Inexplicable Meadow Meeting (A Line Drawn) [Levarin]

The decentralized lands of the Entente, and the bulk of the Empire.

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Moop
Posts: 117
Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2020 8:21 pm
Location: Headed from Dagrun to you~
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Sun Jun 12, 2022 8:35 am

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74th of Glade 4622¤


Moop and Salen lol


“Moop, seriously, have you no tact at all?”
Joop was unhappy, speaking in Kaedic, as Moop had been complaining the entire trip. Now Moop had stepped on the rare flower Joop was trying to get cuttings of.
“It wasn’t on purpose! I swear!”
She removed her foot from the dainty flower, petals fell off of her heel, and the flower was not only wilted but completely crushed. Joop put both hands onto her face and when she removed them her face was beat-red, she was angry.
“Look, why don’t you go and sit over there quietly where that woman is. What a nice view? Please, go now.”
It wasn’t a suggestion, if Moop didn’t she would face Joop’s ultimate wrath– she would have to cook for herself tonight. Moop blushed and scurried off, back onto the path and headed towards a bench that outlooked Daravin. The pair was in a beautiful meadow overlooking a great scar in the earth, a long winding cliff face that showed the water below. A group of people were sailing below, soft music could be heard, barely audible, echoing from their boats and around the cliffs. Pink and gold flowers swayed in the breeze, wafting smells of serenity to Moop’s nose. She was taken aback by this area’s great beauty, it was no wonder so many wealthy people from the Entente lived here– if she had heard correctly. Indeed, the Hyr’norai were said to come from the area as their racial birthplace and it was no wonder, Railon was like a grove hand painted from divinity.

It was a picturesque day, sun high in the sky and just hot enough to be comfortable for a gnome. Getting away from Joop’s work, Moop took her quiet seat on a bench nearby next to a very wealthy looking Entente woman who was reading a book. The other was covered head to toe with pale clothing, other than her face and head, which were adorned with an ornate gray mask the likes of which Moop had never seen as well as a hat on her head, respectively. Moop had to stop herself from staring, despite doing her best to fit in she was only able to afford common clothes. Today Moop wore her long tan colored dress and her brass mask. The woman must have been made uncomfortable by the staring as she made an audible “tsk” not long after Moop sat down, then took her leave. Moop watched with silent awe at the wealthy woman as she opened her parasol and strolled away with grace.

Now by herself, Moop watched the heavens, the day was cloudless here, and was thinking she wished she had brought a book or her mapmaking kit on this trip. Yet, something on the horizon caught her eye, was something falling out of the sky? But it was too far and insignificant to be able to make it out. Squinting against the sun her thoughts were then stirred by another who joined her on the bench. She sized him up for a moment before returning to squint at the object in the sky. Finally she asked the newcomer in Kaedic accented common,
“Ser, do you see that?”
And pointed to the speck in the sky which seemed to be growing larger and larger in its descent.

word count: 608
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Salen
Posts: 452
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2022 10:18 am
Location: Daravin
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Mon Jun 13, 2022 11:40 am

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Early Morning


It began with two things. An element of seduction and another man in bed, drunk and waxed from an glorious night out. A low budget soiree did the trick to stand out in the crowd, for he was one to revel in the exploitation, decadence and rich nature of the Daravinic Entente. Even though he despised them, it was fun once in a while to manipulate a man into madly falling in love with someone and simply pulling the plug on their love. It was satisfying, enchanting almost, that he could make an Entente man suffer with just one bedspring, pushed through his heart. Salen smirked at the man who slept beside him, still snoring, the man appeared to have opened his eyes and smiled "Come back to bed, love."

