Fantasy For my Family

[Twizinator]

"I'm...unsure," Mythia answered hesitantly. "He's clearly trying to control his eye. We should probably just let him calm down himself. I'm sure he'll notice us eventually. After all," she held up his pants and coat with a small grin, "he has to get these back sooner or later." She sat in the grass to wait patiently for Ryrax to gather himself. Silia did the same, trying to ignore Cerys' earlier comment.


--------------


"Yes, time for yourself," Oliver repeated. "I wonder when you'll ever have time for someone other than Valk?" He asked with a smile, both teasing and criticizing his fellow Trevastos. He strolled to the balcony, gave Valk a jovial salute, and leapt off. He landed with a loud thud, and returned to his earlier training as if nothing had happened.


--------------


Almost twenty minutes passed. Ryrax hadn't moved, and neither had the women. Silia shifted uncomfortably. "Are you sure he'll get his clothes...?" She asked Mythia, half-joking and half-worried that they'd be here forever.


Mythia groaned. "Gods I hope so. How long does it take to catch your breath?!" she grumbled quietly to not give away their position.


"He's been pretty still..." Silia said. "...Oh Gods, what if he goes back in the water to freeze stuff again? If he does, I say we walk over and pull him out whether he likes it or not, it's cold and I can't feel my nose! I don't know how you-"


"Shh!" Mythia suddenly interrupted, throwing a hand up as signal to shut up and wait. She squinted as she stared intently at Ryrax. Silia did the same, and within seconds his right leg kicked. After another half a minute, it did so again.


Mythia blinked a few times and then surprised Silia by slamming her fist to the ground. She'd only ever seen Ryrax do that under very specific circumstances. "That BASTARD...he fell asleep. He freakin' fell asleep."

 

[Cyrionessa]

Cerys raised an eyebrow. "How can he fall asleep like that?" She had moved up next to them.


It was then that a little ball of light walked out of the woods. He didn't see the women at at that moment, but he saw a person laying down on the ice all sprawled out. Seriously, it was like this person was creating the perfect place for Sun to lie down. Sun padded over and sniffed him. No reaction. He hopped up on the man's chest and sat down, staring down at his face.


"...Meow....?"

 

[Twizinator]

Ryrax was sleeping rather soundly until his senses picked up something very strange. It was familiar in good ways, familiar in bad ways, and totally unknown, all at the same time. Then he felt something small, warm, and fluffy rest on his chest. When he heard the beast's call (meow) his eye shot open and looked down his chest.


"AAIIIEEEEE!" he shrieked, throwing himself skyward and dislodging the cat from his chest. He landed on the opposite bank, glaring at the wee beastie. "How DARE you, a cat, use ME as a cushion!" he growled. "Just because you're a construct of mana doesn't mean you can do as you please, ESPECIALLY around me, damn feline monstrosity!" His brow furrowed and he took several rapid breaths through his nose, sniffing the cat's scent. "Wait...you seem familiar...no. Estelle...?" he asked curiously.


"Finally," Mythia said under her breath.


Silia blinked once. Then twice. Was the Mad Wolf, the one who had her quaking in her boots, seriously afraid of balls of fur? "Cerys...?" She began. "Is Ryrax...does he have a fear of...?"

 

[Cyrionessa]

"He's afraid of cats." Cerys chortled. "Should've seen him the first time he met me! It was pretty bad!"


"Estelle made me, yes." Sun approached him to inspect this quivering creature more closely. "And I'm pretty sure that if it was a certain Demon Cat using you as a cushion, you wouldn't mind!" Sun walked across the ice to the other bank.


"Wait, that's Mr. Sunshine." Cerys face-palmed. "Estelle makes that same construct all the time for espionage. Guess she sent him out to find out what's going on....that damn cat is a troubling creature...."

