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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2012 22:01:12 GMT -5
White glanced back at Master Jasper. He couldn't blame the old man. This had been a taxing day, and it was only going to get harder. There was never any time to just relax and enjoy things. White's life had been non stop go since he had been young. From the death of his father to the death of his mother and even during his travels with Justice, it had all been full of things to worry about and things to do. White's life had never been easy, and he had never asked it to be. But once in a while he wanted to just sit back and not have to worry about anything.
"Like that will ever happen." White thought to himself. He followed Darius and Lance, making sure that Arya was coming with them too. "Thanks for everything Master Jasper." He thanked the man before closing the door behind him.
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Master Jasper watched them all leave. They were all full of youth and innocence. They had yet to experience how hard this universe could be to those who stood for what was right. He truly wished them the best of luck. They had tough roads ahead of them, that Master Jasper knew for sure.
Through the entire time of their conversation, Master Jasper had not once let his emotions show. After living for years he had mastered the art of seeming alright when you weren't. He had meant what he said when Sir Joffery had brought Lady Silvia to him. He had seen alot of deaths in his life. The death of close friends, and causing some deaths as well. Mostly it was in the name of righteousness, but there had been slip ups. Those who had died under his watch. People he was forced to kill because they were protecting something dark and evil.
But none of the deaths hit him like this. Master Jasper had never taken an apprentice. Through all of his years he had denied and passed on many children to others. That was until it had been discovered that his old friend's daughter could summon the weapon. And there would be no passing up with this one. He cared to much for her and his friend to simply pass her onto one of the other masters.
And so he had watched her from the age of thirteen until the age she as now. Four years he had trained her. Taught her day and night all he knew. If it had not been agreed upon that apprentices had to wait till at least 18 to take the mark of mastery, she would have been one last year. He had thought he had taught her enough. But she was too young.
For that reason Master Jasper felt the terrible guilt in his heart. She was his apprentice! He was supposed to die after her, not before. It had been his own decision that had cast her out. Now she was dead. He would never see her cheerful face again.
Master Jasper could hold it back no longer. The tears and cries came of their own accord.
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They found the guard at the front gate waiting for them. The hallways were built large enough for about three of the tall centaurs to fit in side by side with a couple of feet in between to spare. This time as they traveled the halls they passed many people. The majority were human. But the other centaurs they did passed were all soldiers. There was an obvious sorrow on every face they passed that showed that word had indeed spread of Lady Silvia's fate.
They did draw some attention as they passed people by because of the large centaur that escorted them. White could of sworn that he heard one of them murmur, "That's them! There the ones who brought back Princess Silvia." It seemed word of their arrival had reached people as well.
The tall centaur came to a stop at two adjacent doors. "These are two of the sweets we have prepared for you. Each has two beds in the master bedroom so it is up to you to figure who sleeps where. The king sends his apologies that he cannot meet with you today. However he has requested you meet him after the funeral." Not waiting for a reply, the centaur turned down the hall and left.
White glanced over to Darius, Arya, and Lance. "How should we split up then?"
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Post by Sprow on Aug 15, 2012 22:23:41 GMT -5
Darius didn't mind taking his leave of Master Jasper. It's not that he hated the old man. Actually,he enjoyed what time he had with the old man. The conversation they had, at least provided some answers for White. It also told them that they hadn't been the only ones to encounter fissures. Justice Wilder and Master Jasper had met Skull who had been one. At least, that's what it sounded like. Darius could be wrong in this.
Once they made it all the way from the old tower to where Master Jasper had told them, they were lead into the castle. This time, they were lead in the more mainstream parts of it. Here, Darius could see all sorts of people. A good number of them were also centaurs. The one that was leading them was no different than the first two that they had seen other than Sir Joffery.
For the most part, things were quiet amongst them. As Darius glanced around, he noticed how saddened everyone appeared to be. No doubt, word of Lady Silvia's death had finally spread. Word traveled fast, it seemed. When people were talking amongst themselves, Darius could hear others indicating them. Somehow, they knew that their group had helped bring Lady Silvia back. Even still, Darius couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. It wasn't just because they were technically being watched when they passed but it was also because Darius hoped that no one blamed them for what had happened. People did crazy things when they were deeply effected by something.
When they finally came to a stop, Darius listened to what the centaur was telling them. Two suites had been prepared for them. The king would wish for them to meet him after Lady Silvia's funeral. "Alright, thank-!" Darius made to say but the centaur had already left. Well, at least he tried to say his thanks before looking over at the other three when White spoke up. How should they split up? Darius looked between Arya and White. If those two shared the same room, no doubt the castle would go up in flames or explode. White and Arya seemed to hate one another.
"Well, I advise against putting you and Arya in the same room, White. You two are always at each other's throats." he said with a chuckle. Focusing on Arya, Darius gave a bit of an apologetic look. "Sorry, Arya, but it's true." Lance awkwardly rubbed the back of his head hearing that. Learning those two bickered, it was probably best if either Darius or himself went in the room that Arya chose. It would be better on White and Arya that way.
"Why don't we let Arya choose which room she wants and who she'd rather share the suite with? I don't really mind where I end up since it's only a place to sleep for the night." Darius gave a nod at that. The two seemed to be thinking the same thing.
"Alright then, Arya? Which suite would you like and who would you rather be in the suite?"
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2012 22:38:07 GMT -5
White was shocked that Darius thought he and Arya were at eachother's throat. They were so not! Just because they had a little fun at eachother's extend didn't mean they were going to kill one another. White's eyes narrowed at Darius. Arya just let out a small chuckle. She seemed a bit taken aback when Mr. Thomas left, but she seemed to be settling in with him gone a bit more now.
"Well when you put it that way, I'll stay with you Darius." Arya told him with a smile. That left White and Lance for the other room. It had been morning when they arrived here and now it was later on in the afternoon. Dinner time by the soft grumble that sounded in White's stomach. He wondered if there was anywhere they could get some grub.
First though he should check out the room and put his sword in it. Walking around the castle with a sword probably wasn't the smartest thing at the moment. "We'll take this room then." White said to the one nearest them. He headed in first.
