Fantasy Moments in Time

[Zer0]

- Sen & Seth Pendragon -
"The temple of Wisdom: Ath'ens" ​

Seth had wrapped his arms around Serena too, as though she was his most precious person.

When she cupped his cheek, he nodded, holding her hand back. It was always a pleasure to see her clothes burst into beautiful flames like that, it matched her fiery persona perfectly. Serena in all her fiery Serena-ness.
"I'll remember. Be careful, okay?" he kissed her cheek too and gave her a hug.

"Ready, Serena!" said Sen.

Seth watched the two walked down the dark steps, Sen's torch and Serena's fiery clothes lighting the way, until the light of her flame was swallowed by the darkness, and there was no longer any echoing from her heels.

- - - X - - -​

Down below, Sen asked Serena if she could go before him, as she was more perceptive than he was, telling her to tell him if ever she noticed any traps so that he could use his engineering skills to disable them. It felt very cold underground. "Hey, Serena, what makes you think the assassin's guild could have rigged this place?"

Katsuya
The Story | Characters | OOC
​

 

[Katsuya]

- Serena Lock -
"The temple of Wisdom: Ath'ens"​

As requested, Serena went ahead of Sen, nodding at his instructions. "You mean like how Minnie does, right?" She commented, peeking over her shoulder in amusement. And she did, freezing to a stop whenever she felt something off in the cold hallway, and pointing where she believed the traps were so Sen can disable them.

While continuing on their walk, the violinist peeked over her shoulder again to look at Sen.

"Well these are assassins and they have more of a field advantage then we do since none of us knew this kingdom existed till now." She said, heels clacking on the stone floor. "I wouldn't put it pass them to try to rig their possible hiding spot. Especially since this tower with the other two are their supposed spots for the assassination."

She suddenly ducked as another trap was activated, rotten wood lances flew over her head and got stuck on the wall. Serena blinked at them.

"Though . . . I could be wrong and this is just a treasure vault. It happens."

As they continued on and on this seemingly endless hallway, Sen would see a soft glow of blue at the end of the tunnel. If he decided to get closer, the twin would feel an ancient magic practically radiating from the center of the circular room, and there he will see large shards of crystal growing out of the floor. As if it was a bamboo shoot and practically crawling up the walls too. It somehow made intricate paths and caves for anybody to try and climb on them, leading to the flat top.

". . . I wish I had a camera . . . " Serena commented.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Sen & Seth Pendragon -
"The temple of Wisdom: Ath'ens" ​

"Yes, like how Minnie does it. I miss her. We seem to be doing things apart ever since we got here." said Sen, absently touching the walls as they walked in a longing absentminded way. He nodded at Serena when she explained her theory. "You're right, this could be one of their secret passageways. Think we could encounter some of them here?"


When they came upon the blue glow, Sen's eyes shined with excitement. "Fascinating . . ." he said, approaching the crystals. "I wish I had a camera too . . ." he decided to explore the room from bottom to top, seeing if there was another passageway and marking that before pushing onwards so that they don't get lost.

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

- Serena Lock -
"The temple of Wisdom: Ath'ens"​

"I don't know . . . " Was Serena's answer to Sen's question after thinking for a moment. "If we do, I rather run away then go fight them when we're outnumbered."

As the duo made their way to explore the room and finding another passageway ("Oh! Good idea, Sen." Serena grinned at the crystal cave, watching him mark the wall before they went inside), the blonde pondered for a moment. Humming a tune as she kicked a loose pebble, the fiery roses on her outfit reflected on the flat surfaces of the glass-like shards.

". . . Well . . . I can tell you that Minnie misses you too." She said as she paused for a moment to stare at the crystals. Then she turned to Sen with an understanding grin. Her blue eyes glazed over as if she's remembering an old memory. "It's really hard to be away from someone who's like your other half, right? Especially when it's so long . . ."

She shook her head, the nostalgia expression left her face as she smiled at Sen. "Don't worry! You'll spend time with Minnie soon enough! I'm sure!"

That's when Serena kicked something that wasn't a pebble, hearing it clack and crack as it rattled before it stopped. A pair of dark holes stared at the duo with emptiness.

