We're considered 'criminals' now for trespassing into this region. " Leigh laughed. "I don't know about you, old man." She said to tease him. "But I'm young and can handle quite a bit of vigorous activity." She was just having a good time teasing him. The girl followed him through the woods, wondering where they were going. She didn't say much, just watched as everything went by. She took in the view, and the sounds. Then, they were on a pier. She was in awe of this little bit. She hadn't been expecting that at all."wow." She said quietly, pushing her hair back, which pushed the ribbon from her hair. "This is beautiful..." She laughed when he said that they were criminals, and found it very entertaining." Are we going to be on the run from the law now?" She asked teasingly. "It's thrilling." She said that part sincerely, enjoying the entire thing. He couldn't help but laugh when she exclaimed that her youth grants her more strength than his. And being a guy, his mind by nature, mischievously wandered off when the younger girl mentioned she could handle 'quite a bit of vigorous activity.'" You're going to need to watch your vocabulary, Angel . Or they wouldn't go down quite right for a girl by the name of Heavenly." He grinned cheekily. As the exchange of tease gets bolder, he no longer bothers much to restrict the words from his thoughts." And since you doubt my strength. " He paused, playfully getting behind her, pulling the girl backwards softly, his athletic chest pressed against her back, his strong arms firmly wrapped around her lower body, making sure she couldn't escape from his grips, while his fingers mercilessly tickled both sides of her waist. " . Try running from this then. " He spoke and grinned. Leigh laughed and shook her head. "Is your head in the gutter constantly?" She asked him, looking closely at him while she was teasing him. But then, she turned her back to look at the water again. That was her mistake, she realised when she felt his arms wrap around her and him pull. She gave a startled cry and laugh, before he started to tickle her. The girl was small, short, light. So, when she started thrashing, her legs didn't come near the floor. "Hey hey hey!" She said, laughing and squirming." This isn't fair. How am I supposed to get... Down!" She said, laughing loudly. " Well. You can try to convince me to. " He replied with a grin. At the same time, the faint sound of thunder can be heard from a distance, as the rain eventually starts to pour. The shower wasn't too heavy, nor was it drizzling lightly. It is just moderates, just right. It didn't take long before his plain white T and denim jeans got completely drenched up by the rain. Her mindless thrashing movements proved a little too much for him to handle after sometime, as he fell back against the sands, bringing her down along with him. His chest however, was able to cushion her comfortably from the impact." Owwwwie. " He groaned softly, though not very much affected by it as the moist sand acts as a buffer on him. His hands relief its firm grips, but were still resting against both sides of her waist. "How. Could I do that?" Leigh asked, laughing as she wiggled. When the rain hit, the girl gave a soft cry and covered her head, though it wasn't exactly successful. When they fell, Leigh laughed and looked around. They were on the sand, and she was still laying with her back against his chest. The rain had made her shirt stick to her body, emphasizing her body maybe a bit more than the sports bra she'd worn that day. His groan brought her around, to look at him. The move brought her chest around to his, where she could look down at him. "Are you all right?" She asked. The rain made her hair fall on either side of their faces, and actually made everything more intimate. " Ah. I'm fine. " His voice went softer than before as she turned around. He could feel her young blossoms resting against his firmer chest which in turn, caused him to gulp softly. He eyes softens, gazing at her face at point-blank range for the first time. All this intimacy made his breath go slower, but harder. He slowly lifted his hands, running his fingers gently against her hair streaks, combing them. He helps pushed one side of her fringe to the back of her ears, before softly pinching her chin with his two fingers, guiding it down closer to his lips, before planting a kiss on her lips. Furthermore, he didn't release, his mouth pressed on firm, his tongue mischievously slitting through the little opening of her mouth, cunningly glittering its way into her territory, his tongue reaching to hers before playing with it. Leigh looked over the man's face, and his neck. She was a bit worried about him, before he told her that he was fine. She could feel his breathing change and that caused her to be far more aware of him. When she felt his hands move into her hair, the girl eyed him closer, taking in the very look of him. Then, she felt him pull her to him and she groaned. The kiss she went into willingly, her mouth molding with his as her hands moved to steady her body over him. She opened up for him, pressing her tongue to his, letting it dance in his mouth. Leigh had been kissed before, a few times, but this was a lot better than what she had experienced in the past. The kiss felt amazing, and he didn't wish to break it. His one hand glided down to her body, pressing against her waist softly, further securing her in place on top of him. He idle hand then naturally slid past her shirt, his larger manly hands began brushing against her skin, feeling the curves off her waistline, causing her shirt to be lifted in the process to her mid-chest level. His fingers threaded ticklishly further up against one side of her body, before stopping short just below her young globes. He kneaded his thumb against the circumference of her blossoms softly and playfully, but was cautious not to proceed any further, for now, as he waited to see if she was all comfortable with it. His kisses meanwhile got more passionate about the seconds, his mouth going wider, his smooches, more intense. His tongue by now, liberally glittering, brushing against hers. His other free hand brushed its way down from her hair, gliding along the length of her back, feeling the smooth gradient of the arch, before finally resting on her hips on the other unattended side of her body, softly, but firmly gripping her in place. Leigh sighed into the kiss, enjoying the feeling of his hands moving over her body. This wasn't the usual feeling of a boy groping at her, it was soft, and comfortable. The girl responded instantly to the touch, moving her body to press tighter to his. He didn't actually touch her, which she would be glad for later, her first time shouldn't be in the rain on a beach. It was nice, but she wanted a little more thought into it. So, she didn't push for more touching as he kissed her more. She kissed him back, opening to the kiss, if not so much to going further than where they were. Her mouth moved with his, her tongue dancing with his. He considered going bolder with his hand movements, but somehow, he didn't continue to pursue. She was too precious. At least, he didn't wish to put her in any sort of dilemma. And he was actually surprised he managed to hold back. He felt proud of himself. He eventually moved his thumb towards her chin lightly, pressing it lightly, breaking the kiss gently.". That's all that you'll get for now. " He whispered softly while she remained closely leaned to him, teasing her as he knows he has given her just enough, to let her get a glimpse of how it is like to get intimate with him, and what he has to offer, yet short enough to perhaps, keep her wanting more. Leigh was starting to get lost even further into the kiss. She was so into the kiss, that she barely noticed his hand moving from her ribs, or his hand going to her chin. She groaned when he broke the kiss, and found, for the first time ever, she was the one that had lost control."Oh, yeah?" She asked, pushing herself up. "Just another little treat from you?" She teased him gently, moving to sit astride him. She did want more, but she wasn't going to act like it. Furthermore, she was going to be the cool little tease that she had been so often before. Rain continued to shower her, making her more aware of where they were. "We shouldn't stick around here long, should we?" She asked with a small smile. " Oh yeah. The weekends have barely begun, and you wouldn't want to fall sick. " He dusted some bits of the wet sands off from him, getting up to his feet, while reaching out his hand and grabbed on the girl's smaller palm, helping her up on her feet along as well. His hands continued to hold on her little ones, as it is becoming a little bit of a natural habit for him to make sure that the girl is close to him at all times when she is around with him. " Do you wanna head somewhere indoors and perhaps mashup or something? Or do you wish to stay under the rain for bit longer? " He asked, while guiding her towards the forest, seeking shelter under the canopy. Leigh let the man pull her up, and then she went to brush her hand over her own hips. "I think we should head to shelter." She said, looking around. "I have a terrible immune system." She explained, wrinkling her nose cutely." Though... I don't have any other clothes to wear. Do you have any shirts at your house that would help cover me while my clothes dry?" She asked, following him toward the forest. " I have loads of shirts. Its just, they are all a little too big for you. But heck, I'd love to see you dressed up in some over-sized T-shirt. I bet you'll look cute in them." He grinned, as he guides her along the dirt path where they entered from. They got out of the forest in no time. He guided her to a steep grassy slope which look almost impossible to climb and stopped. He then turned to her, and without giving her time to anticipate his move, he lifted her petite body in his arms to the front of him, letting her rest her body on his chest." I'm lazy. And I'm just going to take the shortcut. My place is located just at the top of this so. Hold on tight. " He started working his way up the tiny hill. He was moving at a slow, constant speed, his feet cautiously digging holes to set up the foundation on each of his step before taking each leap. He eventually managed to reach the peak with much effort. Furthermore, he was panting slightly at the end, slowly letting the girl down on her feet. His legs looked shaky for bit." Well, you're definitely heavier than what I expected. " He teased, before guiding her along the familiar road bent, then reaching his place. He opened the door to this house, before turning to her," Ladies first. " He smiled. Leigh winked at Aaron as he leads them through the forest. Of course, she'd look cute in an over-sized T-shirt. And she figured that maybe she'd give him a nice little view. The girl gave a startled gasp as she was lifted to his chest, and she instantly wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "You are just showing off because I called you old." She accused, letting him carry her up. "Don't hurt yourself." She warned about halfway up when she could feel him starting to shake." Oh..." She playfully slapped his arm. "If you don't like the way my body is, don't touch." She advised, still teasing him. She was hoping to make him cringe at the very thought of not touching her. Inside the house, the girl smiled. "Great." She turned to him. "How about that shirt?" She asked. "I will just change in whatever room you want me to." He did indeed cringe at the thought of not being able to touch the girl when she teasingly threatens to deprive him off something he probably couldn't live without for the days, months and probably, years ahead." Nope! I like your body just the way it is. It's perfect! " He was quick to address the issue, which moments later, began to regret doing it, as he cursed himself quietly for revealing his weakness so easily to the girl. He could only pray now that she isn't as evil to abuse that weakness to her advantage." Well, the shirts are all in the cabinet in my room. " He spoke while closing the door behind. " And since my clothes are in my room as well, should I. Join you as well? " He grinned cheekily, as his teasings went up a notch. Leigh laughed softly when he told her that he liked her body just fine. She knew then that she hadn't lost all the control when they were kissing. It gave her plenty of ideas to keep the attractive senior from going too far." You can join me." She said with a smile as she ran her fingers through her hair. "And get me the shirt, and then I will go ahead and change in the bathroom." She offered, smiling innocently up at him. "Wouldn't want to harm either of our morals." She said, walking toward his room and laughing softly to herself. He couldn't be more amused at the girl's cunningest and cheekiness. He never felt so defeated before to a girl, needless to say, Leigh, who is a few years younger than him. Furthermore, he one of the campus most confident and popular boy and yet, he felt like he couldn't quite control this girl despite putting his best effort to blind her with his charm. It is kind ofannoyshim. And yet, her haughtiness is ironically a factor that draws him to her. He frowned when she managed to rebuttal his tease. He didn't see that coming. But he was determined to make sure he has a fair share of power this'power struggle' between the two of them." Here you go. " He opened his cabinet, allowing her to browse through his collection of shirts. " Take your pick, Princess. " Leigh smiled as she looked at the collection of shirts. She was going to just reach for a normal t-shirt, until she saw the oxford shirt. It was perfect for her. Her hand struck out, and she brought it to her quickly. "I'll meet you in the living room when you are done then, I guess." She said slightly cheerfully as she turned and hurried from the room. The white oxford shirt went over her bra-less body when she was in the bathroom. She'd pealed off all but her soft white underwear, and had slipped into the shirt. She left the first five buttons from the top undone, so that he could easily see that she wasn't wearing a bra. After hanging up her jeans and shirt over the shower, she left the bathroom and made her way to the living room. Aaron finished changing up first. The moment she closed the bathroom door, he removed his shirt and jeans, hanging them by a cloth hanger. He removed his brief as well since it is all wet, and it felt uncomfortable, tossing it into the laundry bucket. He got himself a sleeveless white top, and a basketball shorts. Furthermore, he didn't bother putting on a new underwear beneath since he has always been used to not wearing it at home. Besides, the silky fabric of the basketball shorts that he always wear at home felt way more comfortable. Of course, this leave a certain part of his body more vulnerable and obvious, in the event something get its attention. He rested against the couch, arms spread apart as he slumped against the bouncy couch lazily. It didn't take long before he sees Leigh making her way down the stairs. His mouth hang open for bit as he noticed the girl left the five buttons undone, mix emotions welling up himself him. HehatedLeigh for being so mean. He knew she was definitely dressing herself up like that on purpose. He tried hard to pretend as if he isn't quite affected, or even noticing her. But his eyes just couldn't stop betraying him, as it attempts to steal bits of glances sometimes." Well, you certainly took quite sometime to change. " He couldn't think of anything better to say. His mind was still in a bit of a mess. Leigh smiled at the boy who was looking at her like he needed to see more and more. It was definitely thrilling to know that he liked what he saw. Still, she knew that if she wasn't careful, he'd get tired of her teasing. So, she planned for the little skin show to be the last of the teasing." Sorry. I wanted to make sure that my clothes would dry without wrinkling." She told him, taking a seat beside him. "So..." She thought of something to say, suddenly feeling like she'd put herself out of her league. "What's next on this big date?" Was all that she could think to say to him. " Oh. So I see you're expecting something more, hmm? " He grinned at the opportunity as the girl finally played her cards wrongly. He leaned towards the Leigh, his entire body just inches away from her. His eyes soften once more, the gaze that exactly resembles the one he had earlier on her at the beach. His threaded a finger against her cheeks, softly tracing it along the circumferences of her face. The touch was soft and sensuous. His finger eventually traced its way to her lips, playing with it softly. His face leaned close, the tip of his nose pressing against hers, his heavy breath gushed gently against her face. His one hand began brushing his fingers through her hair before reaching to the back of her head, pushing her head nearer to his. His lips are barely an inch away from her, as he prepares to give Leigh a kiss after all the initial build up. Leigh laughed softly and shrugged. "I suppose..." She said quietly, when he leaned toward her. She smiled at the closeness of him, wondering what he was going to do. Well, she knew what he was going to do, but she didn't know how far he would go. When his lips were so close to hers, the girl bit her lip and angled her head. She wanted to kiss him again, but inexperience made her shy. He was teasing her, and she liked it, though she wished that he would stop already. Seeing her head naturally steering up towards him as she anticipates the kiss, he leaned in to give her what she desired. His lips pressed down firmly against hers. He noticed the way she looked when he was teasing her. She wasgenuinelyinto it. He didn't have the heart to disappoint her and decides to just let the young angel win the game of control. He broke the kiss, whispering into her ears. " Your needs are more important than anything else, my dear" He then turned her around, resting her back against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. He gradually tilts his head down, his lips began leaving soft pecks and nibbles along the length of her sensitive neck. His hands meanwhile, glided down to the bottom, softly brushing against her inner thighs, the T-shirt being slowly lifted in the process, as his hands went deeper. Leigh fell into the kiss nicely. She found her arms lifting so that her hands could press against his shoulders, pulling him slightly closer to her. When he broke the kiss, the girl groaned and licked her lips, her eyes opening slightly. "Oh yeah?" She said as he turned her around. "What are you..." She started when he wrapped his arms around her waist and let his hand move over her thighs. The kisses and nibbles on her neck had her tilting her head to give him better access. "What are your plans?" She asked him when she could speak. " I don't exactly either. What do you think our plans for the night should be.? "He spoke softly. His hands gradually began gliding its way up from the bottom, the tips of his two fingers took the shape of a'scissor man', playfully walking it along her sensitive inner thighs, running up further and further, before stopping short an inch away from the most private region of all. His hands held both sides of her waist beneath the shirt, slowly sliding up, his hands indulging, feeling the curves of her body. His hands skipped her chest, sliding its way to her shoulders, kneading on them firmly, massaging the length of it." Must be tired, are you? " He broke the kisses and nibbles, speaking softly once more, before moving his head to the other unattended side of her neck, leaving little bites in patches. Leigh smiled slightly at his words and shrugged. No one had ever touched her where he was, sliding his hand up her thigh. She wanted to feel more, but at the same time didn't. She was young, and more than a little scared by the thought. But, she was also a woman, and intrigued, and curious, and... Wanting. His hand stopped and then moved up. She wondered what he would touch, but found him only caressing her skin. The shirt slid up, and she was only half thankful that she had put on underwear. His hands found her shoulders and she gave a soft moan at the massage. "Maybe a little. But that being tired doesn't work for a good date." She commented softly, her lips barely parting as his lips found the other side of her neck. His hands eventually went down after easing her tensed muscles, fingers threading down to her upper chest, exploring the region previously indentured before. His hands finally hand in contact with her young breasts, cupping them softly. He was slightly amazed at how full it felt despite her tender age. His hands began massaging her blossoms in circles, fondling them. He guessed this might probably be the first time she has ever gotten so this intimate with a guy, and decides to go delicate on her. His fingers found her pink nips, his tip playfully brushed to and fro against it, occasionally leaving soft pinches as he does, pulling them a little, teasing her. Leigh found a moan coming from her lips when the hands finally found their way to her breasts. Her head fell back onto his shoulder as her back arched a little. She hadn't been expecting him to touch her like he was, so boldly, but she liked it. He was right, it was the first time anyone had touched her. That made her nervous, self-conscious, and less inhibited. How was she supposed to hold herself back, anyway? Another moan from the girl, when his fingers pinched and rubbed against her. His head made its way down from her neck to her shoulders, leaving soft pecks along the length of it. He used his lips as a massage mechanism, pressuring against her shoulder muscles moderately in a chewing motion. His one hand remained at her blossoms, as he takes turns to fondle, to squeeze them. He occasionally attempted to play with her globes with his single, but relatively large hands. His other hand glided out, reaching to the top of her shirt, tugging against the rim of the fabric, stretching the collar, pulling both ends of it down to each side of her arms, making the shirt act almost like a tube top, the stretched collar acting as a light form of restrain, keeping Leigh's hands clipped close to her body. He pulled the shirt down just enough to allow her young orbs perk out from the tight confines of the'tube top', as the sight of his other hand playing liberally with her chest emerged in front of her. As the shirt gets pulled down, her bottom gets covered more, the lower portion of the shirt acting like a form of skirt for her. He glided his other free hand to the bottom, glittering underneath, his fingers pressing its way up before eventually feeling the cotton panty strap. He began brushing the length of his fingers back and forth against the fabric, which acts as the only thin piece of obstacles between him and her womanhood. Leigh gasped as her shirt was pulled down and her arms pinned. It was tantalizing, finding herself without any control. She always had the control, but right then, the sexy older man that was kissing her neck and touching her had left her without any control. She found herself wanting him more than she had. The girl couldn't stop herself from moaning as his one hand continued to feel her breasts, having freed them from the shirt, and his other hand moved between her legs. The legs spread wider, wanting to feel more of his finger. She was letting herself fall completely to him, letting him take her where she never would have thought she would go so quickly with someone. Aaron was getting aroused at the sight of the girl indulging in his touches. The sound of her moans drove him wild, and encouraged him to give her even more. He creeped backwards slowly and taking Leigh along with him, inch by inch, not wanting to break the momentum he is building on her body. His body eventually reached the far end of the couch, resting against the arm rest. He allowed her to just lie back against his chest, while wrapping her in between his legs. His fingers mischievously slit its way pass the cotton panty strap, his fingertips cautiously treading against the edges of her slit, teasing the circumference of her womanhood. He eventually locked his fingers against her sensitive region, his thumb and pinkie pressing down lightly against her lower belly, acting as a fulcrum, while his remaining three fingers experimented with her slit - the middle finger periodically slid into her pussy partially, in slow thrusting and withdrawal motion, while the other two fingers massaged both sides of her outer lips." Are you coping well with it.? " He whispered into Leigh's ears softly, teasing her. The girl couldn't help but moan as she found herself laying back with the man. Her legs had already parted for his searching fingers, and so, when she was laid down, she was spread slightly for him. The second his finger entered her, the girl jumped and moaned loudly." Ye... Yeah." She said at his question, her back arching slightly. "That feels good." She told him. Aaron smiled softly to himself as he watched the girl get lost in his touches. His hands briefly withdrew from her, turning its attention to her shirt, pulling it over her head and off from her body, leaving her nubile body frame almost totally exposed, her cotton panty served as the only fabric left on her young figure. His hand then made its way down to his pants, the sound of the belt unbuckling can be heard as it clings softly. A warm, large, throbbing sensation pressed against her covered butt cheeks as his pants lowered to his ankles. Aaron began bucking his hips to and fro softly, the sensation stiffens, growing harder and bigger by the seconds. His hands continued to attend to her blossoms, fondling and harassing them, while his lips continuously nibble, leaving playful suction bites along the length of her neck, as he attempts to engulf her whole body in pleasure. Without her shirt, in only her panties, Leigh would usually feel exposed. But, her breasts were quickly covered by those large hands for a second, making her forget that she was so exposed. Then, she heard the clicking of the belt, and felt the press of his erection against her bottom. The girl could only groan. Her breasts were covered again, her neck lavished with attention as he continued to move his hips against her bottom. It was new, all of it, but it was so thrilling. Aaron gradually flipped the girl lightly to the sides, as he moved himself on top of the girl, his chest resting on hers, his forehead pressing against hers." . You're looking really gorgeous tonight, Leigh. "His voice whispered into her ears. His head moving southwards, his mouth pressing against her young orbs, leaving playful smooches on both sides of her breast, alternating. Occasionally, he would leave suckles on her pink nips, nibbling on them softly, while his hands continue to harass and squeeze her blossoms, bulging them up for his mouth to work on easy. Leigh smiled at the compliment and ran her hands through his hair. "You look fantastic as well." She told him. When his mouth came to her breasts, the girl gave a startled moan, looking down in amazement. That felt better than she would have imagined. Her arms moved around his shoulders and she held his head. She gasped at the feeling, her legs wrapping around his waist to keep him there. Seeing the little angel indulging in his treatment on her sensitive body encouraged him to go on further. He slid down further, before pressing his lips down against the cotton panty strap. He nibbled against the fabric, He playfully brushed the tip of his nose against the fabric strap, before eventually nibbling on it, dragging it down to her mid-thigh, leaving it there. His tongue began sliding out from its shell, glittering into the girl's inner territory. The pink mold twisted and twirled within the tight confines, furiously teasingly the sensitive inner muscles. The tip of his tongue stretching deep to reach her G-spot, as it began teasing and licking around the circumference of it in circles, before grinding his tongue against the pussy walls on every withdrawal. His tongue then threaded mischievously against her outer slit, the tip of it ticklishly tracing against the rim of her lips, licking briefly, before thrusting its way back into her tightness. The whole process eventually turned into a pattern, making sure the entire region of her virgin womanhood gets attended to. Leigh moaned loudly when the man began to nibble and kiss at her most sensitive area. She groaned and lifted her hips. When his tongue moved inside of her, the girl gasped and lifted herself to feel him better." Ah. Aaron." She moaned, her hand moving down to thread in his hair. The sound of his belt lightly unbuckling can be heard, but away from the girl's sight. His tongue ended the raid with a few licks off the length of her slit, before he slid his body on top of hers, pressing down firmly, their bodies functioning against the smooth surface of the other. Aaron brushed the length of his manhood against the young woman's slit, letting her get a feel of his size." Feels, heavenly?" He teased her softly, before his lips start leaving soft pecks on her cheeks. Leigh moaned and lifted her hips at the last strokes of his tongue, and she spread her legs a little further. She bit her lip and arched her back, wanting more of him when he left her. The girl slowly opened her eyes to watch him as he moved up her needy and sensitive body. She gasped at the feel of his length moving over her innocent entrance. He felt so big to her. She wasn't sure it would even fit."Oh, yes." She said, smirking at his use of her name. "Don't tease me right now, Aaron." She warned him. " And, why not? "His soft voice came with slight muffles, as his lips busily worked against the length of her neck, his tongue sticking out, the tip of it running along the length of the sensitive skin, teasing her with playful licks. His two strong hands meanwhile, held on each side of her waist, pressing down as he firms her petite frame in place. The tip of his large dickhead eventually finding its way into her young, innocent, virgin womanhood." Mammal. "He groaned softly, feeling his sensitive head being pressured by the girl's inner walls. "You're definitely heaven-sent" he teased softly.[*P. S : Sorry I took so long to reply. Been occupied for the last month!]

Campus Sweethearts ( Wolfyyy and Sweet Angel Jocelyn )|rating:3.0

Brave (ClockworkSoul & RogueLady)

The light that poured from the halogen lamp relentlessly beat down from the upper right corner of the room like a luminescent waterfall. Attached to a metal articulated arm, the lamp’s purpose was to illuminate every possible nook and cranny of the body, to banish away shadows that might hide some festering cause from a physician’s watchful gaze. The light glared brightly off the metal of the sink across the room, burned and fell flat against the dull off-white plastic wrapped around every corner and piece of furniture. The room was utterly devoid of life by purpose. The sterility was frightening. I hate doctor offices; the words poured forth like water through a brook haphazardly picking its way past stones in a headlong rush towards oblivion. The young man shielded his eyes from the glare of the light. He winced in pain at the intensity; only to have his flinch met with the flare of the sink’s reflective surface. What’s taking him so long? He swore the minute hand of the clock, stark, eggshell and standard issue to every professional institution, mounted upon the sterile and eggshell wall, had frozen in place, even ticked backwards. It quivered, as though to taunt him, and he busied himself with his feet as he absently rubbed the cotton of his socks against each other and found some measure of relief in the warmth from the friction. He impatiently bounced on his seat; he hated doctor offices. The doctor finally arrived in what seemed to be an eternity. The young man forced a smile to his face, one that failed to touch the corner of his eyes. He smiled through his teeth at the doctor, teeth that glowed balefully under the harsh white light. Clean bill of health doc? The doctor seemed nonplussed as he looked over the charts attached to his clipboard. He did not immediately respond to the charge, his dark eyes somehow lost in the shadows collected under his furrowed brow, a crevice even the light of the damned lamp could not illuminate. The doctor nervously thumbed to and fro through the pages, the dull crinkle counted out the time with the suddenly animated minute hand. Perhaps. Perhaps what, doctor? Perhaps you’re healthy. The doctor looked up from the chart for the first time, and smiled nervously to the young man. He dragged up a chair, the rubber soles scuffed the tiles leaving two dark furrows in their wake. I mean, you’re clear of disease, and it looks like your points of eruption haven’t caused any lasting damage beyond the scars and the lack of sensation. The eruptions? The young man frowned, and closely examined the pale puckered scars, as though someone had stabbed him from the inside out, that randomly marred his otherwise tanned forearms. Those same marks dotted his shoulders, his torso, and his legs. Each scar was leaden in his mind, towing a host of unpleasant memories that the light of the doctor’s comment brought into unwelcome view. So, I’m as healthy as a boy can be who happens to have carbon spurs erupt from random points of his body? His tone was casual, but sounded tinny and small within the confines of the room. Yes. As healthy as you can be. You passed the physical, so the institute should have no problem with you arriving. The physician paused, and fished a pencil from his pocket and began to restlessly tap it against the side of his thigh. His brow was still furrowed, always in thought and his thin lips twisted into a crooked frown as he eyed the young man. Aristophanes, have things improved? Improved? His name humanized him, gave him character that defied his surroundings, and he became more healthful under the light. I guess. I still have the nightmares; I still have the random eruptions at night. Furthermore, I’m eager to get the hell out of here, get some help; I hear the institute has devices that can stop these. He paused, uncomfortably, suddenly unwilling to put his condition into words. Stop these things from happening. Close enough. The doctor gave a wizened nod and brought the pencil up to lay it across the bridge of his nose. I actually have something else, something I’d like to run by you. Of course. The doctor seemed hesitant sparking concern in Aristophanes. He leaned forward, his thick neck craned towards the doctor as his eyes urged the man to speak. I wanted to bring up a concern that a colleague of mine, Doctor Hinkley of the University of Chicago raised. He specializes in cancer research. When you first developed your, ah, peculiarity, I ran your case by him. He studied what I documented, and he’s concerned about a potential danger from cancer in your future. Cancer? From my regenerative ability? He blinked in surprise. He did not derive any particular pleasure that a concern raised from his own cursory studies in biology were being echoed on a professional level. Indeed, at this particular moment he could not imagine anything worse than the musings of the amateur to be cruelly confirmed; like a boy penning some post-apocalyptic drivel only to have the Cuban Missile Crisis headlining the following day. I actually thought about that too. If my cells replicate as quickly as you told me they do, well, that means they’ll do so hundreds of times faster than a normal person. If the theory that genetic mistakes appear every time a cell replicates holds water, then the danger of a cancerous mistake should be higher. Which makes me a high risk. His tone belied his concern. Such a response was typical, much to the chagrin of his parents. I see you paid attention in AP Biology. I received a four on the exam. Not bad. Not good either. I wanted that five. Aristophanes sighed and allowed disappointment to creep in and cloud his concern. Cancer was deadly, but Aristophanes, despite his candied response, was still young, and therefore invincible. He toyed with his hands in his lap, and the savaged skin hanging from his cuticles that stole his attention. Still good. He wants to meet with you. The doctor cocked his head to the side, and cleared his throat to catch Aristophanes’ attention. Perhaps when you’re back in town on summer break? Sure, Doctor Kincaid, sure. Aristophanes’ teeth flashed white against the darkened tan of his face as he gave the physician his humanity. It was a strange game to be played with names. Rob a man of his name, and he becomes nothing more than a statistic, raw numbers to be manipulated and disregarded. Give a man a name and he can become a mountain. Then you’re on your way. Doctor Kincaid returned the smile, and vigorously patted the young man on the leg before he rose from the chair and quickly walked to the door. Be sure to call my office if you have any problems or concerns. He then swept himself out of the room, allowing the door to shut and isolating Aristophanes in whiteout. I hate doctor offices. Clean bill of health? The question greeted Aristophanes as he entered his father’s black Isuzu Trooper. He gave his dad an annoyed look, and then slammed the door shut before busying himself with the seatbelt. Clean enough to let me go. As they drove the silence stretched out uncomfortably, like the glare of the lights through the moisture rimmed windshield of the SUV. They idled below a stoplight, waiting to make a left onto Ogden Avenue due East. Rain droplets bounced off the glass only to be swept away by a screeching pass of the relentless wiper blades. You’re ready for this, right? His father broke the silence first, his richer timbre brushing aside the silence. A note of uncertainty clung to the end of the statement, his dad wanted to say more, but couldn’t. Of course, I am. Aristophanes appreciated the concern, but didn’t let that cloud the annoyance that crept into his tone. I’ve saved plenty of money, my car is running fine, I’m all packed up. I’m ready for this. He ticked off the physical necessities. That’s not what I’m talking about. His dad pressed. Aristophanes squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. He flicked the seat warmer to automatic to banish the chill that crept up his back. I need to get out of here Dad. If they can help, I need to go there, learn how to get things back to normal. His voice was strained. He hated these conversations, and wished he could sink deep into the fake leather of the car seat, into some dark hole and pull a flap over the top to hide from the green light that clicked on above them. I understand. His dad pandered to him, gave him the answer that he wanted to hear, the answer that would allow the painful silence to once again distend itself from the roof of the car to blanket the two of them. He glanced at his father out of the corner of his eye, and caught a glimpse of the pain that lurked behind his dark hazel eyes. He took note of the worry lines that collected in the corner of his lips, and the expanding desolation between brow and hairline that had only worsened in the past year since his condition had first manifested. A lifetime of concerned conversations lingered behind the tortured eyes, Aristophanes knew it, and he knew they would never be aired by the noxious constraints that tied both their hands. We love you. I know. We will always love you. I know. Both of them wished they had spoken those words. Aristophanes dreamed of pain and darkness again. His thoughts came to him as though he was submerged in turgid water, and his arms flowed through it with an aching lack of alacrity. Images and sounds flashed by in his half dazed state, and he gritted his teeth in frustration. He could distantly tell that it was brick that his hand caught as it slammed against the wall of the narrow corridor. An alleyway, ahead was a dumpster, it must be an alleyway. He should have gasped for air, but he was dreaming, his breath came fine. Below him were puddles reflecting moonlight, they didn’t make a splash as he fell into them, the disassociation queer in his mind as he failed to link it to the dream. He could not hear the puddle’s splash, he heard sobbing behind him. A great angry crowd, red and demonic with rage, surged down the narrow alley towards him. He heard sobbing behind him. He forced himself to his feet, and his vision swam as the angry crowd poured forth like a tidal wave of grotesque and contorted faces; a patchwork quilt of incoherent anger from a thousand schoolyard and playing field memories. He held his arms out to his sides, and cried out as the spurs erupted from his shoulders, sides, and forearms. Gore and tattered strips of flesh clung to the sharpened ends, his own, he felt the tremendous pain that vanished a second later, a banished memory. The wave crashed down upon him, and drowned him in truculent water. He was suffocating, and struggled to hold back the waters that the faces had become. He strained mightily against the weight, he felt his spurs pierce the waters but never felt the water part to accept it. Furthermore, he knew he could not reach the sobbing and break the tide. He failed. He heard screaming behind him. The scream ripped free of his throat, and joined the tortured cries of his bed’s springs as extended spurs worked themselves through the mattress and into the floorboard below. The metallic hiss grated against his ears, and his eyes flew open in panic and sought out answers across the cracked plaster of the ceiling, which momentarily resembled the howling visages that haunted his nightmare. Each desperate twist of his arms tore deeper into his mattress, and blood soaked cotton clung to his body as he rolled free and fell with a heavy thump on his hands and knees. He yelped as the spurs retracted, and felt his skin tightening around the gaping wounds left in their wake. Blood pooled on the ground beneath him and the pale rug grew dark with crimson like a gory oil slick in the silver shafts of moonlight that worked through the blinds that covered his window and masked him from the midnight sky. His arms burned with fatigue, and he fell to his side before rolling onto his back. He dully registered the warm orange glow that seeped in from below his bedroom door. A moment later he was blinded by the light as his door was flung open and his mother, father, and sister stormed into the room. Jesus Christ! Are you okay Arms? What happened? Nightmares again? Aristophanes! Are you okay? His eyes burned as they searched the inverted halo of shadows that spun around his head like an angry cloud of insects. His left leg hurt, back of his thigh, for a moment he thought he had severed a muscle. He could feel the rug stick to his back, his blood acting as the adhesive. He forced himself to his side, and threw up. His sister had helped him wash the sheets and scrub the wooden floorboards. His palms became angry and raw. There was still a stain to the side of the warped remains of his bed. The stain formed an irregular circle of permanent crimson, surrounded by the dull red of previous nights. His parents had waved off his offer of a tarp, perhaps now they would reconsider when he’d visit. The church was dark, a throw-back to the 13th century constructed in the 1950s. Thin slits for windows, derived from some classic architectural scheme, allowed anemic shafts of light to pierce the otherwise undisturbed gloom of the building. Five decades of incense had left a permanent cloud clinging to the ceiling. The cloud was cloyingly sweet yet calming. The service passed as a blur, the harmonic tones of the priest and choir working together to create a beautiful service with the guttural voices of the chanters providing the underlying beat. Service was ancient, and for a moment the suits of the men morphed into the tunics of yore, five hundred desperate peasants singing praises and waiting for salvation. His stomach rumbled low, and reminded Aristophanes that he had fasted properly and thereby asserted his right to wait in the long line for communion. His father went first, bowed his head. The Servant of God. Elias. The Servant of God Elias receives the Body and Blood of Christ for forgiveness of sins and eternal life. His father graciously accepted the spoon, crossed himself three times and collected his bread. Aristophanes hesitated, and the priest, Father Theodore, elderly and kind, beckoned him near with a flourish of his withered arm. Rich robes, lined with gold glittered in the low light of the church. The Servant of God. Aristophanes could not find his voice. The Servant of God Aristophanes receives the Body and Blood of Christ for forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Aristophanes accepted the wine, it was clotted with crumbs of broken bread. Father Theodore broke with routine, and leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. Aristophanes’ eyes watered for a moment. He did not speak, but bowed his head in thanks. He’d seen the home video of a younger Father Theodore dunking his plump and naked body into the oil-enriched water of the baptismal fountain. No words were necessary. He accepted his bread, and lodged it firmly against his cheek to worry it with his molars. The crumbs lasted him through the Litany of the Deceased, and quieted the rumble of his stomach. He felt weight lifted from his shoulders, and calmed visibly beneath the hopeful eyes of his father. You’ll be sure to call us when you arrive? Of course. You’ll drive safely? Of course Don’t pick up any hitchhikers. Didn’t you once hitchhike to New Orleans from Chicago? That was a different time. Of course. Give us a hug. Aristophanes embraced both of his parents and his younger sister. He then slipped into the seat of his battered blue Ford Escort, and thrummed the engine to life. I promise I’ll call. Talk to you soon. Goodbye. He could still taste the wine in the corner of his mouth as he pulled out of the driveway and began his journey to the institute. “C’mon, you can’t tell me where you go to school?”“Nope, it’s a secret.”“You’re no James Bond.”“Apparently you’re no Barbara Walters.”“Fine.” The girl sniffed with faux irritation, a motion that crinkled her delicate nose just right. The delicate nose was set in an equally delicate face, with high cheekbones, a narrow jaw that tapered off into a soft point and the skin of a porcelain doll. Her face was like a heart, typically framed by dirty blond hair currently pulled into a severe ponytail. Her petite and fragile figure was a deception, a wicked ruse, like a military diversion on D-Day. Furthermore, her accent suggested that she was of country stock, and those suspicions were proven as she hoisted up two crates filled with heavy charger plates with little difficulty.“I think those are the last of the chargers,” the young man nodded to the three crates stacked in the corner. With a steady hour of labor the pair had stripped the room clean. The barren burgundy floor stood in sharp contrast to the baroque ceilings, painted in the vibrant golds and reds typical of banquet halls.“Good. Load them up in the elevator, and I’ll lower you down to the kitchen.” She called over her shoulder before she unceremoniously dropped the two crates onto a third one with a grunt. She ground the plastic side to side until the crates snapped into place.“Gotcha Serena.” The young man crouched, grabbed hold of the bottom crates handles, and pressed his legs into the motion as he hoisted the three crates of chargers. The heavy plates pressed tightly against his fingers and tested the thick calluses built up through years of effort.“Had to show me up, huh, Arms?” She accused.“Serena, you’re like what, half my weight? Wet?” Aristophanes flashed the girl a lopsided grin as he walked past her and into the elevator, “I think I know why I’m one of the few guys that breaks down with you, you’re stronger than the rest of them.”“Damn right, and I could whup your ass to.” Serena declared as she pulled the lateral steel gate shut behind Aristophanes, “So don’t go runnin’ your mouth and tempting me.”“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Aristophanes ground the crates down into the plastic until they snapped into place, then turned around and grabbed hold of the gate with his long and scarred fingers, “Why do I always get the shit job of making sure things don’t fall over while the elevator goes down?”“Because I’m claustrophobic, now enjoy the ‘mystical journey’ Arms.” She mimed quotation marks with her fingers for emphasis. Aristophanes rolled his eyes. The elevator started with a jolt, then unsteadily wined down the shaft into the darkness that loomed below. He hated the elevator, light above, light below, Stygian blackness between. He swore he heard rats some evenings. As the darkness enveloped him from head to tow he reached out and instinctively ran his hands over the tops of each stack of crates to make certain their gentle sway was held in check. Once his investigation was complete he finished drawing his button down tuxedo shirt, tucked into the back of his nice, though now stained thanks to an unsteady patron’s hand and a glass of wine, pants. He wore a tight white long sleeved shirt. It grew hot, particularly during the more hectic periods of a catered meal. Serena and most of the other caterers opted for tank tops or short-sleeved shirts, an option Aristophanes would have greatly preferred. His shirt concealed things, however, much as the darkness of the shaft benefited the rats he heard scampering along the corridor searching for chunks of food rattled off the elevator floor. The reemergence of light burned his eyes, and he squinted against the sunspot glare off the window of the kitchen basement window. Behind the glare, haloed by the blinding light, he could vaguely make out the silhouette of Serena’s head.“It’s not that bad Arms, Christ you’re a whiner.” She teased as she wrenched the door open on rusty hinges. Despite the immaculate image presented to banquet hall guests, the elevator and the catering basement of the kitchen both were due for major repairs. At times Aristophanes and Serena were the only two employees capable of opening the elevator gate. He chose note to linger on the grime that crept out between the ill-set brown tile.“That’s that,” He declared as he stepped out of the elevator past Serena, “morning crew can unload the damned elevator, it’s late enough as is.”“Agreed.” Serena bounced into step alongside him. The pair made their way down the hall and into the locker room area. Plain gray lockers, dented with peeling paint that revealed discolored metal below hung from every available flat surface, including several jury-rigged to a load bearing column. Brown wooden benches, arranged like the letter C, were the only furniture.“Big plans tonight Serena?” Aristophanes asked as pulled open his locker. He never bothered with a lock. His belongings weren’t worth the trouble of taking them, as far as he was concerned. Serena was busy clicking the wheel of her lock, “HRM, oh, not really. I figure I’ll just head home and crash, I’ve gotten boring in my old age. Seems like the only person I’m ever around is you and the rest of the gang”“Right, old age.” Aristophanes snickered as he eased himself into his faded green winter coat, “Gosh Serena, when I get to by your age, if I ever make it long, will I be as tired as you are all the time. I really need to know, since, like, it’s coming up in what, five months for me?”“Shut up Arms,” she stopped fiddling with her lock long enough to swing around and plant her fist firmly into his shoulder, “Like I said, I can whup your ass.”“I never doubted it,” he flashed her a grin over his shoulder. Her punch had a sting to it; out of respect he gingerly applied his fingertips to his shoulder.“What about you then, huh?” The lock clicked open, and she tore it off the locker with a vengeance, “I hate this damned thing,” she murmured.”HRM, probably just head back to campus, study for a bit, then crash.” Aristophanes admitted to a social calendar as lackluster as hers.“A pair of old fuddy-duddy’s are we Arms.” She chortled as she pulled a royal blue fleece on over her head, “what a couple we’d make.”“He-he, yeah, Christ we’re boring.” The hint had liftoff, clear over his head and out into the void of space. Serena paused, and stared at the duffle bag she had just opened to retrieve her keys. Fine lines creased across her forehead, and her cheeks burned pale pink in frustration, “Yeah, yeah we are Arms.” A touch of luster fled her tone. She sighed and pulled her keys out of the bag and zipped it shut.“Are you okay Serena?” He frowned as he closed his locket and jammed his hands into the pockets of his coat.“Yeah, don’t worry about it, you putz, just don’t worry about it.” Serena murmured as she hoisted the bag onto her shoulder and spun on one heel to face Aristophanes. She forced a small smile to her face.“Alright. Hey, I’m going to hit the John, you want to wait up for me, so I can escort you to your car?”“Back to our conversation Arms, James Bond, you are not.” Her eyes flashed dangerously as she jabbed a finger square into his chest, “And my white knight, you are not. Have a good evening Arms, I’ll see you on Monday.”“Ye-yeah?” Aristophanes mumbled in her wake. He stood alone and confused in the middle of the locker room for a long moment, “I guess that means she can take care of herself?” He spoke to himself, the only person who would bother listening. He used the restroom, and washed his hands. As he worked the cheap soap deep into his palms to clean away the grease that had deposited itself over the course of the evenings meal, he stared at his reflection in the mirror.“Are you an idiot?” He didn’t like his reflection’s answer. The lights flickered off behind him, he was the last person to leave the banquet hall, not that he was trusted with a key of course. The metal door slammed shut behind him and automatically locked, leaving him stranded at the edge of the poorly lit parking lot. He walked out into an island of anemic fluorescent light, and fumbled in his pocket for his keys. He failed to hear the footsteps. The first punch caught him in the side, and spun him around. The second slammed home in his stomach, and knocked the wind from him forcing him to double over. The third shot, a knee to his chin, snapped his head back, and into the heavy sack of coins that slapped him down hard against the cold blacktop. His vision swam; darkness ebbed and flowed on the periphery. He gurgled pathetically.************************************************************************“Wake up.”“Wake up!” Water interrupted the darkness and melted it away in great peals of white-hot magma that cascaded from his eyes and pooled deep in the base of his mind. He flopped like a dying fish as he struggled for air to fill his tortured lungs. The magma roiled and bubbled as he moved, and fresh eruptions of sheer agony tore through his skull and crushed his temples. Blood rushed through his veins and crowded out his eyesight in a great red surge. He willed himself still, until his suffering subsided into a vivid background painted entirely in crimsons against a pure white canvass. He felt cold steel against his chest; his chest was bare, it had to be. Slivers of wood dug into his back. He leaned forward, and felt the pressure of the chains on his chest force him back against the wood. His tongue felt thick and swollen, and he tasted rich copper as he forced himself to swallow the thick fluid that filled his mouth. His blood was brackish and cold. He wheezed out past his teeth as he slowly extended a bare foot, and felt the heel scrape across warped wooden floorboards. His leg felt as bare as his chest. His head still ached ferociously, still he dared to crack open his eyes and take light of his situation. He became dimly aware of the shadows that crept across his limited field of vision; wherever he was, it was mercifully dark. He stared hard at the floor, until he could make out the individual knots that warped its gnarled length. Furthermore, he traced his vision up along his leg and confirmed his earlier assessment; he was naked. A glint of silver from around his neck caught his eye. He forced himself to look up, and challenge the shadows. He’s awake. The sibilant voice echoed throughout the darkness of the room, emanating from everywhere and nowhere all at once. Good. The flare of light stung brilliantly as the match hissed into the life. For a moment the decrepit walls of the small room were cast into light, then the match faded down to a dull burn and Stygian shadows danced down from the ceiling again. The match weaved through the air like a conductor’s baton. Aristophanes eyed it oddly, until he realized it was being worked into a small gas lantern. It took several attempts, but the lantern was lit, and the shadows fled in the wake of the light that poured out through the glass of the instrument. The light cast harshly upon the young, angular features of the three young man gathered around the small table the lamp sat upon. Their eyes were inky pools of darkness, open to the voice of the endless universe and rendered the young man unrecognizable to Aristophanes’ strained perception.Instead, he looked to the walls. Wallpaper hung from water damaged plaster in great tattered waves like dried corn husks. The door was beat in, duct tape had sealed off the worst of the hulls. The building was abandoned. Except for the three men with eyes of oblivion. One of the young men stalked closer and dropped to one knee in front of Aristophanes. Here, closer, in spite of the ebony halo cast about his head, he was recognizable. The short hair, the beady hateful eyes. Grant Wallace. A hail of fists was the only response he received. He dug his chin down into his chest, terrified and in pain he sought to burrow into himself to flee the onslaught. The two young men joined in, and beat down upon the back of his head, his shoulders, his arms and his legs. Aristophanes howled with anger and pain. Why? Why him? How could they do this? How do we define a human being I think that’s ultimately the question that this argument seems to be naturally drawn to. That’s a different debate. But it’s the central debate, isn’t it? Central to what? To every major argument about life that’s been had in the past three hundred years; how do we define human life? Elaborate. The man stirred from behind the dull black desk, secured in place against the wall with silver screws now tarnished with age and caustic chemicals. The laboratory served many functions as evidenced by the contents of the glass cabinets that lined the walls. Beakers, animal remains kept suspended in formaldehyde. It was a monument to science, captured and coldly studied on expressionless black tables bolted to the walls. The class stirred and writhed into life at the exchange like a snake uncoiling from hibernation. Desks, scattered across the room, wailed against the cream tile as they were twisted slightly in place. Well, Bartholomew de la Casas, hundreds of years ago, wrote his letters back to Spain about whether the Native Americans had souls to be saved. That’s where the modern world begins. Oh, that’s the birth of modernity? Of course! What frames modernity more than the earnest discussion and expansion of human being? The moment he began that argument, with himself, to convince the crown that Native Americans might have souls, he was extending humanity to a group previously denied that title. This was a first. Every culture regarded itself as humanity, with everyone else, something else. Never before had an earnest attempt been made to take people from outside the tribe, the nation, the region, and include them. Interesting point. How does this relate to our discussion on abortion? Because it’s all about humanity, and how we define it. If we grant human being status to the embryo, then all the discussion about rights over bodies is instantly trumped, by the cold recognition of humanity that renders the life of that embryo sacred. I see where you’re going with this. Excellent point. Yeah, but how are you going to assign humanity? How can you be certain? The voice of challenge came from its typical source. Like clockwork from the young man’s right. I don’t think it needs to be a positive, I think the positive assignment of humanity was won long ago by people far greater than me. I think the reverse now stands; now you have to defend the denial of humanity. Look at Singer with animals, look at the sweep of civil rights, or the rights of the handicapped! So what defines humanity? Genetics? I think so, I think it has to. But it just can’t be 23 chromosomes; look at people missing one, or with an extra chromosome. Do we deny someone with Down’s Syndrome humanity because they don’t genetically match the chromosome count for humanity? No. Of course not. What about mutants? What about them? They aren’t genetically Homo sapiens. They’re something else entirely; even scientists are saying that. Furthermore, they’re as many humans as Homo Neanderthals would be considered human. I didn’t think about that. What rights do we guarantee to mutants if they aren’t human? I don’t know, I guess maybe we need to expand the scope of humanity, to include mutants? Why? A simple question, that hung in the air like a noxious fog and crossed eyes deep in thought. Why grant mutants humanity? Why swing the door wide open, when so many had so difficult a time accepting each other? Why risk it? What happens if we deny mutants their humanity? What do we risk? Fucking freak! Fucking mutant! Agonizing consciousness exploded back across his mind like lightning over windswept plains. His eyes fluttered open, and he wilted against the light of the lantern that struck with the force of a sledgehammer. He mewled pitifully, and curled his legs up tightly against his chest as a shield against the menacing rise of shadows that rose up in great demonic shades. He turned away. Furthermore, he turned away from the darkness and sought the floor below. The chains rasped and ground and held him against the wooden pillar to his back. He felt a kick against his midsection. Pain blossomed like a rose, but the ribs held. Take off that fucking chain! Fucking freak! Take off that fucking chain. Hands like claws tore and ripped at the skin at the base of his neck until they found purchase on the silver chain. They bent the clasp and tore the chain and the attached crucifix free. Nooooooo! The wail sounded pathetic and small as the crucifix danced in the light. He felt it stir from deep within, like a million ants suddenly roused from their nest in his stomach. The clawed, bit and burrowed free of his flesh and bubbled just below his skin. He screamed as the spurs erupted from his flesh. The wooden pillar shuddered beneath the impact and splintered as the edge worked its way deep into the wood. The scarred and rotted floor buckled beneath the force and recoiled away like the three shadows that lingered above. Holy shit! What the fuck happened! His vision ran red again, and he weakly slumped forward only to be propped up by a pair of spurs extended from the front of his shoulders. The chains that should have held him lied broken beside him, warped and twisted as his limps upon the ruddy stained floor. Help me. I can’t do this on my own. But if I help you, you’ll never figure out how to do it properly. His father’s voice was always warm, even when stern. It was a voice of love and of life, and the promise of both so long as that voice remained a protective canopy under which he could grow and thrive. He sat frustrated at the kitchen table, his small, pudgy fingers awkward as they attempted to manipulate the plastic of the model dolphin, the snap the two halves of the animal into place. But, but Dad! C’mon, you can do this! I’ll do the rest! Dad simply shook his head, and purposefully flicked his wrists and unfurled the newspaper he had been swatting against his thigh just a few minutes earlier. I’m right here for advice, you build the model, you bought it after all. Fine! The plastic refused to yield, and snapped beneath his trembling fingers a few minutes later. He cursed, cried and tossed the model onto the table and angrily sulked away from the kitchen and into the living room. Golden sunlight of the weekend summer morning seeped in through the windowpanes and cast warmth across the tan carpet. He cast himself upon the carpet broken and angry, and pounded his palms raw and red into the fabric as he hid his tear stained face against the warmth. A few minutes later he could hear Dad’s voice, and he slowly picked himself up a returned to the kitchen. The model was on the table, whole again, repaired with a delicate application of glue from his kit. Why bother. The stupid thing is just going to break again. He was angry, indolent from his failure. Patient, Aristophanes, patience. All things come in good time. Sit down and be patient, the pieces will fit. He sighed, and forced himself to sit. He felt his father behind him, his dark eyes carefully watched as he picked up the two halves and took note of the small holes and opposite pegs. He blew hot air through his nostrils, and furrowed his brow in concentration. Storm gray eyes squinted against the morning light, and he slowly drew the two halves together. Slowly. Patient Aristophanes, patient. Minutes based. His tiny shoulders quivered with raw fury. He almost smashed the plastic halves together. Slowly. Patient. Click. He dropped the model in surprise, and marveled at the two halves, now made hole. He beamed proudly up to his father who clasped him firmly by his broadened shoulders and tapped blunt fingertips against the tiny spread of his chest. Good job Aristophanes. I told you, you can do this on your own. Just be patient. Your frustration will pass. Patience Aristophanes, patience. Wake up! Fuck you fucking mutant fuck! He was too weak to pull back from the scream. His arms felt like leaden weights, with chains attached to his eyelids. Still he forced his eyes open, against the glare of the lantern he felt small, alone and terrified. The spurs were gone. His body felt better, less bruised, less pained. He stared hard as his stomach, and noted that he looked like he had lost weight. He’d healed, he knew it. Furthermore, he was starving. The sharpest pain of all resided deep in his stomach. We figured you out, freak. Long as you wear this, no spurs, no healing. Crooked yellow teeth in a disgusting moss covered smile. The crucifix was back in place, around his neck, the ends taped together. He was too weak to move against the heavy bicycle chain wrapped around his arms and shoulders. He felt cold steel against his back. A glance revealed a thick pipe they had driven through the rotten wooden floorboards and secured him to. Off the side were the ruined remains of the post they had used before. Your bones won’t fucking break. Fuck you. Fuck that. The switchblade clicked into cold gleaming life, springing from the shadows of the man’s hands like a metallic adder. W-w-why. The word was stammered past lips caked thick with blood as his tongue lazily struggled like a banana slug against the roof of his mouth. Shut the fuck up. I’m sorry Chris. I said shut the fuck up Arms, I don’t want to hear it. You don’t need to apologize. Leaden guilt threatened to collapse his broad shoulders as he stood two arm spans distant from where Chris sat casually against the pitted trunk of an old oak tree. I almost killed you. You give yourself too much credit. You poked three tiny holes in me. I’m fine. It’s not like you knew it was going to happen. I know. But still. But still get over it. I’m three hundred pounds. You’d have to do a lot worse. I can’t, maybe later, not now. Fingers curled into fists deep within the recesses of his relaxed cut jeans. How’s Brian? Better. Not magnanimous, but better. The tone carried a warning. Brian wasn’t to be talked about, not so soon. He heeded the warning. Brian was hurt worse than Chris when the spurs erupted. Last time I try to crash a line. I hope so. Chris frowned as his friends face went ashen. I’m sorry Arms. Really. I didn’t mean it like that. I know. He focused on a small twig that he manipulated into the earth with the sole of his shoe. Talk to Jenny? I don’t want to go there Arms. Good. Then neither do I. So. What now? He wrapped his arms defensively around his chest and strummed his fingertips against the flats of his forearms. I’m going to a special school. Try to keep it from happening again. Good. Thanks. Hey Arms? Yeah. Question. Does it hurt? He could barely feel the pain anymore. The jagged lines just past his cheek, carved into the rotted wooden floor by his torn thumbnail counted ten, ten days he could recall. He was wasting away. He had no mirror, but he saw his ribs protrude like some ghastly reenactment of the work camp discoveries in the twilight of the second world war. He probed his ruined gums and freshly blooded his tongue against the chipped remnants of his teeth. The growl was distant. At first, some labored, angry rasp of a breath that cut through the constant chill of winter that settled in from the broken walls and never left the room even when the distant cast iron oven was lit during visits. But the growl grew louder. Excited. And nearer until he came crashing through the door a foaming mass of wiry limbs, thick corded muscles strained against a plumber pipe neck and a barrel chest and a hideous pushed in snout.Oh, Jesus!. Flecks of saliva rained across his upturned face as the ghostly canines snapped inches from his body. Muscle like piano wire strained taunt against the rusted metal chain links that barely kept the beast at bay. Someone’s hungry.Please, God. Take this breath. Make me the wind. Let me die. (Everything was misty and hazy, like it was being shot through a lens smeared with Vaseline. A young girl with red hair was standing in a beautiful white room, surrounded by the friends and family she loved and missed. Her mother was there, sitting on the chesterfield and smiling warmly. Her father was there as well, with his arms wrapped around her mother. They were both looking at a girl who used to call herself Melody with a kind of acceptance and love that she longed to have. And on the floor, near their feet, baby Ethan played contentedly. He looked up at his parents and babbled in his baby way, snatches of vowel clusters that would soon make up words bubbling forth over grinning lips. But, while she stood in the room with everyone, she felt removed from this scene of domestic bliss. She wanted with all her heart to be able to go over there and wrap her arms around her mother and father, to tell them that she loved them. But she couldn't. Her feet wouldn't move her forward. Her father, upon seeing this dilemma, picked himself up from the couch and made his way over to her. She drew back at first, afraid of what would happen if he touched her, but he just put a hand on her shoulder. "Dad, please don't touch me," she whispered miserably, "you know what happened last time you did. I don't want it to happen again." Melody's father, Zeke, just favored his daughter with a small, forgiving smile and he opened his mouth. "Melody," he began in dulcet tones, "you know that I…")"TOLD YOU TO MOVE YOUR FEC KIN' CAR ALREADY!"" Fuck you, man. This is MY parking spot and I ain't movin' it for a So mun a bitch like you!"" No? You ain't on' move your car, asshole?" There was a crash as though something had been broken and then laughter. "I think you on' move it now. Youare taillight just been busted out." Two men stood arguing near the mouth of an alleyway. Both were red in the face and looked ready to fight, and apparently it was over as something as stupid as a parking space. In the shadows cast by the tall brick buildings on either side, a teenage girl crept closer, wishing to see the disturbance that had awoken her from her dream. She stood near the edge of the alley, her fingers curled around the building to her side, and she peered out. The two men, both young and seemingly volatile, were circling each other and posturing, waiting for the fight to begin. The other passersby did nothing. They continued their way down the sidewalk as if not seeing anything that was going on in front of them. Even after six months on the streets of New York, the teenage girl couldn't get over the callousness that was shown between human beings. Granted, it wasn't her place to say anything, so she usually kept silent. The two men continued to squawk like fighting roosters and the girl, known only on the street as Misery, crept back into the shadows of the alleyway. Her sleep was interrupted, and she knew she wouldn't be able to find her dream again. The dream where her father and mother finally forgave her for what she did. She always kept that small hope alive in her, the hope that she could be absolved of the sins she supposed she committed. But a nasty little voice that she guessed stemmed from her mind liked to smother those hopes.`You really think they're going to forgive you, huh? It doesn't matter that your little brother and your father and dead because of you. It doesn't matter that your mother lost the man that she loved because of you. Like they'd ever let you off the hook, girly. You're just a freak, plain and simple, and you can't ever be around anyone. No one would accept you anyway. Once they knew what you could do, you'd be like a leper. You'd be an outcast. No one loves you… You don't even love yourself…' Misery heard from that voice at least once a day. It popped up every time she contemplated calling home, it called her an idiot and told her to get used to life on the streets. She was going to be there for a long, long, time. And Misery couldn't shut it up. No matter what she tried, it always rang through her mind. So the girl settled herself back on a doorstep, trying to smother the sounds of the fight that had started. It wasn't difficult and Melody soon closed her eyes again, anxious to escape into a dream world. She must have dozed off because she didn't hear the sound of the door opening behind her. A large man stepped out and started distastefully at the sleeping urchin cluttering up his step. "Goddamn street kids," he muttered without a trace of sympathy. "They want' sleep in my doorway, I start chargin' them rent." He shook his head, his jowls wobbling from side to side, and then extended a hand towards the scruff of Misery's neck, intent on throwing her off the step. Her eyes flew open when she felt meaty fingers encase her neck and she screamed shrilly. Not out of fear for her, but because she knew what was going to happen. The large man tried to draw his hand away, but found it was to no avail. He was stuck. Misery, meanwhile, couldn't ever turn around to see who was stupid enough to make skin to skin contact. But when the very air around her seemed to distend, like a bubble, she knew what was happening. Images were whirling by, too fast for her to see when her mind's eye locked on one in particular and willing it to be clearer. She assumed the man she saw in her vision was the man holding onto her neck, a rotund man with a wobbly face and thick, sausage-like lips. He was staring down the barrel of a gun, held by a man who covered his face with pantyhose. The man with the gun was gesticulating wildly, and the rotund man seemed to be pleading. But as with all her visions, there was no sound, so Misery couldn't tell for sure. Everything seemed to slow down in the vision for a split second, and Misery saw the man's finger start to squeeze the trigger. It sped up again, his arm recoiled back as he fired, and the fat man suddenly was missing part of his neck. He fell back; blooding pouring out and Mr. Rotund was clutching at his wound. There was no way to stop the bleeding … the paramedics would get there. But not in time to save the life of Mr. Rotund.Finally, the man let go of Misery, and she fell against the ground, panting and retching. The visions always had that effect upon her. She looked up and saw the same face as in her trance, but it wasn't bloody or pale or terrified. In fact, it simply looked annoyed. It was obvious that the psychic connection she shared was one-sided. He had no idea what was going to happen." Get out of here," he said, glaring down with piggy little eyes. "I don't want to see you on my doorstep again. Got it?" Misery nodded but said nothing. If she opened her mouth, she was afraid she was going to vomit. She just stood up and started down the alley, weaving from side to side. It would only be a matter of time before that man was dead, twenty-four hours at the most. And she would cause it. The energy would leave her, forming into a corporeal doppelgänger of Misery, and it would make sure Mr. Rotund died. In fact, the girl thought blindly, it would probably be the one to pull the trigger. The gunman wouldn't realize this, of course, he would just think that he accidentally squeezed it too hard. But Misery would know what happened. She would know… After walking until the man was out of sight, Misery flew to an old garbage can and threw up. The beginnings of a headache were pounding behind her eyes and she wanted to curl up in the darkest place possible and just sleep for ten hours. However, it was broad daylight, and she had to make due with an old box. She wiggled inside and found she was able to sit comfortable, with her back against the cardboard, which was against the wall. She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, letting her head rest against the wall. And within minutes, Misery was asleep. Anyone who passed by would see just another street kid, looking too skinny and too pale. If they thought about her at all, it would be abstract and judgmental. She was probably some strung out addict, they'd think, probably deserves to be on the street. But no one passed by and Misery was free to sleep, indulging in dreams where she felt safe and loved. The only place, in retrospect, where she felt safe and loved. Two Years Later:Reaper looked in the mirror. She was staring intently at her face; her head was tipped to one side. She was normal looking so she had that advantage over some of the others. Furthermore, she thanked whatever god existed every day that she looked normal. There were no scales or fur or odd, bony protrusions. You could walk by her on the street and never know that she was different. That was exactly what they had wanted, someone who wouldn’t arouse suspicion. A cell phone sitting on an end table buzzed like an angry insect. Reaper looked down at it and waited for it to buzz again. Then a third time. On the fourth buzz she picked it up and placed it against her ear.“Reaper, it’s time.” She said nothing but ended the phone call, grabbed a small purse from the table and left her sparsely decorated apartment. Anyone walking down the hall would have seen a pretty but serious eyed young woman with a grim expression on her face. Red hair fell in loose waves down her back. She never bothered to tie it up. Her boots clicked against the tile floor as she made her way to the elevator. Once inside, she stabbed the button for the first floor and her stomach lurched just slightly at the movement of the car. No noise except the soft sound of her breathing and then the car gave a little bump as it stopped, and the door smoothly slid open. Reaper didn’t slow her pace through the lobby. She had places to go and a limited amount of time in which to get to where she needed to be. She wasn’t even going to bother taking her car. The streets were so congested that it was faster to walk. Besides, the small park wasn’t far from her building. It was one of the reasons she had been chosen for this particular assignment. Reaper slowed her pace just a little and glanced down to the small purse she had slung over her shoulder. Her deft hands dug through it and withdrew a small silver bracelet. It looked unspectacular; the kind of thing someone might pick up in a dollar store or at a cheap tourist outlet. That’s how it was supposed to look, though. Inconspicuous and cheap so it wouldn’t be a target for thieves. The girl slipped the piece of jewelry over her wrist and touched a finger to the side of it. It gave a blue flash, like an LED light, and then appeared normal again. Reaper wasn’t concerned that anyone had seen the flash of light. People were much too concerned with their own lives to worry about what one person was doing. Joining a group of people as a crosswalk, Reaper waited for the light to change before she tripped across the street. This was the street that would take her to the small park where a rally was being held. Growing closer, she could hear the voices amplified by the use of speakers. They were talking about mutants, of course. What else would they talk about? What else was seen as such a threat? Reaper felt her expression go tight. Her face registered almost unreadable neutrality. The people to the left and right of her were clapping and cheering with each word that the man behind the podium was saying.“Why should we cower in fear because of these … freaks? What have normal, god-fearing humans done to deserve such a fate as this? I’ll tell you what we’ve done, we’ve done nothing! These mutants are coming into dangerous powers with a sense of entitlement. They believe that we, the dominant species on the planet, owe them special treatment. I disagree with this! They should be made to conform and adapt to our rules. That’s why I’m fully in support of a Mutant Registration Act. If we know what these,” there was a pause as the right word was found,“creatures can do, then there’s no need to fear them. Any mutant that steps out of line will be dealt with, as will those who refuse to register.” A surge of clapping went up from the crowd, but Reaper just stared at the man behind the podium. He was strutting like a rooster with his hair shaken out of place and a sort of maniacal light in his eyes. His big, meaty fists were pounding at the wooden top of the podium to emphasize each word that he spoke. Reaper narrowed her eyes in disgust but said nothing. She wasn’t there to stir up dissention. She had other orders. The young woman glanced around to see what sort of police presence had been stationed at the park. She had expected at least a few uniformed police officers as rallies like this tended to erupt into violence more often then not. The media always spun it so that the militant mutants were the cause and, to be fair, that was most often the case. There was no law that prevented these rallies from taking place; just as there was no law (yet) that said mutants couldn’t do the same thing. And some did, and they were just as vocal and virulent as the anti-mutant supporters. The man at the podium gestured to a small table beside him. He was inviting people to sign a petition regarding the Mutant Registration Act. If enough signatures were taken, then the government would have to take this seriously and look out for the interests of the humans, the humans who felt so threatened by what was happening. Reaper tipped her chin up and sidled to one side so that she was in line with the rest of the people waiting to sign the document. She had the unpleasant feeling that she was selling out her own kind, but it was the only way to get close to the man at the podium. Warner Devlin was an important figure in the anti-mutant movement, especially locally. He was charismatic, outspoken and seemed to have a genuine concern for the humans who were so scared by what was happening in evolution. Whether his concern was real or an act hadn’t come to light, but it still didn’t prevent people from flocking to him for safety. Even now as people were signing the document, he was shaking their hand and thanking them for taking such a concern for the fate of humanity. The world would be a much better place, he said, if more people cared like they did. Reaper tried very hard not to roll her eyes at this. The line moved slowly as people scrawled their name on the petition and then shook Devlin’s hand, usually with some murmured comment about how they hoped that the act passed and how much safer they’d feel if it did. And Devlin would nod, clasp their hands and echo their sentiments back at them before sending them on their way. Two people to go. One person to go. Reaper touched her bracelet again and kept her hand over it as if flashed red. She picked up the pen and scrawled a name down on the piece of paper. It didn’t matter what name and it certainly wasn’t her real name. Then she looked up at Warner Devlin and offered him a tight smile. She had a part to play at the moment, even if the words she was about to say made her feel ill.“You do so much good for everyone, Mr. Devlin,” Reaper’s voice was pleasantly low, and she extended her hand to his. “The world should thank its lucky stars that it has a man like you.” Devlin smiled a toothy smile and reached out for Reaper’s hand. Their fingers clasped around each others. Skin to skin. “It’s always nice to see young people taking an interest in the future,” he said, and he let his hand linger against hers a moment longer then necessary before she finally pulled away. Reaper had suddenly grown very pale, and she pulled her hand away. Devlin didn’t notice, he was already talking to the next person in line. The girl stumbled down the steps, remembering at the last moment to press the button on her bracelet. Images were swirling around her head, passing almost too quickly for her to see until her mind locked on one and willed it to become clear enough for her to see. It showed a car speeding merrily along a rather dimly lit country road. The scene was very pastoral, with fields on either side of the two-lane street. Reaper couldn’t hear anything. Her visions were always silent, but she imagined that there were cows lowing in the distance. Then it was with some suddenness that a small raccoon darted into the road. The car saw it, but too late, and the person driving had to slam on the breaks and crank the wheel to one side. The force of the stop sent the car out of control and right into a power pole on the side of the road. Still no sound, but the metal crumpled and there was a dim figure inside the vehicle which was tossed like a rag doll. Somehow the seatbelt broke at the point of impact and head was introduced to windshield. Reaper saw the whole thing, the accident, in her minds eye. As soon as the vision ended, her head began to pound, and she was sure she’d be sick. She had to get away from the park before anyone got suspicious of her odd behavior. Most people were too involved in Warner Devlin to bother with the girl, and she used that for her advantage as she slipped from the area and back onto the street. She was trembling violently, but this wasn’t an unknown reaction to her. If she could just make it back to her apartment, she could close all the blinds and sleep. Sleep would make everything better. She hurried along, taking deep breaths. The only bright spot was that by tomorrow night, Warner Devlin would be dead. Relax. Try not to move. The light was blinding, like staring directly into the sun. Great angry dots of molten orange and crimson painted the interior of his eyelids as he flinched away reflexively. His throat convulsed as he gasped for air like sandpaper against sandpaper, raw and rough. You’re going to be okay, as far as I can tell. We’ve been feeding you a steady diet through the saline drip lead in your arm. It’s – quite frankly it’s amazing to watch your body recover as quickly as it is. Rebuilding muscle tissue in days that should be months. The awe in the voice did little to calm the frayed nerves that pounded against his temple. He risked the light a second time, and flinched away, this time more slowly than the first. He flexed his fingers and found coarse cotton, the standard free of hospital beds, draped thinly over his legs up to the base of his chest. He opened his mouth to speak, and dryly rasped until it seemed a great cloud of dust like the opening of an ancient pharaoh’s tomb would come billowing out rather than words. Don’t try to talk. You’re at Presbyterian Hospital, in New York. A small group of hunters found you in a cabin in the Appalachians. It is, to put it bluntly, a miracle that you’re still alive. Family! The word wrenched fresh pain from his throat that ran ragged electricity along his body and spastically stiffened his back against the inferno that it stoked behind his tonsils. He violently shuddered in place and felt two palms press firmly against his shoulders to hold him in place. I said relax! Dammit! You should be dead. By all accounts, you should be dead, I don’t care if you could regrow a severed head by God you should be dead, and your body is coming back to life, but it’s going to take time! He continued his violent, involuntary struggle against the man’s hands until he felt ice water slide into his left arm, just below the wrist. It reached icy creeks down his arms and pooled deep in his belly till it formed a deep blue lake over the hellish pain that had racked his body just moments earlier. As he calmed, he felt the pressure of the hands subside, till he was left alone amidst clouds with nothing but the air to support him. Your family has been here daily. An apartment in the building next store was donated to them until you recover. They’ll be in, in just a few hours. Is time linear? Does past and future exist now, with the present, each so thoroughly intertwined with one another to render them indistinguishable save by the limited perception of man? The time spent in clouds seemed to stretch into an infinity, the past no longer separate from the future, but rather an infinite now, disrupted only by the anxious and distant sound of thinly accented English spoken in an uproarious tone. My son! You will let me see my son! Sir, we don’t know how stable his immune system is ye-My boy! There was a loud clatter and a grunt as someone was shoved roughly against a wall, a poor forewarning to the flurry of words that came pounding through the previous tranquility like a jackhammer on a crisp autumn morning. Aristophanes! My boy! Back from the dead. Oh, my boy! It was a chorus of voices, three joined in seamless unity despite radical differences in timber, united by an underlying desperation. A need for confirmation. He hoarsely rasped unintelligible replies, someone interpreted to the most positive of all possible messages and heeded with many tears and sobbing proclamations of joy. He knew in the abstract, like a disjointed painting of the modernist era, that both his hands were held. But here among the clouds it was as ephemeral as the roar of the wind that kept him afloat. Day and night blended seamlessly here, where the glare of the sun gave way to the cold caress of the starlight. And Aristophanes danced with the moon like a long-lost lover and shivered in the absence of her caress as the silver gleam of the heavens gave way to the Stygian abyss of unconsciousness. And so hours stretched into days, and days stretched into infinity as his body hastily rebuilt itself; a wilted flower planted in fresh soil and permitted to struggle back into glory once more. And Aristophanes knew loneliness as infinity persisted with half-remembered dreams of love and family fleeing the touch of his mind’s fingertips. They caught the men responsible. All three of them. The dog was shot during their capture. They want a trial, they want justice. Who wants justice? The people. Why? Because a tremendous violence has been inflicted. What do they care? Were they not gathered in great crowds just weeks earlier, demanding registration, imprisonment, and experimentation? Now it’s different. How? Now there is a face. Is that all? Sometimes. Yes. So what next? Justice. For whom? You. What justice is there for me? Punishment on the wicked. Will that give me back my life? No. What justice is there for me? Prevention. Perhaps. Then for the people. What for the people? Justice. Justice? You can change the world. With you can come a new awareness. I’m no messiah. What are you? I don’t know.

Brave (ClockworkSoul & RogueLady)|rating:4.0

Ginny_Harry_ The between years (Michi No Sora & Antioch)

As Harry sets the Elder wand in Dumbledore's tomb, he can feel that his friends are all near him. There is one friend out there he wants to be with most, Ginny. He wants so bad to just turn and run to her, but he turns around and looks at all the faces just smiling. He looks down then back up and Voldemort's face pops out at him. Harry wakes up violently, and swings out an arm before realizing it was all a dream. He looked around for Ginny and smiled when he saw her. "I love you Ginny" He whispered and smiled before laying back down to hold her. He was happy that he had defeated Voldemort. He was even happier when he had started his career as an Aurora. Furthermore, he didn't have too much trouble passing the training. Furthermore, he had just asked Ginny to marry him two nights ago giving her the ring that his dad had given his mother, which he had received from Dumbledore's office, after the painting of Dumbledore had told him where to find it. Furthermore, he was so glad that she had said yes that he went to the Weasley household and with Ginny at his side told them all the news, well except for Arthur whom Harry had asked for his daughters hand the day before at the Ministry while at work. The next morning when Harry woke up for work he hoped that Ginny was up as well, he was in need of her company before work. He put on a clean work robe and walked down the stairs. He laid his briefcase on the kitchen table and went to the window to snatch up the Prophet and give the owl the five knots it was waiting for. Furthermore, he then browsed through it while using his magic to make himself a cup of coffee. Furthermore, he noticed that Ginny was mentioned quite a bit in the Harpies game against the Cannons. But that was expected seeing as she was a great player. He began to sip on his coffee when it was ready and wait until time to go to the Ministry. He would most likely use the Flew network to go into work like he usually did. The fighting had been terrible. Not year went by during their schooling that something terrible didn't happen. She'd nearly broken down into tears every time she heard that Harry had been through something. Even after only just meeting him when she was ten, and he was eleven, she was in a wrecked state when she heard what had happened with Quirell. It didn't help matters when her brothers realized she fancied the famous Harry Potter. They'd teased and taunted her till she finally got a boyfriend in her fourth year. It became much easier to talk to Harry after that, though she still liked him. It had broken her heart when, only after a few months of being together, he broke up with her because of Voldemort. Thankfully, they could finally put all that behind them. It had taken five years to get to this point, but Ginny finally felt safe, happy, and no longer feared for Harry's life. In fact, she never even had to worry about where he was or if he was safe. Ginny found herself staying at his flat nearly all the time and her mother had been kind enough to make a a family clock with Harry and hers faces on it and the usual states of being: Home, work, mortal peril, traveling, lost, and hospital. At first, she thought it might be too...too pushy to have such a thing, but when Harry proposed to her, she realized that it was just part of the next step in their lives together. Every Weasley had a family clock. Ginny finished brushing her teeth before heading to the kitchen of their small flat. Her red hair, even darker colored now since it was damp from her shower, was brushed flat over her back as she poured herself some coffee. The witch walked over to her fiancé and leaned over his shoulder, giving him a tender kiss on his cheek, "Did you have a nightmare last night? I felt you moving a lot more than usual. Your scar isn't hurting is it?" she doted on him a bit like a mother before moving onto a new subject, "Oh, the Harpies," she pointed over his shoulder at the article, "Can't really see why they would report on that. It's not like beating the Cannons is a hard thing to do. I don't see why Ron likes them so much. Their Beaters are right gits. Always taking shots at people's heads with their clubs when they think the ref isn't lookin'."" You know, Harry, I've been thinking about taking an early leave from the Harpies. At least till after we've had the wedding," she blushed a little at the thought of walking down the aisle to Harry, "I don't think anyone wants to see a bride with bruises all over her arms or face," her fingers brushed the small bruise on her cheek, which was nothing compared to some of the ones she usually came home with after a match. He was glad they finally got to spend every day together. He remembered the kiss they had shared on his seventeenth birthday, until it was interrupted. Furthermore, he had wanted to give up his search for Voldemort then, but he had to do what was necessary to kill Voldemort. But now the Elder wand was where it belonged, the reviving stone was lost for good, and The invisibility cloak was laying in a box in the top of his closet. So now there would be no one trying to gain absolute power. Hopefully there would be no more dark witches or wizards such as Voldemort. He was glad that his scar didn't hurt him since Voldemort died. He remembered every meeting he ever had with Voldemort, the worst being when the young Tom Riddle had tried to kill Ginny and then when he had killed many of his friends and family. Furthermore, he kept the pictures of his parents in his room, the one of them holding him as a child sitting on his bedside table next to one of Hermione, The whole Dursley Family, and himself. They were all his family, and always would be. Harry turned to kiss her back. "Yeah but you know the scar hasn't bothered me a bit since I defeated Voldemort. And Yes your brother is a little hard-headed when it comes to Quidditch but what can you expect. He still loves you Ginny." Harry smiled up at her. "If that is what you want dear." He told her on the subject of the team and not wanting to be beat up for the wedding. Harry looked at his watch and frowned a bit. "Sorry dear, going to be late for work if I don't get going soon. If you see the family tell them I said hello." He said to her knowing that he will see Arthur and Ron at work. "Oh and if you go to Dragon Alley today please grab me a new cloak, this one is getting a bit tattered." Harry looked out the window missing his owl Hedwig. He would never get used to his new owl, whose name he always forgot. He got up and grabbed something small to eat out of the cabinet and walked into the living room assuming Ginny would follow him into the room to stand in front of the small fireplace. It was inevitable that she would at least see her mother today. She always saw her mother, mostly because she was still technically living at the Burrow. Her room was still there, her bed was still there, most of her possessions were still there, and some of her clothing was still there. But it had been nearly two weeks since she'd slept in her bed at the Burrow and her toothbrush was in Harry's bathroom. It made her feel good to know that within the next few weeks she would be moving in here completely. So far, Harry had been cooperative and uncomplaining about any of her little habits. Likewise, she had not complained about any little habits that he might have had. For the most part, she saw them as cute, though from what she'd heard from most married couples that sometimes those little habits could become annoying. Her father's Muggle obsession for example. Her mother had found it endearing when they were dating, but now it was a source of tension between them. Ginny promised herself not to be like that." I should see them. At least mom. Tell Ron he's a prat for me, a lovable one, but still a prat," she smirked as they got up from the table, and she did indeed follow him to the fireplace. The small pot of Flew Powder sat near it with their slippers. Ginny peeked into the pot, "I'll get Flew Powder while I'm out too. Hermione wants to meet up today. She probably wants to make sure she's Maid of Honor and then give me a scheduling book already filled out," Ginny was only half joking about the scheduling book, "Luna and Lavender are supposed to meet us for lunch," Lavender was over her sore spot about Ron and had become a rather good friend to them. She stood up on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck to kiss him. Ginny knew he wouldn't get in much trouble for being a few minutes late, "Just be safe, Harry," the world was a much safer place these days, but he was training to be an Aurora. That meant he'd eventually see more dark wizards, werewolves, vampires, and other beasts gone nuts, "And have a good day, Love," she stepped back so as not to get singed by the Flew fire. Harry smiled at her and kissed her back. He was happy they would be married soon. "I will tell them both." He said giving her another kiss. He then grabbed a good amount of Flew powder and tossed it down saying "Ministry of Magic." Then he was off to work, once he got there he noticed the two redheads walking out of the fireplace next to him. "Hey Ron, Hey Arthur." He said to them. He had begun to call Arthur by his first name when they became co-workers for the ministry. They all three started walking towards the security desk after greeting each other. "Oh yeah Ron. Ginny said you were a lovable prat. However, that may be." He mentioned to Ron on the elevator ride to the second floor."Yeah, well when you go home tell her she is a little git." He told Harry." I don't think she is." He said smiling. As the elevator stopped and the doors opened Harry and Ron went to the office. Harry noticed an envelope on his desk with the Hogwarts seal. Inside contained a letter from the newest defense against the dark arts teacher, Angelina Johnson. Hello Harry I was wondering, I mean I know you are busy with work but if you wouldn't mind could you try to make it to Hogwarts today? I know its kind of short notice, but I was hoping you could visit with the students, maybe show them your patrons and maybe teach them to make one. Your friend, Angelina Johnson. Harry looked at Ron. "Well pal its just you today. Angelina wants me to come to show the student's some of the old DA stuff." He smiled and went back up to the Lobby where he separated to hogshead. After a quick butter beer at The Three Broomsticks, he walked up to the castle, which he hadn't seen in a few years. Angelina had been Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for two years now. The supposed curse on the position had been lifted with Voldemort's death, but that didn't make it easy to fill. Headmistress McGonagall had a hard time convincing anyone to take it for the first three years after the war, but Angelina finally took over and set the course onto a more steady path. The students would finally get, for the first time since Lupin, a teacher that didn't mind getting their hands dirty and actually teaching them something important. First years were taught the basics and only studied from the book, but from second year on Angelina put them through their paces. As a former DA member and wife of a big fighter in the last battle, she didn't mind getting putting them into dangerous (though still relatively safe) situations." Now settle down everyone," she hushed her class of fourth years. Just the right age for learning to make at least a basic Patrons. She doubted any of them would be able to produce a full body Patrons, but she hoped at least half of them would be able to make the silvery mist, "Can anyone tell me what we studied yesterday?" a girl in the front row said 'Detectors', "Right. Now, who can tell me the easiest way to dispel a Mentor?" the same girl answered the Patrons Charm, "Correct again. The Detectors were once used to guard Azkaban, but thanks to Minister Shackle bolt we no longer have to worry about them being around. After all, a Mentor serves no one. They only follow the person who promises them the most victims. There is no way to kill a Mentor, but they can be held off with a proper Patrons," Angelina, till now, had been sitting behind her desk. She lifted herself up and under her robes was clearly a pregnant belly. She was at least six or more months along and showing greatly. George Weasley and her had been married just over a year, and she was already about to have their first child, "Today, so long as my owl made it in time, we will have a special guest to show us a full body Patrons," the class broke into excited whispers, "Normally, I would have no trouble doing this myself, but the media-witches at St. Mango's think that it might be too much stress on the baby," she smiled with her hand over her stomach." Mr. Abbott, our guest should be here shortly. I'd like for you to go meet him at the school entrance. It's Mr. Potter," more excited whispers as tall student in the back got up and rushed out, happy to meet Harry Potter, "I'll ask all of you to behave. There will be no questions about Voldemort," the name was no longer very taboo, "Dumbledore, Sirius Black, The Trinidad Tournament, or anything other than Detectors. Understand?" they all nodded, but she knew at least one of them would slip up and ask the wrong thing. Ginny watched her soon-to-be husband leave before heading up to their bedroom to get dressed. She threw her cloak on over her simple, Muggle clothing and headed to the fireplace as Harry had done about an hour before. With a fist full of powder, she stepped into the fire, "Dragon Alley," she made sure to say it clearly, knowing the consequences of saying it wrong or mumbled. A moment later she stumbled out of the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron. Ginny gave a small wave to the bar tender before heading out back to the alley. Before looking for Hermione, which she assumed would be in Flourish and Blots, she headed into a clothing shop and got Harry a new cloak. A nice black one. She flushed lightly when she paid for it, still not being used to the fact that Harry had money to spare most of the time. Whenever she could, she still bought things second hand out of habit. She passed her brother's shop, planning to stop there later to buy a new Pygmy Puff since Harry's new owl had taken it upon itself to eat the one she'd had since she was a fifth year at Hogwarts when they forgot to feed it right away in the morning. As expected, she found Hermione in Flourish and Blots and the two headed out for their weekly get-together. They talked and looked around at various things. Though once Luna and Lavender found them, the four headed to the newly re-opened Florian Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor for lunch where Hermione immediately pulled out a planning book with the wedding date already written in and various of things written between then in now for planning the wedding. As Harry approached the huge castle where he had spent six of his teenage years he couldn't help but smile. Hogwarts was still his home and always would be. He was greeted at the door by a student whom he followed to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. "Hello Professor. Looking a little round here aren't we?" he said speaking of the child. "So anyway... I guess I am here to show you guys the best way to repel a Mentor?" He said pulling out his wand. "Now you guys know how to conjure a patrons I assume. Right Professor?" He asked and waved his wand. A Stag patrons erupted out of the tip of it. He had become great at mentally speaking his spells. "Now what incantation should I have used to make my patrons?" He asked the class. He would enjoy today, especially since he wasn't just sitting in the office waiting for another of Voldemort's followers to pop up and be caught. Furthermore, he usually never got out of the office. It also gave him an excuse to go and see Headmistress McGonagall. So as he waited for them to answer his question about the patrons. He looked around and noticed a hand just staying in the air. There was only one hand, Harry was instantly reminded of his best friend Hermione. "Well since it seems you are eager to answer me then go ahead." He said to her smiling. He knew that she must have known the answer, especially since she was a Ravenclaw. Furthermore, he never really remembered that he had not had many defense against the dark arts classes with the Ravenclaw's being in Gryffindor. These days though they seemed to share classes, when the young girl answered his question he smiled again. "Very good. Yes it is Expect Patronum." He said to the whole class. "I can thank George for that. Hopefully Ginny will be able to talk you into waiting a few good years," Angelina smirked before sitting down at her desk again. It was getting harder to stay on her feet. Most of the time she didn't even leave her classroom or office. Even Separating wasn't to be risked by a pregnant witch for fear of accidental splicing. She was the first pregnant professor at Hogwarts in a very long time. The Knight Bus picked her up every day to take her to and from the school. Though that method of transportation wasn't too much better than separating, some would say." Very good, Pepper," Angelina smiled at the Ravenclaw girl, "Can anyone tell Mr. Potter how to summon a Patrons?" before the girl, now known as Pepper could answer, a boy did. Stating that one had to think of a happy thought, "Correct. Now, I want everyone to break into pairs and practice. Mr. Potter and I will walk around and help whoever needs it," she waved her wand and all the desks slid to the sides of the room to give the kids a practice area. Meanwhile, she picked up a paper from her desk and walked back over to Harry, "Can I talk with you for a moment, Harry? I can't say I was completely honest with why I wanted you to come here. I needed to teach them the Patrons Charm, but I also wanted to show you this..." she held out a piece of parchment that read:Petition to Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic:Due to evidence brought forth by Harry Potter through the use of a Pensive, we believe that a portrait of the deceased Severus Snape be placed into the Headmaster/mistress office at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, just as every Headmaster or Mistress before him has been granted. Below that were the names of all the teachers in the school, George and Angelina, and most of the former DA group, "We may not of liked the man, but even you can't deny what you saw in his memories. He deserves a portrait too. We'd like it if you could sign it and take it to Headmistress McGonagall. She can't take a petition from professors, but if you give it to her, then she can pass it on to the Ministry.... Mr. Ramsey! Stop flying paper birds into Miss. Wilkins hair this instant!" she called out over Harry's shoulder. Harry looked down at the paper. "Indeed he may not have been the nicest person, but he was a great man, and he deserves to have his picture in the office I will do this for you Angela." He said taking the note and pocketing it. "Very good ladies and gents." He said to the class before walking out to go to the headmistress' room. The Gargoyle recognized him and immediately jumped to life. As he rode up the stairs he realized this was the first time since the war that he had been in the room. He knocked on the door and stepped in to see Hagrid talking to the headmistress. "Hagrid!" He exclaimed and rushed over to the man and gave him a hug. No matter how old Harry was he would always love Hagrid as a father. Because honestly Hagrid was a father figure to Harry. Hagrid heard Harry's voice and turned. "Harry is they' you?" Hagrid asked and then smiled hugging Harry. "How ye' been Harry?" Hagrid asked him. "I've been good." Harry replied, "Listen Hagrid can I speak to the Headmistress for a minute? I promise to come down afterward and have a glass of tea with you." Hagrid smiled and shook his head "Ye' sure can Harry." He said then walked out of the office and down to his hut to start the tea. Harry looked up at Professor McGonagall. "Headmistress." He said in a formal greeting, "I came here by request of a good friend, I know you know the friend in question. Angela has asked of me a favor, I have come to the understanding that there is not a portrait of former Headmaster Severus Snape in the office here. Which I have noticed the absence of one. Now the professors have all petitioned to have one placed in here. They know that I have seen Severus' last memories and that he was a great and noble man well deserving a spot on the wall here." He said to her handing the petition over. "Now if you will agree to let his portrait be posted here I will take this to the Minister himself and allow him to agree or disagree on whether it should be allowed." The Headmaster office hadn't changed much since Dumbledore's time in it. Minerva McGonagall had not seen a reason to change a thing about it. She'd always loved it the way it was. It felt more comfortable this way. Though some minor changes had been made, nothing drastic, "Now, now, Mr. Potter. So formal," she smiled softly without rising from her desk. Four stunning spells to the chest in Harry's fifth year at the age of 71, fighting against Death eaters in the final battle, and finally many student related issue had taken their toll on her. She was nearly 78-years-old, and while Dumbledore had fought and stayed Headmaster well into old age, her body wasn't putting up as well a fight as his had. The media-witches at St. Mango's had told her she'd never fully recover from the stunning spells, and she hadn't, "I think we have enough history between us to be a little more relaxed. You may call me Minerva or, if that's a little too informal for you..." sometimes a former student had trouble with that, "...then you can call me Miss. McGonagall." The elderly witch took the paper and smiled again, "Of course. I may have had my issues with Severus, but he had served the Order and the world well. The only reason a portrait of him is not here already is that too many are unwilling to believe the truth about him. They want someone to blame. Unfortunately, most will never know the whole truth about him since we can't show everyone his private thoughts, but Shackle bolt should have no problem believing it. But this petition will help greatly. Professor Weasley couldn't bring it to me directly because of school rules, but I'm glad she had you bring it." McGonagall put the parchment in a drawer of her desk, intending to bring it to the Ministry herself, "I hear some congratulations are in order, Mr. Potter. Angelina has been kind enough to inform me that you are to marry Miss. Ginny Weasley. I expect an invitation," she smiled sweetly, not a smile many could remember her giving to anyone, "And while I can't say he intended it for this, I'm sure this will make a good wedding present from Severus," she picked up a paper and handed it to him. It was the last will and testament of Severus Snape, "As you can probably guess, Headmaster Shape did not have any children. Nor did he have any siblings and I doubt he had any other family, if he did, I doubt he was close with them. Near the bottom is a section about you. I won't repeat what is written as I believe he wrote it in slight anger and used some language that a Headmistress should not repeat to a former student. In short...it states that you, Mr. Harry Potter, the arrogant, toerag, bane of my existence-to use some of his not so foul words-, is to inherit his family home on Spinner's End. I believe it's rather close to the home your mother grew up in. Whether you choose to live in it, sell it, or give it to person of your choosing...the house is yours. I do not believe it's a very nice house, but I think we can both guess that he meant it as a gesture of kindness towards your mother." Harry smiled. "Well you are invited to the wedding in fact we will be sending invites soon. Well I am glad that the issue was approached and hope that his picture is put in here. I have to go though." He said before bowing and leaving to Hagrid's hut. Once he got their he sat and had his tea. When he walked out of Hagrid's after a couple of hours he went back to the Ministry. Hours later he walked over to an empty fireplace and through the flew powder down yelling out his and Ginny's address. As he appeared in the fireplace he walked to the couch and laid down. He was hungry so he hoped that Ginny was home. He separated upstairs and changed before walking back to the kitchen to see if Ginny was home yet. "Honey you here?" He asked out in a sweet sounding voice. He thought about the house he was given and decided he would get it fixed up and sold. Furthermore, he had planned on paying to have his parents house rebuilt. Furthermore, he hoped that Ginny would like the house, especially when it was fully restored. Ginny spent more time in Dragon Alley than she'd meant to. Mostly because the four girls got caught up in various conversations that usually lead to the wedding. She figured it would be like this when each of them got married. Hermione was made Maid of Honor, Luna and Lavender taking up the roles of Bride's Maids. Luna went on about the Crumple-Horned Snowpack and how someone named Rolf Salamander was trying to get her to come visit him next summer. Lavender complained about who ever her new boyfriend was. And Hermione complained that Ron had still not got the hang of using a telephone and had accidentally yelled into her mother's ear the night before. Over all, they had a good time and even went to visit George in his shop, each of them leaving the shop with a small bag, and Ginny with a small, purple-pink Pygmy Puff that she named 'Fred' (though there was no proof if the fluff ball was male or female). Ron was the only one unable to get their brother to give a discount when there. Once at the Leaky Cauldron, they said their goodbyes and promised to see each other the next week provided Ginny wasn't too banged up from her next Quidditch match. In turn, they used their Flew Powder and went back to their homes. Ginny arrived back home just in time to hear the cracking!noise of someone separating and then the footsteps upstairs. Smiling, she stood near the fireplace with her arms cross and watched him come back down the stairs and head into the kitchen, calling out for her. It was cute. Setting the new Flew Powder, cloak, and Pygmy on the couch, she crept on her toes into the kitchen. They might have been adults now, but that didn't stop them from joking around. Sure as hell hadn't stopped George, or before his death, Fred. She stood just outside the kitchen door till he turned his back and ran up behind him, wrapping her hands around his shoulders and laying her head on his back, "You smell like a boar-hound... Ministry send you out somewhere?" she didn't say it in a mean way. More just commenting on the fact that even though he'd changed clothing she could smell Fang, Hagrid's hyper dog. Harry laughed and wing her around kissing her. "Yep Angela asked me to come show the kids a patrons and give some petition over to Minerva. While I was there I decided to see Hagrid." He smiled and hugged her. "Have a good time with the girls?" He heard a tapping on the window. It was that new owl of his pecking on the window. "What could this be." He said opening the window to let the owl in. He grabbed the letter and tossed the bird a rat. "Dear Mr. Potter, You are cordially invited to come to Hogwarts for the first annual celebration dance. We will be celebrating the anniversary of the downfall of Voldemort. And you would be our Guest of Honor. The Dance will take place in the great Hall on Saturday." Harry read out loud, "Well do we go?" He asked Ginny. He Wondered why Minerva didn't say anything about the Dance. Furthermore, he scribbled on a piece of parchment believe Ginny and I will be coming to the Dance. Furthermore, he looked over at Ginny and smiled he couldn't believe that he had defeated Voldemort five years ago on Friday. Furthermore, he had though of his Aunt and Uncle a few times wondering what the Wizarding officials had told the muggles about Voldemort. Furthermore, he knew that they believed him to be a mass murderer or something like that. Furthermore, he decided that tomorrow he would take a visit to number 4 privet drive to say hello to his aunt and uncle. Furthermore, he knew that Dudley was still living with them in their house, at least until he got another job. "Of course we'll go. We haven't got to dance together yet. I don't want the first time to be on our wedding day," she smiled lightly, though a little annoyed at the owls' interruption of their kissing. Even with a rat to feast on, she knew it would be eyeing her new Pygmy Puff later tonight. For an owl, it was rather disobedient. She gave it a warning point of her finger as if to say 'do it, and you're dinner' before heading over to the stove to make tea. Using magic in the mornings to make it brew faster was good and well, but she preferred the way it tasted when it brewed slowly, "Had I known you didn't have a date for the Yule Ball, I would have asked you then," but she'd already promised Neville at the time to go with him. She'd been so upset about that back then. After that, the war started and there was little time for silly dances. Since then, there had been no occasion to dance, "Hermione is mad at Ron again. He yelled at her mom over the telephone...again. You really need to teach him how to use that thing." Once the tea was on its way, she walked back over to her soon-to-be husband and wrapped her arms around his neck. Leaning up on her toes she kissed him again. It was never enough to make up for the time they'd lost because of Voldemort. Had it not been for the Dark Wizard, they would have been together sooner and longer. Maybe even married already. Voldemort had taken so much time from them and Ginny didn't believe that even their five years together was enough to make up for it, "How is Angelina? I saw George at the shop today, and he says she's about to pop. I hope it's not twins. Furthermore, I don't think Angelina could handle a mini Fred and George..." the smile faded from her face for a moment as she thought about her dead brother, "...twins might be good for them though," Ginny laid her head on his shoulder, hugging herself to him." So, what would you like for dinner? Hermione says that she's going to the Burrow tonight. You know mum never minds us showing up. She says I spend too much time here. She might be right," she teased, "I get the urge to run out and chase down crazy, purist, evil wizards all the time." Harry smiled, "I know.... Angelina, well she is getting big but not twin big. So I think its just one." He said then looked up. "You know the burrow doesn't sound too bad for dinner. I would love to see your mom again, and maybe I can teach Ron to use the phone. Have you heard from Bill and Charlie recently?" He asked her wondering about the two brothers. He thought back to when Charlie had brought the dragons to Hogwarts in his fourth year for the Trinidad Tournament. Harry had liked the big dragon, but it was just too ferocious. He waited for the tea to finish and made himself a cup. He liked his tea a bit hot. Furthermore, he glanced up at the calendar Ginny had made and noticed that the day that was glowing was Friday May the first. That meant there were only a few more weeks until the wedding. He grabbed hold of Ginny and smiled. "You do realize it was five years ago tomorrow that me and Voldemort fought against each other right?" He asked her happiness in his voice. "Bill and Fleur are both doing great. I think they are planning on trying to have a baby soon," she'd long got over her resentment of the blond Vela and couldn't wait to see Bill's face when he ended up with a part-Vela daughter and realized how much male attention she was going to get. He'd likely go insane. Ginny couldn't help but smirk at the thought, "As for Charlie, he's still wrangling dragons. Dad says Charlie is more interested in dragons than in women or romance. Which could be a good thing. I don't think I'd like to know my husband could be set on fire and burned to a crisp every day, or stepped on, or run through with a claw, or anything like that," she smiled softly, "Glad I only have to worry about you ending up looking like Moody one day," again, she was more teasing than serious." Mum will be happy we're there. That way she can badger me about flower arrangements. I'm sure she's going nuts that we set the date so soon," Ginny wrapped herself around him again as he talked about the fight, "Of course I realize it. I think about it every day. Almost as much as I thought about it when it was happening. I'm just glad it's over. Glad I never have to worry about looking at the paper and seeing Voldemort holding your head up or somethin'. No more worrying about Snatchers hurting any more of our friends and soon all of his followers will be put away for good," Ginny was sure there were still some out there. Despite the Malfoy's assistance in the end, she still believed they'd run right back to Voldemort if he managed to come back again, "And I get you all to myself now...and if any girl thinks she can change that, then I'll just put a Bat-Bogey Hex on them," she snickered a little." You realize what else is coming up soon too, right?" they'd officially got together as a couple just a week after the final fight. It had been rocky at first with the round up of death eaters and funerals, but Harry's shoulder that she'd cried into the whole time during Fred, Monks, and Lupin's burials. Harry half smiled, "Yeah I know." After he had visited Hogwarts he had paid a group of Wizard construction workers to rebuild his parents house, and it would be done by next Friday. He had decided to give the house to both of them as a gift for being together five years, also a wedding gift. He smiled knowing it was being worked on right now. "So are you ready to go dear?" He asked her and walked to make sure the doors where all locked tight. He was ready to go visit his soon-to-be in-laws. Furthermore, he locked all the doors and walked back to the kitchen to hold on to her. Furthermore, he was in the mood to let her separate them out. "Ok I am ready dear." He said before kissing her. He had also grabbed an extra cloak for himself in case they ended up staying at the burrow. As Harry locked up the flat, she made sure the stove was off and pulled on her cloak as well as got his new one out for him. Chances were good that they would end up sleeping over at the Burrow. Ginny's mother would ensure that. They wouldn't get to share a bed together though, Molly would ensure that as well, even though they had become used to it. Ginny would find herself sleeping in her bedroom, most likely with Hermione there as well. Harry would either be put in Ron's room or the twin's old room. Since the war, Percy was living at home again even though he had the money to live on his own. He stayed there to make up for the horrible git he'd been for nearly three years during the war. Ginny much preferred separating. It was much less messy than Flew travel, though it still made her stomach turn. Ginny focused her thoughts on the Burrow and after a sharp tugging feeling and a spinning sensation, they both appeared with crack!near the broom shed. Dusk was already falling and Ginny could see lights on in various windows of the tall house. Chickens clucked and pecked at the ground near them and the house gave a rather strange sway in a strong gust of wind, "Cruikshank! No! Bad cat!" Ginny smirked as she heard Hermione's voice ring out from one of the open windows, "Hermione, if you don't do somethin' about that beast, I'MMA throw it out the window!" her brother's voice called out louder, "He's just a cat, Ron. It's in his nature. You shouldn't let Pigwidgeon fly around like a psycho!" Ginny snickered a little as they walked up to the house, "He's my owl and it's my house! He can fly 'round if he wants ta."" I'd think something was wrong if they weren't fighting about something," Ginny hugged his arm lightly, "She really loves him though. She told me so before we met up with Luna and Lavender. In fact, she tells me every time we see each other," not bothering with knocking since it was her family home, she pushed open the door that lead into the small kitchen. The Burrow was bustling with the usual noises of people walking around, talking, yelling, dishes scrubbing themselves in the sink, the ghoul banging on some pipes, three owls hooting, and a cat hissing, "Mum!" Mrs. Weasley's head poked out from around the corner, "Ginny! Harry, dear!" she smiled and rushed over to hug the both of them, "My goodness, never put any weight on, do you, Harry?" she smiled big again before turning around quickly at the sound of Hermione and Ron's yelling, "Will you two give it a rest?! Ronald, put the owl away and get down here. Your sister and Harry are here," the plump lady turned her attention back to them, "Harry, dear, I'm sure you got the invite to the ball this weekend. I expect you two will be going. Everyone in the house got letters for it as well. I expect all the members of the Order did. Come on, sit sit," she ushered the two over to the table, mothering Harry as usual, "I was just about to start dinner. Everyone will be here tonight, well, not George and Angelina. She can't be traveling too much in her condition. It's bad enough she has to ride that bus. But Percy is bringing by his girlfriend, Audrey, I believe they met at the Ministry." Harry smiled as Mrs. Weasley hugged them. "Where is Arthur? Don't tell me they still have him at the ministry." Harry listened to all the ruckus. "Ron quit being a prat and get down here." He yelled out to him. Ron laughed and yelled back, "Yeah yeah Harry." Then to Hermione "Look I'm sorry bout the yelling lets go down to see Harry and Ginny." As Harry took a big whiff of air he smelt the dinner. "What are you cooking Molly?" He asked her. He had begun to use their first names after the war when he got his job at the Ministry. Harry helped Ron set up the tables in the yard like they had had back before their fourth year. He smiled remembering that year and the Quidditch world cup. He had hated that the celebration after had been disrupted by the death eaters but these days they didn't have to worry about that anymore. Harry looked up in the sky and saw an owl. "Who could that be for and for what?" Harry wondered out loud. As the owl descended to him and Ron he dropped a letter in front of Harry. "What now." He said frustrated, as he opened it he read it to himself. Dear Mr. Potter, You have been asked to come in to my office for the questioning of former Headmaster Severus Snape. Your Friend and Minister of Magic Kingsley Shackle bolt. Harry finished the letter and said in a very loud tone "Dammit. I can never spend time with anyone without the damned Ministry calling me in for this or calling me in for that." He walked inside. "Ginny dear I have to go see the Minister. I am sorry, I will be having a word with Minerva and Angela after this though." He was really upset, and he walked out the door separating right as he stepped through. He appeared at the Ministry anger showing on his face. As he walked in looked at the security guard and walked to the stairs. He walked to the first floor and in the door. As he walked into Kingsley's office he looked at him and said, still angry, "Look Kingsley, I was about to have a well needed afternoon with the soon-to-be in-laws. All I have to say is yes Severus' picture should be put into the headmasters' office if any one man deserves to be in there it is him." After a second or two of silence Kingsley spoke up. "Well Potter aren't we agitated. I only meant to call you in to inform you that as of Four O'clock this afternoon a portrait of Headmaster Severus was placed on the wall of the headmaster's quarters next to Headmaster Dumbledore's portrait. Now if there is anything else you would like to say you can be on your way." Harry stared in awe, he expected them to place a portrait just didn't expect it to be next to Dumbledore's. "Thank you Minister." He said and walked back out, separating back when he could. "Shepard Pie, dear," with at least several side dishes. Mrs. Weasley went back to cooking after asking the boys to set the tables up outside. It was getting to be too crowded for these family dinners to even consider eating inside the small dining room. All together there would be at least eleven people tonight. Once George and Angelina had the baby, that would add three more people to the family dinners. Mrs. Weasley wasn't sure she could keep her wits about her with all those people, but the thought of them all together did make her smile. Hermione and Ginny did what they could to help out Mrs. Weasley when Harry came in to tell her that he had got called back to work. She frowned, this happened a lot. She hated seeing him upset, but it was part of his job, and she knew he'd be back as soon as he could. After going all the way to Hogwarts today, they still wanted him to come back for something, "It's okay. We'll have dinnered already by the time you get back," it would be impossible to keep everyone waiting to eat, but she could at least wait for him to come back before eating. Without even a hug, Harry separated almost immediately when he stepped out the door, leaving the loud cracking!noise to ring in her ears. It upset her when he got like this, but luckily that didn't happen often. Hermione asked what it was about, "Don't know. He didn't say. Just that he had to see the Minister," Hermione just smiled, "Come on, let's go help Mum with the plates," Ginny smiled back and used her wand to levitate a large stack of plates that she lead outside. Soon they all had the tables set, food out, and lights lit. Arthur showed up wit Percy and his girlfriend. Bill and Fleur showed up soon after them, as well as Andromeda with a nearly five-year-old Teddy. Andromeda and Teddy might not of been blood, but they were family and Harry was Teddy's godfather. About ten minutes into dinner, Harry appeared back in the yard and Ginny jumped up to go meet him, "Is everything alright? Ron said it was something about Shape. Nothing went wrong, did it?" she always got a little worried when he got called back to the Ministry. Harry hugged Ginny. "Yea everything was alright Kingsley just wanted to tell me that they have placed the portrait of Severus in the headmasters office and that it was placed right next to Dumbledore's." Harry said smiling, he then kissed her gently. After the kiss he noticed Andromeda and Teddy. "And how is my little buddy Teddy?" He asked him giving him a big hug. Teddy laughed and smiled "I'm good uncle Harry." He said then pointed at a hole in his teeth. "Look I lost a too." He wriggled around. "Put me down I want to go play with aunt Ginny's pygmy puff." He said and when Harry set him down he ran back to the little puff ball. Harry looked over at Ginny. "He is such a smart little boy. He has grown a lot." He said to Andromeda. "Well I am hungry, Lets finish dinner." He said taking his seat next to Ginny. He noticed his plate was overfilled. Molly had made his plate, she always wanted him to eat. She always thought he was too skinny. He slowly ate some of his food. "So how was everyone's day?" He asked. As soon as Teddy picked up the little puff, his hair turned almost the same purple-pink color as the puff's fur. Teddy was very much his mother's son in the fact that he was a Metamorphmagus and would likely learn to control it a bit better as he got older. Monks had been a good friend of Ginny, and she sometimes got a little depressed thinking about how much fun it was to watch Monks change her nose and mouth. Still, at least Teddy was surrounded by family and friends and not left to grow up alone or by people that hated him, "Be careful with him, Teddy. He still a baby puff," Ginny called out as she saw the little pygmy puff fly into the air and land back in Teddy's hands. Ginny had only brought it with because she didn't trust Harry's owl. They'd likely go home in the morning to find nothing but a few bits of fur left." Pretty good, Harry," Arthur spoke first, "A few exploding toilets, but nothing out of the ordinary. Ron passed his last Aurora exam, didn't you?" Ron only nodded as his mouth was stuffed with food."' Arry, you need to come to he cottage again sometime this summer," Fleur's English had got much better over the years, but her accent would never completely go away, "Bill set up a nice memorial for Bobby around the grave. We 'have been setting socks on it once a year instead of flowers. 'Hermione said at Bobby would have preferred that. Oh, and I think Bill has an announcement." Bill smiled, though shook his head a little, "We were going to tell everyone the other day, but we didn't want to ruin Harry's proposal. But we should tell everyone before the wedding since Fleur might be showing by then... Fleur's pregnant," he smiled proudly and put his hand on Fleur's stomach, "We found out a few months ago, but we wanted to wait to tell everyone till we found out if it was a boy or girl...and it's a girl." Any somber mood that might have been hanging because of the mention of Bobby went away as all the girls got up and nearly shoved Bill away and started chattering loudly to Fleur. Even Percy's girlfriend, who was still relatively unknown to the family, seemed excited. Bill walked over to Harry and smiled, "Careful, you're next. As soon as you say 'I do', mum will be hounding you every time you see her about grand babies." Harry laughed at Teddy and Bill. "Yeah Bill. But anyway congratulations." He said to Bill. He looked over at all the women chattering about the baby. "So when is she due Bill?" Arthur, Ron, Percy, and Harry all asked him. Harry looked up at the sky and noticed that it was going to rain. He pulled out his wand and said to everyone, "I think it's time to get ready and go inside." He waved his wand and made the food begin to go inside. Furthermore, he didn't want the food ruined by the coming storm. Furthermore, he sneaked up behind Ginny and tried to tickle her. "Hey beautiful you ready to go in or you up for a game of quidditch here in the rain?" He asked her saying the quidditch in the rain part loud enough for the rest of the group to hear. He wished that Fred was still around he would enjoy a good fun game of quidditch, especially in the rain. Harry still had the snitch that Dumbledore had given him in his will. He even played with it often. He pointed his wand in the air and said Action Broom, knowing that it would come out the hole he had magically put in the house. His old Fire bolt was his favorite broomstick. As he caught it he smiled at Ginny and gave her a kiss, "So you up for it or what?" He loved taunting her. "At least six months," Bill replied as everyone started gathering things up and heading inside. Ron and Hermione stayed behind a bit after hearing Harry ask about quidditch. Ron was tugging on Hermione's arm a bit. He didn't mind quidditch in the rain, but not when it meant his little sister would be wearing a t-shirt instead of game robes. That and he knew that both him and Harry were likely to get distracted seeing their girlfriends flying around in the rain with wet t-shirts, even if they were dark-colored shirts. Plus, Hermione was never perfect at quidditch, and he hadn't really played since their sixth year at Hogwarts. Harry was a natural and Ginny was on a national team, they'd definitely be outmatched, "We're just going to go in and help mum out," though he was likely to sit on the couch with the other guys and let Hermione and Molly dote on Fleur." I'm up for it," she summoned her old broom and a baffle sized ball from the broom shed, "Think you can keep up?" she teased before swinging her leg over her broom, the baffle under one of her arms, "I am part of a professional team, after all, Harry," she snickered a little as she kicked off the ground and hovered just a few feet in the air, "I promise to take it easy on you, Love," they hadn't played each other in a while, and she thought being in the rain was kind of romantic, even if there was a chance that they'd knock each other off their brooms and end up in the mud. Ginny was okay with the fact that they did very few intimately romantic things. She would take being covered in mud and a kiss on the cheek to rolling around in a bed like a couple of animals. Harry laughed and sped off taking the baffle with him. He sped towards the tree that had a hole hollowed out in it for the goal. The rain falling very fast and his glasses getting drenched. He was also drenched, and he tossed the ball to try and make a goal. His hands sliding easily off the ball, it flew and hit the tree falling towards the ground. Harry chased after it and just as he was about to make a grab for it, he slid off of his broom and towards the ground. As he hit the ground he blacked out and laid on the ground unconscious. When he came around he didn't know exactly where he was. He looked for Ginny only to realize his glasses were nowhere to be found. He also noticed that his head hurt...a lot. Furthermore, he closed his eyes and slowly lost consciousness again. Ginny had been enjoying the small flight in the rain. It felt nice and reminded her of the matches back in school. But her eyes quickly saw that Harry was in trouble. He'd thrown the baffle and missed. That wasn't the problem though. He went after it, probably trying to catch it before it hit the ground, and instead of the ball hitting the ground, he did, "Harry!" even if she'd been able to get to him fast enough on her old broom, she'd of never been able to catch him. Ginny flew fast to him and jumped off her broom, tumbling on the muddy ground a little before reaching his body, "Harry!" she fumbled for a moment to get her wand out of her back pocket, "Enervate!" it did nothing to wake him. The spell only worked on people that had been hit with a stunning spell, but she had to try, "Mum! Dad! Ron! Anyone!" she called out towards the house. A few moments later nearly the whole household was outside trying to help get Harry back in. It was very late into the night before Harry woke again, but he passed back out before anyone came in the room. Ginny came in, puffy eyed, with a bowl of water and a rag. She noticed that his body had moved. While she was glad he'd moved and woken a little, she was upset that she hadn't been in the room. Thankfully, he didn't have any serious injuries. Nothing worse than he'd sustained in school matches. No broken bones and his skull didn't get cracked. He had a rather large bump on his head and quite a few bruises from the fall, but other than that he seemed okay. Usually when they stayed the night at the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley made Ginny sleep in her old bedroom, Hermione stayed in there too when Bill and Fleur visited, Harry either stayed in the twins old room or with Ron. Mrs. Weasley was a bit old-fashioned about that stuff. She didn't approve of Ginny and Harry or Ron and Hermione sharing a bed. Ginny had tried to tell her mother that nothing would happen, that nothing had happened, but it was easier just not to fight about it with her. But tonight, Mrs. Weasley made an exception since Ginny wanted to be there with Harry. She crawled onto the bed, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans (not the same ones she'd been in outside), and curled up against him. She wrapped his arm around her and buried her head against his chest. Furthermore, she planned on being here the next time he woke up. Furthermore, she wasn't going to miss it again. It was late into the night most likely midnight or later when he finally woke. He looked down to see Ginny in his arms and he smiled, "Ginny honey." He whispered shaking her a bit. Furthermore, he felt like he had run from the Burrow to the Ministry and back again. But he was also very much awake only sore, he lightly set a kiss on her forehead. Harry looked at the window and noticed it was nighttime. Mrs. Weasley had let her sleep with him tonight. He looked at her face, "You awake honey?" Harry hoped she would wake up. He wanted to talk with her. At least for a little bit, his head felt a lot better than when he woke up earlier. He looked for his glasses, and couldn't find them anywhere. Ginny was sleeping snuggled up to him. Her arms wrapped around him and her head nuzzled against his chest. Her breath was light and deep, but she wasn't out completely. Harry's voice drifted into her ears and his lips touched her forehead, "Harry?" she opened her eyes slowly and saw him looking down at her. She smiled for a moment before sitting up and kissing him deeply. Breaking the kiss, she looked down at him, narrowing her eyes, "If you black out like that again, I'm going to punch you," she was only half joking. There was little Harry could do to make her actually hit him in anger, but she would lightly slap him on the arm when he annoyed her, "You had me worried to death," seeing him laying on the ground, not moving at all. It brought back painful memories of Voldemort calling everyone out of the castle during the battle to see Harry's body laying on the ground, assumed dead. Ginny never wanted to see Harry like that again. Lifeless and limp. She reached across Harry's chest and to the night stand. Opening the drawer, she pulled out his glasses, "They were cracked a little, but easy to fix," she placed them on his face, adjusting them on his nose before smiling and kissing him again, "Everyone was so worried. Does anything hurt?" Harry smiled at her "No just a few nicks and bumps, but that's all." He looked around, "So your mom let you sleep in here tonight?" He said jokingly and snuck a playful kiss from her lips. "So what time is it Ginny dear?" He asked her nicely. He attempted to sit up straight and managed to do so. Furthermore, he wanted to be able to sit with her and look eye to beautiful eye with her. Furthermore, he knew that him lying unconscious probably reminded her of when he was in Hagrid's arms that night when he defeated Voldemort. Furthermore, he knew it probably broke everybody's heart seeing him as what they had thought dead, hell he knew it had an effect on everybody, especially Ginny. But he was still here with her and everyone else so he knew they were happy to have him with them. He looked into Ginny's eyes and smiled at her, "Have I ever told you how much I love you?" He asked her, he knew he had, he always told her. Furthermore, he just loved to let her know that he loved her. "Tonight is a special circumstance," Ginny smiled and kissed him back softly, "You know Mum just worries that you'll take advantage of her only daughter," she said teasingly. After the first night she spent over at Harry's, her mother had taken her aside forth talk. Despite Ginny telling her, repeatedly, that nothing had or was going to happen, Mrs. Weasley kept bringing it up whenever they were alone, "I think it's past midnight," she yawned a little and snuggled into his chest. When he asked if he'd ever told her how much he loved her, she smiled, "I think I could stand to hear it again," Ginny moved closer to him, kissing his neck softly, "Ron's jealous. Mum won't let Hermione stay in his room when she comes over. He nearly had a fit tonight when Mum said I could stay in here with you," she kissed at his neck again, "Are you thirsty or anything? I could sneak down the kitchen and get you something." Harry smiled at her. "Well I do love you, and well I did feel a little thirsty, but I think I can survive." He was still laying there when he heard a small tap tap tap of an owls beak on glass. Wondering what it could be he got up, to find himself in just some shorts, and walked to the window, wondering who could be sending mail in at this hour of the night. As he opened the window the minister's stubby little owl flew in with a message tied to his leg, Harry immediately untied it and the owl took off again. Harry opened the envelope and scanned the message:Dear Mister Potter, The ministry has just gotten word that the two time Azkaban escapee, and former Death eater has been spotted in near the home of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. It was brought to my attention that you are at their residence at this point in time and I ask that you please apprehend him. Sincerely, Your good friend and Minister of Magic Kingsley Shackle bolt. Harry sighed as the note slid from his hands into Ginny's lap. He was not looking forward to this. He looked at her and waited for her to finish reading the letter.((I decided to post. If you don't want to continue I understand, but I am trying to get it back up for our RP. I really liked it.)) Ginny was too comfortable to move and so was glad he said he could wait on the drink. She was just glad he was okay. The last thing she wanted was for her fiancé to up and die. She doubted she would ever get over it if Harry died. She'd had a crush on him since the day she met him. When he'd first come up to her family at King's Cross and needed help onto the platform. She couldn't believe how cute he was, despite her being only 10 at the time she thought he was cute. When she found out later that year in a letter home from Ron that he was in fact THE Harry Potter, she was floored. That made it almost impossible for her to even be in the same room as him when he came to live with them the last few weeks of the summer the next year. Even harder to be around him at school. It wasn't till her fifth year that she actually managed to start talking to him without blushing. The red-headed girl was ready to try and get some more sleep when the owl started tapping on the window. Before she could get up for it, Harry pat her shoulder and went to get it himself. His state of undress was not embarrassing for her. While they had yet to have sex, they did share a bed together several nights a week at his flat. Sometimes that involved him just sleeping in shorts or pants. Of course, she never told her mother that. Seeing the look on his face as he read the letter told her that it was work business. He handed her the letter and reading it she furrowed her brow, "Harry, you can't go," even if they were sighted near her family home, "You nearly knocked your brains out just hours ago, you can't go hunting Death Eaters," she was worried about him. He'd just had a bad injury and fall. Harry was still young, but that didn't mean he had to run off at the first sign of a fight. They so rarely fought about things, but she was scared that this would always be something they were at odds about. Harry liked his job, and she didn't, "...but I know you're going to... Harry, we're getting married in three weeks. I would like it if you were there," she said, crossing her arms over her chest, "And in one piece."((Of course I would like to continue.)) Harry smiled at her, "I know dear. That's why I am going to see Kingsley right now." He said as he threw on a t-shirt and robe. "I shouldn't be gone longer than twenty minutes." He said before he separated to the Ministry. As he walked down to Kingsley's office everyone stepped from his way seeing the look upon Harry's face. As he walked in Kingsley looked up, "Why hello Harry, I take it your here about my letter?"" Yes Minister I am. Look I would appreciate it if you got someone else for the job seeing as I had a slight accident earlier, involving me, a broomstick, and the ground." He said to him."Oh, wow are you alright?" Kingsley asked."Yeah, just lost consciousness. So can you get someone else on the case?" He asked."It's alright with me" Kingsley said, and Harry separated back to the burrow, and walked back to the room with Ginny grabbing a glass of water on the way. Ginny would never stop Harry from doing his job. It bothered her that he had to do it sometimes, but she knew that he had to and that it's what he wanted to do. Voldemort may have been the worst, but there were plenty of other witch and wizards out there that did horrible things. She was not one to stand in the way of Harry stopping them. If not Harry to stop them, then who? She knew it was selfish of her to not want him doing it. She sat in the bedroom, waiting to see if he would come back. Furthermore, she knew Kingsley could make him do the job. Harry was, after all, an Aurora. When he did come back, she'd worked herself into a fit of guilt for how she'd reacted. The red head got up quickly and pulled him back over to the bed, taking the glass of water from him and putting it on the night stand, "Harry, I'm sorry for what I said. I just get worried about you," he'd always thrown himself into danger, whether he meant to or not. Quarrel, Tom Riddle, Sirius Black, the Trinidad, Battle at the Ministry, and so many other times, "I just hate that Kingsley keeps giving you the most dangerous stuff. You're not the only Aurora that works there. Just because you fought...him...doesn't mean he has to make you do all of that stuff." Leaning over, she pressed her lips to his gently, kissing him softly, "I worry," as different as Ginny was from her mother, she had her mother's ability to worry if nothing else, "I know you love your job," and it wasn't like her flying for the Harpies was exactly safe. Ginny had fallen fifty feet to the ground, broken several bones, being bruised to hell and back, been hit in the head with budgets and beater's bats, and knocked out plenty of times. But she wasn't facing down a wand and a killing curse. Harry kissed her back. "I know you worry dear, but I know when to give it a rest, and I am not the only Aurora looking for the former death eaters there is people on watch twenty-four seven." He said to her, He knew she worried about him almost as much as her mother worried about everyone else. He laid back down on the bed, "Ginny I love you dear, and I am glad we are getting married, and I know you want me alive for the wedding, but please honey calm down a little you're working yourself up and going to end up getting me worked up. Now would you like to go back to sleep or stay up a bit longer?" He asked, although they had never had sex, it wouldn't be like Harry, a guy, to think about it and try to get with her that way. Ginny knew she worked herself up sometimes. It was in that way, and a few others, that she was like her mother, "I know I shouldn't, but I can't help it. It's a family trait," she half joked. As Harry climbed back onto the bed and laid down. She followed suit and laid down against him, wrapping an arm around his mid-section. When asked if they should sleep or not, she was a little torn. It was true they hadn't had sex yet. Ginny just felt more comfortable if they waited till they were married and Harry had never said anything against it. Nor had he ever tried to pressure her. There were times when they kissed that Ginny felt they were getting a little too heated, but even then they never went too far. Hermione admitted that she and Ron had gone rather far, but Ginny never wanted the details. Last thing she wanted to know is what her brother looked like naked or how good or bad a kisser he was, "We should get some rest. You need it more than me," he'd been hurt, so he needed the rest and recovery time, "Plus Mum will get upset if she knows we're up this late, and you know she will find out. Then it'll be anothertalkfor me and lots of glares for you," Snuggling up close to her future husband, Ginny fell asleep quickly. She enjoyed having him close like this. It was always put her at ease to fall asleep being able to hold him. The day of the Ball came Ginny was in the bathroom of their flat getting ready. When she came out, she huffed a little, "I can't believe I let Hermione convince me into buying this. I look horrible," while Ginny rarely cared too much about her appearances, but this was a formal ball. It was meant to honor those that died and the fall of Voldemort. She really wanted to look nice, "Should I change?" she lifted the dark red, velvety fabric of the dress up in her hands and waited for Harry's opinion. The dark red dress (went down to her feet and the v-neck was low enough to be pretty, but not sexy, "You, by the way, look very good," she said with a smile as she let her dress go and walked over to wrap her arms around Harry's neck.