White found himself in what could only be described as a legit suite. There was a living area, a small kitchen, and as the centaur had said two doors that led to master bedrooms. White didn't really care what room he took. "You can pick whichever room you want Lance." White said. Inside Lance would find a large queen bed, a small table, and a couple of dressers. Instead of heading to the room, White went over to the icebox. Opening it, he wasn't surprised to see it empty. No luck in there being food readily available in the rooms. The suites were identical so Darius and Arya would find the same thing in their room.
White really was sort of hungry. "Lance want to see if we can find the kitchens?" He asked him. He didn't know what Arya and Darius were doing in their room. Going into the room Lance didn't pick, White placed his kantana by the side of his bed.
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Post by Sprow on Aug 15, 2012 23:08:40 GMT -5
Darius just gave a grin in response to White's glare. "Hey, I only speak the truth!" he said teasingly. It was fun to mess with White now and then. White should've expected one of them to say something of that nature though. It wasn't a secret that Arya and White bickered a lot. Letting them have their space from each other would be a good idea. Less stress on the two of them and the rest of the group. At least, out of the two, Arya was amused.
When she finally chose who should go with her, Darius gave a nod and a smile. "Alright, looks like it's decided then!" he said. Watching White and Lance head into their own suite, Darius looked over at Arya and smiled. "After you, Arya!"
With that, they entered the suite that White and Lance hadn't gone in. Stepping inside, Darius saw the same things as White and Lance had. There were two master bedrooms branching off from the main suite they were in. "Okay, you get to pick which bedroom you want and I'll take the one you don't want." Darius was mainly allowing Arya, because she was younger and a girl, the chance to pick so she felt more comfortable. He knew that it must've felt awkward for her to be here without Mr. Thomas but she still had friends in them all. Darius was letting her have special treatment in a way by letting her choose first. That and he was also being a gentleman.
Lance entered the suite after White did. Glancing around he heard what White said about just choosing a room. He didn't really mind what room he took so Lance just picked the one closest to the door. Why? Well, it was just a regular thing with Lance. By being closer to the door, it was easier for him to hear if an intruder walked in on them. Not that he didn't trust White's hearing or anything like that but it was a habit of Lance's. "I'll take this one then," he told White before heading in.
When he did, Lance settled down his belongings before coming back out. As he did so, White came back out after checking out his own room. Hearing the question, Lance thought about it for a moment. "I don't see why not. I could use a bite to eat, myself." With a nod, Lance headed out the door. What Arya and Darius were doing in their own suite, neither of them knew. "Should we ask the other two if they want to come along?" he inquired once they were outside the suite.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2012 0:05:30 GMT -5
Arya entered the room after Darius. She really had no problem with whoever she roomed with, but she figured Darius was the best to chose. He was a bit nicer then White. She liked White but he tended to be.... well stupid sometimes. He acted irrationally. Arya felt safer with Darius and he was nicer.
Walking to the closest room she just picked that one. It didn't really matter to her which one. "I'll take this one." She said. Arya was too far from Mr. Thomas to share thoughts with him, but she was aware that he was somewhere out there. She could tell he was alright and heading farther away from her.
The farther he got the weaker her connection to him. She had never been this far away from him before. It made her thoughts feel slightly empty. She was used to conversing with him. Well she'd have to just be more vocal with everyone here.
Arya liked the large size of the room, but now she wondered what they should do now. It was then that she remembered she had brought some food with her. Well it wasn't cooked yet, but there was a stove with pans and stuff. She could cook some dinner for them all.
Walking out of her room she called to Darius. "Do you want some food? I can cook us all up something."
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White was glad to see that Lance was all for getting food. However when he brought up Darius and Arya, White got a little sour. "Nah lets just go ourselves. They can fetch their own food." White said.
"Take that Darius. Go find your own food."[/i] White thought to himself. Besides this way he could get to know Lance a bit more. After all they did share a sort of link. White had been Justice's apprentice for a good six years.
Heading out the door he waited for Lance to follow him.
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Post by Sprow on Aug 16, 2012 0:21:53 GMT -5
Darius gave a nod as Arya picked the room she would use for the time they were here. "Alright then, I'll take the other one." With that, Darius went into his room to take a quick glance. He hadn't anything to leave here except for his steel pipe. Placing it down next to the drawer, Darius headed back out. After a moment, Arya exited her own room as well. When she had returned, she asked if he wanted some food and that she could cook some for them.
"Wow, really? That'd be great! I was worried about walking through the halls wondering where to find a kitchen!" he replied with a bit of a laugh. White, no doubt, would get a laugh from that if that were to happen.
"Need help?" he inquired. Darius was no cooker but he'd help with getting stuff. Ivory was usually the two that cooked seeing as Darius was a fire hazard every time.
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Lance blinked when White seemed to get a bit upset. Whatever had been said earlier apparently still made White mad. Well, he could understand if White wanted his space from the other two. Still, it would be a bit awkward with it just being the two of them. Lance didn't really interact much with either of the two back on Land of Dragons. On top of it, White had been Justice's apprentice. In a way, they were definitely linked.
"Alright then, if you say so." Lance then headed down the hall with White. For the most part, Lance was quiet. Not because he didn't want to talk, it just seemed that was his usual mannerism. He wasn't exactly sure what to say. Where he was curious of White, there were things he didn't want to know and yet did. It was...complicated, to say the least. How Lance was going to handle being around him, he wasn't sure. He held no grudge or jealousy against White over the fact that he had known Justice for six years. He had some envy but not where he'd actually do anything about it or cause him to dislike White.
It was a bit of an awkward silence as they went.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2012 0:50:09 GMT -5
White led the way, very aware of the awkward silence. He just didn't know what to say. How should he start the conversation? The fact though that White led the way wasn't the smartest thing. He would probably get them lost. As he rummaged through the halls he couldn't help but think out loud. "I wonder where the kitchen is.... Maybe we can ask someone." They had passed by a couple of different people on their way down the halls.
White was pretty sure they were heading more towards the entrance, and probably farther away from the kitchens. When White noticed a woman on her way down a hall he called out. "Mam!" He shouted which brought her to a halt. She had been carrying some sheets and towels in both her arms.
"Yes?" She said, a bit flustered by White.
White gave her his best smile. She was around White and Lance's age and not that bad looking at all with black hair and good figure. "I was just wondering where the kitchen was?" He asked.
