Strings of Fate

[Snek]

"I can put up with a great deal," said Vellari, smirking down at Tara. "Let's go, that Lyra girl can't be far behind us."


The two set off down the hallway, continuing the search and helping each other through the traps. The knights were getting stronger as they progressed, utilizing battle strategies and aiming for weakpoints. One on one, they would be difficult, but as a pair, the two Conduits were undefeatable.


After a few more minutes, they found the next exit and jumped into it together.


The next level was much darker.

"The closer we get to the core, the smaller the layers get, so this one won't take long. Can't be too many more after this one. C'mon." Vellari gestured to follow as she proceeded down the hallway.

 

[InactiveCoffee]

Tara nodded to Vellari, remaining quiet as she began to follow after her friend. This level would certainly give her the advantage, her black skin allowing her to hide in plain sight among the shadows. She kept her blades ready, gleaming in the torch light. She kept them moving, twisting her wrists here and there to keep the lights from bouncing off the blades so that she wouldn't give away her positioning.




Lyra sprinted through the halls, a hand outstretched to touch the wall beside her, the tiger claws scraping the stone as she went. She had gotten used to the heightened senses rather quickly, and was happy to find that she was able to run longer and faster than she could normally. Though not by very much, but the extra was certainly noticeable. She padded along, fighting as best she could, and dodging traps. A few times she thought she wasn't going to make it, but somehow managed to make it through. She passed through that level, and the next, flopping on the floor when she jumped through the next hole in the ground. "Oww... So sore... so so sore..." she panted, trying to catch her breath.

 

[Snek]

As they moved along the tunnels of the third level, they quickly discovered the third level was absolutely crawling with knights. Where before in the previous level one would encounter maybe one or two at a time, they congregated in packs of at least five, waiting in ambush around corners and in the shadows. They also fought much more relentlessly, hacking away with their swords as if they were axes.


"Tara, there's too many of them. I'm going Savage. Don't lose track of me," Vellari said, holding out her hand like she always did. The runes were dark orange in color, and weaved slowly back and forth like snakes.

The Vice said nothing, only snarled and glared at them. Vellari bared her teeth and snapped at Savagery, causing the beast to growl ferociously, before bestowing its powers by clamping its jaws around the Lai'Ko's neck. She fell to the ground, her eyes glowing orange like the beast's, and the Vice howled and disappeared.


She got up, standing on all fours. Eat. Breed. Survive. These were the only thoughts that played on repeat through her head, and as she turned to face an incoming squad of knights, she snarled and her hunting instincts kicked in. Running towards them on all fours, she leapt into their midst and began viciously assaulting them, using only her claws, tail, and teeth to defend herself. The knights were more strategic on this level, but they weren't expecting their enemies to have no strategy. Soon the knights were vanquished, and Vellari crouched over the fallen armor plates and swords, panting and looking around for more enemies. None. Seek shelter. Darkness. Deeper. She took off, using her heightened beast senses to find the exit to the next level. The deeper down she went, the safer she would feel.

 

[InactiveCoffee]

Tara nodded, "As always." She said with a faltering smile. It was always hard for her to keep up when Savage was invoked, but she'd do her best. She stood back as the fight ensued, picking off stragglers before racing after Vellari as she took off down the corridor. "Did you get faster?" She called after the racing beast of a her friend. Eventually, she caught up enough to leap and catch hold of Vellari's back. "Don't freak, it's just me!" She said quickly.

 

[Snek]

Vellari snarled and bucked at first, but then she caught Tara's scent. She sniffed the air a bit just to make sure.


The pup. Family. Loners die, packs survive.


She continued on, allowing Tara to ride on her back as they sped down the hallways and corridors. Finally, they reached the exit and continued to the final level.

The beast Vellari had no idea how to traverse this kind of terrain, nor how to navigate it. There didn't even seem to be any knights, but after a few minutes of aimless wandering, she curled up on the floor and threw in the towel. Her instincts now meaningless, the powers of Savagery began to slowly degrade until Vellari was herself again. She took another look around, and looked at Tara.


"I've got nothing. I could ask Desire for help, maybe, but I don't feel like giving up any blood just for a training exercise. Any ideas?"

 

[InactiveCoffee]

Tara looked around at the newest, final level while Vellari returned to normal, pondering. It made no sense, which meant it made perfect sense to Tara. Or so the small Drow thought. She grinned, "Logic is a direct path from point A to point B. But what if logic were to think in an abstract way from point B to point A?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend. "Let's see what we can do." She said with a smile and started down, or sideways...?, to the closest set of stairs.




