Neptune

@Matty I really don't see why not. Would love to have our characters interact with one another. Donovan isn't the type to easily make friends anyway lol He tends to keep people at arms length, other than his family.

Location: Village of Ryn’tur. Rowan was usually a patient man. He needed to be in his business, and yet he found himself waiting impatiently for Natia to step around the screen so that he could see what she looked like. He could hear Glenda gently instructing her in how to put on the dress. He almost pushed himself from the wall when Glenda came back out, but he remained still, watching as she picked out a few new items before disappearing again and leaving him in the dark as he heard material rustling before it stopped and Glenda remarked on how wonderful she looked. Rowan straightened off of the wall, eager to see what Natia looked like. Every moment she remained behind the screen was akin to agony. When she did step around the screen, Rowan knew he was staring with a rather stupefied expression. He felt a stab of arousal so strong that he twitched slightly, the blood rushing to his cock so quickly it made his head spin. It took a few moments for him to get a hold of himself, and even then he had to cough as he blinked at Natia, “Oh… wow. I… am robbed for words.” He stated. Glenda came around the screen, smirking a little, “I told you, you look wonderful dear. You’ve completely robbed his silver tongue of speech.” Rowan nodded, unable to tear his eyes off of Natia. He really wished he could just throw her to the floor and fuck her hard right now, but he knew that in current company it would not be terribly polite. There was a soft knock on the door and Mary’s voice filtered through the thick wood, “Mother? There is a customer here that requests your presence.” Glenda looked up with a slight frown, “They’re going to have to wait, dear. I’m with other customers at the moment. I’ll be with them in a bit.” She replied. Rowan shook himself out of his stupor, his head twitching slightly to look at the door before his eyes moved back to Natia again and he was finally able to say, “You look absolutely beautiful, my love.”

Rose felt a little uncomfortable with everything that Anhara was saying, because there was a point to what she said. She didn’t like what the girl was implying and it made her want to step back from her, but she knew she couldn’t as there was a sink blocking her escape route. She shook her head a little, not wanting to believe what Anhara was saying, “My life isn’t planned out by God… he may have an ultimate plan for me but not everything in my life has been minutely planned by Him. God gave us Free Will, to give us the ability of Choice. So that we may decide what happens to our life. Whether we follow his plan or not, to resist temptation.” At first, she sounded a little unsure of herself, but as she spoke, she sounded more confident in herself. She needed to keep reminding herself how much God loved her, that he would never abandon here. All she had to do was keep herself faithful. “I… I’m not going to give into the temptation that you lay out to me, Anhara. I refuse to.” Rose said, looking up into Anhara’s eyes with determination. She needed to steel herself against everything that this girl and her father were going to do to her. She would weather whatever it was that came at her. She wasn’t going to allow Anahra to shake her faith so easily. She needed to cling onto her faith like a lifeline. It would keep her strong in face of what was to come. It was clear at this point, there was no way she could convince Anhara to let her go. And neither of her parents were going to magically walk in through the front door and save her. She knew her father had a gun somewhere in the house, but he had never told her were it was, and she wished right now that she knew. At the very least, their conversation was giving her a distraction from allowing her imagination to run too wild, because it wanted to bring up the worst of horrors, convinced that she was going to die at this monsters hand. Slowly, and painfully.

(By the way, feel free to control either Glenda or Mary) Location: Village of Ryn’tur. Rowan could hear shuffling from behind the screen, but he continued peering into the cabinets curiously as Glenda watched him with amusement. She turned her head back towards the screen when Natia spoke, asking for help getting dressed, “Coming, dear.” She said to warn Natia before she moved behind the screen. She then smiled when she saw Natia and the perplexed expression on her face as she tried to figure out how to put the dress on, “Oh dear. I take it you’ve never worn anything like this before?” She asked with a kind, understanding smile as she took the dress from Natia, “It’s easiest to put it on over your head. This is the frontal part, so make sure that it’s the correct way around. It would be a good idea to lift your arms as you’re putting it on, to allow them to slip into the armholes.” She instructed gently. She shifted the dress so that the front was facing towards her before she gathered up the dress from the bottom and held it up to Natia, “You should see the arm and head holes, yes? Just slip yourself in, dear and the dress should just roll down with ease.” She said, holding it out to her. By now, Rowan had stopped looking in the cabinets and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed against his chest as he waited to see what Natia would come out wearing, his fingers tapping impatiently on his arm. In the main room, Mary looked up to see the wealthy customer enter the shop. Her eyes roamed up and down his visage as she took note of his rich clothing and the amount of jewelry that was dripping from him. She gulped a little before she gave him a deep, respectful curtsey, “Of course, sir. She is in the back right now, dealing with other customers. Please, this way, and I will let her know that you’re here, sir.” She said, bowing her head a little before she opened the back door to lead him towards the room that was in the back of the workroom.