 

[Twizinator]

Ryrax's expression darkened. Once the initial adrenaline rush of fear and anger quickly left him, he visibly shrunk. In fact, he seemed thinner than usual; a grumbling from his stomach signaled that he hadn't eaten. In days. "Impossible. I understand you've been locked in a tower; have you not heard of what I've done?" He crouched on his haunches to get his eye level closer to Mr. Sunshine. "I damn near killed her. I damn near killed Cerys and Jaeger both, all because of my damn eye," he said, eyes downcast and shoulders slumped. There was no light in his eyes, only regret and fear of his own uncontrolled nature. "I've been trying to control it, but it's not going exactly in my favor. I even tried...well, you could probably deal without hearing THAT bit," he said. "I don't know if you have a stomach but I don't want you throwing up rainbows or whatever. Point is, this is goodbye. I'm not going to be welcome back once word of my atrocities spreads. Hell, I bet Jaeger's going on a smear campaign right now, gettin' a gang with pitchforks and torches, the whole deal. So I'm going to stay here, in the woods, where the Mad Wolf can't accidentally bite any of the sheep. Or cats." He chuckled humorlessly. "Do me a favor and tell everyone I say goodbye, and that...well...I'm sorry," he said, reaching out and giving the cat a few tentative pats on the head.

 

[Cyrionessa]

"Like hell it is!" Cerys stood up from her crouch and running forward. "You think that you can waltz out on me that easily? Not going to happen!" She looked at the ice and realized that she would probably fall over if she tried to walk over that. A bit of red entered her eyes and she gathered her strength down into her legs as she jumped across the ice to land on the other side. The ground shook slightly as she landed. "You are not leaving me. Not going to happen, mister!"


Sun rubbed up against her legs happily. Finally, someone who would not push him away! And if she sat down, there would be a warm lap! The levels of happiness soaring through his little cat body were quite literally over nine thousand.

 

[MControl]

He was lost. Standing there, he gazed around at the forest he happened to have found himself in, completely lost. "...Well, I'm sure of it." He proclaimed, "I am lost. No idea how, but here i am. Time to find something interesting" Setting off, in a random direction, he cast his limited arcane senses out in hopes of finding something. Feeling a rather large concentration of mana, he began to trek towards it, hoping to find something to alleviate his boredom.

 

[Twizinator]

Mythia sighed but was smiling in spite of her self. "Guess we're done waiting," she said as she rose and started making her way around the pond. Silia rose eagerly and ran ahead.


"Wha-...Cerys?" Ryrax said in shock, completely surprised that she was here. "How the hell...How did you find me?" He stood up. "More importantly, why are you even here?" His eyes took in each strip of cloth acting as bandages all over her body. "You should be healing. Go back to the Neutral Grounds and lie down," he said as he turned away and made for his clothes. Or he would have, but was stopped as Silia nearly collided with him.


"Mr. Ryrax!" She said with a smile. "Finally found you. Can we get on with the training now? Or...soon? After you get, you know, dressed?" She said, trying not to look down (which was hard seeing as she hardly reached his chest in height).


"...Silia?" Ryrax was even more confused. "Now why the hell are YOU here?"


"She's looking for you, dumbass!" Mythia shouted as she caught up to Silia. She tossed Ryrax his clothes, who donned them begrudgingly. "We ALL were looking for you."


"......Why?" Ryrax simply asked. "Go home. Leave me be."


"Why did you leave?" Silia asked, concern on her face. "You promised you'd train me but then you disappeared. They say you flipped out and attacked people but you aren't like that. You're a good guy, deep down!" she said with a dazzling smile. "Jaeger just hates you for some reason. He's kind of a jerk, actually."


Ryrax grit his teeth and turned away from everyone again. "Yeah, well, he's a correct jerk. You have no idea what I've done, Silia, and you should just walk away while you have the chance. All of you should." He rose into the air.


"Ryrax, don't you dare leave again," Mythia said sternly. "We didn't come just to get you back. We came to help you."


Ryrax turned, frustration and anger in his face. "YOU CAN'T!" he roared. He pointed to a spot in the grass. It was tinged a deep red instead of green; it was a day-old blood splatter. "I TRIED! I tried tearing out this damn eyeball and it F***ING GREW BACK BY THIS MORNING!" He took a few breaths to calm down. "No. It's not possible."


"Not by yourself it isn't," Mythia corrected. "Gerza and I have been working hard, researching ancient runes and the Omeraan clan. We're close to being able to free you from that cursed eye, but we need you to come back an cooperate. Please, Ryrax." She was desperate for her adopted son to return, and it was audible in her voice. "Please."


Ryrax lowered himself back to the ground but wasn't convinced yet. Rather, a single look at Silia showed him what he was expecting: now that she heard some of the truth, she had instinctively stepped back, fear and apprehension in her look at him. "Do you fear me, girl?" he asked.