The woman responded. "Well its down the hall you guys came form to the last fork. Take the other way and it'll lead you right to it. But there not serving anymore. If your looking for food you can try a tavern by the castle grounds. There's one right outside the castle walls. Just take this way and dont turn. You'll get to the front gate."
With that she left. White looked over to Lance. What to do now? "Want to try the tavern?"
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Arya had no need to run back to her room for the food. She had everything sealed away in a little pocket dimension hidden in a little purse in her pocket. Reaching in she took it out and opened it. When her hand came to the small opening she somehow went right through it! She had to reach down pretty far to get what she wanted. First she took out the bag of noodles, followed by some lettuce, pasta sauce, and mushrooms.
Placing it all on the small table that was provided by them she glanced over to Darius when he offered to help. "Sure." She said. "See if you can find a knife and chop up the lettuce and mushrooms." She figured pasta and salad was a good combination. Heading over to the stove she picked up one of the pots and poured some water from the sink in it. Turning on the stove she let the water sit to a boil.
"You think maybe we should see if White and Lance want to eat with us?" She asked Darius.
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Post by Sprow on Aug 16, 2012 1:20:37 GMT -5
Lance settled for the quiet right now. He couldn't think of anything so just walking down the halls was good enough. Lance wasn't sure where he was either so the best either of them could do was both end up terribly lost in the castle somewhere. Lance didn't have a very good sense of direction unless danger was afoot. So, White's guesses were as good as Lance's as they wandered. Hearing White's words, Lance gave a shrug. "Guess we won't know until we wander around some more."
As they came to a section of halls, a woman appeared. She was carrying sheets and towels. White called out to her, stopping her in her tracks. Flustered but curious about what they might want, the woman responded inquiring what it was that they wanted. White approached her, Lance bringing up the rear.
The woman was around their age, that much was true. However, Lance thought nothing much about her figure or looks. He wasn't the womanizing sort despite the fact Brayden and himself had to run now and then once fangirls realized what family they belonged to at home. He was grateful to not be running as fast as he can go from a group of crazed girls. It was nice, for a change, to not have to. Lance watched as White asked the girl if she knew where the kitchens were.
It didn't take long for her to answer. According to her, the kitchen was down the hall they came from down a turn. Unfortunately, the kitchens weren't serving at the moment since they were done. As his mind began to wonder about where they were going to get their food, the girl told them that they could try one of the taverns in the castle grounds. After saying where to find them, she left. Lance looked back over at White as he asked him if he wanted to try the tavern.
"I don't see why not. There doesn't seem to be any way else for us to get a bite to eat otherwise."
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Darius watched in amazement as Arya pulled out her purse. It looked like any old purse but when she opened it, and stuck her hand and arm all the way in, was when he realized that this purse was not what it appeared to be. It had to be some sort of pocket dimension considering Arya was now pulling out things that she was reaching pretty far in for in the purse. None of the things she pulled out could ever fit in such a tiny purse if it were normal.
He listened, after she set everything on the small table, instruct him to find a knife to chop the lettuce and mushrooms with. Giving a now, Darius looked through the drawers. Eventually, he found a knife. Bringing the lettuce and mushrooms to what appeared to be a cutting board, he was about to start when Arya questioned him if they should ask if White and Lance would wish to join them.
"Hm, it's worth a shot. I'll go and ask." With that, Darius headed out of the suite and into the hallway. When he did, he walked over to White's and Lance's suite and knocked on the door. There was no answer and trying to turn the doorknob told him that it was locked. Oh well, looks like they miss out. Heading back into his and Arya's suite, Darius spoke.
"They're not answering the door. It's locked. Either White's really sore about what I said earlier or they wandered off to get food or something."
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2012 1:45:55 GMT -5
Arya nodded. Well if White and Lance went out that just left more for them. "Oh well there loss. I'm a good cook." Having lived with only Mr. Thomas Arya had learned to cook fairly well. Originally Mr. Thomas had done the cooking when she was younger, but she learned to do it herself when she was old enough. As a result she was a pretty good cook for her age.
Reaching back into her bag, Arya took out salt, pepper, some plates, olive oil, vinegar, and utensils for the both of them. It really was a convenient little purse. Seeing that the water was brought to a boil, Arya grabbed another pan for the lettuce. She figured Darius could drop the lettuce in there for a salad since they didn't have a bowl.
Pouring the bag of noodles into the boiling water she let it sit and start to cook. Seeing Darius at the cutting board, Arya tried to have a little conversation with him. After all she had no one else to talk too. "I've always wondered Darius... You don't talk about your world much, but what was it like? I mean we've been to alot of different worlds now. Was it close to any of the ones we've been too?"
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White walked with Lance down the hall. There was no more feeling of perhaps getting lost now that they knew where they were going. White was ready for some food. When they reached the front gate, the two centaurs from before watched them go without a word. White wondered what had happened to Sir Joffery. They hadn't seen him since he left Master Jasper's room. He wondered if the centaur was alright.
It wasn't too far from the castle door to the main gate. There were a few more guards there compared to the front door, but they let them leave without too much trouble. They did ask who they were and when they'd be back. White just had to mention Master Jasper to get the centaurs to nod and wave them through.
There were alot more people outside the gates of the castle. They were all about their own business though and for the most part didn't even bother looking at them. Unlike some worlds, the Enchanted Domain was not seperated by rich and poor. According to history at one point it had been that way, but things had turned around with the establishment of the recent king. He was much kinder to the poor here, and for that reason people looked after one another.
It was much different then 200 years ago when the slums were very much like their own city. The slums didn't even exist anymore. The woman had been right though about the tavern. White spotted it right after entering. It was a mediocre kind of place with the picture of a mug hanging on a board over the door. Across the mug was the words "Sipping Tavern".
"Let's get some grub!" White said with a smile to Lance. He went on in.
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Post by Sprow on Aug 16, 2012 2:05:22 GMT -5
Darius gave a nod at that. If White was really being sour, then it was his loss. Darius had only been teasing White a bit. No reason for him to hold a grudge over it. Why deny the fact that he argued with Arya, anyway? As Darius entered the suite again, he had wandered back over to the cutting board. Making sure to wash his hands beforehand, Darius took the knife and started chopping up the lettuce first.
