Fantasy The Five Kingdoms - The Fall of Sarthenfall - Ic

[Blackrose7]

Annabel was trash talking at the rich in her mind during the whole walk towards the docks. Because she hated them for letting the royal family steal money from both the middle class and the poor. ‘Filthy nobles showing off their fancy houses while my family had to deal with the royal family trying to steal money from the middle class and the poor.’ thought Annabel.
She eventually stopped doing that once she heard what Azalea had said. “Unless you want to deal with the criminals, who might do horrible things to you if they capture you. Then yes, it is rotten of you to enjoy Ezeris more than Calore.” said Annabel.
Annabel thought that Azalea was being an idiot for wanting to enjoy Ezeris, since Calore is more peaceful than here. ‘Seriously? Azalea is enjoying Ezeris more than Calore? This kingdom is terrible, because of how the royal family's greed is making everybody's life miserable besides the rich.’ thought Annabel.
As they continued their walk towards the docks, Raymond stopped in his tracks to look at a blacksmith shop at was in ruins. She said nothing about that, because she didn't want to ruin it for Raymond, as it was important to him. ‘Poor Raymond. I can tell that the blacksmith shop over there is important to him, so I am not going to say anything.’ thought Annabel.
Then three drunk guys show up, and they were talking shit about Raymond's family. ‘Jerks. They have no respect for Raymond's family, even after they are gone.’ thought Annabel.
After the three drunk guys had left, she turned her focus back on the mission. Annabel saw the beautiful ocean again, and her face had softened a bit from that. ‘Hello, beautiful ocean. This may be the last time I can see it, but I am glad.’ thought Annabel.
Raymond then told her about the plan, and she had a mischievous grin underneath her face mask. “Alright. I will do that by taking a different path.” said Annabel. She was actually talking about the hidden escape routes underneath Ezeris, because that is the easiest way to get around the kingdom without being spotted. ‘Ok. First, group b and then group c. I think I can do that.’ thought Annabel.
Ms. Sparrow Xanto

 

[Bakuyoshi]

"Fucking lovely I called it. I would ask who's stupid idea it was to bring a shade but I don't feel like insulting at the moment!" Priscilla brought out her Armorcracker loading it with a single shot. Every bit of her wanted to holler at someone about this stupid idea yet there was no one of real importance to shout at without everyone dying.

"If we survive I want there to be a big discussion on a change in leadership and how carrying shades that were capable of injuring people prisoner is a bad idea!" And in her head she could think of only two people that could use that boot from leadership. And a few that needed to be in charge. This whole rebellion needed to change and it needed it bad. Two plans that could go horribly wrong happening one after another was already a big red flag for her but this, this was just stupidity.

Xanto NinjaGirlGamer Ms. Sparrow

 

[NinjaGirlGamer]

Ezeris, the place I never wanted to come back to. The rain fell from the sky as the group trailed the edge toward the dock area. Ivanna looked out into the open sea, grim memories started flowing back into her mind. Wandering her eyes towards Ezeris itself, she only came out with bad dreams and a few more scars to her body. This town was her first mark as a mercenary

and the beginning of something else.



The shouts of men were heard all around as the mangled up contestant was carried out of the arena. The Victor was banging his hammer into his shield with ego so bright, it burned into the heart of his enemies. Sharp blue eyes watched the barely recognizable loser was taken away, probably to be thrown out with the rest of the bodies. Her eyes turned her attention back into the arena, swallowing back the nerves. Gripping tight her sword handle before stepping forward when the announcer gestured for the woman to come forward.



“What is your stage name kid?”


“Um....a stage name?”


The announcer snickered at the naive comment “Yes a stage name!”

“The Black Raven”


The announcer didn’t like it “The Black Raven? Thats not scary enough! Bah! I’ll just make up one”



He cleared his throat before shouting out to the masses “Ladies and Gentlemen! Tonight we have a special fight, He has come all the way from the mountains! You know him to crush skulls with ease! The returning Champion, The Boulder!!!!”



A huge juggernaut of a man came out from the other side. Holding two big rocks in his hands before slamming it together, making the rocks into rubble. The crowd chants the Champions name.



“Annnnnd in this corner, We have a new challenger today! Some say she has come from the ashes of hell itself! Carrying around a sword no woman her size can wield. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you. The BloodBringer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
​

The sounds of chains crashing against metal caught Ivanna’s attention immediately. Baxter ordering the team around him that if the prisoners gets out, fight. Which was all the permission Ivanna needed, as she gets into position in the back near the trees. Holding the handle of her sword. Hearing Priscilla’s comment made Ivanna chuckle a bit. “For once I agree with the nonsense that comes out of your mouth,” talking directly to Priscilla. Ivanna knew Nox was going to break out at any moment, she was just waiting for the perfect opportunity to kill them all. Well I say, she can go ahead and try it.

Xanto Ms. Sparrow Bakuyoshi

 

[Ms. Sparrow]

Azalea Eve Windfore and Nox

Azalea smirked wryly in response to Raymond's comment of being robbed, "I'd take more than their hand for trying," she replied cockily, glancing past Raymond and at Annabel as she spoke, the grin sliding off Azalea's face as she bristled at Annabel's response to her small joke, feeling her cheeks heat angrily as she focused her gaze forward again. She supposed Annabel wouldn't understand her reasons for liking Ezeris, she wasn't raised to sit in a ghastly boring palace for the entirety of her life. Ezeris and Calore couldn't be more different. Calore was vastly rooted in tradition, anyone who didn't follow it may as well just have been a monster the way people reacted. See a woman with a weapon and one might scream 'Ardalath!' and run the opposite direction, believing it possession. Keep iron on your doors to keep out and ward away evil, never use poor manners, never waste silver, etc. And it was all one giant bore. Sometimes she didn't even have to say a word to any of her suitors, all she had to do was pull out a bow and they'd be on the first carriage home the next day.

Ezeris was practically lawless and unbound by tradition, it was freedom and danger and everything in between.

She kicked at a rock, finding herself fuming as she quickened her pace, feeling something dark creep it's way into her, jealousy as they approached the rubble of some abandoned building, only partially listening to Raymond's answer to her request, her envious thoughts quick to occupy her mind. They were however, quickly broken as Raymond abruptly came to a stop. Azalea glanced at him, arching a brow in question before she turned her attention to the drunken men that stumbled on the rubble, her brows furrowing in confusion, not understanding why Raymond had paused to listen to idiots.

It quickly dawned on her, however, the family they spoke of. Azalea felt her blood boil, even more so once she glanced at Raymond and caught sight of the balled fists at his side, making her own clench in return as she looked back at the drunks. Both her and Raymond seemed to have the same reaction simultaneously as one of the drunkards kicked a wooden plank, a wooden plank, that had once been part of his home. "I'll show you wanted criminal," Azalea muttered angrily to herself, her blood boiling as she bent down and scooped up a small stone, "when I shove my foot so far up your ass--" she positioned her arm back behind her head, narrowing one yellow-green eye that flared with anger as she took aim, side-glancing at Raymond and pausing in her violent actions and words.

Raymond seemed to stop himself, watching with quiet anger as the drunkards stumbled off. What?! He wasn't going to fight them? She found her anger dissolve into slight disappointment, almost pouting as dropped the rock unto the ground defeatedly. She would've been more than happy to kick their asses. She doubted any of his family deserved that kind of talk, hell, she bet Raymond was ten times the man than all three of them---

Azalea shook her head, her brows furrowing, turning on her heels as Raymond told her and Annabel to continue, Raymond and Baxter. What was she thinking? Ah, but of course, she was thinking of Raymond alone, he was the only one with her afterall. Nothing more, nothing less... Azalea paused in her steps, glancing back at Raymond as he straightened up from the ground...yes, that was all. Sure, he was beastly attractive...and nice and--

"Gah!" Azalea spun on her heel once more, realizing she'd been staring, speeding ahead of Annabel as Raymond began to catch up with them, feeling her face heat as she stormed to the front. What was wrong with her?! She stopped as the docks came into view, allowing Raymond and Annabel to catch up as she facepalmed, rubbing her temples. Now was certainly not the time for any of those ghastly thoughts. Or ever, she reminded herself.

Azalea glanced on both her sides as Annabel and Raymond caught up with her, her hand dropping back down, placing it on her hip as she looked forward, a magnificent grin spreading across her face as she looked across the vast blue sea, gaining a full sight of the ocean for the first time in her life, rendering her speechless, despite the rain, it made the sea no less beautiful, it's wild waves crashing against the docks, it was powerful, and wild, and free and Azalea loved every bloody, grand bit of it. This...she had missed all this. She blinked, realizing somewhere in her awed stare, so overwhelmed, her eyes had watered. Quickly she wiped the tears away from her yellow gaze, her giant grin never faltering, even as Raymond instructed Annabel beside her, unable to tear her eyes away even as she heard Annabel run off.

