Neptune

Location: Sapphire Mantle Hotel and Spa (Luxury Hotel); Early morning He noticed that Sophia didn’t respond to his question when he had stepped out of the bathroom and he looked to where she was now sitting on the bed, her eyes lost in thought. He figured that she couldn’t hear him, so lost within her little world. At first, he was mildly concerned, but she didn’t look visibly distraught like she had earlier, so he figured that her thoughts were far less distressed and for that he was grateful. He then spotted his clothes lined up neatly on the bed beside Sophia and smiled a little, “Thanks.” He thanked her as he closed the bathroom door fully and stepped up to the bed. He picked up his boxers, slipping them on before he pulled on his jeans and secured them with his belt. He then pulled on his long sleeved shirt and then picked up his coat before he looked at Sophia with a frown. He looked at her, his eyes unconsciously resting on her voluptuous breasts before he looked back at his coat, “I would offer you my coat to cover yourself but…” And here he flushed a little as he let out a nervous laugh, “I’m not sure it will… fit.” He added, before indicating her breasts. He doubted that she would be able to close the article of clothing around them, especially when he was naturally very skinny and thus the coat wasn’t a large size to begin with. It would be pretty pointless to give it to her when it would do nothing for her. He knew that it would make him look like a jerk, but there was nothing he could really do about it. He was drawn from his thoughts when there was a very firm knock on the door causing him to jump in surprise and turn towards the door. He allowed his coat to drop down onto the bed before commenting, “I guess they got tired of waiting for us.” He then moved over to the door, glancing back at Sophia to make sure that she was properly covered with the towel before he opened it. Outside were three human men, one dressed in a rather sharp suit and wearing a displeased expression. The other two were police officers who looked rather neutral. “You’re the one that called?” The man in the suit asked, to which Kaylaen nodded. The man looked him up before he came in with the officers trailing along behind him. Kaylaen closed the door before moving so that he stood slightly in front of Sophia as he looked at the suited man expectantly. The man still didn’t look too happy as he said, “I am Kevin Wilson, the Owner of this hotel. We reviewed the security footage. Roughly ten minutes before your arrival, a pink haired young lady came into the hotel and spoke to the receptionist. I need to contact the receptionist to ask what was spoken about, but whatever they spoke about caused the receptionist to leave the desk. The other lady slipped behind the counter and stole the keys for this room just before you two and another male came in, a kitsune man. From what we could see, she pretended to process the payment but obviously couldn’t as she didn’t have access to our systems. At five this morning, the pink haired woman - now looking like a kitsune, and the kitsune man left this room. The female was carrying a bag that matches the bag that you had come in with, miss.” He nodded towards Sophia before he took a deep breath, “I would like you both to make a statement to the officers here. Anything you can tell them would be helpful.” Kaylaen relaxed a little, as while the man sounded frustrated, there was an apologetic underline to his words. The chances of either him or Sophia being in trouble were very slim. It did make him feel so stupid for being so easily scammed, but in his defence he had been drunk and thus he didn’t realise that there was anything wrong. He looked behind him at Sophia and gave her a reassuring smile before looking back at the officers and asking, “Can we put in a statement anonymously? We have no idea how dangerous these people are, and they are in possession of our personal information. They can easily find out where we live.” While technically all true, he knew he was overplaying it a little. They were unlikely the violent, or stalkerish kind. He hoped at least. “Of course.” The right officer replied, pulling out a tablet before he smiled a little, looking far less intimidating. Kaylaen sat down next to Sophia, taking her hand and squeezing it a little just in case she needed some kind of contact to help centre herself while being surrounded by these official looking men. The man with the tablet sat himself down at the desk and used the tablet cover to angle it before he started to tap away on it, preparing to fill out a new statement. The Manager seemed to have drawn back at this point, looking rather agitated as he stood near the closed door as the second officer started to look around the room.

Location: Thorndown University Campus Evelyn’s mouth formed a small ‘o’ of understanding when he explained to her what the BAR exam was. As she had not even gone anywhere near the law and the study of it, she had no idea what their equivalent was. Maybe some society of lawyers? She almost giggled at that, as she had a mental image of these old lawyers sitting around a polished wood table and exchanging legalise as they smoked cigars and drank expensive whiskey. She pressed her lips together in an attempt to stop herself from smiling at the image. To cover it further, she picked up her drink and took several hasty sips from it. Thankfully, it had cooled to a temperature where she could drink it straight if she wanted to. But she wanted to savor it, so put it down just as he asked his last question. The question caused her to laugh a little before she smiled at him, her blue eyes sparkling with mirth, “As decent as living with a bunch of slobs can be.” She said with a grin. Her chuckling died down before she said, “Sometimes the others that share the kitchen and living room with me can be a little lax on their cleaning. Things like dirty plates and stuff grosses me out, so I pretty much clean the moment I am finished eating. But some leave their plates for days before cleaning them.” She shuddered with a look of disgust. She took a sip of her drink to calm herself down. “The university does actually have apartments available to students. But, as you can imagine, it’s a lot more expensive than the shared accomodations. While it would make my stay here easier, and more comfortable, I decided that the shared would be best. I only get so much money with the student loans, and I would prefer not to rely on mum and dad to pay for my food and bills. So the shared accomodation lets me have more spending money for food, bills and of course, the treat of hot chocolate.” She grinned again at him as she tapped the cup of her drink before she added, “So I guess, like you, I kind of want to be independent. To me, that’s part of the point of University. A stepping stone to true independence. Some of my course-mates though, still live off the purse of mummy and daddy.” She shrugged one of her shoulders to show that while it wasn’t her thing, she didn’t really judge them for it. It was their life, after all, and if they weren’t willing to put in the work to become completely independent, then that was their fault.

