Fantasy Animals at Heart || Casual || Accepting

[StoneWolf18]

Animals at Heart

.

IC || OOC || Characters || Lore & Info​

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IntroductionMany people to believe werebeasts to be of myth and legend. Savage creatures that roam the nights in children’s imaginations. Within the world of Sivaas, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Since the day of their creation, every man, woman, and child was given pieces of an animal’s soul by their goddess of nature, Kaan. Known as the Raan (after their goddess) they populate the lands among many large kingdoms to even the smallest of yet to be civilized tribes.

But, not all is well. War is all too common among them, the battles between them bloody and harsh. Tyrants butt heads over meager swaths of land and other such things while the gap between the higher and lower classes grow overnight. Because of this, their gods have grown quiet, their priests and priestesses panicking over the lack of guidance.

So it seems the world is falling apart, but there just might be something to change that.

 

[StoneWolf18]

Goldenhill - Palace Courtyard

The King of The Golden Hill, Polydius Krey, eyed the large group of mercenaries, sellswords, and others that had answered his call. The damned freaks known as the Transcendent weren’t really something he had bothered caring about until they got to his pride and joy, his little girl. The princess, Aelesia. While she was 18 and relatively free to worship any of the gods she choosed, this blasphemy wasn’t going to be tolerated.

He was currently within his jul form, dressed in a nice set of leathers with a flowing cloak despite how the sun shown down upon them. As a prince he had earned the eyes of many due to his might and ferocity in battle, similarly to his father before him. As a family of lions, it was expected. As he stared each of the Raan before him down, it was clear that he wasn’t to be trifled with.

“You all are here today for one purpose.” He began, the crowd quieting down instantaneously as he began to speak. “That purpose is to track down and, by any means necessary, render this Transcendent cult helpless. We would prefer if they are captured alive but just their heads would do if they prove to be overly hostile.” Pausing so everyone could take in his words, he finished. “Does anyone have any questions?” A small, thin man would speak up. “Yes sir, would you mind commenting on anything in the princess’ home life that would’ve affected the princesses’ desis-” He was cut off with a bestial snarled from the king, his eyes narrowed as he turned away from the reporter. “Any other questions?” As none were asked, he abruptly would turn and re-enter the palace.

Zafina had been in the city for a few days before hearing of the king’s plight. Seeing as she was already rather infatuated with the culture and general livelihood of it all, she was more than intrigued. Her tail was swaying slowly behind her as he spoke, her muzzle twisting into a small smile at the thought of decapitating these fools.

The lioness had been getting odd looks the entire time she had been here, and within the crowd here, she stood out even more. Most if not all of the others were Raan-Kiir. Yet none of them had the nerve to outwardly show some form of discomfort, whether that was because of her imposing stature or her being a lion similar to the royal family. Regardless, she would glance around after the king finished speaking, having half a mind to head out on her own. After all, a hunt was always be more successful without three different hunters stalking their prey differently.

Ridge CrimsonEclipse PanOtterPus Raku Brejvarr Ulfhedne doneanddusted Maxilgal Galaxy Bear SRUNewman DergTheDergon Vampunk

 

[Raku]

A man moved through the crowd in black. He definitely didn't look like the rest with how hot it was. He had his hood up as he listened to the king's mission. Mariq knew of the king's issue for some time now as he does like within the city. He somewhat had to if he was to be employed. Now a much larger employer was calling for his services, King Polydius Krey himself. Transcendent was a thorn in his side that he wanted removed, and from what he said, Mariq could tell it was dead or alive.

After the king returned to his castle, Mariq brought his bladed staff up to rest upon his shoulder as he let his hood down. Some sweat made his forearms and forehead look somewhat shiny. It was now that he went about thinking on how he was going to deal with the cult, a way of approach. He could gather a team, as multiple heads are often better than one, but he's had his fair share of idiots. He let out a few tsk's before looking around the crowd. Some of them seemed pretty professional, a good bit of them not so much, and others stuck out like sore thumbs. He definitely had to think about this one.