Ginny_Harry_ The between years (Michi No Sora & Antioch)|rating:3.0

Convince Yourself_ that it's not real (Open_Accepting)

Convince Yourself: that it's not real When the wolf’s eyes glow before you, while the vampires teeth graze your neck, and creatures lurk beyond. For your own reasons, you’ve applied for a position in a new company called Ho mun co. Though you’re not sure what the company itself is your position is a simple one, and man does it pay, so what does it matter? The town is a nice looking place, aside from the Central Inn which seems to stick out like a sore thumb as the most high-tech looking building there. The people are nice though some of them do give you a weird vibe, dress strangely, or give you weird looks. What you don’t know though, Ho mun co. is owned by a homunculus, an immortal fake human. The purpose of the company is the safety and wellbeing of non-humans. To keep some of its customers happy they’ve brought in a new product, you. So you will now be working in the homes of these non-humans, hopefully you’re not for dinner. The conditions for non-humans are these: The non-human’s can not give away what they are (Unless the human is ordered for the purpose of companion or mate). They can not eat the humans (unless the human was specifically ordered for that purpose). They can not turn the human (unless the human is going to be their mate). Of course, rules do sometimes get broken… don’t they? Congratulations! You’re hired. Now all that’s left is for you to move into the area your new job is. Room and board is provided by the company, but you will have to move your belongings in for yourself as the rooms are mostly unfurnished. Sorry for the inconvenience. Fox ton Woods is a quaint little place, rather secluded, but that just adds to the small town feel. You’re accommodations will be in the newly built Central Inn. It’s aptly named for being in the center of town, you can’t miss it. The locals are all friendly and will gladly help you if you need assistance. You’ll find your tickets for the plane enclosed. I will be there to meet you and the company’s other new employees at the airport. Yours Truly, Miss. Arvada ZeveranRules (that aren’t to be broken)Follow Kenosha’s standards. Romance and attempted killing is allowed, no actual killing unless the other person agrees. Please post at least once or twice a week. Thank you ~Humans~I am ::(character name)I’m :: (age):: years old’ve applied to Ho mun co. to be ::(position aka maid, butler, chief, officer, etc.) I applied because :: (background/history, why you needed the job)What I don’t know is that ::(what you were ordered for, meal, mate, pet, slave, etc.) I ::somewhat/want to/don’t :: believe in the unknown. My personality? Well I’d describe myself as ::Look at my picture! :(anime picture here =P)Who’s that pulling my strings? :(username)~Non-human~I am ::(character name)I’m ::(age):: years old ::have/have not :: ordered a human::(if yes, what did you want the human for)I’m a :: (what you are followed by background/history)My personality? Well I’d describe myself as ::Look at me! :(anime picture here =P)Who’s that pulling my strings? : (username) ---------- PM ALL PROFILES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Accepted profiles (You may have two or three characters, also if you kill off one character just send a new application if you want another)I am :: Arvada Several’m :: a ridiculous amount of :: years old ::have:: ordered a human:: He is my assistant and the defendant of the one who had created me. I’m a :: Homunculus, and not only the owner of Ho mun co. but the one who built all of Fox ton Woods. Over time, I gained enough money to buy off the land for miles around my little haven. Years past I had decided that non-humans needed a safe place and opened my little town to others. (It was originally just me essentially playing house before) As it is now, I provide for the town by bringing in goods for them to do as they wish, such as sell to each other or use for themselves. It's essentially a small country as no one ever wanders in (and if they do so without permission they never wander back out.) My personality? Well I’d describe myself as :: a rather calculating individual. When you live forever, being rash has major drawbacks. I guess I'm a bit cold, but I can put on a warm front. Look at me! :Who’s that pulling my strings? : Vietnam am :: Mikey Smith’m ::18 :: years old’ve applied to Ho mun co. to be :: Miss. Arvada's assistant applied because :: I had nowhere else to go. Arvada took me in when my father died while in service to her. She seems to be careful with me though, so I don't know how my father died. She seems touchy on the subject, so I've stopped asking her. I kind of think of her as a mother, as I've never known mine and she's raised me for most of my life. Also, though I'm to keep it to myself, I do know about the other non-humans. I haven't seen it for myself though, they look normal enough to me. What I don’t know is that :: I am basically Arvada's pet. I :: somewhat:: believe in the unknown. My personality? Well I’d describe myself as :: a calm accepting person. Being around Miss. Arvada all your life kind of does that to you though. The only time I really worry about anything is if it gets her nervous. Look at my picture! :Who’s that pulling my strings? : Vietnam awe are :: Nob & Sugar’we are:: 126 :: years oldie ::have not :: ordered a human::I’m awe are ::half demons, Cat demons to be specific!who were abandoned at a young age. Then our Lord Takashi took us in and cared for us. Or at least something close to it, and we've been with him ever since. Your personality? Well’d we would describemyselfour selves as ::quiet, and I tend to be a bit shy... unlike my brother. Hey... what's that suppose to mean? Just because I'm more outgoing and popular than you doesn't mean you have to be jealous little brother.-_-#Look at me! :Who’s that pulling my strings? :Vienna Marisa_anime Quote: I am :: Mia Renaldo I’m :: 18 :: years old I’ve applied to Ho mun co. to be :: a maid I applied because :: my parents kicked me out, and I needed a job and a home. What I don’t know is that :: I am a Meal I :: don't :: believe in the unknown. My personality? Well I’d describe myself as :: A loner. I'm on the quiet side and prefer to be by myself. Though I do like to look at the brighter side of things, I can also be a bit dark with my sense of humor and such. Look at my picture! : Who’s that pulling my strings? : thatonegirl ~~~~~ I am :: River Ackerman I’m :: over 100 :: years old I ::have :: ordered a human:: mate I’m a :: I was once a human, like most before me. I was turned in Europe around 100 or so years ago. I spent a long amount of time disguising myself as a human in Europe. Once I moved here, I discovered that it was easier to get along being what I really am. I also discovered I could order humans! I've recently made the choice to stay here for the rest of my eternal life. My personality? Well I’d describe myself as :: playful. I am the type told to "Stop playing with your food". I love art and music, too. Look at me! : Who’s that pulling my strings? : that one girl ~~~~~ I am Takashi I’m::390::years old I ::have:: ordered a human:: BLOODBATH I’m a :: vampire and I am a lord and so Fox ton Woods is merely my vacation spot. I prefer men, specifically the pretty ones. As long as the lady is lovely though, I'm not too picky with my food. My personality? Well I’d describe myself as :: Evil? Or at the very least dark. Look at me! : Who’s that pulling my strings? : Arise_anime ~~~~~ I am :: Tiffany Fe'Lance I’m :: 19 :: years old I’ve applied to Ho mun co. to be :: housekeeper I applied because :: I recently lost my job and am almost losing my apartment, but seeing the application I quickly applied, even though I don't know what is beyond my path- I'll still do whatever it takes for the position. What I don’t know is that :: Selected camp; Ordered Mate I :: somewhat :: believe in the unknown. My personality? Well I’d describe myself as :: hardworking, obedient, forward, and always kind. I could sometimes be quite temperamental depending on certain situations; arranged situations for that matter- But being I'm independent and NOT with my authority figures how could that happen? Look at my picture! : Who’s that pulling my strings? : Toxic Doll ~~~~~ I am :: Avery Whiten I’m :: 21 :: years old I’ve applied to Ho mun co. to be :: Operations Manager I applied because :: I was always a very bright girl. Graduating from high school three years early, and finishing collage soon after that. Getting my degree in business. I joined Ho mun co after the last company I worked for went under. I mainly keep everything organized, that being, the things I am allowed to see. What I don’t know is that :: I am supposed to be a mate. I :: somewhat :: believe in the unknown. My personality? Well I’d describe myself as :: Outgoing. I can work a room very well at any sort of function. I stand my ground fairly well. Look at my picture! : Who’s that pulling my strings? : Backlash ~~~~~ I am :: Greta Dolmen I’m :: 18 :: years old I’ve applied to Ho mun co. to be :: a secretary. I applied because :: I couldn't afford college, and my parents won't pay for me (Damn them!) and I heard that Ho mun co. paid well so... I think this will turn out to be a good decision! What I don’t know is that :: I was ordered to be a pet. I :: want to :: believe in the unknown. My personality? Well I’d describe myself as :: Chip and talkative! Definitely talkative, I can't tell you how many times people tell me to shut up, though I'm a hard worker and multitask well so I don't know why they're complaining. Look at my picture! : Who’s that pulling my strings? : Pippin ~~~~~ I am :: Age Takanashi I’m :: 98 (Guessing, I don't keep track) :: years old I ::have:: ordered a human:: to be my slave. I’m a :: crow demon, though I find life easier when taking a human form. Although my parents left me to fend for myself a few months after my birth, I had fully matured. I stayed in the surrounding forest for some time, probably until I was twenty or so, before leaving my humble beginnings and roaming around aimlessly. Having found no real purpose in life, it was quite boring. Though after ending up in some urban city (those glass windows were so shiny, it was a shame that it was only the sun reflecting off of them that made them so) I discovered how beautiful art could be. It was then that I decided to be an artist, and so I've been for several years, though I never really settled down anywhere and eventually ended up in Fox ton Woods. My personality? Well I’d describe myself as :: easily amazed. Not very sociable, nor extremely hostile; I just really like my privacy. Look at me! : Who’s that pulling my strings? : Pippin ~~~~~ I am :: Amanda Been I’m :: 21 :: years old I’ve applied to Ho mun co. to be :: A photographer/assistant (has been promised she'll have a small studio and be allowed to paint as well) I applied because :: Of course I'd known that it was going to be difficult to find a job when I got out of college, starving artist jokes aside. Funds drained, no job, no chance at getting into grad school unless I found something that paid. No chance at finding something that paid well until I got out of grad school (with a degree in something other than art). When I applied at Ho mun Co. it seemed like a long shot. Didn't think there'd be a snowball's chance in hell of their hiring me, but there they were promising me a small studio and all the amenities I could have asked for. The pay, the services, the promise that I would be given a chance to seek out and truly understand not only art, but humanity as well, it all seemed too good to be true. What I don’t know is that :: slave I :: don’t :: believe in the unknown. My personality? Well I’d describe myself as :: I couldn't begin to describe my own personality, I can only say that I believe that the eyes are the gateway to the soul, and the canvas is the gateway to the heavens. I have always been a bit of a solitary figure, a few close friends here and there to keep me out of trouble, and a lover or two over the years to warm my heart and my bed (and ultimately provide the personal pain necessary to fuel my art). Look at my picture! : Who’s that pulling my strings? : Sheridan ~~~~~ I am :: Frost I’m :: 23 :: years old I’ve applied to Ho mun co. to be :: Companion and guard I applied because :: I do not know how I applied. How strange you may say but it is true. You see I once worked for our dear government and something went wrong on one of my missions when I woke I found myself here with this job. How did I end up here I don't know and what I am to do here time will only see. How can an assassin fit in here? What I don’t know is that :: Mate I :: somewhat/want to/don’t :: believe in the unknown. My personality? Well I’d describe myself as :: A rather quite soul who tends to keep everything inside. I tend to find myself scolding myself for the flaws that I have. I am a perfectionist and will have nothing other than perfect from myself. To those that I let in my dark heart I hold them dear and will keep them safe at any coast. Don't be fooled by my looks if I need to I will kill and sleep just fine after wards. Look at my picture! : Who’s that pulling my strings? : Lady Hello ~~~~~ I am :: Sasha I’m :: too many :: years old to tell such souls as yours. I ::have :: ordered a human:: Mate I’m a :: Dear child don't be fooled I am much older and darker than I appear. Years have passed for me and yet here I am the same as always. What am I you may ask well that is simple a dear child of the night. I am one of the elders of my kind. I grew board with my normal graveyard I and a few of my clan mates have shared for years and came here. Furthermore, I like this change and what is life without some change. For an Immortal as I there is nothing but time. Now be kind, so my dear fangs want to have to teach you some respect. My personality? Well I’d describe myself as :: I am a rather quite soul. I like to think and ponder on things before I act or do. I enjoy spending my time losing myself in books or long conversations with those with great IQ's. My own business is that my own what I do is for me to worry about. I don't like others to snoop around where they shouldn't stay out of my things and out of my way, or you'll end up eight feet under or worse. Look at me! : Who’s that pulling my strings? : Lady Hello ~~~~~ I am :: Because I’m :: privately 19 :: years old I ::have not :: ordered a human:: but I'm thinking about it. I’m a :: ghost, and as such I no longer truly age. I've existed for about 30 years though, counting the time before my death. Furthermore, I actually died here in Fox ton Woods and I had been killed by my owner. Furthermore, I haunted her till she left, and I found myself unable to follow. Arvada has since allowed me to continue my job as security, and I've recently been promoted to head of security. My personality? Well I’d describe myself as :: different. But I suppose being dead does that to you, makes you think at least. Some people find me annoying because I enjoy possessing people... oh well, they'd do it to if they didn't have a tangible body. Look at me! : Who’s that pulling my strings? : Dodo ~~~~~ I am :: Heath Daugherty :: I’m :: Far too old to keep count :: I ::have ordered a human:: (I have grown weary of being by myself in my eternal life, I've ordered a mate.) I’m a :: (It seems as if just yesterday, I was being cast out of heaven. I can still remember the feeling of the light, the searing, white-hot pain that coursed through my body. Worse was the angry tone in my Father's voice while he was talking to the Devil. My father put his hands over my ears so that I wouldn't be able to hear, and though I tried I couldn't hear a thing. The markings that are on my body are not actually tattoos, though that is the cover story. They are actually the bond that my father made with the devil, that I must be kept here for disobedience, the markings an eternal reminder of my failure. Though I can still remember that day with perfect, crystal clear hindsight, it was quite some time ago. I lost count after the first several thousand years, my wings remaining as a reminder that I'd failed heaven, but my link to heaven severed. I am a Fallen Angel.) Well I’d describe myself as :: Often times cryptic and blunt to a tee. If I think something, there isn't any time to soften the words, or dull down what the initial thought was. If I don't like something, you will know about it. Though often times guarded and still reminded of the pain of being separated from those who I loved and lost, I can open with time. To those who I do open up to, there will be no greater trust. Look at me! : Who’s that pulling my strings? : Twisted Toast ~~~~~~~(a semi-organized chart of who belongs to whom)~~~~~~~~ *for my sanity* If you don't like a pairing, or want something changed, please tell me. In general these are subject to change as characters interact. (Particularly when it comes to mates as that can come down to characters personal choice.) Non-human --Lt;relational;--human Arvada -----Lt;petals;------ Mikey Lord Takashi--<smut slave son...things;-- (Nob camp; Jug)--Lt;Lt;snack;-- Mia Renaldo River Ackerman---Sgt;latest;----Tiffany Fe'Lance Sasha--->latest;---Avery Whiten Age Takanashi--->master/slave;---Amanda Been Heath Raffertry---Sgt;latest;----Frost Com---<petals;---Greta Dolmen Arvada checked her watch, there was still time. The first shipment was due to arrive soon in the form of two young ladies. Looking over the list of orders and comparing the profiles she had dug up on the two, she picked the best matches. Mia Renaldo would be sent to Lord Takashi, she frowned slightly. Perhaps that match-up would be best as a trial basis. Though she had been deemed best as food, preferably for a vampire due to her blood type, Arvada wasn't particularly fond Lord Takashi. She doubted that he wouldn't dramatize the girl. Then there was Tiffany Fe'Lance who she dubbed a suitable mate for River Ackerman, the vamp from Europe. It would of course come down to how well the two got along. After all, she could bring in the humans, she couldn'ttethicallymake them love someone. Straitening her dress suit Arvada entered the baggage claim of the airport to await their arrival, she nodded at the employees as they passed. Most of the staff at the airport were sirens, a fact that she found amusing. As she waited she wondered how alert the fresh meat would be. Tiffany arrived and was nervous about her surroundings. She entered the airport and looked around trying to spot her employer. Without fail, she wandered to get her things and realized someone waiting. Tiffany bowed in respect figuring that she was whom she was looking for. "Ms. Several? - I am Tiffany Fe'Lance. It's nice to meet you." She held out her hand to shake, but felt an awkwardness and retrieved her hand back. "There's something. Strange about this place, Sorry I don't mean to be rude." She bowed her head lightly and then looked around "I heard there was another new employee you were waiting on, so I'll wait alongside you" She said with a gentle smile. Tiffany couldn't shake off the feeling that everyone around had been eying her since she'd arrived. Still she perked her shoulders and looked over to Ms. Several. "Is it your estate that I'll be serving within?" Tiffany asked curiously, she applied for housekeeping- because she was well with cleaning; and what not. And being hired, she believed she would be working straight with Arvada. ((Beat me to the punch XD One moment...))---------------------------------------------------------Mia looked away as someone stopped at her plane seat. She hated it when people just looked at her. "Excuse me miss, do you want anything to drink? You haven't taken anything on the entire way." Mia looked up to find an Airplane attendant staring down at her and smiling with her pretty pink glossy lips. Mia frowned and shook her head, then looked away, letting her leave. When the plane landed, she stood up, stretched, and grabbed her purse from above her, then was the first one out of the plane. She was going to be a maid. Though it didn't bother her, the job title, she was a bit foggy on what she would be doing. Cleaning was a must, she was sure, maybe a few other things. There was also a nice little place for her to stay as well. Things were looking good for her. She stopped by a small coffee shop to get a hot latte, then wondered around to baggage claim where she was told she would meet someone. As she slowly looked around, her slim fingers played with the edges of her skirt. I hope they don't think I'm some silly teenager just because of the way I dress... She caught sight of her bag, sighed and picked it up, throwing it over her back, then with her purse in hand, she began to walk again, still searching for someone to recognize her. Arvada found herself quite pleased with Tiffany, and could only hope River would appreciate the girl's manners as much as she did. She felt a slight touch of concern at the girl's discomfort with the area. The sirens that worked here could pass as humans easily, it was probably just the curious stares that set her off. After all, it was rare to see new faces, let alone normal humans. Arvada figured she'd have to talk to them about that. "I am Arvada, it's a pleasure to meet you. You'll be working for a client of mine, Mr. Riker Ackerman. That is for another day though, today I'll just be getting you to you're rooms." She scanned the room for the other girl, between the usual hustle of creatures preparing for a trip to thenormalworld or those who have just come back it was slightly busy. It was a holiday though, at least for Fox ton Woods, and so there were a few businesses that had taken off for the weekend." Miss. Avada, if you're looking for a little lost lamb I believe I saw one over that way." David, a werewolf and the man she had appointed as manager of the airport, said as he passed. As it wasn't a full moon though, David appeared as nothing more than a normal man who had rather course shaggy black hair. Giving him a nod in thanks she led Tiffany in the direction David had gestured. Sure enough there was another human, this one looking a bit lost. " Miss. Mia Renaldo?" She questioned. Mia was in the middle of a large drink from her latte when heard her name being said. She swallowed quickly and coughed slightly, looking over to see a business-casually dressed woman with lovely facial features smiling at her. Mia couldn't help but make a small smile herself since the woman just oozed niceness. "Yes, that would be me." She nodded, walking over and bowing at the waist for a second. "I assume you are Ms. Arvada, my employer?" She asked, seeing another girl next to her. She must be another worker for the company, then. Furthermore, she thought, since while the girl seemed very polite, she didn't seem like she was in charge, like Ms. Arvada did. River lounged on his couch, flipping through the channels to his brand-new flat screen television. "Really?" He yawned. "Over seven thousand channels and I can't find one bloody thing interesting!?" He sighed and tossed the remote onto another chair in his living room, then turned on his back and stretched. He had just placed an order for a human mate yesterday, and from what he heard about the place, orders came fast. So he had been prepared for a knock on the door at any moment. He knew the human wouldn't arrive for a good few days, if what he thought was correct, but he was sure whoever it would be, Fox ton Woods would choose wisely so not to tick him off... There was a small 'ding'' from his kitchen and he groaned. "Why do I even need a kitchen?" He asked, getting up anyway and walking over. He remembered putting a blood bag into his microwave and nodded. "Right... Right..." He opened the door and pulled out the warm red slushy bag. "Lovely, just lovely." He grinned, letting his fangs protrude and biting hungrily into the bag. It wasn't as good from the source, but blood was blood, and with the rules at Fox ton Woods, he promised himself to stay out of trouble. Tiffany nodded and followed, and turned her attention to MIA, bowing her head with a polite smile but hadn't spoked out of terms. She wandered quietly thinking about this River- she didn't know what to expect. 'A client of hers, it seems more like.' She shook the thought out of her mind and continued. Tiffany wanted to tap onto Arvada shoulder to ask her something, she was curious to know 'When will I meet this Ackerman- River?' She held her hands together and close to her chest and instead spoke softly "I don't mean to be so curious-it's just part of my nature." Tiffany tilted her head slightly "What is he like, are there certain things I need to know beforehand?" Tiffany ask quietly. Tiffany wasn't used to working for someone's client- it was rare for her to even fill for such a job. In her case, she needed it, or she would have nowhere to be. Tiffany looked over to Mia the other young employee they'd been waiting for, she'd seen her before on the plane. The girl was only a few seats ahead from her, but it seemed that the miss was more kept to herself. Tiffany decided that it would be best to just keep her attention onto Miss Arvada instead. 'Would it be wrong, to ask if she had any sort of photograph of Mr. Ackerman?' She asked herself. "I am, it's a pleasure to meet you." Arvada said to Mia then noting that the two had their bags she continued, "As you two seem to have you're belongings in order I'll be taking you to your rooms now." When Tiffany asked her question Arvada smiled, "I don't have the information on me, but my assistant will be by after you two are settled in. He'll be giving you a full tour as well as answering any questions about the people whose houses you'll be working in. If you'll follow me." She led them swiftly out of the airport and to a sleek black car where a demon bus boy was waiting to load their luggage in the back. "The airport itself is separated from the town a bit. It's so the residence don't have to listen to planes taking off day in and out." Mikey kicked his bike stand up and left the motorcycle by the side of the road. Today Arvada had him running all over Fox ton Woods. It really was a good thing he didn't pay for his own gas on work days. This was his first stop, and it promised to be much better than the next. Lord Takashi quite honestly gave him many kinds of Beebe Jeeves. This stop however was for River. Walking up to the door he knocked on it and waited patiently. After all the longer this took the shorter he could make his next stop. Tiffany nodded and then fell silent as she had followed Arvada and Mia. She had allowed the bus boy to take her things and had slid into the car, still being a young adult she didn't know whether being here was her best idea- but she had plenty time to debate the issue. Within her mind the thought continued to tick 'River, it doesn't seem like a real name-well then again it could be foreign. Or. What if it was a nickname?' Tiffany couldn't shake the thoughts away, as much as she tried thinking of something else-Mr. Ackerman would pop back into her mind. 'What if he's rude. Or what if.' She closed her eyes and sighed. 'What if he's a grumpy old rich man?' She looked over, outside the open door and waited for Mia and Arvada to enter. She hadn't wanted to mention what was going through her head, so she offered her hand out to Mia to help her into the back "What have you applied yourself for Miss Mia?" She asked quietly and curiously. Tiffany patted the seat next to her and smiled "I've applied as housekeeper, it's something I haven't done in ages, but I have the experience, and I don't mind looking after people-just as long as they aren't rude." She quivered lightly feeling slightly odd and tried shaking it off "I'm not used to moving away from where I was born, this is the first time I've traveled anywhere" She finished with a tense of shoulders. "Just walking down the street.... doom due Dee.... I'm hers.... mine," Greta, who had been singing rather loudly to herself, slowly grew silent as almost every piece of baggage that could be found in baggage claim was picked up. It wasn't long before more suitcases, duffle bags, and packages found their way onto the conveyed belt, but none of them were Greta's. Standing there, chewing on cuffs of the dress suit she wore underneath her gray baggy sweater, she shifted her weight from stalking-clad leg to stalk-clad leg. Along with the deep blue pencil skirt and buckled leather shoes, she looked sharp, if not a little vacuous. After several minutes, however, she grinned abruptly, slamming a fist into the opposite palm. "That's right!" she exclaimed, "I didn't bring any luggage save for a backpack. Now where is that?" Once again fidgety, she looked around, turning a complete three-hundred and sixty degrees before finding her luggage on the floor next to her. Swinging it onto one shoulder, she grinned and looked around for the person who was supposed to be picking her up, all the while humming to herself. Avery was back at Arvada's Mansion. She was setting a few things up, plus making sure everything was ready for the incoming guests. Not only that, but a few deliveries needed a signature on them. So Avery was setting that up for the Miss. She was just walking threw the main room. A clipboard in her hand, and a pen in the other. Not that Avery was completely sure was in the boxes. She was only told to sign them in. She slid a hand threw her long brown hair. Today Avery wore a pair of black pants, and a plain white dress shirt on top. She also had a black sweatshirt on though, since she was a bit chilly. The loading docks got that way at times. Although now she was to meet Arvada as the airport. The new girls coming in would have already been there, or at least they should have been. While going outside, and getting into the car, Avery thought back to when she had first come to the town. It was a few years ago after all. Maybe two or three. Although she did not know much of the townspeople since she was taking care of the human girls with most of the time. She stayed mostly inside of cars, or inside of buildings. Almost like she was being protected from something on the outside. Not that she paid much attention to that anymore. Avery arrived at the airport. Stepping out with a pair of heels. She was a short girl, so heels gave her a bit more height. Avery stood and waited by the car. Knowing where the Misses would be standing inside. "Maybe they're waiting for me outside," Greta pondered, shifting the weight of her backpack while continuing on about how it would be nice to have some fresh air anyway and how it stunk so much on the plane that she thought she's having passed out. Did anyone else get that feeling to? Or was it just her? Probably not because so many other people were going on about it to. You'd think that someone would have done something about that by now. Maybe they were working on something right now.... Every once in a while someone would push past her, disheveling her, offering an apology, and then quickly moving on their way. And sometimes not even that. Greta didn't mind though, she herself was deep in intellectual thought about how to improve the air quality of an airplane; she just couldn't be bothered by other people, unless, of course, one of them wanted to talk. Arvada's cellphone let out a quiet little beep, and she pulled it out of her pocket, scanning the device she raised an eyebrow at the message before her. One of the girls had arrived early? Just as well she supposed. She was about to turn around when she spotted Avery at the other company medical. "Miss. Avery, it seems we have an early arrival. I'm going back inside to collect her, would you please get Miss. Fe'Lance and Miss. Renaldo to the Inn and brief them on who they'll be working for once they're settled in."" Hey, Mr. River! You in?" He called ringing the doorbell. Mikey shifted from foot to foot and ran a hand through his messy reddish brown hair. If he had to wait too much longer he'd need to leave a note and move on to Lord Takashi's. Looking back towards the town Mikey couldn't help but smile. This place had been his home for as long as he could remember. Despite being in the middle of nowhere it was rather active. Even at night, not that he ventured out often at that time, there was always something going on. In fact this evening there was going to be a festival in celebration of the town's opening, as it was who knows how many years ago today that the town had open to it's first inhabitants. He had seen the decorating crew on his way to Mr. River's. A particularly vibrant witch and her family had been stringing up lights on main street. Some vendors were also setting up stalls with what seemed to be some particularly interesting games. He wondered if Arvada would be inviting the new girls to the festival or if Avery would be coming, this would be the first time she had the opportunity. "Super sigh," Greta yawned, stretched, and continued mumbling to herself as people pushed past her, never really coming from the same direction. "Geese, everyone here is like an ant. Hmm, not really, actually. Ants are more organized, these people would be a whole swarm of mosquitoes or flies, something like that. Though I don't think anyone here would feed off of garbage or suck blood. But saying that means I'm taking my simile all too literal, but aren't similes supposed to be literal? Or am I thinking of idioms? No, wait, idioms are weird confusing sayings, so similes would be..." Losing sight of her reasoning, Greta became quiet. Soon, however, her silence was broken with a cry of dismay; while talking to herself she had also been moving with the current of the surrounding population. "How could I be so obtuse!" she cursed herself, quickly trying to peek over the crowd and get a general understanding of where she was. After a minute, she deduced that she was near security line for departing passengers. And after another minute, recognized a course to bring her back to the baggage claim." Hopefully I didn't leave whoever is picking me up waiting for long," thinking this, she made her way back to the revolving conveyor belt and luggage. Arvada, trusting that Avery had heard her or would manage on her own at least, made her way back to the airport and the baggage claim. Looking around she spotted the unexpected arrival. The girl seemed to be in mid-rant about something and barely aware of those that bumped into her. As the girl walked to the conveyor belt Arvada walked over to her. What was her name? She had only brought the profiles for the two she had been planning to pick up. She vaguely remembered the face though and thought over what she remembered. No luck, she couldn't recall the name just that she was to be a secretary until they could find someone to match her with. After all it was nice to have a stock of merchandise rather than needing to wait for orders to come in. "Excuse me, Miss." Arvada spoke getting closer to the girl, "Are you by chance here for a job at Ho mun co.?" ((Sorry it's been awhile. It's hard to get to a computer on weekdays. ^^" I hope this is god enough to catch up. Shout at me if I did something wrong or need to tweak something))Mia sat down next to Tiffany after she patted the seat next to her. Her bags had already been taken care of- except her purse which sat neatly in her lap at the moment. "I'm doing practically the same." She shrugged, seeing how tense she was. "Maid." She coughed uncomfortably, seeing Tiffany's shoulders relax and slightly smiling. "I understand. I haven't really lived anywhere else either so this is my first time all on my own, for real. Like, It's really hard." She sighed, feeling like a stupid angsty teenager... Which is what she really thought she was, but tried not to be. "Well, I look forward to working with you miss Tiffany. If you need anything just say." She shrugged, then leaned back in the seat, closing her eyes, but not sleeping. When Mrs. Arvada left to go take care of some other business, Mia straightened up and yawned. Jet lag was catching on, but she knew she couldn't sleep. So she peeked over to Tiffany and smirked. "So... Where exactly are you from?" She asked curiously, unsuccessfully trying to figure out where she could get such strange clothes. Riker heard the door. No way did he want to answer it though, since he halfway new what to expect. So he tossed in another blood bag into the microwave, turned on the timer and went back to his couch, opening a book and waiting on his artificial meal. When the singer went off again, River stood up and began walking over to the kitchen to retrieve it. There was another knock at the door, and this time a voice. A young man's voice. River groaned and rolled his eyes. "Fine..." He mumbled under his breath and went to the door. When he opened it, he frowned. "Yes. I am Mr. Ackerman. What can I help you with, son?" He asked impatiently. "Oh," Greta, swiveling around on her heel, faced the woman who had spoken to her. Most people would have been surprised or taken away if torn from such intense thought that Greta was experiencing, but she was quick when it came to speaking and switching subjects, so she was able to answer the smartly dressed woman without hesitation. "Yes, I am. Are you the one who's picking me up? Or are you another new employee? It would be so cool because," she stopped herself, took in a deep breath and exhaled before continuing again. "Sorry, I become off-topic very easily. My name's Greta, Greta Dolmen." Swinging her arm forward, she held out her hand to the woman. ((It's okay I know how that goes *I just had to pace back and forth waiting for a computer to free up just a moment ago* >. Mikey looked back at the door when it finally opened. "Ah, Mr. River. I'm Mikey from Ho mun co. I'm here about your delivery. She just came in today, her name is Tiffany Fe'Lance and this file has some extra statistics on her that you may find useful." He held out the file, "Just so you know she'll be settling in tonight, but she should be by sometime tomorrow. Plus she'll be working as your maid. As for her schedule that is up to you. Any questions?" Tiffany tilted her head curiously "I'm from Salem. I mean-everyone there is up-to-date, I prefer to be a bit more, different?" She felt a bit strange and sighed "Salem used to be a problem area-with all the burnings and hanging of 'Witches' but now it's one of the most populated areas to study witchcraft. I'm one of them-what I wear, are my great-grandmother's old clothes. She was the last woman in Salem to be burned; I kept her legacy going because my grandmother, and my mother have also studied in demonology and witchcraft." Tiffany stared out the window and frowned slightly. "Since arrival, it just hasn't felt right. I don't know; maybe it's just what I was used to, and now being in a different surrounding I feel that everyone around is simply strange. When in reality- I'm the one that's strange" Tiffany looked back at Mia and slightly smiled "I apologize if I weird you out, I just like to hear myself talk sometimes-due to the fact I'm always stuck in a home far off from society" She giggled lightly. Tiffany had the thought of Ackerman run through her head again "So- what do you think Ms. Arvada's clients will be like? I'm kind of nervous" She admitted quietly Mia decided that Tiffany wasn't all that bad of a girl. Of course, she thought she was a little strange, but who wouldn't think that Mia wasn't strange? "Salem, eh? Interesting..." She nodded as she listened to Tiffany closely. She had always been told that she was a good listener, but never had she believed anyone until now. Mia remained silent until Tiffany asked what she thought their employers would be like. Mia sighed and closed her eyes. "Well... This is a nice company. They have the money to be doing all of this for employees like us, right?... So... The employers must be loaded with cash. Rich people. That's what I think." She shrugged. "What about you? Are you worried or something?" She asked. Riker listened to the boy and nodded. "Oh, right... Uhm... Excellent news, thank you my boy." He said, blinking a few times. "I do have one question, however." He said, taking the file from the human boy's hands and nodding in thanks. "You know what, never mind it. You may go about your business." He sighed, offering out his free hand to shake. {Vienna, I think you forgot about Greta ^^"} Tiffany sank into the seat and held herself lightly "I'm just worried that her client is some perverted old man" She chuckled though, it was her own little joke; but still that could be just it. Tiffany shrugged her shoulders and sat back up, then leaning against the window as she stared out "I have a problem with some people, well, it depends." Tiffany closed her eyes "There are people today in Salem, that still have beliefs that burning a witch would cleanse that place-so judgmental people don't do to well with me; then again-that makes me a hypocrite because I judge them for judging me." She frowned and stared at her shoes "Maybe that's why I lost my last job. My employer didn't like me- even though I was his best; he just didn't like me because of what I studied, then him and I got into a fight-so he fired me because I told him he was wrong" She sniffled and twiddled her fingers "I just hope this Mr. Ackerman isn't the same, hopefully he's more understanding." She said softly ((note from Vienna: I'm busy, and it's all arise_anime's fault XD we came up with an epic character(s) and she was main me type it! Now back to your regularly scheduled arise_anime))((Yeah we are arguing in person in case you were wondering Sgt;.Lt;))Lord Takashi paced back and forth in his bed chambers occasionally looking out the window in irritation. The birds were finally flying south for the winter. The cold air didn't bother him too much. He looked behind him as he heard something stir behind him, he saw his beloved little cat demons Jug and Nob snuggled together. A smile came to his usually sorrowful face at the site of them behaving (they usually fought in their sleep.) "Well I guess it's not to bad I just wish they had someone to play with............I hope they get her here soon." ((The Salem thing made me laugh. Not in a bad way, but the witch burnings didn't happen in now a day Salem. It happened in a small town nearby. Tourists get so upset when they find that they are in the wrong town all the time! XD *Side note* I'm not saying this to be a bitch, I live less than 20 minutes from Salem MA, so I always get excited when others mention it. I'm pretty much like YAY! Oh! And Salem is STILL a problem area. The religious nuts come out every Halloween. Enough said there.)) Avery Had been leaning against the car. Watching the people pass. Most were in a hurry. Wanting to get where they wanted to go. And now was the issue. Many though Avery would speak to. They were well known clients to Arvada. Normally they would go threw Avery to get to Arvada after all. One man in particular stopped and spoke to Avery. He was a sweet old man. Much like everyone's grandfather in a way. He went on his way just as Arvada came out. Asking a small favor. "Yes, no problem in the least bit. I'll get them settled in." Avery told Arvada. Sliding a hand threw her hair as her boss left to hunt the other person down. Avery looked to the two girls. Still completely in conversation. Not that Avery would interrupt them. They had a lot to talk about, although it could wait. Gaining friends was important in this business. Avery got into the car after words, knocking on the divided window to allow the driver to know to start driving. Which he did. Having to wait a few moments to pull away from the curb and peel out into traffic. He was listening to their conversation. Learning just a small bit about the girls before she would speak. Which she waited to do so. "I hope you two had a grand flight." Avery finally said. She was supposed to be very good with people. Starting conversations was normally something she was good at also. "My name is Avery Whiten, I work for Arvada as her Operations Manager, and assistant at times." [[IOC: lol I know I just had no idea what to post XD; I just jotted down first thing that came to mind- I've always wanted to go to Salem myself~ I'd actually like to live there.]] ((Yes, the Salem thing increased me~ Awesome mind, Toxic. Your Groovy!~))Mia smiled. "I strongly doubt that he'd be a mean old man. Your just anxious. Relax a little." She nodded, listening further. When the other girl spoke, Mia turned her head. "The flight was... ERM... well enough, thanks. It's nice to meet you Ms. Whiten." Mia smirked. "So... Mind easing a worried soul?" She asked, pointing to Tiffany. "Do you know anything about her employer?" Tiffany smiled and nodded her head in respect to Avery, and then stuck her tongue out at Mia as she asked if Ms. Whiten could calm her. "I'm perfectly fine" She pouted and then laughed "OK yeah I am a bit worried- But I can handle it~!" she said confidently, but still was curious about her this man "Do you know about Mr. Ackerman?" Tiffany never really was someone to be so social as she was at the moment, she never really would speak unless spoken to. She smiled softly and relaxed her nerves "I've had one too many bad customers or clients-whatever. I'm just scared thinking he could be like one of them." She said as she frowned "But then again, I suppose I can loosen up, like you said-Miss Mia" Tiffany finished and looked over to Ms. Whiten. ((@ Pippin I also didn't see your post till I posted >.and Arise is leaving us for a bit now >.> Nob snuggled closer to his twin. He was only half asleep as he always woke up slightly when either Lord Takashi or his brother left the bed. Peeking open a golden cat-like eye he looked about for his Lord. "What troubles you my lord?" he questioned with a small yawn. Getting slightly distracted he looked out the grand window and remembered the festival tonight. He was hoping they'd be going." Ah, it's not a problem, nice to meet you. I am your employer, and I'm here to pick you up. My name is Arvada Several" Arvada shook the girl's hand. She was certainly an interesting character. Arvada had to wonder how well Avery would get along with her until she was transferred for an order. Mikey was curious about the unasked question, but it wasn't his job to pry, besides he still had to visit the Lord and then go see the new girls and hopefully have it all done in time for the festivities. "Have a nice day sir." He said and dismissed himself and headed off on his bike. It was a bit of a ride to the lord's mansion. Mikey had only been around him once or twice, but always while Arvada was around. He got the since that Arvada didn't like the Lord being around him all that much, and therefore was a bit uncomfortable going up here alone. There were also the twins, who he couldn't read at all, sometimes they seemed to be really close and then other times it seemed they were about to kill each other. He decided that he'd stand a good distance from the door... just to be safe. River watched the boy leave then went inside, tossing the girl's file onto his couch. What was that boy's name? I swear I know it... He's one of Ms. Arvada's assistants. Isn't he? The thoughts escaped him as his eyes traveled to the file on his couch. He walked over and gingerly opened it, humming the tunes to an old opera song he loved. "A miss Tiffany Fe'Lance." He said, practicing the way it sounded coming from his lips. "Tiffany Fe'Lance... A good french name, no?" He grinned, pulling out a few more papers. When he reached the photos, he stopped and frowned. "Tiffany Fe'Lance... Fe'Lance...' He pulled out a few of his favorite pictures and just stared at her. She was beautiful. Especially for a human. He straightened up in a bolt, pushing the papers back into the file and throwing the file into a drawer by the door. When he closed the dresser drawer, he went to the kitchen and pulled the blood bag out of the microwave from earlier. It had gotten a bit cold, but he was hungry. Very hungry suddenly. The entire bag was empty in a few seconds and he groaned. He couldn't wait for another bag to be made... What he needed was Tiffany... Though he asked for a 'mate'. He had hoped she wouldn't mind letting a little blood go for his sake. Human blood was amazing to his tongue. He couldn't help himself... The feeling simmered, and he could sense his fangs retracting. Things needed to be done before Ms. Fe'Lance arrived. Many things indeed... {XD Thought that was the case ^^ Just wanted to be sure X3}Greta's eyes widened." That's such a pretty name! It's original and is so fun to say. By employer do you mean you're the CEO? I thought there was something official about you. Official being how friendly, but business like at the same time, the way only a really great boss could! And it's so awesome that you actually pick up your new employees, what a huge moral boost that must be. I-," she stopped herself again. "Sorry," she withdrew her hand, realizing she had been shaking Arvada's vigorously while she had been rambling. "I don't mean to be embarrassing or annoying, I'll try harder not to speak as much." Her actions confirmed her self-discipline as she straitened her back and pulled a very serious expression of set determination across her face. Avery had to think for just a moment as Mia asked her the question. There were so many residents of the town, very few even stuck out to her completely. Then again, Avery spent most of her days indoors. Doing one thing or another. Not that it was lonely or anything. She seemed always surrounded by people. "Sir River Ackerman? The times I have met him he seemed to enjoy a good joke. I would say he is a Playful individual. Well, I rarely hear bad things about the man." Avery said to them, then reaching just a way next to her to pick up a small folder. Well two folders to be precise. She opened the second of the two and glanced at it for a second before setting it back down. The Lord was someone she knew Arvada was not fond of, but Avery did not know much more than that on the man. "Lord Takashi, sadly is someone I do not know much of. He rarely comes to the mansion." Avery said. Well she was partly honest, but there was no use scaring the girls that night. They had already had a very long day. Traveling and such. "We should be there in just a few more minutes. There would you girls like me to show you around, or bring you to your rooms to unpack and rest?" During Greta's rant Arvada could hardly contain the amusement that bubbled up. One of her eyebrows had shifted upward, and she wondered if the girl was on a sugar hype or possibly affine? She somehow felt the girl was actually being honest and not just trying to suck up. No matter why, Greta definitely came off as energetic, she'd have to take care with matching her for an order. "It's quite alright" She said amusement edging her words once she regained her hand, "Now, if you'll follow me I'll take you to where you'll be staying. Oh, wait do you have all you're bags?" Arvada glanced about wondering if all she had was her backpack.((by the way, I love your character XD so apically hyper)) He looked around to his little kit "It's nothing little one just thinking don't worry yourself.............how would you like to go to the festival with me and Jug tonight." He smiled loving at the little ones as Jug began to stir." Master are we really going to the festival tonight." Jug jumped up and hugged Takashi with reckless abandon and ended up hitting him in the nose. (@ Arise >. Nobu bristled at his twin's sudden moment, hadn't he been asleep a moment ago? Nob glared slightly in his brother's direction. "Faker. Don't pretend to be sleeping if you aren't." He was slightly concerned for Takashi but knew better than to think anything Jug could do would have any terminate damage. However, that didn't mean he couldn't use this as an opportunity. With swiftness, he made it to the other two and practically shoved his brother away. "My lord, are you alright?" Tiffany looked away out to the horizon and didn't much know what Mia would like to donor what the other new employees wanted either 'I would just like to settle to where I'm supposed to be.' She frowned and felt some sort of ringing in her ear. 'Is someone talking about me?' Tiffany wondered. Her mind wandered off elsewhere. She remembered something one of her friends was referencing to, a lullaby sung by handmaidens. 'REI.' Tiffany closed her eyes as the lullaby haunted her mind. "Sleeping Priestess" She whispered; though she didn't mean to. Why was the song in her head? 'Sleep, priestess, lie in peace Sleep, priestess, lie in peace If you cry, the boat you'll ride The last trip to the other side Once you get there The bib you shall wear You will be punished Should you fail to lie still... Sleep, priestess, lie in peace Sleep, priestess, lie in peace If the priestess should wake from her dream Perform the rite of stakes, her limbs pinned tight Lest the doors open wide and suffering unleashed on all... Go to the other side Go to the other side Cast the boat, take a ride Cross the rift to the other side Further and further to the other side It must sail bearing your tattoos And our offering of tears.' She was singing it under her breath, and finally came to her senses 'REI, the only reason why you have sung that song is because you like scaring me.' Tiffany hoped the other two hadn't heard her, or they would probably think she was insane. 'That song has no reference to me. I might have spiritual tattoos, but I'm no priestess. Hmph.' Tiffany sat quietly without another word and waited for someone else to answer. {Vienna: Thanks XD I know, right? I know a person who's like this so it's easy to RP as this OC XD}"Yep, Ms. Several, I'm a light packer," Greta resumed the cheerful look that she had left the plane with, though this did not mean that she was not restraining herself. Not in the slightest. If she wasn't holding back, she would have asked Arvada is it was Mrs. or Ms. And if it was Mrs., how long was she married. What was married life like? She couldn't wait till she was married, but doubted that any man would love her enough to commit unless he was as crazy as she was. What was being a CEO like? She wanted to ask but didn't want to get fired just after being hired. Mia listened to Avery, unaware of what Tiffany was mumbling under her breath about. She skipped past all the information about Mister Ackerman and tuned into the part about a lord or something. "A lord? That's what he wants people to call him?" She scoffed. "He must have a pretty high self-esteem." She crossed her arms. "Though I would never do anything rebellious against him if that were the case... I'm all bark and no bite." She shrugged, uncrossing her arms and leaning forward slightly to see what she was looking at. "He's going to be my employer than?... This 'Lord' guy?..." ((sorry you guys the internet in our dorm was down for a couple of days))((to vixen-and fish i don't want to hear it you saw me type it you should have corrected me then so stuff it or ill rape you tonight XD))Jug glared at Nob and pushed him back from Takashi. "I'm so sorry master I didn't mean to hurt you please forgive me."" It's quite alright little one you did me no harm." He pulled both Jug and Nob into a tight hug before they could resume their bickering once again. Avery noticed how Tiffany seemed to completely zone out. At least from everything Avery had told her. She closed her eyes for a second. If the two girls were not so close, she would have sighed heavily. Tiffany's voice was truly beautiful though. It did surprise her how suddenly she heard a question. She looked up the other girl in the car, Mia. "That is what the report says. But like I said before, I personality do not know much about the man." Avery said to her. Setting the folders down on her lap. She paused as the Manor came into view. "We are here ladies. You did never answer my question before." Avery said to them both. Either showing them around, or they would just sleep. Either was up to them. Avery did have work to be done, but it could wait just a bit longer. ((Not really sure where I should begin/jump in, so I do hope this is acceptable)) How many days can pass in bleak unbreakable routine? One after another, all in quick succession, blurring together for all their apparent normalcy. She'd have given anything to break the spell of habitual sameness, the day-to-day activities that marked a lack of funding, a lack of muse, and a lack of direction. She could only vaguely recall her days as an undergrad now, though they were not particularly far behind her, and grad school still hovered somewhere off in a far distant future where she had plenty of money to spare for keeping the interest off of loans as she paid the rent and lived off the lonely bachelorette's classic, take out for one... One of these days she'd learn how to cook, though these days most ingredients for a meal cost about the same as ordering a small one from one of the local dives or a nearby fast food joint. Day in and day out she'd go to the fridge and frown as she scrunched her brows trying to identify some mold covered food that never should have been left there unattended for as long as it has. Now covered in a fine layer of hairy white flecked with bits of blue, what may or may not have been domain was carefully lifted with one hand as she pinched her nose with the other. Tossing it away as quickly as she could, Amanda tapped the fridge shut with her foot and sighed before turning to bag the trash, tying it tight. From her room, a familiar tune began playing, and she cursed, letting the trash bag drop back into the can. What a day she thought as she scrambled into her bedroom, hopping over two half finished canvases and a scattered pile of job applications to reach her desk, where her cellphone chirped out a merry little tune. Flipping it open she winced as she greeted whoever was on the other line, her voice shaking a bit as she did so. "H-hello?" There was no measure for how much she detested speaking on the phone. Even with a friend on the other end of the line, there was always some sense of foreboding that came about with the whole process. Listening patiently as an unfamiliar voice detailed the terms of what she had lately been referring to as 'the dream job' her eyes bulged, and she thanked her lucky stars that the man on the other end of the line couldn't see her right now. "Of course I'm still interested." Amanda's voice came in a hurried rush. "No, no, that isn't a problem at all. I can be there in an hour," she informed the man. Though a few more words were exchanged between the two, she barely heard them, so overcome was she with disbelief which, as she was finally able to hang up and pause a moment to let the particulars of the situation sink in, turned to an excited exuberance. She'd landed the 'dream job,' the one she'd been telling all of her friends about, knowing all the while that they'd never choose her. Her resume wasn't anywhere near as strong as it could have been. Fresh out of college, her credentials were no better than anyone else's, and she hadn't really been holding out for it. Already she'd sent out dozens of applications to any place claiming to be hiring, and thus far she'd received nothing but the dreaded polite rejection...until now. Now, it appeared that someone was finally interested in her talents. With a little whoop of joy she pumped a fist in the air and practically danced toward her closet. Best to get all of this pent-up excitement out now, for later she'd be on her way to Human Co. and she would have to be at her most reserved, ready to fulfill whatever duties where issued to her. ((sorry it's a bit short and kinda crepuscular)) Tiffany looked over at Avery, and spoke quite forward "I really would like to meet my employer. But again, I wouldn't want to intrude; I believe he really is expecting his housekeeping tomorrow." She shyly looked away and put her hands onto her own lap "I'd like to be acquainted with him, so I'm not as scared to meet him tomorrow." Tiffany sat up and brushed herself off. [[writer's block AND got work D:]] ((I'd post something, but I don't have enough time before roll call. So just letting you guys know I'm alive and will post tomorrow =P @Seridano- actually *though I haven't checked for sure* that may be the longest post and I don't think it's bad =P)) Smeared blues and greens and browns stained Age's bare legs and boxers as he wiped his hands against them. True, the apron he was wearing was designed for the purpose of keeping his clothes clean, but he couldn't really use it to wipe his hands with. It was already caked with paint and charcoal, oils and pastels. The sooner his order came the better. Then his clothes would be washed, the dishes cleaned... Kage sighed whimsically, breaking his concentration from the gargantuan canvas in front of him and letting his thoughts wonder. How had he managed to find one so big anyway? After several years he had forgotten how but not the why. He needed something colossus for his project. A painted diary. He grinned, using a finger, dusty and purple with dried paint, to trace the figures he had drawn. There were the beginnings of a forest that melted into a decaying city; a memoir of his journey as a hatchling, if only more dramatic. A crystal lake, pure and unadulterated by the bloody battle and the soldiers that were frozen in place a distance away. He had added these on the day when he settled down here and felt overwhelmed by everything. Everything was coming out in bits and pieces that day, he couldn't put anything down on paper and have it make sense. Dropping his hand, he took one last look at his painting before walking away. Stepping out of the garage where his art studio was, if it could be called an art studio-there were so many empty paint tubes and broken brushed along with used canvases all over the place that it looked like more like a dump-, he flicked off the lights and shut the door. As he traveled down the hallway he untied his apron only to pull it back on. He was hungry. Making a sharp left turn where his hallway divided into his bedroom and kitchen and entered his kitchen. Popping open the fridge, he pulled out a bowl of blackberries along with three eggs. Soon, he also had gathered flour and buttermilk, whipping them together to make a smooth thick batter. He sniffed it, added some seeds and cinnamon, mixed it some more, and then pored all of it into a skillet that already had the butter melting. Five minutes later one large flapjack lay on top of Age's plate, smothered in cream and berries. Plopping down onto his bed with a satisfied grunt, he dug into his breakfast. Quite literally, in fact, since he had no utensils, not anywhere in the house. After a session of messy eating, he fell face first on his bed, content and sleepy with his full stomach. Slowly, he drifted off into a deep and uninterrupted sleep. Frost opens her eyes again as she tried to wake up. She finally gave up and sat up looked about her surroundings. This was not her base and where was she. She looked down at her hands seeing that rings where gone. Whit out thinking she reached for her weapon and soon began to panic as she found none. She jumped up and looked about the strange room she was in for some explanation for why she was there and where her weapons where. Her mind raced as she tried to remember what had happened before she blacked out. Her eye's shifted to a door as she heard others near. She slowly moved towards it and gazed out of the small crack looking for any clue to where she was and why. Her head hurt for some odd reason she wandered if she had been knocked out by some chance of fate before ending up here where ever here was for her. She could tell it was rather up scale but the decor of the room she was in. Something she wasn't used to because of the places she had to go to complete most of her missions. When she got out of this place she would give head quarts as piece of her mind about this. If she ever got out of this strange place. She kept quite as she waited hoping that the others would just pass and not enter the room. Maybe she had just been placed there for a while and these where just workers making their way to their job in the place. She hoped that was the case so she could make her escape. She didn't need her weapons to take out a few simple guards or to get answers on why she was being held in this place. But she did need to get out and figure out what was going on. Yasha gazed at the moon as he stood in one of the many courtyards admiring its beauty. He loved how the moon could turn anything magical and well deadly as well. A slight smile appeared on his lips as he smelt something so entreating. It had been a while since he had smelt humans that smelt so tempting. Or it could be the fact he hadn't fed yet as well. He let out a sigh as he looked back to the moon and sipped on his glass of wine. Before he was turned many moons ago he had been a winemaker. His love for wine still over the many years hadn't changed nor had his taste for the finer things in life. He had been lucky to find this strange and decant place that he now called home. It was better than the mansions and palaces and even the graveyards he had occupied over the years. At lest here he didn't have to hide what he was or worry about others finding out what he was and trying to hunt him again. ((ANNOUNCEMENT TO ALL- I've made a list at the bottom of the profile post listing character relations -who owns who- if you'd prefer a different pairing just say, otherwise the only thing that will change them is the characters themselves as they interact aka char1 decides it no longer likes/trusts char2 and runs off with char3)"Very well, if you'll follow me I'll show you where you'll be staying. Just so you know, you'll be working under my Operations Manager." Arvada said taking in the girl before her. As she led her to the entrance where another company car was just pulling up she pondered this girls personality and Avery. They'd probably get along fine, even if Greta's self-control didn't hold up. She regarded Avery as one of the more level-headed individuals here. "On occasion I do have my employees work for some local businesses, would it bother you if I were to do this with you?" It was a formality to ask more than anything. If she had a client and Greta matched the description then she'd be transferred. Mikey sighed as he reached Lord Takashi's place. It was night now which made him feel less safe outside the vampire's home. Though he knew many of Fox ton Woods residence he didn't view any of them as monsters really. Takashi and his two demons however... were the only ones he had a bad experience with. Ringing the doorbell, and shaking away bad memories, he took a few swift steps backward to have some distance between him and the door. Takashi perked his head up hearing the chime of the doorbell. "Wonder who that could be" Takashi placed the twins on the bed and proceeded to the door to greet his guest. As Takashi opened the door who is he to find but his favorite toy Mikey. "Well well well it's been a long time has it not young one, to be honest I thought she would start sending someone else over here after the last encounter." Takashi gave a perverted smirk." Master who is it who is it." Jug's eyes widened on seeing the guest, an evil grin gracing his already indecent appearance. " Master he came back to play with us can we keep him this time pretty please master ill take perfect care of him this time PLEASE." Jug started jumping up and down frantically with excitement (in more than one way I might add ^.^) at the mere thought of Mikey staying in the mansion with them. He awoke for another day, his body and sore and aching, as if that was much of a change. He got himself out of his bed, his eyes still closed as he is reflexes were sharp enough so that he didn't need to have his sight to know his surroundings to a hair's distance. His nostrils flared as he smelt the exact same smells as he did the day before, and the day before that. The same smells of slight cinnamon and nothing else, only the smell that he emitted. He heaved a sigh, his chest visibly lifting and falling with the force he put into it, his hands coming up to cover his face. He brought his hands down, his arms and hands hung loosely at his sides. Furthermore, he opened his eyes, running them over the room. Furthermore, he chuckled to himself, stopping his gaze around the room, he already knew that the same boring lamp, with the same boring lamp shade would be waiting for him around his peripheral. No one there occupying the space by his side, the empty space in his bed. The scriptures had it wrong, Angels couldn't love humans, it wasn't forbidden and even if it was, it's not as if he had to obey the rules now anyway. He sighed again, walking himself to the shower, the exact same mundane routine as every day. His wings unfurled and brushed along the doorways, the tips of the feathers sometimes bending, he twitched slightly at the feeling. He showered, crying softly in the shower for a while before walking out, grabbing a towel and drying his hair, he had something he needed to request of Human Co, he'd heard tell that a few of the other creatures nearby had gotten humans as companions or pets, it intrigued him, maybe they could find him a mate. With this idea in his mind, he walked into his room, a soft smile on his face, his eyes actually gaining a lighter quality. He grabbed a pair of jeans and a tight-fitting shirt. He closed his eyes and focused, shaking slightly, a white light emitted seemingly from within himself, his wings dissolving into the white light. Furthermore, he threw on the tight shirt and a jacket and walked out the front door, in the direction of Human Co, whistling softly. Because watched the woman walk over and try to look through the crack in the door. She was the second person that he knew of that had wondered onto Arvada's vast property. The other had been killed before security had gotten to them, lucky he had been able to possess the demon that had jumped this one. The demon still lurked outside the room's door though, with the understanding that if things didn't go as planned he'd get to Finnish her off. Becoming visible Because leaned over silently so he was speaking into the girl's ear, "What's so interesting about the door? It isn't locked you know. But I wouldn't go out just yet, he'll eat you." Frost turned quickly without thinking as she reached out aiming to kill who every was behind her daring to whisper in her ear. She froze as she found nothing behind other than an image. She tried again to punish the man but found that she went threw him. Furthermore, she backed away from him and found herself against the door as it clicked shut behind her. For the first time she couldn't protect herself from this thing. Where was she being all she could think as her eye's gazed at the being from beneath her hood. She had lost it she thought as she stared at the being. Ghost where only in stories to scare little kids. "I'm where? What is this place and how did I get here." She said as she stared at the ghost hoping that in reality it was just some sick joke being played on her by the government. She really hoped he was just a hologram. But in her heart she felt that it wasn't, and she was in a rather strange place that she herself wouldn't have chosen to be willingly. Or had she as she tried to think back. The missions had gone harder, and she had thought of leaving but every one knows once an assassin always, and you can never leave the government want to let you. "Oh don't be like that" he pouted at her, "so defensive." he backed up and crossed his legs so he was basically sitting in midair. Glancing at his legs he realized he was still slightly transparent "Sorry about that." He solidified his appearance a bit more so that he looked solid. "Anyway, welcome to Fox ton Woods. You seemed to have wondered into our humble abode. Most human's get the pleasant tour and are allowed to believe what they wish about the town's people. You however have wandered in the back door. So, you get to see the gritty side of things. You'll also be working for Lady Arvada." Because said it all with a pleasant smile and a tone that made it sound like he was talking about what he had for breakfast. "Any questions?" Frost gazed at the strange being as she lessened to him still not understanding how she got there in the first place and wandered who this Lady Arvada was the strange man was speaking of. "One who is Lady Arvada, and where is Fox ton Woods located? What am I supposed to do here?" She said as she crossed her arms not liking how this day was turning out of her. "Am I security? Or what is my job here? Though I guess you wouldn't know would you. You're not Lady Arvada and since I am to be working for her, I should ask her." Because laughed, "Well you're sharp! Surprisingly clam too. I suppose that's expected though... if our intel is right anyway. It normally is though... so boring." He spaced out for a moment and faded physically as his attention wavered. Shaking his head he regained his appearance and focused back on his guest. "Anyway, the boss lady should be by sooner or later and then you can discuss your future with her." He smiled in a sort of conspiring way, "Feel free to attack her like you tried with me. I honestly think she needs a little pick me up. She won't be made either, I promise!" Coz then seemed to flicker out of existence, but then remembering something poked his head back in through the wall. "By the way, the demon will still be there till Arvada sends him off, and I'll be lurking as well, so I really suggest you just chill out here till Arvada gives you the terms of your survival." With one last cheery smile he vanished through the wall. Frost glared at the being from beneath her hood. First rule never attack an opponent unless you know them better than you know yourself. She didn't know who this Arvada was and didn't too much like the being that kept giving her the strange smiles and suggestions. He would never make it as an informant with his lack of conversation skills. He never really answered her question just beat around the bush about them. She walked to the chair at the far end of the room and to her set as she closed her eyes facing the door. Arvada was the boss around this strange place, so there was no need to waste her time and energy with the grunts. Her questions she would save for the one person who could answer them. Though she had to admit she did like the strange spirit in an odd way. "Really? That's neat!" Greta found that the more she practiced her self-control the easier it became, maybe one day she'd be able to only speak when spoken to! But right at the moment that seemed far off and almost impossible. "Oh, but," she paused, and blushed. Should she really say? "I'm fine with anything you want me to do, just please don't send me off to a company that has anything to do with squeaky noises. High pitch sounds are one of my pet peeves." She flinched as if this confession would cause her new boss to burst out laughing or fire her or anything else at Greta's expense.{Bah, bored, I'm going to make Age do some'n! XD}To his surprise, Age awoke finding himself sprawled out across the hardwood floor of his bedroom, his head pressed up against the door sill. Berry juice was smeared across the room like blood in a crime scene, even more of the stuff stained his skin and clothes, making him the metaphorical victim. Besides the blue-black smudges, melted whip-cream had found itself seeping into the already filthy pillows and disheveled blankets. He wasn't used to sleeping as a human. Even after so many years, Age still had trouble believing that he didn't have to sit still as he slept, there being so little room in a customary nest for him to move in without falling off. Did humans move as much as he did while they slept? They would if they had as vivid dreams as he did. But then again Age knew nothing of humans, much to his disappointment. Ever since he stumbled across art, he had been fascinated with the creatures. Age knew of no race of beings that had such a myriad of different ways to express oneself so beautifully, demon or otherwise. With one last look at the chaos that was his bedroom, he moseyed over to his living room of which would probably distill disgust into any fussy mother with equal magnitude of the rest of the house. Tip-toeing about the empty cans of spray paint, broken pens, stubby pencils, and other whatnot, he plopped himself down onto the couch. Here he made to sleep some more, but his attention was diverted by something... something shiny. True, many things in his house was shiny, but this was special. The way it sparkled in the sunlight that filtered through the ink-splattered windows, it almost looked magical. That was it, he needed this. With the utmost care, as if a hurried gesture or exaggerated action might make it disappear, Age slunk over to his precious. As he got closer he was able to identify it- a broken piece of glass! Placing it in the open palm of his left hand, he used the other to steady himself as he trotted towards the back of the house, never really taking his eyes off of the shiny, except for when he had to open the old wooden door next to the garage. A chill burst of air engulfed Age as he descended the steps that led him into a roomy darkness that soon too wrapped its opaque arms around him in a welcomed embrace. Welcomed because (1) he had a penchant for dark, cool places and (2) this room itself was spectacular. For when he flicked on the lights, that we arranged in such a way that they shone with the focal point of their light being the center of the room, the entire place came alive with the beauty of his collection. Bottle caps, brass buttons, tin foil, quarters, nickels, you name it! Anything that had shined, that had sparkled, Age had stolen away into this basement. Arranged in neat rows, each being able to shine with its own unique radiance, he witnessed the awe-inducing gathering of shines that together created an aggregation of extravagance. For several moments all he could do was stand there, unable to accomplish anything but become lost in the overwhelming dazzling array of finery. Finally, he became so moved that he had to sit down as he tried to deal with the light-headed feeling he had now. And without knowing it, he gripped the piece of glass so tightly that blood began to drip down the fragment.

Convince Yourself_ that it's not real (Open_Accepting)|rating:3.0

The rivals gift (Sub abi & Mialath)

(Osborne was no businesswoman, so that she was now the sole owner of a Fortune 500 company was something of miracle. What she did understand was supply and demand. Being from a lower middle class background and not particularly academic she'd learned fast that the only way to better oneself was through climbing the social ladder and using whatever tactics and weapons were at your disposal. For Fiona this was her good looks, charm, and skills of manipulation. She was a tall thin, statuesque woman with a classic look few could replicate. Porcelain skin, soft modest curves, striking red hair and piercing blue eyes, men wanted her from a very young age, and she soon learned to take full advantage of it twisting powerful men around her finger. Her late husband had been just such a man. Malcolm Osborne had been a self-made man who had over his five decades on this earth built up one of the most influential and powerful companies in the Northern Hemisphere. When they had met Fiona had had some small success riding on the coat tails of others into high society, a number of high profile couplings had brought her to the attention of a number of eligible bachelors, and she'd been playing a few of each other for some time before she 'succumbed' to Malcolm's charms. That said she was no emotionless gold digger, although 20 years her senior she had loved Malcolm, but it would be untrue to say the lifestyle and security he offered was not a major part of that attraction. When he had died she was certainly upset, but knew she was also set up for life, Malcolm having left her everything. A trust had been set up after his death to manage his business in his absence, trusted advisers, accountants and management had been put at the head of the company and deal with the day to day running of things whiles Fiona enjoyed a large allowance and the luxuries of the huge estate left to her. She'd chosen to take sox months away form polite society out of respect for her husband and to grieve, it was as much about appearances than anything else, she knows the game and was am aster at it. Now back in her city penthouse she was enjoying a lot of attention from suitors eager to snap her and her company up. She had no intention of giving them either, but it was fun letting them try. Which was what lead her to his lavish dinner party held by one of her husbands closest rivals, one who'd quite aggressively competed for her affections before and even after her marriage. She was no fan of this man, he was devious and untrustworthy, at least that was how hr husband described him. He was equally at home charming money out of investors as he was charming the pants off woman, however she heard more than enough about his practices in the boardroom and the bedroom to keep well away from him....however if he wanted to flatter her and lavish her with gifts in return for her attention who was she to complain? And so she got out her limo outside his building in a designer jade green, backless dress with a light peppering of emeralds, hear up exposing her delicate neck and modest cleavage, and smiled sweetly at the doorman as he's greeting her and lead her inside to the private lift to the penthouse apartment. James Scott's suite was a large one, and as such, he rarely had cause to use it. When he did, however, it was mostly a gesture to those that he worked with or others of high society, and typically was just a lavish dinner party to show that he still belonged to swim with the sharks. He was smart, suave, decently looking and well-dressed, and a good tactician when it came down to it, but even up here with all these other higher-ups from the business he worked at and others', none of his physical or mental attributes meant anything. All that did, sometimes, was a showing of his wealth. He hadn't come from money like many of these men and women here had, he'd had to earn it and learn their games, which he did. He belonged, but even still, there were plenty who would say otherwise, and while that wasn't necessarily a bad thing to his mentality, he'd be long ago learned how bad a trait pride could be, it could mean everything for his position in his company. Furthermore, he couldn't let all that he'd worked for slip through his fingers on the whim of some pompous asshole. Other than that, though, the main reason that he'd thrown this party was to attract a certain person, one who hadn't been seen out socializing since her husband died, and had been rumored to finally break her silence. He remembered chasing after her before she'd married Malcolm, and even flirting with her after, and making it clear that he wanted her. Now, though, he figured that the game may have changed, albeit only slightly for the time being. He'd brought along a gift for her, a sort of 'welcome back' gift, just in case she did show up. If not, he'd simply bide his time as he'd been doing since Fiona's husband's “mysterious” death. She was another thing that he'd put far too much time and effort into acquiring, and he would let her slip through his grasp just as soon as he'd let everything else that he'd worked so hard for pass him by. As he heard the lift ding the arrival of another guest, he sighed. Wondering who he'd have to greet and schmooze with, he looked up from where he stood by the large glass windows overlooking the city. He was just a hair taller than the average attendee, and was able to catch a glimpse of stark red hair through the opening doors. Luckily, he wasn't currently engaged with a group and didn't have to excuse himself to move closer. Reaching up, he pulled the lapels of his dark gray suit taught and ran a hand through his short brown hair, giving it the 'intentionally mussed' look that he was known for. Fair skin framed his startling green eyes, and he shook hands and greeted some of the men and women that he knew he'd already said hello to tonight. He didn't want to get too near the lift, simply near enough to allow Fiona to see him easily. Whether or not she'd make it easy on him, though, was doubtful, given her usual track record. Upon leaving the lift Fiona was almost immediately handed a glass of champagne by an acquaintance by the name of Charles Sole, another wealthy businessman who had eyes for her at one time. He was punching way over his weight and they both knew it, but Fiona made polite conversation as others came to greet her. It was still a novelty to see her out for many of them after her self-imposed exile. As she kisses cheeks, clinked glasses and exchanged pleasantries she spied James moving across the room like a shark stalking his prey, there was something dangerous and forbidding about the man which always put her slightly off guard, he was both fascinating and concerning. They exchanged occasional glances as they both circulated, both knowing they'd eventually reach each other, not something Fiona partially looked forward too, but she could handle him well enough. It wasn't that he was unattractive or a man without means, but she was independently wealthy she didn't need a man, especially one that had always converted all that Malcolm had, she was sure she was as much a commodity to be acquired as her business was, and he was getting neither. Inevitably their social dance across the crowded room eventually found them stood next to one another, she smiled politely and laughed at his jokes and congratulated him on the fabulous party while he complemented her and feigned sadness over her husband untimely demise. His demeanor was charming and flirty, and she gave as good as she got while still keeping him at arms length. However, quite unexpectedly she found their companions peel away and she and he were left alone together. Her eyes darted nervously around the room looking for an escape route as he took her slender hand in his. Fiona was just as beautiful as he'd remembered, and as they chatted about inconsequential things, he took every opportunity to flirt her up, just as he always had. He couldn't let her think that anything was any different, after all. As the crowd thinned around him, he took his opportunity and gently took her hand. It was a bit of a change in subject, but by her glancing around the room, he knew he had to act quickly. “You know, Fiona,” His voice dropped so that she alone could hear him over the noise, “Malcolm and I weren't always at odds or butting heads, like it must have seemed. In fact, we had plenty of things in common. I obviously can't know everything he's told you about me, and to be honest, I probably wouldn't want to know. That's all water under the bridge now, though, and as such, I'd like to offer you a token.” James guided her to the office, its walls clear glass so that anyone and everyone who bothered to look could see. “A mutual friend of Malcolm's and mine gave this to both of us,” he explained, letting go of her hand in front of the desk. With a motion to the chair nearby her, he stepped to the drawers, pulling out a long, thin, crimson box. “It was crafted from the finest ruby we'd ever seen, and our friend told us that we'd have to decide together who to give it to. Malcolm had obviously wanted to give it to you, but I wasn't sure at the time. Now, though, I feel as if you should have it.” He set the box down on top of his desk and opened it slowly, revealing a black choker with a beautifully polished, gleaming ruby set with an obsidian backing plate. It seemed to draw attention to itself, and he lifted it from its box. “So consider it one last gift from Malcolm, if you'd prefer, or a simple token of appreciation to you for all that you've done for my old partner. Either way works just as well.” James looked her in the eyes, his gaze softening as he spoke warmly about her husband and his rival. Had she really gotten him wrong? Was there really some common ground between the two of them? Was there not always this rivalry? More likely this was just lip service, another ruse to win her affections by sympathizing with her and making comparisons between him and her dear sweet husband. Either way it made little difference to her now, the fight was over Malcolm had won, and now he was gone she took his place. Here she was young, wealthy and free, James could never hold any power over her...with that thought in mind she followed him through to his office. Upon nearing the desk he gently dropped her hand and offered her a chair. She remained standing, guests could see them thought the glass, and she didn't want to show any sign of weakness, or that he was in any way in control of the situation. He reached for a desk draw as he explained his gift. He lifted out the beautiful crimson box. Fiona loved jewelry, she had expensive tastes, Malcolm had always sent to it that she got everything her heart desired. Her eyes lit up as he snapped the box open and presented her with the most exquisite of rubies before setting it down on the desk before her." I...you mean... Malcolm...he wanted me to have this?" she slowly sat before it and gulped feeling a lump in her throat, reaching forward to gently touch the beautiful piece "oh you wonderful sweet man" she said, talking to her departed husband not James. She looked up at James and smiled sweetly "thank you.thank you for putting aside your disagreements with my Malcolm, life is too short for such petty squabbles" she said with a tear in her eye but stiffing a shriek of glee. Lowering her head she reached up behind her neck and removed her necklace, gently balling it up in the palm of her hand and slipping it in her purse. She took the choker from the case and stood, admiring in it the light. She looked at James and blushed "would you mind." she asked offering him the ruby to help her put it on. Furthermore, she wasn't at all comfortable with how this might look, but she was sure once she explained to the guests they would understand. Furthermore, she'd let James have his fun, he'd probably get off on being so close to her, but whatever power over her, he thought this give might give him he was sorely mistaken. It had felt strange telling the truth about the jewel, but he knew that if Fiona somehow found that he was lying about it, it would shatter its hold on her. That and, as he'd learned years ago, the best lies were based heavily on truth. Still, though, it had felt odd, and the reaction that both his words and the gem had gotten from Fiona had him smiling just as brightly. He simply nodded as she asked to make sure that Malcolm had wanted her to have it, deciding to let her take in its enchanting beauty for a moment longer.“It's the least I could do for someone I once wanted to be closer to,” James responded after her thanks, hoping that she'd believe that his attentions were focused on someone else now. “All of our disagreements, and trying to gain the upper hand in the business in the past are just that. The past. I simply hope that you and I can get off to a fresh start, away from any of the drama that you may have witnessed, or anyone had told you about. As I said, it's all water under the bridge.” At Fiona's offer to put the choker on her, he dipped in a polite little half-bow and slowly paced around behind her. It took conscious effort for him to keep his eyes off of how she looked in that dress, but he had enough willpower for two men. “Of course,” he whispered, gently taking the jewel from her and moving it up to her neck. A moment later, there was a very faint click as it set in place snugly around her neck, though not uncomfortably so. “” Now let me get a good look at it.” His footsteps trailed away from her, slowly and deliberately, until he was about half the office away, and could get a good view, but not so far that he wouldn't be able to make out the details. “I must say that Malcolm was unlucky that he was never able to see this sight,” James smiled. “Absolutely stunning. I never thought it's possible, but it somehow makes your eyes seem even brighter.” Still smiling, he decided that he didn't really care whether she thought he was simply flattering her or telling her how it is. Either way, the ruby was on and it was only a matter of time. Still, though, he had to admit to himself that she did look just about as beautiful as possible. Something about the stark contrast between the ruby and her eyes... he was a sucker for romance sometimes. It was pretty clear to Fiona that despite his attempts to suggest otherwise he'd hoped to win her affections by the seemingly generous and selfless move. She felt his fingers lightly graze her neck as he drew the collar up over her chest and around her delicate white neck, there was a click, and she felt a slightly off tingling sensation for the briefest moment. She touched her forehead and composed herself, internally blaming the bubbly for a moment of lightheadedness. "Now let me get a good look at it.”" he said, she turned to face him as he stood back from her somewhat and admired the piece and then her as a whole, she cringed feeling his eyes take her all in. She furrowed her brow, "ahem the checker and my eyes are up here James" she reminded him and his eyes looked back upon hers with a wry smile that suggested he know something she did not. She approached him her hand reaching for her neck and caressing the jewel "thank you for this" she said and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek "but don't think that gifts like this are going get you into my bed or into my husbands bank accounts" she whispered in his ear before drawing back and giving him a knowingly smug look. She strode away from him in her heels, her fabulous legs quite visible from the slit in the back of her dress, and back out into the part to show off her new present from her dearly departed husband. “That they are,” James chuckled softly as Fiona drew his eyes up to her face. At her whisper, he blinked, having apparently underestimated her somewhat. Before she reached the door, he managed a hasty response, his voice elegant and in control of himself as always. “I'd never dream of trying to trick you into anything, my dear. I meant everything I said about Malcolm, and you're clearly your own woman.” He couldn't help but admire her figure as she passed him and headed to the door. When she reached it, he dipped into another deeper, more respectful bow as she exited his office, leaving him alone in his glass-walled room, the sounds from the party significantly lessened. “You were always distrustful, dear Fiona, but you're so very wrong about so many things,” he whispered to himself, still smiling as he watched the beauty melt into the crowd. Sure, he had his plots, but pampering her with gifts and his witty charm were by no means his game plan. He knew what the ruby would do to her, as had his old rival, and he wanted what Malcolm had wanted, though James was content enough with his status of wealth. The party slowly wound down, and he left his 'cage' as he referred to it during parties, knowing that he would now have to deal with any rumors or gossip about he and Fiona after everyone had seen him bring her to his office and give her the choker. Hopefully she'd told any who had asked that it was a present from her late husband, but whenever any asked him if anything was going on between the pair, he would respectfully decline, laughing at the absurdity of anyone taming that wild spirit. Once the gathering had finally dissipated, he left the suite for a restful and well deserved sleep, content in the knowledge that one more part of his grand plan had been taken care of. ---------------------------------- 3 weeks later ----------------------------------It had been an odd fortnight for Fiona, she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she felt different. Maybe being alone was starting to get to her, she had felt a little more...randy than usual. She was a young attractive woman, she had no trouble finding herself a suitor but reputation and social standing made it hard to 'entertain' without word getting round. She'd managed a couple of liaisons, but both hand left her unfulfilled. He minds also felt a bit fussy and shed become a little forgetful. Her friends had pointed it out a few times and shed been to see her shrink who suggested it might just be stress or part of the grieving process, but the truth was she felt quite relaxed and to her shame barely thought about Malcolm anymore. James on the other hand seemed to crop up in her thought more often than she liked to admit and occasionally in inappropriate ways. And now here she was in his office waiting to meet him. She hadn't come here because of the inappropriate thoughts or dreams, despite her tight summer dress suggesting the country, she wore this purely because shed been running a little hot lately, which as odd as it was barely spring. No she was her because of the collar, She hadn't been able to remove it since the day he'd given her it. Not that shed noticed at first, shed been wearing it at least a week by the time a friend pointed it out. Shed tried to remove it at the time but made an excuse, later that evening, that week and the next shed tried but every time she seemed to become distracted or more enamored with wearing it. Finally, she asked one of her maids to remove it and to her surprise the clasp didn't appear to unlock. She didn't want to damage such a beautiful piece so here she was waiting to meet James to ask for his help. It was a little embarrassing...especially after the thoughts shed been having about him. He'd received a text message from his head secretary saying that Fiona had come to see him. He knew better than to keep someone so important waiting on him, but he also knew that he had to keep up his appearance. Why exactly she'd come calling at his office, he didn't know, but he had a strong feeling it was because of the choker he'd given her at the party. In his private bathroom, he straightened his suit and ran a hand through his hair, thankful he was at work, rather than at the suite that he'd held that party. He'd be happy for the soundproof walls and door that he'd installed a few years back; they'd served him well in the past. Not that he expected anything to come of the meeting, but it was always good to be sure.“To what do I owe the honor, Fiona?” He asked, slipping through the door fluidly, an eyebrow cocking up at her dress, though he managed to keep his eyes locked on hers. Making his way to his desk, he motioned to the visitor's chair as he lowered himself into his and closed the laptop in front of him. “I trust all is well? It wouldn't do to have a friend in trouble.” They hadn't seen each other since the party, and while he was marginally surprised it had taken her this long to come to him, he was happy. James' eyes never left hers as he peered deeply into their icy blue depths, almost like he could bore into her soul by his look alone. It felt very strange seeing him for the first time since her inappropriate fantasies, she felt oddly nervous and a little aroused, like a teenage girl on a date, not a 20 something millionaire. She blushed and got up to follow him, smoothing down her skin tight dress and following him into the office. He was dressed very smartly and looked rather dashing, she'd never seen him his way before, had he changed his hair? Been working out? Something seemed different...more attractive about him than before. She carefully sat and crossed her long smooth legs as he settled down behind his desk. "Well...ahem... I guess I'll get to the point" she said nervously "I love the choker, it's beautiful, I've not been able to take it off" she laughs nervously "and there in lays the problem...it doesn't seem to come off" she said as he raised an eyebrow "I don't want to damage it, so I wanted to ask if there's a trick to it or if it can be removed without damaging it and repaired?" She felt unnaturally warm her ivory flesh began to glow and perspire uncomfortably "if you don't mind, helping me out that is" His smile faded just the slightest bit as she told her tale. Of course, he knew that would be the case when he'd given it to her, but he couldn't let her know. “Of course I'll give it a shot, my dear,” he said smoothly as he stood back up again. He hadn't expected her to be quite so blunt, but it saved them from dancing about the issue. From the small amount of sweat that had formed on her brow, he could tell that the jewel had begun to start working its enchantment on her, but he couldn't know how far it had gotten. Moving swiftly behind Fiona, he slipped a hand under her hair, fingers of one hand grazing her neck above the choker while the other fiddled with the clasp for a moment. “Well it certainly seems to be stuck.” He let her hair fall in front of her shoulder, freeing up his other hand. After another few moments and a handful of grunted attempts to show he was really trying, he sighed, hot breath billowing down on her neck. “I can't get it; I suppose I'll just have to call the maker and see if he's got some trick up his sleeve as to how to get it off.” Returning to beside her instead of walking all the way around to the other side of his desk, he looked down. “In the meantime, it still looks gorgeous on you, so I think you should keep wearing it. It goes with pretty much everything.” Though he was excited, he contained himself, keeping his actions almost purely professional. “I'll give the maker a call between my appointments today. Here's my cellphone number,” he reached behind him and pulled out one of his cards and a pen, scribbled his number on the back, and held the card out to her. “Give me a call at nine pm tonight, and I'll let you know what's up.” It was more of an order than a suggestion, but he had to tell how much the ruby had gotten to her before he made any real moves. “Is there... anything else you'd like to discuss while you're here?” It was rather out of character of Fiona to get right to the point like this but of late her mind had been so difficult to order that it was difficult to concentrate on more than the one thing at a time. She was an intelligent, complex and some would say devious and manipulative woman. She could have put it so much better, found a way to make this his problem and not hers, but she just didn't have the presence of mind to do so. Instead, she practically begged him to help. She felt flushed as he approached her, something about his nearing proximity made her quiver, she felt so embarrassed like a silly school girl with a crush, what the hell was wrong with her? He gently lifted her hair and the fingers of his other hand slipped across the skin of her neck. She surged a whimper and her eyes widening in shock at herself, his fingers on her skin wade her tingle with sexual pleasure, she hoped he wouldn't touch her long as she felt her nipples harden below her dress. He's other and joined the first, and she stifled a groaning resisted the urge to lean into his caress. His breath on her neck was too much, and she let out a breathless sigh, visibly quivering. He finally released her from his rapturous touch, she could not believe her reaction to it, she was almost panting. He moved in front of her and spoke down to her. She looked up at him with her big piercing blue eyes as he complimented her, did she really want him? How could she? She knew he wanted nothing more than to take her and everything Malcolm had owned, to submit to him would be to betray her husband memory. She bit her lip in nervous confusion as he pulled out a pan and scrubbed down his personal number.“Give me a call at nine pm tonight, and I'll let you know what's up.” he told her, and she took it as an order not a request and nodded obediently. “Is there... anything else you'd like to discuss while you're here?” he asked this time. Her lips parted wetly "i...i....no no that's fine" she said unsure of herself and got up feeling her nipples tenting the material of her dress hoping to god he didn't notice "thank you for your help" she said and kissed him on the cheek lingering there for a moment almost leaning in for the lips..."i.....i....i...should go" she said panicked and rushed to the door. Her reactions to everything were just as he'd hoped, if not better. From her soft panting that she tried her best to fight, to the shaking and even the excited nipples that he noticed just poking through her dress. Especially those. And as strong of a woman as she was, and as much as James admired that about Fiona, he found that her beginnings of submission left an incredible taste in his mouth. To his credit, though, he managed to not let his eyes wander while she looked back, and kept his face straight, if not concerned looking. “Very well,” he responded before she leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek. It was just the same as the one that she'd given him when she left him at his party a few weeks ago, only longer and more... full of need? Regardless, he knew the general effects that the jewel would have on poor Fiona's mind, and he also knew that the choker wouldn't come off for a good long while. When that was, however, he didn't know. He would certainly make the promised call to his friend and ask about it, preparing himself for her to call tonight. It took quite some effort to stay in his office as Fiona rushed from it, but he knew how he needed to play his cards in order to fully wrap her around his finger. Even still, he knew that it would be a long wait until tonight; he had plenty of time to wonder how far he'd be able to push her today. The creator of the jewel didn't tell him exactly how long it would take for the enchantment to run its course, but he knew it would take a while to subtly manipulate Fiona's mind, gradually changing her so she never truly suspected a thing until it was too late.“Soon, my dear, soon...” He whispered to himself, settling down into his chair. He had a call to make, and he'd need to keep busy to stop his mind from wandering for the rest of the day. Bright crystal blue eyes flashed at him each time he blinked, keeping him company until he finally decided to head home. It was dark by the time he left work, which was fine by him. Now all that he'd have to do is pass the time for another hour or so, provided she called him on time. Still, though, he figured he'd let his phone ring a few times before answering. Fiona was quite embarked about her earlier meeting with James, the way her body had reacted, she was like a bitch in heat, was she really that desperate? How come she hadn't felt like that with anyone else? She had no idea what had come over her, but it seems to be getting worse with each passing hour. She touched her ruby around her neck, it was ever since he gave her this gift, had he really won her with this trinket? Was she really so shallow? He was the last person in the world she should be thinking this way about, Malcolm would be so ashamed and angry with her. She resolved was best keeping away from him, she would not phone him like she'd agreed, she would leave him to his investigations a minimize contact with him, she just could trust herself around him and it scared her. She arrived home that evening, had dinner, showered, dressing in her nifty and settled inform of the fire in her penthouse apartment with a glass of wine. Furthermore, she tired to read, tried to watch a movie, tried to do a puzzle, but she could help to glance at the clock. 8pm...8:15....8:30...8:40...8:50... her eyes flicked to the phone and the business card on the nearby table, "no, no you don't need him...you don't want him" she told herself and tried to distract herself as a growing warmth formed in her panties. 8:52...8:55...8:58...8:59...she bit her lip, straining as she tried to stop her hand from reaching for the phone "no...no...i...." she gasps as she struggled to stop herself dialing, she was terrified by her lack of control as she listens to the ringtone on the line. Sitting in his black leather lounge chair, dressed in just an old pair of comfortable exercise shorts and a loose t-shirt that he wore before bed, he heard his phone begin to ring beside him. It was just far enough to where he'd have to sit up to reach it, just as he'd planned. Everything seemed to be going just as he planned for once. His eyes flicked to the digital clock above the TV and he smiled. “Nine on the dot. Very good, my soon-to-be pet.” Leaning forward and reaching out, he muted the show that he was mindlessly watching and grabbed his still ringing phone. Two rings... Three... That was good enough, he figured. James coughed once to clear his throat before swiping the screen to answer. “Scott,” his voice rang out, his usual greeting of his last name to an unknown number, even though he knew exactly who would be calling him at this very moment. Now that he had his phone, he relaxed again into the chair, keeping the leathery squeaks to a minimum as he did so. He reached off to the other small table to the other side where he kept his glass of water and took a small sip as he prepared to enjoy his entertainment for the night. Fiona quivered at the commanding sound of his voice, her throat went dry, and she felt a jolt of sexual energy move through her "i...i....hello...it...it's me Fiona, you asked me to call...i...I called" she said unsure why she had done so, very worried, very concerned and distracting honey. She looked Dow at her panties between her open gown and grinned seeing a damp patch forming, what the hell was wrong with her, she tried to say something, to end the call and hang up, but she could not "i....i...felt like I had to... I... I've been feeling rather peculiar of late" “Ah yes. Good evening, Fiona,” he responded, feigning surprise at who it was. Her voice made it seem like she had even less control of herself than she had in his office earlier today, and he grinned, knowing that she couldn't see. “I trust it's nothing bad? It wouldn't do to have you in poor shape so soon after your return to the public. Anyway, if you remember, I called my associate that worked the ruby on your collar today. He said that it wouldn't be able to be taken off until you didn't need it anymore; it was very peculiar. I don't know quite what he meant by that, but he assured me that it would cause no harm. Though if you're feeling odd...” He let the thought trail for a moment before his voice took on a more commanding tone. “Tell me how it makes you feel, Fiona. Tell me all of it and be completely honest.” She listened attentively as he talked about the checker in quite a cryptic way "wouldn't be able to be taken off until you didn't need it anymore", what did that mean, she loved it, if it hadn't been pointed out by her friend shed probably have not even noticed, but that was what was so weird...she wasn't one to wear jewelry all day every day. She was about to thank him for his help and ask that he push a little harder, surely no one makes jewelry that dent come off, when his tone changed "Tell me how it makes you feel, Fiona. Tell me all of it and be completely honest." he said, she gulped as the words appeared to bypass her common sense and inhibitions."i.i...been feeling v...very hot...sometimes...well...most of the time...and randy...much more honey" she gushed "oh god what did I say that?" she gasped "I've found myself...attracted to you... I've dreamt about us together...i...i... I've orgasmed... I've masturbated thinking of you....oh god this is so humiliating" she looked down at her crotch, her legs had slid open, and her free hand was softly rubbing her damp panties, "oh Jesus I'm doing it now...I need help" He'd be lying if he said that he wasn't turned on by her sudden submission and admissions, especially when she said that she was in the process of masturbating. She'd dreamed of them together and been suddenly more attracted to him. The latter of those two, he had expected, but not so the dreams. Still, though, he had to keep up the ruse that he was only trying to help in order to get Fiona to completely submit to him. Not only did she need to feel the attraction, she had to believe it as well.“Fiona, stop!” He called. “Get a hold of yourself, are you sick? If you need, I can send someone to fetch you, so I can take care of you until you're fit to be alone.” After his instruction to stop, his voice had mellowed, taking on a tone that a caring friend would use when worried. A subtle technique, but one that would hopefully bring her closer to him, even if he'd continue denying her until he felt like she was finally ready to be reigned in. He knew that his offer for her to be closer to him would only fan her flames, but while it would be hard for him to resist her if she chose to accept it, it would be Hell for her. He also knew from fishing that in order to land your prized fish, you had to play the line just right, and it seemed to be the exact case here. There was always the chance that she wasn't ready to come in yet, and if she refused his offer, he'd have to give her a little more time before reeling her closer in. She was absolutely terrified and confused, she was talking on the phone to her husbands rival, semi naked rubbing her sex through her panties. “Fiona, stop!” He said, and she instantly did., her fingers hovering above her panties “Get a hold of yourself, are you sick? If you need, I can send someone to fetch you, so I can take care of you until you're fit to be alone.” he said in a clam caring voice, the way he spoke it felt like she really wanted to do that, but she was scared of what might happen if she did "no, no...I think its best we don't see each other... I can't trust myself around...c....can I?" she found it hard to make a decision "oh god this is so humiliating. I don't know what I'm doing... I can't. I...can't trust myself...oh god I should never have called" “Oh Fiona,” he spoke softly, containing his mirth at her current state. “I'm sure you can trust yourself around me. And of course you should have called. You had a question about the collar, and I had an answer, as unhelpful as it may have been thanks to its maker. That and I'm here to help. You've always been able to take care of yourself, so why not let someone else help you once in a while? Now may not be the best time for you, given your admitted... physical state... but consider it a standing offer. You've got my personal number now, so feel free to give me a ring if ever you need a hand with anything.” He'd had so much practice playing a 'friend' to people over the years that the transition to that role to bring her farther into his grasp was an easy thing for him. “In the meantime, you should probably take care of your needs, if you're as worked up as you seem to be. I look forward to talking to you soon.” He'd slipped the last phrase in after his more than suggestive suggestion just before ending the call, knowing that it would only get her even more worked up. He, too, now had her phone number, and he had plans for it. She bit her lip, her fingers posed over her panties as she quivered to his words "thank you" she whimpered as he offered to help in any way he could, maybe she should take his offer, but what would she do if she did, what would she regret? "In the meantime, you should probably take care of your needs" he said, and she whimpered as her fingers once again started rubbing her wet silt through her panties "thank you....Pooh ohhhhh" she groaned down the phone, he didn't hang up right away he just listened to her masturbate "ohhh ahhh ...ohhh ohhhhhhh" click, he hung up. She felt so ashamed of herself, she brought herself of that night directly after the phone call, she'd told him that was what she was doing, she couldn't possibly face him again she had to forget him...completely, she tried to delete his number, tried to entertain herself with other men. And yet two days later she had him on the phone once more "i....i....can't stop thinking about you....ohhhhhhhhhhhh I'm so wet....i ohhh god I need your help" she moaned down the phone her fingers knuckle deep in her pussy. It'd been an interesting couple of days since their first phone call, but not nearly as interesting as either that one or the second call. Just as with before, he'd let his phone ring until just before his voice mail was going to pick up. And just as with before, he grinned in anticipation. The ruby had had an extra two days to wear at her defenses, making her even more pliable to his words. And by the sound of her, even more needy to hear him. With the wet slapping sounds the could barely hear over her moans, he found himself wondering if she'd finished herself off the other night. Regardless of whether she had, he was ready to push her a bit farther.“And exactly what kind of help do you need from me, my dear Fiona? It doesn't sound like you want my help to stop.” He intended it to be humiliating, forcing her to admit these things to him at first. “Tell me all the little details of the things you'd like me to do to you. All the dirty little dreams you've been having, and the thoughts that you've been having... And I promise you that I'll help you in whatever way you need me to.” Hearing her panting over the phone and knowing what she was doing had him worked up as well, but he refrained from reaching down to the loose shorts that he wore and the hardening dick that was hidden within. She was the one being worked over, after all, not he. “And exactly what kind of help do you need from me, my dear Fiona? It doesn't sound like you want my help to stop.” he said as she masturbated furiously."ohhhh ohhhhhhhhh I can't stop myself...I don't know what's wrong with meeeeeeee" she groaned the sound of her fingers thrusting in and out of her wet hole loud enough to be heard over the phone.“Tell me all the little details of the things you'd like me to do to you. All the dirty little dreams you've been having, and the thoughts that you've been having... And I promise you that I'll help you in whatever way you need me to.” he teased her. Sh groaned "ohhhh god please don't ohhh make me OHHH tell you how OHHHH idea of you oh your cock you....oh cock deep inside me ohhhh I'm my mouth ugghhhh.....my pussy....ohhhhhhhhhh" she groin picking on the sofa as she rubbed her clitoris feverishly "I can't stop, ohhh I've been, ohhhhh fingering myself all day AHHHHHHH Its driving me crazy" she gasped desperately. "I....i....can't stop myself...I need your heels to stop or OHHH HHH to do me soon hard PLEASE DO OOO MEET" she cried starting to cum over the phone. From her continued cries and the increasing pace of the wet slapping sound as she finger-fucked her pussy, he knew he didn't have long to enjoy the sounds. As she worked her way up to the crescendo, though, an idea formed in his mind, and he knew exactly what her punishment was going to be. He let her ride out her bliss for a long moment, waiting almost until she'd gotten her breathing back when he sternly talked into the phone. “Did you ask me permission to orgasm? I expected better of you, Fiona. You're not just using me, are you? Using me to get off? You asked me for help. I offered, and you just kept on doing what you were doing. I'm very disappointed in you.” He'd sat there quietly while she went at it, letting her rub herself to orgasm and enjoying it all the way, especially her begging for him to 'do' her, which he found mildly amusing in itself. She was a grown woman, after all, and he'd make her say a lot worse things by the time he had her where he wanted. She clearly still had a long way to go, but depending on how she reacted to his words, he'd know where to take their relationship. Furthermore, she came...hard...over the phone...like some sort of filthy whore and his reaction was almost that she'd expect from a kinky dominant man talking to his disobedient submissive slave, but that wasn't what they were....was it? “Did you ask me permission to orgasm? I expected better of you, Fiona. You're not just using me, are you? Using me to get off? You asked me for help. I offered, and you just kept on doing what you were doing. I'm very disappointed in you.” She panted breathlessly answering before she could even consider her answer "I'm sorry sir" she blushed "I... I'm changing, I don't know what happening...this isn't me I'm so scared.please...please help me" she whimpered horrified at her behavior. "Please...come over and help me control myself" The use of a title made him smile, and he knew that while he could push even farther, he had to be careful and read the signs. From her breathy voice and panting words, he could almost see her desperation over the phone. “I'll send a driver over to collect you and bring you here. That should give you enough time to... at least clothe yourself,” he chuckled quietly at the thought and wondered if she would last the night at his place with them still on. “And just remember what you just asked me to do.” Again, he hung up on her swiftly before reclining back into his chair once more. Eventually, his own heart rate would return to normal, but there was plenty of time for that to happen. For now, he sent his personal driver to Fiona's penthouse to collect her, with instructions that she was not to be seen along the way. The driver will have shown up in a black car with tinted windows, making it nearly impossible for anyone to see in from the outside. The ride back to James' less flashy abode was slow and mostly uneventful, the driver sitting in absolute silence, regardless of anything that Fiona may have said to him or asked him. Until they arrived in the garage, that is. The lights were on, showing off a second car, identical to the first other than the unpainted windows. “Mr. Scott said that he'd be waiting just in the living room by the fireplace,” the driver bowed deeply as he opened the door to let Fiona out. A butler was there at the door to the garage, ready to show Fiona in to the living room where James sat with outstretched legs on a love seat, a book in one hand and a glass of water in the other, still wearing just his gym shorts and a black t-shirt, showing off his toned legs and arms. When the driver had arrived Fiona had managed to compose herself somewhat, shed dressed and although every pair of panties she put on became insatiably wet she'd managed to stop herself masturbating. She knows what she was doing was wring, that it was a very bad idea indeed, but she could not stop thinking about him and could get no relief without him. She wore a little black dress and a long coat over the top with heels. She boarded the limo quietly and with some blushing shame "thank you" she said to the driver as he c lose the door. The entire journey she fought the urge to masturbate, she felt like she needed to at least once an hour these days. When she finally goes there she was honey as hell once again, she hoped James would help her and not take advantage of her....but she also hoped the opposite. “Ah, there you are.” As the butler led Fiona in, James set his book down beside him. He hadn't actually been reading it, with how much his mind was focusing on how tonight would turn out. “I trust the drive was comfortable? Please, take a seat.” Other than the love seat that he sat on, there was a couch and another chair in the room, giving her options; he wondered which she'd take. “How are you feeling?” He let his eyes roam over the tight black dress, and saw the definite markings of arousal, both by the hint of her nipples poking through and the pink flush on her face. To start, he'd play the friend, and at the end of the day, he'd humiliate and deny her, but if she pushed as much as he hoped, then he'd begin to truly bend her to him. She was flushed and confused "i....i...don't know what to do I...i.feel like I'm going insane" she whimpered her eyes lingering on the seat next to him, then the slight bulge in his lap she amiably whimpered "i...i....can't control myself...its become impossible" she groaned and forced herself to sit on the couch, her legs slightly open as it was too uncomfortable to close them with her arousal, her panties were wet and her sex hot. "I can't stop thinking about voodoo" she gasped "i....i....think I'm sexually obsessed with you...its so embarrassing" she cringed, "I...i..... I don't know what to do about it... I... I...fell so....helpless" Watching her sit with her legs slightly open, he fought off the grin that threatened to crease his face. “You can't control yourself... well from your call earlier, that certainly seems the case. Though there's nothing wrong with being obsessed about something that pleases you. You know how I've felt about you for years now, but I respected your decision to marry Malcolm. But that's also another case entirely. We're here to help you, not talk about me.” James flashed her a soft smile, one that seemed to say that he could relate to her position. “I also know that before now, you've never thought of me like this, so I'll do whatever I can to help. It's what friends do, is it not?” He admired her slightly pink complexion and the mixture of emotions that shone brightly in her eyes. It took but a moment for him to decide on how he could 'help' her best, but a couple seconds later, he spoke again. “How about we play a game, hmm? I think it could help. Here's how it works; whenever you feel the urge to touch yourself, you have to ask for my permission. What do you think? If not, I have something else in mind that would force you to refrain from touching yourself.” She sat there silently restraining herself as he spoke, she knew what she was feeling was wrong, it weakened her, weakened her power over him, over her fortune, and it filled her with guilt in her betrayal of her husbands' memory. He spoke down to her as if she were a child, it filled her with rage but not enough to cancel out the lust that overwhelmed her mind. Her eyes widened at his suggestion "I'd hoped...well don't know what I hoped for...maybe I'm going mad...do you know a doctor....a...discrete doctor I can see?" she asked, "I really don't...i...mean to say...oh god I should have never come here" she whimpered. Even if she hadn't agreed to his little 'game,' she still sat there, keeping her hands from reaching down under her dress, and that in itself showed that she was resisting, though whether it was because she was fighting the pendant's enchantment or something else wasn't perfectly clear. Yet. “I don't know anyone who has experience in such a... delicate matter as this. And you came because I offered you what help I can. Most people wouldn't be able to keep their mouths shut, but I only want what's best for you. You're away from your servants who will gossip, and prying eyes of others, in the safety of my estate, which is more help than you'd get somewhere more public. It's better here for you.” Standing up, he placed his glass on the small table beside him. “Now let me get you a drink to help you get a little more comfortable. You seem like it would do you well to relax as much as possible, so do whatever you need to help yourself.” With that, he disappeared through an open doorway, hiding the smirk on his face. He'd take his time and wonder what he would come back to. It only took a moment for him to pour a glass of champagne, but he slipped upstairs to his bedroom to grab something, delaying his return and giving Fiona some more time to herself.