Ruby was mildly impressed by the grace in which Shorty dove behind cover. His short, squat form did not seem that wieldy, and yet he had hid himself with surprising grace. She paused in the firing of her guns when she no longer had line of sight of him. But she remained where she was, her weapon pointing towards the crates so that the moment he emerged, she could fire at him. Her eyebrow then rose a little when he began speaking. At his instruction that the cover could be destroyed with enough power, she smirked a little. That was a useful thing to know. Not only could she eliminate the cover that her foes could hide behind, but she could also get useful items from it. If they were like any games she usually played, they could range from ammo, to health pickups or even temporary perks. “Good to know, Shorty. Any other useful tricks to know?” Ruby asked, even as she changed the aim of her twin guns to point the weapons towards the crates that Shorty was hiding behind and began to rapidly fire at them. She wasn’t firing at them just because Short was hiding behind them and she wanted to hit him more, but she also wanted to know how long it would take them to break when she unleashed everything she had at the breakable objects.

Daedrin awoke the moment he felt the slight nudge. He blinked his eyes a couple of times to properly wake himself up. He sat himself up and watched as his friend put out the dim flames, “Alright.” He said, his voice soft in the darkness as he watched Izanagi settle himself down in his own bedroll. Daedrin then got up, activating his Daedric vision so that he could see in the darkness. He looked around, but could find nothing amiss so he sat himself down in a seemingly vulnerable position although he could jump up within an instant to react to any threats seen. As the night wore on, he grew rather bored. Other than the Crawler, there seemed like nothing was going to bother them. Absently, he picked up a piece of wood that was the length of his arm and roughly six inches wide, and flexed it a little to test its strength. When he was satisfied that the dry piece of wood would not break easily, he pulled out his knife and began to carve it. His dark eyes moved over to the two horses, looking at them as a reference as he carved an image in the wood. It was Daegrin and Lucky at a gallop, and by the time the sun had peered up over the horizon, he had completed his work. The two horses were so detailed and lifelike, they seemed to almost gallop out from the piece of wood. Pleased with it, Daedrin just set it aside and put it out of mind. Wood carving was something he did to relax, and he often didn’t think much about a piece once he had finished it. Thus he got up and set about preparing their porridge. He made sure that his eyes had returned to normal as he ensured that the two horses were fed before he went over and nudged Izanagi awake, “Breakfast is ready.” He said before returning to the fire to serve out their food into their generous bowls. He was quick to sit and begin eating his own in silence.

Send me an EcchiText, I can help you with your club. I've written a couple of guides on it. I know I would be kind of interested in that if set up well. I can help you make it as visible as possible, too. This site is full of really friendly people. It's one of the reasons I am so proud of it ^^ Have you taken a peek through the character IDs for Black City?

I'm not good at that, either xD I suppose you could have a look through the other characters of the RP, although at the moment only Aura and I seem to be active in this club.

She certainly looks like an interesting character.

Location: Village of Ryn’tur. Moved to Side Story: Show and Tell Location: Hermitage. When Lucius stood in almost the centre of the village, surrounded by the suffocating darkness, he wondered to himself just what was he doing? After finishing his meal, he had retired to his room while awaiting the night. He had tried to get some information from the other patrons of the tavern, but they were quite tight-lipped about it. Either they didn’t know anything about it, or they didn’t want to talk about it. If that was the case, then it had made Lucius even more curious as to what the mysterious creature was. The moment the sun had set, he had left the tavern and had been patrolling the streets. After several hours, nothing had stirred. The only sounds that accompanied the press of his own armoured boots on the path was the singing of the nocturnal insects. He was beginning to think that there was nothing wrong, when there was a sudden scream that pierced the air. His head snapped towards the direction and he ran towards it, darting between the wooden buildings. When he reached the source of the scream, he skidded to a stop as his single eye widened. The first thing he noticed was a grotesque creature. It looked vaguely humanoid, with two arms, legs, a torso and a head. But that was about as close as the resemblance got. It was skinny, looking almost emaciated. The skin was a dark blue, and seemed to almost hang off of the muscles with a scabbed, almost sickly appearance to it. It seemed to have a hunched back, causing it to seem to bend over towards as it shuffled. The arms were longer than what one would expect on a human, as it seemed to be using them to help it move around. The face was one of the most ugly things Lucius had ever seen. The back of his head seemed rather human-like, with the back of the skull that had lank patches of hair. But its face was elongated with a canine look to it. Its eyes were large and black in colour, glittering a little in the light of the torches. It had a muzzle with sharp teeth that drooled saliva. The second thing he noticed, was that it was hunched over the body of a dead woman as it tore out shreds of quivering flesh from her. The sight made Lucius almost lose his evening meal, but he clenched his teeth to stop himself from losing his nerve. The creature had yet to spot him, so he had the element of surprise. Moving as silently as he could, he moved closer to the creature as he pulled his sword from its sheath. However he got within a metre of the creature when its head sharply rose and turned towards him, the beady and blank eyes staring up at him. Lucius froze, knowing that the creature had spotted him and now had its sights on him. The creature snarled, a hair-raising sound. Now that he was closer, he could smell the stench of mould and rotting flesh that emanated from the vile monster. It seemed to toss the corpse of the woman aside, its attention now entirely fixed upon him. Lucius knew that it was about to attack at any moment, so he lunged forwards with a thrust of his sword. It shifted, trying to move out of the way of his attack. It was quicker than he had originally thought, but he was still able to hit it, although it was not as true as he had hoped. His blade slid through the putrid skin of its shoulders. It let out a howl of pain that caused him to flinch back a little. It lashed out with its sharp claws, aiming for his face. He brought his sword arm up, causing the claws to scrape against the metal of his armour resulting in a metallic screeching tone that set his teeth on edge. What he was not prepared for, though, was the fact that it pushed forwards into him, knocking him back. He stumbled, trying to gain his footing but the creature had overbalanced him to the point where he fell back onto the muddy footpath. It leapt on him, snapping and snarling. With a sense of panic, Lucius raised his sword to press the flat of the blade against its neck, blocking the creature from being able to bite his face off. With each snap of its jaws brought a fresh wave of its foul stench that made his stomach churn in protest. He brought his leg up, grunting as he used his foot to push the disgusting creature off of him. It stumbled back, giving him enough time to get to his feet and move towards to attack again. He swung his sword but it was able to dance to the side where it jumped at him again, its claws outstretched. He wasn’t able to move out of the way in time as it jumped on him, once again pinning him to the floor. Its claws ripped at his armour and he hissed in pain as its claws slipped between the buckles and sank into the flesh on his left side. He tried to push it off with his foot again, but it seemed to wise up to his tricks and it seemed to contemptuously brush his leg off away from it. As it seemed to rear back to bite at his face, Lucius gripped his sword tighter and wildly lashed out at the creature. With him being pinned underneath it, he didn’t expect to be able to do much. But to his surprise, the blade sank into its chest, forcing it to let out a howl of agony as its eyes flashed with fury. Almost idly, Lucius noticed that the creature was not bleeding from its two wounds, despite the second of them being quite severe. The creature had been so infuriated with Lucius that its head snapped forwards and sank into his right shoulder. The metal cracked under the pressure of its jaw, causing the teeth and pieces of metal to be driven into his shoulder. Lucius let out his own pained cry as a wave of agony pulsed through him from his shoulder. He tried to once again shove the creature off but the pain proved to be too much for him and he was able to do nothing more than weakly push at it. He tried to drive his sword into it once again, but it seemed to shrug off his attack with no trouble at all, and he was beginning to wonder if he was going to end up like one of its many victims. The creature seemed to sense his doubt and hissed in delight. It launched for his throat, but he raised his sword and smashed the pommel into the side of its head. The creature shrieked as it rolled to the side and off of him, allowing him to be able to climb to his feet. The moment he was standing straight, the creature turned on him, its dark eyes flashing with hate and hunger. It jumped at him, but he gripped the handle of his sword in both hands, ignoring the searing pain from his shoulder and raised his sword. For a moment, his mind went completely calm as he watched the creature getting near him. He waited until it was close enough before he stepped to the side, swinging the blade with all of his might. There was the sound of tearing flesh before the body of the creature dropped to the floor at his feet, lifeless, as its head rolled off several feet before coming to a stop, the black eyes staring blankly up into the sky. There was complete silence for several long minutes before the aches and pains let themselves clear to Lucius. He groaned a little, closing his single eye as he leaned against the wall of the nearest building as his shoulder throbbed painfully with each beat of his heart. He needed to get it seen to, but he couldn’t find the strength to move just yet. He couldn’t even be bothered to slide the sword back into its sheath. He felt as if he could sleep for days.

