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

[Roleplay Skittle]

-VICTORY!-
​

Lydia was still sobbing when the cries of battle turned to cheers of victory. Her breaths slowed and steadied, her eyes puffy from the strain of wind, smoke, and crying. She didn't think of the hankie she had tucked beneath her armor, instead wiping at her eyes and face with the ball of her hand as she looked around, realizing that it was over. They had won.

That was when she heard someone shout her name as she watched the rest of the citizens of Holt chasing off the remaining army, the part of the army that was alive. And she looked around in confusion before she looked back to the remnants of what had been the Death Knight. She had learned her lesson the first time with the core and she didn't want to touch what she decided was the core of the monster she had just defeated. She unfastened her armor, leaving her in black breeches and a billowy black blouse, covering the object with her armor and wrapping it up before she took note of the little jar with the white leaf in it. Her brow furrowing. She didn't really understand what it was, but before she could really contemplate it... Johnny was hugging her? Her green eyes widened as she looked to him, then Echo... then James where he wailed over Seth's body.

Johnny's yelling urged her into action and scrambled on her hands and feet towards the direction Renee had flown, finally gaining her balance and wholeheartedly running to her and sliding to a stop as she began checking her vitals, her emotions running rampant again. It was like a waterfall in her eyes and she was having problems stopping the flow, her sobs escaping her as she tried to focus and wipe her tears away at the same time, "Renee!!! Wake up!"

Zer0 Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

Echo ran up to Johnny and Lydia, hugging them both as she wept in joy and sadness. "Thank Merlin-! You are okay! You're both okay!!" The fawn exclaimed, squeezing them tightly before letting them go with a devastated smile and laughed quietly. It's bittersweet: they won, but lost two of their friends in this battle and even worse...

The fawn looked over to where James is, clutching onto Johnny and nuzzled under his chin as she couldn't handle seeing the proud oldest Pendragon cry like this. It was such a depressing scene and her tears fell down her cheeks, sobbing into Johnny's chest as Lydia went looking for Renee.

Oh god, what about her best friend?!

Well she woke up to Lydia's voice, her eyelids fluttered slowly as she tries to sit up and grabbed her hands with her own bruised ones. "Ly-Lydia? I'm o-okay...ish...." Renee muttered before wincing as her tiny broken wings tried to move. She could hear the cheers of the people and concluded in her mind...that...

They won...but at what cost is what her mind bugged her about.

"Lydia...please, help me up? I-I need to see if anyone needs help..." Once the little witch helped her to stand, Renee stumbled and limped to where Johnny, Echo and James are, taking in the scene with her own bloodied eyes before spotting the three vials with the different colored leaves in them...

Hmm...maybe...

The winged Pendragon had to take her time limping to collect all the vials, feeling this weird tug in her heart that's telling her to handle them with care...Why, she wondered absentmindedly. Renee summoned Mica, appearing in a small puff smoke and she could hear her familiar squeak in worry and panic. She shook her head and told him not to worry much. She went through worse injuries than this...

"Echo? Can...can you get Serena's body and put it next to Seth's?" Renee asked and the fawn nodded as she lets go of Johnny and gently carried the violinist's body to where James is, laying hers near Seth's.

"Mica...please heal them...James, everything is gonna be alright." Renee muttered to her crying and panicking brother, sitting next to him as the ferret nuzzled Seth's chest, a transparent aura-like light pulsed over the twin's body.

"Look..." Renee showed him the vials in her cradling arms and picked one that she felt was...her little brother, the one with the autumn colored leaf...

"Here...Give this back to Seth...he's gonna need it, James..." She did the same and picked up the vial with the blue leaf and placed it over Serena's chest, praying that she was right about these vials.

Renee held onto the last and precious vial in her arm like it was a newborn baby.

Zer0 Roleplay Skittle

 

[Zer0]

- James Pendragon -
" Holt "​

"No, it's not!" yelled James at Renee in a cracked voice, very upset, overwhelmed by grief at the sight of Serena's limp body too, her nose broken and her face badly bruised. It took a while to get him to let go of Seth. "Wh - what is this?" he looked at the bottles. He didn't understand what they were.

When the bottles were placed over Seth and Serena's chests, the lights inside grew brighter, and felt warmer to the touch, the leaves inside swirled and shook against the glass as though wanting to get out, but they couldn't. The vials could not be opened nor broken through force. Whenever they were taken away from the bodies their lights faded sadly and the vials grew cold, but the autumn leaf always faced and floated towards the direction of Seth's body, while the azure blue one faced Serena's body.

The white leaf vial in Renee's hands was icy cold, and faced north east.

Johnny gave Echo the sweetest of kisses on her forehead as he held her tight, gripping the back of her shirt because he needed her comfort too. "Echo, Lydia, what are those vials?" he sniffed.

After listening to their explanations and the whole story of what happened, James took deep breaths and calmed down somewhat.

