night shall fall

Maria nodded her thanks, taking her seat and smoothing down the front of her coat once she was sat down. It’s been a while since she’s dined with a friend—she would call Arnath a friend, though the standards for it with Maria were not too high really—and Arnath, she expected, wouldn’t make a big fuss about it. That was what she wanted right now.

“Of home?” She thought about the implications of that while she removed her gloves, tucking them into a coat pocket. “Did you already order?”

“I’d rather try yours.”

“ Not yet. I’ve been thinking on what exactly I wanted to eat that would remind me of ‘home’ but.. truth be told, I don’t even really eat that much and I don’t really hold any special connection to much food otherwise. “ It sounded like a sad affair but it was convenient for Arnath. After all, she ate to suppress her natural urges and it was mostly chocolate. The only thing she could think of that would remind her of home would be Rulitis’ cooking and.. that wasn’t quite something she needed to remember home. 

she’s not sure why she went out alone at night, but somehow the island seems no more dangerous in dark than in day. weiss doesn’t expect to find anyone out and about, but here and there the citizens seem lively and animate. it doesn’t quite feel right for her to be out, but the realization that she’s an adult who can do what she wants hits like a wall of steel. she can do what she wants, when she wants –

and that apparently involves watching people skate. weiss could probably join in, as the activity seems to be offered free of charge as part of the island’s festivities, but she’s content to just sit and watch. it’s then she sees a woman fall. she expects someone to rush and help her, but she’s stuck a ways out toward the middle of the rink, struggling to rise.

of course, she can’t leave well enough alone.

‘i’ll be right there!’ she’s only got five uses of her glyphs to serve as platforms but that should be more than enough to lend a hand. it takes two to leap frog out and offer a hand (she’s not that far out, after all).

‘here.’ she offers her hand with no flourish. ‘it’s a little tricky to master, isn’t it?’

✴: » Looking up at the sight of the woman holding her hand out for her to grab, Arnath was quick to grab it and dragged herself back up to her feet, looking at the glyphs she was using as platforms. It was an interesting way to use magic in that regard but she couldn’t quite compliment it given how she was busy trying to keep herself well and balanced. She managed to get back to her feet, keeping her legs close together to prevent any unfortunate splits accidents.

“ It’s.. it’s a bit hard yeah.. I thought I could get this but.. as you can see, I’m a bit wrong..! “ Funny how Arnath could glide and hop around with ease with uses of her demon transformations, but out of them and using thin blades on ice and suddenly she has two left feet. She’s incredibly grateful for the help but does scoff at the people who just kept skating around her. They would get the absolute annoyed look out of her for that one. 

“You came to the wrong festival then, lady. Also I’m pretty sure melons count as real, solid food.”

As far as the eye, and stomach, could see laid melons in their full spherical glory. Eugene never was hug on festivals, the crowds were difficult to maneuver, and he’d usually made his presence unwelcome before the main event. But here he was going on day five and still holding strong.

“I can’t say there’s much else around. Trust me, I’ve made the rounds… but if you head down the center and exit towards the street- there’s an awesome taco truck sitting there. So I think it’s taco time.”

“ WHY. IS EVERYTHING. MELONS? “ There was meant to be a comment about sarcastically asking ‘oh yeah I sure didn’t know given all the god damn melons’ or more along those lines, but her stomach was aching from the overdose of the stuff. Any more and she might actually needed her stomach to be pumped which.. for a half demon of her aptitude was kind of sad all things considered. 

✴: » Hearing about a taco truck though, it was a bit low brow but it wasn’t as if the calories or salt would put her down. At this point it was more about just getting the taste out of her mouth as quickly as possible before she hated the fruit for the rest of her life. Slumping a bit, she nodded her head at him. 

     “Getting dragged into trouble is hardly something that’s      new to me. And, well… you did help me at one point      too - remember? I suppose the least I could do is help      you out.”

Lost memorabilia from home, or so they said. Could it be possible that these shops could hold such valuable objects? Zero wasn’t sure, nor did he really believe it, but Arnath could be considered a friend ( and how much he hates using that word ) to him, so he was going to help her out even if he wasn’t interested in looking for items himself.