Warning: This Side Story will contain scenes of a graphic nature. This includes, but is not limited to, Heterosexual sex, dress up, seduction. If you find either of these themes distasteful, then please do not read. Participants: Rowan and Natia Description: Upon reaching Ryn'tur, Rowan and Natia visited Glenda's shop, where Natia bought a surprise for Rowan, despite encountering a problem with a slave owner. They went to the local inn, sat down and had a meal before Natia requested to go to their private room. -x-x-x-x-x-x-x- Rowan remained patiently waiting as Natia seemed to stare blankly up at him. The corner of his lips twitched a little, finding it very endearing. It made him want to draw her into his arms and to kiss those perfect little lips of hers. But he resisted the urge and contented himself with waiting to see what she wanted. When she demanded that he turn around and cover his eyes, he raised an eyebrow at her, “This again?” He asked, his tone light and teasing. He could see that she was looking rather nervous and he hoped his rather lighthearted tone helped put her at ease. He gave her an encouraging smile before he turned around so that he was no longer looking at him. He then reached up and covered his eyes with his hands to ensure that he wasn’t able to peak, even if he was facing her. That said, that didn’t stop his ears to twitch a little as he listened out for her movements. It was cheating a little, since he could hear very well, but he was curious as to what she was wanting to show him. The only thing he could think of, was what she had bought from Glenda’s, but he had not expected her to show him that so soon. He was certainly curious to know what she had gotten, and how she would look in it. Admittedly, he was rather excited, and found himself waiting rather impatiently for her to get changed. One thing was for sure, though, she was undoubtedly going to make it hard for him to leave that evening to look into her potential friend. If she looked anywhere near how she looked in his imagination, it was going to be hard not to spend all night fucking her into the bed. He also had to make a mental note to not break the bed in the process, either.

Rose felt her body tense up even more as Anhara climbed up onto the bed along with her, her body pressing in a little too close for her comfort. It was with relief when she felt the release of tension in the rope, allowing her to be able to move her hands and arms. She could feel more blood rushing into the extremities, making them tingle and smart. Rose sucked in a breath for a moment before she twitched her fingers, clenching them into a fist before allowing them to fall open again. She then brought her hands around her body, rubbing the slightly reddened wrist as she tried to massage feeling back into them, trying her very best to ignore the other girl in the room with her. But of course, that was an impossible task as Anhara’s voice brought her out of her own private little world. She looked up and over at the girl as she asked her question. She froze for a moment before slowly turning her eyes back to the rest of the room. She actively avoided looking at the more raunchy toys, as she really didn’t feel comfortable looking at them. They made her flush a little, as she had never even seen toys like that. Instead, she looked over at the stuffed toys and dolls. She studied them for several long moments before pointing at an innocent looking blonde doll, “That one…” She said in a quiet voice. She really wasn’t sure if that was an acceptable answer, but it was one of the nicer looking dolls that Anhara had in her collection. And it certainly didn’t look too disgusting like the… other kinds of toys. She just hoped there wasn’t something hidden about the doll.