Location: Village of Ryn’tur. “Go ahead, dear.” Glenda assured her, indicating the screen, “Just pop behind there and try it on. If you need any help getting it on, just let me know and I’ll pop behind there with you.” She then smiled at Natia and said, “I’ve got several daughters so it isn’t something I haven’t seen before.” She then chuckled a little. Rowan quirked an eyebrow at her slightly before he looked down at the corset in Natia’s hand. He could imagine her in it, and it caused his cock to twitch. There was no doubt in his mind that she would look just as good in the corset as she would in his imagination. He just hoped he would be able to keep himself under control, especially in front of Glenda. He had noticed the dress that Natia had spied. He shifted to get a better look at it and smirked a little when he saw that it was a purple babydoll dress. He would love to see her in that as well. It would not only allow him to get an appreciative look at her body, but purple was his favourite colour. It was why he absolutely loved her eyes, because of their unique colour. He opened up another cabinet, finding more babydoll dresses in various colours. Another cabinet he opened, he found an interesting article of clothing. It looked almost like a dress, that would come down to Natia’s knees. It was made of a white material, and it was translucent which would allow for an uninterrupted view of her body. It was open at the front, looking more like a coat than a piece of clothing. But it seemed too inappropriate to be worn like normal clothing. Perhaps it was supposed to be worn as is, in the bedroom, or with simple underwear. He remembered once seeing a woman in something a little similar to this. She was a rich man's wife, who clearly didn’t mind her moving around in clothes that would be shocking to most people. She wore a dress that was see-through like this one, except it was a full blown dress that she had adorned with various jewels. Rowan had figured it was being used as a means to display her wealth, not to cover up her body. It was obvious that she wanted to show herself off, to attract various men. Rowan had enjoyed her company from time to time, and she was always grateful for it. As he closed the cabinet again, he doubted that Natia would wear a dress like that. Not with jewels. It wouldn’t suit her. However, he could picture her wearing a dress like that with flowers on it. That would certainly be a sight to behold.

Location: Village of Ryn’tur. Glenda only chuckled more at Natia’s bright red face as her imagination went wild. She then said, “I think I can see why he likes you. I think you have a lot more to offer than just your… ah, magic.” She said the last part in an uncomfortable tone as she didn’t seem to be sure what to make of that. The only magic she heard about, were from witches but Natia seemed too sweet and beautiful to be a witch. Still, it made her feel a little nervous and she chewed at her lower lip a little as she watched Natia move over to the Keza. Rowan was more than aware that Natia was approaching him, but he pretended not to hear her as he was inspecting a rich purple material which would no doubt cost a lot due to how rare purple was. At the tap on his shoulder, he turned around and smiled down at Natia before he raised an eyebrow a little when he saw how furiously she was blushing. She was redder than one of the rolls he had been looking at earlier. His ears twitched a little forwards in interest as he glanced over at Glenda before looking at Natia once again, “Other options? Well, that certainly sounds interesting. I think we should perhaps have a look.” He said, reaching out and wrapping an arm around Natia’s shoulders, his fingers brushing against her smooth neck although he was mindful to avoid the collar. “This way.” Glenda then said, motioning them to follow. She picked up her basket of tools before she went through a door behind the counter. Rowan gently lead Natia around the counter and through the door where they found themselves in a larger room that had more rolls of material stacked against the walls, often wrapped in simple cloth. There were a few mannequins that had dresses that were in the process of being made. There was a blond woman, who looked a little similar to Glenda, working on a yellow dress. She looked up when the two of them entered and gave them a smile. Glenda told her, “Mary, dear, could you please watch the shop floor.” “Of course, mother.” Mary said with another smile as she quickly put away her needle and thread before she stood up. Giving the two of them a small curtsey, she moved around them and left through the door they had come through. Glenda motioned with her hand for them to follow her where she lead them through another door. This room had several cabinets that were closed, hiding their contents from view. There was a screen that cut off one of the corners, as well as a measuring stool. Glenda closed the door behind them and smiled at them, “This is where the… more interesting clothes are…” She said, before moving over to one of the cabinets and opening it up. She pulled out a corset that was primarily black in colour, with red lace. It looked as if it would only barely cover the nipples of Natia, it was that small. She also pulled out what appeared to be undergarments but they looked to be more pieces of strings than actual garments, “Feel free to browse through the cabinets, dear, and look for something you like.” Glenda said with a small grin as she put the items back. Rowan raised an eyebrow before he grinned a little and commented, “Well, I had no idea you had such an interesting back room, Glenda.” The woman had the grace to blush slightly before she said, “I meet a lot of woman who want to please their husbands. I just want to provide them a service. It makes them happy, it makes their husbands very happy and it puts money in my pocket.” This caused Rowan to chuckle softly before he squeezed Natia’s shoulder a little, “Alright… pick out something very sexy then, Natia.” He told her, interested to know exactly what she would pick.

