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

[Zer0]

- Johnny Caprice -
" Master Warship, Princess Mia's Room "​

"Gladly." said Johnny, offering the limping Serena an arm so that in this close proximity she could talk quietly and not look suspicious.

He heard her and knew where they were going, but filled the time getting there talking cheerfully about Echo's birthday. "In her culture, reindeer satyrs come at age when they turn seventeen and its part of the ceremony for the celebrant to wear something and drinking alcohol, but I'm not good with picking dresses nor drinks. Will you come with Renee and me later down to the theatre to design a dress for her and also pick wine?"

Meanwhile, in a grand room that was only rivaled by Kenren's own private chambers, Princess Mia had removed the black dye from her hair, and once more a silver crown was on her head. She had carried this crown everywhere since she left the flying castle. It was precious to her since it symbolized her place among her people, the hope that when she returned to Kingsbury the political turmoil among the dukes will come to an end, and the heavy responsibility of leading her people now that her father, the king, was gone.

There was a knock on the door and a page announced the arrival of Johnny and Serena.


Katsuya

OOC || Characters || Interest Check​

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

-Shoflo Ocean-
​

Just what had she gotten herself into? When she had nodded to James, giving him her answer about going with him to the ocean, she hadn't really had a moment to think about it with Chenglei looming in the distance as he chased after Renee. Of course it wasn't necessarily a decision she regretted, and it was surely a much better decision than becoming some sort of mindless giggle zombie, but she still felt somewhat awkward at having consented without giving the question as much thought as she otherwise may have.

She had collected her own necessities for the little jaunt: a towel, change of clothes, the shadowmancy tome, and a flask of water and following him, she laughed as he whooped, her own gryphon seeming to give chase to his as she held on tightly to the reins and just tried not to fall. She slowed, her gryphon's great wings flapping mightily as it hovered a short distance away from James, giving both his gryphon and her own enough space to flap their wings without being hindered, her body language turning somewhat timid as her gaze drifted away from him when he started to remove his clothing.

Her heart beat a little faster and she shyly looked back towards him after she thought he would be finished, his grin causing her to straighten her posture slightly before she leaned over her gryphon a bit, watching him fly towards the ocean. Her cheeks had pinkened somewhat and a subtle smile rested on her lips. This side of James was... cute. She was so used to him being calm and serious, if not a bit awkward at times. This was playful James, a side to him she hadn't seen before. She almost seemed to forget what she was doing as she quietly admired his dive and thought back to his grin before he dove, giggling to herself slightly and blushing a bit more.

Her small hands held up the reins of her gryphon slightly as the notion occurred to her what was happening. She had been swimming before. She had been swimming with boys. Technically she supposed she had even gone swimming with Seth. Though on those occasions, there had been others present and on the latter one, she had been fully clothed. She had taken off the dress she was wearing earlier, now wearing a pair of capris with a sleeveless top that fastened around her neck and on her feet were little black slippers.

She drew in a deep breath, her brow furrowing before she nodded resolutely, "get it together!" She told herself in a hushed tone before she removed her slippers and shifted on the gryphon so that she could see where James was in the water before she would hurl herself off the flying mount and curl up into a ball. She was by no means as graceful as James and she wasn't about to pretend she was.

Zer0 Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

Serena smiles at Johnny as they made their way before nodding in agreement. "Of course! I would love to help pick out a good dress and drink for her. Echo is going to love it!"

Once they made their way to Princess Mia's room, Serena limped in with Johnny and took a deep breath when she saw the crown. A second later, the blonde violinist bowed only her head in greeting before looking up again.

"...Hello Mia..." She was hesitant about using her first name without the title since she saw the crown on her head and didn't want to offend anyone, especially not her highness.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Princess Mia -
" Master Warship, Princess Mia's Room "​

"Serena!" yelled the princess in joy. Next thing the violinist knew her vision was obscured by a mass of white hair as Princess Mia flung herself on her and embraced her tightly. "Oh, you're okay." she smiled, holding her at arm's length before hugging her again. "Are you hungry? Did you eat? Why are you limping? Do you want to sit down?"

Johnny smiled warmly as the princess fussed over Serena's face, hair, and clothes. She beckoned them to sit on some puffy cushions on the floor that surrounded a low wooden table where a tray of oriental fruits, snacks, and cakes stood.

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

"Oof! ..hahah! Of course, I'll be okay!" Serena grinned, now less hesitant as she let the princess-now-queen hug her as she hugged back as tightly as she could which was barely any difference.

"Yes, I ate. You know how Renee is with her patients; can't really run away from her care really. Heheh! ...Oh and I'm limping because I can't really move as much. The whole 'I need to regain my body functions' thing is kind of a thing with the soul snatching, I suppose." Serena explained as she let's Mia fuss over her.

Then when they sat on the floor pillow seats, Serena looked over to the white haired royal and asked with a confused frown.

"Mia, there's something you must know. It's about..um...what's with the...um...Johnny knows this more than I do to be honest, so he can explain it better." The violinist told the her friend who's a queen and looked over at the entertainer, lightly nudging him so he could talk.

"Well Johnny? Go on..."

