EXTRAordinary

         What was so great about having a soul, I began to wonder. 

“……..I hope never.” 

      ❝ No way! You have little siblings?!?! ❞ Honey Lemon wrapped long slender arms around the younger hero and pulled her up into a lift/hug. ❝ I think you deserve an older sibling day~!! ❞ She gave her one last squeeze before letting her free.

⚙️ - She was already starting to wind up the little beetle device pulled from her pocket when her thoughts were interrupted. Rude- do not distract artificers.

“Maybe. Might’ve gone to the same school, shared a class. Start looking for tracks- we might be looking at anything from coyotes to actual bandits.”

         Well that was very helpful. Not much of a talker I guessed. My brows raised, I decided not to prod any further and focus on the mission. There was probably no use getting friendly now, an alliance was good enough of a reason to band us together, regardless of our previous interactions. Glancing over as the other began to wind up a... toy(?), I exhale sharply. What have I gotten myself into?

         “Right, tracks.” And so, my attention is drawn to the dirt and slightly damp ground where all sorts of things seemed to have left behind markings. Human footsteps were the majority of them, then those of a variety of beastkin, and littered almost randomly were bird like imprints heading north from their direction -- hopefully chicken.

Having her attention grabbed, Annastasia’s looking at the poster that had seemed to have grabbed Violet’s, “That’s uh….Like, is it an ACTUAL dragon? How’s that even possible?” She supposed love had no limits….right? Her eyes squints, “Let’s DO it.” This gave her the chance to show off the skills she’s picked up! If it meant fighting and letting the princess and her true love be, then she was ALL in for it. THIS is what heroes did after all, right? She grips her staff in her hand tight, rather excitedly, “HELL yeah! Let’s show those knights WHO’S Boss!” 

“We’re going to send them to their mamas! C’mon!” With her staff in hand, She’s making her way~! Violet better catch up, because despite being pretty short, she travels far. Gotta make up for being human, after all!

         Actual dragon or actually a draken, we’d have to find out. People tended to exaggerate to make certain things worse than it seemed so... who knows? I wasn’t doubting their love or anything but Anna’s question started this in the first place! “Yeah! We’ll send them running away crying with their hopes and dreams shattered!” I cheered with almost too much energy

.         As Anna begins towards the aforementioned tower, I sprint quickly behind her. It wasn’t too far of a ways off but saving energy was very important -- especially because I’ve only stocked a few apples for the day. But I tried not to dwell on that. Giving the Xalphina knights a piece of my mind was going to be so worth the trip.

   The throbbing of his teeth. It was getting more and more intense. This poor man. He’d tried his hardest to avoid falling prey to his new species calling. Needless to say, he was failing miserably. Vampires need blood right? Now matter how disgusting the thought of it, he needed to eat. Now hunched behind a tree, he watches the roads in hopes someone comes along. ‘If I really have to do this at all, i’d rather it be someone cute. Ah! What am I thinking?! It doesn’t matter who it is. I just need to get a good bite! …But someone like Nyaa-chan or Marie-Chan would be great~ Ahhhh… Someone who I can wrap my arms around and-’ He shakes his head wildly. ‘NO! Just the first person you see, Choromatsu! That’s it! That’s all you have to do!!’ His claws gently tapped against the tree, showing his patience was wearing thin.

   ‘Just give it a bit longer…’ The surveys the road a bit longer. Hoping for somebody, ANYBODY, to come along now. ‘Dear Akatsuka, Why am I a vampire? Osomatsu-niisan was a draken! Why couldn’t I be one too? Well, just take this as it comes. Even if my first bite isn’t cute or anything, just think of all those others who I could sink my teeth into!’ As hard as he tried to not think about it, he couldn’t help this impulse any longer as well. ‘Someone with soft hair, skin, a good smile and shape. Yes~ yes~I’m a vampire! I can lull them in with my own sense of charm and the closer they get, the closer we’ll be together! The pair of us embracing each other as we lock eyes and slowly I crane their neck back and-’ And he’s gone. Lost his senses for the moment. As of right now, he’s fantasizing about the situation while gripping and clinging to the tree. His nails digging into the bark he cries out.

   “Ah! AHH!!! SO CUTE!! SO CUTE!! Yes~ Just let me take one bite~ A little nibble~ AHHHH!!! THEY’LL BE PUTTY IN MY HANDS AS WILL I AND-!” He’s truly a degenerate, no matter how hard he tries to deny it. He’s completely unaware of how much of a fool he’s making himself out to be right now. Not only is he screaming about his perverse view on biting his prey and dragging all attention to him, but he’s already caught the attention of a Dhampir nearby. Oblivious, He still monologues about his plans.