While he was busy doing that, he noticed that Arya had taken out more things from her handy purse. There was a pan that Arya had set next to him. Seeing as there was no bowl, Darius took it as her implying that he should put the lettuce and mushrooms in there when he was done cutting them up. As he chopped up a considerable amount of lettuce, Darius transferred the lettuce carefully into the pan before continuing with the mushrooms. He was used to cutting things up for things. Ivory, while she cooked, would sometimes task him with these kind of things.
Arya had begun to boil the water to prepare for cooking. As Darius finally reached the mushrooms, he heard Arya attempting to strike up conversation with him. She was curious about his world. Darius had barely mentioned his world to the others. It brought back dark memories every time. Still, he couldn't blame Arya for being curious about it. "Well...Meadows was...kind of like Land of Dragons except without all of that bamboo and more...advanced in terms of technology. We lacked any kind of real magic like what you can do. It was rare for anyone to have powers of that nature and the closest thing to magic would be those with true foresight. Ivory and I, we found our armor. We don't know where the armor came from except we found them. I'm not sure if our armor is a true thing from our world or not. There were a lot of fields, buildings in some areas and lakes. Never an ocean. We knew of Gummi travel and all that but we weren't in the mainstream for that kind of thing so we rarely got visitors from different worlds. Life was...peaceful, even if Ivory and I had to live in a run down orphanage the whole time."
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Lance and White, this time around, seemed to know where they were going. Their stomachs, apparently, made them more capable of remembering what the girl said. The whole time, neither spoke a word, too intent on reaching their destination first. The pair of them walked through the front gates of the castle unchallenged and then made it all the way to the castle court yard's gates. There, the two centaurs had stopped them but only to inquire where they were going and what time to expect them to return.
All it took was Master Jasper to be mentioned and they let them through. The whole while, despite their tramp through the castle previously and now, Sir Joffery had been out of sight. Was he alright? Maybe he was mourning? That seemed the likely route.
When they finally set their eyes upon the tavern, it wasn't hard to recognize it. It was shabby but what tavern wasn't? At least, what tavern that was used a lot wasn't shabby? Looking over at White as he stated they get some grub, Lance gave a nod. "Yes, let's." With that, they headed inside. As the outside had made it apparent, it was just as shabby within but it was a place to eat. It wasn't too dirty in appearance and the folks here seemed pretty amiable.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2012 23:10:23 GMT -5
Arya listened to Darius's explanation of his world. She found it interesting that he had almost no magic at all on it. This was surprising because for as far as she could tell the majority of worlds had at least some kind of magic. Her world happened to have a bit more, but that would be expected from a world like Halloween Town.
She found it interesting that Darius had just happened to find his armor and that there just happened to be a set for Ivory as well. Those kinds of things didn't happen all to often.
When Darius went on to describe true foresight, Arya's eyes perked up. "Foresight huh?" Arya was not knew to foresight. Especially since Mr. Thomas could dab in the ability. "Mr. Thomas actually has a bit of foresight ability. That's actually how we found you guys. He had two visions. The first was a dragon and a samurai fighting in a snow storm against a man made of ice. The second was involved the same dragon and samurai fighting against a skeleton. However in this vision the skeleton picks up the dragon and smashes him to the ground. The dragon stopped moving then. The samurai charges the skeleton, but the skeleton easily picks up a sword and weaponless he strikes at the samurai."
Arya's voice trailed off. They had brought this information to the fortune teller in Halloween Town and she had told them that a teen with white hair and a teen with a pet dragon would come to Halloween Town. They were the ones that their vision spoke of. Seeing White's hair and Darius's suit it was quite obvious who it was. And after their adventures so far it was quite easy to see who it was.
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The Sipping Tavern was busy. White would have thought that it would perhaps be slightly empty due to the word of the princess's death, but this was not true. White found himself in a place with serving women in tight clothes and customers of every kind. There were men, women, and centaurs of both male and female sex. The tavern itself wasn't the biggest tavern that White had ever seen, but there had to be a good thirty people here.
Luckily, White spotted an open table with two seats. "Over there!" White had to shout over the noise of the crowd. Making his way through the crowd, he took a seat. The place was lively enough with a man dressed in bright colors playing a flute and singing a song as well.
Looking over the other customers, he saw some were gambling with dice while others were busy in conversation and sharing drinks. The centaurs, who had seemed stiff from what White had experienced so far of their kind, were all laughs and jokes. They were also the loudest of them all.
It didn't take long for a woman with brown hair and green eyes to come over. She was about five feet in height and dressed in a skirt and tight shirt. She had to be in her late twenties to early thirties and gave them both a smile when she came over. When she came close, White grabbed the girl by the arm and pulled her onto his lap.
"Why hello gorgeous! How about getting me and my friend here something to drink and eat?"
It was quite clear that the woman had not been expecting White's forward advance. However by the fact that she had not slapped him across the face, she was probably use to similar behavior. Of course to White took it as she thought he was attractive.
She let out a small giggle as she hopped up out of his lap. "Sure thing darlings." However she did not go to White but to Lance and gave him a small pat on his head and a warm smile.
White watched the transaction and gave a small laugh. "Guess you got that one, and you didn't even do anything."
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Post by Sprow on Aug 17, 2012 20:28:40 GMT -5
It was true that Darius and Ivory just happened upon their armor. It was strange that they both had the same type of armor but just in opposing colors and powers. Anubis and Sirius were also opposing colors yet the same other than that. Their names, too, were somewhat similar. After all, both names pertained to dogs in a way.
The memory of how they told each other what they found and how they found it brought a smile to his face. It was during a time when things were simpler. A time where, although they were orphans and only had each other to rely on at the time, they were together and happy. Unfortunately, that time seemed to be no more. Was some of the Ivory he knew still in there? He wasn't so sure but he would try. Darius just hoped that none of his friends would kill her. White promised that he wouldn't so long as she didn't get in his way. Darius hoped that even he, wouldn't have to resort to murdering his own sister. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure how that was going to turn out. It was troubling but Darius didn't let it show. Now was a time to enjoy himself, if only a little bit.