The rivals gift (Sub abi & Mialath)|rating:3.0

Cursed Revenge (closed for Imcms)

Corvus was bent over the well in his sanctuary, the cool water was black as ink and colder than the glaciers of the north, he stared down into the dark depths, his mind a constant turmoil. How the magics have aided him, how they have made him strong, feared and how they have helped him to plan his revenge. A cold smile crept over his dark lips, revealing pointed fangs for teeth, he once was a man, but that was in an age long past now. Now he is Corvus the Immortal. Cursed by a jealous rival, a fellow suitor to the hand of an even maiden, a mad gypsy, Neville McCain in a fit of rage spoke a curse out over him. A curse which did not take complete hold as he himself was magically gifted, but it transformed him into the hulking monster he is today. He tilted his head, a name whispered from the well: "Nadya... Nadya McCain"He growled at the family name, pointing one black fingernail at the dark waters he spat out the words,"What of her, you dredged slime?" The waters stirred, almost angrily, but a growl from him stilled it, then his answer came: "Mixed race...coming of age...if she reaches her potential...she will be stronger...thank you." Corvus stared coldly at the waters, his ice blue eyes a stark contra to his dark visage, was this his time? The time for his revenge? An evil grin spread over his face,"Show her to me." Again the waters churned, but when it settled a scene opened itself to Corvus' eyes, at first a map, then the image stirred and showed a forest, then it went closer, showing the gypsy camp, then finally it settled on the tent where Nadya would be. As he looked, she came out of the tent, he took in the image and then turned away." Time to ride." He walked through the cold, bleak courtyard to a tower, he climbed it and at the top sat a beast which looked much like a giant bat. It snapped at him, but quickly settled when he held out a hand, it climbed down from its perch and made a small squealing sound when he rubbed over the leathery neck. He swung himself onto it's back, it waddled to the open side and dove, spreading its wings to glide effortlessly towards the distant forest, where Corvus knew his prey to be. Nadya stood in front of the mirror she had been permitted to use to dress and make ready for the ritual ceremony that would grant her the use of all her powers to use to protect her people. Her long wave blood-red hair shone in the light of the candles, her smooth, flawless, milky skin had been scrubbed clean with the use of herbs. Eyes that matched the blue-green of the see stared back her with nervousness and excitement. She looked over her 5’9” frame dressed in her ceremonial clothing and let out a musical laugh thinking she looked more like a harem girl than gypsy princess. The jewels in her belly button winked at her in the light of the candle. Tomorrow would be her twenty-first birthday and at midnight the ceremony would begin. She had been trained for this all her life and looked forward to her coming of age ceremony. There would be many new responsibilities for her to take up but the one she considered the most important was protecting her people from all harm including that of the man her great-grandfather had cursed. She was ashamed of the man but not of her people she knew he had been a selfish and greedy man. But this knowledge would not keep her people safe from the man who knew just how far her great-grandfather would go. All these thoughts were muddling her brain so she stepped out of her tent that was one of the outer edge of the camp. She inhaled deeply of the night air as the cool breeze lifted her hair and skirts making them dance. She closed her eyes letting calm come for her and settle deep with her soul. A faint noise that did not belong to the night and caused her to snap her eyes open and stare straight head at the edge of the woods that was but feet from where she stood when a tall figure in a black emerged from the shadows. Corvus The whispers seemed to come from everywhere, on the wind, rustling through the trees, the underbrush, the grass at her feet. It started faintly, growing in volume as the figure stood still in front of her."Nadya...Nadya... Nadya... Nadya"Suddenly the figure hissed, throwing open its wings, it was Corvus' mount! From behind her came a bone-chilling voice, as cold as the snow blown winds in the winter." Nadya McCain." Before she could react to his presence, a ball of black lightning hit her square in the back of the head. He had chosen the spell not for its strength, but that it would not cast any light. He easily lifted the slight form of the girl with one arm and mounted the creature, with a slight jump of its powerful limbs it spread open its wings and with strong beats took its burden back to it's home. Corvus gazed down at the unconscious form resting on his lap, she was pretty by human standards, even pretty by even standards...question was...could she handle pain as well as both her races? A wicked grin bared his fangs once more.-----------------------------------After reaching his home, he had moved down to the dungeon, after securing the limp form to a chair, he made sure that her hands was secured enough so that she could not use them, he gagged her as well, he was very conscious of how gypsy magic worked, and he knew that by removing her ability to utter the words, she could not curse him any further, with her hands secured she could not cast any even magic. He settled down into a chair in the darker corner of the dungeon and awaited for her to regain her consciousness. Nadya slowly came back to the world of the living with her eyes still closed she could feel the pain radiating from the back of her skull. She processed the pain in her mind and reached to discover what she could before she opened her eyes. She noticed her hands were tied and that she was gagged so her attacker and apparently kidnapper was smart. Still with her eyes closed, and her form relaxed she sent one of the magics in her that need not voice or hands. This magic could do no harm could only tell her if other magic was around her. She felt the darkness that surround the man with her and knew instantly who it was from the stories she had been told. She felt the first shimmer of real fear simmer down her spine like cold fingers. Slowly she opened her eyes and look to where she had sensed him. She would have uttered his name had she not been gagged so instead she steadily kept her unique blue-green eyes on she is shadowy corner and waited for him. Nadya knew he was there and knew too even if she was free she would not have the power to defeat him since the ceremony had yet to have been preformed. She did not let this stop her as she kept her gaze trained on him waiting without so much as blinking. Corvus He watched as she awoke, a faint tingling proved that she had more magic in her, it was surprising, but so far she had not tried to strike at him. He looked at her stare, so courageous, so sure of her own power. He rose to his feet, his 6'11" frame dwarfed many men, and he knew that he towered over her, seated or not. Furthermore, he moved closer to her, leaning down to her, he used one of his hands to brush his hood back. Furthermore, he grinned at her, allowing her to get a full dose of what her great-grand father had done to him." Good evening Nadya... I hope you enjoy your stay with me." He chuckled darkly at his words as he stood up, he moved to stand behind her, his talon-like nails slowly gliding up her bare arms, only to cause more pressure as they get to her shoulders and once they reached her neck, his warm hands closed around her neck." It would be so easy to just snap your neck..." He leaned closer, his cold breath against her ear,"But where is the fun in that?" He chuckled and almost absentmindedly whipped his left hand across her face, leaving four bleeding marks on her left cheek. Furthermore, he casually licked his nails clean and then moved to a table out of her reach, but in view." Now then, with what of my little toys will we start your pleasurable stay?" He frowned and stopped, turning to face her,"You do know why I'm doing this right?" Nadya watched as he revealed his face to her but still she did not blink or take her eyes from him. She could well see the darkness that had consumed him and instead of feeling fear she felt only pity and sorrow. She rolled her eyes at his comment as he stood behind her apparently, she decided, he liked the sound of his own voice. Though the coolness of his breath on her ear made her shiver slightly it was the only emotion she gave him. The slap when it came took her by surprise and had she not been gag she would have hissed from the sting of it. She watched him with cold eyes as he licked his fingers and moved to a table that she had been trying to ignore. It had many different instruments laid out on it, she was sure all of them were for torture. She would give him this much he may talk a lot, but he didn’t waste his time. When he asked if she knew why he was doing this she looked him straight in the eyes and gave a short nod. There was no fear in her gaze just curiosity, pity, and acceptance that he would do what he willed. Even though her magic was weaker than his and most of it was void due to the gag and restraint she would not break or go meekly into the place he meet to send her. She was a gypsy princess soon to be a gypsy queen, and she would prove even in her death that she was worthy of her birth right. Corvus"Good, shedding blood without knowing why is such a waste." He picked up what seemed to be a mace, but with magic it was still hard, but not as hard as wood or metal. With a flick of his wrist he brought the improvised mallet down on her left wrist with a meaty thud. From experience, he knew it must feel like he has just broken her wrist, while in reality it was far from it. It would swell and be stiff for a few days, but after that all normal. Of course, he would have enjoyed it if he could hear her scream, curse, cry or just even suck in a breath, but he was not stupid, he knew what a free mouth would cause. He smacked the business end onto his open palm as he perused her body, the wrist would hurt, but then again, any blunt impact was bound to hurt. Another flick and the head slammed into her right forearm, he followed through and slammed it into her right thigh. He stood back and watched her, of course her mentality and will power will be strong, she was raised to be a leader. For a brief moment he wondered why she was not protected, but then again, perhaps they thought him to be just another legend of old. An old man who only wanted revenge because his plans was foiled by their heroic leader. Slightly angered he slapped her again, this time a backhand shot with his right hand, deepening the cuts on her left cheek, making them bleed freely." The only way that you can understand who I am, is when you feel the pain he made me suffer." Again the head of his weapon landed on her flesh with a meaty thud, he pulled the head away from her upper left arm and walked back to the table, laying the weapon down as one would put a child to rest. Then he hefted a wicked looking dagger, curved and obviously razor sharp. Nadya clamped her teeth down around the gag at the pain that shot through her arm. She worked on blocking the pain but still her back arched in the agony of it but better to arch than start to cry right off the bat. Before he even spoke she knew she was “paying for the sins of the father” so to speak. She had always had animosity for her great-grandfather but now with every pain enflicked on her that animosity grew. When he back handed her she felt the blood flow more freely from the cuts there. As he came back to her with a dagger she tried to swallow. She did not fool herself that if her death was what he wished that it would be quick. She looked up at him not even trying to hide from him, she was proud of who she was if not of all her ancestors. Furthermore, she was not weak or meek she was strong of heart and mind. IF she could not hide from the pain she would not hide from him either. Corvus He knelt down next to her, the blade touching her skin, the cold metal resting against her upper arm, he slowly pressed the blade to her arm, pulling it downwards, he watched as the skin peeled open under the blade. With a grunt of satisfaction he got to his feet, he pulled off his cloak to reveal his body underneath. Dressed in only his boots and black pants, it was clear that even after all these years he still had the build of the strong, handsome man he was back then, the muscles still bunched and rippled underneath his skin as he moved. One thing that time could not remove was the scars, most self-inflicted, the others gained in duels with other warlocks. He ran his tongue over the blade, tasting her blood. It was sweet, but still carried that power in it. He ran his fingers over the cuts on her cheek, muttering a word and with a flash, the slashes started to heal, he grinned as he knew pain would be lancing through her. He had tested the same spell on himself many times to make certain that it worked. This time he used the blade of the dagger, cutting open her cheekbones and jaw, the supremely sharp edge gliding though skin and muscle like it wasn't even there." You look at me like you have no reason to fear me. I will show you otherwise." He wasn't sure if she could hear him through the pain as he laid open her face, but he knew that it was wounds that could be healed...with greater pain. He chuckled as he watched her bleed. Nadya sucked in a deep breath through her nose at the sever pain she was experiencing in her body. It came so steadily and was so sever she had trouble blocking most of it with her mind. Again her back arched away from the chair she was restrained to. She barely heard him over the pain she was feeling and the sound of her blood rushing in her ears, but she heard him. She almost wished he would untag just long enough to tell him the truth. As soon as she had seen him she knew her fate would be painful fearing him would do her no good so she accepted it, one has no need to fear what to accept. She wanted to tell him so badly she almost used her most coveted and hidden talent of speaking in another’s mind but managed to resist. She had a feeling once he knew she could do speak to him without casting a spell he would insist she converse with him, and she was not yet ready to do this. Furthermore, she knew the damage he was giving her would scar and she felt no fear or hatred of him for it, she knew were the blame lay. Furthermore, she was so distracted by the pain it took her brain a long time to realize he had removed his clock and knelt beside her with his chest bare. Even in her pain fogged brain she had to admit he was ruggedly handsome and desirable even with the black magic coursing through him. Using his thumb and forefinger he scraped her blood from the blade, it had a good quality to it. Power to be exact. He looked at his handiwork, the skin hanging in tatters, the bones sticking out through the bloody mess. It was actually much more fun than he had anticipated...of course he felt a bit sorry for her, but that was the part of him that remained human. The part which wanted to forgive, but it was also the part who screamed for revenge for being bound to his undead form." Hold this for me." He stabbed the dagger into her right forearm and moved back to the table, picking up a bowl he moved back to her, she was not in a good form at all, perhaps he went a bit too fast in his eagerness for revenge? He placed the bowl with water on her lap, using both hands he pressed most of the skin back into position, again the muttered words and the healing started again, he smiled at her discomfort as she writhed in the chair. It was satisfying after all. When he slammed the blade through her forearm she saw black dot dance before her eyes and had to forcefully consistent not to pass out from the extreme pain. She felt weak, and her breathing was heavy but still she gave herself credit for having not shed tears yet. When he set a bowl of water down she stared at it curiously then him. When he pushed her skin back together, and it started to heal again she bucked wildly the first tear falling from the corner of her eye. She had no idea why the healing hurt ten times worse than the actual wound, but it did, and it was almost more than she could bare. Blackness again began to try to creep in, but she tried to push it back barely succeeding as another tear fell. She tried to keep her anger at herself for the tears at bay reminding herself of how long she had lasted before they fell of all she had endured. Slowly she began to formulate a plan, but it would be long and painful. He waited for her body to calm down, he noticed the tears, but he knew that extreme pain brought tears no matter what. There was no emotion behind those tears of hers. He held up the water, and he made sure that she could see that it was warm, dipping a piece of cloth into it, he wiped the blood from her face. Then he returned to his table and returned with a short wooden shaft, iron nails protruding from it. With little effort he impaled it into her left thigh, then he leaned over her and with a gentle touch ran a fingertip over her cheek. He cocked his head to one side, then withdrew the dagger from her arm, again he licked it clean. Watching her closely he wondered if she tasted as good on the outside as well. He shrugged the thought away and casually stuck the dagger into her right thigh, right on the spot he had hit a bit earlier. He knew there was a mayor blood vessel there, so he kept away from it, instead he stood up and pointed at the dagger's hilt, a thin stream of fire lanced from his finger and engulfed the dagger's hilt, making the blade grow hotter with each passing second. Then finally he stopped as the smell of burnt flesh hung in the air. He knelt down next to her again, resting his warm palm on her chin, lifting her head to face him, even though forceful there was a slight tenderness in his touch, his cold breath washed over her again as he leaned close." How can I even offer you water or food if I can't even open your mouth to let it into you?" He cocked his head to one side, then touched her cheek with a talon,"Perhaps I should just cut another hole, one which you cannot speak through." He nodded to himself, then ignoring the dagger stuck into her leg as well as the spike shaft embedded into her other leg, he turned and moved towards his table. The pain, the scent of her own burnt flesh, the sound of his voice as cold as the feel of his breath, all of it became too much. She knew darkness would claim her soon and she would pass out. Again she gave herself props for how long she had lasted with the things he had put her through. When he walked away she let her head fall for the first time and closed her eyes. She wasn’t out, yet she was just taking a break hoping to let herself stay in the here and now a little longer. She didn’t know why she thought it so important to last as long as possible when darkness would have been a refuge in her torment there would be no more pain or sight or smells. There would be simply nothing. She sighed a heavy breath through her nose and reminded herself over and over she was not suffering for her owns sins but for that of her great-grandfather. The man was not punishing her but punishing him through her. She would be strong no matter what. She would not shame her people and she would not shame herself. Furthermore, she would sacrifice herself for her people’s peace, but she would not go in shame. Opening up the blue-green eyes and lifting her head she looked at him again with a new determination even as slow silent tears slipped out. Corvus He turned back to face her, another knife in his hand, the look in her eyes made him grin,"Ah yes, the defiance of your race." He knew that she knew which one he spoke of, he came over to her with the knife still in his hand, he rested his hand on the barbed shaft, pushing it deeper into her flesh and then without warning extracted the burnt dagger, the heat had actually burned it on to her skin and muscles and as he withdrew it, they tore open as she had nowhere to go and the force was too much to keep the blade inside of her flesh and skin. He examined the dagger and tossed it casually aside, it landed on it's tip and stood quivering on the torture rack not far from her position. He casually tested the knife's edge on her left arm, but found it lacking in sharpness, he turned and almost as an afterthought ripped the barbed shaft from her leg, tearing skin and muscle tissue out along with it. Furthermore, he moved over to the table and produced a poker, he walked over to her, the poker heating up as magic flowed from his hand into the metal, making the whole poker glow a fiery red." Got to keep the wounds clean." With a sick smile he pressed the metal to the new cuts on her arm, the bleeding stab/burn wound on her right thigh and the puncture/rip wounds on her left thigh. He showed no mercy as he pressed the metal hard and deep, making sure that the pain was overwhelming as was the stench of burning skin and flesh. She would have screamed from the pain had she not been gagged and being gagged she couldn’t well breath through her mouth so had no choice but to inhale the scent of her own burning flesh and tissue. Silent tears again raced down her cheek and still she did not blame him. As he placed the burning hot poker over the last wound she lost the fight with the darkness and pain and went limp before him her eyes closing and her breath deathly shallow. She was sure death had claimed her and she resented it. Corvus He settled the smoking poker aside and tested how conscious she was, but she was out. He unbound her, then picking her up gently, he carried her up to a room, he laid her down in a soft bed. From the shelf on a nearby wall he pulled a rope that he had spent years on. It nullified magic, he knows that he should have used it in the dungeon, but he was too much in a hurry, why he feared that she would wake up before he had her tied down he did not know. He bound her hands to the headboard of the bed. He kept her gagged though, he had no other option for that. Furthermore, he placed his hand on each of the injuries, letting them heal through his own energy. It was one of the first magics he had learned, back then it was not used to inflict pain, but to heal and help. It was this magic he used now to restore her wounds, to prevent her dying. He was not sure why he did it though, perhaps deep inside of him he felt a slight bit of compassion, but he knew that is would not rob him of his revenge. He stood there looking down at her figure sprawled on the bed, then he left, returning with a tray filled with food and cold water, he had also taken the time to pull his cloak back on. Furthermore, he placed the tray and pitcher down on the table and took a seat, his ice blue eyes intent on her still form. Nadya was unsure of how long she had been out but knew it had been a little bit again before she opened her eyes she took stock of her body and surroundings. She felt no pain now and instinctive new that he had healed her she could feel the residue of his magic left behind. She was no longer in the chair or even in the dungeon for that matter. Furthermore, she was still bound this time to a bed. Furthermore, she tried to tell herself this was a good thing. Furthermore, she felt a pull on her own magics and figured it was probably the ropes or something else touching her that did it. Furthermore, she knew it would nullify her spoken and hand magic while severely weakening her mind magic but the again her mind magic was all together different from most and very, very rare. She knew he was in the room she could faintly feel his magic. Slowly she opened her eyes and again looked dead at him. She saw the food beside him and decided it was time to play ball now that she temporally wasn’t hurting. She shouted in her own mind but knew it would sound in his like a faint whisper.“How do you plan to feed me if you never cut that second hole? I suppose I could promise not to curse you, but you wouldn’t believe me. So how will I eat or shall I starve while I watch you eat?” She said never taking her eyes from him waiting for his reaction. He felt magic reaching out to him, but it was not malevolent so he allowed it to enter his mind, he grinned, it was a very rare talent which she had, not only rare, but it just showed how powerful she would become with the ritual. Of course the grin made him look like a wolf who had sensed its prey, or in his case a vampire with too many fangs smelling blood." So you have much more hidden talents? How fascinating. But I have been sitting her wondering that same thing. Could I trust you? It was trust which caused..." He motioned to his face and rest of his body,"This. A constant reminder to never trust your type." He paused and stared hard at her,"You motioned that you knew why I am doing this. But do you know the truth? Or do you know only the tale that your great-grandfather have told your people?" He motioned to the food and water,"I wish to feed you, so that your body can replenish the blood you have lost, but it is up to you to prove you are to be trusted, otherwise you will have to bleed more to eat." Nadya studied Corvus with steady eyes as she gathered what strength she could while her magic was drained by ropes, but again she was pleased with herself that even with the pull on her magic he had been able to hear her words in his mind. She noticed that he was not upset to learn of her skills but that he seemed rather pleased with the development. Even though he was being cor gale, and it would seem was willing to feed her she did not fool herself into believing that he was finished touting her. No, this was just a brief respite while she regained physical strength." The choice Lord Corvus is yours. If you care to hear the tell I know I will have to be untagged the story is too long and draining to tell this way." She once again shouted in her head but knew was only a whisper of sound in his. She did not dare us her mind to tell the story especially not with the ropes that nullified most of her magic. Furthermore, she knew the more power she used the less she would have and the story as she knew it. Not only what was told to her but also what she had seen in dreams could not bare to have words lost or else one might not understand her meaning. She watched him as he sat by the food and waited for his decision. Corvus looked at her, a small smile creeping over his lips,"So clever you are. But I will not be fooled so easily. Calling me lord." He scoffed and got to his feet, taking hold of her left arm, he untied it, then moved it closer to her head, this freed up some rope. The excess he ran around her neck, making a knot at the base of her head, where the magic would have to pass through to let a curse work. He was most certain that now she had little to no power and what power she still had he could protect himself against. He removed her gag, and before she could say anything he cast a protection spell on himself, a black substance flowing from his hands to cover his aura. Furthermore, he then stepped back and looked down at her as she lay tied to the bed." First tell your tale, then I will feed you." It was not a trade or a black mail attempt, it was how he wanted it, and he was sure that it was the way he would have it. Nadya sighed a heavy breath he first deep breath in what seemed like forever without the gag in her mouth. She looked him in the eye her eyes steady on his but even though she looked at him unblinking her gaze became far off and distant as she began to tell her tale." Long ago there was an even maiden whose beauty it is said surpassed all others. This lovely maiden had two suitors for her hand in marriage. One was a powerful gypsy prince who was average in looks, the other was a great warlock who possessed power and beauty. The gypsy prince with his average looks feared the maiden would choose the handsome warlock over him so he decided on a plan to ensure he won the maidens hand, but he did not want the maiden for love but so that hid people could have more power. The gypsy set out to befriend the warlock. Once the gypsy had befriended the warlock and gained his trust the gypsy planned a trip for them and the warlock went gladly not knowing the gypsy had only wanted to isolate them, so none would see his crimes. Once there the gypsy tortured the warlock and cast a spell on the warlock, but the warlock was as powerful as the gypsy and so the spell to Miami and damage did not works planned instead the warlock became more than human his tender loving emotions only there to haunt him. The gypsy in his greed and power ran quickly while the warlock was down. He told all that the warlock had died in an accident and made it so he could quickly marry the maiden before the warlocks return. In his greed and selfishness he had taken most the warlocks' humanity, his life as he had known it, and his love. For all this the warlock swore his revenge as was well his right." Coming back to the present Nadya stared at his eyes one last moment before closing them with a sigh. Corvus watched her as she spoke, he was certain that was not the tale that was told to their people. He smirked as he turned away, lifting the tray he carried it over to her. Taking a seat, he filled the cup with water and held it to her lips to drink, then he started to cut the food into pieces, feeding her the pieces one-by-one. He didn't say a single word as he fed her and gave her more water to wash down the food, his actions a stark contrast to what he had already done to her and what his mind have already started to conceive what to do with her later on. When the food was finished, he rose, placed the tray to one side and without comment or warning fixed the gag to her mouth again, picking up the tray he looked down at her again." Sleep, you will need your rest." He moved towards the door and paused,"Tomorrow you will meet your arch-enemy." He looked at her, his eyes a cold glimmer as a wicked smile curved his lips,"Rosa-Anne was it? I will bring her to you before you awake." He chuckled and left, a shadowy figure slipping in to stand at the foot of her bed, clearly a sentinel to watch over her as its master left to do his own bidding. She was thankful for both the food and water after she told him the story. She didn't fight him when he re gagged her but laid there she had every intention of sleeping just as he suggested. At the mention of Rosa her eyes snapped open, and he stared after him wandering what the hell he would be doing bringing her here, what did she have to do with all this? If it hadn't been for her powerful magic Rosa would have killed her at least twice. She knew Corvus didn't want her dead at least not yet, and she knew with her being close to powerless Rosa would try yet again to kill her and gain her position as future queen of the gypsies. She closed her eyes again thinking of what to do. She felt Corvus getting farther away and opened her eyes to stare at her guard using her mind speak she worked on convincing him to let her up to use the bathroom reminding him that she had been a good captive not fighting. Finally, when she could no longer feel Corvus in the area the guard let her up carefully and guided her to the restroom but left her gagged. As soon as the door was closed she made quick work of the gag and opened the window. She was only on the second floor and whispered a spell that had roots making a ladder for her to climb down. As soon as her feet hit the ground she ran to the forest surrounding the fortress. In the woods she sent word to her people letting them know she lived still. Finding a secluded area that was a bit hidden she sat and began gathering her magic. She was not coward she would not run, but she would gather her strength and magic. Part of her power ceremony could be done solo, and she quickly set to work doing it so she would be more powerful than before even if she was not in her full power. She would take his revenge, but she would be fanned if Rosa would so much as touch her. When the ceremony was complete she picked some berries to eat as she made her way back to the fortress she could feel Corvus getting closer and smiled to herself as she stood freely by the front doors and awaited his return. He landed with his prize and carried the limp form of Rosa down to his basement, he bound her, but left her mouth free, he knew that her magic was so weak it was next to worthless. He frowned as he found the tree spirit guarding a bathroom door. Furthermore, he sighed as it relayed the news to him, then sent it on its way. Furthermore, he descended the stairs down to the black pool, using it as a crying stone to watch as Nadya prepared and performed the ritual, he could feel her magic growing stronger through the well. A dark visage looked up at him, it leered at him, and he turned from the face of the creature he should have been. He felt her approach and stop at the gate that led to his home. It may have been daylight, but shadows existed in daytime as well. He cast a spell, he made certain that she could feel the magic, he hid his true intentions under the amount of power and moved to the gate and opened it. As it swung open there stood four of him, not images, but beings. Each with the same magic and strength that he possess and when he spoke all four of them spoke." You think you are strong enough? You had no rest, lost too much blood and had too little to eat. Furthermore, you should have fled to your people, there you stood a better chance." The only problem was that the four creatures was not him, but the club which smashed into her back was him. He released the spell which cloaked his aura and magics and picked her up with one hand by the neck, the club turning into a dark blade which he plunged into her abdomen without hesitation. He dropped her to the ground as the same protection spell covered his aura. Furthermore, he stared down at her, daring her to attack him. Nadya could feel is anger as he struck her from behind. She hissed in a breath at the pain she felt as the blade stabbed into her stomach causing a burning tearing pain. She looked up at him from under her lashes her voice hoarse as she spoke, "So where is .... My other tormentors ......did you bring her with you? You know she'll try to kill me before you're done with me." Nadya gripped his arms to hold herself up her ocean green eyes staring into his opening her mind and showing him she would take his revenge, but she would not give Rosa the pleasure of being part of it. He smirked at her, his hand locking around her throat and lifting her up again, slowly squeezing,"My revenge is my own." He kept the pressure until she passed out from lack of blood flow and oxygen, tossing her carelessly at the images of himself, their forms grabbed her and ferried her away. Furthermore, he looked out towards the forest from where she came, issuing a call and far off howls of wolves met his magic. Furthermore, he turned and entered his sanctuary, safe in the knowledge that the wolves would soon reach his grounds and keep unwanted guests away. He entered the dungeon, this time he bound Nadya with the rope she had so carelessly left behind, he gagged her again. Then stripped her bare, using more bindings to cover most of her naked flesh. Then he turned to the awakening Rosa-Anne, who was of course also naked bound to a chair in plain view of Nadya. Her long black hair gleamed in the torchlight, her long limbs well-formed without severe definition, her body curved enough to make men believe in all the dark desires she promises to fulfil. Her dark brown eyes slowly opened and then focused on HOM, she started cursing, and he smiled as he hunched down, looking at her with an evil grin." At least you got the words right." He turned and looked at Nadya who was also coming to,"Ah she awake, your best friend in the world." Rosa of course swore at him, but he just smiled, then as he rose, he slashed her across the face, causing a terror filled scream to echo through the room." Shut up bitch, you are not in control here. A fact you better learn quickly." He pushed her head to one side and a bit into the flesh just under her collarbone, ripping out a piece, again she screamed. He spat out the flesh and laughed maniacally,"You scream a lot for somebody so big." He licked her blood from his lips and moved to the torture rack, pulling the dagger from it, he walked to Rosa, to her credit she did not utter a word until he started to cut her face, when she screamed again, he slashed across her mouth, laying her open from one side of her jaw to the other, then grabbed her tongue and without further qualms used the dagger to cut it out. The screams changed into gurgling chokes. He tossed the piece of flesh away and looked back at Nadya." You were saying?" He grinned,"Oh yes you can't." He continued to cut Rosa-Anne's face. When she finally passed out, he cast his dark healing spell, and she whimpered pitifully as the pain racked her body as it started to knit itself together. He moved to stand behind Rosa so that Nadya could see that no mark remained." Enjoying the show yet?" Nadya came too slowly to the sounds of screams and pleas. Her head hurt like a bitch and her abdomen ached, but she welcomed the pain because at least it let her know she was still alive. Therefore a moment out by the gate she had been sure he would kill her in his furry. So feeling pain was a relief to her, it showed she was alive. She opened her eyes to see what was going on and watched as Corvus sliced into Rosa. Even if she hadn't been gagged she wouldn't have said a word. She wandered what his game was. If he wasn't going to let Rosa torture her why bring Rosa to torture it made no since to Nadya. When Corvus moved behind Rosa, so Nadya could watch the painful healing Nadya watched and studied she wandered if she whimpered and carried on that much though she didn't think so. Still she would play with Corvus even though she was unsure if they were playing the same game." Please tell me even though I was gagged I had more dignity than that." She spoke into his mind her voice sounding a bit haughty as she spoke to him. He grinned,"Not really." He held up his forefinger and thumb a bit apart from each other,"Maybe a bit more." He slapped Rosa lightly on her cheeks to wake her up again,"So Nadya has decided to go ahead and grow her power Rosa. She is so much stronger than you now." He ran the edge of the knife over Rosa's chest just above her breasts, blood flowing almost instantly." You know what Rosa's biggest fear is Nadya?" He poked one breast with the tip of the black dagger,"Losing her greatest assets..." The blood draining from Rosa's face proved his words to be true,"Should I punish her just like she had punished you?" Nadya watched both Corvus and Rosa not sure who he was always talking to or if he was just talking to himself. She saw the pleading in Rosa's eyes for her to do something anything to help her. Nadya wasn't the vengeful short, and she knew this was mostly likely a test for her. She gave Rosa a look of pity for there was really nothing else she could do at the moment and then focused solar on Corvus." You will do what pleases you what I say matters not." She told him in his head. Rosa could not hear her speak and as confused and as in pain as she was it seemed she thought Corvus was speaking to her and nodded that he should work Nadya over. Nadya ignored her and kept her focus on Corvus. Corvus grinned his wicked grin,"Actually Nadya you will have to learn that as a ruler if you are given a choice, you voice your own way. That makes it easier to learn to make decisions, and it also learns one to shoulder your own responsibilities." He allowed heat to flow into the blade of the dagger, it grew hot and as the temperature increased so did the color of the blade, it went through the shades of red and orange until it was white and shimmering in the light of the dungeon." All you had to do was voice your opinion." With this he took hold of Rosa's left breast, her shock mirrored in her eyes as she realised what was to follow. Her pleading fell on deaf ears as the dagger descended and started cutting, the screams as the flesh and blood sizzled against the blade a sweet sound to him. He tossed the flesh aside and used his magic to revive Rosa who had passed out." And now because you did not voice your opinion and told me to not do it, you have doomed her to live without breasts." He paused,"Yes I would have stopped if you told me to." He grinned,"This is to be one of your subjects once you ascend the position of queen." Again the dagger descended and cauterized the wound as the white-hot blade slid through the flesh. This time he allowed the passed out Rosa her sweet reprieve as he moved over to Nadya. He leaned close to her face,"Want to know why she hates you so much little one?" He grinned,"You can speak to the mind, I can read it. She always hated that you were born into a powerful family, that you had powers, and she didn't, that even in that age you were sought after by the males and she not. She hated the fact that she had to become a slut for some attention, while you got it all." He smirked,"And of course she coveted your position." His grin broadened,"And I know your fear little one." Nadya watched through cold eyes as he tormented Rosa and as she watched she learned more of herself. If she had believed but for one instance that her opinion would have made a difference she would have choose to show mercy. When Rosa fainted from the pain and as well Nadya knew from shame, Nadya only looked at her with pity. Even as Corvus talked about the lesson for her to learn was to voice her opinion she learned a different one she learned how far she would go for her people even those that passed her. She was not her great-grandfather and she was not greedy. Nadya closed her eyes and using the new powers she had been granted healed Rosa taking the won into herself. She hissed in a breath through her nose as the pain hit and slowly opened her eyes to stare into the eyes of Corvus." You may well know my fear, and I have no shame in what I fear. I do not wish those of weak mind and body ill, but I pity them and gather them close under my wing. I may be his great-granddaughter but him I'll never be." She stopped and looked into his eyes deeper and deeper still seeking the knowledge of his pain. Once she found the well from wince his pain welled she did nothing but let him know she was there, and she saw what no other could. She pulled back from the depth and focused again on the present." You are not weak of mind or body Corvus but with time you have grown weak of heart. For that his line deserves punishment for bringing a man of strength to a weakness of heart." She said softly smoothly and waited for retaliation she was sure would come, for both healing Rosa and looking into him. "Perhaps, but what is there to have a heart for, if all was taken from you? You may think you know me little one." He placed his hand on her forehead, quite certain that she had no defenses against him as the ropes still drained most of her powers." But let me show you who I really am." Power surged from him into her through her mind, pain seared into her very soul, so severe that she would have curled into a ball if she was not bound. He knew this pain as it was the same pain he had gone through. It burned like fire, yet it was colder than blue ice, every little part felt like bursting and at the same felt sis mall that the body was nothing, the mind could not handle this pain, yet it couldn't switch off, death seemed an answer and the only way to stop the pain, yet there is no way to find it. He removed his hand, waiting patiently for her to gather her mind again,"That was how it started." He rested his talons under her chin and dug them into her flesh,"You think that I am plentiful? Bringing harm and sorrow to those who doesn't deserve it?" He motioned at the slumped form of Rosa,"You take her pain, yet you can not restore the wound. You think she will be thankful to you? Or will she rather turn to me to learn the arts, to also gain power?" He smirked,"My weak heart is cold and cruel it is true, but I have learned more about you than you wished to share." He muttered a spell and his mind blanked out her influence and magic, he turned away from her to face his other captive." She would rather die than live in shame." He looked over his shoulder,"Should I release her from her fleshy shell?" He tapped his head,"Just nod or shake your head, I can't hear you." Nadya closed her eyes and used the last of her strength searching into Rosa's unconscious mind. For her, she knew life would a mercy, but she knew not all were as strong-willed as herself and hoping he would again take her word she searched Rosa's mind to see what would be more merciful for the girl. To end her surfacing now or to let her live mutilated. Nadya took deep calming breaths as her strength wavered searching out the answer. She saw the girl would indeed rather die than suffer as she was or live with her wounds. Nadya wanted to tell Corvus yes, but she also wanted for it to be quick and merciful but with him blocking her and her strength lagging there was no way to communicate with him other than how he had indicated with a nod or shake of her head. Looking Corvus straight in the eye she simply nodded her head, but her eyes asked what she could not for a quick and merciful death to end the girl's suffering. He smirked,"Then live she shall!" He knew it was not what she had wanted, but of course he had not been truly honest with her. There was no need for him to be. He unbound the unconscious girl and tilted her head." But for her vanity she will have to remember this evening." He rested his finger on her forehead, just under the hairline. A sizzling sound started and when he removed his finger she had a dark mark. He licked the talon on his pinky, smiling at Nadya." And no it can't be removed." He carried her away and shortly returned, he dragged the blood drenched chair over to Nadya and sat down on it." What to do with you." Nadya growled behind the gag. She should have known better that whatever she said made no difference to him, he would do what he willed no matter what. She stared defiantly at him as he pulled up the chair and sat before. When he asked what he was to do with her, she knew deep in her soul she cared not. Even if she could talk with her mouth or to his mind she wouldn't reply for anything she said would most likely be unheard anyway. So she sat and stared at him even with the pain coursing through her body she sat straight showing no outward sign. Nadya slowly worked on cutting the link between herself and her emotions. She would no longer allow herself to feel, to worry about what may come she would only allow calm acceptance. However, she knew blocking her emotions would not stop the physical pain he was sure to make her endure, but again she resolved she would take it without a word she may not always Beale to stop the tears, but she could refuse sound. He leaned forward,"So curious that you are not shamed by your nudity." He shrugged,"Perhaps your customs have changed in the past years." He reached out, his hand seemingly aiming for her crotch, but his talons dug into the top of her thigh at the juncture between hip and leg. Furthermore, he slowly drew his hand down her leg, the flesh parting under his nails. Furthermore, he placed a hand against her forehead, energy flowing from him and the next moment a wail of anguish echoed from somewhere in his dwelling. Furthermore, he grinned,"Seems like your friend is feeling your pain." He laughed and suddenly slapped her hard, then he prodded the open wounds, digging deeper, a look of disgust came over his face,"The bitch passed out again. You got bested by that kind of shit?" He got up, licking at the blood on his nails and hand, moving over to the table with his implements, he stopped and stared down at his collection. Nadya didn't move or say a word her eyes remained on his as he moved around the room toward the now hated table. The pain was tremendous, and it took everything she had had not to scream or cry. His insult about Rosa besting her didn't affect her at all only she had known the circumstances, and she knew it had been her own fault for letting her guard down just like when Corvus abducted her. She watched him wearily as the pain coarse through her body. She figured maybe the pain wasn't such a bad thing after all at least it proved she was still among the living. With that thought in mine the pain became easier to accept. "Nadya, Nadya..." He picked up a flask and a silver stake, he walked back to her,"You believe that you deserve the punishment, even with your pain you dare to drain your powers to take more pain onto yourself." He sat down and looked at her, then he smiled, it was as human a smile as he could manage,"So lovely, so brave, so strong...if I was my old self I may have tried to win your heart." He leaned back in the chair, idly toying with the stake,"I wasn't a bad man, I healed those who could not afford healers, I tended to hurt animals, tended trees... I wasn't like I am now." He held out his hand and healing magic flowed into her thigh, knitting it closed, there was no extra pain, just a gentle warmth. The pain of the wound left her system, and he sat back into the chair again. Then he stood up, moved to her left side and raised the spike up, bringing his hand down, he drove the stake through her arm to impale it to the armrest of the chair, immediately it started to glow, a blood activated negation rod. He removed her gag,"Don't waste your time trying to curse me, the stake will counter any magic you direct at me." He removed the stopper on the flask and lifted it to her lips, offering a drink of cold water to her. Nadya was surprised by his gentle healing of her thigh and the pain. She hadn't expected him to be so gentle about it, she expected if he healed her again it would be the pain of before. She soon realised his seemingly tenderness was just another form torture. With the pain mostly gone when the spike slammed into her arm it only spiked instantly back up along with a bigger drain on her arm. She wasn't sure how she managed to keep from screaming, but she kept her promise to herself and stayed silent though she did briefly close her eyes. She listened to him talk about how it was no use to curse him before he removed the gag from her mouth. Furthermore, she opened her eyes and watched him as he removed the stopped from the flask and held it to her lips. Furthermore, she swallowed slow small sips knowing if she took more she would make herself sick. Furthermore, she wandered absently how he would know that she believed she deserved her punishment but still think she would curse him using her voice when she would take more pain. Her emotions were still dead inside her. As she sipped slowly of the cool liquid she wanted to moan as it slid down her parched throat, but she managed to hold back. She watched him cautiously as she continued taking small slow sips. She still would not speak any more not a sound just as she had promised herself at least for now. He let her drink until she was finished, then he drank of the water, draining the flask. He placed it on the table, then he returned to his seat. A curious light in his eyes as he inspected her." Let us talk, tell me of your grandfather. I know he still lives. Also tell me of your grandmother, I also know that she still lives." He sat down on the chair, seemingly to Seymour the blood which coated it,"Are they well? Do they teach the old ways still or have the younger generations walked away from the old paths and embrace the new beliefs?" With a sigh he waved his hands, darkness seemed to flow from the shadows and cover her naked body. When he took the water from her and drank the rest of it Nadya kept her cool eyes on him taking in the pain reminding herself that if she could still feel the pain she was well and alive, at least alive anyway. She listened to his question and request and wandered if she should answer him. It seemed that not now he wanted to catch up like old friends, but she believed that there was more to it than that. When the shadows moved forward to cover her nudity she shivered at the chill they brought with them. She debated if she should speak but finally decided that if she didn’t, he would probably hurt her or Rosa and even though she didn’t like Rosa she was still a part of her people, and as such it was Nadya’s job to do her best to protect her.“They are both alive my grandfather is sick the past couple of years, but he seems to stubborn to just die and let the rest of us live in peace. My grandmother does what she can to make peace she still radiates beauty and peace. She does most of the teachings for our people telling us of our history while being open to new ways as well. I believe she does a great job of keeping tradition while letting us grow as time around us does.” Nadya informed him. He nodded, leaning back into the chair he stared at a point just past Nadya, his eyes distant and unfocused. He suddenly got to his feet,"Sounds just like they were long ago." He replaced the gag and pulled the stake from her arm, looking at the blood seeping from the gaping wound, he bent down and slowly ran his tongue over the wound, taking in the taste and in a lesser degree gaining blood-knowledge of some of her powers. Furthermore, he placed a hand on the wound and dark magic flowed from him into the wound, bringing the pain. Furthermore, he sat down on his haunches, watching her as the wound closed." Enough for one day. I have to fix Rosa up and take her back, the only thing she will remember is the pain and perhaps the mercy you showed her by keeping her alive." He got up and shrugged apologetically,"Off course I can not trust you to behave, so I will just leave you here to think about today. I will return." He paused at the entrance way,"Oh and Rosa's pain and scars? They will be no more. I may be a monster, but at times I am not that bad." With a soft laugh he left the room.

Cursed Revenge (closed for Imcms)|rating:3.0

Astonishing tales vol 2_ The tale of Haern

This is the solo adventure of the warlock Her. Spoiler: Quayside District Hide You talked your way out of the sanitarium which your family confined you to, to spare themselves the awkwardness of your unique way of seeing things. Being of a respectable family, mental illness is frowned upon, and they were ashamed. Knowing you were destined for greatness and that your home nation of Frozen was too uptight, rigid, and would never accept you, you decided to slip away. There was only one place open-minded enough to accept you, so you made the 3-week journey across an ocean to the Iron City. You had hoped to sail past close to the fabled flying city of Epimetheus, but only saw it at a distance, a golden mass reflecting the morning sun. Perhaps you'll visit it properly someday. It was evening as you approached the Iron City by sea, first seen as a black, spiky mass nestled into the cliffs. More and more airships passed overhead, as flight paths converged from all over the world. By nighttime, you passed beneath the open gates beneath the fabled metal walls, and gradually heard music becoming louder. Disembarking in the infamous Quayside district you emerge into street after street of packed, noisy saloons where all races intermingled. Sullen merfolk dangled their webbed feet off the docks, quickly smoking cigarettes before their skin dried out and tossing the stubs to nearby children. A halfling was spanking an ogre with a paddle, causing a distraction ford row and tie fling pickpockets. The sounds of every musical instrument imaginable mixed with drunken laughter, cheers, fights, fornication of every kind. This seemed like a place where your strangeness would not only be accepted, but welcomed. I am home. You stop to read some of the advertisements: Originally Posted by Dr_DIMM This is the solo adventure of the warlock Her. Spoiler: Quayside District Hide You talked your way out of the sanitarium which your family confined you to, to spare themselves the awkwardness of your unique way of seeing things. Being of a respectable family, mental illness is frowned upon, and they were ashamed. Knowing you were destined for greatness and that your home nation of Frozen was too uptight, rigid, and would never accept you, you decided to slip away. There was only one place open-minded enough to accept you, so you made the 3-week journey across an ocean to the Iron City. You had hoped to sail past close to the fabled flying city of Epimetheus, but only saw it at a distance, a golden mass reflecting the morning sun. Perhaps you'll visit it properly someday. It was evening as you approached the Iron City by sea, first seen as a black, spiky mass nestled into the cliffs. More and more airships passed overhead, as flight paths converged from all over the world. By nighttime, you passed beneath the open gates beneath the fabled metal walls, and gradually heard music becoming louder. Disembarking in the infamous Quayside district you emerge into street after street of packed, noisy saloons where all races intermingled. Sullen merfolk dangled their webbed feet off the docks, quickly smoking cigarettes before their skin dried out and tossing the stubs to nearby children. A halfling was spanking an ogre with a paddle, causing a distraction ford row and tie fling pickpockets. The sounds of every musical instrument imaginable mixed with drunken laughter, cheers, fights, fornication of every kind. This seemed like a place where your strangeness would not only be accepted, but welcomed. I am home. You stop to read some of the advertisements: Spoiler: IMPORTANT FIRST IMPRESSION Hide having earlier decided on his cover story and made a disguise that fits he enters the establishment. (Disguise, fitting haircut, trimmed beard, and fitted his fine clothes to suit the Frozen high-end merchants fashion) Unless someone is very perceptive they won't notice a tiny creature fly in and scan the area for Her. Stealth 12+4 = 16 Perception 14/9 (advantage)+3 =17 All he notices is communicated to me telepathically. Her heads to the bar "Barkeep I would like a glass of your best red, while you prepare your best room with a tub of tempered water and your best most beautiful woman to come scrub my travel weary body. He sits down at the bar "I will of course open up a tap in Lt;insert rich merchant from Troezen> name as I'm here on business" Here shows the barkeep a letter of rights perfectly forged if you ask him, he is very proud of his work. Deception: 17+5 = 22 Originally Posted by Tiara Spoiler: IMPORTANT FIRST IMPRESSION Hide having earlier decided on his cover story and made a disguise that fits he enters the establishment. (Disguise, fitting haircut, trimmed beard, and fitted his fine clothes to suit the Frozen high-end merchants fashion) Unless someone is very perceptive they won't notice a tiny creature fly in and scan the area for Her. Stealth 12+4 = 16 Perception 14/9 (advantage)+3 =17 All he notices is communicated to me telepathically. Her heads to the bar "Barkeep I would like a glass of your best red, while you prepare your best room with a tub of tempered water and your best most beautiful woman to come scrub my travel weary body. He sits down at the bar "I will of course open up a tap in Lt;insert rich merchant from Troezen> name as I'm here on business" Here shows the barkeep a letter of rights perfectly forged if you ask him, he is very proud of his work. Deception: 17+5 = 22 OK. 22 is for your papers right? Give me a roll for disguise. Everyone is wasted, and its nighttime, so no one notices your flying minion. Not like they would care. They are used to seeing weird **** all the time. The barkeeper looks very impressed with your papers and presence. He clears his throat awkwardly." Ah... My apologies' sir. Only cash is accepted hereabouts. Some of the finer establishments in sector 2 take credit. I have actually heard of Mr. Brinkley, I'm sure his credit is excellent, but I can't help you." Just then you notice the coin pouch next to you, belonging to a distracted man with his leg under a woman's skirt and her leg on his shoulder. She is pulling him by his hair and jacket, and in doing so revealed his coin pouch which was kept beneath his clothes for security (which I recommend you do as well). Action? Originally Posted by Dr_DIMM OK. 22 is for your papers right? Give me a roll for disguise. Everyone is wasted, and its nighttime, so no one notices your flying minion. Not like they would care. They are used to seeing weird **** all the time. The barkeeper looks very impressed with your papers and presence. He clears his throat awkwardly. "Ah... My apologies' sir. Only cash is accepted hereabouts. Some of the finer establishments in sector 2 take credit. I have actually heard of Mr. Brinkley, I'm sure his credit is excellent, but I can't help you." Just then you notice the coin pouch next to you, belonging to a distracted man with his leg under a woman's skirt and her leg on his shoulder. She is pulling him by his hair and jacket, and in doing so revealed his coin pouch which was kept beneath his clothes for security (which I recommend you do as well). Action? Yes I'm proficient with disguise kit. But to be honest I don't know how to make a save out of it as its "add proficiency to a check" but what check? So ill add it to deception. Roll 10 + 2 (kit) + 5(deception) = 17. I communicate telepathically to Mads and asks him secretly to knock down something from the ceiling to create a distraction. And as an action I try and Nick the pouch. While the others are distracted.Sleight of hand: 16+4 = 20It is very disappointing that I have to take my business elsewhere then. It could have been very profiting for you. Yes, disguise is a deception. Mab knocks over a bottle. No one even notices, this place is wild. No additional distraction was needed, as this man. Could not possibly Be any more distracted in his life. You lift the pouch and earn 10 gold." My apologies," says the owner. "Have a shot on me. I'll give you some advice. Don't leave the Quayside at night on foot. You won't make it out. That goes for everyplace else here, especially if you're from out of town. Be especially careful in the slums, Sector 1. Do not go there for any reason.You're now at Quayside District in sector 3 (he points to your map). If you really need to leave here tonight, I suggest taking public transit to sector 2. There are numerous inns and saloons, some of which may take credit. You can take a boat taxi down the canals, cable car, or Erebus. There's a boat taxi right outside by the red crates. Good luck, sir."did you get the map I emailed you? Action? Originally Posted by Dr_DIMM Yes, disguise is a deception. May knocks over a bottle. No one even notices, this place is wild. No additional distraction was needed, as this man. Could not possibly Be any more distracted in his life. You lift the pouch and earn 10 gold. "My apologies," says the owner. "Have a shot on me. I'll give you some advice. Don't leave the Quayside at night on foot. You won't make it out. That goes for everyplace else here, especially if you're from out of town. Be especially careful in the slums, Sector 1. Do not go there for any reason. You're now at Quayside District in sector 3 (he points to your map). If you really need to leave here tonight, I suggest taking public transit to sector 2. There are numerous inns and saloons, some of which may take credit. You can take a boat taxi down the canals, cable car, or Erebus. There's a boat taxi right outside by the red crates. Good luck, sir." did you get the map I emailed you? Action? No you misunderstand me my good man, I will be taking my business elsewhere, AFTER tonight. Her looks around with a smile will definitely do business here tonight. I will still require the room, bath and woman for service. And with a sigh Ill just have to spend from the minor cash stock I carry Ok. Deduct 5g gold, however, the refreshing experience gives You have advantage on your next sanity save. The next morning you awake to maritime sounds of bells, seagulls, and ill-mannered dockworkers from the quays below. You apply your disguise (no need.to reroll) and as you head downstairs, you recognize a familiar voice...."... escaped from a sanitarium. He's very dangerous, and may be in disguise. I only want to bring my cousin back so he can be treated. I would feel personally responsible if he hurt someone. He isn't well. If you see him, please send a messenger to notify me. I will cover the charges. Here is the address of where I'll be staying." (Hear scribbling). That was your cousin, Syn Blood weld. He's a good fighter, and doesn't.give a damn who gets hurt, as long as he gets what he wants. Your family is very close-knit. You wouldn't be surprised if more of your cousins are tracking you as well. Action? Originally Posted by Dr_DIMM Ok. Deduct 5g gold, however, the refreshing experience gives You have advantage on your next sanity save. The next morning you awake to maritime sounds of bells, seagulls, and ill-mannered dockworkers from the quays below. You apply your disguise (no need.to reroll) and as you head downstairs, you recognize a familiar voice.... "... escaped from a sanitarium. He's very dangerous, and may be in disguise. I only want to bring my cousin back so he can be treated. I would feel personally responsible if he hurt someone. He isn't well. If you see him, please send a messenger to notify me. I will cover the charges. Here is the address of where I'll be staying." (Hear scribbling). That was your cousin, Syn Blood weld. He's a good fighter, and doesn't.give a damn who gets hurt, as long as he gets what he wants. Your family is very close-knit. You wouldn't be surprised if more of your cousins are tracking you as well. Action? Her freezes in his tracks (Stealth Roll 6+4 = 10) atop the stairs. Trying to wait it out. A shiver goes does Her spine, he didn't know they would be here this fast. If Her is heard, he is out of sight though. He cast Prestidigitation to emulate a sound of cats running after each other Wheeling. Very clever. Syn leaves. This is early, the place is empty. You peek and see the owner with a notepad doing inventory, and a lady cleaning up the layer of beer and body fluid that covers the entire floor. The front door is open and there's a cool ocean breeze coming in. Action? Originally Posted by Dr_DIMM Very clever. Syn leaves. This is early, the place is empty. You peek and see the owner with a notepad doing inventory, and a lady cleaning up the layer of beer and body fluid that covers the entire floor. The front door is open and there's a cool ocean breeze coming in. Action? Her feeling quite satisfied with himself, waits for the door to close and then he walks down. And without a care in the world"I thought I was up early, but didn't I just hear guests leave?" Rubbing his belly followed by a stretch and a yawn"I'll have some wine and breakfast"And with a bright smile, as if remembering something funny"eggs! I need some protein!" "Just someone looking for a Troezenian. Like I care." Note that you can't necessarily hide your Troezenian accent. You can't tell if the saloon keeper suspects something or not. He offers you the morning newspaper. Spoiler: Airship battle inside city! Black hoods sighted Hide Last Friday, the Blackwoods incited a riot and destroyed a theater. Their feared leader, Hannah One-hand, was there herself! A government airship appeared to apprehend her, but was apparently sabotaged and destroyed, crashing down right on the street. The. Blackhoods are a dangerous rebel group to be avoided at all costs. Spoiler: Strange new illness Hide More and more people are succumbing to a strange illness, which strikes the recipient with a bloodthirsty and frightening mania, causing atrocities of unspeakably violent horror. The University and Police are working as hard as. They can. Spoiler: Mind Control? Hide There are rumors of some individuals acting under the sway of mind control, mostly confined to the edges of the city, close to the walls. Spoiler: Missing Children Hide The mysterious child kidnapper known as "The Snatcher" appears to once again be on the prowl, after a decade of inactivity. Spoiler: Clean Water for Tin town Hide The ingenious residents of Tin town, in the slums, have created their own mass water purifier. An anonymous government official claims: "the Iron City's water supply is already 100% safe to drink. There's no reason for. Anyone to need a homemade purifier, which will likely have the effect of inadvertently poisoning our excellent water." Originally Posted by Dr_DIMM "Just someone looking for a Troezenian. Like I care." Note that you can't necessarily hide your Troezenian accent. You can't tell if the saloon keeper suspects something or not. He offers you the morning newspaper. Spoiler: Airship battle inside city! Black hoods sighted Hide Last Friday, the Blackwoods incited a riot and destroyed a theater. Their feared leader, Hannah One-hand, was there herself! A government airship appeared to apprehend her, but was apparently sabotaged and destroyed, crashing down right on the street. The. Blackhoods are a dangerous rebel group to be avoided at all costs. Spoiler: Strange new illness Hide More and more people are succumbing to a strange illness, which strikes the recipient with a bloodthirsty and frightening mania, causing atrocities of unspeakably violent horror. The University and Police are working as hard as. They can. Spoiler: Mind Control? Hide There are rumors of some individuals acting under the sway of mind control, mostly confined to the edges of the city, close to the walls. Spoiler: Missing Children Hide The mysterious child kidnapper known as "The Snatcher" appears to once again be on the prowl, after a decade of inactivity. Spoiler: Clean Water for Tin town Hide The ingenious residents of Tin town, in the slums, have created their own mass water purifier. An anonymous government official claims: "the Iron City's water supply is already 100% safe to drink. There's no reason for. Anyone to need a homemade purifier, which will likely have the effect of inadvertently poisoning our excellent water." Her looks up from his paper, still trying to sound indifferent. To be truthful he hast stopped watching the barkeep so see if he had caught on, making reading the paper rather slow. Who is this Hannah One hand I read about? Can you tell me about this riot? I don't want to be caught by chance in any of this! Which brings to mind, could you arrange for transport to the finer part of the town. To some of the finer parts of town where I can have my employer pick up the tap, but still have a good chance of finding girls of your quality. If you could advise me to 5 or so different places I can shop around.(I hope you read my mail about a few changes to my sheet, I've also edited some of the things in my backpack). The new mail is inc. "The Blackwoods are anarchists and criminals trying to take away what we have." He doesn't know much else besides that. He told you already where to find transport and suggests a few places in Triangle Square, marked on your map in sector 2. Transit via carriage, cable car, airbus, water taxi are about 2g. Or you can walk now that its daytime. Originally Posted by Dr_DIMM "The Blackwoods are anarchists and criminals trying to take away what we have." He doesn't know much else besides that. He told you already where to find transport and suggests a few places in Triangle Square, marked on your map in sector 2. Transit via carriage, cable car, airbus, water taxi are about 2g. Or you can walk now that its daytime. Oh, I was sure it was possible to arrange for transport from door to door... Haern looks disappointed Well off to the carriage then, I would have preferred to be transported all the way though. But give me directions, and I'll be on my way. Haern tosses 5sp to the barkeep and looks out the window... Scanning for lookouts..."ahh the weather seems fine, I might not ruin my clothes""I will let my friends know about this little gem..." And with his best smile and a fitting salute he exits A carriage is private door-to-door transport. An employee takes your bags down and calls one for you. The driver drops you off at Triangle Square, a large, famous plaza formed at the intersection of 3 avenues. Spoiler Hide People come here to shop, talk, have coffee, eat, or be seen and heard. Priests, politicians and salesmen shout their claims, while inventors display their latest gadgets. You visit an inn and give the same story. Because.of your disguise. And papers, it was easy to make.a.deception roll. You're now. Staying for free at the Brass Eagle. Don't over stay your welcome. You shop around, chat, eat, etc. Perception roll please. Originally Posted by Dr_DIMM A carriage is private door-to-door transport. An employee takes your bags down and calls one for you. The driver drops you off at Triangle Square, a large, famous plaza formed at the intersection of 3 avenues. Spoiler Hide People come here to shop, talk, have coffee, eat, or be seen and heard. Priests, politicians and salesmen shout their claims, while inventors display their latest gadgets. You visit an inn and give the same story. Because.of your disguise. And papers, it was easy to make.a.deception roll. You're now. Staying for free at the Brass Eagle. Don't over stay your welcome. You shop around, chat, eat, etc. Perception roll My familiars' perception also counts, unless he is packed away. Familiar Perception (it has advantage): 2/8+3 = 11My perception: 12 + 1 = 13Once I'm settled in I go to the in keepers office to arrange my stay for the entire duration. Once in his office I get down to business. My employer Mr. Brinkley has given me a few letters of rights, one of which I'm expecting to use here its worth a 100gp, I'll have a lot of must-have items on the list, but if you can do it cheap, you have the change to keep for yourself. Now here is what I need for my stay. Two very fine suits one of the latest Iron City fashion and one suit that blends the Iron City fashion with Frozen upper class. Then I need an assortment of fine wines and foods presented in my room for visitors, along with some culture appropriate presents to bring to meeting and dinner parties. And if you can fine some tonic to enhance my negotiating abilities, I've been recommended something called a On Stratton's Tonic. And lastly I need around 20-30 gold pieces to pay for whatever in the city. My employer and I are surprised by the lack of ability to use letters of rights as payment. It must be due to the riot by this One hand person. Haern looks to the inn owner so see if he is taking the bait... and now for the last nail!I've calculated this will cost around 90gp but I'm sure a local could press the prices even further making this a very profitable exchange for you! Haern takes a sip of from the wine no doubt served Are you up for the task? OK. I gave you an automatic success to get a few. Nights free. More than that will require two deception rolls (because you're making several requests). However, the first roll has advantage as you already established credibility. Originally Posted by Dr_DIMM OK. I gave you an automatic success to get a few. Nights free. More than that will require two deception rolls (because you're making several requests). However, the first roll has advantage as you already established credibility. Key: I made53 rolls: (mistype)Deception: first roll: 2/12 + 5 = 17second roll: 8 and then I use a hero point +1d6 = 5 = 18third roll: 20! Because I added on Stratton's tonic as an edit the same time you posted. (but as it's an edit that's late, you can of course just rule it out) I used the 1st 2 rolls. No need for a third. Also, where did you get On Stratton, and what did you pay for it ? I haven't released it yet. Your story seems to work, but the owner can't credit you more than 50 gold. Its still good considering all you have is a paper and a good story. Usually large credit lines require a pre-existing relationship with the benefactor. The owner thanks you and sends the bill to Mr. Brinkley via mail. It will take about 2 days to arrive in Frozen. While you were being taken to the tailor to have your suit fitted, you pass an alchemist shop, where an ill looking, grimy old man is trying to buy medicine. It seems like the medicine usually costs 6 gold and now its 8. Old man: "Eight goddamn gold? It was always 6! 6 gold is all the money I have, do you understand? Its either medicine or food. I don't even have a home. All my. Money goes to medicine. And now you're raise prices for no reason, you **** sucker. Go to hell." Coughing into a tissue he leaves the shop. Action or continue? Originally Posted by Dr_DIMM I used the 1st 2 rolls. No need for a third. Also, where did you get On Stratton, and what did you pay for it ? I haven't released it yet. Your story seems to work, but the owner can't credit you more than 50 gold. Its still good considering all you have is a paper and a good story. Usually large credit lines require a pre-existing relationship with the benefactor. The owner thanks you and sends the bill to Mr. Brinkley via mail. It will take about 2 days to arrive in Frozen. While you were being taken to the tailor to have your suit fitted, you pass an alchemist shop, where an ill looking, grimy old man is trying to buy medicine. It seems like the medicine usually costs 6 gold and now its 8. Old man: "Eight goddamn gold? It was always 6! 6 gold is all the money I have, do you understand? Its either medicine or food. I don't even have a home. All my. Money goes to medicine. And now you're raise prices for no reason, you **** sucker. Go to hell." Coughing into a tissue he leaves the shop. Action or continue? Her has a soft spot for sick people being swindled or not properly taken care of. He grabs 3 GP from his holdings and with a sleight of hand he tries to PUT pocket: sleight of hand: 3+4=7 If I succeed ill hand him 3 GP without other people noticing. And without more fuss continue "Thank you friend. Decency still exists. I owe you one. What's your name?" Which name do you give him? Whether or not you tell him, he buys the medicine and leaves. Keep in mind that having your familiar in view might make you more easily identifiable. Originally Posted by Dr_DIMM "Thank you friend. Decency still exists. I owe you one. What's your name?" Which name do you give him? Whether or not you tell him, he buys the medicine and leaves. Keep in mind that having your familiar in view might make you more easily identifiable. "I'm just a semi decent Samaritan"My dragon being tiny almost look like a lizard. I'm figuring he crawls from a resting place on my forearm to wherever I decide for him to spot stuff. E.g. on a coach he would hide on top of the canvas looking around. Haern continue to the fitting of outfits. A pseudo dragon is a remarkable creature, and definitely doesn't look like a lizard. You get measured by a reputable tailor and pick a fabric that matches your style and current trend. It may look more or less like this, perhaps in a darker color more appropriate for a warlock suit will be ready in a few days. You're also able to purchase any item in the pub in one of the many stores here. You take a tour of other interesting areas, such as the artistic binary district, as well as the University district, home of the world-famous Academy of Arcane Sciences. Furthermore, you now have a familiarity with those 3 districts.It's almost dark. You eat, bathe, watch a bard show. By then it's late. Go to sleep or something else? Originally Posted by Dr_DIMM A pseudo dragon is a remarkable creature, and definitely doesn't look like a lizard. You get measured by a reputable tailor and pick a fabric that matches your style and current trend. It may look more or less like this, perhaps in a darker color more appropriate for a warlock The suit will be ready in a few days. You're also able to purchase any item in the pub in one of the many stores here. You take a tour of other interesting areas, such as the artistic binary district, as well as the University district, home of the world-famous Academy of Arcane Sciences. Furthermore, you now have a familiarity with those 3 districts. It's almost dark. You eat, bathe, watch a bard show. By then it's late. Go to sleep or something else? Yea I start working on another persona. And for that Ill start checking out possible marks, possibly some from the Academy of Arcane Sciences as that place seem like a good place to hide. So I try and spy on someone obviously from the Academy, learn what they talk about if I see an opportunity I'd try and steal some documents/papers that could be forged. I then look for medium stakes card game, (of course in another establishment then the one I'm sleeping in). I don't know much about cheating in cards, but my plan is to start a rumor during the game. So sometime during the game I say most likely after I've taken a small loss:"oh, this reminds me, I experienced a sore looser last night. I was playing card in one of the lower establishments, you know what I mean"I wink and smile"Anyway this guys Syn Blood weld he was called, comes in asking around about something, and then sits down to play." I look around to see if I have their attention." Terrible player if I ever saw one. After he had taken a big loss to one of the other guys he gets up, start swinging his sword around threatening to kill us if he doesn't get his money back. Anyway he gets away before anyone can apprehend him"and then just as quickly as I've bought up the story I change the subject." Who's dealing?" You're also able to purchase any item in the pub in one of the many stores here. Can I buy a vehicle? Can I drive a vehicle? Originally Posted by Tiara Yea I start working on another persona. And for that Ill start checking out possible marks, possibly some from the Academy of Arcane Sciences as that place seem like a good place to hide. So I try and spy on someone obviously from the Academy, learn what they talk about if I see an opportunity I'd try and steal some documents/papers that could be forged. I then look for medium stakes card game, (of course in another establishment then the one I'm sleeping in). I don't know much about cheating in cards, but my plan is to start a rumor during the game. So sometime during the game I say most likely after I've taken a small loss: "oh, this reminds me, I experienced a sore looser last night. I was playing card in one of the lower establishments, you know what I mean" I wink and smile "Anyway this guys Syn Blood weld he was called, comes in asking around about something, and then sits down to play." I look around to see if I have their attention. "Terrible player if I ever saw one. After he had taken a big loss to one of the other guys he gets up, start swinging his sword around threatening to kill us if he doesn't get his money back. Anyway he gets away before anyone can apprehend him" and then just as quickly as I've bought up the story I change the subject. "Who's dealing?" can I buy a vehicle? Can I drive a vehicle? Give me an investigation roll and a persuasion roll. The persona will take time to create. Did you want to assume the persona of an. Actual University Member or just create false papers? You can certainly buy and attempt to drive a vehicle. However, they are very expensive. The cheapest vehicles are small one person crafts (Armed carriage,, or tiny one man airships known as "kites."). Even then, it's around 10k gold for a basic one. You might find a used or inferior model for less Piloting a vehicle without the pilot background is possible. With a DEX check, as long as you don't try any complex maneuvers. Using.any special functions of a vehicle requires and.int roll. A pilot can. Add his prof bonus to any vehicle check (land, sea or air). After being out all day shopping, investigating, and then gambling It's quite late, past midnight, and you're getting fatigued... Originally Posted by Dr_DIMM Give me an investigation roll and a persuasion roll. The persona will take time to create. Did you want to assume the persona of an. Actual University Member or just create false papers? After being out all day shopping, investigating, and then gambling It's quite late, past midnight, and you're getting fatigued... Well I don't quite know what's possible. But if I could blend in as a university member by forging papers getting a robe and whatever is needed I would probably do that. Investigation 15+0 = 15 EDIT: ups I don't have any bonuses to investigation. Persuasion 7+5 = 12Knowing that tiredness never amount to anything good I turn to bed and sleep in. Her is now fully awake, he can't possibly sleep anymore! (Can he?) From what you pick up in your. Investigation, the University uses various magical protocol to maintain security. It is THE premiere magic school on the planet, and from what you gather, it seems like its out of your capabilities. All kinds of overlapping security, wards, traps, divination, you name it. These people do NOT mess around, as there are state secrets and black project research going on all the time. However, visitors are always welcome In designated areas! Now, as for. Syrn Blood weld, remember your family are. Uptight Troezenian nobles and do not gamble (at least not openly). Nevertheless, I understand the intent of your action is to slander his reputation, so I'll say you went ahead and spread.some.other.false rumors about him, such as. Being devious, cheap, or worse, cowardly (the worst insult to a Troezenian warrior). Later that night..... A dreadfully familiar voice awakens you." Wake up, cousin. Shhh... Easy now. No sudden movements." He has one hand with a knife to your throat (readied action) and the other around the neck of Mass, who is flailing helplessly. Spoiler: What the?! Hide These characters stealth modifier greatly exceeds both your and your familiars' perception. For the sake of the story line, I went with a passive check. "Tie him." He says to another man who is with him. He's a human, and you don't recognize him. Furthermore, he walks over to you and tries to start tying you up. Your cousin will know if you're trying to cast a spell, and obviously, any sudden movements are also out of the question. He has you. However, you can try to talk to him. Do you allow yourself to be tied? Do you speak? By the way, you might have seen Syn earlier that day at the plaza. Remember that perception roll? Originally Posted by Dr_DIMM From what you pick up in your. Investigation, the University uses various magical protocol to maintain security. It is THE premiere magic school on the planet, and from what you gather, it seems like its out of your capabilities. All kinds of overlapping security, wards, traps, divination, you name it. These people do NOT mess around, as there are state secrets and black project research going on all the time. However, visitors are always welcome In designated areas! Now, as for. Syrn Blood weld, remember your family are. Uptight Troezenian nobles and do not gamble (at least not openly). Nevertheless, I understand the intent of your action is to slander his reputation, so I'll say you went ahead and spread.some.other.false rumors about him, such as. Being devious, cheap, or worse, cowardly (the worst insult to a Troezenian warrior). Later that night..... A dreadfully familiar voice awakens you. "Wake up, cousin. Shhh... Easy now. No sudden movements." He has one hand with a knife to your throat (readied action) and the other around the neck of Mass, who is flailing helplessly. EDIT: I'm up for about an hour still, you can't leave me to sleep in this situation, so I hope you have time :D Spoiler: What the?! Hide These characters stealth modifier greatly exceeds both your and your familiars' perception. For the sake of the story line, I went with a passive check. "Tie him." He says to another man who is with him. He's a human, and you don't recognize him. Furthermore, he walks over to you and tries to start tying you up. Your cousin will know if you're trying to cast a spell, and obviously, any sudden movements are also out of the question. He has you. However, you can try to talk to him. Do you allow yourself to be tied? Do you speak? What do I remember about my dear cousin... are we close, is he loyal to family or looks out for himself first? These thoughts go through my mind the seconds before I allow myself to be tied up. And just before I'm forced do anything. I sit down in the chair. Cousin, no need for restraints, you have my pet in lockdown it seems, he is the most dangerous of the two of us. As far as we all should be concerned I'm your hostage. Persuasion: Second 20! + 5 = 25Now tell Syn, why are you here?EDIT; By the way, you might have seen Syn earlier that day at the plaza. Remember that perception roll? Yes I thought it might be something like that, but hoped my disguise would cover it... all of this is meta, because I didn't see him so didn't change my actions. From what you know of your cousin, he is very ambitious. Troezenian officers are drawn from the nobility, and its considered a privilege. Much prestige and rank comes with distinguished service, and a promising political career once the fighting days are over. Syn is a talented fighter, and has much more experience than you. He is loyal to his family, but in the context of his own and their ambitions. Your family just aren't very nice people. They all work together, but It's to further their own goals of power. Frozen has a caste system which is also very religious. Your family is of the warrior caste, so they're all expected to be the crème de la crème of the fighting force. As soon as you move to get up he digs his knife into your skin, pressing down on you. Then he snaps May's neck and tosses the body aside. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO MOVE! YOU NEVER LISTEN! YOU NEVER LISTEN, YOU DISGRACEFUL WRETCH! Furthermore, you," he tilts his head at the stranger. "Tie him. NOW! No more bull****. I am taking you home, where you belong, my sweet cousin." Just then, you hear a grizzled voice at the door, harsh and cold as the sound of a shifting glacier." He's not going anywhere with you, Nancy boy." Everyone turns around, but not before your cousin pins you expertly, not moving the knife from your bleeding throat. You slightly tilt your head to see who showed up at the door. It is none other than the old man that you helped to buy medicine! He is accompanied by a rather handsome and athletic half elf and a little black boy wearing nothing but a cloth over his hips, decorated in tribal piercings and symbols all over his bare skin. Do not reply in this thread. Move to this thread, read post #30, and begin!#post19951217

Astonishing tales vol 2_ The tale of Haern|rating:3.0

Super battle sluts! (IC)

I walked through the streets It was my birthday sure, but it was also the day a handful of women would be chosen by the aliens to do... Whatever it is they do to us women I always figured they raped the women they chose but whatever. None of my business right? As I walk down the streets I see the aliens known as the keepers examining women one of them was grabbed by the wrist screaming and shouting... Then it was my turn... I am grabbed from behind turned around he looks as though he is about to rape me greed in his eyes before I am dragged by him into an alley as is the other girl before I see the traditional beam of light surround us, and I am pulled onto there alien ship... I see who seems to be there leader or whatever he. Maybe she? Is walking towards me seeming to examine me carefully as I turn my head I don't know what's going to happen to me, but I have a pretty good idea.... I hope my clothes didn't have anything to do with my being chosen... I am wearing a rather skimpy outfit something one would wear to a party... Which was where I was heading... The party at home... It was supposed to be a surprise, but I found out by my friend Jane "What do you want with me?" Baku walked silently, studying those who had been "captured". It was a unique arrangement, and one that would probably have led to strife if not for the rather docile nature of this people's government. Even many on his world detested the slave concept. Baku himself found that master and slave was in the eye of the beholder. He stopped suddenly in front of a young woman with long blond hair. He surveyed her outfit, and tilted his head. Then he turned to the Keeper beside her, and spoke with him for several moments. Then he took the young woman's hand, and pulled her out of line. He spoke, hesitantly at first, in her language. "Do you understand me? I am Baku. You have been taken as a slave. I have chosen to take you from the one who captured you, as is my prerogative as the one in charge of the welfare of slaves. I do this because you are really too young for what they have planned for you. Am I wrong? How many Stellar Cycles have you seen?" I look at you as you speak two the other keeper and I wonder my fate even more as you examine me and pull me out of the line and nod as you ask me if I can understand you. A... A. Slave? I shake my head but can't seem to speak I am too shocked. "Stellar cycles? Whey. what's that?" I ask hesitantly and slowly walk backwards Baku kept hold of her hand, not letting her go too far away. He sighed, rolling his eyes at her question. He closed his eyes a moment, thinking, then opened them again suddenly. "How many times since you were born has your planet gone around your star?" It was the best way he could think of to ask, as he was a bit unfamiliar with dealing with humans. He was asking her age, and to illustrate that, he pointed to himself. "I am 24 stellar cycles." You wouldn't let me get away from you go figure didn't expect to get away anyway. You sound like an idiot trying to tell me something how many times has my planet gone around the sun? Since I was born..." You mean how old I am?? I am 18... It is my birthday." I sigh it wasn't meant to be like this I should be having fun. Having my first legal alcohol!" Why me? And what are you going to do to me?" Baku shook his head, sadly. He'd have to issue a notice for people not to grab those under twenty-two cycles, he thought. He looked at her, then at those around. Then he led her to a separate room, closed and locked the door, and pointed to a couch. "Have a seat please." He saw her lack of response, and sighed. "Look, I'm not going to do anything to you. I just need to explain what it is they usually pick for." He started pacing, a habit he picked up. A lot of his habits seemed to stem from his study of Earth, actually. He'd picked up a few habits from other worlds as well. But his platinum-colored hair and almost titanium eyes clearly marked him as not human. He stopped, suddenly, and turned to look at her. "Considering your age, the only way to keep you safe is to take you as my own personal slave. I guess a better way to put it would be indentured servant. No, that's not quite right. Remind me at some point to more thoroughly study your people's history." He started pacing again in thought. He spoke as he walked back and forth. "Basically, you will be at my side constantly. You will have to be fitted with a tracking device, I'm afraid. It's standard practice. And your attire will be a bit on the revealing side. That's also standard practice." I see you shake your head as I tell you my age. You look at me again then at the others before you pull me into another room You tell me to take a seat I don't. You tell me you're not going to do anything, so I take the seat I needed it badly. You start to pace, and I am becoming worried especially when you tell me I will become your personal slave. "What kind of cloths will I have to wear...?" Baku was afraid that question would come up. He cleared his throat, then turned to look at her. "Well, essentially, it would be an outfit tailored to your specific attributes. Most Keepers have them done with an idea in mind, though they only cover, at most, about 40 percent of your skin. On top of that, they tend to leave specific body parts exposed for easy access. That type of access depends on the preferences of their master, really. You obviously won't be going into the arena. That's why I figured it was a good idea to take you as mine. That way I can keep you out of the hands of some of the worst Masters." He sat down, considering his options, then tilted his head, studying her. "Perhaps you could think of an outfit for you to wear. It would be made specifically for you. I should probably explain. You'll be my assistant, actually. You go where I go. Furthermore, you help me take care of the work. I feed you, keep you healthy, clothe you, and let you live with me. That's how the relationship usually works." The arena? What is that anyway? I ask myself "I can't design it myself there is no way I could!" Is tad up again and put my hands to my side in fists "What is the arena?" I ask angrily "Tell me!" Baku considered how to respond to her. Then he stood straight, and looked at her. "Very well. However, you will keep your voice low and your tone and mannerisms subservient. Do you understand? Good, now follow me." He unlocked the door, and walked out it, heading in the direction of the arena. I follow you keeping my head down and ignoring the vacant stares of aliens as we pass by soon we reach a large door that had a strange symbol on it and beyond the door was an amazing room that overlooked a strange Colosseum like arena with a large glass dome in the center inside There was a strange looking alien and a beautiful woman she was a human... Wait... What was that alien doing... What was coming from his Beau. Oh, god.... Those were dicks. Oh, god, he is going to... Oh, man I can't look away! "What is this?.... I can't look away..." The man was now fucking the woman it looked painfully pleasureableThe women screamed in pleasure as she cummed followed by him every last one of his dicks showered her with bluish cum or at least it looked like cum... Above them a red light appeared followed by cheering in the crowd "I guess he won" SYL's ship pulled into the docking port. With a hiss of air, the ships hatch opened and she stepped through. She smiled as she walked slowly towards her destination. The arena awaited her. It was time for the annual tournament. She was the champion of the last nine and intended to make this her tenth straight victory. It was not the money that drew her here, not that it was not an excellent motivation. What truly drew her to this end of the galaxy was the thrill of glory. She could already taste the feel of the crowd cheering her as she either beat an enemy senseless or sexually dominated them. It was the ultimate rush and nothing would stop her from feeling it again." Where is the fresh meat?" SYL asked in reference to her first opponent once she found one of the organizers, "I've been waiting an entire stellar cycle for this, and I do not want to be kept waiting any longer." Kinetic: "You will be kept as long as it takes." I answered the current champion clearly unafraid. I would be her opponent in the next match. Furthermore, I stood looking like a short defiant human woman with a slight red tint to my skin long green hair reaching to my ankles, and a pair of long tentacle like penises coming from my shoulders. Furthermore, I was confident in my abilities, so much so that I wore a short black skirt and no underwear. I was champion from the Polaris tournament the year before. Furthermore, I had come out of nowhere and dominated all my matches except for one, I was so good at my young age of 23 cycles that I had actually managed to stay a virgin with my female parts, although my ass and throat were less lucky in that final match. Furthermore, I had no choice but to beat him down." I will meet you in the ring from the blue corner. Good luck champion." I smiled at the grand champion. Soon that title would be mine, and I wouldn't be looked down upon as the champion of some small sector like Polaris ever again. "Upstart bitch, I'm going to teach you a lesson," SYL growled as she stalked off to the red corner. The arena was set up fairly simple. It was a circle with a large cage over it. There were several entrances, each marked with a different color. SYL ended through the red gate as her opponent entered through the blue gate on the opposite side. The crowd had gathered and started to cheer as they saw that the champion was about to have her first match. She pumped her arm in the air and let out a roar as she gazed at the crowd then down to her opponent." Alright, as the champion I have the right to set the rules. It will be a standard match, meaning the first one to surrender or be knocked out looses. The winner then gets to take as much pleasure from the looser as they wish before exiting the ring," SYL explained to her opponent in a condescending voice. She cranked her neck to the side and heard it crack then flexed her wings and tail. She set herself into an offensive crutch. Furthermore, she shook her head so that her long, white braid flew about then landed on her back. The Educator, a robot that acted as referee, floated down from the ceiling. It was little more than floating orb with a glowing red eye at the center. It would start and end the fight primarily, but also would enforce any rules set out for a match. Furthermore, it also had the ability to scan bodies for injuries, or to confirm orgasms. Furthermore, it looked from SYL to her opponent then called out, "Begin!" With a burst of speed, SYL closed the distance to her opponent. She swooped her body down low and spun to bring her tail around. The corded muscle could take out lesser opponents in a single blow. If this challenger was still standing after the first hit, the SYL would give her some respect. As the powerful appendage struck dead on it was enough to send the challenger flying towards the back wall. SYL looked up to see what the result would be. If the challenger fell then it would be a good first victory. If she stood up then it would be a good warm up. If she kept her feet or was able to stop herself from blaming into the wall, which SYL doubted she would, then this would be a worthwhile challenge. Baku raised an eyebrow at her reaction. Then he shrugged. "It's not always like that. Sometimes it's actual combat. Other times, it's...well, you can see what some of the masters insist on. Some of the masters also insist on winning at all costs, which can mean pain and permanent scarring for some slaves." He sighed. "Sometimes I wonder why we can't institute a permanent safeguard system to prevent some of the violence that occurs." "Real combat.? Like what?" She was answered by the two new aliens that entered the arena hard two describe quite human like except that one had. Dicks on its shoulders rather large ones for that matter she sat back and watched with patience waiting for the real combat to start Baku shrugged, taking a seat on a bench nearby. "As in one on one battle for one's lives, et cetera. Looks like at least one of those out there wants that a great deal." He closed his eyes, and stroked his chin thoughtfully. Kinetic: I stood there thinking one thing, she is much faster than the others. With that thought echoing in my mind her tail let loose hitting my knee. I expected to fly into the wall, but that wasn't what happened. My leg began to bend as if someone was pushing on a paper bag, it was painless at first. The bones began to resist the blow and at that time I felt the first bit of pain from the match, it was the shaping of my leg like a twig. My body began to fall over her tail, even as the leg struck began to fold under the tail. The impacting tail then carried threw passing its force into the second leg, lower this time striking my calf. My first leg was hooked to the tail threw raw force of the blow. Then and only then did I go flying toward the wall. The pain was immense, and I let out a feral cry before regaining my senses. The champion was heading my way. I swung my twin tentacles over my shoulders, hoping to wrap them around the champions neck. With some effort I narrowly managed to entangle one arm and her torso in their surprisingly strong grasp. The pain in my leg was gone, my Hydra in blood pumping painkillers into my body already. I reached down to my leg and popped the broken bones back into place like a two-piece puzzle. I then stood on the weekend limb as the champion freed herself from my tentacles grasp. SYL cursed to herself as the blow went into low. She had meant to hit the upstart in the stomach, but had taken out her legs. She would have to start practicing more often. Still, she could hear the distinct sound of bones breaking and smiled. She was surprised that her opponent had the presence of mind to make her own attack. However, SYL was no amateur and raised her arm to keep the tentacle from reaching her neck. She did not care for the fact that her enemy had a grip on her arm and waist, but that could be dealt with. The real problem was when her enemy stood up and healed her injuries. SYL growled out, "I hate fighting regenerators. It takes to damn long." Syl's free hand reached down and grabbed the tentacle around her waist. With both of them now under her control, SYL smiled cruel at her opponent, "Lets test that healing factor of yours." She swung one leg back then twisted her hips as she pivoted. Using strength that would seem impossible for one of her size, SYL slammed her enemy against the cage wall. As soon as she heard the thud of the body against metal she spun around in the other direction to slam her again. As long as she had this grip on her, SYL was going to just use the girl's own body to hammer her. Kinetic: SYL had grab hold of my slender appendages, I was about to lift her into the air and slam her into the ground when I remembered her wings. If they could provide traction they would be a problem. Suddenly the champ pulled my tentacles taught and began to spin. I was lifted off my feet and swung face-first into a wall. I let loose another scream which was cut off by a swing in the other direction. Once more my front made contact with metal, this time my legs hit first, and I hit with the force of falling off a small building. The champ had made a mistake though, my tentacles living muscle not lifeless chains. I pulled my body to her, letting loose a kick to her face once it was in range. I felt the blow hit and with a flourish landed behind her. Furthermore, I then used my tentacles to slam her to the ground in front of me. It became apparent to SYL that she was going to have to start showing a bit more force with this one after the second hit did not knock her out. As she prepared to slam her a third time, she was caught off guard by the kick to the face. She would have thought the centripetal force would be enough to keep her back. The hard kick knocked her back and her opponent continued over her head and used her tentacles to pull SYL to the ground." You are going to pay for that," SYL growled as she kipped up. She yanked the surrounding tentacle raised free and held it with a vice-like grip. Her other arm jerked hard and tore free of the tentacle binding it, ripping it in the process. With both hands she grabbed the tentacle that had been on her waist as she planted her feet solidly. Using all of her might, SYL slung the challenger through the air. However, this time she was not aiming for the wall, rather more towards the ceiling though towards the other side of the arena. She hurled the girl through the air with a vicious growl. As soon as she had let go, her wings pumped, and she was in fast pursuit. The challenger hit the ceiling hard and started to fall the 20 some feet towards the ground. As she was halfway down, SYL caught up with her. Flying over the falling enemy, SYL slung a hard roundhouse into the girl's back to propel her faster towards the ground. Kinetic: 'You are going to pay for that,' they practically spat the threat at me. Her hand locked onto the right tentacle. Then with her other arm she tore off one of my tentacles and threw it to the ground with a flop. That hand then joined the other one, and she slung me straight up into the air this time letting go of the tentacle. The ceiling was fast approaching, and I heard the flap of distant wings. My left tentacle suddenly burst forward with a surge of regrowth and new growth. I now had three penises, I wouldn't in a few hours, but for now I would enjoy the added edge. I lashed the three forwarded to brace my impact. Furthermore, I hit the ceiling with great force and fell backward. I opened my eyes after flipping once. There was the champion with her cursed wings. She flew just past me and let a fierce round house. I felt a rib shatter and I surged to terminal velocity and hit the ground creating a dent in the metal floor before bouncing out of it. I could not believe it. The rib, the creator, the entire thing, none of it hurt in the least. I whipped my three tentacles about me and pressed down on the floor with my arms. I raised myself on an unsteady knee. None of it hurt in the least, but I couldn't feel my knees... or anything else. I collapsed to the ground out cold. SYL landed next to her fallen enemy, raising her hands above her head as she took in the crowd's roar. She let out a victory cry that sounded like the roar of a wild beast. She fed off of the violence and applause, and now she would feed off of the domination of her conquest. Syl reached down and grabbed the unconscious challenger by the hair and easily hoisted her into the air. She could see the wounds already healing. That was the one good thing about regenerators, they did not need patched up after the fight. She displayed the challenger like a trophy to the crowd and that drew forth more cheers as they knew what would come next. SYL was not nearly an exhibitionist, but she did like having an audience when she showed her dominance. She tore off the girl's top as she started to release her pheromones. She could produce several kinds. The first that she released would cause anyone nearby to become aroused. This was an excellent torture on those that had beaten when used in a small does. The second she used would start to weaken those that were in range by interfering with nerve impulses to muscles. She could release this one during combat, but rarely did because it was more interesting without it. Still, she had been known to use it in a tight spot. SYL was adding a bit of this one because her opponent might awaken and still want to fight, and being a regenerator that could pose a problem." Wake up bitch, it is time for you to pay your due to me," SYL said as she slapped her opponent. Darkness. That was the world Bhurxevcy at the moment as she was stirred from her slumber in her cell under the arena as the cheers echoed from above. Hearing the roar of the crowd worked her into a frenzied state. Competitions were being held, and she knew it would only be matter of time before she would be lead out to the arena to compete. She started thrashing in her binds anxious to do as she'd been train to do and the only thing she knew how to do anymore. She was salivating at the thought and felt the dampness in her thighs build as well. “An excellent show, might see in to procuring the winged one, or was she one of those free ones?” a voice asked in the shadowy private box of Low Rock, the lack of light only making him out as some kind of hulking form, but there was no answer other than a sort of yelp from the green creature that was licking at a reddish sweet food “oh aren’t you helpful” he said, what looked like the silhouette of a hand pressing an intercom button.”Send the Bhurxevcy down in to the slave pits, and offer that winged one a decently sized prize if she can win” he closed the intercom, a smile on his face, its name basically meant ‘bitch in heat’ In his language, then opened it for a quick addendum “I’ll send down my pet to prepare it” he nodded to the creature that was licking away, the creature pulling in its tongue and smiling before skipping off and out the door, quickly making its way through the halls and down to the slave pits, waiting in one of the ready rooms for her to arrive, flanked by scared handlers and bucking to either maim or fuck. Bhurxevcy heard the loud clanging of the main door to the holding cells as it opened and heard footsteps echo down the hallway. She stopped her frenzied state for a moment waiting to see if the approach her cell. She heard her cell door creak open and watched as a team of 6, three foot tall goblin looking creatures entered her cell, most of them armed with long cattle prods. Bhurxevcy always hated these creatures for they were always so stupidly horny and always tried taking advantage of her when they let her out. In her mind as a result of her training no one was meant to touch her sexually without her Master's permission She would often end up hurting and killing some of them until they wise up bringing the prods with them. The leader of the bunch who was holding a ladder, leash and keys walked up to her setting the ladder up to secure the leash to her collar, and unlocked the chain holding her arms above her cuffs above her head allowing her arms to fall behind her still retained for a moment. Then he pulled out his cock from behind its loin cloth and tried shoving it into her mouth only to be met with teeth clamping down hard around it almost taking it completely off. The leader screamed as the others move in shocking her with the prods causing her to drop to her knees. The leader handed the leash to another as he went off crying in pain holding his bloodied member. The second goblin took the short leash as instructed one of them to unlock her arms as the other three stood guard fingers on the buttons of their prods ready to strike in case she lashes out again. Once her arms are unlocked the one holding the leash jerks her down and forces her the crawl on her hands and knees almost like a cat as he leads her to the slave pits. Waiting for further instruction. The creature was curled up in the corner of the pen, waiting for the beast to arrive, it almost fell asleep it took so long, but eventually she arrived, on her hands and knees and escorted by the little green men, it hated the little green men, always trying to touch it and the masters other things, it hated people who touched masters things without permission. It yipped and bounced over to her, noticing the marks from the cattle prod, but that was to be expected with her, she was always such a handful. But then it noticed the blood on her lips, a worried look passing across its face, its tongue reaching out and finding its way in to her mouth, taking a sample of the blood, it didn’t taste like her blood (it knew how all the masters slaves tasted) but there was one of the green men that were cringing, his legs together and walking funny. The worried look on its face darkened, its tongue pulling back in to its mouth then darting out the 4 feet between them, hitting him in the neck and delivering a contact venom that quickly inflated his neck like a balloon, his friends quickly rushing him off to find an anti-venom. It took the short leash and led her to the door, expecting to head straight out on to the arena, but others were still enjoying their winnings so they were stuck in there for a while, it didn’t know what to do now, their master hadn’t told her what to do if this happened, so she just stood there, confused and sad, waving slightly from side to side. Kinetic: I felt the first tingle from my rib. The sensation then traveled to my bruised and battered arms, and down my legs. My left foot hurt in particular, and I could feel the cold air on the tips of my summaries. I opened my to the bright lights of the arena. "Oh... no..." I uttered it softly in my weakened state. I tired to get up but found when I did the muscles in my legs and arms twitched and jerked at random. What was going on, Hadrian never take this kind of damage. In front of me was the champion, a sadistic smile on her face. Had the judges drugged me after the match or was it something SYL had done. In either case I now understood why I was topless. Bhurxevcy looked at the too familiar famine creature always at her Master's side. Rage and jealousy filled her mind and the strong urge to attack her built but Bhurxevcy stopped herself for attacking this creature in the past lead to brutal beatings in the past. She just growled and hissed in displeasure of being in her presence. She turned her attention to the direction of the struggling against the leash, showing great interest in fighting needing to take out some aggression, especially what just happened. Killllllllll!............. Destrrrrrrrrroyyyyy! I look at you after watching the fight wondering what just happened I can almost understand why you wouldn't want me to do this other than my being a human but still... "Why can't I do this to?" I ask you excited from watching the one human get fucked, although I am not too fond of the fighting I was a decent fighter at least in defending my self I did go to self-defense classes and was told I was the best in most of them never went any further than that though. "Well?" SYL smiled as she watched her new toy start to awaken. She could see that the weakening pheromone was working particularly well on her. She cut that one back and released a bit more of the arousing one. Furthermore, she wanted to spend plenty of time tormenting her prisoner for the crowd. Still holding her by the hair, SYL leaned forward and let her long tongue slither out and lick up the prisoner's chest, between her breasts, and then up along her neck to her face, leaving behind a cool trail of saliva. She turned the girl around and wrapped an arm around her so that she now had her chest pressed to the girl's back. Her other hand slid up along the light red belly of her prisoner to tease at her breasts. She let her hand cup one of them and give a hard, almost cruel squeeze. She could feel the hard nub of a nipple poking into her palm as the crowd cried out encouragement. Her other hand slid down to pull up the captive's skirt and show her bare pussy to the eager crowd. SYL slid her tail slowly up her prisoner's leg and thigh till its tip could brush along her pussy. SYL lightly bit her toy's ear as she mockingly asked, "Tell me, are you a virgin?" Baku turned to look at her calmly. He regarded the petulant look on her face, then smiled. "Can you honestly say you're comfortable with the idea of fighting in a one on one battle that may or may not be to the death? You saw what happened out there. Not every opponent will be so concerned with leaving their enemy alive." "Not the fighting. But I mean I am a pretty good fighter... I can at least defend myself. Maybe I could do a practice one or something. Just show you what I can do" Ya asking you that was probably a bad idea, but I wanted in this now I was here, and I wasn't going to be some kind of maid! Baku raised an eyebrow, considering that. Then he looked out at the ring. "Pretty good won't cut it, you know. You'd have to be the best at both aspects. Some opponents will try to beat you with force. Others will try...other methods to take you down." With that, he motioned at what was going on in the ring. "Well.... What makes me different from any other female you would throw in the arena without regret?" I ask you reluctantly before looking at you in the eyes and ask again "I want to try it I don't care what it takes I want to try at least once!" Baku looked at her calmly. "The difference is simple. They desire to win at all costs. To do that they will use whatever they have at their disposal to make their opponent lose. There are no rules in there, outside the last one standing is the winner." He looked out at them for a moment, then back at her. "I might be persuaded if you agree to undergo special training. You won't be fighting many humans in this arena. Chances are, you're far weaker right now than anything else fighting. That's something we'd need to overcome." "What kinda of special training?" I ask you innocently as I follow you from the booth taking one last glance at the dome inside the arena sighing wanting it wanting to experience it in person.... "Well?" Baku walked with her, talking quietly. "You'd need to become resistant to both pain and pleasure. You'd need to learn to fight the way a warrior fights. You'd need to become stronger. Far stronger than most of your kind ever get. I'll have to call up some friends of mine, and call in some favors. I'll also have to make sure you get a costume that suits you." "What kind of friends are we talking about... I think I am just going to stop asking questions now alright?" I say walking beside you again ignoring the stares these clothes must be 3 sizes two small... Because there obviously not staring at my eyes. I let out a small laugh and keep following Baku grinned when she said that. He nodded, and walked with her. "However, I should warn you that when not in the arena, you will still have to act as a slave. You do understand this? I won't mistreat you, but I do expect obedience. Think of yourself as...an apprentice. Yes, that seems right." "What exactly am I supposed to say in case you haven't notice dim not exactly obedient." I tell you still following I really have no clue what you're trying to tell me I am guessing you want me to call you master... Not happening Baku looked over his shoulder at her sharply. Then his gaze softened, and he smiled. "Think of it as a formality. Something you only do in public, when there are others watching you. When we're alone, I only care that you don't do anything dangerous." "So what exactly is this life of a slave like around here I am just wondering what I am getting myself into?" I ask you as we enter another room Baku opened a door, and ushered her inside. "It depends on the master. If the master is harsh, life will be harsh." He shrugged, and walked over to a panel. "Would you like something to eat or drink?" "Well I am a little hungry and I guess I am thirsty as well... Ya ok thanks if you don't mind too much anything will do" I tell you not sure what is going to be fed to me Baku tapped the panel, and it displayed a video screen. He tapped the screen, and scrolled through till he found something that looked appetizing. On the table in the center of the room, a roast turkey dinner with gravy, mashed potatoes, and peas appeared. He turned to look at it, and nodded. Then he walked over, and tested it first, before motioning for her to sit and eat. The dinner included glasses of milk. The food looked delicious, and I doubted you would poison me in any way if you wanted me dead I would be already so I help my self enjoying the delicious meal set before me "Thank you so much. I don't even know your name!" Baku smiled, and nodded. "I am Baku BYU Beneath. You may call me Baku, but only when we're alone like this. Your people have some of the most exceptional food I have ever had the fortune of tasting." The champ tugged at my hair and I did the best not to move or react. I was helpless and thought the best way to end this would be to show as little pain and pleasure as possible. If I could remain without emotion she would lose interest and move on. But there is the crowd... what's that sweet smell? My tentacles quivered a bit. I closed my eyes to where I was just peaking out. The champs tong slid to where I expected it to stop and then kept going and going, to the point at which I was creeped out and beyond. It touched down just bellow my neck and then continued slowly down the center of my chest. For a moment I feared it was going to reach all the way between my legs. The tong then returned upward brushing the entire side of my face in one go stopping at my ear. The Sylvia was cold, and my chest was on display being seen by perverts in all corners of this galaxy and a few others. The champion agile moved behind me a tight grip on my hair still. I could feel her warm breasts pushed up against me. In truth if I could move my tentacles I'd be very tempted to mate with her right then, but this wasn't good circumstances. All the same I welcomed the distracting thoughts eager to place my mind anywhere else. SLS other hand slid along my exposed torso, gliding around each of my curves. She stopped at my breast and cupped it gently athirst and then squeezed with her impressive might. I did my best not to so pain in any form.' Rape that bitch!' 'Show us more flesh!' 'Go for the ass!' I could hear the crowd cheer on the victor, and I hoped to my self that my capture cared more for me than she did for the crowd. The champs grip on my hair loosened and that hand moved across my side, brushing gently along my hip. The nimble fingers moved down past my skirt and then eased the garment up. I suddenly felt like a slut, the fact I could feel some wetness only adding to the experience. Why had I not worn underwear, all these people now think of me as a whore? Why was I to cocky. The tail brushed gently across my heal and then moved up the leg pressing to my flesh with more force as it migrated and only resting just bellow my wet slit. To my surprise and dismay I could feel myself begin to open. The capture bit gently into my ear and then let go. 'So tell me are you a virgin?' I would not answer. I bout I could answer without fear creeping into my voice and that would undo all my efforts. Bhruvexcy heard the roar of the crowd enough more intensely now since getting closer to the arena. The primal instinct engraved into her was getting antsy. She tugged and pulled at the leash harder until she was choking herself with it. She again voiced her wants the only way her mind was wrapped in her realistic transformation. Blooooood!........... Lust!...............NEEDED! The creature ignored Bhurvexcys initial calls for violence, but when she started up again, it started to panic more, she was pulling against the collar, if she kept it up shed either choke herself, or get away from its grasp, and that door wouldn’t hold for long against her, what to do? Their master would be furious with both of them if she got out and ran wild, both of them would get punished for that.... The punishment for unauthorized sex however, was less, given the context, the punishment would be negligible if it was lucky. So it had a plan, it moved in front of her, still struggling to hold her at bay, then its tail lifted, displaying all it had to offer, all it thought as it let go of the chain was how it wished their master would be happy with the decision. Her silence was enough of an answer for SYL. She could read the expression on her captive's face and smell her fear. Sly cooed lightly to her, "That is what I thought. TSK, TSK, you came here risking something like that." Syl let her tail probe a bit at the captive's pussy. The tip barely pressed in then slid up along the slit. It flicked a bit on the clit, all the while becoming coated with the prisoner's juices. SYL knew that her pheromones were playing a part in that arouse, but the captive did not. SYL cruel taunted her, "My, it seems for a virgin you are quite wet. Don't tell me you were horny and lost on purpose you little slut." To add insult to injury, Sly called out to the crowd, "This little bitch is getting wet." Syl brought the tip of her serpentine tail up to eye level with her new toy. Her long tongue reach out and lick the girl's pussy juice off. She smiles, "Mmm, tasty. Now tell me little bitch, what is your name?" "Ya it is rather good, but I have never had the chance to try Alien food honestly don't want to try it" I say seriously "So what kind of training do you have in mind Mr Baku?" I ask innocently dedicated on getting in the arena Baku smiled, sipping at the milk. Then he considered. "Well, first we'd need to increase your strength and stamina. We'd need to train you to be resistant to pain...and pleasure." "I see.... When and how will this be done if I may ask?" I ask you politely hoping for an answer that will satisfy my curiously for now Baku looked at her, considering. He stroked his chin again in that thoughtful manner. "Well, it depends on you, really. Basically, you'll need to learn how to walk around and keep fighting even when your body's wracked with pain. You'll need to learn how to prevent yourself from receiving pleasure from sexual attacks. As for the strength and stamina, that would be a bit more intensive. All in all, it's several months training." Kiel'That is what I thought. TSK, TSK, you came here risking something like that.' I suppose it was fool hardy but its too late to worry now. I could feel the tail seeping in even as my wetness seeped out. It didn't probe far but merely entered past the surface and left with a flick to my clit. My capture then brought it up to my face, I could see her glee threw my squinted eyes.' My, it seems for a virgin you are quite wet. Don't tell me you were horny and lost on purpose you little slut.' Don't respond to the insult in the least, if you do, this will be worse. 'This little bitch is getting wet.' Or she could feed off the audiences response and my reactions won't matter in the least. I wonder if I'll live threw this loss. How bad was this mistake? I would undoubtedly lose my last virginity. Her long tong slid down and licked the wetness from the tail. 'Mmm, tasty. Now tell me little bitch, what is your name?' I did not answer... I would not answer... "SEVEN MONTHS?" I ask slamming my hands done on the table spilling the cups of milk on the table "Is there any other way? Furthermore, I am sorry to sound impatient, but I don't want to spend 7 months of hard training! "Is there any other way? Any way!" Baku wasn't surprised by her outburst. Humans were...a bit emotional at times. He stroked his chin thoughtfully, then shrugged, standing up. He walked over to a view screen showing space outside, and considered what to tell her. "There...IS another way. It's not one I'd recommend to a human, of course, though by your very nature, your species has a tendency towards quickly mastering anything." He turned back around to judge just how serious she was about this. Then he continued. "On our home world, there is a cave. We go into it on the last night of our seventeenth cycle. Those who pass are given a new name. Those who don't remain with their child name for the rest of their lives." He surveyed her reaction before going on. "I passed. My sister did not, and now cannot find any kind of work save for the use of her body." He let that sink in, sitting down again across from her. SYL gave the breast a hard squeeze when she did not get an answer. She pinched her fingers on the nipple and gave it a twist as she hissed, "Do not think that trying to be a defiant little bitch will make this easier on you." Her tail slid back down to tease at the open slit, threatening to thrust in brutally at any second. However, it did wait. SYL let go with the hand on the skirt and grabbed one of the tentacles. She gave the head a hard squeeze. The thing looked like it aught to be sensitive. I think about this not fully sure what this means but have a good idea "What how would that be the same as several months of training?" Baku looked into her eyes, and smiled. "Because you would be required to fight your way through the hordes of monsters in the cave. Some will try to rip you limb from limb. Some will try to ravage you. Some will try to eat you. And some will try to EAT you." He put a bit more emphasis to indicate a different type of eating. I gulp loudly and look you in the eyes before replying "And what are MY chances of living through this ordeal exactly?" Baku leaned forward, and then stood up. "That depends entirely on how well-prepared you are. Given that you're human and not one of the Keepers, I'd say about.....fifty percent. You have a higher rate of survival than most species, due to the resilient nature of the human race." He shrugged. Bhruvexcy felt the leash drop and was about to lunge doors the arena door, but she caught scent of the other pet's sex and was a little confused by it, and may have been a mistake on the other pet's part. Bravery was trained to dominate or be dominated, there was no soft consensuality to her. She was only submissive to her Master or if she was order by him to be. She pounced the pet and flipped her onto her back, digging sharpened nails into her thighs as she started to viciously start digging her tongue into the pets' cunt taking what she offered. Furthermore, she was eager to make the pet cum to demonstrate her dominance. "Well then let's get going If I die right? If not I become strong..." A vague way of looking at it sure but whatever! "Let's go!" "Well then let's get going If I die right? If not I become strong..." A vague way of looking at it sure but whatever! "Let's go!" Baku raised an eyebrow at that, then nodded. He tapped a control on his wrist. "Captain, when everyone's onboard, we're going home. Fastest possible speed, please." The bitch grabbed down on my breast drawing blood and then quickly found the nipple giving a twist, 'Do not think that trying to be a defiant little bitch will make this easier on you.'" Sorry but I am a definite bitch!" She slid her tail back into my waiting Magoo, she had it just in, but the tail seemed to radiate brute force and that was very intimidating. She gave an angry look to me and dropped my skirt grabbing one of the three penises I currently had and went quickly to the trip. Furthermore, she circled the tip and I let out an involuntary moan. I did my best to resume my indifference. SYL slid her thumb along the end of the tentacle appendage as she saw the effect it had. The girl was proving strong-willed, but she would break her. That was pleasure for her. She toyed with the end of the tentacle as she squeezed the breast again. She massaged both parts to work her prisoner up." Well, my stubborn little bitch, I have two options. I can fuck you right now and take your virginity, or I can drop to the ground and let you beg in front of the crowd. Which would you prefer? Either way I'm going to make you pleasure me... maybe I'll try out one of these things," SYL said as she gave the tentacle head another squeeze. Kinetic: SYL kept messaging both locations and occasionally clamping down on my breast. 'Well, my stubborn little bitch, I have two options. I can fuck you right now and take your virginity, or I can drop to the ground and let you beg in front of the crowd. Which would you prefer? Either way I'm going to make you pleasure me... maybe I'll try out one of these things.' She then squeezed down on my long penis. I moaned and that was it. I had considered claiming to be numb but now that idea would not work." Well... the deal was you do what you want to me. So really I don't need to do anything." The creature yipped in shock as she flipped it on to its back, losing its eyes as her nails dug in to its thighs, but as her tongue hit its sex it cooed with delight, instantly melting under her aggressive touch as its tongue lolled out and writhed over its chest, its long spun tail wrapping around her midsection, urging her onward, the slit just about her pussy starting to open, a small nub starting to peek out from between them. SYL"Well, if that is how you want to be," SYL said with a false pout. Then she called out to the crowd, "This little whore said she doesn't care what I do with her!" Syl began to pulse her hand on the head of the tentacle her. Her thumb stroked it along the edge with an unexpected gentleness. Her other hand continued to fondle the breast. Furthermore, her fingertips needed the flesh as she let her nails dig in slightly. She flicked her finger over the hardened nub as she licked along her captive's neck. Her long tongue continued down. It flicked over the other nipple then continued its path down along her belly till it was just over the prisoner's slit. It tasted around until it found the clit and started to tease its edge. The tip of the tongue swirled around it then began to rapidly flick over it. Syl let her tongue slip back into her mouth so that she could tell her captive, "I hope you enjoyed the warm-up, now it's time for the real fun," her words ending in a growl. SYL forced her tail up and drove the tip deep into the virgin pussy. It slithered in as deep as it could with that powerful thrust. It filled the tight hole completely. SYL smiled at the girl's reaction then began to rapidly fuck her without mercy. Even though Bhruvexcy was extremely horny herself at the moment, but she was trained to avoid being sexually stimulated unless her Master gave her permission, or she established dominance over her opponent in a match. As she felt the green pet roll her tongue over her breast, Bhruvcexcy responded by growling loudly in anger and swiping her sharped nails across face leaving marks on both sides of the pet's cheeks. The Bhruvexcy the creature up so her knees were up by her head before taking hold of her ankles and crossing her legs using her thighs to put pressure on her head as she continued to lick. The creature cried out in shock and pain when Bhruvexcy lashed at her with her nails, its tongue quickly coming back and staying in her mouth, she didn’t want to anger her too much, she might really hurt her, or heaven forbid, she might get out, and dishonor their master, she couldn’t allow that. She went limp as she moved about, locking her head with her thighs, it hurt, but oh god did it feel good, and as much as she didn’t want to, soon she forgot her place and her tongue came back out, this time gong for the gusset of her outfit, tugging away at the back and pulling it up in to her. Bhruvexcy was squeezing with tedious strength as she felt the tongue out again only making her angrier. She hissed as grabbed the pets arms and placed crossing them with each of the pets hands on its own ankles now while as she held, while Bhruvexcy sat on her wrapping her legs around her waist a RIS and started to squeeze hard. She was in full combat mood now and forgetting what this creature meant to Master as it wasn't going to stop until the pet submitted Kinetic: After the words left my lips I was determined to beat her in this round of mental combat. I took my mind away from where I was. I was back home in the fields of red grass just before harvest when they are at there longest. The winds seemed to whisper 'this little whore...' softly. It was a triple moon rise 2 in the west and one in the east a glorious site. I could feel the cold dew on one side of my neck. Soon Mother would be home and all of my family would cut the harvest. That was hot work, the type that built a sweat that would run down ones neck and tease gently at one nipple a few times before continuing down the belly to finally rest on ones vagina. I blushed hotly feeling my clit licked in a manner uncommon to sweat. I was back in the real world. This feels kind of nice, maybe I should have been more receptive to her.' I hope you enjoyed the warm-up, now it's time for the real fun' Fun? Suddenly her tail shot into my obliterating my fragile hymen and spreading me in a manner I had not known since that one accident I don't talk about."AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" It was if my leg was breaking all over but in a more fluid manner. No sooner had I finished my scream then the tail shot out of me tugging at my tight inner walls. The tail which was so smooth before suddenly seemed to be made of sand paper. It did not leave but stopped at it narrow tip letting my most elastic skin to retract in its neat folds ever so slightly before plunging in further. My tentacles and arms twitched lively at the ramming force. My legs buckled forcing the tail further in still as my own weight worked against me. But the most painful part was yet to come. The tail pi stoned in and out from its narrow tip to the thickest portion the champ let enter me. The flesh of my folds began to rip under the sudden invasion, not since that match where my ass was used had I felt such pain but no, to a virgin Hydra in sex with one's pussy would always hurt more than abuse of the rear. That simple fact is why most become fathers before they become mothers. Syl let her tail rest inside me just for a second, as if in some laps of a sadistic nature she gave me a break. I wonder if she felt it and that is why she stopped, could her tail be so sensitive to notice though? My hymen deep inside me was regrowing around her tail, unable to finish with her inside of me. Such was the pain of a virgin Hydra in, a cherry popped every few strokes until the first planted seeds. "So how long do you think it will take to get to your home planet Mr Baku? And please don't say seven months!" I say looking around just noticing how nice this place was I guess your rich or something considering the looks of this place There was the smallest twinge of pity for the captive, but SYL was not one to give into such feelings early. SYL could feel the insides of the girl with her sensitive tail. She found it to be a rather terrifying idea to have one's hymn growing back in the middle of being fucked. SYL knew that she could make it feel better for the girl with gentler strokes and releasing a pheromone that would dull pain. However, that was the problem. SYL was here as concourse over the contoured, not a gentle lover. Syl's tail slowed to a stop as she whispered into the girl's ear, "The pain can end if you are willing to beg now." To emphasize her point, SYL started to lick the end of the tentacle in front of her captive's face. Kinetic: 'The pain can end if you are willing to beg now.' She girl wrapped her tong around the sensitive tip, but the best I manged was a whimper and turning my head in a symbolic no. I would not give, now or ever... but the simple word of no seemed well beyond my reach. SYL had made the offer, it was the bitch's choice to refuse. She began to pump her tail in and out with steady strokes. As it slid in it searched, trying to find just the right spot. She would know that her agile tail would soon find the point of pleasure for her captive, and then she could use it to add more torture. She released more pheromones to enhance her captive's arouse, determined to make her enjoy this whether she wanted to or not. Syl's tongue continued to slide all around the head of the tentacle. It wrapped around it then washed over the head. The whole time her hand was gently pulsing on it. Her thumb stroked it with practiced ease. SYL had long ago learned the way to pleasure many of the galaxy's creatures. She had been forced to if she wanted to be the best at what she did. She would use all of her skill now to show her power over the bitch. Syl was angry. She rarely offered mercy, but this bitch had denied what she had offered. The galaxy could be a cruel and tenable place as hard experience had shown SYL. She needed all the power she could to survive, and now she was disgusted with herself that she had compromised a fraction of it to make an offer that was spat on. Cindy said: "So how long do you think it will take to get to your home planet Mr Baku? And please don't say seven months!" I say looking around just noticing how nice this place was I guess your rich or something considering the looks of this place Click to expand... Baku shrugged. "Depends on how fast the pilot goes. I'd imagine a few days." Kinetic: She started pumping with the passion only vengeful sex could bring, I bit down on my lip in an attempt to distract myself. Her tail would push in deeply tearing my hymen apart only to have it regrow faster each time it tore, the hymen never fully resealing but always trying to before the next push. Amongst the pain could feel the tail wiggling around striking all the walls of my inner flesh, never hitting the same place twice. I was being probed by this alien berserker. I bit down harder hoping to distract myself not only from the pain but also the sweet smell. My lips were bloodied, I had bitten down threw the skin and could now taste the sweet copper of my own blood. The transparent blue could be seen by all, but not by the lips of my pained face, but by the lips of my formally virgin opening. I was scared at this point, but not of the pain or of the champion. I was terrified that my body had begun to react. The tentacle that she held seemed to try and slide forward as if wanting more. The other two were still limp slowly writhing on the floor. My knees had long sensed buckled, but twitches left little doubt that my body was trying to match the thrusts of her tail. My back was starting to arch helping her in deeper. The pain was overwhelming, but my body had an uncontrollable urge to mate. Hidden somewhere between the two was the smallest pearl of pleasure. SYL grinned wickedly as she felt the beginnings of pleasure in the defiant bitch. Her tail had been searching inside of her with every pump, and now she believed she had found just the right spot. There was an area that felt slightly different, and she could feel the bitch move a little more each time it was touched. She made sure that the tip of her tail rubbed against it with each thrust as she started to increase her speed. Syl brought the tentacle to her mouth and let it pass between her supple lips. She sucked on it hungry, the effect obvious on her captive. Her tongue continued to massage it even as she let her lips slide along its length. She reached down and picked up another one of the tentacles and began to work it in her hand. She let her fingertips trace over every inch of its surface. She let the one in her mouth slip free long enough to say, "Mmm, tastes good. Would you like to try as well?" She teased her captive as she let up some more on the weakening pheromone. She used her deft hand to procure the third one and hold tauntingly in front of her captive's lips even as she sucked skillfully on the one in her own mouth. Kinetic: My arms suddenly went limp again and my back slumped back to its normal place, and even my jaw loosened on my lip. Four places however seemed to react more to what was going on then the rest of my battle worn body. My pussy was open as far as it could, but being a virgin that wasn't much. The penis she had begun to suck on was offering resit to the tight coils of her tong. The one she held tightly seemed to twitch just bellow her grip and the other held loosely in her hand being offered to me seemed to be slowly slithering forward the body taping my ankles. That is when she made the mistake. She hummed softly onto the one in her mouth and then tightened her tongs grip. The first bit of precut was shot, and I no longer had control of them. The tentacle in her mouth thrust forward making her head bob while remain firmly in her tong's grasp. The one in her hand coiled around the limb trying desperately to break free. She was lucky, her muscles still worked. I was not. The last tentacle shot out of the loose grip of her two fingers looping around my neck squeezing tightly, my mouthed opened for air. It struck first at my ear, then my forehead before finding my moist open mouth. It struck the back of my throat then pulled back to the edge of my mouth brushing up against the inside of my check as it did. Furthermore, it paused briefly and the thrust forward again striking the back of my throat twice more before finding the esophagus. Furthermore, it pushed down but could not enter, its own coiling keeping it from going deeper. Sell could have laughed. The girl's own body was truly betraying her. The tentacles were in such need of pleasure that they were acting of their own accord! She could taste the pre-cum from the one in her mouth. It was a pleasant taste, and she was confident that it would be well worth sucking off. She continued to work it over with her lips, though her tongue kept careful control of it. The one in her hand need something else though. SYL slid it down between their bodies. SYL's panties were quite soaked at this point, not so much from pleasure received as the arouse of controlling the girl. She pushed them aside so that the tentacle could slip in. It felt good inside of her, and she gave it a squeeze with her strong muscles. The hand now free, SYL let it slide around to her prisoner's clit and started to rub it in fast circles to match to pace of her tail fucking the virgin cunt. SYL could feel her own pleasure building, but would not let it overtake her until she had made this bitch cum for the crowd. Kinetic: Sex was a truly maddening prospect at this point. My entire body hurt and yet my tentacles were giving me such pleasure even from my own sore throat. The last free one had found its way into a warm damn place and I could feel every detail from the muscles at the edge, to her g spot and her cervix and that one was truly free to explore where it was and did so. Even as the head rammed in and out at a pace nearly matching the tail inside me, I could feel its bulk trying to get a grip around her leg. The one in her throat continuously tried to break free but so far was not, still the grip of her tong was far less than that of her hand. There was a clear race under way, would the champs tong tire before the tentacle finished its climax. It was the one in my own mouth that would truly be the problem, but for now it was content to bring me pleasure by raping the shallows of my digestive track. I was relieved at first when the coil around my neck loosened. The one in SYL's dedicates was well at work now. Its rapid pi stoning and twitching having a delicious effect on the champ who even let loose a few soft moans. The gentle waves of warm air drifted down the softest vibrations threw the roots of the tentacle and into my back and from there deep down to my stimulated clit causing me to moan softly into the one pleasuring itself with my mouth. The stimulation went both ways however, and I could feel the one in my mouth twitch ever so slightly sending the salt and spire flavors of my precut dancing on my tong. I didn't like what happened next. The now embolden member thrust down against my esophagus entering threw the loose coil causing me to gag around it. In my pleasure it tightened its grip around my own neck. Much to my own displeasure my reflex was to bite down with all my force. As the coil loosened I found myself spiting and coughing out my own bloody penis. My body was quick to react, and two new horny tentacles were already starting to form.(A very unlucky Asian school girl had once made the same mistake, and to this day her earthlings won't stop talking about it.) Sell moaned as she felt the tentacle fuck her tight pussy. It felt good to have something filling her up. She let her strong muscles squeeze it as it pounded away. Even in her own pleasure, though, she still kept her mind focused. She would not cum until this upstart bitch had cum. It did cross her mind to wonder about the nature of the tentacles. She figured they were a male organ and that opened up whether or not it was possible for their species to crossbreed. It was irrelevant though, as SYL had taken precautions against such possibilities before driving. Syl could have laughed as the girl bit off her tentacle and two new ones regrew to replace it. The one was already about to strangle the girl as it forced her to suck on it. It was indeed an interesting species if its own body could attack it! SYL grabbed the one from her mouth and said, "Decided you need even more to play with I see," then guided it down to her captive's ass. It was well lubricated in SYL's saliva and slid right in. SYL grabbed up the newly grown one and started to suck on it. This was becoming quite interesting. Kinetic: SYL had pulled out the penis from her mouth despite its best efforts to stay inside. At the same time then penis in her Magoo had found what it was looking for and merely letting the semen build before it carried out its purpose. The bloody stump had split into two and grown back to full size. My endlessly breaking hymen was now my only pain, the pain of the bit off tentacle now gone.' Decided you need even more to play with I see,' Suddenly the eager tentacle was content wedged between two pieces of meat. A tickle at my rear told me right where it was. I felt it eagerly slide in, a painful process but with it covered in spittle it failed to register next to the pain in my virgin slit. Syl reached down and grabbed one of the two new tentacles eagerly sucking on it like the sadistic whore she was. The last one whipped about the room twice before remembering where its ancestor had been. It dived quickly and cleanly into my mouth and without the tight noose around my neck had little trouble forcing me to deep throat it. My throat was in pain but at least it was balanced by the pleasure the tentacle brought. I did my best to focus on the tentacles and there four sources of pleasure instead of my rape. The slick juices of the champs pussy, the smoothness of her cervix and the tightly shut hole into her womb. My mouth was damp but warm with my heated, excited breath strong lungs forcing air by it and my occasional gasps to avoid suffocation, not at all like the expert play of the champ. Her tong would wrap and tightly squeeze the shaft then come loose and run up it encircling the head well her lips and thumb softly stroked further down. Occasionally shed tease letting it probe the top of her esophagus, but her firm grasps never letting it enter. She would exhale at times, and she would suck at others creating a fluctuation between hot and cold eliciting the first bit of precut from it. But by far the most pleasure was coming from the one in my ass. It had built up much under the expert mouth of the champ, and now it had an entirely new set of sensations. It was tightly squeezed on occasion by my outer star but deep inside it was passing the second sphincter, like in the human species there are two in drains, the outer opened by conscious thought and the inner opened simply by being relaxed. I was far from relaxed and so it had forced it threw the tight grasp of the muscles, the opening was larger than that of the cervix but still quite good. But what was best about this tentacle and from where I drew the most pleasure wasn't its tightness, it was the tail. The tail was surprisingly warm and had heated the hole next door, the tentacle felt the smooth skin of the tail, even as my pussy told me it was like fine grain sandpaper. The rhythm was what I loved the most, the two were in sink one entering as the other left the thin walls of my inside unable to conceal the motion from either object. It was like the penis was humping much faster and harder than it was, sacrificing none of the friction to the lube on either side. That penis was the first to erupt. The tentacle in my ass thrust inward uncaring of where it was, then it began to pulse and twitch. I could feel the semen flow threw the tentacle in thick gooey pulses it quickly emptied into me, and I let loose a series of moans. The one in my throat was quickly building while the two in the champ were already there. The one in throat surged forward forcing itself down her throat, either by surprise or her own design it was halfway down her esophagus letting pulses of think white fluid into sumac, it began to slide back and forth milking itself into her. The one in her vagina had found exactly what evolution built it fore. It thrust forward two times before hitting the cervix's opening dead on and painfully forcing itself inside letting the semen bypass her vagina all together depositing the fluid directly into her womb, it would not stop til her womb was literally fluid with the liquid. The one in my own mouth was the last to erupt brought own by the pleasure of the others as much as my own gasps of air. The tentacle thrust deeper and deeper into my throat until it was bellow my neck there it let loose a powerful gush of fluid and I found it quickly became vomit leaving the mixed flavors of acid, salt, and spice in my throat and mouth. I did not seem to care though, at this point I had to milk all four cocks as long as possible unable to think of anything other than leaving as much seed as I could. SYL could feel the bitch's body shake with pleasure. The tentacles had gone into overload. She felt them forcing deep into her own body and let them go. The feeling in her cunt was something she had not felt in a long time as it went in deep. The way the one in throat erupted was quite powerful, and the taste was not bad. It was taking all of SYL's prowess to keep under control. If the upstart had been more clever in the use of her tentacles during the match, she might not have found herself in the position she was in. Syl's tail thrust in fast and hard. She did not know if there was any more orgasm left in the girl. Near so far as she could tell, the bitch had effectively just cum four times as she covered them both in jazz. If the prisoner was going to cum again, then she would cum with SYL. SYL had reached her limit and was ready for her own pleasure. She let the sensations roll over her as her body let out a single powerful convulsion. She almost crushed the girl and the tip of tail went in impossibly deep. Furthermore, she let out a loud moan as all the waiting pleasure was released. As the pleasure subsided from her quaking body, SYL let all the cum back on to prisoner. She let it seep from between her legs on to the girl as she drooled it out onto her from her mouth. The girl already had enough cum from her own eruptions, but SYL wanted to make sure that she wore plenty out of the ring. With her body back under control, SYL let the girl go. Without SYL's support and still to week from her orgasms and the pheromone, the bitch dropped to the floor. Syl licked her lips clean as she walked towards the exit. She turned and looked at the still quivering mass then said, "I hope you learned your lesson bitch." Kinetic: 'I hope you learned your lesson bitch,' the learning curve was steep to be sure, but I had benefited. I could beat her in the next match, she had shown me how to. My flaws where twofold, first I wasn't cautious, and secondly I didn't take near enough advantage of my tentacles. I would bring a sharp blade next match and that edge would enable me to win. But for now I will just sit her paralyzed, short of breath and sticky. SYL stalked back to her ship. There were medical, cleaning, and changing facilities for the fighters, but she preferred her own accommodations. Many of the spectators called out to her as she strutted confidently by. They called out praise, complements, and Luke offers. She soaked it all in. This was what she fought for and what she had earned. Other gladiators were there as well. Some looked at her ruefully, envious of her success. Others were fearful. They knew that they would share the same fate as the upstart that had just been beaten. Then, of course, there were other upstarts that thought they would fair better and become the new champion. SYL looked forward to facing. As she continued towards the fighters' exit, she saw two men in suits waiting around. She recognized them as debt collectors. Someone had apparently made a bet, and now it was time to pay up. SYL decided to wait and see who would be coming along soon, figuring it would provide a little amusement. The fact that someone must have betted against her was more than enough to give SYL a cruel feeling of pleasure at watching whoever it was that would be meeting the two get worked over or whatever it was that they had planned.