Salen snickered as he got dressed into his clothes; black and purple hues and a mix of glorious silks that he had simply persuaded to use from a man; he could have anyone he wanted, but it never satisfied him, neither did the concept of love. He met the man's eyes as he glinted a charming smile towards him "I'm not your love, I will never be... You see, there are irreconcilable differences, Jaden..." A rain on the man's parade, that was what was going on. He remembered from the party that he had stayed at; it was no wonder he could remember such things even when highly intoxicated "It's little things really, the snoring, the ghastly poetry and the face of you that I can't stand... I do admit, it was a nice night though... I'm ever so sorry for raining on your parade, darling..." He said with a raised eyebrow with a smirk as Jaden appeared to be upset by the revelation that Salen was saying. No, he wasn't interested in him, he was simply interested in his own ends; his own means.

There was no remorse in the man's eyes, only pleasure from the emotional torture he was inflicting upon the man. An edge of vindictiveness came from him as he sat on the balcony and chuckled "Thank you, for the night itself..." He said as a goodbye, before diving off and flipping backwards, landing sternly on his feet. He could hear the man's angry cries as he left, rolling his eyes, pricking a finger with his Shaper and swallowed his blood. The camoflague began to work slowly, transmuting his skin to his surroundings as he moved. It appeared the faster he moved, the more circulation in his system, meaning the camoflague would be more effective as he left for the inner recesses of the markets.



Four hours later.


A moment of quiet came as Salen released himself from his Shroud, appearing to have come across a path, heading towards a vale of flowers, dusted with fuschia, lilac, gold and peach undertones; it appeared to be a mixture of orchids, daisies, daffodils and tulips. He made his way across towards the bench as he watched the Entente woman gracefully move her lift up her parasol and headed off into the distance. It seemed as if the woman had been disturbed by the child-like thing that was sat down, as she watched her. It appeared she wasn't from Daravin, so it seemed but he became curious. Was she some race he didn't know about?

He sat down for a moment as he took out his cigarette and lighter, flicked it a few times until a flame was lit; he lingered for a moment as he slowly moved the cigarette tip against it, igniting the poisonous, noxious fumes that he was putting into his lungs. He took one pull and blew the smoke in the direction of the cataclysmic event that was happening in front of him.

He was in awe of what he was seeing, as if there was a solar eclipse happening in front of him at pure daylight. He turned to the gnomish creature who spoke towards him, shaking his head for a moment to take in everything he was seeing "Yes, although... What does it mean?" He asked, watching it grow larger and larger in size, descending further.




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word count: 742
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Moop
Posts: 117
Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2020 8:21 pm
Location: Headed from Dagrun to you~
Character Sheet: viewtopic.php?f=43&t=1131
Plot Notes: viewtopic.php?f=78&t=1405
Character Secrets: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=1173

Mon Jun 13, 2022 5:59 pm

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¤

The man's cigarette hung from his mouth as he seemed to become keen to what Moop was seeing. He didn't look at her, but replied.
"Yes, although... What does it mean?"
Moop shrugged and stood up, mechanical arms in plain view as they sat on her hips in a bratty way, sizing up the falling mass.
"Meanings are for people who don't have purpose. What's it doing here is the real question. My name is Moop, pleasure. Under circumstances... Yours?"
She stuck out a hand for the man to grasp and their fingers touched with the shock of pent up static from the fabric of their clothing, just as the mass plummeted and hit the earth hundreds of miles away. Upon its reckoning with the ground the two were in firm grasp of each other's hands, mainly due to Moop gripping him out of shock and awe at the show played out before her. At its epicenter black began pouring and twisting out of it clawing up at the sky. They weren't able to see it hit the ground clearly, yet even from as far as they were they watched as lines like abyssal tentacles clambered over the sky reaching until the black ichor passed them and wrapped around the globe. Where it was once day, now only darkness had fallen as a particularly large and tangled streak blotted out the sun.

