Fantasy Four Suits: Of Gods & Devils - IC Thread (Vol. 4)

[AI10100]

S A R M I E N T O , D E C L A N
Location: Valencia
Interacting with: Coyote Hart
​

It was good to see that the man didn't seem to be too nervous about it - though maybe that excitement came from nerves. He was aware that there were some Jokers who hadn't been able to catch some sleep last night. A lot of them spent their remaining time rechecking their equipment or going on drills to make sure that everything goes perfectly - or, well, as perfectly as they can make it. It was unlikely that it wouldn't go awry - that much was expected. No plan goes smoothly - not when it's like this. Most of their smiths had been working overtime for last minute equipment runs. He ran a hand through his hair as he looked up for a moment. "At least some of us are looking forward to it." He mused idly.

He let out a soundless chuckle. "All the Argossian shit we can finally remake. I don't know about you Myles but it's been a pain in the ass ever since we started!" He huffed, though the grin on his face was unmistakable. Declan had loved the empire's technology so much that even the frustrations he had felt became worth it. All the time that he had spent cooped up inside a warehouse instead of with his brothers and sisters on the field. He scrunched up his face at Myles's latest suggestion. "Why put it on paper when you can find the real deal out in a brothel?" He questioned with a raise of his eyebrow. It was pretty common in the Hearts Kingdom to find a brothel around. Sure, it costs money but so does books. Or, you could just not spend money on those - but hey, he didn't judge what people find pleasure in. To each their own, as they say.

He tilted his head upon the request. "We don't exactly have a lot..." He pointed out, closing his eyes as he tried to recount the exact amount that had been written on paper. It was difficult to produce the substance after all, and it was only by a miracle did they ever manage to figure it out. Even then, production has been agonizingly slow. Then again, the case was the same as the Argossians. "I'll see what I can do Myles. It should be easy enough for our smiths. Or with luck, maybe they already have it." He opened his eyes with a mischievous grin as he elbowed the man jokingly. "You never know, maybe you're destined to have it."

That also reminded him that he had yet to give Guin her own newest addition to her arsenal. It had slipped his mind earlier and he instinctively reached up to the item in question. It sat upon the inner pocket of his vest, waiting to be given just like every other weapon that had been presented the True Queen.

"How's the boy Cilantro, by the way?" The telepath shifted the conversation. "Haven't talked to the little rascal in a while. I heard he was learning that new martial art from... our mutual buddy."

 

[Ambiloquous]

Jyotiranjana Baila

As Cal reminded her of the shards scattered on the hardwood floor, Jana scrunched her face up with a groan. As Cal reminded her of a certain Maddison Mallard, she winced, mumbled an excuse that made no sense—”It was the fly, it had at least 600 phys. It was definitely a soldier for the queen fly, y’know.”—and scrambled to grab a broom and bucket from a nearby broom closet. Jana had no qualms crossing anyone in her way; she was no cowardly rat. But there was one exception to her rule, and that one exception was the lady of the house. She wasn’t scared of Cal’s mom. It was just much more efficient to keep in her good graces. She nodded as she swept, satisfied with her own justification.

When Sera called out praise for her actions—which had seen no appreciation until now—and Jana somewhat subtly puffed up from the words. “Of course, who am I?” She obviously didn’t consider the multiple off-target swings she had made before finally embedding the fly in the wall as part of the battle.

Cal tried to gently dash Sera’s hopes and dreams, pushing it all their usual activities off to tomorrow. Damn the local gang of ruffians choosing to shove their crappy tasks onto the two of them, bastards with the guts of a disemboweled minnow. She snorted. They couldn’t even move around without a crew backing them up, nevermind a one-on-one brawl. Glancing back at Sera, she smacked a fist in a palm and said, “We’ll go do some good ol’ bashing and hacking and artefact hunting tomorrow, alright. Just wait.”

Interactions: AI10100 Pilgrim59​

 

[LazyDaze]

IRIS BASTILLE

Iris had learned long ago that it was a lost cause trying to understand X, so she could only throw up her hands in defeat when Jack said the letter might be worthless. No one knew exactly what that man was thinking. Nevertheless, despite his many quirks he somehow managed to help lead the Clubs into a period of prosperity. She had a lot to do with managing the overseeing the kingdom, but the fact remains that she was away from the kingdom for 4 years yet they only grew stronger and stronger. It was strange, and frustrating at how little effort he had to put in life in order to somehow come out unscathed. Honestly, it was terrifying, but she had to be thankful. If not for his lazy disposition, she would be out the job.

Eventually they arrived and made their way to the meeting room. Immediately she took out the Ka connected to X, to see where he was. As she thought, he was actually heading the opposite direction. She didn't know why she expected anything any different. Perhaps the gravity and significance of a meeting between royals clouded her judgement. That said, she had a plan. Upon her return to Club Kingdom, she recalled X speaking of a kitchen ban he had attained some time ago. If she knew anything about X, it's that he loved food. SO she sent him a message.

Just arrived, can't believe the Heart's built another kitchen? We get to eat after the meeting, sending you directions so you can see the fancy food. Maybe even bring some recipes back to Clubs?

She then placed her paper back into her front shirt pocket as if she did nothing wrong. 5 years ago, she would have never attempted to deceive a King. But, she had developed some independence over her short vacation, and had learned to deal with her strange circumstances. She couldn't help but admire her ring when thinking about the last 5 years. Her dear friends from Heart Kingdom who poured blood sweat and tears into a hunk of metal that somehow forged a bond. This ring represented everything they went through, and the laughs they would have in the future. Iris was brought back to reality by the swinging of large doors and the meeting room where 3 other royals sat. A few things had changed since the great battle at Valencia. For one, Queen Kaloronos didn't occupy that position 5 years ago. She didn't know much else about her aside from what she heard from X. Apparently she owed him money or something?The Jack of Hearts was a new face as well. Arimand had not yet arrived, nor did any of the spades. She was a bit relieved to see that the royals weren't waiting just waiting on X. With any luck, her plan would work and he would be here any minute. Speaking of X, the Jack had not made a move to give the letter to the Queen of Heart...was he nervous, or smart...... speaking of the Queen of Hearts. (SHE'S ACTUALLY HERE, LIKE ACTUALLY TANGIBLY SITTING WITHIN A FEW STEPS. WITH A LITTLE EFFORT, OR LUCKY ACCIDENT MIGHT EVEN BE ABLE TO TOUCH HER DRESS. The quality looks AMAAAAAAAZZZZZING, I can't even see a single split end. I wonder if she remembers me, she probably doesn't remember me BUT that's okay....CRAP I'M TOTALLY STARING AT HER. Look away Iris, play it normal...play it normal...)

Now that she wasn't fighting giant monsters Iris was able to appreciate the aura she exuded. Despite having met a few of the people here, she still couldn't help but feel as if it wasn't her place to speak among the likes of royals. So she did her best to lie low. She wish she could say the same for Sieg who appeared to be tense. It wasn't tension from fear she felt, but pure concentration. He was in his head. She lightly brushed against him so as not to appear to obvious. "Might want to relax just a bit there buddy," she whispered through the corner of her mouth before returning to her I'm among royalty face.