Super battle sluts! (IC)|rating:2.0

tal and seer of course

(Alana and Less are best friends. Less a werewolf and Alana a demon. They have grown up together. They live deep in the woods for Less fears of hurting someone with her werewolf self. Thomas and James show up for some reason and blah blah blah............. I might bring Dante in to but I'm not so sure. It depends on if we need a bit more action. Sorry I've been gone so long. Stupid net got turned off on me.............) Alana sat at her favorite spot. It was a cliff that overlooked a beautiful valley. Below here were so many pretty things. She smiled as she saw the sun starting to set. Less would be transforming soon. She hoped that no humans would be out tonight. There was a little village not to far away, and she sometimes knew the men went hunting. She thought of all the people who had been mauled by her and Less. She loved humans but was fated to be a demon. Furthermore, she had to eat human flesh to survive. The good news was that she would only have to kill once a month. She had recently fed and was satisfied for now. Less was different. She transformed and had no control of what she did. Alana to have no control of herself when transformed. She knew she probably seduced many, but she only hoped that no pregnancies resulted from her transformations. A good dose of a herb called wolfs bane prevented any unwanted babies. She had already had one daughter who was now an angel. She did not want any others. Lessa sat in a tree. The sun was setting and that would mean her transformation would begin. She sighed some as she felt the light tugging of her transformation. She never went through any pain from it. It just looked like it hurt. She felt herself fall from the tree as she began to change. She fell on all fours and growled loudly as her body turned into a wolf. Furthermore, she was a beautiful white wolf. Her eyes turned red and she howled loudly. She began to run for she was hungry and was hoping for some convenient prey to come by. ((nice I'm going to have Thomas and jams actually like each other in this one. But same powers))Thomas looked at his twin brother James as they sat in the tree. They had spent their whole life just trying to find a place to settle and live peacefully. But that was hard being elemental shifters. The only way you could tell the twins apart was that James had a scar on his chest and Thomas had one across his right eye. The brothers were trained warriors and never went anywhere without the other. "You think that the villager's story is true?" Thomas asked thoughtfully. He was glowing brightly from the light and James was glowing as well. "Could be. I mean we're creatures too. I wouldn't doubt there is a werewolf and demon." James said logically. He was the more rash and strong one and let his sword do the talking while Thomas was more thoughtful and was gentle. Suddenly hearing a hole both grabbed the hilt of their swords and stood on the branch with ease. They both wore matching feature pants and trench coats. They also wore shades until the sun went down, or they would suffer the consequences. "Sounds like our werewolf." Thomas said and James grinned. "Up for a chase James?" "Always!" he replied, and together they took off into the woods tracking the werewolf. ((Helene I Interrupt your RP. IMA HACKER!!!! K I will go now. I just wanted to be int it :))) (*pokes insomnia* munchkins spamming the role play help!!!!!!!) Lessa smelled two beings and growled as she tried to process exactly who they were and if they were edible. She howled loudly. She didn't care she was hungry, and they were food to her. Furthermore, she took off silently toward the smell. Furthermore, she burst out of a bush in front of them and putting her ears back menacingly she showed her fangs growling loudly. Furthermore, she was so hungry and they smelled so good. Alana got up and started flying through the air looking for Less. She had gone silent and Alana was worried she had found prey. Alana made it her goal to keep Less from hurting the humans from the village. She followed Less as smell. As a demon her senses were more intoned than a human. She smelled two people and Less. She growled some as she landed on a nearby tree. Furthermore, she waited to see what would happen before she interrupted it. Furthermore, she was sure Less could defend herself from these boys. Furthermore, she stared at them trying to read there emotions and figure out why they were here. "You owe me a hot meal." James said and Thomas groaned at his twin. "Give her a chance I bet she's friendly." he said not wanting to give up the bet. "Oh yeah those fangs are real inviting." James said sarcastically. "Fine I call diamond." Thomas said touching the diamond on his cross necklace and his whole body turned to pure diamond. "You always get the diamond!" James said heatedly and touched his sword turning into the metal. "We mean you no harm." Thomas said slowly. James stood next to him knowing they had each other's back if she pounced. Very interested in this Alana hopped down from the tree landing between them and Less. She put her hand down and whined at Less handing her a freshly killed rabbit. She patted her head as Less began to feed and turned to the two guys in front of her. She walked up to the metal one and touched him curious as to how they did this." What kind of creatures are you?" She asked her voice quiet and melodious. Lessa hungrily munched the rabbit growling between bites at the guys before her. She whined at Alana reassuringly worried about her friends safety. James grabbed her wrist angrily and Thomas quickly smacked him upside the head to make him let go. "What the hell was that for?! She's the one who touched me!" he snapped and rubbed his head. He stepped away from the girl and stared at her angrily. "Forgive my brother.... We don't actually make much contact." Thomas said carefully. "We are elemental benders... So far the only element benders that we know of that is...." he explained quickly. They never wore shirts so he understood why James had gotten angry... A lot of village girls did that to the twins because of their looks. Alana frowned at him and growled pulling out a dagger she carried in her shirt in case needed."Don't you ever think of hurting me again or I'll make sure no metal in your body will protect you from what I shall do to you." She calmed down when the other one spoke to her and smiled at him." That is very interesting. I didn't mean to offend, but I was only trying to see if you were as solid as you looked." She bent down and petted Less trying to calm her. Less had jumped up growling when James put his hands on her, and she was very angry." I am Alana and this is Less my werewolf companion. She is a werewolf because I made her that way. We are blood sisters." Thomas nodded taking it in and James stared at the werewolf showing he wouldn't back down easily. "Interesting. I am Thomas and this is James. We are twins and are of blood." he said trying to talk the way she did so she could understand. James relaxed slightly as Thomas spoke. "Good sun's almost down." James said released. "I know... I hate wearing these all day too." Thomas agreed touching his shades unconsciously. Less growled some at their movements but lay down on the ground and whined now and then upset that she had to be a wolf at this time. Alana knowing the issue pulled out her dagger and sliced her wrist. She let Less lap up some blood and Less turned human." Only for 30 minutes though Less." She turned back to the guys." What are you doing here anyway? And why were you tracking her?"She pointed to Less who was trying to conceal her naked body. Thomas and James both averted their eyes from Less respectively and Thomas looked at Alana. She was amazingly beautiful, and he was only human to imagine her in his arms. Quickly catching himself he dispelled the thought. "We are only traveling threw these parts I assure you.... We're just in search of a place to settle down and have a steady lifestyle." Thomas said and James leaned against a tree and let himself return to his normal self. The metal seems to melt off and disappear and Thomas did the same. "We were also curious because we had heard rumors about a werewolf being here... And different people like us like to meet others once in agile." he said softly. Alana watched them change back and smiled some. It was most intriguing. She noticed the one called Thomas staring at her and grinned some. She wondered what he was thinking." I see so your interested in a werewolf but not a fallen angel how odd." She took a cloak out of her pack she carried with her and covered Less. Less didn't say anything but stared at the two guys. She found it odd how they smelled so tasty and yet were obviously not edible. Thomas was worried they had offered her, but before he could say anything James did,"Well personally werewolves are much cooler. They don't have magic powers that can be used against you. We don't exactly have good relations with magic users." he said seriously. Thomas shook his head. His brother's bluntness was horrible when it kicked in at unwanted times. "Well to clarify every wizard has wanted to kill us for our powers." Thomas said smoothly. That was the whole reason he and James were scarred for life, literary. Then both twins looked up at the sky as the last rays of the sun sunk and they both smiled. At the same time they took off their sunglasses and smiled. They're glowing bright turquoise eyes looked an amazing contrast to their fan skin and black hair. And now that you could see their eyes clearly you could also see the scar across Thomas's right eye clearly. "I am fascinated though. Angels have very interesting living." Thomas said kindly. "Now a fallen angel and trust me if you knew my living you would not think it so great." Alana grimaced. She never did enjoy the type of demon she was forced to become, but she knew it could not be helped. She stared downward for a moment before lifting her eyes back up to his face. Lessa just stood in the background not saying a word. She had always been shy when speaking to strangers and now was no difference. She pulled the cloak tighter around herself and wondered how it was she would be interesting to anyone. Thomas had to force himself to look away from Alana again catching himself staring. It was so hard not to look at her. James smiled at Less reassuringly and hoped she would say something. He was truly interested in her being a werewolf. "Oh... Well I'm sorry." Thomas said softly. "Thomas... We still need to go hunting. We're out of food." James said breaking the award silence. "Right." Thomas said grateful for James's interruption of the silence. Alana chuckled a moment and looked at Less." You guys can't hunt in our territory. IF you want food you must let us hunt for you, and then you can let us cook it for you. A demon and a werewolf can handle the hunting." She always did love to take advantage of situations. It was so much fun doing that. Lessa stood there quietly studying the one called James. He was interesting, and she wanted to talk to him so bad, but she was worried that he would get offended. Surprised Thomas and James looked at each other and seemed to pass some unknown conversation. And by the looks of it James had won. "We really shouldn't impose..." Thomas said and James grinned. "But wouldn't it work if we hunted with you?" he said and the brothers looked at the two. Alana stared at them a moment and then pulled Less to the side." What do you think?" Lessa looked at the two guys and smiled for the first time since her transformation."Let's do it maybe they will teach us some new tricks." She said in her quiet voice so low it could be a blowing wind. Alana chuckled and went back over to them with Less who started to contort as she changed back into wolf form." Alright you can hunt with us but don't slow us down." They smiled and then James's smile widened. "Hmm slow them down?" he said and Thomas grinned. "Yes... Very interesting." he said and they grinned. "We won't try." they said mischievously together. Then seeing Less change James and Thomas were surprised. That was defiantly something they hadn't seen before. Alana laughed at there surprise when less changed. She wondered what they would think when she changed also. She never hunted with Less in human appearance. She always changed over first in order to be able to use her scene of smell better. She looked at them a moment." Now it's my turn to change. If you run away in fear I understand." She took a step back and flew into the air. She did a spin and let herself do her full demon transformation. Furthermore, she kept her mind from going under as that was something she was able to do until that one time in the month when she lost total control of herself. Furthermore, she grew horns on her head and her eyes turned red. Her body took a blue color and her tail grew out. She got claws on her hands and feet. She landed on a tree branch above there heads with a grin." Are we ready?" She said in a deep voice. Surprised the twins watched in awe and then grinned and nodded. Thomas couldn't take his eyes off of the beautiful demon. No matter what she said in his eyes she was beautiful. James on the other hand was a little creeped out. He liked Less's transformation way better. They both nodded and pulled out their hunting bows. "Yes." they said together answering her question. Thomas jumped into a tree and James stayed on the ground. It's how they always hunted. James was better at close range fighting and Thomas was better at long range. But they were equal in strength and so when they fought it always ended in a stalemate. Less wagged her tail happily and took off smelling for nearby prey. She flushed a couple of rabbits out of their dens, but they ran past them toward a huge cave in a cliff. Less stopped about 50 yards from the entrance. Alana landed next to her and turned towards the guys."There's a grizzly bear in the cave. I think he shall provide enough of a fight and a good amount of food for us to share." Thomas jumped down from his tree and smiled. He put his bow away at the same time James did and they both turned to metal. "Lead the way." Thomas said to the beautiful guiding demon. Less went into the cave first and came back a moment later to tell Alana that the bear was sleeping, and they would be able to kill it easily. Alana looked at the guys a moment and got an idea. She walked over to Thomas and stood in front of him."Why don't you guys go ahead and kill this one. We will watch and see how you guys do." Shrugging the twins walked in silently. Thomas climbed up onto the cave ledge and James pulled out his sword. Suddenly the bear turned around and roared. Surprised James dived out of the way and slashed at the beast. The animal roared in pain from the slash across the chest. But it retaliated and smoked James into the wall. Thomas let his arrows fly and the bear turned on him. Timing it perfectly Thomas leaped onto the beasts back and choked it with his bow. James got back up and drove the bear back with multiple slashes. Suddenly his sword was knocked from his grasp and he dived under the beast's legs. Thomas then grabbed his dagger and plunged it into the bear's skull. The beast fell and Thomas jumped off. He handed James his sword and they grinned. Suddenly the bear reared up again, but James stabbed it threw the heart with his sword, and it fell dead. The twins smiled and walked out of the cave blood spattering them but unscratched. "That was awesome!" James said and Thomas agreed. "That one actually had some fight in it. The last one wasn't nearly as fun." Thomas said and they laughed. Alana and Less walked in. Less howled happily and attacked the raw meat with vigor. Alana walked over to the guys and grinned." Good job guys. I didn't think you would be able to handle it." "We figured that." they said together. They weren't stupid they knew when people didn't want them around, and they knew traps when they saw them. "But really, we've killed twenty bears. This was nothing new." James said watching the hungry werewolf. "That's true.... Though I still think that figure we faced gave that bear a run for his money." Thomas said grinning. "Yeah. Now that thing was a challenge." James agreed crossing his arms. "So are we having bear stew or bear stake?" Thomas asked and James laughed. "That's if they can cook. Not everybody knows how to cook like I do." James said and Thomas nodded. "True... I'm glade you never let me cook... I'd exp load something again." Thomas said and they both laughed at the fond memory. Alana looked at them a moment with a frown. She thought about her daughter but then shook her head and grinned." Looks like Less as fine with it the way it is. Personally I don't have to eat cooked food anyway. I only eat once a month and that time will be soon probably within the next two days. Then you will get a chance to see something scary if you stick around that long that is." Lessa hungrily ate till her belly was bloated and then walked over to them and laid down. She closed her eyes and curled into a ball. James shook his head and looked at the wolf. "Had enough there?" he said and grinned. "Bear stew it is. Thomas gets the cooking knife." James instructed. "Aye El Capitan!" Thomas said saluting smartly and James pouched him in the arm. "Don't be a smart ass." he said and walked into the cave to get some meat. "What fun would that be?" Thomas said and chuckled. "Let me guess, you drink blood right?" he said to Alana and pulled off his small backpack and rummaged threw it for the knife. He took off his coat and threw it aside. His tan muscled back was clearly battled warn. Small pink and white scars covered his back and yet none was a gruesome as the on across his eye. He pulled out the knife and set it down. "The only thing James and I need is moonlight. We can't go very long without it. We've tried. Furthermore, we last a week before literally collapsing. The moon light just seems to give us our strength." he said and shrugged. "Personally it makes no sense to me." he said and James came out meat in his hands and threw his dagger in the ground at Thomas's feet just missing him, yet Thomas didn't flinch. "That's for being a smart ass." James said and flicked blood on his brother. "Jerk." Thomas muttered handing him the knife. Alana smiled at him. "I lure unsuspecting guys to me and then kill them and drink there blood so yes you could say that." Lessa gave him a sleepy look and then rolled over and started to lick her paws. James began cutting the meat and putting it into a pot and made a ring of stones. "I've got it." Thomas said and bending the sunlight threw his arm fire suddenly burst within the ring of stones. The light then died away, and he looked at Alana. "Well personally I wish we could repeal girls... I swear if another one of those sluts touches me I'm going to kill someone." James growled and Thomas put a conforming hand on his brother's shoulder. "You see... James and I... Attract females.... Human females, too well... They have sworn around us when we enter villages. That's why we travel threw the forest and only atop in towns if needed." Thomas said and James used his power to turn his arm to water and put the water into the pan. Thomas looked at Alana again for a long time and seeing this James said,"Thomas!" startled Thomas pulled out his sword and then relaxed. James laughed and Thomas grumbled. "That was uncalled-for." Thomas said sourly. "Oh you little baby. Now stop staring at things and be useful and make some veggies grow." James said and Thomas blushed slightly. He kneeled down on one knee and place a hand on the ground. Flowers and plants sprung up all around him and a rose vine twined up his arm. "Alright that's enough." James said and Thomas removed his hand and plants stopped growing. Alana stared at the guys as she listened to there stories. She grinned it was quite interesting. She glanced at the sky. Less would begin transformation again in an hour or so. She looked at the sleeping wolf next to her and pet her head gently. She did love Less so much. Furthermore, she didn't say a word as the brothers were cooking and doing stuff. Furthermore, she just waited. "Alright." James said and Thomas smiled. He looked at Alana pulling the rose vine off of his arm and handed her a rose. "Finally." he managed to say after he was finally able to look away from her. He sat down across the fire and James made the bowl and spoon fly over to Thomas. Thomas smiled and patted the ground next to him looking at Alana. "I swear I don't bite." Thomas said and James chuckled. "I do." James said and grinned selfishly. Alana giggled some and sat down next to him. She found him odd and fascinating. Less awoke up and stretched. It was about time for her to transform again. She wasn't aware of this but Alana knew it." Lessa will be human in 5.......4....3........2..." Suddenly a blue light surrounded Less and she rose into the air. Her wolf fur shrunk causing her skin to show a lovely pale white. Her nails went shorter, and she began to fall to the ground. Furthermore, her paws were now white hands and feet and her head had a lot of long hair falling from it. She fell down on the ground. Alana went to her and checked on her before going back to Thomas with a smile. Lessa stood up and walked over to them sitting next to her sister. She gave her a hug and waved at the guys." Hi I'm less" Thomas and James had watched in surprise and awe at the transformation. James was dumb struck at the sight of her. He smiled looking at her. "Hey." he said not able to think straight. "Do you want some stew Alana? It's some of the best James has ever made." Thomas offered after nodding to Less in acknowledgement. He took another mouthful of the soup and ate it great fully. Alana shook her head at the offer." I don't eat regular food. I eat once a month during my transformation. When that happens you guys will want to be as far away as possible." Lessa smiled at James and put her hand out to shake his."It's so nice to meet you now that I'm human and not a wolf." James smiled and shook her head. "Both forms are perfectly fine with me." he said lightly and offered bowl of soup. "Well wouldn't you like eating now and again.... Just to taste the different tastes?" Thomas asked still a little confused with the once a month blood thing. Alana smiled at him." Well it's not that I just can't eat anything else. I don't have a normal body like most people do. I'm not equipped to digest anything else." It was a hard thing to explain. She didn't eat that's all there was to it. Lessa smiled shyly and stared down at the ground. Thomas nodded understand now. "Oh, I see." he said and smiled. He finished his soup and set his bowl down. "Do have any questions about our powers?" he asked ready to tell her anything and quickly stole a glance at her now and again. James smiled and said,"You are hungry at all? We've got plenty soup to spare." He had made more than usual because he had been expecting the demon to eat. Alana looked at him with a smile. It was interesting that's for sure. She was not used to people acting concerned about her or understanding her." Um I'm pretty sure I understand how they work. You touch something and your body absorbs that texture for its own protection. Am I right?" Lessa stared silently at James and shook her head no she didn't want any soup. She was very full. "Alright." James said and finished his quickly. "Pretty much. But you see we can pick and choose the characteristics of the element. Like this rock for instance. He said and picked up the small rock. "I can choose to just have it's coloring. Or it's strength. Or it's power." he said, and his arm turned the color of the rock. He smiled and flexed his muscles. "See I still feel the same it's just the color." he said and offered her his hand. She grabbed his hand and smiled. He was indeed normal. She had not realized that aspect of their powers. She chuckled at the thought of it. It was a nice thing to know." That way you can blend in or be strong or be difficult to destroy. It makes since." Thomas smiled and nodded. "Yes... It does." he said softly and let the coloring disappear. Her touch felt amazing, and he didn't want to let go, but he soon realized he was holding on too long and let go of her hand. James smiled at Less and asked,"Well did the bear taste good?" Less smiled shyly at him and nodded her head yes. She hardly ever talked, and she was very shy around this handsome man and his brother. Alana smiled at Thomas and gave him a quick hug. There was something about him that made her want to do more, but she was afraid it was her demon side taking over and not her true feelings. "You can talk. I swear I won't bite." James said and smiled reassuringly. Thomas was shocked but hugged her back. He loved her intoxicating scent and wondered if she had been staring when he had been staring at her. He didn't want to let go but made himself let go. Furthermore, he had wanted to kiss her suddenly and the desire would be something he couldn't ignore if he had KELT his arms around her much longer. Less blushed a bit." Hi" She said in a low tone. Alana looked at Thomas and smiled. She knew there was something there, and she was hoping it was desire and not lust from her transformation." I am going to do something, and you have to promise not to freak out on me."She said in a serious tone looking deep into his eyes. James smiled and looked into her eyes. "Hey." he said being patient with her. He couldn't help but looking into her deep eyes. Thomas smiled and nodded. "I won't freak out, I promise." he said wondering what she was planning to do. She giggled some." I am sorry that I am so quiet. I'm not used to talking to people so much. The only person I talked to was Alana." Alana reached out and grabbed Thomas head and gave him a deep kiss on the lips. There was something about him that she just had to try. She had to do it. She couldn't resist. He was so handsome and wonderful. James smiled in traced by her beautiful laugh. "Well that's understandable. I'm just happy you are taking with me though." he said smiling wider. Surprised and shocked Thomas remained still for a few seconds before kissing her back. The feeling was amazing, and he hesitantly wrapped his arms around her waist. He couldn't believe the electricity and the sweetness of her kiss. It was like nothing on earth. Less looked back down at the ground shyly." I suppose I am comfortable around you." Alana kissed him for a few moments more before pulling back away. She blushed slightly." I apologize. I just had to do it. You are so attractive to me and there's something about you, I find great." James smiled. "That's good. I want you to be comfortable." he said and smiled more. "You're really beautiful- I mean you're... Umm..." he said a blush rising on his cheeks. Had he really just said that?! Thomas looked at Alana breathlessly and nodded smiling. "I feel it too... You're so amazingly beautiful..." he whispered looking into her eyes. He gently rested his hand on hers and looked into her eyes. Less put her eyes downward at the mention of her beauty. She peered at him through her hair that was falling over her eyes. He was handsome, but she could never say something like that to someone. She looked up a little at him but saw him looking at her and let her eyes fall again. Alana smiled at Thomas."Let's go somewhere by ourselves for a bit. I think it would be better." She glanced at Less curiously and saw how she was acting and laughed a bit. Apparently James had been complimenting her. She knew Less acted like that when someone acted like they liked her. Thomas smiled and seeing James blush he chuckled. "I think that would be wise." he said and took her hand. Pulling her up he smiled and looked into her eyes. James Stoddard a bit more trying to cover it up. "I think your fur is beautiful I mean." he said covering it up. "But is til think you're beautiful too." he added thinking he had offered her but then smacked himself in the forehead. Why couldn't he talk to her?! (you mean Thomas LMAO)Alana smiled at him and led him deeper into the bears cave. She found a good spot and sat down. She had brought a light with her and made a small fire for them. Furthermore, she smiled up at Thomas and motioned for him to sit with her. Lessa laughed a bit. She couldn't understand what this guy was saying." Are you having a problem because you find my beauty distracting?" She asked him quietly. James looked at her and nodded. "Exactly. I've never met anyone as beautiful as you." he said and looked into her glowing eyes. Thomas sat next to Alana and let his hand run down her arm to her hand. He took her hand in his needing her touch. It was as if she drugged him with the kiss and now he needed her more and more with every second. He never wanted to leave and looked into her eyes that took on a beautiful glow in the fire light. Less looked back at him keeping her head down." I....... I d...don't know what to say. I've never had anyone like you acting this way towards me." She wasn't sure what to do. She did like him back but she wasn't sure if it was proper for her to say it. Furthermore, she looked for Alana, but she had left somewhere with the other guy. She hoped she didn't eat him. Alana smiled as he grabbed her hand. She leaned forward and gave him another kiss this one lasting a bit longer. "I don't know say anything. I really want to get to know you better." he said and shield. He scooted closer to her really wanting to know her better. Thomas kissed Alana back passionately and cupped the back of her head. Her hair felt amazing between his figures and her lips quenched his burning desires to kiss her again. He then looked into her eyes when she pulled away and wondered what she was thinking. He wanted to know if she felt the electricity jumping between them whenever they touched. Less smiled a bit more at him looking up slightly." I am a werewolf what else is there to say?" Alana paused a moment and just stared at him. There was something fascinating about him. He was so handsome, and she just felt immediate attraction to him. She wanted nothing but to sit here and kiss him forever." I don't know what to say. There's something that just makes me want to kiss you and never stop." "Well... Do you like fighting? Or hunting?" James offered trying to keep up a conversation. Thomas looked into her eyes and smiled. "I know..." he whispered coming closer. "Then why stop?" he whispered and kissed her again. He just couldn't keep away. Less stared at him at the mention of fighting and hunting." I detest violence, but it is contrary to my nature I suppose. I do enjoy hunting but only for food never for sport. Unless I'm a werewolf then I don't have much control on what I do." Alana let him kiss her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in to the kiss. He tasted so wonderful. There was nothing better than being here with him right now. James rubbed the back of his neck and nodded. "Okay.... MMM.... what do you like better? Day or night?" he asked hopefully going to get somewhere with this question. Thomas pulled Alana closer loving the feel of the electricity coursing between them. He pulled away to breath and looked at her. He then returned to her lips kissing her passionately and ran a hand down her back. It sent thrills threw his body and he smiled. He wanted her badly. He didn't care if he barely knew her. He felt like he had known her his whole life and he wanted her. (eager beaver Thomas is lol)Less looked at him a moment and frowned." I wouldn't know I have no memories of my nights as I'm a wolf every night." Alana kissed him back. She wondered if this was what is called love at first sight. She had never experienced that before. Furthermore, she knew she liked this guy a lot and everything felt right when she was with him. Furthermore, she just wanted to freeze this moment in time forever. "Oh." James said. He had never thought about that. "So how'd you meet Alana?" he asked hoping to get something out of her. Thomas had to pull away to breath and looked into Alana's eyes. He was only human to want her like this, but this was different. He had feelings for her. Very deep feelings that had found his heart when he first clapped eyes on her. Was this love? (OMG love the new look)Less smiled at him a moment." Well..... I was a regular wolf and Alana loved me so much. After some time she got lonely and needed a companion. She turned me into a werewolf by giving me some of her blood. So that's why we call each other blood sisters. She is a part of me, and I am a part of her." Alana pulled him back into her and kissed him hard. She pushed him down on the ground and let herself get on top of him as she continued to kiss him her hair falling down around his face. ((thanks I've been working hard to perfect it, but I don't know if black hair would look better.)) James smiled actually understanding know. "Cool. So you like being human now?" he asked increased. Thomas was surprised but succored to Alana's gentle push. Kissing her back just as fiercely he ran his hands down her back. He smiled wanting her more and more. He then slowly began working the dress off of her making sure as not to offend her by checking her reactions every few seconds. Less nodded at him."yes and my dream is to become a full human one day. I am tired of the wolf nights." She sighed loudly. Meanwhile..... Alana kissed towards his neck biting down gently. She wanted him so bad right now. She helped him remove her dress and worked on doing the same for him. Furthermore, she loved how he felt and tasted. James smiled and looked at her. "So you can't control what you do in wolf form?" he asked slightly surprised at this. Thomas moaned softly as Alana bit down his neck. It felt so good and he wanted her so bad. He helped her with his pants and soon nothing was between them. He smiled and kissed her body. Anywhere his lips could reach he kissed or nibbled there. He then growled feeling her bite his neck a little harder and kissed her fiercely batting her lip softly. Less nodded her head slowly in the positive. Alana moaned some and let him have her. They spent an hour together doing things that would make your mind spin. When it was all over she laid down on the ground next to him breathing rather hard. Even now he still attracted her. She gave him little kisses on his shoulder and chest. James looked at her and smiled. "Well... Things could be worse... I knew one guy who was really messed up... He couldn't control himself at all except for one hour of the day." he said softly. Thomas held Alana in his arms and had to work to get his breathing under control. He still felt the attraction to her even know, and her kisses only made the feeling stronger. He closed his eyes loving the feel of her lips on his chest and smiled. Furthermore, he could smell her skin on every inch of his skin and loved it more than anything else. "I love you..." he whispered softly to her. Less smiled and scorched closer to him. She grabbed his hand and held it in hers." I suppose that's a good thing then that I can control myself during the day." Alana listened to his labors and when he spoke the love you sentence she took a deep breath and rolled on top of him. She looked deep into his eyes." I love you to. Thomas I loved you when I first saw you." She gave him a long passionate kiss. James was surprised but didn't subject to the sudden touch. He loved it truthfully. He smiled gently and nodded. "Yeah it is a good thing... That means I can talk to you..." he whispered. Thomas smiled loving the kiss. He held her tightly to his body and kissed her deeply. He wanted this moment to last, and he never wanted to let her go. Furthermore, he wanted to kiss her and love her forever. This was right. And nothing could change his feelings for her even if a dagger was held at his throat. He would still say those three words to seal his doom. He loved her. Less smiled at him and nodded." Yes that is a good thing." Alana smiled and cuddled close to Thomas." I love you so much. You are a sweet guy and like a dream come true. I don't know what I would do without you." James smiled and looked into her eyes. "It's cool to know that you want to talk to me. Thomas always says I'm a conversation killer." James said and made a funny face and chuckled. Thomas smiled and held her closer. "You don't have to worry about that... I'm never going to leave you..." he whispered softly and kissed her cheek. Less smiled at this statement. She liked this guy a lot and he was really sweet. She suddenly noticed that Alana was gone and looked around worried." Where did Alana run off to?" Alana hugged him. Suddenly there was a flash of light and a demon appeared with a grin." My lord wishes to see you Alana." She stood up and frowned at this demon. She glanced at Thomas and gave him a grin." Looks like I need to go see the devil. Wait here ill be back." James smiled and shook his head. "Where ever my brother is I'm sure. They're fine." he said reassuringly. Thomas had grabbed a dagger seeing the demon and looked at Alana. "How about I come with you." he said slowly not trusting the demon or the devil with his previous lover. Less frowned. Something was wrong." No there's something wrong. We have to find her now. Hurry James please. There's something wrong." She stood up and looked around. She could smell something in the air. Alana looked at Thomas and sighed. She had hoped he wouldn't ask. She knew that something bad might happen to him, but she knew he wouldn't take no for an answer." I don't know if that's a good idea. Satan can be rather possessive." James nodded jumping to his feet and grabbed his bow. "Alright. Let's find them." he said getting worried by the look on her face. He took her hand and headed into the forest tracking them slowly. Thomas nodded pulling on his pants. "And I'm protective so he'll just have to deal with me." he said pulling on his sword belt sense he left his bow with James and Less. He held her hand and looked into her eyes. "I'm very protective..." he whispered and kissed her head smiling. Less ran quickly through the woods following the smell of her friend. She could get warning signals from her and knew she had to be close. Something was very wrong. She had to find her. Alana sighed. It figured." Fine but if you get hurt its on your own head not mine." She clapped her hands creating a portal to the devils throne room and went through it with her hand around Thomas'. She walked close to the throne and bowed low pulling Thomas down with her." You summoned me?" She asked in a monotone voice. Thomas bowed but couldn't help but want to smack this guy. He looked up at him keeping his expression blank. James ran into the bear cave stringing a bow and looked around. "They're gone!" he said worriedly and looked at her. The devil walked up to them and picked up Alana by her neck holding her high into the air. He tossed her into a wall." How dare you do such a thing without my permission." Alana felt herself go flying and landed on the ground with a thud. She stood up and walked back." What did I do wrong?" Satan looked at the guy with her and frowned." You dared to find a boyfriend and didn't even choose a demon but a human. This is not allowed." Lessa whined some and walked to where they had been. She sighed and sat down." There in hell now. Alana's in pain. We have to get there." Thomas brought himself to his full height and growled at Satan. "I am no human and if you touch her again I'll make you wish you never had." He growled and turned into diamond. He grabbed Satan by the throat and slammed him against the wall. "How human am I now?!" he snapped angrily. How dare this man touch his beloved Alana?!! James nodded and paced. He growled in frustration. "This is something Thomas would know how to do!" he said angrily to himself. Alana ran up to him and grabbed his arm." Stop now please. You're going to get hurt. I told you not to come. I knew something like this would happen." About a hundred demons appeared and surrounded them. They all grabbed chains and began to try to chain up Thomas and pull him off of the devil. Alana had seen this several times. Lessa howled loudly as she tried to search for a way to get to hell. There had to be an entrance somewhere. She looked at jams with a sad expression."Can't you figure out a way?" James shook his head knowing that there was no use. "I'm trying!" he said. He was worried he would lose his brother to the devil. Thomas looked at Alana which was a wrong move because he listened and let the diamond leave him. Suddenly chains wrapped around his arms and neck and he was forced tithe ground. He choked for air and struggled but couldn't do anything as more and more chains wrapped around him. Less growled and then got an idea. She mentally told Alana they needed a portal to hell. Suddenly a doorway opened in front of them and Less grabbed James pulling him through the doorway. Alana yelled as Thomas fell to the ground. She heard Less as page and clapped her hands opening a doorway quickly. She ran up to the devil and begged him to release Thomas. The devil laughed and slapped her sending her flying." He attacked me and now his powers are useless thanks to my magical chains. I will now show this human the penalty for attacking the lord of hell." He grabbed a branding iron and approached Thomas with a grin on his face. Thomas struggled harder seeing Alana get slapped and lunged at the devil only to choke himself more with the chains. He growled angrily and suddenly felt the hot metal touch his biceps and his eyes widened in pain. James ran at the devil tackling the man to the ground and punched him in the face angrily. "You don't ever touch my brother!" he snarled his body pure diamond as he beat the crap out of the devil. Thomas struggled to try and use his power, but nothing would work. Alana frowned at James reaction. She looked at Thomas and all the devils minions began to try to chain jams down to. She ran to James and once again began to try to get him to stop. The devil was all powerful there was no way to beat him by force." James stop your just making things worse." Suddenly the devil started to laugh even through the punches. He picked up James and tossed him upward making him hover over a lava pit." You pathetic humans really think you can beat me?" Lessa growled loudly and launched herself at the devil who grabbed her by her throat and lifted her high into the air." If you ever want to see this wolf girl live through the day you will stop fighting me and allow my minions to chain you up along with your brother. If you keep fighting me she dies." He laughed loudly. James looked at Less and nodded. "Fine." he said threw clenched teeth. As soon as he touched solid ground chains wrapped around him and kept him from using his powers. He struggled against them, but there was no use. Having so Many demons holding onto the chains there was no way of escape. He only hoped Less would be okay. Thomas looked at Alana knowing that as long as she got away safely he would be happy. He wished that James hadn't come and looked at his brother. "I'm sorry..." he whispered. "There's no need. We were born together we go down together." James said and smiled weakly. Thomas nodded but couldn't say anything as the chains around his neck were pulled tighter. The devil laughed evil." Now to punish these creatures for attacking me." He tossed Less into the nearest wall causing her to hit her head on a rock and knocking her unconscious. The demons grabbed her and shoved her into a nearby cage. They stood around her touching her and looking at her. The devil put the brand he had down and grabbed a cat o nine tails instead. He walked over to James and smiled evil at him. Alana was still free but afraid to do anything. If they were to escape she knew she was there best bet. Less was unconscious and the others were powerless. She growled suddenly and let herself transform into full demon form. She flew at the devil knocking the cat o nine tails away from him. He growled and grabbing the nearest wing he pulled her down to the ground and using his sharp claws he cut one wing into ribbons. She screamed in agony. Her wings were her most sensitive spot. Thomas growled angrily and his fury fueled him. He managed to grab his sword and with his strength swing it breaking James's chains. James jumped to his feet pulling out his own sword and broke Thomas'a bonds. Together they slew many demons and then James went to the cage and in diamond form he broke it. He picked Less up and Thomas punched the devil sending him flying into the wall. He picked up Alana and James stood next to him. Thomas summoned up the portal and walked threw after James. When he closed it he looked at Alana and set her down gently. He looked at her wing and tried thinking of some way to fix it. Alana moaned in pain. Her wing hurt bad. She looked up at Thomas and smiled. She tried to sit up. Her wing was hurting her so bad. She reached her hand behind her and felt for her wing. It was literally in strips. It would heal but she didn't know if she would fly again." So you won?" She asked the guys. Thomas smiled and looked at her. "We got away... But we didn't kill him..." he said softly. His arm still felt like it was on fire where the branding iron had seared his skin. He wasn't too worried about that but more worried about her. "There has to be some way to heal you..." he whispered trying to remember all the memories of healings he had watched. James looked at Less and stroked her head. He was worried she wouldn't wake up. "Less.... Less... Come on. Wake up..." he said softly trying to get some sort of response out of her. Alana stood up and went over to Less. She looked at her head where it was bleeding." She will be ok James don't worry. You guys should have never come. Thomas shouldn't even have come." She sighed and looked back at Thomas." My wing will heal in time I'm sure. I'm just concerned about whether I will be able to use it again. Are you two doing ok?" Lessa moaned and opened her eyes a bit. She put her hand to her head and looked at the blood on it." My head hurts." Thomas nodded standing up with her. "Of course. What did he mean by giving me this anyway? There has to be some reason behind this." Thomas asked pointing to his biceps which was inflamed from where the burnt flesh in the devil's symbol was. "I'm fine... It's alright... Here..." James said softly to Less and pressed his shirt to her head lovingly. "You'll be alright." he said softly. Alana sighed and looked at his arm."He's marking you as his property. Whenever he wants you he can summon you now. You will have no powers when he does that, and he can do anything he wants to you."She showed him her waste which had the same mark."There's no way to get around it either. Its permanent." Lessa smiled at James and reached her hands up she pulled him to her for a kiss. She loved him. She did. There was something wonderful about him and she loved him for it. Thomas nodded and shook his head. He shouldn't have been so stupid. He shouldn't have lashed out like that. Furthermore, he usually wasn't rash like that... That was usually James's area... And yet seeing Alana treated like that had set him off. He should've just killed the devil on the spot and had it done with... At least then he could've freed Alana and no one else would've gotten hurt. Surprised James kissed Less aback softly. He had just met her, and yet he felt like he needed her in his life. He needed her so he could hold her and know it wasn't just him and Thomas against the world anymore. Furthermore, he had her. Furthermore, he cupped her cheek bringing her closer as he deepened the kiss and smiled. Who knew someone could taste so sweet? She sighed. This was fabulous. Now they were both trapped as the devils slave. She knew they would be summoned eventually and prepared herself for it. They would be punished horribly. Lessa smiled and kept kissing James harder and more urgently. She wrapped her arms around him and tousled his hair. He meant so much to her. Thomas knew that any second he would be called back and probity beaten to death. He casually indicated Less and James and then pointed for him and Alana to leave the cave. The deserved some privacy. He walked out and looked around. The sun would come up soon... But it didn't matter because he would probity be in hell... So he wouldn't have to worry about putting his shades on. James kissed back just as fiercely as she did and pulled her closer. She was amazing and he needed her. He needed to kiss her and hold her now after having that horrible scare down in hell. Alana followed him out of the cave and into the slight daylight coming over a hill. She frowned as her scar began to vibrate. She sighed. This was just great. She felt herself disappearing only to reappear inside the devils throne room. The devil sat on his throne watching her with a grin. She felt chains drag her down. Her arms were chained, and her feet were chained. She gritted her teeth. Lessa kept kissing jams. She wanted him so bad. She wanted him with her forever. She ran her hands up and down his back. Thomas felt his mark burn and felt himself disappearing. Seeing Alana he growled but was soon in the same position. Except he had chains around his neck held by demons. He gagged trying to breath and gritted his teeth. He looked up at the devil on his throne angrily. James kissed Less passionately and ran his hands down her back. He then gently stuck his hands up her shirt wanting to feel her and have her. He wanted her badly. (OMG lol Less and James are two busy to even noticed that Thomas and Alana are gone XD)Alana glared at the devil before them. She knew they were about to be seriously punished. She sighed and closed her eyes waiting for it to begin only hoping it would be over with soon enough. Satan watched the two before him for a moment before snapping his fingers. Alana was shoved into a cage and Thomas was tied to a rack. They strapped his hands and his feet down. The devil walked over to the controls and began to pull the lever causing his limbs to be stretched beyond there normal capacity. Lessa moaned a little and started to remove his shirt. She wanted this to happen it would be wonderful and she knew it. ((lol let them have their moment.)) Thomas growled and gasped in pain. He wanted to rip the devil to shreds with his bare hands. As he was pulled even more he didn't give the devil the pleasure of hearing him scream. He took the pain bravely and though it was written on his face he didn't let anything but his ragged breath escapes him. James finally pulled off Alana's shirt and tossed it aside. He kissed her deeper and smiled. He loved the feel of her and ran his hands down her sides lovingly. The feeling was amazing, and he loved this more than anything on earth. (boy is Thomas and Alana going to be pissed at them lol)Alana cried out loudly for him to stop." Please I beg of your stop. I'll do anything just leave him alone."She was crying and trying to find a way out of the cage. It was too much for her to watch. The devil laughed louder. This was getting more and more fun for him. He walked over to Alana and pulled her out of the cage by her hair. He took her to the wall in front of Thomas and chained her to it. Furthermore, he grabbed a cat-o-nine tails and began to whip her making Thomas watch it as she screamed in pain. Lessa moaned louder and helped him remove his pants. She pulled hers off also and began to kiss him all over his chest and belly. James smiled and let her push him down. He loved her kisses and when she hit his weak spot he moaned. It felt amazing and he wanted her badly. But she had him under her control and even if he wanted to kiss her he couldn't fight those lips on his body. Thomas was released to have the horrible pain stop but seeing Alana whipped was worse. He growled and fought to try to break free from the shackles and suddenly there was a crack, and he had slightly pulled out a shackle on his wrist and fought harder. He was going to rip this man to shreds. But as he heard her scream he was almost paralyzed. "Stop it!!" he snarled inhumanly. Less kissed upward on him and then pulled him on top of her and let him have her. She knew they both wanted it, and she let him enjoy himself. Satan stopped hitting her and walked up to Thomas with a grin." What will you give me to stop?" Alana laid there her back bleeding crying slow tears."Don't do it Thomas. He's going to take something from you that you will never be able to reclaim. Please don't do this." ((IDK what to do with James on this one so just Thomas))Thomas looked at the devil and lunged but was held back firmly though he did feel the shackle come a little more out of the wall. "What do you want that will spare her from your wrath forever." he asked no emotion lacing his voice? He knew Alana would hate this... But if it meet she could live a life free of this torture then he would pay the price. Less cuddled up with James. She smiled and kissed him on his shoulder. She was happy now. Alana cried louder. She knew what was going to happen and she couldn't let it happen. She yelled at him."Thomas if you do this I am going to hate you forever. Don't you even think about it. Don't do it please..........." Satan laughed." I want you and your brother to be my slaved forever. I will let Alana go if I can have this. You two will be mine forever and nothing you do can change that. You will be under my control and you can't attack me ever." James smiled and kissed Less's head. "I love you..." he whispered and smiled lovingly. Thomas growled, and it hurt when he heard Alana's words. But did she just expect him to stand by while she was being tortured?! He couldn't do that. "You leave my brother out of this!!" he growled angrily. "I will give you anything of mine." he said knowing if he made this deal he may never see Alana again... But she would be safe. Less smiled back at him." I love you to."She laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes falling asleep. Alana screamed louder at him."DOnt do it Thomas. Please don't do this." Satan laughed and picked up a whip with sharp glass tied to the end of it." Guess ill have to keep it the way it is then. It's both or nothing." He started to hit Alana with it causing her to yell again and bite her lip in pain. James smiled and fell asleep too. His dreams filled with happiness and Less. But mostly Less. Thomas watched in horror and fought more. He fought and fought against the shackles, and suddenly they gave way, and he fell from the wall. Angrily he grabbed the devil's arm and made him drop the whip. He growled angrily and punched him hard becoming full diamond. He forced the devil into the wall and beat the crap out of him. The devil did get a few good punches in, but Thomas fought with the ferocity of an animal. He then punched the devil in the chest so hard that he grabbed his heart and ripped it from his chest. He watched as the devil fell to the floor lifelessly and Thomas threw his heart into the lava. Furthermore, he then quickly ran to Alana and pulled her into his arms lovingly. Alana hugged him tightly. She couldn't native he killed Satan so quickly. She looked at his arm and saw the mark of the brand disappearing. She kissed him hard on the lips. It was a wonderful thing that he was dead now. She would never have to grovel for him again. She gasped as the full pain of her wounds hit her." I love you Thomas." "I love you too..." he whispered softly. He smiled and looked at her. "There's something I can do to heal you fully... Even your wing." he said softly and didn't even notice the darkness coming from satin and entering him. He smiled and stood with her in his arms. "Don't worry... I'll make it better." he promised and opened a portal to the lake close to the bear's cave and walked to the water's edge. He then smiled at Alana and waded in until the water was up to his waist. "Close your eyes and trust me..." he whispered softly and lowered into the water but kept her in his arms. He kept her head out of it slightly to make sure she could breathe. He hummed softly and began to glow. With him the lake began to glow and the secret healing powers within it began working on Alana. (ahhhh he's going to turn evil now)She listened to him speak and smiled at him. She would trust him over anything. She closed her eyes as she felt her flesh begin to heal up. It felt so wonderful and the water was so cool to the shorn skin. She let herself completely relax her hair flowing in the surrounding water. ((oh you're observant. Lol))Thomas hummed louder and glowed brighter with the water. Then when he felt that Alana was completely healed he opened his eyes and the glow died away. She looked beautiful in the water, and he lifted her again and began wading back to shore. "Do you feel alright?" he asked softly. (lol yes that I am, and I like stating the obvious)She smiled up at Thomas and hugged him tight. She had never felt so free in her life." I am fine. You know you don't have to carry me. I can walk. My legs were never injured."(and less and jams sleep on) ((yep ^.^))Thomas smiled and looked down at her. "Yes... But I enjoy it." he said smiling and kissed the top of her head softly. He loved having her so close and holding her tight. He had thought he was going to lose her to the devil... But with her in his arms it kept him assured she was safe. She giggled and kissed him on his neck." Put me down anyway. I might break your back I weigh too much." She snuggled her face into his chest. Thomas liked at her and chuckled. "Right. You're worried about my back when we just got done fighting Satan? That's a good one." he said smiling and kissed her head. But he was quite tired. So he complied with her wishes after another minute of walking and smiled. "Happy to be back on your feet?" he asked and kissed her nose. She smiled at him and put her hands on either side of his face." I love you Thomas. You mean the world to me. I don't know what I would do without you. You literally saved my life." She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him on his lips wrapping her arms around his neck. Thomas smiled and wrapped his arms around Alana's waist. He pulled her closer as she kissed him and smiled. He loved her and kissing her was something that would never get old. "I love you too..." he whispered between kisses. He never wanted to let her go again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed him up against a tree. She kissed him hard. He meant so much to her. She wanted to be with him forever. She wanted to stay here and never let time go on. Thomas kissed Alana harder. He was desperate almost to be with her like this. He never wanted to leave her or let go of her. Furthermore, he then smiled and wanted her more. Furthermore, he bit her lip softly and growled wanting to see her reaction. (so when's he going to turn evil?) She smiled at him and bit him back a bit harder than he did her on his neck. She kissed him where she had bitten him. There was a slight red mark. She unbuttoned his shirt slowly. ((after their moment.)) Thomas smiled wickedly and ripped of his shirt. He let the shredded shirt fall away and kissed Alana harder. His passions and want for her was something he couldn't ignore. He ran his hands down her back and stuck his hands up her shirt. He was tempted to pull it off her body, but he kept the edge at bay. Alana moaned and pushed him down. She kissed him hard and passionately. She stripped off her clothes quickly and jumped on top of him kissing him. She wanted him. She needed him. She loved him forever. Thomas smiled having thrown his pants away and when she returned to him, it was like falling in love with her all over again. He ran his hands over her body knowing that everything was for his discovering. He bit her neck growling and them kissed the spot lovingly. Furthermore, he loved having her so close and having her kiss like this... This was heaven. Alana smiled and continued kissing him. She felt herself transform and the next thing she knew she was lying on the ground in his arms. She was back to her normal self and happy as could be." I love you." Thomas smiled and kissed her lovingly. "And I will always love you..." he whispered softly and closed his eyes. He felt extremely weak and tired... Probity from the battle just fought but more drained than he would have assumed. "Wake me if anything happens... I'm beat..." he said his body feeling extremely heavy, and he couldn't make himself move. Only his brain seemed functional... But that too was shutting off. Alana nodded and then snuggled up close to him and closed her eyes. She didn't sleep but instead listened to him sleeping. She just wanted to be close to him. Thomas fell into darkness and while passing out the power that had found him began working inside of him. Soon he was more powerful than another Satan before him and his powers of control would be amazing once he woke. The powers then allowed him to gain consciousness again and he opened his eyes. "Oh wow.... I feel... Weird..." he said softly and sat up. Looking at his hands he blinked. His vision was extremely enhanced. Not only that but his eyes were now a bright red. "What happened?" he whispered confused. He felt... Powerful... And dangerous... Less awoke up. She stretched and kissed James on the forehead. She got up and took off outside. It was getting dark. She knew she would be changing soon. Alana felt Thomas move and sat up. She stared at him."What's wrong with you? You look different. Your aura has changed." Confused Thomas looked at her. "I-I don't know...." he said softly and looked at his hands. They turned into the claws and then turned back. Thomas jumped a little at the sight and looked at Alana again. "What's happened to me?" he asked confused. His red eyes glowed brightly, and his worry was obvious. Something was wrong.((James is going to wake up but IDK what to do with him... Brain fart...)) (happens to the best of us *juggles*)Alana walked up to him and put her hands on either side of his face. His aura. It had turned. She could since the evil in him. She smelled him. He smelled different. There was definitely something wrong with him." Thomas......... I don't know but you're different. You're not the same anymore." Thomas looked at her and sudden anger swelled within him. "Yes I am!! I'm still me!" he snapped angrily and jumped to his feet. Fire burned at his feet and he looked at her angrily. "I'm still me!! I'm still Thomas!!" he shouted angrily and horns grew out of his head and a halo of fire floated above him. His hands turned to claws, and he growled with an ungodly echoing voice. James woke and seeing Less was gone he quickly dressed and walked outside. Hearing a booming voice he grabbed his sword and ran towards it. He crashed into the clearing by the lake and stopped in his tracks seeing Thomas aflame... And not one with the flames. "Thomas!!" James said horrified and Thomas turned to look at him. Anger was written all over his features and James acted quickly. He smiled and hugged Thomas. "Calm down ya knucklehead." he said and Thomas grinned and hugged back. "Thanks James." Thomas said the fire disappearing and the horns going away. "You're my brother. It's my job... Now what the hell happened to you?" he asked and Thomas shrugged. "I have no idea..." Thomas said softly and looked at the ground shaking his head. Alana was on the ground in terror. She was so scared. It was the first time that she had ever gotten scared before. She looked up as James hugged Thomas. She frowned. What was going on? She stared at Thomas a moment. His aura was back to normal. She didn't understand it. Thomas looked at Alana and his eyes said it all. He was just as scared as she was. But he quickly masked the worry and looked at James. "I killed the devil.... But other than that not much has happened..." he said and couldn't tale the look of fear on Alana's face. "I swear.... I didn't mean it..." he whispered feeling like a monster. Alana closed her eyes. The sight of it. The way he acted. It was worse than Satan himself. It was horrible. Furthermore, it was the first time she had ever been afraid. She couldn't understand it. It was like the devils aura inhabited Thomas body now." T........ Thomas..... I........" She froze and looked away. She didn't know what to say to him. He scared her so much. Thomas looked at her painfully and reached out to her. James grabbed him and looked into his eyes. "Don't..." he said softly and Thomas looked at him shocked. "W-What?...." he said horrified his voice barely a whisper. James looked at Thomas, and he didn't need to say anything. Thomas backed away slowly refusing to believe it until he saw Alana look away. His heartbreaking into a million pieces he turned a ran off. "Thomas!" James called but didn't dare follow. His brother's speed had practically tripled with the gain in power... He didn't have a chance of catching him. Thomas ran to the bear's cave and pulled on his pants. He grabbed his bow and quiver and put them on his back. He then grabbed his sword and looked out at the darkening world outside of the cave. Furthermore, he backed up and opened the portal to his home... Hell... He walked threw hanging his head in pain and didn't look back as it closed behind him. He could never go back... Furthermore, he wasn't Thomas anymore... (OMG the sadness of it ^.^)Alana heard the footsteps as Thomas left. She didn't go after him. She just stood there. Furthermore, she was too scared of him. Yes she did love him. He meant the world to her but she couldn't stand the idea of him. He was different. Furthermore, he was not the guy she fell in love with. She looked up at jams with tears in her eyes." I don't know what to do." Lessa was running. She smelled something unusual. She saw a guy going through a portal. Furthermore, she left in after him. This was strange. He smelled appetizing. She wanted to take a taste of him. She had never had anything like this before. She tackled the person jumping on his back. Furthermore, she bit down on his shoulder. James looked at Alana painfully. "I don't know... I just lost my brother!" he snapped angrily and looked away. He put his head in his hand and tried to calm himself. But he couldn't. "What did you do to him?!" he demanded angrily. Thomas growled in pain and kicked Less off. Bursting into flames he called upon his power and threw her against the wall. "How dare you!!" he snarled and kicked her angrily. Making her feel pain made his pain seem less. "You will not see the light of the world again!" he snarled and put a metal collar about her neck and shackled her to his throne. He called upon his demons and paced angrily. Killing one that got to close he liked around and shouted,"Do you follow me?!!" they all bowed and he smiled. "Good..." Alana growled and tackled James to the ground." I didn't do anything to your brother. I love him. Why would I ever think of doing anything that would harm him?" Lessa howled as she was sent flying. When he chained her up she started to fight and struggle even more. She was not happy and she was very confused. She howled loudly. Furthermore, she wanted Alana. She needed help. James flipped her over and pinned her down. "If you didn't do anything why is he gone?!" he snapped and got up. He then liked at her angrily and turned his back on her. "I can't believe I lost my brother!!" he yelled angrily. He stocked off needing comfort and needing Thomas. They had never been separated... And every sense Thomas had been with Alana he had ball seen him in two days. He wanted his brother back. Thomas looked at Less angrily and yanked her chain forcing her to the ground. "Don't you dare fight me. You will know more about pain than anything else if you do... Think of this as an act of kindness until your rescuer arrives." he snapped and sat in the throne. He looked at his awaiting demons and snapped angrily,"Make this place presentable!! We're going to have company!!" Alana growled as he left. She had to figure out what to do. What happened? He was just fine. They made love. And he changed. It was strange to her. She had fenced his aura changing and that was worse. She felt a tug from Less. Furthermore, she was in trouble. Furthermore, she jumped into the air and flew to James knocking him to the ground." Its less. Something's wrong. Please help me and ill help you." Lessa growled. She was not happy with this at all. She snapped at him and bared her fangs. No one was going to treat her like this. Not while she was still alive. James looked up shocked and nodded. Gripping his sword he looked at her as fear for his love gripped him. "Lead the way." he said knowing he had to help her. Thomas smiled and leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees. "They're coming." he said happily and looked at Less. "I did not want to drag you into this I assure you Less. But as you see... New order is needed." he said and sat back. "If you are good you and James will be sparred... And I really don't want to be pushed to hurt my brother because of you." he said and smiled as hell began looking like a fancy matches. His power helped move things along nicely and he smiled. "Lets see just how much Alana thinks I've changed." he said quietly. Alana ran smelling the scent of Less until they got to the bears cave. She stopped. It was odd it just disappeared. She thought about it and sighed. She knew were they were. Furthermore, she clapped her hands creating a portal. Furthermore, she pulled James through with her. Lessa growled more at him. She was not in the mood, and she was not going to let him treat her like a dumb pet. She laid down sadly. Furthermore, she wanted Alana. Furthermore, she had no idea what was going on and wanted it to end so bad. James followed threw the portal and looked around. "You brought us to a house?" he hissed confused. Thomas smiled seeing his brother and Alana. "Welcome...." he said standing from his throne. James looked up at him shocked. Red power glowed around Thomas and darkness bowed at his feet. "I'm glad you could join us." Thomas said and sat back down. James saw Less and anger swelled within him. "Thomas! Let less ago!" he snapped angrily grabbing the hilt of his sword. "There's no need for violence brother. She will be free in time." Thomas said and then looked at Alana. Half of him wanted to go to her and comfort her and tell her everything would be alright. But the stronger half that was feeding off of his pain from his broken heart wanted to see her tremble and taste her fear. The stronger half wanted to make her feel the pain that she had caused him. Less saw Alana and tried to run to her but was pulled short by her chain. She wined and growled. She wanted her friend. The only person she knew that could comfort her. Alana growled looking around. She stared at Less tied to the chair. She figured what had happened. Furthermore, she figured exactly what was going on. The devil had to find a new host, and he chose Thomas." Thomas let her go. This has nothing to do with her." She kept her face neutral. She was not going to let him see her fear. The devil lived off of fear and she knew it. James looked at Less, and it took all his control not to go to Less and free her. "No it isn't." Thomas said softly and looked at her. "You out of everyone should know exactly what this is about." Thomas said stepping down from the throne. "You of all people should know why Thomas was chosen as my vessel." he said and turned to James. "She is free brother. Go comfort your lover." he said and the chains and shackles fell away from Less. James ran to Less's side and kneeled next to her. "Less... Are you alright?" he whispered looking into her eyes. Thomas smiled and looked at Alana. "I invite you to stay, for dinner.... Or I strongly insist." he said smiling and demons came out armed and others brought out food and set it on the large table. Alana frowned a moment. She was starting to really get angry. She wanted to just beat the crap out of him or demand he be set free. Instead, she kept her face neutral and walked over to the table and sat down. Now was not the time to do this. She needed to keep calm and make sure that she was careful. Lessa wined and licked James on the face. She wagged her tail and then turned back to Thomas growling. She bent low on the ground ready to attack him again. James wrapped his arms around Less's neck and kissed her head happy that she was okay. Thomas smiled and snapped his fingers teleporting James and Less aback to Earth. James swore and tried going back, but he couldn't. Thomas sat next to Alana and smiled as he took some food and put it on her plate and got his own. "So do you know the reason? Or are you stupider than Thomas's favor of your intelligence?" he asked smartly and took a bite of the food. She rolled her eyes. She didn't say anything nor did she eat. Furthermore, she just sat there watching him with a blank expression. Furthermore, she was not going to be beat by him. Furthermore, she would sit here and ignore him forever if she had to. Furthermore, she refused to even consider talking to him. Never would she try to eat this. Lessa howled loudly. She wanted Alana back. She growled and scratched the ground trying to dig her way back. Thomas smirked and looked at her. "Its amazing.... Thomas is a real fool..." he said and stood. He walked to the throne and sat down. "You obviously do not care about him right now.... He believed you would understand.... Being a demon yourself...." he said and smiled. "I'm really enjoying my new body.... Though I'm very annoyed by your lover's persistence to stay in the body." he said and grinned. "So I devised a lovely method of torturing his spirit which is in my custody.... But he just doesn't seem to break.... So I brought you here... You are the last piece I have to break, and this body will be mine." he said and stood. She continued to watch him not moving and still not speaking. She knew if she waited long enough she would figure it out. She would find a way to stop all of this. There had to be a way and she had to find it out. She frowned slightly. She was starting to truly get angry. Furthermore, she would free Thomas, and she would make sure it never happened again. He smiled and looked at her. "Just remain as you are my dear and this shall break Thomas for sure..." he said and waved his hand bringing up a picture of Thomas. Except he was slightly seen threw, it was his soul. "You see.... I ask if she loves you and this is all the reaction I get.... The fight is useless." he said to the soul. The soul was writhing on the ground in pain as power ran threw it. Though it screamed you could hear nothing. "What a shame.... I think you were tricked this whole time Thomas..." he said evil and the soul reached out to Alana in pain but the picture disappeared. "Now all I have to do is show him your lifeless body and his now slipping grip will release this body." he said smiling and clapped his hands. Demons appeared and surrounded her. "Any last requests my dear?" he asked smirking as he sat back down on the throne. Alana frowned. She felt herself crying as she saw his tormented soul. She sighed and stood up. When the demons surrounded her she paused." Yes I have a last word. Thomas knows I will forever love him. If I have to die to do it you will release him." She glared at him. She was done playing his games. Furthermore, she wanted her love back. Furthermore, she transformed into her demon self and flew up in the air. Furthermore, she swooped down and attacked a nearby demon slashing at him with her claws. Sitting back he watched smirking as she slaughtered demons. He folded his hands and studied her. What a creature he had created. He felt his hassle's body drawn towards her and his smile broadened. Why not take advantage of the body's lust? He stood and jumped into the air grabbing Alana by the neck and slamming her into the ground. He smiled at her and growled. "You my dear, are something." he said and grinned. Thomas pounded angrily on the devil's control inside of him and screamed and did everything he could possibly do to help Alana. He suddenly broke threw the devil's hold and regained control. He let go of her and made himself walk backwards. "Alana.... Run..." he said in his normal voice, but soon the devil took control once again and growled angrily. Alana screamed loudly as she was attacked." No Thomas I won't leave you. Please let him go. I'll do anything. Have my body." She backed away slightly. She wanted him free so bad. "Anything?" he asked his eyes flashing. Angry at the devil's thoughts Thomas fought harder sharing at the foul beast. "I have one price." he said grinning and looked her over. "You find me a stable body... And become my personal servant and do everything I tell you." he said lust dancing in his eyes. Thomas fought harder and harder and broke the devil's control again and shouted,"Alana run! Dammit! Run!" but the devil took over again. "Really..." the devil said and made the picture of Thomas's soul appear again and waved his hand making Thomas feel more pain. "What is your choice dear?" he asked smirking as he glanced at Thomas's obvious screams against this, but they were silent. She looked at him a moment with hatred in her eyes." Fine I'll do it. But promise that James Thomas and Less will never be harmed again by you or anyone you know. I will do it if you promise me that." She sighed and sat down. She would regret this, but Thomas was worth it. He smiled evil and nodded. "You have my word." he said and snapped his fingers. A metal collar appeared around her neck and Thomas's soul slumped to the floor released of the pain. "But he stays... Until I get my body." he said and sat on the throne and smiled at her. "Be off." he said waving his hand and opened the portal and sent her threw. He smirked once she was gone and looked at Thomas's soul. "You proved to be so much more than your worth Thomas." he said, and the soul slammed against the picture angrily trying to hurt him. "Nice try... But you are trapped until your lover returns... Or should I say my lover." he said and laughed evil. Alana landed next to James and Less. Less jumped up licking her face." James.... Your brother will be free in a little while, and you are to take him away from here. And please take care of Less for me." She took off crying to the nearby village to find a new body for the devils soul. James watched Alana go shocked and looked at Less. "I don't know what's going on... But something tells me it isn't good..." he whispered to her and looked into her eyes. "But we need to stay together...." he whispered confused. Alana wandered into the town and found a guy who seemed rather strong. She lured him away and towards the woods. She kissed him and kept luring him farther in. When she got far enough in she tackled him knocking his head into a tree and causing him to go unconscious. She picked up the body and created a portal going through. The devil smiled seeing Alana return and stood. He examined the body and nodded. "Perfect." he said and looked at Alana. He smiled and suddenly Thomas'a body crumpled tithe ground lifelessly as the darkness left and entered the new host. The devil now taking control of the new body smiled and stood. He looked at the soul and waved his hand. Thomas's soul returned to the body, and he took in a shuddering breath. "My part of the deal has been filled." he said and wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close and growled. Thomas opened his eyes and coughed. "Let her go!" he snapped angrily and staggered to his feet. "I don't think so." the devil said and before Thomas could grab Alana's hand he was teleported back to earth. Alana felt a tear fall as Thomas disappeared. She put her head down and sighed. She had lost him forever but at least he would be safe. Furthermore, she felt horrible. Furthermore, she had lost her one true love, and now she felt like dying. She kept her eyes downcast as she cried softly. Furthermore, she felt herself fall to the ground. Furthermore, she couldn't stop the heaving sobs. Furthermore, she cried loudly and sorrowfully. Furthermore, she had lost him. Lessa ran up and licked Thomas as he appeared. She wined at him looking for Alana. Thomas blinked looking at Tessa and swore. He coughed having landed rather badly and the wind had been knocked out of him. "Alana... I need to go back..." he whispered hoarsely, but James pushed him back down. "No way! Thomas you're covered in horrible cuts... You need healing now." James said sternly and Thomas was surprised. So the soul getting cut affected the body in the same way when returning... The devil smiled loving her pain and pounced on her pinning her to the ground. He laughed and looked at her hungrily. "You are all mine now..." he said evil and smiled evil. Suddenly Less transformed back. She frowned a moment. This was unusual."What's going on? Is it morning already?" Alana frowned as he got on top of her. She kicked at him struggling." Let me go. I have done all you wanted now let me be sad on my own." Thomas looked at Less pushing James away as he finished bandaging him. "Alana... The devil has her... He probity broke your bond... You're human now..." he said looking at her. Surprised James quickly draped Less with his shirt and looked at Thomas. "I thought you were the devil now?" he said confused. "Not anymore..."the devil smiled evil and looked at her. "And in our little agreement you agreed to do anything I tell you to. And I want you to make love with me like you would with Thomas..." he whispered in her ear and bit it. He growled then and kissed her wanting her now. Less looked at them a moment." I can't feel her anymore. This is bad. What happened?" Alana frowned and sighed." Fine but let's get it over with. And no matter how much you want it is will never be like when I'm with Thomas. I can't do it." She kissed him on his mouth halfheartedly hating it so much. James wrapped his arms around Less and kissed her head. "You're human... Alana belongs to the devil now, and he broke your bond with her..." Thomas explained quietly. The devil smiled and had his way with her. When he was satisfied he got up and left. Snapping his fingers she was teleported into a doorless and windowless room. He would call on her when she was needed again. Less laid her head on his shoulder."She's going to be so lonely. We have to save her." Alana sat down with her back against the wall. She closed her eyes but didn't sleep. She thought of Less and Thomas. Furthermore, she hoped they were safe. Thomas looked at her and then at the ground. "We can't... She made the deal so we couldn't interfere..." he whispered. The pain for him was clear, and the physical pain didn't help either. He needed Alana... Without her, he felt like he was dying. James stroked Less's head lovingly and kissed her forehead. "We'll figure out something..." he whispered to her reassuringly. Thomas then got up and walked away mumbling that he needed fresh air. When he was far enough away he thought of Alana and opened a portal to her. He stepped threw and seeing her he pulled her into his arms and kissed her head. He was so happy the devil hadn't thought of this. "Alana... I love you..." he whispered letting his tears of releaf fall. Alana looked up and gave him a hug and a kiss." I love you so much. I can't stand it. Furthermore, I just had to do it Thomas. Furthermore, I couldn't let him do that to you. It hurt me so much." Lessa sighed as she was left here alone with James. She kissed him tenderly. She just wanted to stay with him forever but right now she was so worried about Alana. Thomas looked into her eyes and nodded. "I know... But I'm here... And I'll keep coming back every chance I can get... I can't bring you back to earth yet, but I'll figure out someway to... I promise..." he whispered and kissed her softly on the lips. James kissed back and stroked her head. He knew she was worried and so was he... But he knew that Thomas would not stop until Alana was safe again. Alana kissed him back hard and hungrily. She had to get the taste of the devil out of her mouth. The feel of him off of her body. Lessa kissed James on the mouth. She needed to kiss him. She needed to love him.(shoot foursome ^.^) ((lol FOOT!)) Thomas kissed Alana back passionately and never wanted to let her go. He had fought too hard to ever let her out of his arms. He kissed down her neck and growled before biting there. Furthermore, he then kissed the red spot and returned to her lips. Furthermore, he pushed her down onto the ground and couldn't stop. Furthermore, he wanted her so bad. James smiled and kissed Less aback. Her ran his hands down her sides and pushed her down. He needed her and wanted her badly. He slowly began kissing her neck and began slowly taking his shirt off of her. Alana let Thomas have her. She wanted this. This made her happy. She had finally got the feel and the smell of the devil off of her skin. She felt the collar on her neck and sighed. Furthermore, she was a slave and always would be. Lessa moaned some and let him remove her clothes. She let him take here. She wanted this. It made her feel so much better. Thomas smiled and layer next to Alana. He kept her in his arms and kissed her head. "I love you Alana..." he whispered lovingly. He stroked her cheek and never wanted to let her go. James laid next to Less and looked at her smiling. He kissed her head and stroked her hair lovingly. He loved having her so close and not having to worry about anything else because all that mattered was her. (nice outfit btw)Alana sighed and looked at him." You can't be here. You will be in trouble. I can't stand the idea of you hurt." She kissed him gently. She felt herself tear up." I am no longer free to be yours. I gave myself to save you." Lessa sighed and kissed him." We have to find out a way to help Alana." Thomas looked at her knowingly and kissed her on the lips softly. "I don't care... I'll make this work... I'll find some way to free you so we can truly be together again...." he whispered and kissed her ear. "Until I fiver it out I will find you every night...." he whispered and kissed her hand. A small intranet star appeared on her palm, and he kissed it softly making it glow. On his biceps glowed the same star and he smiled softly. "Just touch this, and I'll be there...." he whispered looking into her teary eyes. James nodded looking at her. "We will... I promise..." he whispered and kissed her softly. She smiled and hugged him. She stood up and pushed him away from her." Please leave before you get in trouble. I don't want to see you hurt. I love you too much." Lessa sighed and stood up. She went to the area where Thomas had disappeared." Where is he? What is taking him so long?" James followed her and shrugged. "Thomas goes off to think by himself a lot.... He's probity sitting in some tree right now thinking of how to save Alana." he said and ran a hand threw his hair. Thomas nodded and pulled on his pants. He hadn't worn a shirt because of all the bandages covering him. He then kissed Alana one last time and said quietly,"I love you." he heard the demons coming and quickly opened a portal. Furthermore, he looked back at her wishing he could bring her with him and walked threw. Furthermore, he appeared back on earth and pulled himself up onto a branch and sat staring at the lake and thinking of Alana. Less smiled at him. She really hoped he was ok. She hated the idea of him doing something rash." I hope it all works out." Alana watched him leave with tears in her eyes. She sat down on the ground and stared at a wall. There was nothing for her to do. James nodded feeling Thomas's anger and pain. "Hey... Let's find him..." he said softly throwing on his pants and not bothering with a shirt. He then grabbed his bow and sword and waited for her. Thomas stared out at the water letting his tears come. He hated being so weak. Why did he have to be so stupid as to walk threw that portal?!! Less hopped up and put on her clothes following him. She was curious to see what was going on with Thomas." I hope Alana's ok." Alana still sat in her room. She had no way to escape and no idea what to do. She was stuck and she was upset. "So do I..." James said quietly and took off into the woods. His bond was strong with Thomas so it only took a few minutes before he found his brother sitting on a tree branch. "Hey..." he said softly and Thomas looked up surprised. He then looked away heading his tears as he quickly whipped them away. "Hey..." Thomas whispered painfully and James pulled himself up onto the branch too. "What's up?" he asked quietly and Thomas explained everything. Less ran after James and saw Thomas. She sighed and decided to give them some privacy. She dived into the nearby lake after stripping down and went for a swim. Furthermore, she figured they needed time to talk. "So why not try your eyes?" James suggested and Thomas slapped himself in the head. He hasn't thought of that at all! It was so simple! "You're right!! The power from the beam should cut the collar clean off!" Thomas said and knew he would have to do this now. He touched his mark and whispered,"Alana... Is it all clear down there?" Alana looked around. She heard Thomas talking to her but didn't see him. She looked at her mark, and it was glowing." Yes Thomas it's fine." She wondered what it is he wanted now. Thomas smiled and nodded. "I'll be there in a second." he said softly SND opened the portal. He stepped threw and it closed behind him. He kneeled next to her and smiled. "I think I know how to free you..." he whispered looking into her eyes and taking her hands. Alana smiled. She kissed him tenderly and let him take her hands." How do you plan to do this?" "You know I have to cover my eyes during the day... Which is because if I take the cover off before the sun goes down the strongest beam of power erupts from my eyes... But at night I can control it... I can break that collar and quickly teleport us back to earth." he said smiling. He looked at her and into her eyes. "Do you trust me?" he asked softly. She frowned at him a moment." But if you do this......... Then we will be in danger. No matter what happened He can just summon me back. He has my soul. I belong to him now. Yes I do trust you Thomas. Do what you feel is necessary." She closed her eyes and waited. "I'm doing exactly what's necessary... And I know I can get your soul back." he whispered looking into her eyes. He then forced his beams out of his eyes and cut the collar. It fell to the ground with a clink and he smiled. He kissed her neck lovingly and then her lips. "Go back to earth... I'll be there in a few minutes..." he whispered opening the portal. She grabbed onto him and held him to her." Not without you." Thomas nodded and gave in. "Fine but be perfectly quiet and stay right behind me..." he said and stood. Taking her hand he began to stealthily sneak threw the halls. He killed a demon getting too close with his dagger and hid the body. He then stopped at a guarded chamber and concentrated on his power. Furthermore, he turned into rock and in his hands grew sharp stone daggers. Furthermore, he threw them both at the demons killing them and smiled. Furthermore, he quickly opened the door and inside was Alana's soul. Smiling he moved to get it but was thrown backwards as the devil appeared in a ball of flame. Alana fell backwards as Thomas fell. She landed on the ground and looked at the devil. She frowned and stood up running to Thomas." Are you ok?" She looked at the devil with a sad expression on her face. She knew they were in huge trouble now. "Yeah...." Thomas struggled to say and smiled. "I got it..." he whispered ever so softly moving his lips barely at all. Now all they had to do was wait for an opening and get the hell out of here. "How dare you!!" the devil snarled SND threw a fireball at Alana. Thomas stepped in front of her becoming fire himself SND smirked. "Nice try." he said and the devil snarled. "Hey do you still have her soul?" Thomas said, and the devil looked behind him. Thomas grabbed Alana and jumped threw the portal, and it closed just in time. Thomas coughed having the wind knocked out of him and James ran up. "Did you get it?" he asked and Thomas grinned and nodded. He sat up and smiled at Alana. He held up his diamond necklace. And inside glowed her souk. "Touch it, and you get your soul back..." he whispered lovingly. Alana gasped and reaching out touched it. She felt her soul finally return to her. She wrapped her arms around Thomas and gave him a kiss."You've saved me. But what about my contract?" James grinned and Thomas chuckled. "I can be in two places at once..." Thomas said and James laughed. "Yeah his other half took care of it." James said and grinned. He then leaned against a tree and looked at Thomas. "You need to get some rest... You were almost killed..." James said and Thomas nodded. "True... Remind me not to do something stupid like that again... That's your Job..." Thomas said and smiled. "Right. So let me do my job and you get yourself better." James said and Thomas rolled his eyes. "Yes mother." Thomas said smartly. "Don't make me smack you." James growled. Alana sighed and looked around." Where is Less at?" Lessa meanwhile was still swimming around having fun. She did so love the water. James smiled and looked out in the lake. "My little water wolf is swimming." he said with a smile. Thomas nodded and leaned again a tree. "She's been having fun the whole time..." Thomas said and chuckled. "Nothing seems to get my girl down." James said smiling softly. Less came back on the shore and ran up to Alana with a smile." Alana I'm so happy your back. Are you ok?"Alana smiled at her." Yes Less it's fine. I am happy to see you are alright also. Have you been being good and having fun?" Thomas smiled closing his eyes. He listened to every one and slowly slumped against the tree more and fell asleep. James chuckled seeing this and jerked his head towards his brother after making eye contact with Alana. "Look who's out cold.... I haven't seen him so whipped sense we were kids..." he said with a soft chuckle. Alana chuckled and kissed him on the forehead." James Less I need a bath and a swim you guys want to come? We will let Thomas get some sleep." ((hey love. I was wondering why you aren't posting on fruits' basket. We need you too.)) James nodded and grinned. "A swim sounds good." he said and took off his sword belt and bow. He then smiled waiting for the other two to get in. He knew that someone should protect Thomas, but he was sure he was fine... Except for all the wounds of course... (o darn lol I got left out and stopped posting lol tell me what's happened and ill post)Alana and Less ran and stripped off their clothes. They jumped into the lake and started swimming around. They swam underwater and came up making a splash and laughing. ((okay so like everybody went into town and visited Nevi's shop. Then there was a lot of talking and Mega asked Lyon why Satori hates him and KO told him that he would tell him some other time. Then KO walked Yukon (the dog) home and kissed her. They're kinda close now but no one knows except for Yuki. So now everybody has turned in for the night. So I was thinking Satori should suspect something's up with KO when she asks him to visit... It would cause major drama.)) James laughed and dived into the water. He then came back up and splashed both girls laughing. He loved this and was really enjoying himself. Thomas woke hearing laughing and blinked seeing everyone in the water. He smiled longingly wishing he could swim but these horrible cuts and bruises were screaming in pain by just sitting here... If he moved he knew the pain would be ten times worse. (Awesome idea skies I will post asap........lots of drama going on right now :(and its driving me crazy.......) Alana frowned a moment looking at the spot she left Thomas and getting out walked over to him." Are you ok?" Lessa dived under and came up grabbing James by his legs and pulling him under with her kissing him under the water. Thomas looked up and smiled loving seeing Alana dripping wet. "Yes... I'm fine... Just sore." he said and patted the grass next to him. He wanted to spend time with her as much as he could. James was surprised but then kissed Less aback underwater. It was an amazing moment and when he came back up for air she was still in his arms. He grinned at her and shook his head spraying her with water. Alana sat next to him and looked at him a moment. She put her hands on his sore muscles and closed her eyes letting her energy alleviate the pain." That feel better?" Lessa kisses James gently on his neck just below his ear. She bit him slightly. Thomas closed his eyes and let the releaf wash over him. "Yes... That feels so much better... Thank you..." he whispered. He then leaned up and kissed her softly cupping her cheek. He had thought he would never be able to kiss her again after she had made that deal with the devil. James groaned softly and loved the feel of Less's kiss and bite. He then kissed her passionately and then kissed her neck. He could never get enough of her. Alana smiled as he kissed her. She snuggled gently to his chest and petted his head playing with his hair. Lessa grinned and pushed James away playfully swimming away from him leading him to a chase. Thomas smiled at Alana and held her close. "I love you..." he whispered softly into her ear. He loved her soft touch, and it put him at ease. He held her lovingly and loved the feel of the cool water on her bare skin. It felt good against his hot skin. James laughed and swam after her easily catching up. He then grabbed her pulling her under and kissed her until he needed breath and brought them both to the surface. Alana chuckled and nibbled on his ear." I love you also." Lessa kissed him back. She came up gasping in his arms and wrapped her legs around his waste. Thomas moaned softly lovingly the feel of Alana nibbling on his ear. His grip on her tightened and want pulsed threw him. He then leaned his head down and kissed her neck and nibbled there softly. He then a bit there lightly and growled playfully. James grinned and held Less close. "I won't the chase... And I love my prize." he said smiling and kissed her lovingly. He just couldn't resist her. Alana moaned as she felt Thomas nibble and kiss her neck. He felt so good. She leaned to him and kissed him hard on the lips hungry for him. Lessa sighed as she felt him. She loved him so much. He was all she wanted for the rest of her life. Thomas kissed Alana back and silently thanked her for making him feel great again. He pulled her closer crushing her against his chest and a hand ran down her side. He took one of her legs in his hand on put it on the side of him. Furthermore, he was still propped up against the tree, but he didn't care. James kissed back Less lovingly and walked backwards until feeling the sand. He then stopped and fell backwards lightly. He smiled up at he and chuckled and bit her neck. Alana sighed as she felt him position her on top of him. She grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck. She kissed him hard on the lips hard squishing him to her chest. Lessa chuckled as she fell on top of him and kissed him hard. She did so love the feel of his body next to her. Thomas kissed Alana back fiercely and loved being so close to her. She was so perfect, and he never wanted to let her go. He then wiggled out of his pants slightly and ran his hands down her body. He then rested his hands on her his and kissed her hungrily and bit her lip. James smiled and kissed Less aback. He ran his hands down her body and then flipped so he was onto. He just loved the feel of her under him as he kissed her and never wanted this moment to end. Alana moaned slightly pushing him down flat on the ground. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him long and hard. She just loved him so much. Lessa kissed back. Being a very submissive person Less allowed James to lead her. She had never been one to take control before unless in transformation of course. Thomas kissed Alana back just as fiercely and smiled. He flipped them over and began kissing down her body. He nibbled and a bit there kissed and sucked here. Furthermore, he loved the taste of her skin and no one but her could quench his want and need. James Smiled leading her slowly and passionately. Soon nothing stood between them as he kissed her lovingly. He needed her and her being so beautiful and wet made his want unavoidable. Alana growled and transformed to her demon self. She made love to him fairly not caring about his wounds just wanting him inside of her. She roared loudly and then lay next to him panting as she went back to her human self." I love you." Lessa allowed him to lead her into sex. She growled as she felt them combine into one. It felt wonderful to her. When it was over she laid down in his arms snuggling to his chest. She loved him so much. Thomas panted and laid next to Alana. "I love you..." he gasped between breaths. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her still hot body. "That was.... amazing..." he whispered loving his little demon more and more every second. James smiled and held Less lovingly. "I love you..." he whispered lovingly and kissed the top of her head. He loved this beautifully amazing girl in his arms and was finally able to say he had found the right girl for him. Alana looked at him a moment and smiled. Thanks to him, she would finally be able to live her life the way she wanted to. Her life was doing well. She might be able to be with her love now forever. Lessa grinned at him. "I love you to." She just wanted to stay with him forever in this spot and never move. Thomas looked at Alana and smiled. He stroked her cheek and could feel his aches and pain coming back, but he said nothing. He didn't want to ruin this moment and knew she wanted to stay like this. James smiled loving to hear those words uttered from her mouth and kissed her softly. He never wanted to move and nothing else in the world mattered. Less only mattered. Suddenly randomly and for no apparent reason the water of the lake erupted upwards and a giant monster appeared. It immediately swallowed Less whole who screamed as she felt herself being eaten. Alana jumped up and ran towards the lake motioning for Thomas to stay put." Lessa" She screamed.(bored lol :P) James growled and burst into flames and jumped at the water monster. He had his blade in hand, and it burst into flames as well. He attacked the monster and slashed at it like a mad man. But he was. This thing had ripped his love out of his arms and had eaten her. It was going to die. "Less!!!" he screamed angrily. Thomas ignored Alana and jumped to his feet. He burst into fire as well and hefted his sword as well. He ran at the monster and began fighting alongside his brother. Alana growled as she tried to help them attack the monster. She took the opportunity to climb up to its mouth. It reached down and swallowed her as well. She closed her eyes ready for the smell. When she opened her eyes she was inside the monster and growled. She could see ok at night and in the dark so she looked around for less. Less was unconscious. She picked her up in her arms and tried to awaken her, but she was unconscious. She put her back down and began to lash at the monsters insides to try to free herself and less. Seeing Alana get eaten as well sadness and madness overwhelmed him. "Alana!!!!" he screamed and went at the monster with more ferocity. She was his everything and he had lost her... And this monster was going to pay. Suddenlypowet welled up inside Thomas, and he turned to pure ice. He shot it at the monster and began freezing it. It screamed in pain as it slowed and with the last of its strength it lashed out at Thomas knocking him unconscious and throwing him underwater. James didn't even notice and slashed out at the monster shattering it to a million pieces and saw Less and Alana. He quickly caught Less and led Alana out of the water. "Are you two okay?" he asked breathing hard. Alana growled as she looked around for Thomas. She saw his hand seeping below the water and waded out to grab him. She pulled him out of the water and laid him out on the ground. Furthermore, she tried to wake him up but he wouldn't wake." James Help." She yelled. Surprised James ran to Thomas's side and looked his brother over. His wounds were bleeding badly again and he wasn't breathing. James began working on him and water came out of his mouth and lungs. Suddenly Thomas's eyes snapped open and he laughed out water. He sat up gasping for air as he shook his head. Alana backed away waiting to see what would happen. She noticed Less and ran up to her. She tried to wake her up, but she had a large bump on her head. Alana sighed. They would have to wait for her to awaken on her own. Thomas blinked but couldn't see. His vision was clouded. "Alana.... Alana.... Is she alive? Where's Alana?" he asked muttering it over and over again. James put a comforting hand on Thomas and yet his brother didn't relax. "Thomas.... Thomas... Calm down we saved them both. Alana is right here." James said and looked at Alana and then kneeled next to Less. "My brother needs you right now." he said looking at her and then reached out and stroked Less's head gently. Thomas wiped his eyes vigorously and slowly, but surely his vision was coming back. Alana ran back to Thomas and gave him a kiss on his cheek." Please don't worry love I'm here." She kissed him tears falling down her face. Thomas held onto Alana tightly and kissed her passionately. He then opened his eyes and could really see again. He wiped away her tears and looked at her lovingly. "Don't cry love...." he whispered, but his own tears were coming on their own. "I thought I had lost you...." he whispered and hugged her fiercely and stroked her head. He didn't want to think about almost loosing her. Alana smiled at him still crying some."Don't worry my love. It takes a lot to kill me. Now I have to check on Less." She walked over to Less and looked at her. She was breathing so that was good. Thomas wiped away his tears and looked at Less. "She'll be fine..." he said and James looked at his brother released. "She just needs rest.... We all need rest..." he said and noticed blood on Alana. Worry stabbed at him and then he looked down at his chest. He was bleeding horribly. His head began spinning and James's eyes widened. "Thomas..... Thomas!" he said as his brother fell over and was out cold in the sand and bleeding. Alana growled. She picked Thomas up and Less up. She carried them to a nearby cave and laid them down on the ground. Furthermore, she was tired and bleeding. Furthermore, she made some homemade pallets and let them sleep. Furthermore, she sat down and made a fire. Furthermore, she sat there looking into it trying to figure out what to do next. James helped best he could and then staring into the fire he shook his head. Thomas was out cold, and he was the medical genius... "Alana I'm no doctor, but you should take care of those wounds." he said softly SND looked at her. Alana pulled out a knife that she kept in her shoe and slit her wrist. She let her blood fall on Thomas wounds and they immediately healed up. She did the same for Less." Are you injured?" James shook his head and looked at her. "Just a few minor scratches. Nothing to fret over." he said and then moved to sit by her after grabbing bandages from the pack. He then looked at her evenly and smiled the same smile Thomas usually did. "Now let's look at those wounds. I'm no doctor, but I can do pretty good with wrapping a wound." he said smiling reassuringly.((you know what would be horribly awesome? If James and Alana had an affair! Dun dun dun! Just an evil thought.)) (OMG fabulous ^.^ let's do it)Alana smiled and looked down at her body. She had a few minor cuts. One very deep one on her chest. She took off her shirt so she could look at it better." I wouldn't worry. My wounds heal up very fast." ((lol I feel so evil awesome!!)) James was surprised and looked away. But he just couldn't ignore the feeling. As if she was drawing him in. He turned back to her and smiled reassuringly. "Hey, just hold still, and I'll wipe off some blood so we can see how bad it is." he said softly and moved closer. Taking some badges he pressed her wound lightly and began wiping off the blood. He leaned in closer unconsciously and kept his eyes on his work. He then turned away to grab more bandages unimpressed slightly harder this time as the pull from her became harder to resist. (yay for being evil!!!) Alana watched him a moment. She realized just how much like Thomas James looked. In fact, she could hardly tell the difference between the two. It was strange because she was starting to feel an attraction towards James. She was confused. As he treated her cut she just stared at him unsure of her own emotions right now. ((yay!)) James smiled when he was done and then looked her over. His breath caught in his throat knowing it was a fatal move. He could only stare at her beautiful body and wanted her. It was as if he was in love with Less because of her innocence and yet wanting Alana because she was the complete opposite. He wanted to taste those lips and that beautiful body was just inviting him in. He then forced himself away and drew a breath. What was he thinking? He couldn't hurt Thomas like that... But no one needed to know right? Alana looked over at Thomas sleeping and Less also. She could do anything she wanted to, and they would never figure out. She inched closer to James and leaned close to him putting her head on his shoulder. Furthermore, she knew this was wrong to both Less and Thomas but she didn't care. Furthermore, she was lusting after James and that was all she cared about for now. James was surprised but loved it when Alana leaned against him. She was the darker side of life and he wanted it. And he was the darker twin. They would be amazing together and he knew it. He wrapped his arms around her and leaned down and kisses the base of her neck. He then couldn't help himself and a bit there softly. Alana felt the bite and moaned a bit. She wanted this so badly." James....." She jumped on him tackling him to the ground and kissing him passionately. James grinned and let himself get pinned by her. He kissed her fiercely and dangerously. He ran his hands down her wanting to know this uncharted territory. Furthermore, he growled and massaged her hips. Furthermore, he listed for her greatly, and he wasn't planning on holding anything back. She was something that he wouldn't pass up. "Alana..." he growled, and her name tasted sweet on his tongue. He then forced his tongue into her mouth wanting to really taste her. She moaned slightly. She wanted James. Thomas was no longer on her mind. Less was a distant memory. All she wanted right now was James. She wanted to feel his strong hands on her. She wanted to feel him on her. Furthermore, she just wanted him. Furthermore, she bit down on his neck hard. James growled deeply and darkly when Alana bit his neck. He bit back just as hard. He then ripped her pants off of her and ran his hands down her. Furthermore, he loved the feel of her skin and evil ideas crossed his mind as he touched her. So many things he could do to have her writhing at his feet.... He then pulled her down crushing her against him and kissed her fiercely and bit her lip growling. This connection was overwhelming, and he totally forgot about Less and even his twin brother. All that matter was getting what he wanted. And he wanted Alana. Alana moaned loudly as she felt him pull her on him. She cried out slightly as he ripped her pants. She was totally getting revved up. Furthermore, she wanted him so bad, but her logical mind was starting to take over. Furthermore, she began to try to pull away from him." James this is wrong. We shouldn't do this."(I give you permission to rape her LMAO) ((hahaha not yet.)) James growled and held her closer. "We're doing nothing wrong..." he whispered seductively. His hands caressing her and touching her knowing it was making her go wild. "Nothing feeling this amazing could be wrong..." he whispered again. He held her tightly and wanted her so badly that he would do anything to have her make love with him. No one would know. And they could even keep seeing each other if they wanted. "No one will know... No one but you... And me..." he said as he kissed and nibbled her ear. He did not want to rape her but if it came down to it, he would. He wanted them to make love fiercely together. Alana moaned as she felt him touching her again. It felt so wonderful, and he was right no one would know. It would be there little secret. She was sure nothing bad would turn up from this. She just wanted him so badly. Furthermore, she kissed him back. But her logical mind could not stop pestering her. She was dishonoring Thomas by doing this. She was going to break Less as heart. Why would she do this? She loved Thomas so much." I don't know. I love Thomas and I would hate to hurt him like this." James growled the deep sexy sound coming from him and his breath caressed her skin. "A true demon like yourself... Would be forgiven by my brother easily.... And I have my ways... He won't know..." he said and kept his hands on her and kissed her body. He knew he was pushing it, and he was really needing her now. "Doesn't it feel right." he whispered hitting her weak spot and smiled wickedly. She moaned slightly. It did feel so good but she wasn't comfortable with this."Please, James I can't do this." She tried to pull away from him and stand up to walk away. She couldn't do this. Furthermore, she couldn't hurt Thomas and she couldn't hurt Less. James grinned and knew that now was the time to use his little power he had kept secret from Thomas. As he touched her he dispelled the thoughts of Thomas and Less. He only filled her with fantasies of them together and growled. He had used this on his brother once and found it very affective. But he had only used it on girls who clung to him... And Alana counted right now... And he never wanted her to stop clinging. Alana paused. She forgot what she was going to do. She looked at James and felt herself filled with desire for him. All she wanted was him. She growled and jumped on him. She kissed him hard. Furthermore, she attacked him. Furthermore, she just wanted him. Nothing else mattered to her all she wanted was to be with him. James grinned and knew he had her. And this was his chance. He made love with Alana fiercely. They made love long and hard, and he loved becoming one with someone so much like him... So dark and dangerous.... He could not love Less alike this, she was too fragile. But he held nothing back from Alana. When they had finished Alana sat up. She was so confused. She felt like she was forgetting something. Furthermore, she was forgetting someone, and it made her head hurt. Furthermore, she looked at James and was once again filled with desire. This was unusual. She wasn't sure what it was she had forgotten. James grinned and sat up and wrapped an arm around Alana. He knew what he did was wrong, but he had loved it. He then quickly made it so she forgot what happened and thought she had fallen asleep. "Alana... Do you feel any better after your nap?" he asked smoothly. There was something fun about using his mind power. And now he knew how much more fun it could be. (o the evilness of James UG. It would be hilarious if he got her pregnant >Alana woke up and looked at him with a frown." O I am fine. I wasn't aware I fell asleep." She felt like she had been dreaming, but the memory of the dream was hazy. She stood up and walked to Thomas kissing him on his forehead. He was still asleep. She put a hand on Less as chest to watch her breathing. She seemed ok. ((oh that would be horrible!!)) James smirked, and then it fell away as he looked at his soft and fragile Less. He smiled softly and took her handing his. He kissed her hand gently and stroked her cheek. His darkness completely locked away like before and nothing but care for his love and brother was in his mind. Thomas groaned feeling those sweet lips leave him and he blinked slowly. He felt like shit. "Your awake my love I'm so happy." She bent down and kissed him again. She loved him so much. Nothing would change that. Lessa groaned. She was in pain and she felt bad. She didn't open her eyes, but she felt around her for James. Furthermore, she wanted to feel her love. Thomas smiled up at Alana. "Me too.... I love seeing my beautiful angel when I wake." he whispered and reached up and stroked her cheek. He then sat up and kissed her lovingly. James smiled and pulled Less into his arms. "I'm right here my love...." he whispered soothingly and kissed her head. He then stroked her head lovingly and smiled softly. He was glad she was awake now. Alana kissed him gently." As long as my prince is awake this angel will be here for you." She stroked his chest and laid down next to him cuddling him. Lessa looked at James with a weak smile." I dreamed about you." Thomas smiled and wrapped his arms around Alana. He kissed her head and loved having her so close. "I don't know what I would do without you.... I love you so much..." he whispered lovingly and kissed her ear. James smiled and stroked her cheek. "Was it a good dream?" he asked lightly hoping she was begging to feel better. He hated seeing her hurt like this. (its like he totally forgot he just cheated on her lol)Alana smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "And I love you." Lessa frowned a moment and then smiled." It was unusual. You see I had a dream that you were running away from me and I couldn't catch you. It was strange." ((lol. James has two sides of him. His dark side and his light side. His dark side doesn't come out to play often so he just acts like nothing happened. Because nice James doesn't know what evil James does.)) Thomas smiled and held her close. She was his comfort and his reason to live. She was his world and he never wanted to lose her. Furthermore, she was very previous to him. James looked at Less softly and nodded. "That is odd..." he whispered but kissed her reassuringly. He loved his little angel. "But I promise you I won't run away." he said lovingly and kissed her ear. (ahhh dark sides ft lol ^.^ So what exciting thing should we do next? Maybe Less could have an evil twin. Lmfao sorry running out of ideas)Alana smiled at him and snuggled herself into his side. She was so happy whenever she was around him. Lessa howled suddenly and began to transform. It must have turned night without her realizing it. Thomas smiled and pulled Alana closer. He kissed her head and then asked softly,"How long was I out?" James was surprised, but he didn't want to let Less ago. Which was a bad idea on his part. She clawed him in the face, and he set her down holding half of his bleeding face. Alana growled as Less began to transform and hurt James badly. She kissed Thomas and stood up. She cut herself and let the blood drip on his face to heal up the wound." You were only out for an hour or so my love." Lessa took off out of the cave as fast as she could run. She was hungry. Thomas was surprised seeing James wound but smiled when Alana healed it. James smiled and sighed. "Thank you, Alana." he said and watched longingly as his love ran out of sight. "Well that's good. I was hoping I wouldn't be out for long." he said SND then smiled down at his now invisible wounds. "Did you heal me love?" he asked slightly as he pulled off the bandages. Alana smiled at him and went back to him." Yes My dear I did. Sorry bout Less James. She is unpredictable when she transforms. You will get used to it, I am sure." She stared at the entrance of the cave." She will feed and then come back to sleep." James nodded and sighed heavily. He leaned against the wall opposite of Thomas and closed his eyes. He was soon asleep for his lack of sleep and was out like a light. Thomas then smiled at Alana and took his bandages off. "Thank you." he said looking at his chest and not even a scratch lined his chest. She snuggled close to him and gave him a kiss." You shouldn't have to suffer anymore." Lessa howled in the night growling as she searched for prey. She heard a branch crack and launched herself at it. She tackled the human to the ground and tore out his throat. Thomas looked at her softly and kissed her lovingly. "You shouldn't either my love..." he whispered knowing that he would do anything and everything for his love. He would die for her and go to hell and back.... Again. James heard Less and prayed she had found a deer or some animal. He hated killing humans though, if she did, he would forgive her. She couldn't really control what she did in that form. Alana smiled at him. She stood up and went to the entrance." Lessa will be back soon. She has made a kill." Lessa drug the human back towards the cave. She drugs it inside towards the back and began to eat. Thomas and James looked at the mangled human horrified. They then looked at each other wide-eyed and turned to Alana. "Why do you let her do that?" they said at the same time. Alana frowned at them a moment." Sorry It just doesn't bother me. She was hungry. I eat humans to keep in mind. So I suppose It's never really bothered me. How do you control a werewolf anyway?" Lessa growled as she ate. Thomas and James looked at each other and then shook their heads. "Never mind..." they both said. James looked back at his love and then sat at the entrance of the cave. "I think I need to bathe." Thomas said and smiled. "You are free to join me if you like." he said smiling at Alana and kissing her hand before leaving for the lake. Alana walked after him quickly. She jumped into the air and took off flying. She dived into the lake quickly splashing water everywhere. Lessa looked up from her kill blood dripping from her fangs and walked over to James. She licked him on his face. She wagged her tail. Thomas laughed and stripped off his pants and jumped in after her. When he surfaced he grinned and shook his head. The water felt amazing on his skin and he was glad to have a lake like this nearby their cave. James was surprised but laughed when Less licked him. He wiped the slobber off his face and chuckled. "Are you feeling better now then Less?" he asked lightly. Alana dived under and grabbed his legs pulling him down with her. She kissed him underwater. Lessa growled happily as she licked her chops. She lay down and put her head on his lap. She wagged her tail happily. Thomas was surprised but smiled and kissed back Alana. He soon couldn't breathe and his lunges were screaming for air. He then surfaced again and gulped down air greedily. Furthermore, he then dove back under and grabbed Alana and kissed her again. Furthermore, he just never could get enough. James smiled and shook his head watching Less. When she laid her head down he smiled lovingly. "Well love, that's good that you aren't hungry anymore." he said lightly. Alana chuckled as he went to the surface and then came back for her. She went upwards still kissing him till they were at the surface. She did a backstroke around him in a circle smiling at him." So my love did you have any dreams?" Lessa wagged her tail some more.(so are they never going to find out what jams did?) ((in a little while I think they might... Maybe if he tries it again... *evil smirk*))Thomas smiled and shook his head no. He chuckled and looked at his beautiful demon. "Oh are you trying to seduce a poor traveler like me beautiful demon?" he asked smirking as he looked upon his love. James chuckled and scratched Less behind the ears seeing her wagging tail. "Well I'm glad you're feeling well." he said lightly and kissed the top of her furry head. (he ^.^ your evil)She continued to circle him with a smirk. She floated on her back letting her boobs stand above the water seductively. The water highlighting the perfect shape of them." Maybe." Lessa whined at him and then curled her head under his arm. She nipped at him playfully. She walked backwards and stuck her backside in the air spanking her front paws on the ground and yipping. ((he I love being evil!)) Thomas smiled and watched her and his eyes flashed lust and love. "Well I think your plan is working..." he said and caught her in his arms and cradled her close to his chest. "Just a little bit." he said and smirked. James smiled and chuckled. "So you want to play now do you?" he asked and laughed. He turned to her and jumped to his feet. He lunged at her playfully and laughed. Alana growled a bit. She bit him on his neck gently and growled a bit through her teeth. She was going to give him a hard time of it. Furthermore, she swam away from him pushing him against his chest to give her momentum and dived farther. Lessa yipped at him and leaped forward nipping his fingers. Thomas was surprised and his breath caught. Her bite had him almost stunned. When she swam away he grinned. He would go after always. He dived after her and soon caught up with her. Furthermore, he grabbed her and pulled her close to him. James laughed and chased her around. He then wrapped his arms around her neck and scratched her behind the ears. "You're a hyper little wolf now aren't you?" he said lightly and chuckled. Alana grinned as he caught her and swam upwards with her arms around his neck." I love you so much my dear."She said kissing him as they came up to the surface. Lessa licked his face gently. She whined some and pounced on him making him fall to his back on the ground. Thomas kissed Alana lovingly and when they reached the surface he gasped for breath before returning to her lips. He loved her so much. He never wanted another to touch her, and he never wanted her to get hurt again. His passion for her was threatening to exp load as he pulled her as close as possible to him. James laughed as he fell and looked up at her. "And what are you doing now?" he asked and laughed. Alana chuckled some and swam to the surface." Come on love lets go check on Less and James." Lessa wagged her tail and nipped at his nose. She licked him on the face and then climbed off of him and snuggled into his chest. Thomas nodded and followed Alana to the shore. He wondered if she was trying to turn him on and then purposefully not give him anything. But he remained quiet. He loved her more than anything in the world, and he was willing to go to the ends of the world for her. James laughed and then when she cuddled to in he began petted her. "I love you Less..." he whispered lovingly. She climbed onto the shore and headed towards the cave. She sighed. For some reason she felt like someone was wrong and she just didn't want to do anything. She stopped in front of the cave and turned to Thomas. She gave him a kiss."I'm sorry." Lessa yipped happily at him and snuggled closer. Thomas kissed her softly and smiled. "It's perfectly fine." he said and then sighed. "Where's my shirt?" he muttered as he pulled on his pants. "You go check in on Less and James... I've got to find my shirt... It's my last one." he said and smiled reassuringly. "I'll be back soon." he said and disappeared into the trees. James smiled and petted Less lovingly. He kissed her ear and chuckled as he saw it twitch. She was so cute, and he wondered how anyone could be scared of someone as innocent as her. Alana nodded and headed up towards the cave. She saw Less and James and smiled as she approached." What are you guys doing?" Lessa fell asleep right before Alana showed up. She let her entire body go into a sleep. James looked up from petting Less and smiled. "Oh we had a little wrestling match, and now she's sleeping off her lunch." he said and stood. "So how was your swim?" he asked, and his eyes flashed dangerously as his other side fought to get threw. Thomas was having a horrible time. He couldn't find that damned shirt anywhere. Suddenly he found it and chuckled. "Finally." he said and was about to grab it when magic was shot at him and pinned him against the tree. He grunted in pain and a witch walked into his view and chuckled. "Not so tuff without your lover and twin now are you?" she snickered evil. Alana smiled at him. She patted Less as head gently." O yes it was wonderful. You should have joined us, but you were much to busy with your puppy dog." She snuggled her head and then stood up dusting off her hands. She stretched a bit and sat down. Furthermore, she was in a great mood. Furthermore, she looked towards the entrance. Where was Thomas? He was taking a bit longer than she would have thought to find a shirt. Thomas struggled against the witch's power but could nothing. He then let out a Hugh pitched whistle and James jumped to his feet. "Thomas is in trouble!" he said, and the witch slapped Thomas. "Shut up you little messed up elemental!" she snapped angrily. Alana immediately jumped up and headed out of the cave. She was not going to let her love get hurt. She ran along the path and when she saw him being hurt by a witch she growled and felt herself shift forms. Furthermore, she launched herself at the witch clawing at her back. Lessa woke up at the shout and immediately started growling. She ran up to jams and licked him making sure he was ok. She watches Alana leave and followed after her. Furthermore, she jumped at the witch attacking an arm. James patted Less and then ran after Alana. The witch kicked off Alana and then shot the magic at James as he crabs dingo the clearing an fit pinned him too against a tree. Both twins fought the edge to scream in pain as the magic attacked their bodies trying to find their magic force. "Alana!" Thomas cried seeing her get kicked. He needed to help her, but he couldn't move. "Less!" James said knowing the wolf would attack. Alana fell to the ground and hit her head on a rock knocking herself out. Lessa growled launching herself at the witch to protect her friends. She jumped up at her aiming for her right leg. She attached her teeth around it and a bit down hard growling loudly. Thomas and James fought hard trying to get out of the magic and the witch screamed. She blasted Less off of her and looked at the twins angrily. "How dare you!" she snapped and raised her hand constricting the surrounding magic. She then realized they were trying to touch each other and grinned. "So you share the power, how cute." she said evil. Suddenly both of them screamed in pain as two balls of pure light left their chests. The balls combined into one and the twins fell to the ground limply. "No..." they both said weakly and she grinned. "Well it's been a pleasure boy, but I need to take over the world." she said and grabbed their magic. Suddenly they both clasped hands and then ripped off their shades blasting her with the rays from their eyes and killing her. They quickly forced the sunglasses back on and stood weakly. "Nice plan..." Games said panting. "Yeah..." Thomas said doubled over. They then both reached out for their powers and the light went back inside of them. They then both collapsed and fell unconscious. Less being the only one still awake went from limp body to limp body and licked them whining. Her paw was broken, and she was limping, but she would not stop until they woke up. She whined at Alana nudging her with her nose and then did the same with James. When no one woke up she sat down in the middle of the bodies and waited patiently for them to wake up keeping her ears peeled for any sudden attacks. James groaned and slowly woke up. He sat up slowly and looked at Less. "Less? What happened?" he asked softly. He didn't remember fighting the witch at all. That's what happened when they used their beams... They forgot something. He saw her paw and looked at her worriedly. "What happened?" he asked and looked around seeing both Alana and his brother out. Less whined at him wagging her tail. She needed to become a human fast. She went up to Alana and bit her licking up her blood. Furthermore, she closed her eyes and she turned back into a human. Furthermore, she fell to the ground and looked at her broken leg with a sad expression." You and Thomas were attacked and Alana tried to save you. When you guys took off your glasses the witch was killed." James touched his shades and then nodded. It made sense. "Oh your leg..." he whispered and pulled her to him gently. He examined her leg and then kissed her cheek. "I think Thomas has something that will heal it right up..." he said reassuringly. He then heard a groan and saw Thomas sit up. "What happened?" Thomas groaned. James explained and Thomas ran over to Alana. He pulled her into his arms and cradled her against his chest. "Come back to me love..." he whispered into her ear and then kissed it. Less smiled at him and hugged him. She looked at Thomas when he woke up and frowned at him as he ran to Alana. She limped over to her also and sat down on the ground watching her. Alana opened her eyes and looked at Thomas with a smile." Your ok my love?" Her eyebrows furrowed. Thomas smiled and nodded. "Weak but fine..." he whispered pulling off his shirt to wipe the blood away from her wound on her head. James came over to Less and held her. "Thomas... Do you have something for Less? She broke her leg." he said and Thomas looked up. "Yes... If you stay here with Alana, I can heal less at the lake... Though it will take awhile." he said and James nodded. "I can watch her..." he said and smiled. (u better not be thinking what I think you are >Alana smiled and kissed Thomas." Hurry up please and take good care of less. Please be careful with her my love." Alana walked over and sat closely James. She smiled at him thankful that Thomas had such a wonderful brother. Lessa looked at James worriedly." I love you so much baby. Thanks for caring about me so much." She was concerned with how Thomas was going to heal her, but she trusted him not to harm her in any way just because James trusted him. She knew James would never let her get harmed by anyone. ((*grins evil* he-he here comes James's bad side.)) Thomas smiled at Less and took her from James and into his own arms. James looked at her and smiled. "You'll be fine..." he whispered and kissed her forehead. "I love you..." he whispered and Thomas stood. "Alright just relax..." Thomas said and left with her in his arms to the lake. James smiled and sat back down next to Alana. His evil side gained control and locked the good James away for the time being. His hand slowly crept up and then around Alana. He wanted another go around. (UG the evilness of seer >Alana frowned as she felt his hand on her. She pushed him away from her." What are you doing? Are you crazy?" Lessa stared at James until he was gone. She just loved him so much. She glanced at Thomas." Thank you." She said in a small voice. ((WWW I didn't mean to scare you love.)) Thomas smiled down at her as he walked into the lake. "You're very welcome." he said sweetly and then held Less in the water. He began to glow as he hummed and so did the water. It began healing her leg slowly with the hidden powers. James chuckled darkly and looked at Alana. "Playing a game." he said darkly and smiled wider. "It's who can touch the best." he said and chuckled. He then pounced and pinned her to the ground. "It was a pretty close race last time." he said seductively. (*Juggles* So how is things going lately for you my love?) Lessa closed her eyes as she felt herself being healed. It felt so good. She could actually feel the power flowing through her body. It was wonderful. She hoped there would be no leftover marks. She did like how she looked, and it bothered her to be scared for life. Alana growled and threw him off of her. She stood up and tried to run but was too weak. She opened her mouth to yell for help. ((Not very well love. My ex is harassing me............. But I am doing my best to ignore him.)) Thomas kept up the chanting until he knew she was fully healed. The glow around him and the lake died away slowly, and he looked at her and smiled. "Are you feeling better now? No other injuries?" he asked as he turned ADN slowly began exiting the water with her still in his arms. James jumped to his feet and grabbed her. He put a hand on her mouth and chuckled darkly. "Oh now don't do that... You'll ruin the fun..." he whispered seductively and growled. He bit her neck and then her ear as he held her tightly. (what ex? Insomnia? DO I need to come kick some ass?) Lessa smiled at him. She flexed her leg as a way to test it. IT felt just fine to her." Everything seems good. I can walk now if you put me down. I can't wait to show jams how much better I am doing." Alana growled and tried to bite his hand he put over her mouth. She kicked at him trying to get him to let her go. She could feel herself tearing up. What was going on? Thomas smiled and put Less down. "I'm glad to help. I'm sure he'll be very happy." he said lightly and began walking back to the clearing where he had left Alana and his brother. He just hoped Alana was doing better. James growled and let himself turn into diamond. "Now. Don't do that.... I'll make it hurt ten time worse." he said darkly and pinned her against a tree and smiled evil. She wasn't going to get away from him now, and he kept his hand over her mouth as he kissed her neck. Less put her hand in Thomas' hand and walked happily back. She frowned a moment. They were not where they had left them. James had Alana pinned to a tree. And she was crying. Less could feel her pain." Alana!! James what are you doing to her?" Alana couldn't do anything. She just closed her eyes and stayed still. She didn't want to risk getting hurt worse. Thomas snarled angrily turning into diamond and rammed into James. "How dare you touch her!" he yelled angrily, and they grappled on the ground. Finally, Thomas kicked James into a tree. Quicker than lightning he had his brother pinned to the tree by his neck and growled savagely. "What do you think you're doing?!!" he demanded and slammed James into the tree hard. He then threw James to the ground and James was knocked out. His diamond skin melted off of him and scraps adorned his body. Thomas stood staring at him angrily and let his own diamond skin melt away, and then he took Alana into his arms and held her lovingly. Less was so scared. She had no idea what was going on. She wanted to comfort James but after seeing what he was doing she was scared. What had happened to him? What was going through his head? Alana cried into his shoulder."What's going on?" "I'm sorry..... James has a dark side...." Thomas whispered and looked at both girls painfully. "We thought he had gained control of it.... He hasn't given into it in years...." He whispered feeling bad for his brother and for Alana. "That wasn't him I swear... But he is dangerous now that its strength has a trigger." he said Latin GTO have to admit this. "Alana.... We're going to have to go or something... Your natural demon evil is the trigger for the evil in James's soul..." He said hating to have to leave his brother, but he could not risk Alana getting hurt. -Alana frowned at him." Is there no other way? There has to be a way to solve this. There has to be a way to make it so we can all be happy." She felt like she was going to cry. Lessa was crying. She was on the ground crying. She was losing her sister. Furthermore, she did not want that. And she knew James did not want to lose his brother. She crawled over to him and kissed him all over his face. She loved him." James baby wake up." Thomas shook his head trying to think of some way for it to work. "Unless.... I stay with him every second and never turn my back... I don't see how..." he whispered and felt horrible sadness envelop him. He had been so happy when James had gotten control, and he had thought he had control for good... But it seemed too good to be true now. James groaned softly and woke up slowly. He saw Less's tears and reached out to her and wiped them away. He then SAR up and looked at her lovingly. "Less... Love... What's wrong?" he asked confused and kept his voice soft. Alana looked at James as he woke up and frowned at him. This was strange. What could they do? Lessa hugged him tight and kissed his forehead." Apparently you have a dark side that keeps coming out, and you keep attacking Alana." Thomas shook his head and looked away from his brother. It was so wrong to say that he was evil. Looking at him and seeing him so kind to Less and then so evil to Alana just killed him. James hugged Less aback closing his eyes but when she spoke his eyes snapped open in shock. His grip around her tightened as he listened. "Its back.... The dark side is back?" he asked horrified and seeing Thomas's pain in his face he knew it was true. He felt his own teas come to his eyes. They were going to have to split up now... And he knew it...