Joop wasted no time finding her sister. In her daravin wear and light grey colored mask her legs beneath the dress were also clearly mechanical. If one was paying attention to detail they would see clockwork inclusions as well as fine geometrical lines chiseled into the metal for adornment. At every joint there was a mass of spinning cogs and wheels which turned almost on a dainty axis. The way they held themselves looked effortless, nothing about their mechanical parts seemed unusual to their movements, it was like they were born with them. The mechanisms made a whirring sound as they moved them, lightly as a noise, but would get louder if there was more exertion. Which right now, Joop was running through the meadow to return to her sister, breaking the silence between this man and Moop.
"Moop! What's going on! Is it going to rain?"
She was running with a basket under her arm full of different varieties of flowers. When the twin had caught up to the other pair she bowed to the man before again addressing her sister.
"We should head inside. There may be a storm!"
Moop shook her head,
"No, let's stay, more might happen. I'm not going to be caught unawares."
Joop wasn't pleased and argued once again,
"This is what I mean. Ser, excuse me, but we should go get our weapons. I don't like this, not at all, this is strange. What if there is a another war? Like..."
Joop didn't finish what she was saying, instead filled the void with something Moop would understand. Like the apocalypse those hundreds of years ago that closed off her people from the outside world.
"No, Joop. We must stay and watch."
Moop then turned to the man again and spoke to him directly, ignoring her huffing sister.

"Do you know where that landed? IS that... The Badlands? I have been there before. Not a pleasant place..."
She looked up at him with freckled face and deep brown eyes, imploring him to say something worthy. Something also in her brow and stature said she was quicker than she looked, perhaps he was being judged by her?

word count: 636
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Salen
Posts: 452
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2022 10:18 am
Location: Daravin
Character Sheet: viewtopic.php?f=43&t=1657
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Character Secrets: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=1686

Tue Jun 14, 2022 1:44 pm

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Salen turned his head towards the small statured woman, as he glanced downwards, as he looked at the way she sized him up; almost like a spoilt rotten child; the only difference is Salen was unfazed by her arrogance, although he did take time to inspect the gnome in front of him. Mechanical arm, clearly dressed in a creamy beige dress, ounced with some layers of sheer fabrics on them. It intrigued him slightly, to know she was an outsider; perhaps some relief from the current situation that he had been facing. When she spoke, Salen had a hunch that she clearly wasn't from around here, although it appeared that it was some sort of culture shock with the way she spoke "Purpose? Why we all have purposes, some are yet to find there's" He responded with a side-eye towards the black eclipse in front of him, although was a bit taken back by the introduction, he figured he would play along with her somewhat brash introduction.

"Salen..."

He offered his hand as her tiny fingers touched the male's bare hand, he could feel an electric shock for a moment, it stung slightly; the mechanical hand had enough kinetic force to cause someone a slight static shock. It wasn't until they shook hands, the mass hit the earth with huge seismic force in the distance. The hairs on his arms began to stand up, the goosebumps he felt as Moop still had her hands tightly grasping his. He froze as he watched with awe as the black epicenter began to twist and pull as if it was malformed like his Umbraplasm. It felt like a strange calling of some sort, a strange godly substance that lingered the earth. With each passing, the strange Umbraplasmic mass had obscured the sun, blocking out every ounce of darkness.

"Hmm..."

He turned over and saw another gnome that was just quite like her; he blinked as he was taken back by their existence. He had never seen these creatures before as he observed their interactions. Still, he politely waited but he didn't say anything; he was just observing their interaction, like a birdwatcher or zoologist would with wild life. He took his cigarette out his mouth and blew away smoke in the air, away from the gnomes; after all, it'll be impolite to blow it in their faces.

"She sounds like a bossy tiger for a tiny critter, what other names do they have in your little cavern you come from? I'd imagine Fwinkle, Bellbottoms and Bloomers" Salen observed the two, like an zoologist observing wildlife, it had become apparent that these creatures did exist, but were their names? Damn it, think.

The moment Moop mentioned the Badlands, Salen snickered "Well... I just came from there and you're right... Not the pleasant of places, if I'd choose a perfect place, it'll be in a nice cosy bedside with a noble, free wine, free accommodation, free everything... What is it you're offering, I can see it in your eyes that you're wanting something... From me" His powerful gaze lingered as his eyes appeared to glow a golden hue for a split second, before dissipating; it was a sign that Moop had been affected with Beguiler.

