Icarian Dreams

Ahh, alright, gotcha. Sorry, I've been trying to read all the stuff you guys wrote, but it can be a bit difficult to follow where everyone is at the moment Perfect! My plan then is Library -> Darion's room -> Alpha/Luna Wing :^

Before you guys came We used to tell a story Y'all came and broke it

Daliah felt herself heat up as she saw him just... ignore her, let her rant right in his face without giving even a reaction aside from a single disappointed sigh. She fumed, feeling herself suddenly thrust into an situation she didn't know nor anticipate, one where she suddenly realized she had no idea why the Alpha was reacting the way he did or what exactly was she getting herself into- It was... almost scary, but the emotions she felt channeled only further into her fury, making her end up with her face practically inches away from Austin's before she finally managed to get a hold of herself. "No." There it was. Her expression hardened, her muscles tensing as she prepared for his inevitable retort, ready to pounce at- "Rest, take a break." She froze. Not at his words, but rather at the tone of his voice that he conveyed them with. Tired... defeated... making her finally understand that the disappointment in his sigh was not directed at her... it was meant for himself. It seemed as if her face didn't even twitch, stuck in this twisted visage it took moments ago, and yet... something in her eyes, her demeanor, changed... softened and almost... backed off in a way, giving ground to a certain hesitation building inside of her. But he didn't let her react or voice it out. He stepped out of the room before she could cohere what just happened, and... apologized on his way out, leaving her even further stupefied with his behavior. ... "You... damn fool-" she wanted to shout after him, get him enraged somehow, but her voice came out just in a shaky whisper under her breath, making her feel like the fool instead, with her knuckles turned white from the pressure of the nails pressed into her palm and her breath trembling in a combination of anger, confusion, unease, and humiliation. What the hell happened to him? It was not how Austin reacted. It was not how he ever reacted, not how he should have reacted, and Daliah found herself just... deeply uncomfortable with that entire situation, catching herself realizing that a large part of her not only expected, but actively wanted him to bite back at her, prove correct all the things that she always used to call him and... justify her outburst in a way. Not just... roll over and apologize. She let out a groan, no, almost a growl, and turned back into the library, storming back into the center of the room, and staying there, uncertain. There wasn't really anything she needed from the library, her only purpose here was to find Auvunux, and yet... she couldn't bring herself to leave and risk running into him again. She looked at the row of books that the Alpha so meticulously evened, and practically pushed herself to walk up to them, harshly pulling a tome out of the shelf, with her rough handling, thrusting the surrounding volumes into a state of disarray. She inhaled. Her eyes glazed over the cover of the one in her hands. The title, the contents, author, none of this was important. What was important is that Auvunux has been holding this very tome before her. Reading it most likely. And right now, this alone was enough to make her want to just toss it straight into the roaring blaze of the fireplace, see it scorch and burn as the tongues of flames devour it whole, her fingers clenching down, leaving nailmarks on the hard cover and- "Grrargh~!" The book crashed into the wooden floor, bouncing once and falling onto its pages just inches from the fireplace, the burning inferno raging only inches from its fragile make, trying to, but never quite reaching far enough to catch the tome aflame. Daliah's gaze followed it absently, her hand still shaking from the gathered frustration. A tear slowly rolled onto her cheek, an empty chuckle leaving through her clenched throat. Look at me, acting like an angsty teen over... practically nothing... Her breath shook in a silent laughter as it calmed, having finally found an outlet to all her bundled-up emotions. Now, she felt just... dumb after it all, and glad that no-one was there to see her react like that, fallen prey to this near-silent rage. Now, it was just deep breaths. Wiping the tear off her cheek. She fell onto the couch, tired and weakened, and felt herself enjoying the soft padding giving in to the weight of the back of her head... Maybe Austin was right. Maybe she did need a break...

@Venari99 I'll have Daliah greet Darion first thing after she leaves the library. Which may or may not be one scene from now, depending on whether anything more happens in said library before that. Does that work for you?

God damn, I go to sleep for one night and you guys manage to produce 4 pages in this thread. Alrighty. I'm fully down to have my character get you situated, even though I don't think Daliah's primary concern are politics at the moment. Hate him or hate him, she's actually concerned about that dork of an alpha that we have That's counting in Daliah or should that be 4 then? Thanks for the rundown! Gosh, Austin has been getting so much interaction that I'm almost getting jealous. I mean, it's mostly my fault I've been inactive, but still. Speaking of: I'm asking if you want a scene, you dummy :x Why would I go looking for interaction if the interaction comes to me? Well, I'm loving what I'm seeing from you so far. It's a lovely contrast to see the brooding Alpha while everyone else around them is a horndog Aaaand... I can get Daliah there...? Where... is there exactly? I could try editing that for you, hun. I mean, she does look a bit like an oversaturated cheesestick... yum. ...goddamn that's a cute character you got there. Aaaanyway, I hope that's everything from this thread that I had to respond to. Time to get myself something to eat then I can start replying to the actual roleplay...