Daedrin let out a colourful Eldyrannthian curse when he heard Izanagi say that he couldn’t understand what he was actually saying. He then paused when he heard his friend say that he could try and cut through the rock, “Wait! No!” He tried to call. He extended his telepathic senses through the rock, not touching Izanagi’s mind but able to read his position and general intentions. He grimaced when he felt the man backing up, clearly intending on doing what Daedrin didn’t want him to do. If he did try and break through, then it would only bring down more of the cave and almost certainly bury them both alive. He let out a few more curses, knowing that he was going to have to use his telepathy in order to communicate. He took a deep breath, stepping back as he narrowed his blood red eyes and as he concentrated. He was going to have to be extremely careful, as Izanagi was non-Eldyrannth. Eldyrannth telepathy had a tendency to be far too strong for other species to handle, especially with how old he was. His mind would feel like Mount Everest to someone like Izanagi. Vast, with a weight that pressed in all around him. If Daedrin allowed Izanagi to be drawn into his mind, he would lose himself. So Daedrin needed to narrow the band as much as possible, to avoid any kind of danger to his friend. He reached out with a sliver of thought, connecting himself to Izanagi and telling him firmly, ‘Izanagi! Stop! If you try and break through the rocks, you will bring down more of the cave. I’m not buried at the moment, but I will be if you try and blast your way through.’ He rubbed at his forehead, sweating a little from how much he was concentrating on being careful, ‘Listen. There is an opening a little behind you. Try going down there, and see if it connects to this cave further along.’ He instructed.

Location: Village of Ryn’tur. Glenda saw the slight blush on the young woman’s cheeks and she smirked slightly as she knew what was going through Natia’s mind. She smiled down at Natia and said, “I’m sure I can convince him to pay for it without revealing to what it is you want.” She assured her, resisting the urge to reach out to pet her like she would any of her daughters. She watched as Natia glanced back at Rowan who was inspecting a light grey material with a slight frown before letting it drop as he moved onto another roll that had a light pink material with a white floral pattern. As he was inspecting the material with one hand, his other was held behind his back, his fingers loose in a relaxed manner. Glenda then looked back at Natia when the young girl began to speak, admitting her feelings of inadequacy. Glenda smiled as she reached out and gently cupped Natia’s chin and turning her head to look back at Glenda, “What a sweet child you are…” She said affectionately. She smiled down at the white haired girl and said, “You shouldn’t feel like that, my dear. I can assure you, he’s absolutely smitten with you.” She looked amused as she glanced at Rowan again before she leaned closer and said in a conspiratorial tone, “Men like to think that they don’t show their emotions much. But there are always small tell tale signs. He thinks the world of you, dear. Just look at his eyes when he looks at you again.” She glanced at Rowan before looking back at Natia again, “There are some… other kinds of outfits I can do for you, dear. Ones that… you can’t get on the shelves, so to speak. Outfits that will have your man drooling and chasing you around the bedroom.” She couldn’t help the slight giggle that escaped her before she added, “Special corsets that really show off your assets and underwear that a lady would not wear in normal circumstances.”

Kaylaen was more than happy to give into Sophia’s screamed demand, keeping his hips pressed firmly forwards with his cock balls deep inside of her. Her thrusts back into him, fuelled by her lust, only made his orgasm even more intense. It seemed to draw every drop that he had available, until his balls were aching. He had gone completely blank to the world. All that mattered was the intense pleasure that washed through his body from his orgasm. Slowly, it calmed down, leaving his body tingling pleasantly from the after effects. There was a light sheen of sweat all over his body due to the effort that he had poured into fucking Sophia. She had certainly been a lot more demanding than Emma was, demanding to get fucked hard and for him to give her every drop of his cum. She was insatiable. He doubted she was even finished, either. Slowly, he pulled his cock from the depths of her body before he looked down to see her gaping pussy leaking cum that dripped down onto the bed to soak the sheets below. He was panting heavily, trying to get oxygen into his lungs as he took a moment to relax his muscles. He felt as if he had run a marathon. Never before had he fucked someone as demanding as Sophia, and he was pretty pleased that he had been able to keep up with her. He only hoped that she liked being fucked by him, as much as he had liked fucking her. A lot of women he had encountered seemed to make him feel as if they were doing him a favour by having sex with him. Sophia, and indeed Emma, seemed to be quite grateful that he was spending the time to fuck them. They were just as happy to give pleasure as they were to receive it. Now that he had, had a few moments to rest, he felt that he could more than easily continue. The muscles in this thighs were no longer burning and his cock was still rock hard and eager for more. At the sound of Shez’s voice, Kaylaen looked towards the kitsune, blinking a little as the words registered and he gave a small nod to show that he had heard. He shifted, moving closer towards him before he looked down at Emma and saw the pooling of cum on the bed between her spread open legs, “Damn.” He said in an appreciative murmur.

Location: Village of Ryn’tur. Seeing Natia petting the material caused Rowan to smile slightly, as it looked like she was petting Baellator. It was an endearing sight. He reached out and ran his own fingers along the material again, liking how soft it felt against his fingertips. She seemed to quite like it, so that was at least one dress chosen for, not counting the white one. His fingers dropped down from the fabric as Natia explained that they created their clothes from magic. He smiled slightly at her before saying, “It takes a lot of skill to do it, but the results can be breathtaking.” He looked back at her, seeing her touching her collar for a moment. He couldn’t wait to get back to Selil and have Daedrin have a look at it, and with any luck, get it off. If anyone could do it, it would be him. While he thought she looked quite nice with a collar, he would prefer one that didn’t restrict her the way this one did. He noticed when she moved over to Glenda and spoke in a low tone. He could easily hear what she was saying, but he deliberately turned his head and tuned out her words. He figured that she wanted a little privacy for what she wanted, otherwise she wouldn’t speak in such a low tone. It was either something for herself, or a surprise for him. Either way, Rowan had no intentions of ruining it for her. Instead, he continued to inspect the other materials to see if there was anything else that could be made into a dress for her. There were some other colours that might be good, such as a light cream colour or even a light pink. Glenda looked down at Natia in slight amusement before she leaned closer and said, “I don’t personally know him, but I know what a man likes. I could make you something very nice… like partially see-through nightwear. No doubt he would love that.” She took Natia’s hand and drew her towards a corner where she picked at a corner of a material reel, lifting it up and showing Natia that it was white in colour but she could easily see through it, “I think I could do something with this… with a nice flower design. Nothing heavy, but just enough to be teasing.” She said with a slight smirk.

