Tessa hesitantly turned away from Zack, who was in La La land, and shook Gale's hand, trying not to blush. "We've all heard your names." She murmured, ducking her head. Gale was part of Drake's team, who were legendary heroes in her eyes. And Zack's but he was on Cloud 9 and not paying attention. "I'm Tessa." With introductions done, she turned and headed back to the kitchens to do what she needed to do, waving to Adelina before standing at attention for the fairy's orders. A part of her wasn't surprised when Zack followed her with puppy eyes. He wasn't going with, but that didn't mean he wouldn't help them. Kala nodded, not in the least bit put out. "Just say the word, mistress, and I shall do it." She promised, one palm placed over where her heart lay in her chest. It was beating weakly, and she kept her face blank, though inwardly she worried. She needed to feed, and soon, or she might faint. A fainted Kala was bad news for everyone involved. "But whatever we do, we must do soon." She prompted the princess.
Tessa used geokinesis again because she is nothing if not consistent.
In Story time, Tessa said whatever she was supposed to and did whatever she needed to for the story to progress. Tessa kept eating and kept her head down because she didn't know what to say. The stew was delicious. Maybe she should get a hair cut. Hopefully no one would notice her.
We already talked, so accepted.
Tessa sat down next to Conrad at some point after Silvia and Leo sat down. She didn't speak as they talked of guilds, but ate quietly, listening. This entire world was new to her, and she didn't feel comfortable trying to talk about something that she didn't fully understand. Okay, being honesty she didn't know a single thing about what they were talking about. But she didn't feel excluded, and as she ate and the warm stew filled her stomach, she wondered if the feeling in her belly had to do with only the food, or if the warmth she felt came from the company she was in. All three of them were kind and pleasant. Was this what it was like to be with friends? Don't be silly, you haven't known them for that long. She told herself, letting her spoon rest against the bowl for a second. But perhaps it could be like that, one day.
Canary had time to glare as Ranger VI told her to try harder, before she was yanked off the ground. She pulled in her other leg towards her chest and wrapped her arms around her neck as she was sent flying into the nearest wall. The impact shocked her system, which was jarred once more when she dropped to the ground. She picked herself up, her black clothing dusted with grey from the concrete and her back aching from the impact. Something was bruised, she was sure of it. Bruised, not broken. Canary hoped as she clenched her fists and ran towards her opponent, feinting left before hitting towards the right, aiming for the ribcage. If she was gonna go down, it wasn't going to be without a damn good fight.
Veera didn' want to slow down long enough to talk and for the sake of posting she rode along the road, making the semi long journey to Oxenfurt that her creator wished wasn't quite so long. Teliana paused, uncertain what to do. Zach seemed to have regained his mind, but just as suddenly as he appeared, Vyle was gone again. She hesitantly approached the tawny wolf, fire warming her hands just in case. "Zach. Are you in there?" She asked, her stomach twisting in knots at the thought of having to attack her friend. All the same, she remained firm. She would not leave him in this state. "Are you okay?" Tessa frowned. "I'm not like you." She snapped, irritated by Callum's carefree attitude. "I don't just have a list of people I want dead." She considered for a moment giving the witcher his own name, but what if he followed through? "Why don't you just fuck off then?" She retorted to his blank facial expression before turning and storming off, using very unladylike language. Were they all the same? Was killing just another thing to do before breakfast, like sweeping the floors? She brushed her hair over her shoulder, glancing back at Callum and flipping him off before turning down a side alley. "Well fuck all of you." She muttered to herself. She had to get out of this city. It occured to Bryce at this point that he had yet to see Tessa. Counting down the seconds until the last information was passed to him, he pulled on a cloak to hide the weapons at his side and back, and started back up towards the top world. Her bar was up there, and so help the gods, she had better be there as well, or he was going to have words. The last thing he needed was her swearing at priests or getting locked up. Dopplers didn't last long in jails. Dopplers don't last long anywhere. He thought bitterly. Zack managed to drag himself back to bed, where he lay, bemoaning his poor decision to get drunk in front of the nearest witcher and be put into the custody of a strange and leaderly doppler with better hair then he had. That last thought didn't make much sense to him, and he fell asleep, hoping his brain would be back in working order when he awoke.
