Kherem: HP = 90, PP = 55, EP = 55, Status = Fine
Melissa: HP = 51, PP = 61, EP = 40, Status = Fine
Lumi: HP = 54, PP = 70, EP = 56, Status = Fine
The nurse stopped in place and turned toward Kherem as he called to her, "About twelve hours hun, it's early morning the day after your match! That was some fancy swordwork by the way!" When he asked to deliver a message to Draconis for him, she shook her head and said, "Nah, but you can leave her a letter and I can see that it's delivered to her. I don't really have time to go around delivering messages if I'm taking care of a clinic, now do I? Sides, Draconis has never been in here. As far as I know, she's never been hurt in the arena." She made no effort to hide the fact that she was watching him dress, staring directly at Kherem's manhood until he'd concealed it beneath his garments, but even then watching him with undisguised interest as he dressed and got his things in order.
~~~~~~~~~
Melissa walked by the entrance to the healer's tent for the tenth time that day, but this time she struck pay dirt. She spotted the kitsune standing up, back in his male form, and got to watch him get dressed through the opened door of the arena clinic. He was standing right there, and she was in front of the only exit.
~~~~~~~~~
There were many different ways to make money in Acheron besides whoring, which Lumi had promised herself she would not resort to. Many of them, unfortunately, involved either violence or entering herself into a slave-like contract with a business holder for a pittance that she might be able to survive off of. The latter not being particularly appealing after her previous lifestyle, she had gone to the only place where fighting wouldn't involve fighting for her life against random monsters out in the wilderness or risking a knife in the back to a rival gang of street thugs. She had gone to the Arena.
A woman was standing outside of the entrance to the clinic that stood just outside of the massive coliseum, looking into it for reasons that Lumi could only guess.
Re: This is a Great Plan (Smokefish, Host, and Hentaispider)
Kherem looked a little surprised at hearing how long he had been out for, but given the circumstances. He shrugged it off, his cheeks carrying a faint red hue as he took note of the Alraune's gaze upon him while donning his attire. At hearing why a message could not be delivered, he looked a little embarassed. "Ah, my apologies, I did not think so far, of course you are busy tending to those that have the...", he paused, looking to the Nurse as if lost in thought for a few moments, and then continued. "... fortune of ending up under your care, no doubt. Where may I find some paper and a pen?", Kherem smiled warmly, enjoying a bit of polite conversation.
If a pen and a piece of paper was readily available, he'd also take some time to write a note, followed by handing it to the Alraune, to hopefully be delivered to Draconis. "Draconis, I wish you good health and fortune until next we meet, and beyond, and I hope to one day meet you once more in the arena. - Kherem"
Wether Kherem would find something to write a letter with or not, he'd make a polite, if brief, bow before the nurse. "I thank you, and anyone else that may work here, for looking after me as I rested, aswell as the one that repaired my garments. I should not linger here, as you surely have other patients to tend to. Be well."
With these words said, Kherem bid farewell to the Alraune and headed towards the exit, wondering what he would do next as he stepped outside the infirmary tent.
Re: This is a Great Plan (Smokefish, Host, and Hentaispider)
(Mel’s character sheet has been updated with a small bio that actually describes her.)
Yes! Was the triumphant internal exclamation that Melissa had, finding her quarry had at last taken to his feet. She had circled some of the areas of the city familiar to her ten times by now, the pattern returning her to look upon her prey once each hour. Melissa had fought off demons looking for an easy mark, whether theft or simply rape, a reasonable number of times through the night, and the attacks had slowed her patrols somewhat. Despite having been awake all night and sporadically brawling in the streets, however, neither exhaustion nor annoyance had managed to take root in the arguably-human woman. Demon thugs knew well enough how to fight that the warrior could enjoy proper combat, and typically didn’t mind losing the kind of spoils that Melissa liked to take from her defeated opponents. And as for the tired boy… well, you had to be patient hunting game, and he was certain to wake eventually – his trip to the infirmary hadn’t exactly been caused by life threatening injuries, as Melissa had personally seen… if from the considerable distance of her seat in the stands.
