73?
HECC YOU DESERVE MORE

NON
FIGHT ME
YOU DESERVE ALL OF THEM

WOOOOOOOOOP

I'll be checking this throughout the day if anyone's here.

I am vaguely here
And I'm still in the car going t' seaside
r.i.p

//BRO NO YOU DESERVE MORE

I kinda want to do a mini RP
But I don't know what we'd RP about. XD

e v e r y t h i n g

an RP about /everything/
that sounds good

yes
yes it does

Wha's good?

In all seriousness, I don't know what to RP about. XD I have plenty of random characters to RP with, though, so we can if you want to.

Hey there Aggron.

@Radiant Sup? My choice of characters is far more limited than yours, unfortunately.

Shall we all just chuck some random characters together? XD
I'll probably use someone like Dispair or Catacus ;v;

@King Sure. Actually because of my limited choices, I think it would be more fun if you guys picked who I used.

*Use

I can use anyone from #RadiantOC, let me just look through it. XD

(Aggron) Hmm, I don't really know any of your characters besides the Shacklestone ones. Maybe an alternate version of one of them?

I miiiiight use Crowley or Anastasia...

(Oh my god I just thought
a tiny angery plant vs a massive dragon
hooooo boi)

(Death to angry plants)

(I'm not really sure whether anyone is still here or not. XD)

@Radiant That'd be fine. Here. #AggronOC

(Aggron) Maybe Ardens, Vitis or Jerry?
If you used Vitis then I probably won't use Crowley, I'd want to see how he interacts with other people.

@Radiant Haven't used Ardens in a while. Imma use him.

I'm going to use #RRAnastasia, I use Crowley too much anyway. XD
What kind of setting are we going to be in?

@Radiant Okie dokie. I'm not sure. @King, you still here?

aaa I just got home ;w;

We need a setting that everyone's characters will sorta make sense in. XD

I might not actually be here for very long, depends when my wifi gets switched off tonight. It's usually earlier than on Saturdays.

Maybe like...a forest or mountain or something? XD
And that's okay! ^w^

@Radiant Then we'll start as soon as we can.

How about a forest underneath a mountain?
And there should be a river.
And a village full of people nearby--

@All I'm cool with that.

Yeeeeee-
Who wants to start? .w.

I don't know how to start, so someone else can. XD

@King Do iiiiiiiitttttt! : D

Actually, nvm, I want to do it.

King might've already started typing a comment by now.

oops.

I'll give him a few minutes before I post what I've got.

{It's a cool, cloudy day in this particular forest, where few dare to tread. There are rumours that the dead walk again here, and that they are quite disagreable. Through the forest walks a man, flanked on both sides by two others. (Ardens in a human form I never drew XD) On his left is a tall figure with a feathered headress and leather armor. On his right, a giant of a man with gleaming armor, crafted in the likeness of a bull. The man in the center is of average height, wearing black clothing. His hair is a dark brown and his rugged face bears a thick beard. His eyes are the most unsettling, being black where they should be white and red where any other color would suffice. He walks with his group in silence, making no attempt to hide his presence in these woods.}

On a small cliff edge overlooking the forest, a blue dragon some fifteen-sixteen lay stretched out like a cat, enjoying the scenery before she had to return to her master's side. As she dozed, the sound of human footsteps from somewhere among the trees reached her ears. She sat up at once, curious as to who else might be wandering in these woods.

With barely a sound, Anastasia jumped down from the cliff. Colours swirled around her as unearthly magic took hold, changing her shape into that of a tall woman with long purple hair, a dark cloak, and green eyes. She set off into the trees, humming to herself.

*fifteen-sixteen feet
I'm forgetting words. XD

{Upon hearing a woman's humming, the trio stops. The man in the middle, directs the other two to go towards the sound. The one bearing the feathered headdress takes off running, covering an alarming amount of ground in a short amount of time. The larger one simply lumbers in Ana's direction.}

(Since everyone else is using human forms I might as well use Catacus' that I've drawn like once XD)

A young boy watches the trio from thick undergrowth, green-furred felinesque ears flattened against his head. He watches them pass with curiousity, wondering why they were there. Getting onto his feet but staying low, he creeps along the bushes, keeping one hand on the floor, his red eyes studying them carefully.

(late comment ftw-)

The footsteps grew louder, and Ana recognised that there were at least two sets, one of them running quite fast. She stopped and leaned against a tree trunk, raising both hands and clasping them together at eye level. 'Cloak,' she whispered, and the air shimmered around her for an instant before her form disappeared. She was completely invisible, but she couldn't hide any sounds she made, or her scent if her pursuers were able to detect it.

She kept very still and waited for them to show themselves.

{The feathered one arrives first, and stops only a few feet away from Ana. As it looks about, it becomes clear that this individual is dead. It's face is mostly skeletal and its body is still decomposing. It looks about for any source of the sound, inadvertently turning its back on Ana.}

{As his two cohorts left, the last figure simply stands and addresses Cactus.}"I know you're there. Reveal yourself."

Ana smiled at the sight of the skeletal creature. //A being of the undead,// she thought, impressed that someone had the ability to summon such creatures. It was a difficult art; even she could only control ghosts, not physical corpses.

When the creature turned away from her, she reached down, picked up a small stone off the ground and threw it at the back of his head. The movement broke her spell of invisibility.

{The feathered draugr turns violently upon feeling the stone, quick enough to catch Ana's outline before she disappeared Shrieking at a high pitch, the draugr lunges at aAna, attempting to grab a hold of her.}

He gasps softly, taken back for a moment. A strange, green shimmering coats his body as he swiftly shifts into his feline form, pushing through the bushes with a quiet "miaow", trying to look as innocent as possible, his spikes tail gently swishing.

Letting out a laugh that didn't sound entirely sane, Anastasia cancelled her Cloak spell completely and skipped backwards to evade the draugr's lunge. She didn't have a vampire's reflexes, but she was still quicker than most. 'Now, that's NOT a very polite way to greet someone,' she said reproachfully. 'Can't you introduce yourself before we try to kill each other?'

{The man turns and stares down at Cactus, his red eyes scrutinizing the feline.}"And what business have you in my domain, shifter?"

{The feathered draugr takes a moment to observe Ana before speaking. The draugr's voice is surprisingly smooth for a rotten corpse.}"You are not welcome here. Leave."
{From behind him, comes the larger draugr, pushing aside a dead tree as it comes. This one speaks in a deep, gruff voice.}"But before you do, what's with the stupid witch hat? Is it All Hallows Eve already?"

Instantly, Ana's expression switches from humorous to enraged. 'How dare you?' she hissed, clutching the hat to her head protectively. 'I'm a WITCH! Why else do you think I'd be wearing a witch's hat?! And what do you mean by saying I'm not welcome here? Answer before I decide to start using magic!'

{The larger draugr just laughs while the feathered one explains.}"Don't take it personally, no one's welcome here. The master simply doesn't want any.......visitors. If you don't leave on your own free will, we will have to remove you forcibly. Sorry, but we have to follow orders."

He hisses softly, sitting close to the bushes with hunched shoulders.
"I'm a plant. I grow here. Shoo."
He grumbles, seeming to not care that he apparently owned the land they were in.

Ana tilted the brim of her hat down to shadow her eyes, and grinned nastily. 'You want to play rough, do you? I don't listen to anyone except one man. You can complain all you like, but I go where I want.' She raised one arm and thrust her hand sharply in the direction of the feathered draugr, sending out a blast of magic designed not to cause harm, but simply to throw it backwards.

@King {The mysterious man narrows his eyes at the cat}"And just who are you exactly?"

{The feathered draugr put up its arms in an attempt to block, but it was so lightweight that it went flying anyway. As it flew, it yelled out to its fellow draugr}"Get her!" {Laughing in its deep voice, the larger one took a massive double-bit axe from off its back.}"Ooooh, feisty!" {With an idle swing, the larger draugr fells a tall pine, trying to crush Ana with it.}

@Aggron
"I'm a plant. I just said. But if you the exacts, the name's Catacus. I'm, uh..."
He gestures at himself with his tail.
"I'm sure you can guess why."

Ana started laughing as well, then stopped abruptly when she noticed the tree falling down on her. Just before it struck, she shouted, 'Ward!' while performing a quick gesture with both hands. A transparent silvery-blue barrier shaped like a dome materialised around her, and the falling tree bounced against it and rolled off. The force of the blow shattered Ana's shield, but left her unharmed.

She smiled at the draugr. 'Surely you can do better than that.' She knew it would be a few seconds before she could raise another barrier, but she didn't think he'd be able to harm her anyway.

{The large draugr just smiles.}"I am so glad you asked." {The large draugr lunges forward at Ana, swinging its large axe at her in a wide sweeping motion. The feathered draugr gets up quickly and runs to the opposite side of Ana, waiting for the right time to strike.}

{The man's expression lightens a bit, as he accepts that this is indeed an indigenous creature.}"Very well, Cactus. I'd love to chat, but I'm afraid I have pressing matters to tend to." {He then turns and begins to head towards Ana and his minions.}

Ana ducked quickly underneath the axe blow, which knocked her hat off her head. She shrieked in rage and sent out another blast of magic, this time to tear the draugr's axe out of his grip. She was too focused on him to notice the other draugr behind her.

{The magic causes the large draugr to stumble, as it refuses to let go of its weapon. The feathered draugr takes advantage of Ana being distracted to run up behind her and slash at her lower back.}

"Can I come too? I'm bored with all this photosynthesizing. And the others around here don't talk much. It's better to just leaf them to it."
He trots after the man, a trail of very small wildflowers sprouting behind him as he runs. He doesn't seem to have noticed his accidental pun, or acknowledge it.

{The man does not slow, but he does reply to Cactus.}"If you wish, but I cannot be held responsible to what may come."

Feeling the slash, Ana whipped around to face the feathered draugr and thrust out her left hand in its direction. 'Excruciate!' she hissed, using the spell that would cause brief but immense pain to rip through an opponent's body. However, with the draugr being an undead creature, there was a chance the magic wouldn't even work on it.

"I'll be fine! My dad says that I can handle myself in a fight, and he's the most powerful person I know."
The small greenish cat says with a little pride, puffing his chest out slightly. His ears prick up at the sounds of distant fighting, his pace quickening so he could catch up.