Silia started a little at being addressed, but didn't answer immediately. It was a tense silence as they stared each other down. Finally, she swallowed her doubt and stepped forward again. "Yes," she answered honestly, "but I know you aren't a bad person. I trust you."


Ryrax blinked; that wasn't the whole answer he was expecting. "Foolish girl," he said and shook his head, but was suppressing a small grin.

 

[Cyrionessa]

Cerys took a step forward then felt pain stabbing in her legs. She stumbled while taking the step. "...ow...." Her body was shaking horribly but she took another step. "....ow....." This process was repeated until she was standing in front of Ryrax. She looked him straight in the face and took a deep breath like she was going to say something. Then her hand came up and slapped Ryrax in the face. Hard. "....making a woman walk to ya when she's in pain, ya jackass." Then the cheek that had just been slapped was kissed and her arms went around his neck. "You aren't allowed to leave. You aren't going to get away from me that easily."

 

[Ixidor92]

There was a sound almost like a missile searing through the sky as a red blur flew past Mythia and Silia. The blur collided with the ground, scraping several meters as it slowed to a stop. To nobody's great surprise, the figure was Jaeger


"I swear by all the powers that be--"


His gaze, or glare rather, turned around to see two women. Where was Cerys? She was the one he needed to bring back, the other two could risk their hides on their own time

 

[Twizinator]

Ryrax put a hand up. "She's over here," he shouted to Jaeger. He raised an eyebrow at the different looks all three women shot at him simultaneously. "Don't get your collective panties in a knot, I'm coming too..." he grumbled.


Silia smiled, but was both confused and shocked at what Cerys had done. Just how good terms were she and Ryrax on? "Thank the Gods," she breathed in relief. "Does that mean we can finally get to my training?"


Ryrax shook his head. "No. I will return to work with Mythia and Gerza, in the hopes of ridding myself of this damn cursed eye. Until then...I will not be fighting. Of any sort. Tournament duels, fell one battles, training bouts...nothing. I will not so much as touch my blade or clench my fist until I'm...fixed," he said, pained by his own words. Violence and combat were intrinsic to his nature, but he couldn't risk losing control. Not with so much he could lose.


"Very well," Mythia said with a reassuring grin. "Don't worry, Rryax. Gerza and I are close, I know it. Our research will only hasten with your help, which will lead to your curse being dispelled all the sooner." She turned and tapped her foot once on the ground, lifting slabs of earth for her and Silia. "I trust you can handle her transportation?" Mythia teased Ryrax about Cerys. The man just rolled his eyes and gently plucked Cerys into his arms.


Before he took off, he sighed and turned to Mr. Sunshine. "Oi, you want a ride back?" he asked. "If you hold on and hold still I probably won't reflexively throw you off."

 

[HilgenHoffer]

"Hopefully, we can find some soup." Truthfully, Odom would probably enjoy their arrival regardless of the circumstance. He was always itching for a good fight, but trail rations were not his idea of fine dining.


-----


Rudd scratched his head. "Valk? Who's Valk? I don't know why the Trevastos would want to see me . . ." He stood up, despite his confusion, leaving the remainder of his breakfast on the long oak table as he tossed his legs one by one over the bench.

 

[Ninja_Onions]

Gerza peeled over the texts like a bat out of hell, almost unaware of the ungodly amounts of information he was absorbing as he read. It didn't take long before the 'read' and 'unread' piles of books started to come close to becoming even, and if he had not ran out of tea completely, the piles probably would have matched within another hour or two. "Phew. This is all really deep stuff! Everything in here is almost double meanings, like the writers had intended for them to get found and re-read. The only stuff that seems to be straightforward are names!" Gerza chuckled softly, closing the book to relieve himself of all the tea he had consumed. He returned, set a piece of paper to mark his page, and took a few pieces outside to practice more of the casting. "Hmm...I've tried control, and I've tried speed...why not see how far I can take both?" He said, writing hastily out a very long strain of runes and symbols overlapping each other, to the extent that it took up most of the paper in it's entirety. "Now that!" He said, pausing for emphasis, "that is a spell! Alright, now to concentrate..." Gerza said, focusing on the words as they ran over his mind at a lightning speed. "Wow, this is actually tough. It might take more mana than I had thought." He said, redoubling his resolve. "Hnnnhhggg...Gah!" He grunted, letting out a final pulse of mana as the paper propelled forward like a firework, but faster. It screamed through the air as it flew, straight at a nearby boulder. Gerza watched in awe and disbelief as the paper seemed to pass through the rock unharmed, and seconds later, a slice of the rock slowly slid down and fell over, defeated by it's true nemesis. "...Okay now that is something to 'Woah' about!" Gerza said excitedly. "The more mana you put into it and, probably by the same property, the more words used, the stronger it becomes! That's just... wow." He plopped back in the chair outside, noticing briefly that he had been standing this whole time.

