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Post by Tony on Jan 10, 2019 12:44:23 GMT -5
"It's nice to meet you, Silver." Arne smiles at her as Hien takes the jerky from her hand. "And I'm sure Hien feels the same."
It's not long before everyone gathers and begins talking about their next move. Arne simply remains quiet and listens, feeling like he wouldn't be able to add my to the conversation being new to group. That is until the idea of the bathhouse is brought up. "That's not a bad idea. Some last minute relaxation before heading out sounds pretty good." Hien chirps in agreement.
After reaching the bathhouse and making sure payment is taken care of, Arne heads off to the men's changing room but is stopped by one of the employees.
"I'm sorry, sir. But pets aren't allowed in the bathing area. Your... uhh…" he take a look over at Hien, clearly uncertain about the wyvern "... dragon? Thing... is going have to wait outside."
Hien, clearly upset starts angrily chirping and growling at the employee, who quickly backs up... eyes wide with fear at the now upset creature. Arne easily plucks Hien from the air and starts to petting him, trying to calm him. "Easy there, pal. He doesn't make the rules. No reason to get so angry with him."
The employee clears his throat and speaks up, a bit shakily. "O-on second thought. I think we're making an exception today. Feel free to take... that with you." He mutters under his breath "And away from me... please."
Hien calms down, and chirps happily... "Oh, that's great." Arne pulls out a bit of money and hands it over "Sorry for his outburst there." The two head off into the changing room, as the employee lets out a sigh of relief.
Arne quickly changes out of his armor and into his swimwear, and enters the bathing area... joining Rino. He enters the water and takes a seat, letting out a contented sigh, and soon followed by Hien... who purrs softly as he floats on top of the water.
"Hey, you're... Rino, right? That was a hell of match you had against Yung last night. Especially when all those weird crystals started popping up."
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Post by Arashi on Jan 11, 2019 3:27:36 GMT -5
Silver looked quite a bit hesitant when they actually began the process of going in to the bath area. She hadn't quite thought this through entirely. Enfurnus looked at her in an assuring manner, and then wandered off to the men's side to change.
Silver changed in to the bathing suit after a few moments of hesitation, exposing her scar-ridden body a bit more than before when she was just lacking her armor. She looked down at herself and sighed after placing all of her things in to a basket, imitating what Aqua did. Being so old compared to most others left her with a bit more of a torn body than most. Her tail also sat a bit awkwardly above the bottom piece of the bikini, but it worked out decently enough, so at least there was that.
As Aqua opened the door, Silver caught a glance of the inside of the place. Her eyes were drawn to the mirrors at first and she took a few steps back upon that sight, focusing solely on that for far too long probably. She then, for a second, snapped out of it and glanced at the rest of the room. It was quite pretty considering it was man-made...however, her view was cut short when her friends went in the room and the door swung closed. She stood at the doorway for several moments. She was not used to people seeing her like this, and she wasn't quite sure what to think of it. No armor was one thing, but...a bikini?
It did, however, look enjoyable. She decided she would just simply make her way in to the center bath and not move until she had to from there. That should work.
So with a deep breath, she opened the door and...froze for a second. Terra called her over to the pools. She simply gave the woman a nervous smile, and then quickly made her way to the pool, using the basket to cover herself. She placed the basket down a bit away from the pool and quickly shoved herself in to the big pool.
She was awkwardly quiet for the time being. She looked at Terra, looked at Aqua, blushed a bit and looked away from them both. She didn't really know what to say. However, she couldn't help but notice that the water did feel really nice, and it was maybe....relaxing to sit in. She could hear Rion's voice from the other side; it was quiet, but she could still make out what he said. Part of her wished the sides were not separated, but...this was a chance to get to know the girls better.
Meanwhile, Enfurnus entered the men's side quite enthusiastically. It had been a long time since he had been to one of these, and he quite enjoyed them. They were a nice distraction from reality. He wore some simple black swim shorts, unafraid obviously to do so as he had proven at the carnival. He entered the pool after Rion and Arne, sitting near them both. He then heard Arne call Rion Rino and laughed. Then Arne mentioned the crystals, which made the dragon smirk a bit. He decided to not comment on the Rino thing, as funny as it was.
