All Becomes Grey [IN CHARACTER THREAD] [ROLEPLAY] [POSSIBLE MATURE CONTENT]

[Eruantien]

Chuck was at the table eating a piece of beef meat, feeling well since he was enjoying the taste of it. He yawned, still irritated at that damn bell which awoke him so suddenly. With the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of sudden movement towards him. Before he could react he realized he was being kissed by Sylvia. Sylvia?! The quite shy girl which seemed to dislike Chuck?! Why was she kissing him?! He did nothing as he was torn between his hate of holy magic and his attraction to her. The beautiful smell of her hair, the sweet taste of her lips, it all combined to make this kiss a perfect one. Then she punched him, and he was unable to think of a reason. She came to him and kissed him, why would she punch him?! And then the shouting, what did she shout at? What got out of her book?

Chuck then felt his head hurting, and saw Fiona jumping over him. That light mage was pissing him off, what idiotic reason did she have? Being slapped and yelled at angered him even more, Sylvia kissed him, not the other way around. As if it wasn't enough, he then had his plate thrown on his face. "I. DIDN'T. DO. ANYTHING!" Chuck yelled at Fiona. He then took the plate on which she was preparing her breakfast and threw it on her face.

Sylvia watched the exchange with a bit of guilt buried deep down. Sure, it wasn't his fault, but the whole darn situation was embarrassing enough, and to claim she'd started it would just make it worse....even if it was true. Flipping through the book, Sylvia selected the 3 pages that were naturally her's and sighed in relief. It felt natural to have these soul fragments inside her, just as it had felt unnatural for the foreign ones to reside there in their place.

With her holy magic ready, she was prepared to make sure no real harm came from....whatever was bound to happen. This could be helpful actually: knocked out sets of teeth, a few broken ribs, scorched flesh. All of them, if she was lucky. A good brawl was great practice for her magic, and Sylvia wanted to be stronger. Wanted her magic to be second-to-none: powerful enough to save those she loved, and end those that caused her grief. In the end, her enemies would be forced to come to an understanding once they found their way to the book, so really, she was making the world a better place. A happier one.

While Kick was enthralled with an unusually large hunk of rabbit, Lexia came and sat next to Sylvia. "You let a gobble have control didn't you?"

Sylvia looked away from Lexia bashfully, not wanting to admit, or even acknowledge what had happened. Lexia was awfully perceptive. Claiming they 'controlled' her had its ups and downs. On one hand, she could claim that she had nothing to do with....the incident, but on the other it also implied she had no control over it. Truth be told, it did kinda control her, but not completely. It never felt like it either; it always felt like she herself was making the choices, which made it worse.

She finally worked up the courage to whisper in Lexia's ear, "How long have you known about my book? And what makes you say a gobble was controlling me?"

"Well I'm still not entirely sure how that book of yours works" Lexia said, "But it was rather obvious what just happened. Well to me at least. If you get new powers from slain foes, and put "something" back into your book right after you acted suspiciously gobble-like? I just assume you have a gobble soul or whatever in that book.As for how I know it's a gobble? Well when I'm linked with a creature, I pick up some things. I've been craving rabbit ever since we linked, and as for your little scene? The punch seemed more romantic than the kiss."

As Lexia finished her last sentence, Sylvia's face started burning and it turned a faint red. She tried to hide it by swishing her long hair over most of her face. "I'm NOT interested in him," she continued whispering, but the words had a lot of force to them. "He's a tactless imbecile that does nothing but yell at people." That goblin must've just been a masochist....yeah, that's it.

"Well the gobble explains the punch." Lexia said as she got up to return to Kick. She stopped to whisper in Sylvia's ear "But that doesn't explain the kiss."

Sylvia very much wished today would be over already. Over and done with, and never referenced or remembered again. Couldn't they just go off and kill something? That was much more relaxing compared to this. A bloodbath was a relaxing spa compared to this. She brushed the hair out of her face, as it really was starting to tickle her nose something awful, and she'd need to see properly to heal any punches that might be thrown soon.

