Fantasy Fading Flame (In Character)

Jericho

As the elf spoke and Jewl leapt from his arms, Jericho responded to Maria, after the initial shock from suddenly receiving her lecture on Elf deception. "Rest assured, Maria, that I have no misconceptions or illusions about the Elves. I had to deal with them too, remember. I got this.” He then turns to the girl, clears his throat, and replies to her. “It’s dark. Maybe you should stay with us. Traveling in the Darkwoods at night is very foolish. We have proper food and shelter, and I guarantee the men won't do any harm.”

As Maria shook her head in disbelief, and the guardsmen just stared at him like he just signed their death warrant, Audaton was confident in his decision. Sure, it may not be the best decision, given the circumstances, seeing as she was still an elf that shot a few arrows into the group. But the Guardian had ways to know if someone was harboring ill intent or up to some trickery or not. Clarity is a very versatile tool, and if one were born with such an ability, it wouldn't be too hard to notice that whenever someone is planning something or masquerading, a sudden breeze of calmness and inner peace is always sure to evoke a bewildered reaction from them, revealing their intents. It didn't always work, but it had worked enough for him to entrust his life in its ability to do so.

And besides, if the Elf really did try something, then they'd just kill her. But that's an 'if' for now. And judging by her friendly demeanor as soon as she put two and two together and figured out we weren't something that can be hunted, along with her oddly friendly dwarf dragon, Jericho would hate for that scenario to happen. Safeguarding her from the more... prejudiced Guardsmen within the group is not that hard as well; just let her hang around with the rock elemental and the Elfling, Leafa. If a hyperactive Elven child can be protected from these hardy 1st Legion infantrymen, then there's no reason to worry about a grown Elf that can be reasoned with.

Stretching his hands and arms obviously so that the Elf wouldn't mistake it for him reaching for a weapon, Audaton was growing tired, with a rather big headache amassing, waiting to strike him as soon as he drops the Clarity field. He doesn't mind it too much, though. He'd lived with it his whole life, and there were plenty of herbal solutions. If he deactivates it soon, then it'll all be good-

"Jericho, we have...another stray. And... It appears that woulds make two strays in one night. Brilliant... Don't push yourself too far, Audaton. I'm sure your ability has its limits. It would be a shame if you died from an aneurysm." Glancing back at the Nephilim standing tall, requiring him to crane his neck upwards, along with the shorter (but still taller than Jericho) raggedy man with a fancy sword in his scabbard, all the Guardian could do was stare for a while. Reaching his hand over to Erik without looking, he ordered him to do something.

"Erik, go grab me a bottle of something to drink. Something heavy." Nodding without delay and heading off, the blond guardsman went back to the camp in search of booze. The two remaining guardsmen, the young Kwelek and old Umak, simply stared at each other, before shaking their heads and standing firm near Jericho, perhaps in some psychological trick to make him seem more authoritative, or something of the sort. "No worries, Angel, I have lived with it my whole life. I can take this. Now who's this guy?" Audaton spoke with a tired voice. This night was definitely not turning out well.
U UnbelievableCow RubyZoo QizPizza Trappy

Clanus

"Pleasur' ta meetcha, Spessartite." he simply nodded at the woman-rock, taking pride in his name choice for a quickly-domesticated rodent.

As the cover went up, Clanus drew his sword and assumed the standard scoutsman combat stance: slightly crouched with weapon ready, and other hand shielding his vital organs, or something more vital. In this case, he immediately shifted close to Leafa, his free left hand reaching over her like a guard rail, making sure that she doesn't run off or anything, and also in the worst case scenario that someone loosed an arrow, he would at least try to block it with his arm. Pain included and all, but one temporarily armless scoutsman was a lot better than a dead Elfling. Especially one that didn't try to run away from him and his cadre of Guardsmen.

"Hol' on, lemme check," he responded to the inquisitive elemental. Slightly peeking out of cover, he saw that most of the guardsmen were now peeking their heads up in curiosity. This either meant that the infantrymen were more inexperienced than he'd took them for, or the situation has taken a turn for the weird. Trying to get some information, he hollered at the nearest one, a musketeer sitting in his hole. "Ey! What the fuck is goin' on?!"

Turning, the guardsman soon replied. "Some Elf bitch started lobbing arrows, but she stopped and came out! We ain't got the order to fire, I dunno why! It's some weird shit, I tell ya', weird shit!"

Hearing the conversation, a passing rider and a friend of Clanus, Ulric, chimed in as his Wolfhorse absent-mindedly walked back to its tent. "Also, there's some scrawny ass beggar who showed up to our 7 o'clock, Guardians and the big-wigs are takin' care of him! Not hostile, but doesn't seem too friendly either. Fuckin' night..."

Processing this information, he turned to Spessartite. "...Well, ya heard 'em."