. D O V E TPBx

The Prophet Colorless Spectrum

 

[LazyDaze]

XIXIX VALENTINE

After a healthy discussion with Dave, X was once again enjoying the relatively fresh air of Valencia. He couldn't help but notice that the air seemed a lot more refreshing in Club Kingdom making it easier to relax. He would have to travel to the other countries soon to compare the levels of laziness one can achieve based on environmental factors. That would have to wait for another time, for now he would settle for donuts on top of a poor man's roof. He reached into his jacket pocket and tore off a piece, pulling his mask just enough to allow for the piece to slip through without removing his mask. Now, this was what he had in mind when he was reminded of this dreaded meeting. Somehow, he had actually pushed it out of his mind. That thought was enough to draw out an annoyed sigh from X. If there was one thing he hated doing, it was participating in anything pointless. While he enjoyed being proven wrong from time to time, it wasn't often that things didn't turn out the way he figured they would, and he could take a pretty decent guess on how this would turn out. He was sure the other knew as well, but couldn't resist an opportunity to bust out their emotionally charged drivel, and dragged out monologues. Beautifully dry linguistics, and unnecessary formalities would be at the very center of this useless play, and X knew he wanted zero part of it. He began to drift off to sleep; an act more beneficial to the world than this act between the elite.

*******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
UNMASK THE HEART-Chapter 1

Spoiler: BACKSTORY

(Occasionally when I feel the time is right I'll reveal parts of X's backstory. Pretty important to how he turned out and I thought others might want insight to his character. Sure you could just skip this tho. xD)

It was a clear but moonless night in Brigok. The stars took their place in the night sky, watching the events of the world unfold beneath their gaze. The blessed were locked away in a world of sleep, leaving the night for the dark denizens who roamed about, spreading hidden malice. They planted the silent seeds of the underworld as the roots took hold of the hearts within the city. A beautiful sickness was the city under the stars, a silent disease. Then there were the true unfortunate souls. Those who belonged to neither plane of existence, but lived within their same plane of reality. Those simply living the consequences of possessing life. Two mages were held up in a room, a husband and wife. A third person, a masked figure, stood by the door with his arms crossed as the wife was giving birth.

“I know this is a bad time, but I would like to reiterate the conditions of the deal,” the masked figure stated calmly while the mother, rightfully so, shot an annoyed look toward the masked man. “It’s something we do before every transaction. We would like the parents to be sure of what they’re getting into. We are an honorable organization after all,” he said with a deep laugh.

“Very well,” the male mage stated as he held his wife’s hand. “There’s no turning back at this point.”

“You understand you will never be able to contact your child after you hand him over to us. Nor, will he have a particularly happy life. We prefer to induct those with no past, so it’s better not to give them one in the first place. We find that new born children often meet this requirement."

“We understand,” the husband replied.

“Speak of us to no one. If you do we will have to kill you.”

“Trust me, we won’t tell anyone.”

It was silent for a few moments save for the pained grunts from the pregnant woman once the silver haired baby was delivered. Another masked figure, a female, took hold of the child and wrapped it in a black cloth, nodding to her partner. “It’s a boy...he’s pretty weird though. Barely cried so I had to make sure he wasn’t dead...he also came out upside down. Ain't that bad luck or something?"


The father flinched at this statement. First, he couldn’t help but be proud that it was a boy; however, under the current circumstances he knew he didn’t have the right to be a proud father. Second, they seemed pretty apathetic toward the child...not that he was in any position to talk. The masked man who was standing by the door shrugged and threw a bag at the husband, containing a mix of gold and silver coins and they took their leave without asking any questions. The couple was then left alone.


“...Sometimes I wonder...if you were married to me instead, would things have turned out different,” the false husband stated. The woman simply clutched her bed sheets and avoided looking toward her lover.


“I couldn’t….we come from very...different places. I only wish I had more self control during that time,” she replied.


The man did not answer and the hand comforting his partner was frozen in time. He knew it was all too true...what they did was stupid. It was a miracle that her actual husband believed she was going to abort the baby, that he believed was his, while she was away on a mission. They already had a large enough family and they had their careers to focus on. In the same breath, she couldn’t afford to give him up to an orphanage and have the affair be found out upon his birth. “What would you have named him,” he asked on a whim.


“Why ask that now....,” she said quietly.


“...I’d just like to know...please.”


“.......His name, it would have been……”

***​

The pair of masked figures walked the dangerous streets of Brigok, the baby in the woman’s arm. “Hey Xixix,” the female started.

“What….,” the masked male stated.

“What do you think his name will be?”

“We all have the same name in this organization. That’s why I tell you to call me by my last name Xixix Raven. We did go through hell to earn our last name, might as well make use of it.”

“Well Xixix Strom, what name will he earn.”

“You’re assuming he outlives the others. Well...you’re assuming he lives beyond today. Although he would be a pretty lucky bastard if he did.”

"He came out backwards..."

"True..."

“Anyway, I always find myself rooting for the kids we pick out.”

“Soft spot for the new recruits?”

“Soft spot for the bets I make on them.”

“Ah...good money there.”

The two marched off into the night with the nameless child to parts unknown. "We're going to have a fun time in hell aren't we little Xixix," Raven said in a baby voice. Her partner could only shake his head and laugh because he knew that she was right. This is where his story begins.

******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

A sudden surge of mana, although tiny, caused X to wake up. He was always a light sleeper despite doing it as often as possible. It was Iris...she must have been nagging him about skipping out on the meeting, or using this as an attempt to convince him to attend the squabbling circus. He read the message and then placed the paper back in his pocket before returning to his second favorite past time, cloud watching.

"Totally a trap," he said allowed to himself. He admired the efforts she made to make him a responsible King, but he knew she wouldn't let him off that easy. Even if there was a new kitchen, she would have gave him an earful for being a disgrace to the King title before mentioning kitchen and dinner. He continued to watch the free clouds, envying their ability to move at their own pace and remain formless, unbound by anything save for the sky. He finally sat up with a sigh. Of course he was 90% sure it was a trap. However, 10% of him knew that he would be 100% bothered if he passed up the small chance at 100% ecstasy in the improbable case that their was a new kitchen with more pastries. With his kitchen ban in place...he was forced to take those odds. It was at this moment he realized that Iris was more dangerous than he originally thought; he realized that he would have to withhold even more information from her to avoid future situations like this. He left from the old man's house, chewing his donut on the way to the palace although he wasn't too far. With a strange since of urgency...he rushed into the doors, up the stairs, over the river, through the woods, fought off a dragon (this is all in his head of course) and pushed through the royal doors to see....Not a Kitchen......

His shoulders slumped and his eyes held even less life in them. His eyes slid over to Iris who dared not turn around to meet his unfriendly, neutral gaze. He knew that it would be rather impossible to walk out after this. "You can't spell impossible without I'm possible," he whispered to himself as he prepared to turn around and ditch everyone in that room. However, Iris must have sensed his lazy meter as she awkwardly stepped to the side with and continued to move and speak like an unoiled robot. "HERE KING VALENTINE. YOUR DESIGNATED SEAT IS HERE. WE ARE BLESSED WITH YOUR PRESENCE."

(Damn), X slowly walked towards the other Clubs and slumping back in his seat. He looked pretty bored, but Iris, after working with him for so long, knew that he was pouting. She could tell because his eyebrows being raised about .7 millimeters above normal and his eyes were just squinted enough so that one could not see the reflected twinkle of light within then. The wrinkle in his mask was just shifted a bit up and to the left as well...definitely pouting. Iris was actually in the process of making a book about her experiences in the kingdom...a book mainly about X. She was certain it would be a best seller once finished. Nevertheless, after X grew tired of burning a hole through Iris with his gaze he turned to the other royals...one which never responded to his IOU....what was her name again....Alaine Kalamari? He gave a simple introduction that seemed to drain the life out of him, given the circumstance.

"Yo...."

He then pulled out the extra donut he had stored in his pocket, tore it in half and held it out to Frey. "Donut? This is going to be a long day," he said without looking toward him.