Bits of charred meat stuck in her hair, Fiona glared across at Chuck, ready to explode once again. But... she glanced over to her sister - Sylvia looked really put out by all of this, even though Lexia was nearby as well. Swallowing the worst of her anger and trying to keep from causing any more of a disturbance, Fiona spoke in a low voice, "You lying imbecile. Touch her again, and not one tiny hair will remain on your scalp." She swept her hand across her face, sending the bits of food flying out from her hair. Making a small hmph noise, Fiona shifted along the seat to her left, now sitting directly across from her twin. Chuck was a nuisance to her, and even more so now that he'd dared to kiss her sister. But for the sake of Sylvia, she didn't want to make her feel worse about the situation, unless it escalated. Fiona munched on a warmed slice of bread with goat's butter, trying particularly hard not to imagine what Chuck's head might look like mounted upon a certain someone's mantelpiece.

Sylvia pointed towards Chuck under the table, releasing a faint light that likely went unnoticed to most, especially those directly ABOVE the table. It hovered a moment before entering Chuck, imbuing him with determination, specifically to poke her cheek in defiance. Determination was, of course, not a godspell. It couldn't force people to act as she wished, nor twist their mind against their will. However, if there was any desire to defy her sister's demand, Chuck would now find it at least 10 times as hard to resist. Lexia had been super observant, and she knew Sylvia well, but Sylvi truly wished everyone else to believe he had made the first move against her.

Chuck disliked being told what to do by idiots like that light mage. He doubted she'd actually attack him, and if she did, he wouldn't mind hurting her. As he thought that he felt much more determined to defy Fiona's demands. He was wondering what to do... and then the thought hit him, he should poke Sylvia's cheek. That's exactly what he did.

"What did I just freaking tell you!?" Fiona threw her bread hard, across the table, hitting Chuck squarely upon the nose. "Leave her alone, you big oaf!" Chuck took the bread in his hands, his anger channelled through his hand in the form of a small fire charring the bread. He then threw it at Fiona. "STOP THROWING STUFF AT ME YOU IDIOT!" In response, Fiona sent a scattering of small orbs, the size of marbles, at Chuck's face, each of them imploding in tiny pops as they collided. That'd sting a bit. The small orbs of light only angered Chuck more. "Two can play this game." he thought. He then looked at Fiona's gloves and smiled... He threw a couple small flames at her gloves, igniting them.

In a silent moment of disbelief, Fiona stared at her hands as they were lit with licks of flame. Her gloves were quickly beginning to be consumed, and the fabric was eaten away quickly. Fiona shrieked, jumped up, and tore out of the hall to plunge her hands into a water bucket in the nearby washroom. The flames went out, but the damage was done - Fiona's gloves were nearly completely burned away, and she herself had nasty welts and burned skin up to her forearms. She choked back tears of pain, trying not to sob out loud. She should be used to pain like this, by now... Fiona kept her hands in the water for a long time. She didn't want to go back to the dining hall right now.

Chuck would only have moments of "victory" before a powerful hand, dusted in ash, gripped him by the neck, kicking one knee out from behind. Dubhan slammed him to the floor, holding him with a quiet fury visible in his eyes. Chuck didn't get to react to Dubhan's actions, he felt his hands gripping him, the knee in his back and then darkness filled his vision, leaving him unconscious.

 

[LivingAngryCheese]

The Dining Hall

Though even the grumpy Palavalo and Violet had chuckled at the unfortunate events that had occurred, and Calhoun was positively roaring with laughter, when Dubhan put Chuck in a choke hold and made him fall unconscious there was a flash of light so bright that it forced Dubhan back, almost physically pushing him. Anyone else watching the display would've also been unfortunately temporarily blinded by the light.
"You may have had good intentions Dubhan, but we do need him for our mission later. And also, we all saw what actually happened, didn't we Sylvia?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "Alright, I'm sure Fiona won't be too angry once she sees that he is unconscious on the floor, we're all just going to pretend that he fainted alright? He'll be a little groggy when he wakes up, so he'll probably believe it. I don't want to be forced to split up a group. Most of the time, they work together, but the more you take, the worse your options get."

