Realistic or Modern BEING HUMAN

[koala]

Margo Nikravesh
Outfit: White t-shirt, black jeans, white trainers
Date: Saturday 07/28/2018
Location: Marble's B&B
Mentions: -
Interacting: Garrett Marble, Photographer

Afternoon
Customers had been streaming in at a relatively constant pace. When one would leave, another would enter and that process continued for the first few hours of the morning. It wasn’t until the reservation Garrett had mentioned earlier arrived when things really slowed down. It seemed the VIP didn’t just make a reservation for himself, but for the whole party he brought along. By the time the sun was high in the sky, there were over twenty-five people sitting in the dining floor, which was a lot for a bed-and-breakfast.

Even though the large home was kept rather cool, Morgana could feel beads of sweat forming along her hairline. She’d taken the little free time between picking up dishes and taking orders to dab the saltiness away, but it never seemed to end. Whoever the people were, they just kept ordering and ordering without any regard towards her, the only server besides her boss.

“Excuse me, Miss.” A man with a light scent had called. She didn’t recognize it as local. While Morgana did study about the other countries and their different languages on Earth, she didn’t really pay attention to what they sounded like when they spoke “English”. As long as she could understand whomever she spoke to, however, she didn’t see a problem.

“Yes?” Morgana replied. Motion from the corner of her eye forced her to then her head, catching Garrett looking unpleased. He was making wild hand movements and extremely expressive faces in an attempt to show her how to look. She adjusted accordingly, although her smile was more awkward than pleasant. The man that called her didn’t seem to mind though. He simply laughed at her strangeness.

“I had no idea Garrett had such a beautiful employee.” The man mused as he eyed her suspiciously. For the first time ever, Morgana felt... odd. She didn’t know how to describe the sensation, but TV dramas would call the situation “uncomfortable”.

When Morgana didn’t respond, the man only persisted. “I’m sorry. I should have introduced myself first.” The man apologized and held his hand out for her to shake. The brunette took it gingerly but was taken back when she was brought into a light hug. He even kissed her cheeks lightly which was extremely bizarre. “My name is Fernando Ybarra. I’m a photographer and I was just thinking about how you’d make a wonderful model.”

Model. That word was vaguely familiar. Morgana thought back to the first time Garrett took her out to buy clothes with her very first paycheck. She had stopped to look at a giant poster along one of the bus stops, and the man mentioned her name was Gigi and how she was one of the most popular models as of late. Gigi. What strange name.

“Would I make money?” Morgana asked bluntly, although she was genuinely curious. Even though she made money working for Garrett, most of it went to her rent. The rest was for food and other essentials, such as lady toiletries which she discovered she needed now that she was a real human. She hadn’t even saved enough to go out and search for her companions.

Fernando only smiled wildly before digging into his brown satchel. He pulled out a crisp black card with his name on it. There were a few other minor details but none were as important as his next words. “I’m good friends with the London director of a modeling agency. I’m sure he would be happy to have you sign up.”

Spoiler: V2

Outfit: White t-shirt, black jeans, white trainers
Date: Saturday 07/28/2018
Location: Marble's B&B
Mentions: -
Interacting: Garrett Marble, Photographer

Afternoon
Customers had been streaming in at a relatively constant pace. When one would leave, another would enter and that process continued for the first few hours of the morning. It wasn’t until the reservation Garrett had mentioned earlier arrived when things really slowed down. It seemed the VIP didn’t just make a reservation for himself, but for the whole party he brought along. By the time the sun was high in the sky, there were over twenty-five people sitting in the dining floor, which was a lot for a bed-and-breakfast.

Even though the large home was kept rather cool, Morgana could feel beads of sweat forming along her hairline. She’d taken the little free time between picking up dishes and taking orders to dab the saltiness away, but it never seemed to end. Whoever the people were, they just kept ordering and ordering without any regard towards her, the only server besides her boss.

“Excuse me, Miss.” A man with a light scent had called. She didn’t recognize it as local. While Morgana did study about the other countries and their different languages on Earth, she didn’t really pay attention to what they sounded like when they spoke “English”. As long as she could understand whomever she spoke to, however, she didn’t see a problem.

“Yes?” Morgana replied. Motion from the corner of her eye forced her to then her head, catching Garrett looking unpleased. He was making wild hand movements and extremely expressive faces in an attempt to show her how to look. She adjusted accordingly, although her smile was more awkward than pleasant. The man that called her didn’t seem to mind though. He simply laughed at her strangeness.

“I had no idea Garrett had such a beautiful employee.” The man mused as he eyed her suspiciously. For the first time ever, Morgana felt... odd. She didn’t know how to describe the sensation, but TV dramas would call the situation “uncomfortable”.

When Morgana didn’t respond, the man only persisted. “I’m sorry. I should have introduced myself first.” The man apologized and held his hand out for her to shake. The brunette took it gingerly but was taken back when she was brought into a light hug. He even kissed her cheeks lightly which was extremely bizarre. “My name is Fernando Ybarra. I’m a photographer and I was just thinking about how you’d make a wonderful model.”

Model. That word was vaguely familiar. Morgana thought back to the first time Garrett took her out to buy clothes with her very first paycheck. She had stopped to look at a giant poster along one of the bus stops, and the man mentioned her name was Gigi and how she was one of the most popular models as of late. Gigi. What strange name.

“Would I make money?” Morgana asked bluntly, although she was genuinely curious. Even though she made money working for Garrett, most of it went to her rent. The rest was for food and other essentials, such as lady toiletries which she discovered she needed now that she was a real human. She hadn’t even saved enough to go out and search for her companions.

Fernando only smiled wildly before digging into his brown satchel. He pulled out a crisp black card with his name on it. There were a few other minor details but none were as important as his next words. “I’m good friends with the London director of a modeling agency. I’m sure he would be happy to have you sign up.”

 

[MagicPenguin]

Arryn Bennett
Pets at Home

Before Daniel could answer Rose's question, Arryn immediately recognized the tired-looking teenager the pair had been shadowing in their absence. His back was turned, but even so, his identity was unmistakable. Excepting some of the animal features he had lost, Marcus Felis looked nearly identical to his Aether form, at least from behind. "Marcus!" he called out to the figure. The shifter turned his head toward the sound of Arryn's voice, revealing that his facial features, though marked by signs of exhaustion, were just as similar to his Aether form as the rest of his body. Arryn couldn't help but feel a pang of envy. First Daniel gets a younger body and now Marcus is virtually the same? Was Arryn the only one who'd actually suffered any serious loss from that infernal portal's insidious magic?

As he was used to doing by now, the former blacksmith swallowed and buried his feelings of resentment regarding his losses. It wasn't Marcus's fault, after all, and despite his jealousy, Arryn really was happy that they'd finally found one of their long lost friends after a month of searching. Marcus himself just seemed puzzled as he stared at the four of them. None of the group looked at all similar to how they did on Aether, so Arryn supposed it was no surprise he would be confused that four strangers should know him by name. The golden pup had ceased his exploration to investigate the new person. If Arryn wasn't sure that this was Marcus before, he absolutely was when the puppy sat docilely at the shifter's feet and whined happily at him, now ignoring the group he'd come in with completely. Animals always had an abnormal love for shifters, and that hadn't changed here, apparently. "Marcus, it's us," Arryn exclaimed. "I'm Arryn, though I know I don't look it," he said, then pointed to Daniel, "he's Daniel," and finally to Ana, "This is Anastazia Kochenkov. You may have heard of her before. She's the so-called "Spider" only spoken of in whispers back home. This other woman is Elena Benoit, who goes by Rose. She's a native of this wor--I mean, this country. She's helped us a great deal to adjust to our new surroundings. Marcus, I'm so glad to see you! How have you been? Have you seen Prince Roland? Is he alright? What about Lucrezia and her cronies? Have you or Roland managed to kill them yet? When can we go home, Marcus?"

Arryn realized he was babbling now, but he couldn't stop the endless torrent of questions that were struggling to escape from him at the sight of his found companion. He only halted when he saw the look on Marcus's face. When Arryn had introduced himself and Daniel, the shifter had seemed hopeful. The hopeful look was still there, but now it was tinged with a healthy dose of skepticism. It made sense, Arryn thought with a grimace. He looked so different, and Daniel did too, and he had probably never even met Ana before today. These four strangers could be anyone from Aether, anyone at all, and anyone who knew their names could claim to be Arryn Blacksmith and Daniel Payne. They might just be imposters from Lucrezia's group pretending to be Marcus's long-lost friends in order to get him to drop his guard so they could stab him in the back. It would be a dirty trick, but no deception, no matter how heartless or cruel, was so low that Lucrezia and her shadowspawn sycophants were above it. Marcus was right to be cautious.

"He's suspicious," he said to Daniel and the others. "He has good reason to be; we could be anyone claiming to be his lost friends." Pursing his lips and crossing his arms in thought, he wondered what he could do to prove to his friend that they really were who he said they were. He wished he'd brought Hogan's flute with him here today; he left it at home. Not many people knew why Arryn carried it or whose it was originally, not even Daniel, but he'd told Marcus once over a campfire during a march one night. The only ones who knew what the flute was and why it was so important to Arryn were Marcus, Roland, and his adolescent friend, Aemi Halierr, another person from home they had not yet been able to locate on Earth. He didn't have the flute, but maybe he could use that somehow.

"Okay, Marcus. Do you remember that night on the march to the Throne of the Abyss? You asked me about the flute I always carry and why it was so important to me. Do you remember what I told you? It was a keepsake from my deceased father, one I always keep to remember him by. So that I never forget why I fight. Why we fight. And why we must never surrender to the Mad Queen's tyranny. You told me stories about your family, from before they were taken from you. We reminisced together about the people most important to us who had been lost, but who would never be forgotten. That night, we sat by the campfire late into the night even though we had to march early the next morning. I was terrible--I never did learn how to play properly--but I tried to play you a tune on the flute that night. It was "The March to the Forest of the Elves." Do you remember that, Marcus? So far as I know, no one but you and I know what we did that night or what we spoke about or what song I tried to play. Who else but me could know that?" Arryn crudely whistled out the tune and the rhythm of the song he mentioned; it wasn't a great representation, but it was enough that anyone from Aether could recognize it.

