Fantasy ~Magistone: Western IC Group~

[SkyGinge]

"Aye, a bucket," Joachim grunted in responce to Hottie, his usual charm and charisma thoroughly drowned by the battle and subsequent torrent, "and whilst you're at it, think you could magic me up a new arm and some booze? That'd be killer. Cheers." After the days tribulations, this was the perfect night for a good drink. Surrounded by strangers, with an arm pretty MIA... yup, perfect. Stuff of university daydreams, this. Fantastic.


Folks were by and by standing around like little rural freshman eager for a good time at a tavern but having no-fricking-idea what they were doing. Joachim couldn't help but grin his roguish grin at the scene. Gah, whoever knew 'sadism' would be a thing Joachim Crowe could add to his personality arsenal, he chuckled internally, But this whole finding painful things bleeding hilarious is proper weird. Their little company was a right collection of mugs. Aside from Hottie, there was the black woman, Jimmy the Giant (who was looking particularly hard done by), Blondey, some crazy-muscular guy who Joachim certainly didn't want to get on the wrong side of...


The final member of their group, a fairly average looking guy with stubble who he'd seen getting all chummy with Stepladder Steve, spoke up, and started your standard introduction sesh'. Getting presumptuous now, are we, Stubbly? Joachim cocked a brow. Yeah, he was technically a magician, but not a particularly good one. At all. That said, he wasn't going to admit that; his pride forbade it. The black woman was next to introduce herself, but her name was so many weird consonants muddled together that Joachim resolved himself to find a more suitable nickname in due course. Then, Stepladder Steve (or rather Three-Storey-Xaus, which was a new nickname so funny that Joachim couldn't help but smirk at it) decided to take his shirt off. Fantastic there, mate, get in there. I know, instead of introducing myself like everyone else, I'll take off my shirt and let my 7-feet pecks tell the story. That probably wasn't the reason, but it was much funnier to imagine that it was.


The only person who's name Joachim actually intended to remember (except for Three-Storey-Xaus... because that was ruddy hilarious) was Hottie, or rather Rue, who immediately instated herself as a kind of leader. Alas, poor lady, for Joachim Crowe has long since had a vendetta against leaders big and small. Though her sexuality was certainly going to help in convincing him to obey. Heck, she's probably the only one here I'll actually take orders from, Joachim's smirk was ironic. Ah well. P'raps, this time, it would actually be easier just taking orders.


Hark, the beckoning call. Time for Mr Energetic to pull his dressing gown on. Fingers tapping against his dagger belt, Joachim straightened up slightly and gave the company a comedic salute. "Salutations. The name's Joachim Crowe, Ice Mage. Pretty cool, right? What a lad, he's got puns and everything." With a cheery grin, he turned to Rue. "I'll pass on the healing, Ho-erm... Rue. Something tells me you're largely all magicked out, certainly enough to make healing this mess hell." He pointed a lazy finger to his mangled arm, and then turned to address the wider party. "Anyhow, don't know about you fine chaps and chapettes, but I say we need to do away with all these spots of silence. Heal the wounds of battle with a good tale or two. As my old pa used to say, 'laughter is the best medicine'. If I could laugh my arm back to life, that'd be ruddy brilliant, but sadly this is one of many things dad was wrong about. Anyhow, how about we exchange a tale or too? Get all chummy before we get ourselves deaded. How about you, big guy?" He tossed the ball over to Three-Storey-Xaus (stop, stop, it's too funny!). "I bet you've seen all sorts of banterous occurrences from them lofty heights."


@TheDragonMoon @Epiphany (directly)


@Quill @grey987 @Kyte @Kharmin (indirectly)

 

[TheDragonMoon]

Spoiler

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The healer, now introduced as Rue, started to look over his wounds in an observant manner. Xaus was surprised to see that she would take such initiative after what a long day it had been. Wasn't she drained and ready to collapse in a corner, much like he was? What a gracious woman she was. Before he did anything else, he made sure to take of his beloved necklace, something he should've done already. He didn't like the idea of just having it out the open for everybody to stare at like another dazzling jewel, so he carefully placed it into his knapsack that he had earlier placed beside his chair. Rue was gentle enough as he cleaned out the wounds scattered among his chest, appearing to do a very dutiful job of taking care of it all. There wasn't much to do about his leg without some serious healing, but the cleaning up that Rue did was more than good enough for Xaus, perhaps even good enough for him to actually get some sleep if he lay in the right position.


As Rue was wrapping up, she told him that she didn't have any clothes for him, except for her jacket that would be too small for him. He declined, knowing that it would be a waste and that it would be better if she used it for herself. He hoped that somebody would volunteer to start up a fire to warm up the frigid place. When she finished her job, Xaus sunk deeper in the chair, feeling somewhat less shitty than he had a few minutes ago. He muttered his thanks to Rue. That J guy started to blab his mouth, saying he was a fabulous man with jokes and ice magic or something. Didn't he say something about alcohol earlier? If so, Xaus would be very, very, interested in some of that. Xaus squinted at J. His general attitude was annoying enough to give Xaus a headache, not to mention his way of going about things. And he had a suspicion that he was made fun of in some way by him, although that could just be from his general caution towards people. Give him a chance, he scolded himself. A funny guy could add a breath of fresh air into his life.


"...Anyhow, how about we exchange a tale or too? Get all chummy before we get ourselves deaded. How about you, big guy? I bet you've seen all sorts of banterous occurrences from them lofty heights."


Was it really that hard to tell that he wasn't in the mood to talk right now? Hadn't his curt introduction give off an impression of a shy guy or anybody that didn't like to talk? Idiot. The idea of "getting chummy" made Xaus wish that the hounds had taken him before. Splinters dug into his bare back as pressed up against the chair anxiously, thinking of anything to give the group. Time ticked by as he racked his mind for what would be interesting to tell. Of course that man had to pick him, not somebody that seemed bursting of tales like Vane. He finally came up with something that he could present.


He breathed deeply and started, "There isn't much to say. I am worn out of my mind, but I can share a brief story of another time much like this, where I was under attack by that dreadful magic once more. Might give you guys an idea of what else to expect or something, Or keep you entertained somehow. I'll just state right off the bat; I'm not much of a talker or sociable in general, but I will try."


"I had just arrived at the cliffs of Western Valia, coming back to where I had pleasant childhood memories from. I was setting up camp among the trees, when the awful cries started in the distance. The noises I realized, all alone clinging onto my tree, must be of somebody being tortured. It gave me the feeling of being a mere prey to this malignant force that was out there." he talked slowly and grimly, "A feeling that I had grown quite accustomed to since calamity struck the lands, along with the harsh sadness that came from dealing with all the endless suffering and death."


"Anyhow, the cries tittered off in the middle of the night, much to my relief. When I foolishly started to drift off --- I had been running around, hunting the past couple days --- a strange red mist crept around the base of the trees. The most paralyzing fear that I had ever felt in my life rose up from within myself. I know it must have been from the strange apparition. Visions of my everything that had ever went wrong in my life flashed through my mind, each one hitting my like a hammer. The red mist was getting closer. I knew if I let it get any closer I would be a goner. Something that I consider at times a "miracle" happened; something within my burst through. enough so that I could move my limbs and shakily jumped to the other tree, which made feel almost instantly better, being away from the dread magic."


Where was he even going with this? Xaus yawned, wondering if people where going to hate him for being a downer, talking about the dark magic after an exhausting day.


"So, yeah. I suppose it would have been better to tell a funny tale (and I do have some really good ones!), but yeah sorry, I couldn't really think of anything. But, what you can take away from my occurrence is that as you all probably know, the dark magic comes in all different shapes and sizes, so keep an eye out. And that even when you think things are done, find your inner strength within and keep going. There is always hope in some form, no matter how tiny. I think that there is a way that we can get through this in the end. I believe that the events that happened at the beach finalized that belief for me," he finished with a tone of uncertainty.


That's what you get when you force a guy into speaking that doesn't want to talk. He should've told a story with humor, he knew that could help out everybody's spirit. It sadly wasn't his forte. Hell, people where nowhere near his forte either. Now that Xaus got that done, he was ready to fall asleep in the chair. He stared lazily at the ceiling. It was surprising that the others were still very much merry.