tal and seer of course|rating:2.0

Deathknell Chronicles- Claire's Prelude

Claire got the call an hour ago.“I know where Gary is.” The voice was a bit rough around the edges. Gary was her friend who had disappeared three weeks ago. Claire had done some snooping around, but found nothing. Then she decided to follow his footsteps, finding a couple of the bank accounts he was talking about. One was to a man named Sean Loveless. Another was to Rogan Denver. It was less than a day after that the stranger called you. “He’s in trouble. He asked to meet you at the pier at 10 sharp. The one with your favorite ice cream.” When she asked him why he didn’t call, the stranger responded easily. “He’s driving back from Canada. Should be back in the state now. Don’t know what’s up, but whatever he’s gotten himself into he’s spooked. Won’t even tell his own flesh and blood what he’s up to, only wanted me to call you. Listen, if Gary doesn’t want me to know I won’t pry little lady, but call me back after to let me know he’s safe.” He left his number, and the call ended shortly after that without the usual pleasantries. Claire waited, debating on what to do. If she was going to leave to meet Gary on time, she would have to leave now. It’s a twenty-minute drive away, plus a five-minute walk. Her car keys were hanging on the wall. She thought about Gary. That poor, short, sweaty little kid. He asked her out once, and got shot down. Luckily, he turned out to be a real friend. Certainly wasn’t happy about the rejection, but after a couple of months the two were friends again and neither had looked back. Claire slammed the phone down frustrated and tapped her fingers on the desk her rig sat on. Whoever the ******* on the other end had been he'd said practically nothing. Gary was certainly going to get an ear full from her for pulling this stupid stunt. What was he thinking at this time of night after having up gone off without telling anybody. Still it was good to hear from him at last, even if it was by proxy. Pushing back from her desk cluttered with electronics Claire looked around her apartment for the clock. It might have been called a nice place once, for a one-bedroom anyway. Claire could afford a few notches above a rathole, it even had a small kitchen separate. Yet the living room was crammed into half the space it should have. The rest was a hodgepodge collection of tables and steel wire shelves filled with plastic boxes. All were cluttered with circuit boards, wiring, resistors, transistors, and larger pieces of electronics. One of these days Claire had promised herself she'd organize her little workshop better. After she'd finished the work on coding the OS that would be her doctoral thesis. Which was what she'd been working on when the phone had rung. After checking the time Claire saved her work and quickly shut down her rig. The light on the tower flicked off and Claire hit the switch on the circuit breaker. She'd not been online so it was already unplugged from the phone jack. Long since standard procedure and barely noticed. There was just enough time to change her long t-shirt and undies for something decent and make it by ten. Not five minutes later dressed in a pair of jeans and a gray Heavens worth College tee Claire was climbing into her '82 Honda Civic. Starting the engine and putting it in gear she drove off. It never occurred to her, it might be wiser to stay at home. After all who would know about the ice cream. Besides in her purse Claire had a can of mace in it if there was going to be trouble. Arriving at the pier with maybe five minutes to spare Claire got out and looked around. She'd parked in front of the little shack that served her favorite strawberry flavor, one of the few you could get around here with actual strawberries in it. It had closed for the night though, which was a shame. If this had been the weekend in the heard of summer she could have gotten a bite to eat there. Well-made Gary buy it for making her put up with this. What was it about being one of the few women in the electronics world that made her so much more adult than her fellows. She was only 25, that wasn'ttold, why was everyone else that shared her love of computers so immature? She'd never pull a stunt like this. Sighing Claire continued looking around as she made her way down the pier. It was quite on the pier. Not a single person was on it, which was not normal, but not quite unusual either. She saw the lights on Mt. Helena's Finest still on, a fairly weasel looking man was standing behind the counter, looking like he had a bad day. At the very end was a shadowy figure. It seemed too big to be Gary, but she couldn't tell for certain. There were no seagulls, and if she looked behind her, she'd remember how long the 11th pier really was." Hey miss!" The way the weaselly man yelled almost made her jump. "Care for a sample?" Claire gave a quick shake of the head with a friendly wave to the man on the boat. He'd just shouted out after all there was no reason for her to get jumpy. Probably just an old drunk hiding out from his wife anyway. Certainly couldn't blame him for trying to flirt with her though, she got that quite a lot and barely noticed it. There was something odd, but she just couldn't place what was off about the pier tonight. Still that was no reason to be jumpy The figure at the end though, that was what was important. Was that Gary? It was too dark to tell. Maybe he'd brought a friend along, maybe the other man on the phone even. Still something just wasn't right even for an off night it seemed a little too quiet. Claire reached hand surreptitiously went into her purse feeling around for her little can of mace and pulling it back out inside her fist." Hello," she said in as normal tone of voice as she could manage as she reached the end of the pier. "Gary's dead." The man turned around, arching his back straight. He was tall, and big, and his face was warped into a snarl. "Rogan wants to speak with you." He started walking towards her. He smelled of piss and dust. His eyes seemed wild, and his hair hadn't been washed in days. Claire brought up the can of mace and held it prominently before the unknown man had even finished the last syllable of dead. She back pedaled furiously as she could while he spoke. She didn't know who he was, but this had gone from something foolish to dangerously foolish in an instant. What had they done with Gary, what did they want with her now? Claire found herself wishing she'd taken a self-defense class more recently then freshman year all of a sudden. She'd never been in a real fight though and this was turning into every girl's nightmare. Cursing herself for what and idiot she'd been Claire's mind worked furiously for a way out of this. She didn't want to have to outrun this huge man if possible." Okay so Gary's dead then," Claire said as calmly as she could, "Look I just went looking for my friend, I don't really know what he found or anything. I'll leave right now okay, and Gary can just get filed under missing persons and tonight never happened. No reason this has to get violent." She really did not want to have to put herself to the test in a fight here. She was in good shape, but she was no real athlete. He was much bigger than her, if it came to a race he could well catch her. And fight... well her self-defense instructor in that class had set it straight. Size mattered. Unless you were a lot better than someone then being bigger meant stronger and longer reach. And men were a lot bigger than women. Claire wished she had listened then and kept up with it. A little can of mace and a promise over beers to give any guy that troubled her a kick to the gonads were seeming mighty thin in the face of this huge stinking animal. She could only hope he'd buy it. "Told you Victor, that doesn't ever work. Should put the rag over her face first." The weasel guy working the ice cream stand stepped out. There were flicks of red covering his legs." Doesn't matter. Rogan said to bring her, didn't say in once piece."" Damnit, you know he wants the b**** unspoiled. It's your head." Claire was surrounded on a narrow pier, and no one else was around. The weasel guy had a crowbar in his hands while Victor was unarmed, but his large, calloused fingers seemed deadly in their own right." All right girl, your choice. Either use those little chicken legs of yours and give us a good choice, or I'll find another use for them." The other one laughed. "Ice cold Victor. I call dibs on first go." Damnation this was going from bad to worse. Claire made no sudden moves. Who was this Rogan that he had goons to send after her. And why did he want her? She'd never messed with anyone in the mob, she'd only targeted a couple of corporate networks for fun. Maybe one of them liked to play dirtier then she'd imagined. But how could they have tracked her. No wait her mind was getting side tracked. She rarely gave it thought, but she was a girl, that was reason enough for some slime. She needed to stay on task here. It didn't matter why, all that matters that she was surrounded from both sides on a narrow pier. Wait, of course a narrow pier. Only two guys. They weren't too smart it seemed. She was going to hate loosing her purse with what followed, but better that then whatever these thugs want. Claire was just glad she slipped her car keys into her pocket, they should stay with her. Without moving Claire pushed down on the mace release button in the direction of the huge man in front of her. Without waiting to see its effect she took off in run. Straight off the side of the pier into the water. She might not be able to run from the situation, but she could certainly swim The water was cold. For a moment, underneath the water she imagined that none of it was real. She couldn't see far in the Murray water, but she could swear... two glowing blue eyes staring at her. She broke the surface with a loud gasp for air. Above she could hear swear in combinations she never knew possible. The other one was laughing. He called down to her." Hey! I think you just passed Victor's test. Now be a good girl and come back!"" Charlie I am going to take a shovel and ram it up her ass!" She looked up to see Victor jumping from the side of the pier. He fell fast, near her. The splash forced her to look away. The water grew still, and Victor didn't emerge. Claire forced herself to calm down again. She was jumpy, seeing things that couldn't be there. The water was cold, and the salt burned her eyes, a small price to pay though. Now she had a chance, though not the best one. Coming to the surface Claire gasp for breath, filling her lungs once more. The weasel man quickly followed her into the water, or at least that's who she thought it was. She didn't wait for him to surface. Diving once more she began to kick trying to get some distance from the pier before she had to surface once more. If she could then she could switch to a faster stroke, and it would be a race. Of course jeans and t-shirts were made for the water, to say nothing of her now soaking tennis shoes. Those she considered kicking off but there if she got to shore she'd wanted to be able to run as fast as she could. She'd just have to make it happen. She'd already left her purse on the pier, thrown away as she jumped. Furthermore, she didn't need to lose any more then that tonight. If she could even get away at all. Spoiler Hide Actually, it's the big guy that jumped in after her. The weasel man's still joking with her from up above. Claire made it fifteen seconds before she felt two strong, meaty hands clutch her legs, pull her under, and then all went black.-Claire woke up. It was dark, and she was in an empty room. It looked to be an abandoned bathroom. There were a pair of urinals on the walls, but the hoses that connected them to the waterline had long since been removed. Her ankles, shoulder, and wrists felt bruised, but otherwise she was in her clothes, and unharmed. She tried to move, but she was tied to an uncomfortable chair. She could hear the two men behind her. It sounded like they were playing cards." Hey Charlie, looks like she's up." Charlie, the name of the weasel-faced thug gave a sigh. "All right, you heard what Rogan said. We're not to kill her." Rogan... Rogan... where had she heard that name. It finally clicked. It was one of the two names she had found with the old, old bank account, the one that Gary had found first. Charlie stepped into view, holding a rusted pair of pliers. "So... Claire Russo, was it? Pretty name." He was dragging a plastic chair like you'd find in a school behind him. He turned it around and sat in it backwards. "We have a bit of a problem. You see, when we broke into Gary's place, he was sitting at his computer. Idiot was trying too hard to piss himself and run away to shut off the machine. Hell, he even had his email opened up. Didn't take too for Rogan to look at your two's history and come up with the ice cream gig. I swear he's the most clever man I ever met, if I could call him a man."" Get on with it."" Hey f*** you. I didn't tell you how to do your job, you don't tell me how to do mine." Charlie smiled at Claire, showing her a few missing teeth. "Now, we weren't so Lucy with you. We can't get into your computer, and we're going to need you to tell us how to do it. I'd like to take your word that you didn't make the same mistake as Gary did and send yet another one of your buddies to an early grave, but Rogan wants to make sure. So, we're going to need those passwords. I hate to rough up a pretty face like yours, which is why I'm going to start with your fingernails." Claire hadn't been raised to credit anything to supernatural powers, but what else did she have to thank for waking back up bruised and wet but alive and seemingly unmolested? When those hands had grabbed her in the water she had thought that it was over already. Blacking out had seemed oblivion, waking up had been a surprise. As pain from her bruise and shivers from her impromptu swim brought her fully awake Claire took stock of her surroundings, driving her mind to work. Rogan, damn that was the names on one of those weird accounts Gary had found diving a bank network. Damn it Gary what have you done, she thought to herself. Stupid to keep files on stuff like that, worse than stupid to get himself killed. Claire felt a few tears begin to well up but forced them down. She would grieve for her friend later though first she needed to deal with more pressing matters. They said Rogan wanted him alive Claire had no way of know how long she'd been out. But the lingering damp said it couldn't have been too long. Still if they'd had time to go to her apartment and find they couldn't get into her rig... put that together with what they said about Gary and these guys clearly weren't that up on cracking. A fragment of an idea got in her head." You know that's not good idea," She said at last, "Torture I mean. I'm sure you could hurt me real bad but if I don't start babbling about starting the Great Chicago Fire how am I supposed to give you the right info. You think I've got Lisa in there just waiting to suck your **** after you put the right keystrokes in? You must have got real lucky with Gary, me I'm in the middle of writing a Unix B-S-D series goodies half written in sections with multiple iterations of the ten megs I lashed together last May to make up the H-D-D in that expanded tower. It takes more than some standard Disk Operating System prompts to get everything you need booted in there at the moment. You think I can explain a delicate system architecture to you while screaming in pain?" The best part about this story was it was true. Her system was mess right now unless you were the architect of it all. Not that it would be all that hard, she'd upgraded the system just to start her coding which was well isolated from other functions of the system. She'd really only added the enormous hard drive capacity to stave of the upgrading for a while." Gary was obviously fool to keep his client full and unlucky to be on it when you got him. Me, I've got years of legitimate work I'd rather keep in my rigs' memory, so I don't need to keep a few notes about some account entry errors. But after Sun devil and the Legion of Doom I decided I'd rather not keep records of conversations. But maybe I screwed up, or you won't believe that, and you'll go after people that don't know anything, so I'm not about to let that happen to my friends. So there's no way I'm letting you dive my rig."" Like I said before. I don't really know anything. I guess Gary must have found some account some lamer freaked into existence for your boss and noticed he screwed up the date making it way too old. Furthermore, I don't really care though I just wanted to know what happened to Gary because he went all silent running on me. Furthermore, I know that now, so I've got nothing to gain by aiding you two or any reason to believe I'll still be alive if I do. If I'm really to believe your boss really wants me alive didn't you say on the dock he wanted me unspoiled too? I hardly call beaten still I start belting out maybe Freddie Mercury in pain not be touched,"Silently Claire finished with another prayer to a God she didn't quite believe in that they didn't see through her false bravado. Charlie looked at her, his face scrunching up as she said things he didn't understand. "Right, by the time we're done you're going to be speaking English again honey, and we'll save the blowjob for later. He moved behind her/ She could feel as the pliers grabbed the nail on her left pinky feel. Then there was a rush of pain." Right, let's start with one more and try again."" No, that will be enough." The pliers hit the floor with a loud clatter. "Killing the other one didn't make the problem go away. We need a different approach. Victor, you said she sprayed you with mace and jumped into the water?"" Yeah, I did."" I'm glad it wasn't enough to stop you. I would have killed you otherwise." The man took the chair Charlie had been sitting in. He was a large black man with feral yellow eyes. "Your name is Claire. If I'm to understand the technical banter you just spoke, you're adept at using computers?" He didn't seem to care that her finger was throbbing in pain. Claire cursed loudly as her finger surged with pain. She didn't want to look, that would have been worse. Christ she hoped she could keep this up. Still she had meant every word. This could all be social engineering after all, she couldn't take the risk that these morons were faking ignorance or didn't have somebody else that knew what they were about and could do some bad things with the data she had on her rig. If she wanted to take down a group like the one she ran with that would be the way, get on one of them about something unrelated apply pressure to open the door thinking they were plebes only to turn out Henry Dorset Case in disguise. Still Lady Black Box and her ilk shouldn't have enemies who'd play this dirty in the push. A bunch of suits from the Man she could have understood, two dirty thugs confused the hell out of her. Had to be mafia something, guess they didn't all look a little like her dad and talk with cotton balls in their mouth. Claire almost laughed, here she was making pop culture references in her head while a man pulled her fingernails out. The insanity of it steadier her a little though. It took a new voice to break her reverie completely though. A newcomer, or at least someone she hadn't seen on the pier. He was somehow more imposing than the other two that was for sure. Those eyes were creepy, but the thought crossed Claire's mind they somehow didn't seem like contacts. At least he seemed polite, probably meant he was even more dangerous. Had to be the boss." So then you would be Mr. Denver I'll guess," She managed to gasp, deciding to keep the bravado going as long as she could. It was maybe working, "And you could say that. If you read Gary's mail enough to know about the ice cream you should know that up until tonight I was well on my way to a doctorate. Summer before last my adviser Professor Douglas invited me to help him with some consulting work he was doing up in Redmond for Microsoft. So yes." "Mr. Denver?" He looked at Charlie." That's the last name we used for your bank account?"" Really, I had forgotten." He looked back at Claire. "We spoke on the phone earlier. Don't feel ashamed for falling for the trap, you didn't even know one was being set. I found the frustrated and confused distant relative is usually a promising act. The advent of telephones has made it easier." His stare was intense, and Claire felt naked under his gaze. "I'm sorry your friend had to die. He was braver than he appeared." Claire noticed that Rogan didn't exactly say Gary was brave. "However, he was going to bring up my bank account to the papers, and it would have brought too much attention. If I hadn't killed him, one of the others would have." He stood up and leaned down, sniffing at her neckline. Seeing his eyes this close left no doubt that they weren't contacts. "You see, I opened that bank account 142 years ago. I had one of my foul at the time adopt my name, a white man, and I haven't changed it since. I see now that it was a mistake not to. However, I don't think changing my name will be enough, will it? Therefore, I'm asking for your help. Clear my records, and those of anyone else you've found, and I'll give you immortality, to make you as I am." Both Victor and Charlie started to raise their voice, but Rogan snarled at them, a bestial sound like a rabid dog, and the two thugs fell silent. "You-you aren't making any sense," Claire said, the facade cracking a little. Those eyes that gaze. What he implied with a glance seemed so much more than his thugs crude threats. Unconsciously she tried to squeeze her legs tightly together, she felt exposed. His serious demeanor, those eyes, his claims nothing added up, "You opened an account before the Civil War, with an Arabic boogeyman? Immortality... look even what makes sense about that isn't easy. Erasing a bank record depending on how much money you've got in there isn't like emptying a trash can. Especially if you want to keep the money, and not bring any kind of official notice." She was no business expert, but she knew some from her father and managing the funds he'd set up for her to go to school. Even with access to their records you couldn't just make money disappear without some serious magic. To say nothing of the legalities. This could get very bad, very quickly. Still though a small part of her, said Lady Black Box hadn't had a challenge in a long while. But too many things about this all didn't make sense. Immortality? Had she been abducted by a crazy man? This had to be some kind of ploy." Wait why am I even considering how to do this? How can you expect me to believe any of this?" Rogan closed his eyes, his mind going back to distant memories. “Some things only become more difficult with time. When humanity surpassed us by becoming too many in number, they compensated their strength for cowardice. Now that humanity is trying to become stronger than us even as individuals with their technology, their cynicism and doubt blinds them. Then Rogan changed. It was not pleasant to watch, flesh, bone, and fur seem to warp across his body until all that was left was a large wolf with the same feral eyes, eyes that belong more to a cat than a canine. It took long for him to turn back into a man, but when he did his clothes were in tatters on the floor, leaving the man naked in front of her. He was muscled, and deep scars ran all across his body.“Is that sufficient to prove what I am Claire? I am Gang rel, I am kindred, I am what you call a vampire, and I have walked this earth for over three hundred years. Yet, here sits before me a young mortal girl who threatens my existence not with a sword, a flame, or faith, but with an electronic box. Can you make it so no one follows in you or your friend’s footsteps?” Claire heart started to pound as the man changed. That wasn't possible, it just wasn't. Like something from out of a B-movie, only the effects had been too good. There wasn't any trick here, she'd just seen it right. This was no movie, she could feel that beasts sheer presence. Something, something of the old world, of the night. A vampire he said and Claire believed him. She realized suddenly she was laughing. She wasn't sure when she'd started, but she couldn't quite stop. It was a release, a reaction to what stood before her now returning to the form of a naked man more all the more imposing for his lack of clothes. Now she could see what lurked beneath. She'd lost, completely." Since everyone thinks vampires are a myth... you can't let me go, can you? This is too big either comply or I'm dead already. I was only kept alive so you could talk for a bit right... I can do it."" If I remember right where Gary and I found the names Sean Loveless and Rogan Denver wasn't that hard to get into. I can put hash out some scripts to divide the money across the banks accounts, so their balance stays the same while I shuffle fake transactions and several smaller accounts. Or something." Programming was based in math she should be able to work out those numbers and get this done. She didn't have a choice really, still Claire couldn't just give up entirely, "But it won't be instant and that's only a short term solution. You need to something better. Like the Cayman Islands, or Swiss Account better. So I'll need time if you want this, probably need to go into an open bank in daylight once or twice. And that means I'm going to be getting out of this bathroom, so I've got a price." Now for one last bit of defiance, "First I need to know if there's any way we can do this without the surrounding goons all at once, I don't know that I'd trust my word but even less so then if they are following me around. We hate for something stupid to happen. But my real price is I don't give you my friends over this, they know nothing and that's all, and you will just have to trust that. You obviously need someone like me to get this done but if you think you can just throw me back in my apartment, and I'll make this happen you best kill me and hope no one else notices a hefty account open for way too long until you find someone else." "You see," Rogan waved his hand across the room, directing his gesture towards Victor and Charlie, "this is what you lack, a survival instinct. Whereas your Victor would fight back, which you did, and lose, and whereas you Charlie only cringe, Claire here proves herself useful and necessary." He looks back at Claire, arms crossed. He doesn't seem to mind one bit that he's naked from head to toe. "If your friends are unaware, then they are safe. Don't worry about my ghouls, after tonight they will no longer be a problem to you. Untie her." Charlie and Victor closed in one her, removing the ropes from her, Charlie gently, Victor roughly. When she was free to stand, Rogan spoke again. "My security is that you will become my chiller, my responsibility, another beast that feeds on blood and shuns the light of day. My safety is your safety, my life is your life. There are those who hunt our kind in the shadow Claire. Know that few can stand against one as old as I, but many will threaten one as young as you. Now then Claire, I give you the life of your ignorant friends as payment for the life I took. However, I still feel I owe you one boon left, for the Curse of Caine does not lead to happiness. You will be immortal, you will be strong, but you will no longer have a true place with humanity. What shall I give you for this sacrifice?" Claire stood and moved soon as she was freed rubbing her shoulders with her arms crossed. She made gave no sign of fleeing she merely to needed to get some space. It would be pointless to run, of that she was sure. So Rogan would do whatever he planned tonight then it seemed. Well no use fighting, it had been over since the pier really. With that acceptance came a bizarre sense of relief. Stockholm syndrome kicking in? Maybe. As Rogan spoke Claire found herself gazing up and down again. Three hundred years he'd said, what could this man have seen in that time? It could not have been easy with those scars. If he'd spent that time in the America the life, or whatever a vampire had, would not have been easy. His offer of a favor interested her in particular. What drove this man, something beyond the base thuggery of his minions, certainly." A boon you say," Claire considered, "Well I suppose a year to finish my doctorate is out of the question, I would have liked the title Doctor Russo very much. Though if I'm must trade my planned life to serve your interests I suppose... I'd like a cut. A percentage of your assets I will take for myself as a fee for hiding them. You decide what would qualify for your boon to be fulfilled. If any is too great a boon, then something simpler will do. What ever you are about to do to me, not here. I don't know if this is a funeral a birth or a wedding, but I'd not have one in a crummy bathroom. An abandoned field would be better. And at the least send those two away." That last was referring to Victor and Charlie. Rogan smiled. It was a big, and bright. She could see the fangs. "Yes, let us ride into the night. "Victor, undress yourself. I will need pants if I'm to take dear Claire to a more proper setting. Now." As Victor cursed under his breath and did as he was told, Rogan looked at Claire. "The embrace is all those things and none. I know that's a cryptic answer, but you'll understand soon enough." In less the minute Rogan was wearing pants, and taking Victor's jacket to, the two walked away of the abandoned elementary school. They were outside the city limits." There's an open field less than a quarter mile. Most people don't come to these parts. There are other monsters that prowl these areas, but they do not bother me." He smiled again, as it if were a boast. "And I think 60 percent will be fair. You have far more need of it than me." It was a relief to be free of the thugs at last. Despite clearly doing their masters bidding she somehow had more anger for the dogs then for the one so clearly holding the leash. Once outside Claire realized how far out of town they were. She could only hope one of the thugs had the sense to bring her car along. Or a car. She checked briefly for her keys in her pocket. Come to think of it she hadn't looked for her purse either. If it had been left on the pier she doubted she'd get it back. The bag itself didn't matter, but she doubted her need for a wallet would end tonight. At least she'd left her glasses in the car and a pair back at the apartment. It occurred to Claire she was being foolish, such matters were trifling compare to walking to your death next the man who was going to do it. Presumably with those fangs. Such a strange thing, especially Rogan." That is more than fair I must admit," she said in reply to his set percentage, "And umm the pants and jacket are almost a shame you seemed comfortable without them. I had a thought that maybe I'd try and emulate it when the moment comes, seeing as I'm going to be like you. Besides, it would only be fair since I force you to do that other thing." "When you live for so long something's become more important, others not. What you lose and what you gain depends much on the individual. I believe the Sean Loveless was the other name your friend discovered. He tattooed most of his body, in that way he's almost clothed." I will warn you now we are political creatures we kindred, even me. For my part, I avoid it as much as possible, but it's more of a strategy than anything else. Tonight when we are finished I will take you to the Prince. He rules our kind in this city, and he will recognize you as one of us. Appear as a blank slate in his eyes and those present. If you appear too strong, they will fear you. If you appear too weak, they will despise you. Know that the goal of every kindred, including me, is to survive. Everything they say, everything they do will serve that purpose. Know that I am here to help you survive in this world because it suits my own survival as well. Should you no longer become useful we will part our ways? If and only if your existence threatens mine will I seek to strike you down." They were out in the middle of the field. "As we are joined together, I will drain you of every last drop of blood in your body. It is what you want, is it not?" As he spoke he removed Victor's jacket, turning to face her. Claire listen carefully but said nothing for the moment as Rogan spoke. Instead, having reached the field she did as she said and removed her clothing. She could not match his effortless confidence with his own body, but she would try. For this night at least. After one last sigh she stood before Rogan." I have already accepted, I can accept all that come with it as well I guess," She said, "It is perhaps good there are others that share the night. Come let us get see to this then." Rogan was powerful, but gentle with Claire. He whispered nothing's to her in Spanish, a language he seemed more comfortable with. As they were in the throes of love his teeth met her neck, and she was filled with an ecstasy she never knew existed. Her entire body was filled with a passionate fire that stretched her senses and made her mind spin. He has drunk slowly from her, letting the moment stretch into minutes until finally she could not keep her eyes open. Her eyes opened, and she felt cold. It was starting to rain lightly, and she lay on the ground naked. The moment only lasted for a second as she was gripped with something else. Hunger. She felt like she was suffocating, needles were stabbing into her heart. She needed to feed, to feast. Then she spotted her prey. Charlie was standing there, a scared look on his face. His eyes darted between her, and something behind. Claire could almost feel his heartbeat, making her mouth dry with thirst. Spoiler Hide Roll for frenzy or feed on Charlie willingly. Your call. Fire and ice clashed in a furious storm all around her, permeating every inch of her as Claire embraced Rogan. And then like lightning the sky split open, and she shattered, every once of her body from toe to tip alive like never before and if life had been live with her wrapped in pitch black gauze. She felt her heart pounding ever faster in feverish pitch and then, fading melting away. Like dew on a summer's morning Claire felt herself fading into nothing. And then the sweet nothingness took her. When Claire came too she felt different. She few aware of the chill of her body, the light drops of the rain, the hard ground and soft grass beneath her. Taking it all in she realizes it didn't bother her. She no longer felt the pain she had from her ordeal. All of it was just sensations now to be acknowledged perhaps and that was all. Except one. She was hungry. A hunger she'd never known even the fraction of before ripped at the core of her. There, one of the thugs. The weaselly one who had ripped off her finger nail. Here we are, brimming over with life. Blood. She knew what she wanted. Rising to her feet she felt the desire surge in her, a wild and untamed animal. Every feral desire she'd ever felt rolled into one surge. Yet by some higher instinct Claire struggled to hold fast. Desire was one thing, but the rational part of her mind demanded control be held. It might not be enough. Spoiler Hide Self Control 3 and rolling... (3d10)[3][3][4](10) Since that won't meet the five to suppress it entirely here's some more for further rounds because Claire will struggle with the Beast until one or the other wins: (3d10)[7][6][3](16) (3d10)[8][7][6](21) Feed. It was not so much a word spoken in her head, but a force of will that came from her body. Charlie turned to run, but tripped over himself. She was atop of him in seconds. He screamed, but it was drowned out by the rush of blood entering her, pouring from her throat, and into her body. The man that had posed as an ice cream vendor, mocked her as she tried to get away from Rogan, and had even yanked a single fingernail from her body with the threat of more was now her victim, wide-eyed and struggling to get away. She continued to feed, his moans turning into a whimper turning into silence. His body grew cold and pale, and by the time she had control of herself, there was precious little blood in him. Charlie was dead, and unlike her, he would not be rising again. Spoiler Hide Edit: Sorry I missed you further rolls. Looks like it'll take three rounds to get calm. You have 10 dots of blood then. The rage the hate, she poured it all out leaping on the hurtful thing before her, aware intimately now that she was the superior. Fang extends in her mouth, teeth to bite and tear. She would bite the weasel deep, drink drink drink what pour out. It was a terrible, wonderful sensation as red fluid passed into her. Every thought she had gone flying to the wind as she drank. It was like food for the starving, fresh water in the desert, the joy of coitus, the pain of sorrow, the whole of life itself flowing through her. Claire drank deeply, the unleashed animal in her loving this joyful sensation subsuming every fiber. And then in a moment that seemed an eternity it was over. That terrible Hunger was, if not full then at least well-fed. Still there but dimming to a background noise in her heart. Claire rose from her victim. He had done such a horrible thing to her, but now the animal fading she realized what she's done. She'd killed him, he'd done things for sure and probably worse but did any man deserve to be eaten? This, was the essence of the vampire. She had become a predator, one that could not be truly controlled. Rogan had been right, there should be little joy in this "gift" but she'd had little choice in the matter. Damn what had she been thinking, that Hunger that rage. A leaf before a tornado. Checking just to be sure Charlie was truly dead Claire moved away walking in a circle around the man. Something in her manner had changed, if only in contrast she was no longer faking any unconcern for her nudity, it simply was. It was rather like what Rogan had displayed not too long ago. Claire gave the change no conscious thought it simply was. Her focus was on her victim. He may have been vile, but she could regret that he was dead. Her mind had only one real question. Now what? "A good kill." Though he did not shout, his voice carried across the field. "Keep well-fed, take a little at a time, and you will thrive in this world. Grow hungry like you were again, and you will lose your to the beast, the rage in each of asks that demands blood. Keep fed and those around you may be pale sometimes. Starve yourself, and you will be surrounded by bodies like his." His life has no significance. Others have loved ones. Just as your friend brought you to me, so too will the deaths of others bring their loved ones searching for you. Unlike me, you have not earned the right to embrace anyone. Come, we have a long drive ahead. We can discuss more as we head to the Prince's estate." "Perhaps this was simply his time, like it was mine," Claire said solemnly before looking away, not sure if she believed that, "Still I have no desire to fill coffins, I shall have to keep that advice well in mind. A question before we go. Was Charlie here sent out as a punishment? The other Victor, they both boxed me in but when I leapt out of it he was the one that went after me while this one here just laughed. Was this his punishment for a lack of... commitment, or was he merely convenient? I imagine most... vampires... start that way so you had to know what I would likely do. I ask to know better what sort of man has become my new, parent or whatever the proper term is." Regardless of the answer Claire was not angry with Rogan, it seems strange but if anything the attraction she had seized on before seemed even stronger now. There was a warmth to thinking of the man, like if her heart skipped a beat. If her heart was beating. Still that was the way she could describe it. Well no surprise given the intimacy of what they had done together, Claire had been with plenty of men, but none had gone further. It wouldn't be human to feel something for some who'd done what Rogan had. At any rate it was evident they were done here. Claire left Charlie's corpse lying there and located the clothes any of the clothes she had dropped that were still in the field before heading in the direction she heard Rogan voice coming from." So I am not allowed to make other vampires then? While that makes sense it sounds a rule, so I guess your... our... kind have rules and laws of our own then. Those would be good to know if I'm to meet this Prince. First thing every noob should do is now the rules of a board before they actually do anything." Rogan did not even bother to look at Charlie’s corpse. “No, it was no punishment. Victor was the one best suited to apprehend you there was no need for both to follow you into the water. Charlie’s roll was to torture you, which turned out to be unnecessary. I needed someone to feed you, and Charlie was the less useful of the two. I also thought you might like revenge for your fingernail. That won’t grow back now that you’re dead. It can be your reminder of what happens to those who harm you, and what happens to them is you fall prey to the beast again.” As Claire put her clothes back on, Rogan answered her other question. “Yes, we have rules, but I’ll let the Prince tell them. There are few enough. For now just don’t assume anything, and don’t do anything stupid.” Her clothing felt like it belonged to someone else as Claire pulled it on. It truly was meaningless, but would be expected of her in public though so she put it on anyway. They were damp and cold, but that bothered Claire even less. Warmth it seemed was for the living. Rogan's response said a great deal to Claire. Just a simple calculation, she could almost understand being vindictive better. Though terrible to admit, it that moment of the kill she had revealed in the sweet revenge for the pain he had caused her. It still disturbed her though to take a life simply for pain, though any who would do that were scum there had to be some balance. That had not been worth the man's life. That Rogan hardly seemed to care spoke much, was this what vampires became? Was this what she would become? A disturbing though. Claire looked at her pinkie, studying it for the first time. There was some blood left and empty skin, but it seemed to be closed. Truly there was nothing left of the nail. She should probably buy some fake ones, just to prevent any questions on how she lost it. It shouldn't stop her from doing anything though, that was more important. After examining it Claire took her first instinct and cleaned the remaining blood on her finger up with her tongue. The last bits of her own living blood, even dried it tasted like the sweetest candy. Just a taste though and then it was gone. Clearly real vampires could not get by on discrete sips." Very well then," Claire said after Rogan finished, "I suppose I will save any questions until after meeting this "Prince" then. Though I do have many I will need answered eventually. I suppose there is nothing further to be gained here though. Shall we go?" Rogan nodded. Victor drove the truck, pantless, while Rogan lay in the flatbed in the back, staring at the clouds in the sky. He did not speak much, his thoughts lost in the past, and for the rest of the night to come. Spoiler Hide And... done. Feel free to discuss how Claire feels as she goes to meet the "Prince" but I think we're ready to wait for the others. One down, five to go. Claire chose to ride in the bed with Rogan. She'd no wish to be around Victor, she'd have felt as guilty if he had been the one sent out to feed her, but she still considered him a terrible thug. If less slimy then his former compatriot. Still if she never saw the man again it would be enough. Strange that she would consider the man behind the two of them more worthwhile than either. Maybe it was that old cliché about bad boys and girls? Claire didn't want to think she'd been drawn in by something like that. Maybe it was just the contrast, most of the male she'd known in her life were just boys. Like Gary had been. They could be nice, and smart even, but half the time she felt like they considered her somewhere between a bizarre combination of space alien and deity. Strange and only approached cautiously, her slightest move could send them skittering. Rogan was so different, she challenged him on being insane, and he'd responded with overwhelming force. She could respect and admire that strength. Still it was odd that she felt something more after waking back up, she'd never considered her previous lovers in such a way. It puzzled her greatly. Then again a great many things were starting to percolate through her mind. This ride was the first moment she'd really had since stepping onto the pier to stop and think. As it all settled in Claire found herself troubled by more and more questions. Vampires were real, what about them was true? All the stories were different. For that matter there were enough of them to have a society, did they come in different types? Rogan had called himself a Gang rel, what did that mean? What were the rules they lived by? For that matter what did vampires mean for the world in general. Vampires couldn't exist in a world like that, Claire had enough background in science to understand just how impossible that was. Even if some disease could make her crave blood and act like that in so short of time, she had no heartbeat. She'd felt herself grow fangs. And even all that, she has seen Rogan turn into a wolf and then unchanged. Forget biology she was pretty sure he'd shattered Newton. Claire's parents had raised her free of religion, she'd always put stock in science because it worked. Now it was clear that assumption was nothing but a prideful lie. Oh crap, her parents. In the moments of accepting death and choosing to linger Claire hadn't even considered her parents, teachers, friends. She considered briefly she'd need to quite her doctorate, but how was she supposed to explain why. What was she going to any of tell them? This was worse than all the risks she took on keeping her hobbies a secret, Lady Black Box used to be her big secret and now that would be the easiest part of her life to keep going. But above all her parents, what the hell could she even begin to tell them. You couldn't just say I-quit-school-and-became-a-vampire to someone. It seemed being dead was more complicated than being alive had ever been.

Deathknell Chronicles- Claire's Prelude|rating:4.0

Corrupting Joke_ Running Gag ((UnHolyPimpHand & princesssexci))

((This Thread is a continuation of Corrupting Joke, originally written by Vagrant and princesssexci. Written in homage and with great respect for the original.))“Ho, Hui, hah! Hah, ha ha ha, hahaha—hah! Hui!” The Joker cackled madly as he joined Bat-Quinn in the purple Town Car, “you really, really want it, don’t ya?” At this, The Joker leaned across her, teasing her with his closeness—letting her smell his sweat as he grabbed himself quite graphically, the grip he had of his privates, even through his purple slacks, left no doubt that he was genetically gifted below the waist. For as cursed as he was above the shoulders, The Joker was equally blessed below the waist.“Well…” Joker was practically holding his cock right up against her face, “I’ve got it right here for you, Hah! Ha! Ha!” From the other side of the Town Car, Joker retrieved a decorative, cardboard box which he placed in Bat-Quinn’s lap. It was his Joker taffy. The humor of misled expectation. What was “it?” Classic comedy! Joker laughed at the look of disappointment on the Ginger Revenge’s face for some time… even pointing directly into her face as Punch, one of his loyal henchmen, drove off from the construction site.“This new batch hasn’t even hit the streets yet,” Joker sighed, wiping tears away as he recovered from his giggle fit, “the Joker toxin sinks directly through the skin, localizing the strongest effects. Hah, hah! It’s a new circus every time!” Suddenly, Joker’s tone changed. He settled into his aggressive baritone, what he said next was no joke. It was a command.“Stick out your tongue, bitch!” Joker barked, poking at Bat-Quinn’s cheek with a gloved finger, while his other hand opened the box of taffy treats, “that’s it, stick it way out.” When he felt sufficiently obeyed, Joker grabbed one of his pieces of layered candy. He slowly, painstakingly, stretched it out right in front of her green eyes. Finally sweeping the stretched out candy around her tongue—around and around, until he pressed the corners behind her teeth and down her throat.“There! Now suck!” Joker insisted— “don’t worry, I’m going to give you what you really want—but first, I want you to let that sweet, sweet taffy sink into your tongue. I want my pet panting and lapping at my zipper like a good little bitch.” The Joker laughed at that visual. His own little Bat Bitch. Leashed and broken like he wanted her. He was already pleased with how far she’d come in a few short weeks. Now he was eager to see how far he could push her. See told ya he wanted ya…. Her mind was a flurry of so many different thoughts. Her conscience was trying to break through too. Pesky little bitch. What was she thinking about again? Let’s see, she remembered a lot of things typically. She was bat Quinn…bat girl… no all of this was wrong, but she was still horny as fuck. Mmm maybe he’ll give me something yummy to suck if I’m a good girl. Barbara —Batgirl no Batting…..whatever the fuck she was calling herself these days was still confused on whether she was thinking these off the wall thoughts or if she was being brainwashed. You can’t brainwash yourself, stupid. Her thoughts drifted as the Joker lifted his crotch was right in front of her face. She fought back the strong urge to rub her face all over the purple material crotch section of his pants. She was practically salivating for him. Furthermore, she pouted when he sat back down with a box in his hand. Though really she should’ve been excited considering no one ever got her anything except maybe her dad… She eagerly opened it up and was even more confused staring at the sticky pink candy. At his aggressive tone her back stiffened for a second before she let herself relax and opened her mouth wide.“AHHHHHHHHH….” She said loudly as if she were at the doctor's office being poked and prodded with that popsicle stick thingy they always used. Batting never quite understood why they used it. Realizing that her mind was drifting she forced herself to focus back on what Mist ah J was talking about. Once he wrapped the candy all inside her mouth. The taste of it seemed to prickle on the red heads tongue as she moaned with pleasure. She sucked on it hungrily as the toxic candy rushed through her blood.“What the fuck is happening to me….” She murmured as she tried to snap out of whatever the first version of taffy had done to her. Nope, no worries for you Missy. That insane giggle seemed to break free in her head and then just giggle vomited out of her head. Giggle vomited? Was that a word? She giggled even more because of the random cute little words she was making up.“I don’t think that’ll be an issue…” she said in between giggles,” I’m already so horny Mist ah J…” this was what she said but with the taffy wrapped all around her teeth and down her throat and around her tongue, it sounded more like“ ‘AHM tho horny Mishmash That ‘“ and of course the sentence before that was just incomprehensible at all. Batgirl’s giggling was infectious—no, contagious—no, something else that would spread to others but wasn’t a virus or infection, like a good kind of spreading—like that feeling when you scratch an itch in your balls, but you know you’re being too rough so it’ll just itch more later, but you don’t care because it feels so good. That was Batgirl’s giggle, like scratching his balls too much. But just as he was about to open his mouth in praise of her, to recite the goddamn Shakespearean sonnet of a simile that he’d just himself come up with—her last two words halted the ones that died in the recessed corners of his chapped lips. Mister And even though he couldhearHarley—his Harley in it… It wasn’t her. It wasn’t his Harley. It was an imitation. Albeit a sexy, curvy, ready, submissive, slutty imitation—it wasn’t her. No one was her. No one would ever be Harley Quinn again. What was this emotion? Unbidden and amusing. Was he feeling sorrow? Remorse? Fidelity? Respectable sources had long said he was devoid of all those things. Whatever this new feeling was, it was not at all like scratching his balls. More like rubbing alcohol on an open knife wound. But then again, maybe this was good for him too.“Mister J…” he repeated, his tongue suddenly darting back and forth to the corners of his mangled lips, stopping himself from drooling which he sometimes did when he stopped smiling, “not quite.” After hovering, achingly close to her for a very long moment while he processed unfamiliar feelings and similes for laughter, Jokermoved away, back into his seat.“You do look good in her clothes—you even put your own little spin on it—but you ain’t her. Not by a damn, fucking sight—you hear me?!?” rage was a much more familiar and comfortable emotion for The Joker, “don’t just TELL me you’re horny—SHOW me! This isn’t like that mundane bullshit you used to pull with your old partner. TELL people what to do! TELL people how to act! TELL people what to feel! That ain’t me, Kid! I’m in the “SHOW” business—and my one and only objective is to SHOW people how the fuck to live!”So show me, Bat Bitch—don’t tell me!” Joker grabbed Batgirl’s hand aggressively, taking her middle two fingers into his jagged mouth and lashing them with his tongue, excess saliva already dripping from his chin, running down her wrist, “SHOW ME how horny you are! Shove that wet hand into those tight shorts and finger yourself! Make that snot slosh around like a bobcat in the bathtub! That’s what Harley-fucking-Quinn would do!” Joker tossed Batgirl’s wet hand back at her like it was a penny tip for bad service.“Just don’t cum—your orgasms all belong to me, now. And you ain’t earned the Big O or the Mister J… not yet you haven’t. It’s Joker until I say otherwise.” He hates you… You can’t even get being his …whatever right… You’re a fucking screw-up. No wonder Bats never liked you following him around. She blinked a few times trying to get those stupid voices out of her head. They weren’t doing her any good and for the moment, they stopped. Batting wasn’t sure what to do from here. Well, she knew what to do from here she’d just never been in such a submissive role. The joker was right about that. She was the one who usually called the shots or tried to.“Y-yes … Joker…” she said biting her lip before pushing her hand into her shorts squirming some. Don’t cum… she silently told herself as she lightly teased her opening. Pushing her fingers inside her pussy she rubbed…and rubbed.harder… As she did this she made little mewling sounds of pleasure only slowing down when she felt herself get to the brink. Her free hand moved towards her breasts squeezing one of through the material. Batting closed her eyes tight forcing back that urge to come right then and there as her ass rubbed seemingly against the seat of the car while she just held her hand in place, not moving -- not doing anything. She looked over at the joker with a desperate look, wanting -- no needing release. “Hannah!” Joker whined, leaning in closer, draping his body across Batgirl’s body, mocking the soft noises she was making, “Hannah!” His mocking whines and moans quickly dissolved into high-pitched chuckles as the town car slowed to a stop amongst some of the deepest slums in Gotham, just blocks from the notorious “Crime Alley.” Punch engaged the parking brake and remarked without turning.“We here,” the gargantuan grunted, he and his brother were giants—but mental midgets, all meat, no gray matter.”Hannah-hehehe-ha-ha! Fine!” Joker snapped, briefly interrupting his mimicry of Batgirl’s moans, “oh—what? What’s with the big, green eyes? Huh? Don’t tell me you’re already at your limit? Hah! Hah! Hah! Pathetic! I guess I should have expected it from an apprentice of a winged rat… fine. I’ll let you have the first one cheap…” Joker was standing up in the back seat, unbuckling his belt and unzipping his pants while hunched over her with his back against the roof. Within seconds, his thick, many cock sprang forth, mostly erect and getting harder—bigger.“I guess I’m just a big softie hat heart—I can never resist a good—Gag!” Suddenly and without more warning than that, Joker closed his middle and ring finger around the nose of Batgirl’s mask and thrust his hips forward, burying his cock into her mouth and thrusting it all the way down her throat in one go. His balls slapped her chin, discolored and pale from his accident. His fist remained shut, keeping her nose pinched so tightly it seemed a certainty she’d walk away with a bloody nose.“Go ahead and cum then, slut. It’ll only cost you your breath this time. Cum all you want—just don’t dare to breathe. He-he-he! The taffy ought to have numbed your gag reflex—or maybe it made it more sensitive… Who can remember these things? Plus, you’re the first to try the new formula. Maybe it makes your gag reflex orgasmic… you’d like that I bet.” Without drawing back, Joker thrust his hips forward more, craning Batting’s neck over the back of the headrest, deeply fucking her throat. Below the skin, he could just barely see the crown of his dick sliding between her collarbones.“Yeah, that’s a nice tight hole, you’ve got there. Use your tongue, now. Don’t get lazy,” Joker’s finger made a muted pop as he flicked her forehead, the mask absorbing all but the sound of it, “come on—come on—might as well get as much of a nut as you can, the next one won’t be so easy…” Now Joker was just chuckling, keeping his cock buried in her throat and his hips just steadily grinding her skull against the headrest. He stayed like that for several long minutes… until her eyes started getting wide again and her lips started turning blue.“Okay, that’s enough. Turn off the water works!” it was unclear if he meant her soaking pussy or her eyes which had been steadily leaking tears into the back of her mask for nearly 200 seconds, “you can breathe again.” Joker’s cock made a horrible slithering noise as he extracted it from the depths of her throat, dragging with it a great glut of taffy colored saliva and thick mucus that slipped down onto her shirt.“You can’t go around wearing that logo on this side of town,” Joker sighed after putting his sticky cock back into his slacks, “he, he, a girl could get killed, walking around like this.” With a loud rip, Joker tore the front of her tight T-shirt open, splitting the red bat logo down the middle and suddenly exposing her round, naked breasts to his appraisal. His chapped, crooked lips pressed together as he examined them, canting his head to the side and nodding in faint approval. Harley’s tits had been spectacular, but this, at least, was something of an upgrade.“Hmm… not bad.” Joker assented before tugging the shirt closed again and knotting the torn fabric between her huge tits. The torn halves of the bat logo hanging out of the knot, torn and inverted, “much better.” With that, Joker climbed over her and exited the car, waiting for her to follow.“Don’t stop fingering yourself, do it while we walk,” Joker instructed her, helping her out of the car like a gentleman, holding just the tips of her fingers that weren’t otherwise occupied, “it’s tough to get into my gang, you know. We can’t just take any ol’ scrub or slut off the street—this way.” Joker led them into a narrow alley, barely wide enough to enter without turning, but just the right width for his narrow shoulders. There was a carnival style finger graffitied on the side of the building, pointing into the alley with just the word “FUN” written below it. At the end of the alley, there was a courtyard that was not quite square, where several tall buildings all turned their backs on this blind-spot. There were three other alleys that fed into the dark courtyard—originally intended as shared dumpster space, but with the lack of convenient access and the deterioration of the surrounding neighborhood, the space became mostly forgotten and been reclaimed by the streets. Punch’s twin brother, Judy was there, using his terrific size and terrifying strength to tighten ropes around upright railway posts that had been pounded into the four corners of a boxing ring made out of old, wooden pallets. There were a half dozen “bonded” members of Joker’s crew, collecting bets and selling mason jars of what was presumably moonshine. They were easily recognizable, but none in the same way. One had his face tattooed with clown makeup, another was simply wearing a purple and green t-shirt. Another had his arms completely wrapped in paisley-printed handkerchiefs—alternating purple and green, from wrists to shoulders.“I’m hosting a fight, you see. Two potential members, but only one spot on my crew… they’re going to fight until one can’t go on... or dies. Then whoever’s left gets to join the circus—ha-ha-hah!“For you—I know you can fight. Boy do I know it! I want to see if you can entertain, while leaving the fighting to others. You’re going to be the ring girl. Keep track of the rounds, keep the crowd invested—shake your tits and ass around. But we don’t have any cards or anything, you’re going to track the rounds on your fingers…” At this, Joker seized her wrists, extracting the hand from inside her shorts and bringing it up close to her face. Her fingers coated in warm juices.“For each round you show them,” Joker folded her fingers on her dry hand, only the index sticking out, “you’ll put that many fingers inside yourself. Round one…” Joker pulled her wet hand closer, sliding her index finger slowly past his chapped lips, his tongue lashing greedily at her juices.“Round two…” this process was repeated, her dry hand demonstrating two fingers while Joker sucked and licked at the two fingers on her other hand, “round three, round four…” This time it was him who had saliva dripping down his chin, so he spat out the fingers and released her wrists.“And so on. You should hope for a knockout before round five—he-heh-he-he-he—hah! I didn’t bring any gloves, either—so I like your chances.” More and more spectators were crowding in around the ring, bikers, mobsters, mutant gang members, Joker cultists—all eager to see a spectacle of blood and flesh. The walls were elaborately painted with giant, graffiti clown murals—each entrance to the courtyard labelled. “FUN!” where Joker and Batting had come through, “GAMES” directly across and “LAUGHTER,” the third alley that filtered in, easily the widest entrance where most of the spectators were filing through. Several old, long abandoned dumpsters had been bent and hammered into rough approximations of bleachers, tucked against the graffiti walls. While Batting had been observing the scene, someone had handed Joker a megaphone. It whined for a moment after he toggled the switch on.” Gooooooood evening, my fellow derelicts and lowlifes! Tonight, we have an extra special spectacle for you all—blood and sex—life and death—money and drugs! Tonight we have two—no three new applicants to join my merry band of misfit toys. First up, we have the Serbian Slobber-Knocker, hailing from parts unknown—““I’m from Serbia!” the bald, Caucasian giant shouted from his corner where one of the crew was rubbing petroleum jelly into the large man’s chest hair.“It’s Loudmouth Interrupts-the-Boss!” Joker was a champion of efficiency. He’d learn the name of the winner. There came some spattered chuckles and sarcastic cheers. The Serbian was not pleased.” and his opponent, standing holy-fuck-that’s-tall. Also from Parts Unknown!”“I’m Armenian!” the other fighter chimed in, clearly not getting the hint. He was slightly smaller, but his muscles were better defined.” It’s—Eastern Block Trash Number Two! More mixed reaction of laughter and howling.” And, as an extra special meet—I mean treat,” Joker winked back at Batting,” the artist formerly known as Batgirl! Here, live, in the flesh for your viewing… and touching pleasure!” Judy beat a steel frying pan with a bat—CLANK-CLANK-CLANK!it was time to announce the first round.” Leeeeet’s get ready to CHUCK-LEEEEEE!” Batting whimpered as the joker mocked her but still made her so desperate for him, even by just the way he was teasing her. There was something about wanting something that she couldn’t have that made Batgirl or in this case Batting want it even more. Hell, she’d followed Batman around like a lost puppy dog without an owner just because he ignored the fuck out of her. She was disappointed when the car stop because she’d been hoping to earn fucking him and all that came with it. Maybe it was the taffy she’d eaten earlier but the idea of being choked while his cock destroyed her pussy was a delicious fantasy and made her finger herself harder adding more fingers but reminding herself that she had to wait, had to earn her orgasm. But goddammit she wanted to cum now! At his command, Batting felt her first orgasm of the night wash over her body. “Hannah…” she whimpered, her breasts rising and falling in tandem with her heavy breathing. Her tongue dragged along his cock in a desperate need to taste every inch of him. Her eyes rolled in the back of her head, whimpering again as he pulled his cock out once they were where they needed to be. She almost hated how he was mocking her moans though. That topped with his cock burrowing its way down her throat was causing her to tear up and do that thing that was important to living—breathing. She also hated how much it turned her on too and hated even more that it was all over. “You can’t go around wearing that logo on this side of town,” Joker sighed after putting his sticky cock back into his slacks, “he, he, a girl could get killed, walking around like this.” With a loud rip her eyes widened. Batting was slightly disappointed considering she liked the job she did on her costume but at the same time death didn’t exactly sound like a good idea. She regarded him slowly as he surveyed her breasts, her nipples hardening from the heat of his gaze before he tied up her shirt.“Thank you?” She said in slight confusion because she really couldn’t get a clear grasp on the Joker, but that was probably the whole point. At least …he didn’t want her dead, not yet anyway. That was something. “Don’t stop fingering yourself, do it while we walk,” So she kept fingering herself while also keeping herself on the edge. It wasn’t exactly the easiest thing to do, finger herself as she walked. That part didn’t matter though and if she was truly giving up on the Batman and turning to a life of crime…no—fun. She’d have to just roll with tasks were given to her. Quietly she listened to his instructions. Two members that had to fight to get into the jokers gang, basically fight to the death if they had to. All of her hero instincts screamed at how wrong this was, and she should be doing something to stop it. Batquinn forced those thoughts out the door immediately though as Joker went onto explain what she’d be doing. “For you—I know you can fight. Boy do I know it! I want to see if you can entertain, while leaving the fighting to others. You’re going to be the ring girl. Keep track of the rounds, keep the crowd invested—shake your tits and ass around. But we don’t have any cards or anything, you’re going to track the rounds on your fingers…”. As he licked the juices from her fingers Batting moaned. The way his tongue moved around her fingers only made her imagination run wild with what else he could do with that tongue. Round two…” this process was repeated, her dry hand demonstrating two fingers while Joker sucked and licked at the two fingers on her other hand, “round three, round four…”“Got it.” Batting finally said, it sounded like an easy enough job. She was starting to wonder whether this was all the taffy that he’d given her talking or actually her because she couldn’t for the life of her remember being so attracted to the Joker before. “And so on. You should hope for a knockout before round five—he-heh-he-he-he—hah! I didn’t bring any gloves, either—so I like your chances.” Maybe it was the whole being in a dangerous situation that got her off; knowing he could probably kill her at any given moment if she fucked up. She was, as he so quaintly reminded her, not Harley Quinn. Following him until they were where they needed to be. Batting watched in almost awe as he did the announcements while working out how to be entertaining enough to get her ass killed while also keeping the joker pleased and not feeling like she was out to steal his thunder. Part of her had to ask herself if she might have had a small praise kink thing going on since as Batgirl she was always striving to get Batman’s approval. As the Joker did introductions for each fighter, Batting was gearing herself up to keep count of the rounds when she heard The Joker announce her. ”And, as an extra special meet—I mean treat,” Joker winked back at Batting, ” the artist formerly known as Batgirl! Here, live, in the flesh for your viewing… and touching pleasure!” Batquinn grinned and waved at the crowd before shimmying making sure that her breasts bounced excitedly in the now low cut top she wore. The hoots and hollers made her smile wider. ”Deepest’s get ready to CHUCK-LEEEEEE!” Batquinn stuck a finger in her pussy and gave an exaggerated thrust towards the stage. “ROUND ONE!” One of the nearby henchmen, his face painted like the robbers from Dead Presidents, reached his arm back to beat a frying pan with a bat again to begin the fight, but Joker caught the barrel of the bat in midair, halting the swing.“It’s theater in the round, kid,” Joker remarked to Batting, reaching his other hand back and open-hand slapping her round ass hard, leaving a handprint peeking out the leg of her tight shorts—also probably thrusting her harder onto her own finger, “do a lap.” The crowd was in an absolute frenzy, painted maniacs screaming their heads off—just like he liked them—blood-mad and full of rage. But when he first sent the scantily clad young woman out into their midst, they misinterpreted the generosity of the gesture and practically mauled her. One shoved his tongue down her throat, another roughly tugged her top open while still another latched yellow teeth around an exposed nipple, someone else was trying to bite her asshole through her shorts. Within moments, she was swallowed up by a seething mass of horny mob-mentality. Joker dabbed the corners of his mouth with his tongue. This was unforeseen. Reaching into his purple coat, Joker extracted his500 Magnum revolver. The powerful firearm was painted in neon yellow and green, like the popular Super Soaker toy gun from the 90s. He’d even replicated an orange “Safety tip” around the end of the barrel. He took a moment to measure the shot. One of the mobs actually managed to reach climax and blasted his thick, hot cum across her tits. BOOM! The firing of the massive handgun filled the small space with deafening sound, the impact from the firing of the shell rattling dust off the interior walls of the alley. Somewhere on one of the surrounding streets, the sudden burst caused a car alarm to go off. Everyone froze. You could have heard a pin drop.“Now, now… let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This is a fight, not a gang bang. Do not rape my ring girl,” Joker gently helped Batting back to her feet, retying her shirt and slipping her hand back down the front of her shorts, “go on, sexy. Only gentle touching from now on.” Joker considered for a moment.“But I’ll give five-grand to anyone who spanks her hard enough that she disobeys me and cums.” The slapping sounds began ringing out almost instantly. It was a celebration, after all. “It’s theater in the round kid…” Batting just stared at Joker blankly. She wasn’t exactly a theater person so she didn’t know what that meant…until he clarified that she should do a lap which to her meant so that everyone could see from every angle. So that was what she did, a lap just as the Joker told her to do. Batting was thrown off guard though as one of the guys pulled her into a kiss after tackling her — if that was what you wanted to call it. She felt his tongue force it’s way down her throat and could hardly breathe. Her top was pulled open by someone too. And what sucked is while typically she would’ve been disgusted by what was happening, due to the taffy she’d eaten she could feel her nipples hardening further confirming that it was indeed a sex drug. She jumped startled from the resounding shot that echoed while cum squirted on her tits. Did she wipe it off? Leave it there? “Now, now… let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This is a fight, not a gang bang. Do not rape my ring girl,” As he helped her up, Batting had to ask herself why she had previously thought The Joker was anything but a gentleman. Mind games from the bat, maybe? She was also starting to see the allure that kept Harley with the clown. The jokers action and words brought her back to the here and now as he pushed her hand back down her shorts.“go on, sexy. Only gentle touching from now on.” Harley went back to fingering herself, whimpering some. With all that had just happened within the last few minutes she was even wetter than before.“Round …” she paused as his final words seemed to soak in. “What?” At that moment she realized that she’d spoken out of turn and cleared her throat,” Sorry. Round —“ she felt the first slap on her ass, followed by more causing her to squeal with pleasure? Horror? She didn’t even know anymore. She kept fingering herself though, her moans beginning to grow in volume. One thing was for certain Batting had no idea how this night was going to end. “It’s working! Spank her harder!” one of the middling street-level thugs screeched, spitting into his hand to make his spank land with more impact, “we got this.” Joker’s eyes narrowed, she hadn’t gotten very far and was about to cost him money. It was ironic, really. If he’d asked her, Bat Quinn could have hopped her athletic ass into the ring and put down both of the fighters in a couple of swings—but she couldn’t even round the first turnbuckle before she was on the verge of cumming. The guy who yelled, “Patch” to those who knew him, because he only had one eye—he took his swing at Bat Quinn’s backside. His hand straddled her ass cheek and her knuckles, trying to sneak a touch of her pussy. His wet hand landed with a sharp smack and a splash. It was unclear if more of the liquid came from inside Patch’s hand or inside Bat Quinn’s shorts. Joker licked his thumb and began counting bills to pay the guy who made her crack first. In his mind he adjusted odds. He didn’t like losing bets.“Ring the damn bell,” Joker groaned, snapping a rubber band around the wad of bills and tossing it to the winner. Dead Presidents banged the frying pan again and the fight began. Wet packing sounds rang over the shouting as the two huge men swung bare fists at one another. The sound of these wet punches landing was not so different from the sound of dozens of hands fighting to spank Bat Quinn on her way around the ring. Someone was pinching her tit through her torn shirt. Someone else was biting her inner thigh. Though no one was tackling and trying to rape her, the crowd wasn’t exactly giving the “gentle touching” that Joker had offered. When Bat Quinn was within reach, Joker snatched her wrist and pulled her to himself, extricating her from the grasp of the mob.“Don’t sweat it, kid. You did your best,” Joker held her hips, guiding her round ass against his lap, “watch the fight.” While her spanked, swollen ass was parked against Joker’s slacks, it was like base—no one even dared try to spank her while she was pressed against the boss. Joker casually squeezed and caressed one of her breasts while he watched the two combatants beat on each other. In the first round, there was no defense. Just haymaker punches, hand over hand. Both men were bleeding profusely within the first seconds. To join Joker’s crew it wasn’t enough to be tough—you had to be crazy. After ninety seconds, the frying pan again. The men stumbled back to their corners wearily as Joker made an announcement.“That’s enough sampling the merchandise. Use this as inspiration. I want every one of my Lieutenants to bring a slut to our next meeting. This taffy works great for turning them out. Next time, I’ll give a prize for the best slut brought to that meeting. Go on girl, you can call me Mr. J from now on.” This time he gave her round ass a generous spank to get her moving, but she wouldn’t get spanked again. Making it slightly easier to announce round two—despite doubling the fingers inside her. Batting squealed as her ass was slapped again, and she bit her lip doing her best not to cum. It was hard not to but she barely managed. Hands seemed to come from everywhere. Her eyes narrowed some as she could feel that bat reflex start to push its way up. “Ring the damn bell,” Right, fuck! Quickly she rang the bell, so the hands would hopefully leave her the fuck alone. Just as she was getting ready to break the next man’s wrist, she felt herself get pulled from the crowd by the Joker. It was a bit ironic that she nearly sighed in relief that it was just him.“I’m sorry, Joker.” Batting apologized immediately. Already, she was failing at her job. “Don’t sweat it, kid. You did your best. Watch the fight.” She squirmed somewhere she sat as Joker or now that she was allowed to call him such, Mr. J. Batquinn beamed at being able to call him Mr. J. Though truth be told once she sobered up from the taffy, if she ever sobered up from the taffy she probably would’ve wondered what the fuck happened and why she acted the way she did. Moving from his lap, Batting continued to finger herself as she moved around the whole ‘round theater’ so that every audience member could see her.“Round 2!” By the time she was back at Mr. J’s side she was squeezing her legs together tightly forcing herself not to cum yet. She’d already screwed up once and as Bats she was a fucking perfectionist. She wasn’t going to let that perfectionism disappear. Joker’s tongue jabbed at the corners of his mouth, staving off the accumulation of saliva that constantly threatened to spill past the brutal scars across the sides of his face. His little pet Bat was struggling, he could tell—it made him wonder how tight she was clenching, rubbing her thighs together, tight, little girl scout cookie. Her puckered, tight ass. He realized how many metaphors for being sexually repressed revolved around tightness. Tight-wad, tight-ass, uptight, rigid, frigid… maybe that one wasn’t about tightness, but it did sound like ‘rigid’, which Joker’s cock was by the time Batting moved back over to grind her round, athletic ass into his lap. He chuckled slightly. Yes, she was struggling. Joker could almost see the two sides of her fighting with one another—the way she and Harley used to. Back when he and Harley would ride together. Thinking about his lost love, Joker reached around to wrap his gloved hand around one of Batting’s breasts, squeezing and massaging it passively, while his erect cock continued rubbing against her butt. He was barely even watching the fight, imagining Harley’s tit was the one in his hand—using that tit to grind, slap and bang against her other tit—the Bat-tit. He started making sound effects with his mouth.“K’pow! P’room-boom! Pow!” he was starting to get a good slapping noise when the Harley tit slapped the Bat-tit, “Key-Pow-Boom!” The fight had ceased to hold his interest, as both combatants were exhausted—not used to fighting someone their own size. They were mostly just breathing hard, sweating, bleeding and leaning on each other just minutes into the second round. A boring war of attrition. The crowd was getting restless as well, someone tossed a bottle into the ring which shattered, getting the first loud reaction of the second round. Another cheer went up when one of the fighters grabbed the jagged neck of the broken bottle and slashed the other guy’s leg. Someone else threw a knife, someone else threw brass knuckles. Within moments, it was raining melee instruments—no one wanted to be amongst the Street Clowns without plenty of weapons. A ball peen hammer, a spiked mace on a gold chain, a buzz saw blade, a prison shank, a sharpened rock, a box cutter—this was clearly no longer a fist fight. Within seconds, it was clear that there was not going to be a third round. The guy whose leg was slashed managed to land a killing blow by burying a combat knife in his opponent’s chest while he was trying to get his fingers into a set of brass knuckles. He wailed manically as he mounted the other man and continued stabbing him over and over. Blood spurted into the air and covered the victorious fighter who kept stabbing, every inch of his body fighting for survival.“We have a winner!” Joker released Batting’s breast and led her into the ring, “and as a prize, he gets to fuck our pretty ring girl.” Suddenly and without warning, Joker shoved Batgirl back into the ropes, reaching past her to overlap the ropes around her arms, the tension of them overlapping pinning her arms back behind her back and keeping her leaning backwards.“You don’t mind, do ya?” Joker extracted a condom and another piece of his new-formula taffy. Using a delicate touch, not wanting to get any pit sweat or blood on his suit, Joker helped the surviving fighter to his feet and handed him the condom. The fighter fumbled trying to get his cock into it, but he managed, knowing better than to interrupt the boss when he was being magnanimous. Joker bit the taffy in half, then squished the two sides together, stretching it out like a ribbon and then wrapping it around the condom like a thick, uncircumcised candy cane.“Fuck her hard,” Joker said to the fighter, something between an aside and a threat. Not performing as instructed could be hazardous to his health. Joker turned back to Batgirl as the fighter wrestled her out of her shorts, tearing several holes in her fishnet stockings, “you can cum as much as you want. You did good. I’ll leave some more taffy with you.” As soon as the instructions were given, the huge, blood-soaked fighter started slamming his big cock inside of Batgirl’s tiny, clenching, little hole—over and over. The taffy began to melt, making a coiled texture around the Eastern European’s thick cock. As it melted, her pussy began to gush with fluid, the drugs absorbing straight into her most sensitive area.“Take notes, miscreants. You can turn any bitch out like this. I used synthetic sugar in this batch so you can insert them without giving her an infection or anything like that,” Joker placed a reassuring hand on the back of Batgirl’s head as her body bounced back and forth against the roped that pinned her arms back.“You can turn out any bitch like this. But be sure to use a balloon on your animal—otherwise you’ll get addicted too. And we all know the rule—” We don’t get high on our own supply the crowd singsonged back at him, mechanically and in unison with identical inflections, like a bored elementary class.“No, the fuck, we do not. Except this one. She gets to have as much fun as she wants—he he he—Ha aah! Ha ha ha ha!” Joker laughed humorlessly as the huge man started crying as he slammed Batgirl’s tight pussy. “Fucking Bat Slut!” Batting couldn’t stop herself from moaning when the Joker reached up and grabbed her tits. She giggled as he made sound effects while slapping one of the tits against the other. In the back of her mind something kept fighting to get through, almost like a secondary conscience which was stupid. A person could only have one conscience. Batquinn pouted when the Joker finally released her tits. She was dragged over to and then pushed into the ring. “We have a winner and as a prize, he gets to fuck our pretty ring girl.”“Wait, what?” She stammered almost seeming to sober up at that moment. Almost. She watched with wary eyes as Mist ah J handed the fighter a taffy covered condom.“I mean I was kind of hoping my first time would be …” Didn’t matter. She realized this as the fighter struggled to get her shorts off and not because they were hard to get off but because this time she was fighting back even with her hands tied. She fought as best as possible. That also didn’t matter, Batting realized as the Joker totally ignored her and told the fighter to fuck her hard. Her pussy shouldn’t have tingled at that command. Damn it.“You can cum as much as you want. You did good. I’ll leave some more taffy with you.” “Thank you Mist ah…” her sentence was cut short as she felt the fighters cock slam into her pussy,” Jaaaaay…” she finished with a long moan attached to it. Batquinn whimpered as she became even hotter and aroused as she was being fucked. Her eyes rolled in the back of her head as her breasts slammed against her own rib cage from the force of the thrusts.“Fuuuuuck melee…” she cried out, her mouth formed an o shape as she became delirious with lust. The Serbian fighter who had survived the bout continued bitterly weeping as he fucked the bound Batgirl with all his might. It was unclear what he was feeling, but he was muttering to himself in his native tongue, maybe he was praying. Killing someone with your hands was different from using a gun—point and click, when you fight someone and kill them you experience their will to live as well as your own. There was no way to dispassionately wear someone’s blood. A life or death struggle bonds people together just before death separates them. Someday Joker would dance that dance with a bat… maybe it was her. His gloved hand reached down slowly, moving like he was underwater in contrast to the crowd, which could accurately be described as a riot. Blood, sex and violence had triggered something primal in Joker’s crew of neurodivergent criminals—the process of distributing the taffy had gone terribly awry with the boss so distracted. Joker gathered Batting’s long, red hair, lifting it away from her neck, separating it into two distinct pigtails on either side of her head. He inclined his head just slightly, his expression like granite.“That’ll do, Bats. That’ll do.” Some amongst the gang had determined the value of the new recipe taffy and accurately surmised that if they could take it from someone else, the scarcity would increase. Dozens of separate brawls broke out as cliques and sets began dominating smaller groups or solo operators. The thugs responsible for distributing the tins had been overrun, psychos were grabbing armloads. A gunshot. A scream. Someone spat onto Batting’s face just before tears, sweat and blood began to drip down from the large fighter, Joker just continued staring down into her eyes. By now, he knew who she was, it really wasn’t that much of a disguise—her voice, her body, he knew—but he still chose not to know. It was so much easier to do to Batgirl. Heroes weren’t people—they were icons. Icons are meant to be perverted, it keeps the system from falling out of balance. But people… people were harder to change, to hurt meaningfully, to fuck them up. She’d often been warned against donning the mask, Joker assumed, she chose to cast away her identity—her humanity. The crying Serbian’s fingers were digging into Barbara’s luscious hips, he was fucking her joylessly. It might have been called hate-fucking if she wasn’t so obviously enjoying it. Bruises were forming on her upper arms where the ropes held her tight, and it seemed that the fighter was getting close to his own finishing blows. Joker continued to maintain the aggressive eye contact. It was like he was fucking her with the fighter’s cock—no, hewasfucking her. Fucking her upstairs while the fighter fucked her downstairs. When he came inside her all the taffy had melted away and Joker closed his eyes, just basking in the chaos. Joker’s reverie was interrupted by a police siren. This is Police Commissioner Gordon! You are all guilty of possession with the intent to distribute schedule one narcotics! Cease this riotous assembly at once! The chaos that followed made the chaos before seem hum-drum. Gunshots rang out from all sides, riot police returned fire. Someone threw a flash bang grenade behind the police shield wall and their line was broken almost instantly. Some fled, some fought, others fought their way through to flee—the police had been unprepared for the rapid switch between them all fighting one another to fighting together. They had offered themselves up as a common enemy.“Until next time,” Joker said softly, running his palm over her cheek as the fighter ran off. Still seeming completely at ease, Joker leaned forward to plant a gentle kiss on the forehead of her mask. Leaving her bound, nearly naked and high as a kite, Joker extracted a can of what looked like spray paint from inside his jacket. He sprayed the brick wall behind him, the spray expanded and turned to foam as it touched the wall, he drew a rectangle in the foam. Taking a few steps back, Joker lunged forward to kick the center of his rectangle. The ballistic foam detonated in a flash and plume of black smoke, blasting a perfect door in the previously solid brick wall. His huge gun sounded its massive voice, and he was gone. Just moments after Joker’s grand exit, a dark shadow swept across the alley. Batman fluttered in, delivering a flying kick to the chest of one of the thugs who was beating a riot cop to death with his own night stick. Rumors of his death had been exaggerated once again. He threw punches and kicks, did a barrel roll across a fat man’s back. In mere moments he had incapacitated eight members of Joker’s crew. He might have gotten more if his eyes hadn’t fallen on—“Batgirl?” The pain was evident in his voice. He rushed over, unbound her arms and wrapped her up in his long, black cape.“What did those psychopaths do to you?” he was gritting his teeth. Commissioner Gordon emerged moments later, flanked by riot cops and wearing a GCPD Kevlar vest.“Batman! You’re alive?”“They assaulted her! Those bastards… we need a rape kit. Damn them!”“My God… are you alright… Batgirl?” “That’ll do, bats.” The words seemed to echo in the back of her mind, almost seeming to reach that forgotten part of her. She stared at the Joker as she was being fucked like nothing more than a rag doll. The sounds of everything going on around them seemed to echo in her mind too. Fuck, she was so high. Batgirl had never One drugs before. Well, duh. She was a hero. Of course, she’d never done drugs before. Barbara had never done drugs before either. Her mouth parted as she started to drool while being fucked, just staring at the Joker. She could just imagine him fucking her like this. She shouldn’t be imagining that, but she was. It was wrong, but Barbara wanted him to break her. It seemed exciting because it meant she’d done enough of a good job that he’d noticed her. His obsession with Batman was annoying. Her mouth formed into an O again as the Serbian fighter came inside of her. Her little whimpers became louder as she imagined her psychotic clown cumming inside of her like this. Was this what made Dr. Quinzel go crazy? Imagining the joker as her dark lover? Batgirl, Batting visibly flinched at the sound of her dads voice. It was like getting caught by your dad while you were groping your new boyfriend, and he walked in on you guys. Embarrassing. Fuck, she was Batgirl right now though so that was a bad analogy more than likely. Fuck, she is high and still horny. She’d almost whimpered when her Joker left her there.“Bat. Batman…” she stammered out,” I …they gave me some sort of candy or gum or something. Think it.was …” shit she couldn’t think. She couldn’t… “What was I saying?” She just wanted to fuck more.“Wow, Batman never realized how good you looked in that suit….” She murmured. Batman’s brow furrowed as he could see into Batgirl’s dilated eyes. She was sky-high, rambling—that bastard, Joker. Batman didn’t even know what it was she was high on, the sudden increase in unknown drug incidents had brought him back from JLA business off-world. It was a hard transition from saving universes beyond counting to kneeling in a filthy alley, feeling overmatched by a clown. Such was his great suffering. The obligation to duties beyond the stars and all the way down in the gutters. To say he was spreading himself thin was an understatement. And now Barbara—er, Batgirl had suffered because of his unconscionable negligence.“They dosed her,” Batman said to Gordon in his gravely rasp, ignoring her comment about his body, not even looking at her—not considering that she might have done the drugs willingly. The officers in riot gear had taken control of the alley by now, with Batman’s help. A dozen or so of the Street Clowns had been apprehended, other officers were gathering tins of the taffy into evidence bags.“Get her somewhere safe,” Commissioner Gordon told Batman, unable to look at Batgirl himself.”Not so fast, Freak!” Det. Bullock strode into the alley, the SWAT Kevlar vest draped across his wide body and unable to be strapped shut. Behind him, his partnered. Montoya followed with her vest hugging every curve of her athletic torso. An odd couple to say the least, “at a minimum that bat is a material witness—at most she’s an accomplice. Look at her! She’s loving it! My partner and I need to interrogate this witness before we cut her loose.” Not waiting for a reply, Bullock strode forward and fished around in the cape that had been wrapped around Batgirl’s shoulders. Once he extracted her arms, from the bundle of black tech-fiber, he closed a loud, plastic zip-tie around her wrists.“You know he’s right, Jim,” Montoya backed his play with her strong Gotham accent, the two of them together were formidable in spite of being strange bedfellows, “we need to know what she knows about this drug. At least get a blood sample.”“C’mon, red. Let’s get you somewheresafelike the man said,” Bullock smirked. His tone and his body language made Batman’s stomach turn, but neither he nor Gordon could argue with him. He was right, which was the most gut-wrenching part. It didn’t help that Batgirl seemed to be willingly—even eagerly, going along with him into the alley and into the back seat of his unmarked squad car.*-*-*“You’re not going to hurt this poor girl,” Montoya was having second thoughts as they pulled up to the flea-bag motel where Bullock often stashed his snitches and bitches—which he intended Batgirl to be was still unclear, perhaps both.”Relax. It’s an interrogation. I can’t promise it won’t hurt,” Bullock glanced back through the bulletproof glass at Batgirl in the back seat, “but this one might like it. What do you think, sweetheart? Want to tell me about the taffy? I’ll give you what you want—I won’t even unmask you.”“I’ll go get the room,” Montoya sighed, there was no talking him out of anything—especially not at this point. Bullock passed her a crumpled twenty before he got out of the car, opening the back seat and leaning forward. He reached out and started grasping her big tits, which were exposed now that the knot in her shirt had fallen open long ago. His thumb pinched her hard nipple against the edge of his hand.“What’s the Joker planning? Tell me the truth, and I’ll fuck you to the moon, you fucking whore.” Batgirl wasn’t exactly sure why Batman or her dad—even though he didn’t know he was her dad right now let Detective Bullock take her, but she shook her head. She went willingly with them, but it was because kept telling herself that if she fought them she’d look suspicious. Her brows raised as they drove her to a trashy motel.“Pretty sure this isn’t legal…” Bat girl said her voice still slurred from the taffy, while she was trying to sober up from it. The candy drug still ran through her system. It was taking all her strength not to break down and touch herself in the car. She ran her fingers through her red hair anxiously. When he handed her a crumpled twenty Batgirl was almost insulted that he’d give her money to talk like she was some sort of hooker. Unfortunately, her body seemed to react to his touch though. Her nipple hardened even more, and she moaned when he grasped her tit.“I—I don’t know. I was taken hostage, like I said. I wasn’t told anything. “ Detective Bullock wasn’t the best looking detective on the force, but he did have a dick though, and she had to wonder even though she shouldn’t if he knew how to use it. “Not told anything—my ass! Look at you! You’re higher than giraffe pussy! Your pupils are the size of serving trays, and you’re covered in sweat! I know you’re on drugs, and if I have to unmask you and book you to prove it I will,” DET. Bullock pinched and began to aggressively twist her nipple as it hardened between his powerful fingers, “but wouldn’t you rather play nice?” Without relenting his pinching of her nipple, Bullock used his other hand to open his belt and free his cock from inside his slacks. Perhaps he wasn’t in the best shape of his life, but Bullock’s cock was huge! Many of his past conquests had complained about walking funny for days after taking it. Around the middle it was wider than a soda can, and the head was nearly the size of a peach.“Yeah, you want to play nice,” Bullock smirked, waving his half-hard cock in front of Batgirl’s face, taunting her, “what drug are you on? How is it administered? What does it do? And how is Joker distributing it? Answer those questions, and I’ll let you keep your big secret.”“I got us a room. Seventeen, on the first floor,” Montoya called out as she approached.“Well go check it out! I’m in the middle of an interrogation!” Bullock barked back, slightly startled and leaning over the roof of the car, with his naked cock alone in the back seat with Batgirl.“But I think she’s deciding that she wants to co—oh! Ahem. To cooperate.” “Giraffe pussy…sounds like the punchline of a really shitty joke…” Batgirl giggles then pressed her lips together to suppress it. Also, she was becoming distracted as Detective Bullock—whoops Bullock undid his pants and slowly licked her lips. Her pussy tingled as her newly dirty imagination ran away with her. Her back arched a bit more as he continued torturing her nipples. She’d probably end up cumming just from the nipple play if he kept it up. Not to mention, if her dad found out it was she who was behind the mask AND was high off the taffy stuff. She’d be in a lot of trouble. Batgirl slowly licked her lips that hunger for cock growing.’S’not drug or I. I didn’t think it was…” she admitted, her eyes were glued to his cock staring at hungrily. “It’s candy. He put it in my mouth, made some stupid joke and had me tell a joke which he then said wasn’t funny” She managed to break eye contact with it for a minute. “And I told you… I was kidnapped.” Oddly enough she was sort of telling the truth. In her sobered state of mind she wouldn’t have gone anywhere with the Joker willingly, he had given her candy, and she wasn’t paying any attention when he’d blabbered on about where the candy from.“I think he said it makes you really horny though.” She giggled, “which is kinda obvious, right? Can I have your cock now, pretty please?” 9 times out of 10 she’d probably regret saying all of this when she got all of that candy out of her system but right now none of that mattered. This was the jokers fault, he gave her this stuff and left her alone at anyone's beck and call to do whatever. She wouldn’t be in this predicament if it hadn’t been for him. “Candy, I knew it!” Bullock exclaimed to no one in particular as he reached down to grab one of Batgirl’s pointed hears atop her cowl and force her mouth onto the wide head of his stiff cock. She’d probably waited long enough and what she’d told him sounded believable—given the state she was in. A potent aphrodisiac with psychedelic properties, it was very on brand for Joker, theme minded as he was. Fuck! Her mouth felt amazing, stretching and gagging on the wide head of his massive cock. He almost got lost in the sensation and lost control. He shoved her off of his cock by her mask with the same ferocity as he’d plunged her down on it.“Let’s get to the room,” it was an order as much as a goal statement. The last thing he needed was to be spotted face fucking the notorious Batgirl in the back of his unmarked cruiser. Bullock grabbed the collar of the cape still draped around Batgirl’s shoulders and practically carried her out of the car and into the parking lot. He dragged her as quickly as he could, his pants collapsing around his ankles and shortening his steps over the last few yards.“Jesus Christ, Bullock! Put your iron away!” Montoya cursed, shielding her eyes to avoid seeing his hard, wet cock as it bounced into the room ahead of the other two, “nobody’s trying to see that.”“She is,” Bullock smirked, tugging Batgirl in after him.”Harvey… really? Are you really going to? You know that she’s—”“A material witness in an ongoing investigation! Of course, I do. I’m turning her, she’s already confirmed that the new drug is hidden in candy. Now I just gotta shake some more answers out of her.” Bullock tossed Batgirl onto the cigarette stinking bed. He knew what she was trying to say. Harvey and Jim had been partners when Barbara was born, back when Jim was the new, hot-shot detective and Bullock was the grizzled veteran showing him the ropes. Harvey had carried Barbara on his shoulders when she was little. Daredevil that she was, she loved for him to just toss her up in the air as high as he could—much higher than Jim could. At first, he would catch her, then as she got older she would land on her own, do a tumble out of the fall or some other agile-type shit. Bullock recognized those eyes anywhere. Respect for Jim more than anything kept the other detectives and officers from ever saying anything, but it was more like an open secret amongst the investigators that Barbara Gordon was Batgirl. If only the other bat had been so recognizable to GCPD. Those good times of shoulder rides and the falling game were long gone now. Jim had made his career on selling Harvey out for his many misdeeds behind the shield, climbing the ladder on his old friends’ back. Of course the charges went away and after a month’s suspension, Bullock was back on the beat—but Jim’s beat had grown bigger. Bigger by the whole damn city. CommissionerGordon. All hail Cesar. The crowd cheered so loud, no one could hear Brutus sharpening his knife.“You’re a sick fuck, Harvey,” were Montoya’s parting words as she slammed the door shut behind herself. Harvey licked his lips. She had no idea the relations hate-fuck he intended to lay on her as revenge for her father’s betrayal. Harvey shed the rest of his clothes after locking the door.“Now, where were we?” Harvey reached out and tore the cape open, biting her left nipple hard while thrashing it with his tongue. His other hand squeezed her large, round breast with the considerable strength in his wide, hairy forearm. Author notes:Batting thoughts Barbara thoughts Batgirl moaned as he grabbed the cowl of her Batgirl mask and pulled her mouth onto his cock. It had been a few hours since she had cock in her mouth, but it had felt like ages. She messily licked her lips when he shoved her off his dick. Batgirl would've been watching the display between the two cops and maybe that would've been sobering her up some if she wasn't having her own internal battles. Uh oh selling Mist ah J out, he's not going to like this'm not selling him out, and I'm the good guy, girl. Plus, he just left me high on his supply. When he finds out you told on him, he's probably going to slit ya throat, no that would be too kind. Maybe he'd just give ya to his Hench men instead. Even that's too kind. It didn't matter because there was no way out of this. Wait, hadn't he given her some of that taffy stuff earlier to give to the fighters? Or had she been hallucinating that too? Had everything been a hallucination? Had there even been fighters? “You did good. I’ll leave some more taffy with you.” That had been the Joker awhile ago. Where had he left it though? She didn't even remember where the fuck he'd put it, and what was she supposed to do with it? Did he actually leave anything with her? If Harvey found it on her; he was going to come to all sorts of conclusions and on top of that -- fuck she was still so high it was hard to think straight. Okay, if she was Harley what would Harley do right now? She would use his weakness against him right? To get out of there. But she wasn't Harley. Even the damned voice in her head sounded nothing like that stupid dead sidekick of the Jokers. The door slammed bringing Batgirl back to her senses. The minute he touched her Batgirl knew this was going to be a losing battle, moaning. Her back arched when he bit her nipple. It was hard to imagine that this man, the man who when she was a kid she'd run around his desk bothering him and accidentally knocked over his coffee and bugged him for some of his donuts was a sexual deviant like this. Of course, he had been kicked off the force -- oh right suspended for bad behavior so was it all that surprising. "Guess you really are a dirty cop..." She reached for his cock, thinking of an angle. "If we worked together, you and I -- I could help you get the dirty candy. Bat boy doesn't trust me and neither does the commissioner. I'm an outcast like you Detective..." she purred. Play on his weakness. That's what she was doing. Playing on his weakness, he wanted to be better than her dad. "God your cock is so fucking big. I can't wait to take it back down my throat." “I’m not a dirty cop!” Bullock’s tone had changed completely, he tore the oversized cape away from Batgirl, tossing it across the room, leaving her in her cum-stained tatters. Torn fishnets, ripped shorts and a shirt that only covered her upper arms from how badly it was torn, ripped and torn again. Her body too wore the faint bruises of rough treatment, the residual redness of being spanked over and over, the rope marks from being bound by the ring ropes. Shewas the hero Gotham deserved.“It’s a dirty fucking city,” Bullock pounced on her, paying no heed to her request for more foreplay. With the force of his full mass behind it, Bullock slammed his massive cock as deep as he could possibly force it into Batgirl’s tight, inexperienced hole. He bottomed out in no time, shoving her hips into the cheap mattress that gave way until her hips compressed the box spring. The cheap bed cracked and groaned loudly from the first thrust, but no sooner had the box, spring bounced her petite body back up than he was lunging his body back onto her again, pushing roughly against her insides.“And you’re a dirty fucking slut!” Bullock sneered, releasing one of her tits in favor of wrapping his large, powerful hand around her Gracie throat, “but I can work with you.” It seemed that she was eager for legitimacy too, since she and Gordon tended to avoid one another for obvious reasons, she lacked the outward connections that Batman enjoyed. Now Bullock could have his own pet bat—better yet, he could fuck her in between.“The precinct—definitely—confiscated--all of the--taffy that was—at the scene,” Bullock was strategizing in between thrusts, the loud, wet, belly-flop sound of his body landing on hers interspersed with his strategizing, “they don’t—realize the SIG-nif-i-gance!” For a multi-syllabic word he increased his tempo. Of course Barbara gave no supply as her face was turning red from being strangled. Bullock scarcely noticed.“So they won’t—have tested it—yet.” The bed was obviously broken by now, her hips reached the floor each time he pounded into her and the headboard was battering the wall enough to chip through the drywall. None of this diminished Bullock’s enthusiasm in the slightest. In this position, even the years of gymnastic flexibility didn’t fully prepare her for how wide her legs were being spread. It felt like he was trying to pound her through the floor.“I can’t—get access—without tipping what—we know! But you—can break in—and steal the taffy! I can—help you—from inside!” It was unclear how much of what he was saying was making it through to her, but he released her throat in favor of her breast again, indicating the end of a thought. As sweat began to dribble down his face and neck, he leaned forward, offering her his tongue to suck on. Batgirl moaned loudly as Detective Bullock slammed into her. Even she had to admit that his cock felt way better than she would’ve imagined. That Barbara part of her just loopholed getting under his skin, and apparently she’d done just that by calling him a dirty cop.“And you’re a dirty fucking slut!” It was on the tip of her tongue to say that she never said that she wasn’t a slut. Just because she was hero didn’t mean she wasn’t supposed to enjoy sex. It wasn’t like she was a nun or something. Besides, if she tried to get on Detective Gordon’s good side — too easy, he would’ve eventually seen through her costume at some point then forbid her to go out and fight crime.“Yeah?” It was hard to know if that was a question or a moan literally seconds before his hand wrapped around her throat and she began to start losing her air supply. In retrospect, this may not have been a good idea. Death by mid-orgasm? Not too bad of a way to die. His dick felt so good though. Focus, Barbs she told herself. Push past the drug and focus on what he was saying.“I can’t—get access—without tipping what—we know! But you—can break in—and steal the taffy! I can—help you—from inside!” Barbara’s was incredibly thankful for all the years she’d taken gymnastic. Sure, she’d be incredibly sore in the morning with how many different positions she’d been put in tonight, but it was well worth it. She still couldn’t answer, only give a strangled moan in response. Her pussy gripped Bullocks cock hungrily sucking it in. Eventually when he let go of her throat, Barbara — Batgirl had a decision to mask take Detective Bullocks tongue in her mouth which wasn’t the worst option considering he was already fucking her. While her more sane mind was still trying to think it over and rationalize it she was already sucking on it because of the taffy. Her nipples were rock hard pebbles underneath his touch, aching for more attention. Her only thought was this could be the Joker if he hadn’t hung her out to dry. That fucker. Bullock’s hips rose and fell aggressively, spreading Batgirl wide as he slammed the mattress against the floor again and again. The broken headboard was pounding the wall with every thrust as his hand squeezed her round, athletic breast with all the force his forearm could bring to bear—which was a lot of force. He hummed with satisfaction as she sucked his tongue, like the willing little cock-puppet he hoped she would be. Another loud snap, the bed failed completely and the lower half fell to the ground. Dissatisfied with this change, Bullock broke the connection of their mouths, manhandling Batgirl to turn her away from him almost exclusively by his grip on her breast. He was not gentle—almost like he was trying to hurt her. When she was perched on what remained of the bed, Bullock seized her hair with his other hand and pulled her back hard into his next thrust. His force and size might have knocked her over if she hadn’t been a world-class fighter and athlete—a hero. He released her breast, raising his arm high above his head and bringing it down on her ass hard which was still slightly tender from the game Joker’s goons had played while she was working as a ring girl.“I’ll—give—you—the—codes!” Bullock was breathing heavy, slamming her from behind with all of his impressive might, his huge cock brutalizing her insides, he spanked her again and tugged her long, red hair, “you—steal—the—shit!” Another spank. She seemed to like it.“Slut!” Bullock grunted, bottoming out again as he lost control and began dumping his hot, thick semen into her tight, clenching pussy.“They’ll blame Joker for the theft. They probably won’t have much security because they don’t know that the taffy is drugs yet,” Bullock kept his cock inside her, growing softer as he caressed and rubbed her round ass cheeks with both hands, catching his breath.“Sound good? Ready to be on a winning team for once?” sweat splashed off of Batgirl’s ass as he slapped it again.