 

[doneanddusted]

Mireille stood in the front of the crowd (for obvious height reasons). Her resting face wasn't quite the face she would use had she been trying to act cutesy, but there was really no need to act super cutesy at a moment like this. Mireille had recently arrived back in The Golden Hill, came across this opportunity, and it was just too good to resist! Too bad Mireille still had to keep her shop up at the same time. The young woman, in her jul form, listened to the king... except not really, because she already knew her purpose. She'd wait until she heard a good question before paying attention. Though the question about the princess's life could've actually been useful... oh well... And the king left... okay.

The childlike Mireille had a bit of a plan in her head as to how she'd go about this whole thing, and that was working as a team. M wasn't one who liked doing this, but everyone going off trying to do their own thing would most definitely end badly. If they were going to do things alone, it would at least be best for everyone to be aware of what the other was doing. She glanced at everyone else, and realized that most of them would probably anticipate doing all this alone.

gREAT!

She then noticed it. It was a tall beast. A lioness. Mireille rose an eyebrow. Not condescendingly; it was just to show that she was intrigued. Was this a Kiir-Fel, or a Diin? Probably a Diin, but hey there could be a chance that it was actually a Kiir-Fel. Some people here looked very interesting. Mireille smiled. This would be quite an experience.


with: nun
mentioned: technically everyone but hey StoneWolf18 yeah mmkay great

 

[Ridge]

Mika Iris
Location: Goldehill Palace - Courtyard
​

Mika had been one of the first waiting to hear the Kings words. Keeping her hood tightly up over her head, her brow was raised throughout it all. She seemed to be possibly one of the quieter in the room, but of course, there was still a fair few that didn't speak at all. She had always respect the King and the Royal family. Whether or not she agreed with everything they did, they were still kind people deep down, as were most. As the topic of the Princess was brought up, Mika knew this was going to be a soft spot for his majesty and such he made his way back into the palace. Mika's head rose and her eyebrows soon returned to their normal place.​

Within her life time, she had seen many different Raan and this time it was no different a Lioness within the Kingdom a stranger at that was a very odd occurrence. It was something that Mika wanted to know more about but she wouldn't pry and she wouldn't divulge into something she didn't feel welcomed into. In fact, this time she kept an eye on the Lioness but more importantly she was seeing if her friend had indeed attended this meeting.

 

[Galaxy Bear]

Eirawen "Farren" Ninovan

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She lived near the palace citadel that it wasn't really a hard journey to get here. She was lucky to have the day off and was able to hear the king's speech about his missing princess. She was sad when the King left, unable to answer her questions, he didn't even give any clues or hints of where the princess had gone. She had no idea what she was doing here though, she looks around the crowd, and knew she had to stand out somewhat. Even though some were in their Jul form the majority wasn't but only a few had aspects of their beast form while in their Jul form like herself. It was a bit awe-inspiring to see the King though and to see the crowd. The crowd didn't say anything, some of them slipped away and left, and she was debating about doing the same thing. A few people stood out like the lioness and a figure clad in black. How many would actually stick around to do as the king demanded? There was a lot of questions Eirawen had and she wished she had the chance to ask them. Not that it really mattered, she wouldn't be joining this endeavor.

What use would she be to the people that went after the Transcendent? She had a small dagger but the dagger wouldn't really do much against anybody, really. Most likely she would have to go into her beast form and she didn't like the thought of that. There was nothing wrong with her beast form, she just felt trapped in it. She felt like she could do a lot more in her Jul form than her beast form. She felt so useless and hopeless among the rest of the crowd. Eirawen felt conflicted, she always wanted to go on an adventure and do greater things in the world, but she was not a fighter. She couldn't imagine killing these guys or fighting anyone really, she hated violence. However, though the King said nothing of it, she imagined there would be a pay at the end. A decent sized pay too, wouldn't any King be willing to pay for the return of his daughter? She hoped so because it would be useful to her. Perhaps she could finally use that money to open her own dress shop now. It would be well worth it. Even though she wasn't sure what she could offer, she was ready for this adventure. Eirawen looks around the crowd once more, since she wasn't a fighter, she would have to band up with others. She was looking around to see if anyone was doing the same. The guy clad in black caught her eye, he seemed to be thinking or at least surveying the crowd like she was. He had walked a bit away from the crowd and she begins making her away over to him.