Daedrin paused when he felt the vibrations, automatically extending his senses to try and figure out what it was. He was sure that the cave was stable, and neither of them had been making much noise. He looked up when he heard the roof above them creaking, along with the protesting shriek of stone as it sheared away from the rest of the roof. Before Daedrin could even register what was going on, he found himself being pushed forwards and out of harms way. He found himself impacting the cave floor, causing him to instinctively go into a roll to prevent further damage. He lay there for a few moments, a little stunned. He shook his head, trying to get his bearings as the rocks continued to tumble and fall. When it had quite finished, Daedrin pushed himself up to his feet, coughing a little at the dust in the air. He waved a hand in front of his mouth, waving the dust away before he looked around. In the commotion, he had lost his torch, leaving him in complete darkness. He couldn’t even see his fingers in front of his face. He let out a soft sight before turning his head in the direction where he could hear Izanagi’s voice. He moved towards it, pausing when he stumbled over a piece of rock. He cursed under his breath, before extending his telekinetic senses. He utilised a trick one of his blind sisters used to see, by using his telekinesis as a radar that would allow him to get a vague outline of his surroundings, allowing him to see even though he was completely blind. “I can hear you, Izanagi. I’m fine, if a little dazed, and I lost my torch. If you hadn’t of pushed me, I would have been piled underneath all of that…” Daedrin called back, hoping that Izanagi could hear him as easily as he could hear his companion. He wasn’t sure how sensitive Izanagi’s hearing was. If the man couldn’t hear him, he would have to resort to telepathy, something he didn’t particularly want to do. He reached forwards, pressing his hands against the rocks and attempting to budge them, but they remained stubbornly in place, “Izanagi! I don’t think we’re going to be able to move these rocks, and I think it might cause further cave ins if you blasted it like you did that other rock. There should be an opening not far behind you. Try and take it. Hopefully it will join up with this cave.”

Location: Village of Ryn’tur. Rowan chuckled a little when Natia bundled over and hugged him. He returned the hug, stroking surprisingly soft hair, “Then I guess we should pick together, hmm?” He suggested. Glenda smiled at the two of them before asking, “So when is the big day?” Rowan looked up for a moment before he replied, “We haven’t quite decided, yet. There are a lot of details we would need to sort out, first.” “Well, if you need someone to make your wedding clothes…” Glenda trailed off suggestively before chuckling. Rowan smiled a little at her, inclining his head a little before saying, “We’ll consider it.” He then looked down at Natia’s beautiful purple eyes before he looked up and at the material that surrounded them. He figured that light colours would be more suited to Natia, with her pale complexion and hair colour. While dark colours would make a lovely contrast, they wouldn’t mesh well with her sweet personality. His eyes were drawn to a roll of light blue material. He moved over to it, running his fingers along it. It was a similar shake to what he usually wore, and he figured that it would be a little fitting if Natia had a dress that was a similar colour to what he wore. It was a soft material, clearly suede. It was tough, and durable. Expensive, but to Rowan, Natia was worth the expense. He turned to Natia and said, “I have clothes of a similar colour to this. I think it would go very well. What do you think?”

Rose barely registered it when she was turned around to face Anhara. She tried to lower her face so that she was no longer looking at the monster's face, but firm fingers gripped her chin and forced her to look up. Her chest still felt as if it was caving in on itself, restricting her lungs and making it impossible to breath. Her head felt dizzy, as if she was going to pass out at any given moment. Her eyes dropped a little, focusing on the concerned smile on the other girls lips. Rose focused on them, blocking out everything else about Anhara as she pretended that the girl in front of her wasn’t the monster come to take her from her home. She pretended that this was indeed a good friend, here to comfort her in a moment of weakness. The tight bands restricting her chest loosened a little, allowing her to gasp in a breath. But she froze once again when she heard Anhara’s words, and felt lips being placed firmly on her own. She wanted to say something back against Anhara, but her mind was not working. It was a foggy haze, that wouldn’t allow for any semblance of critical thinking. When the girl pulled away, she took in a gasp of air, trying to force it into her lungs. But it seemed to jam on her throat, and she looked back up into Anhara’s eyes. She then felt a comforting hand rubbing her back. She focused on the action, as it was soothing and measured in its pace. She used it to help regulate her breathing to gently breathe in, and out. Finally, she had calmed herself down enough to allow herself to catch her breath. She stood still in front of Anhara, her jaw clenched and breathing through her nose. Rose was blocking Anhara out, pretending that she wasn’t even there. It was helping to calm her down, and allow her to rein in her unruly emotions. When they had finally settled down, she looked back up at the girl in front of her before saying, “God might do something that I wouldn’t like, even in the end. If it is a test of my will, and a test of my love for him. To see if I would turn my back on him.” Her voice sounded a little weak, even to her own ears. It trembled slightly, and made her realise she wasn’t quite as calm as she had hoped.