 

[LivingAngryCheese]

The Plain of Treachery

A herd of goats came into Acheron's view, and they had barely began to run once Acheron was upon them, tearing them to pieces and drinking their blood. His movements slowed a little as he drank, regaining his control. He heard some nervous footsteps behind him a few minutes after he had run off. It was the largest of the group, carrying a large sword which he held awkwardly like he didn't know how to use it. "You are a bloodsucker." He said in a voice of both wonder and fear. "Would you like to continue your journey? You would have to stay in a cage or tied down if you do though."

 

[RJS]

The world flew past. Sounds bounced from all sides. It swung its head from side to side, gauging the location of everything, whilst finding nothing of interest. It hunted at high speed, streaking across the open plains. A faint whisper in its head. Weakness, cowardice, restraint and fear. Hunters did not fear the prey. Another whisper, this one from far away. A faint bleating sound. A quick change in direction. The sound continued, getting louder. Soon it was joined by the steady beat of hearts, and the hunter knew it had found its prey. The beats quickened suddenly, but too late. It was among them, and it rent and tore at will. Crimson liquor sprayed into the air and into the throat of the hunter. The taste was exquisite, the nectar rolling across the tongue was enough to drive him to even greater levels of slaughter, gorging and feasting. The spouts of blood seemed to salute the artistry with which arteries were severed as he spun through the herd. Eventually the roar was sated, the pounding in his ears receded as the survivors fled as fast as they could, and Acheron stood, blood liberally spattered across his outfit. He panted heavily, licking the blood from around his mouth as his thoughts scrambled back into his mind. It took a few minutes for the last bits of shaking to stop, for everything to settle for good. He lifted his head and saw one of his former travelling companions running towards him with a sword. No! He hadn't...he'd stopped...had he? Was the visceral gore that adorned him that of the deer, or was it...

The words of the swordsman shattered his mounting panic. Acheron slumped, falling to his knees as the sudden burst of tensions left him. He looked up at the swordsman, picking over his words. "I...cannot. I will not. To be in a cage is to be helpless, is to find all you cared about lost for ever. The consequence of the cage shatters a soul, shatters a mind, shattered my world into broken pieces that still jab, still sting. A cage is for animals and wild beasts and I...I am not. I will not let myself be. I cannot, else I am nothing." Moistness began to sheen in the corners of his eyes. "I am more than a beast, more than a monster, more than the roar! I can do it, I will do it, I must do it. For her. For Eliana." His eyes refocused, bringing himself back to the conversation at hand. "I apologise for any affront and for if your ally was affected by my actions. I feel that it would be best that we part ways and make our own ways to Pert. I ask only one thing of you." He looked down at his clothes. "Do you know if there is a stream nearby? I do not wish to make such a bloody terrifying impression on the people."

 

[LivingAngryCheese]

The Dining Hall

The door swung open, and a shy looking young boy led two men in. "Corbin and Markus, sir." the boy squeaked, then hurried from the room. "Welcome the new recruits!" Palavalo announced. "More like replacements." Violet mumbled. Palavalo simply looked at her as if he was exhausted already, and she turned away. Corbin had been mysteriously approached and then forced to come, the way he was found unknown, while Markus had been offered better facilities and equipment for his research in exchange for service. After the two newbies had eaten, everyone was led out of the room into a central area where they found another squadron, waiting.

