Fantasy The Five Kingdoms - The Fall of Sarthenfall - Ic

[FrostFire]

Morag 'Aria' MacLaird

Spoiler: Images

Aria was very pleased that Aurelie had actually taken her top off, despite how uncomfortable she looked. Aria herself was more than relaxed as she was - she had even fought soldiers in only her bindings and trousers, so she hardly cared if she was semi nude.
"See? That wasn't so bad. You did well to face your fear, it shows courage." She spoke softly and kindly as she smiled, and began to slowly circle Aurelie, inspecting her as much she could.
"You're more than welcome to do the same for me." She joked, coming to a stop directly in front of the frailer female, hands on her hip and eyebrow raised as she chuckled. Their forms were similarly thin, Aria barely had a gram of fat on her, and their skin was equally soft, but that is where the similarities ended. Aria's muscles were defined and harder than stone, and she was absolutely plastered in freckles, which made patterns in her skin - Luther had even told her that he could see pictures in them if he concentrated hard enough. The fleeting memory amused her, making her both happy and sad at the same time, it was bittersweet.
But she refused to allow herself to be pulled under, and after a little while standing there she took a step back.
"You may put your shirt back on. Thank you for trusting me." She smiled kindly as she did the same, making short work of dressing in all her layers again.

"Now," She began once they were both dressed. "Everything is in order for this part of the screening." She paused as she jotted down notes on her clipboard - amongst which were a few about avoiding heavy lifting, and how Aurelie would likely be easily cut or bruised, and was probably susceptible to blisters.
"However, there will be a little game held once everyone had been questioned. So please do not leave this area." She smiled again, her professionalism reappearing.
"Please take this time to relax, and prepare yourself. You will be competing against the others to obtain a flag, and I expect you to try your hardest, Aurelie." She smiled wider as she crossed the tent and opened the flap, before exiting she looked Aurelie dead in the eyes.
"Don't let me down." Her face and tone was deadly serious as she opened the door wider to allow Aurelie to leave.

SandraDeelightful

 

[Bakuyoshi]

Cale looked nervous at Baxter not knowing the disc's importance. But before that he answered the story of the mark "Noble decided to try and attack a friend of mine. Tried to calm him down and he insulted me. The insult hit close to home and I punched him in the face. His buddy didn't like that and drew a whip and lashed me across the back." Cale was nervous to bring up the story. It may not look good to Baxter if he knew Cale did lash out at someone. "The disc is just a family Heirloom. Something I inherited from my dad..." Cale trailed off upon the mention of his dad. And could only grit his teeth at the thought of the king he despised being his father. "It's, really special. A secret of who I am as well."

Xanto

 

[explosiveKitten]

“... I’d say ‘if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to worry about’, but clearly you just said you have a secret, so that’s off the table.”

OHHHH THE HEIGHT OF IRONY!

Litlle did anyone know, Angie was secretly panicking. Her face may appear calm and collected, but inside was a raging firestorm of anxiety and pure panic.

What was she going to do?! She could just leave, but... but she promised to teach Cale swordplay! And damnit, she was actually starting to feel friendly towards the guy? What the hell?! Damnit this is why she didn’t get attached to people! Normally she would have been on to her next job by now, but nooooo, she had to stick around and make sure Cale didn’t get himself killed.

Now here she was getting ready to be screened- SCREENED!- for the sake of staying in this little compound, possibly revealing her big secret to this entire group of people, this ruining her reputation, assuring that even if she did leave, she’d never get another job again, because nobody wants to hire a WOMAN in armor! And then WHO KNOWS what comes next!? The convent?! Prostitution?! A mediocre life in the back room of a tailor’s shop, barely earning any wage and living on the street to save money?! Or EVEN WORSE, just get married off to the nearest man with money, just like Father always wanted!

Internally, her mind raced as anxiety surged, but on the outside her face was just as neutral as ever.

Blackrose7

 

[Xanto]

Baxter Callahan​

Baxter slightly furrowed his brows moving his gaze from the disc to its owner after Cale's whip mark story. The little explanation actually ended up giving him a deep insight into the guy's personality. From the looks of it, Cale had the heart to defend those he was truly loyal to; however, he had an impulsive reaction particularly when insulted on a personal level. Even if Cale was a brainiac, Baxter knew that the engineer thought with his heart.

It only took a few moments for the nervous guy to carry on about what the Lorelthian disc was for. A family heirloom secret thing was not about to occupy the leader's next hour. At this, Baxter fully faced the guy head on, "You will tell me the secret now, or I will found out myself." The phrase was a bit forward, but the man had no time to waste. Baxter really had a knack for investigating mysteries mainly since he had the connections around the area. Therefore if Cale really was smart, he wouldn't beat around the bush about it.

As tough as the rebellion leader seemed, he was there to help. The whole point of the rebellion was to help everyone survive. Even if it meant having to help with personal drama, Baxter would try sacrificing some of his own time for a talent much needed for the benefit of the whole camp. Bax noticed Cale's nervousness and decided that his straightforward approach might only make the guy hesitate more, "Tell me the truth, and I might even be able to help."

While Baxter waited for Cale to get over his fear of speaking the honest truth, he ripped out a piece of paper and began writing his designated role within the camp.

Engineer mechanisms around camp to simplify lifestyle
Under Baxter's guidance for inventive weapon crafting
Basic combat training​

By the time Cale got through his confession, Baxter was sure that they would have passed their time limit. Besides, the leader had no doubts about his choice of where to assign Cale. He didn't need to talk it over with the guy or negotiate anything.