​

 

[Kharmin]

<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2015_08/57a8c40e2c564_Stephen_50.jpg.e37e7e7c420df93e37b4345ab0db06ff.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="69625" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2015_08/57a8c40e2c564_Stephen_50.jpg.e37e7e7c420df93e37b4345ab0db06ff.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p> Stephen managed to be the last one into the small building as he watched their rear during the retreat up-slope. Once inside, and no threats manifested to further disturb the small group of survivors, he sheathed his broad sword. He took to a window to scan for any pursuit and, after a moment of not finding any, allowed himself to start to relax.


The effort to "see" the combat by using his talent to sense the movements on the ground had taxed him more than he had expected. Stephen's ability to work with earth magic had never been strong and what little control that he mustered oft times was more effort than the results were worth. Still, in this recent case, he was hard-pressed to see any of them surviving this attack without his swordsmanship which could not have been as effective without leaning on his talent.


Hearing the healer Rue's suggestion, Stephen remained at the window and posted his watch. With a brief nod to the rest, he introduced himself with a deeper tone than his appearance might have otherwise warranted. The meter to his words was slower than most, but not the speed of a simpleton and his accent held something of a drawl. "My name is Stephen Tanner," he said as his sky blue eyes touched lightly on everyone on the room, "and I'm nothing more than a survivalist. My talent is my sword although I can work a little with earth magic."


He turned back to the window as there wasn't really anything more to say. As Rue worked on healing the others, Stephen would insist that they be treated before him as he believed himself more tolerant of his injuries than most.


Stephen maintained his stoic vigil at the window with a stern demeanor. To spare himself the boredom of peering through the window and into the rain, he stole glances at the other survivors. Most of them had managed well enough during the attack; however, some fought ... well, more bravely than others. His eyes caught on the man he had first tried to rescue on the beach and recalled how the coward had turned, ran and left Stephen with the attacking hounds.


He crossed his strong arms over his chest and looked back through the window as he considered his next move. Would it be simpler to rest and then strike out on his own, or was there truly safety in numbers as the saying went? With so many now, it would be more difficult to protect, move and feed them all without attracting more of the Shadow King's notice.


The answer would not come this night, Stephen realized. Instead, he decided on a more patient, wait-and-see approach sensing that the next several hours of interaction would quickly determine whether or not the many, diverse personalities in the room could manage to stay together or tear each other apart.

 

[grey987]

<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2015_08/57a8c411e7a96_ResizedVane.jpg.01aba856f8135e57322655d87aa8641c.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="69768" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2015_08/57a8c411e7a96_ResizedVane.jpg.01aba856f8135e57322655d87aa8641c.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p> The first one amongst the group to introduce themselves had been a more elderly looking woman by the name of 'Jvala Qathor', a wind mage who came from Valia's capital city to Vane's slight surprise. Either she got pretty lucky, or she wasn't present in the city when it was attacked. That had to have been the place that the Druids hit the hardest, he thought to himself shortly after Qathor's introduction, and then his eyes flickered over to the tall man he'd accompanied earlier and soon came to know him as 'Xaus', a mage trained in both lightning and mystic magic that originated from a small village in the South. Just like me, the fire mage mused with the smallest of smiles, his eyes lingering on the other traveller for a moment before he shook his head in response to when he inquired if any of them had spare clothing he could use. "My apologies. I don't have any available," he spoke, and then his gaze switched over to that dark haired woman from earlier.


Her again, huh...? I was hoping that she'd be more of a quiet type, Vane thought in a distasteful manner, recognizing 'Rue' as the woman who had stepped up to assume a leadership role back during their battle on the beachside. He didn't take very kindly to loud authoritative types... They bothered him quite a bit. But he didn't allow his facial expression to show any such evidence of this, and he kept silent as she announced that she needed a volunteer to collect firewood and have another start a fire for them all. And then there were the wounds, blah blah blah... At that point, he had to resist the incredible urge to sigh exasperatedly before she asked who would be next to introduce themselves. And even then, the bloody woman just wouldn't stop talking! She still had more words to speak after that, and he found himself praising the Gods when someone else decided to speak up.


... Wait a minute.





Now Vane had to stop himself from groaning aloud when he realized that the person speaking was the dimwit from earlier, whose character boasted overconfidence without any sort of dignity whatsoever. Releasing a deep exhale through his nose after 'Joachim Crowe' introduced himself to everyone else, he brought his hands to his eyebrows and forcefully knitted them together with his thumb and forefinger, wondering if there'd ever be an end to his mental torment while Crowe informed Rue that he'd take care of the healing for her, and then suggested that they go around sharing stories to ease the tension that lingered amongst them in this lighthouse that they'd camped out in. And I haven't even gotten to introduce myself, the guy who brought up the idea in the first place... Absolutely brilliant.





Regardless, Xaus decided to speak up again and told them all of a very solemn tale involving how he'd nearly been consumed by a wave of dark magic, leaving them all silent for a while before the blond-haired man that had come to Vane's rescue during the brutal assault took his opportunity to introduce himself as 'Stephen Tanner', but he didn't say much more and ended up returning to looking out of one of the lighthouse windows. The young man nodded a bit as he looked down at the floor, closed his eyes while taking a deep breath and then opened them so he could look up at everyone else before his almost gruff sounding voice escaped his throat once more.


"My name is Vane Airindrak. I'm a magician who has had practice in both fire and light magic and hails from the Southern part of Valia. Unfortunately, I do not have any intriguing stories to tell... Not any that would serve to make any of us feel better, anyways."


He was about to suggest that Crowe himself should tell a story of his own if he had one... Then he quickly decided that doing so would probably be a bad idea.


@TheDragonMoon (directly)


@Quill, @Epiphany, @SkyGinge, @Kharmin (indirectly)

 

[Kyte]

Holland quietly leaned against the stone walled interior as he listened intently as everyone began introducing themselves, his eyes scanning across the room as each member chimed in. First was the older dark skinned woman, Her introduction was simple, yet curious.


"I'm Jvala Qathor, a wind mage. Born and raised in Aliak."


She seemed to be a soft spoken woman, yet she did seem to have an air of confidence around her. Further, if she was a wind mage raised in Aliak, no doubt she had attended the Univerities…she most definitely the oldest one in the group by a margin of years, probably 39 or 40 whereas most of the other members were young, in there 20’s no doubt…he himself was the middle man at 33. Holland wondered if perhaps he might have crossed paths with her when he was but a boy himself taking classes at the School of Earth over a decade ago. He concluded that she must have been away from the Druid attack on the capital as well, no one could have escaped that city…It was good to know that they had an experienced wind mage with them though. Tactically speaking, wind magic was always an asset on the battlefield.


Next to introduce himself was the tall individual…Holland, who at 6’3” was not used to seeing men taller than he was, found this man’s size amusing if nothing else. The thing that struck Holland the most though was his eyes. They were a very dark shade of blue, like the sky above in cloudless twilight. The boy himself seemed to always have a guarded disposition and chose his words carefully, almost timidly, as he began to introduce himself. Yet his eyes contained certain depth of expression within them. Holland could tell right off the bat that he was an introvert.


"My name is Xaus. A lightning/mystic mage, raised in a tiny and rural village of Southern Valia.”


Xaus huh? Interesting name, but more so that he was a lightning and mystic mage. That was unexpected, especially for being raised in the dominantly conservative south. Holland wondered how adept he was in these schools of magic.


Next came the young girl who had helped heal him at the foot of the lighthouse spire.


"I'm Rue, a healer from the Order of the Wise Ones here in the West. And while I haven't trained at your Academies, I have some gift in healing wounds. Though I've exhausted it for the moment”.


Rue then took initiative to delegate necessary tasks from the group. Gathering Firewood, boiling water for medical sterilization, and asking everyone to be vocal about their wounds.


Holland already liked her, in the few words she had spoken, Rue had demonstrated to Holland that she had tact, compassion, confidence, and decent leadership abilities. All of these were excellent qualities to have during this time of great hardship. Further, being a light mage and well practiced in field paramedicine, she would most certainly be an asset if she decided to stay with the group. Holland had heard of the Order of the Wise Ones but didn’t know much about them. All he knew was that they group of skilled yet infamous traveling healers in west Valia. Needless to say, he looked forward to learning more about her.


A loud and somewhat obnoxious voice interrupted Holland’s thoughts


"Salutations. The name's Joachim Crowe, Ice Mage. Pretty cool, right?”


His eyes shifted to the young man who spoke, probably the smallest of the men, yet he effectively compensated for that with his grandiose mouth. He had an egotistical flair to his voice, and his laid-back informal posture reflected that personality well.


