Take Back the Crown

Foxrun had grown quiet, simply enjoying the bath for the time being. Soon they were asked to meet elsewhere, or was it instructed?

He lingered behind momentarily, hesitant as he eyed Valeiah, wanting to say something, but unsure of what. He could feel the emotion coming off of her in waves as he passed. He knelt, pressing a hand just below the back of her neck, his own small way of trying to provide some sort of comfort, "you can come to me if you need anything." He stated simply before suddenly pulling his hand back as he realized how awkward this was, considering he casually put his hand on a lady wearing absolutely nothing. He turned away quickly to hide his now blazing face, nearly running out of the room as he muttered some sort of goodbye.

When he finally rushed into the room where most of the others seemed to be congregating, he smoothed his shirt and found a place to sit, curious as to what was going on.

Kacel'la and one of the others he didn't quite know yet seemed to be bickering back and forth about something. Odd, he would place a bet that the bright elf could go on forever, comeback after comeback, wearing that smile for the entirety of it all.

Danika Danika L1d1ja L1d1ja OlKaJa77 OlKaJa77 and whoever else idk.
 
Looking at her notebook for a moment, she looked up as she felt weight on the seat next to her, offering a smile,"Oh just a daily journal of things. Thoughts, events, little poems and tibits. " shrugging she exhaled and smiled, looking towards the woman,"I'd like to publish something one day. Maybe if I settle down. " exhaling slowly she looked down at her book, tapping her charcoal pencil against the paper, making little spots on the page.

On the page was delicate cursive writing along with a small drawing at the bottom of what looked to be a pair of hands cupping some bubbles, refrencing the bath. Of course she didn't give any details other than the fact she figured out WHY they were on the trip. And that Pippa sneezed on Bo's head. Aggie snickered slightly at that.
Looking back at Kacel'la she smiled and pointed slightly to her clothes,"Love the colors. " she smiled. She was more of a black and lace person herself but she loved the colors.

L1d1ja L1d1ja
 
Kacel'la listened attentively to Aggie's explanation. "Well I'm sure that whatever you decide to publish will be a success. You seem like a person with an interesting wiewpoint to share." The elf grinned. "I'm sure that of someone read my journal they would either want to tag along on my journeys or think me a madwoman with a vivid imagination. I bet it would mostly be the latter." She joked, knowing full well what reactions the tales of her journeys often garnered.
Then her smile seemed to grow even sunnier at the compliment. "Thanks luv. You look great too. You should wear some more colorful clothes too. I bet you would look stunning!"
Kacel'la almost added a remark mentioning Ashlar, but held back, because the teasing would have either ended up with laughter or someone feeling either awkward or vaguely insulted.

Vys Vys
 
Taking a moment or two to think she nodded with agreement,"Know what maybe Ill get a nice clean outfit while we are in the city. My usual outfit kinda has a malfunction to it." taking her pointer finger she made a vertical slash on her sternum, referencing the knife that sliced through her shirt during the last fight.
"Spoil myself a little bit, its been years since I went and bought myself something nice. " pausing after a moment or two she looked over to Kacel'la and furrowed her brows slightly,"You look ike you have something to say. " she snickered and leaned close, lowering her head,"Cmonnnnn." she cooed.


L1d1ja L1d1ja
 
Nameen's brows scrunched together as she glanced down at her own open palm.
White dove?
Her eye lifted back up to look at Valerie with found curiosity, quickly taking note of what she had missed before. Almost no colour bloomed across the woman's clean cheeks, sharply contrasting with the brilliant shade of her hair. Nameen also remembered Oceana's comment of it being dyed, half wondering why the woman went through the trouble.
The pun coming so nonchalantly out of the stoic Knight-Commander was enough to bring a smirk to Nameen's face. She peered around at the others in the room, half expecting to hear an onslaught of more bad puns. After no one piped up, she figured that most of the jokes for the day had taken place during the bath.