"What is it, you want? Speak..." His voice dark, yet hinted with a low husky seductive tone.

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Moop
Posts: 117
Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2020 8:21 pm
Location: Headed from Dagrun to you~
Character Sheet: viewtopic.php?f=43&t=1131
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Tue Jun 14, 2022 4:37 pm

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¤

'Salen was his name then, interesting.'
Moop watched the darkness swallowing the world and then looked Salen up and down who was enthralled with the sight to see. It wasn't Moop was unfazed, no, even without a belief in a real, omnipotent God-- Moop was feeling a trite superstitious. He was dressed well, in purple and black silks that oozed confidence, drawing Moop in. He seemed shrewed and business-like at first glance, with silky looking hair that fell just so. Unconsciously she adjusted her own curls back into the messy bun that she had pinned them in this morning. Joop was visibly shocked at his tone towards her, hand placed on heart and jaw hanging agape. Joop would wonder aloud in incredulous tone, looking like she would faint,
"Bossy-tiger-critter?"
Moop snickered, he knew her well enough already. Though his slight against her people was troubling, perhaps he was worthy of her time, who knew? If so he would learn in time to take proper care with his words to her. For now, she let the jest at her annoying sister slide. After all, it wasn't directed at Moop and Moop was still upset from earlier when she had been shooed for stepping on the flower.

That was when he asked,
"What is it, you want? Speak..."
In a tone that said he would give her the heart of her desire. His eyes pulled her in and made her own widen, thoughts of being carried on people's shoulders while the confetti streamed down to hail the day she brought back her people after a long trek to their mecca, marching all the lost souls right up the Dyn to the very resting place of CORE himself. And at their feet she would be knighted, recognized in Dagrun's history and CORE's singular eye forever.
"I must find the others."
She said this with conviction and passion, her tiny mechanical hand balling up. She looked from his eyes up to the sky, and watched the horrors swirling there. Joop was uncomfortable still and Moop came over to her side, standing with her twin. The gnomes looked at him like living porcelain and metal dolls, all round cheeks and mooning eyes. Joop didn't look so sure and shied away from his eyes with a pout, but Moop was burning inside and her intensity reflected that in her visage. Although there was a pause, before he could ask for clarification Moop spoke again.
"The others, the ones separated from Dagrun. It's all I thought about from when I was small. I knew I was destined to become a Seeker. I want to find the lost brethren of Dagrun. And if you know something, you'll tell me, won't you Ser?"
word count: 496
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Salen
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Location: Daravin
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Wed Jun 15, 2022 9:03 am

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It didn't take a psychologist or a Remnomancer to figure out Moop's intentions as his eyes met Moop's with predatory precision; it was as if he wanted to process every single desire she had out from underneath her. However, Salen didn't get the answer he expected.

I must find the others She uttered; her tone was said with earnest confidence as she watched the way she perform. It was almost like watching two puppets perform their show as they looked there, although strangely the doll-like features. It was strange and yet endearing to watch "The others?" He asked curiously, taking another pull of his cigarette and blowing away from the gnomes. He wanted to seem respectful as possible; although it was different. Atleast they weren't Entente scum unlike any of the others that he had met.

"Dagrun? Isn't that a myth?" He asked, before furrowing his eyebrows for a moment in thought; his gaze widened in incredulously as he blinked with shock. He hadn't been paying attention to the darkness in the distance, more so on the creatures in front of him. It wasn't until he realised what they were; the stories were true, even if it did put the Entente children to sleep with the hope of one day becoming a valuable power source. "You're gnomes... Of course, it makes sense now, tiny people, robotic legs, those things in the stories..." He chuckled at the revelation nervously, not versed in gnome customs or cultural aspects.

He eventually looked down at them in thought, silent for a moment, taking a another pull of his cigarette and smiled "The other's seperated from Dagrun? You mean there's more of you out there?" He asked with curiosity; a poignant moment for Salen. The world was surely a lonely place, particularly when others like others are seperated because of unsubstantial circumstances.

