Chronicles of The Omniverse Archived Lutetia City: Valentine Park

"Or perhaps I can just invite him along," Al teased, winking at Cam. "Unless, of course, you'd object to that... And as for Inarin? Pining isn't the word I'd use. We don't pine. We pursue... play... prey upon..." He smirked. "Inarin's a sweetheart, but it'll take more than that to reduce either of us to pining."

"I don't judge you all for spending so many hours a day setting yourselves up to have boring, difficult lives that'll probably end in a violent death," Arien remarked with a smirk. "So I don't see why any of your friends should judge you for trying to have some fun while you still can..."

"Ooh, harsh but accurate description," Elisa remarked, hissing through her teeth. "I will say, I do not envy you guys. Not even a little. Like, have fun with that."

"There are a lot of pointless rules involved, it seems," Val noted with a shrug. "But at the same time, if nobody stuck their necks out like the paladins, I feel like there would be a lot less room for everyone else to have fun."

"Point," Arien gave a noncommittal shrug. "But you'd think that if they're off risking their lives every day, freedom to get their dicks wet every now and again is hardly too much to ask." Arien's eyes caught Adrian's approach through the crowd a few moments before he spotted them. "Speaking of," he remarked with a grin, pushing himself upright and rolling to his feet to greet the new arrival. "Adrian! You finally made it here, huh?" The vampire sauntered down the steps of the stands to meet the boy and his 'escort'. "And who's this?" he glanced across at Jacques with a curious gleam in his emerald eyes.


Luca shook his head at Izaic. "I can't begrudge them having friends, but I can't help but feel like they could have picked a little less ..." he sighed, rubbing at his forehead "... hedonistic company. They're embarrassing the order by their ... displays."

He followed the older boy's gesture towards the food stand, and gave a slight nod. "Yeah, alright. I can agree with that." He said, turning to follow Izaic. "So, do you have any idea what happened to Sir Durandet and the Warden? I heard they were both injured by the same thing, and that's why there's increased security today, but nobody seems to know the details. I've just heard rumours, and none of them concrete or believable."

It was a few moments later that Inarin reached them, glancing sheepishly between the two as he approached. "Ah ... L-Luca?"

Luca turned to him with a blink of surprise. "Inarin?"

"Ah ... I j-just wanted to apologise. I'm sorry if ... if the others made you uncomfortable. They shouldn't have made fun of you f-for... probably being a better example than the rest of us." Inarin frowned down at his feet. "I... they just..."

"It's alright," Luca sighed. "Don't make excuses to me, Inarin. It's not me you need to be justifying yourself to. If you can look yourself in the eye and say that you don't think what you're doing will have a negative impact on your abilities as a paladin, then feel free to continue as you are. But if that's the case, then you're a stronger man than I. It's one thing to deny yourself the luxuries and pleasures of normal society having observed them from a distance. But to indulge in and become so thoroughly entwined with them, then have to give them up for your oaths? The only person you're hurting by doing that is yourself."

"I ... I haven't indulged... as such. I mean..." Inarin trailed off, his frown deepening. "I just wanted to say sorry for how they treated you. I'm not ... I'm not apologising for where I make my friends, and I didn't ask for a lecture."
 
"I won't object, though there's the off chance my father might. You two are bad influences on each other. Of course, I'm not much better," Camille glanced towards Arien and Elisabeth. "And about those lifelong commitments, er," Lacroix's voice lowered almost instantly, "Please don't make a big thing about this, but," he took a few furtive looks around him then leaned up to whisper in Al's ear, "Luci hasn't come back, and dad's having serious second thoughts about the whole paladin thing."


"Arrieeennn!" Adrian let go of Jacques and nearly tackled the vampire with a hug. "I've been looking all day for you!"

"Adrian's had like six lemonades from that stupid bar stand, and I can't be assed to babysit him."

"That's my fran, Jacques. You remember me telling you about him?" He gestured at the companion with an open hand, "The cute one at work that always wants me to make his drinks." A grin of mischief flashed across his face. Jacques blushed a little, but quickly shrugged it off and walked away. "I think he's upset, I might have been a little too grabby earlier.."
 
"Pretty sure I won't be taking the silver or sticking with it anyways. I mean, I see how I'm looked at and not just because I'm being goofy and whatever with you guys. Everything changed that day and I honestly don't know where I stand anymore, but for now I am going to just have fun." Jimmy grinned, gaze shifting down towards Adrian and someone else. Waving towards him, though he did pout when Arien slid out of his lap, the Proselyte stretched out his body and leaned backwards, head dropping into whoever's lap was directly behind him. "I need to tan a little bit while I can." He muttered, still sprawling backwards, trying to keep out the negative thoughts in his head, refusing to let them bring him down today.



Mia had remained silent since the get-go, unsure what to think about everything that was happening within her vicinity. Deep down, she saw both sides of it, realizing that Luca was right, but also a little jealous at how free the others appeared to be. Frowning a little, the blonde rubbed her forehead and just shook her head, deciding to remain silent and just sit with the group, pretending to be part of it for the moment.
 