Gonna try to finish up that library thread tomorrow and get the Beta into a scene somewhere... Should also probably post my thrall-turned-vampire-turned-werewolves'-fucktoy character (who will have to compete with a certain white-haired scientist in that department, by the looks of it. Yay for playmates!). Could anyone maybe give me a quick primer on anything important that happened in the last... three days, is it? Also, I think I saw Lupita guiding her steps towards the library somewhere, @IsabellaRose, do you want me to keep Daliah there?

Gahh, you guys are so active, and I'm just sitting here burnt-out. Gonna have quite a bit to catch up on.

Wait... what's this? BY GOD, IT'S THE CATHOLIC CHURCH WITH A STEEL CHAIR...!

Well, I don't really remember if that conversation ever came to a conclusion, but if it did, that's certainly an option - especially since the main theme behind Daliah was basically Witch of the Wild, meaning that would fit quite well. ^^ Could have been just alchemy as well - a bit akin to what I had hoped she would have been working on recently; A slightly darker contrast to Samara's more medical/pharmaceutical approach I would imagine.

The taller of the pair, Naomi, stepped slowly right after her mistress, taking brisk, careful looks around the corners of the room – the kind of looks you give after you’ve spent the last hour seemingly walking in circles through the halls of an ancient castle and at this point pretty much expect every further room or corridor to lead you exactly where you didn’t intend to end up – likely the same place you’ve been to a solid few minutes before. This room that they’ve found, however, was something of a novelty (if something that would have looked ancient two hundred years ago could be called a novelty), and that filled Naomi with a certain sense of confidence that maybe they weren’t cursed to see the same three gargoyles that they’ve seemingly passed at least half a dozen of times already for the entire eternity. Though the expression relief didn’t exactly paint on her face. What did paint on her face, however, was a faint smile that widened as she saw Leila looking straight at her, bringing a pleasant tingle in her heart as the vampiress took in her form, glad that her appearance was making her little mistress happy. She grunted, surprisingly softly, as her breast got fondled, and looked over to the ballroom when Leila spoke about the potential events they could hold there, already able to see the speakers hanging from the tall columns, the lights they could mount near the ceiling… though a bit of uncertainty loomed in her eyes once she heard the mention of “fancy balls” and “nice dresses”. She turned them back towards Leila with slight worry, though the vampire already managed to change the subject. “I… don’t know. I’ve only ever traveled... It doesn’t really bother me,” she responded to her question truthfully, only now really even starting to consider the idea of “settling down”. In truth, it was difficult to even think of anything other than just a temporary stay. “Umh… wouldn’t it get a bit… boring though?” she questioned, trying to visualize how their day-to-day life would look like that, and already feeling slightly nostalgic towards crashing round the country, living where their eyes would take them…

Only now noticed your edit. Well, the character reason is that her ambitions would have made her seek out a higher position. The story reason was purposefully left ambiguous to leave room for speculation and potentially expanding upon that plot someday later, but if that would please you, I can try to come up with something now. If being a warrior is a prerequisite to being a Beta, then I have to admit I'm in a bit of a pickle, considering that a large part of Daliah is that she's not really suited to combat compared to the rest of the pack. Really not sure what to do in that case.

Oh, absolutely, Daliah would make for an awful spiritual guide

Alright, thanks for the elaboration. I'll adjust my backstory then.

Ah fine, I guess I can cut that off from the description then.

This reminds me, would you mind if we clarified a bit the extent to which Samara and Daliah handle the spiritual part of their duties? There's quite a bit of overlap, considering Daliah was created to be a spiritual leader for the pack, and I think you've actually had Samara call herself a spiritual leader in one scene I was thinking Daliah could handle the more large-scale things - stuff that would mostly relate to the pack as a whole: rituals, seeking counsel with the ancestor spirits, and such, whilst we could have Samara work on a more personal level with the members of the pack - such as helping out the Alpha's spiritual side in this example. How would that sound to you? (Obviously we can definitely also have some tension with either of the sides feeling like the other is stepping on their toes )

Oh certainly. It's been a lovely exchange by the way. Gonna respond to one other thing then try to finish up the scene afterwards ^^

@BladeRunner Well damn, now I feel bad after that last post... :'p Welp, if anyone wants to steal Daliah for a scene, I guess she's free now too, then!

