Soren looked around, bewildered for a moment. "I was... I was doing something important," he murmured, "somewhere else?" He shook his head. "Must have dozed off at the desk," he smiled at her. "I had a horrible nightmare that I had just graduated and gone looking for the Accursed." He laughed. "I'd never have been that foolish."
The room was familiar, but not. Everything seemed to be layered over with an idea that he couldn't quite reach. "I... think it's time for me to take a break, yes," he said firmly. "Come with me. I could use something to eat."
Re: Festival of Springtime Blooms (Occam, Garb, Tass, Copper)
Whether it was the blood or just the sheer scene around them, Keti was struggling, he just couldn't seem to manage to get the sling right; the knots slipped loose, the cloth he tore proved not enough for what was needed; even when he finally thought he'd done it, the sling slipped free of the knot causing Drago's wing to suddenly shift painfully. It was after this that the black winged harpy was much less accepting of Keti's aid.
Either way, it was clearly time to move on and the group made their way back out of the alleyways towards the sound of the festival. As they hit the main street, they found themselves on the outside of a crowd around one of the many squares claimed by performers; in this case a pair of dryads, male and female, possibly twins, danced around a young tree, flower petals being scattered by their hands as they went. Before the crowd's very eyes, the tree seemed to slowly but surely grow as the pair danced around it, remaining in mirror to one another; even when their dance took to the tree, over the branches, they seemed to remain perfectly mirrored, somehow they have woven the trees branches in such a way to enable this. It was unlike anything any of them had seen before.
Re: Festival of Springtime Blooms (Occam, Garb, Tass, Copper)
Instead of using his blade, Atair took his claws or one of his smaller blades, given that swords aren't exactly designed for what Keti wanted. That done, he let the siren do her work, though it became clear they were going to have to seek some more professional help for the harpy. And once that was done, they could get back on the trail of the wayward Udete.
The show in the square was an interesting distraction and he couldn't help but smile as he watched it for a moment. A bit of his curiosity was perked, given that he hadn't seemed to have recalled seeing too many male dryads. But getting Drago to a healer was a little more important than the show, however interesting.
He made a quick glance around for any of the town watch, figuring them the best for directions. If there weren't any about, he'd check with a few onlookers from the show, catching one or two on the fringe of it, like themselves, until he could get the group pointed in a general direction. Hopefully.
Ar glanced around the room after getting lost in those beautiful blue eyes. Comfort, Home, Life, A family... As his mind shook a little he tossed the worries aside at the moment and let a rare smile crack his normally expressionless face. "Good morning" he said quietly, kissing Saphael gently before holding her close, holding it all close. Something was bothering him, but... what... What could be wrong with the beauty and peace. Ar holds Saphael tightly, almost desperately, unwilling to so much as breath too hard as he clung desperately to the things he had always wanted most in this world, the things he fought and strove for and thought would never be his... But he was hear now, years of service and death behind him as he layed with Saphael in his arms and revelled in her scent, her touch... He was happy... For once in his miserable existence he was truly happy, no threat or fate hanging over him and nothing to distract the former assassin from this golden moment as he clung to the love and comfort like a raft adrift at sea...
Re: Festival of Springtime Blooms (Occam, Garb, Tass, Copper)
Violet glanced and then double taked as they left the alley and rejoined the festival. The siren had been so busy worrying about Drago... And other things that she hadn't really noticed the spectacular sight of the dryad's dance at first. She was only enraptured with it for a moment before the concerns that had plagued her and her new friends bashed their way back into the forefront of her mind. Glancing at Atair, she found him scanning the crowd, and decided to let the nekomata take the lead since he seemed to be much more steady under pressure than she was.
The elf smiles and leans in as Meaghan runs her hand over his chest, sliding down himself to match her. "The Baron's certainly gone all out with this celebration," he remarked, gesturing around the room. At the rim of the pool stood in various states of undress a gathering of individuals from a wide array of races, all beautiful specimens and even as she watched, a nymph girl was dragged from the side of the pool into it by a young male vampyre, who pulled her against him and ran a hand through her hair as he whispered something in her ear. He pulled aside a simple shift covering her waist and pressed himself against her entrance even as he tilted her head back and pressed his fangs into her neck; she sighed in bliss as he slowly took her as he fed.