Corrupting Joke_ Running Gag ((UnHolyPimpHand & princesssexci))|rating:2.0

Deadly's Survival Game_ Monodominant

Week 1. Day 1. You awaken with your head throbbing. You have no memory of who you are, where you are, or why you are there. The air is crisp, clean. You can feel a gentle rocking. Enough to realize you are laying on something hard. There is a cool breeze blowing, and it splashes water on to your face. Looking around you are in a vast expanse of water. The current seems to swirl running North to South, yet alternating between tugging you East and West. You remember your name after an hours time, but that is all. Spoiler: Drinking the water Hide A quick taste parches your lips. You reason that drinking it would be bad. Spoiler: DC 15 Nature or Survival Hide The current suggests that there is land on either side, but not to the North or South. It must be rebounding off the coasts. Spoiler: IOC Hide You gain swim = 1/2 base land move speed. Blinking a few times to clean his eyes and growling softly to himself he splashes some water on his face. He keeps his eyes closed to avoid the salt but hopefully the cool water at least wakes him up. First thing David does is look at what he is standing or sitting on. Is it some kind of boat? Does it have oars, a mast or some way to navigate it? That done he checks himself quickly for any obvious wounds or abrasions Spoiler: untrained heal check Hide (1d20)[11].Subsequently, he checks to see if he has anything on him. What he is wearing and if any of his equipment, though he can't recall what exactly his possessions were, might give him some hint about where he was, who he is and what happened to him. Once all that is done he tries to look in the distance and figure out if he can see any piece of land or hear any birds and wildlife that might indicate presence of land. Spoiler: Figuring things out Hide Spot the land : (1d20+6)[17](17) Hear 'the land' : (1d20+6)[18](18) What time of day is it (survival): (1d20+4)[5](5) As you move and shift the thing you are on makes noise. There appear to be no means for navigation on the object. Splashing your face with the water leads to a burning sensation in the eyes. It goes away as you blink and tears flush out the irritants. You search what you can see of your body, your clothes making the search more difficult. There don't appear to be any marks of injuries on your body. As you look around it become apparent the sun is very high in the sky. Not quite directly above you, but it is quickly moving to that position. As you continue looking around you are able to see something off in the distance to the East. It clearly rises above the water and doesn't seem to be moving. Continued scanning reveals a similar feature to the west, though it seems to not rise quite as far above the water. Spoiler: IOC Hide So, I can't tell what exactly I am on? Asking IOC not to interrupt the flow, like I would ask a tabletop GM. Is it wooden/metal/stone? Also is it bobbing in and out of the water or is it stable? Lastly, you missed the part where I check what equipment I have with me, if any. Is the swim speed you mention gained by pushing the item I am on, or if I just dive and swim? Spoiler Hide I didn't miss it. You only have your mundane outfit on you. The thing you are on is wooden. Jumping into the water for a better view would let you know it is a box of some sort. But since you are on what would be called the lid, and it is barely floating with your weight added to it, an investigation from on top of it reveals nothing. Your swim speed is a 'bonus' addition to help you survive this environment. Pushing/pulling the box would slow you some but not a noticeable amount for long distances. Spoiler Hide Cool, thanks for the info! David knocks on the wooden material to see if it is hollow or not and if it proves to be hollow, hence potentially containing something, he will carefully enter the water and start swimming east. He reasons that a bigger surface might mean more space to exit the sea and figure out what to do next. All thoughts about how did he get here, what happened to him and who is he become a secondary concern as he focuses his efforts on getting to land. The wood gives back a resounding hollow sounds. Upon jumping into the water to swim David realizes that the object he was on was a box. Traveling at speed the journey to the coast takes you two hours (It is about a mile away, but you have to fight the box and current). You had no problem swimming against the current yourself, but the box refused to be helpful. Wrestling it to keep it with you took extra time, but would likely be worth it. As you get nearer to the land you notice that what you saw appears to be an island. An island coated in a dense forest. You can see some rocky outcroppings as you get closer. The tide crashes against the shore gently, thought it does foam in some places. Spoiler Hide I didn't quite put you on shore yet. The description of the island may or may not change your actions slightly. You can post assuming that you reach shore either way, but I didn't want to make assumptions. Careful to avoid areas where the waves would dash him and the box against the rocks, David continues to swim towards the island. Dense forest was useful, sustenance and shelter was easier to come by than on the planes, and he knew how to handle himself around a forest area. As he covered the last few meters he started wondering on what had happened to him. The box indicated he had been travelling on a boat or ship... either he had become shipwrecked or he had been tossed overboard. Still, the headache and ringing in his ears plus the fact he was yet far from safe meant he had to stop thinking of that and focus on the present. Spoiler: Getting to shore Hide Injury - (1d6)[6] 1= Gashed foot (painful and causes bleeding) 2= Gashed leg (painful and causes bleeding) 3-6= Bruised but otherwise unharmed. Upon reaching the shore there is only a short area of grass before the woods start. Perhaps 50' back until the dense wood line began. The trees were massive, the shortest at 50' tall. The short trees luckily still had low-hanging branches, but the tallest had long since lost their low-hanging limbs. Spoiler: The Box Hide Investigating the box finds no markings. It seems to be of sturdy construction. The lid is not nailed down or locked. You could likely pry it open with some force. Another knock in the box indicates it is hollow, but dragging it along the beach lets you hear the noise inside of it. There is clearly something inside the box. Spoiler: Opening the box Hide Inside you find: fishhook and line, a backpack, winter blanket, flint and steel. Underneath all of them is some leather with metal studs. It appears to be the pieces of some armor, but not yet assembled. There is some leather string that can probably be used to stitch it together. As he is on occasion dashed left and right by the currents he sustains a few bruises as his body gets scraped against the sand and small stones at the shore. Grunting and cursing he pushes himself out and drags the box out with him. David takes some time to rest after the swimming ordeal and then proceeds to try and open the box. Clearly either he or whoever had thrown him overboard had intended for this kit to act as a start-up. Shaking his head at the contents he tries to look around the shore for any patch of rocks or stones that could obscure him from view from the forest line. If anyone or anything was watching he wanted to be able to see it first when it would come over the 50' area. Spoiler: Rolls Hide If spot would work to locate an area that would fit the description above spot (1d20+6)[25]. If instead you want to count it as a shelter (temporary as it might be) survival (1d20+4)[12] If a take 10 would give me sufficient score for the task, I would take 10 instead. Once the best suitable location is found he will carefully undress, squeeze his clothes to get rid of excess water and lay them on stones facing the sun to dry them as much as possible. He will then open the box trying not to ruin it in the process. If successful he will connect the fishhook with the line to make a fishing line. There is no such space within the beach head. Perhaps you could search for branches and sticks at the edge of the woods, but it'd be a clear indication of your presence. You could try moving some of the rocks from the water to shore, but there is no telling how big they are or how you'd be able to see in the water. You could probably open your eyes and see what was right in front of you, but they would burn. Spoiler: If you walk to the woods Hide As you walk towards the woods you can see some of the bark is missing on the trees. You can hear birds chirping in the distance, but can't see them. Some bark is laying on the ground next to the tree trunk. The woods seem to get more dense further back. Your visual searching even renders some larger boulders and rocks scattered throughout the trees. There oddly seems to be little to no undergrowth. This usually means the woods are heavily used or something is keeping them at bay. Spoiler: Knowledge 10 nature Hide Probably animal rubbings from something such as a deer. Spoiler: Going back to sea Hide Your diving mostly serves to irritate your eyes. You catch glimpses of fish swimming and even manage to grab two head sized rocks to shore. As you traverse the area swimming, the shore seems to continue for some time. Spoiler Hide Your rolls would let you be able to find some sticks and put together something. Though it'd probably be best if it was only temporary (or you improved it with further rolls). As there are no visible rocks and going again into the sea does not seem to him like a great idea after being in it for so long, David decides to risk the forest. While there he collects a few sticks, some pieces of bark, small stones and maybe a bunch of leaves and returns with them towards the shore. He then tries to make a mound along with any seaweed that might have come from the sea. With this semi-natural (or if lucky, natural from a distance) mound obscuring him at least a bit thanks to his small stature he hides behind it by laying down and proceeds to indeed dry his clothes and himself for some time. Spoiler: IOC Hide I know that in DnD wearing wet clothes has not fixed physical effect but well a semblance of real life (i.e. wet clothes can get you pneumonia even in mild weather) makes sense to me. He ponders what he saw in the forest(1d20+5)[23]trying to remember any useful pieces of information he might have regarding forests and nature and if he recognized what could have caused the bark to be removed from the trees in this way. The plus side was that bird sounds meant life on the island which would hopefully mean he could survive here. Once his clothes are sufficiently dry he searches around the sand for small insects, worms and possibly crabs that he can use as bait, and he then tries to fish for some time to secure food at least. If he catches more than he will need for today, he fills the wooden box with water and then proceeds to place the remaining one there. This should keep them fresh and edible for a day or so depending on nighttime weather. Spoiler: Survival Hide Don't know if you want to do survival checks for food as a prolonged RP + rolling part or a check is sufficient, I am fine with either. Based on SRD a DC 10 check in Survival allows a person to gather enough food camp; water for a day... while this would be awesome I think it kind of defeats the purpose of a survival game... for water for example I assume I will need to IC find a source etc. My idea is that a survival check here (along with my IC actions) would work just for catching a few fish that would give me enough food for today and tomorrow possibly depending on the result (more than 2 days would probably spoil the fish unless if it gets freezing at night). Survival (1d20+4)[13] (i.e. enough for 2 people... or I guess 1 for 2 days) Spoiler Hide I plan on using damp;d and practical things as a basis. The DC 10 survival check for instance makes certain assumptions about the environment. You gather enough materials to make an adequate shelter for the evening. It looks out of place on the beach, but such thoughts would require significant reasoning skills. When you return to the wood line to view your work you notice it, but it isn't immediately spotted either. It'll probably do to hide your existence. You've even managed to build it just above the tide marker. You seem to not only recall what made the marks, but more information about forest life. Given the vegetation there must be a significant amount of rainfall here. There are also likely streams and maybe even rivers. But prey also usually means predators. Your clothes take quite a time to dry. While you wait though you are able to rummage up a few worms from the forest to use for fishing. You try and catch the crabs along the shore, but they are too fast for you. They also retreat back into the water quickly making it harder to catch them. You can see several medium-sized crabs further out in the tide. Using your worms for bait you go fishing. You catch a few, but this close to shore most of your catch is on the small side. All in all you manage to secure 6 fish. It'll serve to feed you for two days if you ration it well. Your makeshift aquarium seems to be holding the water well, though the fish are a bit crowded. With food covered for the time being, David proceeds to collect some drier parts of bark, leaves and twigs so that he will be able to light a fire. He places those under the wooden box to protect them from getting wet in case of sudden rainfall. After this is done he will again take some time to rest and maybe even catch a couple of hours of sleep. After all he would be better served going around during the night where he had a slight advantage to at least some animals and even some predators. Spoiler: Routine Hide In general I will attempt to shift my 'internal clock' to nighttime = active cycle since dark vision gives me an edge vs things without it... an even many predators only have low light vision and scent (5-15feet) hence 60 feet dark vision is a better bet. When David wakes up and assuming its dusk he will start heading inside the forest using the trees as cover and trying to be as silent and as concealed as possible. As he doesn't know anything about this island and its inhabitants he goes for caution rather than speed. His first goal for the night is to find a water source and any other landmarks on the way from it to his temporary camp. David wakes up to complete darkness. He feels fully rested, but his stomach is rumbling a bit from hunger. He spends the evening carefully traveling through the darkness. Furthermore, he finds several small streams and traces them back to their source. His decision to travel in the dark gets him a few briars to the face. The underbrush thickens the deeper into the woods he goes. The streams aren't very deep. David would need a container or have to cup his hands to drink. The wild life in the area probably uses this for drinking water. But every stream like this has to have a source. Spoiler: Tracing the streams Hide Eventually he is able to follow the streams. They lead him to what might be called a river, though it is fairly small for such. He can stand on one bank and barely see the far side, telling him it is about 50'. The terrain around the river varies. Some portions drop off, others gently dip lower towards it. There always seems to be a 5' drop no matter what, the water must have cut the channel deeper. David can hear the current rushing even in the dark. Without light to provide color it is hard to distinguish rapids, but the noise suggests it. By his estimation it has taken him about 5 hours to get to where he is at the river bank. His clomping and relatively direct route, he did follow the same stream after all, leads him far enough back to his encampment he can hear the ocean again. Using the moon's location as a guide he can find camp. Spoiler: DM rolls. Posted for transparency Hide (1d100)[8] Chance of rain day 2. (1d100)[47] Chance of encounter. David will drink as much water as he can to sate his thirst. It's not as good as if he could carry it with him, but it's better than nothing. On his way back to camp and the shore he will look for a sharp stone that he could use to cut bark or use as a makeshift knife to gut the fish. He will also look for a sturdy stick or branch he can use as a walking aid or cane as well as makeshift club. Spoiler: spot Hide (1d20+6)[10] When he is back to camp he will gut his fish and then when dawn arrives he will try to start a fire hoping the light of day will obscure anyone looking east from spotting the smoke. He will cook enough fish to eat today and smoke the rest so they will last longer. Spoiler: roll Hide I guess maybe search is more appropriate than spot for finding the cane/club and sharp stone/knife as they are specific If yes here is also a search check (1d20+8)[28] Edit: oh my... Nat 20. Looks like I find the stick of truth and the stone of destiny! Or a masterwork branch and rock ☺☺☺ Spoiler Hide Did you follow the streams or no? The water is cool and refreshing. Having to lap it up and shovel it into your mouth with your hands seems a bit.primitive though. You easily find a branch to use as a club. You also find a few sharp rocks. One can be used as a knife as is, it'll likely hurt you if you need to add too much force by hand. The other stones you find could probably be wedged into a stick and tied into place as a hammer. Lucky for you, you also find a few perfect sticks to do just that. There is plenty of loose bark lying around. The bark is loose and flexible, not long enough to make a rope but certainly enough to create a makeshift handle to keep from slicing your hand open. You also find some extra lumber that could be used as a shelter. Spoiler: DM rolls go away! Hide (1d2)[2] Spoiler: IOC Hide Yes sorry, I did follow the streams to where it becomes a river. That is why I assumed by the time I am back its dawn (5 hours to get there, 5 hours to get back). Also do I see any kind of animals (sleeping, small predators hunting or even bigger ones etc.) while going through the forest/following the stream? Happy with his find he stacks the extra material in his backpack while he continues holding out his new... club to use as walking stick and for protection should something try to attack him. When he reaches camp he begins to set up the fire, gut the fish, wash them once more in the sea and then cook them and smoke them. While the fish are cooking he will proceed to try and use some of the softer bark to create a makeshift handle on the sharp rock so he won't get cut when he uses it. He will also attempt to create a hammer from one of the sticks and stones he has collected as it could prove useful. Spoiler: rolls? Hide Not sure if I need to roll something to turn the stone + bark into simple dagger/knife and the stone + stick into hammer. Some base intelligence or survival? I don't have craft ... tools but I don't know if having a craft in general would allow someone to use the base skills to create other tools with it. So rolling all 4 just in case, and you choose what is the most appropriate: Intelligence: (1d20+4)[7] Survival: (1d20+4)[24] Craft (Untrained): (1d20+4)[19] Craft Trained : (1d20+6)[21] You cut your hand using the makeshift knife to gut the fish. It stings, but doesn't do any lasting damage. It could lead to an infection if you aren't careful. Learning your lesson your attempts to create a handle for it are successful. You continue your attempts to make an improvised hammer. They won't be any use for crafting anything complex, but they should make building the basics of survival easier. Your attempts to smoke the fish are only somewhat successful, they should keep for 3 days though. It'd be more helpful if you had a proper smoker. David will wash his hand in the seawater and leave it in for a few minutes. The high salt content that had burned his eyes should probably help keep any infections at bay. Pleased with his efforts so far in creating tools, cooking his food and finding a good source of water he will take some time to rest and fish to add to his provisions. He will then proceed to pack everything away in his backpack so he is ready to leave at a moments notice. When he begins feeling tired, after all he had done a 10-hour march through the forest, he will then sleep and get ready for the evening when he will set out again. Spoiler: Fishing Hide Survival: (1d20+4)[22] You wade into deeper water to both cleanses your hand and fish. This time your fishing efforts are more fruitful. You catch a few larger fish, enough for another 5 days before you start to get tired. You also manage to not lose or break your line in these efforts, an impressive feat considering all the fishing you've done. Furthermore, you pack your things and keep the pack close as you try and get some rest. Week 1. Day 2. The day is fairly uneventful. The bright sun rises from the ocean side, making it difficult to sleep at first. You eventually fall asleep and are well rested for the next night. Week 1. Night 2. You wake up to find your camp as you left it. There are a few tracks in the sand, but they stayed well away from you. They seem to have just barely touched the sand and walked along the border of the woods before returning to the woods. Please with his fishing his sleep is calmer. It is perhaps for that reason that he had not heard whatever had approached him, and he now shivers at the thought that it had gotten that close. David will collect his belongings, empty the box of water to make it easier to transport and then spend some time removing obvious signs of his camp. He will scatter the ashes of the fire and break the pile of leaves and debris he had used to make his spot. He is not sure if there are other intelligent people on this island and while meeting them could help him figure out who he is, where he is and what is going on, he'd rather not do so before he knows more about them and revealing his presence could be dangerous. Once he is done he will set out following the trail he had found the night before, though probably it will be not as easy tonight since he is carrying much more. He still takes precaution by trying to stay close to trees, walk silently when possible and keep away from any predators he might spy from afar. His goal is to reach that river since that area will be good for hunting as well as for getting water and cleaning himself. It will also provide with material he will need to create a safer shelter. While on the 'road' David will try to recall anything useful he knows about the surrounding nature, including edible or helpful plants or particular predators he should be wary of in such environments and what their habits are so he can avoid them. Given he has gotten a glimpse of part of the island and also some details of it he will try to recall anything he might have heard that would help pinpoint him a bit better. Spoiler: Rolls Hide In case they are needed for anything: Hide: [roll]1d20+17[roll] (edit: ups, feel free to reroll for me if it is necessary, so I don't double post) Move silently: (1d20+13)[16] Spot: (1d20+6)[22] Listen: (1d20+6)[13] Survival: (1d20+4)[5] Knowledge Nature: (1d20+5)[21] Knowledge Geography: (1d20+5)[20] (cause you never know...) Your memories have you a bit confused. On one hand you know the saltwater nearby is dangerous to drink and would be less than idea for all of this plant life. However, the river is fresh water, so it must have a fresh water source somewhere. The tracks you saw clearly belong to a predatory cat of some sort. This fact is odd as the environment would suggest wolves and bears to be more likely predators. The vegetation suggests fairly heavy rainfall year-round. It likely doesn't snow as almost none of the trees are coniferous. You probably shouldn't stay too close to the stream, or you'll spook any possible prey. You'd also run the risk of contaminating it. Furthermore, you remember that tracking the stream against its flow would lead you to the source. Normally with a forest such as this you'd expect more than gently rolling hills. Granted the deep ravine with the steep walls indicate the river has run for a while and quite rapidly to carve down that far. With that much movement, you expect that it'd have widened as well. The lack of such signs may mean under the surface the river is wider. You should also take care of sudden changes in depth in the river. Rivers such as this would likely have fish and other wild life on which to sustain yourself. There may even be predators in the river, but without knowing more about the wildlife in it, you can't be sure. While whatever cat tracks you noticed may be able to climb trees, being up in them may give you a great vantage point for hunting the majority of the other wildlife in the area. You manage to reach the river without attracting too much notice. You can hear the rustle of feathers of some nocturnal birds. Furthermore, you can hear crickets chirping. Furthermore, you see some mushrooms on your travels this time, likely edible. Furthermore, you spot a few that aren't but are able to tell the difference. There are even a few berries, but you don't recognize them. You spot burrows in the ground as you move. Processing the information, David begins to catalog all he sees in his mind in an effort to get a firm grip of his location and options. For the time being he will try to avoid those burrows as they could belong to some small but vicious animal with claws and sharp teeth, and he is not in a good position nor to attack nor to defend against such a creature. He will collect some of the mushrooms though as just eating fish will get bland really quick. He also collects some berries but is careful not to touch them with his bare hands, using some leaves or pieces of bark instead. When he finally reaches his destination he refreshes himself with some water and then proceeds to travel around 1 kilometer away from the stream/river. His aim to set camp in such a close distance to avoid contaminating the water source and scare whatever animals use it. Furthermore, predators would probably also camp out next to the river seeking prey and lacking his own intelligence. Around the kilometer mark, David will begin searching for a suitable location. This would include either a big enough tree or rock that he could use for one side of his shelter. Alternatively, and perhaps better, any small cave he might locate or any big and high enough branches stacked together among some trees. This could be used as basis for a floor of a 'tree house'. The aim is to also find something that can with time be further bolstered from a temporary to semi-permanent shelter location. Spoiler Hide I will take as long as needed for the above... possibly including take 20 if I can (for a total of 24). If not, I will go for the roll below. This will be for the 'basis' of the base/shelter. I guess later on with more rolls I can improve it. Survival (shelter finding/making): (1d20+4)[22] Edit: Do you allow untrained craft checks? I mean to make a 'tent' / 'wooden house' I guess there are some fixed craft requirement. Without them theoretically (by the book) you can't do it as it doesn't work untrained... but as a kid I did build forts and a tree house and I most certainly wasn't a craftsman... Spoiler Hide 1km is a bit much. Your original speed was slowed by the fact that you were tracking a stream in unfamiliar, difficult terrain in the dark. You were also trying to be quiet. This means far slower movement than normal. While you can still move 1km, you'd realize that your original camp is just about as far away. (That 5hrs only had you traveling about 1 mile or 1.6km) Spoiler Hide Ok, well... I personally am not a big outdoorsman, so I don't know what distance would be good enough to not attract attention of predators/scare of prey, but I then guess around 300–400 meters away might suffice? Spoiler Hide 1KM, 300m, whatever you want. I just wanted to clarify before posting the results. Damp;D uses Feet and Miles (at least for me) so if you want to use metric that is fine, but I may provide my information in SI, and you'll have to convert. This is to keep me from having to constantly do both sets of math. Conventional wisdom says at least 100' away from a source of water to not contaminate it. To not interrupt wildlife 200' minimum should be fine. So let me know and I'll get you updated. Sorry about breaking the RP to sort all this. Spoiler Hide No worries. Frankly the whole imperial system (inches, yards, miles, feet) is a bit whack as there is no clear division. Metric system is awesome as everything is divided by 10... plain and simple :D But since everything in the PHB and other sources is in feet/inches etc. let's go with that ... so I guess from your post above that 200 -feet- would be minimum to avoid impact on wild life, so I will stay around 350 feet away (well depending on where I find good shelter, could be 300 or 400-450 as well) to be on the safe side. Spoiler Hide Sorry for the week delay! I wanted to wait to respond until I thought I could go back to daily checks. You can make a structure with survival checks. So your childhood forts would be an example of such. They aren't sturdy like a house etc. If you can find/make tools then the most basic (in PHB) items are available to craft (okay you can either way, but -2 to checks w/o tools). After this it is only trained. But I'd allow continued survival rolls to improve things. Botched rolls mean you mess stuff up though. This works well for a trial and error type building process I think. You refresh yourself by drinking some cool water. Then you wander off to the west away from the river. You travel about 2hrs to keep a safe distance, though your progress is slowed by the night and terrain. Looking at the trees above you realize you'll likely have to climb to make any sort of tree house, but the branches would easily allow it. You wander around on the forest floor though and manage to find a good deal of supplies with which to build a shelter. With your findings you could build a fairly sturdy survival shelter or build a standard one and start stockpiling materials for your tree house project. This work would almost certainly be easier in the daytime, but you stay committed to your nocturnal schedule. Spoiler Hide No worries... real life does happen :D On a side note, why is working at night with 60 feet dark vision and low light vision on top an issue? Most of the 'construction' takes place right in front of him after all and the only thing you lose is colors... I can understand that hunting can be affected (and scavenging) because you are limited to 60 feet at a time but in a dense forest 60 feet is not that bad even during the day... Deciding that indeed he will have to do this as a two-step process David begins constructing a ground based shelter that will protect him from the elements and possibly any predators that will not approach an actual structure. He does not yet have tools to make traps to dissuade them from approaching so some form of entrance that he can block is first priority. Realizing that until he is ready to go up to the trees for good he is better off working during the day to take advantage of the light he will sleep as early as he can so he will wake up while there is still light. Spoiler Hide Gathering materials when you can use color cues to differentiate ground/sticks/etc is greatly helpful. You'd also be surprised how much your color vision (and shadows) does for you. 60' isn't all that far. Even in a dense wood you can often see further. Again it isn't stopping you from building, merely hindering looking up into the trees and gathering supplies. Feel free to recon your last post if you want to stay working at night. I have no problems with it. You are able to create a suitable shelter that will stay up, though it'll need further improvements to be long-standing. You are able to fashion it so that there is only 1 opening. Spoiler Hide No worries, thanks for the explanation. I am not being combative or anything, was just wondering :D David is pleased with the work he has managed so far. He will sit down inside his makeshift shelter and enjoy some of his smoked fish before taking a nap for the night. He has little way to protect himself if any major predators try to get him even with just one entrance to his dwelling so instead he will use some leaves and blankets and try to hide himself between the blanket, the box and those. Spoiler Hide Don't know if you would allow a hide after which he sleeps to last through the night even with a penalty... I will go ahead and roll (or take 10 if that is possible. If possible then ignore my roll). (1d20+17)[24] Spoiler Hide W - (1d100)[5] E - (1d100)[33] You struggle to fall asleep on cue. You wake up feeling refreshed but off slightly, it'll take a bit more work to adjust your schedule back to working during the day. It is probably the first day since his arrival that David feels a bit more at ease despite the strange headache brought about by the strange sleep pattern. It is morning, he has shelter, he has food, and he has water... that means he is in a position where primary concerns of survival are solved, and he can focus on more important tasks. He has breakfast, this time mixing some fish with the berries/mushrooms he knew were edible, and then prepares to set out. He will spend the morning collecting wood so that he will be able to create a fire later on to smoke the remaining fish, and he will then sit down and try to fix the leather straps and metal studs into the armor he imagines it to be. Lacking in higher efficiency tools he attempts to figure out if it is even possible and how long this would take him. Spoiler Hide Rolling straight intelligence to figure out if It's something I can even do without tools and also how long this would take (if it can be completed in a day since the material is there or if I would need multiple days)... (1d20+4)[24] If it is indeed possible (and doable in 1 day) then I will go ahead and do it. Rolling Intelligence for craft (1d20+4)[18] (add any negative/positive modifiers to this you think fit. If not, he will spend some time on it (creating the bases for it) but not the whole day... perhaps he will work on it for 3–4 hours depending on progress. David is familiar with the armor. It takes him absolutely no time (1hr) to reassemble the portions as he remembers them. Donning the armor to check the fit takes only a few minutes, but it fits well as if made for him. He is able to remove it much more quickly. Spoiler Hide I'd honestly only torn it apart in case you wanted to use the materials for something else. ’D Spoiler Hide Well its clear (to him) that whoever put him at sea took the armor apart... It's not just a coincidence that the parts for an armor were there... which shows intention... perhaps malice even. David checks the armor in case it has any insignia, coat of arms or makers mark that could tell him more about the origin or who he is exactly... it is no accident that the parts making the armor perfectly were left there, and obviously it is not something he would have done in the first place... Such actions show an intent, but he is not sure if it was something done to test him or harm him... but then if someone wanted him harmed why would they let him live in the first case... perhaps a small mercy or an inability to directly kill? Casting the thoughts away, like he had been cast away, he focuses once more at the situation at hand. Now that he is armored he needs to become better armed... the simple makeshift dagger and club are not fitting weapons for him and the way he has fought in the past. As such he will search the area, heading towards the river, for pieces of wood that would be suitable for making the body of the crossbow as well as straight enough sticks that could be used for bolts. He will of course need to bolt heads as well, but this is a secondary concern at this stage. In the process of searching he will keep his eyes out for anything else that appears useful (either plant or animal or object) or out of the ordinary (tracks etc.). He will do this for the rest of the day aiming to be by the river at the half point of his day and by his camp by early nightfall. At the river he will refresh himself with water and this time fill his box with as much water as it can fit. It will make going back harder, but it will mean he has a ready supply next to him for some time. Spoiler Hide Mechanically I am taking 20s on spot/search while heading to the river (as many as possible) and the same on the way back unless if I collect everything before then. Search is 28 max and spot 26 max. There is not much to see on your journey besides woods. There are birds and small mammals wandering about the woods. There are birds of prey as well. There are some predator tracks from dogs and perhaps even cats. They seem to be avoiding your camp and travels for now. You can even see the tracks of larger game such as deer. Filling the box with water logs it, soaking the wood. Water continues to leak from it, but it holds water well enough. You manage to get it back to your camp still about 3/4 full. The water within will only last 2 days if you only use it for drinking. You find plenty of lumber to suit your needs, it is a forest after all. Pleased with the progress and having secured water while having finished his food, David will make a fire, some way away from his own place. He will try to make sure he doesn't burn the forest down, and he will proceed to cook and smoke the remaining fish. Once done he will put out the fire using dirt to be sure it won't rekindle. If nothing happens until he is done he will focus on trying to start crafting his crossbow. It will of course be difficult work, but he needs to start somewhere and hunting some game will add more than just fish and mushrooms to his diet. Spoiler: Roll Hide Craft bow making (1d20+6)[21] My aim is to finish everything except the string... for string I guess I need to kill an animal first as outside actual silk or some manufactured material I would need sinew and hide for it... otherwise hemp or ramie might work but I don't know if such plants exist in this forest... Spoiler Hide I'd suggest survival for a reusable type fire ring, you could use some rocks and clear the forest bed and have it very close to your shelter. You are able to start crafting a simple crossbow, you could probably make a makeshift string that'll last a few shots by using the bark. Spoiler Hide I totally didn't think of that! Great idea :D (1d20+4)[18] Realizing he might as well create a fire ring instead and use it for subsequent fires for cooking or crafting, David will instead try to collect some rocks and work them in a circle to achieve that. After he is done he will focus again on the crossbow and try to create a temporary string for his crossbow. With any luck he will find an animal to kill and then obtain better, if a bit gruesome, material to make a sturdier one. If he succeeds he will begin constructing a few bolts as well using sharp stones as bolt heads. If this proves impossible, he will instead use his makeshift dagger to simply create very sharp bolts. Spoiler Hide I guess I need another craft for this so here goes: String (1d20+6)[15] Bolts (1d20+6)[16] Spoiler Hide I honestly try not to influence your actions/control your character, so I don't like to provide help like that. But I felt like survival knowledge/etc would have told you such things, and it is more lack of personal experience. You are able to debark a few trees and skin the bark to weave a string for the crossbow. You are able to craft two strings in this regard, the third having snapped from your testing. Furthermore, you realize you'll get 3 shots per string before it breaks. The fire ring turns out great, you are able to clear down to the dirt and stack the stones high enough that a log is mostly covered in height. You even have a nice flat top to the ring, perfect for resting things on. You clear out some extra debris next to the ring to keep from burning down the forest, but your makeshift campsite is starting to resemble something more lived in. Furthermore, you save the skinned bark to start your next few fires, it is easy to light and burns quickly perfect for starting a fire. Spoiler Hide Well, I think it is reasonable. In RPGs it's hard to 'leave things to the player' sometimes cause while a player might be a smart and knowledgeable person they might not have Wisdom 18 or Intelligence 18 or other such AMAZING capabilities. So while my character might be an outdoorsman-rogue with survival, knowledge nature and a superintelligence I am an average (I would say around 11-12 INT :D) guy that lived all my life in a city and like nature but hate camping etc. :D So you being the 'voice' of my knowledge makes sense to me. David allows himself some rest after this. He is very pleased with his progress. A suitable weapon, albeit not a permanent one, armor, a shelter, food, water and a way to quickly get fire. So much progress in such a little time makes him feel more confident and that he can now perhaps devote some time to improve his tools set after he is done resting. He attempts to find the kind of stones, plants & wood that will make construction of better tools possible... he is looking for a stone that could be sharpened to an axe head, the kind of plants that can be used to create rope (hemp preferably) and the like. He will also go through the fish bones from the fish he ate as particularly big sections can be used to make hooks for his fishing line. Spoiler Hide This is a more general' things that can be tools' post. Ideally I would try to get things for an axe, a better knife, hooks, rope, a shovel and this kind of thing. On top of that if I can find things that would allow for construction of better string, crossbow camp; bolts that's also in the mix but a secondary concern. (1d20+4)[15] Spoiler Hide How much time are you devoting to this? I'm just trying to keep a pace on where in days/nights we are etc. I'm thinking a few hours per survival roll (2or3), does that work for you? So if you want to do searches for specific items or survivals for general survival items roll once per two hours spent. I realize the rolls are technically per round, but you benefit more from it being a few hours. If you ever need to use a shorter timescale, such as in combat etc. of course we'll use the one that benefits you the most. Spoiler Hide Sure, that's totally fine. I am not sure what time of day it is but given I fixed my armor, fixed the crossbow, went to the water and back and cooked the food/made the fire ring I can't imagine I have loads of time left. I will continue doing this for today until nightfall I guess as it's a critical part to have good tools. Use as many of the below rolls based on that (1d20+4)[17] (1d20+4)[16] (1d20+4)[7] (1d20+4)[6] You spend the rest of the night gathering supplies for survival tools. As the dark starts to set in, your search becomes less fruitful. (Used the first 2 rolls and the failing 3rd for the time change! Totally worked.) Spoiler Hide Apologies for the delay. Easter camp; all meant family priorities :D David retires to his shelter after making sure all useful material & tools are tacked away so that should it rain they won't get soaked. He loads a crossbow and keeps it by his side as he curls to sleep through the night. Spoiler Hide I don't want to hear your excuses! Easter was last week here in the States. I'll get you a proper update sometime later today. Spoiler Hide That's cause in the US (and big part of Europe) you follow the fake heretic Easter as per Catholic Church. I follow the correct one (i.e. Orthodox Easter) which this year was a week later. And before you say 'ah but why is yours the correct one' I need only point to the word Orthodox which means Correct Praise in Greek (and here is what google has to say: or·tho·dox ˈôrTHəˌdäks/Submit adjective 1. (of a person or their views, especially religious or political ones, or other beliefs or practices) conforming to what is generally or traditionally accepted as right or true; established and approved. "The orthodox economics of today" synonyms: conservative, traditional, observant, devout, strict "an orthodox Hindu" (of a person) not independent-minded; conventional and unoriginal. "A relatively orthodox artist" synonyms: conventional, mainstream, conformist, established, well established, traditional, traditionalist, prevalent, popular, conservative, unoriginal "orthodox views" 2. (of a thing) of the ordinary or usual type; normal. "They avoided orthodox jazz venues" Also... where is my post? What happened to 'later today'... TSK TSK TSK. Spoiler Hide Students came by, and I was told the job I was planning on having this summer wasn't going to happen. Been scrambling since paychecks stop on May 15th. I actually don't celebrate Easter at all...lol DM Rolls(1d100)[8](1d100)[9](1d100)[88]The night is uneventful. The sun is shining, no clouds in the sky. The light is able to pierce the canopy and give you good working conditions. Spoiler Hide Ouch... Sorry to hear that. Also, sorry for the hugely late response... somehow I didn't get a notification of your post!!! A new day and it was time to get things going. He had shelter, a basic one at least, some food and water, and he was beginning to improve his situation. He decided that today would be dedicated to exploring. Taking some provisions with him along with his new knife & crossbow, David heads out making sure he marks his way, by making some nicks on trees every few hundred meters. He will walk towards the river and then begin exploring the surrounding area. He does not have a specific target in mind, other than not getting lost or making circles, but rather wants to see what is around this part of the island and if there are any signs of humanoid life. Spoiler Hide In practice I am just going to explore. Take the whole day to do it. Initially will approach the river and try to find its source or if I can see one I will try to reach higher ground for better visibility. Tracking the river takes quite some time. Your presences startle the wildlife out ahead of you, yet something tugs the back of your mind. You feel almost as though you are being watched. Half a day's travel you still haven't found the rivers source. Though you do arrive at a large waterfall.

Deadly's Survival Game_ Monodominant|rating:4.0

[Heaven v. Hell] OOC, Info and Characters

Thread for info on the game proposed here: character sheets, questions, RP ideas and whatever else in here, so I can get an idea of what everyone's playing, and where everyone's starting. Helpful info would be named, side, description, and a bit of backstory. Any further info is icing, and much appreciated. Mortal Host Name: Owen Blaylock Demonic entities: Daniel, The Arch Knight of IaothCohabiting entity: Prize, The Twelve-Times Fallen Side: Scions of the Fallen Host Description: The mortal known as Owen Blaylock is a handsome man in his late 20s, a shock of close-cropped pure white hair capping a face of hard lines, an average nose, and a square jaw. He works out regularly to keep a triathlete build, though with his demonically field metabolism and physique it isn't required. The third son of a wealthy publisher, he stays quietly behind the scenes, working as a VP under his father while quietly steering words and opinions the way his hosts desire. In truth, there is very little of Owen left, as the inhabiting intelligences have all but subsumed him. Gaziel is what may be called a researching demon, always hunting new information and new corruption techniques and testing them as clinically as possible. To hear him speak is to imagine a librarian who smells faintly of brimstone. He loathes Prize deeply. Prziel on the other hand is a direct and brutish monster, preferring to corrupt as many mortals, angels, and other supernatural creatures as possible in whichever way sounds most fun at the time. Never one for subtlety. He has a great disdain for Daniel. Gaziel and Prize were fairly successful demons in their own right, until and Archduke paired them for a special mission to capture a newly invested angel and turn her to the Fallen through whatever means proved necessary. Unfortunately, it was a trap, and the resulting battle left their essences rent and unable to sustain either one. In a fit of mad desperation, despite their personal difficulties, they merged what was left of their energies. The resulting... hybrid is unarguably stronger than either was, but unfortunately they cannot find a way to separate themselves. Their constant bickering was enough to drive a Dread Lord to distraction, so they found themselves ban shied again to earth, where at least they'll only drive mortals crazy. Lucky for them, they've turned out to be very good at what they do, when they can agree... Name: Reese Dunning Side: There's a side? Background: Though Reese is fairly attractive, she's never much been one for popularity. Throughout school, she stuck to herself, closed in on her own world. In classes and at home, she was timid, shy, withdrawn. Unremarkable. Progress reports and teacher commentary always ran along the line of "Smart girl, great grades" but nothing more than that. She just didn't want to be noticed, didn't want to deal with people. As a small child, she was a bit more outgoing, but she would talk about things. She could see when people were sick. She could see when they were sad, happy, angry... Furthermore, she was never much good at remembering faces, but that's to be expected with the shimmering halo that shrouded most peoples' faces. Furthermore, she would occasionally glimpse other things out of the corners of her eyes, but learned not to look, afraid to see the occasional apparitions that were always lurking around there. One year, when she was somewhere around 6 years, she was in the mall with her father, while he was doing his Christmas shopping. Feeling a cold chill run up her back, Reese turned around and froze. The woman behind her was ... not a woman. It was as if the woman's skin was too tight, with whatever was underneath bulging out in places. Reese saw the hint of light behind the woman's eyes, and then the woman turned and Reese caught a good look at the shimmer of ... armor. The woman was wearing armor and a sword under her skin. There was no comprehension, no clue, no idea in Reese's head what she was seeing, but it scared her more than anything before or since. She stood, rooted to the spot, until the woman had walked away. And then she screamed. Trying to tell her father what she'd seen proved pointless, and the barrage of tests, questions, strangers who called themselves "Doctor" but didn't wear the friendly white doctor coat... all of this convinced Reese that she would have been better off seeing nothing. She confessed to making the story up, nearly a year after she'd first mentioned it, then withdrew into herself. Since then, she's seen two others like the woman, and she fled each time. She didn't understand it, and she didn't like it. So she largely avoided people, not wanting to see such a thing again. Her actual talents aren't of much use in the real world, but being able to read people in a mundane way comes in handy, too. She started going to school for a degree in broadcasting, but dropped out when the show she'd been doing on the side got picked up by a larger syndicate. Now, at 24 years old, she lives extremely comfortably. Her distinctive voice, a low contralto that can at times get close to a growl when she's dealing with a particularly difficult guest, emanates through the air every night, carried on waves to receptors all over the country. Her advice is given every night from 8PM to midnight, and she never has to look at or meet a single one of them. Supposedly her publicist has been trying to entice some sort of publishing company, but Reese isn't entirely sure her act would work over print. Either way, there have been a couple meetings, some effusive praise from some of the lower publishing lackeys, and little else. She'd prefer to keep it that way, but the very same publicist has been pushing for her to do more public appearances... after a makeover, of course. Sigh. Description: At just around 5'2", Reese is not the tallest person, nor the shortest... nor the most professional-looking. Her hair is very light red, verging on blonde, but she doesn't bother to style it much. It hangs down past her shoulders, often obscuring her green eyes, and usually looks like she hasn't brushed it in days. She has six different individual piercings: one in her nose, at the outside edge of each eyebrow, a navel piercing, and, well, two more. She dresses in whatever happens to suit her at the time, from wrinkled khakis to camo cargo pants to red leather pants to hoodies to mesh to lace shirts. Very seldom does she leave the house without some form of boots, usually Docs, or Doc knock-offs. Her jewelry changes with her mood, going from gold and silver to hemp and even twist-ties; bracelets, rings, necklaces, anklets, toe rings... Reese loves accessories. Her skin ranges from pale to deeply tanned, depending on whether she's in the mood to go lay under the warm lamps of a salon. Despite her general disdain for cosmetics and the like, she finds the beds quiet and relaxing. Recently she's started wearing a small, bright purple cell phone on her hip, but she rarely answers it, if at all. Her bearing is very much closed and broadcasts a sense of leave-me-alone-less. Only seldom does she make eye contact, and when she does, it's usually while peeking through her hair. Usually, though, she keeps her head down, her hood up, and her hands stuffed deep in her pockets. Mortal Information:Name: Lorena Outside: The Corps (Temper FI!) Vitals:Height: 5'11"Weight: 170 poundage: 26Ethnicity: Iranian/Cuban/New York Hair: Black Eyes: Brown (Inspired by Vasquez from Aliens)Lori Noun is a study in contradictions. The daughter of an Iranian Immigrant and an American-born Cuban, she grew up the child of two cultures, two faiths, and two ways of life, all melting together in New York City. Somehow, she took the best of these with her as she grew. Lori's father was an electrical engineer before coming to the US in '78. He's driven a cab for most of Lori's life. He's a devout follower of Islam, and a gentle man. The events of 9/11 and the actions of extremists have outraged him and sickened his heart. He has always taught his only child tolerance. Lori's mother was born in New York, herself the child of refugee parents who had fled Castro's Cuba. A devout catholic (but only on Sunday's), she raised her daughter to be independent, fierce, and fiery. The events of 9/11 shocked Lori's mom, and nearly shattered her confidence in humankind and her faith in God. Lori was incensed at the events of 9/11. She knew from her father these were not the works of good, holy men, whatever they might claim. She also knew that her home had been assaulted by evil. So she took action. Against both of her parent's wishes, she dropped out of college and enlisted in the Marines three days after the towers fell. Unlike many, her initial burst of zeal for the role did not fade. She came through boot with flying colors, distinguishing herself in several areas. She served in Afghanistan, and was among the first troops in Iraq. Lori is strong-willed, tough, and smart. She knows her limitations and knows how to play upon her advantages. She also knows how to play upon her disadvantages. Lori is not a religious person, but tries to be a good one. She has tried to maintain this and has succeeded quite well through several tours. She is attractive, in a "what the fuck you lookin' at?" sort of way. But she has no time for anything but her duty. Angelic Information:[EDIT: Raphael is a little beech who ran away like a girl. But he might still be out there for someone else to have fun with]Name: Raphael Not all of God's Angels are holy. Someone has to do the dirty work. That job falls to Raphael the Inquisitor, holder of the Nine Sacred Seals. Raphael is God's choice when the tactics of the enemy must be adopted. Raphael believes in his cause, but also believes that the ends justifies the means - any means. And in truth, Raphael enjoys himself. Raphael was largely responsible for many of the atrocities of the Spanish Inquisition, where he earned his nickname among angels and demons alike. Were one to perceive his true form, Raphael would stand seven feet tall, with dark wings spanning twenty feet. He wields a huge sword that resembles a Faberge. But few see this form. An angel can inhabit any mortal it chooses. But it's power is greatest when the joining is voluntary. When he saw the goodness that was Lorena Noun, he knew she would be unable to resist him. He revealed himself to her, spoke of goodness and his holy mission, and swayed her to his cause. She joined with him freely. By the time Lori learned what she had truly agreed to, it was too late. Lori's strong will has prevented her from succumbing entirely. She cannot match the will of the angel, but she has been able to remain conscious and aware. She is a passenger in her own skin, watching the depraved things these monsters does in God's name. His violations of others are nothing compared to what he has done to Lori's own spirit by his actions. But...sometimes...sometimes when the angel's appetites have been sated, and it is at rest... Sometimes Lori can act. Thus far, she has failed at three suicide attempts; Raphael has always awakened in time to stop her, then punished her by committing another vile act. If Lori can hold on, eventually she will succeed.(depending on where this is set, Lori might still be a Marine, or maybe she's mustered out, or even AWOL). Since nobody looks to have expressed a preference for any particular city (unless Long speak wants NYC?) and I didn't have one in mind, I sort of arbitrarily picked one (New Orleans. MMM, debauchery...) but please, if someone has one in mind let me know and I'll edit the original post. If w can't agree on one, I'm leaving it as New Orleans because it's one of my most favorites cities ever, I'm familiar with it, and it seemed appropriate. So there. Anyone has any questions or comments or wants to toss something up here, feel free... No preference. I only know one city well enough for it to matter, but have no trouble faking details or googling them. First IC thread up: Name: Ships KuroshimaSide: The Forces of Heaven (semi-consensually)Gender: Male Height: 5'9"Weight: 122 lbs. Age: 18Build: Lithe, Somewhat lanky Hair Color: Black Eye Color: Brown History:Ships Hiroshima was born to a rather poor family on the get go in the Japanese city of Hokkaido. His father was a writer, the traditional "starving artist". What little he was able to make off his book sales was all they had to live by. His father had horrible anemia, which made him very sickly and prevented him from taking a job involving stress. It also caused his mother to be too reluctant to leave him and the children alone, so she couldn't go out and work to supplement their income either. Despite being dirt-poor, they weren't exactly a small family. Ships is actually one of a set of Siamese twins, the other being his brother, Hero. When they were six, a sister, Kit, was born into the family. Thankfully, through some rationing and her mother finding a work-at-home job of her own, they were able to scrape by. As twins, you would have thought Ships and Hero would have been close, but it was actually strangely the opposite. Hero was always out hanging with his friends, who at school became more known as a gang. Ships also had his set of friends, but more often than not stayed home to help look after Kit. While she and Ships fast grew inseparable, Ships and Hero didn't speak more than necessary, for Hero always seemed to be impassive, cool, and distant, which unnerved Ships and made him uncomfortable around him. Although they looked exactly the same, it was easy to tell the twins apart because of Hero's constant cool demeanor compared to Ships's warm, happy manner. Deep down, Ships feared his brother. He thought something was amiss with him, and he hung out with the wrong crowd frequently. Despite this, Hero was always the brilliant one at School, shadowing Ships's often mediocre performance, so perhaps even a little jealousy was mixed in there. It wasn't until their last year in Junior High School that something horrible beyond Ships's imagination happened. He came home from school one day from school and found bloody footprints on the porch of their house. He ran inside, to find that his parents and his beloved sister had been stabbed to death. On the kitchen counter was a note: "Hello Ships, After some thought, I have decided to live with my friends from now on. I didn't want our family to worry about me, so I killed them. Sorry I missed you, but I will try to help you stop worrying some time down the line. Hero." The police were called, and Ships was sent to live with his Aunt and Uncle, who had migrated to the US some time ago in the city of New Orleans, and were also a bit better off. The police searched for quite some time for Hero back in Japan, but in the end had to give up. The young man had slipped through their fingers. Shiki's attitude since then had taken a dramatic turn for the worst. He kept to himself a lot, using the excuse that he was still learning the language, became somewhat cold and irritable to his peers, and frequently got into fights. Of course, he wasn't a bully, and never picked on the weak, often even helping them if the bullies tried to smack them around. This behavior continued even through his enrollment in his new High School, whereby now, his Senior Year, he has earned quite a reputation for himself among the students as someone generally not to mess with. This was all until a little angel came down and whispered in his ear, and a whole new can of worms opened in his life...ANGEL:McLean - Angel of TimeMeleana is an odd angel to be sure in ethereal form... no taller than a female human, her skin a light blue hue, with scales across certain areas, her wings clear like ice and refracting the light like crystal... but she can be a beautiful creature in her own right, with her long white elegant hair that shines in the light much like her wings. McLean sought refuge in someone who had an exceptionally painful past and a vendetta to work towards in the future, someone much like Ships. At first, Ships resented the angel, and bonded with her grudgingly, but over time, he gradually accepted her, and her crazy plight, in hopes that some day, she may help him some way in his own personal plight. Meleana herself is quite naive of the world and of people's motives. Her personality is a stark contrast to Ships's fast-cooling demeanor following the tragic incident that took his family. Unlike most angels, McLean is the patient sort, taking the backseat to the mortal's consciousness, content to observe and direct as a constant voice in the back of his head, though occasionally taking over if the host refuses to do something absolutely important (and she really hates doing it). To most people who see her take control of Ships, the whole transformation in demeanor seems surreal. Name: Marita Reveille: To be determined Gender: Female Height: 5'Weight: 110 lbs. Age: 18Build: Lithe, gymnast body Hair: Red, to the middle of her buckeye: Emerald Green History: Marita has had a hard life. She has no idea who her father is, she was born prematurely to an underage, crack-addicted mother, as a result she grew up a child of the system, passed from one foster family to another, she has seen more than her share of the darkness of the human soul. Somehow, against the odds she survived, until she turned 13 and the second shoe dropped when she was diagnosed with a devastating childhood disease that was expected to claim her life by the time she was 18. Marita has always been a fighter though, and has a brilliant mind, and has spent her life beating the odds. She graduated high-school at 16, and has indulged her growing interest in the occult and witchcraft. She has had growing frustration at her inability to cure her condition, and as the years went by her body began to fail, imprisoning her. Finally, she turned to her knowledge of demonology, hoping to form a pact that would finally cure her. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately as things turn out, her body's failings caused mistakes in the spells, and instead of summoning the demon, it created a portal into a demonic prison releasing Catarrh. The two beings realized a common interest, and so completed the pact, curing the human host... DemonName: Catarrh - Succubus of the second HierarchyZatarra has vague memories of a time before her present state which has lately led her to regret her wicked ways. Her changing attitude was noticed by her peers and she was betrayed and imprisoned for centuries until Marita's miscast spells released her into the world of humanity. The two came to an arrangement, forming a pact which cured Marita, making her strong and beautiful, while providing Catarrh a vessel in which to conceal herself from the forces of both Heaven and Hell. Together they now seek redemption... Outside of Marita's body, Catarrh stands nearly 6' with voluptuous curves, red skin and long Scarlett hair. She is well versed in the arts of seduction... FAQs! I've been getting lots and lots of questions lately. If something here really bugs you, come talk to me about it and we'll discuss. The way I'm looking at this is that it's my sandbox, but I don't care what you do with the sand, so long as you don't kickmycastle over. I also don't mind having you help me build mine up and vice versa. All very copacetic, see? Soon... By the way, almost all of these questions were taken from PM or IRC - so you all are sort of all asking the same questions. How is the war between angels and demons fought? Mostly through mortals and politics and the like. The currency of the divine is souls, though wreaking physical havoc is pretty damned satisfying. For instance, both sides would probably claim something like 9/11. Upstairs for the compassion and sympathy and all that that poured out ... downstairs for the, well, the scams, the sorrow, the hate, the anger... So gains would be made by converting souls over to one side or the other?*nod* Politics, religion, war, just about every aspect of mortal life is the battlefield. Can hosts be taken involuntarily? Or do they have to initially agree to the possession? The only limit is the scruples of whomever is taking possession. As noted in Long speak's char sheet, the bond is stronger between the possessor and the host if the host submits willingly - even if they change their mind after. It is not, however, necessary. The longer a divine or damned being holds its host, the more adept it gets at using that host to the best of their abilities, so beings that have been on this plane longer have the upper hand. It's kind of like trying to died with finger puppets. Big meaty ones. Are demons fallen angels? Can a demon go rogue and try to help the other side in hopes of redemption? Do angel/demon names have to be traditional or old-school names? Up to the players. Would angels/demons be able to 'adapt' the physical forms of their hosts to make them more 'suitable'? No. The head bosses don't want their foot soldiers to stick out like sore, superhuman thumbs, and they don't particularly trust their minions to have the sensenotto wander around with shimmering blue hair and, I don't know, bat wings. You just know some newbie demon somewhere would do that 'cause he thinks it's cool. Can supernaturals exert supernatural powers? No. This goes along with the above, and also because I intended this game to be about supernatural ends accomplished by mortal means. That was the point of placing it on earth, rather than just have divine and danced armies clashing on a supernatural plane.-- Exception made for demonic pacts and crap like that, as it has mythical precedent... but only as a plot device, as in Marita's case. That's all I can find or think of right now. If there's an overwhelming desire to change something above, let me know. Otherwise... there you have it! :) Caine Byrne Demon possessing him: Eponymous, the Prince of Death Mortal body True Age: 32Age based on appearance: 23Height: 6'1"Weight: 170 lbs Ethnicity: Irish (immigrant parents)Body type: Works out, but it is not overly apparent; a firm body with broad shoulders Hair: Black, dyed; naturally dirty blonde Eyes: Bright, striking blue Appearance: Attractive, but not enough to have girls go crazy over him. Coupled with a demonic charm, however, he has a long line of starry-eyed fangirls. His hair is fairly long for the stereotypical businessman, almost to his neck, but while at work he wears it back in a short ponytail. His eyes are the kind that startle you as you look into them, and are hard to look away from. He wears glasses, but the kind that is just a hit of eye impairment and actually enhances one's features. Unless Caine is at home, he is usually wearing a tailored, classy business suit. Caine is a very successful businessman. He owns several companies at the present, all but one of them bought out, and is active in leading every one of them. He has rescued these companies from certain failure, and helped them regrow and flourish. All this in about a decade from the time he started his first company at the age of 23. He also has a hand in politics. Caine has helped some influential laws pass and has supported numerous politicians with his money. So what if in the past two years many of those he has supported have been found guilty of blackmail, fraud, bribes; none of them got caught doing what they were really doing. All this success and acclaim, and no one knows that he is also a cannibal and serial killer. What goes on behind closed doors is his business, after all. His big secret? He's possessed by a demon, no, IS a demon, named Eponymous. Eponymous found a weak host, a 23-year-old man with little value or brilliance, and completely took him over. There is hardly any remnant of his host's personality, leaving Eponymous to do as he pleases with the body. Over the years he has gotten better and better, and is now at one with his new body. He takes good care of it, too; a strict, healthy diet and exercise regimen, avoiding drugs and alcohol, and careful in his sexual choices. However, if his body were to be shot, fall, etc. it would survive by his will alone. There is only one way to get him out of the body, and that is to completely obliterate it with a bomb or exorcise him from it. His choice of body reflects his dry humor: his body's name is Caine. Also, it helped that it was fairly good-looking; attractive people are known to get away with fewer punishments or to get their way for their appearance. Everything he does is calculated, slow but powerful, and toward precise goals. Euronymous is a black-haired demon with strangely human appearance by himself. The thing that gives him away as a demon is the blue tinge of his lips, nails, and skin and his sharp teeth used to rend flesh and crush bone. His eyes are black pits. Back in the Greek days, he was hailed as the Prince of Death, revered but feared. Adrift like a ghost through the world of man, he has been wreaking havoc since he lost his power. He had been cast from hell since before the Greeks and is very knowledgeable, with a notorious reputation. He eats corpses, and continues this practice in human form. Also, he is a great orchestrator of chaos and genocide.(Note: His corpse-eating will never be depicted in text. Besides, I'm not sure how accurate his name or origins are, but I liked his name and premise, so I'm making most of it up as I go.) I have a question!!! Do demons and Angels automatically sense each other? Or can they conceal themselves? Yes. From the intro I wrote:"Unlike mortals, those divine creatures that actually fight the war can readily tell when someone is only wearing mortal skin. They can tell who is fighting for whose side. They can tell how long the other being has been inside its armor of flesh by how adeptly they manipulate not only the body, but the mind inside." So you can size each other up. Sorry for taking so long with my character; been very busy the last couple of days. Should be slowing down a bit now... I hope. Name: Charles Deep (pronounced "d - AYE")Age: 23Sex: Male Appearance: Pretty unremarkable. Charles, or DC as he prefers, stands at 5'8", 150 pounds, with brown hair, blue eyes, and lightly tanned Caucasian skin. His build isn't muscular, nor is it skinny or fat. He doesn't have any noticeable marks, no scars or birthmarks; not even acne or pimples. This is the kind of guy you see as the stock characters that get killed off in movies; the kind you pass on the sidewalk and never give a second thought or glance to. Personality: DC is relatively compassionate, a good Samaritan in his own right. He won't go out of his way or inconvenience himself to help someone, but he's the guy who covers the extra 50 cents for the person ahead in line. He has a temper, but it rarely shows itself. His overall demeanor is one of cool indifference. He has a thick skin; stuff doesn't reach him easily. Physiology: Healthy. DC has no noteworthy physical or mental problems, although his heart is slightly weaker than normal, and he has an increased chance of late-onset Alzheimer's. He's moderately strong, mainly from working at a brickyard for several years in his late teenage-hood. Should be noted that DC believes he has schizophrenia, but this is not the case. Social Aspect: He is on the thin line between extroversion and introversion. DC won't go out of his way to interact with people, but he will accept them if they make the first move. He doesn't have many good friends, just buddies from work and a couple of guys he chats with online. Hasn't had a girlfriend in several years. Chimone: Chimney is a demon, rather low in the caste structure, a mere "imp" (low class demon). Still, like most of his brethren, Chimney is trying to gain a foothold on Earth in order to prove his worth and rise in the ranks. So far... he hasn't been very successful. Chimney has been attempting to occupy DC for the past two years, trying to convince him that possession would help them both. These communications manifest themselves in disturbing dreams, "voices in the head", and the rare hallucination/vision. DC, for the most part, has completely resisted Chimney, a fact that infuriates the imp. By now, Chimney has lost sight of his original plan to possess DC and assist Satan, now trying to possess DC so that he can force him to commit suicide; a personal vendetta. Chimney often appears in DC's dreams as a six-foot tall black man in a tuxedo, talking in a manicured voice. Although his actual appearance (light red scale covered humanoid with black eyes, extended clawed fingers, and bi-jointed legs) is nothing like what DC sees, Chimney uses it to try and ease DC into making a slip-up. He appears in several other "outfits" as well: a short, muscular man with a striking resemblance to a childhood friend of DC's, a cute, innocent looking schoolgirl, and DC himself. Chimney's constant nightmares and voice have led DC to believe he has schizophrenia, and is currently taking medication (to no effect, of course). He does his best to ignore Chimney in day-to-day life, and he does it well. People would never suspect perfectly normal DC of having schizophrenia. Chimney talks to DC only when he is completely alone. Biography: Not really important, nothing worth mentioning. Extra Notes:- DC works as a volunteer coordinator for rebuilding the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans, through an organization called Lower Ninth.- His house was completely flooded by Katrina's storm surge, and DC now lives on the upper floors of a decrepit apartment building, much to his shame and disgust.- Is a fervent Democrat and active liberal.- Has a growing resentment for the federal government, mainly because of their inability to help New Orleans.- Is attracted to "Indie" girls, those who have a distinct personality generally well outside the limits of average society. This is because he identifies himself as an "Indie" as well, even though he doesn't look the part. I'll go read up on what I've missed now. See y'all in IC! Quick, DC! Duck! You're such a big meanie! :P Quote Quick, DC! Duck! Hardy har. I'm dying of laughter over here. Quick, someone call an ambulance. /Uber-sarcasmWell, DC's an average guy with a smashed up head, dazed and fogged mind, and way too much stuff to process. He won't be ducking... but something else has plans for him. ^^; Now I will totally crib your holy words. Quote from: Long speak on 04-02-2008, 07:45:33Now I will totally crib your holy words. I... don't know what that means... :| It means, I will steal your translation of my holy words for future use. Dude... Why are you killing my character when he only has three posts (one of which after he was shot)? Is there some detail I'm overlooking? Raphael is an angel. A seriously PO'd anger already spoiling for a fight. Your guy is a demon. Raphael shoots those, usually. I'm not trying to narrate results, so you could just, y'know, duck. :-)However, by popular demand I'm retracting the post. I won't have time to make a new one before bed tonight, so I'll get caught up tomorrow after work. Edit to clarify: No hard feelings and I'm not out to get you or anything. I was just calling it like I have seen it. I edited my post a bit to try and help out. Hopefully it doesn't grapeshot. PI'm crashing, though, and I think LS is as well. Sorry to leave you hanging, ?, but should be workable tomorrow afternoon.' Till then~ *smooches all around* Well, I don't see ducking as an option, considering that DC has a shattered shoulder blade and collar bone, is lying half on/half off the curb, and in intense pain. And my guy isn't a demon... I'm actually not sure where you got that line of thought. There's a demon trying to possess him, but is unsuccessful. DC is only DC, not sharing with a demon. And thanks for retracting that post. You know, otherwise, DC would be, well, dead. Tomorrow evening. Pacific time. 5pm or later. Sorry, It seems I passed out last night :(Home sick. Let's see if I can post with a fever... Sure is a lot of that going around*HUGS, KISSES, And offers chicken noodle soup* Don't kiss me! I'm contagious! However, I will eat the soup, most gratefully. Uh-oh Since you are sick, and I am sick, our bugs might get together and make a super bug and... Sounds like the plot to another game :P Does this superbugs have... tentacles, perhaps? .>Just wondering... Okay, broken post replaced (a little while ago, but I just realized I'm not sure if it shows up as new since it's technically an edit). Read it, loved it. I like how you portray the inner conflict, but I'm getting the feeling this will be a constant theme. Question: Is there any time when angels/demons monotheism full control of their shell, like if they are injured, or sleeping (if they sleep)? Just wondering, because Real Lori could definitely shoot the plot forward if she manages to gain full control of the body... And if she doesn't kill herself first...*wince* Trieste's opinion counts most here, since she's in charge. But I mentioned in my intro that Raphael's control weakens after he's sated. This is Lori's 4th suicide attempt (5th? Does this count twice?) since being taken, the first three being mentioned in the background. But really, *I* think it's all how you portray it. For me, the conflict was the main part of the concept, so I'm running. As stated, you're more than welcome to build whatever you want in my sandbox, as long as you don't kickmycastle down. ;)Sorry you're not feeling well, Long speak. Sad face. :(Meh. I feel fine. A little cough. A little fever. So, they sent me home. I have more unused vacation/sick time than any two (nearly three) people at work, so I'll use some today. Right now, I'm in my own room, in my house, door closed, heat on. My own personal sweat box. Speaking of vacation time... I got none. My job sucks like that, y'know? On a more relevant note, that was a tough post. Writing from the perspective a shot, delusional man on the verge of passing out is not something I'm used to. I just hope he won't get shot up anymore for the rest of the night. He, life's hard for NOLA residents. Maybe a bit too hard... Now, back to irrelevancy. Trieste, you said you were families with NOLA, which is why we set the role-play there. Do you live there? Because if you did, that'd be really *80's teenager voice* awwwwesommme.... I've been there several times, post-Katrina. Really great city, love it there. Nope, I loved just down I-10 from it for years, though. I'll admit, I haven't visited it post-Katrina, haven't had time. But it's one of my most favourite cities I've been to... which is to say that I can stand it, since I'm not much one for cities. Or ... well, didn't use to be. I'm getting spoiled by everything being within walking distance lately, though. Anyhow, the big K wiped out my favorite hotel to stay at, so I've been poking around a bit, trying to decide if I want to try out some of the places actually in the Quarter or what. I thought the post was well-done. But yes, it's a fucking blast. Well, that's cool Trieste. I've never lived anywhere near NOLA, but I did go down there with my church group last year as a volunteer. We worked in the Lower 9th Ward for a week, gutting houses, wiring new ones, helping out where-ever we could. It was a very eye-opening experience. I should've brought my camera... :/ I have a friend who has been working with relief efforts there since less than a week after K hit. I've seen her pictures and heard her descriptions. It's ... just wild. I'm glad most of the landmarks made it through but the 9th Ward business just makes me sad. Living so close by, we had a lot of displaced people coming in after Katrina hit (we were far enough away to get some big waves and that's about it, thank god) and I have a bunch of family in Mobile, AL, so you get to hear the stories and just sort of gawk. I chose New Orleans because I felt it would be ironic to have angelic forces prevailing there. I thought about putting it in DC but felt that might be a bit too cliché. Putting what in DC? Or do you mean the city? The game. O, I thought you meant my DC, the character. :) Forgot your char's nickname, sorry. DC as in Washington, DC. :P I have to give it to you, Long, that was fuckin' brilliant. Loved it. I actually banged my knee really hard on the underside of my computer desk looping. Now my roommate's giving me funny looks. But... something tells me Raphael isn't all the way out of the picture just yet... O well, we'll wait and see. He ain't dead. He ran like a little girl from a big bad wolf. Edit: But I had to get rid of him. He'd just keep tryin' to kill everyone but Reese, whom he would torture until she gave in and then possess. Yep. Not that it doesn't sound like a fun time for a 1v1, but not very conducive to a game-style RP. :P *looks at DC*Seconded. Just be glad you got shot by a marine with a conscience. She'll patch you up. With strong booze and duct tape. You know what they say: duct tape can fix anything (beer just makes it easier). I'll be making the next post, if ya don't mind. *coughs*Hopefully you meant that last post of yours, ?. Which and a who and a what, now? I don't know which post Trieste is referring to, honestly. *confuzzlement* Quote from: Question Mark on 05-02-2008, 03:05:15With strong booze and duct tape. You know what they say: duct tape can fix anything (beer just makes it easier). I'll be making the next post, if ya don't mind.*point point*I swear, now you're justtryingto confuse me. And Lori dropped him in the dining room, unless I read incorrectly. *is not crazy, dammit* I was non-specific in the post, but in my head I was thinking dining table. OK, it'll be the dining table. Sorry for the discrepancy. And Trieste, I honestly don't know what you're getting at. Which post do you mean? I'm just making sure I didn't jump your post after you said that, 'cause I didn't see it until after I posted. Okay, tossed up a bit of a flavor post (here: #msg521599) for you all to do what you like with. I know there hasn't been a lot of angelic action lately, so it's possible the forces of Heaven might want to get together for a meeting, too. Or not, your call, but I thought I'd throw some stuff in. Time of day ... been trying to keep time of day consistent across the city, which will probably get harder as things go on, but maybe we can figure something out. I think that's all I have for now ... Waiting for ? To post to see how he reacts to waking up and finding the woman who shot him asleep on his couch. Let me know if you'd rather I go. It's all up to you guys. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with Reese for the day. :P I'll get to posting next. 'Tis 7:27 EST, just for reference. She didn't drive off. She walked off, leaving you car in the lot. O... I thought... Damn, I just reread your post. Don't I feel stupid? K, I'll go change that then. Thanks for pointing it out. He. ? Sure knows how to stroke a girl's ego. :P Everyone is in love with Reese :P She's *mine!* I have seen her first! *notes that DC has her number scrawled in his apartment ... just to make trouble* :P Exposition is a bitch, never been good at it. :/And yes, everyone is in love with Reese. Kinda sucks that she's so anti-social... Also, what's with Lori? Chompin' on a sandwich and spying on other people? Sounds suspicious if you ask me... /sarcasm Lori is just lucky her Angel still isn't around... I mean, yea, she is lucky, because he was psychotic!! But I meant she is lucky too because she would have been spotted otherwise :P Right now, I'm trying to figure out the best way to kill all the monsters without pissing off the players. Hey, now. She was anti-social from the moment I posted her up here. All the lovin' came after. *grin*I think when Raphael left Lori, he left some of his creepy behind ... No offense to Lori, but that's kinda creepy. :o She's hunting monsters! That's not creepy! It's...noble and heroic! And... Reese will love her!;p Creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy..... >.>I swear, I had nothing to do with it! Hopefully the next episode of "Everybody Loves Reese" won't be entitled "Finding all the Pieces"... That's a little gruesome, but I think Reese can handle herself. Well, maybe. OK, not really.*singsong* It sucks to be you! It sucks to be you! *singsong* Your sympathy is overwhelming. Ya, I try. But right now, I'm busy trying to figure out how DC will fit back into things. It seems he got left out after getting shot... Ya... I can only do so many schizophrenic episodes before it starts getting repetitive. :/ As soon as I'm in a position to do so, I will try to help you. :P Assuming you survive that long MEAN why thank you for your consideration. I eagerly anticipate it. Quote from: Zephyrus on 07-02-2008, 05:12:05Creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy..... It's not MY fault nearly everyone decided to play evil monsters. I'm just doing the world a favor. Now hold still. Quote from: Question Mark on 07-02-2008, 05:44:01Assuming you survive that long She will. She has a guardian *ahem* angel. *just ducks her head and slinks overthrow* Serenity did bring up an interesting point just now in the city thread. Do angels and, by proxy, a vessel of an angel, have the power to break a demonic contract? Not really. They can banish the demon in question if the contract is between demons and mortals, but a signed contract is valid until the demon is banished or its terms are fulfilled. Contracts between demons can only be negated by the utter destruction of one of the parties involved. Actually, there is ceremony for a Priest breaking the contract, but it would be a long, drawn out, violent process that would bring characters into direct conflict and might have some major difficulties resolving, but... If it can not be broken, It might be best to leave this contract in the wings for the time being since Catarrh is so protective of her host. Besides, I don't think that Marita would be left intact by such an encounter... Sex is one thing, but Pr zeal seems to be rather... drastic :P Everybody is so critical of poor Prize... *sniffle* Blood-hungry pain demons need love too... They might get it if they didn't actively scare the crap out of everything with two legs and tampon capability that walked through their office door. ... just saying. Quote from: Trieste on 07-02-2008, 20:58:22They might get it if they didn't actively scare the crap out of everything with two legs and tampon capability that walked through their office door. ... just saying. She's got a point... Hmm, I wonder where Lori got to. >.> The question is, would Ships be able to do it in lieu of a priest? And in a potentially easier fashion? Or is Catarrh going to have to continue being a flake? ;p That's just it. I can see a priest or angel being able to banish a demon and end a contract between mortals and demons given enough time and power, but why would a priest or angel have any power over a contract between two Fallen? Because they're just that damn badass? =p So.... are we deciding that contracts can not be broken between two fallen? Even if one's secret desire is Salvation? What is the result of one party violates the terms of a contract? What bothers me is that this could result in a permanent change in my characters that I really didn't want, so either way this goes, we kind of have to be careful herein Catarrh gives up her host, she returns to the state she was in before their contract. A pain-ravaged, dying husk of a body. If she is used to paying this debt, she could very easily end up in the same state, and frankly that is not what I want to play :P Quote from: Question Mark on 07-02-2008, 21:03:49Hmm, I wonder where Lori got to. Sgt;.Sgt;She's standing behind you, waiting for the demon to come out so she can kill it. I wasn't paying attention. Did KAZ totally improve the pre-existing contract with Catarrh? Error yea actually :P Quote from: Serenity Vixen on 07-02-2008, 23:18:16So.... are we deciding that contracts can not be broken between two fallen? Even if one's secret desire is Salvation? What is the result of one party violates the terms of a contract? What bothers me is that this could result in a permanent change in my characters that I really didn't want, so either way this goes, we kind of have to be careful herein Catarrh gives up her host, she returns to the state she was in before their contract. A pain-ravaged, dying husk of a body. If she is used to paying this debt, she could very easily end up in the same state, and frankly that is not what I want to play :See the thread. Ships came up with a pretty damn good idea. *surreptitiously wraps KAZ for not clearing something like that first, then pets Serenity, pulling the kitty girl in her lap* When he logs no IRC tonight, you could PM him and talk about it. I doubt he'll hold you to something that'd make your character unplayable, and he's pretty good about working stuff like that out IC, too. *nibbles* Or we could just whack his character. Er... by which I mean killing. Not the other kind of whacking.;) ?, I like your posts recently. They're awesome to read. I know you mentioned being worried that they'd get boring, but I'm very much enjoying them. *nods* O, cool. Thanks! Although the first couple of posts that included both Chimney and DC were aimless fillers, I now actually have a set idea. Each post now means something, a thing I'm very glad of. Now, I will eagerly anticipate progression of the Blaylock and City storylines.*eagerly anticipates* What time is it in "The City"? Basically, I am finished until the Museum scene later that night, unless creepy Lori wants to make contact on her way out of the pub or anything :PI can't think of anything else to do at the moment... Say the game started on ... Tuesday night. Tuesday night/Wednesday morning was the meeting at the bar, and the events at DC's apartment. That would make your lunch with Ships and DC's recovery on Wednesday afternoon. Prziel/Daniel and Reese's meeting is on Thursday afternoon, by that timeline. I blame the time-jump on Kazakh's utter lack of any patience. I am, of course, the picture of patience, so it must be all him. We still have Ice's character posted but not interacting, if you all want to work a way to bring her in... and Lori and Raphael are still kicking around somewhere's. Hopefully that clears things up for everyone. The overall time of year, by the by, is summer. I don't know if any of you missed that, but it's about the beginning of June in the Big Easy. Ok, I am going to leave things as they are right now and give LT and Mistress Ice some time to post. Marita can be anywhere in the city... The problem with being the only (rational) angel in the game is that meeting the other players generally means death. PSO I think I'm set until the Night at the Museum(TM), unless someone wants to test Ships. McLean's itching for some blood right about now. =p Well, DC or Reese wouldn't (probably) kill an angel outright or attempt to at any rate. :p But then again, they're not possessed. Well, fully possessed, because of that thing DC and Chimney have going on. :/ Makes me feel bad for him. .(. True, DC, Reese, and Lori would be safe ones, but everyone else.... yeah. Even Raphael at this point. To Ships, he'd probably be no better than a demon. =p At this point, I'd say don't wait for Lori. I haven't had anything to add for a while. We can assume she's headed back to NYC if we want. As far as Raphael goes, my original intent was to put him out there into the community consciousness, so feel free to be evil with him. >.>*singsong* It sucks to be you! It sucks to be you! *singsong* It could suck a lot worse. Why would Lori be heading to NYC? Aren't there enough supernaturals in New Orleans to keep her busy? :P She's from NYC and her parents are still there. Raphael threatened to ... her, well, pay them a visit and NOT kill them, 'cause she was acting up. As we all know, from someone like that, a death threat is about one of the most pleasant threats they can make. *Nod nod* Has anyone heard from Mistress Ice lately? I've seen her around on the forums a couple of times, but no message from her. :(Quote from: Trieste on 08-02-2008, 16:36:09She's from NYC and her parents are still there. Raphael threatened to ... her, well, pay them a visit and NOT kill them, 'cause she was acting up. As we all know, from someone like that, a death threat is about one of the most pleasant threats they can make. *Nod nod*That is the IC reasoning; IOC I've been having difficulty coming up with ways to have Lori interact that don't involve a gun or knife. I've held off for that reason. Maybe a conversation with someone who has not been so badly used as Lori might give her a different perspective, if she can take the time to talk before attacking :P Have a post of her doing something mundane, like finding a place to sleep or getting new clothes. Like trying to get rid of what Ralph did to her and return to her old self? Also, the military would probably be passively searching for her, considering she's AWOL and all... Just so we're on the same page here... How about we just have all our role-plays taking place sometime Thursday afternoon, evening, or night, so we're all on the same page. I know my thread is Thursday, and I'm pretty sure Blaylock is too... Just want to simplify things. ^^;BTW, great posts everyone. We can blame DC's being shot, but this was covered IC:Quote"I know, it's fucking nuts. But a year ago I was on patrol when an' angel appeared before me. He was all shinin' and bright white light, just like momma always said. The Archangel Raphael, he said his name was. He to' me this whole story about good an' evil, fightin' for the souls of humanity an' shit. He needed me ta help 'I'm out. Because I was all noble an' shit, fightin' the good fight and bein' righteous." She takes another sip. "It was all bullshit. Angels and demons look diff'rent, but they do the same shit an' they don't give a *fuck* about us. He just wanted my body, and it works better if they can sweet-talk into lettin' 'em in. An' I fell for it. He talked me up one side and down the other an' played me like a bitch." Yes, true, but DC wasn't exactly in peak condition then... y'know. He doesn't remember much from that night, so he's having a series of recurring epiphanies. As soon as we finish the night in the museum, we can revert to one timeline Sorry for the slow posting Quote from: Serenity Vixen on 12-02-2008, 12:59:45As soon as we finish the night in the museum, we can revert to one timeline Sorry for the slow posting Seconded, and no problem. =) Hey, what happens to the girl after Marita collapses? Ships ignored her. As mentioned in my last paragraph, she's tied unconscious in the chair. He figured that's as good a place for her as any. =p D'oh! I missed it. Next time I'll try reading with my eyes open. ;) Dude, thousands of years old and Daniel lets an angry rant get under his skin? What a silly boy. ;) At this point, have we synched up, timewise? Reese is headed back to the city thread on Thursday evenings, somewhere after noon and before 10 PM. k. I figure Lori's around 7pm or so. After visiting hours, but she claimed to be family from out of town coming to help our her cousin. Ships, Crystal, and Marita can awaken and move at any convenient point now, so we can just consider it to be Thursday night now if that is cool with everyone. Once Zephyrs gets out of work we can get back to posting... Looking at my last post, I realized I had more to add. Rather than making a new message, I edited the existing one. Nothing major. Thanks for the heads-up. Have to go into work (some guy called in sick) so I can't post for a bit. See ya when I get back! Quote from: Trieste on 13-02-2008, 19:21:14Dude, thousands of years old and Daniel lets an angry rant get under his skin? What a silly boy. ;)What do you want, he actually tried to help in his own demonic way, and she was petulant, not to mention ungrateful. Besides, humanity rubs off after long enough. :P Uhh, looks like Gas has a case of humanities. Maybe Pro doesn't wear condoms often enough?XD What are these... condoms that you speak of? Prize is a bareback kind of demon. The screams feel better that way. ... Beech! Blech! That's right. Fear my quick powers! Prize is creepy! Quote from: Kazakh on 13-02-2008, 20:43:05What are these... condoms that you speak of? Prize is a bareback kind of demon. The screams feel better that way. O, he likes ITU' natural... I'm starting to feel bad for Reese. I really am. Furthermore, I mean Pro is after her, and Gas doesn't care.... Hey, Reese didn't get shot. I feel pretty lucky, yes I do. That stance is subject to change come Friday in-game, just FYI. Quote from: Trieste on 13-02-2008, 23:44:07Hey, Reese didn't get shot. I feel pretty lucky, yes I do. Cheap shot! I call foul! >:(But you do have a point... *cackle* I just thought of something after my post.... Does Marita know Lori's name? Should I rephrase my post? *Blush* Check the earlier posts, but I very much doubt Marita knows Lori's name. I think her demon recognized Raphael. Heading home. I'll post when I get there. Modified my post to make it fit the situation :) In trying to reconcile your messages, I'm going to make the assumption that DC *DID* want something, and that's why Lori's wandering the hall instead of in his room. Error... sorry, maybe I made a few mistakes *blush*Sorry No worries, o' lickable one. Nice goin'! She's tryin' to get Lori to see the girl! ;p At the moment, Ships isn't so sure he should let a spitting cobra near a recovering patient. I think I can fix it... No. I'm posting. That works. =p I am trying to convince Solstice to take over the character of Crystal Mindedness anyone mind if she does this? No problems here. I think we should all go invade DC's room now :P If when ? Gets here, I sorta agree. EXCEPT, no way is Lori letting to near him or Reese until she's SURE you're safe. Not doesn't think so. Doesn't think about it at all unless she can use it (like she did the other night). She knows she's hot, just doesn't care. Teeth... Sorry for... uhm... being inquired about, I s'pose! And for any delays caused by taking too long to make up my mind! And for posting here if I'm not s'posed to. >_>... Yuss. Just wanted to 'apologize. It's ok if you post Hun. I am still hoping that you will join the game at some point. Don't let me pressure you into anything though. I only want you to join if you would have fun :) I hate to do this, but my brain has shut down for the night, so I am nearing the passing out time will post more tomorrow*HUGS and KISSES* Quote from: Solstice on 14-02-2008, 07:16:00Eeeeh... Sorry for... uhm... being inquired about, I s'pose! And for any delays caused by taking too long to make up my mind! And for posting here if I'm not s'posed to. Sgt;_Sgt;... Yuss. Just wanted to 'apologize. Lt;_Lt; Will be on my way, now! No need to apologize, Sol. ;p You were invited, after all... though Trieste hasn't said anything on the issue yet. >_>Love the avatar, by the way. Goes well with the 'apologizing! :P I doubt Trieste will have any issues with Solstice joining. After all, she did state that this isn't a GM'ed/Run game, she just wanted to get the ball rolling. ’D Solsti may yet play Crystal, so, since she is unconscious anyway, I would like to leave her fate open for today to give Solsti time to decide for sure before we send her away :)Assuming no one has any objections? Power went out, so sorry for my absence last night. Seemed I missed out on quite a lot. :/ Chances are I can't post tonight, but I'll have plentiful time come after tonight. ^^; So... since everybody is in Lust with Reese, anyone want to gamble on whom the first one that actually has sex... ((or possesses :P)) her is? :P Far as I know, only DC has a "crush" on her. Prize wants her as his plaything (and does, because of that contract), but I don't think that's exactly the same thing. :/ Pfft. *totally runs away with Ships*?, in case you missed it, DC has a Reese at his door, if you want to post. ;) Quote from: Trieste on 15-02-2008, 00:57:57Pfft. *totally runs away with Ships*Let this be a lesson to you all. Chicks dig broody, NORMAL guys. =p Somehow it figures she would run off with the only person that has had no interest in her :P Quote from: Trieste on 15-02-2008, 00:57:57Pfft. *totally runs away with Ships*?, in case you missed it, DC has a Reese at his door, if you want to post. ;)About Ships... Well, DC's normal guy in a strange situation demeanor will definitely get Reese over time. Rewards come to those who are patient... Also, DC, because he is such a normal guy, is checked into the hospital for his shoulder because, like most normal guys, he isn't a bullet sponge. ^^; And... like most normal guys, there's fucking monster inside him trying to take over. Solstice has decided to play Crystal, so I will let her decide when she wants to wake up Crystal is just a young girl who has been through a terrible situation. She has the ability to be taught magic, but has no actual powers other than the wards Marita carved into her, although she is quite pretty :P Quote from: Long speak on 15-02-2008, 02:39:02And... like most normal guys, there's a fucking monster inside him trying to take over. Tut tut... Always so negative... Though you do have a point too. Damn, I got to get better about that. If you don't stop making me copy your posts into notepad, so I can read the tiny text, I will beat you. And not in a good way! *menaces* There's tiny text there? Huh. As far as Lori is concerned you're either:A Target An Assets Casualty In The Payoff Her Radar Edit: Or Reese. *facepalm* Why's Reese got her own category? Why's it has to be like that, huh? She totally doesn't mind being under In the Way. :P She made a deal with a demon, which makes her both a Target and a Casualty. Kinda both, kinda neither. She's got a skill that's make her an Asset, but she'd be mostly useless except for that so she's In The Way. Or, as I like to call her, Reese. Marita must be in the "In the Way" category? I shall stop the tiny text. It's a bad habit of mine. >.ohm, what would DC be? Casualty? Or in the way? I wonder, because Lori went out of her way to meet him... A Casualty. And maybe a target. Good news: I actually have some free time. However, I'm holding off on posting until Friday afternoon, game-time, just because I'd have nothing to post about aside from changing bedpans and watching poor quality soap operas. So, unless someone interacts with me before 1:45 PM Friday, consider that my posting time. ^^;Just didn't want you guys to think I fell off the face of the Earth. He Hey ?, Unless the others stop her, Lori's heading up to DC. If you're around, she'll have something to say. If you're not, she'll just leave the books and a note. I'm around.EDIT: Er, wasaround. LoseIt: Nope, I'm around again. ^^ I don't want to preemptively post while Serena's posting. I'll see what she has to say first.(Plus, also, I'm really supposed to be working. But for some reason, even after five days off, I'm not feeling it this morning.) Edit: Aaaaaaand... she posts while I'm typing this message. Hehehehe :P You guys are goofy. :P Long speak, I know who you feel. I've called in sick the past two days (including today) because 1.) I'm actually sick and 2.) I really don't feel like it. :/ I'm a lazy bum... ?, You reserved a spot while I was typing my reply. So I posted anyway. Now, maybe I can get some work done. (seriously, I am working, which is why it took three hours to post.) It's fine Long, you're cool. The good cool. *peers at all the underlining* Unless someone wants to track Lori down - or make quick responses to her that might need a reply, I'm spectating until 7am Friday. Marita: You should bring the liniment. Ya, DC is out of commission until Friday 1:00 PM, which is when he is discharged. Hmm, I think Reese is in for a bad day tomorrow, what with the Blaylock twins running amok. Or, should I just say twin? What day and time is it in game now anyway? I'm going to say... 8:30pm I can go with 8:30ish. Thursday night, BTW, Serenity. :) But I think we're ready to skip ahead to the part where Prize breaks Reese.*gets popcorn* I don't know how this goes (this is my first and only role-play on Illiquid so far), but shouldn't we have earned that NCNF title by now with almost 300 posts? Aside from some flirtatious eyebrow batting from Marita and the occasional Prize outburst, we haven't had anything remotely sexual happen.*looks at DC in surgery*To the contrary, if anything... Did Raphael have your permission to shoot you? I think not. And for all you know, that was his version on non-consensual sex. God, if that's his NCS, then I don't want to know what his foreplay is.... >. Well, if you insist. *pins Lori down* This is for the greater good, Swear. .........*grabs popcorn* Quote from: Trieste on 21-02-2008, 05:34:29... what do you think is going to happen? The genre-police are going to come through and fine us? "You have ten posts to make with the ratings, or we remove your NC privileges!" Well, if you insist. *pins Lori down* This is for the greater good, I swear. I'm sorry. He said non-consensual.ROR. I'm sure we can fudge it. Where'm I going to find someone to actually protest around here? Come on. Well, okay. Lori shows her hidden submissive tendencies, and allows the diminutive indie chick to rock her. . . . Maybe Lori should be on top, when you put it that way. I kinda like the juxtaposition of the big Marine getting topped by the little indie chick. Remind again where DC fits into all this? I mean, he gets shot, mentally tortured, forced to endure hospital food, suffers home invasion, and is in a hopeless battle to save New Orleans. If anyone needs to get laid, it's him. That can be arranged. Hey, Prize? C'mere. Edit to add: :-D *facepalms* What? Marines don't share their women. When did Lori being lesbian become known? No one told me... :/ Just don't know, ?. I'm with you, dude. She's only a lesbian in the IOC room. In the IC room she is asexual. You're not serious....are you? Well, she did make a date with a pretty girl in a motel room, didn't she? :P :OI can't run from the truth! As to NC... Remember, someone does hold a certain contract, so it is likely that sooner or later there will be something :P I still feel bad for Reese...:/*stealthily picks popcorn bag back up* I'm interested to see how (if?) Gas intends to break the news. It'll be ... well, interesting. "I got good news and bad news. The good is that smoking has given you terminal lung cancer."" What?! How's that good!?"" Well, uh, the bad news is that Prize owns you all of Friday."" Noooooo!!!!" Yay for exaggerated noise sounds represented as unusually long strings of letters! I think we are done until Friday. I think Solstice is ill right now, so my suggestion is to leave Crystal unconscious in the hospital for now, until she is ready to play. Furthermore, I can't watch. Someone who has my email me when it's time for Lori to do something. *peer* Dude, you must missed the memo. Prize reformed and is now all sweetness and light. He also rescinded his hold on that contract. Somehow, I fear you may be doing to the truth what Prize will soon be doing to Reese. *allows his inner Prize to surface*Wait, what? The hell I did. Both your pretty little ass and Zápara are all mine! BWA ha ha ha ha. Now, where'd I put the KY and that gas-powered vibrator?*stuffs him back down*ERM, yeah, he felt like sharing. Yea, I am sure :P *spreads hands* I can't do much about it IC unless Reese knows about it, which she doesn't. In case you missed it, she specifically *asked* about the scrollwork and was told it was nothing. She doesn't have much reason - other than 'he's a demon' - to worry about it. Like most twentysomethings, she's not too worried about the demon part. She's going to live forever while being invincible, etc. So there. You're right of course. You're trying to portray Reese as you think she should be portrayed. I know how ticked I'd be if someone second-guessed the way I played my character. I was doing that to you earlier, and thus should be smacked. *starts to smack, but stops, thinking of the Akbar knife*Er... Ya, I don't like second-guessing... I will admit though I'm doing a pretty crappy job developing DC. I've always been better at storytelling than character development. :/ Would it be improper for The City thread to move ahead to Friday morning while the Blaylock Building stays on Thursday night/Friday overnight? I don't see why not, although I'm not in the Blaylock building. It'd be nice to move City forward; all the closer to me being able to post again. ^^; I have no problem with it; I've had the flu this weekend and have told all other posting partners in multiplayer games to scoot on ahead without me. However, Serenity is also not feeling tops right now, so it might be polite to wait around for her to feel better, too. I was planning to wait for her (poor girl), but concerned about bringing the two threads out of synch again. But if that's not a worry, I'll post as soon as she's feeling up to it. I need her anyway, so waiting for her is cool. In no particular hurry to continue myself. Ok, I had some trouble with my teeth, but I should be back in action now. Sorry for my disappearance *hugs* I'm so glad you're feeling better! Quote from: KazythJust then, the clock starts to chime midnight...*grabs popcorn* ... ... you people are so sensitive, it just makes me feel like nine kinds of warm and squishy inside. Nah, that's just the Thai cuisine starting to act up. ... WWW... You're right, that is a little gross.*shrugs* O well. Dammit Trieste, stop breaking Daniel's stuff! That's just mean. 'That's just mean', he says. I can't watch. >. Just thought I'd pop in and say I don't have the time to keep up with this storyline. I'm sorry :((I probably should have said something earlier) That's not a problem Mistress. Hope you get some more free time soon! ’D *smiles at M Ice* S'okay, honey. As for you! *points at KAZ* I am going to take all of Blaylock's money and burn it. Mumble grumble... KAZ: What I want to know is if you sit and actually concentrate on ways to make me go "Hugh! Nyah! *shuddershakeneedsashower*" or if it just comes naturally. :P ... what happens if I say yes? I think he does it on purpose, to see if he can get a reaction out of people.*sneaks back out* He's just getting IC.REALLY IC... Quote from: Hunter on 10-03-2008, 04:21:55I think he does it on purpose, to see if he can get a reaction out of people.*sneaks back out*Well, I do want to get reactions out of people, yes. But this is an NC game, and he is a demon. What do you expect? Roses, a little blackmail, and a light flogging? Quote from: KazythWhat do you expect? Roses, a little blackmail, and a light flogging? Actually, ya, I did. lol This is my first real role-play on this site, so I'm not really sure how hardcore NC is supposed to be. Guess I'll find outverysoon, eh? This site ranges from very, very hard - like pushing site limits, stomach quivery hard - to sweet romantic soulmates together forever even beyond death and defying the gods because love wins over all. Moooost NC threads fall somewhere around blackmail or coercion, though. Very few are flat-out brutal rape (a la Prize, there) because usually such an event is a one-shot deal and doesn't lend itself to a long-term story. Ya. Hopefully, this one is an exception. I like this milieu lot, and have some ideas on its future. One thing though. I haven't really seen a central plot through-out all of this. Just a series of events strewn together loosely. O well, it'll show in time. For now, we'll just enjoy ourselves.*pause*O, right... *awkward* *snicker giggles* Quote from: Trieste*snicker giggles*Is that like snicker doodles, 'kept funnier? Quote from: Question Mark on 10-03-2008, 05:40:25Is that like snicker doodles, 'kept funnier? Yep. Funnier, and you can't eat them. What the heck is a snicker doodle? It's a type of cookie, and it is very dummy! Happy Birthday, Question Mark. :)

[Heaven v. Hell] OOC, Info and Characters

[Story Lottery] Rise from the Ashes {LocusVonErich & Viper} [EX]

Story Synopsis This is post apocalyptic setting where the planet and society is attempting to rebuild. Factions and governments rise against each other to gain dominance while the survivors do all they can to survive. Over the centuries since the Great Destruction, magic has seeped into the soil and into the hearts of the peoples left behind, leaving in its wake a new era of life. The rebel group Hearties is at constant opposition with the enforcers, as they seek to drain any and all resources that poor survivors have, whilst they live in their plush cities and villas without a care to their suffering. Their leader goes unnamed and unseen....until now. Emrys(Immortal. That is what they called their leader. What a dumb name… Erys thought to herself as she let her head hang, bound to a chair and in a dank cell, one she was sure she would die in. Her only hope was that when they managed to kill her, which she was sure would end up being a frustrating endeavor, that they would return her body to her family. Hearties, the rebel group called themselves, always returned the bodies of the government’s enforcers. However, never once did they return the favor. I really gotta piss…“Wake up!” The cell door opened and light flooded the room, stepping through were two guards and a man that seemed to like getting cut up, the number of scars that covered his exposed skin were too numerous to count. Emery’s raven hair was still pulled up into a tight intricate braid that extended just past her shoulder blades, despite the skill, battle had caked blood and dirt into it and several strands fell around her face. Her illuminating emerald eyes stared at the enforcer with a sneer as she leaned back into the chair, her nonchalance made the other two guards trade looks as the enforcer backhanded her so hard that she spit blood. Slowly, she turned head back to him and licked the blood off of her lips as the enforcer braced his hands on the arms of the chair she was tied to, with her arms tied behind her back, she didn’t attempt to retreat even though the stench of his breath so putrid it nearly made her gag. Her olive skin was bronzed and seemed to have a golden undertone, but the true beauty could not be seen due to her clothes and skin being caked in blood and dirt, a thing she was grateful for as she had nearly healed from most of her injuries. She didn't need them knowing her abilities yet. “You’re going to tell me who the leader of “Hearties” is. Where you all hide. And how EXACTLY you were able to take the Heir hostage.” The enforcer barked at her, his saliva hitting her face as he spoke, she felt her stomach heave at the sensation. Half that was probably due to hunger, but she was grossed out nonetheless.“Oh? Am I?” Emmys replied in a mocking tone. That earned her a punishing blow to her ribs, which were still fractured, and she could feel the sharp tips press against her lungs when she tried to take a deeper breath in. Chuckling softly only after catching her breath, she spat in his face and said. “I want your boss.” Looking over his shoulder to the two guards, they again exchanged nervous looks to each other. “Bring your boss, before more people die.” She paused a moment before looking at the enforcer. “You will be among the first.” She spoke in a deadly tone that resulted in exactly what she wanted. He was pissed, barely peppering questions in between each of his blows, he did not want answers. He wanted control...and she refused to give him even an ounce of it. Slimy bastard. Just a pawn at the bottom of the food chain trying to get a nibble to impress his boss. Minutes passed, ten?, twenty?, she didn't know. However, when the blows finally stopped, she spat two teeth onto the ground and shook her hair out of her face as though he hadn't just beaten her relentlessly. He was out of breath, and she? She wore a look of displeasure on her face as she leaned back once more and stared him down with a nonchalance she absolutely did not feel. I just need to buy them a bit more time…“Tick…took….tick….took…” Emmys goaded, the two guards promptly leaving the room behind the enforcer as the door slammed shut, no doubt heading out to find a higher up to come get information out of her. Grateful for the silence, Emmys hung her head and let the tears fall silently. She wouldn't let them streak her face, the leader of Hearties would not show weakness, but after the day’s events she certainly wished for death. There was no way to tell how much time had passed, long enough for her tears to dry and some of the bruising and swelling to subside. Though she was more pissed about the teeth beginning to regrow, despite the broken ribs, tooth pain was just miserable. The world had forever changed five hundred years prior when the nations of the world destroyed themselves with nuclear fire. As the darkness of humanity rose alongside the ever-increasing arms race, the conclusion was all but inevitable. What happened afterward was more unexpected. Humanity, as it is wont to do, evolved. In the time before the Great Cataclysm, magic was believed to be fiction and cheap parlor tricks. The radioactive isotopes of the bombs would change that idea forever. Most got by with basic elementary magic, using fire, ice, and lightning as means of survival. The Five Cities arose as the New World, born out of necessity. Radio glow had built itself around an armed, yet unexploded nuclear bomb that had not detonated during the Great Cataclysm. Its number was less than seventy-five hundred in total, and emigration seemed to be increasing. Candlelight was a kaolin mine before the Event, with a population of roughly thirty-five thousand. The minerals had mostly been stripped by the time be bombs fell, but the heavy metals left behind proved profitable. Carolina was a farming commune of fifteen thousand. It mostly kept to itself, and movement in and out was mostly limited to what little trade that they cared to make. Templeton was the second largest at four hundred and fifty-two thousand. It was built from a church the size of an Olympic stadium, and it spread out, claiming neighboring cities within three hundred years. New Sandstone was the largest populated at roughly two point five million people. It got to that size for one reason alone. Water. The founders of the city had discovered an inland ocean one hundred years after the Catastrophe, and got water purification working within fifty years after its discovery. Between the body of water and the city's one hundred thousand water elemental technicians, tens of thousands of gallons of water flow between the thirty-five-mile radius of the Five Cities every fifty-five minutes. The problem remained that much of the encompassing area between the Five Cities was nothing more than wilderness lined by broken asphalt and the skeletons of the metal horses of the Old World. This meant that there was an unaccounted number of people without access to the resources that the Cities offered. A percentage of those were prospectors, stubborn enough to try and survive in the expanse. But all too often, those on the roads were raider clans. Those who didn't want nor care to live by the rules of society as it rebuilt itself. Ceartais was viewed as one of these raider groups by those who lived within the Circle of the Five Cities. The leaders of New Sandstone knew them to be something more. They weren’t just raiders who would pick the bones of the tribute communities and the roads, content to make wealth from theft. They were organized and had a purpose beyond taking what they wanted of civilization without effort. The City of New Sandstone had a Council of Eleven. The First Councilor was appointed through genealogy while the other ten were democratically appointed by a vote every five years. The First Councilor’s daughter had been kidnapped by Hearties agents. Markus Karen, Sheriff of the City of New Sandstone, was currently investigating the matter. One of the Sheriff’s enforcers (which he hated them being called that, they’re supposed to be officers of the Law, not thugs) came into his office, complaining about how the prisoner they had captured just would not break. It was time for him to take matters into his own hands. Karen would walk down the hall and to the cell, opening the door and walking in. Drawing the revolver at his hip, he would unbind the woman from the chair, keeping his wits about him. As he finished removing the restraints, he held the revolver at her head just long enough to make sure she wouldn’t try anything, then holster it.“I apologize for my associate’s actions…they are unbecoming of an officer of the law. But, you have to see the bind I’m in. Your group has kidnapped a citizen of my city, and an important one at that. So, I’m going to ask once. Where is the Heir? Who is your leader? And why do you insist on fighting the rebuilding of our world?” He awaited her answers, but feared that they wouldn’t come. Dried blood crusted and dried against Emmys’s skin and eyelashes, her head had been slumped over so that the blood from her broken nose just missed the fabric of her thread bare pants to drip onto the floor, and her once braided hair now pooled around her face obscuring in from view. Flinching at the sound of the cell door opening, Emmys braced for the next set of blows, only to find cold metal bumped against the back of her head. Even more shocking...the ropes began to loosen on each of her limbs. Instantly, her hands went to her face and a loud, CRACK, echoed in the chamber as she set her broken nose. Rubbing her face for a moment, she fished the hair tie from the tangled mess of ink black locks as she listened to the newcomer speak. Rolling her eyes when she lifted her head up, she tied her head back into a ponytail. Leaning back in her seat, the whites of her eyes were red and the surrounding temples and cheekbones deeply bruised, but no traces of swelling could be found. Her forehead and temples were caked in blood from a very clear previous head trauma. However, as she leaned back and rested an elbow on the arm rest, her face seemed to appear amused. It was as though she had a death wish.“I don't have ta see a fuckin’ thing.” She sneered, clearly disdaining his condescending tone.“The Heir is safe and unharmed. The supply convoys that were promised to the people have been cut off for weeks. No one listened to the call of the hungry or dying. So you have forced our hand.” Standing up, Emmys stretched her limbs and shook out her legs.“The guards should have found the list of Hearties’s demands when they searched me. And if I don't return alive… You will never see your Heir again.” By the time she stopped speaking, she was staring directly at him, wondering why the lunatic would choose to unbind her.“Hearties isn't against the world growing and changing, only that you are much too concerned about the future while simultaneously staving the same people that pay your taxes.” She rebutted ed his questions, cocking her hip, she placed one hand in her pocket and hooked her left thumb into the belt loop of her pants as though she were trying to rest it on a weapon. “Except that you do. You’re stuck here. In fact, the fact you think you can guarantee the safety of the First Councilor’s daughter would amuse me if it weren’t for the fact that time is running out, and I don’t trust that your organization hasn’t already harmed her in some capacity.” There was a tension in the room, he could feel it. He was doing his best to keep his composure, but that tension kept him on edge.” Convoys left Templeton and Old Radio glow last month. If they didn’t reach their destination, it’s because they were attacked on the road. Which means either raiders or worse. If you’re as committed to rebuilding as you say you are, then you wouldn’t be fighting us, you would be helping us.” The tension in the room seemed to be increasing. Karen was not a small man by any means, but there was something that made the bile rise in his throat. A premonition, almost.“I was not informed of any demands. Not that you have room to make them. If you were doing things the right way, following the law, maybe-“It was then that his speech would be interrupted, but by what, he did not know until it was too late to do anything about it. (“Whether you ‘trust’ me doesn’t matter. In fact! Whether I hurt the councilor’s daughter doesn't matter-” She halted her statement to laugh out loud as she pulled the hair tie from her knotted hair and roughly shoved it all back into a high ponytail. “Hearties has you and this entire administration by the balls, and you know it. If you decide to kill me and the others you captured. She will die. That, for certain, you can trust.” Her face went from comical to fury so quickly, the whiplash should have caused her physical pain, her hands balling in fists as she wished she could cave his skull in.“If the administration and all of its enforcers did their job, the Convoy would have made it and Hearties wouldn't have to do your job for you. However, where you fail to provide, someone has to. Go tell you people how committed you are to rebuilding when they are starving and begging you for food and warmer clothes as winter approaches. Hearties only attacks and takes when the people are in need, and we always send the bodies of your fallen home, which is a gesture that is never returned.” She was nearly screaming at him by this point, her fury turned her face red, the years of fighting and stealing and starving coursing through her veins. However, as he continued to speak Emmys’s breathing suddenly stalled and her head tilted as though she were straining to hear. A high-pitched whistle was getting louder, and it was that split second that she sprung into action, leaping forward, she slammed her body into his as the impact of a missile blew a hole into the cell wall that decimated over half of it. Groaning low, she attempted to shrug the heavy rubble off of her back.“Hanfarwol!” Several voices called out.“Hearties!” She called back as rubble began to rapidly relieve its weight. Able to take a deep breath now, her brow furrowed from the bright light that flooded the room.“Grab him.” She gestured to one man as their getaway vehicle idled just outside the wreckage.“Make sure he lives-he’s valuable.” Restraining Bavarian’s hands behind his back with rope, a woman assisted Emmys into the vehicle, whereas Bavarian was shoved unceremoniously into the back. Knowing the terrain…it would not be a comfortable ride into the wastelands outside Landowner. This was wild country, those who survive out here do so only because they have no other choice or wish to live outside the law, which was a terrifying prospect considering it was barely survivable. Since it was against the law to live outside one of the 5 cities…lawlessness would be expected. Upon their exit of prison the faced minimal gun fire, as it was the first attack ever on an administration prison, none of the enforcers were prepared to attack, so once they cleared the range of their fire, it was smooth sailing out of the city.“Hanfarwol…” the woman referred to Emmys, it was a word in their native tongue that meant ‘immortal’ or ‘deathless’. The Immortal. That was how they referenced the leader of Hearties.“...we take a great risk by bringing him back to our bunker…” Emrys was leaning her head back against the headrest of her seat as they bounced and sped over the terrain, her eyes cracking only to offer a stern glare at the woman that dare question her, speaking over the engine she said.“His value may hold even more weight than the Heir. He may have information that she could never tell us. We hold both the key to Lands down and potentially gain enough information to get a leg up on the administration. He stays. Unharmed.”(woke up next in the medical bay in their underground bunker. A place she knew well. Her body screaming in pain as she could feel her body rapidly trying to catch up. Looking around her, she noticed on her left was the enforcer she dragged back with her, swinging her legs to plant her feet onto the ground, Emmys strode over to the guard at the medical bay entrance and said.“When he wakes, send someone to alert me. Follow him closely and do not allow him to enter restricted areas. Otherwise, he can move freely. I'll gain him quarters after I am debriefed.” The man simply nodded as she strode into the darkness of the bunker. Built much like an ant maze, the bunker was crafted from a collapsed nuclear safe house and was expanded by refugees that joined Hearties. At its core provided a cooking area and common area, and further below a clean spring provided hot water and clean drinking water. The mud walls were reinforced with broken metals from machinery from long ago and in all the common rooms, the Hearties symbol was painted on a hand woven tapestry along with the word ‘Hanfarwol’. The prison break was effective and almost too easily executed. The officers who guarded the prison would try and fight back, but were caught off guard by the attempt in the first place. Luckily, the prison was outside New Sandstone’s walls, so no innocent civilians were hurt in the process of the assault. However, a number of convicts did use the opportunity to escape. Zakarien awoke to find a guard holding his gun. The guard would point the pistol at Markus.” Go ahead…shoot.” Markus couldn’t help but to smile as the gun would click, but no shot would be fired.” That gun you have in your hand is a Martí Brothers Revolvermatic Defense Engine. The latest model, biolocked to one Markus Karen, Sheriff of the City of New Sandstone…me.”” I know exactly who you are. And I don’t understand why Hanfarwol is keeping you alive. I’ve lost too many brothers and sisters to the likes of you and I think you should be shot down like the dog that you are.” The guard would holster Karen’s personal weapon and leave the room. There was a pain in Karen’s ankle. He could tell that it wasn’t broken, but there was definitely something wrong. Same for his ribs and his shoulder. All he could remember was talking to that woman with teeth that looked like they were growing in…with bruises that seemed to be fading inside of minutes. And a word that started with an H. And then waking up in this room, which he could tell was outside the Five Cities. It was foreign, and for all he knew, he wasn’t even within the Circle of Five Cities anymore. (“Brook!” A small woman with dark skin and gold painted on her eyes approached, her white hair in stark contrast as she followed the large guard out the door and seemed to give him a harsh talking to before returning to Karen. Between shouts, it could be heard that she ordered him to go somewhere called the “Pitt” which caused him to angrily storm off.”You’ll have to forgive my friend, his temper gets him in trouble more than anything else-” She paused in her babbling and squinted her eyes as she inspected him from head to toe.”I can give you some Taxi to help you with the pain and healing. You pretty banged up, would you like me wrap your ribs so they don't crack? Your ankle isn't looking well either, I may have some crutches…”{{{Mia rah, status.}}} A male voice over a short range radio called.“Hold on.-” She held a finger up to Karen. “{{{He’s awake. Hanfarwol is needed in the Pitts. Brook broke code.}}}" The white haired woman responded to the radio.{{{Affirmative. Hanfarwol is en route.}}} The Male voice responded.“How about them wounds Soldier?” She returned her attention to Bavarian, lacking any regard for his ranks or titles. Karen listened intently as the man and woman bickered among themselves, trying to get a clue as to what was being said, though without much success. Their dialect, while he had picked up a word or three from prisoners of the war between his forces and theirs, he was not fluent by any means. He heard retreating footsteps, and saw the woman reenter the room.” You can wrap up my ribs and my ankle, but no drugs. I need to be alert and aware of my surroundings, even if I don’t know where my surroundings are.” He responded after she had finished speaking into her radio, surprised that she wasn’t using the language of her people. Then again, he felt that he shouldn’t have been, because the so-called “Pitts” made him wonder if his own fate would be the same as the man who had his gun. The woman would not argue, but go to work wrapping him up, it seemed that she was much more compassionate than her counterpart. Or, at the very least, better at hiding her hatred for Karen. Once she had finished, she would go back to being posted up at the door, awaiting her leader. Meanwhile, at the Pitts… Barook regretted nothing. That bastard deserved to die, and he hated that he couldn’t use the man’s own gun to do it. But, he knew he would be facing discipline of some sort for his actions. If anything, the fact that Hanfarwol was willing to correct him herself solidified his loyalty to her. He knew that the prisoner deserved to be dragged through the streets of his so-called city as it burned to the ground, but he also knew that she must have had a plan to kill the son of a bitch eventually. As he arrived at the Pitts, he opened a door to one of the cells, walking down the stairs into the center of the room. There were two chains with manacles attached to the floor. He would bind himself and wait for the punishment that was coming, hoping that their new prisoner would get his turn down here eventually. Emery’s footsteps echoed as she made pace to the doorway of med bay. The moment she came into view for Mia rah her entire countenance relaxed. Hugging each other warmly although briefly, Emery’s crossed the room and addressed Bavarian. She remained dressed in the clothing he had seen her in last, it told a story of damage taken during the explosion, a wrap binding her ribs beneath the tank top’s holes. Her long black hair re-braided once more down between her shoulder blades. It seemed she only managed to have time to wash her face and hands/forearms as it was starkly cleaner than the rest of her.“I apologize about Brook. Follow me to the Pitt, I have to attend to his punishment before taking you to Chris.” Emrys’s clearly scanned his form, noting the injuries he sustained, but did not ask if he was capable of leaving medical treatment.(they passed through the bunkers in different areas, all who saw them passed silently stopped their activity until the passed out of sight, their eyes cutting daggers into him as he trailed behind Emmys. Arriving to a large dirt dug out room the crowd was loud and rowdy, nearly two hundred people mingled around a pit that was about 6 feet deep and 30 feet wide. Stopping shortly, Emmys turned to face Bavarian, but spoke passed him Mia rah who silently trailed behind them.“Give him a ring side view.” The crowd roared as Brook was shoved unceremoniously over the edge and into the Pitt. No longer in shackles and still visibly pissed, he stood up quickly and paced. Through the crowd, one word was chanted, bellowed, and spoken like a prayer, their leader Hanfarwol. Moving through the crowd, it parted as though a 3-foot shield emanate from every direction of her person, a wild cheering grin plastered on her face as she hyped up with her people…and then she launched herself into the Pitt.“Why?!?!” Emmys bellowed, anger consuming her vision as she rebounded and the crowd suddenly hushed. No one spoke other than the two in the Pitt.“He’s one of them!!! They are killers-they will bleed us dry! He deserves to die!” Barook bellowed back.“Does Differ lead us still?!?!” Emry’s raged, pacing the Pitt as she chastised him, asking him if the previous leader still reigned over Hearties. Though she did not wait for him to answer.“We do not attack the undefended. We do no harm. Change is a choice!”“They do not want change!” Baroque yelled back, however his pain in his voice reflected in the crowd, he stood for how they all felt. The rage, loss, grief, fear, and pain. Emrys launched forward, Brook meeting her in the middle, fire sprouting from his hands as they grappled, her skin singing and burning, the smell of burned flesh filling the air. However, this did not stop the rampage, blow after blow until Brook lay upon the dirt floor broken in defeat. The flames that once consumed his fists before had quickly extinguished mid-fight when he saw the burns he had left on Emmys. Kneeling over him, she grabbed him by his collar. Cupping the back of his head, she pressed her sweat soaked brow to his blood painted one, her eyes closed reverently as he did so as well. But she spoke so that all could hear, a soft tone as though it were a prayer, her throat swelled with the pain of all that relied on Hearties.“We are change.” Emrys said their breathing in sync, the crowd seemed to follow the breath.“We cannot become the monsters we claim to hate. Hate will breed more of the same. Change with me Brook.” A small nod was his only response. Shoving him back Emmys stood back and allowed him up, he made a hand gesture that everyone else in the room also made, it was a reverent sign that they expressed when they wanted to show their respect or loyalty to their leader.“Make your repairs. Amend what you broke. You will spend one week top side, reflect on yourself, and only return once you have found your sense.” Emrys, or rather, Hanfarwol, spoke in finality as she strode to the side of the Pitt and jumped up with her arm outstretched to Mia rah. Mia rah caught her hand and helped haul her from the Pitt.“You need attending Hanfarwol.” Miarah said, a furrow of concern on her brow.“It's not necessary, tend to the others.” Emrys looked to Bavarian.“Come, I’ll take you to Chris.” Emrys showed no sign of being in pain, though pain still slipped down the sides of her face and neck, she offered him a friendly tight-lipped smile as she led him from the room. Karen watched as the woman who had been his prisoner walked back into the room, embracing her golden hued compatriot. He would look the woman over, noting that she had mostly healed from the injuries she had suffered during her time in captivity, even if she wasn’t as clean as she could have been.” To be honest, I’m a bit more upset about him having my gun than him attempting to use it on me.” He quipped, before standing up to follow her out of the room. He would follow her through the complex, noting the pure hatred these people had for him simply for his existence. To be fair, he had personally killed a number of their people, though he did it in defense of his city, both as a member of New Sandstone’s military forces and as Sheriff. He hated them as they did he, as to him, they were the roadblocks of progress. As he arrived at the destination she had led him to, he noted the raucous crowd and how they fell silent as she dove into the pit at their feet. He would sit and watch the fight intently, somewhat grateful to be off the injured ankle. Listening intently, he heard her message about being change. The problem he had with her words was, he was already doing his damnedest to make change. He had personally undertaken retraining the police forces, he had petitioned the Council of Eleven for more shelters and refugee homes. What more could he do? He also took account of the words of the man she fought. There was genuine bitterness, as if he were a battle fatigued soldier like Karen was. The mention of the name of the last leader rang a bell. The War of the Broken Circle had been ten years gone now, after he had personally killed the leader of the group of rebels that Hearties had risen from. That man had had a bomb strapped to himself and twelve others planted in New Sandstone. Had Markus Karen not taken the action, the War would have gone in a much different direction. As she was aided out of the hole, Karen forced himself to his feet.” Stupid question, but can I get my gun and bandolier back before he goes wherever the hell you’re sending him? Sixty-six bullets ain’t going to be enough to shoot my way out of wherever here is anyway.” He was only half serious, figuring that they wouldn’t trust him anyway. He would follow her once more, again noticing the way her injuries seemed to heal themselves. “Your effects will be returned to you when we send you back.” Opening the door out of the Pitt to head toward the mess hall she continued. “However, it would be remiss of me to allow you to go armed here, sixty-six bullets is a heavy payment when life lost is the price. A risk I won't take, you understand this yes?” She offered him a kind smile, and if he noticed, she kept her pace lazy and slow in order to not rush his injured gait.“He is going up top, where he will spend the week alone to keep watch for invaders. This punishment is not light, the weather conditions are not kind, but I am glad he had not done worse. If he had, I would have lost a loyal friend today.” As they strode through the halls, Emmys betrayed no pain that could be felt by the burn injuries and blows that she had endured, offering carefree smiles and waves as the people they passed were unfazed by her injured state. She offered no more or less than what he asked, as willingly volunteering information was not forthcoming, she also spoke so plainly that the likelihood that she was telling him lies were low.“What can you tell me of Councilor Sure?” She inquired, gleaning no clue as to where the inquiry came from. Her response to his question gave away more than she had originally let on. It seemed as though she were aiming to send him back alive. An interesting power play, of course. This could also have meant any number of other things, the fact remained, he could still be limping towards his own torture.” As long as I get it back…that weapon was made by New Sandstone’s finest.” The Martí brothers, his adopted fathers, had taken him in from the streets. Markus had been born in a refugee home to a mother that didn’t make it to the other side of the birth and an unknown father.” You subject your own people to potential rad storms and worse?” He asked, wondering why she would do such a thing, considering the earlier speech she had made. It perplexed him, and yet, he knew that any of these people, with their icy stares, would willingly go into worse than a spot of irradiated rain for their leader.” Councilor Constantine Sure, Second of the Council of Eleven. As you’ve figured out, the First Councilor is elected through genealogical ascendancy, which is why you have kidnapped the daughter of First Councilor Jordon. In terms, you can easily understand, if something happens to Jordon and his daughter, Sure goes from Second to First. Sure, technically everyone in the Eleven would move up a spot, but Sure would effectively become the leader of New Sandstone. And if you’re wondering, none of the Eleven interact with me outside my monthly report. So, I can’t tell you more than what you now know.” He would limp beside her as he spoke, still no clue as to where she was taking him. They arrived in the mess hall, several fire pits with assorted foods being cooked by several families were shared and traded as they all worked together to make the most of the meals, merriment and comfortable conversation mingled about the room. Grabbing a conveniently vacant booth, Emmys slid in and gestured him to sit down, though before another word could be said, several plates from different hearths were reverently placed before Emmys. None were offered to Bavarian, more to the point, his side remained bare while her side of the table was covered in dishes.“We have alarms to alert to rad storms, he will be allowed to bunker below surface until it passes, but then her will return to post.” Emmys moved portions of each of her meals and placed them on two plats and set them in front of Bavarian.“I was left with little choice, his punishment does not out weight the gravity of what could have resulted by his actions, but I cannot have commanders going off half cocked. His punishment will restore order and control. And he understands this as well. Under Differ he would have been executed for his disobedience. I am Hanfarwol, not Differ.” She listened to him speak of the transition of power, her brow furrowing as she considered his words, emerald green eyes never wavered from his face even as more food and drink arrived. She no longer acknowledged them, he alone obtained her focus, and it caused her to stop eating entirely.“One we receive word back from the capitol building in Sandstone you and Chris will be returned to the city, intact and unharmed with all of your effects.” She had returned to shoveling food into her mouth, her eyes darting to a few families and offered a nod of her head periodically, but when she looked back at him, her concerned features softened.“Thank you for your information. I was not aware of the current line of succession…when you're done eating I'll show you to your rooms.” The mess hall, if one could call it that, was little more than a mass of fires spread out over a wide room with people huddled around them. The conversations would go silent as he passed and only resume once he was out of earshot. There was still a lot of animosity toward him and he honestly reciprocated the feeling. These people were still a threat to his city, to the two point five million people that he was responsible for the safety of.” Still…rad storms aren’t even the worst of it. I have no idea where we are, but if we’re outside the Circle, who knows what sorts of animals are out there.” He took a breath, trying to ignore the pain.” You didn’t have to punish him. Especially not by endangering his life. He’s battle fatigued. I can tell…because I am too.” He chuckled sarcastically at the mention of the previous leader.” Funny thing is… I saved Brook’s life inadvertently then. Because I’m the one who killed your previous leader. It’s why I’m the Sheriff of New Sandstone.” He would pick at the food as he spoke. He would pick at the food but stop, leaving the two plates about half clean. It wasn’t that the food was bad, it was more that the pain was overwhelming. His ribs hurt more than anything, though the prospect of walking wasn’t exactly an exciting one, and he knew that he would have to at some point.” I’m as done as I’m going to be. We may as well see this room you have for me.” He would force himself to stand up. Emmys set her utensils down and relaxed a measure, she had scarfed down nearly all the food offered to her, sipping her drink while she listened to him speak. She nodded as though she agreed with him, or at the very least, sympathized with his opinion.“I am grateful to you for dispatching Differ. However….” Her eyes cast toward the people in the grand expansive room, a warmth swimming in her eyes as she viewed her people, they stopped on a girl around the age of 20 who was playing a tackle ball game with the younger kids.“... These people have only known the brutality of Differ. You can't imagine the horror that was his reign before I rose as Hanfarwol.” Looking back to Bavarian, compassion and appreciation as she regarded him, as though she felt similarly to him.“I did not want to punish Brook.” Her fist clenched until her knuckles turned white.“You can judge my rule with your ignorance, it is of no matter to me, but to these people…” Emry’s voice choked for a moment, her jaw clenching as she continued.“...they are grateful beyond measure for my leniency. Differ would have used the very same Pitt to feed Brook to his dogs only after he fed whatever remaining family or friendships he had into it first.” Emrys sighed heavily as she looked back at the girl that was now helping a young child who had skinned his knee and was crying. The child was laughing and running in no time and the play resumed as though nothing had happened.“It is a great weight to lead people. People who rely on you spiritually, emotionally, for food and medicine…” Staring into her lap as though the last words were hard for her to find, she looked back up at him.“... They rely on me to provide. We have no prisons, no enforcers, no armies, or resources. They have Hanfarwol. Which is why they only ever face me in the Pitt. One day I will render that place useless, fill in that Pitt with dirt and bury the blood and pain. Change is not fast…it isn't easy. I am doing my best.” Emrys didn't look a day over thirty, thirty was most likely an exaggeration, her voice and explanation betrayed a soul that was barely hanging on by her fingertips. Desperately trying to keep herself together to be the pillar that hundreds of people relied on. The shadows in her green eyes never left as she called out.(“Chris!”“Hanfarwol!” The 20-year-old girl broke into a full sprint toward their table, the little kids racing behind her.“I didn't see you come in!”“You needn’t worry.” Emrys returned the girls exuberant smile.“This is Sheriff Bavarian of Sandstone. He will escort you home when it is time, if that is your wish.”“I already told you. I'm not going back.” The girl stubbornly replied, though her clothes were not her own, she seemed to be clean and without injury, happy even.“That is a discussion for another time. I see you have the lounging well in hand!” Emrys ruffled a little boy’s hair as they all complained to Chris to go back to playing.“I do! I'll come visit after their parents return from the mine!” Without any further regard, Chris was whisked away back into raucous play.“I hope this satisfies your worries where she is concerned. I have done no harm to your Heir.” Emrys stood up, a wince reached her eyes, her face looked a bit green cast as her hands trembled lightly, and she shoved her hands into her pockets.“Let's get you to your quarters.” “The man was willing to sacrifice a dozen of his followers for his beliefs. Beliefs that I am diametrically opposed to. What I did saved hundreds of thousands. I can very much believe he was a cruel man. I didn’t have to worry about hesitation when the time came. Furthermore, I had spent three years as a soldier in New Sandstone’s Army fighting in a war that I didn’t want to fight. Furthermore, I got rewarded with the responsibility of enforcing the law and the safety of millions.” He took another deep breath.“You basically have a nonfunctional city here. You have the people, you have shelter. You have the means for food and water. All you need is power and government. There are too many people for you to effectively lead on your own.” He would follow her, his gait slowing ever so slightly as they made their way around the complex.“The pit in and of itself isn’t the problem. You need a place where you can separate those who require rehabilitation and reintegration. Law and order isn’t your enemy. The cities are not your enemy.” He would come into the room where the Heir was being kept. She was unharmed, but her protests at the idea of going home raised a lot of suspicion.“What did you do to her?” He asked as they left the Heir behind, he was beginning to falter, the weight on his ankle was getting to be too much. He hoped that they were close to this room she had mentioned. Visible rage darkened Emmys face as each word fell from his lips. Judgement. Snap solutions. Looking down on the people who lived in Hearties. She couldn’t blame him though, he couldn’t begin to understand life outside his resources and administration, that had him so high on the government punch that he actually believed what he spoke. So she smiled. All rage leaving her features. Sympathy and resignation was her only reply until he asked what they did to Chris.” It’s clear you won’t understand until one of your own explains it. It’s ok. You can go see her any time. I’ll leave you to your rest. Mia rah left some medical supplies in here for you. There is running water, and new clothes will be provided shortly.” During the tail end of their meal and the entirely of their walk, Emmys’s skin was so pale and clammy that sweat beaded and dropped for her brow. None who interacted as they passed through the bunker saw an injured woman. They saw their undying, strong, fearless, immortal leader. Not the burns that were in the second stage of healing, raw and blistered, the blood caked in her hair, the tender ribs that were still wrapped that too yet another beating.“My quarters are at the end of the hall. My sigil is etched on the door. If I’m not there just ask anyone to send for me.” She turned away from his door, she couldn’t handle another battle of questions, she just-needed-. Gripping the wall, Emmys resisted the urge to vomit, staggering to her room she barely got the door closed before she fell to her knees threw up every bit of food she ate, luckily her trash bin was just close enough to snag so it didn’t end up all over the floor. Her room was barely more than a closet. It held a bed, a bathroom, and small storage to keep her clothes and things. But she couldn’t make it to the bed. Her body convulsed as pain and fever caused tears to well end fall. Hanfarwol did not fall. Hanfarwol did not cry. Hanfarwol does not know pain. But Emmys? Emmys knew them all too well. Upon entering his room, it was his turn for visible rage. She refused to understand, the cities were humanity’s best hope. The cities offered protection from rad storms, raiders, and beasts. The cities offered clean food, water and air. The cities offered work for anyone that wanted it. Without the cities, humanity had an even slimmer chance of surviving the bullshit foisted upon them by the avarice, bitterness, and xenophobia of their ancestors. And she had succeeded in brainwashing the most important person New Sandstone had, the person that, if she was unplugged from the system, could bring it all down like a house of cards. But, as soon as she left, he would collapse to his knees, unable to hold weight on the injured ankle any longer. Blood had begun to pool in the bandages around his foot, he must have cut it on something during their walk. It made him even angrier, how could she be satisfied to live among such ruin, such squalor? What was her real reason for her hatred of the cities and what they stood for? He would rewrap the bandages around his ankle, but again refuse the pain meds, still paranoid about being fully aware as to is his environment. After a few hours of fitful sleep, he would force himself out of the ramshackle bed that had been provided to him. If anything, his body hurt even worse than it had when he attempted to sleep in the first place. Forcing himself to accept the crutches, he would walk out of the room. After a bit of searching, he would find the Heir once more, she was in the Mess Hall, it seemed that they had accepted her a lot quicker than they would him.” Samsara Jordon.” He would address her as he sat down, refusing to acknowledge the new name that she had been given.” You can’t trust these people. They do not have your best interests in mind. They don’t have the best interests of themselves in mind. I don’t know what they have told you, but you can’t abandon your duty to the people of New Sandstone. This ‘Hanfarwol’ woman has her people, but you have your own people that you will be responsible for when the time comes. You can’t abandon them.” Samsara Jordon, or Chris as the people of Hearties knew her, all but snarled at him when she called out her birth name. A few people turned their heads but otherwise did not note the name. Grabbing him by the cuff of his sleeve, she dragged him behind her uncaring of how he hobbled to keep up, only to stop when she was a sufficient distance away.“You watch your words and your tone. You may be the Sheriff of Sandstone but here you are less than nothing. Are you so dumb as to jeopardize my safety by saying my surname out loud?!” Her outrage was clearly evident on her face as her pale cheeks mottled red. She clearly knew what danger her surname held for her, and as far as he could tell, she was not a blind follower of Hearties by way of brainwashing. Though mind control couldn't be out of the question, they would have to be extremely skilled to mask such control with this level of aptitude, if it were in fact happening to Samsara.“You do not get to speak ill of Hanfarwol. She has her faults but at least she is trying, that's the least I can say for my father AND you, you all are mindless obedient soldiers blind to the truth.” She sighed and placed her hands on her hips, Samsara was not the kind of young woman to be interrupted when angry, as was Hanfarwol, apparently. “Look around you Sheriff. It may not be much, but no one here goes hungry or without medical attention. These people are my people, and they are yours as well, our people in the city go hungry and thirsty and die of easily treatable conditions, but our administration refuses to provided forces to protect the resource envoys to help them.” Several people in the room were now watching the interaction between Bavarian and Samsara. A young man just passed his majority stopped next to her and asked.“You needn't talk to this man Chris, he does not belong to Hearties.” He said.“Its fine Raul. I'll be back shortly, no cheating!” Chyrisa brushed the boy off, and he dutifully returned to a table where they were playing a chess like game. Looking back to Bavarian, she gave him a look so foul, it should be weaponized.“Go home Bavarian. Walk through your slums and mines, go see the people you enforce these laws on, and come back and tell me again how Hanfarwol is doing things the “wrong” way. Because the was I see it, she is more right than my father or any administration could be, what's happening in our cities is appalling, and I want no part of it. You can tell my father ill come home when he steps down and leaves the administration service.” She added lastly.“And if you ever speak ill of Hanfarwol again I will report you to Hearties. If you saw this place with your heart instead of the poison people like my father have filled your head with…you would see what I am saying is true.” “If your safety is so jeopardized by your birth name, then these aren’t your people. You’re just as much an outsider as I am.” He would reply, still refusing to address her by the name Hearties had given her. It was a poison, and he refused to actively participate in poisoning her mind any further.“What? She ‘tries’ by hiding her people in squalor and filth? She ‘tries’ by feeding her people with irradiated food and water? The cities are humanity’s best hope, even with their problems, if you want to eliminate those problems so bad, you need to abandon what you have here and come back to New Sandstone.” Their argument was causing something of a scene now.“My job is to enforce the law and protect the people of New Sandstone, and I’m not going to abandon two point five million in favor of ten thousand. I’ve campaigned for more refugee homes and better conditions in those homes. I am one man and can only do so much. Just like your Hanfarwol woman can only do so much.” He would begin to limp off in frustration, the girl was not going to see reason, and the people didn’t want him around anyway. “My birth name and your title serve nothing more than memories of those they have lost and the feelings of grief and anger that follow thereafter. Unlike you, I want to know these people, and strive to cause less pain.” Her words wrenching from somewhere deep inside her heart.“You look at all of this with only prejudice. If you took a moment, maybe even a step back, you would see that nearly each one of those assumptions were false.” Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly as if trying to restrain a deep need to slap him.“Hanfarwol didn't bring these people here, without her lead, someone else would have taken her place. More and more show up every day, if your land of milk and honey is so great…why are so many leaving? She grew up here. Lived through the horrors of Differ. She has done all she can to stop the killing and bring about a way for all of us to live a better life. The many do not outweigh the few Sheriff- but rather-it is often that the voice and actions of the few speak to the heart of the many.” Her thoughts were distracted for a moment. The white haired nurse, Mia rah, was running from the room and down the hall toward the living quarters. A few moments later a radio wide message rang out, speakers echoing the same message, all around them stopped mid-action to listen intently.{{Bunker Lockdown Initiated Level 5. All drilling will cease. Access to the water reservoir will shut down in 5 minutes. Lockdown will cease once the storm passes. Please advance to your homes.}} However…as everyone started to move, the boy from earlier sprinted for Chris, and she willingly ran across the room with him toward safety. In an orderly manner, all the unarmed people started to exit…those who were armed started heading toward the main hatch points in the bunker to defend. If it was a storm why would they need guns? Barook met Hanfarwol in the hallway while the last hatch was shut, several hurt people were being ushered toward the Medical bay, she didn't appear to have changed her clothes, only a jacket on her now. Glancing about as Brook ran off, Emmys walked up to him, sweat dripping down her face as she shoved her hair into a ponytail.“Do you need water or rations before lockdown? Everyone is supposed to head to their quarters, do you need help getting there?” She asked, noting the crutches near him. He refused to argue with her any further. She was right that people were leaving the cities, but it didn’t help that more people were coming in than refugee housing or even regular housing was being built. It didn’t help that crime was increasing because of the influx of refugees seeking asylum in New Sandstone alone. People had turned to theft and murder because they couldn’t afford to house their families or feed them. When the announcement came over the air, he was already limping back toward the room that had been provided to him, he refused to call it his because it did not belong to him. He did notice the armed men and women advancing rather than retreating and while he found it suspicious, he didn’t care enough to ask why.” No, I’ll be fine on my own. Worry about those who need worrying about.” He continued to limp away. After brushing her off, he continued to move, his ankle hurting even more with every step. He could also feel the entire compound beginning to shake on itself, moving in a manner that did suggest that something big was coming. But, he couldn’t focus on that, as he finally managed to make it, crawling the last twelve or fifteen feet, blood seeping through the wrappings.