Location: Sapphire Mantle Hotel and Spa (Luxury Hotel); Early morning Kaylaen continued to hold her for several long minutes, allowing her to get herself under some measure of control. He had no idea what had happened to her in the past week, but clearly she had been through some bullshit to almost break down in front of what was basically a stranger to her. He doubted that she remembered much about the night before, so her only sobre interaction with him was waking up next to him in a hotel bed, with her stuff missing. At least they had one thing in common; they had both been robbed by the same people. Although he wasn’t happy about that. He resisted the urge to sigh as his head throbbed painfully. After holding her for several minutes, he pulled away and smiled down at her as he squeezed the flawless skin of her arms. He caused him to have to resist touching her more, as he became consciously aware that she was only wrapped in a towel. A little awkwardly, he cleared his throat before he stepped back a little, training his eyes on her face to avoid his eyes roaming where they shouldn’t be, “You should get dressed. The sooner we get this out of the way, the sooner we can leave.” He said, suddenly looking away and looking down at the pile of rather tatty clothing. He frowned a little, as he knew he didn’t have much in the way of feminine clothing at home as he had given most of his mother’s clothing possessions away. He supposed he could see if there were any of his clothes that she could wear, and that only made him wonder what she would look like. If she would look sexy in his clothing, walking about his flat. “Er- I’m going to leave you to dress. I want to… wash my face, and go to the toilet.” Kaylaen said, hoping to get those thoughts from his head. It was the most inappropriate time for these kinds of thoughts, especially with how upset and vulnerable she seemed to be. He just hoped that she was fully dressed by the time he came out. He moved around her and disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door behind him as he did so. As he relieved himself, he cursed his scumbag brain for doing this to him. It had a habit of these kinds of thoughts when it really shouldn’t. It made him feel like a damn asshole. He shook his head to try and rid himself of his thoughts as he moved over to the sink to wash his hands before he took several minutes to wash his face with cold water. It did nothing for his headache, but it did make him feel a little better. He rubbed his fingers along his jawline, frowning when he felt some prickly stubble. He was going to need to shave later, as he was not planning on growing a beard anytime soon. He pulled away from the mirror, not really wanting to look at his rather scruffy reflection, and reached for the other fresh towel. He used it to dry his face, before putting it on the rack again. He closed his eyes to compose himself before he opened the bathroom door and stepped out, “Ready?” He asked.

Absolutely ^^ I will post one up when I next do a post run.

Location: Village of Ryn’tur. When the door opened and the two strangers walked in, Rowan’s golden eyes were immediately upon them, analysing them. He eyed the woman up and down, noting her unusual attire, not commonly seen especially in villages like this. He noted that the man’s arm around her seemed almost possessive. He also noted that the man was also a little too well dressed. He watched them out of the corner of his eye, as they had certainly drawn his attention, although it wasn’t obvious that he was watching them as his eyes appeared to be glued to his plate as he was soaking up the last of the juices from his plate with his last piece of bread. When he swallowed the last bite, he felt Natia’s much smaller hand on his own and he finally gave her his full attention. He smiled at her happy and excited statement, glad to see her so relaxed. She was much more beautiful when she was relaxed and happy. His ear twitched a little with interest as she seemed to start saying something, but grew embarrassed as she looked away and seemed to have trouble getting out what she wanted. From what she was saying, he gathered that she wanted him to do something with her, but was too timid to really ask. He smiled, lifting the hand still griping his own and giving it a tender kiss, “Of course, my little Lily.” He told her, lowering his hand as the waitress approached their table for their clean plates. As she was doing this, Rowan asked, “Are there any rooms available?” “That there are, sir. Six coppa’s a night.” She replied as she piled Natia’s plate on his own with the empty bread basket on top. “I would like a room, plus the use of your bathing facilities.” Rowan requested. “That will be an extra two coppa’s.” She said as she finally looked at him. With his free hand, Rowan dipped into his pocket and blindly pulled out either copper pieces that he handed her. She took it, slipping it into her apron pocket, and said, “Last room on the right. I’ll let ye know when the wa’er is hot.” She picked up the plates and walked off. Rowan then looked at Natia and smiled, “Come on, love.” He said, before getting up. He didn’t let go of her hand, thus helping her up off of her seat. He then lead the way over to the stairs. He gave the room one last look, noting anyone that watched them or seemed out of place, before he lead her up the stairs and along the corridor to the last room on right. When they entered, it was better furnished than what Rowan was expecting. There was a double bed, filled rather thickly to make it more comfortable. There was a thick woolen cover along with two pillows. He closed the door before he looked over at Natia with a slight curve to the corners of his lips, “Now what was it you wanted to ask?”

“With my sense of logic, where I can keep an eye on it.” Daedrin responded to Izanagi’s first question with a dry and sarcastic tone. He looked over at his friend with a slightly raised eyebrow when Izanagi said that he would not go easy on him, and expected the same in return. Daedrin merely nodded back at him, knowing that otherwise words were not necessary. He would have found it rather insulting if Izanagi had decided to go easy on him. If that were the case, then Daedrin would soundly beat him to show him that Daedrin was not one to be patronised like that. He would have certainly lost respect for his friend in that situation. As Izanagi drew their attention back towards the Crawler, Daedrin’s eyes looked towards it as well, staring at the corpse. He didn’t say anything, letting his friend verbally move through his thoughts as he considered the best way to deal with it. When the solution came, Daedrin watched with bemusement as Izanagi grabbed it, swung it around before throwing the large beast over the trees. He stared at his friend who came back and casually asked who would take the first watch. Daedrin was silent for a few long moments before he suddenly huffed out with laughter, “Well. I can’t say that I saw that one coming.” He said, eyes still staring off to where the carcass had been thrown. He then turned to look towards Izanagi, “You can take first watch. You seem to still be full of energy-” His tone was deeply amused at this point as he glanced to where the monster had been thrown, before he continued, “-and I need to get some sleep. So I’ll leave you to keep watch.” Without waiting for an answer, Daedrin turned around and walked off with only a hint of a limp. He reached his bedroll and got himself comfortable within it. He tossed and turned for a few moments until he had managed to find a position that was even remotely comfortable. It wasn’t long before his eyes closed and his breathing eased out to indicate that he was deeply asleep.