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Princess Mia's Room -
" Master Warship "​

"Huh?" said Johnny confused. "I know only as much as Kenren said." he thought Serena was talking about elite training.

But after being told it wasn't about that, but about the Storm Wall, he told them all that he heard from James when they were still in the flying castle. "And that's why they want to go through the Storm Wall and find the Aged Author." said Johnny. He breathed a bracing sigh. "I'll be going with them. Will you, Serena?"

Katsuya

​

- James Pendragon -
" Shoflo Ocean "​

James' face broke the surface of the water. Shaking his sopping hair out of his eyes, his jaw dropped as he saw Lydia cannon-ball from the same height as him, which was as tall as a five-floor tower.

SPLASH

Impressed by another unexpected show of courage, he swam over to her. "For a girl who's timid most of the time, you've got some serious moxie, Lydia."

It seemed that this bookish girl was the strong silent type. Looking at her, one could never tell that she dueled with an orc, volunteered to be ogre bait, and finally landed the killing blow to a deathknight. James felt his heart tighten. This was probably the first time he's known a girl who was stronger, was smarter, and didn't need to be protected.

And for some reason, he found it attractive and comforting. Probably because he had always believed that being in a relationship would only be a distraction and a burden he wasn't willing to carry right now. In his past experiences, girls had always needed a lot of time and attention. He couldn't concentrate on his thesis, and when he was doing his thesis he felt guilty because his ex wanted to spend time with him. It was like being pulled by two opposing forces.

But hanging out with Lydia was easy. She can actually help him with complex arcane studies and he could be silent for hours on end and it was okay. It felt like being accepted for who you are and being able to share what you love without it suffering.

'She's really my type.' he thought, sneaking a glance at her collar bones.

Suddenly he felt nervous around her and was conscious of how he was swimming in place like a frog, and puffed his chest out so that he would appear more manly.

Roleplay Skittle

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

-Shoflo Ocean-
​

The splash was explosive and when she came up, her hair had been knocked askew from the loose bun it had been in. When she surfaced, blinking her eyes and smiling, she pulled the hair tie from her hair; the lopsided wet mass feeling awkward, and ran her fingers through the wet black strands as James swam over to her. She blushed and glanced away from him shyly as she pulled all of her wet hair over one shoulder and spoke somewhat softly, "oh... no... I guess?" her voice gave a higher inflection at the end as she absently scanned the shimmering surface of the water before peeking at James.

There James goes again, delivering compliments that he didn't really realize were compliments to someone that wasn't really good at accepting them and didn't know how to act. The speed of her fingers running through her hair was moving slow but as she drew in a deep breath, they moved more quickly, her feet kicking rapidly under the water to keep her afloat. It was strange talking to James when they didn't really have anything to talk about. She was so used to exchanging information with him that idle chit-chat felt a little awkward and now, when they weren't studying, or he wasn't showing her how to do something, or they weren't building a spell circle together... and they were alone in the middle of the ocean, Lydia felt her own heart rate speed up as her nervousness grew. She couldn't help but admire how James looked with his hair all wet and the sun shining off of the water droplets on his skin and the fact that he wasn't wearing his shirt....

Lydia quickly looked away from him and finally removed her hands from her hair after a few more tugs of the wet strands, treading the water so the speed of her legs could slow some, 'quick! Think of something to say!' Lydia urged herself, nervously searching the water as though that would give her something to talk about, "so... um..." her mind went through a variety of subjects and if she didn't think they would be off-putting, like asking about what he thought of Chenglei, they just seemed like a completely strange topic to be bringing up.

She didn't want to say anything about Seifer, or the Libris Mortem, or spell circles. If James wanted to talk about those things, he probably wouldn't be out in the middle of the ocean... that's it! She giggled nervously as she moved her hands in the water like she was really noticing how it felt, "the water's nice... I've never swam in the ocean before..."

The joys of coming up with something to say when one didn't really have anything to say. She felt like it would be weird to just swim away from him without saying anything, "I wonder how far down the floor is from here?"

Zer0

 

[Katsuya]

Serena thought for a moment as her blue eyes looked over to Mia and frowned. "I will, now that I know what's going on however...I just...I don't know." The blonde didn't like the idea of swearing to another royal like that.

"Do we really have to swear to prince Kenren like that though? No offense to him or anything like that, but the sudden change from being guest to soldier is really weird and we still need to help Seifer. Can we even plan Echo's birthday too? While training with his elite?" Serena asked to the both Johnny and Mia, conflicted with the whole thing.

"Mia, did you know about any of that?" She questioned.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- James Pendragon -
" Shoflo Ocean "​

James watched Lydia with an expression of interest and enjoyment the entire time she nervously thought of something to say. He really found the contrast between shy bookish Lydia and mace-wielding Lady Death Bane amusing. She was a good example of 'Don't judge a book by it's cover', and he also found her expressive face much like an open book. For though she spoke less, her gestures spoke a lot and James was pleasantly surprised at what he was reading.

"Want to go see?" he said pleasantly. "Callie can take us down there like a little submarine, and I shall be your captain."

Roleplay Skittle

​

- Princess Mia -
" Princess Mia's Room "​

"He told me he wanted to train you, but not swear loyalty to him." said Mia, now surprised that Kenren would ask something like that, for it wasn't necessary to work together for the same cause.