"S-so, this is Seth's soul . . ." pointed James at the autumn leaf vial. "And this is Serena's. We need to go back to the deathknight's tent. There may be a book there, something that could tell us how to put them back."

Turned out there was such a book in the deathknight's tent: Libris Mortis. An evil, dangerous book that the warlocks who accompanied them to the now abandoned enemy camp had to seal because it seemed to be cursed, with a malicious will of its own. There were forty-eight other glowing leaf vials in a cursed locked chest that the warlocks opened at the cost of a hand. This chest had many key holes, where at the turn of a different key in a different hole changed the contents of the chest.

And by some powerful enchantment, one of the contents of the chest was a stone stairway that led to a small underground laboratory where bodies were lying on the table, and one of these bodies was Seifer's. It had been cut open, and some red crystal just like the one the deathknight had in its chest sat where his heart should have been.

It seemed that the deathknight had been preparing to seal the surgical incision with some magic and some tools for a finished spell circle shining red with blood and glowing as though with an inner fire had been drawn around the heart. The red crystal was pulsing, Seifer was still alive.

And the book Libris Mortis seemed to contain all the answers they needed.

Katsuya Roleplay Skittle

OOC || Characters || Interest Check​

 

[Katsuya]

-Renee Pendragon-​

Mica finished healing Seth's body, closing the puncture wounds in his lungs, and went on to Serena's, nuzzling on her cheek as the light aura-like glow appeared again. Anyone could see the cracked bones on the blonde's nose and face moved as it went back into it's rightful places.

That explains why the leaf in these vials were reacting to Seth's and Serena's bodies. Renee listened to Echo's and Lydia's explanation of what happened, nodding as she gently pulled the vial in her hands towards her chest where her heart is. It felt cold and she knew based on how warm the other two vials were reacting to their bodies that this one is supposed to be warm too. So she tries to keep it warm as much as she could with her own body heat.

Somehow, Renee couldn't help but think- no, believed that in this vial is Seifer's soul...

Renee went with James to go to the enemy camp while Echo stayed with Johnny on watching over the bodies and their souls, making sure that no one mishandles them. The white-haired Pendragon just followed to where the leaf was pointing at, leading her to the chest that has many locks and went through the stone stairway to see the small laboratory.

Swallowing her sobs down, Renee took a deep breathe as she walked closer to the archer's body and watched if the leaf reacted to his body or not...

It did though weakly...

"Ja-JAMES!! SEIFER-! HE'S HERE!!! HE'S STILL ALIVE!!!" Renee's very loud scream echoed through the stone stairway, sounding relieved but pained.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- James Pendragon -
" Abandoned Deathknight's Tent "
​

The white leaf vial in Renee's hand glowed brightly and grew warm in her hand; the leaf inside whirled and twirled trying to get to Seifer's body.

"What did that necromancer do to him?" said James staring at the red crystal in the archer's chest. "Was he turning him into a deathknight?"

This opened up a lot of questions. So, deathknights were created using living creatures and this red crystal. Whatever it was James did not touch it, nor any of the bodies. It seemed among all the corpses that had their hearts cut out, only Seifer was alive. From what they could gather in the notes scattered around the room, this crystal was called a Philosopher's Stone and it was made by the dark dragon using shards of its own heart, fusing it with thousands of souls of the children of men, and then binding all together with a piece of the essence of a manna tree.

Not all bodies can accept the Philosopher's Stone, only one percent out of the millions of creatures in all the nine realms can, and apparently Seifer was one of them. Though why, no one was sure, but the notes said that his new name was to be, "Pride."

"This abomination should be destroyed and all the knowledge in this room." said Duke Maguire who followed them, ordering his warlocks to cast an incinerating arcane trap so that they can annihilate Seifer's body once they were out.

The duke, his people, and his entire army had been more than overwhelmingly thankful for what Lydia, Renee, Echo, James, and Johnny had done, and so anything the two Pendragons say would determine what's to happen here.

To the eyes of all of Holt, they were heroes, saviors exalted beyond the admiration and praise for the duke, princess, and even Kenren Taisho.

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

-Renee Pendragon-​

"Yea...it seems that way." Renee responded as she looked at the white leaf that seemed more alive now and a small smile appeared on her face.

She's glad Seifer's soul is okay now, but she didn't touch anything in case she messed something up nor did she go near his body to put the vial on top. The white-haired Pendragon was afraid of losing her friend? again. Instead she looked at the notes that Wrath made, reading through it quickly until she reached the explanation and the title he was going to give Seifer.

"Pride?...Ha...Hahah! Oh Merlin, even the Deathknight knew you were such a prideful brat, Seifer." Renee quietly chuckled at the vial, her bandaged wings twitched in her bitter mirth. It's rather dark, to think that Seifer was about to be a deathknight too...what sort of battle would they have to go through if that was the case?

