Fantasy Island of Heroes (Open)

[Vol]

NATURAL ENEMY
Location: Somewhere in Fhouajan Woods
Interactions: N/A
Honourable mentions: Chioran Elgorah Melon Bomb / Luna Topless / Bib egglover​

Spoiler: Initial Supernova Extra

"Konan...? Ko?"
"..."
"Oh what have you done now...?! Oh no, no, no, if only Feuer was here. He would know what exactly is going on with you..."
"..."
"I can hear your breathing, that's a fair sign -- can you try move your fingers, my child? No? How about your toes?"
"..."
"I can't even tell if you're responding to me or not...let me try something...don't scream if it hu--"
"...aaAAAAAAAAAAA"
"Ko! Maybe I shouldn't have tried to flake off your face first."
"IT HURTS, IT HURTS, MOM, MAKE IT STOP, PLEASE, IT HURTS SO MUCH."
"I know, I know my child, just hold on a little longer; it's starting to come off--"
"MOM, MOM, NO--"
"Shh, I'm here, I'm here. Keep your breathing in time with mine, okay? With me, in...and out. In..and out..."

The half-genasi shed off the charcoal hide with a shuddering gasp. The steam that was contained within the shell billowed out and evaporated into the cold, cold air. He fell to one knee and balanced himself with one hand on the singed soil, while trying to keep his breathing in check. It didn't hurt as much as the first time, it just felt like molting now. The snakeguy would understand, maybe. It definitely expended alot of energy and effort though.

Despite being petrified during the remaining half of the battle, his vision had cleared so he could still see what the others had done in their defense. And if he had to simply put his musings from his observations during paralysis -- he wouldn't want to really get in a serious tussle with any of them. Well, maybe Chioran, snakeguy and Luna. Just because.

Different hunters had swarmed them, though this time they looked more...put-together. Official. Either way, to Konan's dismay he had no fight in him at the moment to spare.

From his knelt position he eyed Luna embracing Chioran, while some guards were already tending to the swordgirl's earlier wounds. His lips pursed to a thin line, eyes riddled with skepticism. Konan just bared his teeth and growled out a dry "piss off" when some of the soldiers attempted to approach him with some medical attention.

"Well? Will you come with us? Or stay here and deal with these blood-thirsty savages? Your choice."

"We'll come with you! Let's get out of here!"

"Aren't you blood-thirsty savages too? Just in uniform?" Konan spat, unsure if they understood his words, and not really caring that he managed to understand theirs.

He eventually stood up, albeit shakily, and rubbed his bare arms.
"Whatever, I'm getting dragged along with this group no matter what I say. But I am definitely not as eager to follow you guys, like Luna." Konan rolled his eyes at the mentioned woman.

It was quiet in his head.

 

[obscured_light]

The flapping of wings alerted the others as Yrshta came down to land besides Bib. She had heard the newcomer's intense tone and seemed very put off. Her feathers were all puffed up, trying to make her slightly bigger than she seemed.

"I don't think we exactly have a choice," Yrshta admitted reluctantly. "They did save us and it would be helpful to have guides until we can get our bearings."

 

[Melon Bomb]

"Eager, resistant, doesn't matter to me," Ariter smirked at Konan. "Spoiled brats like you always get what they want in the end. Oh, and about us being 'blood-thirsty savages'." The man leaned in closer, the faint stench of alcohol on his breath. "Your kind kills by the hundreds," he whispered, extending his hand to the frozen forest where dozens of standing corpses stood in plain view. "I wouldn't be so quick to point fingers if I were you."

Ariter pulled back and let out a raucous laugh. "You should listen to the bird! Live practically. You were born with all the blessings and fortunes this world had to offer, it'd be a waste to squander it on petty suspicions. Makes me wonder why I work so goddamn hard... wish I'd get showered with money and praise, just for having some fancy blood. Peh."

-

Vol obscured_light

 

[Vol]

THE PURGE
Location: Somewhere in Fhouajan Woods
Interactions: Ariter Melon Bomb
Honourable Mentions: Yrshta obscured_light​

"Eager, resistant, doesn't matter to me," Ariter smirked at Konan. "Spoiled brats like you always get what they want in the end."

Konan gritted his teeth at the insult; a distasteful truth stung the worse because there is nothing he can do to deflect it. But he definitely wondered what the older man meant by "what they want in the end." Did he know what he, Konan, wanted? Or was it just a figure of speech, a general statement -- because even the fire vessel didn't really know. He thought he did once but at times he felt his mind was split when it came to that sort of thing.

He scowled when the guard started to lean towards him; the stench of booze thick in his voice. A much filthier smell than the liquor that had wafted enticingly in the festival back up in Makuran. If only he could ignite such a flammable smell.

"Your kind kills by the hundreds, I wouldn't be so quick to point fingers if I were you."

Konan scrambled back a few steps so he could further the distance between him and the intimidating guard, teeth bared in a clenched frown, but he followed the older man's sweeping gesture to the scenery frozen in time. The implication that a Toren had done that was undeniable to him. The half-genasi finally decided to take a real good look at the faces frozen in terror of the humanoid statues, and wondered for a morbid moment if they were still alive in that state.

It would be a mercy to burn them here and now. But another time; they will join the pyre soon enough.

