Ai walks along the Eternian sidewalks after have spent the majority of her morning shut away in her room to deal with her illness. She wasn't at her best, but it was good enough for her to be moving around to get her duties done for the day. It was better than being sick all day and having her parents worry about not seeing her...
The woman turns the corner after fetching th last of the reports from the towers, and she blinks as she caught sight of the swordmaster just a few feet ahead of her. Ai's gaze shifts to the stacks of papers in her hands, then she opts to walk over to him with a pracitced smile.
"Morning."
"It's been a long time since I've seen you at all. Someone I can bring you to?? Since you want to uh, catch up?"
Janne sighed as he looked around. Investigating strange places wasn't something he wasn't unfamiliar with at this point, but a sirens' graveyard was probably one of the weirder ones. The Blazing Wolf kept his rapier out, vigilant in case any strange monsters came lurking in his and Yew's direction.
A chuckle left him as Yew elbowed him, and he flashed the other a grin.
"Hey, even if it is haunted, what's the worst they can do? Sing pretty songs at us? I mean, if the sirens are dead, they can't be able to just...lure us off in some random direction to our doom, right?"
He frowned, brows furrowing. Now that he thought about it, was that even possible? "...Actually on second thought, maybe we should've brought Geist along for this one. He probably would've had a ball with exorcising whatever's down here."
Yew can't help but laugh, but the sound of his echo seemed to have spooked him enough to stop mid-laugh. He waits for the echo to fade into silence before he went ahead to walk towards the larger cave arch.
"Well yeah. I get that. I know I'm not so silly to see my wife in the water and dive straight in, but just indulge me here, Janne. I hate this and I need a distraction while we navigate this place," he leans against his friend to make sure he's still walking with him.
And well, when Janne quickly changes the subject, Yew lets out another breath before straitening up. Okay, silly distractions can be left at the back burner. He can tell Janne probably just wants to get out of here as much as he does, and maybe being too loud might give away their location.
As they walk through the new tunnel, the torch light fades to have these iridescent crystals cascade a softer light of blues, greens, and yellows to illuminate the dark. THANK THE GODS.
"Mm..? I'm just worried the bottle is gonna be in the water... We don't have anything that might help up deal with the frigid depths. Hell, we don't even have light that we can possibly use down there!"
Janne sighed as he looked around. Investigating strange places wasn't something he wasn't unfamiliar with at this point, but a sirens' graveyard was probably one of the weirder ones. The Blazing Wolf kept his rapier out, vigilant in case any strange monsters came lurking in his and Yew's direction.
A chuckle left him as Yew elbowed him, and he flashed the other a grin.
"Hey, even if it is haunted, what's the worst they can do? Sing pretty songs at us? I mean, if the sirens are dead, they can't be able to just...lure us off in some random direction to our doom, right?"
He frowned, brows furrowing. Now that he thought about it, was that even possible? "...Actually on second thought, maybe we should've brought Geist along for this one. He probably would've had a ball with exorcising whatever's down here."
"Geist would have been a good call... Hell, maybe even Nico or my brother... Why did we bother coming down here by ourselvs?"
Yew holds the hilt of his blade a little too tight as he continued to lead the way down. The idea of being spirited away by a beautiful siren's song terrified him... Would it even be as pretty if they were already dead..? NO NO NO NO NO. Again, if he started thinking about ghosts, he'd spiral a little bit. Crystals... Why did he agree to this job?!
What sort of artefact can actually keep the voice of a heartbroken mermaid bottled in a crystal bottle?!
HOW DID DEROSA EVEN HEAR ABOUT THIS ARTEFACT IN THE FIRST PLACE?! But most importantly, why were Janne and Yew the ones subjected to look for it??
With a deep, steadying breath, Yew follows the cavern to an open chamber that radiated danger in his dad brain.
The room was tall despite being an underground cave, and the soft rumble of falling water can be heard somewhere past the rotting beams of wood that he assumed used to be some sort of fence.
"I heard in old stories that sirens would have the ability to turn into loved ones or other people to entice sailors to follow them. Who do you think our friends would see if they were in that predicament?"
Yes, of course. Count on Yew to pose a wild question to distract him from the bubbling fear of navigating a dark possibly haunted underwater graveyard.
if we could make it out of here without being seen, that would be ideal. (from Janne to Yew, bravelywego)
Yew blinks as he take in his surroundings. He was... Confused, to say the least. Sure, the carved hall they were travelling down was cold and damp; the unmistakable scent of salt water filled the senses. The stairs they were using had long since disappeared to open up to the rest of the semi-flooded cavern floor, and the torches on the walls only ignited whenever the pair got close enough to pass by.