@inv1s

         Life as a dhampir was getting more and more depressing by the day. Born as a human omnivore, I never thought much about what kind of foods will nourish me the best. Actually, I was lucky enough that mom or dad usually took care of that. Then again, sugar bombs were probably not the healthiest of breakfasts, so who’s to say I was ever properly fed in the first place? This was... normal. Or so I kept telling myself, stuffing plant after plant into my reluctant face. A part of me craved something more... something fatty, something fresh. Literally a part of me did. But I can’t just... give into that side of me. After all, I didn’t choose to be half of something -- I’ve already dealt with this crisis back at home, I didn’t need this here too! And so, I pushed every ounce of me that wasn’t ‘human’ away.

         So when I came across some loud squealing and thoughts that were meant to stay thoughts, I couldn’t help but stop. My eyes focused on the cobblestone path beneath me as my ears picked up the obscene words. Perhaps they were the same as her, though their craving must’ve been far worse. A full vampire even. Still... one bite didn’t sound so bad, right? Someone could barely feel it if I were to take a quick draw of blood and brush it off like a paper cut. Right? Right? My god.

Steven was still getting used to having elf magic over gem magic. Some of it was the same, defensive type stuff that always helped back home. Others were supper different, and none of it was as strong as his old powers. It really sucked. He worked so hard to be strong like a real gem, and now that he was, his powers were gone.

“I have defensive magic, so it’s great if we get attacked! But, uh, we need something to actually control where the chickens go…” If he had like a box or a crate, he could lure them inside before carrying them back to their mom.

“Food!” He realized. “If we had food, they’d try and get it. Trust me, tiny animals love tiny treats!” He was thinking of gem monsters, which always chased the sandwiches he threw for a distraction.

“And you don’t even need magic to make them. All we need are bagels and some kinda topping. I bet they have that in the market.” Steven also had plenty of money to go with his fancy status. He took another look at Violet, brows knitting in worry. She was some kind of monster now, but something else seemed odd. “Are you sure you’re okay to quest with me?”

         Defensive magic... I guess we were pretty stacked in that department. With my force fields and barrier spell, we would take less damage than get anything else done. Our powers weren’t too helpful with actually transporting them after we catch them. 

        Luring them with food was a good idea; babies and children always fell for a cookie or two -- the chickens returning twice their size would be pretty funny as well. “I’m trusting you then,” I nod firmly, turning my attention back towards the city. “Bagels might be a new thing for these people but bread, bread will do. Do chickens like cheese? Must be kind of weird eating something your neighbor made out of their own milk...” I’ll probably have to pick up something for myself as well.

         At Steven’s concern, I force a small smile as I throw him a thumbs up. “I’ll have to hibernate after this is all over... but I’ll... manage,” I tried to assure him. 

He’d seen her after awhile, after surveying the place well enough. Badou was surprised but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize she’s here for the same job too. She wouldn’t be here otherwise. She’s not that much of a rebel.

(Then again so many things and people had changed in this setting)

His single eye flickers to her and his smirk softens into a true smile.

“Yo. I’m usually in places like this trying to get information– best place for it. But I could say you’re scarily fitting in yourself.”

         “If you say so. I’m surprised they even let you in.” I shrugged, my sass creeping up on me. Information was the only reason I’d go anywhere, ever. So surprisingly, we shared the same sentiment. The innkeeper’s request was a bit of a strange one, but there had to be another reason why House Karliah was gunning for her so hard. You can’t really collect debt if that person’s dead, right? “Gotta do what you gotta do,” I recite almost too casually. 

        Like the second act of a play, the villains finally showed up, almost knocking down the door in their entrance. A handful of them, with a clear leader.

         “Time to pay up!!” The leader shouted, pretty furiously.

quests. now that was something she definitely could do. her area of expertise as an explorer. so the moment she saw a familiar looking quest board, she immediately went up to it, violet eyes scanning across each and every sheet there was. some did list the rewards ( dust, whatever that was ) but she was more interested in the map. a map was the best friend of an explorer and with how she knew absolutely nothing here, it would be helpful.

but the unholy territory, that was a little worrying. but she was a brave one, she fought the god of time and won. a few unholy’s wouldn’t scare her. so she set off, towards the underground ruins with a bag she had found over her shoulder. it would have to as a makeshift treasure bag. the quest didn’t give much of a description of the book so for now, she’d collect any that she could find. she could go through them when she found a safe place.

brown fox ears twitched at the sound of footsteps, rather light really before she turned. oh, another person. team up? that was definitely a good idea. the quest mentioned that the book was being guarded so she might need some help with that. her tail wagged at the offer, rather excited to team up.