Location: Sapphire Mantle Hotel and Spa (Luxury Hotel); Early morning Kaylaen sighed and ran his fingers through his hair when she questioned the usefulness of talking to the police. Unfortunately, it wasn’t entirely for their benefit. It was for the benefit of the Hotel. If they decided to try and avoid the police when they came, which was going to be impossible, they would look like the criminals instead of being a victim of a crime. He then paused when she said that her age was nineteen, and she seemed to be under the impression that one had to be twenty-one to purchase alcohol. He stared at her blankly for a few moments before he smiled a little and shook his head, “Well it’s a good thing you don’t need to lie. The legal age to buy alcohol is eighteen, not twenty-one. So you’re well within age.” He assured her before he approached her and tried to comfort her by putting his hands on her shoulders in a firm, but gentle grip. He looked her in the eyes and said, “Just let me do the talking, okay? You’ve done nothing wrong. You have no need to worry. We’re in this boat together, and I’m not going to let you overboard, alright? I know it’s unlikely that the police will catch those two, especially if they’re long gone. But you never know. The last thing we want is for the hotel to pin this crime on us two.” He looked her in the eyes for a few moments longer before he drew her to him and hugged her again, rubbing his hand along her back. Honestly, all he really wanted to do was get out of here, get some good breakfast and head home for some more sleep. He had no work today, so he was free to do that. He just had to get over the hurdle of talking to the police which he hoped wouldn’t take that long. Location: Thorndown University Campus Evelyn sympathised with Brighton when he spoke of his dashed dreams. It made her even more curious about his eye and how he had lost it, but felt that it would be extremely rude to ask so early in their conversation. The last thing she wanted to do was drive such an interesting man away. So she continued to listen as she sipped her hot chocolate, savouring the hot, creamy liquid. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her server friend Maria eyeing the two with an inquisitive look, but Evelyn aloofly ignored her. Maria could draw all the conclusions she wanted; Evelyn was just enjoying a conversation with someone. And if that someone happened to be interesting, and handsome, then that was just a bonus. She lowered her cup again when he said that he was studying for Ashaea’s version of the BAR exam. She gave him a faintly puzzled look before saying, “I have no idea what this BAR exam is, but I assume it’s something to do with being a lawyer? Whatever it is, I wish you luck with it.” She gave him a faint grin. She had gleamed one piece of information from him; he lived in an apartment. Going on that information, she said, “I don’t have my own place. Not really. Technically, I still live with my parents especially now that it’s the Winter Holidays. I’m waiting to finish University before getting myself a place. I do have a student accomodation here. It’s in one of the shared dorms, though. So I share the kitchen and living room. Otherwise, I get my own bedroom and en-suite bathroom… which is so cramped it’s about the size of a cupboard. And not the nice walk-in wardrobes, either.” Her grin widened at him.

Location: The Wet Holes, Down Below, Andromeda One, Churchill's Legacy, Andromeda Galaxy. Kalnarr watched as the woman looked down, averting her gaze. Rex glanced from the Zeta to the woman again who seemed to almost deflate at Kalnarr’s words. He looked over at the bartender and accused, “Always making the pretty ladies cry.” Kalnarr shrugged, although his eyes had not left the young women. He could almost hear the cogs turning in her head before she looked back up and into his eyes. People very rarely looked him in the eye like that, and he admired her for it. His movements stilled as her hand came down and slammed on the table. Rex himself jumped, not expecting how loud it had been, “Bloody hell!” He exclaimed as other patrons in the bar turned their heads to see what the noise was about but Kalnarr ignored them as he listened to her offer. When she turned back to Rex, he was staring at her with open admiration, “Alright then… Let’s see how you do…” He looked over at Kalnarr, “You got a holodeck free? I’ll pay for her to use it.” “Aye. We’ve got some holodecks free.” Kalnarr said, accepting the credit chit that was practically thrown over the counter. He pressed it against the register before handing it back before he turned to look at a member of minor bar staff, “Jen’starr should be back soon. Man the bar until I get back.” The person nodded as the Zeta turned back to the woman, “Alright, you’ve got the horns for it. I’ll let you prove yourself. My name is Kalnarr, or Kal’taour as would be more fitting. What’s your name?” He asked. Rex lifted his glass and downed its contents, as he wasn’t going to miss this entertainment just for making his drink last longer. He then turned his eyes towards the woman, curious to know who this woman was to have the balls to stand up to a Zeta after he had stripped her down. He knew it was something that Kalnarr, and most Zeta’s for that matter, respected in people.

The purring of Anhara’s voice made Rose freeze as she felt the hair in the back of her neck rise in terror. She really didn’t like it when the other girl spoke like that. It made Rose think that there was some kind of ulterior motive behind her words and it made her regret ever asking for the rope to be taken off. She refused to lift her eyes and look Anahra in the face, but at the same time she didn’t want to look at the disgusting toys and images that were littered around the room. She did glance up at the girl when she made the provision that she had to sit on the bed. Rose looked over at the well made bed, wondering how such an innocent piece of furniture looked so forbidding to her. She knew that the bed itself would never do anything to her, but it was the owner of the bed that she so disliked. She gulped, her throat jerking a little with the movement before she quietly said, “Okay…” She stepped up to the bed before pausing a little. Due to how thick it was, it came up quite high on her thigh due to her smaller height. She turned and sat down on the very edge before having to wriggle her way up so that she was sitting on the bed. Her feet were now hovering over the floor, making her feel even smaller than before. She glanced over at Anhara before quickly averting her eyes once again, moving them so that she was staring at her thighs.

Location: Thorndown University Campus When he stated that it had been a long day, she smiled in sympathy with him. She often had days like that, where she worked to the point where she dropped onto her bed and fell asleep instantly. She was lucky to have the free time she did right now, and instead of spending it alone, she was eagerly spending it with this complete stranger. Her long, slender fingers tapped a little on her cup, only ghosting across it as it was too hot to keep a constant grip on it. She leaned forwards a little, her interest in what he had to say regarding where he came from showing in the interested glint in her eyes. She had never met someone from one of the Southern states of the United States. Most of the students around here were from the Northern areas, either people with very rich parents or a scholarship that allowed them entrance. Competition to get into the university was extremely tough, but Thorndown did put more priority on the local schools. Foreign students often had to pay a large amount of money, or be exceptionally gifted in order to get into the University due to the sheer amount of competition there was. She smiled when he said that he had come here for a new adventure. Considering that Ashaea was even younger than the United States, it was viewed by most of the world as a rather baby country. Despite that, though, they were as rich and as developed as any of the Western Countries. People often felt that it was a new and exciting place to come and settle. “Oh, I don’t really have anything nearly as exciting as you to say.” Evelyn said with a grin, “I was born here. My Grandparents moved here in the Second World War, before the country properly formed because my Grandpa was part of the British army and his wife followed him here to work in the ammunition factories. My Dad runs his own computer repair business and my mother works as a chef in a popular restaurant. I grew up in this city and I’m unlikely to ever leave it.” She put the spoon down on the saucer with a faint clink before taking a sip of her drink. When she put it down again, she asked, “How are you finding things here?”

