Fantasy Skyheart (1 slot open)

[kase9187]

Aldaf nudged Leandra gently.

"About before... at the smithy. I get where you're coming from, but I didn't pull the scales off Spica. She can naturally dislodge them and grow them back quickly."

He bowed his head.

"But, if you don't like the idea, forget I said anything. I'd rather not see you uncomfortable using the scales as arrowheads."

Lioness075

 

[explosiveKitten]

Katja sat at a table relatively by herself, with an absurd amount of loose leaf teas in her bag. Freshly bought, Westeros tea. Oh man, Katja was EXCITED. Being a tea snob herself, she loves all chances to get her grubby little hands on exotic teas she takes it. It all smelled lovely as well- the unique spices, herbs, flowers and fruits all blended together in the air and made her unreasonably happy. OOohhh, it was a good day.

When Caliban joined her at her table, she jumped and blinked at him, trying desperately to keep from blushing like a little girl when approached by her crush- this was not a crush, no!- and the smell of raspberries hit her nose. She blinked for a moment, then looked over again Cal, and found him drinking a distinctly red-colored tea- He was drinking her favorite kind of tea!

She glanced over at him, then looked down at the table in relative silence. But when Zeke suddenly approached and laid a map on said table, she looked up at him, before turning her attention to the map.

“The healer who helped mister Ord, Rhyne, has amazing magic as well... It’s basically the only reason Ord is still alive. The way he just sewed the flesh back together was... incredible.” She added to the conversation, sipping at her own tea idly while Zeke looked over the map in front of them. “Makes me feel like my job is a little invalid to be honest.”

Zeke started to speak again, she looked up and blinked big doe-eyes in his direction, and she looked even more surprised by the apology that came from Zeke. She was about to say that he didn’t need to apologize (because he was right) but stopped herself stop before she could, instead opting to simply nod.

“Well, I’ve been thinking of this moment for my entire life, so I say lets get going when everyone is really ready. Yeah?”

—————————

Katja stood in front of the massive building, blinking in surprise at the sheer size of it. Thinking about the little cabin that her father and herself lived in, she couldn’t help but to wonder what her life could have been like if her dad had never left Westeros. Or if he had convinced her mother to come to Westeros instead.

The mere thought made her scratch her face under the mask.

She took in the grand building. It was made of white stone, with a small staircase going up to the front door, framed by grand pillars that held up the roof that shaded the front steps. A couple green vines spiraled up the side of the building, budding in these tiny, star-shaped purple flowers. It was... beautiful. And she was incredibly intimidated by it.

“... welp. I guess I better go... knock on the door...” Katja said, making no move to do so.
“... Yep.” Still no movement.
“Gonna go.” One tiny step in the right direction.
“Over there. To the door.” Another tiny step.
“Gonna knock on it.” She hesitated some more, taking another couple anxious steps.

“... nnnaaahhh, I can’t do this!” She whimpered, wheeling around and trying to hide behind Matthias. “I shouldn’t have insisted, we can go now!”

SilverFlight Lioness075 SleepyCreamy YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura Naberius AncientBird Saturn_moon kase9187

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf moved around and put a hand on Katja's shoulder.

"Hey, it's alright to be nervous. You've never met these people. Whether you knock on that door or not, I'll be right behind you."

explosiveKitten

 

[Naberius]

When they approached the home of Katja's family, Caliban could almost feel the tension in her body language as they walked along. She was excited, but also scared. When they stopped outside, and she practically hid and refused to go through with it, he acted out of instinct more than out of any conscious thought. He walked over to her, and smiled

"Hey, everything will be alright, Katja. I'm-err.. Your friends are here with you. Nothing to be afraid of."


He stepped back, still smiling, and nodded towards the door.


SilverFlight Lioness075 SleepyCreamy YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura explosiveKitten AncientBird Saturn_moon kase9187

 

[explosiveKitten]

“That’s easy for you to say!” She chided, clasping her head in her hands and breathing deeply.
“What if they don’t like me? What if they take one look at me and decide that I’m not related to them! I don’t look anything like my dad, what if they don’t believe me when I tell them I’m his daughter, that we’re related! And I’m a byproduct of why he left Westeros! I shouldn’t have done this, we should just go...”