"But as he is the expedition leader chosen by all the kingdom rulers, I'm afraid you have little choice. His small consideration for Seifer's recovery could be because he isn't as important to him as the grand scope of things. And perhaps he wishes you to swear loyalty so that he can be reassured you won't go against his plans . . . that man has a fear of things not going his way. So much is hanging on this expedition for him and his seat on the Chrysanthemum Throne . . .

"Why don't you go and clarify what you can and cannot do while training under him? Serena, you've always been good at calming people's fears, and I've always found Renee quite a the charming talker in her own energetic way. Perhaps you can strike a bargain with him?"

"I'll come with you." said Johnny. "Echo's birthday must be perfect."

Katsuya

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

-Shoflo Ocean-
​

Her big green eyes widened slightly, their color appearing lighter under the bright sun, "really?!" She had no idea what the summon was capable of and smiled sincerely at the idea. Not only was she getting to swim in the ocean for the first time, but she'd get to explore it as well? While she was distinctly interested in the concept of magic, it wasn't as though she were opposed to exploration. She was actually quite keen on adventure, though it wasn't really something that she contemplated doing so much as when the opportunity presented itself, she'd jump at the chance.

She giggled demurely and nodded her head, "then please, lead on..." a sweet and embarrassed smile found its place on her lips as she glanced away from him before adding, "Captain."

Zer0

 

[Katsuya]

Serena listened to Mia, nodding on certain points until the idea of calming him down was brought up and she smiled. "Yea, that's a good idea...I'll go do that then. Maybe I can calm Renee down too, she seems a bit down about something." The blonde mentioned as she tries to stand up on her own.

"Thank you, Mia. You always seem to know the answers whenever I get confused and I appreciate it a lot. Let me know if you ever need help with something, okay? You know you can always ask about my services." The violinist thanked her and looked at Johnny with a set grin. "Alright! Let me get my violin and talk with the prince. We need to set some boundaries with him."

She let Johnny help her walk back after getting her violin and saw the prince again with Renee right next to him.

"Alright...Ready Johnny?" She asked him as she tuned her violin and once she got his confirmation, Serena played a calming tune...

Renee perked up and looked at the pair with a confused look. "Serena? Johnny?"

Zer0 Roleplay Skittle

 

[Zer0]

- James Pendragon -
" Ocean Depths "​

Smiling, James bowed dramatically, dipping down the water. With his wand he called Callie and the glowing silver white manta ray rose from the dark blue deep and glided up from under them so that they now rested on her soft broad back that was big enough to carry five people.

"Welcome aboard the S.S. Callie, please wait awhile as we refuel on clothes." said James adopting Johnny's English accent. He whistled and his gryphon landed beside him. He took his bag off the saddle where he pulled out a roll of cloth and gave it to the giant manta ray to chew.

"Bubble up, Callie." said James once Lydia had finished taken her things too.

A transparent arcane bubble rose up and closed around them like a dome. A simple touch would reveal that the bubble seemed to be as squiggly as jelly, yet as elastic as a balloon, and as firm as a trampoline. "Ready?"

When Lydia gave the go, Callie dived down where the churning of the waves was all they heard before the silence of the ocean enveloped them. Here in the dark, Callie glowed bright enough for them to see and oh how the reef was beautiful. James stared in wonder at the meadows of rippling sea weeds that rolled with the waves, bright branching corals of all shapes and colors, and the schools of many fishes darting round and round them as Callie glided pass.

"Amphiprioninae!" said James pointing at a clown fish peering at them with beady eyes from inside an anemone. "Check it out, echinoidea!" he pointed at a black sea urchin. "And asteroidea! " a starfish was lying peacefully on the sand. For a moment it seemed that James had forgotten Lydia in his excitement for he no longer acted like a captain, instead he was like an excited schoolboy.

Roleplay Skittle

- Johnny Caprice -
" Master Warship "​

Johnny gave the thumbs up, while Kenren, who had been speaking with Seth, politely looked at the two. "Your highness, we'd like to talk to you about training. Could we have time to fix our friend in between sessions?"

"There is no time to dally." said the prince. "A few weeks isn't even enough to get anyone ready for the expedition to the storm wall, and yet that is what we are trying to do with you children. Leave him to those who will not be coming."

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

Serena sighed as her tune turned a bit sad but still calming and understanding as she mentioned something. "And yet, us children did something that none of the generals or you could do during this whole war with the dragon..." Her blue eyes stared at the Prince with a serious glint, not backing down.

"We were able to kill a Deathknight and save Holt, a port city. It's a whole lot better than what some generals were trying to do before when the Deathknights appeared." Serena reasoned calmly as she continued to play the tune. Her song is beckoning for everyone who is close by that it's okay to open up and not be afraid for being scared.

Renee gulped when she heard what Ken-chan is saying and thought about it, listening to Serena's song. She does want to help recover Seifer. Believe it or not, she was planning to sneak away to help James and Lydia get him back before returning to the barracks. However, she wasn't very good at lying or hiding things, much less breaking her word.