Veera offered a small smile towards Aaron as she mounted her horse, patting the creature's neck. "I am glad at least, I'm not going alone on this journey." She waited until Aaron was astride his mount as well before clicking her tongue and setting off at a quick, but not too quick to be loud, pace. "The information I had told me that this doppler was in one of the bigger cities. I thought immediately of Novigrad, but I believe now that it is Oxenfurt." She waited until they were across the bridge and onto the path before glancing back at Aaron. "I expect we'll have at least a few days before the others figure out which way we've gone. To that extent, we'll follow the road until we hit the first path marker, and then we'll go through the forest. Tracks are much harder to find amidst those of monsters, poachers and animals." Turning to face the front, she didn't look back at her home once as she kicked her horse into a gallop and rode away.
Veera paused, as Derrick left. She wasn't sure what she should do first. Well she was sure, but she was hesitant. Then Aaron walked by. His words were those of revenge. She could work with this. "Aaron, wait." She turned and fell into step beside him, despite having just come from this direction. It didn't matter; allies were more important then laziness. "You want to help me find the doppler that hurt your sister? Come with me. I was hunting one before I came across him. I believe he is somewhat important to their race, a leader of sorts. If we find him, we might find Seth." She stopped, lowering her voice. "I'm leaving as soon as I can. I was going to ask Tatiana if she wanted to stay with me or you, but under the circumstances, you're right. She's your sister. And if you want her to come with, she is welcome. But I'm going to go saddle up, and I need to know how many horses I should prepare. I need to leave before Veceslav catches wind of my plans and tries to stop me." He might be the only one who be able to. "I don't want to pressure you, but you need to decide and soon. I leave with or without you." She hesitated, then patted him on the shoulder and hurried off towards the stables. If she had been angry about Tatiana's condition, how could her own brother feel? Veera chose a horse for herself and began to carry the necessary equipment to the gelding. She would wash on the road. Right now she just wanted to get away.
Canary tensed when the gun's barrel pointed directly at her. She could dodge one, maybe two shots, but in this tiny cell? She wouldn't last more then five minutes. She nearly sighed with relief when the gun was placed on the table, her focus going back to his words. Beating me? Oh shit. She backed up a step when Ranger VI opened the door with his strength, and stepped inside. Her best attributes were her agility and her speed. In this small room, neither would provide much help. "Earn it!" She felt the rush of air pass her cheek as she tilted to the side, the punch barely missing her. Following the flow of movement, she brought her leg up and snapped it out to aim a kick at his elbow, hoping to disable him long enough to get some distance. Remy shrugged when Cyclops didn't give him any orders. He had already stated he would follow the man, what more could be said? It didn't escape his notice that Rogue wasn't given any orders either. Pairing them up, was he? Remy ran a hand through his hair. He didn't mind being seen as a ladies man, but one that was in a committed relationship? That wasn't something he could handle. He turned his thoughts back to something much easier to handle; saving the world. That he could do.
The guard stopped, hesitating. He was now put in a difficult position with this new information. If he kept torturing the man, and it really was Daniel Famoye's kid, he could kiss his career goodbye. But if it wasn't, he could be relieved of his position as squad leader. There was only one safe way to go. He grabbed the girl's head by her hair, yanking it back to expose her throat before pressing the blood stained knife against it. "Go get someone who can confirm his story. Someone who has access to a photo of the General Famoye." He ordered one of the other scouts. The girl nodded and took off, shutting the door behind her. "You better hope that there's a strong family resemblance, boy. Because if you're lying, she dies. Slowly. And if you're not lying well.." He smiled. "They're going to be very interested how the general's son came to be in the company of one of those things, and this girl." "Things don't look good for you." The man whispered in her ear, stirring the small hairs. She did her best to ignore him, did her best to stare blankly at the dirty ceiling as the cold metal of the weapon at her throat cut into her skin, causing a small trickle of blood to make its way down her neck. She didn't think her heart had ever pounded so quickly in her life. Torture was one thing, but this man sounded intent on finishing her life before she had a chance to escape this building. "Then I guess I'll see you in hell." She whispered, her voice trembling despite the bravado of her words. At least with the titans, death came quickly. She had never had the chance to actually look death in the face, to know what it was, to watch it happen to