"That was pretty neat, wasn't it? Wonder where the crystals came from. You don't see those very often at all." He replied in stride, his smirk not leaving his face, after waving at both of them.
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Post by Sorrum on Jan 11, 2019 8:33:36 GMT -5
Aqua sat with her arms outstretched behind her and let her legs dangle freely in the pool. "Those hotel baths don't compare to this at all..." she commented. She looked over to the girl's and looked over their bodies, no longer covered in cloaks and armor. The elf's green eyes squinted to see through the steam and noticed something about the two of them they'd never see otherwise.
Scars covered both of the girls' bodies, with a fresh one across Terra's throat. Each a testament to a struggle they had gone through in the past, Silver's long life as a half-dragon loner and Terra's trials in tournaments and living on the streets. She admired them in that the girls were much stronger than they thought. It was a wonder to her how nobody ever told Silver how strong she was and she shouldn't be so shy, or Frida was much more capable of a life that didn't involve putting her life on the line every day. She wondered how these girls lives were so similar yet they'd seem so distant from each other.
Frida herself didn't have near this many scars, aside from a few cuts here and there she earned during her training days. She didn't believe she had an easy life, but compared to the two of them maybe she did. She certainly had the option to become a diplomat in her teenage years, to attend meetings and social gatherings to network with politicians, businessmen and whatever else have. Her decision to take up arms may have been admiration for her mother, another woman covered in scars, yet she could never imagine being on her level for hundreds of years. Even her name was hers, but it didn't make sense to many as she didn't have control over water, only ice. She climbed that mountain regardless, whether in hopelessness or..
Aqua shook her head clear of these thoughts. "Huh. Haven't thought about that in a while.." she said to herself quietly. She wondered where she was every day, perhaps time just had a way of sneaking up on her when her guard was down these days. Eager to change her mindset, she looked over to Silver, and a mischievous grin streaked across the elf's face. "So, a real shame these walls keep us separated from the boys, huh? she said to both of them.
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Post by Swim on Jan 16, 2019 4:23:59 GMT -5
As Silver entered the bath Terra couldn't help but chuckle inwardly about the dragon girl's behavior. Silver didn't seem totally comfortable either, but Terra suspected it had less to do with being ambushed by assassins and more to do with the bathing attire. Apparently it wasn't just the boys that she was modest in front of. Terra smiled and looked away, only to notice that Frida had been eyeing her up thoughtfully. It was a curious look. Terra had thought nothing of the elf's behavior at the dance, but now it dawned on her that her friend might be interested in more than men. Dragons and elves could live for many times the average human's lifespan after all, it made perfect sense to Terra that in that time they might want to experiment with different sorts of things. Terra wondered just how long those two had lived, she envied them for how much more they'd no doubt seen and accomplished than she had in her brief human life.
Brief, but not quite over yet, Terra reminded herself, rubbing the soreness out of her shoulders.
"So," Frida was saying, a look of mischief spread across her face. "A real shame these walls keep us separated from the boys, huh?" So that was the game she wanted to play.
"I don't know," Terra replied smiling, positioning herself over a geyser and letting the bubbles go to work on her back. She closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation and imagining Silver's expression. "Enfurnus is nice to look at and all, but I don't mind a little privacy to relax. I'm sure things will get more exciting than we'd like again real soon."
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Post by Arashi on Jan 17, 2019 2:54:18 GMT -5
Silver sat quietly, trying to enjoy the water without being awkward. Aqua then looked at her with some sort of playful look and commented on the walls separating them. She wasn't really sure how to take that or what Aqua was implying, so she just looked both a bit confused and slightly flustered at the same time. Luckily, she didn't have a chance to respond before Terra said something.
Something, alright. She looked at Terra with a bit of a disturbed expression. Sure, Enfurnus was well built, but he was basically like her family...so just thinking of him in that way was gross to her. She looked at Terra and blinked a few times, then laughed a small bit. It was also kind of funny that she said that...because Silver was rather used to him getting girls and then having no idea how to react towards their flirting with him. He came off as charismatic and confident to most people, but that's only because it's his job to be good at that. He's pretty shy when it comes to those things. They were alike in that way. It never stopped her from making fun of the big red dragon for it though, that's for sure.