Melissa paused her otherwise inconspicuous patrol to get a better look at the person she had seen from the height of the arena’s stands, half a day ago. A long period of preparation always led up to a short, few moments of crucial action, and those actions would come soon… once she had finished getting an eyeful. A body that was oddly lithe, given the superhuman strength he had displayed in the arena, a decent and clearly matured male of the species – his final opponent had certainly seemed to be singing his praises, though how much of that had been for the crowd was quite debatable, given that Melissa had already previously seen the woman showboating in the arena. He stood quite tall, and had obviously abnormal, probably mutated features…but despite his power, appeared to be at least a little shy around women, if his reaction to the alraune was anything to go by.
There was no doubt about it – the male was interesting to Melissa. She turned to the side of the doorway the moment his clothes were once more covering his body, and waited just around the side of the moderately sized tent for Kherem, as he had named himself on his arena papers, to exit. When he did, the fox-boy didn’t manage to catch wind of Melissa’s presence until it was too late, by the air displaced as her form lunged for the kitsune, grabbing around his chest and then attempting to restrict the movement of his arms, only an instinctive reaction on Kherem's part able to prevent her arms from wrapping around his shoulders and reducing his ability to act. The manoeuvre Melissa made was practiced and potentially quite threatening for the person caught in it, but there was, perhaps oddly, no dangerous intent to be found in her voice, when she announced her presence with a happy “Hi kid!”
Chat-Posting Begins Here:
(Sienna = Host, 66556 = RK)
Kherem had been completely unaware of the daemon girls pressence, his ears giving off a small twitch moments prior to the lunge, his body tensing as the lithe figure wrapped around his chest. Right away, he tried to spin around, to throw Melissa off of his back. But to no avail. A quiet growl rose in his throat, but faded just as quick at the surprisingly cheerful greeting. "Who are-", he managed to get out.
Melissa knew she couldn't struggle directly against a creature with strength like that she had witnessed in the arena, instead attempting to kick out the man's feet as a distraction, and changing the position of her hold as she did so. It helped that, for all his own hidden powers, the woman herself had strength that seemed uncanny for a creature so... suptle. 'Friendly' though she had sounded, the woman brought her arms up into a stranglehold around Kherem's neck, her actions having the intensity her speech lacked. Or at least they seemed to, until Kherem's assailant's arms weakened slowly, preparing to release him. "...and from there, a quick twist would break your neck. As I thought, you go easy on girls, huh?" She asked, and as expected, released her captive Kitsune, taking a few steps back and wearing an apprasing look. "But, not to worry, I'm sure we can work that out."
Kherem tensed again, his arms moving up to prevent the stranglehold by instinct more then anything, the growl once more rising in his throat until the hold once more softened, but still it lingered within his throat. His ears flattened regarding the 'girls' comment. As he was released, he took a quick step forward and then spun around, to lay his eyes upon his assailant, his amber eyes flaring with mixed emotion. Confusion, curiosity, wariness, even a bit of frustration.
"May I know why you did such upon my person?", his voice was about the same as his looks, on edge, but still wondering why the daemon had 'attacked' him to begin with. Still, he didn't reach for his swords, but his body remained tense and ready for 'battle'.
"Heheeheh, you've got an odd way of talking, boy!" Finding the woman responding with a disarming chuckle probably wasn't what Kherem had been expecting. "But, if you want to know why... it's because you're interesting. I was watching you fight in those arena matches, and - barring that nice work you did against Draconis - I've gotta say, I'm impressed. Everyone I've seen enter that arena was hyping it up for the crowd, or a normal person looking to earn their bread. You, though... you're something different. Watching you fight makes me want to fight you - on even terms, in more neutral places. You look like someone I could have fun with." Melissa takes a few moments to appraisngly stare at the male in a way that could well make him uncomfortable. "...Yes... there's no doubt. It's decided; I'm coming with you."