Last edited:
Whilst the proselytes went about their antics, another figure was arriving at the tournament's staging area - one whose presence might have been unexpected. Once more clad in the flowing white cloak and pristine uniform of his order, Noah drew a fair few looks as he was making his way across to where the judges were speaking. His stride seemed altogether unhindered by his injuries, although considering the example set by Sir Durandet, that feat lost something of its impressiveness. The Warden smiled as he approached the surprised-looking group, offering them an only slightly stilted bow of greeting.

"Masters, Inspector," he said. "Sorry that I'm late. I was trying to decide whether I felt able to fight with my injuries, and I think that I am."

Master Rosseau frowned, the elderly woman giving Noah an assessing look over. "This sound like foolish bravado, Warden. Now is not the time to stilt your recovery for the sake of glory."

"No," Noah shook his head. "It's not. But I'm confident I'm healed enough for this. I'll take it relatively easy. I might not be fighting at my best, but it's better than forfeiting, right? The people want to see me fight. What message does it send if I back out now? No, I should fight." He laughed, tilting his head to one side with a smile. "Besides, I earned my spot. If I think I'm up to fighting, I don't think it's fair if you refuse me."

Colette folded her arms, glancing between the masters. She was only here to watch for the warden's animancy during the fighting, not to make calls like this. Master Dufort narrowed her eyes at Noah, tutting. "Be that as it may, you are being foolish. The enemy you saw may move at any time. You ought not be injuring yourself in a spar."

"My mind is made up." Noah kept smiling. "I'm sorry. But I'm confident in myself, and in my recovery. Will you refuse me? How would that look for you, turning away a finalist when he says he's willing and able to fight? People might think you just didn't want your proselyte to be shown up by someone from outside your order."

Estelle's frown only deepened, and she exchanged a glance with Marianne. After a moment, she shook her head. "You are correct that there are no grounds to disqualify you. If it is your decision to enter, then so be it. I merely hope that you do not regret it, Warden."

Noah's smile broadened into a grin. "Great. Thank you, Master. I'll go and get ready."

With that, he turned and started making his way towards the preparation area.
 
The raven locked eyes with Arianne. For a moment something swirled in those beady orbs that was far from natural, and its shadow seemed to lengthen and distort bizarrely. In the next instant, a familiar man's voice echoed within her head.

'Death looms like a shadow over this place, witch. The carrion are gathering for a feast of the likes not seen since Winter last. This arrogance of man will burn, and from the ashes of their hubris will rise fear. Witness this, and reap what your inaction has sewn.'

And then the moment was gone. The raven let out another caw, and flapped away to perch back in the tree along with several of its kind.

But indeed, it seemed that, now that attention had been drawn to it... there was an unusual number of crows and ravens in the park today. None seemed to be behaving oddly, gathering in trees and bickering over scraps from the food stands, but... perhaps it meant something all the same.
 
Izaic had told Luca he'd explain the vague hints and mutterings he'd heard from the Golden after he returned with some refreshments. Lamb kebabs for himself, a decently sized turkey leg for his peer, and two hefty jugs of bitter-sweet pale ale. Upon his arrival, he'd only caught the tail end of the brief conversation between his fellow proselytes, so for now, he bit his tongue.

"Here you go Luca. Didn't know what you wanted, so I got you one of the cheaper options. Its pretty good though, the same stand was here last year and they only smell like they've gotten better." The smoldering brunette brute would silence himself for a moment, taking a zealous bite out of his roasted lamb. He had to stop himself from groaning out loud. It practically fell apart in his mouth, and exploded with piping hot liquid fat. Whatever they had seasoned this sheep in was to die for. "Eh. Anyway, Luca, as I was saying earlier, I'm not too entirely sure whats going on. Trying to put the pieces together from what I've been told by Kurtrin, Celeste, and some others. Making sense of all the attacks. I have some guesses, but none of them are very likely, nor are they very pleasant."

A quick nod of his grease covered chin towards Inarin. "What about you, Nuvellon? You got any idea about what it was that killed your folks?" While waiting for an answer to his less than tactful inquiry, Izaic took a hearty swig of ale.
 
Savien fell into step alongside Kurtrin and Leandre. A jolt of pain shot fire down his arm, but he grit his teeth and swallowed it. There was no time to be weak.

"Our target exhibits two forms: a humanoid male and a bipedal beast. As the man, he is tall, broad-shouldered, long-haired and fair skinned. Handsome looking; I suspect he wears a glamour. This condition is his weakest, but even then he is formidable, wielding frost magics. Supernatural strength. Rapid healing. Heightened senses. The standard vampire rundown."

