Fantasy Howl's Flying Castle (Finished! ---Whoo! (*＾▽＾)／)

[Katsuya]

She wasn't used to him shaking her that hard and woke to it. Him commenting at the twins who just wanted to eat, pouted at the silver haired teen before grumbling in discontent. So they poured a giant spoonful of milk on him.

"Mhmm? S-Seifer? Wha-?"

Renee sat up, rubbing her eyes as she listened to the urgent Seifer before freezing at the news. This is a nightmare-!

With a loud gasp, the Pendragon teen snapped her eyes open, breathing hard and sweating as if to catch her breathe. Her orange eyes looked over at the clock in her room and saw the pendulum ticked to read '5:02' AM. Blankets and pillows flew as she got out of bed, grabbed a robe, and ran to wake the others quickly.

"Lydia! Evil egg hatching! Must change plans! Must deploy now!" Is what the witch and James would hear after a hurried and panicked knock on the door. Then heavy footsteps ran off to Kenren's office direction. When she saw the guards, Renee went up to them with wide and panicked eyes and declared that she has dire news from Seifer and Kenren needed to hear this. Right now!

"So please-! Let me in!" Renee's wings flapped rapidly as she was becoming anxious. "Ken-chan!"

Meanwhile Echo groaned quietly before sighing in content as Johnny snuggled into her warmth. One hand lightly squeezed his as the other gripped on the back of his shirt, nuzzling into his nape. Then her fluffy ear twitched as heavy footsteps echoed in the hallways with panting as a familiar girl's voice muttered her panic. Her eyes fluttered open, revealing the green orbs underneath as she sighed again. A bit more awake now...

"Good morning Johnny..." The fawn mumbled, loosing her grip as she just let her arm stay where it was.

Zer0 Roleplay Skittle

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

Lydia wasn't looking through Sasha when she sent her to get James. She knew James would know on seeing her that he was more than welcome to her room and she thought that he might like the time with just the little owl.

When James arrived with Sasha and he knocked on the door, she let out a quivering breath like she had been holding it in and was roused from her thoughts slightly and glanced over her shoulder, smiling warmly at the duo before nodding slightly, "I comb it when I wash it too... the conditioner makes it easier to get any tangles out so my hair is smoother when I get out of the shower," a soft smile spread over her lips as Sasha hopped on her shoulder and she giggled slightly as the little owl decided to stay away from her wet hair, giving her a gentle pat to her head when she roosted on her lap.

It was when Lydia was actually drying her hair that James pulled his little prank and she yelped, nearly dropping the hair dryer as she jerked her feet up from the floor, dropping her brush off to the side as her hand moved to make sure she didn't squash Sasha, "something just tickled my foot!" She turned to look at James, a surprised look on her face, only to see that he wasn't there and a smile of realization crossed her features as her eyes narrowed slightly and she leaned to look behind the stool.

* * * *
​

Lydia frowned slightly in her sleep. She had been dreaming about the swimming hole at her family's country home. Everyone had been there with her, all of her new friends. She wasn't sitting off to the side on the large gnarled root where she usually read, she was in the water with the rest of them, playing and having a good time. It had started getting dark and one by one all of her friends started disappearing under the water as they jumped in, not coming up and leaving her alone under and overcast sky. She dove under the water but it was black as ink and she couldn't see anything at all, then she looked over towards the direction of her family's home and there was smoke rising into the sky. She left the water, running towards her home and as she ran the scenery changed until it was the wasteland that it had become under Valdanr's wrath, her family's home a smoldering heap in the middle of the charred and smoggy landscape. Everyone was gone and she fell to her knees, the moment her hands touched the ground, it began to crumble away beneath her until she was falling into darkness, the faint light of the sky slowly fading above her.

Her hands clenched on James' pajamas as her shut eyes squinted tightly, her body jolting awake at the sound of Renee's frantic voice and her rapid knocking at the door. Her eyes blinked open as she sat up quickly, looking around in confusion before rousing James if his sister's call hadn't awoken him. She didn't even have a chance to call back as she heard Renee's foot falls quickly heading away from the door, likely to go and let the others know that something was wrong.

Zer0 Katsuya

 

[Zer0]

- James Pendragon -
" Lydia's Room "​

Sasha also leaned to look at him with narrowed eyes, feathers disgruntled. Sniggering, James smiled cheekily up at Lydia, showing her the feather. "You two look so alike --- except you're ticked off." he added to Sasha.

Hoot

Clapping his hands clean as he stood up, he let the feather float into the trash can. "So that's the secret behind your richly verdant hair, Lydia. Conditioner." he bent, sniffing her head, then peered at her beauty potions.

He looked for a second stool and sat behind her, looking at the familiar skin for the new bruises and cuts she received from the battle today. The past six weeks had given James scars from swords at close fights, arrows from arcane archers, missiles from war engines, and that bullet from that sniper to his hip. He never knew who shot him, but hoped Minnie got him or her before he-she hurt a fellow comrade. He touched one of Lydia's marks on her arm he hadn't seen before, wondering if it was from Seth.

"Apart from the horrible things that happened this morning, was there something good that happened in your day today, Lydia?"

Roleplay Skittle
OOC | Characters | Moments in Time
​

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

Lydia hadn't really realized how similarly Sasha had reacted when James had surprised her and as he pointed it out, she couldn't help but giggle slightly and gently scoop Sasha up so she could lightly nuzzle her as she reached for her hair brush before resettling on the stool and placing Sasha back on her lap.

She blinked as James commented on her hair, blushing slightly and giving a brief shrug as he smelled her hair, "I... I guess?" Lydia didn't actually have very many beauty products, just essentials for hair and skin care and most had a lavender or vanilla scent to them.