It seemed that all of them were gathered to please and feed the guests and they certainly didn't have any reservations about it, the various blood dolls were just as entranced in the passion as the vampyres themselves. "I'm just glad the guest of honour chose me herself," the elf purred, leaning against her, his hand slowly trailing across her skin, heading downwards. "Although I'd understand if you thought I needed... assistance... in serving your needs~"
----
"Ah, that nightmare again?" came a concerned reply from Lorelia. "Did you want me to put on some tea? I bought some of those little cakes you like yesterday, unless you want a proper meal?" she asked as she moved along ahead of him, towards the kitchen. As always, her slither had that slight bounce in it that was ever provocative but Soren was well used to it by now; at first she had teased him with it, but they had grown comfortable with one another in the years they'd known one another.
"Wait until you see how the Limeti Project works, we're almost ready to begin testing, we just need to finish final calibrations and it'll be ready to go," she told him as she begin retrieving things from the kitchen cupboards. Her big project right now was almost completed, Lorelia's first project as lead engineer, it was her big chance to make herself known and represented the last 8 months of her work. Understandably, she'd been increasingly both excited and nervous as the days counted down but Soren was fairly certain she had it all under control. She usually did, after all.
---
Saphael lightly ran a hand through his hair. "Is everything ok, Ar?" she asked, slightly concerned and shifted where she lay to face him. "Another nightmare about the past, before the great peace?" she added. It was no secret amongst them that the former assassin was still haunted by the life before, the wounds of the past were not easily forgotten.
She wrapped her hand around him, holding him close and lightly traced her other hand up and down his back, singing softly. Her voice was as beautiful as ever, even amongst the oracles she stood out but then, with her enormous white wings the popular theory was that her angelic blood was particularly virile. But she always remained kind and humble and shook off such claims that she was somehow more special, as far as she was concerned all of the oracles were equally blessed and tasked with guiding Vira towards peace and fulfilment.
The great peace, memories, happiness. Something nagged at him again until the beautiful woman who had turned his life around began to sing, the haunting melody being the single most beautiful thing the assassin had ever heard. As her voice carried and took him, Ar forgot everything and simply let himself drift away, content, for the first time, in a long time, He was happy...
Meaghan threw her head back and let out a short laugh, her back arching with the action, pushing her breasts higher into the air and her stomach tighter against the exploring hand. Her lips curled upwards in a coy smile, and her fingertips ran over the bite marks on his neck.
Tongue flicking across her lips she let her eyes trail back down. "Perhaps," she purred teasingly.
"Again? Yes..." he murmured. "I'd definitely like some tea. Some Oolong, perhaps?" Oolong was his favorite from his student days, he knew. "I'm glad everything's going well. I look forward to seeing you succeed, after all," he chuckled, "It reflects well on me as a professor."
Just as an aside, I'm all for those of us at the festival shuffling along, but I have a feeling we're going to have an entranced Keti, so I don't want to ruin that opportunity, heheheh.
The elf raises a brow at her teasing. "Well, I'd say it's clear enough to see I've still got plenty of blood," he replied, his length felt against her side as his hand trailed further down, fingers brushing against her lips softly. "But then, they also say variety is the spice..."
And looking around, there were certainly plenty of others who subscribed to this. Nearby, a male vampyre sat on the edge of the pool, his fangs sunk into the neck of what appeared to be siren even as his hand pleasured her slowly, rubbing between her legs. At the same time, an undine knelt in pool before him busily sliding her lips up and down his shaft. Even as Meaghan watched, another vampyre wandered over and began to grind himself against the rear of the water sprite, causing her to moan excitedly on the cock in her mouth.
Perhaps the biggest visible group however was around a particularly rare and beautiful sight. A golden oracle was the centre of attention, her hair and eyes shining in catching radiance, her very veins shining visible though her skin with golden blood; the very site of it was enticing and enough others also seemed to think so for the girl was quite occupied. Sitting atop one vampyre so that he entered her rear, another was thrusting wildly into her from the front. Even the member between her lips wasn't enough to fully muffle her moans as she eagerly sucked and stroked it, her other hand also busy with a fourth vampyre. Around the group there were plenty more watching, including more than one frustrated blood doll desperately trying to regain the attention of their partner as the rode, sucked or thrust away, most with little success. Even Meaghan's current companion pushed his fingers inside of her, moving on from teasing likely to try and recapture her attention, smiling naughtily at her if she turned to look.