SilverFlight Lioness075 SleepyCreamy YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura Naberius AncientBird Saturn_moon kase9187

 

[Naberius]

Caliban stepped forward, pulling her into a hug.

"Hey, don't talk like that. You're our badass healer, you climbed a mountain and fought skeleton monsters and saved our asses with your skills. How can they not like you, you're incredible!"

After a moment, he realized what exactly he was doing and saying, and immediately let go, backing up a few steps and... Was there a slight blush around his cheeks?.... No, must just be the sun...

"I mean.. Uh.. You're a great friend, and I know they'll like you.."


SilverFlight Lioness075 SleepyCreamy YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura explosiveKitten AncientBird Saturn_moon kase9187

 

[Saturn_moon]

The tea house was a lovely little place, tucked in the middle of a lush green garden, hidden (thankfully) in the shade of the surrounding trees. Marylka plopped herself down cross-legged on one of the cushions and rested her head tiredly against the railing. Walking around in the blazing midday heat through throngs of people had sapped away more of her energy than she realised. Feeling more than a little dazed, she seriously considered taking a nap then and there.

In her dazed state, she overheard Kari and Aldaf questioning Katja about the secrets she had kept from the group. There were things about Marylka's own life that she hadn't shared with the group, didn't want to share with the group, and she had no intention of doing so. Not yet at least. The fact that Katja had chosen to tell them about her Westerosi heritage and even invited everyone to tag along on her quest to seek them out was pretty brave as it is and Marylka admired her for it. She thought that as long as it didn't place the group in any danger, it was entirely Katja's prerogative to decide what information she wanted to share with them and when she wanted to do so.

Besides taking away her strength, the heat had apparently also taken away her appetite. In the end, all Marylka ordered for herself a pot of hibiscus tea with honey. When it arrived, she poured herself a cup and deeply inhaled the scent of the deep magenta liquid. The aromas of the tea alone had an invigorating effect and she felt herself awaken slightly. However, the idea of drinking hot tea in this heat was not something she was looking forward to and she frowned at her cup. Remembering the trick she had done with the water in her waterskin to keep Archie cool on their flight over, she held her hand over the pot and using her magic, cooled her drink down almost to the point of freezing.

She took a sip of her now chilled drink and let out a satisfied sigh as the taste of the cold, sweet, floral liquid coated her mouth and refreshed her senses. Her ears perked up when the conversation shifted to the topic of magic. "I've never been able to do anything other than water magic so I'm not sure how we would even find out if we are capable of performing any of these new magics. I mean, if I focus really hard on someone's bleeding arm and nothing happens how do I know if it's because I don't have an affinity for that type of magic or because I'm just really terrible at it?"

When she heard Ezekiel apologise to Katja for the things he said to her back in the cave, she looked up curiously. His eyes shifted to briefly fall on her and she noticed... remorse? She couldn't ever be sure when it came to the Westerosi boy. At least this time he seemed sincere in his apology which was a lot more than she had expected.

❊❊❊❊❊​

When Zeke stopped in front of the stone marbled mansion, Marylka's jaw dropped. She had never seen houses that large before and was sure she could fit at least ten of her family's yurts into the building. What was anyone going to do with all that space?! She looked over at Katja who now seemed to be having second thoughts about being here. Caliban stepped up to offer her some words of comfort before pulling her into a hug. Marylka immediately diverted her eyes, feeling as though she was intruding on a rather intimate moment.

"It's entirely your choice to make but you did say you've been thinking about this your entire life and well, you've already made it this far..."

SilverFlight Lioness075 SleepyCreamy YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura explosiveKitten AncientBird Naberius kase9187

 

[SilverFlight]

Kari heard Zeke's apology and gave him a half smile. "Well now," The mumbled to herself, "that's a bit more like it." If they were going to survive long enough to uncover the secrets of the deathborn, they would need to rely on each other, they couldn't do that if there wasn't trust.

Kari looked over at what Gerel had ordered and made a face at the hot, brown liquid in his cup.
"Eugh, what's that? How can you have a hot drink in a climate like this?" Her tone was light and teasing.
When he spat it out Kari couldn't help but laugh. "Taste as good as it smells?"
Talk soon shifted onto Targus and Kari got excited.
"Oh man I can't wait to see that place, it must be chock-full of cool stuff!"

