[[I shall dive in now. Hope things go well.]]

It was an early morning in Carsone when he finally arrived there. The streets were veiled by thick mist and puddles from the last nights rain were scattered across the whole scenery. The young man sneezed loudly, almost dropping his glasses and wrapped his robe tighter around him. It didn't make him feel any warmer. He stopped to glance around the city warily and knew at once that he didnt like the place.
"Too unorganized. What is that tree doing there anyway?"
Sighing at the silly unpractical things that humans did Stipen walked across the puddles towards a sign that had a picture of a plate and a fork in it. Even though the wooden construction didn't look exactly appealing to him, he needed to desperately change his socks to dry ones. He opened the door and stepped inside the shady looking inn.

[You choosed a bad place to start Krusadin XD We're all still on Valkaseiren, up at north, but feel free to entertain yourself a while, at least until group arrives to Carsone ^^; And Mundi, Yumi is still in :3 She said she'll try posting this week but not sure when exactly ^^; I say, take your time, we'll eventually go to Carsone, but it's not too urgent to start moving asap. I'll wait everyone to take their time to post for themselves before moving finally. Besides I won't be around until next saturday <.< I'll trust everything in Luel's care XD

Luel=Yumi, just to clear out any possible confusion...]

[[I am aware of this but if new players do join they might be more comfortable teaming up with the newbie loner before hopping in with the rest of the group. And if that theory fails...well then I'll get plenty of time to warm up.]]

[[Hello everyone and a very warm welcome to Krusadin. I apologize for the long delay there tends to be between my posts because I have always been renowned for having an absurdly busy schedule. Only the third week of the semester and already I've gone a few days of the week wihout sleep. :stare:
In any case, it seems that Valendra will not be around for a bit, so she has asked that I act as GM in her place, since I've been in this RP the longest and helped a bit with some of the set up. As such, any new player profiles should be PMed to me for approval until she returns.
I suppose Stipen will be chilling in Carsone until the rest of the party arrives then, Krusadin? Another option is to meet up with us somewhere along the way or something, but that's entirely up to you. =) Now, without further ado, to my post.]]

Joaquin smiled knowingly at Harren's remark, locking eyes with the demon for a brief moment before turning his attention to the rest of the group. "Well, I would never dream of declining the pleasure of such esteemed company," he agreed, smile curving into a smirk as he let his eyes linger over each pretty potential prey appraisingly. He could certainly get used to this variety. "At any rate, Hermingen is a quaint city for us to get better acquainted in, now that this place has been ruined, and the road goes straight through it to Carsone. It hasn't grown much bigger than the nice little town it used to be when I was last there, but it seems that polishing the right boots for a bigger administrative structure is all it takes to make city status these days."

Hermingen was currently ruled by the House of Gerlath, descendants of the family his sister had married into. Although their estate and influence had diminished greatly over time, they had never been short on charming envoys to the Emperor's court and as such, had managed to retain their home and title. Ah, Jacintha, my sister dear. Have so many millennia truly passed since you breathed your last in that friendless room? he wondered wistfully to himself. Still, this was hardly the time or place for reminisces. The sun was higher in the sky now than it had been before they entered the temple.

"Now, if we're not leaving any time soon, I, at least, would prefer to have this discussion indoors. I gave up getting a tan some millennia ago, so unless one of you lovely ladies and gentlemen has a better idea, please excuse my departure to find an intact tavern," he announced, backing a few steps into the shade of a large tree temporarily to give them a chance to suggest something.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Erdaime turned to face the Sun Elf lady and blushed at the sight of the knight beside her. "Ah, it would be an honour, my lady," she answered, quickly remembering her manners and pushing the day's events to the back of her mind. "As the gentleman says, the easiest path to Carsone is the well-travelled road through Hermingen."

"Oh, I'm no gentleman by any stretch of your imagination, cherry girl," the strange man in question called out teasingly from his shaded spot under a nearby tree. "The name is Joaquin for your convenience. Misrepresentation is an art best done personally, I find."

The herbalist felt her cheeks burning up again and decided that the best course of action was to resolutely ignore the taunt. At least they would be travelling in a large group, so she would have some choice of company. Speaking of company, she found her gaze wandering towards the knight that had rescued her again and caught the nauseous look on his face. "Are you all right? If you suffer from nausea, you should eat more ginger," she blurted helpfully without thinking.