Location: Star Lite Motel and Winter Flowers Zack continued to watch the suspicious figure as the woman seemed to hover around, filming anything that seemed to be nearby. Her very presence made him want to get in his car and drive off at speed, but she would no doubt find it strange. There was something about her that made him instinctively want to remain far away from her. He certainly didn’t like the fact that she was swinging a camera about. He watched her until she turned to walk back into the motel which caused him to let out a soft sigh of relief. He dropped the remains of his cigarette and scrubbed it out with his shoe before he turned and unlocked his car and got into the driver's seat. He had not seen the whore he had fucked, and he was glad that he didn’t. To avoid any chance of them meeting, he quickly turned on the engine of his car and pulled out of his parking space. He turned and left the car park to drive back towards the shop. When he arrived, he parked the car back in its usual place, behind the shop, with access to the alley. He turned off the engine and leaned back with a sigh, his green eyes shifting up to look in the backwards facing mirror. He then turned and grabbed the bag of things he had bought from the convenience store. He opened it up and pulled out his bottle of whiskey which he opened and took a large gulp. He barely flinched at the burning sensation as the liquid moved down his throat and settled into his stomach. He took several more gulps before he felt significantly settled. He got out of his car, bringing the bag with him. He closed and locked the car door before he went in through the back door of the shop. He dropped off in the staff room, hiding the bottle of alcohol so that Silvia wouldn’t find it. Zack then moved into the front of the shop where Silvia was sitting at the counter, staring blankly out of the window. He paused for a moment before saying, “I’m back.” Silvia didn’t even spare him a glance before she slipped off of her stool and headed into the back, clearly to retreat into the office. Zack gritted his teeth before closing his eyes as he let out a sigh. He opened his eyes again as he took his place at the counter, wishing that he could take another drink of the whiskey. He almost wished that he had bought several bottles now. He tried to put that thought from his mind when someone entered the shop and he forced a smile onto his face as he greeted his first customer of the day.

The thought of having to put makeup on every morning made Rose’s face scrunch up a little in disgust. That was not something she wanted to do. It just wasn’t a her thing to do. She felt that makeup would diminish what she was. And she wasn’t entirely sure why she was thinking along these lines. It seemed almost as if she had accepted the fate that was being given to her. She flinched when she felt Anhara’s warm hands on her shoulders, the skin of the other girls fingers deceptively soft, making her seemed more soft and innocent than what Rose knew she was. She wanted to turn her head, but she remained frozen where she was, too scared to move anywhere without permission. She did, however, cringe when she felt the light peck on her cheek. It felt like a rather platonic kiss, but with everything this girl had done and said, she couldn’t help but feel there was an ulterior motive behind it as if Anhara was mocking her. She looked back up into the mirror as Anhara spoke. Rose felt her entire body tense, her insides freezing when she mentioned that her ‘daddy’ was going to be here soon. Rose felt panic blossom inside of her chest, causing her eyes to widen a little as her breathing hitched. She tried to calm herself down, but she couldn’t seem to get air into her lungs. She clutched onto the bathroom sink, leaning against it for support as she gasped out, “I don’t want to see your father! I just want you to leave, and never come back! I just want… to be left alone!” The last word was forced out as her lungs felt as if they were burning. She felt as if she couldn’t breath, her vision blurring slightly. She hated losing control of herself like this, especially in front of someone like Anhara. But she couldn’t stop the panic attack from taking her like this. And to know she was in the same room as the person that was going to kidnap her away from her home and family, wasn’t helping matters. She tried to run a mantra through her mind, forcing her to take measured breaths in order to calm herself down.

Location: Village of Ryn’tur. Luckily, Rowan her been paying attention when Natia had leaned forwards to give him a kiss. He had been about to return it, but noticed that she had shifted her weight a little too forwards which caused the stool to slip out from underneath her. His quick reflexes allowed him to catch her before she fell onto the floor and hurt himself. He held her securely in his arms, looking amused as he looked down at her, “Careful, love.” He told her gently. “Oh, goodness!” Glenda said in surprised alarm. She stood up, looking over Natia with concern but quickly saw that she was fine. She put her hand over her chest where her heart was, “Goodness, dear. You gave me such a fright!” She said, shaking her head with a small smile as she pulled the stool back up. Rowan chuckled as he placed Natia back on it, making sure that she was standing upright before he looked down at her, “Don’t fall off this time.” He told her. He gave her a small kiss on her cute little nose, reaching up to stroke her cheek before standing back once again, hoping she wouldn’t lean forwards to kiss him again. After all, he didn’t want her to hurt herself. He would hate himself if he allowed any kind of harm to befall her. Glenda clicked her tongue softly, shaking her head a little with a small smile before she came forwards to begin taking measurements. She wrapped the string around Natia’s waist, pressing one end against a knot that would give her a comfortable fit before pulling it away and muttering under her breath as she remembered the measurement. She then measured the length of her torso and legs, before measuring her hips, bust and chest. Glenda then asked, “Arms out straight, please.” When Natia had done as she had asked, she measured the length of her arms as well as their circumference. Once done, she stepped back and said, “Right… I can certainly have something done for you before you leave the shop, if you wish? The rest…” She trailed off. “How much for the rest to be done by tomorrow morning?” Rowan asked. She turned to look at him with a thoughtful look, “That will cost you, dear. At least ten gold.” She told him. “I have the money.” Rowan said with an uncaring shrug. Glenda nodded with a smile before she turned back to Natia, “We already have an idea for your fancy dress… but why don’t you look at the material I have here, and take your pick as to what you want for your three other dresses?”