When the subject turned to foresight, Darius turned to Arya, having finished cutting up the mushrooms. Mr. Thomas had the gift of foresight but only a bit, according to Arya. "Oh, really?" he inquired as Arya continued. Mr. Thomas had foreseen a samurai and a dragon fighting a man made of ice. Then, the same dragon and samurai fought against a skeleton. The skeleton smashes the dragon, who stops moving and then the samurai and skeleton resume battle.
"Er...Sounds like...I'm probably going to have some nasty bruising after that fight then." Darius was inwardly dreading what the "stopped moving" part meant. Hopefully, it was just unconsciousness. If so then fine but it also bothered him what it could mean for White. White, no doubt, had to be the samurai. Darius had to hold back a snicker. White...a samurai...in a way, it was befitting considering he was one to fight pretty hard and he was always there for a friend. "And a nasty headache."
Turning around and dumping the cut mushrooms into the pan with the lettuce, Darius wondered what else to say. "That's strange how things turned out that way but in a way, that's kind of cool. Either way, I'm glad we met you two, Arya. We couldn't have gotten this far without you two."
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Lance scanned the room for open seats but White beat him to it. Hearing White's shout, Lance turned to him and followed him over to the table that White located. Sitting down, Lance took a glance around the tavern. There were humans of both genders and there were centaurs of both genders. Apparently, the only other creatures that lived here so far seemed to be centaurs. Not that Lance minded, there had been centaurs where he lived but not in this sort of context. They were Heartless centaurs and nothing friendly like these actual centaur beings. It was a wonder to see them.
In one area of the tavern, there was a man adorned in very bright colors, playing a flute and singing. No doubt, the man was a bard. As they sat there, Lance began to take notice of the way the women were dressed. Well, the women that worked here, anyway. He refrained from letting his gaze linger on any of them. At least it wasn't as bad as some things but it was still awkward for him.
The twenty year old almost had a heart attack when he saw White actually put his hand on one of the women passing by and pulled her into his lap! No doubt, "what are you doing?" was written all over Lance's face. Yet, for some reason, the girl didn't seem to mind it. Age wise, she seemed to be in her late twenties, maybe early thirties. Possibly, she had been in this sort of business long enough to not react to White's advance in a negative manner. She just simply giggled at his request before hopping out of his lap.
At this point in time, Lance had brought a palm to his face, disbelieving what he had just witnessed. Then, suddenly, the woman had come over to him and gave him a small pat on his head. Slowly bringing his palm away from his face, Lance blinked up at her with obvious confusion. The woman gave him a warm smile before heading off. Blinking, Lance watched her leave, confused as all hell before White finally spoke up reminding him of what was going on.
Lance gave a sigh and shook his head. "I'm not even sure why. I don't want to attract any kind of attention in that context." Lance meant it too. He had a lot on his mind. On top of it, he knew he couldn't or make any kind of attachments with anyone since he was sent out to help Darius and White. Glancing at White, however, he was beginning to have second thoughts on this. He was reminding him of Brayden. Brayden could be a womanizer but not to the extent of White here. "I get too much attention back at home. Just because people know I'm a Wilder, I get chased around all the time by fangirls. I could really use a break from all of that but it looks like it's not just because of my name either." He gave a sigh of exasperation then. He really hoped they weren't going to have to end up running for their lives from fangirls here too. Lance was hoping that, for once, he'd be given a break from crazy women. In case though, he was making a mental note of all the exits in sight.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2012 0:39:22 GMT -5
White had no idea how he was making Lance feel. This was naturally how he was in a tavern. White remembered the one time he went with Justice to the tavern. He had turned eighteen and Justice finally deemed him old enough to go. If Lance thought White was a womanizer, he would have been shocked by his old man. Justice was one of those, pinch a girl on the but as they passed types. White just pulled this girl in his lap.
Listening to Lance White had the biggest smile on his face. To have fangirls like he did! "How are you not reaping those rewards?! Man I'd die and go to heaven if I had fangirls." Just thinking about it made White's smile grow twice its size.
The server returned with two large mugs of a yellow brew. White didn't know if Lance had ever drank before, but if not he was going to be starting with an experienced one. "I'll be back with your plates in a sec." The server had turned to Lance when she spoke, not White.
"Thanks darling!" White said anyway. He took one of the cups and began to down big gulps of it. When he put it down half was already gone! "Nothing like a nice brew."
Glancing over at Lance, White wasn't too concerned with what Lance thought of him. White was honestly being friendly and wanted to have a good time for once. With all the things on their plate and even more to do, White wanted this night to have the break he was never going to have.
"Well if you don't want that attention just direct it my way. I wouldn't mind someone to sleep in my bed tonight. Goodness knows I'm not going to have another day where I can just have time to myself."
The server returned with their two plates. It was more of a bowl then a plate, and it had a hearty stew in it. In addition to the stew she brought some bread as well for them to dip it in. "Anything else for you guys?" She asked them.
White grabbed her hand with one hand and the mug with the other. Downing the rest of it he whipped the bubbles on his face with his arm. "How about a refill love?" The server rolled her eyes, took the cup, and walked away.
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Arya didn't say anything in response to Darius's comment about having a nasty bruise. Instead she walked over to the boiling water, stirred the noodles, and tasted one. They tasted pretty done. Now she just had to drain the water and heat the sauce up. There was a flat curved pan to fry on the stove. Turning on the gas under it, she filtered the water in the noodles and then poured the sauce into the pan. She'd let that heat up.
When Darius turned the conversation to being greatfull about being with them Arya smiled. "It beats sitting in that mansion trying to figure out mother's spells. They were never that easy to figure out." This was the first time Arya ever mentioned her mother. She generally didn't for a couple of reasons. Like Darius's story with Meadows, her tale of her mother didn't exactly have a happy one.
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Post by Sprow on Aug 18, 2012 1:45:00 GMT -5
Lance didn't hate White, it's just he was pretty surprised to see the way he was acting. Well, it just goes to show that they had a lot to learn about one another. It might be best for White to never tell him about Justice that way, it'd probably just cause more bitterness towards the man. No doubt, Lance got his mannerisms from his mother when it came to the opposite gender. Either that or getting chased around a lot did that to him, either way, Lance wasn't anything of that nature. He liked women, but not enough to be doing things like what White or what some of the worst guys here were doing.