Finally, her eyes traveled to the ships, coming back down to reality as the gravity of the mission hit her once more. Right. Country to save, an army to retrieve and all that. Azalea folded her arms across her chest, leaning her weight on one side of her hip as she looked at Raymond, her grin turning into something mischievous, "So, what's the plan 'O calculating Raymond?'" She teased wryly, a new, unfamiliar bright twinkle in her fox-like stare.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Spoiler: That fighting music/Nox theme

Aria pulled her sword from its sheathe, following Baxter's orders and moving into position, positioning herself into a fierce fighting stance, her hands wrapped tightly around her sword. She'd been training to fight her whole life. She could do this. Her head glanced over as Priscilla started shouting, her eyes narrowing to an unyielding, fiery stare at both Ivanna and Priscilla, "Now," she shouted over the rain, "is not the time!" she snapped. Baxter was doing a fine job as a leader, she would've loved to see either of them try leading it for a day. They couldn't honestly expect that all planes would go without issues could they? Aria's head whipped back to the prison cart, her eyes narrowing as she heard a faint click from within the cell. The prisoner had somehow acquired a lockpick. She was getting out. Around the cart, the soldiers froze as it went silent, tension as thick in the air as wet paint, seconds ticking by without movement.

The cell door banged open as Nox slammed it open, the metal rattling loudly enough to be heard for miles. Quick, fast, Nox jumped from the cell, her gaze cold and predatory as she breifly took in her surroundings, eyeing Priscilla and the weapon she held first. The soldier nearest to her charged her, his arm raised, sword in hand before he slammed down, aiming to strike for her neck. Quick as a viper Nox caught him by the wrist, snapping it backwards as the soldier screamed in pain, his sword falling from his grip and into Nox's free hand before she shoved the sword into his gut, warm blood spilling over her hands as spun around and shoved the now dead-soldiers corpse hurtling in Priscilla's direction to block any temporary oncoming fire as she dealt with the rest of the soldiers.

Another soldier jumped her from behind, but detecting the swish of metal from behind, she spun around parrying the blow as she blocked it with her sword, kicking the man hard in his knee, sending him down the ground and running him through with her sword just as an arrow hit her from behind, piercing her shoulder opposite from her spun arm. Slowly Nox spun around, silver blood bleeding through her red cloak, a vicious metallic grin spread across her face as she faced the archer, his grip shaking as he notched another arrow, terrified of the weapon that face him, but too late was he to arm himself, Nox's sword came crashing down for his skull, where barely deflected the blow with the wood of his bow, the sword splintering the wood in half upon impact, the young man shrieked as Nox's hand wrapped around his throat, her claws digging into his flesh, sinking into his artery and delivering a fatal blow before letting him drop to the floor as he bled out, his blood seeping into the floor. Nox bent down, plucking an arrow from his quiver before straightening and facing the last footman-soldier, flinging the arrow hurtling through the air, piercing his throat before he crumpled to the ground.

Within seconds, Nox had taken out four soldiers, the carnage lying around her.

Aria let out a war cry as she made a strike for Nox, the creature spinning around and blocking the blow, the force of their strikes clanging through the air as their swords clashed again and again Aria blocked another blow of Nox's, her breathing labored as she tried to keep up with the creature, if she wanted to win this, she had to play dirty. Aria raised her sword, coming down with all might upon Nox, the force of the strike making the metal vibrate as they came into contact, abruptly, Aria headbutted Nox, driving her head into Nox's nose. Nox recoiled emitting what might've been a growl, her nose leaking silver blood.

Nox stepped back from Aria, bringing her hand to her nose and wiping the blood from her face, pausing as she glanced upon the silver texture on her pale hands. It had been a long time since she bled from the making of a mortal. Nox looked up and grinned viciously at Aria, gold eyes glittering with a feral, predatory twinkle. Aria's eyes widened in alarm as Nox abruptly rushed for her, the creatures speed in humanly fast as she barely deflected Nox's blow, before Nox struck again, and again, her strikes coming faster and faster. Aria felt herself weaken, her strength dissolving as she struggled to keep up with her inhuman stamina.

Too quick, too fast, Aria bit down on a cry as she failed to fully deflect Nox's blow, the tip of her sword slicing into her sword hand, causing Aria to drop the sword, she stumbled back before Nox's foot connected with her gut, sending her sprawling backwards onto the ground, the air completely knocked out of her.

Nox clicked her tongue at the defeated redhead and turned and faced Priscilla and Ivanna, twirling her sword, which dripped with red liquid, soaked completely as water dripped down her black armor and soaked through her red cloak. "You think your leader incapable?" Nox questioned coldly, a chilling metallic grin sweeping across her face, her sharp teeth glinting, "Then let him die," she purred, raising her sword and pointing it at Baxter menacingly, "Only his death is required, but," she tilted her head at them, a glint of curiosity reflecting in her predatory gaze, "you do seem to have a death wish," she rolled her shoulders and grinned,

"So let's get started."




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spoiler: Because emotions

The tavern reveled with it's usual cheer, even more so that it was raining, stinking of stale ale and beer. A small gang cheered to a lively tune played by a drunk flutist, the gang standing on the bar, their speech slurred and drunken as they poorly sang the common song of Ezeris. People laughed and cheered with them and some ignored them entirely. These days, most people had nothing to do but get drunk off their asses, but most of Ezerian's men had gone off the join the "New Kings Army". Most if not all of Ezeris adored the man. Just weeks prior, the King himself had visited the city, making speeches of new wealth and commerce restored to Ezeris, and had made a very generous donation as a sign of "good faith", new construction had already begun in the worst parts of the cities, and more and more posters and papers were made, slandering the rebellion and it's traitors and praising the unnamed King.

But she...she knew he was wrong. She had known it even before the faces of the rebellion were displayed. She had known the moment he had rode in, in his carriage of black and silver with his entourage of Shades and even human soldiers. Known it when his black gaze had devoured the crowd hungrily with a thin dimpled smile. There was just something...wrong about it.

But she was certain the moment she'd seen the wanted posters. Seen their faces.

"Hellooooo?"

The woman startled from her thoughts, tearing her gaze away from the dirty window and back to her two friends, Serana and Miranda, her hand still fingering the necklace around her neck. Both women across the table looked at her with raised brows, waiting for an answer to some question they'd asked.

"Sorry," she replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck with a small smile, her thoughts clouded with old memories, her previous mood shattered, replaced with bitter heartache. "I'm gonna get some air." She added in with a smile, standing from her chair and excusing herself from the tavern. Taverns weren't really her scene anyway. She only came for one reason.


The woman stepped out unto the deck of the tavern, staying under the undercover area as she walked, her movements graceful and refined as she crossed across the wooden floor, her light-blue dress gliding along and gently swishing to a halt as she came to rest upon the wooden rails of the deck, gazing across a pile of rubble that once used to be a place she treasured deeply, nothing but old, burned memories left in it's wake. She watched with disgust as three drunkards stumbled across the rubble, feeing her heart throb angrily before three figures drew her attention, out of the drunkards line of sight but much clearer to others. Two figures were femine, another was male. One figure was short in stature, with a small, lithe petite figure, another was a woman whom looked just as fit in shape though more average to the typical woman with her own nicely shaped curves, and the man...

The woman leaned forward as she caught a glimpse of a familiar jawline, squinting to catch more detail of the man, ignoring the drunkards presence as they stumbled away from the rubble. The man said something to the two women, and they turned and walked out of sight before the man swiped something from the rubble so quickly, it was almost as if he hadn't. She knew those movements, she knew them! Her fingers tightened on the wooden railing as she peered closer. She caught a glimpse of his full face as he turned to follow the two women. Her eyes widened, her lips parting in shock and surprise as her hand unconsciously moved to the necklace that hung around her neck.

Raymond Callahan.

The woman opened her mouth the shout at him to alert him of her presence, a thrill of excitement running through her. If he was here then perhaps--

"Audrey!"

Serana's voice startled her, causing Audrey to jump, spinning around. Serana stood at the door of the tavern, her head peaking out from the door frame, she gestured towards herself, "Come back inside! You'll catch a cold!" she encouraged her, looking both concerned and slightly tipsy.

Audrey nodded, "I'll be in in a second," she said politely, turning back around to where she saw Raymond, disappointment filling her, her heartache increasing tenfold as her hand tightened around her necklace. He was already gone.


Xanto Blackrose7 NinjaGirlGamer Bakuyoshi

 

[NinjaGirlGamer]

Ivanna watched the carnage began. As Nox took down four rebellion soldiers with ease and precision. Her movements were quicker than most, her fighting style was brutal. Ivanna was about to go forward until Aria beat her to it, striking against Nox’s sword. The fighting ensued, it was clear Nox had the upper hand in terms of speed and strength. Then Nox struck back, again and again, the blows became too much for Aria before she was kicked in the gut then sprawled back on the ground in front of Ivanna.

