Roleplay

Athus pushed a couple of coins across the counter, moving to get up. "I should be going. I'm keeping Hythen waiting."

"Nah y'ain't, not jus' after yeh got back! 'ave a drink first, eh? On me."

He looked uncomfortable, looking confused as the boy said his name as though he knew it. He studied him. He looked around seventeen, but his eye was drawn to the rune more than anything else. He lost focus on everything else for a moment, stepping back towards the bar. "That rune..." He wanted to ask about it, but Thol slammed his hand down on his shoulder, causing him to jump.

"Le's celebrate! Y'come back in one piece! Tha's somethin' to drink to!"

"I don't-"

"Nonsense! Thol's right. Yeh leave for months an' then yeh expect us not to give yeh a proper welcome."

"News! give us news!"

Athus looked incredibly uncomfortable being put on the spot, another drink slid across to him. He glanced around quickly before looking away from all of them again. "Trist has fallen. The fires tonight are from Rohne. Same story as usual. Came in the night and took hostages, mauled the animals in front of them, killed the men that didn't join them, and you know the rest. Just saw the aftermath. Again." He glanced around again, too uncomfortable to look at anyone directly. "We're in too small groups to do anything about it, and they're just getting bigger anyway."

They shook their heads. There was the discontented murmur that came at bad news. "Ahh, we knew 't were comin'. A new one ever' day. But yeh deserve a drink."

Athus took another sip, looking a little worn down for a moment before he looked back at Call. "That brand on your arm. I've never seen anything like it before. What happened? What rune is it, do you know? It doesn't look like anything I've ever heard of."

As Athus asked the boy about the runes, Raphael noticed it too. A strange rune, branded on his arm. It gives off a mysterious air, and is quite unique.

He wasn't suprised on the falling of villages though. Especially since dearves in the city doesn't even care a thing about what happens outside their safe walls. He ordered another glass of beer and chugged it down. Sometimes the alcohol let's him forget about things he never wanted to remember . . . Like how he knows he killed enough lives that he doesn't remember how many, like how he killed Callidora....

He killed Callidora. He finally remember. A look mixed with confusion and shock swept across his face as he flinched. And the werewolf Felicity was staring at him because of that. Sure he can argue that he was self defending, but they never actually attacked him. No matter how cold he can be, that still seems quite disturbing, wrong, and a depressing thought to him. Killing without a real reason. He swore Neve to do that, but he did do that, letting his bloodlust and impulse control him.

What has he done?

Lucine tensed up at the mention of the name Athus. It was, alas, a dumb thing to tense about, but the girl was still becoming upset by it nonetheless. She relaxed slightly, however, when Callum kissed her cheek, squeezing his hand a tad. She really didn’t feel comfortable up here, with all the smoke making it harder for her to breathe. She wasn’t used to smoke.

She was relieved, then, when they left the room, led to a tavern which Lucine felt even less comfortable being in. Last time she had entered one of these, her crazy sister had been tailing them, and she herself had been attacked by Tem, almost strangled to death. Being more human than vampire, Lucine didn’t really posess the necessary aspects making vampires good at combat. Lucine would die just as easy as a human in most circumstances.

Still, she could tell Callum most likely didn’t want to be in here either. He had experienced his own fair share of horrible events in this tavern, caused again by Lucine’s sister. The young vampire sighed and looked to Callum with concerned eyes. She sat carefully in the seat pulled out for her.

“Thank you,” She told Callum, trying to give him a smile, albeit a weak one, as he himself sat. She continued to hold his hand, looking worried as he began to cough. The smoke was getting in her eyes, causing her to tear up.

Lucine turned her attention to the dwarf and whatever alcoholic beverage was placed infront of Callum, almost glaring at it. She didn’t really pay attention to the rest of the conversation, though she did jump a tad when Athus approached and when Callum drew his hand away. She scolded herself for this- she wasn’t supposed to rely on him, Lucine was her own person.

She squeezed Callum’s hand again when he gripped it, letting her mind begin to wander. She was, however, brought back to her senses when a drink of some sort was slammed infront of her, followed by someone sitting next to her. The werewolf from earlier, teardrop sparkling on her chest.


—————

Felicity was grateful to get to the tavern, stretching as she looked around. This here was her domain, the land of drinks and women. The smoke was something knew though, but she didn’t really mind as she approached the bar, ordering herself two drinks. Whatever they had that was strongest.