Colorless Spectrum . D O V E TPBx

 

[Pilgrim59]

Sera
"The Roaming Wolf"
Mallard's Farm, Kingdom of Spades
AI10100 Ambiloquous​

Sera's ears flattened. It seems that she would miss their ventures yet again. It would have been nice to be on the road with Callum, but many things are of priority. Despite her appearance and usually bright eyes, Sera was only a child. A girl deprived of affections that would otherwise deemed as an infectious malice upon morale, as her superiors used to say. Even now, the wolf remains conflicted. Neither her allegiance nor her yearnings were spared. There were many things she could comprehend and perceive, yet fail to sit well with her. Driven by impulses and what was deemed to be her prime abilities, Sera was no more human as she was a dog in nature. The void between both worlds, not of her choosing, was a battle that she had striven to conclude for as long as she could remember, but to no avail.

"Lima Charlie, paps." she replied softly, with a drop in zeal, casting a half-salute to Callum as she watered down her breakfast with some milk.

Perhaps Sera have yet to grasp for herself a better perception of the cruel world that she lived in, or perhaps she knew these sentiments and grievous thoughts all too well and had chosen to omit them on purpose. Before long, Jana's gestures caught the wolf's eyes. Sera smiled yet again.

"Good hunting to both of ya! I will always await yer return!" taking her plates and mug, Sera sashayed off to clean after herself, leaving Jana and Cal to their devices.

Long as Jana is with Cal, everything would turn out proper, Sera thought, as she took to the fields. Cal entrusted the farm's protection details to Sera, and with it a rising sentiment of pride, she reaffirmed herself. Where Cal and Jana are out to procure adventures, Sera too, had a role to play. After all, she owed them much of her current state. To that end, she must remain vigilant.

The wolf toured the farm. From one end of the field to the far side of the neighboring woods. While it seemed like a casual walk to watch the crops, she was also checking the tripflares that dotted the farm's perimeter. It was not so long ago that she had installed them in case of wild animals breaking or crossing past the fences, that could otherwise trample their new rotation of crops. Another justified reason was unwanted guests. With what little gear she could salvaged years ago, Sera had to replace some of the propellant with homemade concoctions from what was available on the farm. Saltpeter from manure, her allowances for sulfur and charcoal from the fireplace. In its simplest form, Argossian science kept her busy alongside numerous literary pieces that she got from Cal. Most of the time, it was to improve her Ornarean linguistics, and sometimes, it helped her to pass time during stormy nights.

For the rest of the day, Sera marched fro and forth. If anything, it seemed that Sera had taken an interest in carpentry of late, having helped to fix a hole in the roof a few nights prior. There was so much to do on the farm that the wolf eventually gave up on her midday naps. Rather, she was afraid to dream. Every night was the same wooded forest and jagged limestone hills. The worst of it was not drenching in sweat nor her racing heart, but instead the vivid visages of those she had to left behind. The same squarebacks and the same bucketheads. Even now, Sera harbors a certain urge to tear down a tree with her bear arms, for the sake of that which she could not determined why. It seemed as if she had died at Valencia, and was only piloting an empty husk of this body in which she resided. Everything felt distant. Until the bells rang.

"Bertha! Where are you going?" Sera said to the cow. The latter had wandered off from where she was staked.

Sera rubbed Bertha's hides firmly, before escorting her back to her grazing area. The wolf sighed slightly, then chuckled.

 

[The Prophet]

𝕾𝖎𝖊𝖌𝖋𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖉 𝕸𝖆𝖗𝖎𝖆 𝕽𝖔𝖙𝖍𝖘𝖈𝖍𝖎𝖑𝖉​

In the face of royalty he thought he conducted himself well; enter the room silently and stay at the Club side of the table. Surely his peers would have conducted themselves in a like-minded Manner? Out of the corner of his eyes Siegfried watched Iris stand the entrance of the meeting room and stare intently at the Heart's Queen. Eventually she managed to snap out of it, and that was when his eyes fell forward once more. Hopefully such a slip up on her part would go unnoticed by the roy-!?

"Might want to relax just a bit there buddy,"

A whisper reached his ears unexpectedly; it was iris, who somehow got to him without him noticing. Not that that was particularly hard, of course. Did he look tense? Impossible, why would he of people be tense in a business situation with royals? He very quickly found the answer within his own question, the term 'Royals' itself. Siegfried was used to business of course, with both poor farmers up to nobles themselves. But royalty, especially dealing with so many…. It was enough to put him on edge despite all the pep talk he keeps telling himself. He just had to actually put his words into practice. The Hearts, Diamonds, and Spades weren't Royals; they were clients with a special name. They were strong and affluent to be sure, but they were not different in his eyes than the commoner needing a loan or the trader wanting goods. This was the actual first step to victory. He'd need to thank Iris later, for eliminating the subconscious tension he felt.

Rolling his shoulders subtly, Siegfried released the tension in his body with a silent exhale and returned to the scene with a usual calm and calculating confidence as if this were still what's in the confines of Club Kingdom. The Heart Queen gave Siegfried a seat, which honestly surprised him, but he wouldn't be difficult by refusing. "Thank you, Your Heartship." He said formally, taking a seat on the mana chair just as X surprisingly made his entrance. Siegfried assumed it to be Iris's work; who else could have gotten their King to come along? Before other attendees at that? Blinking rapidly for a moment as X seemed to pull a donut out of his pockets and hand half to Frey in a most uncleanly manner. Who put baked goods straight into their pocket? Resisting the urge to rub the bridge of his nose, violet eyes studied the other attendees for a moment to gauge their reaction to his arrival before going back to X.

The likely dirty donut aside, he raised a greeting to his King as an advisor should. "King Valentine, thank you for attending your meeting in time. I trust nothing is amiss?"

 

[TPBx]

Garrett Byllarmont

Garrett relaxed and put down his weapon realizing that the girl posed little to no threat. "Okay, well where are you headed, I'll make sure this dunce over here gets you there," he stated patting the driver's back. He was still surprised seeing a demi-human for the first time, but Athania had talked to him before about the various populations of different people that lived in the continent of Ornare. It surprised him given that he only ever met other humans in Argossia. "I suppose you plan on heading to the city right?"

Kisaki

 

[Coyote Hart]

​

Twig had a feeling that Guin wasn't being truthful about it being a shame that X wasn't going to be present, but he definitely wasn't going to call her out on it. In all honesty, X's lack of presence would mean many fewer headaches for all of them.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, footsteps in the hallways regaled the arrival of a Club royalty. It was Adelaide Frey, the Jack of Clubs.

"Jack Frey, hello!" Twig waved to the Jack in a paradoxically timid yet bold fashion. It was notably more amicable and informal than his greeting to Queen Kaloronos, and it had a good meaning to it. "I've been doing fine, thank you. Just feeling a bit of anticipation. How are you?"

Both Frey and Twig mutually knew each other as Jokers, in and out of their disguises. It made it very easy for Twig to trust Frey as comrades and associates. Frey was also quite a help. He was more affable than X, and so he was a big help whenever Twig needed to track something like RATAR's movements. Both him and X was the reason why Twig knew exactly where the RATAR headquarters were in case they needed to be taken down.

The stoic man that followed Frey by, however, Twig was more worried about. Twig knew the man as Siegfried, and he knew that the man was unfortunately not a Joker. He didn't know about the goals that the Jokers were aiming to make during the meeting, and if he had to make an educated guess, Siegfried would likely be trying to simply do what was best for the Clubs. On another day, Twig would've been very appreciative of Siegfried's breadth of knowledge, as it was a major help for Frey, but not today.

Unlike with Guin, Twig felt that his shyness could warrant not acknowledging Frey's advisor.