"Thank Merlin we found you now instead of later, you bleeding troll." She talked with the little white leaf, already thinking that he could probably hear her like the plants at her garden back home. When the Duke mentioned about burning this place however, including the bodies, Renee quickly spun around with a panicked glen in her bright orange eyes. What-?!

"Please wait, Duke Maguire." The tiny archer walked up to the duke with a small frown, her wings fluttered a bit. "I think it might be better if we take him and this book with us at least. It might hold the answers to how to stop the dragon or maybe reverse what happened to Seifer."

"Besides he's the one who helped bring the scrying mirror to Holt as well as kept me and my family and friends safe. So please, I beg of you as someone who just wants to repay him back, let us take Seifer's body too." Renee pleaded, curtsying to the Duke with her head down to show her honesty on how she felt about this.

Zer0

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

-Abandoned Deathknight's Tent-
​

Echo's hug had been well appreciated, she had a very motherly warmth to her and it was comforting.

Once Renee was awake, Lydia calmed somewhat, gently squeezing her hands as she took her own and offering her a relieved smile. Her expression alternating between one of worry and one of relief as Renee spoke. When asked, Lydia obliged, not only helping Renee up, but walking with her over to the others as well, lending her a shoulder to lean on. She watched carefully as Renee moved about collecting the small vials with the leaves, offering help whenever it was needed. She had seen the one vial with the white leaf but hadn't had time to consider it, and upon seeing the other two vials as Renee scooped them up, it occurred to her what they actually were.

As Renee began directing the others, she saw that her idea was right. She had been steadily clearing her face of tears and now some of that joy returned to her. There was still hope. The reaction of the leaves inside the bottle only sealed that belief. Just that little light made Lydia feel a little better, and the idea that her assumptions could actually be right made her feel a sense of pride. She wanted to hold someone's hand just to feel the warmth and share the feeling that was overcoming her, but there wasn't anyone whose hand she could hold so she ended up just squeezing her own hands together in front of her.

After she had helped Echo explain about the vials, she agree with James concerning the book... that had been her goal from the moment she had heard about Seifer and snapped out of her melancholy. Despite her all over exhaustion from just... everything, she was excited at the prospect of heading to the tent and seeing what they could learn and as Renee chose to go too, she felt all the more secure with the idea and stuck close by Renee.

She was attentive as the warlocks worked in the tent sealing and unlocking whatever needed to be dealt with, learning whatever she could from them, though committing it to memory since she couldn't exactly write anything down and now just wasn't the time for it. She was awed by the discovery of the staircase and looked around intently as she followed behind Renee. She didn't see Seifer past her shoulder and only became aware of him when Renee stopped and she bumped into her back. She Peered around her and covered her own mouth as it fell open in horror at the sight of his violated body, her hand quickly moving to clench Renee's as the Pendragon sister began screaming for her brother to aware him of what they had discovered.

Upon seeing the reaction of the leaf to the archer's body, Lydia couldn't help but gasp in relief behind her hand, a hesitant laugh escaping her. He was alive. She nodded to what James said, in agreement after having collected the crystal from the other Deathknight and this definitely looked the same. That would have been so incredibly awful, she didn't even want to think about it. She was just grateful that they found him and that there still might be a chance to save him and bring him back.

Lydia carefully helped James and Renee comb through all the notes as they pieced together the history and point of everything that had apparently gone on in the room. She tried not to think about the fact that they were in a room full of corpses because that was just unnerving. When Renee discovered the paper that had the title Seifer would be given as a Deathknight, Lydia read over her shoulder, smirking as Renee chuckled. The Deathknight really had his number, it was frightening in a way to think that they would have had to face down against him if they hadn't ended the other Deathknight there.

Duke Maguire's words stunned Lydia just as much as they did Renee and she found her hand grasping at Renee's once again. It seemed she just felt very secure in the other teen's presence. She didn't speak as Renee pleaded with the Duke, though she did curtsy when Renee did and gracefully bow her head as well before she spoke, "he wouldn't even be here now if he hadn't have risked is life to help the Princess and the people of Holt."

Zer0 Katsuya

 

[Zer0]

- Goodbye Holt -​

The duke considered this for a moment, then said, "Very well, but he must be sealed inside an arcane barrier. I will not risk the lives of the men, women, and children in the airships. If he turns on us, we will cut him down." he looked firmly at Renee, Lydia, and James.

"Understood. I will watch over him." volunteered James. "And cast my own shielding charms around him too."

Duke Maguire listened to all they had to say, and by the end of the day, they were saying good bye to Holt, the duke, and the citizens who decided to stay in the city to rebuild, as they boarded Kenren Taisho's war ship, rose up into the sky, and flew off for the magic city of Dalaran, a one week flight across the Shoflo Ocean.