Of all the people he knew, Yew expected Janne to be comfortable in any sort of terrain if it meant getting a job done-- even if they were travelling through a sirens' graveyard.
The shorter heir turns around to look up at his friend behind him with a raised brow and a tilted head. After a few minutes, his confusion melted to that genuine smile.
"Come on, Janne," he elbows him gently, "The only things scary down here are the graves. Just don't mention the fact that this place is probably haunted and we're good!!"
That last bit was absolutely rushed. Even after all these years, Yew still doesn't handle paranormal activities well. Whatever he sees is what he gets! Throw a Ba'al at him, he'll be able to figure out a a strategy after watching his opponent... But a ghost? No.. No no no no no no no. Don't even try to bring it up. inquiries
Name: Lauv Lee
Nickname: Ai, Ailee, Dove
Gender: Female
Occupation: Diplomat for Eternian Council
Relationships:
Mother: Mahzer Lee
Father: Nobutsuba Kamiizumi
Papa: Braev Lee
Sisters: Edea, Minette
Likes: Sweets, tea, reading, naginata training
Dislikes: Green bell peppers, being too hot, last minute plans
Asterisk: Spear Master
Sub-Asterisk: Alchemist
Personality: Confident, courageous and a little too charismatic. Lauv is as skilled in the arts of court rules and paperwork as she is with her spears and staves. So training her mind and body is always a priority for her. Unfortunately, Lauv struggles with spontaneity, so going with the flow doesn't always sit right with her.
Backstory: Lauv is the daughter of Mahzer, Nobutsuna and Braev, and the younger sister of Edea. Being just two years apart, the girls are extremely close and they love being in each other presence growing up. In every aspect, the girls were each other's perfect opposites, yet they got along so well and rare even argued.
However, when Edea was starting to show interest in swordplay, Lauv began showing symptoms to a chronic illness: the fatigue, the coughing fits, the fevers, the migraines... So, Tsuna decided to take Edea in as a student, while Braev took their youngest daughter in to take of her and Mahzer.
Eventually, Lauv noticed how well her fathers can command a room, and she wanted to be like that too since she was their daughter. So, while Edea trained in the way of the sword, Lauv took the mantle to learn how to be the shield. She trained her mind to be as sharp as a blade so no one can double cross her people, her sister, or her parents. It wasn't until she turned 16 that she managed to make her own medication for her sickness... For as much as her family is concerned, she's cured, and she wants them to continue thinking that way.
Ai takes her medication in secret, and she keeps a regular routine going so no one thinks anything is wrong.
Oddette wasn't one to get scared easy, but she understood a passive threat when it came along. Not that she was angry with it; they were the ones snooping, after all.
With a small, gracious sigh upon seeing Saiph sail into the stables, Dotie lightly placed her hand at Janne's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down, and she bowed her head apologetically towards Lukas.
Saiph just chuckles at the explanation. He leaps off to glide towards Lukas' shoulder to drape himself there while wagging his tail happily.
"Sup Lukas! Well, let me go ahead and take these two troublemakers out the stables. Let's go flying later, okay??"
He smiles wide before taking flight again to follow Janne and Dotie out the stables, "You two are funny... Hella overshot the palace! Who did that??"
---
James playfully rolled his eyes, "Come on, Reaper, the mere thought of him got your cheeks to flush. After all this, why don't you old timers talk about it??"
The sound of footsteps coming up from behind them immediately caught Jamison's attention, but who came forward was a surprise even to him. "Uh, Dea or Dotie call you, Einheria??"
The Valkyrie nodded, "I actually came with Edea after Oddette called to fill us in. I have my sisters surveying Al-Khampis and your crew is helping out too," she looks to the others to bow her head in greeting, "Reaper. And you must be Mona. Paigey told me a bit about you. I love your hair pin."
"Oh," Oddette blinked in surprise at the newcomer's presence. As she listened to his explanation, she immediately stepped forward to apologize. It didn't occur to her that someone lived in the stables!
"My apologies, we weren't aware that this was yours... We're here to help with the whole dragon situation, and I'm highly suspicious of everything since-- you know what, I understand there's no excuse. I can only offer my humble apologies for this mix up."
"Yikes, PR Dotie goes crazzzyyy." Saiph chuckled as he flew in from the opened window. Carefully, he landed onto the top of a nearby barrel to stare at the trio; however, his gaze soon landed on Janne and Oddette after he realized how far the overshot from the palace. "How in the nine hells did you two end up in here??? And why are you bothering the nice stable hand??"
---
It was also odd to see the palace a bit empty, or rather, just a bit devoid of the Countess and her entourage. James looked around, trying to see if anything would pop out to him to see if he could figure out where they might be... But then Mona pointed down a nearby hallway.