He touched his face, the familiar yet intense heat returning to his features. Then he noticed the charred corpses from where he had knelt before; four dead tribesmen. One couldn't even recognise where there faces once were. Konan bit his lip and tore his gaze away from it -- he never had killed anyone before. He made commotions in Makuran, for sure, but even then...it never got too far.

It's the first step: acceptance. You are made to do far more than just four.

Was that what he really wanted after all, to be like the Toren that created that timeless piece?

The promise he made his mother knocked quietly against the door of his mentalspace, and he...well...remembered something else. He would never let her find out what happened today.

"I don't think we exactly have a choice," Yrshta admitted reluctantly. "They did save us and it would be helpful to have guides until we can get our bearings."

You should listen to the bird! Live practically. You were born with all the blessings and fortunes this world had to offer, it'd be a waste to squander it on petty suspicions. Makes me wonder why I work so goddamn hard... wish I'd get showered with money and praise, just for having some fancy blood. Peh."

"Just shut up. Let's get on with it." Konan managed to say, his previous snarky demeanour deflating slightly as he stared up at the sky. "Can't blame us for being skeptical when we literally just got attacked." He then lowered his gaze slightly so he could eye the guard. "Sure you saved us, but it's just a nicer way to say 'captured', I guess."

 

[Kassandra]

Between being cornered by a pair of dogs and finding herself and the rest of the group rescued by another faction of Alatoans, Bhara had several opportunities to toss an 'I told you so' Chioran's way. She didn't, because she had some modicum of self-restrain. Also because she considered it a bad idea to outwardly express to the strangers there was any sort of stress between their dynamic. Clearly, despite fending off the savages, some among the soldiers didn't have the brightest of opinions of toren.

"Personal feelings aside, men... You'll have our cooperation. We're here on a mission of coexistence, hm? Pretty soon we'll have to see what sort of relationship our people will have with your empire. May as well start off as a positive one." Bhara stomped over the remains of her dome and approached the soldiers with open body language, hoping the sight of a traditional weapon woild calm their nerves. "Lead the way."

 

[Firelie]

Rusted Hinges, Screaming Open
LOCATION- Fhouajan Woods
INTERACTIONS- None
The dry forest grass crackled quietly under the footfall of Celines worn boots. The shattered lantern that hung from the pole attached to the large bag she lugged around rattled in protest as the young girl stopped in the yellowed clearing.​

“Hmmmm...” she hummed thoughtfully, digging her teeth in the jerky she carried to rip off a piece. Her head tilted to the clouded sky, her mundane human eye squinted at a suspicious ripple in the pattern of clouds. A rip in the fluffy white blanket. Her suspicions of something amiss were immediately confirmed by what she saw within The Crag. The rectangular black iris of her right eye darted wildly through a sea of blood red sclera as it rushed to take in every sight and crevice in the hidden land. Whatever had caused the hole in the clouds, it was loaded with magical power. That much was obvious by the plume of beautiful glittery color that exploded out from the ground beneath the cavity in the sky. Such glittery clouds were the hidden residue of all things unexplained and magical. Though, this was the first Celine had seen it in such abundance. Immediately she knew exactly what had happened. The Toren. It was the entire reason she was out here, afoot in foreign soil. Six months of airship rides, hitch hiking, and long tiring treks finally led up to this moment.

The jerky Celine was munching on fell to the grass below as she dropped it and broke into a sprint towards whatcould only be the impact zone from those god touched people. Her broken lantern clattered wildly as Celine became no more than a brown blur. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as the feeling of cool, salty air hit her face. Of course, the air was very much a bitter cold and she was nowhere near the sea, but thus was the effect of Palliolo de Gr’th, her cloak. She mentally thanked the Order of Seekers as she felt her feet fly at speeds she could never reach without its assistance. She knew she would need the speed, considering she was already late to the scene. She would have to get there before any of the local organizati-

Too late. She underestimated JUST how late she was as she arrived at the site of landing. The Watcher pointed out the numerous footprints first, and then The Locksmith deduced them to be that of a group far too big for a small group of Toren. What was worse, a group of what seemed to be scouts from whatever party had come for the visitors from the heavens. Celine wasted no time to duck behind a tree, retracting the long pole her lantern hung on and sliding it into her bag. She stayed totally silent as she waited and listened for yelling, or any sort of sign that she had been spotted, yet none came. She breathed a relieved sigh, then got to thinking up the possibilities. She peeked her head put from her hiding spot, human eye fixated on the group as her goats eye flitted wildly in all directions, taking in all the new stimulus that came from being so close to The Toren.

Obviously the group she soughtxhad forged ahead in strangely, the entirely wrong direction. The nearest civilization was in the direction opposite to the direction the footprints led. Additionally, the footfalls were so obvious and clumsy. She even saw evidence of someone falling down a hill as she stalked past the scouts camp and down the steep hill...