He took a moment. The image of Nox's transformation manifested in his mind. Savien fought the bile building his throat. "The second is some sort of... I don't know. I want to call it a demon, but it doesn't look like any of the demons I've studied. It's hideous. Bulky and fleshy. Considerably stronger and faster regenerative abilities than his previous form."

Savien swallowed and pushed on. "As for what I know of his psychology... he's... arrogant. Or at least, confident enough to murder and kidnap in broad daylight. Has a deep respect for his family and lineage. It makes for a useful distraction in combat - he broke down weeping when I mentioned Avacyn Caer and Titus."

He glanced over in the stands at clusters of proselytes, laughing and joking with their friends. "The target also exhibits patriarchal tenancies, especially in the way of group hierarchy. He gathers people to himself - typically young, often women or men with a more feminine aesthetic. He has a strange fixation with children and young adults. Likes to kill them or stalk them or just generally torment them, especially if they have a relation to the church." He drew a breath. It shuddered in his lungs. "His hatred for the church is absolute - on a technical and ideological level. He despises us and everything we believe in. God. The Light. He hates it all."

He briefly found Colette's face in the crowds. He nearly smiled. The paladin hadn't seen her since the fight at the Phantom Quarter. He'd heard she'd made it out okay, but it was good to see her unharmed.

"They're the ones I worry about, brother. His minions." Savien shook his head. "We know about him. We're learning what he can do. But the people that follow him? We barely know anything." He growled, throwing a look over his shoulder. "Aurelie Lacroix. Nathan Hart. I know two of the people he's gathered to him, and the latter is likely more a victim than a willing suppliant. Who knows how many call him 'lord'? Who knows what they can do?"
 
"Not taking the silver?" Aaro looked at Jimmy. "Jim... we haven't talked about this." He offered a smile, laughing a bit. "I mean... like, what does that even mean? You're still a proselyte. We're still in class together. We've got a history quiz next week with Grunxa. I mean..." His brows knit. "...we've been doing this forever, Jim." He chuckled. "I mean, are you going to join the Inquisition or become a cleric or..."

He wasn't sure what else to say. There were only so many ways to interpret what Jimmy had said.
 
Al raised an eyebrow and by his smirk, seemed poised to make some quip at Camille, but something stopped him before he did. His smirk faded to a serious frown, and he hesitated in a manner that was very uncharacteristic of the more silvertongued of the twins. "I think he's right," he said quietly, not making eye contact with the proselyte. "You should ... get out now, while you can. Something bad's coming, and you don't want to be on the front lines when that happens." Another pause, and he made an attempt at breaking the ominous tone that the conversation had turned towards with a smile. "Besides, you can have a lot more fun with a lot less guilt if you never take those dumb vows."

Elisa raised an eyebrow as Jimmy's head landed in her lap, and she smirked, patting the proselyte's hair. "That's the attitude to have, kiddo. Fuck planning for the future this early. Life's too short to spend our youth planning for whatever monotonous ..." she paused, glancing around at the proselytes with her "... and slash or life-risking, bullshit we're gonna get into when we're older. Sixteen to twenty five are the party years, I M O." She gave Aaro a glance and chuckled. "Maybe he's just not so into the idea of chastity-till-death from any angle since he met us, hm?" she teased, winking.

"There's a line between having fun and ruining your life prospects," Val remarked with a smirk back at her. "A line you - unlike Jimmy - teeter on like a tight-rope constantly, I fear."

"Uhg, as if that's a problem anymore," Elisa snorted. "You're hardly one to talk. You and your brother just default into success because of momma's company."

"We've still had to learn how not to drive it into the ground, you know."

Waving a dismissive hand, Elisa shrugged and shook her head. "Whatever, spare me the life lessons. I'm here to watch hot guys get sweaty and hit each other, not improve myself on a deep level."

As they were talking, Tara quietly made her way up to take one of the seats behind the group. Val briefly made eye contact with her, and for the barest moment his brow furrowed with confusion, but he forced himself to look away. Their bodyguards normally gave them a little more space, but there wasn't any point questioning her right now. It would only draw attention to her.


Meanwhile, at the base of the stands, Arien laughed, ruffling Adrian's hair and putting an arm around him. "Wow, it's not even noon, Adrian. This is legitimately impressive."

At Jacques' comments, the vampire simply smirked and shrugged, indicating his acquiescence with having the drunken youth palmed off on him. He watched as the other man retreated away, and chuckled. "And I'm sure the way to make him less upset is to throw yourself at other guys in front of him, right?" he remarked with a wink. "Not that I'm complaining." He glanced over his shoulder at the proselytes behind him, musing on the wisdom of dragging the exceedingly drunk Adrian up to meet them in this state, before turning back to face him. "Fancy sobering up a touch before I introduce you to the church kids we've told you so much about? You wouldn't want to make a bad first impression, right? Or maybe you would. I wouldn't put it past you."


"Thanks," Luca took the offered food with an appreciative smile, glad both for the meal and the distraction from what could easily have turned into another argument with Inarin. He took a bite as Izaic went on, nodding his head to the older proselyte's answers.

