Untitled

Her caution was palpable, though Mirza could not blame her in the slightest. This city and it’s people were traumatized, in a way, and he made sure to give her ample space so that she might view him as less of a threat. He had no intention of becoming a thief or criminal before he donned his mask and met up with his associates, or to have anyone accuse him of such. “I understand completely. I’m out here for unavoidable reasons as well.” Hmm… well, he did have some time before the meeting. “I am Mirza, justicar of Cesus. Not a warrior by any means, but if you wished for an escort to your destination, I would be happy to oblige. At the very least, it would be wiser for us not to travel alone at the moment.”

"i wouldn’t dare take you away from your tasks.” she was positive she was not nearly important enough to warrant an escort from such a man, and so she simply smiled and nodded. “i’m simply heading back to my home- i just need to make sure things are in order.” 

antigone had forgotten just what talon and sisi were, and she never ventured near the sea by ireyne. it must be interesting and terrifying to use that as a way to become your true form. she laughs. “well, i’m not one for fighting, so i think he’s keeping me safe. and he makes my sister a little annoyed, which is always funny. how is the sea?”

above all, it would be the stench that would haunt danae. all that decaying flesh, all that blood. for once, she felt an itch to use her powers, perhaps to burn all that remained. the smell of burning flesh and then ashes would have to be better than this. lifting up her skirts she made her way throughout the streets, casting greedy eyes upon the cadavers. the dead had no need for jewels or goldens coins and she had half a mind to scavenge for goods once dawn came. from afar she watched another sillhouette make her way inbetween the bodies and heard the sound of squelching as boot made contact with something.

“i’ve seen worse. drowned men make for a far more gruesome sight.”

Lovelie snatched the shoe off and looked closely at the sole, and then sniffed it. She made a face of disgust, and dropped the shoe unceremoniously back onto the ground for the woman to slip it back on. “What I figured. Blood mixed with peat. Where are there bogs around here?”   

perhaps sisi had been reading too many romance novels in the free time she’d gained since losing her job. she had partially expected for the beautiful woman to gallantly offer to clean her shoe- and instead she was left wobbling on one leg as she struggled to not put her bare foot down in the... apparently blood and peat mixture. 

“i’m afraid i don’t know where any bogs are in the local area.” she gingerly slipped her foot back into her show.

antigone let out a breath of relief. she already felt awkward around those talon was close to, and for some reason sisi’s approval mattered to her. “if you’d like to see him, you can visit. he’s sleeping right now. he didn’t want to leave the tavern but– that shoddy place is nowhere to wait out an attack.”

She was only inside the city walls because firstly, that was where the attacks had occurred and she was still trying to track the devils down, and secondly, she couldn’t make beer or ale out in the wild on short notice unfortunately. The sound of disgust coming from the young woman near by made Lovelie pause, and peer onto the ground.

“Let me see your shoe,” Lovelie demanded, immediately heading towards the woman with determination.

Perhaps he should hold more fear for the recent developments, these new corpses rising in the dark to claim lives. But the last few months had done a great deal to temper Mirza’s fear, and a few measly undead were not going to stand between him and his work. The night belonged to him and his associates, and as he made his way through the defiled streets, he thanked the Five for clearing his path that he might arrive safely at his destination. Though it would appear he was not the only one braving the darkened alleys. “Aptly put,” he mused, as he neared the woman. “I had hoped to organize volunteers for cleaning up the streets, but most are too afraid to leave their homes. Not you, though.”

“i’m sure–” there was no use denying antigone and talon’s relationship now; it seemed as if everyone knew about it before she did. she blushed and ducked her head. “well, i did strongarm him into taking shelter at my house. that way my sister and my– lover can see i’m not being eaten by a corpse in the street.”

its eerie, seeing windows boarded up and doors locked tight, even as corpses littered the alleyways. the stench of blood clogged her nose, and she wished she had just stayed in the water rather than brave the streets. holding her skirt up, she stepped over a severed arm and scrunched her nose as she instead stepped in... something.

The gentle voice is a quiet break from all the crass hollering and retells of victories from the woods. Many which sound a little stretched in truth to begin with. Deimos wants to be done, quickly working through the string of injured soldiers. However, he holds back a huff and tries a small smile instead as he waves the familiar girl forward. 

“No, no.” he clears the spot next to him on the log for her to sit. “Just mean this will go quicker, is all.” Deimos waits for her to sit before beginning to take a look at the blood soaked material around her wound. “So tell me,” he muses “you take on one of the beasts of the forests this lot wont shut up about?” 

his quiet assurance that she wouldn’t be a nuisance was welcome, though his estimate of time wasn’t quite what she had hoped for. but she ducked her head, stretching her neck slightly so as to allow easier access. his close proximity brought flashes of memories, of the pale figure gripping her arms as fangs sank into the soft skin on her neck.