-robert- Sybil
Terra

She had been... mostly occupied for the night. Terra's initial mad dash at the thieves and bandits did well to separate her from most of the fighting, and it didn't help that in the chase, she had the misfortune to pull a water crystal, which did nothing except leak water onto her clothes, and the ground. The two bandits having gotten away, she returned just in time to see the Serpent already slain, and the wounded needing care.

Having since acted as a water station with her crystal being used to refill the men's canteens and wash off other disgusting stuff like wounds, ashes and dirt, Terra had a very bad night. The shining knight Pryonn, damn him, showed up and courted her too, making her blushes spiral out of control, although she'd like to think she hid it well. His arrival helped a bit with her mood, despite her... demeanor towards him.

Now, just staring at Pryonn from afar, within the solid cover she was in from that pesky Elf that was lobbing shots a second ago, she saw him running into the cave. The absolute idiot. Was he looking for trouble on purpose? Dropping the water crystal immediately and preparing to run after him, she paused for a second to check herself. Her clothes being wet and hung out to dry, she was stuck without her overcoat, and she wouldn't want anyone, much less Pryonn, see her like this. But nonetheless, she ran after him. "Where the hell do you think you're going?!" She yelled after him.

Unwavering Knight

Desmond nodded to Audun’s command and took up step behind him. He kept quiet as they walked, as there wasn’t much to say and he was in thought. As they moved through the camp, he took a guess that this camp held somewhere between 50-75 troops. Desmond remembered a few details about the military from when his father, and seeing the size he assumed it was a Group supplemented with guardians. ~An angel, and that mage seemed strong... if the darkborne threat was large a rank and more guardians would be needed... something small, soldiers are here as a caravan for supplies. Something vital.~ Desmond found it hard to keep an idle mind, and sat there speculating what was out here. Before he even realized Desmond was being addressed. He missed the first few words, but snapped to attention immediately.

“The man with the halberd is Jericho, the leader of this group. The woman beside him is Maria. I'm sure you've heard of her if you've spent anytime in a major city. We're going to talk to them about your...situation." It had been some time since Desmond had been to a city, and even then he did not keep track of names well. He watched as Jericho and Audun talked. At the mention of the second ‘stray’ Desmond thought his timing couldn’t have been more perfect. The focus had been split between the two, and there is always comfort in knowing someone else is in the same boat as you.

Finally Audun turned back to Desmond, asking once again how he made it out here. “Well we aren’t to far out from Frontierville, and I believe the eyes of the forest were on you.” After saying that he concluded that his answer wasn’t enough. He merely stated something without answering Audun, so he continued. “Your guard was the first thing I came in contact with out here... I’m also confident in my ability to flee, so I wasn’t to worried about running into less welcoming arms.” He tacked on that second part Incase the question of, why he was traveling alone, popped up again.

QizPizza Kabboom

Pryonn & Kaatl

"Ooh!" emitted the knight as he stopped in his tracks upon hearing the melodious and angered voice of his Lady. Swerving around, causing Kaatl once again to have to hold on for dear life and mightily flap her wings for stability, the knight's visored helm set itself upon the onstorming Terra "My Damsel-Heart! 'Where am I going?' Of course!" Giving a chortle the knight made a grand gesture, dramatically pointing his banner-lance towards the looming cave-entrance "I am invoking any proper knights privilege! To charge heedlessly into parts unknown! To proclaim his Lady's name and broaden her renown!"

Hefting his banner over his free shoulder, he raised his free hand towards Terra in offering, as if inviting her to dance "Won't you join us in our venture? If we find another-" the knight interrupted himself, having been too self-absorbed to note his Lady's predicament, the wetness of her garb till now "My Lady!" he uttered, fright ringing in his voice "You must be cold! Any breeze might make you shiver! This will not stand!" Thrusting his banner into the forest-ground, the knight hastily set to work on unclasping the mantle hanging from his back. Taking but a moment's notice, he quickly produced the cape and began to cover Terra in the deep blue cloth of his order.

Kabboom

The elemental huffed, patting the small elf she covered as the wall of dirt and rock rescinded into the earth upon hearing the mysterious sniper had come out of hiding. Their very rock 'skin' seemed to be a bit agitated, their arms and shoulders seeming to has almost hair sized protrusions os small spikes. This was likely just due to anger that she refused to let spill out on anyone around her, and now her body was showing it off discretely.

"What in 'ell's name is goin on 'ere!" The rock was flabbergasted in all honesty. Two intruders? In the middle of this forest? If anything spelled trap it was this, but she had a child with her, so what could she do?.... except... "Clanus... watch the lil one..."