When Chenglei told her that they hid behind the railings, the white-haired Pendragon felt a pang of guilt. Her brother did so much already just to keep his word to her and yet, he still had to fight with no rest. No breaks. It just wasn't fair for him. Same with Lydia. She's still new to magic. Even when she told her that she's learning in a very fast pace, the Pendragon sister understood that she needed to take her time too and being a soldier would not help develop those skills she needed first. Which is why she told Chenglei not to call them out and just go back. Renee wasn't going to drag her brother and Lydia anymore then she already did.

Thing is, her whole reason to even go to the Storm wall is her family and her friends' safety. To keep them safe from the dragon and get rid of it so she can search for her parents' bodies.

With that in her mind, Renee turned to the prince with a raised eyebrow and a small grin, almost daring.

"Oh? What if we learned something new about the Deathknights? Like their weaknesses or how they make them?" She countered, her long hair starting to change into feathers as she continued, sounding a lot more cheerful at the thought. "We can study the book and help recover our friend while tracking records about it. It would help tremendously for the generals who are up against the other Deathknights and keep us prepared in case they come at the Storm wall too! Even better, we can find a way to save the ones who have their souls separated too!"

Renee walked closer to him to gently grab one of his hands, not caring about their positions of peasant to royal as she held his hand in-between hers. Her bright eyes glowed happily at him. "Ken-chan, this could be a good -no!- wonderful chance at handicapping the dragon and you're telling us that we can't take it? You swore to me that you would end the dragon even when your life depended on it."

"Well I'm serious with my word: 'I will follow you as long you keep your promise'. Can you really swear to me at all if you don't trust our capabilities? Even after defeating Wrath? Even after recovering and saving two people with their souls? Even after saving a city from a Deathknight without any military experience what so ever?" Renee stared up at his dark eyes, her unwavering determination glimmered in her orange orbs as she bombarded all of her reasons to him. Her hands tightened slightly around his one hand as her smile widened in excitement.

"Because I know that we can do it. I truly believe in us and everyone who's fighting against the dragon, Ken-chan."

Zer0 Roleplay Skittle

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

-Ocean Depths-
​

Lydia watched intently as James called Callie, trying to steady herself as the giant, glowing manta came up beneath them. Her arms moving out somewhat lopsidedly as she gained her footing and tried not to slip. She squeaked slightly before laughing when James welcomed her aboard and playing along with his game, she bowed her head gratefully and delivered the best curtsy she could muster while standing on the slick skin of a giant manta ray, "Oh! Oui oui! Merci beaucoup, mon capitaine!" She giggled playfully and placed a hand over her mouth, pretending it was a fan and then in an exaggerated French accent, "zees is my first time taking ze undersea voyage."

She then realized how silly she was being and blushed, hiding the color with both of her hands before hurrying over to fetch her things. Though she couldn't hide the expectant and excited smile that lit up her features as Callie's bubble appeared. She didn't want to touch it without permission since she didn't know if she would pop it, so she just examined it closely.

She then turned to James and saluted when he asked if she was ready, "Aye aye captain!" She braced herself when Callie dove, the last thing she needed was to fall on James again, especially not right now. It was embarrassing when Renee was there to see it happen, but it would be so much more awkward if it happened at this particular moment.

Her hands came to be clutched together just below her chin as though she were praying during Callie's Descent, just being in the water and breathing was... well oddly enough, breathtaking. Lydia actually held her breath as she gazed around with much the same expression as James, silently awed and thinking about how she couldn't wait to send another letter to her mother and describe this to her as the last letter had been rather sparse.

She jumped slightly and glanced over her shoulder to James as he exclaimed. Much as he had done, she too got lost in the undersea world and had forgotten the situation. Though her embarrassment of being basically trapped alone with him subsided as she watched him intently, a smile set on her face. She was learning something new about him and as he called out the names of the various creatures that she had no idea what they were, she paid close attention to what he was pointing at and in her mind trying to remember the names. She stepped closer to him, moving up by his side so that she could better see what he was looking at, her gaze shifting carefully back to his face to practically catalog his expression every time he went silent. Her cheeks had paled once again, but as she watched him, they flushed again slightly.

She quickly looked away after a moment, one of her hands moving to rest over her heart as her brow furrowed and she tried not to release panicked breaths, 'Lydia! What are you doing?! He's your friend. Friend! Serena likes him. Stop it!' Her hand tightened slightly, balling up into a fist but remaining at her chest as she tried to calm herself and pay attention to remember the names that James called out as they past by the unique sea creatures that swam by.

Zer0 Katsuya

 

[Zer0]

- James Pendragon -
" Ocean Deep "​

Later on, as James pulled out a pound of sashimi, fork, goggles, then rummaged his bag for the book on the identification of sea weeds and other alchemical ingredients that can be found in deep waters, he glanced up, then became concerned with Lydia.

"What's wrong?" said he, lightly touching her shoulder and bending down a little so that he was a little lower than her eye level. "You want to resurface?"

Though he felt her excitement earlier, he wondered if she was claustrophobic, nauseous, or afraid of the dark deep below them.

Roleplay Skittle

- Kenren Taisho -
" Master Warship "​

Kenren's fingers flinched when Renee held them. He didn't speak and his face remained impassive, but she could tell that what she and Serena said made enough sense for him to pause awhile in thought.

