b e l l a d o n n a

“It’s done.” 

Cass barely looked up from her reading as Scar stood before her, blade dripping both red and purple. She had asked them to wound one of Catalyst’s members, mostly as a message to Hades for taking so goddamn long. The poison was… The poison was just a fun touch she wanted to squeeze in. Kind of like a signature but… fatal. 

“Which one did you end up picking? Was it that Jared kid?” She asked breezily, flipping the page before finally looking up to meet Scar’s gaze. 

“No. He managed to get away. It was that other kid. The noisy one? What was his name? Carrot? Onion?” 

Cass’ eyes widened. 

“Radish?” 

“That’s the one.” 

Before he could say anything else, Cass was on her feet, eyes wide with anger and hands clenched into fists. “What did I say about Radish? He’s off limits.” Before Scar could stammer out a response, Cass moved past him briskly, robes moving like fire around her. “He better be alive when I get to him, or it’s your head I’m sending to Catalyst’s door step.” 

- 

She found him by a clearing, just as Scar described. Hunched over and trembling, hands grasping at the open wound on his chest. She moved quickly, a rare show of worry furrowing at her brow as she laid him flat on his back. 

“… Who… What?” His eyes fluttered open, hazy and confused as he regarded her with a frown. 

“You’ll be okay, Radish. Don’t worry.” Cass spoke softly as she ran her staff over him. She dropped the antidote in his mouth before hovering her hands over the wound, closing her eyes as the energy moved from herself to him, magic pulling and weaving till the trembling stopped and his breathing normalized. A strange sense of relief flooded her as his health bar moved from red to orange to yellow. 

“Thank god…” She murmured to herself, not even flinching as a shadow hovered over them. 

“What’s with the kid? What makes him any different from the rest of them?” Cass clenched her jaw before turning to look up at Scar with a frown. “You don’t ask questions, Scar. You follow orders.” She got up and smoothed down her skirts before tapping her staff against the ground. 

I’ve been keeping to myself mostly, sweetie, but rest assured I have eyes and ears everywhere. 

Hades? Oh, Hades is a very good old friend of mine. Quite a noble one isn’t he? You’d be surprised though. When push comes to shove, he knows which end of the arrow is useful. He’s helped me more than enough times in that regard. 

          it had been a while since noir had gotten herself some new clothes. now, most of her trusty leggings and t-shirts were in shreds or stained with an amount of blood and dirt that was way past salvageable. so, she found herself on floor 52, on the same strip where she had gotten her dress for the anniversary gala. GOD that seemed like ages ago. and, just like she had when she had picked out the red dress she had worn that night, she selected something off the clothing rack that noir would never have DREAMED of wearing. but it was something ABBY would have.

          she got lost in her thoughts until another player’s voice snapped her out of her trance, causing the blonde’s head to flick up to look at them. she tried not to blush upon hearing the compliment that came from a total stranger. “ huh ?? oh, uh, idunno… ” she took another glance at the black dress in question, lips pursed in thought. “ it’s not really my thing.. ”

Cass let out a kind hum before moving towards her, taking the dress and holding it up against the younger player’s frame. “Not your thing? I think you’d look stunning in it. So pretty.” Cass called for the store clerk to come over, asking if they had it in other shades. “It’s not like you’re going to wear it for anyone but yourself. I think a pretty dress should make any woman feel a bit more powerful.” 

“That’d look pretty on you.” 

Cass smiled at the blonde before her, leaning against one of the racks before pulling out a long red robe, pressing it against her frame with a thoughtful hum. “I’m partial to red, but I think that one would look great on you. With such a pretty face, you’ll surely be able to pull it off.” She handed the robe over to one of the NPCs before picking out a couple of gold coins. 

“You gonna get it?” 

Kitty drew in a sharp breath and took a nervous step back, looking around. That wasn’t a total act, if she wasn’t lying about being attacked whoever or whatever could still be close by and her entire cover would be blown if this chick couldn’t pull herself together. Plus she was a mage? Her own specialty was light, but even she could control a vine that small into letting go, or grabbing tighter. “You were attacked? By what? I’m not ready to fight anything-” Shit. Red cursor, Kitty c’mon. 

Remembering the small knife she had tucked into her boot, she pulled it out and handed it to the other player, hands still shaking. “Here you can use this, would that help?” 

Useless, useless, useless. 

Cass grabbed onto the knife the player, Kitty, had thrown her, before giving the plant a quick slash. She made sure to pin the rest of the vine down with a grunt before forcing herself on her feet. 

“By a group of looters. They took my staff.” She hissed, limping towards the edge of the woods she had initially stashed it in. “But it’s fine. They should be well away now. My inventory is less than great, though.” 

what is with people and these plants? hadn’t he just helped aang survive his real-life mario experience like, a month ago? was it something in the water? without even thinking, he held out his staff and hit the plant with a minor fire attack which he instantly regretted, because he was doing his best not to use it. it was just so convenient, and it came so naturally to him—and it did the trick. the plant released the woman and hissed as it retracted to the safety of the undergrowth. “so, i charge 50 gold for a rescue, and it’s gonna be another 40 if you want an escort back…and then, you know, it’s customary to tip.” 