     “Can’t really say if there’s something I desire, but I’ll      help you look for anything you might want. Though,      I truly am curious if the rumors are true, so maybe I’ll      look for something simple to test the waters. There’s      a book in the library that my lord liked to read - it has      a purple cover. The title is in old Nohrian language.”

“ Well I have no clue what Nohrian looks like so I’ll find any purple books and just start making a fun pile for you. As for me.. “ Arnath mulled on the matter on things she would like to have or find from home.. but unlike Zero, her pieces of memorabilia were a bit more.. personal to say the least. She found herself humming to herself in thought over the matter for a moment as she scratched her head, looking around the booths for a few seconds.

“ Hm? “ Turning her head upwards at a familiar face, Arnath caught a glimpse of Lady Maria, a woman she knew originally from a rather.. unfortunate set of events that made Arnath kind of look like a pushover and a kiss-ass in front of her. Since then the two were on relatively good terms, Arnath pushing the chair in front of her outwards to offer her a seat. 

“ If you want. I heard this place makes pretty alright food, that reminds you of home. Wanted to see how legit it was. “ 

“ Ghh.. maybe this was a mistake..! Hey uh, anyone here willing to help me out? Uh.. crap, you there! Could I just--get some help.. off this.. stupid ice..!! “

“ So you’re the guy Karen told me about?! The one with the job offer, right?! “ Sadly due to the intensity of the music, yelling kind of became the necessary means of communication in here. 

“ Jeez, is everything here melon related..?! I think I’ve eaten more melon than actual solid food today, ugh.. “ Rubbing her stomach a bit due to the lack of overall nutritional value this stuff had and not really even filling herself properly or tending to her needs due to the mass quantity of melon before her, Arnath turned her head towards a stranger and gave them a quick pat on the shoulder. “ Do you know if I can get something around here for now that isn’t melon related. I know it’s a festival going on but this is pretty ridiculous. “

“ Thanks for coming to check this out with me, Zero. I don’t typically follow dumb rumors like this but.. I’m kind of curious about these shops. “ Standing before a long line of vendors, Arnath glanced around the stalls and saw how far they extended out with a small sigh escaping her lips. “ Apparently people are finding lost memorabilia from home here and I was curious if that was real. if you have something that might be found here I can try and scope it out. Might have to be descriptive about it.. looks like we got a lot of junk to wade through. “  

“…Thanks.”

Mezzarin’s been stared at already here, but for some reason it felt a lot more weird up close like this. She took a cautious half step back, both because of the staring and because she was still concerned about people touching her. For their sake.

“If I hit every green crosswalk signal on my way to the store and back I’ll be fine. Otherwise I’ll just wait longer at each signal, I guess.” Her two tails flicked back and forth, annoyed. Not at Arnath, though; she was still thankful that she hit the button.

“I suppose I could catch a bus or something. Is the transportation good here?”

✴: » Arnath could tell judging by the look on their face that whoever this was had to deal with this for a while now. While she couldn’t relate due to being.. well.. capable of hitting buttons and being tall, she could sympathize with her annoyance on that regard and felt a bit bad for her on that regard. Really she wanted to be some help because lord knows who else would be willing to do this kind of stuff for a stranger. The way she described her situation made it sound pretty bad, really. 

   Normally, Lamb would care very little if Wolf ran off to follow his heart’s desire. But in such an unknown place, in such a different form, Lamb could not help but fret over where her companion had gone, even if only a little, and even if that worry wasn’t visible at all in her calm expression. She approached the other with no hesitation, seemingly caring very little if she happened to be disturbing the stranger. 

   “Have you happened to see a black dog pass by here not too long ago? Chasing something perhaps?”

@arnath / s.c

✴: » Arnath turned her head at the approaching individual after having found a spot to rest for the time being. When asked about a black dog passing, she thought for a moment about anything like that having passed by. She was sure there might have been but.. so much wild life had passed her by that discerning one from the other was difficult, even for her. Especially with as vague of a description as that. 

     “Is that how you treat a lost friend in need? My, Arnath, and      here I thought we were getting along before.”

Feline ears twitched at the sound of her voice as the outlaw stepped out of the shadows. Arms crossed, Zero’s own appearance had taken change to it, though not as drastic as the woman before him. Her voice and a few visual keys allowed him to realize just who it was he was stalking after, finally revealing himself to her when she ( rightfully ) called him out on it.