Location: Thorndown University Campus When he looked up at her, giving her a rather inquisitive look she almost expected him to tell her to go away. But he answered her question, explaining that he was only a student in the sense that he was new to Ashaea and he needed to learn the ordinances and practices of the country. This immediately made her even more curious to know where he had come from. Now that she could hear him even clearer, she noticed that he didn’t have an accent that was typical to Ashaea. It tended to be similar to British, with a slight American twang to it. She didn’t recognise his accent. She had seen a fair number of foreign students at the university, but no one with his particular accent. He surprised her even further by inviting her to come and sit with him. It was an offer that caused her to give him a beaming smile, showing how happy she was with the conversation. It was a relief to be able to sit with someone and have a pleasant conversation than to head home and idle around for a few hours. She was quick to pick up her drink and turn around to place it on his table. She slipped into the chair opposite him, “Evelyn Thompson, it’s really nice to meet you.” She introduced herself in response to Brighton’s introduction, “I’m a Fashion Design student in my second year. I know, such a typical course. I wouldn’t bother chatting laws at me, it’s likely to go completely over my head.” She grinned a little as she twirled her spoon in her cup before she looked up at him with a curious glint in her eyes, “So you’re not from Ashaea? Where are you from?” She asked, hoping to gleam some more information about him. She lifted her cup and took a sip from it.

Location: Thorndown University Campus Evelyn looked up when there was a light breeze of cold air that swirled around her legs causing her to shiver a little. She looked up from her drink and looked over her shoulder to see a guy entering the café. She only looked at him for a moment before she turned away, looking back to her own drink. By now, the café was mostly full, and the chatter of the other people filled the room with a pleasant background noise. She had eaten her cream to the point where most of it was gone, and so she swirled her spoon into the liquid to mix the sweet scream in with the hot chocolate to make it sweeter. The marshmallows had melted completely, meaning that the drink was going to be just how she loved it. Sweet enough to rot her teeth. She lifted her cup and took a cautious sip, pleased to note that while it was still hot it wasn’t going to scold her tongue. She gently put the cup down on the table, before she heard Moira’s voice behind her, and a masculine voice responding. It was quite deep, but it was as smooth as chocolate. It was very pleasant and she found herself smiling a little. It was a voice that caught her attention very easily within the café. She tilted her head a little as she heard her friend welcoming him to Thorndown University. Curious, she looked back up and turned in her seat to have a closer look at him. Now that she could see him fully, the first thing she noticed was the eyepatch. It made her curious as to why he was wearing it. One might assume it was merely a fashion choice, however the other attire he was wearing threw doubt on that. Which meant that he was hiding his eye for some reason, such as he had hurt it. She allowed her eyes to lazily roam the rest of him. His features were quite strong, and he had a light dusting of stubble on his chin that made her want to run her fingers along it just to see how it felt. His hair was longer than what she was expecting, but it complimented his appearance well. Overall, other than a thoughtful furrow between his eyebrows as he concentrated on his muffin, he looked quite friendly and attractive. Her eyes then moved over to the book and she focused on it to see that it seemed to be some kind of law book. She had never seen him around the campus before but then with the number of subjects that the university hosted, it was unlikely she would ever come across every student. Especially a law student. That was one of the furthest things away from what she did. Evelyn was not a shy person, and she was someone to eagerly begin a conversation with someone even if they were not welcoming of company. And because of that, she gave the man a friendly smile and asked, “New to Thorndown? Are you a student, or just visiting?” She knew that it was more likely that he was merely a visitor rather than a student, as the courses started a few months ago although he could be a transfer student from other University. But it was a good place to start a conversation. She didn’t like being alone, and she hoped that the man would be receptive to at least some company.

Location: Sapphire Mantle Hotel and Spa (Luxury Hotel); Early morning Kaylaen expected the terrified outburst regarding the police, and in her position it was a reasonable fear. Not many people liked run-ins with the police, even while being the victim of a crime. He himself didn’t really like dealing with them. He rubbed a hand against his forehead, wishing this headache would disappear. When she alluded to being too young to drink, he eyed her for a few moments. She didn’t look underage. But then she could simply look more mature than her age, and it made him nervous to even ask. His hand moved down from his forehead to his face as he let out a soft groan before letting it fall back to his side again, “Well, if you were drinking underage the most that is likely to happen to you is that you’ll get a warning. They only deport those that make repeat crimes, or a big crime. But as far as I am aware, it’s possible to do a statement anonymously especially as a victim of a crime. But regardless, I don’t think the police themselves would look into your identity. You might need to provide ID if the two of them are caught and end up in court but with any luck that won’t be needed. For all we know, Sophia, we are the most recent in a long line of victims. Just, when they ask for a contact number, don’t give them one. Let me put down my numbers so that they ring me, instead of you.” He then sighed, pausing for a moment before going on to ask, “Forgive me for asking, but how old are you? You don’t look that young.” Location: Thaene’s House The best Thaene was able to find to live, was somewhere, where he would be forced to house share with others. They were the cheapest accomodations possible. He didn’t really like that idea, since it would mean that the other tenants were likely going to be eating his food among other kinds of bullshit. With a grimace he closed down the property hunting sight, deciding that perhaps it would be a good idea to get himself an actual job before looking into a place to stay. He would need to not only factor in rent, but bills as well. That was another problem with sharing with others. They might rack up a massive bill, when he had hardly used the utility and yet be forced to cough up the money for their shit. That was not bullshit he wanted to deal with. He would much prefer a nice little one bedroom flat that was his own space. He could supplement his income with the money he made selling drugs. His phone chimed at him, indicating that he had a text. He slipped it from his pocket and looked at it to see that it was someone wanting some weed. Easily done. He sent back a text, telling them where to meet him. He then slipped the phone back into his pocket before getting up and moving over to his bedside table. He opened it up fully, revealing that it had a few personal items in it. He took these out before pressing down on the back to lift the front to reveal the false bottom where there were several packets of various drugs. He pulled out a couple bags of weed before returning the drawer to its previous state. He slipped the weed into the pocket of his hoodie before he picked up his keys and slipped them into his pocket again. He then left his bedroom and went downstairs where his grandparents were still watching the television. “I’m popping out. Going to try and look about for a job.” Thaene called to them. While it wasn’t entirely true, he might still make an effort to look around. Granted, most places these days only accepted a CV, rather than a job application but it couldn’t hurt to try. The only places open that day were retail, and retail was not something he really wanted to work in. He slipped his shoes back on and was out of the door into the freezing cold air. He shivered a little, glancing around out of habit before be headed to the end of the front garden and then turned down the street.