Ivanna stares at Nox with a piercing glare before smiling wickedly. “It’s about time you got out of your cage...” Ivanna drawled bitterly, stepping over Aria while she was still on the ground. “You want the leader of the rebellion so bad, your gonna have to get through me.” Ivanna reaching for her sword handle once more before eyeing Priscilla. “Stay out of this Twinkle Toes and that goes for the rest of ya! This bastard is mine!” Ivanna shouted with a growl in the back of her voice.

The soldiers all looked at Ivanna like she was crazy and maybe she was. But Ivanna didn’t care, she was known to go against the unknown. Ivanna was going to die trying before letting a creature like Nox tear her down. Baxter would disapprove, Aria would probably tell her she’s an idiot. However, one thing was clear, there was a loose killing machine hellbent to killing Bax. And Ivanna wasn’t going to let that happen. So she charges forward and takes out her large sword hidden under her thick cloak before carrying it overhead for a split second then swinging it downwards, targeting Nox’s head.

Fighting Music Start:
​

Ms. Sparrow Xanto Bakuyoshi

 

[Blackrose7]

After Annabel had run off on her own to do the mission, she decided to do take a small detour to the middle class region. Because not only did Raymond find out what happened to the blacksmith shop, but Annabel needed to know what happened to her house after she had left. ‘Ok. Now I have a chance to find out what they did to my house, since those bullies and criminals would totally take advantage of this.’ thought Annabel.
It took Annabel a while to get there from the docks. But she eventually arrived at the house, as the middle class region wasn't that big of an area.
Once there, Annabel had a look of horror on her face when she saw the destroyed house. The wood of the house was everywhere on the ground, and it was disgusting to pick it up. Due to the bullies throwing a lot of eggs on it. The garden wasn't in a good state either, for when Annabel had taken a peek to the back of the house. All of the flowers in the garden were stomped on, some were pulled out from the ground, and some were wilted with more eggs on it.
‘...I am going to leave from this place, so I can focus on the mission.’ thought Annabel, as a single tear fell from her eyes.
The poor girl actually wanted to cry from this. However, it isn't a good idea to do that in public, for it is a sign of weakness to cry like that in Ezeris. Annabel walked away from her house, and went to go look for a hidden escape route in an alleyway.
The alleyways in Ezeris are always avoided, because of how easy it is to kill or kidnap someone from there. Some gangs even have a hideout in the back of the alleyways, but for those reasons. It is also a great spot to use a hidden escape route, because no guards would be stupid enough to go check in an alleyway.


Annabel pressed a hidden stone button that was in the stone wall of the back of the alleyway, and it opened the door to the entrance to the hidden escape route. 'Alright. Everything is going smoothly with the plan.' thought Annabel, who entered the hidden escape route, and close it behind her.
Not all doors to the hidden escape route have a hidden button like that. Some of them have a hidden lever that you need to pull in order for them to be open. Also, there is one thing you must never do to those doors. Don't try to destroy them or else.

 

[explosiveKitten]

“I’m not taking you anywhere. We’re just going to use this time effectively.”

She looked around at the small group and gestured everyone forward. Aurelie nervously stepped closer, looking like a drowned rat with her hair all undone and her peasant dress sopping wet, and Alex looked up from his idle sitting, then hopped off the barrel to go look for Clyde.

“Since this group is the least experienced in combat-“ Angie reached over and quickly grabbed Aurelie as she attempted to turn and flee, “I’m going to use this time to teach you a little bit about self defense. That means you too Aurelie.”

She then reached over and turned Cali so that her back was facing towards Angie, “For now, a refresher, Cali. You remember how I taught you to break out of a headlock the other day?”

And predictably, Angie then lunges forward and wrapped her arm around Cali’s neck, not trying to hurt her, but also keeping a firm hold. “Time to shine, Princesss. Let’s see you get out of this.”

Bakuyoshi

 

[Xanto]

Raymond Callahan​

Raymond kept his eyes on the playing field, only glancing back at Azalea once he started carefully stepping down toward the docks. The path they were taking wasn't exactly paved out so they both had to make sure they didn't just slip and end the mission right there. "Follow my lead and stay close," His hand reached out to her not moving unless she took it, "We are capturing Drago." The ship was already in the middle of water, but not too far off at all. It didn't take a hint to notice that the target was filled with Francesco's sailors on it either. "Two of us can't crew a massive ship like that by ourselves," Raymond mentioned slowly shifting his weight as he stepped onto another rock.

Once they stepped down, Ray quickly sprinted and slid behind the pile of canoes and abandoned small boats that were basically tossed off to the side. "Can ya please pull the start of that rope pile over here?" He asked his partner before turning and picking up a human baby-sized rock from the stony cliff beside them. After placing the rock onto the upside down canoe, Raymond took the end of the rope from Azalea, "Thank you. I'll need assistance pulling some more." He yanked the rope prior to reaching over and under the canoe to tie the rock against it.

Sync. The sound of the guy suddenly revealing his hidden blade and cutting the rope was still quiet compared to the rainfall around them. Then, he pulled the upside down canoe closer to the ocean until it was about a foot away from the water. There was a titanium fishing net off to the side that Raymond ended up placing under the front tip of the canoe. He positioned the handle onto a rock that took him a couple minutes to find so that the net was tilted upward.

Team A repeated the rock tying process about seven more times until Ray finally stopped and looked at Azalea, "Listen, we move as one. It'll be heavy, but once we get to the water the load will lighten up." As much as he wanted to wait for the princess's reaction, the master thief realized that they needed to move fast. Annabel was already on her way to the two groups. The ship had to be ready or as close to ready as possible by the time B and C were rowing.

"When I put enough weight at the net's handle it'll function as a lever and push the front end of the canoe up. You need to run into the lower end and crouch down," Raymond took a step up a rock and started placing flat ones on top of the handle to add weight, "I'll join you in there."

At this point he was huffing for breath. He was sure Azalea was tired as well, but their current states weren't an excuse to end there. "Air will matter so keep words to a minimum," His arms dropped down another stone until the net finally lifted the canoe's tip upward, "Help me cut the rope when you see me start doing it on my end, then hold onto the canoe for dear life." What he was saying and doing probably didn't make sense at the moment to her. Regardless, they didn't really have another choice. "Lift with your back. Ready?" Ray got under the canoe and pushed upward, unhooking it from the lever and leaning forward so that his back was parallel to the ground. The weight on their backs was ridiculous. Ray tried lifting more weight on his end so Azalea wouldn't have to. His veins were popping from his neck, but after about the fifteenth step they were fully submerged underwater and the load immediately started to lighten.

A small pocket of air formed under the canoe which was enough for them to breath as they walked a little deeper into the ocean toward the Drago's direction.

Ms. Sparrow

 

[Bakuyoshi]

"Give her head to everyone when she dies! Or better yet if you get into trouble holler and I will get everyone!" Priscilla shouted as she tried to drag an unconscious Aria from the fight.
"Oh my god, fearless leader! Get your ass in gear and help me get the princess out of here! Or would you rather we all die!? I got her upper body! Now please for the love of god carry her by the legs!" Priscilla shouted at Baxter as this thing was going on. Surely he had the idea of VIPs getting out of a dangerous situation. And as far as she knew she had to deal with two of them at the moment.

NinjaGirlGamer Xanto

"Well let's see if I got it right!" Cali shouted as she turned her head in the direction Angelos arm was on her ready to choke her out. Quickly raising her arms up to grab Angelos arm as she ducked her chin into the Crook of his elbow as she shrugged her shoulders to give her space to do so.

"OK kids pay attention to this part. It is where things get important." With that Cali took the foot that was on the side that Angelo was keeping her headlocked or choked if he was doing this for real keeping her back curved forward as she moved her foot behind his and quickly locked it with their feet calf-to-calf. But then came the difficult part. Cali took a little breath before bending her knees and on her stepped foot turned 180 degrees with her hands still on Angelos choking arm. She only hoped this maneuver with her sorry amount of strength was enough to knock him down as she managed to duck out from underneath his arm.

explosiveKitten

 

[Xanto]

Clyde Callahan​

Clyde followed the group's direction until they came to a halt. Team C wasn't really instructed to do much other than stay safe. Was it boring for the kid though? Sort of since he had the whole of Ezeris to potentially explore.

His eyes shifted off to the side momentarily observing the structures around them. Did he really come from this place? There wasn't much for Clyde to remember since he was a toddler when they left. All of this was a lot to take in for a human with only five years under his sleeve.

Anyway, Clyde wasn't inconsiderate. The boy knew how important the mission was for the whole world. One wrong move and the Ezeris trip could be compromised. Compromise. That was the word. Maybe he could set aside his temptation to explore the whole kingdom and arrive at a compromise by just turning the corner and watching the street magician perform.