- Kenren's Master Warship -
" Night time, Celebrations "​

Kenren Taisho is a prince of the Orients, and the heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne. He is one of many sons born to the Emperor by his concubines, who had proven himself worthy of the title above all his many brothers and sisters.

At twenty four years of age, he was a young war general, clever, and innovative and had been chosen by his father to represent their people in this war against the dragon, yet it was no secret that many were still trying to assassinate him and balk his plans since defeat here would bring dishonor to the emperor enough to anger him to pick another heir.

He welcomed everyone to his airships and provided food, medicine, clothes, and rooms for the survivors; his own engineers and warlocks also began repairing Holt's damaged airships.

Lydia, Renee, Echo, Johnny and James were invited to stay in his main warship, a colossal vessel that was more like a flying imperial palace, a bit similar to Howl's Flying Castle except much more spacious and without a magic door; Seth and Serena's bodies were placed in a private ward protected by spells, while Seifer's body was kept under lock in a cell bolstered by powerful enchantments; Everyone was given a private room, though Lydia and James were given another big room where they could do their research, while Echo and Renee were shown the imperial soldier's training grounds where they could improve their combat skills, and Johnny was shown a room where his summons could stay.

They were given new clothes and armor too as gifts, though they were of an Oriental style. That night the people mourned their dead and celebrated their victory afterwards. Renee, Echo, and most of all Lydia were the center of attention as they were asked to recount again and again how they defeated the deathknight, a lot of people wanted to be in their presence, and everyone looked up to them in awe.

They were even given names: "Lydia Death Bane" , "Echo Doom Hammer", and "Renee Storm Cleaver"

Katsuya Roleplay Skittle

 

[Katsuya]

-See ya later, Holt!!-​

Renee sighed in relief, squeezing Lydia's hand back as a quiet way of saying 'thanks'.

"Thank you, Duke Maguire. Thank you so much." Her warm gratefulness rang in her voice as she looked up at the Duke, smiling wide and her wet teary eyes glowed as bright as the sun's afternoon light.

***

In her private room, Renee sighed as her bandaged wings limped as the memory of seeing her little brother and friend's bodies popped in her mind; she's sitting on the tatami mats with a very fluffy red pillow, her elbows are placed on the dark colored low table and cradling her head. It's really hard to see them like that, being very still when they were the types to move around and play and dance and do flips...

Even worse, Seifer's body is in a cell, for crying out loud, but she couldn't complain as the Duke had the people's safety in mind and that's okay with her. At least James and Lydia can figure out what to do for him and maybe change that crystal into his real heart or something? Once again, she sighed before looking at the three vials across from her.

"...but at least your souls are safe now." muttered Renee, her small worried frown turned into a sweet smile as she watches the leaves twirl around in the little vials. They were placed on a puffy blanket and pillow as a makeshift nest with a basket to hold it steady, an arching weaved handle for her to pick it up whenever she needed to. She wanted them to stay warm while away from the bodies and under her watchful eye so no one can break them or harm her friends and brother. She'd beat them senseless if anyone tried that.

Mica was sleeping on her bed, curled into a semi-circle and full from the prime meat that Renee managed to get from the cooks of the warship. His fur is knot-free and he smelled like green tea from the shampoo the Pendragon washed him with while taking a bath herself. She smelled like soft and blooming cherry blossoms in spring.

After a few more moments in the peaceful quietness, the door slammed open as seven oriental women poured in her room, alarming Renee as she grabbed her bow and aimed at them, a solar arrow knocked ready. Her glare heated fiercely at them, not taking chances when she has very precious items in her keep. Some of the younger women(the ones who looked about the same age as her) froze at the sight of her weapon, scared that she might shoot, but the eldest woman who looked around her eighties stepped up with a gentle smile on her wrinkly face.

"Good day, Ms. Pendragon. We are sent here by the prince to keep you satisfied until we arrive Dalaran." The elderly lady bowed her head as she couldn't bow with her weak limbs. "My name is Saiko Nanami. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Renee didn't move as she inspected the group of women in front of her from her spot. Then she relaxed her stance and sat back down but kept her bow in hand. "Sorry...I'm a bit jumpy nowadays..."

"It is no problem, Ms. Pendragon. I understand: War is a terrible thing, to affect even the youngest like you kids...it's rather saddening." Saiko consoled, waving the other women to come in and close the door behind them. Renee nodded in agreement, her face stayed wary as she looked at the basket again...

...and let a sweet smile appear again. The other women relaxed around her when they saw her warm expression, muttering quietly to each other as they whispered behind their large sleeves. Saiko cleared her throat to shut them up and spoke again to Renee.

"Now Ms.Pendr-"

"Please. Call me Renee."

"...Renee, we are here to help you with changing into these clothes."

Huh? What? Why? Did she get cursed to always be clothed by others somehow?! Renee tensed up when she saw Saiko's eyes glean with intent. Oh no...

"Please don't. I-I don't want to impose on Ken-chan-"

"We must, Renee. Girls, change her."