This was quickly followed by X's assistant, Iris. Quite a few times Twig had come across Iris while she and Declan worked to make the automobiles that now we're in the Hearts. Then, surprisingly, after that was King X himself with a strangely eager look on his face. That was before the look fell from X's eyes and he dejectedly plopped down in his seat and broke open a donut with Frey. Twig wanted to ask how X was able to get donuts despite his kitchen ban, but he supposed that Guin would probably whoop his butt, so there wasn't a need for Twig to butt in.

"Hello X, I'm unexpectedly happy that you were able to join us for this meeting," Twig lied. He forgoed using X's formal title, as he knew the man disliked noble etiquette. Twig honestly felt the same.

"I'm glad everyone is able to come," Twig beamed, "Who are we waiting on? Queen Mortemiah? King Arimand?"

. D O V E TPBx Colorless Spectrum The Prophet LazyDaze

 

[Colorless Spectrum]

Adelleid Frey

"Forgive me for that, Queen Blanca, it was a sudden decision by King Valentines and so I wasn't able to provide notice." He explained the rather surprising visit of the three assistants with him. "Well, I hope that the rebuilding has been going splendidly, as for our other royals..." He took a moment to pause and think of what to say, "Will be here, at least I hope so. I've been asking King Valentines but the only thing that seems to run in his mind is his next vacation. I'm sure that he is here somewhere already unless one of you has talked to him?"

His attention was then taken by the Jack of Hearts. "Jack Terwilliger," Frey said with a mirthful smile. Despite the rather formal moniker, Frey's tone towards Twig was nothing but friendly and a hint of excitement. "I'm glad to hear that you are doing well. I have been doing quite well too, despite being busy due to rebuilding."

He wanted to talk more and liven up the rather lackluster meeting, for a handful of other Royals are still missing from the seats, then suddenly X appeared. It surprised him, he had expected the man to not attend at all and even borrowed Professor Duck for a bit of a joke. And even more, Iris was quick to make her move, it was obvious that this was all her work. What with the way X was looking at her. All unexpected but highly amusing to him, nonetheless.

As X gave everyone such a saddening introduction, Frey was internally laughing at the King of Clubs being bamboozled by his own assistant. But that didn't last as the masked man held half a donut to him. Normally, he would accept... But to eat the donut from X's pocket in front of other Royals might not fair him well.

Frey gave X a beaming smile and took out a clean handkerchief, "Thank you, X. This will be great for later." He said to him and knowing full well that he wouldn't like to be called 'King Valentines'. He, however, had no intention of eating the donut in front of the Royals, perhaps later once he is alone.

"Hopefully they can come soon so we can start."

mention: || interaction: Iris Bastille, Xixix Valentine LazyDaze Siegfried Maria Rothschild The Prophet Lilaia @Xcelgamer Guineverre Blanca . D O V E Zephyr Terwilliger Coyote Hart Athania Kaloronos

 

[Colorless Spectrum]

Elijah Addison Saar

The ship was even more beautiful in the daylight, but as much as Elijah would want to keep on commending but she had a job to do, and this job will give her plenty of chance to do some admiring to the ship later and to the days to come. She nudged Eadrick who stood frozen in fear at Wysteria, "It's rude to stare, ya know."

"R-right." He said as he followed Elijah to the deck of the ship.

"Greetings, Captain Nautilus!" The crimson eyed woman said cheerily, looking over at the map that the man had unrolled. Elijah gave a series of 'Ooohhs' and 'Aahhhs' as she listened to the two leaders talk, giving a yelp when the Nautilus suddenly yelled in giving the operation's name. She couldn't help but give a sweet and lighthearted laugh soon after.

"Uhhh, Elijah?" Called Sebastian in a frightened tone.

"Hmm?" Elijah hummed in question without turning her head.

"I think that Pink Lady is craving for some crabs."

The young woman tried to stifle her laughter as she found Sebastian to be behaving quite ridiculously. "It's true! You know us crabs are delicious! And she said that she's hoping we catch the desired crab."

"Oh stop it, Captain Beacon won't eat you." She whispered, so assured that nothing will happen to her aquatic friend. She then turned to Eadrick and asked him if he listened well to the plan, answering to her that he did unlike her who was busy fooling around with their shelled companion to which she gave him an eye roll.

"Well, thoroughly executed plans don't always go well without a few hiccups here and there. Sometimes you just have to wing it." She said, half-serious, half-joking, stepping closer to Nathaniel. Being someone she hasn't formally met, she gave a rather light wave as she kept her distance. "I do have the ability to understand, scry, and tame marine life. Additionally, I can shapeshift to breathe underwater. Perhaps, we can make use of my abilities for gathering such information?"

mention: || interaction: Wysteria Beacon LazyDaze Vier Tollamber AI10100

 

[Kisaki]

Melody Holladay​

The man with the guns seemed as if he never saw a girl with animal ears before. Luckily, he didn't seem to be the judgy type, unlike some of the people from the more rural areas she visited. Melody relaxed her shoulders as the conflict was resolved. "Yeah, the capital is where I'm headin'." She nodded. She hadn't been to the capital before, but she heard it was a great place to reinvent yourself. Ariandrel was a culturally enriched city that also held the academy, the theater, and the archives. Melody could feel a tingle of the excitement of visiting those areas. Her tail swooshed back and forth, creating a slight whooshing sound for those around her to hear. "Thanks, mans, for not tryin' to throw me out." Melody thanked the two men, sitting back down on the hay.

Melody then pointed her thumb towards herself. "By the way, I'm Melody. Mels for short." She introduced herself.

TPBx

 

[. D O V E]

Guineverre Victoria y Blanca​

Guin lightly waved her hand in a dismissive manner, "It's of no issue, Jack Frey." She flashed him a smile which never faltered even when they proceeded on their next subject. "We did feel his presence but I'm inclined to think he's lost." The smile then fell from her lips although she did her best to exude a cordial aura as the two Jacks interacted.

It was at that point when a short, white-haired elf entered the fray. Guin easily recognized her as Iris Bastille, King Valentine's personal assistant. Guin liked her. She was refreshing from most Clubs she had met. Not to mention she upheld proper conduct and has been a big help to the Heart's technological development. The two of them first encountered each other during a previous royal meeting, although it was their short exchange near the end of the three-year war which solidified the impression. "Welcome, Ms. Bastille." Guin had half the mind to just gesture to the empty chair across from her since she figured King Pigeon wasn't going to come anyways. However, the thought vacated her mind when she noticed the elf's obvious, hard stare while being completely frozen by the doorstep.

Guin displayed yet another smile in return. The awkwardness made her silently wish she learned telepathy so she could ask Twig if there was something on her face. It'd be embarrassing if she has been prancing around with tomato paste on her face. Then again, that was unlikely considering the number of mirrors in the palace. It was only when Iris' eyes wandered downwards did she fully realize what was happening. 'Ah.' Fortunately, Iris finally pried her eyes off her and interacted with the other assistant.

The Queen seized the opportunity to relax her jaw- which only lasted for a minute since the giant doors were once again pushed open and out came the infamous King of Clubs. She subtly clenched her teeth before leaning back against the chair. "Looks like I was wrong," came her remark as she shortly glanced at Twig.

"Welcome King Valentines." She gestured to his designated seat before conjuring yet another mana chair beside it. "Please take your seat, Ms. Bastille."

"We're waiting on a handful of other royalties, frankly. I believe we need everyone's presence for the meeting to commence." She looked around the several empty seats. "Nobody from the Spades are even here yet." She added, looking at Twig.