"Jeod," Clyde tugged on the man's coat, "I want to compujize." Compromise. Though the kid knew both of the word's meanings, he still had a hard time saying it. "I saw a magician around the corner. Can we please see her?" He immediately turned and sprinted over to the magical woman without waiting for a response from the rebellion's tinkerer. It didn't take long for the kid to arrive in front of a small crowd of people huddled around a street magician, "Uncle Ray says he used to watch these people all the time." To Clyde, Raymond was one of the best magicians ever! Now he just had to see where this other person stood.

The kid's green gaze didn't move from the woman in front of the small crowd. She seemed to be incorporating the rainwater into her vanishing act. Within a few moments, the magician managed to turn her water-filled pail over without spilling its contents. "Woah!" Clyde cheered along with the other audience members who stayed under a small tarp for coverage against the intense rainfall around them.

explosiveKitten Inheritance

 

[Ms. Sparrow]

Azalea Eve Windfore and Nox

Azalea carefully lowered herself down the slope, glancing up from the slippery slope as Raymond spoke, eyeing the hand he held out to her. Pride compelled her to ignore it, glancing back down to the rocks and easing herself down some more before she looked back up and saw his hand still waiting for hers. Begrudgingly, Azalea took it, clasping her hand in his and temporarily ignoring her damaged pride. Instead she tried to imagine she was holding hands with some grotesque ogre she’d read about as a child in the old fairytail books her father had hidden away. It kept her thoughts away from...other things and on the task at hand, surprisingly.
She released his hand as they slid behind a rock, glancing around and surveying her surrondings before Raymond quickly put her to work. She set about, her movements nimble and fast as she kept pace with Raymond, her movements matching with his almost as if they shared a mindset, and it quickly became apparent of his plan to get to the ship.

Azalea groaned upon her realization, tying off another rock as she glanced toward the wild waves crashing against the shore. When she dreamed off swimming in ocean waters, this wasn't exactly what she had in mind. Her breaths became labored as she started on tying yet another rock on the top of the underside of the canoe, her arms beginning to feel heavy, her back slightly aching. Still, she reminded herself, she'd been through worse pain then this. She could get through a little lifting. Azalea glanced up, her brows knit in concentration as Raymond began speaking, knitting further into almost a bitter grimace as she tried to picture herself lifting the canoe weighed with giant stones, but nodded anyway, knowing they had little time for words.

Of course, all common sense went out the window the moment she got under the canoe, lifting with her backs and letting out a loud string of Calorian slang that would make a sailor blush as the moved slowly into the water, the weight on her back nearly making her collapse with exhaustion, her petite frame far from fit for such weight lifting. She gasped for breath, her arms trembling, her focus on the ground as she slowly submerged herself into the water, glancing up through gritted teeth to see how Raymond was doing, noticing her side of the canoe was slightly lighter than it should have been, noticing Raymond lifting more than she.

"Raymond, you great idiot, stop lifting so much!" she seethed, her voice strained, panting as water splashed against her torso, her wounded pride compelling her to attempt to lift more on her side to match her partner, unable to keep herself from gasping at the burning pain in her back, the last of her air running out as the cold water reached her waist, rising higher the further they sank into the ocean until she found herself emerged completely underwater. The current worked against them, each wave that passed overhead fighting to sweep them back to shore, but the weight of the canoe lightening substantially in return for the new minor setback. Azalea gasped, taking in a large portion of air as a large air pocket formed underneath the canoe, her mouth flying open in another outburst of curses.

"Bloody rum this is," Azalea muttered, a deadpan expression plastered on her face as she dug her heels into the sand, fighting the pull of another wave passing over them, gritting her teeth in irritation before glancing up from the sand to Raymond, "When I pictured myself back when I was a wee chit, swimming in the ocean for the first time, this wasn't what I pictured," she lamented sourly. Azalea paused from her bitter ranting as she looked down at the water that lapped against her neck as it dawned on her. Saltwater. Gads. She was in the ocean. She'd actually made it to the ocean. A smirk slowly creeped it's way up her face. At least she'd crossed one thing off her bucket list in her life. Which raised another question. Azalea looked back at Raymond, arching a brow.

"Remind me, why am I doing this mission rather than, oh, I don't know, anyone who can lift?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Spoiler: That fighting music/Nox theme

Nox spun on her toe as the sword came bearing down on her, the great sword clashing loudly against her short sword, a great snap piercing the air as Nox's sword snapped in half upon impact. She reached up and caught the pointed end of the sword that went flying through the air, simultaneously spinning on her toe, turning her body a complete 360 as she spun her way to Ivanna's side in one fluid movement, her movements flawless as she lashed out with her arm, aiming to slash Ivanna's waist with the pointed end of the sword before leaping backwards, circling Ivanna as a metallic grin spread across her face, waiting for the mortal woman's next move, her dark-gold eyes studying the woman.

"I was hoping you'd draw your blade," Nox crooned, spinning the small blade in her hand, her cruel cunning gaze glowing, eager for bloodshed. Nox stepped closer, still circling, playing, anticipating and waiting. It was true, in fact, Nox was eager to test her skills against someone as equally formidable and bloodthirsty as she was. Someone worthy enough to clash blades with her. Honestly, it was a shame she had to kill her. "A pity to kill you so soon into your mortal, human life." She said coolly before her gaze turned icy cold, predatory and ruthless.

"Move aside or die, you waste time prolonging your leaders life." She said harshly, a familiar authority in her tone once more, perhaps hinting she claimed a higher rank in Soris's growing army. Then she lunged, aiming to slash for Ivanna's stomach this time, her expression hardened into the cold, vicious killer she was, determined to kill Baxter and leave the sorry excuse of a rebellion, filled with weak-hearted fools and their intoxicating human emotions.




~


Xanto NinjaGirlGamer Bakuyoshi

 

[Inheritance]

Jeod Swift​

And in an instant, he was back. Not that he had gone anywhere, but this was not the first time he had effectively spaced out for a good chunk of time. The whirlwind of events that transpired around him simply blended together in a great blur of fascinating sounds and colors, and it was almost as if he wasn't there at all. Of course, he was there the whole time, just seemingly caught up in his own thoughts or with his head in the clouds. Regardless, the fog in his mind was gone, and he was back making sharp decisions, not following wherever the wind took him.

Before he could respond to the child pulling at his coat, the kid was gone, and by extension, so was he. So he hurried after the child to see this street magician. He stopped behind Clyde, watching the show. It was certainly a spectacle, and while Jeod was certain there had to be something going on, it was still a very interesting sight. He was all for trinkets and tricks, and he was a bit of a showman himself. The reason he stayed alive and wealthy enough to travel wherever he pleased was because he could sell a man his own shirt; and was also very talented in many other fields.

"Wow indeed! Any idea how she does that?" He whispered to the kid, even though he had a few ideas of how it might work. He kept this in mind though, feeling as if he could use the boy's fascination with magic to his advantage. He had once worked as an "illusionist" for 3 weeks before he got bored and left the town. "Real magic maybe?" He asked with a smile.

Xanto explosiveKitten

 

[Blackrose7]

Walking along the dark and creepy hidden escape routes that is underneath the kingdom of Ezeris. Annabel made it to the hidden escape route exit that was the nearest to group b. 'Ok. I made it to the nearest location that group b is staying at. I need to tell Bax to grab the sailing row boat positioned second from the right at the dock. He then has to sail southeast parallel to the shore till the edge ends.' thought Annabel.
She open the hidden escape route exit by using a hidden lever, so she can get out from there. However, upon doing that, Annabel saw what was happening in that group once she was outside. '...Oh dear god. That weird lady got out of the cage. I need to do something about this before it's too late.' thought Annabel.
An idea then came to her, as soon as she looked at the hidden escape routes. 'Maybe if I used the hidden escape routes, and my bow and arrow. I can get the weird lady to stay away from everybody in group b.' thought Annabel.
Annabel knew that her idea was dangerous, but if she does nothing about it. The weird lady will kill them. Taking out her bow and arrow from her back, Annabel focus on hitting Nox with the arrow as close as possible. 'Ready, aim, FIRE!' thought Annabel, as she sends an arrow at Nox. Not sure if that got Nox's attention, Annabel immediately open the hidden escape route by pressing a wooden button, and went back in it.
Xanto NinjaGirlGamer Bakuyoshi Ms. Sparrow

 

[explosiveKitten]

Even with all of her struggle, Cali really didn’t have much power behind her arms, did she?

But she was going through all the motions correctly, so Angie decided to just let her slip out. “We really do need to work on that upper body strength... but you’ll have all the time in the world for that later. You were going through all the motions correctly, so that was good.”

She turned to Aurelie and was about to instruct her to come closer, but instead, the distinct lack of two people caught her attention.