While he whistled, Arryn tried to judge whether or not Marcus was buying his story. His youthful face had softened a bit, the edge of suspicion leaving it somewhat, but his expression was still a tad unreadable. He could not really tell what Marcus was thinking. Arryn let his whistling trail off and looked uncertainly back at his comrades. "I'm not sure if he believes me," he said to them. "Anyone got any other ideas? Some way to prove to him we are who we say we are? I'm open to suggestions here..."

WillfulWren koala ReverseTex LoneSniper87

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roland Fairchild
Jim's Tattoo Parlor

Roland had been gritting his teeth through the pain for what felt like countless hours, but what he knew had only really been about sixty minutes. This process had been done with his father's Fairchild magic combined with the Church's light magic back on Aether. It had not been nearly so painful then, nor taken quite so long. Still, he knew it would be worth it when Jim was finished. The bald, middle-aged man was completely lost in the work. His angry affect from before was completely gone. Now his face was a mask of total focus; it was as if the world around him didn't exist. He looked a lot like Arryn did whenever the big man was working in the forge. Craftsmen and artisans of all sorts must have that quality in common, the ability to completely lose themselves in their work and shut out any and all distractions from it. Roland truly admired the dedication such men brought to their fields.

Roland's thoughts were interrupted by a loud banging sound. The front door to the parlor had been slammed open violently and standing just inside it was a silver haired girl.

"Sorry I'm late, there was a bird's nest and a guy made me fall and Tannur was being annoying!"

Roland had nearly jumped at the loud cacophony of the woman's entrance, so sudden it was, but Jim kept a firm hand on his arm so it wouldn't move and the man himself hadn't reacted at all to her. Roland might have thought Jim hadn't noticed her at all for all the attention he paid to her, but finally he addressed her without even looking up from Roland's arm.

"Don't care, Silver. Mind the front desk while I work. Customer comes in, don't even think about taking their order; you'll just mess it up like you mess up everything except drawing flowers and animals. You just tell 'em to wait here for me or come back in about two hours when I'm done. You do anything else, you die. You touch anything behind the counter--especially the fucking register; I haven't forgotten what happened the last time you tried to use it--you die. You make too much noise, you die. Just sit there and be quiet." Then he added in a lower, almost growling tone, "And don't think there won't be any consequences for being late, woman. This is the 10th time in the last three weeks and I'm sick of it. We'll talk about repercussions later, but for now you just sit back there quietly and think about all the trouble you're in while I finish this job."

Jim said nothing more to her after that. He didn't even look to see that she obeyed him; he just assumed she would. Roland thought his rebuke had been kind of harsh, even if she was as incompetent as he made her sound. He shot her a sympathetic look over Jim's shoulder as she shuffled her moping self behind the desk with the cash register and sat forlornly on the stool that was there. Roland tried to distract himself from his pain by examining the girl a little more closely. He was intrigued by the way she carried herself, even when she was upset. She walked with a lithe grace, like a cat on the prowl for mice. She had bright red eyes and long silver hair with a short, skinny, wiry frame with more muscle than most women of her size tended to have on this world. She kind of seemed familiar, now that he thought about it. He stared long and hard at her, trying to place where he'd seen her before. In the park on one of his days exploring London, perhaps? Her facial features reminded him of Marcus, for some reason, though they were more confident and lacking the ever-present mask of anxiety that his always tended to have. Now that he thought about it, though, besides the differences in their genders, body types, and the way they carried themselves, this girl and Marcus could be twins. It was almost like...almost like...

She was related to Marcus. She was from Aether. She was a shifter, like him.

And that wasn't all. There was only one shifter besides Marcus that he had met and not killed. She had escaped from him after a cowardly sneak attack on his comrades during the Battle of Blackrock. He remembered her smiling, uncaring face, covered in blood spatter, like it had happened yesterday. If he remembered correctly, even her name, Silver, was the same as the shifter from that day. There was no mistaking it. This was Georg's murderer. Roland tensed, even moreso than he had before. His face paled, the blood rushing from it, and his eyes bored holes into the murderous bitch sitting behind the counter as if she were nothing but an innocent, incompetent idiot. He measured the distance from his chair to her. In his current body, five or six long strides. He could cross that distance in an eyeblink. He looked at the desk that held Jim's inking tools. Plenty of needles and sharp tattooing machinery. He just needed to wait until she was distracted, grab one of them, close the distance, and she'd be dead before she even knew what...

No. Wait. That wasn't the way. It was an effort now that she was right there, right in front of him, but he remembered, with difficulty, what he'd told Marcus that first day they appeared. They weren't here for revenge. They weren't here to take out Lucrezia's minions. They were here to kill the woman herself. Even if he succeeded at ending her here, what would happen next? Jim would call the cops. The cops didn't know what this girl really was; they would arrest him for murder. He was probably the only one who stood an actual chance of killing Lucrezia, assuming she still had her full power, and he would be taken out of commission before he could do anything about her. He would have taken out her minion, sure, but the mad queen would still be free to roam. Attacking Silver Ferae here, now, was not the smart play.

No, he had to think like Ophelia now. Ophelia was smart, cold, calculating. She thought about things from every angle, deliberated with others, until she knew exactly what the optimal strategic move in any situation was. So what would she do? She wouldn't attack Silver. She would use Silver.

So, Roland would use Silver. But how?

She doesn't know who you are, he heard his sister's regal voice say in the back of his mind, but you know who she is. Information is a weapon. You have the advantage. Use it.

How could he do that? Think, Roland, think. Okay, so if Silver was here, one of Lucrezia's strongest soldiers, then there would have to be others with her, somewhere. Someone as incompetent as Jim made this girl sound could not have survived in London for a month on her own without being either arrested or forcibly committed to psychiatric facility. So, she had allies. Maybe even the Shadow Queen herself was helping Silver to survive day to day. It stood to reason that if Roland was able to follow her movements, she would lead him to the other shadowspawn generals. She could lead him to Lucrezia. And none of them would know who he was, as long as he was smart about it. He would be right under their noses and they would think him just an average Earthling, no threat to them.

Yes. That was his plan. Follow Silver to find her companions. Follow Silver and her companions to find Lucrezia. Once he found her, kill the woman before she ever figured out who he really was.

Roland was deep in thought for the rest of his session with Jim, considering strategies to befriend Silver, befriend her allies, manipulate them all into leading him to his real quarry. He would have to make sure he concealed his dragon tattoos carefully. There were some select few who knew on Aether that the Hero of Light had such markings, though none except the oldest and most knowledgeable of even that small number understood what they actually meant. Silver probably wouldn't recognize them, but her allies might not be as ignorant as she was. Lucrezia herself was sure to know the markings of Fairchild royalty on sight; she probably knew more about their history than he did, long lived as elves were. It was best while he was with Silver that he wear long sleeves, just in case.

Before he knew it, another hour had passed with Roland still strategizing. Jim started on his other arm. Roland forgot all about the pain of the process. Then yet another hour passed and the tattoos were done. Roland stood in a daze, his legs and back sore from sitting in the same position for so long. He walked back to the register with Jim, who shouldered Silver brusquely out of his way without so much as an acknowledgement that she was there. Roland admired his new tattoos; the colors were not as vibrant as they were back home, the eyes of the dragons on his hands not seeming nearly so sentient and knowing, but for work done without the aid of any magic at all, this was top notch. Roland could not have imagined them done better anywhere else.

"This is fantastic, Jim. I can't thank you enough. What do I owe you?"

"Tch. 'Course it's fantastic. It's me, after all. Let's see. Two tattoos, both moderately large on the forearms and hands, custom design, plus the extra twenty for my nose...you're looking at about £250."

Roland's jaw dropped. That was an insane number.

"I can't have heard you right. What was that?"

"I said it's £250. Don't give me that dumbstruck look. It would've been twice that for lower quality work if you'd gone to one of the bigger parlors in London. Our place is small and not so well known, so we don't charge as much. Two fifty is highway robbery for work as good as that. Now pay up!"

Roland was taken totally off guard. He had no idea tattoos were so expensive. He supposed he understood why; he'd seen what delicate, intricate work it was while he watched Jim do it. It must take a lot of skill and training to do. All the same, Roland didn't have that much money on him. And he didn't have a bank card; all the cash he and Marcus owned was under his mattress at home. Even if he'd had it all with him, he couldn't pay that without being short on rent this month. But the tattoos were already done. What exactly was he supposed to do now?

"I...I..." Roland gulped, a flushed look of dismay creeping over his features at this hopeless situation.

Jim just looked at him levelly. "Tch. Can't pay, can you?" he asked with disgust.

"Um. No, sir," he replied in a small voice.

Roland expected Jim to explode in anger or throw a punch or call the cops...anything but what he actually did. The man just smiled.

"Tsk. Didn't think you could. Had a feeling the second I saw you that you didn't know what this would cost."

Puzzled, Roland asked, "Then why did you do the tattoos?"

Instead of answering the question, Jim asked Roland to see his notebook again. Roland complied, but eyed Silver, standing behind Jim, very warily; if she saw some of the things he'd drawn, even she couldn't be clueless enough not to recognize their Aetherian origins. He needn't have worried, though. She seemed bored to the point of tears. She probably wasn't even paying attention to anything he was discussing with her boss.

Jim flipped through the book again, stopping at drawings of giant orcs and massive ships and banners of various Aetherian cities and nations. "These are some of the best designs I've ever seen from an amateur, kid. If you really did these, you're one hell of an artist. I'll be honest with you. I just lost a promising apprentice about a month ago; I'm a demanding man and he couldn't handle the workload. I can't for the life of me remember why, but I took this idiot girl on to replace him. She's mostly useless, but she's the only help I have right now, so I can't afford to fire her until I find someone better. Someone like you. So I'll tell you what. Work here. I don't know if you're in school or you have another job or what, but take some time and work here for a few days to pay off the tattoos I just did for you. If you want to stop after that, you're free to. But I think you have potential, and I don't think you'll want to leave after you get a taste of what I can offer you here. If you refuse, of course, I can just call the cops and we can have them sort out all this ugly business about payment and attempted car theft and assault. So, what do you say?"

Roland had to grin. Some of his grin was excitement at having found a job so quickly without even really beginning his search, and one with a woman who would lead him to his target at that. Another part of his grin was that Jim was apparently much more clever than he'd given him credit for. The man had set a devious trap and snared him as well as any fox in the forest. Even if he didn't want to, there wasn't really any way Roland could refuse Jim's offer.

"Ha. Alright, Jim. I was going to go looking for work after this anyway. You have a deal. When do I start?"