Raku StoneWolf18

 

[CrimsonEclipse]

Sherza Kalinor
​

Among the crowd gathered by the King, Sherza was trying to suppress a yawn as she listened to the King speak. Why bother saying this? None of these things were new information to the people gathered here. It may have been more helpful had he informed them where these Transcendent were gathered or how much they'd be paid, 'specially that last part. The part about his daughter was definitely nothing new nor a secret, gossips do spread fast after all. He may be a good King, but it looks like he's lacking in the parental department.

And it seems like the King is still very touchy about it. Some dumbass even tried to ask him about that, gods, what a moron. The hyena let out a cruel snicker as the report whimpered when the King snarled at him. After that, the King returned to his castle and some of the crowd started to disperse. Sherza looked around before she started to head towards the direction of the bar. Sherza had minimal knowledge regarding these Transcendent. Sure, she's heard rumors, but she needs to know their whereabouts before she could do anything. She may appear like a savage barbarian, but she at least knows how to do her job well.

As she started to leave however, a lioness caught her attention. "Well, what do we have here." She muttered to herself. It may be a longshot, but this lioness may have some information about the Transcendent. Why? She's a lioness. It may seem a bit stupid, but those of the same race tends to have more information regarding their own race. Besides, if she knows nothing Sherza can always proceed to the bar to gather information.

"Hey you! Lioness!" The scantily clothed Hyena called out to her as she walked towards her. "Are you part of the King's pride? Do you know more about these Transcendent?" She asked as she stopped in front of the lioness. "I'll pay for good information, though I recommend you not screw me over." She said as she bared her teeth. Sherza would truly pay for the information, and she'd also follow on her threat if she gets double crossed.

StoneWolf18

 

[PanOtterPus]

Tokala Balgair

Tokala had slipped out early that morning. He had noticed posters all around the city on his last visit with his village's merchants, and had decided straight away that he would be attending this speech. It meant sneaking out of the family hut, through the small area of forest separating his people and the city, and spending the day in his Jul form so as not to arouse suspicion, but he cared not. Tokala was a curious fox, and curiosity killed only the cat, right?

The King's speech was short, to the point and powerful enough that everyone was bustling as soon as he had finished speaking. No-one dared question him further, and now they all stood, either looking for people to group with or making their own way out the door to do this alone. Tokala figured he was more of a group guy. Sure, he did all his hunting on his own, but hunting animals was something he was used to, he was trained for it. Killing other Raan? That wasn't something he had ever done. Tokala guessed he'd be better at the hunting part, helping track down the princess and these Transcendent folk - the killing could be done by someone else.

Looking around the crowd, scratching absently at his chest, Tokala picked out a few that looked to have the same group mind-set as himself. Now for the tricky part. He wasn't the best at talking to new people. He was never allowed to talk to the city folk - his mother worried he'd be likely to accidentally let slip the location of his village - and as such he wasn't sure how to approach them now. Different villages had different greetings, cities intimidated him. 'Great start, Toka,' he sighed to himself, standing rather awkwardly.

 

[StoneWolf18]

Zafina the Victorus

Location: Goldehill Palace - Courtyard
Tags: CrimsonEclipse Ridge doneanddusted PanOtterPus

The amount of eyes on her wasn't optimal, but she didn't bend beneath the attention but rather it only reenforced her proud stance. Looking the crowd over with a bit of disdain, she would ready herself to leave when a rough female voice called her out. Looking towards the smaller female hyena, her words only made her mood dip further, slipping a paw into the gloves that hung off the side of her belt. Yet what she said after gave her a slight idea. The lioness had no coin to spend, and making some was proving to be difficult... why not make a little here and now? The little mut most likely couldn't put up much of a fight despite how threatening she was trying to seem.

"I might..." she purred, trying her best to mask her true intentions. "But it's going to cost you, isn't it?" With that she began to walk away, locking eyes with the two people that had been looking her way and narrowly avoiding running into a fox as she stalked through the clearing masses.