Celine stalked up to the frozen lands just as the battle was concluding. She lurked just at the frozen tree line, watching with wide eyes as a red skinned boy perled himself from an ashy caccoon and barked something at a group of what were obviously soldiers. With the ability to see into The Crag, the difference between the foreign party and the soldiers was painfully obvious. The visitors from the sky were coated in beautiful shades of shimmering color, then oozed off them into the sky. It made Celine all sorts of dizzy and excited and curious. The visitors were filled to the brim with latent power and magic which to Celine, was something one had to earn through arduous hardship and challenge. She almost forgot herself and ran out into the field to barrage the visitors with a sea of questions. One of the soldiers scalding laughter snapped her back to reality, and her thoughts returned with her. She wasn’t sure what had happened, but it was obvious The Toren were on the backfoot. Unsure of how to proceed, she decided the best course of action would be to wait and observe. Once more she poked her head out, taking her time to onserve the fullzsituation as it unfolded, trying her best to not let her curiosity and desire get the best of her. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she directed her attention to The Toren on the ground. With her vision in reality it was obvious to see she sustained injuries, judging from the medics giving her attention. Her eye into the hidden world revealed wisps of negative emotion. Shame perhaps? Or fear? It was impossible to tell. It raised a lot of questions, how she would come to be injured so. Perhaps infighting? Celine would have to ask the Toren, if she ever got the chance. At that thought, her gaze drifted once more to the leader of the soldiers. “Ugh.” She groaned at the thought of having to go through the political wringer to get to The Torens. She so wanted to jump out there and blindside all the soldiers, then run off with all the Toren to question them like a fangirl, but sadly she could not do that. She slumped against the tree she was using as a hiding spot and looked at her lap, trying to concoct a logical plan of action.

 

[egglover]

"They seem like decent folk!" Bib grinned, "They saved our lives! Let's trust them."

 

[Melon Bomb]

"Good to have you." Ariter closed his face plate and ushered them onto horseback so that they rode in pairs. Chioran felt her face flush red with embarrassment as she climbed up and braced the soldier on the reins for support. "Rearguard, you know who you are. Everyone else, on me!" As they began to take off, the young toren glanced behind her and watched the scene of carnage shrink from view. It hadn't truly dawned on her until now, but... people died. She was looking at real corpses. Something twisted in the pit of her stomach, and she looked away.

The scouts who remained deployed simple rope traps, punji sticks, and caltrops, hoping to slow the advancing enemy troops. One of which inadvertently spotted the hiding Celine as he crouched down to hammer in a stake. The two made brief eye contact, and then the man fumbled for his sword. "Who are you!?"

***

When the departing group made clear of the forest, they were greeted with the sight of open blue sky, rolling valleys and distant pastures, all gilded under the light of a warm afternoon sun. A great, winding river traveled in between the hills, peppered with small farming settlements that cropped up along the banks. The freezing, bitter air of the forest had dissipated. Ariter breathed a sigh of relief, giving a tired thumbs up to his squad. "Rest easy, men. We're in the empire's borders now." They escorted the toren outsiders into a covered wagon they had prepared, chatting amongst themselves outside to relax before they began moving again.

Chioran unfastened the sword from her belt and set it beside her, loosening a few buttons from her collar. By now, she had managed to peel off most of the gunk that had stuck to her face, leaving a few trace marks behind, including red scratches from her fingernails.

"Whew! Now that's the summer heat I remember!" she said breathily, pulling her hand into her sleeve and fanning herself with its flaps. Her gaze traveled between the different members gathered under the tarp of the carriage, with lots to say and little idea of where to begin. First, she turned her attention to Bhara. "Sorry." She bowed her head sincerely, feeling the blowback of her careless optimism weigh upon her shoulders. "That was a really close call. I'm sure if we had just listened to you and been more cautious, none of that would have happened." Her hand pressed gently against her bandaged knife wounds as she spoke, the pressure of her touch mildly alleviating some of its sting. Chioran lifted her head with a small, sheepish grin. "We'll be more careful next time. I don't want any of you to get hurt."

***

Vol Kassandra obscured_light egglover Topless Firelie PiePillager

 

[Vol]

OVER MELANCHOLY HILL
Location: Somewhere in the Empire's borders
Interactions: Luna Topless
Honourable Mentions: Chioran Melon Bomb / Bhara Kassandra​

"Good to have you. Rearguard, you know who you are. Everyone else, on me!"

Konan's usual complaints were bitten back to frustrated grunts and hmphs. Resistance was futile but it just wasn't him to stop trying from having a slither of opposition. It was even worse that he had to ride on horseback WITH another guard and the horse didn't like him either. Just the general heat of the broken half-genasi was enough to singe the saddle and grow uncomfortable for the accompanying soldier and said animal. After a bit of the ride, the guard compromised with him on dousing his person to lower the temperature, if Konan couldn't change his body heat to a tolerable threshold.

Well, that option didn't help much once they've reached open fields with cloudless skies, strong sunlight pattering down on their caravan. Fortunately his sour mood lightened a little with the more familiar temperature of home in this area. The guard didn't have to occasionally splash him with water no longer.

_____________________

He peered through the moth-eaten curtains of the covered wagon, then pushed one of the flaps aside.
"More riding...when can we start to walk." Konan muttered a complaint to no one in particular as he gazed in silent awe at the rolling hills and green, green cropfields they were now in. A complete change to the frigid forest of spookiness. He had expected something to come tapping into his mentalspace from the sight of the peaceful pastures...but it was quiet. Almost contemplative in there.

"Whew! Now that's the summer heat I remember!"

Konan rested his chin on the wooden railing of the wagon cart, the flap uncomfortably sitting on top of his head. He still wanted to look at the view; he wanted to explore it. He wondered if the grass was just as soft as it was back in Makuran. If the animals were different. His thoughts about anything either than the Toren that was somehow making the wagon feel smaller than it should be for the half-genasi.