"Monday," he said, "two days. 8 AM, on the dot. Do NOT be late. By the way, I didn't get your name. What do they call you, dragon kid?"

"Understood. I'll be here. And you can call me..." Roland considered. He couldn't use his real name; surely Silver would recognize that. What else could he use? "...Um. Ronald. Ron for short." He moved over to Silver and gave her a quick handshake, best smile flashing and voice smooth as butter. "I look forward to working with you, Silver. Maybe you can show me the ropes. I'll be counting on you. See you Monday!"

"Hmph. Well, Ron, we'll see if she lasts that long. She and I are about to have a nice, long talk about the importance of responsibility. Now that I have you, her days are numbered if she can't shape up. And fast." Jim said ominously.

Despite his cool tone, Roland could feel the heated waves of anger rolling off of Jim even from where he stood on the other side of the counter. She was his enemy and she had murdered one of his closest friends, but even so, Roland almost felt sorry for Silver, considering the horrible scolding she was about to get.

"Right. Well. I'll leave you to that then. Good luck, Silver!" Roland backed away slowly from the volatile situation until he was safely out the front door.

Roland all but skipped on his way to the grocery store to pick up ingredients for dinner. He was thinking of doing something a little more expensive tonight to celebrate. He found a job. He had a lead on Lucrezia. He got his tattoos back and finally felt like himself for the first time since arriving. Things were really starting to look up for the Prince of Alcamoth. He couldn't wait to share all the good news with Marcus over a nice meal.

WillfulWren

 

[WillfulWren]

Marcus Felis, Pets at home - MagicPenguin koala ReverseTex LoneSniper87
The black haired boy looked confused, shutting the rabbit hutch and scratching just behind the pup's ears. "I-" He started to speak, then thought better of it as Arryn started babbling. His mismatched eyes darted between the group. Surely, it couldn't truly be his friends and yet...

How could the man have known that?

Marcus studied them for a long moment, then got to his feet from where he had been crouched on the floor. "Really, it's...You? Arryn?" He grinned, finally feeling somewhat at ease.
"You told me about your father, and I told you about that time my little sister decided she wanted to fight a bear and ended up stuck in a tree and refused to get down all night...." He almost couldn't believe that his allies were really there, it was simply too amazing to be true, but here was proof.

"I was worried when we couldn't find you. Me and the prince have been living like ten minutes from here. The place is a bit... Different to the surroundings we're used to, but it's adequate until Roland manages to track down the witch. So far, we haven't encountered any of her cronies - or if we had, we didn't notice them. It's not too much of a stretch to think they may be disguised like yourselves."

Silver Ferae, Jim's tattoo parlour - MagicPenguin
Silver almost tried to protest at the orders. "It's not f-" Okay, that's a scary expression on Jim's face. It almost reminded her of Lucrezia, and out of habit, the girl bowed. "Yes, sir." She muttered sullenly, shuffling over to the counter and hopping onto the stool behind the counter. Rifling through her bag, she got out a worn looking notebook, and was soon focused on finishing a sketch of a black wolf with mismatched eyes that seemed to be staring right off the page.

She couldn't really have said where she had got the idea, or seen that wolf, but it felt...Nice to draw it. Even if she couldn't actually remember any parts of her childhood, there were occasional flashes of things - sensations, sounds, images.

And whenever she saw something, she had to draw it or it was a waste of valuable insight into... Something. She wasn't sure what the point of saving those memories was yet, but there were several scruffy drawings of Marcus as a child, along with a white haired boy and two people who must have been her parents.

Twice, someone came in enquiring about a tattoo, and one guy wanted a tattoo of a wolf howling at the moon. Now that was something she could do, and the albino bit her lip, sorely tempted to just do the tattoo. But then she looked over at Jim and sighed. Dying wouldn't help her find her queen and get her powers back.

"You can come back in a couple of hours." She dismissed him, then sulked until the tattoo was done like the mature girl she was. Everything was going wrong: her boss was mad at her, she couldn't do a tattoo, she didn't have the right colour pencil to do the wolf's golden left eye justice. And worst of all? She was hungry. Silver laid her head on the counter, looking bored, but she bolted upright as Jim started talking to Roland after the tattoo was done.

"I'm not an idiot! I'm...I'm specially intelligent! I'd like to see you live in the woods!"

For ten years, no less. From the age of seven to seventeen Silver had been completely alone in a dark, creepy forest. With bears and wolves roaming around, competing for prey.

Though, her anger was placated by the new guy - Ron? - and his nice words. Silver grinned, clasping his hand in both of her own.

"I'll teach you everything I know!" Silver promised earnestly, then looked nervously at her boss. "If I'm still here." She added quietly , looking sheepish.

She hopped down from the stool and backed up slightly as Roland left. "Uh, maybe I should make sure he gets home safe?" She tried, taking a step towards the door.

 

[Shotgunpenguin]

Juniper Arc
Millers Cafe

Juniper was unprepared for her server, now known as Hannah, to grab and violently shake her hand like she was wringing someone's neck. She then made an extremely over exaggerated whisper about how Lucy was secretly nice which earned a sigh from her. She then suggested looking for jobs in a newspaper and mentioned that some bars may hire part-time. "I don't think that a bar would work. The last time I tried to go into one I got kicked out because I'm 'too young.'" She turned to the side and muttered "Haven't had a drink since I came to this place." before turning back to Hannah. The bell by the door let out a soft ring as another woman with pink hair entered carrying a basket covered by a cloth.

She set the basket down on the counter as Hannah greeted and introduced the girl as Aemi to Lucy and Juniper by proxy. Lucy disappeared around the corner as Hannah asked Aemi if she knew if there were any part-time work that needed to get done. "I'm Juniper, but my neighbors just call me June. It's nice to meet you." She offered Aemi her hand before continuing "Any work at all would be helpful. I do already have the job, but it's early in the morning so I'm free every evening and night to work."

Avari , fIora

 

[fIora]

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[/div] [div class=content][div class=name]Aemi Akiyama[/div] [div class=info]Hannah's Cafe Interacting with Shotgunpenguin Avari [/div] [div class=scrollhold][div class=scroll] Aemi smiled out of courtesy as Hannah introduced Lisa to her. "It's great to meet you, Lisa!" said Aemi. As Hannah and Lisa had a small conversation regarding her payment, Aemi stood around, looking at the quaint cafe awkwardly. In her mind, Aemi made a mental note about Lisa. She seemed like an interesting person, much like others from Aether. Her pretty black hair and her collected demeanor reminded her of someone who she'd rather not think about. Her train of thought was suddenly interrupted by Hannah's joyful and light voice. "Say Aemi - don't suppose there's any part-time work at your work right now? June here is asking around for a job." Surprised, Aemi suddenly blinked from the question. The girl, who's name seemed to be Juniper, gestured out her hand. Aemi shook it gently, being careful not to mirror Hannah's... stronger approach. "O-oh! Uh, nice to meet you, Juniper! If you're looking for something quick and part-time, my boss always complains about not having enough help. There's not much to it - a little bit of delivery sometimes, maybe some sorting- it's really self-explanatory, just ask him! Also, if you need, just pop in any time to help out a bit. He doesn't mind if you just make it at least twice a week! I'll put in a good word for you if you want!" [/div][/div][/div] [/div][/div] [class name=root] position: relative; width: 100%; height: auto; [/class] [class name=container] position: relative; width: 100%; max-width: 1250px; margin: 0 auto; height: auto; display: flex; flex-flow: row wrap; align-items: center; [/class] [class name=bg] position: absolute; top:0; bottom: 0; left: 0; right: 0; background-image: linear-gradient(13deg, transparent 70%, #b8e8ff 70%), linear-gradient(-77deg, white 68%, #b8e8c6 68%); [/class] [class name=image] position: relative; width: 500px; max-width: 100%; height: auto; font-size: 0; margin-left: -50px; margin-right: -125px; z-index: 3; [/class] [class name=content] position: relative; flex: 1; min-width: 300px; min-height: 400px; border: 12px solid #ecb6c8; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0 4px; font-size: initial; background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.5); [/class] [class name=content minWidth=1000px] height: 400px; [/class] [class name=name] font-family: 'Lobster'; font-size: calc(20px + 6.5vh); position: absolute; bottom: calc(100% + 12px); color: white; line-height: .8; width: 100%; text-align: right; z-index: 5; [/class] [class name=info] font-family: 'Raleway'; font-size: 1.25em; position: absolute; top: calc(100% + 12px); color: #b8e8ff; width: 100%; height: auto; text-align: right; margin-left: 12px; [/class] [class name=scrollhold] position: relative; width: 100%; height: 100%; overflow: hidden; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 5px; [/class] [class name=scrollhold minWidth=1000px] padding-left: 120px; [/class] [class name=scroll] position: relative; width: 100%; height: 100%; padding-right: 250px; color: black; font-family: 'Raleway'; overflow-Y: scroll; overflow-X: hidden; [/class]

 

[MagicPenguin]

Arryn Bennett
Pets at Home -> Arryn and Daniel's apartment

"Ah, Marcus, it's so good to see you!" Now that the shifter no longer seemed suspicious, Arryn wasn't shy about getting close enough to throw his arm around his shoulders affectionately. The blacksmith wanted nothing more than to sit and talk to his old friend, tell him everything that had happened to him since coming to this backward dimension. He also wanted to ask Marcus to take them all to Roland immediately. Of course, now, in the middle of a store while Marcus was trying to work was not the best time or place to be catching up, but they had to get the four of them together again as soon as possible.

"Marcus, when is your shift here over? We need to get together, all of us. I need to take care of this pup and take care of some things at home, but our friend Elena here plays as a bard in a pub not far from here later tonight. Could you bring Roland there then so we can all meet up and make plans for getting out of here? Just tell Roland you found us and bring him to the pub she's playing at tonight. We'll all finally be together again, just like old times! ...Er, if that's alright with you, of course, Rose," Arryn finished with a tentative glance in Rose's direction, abashed that, in his excitement, he'd invited his friends to her show without so much as consulting her about it first.

When he, Daniel, Ana, Rose, and Marcus had worked out the details about time and place for their reunion with Roland, the four of them parted ways with the shifter with huge smiles, all eager to see each other again later that night. Arryn was so elated that not even the absurd amount of money they had to pay for all the goods the pup would need could faze him. After all, Earth money wouldn't matter anymore soon enough; once the original four warriors of the light were reunited, it would not be long before their mission was complete and they were on their way home. It was as Roland had said during the assault on Blackrock: when the whole party was together, there was nothing they could not overcome as a team. He consciously tried not to remember how badly things had actually gone shortly after Roland had said that.