Gulping her own, she quickly laid eyes on the nosy vampire from earlier, and pulling up a chair next to her, she slammed the other drink on the table, laughing a little at the girl’s confusion. She took another sip and then glared at her, watching as the girl looked up to see who was next to her.

“So, what’s yer problem wif me?” She asked, leaning forward on the table. The girl shook her head.

“I-“

“Shut up. Just answer the d*** question.”

“I don’t have a problem with you, miss...”

Felicity downed the rest of her drink and laughed a little. She regretted approaching the girl, of course she wouldn’t give her a straight answer. She was a vampire. Still, Felicity felt a bit of a soft spot for the girl. She reminded of two people Felicity knew.

“You gonna drink that, pumpkin?”

“N-no..”

Felicity grabbed the drink she gave to Lucine, and downed that as well, holding her head in her hands. The vampire was looking at her with concerned eyes, two very very familiar yellow eyes. Felicity stood.

“Sorry, pumpkin.” She said, grabbing another drink from the bar before leaving the tavern, to run into the two who were outside.

As Felicity went out the tavern, Raphael followed her. He has no idea why he did such a thing, it's certainly not what he would do normally. But right now he feels like he can anything. And he felt sorry for killing Callidora. He can go back inside later.

As he followed the werewolf, he know she most likely felt his presence. He whispered to her, "I remember. I'm sorry Felicity..." He doesn't know what else to say, it's not like he ever apologized before. Why was he apologizing? Probably because of how he lost count of how many glasses beer he had. The alcohol also made his drag one of his feet a bit, but somehow he pulled it off without looking stupid.Enough to make him forget his worries. He had enough to show a side of him no one knows of. The side he had hid from the world. The more, normal side. Yet it also made him feel even more wild.

Call's eyes were only on Athus as the older man started to leave. He didn't want him to leave, he had so many questions. The man mentioned Hythen. How was Hythen doing? Was it possible that Hythen was still alive, as a human instead of a wraith? He needed to talk to Athus. He didn't know him, just as he thought. He could see the confusion on Athus' face as he said his name. He continued to watch as Athus came back to the bar, staring at the rune swimming underneath Call's skin. Call himself glanced down at it, mentally tracing it. He remembered the Whisper's sleeves having the same runic pattern, one on each sleeve. He just hadn't noticed before.

After the conversation with the Whisper, he felt dizzy. The Whisper was with June, but where were they? It never actually answered his question. In Colsar, outside of Colsar, on the other side of the world? He didn't know. He considered contacting the Whisper again, if he could even do it himself. The Whisper could do it, but he wasn't so sure that he could.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed just how uncomfortable Athus seemed. This wasn't what he saw in the Athus he knew. It made him curious, yet concerned at the same time. He remembered his feelings for Athus flip-flopping all over the place. He hated him one minute, then felt bad for him the next. He wasn't ever sure how he felt. But now he wanted to help him. He wondered if there would be any chronic consequences if he told Athus what would happen in the future. To him, to Hythen, to the dwarves...

To everyone.

He nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard the sound of something being slammed down. He whipped his head around to see someone sitting next to Lucine; it was the woman she had been staring at. He didn't stare for too long, instead squeezing Lucine's hand again, as if telling her that he would protect her if this woman decided to harm her. Seeing that she wasn't, he turned his attention to Athus, who asked him about his Mark. Call remained silent for a moment, staring at Athus, wondering what he was supposed to say. He was thinking about what Athus said concerning someone, or some organization, taking hostages, starting fires, and killing those who wouldn't join them. It made him depressed, yet passionate to hear something like that. He didn't even know who was doing it, and he wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. Whatever the case, he had to focus on answering this question about his Mark. What was he supposed to say?

Was he supposed to tell Athus that he himself branded him to keep his magic at bay and make him his property?

No.

He'd sound insane.

There was another way to explain this, surely.

He heard Lucine and the woman behind him, trying to listen out for any sort of aggression brewing. But he didn't hear much, so he decided to leave Lucine to it. He didn't have to shield her from everything, even though he felt the need to. It reminded him of how Thalia felt towards him. She didn't shield him from absolutely everything, but she did keep him very close. He returned to reality, blinking and glancing down at the Mark, then at Athus.