------
Lorelia laughed at that. "Reflects well on you, huh, Professor? You're not that much older than me remember," she teased even as she put the pot on to boil. "Besides, I thought I was closer to a research partner than a student by now. Who else would you find to build your crazy designs? You know there's no one else who could manage it."
She slithered over with a plate of tea cakes and set them down, before lounging around the table herself. "You're a worry sometimes, Soren. Just try to take it easy, sometimes I think if it wasn't for me you'd never stop working." Lorelia managed this with a completely straight, almost stern face but she was just as guilty as him when it came to work; she'd often spend hours tinkering with her projects and more than one night had passed entirely before she'd sought rest. It was very much a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
------
For a while, Saphael simply sung to him, her soft skin pressed up against him as she slowly ran warm hands over his back slowly and soothingly but eventually she came to the end of her song. "Mm... there's a meeting with the Consul later today, but that's not for a few hours," she reminds him, although the meeting was little more than formality in the Great Peace. Saphael held herself amongst the oracles' diplomats, for want of a better term and often attended such formal occasions to help ensure the continued peace and prosperity of Vira.
Equally a formality, Ar served as her champion and officially guarded her from harm, but he had not been required to employ such skills in a long time now. When the time came closer, she would be teasing him about putting on his silly ceremonial armour, as far as Ar was concerned he always looked ridiculous and standing at attendance. But as she said, they had several hours of the morning remaining before such an event.
He laughed with her, wondering how he could ever worry again. "True, true. I'm so very glad that I can cause you to laugh, you're very pretty when you do that." The he drew his eyebrows tight together in consternation. That was not something he would say. I'm sure of it. I don't think there -is- any such woman I can be this comfortable with. They're all conniving, even my own mother and even the most studious of students. She would hopefully take the look as one of embarrassment, so he could further study just why he was so taken with her.
At the words "The Consul" Ar stiffened, He didn't attended Consul meetings, Ever. He was a well kept secret, his job come retirement was to train the next oracle like himself, a new disciple of the black... "Saphael, where is my disciple... Where is the man who took my place.." Although he was still fairly ensnared in the facade, that had been a crucial mistake. Moving quickly over to the cabinet that housed his ceremonial armor he tore open the doors and picked it over, piece by piece. Why couldn't he just be happy? What was wrong here, something was wrong here! He wasn't happy! He could never be happy! Turning to glare at Saphael he seemed on the verge of a mental break. What was he trying to do, There was something he was supposed to do! HE NEEDED TO BE SOMEWHERE! Turning this way and that he paced around the room, confused, upset...
Meaghan's eyes moved over the glimmering form of the Oracle, her breath catching in her throat as a hunger rose from her loins to her belly. For a brief moment she did nothing but watch, entranced, before the Elf's fingers slid into her.
A lustful moan spilled from her lips and she slowly turned her attention to the blood doll.
"Well well, let's see how much you got in you," Meaghan purred, twisted her own body and the Elf's to straddle him, the red waters lapping up her back and soaking the tips of her hair. Her lips curled in a smile of desire, fangs protruding from behind them.
"We have all night from what I hear," she whispered quietly, starting to move her hips against those fingers, but wanting more, and trying to resist looking back at the Oracle.
Re: Festival of Springtime Blooms (Occam, Garb, Tass, Copper)
Ack...
It probably should've been apparent from how badly he was doing tying the knots and making the sling - Who knew leaves tied a lot different from cloth? - but nevertheless, Keti pushed on in his attempt to sling the harpy's arm - and much to his dismay, the thing came undone just as he'd put it on the bird-man. Keti's hand instinctively flinched out to catch the wing as it shifted - and of course, Keti accidentally hit a sensitive area when it did so. He gasped and tried to apologize - once again waving his hands like when he'd run into Atair earlier today - and fled backwards as he did, suddenly very aware of the bloodied-up men on the ground, skipping back to hide behind Violet her black-feathered wingspan. He tried to apologize less panickedly while they made their way towards... where-ever they were going, "I'm really sorry" written on his slate... but, still, he couldn't bring himself to get near him again.