A skull . . . Serena just kicked a cracked human skull.

Sen can see that there were more and more bones littered in the cave, most of them broken as if something heavy had smashed them.


Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Sen Pendragon -
"The temple of Wisdom: Ath'ens" ​

"I know what you mean . . . " said Sen. It took him a moment to realize he wasn't thinking of his brother, but Minnie. The twins were always the other's half. He suddenly grinned at Serena.

"You know, I didn't notice how it happened, but Minnie became my other half! It used to be Seth. When we were younger, we did everything together. Every time he got sick, I thought I'd die without him so I'd do whatever he says to make him feel better --- including silly things that I smacked him for when I realized he was just pretending --- but now, and don't tell Minnie, cause' I'd feel embarrassed, I'd be devastated without her. She's like the potted plant on the only clean spot in a dirty garage, or the only blue in a sky full of grey."

"It must have been tough those three years before you and Seth got back together again. He's lucky to have you." he smiled at her warmly and honestly. "He talks about you a lot when we hang out, Serena, you take really good care of him. I hope you know that you're my family too, and if you need anything, I got your back!"

When Serena talked about spending time with Minnie soon, his smile became wider. "I'm looking forward to it!"

And then she kicked a skull. "What in the world . . . Is this the lair of a monster? Serena, let's get out of here." he started to back up the way they came.

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

- BATTLE! -
- Serena Lock -​

Serena, before kicking that skull, blushed a bit when he mentioned about Seth talking about her; twirling a strand of golden hair with an index finger. ". . . Heheh . . ."

Before they can reach outside of the crystal cavern, they can hear a load groan of rocks moving, loose shards fell down from the ceiling, and suddenly the cave was tilting-!

"Sen!" Holding onto a protruding shard from the wall, the violinist grabbed onto Sen's shirt so he wouldn't fall down to his doom as they watched their exit of the circular room became smaller and smaller. Then the floor tilted back, the blonde let out an 'Oof!' as she fell on her side before shaking her head and tugged Sen up. They can feel that the cave . . . is moving around. If they looked outside of the cave, they can see the higher parts of the circular room.

With a crunch of rock crackling above them and an odd clicking sound, the hallway is cut short. A strong gust of crystal dust blew in their way and once it clears up, they can see a single iridescent eye staring right at them. A giant club arm made of the same crystal was raised up high slowly, rusty golden gears can be seen in between the seams of arms (That's the source of the clicking!) and body with an ore of sorts jutting out, and that's when Serena yelled out.

"This isn't the lair of a monster! It's the monster itself-!" She summoned her violin quickly to attack the now falling club above them.

Spoiler: Battle Stats

We're going to use the same battle system as we always used, but there's a little twist: If you can roll a (1-2) on perception, you'll find an easier way of winning this battle. You can also go for sneak attacks or hide within the Guardian's cave littered body to find the right chance to use perception. However, if you do use perception, you cannot roll for the offensive or defensive. So choose your rolls at your own risk! Have fun~!

Guardian of the Temple's eye
HP 4/4
Def. 4 || Att. 7
*Won't attack unless attacked on

Guardian of the Temple's arm #1 (Attacking!)
HP 2/1
Def. 5 || Att. 5
*It's very slow at attacking. So it will not attack for a turn to raise it up again.

Guardian of the Temple's arm #2
HP 2/2
Def. 5 || Att. 5
*It's very slow at attacking. So it will not attack for a turn to raise it up again.

--------------

Serena - Conjuration (1-9)
HP 3/3
Mag. Def 9 || Phy. Def 9 || Speech 7 || Sneak 8

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Sen Pendragon -
"Battle!" ​

Sen immediately grabbed on to Serena's arm, then yelled in surprise after the ground tilted and he stumbled on the ground finding himself face to face with a scary eye. "I don't wanna be eaten!" For a split-second he noticed the crystal arm, then put two and two together, and poked the eye with a bone shard, hoping it'll miss them, before trying to scramble away.

Spoiler

Sen
3/3 Hp
Phys.Def. 8 || Mag.Def. 8

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

-Battle!-
-Serena Lock-​

'Ting!'