{The feathered one knew of that spell. It also knew that it wouldn't work, given the draugr's inability to feel pain, mostly due to its lack of nerves to begin with. Taking advantage of this, the feathered one grabbed Ana by the arm and put its long, thin blade through her right shoulder. At the same time, the feathered draugr tried to wrestle her to the ground, but being so light, that proved more difficult.}

{The man stops about twenty feet away from the fight. He can see that his minions currently have the upper hand, and so decides to wait a moment for them to get Ana under control.}

Ana yelled in pain from the blade wound and fought fiercely against the draugr's hold. It could not force her to the ground, being too light, but she wasn't able to break free. After a moment she stopped struggling and spat in the draugr's face. 'My master will hunt you down amd destroy you if you kill me!' she snarled.

{The feathered draugr gave no response to being spat at. Before it could speak, however, its master spoke.}"And who exactly //is// your master?" {The strange man walked forth.}"Thesseus, don't kill her, but don't let her go either. Minos, don't let her escape if she breaks free." {The two draugrs obey accordingly.}

Ana turned to watch the man's approach, not seeming surprised. //I knew their master must be nearby,// she thought. Then she raised her head proudly and said, 'Is this how you greet everyone who decides to go for a walk in this forest?'

Surveying the situation for a moment, he looks up at the man then sits, waiting patiently for something else to happen.

(I gotta go. If anyone wants to continue this interaction tomorrow or some other day, I'm up for it!)

@Radiant Yes! We should! Bye!

(Sure thing!! (Ugh I woke up at 4am k.ill me XD))

(I woke up at 9AM because there are some workmen fixing our garage roof and the noise sounds like the whole house is being knocked down)

(Oh god
That sounds so spooky
Fight them)

(They've left now
The house is still intact)

(Thank god)

Re: it helpes a lot thnx so much!!!

Wha's good, y'all?

sPOOKY-

Spooky things are good

Hey!
I'll be checking in from time to time, so feel free to write something in response to Ana's thing and I'll reply as soon as I see it.

{The man simply raised a brow at Ana.}"Just the ones who won't leave. These two were told to drive off any intruders. The mere fact that Theseus has a hold of you and has wounded you clearly tells me that you resisted. And anyone in their right mind would turn tail and run when confronted by the undead. So, I ask again; Who is your master and why have they sent you?

Ana gazed at him in disgust, wrinkling her nose. 'My master didn't send me here!' she snapped. 'I flew here by myself because I felt dark magic coming from these woods and wanted to know if it was real. And it looks like I was right!' she added smugly, looking around at the two undead warriors holding her. 'So, what ARE you people up to?'

"I'm photosynthesizing."
Catacus pipes up, curling his spiked tail around his feet.
"I think these guys live here or somethin'."
He says while reaching with a back leg to scratch behind his ear, shaking his head afterwards.

{The man gives a puzzled, yet concerned look. //She could sense me? She must be magical then.//}"I'm just living here, peacefully. I have these two drive off outsiders because I wish to be left alone."

Ana raised one eyebrow disbelievingly. 'You get these guys to attack people who enter your forest because you want to live peacefully? That doesn't sound right. I think you're doing something here that you don't want anyone to know about.' She wasn't actually sure that was true, but this man was practising dark magic. She was pretty sure peaceful people didn't do that.

While she spoke, she let her gaze wander to Catacus. //Ooh, he looks like a plant. Wait, he IS a plant?//

{The man scowled at Ana. As he speaks, he walks towards Ana and picks her hat off the ground and inspects the gash in it.}"Well, when troglodytic human villagers want to kill you just because your eyes are scary, you kinda have to post guards so you can sleep at night." {

Ana let out a cackling laugh. 'OHH, I understand now! You're hiding here because people are trying to kill you!' Before she could go on, she realised the man was holding her hat, and she glared at him. 'Hey, give that back!' She yanked her arm out of the draugr's grip and made a lunge for it.

(nOT ANYMORE-)

He looks back at her, his gaze hardening slightly as he sticks hit tongue out at her. A few spindly roots from the surrounding flowers and other plants begin to poke out of the ground and curl towards him, but with a sharp glare from the green cat they swiftly retreat. He then rolls his shoulders a little, seeming a little uncomfortable from that short experience.

(Tfw very late comments)

{As Ana makes her lunge, Minos simply reaches out, grabs her by her wounded arm, and picks her up off the ground. The man doesn't even react to this.}
Minos:"Tsk, tsk, where are your manners, little lady."
Ardens:"Hey, Cactus, hold this." {Hands Cactus the hat.}
"Why don't you tell me your name, young lady?"

Letting out a yelp of surprise and pain, Ana fought for a moment to break free of Minos before giving up and glaring violently at Ardens instead. 'Anastasia,' she said through gritted teeth. 'Also known by some people as Deadwalker or The Violet Witch. What's YOUR name, kind gentleman?' she added sarcastically.

{Ardens does not turn to face Ana as he speaks.}"Before, I was known as Ardens Cornu, The Living Inferno, and Death's Right Hand. Now, I am simply Ardens. What is the name of your master?"

'Ooh, very dramatic,' Ana said snidely. 'My master's name is Sargon, known by his /lesser/ minions as The Silver Count. Long ago, maybe he had a surname, but he's very old, and doesn't bother with such things anymore. Why do you want to know who he is?'

He bats the hat a little when it gets passed to him, then shifts into his human form with a green glimmer. He repositions himself so he's sat cross-legged on the ground, then places the hat on his head with a slight grin.
"This is a pretty nifty hat, miss. Where'd you get it?"
He looks up at her, seeming to not be paying attention to the conversation.

Ardens:"I'd like to know what kind of person he is, and what kind of person you are." {In truth, however, Ardens was trying to assess whether Ana and Sargon were threats to him and his interests.} "Given the fact that you just came here without invitation tells me that you are a rude person by nature. Furthermore, your ignorance to the warning imparted to you by my associates tells me that you may be somewhat......unhinged. If your master lets you come to such remote places, where communication may be hindered due to distance, on your breaks, I take it your position under him is trivial, at best."

Briefly distracted from her conversation with Ardens, Ana switched her gaze over to the cat... plant... thing.

'Mind your own business, and don't you even think about doing anything to that hat,' she growled.

Ana whipped back to face Ardens, her expression darkening with anger. 'First of all, I didn't KNOW this place belonged to you!' she said loudly. 'It's not like there was a SIGN! And secondly, don't you dare suggest that my relationship with my master is trivial. He trusts me, and that's why he lets me go wherever I want! He knows I'll always return to him on time.'

Catacus huddles himself up, hugging his knees into his chest. He never likes it when voices are raised, or when people are angry, and when people do that something bad always comes of it. He knows from experience. He looks up at the adults with slight fear in his eyes.

{Ardens grins widely at Cactus, out of sight of Ana.}"Perhaps not, but you said you could //sense// me, which means that you //knew// I was here, and yet you came anyway. Also, surely you've heard the rumours I've spread, about the dead walking again within these woods? And it looks like you're going to be late to meet your master, seeing how your wrist is firmly caught in the hand of an undead behemoth. Tell me more about this //Sargon// that you hold in such high regard."

Ana sniffed irritably. 'I haven't heard any rumours. You seem to think very highly of yourself for somebody hiding in a forest. Maybe people don't pay as much attention to you as you think.' Suddenly, she grinned. 'But I'm happy to tell you more about my master. He is an ancient vampire... maybe one of the oldest in the land. He might not be able to control draugrs, but he has other powers. He can transform himself into any animal he likes, and summon weapons with just a thought. You're lucky he probably isn't interested in you. You wouldn't want to fight him...'

(I'm going to be a bit slow now, I'm going back on my DS and I have to multitask.)

{Ardens' expression changes when he notices Cactus' look of fear.}"Cactus, you don't need to stay if this is making you uncomfortable. I can handle this on my own. Anastasia, I'd be glad if no one pays attention to me. Hmmm, your master does sound formidable. What are his current goals? A man of his strength must have ambitions."

( @Radiant OK)

'His goals don't involve you, you nosy man,' said Ana haughtily. 'But if you MUST know, he doesn't have a particular goal right now, but he's spent most of his life trying to help other vampires. Sometimes he solves disputes between vampires and humans, stopping either side from murdering the other. Sometimes he kills humans who kill vampires. Everything he does is for the good of his people.'

(Just in case anyone wondered, though I've been talking about Ana and Sargon, this RP doesn't have anything to do with Shackestone. It's in a completely different world.)

"Nah, nah I'm good...plants are strong."
He says quietly while rubbing at his nose. A small root from a neighboring tree slowly uproots itself, curling around his hand that he's kept placed on the ground. Catacus doesn't flinch, seeming to expect it.
"And hey, this Sargon seems pretty cool!...Though not as cool as my dad or Oliver, 'cus they help everyone not just vampires."
As he speaks, the volume of his voice slowly quietens into a mumble by the end of it.

( @Radiant Of course.){Ardens nods at Cactus before turning to Ana. }"Well, now he sounds like quite the good samaritan. However, I know from experience that people that powerful with pure intentions don't have those under them call them //Master//. It's generally something a bit more informal, like, their first name. Why does he consider himself above his own people?"

At that, Ana looked a little embarrassed. 'He doesn't MAKE everyone call him 'master'. Most of those following him call him 'The Count'. I choose to call him my master, because... well, I think he deserves all the respect I can give him!'

She glanced at Catacus once or twice while she spoke, not liking that the creature still had her precious hat.

{Ardens catches Ana's look of embarrassment and smiles.}"Oh......... you //fancy// him, don't you? You call him master so he'll like you." ;)

'I do not!' Ana exclaimed untruthfully. 'He's my boss and I respect him, that's all! Why are we even talking about this?' She glared at Ardens. 'Let me go and give me my hat back, or I'll blast you and your draugrs into the next country.'

{Ardens laughs heartily.}"So you fancy him, but the question remains, does he fancy you? Let you go? But we haven't finished our conversation. I'd very much like to know more about this Sargon character, and seeing how big of a crush you have on him, I think there's a lot more you can tell me."

'I'm not telling you anything else about him,' said Anastasia, looking even more embarrassed when Ardens asked if Sargon fancied /her./ 'Maybe, just maybe. I'll talk to you if you let me go. You're quite an interesting person yourself. I'd like to know why you're sitting out here all alone, experimenting with dark magic...'

{Ardens is now grinning from ear to ear.}"Minos, let her down now."
Minos:"But sir!"
Ardens:"You heard her, she'll only continue if you let her down. And I believe we can discuss things like civilized people, can't we, dear?"
{Minos reluctantly lets Ana down to the floor.}

Once she was free, Ana smoothed out her long cloak and scowled at Ardens. 'Well, you wanted to talk,' she said sullenly. 'So start talking. And remember I can still destroy you all with a bit of magic if I want to, so be very careful what you say.'