Bakuyoshi

 

[Blackrose7]

When Raymond told her about Baxter not doing a full nudity at the screening, and heard what Azalea and Angelo have said. Annabel was wondering why she was doing that, to begin with. "You guys are right about that, but that isn’t the only thing I am worried about." said Annabel, who wasn't going to talk about the princess thing.
She actually didn’t want the whole princess thing to be true. Because as soon as that ends up being true, everything will change.
Annabel would rather have her hidden royal title as far away from her as possible. For she has no confidence when managing a freaking kingdom, since that will stress her out pretty badly.
‘I wish my parents was here. They would have at least support me on this trip, or help me out during this problem.’ thought Annabel.
Now she wasn’t always a confident leader of Demonic Velvet, as she was the exact opposite of what she is today. Annabel used to be a complete scaredy cat of bugs when she was younger, and would run away when someone was doing that to her. Hell, even some of the criminals would poke fun at Annabel’s fear before going somewhere else.
Eventually, that fear did faded away, but it can come out at anytime if you try hard enough on her.
Xanto Ms. Sparrow explosiveKitten
( Just adding some stuff here to make it longer. xD )

 

[Bakuyoshi]

Cale sighed "You knew you would have to go through with it. Just go and say it." Cale took a deep breath. "I would say I'm some really good thief that stole it but we both know looking at me that is not true. The truth is. I'm the illegitimate child of Weisen Auscent, king of Lorelthia. Or for lack of a better term. I'm a prince who's very existance was nearly erased. And yet I have no idea how to be one. I've always been an engineer. Not some royal dawdling in a castle."

Xanto

 

[SandraDeelightful]

Princess Aurelie Beauchamp Of Aubigine

​

Aurelie didn't hesitate for a moment. She put her shirt back on, still keeping her arms crossed over her chest.She was still looking down and her cheeks were still burning red. She nodded at Aria's words about capture the flag. She had no idea what exactly it was, but it sounded straight forward. Still, she had no strength. She wasn't fast. But she didn't want to let Aria down. It looked like Aria had faith in her, something that no one else had before. She had known ever since she was little, probably before the age of five, that her parents were displeased with her simply because of her gender.

But Aurelie knew that it would take a lot to make up for being put down by everyone for so long. She had always been told to trust her advisers. They knew more than her. They new better than her. She should put her trust in them as she didn't have the capacity in her head to handle all the ins and outs of politics. It had been ingrained in her head from such a young age.

Aurelie nodded and left the tent, her head still facing the ground. She walked outside of the tent, and went to find a place to sit.

FrostFire

 

[FrostFire]

Morag 'Aria' MacLaird

Spoiler: Images

Aria's lips pressed into a thin line as Aurelie skittered out of the tent, following behind her after a few seconds and scanning the small crowd. She knew just by looking at her cousin that something had happened, and raised her eyebrow but said nothing as she continued to scan, her eyes landing on the Knight.
Well now, here was an interesting character. And someone who's gender Aria wasn't actually too sure about. They appeared as a man, spoke like a man, acted like a man... But Aria had spent enough time around tomboyish female soldiers to recognise the signs, and in this one she could certainly see a few of those.
She wasn't sure, of course, but the Knight's reaction to the mention of a screening just strengthened her suspicions.

Having made up her mind, she marched brusquely over to the armoured individual, coming to stop directly in front of them.
"Excuse me, but you're next. If you would follow me, we shall begin promptly." She spoke curtly and professionally, spinning on her heel without waiting for an answer as she marched back to the tent, lifting the flap and holding it open patiently as she waited for the Knight to enter first.
Once they were inside and the tent flap was closed and secure, she gestured to the seat. "Please, take a seat." She began, picking up her paper and pencil, starting a new page.
"Please state your full name, age, sex, nationality, previous occupations, skills and interests. And tell me about your past, an outline will do." She listed off the memorised lines, but as naturally as if it were always there she added her own... She knew she would go back to at least a couple of those questions, as she imagined if her hunch was correct they wouldn't be giving that information up easily. She wasn't one to interrupt, but she knew she would be questioning more than this individual would like from the get go. Honestly she half expected an extreme reaction at some point - she had been mentally prepared for it from the moment she had followed Aurelie out of the tent minutes before.
Aria was never one to beat about the bush, nor did she ever pull her punches, verbal or physical.

SandraDeelightful explosiveKitten

 

[Ms. Sparrow]

Azalea Eve Windfore

She gave a barely inaudible sigh at the slight smirk that slowly grew on Raymond’s face, she couldn’t understand exactly why she was scolding him, as if she was scolding Isis or Hyacinth for something, though that was mainly Violet’s job. She supposed she didn’t want to relay the news to her cousin, that her dead lovers look-a-like got his head smashed in by giant logs. She had a feeling, in some sense, that it would kill Aria a little further.

She didn’t want Aria to get hurt anymore than she had. She wasn’t angry, not really at least, perhaps mildly annoyed, but the anxiety she’d had while watching him flip about nearly made her heart leap out of her chest in fear for the stranger.

Not like scolding him would solve anything, but her tongue moved faster then her head quite often, just as her temper did.

Azalea made her best effort not to show any pain, clenching her jaw as she helped him up, feeling the strain on her purple wrist, which was currently hidden by her long white sleeves, despite the gentleness in his grip. He seemed almost...thoughtful when he looked down at her, even angling his head to get a closer look, and she couldn’t help but briefly wonder what was so interesting until she realized his attention was most likely focused on her scars, she felt the heat rise to her cheeks, her temper flaring as she was almost certain he would ask where they came from.

But he didn’t.

The words that came out of Raymond’s mouth were not a question but an observation, complimenting her on her dancing skills.

Azalea blushed brilliantly, her cheeks reddening. “What?!” She choked out, stunned, her voice full of suprise, but he had already smoothly released her hand and walked off, her shock replacing anger, leaving her gaping after him, her mouth forming a perfect ‘O’.

So she had been watched at the lake that morning, it was good to know her sense were still intact. She wondered if he’d seen the curtsy, or just her spin, and especially wondered if he’d seen her bare ankles. Her cheeks reddened. She was used to just her family seeing her dance. Though she was the best dancer of her sisters, she’d never reached the age until this year, when she could attend a ball, and even then she was in mourning, and had never danced in the company of men with the exception of...Keeper.