"Anyhow, don't know about you fine chaps and chapettes, but I say we need to do away with all these spots of silence. Heal the wounds of battle with a good tale or two.”


Despite his almost overbearing extroverted personality, Holland couldn’t help but chuckle. It was quite the contrast from the stoic and quiet disposition from the other members. Thus far, he had no real problem with young Joachim. A positive attitude was actually somewhat pleasing to hear after so much death and sadness had gripped Valia. Besides, he was an ice mage. From his experience ice mages excelled in projectile elementalism, which was yet another positive attribute to add to the groups tactical repertoire.


Next to introduce themselves were the other two men of their group.


"My name is Stephen Tanner, and I'm nothing more than a survivalist. My talent is my sword although I can work a little with earth magic."


A primary swordsman? That was a rare breed these days. As was mentioned earlier, those who did not control magic adeptly were at a severe disadvantage to the dark druids…a disadvantage Holland knew all too well and could relate to. It would be smart of both of them to pair up with a mage of some sort during combat to make up for that deficit.


The last to chime in was Vane. As he spoke up, Holland smirked at his clearly visible annoyance at Joachim’s overbearing personality.


"My name is Vane Airindrak. I'm a magician who has had practice in both fire and light magic and hails from the Southern part of Valia. Unfortunately, I do not have any intriguing stories to tell...”


Holland actually found Vane to be a quite hard to read, his face gave away little and his introduction didn’t serve to tell him much…but at least he knew now that he was a fire and light mage… Honestly the group, from what he was able to gather thus far, was well rounded…certainly with its fair share of kinks, but hopefully when push came to shove, they could work together as a unit…in fact, by making their way past the Druid’s hounds they already demonstrated that they could.


Holland cleared his throat as he prepared to make an introduction of his own.


“Well then, I suppose its my turn then…”


Holland Grinned as he proceeded with his own jovial flair, though several steps shy that of Jochim’s.


“you see I’m the proprietor of this here luxurious lighthouse, I hope you find my accommodations adequate…you see, I certainly was not expecting guests this evening!...shall I prepare some tea for you gents and ladies?…Heh hardly, but as you might have guessed, I am the one who ignited that signal flair up on the lighthouse spire…Glad to see you all managed to make it past those hounds in one piece more or less”


Holland’s grin diminished as he adopted a parade stance with his hands behind his back. In a calm yet commanding baritone voice he continued.


“My name is Holland Campbell, former Captain and of the Valian Royal guard…Lancer class infantryman, dishonorably discharged by the Dark Druids. And actually, I do not Control magic of any sort…That being said, Ive been trained to what the military would consider a class 3 earth mage, though because of circumstances directly related to the druids, I cannot currently harness that power. My survival thus far is contributed to out thinking the Druid strategies and my own adeptness in lancemanship.”


Holland then Addressed Rue.


“Now then, while I have more than enough stories to share, Rue is right. First and foremost we need to get these wounds treated. Infection is a serious possibility with some of your wounds. There was some extra firewood at the top of the lighthouse in bundles…better burning than that old door. Ill head up and grab a few for the fire pit So we can boil some water.”

 

[Epiphany]

If Rue ruffled any feathers with her requests, she didn't notice. As soon as she'd stopped talking, all of her attention went to cleaning out wounds as best as she could. Weary beyond all belief, she swayed on her feet but stuck at it, relying on the years of training she'd had in rendering patient care even when her magic was exhausted.


Unless you never had that training. Healing makes you feel tired. Hurting makes you feel amazing. Who do you really think you are?





She gave Joachim a grateful smile and nodded at his suggestion on wound treatment. "I'll try to put it right tomorrow when I've slept on it. In the meantime, the flesh is sealed up at least. Try not to move it much if you can avoid it, the bone is still extremely fragile."


Xaus received an apologetic wistful look as she recognized the uselessness of trying to fit an all-weather leather soldier's coat sized for her on someone a full foot taller. He also received a gentle squeeze on the shoulder for his thanks. Xaus' tale about the red mist raised goosebumps on her arm and she busied herself tending to the next person, even as her mind absorbed every detail of the account. She looked him in the eyes at the conclusion of his tale and nodded, affirming her agreement with his ultimate message of hope.


Stephen seemed the stoic, silent and determined type. At least she had a name now. Rue had already healed what she could on him so she let him be. He was performing a valuable service for this group of survivors and he didn't need the distraction.


Vane's mention of Light Magic perked her up a little. She tried to catch some eye contact with him and nodded if receiving it, indicating her interest in talking about that at some point. Patients came first, though.


It's Holland's little speech at the end though that brightened her spirits the most. She gave the man an admiring look for creating that signal that led them all to relative safety. His experience alone also relieved a bit of despair over the situation. Finally, someone with actual training as well as experience judging by the rank. His offer to get wood for a fire was spot on, too.


In the meantime, though, she had work to do. Unless spoken to, Rue continued to minister to the wounded.

 

[SkyGinge]

Ruddy amazing! Not only did this guy now have the best nickname in the history of mankind ever, but this guy was so sociably inept that he was proper hilarious. Unknown to the man, Joachim had picked him purely on the basis of his genius nickname, well, that and the fact that people immediately stripping off, whatever the reason, tended to rub him up the wrong way. So melancholy and unfunny was his tale, your standard encounter with the dark arts or something. Been there, done that. What was funny was the stilted delivery, though Joachim did well to conceal his chuckles. Rogue criminal he might be, but bully he wasn't, and if he intended to keep this company of meatshields he'd do well not to send them to arms against him.


"Great story mata, ta," Joachim congratulated come the story's closure, his tone teetering on the bridge between genuinity and sarcasm. Before he could pass the baton over to some other unwilling companion though, Blondey, who must have been off in daydreams of careful hair manicure to actually notice that the SUBJECT HAD BEEN CHANGED... only went a reverted to the previous topic, like a grandpa stuck on rewind. Sick, good one mate. And the guy who'd started the whole shebang finished off. Vane, huh? That was a good name for potential future puns, which was the only reason why Joachim bothered to set it to memory. And then the freaking ignoramus had the audacity to insult his storytelling as well.


Joachim narrowed his eyes, an accusing smirk rising to his lips, and he was readying himself to protest when the muscular guy spoke up. This guy started well at least; finally, somebody with a sense of humour! But then, wouldn't you know; the guy just so happened to be the ruddy general of the royal guard, a man who had probably been involved to some extent in his wanted poster! Oi, fate! Joachim yelled, internally. Don'tcha think bludgeoning my arm was enough penance? Any humourous respect for the man was immediately lost as he devolved into generic 'somebody do this job for me whilst I sit on this figurative throne and enjoy power.' Joachim Crowe says balls to leadership; he wouldn't be taking any orders from this righteous oaf any time soon.


Truth be told, Joachim didn't really get why anybody would want to join the guard. If you're gonna be hench and powerful, why not use that for your own gains instead of cheatily climbing up the power ladder and serving some glittery oafs in marble castles? Nah; the only good thing this guy proposed was getting the fire himself, which Joachim did have to admit went against his perception of soldiers and guards. Maybe this guy wasn't so bad? Bah, who cared - still wouldn't make him tale any orders.


And thus silence fell once more. Joachim felt like complaining - his idea had basically been shut down just because two lads decided they didn't like it, and that they'd prefer to wallow away in deathly silence like the solemn ruddy dastards they were. He frowned to himself, not daring to break it, as much as he hated it. He'd been away from people so long that he was willing to suppress a little defiance for the sake of conversation. But man - bad silence, no! It was driving him up the wall. And he couldn't even fidgit with his favourite arm - brilliant.


Until eventually, Joachim spoke again: "Alrighty then. Folks who aren't doing any of mummy's chores, what would you like to talk about, if not tension-breaking tales? I'm all ears. And mouth too."

 

[Lioness075]

Keeping to herself after months of surviving on her own shouldn't have felt so difficult all of the sudden for Leandra. Yet, it did. Maybe she'd been alone for too long. She'd always thoroughly enjoyed human interaction after all, but after what all had happened Leandra feared any and all humans she saw. As she walked through the forest, Leandra saw Falarion weaving around the trees around her, even crying out occasionally. It was beautiful out, though Leandra almost felt as if some sixth sense of hers was telling her to keep an eye out. As for what to keep an eye out for, Leandra had no idea. After all, Falarion seemed relaxed and the phoenix-like bird always seemed to foretell danger if it were present at all.