Inarin was equally glad for the interruption, and relaxed a few notches upon Izaic's arrival. The relaxation wasn't to last very long, however, and he flinched slightly at the question. It wasn't for the reminder of his parents' deaths, but for the answer that he had. None of the others knew. He hesitated obviously, his eyes sliding across to where Master Rosseau was still speaking with Master Dufort, both staring off after... Noah? When had he arrived? Hadn't he been injured?

Shoving his questions about the Warden's presence aside, he turned back to Izaic, biting his lip. The Masters had sworn him to secrecy, but it was long past the time when that was a good idea. With a final glance around to make sure nobody was listening in, he stepped a bit closer to Luca and Izaic, and kept his voice low. "I ... yes. I'm ... I'm not supposed to tell anyone, but..." he shook his head. "F-frankly, fuck that, at this point. It's ..." one final hesitation, but he took a deep breath and forged on. "A Caer. The Lumiena attack, my parents... probably a lot of the other disappearances... It's a Caeruleum. One of them survived."

Luca's hand froze with the lamb skewer a few inches from his mouth, staring wide-eyed at Inarin. "What? You can't be serious. If there- If that was what was going on, the order would have told us ... they would be doing way more. Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"My brother saw him, Luca," Inarin scowled at the other boy. "It's not a mistake. And I don't know why they're trying to cover it up... Either way, it's not going to work much longer."


At the tournament staging area, Aurelion was watching his brother's conversation with Izaic and another proselyte with whom he was less familiar, when a flash of white drew his attention. He blinked in surprise on recognising the source. "Noah? What are you doing here?"

Noah glanced across at Aurelion, smiling. "Oh, hi. I decided I wanted to fight, so I'm going to. I think I've recovered enough, provided I take it easy."

"Thaat... does not sound like a smart decision, I'll be honest with you." Aurelion frowned. "Noah, I saw how beat up you were when that monster was through with you. You shouldn't even be walking around too much, let alone fighting."

"It's alright," Noah shook his head. "Trust me. I know my body's limits. I didn't get where I am today without knowing that. I think my injuries looked worse than they were, too."

"I sure hope so, because they looked damn bad."

Noah just laughed. "If I feel like I'm doing myself any harm, I'll concede. But I'm fine, honestly. You don't need to worry. I've already got the masters' approval."

"Sure..." Aurelion folded his arms. "I didn't peg you for a fool, Noah, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt... just ... Wick, just don't put yourself back in the infirmary. We'll need you in the days to come, and I think you know that."

"Yes, I do." Noah nodded. "And you're right, I'm not a fool. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think I would be fine. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay." The paladin sounded far from convinced, but there wasn't really anything he could do if the masters had given him the go-ahead. "Oh, and Noah?"

"Hm?" The warden tilted his head questioningly.

"Keep your eyes open. Sir Durandet thinks that something's going to happen today. If you're fit to fight, then you should be watching for it too."

Noah smiled. "Got it. I'll be sure to stay on alert," he said, before turning and walking away to wait by the edge of the ring. Aurelion watched him go with a concerned and slightly bemused frown, but after a moment, he shook his head and moved off to find Kurtrin and Savien once more.
 
Crista was listening intently to Savien's description of their enemy. It was more frightening than she could have imagined. What was worse is we didn't know where he was or what he was doing. Even worse than that his followers could be hiding in the crowd and we wouldn't even know it. His targeting of young people made Crista even more concerned. Her thoughts immediately turned to Luka. She hoped he was well out of harms way.
 
Arianne pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed as the bird warned her again. She turned to give a retort, but at that point it had left and rejoined its brethren. However, there were an unreasonable amount of corvids in the trees. Yes there was food, but at most a third of these birds could dine. Clearly, they were around for something else, and several of them reeked of that bird-boy's magicks.

Fabre wanted to warn others, to intervene, but she knew the consequences of doing so. "Better that we survive and the common folk quietly resent us", she mouthed the words to herself, just as the elders had told her during the Skirmishes. It felt so horrifically wrong, but the coven had survived this long. Clearly it was working, as terrible a price as it may have been.


. . . when I mentioned Avacyn Caer and Titus.

A part of Leandre had hoped he'd been able to live and die before seeing them again, but alas. He dismissed such a cowardly thought. Those hellspawns were why the Fortress had joined the order. They were the faces he saw in his dreams, and the faces he saw on the training dummies. Perhaps putting a sword through the real thing would put him at ease, once and for all.

"Do you expect him to come here, today? If he is as bold as to hunt in the daylight?" The hand gripping the pommel of his blade tightened, knuckles going white. There were too many civilians here, it seemed foolish, but it made sense.


"You're right. I just fear what damage it may cause to the church's stability. Each pillar family is either dying off or straining their relationship with the Order. Though, family comes first in this case," his tone brightened and returned to near-conversation level, "Being able to actually go out and have fun? That's a good bonus." He ran a hand through his own locks, then leaned forwards and pecked Al on the lips. "Not much stopping me from fun anyways."