“.. Aurelie? Where did Alex and Clyde go?” She asked, scanning the nearby area.
“I.. I’m not sure about Clyde, but Alex went in that direction.” Aurelie stammered, pointing deeper in the city, which made Angie groan in frustration.
“Oh, Gods...” She sighed and rubbed her face, then gave a sigh and glanced up at the sky, “gods, give me strength- Okay, Cali, you stay here with Aurelie, I have some children to go find. Try to teach her some moves while you’re at it.” And with that, Angie was off, disappearing into the rain.

~~~~~~~~~~

Alex stood next to Clyde, wide eyed in wonder at what was happening in front of him. Of course, he knew what Raymond could do, but this was way more flashy! It was exciting!
“This really is a whole lot of fun, Clyde! But...” he looked sheepishly down at the young boy. “I really don’t think we should have slipped away from Angelo like that. He’s supposed to be taking care of us, you know?”

He looked up suddenly, glancing off to the side, his eyes suddenly seeming to be in a far-off place as he glanced around. “... did you hear that?” He whispered to Clyde, taking a moment to listen before taking Clyde by the wrist and wandering away from the magician. He led the kid through back alleys, dark corners, away from the crowds, seemingly searching for something, when he came upon a scene and ducked behind a couple barrels to watch.

There Angelo stood, surrounded by a bunch of thugs in scraps of clothes, brandishing knives, ropes, anything they had, really.

“Awww, but we just wanna talk to you, armor boy.” One of them sneered, twisting the rope in his hands eagerly. “And I’m sure the King would love to talk to you too.”
“Listen, gentlemen,” Angelo started, lookin amicable for now as he kept on alert, “as much as I’m loving this little chat we’re havin’, I have some kids I need to track down.”
“Oh yeah? Who’s kids? The Rebellion leader’s kids?” Another chimes in, earning chuckles and ravenous glares as they were no doubt thinking about how they could use a kid to their advantage. “We know he at least had one.”
Alex stiffened and reached over to get a firm grip on the kid. Make sure he didn’t miraculously disappear.

“Wow, stooping so low as to threaten a child. Your mothers must be so proud.” Angelo said calmly, turning around and around, with his head on a swivel as he took in his opponents.
“They’ll be even more proud when we turn in some of the scourge of the lands, a hated rebellion member. Un criminale.” Another growled, earning more laughter as the circle started to tighten around the armored man. Though most of Angelo’s body was covered in metal, Alex could visibly see the man’s muscles tense. A fight was about to break out.

First, Angelo lunged the side and tackled one of the men to the ground, delivering a swift elbow to his collarbone, earning a cry of pain as he fell over, clutching his chest. Next Angelo swiftly rounded on the next foe to appear and gave him a swift punch right to the nose, then ducked under a fist that flew at him. Alex was completely enthralled by the man’s movements, swift and fluid, despite the heavy armor. He didn’t even pull out his sword and shield, which were right there, attached to his back!

One of the men with a rope ran up and threw it around Angelo’s neck, earning a gasp and struggle. The thugs all looked at the struggling man, thinking that suddenly they had won, only for the man to jerk forward, twisting around and escaping the grasp of the rope. He quickly threw another knockout punch at the one with the rope, sending him tumbling to the floor, unconscious. A quick one-two right to the chest of another sent him sprawling, coughing as things went black.
Two down, three to go.

Two more men tried to restrain Angelo while he was distracted, turning him to face their last remaining member, but the armored man merely kicked the other in the groin, sending him to the ground. He then shrugged the two off, slugged one in the face before turning to the other and throwing him against the barrels that Alex and Clyde and Jeod were hiding behind.
Four down.

Taking time to catch his breath, Angelo finally turned to the last thug, who was still groaning and clutching at his nads on the ground. When Angelo turned, he squeaked and began to scoot away, Angelo following with a scowl on his face.

“Wait Wait Wait, can’t we work something out here?” The weasel cried, clearly trying to appease the angry mercenary.
“No, I don’t believe we can.”
“I’m sure there’s something I can do-“
“Nope. Don’t care.”
“Now just- Hold ON- AIN’T YOU ONE OF THEM GALLUS KIDS?!”

That caused the armored man to stop in his tracks.
“Y-Yeah! It’s that look on your face- you look just like your mother! Pretty one, big fancy updoo with topazes, and the lion statues by the gate!”
The thug scrambled to his feet, clearly thinking he’s got something good going on, “You’re that one that ran away years ago, ain’tcha? It’s, haha, it’s funny though, I didn’t think that the Gallus’ ever had a s-“

Quick to cut him off, Angelo rushes forward, grabbed the man by the face and slammed him down to the ground, his head smacking against the dirt.
Angelo growled at the barely conscious man, leaning down, and in a very uncharacteristically high voice.
“You should consider yourself lucky that nobody heard you say that.”

With that, Angelo growled and stood up. He stared around at all the devastation he had managed to wreck and sighed, placing a hand over his heart and seemed to be visibly trying to calm himself down.

“... What’s a Gallus?” Alex whispered, looking at Clyde. He was Ezerisian, and knew far more things than him.

Xanto Inheritance Bakuyoshi

 

[Xanto]

Raymond Callahan​

Raymond was busy reviewing the last minute strategy in his mind when Azalea mentioned it was her first time in the ocean. Her voice was laced with negativity since her experience wasn't how she pictured it being. "Breathing underwater isn't usually the first thing that comes to mind," He subtly reminded, wondering if it even hit her how out of the ordinary it was to be able to do so. A brief pull against the current could be felt before the thief stopped and turned to face his partner, "Let's make your first time memorable."

Sync. The familiar sound of Ray's blade could be heard when his hand emerged into the air pocket. Within a few moments, he was cutting away at one of the ropes. "Fifteen minutes ago, you were the only one left with me," He kept his response short to conserve the air it would take to keep cutting away at the rope. Bax would have been his lifting buddy if he had a choice. Snap. The first rope broke, making it harder to pull the canoe down. Besides, all the lifting was over. Now they just had to hold onto their fastest way up.

Then it hit him. It was Azalea's first time in the ocean. Did she even know how to swim? Gah. Raymond thought to himself as he tried cutting the thick rope faster. The thief wasn't used to team heists since criminal teams rarely moved as one throughout the entire mission. If anything, each had their own function and occasionally crossed paths during a mission. This persisted even if they all had the same goal.

"Leave one rock on," Ray aggressively sliced his third rope, while hanging onto the canoe's side with one hand. The canoe was lifting upwards faster than expected. Once all but one of the ropes were cut, he held onto the rope of the final rock and unexpectedly wrapped an arm around Azalea until the canoe fully resurfaced.

His hand released the rope and pushed one side of the canoe up and away. "Do you know how to swim?" Raymond swam a bit to the side with Azalea as the canoe dropped with a slight splash. Of course she didn't know. It was her first time in the ocean! Ray slung his arm over the upside down boat, while still holding Azalea with the other. . . Why did he even ask.

The faint sound of voices talking on the stalled ship they were right next to suddenly caught his attention. Whether the princess knew how to or not, it was too late to go back now. "Just hold onto me," He tightened his arm around Azalea prior to shooting his grappling hook at the edge of the ship and feeling them rise up slower than usual. By the time they reached the ledge just below the rear deck's edge, Ray released Azalea and retracted his hook. His hazel gaze peeked over the edge seeing no one at the still wheel. This was expected since he used the anchor as a mark earlier. Plus, the partners-in-crime were infiltrating from the rear deck where not many people were anyway.

Raymond silently climbed onto the deck and moved a hand through his hair before walking past the wheel and walking down the stairs onto the main deck. "Buon pomeriggio!" He casually announced as the crew looked over at him, "We are here to steal your ship." It was a bold move . . that almost seemed brainless. Almost every crew member began to mumble in disbelief as if it was all a joke . . until one person silently muttered a name. Theo. Raymond's movements at the moment though few, were recognizable to at least one member. That silent name prompted a couple more mentions of Theo amongst the intense Ezerisian language that resounded.

A chuckle could be heard along with approaching footsteps as the crew soon silenced themselves and made way for their captain. "You two cannot crew this alone," He turned away growling at the few whispers coming from around him, "Send them off on the small boat!"

Cli-click. The captain looked over his shoulder wide-eyed at the revolver that was a foot away from his head. "Theo è tornato," Raymond simply replied with an almost dark smirk following after. His hood was covering his eyes, but any Ezerisian familiar with the name could have guessed what darkness came from behind it. No one actually knew who he was though. During Raymond's time as a criminal, he intentionally kept his personal life away from his Theo alias. "E-EVERYONE STATIONS!" The captain suddenly exclaimed as he remembered a few tales associated with the name, "I said, MAKE THIS SHIP MOVE!" People dispersed in all directions doing their best to get the ship moving once again.

Ray followed the captain with the gun to his head regardless. It didn't take long before the ship was slowly moving and Ray was forcing the whole crew and their captain into the small boat they previously tried sending him and Azalea away on. The thief lowered the loaded small boat into the sea in silence and let the crew row away. This didn't simply put him at ease yet though.

"Now, let's get started," Raymond sprinted over to the wheel and turned it to angle the ship prior to sliding down the stair railing and yanking loose a couple of ropes that were tied to one of the rear masts, "When they start crossing the bridge and swinging over, we move back to the ledge we climbed from." He handed one of the ropes to Azalea, "Once they are done shifting, we swing onto Il Serpente. Please, cut the bridge's ropes attached to Il Serpente as fast as possible as I steer the ship away."

On that note, he ran below the deck and went to work on disabling the ship's rudders.

Within a few moments, their enemies were bringing Il Serpente to Il Drago.

Ms. Sparrow

Clyde Callahan​

"It has to be magic," Clyde snapped his fingers before pointing at the bucket, "There's water everywhere, but in there!" It was all unbelievable. The bucket seemed to have an empty space in it where all the water flowed into. "Alex, relax. I'm with you and Jeod. Besides, this is a compujize," He confidently stated despite the fact that he pronounced 'compromise' incorrectly once again. Before the kid could further justify his actions though, Alex was dragging him down sketchy alleys.