Considering Lydia's nightgown was a simple pink princess style dress with sheer and puffy sleeves and a lower cut neckline than what she usually wore, it would be easy for James to see all of the new bruises and scrapes that were on her person. Despite various bumps and injuries from the whole year they had been travelling and fighting, Lydia didn't complain. It would have been strange for her to complain and she had long ago abandoned the practice because of her brothers. Frederick was gentle with her but he didn't seem to really know what to do when she had gotten hurt when they were younger and Thomas only ever made fun of her so in more than one way, she had developed a tough skin when it came to getting hurt. Though she did wince slightly when he touched the most prominent and fresh mark on her arm, jerking her arm away slightly as she looked to him with her brow furrowed before smiling slightly meekly and putting her hair dryer down, her hand moving to touch the mark on her arm, "it's from Seth," she said, affirming the question that he hadn't asked.

She blinked a few times at James' question, rising from her seat and moving over towards the bed, "well..." on the nightstand there was a little nest for Sasha which was really just a basket with fluff and soft blue fabric, she held Sasha on her hand and let the little owl move to the edge of the basket before she sat down on the bed, "I talked to Renee... so that was good," she smiled briefly before saying with a slight giggle, "I bet I can guess multiple good things that happened to you."

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- James Pendragon -
" Lydia's Room "​

"Ah! Sorry." said James, withdrawing his hand immediately when Lydia jerked away. He nodded at her somberly when she answered his unasked question, making a firm decision in his head that he was never going to be captured by the last deathknight and used against his friends.

When she looked to him again, she'd find him watching her fondly as she let Sasha hop into her little basket. He had returned the stool to its proper place, then he promptly dove into the other side of the bed, making the pillows jump. He looked curious as he went under the covers. "Renee talked to you . . . " he wondered why that was notably good, being a very common thing. Then again Lydia doesn't talk much, so perhaps that was why talking to Renee made her happy.

"Like what? Like this?" he hugged, snuggled into her side.

Roleplay Skittle

- Master Warship -​

Kenren hugged Chenglei for just one more moment before waking to the reality of the war. In another room, Johnny was about to return to sleep when he heard Renee's frantic yelling and the Echo's sigh. Already? They were going already?

"Morning, Love." he gave her a quick hug and a smooch. "I think you need to go now." but he was still hugging her tight.

Renee's news of the scouting group's findings made everyone up and busy that morning. There was no time to plan. The camp was roused and the dragons armored to the teeth. One thing the group had was the element of surprise. The enemy didn't know they knew the situation was dire. No fires were lit that early morning as everyone prepared for a blitzkrieg assault.

Katsuya

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

A forgiving smile spread across Lydia's lips as James exclaimed and then apologized, shaking her head, "it's alright... you didn't know... it's still a bit sore," thankfully because of Lydia's armor, while Seth's attack had broken her skin some, it was mostly just a patterned bruise that looked like her chain mail, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

When she turned to sit on the bed and saw how James was looking at her, her expression became somewhat surprised by his gaze and she glanced away, blushing slightly and smiling a bit timidly. She had only seen others gazing at their loved ones in such a way before and even then it had been rarely, she hadn't really ever thought about how James looked at her and it made her heart beat quicker and her skin feel hot when she realized that he was looking at her like that, someone was looking at her in such a way.

As James went about putting the stool away, Lydia shifted to turn the covers down on the bed and slid under the blanket before she rubbed the top of Sasha's head gently with the pads of her fingers as the little owl got comfortable in the nest, her feathers fluffing up around her little face as her eyes squinted closed slightly in happiness. Though as soon as Lydia removed her hand, she picked up the little blue stone that was woven into the friendship bracelet that Lydia had given her and began to toss it around playfully between her talons and beak.

Lydia let out a startled squeak as James dove under the blankets, bouncing on the bed along with the pillows as she held onto the covers, laughing slightly before nodding, "yes... it was... a little weird between us after what happened in your soul room..." she smiled slightly and looked down at the blanket, nestling into the fluffy pillows behind her, though she gave James a slightly perplexed look, "you hadn't noticed?" She didn't guess he might have, she hadn't spent as much time around Renee in a long time and that had been part of their discussion. She wondered if maybe she should think of something they could do together once everything was over, something for just the two of them so that maybe she wouldn't feel like she was so misplaced in her future sister-in-law's life.

She giggled slightly as James snuggled against her and gently stroked his hair, "well I was thinking more along the lines of getting Seth back and your best friend not dying..." she rubbed his shoulders gently, "but yeah... this too," the smile that was on her face played in her voice as she agreed with him.

Zer0

 

[Katsuya]

Chenglei mumbled something incoherent as he hears something from the door and felt Kenren squeezing him in a hug. His eyes lazily opened to see the darkness of a very early morning. Then he took a deep breathe and sighed before Kenren's temple. "Mornin' Ken'en...Time tuh see wha' spooked Renee..." He muttered as he sat up to face the harsh reality of war.

Once they were full awake and presentable, Chenglei started planning on attack routes for the blitzkrieg. Renee was helping map and told the oriental couple what the scouting group saw. She absolutely didn't care about having just a robe that was too loose on until Chenglei told her to go put her battle clothes on. Which she did after realizing that the guards in Kenren's room was not looking at her way modestly, and she blushed in embarrassment. Oops.

Once she got that done and over with, the Pendragon sister continued to help Chenglei and Kenren with the maps and routes Seifer described, drawing it out with the important details as possible and images of the mech-golems her little brother made. So she studied on how to disarm them in case the soldiers need it while out in the field.

Meanwhile Echo sighed again, her ears wilted as she knew she had to go...

Looks like he isn't the only one who didn't want to go.

"I know, Marshmallow..." Why did she always have to go or stay away from Johnny? It's just...not fair. With another sigh and snuggling into his warmth one more time, the fawn slowly sat up, gently squeezing his hand again as she moved to the edge. She made sure to not agitate Johnny's wounds.

"...I'll come back to you. I promise..." She's going to enjoy tying Valdanr down for hurting Johnny in the first place. "So rest, love." She leaned down to kiss his forehead and ears, all four of them.