"Shhhhh, it's a secret," Adrian held a finger up to his lips, then to Arien's lips. "How do you expect me to sober up faster? Got any fancy magic for that?" He frowned and snuggled against the vampire he held so dearly at the mention of a poor first impression. He was never one to make bad impressions! Except for that one police officer, but that was a problem Lefevre had easily dealt with. There were probably other times albeit, and he was probably inebriated, through alcohol or otherwise, to the point of simply not remembering them. "I, uh, we're gonna be here all day if we want me to be sober..."
 
Mia snapped her gaze to Jimmy at his comment, shock most definitely evident upon her face. How could he out of any of them not take the silver?! Was it because of the crew he was hanging with now? Had they somehow warped his thinking? Maybe he was their slave and was forbidden to do anything further for the church. Her brows scrunched up as she tried to figure out just what was happening. After a few minutes, she loudly huffed before glancing back down, shooting Arien a very angry glare.



Jimmy felt the back of his neck tensing up and moved a hand back to rub where his neck and shoulder connected on the right side, trying to ease the stiffness. He shifted his gaze over towards Aaro, head still in Elisa’s lap much to his amusement. Naturally he wasn’t expecting not to have this kind of reaction, but it didn’t make it any easier, especially since he hadn’t thought of anything beyond not taking the silver. “Honestly, Aaro, do you really think they’ll let me take it? Even if I didn’t wolf out, I’m still tainted. I really haven’t thought it through completely and nothing’s set in stone, so calm down man. Things can change.” Jimmy dropped his hand back down, shaking his head a little.

“We can talk about it later, okay? Maybe tonight.” He hoped that would be sufficient because he really didn’t want to get into things in front of everyone. Glancing up at Elisa, the Proselyte did agree with her a little. Life was too short to be stiff and complete rule followers, but what would he really do if he didn’t become a Paladin? Well, his gift pretty much sealed the not-becoming-a-palain-fate, but Aaro didn’t know that. Inarin didn’t know that and he knew this would be a disappointment, one he was having problems explaining.

“Val’s right, Elisa, but Elisa’s right as well. There’s got to be checks and balances in life or it’s not worth fighting for… or even living for. I don’t want to just exist… I was to live… to make a difference. I guess it’s something worth talking about later, after the festival.” Jimmy shrugged, still sprawled against Elisa, mostly comfortable, brow arching quite a bit as he noticed the peck. He grinned, but didn’t say anything, though he was a bit sad he was missing out on all the lovey-dovey stuff. Shaking his head a bit, Jim glanced down at Arien, watching him with Adrian before shifting his gaze away, exhaling deeply.
 
A sarcastic laugh pierced the grimace Kurtrin wore beneath his helm. "You have the right of it, it seems. We have no clue as to the number of followers, willing or not, he brings with him into this conflict. Truly, we don't know if hes the only pure blooded Caeruleum left, or if in the fifty years since the Skirmishes ended, he's made more. If we're lucky, hes the only one, and he hasn't had a chance to breed. If we're truly damned and forsaken then..." No, better left it unsaid. If the Light truly existed to keep humanity safe, and pure, from the taint and influence of the Wyrm, then theres no way the horrors of the Breeding Pits would've been recreated. Nito and his ilk had called it the Nursery. A mockery of the word.

He'd swallow then, heavy and dry upon his tongue, with a taste of repressed bile. "Sirs, brothers, he targets our children because we targeted his. When we stormed the manor and brought Nito the Demon the justice he deserved, there is much that went unsaid. The Caeruleum, undead who can use mortal women to grow their numbers through dark ritual and unholy consummation. They are born human, but tainted, their souls already claimed by whatever darkness it is they serve. Or so Arodring theorized. A foul place birthed these...children. The armies of the light put them, and the holding that housed them, to the sword, and the torch. We gave them to the Light, along with every other creature we found on that estate. The proselytes being so heavily targeted might be retribution for our act of self preservation."

Let them think what they will of helpless 'children' being slaughtered by the Order. It was a necessary if cruel act, like many committed during the Skirmishes. "But do not fool yourself, Savien, though it may harm your pride. Whatever it is you faced, I can assure you, it was holding back. Avacyn her self," The name, venom on his tongue, "Did not truly reveal the extent of her capabilities until two score of my brothers, both literal and those given to me by the Church, were slain at her feet, and she was not one of Nito's creatures that was made for open war. She was an assassin, one whose gifts were better suited to subtly and shadow-work. From what you say...this thing thrives on combat, simple and straightforward, which is by no means useless information. Perhaps he does not share his father's gifts for strategy and magic."

---------------

Swigelf was speechless. The idea had been at the front of his mind for a long time, toying with him, taunting him, but one thing or another had always kept himself from accepting it. It would explain far too much for him to simply dismiss the idea.