Coyote Hart LazyDaze Colorless Spectrum

 

[LazyDaze]

XIXIX VALENTINE| IRIS BASTILLE
Frey had been a surprising addition to the Club Kingdom. They were by no means friends, that wasn't saying much regarding X, but he certainly knew how to enjoy life. THis is why X offered him the donut in the first place. He said it before, but this was a man of culture. Despite his nefarious reasons for joining club kingdom he did help bring balance after all of the hard workers that were starting to swarm the kingdom. All praise to Dorian I guess. After The Club Jack took his half of the definitely not contaminated donut, X answered Siegfried, only sparing a sideways glance as he spoke. "There's definitely something amiss," X said while pointing toward his own face and then quickly turning to Iris, who happened to turn away at that same exact moment. As the others welcomed him, he gave them a half hearted salute, still wondering why he was even here. Being welcomed by Sieg made him realize that the others didn't have experience in such things. Obviously, it was his job to teach them the ropes. Hell, were they even allowed to be here? Didn't really matter honestly..."Um Sam...Sally....Fred Meringuepie (Siegfried)right, right. Just a fare warning, these meetings are the worst of the worst. I have to picture everyone naked just to stay slightly amused," X then gave the other royals a sweep of his eyes before turning back to Sieg. "Hmmmm...they might have put on some weight since I last saw them," he said bringing his voice to a whisper, genuinely concerned by the images he saw, unconcerend that these were fabrications apart from reality. Nevertheless, this was the worst. When you arrived on time, or god forbid, early, you always found yourself waiting on others. Waiting, in fact, was the most fruitless, unproductive thing one could do. You were in no control of what you were waiting for, and you were making no effort to arrive at your destination /goal whatever that may be. Meanwhile, the person who is late was the catalyst for whatever event was promised. The person who was late never had to wait on anybody, and should others start before their arrival, they still maximized their time by doing something they felt was more important. Those who waited would never get that time back. All thing considered, it was always better to be late to a meeting as opposed to early. Thinking about this only frustrated him further so he simply yawned and stretched a bit unnecessarily before slouching some more.

"So not only do the royals want to engage in pointless drivel, but they want to drivel off schedule too. There are better ways to slowly die than this," X said to no one in particular as his head rested on a balled fist. He was loud enough to hear, but he didn't shout. Perhaps he was just speaking to himself...albeit too loudly.

_____​

Meanwhile Iris resisted the urge to facepalm because she knew X had entered slouch/grouch mode. In front of the Queen of Hearts no less. Iris had even overheard his conversation with Sieg and could do very little but shake her head in denial. This wasn't going to be one of those meetings right? There was still time to reverse course; however, she still had not mastered the triggers to snap X out of this state. She was sure no one else noticed, but he was already slouching 2 cm from his normal slouching position. If things continued like this, it would exponentially get worse. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but feel that she did everything that she possibly could have done to make this as normal as possible. To top all of this off, he was now speaking without giving thought to the impact of his words. Scratch that, he usually did give careful thought to his words, but often ignored any potential ramifications. Before she could even say anything, he was already complaining about the others being late. Who knew how he would act during the actual meeting if he continued like this? Perhaps it was a mistake to bring him here early after all. Iris, instinctively looked toward the other assistants as if to tell them X was beginning to fly off the rails. She then turned to the other royals to see how they would respond. The meeting had not yet started and they could have potentially made enemies in such a short time. Maybe...just maybe they could real him in-

"Only a rectangular cactus could find this chair comfortable...*slouches*"

It's too late...they've already lost.......

Colorless Spectrum The Prophet

 

[Coyote Hart]

​

Myles opened his mouth before closing it, not finding the words he wanted. Declan was right. Why buy a book when the real thing can be found in a brothel? He wanted to say it was because of price; you could get a book for about ten quid while an hour at a brothel would cost upwards to forty quid. But then Myles realized that wasn't necessarily true. Unlike Argossia, Ornare didn't have the printing press. That meant that books would be much more expensive to make than the real deal. Besides, Myles didn't know what the literacy rate was, it could be like lower than 50%. Most people then, like Cilantro, might not be able to enjoy hentai. Not that it was a bad thing. If Cilantro could understand what the bookshelf full of naughty manga said, Myles would be humiliated and Cilantro would probably be traumatized. On top of everything, there were unrealistic portrayals in hentai. So Declan was right. Hentai was stupid.

If only Myles hadn't packed a suitcase full of BL and manga when he came to Ornare.

"Looks like I'll have to keep my hopes low," Myles said jokingly, "Lady Luck hasn't always been on my side."

Then the conversation moved towards Cilantro. Cilantro... at this point, Myles couldn't deny that he had feelings for the young man. Being by Cilantro's side during the five years left Myles with a strong attachment towards the gloomy youth. Unfortunately, Cilantro was as dense as a brick wall, and he didn't seem to see Myles's feelings. It was as Twig had said: Cilantro wasn't going to make the first move, so Myles had to do it.

"Oh, Cilantro," Myles smiled awkwardly, "He's doing great. Moody as ever, but he's mastered that art form... Steam Breath was it? He's an absolute beast with it. He countered my unbreakable offense almost effortlessly, like BAM!" Myles mimed an uppercut as he imitated one of Cilantro's sharp and decisive dart throws. Myles's face had a serious frown on it as he also imitated Cilantro's battle expression. No matter how much Cilantro tried, he sometimes would drop his acting facade when fighting. Myles had a feeling that Cilantro didn't know about it, but Myles certainly noticed it.

"He's turned out to be one fine royal-killer," Myles chuckled, "If not a bit reckless with power."

This was when Myles's mask slipped a slight bit. He was still embodying the same happy-go-lucky guy in his daily outward appearance, but the happiness was a bit more genuine when he talked about Cilantro. Myles also had a somewhat doting and appreciative expression on his face.

AI10100

 

[Coyote Hart]

Wren Insignia, Queen of Clubs
50/1800​

THUMP THUMP THUMP. It was like a giant was walking through the halls of the Valencia castle. When someone was this loud, they didn't need a telepath or for their mana signatures to run wild to announce their presence. Their pure physical might was enough for that. But when the doors of the meeting room burst open, it was not a hulking giant that entered. Instead, it was a petite, feminine figure just slightly taller than William Code was. It was Wren Insignia, the irresponsible, personal-space invading, fiercely independent Queen of Clubs.

"Hello, bitches~~!!" Wren announced before heading over to Frey and pecking him on the cheek, "How are you all doing?"

They bounced towards their seat next to King X, however, upon looking at the slouched King, their excited demeanor washed off. "Hey, are you okay there Zyyzyy?" It was well-known among the Clubs that Queen Insignia, when they first read Xixix's name, couldn't comprehend it and just went with Zyyzyy. So now that's what they called him.

"Peeter patter, peeter patter, wakey wakey!" Queen Insignia said as they bonked on X's head rhythmically like a drum, "Oh, you're really out of it. Alright, get some shut-eye during the meeting."

With the King taken care of, Queen Insignia procured from their pockets a box, which when the exterior slid out, revealed a tasting set of chocolates. They threw their feet on the table and began to munch on the chocolates. With that, all three Club royals were present.

Colorless Spectrum LazyDaze
Spoiler alert: I had no idea what to do for Wren's personality.

 

[TPBx]

"Correction, one of the Spades is here," an older blue haired man commented upon entering the meeting room. He wore a simple blue robe and at his hip was a gigantic sword that he effortlessly carried around. He gave off an energy unlike anyone else in the room, being in his mere presence could make anyone feel like they could take on an entire army. He calmly took one of the seats at the head of the table and rested his gigantic sword beside him. He folded his hands together, motioning to one of the guards to bring in another chair. Behind him a fair skinned woman with silky dark hair and clad in reflective purple armor walked up and planted a kiss on the man's cheek before taking a seat next to him. "Oh I forgot to introduce myself, since many of you at this table have yet to meet me. My name is Darien Zelltear, current Ace of Spades, and this is my wife, Belie, I am pleased to meet all of you."