When the gang reached the fork in the road between Elena and Ana's place and Arryn and Daniel, they all bid their farewells. Rose agreed to come to Arryn's place to pick the two of them up that night so she could show them how to get to the pub. The pup licked at Rose's shoes in a farewell of his own and then the three of them, himself, the puppy, and Daniel, were on their way back to their little apartment.

The rest of the afternoon was spent brushing, feeding, walking, and playing with the pup back at his apartment, as well as taking care of necessary household chores such as taking out the trash and cleaning the bathroom. As he worked, the hours seemed to zoom by and Arryn's earlier excitement at having found Marcus started to wane a bit, his optimism wearing off and giving way to bleak reality once more. Would fulfilling their mission and returning to Aether really be so simple, he wondered? They were all going to be reunited, and that was great, but that brought them no closer to Lucrezia. And even if they found Lucrezia, even if they managed to kill her, they would still have no way to return home. Arryn's deepest fear was that he would be stuck here on this world forever, stuck in this inferior body, completely separated from everything that mattered to him. He'd never work in a forge again, never see home again. Once the witch was dead, IF she was dead, he'd probably just end up spending the rest of his life in a jail cell.

When his chores with the puppy were all finished, the daylight was dwindling and the hour that Rose agreed to drop by was rapidly approaching. Arryn retreated to his small room and changed into a fresh shirt and pants and replaced his work boots with clean trainers. He looked at himself in the mirror in his room, at the body he hated but had become resigned to and tried as best he could to whip his unruly brown locks into some semblance of shape; it didn't help much, but he had to try. Then he glanced over to the bedside, where Mah'allenir lay, its handle propped up against the wall. He never liked to sleep too far from his weapon. On the tiny bedside table just near the sledgehammer sat Hogan's flute. On a whim, he picked it up and went back out to the common room, where the pup was lounging sleepily in his new doggy bed.

He sighed deeply and plopped himself down on the small couch in the common room to wait for Rose, lost in his grim thoughts. He fingered the flute, thinking, reflecting once again on his losses. He should not be so depressed, he knew, when he'd see his prince again within the next few hours, but he could not help it; he had a tendency to dwell on the negative when he had idle time to himself. The pup sensed his blackening mood and jumped up to join him. He inserted himself onto Arryn's leg and tried to console him by licking his cheek and then laying in his lap to resume his dozing. Daniel would not like that the dog was on the couch if he were there to see it, but he was not present just then and Arryn did not particularly care himself. He was too busy remembering Marcus's all but unchanged appearance, Daniel's regained youth, the loss of his own strength, his lack of smithing skills in this world, the impossibility of their mission, and the fact that, no matter whether they succeeded in killing the Mad Queen or not, he would in all likelihood be stuck on this world, with all of these problems, for the rest of his life either as a fugitive on the run or a prisoner.

Unbidden, not for the first time since arriving on Earth, the lyrics of a song from Aether popped into his head, one he heard often in his youth before meeting Hogan, begging for table scraps and searching for dropped coins in every seedy tavern in lower Alcamoth. As he waited for Rose, he muttered the lyrics quietly under his breath while he patted the dog with one hand and fiddled with Hogan's flute in the other.

I'm down at the bottom of the well,
It's night, and the rain is coming down...
The sides are falling in and there's no rope to climb,
I'm down at the bottom of the well.

Absently, he stopped singing and brought the flute to his lips. He started crudely playing what he could remember of the song's melody.



WillfulWren koala ReverseTex LoneSniper87

 

[Avari]

LISA SPARROW + HANNAH MILLER
MILLERS CAFE

Hannah clapped her hands together, grinning wildly at Juniper after Aemi answered.
"Ahh - I love making plans come together!" she gushed, looking rather pleased with herself. She then waved at the courier, motioning her to sit. "Have you got time for a drink, Aemi? We have some...Apple Pie if you want it..."

"Please stop trying to sell people stale deserts, Hannah. -- Here's your payment."
Lisa reappeared from around the corner, a yellow envelope tucked under her arm. She placed it on the counter, and then briskly pushed it over to within Aemi's reach.

Hannah however, pouted. "Hey now. It's good pie. Juniper said so!"

Lisa turned on the customer quizzically, looking rather curious.

"Was...it good?" She wondered.


----

INTERACTIONS
Shotgunpenguin
fIora ​

 

[koala]

Elena "Rose" Benoit
Outfit: Evening, nude heels
Date: Saturday 07/28/2018
Location: Home > Pub
Mentions: Marcus, Roland
Interacting: Arryn MagicPenguin , Ana LoneSniper87 , Daniel ReverseTex

Late Evening
"Ana! Are you ready to go?" Elena had called from across the hall in her own bedroom, door wide open. She was standing in front of her bathroom mirror and putting in her last earring. With the pearl finally nice and secure, she reached for a clean tissue and dabbed at the oily parts of her face. Nothing came off, but she wanted to make sure her appearance was the least bit presentable. It was her first performance where her new friends would be watching her. However, it wasn't just them. Appearance, the employee she'd met at Pets at Home was actually another person from Aether. The convenience of the meeting took her by surprise and she struggled to understand how Marcus could recognize the lot if they really looked as they said back in their world. Everything worked out in the end though, and the big happy reunion was going to happen at the pub she'd be singing at. No pressure or anything.

After checking her makeup--natural and just how she liked--the woman glanced at the digital clock on her night stand. She and Ana had an hour until it was 9 PM, which was when she said she'd be at Arryn and Daniel's. When Elena exited her bedroom, she wasn't surprised to see Ana already dressed and waiting for her. "I guess you were done before I even asked," Elena noted with a small smile, opening the door and letting the brunette step out into evening first. Locking the door and tucking her house key safely away in her purse, the blonde woman took a deep breath. The sun was just beginning to set, an ombre of light blue to dark blue and then a light pink. Sunsets were always her favorite, especially on a beautiful day such as that one.

Thirty minutes later.

The Uber came to a gentle stop in front of their destination, and the driver asked if Elena wanted him to stay. After asking him to stay, Elena wandered off towards the apartment and knocked, although not very loudly. She was about to knock again when she heard the faintest, odd yet familiar sound. Pressing the side of her face against the door, the blonde was quick to realize it was a flute. With a sense of curiosity, she checked to see if the door was unlocked and unsurprisingly, it was. She then peered through the opening and saw a lone Arryn playing the flute, not proficiently but enough for a tune.

"So you do play!" Elena said, her body inside the apartment completely and eyes with a youthful glimmer. "That's so interesting." She was walking closer to Arryn now, eyes beaming at the flute. "I thought I'd never get to hear you play." Her body language was sincere, attention turning elsewhere to rid Arryn of any kind of embarrassment he may have felt. It wasn't long before Daniel came into view, and she urged the two of them to quickly get up in order to not keep the Uber and Ana waiting. "Come on you two," the woman hummed lightly, linking arms with the two and leading them out the door. Before long, they were all cramped in the car with Elena up front and the other three in the back. The driver had mentioned something about a double date, but she was too excited about the evening to even process what he even said.

Spoiler: V2

Outfit: Evening, nude heels
Date: Saturday 07/28/2018
Location: Home > Pub
Mentions: Marcus, Roland
Interacting: Arryn MagicPenguin , Ana LoneSniper87 , Daniel ReverseTex

Late Evening
"Ana! Are you ready to go?" Elena had called from across the hall in her own bedroom, door wide open. She was standing in front of her bathroom mirror and putting in her last earring. With the pearl finally nice and secure, she reached for a clean tissue and dabbed at the oily parts of her face. Nothing came off, but she wanted to make sure her appearance was the least bit presentable. It was her first performance where her new friends would be watching her. However, it wasn't just them. Appearance, the employee she'd met at Pets at Home was actually another person from Aether. The convenience of the meeting took her by surprise and she struggled to understand how Marcus could recognize the lot if they really looked as they said back in their world. Everything worked out in the end though, and the big happy reunion was going to happen at the pub she'd be singing at. No pressure or anything.

After checking her makeup--natural and just how she liked--the woman glanced at the digital clock on her night stand. She and Ana had an hour until it was 9 PM, which was when she said she'd be at Arryn and Daniel's. When Elena exited her bedroom, she wasn't surprised to see Ana already dressed and waiting for her. "I guess you were done before I even asked," Elena noted with a small smile, opening the door and letting the brunette step out into evening first. Locking the door and tucking her house key safely away in her purse, the blonde woman took a deep breath. The sun was just beginning to set, an ombre of light blue to dark blue and then a light pink. Sunsets were always her favorite, especially on a beautiful day such as that one.

Thirty minutes later.

The Uber came to a gentle stop in front of their destination, and the driver asked if Elena wanted him to stay. After asking him to stay, Elena wandered off towards the apartment and knocked, although not very loudly. She was about to knock again when she heard the faintest, odd yet familiar sound. Pressing the side of her face against the door, the blonde was quick to realize it was a flute. With a sense of curiosity, she checked to see if the door was unlocked and unsurprisingly, it was. She then peered through the opening and saw a lone Arryn playing the flute, not proficiently but enough for a tune.

"So you do play!" Elena said, her body inside the apartment completely and eyes with a youthful glimmer. "That's so interesting." She was walking closer to Arryn now, eyes beaming at the flute. "I thought I'd never get to hear you play." Her body language was sincere, attention turning elsewhere to rid Arryn of any kind of embarrassment he may have felt. It wasn't long before Daniel came into view, and she urged the two of them to quickly get up in order to not keep the Uber and Ana waiting. "Come on you two," the woman hummed lightly, linking arms with the two and leading them out the door. Before long, they were all cramped in the car with Elena up front and the other three in the back. The driver had mentioned something about a double date, but she was too excited about the evening to even process what he even said.

 

[IG42]

Tannur - Random Park Wherever
Letting Silver leave seemed far less trouble than trying to make her stay and risk her finding a way to blab something important though Tannur did consider keeping her around just to give her an earful about how hypocritical it was to give him grief for pulling a knife on a potential enemy when she had been about to tear the heads off of some harmless critters.