 

[Maxilgal]

Skos Axehide​

“This is bullshit, Mika,” Skos growled in her jul form. It was hot out, and she didn’t want to deal with the enormous amount of fur that came along with her shift. “Why are we even here?” There was a dispersion after the king finished, and Skos felt quite childish for not listening closer when the king spoke. Still, she wasn’t going to let anyone else know, but she had a sneaking suspicion that Mika knew everything about her. Skos’ light jul form had been able to push up towards her during the speech, now allowing for a real conversation. She began picking at her fingernails, looking around. A lioness, a hyena. That would turn out great. It wasn’t like they were natural enemies or anything. She shrugged and flicked a speck of dirt from under her nail.
“Why d’you even accept this?” She sniffed angrily and began running her tongue along her teeth, a bad habit she had since she was little. She stopped gripping enough to notice a tavern close to them. “Come on, I’m starving.”

Ridge StoneWolf18 CrimsonEclipse

 

[Brejvarr Ulfhedne]

Brejvarr Ulfhedne
Brejvarr had been standing at the back of the crowd while the king gave his speech. He didn't say a word during the speech. He didn't even listen. He had heard of the mission before, and when the king retreated back into the castle Brejvarr examined the crowd. He knew that he would need a team for this mission. He looked around a bit and noticed several individuals who stood out from the rest.

A tall lioness stood almost in the middle of the crowd. A lot of people seemed to be looking at her, but Brejvarr didn't understand why. He heard a female voice calling out to the lioness, and saw a short hyena walking towards her. Even though she was short, she still stood out from the rest, he thought. They started talking to eachother as Brejvarr stopped listening and continued looking around for more potential teammates. He saw a man dressed in black clothing who seemed to be looking around the crowd just like Brejvarr. He carried a bladed staff and generally looked like a pretty capable warrior. Looking around some more, he saw a tough looking woman with a dark tan walking towards a tavern. She looked like she could handle herself in a fight, he thought.

Brejvarr thought that this would be enough to assemble a good team, and with a determined look on his face he headed towards the man with black clothing. Being as tall as he was, Brejvarr didn't notice that someone else was walking towards the same person, and he got about halfway there before bumping into them. "Oh, sorry little one! I did not see you." he quickly said, with a thick Fo'Sahsun accent. Looking down, Brejvarr saw a short woman wearing a simple dress.

Mentioned: StoneWolf18 CrimsonEclipse Raku Maxilgal Galaxy Bear

 

[Raku]

Mariq continued to observe the crowd. His eyes went from person to person. He was judging them by their appearence. How well they'd fight, how I they may be, if they may even fight, all things he could get a general idea of from what they looked like. As he was surveing the crowd, he overheard someone shout out something to get the attention of a lioness. It of course grabbed his attention. He looked in the direction of the voice to see a hyena and said lioness. Both looked to be Diir-Fel in his opinion as they were in rather tribal apparel. They had the potential of being allies for sure, hopefully he'd run into them later. For now, he continued looking for others.

As he swept over the Raan once more he caught eye of someone walking in his direction, looking right at him. He could ultimately assume she was going for him. She looked like a Snow Leopard Kiir-Mun as she did have the ears and tail of one. He'd wait for her to get to him rather than walk to meet her halfway. As he turned away however, he heard a Fo'Sahsun accented Raan in the same direction. Taking another quick look, he saw a tall wolf Raan, probably another Diir-Fel from the north. He definitely seemed like a capable fighter. He carried two axes, a typical choice of Raan in the north. Maybe he found a potential team. Turning fully in the two's direction, he waited till they looked at him before waving them over.

Galaxy Bear Brejvarr Ulfhedne

 

[doneanddusted]

Mmm, big mistake number 1: Assuming things. One can't assume that just because this thing was a lion, that it would be part of the King's pride. Mireille looked over at the hyena. Another Diin. Or Kiin-Fel.

The lioness's vagueness was kind of sketchy... Mireille looked at everyone else to see what they would do. There was no doubt someone would take this offer. She planned to just go with them. To watch. Maybe if the first person confirmed that it wasn't a scam, then Mireille could pay up. She had money to spare.

A tall jul sort of dissed them. She then talked about food. Oh snap, this would be a hard desicion.... food... or good information that could actually be a scam? Would the hyena even want Mireille around? Mireille shrugged and mad et ber way to the beast.

"Do you want me to come along with you just in case?" She asked. "If not, I'm going to the tavern."
She prepared for rejection.