Yet, just as Leandra thought about this, Falarion suddenly let out a warning cry before diving down and then lightly landing on Leandra's shoulder. Falarion immediately cocked his head to the right, telling Leandra where the danger was. Pulling up her hood and covering her mouth with a small scarf, Leandra then moved quietly among the forest until she came to the edge and paused in the shadows. Looking just beyond, Leandra saw some humans, actual humans, fighting what appeared to be wolves made of shadowy magic, or something like that. They certainly appeared demonic and distorted in shape to some degree. Yet, knowing how her interactions with humans before had worked, Leandra hung back and continued to watch in silence, as the humans seemed to be felled every other action, though they never stopped getting back up. Commendable, really, but Leandra wasn't about to join some random group of survivors just because they didn't know when to give up.


Suddenly, Falarion squawked in surprise and was airborne, just in time for Leandra to turn around and get a face-full of wolf. Falling onto her back out of surprise, Leandra quickly slammed her fist into the wolf's cheekbone, surprised when the wolf barely reacted and instead snapped at her face. Reacting quickly, Leandra whipped her head to the side just in time for the wolf to clamp down on her left shoulder. Gasping at the sudden pain, Leandra then felt immense relief, as Falarion dive-bombed the wolf and clawed at its back before landing on its head while pecking at where its eyes should be and beating at the sides of its head with his wings. The wolf yelped when its eyes were both pecked out and it violently shook itself while bounding away blindly and in turn, sprinting straight into a tree trunk. Just as the wolf connected with the tree trunk and consequently killed itself in the impact, Falarion flew off of his back and returned to Leandra's side, landing near her with a bowed head, as if the injury Leandra sustained was somehow Falarion's fault.


Sighing, Leandra gingerly pushed herself up into a sitting position before dismissively waving at Falarion and muttering, "Don't be like that. You can't warn me about everything, Falarion. Everyone makes mistakes, honestly." Falarion then hopped up to Leandra's side before chortling and rubbing his head against her hand until she weakly smiled and then used her good arm while moving her hand to pet Falarion on the head. A glance at her bleeding and wounded shoulder told her that she'd need to bandage it soon or risk an infection or even blood loss though. Sighing, Leandra moved her hand away from Falarion and then carefully removed the knapsack from her back before setting it down beside her and then opening it to dig through her meager supplies until she could find some extra cloth to wrap her injured shoulder with. Falarion cocked his head at Leandra in a curious manner, as she then struggled with a few grunts here and there to eventually wrap her left shoulder in some bandaged wrappings with blood already lightly staining them.


Once done with this meager task, Leandra let out a sigh of relief and then moved to put her knapsack back on before balancing herself against a tree trunk and slowly pushing herself back up onto her feet with a small groan. Before she could turn around to see how the group was faring along the coast, Leandra felt the temperature in the air dip and soon felt a cool breeze blowing her hair towards the ocean. Falarion took to the sky, avoiding Leandra's shoulders since one was now injured and she'd need the other one freed up if another fight were to happen. especially now that those shadow dogs seemed to be amassing in the area. Just as Leandra walked back to the forest edge and looked over the small village, she felt the first of the rain drops tapping her on the shoulders and back, stinging her injured shoulder through the bandages. Gritting her teeth, Leandra looked out just in time to see the group of humans finishing off the last of the shadow dogs.


Watching the group gather themselves and then head towards some blue flickering light in the distance, Leandra sighed, as the forest was giving her no shelter to the rains and the fishing village just beyond was in complete disarray. If she wanted a safe shelter to recover in, she'd have make her way to the lighthouse and join the survivors. Sensing Leandra's unease, Falarion landed in the mud beside her, making a disdained expression upon sinking her claws into the mud. Cocking her head at Leandra though, Falarion chirped encouragingly at her, as he knew that Leandra struggled to trust humans after what had happened to her. And the fact that she may not be the safest person for any human to be around anyways. Inhaling deeply to encourage herself, Leandra then held out her right arm for Falarion to perch on, which he did so, and then she began calmly walking out and towards the lighthouse.


Reaching the door to the lighthouse, Leandra hesitantly raised her left, and free of birds, arm to knock, only to gasp in pain from doing so. Gritting her teeth against the pain, Leandra then brought her left fist up once more and rapidly knocked on the door, hoping that one of the survivors heard her. While waiting outside, and due to the lighting, Leandra's dark attire made her appear more ominous than anything, as her hood was covering her head while her small black scarf covered her mouth, thus only her sky blue eyes were showing from her face. On top of this, she was soaking wet, which only darkened her attire further, and her left shoulder had the wrapped bandages around it along with blood stains on them. As if this all wasn't enough, she continued to hold up Falarion, who was calmly perched on her right forearm and was most likely going to stare down whoever ended up opening the door for Leandra.


@everyone

 

[TheDragonMoon]

Spoiler

The group barely took much note of his story and have anything in response to it. That was probably for the better. Well, J man did respond with a hint of sarcasm, which Xaus ignored. Just because he wasn't good at talking didn't mean that he couldn't recognize these things. Most of them were busy doing something useful, Rue checking everybody's injuries and Holland heading out to collect firewood. Joachim was being Joachim, but at least he was trying to socialize with the party and make sure they all loosened up somewhat. Xaus felt lazy just sitting there without doing much, but he was too tired to feel guilty enough to actually do anything. He did look away from the ceiling and to Vane when he introduced himself. He did his best to give him a smile in return. Vane might be his best chance at having a reliable ally. A valiant warrior that knew both fire and light magic, who also helped him on the beach. Sounds like a good person to be by your side. As long as he could understand each other quirks, things might work out.


Xaus reflected on the other people he had just met. Rue was the one of the two females among them, and she seemed to be an interesting character. Stephen seemed alright; Xaus remembered he was pretty good at fighting from the tense moments at the beach. Jvala, from her introduction earlier, appeared to be an okay person. He didn't have much to say about her. Joachim humor had a possibility of growing on him, as he had a severe tendency to be serious all the time and Joachim could give him another view, lighten things up in the group. If they could work together, this group might go places. Survive and thrive. Eh, he was probably being too optimistic. It doesn't even matter how kind they are, they'll probably want to avoid him in the end.


Still shirtless, Xaus was going to stand up and look around the lighthouse for some clothing that he could cover up with, when he heard a noise at the semi-broken door. It sounded like a person's knock.


He grumbled and stood up from the chair, it giving a sharp squeak as he did so, "I can get that. Make myself useful. If it's a monster, I'll kill it."


Without paying attention to their reaction's, he grabbed his bow, along with a few arrows, and lumbered over to the door with more than a slight limp. He really needed to craft or find some more arrows. With his bow in his left hand, Xaus opened the door with a swift grab and stared at the person before him. Another woman. Her face was almost completely covered, and only her brilliant blue eyes where showing. Was that a hawk on her shoulder? Whatever it was, it gave him a sharp look of suspicion. Maybe she was made of dark magic and this was a trick. Xaus didn't know what to say, and he was aware of the cold air blowing on his bare chest. Before he said anything, he made sure that she could see his bow.


After an awkward pause he said, "Well, I'm glad that I don't have to fight another monster. If you're here to rob the place, then I would suggest to back off, seeing that I'm not the only one that's here in this lighthouse. Otherwise," he turned back to the people inside, "if we're all okay with you staying, you might be able to come inside."

 

[Lioness075]

Leandra narrowed her eyes to allow them to adjust to the brighter setting within the lighthouse when the door first opened. It didn't take her long to notice the man standing before her, noticeably lacking in proper clothing, and armed with a bow. Immediately shifting her gaze away from the man's chest and hearing what the man said, Leandra ended up rolling her eyes and tentatively raising her right hand up, once Falarion had moved safely to her right shoulder, before she gingerly pushed her hood off of her head to reveal her bright blue-dyed and short-cut hair. With the hood off of her face and revealing most of it, the long and jagged scar over her right eye was more than obvious in the fire-lit lighting, giving Leandra an oddly, somewhat intimidating look despite her slim body and brightly dyed hair along with her youthful look in general. Immediately after this, Leandra pulled her scarf off of her mouth and let it settle on her neck before raising an eyebrow at the man and saying bluntly, "Would it kill you to wear a shirt? Honestly, this isn't exactly the perfect weather to be wandering around shirtless unless you plan on doing something heroic, and I'm guessing you're all done with heroics for the day."


