Take Back the Crown

[TeeKay]

"What is the largest meal you've had? You look so.. small.. Wouldn't an anaconda be too big?"

Phaedra tilted her head to one side, ears perked. She thoroughly enjoyed Gore answering her question properly now and the creature had Phaedra's undivided attention now. She didn't mean to ignore Valeiah beside her, but.. it wasn't every day that you had the chance to question an imp. Surely, she understood that, right?

She took a moment to consider Bo's contribution, then nodded.

"Yes, a bite at a time makes sense.. Perhaps not all at once. But..." Something seemed to concern her and she mulled it over for a moment before following up with another question. "Am I correct in assuming you prefer your food raw?"

@RP Marshall @soundofmind @Danika
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[Danika]

Valeiah looked at the imps strangely. "This is probably the strangest conversation I've ever witnessed. Probably because I've never talked to an imp before."

 

[RP Marshall]

"I've never eaten one before." Bo replied, feeling a bit uneasy at the thought of eating one. He was open to it - as long as it was cooked. "But I can imagine one tasting alright if I cooked it right. It would have to be non-venomous though. I can imagine you could eat an anaconda though. Just one bite at a time."
Why was he even a part of this conversation. He didn't even know.

@RP Marshall (edited because oops im frantically trying to clean this up aaa)
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"Well the next anaconda I kill I'm gonna give ya some," Gore cheerfully said as she rolled over on the sack of potatoes. "I'll eat some of your cook one and you eat a piece of it raw! Deal!"

"What is the largest meal you've had? You look so.. small.. Wouldn't an anaconda be too big?"

Phaedra tilted her head to one side, ears perked. She thoroughly enjoyed Gore answering her question properly now and the creature had Phaedra's undivided attention now. She didn't mean to ignore Valeiah beside her, but.. it wasn't every day that you had the chance to question an imp. Surely, she understood that, right?

She took a moment to consider Bo's contribution, then nodded.

"Yes, a bite at a time makes sense.. Perhaps not all at once. But..." Something seemed to concern her and she mulled it over for a moment before following up with another question. "Am I correct in assuming you prefer your food raw?"

@RP Marshall @soundofmind @Danika
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"Certainly!" the imp captain said as if a little offended by Phaedra's statment. "That's the only way to eat food! It's raw or nothing! But I'll eat a bit of cooked snake if Bo makes it."

Valeiah looked at the imps strangely. "This is probably the strangest conversation I've ever witnessed. Probably because I've never talked to an imp before."

"Pftt!" Gore scoffed at Valeiah. "You ever thought that maybe imp's aren't the ones who are strange? Ya all look pretty strange to me!"


The imp gleefully laughed at the sylph and the two humans. Suddenly she halted her laughter and with a puzzled look, she pondered why she was happy speaking with them. Talking with the group about food seemed to make Gore's anger vanish away.


What am I doing? she thought in horror. They killed my sister! The filth!


Letting out a menacing hissing from her throat, Gore slunk back into the supplies and ended her part in the conversation with her enemies.


They ain't gonna trick me! I ain't gonna forgive them!

 

[soundofmind]

Apparently he just made a deal to cook a snake and eat a raw one. "...Deal," he responded hesitantly, and honestly, a bit confused. Before he had a chance to say anything more, Gore laughed at them for looking funny and then hid back in the supply wagon suddenly. He had no idea what was wrong, but he understood little of the creature's lifestyle anyway.


@RP Marshall

 

[GalacticRam]

Foxrun stiffled a yawn and stretched into a standing position. He saw the two groups each walk off into the woods. To gather or to hunt. Neither really seemed to be something he could participate in. Too many people doing one task seemed like a waste of time and abilities. He then roamed the nearby woods and gathered a few seemingly random things. Once he had a nice bundle going on, he found a little spot under a tree just outside of camp to make himself comfortable in. Then proceeded to fiddle with what he had scrounged up, hoping to manage a sort of fish trap to leave in the river. There were plenty of mouths to feed. And he was sure plenty of different tastes to please as well. So perhaps he could be of some use in this way

 

[Lo Alyssa]

Yaroslav smiled, enjoying himself for the first time in a long time, at least visibly anyway. He followed the quick elf as best he could, which was a little more difficult considering his stalky build, and he saw the deer trail she had discovered. "You are very good." He said taking a closer look at it.