Lyra sighed as she finally made it to the final level, dropping through the hole. She still possessed the Tiger Spirit's strength, so she still looked half cat-like, fur, tail, and ears included. Her current, golden colored eyes with the tell tale cat's pupils, stared around at her new surroundings. A noise made an ear twitch, and across the spanse between her and the opposite side of the this level stood Predator and Dervish. So they weren't as far as Lyra thought. A tiger-esque sneer appeared on her face as she quickly darted where she wouldn't be seen. She had to reach Royce first, and get the coin. Hopefully that wouldn't prove harder than she thought it would. She ignored her surroundings for the most part, using the Tiger's hunting instincts to navigate her way deeper into the level.

 

[Snek]

Vellari shrugged and, for the first time in a while, followed Tara. As they walked sideways, upside-down and backwards, an idea occurred to her.


"What if we tried to find the way back to the previous level? If logic is twisted around here, then to move forwards we have to move backwards. I think it's worth a try."




Royce stirred from his meditation, sensing the presence of all three of them nearby. They were making progress, Lyra apparently using the other two as a reference point for navigation. "Very clever," he said to himself, smirking. He was interested to see how this would play out in the end. He closed his eyes again, the cold metal of the coin still present in his hand.

 

[InactiveCoffee]

Tara looked over her shoulder at Vellari, and smiled. "What do you think I'm doing?" she asked, laughing nervously as her eyes glanced around once again. "I was lost about.... five? Staircases ago?" she mused, pausing on yet another landing. She crossed her arms over her chest, her brows knitted together in thought. "I'm so confused." she finally sighed after ages of just standing there in silence. She sighed heavily, "Only idea I have left is to not even bother with the stairs. Just jump and see where we land." she said with a shrug as she peered over the side of one of the staircases they were closest to.




Lyra felt a smirk tug at the corners of her mouth as she dove ever deeper into the newest level, keeping track on where she scented Predator and Dervish. She crouched close to the floor as another faint, lingering scent reached her. Royce. That has to be him. Unless he's figured out I can smell things a lot easier. She thought, and began to stalk toward the source of the smell. The scent growing ever stronger as she traveled.

 

[Snek]

Vellari and Tara soon found their way into the center, where Royce sat smirking. Lyra was already there, but she seemed to be formulating a strategy before rushing straight for Royce's open palm, where the coin sat patiently.


Only one of them could win the game. It was only a practice exercise, but Vellari was determined to prevail. That coin was hers, and hers alone. The other two, seemingly sensing her tensing, dashed out at the same time she did, and all three of them dove for Royce's palm.


~Two Earth Years Later~


The radiant morning sunrise bathed Royce and the rest of the bedroom in golden light, causing him to squint sleepily and rise to a sitting position. The velvety bedsheets slid off from their perch around his shoulders, revealing his bare chest, midriff, and the edge of his undergarments. He stretched, groaning as he did so and twisting his body to one side and then the other. The feeling was fantastic, just the thing to get him out of bed in the mornings.


"Lyra?" the Conduit muttered as the sleepiness cleared from his head.


((@Dethbycoffee I left it open as to whether or not Lyra and Royce share his bed now. I figured Royce would have left the option open to Lyra, so I'm leaving the option open to you.))

 

[InactiveCoffee]

((After 2 earth years, I don't see why not. It'd be a recent thing though ))


Lyra shifted where she still lay, grumbling softly as she was stirred from sleep. Her lithe body stretching like a cat as she rolled so that as an eye cracked open she'd be looking at Royce. "Hmm? Sleepy. No get up yet." she murmured, yawning, and allowing her eyes to close once more. The bed sheets only covered Lyra to her waist, leaving her back open to the air, the satin gown she chose as regular sleep ware sufficing for enough cover. Unfortunately for Lyra, her mind was awake now, and so there really was no going back to sleep, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to try. She had grown accustomed to waking early, and she had certainly become stronger as a conduit in her time here. She cracked her eye open again, "Morning, by the way." she murmured, a sleepy smile forming on her lips.

 

[Snek]

"Morning, 'lazy-bones'. C'mon, we've got training to get to," Royce remarked, leaning down next to her and planting a kiss on her cheek, his hand caressing her back. "Plus, you promised we'd go to the fair again. We haven't gone in almost two years. Remember?" He smirked slyly.