The redhead complained about him corrupting Silver with bad language before finally identifying himself as Raijin, while Tannur didn't put the knife away just yet he stopped pointing it directly at him but kept it concealed in his hand. "You're Raijin? I guess that explains the drums, not quite as impressive as your old ones but then again neither is this little stabber." He gestured with the small knife as he returned it to it's hiding place. "Let's say I believe you for the moment, I'll be in touch with an appropriate place to meet." He had certainly come to appreciate the 'telephone' since arriving on Earth, it saved on so much walking to speak to someone or time writing letters and waiting for replies.

Backing away he gave a small wave. "Well here's hoping you're the real deal, I'll be seeing you." Finally turning away he dashed off to work, arriving a few minutes later he played up being more out of breath and generally frazzled than he was. "I'm SO sorry! Silver had a nasty fall and I had to make sure she was alright." As he had often found the easiest lies to tell were mostly the truth.

QizPizza WillfulWren

 

[QizPizza]

"You're Raijin? I guess that explains the drums, not quite as impressive as your old ones but then again neither is this little stabber. Let's say I believe you for the moment, I'll be in touch with an appropriate place to meet. Well here's hoping you're the real deal, I'll be seeing you."

"See you. Don't get caught by Church of Light spies." Rai watched as Tannur ran off to work. He really hoped that Tannur would be able to watch over Silver. The girl was a fool. An adorable fool, sure, but she cannot take care of herself. Perhaps when they meet again, they should arrange some sort of system for taking care of Silver. Otherwise, Tannur might be too overwhelmed with that handful of a girl. Perhaps they need to domesticate her, like a pet of sorts. No one bothered to try in the past, when she could easily shapeshift and either run away or eat the person trying. Here on Earth would be a different story, Rai hoped.

When he was done worrying over Silver, the red head had little to do except resume his playing on the park bench. He made maybe £8 after a few minutes of playing. He would've continued, but his knee was seriously starting to bothering. Pathetic human body. Showing some decent judgement, Rai packed up his Taiko drums into his duffel and began to limp towards the nearest Superdrug. The whole expedition took Rai far long than it normally should've, with his injury combined with general muscle fatigue, but he finally managed to find a small local pharmacy.

Rai limped into the store drawing some concerned glances as he picked up a box of band-aids and a tube of Neosporin. He then approached the cashier with his selection and set them down in front of a young lady with brown hair. The girl was visibly concerned about the red head's injuries.

"Sir, are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a scratch. Ring these up so I can take care of it."

"Sir, you are bleeding quite a bit. I don't think it's 'just a scratch'. We can help you stitch that up if you..."

"No. I'm good. I can't afford that."

"Don't worry, it won't..."

"Ma'am, please just let me pay for the bandaids and Neosporin."

"I'm sorry, in good conscience, I can't just let you go bleeding like that."

"You're stubborn, lady... Fine. Better not cost more than £8, cause that's all I have right now."

"Thank you, sir. Please come with me."

The cashier ushered Rai to a back room where she sat him down and helped him disinfect and properly stitch up the cut on his knees. The former Oni winced as the alcohol rub stung the exposed flesh, but the girl was surprisingly gentle with the stitches. "You didn't have to do this, miss."

"Of course I did. You were hurt. If I'm going to be a doctor, I can't just leave people like you hurt and potentially dying."

"Dying is a bit extreme for a minor cut like this. Are you done yet?"

"Left alone, you could either bleed out or get the cut infected. Then, you would be at risk of death... Hold up. I'm almost done."

"Got a name, miss?"

"Jane. You're not getting a number out of me... Done!"

"Not interested in your number. But thanks. How much?"

"Hmm...£5 for the trouble. And not interested?"

"Yeah, not interested in a relationship, never have been...Here you go." Rai handed the girl a few coins he earned just minutes ago and got up to leave. "Thanks again, Jane."

"If you aren't interested in a relationship, do you plan on dying young and single?"

"Not really. I'm just not at that point where I want a relationship."

"Alright. Feel free to call me though if you just want to talk. No gimmicks, I promise." Jane handed Rai a slip of paper with a series of numbers. Her phone number?

"Maybe." Rai took the slip out of courtesy and left the backroom. He really didn't have any plans to call Jane, but she seemed nice enough. Now the question was what he would do for the remaining of the day. He wasn't really in the mood to play for money again. Maybe he could visit that cafe Lucy worked at for some coffee, but the owner, Hannah, seemed to be interested in a way Rai did not want. Flirting always made him uncomfortable. Still, it's important to tell her that he's found Tannur and Silver, even if their identities were not completely confirmed. The red head made up his mind and began to walk to Miller's, taking care not to tear the stitches Jane took such effort to give him.

Rai Kaminari​

Physical Status: Slightly Hurt
Emotional/Mental Status: Alarmed
Location: London - Nondescript Pharmacy
Interacting With: IG42
Mentioned:​

 

[Shotgunpenguin]

Juniper Arc
Millers Cafe

Juniper smiled as Aemi shook her hand tentatively, the complete opposite of Hannah's over the top shaking. She then told her about how her job was always looking for more help. Honestly it sounded a lot like what she was already doing which made it only more appealing. "Thanks a lot for this, you're really helping me out," She stood up from her seat and placed one arm across her chest while placing the other on Aemis shoulder "I owe you a debt. From this day forth I will be at your call when needed." She seemed lost in her own world for a second, the words from her mouth sounded different as if coming from someone else before realizing that she was in public and blushed furiously in embarrassment before sitting back down. "S-sorry if that was weird, it was common to pledge your help to someone if they helped you." Juniper decided stop talking for fear of embarrassing herself even more as she quickly took a bite of the now cooled apple pie in front of her.

As soon as she bit into her slice of pie flavor exploded inside of her mouth. The familiar taste of apple and cinnamon caused her to shudder as she sighed and leaned back into her seat. She was so entranced with her pie that she almost didn't notice the curious look that Lisa shot her or her question. "It's definitely good, neither the apple or the cinnamon overwhelm each other. Too many people always use too much of one and ruin it." She flashed a quick smile before taking another bite and shivering once again "It's really good even if it's older. I wish I could have a whole pie all to myself." She stopped herself from asking if getting a whole pie was possible to avoid spending even more money. Speaking of which "By the way, how much do I owe you? For the pie and the-" She looked down to her basically full cup and grimaced "drink."

Avari fIora

 

[WillfulWren]

Marcus Felis, Pets at home - home - MagicPenguin
The shifter boy squeaked quietly as the blacksmith threw an arm around his skinny shoulders, but he didn't attempt to push him away. Quite the opposite, in fact; he relaxed, grinning widely. "I was beginning to think we'd never find you." He admitted, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

"Uh, let's see, my shift ends around six, so I'll meet you there at...Nine? Is nine good?" Marcus asked, nodding his assent to that plan.

For the rest of the day, even rude customers couldn't bring his mood down, and as soon as he was free, he rushed home to see the prince. He burst in, and whooped excitedly.
"I found them! Or rather, they found me! Arryn, Daniel...And some girls called Ana and Elena, though one's from earth and the other's from Aether!" He babbled, clearly overexcited.

Which of course, makes the damning similarities between him and a certain murderer even more obvious.

 

[LoneSniper87]

Anastasia Kochenkov
Elena's House
MagicPenguin koala WillfulWren ReverseTex

She didn't respond to Elena right away, tying up her boots. She sat up on the bed, having finished tying up the boots. She looked right, eyes catching a mirror. She rose from the bed, looking herself over. She wore black thigh-high boots, with some dark blue skinny jeans tucked into them. She wore a black and white striped shirt, with a dark grey jacket on top. She had on some light makeup, just enough to look nice, but not overdoing it. She stepped out of her guest room and waited for Elena, leaning against one of the couches. She didn't wait long, maybe a minute before the other woman came out.

"Of course I would be, it's rude to keep a lady waiting." She teased, smiling as she was let out the door first, stepping out into the evening air. "Sky is nice... It's pretty seeing all the colors at one like this." She laughed at herself. "But I was never a major one for nature, that was my brother." She noted, but didn't say much more on the subject. The Uber, a sort of ferry service she soon realized, arrived shortly after, and took them to where Arryn and Daniel stayed.

Roughly half an hour later.

Ana waited in the car, and began humming whatever was on the radio out of boredom, not really able to follow as she had never heard it before. The other three piled back in, and she had caught the driver say something about a double date. "A, what?" She looked away, her face turning a very light red. "N-no, we are just friends sir, please don't make assumptions like that." She said. The note had completely caught her off guard, and it showed to those if they paid attention. Thankfully people harbored their thoughts, and rode mostly in silence until they reached the bar. Everyone got out, Elena paid the driver, and they were on their way shortly after.

The bar was decently packed, but not overly hard for the group to find seating on either floor.

 

[Avari]

LISA SPARROW + HANNAH MILLER
MILLERS CAFE
​

"It's definitely good, neither the apple or the cinnamon overwhelm each other. Too many people always use too much of one and ruin it." Juniper replied, flashing Lisa a quick smile before taking another bite and shivering once again "It's really good even if it's older. I wish I could have a whole pie all to myself."

Lisa nodded at her response. She didn't smile back, but she looked rather smug regardless - seemingly satisfied. "I'm happy to hear that."

"Lisa takes her cooking very seriously," Hannah chipped in, still in a rather animated conversation with Aemi. Lisa simply clicked her tongue.

"By the way, how much do I owe you? For the pie and the...drink?"

"It comes to £7.50. You can come up to the till when you're ready to leave - there's no rush."


---

INTERACTION Shotgunpenguin

 

[MagicPenguin]

Roland Fairchild
Home -> The Lock Tavern Bar & Venue

Humming casually, Roland pulled the huge steak out of the oven and began cutting it up, the red dragons on his arms appearing nearly golden underneath the flourescent lights in the kitchen as he did so. The meat inside was juicy and pink, perfectly prepared, in Roland's opinion. He'd splurged on it in celebration of his new job and the new lead in the search for Lucrezia. The rest of the afternoon, which was supposed to have been spent searching for work, he'd instead spent cooking in anticipation of the end of Marcus's shift. He should be walking in the door any moment now. The poor guy worked so hard, he deserved a nice, home-cooked meal every once in a while. Between the meat, the huge pot of mashed potatoes and gravy, and the corn, they were going to have leftovers for days.

As he was dishing out two big plates for each of them, he heard the front door down the stairs slam open and shut and then the sound of hurried footsteps plodding up at a frenzied pace. That must be Marcus, Roland figured, but why was he in such a rush? If anything, Roland would have expected him to be so exhausted he'd be moving slower than a snail.