Without another word, the mineral maiden would walk off, guided by sounds of arguing and general directions to find the group of two men prominent men, now only reduced to one as she witnessed Jericho walk off, now only leaving a guardian she was not familair with and a handful of guards nearby. None of this mattered, seeing as the living statue was about to go off and relieve the pressure building inside her body.

"EY! BIMBO! YOU TRYIN' TO STAR' SHIT BY SHOOTIN' AT A CAMP? THE FACT YOU'S STANDIN THERE ALL FINE IS SHOWIN ME YOU ARE PRETTY FUCKIN THICK IN THE 'EAD!" It seems the accidental arrows Skyler shot earlier that landed near Leafa was a fire starter, the heavy footsteps of the elemental only as intimidating as their clenched fists. Pardon her language and accent.

Leafa

Arrows rained on the camp, protected by Phos and Clanus, the young elf made it out without a scratch. Pip took shelter inside her quiver, and Ko lowered it's wings. After the arrows stopped, Rock Lady left to talk with the intruder, leaving Leafa with Clanus. Priorities first, after checking on her animal companions, and letting Pip out of the quiver, the young elf gathered some arrows scattered on the ground, making sure that she wouldn't run out in the future. She then turned to Clanus.

"So. Clanus. I don't like it, I'm calling you Clanny from now on, okay? Oh, and I have a question, what's an "elf bitch"? Is it an insult? Sorry, but I never heard someone say that before. At least mommy and daddy never said that!"

Leafa did notice, some of the members of the army did look at her differently than others, whenever they looked at her their faces would show anger, rage, disgust. She never really understood why, back in her village everyone was friendly, why wasn't it the same here? Was it because she was an elf? What was the problem with that? Hopefully, Clanus would answer her questions.

"Clanny... do people hate elves? Please tell me the truth..."

Kabboom Sybil

The elemental heard the familiar voice, knowing it from the attack on the town the band of guardians had all met in. Their tone was not unfamiliar as well, a tone the voice seemed to always have on the woman's tongue. She turned, not surprised to find the voice belonging to one of the leader's of her own camp, but the name escaped her. Mary? Martha? Marget? Margot? No that was the mage! Regardless of her confusion on her name, Phos knew this woman was making a too calm of a reaction to what the rock girl perceived as clear aggression.

"What? Don' need it?! This person done shot arrows into camp! 'Bout 'it a 'andful of us, and I don' know 'bout you but when ya shoot arrows at a camp you either a bandit or a fool!" While she spoke all riled up, her rock exterior seemed to shake in many small fragments, almost like an animal shaking in anger.

Trappy RubyZoo

Pat shook his head when he heard Maria and the elemental expressing their anger at the elf, they had no reason to hate them, they hadn't had everything taken from them, ripped away and slaughtered like a baby from a mother. His internal cynicism was eating him alive. He at least had a reason, but he knew it wasn't an excuse for what he had done, probably keep doing. Not to level exclusively. Men in the company had started calling him Mortarion, child of death. He was being eaten alive by the pessimism inside, if he wanted to have a half decent night there were one of two options, start drinking, which would lead to a splitting headache and hangover the next the morning. Or seek out another tortured soul, so they could be alone together. After shooting a glance at Maria he walked over to where The paladin, Audun was his name if Pat remembered correctly. He couldn't find the man, no Angle, or whatever the hell he was. Then he sighted his 'wife'. Pat used the word liberally, probably some concubine, one of the more respectful terms for a woman like her. He still hazily remembered it was her who pinned him, and almost no one who was human could out muscle or out finese him in combat. He looked down at the helmet clipped to his belt. The movable faceplate of the helm staring back at him. The mutiple holes in the plate staring back at him like a thousand eyes judging him. He stopped by the medical tent again, deciding he was done for the night he put on normal clothes and decided to speak with Auduns 'wife'.

He walked around the camp, talking to some of the guardsman, ate, and drank some of their alcohol. It was good, but it wouldn't give him a buzz. Whiskey, and lots of it were what it took for him to forget what he was and what he did. He pushed his reflections out of his mind he sat around the fire with some of the guards man telling stories of old lovers and teenage heartbreaks. After out drinking most of the guardsman close to his age he decided to finally seek out where, he was forgetting names, maybe they're ale was stronger than he thought. He finally approached the tent situated at the edge of the camp, a rather odd position for somewhere for someone to sleep, as it was one of the most unsafe places of the camp. Being the paragon of chivalry that he was, a term that brought a laugh out of him, he aked "Hey, anyone alive in there?" He was looking for Audunl someone who might understand what Pat was going through. Although he didn't know him well, Pat knew the haunted looks and appearances that made themselves apparent in the subtlest of ways, mainly because he himself had first hand expierence of those looks and feelings. So he waited for a reply of Taryn, that was her name, to point him in the right direction of the messiah.
Interacted: QizPizza
Mentioned: Trappy Sybil

"Ok but Jewl isn't happy without her mid-day meal. You guys might need help in these woods anyways. I know it better than you" she sayed with a small smile on her face. She was about to walk past when another man came up to talk to Jericho. As she waited for the man to finish talking, she squatted down to Jewl and told her to go back to their house and grab more arrows. She stood up and watched Jewl head off, seeing no one else saw her leave. When the man left, she walked inside the camp, her bow around her chest with the pack of arrows, now almost empty, on her back.