OlKaJa77 OlKaJa77 ? (And everyone else)
 
Kacel'la had already decided that the remark she had in mind should not be repeated out loud, but she did have a certain skill at quickly coming up with excuses when questioned. After all, Dorian was her best friend, and there was no way to just hand out around the familiar without picking up on a few tricks. Kacel'la believably faked a sigh as if she had given up on holding back on what she had been wanting to say.
"I simply realized that I had never met a night elf before. I have met people that were almost like you, but not really. They had glowing marks, for one. Really weird." She ranted out and shrugged her shoulders. "Of course they live on a completely different landmass too."

Vys Vys
 
Her eyes brightened up a little as she mentioned night elves, a smile spreading across her lips,"Aye my Mother is human so I guess some of that nightelf was bred out from my blood." she laughed half heartedly," Father I could assume is...a night elf." she trailed a little and looked down to her lap, recalling the black haired man that she met in the market. Shaking the thought she looked over to her friend and smiled once more,"Once we are free of chores and have time to spare would you want to go to market with me?" she shrugged her shoulders up a little and smiled,"I need someone with fashion sense with me and it'd be fun !"

L1d1ja L1d1ja
 
Kacel'la held back a disbelieving look when Aggie admitted to being a half-elf. 'Lucky. At least she looks like half-man, not half-beast.' A little voice in her head perked up, reminding the elf once again of the horns and tail and scales pressing at her skin from the inside, making her own frame feel two sizes too small, painful, even. When had she gotten used to the constant pain that came with holding back her true form? She couldn't remember. The little dark smudge at the back of her mind the elf was too scared to examine coiled tighter and grew more bitter.
Of course, outwardly Kacel'la only seemed to listen attentively and smiled just as brightly as always. "Well, of course, I'd go. Hopefully, we don't have any more work to do." She accepted Aggie's suggestion. "I probably need to find more trinkets to bribe Sera with."

Vys Vys
 
Galiana smiled at the small wyvern and stroked her neck, fingers rasping against her scales. The smile caused the corner of her eyes to crinkle and she cocked her head to study Sera.
Oceana looked around and noticed Hjalmar was missing. She scowled impatiently but stayed seated.
Valerie smiled at Nameen and nodded.
"Do you like books?" She asked sweetly.
Jauquilinne looked over at Galiana and Oceana and nodded to herself.
"Anyway," she said "Galiana this is the woman who killed your master." She said nonchalantly, as if the deed hadn't ended the 6 year servitude the redhead had to endure.
Galiana stared at Oceana and the elf blushed and looked away.
"Thank me and you'll regret it." She grumbled.
The squire frowned and furrowed her brow. She shook her head. Ruefully.
"She wouldn't be able to anyway." Jauquilinne almost growled, peeved at the elf's rudeness.
"She's mute."
Galiana looked away shamefully.
Oceana sat and stared in shock.
Rydellius Rydellius
L1d1ja L1d1ja
@ whoever else is listening in
 
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Kacy had not been paying much attention to Galiana besides simply glancing at her to check that Sera wasn't making herself too much of an annoyance, but the little wyvern seemed delighted to just continue letting out happy purrs and clicks as it enjoyed the attention and pets, acting almost like a happy cat.
However, a remark from Jauquiline did make the elf's attention snap back to the woman.
"Hey, Galiana, you wouldn’t happen to know sign language, would you? I might be a bit rusty, but I still can understand quite a bit." Kacel'la suggested.