"Marcus!" he called with a smile when the boy finally poked his head in the kitchen. "I made something special tonight! We have a lot of good news to celebrate and--"

Marcus cut him off before he could finish explaining what the good news was. "I found them!" he yelled, elated. It was so out of character for the normally shy boy to cut him off like that, Roland was momentarily too taken aback to speak. "Or rather," the shifter continued excitedly, "they found me! Arryn, Daniel...And some girls called Ana and Elena, though one's from earth and the other's from Aether!"

The spoon Roland had been using to pile potatoes from the pot onto the plates dropped to the floor right along with his jaw.

"Are...are you sure? You really found them?! That's amazing!" He took a quick step toward Marcus and wrapped the boy in a bear hug, hoisting him off of his feet, laughing all the while. "Where are they? Are they alright? How have they been doing here on Earth? Come, sit and eat and tell me all about it. I have some good news as well, but it can wait; this is far more important."

So the two of them feasted as well as they ever had since coming to Earth and traded stories about their respective days. Marcus told him about his encounter and about the plans he'd made to meet Daniel and Arryn at The Lock Tavern. Marcus started to give detailed directions, apparently given to him by the woman from Earth, but Roland simply cut him off with an amused laugh.

"No need for that, Marcus. I know where it is. I've been there before. You have too, don't you remember? We must've been to every bar in Camden looking for information that first week we were here. It was one of the nicer ones, as I recall."

He looked at the wall clock. It was seven now. They had two hours. "Well," he said to Marcus as they both finished their meals, "it seems we've both had a very productive day." He held up his forearms, the serpentine dragons coiling proudly all the way around his arms from his elbows to the backs of his hands. "I got my tattoos back, finally. I can't tell you how naked I've felt without them. Every member of the Fairchild royal family gets ones like them at age 13, when they are considered adults, though I suppose not many know about that tradition outside of other nobles." Roland consciously neglected to mention how much they cost. "I was also fortunate enough to get a job at the very same tattoo parlor. I start Monday. How lucky is that? Ah, but that's not even the best part. What more could we possibly ask for, you wonder? Well," Roland grinned boyishly at his friend. "The best part is that one of the people working there is from Aether as well. One of Lucrezia's. She's the one who killed Georg, the shifter girl you were asking about when we first arrived here. Silver's her name. There's no mistaking her, but I'm certain she didn't recognize me in return. If we are smart, we can get her to lead us right back to her master and kill the witch before she even knows she's in any danger. Isn't that great, Marcus? Not only are we reunited with our friends, but we finally have a lead that we can follow to our target. Things are really looking good for us, aren't they, lad? We might be going home within the next few weeks if we play our cards right!"

When they were done eating, the two of them quickly packed away the leftovers into the communal fridge and cleaned up after themselves. "Say, Marcus," Roland said, "since we've got nothing better to do, why don't we head over early? We can get a few drinks and be there waiting when the others arrive. Maybe we'll catch them all by surprise!"

Marcus had to quickly shower and change out of his work clothing--a process that was not made any easier by the fact that one of the other tenants took forever to get out of the bathroom before Marcus could get in--but Roland felt he was already dressed appropriately in his white t-shirt, flannel button up shirt, blue jeans, and white trainers. While he waited for Marcus, he worked on drawing Lucrezia as best as he could remember her from their single encounter in Blackrock's throne room. As far as he knew, he was the only one of the party who'd actually laid eyes on her. If she'd changed as much as Roland did, or as much as Marcus claimed Arryn and Daniel had, the drawing might not be much help in pinpointing her, but at least it was something. He could show this drawing to the others when they met so they had some idea what to look out for.

When Marcus was ready to go, the two of them descended outside into the twilight and made their way to the Lock Tavern. Roland knew exactly where it was. He guided Marcus through several alleyways and shortcuts and got them there as fast as possible, avoiding huge crowds and major traffic that would only serve to slow them down. When they got to their destination, it was only eight o'clock. They stepped inside, into the sounds of blaring music, buzzing crowds, and sporting events on several televisions suspended above the bar. When he first got to Earth, Roland found all the loud noise and bright neon lights in London taverns to be an unwelcome change from those on Aether, though by now he'd become used to it and even come to enjoy it after a fashion. The two shuffled their way through the tightly packed Saturday night crowd to the bar and Roland ordered them both a beer after producing their fake IDs to assure the bartender they were over eighteen. Marcus was quiet and shy as he always was, his head positioned so that he always had one eye on the entrance--Roland didn't think he usually liked social settings like this, not even taverns back on Aether--but Roland spent the next hour chatting and laughing and trading stories with the bartender and other nearby patrons. When he finished his beer, the bartender, whose name, he learned, was Bobby, gave him a second on the house--Roland was thankful, not for the first time, that he found it so easy to establish a good rapport with strangers.

The hour flew by. If he had been asked, Roland would have said it had only been a few minutes since they walked in, but before he knew it, Marcus was tugging at his sleeve and pointing excitedly over to the door where a group of four strangers, two men and two women, made their way inside. Roland narrowed his eyes as he studied them. The man in the lead was tall, dark, and handsome, with an affable, friendly, and welcoming smile on his face, the kind of guy the women loved to fall for. There was an efficiency in the way he moved that reminded Roland of a war veteran, someone who had a lot of discipline and self-control. The other who came in behind the tall man had shaggy brown hair and was taller than average as well, though not nearly so much as the first. He was a bit broader in the chest, arms, and shoulders with calluses on his hands; a craftsmen or construction worker, Roland guessed. He didn't carry himself as confidently as the first man, but instead moved very deliberately, taking every step slowly, very careful not to bump into anyone, difficult as it was in such a tight crowd. He spoke occasionally to the fetching blonde woman beside him and the rest of the time looked contemplatively at everything around him, like it was all new and fascinating to him and he needed to process it a little at a time. He wore a mostly neutral, unreadable expression on his face, though the corners of his mouth were tight, as though he were holding back a distasteful grimace. The tall one, Marcus told him, was Daniel, and the brown haired one was Arryn. "Are you sure?" Roland asked. "They look completely different..." he said in awe. Marcus nodded emphatically.

Roland went back to studying them. He supposed the brown haired fellow did have the same color eyes as Arryn, and some of the same facial features as he remembered. The way he moved was similar to his blacksmith friend as well, though he was no where near as big and muscular. The tall one also had some similar facial features to the Daniel he remembered, if you perhaps aged the old man backwards fifty years or so, though the scar on his face was missing. They MIGHT be who Marcus thought they were...if he tilted his head and squinted his eyes just right, Roland could just kind of see the resemblance.

Shrugging nonchalantly, he excused himself from the bar, figuring there was no way to find out but to go and talk to them. He hopped down from his bar stool and made his way over to the group of newcomers with a bright, inviting smile on his face.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arryn Bennett
Home -> The Lock Tavern Bar & Venue

""So you do play! That's so interesting! I thought I'd never get to hear you play!"

Arryn lowered the flute from his lips and looked over his shoulder curiously to see who the new voice belonged to. There he found Elena, looking at him with a brilliant, beaming smile and what he thought was a mischievous glint in her deep, brown eyes. The puppy yipped excitedly, jumped from his lap, and ran over to greet her. "Oh. Hey, Rose. Um, well, this wasn't a secret exactly." He shrugged. "It just never really came up before. I got this flute from my mentor on Aether and taught myself to play a few simple tavern tunes, that's all. I wasn't aware you were so interested in it, though," he said with a chuckle. "Anyway, we should probably get going." He slipped the flute back in one of his pockets alongside his wallet and cell phone and walked arm in arm with Elena out to the waiting Uber with Daniel on her other arm. To his credit, he managed not to blush even though he was so close to the pretty blonde like this that he thought he could smell her shampoo. She didn't seem flustered by their closeness at all, though.

The four crammed themselves into the back seat of the car and everyone seemed to feel a bit squished. On the ride over, Arryn began to tell Elena a bit more about Hogan's flute and some of the songs that were popular on Aether, but the conversation was unfortunately cut short when the driver said something about a double date and everyone got a little flustered except Daniel, who took it in stride. The rest of the ride was awkwardly quiet, but luckily short. They were stepping out of the cramped vehicle and entering the building before they knew it.

On Aether, Arryn wasn't a heavy drinker, but he had loved to sit in taverns, have a drink or two with good friends, play at some dice, and listen to the wandering bards sing and play. As a child, he'd spent a lot of time begging for food or coin in taverns, hiding under tables so the barkeeps wouldn't kick him out. As a teenager, many of his free nights had been spent in one tavern or another with Hogan, who, like a typical dwarf, was a heavy, jolly drinker who loved his ale whenever he had the opportunity to indulge. Now that he thought about it, given how often he spent his free time in taverns on Aether, it was kind of amazing that he hadn't set foot in a single one since arriving on Earth. He'd been so busy and overwhelmed in his first month here, he hadn't had time even to think about it until tonight. Given what he encountered as he walked in to the Lock Tavern, though, he was not entirely sure that was a bad thing. Taverns weren't exactly quiet on Aether, but the music was so much louder than he was used to here, and the crowds' shouts seemed to compete with it to see which could make the most senseless noise. It was like they were trying to deafen him on purpose. On the bright side, he noted there was a baseball game on one of the TVs above the bar. And at least there didn't seem to be any drunken fights brewing as there might have been back home. Not yet at least.

"Is it always so loud?!" he asked Rose, practically yelling to be heard over the cacophony. "Ugh. I suppose I'll get used to it. Enough ale, and I'm sure I'll forget all about it," he said sarcastically.

As they stood in the entrance and debated whether they should get a table down there for now or head up to the second floor where Rose told them the stage for performers would be, the crowd between them and the bar seemed to part like the sea for a short figure approaching them with a quick, confident stride. The red-headed youth looked no more than 18 or 19, but between the big, bold grin on his face, the self-assured way he moved--not even glancing at the people who parted so he could pass, as if such behavior were only natural--and the straight-backed, regal posture he adopted unconsciously as he walked, Arryn thought he could have passed for someone much older. The former blacksmith had an inkling who it was, and he couldn't suppress his excitement now. His face broke into a beaming smile. There was only one red-headed person Arryn had ever met besides Queen Ophelia who moved with such easy confidence and poise. If he had any doubts as to who this person was, they were put to rest when he saw first the brilliant red dragons on his arms and then Marcus trailing closely behind the figure as he approached.

Roland Fairchild, Prince of Alcamoth, Hero of Light and Last Hope of Aether. His prince.