When he began quietly walking the trail, unsure when they were going to see the buck, he decided to ask a question in a hushed tone, "Who taught you the art of the hunt?" He curiously asked glancing back at her while nocking an arrow, getting ready to fire the moment he saw the deer.
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@OlKaJa77​

 

[OlKaJa77]

The forest plants swished around Oceana's waist as she moved through the narrow deer trail.


She too had notched an arrow, waiting and watching.


Returning the hushed tone Yaro had used she said,


"Many of the elves in my clan were taught to hunt by our hunting master, Master Aisling. She was strict but kind."


She had planned to stop there but more quiet words came tumbling out of her mouth.


"But I was the smith's daughter. Normally I would learn to smith and inherit the duties of my father."


She was smirking a little now, remembering the day it happened. When she had begged her father to become a huntress.


"However, when I was seven summers old I begged and begged my father to let me smith and become a huntress. No one had ever done such a thing before.


'Againn uile ar n-àite.' We all have our place.


Everyone thought I was nothing but troublesome after that. Elves are suspicious about tradition and such.


I had always been a bit of an outlier and my temper definitely didnae help me make many friends. This new development didnae help matters."


She paused here, halting her progress in the underbrush, contemplating whether or not she should say it.


Turning up to look at Yaro, who was patiently waiting for her to continue she smiled wryly and said,


"Nor did my love for other girls' behinds."


And continued walking.


@Lo Alyssa

 

[Vampiricdoll]

Lucasta could see the desperation in Hjalmar's face. She could tell he wasn't lying this time. She pondered on the thought for a moment, then exhaled deeply. "Look, I don't exactly trust you, but I can tell you really need this money..." She was silent for a moment, thinking to herself once more. "I'll give you 500 gold coins for now, okay?" She offered him. She took out her coin purse from her satchel, and poured what what left inside into her hands. "Exactly 500 gold coins." She mumbled, handing the pile of coins into his hands. "You better not screw this up. I don't take betrayal lightly." She crossed her arms, as if she was pouting and turned away from him.

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@Lo Alyssa
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[L1d1ja]

Dorian watched the thief and the princess with curiosity. 'Just in how much trouble is that guy in?' He thought, already trying to think up how o help out a fellow rogue. He had himself gotten in much trouble with other criminals before, though he ended up going from the man in debt to the one who collected the money. Maybe he could just pull some strings?

 

[QueenSaiko]

Ayda quickly went to 'work', and decided to go for the Jenber berries, lifting up her dress slightly as she surveyed a bush for any and successfully found some in the leaves. Carefully but quickly she picked them and placed them in her basket, making sure not to crush them.


Without realising it, Ayda started humming a song she and her 'siblings' made after running away, a small tune that they used to sing together whenever things got especially tough.


The six of them would huddle up in whatever abandoned thing they could find and start singing quietly together until they all fell asleep.


@Lo Alyssa

 

[Lo Alyssa]

Yaroslav had to stifle his laughter, especially at the last comment, "I was also a troublesome one in my clan..." He said in a whisper, "I had a tendency to play pranks at the most inappropriate of times." He chuckled, thinking about the reactions he got in the old days. Then his mind wandered elsewhere, dwelling on her last comment, he found himself just a tad perplexed, "I do not understand that attraction..." He said, and he truly didn't. He had never felt sexual attraction toward anyone. Attraction, yes, but not in that way. "At times I believed there was something wrong with me, as the men I would sup with would eventually cover the topic of women and making love..." He thought it was an awkward topic so he faltered, but continued, "I did not feel what they described feeling..." He said, "They oft made fun of me for it, saying that a boy became a man when he--" He decided to stop there, flushing a bit. He didn't want to continue. But it was true, he had been teased on more than one occasion for refusing some of the women that came to him and insinuated they wanted to... 'have fun' as they described it... It made him feel utterly uncomfortable. He crinkled his nose at the thought.


@OlKaJa77


Hjalmar was honestly astounded that she actually trusted him enough to give him the money. He took it gently, and couldn't help but smile, flashing his pearly white teeth. "I, uh--" He stuttered, "I can not tell you how much this will help me, princess. In return, I promise I will try not to fail you..." He said, feeling rather out of his element having never been given anything freely before, "Uh... Thank you..."


Still unsure as to what he was supposed to do, he awkwardly knelt down in front of her. This is what you're supposed to do with royalty, right? And he softly scooped her hand up and kissed it. Hopefully he was being respectful, he had no idea what he was doing. He usually stole from the nobility, not smooch their knuckles in reverence.