"It's a pleasure of mine as well," Belie added, standing up briefly and bowing before the rest of the group, before returning to her seat. While her husband showed little to no emotion, Belie looked at the group of royals with some disdain, especially after seeing Athania, whom she felt had no right sitting among the group as one of the youngest and least experienced people there. She held her tongue however as to keep up appearances, knowing that she had little to no power over her presence as well.

LazyDaze . D O V E Coyote Hart Colorless Spectrum The Prophet (anyone else I missed in the meeting room)

==============================================================

"Well Eddy, how long do you think it'll take to reach the capital."

"I reckon we'll be there by the end of the day, maybe earlier if y'all would quit your yappin so I can focus on driving. Damn horses got spooked."

"Fine, fine. Well Mels... You're a lucky girl... I guess... Really depends if our driver doesn't get us lost."

"Maybe I will now," Eddy laughed. He pulled on the reins and the horses began dragging the carriage along again at a faster pace. Dust kicked up as they traveled down the country roads towards the City of Diamonds.

"Anyways, Miy... Melody, the name's Garrett. Garrett Valerian. It's good to meet ya." He caught his Argossian accent mid sentence. Something he was working on getting rid of but its hard to undo 20+ years of something found as a natural way of speaking. He sighed and stared down the road, expecting something else to catch his attention. "So what business, do you have in the capital. I think you might have overheard Eddy and I talking, but I have to take care of my girlfriend's place. She owns this big mansion and needs me to to clean, cook, clean. And then clean some more. But I don't mind, its better than working in the fields for sure. Get paid more too..."

Kisaki

 

[AI10100]

M A L L A R D , C A L L U M
Location: Mallard Family Farm, Spades Kingdom
Interactions: Ambiloquous Pilgrim59 @Voril ​

Callum let out a chuckle at Jana's mumbling as she rushed to clean her mess up. He was about to comment that Sera should stop stroking Jana's ego, but let it be. It wasn't like Jana was going to the extremes which such compliments, even if sometimes she got a little cocky because of them. Sera was such an obedient child, as she rushed her breakfast and went on to do her own chores. He watched her with a melancholic smile. He wondered if the kid had any family back in Argossia that she wanted to see. She had no qualms with living with them and almost immediately calling him father, but he just couldn't help but wonder. She didn't even seem relatively young and yet she acted as such, aside from the expertise in combat, of course.

He groaned as he brought his fingers to his temple. "I feel like we're dragging her into unnecessary things." He claimed suddenly, looking down at the broken glass that Jana was cleaning up. "It would have been well and all if it was just us two. I know we're not bringing her along, but... he had already made use of her." Callum would have rejected Helmur's request to have Sera teach the legion how to use a gun. In fact, he would have liked to hide it from most people. He didn't want anyone to start asking where she had come from. But there was no way for him to be able to go against Helmur's wishes - not when he wanted his family to stay alive. Even with Elizabeth on their side, Helmur would be able to torch his family's farm to the ground before they even find out.

"After this... there's still that stupid helm we need to find. I've long given up on that helm." Callum pointed out, the artefact's legend still ringing in his mind. The Helm of Darigaas - such a powerful artefact that hasn't been found in so long. Once upon a time, Callum had dreamed of finding it. He had no use for such power, but it would have been nice to be able to study what made it so powerful. Djer was one of the best, if not the best, artificers in the entire history of Ornare and to hold one of his creations would have made his entire adventure worth it. But it had slipped him again and again, rumors coming up short with no location to talk about. "And just like me, they're utterly clueless on where it is. At least make it easier on us to hunt it down." He growled. What more is that he had even thrown the idea of it being in an entirely different location than what he had heard of multiple times.

"Do you ever wonder when it'll end Jana? When he'll finally leave us alone to our devices once again?"

 

[Colorless Spectrum]

Adelleid Frey

Frey could only laugh lowly at X's complaints. The man didn't hide his dislike for the meeting and the crimson-eyed Joker can only find it amusing, he respects that. But of course, Frey has no plans of Joking around, at least not yet. There will be time to have fun later.

Loud thuds could be heard from outside the room and in an instant, Frey already knew who it was. Wren Insignia. The small man greeted cheerily with their uncouth words, heading towards the blood mage and gave him a peck to his cheek. It gave Frey chills up his spine but he didn't show it.

Frey had been doing his best to avoid the Queen of Clubs, Wren always greeted him with a kiss on the cheek, as such he is used to it but he gets chills due to the fact that he knew that Wren can rip him to shreds in just physical might alone and that was scary. "Queen Insignia, glad you could make it." He said with a smile as he watched the Queen interact with the King of Clubs and sat at their own designated chair.

His attention was then taken by the other newcomers to the meeting. Although if he was speaking the truth he didn't expect that an Ace would join the occasion but they were already there. Frey gave a simple wave to the couple and said with a pleasant tone, "Jack Frey of Club Kingdom."

He drummed his fingers at the table, as he hummed. Gauging the little interaction between the King of Clubs and the Queen of Hearts, but even then it was hard to figure out how the blonde woman regarded X. It makes him question what entails the crisp red letter. Considering how foolish the masked man can be, it makes him worried. Then again, sooner or later one of his colleagues would ask him about it and he would have no choice but to give it anyway.

"Ah, yes!" He said as if he had only just remembered something, quickly reaching for his bag and procuring the letter that has been troubling his mind since Iris gave it to him. "A letter for you, Queen Blanca." He stood, handing the letter to the Queen of Hearts. "From... well, King Valentines himself." He wondered what would happen now that he has given this letter to who it was meant for, he only hoped right now that it was something good as he knew of X's reputation, the masked man can truly be very perplexing.

mention: Iris Bastille, Xixix Valentine LazyDaze || interaction: Guineverre Blanca . D O V E Wren Insignia Coyote Hart Spades NPC
I have a headache, this is what you get. Kek

 

[. D O V E]

Guineverre Victoria y Blanca​

Patience was perhaps both the bane and the key of Queen Guineverre's life. Take her studies for example. Necromancy has always been a stuff of legend; everyone thought nobody could ever raise the dead back to life despite the many intricate magicks running out there. Before she lost her family, she thought they were right- nobody could have power over death. But after she lost them, she picked up a blind faith on the dark art out of desperation. For years she began concocting necromantic spells out of nothing. There was neither a grimoire nor a mentor whom could help her. She had to wholly rely on her belief, determination, and patience. Lots and lots of patience.

Regardless, she still find it hard to observe patience in particular scenarios. There were plenty of occasions when she would lose track of her anger and end up bursting, endangering the lives of not just herself but of others as well. Guin has long acknowledged her flaw and has even sought assistance regarding the matter. Olivii, or formerly known as Four of the Royal Flushe, has proven herself to be a great aid. She has taught Guin so many tricks and techniques to handle her emotions better. Breathing, meditations, positive mindset, and whatnot- she found them all helpful. Guin liked to think that she has improved immensely in terms of anger management for the past five years.

So... why exactly was she having a hard time containing her anger right now?

If the boisterous hall was otherwise silent then the occupants would be able to hear solid clicks as Guin idly tapped her long nails against the table. There was a growing dark expression on her face as her eyes traveled around the room. First off, there was the King of Oaf, slouching so hard that it'd only be a matter of moments before he wind up as the Heart's new carpet. Second, there was his Queen- a despicably rude creature who just referred to literally everyone present as bitches and was now eating chocolates with her fEET ON THE TABLE! Last but not the least, the Ace of Spades had brought his wife, who was neither a royal nor an advisor and was looking at them as though they were garbage, into a royal meeting. A royal fucking meeting where everyone was supposed to be acting like fucking royals instead of clowns.