Jewl: She nodded to Skyler and silently slipped away, heading to their house. She pushed through some bushes, heading father away from the camp where Skyler was. Soon, she came to a small, almost unnoticeable, hole, and she squeezed in, heading into a giant space that was her and Skyler's house. She saw Skyler's stack of extra arrows and grabbed them in her mouth ready to leave

Kabboom

Jericho

Sighing lightly at the half-hearted answer from the traveler, and the slight jab from the Elf girl as she walked openly into their ranks, Jericho took increasingly impatient glances in the general direction of Erik. His drink almost nowhere to be found, the disappointed Guardian only knew to look back at the two strays. As the small dwarf dragon thing ran off for more arrows fetched from a hole in the ground somewhere, Audaton winced as he pushed Clarity one last time to encompass both Skyler and Desmond, along with any guardsmen they would encounter on their way in. This way, he could also probe the latter newcomer for any ill intent. The last thing a criminal would expect is calmness, at the critical moment of the hunt. He has been wrong before, though. Waving a hand at Desmond to follow, the only worry now is passing through the actual base and finding a place for them to stay.

Leaving Maria to the unenviable task of calming down a rock elemental, the trio entered the main group. Walking through the encampments, the guardsmen shot all sorts of dirty looks at the group, mostly at the Elf girl with eyes of hatred, and anger. Murmurs could be heard from the faraway groups, mostly spewing slurs and curses under their breaths. The guardsmen closer to Skyler however, relaxed their faces and their grips upon their swords, as Clarity did its work. Jericho's steps begun to waver and wobble because of it though, but he thought he played it off well.

Eyeing a vacant tent in the cavalrymen's quarters, Jericho thought it was worth a try, although the actual riders would take some time convincing to let an Elf and a stranger to stay so close to them, not to mention their precious horses. Clearing his throat, he voiced the question, as the guardsmen Umak and Kwelek broke off back to their hole, or to find booze of their own. "Now don't start any trouble here, and there won't be any trouble for you. Your dwarf dragon, uh... Jewl, will have something to eat, I assure you that. And would you two mind if you shared a tent for the night?"

Trappy U UnbelievableCow RubyZoo
Clanus

Listening to Spessartite as she stormed off in search of the culprits, the guardsman was now left with Leafa. In his list of things that don't go well, being left on babysitting duty for an Elfling while a rock elemental angrily stomped off into the distance, in the middle of the Darkwoods, at night, would be at the near top of the list, standing right below taking on an 88th Legion Marauder in a fist fight, or trying to Nouvo-kiss* a Darkwolf. Leafa, having stocked up on the arrows that found themselves embedded in the dirt, spoke. "So. Clanus. I don't like it, I'm calling you Clanny from now on, okay? Oh, and I have a question, what's an "elf bitch"? Is it an insult? Sorry, but I never heard someone say that before. At least mommy and daddy never said that!"

Stammering in order to find an answer, words flew from the scoutsman's mouth haphazardly. "Oh, sure, call me Clanny. And er... o', uh, you got good parents! They ain' good words, uh... "elf bitch", tha's an insult, but don' think of it too badly, ah, we- I don' think of ye as that, noooooo, noo, no no, yer' good to me, so I'm good to ya, uh-"

His tirade of awkward explanations was interrupted by yet another question from the Elfling. And this one made him gulp, because the answer is a bit grisly. "Clanny... do people hate elves? Please tell me the truth..."

Inhaling sharply, he gave her a truthful answer. "Yes, Leafa. People do. But I don't. So trust me, aye?"

-robert-
Terra

A rush of red flushed to her face as the damned idiot, Pryonn, quickly wrapped his blueish cape around her, almost comfortably keeping her warm, if it weren't for the slight coolness of the fabric, having also been exposed to the air for as long as she could remember. The blue color piqued her interest, but there were more pressing matters at hand. Namely, why they were in a dark cave. Alone, no less...

The thought only intensified her blushes, and she hurriedly covered her face in vain with the cloth. Seeking to change the subject quickly, she blurted out words of annoyance. "Y-you dummy! I-I only ran after you because it was dangerous to go alone, d-don't get the wrong idea now!" Some part of her told her to yell out for everyone else, let them know the two were in here, but another part of her stopped the catgirl from doing so. What part though, she wouldn't willingly divulge to anyone.