[Story Lottery] Rise from the Ashes {LocusVonErich & Viper} [EX]|rating:4.0

Remnants of Mana

REMNANTS OF MANA​LORE || CHARACTER INDEX || IC​Emmaline was pacing. She walked back and forth in the front of the room with her arms crossed. The other masters sat at a semicircular desk behind her. It was 3 in the morning and the nine of them had been arguing for the last 5 hours." I still think we should ask Sumoto do it. They've always been reliable." Harissa said for what felt like the hundredth time that night." They have been in the past, but they're a mess this year." Isaac said yawning. "They were a mess last year, too." Sylvain threw up his hands. "Just let Maria do it! They won last year! They've shown to be strong in practices this year, they're more than capable! More importantly, they are all close with each other and have been at Sonia longer. The chances of betrayal are much lower. The other strong teams were all established through audition. Lumos, especially does not get along. They're all to hungry for fame and glory. They'd rip each other's throats out if it meant they could get all the credit."" I agree," Indra said. "If we want a capable team that can be assembled quickly, Kardia is the best choice." Emmaline finally sighed and turned around. "We don't have time to argue anymore. We have reports that Drama has already sent agents to retrieve the stone. Kendra is also making moves. All those in favor of sendingLumos raise your hand." Harissa, Mirella, Zayla and Lyndon raised their hands. "And those in favor of sendingKardia?" The remaining masters raised their hands. In the end, it would be her Emmaline's choice. She sighed and walked back to her seat. "Send a message towards." Emrin was still awake when the raven appeared at her window. It tapped a few times to get her attention. She ignored it to finish the calculation she was working on. The raven's window tapping increased. When that didn't work he started shouting. Erin finally threw down her pen and opened the window. It was a messenger raven. The scroll on its leg simply said, Come to the Masters' office immediately. Erin sat down at her desk staring at the message for a few minutes. It was most likely related to the rampant rumors that MANA's magic stone had been found. The school had been buzzing with excitement, believing that the Masters were planning to send a team to retrieve it. It seemed they had decided Ontarian the end, as expected. Erin sighed and finished off her coffee before retrieving her cloak from her closet. She had dark circles under her eyes from staying up late, and it didn't seem like she'd be getting any sleep soon. Since Helena's room was on the way, she'd go pick her up on the way, just in case the crow hadn't woken her. Geared Omtehelp was not the earliest riser in the morning, nor the most congenial until he'd had the opportunity to get some tea. This morning he thanked the gods of his people that he had friends among the enchanters, for the little device that brewed a cup of herbal tea near his bedside in the morning. The aroma of the tea leaves releasing their flavor and caffeine into the hot water was, in his opinion, one of the best ways in the world to awaken from sleep. The only better way to wake was with the warm embrace of a well rested and playful lover. The Hex Crafter and Apprentice Healer had just finished dressing and was about to head down from his dormitory tower, to the cafeteria, when he heard the familiar tapping of a beak at his window. Upon opening the glass a large raven, resplendent in some of the blackest feathers Geared knew of, presented a leg for which it was obvious that Geared was to remove a bit of parchment with a message. Upon examining the small note, he said to the bird, "Well done, RAAF. Now, away with you so I may close the window." The messenger seemed satisfied and so departed.' Masters'' The apostrophe after the 's'. Plural. LikelyALLnine of Sonia's teaching Masters of Magic.' Well, Geared,' the healer said to himself, 'with all the rumors flying about, and some of them possibly being true, it looks like you've been drafted.' Breakfast would have to wait until after he'd answered the summons.' Mayhap one of the Masters will have the decency to have tea and pastries, or at least bread, on hand....' wished Geared. He soon arrived at 'Administration' and was shown to the waiting room, just outside the Masters' Council Room. Cullen was in a deep slumber buried under the thick of his blankets. The sound of his low grumbling snore escaped from under the mound. He left the window slightly opened when he slept. He is like the smell of fresh air as he slept, chill of the night that accompanied was the trade-off. Mid-dream his vision started to change. What was once him climbing up an icy mountain morphed into him sitting in a nosy pub. The stranger behind him was lightly poking at his shoulder. Cullen turned in his dream to speak to the stranger, “Eh, if you like that finger I’d quit pokin’ it at me.” The stranger was silent for a moment before letting out a bird like squawk. Cullen jumped at the oddity both in his dream and real life which pulled him awake. Laying there for a moment he mumbled, dreaming about bird men? What the hell. Just as he went to stretch out, he felt tiny claws stepping and tapping on top of his covers. He quickly threw them back to see what had entered his room. The raven flew up out of reach and settled at the bedpost. It shook its leg out almost frustrated. “Listen Raven, it’s too early for this shit. Calm your beak.” He leaned over pulling the note free. The raven pecked at Cullen's hand once before flying off. “Yeah the feeling is mutual” Opening the note he squinted trying to think of what it could be. Knowing he himself hadn’t stirred up any trouble he decided to pause his morning routine and instead head to the Master’s office. Erin had to knock for about five more minutes before it got any reaction. The door opened only a little then when she saw who it was the door opened quickly and Helena grabbed onto Remains' arm pulling her into the room before slamming the door. Her hair was a mess and her pale but flawless face clearly had no makeup on. A black crow at the window was squawking and flapping its wings while Beatrice was hissing at it, clawing at the window." Emrin, stars girl do you know what time it is?! Look at you! You can't go walking around like this, sit down." She turned to the window. "Beatrice dear enough! If any more crows go missing on their way to me, I am going to have to start paying for it. Back off dear." The ermine continued to glare at the bird but moved back. Still Helena made no move towards the window instead inspecting Ermines' clothes." Did you sleep in this?! " The crow squawked again loudly." Why is everybody so loud so early? I swear the only thing more annoying than that damned birds, is that dog Eric drags around" Beatrice looked up at the mention of the dog before running back to the bed." So I am assuming that creature, and you are here for the same reason?" she finally opened the window, the crow did not enter but simply held out its leg. She quickly scanned the message before dropping it. "UGG, I hate being rushed. She grabbed a brush before strolling to her wardrobe before starting to look through her dresses, she was not going to appear in front of the masters looking anything but perfect." You want to borrow something to wear, we may have to shorten it a bit"Beatrice crept over to Erin her black eyes shining. She was not very fond of people, she usually bit whoever came close. The only person that she would approach on occasion was Erin because she knew Helena loved her like a sister. Poking her head on her arm as if to say 'she means well' Eric halted his push-up halfway through, and looked at the window at the same time his dog barked at it, searching for what was making that annoying tap at the glass. A corpulent raven with a few silver feathers around its chest, in a pattern that resembles a necklace. Didn't know crows got old he thought, admiring its grizzly pattern. The bird paused his taps, turning his head, and looked straight at Eric’s dark brown eyes. His body fell as the enchanter finished two more reps with his eyes still locked into this sudden stare competition. “Thirty nine, forty” - He stood up, sliding his hands up and through his hair, throwing his messy curls back before petting Popcorn, that was in the hunting position looking at the crow, and crossed his small dorm room towards the window hearing the clacks of his dog claws on the wooden floor behind him as she jumped down from the bed. The mess made the room smaller than it already was, full of useless bits, bobs and some gadgets. Eric stopped a few feet from the window at the stove, grabbed his coffee pot and poured into his favorite metallic mug. Half full. As soon as the bird noticed the disinterest, it started croaking loudly, poking at the window and staring in a way that would easily be interpreted as “angry”. A good bitter gulp after the Syrian started pinching yesterday’s bread in various small pieces and opened the window. “Thank you for waiting” - pouring the chunky crumbs at the window stool - “For your troubles” - and proceeded to retrieve the message while scratching the bird’s back while it ate with popcorn jumping behind him, jealous of the bird’s attention. Come to the Masters' office immediately. His right eyebrow raised as he read the phrase. “Maybe I shouldn't have made you wait, huh?” - He directed at the corvid that cawed making eye contact again, catching the last crumb in his beach and flew off in a surprising silent take off leaving a small silver feather behind that Eric decided to keep. Eating the rest of the bread with coffee while dressing up, he was still in his pajamas, putting on his inconspicuous boots of flight, hooking his hammer at his belt. Heading out, grabbed an apple “for the way” holding it with his teeth. He waited patiently as Popcorn looked at him from inside the room with her newest bone in her mouth. “No… You can't bring that today” - The dog tilted his head, and the ears folded she shot her best puppy eyes at him - “Sorry not today… Come on let's go!” - She slowly opened her mouth and let the bone fall to the ground and made her way out of the room. Locking his dorm door, threw his jacket with an embroidery of the team crest over the left chest over the shoulder and marched down the hallway with a furry butt swaying following behind him, leaving the scene with a loud crunchy bite echoing behind him. Spoiler: Not for the faint of heart {"light box_close": "Close", "light box_next": "Next", "light box_previous": "Previous", "light box_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.", "light box_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow", "light box_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow", "light box_full_screen": "Full screen", "light box_thumbnails": "Thumbnails", "light box_download": "Download", "light box_share": "Share", "light box_zoom": "Zoom", "light box_new_window": "New window", "light box_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"} The cool morning breeze made the curtains inside Leila’s room flow. She sat at her desk, a hot cup of tea sitting beside the scroll she had rolled out in front of her. It was a scroll full of the rune symbols she came across in bother her dreams and nightmares. Leila dabbed her quill in the obsidian black ink that sat at the other side of the scroll. As she delicately drew out the new rune symbol, there was a fluttering and a caw. Leila looked over her shoulder towards the sleek black feathered bird. “You may enter,” she spoke softly, offering her arm for the crow to land on. It obliged, and flew inside her room to land on her arm for support. The crow lifted their leg to show off the small message attached. Leila took the paper, offering the crow a piece of bread she had next to her tea. “Thank you kindly,” she smiled softly before the crow flew away. The message was short, as they are usually when it’s something important. Leila took no time stripping away her night garments into her usual clothes. Last but not least, she put her black cloak on. It could mask her messy hair, at least for now. Helena will not hesitate on giving Leila and earful about it, but Leila didn’t have the time to brush it with a message this urgent. The gentle clack of her shoes could be heard down the empty halls. She only hoped she wasn’t too late to the meeting, noticing that once she was in the waiting room, she was actually quite early. Erin let herself be dragged into the room, rolling her eyes and sat on the bed. It took her a moment to answer Helena's question "... No." It was not a lie she technically had not slept in these clothes since she had not slept yet. She looked down at her clothes. They didn't lookthatterrible. A little wrinkled, but nothing out of the ordinary. "I'm not going to change." She watched Helena rifle through her clothes, "We should hurry. I'm sure the Masters will care more about you being late than they will about how you look." She acknowledged Beatrice with a small pet on her head, and then went to Helena's closet to help hurry her changing process, pointing out a few suggestions to her, and then picking out some matching shoes. Erin knew Helena well enough that she could help her find something acceptable to wear at least 60% of time. Finally, with some more urging and not-so-gentle prodding Erin managed to get Helena out the door and on the way to the Master's office. They were, as expected, last to arrive. The attendant at the door wasted no time in letting everyone in and ushered them into the room. The 9 masters all sat at a long arced desk at the front of their room, all looking tired and serious. The 6 of them shuffled into a line to stand in front of them. Master Emmaline stood. "I'm sure you have all heard the rumors by now. It is as you've heard. MANA's stone has been found. Right now, it is still sealed, however, I'm sure you all can imagine the consequences should someone with the wrong intentions opens it first. We will be sending your team to retrieve it. Time is of the essence. A carriage will be waiting at the city gates to take you through the mountain pass and into Among in half an hour. There, show your ID plates to the innkeeper. He will provide you with a map and some provisions." She looked to the other Master. "Anything else you'd like to add?"" No flying." Master Harissa said from his seat. "You'll stand out too much, you'll have to go on foot. Save your flight stones for battle. You don't want to die because your enemies can fly and you can't. And make sure you take your cloaks. You'll be glad to have them." He looked pointedly at Helena. "Dress appropriately. No heels."" You are dismissed." Emmaline told them. The other masters sighed with relief and started to get up from their seats. Master Sylvain approached Leila and Erin and ruffled the younger's hair. Erin scowled. "Take care of each other." He told them, "And make sure you get some sleep on the carriage Em." Then he patted the shoulders of both Eric and Cullen, "I expect you two to help keep everyone in line. You're the oldest and the most experienced of the bunch. Remember your training. And follow your orders. Your success is also Syria's success, remember that." Master Emmaline gave Eric a simple "Good luck" before briskly leaving the room. She was a woman of few words and always seemed to be up to her eyes in work. Master Lindell, on the other hand, gave Cullen a hearty pat on the back, "Good luck, my boy! I have high expectations of you! This is a great opportunity for you don't miss it! If you are successful you could return heroes! My student! A hero! Can you imagine it? Of course, if you are unsuccessful you will probably die and the world may be doomed but..." Before he could continue Master Zayla interrupted him and quickly shooed him out the door. Master Harissa didn't touch her (he was afraid of messing up her clothes) but stopped in front of Helena. "I hope you take this matter seriously, Helena. The road will be dangerous. If you do not give it your all you, or the others may very well die." He turned to leave, reminding her firmly once again to dress appropriately for the journey and be on time. Master Isaac approached Geared, yawning. Master Isaac's main focus was on curses and so, did not know Geared as well as the other Masters knew their students. "Geared. You may not be a direct student of mine, but you are still my student and you are also my countryman. Come back safely." Geared OmtehelpNot yet getting anything to eat for breakfast was a sore point for Geared, it was actually quite rude in his mind, but he could understand the value of not wasting time in the matter of MANA's Stone. Hopefully an opportunity would present itself before they left the outskirts of the city behind them. It was nice of old Master Isaac to wish him well, even if Geared was more interested in healing than hexing. And it was also good that he had a kinsman in high places. Deciding that if he hurried to the city gates, before the others arrived that there might be found something to sate his empty stomach, Geared said to his companions, "I'll meet you at the gates." A quick hex on himself, to double his speed and he arrived well before the rest of the team with time to get some belong and some bread from the butcher and the baker. Speaking with their driver, Geared gently placed hexes on each of the two cart horses to increase their strength and endurance. Speed might have been added, but the driver was wary about going too fast for the cart or his driving reflexes. Perfek, Geared thought to himself, as the rest of Maria arrived when he finished his hexes. Leila Mananas the others were dispersed and getting ready for departure, Leila summoned up her courage to take the time to address something with her Master. “Master Sylvain!” She called out to him to get his attention before he left with the other masters. He turned towards her, as she hurriedly walked over to meet him. “Will you let Harold know I will be gone for a while?” Harold was her therapist. And Master Sylvain is the person who knows about some of Leila’s struggles other than her therapist. “He already knows, well… if he ever woke up from the Raven that was sent to him,“ he chuckled. Leila smiled slightly at the image in her head. But she didn’t want to waste either of their times for just that. “About what I discussed the other day… do you think this trip will help?” Master Sylvain paused at her question. Leila recently spoke with him with concerns towards her depression, and how it affects her. She has been working on autopilot for years, but with some breakthroughs with Harold, she’s starting to think more for herself. Her concerns fall into this: she doesn’t really know why she’s done many things since she’s started at the university. Why does she learn more spells? Why does she hone them? Initially it was because of the sense of accomplishment it gave her. It gave her feeling… something she lacked and still lacks because of her depression. Most everything she has done is because she’s been told to do so. Harold wanted her to really question herself, and figure out what she wants, instead of only doing what she’s told with no thought. “You will find time to reflect and think on it during your downtime,” he smiled to her, “Don’t forget why you are going though. The MANA stone is imminently important, and you are everyone’s senior as far as years of magic study. Take care of them, watch over them, and take care of yourself too.“ he emphasized the last piece of advice, knowing how Leila was. She gave him a nod and a wave before she turned towards the carriages. Her jaw began to clench as she walked faster. He was right, she is everyone’s senior as far as magic studies… even if a couple are older than I. Harold swords echo in her mind “what do you want?” For now, Leila wanted to find reason and sense of purpose for herself. And one thing she knows for sure: she needed to take care of the others on this journey. Perhaps she needed to take a different approach towards it though. Everyone has knowledge in different areas, needs improvement in others, and each is their own individual person. How can she teach them without seeming demanding? How can she inspire them without seeming like some sort of show-off? The reason she learned new spells and worked on being efficient with them was because she got a feeling of accomplishment, and most of her days she spends feeling nothing. She is used to taking others directions as to what to do, that now she’s not sure what direction to take for herself. Will this adventure really make a difference? It’s up to her to change herself. And it’s up to her to keep everyone safe, that responsibility alone brings a heavy weight… yet she also feels, confident? As Harold had said, Leila will be feeling some emotions she hadn’t felt in a long time. It’s up to her how she wants to handle it. Leila arrived at the carriages. Geared was already there, providing hex’s of speed. Leila fingered through her grimier to help him out. Two people providing hex’s is better than one, not to mention it will help preserve their MANA. The Sun has yet to reach the horizon. Eric stopped his rush in front of the master’s building with Cullen just behind him, saying “Hi” to Leila that was adjusting her garments before entering the building. Eric had his suspicions after meeting his friend at the lobby of the dorms… Popcorn noticed the sleepy figure first, greeting him with a bark and a few jumps. The enchanter’s eyes crossed the shadowbanned as they got closer.​“Crow?” - Greeting his compatriot with a nod as their path became parallel.​“Crow.” - Cullen mumbled affirmatively back, still shaking the slumber from his dream.​“Like old times… Come on!” - Eric said with a nostalgic smile as they left the building and started jogging, trying to incentivize with a light march, reminding his numerous early morning runs.​ … But seeing Leila outside the Master’s Offices, the same building he had been summoned to consolidate in his mind, this was a Maria Issue. They three headed inside just to find Guard already there. - He was always the first - and whispered around what they thought this was about while waiting for the last two.​ Outside the office after the “encouraging” words of master Lindell, Eric tapped Helena’s shoulders with just enough weight on his hands to surprise her, pulling it back quickly so that her “scarf” wouldn't turn and bite his fingers like it happened more than once before.​“The masters said no heels, but don't show up in sandals either, use that boot you wore at the games, that should be good enough” - The Syrian smirked and kept walking, not really waiting for the retort it was surely coming.​​“Popcorn!” - Grabbing the attention of the dog, he tapped at his own chest twice and opened his arms.​ The corgi got a short run start and jumped to her human arms. The enchanter hugged her tight as he started to slide over the ground activating his boots, and shot up over the buildings in a straight line to the dorms, entering in his room by the same window the crow tapped less than an hour ago. Holding the dog by its armpits, making her face him, he said:​“It is a serious mission, so only one toy” - Landing the dog over the bed and petting her head and ears for a bit before unlocking the door and leaving half open - “Grab what you need to grab, do what you have to do and I will meet you in front of the building in 20 minutes with your suit.”​ Leaving Popcorn at her own will, Eric opened his dresser drawers, grabbing a few items for the trip and separating what he would wear as he undressed and organized his gear on top of the bed. He slid into his boxer briefs and his thigh fit long sleeved white shirt, pulled up his old pants he brought from military school, sat down on the bed to stretch his over the calf socks and put back the boots. All this gearing gave Eric a nostalgic mood, buttoning up his dark blue vest he meditated on his orders. He was still skeptical about the stone and honestly, part of him was hoping it was another fluke. These last six years had calmed down his warrior flame that the military and his country pushed into him. - Is this how comfort molds you, this city on top of this white marble tower, the peak of technological advancement really blinds you to the world and how it truly is. Packing the items, he equipped the bandolier over his belt, rolled up his school cloak and strapped at the satchel, tightened his embrace on the left arm, hammer hooked at his right side on the belt and put on his light jacket. Eric looked at his fruit bowl he filled yesterday with ten mixed color apples. He couldn't let them rot, so decided to throw them into a sack and take them with him. Binoculars around the neck, he put his rifle on his back and never felt so ready to deal with whatever life could throw at him since he stepped on Sonia. Eric locked the window and gave the room a good look, checking if he didn't miss anything before locking the door for the second time this day and rushed downstairs with Popcorn’s suit in hand. The dog was waiting outside by a tree with her white rubber rat toy in her mouth. She started wiggling her tail and her entire body as she saw her human approaching.​“Oh! Are you sure you're going to take Beatrice?” - the rodent toy whistled as the dog’s teeth squeezed it. - “Yeah, you’re right, it's going to be funny… Come here!”​ Smiling as he put the satchel and apple sack on the ground, crouching and putting the suit on Popcorn. - Like putting a saddle on a mini furry horse. Popcorn’s suit was just a dog’s bodysuit, it was made of padded fabric and provided some protection, but its main function was to distribute and support the dog’s weight and attach her to Eric’s vest, like a baby carrier, so he could fly without having to hold her. It had three straps, one at the front and back “sleeves” and one over the rib cage to not overload the dog’s spine. With Popcorn ready, Eric leaned forward while crouching and interlocked the hooks, grabbed his stuff and stood up with a Derby corgi looking around and up, licking at this spiky chin, and flew towards the city gates where the carriage would be waiting.​ A shout came from the sky:​“GREED! THINK FAST!”​ The toss was terrible, e, and it was only with the full extension of his arm that Geared managed to catch the apple, saving it from certain doom on the street pavement. The Header admired the green succulent looking fruit as Eric landed.​“Of… I need to practice my aim. Good catch.” - Said tossing his satchel and rifle on the front side of the cart like marking his seat. Retrieving a red apple from the sack and approaching Leila.​​“Here you go.” - He took her hand, twisting her palm up and landing the apple there.​​“Thank you Eric.” - Leila answered with a warm smile.​​“If the group were only you two I would have no doubts you would get to that stone first… If there is one…” - He joked, letting some of his disbelief surface as he unhooked Popcorn and went to overlook the cliff at the city gates.​ One of the few paths leading down the volcano, a well-kept thin street that flirted with the border of at least 200 meters drop to the rocks. And somewhere down there it was that damned magical stone.​ The smile Helena gave Master Harissa was a very tight one. She knew her father was working behind the scenes to get her an apprenticeship under the master of Summoning himself, but honestly the two of them never really ...... he was always 'Helena don't do this. Or Helena why don't you give it your all. Blah blah blah.' She had to bite back a remark when he told her to dress like a hobo, or might as well have. She was still glaring at his back when Eric decided to add insult to injury by commenting on her shoes. It did seem he was getting wise however since he pulled away before Beatrice could bite his finger ....... again ....... dammit." Don't tell me what to do!" she snapped at his retreating back Mumbling to herself in irritation she threw her door open with a loud bang, Beatrice jolting and jumping to the ground in with an irritated hiss." Sorry baby, but ...... men! Don't dress up Helen, don't wear heels Helena" she said sarcastically"Nobody even noticed I am wearing a new dress!" "You look nice Helena" With a yelp she nearly fell over backwards, making the man with dark brown hair and eyes laugh out"You may look like your mother, but heavens knows you do not have her reflexes." His smile faded"But in all honesty, I am proud of you, but you really need to take this seriously Helena, you cannot let your guard down like this." She just rolled her eyes "I am in my room daddy, nobody is on their guard there, and why are you sneaking around, its creepy" "It's not, I came to greet my little girl and wish her good luck" "This is your fault you know if you didn't force me to enter that damned ..." "Helena that is enough!" Her father snapped before taking a breath." I did not come to fight or for attitude, I came her to tell you how proud we are of you and that we love you and to be careful. " She smiled giving her dad a hug." Where is mom?" "Out saving more kids, but she sent a gift"Helena perked up clapping her hands together "Ohhhh Jimmy" her father indicated to a small little handbag on the bed. It was kind of large for a purse, and fluffy and pink. She frowned in confusion looking at her father"Dad ..... that thing is ...... very ugly" Her father laughed"Yes, it is. But your mother and I paid with many favors and hours of work for that. Master Emmaline made this. You can pack ALL your clothes in here, and it will hold" Helen picked up the bag curiously before starting to pack random object in it to test it out, the bag did keep on taking more and more. With an excited giggle she hugged her father"Thank you daddy, now all my heels can come along as well" The gift was, it turned out not THAT great, once she had all but emptied her wardrobe into it and wanted to pick it up to go meet the others, she couldn't! It weighed ....... well a lot! "Master my ass Beatrice, that old bat could make it weightless if she wanted, this was deliberate" she mumbled before with a wave of her hand (oh yes my wand!!!) a large white polar bear appeared. She petted it lovingly"Thank you for coming dear, will you help me pick up this monstrosity?" Eric looked up to see the large bear wandering over to the carriage, it was an animal Helena used a lot so they would be familiar with it, in its jaws were a big fluffy pink purse. The creature stopped in front of him looking at him expectantly before he could hear Helena call out as she strolled up in the distance (in heels and a big furry cloak, hoodless of course)"Well are you going to help or not?! Just give him the bag dear, thank you" The bear gave Eric a look before dropping the fluffy pink bag. The weight of it catching him off guard making him stagger backwards into the carriage. Beatrice hissed from her shoulders before bristling and moving around making Helena look down. Popcorn was at her feet, looking up at them, a white toy in its mouth." Elric! Your dog is doing it again!" She said in irritation, stomping her foot on the ground childishly. Cullen listened intently to the masters speaking. The rumor of MANA’s stone had been circulating for quite some time now. Learning that there was truth to the whispers sent a jolt of electricity through his veins. Cullen lived for moments like this. Moments filled with adventure, danger, purpose, and the unknown of what could happen. That instant burst of excitement push any tiredness away, and he was on full alert. He was bummed to learn they couldn't fly. Traveling by road would slow them down by a few days or possibly weeks depending on what they encountered along the way. Either way, he showed no emotion to the disappointment he felt. As the debrief came to an end, Cullen turned to Erin giving a firm nod and short response, "Of course Sir, we won't let you down."----------------------Cullen made a quick trip back to his room to dress and grab his essentials. Making quick work of the detour he decided to make one more past the great hall for a quick bite to bring along. He grabbed what his hands could hold and headed to the city gates. Noticing he was the last to arrive he gave an apologetic smile before speaking up, "Anyone else betting something goes wrong on this trip?" He stuffed the last of his sweet bread into his mouth and placed the leftover treats in his side pouch for later. Cullen assumed this mission wasn't going to be an easy grab. If it was the Master would have sent another group or a single person. Stopping alongside the horses he raised his brow looking around. "A cart? Are we all riding together?" he preferred to ride on the horse alone, it wasn't that he had a problem riding with people it's just that he didn't want to be confined in that way for such a long period of time. He didn't want for a response before walking to the stable hand near the gate entrance. A short conversation and exchange of silver later, Cullen grabbed the harness of a solid black horse and walked it back to the group. Petting down the neck of the majestic beast he tightened the saddle and slung his back over the animal. "Thor and I can ride ahead and scout the path... Just in case something or someone knows we are going to collect the stone." In one quick motion he lifted himself up and straddled the horse. Adjusting for departure he didn't allow for protest. Erin arrived shortly after Cullen. She took one look at the bag Helena had brought and was immediately suspicious. Ignoring everyone else, she walked up to the pink monstrosity and attempted to lift it. "Helena. How do you expect to carry this? You do realize the cart is only taking us into Among right? And not even you have enough MANA to keep a summon out for a while day." She loaded her own gear into the cart and climbed on. "Just don't complain when you can't drag it anymore 5 hours from now." Then she went straight to sleep. With Geared and Leila's hexes, the cart was able to get the team into Among just as the sun started to rise over the horizon. The cart driver left the group at the town's entrance and then started the long journey back up the mountain. After getting all their gear situated, they made their way over to the inn. The trip had been horrible!! It was cramped, whenever Erin did open her eyes, it was to look at her disapprovingly, Geared kept on talking about how great her father was (of course he would think that, he was a student after all), Leila kept on looking like she was worried about... well everything, Cullen was on a horse (imagine what he was going to smell like! Eric kept trying to look at her (horrifically ugly) bag, but worst of all was that damned dog!" Elric, can you not control your animal?! It keeps looking at me!" she snapped just as Popcorn bit down on her chew toy again. Beatrice bristled, then disappeared. "Now look what you did!!" she snapped "If she bites one of you it is well deserved! I am thirsty. You are in my space! Where did you all get apples?" Everybody was getting irritated with her, why? They were the ones in the wrong! Even the cart driver seemed happy to get rid of her, he tipped her bag onto the ground with a hard thud" If you damaged anything, I swear I will...." the speed at which the man took off meant he did not even hear her treat. Her eyes landed on the nearest inn to the gate." Oh, thank heavens! Beatrice sweetheart let's go. Eric be a good brute and bring my bag" Beatrice appeared near the bags before bounding towards Helena, quickly taking up her place around the woman's shoulders. Helena walked towards the inn at a brisk pace, her heels clicking on the cobblestones. Just as she reached the inn she heard Geared run up behind her. "Helena, we should really..." "Don't start with me Geared" she snapped, Beatrice hissing at him for good measure "I am not, I am just saying perhaps just blindly entering a building blindly is not....." "It's an inn for crying out lo......" "Move!" Her sentence was cut off. While she had been talking to Geared she pulled open the door to the in, the next moment she was thrown to the side, connecting with the wall of the inn, hard. She lay on the ground in the dirt, dazed and hurt, a large basilisk storming past, no sign of Geared. Geared wasn't sure what made him feel apprehensive, but there was something in the air.... The hex-crafter laid a hand upon his staff, upon which many spells were stored and called forth the spell of double-speed. It was then that he saw the monster appear. His blood chilled making him briefly hesitate before transferring the temporary rune onto Helena's skin and exclaiming "Move!" Whatever it was happened quickly and Geared's world became... dark. Cullen waited at the entrance of the inn. Riding solo granted him the luxury of peace, but that was in exchange for rest. He was so damn tired that he had propped up against the outside of the Inn waiting for the cart to arrive. His eyes had just started to fall shut when he heard the rattle of the wheels approaching. With a grunt he lifted grabbing the reigns of the horse. He gave her a pat. “Let’s get you tied off to ride back” Approaching the others he could hear Helena bickering though he wasn’t sure what about. He just snickered. Taking the time to tie off Thor to the other horses. Just as the cart left, Cullen slung his bag over his shoulder and walked behind the rest towards the inn. What had happened next was so quick and unexpected? Cullen saw Helena fly from the doorway in one quick swoop. He wasn’t sure what happened, he wasn’t close enough to see, but he could taste the magic in the air flowing from inside. He hurried through the Inn doors, watching Geared double over to where Helena had crashed into the wall. It was pure chaos. The Basilisk looked like it was squaring up for another attack. Cullen dropped his sack to the ground, and quickly recited one of his shadow spells that was committed to memory. “Umbrae begun hoc stadium!” He watched the shadows in the room crawl across the floor towards Helena and Geared. Like a wall it covered their area cloaking them from the creatures line of sight. The basilisk cocked its head confused. Cullen only hoped that gave them both enough time to retreat. With a loud whistle and a wave of his arms Cullen got the summoner to turn towards him. It charged without hesitation. His continued pour of MANA into the cloaking spell left Cullen with only his swords to defend himself, he reached to his sides and unsheathed his two swords one at a time. He was no stranger to physical combat. He decided to keep the summoner busy to allow the others time for their magical attacks. The bright white beast lunged at him, he was able to strike it once before the claws for the summoned landed a decent blow to his dominate side. Cullen cursed letting the sword drop from the right. Cradling his arm to his stomach he continued to dance with the magical entity in the middle of the inn waiting for it to vanish or be defeated. The trip wouldn’t be long, but Leila had a lot on her mind. Thinking so much made her tired, after a quick snack with the apple given to her, and tuning out Helena’s complaints, she began to doze off. At least a plus side to napping would restore some of the MANA she used earlier. There was a lot more movement once they got past the gates. Leila woke up feeling groggy, but it dispersed quickly whenever her gut clenched. Something was awry here… Helena was quick to make her way to the inn, not thinking twice about it. Geared was close behind, trying to warn Helena. Then came the explosion from the inn, the rubble flying everywhere. Leila was quick on her feet, moving at just the right time before some bits of rubble flew past her face. As the clouds cleared, a white summoned Basilisk was the culprit of the attack. But behind it was two masked people that she could see. It was immediately apparent that this was a planned attack, and that there may be more of them. To summon something like a Basilisk… these mages aren’t weak in the slightest. But Leila knew that using that summon to attack would last for about 20 to 30 minutes at best. But that was enough time to destroy most of this town. Leila saw that Helena was dazed, holding her head from the impact. Geared was nowhere to be seen yet. After a few seconds of processing, Leila knew she needed to buy everyone some time as she was one of the few who either weren’t hurt or slightly hurt from the attack. Leila looked to the masked mages, although it might be more efficient to attack them head on, she wasn’t sure if there were more mages in the slowly clearing dust. The summoned basilisk was already distracted by Cullen, as was the summoner. Leila used the dust to her advantage, hiding at a certain angle as to not be seen by the summoner. Flipping through her grimier to find a spell for thunderbolt, it did take some time to summon it, and unfortunately for Leila it was not able to hit the summoner. What it did do was provide a distraction for Cullen. The masked mages were on their toes, and the Basilisk screeches at the flashing bolt. This should also provide some time for the others to strike. Walking away from the cliff and turning back to the cart, Eric petted the glowing Bear that handed him a pink bag. Surprised at how much it weighed, he almost fell, needing both hands to bring that small bag up to his shoulder and toss it like a sack of potatoes on the back of the cart with a groan. Climbing up and taking a seat in front of Erin, using his rolled up cloak as a pillow, he pulled just the hood out of the straps and covered his eyes. Tossing both legs up to the side of the coachman and relaxed petting popcorn’s back, she laid over his thorax and looked around with her ears up interested, it was not everyday she went out of the city. In times like these you never know exactly when the next rest will take place so Eric calmed his breathing, his hearth, closed his eyes ignoring Helena’s babbling, until he started hearing urban noises as they rolled up into the village.​Pointing both arms towards the sky, Eric stretched with a loud yawn, reached over his shoulder to unstrap the cloak and sat up, letting the cloak unroll itself as he checked out the morning from under the hood. Leaning forward to land his hand-over Erin's shoulder and gently applied pressure, coaxing the girl out of her daze.​“We are here” - and proceed to grab his stuff and toss it over his back.​ As soon as the carriage stopped, he grabbed the side and jumped out, landing heavy with all his gears. Helped the coachman open the bed of the cart and assisted with people getting off and the baggage. Tossing his sack of apples over his back together with Helena’s heavy bag and following the group to the inn. First the air pressure increased, making his cloak flap over his back and a split second after all he could see was the group being pushed away. His instincts pulled his arms to guard, but not fast enough to avoid or protect him from a corpulent mass throwing him back a couple of meters. Eric landed heavily on his back - That is going to be painful tomorrow - and rolled over his head, landing on his hands and knees one spin later. All he could remember of that split second was Geared’s body flying back more than his. He Shaped his head gathering his senses, punched the ground with his armored left hand, pouring more MANA into the shield and stood back up. His eyes found Popcorn in front of him growling and barking at a monstrous snaky figure… A summon? Whistling to catch the dog’s attention, he snapped his fingers and pointed back over his shoulder to the general direction Geared was lying. Eric knew Geared was tough and was probably going to be alright, but every bit helps and with Popcorn out of danger one last thing to worry. He crossed the dog jogging towards the long white glowing figure that was even brighter as he saw Cullen cloud the area in darkness - Smart - and even making a nasty gash on its body, or so it looked like, since the Basilisk hissed loudly at the slash. Widening the shield, putting the guard up, Eric brought down his hammer on the monster’s body just to get deflected by the creature’s magical scales. Bad angle! It's okay! Keep up! Try the axe side next time! - His thoughts filled up his mind as adrenaline flooded his blood, every movement becoming slow motion as he prepared himself for what came next.​ Spoiler: current position As Erin was getting down from the cart, Eric reached out to lift her. Erin slapped his hand away and gave him a look that said Do you want to die?and then climbed out the cart herself. As she approached the inn, she saw a flash of white and instinctively raised a shield. The impact still knocked her off to the side, but she was able to avoid any major damage. After getting back on her feet, she could see Cullen casting a shadow and Helena and Geared who had both been more heavily injured, and Popcorn running over to help them. Leila cast a lightening bolt at a female mage wearing a rabbit mask, holding an open grimier, but the rabbit's comrade, what appeared to be a man in an owl mask, pulled her out of the way of the strike at the last second, so the spell only signed rabbit's hair. Owl held a scroll in his hand, and Erin could barely make out a glowing symbol on the outside,"Owl man has the map!" Emrin cast a magic bolt towards him, but a third man, wielding two long knives and wearing a wolf mask jumped down from the stairs and blocked it. Meanwhile, Rabbit cast a spell to heal the injury in the basilisk, and Owl cast a spell, blasting open the side of the inn. The Basilisk backed up slightly to position itself between them and the three masked mages turned to run. They already had what they wanted and didn't want to stick around. Erin started running after them, and attempted to use a spell of binding to catch Owl, but he easily avoided it." Cullen! Eric! Start running! I'll launch you over the basilisk!" He shoved her, he fucking shoved her into a wall!! That must have looked so undignified! She was going to kill Geared! Remains' shout finally made her take note of what the hell was going on around her....... utter chaos. Someone had summoned a horrible looking basilisk, ugh such disgusting creatures. Beatrice pressed her nose to her cheek. "Oh yes, pressing matters, thank you dear. Are you okay?" she asked the white creature with worry in her voice. Beatrice shook her little body, eyes bright. "Such a smart girl, I will distract it, you go get the map back" The next moment Beatrice just disappeared into thin air. Helena pushed herself up onto her feet with some effort (don't look at your dress, don't look at it, it's ruined, she just knew it!) she had to support herself on the very wall that injured her in the first place, how ironic. Shit, her wand was in her bag, she should carry it on her..... but it didn't go with her clothes..... Focus Helena, she will just have to summon without it. She quickly surveyed the situation, Eric and Cullen was too close for her to summon something big in this area, they could get caught in the battle, plus she had seen what these two could do, especially working together. Okay something to distract the hell out of it. Helena waved her hand a flurry of ice forming in the air solidifying into a shape of a big Norwegian Goshawk. "Go for the eyes" with a loud screech the hawk took off. Beatrice ran as fast as her little legs could carry her, she hated walking, much more so running, she prefers to ride on Helena's' shoulders. But she was needed now and would always do as Helena wanted her to. The massive snake was blocking her way, the only way she saw to the map was over its tail, it was an easy enough jump...... Or so she thought. The hawk swooped down towards the snake, talons ready for its eyes, but it seemed to have smelled something as it turned its head and whipped its tail upwards at the last second. The hawk missed its mark and its claws scratched down its face, painful perhaps, but not doing any damage really and seemed to have pissed the creature off even more. More alarming however was Helena crying out an furry little white body flying through the air. The blackness was only momentary as Geared's body recovered from the initial shock of injury. Fuck! His body had been run over by a summoned Basilisk! He was lucky that he wasn't dead! Still, he was quite hurt. The summoned creature must have thought him dead as it had ignored him to the point slithering right next to him.... Gereed had managed to maintain his grip upon his hex-crafter staff. From it, he called a loaded spell, 'MANA-hemorrhage', if he could successfully touch the construct, the MANA holding it together would pour out of it like an open wound.... (roll) The team worked flawlessly together, and it was apparent that even though the creature landed a few shots it wasn’t going to be able to defeat them easily. The bright white glow of the basilisk was beginning to dual. Cullen yelled out, “Just a little longer!” Cullen turned his head towards the shadows he conjured and whispered, “design.” The shadows that was once providing coverage sunk back into the unlit spaces of the inn. Having adjusted to the chaos Cullen was able to scan the room looking for who or what could be causing this attack. He quickly spotted the three individuals that were not trying to hide that they were controlling to summon. He made eye contact with the ‘Owl Man’ that lasted a split second before the small group of villains started their escape. With the adrenaline coursing through his veins he barely heard Erin call out,“ Cullen! Eric! Start running! I'll launch you over the basilisk!" He dropped his sword to the ground and did as requested. Pushing his legs hard and fast he ran across the room towards the Owl Man and felt his feet suddenly lose touch of the ground. If only for a moment he soared through the air, over to summon, and landed on the heels of its summoner. Two of the three were ahead of the man Cullen was determined to catch, with a hole having been opened in the wall and the outside world peeking through the destruction, Cullen knew that if he didn’t get this guy now there might not be another chance. He took a small dip before leaping out towards Owl Man. He was able to grab the edge of his cloak. That small imbalance brought the Vivian stumbling down to the ground. Cullen also fell to the ground but quickly recovered and dropped right on top of Owl Man. The man underneath wiggled, yelled, and tried to get free, but Cullen was too strong for the man.“Try to get free… .” An evil grin played on his lips as he spoke to the Owl Man. “And it will be the last thing you do” Cullen whispered to the man before changing his words speaking an infliction spell. Foggy black smoke conjured around Cullen hands. He pulled the pain from the injury in his arm and transferred it into the arm of the man he was holding. The man let out a scream as the pain soaked in through his pours and he felt exactly what Cullen felt when the basilisk clawed in his arm. “Compliments of your little summon” Keeping his focus on his head he held the Owl man down waiting for the others to come out and interrogate him. The team was doing great work together and communicating. Cullen didn’t hesitate to follow through with Erin launching him over the basilisk. Leila was impressed with them, and felt a bit inspired to take action once again. The main issue was the summoner, but she’s protected by the other two until Cullen took one down. Eric looks like he’s on his way over the basilisk too. With the cover of the dust, Leila took the time to cast an invisibility spell on herself. There were different ways to work a spell like this, but ultimately she was going to let the spell drop after she makes her way over to the mages, that way her MANA won’t be all spent. The trek over wasn’t easy since she was trying to sneak. Rubble was everywhere and there was a lot of movement around the inn. Even though she can’t be seen, she could be heard if she took the wrong step or if she moves too fast. Having Cullen holding one of the summoners bodyguards down, it was much easier for Leila to get close to the girl with the rabbit mask. Leila made her presence known to Cullen so he wouldn’t also be caught off guard whenever she drops the invisibility spell. This was the big moment once she was directly behind the summoner. Leila balled her hands into a fist, holding her arms at an angle that will hit the back of the summoners head directly, since trying to knock them out from the side of the head won’t work with the mask. Leila took her swing, knocking the bunny girl out. As the mage falls to the ground from the sudden impact to the head, Leila dropped the invisibility spell. This left her exposed to the third mage, who was now looking at her. Leila gave a strained smile that says, ‘I’m in danger.’ Close up combat was not her specialty, but it’s going to have to be. Leila’s hand was already on the hilt of her dagger which she kept at her side. She eyed the third mage while also holding her ground next to the summoner. No way in hell is Leila going to let the masked mages get away. A loud scream came from the sky as the Ice eagle came down scratching the monster. Cullen darted out of the inn as Erin shouted about the map. - Oh yeah!... The MAP! That's what he was here for… Eric, get your shit together! - Cullen was already at the hole in the wall as he started to run. The enchanter put all his explosion trying to get his heavy body to move, using his friend’s shield platforms as air steps, he got enough height and vaulted over the glowing girth body of the snake, pressing his palm against the creature’s scales to get more leverage and get further. Erin had been a great addition when they were forming the team. At first Eric judged her a bit, - What a tiny girl like her was trying to get into sports? - But as soon as they started training, he swallowed those thoughts. It was clunky at the start, those afternoons on the field: Helena complaining about something in her hair, Geared smelling like tea, keeping to himself and fiddling with his staff, Cullen sitting on the top stairs and suckling about something, while Leila were trying to catch everyone’s attention for the strategy meeting. Erin was always the first to pay attention. She showed as a jack of all traits that needed to be defended on the field, but had a good perception and was quick to plan ahead. They rehearsed that move countless times, to overcome tall obstacles or pass by an enemy in games where flying was forbidden. It was perfectly done. - Thank you Erin. With that thought, Eric was pulled back to the present, the world moving in slow motion with all the adrenaline in his veins. He noticed it: a furry body spinning in the air, for a split second the hazel eyes of the enchanter locked with the full black eyes of the ermine. At first, confusion, then a deep understanding of how they both ended up here, trying to vault over a monstrous basilisk. For that split second they were kindred spirits, then ermine got closer and closer and smacked at Eric’s face as their trajectory overlapped. Eric flinched and closed one eye, bringing his left arm up to hold the animal and settle her over his shoulder. He landed and jumped over the hole in the wall, finally having Cullen in his sight again, full on in pursuit, getting very close to one of them.​“When I get close… You jump on them.” - He said to Beatrice, with a barely contained whisper, in between breaths, feeling those obsidian eyes looking at him over the shoulder as he kept sprinting.​ The sprint, step by step, transformed into a smoother movement as he activated flight, looking more like roller skating as he propelled himself forward and up a foot, stabilizing. Passing by Cullen with the owl in his grasp, he pulled the rifle from his back, loading up what looked like a translucent bullet, an earthy color crystal, into the chamber and quickly aimed at the “rabbit”. - It is wabbit season! - Eric knew the mage in the wolf mask was looking at him and was sure he was going to try to block the shot, but as he held his breath, finger on the trigger, Leila popped up from nowhere with a mean smack at the rabbit’ head, blocking his shot. Surprised and with a last second adjustment, he pulled the trigger. Inside the gun, the magical circle glowed at the hammer’s face and arched, colliding with the projectile, activating the magical explosion and propelling the bullet towards its target. Spoiler: Crystal trap bullet The crystal trap bullet is a non-lethal projectile. As soon as the bullet leaves the barrel, cracks start forming and spread through the projectile’s body, keeping it whole but transforming it into a bright, opaque and brittle crystal. As soon as the tip hits something it explodes in a cloud of mini crystals that, in contact with a surface, grow in size and harden, covering, trapping and growing around whatever it hits. The impact isn't stronger than a punch, but the spread of the crystals can cover large areas depending on the surface. The crystals will naturally become brittle and break after one or two hours. This process can be rushed if the crystals get in contact with water. Warm water almost instantly dissolves them. Spoiler: Inspiration The shot hit the ankle of the wolf mage, spreading crystals on the ground around him and up to his waist, trapping his right leg and left foot. Eric pulled the gun over his shoulder, Beatrice scurrying around his neck under the flapping cloak, and prepared the rifle’s butt to body check the wolf’s head as he flew closer and closer, intending to use the trapped mage’s body as a break.​ The basilisk roared as the hawk clawed at its face, swiping its tail in frustration. It reared back to strike at Helena, but got distracted by Geared's spell, which caused the basilisk to slowly start leaking MANA. Before it could anything else, rabbit mage was immobilized. The mage in the wolf mask attempted to escape Eric's crystal before Eric could subdue him, but was unable to. The fight was over in a matter of minutes. All three mages were at the mercy of the team. After the basilisk disappeared, Erin walked over to where Helena and Geared were, helping them onto their feet. Then, the remaining members made their way over to where the other half of the team held the mages. As they walked through the wreckage of the inn, they would see several bodies littering the floor. There didn't appear to be any survivors. Erin cast a spell of restraint that allowed them to let go of the mages without having to worry about them running away and Cullen retrieved the map that the Owl Man had been holding. The scroll had an Sunita emblem that glowed faintly on the outside. Holding one of their ID plates to it would unroll the scroll to reveal a map that showed both the students' location and the location of the stone. The three mages said nothing and didn't resist during the whole process. They had worn purposely ambiguous clothes that made it difficult to tell which country had sent them. Emrin leaned down and removed their masks,"Well, what now?" They obviously deserved to be punished, but Sonia didn't have the right to punish people from other countries. Depending on who they were, doing so could preemptively start a war. Plus, it wasn't likely for any country to take responsibility. They wouldn't want to be exposed for attempting to retrieve the stone on their own. "Beatrice!!" Helena yelled in alarm when the furry little creature flew through the air. Her distressed yell however drew the basilisks' attention towards her, it reared, preparing to strike. She froze for a second, she was not sure whether to summon something to catch Beatrice or defend herself. She lifted her hand to summon but was spared her terrible choice. At the same time as the Basilisk was distracted by a spell from Geared, Beatrice managed to GEAB hold of Eric and scurry into his cloak. She nearly fainted in relief, oh, thank the stars! The fight did not last long as Cullen, Eric, Leila and Erin managed to contain the three manages. She sank back to the ground with a groan. Ugh she felt bruised, her dress!! Her eyes drifted over to popcorn who came trotting over. "Keep walking dog breath" she all but sneered at her. She did accept the hand Erin gave her however standing up with a winch. "Oh, ow, ow, ow, I am going to be so blue! And on my skin (pale, an f) it will look so unbecoming. Geared?! Where are you?! Come fix your mess!!" She only stopped complaining long enough to bend down and scoop up the little white body running towards her. "Beatrice baby!!! Are you okay?" Beatrice clung to the inside of the cloak with all she was worth! She was scared, he smelled funny, Helena always smelled of herbs. He was all hard and.... clunky... but he was safety. She hid under his cloak until the fighting sounds stopped. Peeking out under his cloak she peered around. The three bad people were down. She scurried out to his shoulder. Eric looked at her, her little nose twitched. She moved closer, he lifted his hand to help her down, she looked at him...... as if to thank him.... before snapping at his finger with a hiss, scurrying down his back and ran towards Helena. Helena looked up with a frown when she heard what was on the map. She walked over to Erin, ignoring all the surrounding death. She walked over to the summoner "That was absolutely shit summoning, your form was off, and your summon was sloppy." She stepped on the rabbits' fingers as she passed "oops, sorry" she did not look, sorry. She looked at the map, staring at the little dots that showed their location. "We just left! How can they know about us? Do you think someone rattled us out?" After Leila showed up and punched its partner, the Wolf didn’t even have the time to react before an explosion followed by loud crystal noises rooted him in the ground, spinning his waist and trying to free his lower half were fruitless, these rocks were holding him firmly in place. Recovering his thoughts and focusing on trying to protect his partner, that woman was still in reach, he prepared the dagger and then… darkness. The butt of the rifle connected with the left back side of the Wolf’s head, followed by the entire weight of the enchanter’s body that was prepared to impact, colliding, transferring all his inertia, breaking the crystal prison, and sending him unconscious to the ground two meters away. Eric grimaced, putting his rifle back in his back, grabbed his right shoulder, the point of impact, and rolled it to dissipate some of the pain.​“Are you okay? I almost shot you…” - He nodded to Leila, the grimace turning into a smile as he let out a soft chuckle and walked towards the lump body he sent to the ground.​ Slowly dragged the unconscious body back to the inn. With Cullen and Leila already having its prisoners under control, Eric just dropped the Wolf on the ground by the other two - he is not going anywhere. He winced as Beatrice bit his finger and ran.​“Such! You ungrateful ferret!” - He said with a more relaxed face.​ Finally relaxing after this surprise battle, Eric took a look around and all his glee vanished as he, for the first time, noticed the dead bodies inside the inn. Too preoccupied with the basilisk and his enemies running with the map, he never truly paid attention to what was around him all this time. His face closed like a heavy metal gate, the shine in his eyes dissipated as he crouched down and searched the enemies. Gathering all his rations and weapons and pilling it up over a table inside the inn. The Syrian proceeded to gather and move the corpses, lining them up on a corner of the inn and covering them with whatever he could find. The inn smelled like dust, wood and alcoholic drinks, especially beer. Those bodies were still fresh, still early to taint the atmosphere with his decomposing vapors. Walking towards the bar where a good number of bottles were in pieces on the ground, Eric managed to find one that wasn't, he poured a stone mug full, loudly dragged a tumbled chair in front of the three prisoners, setting it a few steps from them, setting the rifle on its side and sat. The wood complained as he sat heavily and spread himself, occupying the chair in its entirety. Leaning back, he gazed with his cold stare to the kneeling figures. He raised the mug and poured down to the floor, what looked like half of the mead. Pouring and spilling drinks could have various significance. Some leaders of the past would spill their drinks in each other's glasses to assure neither were poisoned. In some places it was a gift to the gods. In Syria, it was common after a battle or when recalling a past date where lives were lost. The liquid poured on the ground was for the souls lost in battle, a last drink to whatever came after death. Eric drank the rest in two full gulps and then just stared. The soldier inside Eric wouldn't allow these prisoners to be killed, but they didn't know that, using his gaze and the silence to induce something. Let them think, let them imagine whatever scenario it was about to come, let them roll in their own fears and insecurities. They were agents, so the question was: how ready to die are they? After this defeat, they probably already were. At this point, unless they are the only ones in this scheme, even if we let them free, they will either disappear, go after us or die in the hands of their contractor.​“Cullen…” - Those were the only words from the enchanter, they had a serious but tired tone to them - “... Just don't open the map in their sights.”​​ From outside the Inn looking in was Popcorn. She was on top of the fallen door, her ears down apprehensive with the strange mages and not only that, Eric wasn't himself. In the almost 6 years they were together, she never saw him like this. She saw him, sad, upset, annoyed, stressed, worried, sleepless and with a stomach ache, but never like this. Her eyes crossed his, after he got back to the inn, and she was happy that he was alive, even though he kinda smelled like Beatrice, but he was safe. She never felt this lack of energy from him, like she couldn't get to him. She would keep her distance and find something to do. Furthermore, she sniffed the air and suddenly remembered: Apples! Someone needs to grab the apples. She trotted her way to grab the apple sack, hoping when she would come back her human would be back to normal.​ Leila’s heart started to slow down from the adrenaline. If it weren’t for that training for the games she wouldn’t have the knowledge on how to knock someone out. Most of that was thanks to Eric and Cullen. Since Erin had the mages unable to move, Leila was free to get off the bunny girl. Helena was already over here berating the mage for her summoning skills. Leila wasn’t going to get involved with that. Not really the summoners fault, her protectors were not very good with protecting her. Elric walked over towards her, asking if she were alright since he almost shot her. Leila chuckled softly,“I’m alright, my fault with not communicating my whereabouts.” It wasn’t like they haven’t encountered this before as they all worked together in a group before. Everyone was caught up in their own thing, but all are wondering exactly what to do. Leila looked towards the others, “I will summon a messenger bird to let the Masters know what happened here.” There was a lot to clean up here, the sooner they can let the masters know they’re safe and what needs to be done here, the sooner they can rebuild and compensate the people who got involved. Thankfully they were here to decrease any damages that could’ve been done. On the other hand, it is precisely them coming here why the attack happened. Somehow these mages knew they’d be here. As the messenger bird flew towards the direction of the academy, Leila turned back around towards the inn. Eric was carrying the dead bodies and covering them up as much as he could. His eyes were lifeless, it’s like all the light he had in there for as long as she’s known him was gone. But death can and will do that to people. Sadly Leila has seen her fair share of dead bodies in her life. But probably not as much as Eric or any other who fights on a battlefield. A memory fades back into her mind as she watches the bodies being carried. Her father once found a dead hunter into the woods, and Leila had snuck out to follow her dad. She remembers him turning toward her, the lifeless body in his arms. Never had she seen her father look so grim. He did say she shouldn’t be out here, but in the end she followed him towards the village that was closest to them. The people knew her father there, and it turns out the hunter got mauled by the giant bears that roam the woods. Her father spoke, his hand over the hunters eyes, and he softly prayed for the man’s spirit to pass on peacefully. Leila subconsciously walked over to the bodies, her hand also delicately touching over the man’s eyes. It was as if the air was still, she stopped the wind from moving. Their surroundings were eerily quiet. She spoke as she slowly closed each person’s eyes. “Dear friends, your lives have been taken from you far too soon. Although I do not know any of you, I will never forget your faces. Just as the other faces I have seen taken from me. May your spirit be free this day. And may you return to the Heavens safely. Please, rest.” Leila allowed the wind to move once again, the rustling of the wind made it seem like their spirits were passing on peacefully. At least, that’s what she believes. Unfortunately this was going to be a part of their journey. Fate also relies on the MANA Stone to fall into the right hands. Trying to understand that this is the fate of the world made her chest feel heavy. Leila calmly stood back on her two feet, letting out a long exhale. Cullen watched the remainder of the chase unfold as he secured the Owls hands and feet together in a hogtied. He wanted to keep the individual awake to interrogate him for answers. He asked the basics, who sent you, what do you want with the stone, how did you know we were coming. It was clear the owl would rather die than give up any answers. Or perhaps he knew he would die if he gave up answers. Growing annoyed with the villain Cullen brought the end of his sword down against the temple of the man's head leaving him with a bit of pain to ponder over his lack of answers. With the three attackers secured Cullen went out the front of the Inn to the streets of the town where he spotted two oblivious guards turning the corner while on patrol. He called out to them, "You're a little late to the party fellas." The look of confusion on their face changed when they saw the damage to summon caused. Not knowing the situation they drew their weapons and charged at Cullen yelling for him not to move. Cullen laughed in amusement because he could see a small piercing twinkle of fear in their eyes. "I'm not the bad guy, well not today he thought, so put your weapon away and come take these three away already." Cullen always forgot how fearful and hesitant people could get in situations like this. Being Syrian and serving in the army took that humanistic characterization away from Cullen. He was comfortable in battle, dangerous situations, and even had a steady peace when staring down the edge of a weapon that was coming directly at him. Once back inside the Inn, the guards started asking some of the locals what had happened. Cullen wasn't shocked that they wouldn't take his work about being one of the good guys so he took no offense to the guards doing their job. Even if it was poorly done. He moved to help Eric with the last few bodies that became casualties. He stopped at Leila's side watching her as she paid tribute with her kind words. Furthermore, he appreciated the kindness of others and wanted to honor their own way of honoring the dead. Once the wind stopped Cullen placed a soft hand on Leila's shoulder. "That was very kind of you." He offered a half-smile before removing his hand and following suit at the bar. Cullen wasn't great with people. He wasn't great with emotion. There were a lot of embedded behaviors that made him different but since his time at the university, he was really trying to change some of that and make more connections. Certainly, he was failing most of the time, but he continued to try. Even far away from Syrian, the traditions of battle held extreme importance. With a full mug, he turned his back and leaned it against the bar looking at the mess and destruction. He poured the first of the drink to the ground and then took a long refreshing gulp. He shifted a bit toward Eric, "They already refused information." his tone was dark, "I think a little. Persuasion might be needed." he finished the liquid in his mug, placed the tankard on the countertop, and walked closer to Eric and the prisoners. He pulled a small dagger from the side of his belt, straddled an already backward chair, and played with the tip of the blade across his own fingers demonstrating just how sharp the blade was. Locking eyes with one of the agents, Cullen turned his hand-over showing the red crimson of blood that rose from his newly inflicted wounds. As the blood dripped one by one to the ground. Cullen spoke in a chilling tone only to them, "I didn't even press it against the skin. Can you imagine what just a little pressure can actually slice through?" He saw the prisoner gulp, his eyes full of fear and panic. Cullen smirked satisfied at the reaction. Cullen knew he wouldn't actually follow through with the torture or execution of the three. But that didn't mean he wouldn't threaten the latter to mess with their minds and hopefully make them crack. Any information the group could learn would be helpful. They had just started this quest and faced an attack they didn't see coming. Hearing the voices of the guards getting closer he assumed their window of opportunity was closing, "Again. Is there anything you want to share?" he asked the prisoners. Geared OmtehelpThe concentration required to hex the summoned basilisk, in his injured condition, nearly caused Geared to lose consciousness again. But the hex was successful, and it helped his teammates overcome the trap that had been sprung on them. Now the Healer needed to concentrate once more, but without the pressure of haste, and heal his own wounds. It wasn't being selfish, it was just good sense because he would be able to work better at healing if he wasn't distracted by his own pains. Gereed went about the team, inquiring to each about any hurt they might have suffered. He would save inquiring about Cullen after he finished with the interrogation of their captured enemies. Helena had some scratches and her familiar, Beatrice, had been hurt as well, but Geared soon patched them up with healing spells." Silly me", the Hex-Caster admitted with a sigh, "I hadn't expected this much excitement so quickly." A figure wearing the robe of a master stood at an open window at the university. They cast a simple spell and Leila's messenger bird turned away from its original course and landed on their outstretched hand. After reading it, another simple spell was all that was needed to slightly alter the message. Then, the bird was sent on its way. "I don't think they knew about us. This is the map we were supposed to pick up. They must have found out about it and just saw us through the window." Emrin glared at Helena." Don't apologize, Geared. It's not your fault that someone doesn't know how to be careful"She looked pointedly at Helena, an angry expression on her face." I can't believe you have the nerve to call it Geared's mess. If this ambush didn't make it clear to you Helena, this isn't the Games. What's it going to take for you stop messing around? One of us to die?" In truth, Erin was only lashing out because she felt worried and afraid, and she knew it. But she couldn't help it. As the others had pointed out, the journey had just started. They had been lucky the initial attack hadn't given anyone any major injuries. Things might have gone much differently otherwise. The Owl turned to the Rabbit, a panicked expression on his face. She laughed at Cullen's threat, "You must be Syrian. You can take the Syrian out of Syria, but you can't take Syria out of the Syrian, can you? It's just like your kind to resort to torture." She sneered, "Fine. We'll talk. We're just hired hands. I don't really care what happens with stone. We were hired by Drama. I bet Kendra and Syria are also already on the move though. Now if you'll excuse us," The Rabbit cast a spell of light, blinding the party. Despite Erin's spell for restraint, she had been able to move her hands enough to still use magic. By the time they had gained their vision back, the duo could be seen flying back towards the mountain, holding the limp body of the wolf between them. Emrin blinked her eyes and looked down,"I'm sorry. I let them get away." Helena gave Geared the stink eye something awful as he healed her"what is wrong with you? Shoving a lady into a wall like that. Honestly are all men dogs or just the ones at our school?" Geared ignored her, being on a team with Helena meant you learned to block out her rants. Plus Geared was too much of a gentleman to point out the fact had he not shoved her into the wall she would have been hurt much worse. She was still busy berating Geared as he finished up her healing when Erin suddenly turned on her. She was taken aback completely, other than her father on rare occasion or Master Harissa, Erin was the only person that ever dared to raise their voice at her. Of course, she didn't want anyone to get killed?! How could she say that?! She would have thought if anybody in the group understood her it was Erin. For a moment it looks like she would say something, instead she got up and dusted her dress"Look at this?! Ruined! Where is my bag?!" She started to go to where their things lay dumped on the ground when a sudden light blinded her causing her to cover her eyes, when she could see again the three had escaped. Erin looked gutted, apologizing for letting them get away. She took a step towards her to comfort her, tell her it was not her fault but stopped. With a little frown she quickly took in the group. Well, don't they all look like they just lost this fight? Perhaps if she ......." You know, if I had been wearing heels earlier that pathetic excuse of a summoner would have been about two fingers short, much harder to cast spells that way." She turned and left the ruined bar going towards where their things lay on the ground. Her monstrosity lay on the left on top of a bag of apples, popcorn tugging on it growling in frustration." Shoo!! Stop that! " She turned around"Eric your do." she stopped her sentence when she saw him. Great, just great, was everyone going to wallow in self despair and worry now? Popcorn gave a bark, wagging her tail, Beatrice gave a hiss at her making popcorn bark more." Shhh dog. Ugh" she bends to pick up the thing holding it up to talk to it." Don't chew my stuff, or I will ...... UGGHHH EWE!!!" she nearly dropped the dog but instead put her down hastily. It licked her! Even Beatrice looked surprised before jumping from her shoulders hissing as Popcorn, her back pulled into a little arch." Enough!" She made a circular motion in the air, white snow particles gathered out of thin air and formed a very large bird like the one of earlier, just much larger, with a squawk it picked up popcorn who let out a surprised yip as it took the dog (carefully) into its talons (she swears it sounded like Beatrice was laughing) the bird simply flew back into the bar dropping the dog onto the sulking Eric before simply disappearing back into a flurry of snow. Since she could not pick up the bag either she simply rolled it to upright then started taking items out looking for something to wear. Within two minutes there was a pile of clothes the size of a child next to her, but she hasn't seemed to find what she was looking for. Sitting, facing the prisoners, caught in his own mind, Eric tried to shake off that sour taste of spoiled victory. Something changed today, while dragging the bodies a whole new perspective bloomed in Eric’s mind. Since a young boy prepared for the worst, groomed to battle, not for defense as he always thought. All his life death wasn't more than a supporting actor. You heard about it, how old relatives died, how people died in battles that happened 80 years ago, some poor kid that met his end in slavers hand somewhere on the border. Always a far away concept, something you would have to deal with in the future, never as immediate as those figures on the ground were - How heavy a lifeless body is. On that thought, Eric came back as Cullen crouched in front of him facing the prisoners - He looks calm - As the Owl mage started to groan Eric stood up as silent as he could be in his gear and glanced sideways at his compatriot.​“Two minutes.” - The enchanter mumbled at the shadowbanned in such a low tone that he wasn't even sure he was heard, and to be honest, it didn't matter.​ Stepping over the rubble and getting out of the inn, he checked his surroundings, the crowd that was starting to pile up, the guards and his colleagues tending to each other. A sudden flash made him crouch, bracing himself for an explosion, but nothing came. His heart beating like a drum as he recovered just to see the mages zooming towards the sky. Eric stared at them till they were only a point in the sky vanishing over the mountain. Helena made a remark about something and for a second Eric lost all his patience with her, just for a second. Glancing at all his friends, checking if they were okay, Cullen looked unharmed. Erin seemed apologetic, Guard slowly looking like his old self, Leila was pensive and Helena… fighting with his dog for some reason. A shy smile came to his face as he saw the snow flurry and his dog being brought to him. The brief snow shower felt nice for a change as he caught Popcorn from the air and slowly sat down putting her in between his legs. She looked up at him with her ears back, worried. Eric looked back into the dog’s eyes and gently caressed behind her ear.​“Everything is okay, sorry if I scared you.” - He whispered to her that leaned and gave his cheek a nose kiss before licking his face.​​“He-he.” - He chuckled and then felt the subtle magic in her lick.​ She was trying to cheer him up. He leaned over and hugged her furry geared body.​“Thank you.” - His hood covered his face as he stayed there for a minute or two.​ Eric smiled at popcorn as he backed out, petting her with a bit more vigor and slowly stood up.​“Go grab Beatrice I will handle the apples” - He said looking down at Popcorn meaning the rubber toy. She replied with a loud bark before trotting away.​​“OKAY!” - He shouted and clapped his hands making himself heard “Leila, make sure Guard is up and good to go. Heal him! Cullen, I put their gear over a table, check if anything is useful and see if there are still rations we can take with us that weren't destroyed. Check behind the bar! Guard, prepare some protection symbols you can put on us. And rest! Erin… Map!” - He nodded at her - “Helena…” - He turned to her just to see her purse diving - “... whatever… I'm going to go talk with the guards what I can of our situation. 10 minutes everybody! Then we are moving!”​ Geared OmtehelpFinishing his survey of the team and the healing of their injuries, Geared allowed himself a moment's respite and took a breath. He watched his teammates set about adjusting their plans and fussing with their animals. The pets and the owners seemed to adore one another. But the animals could have minds of their own, independent streaks, and could be distractions. The Hex caster, himself, didn't have an animal bonded to him. It would probably happen. It seemed destiny loved paring magicians to familiars of one type or another. Geared would probably go 'gaga' over his familiar when it happened, no matter what species it was. Hopefully it wouldn't be a toad or a mouse. Elric had decided to assume something like command of the team. He politely (in his way and loudly) suggested that Geared prepare some hexes of general protection for the team. It would need to be something that wouldn't interfere (much) with their magical abilities.... Gereed called over to the Enchanter, "Eric, do you want a lesser protection lasting for a period of time in case of ambushes or would you like something that protects more strongly that the person can activate in case they see trouble coming?" As her little tradition was done, Leila slowly came back to herself. The memory faded and left a sorrowful feeling. Regardless, Leila's face turned Stoic. As if right on cue, Eric chimed up. He gave everyone something to do before they all reconvened in 10. Although Eric looks to be feeling much better than he was moments before, Leila began to wonder if Eric has seen people die before. He was in the military, yet something about his reaction today gave her a feeling that this was his first time experiencing death in this way. It seemed like he was gathering himself so he can keep everyone organized and on the move so they wouldn't stay stuck in this traumatic moment. But to Leila it looked like he was trying to distract himself. As per orders, Leila looked over Geared's wounds." Thank you for what you did for Helena." Leila's hands glowed from the healing magic, as she traced over his cuts and gashes. "She will realize you took the brunt of the damage for her... if she hasn't already." Helena was an interesting person to say the least. But she had interesting ways of showing that she cares. Many take her words and actions at face value, instead of how she means it through her eyes. It could be that Helena took it out on Geared because she feels guilty for walking in blindly and got Geared hurt as well. It doesn't make too much sense if you don't know Helena well. Leila finished tending to his wounds, and he was already on his way with Eric's order. Erin was still looking like she felt bad she let the enemy escape. Leila gave a comforting pat on Erin's shoulder. "You did amaze work today. Your quick reaction time is the best in the group." Leila felt a different kinship with Erin than she did any other mages. She thinks it's because that they're both Rune crafters. Maybe they were all connected in a way. "We got some valuable information from them, and they used a cheap trick to get away. Don't take it too hard. Can't say I know many that can do that at your age, if at all." Erin really was becoming more proficient in her craft. Leila felt proud about it. She taught Erin many times since she is her senior. But the rarity of Rune crafters means that they see each other a lot at the academy. Before Eric left to find the guards, Leila piped up. "I'll join you." She nodded to him once she caught up with him in search for the guards. Erin was grateful to have someone like Eric to take command of the situation. She found an empty table and spread open the map. Their current location was shown with 6 small purple dots clustered in the town. Most likely, the enchantment worked by tracking their ID plates. An X was marked at the top of Mount Ethicon. Erin couldn't hide her surprised. Although currently closed for the winter, in the summer months, the mountain was a popular tourist destination. None of the trails led the peak, but it was still incredible that the relic had only been recently discovered." The stone is on the top of Mount Ethicon." She called out to the others. "The way I see it, we have two options. We can take the mountain paths, where we'll be exposed to the elements, or we can go through the Daresay cities on the way, which puts at greater risk for discovery and capture. The Masters said there would be provision here. We should look around and see if we can find anything." The guards did not have much to say. The attack had quietly happened early in the morning, before the inn even opened. The victims included the inn's owner and his wife, and the residents who had been staying there. Despite being Daresay citizens, none of the villagers had been awards of presence of the hired hands. In fact, the guards refused to believe the mages had been hired by Drama and insisted that they most of have been Syrian or Brendan. Drama was run by elected officials, not monarchs. They didn't believe the government could do something like this without the people knowing, even if Among was on the edges of the country. Emrin rolled up the map and tucked it into her robes. She walked over to Helena and began helping her rifle through the bag,"What are you looking for? We have to leave soon." Cullen had finished collecting items and was waiting at the door for the others. He thought about the two options Erin called out. Both completely sucked with their own issues. Looking at the group he wasn’t sure if they could all handle the harsh elements a trip through the mountains would deliver, but the trip through the cities seemed even more risky since the group probably would struggle to blend in.“Erin. Which do you think?” He asked from his position against the door. Then turned towards Eric asking his opinion as well, “Mountains or cities?” Cullen preferred the cities. He wasn’t a fan of the cold, and he didn’t want to carry someone who twist an ankle on the rocky terrain. Plus, the cities offered delicacies along the way. Rather it is food, entertainment, or simply the people. Either way, he was on a mission and this was not a vacation so he would keep his preference to himself and let the others decide the path. He was ready to get to the top. He was anxious to reach the prize, hold what had only been spoken about and now what everyone wanted the most. He also wanted to get away from here. The commotion at the Inn had brought more and more people by the minute. There was no disguising the mess the team made defending themselves. A cover story would only go so far, and Cullen was worried some random may have overheard the team’s conversations about their mission and where they were going. If that was the case they needed to get out of sight and away from there in case others were to come. As Guard looked at him full of questions the enchanter took a moment to crouch by his side. The leather of his boots complained against the gravel of the road with that familiar crunch.“Well… I can only tell for sure for myself. You might need to check with our friends, but on the top of my head I would say that Erin and Leila have a good grip on the shield spell, I have my shield so a longer duration mild protection for avoiding surprises like this one would be more handy” - He twisted his arm pulling the straps and tightening the embrace to the forearm - “But Cullen and Helena could have more use for the heavy one.” - He tapped Guard on its shoulder in a firm but reassuring way - “Are you okay to walk?”​Talking with the guards accompanied by Leila, making sure to withhold their real objective, they found the guards were either shocked by the event or not motivated enough to really press then, therefore the questioning was short. Approaching the inn as Cullen catches his attention:“Mountains or cities?” - Eric kept his voice low so none of the guards or the crowd would hear it.​“Look… If the map is really pointing to the top and not being ambiguous that it could be underground” - He pointed at the map - “I will take the cold and the animals to more human filled cities not knowing here is the next ambush.” - He rolled his eyes, rethinking what he just said - “Even though I'm sure we will stumble against more no matter what we choose.”​After a few seconds of silence:“But I do understand the group might not be willing for “climbing”. In another subject, Cullen… Could you maybe lend Thor to Guard? Or are you leaving the horse here?”​ Helena was focused on her bag, seemingly not paying attention to the rest of the conversation at all. The little bag just kept on producing more and more items, including ballgowns, heels, hats and even what appears to be some form of tiara. She kept on muttering under her breath, and sometimes the words 'dog, gentlemen, lady and a barrage of very UN ladylike words'She finally looked up when Erin kneeled beside her, pausing her rifling to look at the young woman she considered a sister. Her eyes drifted up and down the younger woman scanning her quickly. Whether it was because she was considering snarking at her due to her earlier snap at her, or was checking to make sure she was okay was unclear. Finally, she looked back down to start digging through the bag again before softly saying "I'm looking for that horrible thing you gave me last Christmas (a pair of white pants, and the fact she had packed it showed she did not think it so horrible)" If Geared is going to try shoving me again I want to be able to move easier. "She finally looked over her shoulder yelling "If you think I am going to walk through the wilderness like some animal you are crazy!" Erin found the pants, and she snatched it from her hands with an excited smile "Oh, thank you!! Now help me find that lovely blue top with the crystals and the white fur cloak. Don't worry, I will be quick, an hour tops, I just need to find a bathroom with a shower and a mirror, or help me find my full length mirror, it's in here, if that dog didn't break it! "After a moment she asked softly" Is everyone okay?" Erin handed Helena her clothes and sighed, "I think they're all fine." After making sure Helena had everything she needed, Erin stood and went back to look at the map, "We have to climb the mountain either way, so maybe it'd be easier to go through the city first.... but then it'll be more difficult to escape from any pursuers... I think it'd be better to find the supplies the schools left us here and decide from there. Without those provisions we might be forced to take the city paths." She rolled up the map and handed it to Eric. "I think you should hold on to this." The school did not specify where the supplies were or what they looked like, as they had assumed the innkeeper would give them to their group. The most likely places seemed to be either the pantry or perhaps the cellar. Helena could go upstairs into one of the guest rooms to change while the rest of them searched one of the two places. Eric took the map and rolled up tightly before safeguarding it into his pouch.“Okay, how about this: We start by the city and depending on how things go, we continue or take the first tunnel to the surface?.” - Eric clapped his hands in an attempt to pump energy into his peers, not his strong suit - “Let's find our supplies. I’m going to check the basement and would appreciate some company.”​He flashed a big smile to the group.“I want to start moving before the sun gets too high.”​The enchanter gave the group a moment before going back inside towards the door leading to the basement. On his way, he grabbed one dagger from the attackers he previously laid down on a table. He brought his hand open, palm spread towards the weapon, closed his eyes, defined a purpose and visualized the magic circle that manifested itself in between his palm and the blade. Then, with all he learned, he “pushed” his MANA through the circle and into the metal. What felt like a minute, Eric stood still tuning the enchantment. Calmly opened his eyes, somehow enchanting something soothed his heart and thoughts, almost kinda like a meditation process, opened the door and unsheathed the dagger, revealing a glowing blade that irradiated a bright orange color what made it look like it was scorching hot, but it wasn't. Slowly and carefully with the blade illuminating the way, Eric creeped downstairs. The aged wood creaked under him as he took step by step. He wasn't afraid per se, but the battle had put him on edge. He decided to check the whole basement before actively starting searching for the supplies. One surprise was enough for the day. The basement wasn't completely dark, with some small windows on the ground level shining some morning light into the room. The ominous light from the blade didn't make the room more receptive, giving it a truly dungeon-like ambience. The shadows from the shelves and wares would scurry away, forming strange patterns that kept Eric alert, so much he saw himself keeping his breath under control, something he learned to keep himself calm and his heart rate slow, -save the adrenaline for when it matters, count to four, inhale, count to four, exhale. Helena seemed to pay Eric no mind as she simply picked up her clothes before with a wave of her hand a small snow-white Arctic monkey appeared. The little creature patiently started packing away her mountain of clothes. Helena made her way past everybody as she simply went upstairs to clean and dress. Helena may have ignored Eric, Beatrice did not. The little creatures' black eyes never left him as he put the scroll away. It may not be shiny or pretty (like the shiny pretty she took off him earlier) but she knew when something was valuable, and that thing was valuable. With a bristle she disappeared. The monkey disappeared, leaving behind a flurry of snow, the snow swirled, multiplied, then formed. The bear from earlier stood there. Looking over everyone before with a rumble it picked up the bag before heading upstairs. It seems Helena was ignoring the whole 'do not waist MANA' advice. "I'm fine with that idea Eric." Elric's proposal felt like a good proposal felt like a good middle ground between the two options. Plus, they would have to climb the mountain eventually, so starting out by comfortably travelling through the cities seemed like a good idea. If they left soon, they should be able to reach the first Daresay city before sundown. Erin followed Eric down into the basement of the inn. In the basement Eric and Erin would find the inn's normal supply of food: fresh ingredients for food, several casks of beer, salted meats, and some leftover bread from the night before. After looking around, they would find 6 bags each containing a weeks worth of rations, some money, and bed rolls. In addition, two of the bags held tents. Upon picking them up and examining them, they would find that the bags were enchanted to not only fit all the equipment despite their small size, but also to slightly reduce the weight. Erin frowned. Helena would definitely attempt to fit all of her things into one of these bags the moment she found out about the enchantments." Looks like the Masters wanted to make sure we were well-prepared." Emrin helped bring the bags up and called the others over,"Eric and I found the supplies!" She looked around at the group." Is everyone ok with going along with Eric's proposal and travelling through the cities first? If not, it looks like the Masters have given us the necessary supplies to take the mountain roads." Cullen noticed the crowd outside the Inn growing. This was a small town, and it appeared that word traveled fast. The gathering herd of people made him uneasy. After the surprise attack, there was no way to guarantee another enemy wasn't circling outside as they gathered things to leave. Cullen pulled up the hood to his cloak and walked back through the Inn. He could hear the conversations between his teammates and the planning of which route to take. He walked over to the pile of bags and lifted one up securing it on his back along with his own belongings and weapons that were packed. "Too bad they couldn't conjure a portal that took us right to the top of the mountain," he commented in reply to the preparedness of the master with a grin, "But enchanted bags are the next best thing, eh?" He spoke freely to everyone, "Not to alarm anyone but the crowd is gathering outside and there are more townspeople coming. The longer we stay here the riskier it gets." Cullen couldn't resist the urge to look over his shoulder to see if anyone from the outside was coming in. "The sooner we leave, the safer." Cullen turned toward Erin, "I'm good with the proposal. Maybe over dinner, we can look at the route again. Alternate between city and mountains just to make it harder to track our movements. I feel like we have targets on our back." he turned towards Helena, "If you don't want to climb I'll carry you on my back." he shrugged knowing a route through the terrain was safer even if it was the less desired route." Now," he raised his brows and gave a nod, "Let's sneak out the back door and put some distance between this place and ourselves" He waited for replies before heading passed the bar, stopping for a quick moment to grab an unopened bottle of whiskey that sat toggling on the edge of the counter and then continued through the back door of the Inn that led to an empty street. Cullen slightly tilted his shoulder forward shrugging the enchanted back-up to slide the bottle into the supplies. It might not be an essential item, but it had multi-uses, and he was sure it would indeed get used at some point in the trip. Looking up into the sky he noted the shadow of the sun against the Earth. Mentally noting to himself that there was still plenty of daylight left for their travels to the next city. He was a little worried about exhaustion along the way. The adrenaline that was coursing throughout his body was calming. Leaving his muscle sore and achy. He pushed that aside. There was a task to complete and that was more important than the ache he was feeling at the moment. The little bathrooms in the inn was barely fit for humans really, it was so small Buttons (that is what she calls her polar bear summons) could barely fit. Still she managed to clean and redo her hair and make up. Now dressed in a pair of white pants and flat boots (even if it was bright white!)" Okay everyone, I am done. Someone needs to carry my bag, I mean Buttons can carry it, but he will drain me in...... 2 or three days if I keep him out" (it was less, but she had her pride!) Her head snapped towards Cullen, a look of pair indigestion on her face. "On your back?! Cullen I swear, you say something stupid like that again and so help me you better sleep with one eye open." Mumbling about the NEN in this group she made her way over to Erin, "Let's go hon, before these men drag us off to track through the fucking wilderness" Erin was surprised, but pleased to see Helena coming out of the bathroom appropriately dressed, although there was no doubt in her mind it would take less than an hour for her to start complaining about getting dirt on her white pants. Still, getting her out of the heels was progress. Now all they needed was to get rid of the bag. After distributing the packs provided to them by the Masters, the group left Among on foot, to the Daresay city of Argon. Mount Ethicon was located in the north, on the border of Syria and Drama. Although it wasn't quite winter yet, the weather would quickly get cold and snowy the farther they moved into the mountains. Although their clothes would keep them warm, the snow could make climbing the mountain difficult. Argon was a medium-sized mining city, and the group was able to make it there in a few hours. The walk itself wasn't difficult - there was a road the whole way - but everyone was on edge due to the attack. Erin pulled her hood up as soon as the left Among, which would make it difficult for all those they passed by on the road notice or remember her. The news of the attack on Among spread quickly, and the group overheard several people discussing it on their way." Did you hear? The in Among....""... Isunian students were there..."" Have you heard the other rumor... does that mean it's true?"" Don't be ridiculous..." Like all Daresay cities, Argon was closed off with a large metal door to keep the cold wind out of the mountain. Thanks to the school's magically enchanted cloaks, the group was able to get into the city relatively easily. Inside there were several inns to choose from, at various price points, most which could also serve them a hot meal. In order to reach the next city, they would have to travel through the maze-like Daresay tunnels. The group could purchase a map from several establishments, some more trustworthy than others. Alternatively, they could hire a guide to take them through the tunnels. Erin made sure to keep her hood up as they walked through the city. They had made it in good time, but it was possible that the city had already been told to keep an eye out for them. In fact, a pair of city patrol seemed to stare at them as they passed, but then averted their eyes due to the enchanted cloak's magic. There was a twinkle in Leila's eyes as she smiled towards the group. Watching them work together and discussing plans with one another brought a lot of security to Leila. It's like they're growing up before her eyes. Of course, she wasn't that much older than them... but she did like to think that way. Although this was mostly Leila trying to look for some good in the disastrous situation they have found themselves in. They have the map, they have a route, they have supplies, Helena finally put on proper attire for the trip... things were falling into place for them. Leila didn't hesitate to pull her hood over her head, clipping her father's grimier to her belt." Cullen's right. If we can help it, let's keep a low profile. We don't want rumors to spread as to where our movement is." Leila was mostly silent on her way to Argon. The trip wasn't easy, but at least the group was warm. Although, she knew they would need to stay the night at Argon if they didn't want to freeze over. Soon enough, they will discuss the route between the cities and mountains in detail. After seeing everyone was ready to go, Eric grabbed all the bags he could comfortably carry and waited, keeping himself at the back of the group while petting and messing with Popcorn, her left ear folding the wrong way as he sent her forward to scout. Clearly her nose was way more capable of picking up something askew in the air than his owner’s eyes and or instincts. The walk was long and surprisingly quiet. The sight of these six hooded figures walking in a line would certainly creep someone out if not for the concealment enchantment. If you concentrated enough, you could feel the MANA coating every string of the capes. The coat had an initial cold sensation. Wearing it kinda felt like being hit naked by a gust of wind. The fabric was light, and the whole coat felt like it was breathing over their bodies and especially behind their neck. How ironic. A concealment spell that felt like they were being constantly watched. Elric caught himself distracted during the walk.- AGAIN! - and privately cursed himself. That was a privilege he couldn't allow himself anymore. He opened and closed his right fist, his hammer fist, and squeezed as hard as he could. The Iron gates looked ancient as they suddenly appeared. The entrance of the city was a well-hidden gash on the mountains, an open wound to the depths of the earth. Thankfully, the incursion went smoothly. There was a flux of people in and out. With Cullen up front and Helena not making a scene, they entered. The bright day and clear skies were suddenly gone, the chirp of birds drowned by the echoed sounds of the caves. The entrance had a strong current of air coming out of it that almost flipped some of their hoods back. It smelled like… Used air was the best words Eric could find to describe it. Like entering a tunnel… a big, never ending tunnel that some people spend their entire lives inside. The group followed the line of people that were entering darkness with then, immigrants, merchants, refugees, visitors and slavers. The sound of chains triggered Eric, but his frown would never be noticed under the hood. He got worried about his companions: Erin and Leila had a past that certainly would weigh on their mind with a sight like this. And Guard always had a sense of justice from back in his years hunting slavers in the desert. Where are my friends? -The thought jumped on his mind, his heart accelerated after not seeing them. After focusing his whole mind into searching the darkness with his eyes that he saw, they were right there, never going anywhere. Just a trick of the hoods. Individual enchantments were sometimes confusing, in this case, if not for Eric knowing exactly where and what to look for, he wouldn’t find them so easily. For a second, Eric wondered how many things were hidden in plain sight in fellow enchanter’s workshops with a forgotten concealment spell. One by one Eric moved up the line, touching everybody’s shoulders and whispered they should buy a map on the first opportunity that presented itself. A tour guide or maybe one of those orphans that promised being useful for the visitors for a meek silver coin. All they needed was a reliable map to match and complete theirs and some hope for peace as they slid unnoticed into the daresay cities. Cullen's eyes widened as the walked into the lively city. The delicious smell of random foods being cooked and offered made his stomach growl. As the group walked through the crowd Cullen fell back to the end. Old habits from his training went into action as his awareness heightened. He was keeping his team in his sights and making sure no one was suspicious in the crowd. Everything seemed normal such far. As Erin called out a demand Cullen nodded in reply. He turned his eyes towards the merchants scanning the items they offered. He wasn’t seeing anything that looked like a map. There were cloths, jewelry, oils, and more. A real sight to see but none of the things that interested him. Then he started seeing the foods, breads, meats, wines. Each delicious delicacy made the hunger pit deepen and wreak havoc on his comfort. Cullen fell to the needs of his stomach and approached a merchant who was selling fresh cook frog legs and red wine. He figured he might as well get something to eat and ask for the location of anywhere he could find a map. Perhaps his teammates were having better luck.

Remnants of Mana|rating:4.0

Curing a Deviant

(Closed for Lady_Morning ton and Tiny Duchess)"Now it's time for Capitol Watch. Diane?" "Thanks, Morgan. Well, critics allege that Congressman Bradshaw has done it again. Representative James Earl 'Jim' Bradshaw, R-Twentieth District, the Chairman of the Committee on Decency Standards in the State Legislature and founding member of the Campaign for Family Values, is well known for being the figurehead of the so-called 'public morality' movement here in California. A hero among the conservative sections of society liberal watch groups have alleged a web of deception and unanswered questions surrounding his fund-raising and personal life. Today, the congressman was caught responding to the Marriage Equality Bill proposed by Democratic Representative Albert Fischer:"The split screen of the two talking heads disappeared, to be replaced by a clip from C-SPAN. Bradshaw was a 52-year-old man, still quite handsome with his carefully groomed silver hair only adding to, not reducing from, his attractiveness. At the moment he was standing at the speaker's rostrum in the House of Representatives, making a dramatic speech before a number of scowling and applauding congressmen." And I say to you again, we should lock these perverts up and throw away the key! Unless and until Americans demand a restoration of those moral and spiritual priorities, we simply will not solve any of these other problems as well. My young daughter just started college. I don't want her to be exposed to a world were these sorts of things are not only tolerated, but encouraged! As Christians, it is our sworn duty to defend the traditional way of life and family values from the neo-anarchists, and I vow before God and the constituency that elected me that I shall filibuster each and every bill to that effect brought before this body!" The screen went back to the blonde, perfectly trimmed and manicured Diane." Critics including Mr. Fischer, the only openly-homosexual elected politician at the state level, were scathing, saying that Mr. Bradshaw supports a two-tier society, is letting his personal religious beliefs enter government, and that he is using a minor issue as political grandstanding to halt debate on more important issues. Now, in sports-"Jim Bradshaw reached for the remote, turning the TV off. He leaned back in the leather chair of his Sacramento house, sipping the tumbler of bourbon appreciatively. Life was good. Jim had always been a smart boy, smart enough that he was able to turn his start-up business into a multimillion dollar franchise, becoming one of the richest entrepreneurs in California, the world's eighth-largest economy, after all. Then, he had decided he might as well take the next step; with all that money, it was a hop and skip to buy his way into state legislature. He had never been very political before then, but it was the first post-9/11 election and the Republicans were in full swing. He knew where his bread was buttered, and signed up with them, eagerly embracing their cause to the point he was now one of their prime ideologues, pushing for small government, big business, tax cuts and, of course, traditional values. Some had opposed to him on that score, claiming that until recently he had never been a churchgoing man, and in fact had five children - two sons and three daughters - each by a different wife. But Jim had anticipated that, and just before he had announced his candidacy, had a divine revelation, been born again, and was baptized into the Sacramento First Evangelical Baptist Communion of Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior, and attended regularly ever since. All his earlier sins had, quite literally, been washed away in the eyes of his followers, and he was now free to use their quite silly ideas to propel himself further and further. Just today, he had been approached by some representatives of the California Republican State Central Committee to run for governor in the next election. Imagine that, Governor Jim Bradshaw. Imagine that. It was a cause for celebration if ever there was one. Jim reached over for his little black book, flipping through it, looking at the names of old flames, some of whom even wouldn't talk to him nowadays. As he looked through the pages, a tiny card dropped out onto his lap. Picking it up, he read:Sultry Angels For the Discerning Gentleman Caller​Jim smiled. It had been too long since he had approached his favorite 'escort' service. Discerning, confidential, able to meet his needs... Yes, this seemed like the perfect way to celebrate a great future. Picking up the phone, he dialed the number on the back of the card. Already he could feel his member grow hard. Honey Bradshaw"I'd never wear DENY"Honey Bradshaw looked critically as her friend Sarah Mantra was browsing through the clothes currently on display in one of the many stores that the girls used to frequent." What never?" Sarah's exquisite features furrowed as she stared across at Honey." No never!" Honey stared imperiously at the selection of garments." What never"Sarah seemed to have a hard time coming to grips with this new information and looked imploringly at her friend." Well, hardly ever." Honey scratched the tip of her nose as she sighed." And only when I do menial tasks, like I don't know, cleaning my room. Not that it happens, but I guess I would be wearing DENY if I were to." Honey Bradshaw was nineteen and currently enrolled as a student at UCLA. Blonde and slightly taller than the dark-haired Sarah, but with similar background, both came from filthy rich homes, and both were studying at university because it was the proper thing to do. Not that Honey had any serious intentions of ever becoming someone who worked for a living. Perish the thought. Daddy had already made sure that a considerable amount of his fortune had been invested in two different foundations that would ensure that she would not have to sully her hands with anything resembling work.Besides, wasn't college the perfect opportunity to find someone who would be as successful as one's daddy and thus capable of providing one with the standards a girl needed? As for the whole business of cleaning her room, the statement didn't imply that she was unhygienic, merely that there had always been someone to take care of such things for her." What about lunch darling?" Honey asked as Sarah paid for her finds"and then perhaps going out?"" Sorry Honey, It's the Sabbath after all, and I promised Dad to be home to celebrate it." Sarah shrugged apologetically." Gee, I'm surrounded by religious extremists"Honey made a show of rolling her eyes as they left the boutique. Well there was always ways to keep herself busy if Sarah was going to play about being the good Jewish girl. Truth to the matter, Sarah was as Jewish as Honey was a Christian. But their respective Dads had got into their heads to embrace the Good Word or whatever. Saying her goodbyes to Sarah outside the boutique and taking out her cellphone and sending a text to her 'manageress'. It was her best kept secret as to date. Being an escort. Well it wasn't that strange was it? The pay was good, the clients generally clean and with big wallets as well as mostly interested in things that didn't mean that she'd have to sleep with them. Christine Shears, the manager of Sultry Angels had seen Honey's potential and had put her in the dominatrix bracket. It suited Honey perfectly, and well the pay was good. Not that she needed the money, that had already been established, but there was a certain appeal in doing something 'forbidden'. Besides the money she made had been invested. Honey had just got in her car (not a Porsche as Sarah drove. That was point of discontent, but Dad refused to buy her something that wasn't American) as the phone beeped." Honey speaking!"" Hello Honey"It was Christine"Got a client lined up for you. A high-profile gentleman with some rather special requests."" You know I don't do the yucky stuff Chris."" No nothing of the kind. A caning and what not. I'm sure you can improvise. Oh, and you are to wear the Stetson and the boots as well.""Gee, one of them eh? Where am I to meet him then?" Christine gave her the address of one of the most fashionable hotels and hung up without saying goodbye, as was her habit. Oh, well the woman had a few good sides as well, lacking manners aside. So an hour or so to get ready and then another hour to get to the hotel. Chris usually had a limousine to take her girls to their destination, it ensured some level of style as well as security. Not that anything had happened but rather safe than sorry. Two hours later Honey walked through the lobby and entering the elevator. She checked herself in the mirror, nodding at the reflection. Her blonde hair worn in a simple pony-tail and the make-up serving to underline her exquisite features. She was wearing a knee-length coat and the pink cowboy boots as per request. In her bag she carried the equally pink Stetson hat and the whip. She had given it some thought and decided that it was more in character for a cowgirl to shield a whip rather than a cane. Honey had further been equipped with a holster and two dildos with a pistol grips to go with it. Some men and their desires, Honey sighed as she stepped out of the elevator. Knocking on the door of room 275 and receiving a muffled "come in" and stepping inside the luxurious suite. Looking at herself in the floodlight mirror and nodding. She really looked the part now. Dressed only in the pink boots, the holster and the Stetson." Go Cowgirl"she said to herself as she stepped into the bedroom, seeing her client standing bent over the bed, dressed an as a school girl. Looking at him and intoning as she cracked the whip." So you've been a naughty girl have you?" Honey stepped closer as the guy turned around prompting her to shriek. Realizing that the man currently dressed in the school uniform and who had paid a substantial amount to have his ass whipped was in fact James Earl Bradshaw. Republican politician and Leader of the Committee on Decency Standards and founding member of the Campaign for Family Values. Not to mention her father"Daddy what the fuck are you doing?" Jim Bradshaw Jim smiled as he put the phone down. A big client like him had of course gotten Manageress Shears directly and right away. After all the stuff in the news about the DC Madame and all that, he felt a bit uncomfortable dealing with them; this was the first time in a long while, before all these scandals had broken out, that he had approached the service. But the damage was already done anyway, having had to register his true name and come down to the Sultry Angels office for a meeting and character check before they would sign him up. But it had quite been worth it. And would be again, Jim thought with glee, very soon. Miss Shears assured him that her service was uncompromised, and that in any event, there was nothing illegal going on, of course. She ran an escort service, Miss Shears reminded him in a just-slightly-put-off tone of voice, not a bordello. Her ladies were compensated to provide a night of social companionship, discussion, and mutual enjoyment of each other's company. Certainly not anything...physical, and should such things occur, it would certainly be of her girls' own free will and not premeditated in any way. As he well knew, but thought it best just to reiterate. And now that that was done, she had just the girl for him. New, only working in the business a few months, but a delight that all her other clients had enjoyed. She was located in his locality. And she was willing to engage in the...specialized form of discussion...his file said he had enjoyed. Jim agreed immediately, giving Miss Shears the name and room of a hotel and a time, before hanging up. The next call was to the hotel in question, reserving his usual room. He couldn't say 'usual,' of course; the arrangement he had with the hotel was highly unethical for an elected official, and if anyone asked - as numerous journos and meddling paparazzi had in the past - if it was true that they reserved the same room for him constantly, the management indignantly scoffed at the suggestion. But nevertheless, whenever Jim needed a secluded night away from home where he could be assured of his anonymity... Well, itwasodd, was it not, that he always got the same room, no matter how late he booked it? Packing his overnight bag and tossing it into his sports car, was soon at the hotel and in his suite. Once inside and assured of quiet - and notifying that a guest would be arriving shortly - he changed. Stripping off his business casual, his play clothes came out. Nice white panties, garter and stockings, plaid skirt, trainer bra (and he worked hard to keep his pecs below an A-cup, thank you very much) and button-up blouse, and finally, worming his feet into tight little Oxford shoes. He made a note to go shoe-shopping next time he had some quiet time. The bathroom was next; just a touch of rouge, a thin coating of lipstick and eyeliner. No need to look like a tramp, after all, just something to bring out the natural beauty of Janelle. Finally came the wig. Nothing to hide a bald spot, oh no, he had no worries there. It was just that, lush as it was, Jim's hair just couldn't cut it for Janelle, and he certainly couldn't grow his hair out like some hippy socialist that was more likely to vote for that queer, Al Fischer. The wig went down shoulder-length, two plaits of dark tresses capped with little pink plastic balls. He took a final look in the mirror - Janelle was fabulous! Then, he took his position, bending over the end of the bed, nervous and wishing he had had time to do his nails. Jim's cock was hard, straining against his proper white panties as he resisted the urge to rub one out ahead of time. Patience was the key, he had been with this service before and it was well worth the wait. So what if he liked...no, needed to be dressed up and treated in this manner for his sexual health and well-being? At least these people wouldn't mock him, or worse, like then those outside his chosen electorate would. He couldn't help it if he advocated throwing these types of people in jail. They were perverts. They did it just for kicks. He, on the other hand, was different. He had an actualneedfor it, one that he just couldn't go without. It wasn't hypocritical, honestly, if you took time to think it over... It was just like medicinal marijuana. Which he also opposed. Jim paused his fidgeting as he heard the knock on the door, calling for her to enter. He licked his lips as he heard her enter, resisting the urge to turn around and see if she was as good-looking as Miss Shears said. He didn't, of course; it wouldn't do for him to disobey already. Janelle was a good girl, really, she just made mistakes. However, when he heard this familiar voice, his head shot up, the rest of his body besides his pecker going hard. "Honey?" he asked, his lipstick-coated lips forming a scarlet O of shock." Oh My God" was all that went through Jim's head, cycling over and over. No, no, no, this wasn't happening. Honey was a good girl. She'd never do this. He knew if he just looked over and saw her, his fears would prove to be unfounded. The girl was just playing with him, thinking this was what he wanted. But he looked over, and there she was, just as he had ordered. "Oh God," he sputtered, before bending over, vomiting onto the ground, the emotions overwhelming himself. He didn't know what was worse, that his daughter found himself like this, that his daughter was a hooker, or, as he was dimly aware of her equally-nervous actions, she smoked." Look, Honey, this... I, I can explain..." he said, starting to stand up - and then the door opened, and a uniformed man with a wheeled cart walked in. "Room serve-" his eyes paused, going wide." Get out! Get out of here!" Jim yelled, looking for something to throw at him, and the man wisely turned heel, slamming the door shut behind him. Stupid, Jim thought, stupid of me not to lock the door after myself. Stupid of Honey not to! Ugh, oh God, Honey... At least the staff here could be trusted to keep quiet. But he would have words with them indeed over violating his request for no room service." Listen, Honey," he said, trying to avoid her gaze. "I'm...just going to go to the bathroom. You know the way out. Let's...we should pretend this never happened, okay? I just... Ugh. This is fucked up," Jim muttered to himself, tottering into the bathroom in his Oxfords, scratching his ass through his skirt. He didn't have any clothes in here, but at least it was a barrier between him and Honey. He could clean up, puke in the toilet if he wasn't able to focus on anything else, and when it was all over, and he stepped out, hopefully she would be gone, he could get hammered, and they would both never mention it again.* * * * *The room service man walked away from the cart, having ducked into a bathroom to change from his rental uniform back into his street clothes. Furthermore, he chuckled again. Too good. This was too good. Needless to say, he wasn't a hotel employee, and the cart hadn't held food. Or at least, not only that. He was really a journalist, some might call muckraker, for the Sacramento Observer-Democrat. Ever since they had been tipped off about Congressman Bradshaw's illegal hotel room, it had become standard procedure to place someone nearby whenever the Congressman was known to be inside, and await for any...guests...to arrive. When the paparazzi saw the obvious hooker go in, he knew he had his chance. Fitting the hidden camera onto the bottom of the refreshments cart, he had put his plan into effect. Oho! Oh, it was amazing! With a spot of luck, the Congressman's career would be destroyed, totally and utterly. Safely on the streets, he risked another look at the pictures. Bradshaw and the ballgirlare face were both clear as day in a number of them. He wondered who the girl was. Well, he'd see what he could find when he got back to office. Identification or not, these were definitely destined for the morning papers. And he had a feeling that tomorrow'observer-Democratjust might break a few sales records. Honey Bradshaw"This isn't happening. It can't be happening. It's all just a bad dream! Please, God let it be a nightmare." Honey closed her eyes, willing the sight of her father, dressed as a school girl to go away, to make the suite go away and have her wake up in her own bed back home. Opening her eyes again and still finding herself in the suite, with her dad who was still dressed as a school girl and yuck having been sick on the floor. And herself. Naked, save the boots, holster and Stetson. Blushing bright red as she brought her hand down to cover her crotch and the other to shield her ample breasts from his eyes." What the fuck!" Honey shrieked again, not paying attention to what Dad was saying. It was way too freaky. Her Dad a...pervert! She reached for the bag and pulled out the pack of cigarettes. Perhaps it was best just to sneak out, to do as Daddy had said. Pretend that it never happened. Inhaling the sharp tobacco smoke as she looked at her dad, just about to say something when the door was bust open and one of the staff walked in. This couldn't possibly be worse. Honey felt herself blush even more as he must have seen every inch of her, as well as her Dad dressed up as a little tart. Mumbling an excuse as James more or less threw the guy out and collecting her things and more or less running for the waiting limo. Chris would be pissed of, but then again she always had the punters pay in advance to make sure that she got her 60% cut of the deal. Seated in the backseat Honey tried to assess the situation. OK so Dad was a pervert. Well each to his own. Honey was fairly open-minded about matters sexual, she would have to in her line of work. Still it irked her that her Dad had proved to be just as any other guy who paid for her services. She'd always pictured James Bradshaw as being too aloof for so sordid a thing. Still it could prove useful, perhaps that Porsche would be hers after all. The driver dropped her off by her apartment and she quickly hurried upstairs to get changed into something more suitable. Checking her mobile there were a number of missed calls. Something approaching 20. What the fuck? There were also a number of text messages logged on her phone and checking the latest from Sarah gave her quite the shock." You're such a disgrace. I don't ever want to see you again." What the hell? So that stuck up bitch didn't want her company? Well fuck her then. Honey could manage well without her, thank you very much. Besides, she had just about enough of Sarah's non-existent tastes and the fact that she was getting all too religious these days. Mumbling some more curses as she deposed the paraphernalia of her trade in the closet and donning a robe as she flopped onto the sofa and turned the TV on. News and news and other boring shit. But wait... Honey felt herself go limp as the newsreader smirked at her." And we return to our top story of the day. Congressman James Earl Bradshaw was earlier today caught with a prostitute in his suite at the Four Seasons' Hotel."" Escort you moron! Not prostitute!" Honey yelled at the screen"What further compromises the self-styled leader of the Morality Movement here in California is the fact that the woman in question is none other than Congressman Bradshaw's daughter, Honey Bradshaw." A cutscene to a picture of Honey and Jim, which must have been taken by the delivery guy. Oh, God!. This was worse than anything she could have imagined. Her life was over. Her reputation sullied beyond any salvation. And knowing her Dad he would probably sell her out. Mum had been very clear on her views of James Bradshaw. "A lowlife and a piece of shit who would do anything to get what he wants." Well now she could add pervert to the not very flattering list as well. The newsreader turned back to the Honey. "And with us today we have Dr. Persephone Smythe-Williams to give a professional assessment of this sordid mess." The camera zoomed in on a very prim-looking woman in her thirties. Hair in a bun and half-moon spectacles on a string." Well Jeff, I think that the most important thing in a situation like this is not to judge. Surely there are explanations as to why Congressman Bradshaw and Ms. Bradshaw was to be found in the situation as described. I would also take the opportunity to offer my services to the Bradshaw family, seeing as they are in dire need of counselling. One fears what might happen otherwise.""Yeah, you got that right Doc" Honey smiled mirthlessly at the screen. Jim Bradshaw The next week was a living hell for Jim Bradshaw. He was much relieved to find Honey gone from the room when he finally left the bathroom, and after making sure the door was locked, quickly cleaned up, putting Janelle and her accoutrements away and back into his overnight kit, before downing around half the contents of his minibar. It was around 2 AM when he made his way, unsteadily out of the room, checking out and driving home. A bit erratic, of course, but no one could claim that he couldn't handle his liquor, and anyway, what would happen to him? He was a congressman, for Christ's sake. No police trooper in his right mind would lift a finger against him. That was the last night it would be so. Getting home without putting a dent in his piece-of-shit American car, he tumbled into bed, and woke up - or rather, became self-aware again - vomiting into his toilet at what later turned out to be 1:30 PM. Stumbling downstairs, he turned on the TV, pouring a shot of whiskey to help blow the cobwebs away. Thank God it wasn't a day the legislature was open. He downed the shot, only to spurt it up a second later. Fox News - the national news, not the local knockoff affiliate - was plastering a strategically-censored picture of Janelle and Honey there naked, with the caption "California State Congressman Caught Crossdressing With Prostitute Daughter." Shit. When it was even on Fox... Jim was suddenly very glad that he routinely kept his phone off the hook. He couldn't hide from reality forever, though. First was a notice from UCLA notifying that they would be refunding the remaining part of her tuition and that she would not be eligible to return to classes in the fall, or any other semester. Then was a notice from Miss Shears, stating that, only until the buzz died down of course, it would be best for him not to frequent her establishment...and that she would make sure this never happened again by letting Honey off. It was for her own good, too, of course, no need to mix this up with her. The first workday, the Legislature stripped him of not only his committee chair for Decency Standards, but all committee seats and duties. The State Republican Chairman already wasn't returning his calls, and one of his supposedly loyal underlings had announced that he was taking over temporary leadership of the Campaign for Family Values. But the most humiliating was the call from the Log Cabin Republicans. Jim had slammed the phone down into the cradle the second he heard that name. Fuck. His life was over. It came as no surprise when he was called to a meeting in the Governor's office. When he arrived, not only was the Governor there, but the attorney-general, the Speaker of the House Angus Whit bread, the Minority Leader - that queer, Al Fischer - and a woman, unknown and strangely attractive despite her air of general grumpiness."Ah, AHM gland you decided too calm hear today, Mister Bradshaw," the Governor spoke. "See have match too discuss."" Indeed, Jim. This is a right pickle you've got us into," Whit bread said, Fischer - the odd one out, politically - smiling unrestrainedly. "The party and administration both. Needless to say we can't support you anymore. But if we play our cards right, we can let you sit out the rest of your term, and let people forget this ever took place instead of having to censure you."" Which is well within our rights, and I'm sure your onetime allies in the Legislature, upstanding moralists they are, would not lift a finger in your defense," Fischer snorted." However, we've hammered out a, ah suitable compromise. Two steps. First is that when you decide not to run for re-election-" Whit bread's voice left no doubt that that was the course of action that would be taken "-we will put in only a tepid nominee in that seat, let the Democrats pick it up. The second involves Dr. Smythe-Williams, here." He gestured towards the woman." Are you familiar with Dr. Persephone Smythe-Williams, Jim? Well, she's proposed something... Well, I might as well let her explain the score to you. Doctor?" A week in the life of Honey Bradshaw All in all the week that had passed must rank as the worst one in Honey's life. Or perhaps the worst week so far. Being expelled from university, losing her position with Sultry Angels, not that it mattered, the whole ordeal had somehow put her off the whole escort thing. Added to all her other miseries, she no longer had a social life, seeing as that Godawful bitch Sarah Mantra had been busy slandering her among their peers, and the fact that going outside the apartment meant running into a number of paparazzi didn't exactly lift her spirits. Her phone had been permanently switched off, not that there weren't people who wanted to speak to her. A number of the 'specialized' publications had already approached her for interviews. While Playboy was acceptable, Hustler was not and the number of other even more seedy mags and web-based gossip/smut peddlers served only to make Honey grow more despondent. Then it was the whole issue of family. It was obvious that her oldest brother would be in close attendance. James Earl Bradshaw Jr, a carbon copy of Dad and one who shared his political convictions as well, stooping low to give her a full appraisal of the error of her ways. Besides that gave the sanctimonious bastard a chance to appear on TV as well. Honey felt like she could kill him when she saw his appearance. So damn typical. Standing in front of her apartment block and giving what must have been a much rehearsed, surely no one could manage to look like that without having gone through the steps before, press conference." It hurts me more than I thought possible to see my beloved sister having debased herself in this way. Believe me when I say that I will do my utmost to safeguard others from ending up like she did."" Mr Bradshaw, Mr Bradshaw. Do you hold your sister responsible for the act? Or should the finger be pointed to Mr Bradshaw?" The screech of the assembled vultures not managing to unsettle the smug bastard." I don't think it's time to blame anyone, but I would like to draw your attention to the teachings of the Good Book. Know that I love my sister and that I pray for her, but even I cannot honestly say that she has honored her father."" So Mr Bradshaw you claim that Congressman Bradshaw is a victim of circumstance then?"" I say that everyone are victims of circumstances here, vile and evil circumstances that the so-called liberals have used to poison our great nation. Is it truly a good society in where a girl thinks that being a prostitute..."" Not prostitute you idiot. ESCORT!" Honey yelled and flung the empty pack of cigarettes on the screen."...is the way of proving her worth. No I say there are enough decent Americans who had enough of this and I, for one, will spearhead the fight against depravity and bring decency back to America. I also invite my sister to come to Church with me on Sunday, to atone for her trespasses against Christ and the American public. Know that redemption is there for every sinner." A broad smile to the crowd before he stepped into his waiting car, prompting Honey to feel sick. What kind of fucked up family did she come from? Well one thing was for sure. The men of the Bradshaw clan was clearly out of their minds. Feeling very alone and rather unsettled Honey found herself turning desperate. Thus, four days after the ordeal had begun she phoned her mother. Sylvia Morton, she had dropped Bradshaw as soon as the divorce had gone through, was English and an actress. She had met Jim on the release party of her one major American film "Guam". A wartime love-story starring herself and Robert De Niro. Her next project had not. A rather controversial tale of love over the race barrier during the 1930’s. It didn't reach the big screen and Sylvia Bradshaw's career was deemed to be over and done with. Besides, Daddy hadn't been best pleased either, not seeing his wife with Morgan Freeman.Anyhow, Mum had gone back to England and was now starring in one of the soap-operas over there. "West End Street" or something, and apparently she had come out as a lesbian. She if any ought to understand Honey's predicament? She managed to get hold of Sylvia, but she realized that there had been no point in doing so. Her mother too busy with her own life." Yes darling I saw the news, dreadful business and all and I, for one, blame your father. I knew he was a pervert from the start. I'm in a bit of a rush right now, me and Genitive are going to the theater, but it was good of you to call. Say why don't you come over and visit us for Christmas? That'll be nice won't it. Got to run now sweetie." And with that she hung up. Perhaps the best thing would be to get a gun. Yeah, that would do it. Get a gun and then shoot Dad and then her brother and then finally herself. The thought oddly consoling. Yes she'd do that. Ivan, the security guy at Sultry Angels could probably get her one. Yes that would be just the thing. Smiling as she got up from the sofa and fetching another pack of cigarettes, but being interrupted as the doorbell rang. What the fuck! Couldn't a girl be offered some privacy? Looking through the spy hole she saw James Earl Bradshaw senior and a woman who for all intents and purposes looked like one of her father's usual flunkies." What do you want?" Honey growled through the closed door, berating herself that she hadn't managed to get the gun already. "Thank you, Mr Whit bread." came the soft, almost melodic voice of the lone woman in the room. Extending one slender and well manicured finger, she adjusted her glasses at their perch upon the bridge of her nose before turning her eyes to Congressman Bradshaw. Dr. Persephone Smythe-Williams let her cool assessing gaze drift over the man seated before her. He looked exactly as she had expected, formidable and forbidding at best. Who would have thought that the impeccably dressed gentleman of means would have such dark and tawdry desires running rampant in his head, though of course it was not for Persephone to judge. When the scandal had come to light, she watched with avid interest, not unlike like the rest of the free world. However, she doubted the rest of the populace were called upon to give their professional opinion on live television. It came as no surprise to the Oxford educated doctor that her thoughts on the matter were sought out. After all she was one of the world's leading behavioral psychologists. Of course, it came as a shock to most of her colleagues, particularly her dear friend Rebecca Meadows, that she chose to specialize in sexual practices and deviance. But with a successful practice with high end clientele, a nationally syndicated television program with an optimum time slot, and a net worth well into the six figure range Persephone considered it to have been a wise decision. She had always had a shrewd sense of thinking and was never one to let an opportunity pass her by, which of course was why she now found herself sitting in this office. The Congressman's latest dilemma, tragic though it may be, could prove to be most advantageous to her career. Just thinking of the publicity she could garner from being involved with his "recovery" made her smile from ear to ear." My proportion Congressman Bradshaw is a simple one... treatment." Persephone said in a most prim tone, pausing briefly as he scoffed at her words. She had expected he would not take the suggestion well, yet still she pressed on. "I'm offering my services to you and your daughter, at a nominal fee of course. The duration of your treatment would be one month. Within that time both you and your daughter will have daily sessions of therapy with me, and we shall try to get to the root of this matter." Persephone was sure to choose her words carefully, avoiding any hint of blame or fault. Accusations were not what the Congressman needed at this time, he needed understanding." In addition to this I believe that a live-in arrangement would be best." she continued quickly before he could protest "This will allow me a depth look into your lifestyle, which will further aid me in making a proper diagnosis and outlining an appropriate treatment solution." His protests were numerous, his outrage evident. After all it's not every day a man of his stature was expected to adhere to such terms. Persephone's expression remained indifferent as the Congressman continued his tirade. Finally, when he seemed to run out of breath, she spoke again. "Congressman Bradshaw let me be frank, your career is ruined, your family life unstable. This is an opportunity for you to walk away from this with some semblance of dignity and respect. I suggest you take advantage of it." He started to speak again, but she cut him off by saying in a tone that brooked no nonsense "Honestly I don't see what other choice you have." Jim Bradshaw Jim could hardly believe what he was hearing. He didn't like her from the start, she justlookedlike she belonged to the liberal intelligentsia whose minds were so open they would fall out. When she opened her mouth with her trace of accent that betrayed her Euro-socialist indoctrination - something she was no doubt proud of; these types just hated to admit that European educations were at best just slightly below those provided by the best education system in the world, the American free market - it was even worse." Now you listen here, you, you little spin-doctor," Jim said, rising to his feet before the meaty club-like fist of the Governor could pull him down. "I've seen your show. I know what you're all about. You're just a smut-peddler, worse than any other pornographer out there. You wrap it all up in your talk shows and books to try and give it an air of respectability, but we've seen through you! The Campaign for Family Values did a full-depth investigation of people like you, symptoms of the celebrity-based culture the liberal mainstream media is hypnotizing the American people with! Your psychiatrists are all the same, just an artificial profession to invent new ways to scam people out of their money and keep them hooked on your treatments!" Jim's face was red now, an inch away from that of Smythe-Williams. She was only lucky she was a woman; there was no right way to hit a woman, sadly..." And if you think I'm going to let you live in my house, payyoufor it, let you try to turn us into one of your freak shows so you can make a few TV specials and books and grind us down deeper... Think of Honey! The poor girl, she's been through so much already, I refuse to let her be dragged into this! Think of the children, for Christ's sake!" Not that Jim did, of course, his or any other man's kids unless, of course, they actuallycouldhelp him; but it was the time-honored get-out-of-jail-free card." No. No, and that is final," he said sitting down and crossing his arms, stubbornly. He might have been crushed, and his life ruined, but at least he still had his dignity. Jim only glared indignantly at Smythe-Williams as she replied - of course she was going to say whatever she could to get his money and her fame, that was what celebrities did - but he did turn to Speaker Whit bread." Come on, Jim, she's right. Besides, these things had a habit of blowing over in a few years' time. You let this pass over now, you get your spiritual penance from the church and your medical pass from Dr. Smythe-Williams - that will go far for the average voter, Jim, you know - and by the time the next election cycle comes around, I don't know, we'll see what we can do." Whit bread spread his hands sympathetically, as if to say What else can I do?" But I will say, if you don't do this, then none of that is possible, you'll get kicked out of the House, and make a big mess for all of us."" And," the Attorney-General said, speaking up for the first time, "if you don't do this, then my office will begin a criminal investigation of the matter. Perhaps we won't find anything, but tell me, Mr. Bradshaw, wouldn't that seem an even bigger specter to fall over your daughter's head? Not to mention your own?" Jim sat there, stewing, not looking to anyone. Finally, he took a pad of paper and pen off of the Governor's desk, scribbled on it, and handed it to Smythe-Williams." Fine. Have it your way, you kangaroo court. This is the address of Honey's apartment. I assume you have your own car. I'll meet you outside." Not waiting to hear whether it was the case or not, Jim hurried out of the office, as much to get away from those traitors and appeasers as soon as possible than to hide the fact that his face was white. He had hoped to, somehow, say...never see Honey again in his life. Now he was going to be living with her for a month. With an actual pervert in the house, no less. His sports car got him to the apartment complex with plenty of time to wait for Smythe-Williams, and to consider running off. Maybe to go see Pastor Hastings. Church was always a convenient excuse. But no, just as soon as he decided to do it, Smythe-Williams arrived." Come on, then, I'll bring you up to the apartment," he said, his voice displaying as much enjoyment as he felt. No sooner as they arrived and rung the bell, but Honey appeared and immediately began castigating him. He turned to Smythe-Williams. "I'll leave it to you to tell her, then. Consider it your first challenge." Honey Bradshaw (Escort not Prostitute)Growling as she listened to her father telling her in his usual imperious tone to open the door, and once more Honey cursed the fact that she hadn't already acquired the gun. It would have felt so good busting a cap in his ass, or rather that smug face of his. Honey realized that James Earl Bradshaw was probably the last person she wanted to see right now, and especially when he was accompanied by one of his flunkies. By the look of her she was probably one of his sycophant Republican born again Christians who had been drafted to show her the error of her ways. Sliding the bolts to the side and gingerly opening the door, and giving her dad a dark look and a snarl at the woman who flashed her an all to wide smile as she stepped aside to allow them in. Honey knew that her apartment was a mess. She hadn't bothered to empty the ashtrays for the duration, nor had there been any pressing desire to clear away the cartons of Chinese take-away that littered the table in the living room. Seeing the disgust in her dad's eye and growling a reply." Well if you don't fucking like it then you can piss off Dad. No sorry I shouldn't have said that seeing as you like to be humiliated and all." Honey had turned around sharply as she delivered the sharp retort, too late realizing that she wasn't wearing anything but the pink gown and the boxer style panties. Thus, her ample chest became the focus of both her Dad's and the drab-looking woman who persisted in smiling as she stepped around the bags of chips and empty Diet Coke cans on the floor. Blushing bright red rather from anger than embarrassment as she pulled the gown shut and bestowed her father with a dark look." I thought you had seen your fill of my boobs or did you need another glance?" Growling and taking a step forward and jabbing her finger in his chest." What nothing to say? Nothing about the need for a return to good old-fashioned values or some other bullshit that you usually speak of?" As mentioned earlier, Honey was not really that interested in politics, but she had heard her fill about the despicable politics of Congressman Bradshaw. Her main source had been Dr. Isaac Mantra, her ex best friend Sarah's dad, who had been kind to tell her on a number of occasions, one of the more memorable ones being when he was on his knees and licking her shoes. A privilege he had paid a considerable sum to be granted. Seeing as her dad got into full retaliation mode and quickly launching her own counter-attack." No Dad you have nothing to say. You're the pervert and NO I'M NOT A FUCKING PROSTITUTE I'M AN ESCORT!" Turning away and looking belligerently at the woman, recognizing her as the doctor who had been on the news earlier." So what the fuck do you want? If you want an exclusive then you'd better be ready to cough up more dosh than HEF, and I don't think you're the type to do that are you?" Flopping back on the sofa and giving the two of them a dark look. "Look I'm not in the mood to talk to anyone of you so why don't you just fuck off and leave me alone?" Lighting a cigarette and staring at them both." Look my life's over, and I'm seriously getting a gun and shot you Dad and then kill and if I fail that, seriously injure my good for nothing piece of shit brother and then shoot myself. And no I'm not coming with you to church. I'd rather forgo killing you not having to do that." Honey inhaled sharply and stared at them again." Now if you don't have anything else to say then you'd better get the fuck out. I'm busy wallowing in my own misery thank you very much." Persephone deftly parked her vintage MG sports car in front of the downtown apartment building. She had very little trouble finding the place, despite the total lack of directions from Congressman Bradshaw. Stepping from the car she adjusted her gray crocheted cardigan before approaching him. He was standing on the sidewalk next to his car, the look of a jittery stallion about to bolt written all over him. He said nothing to Persephone, choosing to remain silent as he led the way into the building and up the stairs to his daughters' apartment. Persephone could still feel his rage and annoyance radiating from him, but she knew better than to think it was aimed at her. It was clear the was frustrated and doing his best to come to terms with the situation. She stood patiently by his side once outside the apartment door. She listened intently to the colorful exchange of words between father and daughter. Mentally noting that despite the obvious lack of communication between them, there was a strong underlying desire by both to connect. But such things would be dealt with later within the proper setting. After some reluctance the door finally opened, and Persephone flashed the young woman on the other side of it a bright smile before entering. Her eyes scanned the apartment, as she gingerly stepped around the piles of garbage strewn about the living room floor. She remained silent as Honey berated her father, before realizing her own nakedness. She watched as the girl quickly pulled her robe close the gesture clearly indicating her vulnerability at the moment. Furthermore, she was particularly taken by Honeys adamant insistence of the difference between prostitution and escort work. Persephone sighed deeply, she indeed had her work cut out for her." Now if you don't have anything else to say then you'd better get the fuck out. I'm busy wallowing in my own misery thank you very much." Persephone smiles at Honey's words, then spoke finally "I'm afraid that isn't possible dear. You see your father and I have come to an agreement. I'm Dr. Persephone Smythe-Williams by the way." Persephone explained the details of the arrangement to Honey, who sat there looking at her in utter disbelief. Persephone knew that convincing Honey would be much more difficult than convincing the Congressman, she would not however be deterred. She was sure to make it clear to Honey that this was not a suggestion or request, the girl simply had no choice in the matter." Niow be a dear and go pack a bag." She said her face still sporting the same brilliant smile she wore since entering the apartment. Jim Bradshaw Sighing to himself at Honey's deplorable behavior, he walked into the living room of the apartment she lived in. He had never seen in before, even though he was paying for it. Honey might have been his most immature and disappointing children, but there were some things a caring upper-class father just had to provide to his children no matter what, at least so the journalists and gossip mongers wouldn't pounce on it and smear him on it at election time. Of course, they had bigger fish to fry now, which was why this had to be done. At least he told himself... Her living room was even messier than her bedroom had been before she had finally been old enough to move out. It was disgusting, really. All that money he gave her for her weekly allowance, and she couldn't even afford a decent maid? No doubt she was too busy living her life of sin and humiliating herself. Honey was looking right at him, and must have seen the feelings he had no reason to hide, and launched into another of her typical diatribes against him, poking him in the chest before realizing her own was uncovered - which was of course more reason for her to berate him, as he had obviously been the one to chose her wardrobe and despicable, hippie-scum habits." Now look here, young lady," Jim said, as firmly as possible despite the fact that he was blushing as much as she was. Why did she keep having to bring up that horrible, disturbing night over and over again, especially right in front of strangers? Didn't she realise how much deeper she was digging herself?" It's not like I knew the service was going to send you. I'm not some sicko! And how many times do I need to tell you that there is a legitimate medical reason I need to be released this way! I'm not a queer or anything, it's not like I have to always be treated this kind of way. It's nothing weird, Honey, and as your father I will not tolerate your continued speaking of me in this manner. Furthermore, I fail to see how it's my problem that you dress like a prostitute - oh, excuse me, that's what you are, aren't it? You're the real pervert!" Jim held back as Honey launched into the doctor. In public of course he would not have let anyone attack a woman in such a manner, even verbally, but this was far from public and really, he didn't even care whether women he liked were harassed. And he definitely didn't like Smythe-Williams. If Honey wanted to direct her whiny hot-air temper-tantrum against the doctor, that was fine by Jim's book. The easier he had it, and maybe it would convince her to leave; and if not, it would at least give Honey a new target to try to break down. Her claims of buying a gun he dismissed as just more hysterical nonsense from the same girl who routinely threatened to hold her breath until she suffocated to escape eating broccoli when she was younger and later threatened to run away and join the circus to escape from having to go to church. Of course, when she had gotten even older, she had threatened to start kissing girls in the school hallway unless she got her own sports car; Jim had ignored that one as well, and now realised maybe he shouldn't have. She was a whore, that was essentially the same as being a lesbian, wasn't it? Jim watched as Persephone tried to introduce herself and set the tone of the 'relationship,' only to have Honey's usual explosion in her face...ugh. He really, really wished he hadn't thought of that metaphor under the current circumstances." Well, doc, I hate to say I told ya so, but..." Jim said in a tone that implied anything but. "Sorry, Honey, but she's right. It's either this, or you and I possibly go to jail. Not to mention my entire career is ruined. And don't be so melodramatic, Honey, of course your life isn't over. I'll pay for a transfer for you to the University of Hawaii if you go along with this. Plenty of chances there for you to make new friends with people who don't even know you." Sure, some parents might think that buying their child's love and forgiveness was horrible parenting, but those were also the kind of people who couldn't afford to it anyway, at least not properly, so their opinions didn't matter." Now, if you'll all excuse me, I need to head to church. Pastor Hastings is going to absolve me of my sins. Unless you wish to join me, Honey, become clean again?" Jim stood up as Honey offered her predictably vitriolic answer, hurrying away from the apartment filled with the two people he least wanted to see. Yes, he did have an appointment with the pastor to spiritually cleanse himself, but it wasn't for over three hours. But the longer he could put off having to face either of them again, the better. Honey Bradshaw Honey listened without showing any interest as the British doctor and Daddy yakked away. She didn't see what she had to do with the whole thing. Besides escorting was a perfectly legal occupation, and thus she didn't run any risks of ending up in jail. Not that it would be worse than this, at least she'd meet some interesting people. Right now she would prefer to share a cell with a butch lesbian than having to stay with her dad. Growling as she heard him make his lame excuses about seeing the pastor, and in her current state she found it impossible to bite back a tart reply." So what are you going to tell him then Dad? I'm sorry that I dressed up like a school girl in order to get spanked on my bare ass? Yeah, I can see your sanctimonious friends in the gay-bashing brigade taking to that. Oh, no clever come back, eh? And spare me the bollocks about it being a medical condition. You're a freaking pervert Dad!" Honey yelled the last part as she got to her feet and stormed after the retreating James Bradshaw, berating him much in the same fashion as one would expect a particularly foul-mouthed sailor." Just fuck of and never bother me again. I hate you!" Honey yelled out the last sentence prompting a few of the neighbors to pop their heads out the doors to see what the racket was all about." And you to, fuck of!" She slammed the door shut and stalked back to the living room and flopped back onto the sofa and lit another cigarette and glaring belligerently at Dr. Smythe-Williams as she exhaled a perfect cone of blueish tobacco smoke." Look here Doc, I have no intention to take part in this little charade to save my daddy's career. He put himself in this position, and he can just as well get himself out of the hole he dug for himself." She got up and looked at Persephone who hadn't moved nor showed any reaction to her tantrum but the knowing smile she wore." I'm getting a drink, I'd offer you one but seeing as I didn't invite you won't have any." Honey walked through to the kitchen where she poured herself a generous amount of vodka and a splash of orange juice for the look of things. Perhaps a few cubes of ice wouldn't go amiss. Yup that would do the trick. Honey bent over as she rummaged through the freezer until she found them as she heard the polite cough of Persephone. Once again realizing that the doctor had seen her in a rather compromising pose. Honey's gown barely covered her bottom, and the panties were of the cut that showed rather than concealed her endowments. Blushing bright red, anger again, rather than embarrassment as she stood up and made a show of adjusting her clothing." What?" She turned to face the doctor as she had a big gulp of her Screwdriver." Look Doc I'm not going along with this. I seriously am not. Why should I do anything to help that bastard? He's made my life a living hell for as long as I can remember. Thank God mum managed to convince him that Margaret Thatcher Bradshaw isn't a suitable name for a child." Honey downed the contents of her glass and refilled it almost immediately. The whole issue of her name was a sensitive one. Dad had wanted to name her after a conservative politician and seeing as her mum was English then what better fit the requirements than Maggie? Mum on the other hand had pushed for Honey, explaining to it that no one would be mean to her then." How could anyone snarl at a Honey?" Well Dad for one, but that sort of went with the territory didn't it. Glaring at Persephone again, God that hang-dog expression of hers was almost mesmerizing and against her better judgement Honey found herself swaying. OK then she'll give it a try, and if nothing else she could sell the story to some rag or other. Besides, if Daddy was serious in his offer about buying her a place in Hawaii then he would damn well throw in a Porsche as well. Yup that did it."OK, ok I'm coming, give me a few minutes to pack the bag." Not knowing whether she'd live to regret that decision or not as she threw an assortment of clothes into her suitcase. Persephone took the liberty of sitting on the tiny bit of sofa that was left uncluttered in the midst of Honey's mess, as the girl once more launched into a verbal assault on her father. Judging from the Congressman's resigned sigh, Persephone deduced that this was their normal means of communication. Either party shouting at the other, both asserting their presence, neither of them gaining the respect and understanding they both crave. Persephone stayed put though Jim chose to make his exit or rather Honey shoved him out. Off to church for absolution he claimed. Persephone viewed this religious fixation of his as something that needed to be examined in depth. She listened, unimpressed by Honey's refusal to participate in the treatment. The girl had obvious abandonment issues, hence her need to push people away lest they do the same to her. Yet another issue to be dealt with during the course of the therapy. Undeterred, she follows Honey into the kitchen, only to be greeted by the girls perfectly shaped buttocks. The apparent infatuation with nudity and self-exposure was yet another point noted for future discussion and assessment. The clearing her throat was met with Honey's red-faced scowl, to which Persephone delivered a scowl of her own. Her delicate eyebrows lifting above the rim of her glasses, the look in her eyes serving to let Honey know she had no intention of entertaining her objections to the treatment." Ms. Bradshaw, I'll tell you as I told your father, you have no other alternative. If you wish to walk away from all of this with some modicum of..." she paused briefly searching for the right word, "decency, surely you see that this is the best course of action." Quite surprisingly it didn't take much effort in the way of persuading Honey to see reason in her cause. A few words about the girl using the treatment as a way of justifying her innocence in the matter, and she was on-board. A half hour later and they were in Persephone's car making their way to Jim's house. Honey, seemingly equally impressed and shocked by the car Persephone drove, was quite forthcoming in provide the necessary directions the Congressman had apparently neglected to provide. As the drove up the wide private driveway, Persephone allowed herself quite a smile, treatment would begin tonight. Jim Bradshaw Jim breathed a sigh of relief into the air-conditioned breeze that came out of his car vents. Already it was great to get away from them. He didn't know how he was going to survive for a whole month. It would be bad enough just living with Honey again for that time. His youngest child was rather wayward. A good father obviously never chose favorites among his children so publicly he never did, but still, Jim had always thought Honey a bit of a disappointment, to say the least. Too unpredictable and not loyal enough. Took after her mother really. Actually, that was more true now than ever. Hadn't Sylvia come out as a dyke? Of course his Campaign for Family Values had funded multiple studies that proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that homosexuality was entirely a choice, but if worse came to worst he could easily spin it so that Sylvia was secretly imprinting her Lesbos desires on Honey. Of course Honey was a hooker, but it was really the same thing in the end, wasn't it? At least to the dumb redneck ditto heads who would vote for him anyway. And if it came to that, well, she was a hooker so she probably did women also, right? God, there were some perverts in the world. At leasthewasn't gay. And then there was that Smythe-Williams bird. Good-looking enough, it was just too bad that she had to go interfere with other people's lives, become mannishly aggressive, probably to overcompensate for the lack of a devoted partner that she had never gotten due to the fact that she was so engaged with her work in the first place. Jim had no qualms about female equality, of course; to get elected in California even Republicans could say so. And really, when there were a bunch of ugly but smart women, Jim felt glad that they had an alternative to crying themselves to sleep every night because their lives lacked purpose. But foxes like Smythe-Williams? With a face and body like that, he just did not see why she needed to pretend to be doing a man's job when she could just find someone rich to marry and enjoy her life that way. A waste, really, for man-kind in general. He wondered if she were a lesbian also. But oh well. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. If Smythe-Williams was so keen to be handling Honey, then they were welcome to her. Either she would take up the good doctor's entire time, or Honey would wear herself out berating the older woman -have to make sure Honey doesn't try to suck and fuck her way into Smythe-Williams's good graces, he thought;or then again, maybe that would be for the best- or perhaps best of all, they were just worn each other out and the doctor would storm off and leave her little pet project behind. Then Jim would get to move on having fulfilled his end, Honey would lose her change to go to Hawaii, and he wouldn't need to spend his money, and everyone he cared about would be fine... Jim's first target was his country club, to blow off the extra three hours, but after being given significant glances from the other patrons, he angrily downed the last of his beer and, within fifteen minutes, was drawing within view of the gargantuan megachurch that was Pastor Bob Hastings's Sacramento First Evangelical Baptist Communion of Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. The good pastor was in the middle of preaching a sermon to a large mass of the paying faithful, but when told that Jim was there, of course announced he was willing to immediately see this newest and most special case, all the better to begin immediately on his salvation. When they met in the pastor's very large and well adorned office, the two men shook hands, sitting down in plush leather chairs and drinking twenty-year-old scotch. Hastings cared little about Jim's indiscretions; he was little a more born-again Baptist than Jim was an extreme Republican. They had both been businessmen before entering their new professions, and they remained businessmen now: they had just realised that to make the big bucks, one had to pander to the people willing to give their money away. The men talked and laughed about old times, shot the breeze, and then after Jim wrote a few thousand dollar check as a donation to the house of God that had saved him, the pastor brought him before the congregation, stage-mode on again, dunking Jim into water as a second baptism to wash away his sins, purifying him as he talked on tongues before the force of God struck him back into sense. It was all very theatrical and so of course the gullible crowd eat it all up. Jim took his leave just as the offering bowls began being passed around again, glad that he had passed three hours without the others and that he had started down the path to political recovery." Ah, fuck," Jim said as he drove up his driveway, seeing the flashy foreign sports car of the limey. He had hoped that they wouldn't yet be here, that he would have at least a few more hours to himself. Oh, well. Parking the car in the garage, he walked in." Oh, you're here already," he said with little enthusiasm to the doctor. "Where's Honey? Never mind, I don't care, just don't let her destroy anything. And if you think you can pinch any of my stuff, I'll have your ass down in court so fast you won't even be able to tell when you're defrocked." He had no idea if that was the correct terminology for scientists and doctors, and really didn't care." Now... I don't know what it is you have planned, but I have a lot of work to be doing, so I'm going to be spending a lot of time in my office. I'm sure we'll see each other later." He started to edge towards his spacious office which, with its locked door, TV, computer, bathroom, and minibar, would enable him to survive without having to see the others for hopefully days on end. He just needed to get by this persistent woman first... Honey Bradshaw Honey was not a happy camper. Not that she ever had been subjected to such trifles, but she could somehow understand the allegory, although right now a week in a tent in the endless forests of Oregon seemed preferable to this. Dr. Smythe-Williams was getting on her nerves, the perpetual smile on her lips and the way the woman cocked her head in a know-it-all gesture. Then there was Dad as well. Good God! Honey had like most teenagers thought decreed that she hated her parents. Up until now that had been a thing to say, much like "I'm sorry" or "I will not spend all my allowance on fashion". Now however, Honey knew that she hated James Earl Bradshaw with a passion. The man was an absolute twat, and a hypocrite. But Hawaii was Hawaii, and hopefully there would be a Porsche in it for her as well. Besides, Honey had learned how to cater to almost every demand that her clients had asked for, and it actually helped to view her current predicament as just another session with a pervy rich-guy. After all it wasn't that far from the truth, Dad was a pervy rich guy and as for Persephone... She was rich, and thus she must be pervy. Besides, she was British and everyone knew about them? Hadn't mum told her about the endless scandals in the Parliament? Politicians being found dressed in ladies's laundry and gagged with oranges. Surely Persephone would be likely to venture down the same alleys. And there was yet a deviant that Honey Bradshaw couldn't cater to." So Doc." Honey put her shapely legs up and draped them on the side of the open sports car"You're the very model of the modern shrink in general then? With information vegetable, animal and mineral? Who knows the kings of England and can quote the fights historical, from Marathon to Waterloo in order categorical?" Ha! That ought to shut her up for the time being, Honey mused as she reclined on the seat and practiced her waving techniques. There were a fair number of guys who returned it and when Persephone slowed down there was even a catcall. Yup. She still had it in her." So what are we going to do then? Sit around and tell you that we're really a normal family and that everything is mum's fault for walking out on us?" Honey gave Persephone a long, calculating stare as the doctor pulled up on the driveway of her father's home. Not waiting for a reply she jumped over the side of the little sports car, picking up her bag and walking up to the door. She didn't bother to ring the bell but pulled it open yelling." Daddy I'm hoooooommmmmeeeeee!"and dropping the bag to the floor. Giving Jim a sweet smile as she sauntered into the living room and flopping onto the sofa, not bothering to take of her knee-high boots that she was wearing with the short skirt." Did you hire an interior decorator to do this?" She made an expansive gesture "in that case he screwed you. But wait! You like that don't you dad. Having your butt reamed out or is it just by me?" She gave him an icy stare as she got up and headed for the drinks cabinet." Hmmm vodka, scotch, brandy and what have we here?" Honey sneered as she held up a bottle of coffee flavored liquor. "If that's not gay then I don't know what is daddy"She poured herself a generous amount of the 20-year-old scotch and flopped back on the sofa, lighting a cigarette as she did." So you're going to be holed up in your office? Watching porn, are you? I mean looking at your family, well most of it can't be too exciting in the long run can it Daddy?" She nodded to the pictures that lined the wall. James Earl Bradshaw with selected representatives of his offspring. There was Dad with James Earl Bradshaw Jr, with Ronald Reagan Bradshaw and of course the good girls, Nancy Davies Bradshaw and Barbara Pierce Bradshaw. All of them looking like posters for the Republican Party, which they for all intents and purposes were. Grinning as she glared at James"Why don't you have a picture of Janelle there dad? She'd fit right in you know." She could see that James was fuming and how the scary shrink kept looking at her like she was some kind of weird zoo-exhibit. Oh, well they brought this on themselves. With a calculated gesture Honey extinguished her cigarette on the table before laying back on the sofa, sipping her drink." So what's for dinner then? Mind you I'm a vegetarian these days Dad" .....