"W-wait-! No-! It's okay-! I don't- Ack!"

***

"There! Now you are dressed like a refined woman from our country. Come down whenever you are ready to celebrate, Renee." Was the last thing she heard from Saiko who closed the door and Renee groaned, covering her painted face with her hands.

"Why? Why is it always me?! First Auntie Mel, then Serena and Echo, now them! Who else?! Who else is going to dress me up like a doll?! Huh!?! Tell me!" She yelled at the ceiling almost begging for anything, anyone!, to tell her the answer, a blush dusted her cheeks red from all this girly-ness that she has to go through.

The kimono she wore are in many shades of grey-blues, golden outlines of the floral designs, small frills, and trimming popped brightly against the dark blues. It contrasted well with the light blues and white flowers that were on her poofy frilled obi, white high thigh socks and light blue shoes. The many tiny bells rings a light and sharp noise from her obi and hair ornaments.

Renee made sure to take off the crown-like part of the ornaments, leaving only the white flowers and bells clipped to her short hair and long braid. Her make-up was light, with only a pale pink gloss and white highlights on her eyelids.

All in all, Renee really hated that people tend to do this to her. Apparently, the women chose this outfit for her as it represented her title as a Storm Cleaver thanks to the colors. Weirdos.

She sighed and picked up the basket before leaving the room.

"Maybe Lydia has a better chance to getting away from them then me?" The pendragon sister walked over to where she believed Lydia would be, hoping to talk with her.

Zer0 Roleplay Skittle

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

-Kenren's Master Warship-
​

Lydia nodded her understanding to the Duke as he relayed his conditions of them keeping both the book and Seifer's body, "thank you very much, sir," Lydia beamed. For the first time in a while, that cheerful smile she had previously displayed so often showed itself once again. They had accomplished great things and this was just a bonus to that.

Her smile brightened as James offered his aid to keep Seifer in check and doing so, ensuring the safety of everyone else aboard the airship.

* * * *
​

Lydia was awed by Kenren Taisho. His attractiveness rivaled even Seifer's and she couldn't help but notice that. Learning more about him from asking his servants and various people aboard his airship, she only became that much more impressed. His generosity impressed her more so as it was not just generosity, but kindness in a way. And she was absolutely ecstatic about the study space he had given she and James.

She was so pleased with the space that she set right to work, determining that they should probably figure out how to fix Seifer's body before Serena and Seth's simply because he had been without his soul the longest and suffered the most damage at the hands of the Deathknight. This was also a way of getting her mind off of her failures in the battle. True they had been victorious, but as a mage, she was completely inept. At least working through problems involving magic came relatively easy, it was just the actual application where she struggled.

Having delved deep into her studies she had actually managed to forget an important book, the one she had gotten from the goblin camp on Shadowmancy. She sighed wearily, yawning as she put her glasses down neatly beside what she had been working on before rising from her chair and stretching as she walked down the halls and back to her room to retrieve the book from among her belongings. The most important books and study items for their task were already in the room they had been given, but she still had a few smaller tomes that she had yet to determine if they were very worthwhile, the titles just seemed like they could be applied to the task at hand and so she had borrowed them with permission from Duke Maguire.

She had her hand on the door of her private quarters when she was approached by a little old Asian woman followed by a crew of younger women, all carrying clothing items, makeup, hair styling utensils, and so on. Lydia knew this image well. The only difference was that her mother wasn't at the front of the group. She smirked slightly, "I suppose you are here to help me dress?"

"Yes, Miss Dubois. The prince has asked us to look after yourself and your lady friends as well."

"Very well," Lydia easily relented. Much as she usually relented to her mother. Though these circumstances were slightly different, who was she to decline the hospitality of a prince? She opened the door to her quarters and stepped in, allowing the other women to follow before closing the door behind them and walking to the middle of the room, letting them get to work.

* * * *
​

It was some time before the women left her. They had clothed her in shades of navy and periwinkle with accents in gold and purple. It was a short dress that tied around her neck in a halter top cut with the shoulders bared up to where long bell sleeves began, drooping points of each decorated by a bundle of carefully sewn purple flowers and tassels. Patterns resembling spell circles were embroidered in gold on the body and skirt of the dress and there was even a bit of black chiffon that stuck out from beneath the layer of navy fabric that was layered under the periwinkle skirt. The large purple sash wound around her waist didn't bother her much. Granted, she didn't really like it, but at least it wasn't as uncomfortable as the corsets her mother used to make her wear when she had her get dressed up. Of course she declined the accessories they offered her, preferring her own black and white striped stockings and black granny boots to the ones offered, and thinking that the hat was too much, not to mention why in the world would she need a mask?