Roses’s mouth opened and closed a few times before she clenched her jaw as she trembled a little. She hated every word that was coming out of Anhara’s mouth. Hated them because she could muster no defence against them. What if this was God’s will? To encounter this satan’s minion? That would tempt her away from her Lord’s love? To test her in her faith? She didn’t know, and right now she wasn’t sure if she even wanted to know. She had to bite her tongue when Anhara began to speak of her parents. While she couldn’t argue back against her mother, she wanted to defend her father. He had been trying everything to keep the family together, getting Rose everything she needed and even making sure that she had a friend in Shane. He was at work, earning money so that Rose could have a roof over her head, and food in her stomach. He had been trying endlessly to get Silvia to come out of the shell she had surrounded herself with. But she held her snappy words back. This monster didn’t deserve to know just how wonderful her father was. At least her father didn’t rape her. He would never do such a thing. It would have never been their fault. Of that she was sure. It took her several moments for her to respond to Anhara’s question about make-up. Her voice was a little stiff as she said, “I’ve never used make-up. Neither has my mother. So you’re not going to find any.” The thought of ‘dolling up’ sickened her. She was not some plaything, or possession to be made pretty. It was one reason she avoided make-up. She hated how women used it to make themselves more appealing towards others. Rose felt that it was deceptive and dishonest.

Location: Village of Ryn’tur. Glenda gave a large smile when Natia seemed agreeable to the kind of dress that she had thought of, “Fantastic, dear. I promise, you will love it!” She beamed, putting her basket of tools down before she disappeared behind the counter and picked up a stool which she brought out front again, putting it down on the floor nearby, “Stand on the stool dear so I can take some measurements.” She said, kneeling down on the floor by her basket and rummaging around it, muttering to herself, “Now where did I put the string…” After a few moments she pulled out a string with evenly placed knots that were clearly meant to be used as a measurement unit, ready to take measurements of Natia so that she could create a dress that fit her perfectly. Rowan watched her with a rather amused glint to his golden eyes, yet there was a tinge of sadness to them. Glenda very much reminded himself of his own mother, Queen Narina. It had only been a couple of years since she had died, and while his sister made a fantastic Queen, he couldn’t help but miss her. She was one of the few female Keza’s that actually cared for their children. She was a fantastic mother, who cared deeply for each of her children. She would often sing him to sleep when he was a young boy, and she spoke quite similar to Glenda. Not holding back her opinion and referring to everyone as ‘dear’. He shook himself from his thoughts and smiled down at Natia as he stroked the top of her head in a comforting gesture. He knew there was nothing Glenda would do to harm Natia. After all, it was bad for business to hurt your customers.

Location: Village of Ryn’tur. Glenda gave Natia a sympathetic smile, glancing at Rowan who nodded slightly. The woman turned her attention back towards Natia as she said, “Of course, dear. I’m sorry you’ve gone through such a frightful experience.” She then tutted, “If I could get my hands on those that have hurt you, dear, I would give them the scolding their mother’s should have done years ago!” She reached out and gently brushed her thumb against Natia’s soft cheek, “And such a beautiful child, too.” She then shook her head before she straightened and asked, “But what can I do for you, dear?” “I would like at least four dresses made up for her. Nothing particularly fancy. Certainly nothing like what you have here. Natia doesn’t need anything gharish; she’s beautiful enough as it is.” Rowan said, jerking his head slightly towards the dresses on display. Glenda glanced at them before she looked back at the two, looking amused, “They are a little… much, aren’t they?” She asked before chuckling a little, “Not something I personally like, but I have customers to keep happy!” She then gave Natia an appraising look before saying, “I can see what you mean, dear sir. She looks like a delicate little flower!” She beamed at Natia before adding, “But I think at least one nice dress would be in order. Three everyday dresses and something nice for special occasions.” “As long as it’s not like those dresses.” Rowan said, giving Natia a little grin. Glenda frowned in thought, tapping her cheek for a moment, “I’m thinking white. A little frilliness to it, but nothing too heavy. Long sleeves, with draped wrists…” She trailed off as she considered to think about it. Rowan looked down at Natia and raised an eyebrow before he pictured her in such a dress. It would almost look like a wedding dress, making her appear pure and untainted. Even though she was anything but pure, she still held an air of innocence around her that Rowan found compelling.