Still blushing madly, she stared after Raymond, remembering the last time someone else had taken her off guard so easily.

~~
Months passed, and every night the Azalea and her sisters had returned to the pavilion, and every afternoon they pricked and bled and stitched their fingers raw threading and repairing their slippers, if only to make them last one more night. One more evening of dancing at least.

And though she would never admit it, she wanted to see Mr. Keeper again.

He hardly spoke, greeting them and bowing them at the entrance with a “My ladies,” before disappearing the rest of the night, but his presence seemed to linger. When Azalea spun, spotting her head as her skirts billowed around her, she could swear she glimpsed his midnight eyes watching through the lattice, or at the entrance, but when she turned about again, she saw only rosebuds. His sleek movements mesmerized her, and she wondered how he danced.

“Poor Mr. Williams,” said Hyacinth, one night in early September, at the pavilion. They had danced until their slippers had been worn to pieces, and now sat in a circle on the floor, exhausted. When they had come to the pavilion that night, streamers lay on the floor, and they spent the next several hours dancing among ribbons.

“He nearly started crying this morning,” Hyacinth continued, “when we came late and wouldn’t eat the porridge, because it was cold.”

“Poo on Mr. Williams!” said Isis, who was often cranky when she was tired. Violet, on the other hand, helped the girls to their feet, nudging the younger ones awake and scooping a sleeping Hale into her arms.

“We have been staying out too late,” she said. “We’ll have to be more attentive.” She slipped her hand into her skirt pocket for something before turning to Azalea. “What is the time?” She asked asked curiously, rubbing her eyes with a free hand.

Azalea kept the watch in her pocket every night, checking it from time to time, always taking the girls back before it grew too late. She knew if Violet had it, she’d just return it to Kaidan, and she wouldn’t let go they’re source of telling time. It was easy, however, to forget about the time when the pavilion spun around them.

Azalea dug into her skirt pocket a littler harder, and found nothing.

“Isis”, have you seen the watch?”

“No.”Isis yawned, her voice cranky with irritation.

“Has anyone seen the watch?”

The girls only answered with blinky, sleepy eyes. Violet shot her an alarmed, deadly glare. Anxiety seizing her throat, Azalea paced the dance floor, searching the marble, wondering if it had fallen from her pocket during the ribboned mazurka. She couldn’t just lose the watch like that—it wasn’t hers! Violet would have her head if she lost her fancied gentlemen’s watch.

Azalea turned again, and this time the weighty, dark form of Mr. Keeper stood in the entrance, a silhouette of roguish ease. His hands cupped around an object, holding it close to his nose. Eyes closed, he inhaled deeply, as though breathing it in. Azalea caught a glimpse of gold between his long black fingers.

“Mr. Keeper!” said Azalea, relief washing over her. She strode to the entrance. “You found it!”

Mr. Keeper’s eyes snapped open, sharply black. Sighting Azalea, the sharpness diminished, and a flicker of a smile appeared. He lowered his hands. The watch, fob, and chain nestled in his gloved palms.

“Yes,” he said smoothly. “It had clattered to the edge here. Forgive me.”

Azalea made to pluck it from his hands, but his fingers closed on the watch, and he pulled back.

“Mr. Keeper,” said Azalea.

“Such a fine clock,” he said softly. “It belongs to your sisters gentleman?”

Azalea’s breath caught from her throat to her chest, and her heart thumped in her corset. At the lattice beside them, the leaves rustled in the unfeelable breeze.

“Not…mine,” Azalea stammered. “Please, Mr. Keeper, if I could have it back—”

Mr. Keeper reached out and brought her hand to his. Azalea gasped; the press of his fingers seemed to touch her core. He felt so solid. It both thrilled and frightened her. Turning her palm upward, he placed the watch and chain in her shaking hand and curled her fingers over it. His hands lingered upon hers.

Then, in a silky movement, he released her hand and bowed them out, so quickly Azalea couldn’t recall even going over the bridge. She clasped the watch in her hand so hard the gold ornament curls imprinted her hand through her glove.

When she lay in bed that night, the room dimly lit by the hearth across the room, and her heartbeat had finally regained its normal pace, her blush fading, she considered the watch, tracing the gold ornamental swirls.

Her gentleman. Why would Mr. Keeper have guessed such a thing? If anyone had seen the watch, they would have guessed was it the King’s. How Mr. Keeper knew it belonged to a gentleman, not her sisters gentleman, naturally, but a gentleman…. That was…unsettling. The glint in his eyes, just before they met hers…

Perhaps it was time to give it back to Kaidan. The next time she came across him, she swore she’d remember to give it back to him.

~~

Azalea blinked out of her thoughts as she noted Aria and Aurelie step out of the tent, her blush faded, leaving only pale white skin in its place. She noted Aurelie, now sitting down someplace private, looking far more uncomfortable then she had before. She briefly noted the armored man get called in with Aria, Azalea’s attention more focused on Aria from afar.

She knew Aurelie scared easily, but wasn’t the screening just a few questions? What had gone on to make her look two-times as uncomfortable as she usually was? She let her exhaustion weigh in, letting out a large sigh before she let her body falling backwards, extending her arms in the process, and landing back into the soft green grass with a hard thud.

Azalea gazed up at the white, puffy sky in thought, questions and observations running through her mind, and she wondered if her mind would ever catch a break, before thinking over Raymond’s compliment again. Well...at least her dancing skills weren’t getting rusty.

A faint smile formed on Azalea’s lips.
​

Interaction: Xanto

Mentioned: explosiveKitten FrostFire SandraDeelightful
​

 

[explosiveKitten]

OH GODS ITS HAPPENING AHHHHH!