'Sister has guts.' thought Seth, who decided to keep silent. 'Why are all the girls in our group so . . . dauntless?'

"Very well." conceded Kenren. "But, you will make up for the lost hours by putting in extra time training every night. "

"The Storm Wall was named as such for a reason. Its waters are turbulent and great sea monsters swim inside giant whirlpools. A thunderstorm is always raging inside and no one even knows what's on the other side, except perhaps dragons as great or greater than the one making war with all the kingdoms. I don't like pointless deaths. Three days before we depart for the Storm Wall, there will be a test. If I deem any of you incapable of surviving only the first stage of our journey, you cannot come."

Katsuya

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

-Ocean Deep-
​

Lydia had taken to silently observing the creatures of the ocean floor around them. She was taking in all of the details that she could. She didn't know the names of them aside from the ones that James told her, but she decided that her next letter to her mother would be relatively long and would include the details of this adventure. She was jolted from her quiet contemplation as James touched her bare shoulder, her cheeks pinkened nearly immediately at the skin-to-skin contact, a meek smile forming on her lips.

She shook her head and looked slightly surprised that he would even ask about resurfacing, "no! Of course not!" She let out a slightly baffled little chuckle before looking back out into the water. How could she want to resurface? James was obviously enjoying himself and she wasn't about to let her awkwardness get in the way of his fun. She didn't have to come with him after all and if this is how he wanted to relax and forget about everything, she wasn't about to stop him. It was actually a nice break, a good distraction from everything that was happening and while it was a pretty magical endeavor, it was still a chance to feel... well, normal.

Lydia took note of the book that James produced... as well as the fact that he had brought some sashimi along. She released an amused giggle at the revelation. They were underwater and he was admiring sea life and he even had a book to identify the creatures... while eating sashimi. She wondered if that's why he was interested in the sea life because he liked sashimi and as she took note of that fact, she realized that he seemed to really like sashimi. She gestured at his choice of food, "is that your favorite?"

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- James Pendragon -
" Ocean Deep "​

"Yes it is." said James, taking his hand off to show her the dish that had been wrapped in stretchy plastic. "This is fatty tuna ----" he brightly pointed at a pile of thick pink meat streaked white, " --- and this is salmon." he pointed his fork at the orange slices streaked with thicker white lines, and one could tell that this was his most-liked pile. "You can have some if you like, Lydia." he ate some and placed the dish in front of them, then propped the book open on a dry towel on his knee, and settled himself comfortably on Callie's back.

He flipped the pages to a chapter about corals and moved close enough for their knees to touch, "We're in the epipelagic or sunlight zone." he pointed at a diagram that said it was the surface of the ocean where most of the visible light exists. Below that was the twilight zone where one would see the twinkling lights from bioluminescent creatures, and then the midnight zone where one could find black and red creatures. "We'll try to reach the abyss, that'll be where the ocean floor is, though temperature there's near freezing."

As Callie glided around the reef, James casually asked Lydia what her favorite animal was, and which was her favorite book, finally ending with: "I'm guessing you live very far from the ocean, what's your hometown like?"

Roleplay Skittle

 

[Katsuya]

Renee continued stare at him with hope and determination as Prince Kenren thought for a moment. Her feathered hair changed into wings as the prince made his decision and the Pendragon sister couldn't help but hug the prince in front of her. Her smile turned warm as her wings flapped in joy.

"Of course! That's perfectly understandable! Thank you so much Ken-chan!"

Serena 'whoop-ed' as she jumped, stumbling as she couldn't feel her entire legs yet. "Yes! I-I mean -cough- Thank you Prince Kenren. We will not waste your generosity." The blonde responded as she bowed head, not really able to curtsy fully without falling. However her tone was one of excitement.

Chenglei grabbed Renee around the waist and pulled her off the Prince as he hugged her tightly, making her choke a bit by the force. "Oh-! Bless! You are a daring little girl! It is no wonder that you are called 'Storm Clever' for you even cut the clouds of doubt in a person's heart! How marvelous of an ability! To cut down with words and an arrow of sun."

Renee struggled to get away from him when he's like this, she really can not handle his sappy compliments. "Can't-! Breat-! Stop-!" Nor could she breathe when he's squeezing her this hard. The Pendragon sister kicked him anywhere on his body but the man didn't even flinch-! Then she transformed, her wings grew bigger and spread open to get him to let go and she changed back with a bit of feathers floating around. Her orange eyes looked at the blond soldier who gaped at her...

...and continued to spew compliments, which made her hide behind the prince as her face turned redder and redder.

"Okay-! I get it! Thank you!!!" Renee yelled over Chenglei's non-stop compliments, feeling embarrassed and timid as she gripped lightly on the prince's clothes and peeked out from his side. "It is no problem, my sweet and tiny girl! Ahh~! You even have wings! What a blessed gift! Twas like you are an angel-! An angel of the sun and storms!"

Zer0 Roleplay Skittle

 

[Zer0]

- Kenren Taisho -
" Master Warship "​

Now Kenren really did startle when Renee hugged him. He really wasn't used to so much affection and touching that he looked like he didn't know what to do with her.