She shot yet another glance towards Catacus, wondering if she could grab her hat from him while everyone was distracted.

{Still smiling, Ardens speaks.}"I hit a nerve talking about how your boss might not like you as much as you like him, didn't I? No matter. Before I tell you about me, I'd like to know one last thing about your master. Is he nearby?"

'No,' she replied in the same sullen tone of voice. 'He travels a lot, but right now he's staying in a town many miles from here. If he's nearby, he can speak to me through his mind, but he's too far away for that now.' She crossed her arms.

{Ardens gives a look of interest.}"He's a telepath, eh? Interesting. I'm sure you're wondering about me, so I'll start with your question. I'm not experimenting at all. I've already learned and mastered Dark Magic and Necromancy. I just use it because I have it and I mind as well. I'm out here alone because...the people of this land, or any land for that matter, don't take kindly to the mutilation and exploitation of the dead. So, I have to be here, otherwise...."
???:"Ardens?"
{Cutting off Ardens mid sentence, the voice of a woman sounds out through the trees. At hearing this, Ardens dropped his smile. you see, Ardens wasn't being completely truthful when he said he was 'alone'.}

Ana had been listening to Ardens's speech with veiled interest, but when they heard the unfamiliar woman's voice, her head snapped up to listen intently. A slow, nasty smile spread over her face when she realised the woman had called Ardens's name. 'Oh, Ardens,' she said, grinning. 'You don't have a girlfriend, do you?'

( @King You still around?) {Ardens didn't answer Ana. He simply turned to address the woman who has now come into sight. She was a tall woman in thick, canvas pants and an apron, all of it stained in soot. In one hand, she held a blacksmith's hammer.}
Woman:"Ardens, you've been gone for an hour now! I was worried that.....Ardens, who is that?"
{Ardens hesitates, then speaks.}"Her? She's just another clueless tourist who wandered into the woods. Go back home, I'll send her on her way, and I'll be right there."

'I am not a tourist!' said Ana indignantly, but she couldn't hide her smile at how things seemed to be going for Ardens. //I don't know what's going on, but he sure doesn't look very happy!//
'And I'd like to know who you are,' she added, turning to the strange woman, one eyebrow raised expectantly.

{The woman brushes her short blonde hair out of her eyes with her free hand.}"Who am I? If you must know, I'm his wife. And who might you be?"
Ardens:"Biceras, please...
Biceras:"No, I want to know who you've been talking to for the past hour."

Anastasia burst out into her cackling laugh, ignoring the slight awkwardness of the situation. //Oh, this is just too good,// she thought nastily.

'The name's Anastasia,' she said, smiling. 'I'm just a witch who was passing through the area and got attacked by his draugrs. Then he showed up and we've been chatting ever since.'

(You still around?)

"Oh." {Biceras said mirthlessly. About this time, Theseus pipes up.}"Hey, we told her to leave, and she wouldn't."
Biceras:"I know, but she's not a psychotic, overly-religious human. I don't think she's here to kill you, Ardens."
Ardens:"Honey, can't we talk about this later? She came without invitation, she fought with the draugrs, and she works for a guy name after an ancient Sumerian king . I don't know about you, but that all seems pretty suspicious to me."

(yes)

'Hey! I thought we agreed that me and Count Sargon don't have anything to do with you,' said Ana angrily. 'And I came here by accident!' She thought about it for a moment, and then added, 'Though I suppose I COULD have left when the draugrs told me to... but no! I don't follow anyone's orders except my master's.'

{At all of this, Biceras just rolls her eyes. Pushing past Ardens, Biceras stoops down, picks up Ana's hat from Catacus, (She's going to ask about him next), and dusts it off. Handing it back to Ana, Biceras speaks.}"You'll have to excuse my husband, he has a tendency to get paranoid. I apologise for any harm that those two husks of his might have inflicted upon you."

Anastasia took her hat from Biceras with obvious delight and set it back on her head, holding the brim protectively. 'I'm quite all right, and I could have beaten them if I really wanted to,' she replied, somewhat boastfully. 'But thank you. It's nice to know there are SOME people out here with good manners.'

{Biceras smiles while Ardens and his two minions stand aside looking dejected.}
Theseus:"Husks? T_T
Minos:"Bro, your body is literally hollow."
Biceras:"Yes, well, //one// of us has to out here."{Glances back at Ardens}"So, miss, what brings you all the way out here?"

Ana shot a mocking smile at the two draugrs before turning her attention back to Biceras. 'I was out flying,' she replied. 'And as I came near the forest, I sensed traces of dark magic in the atmosphere... so I decided to take a look around, and ran into these guys.' She waved a hand in the direction of Ardens and the draugrs. 'So, I suppose you all live out here together?'

(Hey, my wifi will get switched off in a minute, so I gotta go. If you want to, we can continue this another time, I should be around most days. :))

{Ardens and his minions just glance angrily at Ana.}
Biceras:"Yup. Gets kinda boring, so I keep busy with my smithing. I'll go out from time to time to sell what I make, get a little extra gold."

( @Radiant Ok! See ya!)

(sfhloitrshbn I passed out lmao
but I just woke up
agh kill me--)

He flinches a little when Ana takes her hat back from him, forcing to root to shoot back into the ground. Frowning slightly, he slowly rises to his feet, brushing himself off. He didn't like how everyone was so much taller than him, so standing was the next best thing.

(Stop waking up so early)

(I can't XD)

(I sometimes go to sleep at 2AM and wake up at noon
I have a good sleeping schedule, clearly)

Beautiful-

Eeeeeeyyyyyy, anyone want to continue this on friday? (Tomorrow from the time I'm posting this.)

I don't think I can today, sorry! I might have time on Sunday evening, if anyone's around then.

s p o o k y -

Spoopy. I'll be checking back here throughout the day to see if and when everyone's ready.

s p o o k e d -

I'll mostly be around from this point on, but I'll be semi-active and probably hopping between my DS and the computer.

Weeeey-
I won't be too active for the next hour, but after that I'll be guut-

Yeah, I'm not too active either, I'm just checking in occasionally until everyone turns up.

So, when should we start?

nOW-

I'm here! I think it's my turn to write something, isn't it?

Yes.

Anastasia nodded slowly, then glanced around at the forest that surrounded them. 'Soooo, I'm guessing you two have a house somewhere? You can't just be wandering around in the woods all day.'

She paused to throw a dark look towards Catacus, not liking the creature one bit.

{Biceras also nods.}"Yes, we do. Do you live nearby?"

Ana shrugged carelessly. 'Nope. I don't live anywhere. I go where my master, Count Sargon, goes. And right now he's staying in a village miles away. I flew for quite a while to get here.'

{Biceras tilts her head in curiosity.}"Your //Master//? Master in what way?"
{Meanwhile, Ardens sits next to Catacus.}"So, Catacus, you live in this forest as well?"

Ana tilted her head as well, not quite understanding Biceras's apparent confusion. 'My boss, I mean! He's a powerful vampire and I work for him.'

"Uhm!...Kinda? 'S where I like to hang out the most when my dad's doing stuff. It's nice and quiet, and trees tend to not bully you to death."
He laughs, but it seems a little more sad than happy.
"Trees make good friends. Trees don't judge you for being green."

{Biceras nods.}"Oh, ok. Generally,, when someone has a master, it's because they have an apprenticeship under that person to learn a craft or trade." {Before Biceras could continue, Ardens yells out.}"She calls him //Master// because she's in love with him."

{Ardens turns back to Catacus.}"Hmm. So you have buly troubles?"

'Shut the heII up!' Anastasia snapped out on hearing what Ardens said. 'And mind your own business!' She glared at the necromancer, clenching her fists as she resisted the urge to blast him into oblivion. Or maybe just punch him.

Catacus laughs a little at Anastasia's outburst at Ardens, then replies to his question.
"...Used to. Then my dad saved me!"
Looking up, he smiles a little.
"He's not really my dad, but...he's the only one I've got."

{Ardens lets out an evil chuckle.}"You know it's true...."
{Biceras just shakes her head disaprovingly.}"Ignore him. He can be a real a.ss at times. So what kind of work do you do under this boss of yours?"

{Once again, Ardens turns back to Catacus.}"An adopted father? He must be a kind soul to have saved you and taken you under his wing. What's his name?".

Ana gave Ardens one more glare before pointedly turning her attention to Biceras instead.

'Oh, I do all kinds of things,' she said with a little grin. 'But mostly I help him to track down and capture people who are a threat to his kind, like vampire hunters. Sometimes I kill people on his orders as well.'

{Biceras' expression shifts to one of slight unease.}"Oh. So, your organization hunts the Hunters? Not that I'm a fan of Hunters or most traditional judicial systems, but decides who lives and who doesn't ?"

Ana scowled. 'We do what we do to stop our own race from getting wiped out! Did you know that most vampire slayers will kill ANY vampires they see... even if those vampires haven't ever hurt a human? They're monsters, all of them! They deserve to die and I'm happy to help my Master do it.'

(Hey, I have to go back on my DS so I'll be slower now.)

( @Radiant OK) {Biceras gives a slightly worried expression. Half because Ana got mad, and half because ana said she'd //happily// kill}"Ok....So, do Hunters bother your organization a lot, or do you seek them out?"

"His name's Dispair! But sometimes his name is Darkyn, like when he's in human form. He never really uses it a lot, says that he's got bad memories from it..."
Frowning slightly, he looks at the ground for a second, then looks back up.
"But! He's really good! And he helps and saves other people too! Sometimes he says that he's repaying for something, but I don't really understand that, since he's really nice and good."

(catacus you poor bean you have no idea what a brink is)

'They hunt us sometimes,' said Ana, shrugging. 'But mostly we go out looking for them. Or, if we hear news that a vampire was killed by a hunter, then we track down the hunter who did it and kill them back.'

{Ardens smiles at Catacus and continues the conversation while keeping an ear on his wife and Ana.}"Hm, I'd like to meet this Dispair. Does he come around often?"

Biceras:"But surely you don't just feed the cycle of revenge and kill blindly? What if a vampire was killed by someone who wasn't a Hunter, in self defence? Do you have a contingency for those special cases?"

'Are you suggesting that Count Sargon is some kind of murderous monster?' Ana growled. 'We don't kill anybody without good reason! And we don't kill people who attack vampires in self-defence. Why are you asking so many questions about it, anyway? Are YOU a vampire hunter?'

"Well, he'll be coming for me at some point. It might take a while, but that's okay. I know he's gonna come back for me, he always does!"
Smiling, he brushes his hair out of his eyes, blinking a few times afterwards due to a strand going into his eye as he did so.