"Eww...no."
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Post by Bloodbane on Jan 18, 2019 2:09:41 GMT -5
For a few moments, Rion took the time to simply relax alone in the warm water, though it wasn't long before he was joined by the others. Almost immediately, however, things turned slightly awkward when Arne called him Rino, which got Enfurnus laughing before the dragon inquired about what happened in the arena. "Uhhh... hoo boy, where to begin with this one..." he replied somewhat nervously, before giving a sigh. "We-well... for starters, I was just using that name to keep Logan from noticing I was around... my name's Rion." he explained to Arne, using that to lead into what happened in the arena. "Needless to say... those crystals kinda made it hard not to notice, but I couldn't very well let the alternative happen!" he added defensively, before looking over at his arm and sighing again.
"I know it's not exactly normal... and I'm still getting the hang of producing that kind of power, but I guess it's some kind of trick that runs in the family; that's really all I know." Rion chuckled briefly at that, but it was still not exactly something he could entirely explain, and he certainly would find it difficult to explain what led to that ability awakening, so he felt it was best not to go down that road if he didn't have to.
"Kind of a shame I took off before we could finish the fight, though..." He said, changing the subject as he looked over to Arne. "But you weren't too bad back there yourself! That's some pretty crazy magic to overwhelm a guy like that." He was a bit curious as to what drove Arne to tag along in this adventure, though that would be a better question to ask if he chose to continue after seeing the Blight first-hand.
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Post by Sorrum on Jan 22, 2019 0:14:06 GMT -5
Aqua nodded at Terra's words. It might have been too soon for her to try joking around with the two of them. Perhaps later, when the bath had soothed their nerves, they'd be less guarded.
A female attendant entered the bath, wearing a white smock and black pants. She carried with her some water bottles, but also a few boards. "Here ladies, some water in case you get thirsty in here." She said, placing the board in the water with the bottles on them. Aqua swam across the gap and grabbed one of the bottles herself.
"This place is actually pretty nice, gotta say. We don't have attendants to bring us drinks in The Frontier's bathhouse, they'll have to step it up once I get back. Oh, and you two will have to check it out once we catch this Blight mage."
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Post by Swim on Jan 22, 2019 2:46:07 GMT -5
Silver reacted about how Terra expected, she flashed the girl a playful grin to show that flirting with her 'brother' was all in jest. Mostly in jest anyway. An attendant came in to make sure they were comfortable, and this served as a convenient excuse to change topics. Frida used it to once again extend the invitation to visit her homeland. Terra stopped reclining and sat up. Frida's comment about the Blight brought to mind a topic she'd been wanting to talk about since they'd gotten to Eulene.
"I think I owe you an apology," Terra said, looking at Silver. "From the onset of this little adventure I've been upset at you for keeping secrets from the rest of us. I thought you were going to get everyone killed by not sharing everything you knew with us." Memories of the battle in the cave floated to the forefront of her mind. Of Silver's demented looking transformation, the feral screeching and her empty eyes. How in that moment even Enfurnus had seemed terrified. "But now... I think I know why you would've wanted to keep that from us. When we go back out there, when we find the next Blight crystal... are you going to be okay?"
- After giving Silver some time to respond, Terra had more to say. "You know, there's actually another big reason I owe you an apology. The irony just dawned on me this morning, I've been so concerned that you were hiding something that would endanger us all when I've kept a secret of my own this whole time. Last night it came back to bite me," she said, gesturing to the scar on her throat. "And it's put you all in greater danger, as if dealing with the Blight wasn't enough." It was time to tell Silver about the organization that would be hunting her. "They're called the House of Lords..."
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Post by Sorrum on Jan 26, 2019 2:32:04 GMT -5
Aqua sat stoic, listening to Terra explain to Silver her past. Surely, The Frontier could offer sanctuary for this girl. Perhaps if she could not find enjoyment or success in a craft, she would be a capable sailor. However, her future was her own to make, and being honest about her past here would be sign that she could make the best of it. Aqua decided not to interject and to let the two talk.