Katja began to speak of Rhyne's power, she had been the only one to see it.
"Wait, he did what?" Kari almost didn't believe it. "That's incredible. I wonder if Deralis know they have magic like this. Could that weigh into why he's trying so hard to get the mages? We should probably keep quiet about it for now, at least until we talk to Candour again...Hmm, we just don't know enough yet, but if Deralis is approaching us on the street in broad daylight, we're already involved, whether we want it, whether the headmaster wants it...so we should be prepared."

She glanced at Marylka as the other girl voiced her worries. "We're at an academy dedicated to the study of magic, I'm sure they have ways of figuring out magical gifts. Don't worry about it. Headmaster Candour and the others really seemed like they wanted to help us."

~*~*~

The house was more like a mansion and Kari gawked at the extravagance. "Gosh, you could almost fit a hundred head of cattle in there!"
She listened to Katja waffling at the door, and the others try and coax her. But it was hot out, and they'd been standing on the doorstep too long for Kari's patience.
Kari moved past all of them and advanced toward the door in slow motion, a teasing smile on her face.
"Hey Katja! If you don't get up here and knock on your family's door in five seconds I'm gonna do it for you! Oh look! They have one of those fancy ropes that rings a bell! I think I'm gonna go pull on it now!"

Lioness075 SleepyCreamy AncientBird kase9187 YumenoTsukishiro Naberius Elenion Aura Saturn_moon explosiveKitten

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf sort of glanced at Kari, not hostile but pleading for her to stop. He turned back to Katja.

"So what's the name of the street? I might know this place, but I need a name."

He tried to get Katja's mind off her family, calm her down a bit. If she forgot her doubts, things might go better.

SleepyCreamy SilverFlight explosiveKitten YumenoTsukishiro Lioness075 Naberius Elenion Aura Saturn_moon AncientBird

 

[explosiveKitten]

Katja’s face lit up bright red as Caliban pulled her into a hug. She listened to Caliban’s words and her face got even redder as she blushed heavily. She blinked when he called her incredible, and when he pulled away she stood there with her blushing face. She started to giggle like a school girl whose crush had finally noticed her, with a breathy, “Th-Thanks, Caliban... I appreciate that..”
When she realized what just happened, she turned suddenly and strode back over to to the house, charging after Kari, hastily trying to stop her from trying to ring the bell.
“Alright alrightalrightalright I’m doing it! Leave me aloooone!” She said in a semi-teasing tone, where she then turned to the door and stared at the thick mahogany door.

She raised a fist shakily to knock on the door, only for it to be thrown open and scare Katja, causing the young woman
Standing there is an absolutely gorgeous woman with dark brown skin, sharp hazel eyes and frizzy, curly hair that framed her face. She has a golden nose ring, and large golden studs in her ears. She stared down at the assembled young adult with a quirked brow.

“AH! Uh! H-Hi! Um...” She said, waving awkwardly she tries to maintain an atmosphere of calm. “Um- Hi, I’m Katja. We’ve never met, but I know you! Er, well, my dad knows you, he’s a part of this family, his name is Tseison, he um, he married my mom and moved to Northaria and then I happened, and my mom died and I’ve always wanted to meet you, my family, we’re family, crazy right! Anyway, I was just- I just passed my proving and I came here to meet you because I’ve always wanted to and look at me, now I’m here! Heheheh! ... This is the Ahkamet house right?”

“... Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone talk so much in so little time.” The woman said, blinking in surprise.
“Um... Ehehe... I- I’m sorry, I should-“
“You are definitely my big brother’s kid, Katja, what are you saying? What’s with the long introduction, COME HERE!” The woman grabs Katja and pulls her into a hug, which shocks Katja and she locks up.
“Hav- Have we met before?”
“Katja.” The woman said, pulling her away to look her over. “Don’t tell me you forgot your Aunt Shadya?”
“Shadya? The name sounds familiar, but-“
“HEY EVERYBODY ITS KATJA! COME DOWN HERE AND SAY HI!” With barely a second glance, the newly named Shadya whips around and takes Katja inside.
“Um, my um-“
“Oh, your friends can come in too! Of course they can!”