When they came into the square, though, Keti couldn't help but be entranced by the dryads and their dance. He went all wide-eyed, and completely forgot the faux-pas in the back alley. Ignoring the rest of the group, and pretty much everything else around him, he padded his way over to the pair of dancers and their tree, his eyes never leaving them - not even to blink.
Re: Festival of Springtime Blooms (Occam, Garb, Tass, Copper)
Drago flinches as Keti fumbles with his wing, before the sling gives way and drops his wing with a resounding groan of pain from the harpy. When Keti tried to support the wing himself, he hit a sensitive spot, eliciting another groan of pain before Drago tucks his wing in under his shoulder and grunts in anger. "Forget the sling. Let's just go."
When they arrive at the square with the two dryads dancing, however, he stops to stare at the both of them, watching the dance with interest. "For land-walkers they're pretty good." he says, tilting his head in curiosity.
The elf grins as he regains her attention and she turns back to him. "More or less," he answers, pushing his fingers into her with a slow but steady motion as he leans back against the edge of the pool, his head rolling back slightly to help expose his neck. "I believe the Baron intends to gather his guests in the dining hall sooner or later although I dare say things won't be too much changed from how they are at present as you'll be welcome to take myself or anyone you like with you to sit with you..." he slid his fingers in particularly deep, giving them a twist. "Sit in your lap... Sit beneath you... or simply attend to you from beneath the tablecloth."
The Baron always did like to give an illusion of civility at such occasions. Part of his sense of humour, really.
---
Lorelia preened at his praise, "Really huh? And when else am I pretty?" she asked teasingly with a grin. As he thought about it, the memories came back to Soren, it had not always been this natural between them, at first he had been just as uncomfortable around her as anyone else but she had been persistent about getting to know him. When the usual methods of flirting failed dramatically, she tried a different approach and one day glanced over his shoulder while he worked on some fairly complex calculations of his own design. He remembered her voice, suddenly appearing behind him from nowhere (for he had not noticed her approach), to exclaim exactly what he was trying to do and follow along with the formula.
Then she considered it a moment, and made a few suggestions, for while his theory was sound, at present there was not a mechanical device with the ability to handle the strain it would put upon it. Even after this turning point, it took a long time for the pair to grow as close as they had, but Lorelia was brilliant enough that it was easy to look upon her as a peer, rather than a woman.
"Uh, Vira to professor? Are you with us?" came her voice. "Geez Soren, you really are overdoing it lately, aren't you?"
((As you began to question the reality presented to you, I rolled some dice for you. Things rolled poorly (-3 on the dice), so you've been fed memories etc. but you can spend fate points to alter the roll if you like etc.))
---
Status
Physical: O O
Mental: / O O
Social: O O
As Ar began to panic, a sharp pain erupted in his head causing him to physically react (Ar takes 1 mental stress). Saphael approached him without hesitation, calling his name "Ar! Ar! Come back to me! Calm down, everything's okay!" she called to him even as she tried to wrap her arms and wings around him. "Please, come back to me... remember us... remember the peace... just relax and calm down... please..." her voice was pleasing, almost begging as tears began to well up in her eyes. The pain in her face was as obvious as it was deep, this was not the look of a woman confused or surprised by his outbursts, but rather one worried and exactly aware of what was occurring.
((Once again, there was a dice roll, you rolled a (+0) result on the dice, let me know if you'd like to spend Fate Points etc.))
Ar turned on Saphael, his eyes wild and unfocused as he struggled to remember and forget at the same time, the sound of her voice pulling on his heart, trying to wrench him away from something... Pain, A black spot in his mind, a twisted knot of hatred and defiance. "I dont... Saphael, I don't remember. What happened... What.... I..." Everything seemed to slow down as old wounds and older scars seemed to flare to life and he all but collapsed into her arms, fighting back tears. "I don't understand.. What peace? Why don't I remember..." The feel of her arms around him and the smell of her body broke a wall within him and he started to weep, confused...
Soren began to relax but something still nagged at him. He felt like there was something else he should be doing. Something important and it had nothing to do with making life better.
"I remember..." he said softly, "Something about an Oracle. I... I remember meeting one. Maybe the same one from that nightmare I keep having." He stopped, remembering his penchant for keeping a journal of everything. "Lorelia?" he asked mildly, "where's my journal?" He turned around to go look back up in his room.