When she continued to try to sleep in (as she often did), Royce smiled and lay down next to her, snuggling up as close as he could and gathering her up in his arms. He swore that she was just as beautiful when she was asleep. Maybe more. As he nestled his face in her shoulder, he chuckled to himself. The rings on his fingers glowed dimly underneath the bedsheets.


Bulwark + Heat = Body Heat

Royce's body began to radiate heat, slowly increasing until the space underneath the covers was sweltering. He only ever used this spell on two occasions: if he had to spend an extended amount of time in a sub-zero environment, or if he needed to get Lyra out of bed. It almost never failed. It was gentle enough to not burn her, but uncomfortable enough to coerce her out from under the covers.


He snickered mischievously to himself. "Up and at 'em, my solicora. Training and amusement parks await!" he teased as the temperature of the bedsheets began to approach that of an average hot tub.

 

[InactiveCoffee]

Lyra let out a small bit of a laugh ad Royce mentioned the fair, "I'm not training the same day we go to the fair. Dates are meant to be special." Came her muffled retort against the pillow. The smile spread on her face when it seemed Royce has given in and was going to simply cuddle for the time being, relinquishing her comfy position so that he could slide his arms around her. What she didn't realize was the familiar trick he always pulled when he wanted to chase her out of bed. The temperature began rising, and finally Lyra groaned loudly. She pulled away from Royce, kicking the blankets off her feet and rolling herself so that they met with the cold floor of the room. "You are so mean. Sweating me out of bed." She pouted playfully, batting at his shoulder before standing and stretching her arms over her head. "Get up, lazy-bones. " She teased, rolling her eyes at Royce.

 

[Snek]

"No? Well then, perhaps training can wait until tomorrow." He stood up out of bed and hugged Lyra from behind as she stretched.


"After all, we had so much fun the last time we went. Maybe even Vellari enjoyed herself for a little while. Speaking of which, I think she's already up. I heard movement coming from their room."


Royce gave Lyra one more kiss before he walked over to the wardrobe and flung it open. Today's outfit, he decided, would consist of a red longcoat with a white tunic underneath and grey bottoms.