"I was branded," he answered. "It hurt a lot. Burned like nothing else. Then again, branding isn't supposed to be pleasant." He chuckled quietly and humorlessly for a moment before he lowered his voice, shifting his scarf a little. He was surprised he even had it on still. "Um... do you know if mages are despised here?" he whispered, glancing around nervously. "It's a rune that restricts my magic. That's why it's there. I'm a Shadow mage." He decided not to bring up Hythen in any way. He wanted to ask how he was doing, but that might just come off the wrong way. It would make him look like a stalker. Then it would be harder to talk to Athus. He wanted to get to know him better.

That was what he was going to do.

---

Thalia kept her eyes on the stranger as they began to explain what they were trying to say. She realized that they were mute and payed attention to the sign language. She understood pretty well, though, she did miss a few things. She understood the gist; go around town, helping out with necessary jobs, keeping everyone safe. That type of thing. Making small moves to make large-scale changes. That seemed like a good idea. By the end, she found herself nodding. The plan would work best if they all worked together. She would have to tell the others when she found the time.

She just hoped nothing happened to change that.

She nodded again. "Sounds ideal," she replied. "Your plan is to create a group to do volunteer work and keep everyone safe, while us time-travelers make small moves to contribute to bigger changes, right?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she stepped back as one of the women in their group, the Werewolf, not the Weredog, nearly ran into her and the masked stranger; she had pulled them back just a little bit before she could bump into them. She had a teardrop necklace on, which she had noticed when they joined the group. She remembered speaking to them, telling them where the Faction was going. She wondered where the half-vampire was at the moment. She knew where Lucine was, but what about Callidora?

She watched as another person came out of the tavern, apologizing to the Werewolf, Felicity. That was a pretty name. She didn't know why she was thinking about names now, but she couldn't help it. Did she know someone with that name before? Well, maybe, but it wasn't the same person. She was just another human in their little village, the one they had moved into after leaving Colsar. She didn't know why they left; they just left. She was glad they did, but at the same time, her old man could've picked a place without a graveyard in the middle of a nearby forest.

She sighed, watching them. She had no idea what was going on, but if someone was about to get hurt, then she would be ready to defend herself. She probably couldn't do as well as she used to when it came to breaking up arguments.

---

A little girl, looking about 8 or 9 years old, wormed her way through the crowded tavern, eventually coming to a bar. She was way too young to be in here, that much was certain. But her old man refused to leave her at home, but somehow thought it was okay to leave the other two children behind. He came here for a drink, leaving her to explore on her own.

She had tawny brown hair, split into two braided pigtails, one on each side of her head. Her complexion wasn't pale, rather, leaning on the tan side. She was dressed in a long blue tunic, dark grey pants, and brown boots; a blue hairband rested on her head as well, decorated with a single white lily. She looked a little familiar, yet nothing was certain. She wore two ruby-studded cuffs on her wrists, with one on each. They looked a little to big to be her size, yet she wore than anyway.

She came up to the bar and hopped up onto a seat, looking around, trying not to cough due to the smoke. She was sitting next to Lucine, unnoticed by Call, who was busy with Athus. The girl reached over and tapped Lucine's shoulder, putting on a big smile. "Hello, miss!" she greeted. "How are you doing today? It's a good day today, isn't it?"

She had heard the news Athus gave, and she did feel sad about what happened, but she was an optimistic child. She hoped every day that things would work out in the end.

Lucine watched the werewolf leave, feeling a bit shaken by the incident, even more shaken as she listened to the news Athus gave. It made her sad to think about all these horrible things, but it was a war time. As her mind wandered again, she began to mutter. Muttering helps.

Lucine was quickly snapped out of her thoughts by a small tap on the shoulder. She looked down to see who had given it to her, realizing it was a very young girl. She was cute, with brown pigtails and an innocent look, as children tended to have. Lucine gave her a warm smile, hoping her fangs wouldnt scare the girl away.

“Hello,” She replied, giving the girl a nod “I’m doing fine. How are you doing? It is a wonderful day...”

Lucine suddenly became concerned the child would be too young to be here. Turning to her, she tilted her head “Where are your parents? Would you like something to drink? I’m sure I can get you some water-“ she asked her, soft yellow eyes showing concern.


——————

Felicity whipped around as the other vampire entered, immediately throwing her glass at it as it said her name. This was her moment.