She noticed a small light coming from her visor through the towels, a notice that someone was trying to contact her. It was likely her father, calling to check up on her since she hasn't called recently. She sighed. It had only been a day but he was worried. She shrugged and pushed the basket aside. When the others noticed, she shrugged. "It's probably nothing that can't wait until this evening.."
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Post by Arashi on Jan 28, 2019 1:42:22 GMT -5
Silver looked a bit more serious as she listened to Terra speak. She took a deep breath, and took a moment to think carefully on her words to reply with, and hesitantly decided to be a bit more open. She looked away.
"N-no, I should have said something...but if I did, I figured nobody would find doing any of this worth it. Besides...i didn't trust any of you at first. Please understand, my powers will make me a target for everyone. Besides, I am not used to this whole...group thing." She paused for a moment again. Nobody except Rion knew about her actually having the ability to use dark magic. They just knew the crystals did something to her, and didn't seem to question what that was. It did seem logical; assuming the crystals caused her transformation. What they may have not known, though, is that any person without her abilities would simply just die if they touched one. She thought on it for a moment...and then decided that this wasn't the best time to mention that part.
"I promise you I share everything I can. My absolute last goal on this adventure is to get any of you kind people killed, and...if it were up to me, I'd do this by myself. But I cannot. I shall protect you with everything I have at my disposal." She sighed.
"...I will be okay. I just need your assistance, and Rion's light magic. If I ever transform again, worry about yourself and not me. Please. If I hurt any of you, I could never forgive myself."
She went quiet for a few moments, then Terra spoke once more. Something about the House of Lords. She narrowed her eyes a bit. So that was who attacked the group?
~
Meanwhile, on the other side, Enfurnus smirked a bit as Rion explained himself. He just shrugged, seeming to accept the explanation; though deep down he knew there had to be something more to it. Crystals, huh...and the fact that he didn't want his father to know he was around, for some reason. That was interesting, too. But, this wasn't the time or place to pry, and it didn't really matter to the dragon much anyway. Besides the crystal thing. That may be important...but not right now, either.
"In the family, huh...I see. Neat trick. I remember seeing crystal stuff years ago...lots of years ago. It's pretty neat."
He smiled a bit and left it at that, then leaned back a bit and let Arne and Rion talk.
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Post by Swim on Jan 28, 2019 3:25:44 GMT -5
Silver quietly processed the information without a word of questioning, leaving Terra somewhat surprised. Her response to the apology had seemed genuine enough but Terra could tell that she was still holding something back, despite Terra having just poured her heart out. The dragon girl was always so reserved that Terra didn't really know what to think. She'd hoped they could grow closer the way she had with Frida but Terra didn't know how to make that happen. At the very least Terra felt that she could trust Silver's intentions if not her judgment. That would have to be enough for now.
Terra swam over to the side of the tub where the attendant had left the water bottles and opened one. She enjoyed the cool sensation flowing through her body in contrast to the warm water she was immersed in. The attendants had been very thoughtful so far, Terra wondered what other services they might have at this spa. She looked back at the other two women who were still enjoying the soak and an idea came to her. Terra stepped out of the tub and wrapped a towel around herself to stop any dripping. "I'll be back in just a minute," she told the others.
A few minutes later Terra returned from the reception area, having booked time in the spa's massage parlor as well as a special request. She slipped back into the tub and informed Frida and Silver that they'd be called upon shortly. "I think I want to get my hair done too before we leave here," she told them. There was no telling how long they'd be out in the wilderness for, they might not have an opportunity like this for awhile. Additionally, a new hairstyle might help keep the House from recognizing her in the next town if she could avoid drawing too much attention onto herself, but she didn't mention this out loud in front of her companions. "I'm thinking I might get it colored, do you think I should go bleach blonde or would I look better as a redhead?"
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Post by Sorrum on Jan 31, 2019 0:30:21 GMT -5
Aqua sat back and listened to Terra explain The House again. She was hopeful that the girl would find a new life in The Frontier, away from those creeps. Silver explained why she was so secretive, but then again there were a few things she held back again. Aqua knew there was something wrong with that transformation despite her lack of experience around dragons. Another thing that crept into her mind was the book Silver had. What mysteries did the book hold?