Angie, before she could even refuse, found herself ushered into a tent by none other than Princess Aria, or Lieutenant Aria, or... ugh, whatever. Her name is Aria, apparently.

She was sat down and very suddenly pummeled with questions, none of which she liked. This is a gonna be... painful, to say the least...

“... ugh... Angelo Edmund Gale, 24, male, Ezerisian... no previous occupations. Mercenary work is all I’ve ever known. I’ve got at least nine years of combat experience and survival skills, I uh... I can sew, but it’s not the best work. Mostly just to patch up my clothes. I.. I don’t really bother with hobbies. I whittle occasionally. Aside from that... not much.”

She sighed quite heavily when the questions started to get more personal.
“... I grew up in a city, with my mother and father. I was never good enough for them, and I left when I was fifteen. I lived on the road, learned to survive and earned a name for myself. I was in the Southern Kingsom when I met Cale, and we’ve been traveling together ever... That’s all you’re getting on the matter.”

FrostFire

 

[Xanto]

Baxter Callahan​

Baxter placed his pen down and shifted his blue gaze to Cale just in time to watch him confess that he was a prince. His right hand gripped the edge of the table as his mind ran through its own verification process. Saying that you were royalty through illegitimacy was almost a common accusation that most people blurted out especially in Ezeris. Thanks to his time spent with the nobles, Baxter was able to pick up a few confirmation signs besides asking the royal member and the person they had an affair with if their child was real.

Baxter's left hand picked up the disc before lightly tapping the image with his index finger. The figurine shifted in his hand as Baxter tilted it a few times evaluating its material composition. Platinum or titanium . . He thought to himself placing the disc down. Either one, resources like these were hard to come by unless they were stolen. It was obvious that it was given though. After all, it was Cale they were talking about here. Baxter's eyes lingered on the intricate design of the southern castle in a cog with a red snake surrounding it. If he remembered correctly, it was the symbol of the Lorelthian royal family. The vague memory flashed in his mind as he gave the disc back to Cale.

Was there even any motivation for the engineer to lie about the whole thing? Being a royal didn't really matter especially in the camp, but there was a chance of special treatment above the rest of its members. Cale didn't seem like one to lie . . or at least be a good liar. "You may very well be the only surviving southern royal at this time," Baxter concluded deciding he would check the details with Aria later on an anonymous note on behalf of the secrecy factor, "Meaning, you need to learn to . . dawdle." If dawdling to Cale meant practicing manners, establishing diplomacy, and taking care of economical issues, then it was essential that Baxter taught him what he knew. After all, the rebel leader was practically raised by nobles until he was banished from their grounds after impregnating Clyde's mother.

"You will dawdle with me tomorrow during our weaponry session," He segued handing the paper with Cale's roles to him, "Your roles are here. Fighting level on the bottom. I will see you after lunch so we can work on weaponry updates." On that note, Baxter walked to the tent's entrance and lifted the flap with one arm providing just enough space for Cale to exit through. His eyes indifferently moved across the new group's faces before landing on one . . that wasn't even a face.

"Hood!" Baxter declared burning holes with his gaze through the Demonic Velvet leader's hood, "Your turn." Not allowing any excuses, Baxter let the flap back down and took a seat on his chair. For some reason, he had a feeling this session would be another time limit pushing one.

"State your name, age, nationality, backstory, previous occupations, skills, and interests," Baxter ordered in a routine fashion as soon as the figure entered the tent, "Also, remove your hood."

Bakuyoshi Blackrose7

Raymond Callahan​

Raymond was walking toward the screening tent area when he heard Azalea surprisingly question his previous statement. Yep, she was still the same responsive redhead that he encountered the previous day. The man merely smiled a bit not turning back as he got closer to his designated location. Her curtsy from earlier that morning was graceful and her spins were plenty. In fact, just remembering the sight of Azalea's turns almost made Ray dizzy himself.

Aurelie's screening tent exit snapped Raymond back to reality causing him to pause in his tracks. That princess looked doubtful as always . . or at least for all the times Ray saw her. Ah, poor princess. He thought to himself mentally debating whether he would talk to Aurelie or just let her rest. His hand gradually rubbed the back of his neck while thoughts aimlessly ran through his mind. It was obvious that her upbringing had little to no integration with martial training unlike Aria's. Not to mention, Aurelie's surfaced personality didn't seem as fiery as Azalea's during "fight mode." So, since this whole thing was completely out of Aurelie's element Ray would probably just approach her later and give her space now.

With that conclusion, Raymond scanned the area before deciding to sit on a flat rock big enough to have his legs stretched out on a slightly downward sloping angle. It looked like a semi-comfortable place to spend time while waiting for his turn to come up. On his way over, he tilted his head a bit noticing Aria leading the armored babyface to the screening tent. What Ray wanted to know though was how that guy got down to a very clean shave. It almost looked like he never grew facial hair!

Not too long after taking a seat on the smooth flat-ish rock, Raymond caught a glimpse of his brother on the opposite side of the tent summoning the Hood for screening. The good news was that they were moving along. The bad news was that the whole log fighting situation that seemed to take hours only lasted during one person's screening session.

With a slight lower lip bite, the man looked around for something engaging that wouldn't anger Azalea. His eyes unsurprisingly spotting the responsive princess falling onto the grass with a thud. If only Ray squinted then he would've noticed her slight smile. However, he didn't. The man just leaned back onto the tree trunk perfectly positioned behind him and started to feel his eyes grow heavy. Before he could find anything else to do, he fell asleep in a snap. His head slightly rocking to his right as he began leaning from one direction to another.

Ms. Sparrow SandraDeelightful FrostFire explosiveKitten

Clyde Callahan​

The citizens were dying of hunger. The war was getting deadlier. The forest was thick almost poisoned with smoke.