The massive up-spike in security, the countless attacks on Church related individuals, Kurtrin's steady increase in whiskey over the past few months. The Master's at least knew, and the older members of the Order for sure, that much was certain now. How long had the known, that was the real question, along with how many of their brothers and sisters they were currently keeping in the dark. To what end?

Panic, perhaps. It was said in their studies that the Caeruleum could feed, grow stronger, off the fear of the humans they terrorized. Something told Izaic this wasn't the only reason, of course. It had to be embarrassment, or wounded pride, as well. They'd been taught time and time again that the ice demons had been wiped out completely, nay, that vampires as a whole were supposedly pushed out of Lutetia by the Wick and its holy servants.

Suddenly, he understood why his mentor drowned himself in liquor so frequently. "...Match be damned," the future paladin muttered, tilting his mug as far back as he could, nearly choking on his ale.
 
Savien listened in muted horror. Breeding Pits. 'Nurseries'. It was hard to believe the depravity of the Caer went beyond what the history texts had told him.

"So it's revenge," Savien murmured. He was glad he'd instructed Leon and Perrin to secure the proselytes in the event of an incident.

"Kurtrin, do you have any idea exactly WHO this Caer is? A name?" If anyone had a good idea of the mystery Caer's identity, it would be the Golden.

---

"You're not tainted, Jimmy," Aaro quipped, "you don't just stop mattering if you become a werewolf. The Order isn't just a list of rules, it's family. It's the people within it - the proselytes like me, Inarin and Camille." A family you're a part of, Garoux or no...

He shook his head. Agitation wasn't a familiar emotion to Aaro - he'd rather not make it worse than it was. "We'll talk about it tonight, fine." The proselyte rose to his feet, scouting out Inarin, Luca and Izaic. "I'm gonna get something to drink. I'll be back."

He set off in the direction of the others.
 
"Light..." Luca ran a hand through his hair, the skewer hanging forgotten at his side. "They must have it under control, and don't want to risk a panic upsetting their plans," he reasoned, frowning.

Inarin sighed, and shrugged. "Maybe..." he murmured, although he sounded far from convinced. "I guess.... I dunno." Any good reason he could think of for not informing the Order just rang like an excuse in his head. "D-doesn't seem like they have it under control. It ... it doesn't take a genius to guess that what happened in the Phantom Quarter on Sunday was related to it."

Luca frowned, shaking his head. The Order had to be on top of it. That was the only reason they would cover up such a thing: they were going to be able to deal with it without causing too much public disturbance, and so could treat it as any other monster. One to be hunted and dealt with, so the public never had to deal with it. That was how they operated. This Caer was just ... not as dangerous as the ones from the stories. That would be it.

"Probably just a minor hiccup..." he murmured, sounding less sure than he wanted to be.


Al blinked in momentary surprise at the peck, but was only taken aback for a moment before he grinned broadly. "Clearly not. What're they gonna do, kick you out?" He winked. "I think not. Like they could afford to lose the great and talented Lacroix voluntarily."

"I feel like I've been missing out on something," Val cut in, having turned around in time to see the pair of them kiss. "Fraternising with your opposition, Al? People will talk, you know."

"When don't they?" Al smirked. "And speaking of, Cam and I have a proposition for you. We'll be heading back to Cam's place to clean up after our match... care to join?"

"Hmmm," Val feigned deep thought. "I don't know. I've a very busy schedule today. I might not be able to find the time."

"Not even for me..?" Al stuck his bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout.

Val snorted, scooting over on the bench to cosy up to his brother. "I suppose I can try and fit you guys in, at a push..."

Back across with Jimmy, Elisa rolled her eyes at the twins. "Groooss," she mumbled, though there wasn't much conviction to the statement. With Aaro gone, she was a little more free with her words, though she still lowered her voice to a low murmur as she looked back at Jimmy. "Don't think the silver's even an option any more, kiddo. Think you could get through that initiation without being rustled for a vamp?"


"Hmm, I might have a little trick up my sleeve," Arien murmured to Adrian down at the base of the stands, tilting his chin up. "The fun part comes with the delivery..."

With that, he leaned in for a deep and lingering kiss with the other boy, letting subtle waves of induced pleasure roll between them. As they kissed, he bit down on Adrian's bottom lip hard enough to draw forth a trickle of blood. With it, he drew on the slightest touch of blood magic, filtering the alcohol from Adrian's bloodstream and drawing part of it out to leave him with merely a pleasant buzz. As they pulled apart, Arien licked his lips with a sultry grin. "Feel better?"
 
"Perhaps it would be best to exploit its lack of tact? Drive it from any position of safety, get it to step into some form of trap?" Leandre loosened the grip on his blade. "Also, have we considered reaching out to outside help? The order of white? The magicians? Wick and Wyrm, even the garoux?" He glanced to Kurtin, then to Savien, "We needed them before, perhaps we shall need them again." He was waiting for a gruff remark from one and some noise of disgust from the other, but there was no denying he was right.