He gave Renee one pat on the head as if she was a cat and with a last look at Chenglei as though reminding him of his orders, left the room.

Johnny, who had been studying Oriental culture, watched him leave as if he was odd. "Kenren is quite accomodating to our cultural differences." he said. " In the Orients women cannot speak to men unless they're spoken to, and they definitely cannot challenge them. Women are seen as inferior, you see."

He chuckled at the thought of the expression of Kenren's elite once they see Echo uprooting trees, and made a mental note to suggest she break boulders with her forehead on the first training session.

They hadn't talked about the storm wall, but he was sure she was going to come. He hadn't spoken to her properly today. Ever since yesterday, his old embarrassment around her had returned.

He couldn't look her in the eye or touch her without recalling the words she said, which had been causing him to turn bright red and hiss steam from his ears.

"Shall we go pick Echo's dress and wine now?" he said to Renee and Serena.

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

Renee blinked in a bit of surprise that Prince Kenren patted her head and after Chenglei saluted to him, she watched him go. The gears in her head turned as Johnny explained and blinked again. Why is he okay with her speaking up or even touching him? Actually, now that she thought about it, he even introduce himself as 'Ken-chan' to her but not to anyone else which is another mystery she wanted to solve about the prince. Is that just a cultural thing?

What is he up to?

The Pendragon sister shook her head a bit to stop her thought process and looked over at Johnny, smiling as he chuckled about something. Both her and the violinist nodded at his idea and went to look for a dress and wine, leaving Seth with Chenglei who's flowery aura shined everywhere. He talked and talked about how wonderful that he has such a sister and friend who could stand up to the prince, patting Seth's back in jolly and laughing in merry while complimenting his recovery process too.

***​

It was time to train with Prince Kenren's soldiers and Echo had listened to Johnny's suggestion to breaking rocks, which now brought to this interesting situation.

"How about this one?! Can you break this one?" An Oriental soldier asked like a child who's excited.

"No fool! She's a woman! She can't break that!" Scolded another who just came out of his room to train and got curious as to why there's a crowd. Only to scoff at the red headed female and her efforts of strength.

"She broke the other rocks. I bet you that she can break this one too."

"Pfft! Fine! I bet my week's worth of dinner that she can't."

"You're on! Go ahead, Lady Doom Hammer. Show what you can do."

Echo giggled awkwardly as she grabbed the last largest rock in the premise, tossing it up in the air and breaking it with a headbutt. Pebbled pieces falling onto those who watched, some with wide mouths in awe and saying 'Oohhh~!' collectively while others were muttering how it's because of her being a satyr.

Satyrs are, naturally, people of the earth, having a closer connection with nature and it's inhabitants. However, not all satyrs have inhumane strength like Echo and her father. So the fawn snort quietly at the men who didn't want to admit that she's physically stronger.

They can bite her tail for all she cared. After all, the only opinions she cares about is from her boyfriend...who's probably laughing right now.

"There. I showed you my strength. Can you guys teach me how to fight in your style of martial arts?" Echo asked the men who were more open-minded to her and grinned when they nodded. It was a trade off: She shows them her strength while they can teach her their style of fighting. The red-headed fawn copied their stance and tries to keep up with their speed while kicking and punching and moving smoothly.

In the meanwhile, Renee was practicing her archery, some of her arrows hitting the bull's eye while others hit on the sides. Then she asked some of the men if they can shoot at her with their arrows, which most of them were looking at her like 'What?!'' but they agreed nonetheless.

Renee trains better when she felt like her life is in danger, thanks to Professor Grandiflorus and her tough ways of training. These men have wicked archery skills too so she wanted to see if she could dodge as many and as long as she can. Using her transformation, she would fly up and dodge their arrows with spins and swan dives sometimes. She'd surprise them by switching back and use her flexibility and balance to do the same thing. She almost looked like she was dancing in a beat of her own that only she could hear, her body as fluid as water as the Pendragon sister dodged another arrow again by doing flips and spins in mid-air without her wings. It was interesting to see and the men tried even harder to hit her to see what other moves she could do. Somehow, she enticed the soldiers to do better, sort of like a game and tried their darnest to get her, which some do.

Once she realized that the men have run out of arrows, Renee asked them how they fight afterwards, which they showed her how. By demonstration, they taught her how to fight with her own bow like a sword of sorts. To block with it and then jab or whack them. The demonstration was awesome to see and Renee couldn't help but clap at their efforts, now excited to try for herself.

"Show me how to do that because that's really cool!" She didn't mean to, but the Pendragon sister won them over when she saw them train and excitedly joined them, asking for advice and giving them meaningful compliments. It made the harden men feel appreciated and they enjoyed having the young and tiny teen around though some were a bit awkward with her hugs. They couldn't get used to that yet.

Serena trained with the soldiers who specialize in stealth and magic, now tight-rope walking up-high and behind another who's doing it flawlessly. She puffed up her cheeks and jumped on the rope lightly, giggling a bit as she watched the soldier in front of her try to regain his balance. The soldier managed to stay on the rope and glared at her in annoyance and she grinned at him. There were safety nets below in case anybody fell. The violinist could hear her familiar giggling as the men put up the shields and grunted from feeling the heat.