Clyde rubbed his eyes at the instrusive smell of raw meat that filled the air during his playful, imaginary trek as a soldier in search of a dragon. He turned around stomping to the opposite side of the camp grounds still pretending to be a soldier until he caught sight of his uncle in his peripheral vision. "I have found the dragon!" The boy declared from afar before charging toward Raymond. His speed came to a halt five feet in front of Ray though when he realized that the man had fallen asleep during the time it took the "hero" to get there.

Clyde wrinkled his nose and scratched the back of his head almost frustrated that he didn't get to greet his uncle yet since that morning. Not being able to see his uncle till now was unacceptable. Yes, he got to see his father as usual since he was the one who woke him up in time for lessons, but it was just unfortunate that he wasn't able to reach Raymond earlier that day during breakfast.

The boy looked around seeking answers regarding his uncle sleeping on the rock and tree. Ray could have easily slept on the bedroll in the tent. Didn't that position hurt his back? Clyde raised his brow at his uncle who was about two head rocks away from falling off to the side. That hazard flew over the boy's head though especially once he caught sight of someone new.

"Aren't you a princess?" Clyde asked from afar looking at Aurelie. He noted her as the woman who sat next to Aria the previous night. "What is going on here?" He interrogated running up to her and looking her in the eye suspicious of why the royal woman yards away from them was lying on the grass in a daze. They all seemed dead on the inside. "Does someone know hippo-sis?" He mistakenly questioned referring to the term hypnosis.

SandraDeelightful Ms. Sparrow

 

[FrostFire]

Morag 'Aria' MacLaird

Spoiler: Images

Aria couldn't help the hint of an amused smile that pulled at her features as Angelo spoke. A mercenary that could sew? Certainly unusual, but what was even more so, was that someone who could afford such armour that this individual was wearing, would have parents who saw them as 'not good enough'.
Once Angelo had finished, Aria said nothing as she scribbled on her paper. She still didn't speak once she finished writing, and the silence dragged out, and just as it became almost unbearably uncomfortable, she spoke.
"I see... Is Angelo your given name or your chosen name, Miss?" Her voice was calm and nonchalant as she dove into the thick of her suspicions, emphasising the feminine title at the end.
She doubted she was wrong, but if she was this would prove to be a very awkward conversation. Not that Aria cared in the slightest, she was a confident individual and perfectly alright with owning up to her mistakes... But she was almost positive that Angelo was no more a man than she was.
Angelo's constant clean-shaven face, demeanour... Aria had a very strong gut feeling, and she always listened to her gut.
And she certainly wanted to get this out of the way before she had to ask Alngelo to remove their armour.

explosiveKitten

 

[explosiveKitten]

“Uhhh... slip of the tongue there, Princess?”

What’s with the smirk?! WHAT. WHAAAAT. I HAVENT EVEN TAKEN MY SHIRT OFF! How could she know within a minute of talking to me?! Nononono I am NOT giving up the ruse! Calm down, Angie! Just keep playing the part, it’ll be fine! It’s worked before, just keep up the act!

“... Angelo has been my name my whole life? What kind of question is that?”

She’s looking pretty intently at my face. Oh no, did my stupid ass face give it away? I KNEW I should have rubbed dirt on my face this morning! But then Cale stole my sword and I got distracted and UGHHHH. Whyyyy?!

FrostFire

 

[FrostFire]

Morag 'Aria' MacLaird

Spoiler: Images

She smiled wider, and dismissed Angelo's comment with a nonchalant "Perhaps.".
Aria thought she saw panic deep in Angelo's eyes... It was so faint and brief that if she had not been paying very close attention, she might have missed it, and even then she wondered whether she had imagined it... Perhaps, but she would not give up so easily.
"We must always make sure, Angelo. Who knows? You could be a woman in man's clothing." She chuckled, smirking again.
"Not that it would matter. Both women and men are expected to fight in Trodaire, it is one of the reasons why our army was so large." She sighed wistfully, but quickly composed herself. "Even now it is no different... If it were, I would be out of a job." She joked lightly, her eyes still trained on Angelo's face.
"Now, I assume that because you're here, you wish to stay? Sarthenfall in ruins, I don't suppose there is anywhere else to go." She cocked her head slightly before she continued.
"With your combat experience, I think a job training recruits would be appropriate. You could assist myself, I could do with someone helping me out." Her eyes sparkled despite her serious and professional tone.
"And I think your whittling will come in handy, if you can help out the carpenters the rest of the time. Unless you should like to do something else? We like for people to be happy with their tasks here." She smiled again, pencil scratching on the paper as she wrote without taking her eyes off of Angelo.

explosiveKitten

 

[Blackrose7]

Annabel was waiting patiently in her seat until Baxter said it was her turn. 'Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope.' thought Annabel. She was about to run in the opposite direction until Daisy dragged her inside the screening tent.
"Nice try, Annabel, but you will not do that." said Daisy, as she then walked out the tent after doing that.
'Damn it, Daisy, but I guess I have to do this.' thought Annabel.
Annabel took her seat in the screening tent, and was going to answer those questions when Baxter told her to remove her hood so she did that.
"My name is Annabel Hollenbeck. I am 20 years, and I am from Ezeris.
I used to live a pretty normal life with my parents: Rosa and William. My mom used to be a castle maid, and my dad used to be a castle guard. I was also a castle maid before I created Demonic Velvet, and my parents would always prevent me from reading the royal family’s bloodline book for some reason. I honestly don't know why they did that, but I will continue with the story.
I kinda got frustrated when my parents kept doing that when I was at my job. So I tried to sneak into the castle at night in order to read that book. It didn't work, since I ended up running into some criminals who wanted to kill me. I beat them up with my trusty longsword, and those criminals run away like cowards after that happen to them.
This is when I met Daisy and a few of my loyal members, because they saw the fight from the window of their house. They asked me to make a gang so they can learn how to protect themselves from the criminals. They also thought that I looked cool when I fought off those criminals with my longsword.
I agreed with that, and that is how Demonic Velvet was created in order to protect the innocent from the horrible criminals.
Thomas and Jerry later joined Demonic Velvet on their own while we had to rescue Sam, as he was being chased down by some criminals.
I already said that I was a castle maid, and I am still the leader of Demonic Velvet.
My skills are swordmanship, archery, cleaning master, street hand to hand combat + martial arts, stealth master, leadership of a gang, gardening, great at playing poker, and drawing.
My interests are Gardening, Cleaning, Practicing with my sword, Archery, Combat Practice, Drawing, and Poker." said Annabel.
Annabel wasn't lying about any of that, since there was no point of doing that. "Btw, are you going to say that I look like King Reagan and Queen Lydia, Baxter? Because most Ezerisians kept saying that when they get a good look at my face, and it's very annoying." said Annabel.
Xanto