Zer0 Roleplay Skittle

 

[Zer0]

- James Pendragon -
" Lydia's Room "​

"I noticed." said James, happily wrapping an arm around Lydia. "--- you're so cute." he suddenly added to Sasha, reaching out to rub her fluffed up head, smiling.

He put a pillow in between their bottoms before wrapping his arm around Lydia again, close enough to hold her hand, yet far enough so that he could still see her owlish green eyes as they talked. "But I thought it was just up to that day." he tucked a hair out of her face. "You and Renee were friendly to each other when me and Seifer were still in the infirmary."

His eyes twinkled when she smiled at him, and he smiled at her too, his heart swelling. "Yes." Something like a profound gratefulness crossed his eyes. He cupped her cheek and pulled back a little to look at her properly. It was the same look he gave her when she had said that she was his partner when they were in Leviathan's belly.

"Lydia, thank you for saving my brother. It would have been easy for you to subdue Seth by hurting him, but you didn't. You risked getting killed to save him without hurting him and you got hurt instead. You have a big heart, especially since all he usually does is prank you. You took care of Seifer too . . ." he looked at her like he hadn't quite met anyone like her. "You know, you don't talk much, but your deeds, they overflow and I can see it in your battalion's eyes why they follow you. My heart's swelling, and I don't have the words, I can just look at you . . ."

Roleplay Skittle

- Master Warship -​

"Take Butters, Meatballs, Soda, Sorbet, and Ginger with you!" said Johnny summoning all his war beasts and telling them Echo was their new ring leader now. Apart from Butters, they all knew her from all the times he talked to them about her and greeted her loyally, the giant boarhound licking her hair on end.

"I'll be watching, love. Take care, and whoop their buttocks!"

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

As puffs of smoke dissipated, Echo's ears perked up in surprise when she saw the group of summons all together in the somewhat cramped room. It still felt comfy though like she was together with family and they're all having a dinner together. She giggled when Meatballs licked her wavy and braided hair, closing one eyes as the saliva dripped down on her face. She lightly petted the hound in greeting as she smiled warmly at the rest with a nod. She has seen them before...from afar though and when Johnny is training with them. It's nice to really see them up close and personal.

"Hello Butters, Meatballs, Sorbet, Ginger, and Soda. Thank you for helping me." Echo said humbly then she looked over at Johnny when he cheered her on. So she grinned determinedly. "Of course! With everyone's help-" She looked at the summons in the room, mischief twinkled in her green eyes. "We'll put on a good show and make you proud. Right guys?" The fawn asked the summons as her grin grew.

She prepared Johnny's summons with armor, asking Johnny what the signals are in case she needed a reminder, and assured the summons about something. "If you guys want to, you can poof out of there anytime. I won't hold it against you and I'm sure Johnny wouldn't either." Echo wanted to make sure they knew that they can get out if the battle is too scary for them or if it's too dangerous for them to stay. She preferred they leave, stay alive, and well since they are family. "Remember, leave when and if you want to. I want you guys to stay well, okay?"

Zer0

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

Sasha paused in her tossing around of her little trinket as James reached for her, making the same squinty eyed face that she had when Lydia pet her and even offered a little cooing hoot to James, once more tossing her little pebble toy around when he removed his hand.

Lydia watched them affectionately and when James settled down to talk with her, her delicate but somewhat calloused fingers entangled with his comfortably as she scooted down on the pillows and got comfortable on his arm. She blinked a few times as he mentioned how he viewed her and Renee's interactions and laughed softly and somewhat awkwardly, "I... wouldn't exactly call that friendly..." she shrugged slightly, "just... going through motions I guess... I don't think she was mad at me, and I wasn't mad at her... it was just weird."

She continued to smile at James for a moment, though she became somewhat embarrassed and her free hand grasped the blanket over her chest nervously, her cheeks rosy as she timidly averted her gaze, smiling awkwardly for a moment; though as he spoke, her gaze drifted back to meet his and her smile faded slightly as she blinked a moment before shaking her head and looking away again, "his pranks are harmless... and I know he doesn't do them to be mean... Thomas was the same way when he was younger... and... I knew that we could get him back... we just had to stop him first," she laughed slightly, "besides, it wasn't just me... Minnie was there too, she got him in a bear hug," she laughed a little bit more at the memory, "you should have seen his surprised sheepy face, James. The moment he came to, after I shattered the object that was controlling him, he bleated and looked around in confusion, a confused sheep," she then whispered as though anyone but the three of them could hear her, "he was very cute."

A slight smirk crossed her lips then and she shrugged, "and Seifer... well... he's still one of us... even if he has no grasp on how to act around people," she laughed faintly, "well... 'commoners' as he would call us."

As James continued talking, Lydia's eyes met his and remained steady as though she couldn't look away. The look of embarrassment and the redness of her pretty face didn't diminish under James' substantial flattery, her hand coming to rest along his that had cupped her cheek, "James..." she didn't even really know what to say and under his loving gaze and her lower lip quivered gently as she drew in a shaky breath.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- James Pendragon -
" Lydia's Room "​

'You owl.' thought James, as his mouth pursed, struck by her cuteness that his heart wanted to envelope Sasha and squish her.

He looked up in thought as he listened to Lydia talk about that time with Renee. "I vaguely remember you two talking, oh but she smiled at you when she learned you took care of Seifer too." he pondered at this, that had made him think they were friends. "So it's different when ladies fight . . . " and that made him wonder how one could tell if there was something awkward between you and a lady if they still smile at you like that. It was puzzling.

He smiled when she whispered that Seth as a sheep was cute. "Seth would be indignant if he heard that." he chuckled, and was surprised the little gunner got the twin in a bear hug. "Yeah, I thanked Minnie too, but when I tried to hug her she was like Johnny, she couldn't stand it. I remember in Dalaran when we first reunited with her and Sen she was okay with hugging me, I wonder if it has something to do with how she lost her arm . . ."