"Sorry. That was a really close call. I'm sure if we had just listened to you and been more cautious, none of that would have happened."

He found himself glancing to where Chioran was conversing with the shieldmaiden, Bhara. Then he focused his gaze back to the horizon. She did listen to Bhara, hadn't she? It wasn't her fault she fell down, and it wasn't like she was already overwhelmed with other things on her mind -- their minds.

Konan exhaled roughly, the sigh almost sounding like a raspberry. A passing soldier made eye contact with him upon hearing the noise, and Konan stared back. The soldier raised a hand slowly in greeting. Konan made a face before sticking his head back inside the wagon. A few seconds passed, then he poked his head out and returned the wave back at the same guard, uncertain. Then he disappeared from the guard's view, back into the wagon, and pressed his back against his seat.

Huh.

"Hey, um, Luna, was it?" He eyed the woman seated oddly close to Chioran. "That singing you did earlier, you think you can do it again?"
It was an out of a blue question; an ember flickered within his mind in curiously, but he reassured it with a mental flap of his hand.

 

[Topless]

They're in the clear now, out of the deathly cold land and into the sunny hills. Finally, a feeling that Luna is familiar of. As they wait to arrive at their destination, Luna hears Chioran apologize to Bhara for her hardheadedness. Luna felt sorry for her, but regardless, a lesson has been learned. But then, Konan asked Luna to sing. She didn't expect a hothead like him to ask something mundane to her. "You want me to sing? This is the first time I have been asked from you." She said "But I guess I can sing for all of you, just to lift our spirits and forget anything that happened back there. You may feel free to join along if you wish."

And so Luna begins to sing a bright and positive tune, getting everyone's bad spirits away and be replaced with joy and positivity. Luna will continue to sing until they have arrive.

Melon Bomb Kassandra Vol obscured_light egglover PiePillager​

 

[Firelie]

Such Shameful Fascinations.
Interaction: Melon Bomb (Scout)
Location: Fhouajan Woods​

Celine watched the retreating party with abundant fascination. While she did know of the Toren and their natural attunement to the gods, she didn’t expect it to be so intoxicatingly beautiful. Her eye that peered theough into The Crag grew wide as it darted around, taking in as much of the normally dark hidden world. Sparks of color and clouds of glittering power danced through the sky around the horse mounted party, filling the spectral landscape with living artwork. Her mouth hung agape at the sight, curiosity and inspiration pouring into her mind. The dance of color and ever shifting shape grew brighter and brighter with each second of fascinated staring. Beauty blossomed in the hidden world, a sight Celine had never seen before. She was so enamoured by the spectacle she hadn't even noticed...

POP!

Celine stumbled back and yelped in pain, clutching at her eye as it all came crashing down. Her vision cracked and crumbled against the pressure that simply being in the presence of such entities brought. She had been ripped from her tear in the veil, and flung back into the soothing darkness mediocrity provided. Celine hissed in pain as warm blood seeped from her now blind eye and slipped throug her fingers and down her freckled cheeks. She spun around instinctively to retreat and assess her wound, but was stopped in her tracks when her left eye locked with those of an astray scout. He fumbled with his sword, and she almost let herself reach for her dagger. Her blood soaked hand had only just been wrenched from her bloodied eye when the whispers of a plan appeared in the back tresses of her mind.

Celine knew that if she brandished her weapon at the man, she would be forced into a fight. A fight she would win, most likely, but that was not her goal. She needed to follow the retreating party, and she had no chance of doing that on foot. She would most likely just lose the party and have to guess as to where their camp was. She needed a ride, and this could very well be exactly what she wanted. Celines posture changed quickly from that of a competent combatant to that of a simple fearful young girl. She pulled it off quite well, actually. She was only seventeen after all, and furthermore she was rather petite for someone of her age. "I-I! No, n-no wai- ah!" She stuttered out with an entirely fabricated fear, backstepping in retreat and tripping over on a frozen rock she knew was there. Now having fallen on her rear, she scooted back away from the man with a feigned paniced gaze locked on him. "Please! You do n-not 'ave to do zhis!" She cried, her thick foreign accent painfully apparent, something akin to french. She hoped that played to the 'lost, injured young foreign girl in the wrong place at the wrong time' role she had adopted. If she was lucky, the scout would pity her and bring her straight to the camp for medical attention. If not she could probably take the scout and avoid being arrested. Probably.

 

[obscured_light]

Yrshta listened to the young woman's singing, opening her eyes from the small nap she had been taking. In the cramped wagon, she felt it had been best to rest a bit to pass the time. A lot had happened after all and she and Bib weren't children like the rest of them. For Yrshta, the vitality of youth was in much smaller reserves these days.

She adjusted herself in the corner of the wagon. Her large wings were squeezed to her body tightly and she had to peek out of them to look at the small group they had formed.

"I do hate to interrupt," Yrshta interrupted with a small bow. "Lovely singing but was there an idea behind the singing? I'm sure the guards will be pleased to have some entertainment but I wanted to check if it was merely that."

"I'm also Yrhsta by the way," the birdwoman added with a gentle smile. "I see some unfamiliar faces here."