"Feeling the heat, men?" The blonde teased, seeing some of them look up at her with a disgruntled face. They started it, calling her weak and telling her that she couldn't possibly handle their training regiment. Honestly, they are so rude, judging her already without letting her try out first! So she summoned Foo with her violin and told her to have fun, which she is currently. When Serena took up on the tight-rope, the men laughed at her again, thinking that she wouldn't be able to handle the height.

Too bad that she's used to jumping really high.

Zer0 Roleplay Skittle

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

-Ocean Deep-
​

Lydia leaned in to James and looked intently at the dish as he indicated what each one was and named them. She vaguely remembered eating some at the banquet, though she hadn't really been paying much attention to what she was eating so much as making sure that she kept eating. It had been just as awkward as dinner parties with her parents, while they did let her do as she wanted for most of the time, they still required her to make appearances at various social gatherings that they scheduled and that was always awkward since she had nothing in common with the people around her and no interest in what they had to talk about so she had taken to always making sure she was chewing something so she would have to talk to anyone and could just nod along or shake her head depending on what they said.

"Thank you," she said graciously and after James had taken a piece, she took a piece of salmon and chewed intently before looking away from the plate as she savored the flavor. The texture was almost creamy and she appreciated that as it seemed to melt in her mouth. She made a mental note to remember the selection of fish so she would know later what James was fond of. She had a slightly smile on her face as she rested her chin on the palm of her hand, perking slightly as she felt James' knee against her own and glanced at where they touched, swallowing softly and trying to remain calm. She had the urge to move away, but then she thought that James might think something was wrong and she didn't want him to think that so she decided the best thing was to stay put and just intently listen to him.

Her green eyes which had widened slightly now went back to their normal size as she focused on what he was saying. He was like a fountain of information and that held very much to her belief of how knowledgeable he was. She looked at him slightly surprised as he continued and lowered her hand to her lap, "freezing?" Her brow furrowed but she was sure he knew something that she didn't, otherwise, why would he want to go down so deep they'd be somewhere that they could freeze?

James' questions were much appreciated, they meant that he wanted to know more about her and that alone made her happy. She turned it into a little game and after she would answer his questions, her answers being a pangolin for his first question and for his second she asked if it wasn't obvious that her favorite book was a biography on his father, she tried to guess what his favorites were. It was a nice little distraction that eased her heart somewhat, "well... it's inland as you have guessed... and I suppose it's... rather industrial?"

She drew her knees up to her chest and leaned her head on them thoughtfully, her large eyes looking away as she contemplated, "it's a pretty big city divided into districts and one district is pretty dingy because that is where all of the manufacturing is done. The best area to live is on the other side of town from there which I always thought was funny because the majority of the people who live there work in the manufacturing sector."

She giggled slightly as she recalled before sitting upright again and rocking slightly in place, "my father owns one of the factories so he is usually gone before I wake up and home after I've gone to sleep," she looked slightly sad as she said that, but she quickly put on a smile and shook her head slightly, her black hair now dry bouncing about her bare shoulders, "so what's it like being Master Howl's son?"

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- James Pendragon -
" Sho Flo Ocean "​

James told Lydia that he had two favorite creatures and that was the stag because of it's regal stature, and the owl because Sasha is cute, especially the way she closes her eyes whenever he pet her head. His favorite book was this collection of detective stories by Sir Armor Collin Foil entitled, Verlock Folmes.

"Being in the same arcane field invited a lot of comparisons between me and my father." said James. "I knew people were always saying: 'This is Howl's son', and if I wasn't as good as him then it's not enough. But dad and mom never pressured me. Mom just wanted me to be happy and dad wanted me to do magic because I wanted to do it, yet I couldn't help but develop a self-imposed strain to surpass him. I wanted people to say: 'This is James Pendragon,'" he emphasized with his hands, " not, 'This is Howl's son'".

He didn't add, but that was probably why he was always spending his time bettering himself in some way. He asked Lydia the name of her home city and what her father's factory made. "What was your life like back then? Do you have nine orgre-ish sisters, or perhaps two trickster brothers, or maybe one extremely stubborn and strong-headed sister?

Roleplay Skittle

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

-Sho Flo Ocean-
​

Well, James' favorite creatures would be easy to remember and when he told her what they were, she wasn't very surprised and smiled warmly at him. She considered Sasha for a moment, determining that the little owl was definitely cute all the time, her index finger stroking next to her mouth thoughtfully. James constantly surprised her. She hadn't really expected him to like a detective series, but she liked that there was more to him than she had originally thought and as he went into his feelings on his father and being compared to him, she felt a little embarrassed because she had called him exactly what he just said he didn't want to be called.

She didn't respond immediately to his statements on his feelings of being related to Howl, instead she listened to his questions about her own family and laughed to herself slightly as she gave her legs a slight squeeze before lowering them and sitting cross-legged, she told him how she was the youngest of three children and that her older siblings were both boys so she supposed the reason that her parents were so lenient with her was because she was a girl and the youngest. She told him how one of her brothers was already married and both of them were rather serious and while one of them thought she was totally insane, the other thought she was adorable. She told him about Dubois' Foot Finery and how they specialized in socks, stockings, hosiery, etcetera and that was why she only wore black and white striped socks and had such a big collection of them. She also told him that the name of her home was Bourgeaus and added to that about how she was pretty much a recluse outside of having to attend social events with her parents because they still held hope she'd stop with the whole 'magic thing,' she mentioned how most of the people where she was from thought she was strange and mentioned with some embarrassment how she didn't have any friends and spent the majority of her time reading and writing and even learned to book bind.