Lydia did let them style her hair, however. It had grown somewhat longer, now reaching to the middle of her shoulder blades in the back and down to her cheekbones in the front. The ladies combed her hair neatly, parting it at the center before weaving it into braids that were then coiled together at the nape of her neck so it became a rounded, twisted mass which they then decorated with tiny clear gems attached to bobby pins so they would sit on the surface of her hair.

When they tried to pancake her face in makeup, she stopped them, opting only for a smidgen of eyeliner which they winged out at the outer and inner corners of her eyes, a touch of mascara to extend her lashes, and a shade of lipstick that seemed to cause the illusion on her full lips that she had recently eaten a plum.

When Renee found her, she was sitting in a window, perhaps not in the most ladylike position, her knees bent so her feet were on the seat with her and her arms casually draped over them as she gazed out through the pane of glass, thinking deeply.

Katsuya Zer0

 

[Katsuya]

It seems...that even Lydia didn't escape from Saiko's wardrobe thing.

"Hey Lydia..." Renee greeted quietly as she didn't want to bother her so much but the white-haired Pendragon wanted to talk with someone. She already knew that Echo is probably with Johnny right now, doing who knows what.

She didn't walk in the room yet. "May I come in? I have three people here with me too." Renee lifted up the basket in her hand, smiling warmly. She was talking about the souls in the vials.

Roleplay Skittle

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

-Lydia's room-
​

When Renee said her name, Lydia looked away from the window, a bright smile gracing her features as she rose from the cushioned sill and hurried over to the door, holding her hand out to take Renee's, "of course you can!" Her smile only increased in size as Renee lifted the basket and she leaned in to speak sweetly to them, "hi guys... how are you doing?"

She would lead Renee over to a small table with a couple of cushioned chairs around it where she could put the basket and they could sit, "I see you were ambushed too?" She laughed slightly and motioned to her clothing.

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

Renee squeezed Lydia's hand lightly as she lead her to the table and sat on the fluffy chairs, placing the basket down gently on the middle of the table so it'll between the two girls. Then she snorted.

"Yea, I tried to get away from them but...yea...I think the went overboard with the decorations to be honest." The winged Pendragon shrugged her shoulders casually, her smile turned into a grin. She took off her shoes so she sit with her leg over the other, sitting in an Indian style and not caring if it looks indecent.

"How are you, Lydia?" Renee asked.

Roleplay Skittle

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

-Lydia's room-
​

Lydia couldn't help but laugh, "they would have caught you eventually, my mom used to attack me like this all the time," She flopped down in one of the chairs, sitting close to the table with her knees together beneath it and her hands on top, fingers laced together, "I discovered it was best to just let her do it and undo what I didn't like later... because they almost always go overboard!"

Lydia nodded her agreement, still giggling slightly. It was nice to know that Renee had the same distaste of being fashionable that she had.

Her mood sobered somewhat when Renee asked how she was. She didn't really know how to answer the question. Lydia wasn't particularly good at talking about her feelings, that had been witnessed by a few of the group so far, "umm... hm."

She sat back in the chair, her arms crossing and one hand cupping her chin as her index finger curved across her lower lip, "well... I don't know," She laughed slightly, nervously even, though her brow was furrowed a bit and her eyes teary. It was often hard to control emotions when you were confronted about them, and Lydia had very little control when she wasn't having to talk about them, "how about you?"

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

"Yea well...I rather face Wrath again than go through this." She waved at her whole outfit, pursing her lips in disgruntlement. "Augh...honestly, I feel like everyone just wants to dress me up. I'm now half-expecting one of the other deathknights to dress me up too." She meant that.

As Lydia sobered up from her question, Renee noticed that her eyes were teary and Renee could guess what she was feeling at the moment. Frustration about everything. Sad about losing people again. Possibly feeling like they failed again...It's a terrible feeling...one that she understood all too well.

"Like I want to punch everything around me because I suck as a friend and older sister." Renee admitted to Lydia, now looking at the vials in the basket with a sad smile. Her own eyes started to feel the familiar burn as she wiped away the tear that fell down. Taking a deep breathe and letting it go, the white-haired Pendragon looked back up at Lydia, changing her sad smile into a hopeful grin.

"But...I believe that everything will turn out fine for now..."

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[Roleplay Skittle]

-Lydia's Room-
​

Lydia grimaced when Renee spoke of Wrath. She wondered if the fact that the Deathknight was named for a sin had something to do with why she felt so rage filled when she had attacked him. She looked away and sniffed slightly.

Her brow remained furrowed as Renee continued, her arms crossing over her stomach as she slouched in the chair slightly, leaning back against it, she mustered a slight smile and readjusted her posture, "Renee... I think the important thing is we tried... I mean... we could have not gotten there at all. Holt could have fallen... and we can still get them back... and they'll understand," She had leaned towards the table again, her gaze drifting as she thought about what she was saying and laughed slightly. It was easy to try and comfort someone else but using the same words on herself was difficult, "I think they'll just be amazed and happy with what we've accomplished."