[[Sorry for keeping too long to post ^^;;;;; I'll make a post tomorrow, hopefully @__@;;; I'm truely very very sorry for the long wait >___<;;]]

[Valkeseiren...]

Elven knight frowned slightly, he certainly wasn't feeling naucious. He must've been showing too much emotion on his face, he nodded to Erdaime with a less troubled face this time.

"No, I feel fine. Thank you for your concern." Then he bowed his head towards his lady, as if he asked for a permission to speak. "If I may? Given to yesterday's events and the state of the Shrine; I believe the wisest choice is to move on immediately. We are dealing with deities here, if one can attack the other so openly then it I can only assume chaotic goddess should be looking for the grace of light. Since she's hiding, we're likely to be next targets, as mortals we can not stand against a deity, but can avoid an encounter." He looked each of the individuals who appeared to be his future quest companions, "We'll be ready within a quarter hour, we'll be waiting for you at the south enterance of Valkeseiren in half an hour."

Isis arched an eyebrow, she didn't mind anyone's leadership though, Ginnrol seemed to take leashes a little too sudden. Yet sun elf was sounding cautious, his reasoning was logical. No reason to object, if Valkeseiren became such a wreck within seconds who knows what can happen within hours if they stay?

"Alright shiney boy," she returned his annoyed glance with an arrogant smile, "...half an hour it is. I don't want mad pigs raining over my head in the afternoon."

"Come on little lamb!" She threw an arm around Erdaime's shoulder in a sisterly protective manner and started dragging girl along with her. "Let's not have you be eaten by hungry wolves." She threw a playful glance at Joaquin as she passed by him.

"Full of life..." Kel'irana murmured to her knight with an amused smile.

Ginnrol ignored the remark and helped his lady mount on his horse. It seemed that many of such remarks were to come in the future...

------------------------
[Carsone; Grumphy Anchor...]

A heavy scent was lingering in the air, unlike the fish and sea scent carried by wind at outside. Fresh garlic and exotic spices was hitting face along with the warmness radiated from the fireplace. It was a two stored building, by time new wings were added to old inn. There were few tables around, each crowded with three, four chairs. Staircase was decorated with ivy, a fishnet hanging over the wall on right, sea shells were hung over it for decoration purposes. An old and wooden chandalier was hanging down the ceiling with ropes, apperantly the thick and strong type sailors used. And on left of the enterance floor a bar with shelves of ale, beer and rum was sitting, glasses were peeking behind leaves of a big leaved plant in a wide pot. As young man opened large door with a loud creak, at this early hour of the morning only a woman seemed to be up on her feet.

Many strangers might step onto Carsone, yet few continued their journey without stopping by Grumphy Anchor. If name wasn't ringing a bell, then flavor and scent of food was luring any possible customers. And if they didn't like the old inn still, they sure liked the lady innkeeper. A beautiful woman with a heart shaped face, with a knowing smile on her red lips, deep green eyes were pierced just beneath the dark red hair falling on her eyebrows. Her head was crowned wrapped with a twisted cloth to keep her hair from her way. Though rebellious strands were still falling down naked her shoulders, tickling her neck. Her attire was off a loose sleeved blouse, a tight leather west bolding the suggestive figure all of her male customers were attracted to. A large belt was blinking from time to time under the long skirt of her blouse, her leather pants tucked in knee high boots.

She was unfolding tableclothes to be used today; obviously interior had a friendlier feeling than the exterior. Young lady rolled her eyes at sight of day's first customer, then she yelled towards the open door beneath stairs.

"Sebastian!! These tablecloths won' lay themselves out!!" then she turned to her customer with a charming smile. "Mornin' handsome. How can I help ya?"

[[Can you post people?? D:]]

[[Sorry! I didnt notice your post. I'll make mine later today.]]