"Daravin is amounted with history, perhaps if you share what exactly you're looking for then we could find it? Besides, I've got nothing else better to do..." He said with a sigh "Life can be boring sometimes, especially if you live like the Entente for so long; always greedy for more... Although, I wouldn't disclose your goal to others... There are some who would... Y'know, take advantage of the situation, for their own gain." He uttered.

"We wouldn't want that wouldn't we?"




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Moop
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Wed Jun 15, 2022 8:00 pm

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Joop was this time the one to speak first.
"OF course it's not a myth, we stand here before you."
She looked even less at ease now than before, pay attention less and less to the conversation as it went on she was clearly staring at awe above her. Moop answered him after her sister spoke, understanding Joop was long gone with wonder and awe.
"Those are the ones, yes ser! And you're right, there are. At least, we hope to find more than bones. There could be gnomes far better off technologically than even Dagrun and they will all be tunneled deep underground, it's my job to get them out. Well, ours. You see, I'm part of CLUGS, or rather, the Cartographer's League for the Unification of Gnome Settlements. I am ranked Seeker and my sister,"
She would motion to her sister with a pause,
"Is a Gatherer. Her task is what found us here."

It didn't seem like he knew much to further her goals, else he would have told her by now. She asked him a clear and direct question, still, he could be hiding something. But why? Perhaps, from his fine clothing, he was Entente, this made her revere him for a second. The Corvo ability had waned, but it instilled in her a rapt attention to his every word. He would feel watched and countered, knowing she was speaking honest words from the heart. Indeed, this was the first time she had been able to tell someone important about what was going.
"I must say, this is a breath of fresh air against the ones who live in the Badlands. What pleasant conversation!"
Moop really did like talking about herself, especially her journeys.
"You know, I was in the Badlands lost for two years, held hostage more like... Anyway. You want to join me? Well, how can you possibly help? I am open to what resources you may have. But I must say I have little to offer in return other than skill."
She listened deeply to his next words and nodded her approval.
"I see, you believe people in the higher class would take advantage of me?"
His words of,
"We wouldn't want that wouldn't we?"
In a patronizing tone hung dull and silent in the air. She was now waiting for him to speak more.

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Salen
Posts: 452
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Thu Jun 16, 2022 1:34 pm

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This time the other gnome decided to speak; as if defensive and cutting in tone "Are you sure you're not going to disappear again right in front of me?" He snickered again as his shit eating grin looked at them both with disrespect. He crossed his arms, knowing the two had no clue about the place in Daravin. If he wanted, he could've taken advantage of them, but Salen wasn't the sort of person to interfer with foreign matters; unless there were some sort of gain from it.

In this case, they could be useful, but he wasn't banking on it. He listened closely and picked out the word "CLUGS" It appeared to be a funny sounding name "Oh, that's rather long and fancy, yet still falls under the category of mere tourism" He said as his tone became more snide and arrogant. He sighed exaggeratedly, before taking another pull of his cigarette. It had been the last pull that he flicked the cigarette away from the Gnomes, before blowing the smoke straight into their faces.

"Held hostage? Well that's no good, being a damsel in distress is not a good sign of making friends here, Moop, or Moppy, whatever your name is..." He chuckled. "Did you escape? Did you wet yourself whilst you were at it? Or did you cry yourself to sleep and beg for them to let you go... I can't imagine anyone would care if the gnomes exist... In Daravin, all the people care about is..." He stopped himself for a moment, narrowing his eyes as he sighed; he had to bite his tounge at that moment "Lets face it, noone cares... All people care about here is themselves and it's not unheard of for people to take advantage of other people. Consider this you're first lesson... Never reveal information without a price." He said with a sigh, knowing how many times that would circle around his head. How was he going to get through to the gnomes? Were they going to be that stubborn?