The bone shard snapped in half at his attempt and the eye started to glow brighter; staring at Sen's back.

Meanwhile sharp ice bursts from where Serena stood, barely stopping the arm from hitting them before the ice broke into tiny pieces. The luminous crystals cracked and revealed more rusty gears and engines. Blue fireflies buzzing around frantically, reflecting on how the violinist is feeling. The other arm rose up, ready to attack and the blonde growled.

"Sen! I'll distract it!" She cried out, playing a different tune as she ran towards the eye, catching it's attention. Then she stuck her tongue out at it as the area underneath her feet jiggled like jello, her lithe muscles tensed up as if she was prepared to move again.

Spoiler: Battle Stats

We're going to use the same battle system as we always used, but there's a little twist: If you can roll a (1-2) on perception, you'll find an easier way of winning this battle. You can also go for sneak attacks or hide within the Guardian's cave littered body to find the right chance to use perception. However, if you do use perception, you cannot roll for the offensive or defensive. So choose your rolls at your own risk! Have fun~!

Guardian of the Temple's eye (Attacking)
HP 4/4
Def. 4 || Att. 7
*Won't attack unless attacked on

Guardian of the Temple's arm #1 (Resting)
HP 2/1
Def. 5 || Att. 5
*It's very slow at attacking. So it will not attack for a turn to raise it up again.

Guardian of the Temple's arm #2 (Attacking)
HP 2/2
Def. 5 || Att. 5
*It's very slow at attacking. So it will not attack for a turn to raise it up again.

--------------

Serena - Conjuration (1-9)
HP 3/3
Mag. Def 9 || Phy. Def 9 || Speech 7 || Sneak 8

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Sen Pendragon -
"Battle!" ​

"Thanks!" yelled Sen, as the ice saved them. He looked behind him, he can't believe that eye broke the bone! Darn it, he felt so helpless without his inventions, there were so many upstairs in the temple, he could have grabbed one before going down here. He had dropped his torch earlier when the ground had tilted, and it was sitting there with the flames put out among the bones. He rushed to grab it, feeling goose pimples travel down his spine as he saw that scary eye start to glow.

Taking a running start, Sen jumped on to a crystal, leapt to another taller one, then made one final cross through the air to try and grab on to the crystal arm.

Spoiler

Sen
3/3 Hp
Phys.Def. 8 || Mag.Def. 8

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

- Battle! -
- Serena Lock -​

Sen managed to grab onto the arm that's preparing to hit again, slowly rising up to strike once more. It seems the monster hasn't noticed him being there yet.

Now that he's close, the inventive twin can see that the ore that's jutting out of the monster's elbow is actually a metal dome that looks like a growing ore, covering whatever that's connecting the pipes and gears together.

Meanwhile, Serena bounced on the jello-like floor, shooting up high into the air like she was fired out of a canon as the eye shoots out it's laser beam; burning the edges of her coat tails. It's other arm swung at her only to miss when she suddenly shot up, crashing into the walls and breaking it's crystal-like shell. More clicks and screeches from the gears within.

"Ha! You missed! BLEH!!!" Not afraid of falling from that height, Serena again stuck her tongue out at the glowing eye, bracing herself for the hit.

Spoiler: Battle Stats

We're going to use the same battle system as we always used, but there's a little twist: If you can roll a (1-2) on perception, you'll find an easier way of winning this battle. You can also go for sneak attacks or hide within the Guardian's cave littered body to find the right chance to use perception. However, if you do use perception, you cannot roll for the offensive or defensive. So choose your rolls at your own risk! Have fun~!

Guardian of the Temple's eye (Attacking)
HP 4/4
Def. 4 || Att. 7
*Won't attack unless attacked on

Guardian of the Temple's arm #1 (Attacking)
HP 2/1
Def. 5 || Att. 5
*It's very slow at attacking. So it will not attack for a turn to raise it up again.

Guardian of the Temple's arm #2 (Resting)
HP 2/2
Def. 5 || Att. 5
*It's very slow at attacking. So it will not attack for a turn to raise it up again.