 

[explosiveKitten]

Ohhhohohoho, she knows. The jig is up! THE JIG IS UP! AhHHHHH! RUNRUNRUN No don’t run, that’s incredibly suspicious! GODS WHY CANT I THINK RIGHT NOW?!

“... women dressing as men? That’s a thing? Huh.” She said, looking at Aria with a ‘surprised’ expression, feigning innocence to the concept, though honestly, she was kind of tired of the act. Aria clearly knew what was under the armor, when was just trying to be sly about it.

“... that’s a wonderful thing, that is. Wish the other kingdoms thought the same thing... Your ah, views, are duly noted. As for training recruits, I suppose I could do something like that. I’ve already promised my charge to teach him, so I may as well get used to the thought. I don’t think my whittling skills will be much help, however. It’s mostly just recreational. Small things for fun more than anything else.”

Then the big question- would she stay or would she go?
“... I’m not sure if I’ll be staying or leaving at this time. I intended to make sure Cale settled in before I left. Of course, who knows how things may change in the coming weeks.”

FrostFire

 

[FrostFire]

Morag 'Aria' MacLaird

Spoiler: Images

Aria only smirked and nodded as Angelo feigned ignorance. A little too intently. Aria was almost positive her hunch was right now. She wanted to just come out and say it, but she knew she at least needed to try to be discreet about it... Otherwise she felt like she might get punched.
"Indeed." She gave Angelo a lopsided grin before continuing.
"Brilliant. Of course, there are plenty of odd jobs like scouting and such that I'm also given as I know the mountains well, and it would be beneficial to have another... Highly trained individual along for the ride." She sounded a little too enthusiastic, but she didn't care. She was internally jumping for joy in hopes that there would be another well trained female soldier in the Rebellion. Of course, she wasn't the only female soldier, not by a long shot, but none were even close to being her equal.

"Hmmm... I think you underestimate your abilities, but I'll just put it down as a skill for now." She scribbled a little more, but paused as Angelo mentioned their uncertainty.
She looked up and smiled knowingly. "I'm positive you'll decide to stay." She paused again, her face curious now.
"You seem quite attached to that small fellow. Unusual for a mercenary to form such attachments. But I suppose this is an unusual time."

She smiled again, and after writing a little more she put down her clipboard.
"As much as I've loved our little chat. And I have, I think you and I will be great friends in the future." She rubbed her hands together, a little worried about Angelo's reaction to the next part.
"But we need to move onto the next part of the screening. To get an idea of your physique and make sure you don't need medical attention, I need to perform a physical exam... Please remove your top, Angelo." Her tone was calm and professional, but her eyes were tight. She had no idea how Angelo would react, but considering their reluctance to give up their little secret, she expected it to be pretty spectacular.

explosiveKitten

 

[explosiveKitten]

Angie narrowest her eyes at the “attachment” comment, but bit her lip nonetheless. Best not backtalk the princess.

“... well, it seems I have nothing to hide. So why not?” She said, admiting defeat while keeping the male lilt to her voice as she stood up. It was clear that Aria had figure this out- somehow, still not clear on that, a question for a different day.

Quickly she shed the armor, piling it carefully on the ground before hesitating at the hem of her shirt hem, looking up at Aria with an almost nervous glint to her eyes before she sighed and pulling the shirt off, revealing that very distinctly feminine figure that she had. She even went as far as to pull the bandages off her almost healed wounds. They weren’t going to conceal anything. She was about to loosen her bindings, but then decided against it. It was more trouble to tighten those things than to loosen it.

Aria was probably getting an eyeful too- This young woman is absolutely ripped. With muscular arms and shoulders, abs and not an ounce of fat on her. Not to mention the litany of scars across her back and abdomen. All of which correspond with patches on the shirt she was wearing, except for the biggest one, a long, diagonal scar stretching from her right shoulder blade to her left hip.

“... would you like the trousers to come off too?” She asked nonchalantly, with her face twisted into a bitter scowl.

FrostFire

 

[FrostFire]

Morag 'Aria' MacLaird

Spoiler: Images

Aria stayed silent as Angelo undressed, but couldn't help the small smile that graced her lips as she took her top off, a smile that widened and turned into a full blown musical laugh as she asked sourly about removing her trousers.
"If you really want to." She joked, still laughing as she shook her head, making it obvious that she wasn't being serious.
"So this is what you were hiding... I'll need to tell Baxter of course, but no one else needs to know unless you want them to." Her eyes sparkled as she winked, deciding what the General didn't know couldn't hurt him, and she hoped Baxter would feel the same. Such a talented individual, they didn't need Nathaniel trying to pull her down - best to keep it private, as she was sure Angelo wanted. "Honestly if I had been born in another kingdom, I would have done the same." She said, understanding. Aria knew she was incredibly privileged to have the life that she had, and she used to hope that she could help the women all over Sarthenfall when she became the Queen... Perhaps now she might have even more opportunity to do so for the women of the future. Silver linings and all that.