CrimsonEclipse

 

[Vampunk]

____________

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Standing in the far corner of the main square, Sif, the one-eyed tracker, was watching the commotion from the corner of her eye, adjusting her woven hood to shield her gaze from the bright sunlight.
One would easily be able to tell her apart from the city folk, her leather vest worn and littered with marks her occupation had left on her clothing and her body.

With the recent turn of events there wasn't much gold to be made escorting smaller fries through the marshlands she called home, forcing the Owl Raan-Kiir-Sul to seek work in the larger cities, offering her knowledge of how to survive the hazardous wilderness that she called home.

And there was good money in it too, a lot of city folk not aware of the dangers they were faced with when treading on the beaten paths. Bandits, beasts and the elements were what would spell certain death for unprepared travelers and Sif herself was the first to admit that some of them had left their mark on her as well.

Blinking with her milky right eye, her once dark brown orb in en ever-present state of lingering pain, Sif followed the King's speech.

"Jackpot." The Owl Raan mumbled under her breath, pulling her hood off her pale-haired face and slowly approaching the group of colorful attendees.
Her sisters were right in the assumption that something big was going to happen in the capital and that it would prove to be a good way to line one's pockets.

In a way the Owl had become a Vulture, seeking to get personal gain from other's misfortunes by offering her trade for just the right sum.
And a Tracker would be sorely needed when trying to bring the Transcendent to justice.

A faint smile adorning the otherwise Stoic Owl Raan's face, Sif carefully listened to the various voices chattering, each and every one of the attendees wanting to get a piece of that generous reward.
And Sif wasn't one to needlessly share her profits.

And she knew that someone might just be in need of her skills, even if they wouldn't admit it.​

 

[Galaxy Bear]

Eirawen "Farren" Ninovan

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Location: Goldenhill- Palace Courtyard​

With her small size she was able to squeeze through the crowd unnoticed and reach for her target. She wasn't really paying attention to those around her, simply heading her way to the figure in black. It surprised her probably just as much as it surprised him when a wolf runs into her. She looks at the towering figure and when he called her 'little one' her tail lashes once. Sometimes she forgets how short she is compared to most Raan. She sighs, she couldn't really be surprised that he called her 'little one' though she wasn't a child. It annoyed her slightly but not enough to complain about it, he didn't seem like he said it as an insult so she lets the insignificant offense go. Eirawen twitches her ears at his words as her hearing picks up the accent that she carried. Being born and living most of her life in Fo'Sahsun, she recognized it instantly. It made her happy to hear the accent. When she moved here, she had the accent herself, but it had slowly die out of her. Occasionally she would say a phrase or two from there and an accent would come out but for the most part it was gone. "Oh, its partially my fault. I wasn't paying attention either," she says politely to the big wolf in front of her. She also figured her height had something to do with not being seen but she didn't want to admit that to herself, let alone this stranger.

Eirawen looks over to the figure in black and it looked like he finally noticed them. He waved them over and Eirawen looks back up to the wolf, nodding her head, and stepping slightly out of the way before walking the rest of the way over to the stranger. It seemed like the wolf and herself had the same idea and this could be a team. The wolf had two axes and this could be her fighter, hopefully without the killing part. She was hoping the Transcendent could be captured and spoken with reasonably but knew that wasn't always the case. She stops a few feet away from him, close enough so that he could hear her, but not too close to ruin his personal space. She waits for the wolf to catch up to them as well before giving a polite curtsy to both males. "Greetings, my name is Farren." She wasn't sure what else to say or how to start this, but starting out with pleasantries could never be a wrong start. She looks to the other two, hoping that one of them would say something else, including their names. If they were going to have an alliance and start this journey to save the princess, it would be good to at least know their names. They looked tough and she knew that she couldn't do much but hopefully she would be able to offer skills useful to them.

Raku Brejvarr Ulfhedne

 

[CrimsonEclipse]

Sherza Kalinor
Goldenhill Palace - Courtyard
​

Sherza grinned widely at the lioness. "Trying to be mysterious eh?" She said as she walked after her. Guess this cat isn't stupid. She's trying to be as vague as possible while not outright denying anything. Not bad. "Give me good information and I'll pay you its worth, nothing more, nothing less." She said as she shook her pouch, the sound of coin clanking with each other indicated that it had quite a bit inside it. "You have my word." The lioness may try to screw her over, heck, she'd probably try to rob Sherza blind, but the Hyena prides herself in her skills and knows that she could take this bigger Raan on her own.