Salen listened to Moop' even further and reiterated on his fact "This is Daravin, not Dagrun... If you don't want any trouble here, I suggest you take my warning with heed, turn back and find some other endeavour to impress your people with. Unless you have a death wish, then I'd be willing to guide you..." He paused with a suggestiveness to his voice "You know what some people say, some people like making art and some like making trouble... Are you in? If I help you, I would want something in return. A favor. When the time comes, you'll serve it; I have a habit of haunting people who don't keep their promises..." His gaze became stoic; his frown was prominent as if he wanted to tell them of his troubles, but it would be too busy in Leverin. Eyes and ears were already watching.




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Moop
Posts: 117
Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2020 8:21 pm
Location: Headed from Dagrun to you~
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Fri Jun 17, 2022 5:32 pm

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The more he spoke the more Moop tuned him out. She was fuming. Each word cut her like a knife and she was wholly unimpressed by him. Something in her was turning, she was on the brink of remembering something, but what. Joop was the one to respond to his pratty negging. She gasped at his words, truly shocked.
"Tourism?"
Joop then looked to her sister who said nothing, instead Moop was looking up at him deep in his eyes, searching there for that one THING her mother had taught her, the one about the emotions... what was it? Finding no help from her sister, Joop replied again.
"We weren't hostage, we were creating maps for the people there. My sister makes up hyperbole at times. As I see you do as well, thinking I would wet myself or whatever weird fetishes you may have about people of our size..."
Moop grabbed her hand, she remembered. It was the reverie. Like she had been bit by a bug she twitched forward and blinked, it came flooding back. The only one she could remember at the time was Tragedian.
"My name isn't Moppy. It's Moop. Moop Rybii and someday you will look upon me and my people with awe."
She didn't elaborate, instead, she got to work. He was still talking but Moop wasn't listening. Pulling forth her tethers, she wrapped them around his mind like a hungry constrictor. She saw his mural then, with her eyes at first open, a swirling miasma of golden and deep purple. This made her feel his self importance, as if anyone was more important than Moop's quest. But something else was there, she look a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, focusing in on him more. There she saw the image of him shackled, he was thinking about something in his past as he trailed off saying "...A favor. When the time comes, you'll serve it; I have a habit of haunting people who don't keep their promises..." and that was her in. She wanted him to feel badly about what he had said to them. She did not realize he would be able to see the purple tether's emanating through her hands, the ones which wrapped around his head now, the ones that were amplifying his bad feelings through tragedian, making him second guess himself, making him wonder what he could have said differently. As the tethers slipped off his his mind and back into her hands she giggled. That uncontrollable, weird giggle yet again. A strange look was in her eye as she looked around, but saw no one. This day, she had gotten away with her mentalism.

Had Moop known he could see what she was doing she wouldn't have done anything else, she was pissed, acting on pure emotion and raw distaste for this man who would set against her such things as wetting herself and crying herself to sleep. He would rue the day he called her these names and wouldn't forget anytime soon what he said. When she was done, she finally replied.
"Let me think, Ser. I'll accept your favor, but if you're really so afraid of this so called suicide mission, don't bother, I can do this myself. You lead me on saying you know something, but don't spit anything out to make me think I should even owe you a favor. In fact, Ser, you tell me not to trust anyone, so why should I trust you now? Would you like to tell me what you know and I will tell you if I should owe you something?"
Each "ser" her eyes narrowed more, keeping him in check. If he was feeling like she thought he would she would accept his apologies but not forget how rude he could be without a dose of fear in his brain. She wondered if what she had done was morally correct, but instead wondered if how a stranger, under circumstances, could say something like this to another? Was he starting anarchy? Or fancied himself a riot?