She circled slowly, inspecting Angelo's physique with approval - they had very similar bodies, except Aria had much fewer scars. She had some of course, but they were few and far between, faded due to getting swift medical treatment.
"Well I'll admit I'm impressed. I haven't seen a woman with a physique comparable to my own before." She grinned, but became slightly more serious as she saw injuries. They may have been almost healed, but still...
She finished her examination, and scribbled a few notes down. "You can put your clothes back on. I'll give you a balm for those wounds, I doubt you'll need to see the medic but just to be on the safe side I'll get some for you. Come and see me at dinner." She said seriously, before smiling again and brightening up.
"So what is your name then? Do you have a nickname?" She asked curiously, cocking her head.

explosiveKitten

 

[explosiveKitten]

“Ah- no! You can’t tell anyone! And keep it down about my... condition!” Angie said, keeping the male lilt to her voice. “You don’t know who could be outside listening!” She shushed the other woman who had to started to laugh- LAUGH!- as she revealed herself. It felt especially strange to be inspected like cattle.

She quickly sat back down and gestured around wildly in the air, her voice dropping to a whisper, “You don’t get it. You can’t tell anyone. I have spent seven, nearly eight years of my life building a reputation as a man who gets things done. A mercenary who can take down any foe. This isn’t just some little secret you can gossip about with your buddies! This.. if this gets out it could ruin me. Do you understand that? Seven years, out the window because I’m... me.”

She stared for a moment more before realizing how desperate she sounded and wiped her face with one hand, sighing deeply. “...Angelique. It’s Angie.” She mumbled, her face bright red as she blushed with embarrassment over the frilly name.

FrostFire

 

[FrostFire]

Morag 'Aria' MacLaird

Spoiler: Images

Aria wasn't surprised when the reaction she had been expecting came. And of all things, it was over her telling Bax.
"Wowow, calm down. Baxter is the Leader of the Rebellion. Nothing gets past him and he'd have my head once he found out... Look, no one else will find out, it's just Baxter needs to know so he can make sure you aren't put in any... Uncomfortable situations." She made a face like she had just sucked on a lemon. Almost everyone in the Rebellion were decent... But they had to take everyone they could, so there were a small handful of slightly more... Unsavoury men.
"Women and men bathe separately, but as two groups. Baxter will make sure you can bathe alone, and discreetly provide any other... Necessary arrangements, to make your life as uncomplicated as we can." She frowned, a annoyed that Angie considered her to be so shallow.
"I understand the gravity of your situation, and I will do no such thing. Your privacy is important." She huffed, sad that Angie considered herself to be so much lesser than her mask. It hurt Aria to see her like that, feeling that way. Her frown turned sad.
"I hope you will not always feel that way. It isn't right for women to be seen as lesser, you should be able to hold your head high as a fearsome warrior, who just so happens to be female." She grimaced, rubbing her temples.
"But that is a topic for another time." She brightened up when she heard Angie's name.
"Angelique?" She echoed, her nose scrunching up slightly at the sound of it.
"That doesn't suit you at all. But I'm no stranger to such things, Morag is hardly a nice name either." Her nose crinkled even further as she mentioned her own first name, even though he had chosen it not even her Father had used it, unless he was angry or very serious.
"But Angie... Yes, that does suit you. Perhaps even better than your chosen name of Angelo." She smiled again, a kind smile that showed her genuine intent to help the other woman.

"So!" She half chirped half barked, "Thus concludes the screening. I'll discuss your tasks more when you come to see me at dinner. Please stay in this area as there will be a little competition later, a session of capture the flag between the new recruits. Any questions?" Her professionalism returned in force, but there was still the hint of a smile on her lips.

explosiveKitten

 

[Xanto]

Baxter Callahan​

Baxter gestured to the seat in front of him once the hooded figure entered the screening tent. Fortunately, she was more obedient than he had anticipated. It didn't take an unreasonable debate to have the mystery character pull her hood down either. This made Baxter only slightly appreciative of whoever she was. If there was anytime to redeem her previous day's behavior it was now, and so far she was doing okay.

The man blinked a couple of times when the woman's familiar face registered in his mind. He was sure he hadn't seen her before, but her facial features were unmistakable. After having been around eastern nobles for almost half of his life, Baxter quickly recognized that she was a mirror image of the king and queen of his home kingdom. The rebel leader didn't jump to assumptions that she was related to them though just due to her appearance. Heck, just look at Raymond and whoever Luther was that Aria had mentioned the previous day. They may have looked alike, but as far as Baxter was concerned he never heard of a relative named Luther. Annabel. His mind made a mental note of her name before short-handing notes from her descriptive monologue that followed.

Annabel followed Baxter's instructions accordingly promptly stating her name, age, nationality, backstory, previous occupation, skills, and interests, all of which he was able to take down. Their screening was going all so smoothly until she brought up a fact that momentarily plugged his mind about a minute ago. Her annoyance at a simple phrase regarding how she looked like the late eastern royals didn't seem a bit practical to him whatsoever.

"Get used to it, but do not let it get to you," He simply commented still writing notes from their speedy screening. Annabel really did look like the king and queen, but annoyance at a mere fact was not logical under any circumstance.

Baxter finally leaned back in his seat once he finished writing all the notes he could. What followed next would probably be a process worth explaining to the woman who hid her face behind an enlarged hood. "Empty all your pockets and remove your shirt," The rebel leader ordered folding his arms across his chest, "Only your shirt." By now it should have been obvious that he didn't need to see anything more than what was required.