{Biceras' expression shifts to a frown.}"Hey, no need to get defensive. I'm not suggesting anything. And no, I'm not a Hunter. I was just curious is all. Sometimes, it can be hard to tell apart those with revolutionary thoughts and ideas and those who are just the lunatics of the world."

{Ardens nods.}"So, you're just out here alone until he comes back?"

Ana dropped her aggressive posture and locked her hands together behind her back. 'Oh... all right. I believe you. It's just that after so many years of fighting against hunters and slayers, you tend to mistrust almost everyone.' She cocked her head to one side, observing Biceras curiously while watching Ardens out the corner of her eye.

{Biceras relaxes a bit as well.}"Ok. I understand that. With that in mind, I'd recommend not going too far south of here. There's a human village there inhabited by paranoid farmers and an unruly minister of some sort. They're not too friendly to us nonhumans."

An evil smile came over her face. 'Paranoid people who like killing non-human beings...? Maybe I ought to tell my Master about this.' She cast her gaze towards the northern horizon, as if expecting to actually see Sargon standing there.

{Biceras waves her hand in a dismissal fashion.} "Oh, they don't actually have the balls to try to kill any of us, they're just racist af."
Ardens:"Hold on, Biceras, what about that witch they tried to burn?"
Biceras:"But she was human to begin with."
Ardens:"But she was still magical."

At the mention of witches, Ana's head snapped up alertly. 'They tried to...?' she said, wide-eyed. 'Did they succeed or did the witch get away? I wouldn't have thought anyone with magical powers could so easily be caught by mere humans.'

"Actually, I saved her." {Theseus pipes up.} "I was patrolling the southern border when I saw the whole village gathered around a pile of wood. Well, I could tell it was something bad, so I rode down there on a dead horse, shouting gibberish, and they scattered in fear. When I freed her, she thanked me and headed north. that was about a month ago."

"Yeah...I don't really mind though. I've...kinda gotten used to it...Plus it gives me time to work out my skills! Like...catching mice, and growing stuff."
He seems to quickly cheer himself back up, as if not wanting to be negative. Catacus then stretches his legs, hitting them gently to get the blood flowing again (due to them being crossed).

(Also hey guys I'ma head off to sleep now, my brain's beginning to die a little XD
You're welcome to continue though .w.)

( @King OK)

Ana looked a little surprised when Theseus suddenly spoke, but recovered quickly enough to grin at him. 'Then I guess I should thank you for stopping to help one of my kind. So, thanks, ugly zombie thing.'

(Alright King!)

{Theseus smiles with what little flesh remains on his face.}"My chest may be hollow, but I'm not heartless."
Ardens:"Yeah, awfully cowardly of them. Theseus, didn't you tell me that she had just stopped in that town to rest and they jumped her in the Inn while she was sleeping?
Theseus:"Yeah. Apparently, she specialized in nature magic and had very few offensive spells. Bast.ards."

Ana watched the exchange, then said, 'Do you know who she is? Did she ever tell you her name?'

( @Radiant I actually didn't have anyone particular in mind. XD Want to make this witch someone Anna would know?)

(Aggron - Hmm, problem is, Ana doesn't know anyone aside from Sargon. XD But if you don't know who this person should be, then I could use one of my other witch characters. Her name is Luxia, and she uses nature and light-based magic.)

(Imma do that.)

"Luxia, I believe."{Theseus says.} "Do you know her?"

Ana made a thoughtful sound in her throat. 'I don't KNOW her, that's for sure,' she replied. 'But I've heard of her. Apparently she's quite powerful, but she only uses her magic to help people, even humans. And she always forgives people who wrong her. I bet she doesn't even resent those villagers for nearly killing her a while back.'

Biceras:"Hmm, so, she's made a name for herself as a pacifist. Ardens, didn't we know someone like that growing up?"
Ardens:"You mean Azureus?"
Biceras:"Yeah, her. Nicest person you could ever meet, but the most magically potent person in our little community at the time."

'Azureus?' Ana repeated, looking interested. 'Was she a witch too?'

//I wonder if I could ask Count Sargon to wipe out that village?// she thought. //I know Luxia would never hurt them! People who do things like that deserve to die!//

Biceras:"No, she was just the local healer where we grew up. Real powerful, but would never dream of hurting another person."

Ana nodded in response, but her mind was already filled with visions of her and Sargon tearing down the village side-by-side. She smiled dreamily and said, 'You know, I think I will tell my Master about this. I'm sure he'd like to know that some people nearby tried to murder a witch who would never think of harming them...'

(Hey, I'm gonna go after my next reply. It's getting pretty late here.)

( @Radiant OK.) {Biceras gave a worried look, not sure how she should reply}"Ok......" {Ardens, however, was quick to reply.}"Go right on ahead, miss. Just do us a favor though, and don't come through this forest to get to that village. If you do, people who come to inspect the ruins might think //we// were the ones responsible."

Ana gave a disgruntled sniff. 'Well, I guess I'll forgive you for attacking me earlier. Fine, I won't bring anyone here. But I want to know exactly where this village is, and what it looks like, before I report to Count Sargon.' She smiled. 'That means I need somebody to take me there.'

(Alright, I'm heading off now. See you!)

(Bye! Hope we can continue this soon!)

(I'ma just spook in teh backgroond-)

(*continues to spook in the background*)

I'll be checking here from time to time for when everyone's here.

(*s p o o k s*)

@King 3spoopy5me

s p o oooo k k

I'm not gonna be here all the time, but I'll check in every so often, so we can RP slowly if you like. XD

Yeah, lets do that. @Radiant You were last, so I could start, unless @King wants to.

I don't mind who starts--

Also, I miiiiight throw a new character in today.

@Radiant Do it! That be awesome!

Also, I'll start with a reply.

{The moment Ana said that, Ardens spoke up.}"Theseus will take you, right Theseus?
Theseus:"Sure."
Ardens:"Minos, fetch a pair of horses, will you?
{Minos offers only a grunt as a reply. He then begins to walk off into the forest.}

Watching the exchange, Ana snorted quietly. //If they only knew what I could do, they'd realise we don't need horses at all.// She didn't say she was a shapeshifter though, deciding it would be more funny to surprise Theseus with it sometime later.

(Any ideas on what character I could throw in? I have so many it's hard to pick one. XD
#RadiantOC)

(Giving them a brief look, I say Heath, Draorture, or Selwyn(I hope I spelled that right).)

(Hmm, I might give Heath or Selwyn a go. It's been a while since I've used them for anything.)

(Oh, and I'll be slower now.)

{After a few minutes, Minos returns leading two horses draugrs. They walk up to the group acting like typical horses would.}
Ardens:" So, will you be leaving once you complete your assessment of the village?"

( @Radiant OK.)

Ana wandered over to the nearest horse and carelessly held out a hand so it could take in her scent. 'Probably,' she said. 'I can't delay in telling Count Sargon about this place. But first I have to make sure it really IS full of murderers, and you're not just making it all up.'

{At this Biceras speaks.}"Well, they're not really murderous /most/ of the time. For the most part, they're just ar.sh.oles. "{The horse doesn't react much to Ana's gesture.}
Horse:"M'am, I might be in a horse body right now, but I used to be human. You don't need to do that."

Ana nearly jumped backwards. 'Holy cra.p, a talking horse!' she exclaimed. Then she regained her composure enough to say, 'You know it's weird to be a horse if you're not really a horse, right?'

She gave Biceras a quick nod of acknowledement. During all of this, she was absentmindedly adjusting her treasured hat on her head.

(I just typed 'treasured head' by accident. XD)

"Woah! Spooky horses!"
Catacus exclaims, scrambling to his feet to inspect them closer. He adjusts his jacket a little, rolling the long, baggy sleeves up so he could reach out to the horse like Ana did, having never really encountered a horse before, nevermind one that had a human spirit inhabiting it.
"Hello!"

(I died r.i.p)

Horse:"You think I had a choice?" {The horse said while casting a disgruntled look at Ardens.}
Ardens:"Hey now, it's not that bad. Besides, we need some form of transport."
{Theseus mounts the other horse.}"Whenever you're ready, miss."

{The other horse gives a similar reaction to Catacus.}
Horse 2:"Hey, kid, what does this look like, a petting zoo? Put your hand down."

Grinning, Ana clambered up onto her chosen horse and rested a hand on its neck for balance. 'Hey, what about him?' she said suddenly, pointing down at Catacus. 'What's he gonna do?'

His hand recoils with a slight disgruntled look on his face, putting his arm down and letting his sleeves fall. Upon hearing Ana's question, he smiles slightly, crouching and becoming enveloped in the green glow that appears when he shifts, resuming his feline form and leaping up onto the horse draugr Theseus had mounted, feeling safer with him than with Ana.
"Simple! I'll do this! And I don't take up very much space!"

{Theseus shrugs. With that, he rides forward.} (Hey, gtg Be back later.)

Throwing an unpleasant grin at Catacus, Ana casually urged her horse on to follow Theseus'. 'I'm gonna laugh when you fall off, little kid!' she cackled, her purple hair streaming back wildly in the wind.

(Alright)

(I should probably go now too, since as I won't have wifi later tonight. XD)

"Oh yeah? Well...well...I'll laugh at you at some point! I don't know when that'll be, but I'll laugh when you mess up!"
He retorts, clearly not able to form a real comeback, but it's good enough for him. Though despite his brushing off of the comment, Catacus' claws slowly digs into the horse's, making sure that he had a secure seat on it.

(yeah, I haven't been sleeping too well the past couple o' weeks, so I should probably head to bed XD)

(I don't usually sleep that well either. XD
See you another time, then!)

{Theseus looks between Ana and Catacus.}"Hey, you two, behave yourselves! Don't make me turn these horses around!"

Ana laughed manically, her voice almost lost in the wind that streamed past them from their speed. 'You can't tell me what to DO!' she yelled back. She reached up to take hold of the brim of her hat, stopping it from flying off backwards, while holding onto the horse's mane with only one hand.

Catacus' ears lay flat on his head as he watches her, looking a little concerned.
"That lady's crazy."
He says quietly, more to himself than anyone else.

{As they neared their destination, Theseus, who was in the lead, begins to slow.}"Hey, Catacus, watch this..." {He looks at Ana's horse, who, instead of coming to a slowing stop, drives its hooves into the ground to stop abruptly, the force of which throws Ana off and over her horse, and into a puddle with uncanny accuracy.}

He watches curiously, standing up and looking over the head of their horse. Upon seeing Ana flying from her horse, he burst out in a fit of giggles, crouching back down to avoid falling off from laughing so hard.