“hello! yeah, i’m here for the book. and i’d love to team up, two heads are better then one!”

         Thankfully the beastkin wasn’t as stingy as most adventurers, but I’ll have to admit that I was dangling a pretty sweet offer. A reward in exchange for a glimpse or two of the requested item? Seemed pretty clear what the outcome would be. Getting the darn thing on the other hand... seemed a bit more difficult. But like she said, two heads are definitely better than one, unless one of those heads belonged to Dash.

         “I’m Violet by the way -- a knight in training. How about you? You seem to have this whole adventuring thing down already. Can’t say I’m much of one myself,” I chuckled lightly. “But those unholy things huh? Sounds pretty tough.” Though I was one myself, I couldn’t reveal that to just anyone, especially not here where the target was of the same kind. I couldn’t risk having myself killed before I found out what exactly was so important about that book!

Honestly, the main reason they had wanted to take the quest was because the species name sounded like a meme. And they’re a sucker for memes.

Seeing as they’ve been turned into a dragon they really should have expected the fact that they would be, in fact, frankly massive and voracious rabbits. It’s a good thing they like like rabbit.

“I’d say go for two, actually. If only because I think I could eat two of them with this form.” A pause. “If I can figure out if they’re actually edible, that is.” Honestly, they’ve just been craving meat since being turned into a dragon-thing. It’s actually a bit irritating.

“Say– those two are farther off from the herd than the rest. They should be the easiest to pick off, I think. The main problem will be getting them separated from the rest of the horde.”

         “Two sounds good,” I quickly chime in, eyeing the two Grey directed my gaze towards. They might’ve been easy to pick off, but their size and how close they actually were to the rest of them would make killing only two much harder. Especially if they had herd mentality like other mammals here, we couldn’t just ‘take two’. “Yeah, we can’t risk having the others witness the deaths of their fellow rabid rabbits.”

         Patting the side of Grey’s tough hide to signal that I was ready to move, I slip in a couple quick stretches. Even in this strange world, their teachings and training sessions were more practical and I found myself returning to them often. A bit of exercise also gets my mind going, so I’d like to believe I was coming up with some kind of plan going forward.

@inv1s || fantasia war pt. 1 starter call

      SEEMED A TRICKY TASK – wandering into other territories. she grew up in kingdom politics – raised by the captain of the guard – so she knew how these things could be. still, she was escorting someone who needed a bodyguard – sending her owl to scout ahead of them to make sure the coast was clear, his eyes able to see much better than hers in the dark – dropping her charge off in safety before moving to make her way out of the area. not without a whistle to signal her pet back && he swoops down && toward her with little caution to the person nearby who nearly blended in enough to almost startle cassandra, lighting up the veinlike patterns across her skin in neon blue.

      ❝ hey! watch out. ❞

      the woman gestures above the other before holding her arm out as a perch for the incoming bird.

         A whistle in the middle of the night? Probably not a good sign. If I’ve learned anything from my series of nighttime wandering, any kind of signal was another twist in my gut. Luckily, I actually listened to the organ system. Pulling down the obnoxiously large hood of my cape, I followed the other’s gesture to catch sight of some... dangerously sharp talons.

         Without much time to actually think, I instinctively threw out a plasmic force field around myself, wincing at the potential sound of impact. I really didn’t want to hurt anything -- it’ll be such a hassle to deal with later. Dissipating my force field after a second, I look up meekly, hopefully at the woman that offered me a warning. Knowing that the owl managed to safely land on its owner’s arm, I frowned, my tone accusatory.

          “Hey check this one out,” I chuckled as I pointed to the bulletin board, specifically one of the dragon requests. It felt a little bizarre to me that a human could find the capacity in their hearts to love a creature of another race, that wasn’t a pet. I’ve never met a dragon personally but... can they speak? How does the couple even communicate? Or is it sign language like with apes? As the questions started reeling in, my interests piqued as well.

         So, I turned to a wide-eyed Anna. For some reason, she seemed more excited about this than I was. Good, good. Her enthusiasm will do us well on this quest because with my lack of proper meals... we’re going to be needing it.