"Twig...," she breathed out, hoping to find solace with the only person whom she was confident to have a touch of sanity in the room, "are you sure these are the right people? I feel like they're clowns who lost their way to the circus." Her voice was but a whisper, but if anyone else could hear then she frankly couldn't care anymore. She was far too disappointed and frustrated to care.

It was at that point when the Jack of Clubs approached with a letter. Guin flickered her gaze to the white-haired man, meeting his similarly colored eyes before reluctantly accepting the letter with a, "thank you."

She let her sight fall onto the red and fancy envelope before glancing at the aforementioned recipient. As expected, King X was still locked in the same horrid, slouching position although he appeared to have sunken deeper. Guin furrowed her brow at him before returning her eyes on the envelope and finally began unsealing it. Strange. Why in the world would he send her a letter when he was literally right across of her? Could it be a trick? Or perhaps he has an important information to share regarding their impending operation and he couldn't risk having anyone intercept the message? Again, the King of Oaf was a fool but he could be very crafty when the right situation beckons. Moreover, it was Sanguis, a Joker, who delivered.

Guin slightly shifted so that her fellow Joker leader could catch glimpse of the information:

“The posterior side of your lower extremities has blossomed with every passing year......I say all this to ask...may I be your chair?”
Love X
P.S I’m wiggling my brows right now. ​

Oh.
Oh gods.

Slowly, Guin moved her dead eyes to X's direction. As per stated, the King was really wiggling his eyebrows at her, all while he gradually slid down his seat. Disbelief crossed her expression before she desperately reread the letter, scurrying for some sort of hidden message which could be hidden in the fine lines. Perhaps the first letter of each word would spell something? T...p....s...o... nope. Perhaps it has some sort of magical enchantment in it? Guin sent a few of her mana into the paper yet nothing happened. Perhaps he was using codes!? Posterior side didn't necessarily have to mean her butt, right? And chair could mean something else like... like... Oh spirits, who was she kidding? This was an awful innuendo through and through.

A loud slam permeated the conference hall as the Queen of Hearts suddenly stood up and pressed her hands on the table. "The Hearts...," she paused since she sounded more aggressive than planned, "The Hearts observe proper etiquette during integral meetings such as this one. I know the assemblage is yet to formally begin, but I must ask everyone to please show decency in my court. That means no extreme slouching, no feet on the table, and no stink eyes. Please be respectful and adhere to my simple rules. You are in front of the nation's Queen."

LazyDaze TPBx Colorless Spectrum The Prophet Coyote Hart

 

[Kisaki]

Melody Hollady​

"Oh, I'll be quiet", Melody rolled her eyes and chuckled. She certainly wasn't going to be quiet. Once she got comfortable, she'd yap her mouth off. "Nice ta meet ya, Garrett." Giving him a toothy smile. She hadn't noticed Garrett's slipup.

"Aye, I'm a weapons smith and a tinkerer on the side," Melody began. "I'm plannin' to set up shop there and maybe even learn a few things to improve my weapons-makin' skills," She stated. With the amount of traffic in the capital city, Melody hoped she'd get some recognition. Melody then twirled a piece of her hair with her finger, looking at the trees as they move down the road."This trip of mines wasn't exactly planned, though. I guessin' life just decided I needed to do some explore'n." She stretched her legs out in a more comfortable position.

Melody listened to the man's introduction. Garret's life sounded like some of the lower class/noble romance novels she borrowed from Mrs.Fireheart. Those books were a guilty pleasure of hers. "Sounds like you've got a good life." Melody hummed. She wasn't the type of person who wanted to clean for a living for some fancy pants or lover. She enjoys spending her life around steel and fire. "I'm a little surprised, though. Ya look like a guy who likes to get his hands dirty." She expressed, eyeing him. Melody was sure that Garrett had some fighting experience.

TPBx

 

[TPBx]

Garrett Valerian

"Well I had my fair share of fighting during the war," Garrett replied. He reflected a bit on his experiences with the Imperial Rangers. For a bit even reliving some of their triumphant moments in his head. "You said you're a weapon-smith, right? I guess you've got a golden opportunity here." The man then pulled out one of his revolvers, emptied out the remaining rounds, and passed it to Melody. "I looted this off a dead Argossian Officer at the Siege of Valencia. Maybe you can take a look at it." He sighed and then looked down the road ahead. "Just make sure to give it back to me. When you're done." The wagon hastily rumbled down the road kicking up dust to either side. The capital was still far off, but its architecture and crystalline buildings stood as a beacon for all of the Kingdom of Diamonds to see. It was beautiful. Like a small slice of home even on another continent. "You can say I have a good life, I guess. I think if you have no regrets, even a shitty life living in the dirt can still be a good one."

Kisaki

 

[LazyDaze]

WYSTERIA BEACON

Both Wysteria and the Captain shared a knowing look when the newly acquired help accepted the conditions readily. Wysteria supposed it shouldn't have been a surprise that the lack of information wouldn't bother them. After all, they did come this far on fairly vague information already. Hunting down an artifact was no walk in Noah's Park...which actually wasn't a walk in the park now that one had time to think about it....Anyway, the point stood that they had managed to pluck out quality help. When Nathaniel asked a valid question at the end of their debriefing, she couldn't help but twitch her eyebrow in annoyance. For some reason or another, his mere existence was an offense to her. Maybe it was the way he coward behind his leader. The pitch of his voice. The way his flesh contorted when he spoke, or the mere fact that the air in the container that was his body had not been siphoned into oblivion-

"Ahem," Wysteria said forcibly preventing her own blackout into madness. "I will address Elijah first. Your ability to communicate with marine life and travel into the depths of the ocean will be imperative to our success. In fact, that leads me into answering....his....question." Somehow, the shade from the umbrella managed to darken her eyes even further. "One would assume that eventually, an unfortunate soul would step foot on the island with all of the sightings. However, we have a theory that the island appears more often than even we are currently lead to believe." Wysteria took a few steps towards the rail of the ship. Dissapating her cloud without warning so that the Naval Captain nearly had to dive to catch his map.

"The island might also appear underwater...deep into the abyss," Wysteria said without looking toward the group. "...This is why we are the main unit," Wysteria said as she ligtly ran her hands on the rails whilst turning to her party. "The...this ship is unlike any other. It is not just the size, but it was a great endeavor to create specifically for this moment. Should the trident be in the heavens, the depths of a watery hell, or even a fleeting illusion that can only exist in reality for a moment, this ship has been designed to overcome any obstacles the trident will throw at us."

The Captain hurredly began to preparing for the departure of a lifetime right after shooting Elijah, Vier, and their companions a confident smirk. After all, it was every captains dream to steer such a vessel. Moreover, the crew on hand had trained diligently to operate this ship which naturally had a unique design.

"Only the best of the best are allowed on this vessel. Look to the horizon proudly men! We set sail!"

Wysteria shot the Captain a dark look as she stopped twirling her umbrella.

"And woman! Especially the women!"

Wysteria gracefully set her gaze to Elijah, Vier and the others. "This is your last chance to back out. After we leave, we either find the trident or embrace the dead."


AI10100 Colorless Spectrum

 

[LazyDaze]

IRIS BASTILLE & XIXIX VALENTINE

Iris could hear it...oh gods he was here. Why...just why did she have to be born into the Club Kingdom? The gods were merely testing her right? Wren....wren was here and they hadn't even handled X yet. Of course Wren burst into the room almost as if he were an uninvited guest. It was too late to do anything so she could only stand tall and in support of her swearing, personal space invading, obnoxious Queen. Of course, X didn't change his facial expression one bit and how is that position even comfotable in that chair? X simply waved, sparing Wren a glance without moving his head. How in the hell anyone could keep a straightface in this situation one would never know.