Rose hesitated again before she stepped into the laundry room, terrified of what she might see in this place. Her imagination ran wild, imagining that the house was dark and foreboding. That Anhara was going to lead her down into a dark basement where she was going to be locked in a tiny room until she died. She was surprised when the laundry room was a little similar to the one she had at home. Although the provocative clothing would certainly not be seen in her laundry room as her family would never be caught dead wearing those things. She looked at the childish clothing in concern, really hoping that there wasn’t a child running around in this house. If there was, then she felt so sorry for them. She followed Anhara further into the house, glancing at the door that was closed before she was drawn into the kitchen. It seemed like any ordinary kitchen. She tried to look for some kind of torture devices, but she couldn’t see any. She found it mildly disturbing. The only thing she saw that made her wary was the dog cage. It was either used for a dog, which she kind of doubted, or it was used to lock someone in. She tried to avert her gaze from it as Anhara spoke. She wasn’t entirely sure why having favourite food dishes was something funny. She frowned a little when Anhara turned her to and said that it was going to take time to figure out how she was going to be treated. But she doubted she was ever going to be comfortable here. She didn’t want to be comfortable. Not with these two monsters. Her arms strained against the bonds of her arms for a moment but they were too strong for her to wriggle out of and it served no purpose other to remind herself of the hopelessness of her situation. She was then taken into the living room that, again, looked quite normal. It was looking more and more like a normal family home. She looked down at the art, before noticing how lewd it was. With a stifled gasp, she averted her gaze to avoid looking at them. She had never seen anything like it before in her life, and she didn’t want to. She was distracted by the sound of Anhara’s voice again and for once, she was grateful for it. She glanced out towards the garden, looking to see if the fence was climbable or if someone could see into the garden. She then blinked at the ominous warning regarding the shed, and she eyed it warily. What was in there? Some kind of torture equipment? She wasn’t sure she wanted to know. She turned back to find that Anhara was already walking off, and not wanting to be alone in this strangely normal house, she quickly followed the other girl. She glanced at the bathroom door, not particularly caring about make-up. She stuff she was already wearing was quite uncomfortable as she wasn’t used to it. She didn’t like wearing make-up, and she certainly didn’t want to make herself pretty for someone she didn’t like. The two then came to the last door at the end of the hallway. When it was pushed open, Rose saw what looked like a little girls bedroom. It was filled with stuffed animals, dolls and other toys. It really looked like the room of a spoiled little girl who’s parents doted on her and got everything she wanted. It made her feel quite out of place. She didn’t like how the room was; she preferred a much plainer room, like her own. This one was quite overwhelming to her senses. The walls were busy with posters and merchandise from things she had no clue about. But they were quite cartoonish, looking like things for kids. To her disgust, some of the images displayed were quite lewd, and she averted her eyes. Her eyes trailed over the large, comfortable looking bed before they moved on towards the toys. It was only then that she saw ones that didn’t look like children's toys. Her face went even more pale and she had to stop herself from throwing up, especially when Anhara said that she could help herself to the toys. She certainly was not going to be doing that. The thought of doing that disgusted her to the core. She wanted to ask if she could go home, but already knew the answer to that. It was pointless to ask. Her eyes darted around the room again, hoping to see a wardrobe or something that she could hide herself in, but nothing really caught her eye. Finally after a few moments she asked in a very small voice, “C-can you take the r-rope off?”

Location: On Northern side of the central Mountain range. “It’s alright, calm down.” Dezrin crooned at Cassandra when she began to weakly struggle. He ran the fingers of his free hand through her locks of hair, being careful to avoid the mattered strands as he softly hummed a lullaby that was often effective on his children in calming them down when they were scared. Now that she was dry and warm, Dezrin decided to take a risk in order to help her. He used the sonic frequencies that he could give off with the gauntlet and used them to essentially ‘shake’ the dirt and grime from Cassandra’s body, leaving her clean. It would undoubtedly feel like a slight tickling across her skin but it only lasted a few moments. He then poured his own energy into her, sacrificing a part of himself to help clear her head slightly. His already hungry stomach grumbled at him as he became even hungrier. But once he was sure that she could think a little clearer and wasn’t starving herself, he stopped the flow of energy. He took a moment to steady himself before telling her, “I’m going to turn you over now.” He did it gently, as if he was handling a piece of glass. He turned her over so that she was on her back, but he didn’t settle her back onto the ground. Instead, he gathered her against him, pressing her head against his chest so that she could hear the rhythm of his dual cardiovascular system. It also allowed him to cradle her in one arm, keeping her safe from the world. His free hand was held out slightly, the lines glowing again for a few moments as he began to gather rain drops in a position above the palm of his hand. He stopped when he had a ball of clean water about the size of an apple. Cassandra would be able to see that it was clean, devoid of any particles. It sparkled slightly in the light given off by his gauntlet. He moved his hand, bringing the water with it as he offered it to Cassandra, “Drink.” He said. His voice was gentle, but it was undoubtedly a command. He hoped that with energy and water in her body, it would at least cause her to function well enough so that they could at least talk so he could explain to her what was going on. He knew that she was very lost and confused right now. There was a flash of light and a loud rumble of thunder that shook the forest around them. Unconsciously, Dezrin drew Cassandra closer, hunching over a little as if he could protect her from the storm.