“You!” She said, walking up to the vampire and giving it a square punch, “You better be f***ing sorry!”

She kneed him in the groin, backing away, growling loudly. she could do much much worse.

“You took her from me!” She shouted, feelings tears rising. No, not now, not now “You took away everything!”

Felicity felt she was close to breaking down. Everything was gone. Her Callidora was gone. Her daughter, Virginia, was gone. She was stuck in the past with a crew of people she didn’t know.

Felicity Harris fell to her knees, her legs no longer able to work. She wanted Callidora back. She wanted Virginia back. She wanted to take them somewhere far away and hold them until the world was once again destroyed.

"Im sorry! I---" He felt depressed. Pain doesn't bother him much, it never had. Yet he felt like he was stabbed in his guts, from the regret of killing someone and inflicting pain for no reason at all ... His mind felt blurry, and all he wanted to do was help her up and perhaps somehow pay his debts. But he was sure she would rip him apart. "What if, what if I told you that Callidora is still alive.... She should be, since this is the past . . . And if the future can be prevented from happening, then that day will never happen .. . . she'll be alive...." And perhaps I could've fixed his mistakes. He collapsed. He never felt much emotion, and this was too much for his mind. Yet one thought lingered in his mind,

Find Callidora. And make sure she stays alive at all cost. Even if it means to kill his future self. Pay your debts Raphael.

He'll make sure of it. He'll pay his debts.

Perhaps he'll finally have a goal in life.

---

Yet at the same time, he also knew why else he felt like being stabbed. Because he knows no one will ever feel bad for him, won't feel and understand how depressed he felt. Because he's always going to be monster, the villain, the loner. And telling himself he doesn't need others pity can't blind him forever. He bet if he suicide right now, no one will care. Perhaps some will even be joyed. Thoughts he hasn't had since he was a child. Pushed away into the unexplored parts of his mind, exiled. Yet somehow they have crawled their way back when he let loose.

Isn't it ironic? A seemly nice person can let loose a wild beast, yet a cold monster can show their softer side...

The girl looked fascinated with Lucine, realizing she wasn't human. She wasn't scared at all. She didn't scare that easily. She was a tough child who'd seen a lot of scary things growing up. She had learned to rise above her fear to care for those close to her. She grinned at the vampire girl, reflecting her warm smile. "I'm doing fine too! It's a wonderful day, I'm glad you agree! Sky's still red, but that's only the fires. I've been told it's normal, but I remember when the skies were blue. Blue's my favorite color, by the way!"

She sometimes tended to go off track whenever she spoke. One moment, she could be talking about the fires, then she would be talking about her favorite color. She didn't mind. She wasn't aware that not everybody would feel the same.

When the girl mentioned her parents, she glanced around, looking a little nervous, but she quickly hid it again. She looked back at the girl, as if she knew she wasn't old enough to be here, which she did. "My ma's not here," she answered, clasping her hands. "She's in a better place now. Papa doesn't think so. He was mad. He's drinkin' himself to death. He wouldn't leave me home today, so here I am! He did leave my other brothers at home. They're younger than me. They don't get along."

She paused briefly, feeling thirsty, holding back another cough. She grinned again, however, those who were perceptive enough could see worry hiding behind her eyes. "Yeah, could I have some water please?" she asked, looking around again. "Are you a vampire?" she added, sounding curious. She looked at her innocently. "What's it like, havin' fangs? I wish I had fangs. Does sunlight really hurt you? I've never met a vampire. This is really cool!" She was saying it like her question was answered with a "yes". She wasn't too educated on vampires, as one could clearly tell. She heard rumors, but they weren't confirmed.

---

The Whisper remained quiet as June spoke, taking a step back, just a tiny one. It knew she used to be the Exorcist, but it didn't really care. It only cared when it spoke to Call about her. He knew the truth too. He hadn't reacted too well to it... it remembered him being concerned for her. It made sense for him to be concerned, but what was the point? Concern only brought people down. It made other people feel bad for showing signs of weakness, so they would try to hide it, lying to whoever was concerned for them. As demonic as it seemed, the Whisper didn't like to lie. But it understood that there were times which called for lies to spew.