When she talked about Seifer he sighed. "You're right there . . . I think people are more forgiving if someone looks good, is rich, and is good at archery. People are so superficial sometimes . . . though I think there's more to him if he makes my sister happy."

When she looked red and embarrassed, James just smiled and continued to gaze at her, rubbing her cheek, then the hand covering his own. He was like that silently, comfortably, for a long time.

Roleplay Skittle

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

Lydia laughed slightly at James' deduction of hers and Renee's interactions, "you can show gratitude towards someone and still be uncomfortable around them," she gave him a mildly bewildered look, "we actually hadn't talked very much... and I wouldn't really call it a fight... it was more... I don't know, I guess we just didn't know how to act around each other after the whole disagreement over what to do about the Nameless One's egg."

A soft giggle escaped her as James stated what Seth's feelings on how she thought of him in his sheep for would likely be and she leaned in more closely, the full scent of her lavender and vanilla beauty products mingled with a bit of mint easily smelled before she whispered, "that's why I was whispering," of course it was probably silly to be whispering now, it wasn't as though anyone could hear them except for the three of them currently in the room.

She gave a nod of her head as he continued about Minnie and her brow creased slightly, "that's... probably right... she hugged me at Luthien before they left and the portals closed and didn't seem to think anything of it," she smiled slightly, though the smile was now a bit concerned, she hadn't really noticed much around her because she had been so focused on work.

Her lips pursed slightly and she shook her head, appearing just slightly agitated, "Seifer and his relationship with Renee is something that we talked about... but she assured me of the very same... that there is more to him," she sighed softly and shook her head slightly, "sometimes I just want to punch him."

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- James Pendragon -
" Lydia's Room "​

James sniffed in Lydia's scent with pleasure. His hold became a hug, forehead and nose bumping with hers, as he snuggled closer. She was like a favorite pillow one grew up with, that has an old scent that smelled even nicer with fresh linens. He deeply inhaled, pulling her close really tight. "Girlfries . . ." he murmured with gusto, "girlvanilla, vanilla flavored girlfries Lydia --- mmmm." he growled, sniffing her hair deeply like she was his source of air.

When she talked about Seifer, James burst out laughing. "Right? I think that's how he makes everyone feel." he shook his head too, huffing sardonically.

He was silent in thought for a while, just absently rubbing Lydia's back. He yawned. "It was good that we travelled together in a group, more than four, unlike Sen, Seth, Minnie, and their guide. You didn't get captured, nor have things done to you . . . " his arms wrapped around her protectively. "Oh, have you heard, Lydia? Their guide was one of the cat-folk." he added, as though he just remembered. "I forgot his name, but he was the one together with his kin who dealt the killing blow on Gluttony, a big wolf deathknight." he chuckled. It was like cats and dogs. "It's great that they met someone like that, it's like we always meet people who help us." he smiled warmly. Like the Sea King too . . . He made a mental note to ask Minnie, Sen, and Seth the name of their guide. The twins had liked the way he spoke. He knew it started with an 'R' and it rhymed with cricket.

Roleplay Skittle

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

Those owlish green eyes close happily as James pressed his face against hers and giggled slightly, her hands curling around the collar of his pajamas. It was hard for her to believe that it had been around a year ago that she had first met James, fainting upon introduction because of a lack of oxygen exasperated by morning breath. She had thought he hadn't liked her then because of how he had avoided her and as she thought about it, she wondered if he had then had any attraction to her. Likewise, she wondered if she had any sort of attraction to him in the beginning since she had arrived with the mindset that she was going to be an old maid and no one would ever love her for who she was. She smiled coyly as he growled, her face still a bit flushed.

"Oh I'm sure he does... but I'll actually hit him," she rubbed his cheek where he had been previously bruised when Seifer had cut in where he really wasn't necessary, "especially if I find out that he hits you again," she leaned back slightly and gave him a kiss on his nose, "honestly, it's okay to be protective of the one you love, but you've sometimes got to let them fight their own battles."

As James rubbed her back, she pet his hair, running her slender fingers through the messy strands of his hair, "well... in a way... we were all trying to go unnoticed, just we managed it and they... well," she squeezed her arms around his waist slightly, "me too... I'm glad everyone is safe... it's actually pretty amazing."

"oh really? I hadn't heard... I was pretty busy when they first got back and I haven't really gotten to sit and talk with any of them since," being that she was preparing the seals, fortifying fortresses, and Seth and Sen's capture, she supposed that when all was said and done, she would be able to sit with them, "you know there are so many things that I didn't even realize actually existed before... I read about them in books but didn't know they were truly real until your father accepted me as an apprentice... while the reasons behind our travels are not the brightest... they have helped me see things that I had never even thought I would ever see."

While she was impressed that the feline guide that had helped the Pendragon twins and their quiet and somewhat intimidating (despite her small stature) secretary - had dealt the killing blow on a deathknight, she couldn't help but giggle softly, "I wonder if they gave him a title?" She nodded slightly as James went on and her fingers went back to combing through his hair, "of course... we're the good guys."

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

Episode 15: Finale

- Ruins of Paroosia -
" Last Days of Autumn"​

The war beasts roared, bleated, meowed, and glop-glop their cheer with Echo. They nodded (Meatballls just looked on absentmindedly) when she said they could poof out any time, except for Butters. The giant ram was too fond of Echo to leave her, and she was Johnny's important person, he would be grieved if something happened to her.

That early morning, Kenren joined Chenglei in the planning, giving the guards a sharp look when his love told Renee to wear her battle gear and he noticed the look they were giving her. The hallways of the warship were noisy with footsteps and calls for battle. Outside, the rain continued to pour heavily, and thunder rumbled in the distance.

James awoke, feeling hands clench his clothes, and an alarm bell went off his head that Lydia might be in pain. Then the knocking and Renee's voice, as he felt his girlfriend sit up quickly. "You okay, Lydia?" he said putting a hand on her shoulder as his will-o-wisps poof out from puffs of clouds to light up their room.