"If ya ask me, shouldn't we be in "mildly crowded" places and not oh you know . . DARK, SCARY PATHS!" Clyde loudly whispered before fully entering the alleyway with no turning back. They kept walking regardless until they ducked behind barrels.

Angelo was beating the guys to a pulp, while Clyde simply stared in awe. The boy was always a fan of the redheaded knight.

Soon enough, all the bullies were downed and Alex was asking questions again. Clyde shrugged not really knowing what a Gallus was. He was too young to remember even living in Ezeris.

Inheritance explosiveKitten

 

[NinjaGirlGamer]

The great sword collided with Nox’s short sword breaking it in half, the sharp piece of the sword flies in the air as Nox grabs it. It took Ivanna a second to realize Nox was already at her side, attempting to swing at her waist. Ivanna dodges the swing by side-stepping to the right and leaning her body backwards. When Nox leaps back, she starts circling Ivanna like a predator stalking its prey.

She clutches her sword on her left hand, staring down Nox, watching her movements, her intentions, her body language. Nox wasn’t like anyone Ivanna has ever faced. She usually dealt with low-tier bandits and the occasionally big muscle warriors who end losing due to their ego. But this was different, Nox was different, it excited Ivanna on the inside to finally have met a potential rival. Someone who is better and stronger than Ivanna only feeds into her thirst for combat.

“Not a chance” Ivanna said sternly with a threatening tone “I’ll make you wish you’d stay in that rotting cage,” saying it bitterly with a voice that could send shivers down anyone’s spine. Ivanna was determined to best Nox and silence the cocky voice coming out of her mouth. When she lunges for Ivanna’s stomach. Ivanna barely dodges the slashes, coming close to her stomach. To which she grabs Nox’s wrist then high kicks square in the jaw.

Ms. Sparrow

 

[Inheritance]

Jeod Swift​

He followed the boy into the alley where the fight had gone down. He was certainly impressed with the fighting talent of the knight, though the politics didn't matter at all to him. He was no fighter himself, and while the fight was an impressive sight to see, it didn't really awe him the way it might awe others. He personally didn't think fighting was all that great of a thing, considering it was the reason why everything was so bad now. Not that it could be avoided, but everyone could fight; not everyone could use their head.

"What was that about?" He asked Angelo, walking up to him and ignoring the chaos around. He didn't ask about any of the politics, knowing he probably wouldn't get much of an answer. "I'm sure that wasn't your fault, but good that you didn't let em get away. Trying to keep a low profile here I'd imagine." He glanced around at the scene again.

"Are you hurt? We can move somewhere else and get you patched up. I'm no medicine man but I know my way around a needle and stitches."

explosiveKitten Xanto

 

[Ms. Sparrow]

Azalea Eve Windfore and Nox

A snort emitted from her immediately upon Raymond’s mention of making it memorable. “I think we’re already there.” Azalea joked, smirking a little. It was true, not many people had the opportunity to breathe at the bottom of the ocean. She just wished she’d hadn’t nearly broken her back to do so, rolling her eyes upon Raymond’s remark about her being the only one left, shooting her partner a bemused look, “That’s not what I meant and you know it, you git.” She chided lightly as he worked at cutting at the ropes, a slight wave of panic suddenly hitting her.

She didn’t know how to swim. She was in the middle of the ocean, an ocean she was still fighting the currents with, and she hadn’t a clue how to swim. Gads she was useless. She was still trying to wrap her head around being chosen for this mission.

Azalea sucked in a breath as Raymond’s arm suddenly wrapped around her, the abrupt contact making her slightly flinch. She glanced down as she felt her feet lift off the sea floor, watching the abyss come up beneath her as the sea floor faded from sight as the canoe popped to the surface.

Her expression flared up indignantly as he asked if she knew how to swim, her cheeks reddening not from the arm around her but from her instantly damaged pride. “Of course I know how to swim!” She snapped back snarkily, blurring the words out before she could stop them. She didn’t. In fact she was positively sure she’d flail and sink to the bottom of the ocean if he dropped her right now. Despite her abrupt blurt however, she did as Raymond instructed, holding unto him as he shot his grapple hook unto the side of the ship, feeling more and more awkward as it slowly rose them up the ledge, releasing him the moment he had her, holding herself up by the ledge as they both simultaneously peeked over the ledge and found nobody at the rear-deck.

Azalea followed after Raymond, her steps silently and swift as she climbed unto the deck after him, trailing a step behind him as he walked down the steps, placing one hand on her hip as he almost brainlessly announced that they were there to steal the crews ship.

Not brainless, cocky. Azalea gave the dumbfounded crew a wicked grin behind Raymond, her posture confident and relaxed as she leaned her weight on one hip. Soon however, whispers of a name, Theo, were being passed around from the lips of some crew members, silenced by the sound of what she assumed to be their captain. He gave them a look of doubt and was all for laughing them out until Raymond pulled out a gun. Azalea’s eyes widened under her hood, alarmed as she looked at the man introducing himself as Theo, her grin faltering as she detailed the dark smirk that crossed her partners face, feeling a slight twist of discomfort form in the pit of her stomach, recalling Raymond’s words a couple nights before, if believing he could do better.

She wondered if there was a reason, a real reason he was so hard on himself. She wondered if he had a much darker side to him Azalea had little idea of. The thought disturbed her but...who was she to judge? She had her own darkness had she not? Had she not doomed the lives of everyone she’d knew?

Azalea glanced away, realizing she’d been staring and brushed awayThe captain and his crew jumped to work, and in no time at all was Raymond forcing them to sail off unto the small boat the crew had tried forcing them on minutes before. Azalea gave them a cocky, smart bow as the boat was lowered into the water, earning a few well-deserved scowls from some crew members. After that business was taken care of, Raymond turned to her, giving her instructions on her next move. There was question shining in her bright gaze as he spoke, question of the Theo alias the Ezerians seemed to fear, but she gave him a tilted smirk and nodded anyway, watching him disappear below decks to do gads know what, fiddling with the rope in her leather gloved fingers as she turned her gaze out towards the docks, her mind racing as she watched the II Serpente approach the otherwise vacant ship she and Raymond had stolen.

Azalea unconsciously wiped water from her face, squinting through the curtain of rain at her wrist, noting the lack of make-up that had rubbed off. She cursed silently. The water had taken off most, of not all of her make-up, revealing freckles and her trademark scars. Watching the enemy ship approach, she yanked her leather hood farther over her features.

She leaped up the stairs, positioning herself near the ledge as the II Serpente pulled up beside the Drogo. Azalea opened her mouth to call out Raymond’s name before pausing, not knowing wether to call him by his real name or Theo in the situation that it could be heard by the now very close crew. Instead, Azalea stomped her foot loudly, hoping he’d be able to hear the noise below decks over the pounding rain. Her hands tightly grasped the rope as she watched the crew prep the bridge.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Silver blood pooled in Nox’s mouth as Ivanna’s foot connected with her jaw. Recoiling the slightest as she stumbled back, but her clawed hand snatched out for the foot that struck her, yanking with all her inhuman strength to bring Ivanna to the ground. Nox smirked as she licked over her metallic teeth, wiping the silver blood from the surface, twirling the blade in her fingers.

“Your choice.” Nox replied fridgidly, looking as if she was about to move in for the final strike before pausing, an unnatural rythem in the air, different from the rain that only enhanced ears like hers could catch, and Nox whipped around, catching the glimpse of an arrow head as she spun her body for he side, but not quick enough as the arrow sliced along her forearm and cutting through her black leathers. Nox straightened back up, her gold eyes flaring with irritation as she searched for the source but found none. Could this human woman not fight alone? Her arm dripped with her silver substance as she whirled back to Ivanna, her eyes narrowed, once more positioning her body to take the ultimate move and end the woman, briefly glancing up at her surroundings and catching a glimpse of the ocean.

Abruptly Nox suddenly dropped her blade, stumbling back with a pained snarl as she dug her head unto her hands, hit by a sudden, blinding headache, her vision swimming as the creature was hit with sudden visions.

“Vivienne! Get away from the water!” A young man shouted, his skin tanned and features fair, hunched over a fishing net on slimy, wooden docks, a thick, green, lushy forest rising behind him with peaks of a seemingly large building rising up in the distance behind him, his stern blue-eyed gazed focused on a pale, blonde-haired, young girl, perhaps age four or so, leaned over the edge of the docks, watching with wide eyes as the ocean waves lapped against wooden docks, and giggling every time the water rose to high and splashed against her rosy cheeks, gasping as she caught a glimpse of silverly-blue scales beneath the surface.

A rough hand on her arm abruptly yanked the girl back, spinning her around.

“I said get back!” The man shouted at the girl, fear shining in his gaze as he shook her by the shoulders. “Never go by the water alone, you hear?”

The girl cast her eyes down and nodded, “Yes.” She said simply, casting a longing glance to her side and at the water, her eyes widening in shock and horror at what she saw beneath the vivid blue waters.

The man followed her gaze before pulling her gently in front of him, not taking his eyes from the water and giving her a shove towards the sandy shores the docks connected to. “Go on,” he said firmly, but gently. “You’ve disturbed the waters enough today.”


Nox’s claws dug painfully into her scalp as the blinding, painful headache amplified tenfold, visions and voices swimming in her head, filled with people she never knew nor recognized, letting out an animalistic, vicious, angry scream of pain as she stumbled back.




((AKA now would be a great time to knock the lady out xD))
~


Xanto NinjaGirlGamer Bakuyoshi

 

[explosiveKitten]

Angie’s was busily trying to get her heartbeat to slow down. Thank the gods nobody had been around to hear what that guy had said. She couldn’t imagine if anyone found out about her relationship to that... No, no, Angie. Don’t think about it.

She sighed and wiped her forehead with the end of her cape and looked up, opening her mouth to call out for Alex and Clyde, when she heard someone approaching her from behind. She drew her sword and quickly turned to stick the point under the chin of her potential attacker. Only to find herself face to face with someone she was looking for.