((Minus the tie. The shirt underneath isn't button-up.))


~~~~~


The Lai'Ko sat peacefully, suspended in the air atop her powerful tail as she meditated. She rarely ever slept in a biological sense, mostly just meditated through the night. Her Conduit powers demanded a sort of regular mental refreshing that normal sleep couldn't satisfy. She had taken a small break earlier to toss Tara out of bed (literally), and was now meditating once more while the Drow was getting dressed.


"You look fine, metoula, just pick an outfit," Vellari said, her voice both stern and yet, gentle in a sisterly sort of way. Her eyes remained shut, her head bowed and her horns pointed up into the air.

 

[InactiveCoffee]

Lyra gave a light, playful cheer as Royce didn't press for training. "Finally a day off." She said sarcastically, her bare feet carrying her toward the wardrobe that held her own clothing, aiming for a sporty, yet feminine outfit. Spandex like shorts under a mid-thigh length skirt, along with a baby t-shirt, and collared over shirt. An array of rainbow colors were her choice, with matching knee high boots.

((Just the clothes))


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


Tara blinked, yelping when she was suddenly no longer in bed, and rather on the floor. She yawned, making a noise of complaint and protest before continuing on with her normal morning routine. Check her blades, clean herself, brush her hair. Then find clothing. She always ended up with the same choice, rarely opting for anything but dark colors due to her naturally pitch black skin being a drow, but she always made a show of at least considering things. Her ears twitched slightly and she shifted to look over at Vellari when she spoke. "I know, I know. But sometimes I don't like wearing black." She pouted slightly, sighing, and crossing her arms over her chest. "I wear the same stuff, day after day." She complained.

 

[Snek]

"Feeling colorful today?" mused Royce, looking Lyra's outfit over, top to bottom. Perhaps a bit garish, but not unusual from Lyra's fashion sense. He'd grown accustomed to her rather varied choice of wardrobe after their time together.


"Last one down to the kitchen makes breakfast!" he declared abruptly, grinning mischievously and holding his right hand in the air, the rings already glowing.


Bulwark + Air = Wind Body

Royce's form seemed to shift and flutter, as if blown in a breeze, and his body whirled around and morphed into that of what appeared to be a living tornado. He gave a small taunting salute to Lyra, and then his body blew underneath the bedroom door and down the hall.


~~


Vellari sighed and opened her eyes, lowering herself and walking over to Tara.


"Who cares? Lai'Ko rarely wear anything other than simple wrappings or combat armor. Lyra's probably wearing something outlandish as usual, you never hear her fret about her wardrobe. You look better in black anyways," said the warrior dismissively, one claw ruffling Tara's hair while the other rested on the Drow's shoulder.


"Now come, we must eat. Training awaits."


@Dethbycoffee

 

[InactiveCoffee]

((Except in the previous chosen outfit, I thought this was a good representation ))


Lyra growled softly, a challenging grin on her face, "No fair! Nothing is as fast as the wind!" she complained as white fur with black spot began to appear on her skin and she raced after him. She threw doors open, running as fast as her legs would carry her, the Cheetah spirit helping to move her even faster than she would normally run. She has learned all the ways of the house, and attempted to short cut her way to the kitchen. She skidded to a halt, her chest heaving as she calmed her breathing, her cat eyes finding the evidence that she hadn't been lucky enough to win the small race between her and Royce. She groaned softly, straightening herself, the long tail twitching behind her. "Told ya so." she muttered good-naturedly, rolling her eyes.


~~


Tara looked up at Vellari and sighed, "She wears outlandish things because she's not restricted." she said, shrugging her shoulders. She paused a moment, and shook her head, a smile appearing on her lips. "Sorry, I know I'm being childish." she said, and moved to the wardrobe to grab her day's clothing. She dressed quickly, and stretched before following after the large Lai'ko, "What do you think is for breakfast?" she asked curiously, pushing her previous distress from her mind easily like always.

 

[Snek]

Royce laughed, his wind body rushing into the kitchen and coiling around one of the chairs like a miniature tornado as his physical form materialized, seated back with his feet propped on the table.


"So, what's for breakfast, madame?" he said coyly, giving her a wink.


~


Vellari shrugged. "Don't know, don't care, so long as it's not too sugary. Lyra must be addicted to sweets, I swear."


Heaving the Drow up onto her back, the Conduit left the room and headed down the stairs to the kitchen. They could already detect the aroma of something cooking wafting up and down the hallways. The two entered the kitchen, and Vellari let Tara down and took a seat.


@Dethbycoffee

 

[InactiveCoffee]

Lyra growled softly, a smirk on her features as the showy white fur and black spots receded until she was once again only herself. "You are so not fair." she stated sarcastically, and laughed lightly as she moved over to the kitchen counters. "But, since I'm cooking then.." she mused, running through a few things in her mind. She smiled and began to collect flour, eggs, and more ingredients for biscuits and gravy, as well as bacon and hash browns. She began to cook, making the biscuits from scratch, and using the left over bacon grease for flavoring in the homemade peppered gravy. She glanced up when she heard Tara and Vellari enter the room, "Morning!" she said cheerfully before returning to finish cooking.


~


Tara laughed lightly, "There are some cultures who think sugar helps digestion." she retorted playfully to Vellari, wrapping her arms comfortably so that she wouldn't fall from the warrior's back. She took a deep breath when the approached the kitchen, and her mouth began to water. "That smells amazing." she noted when they walked in, hopping down when given the chance so that she could sit down as well. She smiled over at Lyra, "Good morning." she grinned.

 

[Snek]

((I'm not getting alerts for this anymore, apparently, so could you tag me in your posts? Thanks))


Royce leaned back in his chair, the seat tilted back at an angle that would normally result in it tipping over as he gazed up at the ceiling.


Summon + Spirit = Conjure Wisps


"Assist Lyra, set the table, and the rest of you...entertain me while I wait."


A third of the spirits drifted over to assist Lyra, lifting and handing her utensils and retrieving ingredients when needed. A few of them started setting the table, and the last few drifted in a circle above Royce, bobbing around in a hypnotizing dance as the spirits hummed a lively tune in their little singsong voices.


~~~


Vellari drew in the scent through her nostrils, inhaling deeply and exhaling hungrily. She entered the kitchen eager for the meaty food she smelled, but halted at the doorway and facepalmed at Lyra's outfit.


"Well, Lyra, don't you look...radiant," she muttered, wincing at the garish colors and approaching the table where Royce sat. A wisp tried to seat her, but she shooed it away and seated herself instead.


"At least your cooking is more appealing than your outfit," she grumbled, breathing in the intoxicating scent of bacon and biscuits.


"I think she looks absolutely stunning," Royce replied, rotating his head to look at Lyra and wink at her. Vellari rolled her eyes.