The entrance hall is big, and grandiose. A grand staircase leads up to a second floor balcony that overlooks the entrance hall on both sides, with string of colorful cloth strung from the ceiling, which contained a massive skylight, that cast different colored beams of light across the floor. Vaguely if you looked hard enough you could see doors leading to other rooms up on those balconies. In the middle of the stairs were a set of matching mahogany doors that likely lead deeper into the manse.

From all around, several people, lots of people, began to appear from doorways and look over at the pair that just stormed in. And eventually a couple of young children came tumbling out of a nearby room, grabbing onto Katja’s arms and they started to insist she play with them, while another woman and man came out and ushered them off. Slowly the people began to run out and greet Katja like they had known her for forever. She was shocked by all of this, but as more and more people came over to greet her, all the warm welcomes and smiling faces, she looks more and more excited, and happy, until she’s squealing along with the kids and running around like she had known them all along.

It looks like anyone who has ever taken the name “Ahkamet” lives here under this one roof. Four generations of Westeros people were wandering around this one building, and all of them seemed pleased as punch to see Katja.

SilverFlight Lioness075 SleepyCreamy YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura Naberius AncientBird Saturn_moon kase9187

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf laughed by the door as the family seemed to envelop Katja.

"Aren't you happy you decided to go to the door now?"

He walked in and watched the scene unfold, trying really hard to not fall over laughing.

explosiveKitten Naberius Lioness075 YumenoTsukishiro Saturn_moon Elenion Aura SleepyCreamy SilverFlight AncientBird

 

[Naberius]

Caliban Lupei

Caliban walked into what may very well have been the most impressive home he may ever set foot in. It was large on a scale that he hadn't seen in a building that wasn't some sort of important government or religious structure, and it was frankly rather daunting. What was even more impressive than the size of the building, however, was the sheer amount of people living within its walls. And every last one of them seemed to spill out into the parlor area they stood in to gather around Katja. At first she seemed just as stunned, but then she smiled. And he found that he rather enjoyed that smile. And his immediate following thought was to question why, exactly, he had thought of that to begin with.

Standing with the others, he started to really take in their surroundings, eyes growing wider as he did so.

"That's...wow...That's a lot of people. And a really big house.."


SilverFlight Lioness075 SleepyCreamy YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura explosiveKitten AncientBird Saturn_moon kase9187

 

[AncientBird]

Following the band, led by Ezekiel... Serik found himself in front of a large mansion with his friends. This was where Katja claimed that her relatives are living.

Gazing upon the size of the building, Serik felt nothing but the wonder of how grand this place is. It was large like a castle, with its wall constructed of beautiful marble and decorated gorgeously, only the building in the academy could compete with its size. The young man wondered how wealthy a family has to be to achieve such place for their home... Not to mention, how many people are living in there that they need to have such a big house?

Katja seemed reluctant to called the residents of the house... She was nervous and scared to meet these unknown relative, Serik could tell. However the other in the group started to encourage her to at least try reaching out. Eventually, the masked girl put herself together and was about to pull the bell string when the mansion door sprang open.

A Westerosian woman stood there. Katja tried to introduce herself but was quickly welcomed with a hug by the woman whose name was Shadya, claiming to be Katja’s aunt. She invited her newly arrived niece and the band, including Serik into the house.

Stepping inside, Serik was even more amazed with the place. It was large, luxurious and even grander than the outside. Shadya called her family to greet Katja and the band and soon everyone was swarmed by numerous people... People that were all in the same family!

Serik was always a part of large extended family, but the number of people in his house could never be compared to even a quarter of those that live here... Even including his closed neighbors, the Aybekovs and the Bayzhayaevs, they would still be outnumbered by the Ahkmets here.

The attitude the family had given the band and Katja was very nice and friendly so far. It warmed Serik’s heart to see such a reunion happened to someone. “They are really nice and seemed to be so fond of you. No doubt you will thrive really well here.” Serik said to Katja as he looked around in excitement.