Curing a Deviant|rating:3.0

Renting a Room (Courtney & Jaclyn)

(Jane Bear Senior Ad Executive Bryant Wiley More about Jane Jane is in her late 30s. Hard bitten too. Never married. Jane likes girls. Girls in their late teens or early 20s. Maybe her maternal instincts, yet definitely her tendency to dominate women and men with whom she associates. (only way to describe it. Life stalled. Great job, just broke 7 figures income, well into 8 figures sales, and on her way up. And no one to share it with. Oh, her taste in someone to share with is not at all typical, but all the searching and dating had come up totally empty. ‘Am I being too picky?’ But her crystal clear sense of the look and feel of someone to spend time with is so strong she can’t shake it. She refused to spend time and money in therapy shaking it too. This past week was so typical. Thursday after wining and dining clients, a drink at a ‘ladies’ bar. Several hits and she declined them all, ‘Sorry, you’re cute but not my type.’ One interesting looking prospect, but she was waiting for her partner. So home again alone. Friday was dinner out with other junior partners at the firm. Some of the guys hit on her. None of the gals. A different bar afterward but too late for fresh faces.(she took the train south and roamed the shops and cafés. Faces she found attractive yet all unavailable. An early evening front row seat for yet another viewing of I Can’t Think Straight (failed to lift her spirits. And the same old bar scene for and after dinner proved luckless. Sunday she walked the Park as usual. Planning her week and watching people. Deli pickup and drinks at home for dinner. ‘I really ought to rent one of these bedrooms.’ Recurring thought, with fresh determination. So after dinner and before her fourth scotch which would put her out of reach of typing skills, she composed an ad for local print and online distribution.(( DirksenFormer Junior PartnerDirksen camp; Associates (was the end of the week, and everyone had cleared out of her office. Everyone. That was a joke. Her only employee was a legal aide, who doubled as her administrative assistant. Very little money was coming in, and she couldn't afford more employees. In fact, she was now faced with a choice: keep her payroll solvent, or start dipping into to the funds to pay her rent. Leaving Atlanta and leaving her father's firm had seemed like the smart move. She had earned a bit of a reputation, one that she had convinced herself would give her a leg up in New York. Maybe it was partly overconfidence, but mostly it was her desire to get out from her father's thumb that drove her. Drove to start a new firm, in a new city. Not just any city, thecity, as far as she was concerned. If anything could prove her father wrong, it would be becoming successful her. Now though, she was sitting in her empty office, staring at her phone. Nothing had gone like she planned. The clients didn't come beating down her door. The ones that did, either couldn't pay, or couldn't pay much. She didn't mind doing pro bono work, it fact that was quite rewarding, on a personal level. It just didn't pay the bills. She had put her substantial life savings into this venture, and those funds were quickly dwindling. And her phone was staring back at her, taunting her with her father's number on the screen. Was she really going to go crawling back to him, to his firm? Could she tolerate forever having to live this folly down? Accept that he was right in making her younger brother a senior partner, instead of her? As unpalatable as that sounded, it was the easiest option. It would spare the last bit of her savings, and at least secure some kind of future. Other options were on the table, as she had been approached by other firms looking to take on talent. She had convinced herself, that they were just trying to eliminate competition though, and had repeatedly rebuffed any offers. Then there was this: a simple ad for a room to rent. Not an apartment, just a room. It was cheap, almost too cheap for the address. She had called it, and set up an appointment to view it, and was shocked at the address. She knew it well, walked by there more than once, as it's only a few blocks away from her office. How could it be so cheap? I mean obviously she'd be sharing the apartment at large with someone else, but still. Olivia still wasn't sure if she was going to keep her appointment tomorrow morning, as she locked up her office and headed for home. She liked her place, liked being on her own. If she was going to stay in New York, though, there was no way she could afford to stay in her apartment. She'd already been packing in fact, preparing for inevitable move home, as somehow that had seemed less humiliating than being a lawyer with a roommate. She'd decide in the morning whether to go. Right now she just wanted a shower, a drink, and a soft blanket pulled over her. Somehow in the morning, she didn't even have to think about it. A good night's rest had recharged her, and she wasn't going to abandon everything here, without first exploring every option. If she was going back to Atlanta, she knew it would have to be because she had no other viable option. Nothing will be left on the table, there will be no thoughts of: "I just didn't try hard enough." Let's just see what this is all about.(she had knocked on the door and was greeted by a friendly enough doorman, who let her in after explaining why she was here. She was fairly impressed so far, but wasn't letting herself get too excited just yet. She was just seeing what's what, that was all. He rang up to her apartment, to inform Jane of her 10:00 appointment, then gave Olivia instructions on how to get up to the apartment." Thank you," *nod* she said with a friendly, but business like smile. She was trying not to get excited about this place, because it probably won't pan out, but damn! It's nice. A couple of minutes, and an elevator ride later, she was standing outside side the apartment door. Ok ... *sigh* here we go, she thought.*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*When the door opened, the first promising sign appeared. The woman standing in front of her was not only attractive, but well put together as well. She had feared what kind of person might be interested in taking on a roommate here, and even half expected the ad to be a lie, and be greeted by some pervert who'd try and talk her into it anyway. This though? This was a good start.*friendly smile* "Hi, I'm Olivia Dirk sen," she said, extending her hand. "I'm here about the room you have for rent?" She already knows that, you goof. (Jane Bear Senior Ad Executive Bryant Wiley More about Jane Jane is in her late 30s. Hard bitten too. Never married. Jane likes girls. Girls in their late teens or early 20s. Maybe her maternal instincts, yet definitely her tendency to dominate women and men with whom she associates. (potential renter was coming at 10, so Jane was dressed smart casual with her breakfast done and when the bellman buzzed the alert. The woman had sounded mature on the phone. Used to conversation and taking care of business. More than an admin. Professional?(’m waiting in the gallery, atrium in my head, when she knocks. Two breaths. Check to be sure it’s only one and female through the peephole, unbolt and unlock the door, and swing it wide. She’s greeted by a friendly yet remote smile and a brunette in a denim jacket who announces herself and then stumbles about why she’s here. ‘Treat her as a potential client,’ Jane reminds herself and holds out her hand. “Hello Olivia, I’m Jane Bear. Come in, please.” The handshake is what she expects from other confident, professional women. Not the crush of a salesman out to be in charge, or the affection of one who intends to try seduction. Neutral and sincere. A slight wave of disappointment at the woman’s age. ‘Ah well, not a future lover.’ She closes the door and lets the woman look around for a brief moment. ’Nicely put together.’(“So the tour. Railroad apartment, long and narrow. Over there is the dining room. I don’t use that much, most often for work when I need a large table or have to work offsite with others” Gesure and pause. And time for the first query. “I’m in advertising. What do you do, Olivia? The pantry is through there and the third bedroom.” A gesture, a pause, and turn the other way.(“This is the Living Room. I sometimes play, you’re welcome to use it if you do.” Gesture toward the piano and continue to the window.(“This is our view of the park. Third floor, not much except green or brown and sometimes white in the winter. And the slushy streets yuck.” Pause at the window to let her take in the view. “This is a nice time of year, before it gets too hot, and the leaves are still fresh.” Pause to let her take in the view. Is she wearing scent? Can;’t quite tell. (DirksenFormer Junior PartnerDirksen camp; Associates (read people. No, it's not some innate gift, or psychic ability; I'm not even overly empathetic. No, my ability to read people comes from training, practice, experience and education, a minor in psychology, to be exact. I rely on my skill, and make no mistake, it is just that, a skill. A compulsory one at that, in my line of work. So her disappointment was immediately obvious to me. Yeah, life's full of disappointment, Jane, even for wealthy people. Whatever she was hoping for in a potential roommate, it isn't me. No worries, I'm just mostly looking anyway. She was polite enough, though, so I didn't mind sticking around for the tour. I also got the sense that she must have some of the same kind of training as me, because my curious gaze when she mentioned working off site, was picked up on, and she offered that she was in advertising, completely queried." I'm a lawyer, corporate lawyer, to be precise. Or at least, that's how I started. I worked out of my Dad's firm in Atlanta, until I decided I needed to be on my own. Mostly right now I'm helping small businesses, but also picking up some pro bono work, to get my name out there. The tour continues, and, as much as I wanted to be let down, by the place, I'm really loving it." No, I really don't play. My mother made take lessons, but I was more of a Daddy's girl ..." *tilting my head thoughtfully* "...growing up, anyway." I really hate that I like this place. She seems unimpressed with her view of the park, but I'm guessing she's just used to it. I'd kill for a view like that, slush or no slush. I just stare out the window for a couple of beats. Furthermore, I'm in love with the place. Moving her, means staying in New York though, and continuing the struggle to get my firm off the ground. I want that, but I also want to get ahead in life, sooner, rather than later. So I was staring to buy time to think. I also got the distinct impression, that Jane was staring too, at me. Maybe not staring, but she was definitely checking me out. Is she a lesbian? Is that why she was disappointed when she saw me? Truth be told, she's not exactly the type I typically go for either, but she is attractive." I do love the place..." I trail off, still thinking. "And it's close to my office," I say, out loud, but mostly to myself. Hmmm." You don't strike me as someone in need of a roommate, though. So, forgive me for asking, but why open up your home to a complete stranger?" The question was mostly the lawyer in me, coming out, as I know the world is full of all kinds of predators. She doesn't strike me as one, but then again, that's what victims always say. There has to be a reason she'd offer up access to a home like this on the cheap. (Jane Bear Senior Ad Executive Bryant Wiley More about Jane Jane is in her late 30s. Hard bitten too. Never married. Jane likes girls. Girls in their late teens or early 20s. Maybe her maternal instincts, yet definitely her tendency to dominate women and men with whom she associates. (lawyer! Nice. “Oh nice! Hey, leave some cards with me. I have some small business clients who may need your services. I do a bit of pro bono for startups if I like what they’ve done on their own. Restaurants and boutiques are fun when they try something different from the mainstream” Turn away from the window and return to the atrium, turning left. “Master bedroom and bath left. Sorry, only other view of the park. Over here is another full bath and bedroom. Give it a look. There’s another in back too, I’m looking to rent one but don’t care which so you’d have your choice.”(her time to inspect that bedroom and the adjacent bath. “So what are you doing after this? I was planning to walk across the park and head down toward the Hudson and check out the shops until I find someplace for lunch or drinks or dinner or whatever time it is when I find it. Be fun to have someone along.” I step back out into the atrium and wait for her. She’s cute and smart. Fun afternoon, maybe. (DirksenFormer Junior PartnerDirksen camp; Associates (is turning out to be potentially more fruitful than I had hoped for. The place is spectacular, but as soon as I brought up my profession, she was immediately asking for cards! Sure, lots of people ask for cards, and little ever comes of it, but she has a client list of her own. If I did move in, it would definitely help my odds at increasing my clientele. It's not selfish, it's survival. I do like that she's offering, so as I hand her a stack of 10 or so cards, ( decide to return the favor." Well, thank you, Ms. Bear. Is it Ms. or Mrs.?" Anyway, that would be spectacular. I'll even offer a free initial consultation to every client of yours you send my way, and I'll honor your pro bono ones as pro bono myself." I almost can't say no to this place now, I'm excited! Furthermore, I've already done the math ahead of time. With what I have left of my savings, what I have for income coming in minus expenses, and the money I'll save by renting here, I'll be able housekeep my head above water. If, however, I can pick up even two to three more paying clients, I might just be able to turn this around. I'll be super busy though, if I pick up much more pro bono stuff, so I may need space to work from home a bit, if needed. Which is on my mind now, as I look the two available bedrooms. Each has their own advantages. The first one, almost has an office/bedroom vibe to it already, with two entire walls of built-in shelves and cabinets. Those would be extremely useful. The other bedroom is secluded clear in the back of the apartment though, and would probably be more quiet. Plus it has a window. It does seem a bit smaller though. My brain is in process mode now, almost like it's made up its mind already to move in already, and is just sorting out the details. I walk back to the first bedroom, but stop by the bathroom. I open the door across it and ... a walk-in-closet! Furthermore, I don't walk in it though, because I don't know if she's using it." So, would this be mine then, if I took this bedroom? I think I would definitely take this room anyway, if I moved in, I just have a lot of clothes, as you can imagine." though I wouldn't mind repainting it, to something that better complimented the woodwork. Will broach that subject another time. There is one thing I have to test before I decide for sure, so I do walk into the bedroom again, and sit on the bed. Feels alright, so I lay down.*giggle* "Sorry, had to check it out. It is comfy." I let my feet dangle off the end, thinking. I'm never going to find another place like this, at this price, it just doesn't happen. If I want to stay in business, this is it. This is my last hope. She never answered me on why she wanted or needed a roommate, so I'm guessing my initial inclination was correct: She has an ulterior motive. Let's face it though, the potential clients coming my way is sort of an ulterior motive in itself. I'm getting a sense of what her ulterior motive is, too, as she asks me what I'm doing after this. Still laying on the bed, thinking, but also twirling my hair around my finger playfully, I say:"For $1,100 a month ... I think after this, I'm buying you lunch and discussing how soon I can move in." (Jane Bear Senior Ad Executive Bryant Wiley More about Jane Jane is in her late 30s. Hard bitten too. Never married. Jane likes girls. Girls in their late teens or early 20s. Maybe her maternal instincts, yet definitely her tendency to dominate women and men with whom she associates. (good, maybe. Lover in the next room? “There’s another bed just like that in the other bedroom. And even more closet space and even more in need of paint. Like I said though, I’m only renting one. And we can alternate rounds until we’ve figured out getting you moved in. C’mon, back this way.”(through the dining room to kitchen. “This back here was built with a live-in maid in mind. Separate entrance down that hall to your right when you rang the front door. This is the kitchen, such as it is. I hardly ever use it. Caterers do when I have that kind of party once or twice a year.”(her through the kitchen to the bedroom. “Full bath, and room as large as the other though not as well appointed. Like I said, same bed though. And as you can see, in need of paint.” So which might I choose? “The front one you have to put up with me. Back here, you won’t see me unless your rent is overdue. And maybe not even then, I’m a wimp about such things.” So I stand back and let her take it from here. (DirksenFormer Junior PartnerDirksen camp; Associates (answers on my questions, any of them. Is she distracted, dismissive, or simply being evasive? She keeps showing me around, which I appreciate, but it's like she's trying really hard to get me to move in. I have to find out what's going on with her, really. In time, not now though. I know better than to press, though. I doubt she needs me here, more than I need to be here, and I'm not about to blow this chance. She keeps showing me around and explains the true purpose of the back bedroom, it makes sense now. It's supposed to be for a live-in maid, so it's in back on purpose. Gives them their own space, while keeping them close-by and out of sight when not working. She's not hired anyone though, and I get the sense that she doesn't intend to. Maybe at one point she was? "I do like the idea of having a nice quiet space to come home to ...", I trail off, thinking, "but, honestly my work comes home with me, more than I care to talk about. The other room would definitely be better suited for that." Yeah. "Oh, you won't have to worry about my rent," I lie, trying to put her at ease. If things don't pick up soon, I won't last more than 3 or 4 months here. "I can even pay a couple of months in advance, if you prefer." I mean I can, but I really hope she rejects that notion. Every dime helps right now." I believe I've seen all I need to. I absolutely love your place. And you know, coming home to a place that isn't ..." don't say lonely, "... empty, will be nice, I think." (Jane Bear Senior Ad Executive Bryant Wiley More about Jane Jane is in her late 30s. Hard bitten too. Never married. Jane likes girls. Girls in their late teens or early 20s. Maybe her maternal instincts, yet definitely her tendency to dominate women and men with whom she associates. (in advance yet! “Oh that won’t be necessary, Olivia. I don’t need it, not when I trust someone, and I’ve been pretty successful so far in my lift guessing who I trust and who I don’t.” Yeah, I only flunk when it comes to lovers. Business the eyes tell all and hers are honest. And a little desperate but I can ignore that. “So which room do you want, and when do you want to move in? I’ll have a formal rental agreement to fill out later, but that’s not urgent. And when do you want to move in? Do you have a car? I have a Volvo wagon in the underground here, that I can get out if it starts. I haven’t had it out in months, it’s for leaving town and I don’t get out that often.” I’m babbling. Shut up, Jana! (DirksenFormer Junior PartnerDirksen camp; Associates (do believe I've cracked the veneer of her professional demeanor. It wasn't intentional, but it cracked nonetheless. As soon as I committed to moving in, it was like a light flickered on inside of her, and she was suddenly very excited. By the time she was done, I could no longer determine who had asked more questions, me or her. She was so excited in fact, that she again missed that I've been doing nothing but talking about how the front bedroom would be best for me. It's clear her mind has been distracted to the point of not really hearing anything I've said. It's ok, I think I know what the distraction was, given her excitement and it's quite flattering. It almost feels like it puts me in power position, despite needing this place, more than she needs me in it. I don't want to say she was desperate to get me in ... but was she? Maybe she's just tired of a lonely place as well? The question is, do I play this perceived power card? Do I subtly hint that her "interest" is well received? Both? The logical lawyer in me is torn. It wants control, craves it by second nature. It also understands the unpredictability of human nature. What if we did fool around, and things went south? I could be on my ass in the street without a safety net. If I do nothing though, that sets a trend. How do I be open, in control, and yet non-committal at the same time? What? I'm a lawyer! I got this. "Truthfully, most everything I own is already packed. I've been planning a move for a while now," stay vague on that, she doesn't need to know that heading back to Atlanta was my first option. Not yet anyway. "And I always prefer to be prepared. My apartment came fully furnished, so really it's just clothes and boxes to move." Control be in control, if just a little bit. "I'd prefer to be in this weekend, and I have a couple of clients that have been asking how they can repay me for the work I've done for them." Subtly flirtatious? I look at Jane and let a coy little smile just barely eke out of the corner of my mouth as I say, "The front room is definitely the better room for me and what I want. Though it would mean you'd have to see me more." *wink* Ok, maybe the wink wasn't so subtle, but... "Yeah, I have a Mini in long term parking, that doesn't get driven much itself. Not much need for it, except when I head home for ... not groveling "...you know, holidays and stuff. Dad always just wants me to fly in ... avoid all the cities in between, but, I don't know ... I actually enjoy the drive down." I pause a moment, thinking. She said she doesn't leave the city much...." You ever want a taste of some Americana, I know this great place in Philly..."*giggle* "Sorry, I'm rambling... I'm just excited that this fell into my lap." I take a moment to recompose myself, and get us back on track. "Ok, so. I have some phone calls and arrangements to make ... and I realize it's Friday already, wait no ... no, Saturday. It's Saturday." *shaking my head* "Anyway, if this weekend is too soon, just tell me what does work. Oh, and what about security and keys?" (Jane Bear Senior Ad Executive Bryant Wiley More about Jane Jane is in her late 30s. Hard bitten too. Never married. Jane likes girls. Girls in their late teens or early 20s. Maybe her maternal instincts, yet definitely her tendency to dominate women and men with whom she associates. And Jane has been accepted as a woman since she secretly switched her appearance with the cooperation of her doctor and grad school admissions officer and a friendly judge. (head back to the gallery atrium. I’m clapping my hands inside. A rookie! And one I like and think is cute. Maybe, just, maybe. ‘Don’t get your hopes up, Jane. She doesn’t know, yet.’ She turns to face Olivia. “Um, there’s one more thing you need to know, before we finalize this. Um, you need to know that I’m a guy, underneath all this appearance. I’ll explain, if you want. And I understand if you decide to walk out. Sorry for wasting your time.” (DirksenFormer Junior PartnerDirksen camp; Associates (lawyer senses keep going off. Though to be honest, I don't think you'd have to be a lawyer to sense it. I don't want to say she's been cagey, but that's what I'd call it if a client was acting like this. She's hiding something, behind that stoic face. If I had thought this was actually going to work out as well as it has, I definitely would have done some research on her. It's like, for a brief moment, I can almost see a flicker of excitement trying to come out, but never quite reaching the surface. If she's trying to hide her excitement, I have to ask myself: why? And I was running those why's through my head, everything from engrained comport from a life of privilege, to hiding the fact that she's actually a serial killer. So you can't really blame me, for the *shocked expression* that crossed my face when she actually came out and revealed the truth. It wasn't the actual truth of it that shocked me, though she probably interpreted it as that. No, it was part, "I didn't see that coming," and part, "I can't believe she actually came out and told me, just as I was thinking about it!" I recovered my composure, not quickly enough to go unnoticed, I'm sure, but I recovered. I found myself lacking the right words to say immediately, though. It was just sort of a puzzling way to say it. "I'm a boy, underneath all this?" Does that mean she's a crossdresser? Or is it just her polite way of saying "Hey, there's a cock under here?" That thought alone almost made me giggle. From shocked to almost giggling? Dammit Olivia, say something! And I do say something, but not before some part of me decides to raise an eyebrow to show interest. Really Olivia? You've only just met, and you want to get her in bed already? "Tooth! Well ... that's a relief! I thought you were about to tell me something bad like ... you were a serial killer, or something." Humor and a bit of honesty, that works right? And of course a bit of awkwardness." But, you look umm . Wow . I mean I never would have ... You look so ... No. No it's not a problem at all! I ." Oh God, am I blushing? Calm Olivia, calm. This is why your father said you could never be a trial lawyer, and you gave up on that dream before even trying. I close my eyes briefly, take a *deep breath* and *smile*"Ok, let me try that again." I take another breath, and look at her sincerely." Jane, I don't know what the world has done to you, to make you think you might have wasted my time, because you haven't. If anything, your honesty is refreshing. I'd love to have a conversation about you and your life, but as a roommate. You don't need to explain anything to sway me to move in, my mind hasn't changed in the least. I'd love to live here and get to know you, ok?" (Jane Bear Senior Ad Executive Bryant Wiley More about Jane Jane is in her late 30s. Hard bitten too. Never married. Jane likes girls. Girls in their late teens or early 20s. Maybe her maternal instincts, yet definitely her tendency to dominate women and men with whom she associates. And Jane has been presenting as a woman since she secretly switched her appearance with the cooperation of her doctor and grad school admissions officer and a friendly judge. And abandoned all contact with her family. (’m holding my breath. She is an attorney and at least professionally used to surprises. Or incompetent, and she hasn’t come across that way. Okay, first she jokes, so she’s nervous. I’ve watched enough focus groups where laughter is a first reaction. And she denies it’s a problem. Good okay, Atlanta doesn’t mean redneck southern. And then pulls off an answer that has me smiling. I hesitate to rest a hand on her arm, and draw it back before touching her “Great. Good. Um, you’ll get the full story sometime over drinks. I don’t tell many people. You’re the first in a long time. My employer doesn’t know, my colleagues don’t either. I, um, felt you needed to know because, well, you might see something and I would rather spare us both any problems. Oh, and besides for some reason I feel I can trust you. So.” Gesture toward the living room. “Have a seat. Make your calls. I’ll help you load and unload when you’re ready, drive you to your car and place and back and all. Keep your car there, there’s no space here. And then we’ll find dinner somewhere near here. Dozens of great places in easy staggering distance. And we’ll lie to each other and have a fun first date.” #Nervous Giggle don’t give her time to answer, turn and head to my bedroom where I change my top to a lacy whit bra covered by a chambray shirt. The jeans will do for this. Switch to flats from the low heels. I’m so looking forward to hanging with her. (DirksenFormer Junior PartnerDirksen camp; Associates (have questions, so many questions. One of them seemed to be answered inadvertently, and may have gone unnoticed to the untrained ear: her employers don't know. Which means she's not a crossdresser, otherwise her being a genetic male would be on her employment records. So, she's trans, and hiding it from most of the world. Why though? This isn't 1990, and it certainly isn't some backwoods village. I mean I get the fear she must feel about judgement and becoming a pariah but, it seems like a lonely life." Mmmm, I'd be a bad lawyer if I couldn't keep information confidential." *wink* I wanted to say more, like how she shouldn't hide it, and how the world needs successful people like her to speak up, but it's a probably a matter best discussed after we actually know each other. We head to the living room and I sit down. She says she'll help load and unload. I tried to interject to mention one of the calls I was going to make, was to recruit help with the heavier boxes, but she never gave me an opportunity. She laid out a plan for the day, and before I could even say: "Date?" she was out of the room. First date? I run that back through my head again. Awfully presumptuous of her, but then again I didn't exactly act disinterested. Whatever. Down to the task at hand. I spent the next hour or so making calls. First was to my legal aide/assistant/secretary/ do everything around the office person, Belinda, so that she was aware of an address change. Then to a pro-bone client Tony, to see if I could borrow his son this morning to carry some of the heavier boxes. Then landlord to verify I was moving, and to schedule an inspection post move. Finally, after some debate and hesitation on who to call, (Mother or Father), I make a final call to Mother, to at least make them aware as well. When Jane comes back out, she's wearing a denim top. Well, it's probably chambray but, is she trying to send a signal by trying to match my style? Or maybe it's just comfy moving clothes. Or I'm just over thinking it. Probably that. Regardless, I gave her a *wink* and said:"Cute top!" The next several hours seemed to click by pretty quickly. Most everything was already packed, other than a few clothes and some dishes. Huh. Probably won't need those for a while. It wasn't until the apartment was nearly empty that it started to sink in: I've really failed miserably. With one last box under my arm, I pause at the door, and take one last look. (lingered for just a moment, trying not to be emotional. No, it's not as big as Jane's place, it doesn't overlook Central Park, it's not set up for a life in maid or even have a spare bedroom but ... it's mine. I spot my keys laid out on the table. Was mine *frown*With a drawn out *sigh* I close the door to my apartment one last time, but really it feels like closing out a chapter of my life. Hopefully the worst chapter. I haul the box down to my mini, ( that Jane is ready, and we're off with the last of my things.-Some time and several boxes later-I plop down on the couch after the last of boxes has been piled into my room. *grooooaannn* "Medic! Medic!" I cry out in jest, my arm over my forehead. "If I never move again, it'll be too soon. Thank you for all your help today, Jane." I'm soon hiring someone to do everything the next time I move. I'm so not cut out for physical labor. "Phew! I don't know about you, but I could use a nice, long, hot shower before ..." our date?? "...heading out." (Jane Bear Senior Ad Executive Bryant Wiley More about Jane Jane is in her late 30s. Hard bitten too. Never married. Jane likes girls. Girls in their late teens or early 20s. Maybe her maternal instincts, yet definitely her tendency to dominate women and men with whom she associates. And Jane has been presenting as a woman since she secretly switched her appearance with the cooperation of her doctor and grad school admissions officer and a friendly judge. And abandoned all contact with her family. (’s good to actually do work instead of just work out. I remind myself of that several times in the course of getting her moved. She seems wistful as she comes out for the last time and introspective as I drive her back to our place from putting her car away. Her humor recovers once we get the last few boxes into her room and I giggle at her cries for a medic. The refrigerator yields two bottles of organic lemonade and the liquor cabinet has the requisite Southern Comfort. Tall glasses with cube ice, one shot only, top off with Lemonade and had one to Olivia. “Here, a shot of Southern Comfort disguised as lemonade to start you on the road to recovery.” Glance at the clock. “So why don’t you try your new bathtub. There are a few bath salts there too. And candles. Relax until the lemonade is gone or maybe holler for a refill. Me, I’m going to shower and dress to go out. I hope you don’t mind if I dress a bit feminine, I don’t typically go that route because I work in a man’s world and every little bit of power dressing helps. But today, I feel like going soft and girly. We can leave whenever you’re up to it, drinks and dinner and home, not a late night after all the heavy lifting we’ve done today!” I head for my room and start a bath similar to what I suggested she do. Bath salts and oils and then to inspect my closet. Yes, I do want feminine. Janie, not Jane. And I’d really like O, not Olivia. I so hope she’s up for this. I am and take another sip of the lemonade to calm down.(off and walk naked into my bedroom. Lingerie? Okay, a black nylon brief and a nicer than usual push-up bra. My underwear is normally for long-term comfort, sometimes my workdays go 12 or more hours and a less than totally comfortable bra would be painful toward the end when my full attention is needed on finishing the task at hand or closing the deal with a potential customer. My tits are my own, a small B-cup that I augment with some well done bras with padding that give me close enough to a C-cup to match my image. Panties are usually cottoned but tonight with the hope that someone else my touch them I go with nylon. The blouse I slide over my head and struggle with the top three buttons behind my neck. Then the deep indigo denim pants with wide belt. Hose? No, my toenails are still nice from my pedicure earlier in the week. The blue suede chunky heels finish of the appearance. My usual rings on my left index finger, reminders of the pair who created and raised me and to never ever seek them out again. Deep breath and go back out into the living room. She’s not out yet. Use my tablet to look at the several things I always monitor for work, reaction to advertising campaigns that may indicate failure if not a crisis. Then measures of success. All the social media channels are monitored for those customers who pay the fees, and we’re poised to move to avert crisis and to consider exploiting success. I look up as she emerges, and smile. Yes, she is attractive! “Feeling better? Ready to find us some dinner and drinks?” (DirksenFormer Junior PartnerDirksen camp; Associates (unable, (ok, mostly unwilling), to move from the couch, I watch as Jane puts together some drinks. "Solo and lemonade ..." I say, like I'd been wandering the desert for days. I take a sip after she brings it to me and ..." Mmmm ... Thank yoooouuu..." I kick off my flats and sit up cross-legged on the couch, then *smile* as I lift my glass to her. "You do know how to spoil a woman, so here's to me, finding a way to return the favor." *wink* I take a healthier drink, and let out a contented *sigh*I blush slightly, at the thought of her bringing me a refill while I sit naked in the tub. I can't deny that I'm intrigued by her. I've never really been with a woman, besides making out with one a dare in college, and I certainly have never been with a trans woman. She's definitely easy on the eyes. She's seemed a bit aloof, though. I can understand why now, as it's not hard to figure out that she's probably faced her fair share rejection in her life. "Mmm, I don't mind you dressing feminine, so long as you don't mind me dressing in whatever I can find amongst the mess in there," I say good-natured, waving my hand in the general direction of my room. "I make no promises on preventability." With that, I stand and head towards my room, drink still in hand. I head to my bathroom first, not even wanting to look at the maze of boxes. Luckily I did have enough foresight to set a box of my toiletries in the bathroom, so I wouldn't to go searching for them. I close the door, start running some water, and disrobe. I don't even wait for the tub to fill up. Furthermore, I just grab my drink, and recline in. "Ahhhhhhhh..." The hot water soothes my aching muscles, and I spot the bath salts she was talking about. MMM, lavender! Don't mind if I do! Everything happened so fast today, it's nice just to relax and get my thoughts in order. Moving here certainly feels like a good decision, but I still have a monumental task, trying to save my firm. Firm. Huh. Does it even real qualify as a firm? *frown* I down the rest of my drink at that thought. Some time later, I step out of the bath and realize I have a problem. I didn't grab my towels, or a robe or anything to change into. My hair dryer is in here, does that count? So I blow dry my hair, delaying the inevitable naked dash to my room. I keep eyeing the hand towels as I do, trying to decide if I could make myself decent with one of those, or if I even care to. Ah hell, it's just a quick few steps to my room. What are the chances she'd see me anyway? I shut the hair dryer off, and make a quick exit and head for my room. I never even looked to see if she was around, I just went. Now ... what to wear. Most of my business attire went straight to the racks in the closet, so there's that. I wonder what she's wearing though, other than something soft and girly? That literally could mean about anything. I look at the piles of clothes on my bed and *sigh* You know what? It's not a time to be picky. I doubt we're going to some 5-star restaurant. Keep it simple. Black top, jeans, belt. Panties ... Hamm ... definitely red ... Let's go with these.(never know. Bras ... where are all my bras? ... Hrrrmmm. Forget it. I'll let the girls breathe tonight. (getting dressed, I rummage around for my makeup. This is such a mess. I don't even want to think about unpacking and finding places for everything. 15 minutes or so later, I finally reappear, wearing a comfy pair of black flats. When I find her in the living room, she doesn't notice me right away. Her nose is in her tablet, but I somehow feel like it's nothing recreational. It does give me the briefest of moments to take her in, and feel just a bit under dressed. Oh well, I did warn her. I take a few steps in, and she finally takes notice. "Much better, thank you. Though ... I don't know if I'm ready now, Miss, 'Making Me Feel Underdressed.' Where are we headed? Remember, I'm paying for dinner. I insist." (Jane Bear Senior Ad Executive Bryant Wiley More about Jane Jane is in her late 30s. Hard bitten too. Never married. Jane likes girls. Girls in their late teens or early 20s. Maybe her maternal instincts, yet definitely her tendency to dominate women and men with whom she associates. And Jane has been presenting as a woman since she secretly switched her appearance with the cooperation of her doctor and grad school admissions officer and a friendly judge. And abandoned all contact with her family. (and smile. I like her look, and she’s taking charge by deciding she’s paying for dinner. I was ready to do this, getting vague hints that her business isn’t picking up as much as she desires. But for a fun roommate the home front shouldn’t concern her. “Okay Butch O, your girl is ready to follow to the ends of the earth. Or dinner whichever comes first.” Because some on the street seeing us together will see us that way, a dyke and her squeeze. Seems I trust her taking top. I have not allowed that in a very long time either. I lock the door behind us, and we take the elevator down and head to the light at the corner to cross into the park. “Fancier restaurants are east, funky west side of the park. Hope you’re feeling funky because I am.” Hook my hand inside her arm, give her the dominant lead. The light changes and we cross 5th Ave. while the signal counts down. Then on a slightly curvy path on the transverse across the park. “So what interests you? Spirits or beer or wine? Ethnic or American? There are 8 kinds of Italian and 3 of Greek and at least 2 Lebanese and all sorts of other places within ten blocks and the river.” Under West Drive and up to Central Park West where we wait for a light to cross. I do hope she notices I’m still closer than necessary to her and my hand has wrapped around her arm. (DirksenFormer Junior PartnerDirksen camp; Associates Things Revealed About Olivia Former Corporate Lawyer working out of her father's firm in Atlanta Has her own struggling firm in New York Owns a Mini Cooper Prefers driving to flying (Your girl? Follow to the ends of the Earth? Whoa. Slow down there girl, we've only just met. I get that she's excited, but it's bordering on desperate. Am I misreading her? I'm not about to kill her vibe, as everyone has their own quirks, but I hope she's not one of those possessive, clingy types." Mmmm, no need to be Magellan. Let's do dinner first." *smile*Once outside, she hooks her arm inside of mine. I'd be lying if I said I didn't find it a bit odd, but it's not like I haven't led her on a bit myself. It's good, her arm can stay there. I look around a moment, both to get my bearings and to briefly ponder the options she laid out. I'm soon not in the mood for a stuffy fancy place. Not today. I need to just relax and unwind. "West we go then!" I cheer. We're walking at a nice easy pace in a mostly westerly direction. I'm in no particular hurry, mostly because my feet still hurt, but also because it's an opportunity to get to know her a bit. "Honestly ... I'm not much of a drinker. It's not some prudish, religious thing, I just never have been. I'm not against it, and I do enjoy wine on occasion, but if you told me to get you a drink ... you're most likely going to end up with iced tea." I ponder on food a moment. "And full, embarrassing confession here, I've never done Lebanese. Not for a lack of wanting to, just ..." don't say "no one has ever wanted to go with me." ".never had an occasion to do so, I suppose." I tip my head to the side, an idea forming. "Hey how about this? I pay for dinner, and you teach me all about Lebanese food? Or is that in the less funky direction?" As we walk, I start feeling a bit more comfortable with her arm looped through mine, and I playfully bump hips with her. "So how about you? Live here all your life, or are you a fellow transplant?" (Jane Bear Senior Ad Executive Bryant Wiley More about Jane Jane is in her late 30s. Hard bitten too. Never married. Jane likes girls. Girls in their late teens or early 20s. Maybe her maternal instincts, yet definitely her tendency to dominate women and men with whom she associates. And Jane has been presenting as a woman since she secretly switched her appearance with the cooperation of her doctor and grad school admissions officer and a friendly judge. And abandoned all contact with her family. (she’s not taking to being the top. That’s okay. Lighten my grip on her arm, enough to lead as we walk. “I drink more than I should, but hey, clients expect to be wined and dined.” So Lebanese. Hamm. “Okay, Gazala’s. Couple more blocks.” So yeah, where am I from. “Columbus, originally. The one in Ohio. I started at Ohio State and got the art bug. So I convinced my parents I should finish my undergrad at New York School of the Arts. That’s over on East 62nd off of Second Ave. That’s where I got my BA and decided to appear like this and between there and Columbia I got a Masters of Fine Arts and a Masters of Advertising and the contacts I needed to get in with my current firm. I made Partner because my Clients demanded it. My partners think I’m a cold bitch and I don’t do anything to dissuade them. My clients love my results. Oh, and I never went back to Columbus after moving here for my Junior year. I told my parents about my planned change on the phone and my father hung up on me and cut off my grad school tuition and didn’t show up at my graduation. Mom never wrote me after that. I did some scrambling and pulled together some scholarships and sold some art and then lived close until I paid off the loans. The schools liked my drive, I guess. And they both get annual gifts because they did what I asked them to do back when times were tough.” We turn a corner “And here we are. Table or sit at the bar?”(( DirksenFormer Junior PartnerDirksen camp; Associates Things Revealed About Olivia Former Corporate Lawyer working out of her father's firm in Atlanta Has her own struggling firm in New York Owns a Mini Cooper Prefers driving to flying (did not expect that extensive of an answer, nor her candor when I asked about where she was from. There was so much in it, it felt like I was listening to deposition. I'm not, obviously, but I was studying it like I was. I *nodded* thoughtfully as I considered what part of that to address. Come on Liv, don't freeze up and have an awkward moment. She just shared some very personal information. Should I keep it light, or delve more into her personal issues? "Parental expectations are a bitch," I say empathetically, with a slightly jaded undertone. "I ... guess I can't really relate to your experience, not exactly, anyway. We're still on speaking terms, but my parents are no picnic, especially my father. He makes little effort to hide his disappointment in me. He's soon damn worried about the family name, his legacy. God forbid I go to Stanford, instead of his beloved Yale. Never thought he'd hold that over my head. Makes me wish I went to Harvard."" Anyway, Mom always said he just wanted what's best for me, but, once I graduated and went to work for him, I could see it was more than that. It was like he no longer respected me. My brother made partner after just three years, but not me. I worked my ass off for that man for 6 years, and you know what he says? I'm not partner material."" That's the short version of how I wound up leaving his firm, and starting on my own here. The long version ... I may actually have to take up heavier drinking to get into that." So we've both got parent issues. Hers, by far are more severe than mine, but sometimes I think it'd be easier if I didn't subject myself to their judgement. I admire Jane for surviving not just surviving her parents essentially disowning her, but working hard enough to thrive without them. That's exactly what I'm trying to do. "Hamm ... I guess in a way, I'm sort of in that . Art selling stage to scrape by like you were." We step into the restaurant, and I don't even have to think about her question."Oh, definitely a table." Once we're seated I think about what else she told me, and a coy little *smile* creeps across my face. I think it's time to move past the scar tissue and open wounds for now, and shift gears to hopefully have some fun." Let the record show, that I don't buy your cold-hearted bitch veneer, Miss Bear. Hypothetically speaking though, let's say I did. How would you, Miss Bear, dispel this false and dastardly notion?" I say, using my best courtroom tone, while struggling to keep a straight face while maintaining eye contact. (Jane Bear Senior Ad Executive Bryant Wiley More about Jane Jane is in her late 30s. Hard bitten too. Never married. Jane likes girls. Girls in their late teens or early 20s. Maybe her maternal instincts, yet definitely her tendency to dominate women and men with whom she associates. And Jane has been presenting as a woman since she secretly switched her appearance with the cooperation of her doctor and grad school admissions officer and a friendly judge. And abandoned all contact with her family. (hopefully our pasts are well behind us. I’ve encountered too many males like her father, who never see the difference in one’s work except the same thing was done by a female so it’s inferior by definition. A waiter arrives, presents menus (and asks about drinks. “A glass of your house red please, bite. A let’s start with the Gazela platter. If that’s not enough, we’ll order more.” They take Olivia’s drink order and departs. “Their platter is an assortment of hot and cold Mezes. Um, that’s a Persian term for snacks. Appetizers. We can graze and sip wine and chat more.” So my cold-hearted bitch thing? “I always pronounce bitch like it’s a good thing.” #Snicker “Seriously, we all have our faces, our costumes. Some we put on over others. My bitch veneer as you call it is what keeps my tenuous career alive in the face of the competition and my peers. I bring it home because it’s addictive. I managed to set it aside Friday night so you haven’t seen it yet, and with us sharing the apartment I’ll make an effort to leave it at work or on 5th Ave. before I walk into the building.” So how to answer her question as though I’m at the defendant’s table? “Objection your honor. There’s no more than anecdotal evidence that Ms. Bear has a cold-hearted bitch veneer. If the plaintiff insists, we’ll bring expert testimony to demonstrate the contrary and insist that the plaintiff pay the costs once their ridiculous claims are summarily dismissed.” Our drinks arrive. Lift my glass. “To cold-hearted bitches. May they flourish and vanquish the heathen males and their minions!” Take a sip. “My shrink says I need to take some vacation and practice not putting on my armor every morning. I tell her that she doesn’t ride the MTA to work. Impasse.” A thought though. “So if I rented a house near the beach out in the Hamptons for a week, would you like to join me? Think about it. We’ve got to get your practice going before you can take a week off, right?” (DirksenFormer Junior PartnerDirksen camp; Associates Things Revealed About Olivia Former Corporate Lawyer working out of her father's firm in Atlanta Has her own struggling firm in New York Owns a Mini Cooper Prefers driving to flying (the first time in what feels likes months, I found myself *laughing* Not the polite kind of laugh that you would give a client to indulge their "wit," but a genuine laugh that isn't completely controlled. Her "objection" just rolled so easily off of her tongue. "Sustained!" I cheer, still smiling. I lift my glass to her toast ... "Hear!" ... then take a sip. I'm also feeling truly relaxed, for the first time in a long time. I have a glass of wine, am about to enjoy a nice meal, and I'm not doing it alone or with a client. Furthermore, I'm with a woman, yes woman, who's opened up to me, and I've found her direct, sometimes blunt attitude to be endearing. She doesn't seem like the type to "pull punches," as Dad would say. Maybe it's a result of her past, or maybe it's something you get from living in New York, for a while, but I like it. I mean, who brings up their shrink on a first date? Is this a date? Still not sure, but she called it one. Take another sip. This is perfect!" Mmm. She's not wrong about the armor, you know. I don't like that armor metaphor, though. It's not like you can take it off and put on like a piece of clothing. It's a part of us. I'd picture it more like ... armed guards on patrol. Always at the ready, but able to be ... off duty at your discretion?" Another sip. "Could just be the wine talking, though." *smile* I really don't drink. What do I say about this week-long vacation getaway idea? She wants to spend a whole with me, someone she's just met, in the Hamptons? I mean that sounds fantastic, but ... doesn't it sound a bit crazy too? I can't just outright tell her "no, stop be crazy," that might just wreck her. Furthermore, I like her, I do, and I don't want to hurt her, I just wish she'd slow down and relax. Furthermore, I down the rest of my glass, while I plot my course. "Vacation ... I've heard this word before..." I start, trying to add a bit of humor. Furthermore, I wound up *frowning* though.*sigh* "That'll have to go onto the "Success Story Celebration" list. Furthermore, I can barely justify not working tonight, much less an entire week. Potential client popped in late yesterday. Owns this little bodega in the Bronx. How he got my name, I'll never know, but he's being sued by someone he claims is a professional victim. I did some digging, and it does seem this "victim" is well known for his antics, but this time he does have legitimate injuries. I suspect he tried to fake an injury a little too hard, and wound up hurting himself, but ... right now his broken toes are hard to ... Ohhh look at me! Talking about work." I take a sip of my wine, before realizing that I already drank it all. Damn. "Anyway, I told him I'd at least take a look and ... I'm doing it again, sorry. I just can't seem to stop focusing on my work. That's probably a sure sign that I need a vacation, but I just can't right now. This, right here, is about as close to a vacation as I've had in months." (Jane Bear Senior Ad Executive Bryant Wiley More about Jane Jane is in her late 30s. Hard bitten too. Never married. Jane likes girls. Girls in their late teens or early 20s. Maybe her maternal instincts, yet definitely her tendency to dominate women and men with whom she associates. And Jane has been presenting as a woman since she secretly switched her appearance with the cooperation of her doctor and grad school admissions officer and a friendly judge. And abandoned all contact with her family. (watch her react to my argument to the court. Her face seemed to go through several changes to get to where she ends up, a laugh of undisguised pleasure. ‘I like this woman!’ To heck with roommate, partner! Or at least someone to honestly spend time with. She remarks on my discussion of costume as armor. Valid, taking it off isn’t as easy as the metaphor. Yet I may have something to teach her. She tells me more about her legal practice by demurring on a vacation. I’m about to say more but food arrives.(“Oh this looks yummy!” I start to assemble the mezes into a pita, making sure she sees how. “Tasty if you turn down expectations for spicy hot. So …” Taste my creation, add a bit more of the cucumber dressing, take another bit and pause to wipe my mouth and then take a sip of the wine. “So what kind of law do you like to practice? For example, my title is Advertising Executive which means nothing and everything depending on who hears it. I specialize in product placement. For people. Think politicians and well known business people. I connect them to clothiers, I help them choose which events to attend. I wiggle their names into speaking opportunities. And I audit their speeches. All to help them appear highly desirable to the people they want to desire them. I’m paid outrageously to never reveal names. I have had presidential aspirants for clients though never got one into the Oval Office, Senators and Representatives and Governors. And Wall Street Executives and a few captains of industry. An initial 2-hour consultation bills at $50 grand. I’m raising that to 100 because I can’t take all my current clients plus I have junior colleagues who could become very good at this if they had clients. Oh, it’s all handshake business, no contract. Invoices simply state ‘services rendered.’ I’ve been interviewed by staffers. They don’t like me but don’t have a lever to force me to disclose anything. And I bill them at my hourly rate” Another bite and another sip. “But that’s not what I enjoy. So let me make you an offer. You become my client. Free, because my real politics are we need more successful women in all aspects of business. I pay your going rates if I need legal services, and no I’m not expecting to need legal services. No, I focus on getting you the kind of clients you want. So tell me Olivia, what kind of clients do you enjoy working for on what sorts of legal topics? Oh, and you go on vacation when I tell you to, there, that’s my fee.”

Renting a Room (Courtney & Jaclyn)|rating:4.0

A work in progress (KingSandy and DivineGlaGlenn)

The day been such an agreeable one. Fair skies, a cool breeze. Bright and sunny. A fine day for a picnic. Plenty of food and leisure for all, really. The country was a peaceful place, the only troops seen were the border patrols who were not very many in number or very trained. The people, however, remained happy and content. Families out for the day, a day of celebration. The anniversary of the day of the founding. The royal family declared all work ceased. Even the patrolmen got a break today. In those rose-tinted times, one could be forgiven for thinking that there was little danger out in the world. That man no longer was primitive or savage enough to kill his fellow. But in truth, all this peace made it so much easier for tragic incidents. Jack had been minding his own goddamn business. The son of a minor noble, he hardly had any duties to begin with and today meant he had even more liberty. He had eaten and drank well, more than he probably should have. He was not a terribly robust youth, slender yet with a wiry strength to him. His skin was sallow, not-quite pale and his hair was a deep, warm brown. He cut a dashing figure, wandering the edge of the neighboring village with no more than a pocketful of pennies and an empty wine bottle. For a long moment there was an uneasy quiet. His nose twitched. A smell of smoke but not meat. Burning. . . Hair. He heard screaming, laughter. Rough, raucous laughter that was so out of place. Heavy steps behind him, Jack wasn't armed. He ran but not quite fast enough Getting closer and closer, his pursuer chuckled. Thick hands grabbed him tight and there was a sickening thud. Jack slumped in his captor's grip. He dragged his quarry back towards the main part of the village. Cages upon cages were there, holding as many people as could be captured. A good haul, some were definitely very pretty and possibly virginal. Trainable. It was hours later that Jack woke, cold and shivering. The young noble had been stripped of his clothes, his rings, everything. The only thing he wore were shackles and a thick leather collar to which the shackles were attached to. He had no idea where he was or what was happening. Vulnerable and exposed, Jack huddled. He looked around and realized he was in a cell. Footsteps. The door swung open. Men, large ones, picked him up despite his wriggling and struggling. Effortlessly, they brought him into another room. He was washed carefully, his head wound treated and covered up. His heavy restraints were exchanged for more refined and delicate looking ones, a collar that accentuated the slenderness of his neck, slender silver plated chains. He was then carried again, this time into an antechamber and made to kneel at the foot of a dais. His head was forced down, warned carefully not to look up until told. He spat at the foot of his captor which oddly did not earn any retaliation. . . Yet." What the fuck is going on here?" Jack made sure he could be heard, "I demand you let me go, you useless barbarians!" {"Light box_close": "Close", "light box_next": "Next", "light box_previous": "Previous", "light box_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.", "light box_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow", "light box_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow", "light box_full_screen": "Full screen", "light box_thumbnails": "Thumbnails", "light box_download": "Download", "light box_share": "Share", "light box_zoom": "Zoom", "light box_new_window": "New window", "light box_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"} He was regarded with eyes cold. Almost like a piercing steel but at the same time a light rounded green, curious, attractive and all the while mysterious. Eyebrows, narrowed initially, raised slightly. The Face belonged to one in youth but not a child by all aspects. She cocked her head to the side silent, observant to this young man, this boy made to kneel, body laced with silver plated chains and the nice collar situated around his slender neck. The men were always rough in their actions. The boy's head bowed down or rather Forced, he knew not his place, otherwise that head would've remained lowered and that sentiment kept tightly in his mouth. Her glossy lips curved downward in a Frown to the spit nearly reaching her golden high heel shoes. For a moment, she looked upon it then toward Jack still brought to a silence. He wanted to know what was going on here, demanded to be let go, this brought a smile on her Face which had golden sunset long hair locks pushed away and back around her neck. The earrings attached to her ears hung against her naked tan skin including a necklace laced with some emblem." You demand to know what is going on here? To be released?" The woman spoke as she turned to pace back and Forth, her arms coming to reside behind her. The dress she dawned had thin straps attached to the actual garment around her bosom and wide shoulders. The color was a white with thin black designs." Do you really think you are in any position to make such demands? I think not." Stopping her pacing, she moved toward him, her slipper edge gracing underneath his chin to raise it. "I am a collector. To Fine things which will include those living and breathing. I'm certain you've already seen what I've captured thus Far. This village has no more spoils to be extracted therefore we will move on, what you cherished as your home will be a distant memory. Tell me your name." SLA turned, he could tell her or not, she didn't bother with it. They'd not placed any clothes on him. At the moment, she didn't mind, he needed to be properly trained." You have a very Foul mouth, stock as such must be properly dealt with." SLA raised her gloved hand. One loyalist, standing in the Far right corner having watched the events take place, quickly removed himself, he revealed a short whip with a Feathered prod at the tip. Walking beside his other comrades, his blue hues, glanced down at Jack minutely. The whip is handed to SLA, she tossed it From hand to hand, her gaze never leaving Jack's. She walked around him, to his backside. She leaned down to touch the ripe mound, both exposed cheeks." Firm." There is little emotion in the woman's words. "Bend over." Should he not do so, her shoe would push him more as well as those men standing near him. "Raise that ass. You will learn to do so. For me. Your mistress." Her Foot parted his cheeks, the prod attached to the whip rubbing up and down that inner crevice in inspection. She pushed in the prod to his entrance tugging it to the tightness. She was not gentle when exploring his insides more with the tool occasionally looking over to see his reaction. Pained, perhaps, she didn't care. Withdrawing the weapon, SLA slashed him across his rear standing up properly. She moved to his Front pressing the prod underneath his chin looking to his cock now, the size wasn't bad, thick. "Report." She told the one who had gotten her the whip." About sixty or so captured. To haul them to Disengage won't be too much trouble. We can distribute a small group to be bred. What about this one?"" He will be mine." SLA announced. She struck Jack on his mouth with the whip. "Keep your mouth shut unless you are told otherwise. Stand, I want to see that cock properly." Her hand would touch against it when given the opportunity. The tip stroked, the bottom, his balls and still there was little emotion in her Features as though she was dead to the world. This woman. By the gasp or rather the sigh, he knew his words were not new, were even somewhat expected. It seemed his crudity in diction was not unnoticed by the crowd of smug bastards. They seemed most disturbed by his volume though. What, did they expect all prisoners to be like cattle? Jack gritted his teeth, staring at the shoes. He was not allowed to look up even if he tried, he was sure some pan-sized hand would push him back down. He wasn't about to deal with the humiliation of being manhandled further. At least, not without just cause. Not just yet. The golden shoes must belong to someone important. He dubbed this person the "Grand High Bitch" and would address in kind once he figured a tiny bit more of his situation. A decision that was woefully unprepared for the calm rebuttal. Jack snarled." The fuck I'm not. Now, let me go you shiny blonde Bitch." This time his head was raised to look upon his captor. A pretty woman but with a cold and haughty expression that already set Jack's teeth on edge. "You have no right to keep me a prisoner, conquering jackass or not." He quivered with suppressed rage as she rather icily told him that she was a "collector" and that she'd collected the rest of the village, too. Of everything she wanted. Who was this sublime egomaniac? Jack spat on the hem of her dress. "There, that's my name. That's all you get." The woman paced around him. Laid a hand on his ass, commenting about it. Jack had nowhere to go from that invasive touch. She was handed something long and thin. Dangling. . . Oh, she wasn't going to. Jack was shoved down with a foot, ungentle hands adjusting his legs, so his ass was up in the air, his legs parted slightly for better access. He felt it slide into him, the feather was almost ticklish but the movement rough but not quite painful. He squirmed and muttered silent oaths. The pain, the humiliation of being violated like this put a temporary hold on his words. The damning part being the prod drifting over something in him that. . . Felt good. Now Jack felt dirty. He jerked and yelped as the whip slashed his flesh, and he almost immediately sat backwards, feeling the red-hot line across his cheeks. He glared at SLA with murder in his eyes, fists clenched. This time it cracked against his face and Jack fought hard not to reel backwards from the pain. He spat at her again. He stiffened as she stroked his cock, his balls. But he remained kneeling." Make me stand, hag-face." He had spirit. They always did. It was both a pleasure to watch and most annoying at the same time. SLA's head turned to the side when watching curiously his behavior. Name-calling would get him nowhere, especially with her, though, he was right, she was blonde and could be classified as a Bitch too. His little coo, could it be called that, went looked upon by those in the room. Eyes settled on both Jack and SLA, by those men, trying to Figure out whether they should string the boy up or allow their Mistress to do as she pleased. The latter prompted them to remain where they were. Staring. "No right to keep you here?" SLA smiled. Her glossy lips turned up in a grin, but it was still laced with acid. The very same malice which caused the young man to speak so Flippantly. She let out a laugh."Oh, my dear boy, you really are in a world gone delusional, and you will tell me your name." As she turned, more human DNA came upon her dress, at once, the man who handed her the whip was down on his knees ripping a cloth From his pocket to cleanse the dirtiness, he shot Jack a look about to side slap him when his Mistress simply let out a laugh pacing around him to invade him with the prod attached whip. Inspecting. Still, after she was done, the boy was defiant. SLA came around Jack's Front to touch his cock and balls, as he spat at her again, she removed her hand down there to clutch his Face digging her nails into that Flesh. Her slipper parted his legs then kneed him up while those men pried him to stand." Names will only make it worse." She warned him as her hand reached back to slap him. Twice. "For your defiance, allow me to show you what the result will be." SLA stepped away. She walked back to the chair she had been sitting in previous, pressing her hand underneath the dress as she sat down crossing her legs. She signaled the men to bring him Forward." I will discover your name." She sounded victorious. Jack was made to kneel near her, the woman's leg raised draping over his shoulder. She pushed a Firm hand down to the other hearing the door open. In came two individuals, naked, and chained much like the rebel one. Two people of the village. A sunrise-haired boy and girl, the boy being around Jack's age, the girl, a bit younger. They were not clothed either. Recognition to Jack came in their eyes. "Jack!" Roderick called out. He was thrust to the ground rather roughly, his sister Del, had been made to stand, separated away." Jack..." SLA smiled. "I told you I would discover your name. Do they mean something to you? Friends I am willing to bet, cattle to me. Now how many times did you spit on me? Three. You have a vile tongue. Three." SLA called out to the men. Roderick came pushed down on his knees. He was Forced down, ass in the air, teeth gritted. A whip slashed against his back three times leaving huge red welts, Del cried out in the background. She didn't understand this. None did." Now your actions," SLA explained to Jack. "Will be consequences to him. Should you rebel, it is he who will suffer or you're depending on what you do." She waved her hand. "Bring that girl here." Del was shoved ahead, her light blue eyes looked down at her brother, she was soon brought to kneel near Jack, their bodies within inches to one another. "The time?" SLA asked someone." Nearly dusk. Travel will be better during the night. We can move within the shadows. Finish destroying what remains to the village."" Splendid." SLA removed her leg From Jack's shoulder. "I am in need to some sexual activity. Dear Jack, I want you to take this girl, I want to see all that you can do or will you rebel against me once more?" "Gone delusional"? Jack pondered this phrase while seething inwardly at her invasive little gestures. She poked and prodded with the handle and Jack again felt that strange dirty feeling that felt almost good. He wasn't going to say a damn thing anymore. Two slaps had him reeling. He clenched his jaw shut even as SLA pushed him by his balls into a crouch while her men yanked him up all the way to his feet. He tugged his chin from her grip, scratching himself in the process. Her nails were quite sharp and Jack was not in the mood for caring if he marked up his face. He simply stared into her eyes with a bleak, empty look that said it all: he wasn't going to simply bow down and kiss her ring, he wasn't going to even let her know who he was, let alone his name. If she could earn that, then probably. But there was nothing she could do to him to make him speak. He hoped it was clear. He was tired of shouting, and he was tired of his responses drawing her laughter, her unconcern and the angry outrage of her sycophants. Furthermore, he watched her curiously as she declared her victory over his little battle. Furthermore, he was knelt near the chair, facing the door. Her leg was set on top of his shoulder, uncomfortably weighing on him. And then Jack understood. Under his breath, he whispered a shocked "Oh no," as he saw the two prisoners being brought in. Roderick, the vintner's son and. . . Not Del. She was too young for all this. Too innocent. She hadn't ever seen a man naked, let alone any of this sort of terror. He winced as Roderick called out. He'd hoped to keep his name a secret, but this was clearly one encounter he wasn't going to win. Poor Del looked more than humiliated for being chained and naked. Handled and groped by all of these rough-pawed men. The sound of the whip against Roderick made Jack wince in shared pain. "Leave them alone," Jack whispered hotly, straining to look back at their tormentor. "I am. . . I'm the one that offended." She was one devious bitch, Jack had to admit. He could not bear to see Roderick suffering for him, not like this. These savaged would do unspeakable things to get what they wanted and that was not something he wanted to dwell on. But this last. . . "Request" was too much. He had to pick. Whether he let them whip Roderick senseless or take Del and obviously destroy that innocence that had probably warranted her capture. Roderick was sniffling but attempting to plead with his eyes that Jack not do this. He sat, agonizing. He couldn't do this. Furthermore, he could not simply take Del, not in front of this insane woman and her vile court, but what would happen to Roderick? One or the other. . . Or maybe a third option if she was willing to listen Jack finally accede to her demands. "No, I-I will not, not Del. Anything else you ask. . . I'll do so long as it doesn't harm either of these two." The next words felt bitter as bile in his mouth, "Please. I'll do anything else you want, just. . . Leave them alone." Two more vile, disgusting words, "My M-m-mistress." He barely got them out. SLA's head turned. Those light green eyes observed Jack's complete change once leverage had been brought into the Fold. It amused her though those glossy lips did not smile. Once more did she place her leg over his shoulder, Del was crouched near him, her blue eyes closing some, having heard what he was meant to do. She'd not been with a man let alone see one, and it was highly embarrassing to see her brother naked but Jack too though it stirred something within, even given the situation. What was happening. For a moment, she spared a glance to SLA. How old was she? She didn't look that old, maybe some years older than her brother and Jack, one could never know." Yes you did." SLA told Jack. "You spoke without realizing as a slave your place and time to speak are only through when I tell you to do so. You ran your rampant mouth not thinking that the actions you have taken will directly result to another's punishment. You are so unique in some ways, you remind me greatly to someone I once knew," She ran a hand through his hair. "A very long time ago. You believe that you have a choice in the matter on what I tell you to do." She made him look ahead at both Del and Roderick, that gloved hand running through his hair to smooth it out almost like a lover." You think that you can negotiate some terms with me. You've Far disappointed me Jack, you have not earned the right to call me Mistress when I've been so nice to you. And you are right about one thing, you will do anything, I can promise you that. Again!" She raised her hand. Roderick was struck. The sound cracking through the room like lightning striking. Del winced, her eyes opening to look at Jack, unsure as to what he should do. She did not want her brother harmed and at the same time, she could bear the thought to losing her innocence here and now, under the eyes to those she knew as well as the ones she did not. The whip cracked against Roderick's skin again, he grunted, lowered his head only to have that blonde hair seized, his head pulled back up and the whip crashing down on his back. This time, he cried out. It struck him again." Jack....it's okay...." Del replied. "Do it......" Her words were whispered. She didn't want her brother to hear. The whip struck down again and again, each harder than the last. Flesh was being ripped open, the elder brother to Del assaulted as time went on. SLA came down to Jack wrapping her arm around his neck." The more you wait, the more pain he is in. Either you take her or..." She signaled to another in the corner. A white-haired young man with amber eyes, silently observing the theatrics. He moved like the wind, arms behind his back, hands together. "Someone else will do the task."" Leave her...alone..." Roderick cried. The whip hit him again. The sounds continued. Del's head turned slightly at the warmth coming behind her, the white-haired servant prone to doing what SLA wanted. He sat behind her, legs spread up, raised at the knees. He went to wrap his arms around her waist. She shook her head at the Foreign intrusion though those Fingers were gentle against her skin. She tried to look back at her brother, but it was too Far to turn, the whipping did not cease. Jack had given up a good measure of his pride in order to spare Roderick, but this evil woman wasn't generous. He should have guessed the conceding slightly would earn him nothing. Jack A bit back tears of frustration. Her hand was gentle and patronizing, running through his hair. He'd have to watch his mouth, for Roderick and Del's sake. The young noble knew that he was failing on fundamental level here. As the heir for their region, both Roderick and his sister were nominally under his protection. And there was no easy answer here, this crazy bitch wasn't letting that happen. And Jack would have to bow or see his charges suffer. He ground his teeth, looking away from those knowing, smug eyes. He was made to look at Roderick, welted and bleeding. Del, nude and confused. Sights he'd never wished to see. Wished he could forget. Earned the right? Would earning that right save these two? Jack flinched as the whip struck home again. He watched as the man drew Roderick's pain-strained face up, brutally tugging at the lad's hair. Again and again. Jack twitched violently each time. He was sure that SLA could feel him move, feel his mental anguish. She was enjoying it, he was sure. The smell of warm iron filled the air. They really were flogging the boy now, hard. Cutting skin from bone. Jack knew if this kept up that Roderick would die, from the beating or his wounds. He shook and trembled, mumbling to himself. He jumped as arms wrapped around him, that voice grinding against his skin. The more he waited. . . He closed his eyes tightly. What to do. Del. . . Stop saying that it's okay. He didn't want this. No one did. But he had to save Roderick. One choice. Gods help him, one choice. He opened his eyes and looked at the floor very hard. He could not make eye contact. Furthermore, he would kill that white haired servant later. Right now, he had to stop all of this." I'll do it. I'll fuck. . .take her. Just please, stop hurting him." He was crying. His lip bled from biting it so hard." Forgive me, Del, Roderick. . . I'll do it, woman. However, you want me to, I'll fuck her." The whip struck Roderick again. This time, his weight collapsed. He was rendered in a laying position on his stomach, head lowered, and dry lips opened to release a lasting moan. His back was caked in blood, his own, the Flesh opened unable to heal properly given that the whip continued to smack already open wounds. He was shaking. Forced to be brought back up on his knees, ass raised in the air, the whip pelted him there, in between. He wouldn't be good For anything. He could no longer look at Jack nor his sister, those blue eyes closed tightly, pained groans escaped him, the whip hit him again. SLA Felt Jack's twitching. One on the verge to giving in. Eventually they always did. Everywhere. Including the ones in this room, under her command, they'd been easy to break, threatening their Families, inflicting the same horror. Inwardly did she smile, hearing the whip cracking against skin, breaking it. Scarring it. All would be reminded about what took place here. Her arms circled around his body, a Feature he would have to grow use to, they would couple soon. When ever she called For it. The longer the nobleman's son waited, the more the other two would pay. Roderick battered and Del about to lose her virginity by some stranger." You better do something." SLA whispered in his ear, her tongue seeped out between her lips digging inside deep, SLA nibbled on the lobe some making eye contact with the amber-eyed servant bringing the struggling Del into his lap. His hands massaged her stomach rising to take hold to her breasts, he Flicked her nipples between his Fingers hearing the protest in her voice, she shook her head. "Jack...." The whip struck again. As SLA played with his lobe, she stopped a moment when he gave in. She breathed in coming around his Front where she saw those tears, the blood on his lip. "What did you say? I didn't hear you." He would do it." It is not them you need to be asking Forgiveness, they're mere cattle." Her hand raised, one last slash coated Roderick's skin then abruptly the whipping stopped. The blonde boy let out a sigh, he Fell down writhing, his blood Fresh. "Give me a good show." SLA wiped Jack's eyes." Those tears won't shed where we are going." The woman pushed away From him, she returned to her chair settling a slipper on his backside to push him Forward. Against Del who was still in that servant's lap." It is okay...." She opened her eyes when the whippings to Roderick stopped, all because Jack would do what was required. No, it really wasn't okay. She'd thought about him on many occasions, daydreams, but to actually be with him, to have sex, Del never imagined it. Like this. Tears Filled her eyes. The one behind her did not move. He instead spread her legs, bending them at the knees, his eyes still locked with SLA's, unspoken words moved between them. He would not move unless instructed by his Mistress. Jack stared at Roderick's prone body. His strength had given out. He hadn't thought the lad capable of staying so quiet. But he saw the chewed up lip. He'd been holding back other than the occasional outburst about his sister. The blood coated his back like some macabre paint, running down the pale skin. And then, to Jack's utter horror, they picked him back up. They forced him into the position and whipped again and again. He could just imagine the wounds healing painfully. How stiff the boy's back and legs would be. . . For days, months or even years. And he was no longer pretty and unmarked. What fate would be for him now? If Jack assumed that his looks (and Del's) had prompted different treatment, what would happen to poor Roderick now that he was a mess of cuts and blood? Jack felt ill. And there was her arms around him. A grotesque parody of a lover's embrace. The young noble felt her like a weight on his back, pressuring him into making his move. SLA's honey-poison voice sinking fangs into him as she laid lips on his earlobe. Something feverish in those lips which Jack could feel as a slightly unpleasant warmth. The servant took Del into his lap, and it was all Jack could do not to leap towards them. He had no idea what he would do, chained as he was but the idea of biting out that son of a bitch's throat seemed really, really tempting. He'd spit the blood of her favored servant all over her goddamn dress. . . But his concession had rung one thing. The whipping stopped. Roderick was allowed to settle, to relax. Hopefully they would treat him afterward but not after the boy got to see the show. About how life was hopeless here unless you did what you were told. Jack shook his head slightly. What a terrible lesson for a young man. For anyone. She let him go, pushed him forward. SLA'd almost been tender in wiping away his tears. As if trying to reassure him of the rightness of his submission. Or something. Jack was no longer thinking straight." I'll try to be gentle, okay?" Jack whispered to Del as he tried not to simply fall on top of her. These chains were rather useless and in the way. He set his lips on the crook of the girl's neck, sucking and licking at the sensitive skin. Trying to get her wet and in the mood so that penetration would not hurt as much. . . Unwillingly his body responded to the act that was so familiar with him, tending to a woman. But he took his time, kissing and licking tenderly every place he could reach. And then he slowly, ever-so-slowly thrust himself inside of Del. He heard her gasp at that, the sudden pain, the feeling of being filled by something. He knew it hurt but better him than being raped by a stranger. Jack moved his hips gently, in and out of the girl, eyes shut tightly. He whispered constantly, "Sorry, Del, so sorry. . ."Our loud all he said was, "Is this to your liking?" SLA settled back into her chair, her leg crossed over the other. She looked at the three villagers unlucky to have been brought into her possession. It reminded her Faintly to a time when she was on such an end to things. Made to endure. Rarely did she think on her own past as it served to bring her nothing. Moving her eyes away From Jack and Del, held captive, her attention was gathered by the men standing over Roderick's quivering body." Mistress, this one?" They asked. He was a handsome boy, but he did not interest her. She waved her hand. "Take him to the cages, with the others." She answered. And would his wounds be treated? Probably not at the moment. Del, despite being in her own predicament, called out to her brother, hearing that he would be taken away. No. They had to stay together, it was the only way." Roderick..." The boy muttered something inaudible. Nothing recognizable. It might've been her name or protest For what was to come, it wasn't known. He was pulled up, standing, his thick cock dormant, the Fight beat From his very body, his head hung limp, blue eyes opened only once to Jack nearing his sister and the servant who held her. "Jack...don't....let them hurt....her..." Was all he could say, he was seized, blood ran down his bruised back and ass, even those long legs. The same door he came through, Roderick exited, captured. It shut tightly. The white-haired servant looked over at SLA again." Roderick...." Del called out her brother's name Forced to turn around looking teary-eyed at Jack, the only one she had now, hearing his words, he'd try to be gentle. Water ran down her cheeks, she gave a small nod in understanding, her stomach twisted in knots to the impending sex. Warmth greeted her behind and before, Jack coming closer, their chains hindering a bit. She moved her head to the side, gaze Flickering on SLA's own, Del let out a moan to lips at her neck. Something she never experienced, saying it was bad would've been lying especially that it was him. Jack. She shut her eyes." J-Jack..." His tender kisses brought on the suckling to her skin. She writhed, held by the white-haired servant, Del almost did not remember where she was. She moaned, her spread legs coming to rest to Jack's waist, her bare opening exposed to him and anyone having stood close enough to see. Furthermore, she wanted to touch him. The natural urge, SLA knew that the girl wanted to do so, her method to having them Fuck was a single purpose, one to be revealed to Jack soon. Another revenge, another method to show how much she could make him suffer. She set down her leg then crossed the other, her hand rest in her lap, the lust not escaping her.".... Jack...." Del took a deep breath. The dampness developing more between her legs each kiss he planted to her skin. Was this wrong? To be turned on by this? But was it better than a stranger touching her? Yes. With her eyes closed, she was lost in thought, unaware until....eyes widened, blue hues looked down to the cock's tip seeping into her slowly, enlarging her, she gasped, eyes went to Jack's. She bit her lip. Her body was still restrained." Uuhhh..." Del's breathing increased, her chest rose up and down quickly. Her nether lips sucked in the thick cock, immediately wanting to reject it like anything going deep inside, but once Jack was invading in uncharted territory, the warm inner Flesh latched around him, Del'z innocence broken. Her head staggered back to the one holding her. She winced to the thrusting, the hips rolling to her body, she heard his apologies, over and over." Uuhh..." She rattled her chains, one leg collapsing, the other seeking a more comfortable position, around Jack's waist to draw him in more. The strangled pained moans subsided to a more pleasured tone. This was wrong but it was Jack. She knew him. Knew that he wouldn't do anything deliberate to hurt her and what was done now.....it protected their lives. "Jack..." Del panted. "Jack...." She began to move to his thrusts, as innocent as it may have been, she moved, her eyes were open, looking at him. His question went unanswered by SLA, she abandoned her seat to walk over to him, she kicked his backside to push him more inside the girl." Harder." She spoke. Jack almost froze in his movement as Roderick was taken away. Worried that he would die from the blood loss or infection. Considering the treatment he was being shown with none of the rules expected for nobility, he had little hope for Roderick's recovery if no one helped him at all. But what could he do right now? Del called out to the retreating body of her brother. Was he even conscious anymore? Jack sighed, forcing back tears, again. He resolved that he could no longer afford to be seen crying again. He had to be strong for his people. For Del. Roderick's last plea penetrated the stubborn anger and the sinking humiliation that permeated Jack. Don't let them hurt her. Very well. He would not. He laughed mentally at the irony. It may mean that he would have to hurt her so that she was spared much worse. Despite being as gentle and harmless as he could be as he teased a reaction out of the poor girl, he knew that it would grow more painful if he were to thrust just a little harder. Jack flinched visibly as his ministration brought unwilling pleasure to his friend. She exposed herself to him, and he almost groaned with despair at this. She was tight, of course. Warm and slick and everything that one expected out of a pretty virgin. But Jack couldn't enjoy this and felt sour. His body did not agree with his hangups, it was enjoying itself quite thoroughly with each slow thrust. He moved just enough to go inward, trying as hard as he could to spare her any pain. And Jack felt another crack, one of the mind. She wrapped a leg around him and Jack whispered silently, "No. . .no. . ." He stared at a loss into her eyes. A kick to his backside. Harder? Jack obeyed. He increased his pace ever so slightly so that his thrusts were a bit more powerful, reached deeper. He wasn't going faster so much as he was going harder. A thrust that would rock her backward. He said nothing, retreating to his own little happy place. How long will this take before SLA was satisfied. . . Jack hoped to blank out until she told him to stop. His suffering was beginning to take hold. SLA curiously looked at Del's expression. She lowered her Foot walking around the coupling bodies, eying them. Roderick's sister. The pain dispersing out her young Face, now pleasure took over. Exactly what the woman in charge wanted, one to not realize what they'd started until it was too late. Del's eyes bore into Jack's, his words, the pleading silent ones only shared between them. He...didn't want this. She turned her head. Ashamed, her leg still woven around him unable to move other than to meet the thrusts he gave to her. She enjoyed this. Having the nobleman's son take her innocence. In a way, she belonged to him or was that what the woman SLA wanted? "Jack...." Del screamed out his name, her head arching back against the servant holding her in place. One hand snaked down her slender thigh parting that occasional collapsing leg to grant the boy more access as it was spoken by his Mistress, she wanted to see it harder. Del's lip clenched. Her smoldering insides grabbing that wet cock, the more he pushed inside her, the more she writhed against him going to her own place where they indeed did this but without the stress to being captured. They were alone. Wanting to one another. Del was sixteen, she never considered to be in the same league as Jack, he was From noble blood, she and her Family were underneath him but still she hoped back then that maybe one day....he would notice. And here they were. Closer than two people could get." Oh.... Jack..." Del could not quiet the sounds erupting From her mouth the more he drove in and out, her body shook the harder the thrusts came into her. Her breasts shook, the nipples mashed in by that servant then coming to rise once more." Jack...." Del was glad, in the thoughts to her mind, that Roderick did not hear this, he would be Furious or perhaps something else. She didn't know. The chains rattled. The only other sounds heard in the room besides Del's moaning and her skin slapped by the thrusts. Once again, she looked at him. Jack, wanted to know what he was thinking, nothing good. Pure turmoil, much like her own mind. Her nether lips enlarged, breasts swelled as a peak was coming. The orgasm to this illicit survival act, how had they gone From peace in the village to this? Del moaned in a series. SLA now had done a complete circle around them, her hand trailing over that white-haired servant's Face, his mouth opened to take in her Finger, sucking gently, eyes showing complete lust towards her and she's granting him Favor. She came back around removing her hand, watching the younger girl's breasts bounce up and down, they swelled with the anticipation to the building climax. She knew all to well. "Are you close... J-a-c-k?" She taunted him." Close to spilling your seed?" She pressed down on his backside again coming around him. "Don't make her do it. Don't let that heart take you in." Her cryptic warning. "You will become broken, I promise you." What exactly did her words mean...? Del wondered this as she could not take anymore. How she badly wanted to run her hands through Jack's hair, to provide him some comfort despite being at a wrestle in her own mind whether she should like what he was doing to her. It wasn't because he liked her, he had to do this, and why was that woman here watching this? "Uhh. Uhh. Uhh." She rose her body up to meet his thrusts in a one two motion then arched her entire Form, a scream leaving her, her sentiment raining down on his already sickened cock bringing it inside better. "HHH..." Del collapsed, her body still moving slowly. Breath was hitched and her cheeks red. Syla knelt behind Jack. "Come For me." She sounded almost human. With her gloved removed, she parted his ass cheeks probing a Finger inside him to that entrance sinking it deeper, wiggling it around. "Come For me." She told him. Jack frowned, anxious. Del seemed to be going through several different feelings at once and not one of them put Jack at ease. Her looks put out words that Jack knew and understood. How she had longed for him. For this. Talked up by the girls that Jack had put attentions to, only for the fun of bedding someone. It had been easy, really. A rich young man, handsome and willing was easily able to convince a young lady to part with her virtue. No matter who or what, in the village, Jack had had his fun. Most girls understood what it was, just fun. Not that damning thing that the churches said or the parents, too. Just roses and sighs and a lover's thighs. But Del, Jack had never pursued her. Too young for his taste, too innocent. Furthermore, Jack had actually like Roderick and considered his sister off-limits as an extension of their friendship. Apparently, Del had had different thoughts. The hurt on her face as, the confusion was almost too much for Jack to stand. He didn't mean for this to happen or if this had occurred, not like this. He would never have bedded her like this. No need to be public about it in any form. A gentleman was always discrete when it same to his pleasure or business. But Del's body and her moans we're getting to him. He could feel the pressure building, and he didn't like the idea at all. The young noble saw the servant's hands teasing and tugging at Del's nipples, heightening her pleasure and obviously hurting her. The woman circled, taunting him. Jack was indeed getting closer and closer to filling the poor girl with his seed. He grimaced the way the servant sucked on that gloved finger. Silently obedient and always lewd, lecherously open. Was that to be Jack's fate? To be that silent whore that this woman simply paraded around in a mockery of affection? He sighed, trying to abate his pace slightly. But his body moved almost automatically." Don't make her do it?" "You will become broken," Jack could make head nor tails of this warning. Her crooning voice and riddling words were simply sources of agitation. His body ached, screamed to finish. Jack knew from how Del's pussy tightened around his shaft that she too was very close. And then suddenly, she stiffened, her voice crying out. Jack felt liquid soak him down there and even somewhat across his chest. Del was a squirter. . . How-Jack cut off his own thoughts. Jack stared sympathetically at the spent girl, arching unwillingly deeper as SLA probed his tight little hole. This proved to be too much along with his thrusts and how tight Del was. Jack's entire body was quivering with tension, and then he melted, at his Mistress's gentle urge and probing finger, spurting his seed all within Del. He lay limp, halfway on his side, staring wearily up at SLA. He was too tired to glare, to be angry." Come for you. . ." He whispered somewhat bitterly, closing his eyes in utter shame. SLA branded him more. Her finger etching in deeper. Exploring it as he was driving in and out Del's tight slit, the girl, having orgasmed once, was on the verge to another with the white-haired servant touching her breasts mercilessly, squeezing the erect pink nipples as much as possible. Even Del's breasts came cupped in his hands, he twisted them around, eyes never leaving his Mistress nor did he seem to have any discomfort having another male somewhat close, they were all under her spell, SLA's, whatever it may be. However it came to be. Light green eyes watched Jack's movements, Del's leg coming to enclose more around his waist in the obvious pleasure, moans filled the room once more, louder than the last. She inhaled with a deep breath looking at the man taking her virginity as he went inside her deeper. She whimpered to this. It felt good. Her insides didn't want to let him go and they didn't. They closed around his cock again. She continued to moan all while looking into his eyes not knowing what SLA was doing behind him and with the servant touching her sensitive breasts, Del arched her head, her little body racked with thrusts, and screamed out again, the precise moment when the nobleman's son came, filling her with his seed. Her body spasmed. Teeth clenched down, the feeling was overwhelming. One she would never forget. She collapsed against the servant who held her, eyes looking at Jack. She tried to touch him but that one behind removed her from being plugged by the boy. The two would be lying on the floor together, that servant opened Del's legs putting a cloth between them where blood had indicated her lost innocence, she had no energy to fight him, though her legs closed some, head turned away with the best sight being to look at Jack who was looking at SLA. "And indeed you did." The Mistress smiled, perhaps pleased. She took a cloth from her bosom to wipe his cock. "That was most splendid, your willingness to stop the pain from your, friend I can assume, by taking this girl's virginity, she must be related to him, which makes it even better. I like you Jack, a lot." SLA put her foot on his side to turn him onto his back ignoring Del's looks." Your spirit. When you first came here you were making such groundless demands it nearly made me laugh. You were cute in doing so but as you can see, they will get you nowhere. This village you hold dear and the occupants belong to me. The life I shall provide can either be good or bad depending solely on you. The only thing that will help you is obedience. You act like a savage, and you shall be treated like one. I'll make you watch as seven of my men take this girl making it impossible for her to ever be with another man, or maybe I will let them take you, do not cross me, do not test me. Despite my calm manner I can get rather annoyed very quickly." The woman turned around." Get them up, it should be night around now, we will be leaving. Burn any evidence and kill any little cunt deciding to be a rebel. I am through here. I said get them up, hurry now." SLA walked with supreme confidence. She stole a look to Jack with those lips curved down. The servant pulled Del to her feet and did the same with Jack, he was joined by another to help him. "They will be with me." SLA called out as she walked through the door. Zel looked at Jack, but she was pushed ahead, her walking distorted and sore having promptly been with a man. She'd not be able to say anything to him, this is what made her sad. Her head lowered. She walked ahead feeling suddenly ashamed, wanting to cover her body, to not be a sight in front of these men including Jack. He'd only done it to save Roderick, nothing more. A fool she'd been to let her inner lust take over. She desired him mentally and physically, this was no lie. They walked down the long hallway where people whimpered in the cells, now being opened by SLA's men. Some yelled in rebellion but soon came cut down as instructed, their screams were defeating. Zel closed her eyes. The servants pushed the two ahead shrouded in the dim, torch-lit, lighting, where were they being taken? Turning a corner, there came some stairs leading up through a passage way outside into the forest. This was the village prison, Del realized, it was where they kept road rogues trying to start trouble. Immediately outside could she smell smoke, the fire spread, their home would be no more. Nearby came an onslaught carriage convoy with schools and schools of horses to lead them. Cages were attached to the cages, some already filled with naked villagers, calling out to Jack, did he know what was going on? SLA looked at them. "Quiet you whores, he is not the one you should be talking to. You are now property belonging to me. You will satisfy my needs including those to the clients I have, failure to do so will result in death, not to your own being but those you cherish and love. Make me not repeat what I have said again." She cocked her head to a lead carriage, a fine red, without a cage. An eight horse team lead it awaiting her arrival. She turned around to Jack." Have you gotten your rest slave?" A smile turned up on her lips. "You will be pleasuring me now." She spied Del looking at them or Moreno him. "We shall have an audience." The madwoman explained. Jack was motivated by the questing finger to continue thrusting into Del and Jack shivered inwardly with disgust as he began to enjoy that prodding finger. The servant teased and pinched the girl mercilessly and what Jack found most disconcerting was his focus on SLA. No matter was happening or who was near, all he seemed to see was SLA. The servant's sparse clothing was covered in the lovemaking's remains. A little blood, more semen and just as much of Del's liquor as the other two. And from the urgency of Del's movement, the way she tightened around his cock, his waist, the young noble knew that she was on her way to another orgasm. And Jack could no longer help himself. He was still sort of dribbling into her. Tight, tight around him and Jack could feel the tension in her body. He still had the disturbing feeling that Del found this somehow romantic. She was too damn young. She was probably hurt and confused and Jack could not comfort her in any way because he himself was only guessing as to her feelings, interpreting those looks she gave him while he, in his shame, tried not to make eye contact. More so now, now that all he could really feel was that alien finger inside of him, violating him the way his captor's voice did. Disgusting but oh-so-good. He couldn't believe how it felt, but he didn't want to enjoy it. He couldn't enjoy what this crazy woman was doing, this savage. After Del's second orgasm, the yellow-eyed prick pulled her away even as she had apparently tried to reach for him. Jack could only watch SLA who gloated in that sickeningly alluring voice. Insanity seemed to crackle forth from her inviting lips. He barely moved as she wiped him clean of the mess he'd made and said nothing. What could he say to such evil? She enjoyed that he'd done what she'd wanted, just for the pleasure of inflicting pain and misery on her captives. How had she ever become popular enough to stay in power was anyone's guess. Or the headsman's. Jack was lifted to his feet as was Del. He noticed, belatedly, that there were more hands than necessary, and they felt him up just as much as they did Del. And he nodded to SLA, "Of course. I must protect my people." A simple statement that was intended to show that he was not cowed by her tone nor her temper. But he would do what any true high-born would do and protect his people. Even if that meant serving her in whatever sick manner she wished. Whatever the humiliation, he would obey to the best of his ability. Jack was frogmarched through the hallway. He could hear the dying, smell the iron blood and the smells of loosened bowels. He could not stomach this. His people were dying, despite everything that he could do. And onward they were pushed, half carried. People called out to him and Jack knew that he was the only one they could turn to. His parents were probably dead. And no one in the kingdom would know until it was far too late for any sort of retaliation. Really thought this through, the bastards, thought Jack as he was lead out of the building. It had been a few minutes, and then she turned to him with that horrid smile, that predatory smirk. Jack lowered his gaze, knowing that everyone could hear the exchange. "Whatever you desire, I'm ready, I hope I will please you." An audience? Oh no, not Del. Poor Del. The poor girl would be a party to even more humiliation. And Jack would suffer in this. All so "Mistress" could prove who he belonged to. "An audience. Yes." SLA grinned, another real emotional act though not by much. She looked at his expression, the lowering gaze. Did he know what she meant? Truly he did. Del was catching the looks between them, hearing the words, her deep blue eyes focused on the one having taken her virginity, still they'd not gotten the chance to talk, and it was a wonder whether they ever would. SLA approached Jack reaching down below to hold his cock in her palm." And you will please me boy, right in my carriage. We both will scream until our throats can no longer do so. This nice to know that you are the obedient one...though I cannot help but wonder, to what extent." She brought her mouth over his knowing full well the girl he'd slept with was staring. Del turned her gaze to the ground, her own bare feet, quivering legs and the soreness between them. She raised her head as to wonder where Roderick had been taken. Was he alright... And thoughts returned to Jack. His touch. What they did. It was to satisfy SLA, but then she couldn't help but feel some draw to it. Del shook her head. She stole another glance to SLA's long arms reaching around Jack's neck, her body pressing to his." For your people, you almost sound as though you care, you really don't. I know you don't. We as humans tend to think about ourselves and nothing more." She removed her arms trailing a finger across his chest, her lithe movements to the lead carriage meant that was their destination. Servants immediately rushed to push ahead the two while one was on Que to open the door for SLA. He held her hand, kissing it. She did not look at him while climbing inside upon seats made to a fine leather cushion, black. The scent inside was one to a lavender vanilla. The Mistress pressed down her dress crossing her legs. Del and Jack would be brought inside, the carriage was big enough to house at least seven people. Three servants also climbed inside, two sitting on Del's opposite while one on Jack who was to sit beside SLA. The blonde woman ran a hand through her hair emotionlessly. She directed her hand down below, the servant shoved Jack on the floor. "Now how are you going to please me Jack?" SLA asked him, her eyes looked directly into Del's own, outside the carriage there were screams heard, voices hushed, and the lead carriage began to strike forward with all the occupants it would carry inside. This queen bitch was enjoying her power over him and causing him all kinds of problems, too. He wondered how long he could last through this. How long Del would be forced to play the game before she lost, too. Jack could not let himself be distracted by the girl, despite his sympathy. If he didn't do what the mad woman said, there'd be more blood on his hands. She didn't go after him, after all. His people would die in horrible ways and all Jack had to do to save them was fuck like a good little stud puppy. He wasn't enjoying the experience at all. She held his cock in her palm and Jack made a good attempt to stay absolutely still as she did so. He ignored her little rant about obedience and speculating about how obedient he was. He would keep his people alive. Furthermore, he wasn't going to break down and get turned into that silent. . . Thing that had molested Del. He didn't consider him a person anymore. He could not bring himself to return SLA's kiss. It was just to rankle the poor girl, to torment her and Jack as well. To distract them from what was happening. And Roderick. Did they treat him? Or had they simply killed him to save trouble? Sounds more like them, Jack thought bitterly, confusing practicality for barbarism." I do care, M-mi-Lady," Jack managed to keep an even tone, "They are my people. You and yours may think of nothing but yourselves, but I am not like you. Humanity, as a whole, can be decent. If I had thought you would let my people go if you got to kill me, then I would bare my throat without hesitation. But in this case, I am under no delusion as to your word or sense of compassion and honor. You lack everything that make up a person and think yourself strong because of it." He let himself be pushed into the carriage, nestled right up against SLA until he was unceremoniously dumped to the floor of the carriage. Del was allowed to sit, to watch. He stared up at the woman as the carriage jerked forward. They were moving." With my mouth, Lady, if you would allow me to taste you." Jack kept it formal. He'd said this before, several times but in a different tone and manner. There was no coy or sly charm to his tone here. Just brief and businesslike. He was not about to deal with the idea that Del thought he preferred their tormentor. He knew that she felt used but what could he do? Hopefully, if he had time, he could explain himself.

A work in progress (KingSandy and DivineGlaGlenn)|rating:2.0