As White commented on the fangirls problem, Lance gave a sigh at that. "They only like me because of my last name, White. What good is it if a woman only likes you because of your fame? That's not true love. That's heart break waiting to happen years down the road and then you're left with nothing. It...also gets...annoying constantly being chased around. I've been mugged once because Brayden didn't warn me about the crazy girls around the corner and just took off. That was no fun at all. I had a black eye from it and my clothing was torn. I was lucky I got away when I did."
After he said this, the waitress appeared again. She was carrying two large mugs and had placed them on the table before each of them. Once she had done this, she turned to Lance to inform him that she'll be back with their plates. Not sure why the lady seemed intent on paying him any attention, Lance politely gave a nod. "Thank you." When she took her leave, Lance looked over at White. Already, he had downed half of a mug! Lance couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, looking over at White with incredulity. This guy never ceased to amaze him with his actions, it seemed.
He couldn't help but blink, listening to what else White was saying. Well, whatever he did was his business. Lance wasn't going to lecture him about it despite the fact half of him wanted to. Lance had to keep reminding himself that White wasn't Brayden and that White's way of things were different. He had no right to lecture him so he refrained. The older brother instinct was kicking him in the ribs right now, yelling at him to do so but he fought it back. "Uh...yeah...right." He wasn't sure really what to say in answer to that one.
Where it were probably true, Lance wasn't sure how to respond to that one. Instead, he focused his attention on the arrival of their plates of food. She placed two bowls of stew before them with pieces of bread. When she asked them if there was anything else that they'd like, Lance shook his head. "I'm good. Thanks." White,on the other hand, just grabbed her hand again and asked her for a refill. Lance had to look on with wonder at White. How could he down those things so fast? No doubt, he was going to be drunk out of his mind once this was said and done. Lance hadn't barely touched his own, having taken a few sips. He had beverages like this before but he was more subtle with it and careful to not get drunk out of his mind when he did.
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Darius watched as Arya returned to tending to the noodles. Once she filtered the noodles from the water, she put the sauce in the pan, heating it up. The subject turned to Darius being glad that they met Arya and Mr. Thomas. If it weren't for them, they'd be in more trouble than beforehand by themselves.
Arya mentioned her mother and her spells. Curious about where her mother was, Darius didn't realize this might be a touchy subject. "Tricky spells? You're not allowed to go looking through her spells then? Is that why she hasn't told you them?" he inquired. "Does she...know you're out here with us?" he asked her uncertainly. Last thing he and White needed was an angry soccer mom with spells at her disposal.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2012 2:05:42 GMT -5
Arya had been finishing with the sauce when Darius asked her about her mother. Not answering right away, she finished putting the noodles on the table and the sauce as well. Dinner was ready for them to eat. She had already taken out two plates out of her bag so she took one as well as one of the forks. Taking a scoop of the past and pouring some sauce on it she dug in.
Only after she had settled in her seat and had begun to eat did she answer Darius. "Actually my mom passed away when I was five. It's only me and Mr. Thomas back at home. She left me all her books so I've been trying to teach myself the abilities she had mastered. But its kind of hard without a teacher. Mr. Thomas though is very helpful. He has alot of magic power stored up in him that I can tap into. It helps make things easier."
Arya had left out a couple of things form her story. For one her mother was not just killed she was murdered. Mr. Thomas had fled the world they had been in with her in his arms. Then there was the fact that she had left out the fact that Mr. Thomas had several wards on his mind. It stopped her from draining too much power from him, but from what Arya could tell it seemed more as to keep something in then from keeping her out.
She had to admit the pasta was pretty good. Taking some of the salad that Darius had prepared she found herself enjoying it as well. "I think we did pretty good." She said.
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Dinner was pretty tasty. As was the mugs of brew that continued to follow. However the more White drank the more intoxicated he became. This also meant the more he forgot about Lance. After they had finished eating, he had spent some time with Lance talking about fan girls and repeating about how jealous he was of his skill. Every time he asked the server girl for more she bent down to Lance making sure he didn't want anything. White also noticed that since the shirt she wore was low cut, her breasts were often very close to Lance's face.
Every time she left White pitched in. "What are you waiting for? She wants you man!" However seeing as he was getting no where with the server lady, White left Lance at the table. He began to mingle with some of the other crowds until he found a nice looking girl who would listen to him. And boy was she a beauty!
"You know your really pretty. How about a little kiss?" White leaned in exposing his cheek. To his surprise the girl let out a giggle and kissed him on the cheek! Of course she was drinking as well. What White didn't see while he was busy flirting with the girl, was the large centaur who was the girl's man.
When White felt a tap on his shoulder he shrugged it off. When the tap came harder, White turned around. "Look buddy can't you see I'm talking to this beauty over here." Instead of getting an answer though, White got a fist in the face that sent him to the floor.
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Post by Sprow on Aug 18, 2012 2:49:25 GMT -5
Darius watched in silence as Arya finished with the pasta. She didn't seem intent on answering him right away so he let it be for now. No use pressing the matter if she didn't want to talk about it. Maybe he had asked the wrong thing? Or was she worried about when her mother found out? On top of it, where was her father? Did she have a father out there somewhere?
Once she had gotten her plate, Darius got the other one she had provided. While she was busy settling herself down, Darius put pasta on his own plate and headed over to a seat. Only then did Arya finally speak. Looking over at her, Darius listened to what she was telling him.
Her mother had passed away when she was just five years old. It was just her and Mr. Thomas at home. Her mother had left her spell books to her but it was difficult to learn the spells in them without a teacher. The only way she could cast magic was to tap into the reserves that Mr. Thomas had. "Oh er...I'm sorry, Arya. I shouldn't have asked." He could now understand just how much Mr. Thomas meant to Arya. He was the only family she had left. No wonder she was so effected when he decided to head back to Halloween Town.
Arya took that moment to get some of the salad she had Darius prepare. Eating it, it looked as though she was content with how it came out. Taking a bite of it himself, Darius admitted that he hadn't given them food poisoning. "Yeah, we really did. Looks like White and Lance really missed out."