Switching glances between X and Wren, Iris decided to deal with the latter. In many cases, Wren was alot worse than X due to the stark contrast in their personalities. Although he was old enough to realize he was being a baffoon, Iris couldn't help but baby him....he was freaking adorable...when he wasn't pulverizing a building or anything. Little did she know, things would get worse before she could even utter a single word....

____​

At that time, X acknowledged the Spade Ace...seemed like a chill guy. His name was...Joe. Joe Spade. He couldn't help but notice the aura his partner gave off. Pretty cold....probably a chill gal. Name was....Jane, Jane Spade. Then finally, something interesting happened. Frey, the Jack of Clubs, moved to give Guin the all important letter. In fact, one could say it was X's only reason for coming to this damn thing. The contents were of the upmost importance and it couldn't wait a second later. On cue, her face met his whilst he was wiggling his eyebrows and sliding down the chair. Her eyes returned to the letter, and his eyebrows continued the seductive dance. That appeared to be the final straw as the Queen took charge, albeit seeming a bit flustered, and laid down the law...hearts law. X was practically on the ground at this point, how could this be considered sitting. He was silent for a moment before defying gravity and "reverse slouched" his way into a standing position with his hands in his pockets. He reached into his jacket pocket, but to his dissapointment the book "how to avoid running a kingdom into the ground," that Iris had lent him before her departure was gone. He must have left it at home next to the "how to be normal."

Setting his gaze on Guin, who in X's mind was obviosuly using this as an outlet for her unederlying emotions, X gestured for Iris to sit in his seat. ".....No," X said flatly without changing his normal expression. This meeting was a farce to be perfectly honest. He would treat it as such...well even then he probably would have behaved the same way. "Unless you're willing to wage war to stop my preferred way of sitting because I'm more than will-"

Iris pulled X's mask and dropped an emergency strawberry pastry into it before he could finish his statmement. Although he looked confused, he eventually gave a thumbs up and allowed Iris to sit in his chair while he chewed gleefully. Hesitantly, with a few more encouraging nods from X, Iris sat in the King's chair and sighed. She couldn't help but feel as if she prevented armageddon. "Wren, it is rude to have your feet up like that. I'm sure you would appear more adorable if you sit in a proper manner. X, I'm sorry for tricking you into coming to the meeting. Frey....actually you've been great. I think given the gravity of what took place in this very city, the implications regarding this conveinig of royal powers, as well as the fact that their are some who arrived even later than...us...has everyone on edge...our apolgies if our customs offended anyone." After she finished speaking, X placed a hand on Iris' shoulder as he finished chewing. He often did not show it; in fact, he never showed it, but he was grateful that Iris took on so many responsibilities within the kingdom. Although small rumors might have persisted here and there, very few knew that a rank 4 mage handled most of the responsibiltes that were supposed to be delegated to the royals and higher ups. Furthermore, the trend continued and even more assitants joined their ranks. There was just one issue...she was far too genuine.

"If the others do not arrive soon I'm leaving. I didn't come all this way to posture among the supposed elite." he stated evenly. Having to stare at long face after long face was worse than being chained up in a cell without food, or water for a few days. Although Iris could never get used to X's blunt deliveries and harsh quips, she couldn't really disagree. Sitting in this room was a bit uncomfortable. She could feel some of the foreign disdain returning, if they were ever truly dissapated in the first place. Moreover, waiting patiently for the other royals only seemed to cheape the importance and significance of the meeting and all the royals that were present. She could definitely understand X's position...but still, couldn't he just say that.

TPBx Colorless Spectrum Coyote Hart . D O V E

 

[Coyote Hart]

Wren Insignia, Queen of Clubs
50/1800
​

Really, Wren didn't actually need Iris telling them what to do, as Guin's sudden smack caused them to hastily take their feet off of the table. Of course, Wren did end up putting their feet back on the table until Iris told them not to.

"Et-tick-kit?" Wren asked, pronouncing each syllable individually, "What in the world is Et-Tick-Kit? Is that like a way to cook eggs? Like an omelette? I don't know how to cook, but I can try to make us some eggs if you want?"

It would be up to everyone to guess whether the cute gremlin was telling the truth or not, if not for the fact that they conceded and sat on the chair semi-normally-- with their arms wrapping around their legs while cocooned in the seat cushion.

"Hold on, is dear Zyyzyy declaring war?" Wren asked excitedly, "War!"

They held up a piece of chocolate, which they deftly flicked at Twig. The chocolate pinged off of Twig's head and landed in his tea. Wren giggled a bit at the success of their throw.

"Nah, war would ruin the fun," Wren said as they curled back up in their chair, "So no war."

It was somewhat uncharacteristic of Queen Insignia to care about what X did, but the reasoning was simple-- they didn't want to sit through another boring meeting trying to absorb new information like a sponge. After a moment of thinking though, Wren picked up their box of chocolates, closed it up carefully, and turned to X.

"Bonk!" Wren said as they whacked X over the head with their box of chocolates, "Go to warmonger jail!"

The impact of whacking X over the head with the box caused the chocolates in the box to squish, crumble, and break, which wasn't too much of an issue. The taste was king after all. Wren took a piece of chocolate, a magnificent shard of 69% cocoa peppered with pieces of crystallized sugar and bourbon filling, and threw it so that it landed in front of Queen Guineverre.

"There you go, Queen Blanca," Wren said when the piece of chocolate dropped in front of her, "Take that as a peace offering. Be careful with the bourbon though, wouldn't want your alcoholism to get worse."

LazyDaze . D O V E
The Prophet Colorless Spectrum TPBx

 

[AI10100]

S A R M I E N T O , D E C L A N
Location: Valencia
Interacting with: Coyote Hart
​

"Hey, maybe your luck's just building up for a pivotal moment." Declan suggested with a small shrug. As a street rat, Declan knew that luck was a big part of his survival. He tangoed with the God of Luck frequently, he imagined, and it would only be a matter of time when luck wouldn't pull through. There were far too man brushes with death throughout his life, but that came par for the course with what he's been involved in.

He watched as Myles spoke about Cilantro, crossing his arms as he listened. There was an unmistakeable fondness in Myles's face as he spoke. Declan smirked as the man finished. "Power without brains can still get you very far." He pointed out with amusement. "But I'm glad that he's doing good. After his capture, I wasn't sure how far he'll get." In fact, Declan didn't think that the boy would even get far. He expected to hear Cilantro had died somewhere - but he didn't. The flames of spite and revenge raged within the young boy, and against all odds, Cilantro made himself indispensable. Declan could respect that.

"You like that kid, don't you? You really stuck with him throughout this entire process." Declan didn't seem to be implying anything other than fondness. The telepath looked out of the window and raised both of his eyebrows before urging for Myles to follow him. He reached towards the bowl of chips and began to eat again. "Most mentors leave their little Jokers behind soon after." It reminds him of his own little student. After a few missions, Declan was sure that he would be assigned elsewhere and that's the end of that. He ate another chip. "I'm not saying it's a bad idea. In fact, I think you being there really helped him out in the long run."

He led Myles back to the kitchen, giving a friendly wave to the cooks. He tapped the nearby cart and the cooks began bringing the trays on it. One cart was filled with beverages and the other cart was filled with pastries before being covered. Declan took hold of the cart of pastries. "It's time to feed the royalty, hm?" He told Myles with a small smirk as he waited for the Argossian to take hold of the other cart before taking the lead towards the royal meeting room.