OlKaJa77 OlKaJa77
 
Galiana shyly nodded her head still looking at the floor.
Oceana watched the exchange from her position on the floor rather helplessly. Her eyes snapped back up to the squire and the aquamarine gaze was apologetic.
"I... I'm sorry." The huntress mumbled shakily, unsure of what else to say. The usually snarky elf was at a loss for words. She sat in shameful silence looking terribly lost.
Turning to look at Jauquilinne, Galiana shook her head, almost chastising her. Green eyes leveled against lavender and the surprisingly strong, reprimanding verdant stare won out.
The knight commander sighed in resignation. Her squire was right after all.
Judging by the feeling on her neck, Valerie was also staring disapprovingly.
She had crossed the line hadn't she?
"Look... I'm sure Galiana herself doesn't mind all that much." Came the cultured lilt, "but she really should. There's no reason to be rude to her. If anything, wage your battle with me. But she doesn't deserve your churlish attitude."
Red and green still assaulted her from both sides.
"In any case, I apologize" she ground out. "Such a thing should not have been revealed as a blasé remark. Please forgive me." The somber tone was accompanied by a low bow.
Galiana smiled and Valerie scoffed amusedly.
Oceana simply nodded, still clammed up from earlier. She wished she had realized it sooner. Her perception was slipping. A deep pit of self-loathing boiled up inside her once again. She wished she could sink into the ground and sleep forever.
L1d1ja L1d1ja
(God my characters are so emo)
 
Without actually having said anything, Nameen found Valerie's attention on her, mildly embarrassed to have been caught observing the other woman. Any tension faded however when Valerie smiled, inquiring if she liked books.
Before Nameen had the chance to say anything however, the alchemist's attention was stolen by the exchange taking place next to them.

Hearing the newest revelation about the young squire perked Nameen's interest as well, but spared only a brief glance in her direction. If the girl was anything like herself, Nameen figured that she wouldn't want any extra attention.

When the following silence continued, Nameen peered down at Oceana sitting on the floor with an air of defeat and embarrassment. Half hoping to move past the moment for the sake of her companion, she turned back to Valerie carefully to answer her previous question.

"I do actually," Nameen began slowly with a low voice. When that seemed incredibly vague, she added quickly. "-like books, I mean."

OlKaJa77 OlKaJa77
 
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"Great. No need to search for paper anytime you want to have a conversation." Kacel'la chuckled. "And if Sera becomes annoying, just throw her off." She added when she took notice of the wyvern again.
At those words, the little beast uncurled a little from around Galiana's shoulders to stare at the elf, before it stuck out its tongue like a small child would and went back to trying to act adorable to get more pets from the redhead.
OlKaJa77 OlKaJa77
 
Somehow Hjalmar had managed not to choke from startlement when Dorian suddenly appeared. Maybe he was finally getting used to it, "You just love popping out of nowhere, don't you." The thief laughed, "Hey, now that I apparently have magic, you should teach me that trick." He half joked, but he was also half serious.
"But I guess that'll have to wait, huh." He sighed after hearing voices bounce through the hallway, a meeting of some sort was mentioned as some of his companions rushed towards their next destination.
"I'd pick an impossible heist over a meeting any day." He complained and set down his things, "But I guess it's not work if you enjoy it, this is a job after all." Reluctantly, he got off his comfy seat to follow the group before losing sight of them, "C'mon, let's go."
The room wasn't all that far away, and he didn't even know what this meeting was going to be about. So he took a seat closest to the doorway, avoiding people- especially new people. He folded his arms, crossed his legs, and merely listened and watched, intent on letting that be the only thing he'd do.
L1d1ja L1d1ja

After Svetlana and the others had dried themselves and dressed in clean, blood and grime free clothes, they followed quickly behind as the group made their way to this gathering. The old witch made sure to check her grandson first, who was sleeping well and deeply, so she was last to enter the room, but when she got there she was ready to mingle, "So!" She began, stepping through the doorway, "Down to business. What are we here to discuss?" She asked, specifically to the fair haired woman who brought them there in the first place, and another who seemed to be the lady in charge- Valerie. She hoped to speak with the Jarl soon as well. There were urgent matters at hand, and she couldn't help but feel that was the cause for this gathering.
Lucas stuck close to his sister, and Ashlar predictably found a seat next to Aggie where he made himself quite comfortable. All were keen on listening.
OlKaJa77 OlKaJa77 @ anybody
 