A man with grey hair, and yellow eyes introduced himself. "I am Kapasitor. These are my fellow captains, Frederick and Rike." he said gesturing first to a man dressed in white with pale, blue eyes, whose breath was visible despite the relative warmth of the air around, and then to a man who looked down, dressed in purple and black with black hair. Violet and Palavalo glared at him until Kapasitor cleared his throat and they looked away. "Here are my squadron: Katherine, Scivolemo, Phoenix, Ithuba, Draine and Ignea." The first was a bright, bubbly girl who seemed to make Draine and Ignea, the two plain looking men near her, a little happier. Scivolemo looked similar to the deceased Scivoloso, but he wore a simple blue robe. He did not look upset, but seemed focused. Phoenix resembled Chuck in appearance, though he flaunted his magik openly, wearing a bracelet of fire on his left wrist. Ithuba, finally, was a medium-sized dark-skinned girl, who stood away from Katherine, her head buried in a notebook.


The Outskirts of Pert

After the large man had left him, Acheron cleaned himself up and headed for Pert. He found, surprisingly, that Pert was not too far away. It was... unfamiliar. Not the Pert he knew. He felt bloodsucker magik radiating from the village. Or was it bloodsucker? Humans could use light magik too. Yes, that was it, light magik. As Acheron drew nearer, his heightened bloodsucker senses revealed the sources of all this magik. Perched on rooftops all around were cloaked humans, watching the streets below and occasionally moving around. Suddenly, he felt a huge source of magik rapidly approaching him. A man with brown hair and glowing crimson eyes, with a cape of Crawler skin tied around his face and hanging down his back and a glowing purple bow and quiver with arrows. "You must be the abnormal bloodsucker those researchers told me about." The powerful man said. "I have you an offer. You don't really have a choice in the matter, as I could kill you, but here it is: You agree to work for me and do whatever I say, and you can have your house and a steady supply of blood."

 

[MrMonsterGuy18]

Markus looked around, carefully studing the others. Katherine could be used as a hostage to make Draine and Ignea serve his cause. Scivoloso seemed like he could be focused to his goal. Phoenix was too reckless, a good trait for a warrior. He could destroy his enemies. Ithuba was the best find. She seemed as if she could be trusted to research ways to achieve his goals. "Hello everyone, my name is Markus, hopefully we can achieve a lot together."

 

[triggerfinger12]

Corbin did not want to be there. He hated that he had let his guard down. He hated that he had been found. He hated that he had become careless.But, since he was here, he decided to use this to his advantage. He would try to make "friends" with these strangers. After that, he would glean the information that he needed. And, when the time was right, he would fade into the shadows, (hopefully) never to be seen again. He approached a fire mage that looked exceptionally angry. "You look mad."

 

[the_j485]

Dubhan watched with disapproval as yet more troops came in for the commanders to throw at the war.
"Welcome, fodder, to the flames," he said, motioning around himself with a vague gesture, "tell me, Commander," he began to ask Kapasitor, "are these yet more soldiers to be lobbed headlong into chaotic battles, backed by poor intelligence?"
He remained completely still, not even looking at those to whom he spoke. His deep, harsh voice carried well though, and he enunciated clearly.

 

[Someone Else 37]

Linessa remained oddly silent through the interchange between Chuck and the twins; sitting next to Nahiri and munching a sandwich. She was still wrapped up in thought about the captains' foolhardy-sounding plan to take out a larger ork settlement, the battle a few days ago, her life before being drafted into the militia, whether or not this militia was actually the right place for her... but the blinding flash of light got her attention.

Although she was temporarily blinded, Linessa could still sense where people were and roughly what they were doing by the air they displaced; however, between the captains' laughter and Palavalo's speech, her ears told her everything she really needed to know.

Around when her vision had mostly returned, the doors opened and in came two new recruits: a black-haired man with a severe gaze and a stern expression, and a man in a black cloak who was clearly either a shadow mage or a dark mage. It wasn't always easy to tell which. Linessa had no particular interest in introducing herself, so she nodded in their direction and returned to her sandwich.

After the meal, the group was led out to meet another squad of the militia. Linessa tried to commit their names to memory, knowing full well that only a few would stick. Ithuba, in particular, stood out to Linessa: with her notebook, she was clearly just as preoccupied as Linessa was. On first glance, she looked to be the most like Linessa, and probably had the most similar personality. Linessa made a mental note to get to know her at some point, if they wound up in the same group.