Ana yelped when the horse drew to a sudden, skidding halt, but this was cut off by her hitting the ground. In less than a second she had leapt to her feet and spun around, absolutely furious and planning to blast Theseus into oblivion, but then she noticed her hat had fallen into the puddle. She gasped.

'Noooo!' Looking horrified, she lunged down and grabbed the hat before it could get too wet. Then she straightened, turned to Theseus, and used a blast of generic magic to knock him off his own horse.

{After that stunt, Theseus knew he had it coming. He took the magic like a man, and fell to the ground with a thud. The horse she was on came walking up apologizing.}"Oh, oh jeeze, I'm sorry, I'm still getting used to stopping in this body. " {Theseus, lying limp on the ground, can't help but chuckle. }"I might not be able to tell you what to do, but inertia sure can...anyway, we're here!" {Pointing with his hand, he directs attention to a sleepy looking village at the foot of a hill.}

Ana scowled and wiped her hat clean on the grass before putting it back on her head. She folded her arms and leaned against the side of her horse. 'That's the village? It doesn't look like much,' she scoffed. 'Let's go and investigate. I want to see how the people there will react to seeing us.'

"Ok"{Theseus gets up}"Catacus, do you want to come or stay?"

"I'll come!"
He says while leaping from the horse's head, shifting in midair and landing on his human feet. With a slight smile, he lifts the hood of his jacket over his head to conceal his felinesque ears that remained in his human form.

{Nodding, Theseus starts walking towards the village. A few stragglers caught sight of the group, gave out a surprised sound, and ran into the village. }

Ana fell into step beside Theseus, blinking in surprise when the villagers disappeared. 'That was quick. Can they tell we aren't human from this far away?' Then she smiled suddenly. 'Well, at least there's no chance of them attacking us. We must look very scary.'

She seemed quite pleased with herself.

{Theseus gives Ana a look of "are you serious?"}"Ana, you're wearing a witch's hat and I'm missing most of my face. How could they not know that we're not human?"

'Wearing a witch's hat doesn't necessarily mean I'm a witch!' Ana retorted. She did a double take and peered at Thesaeus in surprise. 'That's funny. I've gotten so used to seeing you, I'd almost forgotten about your ugly face.'

She continued walking, humming something not very tunefully under her breath. She seemed to be in a good mood, despite having been thrown into a puddle not five minutes before.

{Theseus chuckles.}"Speak honestly, who, other than witches, wear hats like that?"

'Ana touched the brim of her hat protectively, as if worried something might happen to it. 'A person pretending to be a witch?' she ventured. 'Anyway, can't you make yourself look less like a walking corpse? It must cause problems when normal people see you.'

{Theseus Shakes his head.}"Nope, unless you have illusion magic. I'm not an infiltration model. If you want to assess this village without them knowing we're not human, I could stay behind."

Ana smiled. 'Good idea, ugly.' She took off her hat and stuffed in into a large pocket in her cloak. She started to walk, then stopped when she was about ten paces away and glanced back - this time, towards Catacus. 'You could maybe pass for human. Want to come?'

"This place looks a little familiar...I think my dad brought me here once or twice. They're nice enough if you don't let on that you're non-human, so we always have to cover our ears."
Catacus says while looking about, recognizing a landmark of a row of flowered bushes near some houses ahead of them.

Ana scoffed. 'So they're nice people as long as you lie about what you really are, and if they know you're non-human, they'll tie you up and throw you on a pyre.' She started walking again, heading into the village. She didn't glance back at Theseus as she went.

{Theseus just shrugs and goes back to the horses. As Ana and Catacus walk into the village, they see a man in a black suit standing on the steps of what appears to be a church of sorts, preaching to a large crowd of peasant types.}"...And our lord, Imperius decreed, humans and the Children of the Dark shall never be equal! We humans have our dignity, our humanity, and our moral compass, while those dark creatures who lie on the fringes of our perfect society are no better than animals!"

""Dark creatures"? I'm practically a plant..."
He mutters quietly, though seems curious towards the church goers.
"Who d'y' think this Imperius is?"
Catacus says a little louder, directing this at both Theseus and Ana, though hadn't realised that he had left him alone with her.

'Yeah, like /humans/ are so dignified and moral,' Ana snorted under her breath. 'Most humans are murderous bastards, killing their kind and ours for fun. Like they think they can be better than us.'

She walked right past the church and turned to give the man speaking a nasty glare without stopping.

Pausing a moment, he listens to the man with a slight frown, then jogs to catch up with her.
"I dunno. I don't think I've met enough humans to say whether or not they're bad."

Ana threw a glance backwards at Catacus, not slowing her pace. 'Not ALL humans are terrible people,' she said somewhat grudgingly. 'But most of them are pretty nasty. Looks like this village is one of the places where the nasty ones live.'

She kept walking for a moment until a coffee shop came into view up ahead. A grin slowly stretched across the witch's face - she was clearly planning something. 'Let's go in there,' she suggested. 'And get a coffee. Maybe we can talk to some strangers and ask their opinions on magical creatures.'

"Oh, I think I know this place! My dad got me a really cool juice thing when we came here last. The bari...b-baris..."
He struggles to say barista a few more times before giving up.
"The lady who serves the drinks is really nice."

'Hmm, we'll see,' said Ana dismissively. She led the way into the coffee shop and looked around curiously. It was a small, warm place with a cosy atmosphere, the smell of fresh coffee hanging heavy in the air. She picked a table at random and sat down.

'You want to go order something to drink?' she asked Catacus. 'Since as you seem to know this place?'

(Imma be a townsfolk in Ye Olde Coffee Shoppe. XD) {a few tables away sat a spooked old man, staring worriedly in Ana's direction. This was one of the townspeople who initially saw the group and ran.}

"Okay!"
He goes up to the counter with a slight smile.
"U-uhm, excuse me?"

The woman behind the counter turns and gives him a wide smile.
"Oh, if it isn't little Corrin! Your father not with you this time?"

"Nah, he's off doing some stuff."

"Ah, I see. Who's that woman that came in with you?"
She sounds slightly suspicious of Ana, seeing the reaction that the old man had given her.

"Oh, she's, uh...a friend of my dad's. She's...looking after me while he's away!"
Catacus says in a bright tone, despite not liking the fact that he had to lie.

"Well, any friend of your father's is welcome here, even if they seem a bit odd. What'll it be then Corrin?"

"Aaaaaaa..."
He pauses a moment to look at the menu board behind the counter.
"A fruit shake please!"

"Mmhm, and what will you friend like?"

Turning, he looks at Ana.
"Hey, hey Ana! What do you want?"

//Hmm, Count Sargon... won't I have some interesting stories to tell you when I get back...//

Ana's head jerked up when she realised Catacus was saying something. She looked around irritably and saw him in conversation with the barista.

'I'll have a cup of tea!' she yelled back. 'Milk, one sugar.'

She rested her head on her hand and let her gaze rove around the coffee shop. The old man sitting at another table was watching them with something like fear. She narrowed her green eyes at him from under the wave of violet hair that flopped across her forehead.

{The old man gets up, and walks over to Ana, his expression not changing much.}"You're new around here, aren't you? I must say, I have never met a human with//purple// hair before. "

'Excuse me? Who raised you to think it's all right to just walk up to people in coffee shops and question their hair colour?' Ana seethed. 'It's dyed, if you MUST know.' Of course, it wasn't. Purple was a common hair colour for Dark witches.

{The old man tries to backpedal faster than a bicyclist who ran right into a cave bear.}"Well-well-I-uh.....Just thought it looked nice is all... I-I wasn't implying anything...."

(At first I didn't read the entire comment and I just
"Ana he asked if you wanted a drink not who you want")

"Okay!"
He turns back, smiling.
"She wants a tea with a milk and a sugar."

The barista takes their orders and sets to work.
"It'll be around ten minutes."

Nodding, he goes to the table where Ana is and sits down after carefully dodging around the old man, adjusting his hood slightly in nervousness.

Ana stared at the man for a few seconds longer, then let him off. 'It's fine. I didn't mean to sound too defensive.' She gave him a smile that was probably more ominous than reassuring, and turned away to see Catacus coming back.

'Hello, little boy. Ordered the drinks?' she asked expectantly.

{The old man walked away awkwardly. As he was walking away, the preacher from the church walked in. The moment he entered, all the people put their heads down and got quiet. He walked by Ana and Catacus, returning Ana the glare she gave him earlier. Going up to the counter, he begins to order something.}

"Mmhm! She said it'll take around ten minutes."
He takes a handful of assorted coins from his jacket pocket and places it on the table, carefully counting them out to make sure he had enough to pay for the drinks. Upon seeing the preacher enter, he too bows his head, almost willing his ears to flatten even more under his hood.

Ana nodded. 'That sounds fine.' She eyed the coins as he laid them out on the table, all the while watching the preacher from the corner of her eye. However, when he did nothing besides walk up to the counter and start talking to the barista, she slid her attention away from him.

'How old are you, by the way?' she asked suddenly, tilting her head in a curious manner. 'You seem quite young...'

"I'm..."
He pauses, then begins to count on his fingers while mumbling numbers and dates to himself quietly.
"...Twelve, I think. Translating from cat years to human years is a bit weird."

'Hmm. So you're younger than I thought,' said Ana. She gazed around the room, taking in the sights of various people drinking coffee and other beverages. A few were eating. The preacher was still talking to the barista, and the old man who'd approached her before was back at his table. //I wonder what they'd do if I announced to the entire coffee shop that I wasn't human,// she mused.

{When the preacher finished talking, he took his cup of joe and sat down a table behind Ana and Catacus, his back turned. het put the book he as holding down on his table. The book was titled in gold lettering The Book of Imperius: Unabridged Edition.

Catacus gazes uneasily at the preacher as he walks to his seat behind them, then returns to playing idly with the coins, though a lot more carefully now. The barista calls for him to get their drinks, so he collects up the coins and slips from his seat.

{The old man from before comes up to the preacher and whispers something to him. Whatever he said causes the preacher to turn a bit with a raised eyebrow towards Ana and Catacus.}

Ana yawned as Catacus got up to collect the drinks. Really, did people HAVE to stare so much in here? First the old man, and now that creep from the church. All she wanted was a cup of tea. At least she was confident they wouldn't try anything, and if they did... She smiled nastily. Wouldn't this shop look nice with a few spell-killed bodies lying about?

Swiftly paying and collecting their drinks with a smile, Catacus returns, walking carefully with Ana's cup of tea to make sure he didn't spill it. He notices that the preacher had turned slightly towards him, putting him a little on edge.

{The preacher man turned back to his drink. After taking a sip, he finally speaks.} "You two are new around here, aren't you?"