After a moment she bit her lip slightly in thought before she looked to him smiling, "you know... I do see a lot of Master Howl in you... but you are still your own person..." she laughed shyly and covered her face with her hands. Why did she have problems talking? She didn't want James to see this side of her, the side that floundered for the proper words and ended up just moving her hands around as though that would help convey what she meant, "it's like... well, I know that whenever there has been a problem... or something like that... well whenever..." she groaned as she struggled to speak, "I think... well I think you're brilliant in your own right and even without you being Master Howl's son, I always have faith that you can solve the problems or know what to do!"

She spoke with a bit of feeling, finally managing to push that boulder up the hill and over and get out what she meant. She then looked away as her cheeks flushed, her lips forming a line as she bit them closed, green eyes peeking at James from behind the veil of her straight black hair.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Johnny Caprice -
" Training Grounds "​

Johnny was laughing. "They should get a load of their faces." he told Chenglei whom he was hanging out with. He had been training at the pools with some soldiers who specialized in underwater combat, learning water rescue techniques, one of which was summoning a pure water elemental in case someone fell inside one of the whirlpools at the Storm Wall.

He watch Echo proudly from a distance as they took a break.'Kanojo wa subarashī.' ('She is amazing)was what he wanted to say, but he didn't want to risk some other guy realizing that and falling for her too.

He still kept on replaying her words in his head and got annoyed at the guys who didn't acknowledge her strength. It surprised him to realize how his girl phobia had diminished considerably since they've been together. From being intimidated by her strength, he'd gone to feeling relieved she was this strong, then cheering for her to whoop some goblin buttocks, and now feeling proud his girlfriend can destroy boulders with her forehead.

Meanwhile, in a dojo, Seth was screaming rainbows in his head though his visage remained cool. He was learning ninjutsu from real shinobi. They were Kenren's scouts, spies, and by an unspoken understanding: assassins, who were known for their stealth and deception --- just his style.

Ninjutsu was a collection of fundamental survivalist techniques that ensured the shinobi or ninja's survival in a world of political turmoil, which was exactly what was going on in the Orients what with the vying for the Chrysanthemum Throne.

The twin wasn't sure if he was going to the Storm Wall. He still wanted to meet with Sen first, but would not pass an opportunity to increase his skills while they were still on the way to Dalaran. He had given a winged messenger a personal ad to be printed in the newspaper, the Daily Oracle. Hopefully Sen will have read and deciphered it by now and they can finally be reunited in Dalaran. He missed him so much and wondered how he was doing.

All the secrecy made him wonder if Sen was still being watched. The news of the death knight's death must have reached all the four corners of the world right now. The media would want to publish that to boost morale in this war. He wondered what was going to happen to Lydia's popularity, after all she was the last one standing in that battle.

Katsuya

- James Pendragon -
" Ocean Deep "​

James face did something weird. It was a half-smile, half-frown, as if he was trying hard not look so pleased. But the smile won out and with a hand, he covered his face, embarrassed.

"Thank you, um," the tips of his ears went red, "that makes me happy." He straightened up, smiling as he recovered his cool. "You flatter this captain, mademoiselle." he bowed, "would the gracious lady care for a token from the sea, or perhaps a stroll among the reef? Whatever you wish, I your captain will do my utmost to please you."

Roleplay Skittle

 

[Katsuya]

The blond oriental looked over to where Echo was learning martial arts with the men."Yes, I agree. Tis truly hilarious to see their faces turn into jealousy and awe for your girlfriend's strength." Chenglei said in a cheer, sitting next to Johnny during their break. The blond soldier didn't want to be only one not training, so he joined in with Johnny.

"Though you must admit it is a sight to see: a gentle woman such as lady doom hammer to wreak destructive havoc as she defends her allies and attacks her enemies. Ohhh~! How I wish I was there to see her fight like a warrior! How epic and awesome to see-!" Chenglei stood up as he dramatically held his ham sandwich up in the air like he was about to recite Shakespeare. The flowery aura came back in bloom, glittering brightly aa the radom breeze gently blow his flowy golden wheat hair. He did not realize is that he startled the men around them, including the one who's trying to balance on the tight rope. He fell and Serena laughed before falling off too.

Then he patted Johnny's shoulder heavily as if he was proud. "Lady Doom is an incredible woman. Johnny, my good fellow, I assure you: you...are a very lucky man." It seems that Chenglei is the type who respects everyone.

"Oops! I-i'm sorry. I didn't mean to break that!" Echo is practicing on the rotating poles to try out the blocking moves the soldiers taught her. The thin red wooden poles snapped under her palms when she got too into it like last time. Now the prideful men who wouldn't acknowledge her mumbled about not breaking property and that they can do it too. So they tried, making loud banging sounds with their now reddening palms.

Zer0