     “Ashamed we’re a part of different kingdoms, though I have      no intention of thrusting myself into this whole war situation.      I’ve already fought for nobles I did not particularly like; I am      not going to do so again.”

Nor would he ever listen to someone who wasn’t his lord. Well, he’s basically made enemies with almost everyone he’s come across because of his tongue. Even his own kingdom doesn’t value him, so he wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t care what he did. Though, he couldn’t help but wonder what Arnath’s role was - or what she had decided her role to be. Was she like him, or was she blindly following along in hopes that it would appease whatever being brought them to this world?

“ There’s a joke somewhere in here about you being a stray cat but I’m gonna refrain for both of our sakes. “ Admittedly she was glad the stranger’s voice turned out to be someone she could trust. With a whole lot of different people willing to jump her for not sharing their world views on the whole kingdoms issue, her trust in people had gone down only a little. At the very least she didn’t attack him which was a good sigh of self restraint. 

“ Jokes on you, I didn’t assign myself to any kingdom. I’ve lived most of my life working under people sketchy at best and I don’t plan on repeating that kind of situation again. At the very least, none of the kingdoms really offered me anything I found enough to bother joining their cause. As far as anyone who’s anyone cares, I’m an outcast. “ She’d reply rather casually with her arms crossed as she leaned herself up against a tree, looking up at Zero himself. At the very least she was glad Zero was on the ball with what he was doing and found himself in a good enough position to do so. It just put her mind at ease knowing people she cared about were still alright.. but so many still were unaccounted for. 

“ It looks like things will be approaching a climax rather soon. At the center of all of this there may be some kind of confrontation.. I’d probably say it’d be best for you to help out the civilians get away from that thing when that time comes. “ 

“ So, you’re also wandering about these parts by yourself? I wasn’t aware there were a few more who decided to go off by themselves. From what I’ve seen so far, a lot of the people around here feel comfier sticking around one of these four kingdoms. “ Stretching her arms and flapping the wings at her side, Arnath let out a sigh, finding a bit of fortune in her life at finding another person wandering the outskirts of the four kingdoms like she had been. So many were rather content with where they were and were rather volatile towards others at the drop of a dime, so to find someone with a bit more of a level head was nice. 

“ So, why’re you by yourself, anyways? “ 

“ I guess this is me for a little bit. I don’t feel any different.. although these look a bit different last I checked. “ The rather sharpened wings at her side were more draconic in appearance as she had no control on how they looked.. while her legs, she found, had some how grown a considerable amount of scales from the ankle up, covering the entirety of her lower torso. She hadn’t quite fully understood the standings of these four kingdoms but.. she wanted no part in them. It may have been a bad choice but it was her’s. She couldn’t find herself keeping to any single kingdom without specifications and given the general chaos, she didn’t need to add to it. It’d be unnecessary. 

✴: » The new Faeken found herself isolated in a forest, just outside the kingdom of what was supposedly Airaisal given the signs around her. All that really mattered for the time being was survival and keeping safe until things had calmed down. Although with the general rustling of the fauna nearby, that seemed to be out of the window as she stopped moving. 

“ I already heard you. Come on out and try whatever you want to and lets get this over with. “ 

Starter | @arnath

Back home, things like this wouldn’t be a problem. There’d be multiple options for people and Pokemon of varying sizes to take advantage of. Or if there wasn’t, it’d be lower in the first place. She’d be able to do just fine, and not have to stand here and wait for someone to walk up next to her so she could ask for their help. But alas…

She was too short to reach the crosswalk button.

With the sound of defeat clear in her tone of voice, she spoke up as soon as someone got close, whether they looked like they were gonna cross the street or not.

“Hey… can you press the button for me?”

✴: » The sound of a voice caused Arnath to jump a bit in surprise as she looked around, trying to figure out just what the hell was speaking to her. All it took however was an idle glance as she looked down a bit to see someone struggle to try and hit a crosswalk button. They were a uniquely looking individual.. albeit the thing that really caught Arnath’s eye was just how tiny they were. She would awkwardly press the crosswalk button, still staring down at her just a bit. It really wasn’t on purpose she had NO choice.