“ah- no.” she blinked, pushing back the memories as she tried to focus on the obviously blessed man. “i was at the inn and he...” her pulse jumped slightly, hands clenching the fabric of her shift. “he came in while i was trying to dress. if it hadn’t been for my friend, talon, i don’t think i’d be here now.”

status: open

Deimos had kept his head down when they made the call for experienced healers and claras with a decent grasp of their power. He was well versed in his newly found gift by now. Using it nearly every day. The white magic ebbed and flowed through him like a warm wave, a dream he had long forgotten suddenly resurging. It was hard to hide however, the soft glow that seemed to follow him everywhere outted him quickly to the gathering crowd and with a begrudging smile he agreed to go. 

Now he sits on the edge of the forest in their makeshift camp, the castle walls looming just on the horizon. Deimos not-to-delicately shoves away the wrist that he had has hands clasped around and stands. “There.” He nods. “All fixed.” The merc looks around at the straggling group of fighters. His stomach twists and he pushes out the thought I should have been here. Deimos swallows a bitter taste and turns to call out. “Right then,” his voice dull, “who’s closest to the brink of death?” 

her shoulder is bleeding, slowly and sluggishly, but dark blood, more purple than red, stains the neckline of the shift she had fled town in. she wasn’t close to death- not like some of the others she had seen limping in from the forests and township, but the dull ache was starting to become more than a little distracting as she tried to find the courage to head back to the inn to retrieve her things. 

“excuse me-” she stepped close to the man, someone she’d seen around a few times before. “i’m not- i’m not on the brink of death, so i understand if you’d rather have me wait.”

he had finally let sleep overtake his aching muscles when he was called back from his approaching dream, a shadowed figure smiling sweetly to him in his dreams fading away as he whacks sisi’s hand away.  he grunts softly as he shuffles himself into a sitting position, for a moment his features are scrunched into annoyance before he takes in the worry lining his friend’s face.

“what? what’s happened?”  rubbing his eyes free of sleep, he takes in the cries coming from outside of the inn, his thoughts falling to the delicate woman and her sister being out there - what if those cries were theirs?  “fuckin’ hell…of course this place was too good to be true.”

by the time talon had sat up, sisi was already slipping out of bed, ignoring the freezing cold as she headed towards the window. “i don’t know what’s going on.” she leaned towards the window, paling at the sight of the rising flames silhouetting approaching figures. “i think we’re under attack.” her feet moved before her mouth had finished moving, and she stumbled slightly over a pair of boots on the floor. 

“i can do this, sisi.”  his voice was rough, tight as if he were attempting to convince himself ratehr then her.  talon hated to show his weakness, especially when it was so obviously on display, the harsh words of his aunt circling his mind as he pushes forward at the back of the group. “well, we’ll just have to look forward to the fish pies, won’t we?  adventure awaits!”

“no…no.  i’ll be fine sisi, we’ll come to a stop soon anyhow  -  look at the horses, some are lagging already.”  his free hand gestures out to the few horses in the group, though it gives him no comfort as he continues to hop along at the back of the group with his friend. “you can’t be mad for me getting you outta that hell hole for a while,” lips curl into a grin as he looks to her, “and i hear there’s treasure at the castle.”

The water of the stream quickly filled the empty skein, and Cyrus quickly stoppered it to pull another one of the vessels closer. As much as he didn’t quite need water to quench his thirst any more, he wasn’t about to start feeding his horse human blood. 

The man gave an indifferent shrug at Sisi’s words, “Wont get any easier in the coming days,” he said simply, submerging the next skein. The terrain over the next few days got rougher the closer they got to the castle, the river more and more unkind. With the rougher terrain, people ill-used to the journey – well, their spirits were likely to sour. “I’d suggest filling up with water here if you’ve got anything to store it. The river is not so kind further down this route.”

she watched him fill his skeins for a moment, head tilted. “Winter is always difficult.” she looks back at the water, continuing her task of unlacing her dress. “But I don’t believe that’s what you were referencing, was it?” she stared over the water, debating her own sense of modesty in comparison to her desire to be in the water. her desire won and her dress slipped from her shoulders, leaving her in a shift that was not thick enough to keep out the cold air. 

her bare feet slapped against the broken cobblestone as she dashed down the alleyway in little more than her sleeping shift. blood stained her neckline, oozing sluggishly from a bite wound on her shoulder that she’d received shortly after being separated from talon. her breath was coming out ragged and steaming in the cold autumn air.

sliding around a corner, she bit back a scream as she collided with a smaller body. had it not been for her heightened temperature senses, she’d have believed it to be another of the blood fiends. instead she found antigone, a girl she’d seen around town and the caravan in the past month.