--------------

Serena - Conjuration (1-9) -----Defending
HP 3/3
Mag. Def 9 || Phy. Def 9 || Speech 7 || Sneak 8

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Sen Pendragon -
"Battle!" ​

With an enthusiastic battle cry, Sen jammed the torch into the ore and twisted it around to push it deep into the elbow joint, then jumped down holding the protruding end of the torch with both hands, using his entire weight to try and pull apart the elbow. "Hnnggg!"

Spoiler

Sen
3/3 Hp
Phys.Def. 8 || Mag.Def. 8

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

- Battle! -
- Serena Lock -​

'PINGGGG~'

The ore wasn't enough to stop Sen from pulling the elbow apart from it's joint, sticking the torch in the joint and despite the crunches of the wood; the torch managed to stop it's movements. The gears pressured the joint, causing the joint to slightly bend, and Sen can tell from the creaking that the machine is breaking. The arm slid off it's now broken joint and crashed to the ground, making the room shake.

Seth might have felt the temple tremble for a second before it stopped.

The blonde curled up into a ball as the eye's laser pass by her, missing her legs. She felt the immense heat and shuddered at the thought of it hitting her; Serena rolled to her landing on the monster's body and close to the glowing eye, grinning when she realized that it's missing an arm. She blew a raspberry.

"Can't get me!"

The other arm rose up and was ready to strike; Serena played her violin, yellow fireflies summoned and ready to burn.

Spoiler: Battle Stats

We're going to use the same battle system as we always used, but there's a little twist: If you can roll a (1-2) on perception, you'll find an easier way of winning this battle. You can also go for sneak attacks or hide within the Guardian's cave littered body to find the right chance to use perception. However, if you do use perception, you cannot roll for the offensive or defensive. So choose your rolls at your own risk! Have fun~!

Guardian of the Temple's eye (Attacking)
HP 4/4
Def. 4 || Att. 7
*Won't attack unless attacked on

Guardian of the Temple's arm #1 (Attacking)
HP 2/0
Def. 5 || Att. 5
*It's very slow at attacking. So it will not attack for a turn to raise it up again.

Guardian of the Temple's arm #2 (Attacking)
HP 2/1
Def. 5 || Att. 5
*It's very slow at attacking. So it will not attack for a turn to raise it up again.

--------------

Serena - Conjuration (1-9) ----- Attacking
HP 3/1
Mag. Def 9 || Phy. Def 9 || Speech 7 || Sneak 8

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Sen Pendragon -
"Battle!" ​

Sen gave a yelp of pain when the laser hit him, burning his shoulder. Strong, this enemy was strong. They had to get out of here. "Serena, I'll distract it, start going back! SEEEEETH!! SETH, WE NEED YOU!"

He threw a bone at the eye and called it all sorts of ugly names and joking about how it was lucky it couldn't see its own ugly mug, while shielding Serena and moving into the exit last.

Spoiler

Sen
2/3 Hp
Phys.Def. 8 || Mag.Def. 8

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

- Escape! -
- Serena Lock -​

The eye blinked when the bone hit it and that only enraged it even more then Serena taunting it before.

Wincing from the burns and bruising she is sure to get from the arms waving around, the violinist wobbled out of the circular room. Once in the hallway, and in away from harm, Serena leaned against the wall and played her violin. The high pitched notes bounced off the walls, creating echos upon echos of their musical SOS that Seth can hear from his spot.

Then she looked back at the one eyed monster who calmed down as soon Sen was not in it's sights. It floated back down to it's creator home like before, looking like a regular giant crystal instead of a dangerous creature with gears.

". . . I can safely say . . . that the assassins will not be here." Serena muttered, hissing a bit when her burns stinging from her poking them with a gentle touch of her finger.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Sen & Seth Pendragon -
"Escape!" ​

"You can say that again." huffed Sen, so glad to be out of that chamber. He leaned against the wall, his toes and fingers trembling. "Shall we go back?" he offered to let Serena lean on him to help her walk.

A moment passed before there was a continuous soft drumming of footsteps echoing from the other side of the hallway. It grew louder, then a hasty blur whizzed through the crystals and Seth came screeching to a halt in front of them, sending dust flying everywhere. "Serena, Sen!" he looked like he had been expecting the worse.