"Hm, I guess they're trying to catch Edea up, maybe?" he began walking in the direction Mona pointed in, "We should also, probably, check on DeRosa. Make sure he's feeling better? I'm sure he'd love to see you, Grace."
While Dotie was busy looking around the stall herself, she couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing Janne's question. Honestly, it was a valid concern. What if you don't know where to start??
If she had a nickle for every moment she had that same exact thought... She'd have a second fortune sitting in a safe somewhere back home.
"Ah well... Have you asked for help from someone who knows the spell??" Dotie looked over to him, but her attention soon fell onto the bag in his hands. He was quick with lockpicking... Nice skill to have.
"Be careful, Balestra... This place was too clean to house a horse. I'm getting a weird feeling..."
--
"Oh? Edie's here?" James asked as he fixed the braid Paige made earlier to pin the stars back into Mona's hair and he even straightened out the matching hair tie around the teddy bear's neck so it was faceing forward.
Once he finished, he stood to face Geist, his hand taking Mona's hand into his again to guide them towards the reaper.
"Ready when you are, Grace. Ah, you two ready too, Mona??"
"Ahh, so that was what happened. I was wondering why you were soaked on your way to Yew's, but you looked grumpy, so I didn't want to bother..." Oddette recalled the memory as she took one more look around the stables; her interest peaking when she noticed the empty stall. Her mind raced with odd possibilities but something definitely tripped a flag in her mental state at the empty stall... Shouldn't everyone be in the castle??
She gave Janne a small gesture to give her a minute before she went to investigate the empty stall. She checked for the name of the horse, and hoped that the clipboard would have had the rider's information somewhere on the page. Before Dotio thought to open the door to check inside, she turned to Janne.
"But, you really shouldn't worry about the whole mishap, Balestra. Everyone has to start somewhere, and I don't doubt you will get better at it. Now, gimme a sec, my mental won't let me move on until I investigate the stall for some reason. I'll be quick."
--
James nodded as he obliged in taking Mona's hand in his. He gave her a reassuringly soft squeeze before he guided them towards the reaper. Hearing in on their conversation, he gently gestured for them to knock off the conversation while Mona was around.
All just in case she was uncomfortable with the topic they were discussing.
"Ahem, well, yes. Go ahead then, Grace... I'll just uh.. Keep watch on Mona and her teddie." he looks down to catch sight of the pearl hair pin in Mona's hair. It looked to be crooked, so he knelt down to point it out.
"You mind if I fix your hair pin? I looks like it might fall out."
Oddette bowed respectfully to Araceli before she turned to walk towards Janne for the spell to teleport her too. As the light engulfed them both, she instinctively reached out to hold on but she quickly pulled her hand away to hide it behind her back.
As the light began to fade, Oddette was caught a little off guard by the sounds and smells of the stables rather than the audience chamber of the castle. She took a step forward to look at each of the horses before turning towards Janne with a small grin.
"Hey, don't beat yourself up over it. Silver lining: we're safe at the castle. We just need to walk the rest of the way there," Oddette strode past him to wait for him at the exit, "What do you say, Balestra?? Walk with me??"
---
"Right. We'll leave this to you guys then. Oh, here," James reached into the back attached to his hip to pull out 2 large vials of emerald liquid and 4 smaller ones of violet. He walked over to Siobhan to hand it off to her, "The green are healing tonics for them. Just put enough to cover the wounds if they have any and wrap... The violet ones can be ingested for more internal healing. A drop should do each beast. Henry and I synthesized those ourselves, so they're potent."
As James turned his head back towards Mona, a small face of surprise overtook his features when he saw the little illusionist trip up in his cloak. He quickly walked over with the intention of helping her out of the bundle, but Geist had already beat him to it. Still, he knelt down, offering an apologetic smile.
"Ah, sorry, Mona... I wasn't anticipating you to move around like that. Here. You want me to carry you while we head back to the castle?" he offered while he gently took his cloak back to fix it over his shoulders again.
Oddette paused in her thinking when she heard Araceli's comment on how dealing with these dragon raiders will be a them problem in the future. She wasn't quite sure how to take this statement, seeing that her and her friends were helping them out on this endeavor, but she relented to simply keep peace in case she was thinking too hard on the comment. Besides, that smile definitely looked to hold more sympathy than her words did.
In an attempt to calm down, she quietly rolled her shoulders- letting them pop with release of tension.
"James isn't going to like that... He's friends with the Dragons we have at home- Mizuchi and Shinryu specifically," Dotie hummed softly in more contemplation as she took out her communication crystal, "I'm going to ask Einheria to check something for me... I think we'll just head to the castle to talk to the Countess..."