[Lol, it's alright, I wanted to make sure people didn't forget here ^^;;]]

Stipen was suprised to see that the fireplace was lit and that the inn was warm inside. He had been expecting a damp, dark room with a dirty interior and not a place one could actually call cozy. The scent of garlic reminded him of the country and even though he couldnt stand even the sight of the plant, let alone its smell, it made him feel strangely at home. His glasses were misting up in the warmth of the room and he took them off for a moment to wipe them into his sleeve. When he bowed his head to push them back on his nose he couldnt help noticing that his eyes seemed to have a will of their own. They kept lingering over the inkeepers perfect hourglass figure and his brain wasn't doing anything to prevent this. When Stipen regained control over them he fixed his eyes to a more appropriate level for verbal interaction and cleared his throat.

"Good morning. I would require a room for tonight and some breakfast, if possible"

Luckily for Stipen, his nose and ears were already red from the cool air and therefore his blushing was hardly noticeable. Another sneeze made his carefully placed glasses slip further down on his dripping nose and a pouch full of copper coins he had been fumbling with fell onto the floor. The man quickly kneeled down, bumping his head against the counter in a very disgraceful manner and gathered most of the coins back into the pouch. As he got back up he bumped his head again. Knowing that this little performance must have made him look like a complete fool Stipen turned into an even deeper shade of red and avoided looking at the inkeeper. Instead he concentrated on digging the contents of his pouch as if his life depended on it.

"Ahem...I would like to pay in advance..."

Lady chuckled, placing her hand on the nervous hand of the young man, she smiled at him charmingly. A good looking young boy, almost twenty appeared all of a sudden. Covering all tables with the tableclothes the lady was busy taking care of earlier. At first glance he seemed like a young girl, still at eve of her adolesence. But once you paid more attention to his face, one could see that his features were bolded with a certain masculinity. Still, he was remarkably beautiful. His shoulder length light brown hair was tied in a loose ponytail on back of his head. His attire was plain, only thing that hinted he was working in the inn was the cloth he was wearing around his waist. A medal was hanging down his neck, reminding of a silver coin. He briefly looked at the customer, his grey eyes looking cold and chilly. With obvious effort, his features softened remarkably and he smiled to Stipen with an acknowledging now of his head.

"Relax, will ya? Let me fetch your breakfast, you can pay when you sober up." She left him with that, walking behind the counter. "Choose any table you want. How do you like your eggs, Mr.....?" she asked, leaning on the counter with a polite smile.

[[Sorry everyone, super busy in real life right now. I'll post as soon as I can...which is this coming Thursday. :cry: Sorry!]]

[[no problem luel ^^; best thing about this rp is we can keep a low pace, feel free to post whenever you can.]]

The cool breeze that had been so pleasant only moments before, suddenly had an icy chill to it. Causing his skin to erupt in a wave of little goosebumps. With a glance to both sides, Harren lifted himself back up to a standing position and brushed the bits of grass off his pants. Yes, I think it would be best to leave as soon as possible. But where to stay?
Harran glanced first at Joaquin and then at the town below. A devious grin spread across his lips as he remembered what had happened to that inn during the previous night's activities. Harren popped his neck with a fluid circular motion and then stretched his shoulders. A second later a pair of bone spines ripped up through the flesh of his back, and continued growing. After a few seconds, and the various wet popping noises of growing joints, Harren was stretching his damp wings. The wings were the telltale light pink of his demon self, but only up to the point they melded into the porcelain white skin of his back. With a few light steps, Harren was standing before Joaquin, his arm outstretched.
"Shall we entertain ourselves in town until the designated meeting time? I would certainly enjoy your company..."

[[I think we should wait for Luel to find some time to post ^^;;; Meanwhile I'm thinking of ways to make this rp go quite interesting as ever o.o; any suggestions?]]

(Harren's updated Demon form.
It's basically the same, just drawn by me and edited to how I imagine him ^^ )

[[lol, sexy pink demon XDDDDD and I just noticed that the title of the RP says hiatus still XDDDD lol!!! What an airhead I am...]]

[[Sorry it took so long, schoolwork happened...^^']]


Stipens hand was pulled back quickly as if the womans touch had somehow burned him. For a fraction of a second his eyes had a frightened look that resembled a beaten up dogs. But soon he managed to pull off an embarrased smile as he put his money back into his pocket. Then he noticed the young man who was setting the tables and returned the nod hoping that it would seem polite. However the inkeepers following words made his insides sink slightly.