Sen gave him a thumbs up. "I'm alright, let's get out of here. Help, Serena." he started walking off.

"Alright." Seth fussed all over the violinist, cupping her cheek tenderly, then checking her wounds. "What happened? Where does it hurt?"

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

- Serena Lock -
"Escape!"​

"Yes, let's." Serena grinned at Sen gratefully when he offered, leaning on him a bit so she can walk.

"Thank you . . . Ugh, I can already hear Minnie scolding us for not being careful." She playful commented, trying to help shake off the adrenaline rush that's pumping through their bodies.

When she heard the continuous soft drumming of footsteps echoing from the other side, she perked up and leaned a bit forward. Eager to meet with her beau halfway if she can, but she was careful with Sen's injury too. The blonde did her best to not touch Sen's shoulder, knowing exactly how he must be feeling with the burn.

Serena leaned her cheeks on Seth's cupped hands, smiling as he fussed and checked her wounds. "Legs. The mech monster had lasers with swinging clubbed arms and I was jumping around." Wincing, she lifted her leg a bit to show the harsh red burns that patched her usual pale skin. There were greenish purple bruises on her back and arms with a few light scratches as he checked under her coat to see. The edges of her short hair was a burnt off too, black and smoking a bit.

"Wanted to distract it from Sen. Heheh . . . heh . . . Um . . . let's go up, hm? Close Father Time too?" Seth would notice how Serena kept looking back, probably wary of the creature following them or something.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Sen & Seth Pendragon -
"Escape!" ​

"Yeah, I think I'll stop by a healer's apothecary before going back to the castle. I don't want to worry her." said Sen.

Seth was careful not to touch her burns. "Gotcha." he said, kneeling and offering her a piggy back ride.

Sen closed up the passageway when they reached the surface and Seth offered to let Serena ride with him sidesaddle so that her legs won't chaffe on the horse skin. The inventive twin did stop by an apothecary to get healed up, while Seth bought some potions and burn salves, applying them gently on Serena's wounds. He bought ice cream too just to cheer all three of them up.

When they reached the castle, Sen was grinning sheepishly at Minnie when he saw her. " I um . . . My shoulder got burned."

Spoiler: Backpack

Seth:
20,005 G

[E] Crafted Disguise
[E]
1. x2 Sand Glass || Only can be used once per character's turn in event. [C] Roll 1x for a second chance in a skill
2. x2 Assassin's daggers
3. x1 Torn Cloth || Piece of assassin's cloak
4.


Sen:
20,009 G

[E] Crafted Disguise
[E]
1. x2 Sand Glass || Only can be used once per character's turn in event. [C] Roll 1x for a second chance in a skill
2. x1 Magical Disguise || Stack-able; can use it with another item. [C] +1Sneak
3.
4.

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

- Serena Lock & Minnie von Ironheart -
- Spade's castle -​

Silently, Serena nodded. Settling herself behind Seth and leaning on his back as they made their way to an apothecary. Her magenta cloak billowed from the sea's breeze as she held onto her heels, not feeling up to wearing them at the moment. She listened to the birds' chirping and her horse's hooves clopping besides Seth's and Sen's horses.

The twin would feel her cheek rubbing on his back during the ride as if to comfort him. That she's going to be okay.

When they reached the apothecary and Seth brought some potions and burn salves, Serena braced herself when he touched her burns. Breathing out after he finished applying. Though she blinked in surprise when he brought her ice cream too, her lips twitched up into a smile. A playful gleam shined in her eyes.

"Loser gets fed, Seth. Remember?" She teased, taking a bite from his ice cream then she playful poked Sen's forehead. Now wanting to cheer him up too.

"Boop."

When the trio reached back the castle, they would notice how the guards are running around in search of something. They even checked on every worker and guests of the castle. That included Seth, Sen, and Serena. Then they let them through, saying they are cleared from suspicion. The blonde is thoroughly confused and asked where she can the princess or Sebastian.

"Sorry, Madam. The Princess and Sir Sebastian are busy." The guard said.