 

[Cyrionessa]

"....actually, would you mind flying me to Estelle's window?" Sun asked. "I'm sure that Estelle would like to see both of you since she's banished to her tower for the remainder of the tournament."


"That's up to him." Cerys shrugged while enjoying the feeling of being close to Ryrax again. Perhaps she had been a little overly dramatic in her way of telling him that she wasn't going to let him leave. But it seemed to have hit home, literally and figuratively.

 

[Twizinator]

Ryrax raised an eyebrow at Sun's answer, skeptical that Estelle would wish to see him. When Cerys spoke he managed to crack a small smile, the first he'd worn since he'd left. "Eh, I don't see why not," he said. "I've been away four days; a little detour won't hurt." He waited for Sun to climb onto his shoulder before taking off, sailing through the sky. He took special care to not make any sudden movements or change speed too suddenly, knowing that Cerys was still in poor condition. It didn't take too long for them to reach the tall tower.


Ryrax flew over to the window that Sun pointed out to him and hovered in front of it. It took him a moment to realize he had no way of knocking on the window but that wasn't about to stop him. A moment's flexing of his psychokinesis forced the window open. He drifted in and sat against the windowsill, setting Cerys down inside the room.

 

[Ixidor92]

Jaeger was going to interject, but Ryrax apparently had other ideas. The young Xevren scowled a bit before following close behind. He didn't trust Ryrax at all, regardless of what Cerys had to say about him

 

[Cyrionessa]

Estelle was asleep till her windows banged open. She jumped out of her bed, hands extended outwards as if she was going to throw light bolts. Then she noticed who the people in the room were. Now she was running and tackle hugging Cerys. "I have missed you! I'm so happy to see you!"


"I can tell...." Cerys choked as Estelle's arms cut her off. "I...can't....breathe....!"


"Oh sorry!" Estelle let go of her. "It's just been so long since I've been out of this room to see people."


"Mistress!" Sun little paws were leaving light-filled paw prints. "....time is kinda short for me right now...."


"Oh yes." Estelle held her arms out towards the cat. Sun bounded up into her arms, then dissolved into Estelle's body. Estelle's eyes shown for a moment before returning to normal. "...ah. That's what's been happening."

 

[Twizinator]

Ryrax couldn't help but grin to himself at the two ladies' reunion. A spark went off in his mind at Estelle's comment at being stuck in the room but he opted not to interrupt unless he was addressed. He was consciously hanging back, still leaning against the windowsill with arms crossed over his chest. Honestly, he was afraid to be around others still, that nagging danger of him losing control clouding his mind.


On a different note, he could tell Jaeger had followed them, but he'd expected that and didn't particularly mind. It wasn't as if he could blame Jaeger for distrusting him at this point.


------------


Mythia and Silia had parted ways once they'd gotten into town, Silia deciding to visit the Vejta hall in hopes of meeting Ryrax there later. Mythia returned to her home, eager to see if Gerza had made any progress.


"I'm back, and so is Ryrax!" she exclaimed cheerfully as she walked in. She sat in the seat she'd vacated earlier. "He'll join us later, right now he's... running some errands. How goes the book grinding?" she asked.

 

[Cyrionessa]

Estelle then turned to Ryrax. There was something unreadable in her eyes as she walked up to him. Then, a little smile covered her face as she gave him a friendly hug. "It's good to see that you have returned." As she leaned in, her voice lowered. "You ever leave her alone again, I'll hunt you down myself..." As she stepped back, the smile remained fixed on her face as she turned back to Cerys. "I'm stuck in here for the rest of the tournament, just after I got my first taste of freedom. That dance at the Vejta hall was so much fun!"