“Jeod?” She questioned, her eyebrows flying up and letting the sword fall back to her side. She visibly relaxed and sighed, “I’m fine... Probably have a bruise tomorrow, but-!”

She stopped in the middle of her sentence, her teal eyes wide as she stared at Jeod. A sudden darkness fell over the mercenary’s face as she growled, “... how much of that did you hear?”

“Um... all of the fight?” Alex squeaked, standing from hiding behind the barrel. Angie’s eyes whipped over to him, and barely hidden panic flashed behind her eyes as she realized that more and more people had heard what that idiot had said. “And a little bit before that?”

The red-haired swordswoman stared at the two that revealed themselves, before turning away from them and attempting to calm down, though it clearly wasn’t a very good attempt, given how she was starting to lightly hyperventilate. Nononono, nobody could figure out who she was, where she came from. None of the other Ezerisians would want anything to do with her!

Xanto Inheritance

 

[Bakuyoshi]

"Wait Ange- and he's gone again. So much for sticking to the plan... Wait where did they go!?" Cali came to the realization as she turned a corner only to not find any of the others. The rain was too strong at the moment for her to even see right. "Ok new plan here Aurelie. Stay close and if anyone tries to try anything stupid don't worry, I bet they won't mess with someone with a new crossbow. We need to regroup with the others or find a safe place and quick. Maybe a tavern, but that's if we don't find the others. Oh and you may need this." Cali dug in her pack before producing a dagger and offering it to the rabbit princess. "Let's both pray we don't have to use that. Keep behind me and be ready for anything."

With that Cali began to slowly creep through these alien streets. Every little horror story of this place was in her head, her people must have really hated Ezeris to make up half of them. The witch that preyed on young women to restore her youth, people willing to kidnap children to sell for money. Every little story made each step more painfully slow. "Come on me you have to be the brave one here. Crossbow at the ready as usual, if what Raymond said is true you have to put on a tough front." Were it so easy Cali would not be able to feel her own heartbeat in her ears. The streets felt like they were closing in on her. It was almost like Ezeris had heard a lorelthian had arrived and was ready to eat Cali like a fine pastry. Her bravery was slowly draining away with each step her voice beginning to quiver at this place. It felt like a nightmare come to reality. "A-Angelo!? If you are around here just shout! This whole splitting up idea was bad! P-please just show up and say it was just a prank with bad taste! I-is this payback for the running away from camp deal. Look I'm sorry for the insult. Just please show up!"

explosiveKitten

 

[Inheritance]

Jeod Swift​

He certainly didn't react as well as he should have when a sword was placed under his chin. He raised his head slightly, but didn't move-frozen in a fear. He didn't think he'd hurt him, but anyone putting a blade to his neck was frightening to anyone. Jeod was no fighter, and while he had his share of swords raised to him, he had never learned to fight himself. Even when he removed the weapon from him, he was still startled and alert. Not many people would harm a tinker on the road, but there were still some who wanted him dead. His composure was calm however, very stiff, but calm.

Right as he thought things were about to calm down, Angelo started to hyperventilate. He didn't know why, and while he started to put two and two together in his head, he figured that the answer didn't need to be shared.

"Yes we all did hear that little exchange. I say, those thugs certainly had it coming! They shouldn't have spoken to a warrior such as yourself like that-they got what they deserved." He shot a quick glare at Alex, before turning back. "I think you handled yourself well, considering how rude they were. What was that last thing he said to you? He was talking through so much pain I couldn't make out what he said!"

Of course he could, and he did; they all did. But they didn't need any of that now, and nobody needed to start fighting and getting into it. He glanced around the entire group, before looking back to Angelo.

"Ah it doesn't matter. He won't remember it anyway. I say we all get out of here, maybe find something to drink eh? Might be nice on the nerves. I think I owe you one after losing one to many games of corners!" He flicked a gold coin out of his jacket. "In fact, drinks are on me. Let's just get out of here before someone else decides to cause more trouble. What say you all?"

explosiveKitten Xanto

 

[NinjaGirlGamer]

Before Ivanna can pull back her foot, Nox grabbed it such grip that Ivanna felt it through her boot. She was lifted off the ground like she was made of feather and slammed on the ground. Ivanna grunted on impact with her head banged on the wet grass. Her sword fell off and landed on the ground next to her. Cursing herself for such a dumb move, she reaches for her sword when an arrow planted itself on the ground next to her.

Ivanna frowned and looked at all the soldiers too afraid to step in. Whoever shot that arrow must be real suicidal. She was about to reach for her sword when Nox dropped her weapon. Ivanna turned her body around to see Nox starting to act strange. Ivanna looked back at the arrow, is the arrow poison or something? However it didn’t matter, Nox’s guard was down as she screamed in agony which made Ivanna’s ears bleed.

Ivanna grabbing her sword, she could take the opportunity to slice down Nox piece by piece, but she realized at that moment, the conversation many nights ago. If they were to kill Nox, there would be disastrous consequences. A living bomb,she thought. Wiping the corner of her mouth from blood, lifting herself then stepping forward to Nox. Next, just for good measure, she kicks the knee area of Nox, hoping to break it. Then, Ivanna uppercuts Nox under her jaw with all her might.

Ms. Sparrow

 

[explosiveKitten]

“Don’t play FUCKING DUMB WITH ME.” Angie hissed at Jeod, whirling on him and growling lowly, venom dripping from her tone as she glared at the tinkerer. Then, deciding to try and go the deception route, she sighed and tried to take a deep, calming breath.
“You know what? Fine, it’s fine. That guy didn’t have any idea who he was talking to anyway.” She mumbled, rubbing her face and sighing, before grabbing Jeod by the arm and practically dragging him towards Alex and Clyde.

“What the hell did I tell you about staying with the group?” She hissed at the three of them, now that they were all gathered. “Ezeris is no place for a bunch of inexperienced, if not just plain untrained fighters to be walking around. And YOU!” She pointed at Clyde, disappointment on her face as she gave him a tight-lipped scowl, “You should know better.”

She grabbed Clyde by the arm, hauled him up over her shoulders so he sitting against the back of her neck. This way she wouldn’t have to try and hold onto him, and Alex, AND Jeod all at once.
“Now let’s go back to the rest of the group and this time, there won’t be any wandering off, UNDERSTOOD?” She glared at Alex and Jeod, then grabbed both of them by the arms and dragged them away.

As she made her way back towards where she left Cali and Aurelie, she heard Cali squealing her “name” on the main road and groaned, audibly. She let go of Jeod and Alex, then rushed out into the street, popping out of an alley directly in front of Cali.

“Did you not hear me tell you to just STAY PUT?” She growled in exasperation, throwing her hands up in the air.
“Like I just got done telling these three-“ She gestured at the kid on her shoulders and the two grown men following her, “This is no place to be wandering around, on the main roads no less! Get back in the alley!” She pointed intensely at the nearby dark alleyway that she came out of.

GODS, WHEN DID I SIGN UP TO BE A BABYSITTER?!

Bakuyoshi Xanto Inheritance

 

[Ms. Sparrow]

Azalea Eve Windfore and Nox

​

The visions were all but immobilizing Nox, rendering her sight momentarily useless as new images and voices entered her head all at once, a splitting pain in her forehead rendering her frozen in place. She struggled to keep her eyes open amongst the pain, stumbling back, her hands digging into her skull, trying to shut out the voices, the pain, the people... who were these people? Nox let out a mixture of a vicious snarl and a scream as an abrupt pain slammed into her knee, sending her to her knees, yet she could barely move, barely react, the pain in her a knee a blessing compared to the one in her head, the pain severe she thought her skull must've been splitting open. A sudden pain burst into her jaw, sending Nox flying back onto her back, letting out a breath of release as the voices began to slow as her mind slipped into unconsciousness, her body going limp as her vison went black.

Azalea crouched down, still clinging unto the rope as she watched the bridge come down from the opposing ship, the crew beginning to transition over to the current ship, not noticing the small-framed Azalea waiting by the ledge, motionless and tense as she waited until Raymond was back at her side, and the crew had completed the transition between the ships before she abruptly jumped to her feet, "Toodle pip!" she yelled cheerily, startling the crew before she leapt from the ledge, clutching the rope as she swung over unto the Serpente II, releasing the rope and allowing herself to roll unto the ship, rolling to a stop in a kneeling position before jumping up and spinning around, rushing over to the bridge and pulling out one of the daggers strapped to her hips, her brows knit tight in concentration as she kneeled in front of the bridge's ropes and began slicing away vigorously, her breaths labored as cries of outrage broke out from the crew on the Drogo, not quick enough to stop Azalea as with one final tug, she sliced through the last rope, the bridge connecting the ships falling away as Azalea leapt to her feet, throwing up her arms and letting out a triumphant "Huzzah!", the sound of her cheer rivaling the angry curses hurled at them from the Drogo's crew.

Azalea gave a little, cheery dance before racing the outraged crew and giving them a smart bow, straightening with a triumphant grin, her bright eyes dancing with mischief, "Thanks for the loan," she called out dryly, taking notice of the rain that was slowly coming to an end, her grin widened smugly, "we'll try and keep it intact...maybe." One soldier angrily began to fumble for the gun at his side, not noticing Azalea pull the bow over her head and notch an arrow. The crew member had hardly begun to take aim before an arrow whizzed through the air, slamming into the gun an knocking it from his grip, sending it clattering across the ships deck, the man looked at her, appalled at her aim.

"Easy there love, you'll hurt yourself!" she yelled in mock concern, her expression matching it save for the triumphant smirk that never faltered as she lowered her bow, the distance increasing between the ships, the crew forced to watch as Azalea and Raymond stole away with their ship right from under them.

Eventually, Azalea turned away from the angry, gaping crew and joined Raymond at his side, still grinning magnificently, a twinkle in her eyes as the sun began to peak out from dark clouds, an orange hue lighting up the sky as the sun began to set. She turned her head to Ray, her grin fading to a jaunty smirk, "Oh joy, rapture and all that," she paused and glanced around at their surroundings before looking back at him, quirking an eyebrow,

"You know how to steer, right?"