Terra left all of a sudden, leaving the dragon alone with her. They hadn't been alone together since the time she rode on her through the sky, though with the serious tone in the bath she felt it wasn't appropriate to reminisce. Almost as quickly as she had left, Terra returned asking about massages and a hair dye. Aqua's eyes flickered with interest, then she stood up and approached Terra.
"Oh, that's a great idea!" She said out loud. "I think bleach blonde would look really good along with your armor."
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Post by Arashi on Jan 31, 2019 0:51:34 GMT -5
Silver leaned back a bit as Terra left, still processing what she had been told. Why would they be after her? She didn't really think of Terra as the type to do anything bad or deserving of being hunted. Terra, at this point, just seemed like a no-nonsense, honest type of person to her. So the people after her must not be very good ones. She would just mentally add that to her list of things to kill. While she had a hard time understanding Terra's personality, she still held a quiet respect for the woman at this point. Especially after she dragged Enfurnus off to the dance floor. That was funny.
She thought quietly for a moment, and then decided to not ask any further questions about the matter. Prying about this kind of thing wasn't in her nature, and...she didn't really care about the motives or reasons of the people hunting her. The only thing she cared about was that people were hunting someone that seemed like a perfectly nice, if not maybe a little brash, person in her group, so now those people instantly became a target in the half-dragon's mind. She decided it was best to wait on this and let Terra tell her anything she didn't outright explain when ready, or if she even wanted to say anything more at all, not really realizing Terra was open for questions. She still was a little bit shy around Terra, though a bit less so now that she got to see a softer, more open side of her. Terra then got up to do something. Silver sat quietly and tried to enjoy the bath for a few moments.
She tilted her head though upon Terra's return, telling them they would be "called upon". For what? Huh. Guess she would find out soon. She then mentioned getting her hair done and...dyed? Blonde or red. The choice was obvious in Silver's mind, but she didn't really understand human fashion, so she had no clue if her opinion made sense. Besides, Aqua said blonde.
"U-um...but how about red? I mean, you're firey, so...it suits you. But maybe Aqua is right. I don't really have much a clue what I am talking about. Sorry."
She stayed in the bath for now, not particularly interested in getting her hair done. She usually just chopped it herself anyway.
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Post by Tony on Feb 2, 2019 3:28:18 GMT -5
Arne nods listening to Rion. "I see. Not sure why you would want to stay hidden like that, but I'm sure you have your reasons. I won't pry." though he seems a bit more confused with the rather brief explanation of the crystals. "Runs in the family? First time I'm hearing about anything like this."
The conversation quickly shifts over to Arne's fight with Yung. "heh, thanks. Wasn't really sure if I was gonna be able to pull though near the end there. Though, I don't think my magic is really anything that special. Well, except for..."
He looks over to Hien, who has floated off away from the others, and is now playfully splashing about in his own little section of the pool.
"Whatever it is that makes it so I can understand that little guy. I guess we both have something we can't really explain."
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Post by Bloodbane on Feb 18, 2019 1:51:09 GMT -5
Rion shrugged his shoulders when Arne stated that he was surprised to hear about something like his ability being hereditary. "Heh, you and me both." he replied, before shrugging his shoulders. "I never really had much memory of my mother aside from what my dad told me growing up, and he never said a whole lot about her adventures... it wasn't until the other day that he brought up the crystals; guess he figured I didn't pick up on her gift, so there wasn't much sense in mentioning it." When Arne mentioned that his abilities had something to do with why the wyvern seemed to take so kindly to him, Rion simply chuckled in response.
"Is that so... Still pretty neat, having a little companion around like that." He looked over to Hien, his smirk stretching into a smile. "Looks like he's having quite a bit of fun..." He looked to Enfurnus at last. "Can't say I know a whole lot about wyverns, though... are they some kind of offshoot of dragons or something?" From what he could tell, a wyvern wasn't quite a baby dragon, not in the same sense as a dragon that would grow into someone like Enfurnus or Silver, but he figured someone who had been around the world a lot longer probably had a better idea.
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