Feeling more confident now, Leandra then tentatively grinned before adding, "Also, if it really bothers all of you to let me join you then the least you could do is offer a girl some shelter and possibly revisions for the night, at the very least. That, and I've injured my left shoulder so if one of you can perform healing magic, that'd be brilliant. I have supplies that I can offer in exchange for revisions or even some healing magic." One she finished speaking, Leandra took a quick step forward, not enough to threaten the man before her, but just enough so that she could see inside of the lighthouse and see everyone else within. Skimming over the assortment of people gathered in the lighthouse, Leandra wondered what had brought them together. Had they been together before that shadow wolf attack? Or had they come together in a desperate moment? Either way, Leandra was already feeling very uncomfortable around a guy who was shirtless, so she already had formulated plans to leave early in the morning before anyone could stop her or possibly even try anything.


Taking in the sight of everyone, Leandra was quick to notice the various injuries spanning the group. It appeared that they'd taken quite the beating during that dogfight and Leandra could only imagine that they'd be hunkering down for the night. If they were injured then they were less likely to attack her as well. Plus, Leandra had no doubt that Falarion would warn her before anyone tried anything. Once the group accepted her into the lighthouse for the night, which Leandra was more than certain they would, then Leandra would order Falarion to fly up to the rafters and stay up there. That way, Falarion would be out of any potential danger and he could easily cry out to warn her of impending danger. While Falarion waited for any orders from Leandra, he silently cocked his head and then carefully watched the man still standing before Leandra...who was still shirtless.

 

[Epiphany]

Rue worked methodically, though the precise motions as she cleaned and rebandaged wounds had as much to do with fatigue as anything else. At Joachim's offer for conversation, though, the grey-eyed healer said "All of you, today, you're the first one's I've seen alive since it all happened. Has anyone heard of any other survivors? Has anyone heard of anywhere safe?"


"Anyone?"


The knock on the door drew her up, though. Rue had unstrapped the noble's steel sword she'd carried, doing without the extra weight while tending to the wounded. Now she went to her sword once more, hand on its hilt as Xaus offered to get the door.


She smirked at Xaus' comment on killing it if it were a monster. "If I was a monster, I don't think I'd knock," she observed.


The arrival of Leandra drew an interested look from the healer. Her first reaction, though, was to set the sword back against the wall and resume caring for the wounded. "He was wounded," Rue said to the woman in the doorway. "I needed access to treat the injury. You might as well come in. I've exhausted what healing magic I know already but if nothing else I can make sure your shoulder holds to the morning when I'll have a bit more energy to fix it properly."


"Let her in, Xaus," Rue said from behind the tall man. "It's pouring out there and Holland's lighthouse is a refuge for all of us. I'm Rue," she says by way of introduction. "Have a seat and I'll see to that shoulder. Do you have any news? Have you seen anyone else alive? Have you heard of anywhere that's safe?"

 

[Kyte]

The busted door leading to the lighthouse spire creaked loudly as Holland pushed it open. Immediately his face was stung by the wind propelled downpour of rain…there must have been a tropical storm blowing in from the west. Although it was an inconvenience, it would serve to slow down the Druids…also the heavy rain would no doubt mask the scent of group. For now, they wouldn't have to deal with anymore shadow hounds at least.


Making his way to the covered stone awning that housed the fire, Holland spotted the bundles of firewood he had noticed earlier…hopefully the awning kept them dry enough to burn. Looking up, Holland noticed the fire still burning in the pit. Most importantly, he needed to put that out. The last thing the group needed was for the Druids to spot the signal and murder them all while they slept. It was for situations like this he wished he could still control earth magic…It would be simple to just conjure a blanket of sand to smother the oxygen from the fire…but alas nothing was simple these days.


Holland stripped off his leather chest plate and placed it on the bowl shaped iron fire pit. Using his leather armor as a barrier between his hands and the hot Iron, He squatted down and grunted as he lifted the iron fire pit out of its stone lay.


"Uhg…this sumbitch is heavy!"


With effort, Holland turned and heaved the pit over the the limestone ledge, watching with satisfaction as it crashed against the soft dirt below. The blazing logs scattered across the soaked ground and almost instantly turned to glowing red embers that would soon extinguish completely.


Holland patted his leather armor down before fastening it back onto his wet torso. He then turned his attention to the bundles of unburned wood. Placing his hand on the wood Holland sighed in relief.


"A little damp, but well dry enough to burn"


Holland grabbed two of the bundles and used the rope securing them to tie around his waist. As he made his way back to the busted door, something shiny caught his peripheral vision. Looking to his right he smirked as his brain registered the object as his lance. Beads of water had accumulated on the oxidation resistant blade making it glimmer beautifully. He must have dropped it when the Shadowhound collided with him and sent him over the edge.


Holland walked over and bent down to pick it up. Once again, the high pitch whistling tune of the lance slicing through air sang in Holland's ears as he spun it two rotations to shake off the excess water. Afterward he used his leather harness to refasten the lance to his back. The lance was his most valuable tool, the weapon had saved his life countless times and he wasn't about to loose it.


Holland then turned back and began making his way down the winding staircase.


As he approached the bottom of the staircase, a conversation caught his ear that made his eyebrow raise.


"Let her in, Xaus, It's pouring out there and Holland's lighthouse is a refuge for all of us. I'm Rue."


At that time Holland rounded he corner and bore witness to the newcomer. Another young girl, no older than 20 or so, was standing in the doorway. The first thing that caught Hollands attention was her hair…A blue color? Obviously it was hair dye, but Holland still had to cough back a distasteful laugh as the thought crossed his mind that when he threw the blue flamed logs off the top of the lighthouse, it had accidentally hit her and caught her hair on fire.


Holland quickly regained his composure before anyone noticed and addressed the newcomer as Rue offered her to come inside.


"Whats this then, another survivor? I can't believe there are this many of us still out there…and in the same area no less."

 

[SkyGinge]

Whilst the majority of other people busied themselves, Joachim was content to perch on the windowsil, allowing his new buddies to baby him. Ah, the sweet benefits of friendship! And thankfully, it seemed like Rue was up for conversation after all, which meant he could finally silence the silence. "If I knew of some haven away from all this doom and gloom, I'd be there right ruddy now, sunshine," Joachim smiled jestfully. "I've been all on my merry lonesome for pretty much this entire last month, save for the beginning. I was hiding in the basement of some pub. Can't remember for the life of me why (although he could), must've been royally off my face. When this ginger guy shows up, with the maddest hair I've ever seen - like a fire, it was, and that's not me just being gingerist. The tyke must've spent hours perfecting that style, or else he was gifted world's best bad hair by the plonkers above. Anyhow, as drunk as I must've been, he helped me escape the village from a hoard of the sinister pups we tackled today. But then we split paths; the loon wanted to head back to the Capital, see what the damage was like there. Other than Gingey-Ninji, I'm afraid I ain't happened upon nobody 'til Dogpocalpyse struck these shores today."


Joachim had neglected to tell them, of course, that he was hiding in the cellar because it was his criminal hideout. These people were already cynical of him just because he was dry as sandpaper in a desert; upright telling them he was on the wanted list would be effective suicide, he thought. Nah, he would continue to do things his way, but for now he needed them; the lack of company had been killer.


Before Hottie had time to respond to him, somebody was knock-knocking, and Xaus rose to ceiling-skirting levels to greet them. Of all the people to handle our meet and greet, good ol' Three-Story must be the worst, Joachim smirked to himself, anticipating something humorous. He swivelled round on his window perch and peered out of the window to catch a glance at the newcomer, though with all the darkness and the rain and winds, it was difficult to see beyond the swirling dark cloak.


As expected, Xaus shared with them his gallons of trademark goodwill. And to his further amusement, girl got straight to the point in ridiculing his lack of shirt! She's being a bit optimist if she thinks she can get past Three-Story with manners like those. Nevertheless, Joachim immediately got the sense that he would get on with this newcomer. There was a sparkling grin in her voice, and a refreshing matter-of-factness in her wording. As Rue took to the doorway to badger Xaus aside, Joachim uttered a silent prayer to the Hottie-Gods.