Dorian held back a laugh as he saw Hjalmar's startled expression. "You should be more attentive to your surroundings. The spell might have blocked my image and shadow, but it doesn't cancel out sound." The thief warned as he hopped off the windowsill to listen to the voices coming from down the hall.
He shrugged at Hjalmar's suggestion. "I could try to teach you, but that would most likely just end up in failure. I'm rather sure that mages and familiars don't function quite the same." He explained as he waited for the younger man to get going, trying not to nod along to his complaints.
"I tend to make sure to find at least something to enjoy in any job I take. Makes work easier." He added truthfully. It was quite hard to be an assassin or thief if you hated your job, and Dorian often made sure to only see any of his jobs as challenges, as challenge was what he lived for. It helped to keep sane and to forget any blood that might never wash off his hands.
The familiar kept quiet as he followed Hjalmar to the meeting, and once in the room, he found a place out of sight and notice, but one from which he could easily see anyone inside, and all possible exits, It was almost second nature to him to do this.

Lo Alyssa Lo Alyssa
 
As more people entered the room, she swept her book closed and began to twiddle with her pencil. Just as Ashlar entered the room the twiddling got faster to the point where she almost dropped it when he sat next to her.
Right away her face flushed a blue and she looked to him with her lips pulled into a smile and bumped her shoulder lightly with his in a greeting.
Tucking her pencil into her ponytail, she looked attentively towards the rest of the group, placing her one hand on her journal, she let the other laid on her lap closest to her male companion.


Lo Alyssa Lo Alyssa L1d1ja L1d1ja
 
Kacel'la threw a glance at how Aggie was acting and instantly fixed her eyes on Dorian before looking away, her expression blank, though a faint twitch in the corner of her lips betrayed her thoughts.
'What?' the familiar instantly piped up in her head, noticing her request for a silent conversation.
'You wouldn't happen to have an apple on hand?' Was the elf's only explanation.
After a pause, Dorian's response came, laced with mischief and amusement. 'You are evil, that's why you're my best friend. What's your plan?'
The two diverted their attention back to looking around the room, both seemingly bored and waiting for the meeting to move on, though the conversation carried on.
Vys Vys
 
Valerie and Jauquilinne looked at each other and nodded. The former smiled openly.
"No need to worry. The Jarl has simply requested your presences at the Samhain gala tomorrow evening."
Jauquilinne lifted a hand to gesture.
"That isn't all." the cultured lilt asserted. "We wished to discuss the stratagem for defeating the demon lord. You must stop him. Surely my knights could give you aid in someway."
The Commander's voice rang with a quiet desperation that lingered in every occupant of the room.
That was the question.
Their hearts lie in righteous determination but what could they actually do, in the end?
Galiana frowned at her caretaker and wished to reach out.
She looked around at all of the strangers in her home. Despite her desire to comfort she kept her distance.
They had guests.
Valerie, too, sighed somberly.
"I have a great many rare and varied books entrusted to me. I'm certain there's something useful you can find."
She paused to lift a cup of tea from the table to hand to Jauquilinne, who took it gingerly, frown lifting just the slightest bit.

"If anything, some of you could restock and some research. And do whatever else you must, while you can. Rest but be vigilant. The city grows unsettled as of late." The alchemist intoned ominously before standing.


"I must go now and prepare your attire for the party. You're the Jarl's important guests and are expected to dress like it. A good afternoon to you all." With a jaunty smile and wave the crimson haired Thane swept from the room.
Jauquilinne stared after her, still frowning. She sipped her tea, suddenly looking so forlorn in her own sitting room.
Lo Alyssa Lo Alyssa
@ everyone


Oceana simply wondered at the strange feeling emanating from the Commander. She gave up on trying to understand and chose to contemplate the possibilities of finding answers in the library. Or perhaps meeting the Jarl and going to a gala, pretending the world wasn't falling apart.
"Ridiculous." She unknowingly mumbled aloud.
Galiana turned to her and blinked. Ever since she had laid eyes on the elf she had wondered about her tattoos. She gave in to a moment of bravery and knelt next to the elf.
A lone digit traced the vine-like pattern inquisitively.
Oceana started, shaken from her thoughts.
Galiana needn't words anyway for Oceana took one look and knew.
"They're the opposite." She whispered, looking anywhere but those deep green eyes. "My tattoos serve to prove my worth and maturity. They're nae... like yours. At all."
She realized too late how rude her words had been and cringed awaiting rebuke.
A deep inhale made the huntress look up. The squire sighed and smiled slowly.
Oceana was confused.
She looks...relieved.
Strangely, she couldn't stop her lips from curling in response.
 