@Dethbycoffee

 

[InactiveCoffee]

((Sure thing!))


Lyra smiled lightly as the wisps floated about to help her cook, laughing softly as a few also entertained Royce while she was busy. When she heard Vellari, she grinned, glancing over to the Lai'ko. "Well, thank you! I felt like being a rainbow today." she said with a laugh as Royce commented as well, a soft pink tint coming to her cheeks. It had been equal to two earth years, and he still could make her blush. "Oh, quiet you." she retorted to Royce, shaking her head. She continued to work on the biscuits and gravy, the bacon being carefully watched so that it wouldn't burn. Once it was all completed, the biscuits baked and plated, the gravy in a medium sized gravy bowl so that everyone could put as much or as little gravy as they wanted on their plates, as well as the bacon being evenly dished out as well, Lyra and the wisps that were helping her moved over to the table, setting plates down before those already seated, and then Lyra sat as well in the open seat beside Royce. "Bon Apetite." she said warmly.


~


Tara laughed softly at Vellari's reaction to Lyra's clothing, "Well, between the four of us, I think we've hit a marker on nearly every color spectrum." she said with a grin. She took a deep inhale of the delicious aroma of cooking food, her mouth watering. "That smells wonderful." she noted, her eyes moving to follow the wisps that floated through the air. Her short attention span being easily held by the spirits and their antics.


@The Villain King

 

[InactiveCoffee]

@The Villain King - OOC: Hey There! Been a while. Life got super crazy and insane. You still interested in this, or maybe start a new one? I'm open to anything now that things have kind of calmed down and I'm back!

 

[Snek]

Yeah I'd definitely be down for continuing this! I'm gonna need something to do over Christmas break.

 

[InactiveCoffee]

((Awesome! I'm open to keep going too! Haha I'll let you write up a post to get us going then, yeah?))

 

[Snek]

Royce rubbed his hands together and grasped his utensils, his mouth watering at the breakfast cuisine on his plate. "Bon Appetit indeed," he mused, digging into the bacon, hash browns and biscuits. He ate slowly and savored the delicious, moist biscuity-goodness of every gravy-covered bite.


Vellari, on the other hand, shoveled it into her reptilian maw with reckless abandon, choosing to forego silverware (as usual) and shove the biscuits and bacon into her mouth, grabbing the gravy bowl as well and pouring some down her throat.


Royce continued to eat slowly and silently, having gotten used to the Lai'Ko's horrendous table manners over the two years she and Tara had stayed so far. He wiped gravy from his mouth with a napkin, politely asking his wisp servants to tidy up the table and floor from Vellari's messy eating. The three spirits swarmed around the dragon-kin, picking up crumbs and wiping at her face with a napkin.


"Ach, stop that, I'm fine," she snapped, swatting the spirits away and wiping her mouth with the back of her arm. "So, more training today? Lyra's Knowledge could use some more work."


Royce shook his head. "The three Principles of Conduit Power can wait. We're going out, today is a day for leisure. Lyra wanted to visit the fair."


"The fair? Again? I mean sure, it's been two years, but...ugh...fiiiiiiiiine."


She groaned and lay her head down on the table.

 

[InactiveCoffee]

Tara giggled softly between bites as the wisps tended to Vellari, her protesting clear and just as funny as always to the drow. She ate quickly, but was still clean and mannered, surprisingly enough. She had trained herself to eat quickly since meeting Vellari, as their difference in size left them doing certain things at different speeds, and Tara never liked to leave her close friend waiting on her. She sighed when the last bite of her plate was swallowed, and she pushed the plate forward slightly, a trained signal that she was finished with her meal from when she had been a small child. "That was amazing." she said lightly, licking a small drop of gravy from the corner of her mouth before dabbing her face with a napkin.


Her face lit up when Royce said they would be going to the fair today, and she laughed as Vellari protested as normal. She looked up at her companion, and grinned, "Work hard, play hard. Right?" she laughed.


Lyra smiled, and laughed as the Lai'ko protested against their option to set training aside for the day, as per what happened any time they decided to take a rest from training so it seemed. "Yeah, it's been two years!" she said with a grin. "I haven't been around for centuries like you all as of yet, so my view on time is still a lot shorter than yours. So two years is still a long time to me." she said with a laugh, knowing there had been several instances over the past two years where her view on the passage of time conflicted with the Lai'ko or even with the drow. Though Lyra attempted to understand, knowing they had all been alive far longer than she, but sometimes it was still bothersome.