The Hyena was about to follw the lioness when another girl asked if she could follow them. Sherza sniffed in distaste as she saw the Jul. She really disliked those who stays in their Jul form, especially those who could become beasts. They're a bunch of weaklings in her opinion. Though, she could get something out of this. "Sure." The Hyena said as she faced the girl. "But you pay me a quarter of what you're gonna pay her. Call it finder's fee if you will." She said with a grin. Whether the girl agrees or not matters little to her, she loses nothing either way. The Hyena turned around to follow the Lioness before she gets too far away.

doneanddusted StoneWolf18

 

[Ridge]

Mika Iris
Location: Goldehill Palace - Courtyard
Tags: Maxilgal
​

Mika sighed for a moment as she heard Skos's words. "You must watch your language and open up your ears when you need too." Unlike most, Mika wasn't scared to snap a few words to Skos. Although Skos was more ruthless in her ways, Mika had age on her side, which came with experience and power. She shook her head before peacefully smiling to her, however. When she saw the Lioness conversing with the Hyena though, her mind soon changed about giving the stranger a greeting to the city. "Yes, food does sound good to me." Gracefully walking out from the crowd that was still gathered, she kept a hand on her hood to keep part of her face covered. If there were certain people there and they found out she was going to help the crown some things wouldn't end in sunshine and roses, but possibly blood and being six-foot under.

None the less, her hunger began to take over her thoughts. "What do you think of the Kings words then, hm?" Mika directly asked Skos. She had a sneaky suspicion that Skos hadn't been listening as intently as she should have been, but Mika would normally pressure her into admitting her ears were closed but her mouth was open. Even so, counting Skos as almost a daughter, Mika sometimes took it on her self to find out what she was thinking and whether it was appropriate or not.

 

[doneanddusted]

The hyena sniffed in a way that Mireille knew was condescending, or at least not happy. Alright, so she was either a Fel or didn't like the way she looked. Nevertheless, the hyena accepted her... "But you pay me a quarter of what you're gonna pay her. Call it finder's fee if you will." Ah, so a fee. Shouldn't the finder's fee be a smaller- Well, it didn't matter. Mireille had money to spare.
"Sounds good," Mireille said, keeping herself close to the Hyena.
Mireille looked up at the hyena, branding its appearance in her mind. It was lean, but definitely muscular. Its eyes were a golden yellow, and its long hair had many ringlets on it. Its clothing was kind of skimpy, but Mireille didn't think it was that bad. As long as the hyena was comfortable. Ah, but then a thought came along, and Mireille smiled a bit. Here she was, letting herself fall for stupid things like this.

You only had me come along for the money, didn't you? She thought.
Both parties could trick each other, and Mireille would probably find herself suffering the most from this. A slight misstep, and Mireille had screwed herself over. The dragon girl would just have to trust in the hyena. The girl was silent as she walked. There was no need to talk. The hyena probably wasn't all that interested in little ol' Mireille, after all.


With: CrimsonEclipse
Mentions: None

 

[Maxilgal]

Skos Axehide
Goldenhill - Tavern
Ridge​

Once again, Mika was right. She was always right.

“Yeah uh...I don’t know. Sounds a lot like...oooh..technology is eeeeeeevil.” She shrugged and held open the door for the older Raan, following closely into the building. It was much cooler in here, and Skos finally got to stretch out into her massive bear form. She plodded over to an oversized table and produced her coin purse, counting the few silvers she had brought with her. Mika normally handled the economics of the household...seeing as she was more mature and less likely to spend an entire week’s pay over a tiny clay bear flower pot (Skos still would argue it was a worthwhile endeavor). “C’mon I’ll buy you lunch. Barkeep! A jug of mead...oh and a cup of tea for my friend.” She handed over the two silver for the drinks and settled down, snapping her large teeth idley.