Ana accepted her cup from Catacus and took a long swallow of the tea before turning to reply to the preacher.

'Oh, yes,' she said, smiling sweetly. 'We come from far away. We're just stopping by for a while. I've heard good things about this village.' She took another sip, closing her eyes with a sigh of contentment.

{The preacher man smiles at this.}"Well, I'm glad to hear that. Yes, this village is the pride and joy of the valley. A beacon for those of civilized living in a world of the untamed and uncouth. Just be careful not to stray too far from the northern border. That forest up there is home to a great number of nasty creatures. "

"It's not that bad if you don't get on anyon- anything's bad side."
Catacus pipes up with a slight waver in his voice.
"Me and my dad're always in that forest."
After he had finished speaking, he swiftly returns to his drink, sipping his juice through a straw he had collected at the counter.

{The preacher smiles slyly at Catacus.}"Oh? Well, you and your father must be brave men to tread where the living dead walk again. Humans with that kind of bravery in the face of evil should consider joining a Hunter guild. There's one in the next town over, if you and your father ever decide to make a contribution to society."

Ana slurped her drink. 'No thanks,' she said, answering in place of Catacus. 'I mean, of course we'd LOVE to help out, but we're travellers and we don't really have the time.' She set her mug down and eyed the preacher curiously. 'Tell me, sir, have any of these nasty creatures been seen in town recently? Do they come here often?'

(Preacher: Well, young lady, I'm looking right at two of 'em! XD)

{The preacher shakes his head.}"No, not recently. Why, the last one to come was a devious witch posing to be peaceful and promising to help. As we all know, there's no such thing as an honest sorcerer, so it's a good thing we drove her off while we could. Who knows which of our children might have ended up on her dinner plate. The only good witches are dead witches, don't you agree?"

(That was Luxia, btw.)

"How do you know that witches eat kids?"
Catacus pipes up with a slight bit of worry, trying to not glance at Ana.
"Surely not all of them are bad?"

//That sounds like the witch Ardens said they attacked,// thought Ana, anger simmering in her for the first time. Looking up from her teacup, she shot Catacus a quick warning glance. If he showed any support for non-humans, the people here might guess he was one of them and she didn't want that to happen JUST yet.

'She was pretending to be peaceful?' she asked the preacher. 'That sounds strange. Most evil witches I've heard about would just walk in and destroy everything, no questions asked.' She took a sip of her tea.

Noticing the glance from Ana, he hunches slightly, looking a little shameful, though he made it seem more like it was for proposing such a preposterous question.

{The preacher looks at Catacus surprised.}The real question, my boy, is how you don't know that witches eat kids. Haven't you heard of Hansel and Gretel?" {He then turns back to Ana.}"Well, I'm surprised you've heard that at all. Most sorcerers have very powerful magic, but little physical strength. If one were to attack openly, all it would take to defeat them is one lucky person who knows of he Iron Bar Rule."

"I've never really read fairy stories."
He admits quietly, waiting until after the preacher had finished speaking to Ana.
"And my dad has cooler stories anyways."

Ana made a humming noise to acknowledge she'd heard what the preacher said, and took another gulp of her tea. 'You seem to know a lot about magical creatures,' she said when she finished. 'By the way, I heard you talking to those villagers about someone called Imperius. Can I ask who that is?'

{The preacher looks at Ana with genuine surprise.}"Who is Imperius? Why, he is the god of power, conquest, and man's domain over the natural world! Patron deity of mankind! This very town, Imperton, was built in his honor."

(Man, the more I write about this preacher, the less I like him.)

'Huh,' said Ana. She peered into her cup, drank the last of the tea, and set it down on the table with a thunk. 'I've never heard of him, but I guess he's not that well-known.' She tried not to grin.

(Ha, don't these kinds of characters exist to be hated? XD)

"Neither have I."
Catacus pipes up after taking a swift sip of his drink, shifting in his chair a little.

( @Radiant good point. XD)
{The preacher simply closes his eyes and shakes his head in disapproval.}"No, child, you are just ignorant of his greatness. I could educate you of his might if you would so kindly come with me to the church."

"U-uhm..."
He says, the pricking sense of fear rising up inside him, though he tried to feel glad that they weren't outside, as his fear with his untrained control over plantlife would cause them to gravitate their roots towards him, in case he needed them to defend himself.
"I-I think I'm good, an-and my dad doesn't like me going off with strangers."

'No thanks, we're good,' said Ana, sensing that now was a time to make their departure. 'Very sorry, but as I said, we're travellers. We can't stop here for long.' She pushed her chair back and stood up, taking a quick glance around the room to see if anyone was watching their conversation too closely.

'Are you coming, boy?' she said sharply to Catacus, realising that his real name might give him away as a non-human.

Nodding, he takes the straw from his drink and downs it, placing his cup back on the table and slipping out of his seat.
"It was nice meeting you, mister."
He says to the preacher, not wanting to be rude despite the obvious hostility towards his kind.

{The preacher also stands up, a devilish look in his eye.}"Leaving so soon? But you've only just arrived. Why not stay a little longer, have another drink, on me. The bartista (sp?) here makes a /killer/ hot chocholate."

Catacus gulps a little.
"I-I'd prefer a drink that doesn't sound as murder-y, please."
His body begins to shake a little from fear, recognising the familiar look in the preacher's eyes.

Ana took hold of Catacus' shoulder and began to steer him towards the exit, throwing the preacher a cool look as they walked out together. 'Sorry, but we've got better things to do,' she said loudly. 'See you another time.'

He shudders a little under her hand, wiping at his face as he opens the door. The last part of their encounter had brought up some...unpleasant memories, but breaking down from a simple look was the last thing he wanted to do - instead, he holds his head up a little, makes sure that his hood is still firmly over his head, and walks out with as much confidence as he could muster, even if it was only a teaspoon's worth.

{The preacher man watches ominously through the window as Ana And Catacus leave.}

Once they were safely outside, Ana spoke up, in a low mutter so that no humans walking around would hear. 'I think we're getting a good idea of what kinds of people live in this village, don't you? But there's one more thing I'd like to do before we get going.'

She grinned. It wasn't reassuring.

"...I think it's that preacher. He's making everyone think that way, like...like, uhm...this guy who brainwashed a bunch of people."
He rubs his arm a little, grimacing slightly at her grin.

'Well, we might not see him again. But it might be funny if we do.' Anastasia glanced around, and then headed for a more central part of the village where she could see several people doing their shopping. 'We have to go somewhere more people will see us. I have an idea.'

She headed towards the market-like area. A couple of passers-by glanced at her as she passed, probably wondering at her violet hair, but nobody did anything. Most slid away with uneasy expressions.

(THIS IS THE SECOND TIME COLORS HAS EATEN MY COMMENTS AA-
to be perfectly fair though it's probably my fault for forgetting to turn my phone data on lmao)

"Alright."
He says quietly, following close behind. As he looks around and up at people, he adjusts his hood a little, just in case. He spots a few other children playing a short distance away, immediately crossing behind Ana to walk on the other side of her, putting a little distance between him and the other kids.

Ana didn't notice the way Catacus tried to avoid the gazes of the other children. She scanned their surroundings carefully as they approached the market square. Grinning a little, she pulled her familiar witch's hat out of her pocket and set it back on her head.

'Now listen,' she whispered. 'I want to know how these people will react to seeing someone who's not human in the middle of the village. We're going over to this square, and I'm going to do something that'll get everyone's attention. Once it happens, we need to run like hell, OK? Unless you want to get murdered.'

"Oh jeez...okay, I'm ready."
Firmly pushing fear out of his mind, Catacus prepares to run by getting in a slight stance. He looks around one final time, specifically at those who seemed to be looking at them oddly.

Ana grinned. 'Don't worry, everything will be juuust fine,' she whispered, in a less-than-reassuring voice. She straightened up and glanced around, watching the people hurrying past. Her hand went up to tug the brim of her hat down over her eyes.

'Ha!' she exclaimed, and her figure blurred as she shifted into her dragon form. Fifteen feet tall, she loomed over the tops of the building. 'How's that for impressive, you stupid humans!' she yelled. Turning her head to look for Catacus, she added, 'Quick, jump on my back!'

{The crowd of people quickly shifts from calm to chaotic, as frightened people begin to run in all directions and scream.}"Dragon! Dragon! Run for your lives! Someone call the dragon slayers!"

Catacus is taken back for a moment, stunned by her transformation just as much as the townspeople. He only snaps back to reality when Ana commands him to move, his feet breaking himself free from the statue he had become. Running to Ana's side, he leaps up and scrambles onto her back, all the sudden movement causing his hood to blow back and reveal his non-human features.
"Go! Before they get us!"

Laughing manically, Ana launched herself up into the air with Catacus on her back. The wind buffeted them hard as they rose above the village, and she had to lift a claw to her hat brim to stop it from flying off.

About a hundred feet above the ground, she stopped climbing higher and hovered in mid-air, looking down upon the village. 'Hahaha! Look at them all running and hiding!' she cackled. 'Like ants fleeing an anteater!'

"Hah, yeah..."
He says quietly, gripping tightly to her back. Although he had been off the ground many times before, he still wasn't used to being so far from it. If he didn't already look pale from fear before, he was definitely white as a sheet.

'So, how do you like being up here?' Ana questioned, turning her long neck to look back at him. 'I suppose it would be quite disorientating for someone without wings.'

"Eh...my dad can fly, but I've never-"
He ducks and shies away from a squawking bird flying in the opposite direction, obviously spooked by the massive dragon in it's airspace.
"I-I've never been this far from the ground."

Ana cackled. 'Well, nothing wrong with a new experience...' She looked at the village once more, hearing the peoples' screams to fetch a dragonslayer. 'They don't look happy. Not that they can reach us, of course, but maybe we should get out of here just in case.'

She turned a circle in mid-air and started flying back towards the hillside beyond the village, where she'd last seen Theseus and the horses.

{As they approached, Theseus watched with crossed arms.}"Been busy, haven't you?" {Theseus yelled out to them.}

'As a matter of fact - yes!' Ana yelled back as she swooped down to land in front of him. 'That was fun! Those people are TERRIFIED of Other Beings.'

{Theseus just smiled.}"Yes, they are. That preacher down there has filled their head with the idea that Other Beings are creatures of unimaginable cruelty. Your little show down there will just validate those lies."

Catacus quietly slips off of Ana's back, after realising they had stopped on solid ground. He shifts back into his feline form and flops onto his side, groaning softly.
"I'd never think I'd be this happy to see grass."