 

[Melon Bomb]

Chioran rested her bag between her thighs, rummaging through with her hand blindly. "I don't see why you can't walk," she chimed in to Konan. "We're traveling by carriage, so we can't be going terribly fast." She found what she was looking for and set aside a small story book, in case she wanted to read later. If Luna was still singing by then, it would certainly make for pleasant ambiance. In response to Yrshta she continued, "Oh! That's right. I already know who you are so it never occurred to me, but we haven't properly met yet, huh? I'm Chioran!" The girl reached over to extend her hand, but when she saw the woman's, uh, winged appendages, her fingers reflexively curled up. "Ah... maybe you don't do handshakes..."

***

The scout cocked a wary brow at the girl, then sighed as he harmlessly rested the flat of his sword against his shoulder. She didn't look like she belonged with the local tribesfolk, or with Riosen's entourage. Couldn't place her weird, fake-sounding accent either. A straggler, maybe?

"Didn't realize we missed one," he said, resting a hand on his hip and tapping his shoulder a few times with his blade. "You were with them, right? Our guys are still setting up here, but I can take you back if you want. Or... am I mistaken... ?"

-

Vol obscured_light Topless Firelie

 

[Firelie]

Mild Conveniences
Interactions: Melon Bomb (DUMB Scout)
Location: Fhouajan Woods​

"Y-yes... I mean, I am. Just didn't want to fight." She lurched up onto her feet, removing her bloodied hand from the injured socket and inspected the hand. It didn't seem she was losing too much blood, but she most certainly could not open her eye. "Please take me back to my friends." Celine pleaded quietly. She hated this little charade of weakness, even if it was the fastest way to get back on track. "Oh and um... a bandage." She motioned at her bleeding eye. Atleast the injury allowed her to hide her goats eye from the scout. People always got uncomfortable with the eye.

Celine brushed herself off with her non bloody hand and walked over to the scout, covering her bleeding eye once more. "Just get me out of zhis place. I am not comfortable with um..." She glanced at the bodies in the frozen field, whether they be frozen or fresh. "Oh and um... who are you people?" She asked innocently, continuing to play to her role.

 

[Topless]

The bird woman spoke, asking if Luna's singing has some sort of an idea. "I do not." She reply "My singing only soothes the soul, just like how I soothe my former master's. I'm Luna, by the way. Your kind reminds me of one of my former master's friends. He's kind of a jerk though."

Melon Bomb Kassandra Vol obscured_light egglover PiePillager​

 

[Vol]

Hey Luna, Sing 'Country Roads'
Location: Somewhere in the Empire's borders
Interactions: Yrshta obscured_light / Chioran Melon Bomb
Honourable Mentions: Luna Topless / Bib egglover​

"You want me to sing? This is the first time I have been asked from you. But I guess I can sing for all of you, just to lift our spirits and forget anything that happened back there. You may feel free to join along if you wish."

Konan scrunched up his face at the offer and turned back to the slither of the rolling hills and open sky between the drapes of the wagon. He was easing himself into the tune but it wasn't the one he was expecting -- shit, maybe he should've been more specific. It was too joyful, too optimistic. He wanted to fall asleep, but instead the walking radio sang of what reminded him of the comforts from Makuran as well as the exploration of the unknown down here.

"Not what I was going for but whatever, better than nothing." He mumbled as he roughly rested a hand on top of his knee to stop his foot from tapping with the melody.

"I do hate to interrupt. Lovely singing but was there an idea behind the singing? I'm sure the guards will be pleased to have some entertainment but I wanted to check if it was merely that."

Konan glanced at the bird woman; guess he wasn't the only one feeling a bit cramped. Though she was physically struggling there. Why doesn't she just fly low out there? Would have opened up more space for everyone, especially with the big snakeman aboard.

"I'm also Yrhsta by the way, I see some unfamiliar faces here."

Shame it couldn't have stayed that way, it probably won't be long until they all split. Or really, until he ditched them to explore on his own.

"Konan," He sighed quietly as he leaned against the wagon's exit railing, chin upon the palm of his hand. "I'm Konan, resident arsonist." He added title with a toothy grin and a poke of his tongue, before lazily hovering his eyes towards Chioran.

"I don't see why you can't walk, we're traveling by carriage, so we can't be going terribly fast."

"Oh yeah, as if I hadn't already asked that. You wanna hear for yourself?" Suddenly the half-genasi shoved his head past the wagon's curtains. He craned his neck towards the nearest rider that was trotting beside the carriage.
"Hey you, mind if stretch my legs and, I dunno, walk, instead of being stuck in a small ass space with like 5 people?"

The rider, not expecting any of the Toren to suddenly converse with her, merely blinked and stared at him. Konan squinted back at her, then wondered if she could actually understand him.

"No. Sorry, you're safer inside there than out here, even if there's not danger right now." She finally responded, trotting closer to the carriage so the wind wouldn't carry her words off. "Best to stay put too. Atleast you aren't bound while sitting, Sir Ariter wouldn't mind to do that if one of you guys mess up."
Konan rolled his eyes and dipped back inside; the rider pulled back a bit, taken aback by his rudeness.

"Ariter, eh? Anyways, yeah you see, Chio--" His voice drawled as he tented his hands in a condescending fashion, "I would be walking but you heard the authority."

It was quiet inside again, if it wasn't then maybe he would've gotten out of there already. That supernova was his first properly executed one, he didnt expect it to fatigue his reserves that bad.