Kherem looked more then a little surprised at Melissa's words, but did let her talk without interruption. Although the continued praise of his prowess was visibly getting to him, his cheeks darkening considerably as Melissa went on and on about how 'interesting he was', how 'she was impressed'. He did take a tiny step back at the appraising stare, relenting somewhat under the daemons intense gaze upon his person. Cheeks still darkened, he finally replied. "I...", his words trailing off before he could even speak them, and he looked as if in thought for a few moments longer. "You have me at a disadvantage. You will need to weigh up the scales if you desire to fight me on even grounds. Tell me your name, and the weapon you prefer to wield.", Kherem sighed softly. "Nothing I can do could keep you from following me, I imagine, so let us walk together as equals."
"Oh ho. I'm Melissa. I use anything I can get my hands on, sword, stick, crossbow, *person*..." Kherem might notice that the human's smile perhaps deepened slightly at the inuendo. "...So, where -are- you going, anyway?"
The woman seemed to be in quite high spirits, given that she had changed from speaking with Kherem to instead orbiting him while she talked. Or, she was possibly simply continuing to bounce around on the addrenaline of combat... or it may simply be her natural demeanour.
Kherem's ears perked up at the mention of Melissa being a sword user, and the rest of her talents, including innuendo, appeared to not register. "A swordswoman? I am already looking forward to our duel.", the kitsune allowed himself to relax somewhat. "Where? Nowhere yet everywhere. I am a wanderer without a set destination, I go where the winds bring me. I do have many stops along the way of my journey however, but I am uncertain where or when they will be.", he hummed quietly, raising a hand to scratch under his chin as he thought. "And what of you, Melissa? Surely there must be more you wish to achieve from travelling with me then fighting me? Not that I mind, oh no, I'd certainly appreciate having a fellow swordsman... err, swordswoman... uh.", Kherem's cheeks once more darkened as he tried to fix this particular conundrum, not quite able to call Melissa a swordsman or himself a swordswoman.
Kherem was saved the trouble of determining the answer to his dilemma when Mel spoke again, though in her expression there came a sneaking hint of humour at his expence. "Well, I couldn't really say I'm particularly trained in swords. Just put something long and hard in my hands, and I can work with it; the bigger, the better~!" This time, the innuendo was a whole hell of a lot more difficult for the Kitsune to miss. "So you're the tall, dark-furred and handsome type, eh?" she joked, poking him in said dark-furred side as she let out a laugh. "And well, since you asked.... nope. I don't actually have anything to do. I was staking out the arena to see what kind of competition there would be if I entered, but I don't think it's my type of game. ...Oh, there was one office I found that was offering tasks I passed up - they didn't seem like something I could do myself. I guess we could see if there are any still there...?"
[COLOR="66556"]Kherem's cheeks, now a little less dark then before, visibly darkened in mere moments, the tall male staring down upon Melissa, speechless, but obviously getting her innuendo this time. Too occupied with trying to process her words to avoid the flanking attack, which made him squirm and step away, having no answer regarding her tall, furred and handsome remark about him. He merely nodded at hearing Melissa had no plans, although the office did pique his interest. "I suppose... that's something we could have a look at. I do need more Denarii.", Kherem scratched his chin again, less in thought and more in trying to distract himself a little as he looked away from Melissa, surveying his surroundings briefly. He wasn't entirely comfortable around Melissa, not with her continued praise and compliments regarding his person, or the lewd implications of her words.[/COLOR]
(A stealth-grapple check was made by Mel on seeing Kherem (
You must be registered to see the links
You must be registered to see the links
), the stealth succeeded, the submission grapple after the free grapple did not. A second roll was made between Kherem and Melissa to determine who could take their action (
You must be registered to see the links
), Mel won and faked an attack but did no damage.)
------------------------------
There were many different ways to make money in Acheron besides whoring, which Lumi had promised herself she would not resort to. Many of them, unfortunately, involved either violence or entering herself into a slave-like contract with a business holder for a pittance that she might be able to survive off of. The latter not being particularly appealing after her previous lifestyle, she had gone to the only place where fighting wouldn't involve fighting for her life against random monsters out in the wilderness or risking a knife in the back to a rival gang of street thugs. She had gone to the Arena.