her without her control. "Oh no." Tessa grabbed Zack's shirt and pulled him back. "You're not missing out on your date. This'll be a breeze." She mustered up a smile to show her friend, turning the grip into a pat on the back. "What would Adelina think if you canceled? You can't back out now. We'll take care of this. There'll be other missions. She jumped as an explosion rent the air, and who else but Hunter stepped through the smoke. She clenched her fists, but remained silent. He wasn't her problem. Right now anyway. She raised her hand ignoring Hunter's question. "I'll go." she told the king. Zack wanted protest, but he knew Tessa was right. He wouldn't be able to stay focused on the mission, and that would put Tessa and the others in more jeopardy then if he stayed behind. All the same, he felt like a coward. Glaring at Hunter, he crossed his arms, but remained silent. Despite the inner need to want to help, to prove himself, he remained silent. If Adelina canceled now, he might have no other choice then to jump off the tallest house he could find. Or get drunk. Kala kept her expression sympathetic as Flame talked. "That sounds awful." she murmured, moving as quickly as she could to finish up with Flame's wounds. "I wouldn't know what to do either. I mean, I know what I would do, but I'm not the princess." She demurred, lowering her eyes. This might seem as an act of shyness, but in reality she couldn't bear the sight of Flame's strong pulse for another instant. "I would do whatever I could to rescue my friends." She said simply, getting to her feet and taking the medical kit back to where she had found it. "It makes it trickier that your father has forbidden you, but not completely undoable." She tapped her foot as though thinking, for a moment. "I could come with you!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands as she whirled around. "Then your father couldn't protest you going, because I would protect you with my life." She knelt in front of the princess again, swallowing hard as she fought down the urges once more. "Flame, I offer my life as protection for yours. I will keep your body from all harm with my own, and intercept all weapons aimed for your person."
Veera listened to his story with forced patience. She reminded herself that it was a nice day, it was a goof place to sit down, the scenery was lovely. Anything to keep from smacking Hunter as he recounted his tale. She mostly tuned out the adventures of the bed, as she decided to call them. Veera had a good toss or two of her own, but she didn't go sharing them, in very explicit detail. Explicit didn't even cover how much detail he went into. "I did find the finger." She said evenly, producing the digit before laying it in the space between them. "I also didn't specify only one favor, but you didn't specify there would be more then one. There's a lovely brothel down the stree-oh wait." She smiled sweetly. "You told me they were out of women. Anyway, pick one favor. And regardless of that favor, I'll grant it." She added grudgingly. "But not here." The guards would start their patrol, and if they caught sight of the finger, she wasn't going to claim it. "So, decide." Kara crossed her arms. "I'm not afraid. I'm nervous. People don't kidnap other people off the street unless they have a plan in mind. And whatever their plan is, I don't fancy being on the receiving end." They had taken her from a road, not exactly busy, but it was public. She was't the best fighter, but she was good, and they had been better. "Fine, I guess I have no choice but to follow you. I don't exactly like either of our chances if we take them on alone." She sighed though, huffing her chest as she did so to express her exasperation at Tobias' inclinations. "I guess I'll let you leave the way then."
Tessa uses a small red potion and geokinesis again.
Somewhere over the CastleTessa felt herself turn a little green at the description of the image in the mirror, and pressed her hands to her mouth before shutting her eyes. She heard the voice of someone telling her to let them in, and decided to do so, opening an imaginary door with her hand. She would have giggled at the silliness of it, had she not been otherwise occupied with the gore her mind was cooking up. "Um..oh my." She stuttered as two men entered, carrying a...dead? Snow White. "Um, who did you say you were again?" She inquired, feeling the need to sit down. Back in the somewhat real reality A man came up and started talking to her, asking if she had found who she was looking for. She blinked, trying to place his face. Perhaps he was one of the ones in the hustle and bustle before? She grabbed a bowl and scooped up some of the food, clutching the quickly warming dish between her hands as she blew nervously on the strew. "Um...I haven't yet, no." She whispered to Ander. "Um....I'm going to follow Conrad. If you want to talk to me, you can follow." She added anxiously, not wanting to seem rude but becoming desperately anxious as the man she had deemed her security blanket walked farther away to talk to a new stranger. She quickly followed him, nearly pressing into his side as she nervously watched Trevor out of the corner of her eye before turning to see if Ander, Silvia or Leo had followed.