 

[Melon Bomb]

Chioran copied Konan's pose with a wry grin. "Oh pardon me sir Konan, obeyer of authority. Didn't realize you've become so well-mannered. You sure you'll be able to commit arson with all that authority obeying? Here, watch!" She flicked her glorious locks, turned to the open end, and then leapt out of the moving wagon with a graceful landing.

"Hey! What did I just say?" The soldier scolded, startled by her sudden appearance on the road. "Come on, back in you go,"

"And what if I don't?" Chioran said as she followed with long strides, folding her hands on the back of her head. "Gonna tie me up?"

The soldier looked to Ariter, who made some kind of annoyed hand gesture in response. The woman dropped her shoulders and sighed.

"Fine. But don't stray too far, or we'll drag you back."

Chioran leaned her head to peek in between the curtains and gave a cheeky thumbs up to Konan. At the front of the entourage, Ariter kneaded his face with his open palm in futile attempt to massage the stress out of his face muscles.

***

"Ah yeah, that looks like it'd sting," the scout nodded to Celine. "We should have some supplies for that back in the wagon." He helped her onto his horse and parted after a brief exchange with the rest of the rearguard. "And us? Well... you can think of us as the good guys!" He ruffled the girl's hair and laughed. "The Star Falling happens every year. The location changes over time, but it's been... let's see... five or six years in a row we've been getting landings in this forest? There's a lot of really unsavory types who lurk around here around this time, we're here to make sure none of them get their scummy hands on 'em. The toren."

-

Vol Firelie

 

[Vol]

She Went THERE
Location: Somewhere in the Empire's borders
Interactions: Chioran Melon Bomb
Honourable Mentions: N/A​

"Oh pardon me sir Konan, obeyer of authority. Didn't realize you've become so well-mannered. You sure you'll be able to commit arson with all that authority obeying? Here, watch!"

And he did watch, with a mouth shaped like an 'o' as the drapes flapped uselessly against the leap of the swordgirl. They actually had let her, even if the old guard -- Ariter, probably -- begrudingly allowed it.

Flames sparked at the edges of his hair and he grabbed at the railing before jumping out of the carriage, a singed handprint left behind on the wood. He blew an ember towards her way as a response to her gesture.

"What-fucking-ever, they just like you 'cause you look like a person people wanna take care of." It was her natural charisma, and it was annoyingly useful.

Konan started walking as well though his pace was naturally brisk. He wished the caravan would go a bit faster, atleast he as able to move about somewhat freely. The sun was definitely welcoming on his skin and he was already feeling much more rejuvenated than being inside the cramped carriage.

"Not bad, Chio, not bad at all." He found himself muttering stretching his arms up before resting behind the nape of his neck; breathing in the fresh sun-warmed air. "I'm gonna fuck all you guards up, just you wait."

"Did you say something?" The same rider from before who had told him 'no' earlier trotted to the side of him. Unfortunately she couldn't get too close as her horse instinctively moved away from the hazy and uncomfortable warm aura radiating from the young man.

"You're probably gonna be the first one." Konan grinned up at her, crimson irises boring gleefully into her own.

"O-kay." She trotted up ahead to join Ariter's flank.

 

[Firelie]

Casual interrogation
Location: Fhouajan Woods
Interactions: Melon Bomb (DUMB STUPID Scout)​

Celine hopped up onto the horse with the scouts help. She wrapped her free arm around his waist to make sure she didn’t fall off. She was already injured enough as is. She most certainly didn’t want to get flinged off.

She chuckled nervously as he ruffled his hair, trying her best to make her amusement seem genuine. “I... I see. The good guys. Okay!” She grinned her fabricated grin. She couldn’t disagree with that more, seeing as these were the types of people to arrest her comrades, but she needed to play along. She needed as much information as she could get. Hopefully playing cute and stupid would squeeze it out of the scout. “Um... Sir? Can I ask your name?” She asked coyly. “Also um... why? Why you come after zhe Toren, I mean.” She gasped, as if coming to a realization. “Oh! I forgot to zhank you for helping me out, and not uh... arresting me.” She cast her gaze down to the road with fabricated shyness. “My name is Lillia, by the way.” She lied once more.

Most of her fibs were for the sake of information, including the little compliment sandwich she had just server him, but she wouldn’t tell the scout her real name even if she was being honest with him. She was forbidden from giving her true name to pretty much anyone, after all. Thus was one of the many rule of The Order of The Holy Wound.

 

[Melon Bomb]

"Well, young lady," the scout said as the two breached the border of the forest and into open sunlight. "You can call me Mills." He shielded his brow from the glare, by now spotting that the carriage was quite a ways down the road. "The toren have been... valuable allies to our empire, for many years. It's only natural, then, that we should protect their brothers and sisters from harm." He pointed back toward the forest.

"Those woods are neutral ground. On the other side, you'll find the Riosen Kingdom. You don't want to mix in with their lot." With a gloved hand, the man held up a pendant around his neck. A small faded crystal, milky white with strange veins running across its surface. It glinted dully under the sun. "See this? This is vadium. They use this to enslave toren, and kill the ones who resist. Want to know what it does?" He made a jabbing motion into his palm, pressing the tip of the crystal into his skin. "Stick one of these into your bloodstream... and you'll fuckin' explode. Pardon the language. Only happens to toren, by the way. To anybody else, it's just a normal rock. And don't worry about this one, it's completely inert. Makes for a neat souvenir, huh?"