“No doubt.” Daedrin said with a slight smile, glad that Izanagi had a backup plan just in case, however he said, “But we will still take the climbing gear. Having more than one option is always a good idea in places like this.” He then turned and walked to the other end of the cave, guided only by the light of the torch. There was a narrow opening that forced him to have to turn sideways to squeeze through. Once inside, he glanced around at the worn looking cave walls before he started moving forwards using the light of the torch to watch where he was going. There were no stalagmites nor stalactites as the cave was extremely dry, suggesting that it had not been formed by water. Possibly by volcanic, or earth shifting actions. The cave sloped down slightly, their steps echoing around them as pressed deeper. After five minutes of walking, that was when they came across their first lip. Daedrin paused and looked down, vaguely seeing the bottom. It was deep enough to require the climbing gear. He pulled out one of the metal spikes, closing his eyes as his irises turned black in colour. He knelt down and slammed the spoke into the cave floor, causing it a metallic thunk to sound around them as it slid into the rock. He manipulated it so that the metal slid directly into the rock and became anchored. He blinked, returned his eyes to their normal red colour before he tied the rope around the spike securely. He gave it a few tugs to make sure that it was before he nodded in satisfact, “There we go. Perfectly safe.” He murmured before he stood up and moved over to the lip, deciding it would be best to go first just in case Izanagi was nervous about climbing down. He moved the torch so that it was tucked on his back, out of the way but still allowing him to see. He took a tight hold of the rope, glad that his gloves would prevent him from getting any sores. He allowed himself to slowly climb over the edge, keeping a tight hold of the rope as he slowly walked down, keeping his feet on the wall of the cave as he moved down hand over hand with the rope. When he reached the bottom, he stepped back and allowed Izanagi to follow him down however he felt like. Once his friend had joined him, he pulled out his torch and turned, walking forwards again. There was a moment where he had to duck in order to move forwards, but it opened again to a slightly taller cave and the two continued moving forwards. There was a dark opening to their right which they passed. Daedrin had glanced at it, probing into it but sensing no traces of metal, so he had decided to ignore it as they continued forwards.

Location: Village of Ryn’tur. Rowan noticed how quiet Natia was when she dropped down into his eyes. Gone was that sweet little smile of hers, making him wish he could do something to bring it back. But he understood why she was being so quiet and withdrawn. She was scared and nervous. He would be, if he were in her position. He gently lowered her to the ground, but kept one arm wrapped around her shoulders and kept her close to his body. He looked at Baellator and told him, “Stay here.” The huge Aelda snorted, bobbing his head up and down for a moment before he shifted and leaned his head forwards to nuzzle Natia gently. His way of trying to help calm her down. Rowan petted him on the neck with his free hand before he gently stirred Natia towards the shop. Rowan pushed open the door, causing a gentle tingling to fill the room as he did so. The room was warm, and richly decorated with more mannequins that were dressed up. There were also multiple rolls of material. It smelt of cloth, and faintly of vanilla. The Keza allowed the door to close behind him, causing the sounds of the marketplace to become muted. There was a shuffle before a rather plump woman came through a door near the counter. She has brown hair tied up in a tight bun, and warm brown eyes. She had a kind face, if a little flushed. She saw them and smiled at them, “Ah, welcome! How may I help you?” She then paused and looked down at Natia curiously before she frowned a little as she noted what the girl was dressed in. “I want some clothes for my… fiancée. Everything she had was lost.” Rowan said, being quite casual about his intentions and feelings towards Natia, even to a complete stranger. He also didn’t lie to the woman, as Natia had indeed lost everything when she had been kidnapped from her tribe. The woman’s frown disappeared as she said, “Oh, you poor little dear!” She then tutted as she moved around the counter, picking up a basket that had various tools such as scissors, tape measures, sewing needles, threads and pins, “Robbers are an absolutely frightful group to encounter. Why, it was only last week that my brother was robbed while on his way to Selil. Took everything he had!” She said as she came over and apprised the small white haired girl before giving her a friendly smile, “My name is Glenda. What’s your name, dear?” She asked almost completely ignoring Rowan in favour of Natia. The Keza was a little amused by this, however he remained watchedful. Location: Town of Kalath Glenn had come over, holding the door open to the kitchen, staring at the little bunny girl in shock. Lorna looked up from where she been stirring the stew pot, blinking in surprise as not only Alice rushing through the basement, but Luna coming in and hovering about the door leading down into the basement. At least it meant that whatever was done there, couldn’t slip past Rayvenne. Both Glenn and Lorna blinked in surprise at the sudden turn in topic, clearly unused to the way Luna spoke. After a moment, Lorna said, “There… there is a bathing tub upstairs. I can have heated water brought up to you, so you can have a bath. It will cost you five coppers more, though. We have some soaps that you can use as well.” She looked at Glenn who gave her a perplexed look before he shook his head a little at their strange guests before he retreated back into the tavern. Neither Luna nor Alice seemed like trouble makers, thus they didn’t seem bothered by the fact that they were technically in an ‘employee only’ area of the tavern. Down in the basement, Rayvenne took the rope offered to her. She used it to tie the squirming and protesting goblin tightly, preventing it from being able to escape. She stood up, picking the creature up and tucking it under her arm, ignoring the fact that it was kicking its feet and wriggling as it tried to get away from her. She turned her dark gaze towards Alice, silent for several moments before she replied, “Possible. Either that, or he snuck in through an open window and snuck down into the basement.” She shifted the goblin, holding it in front of her so that Alice could get a better look at him, “It’s a Hobgoblin. A rather solitary goblin that loves to play pranks on people. Relatively harmless, actually.” She explained. “I would appreciate it if you weren’t talking about me, as if I wasn’t here!” The goblin said indignantly. Rayvenne snorted slightly in amusement before she asked, “How did you get in here?” “Through an open window, when the weather was warm. It’s not like as if they have any locks!” The hobgoblin said, squirming even more. Rayvenne gave Alice a rather blank look before she said, “That answers that.” She then tucked the goblin under her arm again before she moved over to the stairs and climbed them only to find Luna guarding the top. She raised an eyebrow slightly, wondering why both Alice and Luna were even there. After all, she worked alone and was comfortable with that fact. She just gave the bunny girl a little nod before saying, “The problem has been taken care of.”