"I'd rather take down a Leshen. Something frightening, but legendary. Dragons are majestic, at least. Though there's nothing majestic about the mess they leave behind." She wrinkled her nose at the memory. "I've never even seen one." She recalled suddenly as they walked into the stone building. "And honestly, from the sounds of it I don't think I would want to." There was something creepy about the skull of a deer, and even creepier when it was wandering around in a dark forest. "I suppose you better go hide from Veceslav. I have to go talk to......" she paused, unsure. "Well, someone who came with me." She was unsure if Tatiana would want to go along with her, but it was only fair to ask, after claiming responsibility. She absolved herself of the guilt she felt by arguing that she had taken the girl under her wing in different circumstances. Her plan had changed, and so too would her actions. "You wouldn't want him to make you do more laps." She added with an easy smile.
Veera grinned, amused by the story. "You would think." She echoed. "But try to Axii me and you'll be missing some important parts in the morning. Parts I know you'll dearly miss." It was well known, perhaps a little too well known, that the male witchers were very carefree with their love life. Veera wasn't celibate, but she didn't seek out the opportunity as often as some of her male counterparts. "I can't see either Olivia or Aaron being too amused with your joke either. They don't seem to have the same sense of humor." Or any sense of humor. "You should be careful, or you won't have anyone to help you take down those scary Ghouls again. Gods know that we couldn't have you facing them all by yourself." She teased, the joke reflected in her eyes. Derrick had always been the easiest to get along with. His laid back manner made the most tense of situations less complex to deal with. "It's strange, isn't it? To think that I've known you and Veceslav for nearly as long as some people's entire lives. I wonder what it's like to live for centuries, watching everyone you know pass on. Unless you're friends with a mage of course." she added hastily. "Then I suppose they're likely to outlive you." Would her friends outlive her? At this point, it was likely.
Thank you! I've been using google translate so far, it's a work in progress >>"
"Thank you for the permission to walk back inside my own home." she muttered after she started walking after Derrick. Truth to be told, it was all of their home. A place they could come back to when the horrors of the world they lived in became too much. And in some cases, to get blind drunk without having to be glared at for using up three casks of mead. Whenever she had been away for more then a few months, she would start to forget how big Kaer Morhen actually was. The stone structure towered well above her head, and would have caused a crick in her neck if she had dared to try and see the top. Most undignified. Instead she quickened her pace so she was walking alongside Derrick. "I'm not sure it would be in a doppler's best interest to assume the persona of a witcher and then come to infiltrate where they live." Not only might they run into the actual witcher, but it was quite easy to get lost here. "Why were you outside?" She asked suddenly, just realizing that he had come from the direction of the training grounds. "Everyone else managed to make it to the library when we appeared." Ah damn, she had forgotten to mention she had teleported with two strange mages and a sick human who turned out to be the sibling of one of their own. Ah well. He could find out on his own. It was unlikely Derrick was out here unless Veceslav made him be out here. Which would mean he did something wrong. She felt a smile cross her face for the first time since she had arrived. He did have the funniest pranks, even if she never partook.
Game of Thrones is an epic example of every story having two sides. It's great to have villains that you can't quite hate because they'e just as human as the rest of us. Unlike Lord of the Rings where all evil was black and gross and mutated.
Veera blinked at the unexpected appearance of Derrick. She hadn't realized he was back too. "I believe the proper greeting one uses when seeing a comrade for the first time in months is; Hello. But I've been wrong before." She scowled, crossing her arms across her chest. "Maybe that should be your warning to stop asking what's making the angry girl angry." She continued. "If the dummy is anything to go by." Derrick would never go along with her plan. She had known the man a long time. How could I have thought Veceslav would? She wondered bitterly. She was in this alone. "But I suppose." If anything, he deserved an explanation. He was one of the few that would probably understand, even without agreeing. "I wanted to come up with a plan to end the dopplers once and for all. I was sick of seeing the way they treated people, and having to try to find them, and bring them justice. They shouldn't exist. None of these monsters should. So why not get rid of them?" It had been a fool's dream, a simple notion that she should have kept to herself. But having a good dose of hindsight wouldn't change things now. She went quiet for a few moments, mourning what she had lost, and what she would probably lose. But there was no helping for it. "I think I'm going to go back inside now. I desperately need a bath." She tried to joke, feeling the blood beginning to try at her forehead. She pulled down the sleeve of her shirt and began to vigorously wipe at it, mouth twisting with frustration.