 

[StoneWolf18]

Zafina the Victorus

Location: Goldehill Palace - Courtyard
Tags: CrimsonEclipse

What a fool... looking for the easiest way to make the most amount of profit possible. It reminded her of when she had to reprimand a young member of her tribe after their first transformation and cheating on their ceremonial hunt. Bringing in a kill from the day before. Lessons were always worth learning.

Eyeing the coin purse, Zafina would pause at the edge of the crowd, turning to face the Heyna with a small smile. "I had been informed from the palace advisors-" she began softly, trying to make her falsified information sound as realistic as possible. "That the princess had fled to a small settlement west of here, where there had always been suspicion of the Transcendent living there." With that she would hold out a paw expectingly, waiting for her pay.

 

[SilverFlight]

Ayize​

Goldenhill - palace courtyard
Form - Beast

The hot bustle of the city closed in on Ayize unpleasantly. He had spent so long out in the open spaces, in the plains or forest so away from any other Raan that the closed, smelling mass of things was claustrophobic. Still he had come for a reason, and that removed a little of the displeasure.
Ayi listened intently to the king, storing away the useful bits of information. He knew little of the Transcendent cult, they were not known for their healing, so he had little reason to know them, but they had now presented Ayi with the potential to scratch another mark off of his debt. That was fine.
Ayi moved through the crowds, if his brilliant red robe did not catch the eye then his exotically-painted coat would. So far he had not seen any of his people in the throng that watched the palace.
With the information obtained he moved to the next of his tasks: Finding a partner, or a few partners. Ayi was a warrior and he was not bad at fighting, but he was fairly confident that he would not be able to wrest something of value from the grasp of many cultists alone. Years ago he would have believed that, but years ago he had been an arrogant fool.

The lioness caught his eye first, standing close by a ruthless-looking hyena and a small Jul-formed girl. Now there was a pair that looked like together they could get things done, even the Jul girl looked like something, though quite what that was Ayi hadn't decided.
They didn't seem eager to become friends, in fact Ayi saw some sort of exchange about to happen. I think I can make this better, he thought and began to pad over to them.
"You will need a healer." His voice was not loud, but it cut through the noisy air and he stopped before the small group.
"I hope you will agree. If you are planning to team up then as well you will need someone who knows to work in a group. We all three come from peoples of the plains, and we all three know the value of numbers to success." He was speaking primarily to the lioness and the hyena woman but his eyes darted periodically to Mireille too.
"I have a proposition then: If you work together with me, all three of you, to bring back the king's daughter you get my services for free. You take the reward and split it and I take only the cost of my food and my medicine."
He looked to each, watching their reactions carefully, hoping the offer was good enough to overrule their pride.

StoneWolf18 CrimsonEclipse doneanddusted

 

[CrimsonEclipse]

Sherza Kalinor
Location - Goldenhill Palace | Courtyard
​

"Out west eh?" Sherza said to the Lioness as a wide grin spread across her face. "And it came from the palace advisors you say? You must be quite an important Lioness aren't you? A concubine of the King perhaps?" She said with a snicker. This whole thing stinks of bullshit, a big, heaping pile of shit. Especially when the Lioness held out her paw for her payment.

'Asking for an advance payment then fleeing before the fool realizes he's been duped, the oldest trick in the book.' She thought in her mind as she eyed the Lioness. It may have worked with other Raan, especially when ones considers the way the Lioness held herself, but Sherza is used to working with lowlife scums, and she knows a hustle when she sees one.

But Sherza saw no reason to call the Lioness out on her bullshit. After all, it may be nice to make one of those high and mighty cats owe her a debt. Besides, the Lioness may be a capable fighter and may be of use against the cultists. Of course, that doesn't mean that Sherza will just go with the Lioness' ruse.

"Now hold on." She said as she pulled back her pouch. "I'll pay you once we get there. Heck, I'll pay you double if the information is sound." She said as she pulls another pouch of coins. Before she could hear the Lioness' reply, another Raan, a healer, approached their little group hoping to join them. Better yet, this one is even offering to join them free of charge. "Eh, sure, why not?" She said to the Raan.