Unwavering Knight

*Nouvo-kiss: Derived from Nouvocellian-kissing, Nouvocelli being a major region in Regalia. Basically the French-kissing of the FF universe.

As Skyler walked into the camp, she saw a lot of the men's faces turn toward her. Seeing snarls and menace in some of the gleams, she tried acting like she didn't notice, She puffed out her chest and held her head high, trying to cover up the fact that she new they had a reason to hate her race. Walking by a young elven girl, she gave a small smile to her, seeing what she has to go through every day. When some of the guardsmen around her loosened their grip, she felt pride swell inside her, thinking that putting on a brave face worked. Nearing a tent, she listened to the man speak. "Sure, I don't care about sharing a tent but as long as Jewl is fed, no trouble will involve her" she replied. She walked into a tent and saw a persons belongings were here. She didn't know if it was the right tent so she just poked her head out with a questioning look on her face.

Jewl: Heading out of the tunnel, she ran back the direction she came and soon came to the camp. Walking in slowly,she saw some of the folks looking at her with confusion. She heard someone call someone else over and when that man came over, he started yelling orders at people, then turned back to her. She tried to curl up into a small ball, wanting to disappear and not knowing what to do. Soon, one man cam over with a net and quickly threw it on top of her. She dropped the arrows and started struggling to get out of the net. Getting picked up, she was dumped into a brown bag, that seemed big to her, and was soon in darkness, not knowing what just happened.

Kabboom -robert- and who ever wants to be involved with the capture of Jewl

Desmond was already relaxed knowing he was much safer in the guardian camp than out in the forest, so when the calmness washed over him his demeanor didn’t change much. Seeing Jericho signal them, Desmond took up behind him remaining quiet as they strolled through the camp. He noticed the Angel has accompanied them, but didn’t think much of it.

A few moments later they reached a tent, and Jericho spoke to the two. He had asked if it was ok to share a tent, and the elf didn’t seem to mind. Normally this would be a problem, but it was a guardian camp what could go wrong. “Sure.” He said blankly going into the tent after the elf. Desmond found a clear spot and laid down, it was time for his famous 1 hour nap.

The elf had poked her head outside the tent for some strange reason. Desmond decided it was best to ignore the elf’s behavior otherwise he’d be up all night trying to figure her out.

RubyZoo QizPizza Kabboom

"Calm down, I'm not trying to get in your pants, but thanks for giving some directions at least." He turned to leave, his ribs aching, looks like a lot of alcohol or pain killers would be required to this night. he walked back to center of the camp finally, he saw Jericho, his steps were wobbly, and one point he even staggered. Pushing himself to far would do probably lead to worse, fainting, nosebleeds and the like, although he was doing a good job of concealing it. After an internal debate he decided to get armored up, again. This time he grabbed a bottle Moro's whiskey*. He walked over to the center keeping the bottle concealed. He finally spotted the two discussing something, probably the new arrivals. He stretched out his arms above his head. He felt a slight pop along his side, pain exploding for a second, but relief followed it, cartlige slipping back into place most likely. He now found only a little bit of stiffness when he turned.

He walked over, geared up, and finally pulled out the bottle. He heard the last snippet of their conversation. "I'll watch Desmond and you can find someone to watch the girl." So they were concerned about those two. Granted Pat would be too, some elf trying to snipe you and a random guy finding your camp in a forrest infested with horrific monstrosities. He pulled the cork of the bottle out with his teeth, and then spat it out to the side of him. He sat down next to Jericho. After taking a swig of the whiskey, the burning sensation filling his mouth and throat, he offered it to Jericho adding "You look like you could use some of this, you too Audun. Be careful though, this shits stronger than a giant creotin*."

*Moro's whiskey: extremely strong whiskey, almost poisonous due to high alcohol content
*Creotin: Steroid and stimulant used by mercenary forces and armies, grossly increases strength, agility, and endurance, but usually causes a frenzy.

Kabboom QizPizza

Pryonn & Kaatl

"Of course, milady!" The knight called out, as if just suddenly realising something "I only just became aware: We are Lady and Knight, woman and man apart from the inquisitive gazes of any third parties that might seek to investigate!" At this Kaatl raised a questioning eyebrow, but let the knight proceed as he might. Tapping a finger on his armored chin in emphatic thought, the knight proceeded with his musings as he looked down at Terra "Clearly, it is providence that we engage in the most natural act that could possibly be conceived in such a situation. An extremely outrageous measure defying menial morals and proprietary precedents!"

"Come, my Lady! To walk into the dark, where challenge looms!" He said with celebratory finality, hand formerly mock-stroking his chin now stretching out, palm opened with invitation towards Terra "Let us engage in the intensely radical and embarassing venture known as 'hand-holding'!"