The short, boyish red-head stopped before the group of four and turned his knowing smile and piercing gaze on all of them one at a time. Arryn was a bit put off by the multi-colored eyes; he hadn't had those on Aether and this was the first time he'd seen someone's eye color change because of the portal. "Daniel Payne and Arryn Blacksmith. I wasn't sure before, but now that I see you up close, there's no mistaking it." He pointed to Arryn, " though you've lost about a foot," and then to Daniel, "and him about fifty years. That portal really did a number on us, eh?" Arryn stared, openmouthed, as Roland approached Daniel first, gave an Alcamoth military salute, and then shook his hand in greeting.

When the prince came to him next, Arryn had to fight the urge to get on one knee and pledge his eternal allegiance. Rose got mad at him whenever he made a scene with his Aether habits, so he could only imagine how she would react to something like that, let alone all the people around them. Roland had never been one for formality anyway, least of all with his closest friends. So, instead of bowing, Arryn just closed the distance between them without a word and hugged the prince as tightly as if he were his long lost younger brother. Roland returned the hug with that good natured smile of his. "Careful, old friend. I missed you too, but people will talk if we keep up like this. Who are these two lovely ladies? Introduce me."

"Oh. Sorry. Roland, this is Elena Benoit, who goes by Rose," he said. "She has helped us a great deal in adapting to life on Earth. I don't know where we would have ended up if not for her boundless kindness. Sleeping in dumpsters, eating trash, probably. Rose, this is Roland Fairchild. He's the Prince of Alcamoth, the city I was born in. He's the strongest, bravest man I know and he's saved my life, and the lives of everyone here, more times than I can count."

"Ha ha. No more than you've saved mine. Without these three, I'm not sure I'd have been able to put my boots on in the morning, let alone march on the Shadow Queen. A pleasure, Rose. Thank you for helping my friends the way you did. They are very precious to me, not just as subjects, but like my own family. As you guided them, I consider you a part of that family now as well. If there is anything I can do to repay you, don't hesitate to ask me. Or any of us here," he said shaking her hand firmly, that penetrating gaze and glowing smile never faltering for a second. Arryn couldn't help but notice, with them standing across from one another like that, that the two of them were virtually the same height. Finally, someone else who'd lost a significant amount of height and weight like him.

"And this," Arryn said, turning to Ana, "is--"

"No, wait. Don't tell me. I know this one. She's familiar." Roland squinted and pursed his lips and rubbed his chin as he approached Ana. "We've met a few times. You don't look so different than you did back home. Anastasia Kochenkov, the Spider, the missing heir to the Cloudtop throne. Am I right? You usually take orders from High Sentinel Staxos, or from the Church of Light officials just underneath him at any rate. What are you doing here? Did the High Sentinel send you to keep an eye on me? Assassinate me if things went sideways so he could take my sword? That would be just like him, that arrogant ass," he said, rolling his eyes. Arryn winced. He didn't like Staxos either, but talking about the head of the most dominant, politically powerful religion on Aether like that where anyone could hear was just not a smart idea. Arryn wished Roland would show a bit more caution, but he supposed some things never changed, no matter what world they were on. "Well, no matter," Roland went on, clasping Ana's hand in a warrior's grip. "Whatever twisted reason he actually sent you for, you fight for the Light and you're here now, so we're in this together. If you do try to kill me, though, do me a favor and pick a quick and painless method, will you? None of those slow-acting, horrifically bloody poisons you used on the members of that Dark Elven cult of shamans hiding out on Overtide Isle a few years back." He laughed out loud.

His delivery was totally serious and straight-faced, but Roland was clearly joking, Arryn thought. Ana wouldn't assassinate him, and Staxos would never order it. Obviously, he had to be joking. Right?

"Anyway," Roland went on, "We have a lot to discuss, the five of us. Lots of plans to make. I have a lead on how to find Lucrezia, but we must go carefully, very carefully. We'll discuss it later. Miss Rose, I understand from Marcus that you're a singer here. I look forward to seeing you perform. Do you have some time for a quick drink before you do? First round's on me, of course. Or should we all head up and find ourselves some seats before your show starts?"

WillfulWren koala ReverseTex LoneSniper87

 

[LoneSniper87]

Anastasia Kochenkov
The Lock Tavern Bar & Venue

Ana watched as Marcus and Roland approached, having sat herself so she watched the door. She smiled politely and let them all chat, taking in everyone's words. It was certainly them, even from what little interaction she had with the prince besides her start in her craft, she could tell. Ana nodded when she was addressed, and stopped dead in her tracks. "The last part, please don't mention it again. It isn't really something I like to flash about. Alek is much more capable than I was at that. And no, Staxos didn't send me. Prolly doesn't even know I'm here. I came here on my own volition, seeing my skills will be needed here." She smiled gripping him back with a more elegant, but still powerful grip, whatever tenseness from before easing away, the drink in her hand seemingly helping, despite her having barely drank it. "It's good to see we are all more or less ok, in more," she casts a glance at Arryn, "or less the same state of being, but together all the same."

 

[QizPizza]

Having his knee taken care of, Rai slowly made his way to Millers. He still had £3 in his pocket, so it should be enough for a cup of tea or a small pastry. Tea was the way to go though. It speeds up metabolism and soothes the mind. Much healthier than a sugar loaded pastry. Besides, if he got a small pie, he would feel bad for eating dinner, having already had something before he got back. Wait a second...dinner...Rai had to do something today before he got home...What was it? Oh well, he'll figure it out later.

The Oni turned human reached Millers rather quickly, considering that he was limping most of the way. When he finally got to the cafe, he gently opened the door. He no longer performed the grand entrances he once did as the god of Thunder, as there was little impressive about his human form. Some people may disagree with that last part, but Rai just found it silly to barge in like he owned the place when he didn't even have access to his powers. Rai stepped into the humble little establishment to see Hannah and Lisa engaged in a conversation with a pink haired girl and a ginger girl.

He prepared to greet the group of women but before that, he did a bit of a double take. The two women seemed vaguely familiar. What's with all the women that look like people Rai had seen before. Today was a serious case of deja vu. He really needed that cup of tea. The redhead sat down a table away from the little huddle and called over to Hannah, hoping that he didn't interrupt their conversation, "Good afternoon, Miss Hannah! A cup of green tea please. No extras."

Rai Kaminari​

Physical Status: Slight Limping
Emotional/Mental Status: Confused
Location: London - Millers'
Interacting With: Avari (Hannah)
Mentioned: fIora (Aemi) Shotgunpenguin (Juniper) Avari (Lisa) ​

 

[Shotgunpenguin]

Juniper Arc
Millers Cafe

"Thanks, this place seems really great." Juniper nodded as she looked down to her remaining half of her pie. It really was a good place to stop by and relax, have some pie and unwind from her job. The commute would be a bit of a pain, especially if it rained, but it wasn't as if she hadn't been through worse than a little rain. "I wonder if the other's would like a place like this. Although I think that Lucrezia would find it a bit small for her liking." She mentally giggled before a sudden spark of urgency snapped it out of her. The others?! Had she been so preoccupied that she forgot her entire reason for being on this world? Her objective was to find her queen and the others and assist her in any way possible, not sit here without a care eating pie. "I can't believe that I have ceased my search so easily! Lucrezia would be disgusted in how weak willed I'm being right now." After mentally admonishing herself Juniper decided to continue her search. After she was finished with her pie of course. "I'm sorry my queen." she though as she took as small as a piece of her pie as she could, wanting to enjoy it for as long as she could.

The bell on the door quietly rang as another person entered the cafe, a tall (by this world's standards at least) and rather attractive man with bright red hair that gave him a faint sense of familiarity to someone she knew. Shrugging it off she turned her attention to Hannah and then Lisa when the former was in a conversation with the new man. Having been reminded of her purpose she decided to ask the woman if she possibly knew anything. "Hey Lisa, do you think I can ask you something? Have you've had any....odd people come into here recently?"

Avari , QizPizza , fIora

 

[fIora]

[div class=root][div class=bg][/div][div class=container] [div class=image]

[/div] [div class=content][div class=name]Angela Akiyama[/div] [div class=info]Hannah's Cafe Interacting with Shotgunpenguin Avari QizPizza [/div] [div class=scrollhold][div class=scroll] Aemi continued light conversation with the other ladies. "Oh, also, could I have a medium english breakfast tea? I've been craving it since yesterday!" As she placed her order, a light ring echoed through the cafe - somebody else had entered the building, ijoining the conversation. "Good afternoon, Miss Hannah! A cup of green tea please, no extras." A deep man's voice reverberated through the cafe. As she turned around, she offered a small smile, and turned back at the others. [/div][/div][/div] [/div][/div] [class name=root] position: relative; width: 100%; height: auto; [/class] [class name=container] position: relative; width: 100%; max-width: 1250px; margin: 0 auto; height: auto; display: flex; flex-flow: row wrap; align-items: center; [/class] [class name=bg] position: absolute; top:0; bottom: 0; left: 0; right: 0; background-image: linear-gradient(13deg, transparent 70%, #b8e8ff 70%), linear-gradient(-77deg, white 68%, #b8e8c6 68%); [/class] [class name=image] position: relative; width: 500px; max-width: 100%; height: auto; font-size: 0; margin-left: -50px; margin-right: -125px; z-index: 3; [/class] [class name=content] position: relative; flex: 1; min-width: 300px; min-height: 400px; border: 12px solid #ecb6c8; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0 4px; font-size: initial; background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.5); [/class] [class name=content minWidth=1000px] height: 400px; [/class] [class name=name] font-family: 'Lobster'; font-size: calc(20px + 6.5vh); position: absolute; bottom: calc(100% + 12px); color: white; line-height: .8; width: 100%; text-align: right; z-index: 5; [/class] [class name=info] font-family: 'Raleway'; font-size: 1.25em; position: absolute; top: calc(100% + 12px); color: #b8e8ff; width: 100%; height: auto; text-align: right; margin-left: 12px; [/class] [class name=scrollhold] position: relative; width: 100%; height: 100%; overflow: hidden; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 5px; [/class] [class name=scrollhold minWidth=1000px] padding-left: 120px; [/class] [class name=scroll] position: relative; width: 100%; height: 100%; padding-right: 250px; color: black; font-family: 'Raleway'; overflow-Y: scroll; overflow-X: hidden; [/class]

 

[Avari]

LISA SPARROW
MILLERS CAFE
​

Lisa raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow quizzically at Juniper's question, her expression one of curiosity. Then she simply shrugged looking amused.