That's when Minnie, who was walking up to them, froze in place for a second. Taking in all of their injuries. Then she walked up to Sen, silently fussing over him and seeing his burned shoulder. Minnie let out a 'Tsk!' and stared up at her fiance. A small frown etched her face with furrowed brows, openly worried.

"How?" She asked and Serena slightly hid behind Seth. The last time she got injured and moved around a lot, she was scolded by the sniper for moving too much. Her deadpanned stare haunts her dreams . . .

"Laser eye monster under the temple. It shot us."

". . . "

Minnie took a deep breath, holding it, and lets out a sigh. She held Sen's hand and lightly led him to the healer's room. "You. Injured person. Rest! Seth, be sure Serena doesn't start jumping around. I understand you like her to be happy, but she needs to be still. Especially with those burns."

Serena lets out a sigh of relief that Minnie didn't give her a deadpan look again. ". . . Should we go to our room or do you want to go outside and sit somewhere?" The blonde asked Seth.

Meanwhile with Minnie and Sen, she looked at her beau, worry filled her eyes.

". . . I wanna see and make sure you're really okay." The sniper admitted quietly as they reached the healer's room. Once she made sure he's comfy, the tiny woman started to peel of his shirt so she can see where else he was hurt. Her face turning pink, she focused on making sure none of his ribs were broken or if there were anymore burns. Then she went off to get burn pastes to tenderly apply them on the burns; same with salves for any possible cuts.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Sen & Seth Pendragon -
"Spades Castle" ​

"Hehe." Seth chuckled, then sat on a bench outside the ice cream shop and held his ice cream for Serena to eat some more, " I remember. I'll feed you and take care of you."

He sat backwards on his saddle, after tying the reigns to the back of Sen's horse so that he can feed his love ice cream, and just watch her eat, as he ate his ice cream too. When they got the the castle, he noticed all the hubub and asked a guard what was going on and what happened.

Then when Minnie came, he grinned. He does want Serena to be happy. "Hai, hai. I'll make sure she doesn't start jumping around. Piggy back, my lady?" he added to Serena after they had dismounted. He then thought about where they should go. "That's up to you, Serena, you're the injured one. I'll go wherever you go." he smiled, rubbing noses with her.

Meanwhile, Sen the injured person obediently followed Minnie to the healer's room and stayed still as she cared for him. "I'm fine, MInnie." he reassured her, caressing her head, but was cooperative in letting her peel off his shirt and check his wounds.

"It's a fourth degree burn." said Sen. "Hurts to lift my shoulder." He had wooden splinters in three fingers from the cracked wood, and very minor abrasions on his palm when he landed on the floor after it tilted. "Serena protected me well, so this is the only injury I have." he smiled. "This is going to heal quick, the apothecarist had said so, my shoulder will be good in no time." he caressed her head again.

"How was your time in the castle, Minnie?" he said lightly. "Didja find out anything good? What's with all the search going on by the way?"


Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

- Serena Lock & Minnie von Ironheart -​

"Why yes-! Thank you, my good Sir~" Serena cheerfully replied as she hopped on Seth's back as the guard answered his question.

"Sorry, Sir. I can't say."

The violinist nuzzled her face in Seth's hair, taking a deep breath of his shampoo scent. As he pondered and told her wherever she wanted to go, she looked up at the sky, seeing the grey clouds slowly floating away. Blue peeking through the grey.

"Let's go to the gardens of this castle. Maybe we can find something to sit on?" Serena smiled back, giggling as they rubbed noses. "Or we can sit on the tree branches and cuddle?"

- - - - - - -​

". . . Sen . . ."

Gun-wielding hands gently smoothed the paste over his shoulder burn, then she grabbed tiny pliers to pull the splinters out. Her warm lips pecked all three of his fingers as she put anti-bacterial cream on the small abrasions on his palm. After bandaging, Minnie kissed his palm too.

Her worried eyes softened up whenever he caressed her head, leaning in his rough hand.

"Though I hear good news from your voice, my eyes see pain on thy body and so . . . I want to take care of you." She held his hand with her metal one and intertwine fingers, leaning forward to affectionately bump foreheads.