It wasn't too long before the 'lighthouse-keeper' General had also descended to remark on the newcomer, and soon it seemed like every man and his cat wanted a sneaky peeky of their new friend. Like vultures around their prey, so circled the social carrion, much to Joachim's amusement. Nevertheless, now devoid of conversation himself, he became very aware of the battered state of his own attire. The rain had washed a little of the grime off of him, but he still felt fundamentally dirty. And he hazarded the waves wouldn't take to kindly to a little Joachim Crowe intruding on their storming. Gazing solemnly across the bay, Joachim drummed his working fingers against the wall, impatiently devising a JC special plan.


@Epiphany @TheDragonMoon @Lioness075 @Kyte

 

[Lioness075]

Leandra heard a woman speak to her and immediately shifted her gaze to see who was speaking to her. Hearing what she said next about healing definitely made Leandra relax a bit, as she hated being injured at all. You made mistakes when you were injured or weak. If you made mistakes, you most likely would end up dying. Still, hearing the woman being more than okay with helping her out, Leandra let out a small sigh of relief just before hearing Rue introduce herself and for her to tell Xaus, presumably the shirtless man, to let Leandra inside. Grinning at this, Leandra immediately ducked inside, easily maneuvering herself around the large man. Not that he was fat or anything.


Once inside, Falarion hopped down from Leandra's shoulder and then chirped before shaking like a dog to try and get most of the water off of his feathers. Luckily, Leandra's attire and kept most of the water off of her own body minus her wound and its bandages, both of which were soaked thoroughly. Maybe that had helped clean the wound? Either way, it stung like hell now. Upon hearing Rue telling her to take a seat, Leandra gladly did so, sitting by someone who seemed awfully quiet compared to the rest of the group, though he was certainly one of the cuter ones with his red-brown hair, which was not too different than Leandra's natural hair. Though, her natural hair was currently occurred by her bright blue hair color. Why did she color it like this? Well, she'd done it a long time ago after her brother had dared her to do it, but they'd agreed to do it together at the time. Now...well, now it was mostly just a habit. Muscle memory in a sense. Even though the man was cute, it didn't matter much to Leandra, as she had zero interest in any relationships, but she couldn't deny him looking better than some of the others in this ragtag group. Even if one of his arms looked really rough at the moment. Maybe it was just Leandra, but she had a thing for scars. Maybe it was because of the one she sustained on the right side of her face. Either way, she always loved hearing how people got certain scars. They could tell a lot about a person, especially how the person shared the story or was possibly unwilling to share the story to begin with. Suddenly, Rue began rapid firing questions at Leandra and she shifted her curious expression away from the man in time to give Rue a flustered look upon hearing all the questions.


Blinking, Leandra then sorted through her thoughts for a moment before saying, "No, I have no news about the war, apocalypse, or whatever you want to call this mess. I've been out here surviving just like I would presume all of you have been doing." While Leandra responded to Rue's questions, Falarion decided he was dry enough and chirped at Leandra, who then gave him a small dismissive wave of her hand, and then Falarion was airborne, as he flew up into the rafters off the lighthouse and settled down for the night. Looking back at Rue once Falarion was settled, Leandra then continued to answer the woman's questions, "As for seeing anyone alive, you all are the first people I've seen in a long time." Mostly a lie, but it wasn't like she'd seen anyone worth mentioning anyways. "And for anywhere being safe, I'm pretty sure it's safe to assume we'll never find some place like that." Chuckling quietly after saying this, Leandra then glanced around the group before adding, "So, where'd you all come from anyways? I got here just in time to see your grand finale and all that. Have you all been together for a while now?" Smirking, Leandra then glanced at the cute-looking guy near her and added teasingly, "I also saw your glorious spill...not just from falling down either." Leandra had noticed the man standing near the winding staircase, but he hadn't introduced himself to her or said anything that she felt worth replying to, so she kinda left him hanging for the time being. Hopefully he didn't mind. Leandra certainly didn't.


@TheDragonMoon @Epiphany @Kyte @SkyGinge

 

[TheDragonMoon]

Spoiler

Xaus stiffened when she gave him a bad time about not wearing a shirt. Of course she would notice, but she had guts, acting like she had the right to be here. Wasn't it fair for him to be suspicious in this situation? Did she even know how she looked? Before he could say anything, Rue came up to the door and looked new girl over. Rue explained to her that she needed access to his injury, and with that he relaxed a little, feeling righteous. Yet, another person to come along. Wasn't most of the population wiped out? Xaus couldn't help but wonder if this was fate after all, tying them together. How interesting. Rue invited the lady in, breaking his thoughts. He obediently allowed her to pass, especially since the cold and moist wind was hitting his chest. With firewood in hands, Holland came along and spoke to the girl too, echoing Xaus' previous thoughts. Just yesterday he had been a lone traveler, and now he was surrounded by people. Such craziness.


He closed the door right after Holland and new girl came inside. The weariness hit him in a strong wave once more, so he sat back down, this time on the ground and resting on the wall; he wanted to avoid another obnoxious squeaky chair. She talked about how she had no news about the apocalypse, and blah blah blah. He was tired in more ways than one. Annoyance and bitterness swam around his psyche. Xaus finally gave into it all and closed his eyes. God knows that the J guy will give him hell for falling asleep before anybody else in the group, but he could go screw himself if he didn't understand how tired he was. Xaus didn't understand how they had enough energy to yack all night. Yes, very exciting, another new person. As he drifted in between sleepland and reality, he only hoped that the group would be able to survive together.

 

[SkyGinge]

"If you'd consider a fleeting hour or so a while, then yeah, we're a tight knit group of best buds," Joachim grinned. He considered throwing out a 'isn't that right, Xausy?', but in spite of his behavior, Joachim actually had no vendetta against the quieter man, and whilst he found his awkwardness hilarious, he didn't want to make an enemy this early on. In addition, Xaus was one of the only other ones not doing anything, and so Joachim could join in too without getting glares.


The new girl was an interesting one. Monseuir Le Crowe had always considered himself somewhat of a conneseur of the female species - that is to say, he'd dated enough people in his time to know the lay of the effeminate land. And he'd always had a thing for short haired chicks, barring of course the ones with hair so short they could pass for ruddy men. The blue was an odd touch, but something that told him there was a hint of rebelliousness in there, and that, lads, was a Good Sign. All in all she was probably around an 8.5, or a 'Ouch, fiery!' rating on the Hottie-o-Meter, and Joachim would gladly take it. Of course, there was then the small matter of Rue... but why share, eh? 'sides, she'd been kind to him so far, and he didn't want to disappoint her in the slim circumstance that she was developing feelings for him.


Still, this girl also had the nerve to tread back over his embarrassing trip artistic acrobatics, which prompted a wry grin. "Yeah, well, I hope you enjoyed yourself, Bubbles," he grinned, voice see-sawing between seriousness and sarcasm once more, "Personally, I don't find watching a man fall to his near-death and then lather himself in the garbled contents of his lunch a particularly entertaining spectacle, but beggars can't be choosers." Yeah, this chick'll do. She'll more than do. "Anyhow, what's for dinner, mom?" he called over to Rue, a purposely childish smirk on his rougish features.


@Lioness075 @TheDragonMoon @Epiphany

 

[Epiphany]

The grey-eyed healer took a look at Leandra's wound, unwrapped the bandages and cleaned it out as the group conversed around her. Or didn't converse, as the case might be. Rue recognized the look of shock and trauma; survivors too shaken by what they'd experienced to do much more than react to their surroundings.


"I live out here," Rue said in answer to Leandra's question. "A couple of weeks walk, at least. I belong to the Order of the Wise Ones, we're a monastic group dedicated to healing the sick and injured. This is the farthest point within the area we service so I thought I'd go at least this far to find out if anyone's left."


The healer chuckled at the next question. "No, most of us have just met now. I'm called Rue. Sorry if most of us aren't more sociable," she added as she observed Xaus' slowly closing his eyes. "It's been an exhausting day. As I'm sure it was for you too."


At last finished with an inventory of injuries, Rue eyed the lighthouse's layout. With Holland's wood for a fire, heat and light made pleasant guests of themselves, thawing the chill of the storm and blood loss out of weary bodies. She stood by the fire herself and warmed her hands. Then she chuckled at Joachim.


"Whatever we have on hand, I expect. If someone's willing to collect the basics from the lighthouse's stores, I'll see if I can't at least get something basic and hearty to get our strength back. A little food and sleep and I imagine we'll all feel better by tomorrow."