Featuring: SilverFlight Lioness075 SleepyCreamy YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura explosiveKitten Naberius Saturn_moon kase9187

 

[Lioness075]

Name: Leandra LaFrae	Nicknames: Lea, Firefly
Clan: Sudenta	Clan Job: Huntress
Equipment: Knapsack, Medicinal Pouch, Bow, Quiver (0/10), Twin Daggers

Spoiler: Momo's Appearance

Spoiler: Falarion's Appearance

Falarion actually has brightly colored wings that have a rainbow hue in bright lighting. In darker settings, they can seem muted into a dark grey or even black color. He also does not have the golden tattoos spanning his body or the necklace around his neck.

Spoiler: Leandra's Westeros Outfit

She's wearing the first, green one.

Leandra flinched when Aldalf nudged her, surprised at the sudden touch. She stepped away from him and warily eyed him as he spoke. It was not that she disliked anyone's touch, but more so the fact that she still barely knew Aldalf. It had been a few days since this had all first started, but she still did not know most of the group all that well. It was something she knew she would need to work on.
She felt hesitant to respond until Aldalf said it was okay if she disliked the idea. She sighed at this and rubbed the back of her neck.
"T-thanks. It does make me feel uncomfortable despite you saying it doesn't hurt Spica."

Leandra was grateful when Marylka spoke up and she tilted her head in thought at what Marylka said.
"I suppose there's only one way to find out. Maybe we all need to some little test for each magic to prove if we have affinity for it or not."
Hearing Kari's thoughts on magic, Leandra shrugged and said, "Well, I've never been able to do any kind of magic my whole life, so I'm sure it's not an option for me anyways."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Standing with the group in front of Katja's family's home, Leandra quickly felt uncomfortable and even began to regret her decision to tag along, as Caliban suddenly was hugging Katja, who seemed dumbfounded by the move. Yet again, she found herself rubbing the back of her neck, but she flinched when she realized she was rubbing what felt like sunburned skin now.

Sighing, Leandra was just about to make her own move to shove the front door open when Kari beat her to it. Finally, Katja seemed to build up the courage to knock.
When a woman opened the door, Leandra watched in equal amazement as Katja gave one of the longest introductions she had ever heard before.
As Katja was practically dragged inside, everyone else was ushered in and Leandra trailed after the group.
Almost immediately, Leandra froze in the doorway, shocked by the sheer amount of people moving around inside. She had grown up with just her parents, little brother, and then Caliban later on. This was sensory overload for her.
Momo's giant ears slowly rose up from behind Leandra's head and his wide eyes also took in the scene before them, cautiously peering over Leandra.

SilverFlight Naberius explosiveKitten Elenion Aura AncientBird kase9187 Saturn_moon YumenoTsukishiro SleepyCreamy

 

[SleepyCreamy]

Once Zeke was ushered inside Katja's home, he couldn't help but stare at the wonderful interior designs the house held. He was almost impressed and was glad he stayed. Although, it did take Katja some convincing to actually pull her out of her comfort zone and finally meet her family. She seemed determined to meet them whenever she brings her family up, but when it finally came to it, she hesitated a bit and Zeke couldn't help but tilt his head at this. He had the perfect family when he was a child, he was taught how important families are during his early age of growth. It was all he could remember, maybe that's one of the many reasons he stayed and took care of his mother all this time. He smirked at the thought of the hardships he overcame with the help of compassion for his mother. He wondered how she would react once she sees him, it gave him hope that it will be a joyous reunion.

As more people began streaming out of the doorways to greet the group, Zeke found Stitt to be quite delighted at the sight of kids. She loves children and the same thing could be said with Zeke. Zeke is simply a sucker at cute and adorable things. If anything, it would be one of his weaknesses.

As he observed the group with his keen eyes, his eyes landed on Aldaf who seem to be holding back his laugh and he raised one of his eyebrows at this. If he could remember clearly, he has been asking what street their current location is. Perhaps he knows something that Zeke, their navigator, doesn't. Which made Zeke extremely curious. Zeke approached him with quick steps but halted once he realized that he was yet to apologize first. Would it be a good time to approach him without saying sorry first? Perhaps, he could still act casual and act like nothing happened when clearly, something important did happen and it needed to be addressed as soon as possible.

Zeke sighed at first and thought, Oh... Wow, have I always been this analytical? No wonder I never got along with anyone.

'So... You claim to know some information about this part of To'Bai?'

Wait. No! That just makes you sound like some kind of intimidating investigator!