~~~

Soon afterwards, Group B and Group C rowed their way out to the awaiting stolen ship, Serpente II, throwing done a roped ladder so both groups could climb their way one by one unto the ship. Group B filed unto the ship first, arriving before Group C had. Azalea hung upside down from the crows nest, her legs wrapped around the railing as she dangled from the top, watching members of Group C finally beginning to climb their way up to the ship, the evening sky beginning to settle as vibrant hues of pink and purple began to fade into a slight blue, the clouds parting away to reveal the pretty sunset. The setting sun reflecting off the ocean only made it more beautiful, far more beautiful and magnificent than Calore or Trodaire's sunset she was sure. Ezeris had the prettiest sunset, Azalea thought as she dangled dangerously over the ship.

Azalea watched the last of Group C file unto the ship, ending with Bax and the now unconscious creature coming unto the ship lastly. Azalea spread her arms wide at him, grinning magnificently as she peeked down at him, "Welcome to our humble abode." she called down dryly, still exhilarated and giddy from the ship heist. She decided to disregard the unconscious creature, not wanting her mood soured just yet.

~~~
Timeskip: Unto the Serphente II
Time: 7:04



Xanto NinjaGirlGamer Bakuyoshi explosiveKitten Inheritance

 

[Xanto]

Raymond Callahan​

Thud! Clunk. Thud! The sounds of Raymond disabling the ship's rudders with a stone could barely be heard by anyone on deck. Crack! With a final swing at the rudder mechanism, Raymond glanced upward at Azalea's stomping sound. Right on time. The thief thought to himself as he swiftly moved past a few tables and chairs in the lower level. The Drago's ship rudders were now disabled, which meant that it wouldn't be able to steer to a turn and go after the Serpente once they both intercepted it.

Raymond slyly climbed back out onto the deck and almost threw himself off the ship to get to the ledge before anyone from the transitioning crew could spot him. After the last member shifted over, the thief kicked off the ledge and swung onto the Serpente. He landed with his feet, using his forward momentum to sprint toward the wheel. His hands immediately spun the steering wheel away, tilting the ship with the current to take them further . . faster. A few crew members even tried swinging back onto the Serpente, only to fall into the ocean.

Huzzah! Raymond glanced at the princess who had done her job. He smirked as she danced for their victory. It wasn't hard to tell that it was Azalea's first time stealing something this huge.

His focus adjusted onto the wheel as his hands held it from moving any further. Then, he returned his gaze back to Azalea in time to see her arrow hit a gun out of someone's hand. Impressive. It was something he knew she could accomplish since she was one of the best archers out of the entire rebellion group.

Ray spun the wheel almost immediately in the opposite direction once he knew the crew found out that their rudders were disabled. "Yes, ma'am," He looked at Azalea who was now next to him.

His eyes landed on her eyes that looked too alive. Raymond had to admit that some part of him missed the adrenaline kick he got out of stealing stuff. He just couldn't let that full sensation rub off on her.

_____

Ray steered the ship in the direction he told the others to meet at. Then, they released their ladders and went on up. "I got her," He mentioned as he lifted Nox off Bax's shoulder so that his brother could get onto the ship. He slightly stumbled back though as he tried to keep the unconscious chained up Nox in his arms.

Ms. Sparrow

Clyde Callahan​

Clyde approached Angelo once Alex and him went out of hiding. Actually, it happened all so fast. Jeod was pretending that he didn't hear all of what the man told Angelo. Sooner or later, the tinkerer was even offering to buy them all drinks.

Until Angelo started screaming at them. First, the kid's eyes widened when the armored man threw curse words at Jeod. Then, Angelo grabbed Jeod before aggressively made their way toward Alex and Clyde.

Angelo it seemed was almost like a babysitter. The redheaded man was lecturing all of them until he specifically pointed at Clyde saying he should know better. Before Clyde could react, Angelo roughly grabbed the boy by the arm and slung him over his shoulders where he just stayed silent the rest of the way with a pout on his face.

_____

Clyde was relieved to say the least once both of the groups got onto the ship. Now he could freely move around for the most part without anyone screaming at him. In which case, once the boy's two feet touched the ship, he ran into the lower decks to check out what the ship had in store.

explosiveKitten Inheritance

Baxter Callahan​

Baxter was busy moving crates around. He had to steer clear of the situation for a bit to divert the attention of a few wanderers. How? He pretended to be a crate loader.

Eventually after all that was done, Bax picked up some chains for restraints and ran back to the group in time to see Ivanna uppercut the prisoner. His mouth was slightly agape when the woman flew back and got knocked out. It was only for a short second though before he went back to his straight faced self with furrowed brows. It didn't take long for the rebel leader to run to the prisoner and start wrapping her up in chains.

Eventually both groups b and c got together onto their little row boat and started moving toward the Serpente.

______

Bax had the chained up woman slung over his shoulder as he climbed up the ladder. By the time he arrived on deck, Raymond thankfully took the woman's weight off him. Climbing up a roped ladder with a full grown creature over a shoulder was no joke. Bax was strong, but that woman was wrapped in chains.

A voice above briefly caught his attention. Azalea was welcoming him on deck, with which he simply nodded in response. "Take her to the lower deck," Bax managed to say as he saw Ray lift Nox bridal style and carefully go down the stairs.

He turned to the rest of the group, not involving his brother, son, or the prisoner, "Everyone take a seat, or listen where you stand. Tonight we talk about Fransen."

NinjaGirlGamer Bakuyoshi explosiveKitten Inheritance Ms. Sparrow