Kaatl shrank back, almost falling off Pryonn's shoulder as she emitted a gasp of mock-shock, just barely managing to contain a laugh.

Kabboom

Jericho

Pondering upon Audun's words of advice, which were admittedly hard to ignore, seeing as the paladin was kneeling down and whispering right into his ear, Jericho stood still for a while, a feat easier said than done while Clarity was still on. The two haven't done anything suspicious so far, aside from Desmond's sudden appearance and reason for being here. Personally, Audaton was more worried about the Elf, both because of the guardsmen's hatred, and her tribe potentially lurking, waiting to slit everyone's throats under the cover of night, like they have done many times before. The angel made some sense. Not perfect sense, but some.

"Wait, Skyler. Come out." he ordered the Elven archer peeking her head out of the tent in confusion. As the girl collected what little belongings she had with her, Audaton turned to the angel kneeling beside him. "Good thinking, and very nice of you to offer your service, Audun, but that won't be necessary. You can go get some rest, or carry on with... whatever you were doing."

As if on cue, the blond guardsman, Erik, showed up with a bottle of rum in hand. The man had apparently traded one of his rations for it, and the bottle itself smells odd, but Jericho was never one to complain. "Good job, Erik, but now I got another thing to ask of you." Gesturing to the fully revealed elf archer with bottle in hand, Audaton explained the situation for the confused guardsman. "I need you to keep watch over her for the night. Make sure she doesn't get up to anything, no tricks pulled, no weapons drawn. If she tries any of that, or anything else that you think might be some shit that can fuck us, you kill her. Alright?" All Erik could do was awkwardly nod. "Splendid. I know this is a lot to ask of you, but I trust you won't just kill her right away, like most of the men around here. Evacuate a hole near the cave entrance, make sure she stays there."

As the two walked off, Jericho almost didn't notice the big-ass warrior, Pat, sitting down alongside him. Come to think of it, Jericho didn't even notice he sat down too. The prolonged strain of Clarity must be really getting to him. Although, he figured, that could stop now. Tonight was going to be one hell of a nightmare festival, but the drinks might help. After all, one must be vaguely conscious to dream, and one must be dreaming to have nightmares; you either forget your nightmares, or they get lost in so much alcohol poisoning that they feel more like super weird dreams. A win-win situation for him, and judging by the nasty whisky Pat had brought as a 'gift', he might not even have the nightmares at all.

Grabbing the bottle as soon as he finished opening his own from Erik, Jericho jokingly snapped at the man. "Oh shut up, I take creotins for breakfast." his lips immediately contacted with the glassy rim, and a burning warmth enveloped his mouth and neck straight afterwards. The taste was harsh on his tongue and throat, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. Putting down the whiskey, he resumed with small but frequent gulps from the normal rum, as Jericho slowly stood upright. "Alright gentlemen... it's time for me to get going." with a small farewell, the Guardian marched off, albeit with a slightly hiccuped gait. A simple nod and gesturing to the cavalrymen, and they understand that they'll be the ones to watch Desmond tonight. Grudgingly dragging himself to the front of the tent, a Wolfhorse rider puts down his rickety chair and keeps watch.

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Terra

As the knight spoke, a shade of crimson red begun enveloping her cheeks as her hands unknowingly gripped tightly onto the fabric of the blue cape. "I only just became aware: We are Lady and Knight, woman and man apart from the inquisitive gazes of any third parties that might seek to investigate! Clearly, it is providence that we engage in the most natural act that could possibly be conceived in such a situation. An extremely outrageous measure defying menial morals and proprietary precedents!" The words resonated within her mind, making her legs shiver ever so slightly. What perverted thoughts could this knight have.... They were still on a mission, and without a doubt, someone might even see them, why would Pryonn bring this up so... uncharacteristically abruptly and gleefully?

Her worries, along with her slightly burgeoning hopes, were extinguished when Pryonn revealed his true intention: some hand-holding. The little fairy accompanying him, Kaatl, wasn't helping Terra containing her disappointment with the fake gasp."F-Fine, but only if you wanted to..." she mumbled under her breath as her hand buried itself into Pryonn's armored grasp, the cold of the steel sinking into her delicate fingers. This only made her twitch and grasp his hand tighter.

Unwavering Knight

Ulric

Leisurely walking his dear Wolfhorse back to the camps, Ulric stumbled upon a group of guardsmen converging in one spot. They seemed to be investigating something. Against his better judgment, the cavalryman came too, leaving his steed standing where it stopped. As he walked closer, he started to catch a glimpse or two of the object of interest, apparently a small white thing struggling to get out of a brown burlap sack. "Oi, what's goin' on?" he asked, as any guardsman would do when seeing a bunch of comrades gathering around a moving burlap sack.