Zeke looked at Aldaf once more and clicked his tongue as if he already made up his mind. Screw it, what's the harm of knowing anyway. Let's just get this over and done with. Just be casual about it.

"Hey." Zeke approached Aldaf and gently tapped his shoulders. "Mind telling me why were you so invested in finding out what street we're on? As far as I know, we're over at the rich part of the neighborhood. Apparently, the 'Ahkmets' play a huge part in To'Bai's society. I can only assume that one of the family members must've been a part of To'Bai's famous councils. They're a pretty big thing around here."

kase9187
SilverFlight Naberius Saturn_moon YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten Elenion Aura AncientBird Lioness075

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf turned to Zeke. He was asking why he was interested in the street name.

"I just thought I might've been over here when younger, helping my mom with a delivery. Or maybe I just saw she was doing a commission for someone here, I don't remember exactly."

Aldaf's expression changed, his emerald green eyes glinting. He looked concerned.

"Also, don't think I haven't noticed. Rich neighborhood, paying for our bills? Don't get me wrong, it's a fine gesture. But... you never said anything about your family's wealth. Or your own. Are we taxing your funds too much?"

His voice was quieter, to keep it sort of contained. He was kind of worried about Zeke, seeing as how he seemed to have been abandoned by his clan. Would they still accept his family's money?

SleepyCreamy
SilverFlight Naberius Lioness075 Elenion Aura YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten Saturn_moon AncientBird

 

[Elenion Aura]

Matthias​

Matthias stepped inside. The door was tall enough and wide enough that he didn’t have to duck his head. A wealthy family, indeed. It makes one wonder why a man in Katja’s father’s position would choose to give up a life of such creature comfort.

All of a sudden, the necessity of such a large dwelling made sense. Matthias hadn’t expected the Ahkmets to be fielding a standing army under one roof. As ever, Matthias did his best to stay out of everyone’s way. Then a thought came to him. He reached a hand out, gently but firmly stopping a young Ahkmet in his tracks - a cousin of Katja’s, perhaps? - and asked him a very pointed question.

”What do you know of the Deathborn threat?”

Tags: Lioness075 SleepyCreamy AncientBird kase9187 Saturn_moon Naberius YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten SilverFlight
​

 

[Saturn_moon]

The inside of the Ahkmet's mansion was even grander than its facade. The entrance hall alone was so large Marylka could hear their footfalls faintly echo off the white stone walls as the group stepped through the front doors. A massive skylight served as the room's main source of lighting and filled the space with a warm, cheerful glow. Marylka thought of the time a heavy rainstorm had tore a hole in the roof of their yurt and she awoke to a view of the oak tree above her and morning light filtering through its leaves. That was the closest she'd ever gotten to having a skylight, although, her's did a terrible job at keeping the rain and falling leaves out.

She was still taking in the beauty of the hall with wide-eyed wonderment when people of all ages started filing out from the various doorways, first cautiously, then enthusiastically, to greet Katja and her companions. They were soon surrounded and while she was thrilled for Katja, who was now laughing and playing with some of the kids, Marylka felt overwhelmed and didn't quite know what to do with herself standing among all these new people. As she tried to retreat to the middle of the group, she overheard Matthias suddenly question a young boy about the Deathborns.

She hurried over and quickly interjected. "What he means to say is..." Her mind scrambled as it tried to piece words together to form a coherent sentence that would keep them on Katja's newfound relatives' good side or at least, not scare them away. "Hi, nice to meet you. Er... we've heard a lot about the Deathborn attacks on the city and we hope you've all been... well?"

Lioness075 SleepyCreamy AncientBird kase9187 Elenion Aura Naberius YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten SilverFlight

 

[SleepyCreamy]

Zeke responded with an, "Oh." When Aldaf answered his question about the name of their current location.

However, he didn't expect Aldaf to know about his most recent investment. Zeke was so sure that Aldaf was with the rest of the group, exchanging dialogues when Zeke approached the blacksmith about his own interest. Zeke was almost impressed at his keen self if it wasn't for the lone fact that it was Zeke's business alone. He really did want the whole thing to be a secret and it made him sigh in disappointment, so, he made it his plan to deny his statement. "It's fine. I have no idea what you're talking about anyway," He shrugged his shoulders in a carefree manner. "And if I were to spend my money on anything, it would be because of my own interest. Believe me when I say you have nothing to worry about." Zeke was a bit hesitant in telling anyone about his family's wealth. Would you give a troublesome kid some money, knowing how much trouble and disaster he will cause? It was an embarrassing story, to say the least, to which he'd rather not tell today. Today, it's Katja's turn to shine. And he is respectful enough to just stay idle and let her have her moment.