Cass let out a soft laugh, though not forgetting to keep the wince up, an arm wrapping around her ankle with a hiss. “I’ll make sure to double it when I get the chance.” She looked up, only to notice the familiar glint of the Catalyst band on his arm. 

Her grin teetered on feral before she quickly softened it. 

She could have had no idea that this was a trap–after all, who would hurt themselves so badly just to lure out other, helpful, good-seeking players? She crouched down before Cass and began to pull a few bottles out of her inventory. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I can fix this.” It must have heard horribly, but it wasn’t too bad. She’d certainly healed worse. Plants were her speciality, after all, and that included plant-based injuries. She could heal them much better, much faster, than injures made from fire (as Leo had proved just days ago). 

Jude dabbed just a few drops of a clear blue potion onto a giant palm leaf. Then she wrapped he leave around Cass’s leg. “This should just take a couple of minutes, Honey,” she promised. “Does it hurt too badly?”

A sharp inhale and a careful grasp at Padme’s arm under the guise of gaining stability and comfort. 

Powerful... Interesting... 

“It... It’s manageable.” She murmured through breaths before smiling up at the woman in question. “Thank you.” She glanced up at her username in show before tilting her head. “Padme. Thank you. I really don’t know what I would have done had you not found me. I should have known better... I wandered into a looting trap and they did away with my staff before I could do anything.” She wondered if perhaps Leo had mentioned her. 

She would need to know what she was working with. Perhaps she didn’t notice her cursor? Perhaps Leo didn’t tell her about her? 

It was instinctual for Achilles to  reach out when she tried and failed to stand on her own. All the while, Snow- who was usually okay with new people. Hung back from the pair. Not quite baring her teeth but there was a hint of fangs there as she continued to watch over Achilles. 

 He continued to look at the wound, watching the color of her skin turn. “ Which one did she say…” he said to himself as he rummaged through his belongs. Padme had gone over a couple of potions that were good for specific things. He just needed to find… “ Got it,” pulling the silver opaque potion out of his bag. “ This should do the trick,” he said, handing her the bottle. 

Taking in his surroundings; Achilles started to wonder why no one had tried to help her sooner. It was a busy part of the wood, If a bit off the beaten path. Also noting Snow, seemingly glaring at the woman.  Achilles’ turned his dark eyes on her; observing her a minute longer. “Do you need help getting home, or will you be alright now?”  

Gentleman... This made things a bit more interesting. Cass looked up to smile knowingly at his mount before moving her focus back on her leg. It was either he hadn’t paid much attention to her cursor and username or Leo probably hadn’t told him about her. The latter wasn’t too far of a stretch. Leo did enjoy keeping his secrets. 

“No, I think... I think I can manage. I wouldn’t want to intrude. You’ve already helped enough.” She shook her head and smiled at him kindly. 

“Your reputation proceeds you. I should have known the Catalyst guild master wouldn’t ignore a person in need.” 

“ You could have stayed home you know,” he said to Snow. The tiger huffing at him since his talk with Padme. How was it that he raised this ungrateful mount and she never took his side on things.  Thats when he noticed the hair on the back of her neck stand up

“Help, please help!”

Who ever it was didn’t sound to far off from where they stood. Achilles began to scan the thick vegetation and underbrush around him when he spotted the skirts and a leg of someone. 

“Easy girl, come on.” he said drawing out his axe as he  found her there. Long dark hair cover her face, and the vine that was leaving a nasty red welt around her ankle. Telling the player not to move, he swung his act and cut through the vine easy enough. Kicking it at it as the vine retreated back into the brush. Knelling down, Achilles wrapped the remain bit of vine from her ankle. Snow, growling low behind him as he did so, what was with her today?

“ Are you alright?” he asked his eyes focused on his task. 

“I’m... I’m fine... I’m sorry, they took my staff and I couldn’t...” Her explanation came out stammered and flustered as she winced at the wounds now lining her calf. “God, I’m such an idiot. I should have known it was a trap.” She looked up at Achilles before looking away in a show of shame and embarassment. 

Oh, this one was pretty too. Leo was working double time. Perhaps Catalyst was indeed a good idea. 

She bit back the smile that tugged at her lips before attempting to get up, only to fall back down with a yelp of pain, grasping at her leg. 

“I think it was poisonous...” She breathed out, watching the veins in her leg turn purple. 

She didn’t know her. 

That was the first thing she noticed about the girl. The second thing she noticed was the vine wrapping around her foot. It was small, but the thorns looked sharp. She didn’t have any obvious connection to any guild, but even as a solo player a vine this size shouldn’t have been a cause for help.