StoneWolf18 doneanddusted SilverFlight

 

[DergTheDergon]

Ssa'Neya Yovassa

Location: Golden Hill Palace Courtyard
A woman of clearly tribal nature had been skirting the edges of the crowd for quite some time. She was weary about all of this, that was for certain. She couldn't quite wrap her head around why the king had summoned her, of all people, for this matter when many here suspected her to be one of the Transcendent herself. Mayhaps he'd heard of that time roughed up and brought in a small band of thieves in snake form, and felt her trustworthy and capable from that, despite that they’d only tried to rob her shop? Either way, she had no way of knowing why she was summoned here, or for that matter, who to talk to to get started on all of this. She was afraid to approach any of these strangers due to her fears of what they might think of her if they knew she was an Alchemist, these people from all over the land.

Head down, hood covering her snakelike eyes as as best she could manage pulling it over them, she meandered through the plaza, looking clearly lost. She did this for a long while, her mind so abuzz with worries that, for a while, she heard not a word said, saw not one face clearly, feeling trapped within her mind. As the crowd began to split into groups however, she felt herself snapping out of it. She had to act now or she’d surely be seen as suspicious. After all, she was hanging around the group tasked by the king to rise against Transcendence, not speaking to any of them, an alchemist herself to boot. What was keeping nearly any passerby from considering that she was a spy for them or some similarly drastic conclusion? Most likely nothing.

With that extremely terrifying thought driving her actions, she slinked closer to a nearby group gathered around a very important-looking Lioness. From the sounds of things, three other Raan were attempting to negotiate with her and amongst themselves regarding pay for the journey, and it seemed to be getting a little heated. Approaching, she had an idea. I away to fit in. She had ample experience with commerce and negotiation; and besides, she desired no coin for this. She was simply happy to have a chance to clear her name, and could settle back down here afterwards to earn all she needed to earn to be comfortable. These two facts, she felt, could leverage her among this group of strong-looking Raan who seemed that they could indeed get the job done. Taking a deep breath, she approached the group, cleared her throat and spoke, her raspy accent likely giving her away as Snake Raan.

“Apologiesss for interrupting, but I ssseem to have overhead a dissupute of sssortsss. I am Neya, a merchant; I make enough coin and asssk for none if I am to join you all. I alssso offer to act asss a mediator in thisss disspute, ssso we can all be on our way sssooner, should you choossse to accept me among you.” Her gaze netural and even, bouncing between the four gathered Raan, she patiently waited for a response.

StoneWolf18 CrimsonEclipse SilverFlight doneanddusted

 

[doneanddusted]

Mireille was about to tell the lioness to whisper it to the hyena so that she wouldn't have to hear anything (and so she wouldn't have to pay), but the lioness has already spoke. Dammit. So the Dragon Raan ended up having to determine the BS-itude of the information. And then the hyena decided to actually pay her. Mireille held back a groan. Now Mireille had to pay. Then a dog came up and spoke about how he was a healer, and how valuable working in numbers was (Mireille wouldn't say anything about how she wasn't from the plains). He then offered to join for practically no money. Was this guy... very rich and flaunting it? Or just a honourable person who didn't take money? Either way, he seems pretty cool. Why not let him in?

It seemed that the hyena agreed. Another hooded Raan came up, speaking in an extremely obvious snake accent. Ah, a fellow merchant who was also asking to join for free.
Well shit, Mireille though. We got ourselves a team!
"I'm fine with it!" She said in a sort of child-like enthusiasm.
Mireille would ask for tips on selling things later. Doing such things now in the presence of others wouldn't just come off as annoying, it would probably reveal some shopkeeper secrets.

StoneWolf18 CrimsonEclipse SilverFlight DergTheDergon

 

[StoneWolf18]

Zafina the Victorus

Location: Goldehill Palace - Courtyard
Tags: CrimsonEclipse SilverFlight DergTheDergon doneanddusted

As she asked where her information came from, alongside wanting her to take her there, Zafina narrowed her eyes and was about to spit back a retort when quite a few people approached them. What, did she just give the impression that she was going to be a friendly and team-working little lioness? They could all go drown in desert sands for all she cared.

"I'm not working with them." She gestured to the small jul woman and heyna. "They approached me for information and are apparently dismayed with what I supplied." With that she spun on the ball of her foot and stalked off. Not really expecting any of them to follow.