 

[Lioness075]

Leandra raised an eyebrow at the throw-up guy's remark about the group having only been together for a short amount of time. That meant they probably hardly knew one another, but that also meant that they probably weren't exactly exclusive yet, so that made them less dangerous. The one thing that truly comforted Leandra though, was the fact that there were a few females in the group. Had this group been entirely composed of men, Leandra would've been gone in a heartbeat. She didn't trust any men alone. In fact, she hadn't trusted any men in a long time, specifically since this 'apocalypse' began.


While the throw-up guy continued to rant, Leandra found herself quietly hissing when Rue went to work on cleaning her wound and dressing it accordingly. It still hurt quite a bit and considering what had bitten her, she feared potentially being poisoned or the wound becoming infected. That wouldn't be good at all. Hearing the throw-up guy mentioning his little scene, Leandra rolled her eyes and grinned slightly, though she immediately raised an eyebrow upon hearing the guy's nickname for her. Bubbles? Seriously? Her magic consisted of fire and nature, yet he wanted to nickname her Bubbles. Blinking, Leandra then realized it was probably because of her hair color. Typical.


Not really wanting to mention her fire magic after what had happened with her parents, especially after how poorly she'd handled the situation, Leandra kept her mouth shut about not being a water mage and instead said with a slight grin, "Bubbles, huh? Never heard that one before. Also, that was hardly a near-death experience from my point of view. I think your biggest chance of death in that situation was merely blood loss. There are certainly better ways to go."


Hearing Rue answering her questions now, Leandra shifted her gaze away from the throw-up guy and listened to what Rue had to say now. Hearing about a monastic group in the area, Leandra found herself wondering how she'd never run across such a group considering how long she'd been hiding out around here. Odd. Then Rue mentioned this being the farthest away from the group and Leandra realized that was most likely the reason for why she'd never seen or met any of this group before.


Hearing the mention again of the group having only recently joined up, Leandra shrugged and then said, "I'd prefer a less exclusive group anyways. As for names, I suppose I should at least share mine. Name's Leandra." Glancing back to the throw-up guy, Leandra raised an eyebrow and then asked, "What's your name, throw-up guy?" Smirking after saying this, Leandra then overheard Rue's mention of their possible meal. The only indication that she heard it was when her eyes shifted to the side for a second. Looking back at the throw-up guy, Leandra then quickly added, "Perhaps you and I could go get some of those basic supplies so we can hurry along this meal." Glancing around the weary group, Leandra then added, "I don't know about you, guys, but I'd love some food and sleep right about now."


@SkyGinge @Epiphany

 

[SkyGinge]

"Lovely jubbly," he sighed, allowing this quietness to express his disappointment. It was kind of strange for him to feel such grand hunger pangs. After all, his time as a criminal had basically been spent nicking scraps and scrounging whatever he could from his tavern cellar hideout without the blind old coot of a landlord noticing him. But no, the company of other mates had flung his mind back to the days of university feasts. Oh, yes please! But no - the mischievous memories only tempted his tummy, and he slapped them away with a figurative hand. With his lunch now spewed across the shingle, Joachim was suffering from that pained starvation that plagues those who've been sick. And whilst he was very hungry, of course he wasn't going to volunteer himself to sort out lunch. Nah - why work when someother dweeb will do it for you?


It would have been wrong to say that Joachim wasn't in the mood for talking, because Joachim was always in the mood for talking. He simply didn't have anything to say in reply, as the top of 'worst ways to go' wasn't one that fitted into his Anti-Apocalypse Dreambubble. That said, he had plenty on the vocal platter when Bubbles called him THROW-UP GUY! "Now hold on a mo," he protested, eyebrow cocked, "You can't ruddy characterise me based on one act of horrific up-chuck, Bubbles! At least people like Xaus here have witty nicknames!" And then she had the ruddy nerve to volunteer him for the food fetching brigade, which was ruddy not-brilliant at all!


Still, she was an 8.5, and whilst he was still in Bitter Grump mood, he reckoned if he wanted any chance of advancing to more intimate company, he'd do rather well to stop presenting himself as a boring old man. So, rising with a sigh, he beckoned onwards. "Ladies first then, Bubbles!"


@Epiphany @Lioness075

 

[Lioness075]

Chuckling at the Throw-Up Guy's immediate response to his nickname, Leandra grinned at him and then said, "Well, maybe if you'd just tell me your name then I wouldn't have to make up such nicknames for you." Hearing the comment about Xaus, the man who was shirtless and had originally greeted her, Leandra shrugged and continued to grin, as she replied, "I never was the best at making up nicknames. It's not one of my strong-suits, sadly." Finding the Throw-Up Guy's reactions to be wholeheartedly amusing, Leandra could only imagine just how much fun it'd be to find any and every way possible to tease the guy. The reactions were priceless nearly every time and they certainly brightened the usually dark days for her. Even if she had no interest in ever developing a 'real' relationship with any of the guys in the group. Well, anyone, really. Trust did not come easy for Leandra, not one bit.


Once Throw-Up Guy had finally risen, Leandra was pleased to see that he was going to join her, as more teasing was sure to come from her end. After all, she hadn't had anyone to tease in, well, a long time. Standing up, Leandra froze in place when Throw-Up Guy said 'ladies first' to her. Rolling her eyes at this, Leandra lightly whistled and within seconds, a flurry of crimson red feathers came out of no where and then Falarion was calmly perched on her uninjured shoulder. Grinning at throw-up guy, Leandra then said, "I'm far from a lady, but whatever...Throw-Up Guy." With a grin, Leandra began making her way to the spiraling stairs that surely led down into the stores of the lighthouse.


@SkyGinge

 

[Kharmin]

<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2015_09/57a8c4563bcec_Stephen_50.jpg.03d8445d3c3c179bcd806c4efc805dbb.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="72462" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2015_09/57a8c4563bcec_Stephen_50.jpg.03d8445d3c3c179bcd806c4efc805dbb.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p> Stephen listened with casual indifference to the assorted banter that filled the small room in the lighthouse – which continued to grow smaller as more refugees sought shelter from the storm outside. He leaned against the frame of the window with his arms crossed as his blue eyes scanned over the lot of them. So many in one place at one time, he thought. Stephen was never one to put much faith in fate or chance – he made his own luck and had thus far survived perhaps in spite of it – but after traveling for so long, alone, it was certainly a strange circumstance that had put all of them in this place at this time. Too convenient, he thought as he turned his gaze back to the window and the rain that continued to pelt against it in earnest.


He wanted to ponder further on this tangent, but in all honesty he was completely drained. The wall supported his weight, certainly, but Stephen knew that had he tried to cross the room now he would most likely crumple to the floor in exhaustion. Using his earth-magic in a vain attempt to halt the fall of one of their group from the cliff had taxed him greatly and then relying on his talent with his element during the fight against so many shadow hounds depleted whatever small reserve he had.


Stephen was grateful for Rue's ministrations on his more severe wounds, but the other scratches and lacerations further drained him. He had long since learned to disregard the pain of such injuries, but his body could not ignore the toll that had been taken.


He had refused further treatment from the healer as there were others with injuries more significant than the ones that remained with him. She, too, would soon deplete her ability to heal and Stephen wanted to be sure that no one died as a result of his selfishness.


They could not remain here forever. Stephen knew that the shadow hounds only served to corral them all here against the shoreline from which escape would be almost impossible. To survive, they would have to strike east, inland and away from the coast. Stealth would no more be an option for him; there were simply too many now to hide their passage. No, speed would be necessary. They would need to get moving before more of the Shadow King's forces arrived.


But not tonight.


Tonight, they needed their rest for tomorrow, regardless of their condition or the weather, this group would have to move if they were to survive. And, at the end of the day, that was all that they really had – survival.


So, as he stood his vigil at the lighthouse window he maintained his stare through the water-streaked glass and spoke aloud, uncaring for any interruption he might cause. "I can't stay here," he said. "More forces will come and we are vulnerable here, backed up against the ocean. Tomorrow I'm heading inland and away from the coast. In my opinion, it is the best chance at survival. Anyone who wishes to tag along ought to get their rest."