The men turned to him, and Ulric had just now realized he had made a mistake. These were the new replacements from 6th Company. A big hunky spearman, Ilagua, was poking the bag with the pointy end. A lanky axe-and-shield footman was busy sharpening his weapon, most likely for butchering whatever was inside the bag. Leading the group was a small, bald guardsman with a flail, Avignon. "Fuck off, ya rider twat, this lil' shite's ours," yelled the man. Ulric looked again at the bag, and now a face has burrowed its way out of the sack's opening, revealing itself to be a petite dwarf dragon. "Oi, that's the new elf girl's dragon!"

"So what? The stupid thing was just running around camp, we figured the skin might sell well when we head back to Frontierville, and fuck that elf bitch, too! Matter of fact, maybe we will fuck that bitch for real. No one would give a shit about what happens in her quarters tonight..." Avignon continued in an irritating, arrogant tone, with the latter part of his sentence more directed towards his posse. Like apes, they all nod, with whistles and howls of agreement.

"Goddammit, Avi, don't fuck with the Guardians' plan, follow fuckin' orders! Let that thing go!" Ulric yelled back, and almost in unison, everyone drew their weapons. The Wolfhorse neighed in the distance, and begun snarling at the men. "Or what, 'Ric? The fuck you gon' do?" Ilagua taunted him, spear now facing front. Ulric slowly drew his Corlate, with his hand on the hilt of his sword. If he was gonna go down, then at least he had to get Avignon. None of the men liked this new asshole, and some would probably even pay well if Avi's head was planted on a stake.

"He won't do anything. I will." An old voice spoke up, accompanied by metallic footsteps. Everyone loosened their grips for a second, and Avignon nearly dropped his flail when he looked.

Kwelek & Umak

Kwelek had assumed his usual position, the usual position for any guardsman, really: sitting on his ass, weapon loosely in hand, waiting for something to happen. The night was almost through for him, and all that was left is to take off the heavy plates and shit, and go to sleep. A light gust of wind blew through the encampment, and everyone was appreciating the coolness. All except for Umak, it seemed. Grey beard slightly rustling in the breeze, the old man had seemingly latched on to something with his ears, and was perking his head up above the hole, facing left.

"What's botherin' ya, old timer? Go get some rest or something." Kwelek said, dropping his leg plate on the ground in front of him. He was met with a shush, though.

"Shh, shh. Ya hear that? Chatter, 9 o'clock, 30, 40 paces beyond." Umak whispered. Crawling over, then propping himself up, Kwelek pressed his ears to the wind, and surely enough, he did pick up some chatter. Didn't raise any alarms in his head, though.

"So what? Prob' just some newbies having a smoke. Get some rest." Kwelek dismissed it, though. He knew that it was suspicious, but he had enough shit for one day.

"I'm going." Umak said, grabbing his sword and then stepping right out of the hole. "Wait, 'Mak! Fuck!" Kwelek cursed, also propping himself up and heading after the old man. The two walked over to find Ulric stuck in the fine mess. From what the newly arrived duo could see, Avignon, nicknamed Dick by most of the veterans and replacements in Umak's own Company, had trapped a wee dragonling along with some of his pals. Ulric, the good cavalry lad, was against this, and weapons have already been drawn. 'Time for an intervention,' Umak must've thought.

"The fuck you gon' do?" Dick spoke, with a flick of the chin directed at Ulric. "He won't do anything. I will." Umak stepped in, walking sternly up to Ulric's side. The atmosphere right now had changed, as Dick and his friends seem to have met their match. Everyone's hearts trying to beat their way out of their own chests, every guardsman involved enters fight-or-flight mode. "Let the thing go, Dick, and I won't have to cut yours off." Umak gestured at Avignon's privates with his sword hilt, unsheathing it in the process. The terribly brief yet harsh sound of the blade's edge clashing against the scabbard as it was drawn rattled everyone to the bone, and the chain on Dick's flail shook around, creating an awful lot of noise.

"Hey, c'mon, man, let's get the fuck outta here," whispered Ilagua. "Yeah, that's the fuckin' Old Dog in 2nd Company!" added another voice further back. Shaking them off, Avignon tried to speak again. "Come and get me, old timer. You don't scare me. I can take you down, and I can take your gay spear boyfriend over there too, come at me-"

"Well in that case, let's go right now." Umak interrupted, flipping his sword upright and enters a fighting stance. The sly grin on Avignon's face had all but disappeared, making way for a slightly agape mouth. Avignon stared at the man for a good long while, gauging his chances of survival, even with his friends taken into account. They had all heard of Umak's stories, passed down by the veterans in their own unit. The Old Dog, as he was called, had survived almost everything the world had thrown at him, from Cerebrates in close combat, to swarms of Spikethrashers catching him in open ground. Somehow he kept pulling through, and everytime some young-blood tries to pick a fight with him, they've all found themselves losing a hand or a leg at best. At worst, the poor sods get a post-mortem toast from their comrades at the grave.