She looked back on everything, even in this short time, she had gone from just playing bait to an ogre to dealing the killing blow on a Deathknight. Helping to create a mass spell circle to undo a body switching spell to facing down an Orc and earning his respect. Lydia couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and her own grin spread across her purple tinted lips.

But thinking about the good things made her think about the bad and once again her smile faded, "hey Renee... have you ever wanted something really badly and you just couldn't get it?"

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

Renee's wings fluttered happily as her grin widened a bit from what Lydia was saying and couldn't agree more. "Yea...they would be so proud of us...including our parents, don't you think?" Her mind wondered over to her father and mother, how they would pat her head and hug her tightly, laughing in mirth along with Seth, Sen, and James in a group hug.

As she observed Lydia's smile fading however followed by that question, Renee's own grin shrunk a bit as she nodded. "Yes...it's like no matter how hard you try, no matter how long you studied or trained or whatever, everything just falls flat on your face..." All those times when she had convince her brother was one of them, then there's her secret belief that her parents are still alive somehow and everyone kept telling her that they were dead when they didn't know for sure...now there's the aged author whom she has to get to.

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[Roleplay Skittle]

-Lydia's Room-
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She nodded to what Renee said. She had kept things very close to her chest. Not wanting her mother to worry. Not wanting her to be in danger. As it stood, her mother had no culpability and Lydia liked it that way. But at the same time, she felt like she was keeping secrets from her, and she felt deep down that her mother would be proud of her accomplishments, even if she wanted her to come straight home.

Lydia was looking at the vials in the basket, a sad expression on her face as she continued to listen to Renee before letting out a sigh and closing her eyes, "yeah... and my face hurts," she slumped back in the chair once again, her eyes downcast and it was easily seen since her hair had been neatly combed and pinned away from her face, "Death bane, flat face," she chuckled slightly at her misery before continuing, "sometimes I just wonder if my family was right. If I should just leave magic to idle fancy and take my place in society... attend the party manners classes... learn to play the harp... marry a manufacturer's son..." she groaned and pursed her lips, her brow furrowing as she crossed her arms sulkily across her stomach.

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

Renee's bright eyes practically glowed when she heard what Lydia was saying and suddenly stood up, slamming her hands on the table in her anger. "Your family is wrong." Her tone stayed quiet but anybody could hear her voice vibrating with her frustrations. At who, you might ask. Well at the ones who told her new friend and now family member these discouraging comments.

"Lydia, don't you dare give up. Without you, James wouldn't have been able to get our bodies back. Without you, we wouldn't have a warm fire every night we camped even on the rainy days to keep us warm and not get sick. Without you, we wouldn't have been able to keep Seifer in check with his silly antics and possibly toss him down that waterfall. Without you, we wouldn't have a chance at defeating that blooming Deathknight." The Pendragon sister continued, her wings puffed up in her agitation towards the people who caused Lydia's low self esteem.

"Okay, so you had a few mistakes. Who doesn't? Potions always blow up in my face-! It's how I got my wings! You're just starting from the moment you arrived at my home to now and you know what? That's the fastest pace of improvement I've ever seen." She meant that. She totally believes that Lydia is a very special girl and Renee felt lucky to have her in this journey to Dalaran.

"I'm so happy and proud to call you my dad's greatest apprentice and one of my truest friends that I consider as family. So don't you dare give up on your passion, Lydia."

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[Roleplay Skittle]

-Lydia's Room-
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Lydia jumped as Renee slammed her hands on the table, her eyes quickly darting up to look at the Pendragon as she gave her little rallying speech and thought about all of the things that Renee was listing. Her eyes shifted down again as she recalled, her posture relaxing and a slight smile crossing her features. Renee was right. She had worked so hard and she was new to this after all. She hadn't been lucky enough to be born into a family or a way of life that allowed for formal mage training and so had been teaching herself.

She knew that her accomplishments couldn't all be placed on her. She knew each thing she had done was only because she had support. While her mother had let her go on this adventure, she knew that it had been done believing that Lydia would eventually fail and return home. She was playing right into her mother's hands with this talk. She didn't want to succeed in spite of her mother. She wanted to succeed because she loved magic.

She glanced up from the table and smiled at Renee, sitting upright in her chair, "Renee... thank you," she rose from the chair and went over to the winged teen, giving her a warm hug, "I couldn't have done any of that without knowing that you all believed in me. All of you. Even without saying. Even that uppity Seifer seemed to have some faith."

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

Renee hugged back, squeezing her tightly as her wings fluttered happily again. "Of course! It's like what you told me back at Holt: No one could let you go alone in this mess. That applies to learning as well." Then Pendragon sister snorted, smirking in amusement.

"Well yea, duh. Seifer's the type who wouldn't outright care in front of you unless you pushed him to or if you noticed the subtle hints he drops...just like how he cared about us in his own special and silly way." Her liveliness simmered down slowly as the memory of finding the archer's body popped in her mind and she frowned. Her wings limped at thought.