Blackrose7 FrostFire

 

[Blackrose7]

Annabel didn't have any hidden pockets on her dress, because she was carrying around a picnic basket in their tent. She also gave a confused look when Baxter asked her to remove a shirt. "Um...this dress doesn't have any hidden pockets, and what shirt?" said Annabel.
It kinda took Annabel a few minutes to realize that Baxter was asking her to be naked. 'Holy shit! Is he asking me to be naked?' thought Annabel, as she was shocked about that.
She also got the wrong idea about Baxter when he said that, since she was told that he wouldn't do a full on nudity at the screening. "Do you realize what you just said to me, Baxter? Because you were asking me to be naked, so you can see my boobs here." said Annabel. "But then again, you probably didn't notice that."
Annabel then put her hood on for a few minutes, poke her head out of the screening tent, and asked Daisy to go get the picnic basket at the tent. "Ok." said Daisy.
Daisy went to the tent, and gave Annabel the picnic basket once she came back. "Thanks Daisy." said Annabel.
She handed Baxter the picnic basket, so they can pretend that he didn't say that. "Go ahead, and search through that, Baxter. It has all of my stuff, and I want to pretend that you didn't try to get me to be naked here." said Annabel.
Annabel wasn't looking at Baxter, because she was embarrassed by his weird naked attempt moment on her.
Xanto

 

[explosiveKitten]

Angie leaned back in the chair, her arms crossed over her chest as she contemplated.

“... fine, fine...” she sighed anxiously, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees as she held her face in her hands. “I suppose there’s no going back anyway...”

She looked at Aria and huffed when she commented on her name. “Yes, well... we don’t usually get to pick our names. Angelo was just close enough to my given one.”

Soon enough, Angie was all dressed in her armor once again, and was preparing to walk out of the tent when Aria mentioned capture the flag.
“Oh... oh, that does sound dreadfully fun... well, I guess there goes my plan to spend the rest of the day brooding in my tent.” She said in jest, mostly to herself, then shooting Aria another nervous glance before turning and preparing to leave.

But instead, she paused. This would nag at her mind if she didn’t ask. She’s have to fix the problem so this didn’t happen in the future. “... What gave it away?”

FrostFire

 

[Xanto]

Baxter Callahan​

Baxter's thoughts about how annoyed Annabel was at a simple phrase lingered in his mind longer than usual. In fact, his thoughts gravitated to how Annabel actually looked like the late king and queen of Ezeris all while he absentmindedly waited for her to remove her shirt. This was until the woman spoke up snapping him out of the trance he was in. Annabel's question about a shirt brought Baxter back to reality, but her statement about him seeing her breasts shook his mind silent. His eyes were slightly widened by the sudden realization that the one being screened was in a dress. It was an observation he had missed since she sat down on her seat so compliantly a few moments before.

Baxter began parting his lips to clarify the misunderstanding, but was fortunately interrupted by Annabel mentioning that he probably didn't notice her dress. Immediately, the man nodded at the truthful suggestion in silence. Perhaps he was just that distracted by her familiar face? With a slight shift in his seat, Baxter watched Annabel peek out the tent before bringing a picnic basket back to him. This whole session was just very different from the rest. No one ever brought in a basket as a substitute for nonexistent pockets.

At this, the man openly received the basket with two hands and looked at Annabel. She just couldn't let the previous situation go. Actually, she openly said that she wanted to pretend that he didn't try to get her naked right then and there. The man paused keeping his silence as he watched Annabel look away.

Then, the unexpected happened. Baxter's straight face cracked a smile at the whole scenario. He laughed at how Annabel acted so awkwardly at a small mistake he made based on a lack of realization. There was something about her puzzled and panicked mix of emotions that amused him and made her carry herself kind of awkwardly.

After a few seconds of chuckling, Baxter stood up and placed the basket on the table. His serious expression returned while he pulled the top cover off and began shifting through the items inside. "Annabel, I was not aware that you were wearing a dress; however, you must appear in your bindings with no top piece of clothing either to me or Aria before the end of the day," His hands went through a few more items before placing the basket back off to the side, "It is part of the screening process to check for physique, ailments, scars, and other markings."

It didn't take long for Baxter to move onto the next item in the agenda regarding role assignments. His mind briefly flashed to her backstory about trying to sneak into the castle to steal a book. Unfortunately, Annabel ran into some criminals who wanted to kill her. Not stealthy enough. Baxter thought to himself accepting nothing less of something close to perfect. It was substantial information that she did have adequate stealth and combat experience as the leader of the Demonic Velvet gang though. Besides if Annabel truly was a "stealth master" (as she said), then she would have easily taken that royal family's bloodline book without getting caught. Thoughts continued to run through Baxter's mind as he furrowed his brows with his eyes glued to the basket. She seemed above average in stealth, but not a master. "Onto your roles. We will need help cleaning the monastery and gardening around its designated fertile land. The place needs to look more presentable to boost morale. An experienced hand in gardening would also be ideal to help the rebellion harvest resources for food," Baxter paused looking back at Annabel, "Take up your gang and help lead the initiative of moving most of our camp into the stone structure."

He wasn't finished yet. Baxter continued, "Report to Aria when you have accomplished mentionable milestones in your work. You are at the average fighting level for now and may be moved higher depending on your physical test after these screenings." There, now he was done. With no further discussion, Baxter moved to the tent's entrance and lifted the flap leaving space for Annabel to exit through. "Not so bad was it?" He questioned raising a brow as he remembered that she wanted to go last in the entire process.

As soon as Annabel stepped out the tent, Baxter's blue-eyed gaze scanned the area again this time spotting out the person he was mandated to screen. She would be the final person out of the whole group he screened before moving onto the rest of his own agenda. From the looks of it, he was moving faster than Aria's rate. It was fortunate that Baxter didn't mind taking a little more time with this outspoken princess.

"Princess Azalea!" He raised his voice noticing her body lying on the green grass. With that, he turned in and walked around the table stretching his arms over his head before his final screening.

Once Azalea entered the tent, Baxter pitched his usual line, "State your name, age, nationality, backstory, previous occupations, skills and interests." This time, he circled around her just as he did with Cale earlier. Baxter didn't want to mistaken a princess for wearing a shirt with trousers then erroneously ask her to bare all.

Blackrose7 Ms. Sparrow