Kacel'la couldn't help but let out a disbelieving laugh as she heard Oceana claim that the tattoo's upon her face, the vallaslin, we're the opposite of the slave markings upon Galiana's features.
"You haven't read the oldest tales about our elven gods, have you?" She asked the other elf, a strange note of pity lacing her voice.

OlKaJa77 OlKaJa77
 
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Bo had fallen silent as conversation after conversation sprung up, and simply listened and observed. Oceana was rubbing shoulders with the hosts, Ashlar and Aggie were doing a poor job at hiding their feelings for each other (which wasn't a bad thing in the least), and Jauquilinne seemed an interesting sort, although he was having difficulty reading her.

It seemed that once the short announcements had been made, they were free to go about their own conversations once again. Going to a gala was something he'd never done before - nevermind, get dressed up or anything. He almost wanted to talk about it, but he remembered something Nameen had said earlier that got drowned out in the flow of conversation. So he turned to her, since she was sitting next to him, and gave her a little nudge with his elbow.

"So what kind of stuff do you like to read?" (Was his way of saying, he heard her.)

Rydellius Rydellius
 
Watching Jauquilinne as she spoke, she perked up and smiled a little at the mention of a gala.
'A Gala? I thought that's what only super rich people are invited to and like..they have dancing bears adorned with gems and pearls on their necks.' her childhood visions of a gala was going wild. She pulled her lips into a taught line to keep herself from grinning because it was more business than pleasure and serious matters would probably be discussed.
But she couldn't help about thinking about what she would wear; she never really had a chance to really glow up for special occasions. The last party she went to was at her mage school and they all wore white pencil dresses with a bow in their hair. They were awfully scratchy.

Standing up she beamed up towards Kacel'la and she held her notebook close to her chest before looking down at Ashlar,"My offer still stands on going to shop with me. Kacel'la is going to help me out with expanding my color pallet!" she smiled.


L1d1ja L1d1ja Lo Alyssa Lo Alyssa
 
Hearing the brief announcements, there were two things that really stuck out to Nameen: The mention of a vast book collection, and a gala?
She leaned back in her seat and gazed at the ceiling in thought.
I wonder if she has anything about...?
Surely it was possible that such a varied amount of books could contain something that she'd missed during her own research.
With this idea in her head Nameen anxiously drummed her fingers on her knees, eye intently fixated on a spot in front of her.
Allowing her thoughts to move along left Nameen pondering the gala. She couldn't remember the last time she had gotten remotely dressed up, nevermind gone to such an event. Picturing herself all done up brought a disgruntled expression to her face, and Nameen assumed that it would also mean leaving her sword in her room.
Nameen was wondering if there was any possible way of sneaking off to the rumoured grand library when Bo asked a question from beside her.

"Oh-", Nameen turned to him, surprised that her comment had actually been heard.
"When I was younger I loved the adventure stories, tales of beasts or faraway lands.." Her voice then dipped a little, making her a little harder to hear in the chatty room.
"I've had less time to read for pleasure the past few years, mostly my research. Though it is still interesting-" Instinctively Nameen stopped there, even though Bo already knew some of what research she was referring to.
She paused long enough to catch Aggie mention something about shopping, which brought her mind back to the gala.
"Never thought I'd ever end up at a gala.." She thought aloud, intending for Bo to hear.