Mills scratched his chin. "But, ah... sorry, this all probably sounds quite scary to hear at first. I wouldn't worry about it too much, vadium is never in high supply -- they do make weapons out of these, but they're unbelievably rare. You'll likely never see one. Don't even know where the hell it's mined from. Must be some kind of trade secret."

***

"That was a joke, right?" Chioran said, squinting suspiciously at Konan. "I can never tell with you. Listen, I promise I'm totally on board with you threatening people, but only if we know that they're..." She trailed off midsentence, her eyes following something trotting their way. Another horse, with two riders. Huh. Who could it be?

"Picked up a straggler!" Mills called, waving to his soldier buddies. "Pretty sure she's with them."

"Did you now?" Ariter looked over his shoulder. "Pretty sure, or sure?"

"You recognize this girl?" the scout asked, leaning Celine slightly off the horse for the others to get a better look. Puzzled, Chioran tilted her head and searched the new girl's features, but nothing about her stuck out as familiar to her. She was about to relay this aloud, but... didn't. Surely there was no reason to lie here. And yet, nothing more than instinct (and maybe a strong subconscious reading of her expression) advised her otherwise.

"N... uh, ye, n-- Yeah! Yeah, totally! I saw her during the festival! She probably came down on one of the other stars?" Whew! That was a nice save! Even if matchstick over there tries to disagree, her adlib still fits. Not that she knew why she was doing this to begin with. It just felt right!

-

Vol Firelie

 

[Kassandra]

Again, Chioran and Konan seemed to naturally want to butt heads over every little thing. Well, not every little thing. He always seemed flustered whenever Chio flaunted her natural impressiveness, but Bhara hesitated to call it envy. A coy smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. Were those embers at the tips of Konan's hair his version of a blush? Was there perhaps... A crush? A chortle escaped her before Bhara could steel herself against it. In turn, she hid behind her shield a bit and turned her head backwards at the trail behind them. As a horse stamped forward trying to catch up.

Another toren? Had to be a native, perhaps indicative of some sort of society for their kind below Makuran? It didn't sit well with Bhara that they were heading in the exact opposite of where the straggler had been discovered. She could just be covering for time, waiting for the moment when she could speak with them in private and lead them towards true sanctuary. Thankfully, Chioran had the good sense to agree to bring her on. She decided to help play along.

"There you are, friend! Thought we lost you in the landing. Stay close to your brother and sisters, our people have to stick together here."

- Firelie

 

[Strategos]

Location: Hoshino dōjō
"One... Two... Three... Four... Five... Six... Seven... Eight!" the middle-aged man counted loudly, every number being a rhythm over 20 students followed to their choreographed swings and poses. Martially it didn't really teach much, not practically anyways, but it trained their discipline and their footwork. Tadashi watched over his pupils like a hawk and noticed a slight mistake. With a flick of the wrist, he struck the calf of one of his students lightly with his bokken. "Your footwork is sloppy, your mind is elsewhere. Why don't you tell us where your mind is currently?" he asks his student, rhetorically at first, but his student responded rather unexpectedly.

"Forgive me sensei, but today is the day the Star Falling happens, and I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the Torens who will be arriving into the city today, I was afraid that you'll have us all stay back again to spar and I'll be too late to see them," he replied. It appears his age was catching up to him or perhaps it was his exhaustion from last night's scuffle, he forgot today was the day that the Torens would be arriving into the city. He always saw the Torens who fell from the skies as amateurs, hoping to do some good but all too green to do what needs to be done. Most didn't even know the world today and probably never seen anything as complex as a rifle, it was infuriating that all that power is all for nought as their naivety prevents them from doing some good.

"You are excused. I too am actually curious, let's end class early today for this special occasion, but I expect you all to stay later than usual tomorrow. Dismissed.". All the students faced him and bowed deeply, it was clear that his pupils held a high degree of respect for him. The student from before, in particular, packed his bags quickly and ran out of the dojo after bowing one last time, eager to see the arrival of the Torens. He chuckled and remembered when he had such enthusiasm and energy in his youth, but nonetheless, he too was genuinely curious to see the new arrivals of the newest group of Torens, they were after all instant celebrities of the kingdom. He donned his daishō and left his Dojo, walking through the bustling, winding alleyways of Quiol.

Location: Streets of Quiol
This general area, dubbed "Eastown" by the inhabitants of the city, is filled with the thousands of people who fled from war and famine from their eastern kingdoms in search of opportunity in the west. The architecture was visibly different from the rest of the city, wooden rowhouses with hanging banners in a language that most of the city's inhabitants couldn't understand - at least they made a good bowl of noodles.

Hoshino Tadashi calls this section of the city his home and while he rarely leaves it, he does frequent the rest of the city in his "nighttime patrols" in a different outfit. Rumours of the "outsider", as the city newspapers call him, has been spreading like wildfire. An eastern man who hides behind a mask and a conical hat, who's swordsmanship is unmatched and strikes the city's hooligans, criminals and delinquents. His swordsmanship was rumoured to be so precise that those who claimed to have duelled the outsider was no longer able to fight again, thanks to a lost or cut thumb.

To the immigrants, the outsider became a hero and an urban legend, one so revered that they have a name for him, " 浪人", the wanderer. The wanderer has become the symbol of strength that they needed to stand proud of their identity amongst the xenophobia and hate, and there was no one happier about that much other than Hoshino Tadashi.