It eyed June, lowering its arm. It knew she wouldn't want help up, but it didn't hurt to try. Why had it tried? Enough with the questions! it mentally scolded itself, tightening its grip on the cane it carried around. "Well, sent isn't exactly the right word," it clarified. "She was worried about you, so I offered to find you. I could cover more ground in less time, anyhow."

It paused. "I don't have a classification..." it began to answer, a black fedora spawning out of nowhere and floating just an inch above its head. "But just call me an Enigma. I'm pretty sure a curse from the Last Shadow isn't supposed to be out here, so I must be the first. That means I get to name my own species. Pretty cool." It was surprised it had went off on a short tangent, which was definitely not its intention. But it shouldn't care about first impressions.

"Yep, in Colsar," it replied. It looked up at the sky again, noting the color. The sky wasn't supposed to be red... then again, why should it matter what the color of the sky is? Well, color induced emotions in people. It didn't know why. It eyed the creature flying in the sky, thinking about calling up to her again. "If you're looking for safety, come into the city!" it shouted, wondering why it was going out of its way to say that.

It soon saw June walking away, towards Colsar. The city was right next to them, so that was a good thing. It hadn't flown too far, it hoped. It levitated just a few inches off of the ground, following June, floating on one side of her, though, he was a few feet ahead of her. "You never know when we might need an extra hand," it commented, whistling. Its cane was gone; it had willed the cane to disappear. It just didn't look as good while the Whisper was flying. It looked much better in its hand while walking. "We can find them," it assured, glancing over at June. "I got in touch with Callum. I'm sure you know him; he told me they're all in a tavern, located in a... what was it... guardhouse? I'm pretty sure that's what it's called. I can follow his aura there. One of the many things I can do, now that I'm out."

Why did you have to add that?

...Why do you care?

---

Thalia didn't do anything but watch the entire sequence of events unfolding in front of her. Felicity was beating the other stranger, the one who apologized. He seemed to have killed someone she loved. Thalia frowned. At least he was apologizing. She didn't know who was in the right here. She supposed neither of them were, but at the same time, Felicity had a right to be angry. She would feel the same way if someone took Callum from her, which almost happened more than once. She remembered how angry she was when Eirach kicked him around, snapping his ribs and enjoying it.

She shivered, looking away. She looked inside the tavern instead, wondering what was going on in there. She found herself taking pity on the one who apparently killed someone close to Felicity. If he was apologizing, he must've regretted all the pain he had caused. She wanted to help him, yet she found she couldn't move from where she was standing. It was hard to focus on multiple things at once. She was still conversing with the stranger wearing the mask, yet a confrontation between Felicity and the other vampire was going on nearby that she couldn't really tune out. She wished she could focus on more than one thing without straining, but that was wishful thinking.

At least the vampiric stranger apologized.

Connor didn't.

Neither did Eirach.

And neither did the human who gave her his disease on purpose.

Lucine grinned as she listened to the girl talk, although she was sad that a red sky was what was normal for the child. Fires were ravaging the land as they spoke.

“Blue is a pretty color,” Said Lucine, giving the girl a smile “Grey is my favorite, though.”

Her smile faded slightly as the girl told her about her family- how her mother had passed and her father was drinking himself away. She nodded in response.

“My mom is in a better place now too,” she said, giving the girl a weak smile “I bet they’ve met each other.” She was concerned about the two young boys being home alone. “Where’s your house? Here, let me get you some water-“

She asked for a glass of water, worried about the one coin she held. Hopefully the water was free. Turning back to girl, she laughed slightly at her questions.

“I’m only half vampire,” she said kindly, “My mother was a human. Having fangs is alright! It’s hard to brush your teeth, though,” she said, hoping to make a little joke, “The sunlight does hurt a little bit. That’s why I wear a cloak! Of course, this isn’t my cloak.”

Lucine was still worried about the two boys being alone. She looked at Callum, wondering if it would be okay for her to leave and go watch those kids. They had to be very young.

“My name is Lucine,” she introduced herself, “What’s yours?”


——————

Felicity looked up at him, the thought running into her mind. Yes, Callidora was still alive, albeit a child. Felicity shook her head. She wasn’t like that, wasn’t going to stalk the younger version of her dead girlfriend. That just felt weird.

She sighed and pushed herself up, looking at Thalia “Sorry ye had t’see this, love.” She told her, taking a deep breath “God, I need ta stop drinkin...”