soundofmind soundofmind
 
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Oceana turned at the sudden and rather rude interjection from her fellow elf.
"Care to share your thoughts, hm? Well I'm nae sure what tales you heard lassie but my clan has more honor than words can describe. So whatever you're insinuating is obviously counterfeit information. Perhaps if you had any actual Elvish pride you wouldnae have left your clan." Unsure where her outburst had come from and yet unwilling to take it back, the huntress stood up tersely.
"I'll be in the market if anyone needs me."
She quickly stalked away in guilt and shame riddled fury.
A set of steps followed her into the hall. Quiet and gentle with no harsh ring of a boot heel.
Galiana then.
The huntress didn't turn around.
"You... can come with me if you like." She sighed, face burning with shame about her loss of temper with Kacel'la.
She put a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes, still walking.
"Although I'm nae sure you want to tag along with an asocial dunce like me."
A soft trot later Galiana was beside Oceana, shaking her head.
Looking over, the elf realized her green eyes were full of sympathy.
The elf stopped walking to stare.
The squire put a hand to her own chest and nodded, a sad smile on her face. Then she poked the huntress in the chest lightly and gestured to her mouth before shaking her head and hand negatively.
Surprisingly, Oceana caught the gist.
"I guess you're right. I'm just like you when it comes to saying what I really want to say."
She huffed, crossing her arms.
Galiana smiled, perhaps a bit smugly.
It didn't go unnoticed.
"But just because you're right doesnae mean you can rub it in my face!" She grumbled.
The smile grew wider, crinkling the corners of the squire's eyes.
Aquamarine orbs rolled.
"Let's just go then if you're gonna bother me. I can at least get my shopping done at the same time."
L1d1ja L1d1ja
 
Bo suppressed a little grin as Nameen stopped herself. While he had already begun to loosely understand her reasons for it, he found her tight-lipped nature somewhat amusing in this circumstance. Of course, he understood that if she was going to open up more, it probably wouldn't be in this context, where others could overhear, in a large group. It would probably be one-on-one like before, and he wasn't going to press for that unless the timing was right.

"I never thought I would either. I'm pretty sure no matter what, I'll feel out of place. Foreign environments have a way of making you feel like that." Bo followed the comment with a carefree shrug of acceptance. "But I'm sure we'll all have lots of fun as well. Apart from the business side of it, I think just being at a grand event like that will be an enjoyable experience. It'll definitely give me another cool story to tell, eh?" He smiled, as if he had already told a bunch of stories, only to realize that he hadn't really gotten many opportunities to, apart from little blurbs in small-talk. The smile went from genuine to unsure (but it was difficult to tell the difference with him, despite him wearing his emotions on his face most of the time).

"But yeah!" He continued, after a few seconds pause. "Are you excited for it?"

Rydellius Rydellius
 
"I don't see what pride you speak of, if you call each opinion opposing your counterfeit before its even explained. And with how tightly you cling to your elven pride, I think that you just proved my point." Kacel'la explained, tone calm and cold, as she watched Oceana rush out of the room. She wasn't about to give in to anger when in a room full of people.
However Sera, who had still been around Galiana's shoulders, had no such qualms. The little wyvern hissed at Oceana, its glare full of vitriol a bit too human for an animal, and then leapt off Galiana's shoulders to get back to Kacel’la before the door to the sitting room could close behind the pair.
"You shouldn't have done that." Kacel'la told the wyvern when it curled up in her lap, but she only got an unapologetic glare in return. Well, it's not like the elf could blame Sera. She knew just how protective dragons were of their own, and wyverns really weren't that far off.
"Well, I guess I should thank you then." Kacel'la chuckled as she rummaged through her pockets until she found a spare coin, and Sera's eyes lit up when it spotted it.
"Garrett, catch!" Kacy called out before tossing it to the soldier who had spent all this time standing quietly near the door. Unfortunately, Garrett's reaction to having a small wyvern barreling at him, dead set to have its prize, was to quickly try to deflect the coin tossed at him, and the swap sent the piece of silver landing right next to Jauquiline, giving Sera a new target.

OlKaJa77 OlKaJa77
 
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