'Aww,' Ana whined. 'I didn't even hurt them. I just gave them a little scare. They're OK, really.' She drew on her magic and shifted back into her human form, smirking when she spotted Catacus rolling on the grass. 'So, Theseus, do these people ever leave their village to go kill non-humans? I heard something about hunters, or slayers, or whatever.'

{Theseus chuckles at Catacus before shaking his head at Ana.}"No. The people in this village are to cowardly to try. What happened to Luxia was a special case. Anyway, the hunters you likely heard them screaming about are based in the next town over about fifty miles away. They're government funded, you see, and can only kill if a non-human is openly violent. So, they're probably going to show up and do nothing, seeing how you didn't kill anyone."

"If the humans don't kill us, my dad certainly will."
Catacus mutters quietly, face firmly against the ground. A couple of tiny pink and yellow flowers spiral out of the ground around him, which makes him lift his head up.
"Huh. Cool. Must be some flowering nearby."

Ana adjusted her hat and answered while she eyed the flowers springing up around Catacus. 'Then I suppose there's nothing to worry about from them. Though I still can't forgive them for trying to kill Luxia.' Her face darkened for a moment. 'Anyway, I think I'm going to go home and tell Count Sargon about this. He ought to know.'

{Theseus nods.}"Alright, I'll let Ardens know. Just remember our agreement, if you decide to bring Sargon with you, do not bring him through the forest on his way to this village. The last thing we need is for the hunters to think we were responsible, got it?"

Ana shrugged. 'If you insist.' She glanced at Catacus, then turned her head to look up at the sky. It wasn't nighttime yet, but the horizon was starting to get dark, and she knew it wouldn't be long. 'I'm going to hurry back, then.'

She shifted back into her dragon form and stretched her wings, preparing to take off.

"Have a safe trip."
Catacus calls, sitting upright and using a back leg to scratch behind one of his ears, then shakes his head out. One of his ears had folded backwards, but he doesn't seem to notice.

"Be seein' ya." {Theseus steps back to watch Ana take off.}

Ana bowed her head to Catacus, grinning a little. 'Y'know, you're not bad for a weird cat thing.' She turned to eye Theseus. 'And you're not bad for a piece of rotting flesh.' Laughing madly, she leapt into the air and set off back for her home, her blue-scaled form quickly becoming a speck in the sky.

(Well, Ana's going back to the village where she and her senpai live now. How should we continue?)

(We could time skip to when Ana comes back with Sargon, IF she decides to come back with Sargon, and they could come to town right when a specific hunter is in town. ;) )

(I think I know who you're talking about and that is a gucci idea
(Also I might bring in Dispair later since Catacus is talking about him so much lmao))

(Alright, let's time skip! I guess I'll just do a bit with Ana coming back.)

Two days after her meeting with Theseus, Anastasia flew back towards the village. Alongside her flew an elegant silver falcon with blood-red eyes.

Keeping her word to Ardens, she didn't pass through the forest, but skipped around it and landed on the hillside outside the village, far enough away that nobody would see her. As she settled and folded her wings, the silver falcon swooped down as well, changing back into a humanoid shape just before his feet touched the ground.

Ana also shifted back, adjusting her hat. Where the falcon had been, now stood a man with short white-blond hair slicked back and gleaming crimson eyes. All his clothes were pale in colour, right down to the silver cape flowing from his shoulders. He was average height and looked to be in his late 30's.

'This is the village you spoke of?' he said coldly.

Ana nodded, grinning. 'Yes. This is the place. It's crawling with people who hate Other Beings. They tried to murder a Light Witch the other day.'

(Theseus: What happened to Luxia was SIX MONTHS AGO!!! Don't twist my words to appease your master! XD)
{The town below was unusually deserted, as if everyone up and left.}

(Ana: I CAN CHANGE WHAT HE SAID TO SUIT MY PREFERENCES, SHUT UP!)

'Shall we go in and look around, my Lord?' she said, looking across at the vampire. He paused to think, then nodded once and continued forwards. Ana followed at his heels.

They got into the village without incident, but quickly noticed how... strangely empty it looked. Nobody seemed to be out doing shopping, or even walking the streets. 'I bet they were so terrified of that big scary dragon the other day that they all left,' whispered Ana, grinning.

'Be quiet, Ana,' replied Sargon, sounding preoccupied. He gazed around the village, then snapped his fingers together, causing a long-bladed sword to materialise in his hand. 'Be prepared to defend yourself,' he said warningly.

(XD I love Ana's personality. She's nuts! )
{There, off in the distance was the sound of a hurrah. Faint and muffled, but it was there. It originated from a pub called, "Ye Olde Drinkin' Hole".}

(She is, it's the best thing about her. XD)

Sargon heard the noise before Ana did, using his enhanced vampiric hearing. 'Over here,' he said, turning to lead them towards the small pub.

Ana sniffed. 'Sounds like humans celebrating. What are they celebrating about? They're supposed to be terrified.'

Sargon ignored her, drawing close to the pub and stopping behind a large tree just outside it. 'Use your magic to hide by the doors and find out what this is about.'

'Yes, my Lord!' Ana scurried forwards, up to the pub doors. 'Cloak,' she whispered, and instantly her form disappeared, completely invisible. It didn't disguise any sounds she made, so she kept quiet and listened, hoping someone in the bar would speak.

{It was actually very loud inside. The sounds of people drinking and making merry can be heard. So can the sounds of a conversation between the preacher and someone else.}
Preacher:"Now we were happy that a hunter arrived so quickly to investigate, but we never thought //The// hunter would arrive. It truly is an honor to meet you, -
???:"Yeah, look, I'm flattered and all, but I'm just a normal guy doing what I can to cull interspecies violence, ok? If you don't mind, I'd like to get on with my investigation now..."

Ana pressed her ear closer to the side of the door. //A hunter? That's pretty cool. If he's a human, though, he'll never have any chance against US.//

Before she could listen any more, she heard a whispered, 'Get back,' from Sargon, who she assumed had heard the whole thing with his vampire hearing. She hurried back to him, dematerialising her Cloak along the way.

'Looks like they've brought a hunter in to investigate us,' she said, grinning. 'This could be veeeery fun.'

'Calm yourself, Ana. We don't know everything yet.' Sargon looked back at the pub. 'I believe we should wait here and see if anybody comes out. We can follow them or perhaps speak to them if necessary.'

Ana nodded, still grinning, and the two of them crouched behind the tree and waited.

{After a short while, voices approached the front door. They opened, and a large man walked out, followed by the preacher and a few of the townsfolk. The hunter was a giant of a man, wearing armor, a wolf pelt coat, and a large, strangely reflective greatsword slung over his back. ( #AAMagnus) }"Ok, ok, now tell me again? You were over on the east side of the village and what happened?"
Townsfolk:"There was a witch! An ugly hag with purple hair, a big nose, and she was covered in warts! She turned into a dragon and tried to eat me!" {Magnus gives the man a skeptical look.}
Magnus:"It was a dragon shifter?"
Townsfolk"Yes."
Magnus:"And a witch?"
Townsfolk:"Yes, I know 'cause she had a witch's hat on!"

Hidden behind the trees, Ana was on the verge of having a tantrum. 'Ugly hag?! Big nose?! What's this all about?!'

'Quiet!' Sargon hissed under his breath. 'Take your hat off and we will walk past them. Don't say anything. I want to know how they will react to us. Clearly the villagers are too terrified to remember what you actually look like.'

Calming herself, Ana pulled off her hat and stuffed it into a pocket. The two of them then walked out from behind the trees and headed off through the village, in full view of Magnus, but not looking at him.

{The preacher was talking to Magnus when he caught sight of Ana.}"Now, I know I don't have to tell you, but dragon witches are very dangerous and I --Oh my god, there she is!" {The preacher jumps behind Magnus and points at Ana. Magnus turns calmly and looks the pair over.}"Where? You mean that lovely young lady taking a stroll with her father? I thought you said she was big and ugly?"

Ana glanced at Magnus in surprise when she heard them both talking about her. 'Oh, is there something wrong?' she asked sweetly. 'I thought I just saw that man scream like a little girl at the sight of me.'

Sargon didn't stop walking until he was about twenty feet up the path, at which point he halted and glanced back, acting surprised that Ana wasn't following.

"Big and ugly, small and lovely, tomato tomoto! Just kill it!"{The preacher hissed. Magnus just turns to him with a look of //Are you insane?//}"I'm not going to raise my sword against an innocent bystander just because you think she looks like a witch! God, what is wrong with you people?!"
{The preacher just gets all offended as Magnus just turns and approaches Ana.}"Sorry about that, miss, these people are highly disfunctional. That's why they're all the way out here."

Ana smiled. 'Oh, don't worry. Some people just can't help being like this. Now, if you don't mind...' She raised a hand in farewell and hurried after Sargon.

'These people are lunatics,' she whispered to the waiting vampire. 'We should kill them all and let this place burn.'

'Not so quickly, Ana,' Sargon replied. 'First of all, we must find somewhere to stay the night. I wish to investigate these people more thoroughly. And we must track down Luxia as well. I want an account of these villagers' behaviour from someone who has actually been attacked by them.'

Ana pouted. 'So I can't kill them all?'

'Not unless I believe they are a serious threat to our race. Be reasonable, Ana.'

As they talked, the witch and vampire continued walking further away from Magnus and the preacher, searching for an inn or hotel.

(Hey King, are you gonna jump in again sometime?)

(Just waiting for the right moment, really ;w;)

{As Ana and Sargon walked away, Magnus turned back to the people.}"So, any other problems?"
Preacher:"Yes, there's a purple haired witch in //my// town! Can't you do anything about it?"
Magnus:"Not unless she destroys the town. What is with you people? Just because she's not human doesn't mean she's evil, and that's coming from a person who deals with the worst of them on a daily basis, so I should know."
{From here, Magnus and the preacher get into a long winded debate on whether or not Non humans are inherently evil or not.}

"Excuse me? Sirs?"
A man had approached Magnus and the preacher, looking quite worried. A pair of red-lensed goggles sat firmly on his grey hair and a golden bullet, which in certain parts of the world were favoured to kill non-humans instead of the usual silver and iron, hung from thick thread around his neck. He fiddles with the necklace a little as he speaks.
"Sorry to interrupt, but have either of you seen my son? He's about ye high, green jacket with a hood over his head? I...usually leave him in the forest outside this village, but I've searched high and low for him and found nothing. He's a sensible boy, and can't have gotten into trouble out there, it's safe as far as I'm concerned."