Instantly, Kitty gave her a wide, doe eyed look in combination of a confused pout. “I like really don’t know how much help I’d be, I’m not very skilled.” Her hands went to work, twisting at the bottom of her hair, assisting in her panicked cluelessness.”I can go get help um-”  She drew in a shaky breath, her hands starting to shake as they played with her hair, her eyes looking around for anyone she could find. “I think I saw some players a few like turns away, I can go get them?”

“No! No, wait!” Cass stomped down the frustrated tick in her brow. “My staff. I was attacked and they threw my staff in that direction.” She pointed to the forest not too far away where her staff had been stashed. 

“Just... please get it for me.” 

The girl didn’t seem all that useless, and certainly not the one she had been waiting for, but she didn’t mind the Circus company. 

Padme heard the tell-tale sounds of a plant attack before she heard the player’s cry. She had learned over the years to recognize that particular hiss, the way the ground rumbled beneath your feet when one of the more dangerous plants roared its ugly head. She dropped the basket she was holding–filled with, well, nothing, because Achilles really had done everything he’d promised: her garden was filled with every herb she’d ever needed, and her days of searching floor to floor seemed to be over. But it was a habit. And she didn’t know where to go anymore, felt restless every-time she stopped moving. 

As the basket rolled away, she rushed forward and pulled out her staff, aiming not at the player, but at the ground beneath them. The plant hissed, almost as an animal might, as its roots were targeted, as the earth tugged it downward. Then it released its hold and slithered back into the ground. “Are you alright?” Padme asked, lowering her staff back to her side. 

“My... my leg.” Cass let out a stuttered breath as her hands hovered over her injured leg, deep scratches now lining her skin. She looked up at the mystic and tried to suppress the smile. 

She was pretty. Prettier than they’d told her. Definitely prettier than she expected. No wonder Leo seemed to be smitten. 

“And I’ve... run out of potions...” She took in a sharp breath because of the pain before turning to look up at Padme. 

“Help! Please help!” 

She tugged at her ankle in vain, wincing as the vine slowly tightened its hold around her foot, slowly crawling up her calf till the thorns began ripping at her skin. She squeezed her eyes shut and gripped at her skirts before turning to find a player nearby. 

Bingo. 

She reached out her hand and looked up at them pleadingly. 

“Please help me!” 

“Hello, Leo.” 

Hades stilled, blood frozen in his veins as the hairs at the back of his neck stood in attention. He didn’t know why he was so surprised, he knew it would only be a matter of time. He made a move to grip his bow, but stopped at the feel of a light hand on his bandaged shoulder. 

“No need, darling, I come in peace.” Cassandra swept past him with a soft laugh, her other hand delicately pressing against her lips to stifle her amusement. “Always so serious. What happened to my fun Leo?” 

“What do you want, Cass? You shouldn’t be here. How did you even get in?” 

“You forget how... persuasive I can be.” She shot him a smile laced with honey, one Hades knew all too well. It made his skin crawl at the thought of how many people fell into that trap. How he had once fallen for it as well. She waved a dismissive hand and stood just before him, eyes wandering over their training room. 

“Well, it’s definitely an upgrade, I’ll give you that.” She mused, only to focus her attention back on him. “And can’t I come visit an old friend? Especially after that stunt you pulled on my friends... Don’t worry, I’m not angry. Intrigued though...” Her lips once again pulled up into a smile. “You’ve made friends. Capable friends. Perhaps they can become my friends too.” Hades growled at the implication. 

“Go crawl back into your hole, Cass.” 

“Oh, but sweetheart, I’ve grown tired of the dark. The 100th floor seems to not be too far away and,” He could have sworn he saw the feral glint in her eyes. “I think it’s time I... help out.” She reached out to cup his face in her hands, warmth radiating from her fingertips, enough to have Hades gripping at her wrists in warning. “And as I said... familiarize myself with your friends.” She pulled back almost instantly before moving past him with a hum. 

“And don’t think I forgot about your debt to me, dear Leo. But don’t worry about that now. I may have bigger fish to fry.” She threw him a wink over her shoulder before leaving the Catalyst training room in a flourish of red silk and ribbons. 

Now the real game’s begun. 

°✧｡ [FAN BINGBING, CIS-FEMALE, SHE/HER] IT’S BEEN THREE YEARS SINCE CASSIOPEIA JOINED VELIA FROM NEW YORK, USA. APPARENTLY THEIR NAME IS CASSANDRA CHEN AND THEY’RE A MAGE. THEY HAVE BEEN FIGHTING AS A SOLO MEMBER FOR A WHILE NOW. DIDN’T PEOPLE SAY THEY WERE NOT A BETA TESTER? I HEARD THEY TURNED THIRTY-FIVE THIS YEAR. LET’S HOPE THEY MAKE IT OUT ALIVE. [ANGE, 23, GMT+8, AND SHE/HER]