He went back into the atelier to change for battle, Pond, Frey, and Sparks already roused and ready, then met up with Lydia to go to the war room together for their orders.

The freezing rain fell in buckets as they assembled in the battlefield. A dark power was growing, broiling in the heart of the ruined city. They could feel it, a heaviness, a sense of dread, of impending doom.

James cast Blizza Garde on everyone for the cold; above, Johnny watched with Kenren atop the warship, his gaze on the battalion led by Echo. It was a hurried march to gain as much advantage as they could, and before the enemy recognized the black mass of the approaching alliance, they had crossed the battlefield half-way.

War horns blasted. The siege of Paroosia has begun.

Katsuya Roleplay Skittle

- James Pendragon -
" Lydia's Room, Yesterday "​

James smiled after Lydia's words, and kissed her nose too, snuggling to close the gap between them again. If he was a Doberman and had a tail, it would be wagging.

He nodded in agreement at her statement, though felt a little confused since Renee and him weren't fighting that time. Fighting one's own battles is good for becoming strong.

"Lydia, you make me feel weak in the knees." That reminded him of the time she spoke Frankish. "I usually don't like it when a woman protects me, but with you I like it." he looked curious as to why that was. As usual it made him feel peaceful.

He was getting pleasantly sleepy as she ran her fingers through his hair. This felt nice, especially with the cold night, being under this comfy blanket, sinking into Lydia's warmth and scent. His eyes slowly closed. "Mm." he agreed, when she said it was pretty amazing they were safe. "Sometimes it felt like a gamble where we didn't know if the ending would be good or bad."

Then chuckled when she said some of their reasons for travelling weren't the brightest. Looking back, they were just apprentices whose worries revolved around their studies and ordinary academy life, then taking on crazy challenges way beyond what was ordinary, but were things thrust upon them because nobody else could do it, or nobody else would do it. Then they discovered that they survived, handling the challenges well, and when they didn't, just somehow fixed it.

"They probably did." he murmured when she talked about the feline guide. That was another thing to ask Minnie and his brothers.

James opened his eyes. "Do you like travelling, Lydia?"

Roleplay Skittle

 

[Katsuya]

They couldn't waste a single second.

Knowing they had to rush to surprise the enemy in Paroosia and go halfway in the battlefield, the fawn stomped on the ground as she turned to everyone in her battalion. "Everyone, hang on!" The ground beneath the soldiers rose up, as if a large wave is giving them a lift as they got closer to where they needed to be. Her battalion has gotten used to her using earth spells to quickly reach their positions, if any of the other soldiers are not used to it, they would help them keep their balance and calm the horses. This helps to keep everyone still have energy to fight.

As they approached the halfway point of the battlefield, Echo let the wave of dirt meld back into the earth to let the soldiers start running or riding their warhorses as they charged to Paroosia's wall.

The siege has begun. The war horns were blown.

Zer0 Roleplay Skittle

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

James' statement made her blush and look away again, a pleased smile on her lips and shrugged her shoulders slightly, speaking softly, "w-well... um... maybe... maybe it's because... I do it because I love you and not because I want to be better than you or to prove something?"

She nodded her agreement with what James said, it did really seem like a gamble sometimes, but in her heart, she felt like she knew everything would be okay. Like they weren't set upon this quest with the possibility that they wouldn't come out victorious. In a way though, she wondered if they weren't the only ones that had ventured out as they had. They weren't the only magic users in existence and that made her question if there had been other apprentices that had made the decision to try and stop what was happening only didn't have so much success and the thought made her heart hurt. She tried to convince herself that they were the only ones crazy enough.

Lydia blinked slightly at his question. She hadn't really thought about it before, the only places she had ever traveled in her life before the castle had been inside of Frankia and really then, there were few places she had actually gone. There was the occasional trip to the coast in the summer to stay at the beach but for the most part her family stayed in the city or at their country manor. Her first big trip had been when she went to Kingsbury to join Master Howl as his apprentice. Her lips pressed together for a moment as she thought about Markl, Heen, and the Witch of the Wastes, wondering what had become of them.

"Mmm..." she thought about all of the traveling they had done and how tired it had made her a lot of the time but in the end, her answer was positive and before she gave it, she relayed the fact that she hadn't really traveled until their journey, "but... even though our reasons for traveling have been dire... I still had a lot of fun exploring and trying new things, especially with you, James."

She gave him a tender kiss before wriggling around slightly to get comfortable enough to sleep, though she didn't sleep right away, continuing to stroke James hair as she began humming, her hum growing into a soft song that she continued to sing until they both had fallen asleep.

Spoiler: Lydia's song

* * * *
​

Her wide eyes turned towards James as he asked if she was okay and she nodded, her look of sleepy surprise turning into a reassuring smile as she nodded, "it was a bad dream... one that won't be fulfilled anymore than it already has been as long as I have anything to say about it," she placed her hand on his for a moment before she tossed the covers off of her feet and began to get up, "we better hurry, it sounds like something's wrong."

Lydia gave James several, quick good morning kisses all over his face before she hurriedly began collecting her gear and once James was gone, she fitted it all on, wearing the same gear she had the previous day, her hair once more woven into a neat braid before it was wound into a large bun at the back of her head. Sasha was perched on her shoulder, looking confident and ready for action, her chest feathers fluffed up in pride as Lydia strode into the war room to join the others, her hammer hanging from the belt on her hips on one side and the branding iron with the seal for Valdanr on the other.

Once they had their orders and were on the field, Lydia pulled up the large and thick hood of the robe she wore both over and under the armor she had donned, shielding her head and face from the icy rain. A set glower was on her face as she stared at the ruined city before them, the one that they were set to invade as a final effort to rid the world of the darkness of Valdanr and his master. A mixture of emotions filled her but the ones that were at the top were fear and anger. Though no one would know what was going on in either her head or her heart because as she stood on the precipice of battle, she remained stoic, her jaw set and her fists clenched as they quickly marched onward towards Paroosia.