"They already kicked one of us out, and they already have another, so I guess you can never be sure," Camille smirked as Al called over his brother. He couldn't help but laugh at their clearly theatrical exchange, which only made him curious to just how often those two practiced such routines. "I feel like you two are only making the shower more crowded than it already is.." Lacroix could hardly keep a straight face as he said it, even if only the twins would understand just how silly the statement was.


"Oh?" Adrian only blushed brighter, though his playful exterior all but melted when the vampire kissed him. As a matter of fact, he was putty in Arien's touch, his supporting hands the only thing keeping him upright. He groaned as his lip was bitten, something Arien knew was his weakness, though he winced a little when he felt the needle-like fangs piercing them. The boy would have protested, if not for the spell he was put under numbing most of the pain. Yet, while that part of his mind was clouded, he could practically watch other parts of it clear up as the vampire sobered him over several seconds.

"Oh fuck," Adrian's face was fire-engine-red as his idol pulled away, his own tongue rubbing against the two punctures in his lip. However, he simply wanted more. He leaned back forward and kissed him again, with no intent on pulling himself away.
 
Jimmy’s gaze shifted towards Aaro at his words and he frowned deeply, knowing that the two of them saw things very differently. While he did consider Inarin and Aaro to be family, he wasn’t sure about any of the others, even Camille. Most everyone else had shied away from him after what happened almost as if they expected him to wolf out at any moment. If only they knew. When the other male gave up for the moment and went off to get something to drink, he could only exhale deeply, bringing up a hand to squeeze the bridge of his nose, staving off a headache.

“Damn it.” He muttered, knowing just how the night was going to go and he wasn’t looking forward to it, not at all. Thankful for the distraction between Al, Val, and Camille, Jimmy shifted his gaze towards them then up at Elisa, snickering a little with a nonplussed shrug. “Naw, it’s pretty adorable.” He grinned more, dropping his hand down. He would remain in her lap until she decided enough was enough of his neck cramped up, whichever came first, mostly because it allowed them to whisper without others hearing.

“Part of me wants to try… but, you’re probably right. Wish I knew what to do now and wish I could get some satisfaction.” His voice was low, not wanting Mia or anyone else nearby to hear, though he left his satisfaction comment ambiguous, but by the look he had been shooting down at Arien and Adrian earlier and the one he was once again giving when the two were busy locking lips, it was clear what he was probably referring to, for the most part at least.

“Don’t want to be figured out… can’t afford that.” Jimmy added with a murmur.
 
Kutrin glanced towards the Fortress, nodding his head in approval of his statement. "Mmm. You may be right. As much as I dislike asking for outside help in cleaning up our own mess, I must admit, we will probably need them. And not just the Order of the White. The Covens may lend us their strength as well, and if we need them, yes, the wolves as well." Neither faction had assisted much in the original skirmishes unless directly threatened, but this time, things might change. Perhaps new leaders have stepped in over the years, or at the very least, they could attract some rogue members who might prioritize the city's well being over their own.

"And Sir Durandet, while I have no concrete proof of a name I...do have some suspicions...You mentioned how he became emotionally compromised at the mention of Avacyn? Avacyn in her final moments spoke repeatedly of a brother, one named Nox. She spoke of how, even amongst all the other spawn of Nito's loins, he was the strongest soldier, even referring to him as their father's 'mad dog'."

The Golden saw brother Aurelion approaching. "Show we wait for Nuvellon? Given what the monster did to his family and home, I imagine he might be keen to hearing all this."

--------------

"We...we aren't in a place of authority to question the Master's decisions about this. Not openly. We're proselytes, so we aren't exactly privy to whatever plans they may or may not be concocting to fight this...supposed Caeruleum." Of course, that didn't seem like the case. Between keeping something this huge hidden from, well, everyone, and the fact the monster only grew more and more bold that seemed unlikely. Academically, Izaic wasn't the brightest, but he was far from being a fool.

He'd cross his arms, dropping his mug on the ground without a care for it. "I bet he was responsible for the attack on Eric and the others in Lumenia Square two months ago as well. It all adds up, doesn't it? But why is he coming after us? Its not like any of us have met him before, and none of us were alive when his family got dusted. Seems strange some one so powerful would waste his time targeting fledglings and children."
 
Inarin faltered for a moment, before answering Izaic. "Actually, he ..." he grimaced. "He was at ... at the rave. Turned up partway through, just ... just walked in like he owned the place. I think ... I spoke to him..." If Inarin was honest, the details of that night were foggy between the alcohol and the panic attack, but he'd pieced together enough from what memories he did have and what others had told him to realise that much. "That's why ... why he... I mean, I don't know if it's why..."

Luca stared in shock. "You spoke to him? Inarin, what?"