 

[SkyGinge]

You're telling me... Joachim thought to himself as the girl admitted she had little talent in nicknaming. He found himself smiling to match a grin - it felt like damn too long since he'd last had an attractive girl grinning along with him. "Well," he grinned, allowing his usual charisma to sink into his swagger as he put on a post accent, "'tis fortunate indeed, fair maiden, that thou hath stumblest upon a knight whose nicknames are his bread and butter!" He flinched slightly as a freaking massive bird, of all things, flew from the stormy wastes to perch on her shoulder. "Blimey! You ain't carrying around a bleeding nest of birds, are you?"


They began their descent into the stores. Twas dark, dark and gloomy - evidently the basement had been in need of repairs even before the lighthouse keeper was done away with, the lazy sod. The spiral corridor was claustrophobic and bare, and the darkness was enough to unearth most people. But strangely, it reminded Joachim of the cramped cellar he had made his Official Criminal Hideout. And unlike some, Joachim had always found the cold embrace of tight bricks a welcome cradle, a familiarly bland scene that was consistently boring. Not like real people and real, natural landscapes, who were liable to flip out at you on a whim like a stomach after several rounds of mead. "The name's Joachim Crowe," he said, hoping it'd stop her stupid 'throw-up guy' nickname dead in its lifeless tracks. "You ain't scared of the dark are you, Bubbles?"


@Lioness075

 

[TheDragonMoon]

With the rough wood in his back and his still constant swirling emotions, Xaus weaved in and out of sleep, not to mention the various chatting going on. It sounded like the new gal and good old J man were getting along quite well from the bits and pieces he heard. Then, there were was discussion about food? He was hungry, but couldn't quite find himself to wake up completely to come join them. They would probably want to chit chat even more during their dinner. People needed to learn that there was a time where they could just have a moment of silence. You didn't need to fill up every moment of silence with noise. Silence isn't something that you needed to fear. When he shifted slightly, a splinter spiked him on his bare back and gave him a jolt. Xaus opened his eyes wearily. He needed a god dam shirt or something to cover up with. Anything. There must be something in the lighthouse that vaguely resembled a blanket. Or perhaps a more comfortable place to sleep.


He noticed Joachim and the rude blue haired lady starting to make their way down the lighthouse. Less constant talking of J, great. Xaus stretched his arms and gave a small groan. Sleep was still going to be his number one priority. He didn't want to follow them down, so he might have to pray there where some areas in the upward area of the lighthouse that had things. The man, better known as Stephen made a point about more attacks coming soon. True, they where cornered on this cliff, but at least they had shelter. Heading inland did give them a better chance at finding more valuable survival items other than miscellaneous things from small fishing shacks. Xaus calculated the pros and cons of making this move, and sleepily decided he was probably right, as long as they found more shelter.


"Sounds like a good plan. I'm working on the sleeping part, but it would be better if I had something to cover my chest. Or a blanket. Anything. I'll start looking." he responded grumpily.


Cautiously, he stood up, first on his good leg and then on the weaker one. Rue's healing helped a ton, and for that he was grateful, but it still hurt enough for him to wince. He rubbed his back and gave a quick glance over the area he was in right now. Seeing nothing, he started to the stairs. If there was nothing there, he would have to look downstairs. Xaus really hoped that he had good luck upstairs.


@Kharmin

 

[Lioness075]

Leandra immediately heard the change in accent when Throw-Up Guy began speaking again and she immediately rolled her eyes in response while smirking while thinking to herself, 'Wow, this guy tries way too hard.' Still, he was highly amusing in this matter and so Leandra grinned while replying sarcastically, "You really know how to talk to girls, don't you?" Giggling to herself after saying this, Leandra then found herself laughing upon seeing Throw-Up Guy's reaction to Falarion. Shaking her head and smirking at him, Leandra then said, "What, you're not afraid of big birds, are you, Throw-Up Guy? Anyways, Falarion's completely harmless...unless I want him to be harmful." Grinning after saying the subtle threat, Leandra then led the way down the stairs...and into the darkness of the stores below. Meanwhile, Falarion remained silent on Leandra's shoulder, though he wouldn't stop staring at Throw-Up Guy despite being silent in general.


Leandra's first thought upon entering the darkness was certainly a fearful one, but not because of the darkness itself. Her first thought was to summon a flame so as to provide them with light, but then that would reveal her fire magic and Leandra's was doing her best to keep it a secret. Upon hearing Joachim finally introducing himself, Leandra smirked, but was unable to respond, as Joachim immediately followed up with asking her if she was afraid of the dark. Thinking for a moment while her eyes adjusted and she continued her descent, Leandra then said softly, "I fear what is within the darkness, not the darkness itself." Getting to the bottom of the stairs, Leandra then spoke at her normal volume, as she wanted to quickly veer away from a discussion about fears, "So, best we both look for any meager supplies of food or water that we can find down here. I don't know how our water is looking, but I'd personally rather run out of food than water." After saying this, Leandra then headed for a nearby shelf, as she began poking around at the boxes and cans, hoping that they'd be anything edible, though a lot of it had been down here for way too long for it to be of any good for them to even try to eat. Still, Leandra managed to at least find three canned foods that were good. Maybe they'd get lucky and find some smoked meat in a barrel of salt or something that was properly preserved. After all, Leandra could only imagine how well the hunting would've normally been in this area. Or maybe they'd get lucky and find some fish stored away in here.


Turning around to find Joachim, Leandra then called out, "Hey, Joachim, any luck in finding stuff down here?" Meanwhile, Falarion had flown away from Leandra once they'd descended into the darkness of the stores, as his vision was excellent in the dark. Just after Leandra called out to Joachim, a startled squeak could be heard not too far away as well as an immediate crunching sound. Blinking at this, as Leandra immediately recognized it as Falarion killing a mouse or rat, Leandra then let out a curt laugh at the sound before saying to Joachim, wherever he was, "Well, if all else fails, we could always have Falarion kill a bunch of rats for us to roast and eat." Not too long after saying this, Leandra then heard Falarion eating the rat in one gulp. Well, at least Falarion was fed for the night.


@SkyGinge

 

[Epiphany]

When Rue treated Leandra's wounds, the healer gave the poor woman a sympathetic pat at the worst of any pain caused. She said quietly, "I'll keep an eye on that wound throughout the night. Hopefully I'll have the strength to heal it completely tomorrow. With so many injuries here, though, it may be days before I can manage this much damage." Her gaze drifted to Vane, though. The man had aptitude too, if memory served...


"It's nice to meet you, Leandra," Rue said after introductions were made. She gave the other woman a terse smile and finally relaxed a bit near the fire. By now, her clothes had mostly dried. So she yielded her spot after a moment more to someone else who looked like they could use the warmth. Once any food left in any stores here were turned up, she'd probably be plenty warm preparing it over the fire.


Once Joachim and Leandra had left to fetch food, Rue turned at last to Stephen. The stoic warrior had refused any medical attention earlier. Now he was the last man standing, the only one she hadn't done all she could for. But his expression didn't brook meddling and part of a healer's training was to recognize when to heal as much as how.


Unless it's not a healer's training you're using. Look at him. Look where his pain is. You know how to increase it, don't you. How to make it spike, make him double over, make him scream. You know how much he can take before losing consciousness and spoiling the fun. He can stand a little more at least. So go on, keep pretending that removing that pain is what matters. You'll know the truth soon enough.


The thoughts disturbed Rue, caused her to turn away from the others and face a wall for a moment as she struggled for composure. When the warrior spoke of his intentions, though, all of the healer's attention riveted to him, her inner conflict forgotten. A plan. The prospect for action. Her pulse sped a little in anticipation.


"No, I don't imagine we can stay here," she said, and nodded in agreement of Stephen's assessment. "Those shadow things look like dogs, maybe they can track like dogs. But before we trade one probably bad situation for another, there's two things I'd like to see. The first? All of us in walking condition. Maybe we can manage that by tomorrow, maybe not, but we're stronger together and I don't want to leave anyone behind if we can avoid it. The second? More than a direction, we need a destination. It's well and good to head inland but to where? If you or anyone else has any ideas on where to go..."


Rue shrugged and added, "The temple I grew up in is empty of life but perhaps defensible to those with magic. Assuming our plan is to hole up somewhere. But we may need to accept that there will be no end to the hunt unless we deal with the hunter. Preferably before all of Valia is depopulated. That makes the capital the somewhat obvious destination. Or is there somewhere else in our homeland that might have answers?"


She glanced at Xaus, though, and smiled sympathetically. "Yes, we should probably focus on the necessities first. I can help you look upstairs if you'd like."


@Kharmin @TheDragonMoon