"You get all sorts of strange people here. A veritable idiosyncratic horde of -"

"Weirdos" Hannah chipped in, smiling at Juniper. "Don't mind her. She likes to use long words to sound smart."

"Well...yes. I suppose that's an apt description...." Lisa responded thoughtfully, ignoring Hannah's little jibe. The dark haired girl then gestured down to the red-headed man who had practically limped into the cafe and quietly sat himself down at a respectable distance.

"-Though none are quite as odd as that one. My darling flat-mate." she continued, giving him a small wave of greeting as Hannah busied herself behind the counter, blushing furiously for some reason as she brewed his green tea and Angela's order of breakfast tea.

Lisa frowned at him.

"What happened to you, Rai?" She asked, rising her voice so he could hear her. "I hope you didn't get in another fight. I would be distraught to be subject to such wanton depravity...again."


--

INTERACTIONS
QizPizza
Shotgunpenguin
fIora

 

[QizPizza]

"What happened to you, Rai? I hope you didn't get in another fight. I would be distraught to be subject to such wanton depravity...again."

"Awwwww...you care. You assume the worse of me, though." The redhead let out a little chuckle. Lisa was so suspicious that it was actually amusing now that he was used to life on Earth for the most part. Of course, her caution was not without merit. As the ruler of a kingdom, one has to be careful or else they will do something foolish. "Don't worry though, I just met this crazy girl at the park that was trying to catch a bird by climbing a tree. She fell on me and I scraped my knee. That girl was a strange one, white hair, red eyes..." Rai looked towards his roommate with a warm smile and then plastered a sly look as their eyes met. "Sound familiar?"

The young man took a glance back at the kitchen as he awaited his tea. Hannah seemed to be distracted as she prepared the tea. Rai wondered what could make her so flustered. "By the way, got any idea what is going on with Hannah, she's acting a bit weird. Oh, and good afternoon to you two ladies." The red head gave a warm smile and waved at the two girls talking with Lisa.

Rai Kaminari​

Physical Status: Slight Limping
Emotional/Mental Status: Confused
Location: London - Millers'
Interacting With: Avari (Hannah)
Mentioned: fIora (Aemi) Shotgunpenguin (Juniper) Avari (Lisa) ​

 

[WillfulWren]

Marcus Felis, Home -> The Lock Tavern Bar & Venue - MagicPenguin LoneSniper87 koala ReverseTex
Marcus stayed very quiet throughout their meal, stunned by the news. He had known that his sister was here...But working with Roland? His stomach clenched with worry, for both of them. The girl was notably insane, and he didn't want his prince too close to her, and he really didn't want her to get hurt. Perhaps that could be considered a betrayal, being so worried for an enemy, He picked at his food, eyes fixed on the floor. He moved sluggishly through the bar, lost in his own thoughts, but he perked up as he recognized the others.

He grinned widely as he spotted them, and his slender form easily wove through the crowds, though he made sure to stay close to Roland's side. One never knew what could happen in a crowded place such as this.
"The heir to cloudtop?" Marcus blurted. He hadn't been aware of that, and his first instinct was to bow. He's evidently not as good at avoiding a scene as Arryn. "I-I didn't realise!"

 

[Avari]

LISA SPARROW
MILLER'S CAFE ​

"Don't worry though, I just met this crazy girl at the park that was trying to catch a bird by climbing a tree. She fell on me and I scraped my knee. That girl was a strange one, white hair, red eyes..." Rai looked towards his roommate with a warm smile and then plastered a sly look as their eyes met. "Sound familiar?"

Lisa shook her head and gave a small shrug. "I don't know why it should - but I'm sure you can tell me all about your new eccentric friends later. Speaking of...remember it's your turn to cook tonight." The dark haired girl leaned over and lightly jabbed her finger into Rai's chest. "-and if it's instant noodles again, I fear I shall lose my mind. Therefore I have a vital task for you..."

The Queen-Teen leaned in even closer, taking a moment to check behind her to ensure the others in the cafe weren't listening. Evidently she was satisfied by what she saw as she turned her attention back to her associate, took out a small piece of paper from her pocket and pushed it quickly towards Rai before anyone could see.

TODAY ONLY!
50% OFF ALL SELECT BRANDS WHEN USING THIS LEAFLET
TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY
​

"We must strike quickly." She whispered to him, sounding deadly serious. "But this leaflet is a one time use, and we need to carry as much as we can manage. This supermarket is only around the corner and my shift is over in an hour. We can then go together."

Lisa favored him with a particularly evil smile. "This is the moment I have been waiting for."


---

INTERACTION : QizPizza

 

[QizPizza]

""We must strike quickly. But this leaflet is a one time use, and we need to carry as much as we can manage. This supermarket is only around the corner and my shift is over in an hour. We can then go together. This is the moment I have waiting for.""

Rai plastered on a smile that was meant to hide the despair behind his eyes. That was what Rai was supposed to do today. Groceries. He was supposed get groceries with Lisa today. He glanced at the paper and shoved it into his pocket. Lisa was definitely being way too serious about getting groceries, though Rai would admit the 50% off offer would be great opportunity to stock up for a few weeks. However, his injury would make things quite difficult. No doubt Lisa would still make him carry absurd amounts of groceries all the way back to their apartment. Sarcasm filled his voice as responded, "Of course, how would you ever live without my assistance?"

As she spoke, Lisa leaned in closer and closer. He learned several things about what humans would consider to be indications of romantic relationships. Among that was close proximity between two people of the opposite sex. The red head thought it would be funny to place the "Queen of Darkness" in a compromising position. So, Rai leaner closer towards Lisa until his lips were almost at her ear and whispered into her ear. "Might want to back off. Those girls over there might think that you're trying to 'hook up' with me, as they say." In a slightly louder voice, just loud enough for the other two girls to hear, he said, "Well, you certainly are bold. Getting so close and asking me like this in public."

Rai Kaminari​

Physical Status: Slight Limping
Emotional/Mental Status: Playful
Location: London - Millers'
Interacting With: Avari (Lisa)
Mentioned: fIora (Aemi) Shotgunpenguin (Juniper)​

 

[koala]

Elena "Rose" Benoit
Outfit: Evening
Date: Saturday 07/28/2018
Location: The Lock Tavern Bar & Venue
Mentions: -
Interacting: Arryn/Roland MagicPenguin , Ana LoneSniper87 , Daniel ReverseTex , Marcus WillfulWren

Late Evening
Elena didn't say much once they arrived to their destination. She maintained her spot next to Arryn, but eventually took lead to lead the group through the crowd. When they finally came across the familiar face from earlier in the day, she chose to stand back and allow everyone to catch up. While she understood how important them finding each other was, she couldn't help but feel a bit left out. Of course, she didn't know what to expect would happen when they all gathered. A prince, a princess, a werewolf, a shapeshifter, and a human that can grow in size were fairy tail characters she'd never truly understood, and that left a little dent in her heart.

Them finding each other meant they were a closer step to leaving.

Her doe eyes almost glazed over as she began to zone out, but Roland's snapped her back to reality. She realized everyone was staring at her and she quickly apologized. "Oh, yes!" Elena said, the usual gentleness in her voice returning. "A drink or two is fine." They made their way over to one of the empty tables where chairs lined one side and a booth lined the other. Choosing to sit on the outside for convenience, the young woman ordered a simple mimosa with some peanuts. She still had at least half an hour before her performance so sitting around and observing the group didn't bother her.

For the next thirty minutes, Elena didn't say much. She seemed to go in an out of a zoned state, only returning to the present when someone addressed her. Smiling every once in a while, she'd chip in a witty remark but would never pry into their Aether matters. It wasn't right for her to push herself into their group even though she'd done so much throughout the last month.

A man finally came down the steps and approached Elena, whispering in her ear about her showtime. Nodding, she motioned towards the group that she'd be going up and slowly made her way over. Once she was on the rooftop, she found her makeshift band already setting up. In the corner, her red stained guitar was waiting for her under a dimly lit show light. By the time the Aether group had found their seats, she was already sitting on a stool with her guitar in hand, testing the mic and nodding to her fellow musicians.

Songs in order: 1, 2, she sings more songs but I'm too lazy to link plus they really wouldn't help

Spoiler: V2

Outfit: Evening, nude heels
Date: Saturday 07/28/2018
Location: The Lock Tavern Bar & Venue
Mentions: -
Interacting: Arryn/Roland MagicPenguin , Ana LoneSniper87 , Daniel ReverseTex , Marcus WillfulWren

Late Evening
Elena didn't say much once they arrived to their destination. She maintained her spot next to Arryn, but eventually took lead to lead the group through the crowd. When they finally came across the familiar face from earlier in the day, she chose to stand back and allow everyone to catch up. While she understood how important them finding each other was, she couldn't help but feel a bit left out. Of course, she didn't know what to expect would happen when they all gathered. A prince, a princess, a werewolf, a shapeshifter, and a human that can grow in size were fairy tail characters she'd never truly understood, and that left a little dent in her heart.

Them finding each other meant they were a closer step to leaving.

Her doe eyes almost glazed over as she began to zone out, but Roland's snapped her back to reality. She realized everyone was staring at her and she quickly apologized. "Oh, yes!" Elena said, the usual gentleness in her voice returning. "A drink or two is fine." They made their way over to one of the empty tables where chairs lined one side and a booth lined the other. Choosing to sit on the outside for convenience, the young woman ordered a simple mimosa with some peanuts. She still had at least half an hour before her performance so sitting around and observing the group didn't bother her.

For the next thirty minutes, Elena didn't say much. She seemed to go in an out of a zoned state, only returning to the present when someone addressed her. Smiling every once in a while, she'd chip in a witty remark but would never pry into their Aether matters. It wasn't right for her to push herself into their group even though she'd done so much throughout the last month.

A man finally came down the steps and approached Elena, whispering in her ear about her showtime. Nodding, she motioned towards the group that she'd be going up and slowly made her way over. Once she was on the rooftop, she found her makeshift band already setting up. In the corner, her red stained guitar was waiting for her under a dimly lit show light. By the time the Aether group had found their seats, she was already sitting on a stool with her guitar in hand, testing the mic and nodding to her fellow musicians.

Songs in order: 1, 2, she sings more songs but I'm too lazy to link plus they really wouldn't help