"Sober up...? She must think of me as some drunk. How humiliating!" Stipen thought but did not correct her. At least now he had a good excuse to act the way he did around attractive women. He couldn't help it. The only woman he had ever been in close contact with had been his mother and she was far from attractive. His former master had also been rather strict about lady friends "disturbing his training" so making any would have been a wasted effort. Therefore, he was like a shark on shore around ladies.

"M-my name is Stipen and I like my eggs hard boiled. Thank you."
Still quite pink, he took a table as far away from the counter as possible and dug up a heavy book from his bag. Its cover had complex looking symbols and runes on it and the writing inside didnt look any easier to understand. However the man looked troughly enjoying the book because for the first time he had set his foot in the inn he looked relaxed. He pushed his thick glasses up to his forehead to read the tiny symbols better and didn't seem to notice anything else around him anymore.

[[no problem, it happens all the time even the best of us ^^;;]]

(I'm still waiting on Joaquin ^^; otherwise I'd post.)

[[Oh I know, relax, she should be posting pretty soon ^^ Luel just had her spring break for a long while, so I'm not jumping right on her =P]]

Joaquin met the brunette's playful glance from under his hood, licking his lips hungrily in response, before turning to the approaching demon.

Harren stretched out his arm, as if expecting him to take it. "Shall we entertain ourselves in town until the desgnated meeting time? I would certainly enjoy your company..."

"I'm no lady to delicately place my hand in yours, but I certainly won't refuse drinking company, especially if the drink will only improve in Des'Lariel," he replied, the last bit with more than a little disappointment. Still, hand darting out in a lightning-quick motion to grab Harren's wrist and yank him forwards, the vampire continued, this time in a more teasing tone, "I trust we're taking an aerial shortcut?"

~*~*~*~*~*~

Erdaime was fairly certain that her babbling would someday be the death of her. She didn't often feel stupid, but she certainly had to admit that it was simply terrible how singularly idiotic some of the things she said were when her foot was in her mouth. And knowing she was absolutely right about the prescribed remedy didn't make her feel any less awkward than if she'd dropped a whole stack of porcelain plates right smack in the middle of prayer service in the temple's main hall, not even if herbology was her best refuge through the worst of times.

You should eat more ginger. Oh Sierra. Maybe I should have told him to use pineapple cores on his frown lines instead.

She silenced her relieved sigh as the sun elf knight started talking about travel plans. It didn't make her feel any better, but it certainly dispelled the aura of awkwardness around them. Talking wasn't her strong suit when it didn't involve profuse apologies or health suggestions; she should probably return to refraining from it. She let out a stifled yelp of surprise, abruptly realizing how little attention she had been paying the situation, when a warm arm was slung protectively about her shoulders, leading her more than a little forcefully away from the rest of the group.

"Come on, little lamb! Let's not have you be eaten by hungry wolves." It was Isis, the eccentric lady who had rescued her from a few thugs on what had really only been yesterday morning, but seemed almost many weeks ago now.

The half elf supposed "away" would keep her from saying anything more embarrassingly out of place, and Isis was certainly better company than the other options, but several minutes of trying not to stumble alongside the other lady as she mentally recited various herbs and their uses to distract herself later, it dawned upon her like the sweet smell of poppies finally inducing an opium high that she had no idea where the pair of them were headed.

"Uhm... I g--well, it's rather late to ask, I know, but where are we going?" she finally asked, words falling out in a jumbled rush.

Harren grinned wolfishly,
"Delicate lady? Bah. I've seen more delicate rock demons."
Harren allowed himself to be pulled forward, and used the momentum to dart forward and playfully bite Joaquin's ear.
"I was merely trying to be courteous, That 'noble gentlemen' air you wear around yourself like an expensive fur coat was starting to make me feel like a barbarian."
With a mischievous smirk, Harren swung Joaquin up onto his shoulders in a strange variant of a piggyback ride: sky edition.
"Well of course we're taking an aerial shortcut, did you think I would let razor sharp spines of bone thinly fillet the flesh of my back for aesthetic purposes?"
A small push with his feet sent the two flying into the air, where his wings took over. The devious smirk on his face grew a little wider as they came closer to the town.
"Anyway, I think this town could do with a bit more chaos. It'll keep them on their toes."

[[Wow, there is still life in this rp!! 8D I'll make a post tomorrow, I need to wrestle with this homework tonight D:]]