@Queen of Fantasy
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[Vampiricdoll]

Lucasta raised her eyebrows. "What are you doing?" She asked him, pulled her hand away from him. Her face went red from embarrassment. "A thank you is all you have to say. You don't have to... Kiss my hand or anything..."


@Lo Alyssa
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[Lo Alyssa]

Hjalmar flushed again, having made himself seem like a fool, "I, um... I thought that's what you did with royalty..." He stood up and gave an embarrassed chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck, "Ah, I uh... you--" He shut his mouth, "Thank you." He said, and he quickly fast-walked away, his face so hot and red it wouldn't be surprising if people could see smoke seeping from his pores. He probably looked like a tomato. He went into his tent where he could curse himself for his idiocy alone. What a passive, reserved, withdrawn and detached thief you are. He thought to himself, And yet, here you are, taking the same shade as your scarf, being just as uncool as Rolo.


@Queen of Fantasy
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[OlKaJa77]

"Ah..." Was all the elf said, getting a bit flustered as well. But she wasn't unfamiliar with 'sharing a tent' with another woman.


The elven peoples, however, were few and so having children was essential.


But her clan was gone and being odd or not didn't seem to matter in this group.


Still whispering she simply said,


"A man who dosnae need a mate, dosnae need a mate."


And Even though he wasn't looking, she did the traditional elven gesture anyway,


"There is no judgement here." Was the adage she murmured as


She put a hand to her heart.


Suddenly the elf heard a heavy rustling of bushes ahead.


"About a hundred paces" Oceana murmured, taking aim.


@Lo Alyssa


(Urghies this was really rough...)

 

[RP Marshall]

As Pip observed the imp captain laughing in amusement as she spoke with the adventurers, his brow lowered in bewilderment. She was actually speaking with the three in a congenial manner. Could it be possible that this vicious imp's sociable demeanor was in fact genuine or just a part of her scheme to murder the ones who killed her sister?


Interesting! Pip thought to himself.


Unfortunately, Gore's genial attitude abruptly ended as she slunk back into her hiding stop.


"Hm!" Pip grunted as he spoke to the three adventures . "I apologize profusely for my companion's impertinent outburst. She has always been exceedingly brutish towards others."


Pip respectfully bowed to the three.

@soundofmind @Danika @TeeKay
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[TeeKay]

Phaedra merely shrugged. She easily made it appear that she didn't care, though Gore's sudden change in behavior did shock her a smidgen. It mostly disappointed her, actually. It was an interesting opportunity to dig into the culture and biology of imps, as she wasn't too familiar. There was Pip, but Phaedra was under the assumption that he was too detached from imp society to really know. He maybe he knew all about it and genuinely disliked other imps as much as he obviously disliked Gore. All Phaedra really knew was that all of this thinking was finally making her head hurt.

"No need. You aren't responsible for another's actions." She was dismissive of Pip's apology, waving it away. With a sigh, she slouched forward with her elbow propped up by her knee, resting her chin on her open palm. "I just hope for two things: food and first watch."

@Danika @soundofmind @RP Marshall @Rydellius
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[Rydellius]

(I'm studying in between doing this so get ready for some short scenes)


The dim campsite fell back into silence again. Gore had retreated back into the supplies, while Phaedra's breif exchange of words with Pip had apparently ended, since he now sat unmoving and unspeaking in the state he seemed to feel most comfortable in. Valeiah and Bo had gone quiet as well, along with Nameen herself, who didn't participate in long conversations very much either way.


Despite this, Nameen found herself wishing someone would break the silence. Not necessarily to her, but it would at least be nice to listen in on something, maybe speak every so often.


@TeeKay @RP Marshall @soundofmind @Danika

 

[Lo Alyssa]

(I am also busy right now, so sorry for being short!!)


Yaroslav smiled in response, not feeling quite as embarrassed for continuing the subject. He was about to thank her when his eye caught something not too far away. He put his hand up to motion her to stop, and slowly lowered to the ground as to become less visible. It was the buck, along with a whole small herd of deer grazing in a patch of lush grass.


"We should try to get two..." He said in a hushed tone, "How about we both aim for one and loosen our arrows at the same time. It is harder to shoot them when they are running away, that is why I am suggesting." He looked to Oceana for an opinion.
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@OlKaJa77
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When Hjalmar finally got his blushing under control, he relaxed a bit. Which didn't last long because once again, Rolo suddenly apparated into his tent. He almost shouted, but managed to stifle it. It was the same thing as last time, he warned Hjalmar about the big bad boss and his nasty temper, took the goods (the 500 perks the princess gave him) and then vanished again. He groaned in agitation. Hopefully it would be enough to get his boss off of his back.