Because it would be my own problem to have, not yours. He wanted to say, but instead, he said. "May I also remind you that your intrusive nature is showing again." He said through a calm voice. He wanted to remind him once again as he had observed Leandra's reaction from their earlier interaction between herself and Aldaf. Stitt was the one who caught on at Leandra's hesitancy when she was interacting with Aldaf. Zeke could only assume that she was feeling uncomfortable, he was not sure of this, but he saw the difference in the way she interacts with Aldaf and Kari for example. He assumed that it was all because of the short time span that they've been together, and Zeke could understand that. Zeke himself is still hesitant in approaching the Northarian man and the blue-eyed Leandra.

kase9187

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf narrowed his eyes. He so desperately wanted to call bullshit on Zeke's denial. Instead, he noticed something.

"Zeke, were you going to say something else there?"

It seemed like whenever he looked like he wanted to say something, or at least paused to think it, Zeke would always seem to change the subject. So Aldaf moved in a bit closer and whispered to Zeke.

"If you want, we can talk outside. Away from everyone else. I promise not to start something."

He wanted to know why Zeke was draining his funds to help everyone, especially with what he'd said on the mountain.

SleepyCreamy

 

[YumenoTsukishiro]

Gerel shot a look at Kari with little heat, more out of embarrassment at getting caught choking up on coffee. “I’m one of those people who like to drink hot things regardless of the weather,” Gerel said in between sips of coffee and bites of Basbousa. “And even if it didn’t taste as good as it smells, this coffee is still worth trying. Actually, the more I drink it, the more I feel like drinking it.”