"Only that the guards are becoming wary to strangers, now that they are informed about the possible assassination attempt. There's even an extra one down in the dungeons for our prisoner." Her teal blue eyes gazed into Sen's green ones.

". . . It was not enjoyable . . . I missed you." She mumbled timidly, turning red as she gently squeezed his hand.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Sen & Seth Pendragon -
"Spades Castle" ​

"I vote sit where your legs can rest, Serena, and I second the motion for cuddling!" Seth grinned, shivering a little as her sniffing gave him pleasant goosebumps. "Maybe we can sit on the grass under a tree?"

He carried her to the garden, where his searching gaze reflected on the pools where frogs croaked among lily pads and a family of ducks were wading. "Hmmm, where shall we sit?"

There was a willow by a brook and Seth asked Serena if she'd like to sit there. It was next to a statue of herons in a courtship dance, and stepping along the brook were herons looking for fish and frogs to eat.

Wherever Serena chose, he'd spread his cloak on the ground, then put her down gently Then he'd take some water from the brook using a lily to cup the water and then cool her feet with a massage. "Do you like this, Serena?" smiled Seth kindly.

Meanwhile, in the healer's room, Sen's heart skipped a beat when Minnie kissed his fingers and palm, then gingerly hugged her very close when she touched foreheads with him.

"Then, please take care of me, Minnie." He pressed his lips to her forehead. "I miss you too." he whispered softly. He rubbed her back consolingly. " I see, so that's why the guards are on the alert . . . Hmmm, there doesn't seem much for us to do right now. Do you want to go upstairs and we can talk? I have so much to tell you about the temple Minnie and that secret passageway and that huge monster!"

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

- Serena Lock & Minnie von Ironheart -
"Spade's castle"​

Azure eyes lit up, nodding her head with a wide smile.

As Seth spreads his cloak on the ground and gently put her down, Serena leaned back on the willow tree's trunk; watching Seth going over to the pond. Her head tilting to see what the twin is up to only to blink in surprise when he came back with a lily?

"Oh-!" The violinist shivered at the cooling waters being poured on her skin, quietly sighing at the nice rubbing on her feet. Then she leaned heavily on the tree with a adoring grin aiming at Seth.

"Y-yes, it feels really niccce~" She purred, wiggling her toes and giggling whenever he pressed on the arch of her foot. When he stopped using the lily, she picked it up and tucked the stem behind his ear; not realizing it had left over water inside. The water trickled down on Seth's knee.

Serena could only stare before snorting and trying to not cackle. She didn't want to scare the Herons away.

Meanwhile, in the healer's office, the gunslinger leaned back a bit to stare at Sen's face. He can tell by the way her eyes widening that she's curious. "Yes! I want to know what gave you and Serena those burns!" Minnie squeezed his hand as they made their way to their room.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Sen & Seth Pendragon -
"Spades Castle" ​

"You do realize this is girly, Serena," started Seth, pointing at the lily, though he made no move to stop her, " --- ah." the water had trickled to his knee. He smiled, amused at her cackling. "Am I the prince of the flowers?" he suddenly looked as though he realized something, then chuckled, covering his mouth. "Nevermind, that's Chenglei."

He gave her arch one last soothing press, before washing his hands, then leaning on the willow trunk beside her, breathing out a relaxed, "Ahhh~" as he stretched out an arm Serena could use a pillow.

He absently ran his fingers through her locks, massaging her head and combing it gently, taking them out of her eyes and tucking behind her ear. He kicked off his boots and noticed his sock had a hole. "When did that happen?" he said confused. "And to think these are new." he didn't look very bothered by it, and was soon resuming just caressing Serena's head.

"This garden is very peaceful." said Seth watching the herons, the lily behind his ear swaying as he leaned his head on Serena's

- - - -​

"Alright!" said Sen, and jovially went up their room, holding Minnie's hand and rubbing circles with his thumb soothingly.

Inside, Sen enthusiastically told her about the giant crystal monster, how it had clockwork mechanisms, and how he wondered if it was built by the ancient inventors of long ago. "It sat on a crater, I thought it was a fallen star that eventually got covered by the earth over time."