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Darius had no idea what shenanigans those two were getting into. As their time in the tavern progressed, White got drunk out of his mind after many mugs. Lance couldn't help but sigh to himself at this. No doubt, he'd be the one to lead them back to their room. White would be in no condition to do so on his own and letting a drunk man lead others was like watching Lemmings run off a cliff. Making matters worse, the server woman was quite obvious about her attraction to him. Lance didn't make any returned passes though which lead to her being all the more obvious about it, making Lance feel more awkward. White's chiming in didn't help any either.
"No, White." That's all he could say since White had then decided to get up and leave the table, leaving Lance to suffer through the insistent waitress. Lance gave a groan to himself, getting to his feet, trying to look around the waitress. Letting White run rampant while drunk was not the best idea. He understood where White would like to enjoy himself but to run off and do god knows what wasn't something Lance thought would be the right thing to do here. If it were Brayden. Lance would've already dragged him back home.
Unfortunately, White had a good head start on him and was already interacting with some girl. Now, where she seemed to be returning his affections, the large centaur next to her didn't look at that thrilled. No doubt, he was her companion or more properly phrased as her man. The way he was frowning upon White, Lance knew that wasn't a very good sign. As he made to take a step towards them to try and get White away before anything bad happened to him, the waitress got in his way. She was persistent in making her advances towards him but Lance didn't want any of that. No offense to her, it's just he wasn't up for that kind of thing.
"Look, here's your tip for serving us tonight. I'm sorry but my friend and I have to leave. Thank you." With that, he had given her munny paying for all the drinks that White had gotten as best he could and tipped the waitress for having to put up with him. He just hoped to god that she wasn't about to get the wrong idea of him as he took that moment to finally get around her and make his way towards White. Unfortunately, the centaur got to him first by tapping White's shoulder. Before either knew it, the centaur hit White so hard that he went flying.
Scurrying over, getting between them before the centaur did far worse, Lance gave a respectful incline of his head. "I'm sorry for what my friend here has done. He's intoxicated so he doesn't realize what he's doing. I'll just take him out of your hair right now and my deepest apologies for him offending you. Please, enjoy the rest of your time here." With that, Lance turned and helped White up, frowning at him as he did his best to steer him away from the large centaur as quickly as possible. Whether this was successful or not remained yet to be seen but regardless of what happened, Lance couldn't fight his older brother instincts anymore.
"Just what the hell do you think you're doing, White? She had a guy right next to her! Didn't you see him? He could've killed you!"
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2012 23:40:33 GMT -5
White never saw the fist coming. One moment he had been talking to the pretty lady and the next he was being thrown across the room! He had no idea of the problems that Lance was having with the waitress. In fact White had pretty much forgotten everything besides the pretty lady and now the fist that sent him to the floor.
Intoxicated and pride hurt, White stood right back up. His face was red with anger "You... you... mule!" White insulted. It did the trick because the centaur's face went red with anger. The centaur was easily twice the size of White. He could probably beat him to a living pulp if he wanted too.
The centaur took a step forward too, but stopped when Lance suddenly appeared on the scene. "Move out of the way Lance, this guy wants me to make a horse's ass out of him." White said loudly upon appearance.
It took some smooth talking of Lance's doing to get the centaur to step back. He was not nearly as drunk as White. "Get him out of here then." The centaur said. Even though he wore no armor, the centaur was a guard here in the city. He could arrest White if he really wanted too. It was a good thing that Lance pulled him away.
Being as intoxicated as he was, White had no choice but to go along with Lance. "Lance your taking me away from the pretty lady." Glancing back, the woman he was talking to gave him a little wave of her hand. White's face beamed as he waved with his free arm, trying to look back towards her more. Lance though seemed set on getting out of there.
As they neared the door though, the server suddenly stepped in front of Lance. She very quickly wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned in. "If you want some fun, you should come back tonight when we close. I'll show you a good time." She had leaned in and whispered in his ear. As she finished her sentence she made the sound of her teeth coming together in a bite of the air.
While Lance though was being preoccupied with the server woman, White had gotten out of his grasp. Though he did not go back towards the pretty girl. Instead, since they were right by the exit, he went outside. There he found a group of men huddled together in a circle. He heard the sound of dice rolling in a cup and the shouts of cheers and woahs. White knew exactly what they were doing! It was his second favorite pass time at the taverns. Gambling!
Strolling over to them he pipped in. "Got room for one more?" Noticing how drunk he was and the wad of munny he pulled out of his pocket, the group of people huddled together smiled amongst themselves.
"Sure join right in! Buy in is...." The man who spoke glanced at his companions and locking eyes with them continued, "three hundred munny."
White, who had for the most part handled all the money he had and everyone else who had given him it, placed down three hundred munny. "Prepare to loose bitches! Give me a cup of dice." Taking a cup they all shook their cups and one by one rolled it out in front of them. When it was White's turn, he beamed as two sixes and a five showed up. He had just won!
The look on the surrounding faces of his opponents went from shock to anger very quickly. White was a bunch of laughs and giggles and I told you so's. As he went to grab the money everyone put down, a knife suddenly stabbed the center of the pile. It belonged to the man who had joined him. "That's our money bastard." Looking around White noticed they all had drawn knifes and were pointing it at him.
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Dinner was very good. Arya just wished they had desert. Sadly she had not packed any sweets with her. Still she had a good filling since White and Lance were absent. She wondered just what those two were up too. Hopefully they weren't getting into any trouble.
Having finished dinner, she spent some time cleaning the dishes and then put the stuff back in her bag. Darkness had fallen already. They had not received and word about the funeral tomorrow, but Master Jasper had said it would be tomorrow. She also couldn't help but wonder about Mr. Thomas. He was getting farther and farther out there. She hoped he was alright.
Glancing over to Darius she gave him a small smile. "I think I'm going to retire for the night Darius." She said with a yawn. It was hard to remember but Arya was still only about thirteen. She was still a child. Given everything that had happened, she had not had much time for sleep. This was one of the first nights she had to really sleep in a warm bed and get a full night's sleep.
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Post by Sprow on Aug 19, 2012 0:06:44 GMT -5
If the others knew what kind of trouble Lance and White were getting into, they would've been horrified...or greatly amused, depending on which one of them it was. Either way, things weren't going good at all for White and Lance. It had been a very lucky thing that Lance appeared between the centaur and White when he had. The centaur looked like he was some sort of guard around here even though he didn't wear any armor. Luckily, the guy didn't see Lance as a nuisance and had allowed him to move White out of the given area. Mentally, Lance let out a sigh of relief.