At the sound of the horns, Lydia remained unflinching, if anything she became more ferocious in appearance, she was ready. The world would not fall into darkness.

Zer0 Katsuya

 

[Zer0]

- Ruins of Paroosia -​

BOOM

The gates of the city fell. High above the clash of battle, the rending of shields, the spark of steel, and the plumes of fire from the machines of war, Kenren watched the army below spill on to the blackened streets and crumbling ruins.

Days before today, they had completely cut off Paroosia from the neighboring enemy fortresses, the main bulk of Chenglei's army tied up in the frantic defense and attack of their hard-worn stand in the battle field. Today the dead lay in great heaps on the ground, trampled by their foes, lingering as silent witnesses under the hard relentless rain.

Lightning struck down the alliance as the thunder roared with a fell voice in the air, the chilling menace of Valdanr for those who stood before him to have them torn, burned, bombed, and crushed into absolute annihilation.

The barbarism of the enemy was unspeakable, challenged by the heroes' ferocious determination to survive and end this darkness.

The black dragon snarled, flames leaping from his eyes. Where are they . . . the miserable worms that dared challenge him. And that wretch who had the ring . . . He will burn her this time.


Katsuya Roleplay Skittle

Spoiler: Battle

Valdanr
10/10 Hp
+6 success, heals up to 3 Hp

Giants
4/4 Hp
+4 success

Dark Army
2/2 Hp
+4 success, attack's twice.

Evil Egg
6/6 Hp
+6 success, attacks twice, will not join battle unless engaged, has family members as hostages. (Will hatch at round 7, unless the first 3 foes are defeated)

Sen
??
*Appears at round 7

Spoiler: Music

- James Pendragon -
" Lydia's Room, Yesterday "​

James' ears went red, smiling at her dearly. Lydia said she loves him. It was always special because she never throws that word around, never says it for anything lesser than just meaning it. Ahhh, what a wonderful night . . . she said it tonight . . .

He felt so happy and sighed, sniffing her hair and budging down a little to put his lips on her forehead. "Love you too." he murmured, hugging her head close. He caressed her hair ever so tenderly.

True, her protection always felt out of love and not to prove something. "That's true . . . Lydia, you just made me realize something. I feel most loved when I'm protected, like when you said you're my partner, or when you stand up for me, or my old insecurities, like when you said I am my own person . It's when I feel most peaceful."

That made him wonder when had Lydia looked like she was most loved. He ventured to guess it'd be that time when he said he'd listen to her concerns, whether it'd be financial concerns or sandwich concerns. It seems when he wasn't trying so hard that's when that smile of hers comes out and she feels so close.

As he listened to her, she was just turning his heart into a puddle again. How can he be puddled even deeper? It was like discovering a whole new state you didn't know you could be in. "Mm." he smiled, "I like hanging out with you too, Lydia. That mermaid mom was really nice when she told us all about guppies."

After the war, when they have time to relax, he's going to ask her if she wants to go exploring somewhere together. He kissed her back. "Good night, Lydia." He paused as she wriggled, then hugged her. The hand that rubbed her back slowly relaxed, as she sang, until finally James sank into a tranquil slumber.

Roleplay Skittle

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

There was no time wasted by the young witch one the enemy had realized that they were under attack. As soon as she was in range the sky had been lit up by fire raining from the heavens, burning all below that it touched like a holy flame banishing darkness. She continued these ranged attacks, sticking their enemies in place so the archers could drop more up until they met the dark army head on. She fought alongside the battalion Kenren had left in her charge, extinguishing their foes with her exorcism circle, laying them out with her hammer, and lighting them up with her fireballs. More than once her flank was protected by those that followed her into battle, though she didn't look at it as they were following her, everyone was there for one reason and that was to end the impending darkness that threatened to take over their world. Of course she was not the only one being protected as many a time her own skills served to protect those around her, the improvement to her shields blocking attacks that threatened to end any of her comrades as well as her own vicious attacks ending those that would hurt her allies.

The noise of the battle was furious. The sound of the rain beating down on them as they fought only increasing the noise created by the war cries from both sides, explosions, steel on steel and steel alike, the shouts of the wounded and dying. There was no time to lose focus, but everyone did what they could to help those that had fallen before continuing the push. Lydia paused at the sound of Valdanr's roars, the crease in her brow deepening before she fell another enemy. Valdanr was angry by choice. Valdanr had nothing to fuel him outside of his own hatred. Lydia on the other hand was fueled by the rage of the injustice of his actions. She was fueled by the hope she had for the world. She was fueled by her love of the things that existed on this planet. Her drive was so much stronger than any of those siding with Valdanr, the desire for life was always greater than the desire for death and she would not let Valdanr succeeed. She would not let the Nameless One's spawn rule.

Drawing in a deep breath she released her own dragon-like roar, her cry rumbling the land below the army's feet and causing many a foe and ally alike to falter in their actions for just a moment. She wanted Valdanr to know she was going to cut through this army of heretics. She was going to come for him.

Despite her desire to gain on Valdanr quickly and end him, that did not impede her ability to utilize proper judgement. She had been facing down against the army preventing their immediate assault on Valdanr and she wasn't going to suddenly abandon that path to quickly make her way to their primary targets, doing that would be a combination of stupidity and insanity because she knew she couldn't face him alone, especially not with what they had planned despite him knowing their plans. Her actions were still calculated and precise and she felt it the most important to cut down the army first, and so she continued her assault on the ones that were currently standing between herself and her quarry, raining fire on any of the dark army that still remained in the path of herself and her comrades.