Hjalmar eventually got bored in his tent, so he decided to join the others at the fire. If they would have him, anyway. He had only been with them a day and they probably didn't trust him still (some didn't even like him). He took a seat against a big root, unsure of what to say. But starting conversations was never a problem for him.


"So..." He started, "Do any of you know how to properly adress royalty? Because apparently, kissing hands is not appreciated."
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@TeeKay @Rydellius @Danika @soundofmind @RP Marshall
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[TeeKay]

"..But I thought that was what you were supposed to do? Bowing, "Yes, my lady"ing and "Yes, my lord"ing, kissing rings and hands.."

Phaedra was no master at court manners, but Hjalmar's statement had certainly surprised her. She most certainly thought that that of all things was need-to-know court etiquette! The gears in her head were turning once more, despite the headache she felt coming on, begging her to give it a rest. She simply couldn't help it - she needed to know!

"Whose hand did you kiss, Hjalmar? The prince? I could certainly understand why the young man would be upset with that, to be honest."

@Lo Alyssa @soundofmind @Rydellius @Danika @RP Marshall
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[Lo Alyssa]

Hjalmar's mouth turned into a flustered frown, his face slightly reddened as he looked back on it. He didn't say anything for a moment, but finally blurted out, "The Princess..." It was more of a whisper, "Don't tell the big one (Yaro), he'd kill me if he found out, I'm sure if it."

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@TeeKay
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[Rydellius]

Nameen listened in eagerly, a little bit of gossip certainly would bring a spark of entertainment to the dull moment.


She smirked at Hjalmar's clear embarrassment. "Don't worry," she said. "Your secret will remain safe with us."


@Lo Alyssa @TeeKay


(Like I said super short, sorry!!)

 

[RP Marshall]

@TeeKay[/URL]
[/CENTER]

Pip scanned Hjalmar's facial features with great intensity as he spoke of having kissed the Princess's hand @Queen of Fantasy . The stone imp wanted to gather as much information out of the thief as possible. He was definitely an interesting subject to study. Pip did not want to waste this opportunity to seen Hjalmar up close, instead of looking down on him while perched on the watchtower of Brink. As he continued to observe the thief, Pip's frown was replaces by a tiny grin.

@TeeKay @soundofmind @Rydellius
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[TeeKay]

Phaedra's eyes lit up, intrigued, and a mischievous smile slowly formed.

"Oh ho ho.. Cradle robbing, are we? You scoundrel." The smile became more of a broad grin now. "Ah, don't worry. Not a peep from me. But why exactly were you kissing up to the princess, hm?"

She willed herself to levitate, gently hovering near Hjalmar, still in a seated position. She floated around him, as though trying to look at him from all angles. The amount of entertainment Phaedra was gaining out of Hjalmar's embarrassment was clear to see. She wasn't exactly trying to hide it anyway, but this became more obvious with her next statement as she gently teased the man.

"She is lovely, but I thought she'd be a bit too young for a dashing rogue like you who could surely secure a well-endowed bar lass!"

@Lo Alyssa
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[OlKaJa77]

Oceana already had her arrow aimed at the eye of another doe when she whispered her agreement.


Great goddess of the hunt, Konor, let my aim be true and my prey's death be swift and painless.


She thought in prayer, waiting for Yaro's signal.


@Lo Alyssa

 

[soundofmind]

Bo tried not to laugh, and instead ended up smirking like everyone else in the group. He did run to Hjalmar's defense though, interjecting.


"Oh, he's not that old Phaedra," he said, with laughter in his voice. "You're what... 18? 20? You're not robbing anyone's cradle. Although, I don't know if I'd go kissing the princess's hand. She's not like maot royalty. She hasn't been in a castle for the oast years, and she's probably... uh, what are the best words to say... been hardeded? By life after all that stuff happened? I mean, she lost everything, and she's had to take care of her brother all by herself. I can see her not being used to having her hand kissed and stuff. But she seems pretty forgiving. I'm sure you're fine."


@Lo Alyssa @TeeKay @Rydellius @RP Marshall


(I wrote this super quick and my internet is being slow so i hope this works)