As they went, he grumbled at White some more. "You keep talking to that one and you'll only get yourself killed!" he growled in response to White's drunken protests. Lance was very intent on leaving the tavern after that mess. The sooner they got out of here, the better, especially with a drunk White. Leading him home would not be an easy endeavor, that much was certain to Lance.
Having thought the problem with the waitress had been done and over with, Lance did not foresee her coming up in front of him and wrapping her arms about his waist, whispering in his ear. Since the motion had surprised Lance, he had frozen up in embarrassment hearing the things she was saying to him accompanied by the implicating bite sound with her teeth. While he was busy trying to think of a response, White had wandered outside the tavern all on his own. Out there, White had thus engaged himself in a gamble with others.
"Er...N-No thank you!" he told her politely, pulling himself awkwardly and swiftly out of her grasp. Before she could react, he ran for the door and out of it at top speed. He had the mind to ensure tonight that White's and his suite would be locked.
By the time Lance got outside, White had already won his game and now, as Lance happened upon them the other players were all brandishing knives at White. At this point, their situation had gotten all the more uglier. Mentally cursing their luck and White's drunk mind, Lance lifted up his arm and summoned his lance. Shutting his eyes and focusing, he also pulled out the ancient armor to adorn his body before rushing over. He just barely made it in time to block a knife strike at White.
"Leave the boy alone." Hopefully, they would just back off. If not he was going to take White and run for it. Unlike Lance, White didn't have armor and would likely get hurt bad if Lance decided to stick around and just fight. Right now though, he was just hoping his appearance seemed threatening enough to make them think twice before doing anything.
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Darius helped with cleaning the plates. Once they were done, it was time for bed. At least, this was the case for Arya. She was only a child compared to the others. Understanding of this, as Arya tried to shield her mouth, yawning, Darius gave a nod hearing her words.
"Alright, you have a good night's rest, Arya. See you in the morning."
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2012 0:25:32 GMT -5
"Woh guys let's not get hasty here. It's just a friendly game." White said as he stood. The four men stood with him. They had their knives pointed at him and seeing them, White knew that they were ready to stick him with it. They didn't look like the talking sort at the moment either.
Taking a step back, White's drunken self slipped and fell on his but. The four took a step forward, but that was when Lance came in to save the day once more. The four men stepped back when he summoned a lance and a suit of armor.
White on the other hand found this whole thing hilarious. Seeing Lance summon armor he let out a good laugh. Why was it funny? Well White really couldn't say, but for some reason it was. That is until he called White boy. White's head snapped up. "Boy?.... I'm no boy...... I'll have you know I'm a man!"
Letting out another round of laughs, White fell back holding his gut. Meanwhile the four gamblers were having second thoughts of fighting someone in full armor. He looked like a seasoned fighter as well. "Consider yourself lucky." One of them said. Stepping back they reached to where they were having their poker game before, snatched the munny White had won, and took off down the street at a run.
White was somehow back on his feet. "Don't just stand there, that's my munny!" White called out, pointing an accusing finger at Lance. 'Let's go get it!" White went to take a step forward. Whether or not Lance would stop him though was a different story.
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Arya returned to her room, and glanced around. It felt so empty without Mr. Thomas. She wasn't some little girl who needed her guardian to sleep with her, but she liked the familiar company of him in her mind. She missed that. Well there was no point in trying to do anything else.
Shutting off the light, she climbed into her bed. She hoped Mr. Thomas was fairing alright as he traveled. She couldn't feel him so she had no idea. For some reason though one of the things her mother told her flashed in her head. "Do not remove his wards. You must remember that, upon no reason must you touch them."[/i']
Perhaps she was feeling guilty for disobeying her mother. She had unlocked one of those wards back in Wonderland. It didn't seem to do anything though. Everything seemed fine with Mr. Thomas. Arya figured it was just her guilt. That was why she was remembering her mothers warning.
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Post by Sprow on Aug 19, 2012 0:40:56 GMT -5
Lance did not intend to insult White when he had stepped in. If anything, he had said it unintentionally due to the first word that had come to mind. He was so worked up on the possibility that they might end up in a nasty fight that he didn't really have time to react and was just able to say what he had. It looked like what he was doing though had worked. The men with knives seemed to take a step back, looking at him with surprise. Lance's gaze didn't falter as he looked at the first of them, unblinking. The way he held his stance was enough to say there was confidence in him to show that he knew what he was doing and may be able to back himself up if he had to.
It didn't help though with White laughing in the background. Lance gave a mental facepalm at the guy's drunken state of mind. When he thought he had insulted White, it turned out that he had found it quite funny. Rolling in a fit of laughter, White remained forgotten for the time being as Lance continued to stand in their way, looking ready to swing his lance around should he have to.
One of them finally spoke as they retreated to where they had been playing their game with White. Telling White that he should consider himself lucky, they snatched the winnings and took off. Somehow, White was indeed back on his feet, shouting at him. Lance turned to White with a frown on his face, dismissing the lance as he looked back at his drunken...friend. Seeing White take a step towards the fleeting figures, Lance held up a hand to try and stop him.
"Consider it payment for your life, White! It's not worth dying over. You'll get plenty of munny another way but don't go risking your life over munny. Your life is more important and the others need you too."
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As Arya headed into her own room, Darius lounged around for a time in the main area. It had been a long time since he had time to think to himself. It had been a long time since any of them really had any time to sit back and relax. As he sat there in silence, his mind wandered to much more peaceful times that could be. It wasn't easy to start off with but eventually, it got easier and he mulled over what things would be like if he could get back his sister. Even after making her repent, would he be able to look at her the same way? Most likely not but hopefully by then, he wouldn't find any negative feelings toward her and consider that she had at least put effort into repenting.
Then, as his mind wandered to her, he couldn't help the dark thoughts that came. What the guy with the creepy smile had said to him that day, he couldn't help but wonder if Ivory had gotten herself into a mess that he wouldn't be able to pull her out of. 'Ivory...you idiot!' he thought.
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