After what felt like a tense eternity, Avignon caved in. "Fine. You can have your stupid shite. C'mon lads, let's find some whiskey." He said, kicking the brown sack towards Ulric and Umak, and his group moved away. Jewl yelped from the kick, and promptly bit itself free, sprinting towards Kwelek. "By the fuckin' Lord of Light, Umak, you need to stop doing that shit." He sighed, slightly pushing away an eager Jewl with the bottom end of his spear. "Oh shut it, you lived, didn't you?" Umak cracked a smile, with a hearty chuckle to accompany it. "You doin' good there, rider?" he continued, gesturing at Ulric.

"Y-Yes, sir. I owe you one." He nodded, sliding his weapons back into their original positions. Umak simply nodded, as the rider whistled his Wolfhorse over, and got on it. "If you need any help, I'm your guy." The eager cavalryman said, as he galloped back to his tent. With a sigh, Old Dog picked up the dwarf dragon, making sure he doesn't get stuck with drool, and made his way back to camp.

RubyZoo

Gaheris Agramar

The work was-- well, nothing special. This was the kind of menial task someone had tried to assign to him before the giant Serpent decided to ruin the night. Still, he wasn't completely against it- work had at least brought his vigor back, which was a significantly better feeling than the overwhelming curtain of sleep that had almost overtaken him back at that Serpent. For a moment, he wondered how that Serpent tasted. Looking back to the campsite briefly, he noticed Karl and Lyle still trying their best to bite through.

Maybe roasting it for that long was a bad idea.

As the two stopped working briefly, Gaheris quickly found his eyes wandering to his no doubt smaller companion. He hadn't noticed it before due to the wagon- how annoying it was, for wood to just naturally be asymmetrical; granted, his life would not have been any better if everything was symmetrical, but it irked him nevertheless- but...her clothes and hair, again, were in different directions. However, her words from that time at Frontierville returned, and he relaxed...as well as he could without falling asleep, at least.

Her voice and the sudden offering of food snapped him out of his trance. He gave a short nod as he accepted the vegetable being offered to him. Scarcely had he already taken a bite when he heard her speak up.

"Sir Gaheris... if I may..."

He quickly looked over, not noticing that he had instinctively chewing faster to answer whatever question she had for him.

"What made you decide to be a Guardian? Out of my curiosities and intrigue of your skills, I still find you a mysterious, yet dedicated member of the cause."

He stopped to consider the question for a moment- you wouldn't normally ask a giant, much less a slave one, questions like this. Nobody cared about what brutes thought- if they could even think at all, for that matter- and technically, he wasn't supposed to have an opinion. He wracked his brain for answers- limited as they were, no doubt thanks to his speech impediment.

What did he become this for?

Who did he become this fighter for?

He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking back to the manor.

"...Mar...guerite's...last wish," He spoke slowly. "Old...master's...daughter. Wanted...me, to be...free?" The last word hung as a question on his lips. Did Marguerite truly want him to be free? After all, she wanted to send him to the palace, where giants still weren't...that honored.

But Marguerite had been nothing but kind to him. Still, using the term "free" still wasn't accurate.

"Wanted me...to serve. To fight. To protect," He paused again, throat aching. "Must...serve. Can't...be useless."

Pilgrim59

Despite the nice night, it wouldn't dissuade the elemental's anger at the situation, though the night may not calm them more due to their lack of feeling on their 'skin' to temperature changes and most all sensations. A loss of all nerve endings in a body can be a blessing in battle, but the tradeoff is a bit disheartening in reality. Phos does not even remember what a breeze feels like anymore after almost seventy years like this. Regardless of the sullen thoughts, their anger persisted. Maria's explanation of the deal was vague at best, but what definitely didn't help was the elf slur. At first, Phos was confused and raised an 'eyebrow', but it didn't take but a second before she realized her intent. Racism? Check. A clear foolish danger to people? Check. Lack of any and all punishment? Seems to be in her eyes. Her 'eyes' seemed to glare if one could discern when gemstones could show emotions.

"Ain' right, this whole thin'.... n' Keep that fuckin' word to ya self an away from the kid." She would emphasize her point by pointing at Maria's face before walking away, done with the whole ordeal and now just wanting to be around Leafa. In a similar yet different sort of way, she was as done with the conversation as Maria had wanted to be. Spessartite would wander back to Leafa and Clanus, offering them a smile contrasting the irritation they felt. All the way back, however, she would be thinking to herself, trying to piece something together.

Forest makin them worse, god damn idiots...... that racist one... am I smellin' her rotten stench?.... Who the hell smells like a rat...

Interacts: Trappy
Mentions: Kabboom -robert-