A man and a woman was standing outside of the entrance to the clinic that stood just outside of the massive coliseum, the female of the pair wearing a coy expression that suggested mild teasing, more-so given the rather embarrassed look the other was wearing. It didn't escape Lumi's sharp perception that he appeared to be quite similar to one of her kind, taking into consideration the tail, ears and fur - though given the sly nature of Archeron's primary race, appearances could very well be deceiving.
Re: This is a Great Plan (Smokefish, Host, and Hentaispider)
As Lumi arrives at the arena, she heads in through the back to avoid people, despite the early hour likely meaning that there aren't many. It is thus that she happens to walk past the infirmary on her search for the registrations, her large ears turning towards the two persons - demons, most likely - who appear to be in the middle of a heated conversation. Not desiring to get involved, the fair-skinned kitsune alters her course to avoid them.
Re: This is a Great Plan (Smokefish, Host, and Hentaispider)
Kherem: HP = 90, PP = 55, EP = 55, Status = Fine
Melissa: HP = 51, PP = 61, EP = 40, Status = Fine
Lumi: HP = 54, PP = 70, EP = 56, Status = Fine
While still in the infirmary, Kherem was quickly provided with a pen and a piece of paper on which to write, the alraune accepted his thanks with a nod. When he handed her the finished letter the plant woman smiled and nodded once more, "No problem! I fixed up your robe too, don't mention it! Stay safe~!"
Following Melissa's ambush of the male kitsune, Kherem spotted Lumi out of the corner of his eye as she swerved to avoid them.
Re: This is a Great Plan (Smokefish, Host, and Hentaispider)
Kherem's ears perked up as he caught a glimpse of the fox-eared lady, his heart skipping a beat. Could it be one of his own kind? Or someone with a quirky mutation, or even a shapeshifting demon? He didn't care, he had to find out! Completely forgetting about Melissa, he strode off in pursuit of Lumi, and even if it was at a brisk pace to catch up with her, he was likely too giddy and curious looking to come off as having sinister intent. Not that he had any reason to believe himself as being suspicious. Once he next got Lumi within his sight, he'd call out, or speak normally if managing to catch up with her for face-to-face conversation.
"Fair lady, I must ask you something, as personal as such a question might be, but I have to know...", Kherem paused, which might be a little more dramatic then he had intended, as he tried to quell his excitement. "Are you kin of my kin? I saw a glimpse of your ears, but I see no tail! Why is that?", Kherem was like a child, amber eyes brimming with hope and curiosity in regard to Lumi's answer.
Re: This is a Great Plan (Smokefish, Host, and Hentaispider)
Melissa noticed her companion’s sudden lack of attention to their briefly decided goal, the boy instead turning his attention to a wisp of a girl – world wearied, the warrior assumed, just from her looks, the only truly striking part of which being her ears. “What are you…?” Mel began quietly, but didn’t bother to finish the question; Kherem was doing something unusual and she wanted to see how her new companion acted. Having only actually seen him fight once, and having met him not a minute ago, the idea of doing exactly what Melissa had was insane, but the fighter didn’t seem to have the slightest of problems with the situation. He was interesting, after all; an odd treasure amongst the city of oddities, and as such, reigned in her usual excessiveness to simply listen at Kherem’s side… though while blatantly sizing Lumi up, wandering with her eyes in a way that was only barely sexual, instead attempting to measure her as a person.
Re: This is a Great Plan (Smokefish, Host, and Hentaispider)
The moment Lumi spun around to face him, Kherem stopped dead in his tracks, listening to her response, blinking confusedly at first... But as Lumi uttered the magic words of "You're", "a Kitsune", "too?", his face shone up with boundless excitement and joy, barely able to hold himself until Lumi finished, and then he let loose. In an eyeblink, the tall, lean male stepped forward, his arms reaching out and grasping around Lumi's arms and back, lifting her off the ground in a firm, happy embrace. "Yes! Kin of my kin! You are like me then, a Kitsune!", he smiled ear to ear at Lumi as he leaned in, trying to rub his cheek against hers in an attempt to be friendly.