"Safe?! Those woods are anything but safe! They're crawling with those.....things!" {The preacher interjects.} "Draugrs. They're called Draugrs." {Magnus corrects. Now ignoring the preacher, Magnus turns his full attention to the mysterious man.}"Your boy is missing, and the last place you left him was a forest crawling with draugrs? Well, no wonder you can't find him, the draugrs probably drove him off."

Ana had been glancing back and forth between the preacher and the hunter as they argued, as if she were spectating a tennis match. When the man showed up, she initially paid him no attention, but her eyes widened when she realised he was describing someone she knew.

'Hey! What's your name?' she said, turning to the man. 'I'm pretty sure I've seen your son. Well, a couple of days ago, at least.'

Throughout all of this Sargon stood by quietly and watched. Seeing that Ana had been identified as a non-human and Magnus wasn't going to kill her, he no longer had to worry about anyone realising he was a vampire.

(I mistyped that as 'I'm pretty sure I've seen your sins'.)

"No, you don't understand, he's good enough at protecting himse- Wait, what?"
The man turns, his face brightening up slightly.
"You have? Oh, thank the White Stag! I'm his father, Dis- Darkyn, Darkyn. Sorry, I'm, a little shaken up still."
He covers his slip-up with some expertise, brushing hair out of his face and looking a little flustered.
"He's quite fond of plants, that's why I leave him there while I take care of business. He has places to stay, and he's never run into trouble before."

(That's a lot of sins to see-)

'We saw him the other day,' said Ana. 'I met him while I was travelling through the woods, and we stayed together for a while. I left him on the hillside outside the village. If he's not still around there, then I don't know where he could be. Maybe we could help you find him?'

She wondered if the draugrs really had driven Catacus off. It didn't seem likely, since as Ardens already knew about him.

{Magnus nods.}"I'd be happy to help find him. Shall we go to where he was last?"

"I would be very grateful for your help, thank you."
He manages a slight smile.
"Please, lead the way. I'm not sure which of his names he gave you, miss, but he'll likely answer to Corrin. I...have a few enemies, so sometimes we have to be careful."

'Enemies, huh? Sounds dangerous. Would those enemies happen to be hunters?' She flashed a brief, unpleasant grin in Magnus' direction.

Before anyone could reply, she turned to Sargon, who had somehow caught her attention without doing anything. 'You may go and help these people,' the vampire said. 'I will continue my investigations in the village - and on Luxia's whereabouts.'

'Will you be alright on your own?' Ana asked quickly.

'Yes.' With that, he turned and walked off up the path.

"What? Oh no, we tend to not trouble ourselves with hunters. We work for a...common cause, of sorts. Stopping evildoers doing their evil...doing."
He frowns slightly at the awkwardness of the last sentence, but simply shrugs it off.

Ana stared after Sargon for a moment, then turned back to Darkyn. 'Well, whatever's going on, I'm sure we can find him. So, when exactly did you last see your son?'

"I, uhm..."
He stays quiet for a couple of moments, thinking quickly.
"Well, it took me a day and a half to get back, so...four days ago?"

Ana hummed thoughtfully. 'We saw him less time ago than that. Let's get out of this village and look around.'

Shooting a quick glance towards Magnus, she shifted into her dragon form. Somehow, her hat rematerialised on top of her head as she did so. 'You guys can jump up if you like,' she offered. 'We'll get there faster.'

Sargon made his way through most of the village, pausing outside a small, tidy-looking pub. The people inside were, obviously, all human, but there weren't too many of them. The vampire went in and immediately crossed to the bar to speak with the bartender.

'Hello,' he said quietly, carefully pitching his voice to sound non-threatening. 'I was wondering if you could give me some information? My companion and I are travellers on a search for someone.'

"Actually-"
He starts, about to state that he had wings of his own, but goes against this idea very quickly after realizing the mark that was emblazoned on them would be sure to spark some kind of conversation about it, even if it wasn't the one he dreaded.
"Actually, that's a very good idea."
Darkyn studies her for a moment, then clambers onto her back, muttering something about not being used to being the one on other's backs absentmindedly.

{Magnus returned Ana's unsettling smile as he mounted her back.}"Take us to it, then, m'lady."

{Of course, all the townsfolk backed up cautiously once Ana shifted and started whispering to one another.}

{The bartender looked Sargon over and snorted, noticing his red eyes.}"Ya want information, parasite? It's gonna cost ya. Five pieces." (Of whatever currency this world operates on.)

Laughing, Ana leapt into the air and was quickly leaving the city's borders. Spotting the lush green hillside where she and Catacus had stopped the other day, she flew down and landed, somewhat heavily due to her two passengers.

'Well, this is where we last saw him,' she announced. 'Have you already searched this area?'

Sargon stared at the bartender just long enough to begin to unsettle him, then reached out and dropped a handful of gold pieces (I'm just gonna say that XD) on the counter. He hadn't been carrying any money on him, but had the ability to summon objects he owned from a long distance away. The pieces had been taken from his home in another town.

'Is that sufficient?' he said coolly.

Swiftly, he looks around.
"No, no I don't believe so...Catacus!"
He calls, slipping into calling his son's true name, seeing that the hunter wasn't phased by Ana's shifting. Darkyn paces around, searching for any sign that they were being approached.

'If we can't find him,' said Ana, 'then we should look for signs of a struggle. You know, blood, torn up grass, that kind of thing. He might've been dragged off by nasty people.' Still in her dragon form, she began to walk in circles and sniff the ground, as if hoping to catch Catacus' scent.

{The Barkeep grunts and accepts the currency.}"Alright, who ya lookin' fer?"

{Magnus looks around for any sign of foul play, but finds none.}"Hey, miss, Why don't you take Darklyn to look about the fringes of the village. I'm going to ask the guy who lives in the forest."

Sargon was quiet for a moment. Then he said, 'I heard that some months ago a witch passed through this village. I am looking for her. Perhaps somebody knows which direction she headed in?'

Ana thought about it, then nodded. 'Alright. Just don't try anything funny. Hey Darkyn, you want to come and search?'

"I very much would like to. Perhaps we could ask about...any caves, or ditches in these woods. A ditch wouldn't be that much of a problem if he's in direct sunlight, but, in a cave...he's defenseless."
He paces back over to her, fiddling with the bullet again.

Ana nodded again. 'Yes, why not? We may as well search everywhere you haven't looked already.' She started to walk down the hillside towards what looked like a thicket of trees and muddy ditches. Of course, she didn't take into account that her dragon form was much bigger and heavier than her human one, and after a few seconds her momentum caused her to fall over and roll down the hill into one of the ditches.

'Ow, mud,' she grumbled, trying to right herself while her wings got tangled underneath her.

{Magnus laughs at Ana's misfortune before heading towards the woods.}

{The barkeep gives a slight look of worry. Trying to end the conversation as quickly as possible, he gives Sargon what he asked for.}"North. She went North, but that was half a year ago." {He replied quickly, with a hint of nervousness.}

Sargon wasn't sure whether the man was lying or not, but he nodded anyway and turned to leave the bar. 'Thank you,' he said shortly. As he walked out, he sent a brief telepathic message to Anastasia. //I have a lead on where Luxia went, but it's old. We will have to search for her. Meet me on the northern side of the village as soon as you have found Darkyn's son.//

Ana suddenly lifted her head eagerly, still lying in the ditch. //That was Lord Sargon!// she thought. She wasn't telepathic so she couldn't respond to him, but he would know she'd heard him. //We'd better find this kid soon.//

"Ah, heck, are you okay?"
Darkyn calls from the top of the ditch. He begins to slowly edge slowly down the bank until he's stood next to her.
"Do you need any help there?"

'Nooo, I'm fine,' said Ana, crawling back to her feet. Once she was out of the ditch, she shifted back into her human form and adjusted her hat on her head. 'So, you really have no idea what might have happened to your son?' She glanced around, spotting a couple of small caves. Maybe Catacus was in one of them.

"Well, I have a few, none of them I'd particularly like to share for fear of them coming true..."
Noticing the caves, he half-jogs towards the nearest entrance. He pauses a moment, then summons a small fireball into his hand to cast some further light.
"Usually, I would refuse the idea of splitting up, but, I believe both of us to be powerful enough on our own...That is, only if you'd be okay with splitting up."

Ana grinned. 'I'm OK with that. Scream if you need help, alright?' With that, she ducked into the second cave, which was slightly smaller than the one Darkyn had approached. Concentrating, she summoned a spark of green magic that hovered just beside her head, following her movements. It cast a circle of soft illumination about the cave.

'See you!' she said, and walked forwards.

"Laters."
He calls after her, watching her walk away before beginning to delve deeper into his own cave. Darkyn scans the floor, walls and ceiling as he searches, the small fireball dancing in his hand. He goes quite deep into the cave before finding anything - a patch of tiny blood droplets. Taking a moment to not think of the worst, he kneels to study it further, to make sure that it wasn't belonging to Catacus. He brings the fire closer, and swallows hard. The blood had dried a little, and was dotted with specks of a greenish substance. Unless there were any other plant/animal hybrids in this cave, it belonged to his son.

Ana ventured as far as she could into the cave, but it was smaller than she expected - hardly more than a hollow in the ground - and contained nothing but a few pools of stagnant water, which dripped from the ceiling.

//Nothing here,// she thought, using her magical light to scan the walls as Darkyn had been doing inside the other cave. She turned away and headed back out into the sunlight, ready to follow him.

'Darkyn!' she called out. 'Find anything?'

He takes a breath before answering.
"Blood. It's Catacus'."
He calls back, his voice wavering slightly with fear.
"He's down here, somewhere. I can feel it."

Ana quickly made her way to the spot where he stood, following the light of his flame. She stumbled on a rock as she came near and had to grab the wall to steady herself, almost putting her hand in the splatter of blood. 'Ooh, that's NASTY,' she said, giving a tiny shudder. 'I don't hear anything. You'd think if he was hurt or being held captive, he'd be screaming for help. Unless he's unconscious, or...' She trailed off, aware that Darkyn probably wouldn't want to hear what she was thinking of.

"Being in the dark for too long makes him weak...he's more of a daisy than a mushroom."
Darkyn stands, dusting off his knees. He takes a moment before beginning to walk deeper into the cave, staying quiet and focusing more on the fireball to calm himself before they find something else.

Ana followed him, maintaining her own magical light. The cave was damp, and stalactites hung down from the ceiling. 'If he can't stand the dark, he wouldn't come down here willingly,' she said, her voice thoughtful as she mulled over the possibilities. Then she shook her head to clear it. 'We're bound to run into him eventually.'

d e a d R P i n t e n s i f i e s

Eh, I guess people just get too busy after a while.