Little did Gerel know that he was heading down a path from which there was no return. Coffee was a harsh mistress, and those she caught in her alluring embrace had little chance of escape. And with each sip, ever he went deeper.

~~~~~~

Once when in Ocris, Gerel gaped at a building larger than anything he’d ever seen. It was so big, his neck hurt from craning it up just so he could take a good look at it all. The same feeling of wonder and amazement overwhelmed him as the group stood before the home of Katja’s relatives from her Westerosi side. That came as a surprise to him. Katja looked nowhere near similar to Ezekiel. He actually thought she was Matthias’ cousin three or four times removed.

Then again, he wasn’t one to talk. He had Sudentan blood flowing in his veins, and yet he hadn’t talked much to the Sudentans in their group. What was it that held him back? Was it because he was still awkward with them? Because it was easier to talk to Kari, Marylka and Serik than with the rest? Because they were born in places where the sun rose differently?

All his thoughts took flight when the door to the large house opened and out came a woman, one of the most beautiful he ever saw. All awe and wonder shifted to her. The golden pieces of jewelry served only to highlight her features, and Gerel was struck. No, no he shouldn’t look at Katja’s Aunt Shadya like that. Why? It was impolite to stare, of course. But that wasn’t the only reason. As the aunt ushered them inside, Gerel imperceptibly glanced at the woman who’d laughed at him earlier.

Gerel looked around at the opulence and knew that the family living in this house was incredibly influential, possibly part of that Council Deralis mentioned a while back. More than a house, it was a home. Gerel watched Katja’s relatives swamp the owl-masked girl with a smile on his face. It was wonderful to watch one of their friends finally meet their family, circumstances notwithstanding. There was only the smallest of pangs in his heart, a slight furrowing of the brow, to show how much he missed his own parents and the open fields of Estendor.

Lioness075 SleepyCreamy AncientBird kase9187 Elenion Aura Naberius YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten SilverFlight

 

[Lioness075]

Name: Leandra LaFrae	Nicknames: Lea, Firefly
Clan: Sudenta	Clan Job: Huntress
Equipment: Knapsack, Medicinal Pouch, Bow, Quiver (0/10), Twin Daggers

Spoiler: Momo's Appearance

Spoiler: Falarion's Appearance

Falarion actually has brightly colored wings that have a rainbow hue in bright lighting. In darker settings, they can seem muted into a dark grey or even black color. He also does not have the golden tattoos spanning his body or the necklace around his neck.

Spoiler: Leandra's Westeros Outfit

She's wearing the first, green one.

Leandra was at a loss for both words and what to do until she finally glanced up and saw the beautiful skylight inside. She blinked and then carefully pushed through their small group to get a better view. Unknowingly, this led to her stepping between Aldalf and Ezekiel briefly. She felt a smile tugging at her cheeks, as she saw the way the sunlight came into the building, but then her smile vanished when she heard Ezekiel mention Aldalf's intrusive behavior.

Looking away from the skylight, Leandra saw she was just beyond the pair and Aldalf seemed to be pushing Ezekiel to spill something, though she had no idea what he was implying Ezekiel had to say.

Frowning now, Leandra crossed her arms and looked pointedly at Aldalf.
"Aldalf. We discussed this in the cave days ago, remember? What we discussed does not only apply to Katja. It applies to everyone. If Ezekiel does not want to discuss something, then just drop it and leave him be."
The moment she finished speaking, Leandra felt her cheeks begin to flush with embarrassment. She had never even spoken to Ezekiel before and now here she was defending him. If his prideful moments were anything to go by, he undoubtedly would chide her for doing so. Yet, her inner big sister was kicking in and she could not help herself.

SleepyCreamy kase9187

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf sighed as Leandra spoke up, turning to her.

"I'm giving him the chance to speak freely in private, because if he speaks freely in here he's liable to be hurt."

His words were slightly pointed, mostly at how everyone had handled Zeke back on the island just before Westeros.

Lioness075 SleepyCreamy

 

[SleepyCreamy]

Zeke sighed as he was disappointed in Aldaf for not taking the hint of his reluctance when sharing something personal to Zeke. Zeke however, didn't expect Leandra to come into the picture and come to his aid. He sensed something he hasn't sensed before in a person and it was an interesting feeling to have. Zeke would even go as far as to say she radiated some sisterly vibes. Which made Zeke both curious and also confused. He was just thinking about the lack of interaction the two had in the past, and here she is, he has been presented another opportunity to interact with the sapphire-eyed female.

Once Leandra said her piece, Zeke listened carefully with their words. "You know, I was really hoping you'd get the hint when I said you were being a little too intrusive. I don't have to share anything with you as it's not the proper time to do so yet. This means that there's no need for me to speak about anything As far as I could see and tell, I'm fine with everyone at the moment. Meaning that I won't be hurting anytime soon."

"You worry too much, Scar-face." He gave Aldaf a weird look before playfully nudging him with his elbow. "Now that I've passed the proving, I'm pretty sure I've earned the respect of Westerosi people, despite the mistakes of my past." He said in a bare whisper. "So you don't have to worry about them as well. And besides, it's my own problem to deal with not yours. And before you spit out some friendship is magic gibberish stuff, you should know how capable I am as a person. I can handle my own just as everyone in the group."

I guess just the type of person who believes in an individual's strength.

Zeke looked over at Leandra and formulated something to say in his head. While he does that, he noticed the adorable creature that was on her shoulder, sitting idly by. He has been meaning to give it a pet at some point, but knowing that it was a pet of Leandra's he hesitated a bit. Zeke looked back at Leandra and gave her a brief nod. "Thank you," Lemur Lady. Was what he wanted to say. He could feel Stitt moving around his shoulders as he opened his palm for Zeke to land on.

Lioness075 kase9187

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf felt Zeke nudge him and he felt a little better when Zeke said his piece.

"I was meaning words directed at me specifically, not divulging your past. But if you're okay, then I'll leave it. Just remember; we're a team now. You don't have to deal with a problem on your own anymore."

He held up his hands in a sort of "I give up" gesture.

"Anyways, there was a little thing I mentioned before we got into this topic. If you feel like it, ask away."

Aldaf sighed and pulled his shirt off his chest and whispered into it. Most of it were hushed whispers, but a few snippets could be made out above the din.

"...soon...stretch...park..."

His words were directed to something, and was most likely his amulet.

Lioness075 SleepyCreamy