"W-we didn't know who he was," Inarin shook his head. "Most of the others still... they still don't know that was him. I don't know why he went to some ... warehouse party, or why he's got such a weird interest in us, but..."

"Light," Luca ran a hand through his hair. "No wonder Rei got taken away by the Inquisitors. If she was exposed to his powers..."

"I don't know if she was. I don't remember that..." Sighing, Inarin glanced between the other two. "What... what can we even do?"


"Heaven forbid you don't have enough room to dance a full tango in there," Al remarked with a smirk. "I guess we'll just have to cosy up, hm?"

"How dreadful." Val laid his head on Al's shoulder contentedly. "It's a good thing we're used to the trial," he added with a teasing grin, his hand creeping across to twine his fingers with Al's. "We can show you the ropes if need be, Cam."

Elisa rolled her eyes again. "Adorable? Maybe if you're into that. Although adorable still isn't the word that I'd use... Makes it sound a lot more innocent than it could ever be described as." Shrugging, she looked away from the trio's antics and down at Jimmy. "As for satisfaction..." she chuckled, lowering her voice and placing her hands on his shoulders. "Maybe we can work something out for that later, if the other boys are all busy. Who knows? We might get an invite to one of the parties I'm beginning to see forming. If not, we'll just have to have our own."


Arien gladly accepted the renewed kiss, idle hands wandering much to the vocal disapproval of a few nearby spectators. Only a few moments passed, however, before they were interrupted by Arien's ringtone going off. Reluctantly pulling away with an apologetic shrug, he pulled his phone out from his pocket and glanced at the screen. Upon seeing the caller, he raised an eyebrow, glancing at his watch before he hit to answer and brought the phone up to his ear.

"Well, hey there Will. Somebody's up early, for what I heard your plans were last night..." His smirk lasted only a few seconds longer before fading into a frown. "Uh, hold up. Slow down. You're babbling. Harik? Isn't he the Caldonian guy you wanted me to meet?" A pause, and his eyes widened slightly. "He what? Are you alright? ... right. I'm at the festival, why?"

Arien looked up to make eye contact with Adrian, shrugging at him as if to say 'nope, I'm not really sure what's going on either'.


Aurelion approached the group of paladins looking slightly bemused, nodding his head to them respectfully. "It would appear that I am no longer needed for the show match," he remarked, glancing across at Savien. "Seems that the Warden is as stubborn about powering through his injuries as you are, Savien."


It was then, that after a hushed conversation with the masters, the tournament announcer raised his microphone to address the crowd. "Apologies for the delay, ladies and gentlemen! But without further ado, allow me to present to you the final round of the free sparring tournament! Firstly, representing the Monastic Order, we have Proselyte Izaic Swigelf - twenty-one years of age, and every bit a paladin in the making! None so far have been able to match him in either strength or skill. Will the tournament's unexpected wildcard be able to finally give him a proper challenge? That's right, ladies and gentlemen! Our second finalist is none other than Warden Noah Lévêque, of the Order of the White! Twenty years of age and an animancer by art, he's shown that he doesn't need his sorcery to go toe to toe with the best. Now! Could both our finalists please take their place in the ring!"

A round of applause and cheers went up from across the park, as people called out for their favourite fighter. The crowd seemed to largely favour Izaic, as the church's fighter, but there were plenty of cheers for Noah as well.

Smiling around at the crowds, Noah stepped gracefully across the grass to take up his position, waiting for Izaic to join him. Today, it would seem that the Warden had opted to switch from his previous padded armour and gauntlet to... no armour at all. Favouring mobility over all else, then? Or just being arrogant? Only time would tell.
 
"I don't know why, but that feels ill-advised for some reason," Leandre shrugged, but did not push the matter further. While it would give Nuvellon a good reason to pursue the beast, it also could discourage him entirely, depending on the circumstances. He'd seen and raised enough proselytes that fell on either side, that he could never say for sure. His face twisted in concern when Aurelion arrived, and the news he brought.

"That is definitely ill-advised. I guess today everyone's decided to go mad without telling me."


Camille smiled and leaned his own head on Al, as if to balance out the latter's brother. "I doubt there's much you'd need to show. I'm not quite as helpless and darling as some others you chose to prey upon," his words were pointed, yet playful, and could be referring to at least half a dozen (if not more) different people. "You two could probably use the personal showers at the Monastery and still have plenty of room, couldn't you?" The disgraceful excuses for showers were not much larger than a public toilet stall, and the water was hard enough to make one never quite feel clean.


Said vocal protests were answered with a quick "Fuck off!" from Adrian, as he was enjoying Arien's hands too much for him to stop. His pleading expression only lasted for a few seconds until he just leaned on the vampire's shoulder and looked down at his phone. He raised an eyebrow at how much Arien's end of the phone call could tell, yet how little it was telling. He simply shrugged and flopped back onto him. It couldn't be too bad, he'd explain to Adrian what was going on and tell him it was going to be okay.

He always did.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top