Location: Star Lite Motel When Zack closed the door behind him, he stopped for several moments. He leaned back against the flimsy wood and closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. He couldn’t believe what he had just done. He had allowed his emotions and hormones control him. It had been so long since he had, had any kind of relief. That coupled with his anger, and meeting someone that reminded him so much of Silvia when he had fallen in love with her… a bitter taste filled his mouth as flashed of memory played across his eyes at what he had done to that nameless whore. He almost felt as if he raped her. She had not wanted it, and yet at the time he found himself uncaring to her needs and wants. He could have been more gentle with her, been more reassuring. But no, he had allowed himself to get out of control. It scared him to know that he had this kind of monster inside of him, capable of hurting someone in such a way. She no doubted hated him from the depths of her being, and he couldn’t blame her. Right now, he felt the same way. He was disgusted with himself. A sigh escaped him as he ran his free hand through his dark hair. At least he paid her. That was something. Pushing himself off of the door, he made his way over to where he had parked his car. He unlocked the boot, dropping his bag inside before he slammed it shut. He then turned and pushed a hand into his pocket to pull out his cigarettes. Really, he wanted something to drink but it would be a bad idea to do that until he returned to the shop. He pulled out the packet, opening it up and pulling one of the smooth white sticked from it. It was then that he noticed that he was trembling slightly and he silently cursed to himself. He brought it to his lips, putting the packet away into his pocket and he pulled out his lighter. He lit it and drew in the hot smoke, allowing it to fill his mouth. As he pulled the cigarette away from his lips, he inhaled it into his lungs, feeling the smoke penetrate deeply into them. He held his breath for a moment before he sighed and allowed the smoke to leave. Already he felt a little calmer and his trembling eased a little. It was then that he noticed a figure moving around the motel with a camera, causing him to narrow his eyes a little. It was quite unusual behaviour and it made him tense as a sliver of unease settled into his guts. He had completely frozen up before he tried to force himself to relax, taking another drag of his cigarette. Someone looking for blackmail material, perhaps? He hoped not. After all, what he had been doing was illegal in several ways. The Motel always turned a blind eye to such behaviour, but that didn’t mean that others would. He tried to appear casual, continuing to smoke his cigarette as he watched this person from the corner of his eyes, hoping that she wouldn’t come near him, speak to him or turn that damn camera in his direction.

Rose stiffened a little when she felt Anhara’s hands hovering over her body, relieved not to feel the girls fingers brushing against her flesh. She was still aware of the fingers uncomfortably close to her. Her eyebrows creased a little in confusion when Anhara claimed that while she looked so pretty and pure, she also had sexiness to her. Sexy was not a word that Rose had ever applied to herself. A word she had never wanted applied to herself. She didn’t think she was ‘sexy’ in the slightest. She looked at the mirror, trying to see exactly what it was that Anhara saw, but for the life of her, she couldn’t. Her eyes then refocused on the other girl’s reflection as she continued before she lowered her eyes. She wished Anhara had not seen those pictures. Not of her precious little sister. It revealed far too much about her. The worst part of it was, that Anhara was right. Her family was falling apart. At the very seams. It seemed as if nothing could fix them. They had ran away across the globe away from their problems, and any remaining family that they had. She jerked from her thoughts with a slight twitch when Anhara’s cheery voice sounded, causing her eyes to automatically twitch back up to the mirror to see what she had done. She stared at it for several long moments, not wanting to admit out loud that she actually quite liked it. And Anhara had done a good job. But she wasn’t going to say that, at the risk of actually encouraging the other girl. That was the last thing that she wanted to do. Let the other girl think that she was fine, and okay with this. She chewed on her lower lip a little when Anhara spoke about Halie, claiming that she had simple dreams and yet God had bigger plans for her. She found herself shaking her head a little, “I… I have prayed for change. But not this kind of change. I just… want my mother back. And I want my father to be happy again. If… if you do this… then my family will be fully broken.” Her last words were almost pleading. Pleading Anhara not to do this, to simply let her go. She didn’t want her family to be completely broken apart like this. She was their only surviving daughter, and she knew that if she disappeared, there would be no hope of her parents ever recovering.

Indeed. She's having to fight against corrupt police who aren't going to play nice.

I think that's a good idea. Having her question him at the shop is definitely going to make him nervous, though xD Especially with what happened with Aria.