She excused herself from the group to make her call. Her figure standing off at the side while she and Einheria exchanged info. Once she was done, Dotie walked back to just to hear the tail end of the civil war stuff... However, she didn't dare ask about it. It seemed like a touchy subject.
"Einheria said that Edea left an hour or so ago. She should be back in the castle getting more information. If there isn't anything else, we should probably head back."
---
"No problem... Just wait a moment, we'll get the gate open."
James then looked to the guard nearest the iron doors before looking over to Ariel, "So... We have keys or am I melting the hinges off this thing?? The gryphon told relayed the message for us, so no one is stampeding out of there... Those who need or want to be looked at will be waiting inside for our help."
When Janne found the hidden room, Oddette dropped the stacks of paper she found in a nearby overturned chest. Since the page had no real value to their investigation, she had no problem leaving them there to follow both Araceli and Janne through the closet doors.
Quietly, she surveys the room to assure that there weren't any surveillance equipment or spells around. When the clear was reached, she walked towards the desk to listen in on what the contents were in the pages.
Oddette took a breath, her arms crossing over her chest as she processed all the information. The implications that someone managed to pinpoint DeRosa because he was down on his luck in Luxendarc rose a red flag in Dotie's head. She really didn't want to say it... But it was safe for her to assume that the others may already be thinking of this too...
She looked over to Janne with a contemplative expression, "Do you think... We have a mole situation back home? An information funneler keeping tabs on some of the people in our world?"
---
Jamison disregarded Ariel and Siobhan for a moment to focus his attention on Mona. As much as a talented and powerful illusionist she is, she was still just a child... And a child with a bad run in with cages, he assumed by her reaction to the beasts.
With a small breath, he reached over to remove his cape from his shoulders, then he knelt down to gently put the garment over hers. His hope was that the weight of it would help ease her, and the length would provide the same sense of comfort as a plushy blanket. James ruffled her hair with a reassuring smile before he stood to face Ariel.
"The gryphon said that there are a few of them were injured. I have a few potions and such made for beasts since they need a specific dosage due to their size and abilities... Just let your soldiers know that I' going to open the cage and to not harm the ones coming out. I'll have them leave first while the injured stay behind so we can tend to them." James nodded once his explanation was done. Then he walked towards the bars of the cage again to address the gryphon and the rest of the beasts.
"If you don't need or want to be checked out, I'm going to open the gates. Please, don't run out- no one will hurt here. Those injured or in need of medical assistance, please stay where you are. We'll come to you. Deal??"
Oddette held herself together rather well while listening to the snake bit. Seemed like her time in the orphanage, listening to the kids talk about the most randomest of things, helped further hone her ability to keep her face stable even when listening in on the surprising parts of their stories.
With a small breath, Dotie dared to look down to witness a few snakes slithering past them to make their way towards the carnage. Instinctively, she dropped her smile and stepped closer to Janne to grab the hem of sleeve while her eyes trained on the snakes.
After a minute, however, she snapped out of it to look back towards Araceli and release Janne with an apologetic head bow.
"Um...Well, since DeRogna isn't here- missing your entire performance, rude - What's the game plan? Do we look around for clues of her whereabouts, or clues about their next target? Or should we call in that the base is clear?"
---
"I can do that." James nodded, reaching into his pocket to switch his asterisk from Freelancer to Beast Tamer. His attire was surprisingly regal... Clean.
His slacks and dress shirt matched in a sleek concert black, however, the splash of colour came about in the layered corset piece around his torso: a gorgeous golden hue. A cape also draped around his shoulders, the underside of it matching the corset colour, and white fur bordered the cape's collar. Further embellishments were of gold chains and pearls decorating his attire like stardust.
His heels clicked on the floor as he went over to the bars of the cages; his heart sinking dread upon seeing them all in there like that. Slowly, James gripped one of the bars while he activated his animal speech ability.
"Hello...? We're here to help. We want to free you all, but we can't have everyone running out of the cages and further hurting those already injured or injuring someone else in the process. I'm Jamison, by the way, and these are my compatriots."
James then waited for someone to answer him back, but his attention to wander to Mona. He let out a breath as he offered his hand to her for comfort, if she needed or wanted it, "Do you want to get out of this part of the building, kiddo?"
The idea that Oddette and Paigey partake in swing dance competitions always throws James because he was out sailing when they took up the hobby. And he's absolutely jealous that they never invite him despite being a fantastic dancer himself.
The idea that Oddette and Paigey partake in swing dance competitions always throws James because he was out sailing when they took up the hobby. And he's absolutely jealous that they never invite him despite being a fantastic dancer himself.
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