Zer0 Katsuya

Spoiler: Lydia's Stats

3/3HP
Enchanted Masterwork Weapon, One-handed (1-6) || Conjuration (1-9)
Phy. Def. 7 || Mag. Def. 7 +2 Warlock's Regalia = 9 || Percep. 7 +1 Spyglass = 8
x5 Riftcrystal || x4 Crystal Ball || x2 Good Luck Charm

 

[Katsuya]

Chenglei lead his men into battle as lightening struck down from the clouds above. Plumes of smoke and fire smouldered the air as the battle at Paroosia's walls started. With savage and graceful swings of his sword while kicking his enemies off after stabbing; the blonde soldier couldn't hear the thundering steps of a giant from the noise around him. Nor did he notice the darkening shadow because of the dark clouds above until he was forced to look up from defeating a flying shade.

A giant stared down with a deafening roar and within the instant that it's club went down to strike, the soldier's pupils dilated like that of a dragon's and quickly cut it up into pieces with his wind sickles that was flung from his amethyst blade. Golden scales melded onto his skin as his body elongated like that of a majestic long dragon. Silva-covered teeth crackling with lightening of his own, roaring back the challenge, the golden dragon bit down the giant's shoulder and neck for the kill. His tail whipping away the other oncoming giant behind him as the light from the storms gleamed on his scales.

It wasn't the first time he transformed. It was usually during his training with Renee over the Storm Wall and he never changed in front of his men in fear of overestimating his self control; but right now...he has to use it. He has to give his all and if that means to risk of the possibility with going berserk, then he will. As the giant fell, Chenglei strikes another giant monster along side the other dragons. With a mighty roar, he let them know to give their all. Not just to the dragons, but his own men and friends as well. Because he is sure as the sun goes up everyday, that he will be doing the same.

Echo kicked shades off the ram's saddle as he butted against the enemy soldiers with his giant horns. Sorbet was freezing them, Ginger did her best at scratching them, Soda drowned them, and Meatballs burned them as he growled menacingly. The fawn made sure to keep an eye on her beau's summons in case they couldn't handle the battle anymore. However with the overwhelming numbers aiming at them, she had enough. Her green eyes turned acidic as she stomped on the ground and with a familiar stance, the earth moved, thick black vines grew out and entangled anyone in the dark army. Her hair billowed a bit as she sweep her hoof and tossed her enemies around with the vines.

As the battle raged on, Renee fired her blue arrows along side with Lydia's fireballs, raining down on the giants. The Pendragon sister wanted to face Valdanr, knowing for sure that he's looking for her specifically. Given what he has said through Seifer when he was a deathknight, she's the one who gave him the most trouble, it seems. More so then Chenglei and Kenren, oddly enough. However she needed to fight the enemies in front of her first before getting to the evil black dragon that serves under the evil egg. 'So no one will stop us from fighting against him.' She thought as she rammed the end of her bow to an enemies' face before knocking her sunlight arrow and aiming it at it's chest; her arrow hit and it disappeared screaming in pain.

Zer0 Roleplay Skittle

 

[Zer0]

- Ruins of Paroosia -​

Kenren's jaw dropped. Chenglei's awesomeness just sky-rocketed. He leaned over the balcony staring with Johnny as the heroes mowed down chunks of their foes like boots crushing swarms of ants.

Lydia's roar of challenge boomed across the battlefield, and Valdanr's fiery fury made the storm thunder. Dark wings unfurled, and with a fell voice that seeped like venom chill through the bones, unleashed a spell that caused the shades to go berserk. He soared into the fray.

It was instinct that made him move, a dread feeling. "Protect Renee!" commanded the prince suddenly. The air fleet took the brunt of the blows as the berserk shades tore recklessly at the flying archer without regard to their lives; four warships crashed in a blazing furnace, but Renee was safe; Valdanr shattered the alliance formations in an earth shattering landing, a gust of dust and ash blowing all away. And there he stood in front of Lydia, surrounded by his shades.

The shadow monsters were doing something odd, they were crawling on him, hardening into armor licked by flames. 'INSOLENT WRETCH. WHO ARE YOU TO ROAR YOUR CHALLENGE AT ME?' he seethed at her, as the darkness surrounded him, spiraling into snatching claws and wicked spikes. Fierce fury was in his glare, as he withstood her blows.

And then the darkness felled her.

"LYDIA!" her friends' strangled voices cried desperately.

Valdanr's evil was encompassing her, making her part of him, but she was still alive. He knew what they were going to do, so the darkness dragged her unconscious form over his burning heart. She was now his hostage.

Katsuya Roleplay Skittle

 

[Katsuya]

Renee's eyes widened in surprise when the shades started to go berserk, chirping in alarm when they recklessly attacked. A few managed to clip her wing and gave her scratches on her arms but they were stopped by the air fleet whom took the brute of the crazy attacks. Sucking in the soot-floating air, disturbed but grateful as her eyes teared up, the Pendragon sister sniffed and turned to coldly glare at the one who caused this whole war in the first place.

Valdanr . . . That fat sorry of an excuse of a lizard-!

She flew to the back of his head, knocked her arrow, aimed and-

Down below, heavy hooves of a large fluffy ram stomped as he hopped over enemy soldiers' heads and kicking them to the ground. Sitting on Butters' saddle (with permission from the ram, of course), is Echo with her war hammer out and growing in size; big enough to hit a dragon. When the ungulate pair got close enough, the fawn wound up as if to hit a baseball and-

Wham-!

Swung her massive hammer on Valdanr's front legs.

'That was for Johnny, you overgrown -!' Echo cursed at the evil dragon. Her acidic green eyes gleamed in her quiet and growing anger.

At the same time, one large ballistic ball of light hit the evil dragon from the back of his head. Renee dived down to quickly fly around the evil dragon as Butters ran from him. Echo's hammer kept out but shrinking to it's normal size again.

"Thanks Butters!" Echo yelled gratefully at her friend, her ear perked behind her to keep track on the evil lizard.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Ruins of Paroosia -​

James went numb.