Merlin, it was terrible to find him like that...Prideful idiot didn't deserve that abuse from anybody, not even from enemies. She looked at the vials on the table, watching the little leaves twirl and swirl about with a bright glow to them.

"...think we can find a way to put their souls back? I...I miss them..."

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[Roleplay Skittle]

-Lydia's Room-
​

Lydia squeezed Renee happily before giving her back a couple of pats and stepping away, her arms falling across her stomach again. She half wondered if this was their thing now, consoling and rallying each other. She liked the idea that she didn't have to learn on her own. It actually really did help her progress because she had people to bounce ideas off of and to help her with her studies. People that actually understood her.

"I wonder what makes him so guarded?" She didn't think he had a similar upbringing to her, one where he felt different, even if not made to feel so. He definitely seemed like he wanted to keep people at arm's length even though he seemed at least tolerating of them. She had looked away from Renee in thought, but her brow furrowed slightly as Renee's happy expression changed, her gaze following Renee's as it drifted to the souls of their friends and family.

Her gaze shifted back to Renee as she spoke again, "I think so..." she smiled warmly, "James and I figured out the spell circle... I think we can figure this out... especially since we have the book that caused it," unlike before when they basically had to work from scratch.

She placed a comforting hand on Renee's shoulder and squeezed slightly, "I know... I do too. I don't have anyone to have a prank war with... or someone to ceaselessly irritate and amuse me at the same time... and I miss Serena's music," she smiled weakly, "we've accomplished this much... and it was done so I believe it can be undone too."

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

Renee placed her hand on Lydia's and lightly squeezed as if she's taking comfort at knowing there's someone who she can talk to instead of drawing or writing down her thoughts. "I...I think he's guarded because of his position as the governor's son." Then she poked softly at the vial with the white leaf. "Believe it or not, Seifer's a total rich kid...and I think there were people who wanted that and tried to kiss up to him or tries to get in his good graces to take advantage of it."

She based that solely on what he said when he rejected her, asking her why she likes him. He mentioned something about liking his looks makes her a fangirl or if she likes him for the money then she's a gold-digger or something like that. It makes sense too if that's how he was raised with: people trying to trick and fool him into things. So it's no wonder that he would be so guarded, that dork.

The Pendragon sister smiled again when Lydia talked, her wings once again fluttered. "You're right...Is there anyway that I can help? Anything at all?" Renee wants to regain what she nearly lost with Lydia's help, thinking that they can do it if they worked together like in the ogre's, goblin's, and orc's caves.

Roleplay Skittle Zer0

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

-Lydia's Room-
​

It was funny how Lydia and Renee had much in common that they probably didn't realize. Lydia had for so much of her life only kept her journal because she had no one to talk to and now things were so different. She took into consideration what Renee was saying, looking at her a bit shocked when she said that Seifer was the governor's son. That was something that she hadn't known. She hadn't really spoken to him about things like that, she hadn't really spoken to him much at all for that matter. Politics bored her and they had nothing to do with magic as far as she could tell, so they weren't something she paid any attention to, even though her father thought she should know about such things.

Her lips pressed together in a line. By no means was her family as wealthy as a governor's but they were well off and she could understand the gist of what Renee was saying as well as how it fit into the way Seifer acted. Unlike herself, who shied away from the people her parents meant for her to socialize with, Seifer had been in the spotlight and dealt with people that had similar goals. Lydia snorted softly, her arms crossing as she looked down at the floor. The whole thought almost made her feel sorry for him and now she got it. She got why he was the way he was. But she didn't hate them for it, 'he is like a hard shelled gummy candy,' she had to cover her mouth to keep from releasing an amused guffaw as she thought of that.

Her hand was still cupped over her mouth, the smile in her green eyes as she peered over her hand at Renee before lowering her hand and clearing her throat to lose the laughter, "well... more eyes is always helpful... there is a lot to read and take note of... and we have to piece it all together to discover the appropriate path we should take."

Lydia already had her ideas on how to fix the problem, but she wasn't going to take any chances. Seifer was one of them and they had to get him back safely and in one complete piece.

Katsuya Zer0

 

[Katsuya]

Renee nodded, a determined look on her face as Lydia suggested that she needed help with research. "Alright, then I'll help you and James on the research. Any books or papers you haven't read yet? Can we start now or do you need a break?" She asked, her wings fluttered a bit.

However the white-haired Pendragon is so happy to cheer Lydia up. It seemed that she needed it after the battle with the deathknight and she wanted to see her smile again. Kind of like how she wants to calm James whenever he panics or when the twins get sick, she would kiss their foreheads to show that she wants them to stay healthy.

Oh yea, Lydia is definitely becoming a little sister to Renee and she wouldn't have it any other way.

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