He walks further and further from the twisting alleys and roads until the structures of the building become more and more western. He was now in the true heart of the city, and after reaching the main road, he walks down to reach the main gate. He eavesdrops passing conversation, noticing the higher amount of people who wear swords openly on the streets. "I've heard that the outsider targets only Quiol-born residents, that's why people are starting to wear swords." a man said in a nearby bar, "I'd say, but the only people he has targeted have been troublemakers, I feel like I can even let my daughter walk to school alone!" another exclaimed. People agreed, some argued against it, but none of them paid attention to the man walking down the street, with his eyes closed and a smile on his mouth.

Finally, he arrives at the main gate, and there is already a sizable crowd forming, anticipating the arrival of the scouts from their expedition. He waits, fidgeting with his sword as he flick it in and out of the scabbard. He will wait here for the Torens to arrive.

 

[Vol]

Missed the Memo
Location: Somewhere in the Empire's borders
Interactions: Chioran Melon Bomb / Scout person
Honourable Mentions: Bhara Kassandra / Celine Firelie​

"That was a joke, right? I can never tell with you. Listen, I promise I'm totally on board with you threatening people, but only if we know that they're..."

Bright eyes that were reignited with mischief looked back at her from over his shoulder.
"You'll never know when they're gonna flip their switch, I just wanna let them they know we -- I mean, I ain't going down without a fight when they do." His words were thrown about so casually, though it was clear his accusations were thinly veiled as taunts. He could not help it, he was in a much better state of mind and body this time, a little bit of a tussle would've been the cherry on top.

Fuel.

Konan raised a brow when he noticed that Chioran was no longer paying attention to him, but to a newcomer -- or probably another prisoner. The girl looked weathered, twigs and leaves littered her curly mop of locks. She looked just as confused as the guard that was with her.

"You recognize this girl?"

"N... uh, ye, n-- Yeah! Yeah, totally! I saw her during the festival! She probably came down on one of the other stars?"

Konan's brow remained raised as his lips pursed to a straight but thoughtful line. He had personally never seen this girl before but Chioran socialised far more than he ever wanted to. So she was probably right.

There you are, friend! Thought we lost you in the landing. Stay close to your brother and sisters, our people have to stick together here."

Oh he had almost forgotten the shieldmaiden was here, as he looked back to see her chiming in from the wagon. Huh.

"No. But Chioran's probably right, she fell down from somewhere else, I guess..?" Konan furrowed his brows for a moment. He swore there was only 6 of them that had stepped onto the final platforms (including himself). But then again, that white light would really befuddle one's senses.

He shrugged nonchalantly and continued to walk, moving his attention to the back of Ariter's head.

 

[Firelie]

Much more than Convenience
Interactions: Vol Melon Bomb Kassandra
Location: The Empires Borders​

Though the mention of the group of soldiers being friends to The Toren should have eased her mind, she knew to still be very much on guard. While they were friends to The Toren she seeked, there was no guarentee they would give her the same treatment. She knew this was the main grounds for The Order of the Bloody Cup. Surely, the extremist nature of the practitioners of magical arts in this area had caused people like Mills lots and lots of trouble. She did not need to get mixed up with those of the cup and be locked up for it.

The glint of white stone wrung Celine from her thoughts, and she immediately recognized the innate Vadium stone as he explained its effects. She knew all about it, far more than Mills, that was for sure. It seemed the mundane folk of these lands used them to deal with Toren. "Yeah, thats really scary. I didn't know a stone like that existed." She removed her hand from her once bleeding eye. The blood had congealed at this point, and the wound seemed to have closed itself. Still, the area surrounding the eye was covered in hald dried blood, and she still didn't dare open her right eye.

Finally, the pair approached the group of Toren by the wagon. Celine panicked inwardly for a moment. She had planned to lock Mills mind away for enough time to dismount and attach herself to the group, but before she had time to act, explanations had started, and Celine glanced away from the group, prepared for the Toren to expose her little charade. Much to her surprise, they did quite the opposite. Her head snapped to the group, a surprised look upon her face. It was the first break in character she had made, and it was gone as soon as it had happened. "Ah uh..." She stuttered awkwardly as she regained composure, awkwardly sliding off the horse. Her boots thumped against the warm grass as the girl wiped her bloodied hand on her pant leg. Her clothes were already coated in grime, and the cloak she wore looked sun battered and in such tatters that it was about to fall to pieces. A hazel eye scanned the group before her. Shortly after, a friendly grin appeared on her face. She hoped it helped to offset the disconcerting trail of dried blood that seeped from her closed right eye, coating her tanned and freckled cheeks. "Greetings once more, friends." She chirped cheerily, her thick foreign accent blatently apparent to The Toren. Idly the thought that the rest of the people from the sky sounding very much different from her would arouse suspicions among the soldiers, but the thought passed.

 

[Topless]

Luna giggled at the sight of Chioran and Konan's rather "friendly" bickering. Just then, two people approach the caravan, one of them being a girl that was strayed from the fall. She had not seen this woman, nor did she knew her. Either way, it seems that she'll be tagging along. "Salutations!" She greeted "I believe we haven't met before. I'm Luna."

Melon Bomb Kassandra Vol obscured_light egglover PiePillager Firelie​