She followed her path away, whether or not apologized or branded her foe. Heading back to her sister's tent on the outskirts of the suburbs, it was a distance, but should Salen be inclined they would be easy to trail and not looking out for him. Later that night around the fire they were sitting in silence and Joop finally spoke since they met the man in the park.
"Do you think we'll be killed?"
Moop flinched and wondered,
"For what?"
"Your little show? You didn't know I could see? Did mom even teach you anything? Who do you think you are! HE was a Big Man! We have to be more careful. We're going back to Dagrun in two weeks, we need time to prepare. I think I know of a map shop we can stop at nearby, let's just go there."
All along Moop had known the way back, but she couldn't bare to tell her sister. Not in the Badlands, the intrepid wasteland was out of her range, but since they had been back in Daravin they would be able to get back just fine. She couldn't bare to give up empty handed on her mission. She would have to lie to press on.
"I'm so sorry, I couldn't bare listen to him insult us anymore..."
Moop's eyes welled up with tears, she looked down shamefully, they were so far away from home and she knew Joop felt it too.
"Listen to me, we must go. Two weeks time. I promise they will give you a better mission. This is in fact suicide. We can't go on, I can't..."
They argued all night, until eventually they would go to sleep without speaking and letting the pot burn. For several more days the dark blackness, under which they met Salen, swirled and careened above them. It was fortuitous of days to come.

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Last edited by Moop on Sun Jun 26, 2022 1:57 am, edited 1 time in total. word count: 1137
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Salen
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Character Secrets: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=1686

Sat Jun 18, 2022 6:05 pm

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Salen was taken back for a moment; the sudden use of Tragedian could only reflect on the sadness he had, although he did not show it; instead he narrowed his eyes, sighing as he let the gnome ramble on about her excursions. It seemed boring and irrational at first with the way she seemed to be reacting; he was just telling her the truth and in some cases the truth hurt.

Perhaps it hurt him more than he could figure. The way she tethered to his mural and imagined everything inside it was alarming to him; he didn't like it when people got inside his head and that only stirred suspicion and even unwanted agony. He winced away for a moment, hoping to break away from the gaze as her uncontrollable psychotic giggle came out. He looked at her disturbed for a moment, but only the sadness seemed to be getting stronger. He questioned it and wondered what the woman was doing. He exhaled for a moment as he appeared to be in an emotionally distraught state.

Perhaps he had said something wrong, or maybe the gnomes weren't accustomed to such revelry from an man like him.

Some of his jokes had been known to miss in certain areas, particularly within the reign of comedy. Perhaps their culture didn't take too kindly to people telling them that they were wrong. In this case, Salen had to leave Moop to learn the hard way, but yet the sudden pressure of guilt that reigned from Tragedian had already pierced into his brain, like a double edged sword through his mind "Maybe I was too rash in the way I spoke, I'm terribly sorry..." He fluttered his words as he seemed to take on a more chameleon persona; he narrowed his eyes at the two and shrugged "I would figure then, that you wouldn't be interested in such treasure lying around in the Badlands, waiting for it to be found... Like I said, Daravin has all kinds of history, including historical sites that depict the ages... Although think about it, along with the advice I gave you."

He said as he walked along, hiding behind a bush as he pricked his finger and swallowed his own blood again. His skin would camoflague with the appropriate setting as he was now completely invisible. He ensured that he was keeping himself moving as he followed Moop and Joop through the night to see where they would arrive. He spied on them at camp, tilting his head slightly; perhaps he was a bit brash about his actions, he figured a way to get them back in their good books again.

However, her egotistical nature was a turning point for Salen to leave them to their own desires, but he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride, dignity and awe, resonating from Moop's personality. He sighed as he ran outwards back towards the marketplace. He was still enshrouded in camoflague as he sneakily took two bottles of red wine and three wine glasses from the market stall, whilst noone was watching. Afterwards, he hid it underneath his jacket and ran back to where Moop and Joop were camping. It was a quick and snide trip, but eventually it paid off.

Salen was almost out of breath, like he had worked another day as a slave for a tyrannical Entente warlord. Only this time, he wanted to bring the tyranny down. He unshrouded himself in front of the two gnomes and eventually held out the two wine bottles in front of them, sighing "Look, ladies... I hate to break it to you, but I felt quite bad for the way I treated you both, perhaps... A truce?" He asked with a smile, waving one wine bottle in his hand as he held the glasses in another, followed by the other wine bottle which had been squeezed under the armpit.

"Perhaps, I was too rash in my words and I apologise..."




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word count: 677
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