“Old bat” Daliah scowled. She knew that Auvunux was merely teasing, but she did feel that their old leader deserved more respect than that. She nearly always felt that way when the two had been exchanging blows, be it verbally or out there, in the field. The brashness and pride of the younger wolf…. Yes… it was not difficult to gather why Austin had been losing every clash with his predecessor. The old Alpha could see things other people didn’t. Daliah smiled to herself. She wondered what he saw in her that made him choose her as his second back then. Whatever it must have been, it only made her grow proud. But then, fallen into this deliberation, Auvunux’s inquisitive eyes pulled her out of it, and… practically kept her pinned as she felt her heart thump a little stronger, a certain… ache building behind the amber cover of her irides. Her hand pressed a bit deeper into his arm, conflicting emotions fighting for dominance inside of her. She could see the same thing happen to him... Why… if she had just stated her position on this…? And then, finally, he moved. Doing exactly what she should have hoped he would do, and yet leaving her only more frustrated than she had been in the first place. Her fingers, so abruptly removed from his arm, curled into a fist, her nails digging into the textured skin of her palm. She felt… angry. At him, for… getting so close… and this… emotionless disregard that he treated her with… And at herself, for coming off like some desperate teenager, trying to… woo a boy she fancied. What was she even trying to accomplish…? She exhaled deeply and slowly, trying to clear her mind, pull herself away from this building… turmoil of emotions within her. The decision he voiced only made it ever so harder. So that was his idea? Run away and leave her to deal with this mess? She closed her eyes, staring into the fire through her closed eyelids, trying to focus on the blurry shapes of light trying to push through to distract herself from the frustration building up within her. Fruitlessly. “So that’s what you're gonna do? Leave, hoping that things will solve on their own while you aren’t looking?” She snarled quietly after him, but felt the voice shake faintly in her throat, finding herself expressing perhaps a little bit more than she intended. “Is it a walk you want or an escape from responsibilities?” The bottom of her loose-fitting robe swept almost aggressively across the floor as she shortened the distance between her and Austin in a few quick, long steps. Her eyes yet again turned to his face intensely, this time, however, filled with a different kind of determination. Her hand twitched, wanting to push into his chest accusatorily, put him on the defense on the physical level as well, but she barely managed to control herself, merely looking at him with a certain savagery in her eye. “Have you even been listening to what I said? You’re sending me to relay an order that you know won’t be followed, to an audience whom you know won’t be pleased with it.” And you know damn well who gets blamed when bad news are delivered. "And that's your entire plan...?" She took a breath, preparing to spit out a few more passionate words at him, but then breathed out again, lowering a hand that she just realized she had raised. Her head shook in what could only have been disbelief. “You know what? Fine. Go, take your walk. I'll do what you asked.” And sort out your mess. Again.

Hey, since I see some action started happening in the Foyer that may soon involve Austin/Daliah and I don't know how quickly it may progress, I just wanted to ask that I get at least one more post in in the Library before we link the scenes in any way. Daliah's not quite finished with the alpha yet.

'tis the mating season! In... a week or so, but still!

Oh, absolutely. Can't wait for the pair to walk in on their leaders at the most inopportune of times

Oooh boy. Alicia's message. If you were planning on throwing the pack into even more disarray, I'm pretty sure you've succeeded @Chiyako

“There’s a window, in the Gamma’s wing, that goes out straight onto the woods to the north. I used to stay and watch after lessons as the warriors came in and out.” A faint smile spread on the woman's face as she reminisced the memories. “I still remember when they first brought you in. Even then you stood over two heads taller than the rest of the group." Her head shifted slightly, looking back at Austin from behind the platinum curtain of her hair, her lips giving him a tiny smirk. But then her expression grew serious. “Do you really think they would have fallen in line if the old man told them to? Or would they have sneaked out between watches to hunt on their own terms?” The question hung in the air as she breathed out in wistfulness. Her heart still ached a little at the memory of the previous Alpha... The old leader made it all look so easy. Made it seem like he had it all figured out. And yet again Daliah wondered how much of it was true. How much of his confidence was just that – a good face to whatever game he was playing at the moment. It felt like such a long time since she and Auvunux were his Betas. It always felt like he was trying to teach more than actually take council from them. And yet there they were, years after his death, struggling with what felt like the most obvious of threats. She felt the motion of air on her arm even before he caressed it, making her head twitch, alerted, and turn slightly towards him. Her eyes looked up towards his face, then lowered, focusing on the hand that rested on her shoulder, staying in that position for a few seconds longer, seemingly lost in thought. She could have shifted away. Perhaps she should have. But even as she deliberated, he could feel her muscles relax under his hand, her shoulder fall slightly downwards. “And yet some paths you can only walk once..." Letting out a quiet, nostalgic breath, she turned slightly under his grasp, sliding her other hand up the arm that held her, gently starting to roll his sleeve up. Her eyes followed the motion as it moved up his body. "...and some wounds...” Very faintly, her finger rested down against his muscles, feeling out the rough texture of his skin, before, in a slow, careful caress sliding down alongside the edge of one of the countless scars that marked the man's flesh. "...they run just too deep to heal," she finished, with the last word turning her eyes towards the Alpha, seeking out his. Her hand slowly finished its course, and yet lingered on his arm, her fingers coiling slightly, almost comfortingly into his skin.

Oh, we've got @IsabellaRose on board! Glad to have you with us! :3