He was sitting cross legged on the bed, a blue print paper spread out on the covers and his chalk drawing of the chubby crystal monster on it with a grrr face. "You probably would say no to us going back there again just to find out how it worked, huh, Minnie? Or maybe we can ask the princess about it. I wish she wasn't so busy now, but of course preventing the assassination is top priority."

There was a cold drink of jasmine tea with star anise on the bedside table which he took a sip from. "It was amazing, Minnie, it fired laser beams and they weren't invented until recently by us."

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

- Serena Lock & Minnie von Ironheart -
"Spade's castle"​

Serena rolled her eyes playfully as she giggled at the comment about Chenglei. "No, you're my devoted shinobi . . . Lilies means 'Devotion'."

Leaning her head on his shoulder, nuzzling her peachy cheek in the crook of his neck, the violinist sighed. Feeling peaceful at the moment as she fluttered her eyes closed, enjoying Seth's fingers caressing through her hair. Teasing her skin lightly and causing light shivers down her spine as he tucked her locks behind her ear. Reaching out and wrapping her arms around his waist, her hands gently kneaded on his sides and tummy, and letting out another happy sigh.

Then she opened her eyes to see the hole Seth's talking about, grinning a bit.

". . . Maybe it's from all the running and sneaking around we're doing? I can sew the hole . . ." The last time Serena sewn anything together was a month ago when she tried to make a teddy bear with yellow cloth. It looked more like a cute pig then a bear, sitting on the cozy sofa in the living room.

"Yea . . . I can sleep like this . . ." Her yawn proved it too. The blonde watched the water from the pond ripple from the Heron's subtle movements, carefully picking at the water in their hunt for food.

- - - - -​

Laughing her chirpy laugh, Minnie looked at the blueprints of the 'Grr-ing' chubby monster, listening intently at Sen's adventure in the wisdom temple. Sitting on the bed and leaning carefully over the blueprints as to not get in her inventor's way. "Definitely is interesting. I wonder why the temple have such a monster though . . ."

Then she looked at Sen, her amusement from the drawing was wiped away as she thought on it.

". . . As much as I know you are interested in wanting to know more, I'd say this monster is very . . . dangerous to deal with . . . If the princess is too busy to even answer our questions, then . . . I will come with you to explore more - And Seth and maybe someone else. I don't know if Serena could even walk normally right now with her burns."

She didn't like the idea of letting Sen go by himself again and she berated herself for it. The reason why she let Sen go on his own in the first place was because she thought nothing dangerous will happen for visiting a temple or the stage. Apparently she was wrong. For now on, she's following Sen.

Minnie hummed, leaning back a bit as she stared at the monster drawing. A corner of her lips quirked into an amused smile again.

". . . Maybe the ancient inventors had an epiphany?" She theorized, leaning over the drawing again to see the gears and limb connections to the supposed crystal body. Then her eyes stopped at the laser-beaming eye before looking up at Sen's bandaged shoulder. Before she knew it, Minnie leaned in to kiss his shoulder again.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Sen & Seth Pendragon -
"Spades Castle" ​

"Yes." smiled Seth when Serena mentioned devotion. "I will take care of you." he gave her a hug, then squirmed enjoyably, as she kneaded his sides and belly. He was a little ticklish there.

"No, it's alright, Serena. Injured person should rest." he kissed her forehead. "Thanks for offering, though. I don't want you to touch my smelly socks, I should fix them." Back at home, he washed his own socks, boxers, and muddy clothes, not willing to let Serena clean them as he would get embarrassed.

He caught her yawn and yawned too. "Me too." he closed his eyes and snuggled into her hair. He rubbed her back leisurely as they rested, caressing touching Serena as though to put her to sleep.

- - - -​

"She probably can't." said Sen, putting away the chalk and lying down among the pillows. "Though I'd feel safer if we go and she's with us."

"What do kind of epiphany?" he started to say, then Minnie kissed his shoulder.

He stopped and stared up at her, red in the face. Then he had the most amorous look. He nudged the drawings aside to the floor with his foot, then grabbed Minnie and pulled her down to a hug. "Minnieeeee," he whined, "I need to cuddle."

Katsuya