Soon spoke again, but in a little more quiet tone as to not shout in the womans ears. "But I do not know what you speak of, I do have family, and I just recovered from my venture into the arena, and while I have plans to return, I do not imagine I will do so today. Company on the other hand, would be very welcomed! My name is Kherem, may I know your name, fair lady?", the Kitsune was a fuzzy ball of giddiness, barely noticing he was still holding Lumi off the ground, and gently let her down again, allowing her some respite and a chance to recompose herself before answer.
Re: This is a Great Plan (Smokefish, Host, and Hentaispider)
The white-haired kitsune has no time to react as the taller kitsune picks her up and pulls into a hug. "Hey!" she exclaims loudly, struggling briefly before she's put down.
Grumbling to herself, Lumi briefly considers showing the gray-furred male what it feels like to be picked up by throwing him a couple dozen feet into the air. "Ifyou'dlikemycompany,howaboutaccompanyingmetowhereIcanregisterforamatch?Name'sLumi" Lumi says, grudgingly answering the question of her name. I guess he might be telling the truth.
Re: This is a Great Plan (Smokefish, Host, and Hentaispider)
“You’re here to fight? There’s more action on the streets than in that cage.” Melissa interjected, her ability to stay out of the conversation failing after approximately six seconds. “Not as much money to be made, of course…” a slight frown marred her expression, before being suppressed by more idle curiosity.
Re: This is a Great Plan (Smokefish, Host, and Hentaispider)
Kherem appeared to be completely oblivious to Lumi's agitation towards his actions, cheerily speaking. "Ah, but of course I can show you that, Lumi!", Kherem extended a hand, offering to hold hands with Lumi, before he'd start leading her to the registration area. Even if his offer was declined, there'd be no pouting from him, his cheery mood would remain unfaltering.
Melissa's comments earned her a curious look from Kherem. "Street fighting? Why would anyone do that, when there is an arena available?", he looked a little thoughtful, frowning slightly after a bit. "No, there needs to be more purpose for a fight, then merely fighting for the sake of it.", on this particular point, the tall Kitsune might appear surprisingly adamant given his previously carefree disposition.
After a moment of hesitation, Lumi declines Kherem's hand, opting to follow him half a step behind, her eyes going from the demonic human to the other kitsune and back, apparently assessing them both, especially the woman, who she clearly considers more of a threat.
Re: This is a Great Plan (Smokefish, Host, and Hentaispider)
Melissa responded to Kherem’s insistent statement with one of her own. “That’s dumb. Fun is a good reason to fight, and fighting’s fun – even if it is an arena fight.”
The human did not have a doctorate in kitsune behavioural psychology, but she knew enough of how people acted to realise that the newly met fox – that is, the newlyer female one, met a minute or two after the first – was acting guarded towards her, slightly more-so than she appeared to be in general. The warrior didn’t consider it particularly interesting or important information, though. Most people she met responded to her in a similar manner. Realising the conversation’s inevitable conclusion, the leather-clad warrioress stretched her neck with a sigh, bored but reserved to the outcome.
“Well, I was staking the place out to have a go myself, and you don’t look likely to change your mind either… so I guess we can put hole-delving on the back shelf for a moment, yeah?” With a look to the sun, she added, “They usually have a fight sometime –around- now. If we’re lucky the registration might still be open for it.”
Still looking at the sky, Melissa put her hands behind her head and stretched her back as she kept pace with the pair, subtly limbering up in preparation for the possible upcoming action.
“By the way… you’re both some kind of dog, right?” she asked, before they’d gotten more than twenty meters.
Re: This is a Great Plan (Smokefish, Host, and Hentaispider)
Kherem's ears twitched a little as he heard his two companions respond to his statement, he seemed more accepting of Lumi's line of thought moreso then Melissas. "Money is needed to survive, so that is a cause I can agree with, so long as it is not 'murder & loot'. A warrior should earn his keep, not take it from others by force of arms.", he paused a little bit, then continued. "And while I agree, fighting is enjoyable, there should still be more reason then just that. If you ever feel a need to expel some energy, I'd be more then willing to spar with you, Melissa."