 

[Twizinator]

"Hehehe..." Ryrax laughed softly to himself. That devious little gleam had returned to his eye. "Good to hear," He said calmly. "Yeah, sure is a shame you won't be able to do that again. Locked up here in this tower. Hey, I think I can hear the party from way up here, even. But there's no way for you to go. Though, I suppose being kidnapped by a madman wouldn't be your fault. And should you happen to escape his grasp around the area of that Vejta hall, well...you can hardly be blamed for that, now can you?" he asked innocently, staring up at the ceiling with a totally straight face. "Though I suppose that's all impossible. Conveniently finding a crazy bastard at this hour? Doubt it. You'd have to be seriously convincing to orchestrate that."

 

[Ninja_Onions]

Gerza closed the book and stood up. "Actually, if you want to see how it has been going, then take a look out back." He started to walk briskly, excitement in his eyes. "Aaaannnnd, Tada!" Gerza exclaimed, moving his arms in the direction of many more boulders which had been cut in slightly different styles, along with nearly a novel worth of paper scattered around the debris. "Isn't it wonderful? I figured out how to adjust speed, durability, control, heck, even angle. And you can write long sentences, but don't need to read all of it! It just uses what you read! It's so versatile, It seems so strange that such an arte would be hidden for so long." Gerza said, pondering his own statement.

 

[Cyrionessa]

Cerys laughed a deviant laugh. "Oh, I'm sure that I can think of someone....."


"...b-b-b-but....." Estelle's eyes were wide with fear. ".....th-th-th-the Head has forbidden me to leave....."


"Then we'll kidnap you." Cerys grinned maniacally. "Besides, I felt like drinking tonight. I've been cooped up without a lick of alcohol for a long time! And who has better ale than the Vejta people?"


"...I-I-I-I.....I'm not sure...." Estelle was now even more terrified. "....w-w-will....ummmm....." She pulled Cerys' ear towards her to whisper into it. "D-d-do you think that divine dancer, ummm Rudd, m-m-m-might be there?"


"Only one way to find out." Cerys choked down a snort. "Come on, you've got to have a trick. You've gotten out of here before without anyone knowing."


".....Father wasn't upset with me then!" Estelle wrung her hands.


"You can totally do this." Cerys egged her friend on.

 

[Twizinator]

"-Besides, it isn't like I'm giving you a choice," Ryrax said from just behind Estelle, having moved around behind her while she and Cerys spoke in hushed tones. He scooped up Estelle into his arms this time and jumped out the window. "Hop on," he shouted to Cerys, and once she'd pounced onto his back he took off again.


Soon they arrived at the familiar and inviting Vejta hall from nights past. Sure enough, the hall was alive with food and drink, song and dance. Rudd was absent, it appeared, but that didn't bother Ryrax any. He landed just outside, setting Estelle on her feet and letting Cerys dismount his back. "Here's a place I haven't seen in a while," he said. He was torn; he was apprehensive about word of his deeds having reached the Vejta's ears, but he was also damn-near starving. His grumbling stomach gave him away; he hadn't had any food since he left. Still, he was hanging back, hesitant to enter.


------------


"That...That's incredible!" Mythia said, astounded. "I think you've earned a break. Not that I was forcing you work, mind. Besides, I doubt we'll get Ryrax to help for a while. He's probably occupied." She yawned and stretched her arms above her head. "The Vejta hall's probably got a gathering in full swing. Want to drop by, get some food and drink? Hear some sweet music while we're at it?" She playfully knudged Gerza with her elbow. "Maybe find yourself a lady friend while your there?"

 

[Cyrionessa]

Cerys, however, waltzed in like she was right at home. The greetings from the men were favorable; she was a good drinking buddy. But their words died a little bit when they saw Ryrax and realized that if anyone of them laid a hand on her, they'd die a horrible death.


"Bartender! Something strong!" Cerys considered how long it had been. "Make it a double!"


Estelle very shyly walked in behind. The men then realized that the cosmic beauty of the Naejor household had entered the building. This was the girl that had taken down the mighty Valk after he had hurt Evynne, which meant she was as powerful as she was beautiful. Beauty and power put together were a quite intimidating combo.

 

[MControl]

Jyterra turned around, towel in hand, cleaning a glass. Putting down the glass, he asks, "Hard day?" as he reaches beneath the counter for a bottle.