“Absolutely not.” Daedrin replied to Izanagi’s statement as he pulled out a cloth and cleaned the gore from the blade of his sword before sliding it back home. As Izanagi spoke again, Daedrin looked out across the the forest looking for any other dangers that were going to attempt to surprise them. At Izanagi’s proposal, Daedrin turned back to him and eyed him for a few moments. He wasn’t sure if he should accept or not. Daedrin was an exceptionally skilled swordsmen. Not only had been trained by a Grandmaster since he was a very young child, but he had been practising for far longer than the Kingdom had even been a thing. Thus he was not only highly skilled, but he certainly outstripped Izanagi in terms of experience. Still, the thought of a friendly spa was certainly tempting. It had been a long time since he had sparred with anyone like that. Most people were too terrified to even ask. He then nodded and said, “I would like that. No magic, no little tricks. Just our swords. But no, we are still quite far from Selil. We’ve only just crossed the river to the southern side, so we’re still in the depths of the forest. We still have a fair amount of ground to cover before we get close. But when we are, I’ll be happy to take your challenge.” He decided not to brag about his skill. Not only was it pretty poor taste, he didn’t like to give away secrets that could be used to his advantage. He would undoubtedly going to be the toughest opponent that Izanagi was going to face and he was not going to be able to go down easily.

Location: Village of Ryn’tur. Rowan smiled when Natia snuggled up against him and declared that she loved him before she giggled and picked up a piece of bread to nibble on. He chuckled at her endearing antics before wrapping an arm around her and pulling her closer to him to press a kiss to her forehead, “I love you too, my little Lily.” He said in a soft and tender tone before he let her go so that she could continue eating. She certainly seemed to enjoy the greens much more than she had the meat. He was just glad that there was something she would eat. The last thing he wanted was to have her going hungry. Next time he was going to be a little more careful in regards to what they ordered for her. He certainly didn’t want her to constantly order things she had no real taste for. He ate more of the steak and potatoes with the occasional slice of bread to soak up the steak juices, his golden eyes glancing around the tavern out of habit than any real concern that they were being watched, or followed. Subconsciously, he took note of anyone who seemed to pay any kind of attention to them. He knew how valuable Natia would be to certain people, and the last thing he wanted was someone trying to take her away from him. He would be unforgiving to anyone who even tried. He also glanced out of the window onto the street, seeing that it was relatively empty as the day began to wear on. He watched as a rather overdressed and portly man waddled past, in a heated discussion with a man that was taller than himself, but looked like a rake. It was clear that they were traders of some description, but he didn’t recognise them and he knew most major traders by sight. He turned his attention back to his plate before he looked over at Natia and smiled a little, “How are you doing?” He asked, hoping that there were no other problems with her meal. He made a mental note that tomorrow when purchasing provisions, he would need to ensure that he bought enough to satisfy her. Unfortunately, they couldn’t really carry fresh food with them, as fresh food rotted quite quickly. With any luck, they’ll pass a number of fruits and berries that could be used to supplement her diet. Location: The road south to Hermitage, and Hermitage. Much like the trip from Lathulla to Tiloga, the road further sound was matched on either side by sweeping grassland that stretched on for miles. There were farms dotted here and there, with walls that tried to keep unfriendlies at bay. But during the day they were out in their fields, tending their crop. As Lucius rode past, they eyed him warily, watching him just in case he decided to take it upon himself to attack. Luckily for them, he had absolutely no interest in what they were doing. He saw occasional guards on the roads, made up of both human and Keza individuals, no doubt as a result of the threat from Fenrir’s Graspe. At one point, he did see some of The Black Ones in the distance, but he hurried on to avoid a confrontation with them. He knew that, as a human, he would be outmatched against several Mako soldiers. He stuck to the road as much as possible, only coming off of it to camp in the evenings or to stay at an inn on the way. But he finally arrived at Hermitage, sitting on the edge of the stinking marshlands causing the entire village to smell like a mire. He could have swung further south and continued onto Selil, but he was running out of provisions and hunting was only getting him so far. The room ended up being rather bland and unappealing. He rode into the village, able to slip in easily as they had no guards on duty at the time he arrived. He found that to be rather sloppy, but at least it allowed him in without too much trouble. The streets were somewhat busy at this time of the day, with villagers hurrying along their business. They spared him nothing but a single glance before they went back to ignoring him. He arrived at the local Inn, The Horses Head. He eyed the name for a few moments before he nudged Aeris around the building to the stables. Once there, he dismounted and took care of his animal companion before he moved around the front and entered the Inn properly. It was busier than the one in Tiloga, and the patrons all eyed him suspiciously. The lady at the bar was frowning a little as he approached. He wondered why everyone seemed to be on edge. As soon as he looked back at someone, they immediately averted their eyes. He looked at the barmaid and said, “I would like to rent a room for the night, and something to eat.” “Jus’ passing through?” She asked. The question caused Lucius to raise an eyebrow in surprise. He slowly nodded his head and she seemed a little displeased by the answer. She then said stiffly, “Ten coppers, sir. We have beef soup on the fire.” “That will do.” He said, pulling the money and putting it down on the counter. He then moved off to an empty table before sitting down. He noticed that the people kept glancing towards him, as if expecting him to suddenly jump up and attack. It made him really curious as to why everyone was so on edge. It wasn’t long before the barmaid approached him carrying a wooden plate. In the centre there was a wooden bowl filled with a thick soup, with sliced bread ringing around it. She slid it onto the table, placing down a spoon before she made to retreat but Lucius spoke before she could, “Why is everyone so on edge?” The woman paused before she turned back at him, looking a little anxious as she twisted the material of her spotted apron, “Oh… we live in fearful times, sir. There’s a creature that keeps attacking us. Every night, something comes and someone dies.” Both of Lucius’ eyebrows shot up in surprise before he then frowned, “I see…” He paused for a moment as he picked up a piece of bread and tore it in half. He then nodded for her to go, before he turned back to his soup, figuring that he would see what would happen that night and, if he could deal with it. He was not a monster hunter, but he wasn’t limp wristed with a sword either.