"James, get back to your position." said Kenren's voice sternly over and over again, but it seemed far away. Before James knew it, he had abandoned his post and mounted Frey, galloping for Valdanr. All the world disappeared and all he could see was Lydia. He had never been so terrified in his life. Stop, stop, don't touch her!

His summons seemed to sense his urgency and desperation. They carved a path through the giants, Pond unleashing a cataclysmic tornado, while Sparks at last did his master's bidding and called forth a thunderstorm from the clouds.

Valdanr clashed with Echo, strength against strength, roaring as a colossal claw came down on her and Butters, but WHAM! --- his front legs cracked under the hammer.

"ECHO, DON'T LET VALDANR FALL FORWARD!" yelled James, Lydia would get crushed.

Those front legs couldn't hold the dragon's weight, and a furious gale howled as the deathwing flapped his wings to stand upright. He opened his maw and unleashed a firestorm upon them.

"Echo, hold him down! Renee, we'll hide in the flames, fly us up and cast your spell, let's end this!" said James.

High above, Kenren leaped down from the warship a brightly glowing flare in hand, falling slowly from Johnny's spell; "Chenglei, Kenren's calling you, master warship, he's free falling, flare signal." said James voice.

"Chenglei, help Echo hold Valdanr down, I'll pull Lydia out --- leave her to us James, Renee!" said the prince once he reunited with his purring --- roaring dragon.

Katsuya Roleplay Skittle

 

[Katsuya]

Closing her eyes, Echo sat up straight and took a deep breathe. Then she sang her spell as she got down from Butters, her hand holding tightly on his fluffy wool as some sort of line to reality. Her hair and druid like clothing billowed as she opened her eyes again; glowing a raging white. Even Butters' wool and loose parts of his saddle are billowing for being near the fawn as her mother's earth spell did it's work.

The earth beneath and around Valdanr erupted, cracking and molding to shape around the enraged and fiery dragon. Layers and layers of dirt with blackened vines held his lower feet down. Then it melded upwards to his hips and tail, crawling closer to his wings . . .

The Pendragon sister wasted no time on helping her brother as she understands how he felt at that very moment. She understands it very well and will help him to end this whole mess once and for all. So she flew close to James and Frey, quickly picking James up with her talons mid jump over a dead body and hid under the spewing flames of the large evil dragon.

Chenglei, after hearing James, reunited with his Peach prince and let him climb on to fly towards Valdanr to help Echo hold him up . . .

Once she was high enough, Renee transformed back and the siblings are free falling. Grabbing James' hand, she casts her spell; a burst of shimmering water splashed out of her chest to form large watery wings. When they fell close to the massive dragon's chest, she changed back into a harpy and touched it with a clawed hand. The other gripping tightly on her brother's.

They are coming in his soul-! Whenever he likes it or not-!

Spoiler: Aria's last song for Echo

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Valdanr's Soul -​

Foolish worms, diving headlong into his fire. But to Valdanr's surprise, he felt something touch his flesh, piercing through his core. There down below was that wretched girl's brother, burned but still alive, surrounding himself and his sister with a fire charm.

'DIE!'

Suddenly the broken claw he was to crush them with bounced off a powerful shield that looked like encompassing wings. Valdanr looked down to see the steely eyes of James Pendragon burning with a furious desperation to save --- BOOM --- he was outbalanced by a serpent of gold, as at the same time the earth was trying to swallow him.

ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR

The deathwing thrashed, burning, slashing Chenglei; the tangle of limbs quaking the earth, sending Echo and Butters flying; "Go, James, I've got Lydia!" said Kenren leaping down his wrestling dragon to protect the unconscious witch and try to set her free. He held on for dear life. "Keep him steady, hang in there, Chenglei!"

Without a moment to lose, James plunged into Valdanr's soul with Renee.

* * * *​

It was a dark, burning land that somehow felt familiar . . . Ragnite, red crystals just like philosopher's stone were growing from the lava. There was a familiar mist here too . . . It was the Badlands on the other side of the Storm Wall, yet Renee and James could tell it was a different time.

As the fog rolled away, they saw in a clearing of blackened stones, a ring of ebony dragons listening to a thing that was shrouded in a darkness as deep as an endless abyss. From a glance one could tell it was not something you talk to, because it was all the bad in the world that sided with your darkness, and made the evil within you greater than yourself.

It's voice fed their greed, their vanity, their anger, their lust, their gluttony, their pride, and their lethargy, yet instead of horror, these black dragons were adoring it. And this ' thing ' was teaching them how to do the same.

One particular dragon, a magnificent one whose fire shone brightest among them, listened hungrily. It was Valdanr, but much, much younger . . .

Suddenly the scene changed, and now that magnificent dragon was roaring triumphantly over the corpse of another, while in the background, a crowd of black dragons were weeping and roaring in anguish. But instead of making him more regal, the victorious smile it wore made it look more bestial . . . .

Now it seemed there was a war among the black dragons, led by the magnificent one who was much, much bigger than the rest, and yet somehow more warped, looking more and more like the Valdanr of today.

And then there he was looking down over a dark army so vast they covered the land. Beside him were seven others, the greatest, the most powerful and at their forefront was their leader, the thing that gave them everything they wanted, their master, the one whose name until now escapes even his servant, for the ancients took it away when he had been sealed.

And now they were in front of a gate James saw once before. The gate that sealed Valdanr. There was Hisaya, looking unlike himself, as though he was dazed and in a dream, casting an evil spell that made a tiny crack on the gate, and from there, the essence of Valdanr seeped out . . .

A cruel laugh echoed around the black dragon's soul . . . "You worms. You came in here to die."

James turned around, something menacing and loathsome was looking at them. Something like the thing, but not really. It was an evil soul without mercy, that reveled in pain. "How can you kill me if you don't have her?"

Lydia's body appeared suddenly in front of them, very pale, and unmoving. "Get out of my soul. Kill me, she dies, and there will be nothing but endless torment for her. We will never be parted. She will suffer for all time, with me."

Katsuya