Kherems good spirits was only ever so slightly dampened by Melissa's inquiry at the end. He looked over his shoulder to the girl, it was more of a pout then a frown on his lips. "We're Kitsunes, is that not obvious?", all the same, Kherem would continue on towards the registration area with the two women in tow.
Re: This is a Great Plan (Smokefish, Host, and Hentaispider)
Lumi turns towards Melissa, giving her a light punch on the shoulder. "Don'tyoudarecallmeadogagain!" she says in a heated tone, though not quite seriously.
With a sigh, the white-haired kitsune takes a look around, noting the way Kherem is leading them and considering her current companions. Maybe they're not so bad, after all.
Re: This is a Great Plan (Smokefish, Host, and Hentaispider)
The human responded to the lovetap far more seriously than the Kitsune making it had probably expected. Before the blow connected, Mel had already begun sliding back a foot, and while Lumi did hit her, the zealously violent human was the moment afterwards standing an inch out of her reach, her hands going from the back of her head to near-balled fists in front of her, hunched and leaning inwards in the manner of any humanoid waiting for a fight. Despite the serious reaction, Melissa was grinning with a joy that most people expecting to be attacked simply didn’t have.
“Ho ho, got some bark in you after all, eh? Wanna start our own little arena, right here?” it might have been taken as a joke, if Melissa didn’t seem quite serious in the question, going so far as to glance around for other people liable to get in the way of any potential street-fight. Assuming the other woman declined, the overly violent girl shrugged, relaxing per position almost immediately, and, after a moment to remember what they had been talking about last, spoke up again on the subject of her companions.
“Kitsune? He’s some ancient Amazonian noble, right? The name sounds Amazonian…” The human asked, having made the wrong assumption. By all appearances, she truly did have no knowledge of the foxhumans, not that such was particularly surprising - They were perhaps the rarest of rare breeds, few and far between.
Re: This is a Great Plan (Smokefish, Host, and Hentaispider)
Kherems ears twitched as the two women stopped behind him, and turned around moments thereafter to see what was going on. He looked surprised to see Melissa ready to fight Lumi, but a growl rose quickly in his throat. As the part-daemon girl suggested making their own arena right there on the spot, he had heard enough. "ENOUGH! We are not to fight out on the streets, even less so when we have barely met and introduced each other!", the tall kitsune gave both the females a stern look, having no visible tolerance for their bickering.
And should the two women merely fall in line, so that the three of them could continue on their way to the arena registration booth, he'd look over his shoulder and give Melissa an odd look at her continued inquiry about Kitsunes. "Kitsune is the name of our kind, Melissa. I have not heard of an Amazonian noble with such a name. We are who we are, and I imagine what few numbers there are of us are wanderers and drifters... I haven't heard of a Kitsune society, but if there is one, I would certainly seek it out as soon as possible.", Kherem let out a quiet, if heavy sigh, the subject of his kin and the more then apparent scarcity of them weighing heavily on his mind. And his own lack of knowledge on such matters.
Re: This is a Great Plan (Smokefish, Host, and Hentaispider)
Lumi's eyes widen at Melissa's reaction, and she steps back, summoning the words and gestures of a spell to her mind, only barely stopping herself from using the incantation. Though her voice stays neutral, the kitsune's face betrays her annoyance.
Re: This is a Great Plan (Smokefish, Host, and Hentaispider)
Kherem: HP = 90, PP = 55, EP = 55, Status = Fine
Melissa: HP = 51, PP = 61, EP = 40, Status = Fine
Lumi: HP = 54, PP = 70, EP = 56, Status = Fine
Kherem led Melissa and Lumi directly to the entrance that the arena used by those who wanted to fight in the arena, and they found a portly looking orc man sitting behind a desk there, taking names from people. Upon approaching him, the orc man eyed them up and said, "You lot separate, looking to fight one another, or together? There's a team melee coming up soon that you might be able to squeeze into, 120 denarii pot for whichever team wins. Otherwise it's regular fights, 20 to whoever wins a free for all or 25 for one on one. As always, you're not allowed to do anything that might endanger the crowd in the stands, so no big area of effect magic, but otherwise you can fight however you like. And as usual, Acheron takes no responsibility for any injuries received here."
