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[Phoenix]

When the sun had finally fallen below the horizon, the crimson brigade settled down for dinner at the inn in Worthington. The following day would yield a few interesting tales about that night.

In Irvinheim, the final preparations were completed, and hundred of mercenaries disappeared during the night while those with wyverns prepared for a long flight. Ivanko arrived shortly after Ixion finished their preparations. When the morning finally came, Ivanko, Ixion, Miranda, O'Donnel, Stephanie, Damian, and four other wyvern riders began a group warp that placed them just outside of Worthington. Ivanko and Ixion had come to make sure that Irina and Levski were gathered up, while Miranda would assist if necessary. O'Donnel and Stephanie were simply a means of transportation each baring some of the load. Damian was simply being returned to the group.

Worthington

Ixion: Alright then. O'Donnel, Stephanie. You're free to roam about for a short while. Do not cause any trouble though. Damian, you and these four are with me. We'll go to the inn and assess the situation before proceeding. Miranda. You stay hidden and don't allow yourself to be detected until I decide what to do about Isotov.

Ivanko: I'll stay here for now. I don't need Victor tearing up the place.

O'Donnel: Forgive me for asking, sir, but why on earth did you bring that thing?

Ivanko: Do you really want me to leave Victor somewhere unsupervised by either myself or Ixion?

O'Donnel: ... never mind.

Ivanko: Let me know if you need anything. And someone bring me back a meatpie.

OOC: Beyond this point are simply character placements.
-------

Meanwhile Viveka was asleep in her bed still, seemingly on the verge of waking up, but covered in a cold sweat. She was having another nightmare. When she did awaken, it was sudden, with her shooting up to find that Jasmine was the only other person in the room with her. She sighed in a bit of relief.

Viveka: ... dammit. Killed by that monster again ... and no strategy works, not even the poison ... though ... ... though I didn't actually get a chance to use it. Oh what does it matter. My dreams are just hell and the only escape is being awake ... here in reality. What a curse ....

-------
Irina woke up with a headache. She wasn't sure why at first but quickly remembered what had happened the previous night ... some of it. She had gotten her drink mixed up with alcohol or something and everything was a blur from there unfortunately. She figured she could simply ask Lev and get an answer.
-------
Levski was downstairs fully clothed and armored with his hands together and elbows on the table in deep thought. The look on his face was like a soldier preparing for war. The happy go lucky Lev most would expect to find simply wasn't there anymore.
-------
The wyverns had woken within a few minutes of each other. The pink one spent the night on the roof having gone unnoticed in the dark. Kiev slept by the stables, and Krinkov in an alley next to the inn. Kiev woke up somewhat happy. His brother had a competent rider, he was finally going to be able to consume that annoying chicken, and he managed to tell the humans things. Today was going to be a good day as well. Kiev could already tell

OOC:

Spoiler -

Okay you guys can fill in the rest. If I need to adjust a few things due to retrospect, I'll take care of that later.

Edited by Phoenix, 17 March 2011 - 10:17 PM.

[-Cynthia-]

Morgan

Morgan woke up early the next morning after going to be early the previous night. She performed personal hygiene and then began to pace around outside of the other rooms. She felt anxious for a reason that she could not quite place. We've lingered here too long I suspect, the demons will find us shortly...or perhaps they already have. We did survive the night at the very least. she thought to herself.

Charlotte

Charlotte woke up early as well and sat in her room with her hand on her chin, ruminating. I wonder if I will see this group again. If they are not going to Jerdon then I suppose we will have to part ways. Though I would hate to leave all this demon business unfinshed after all they've done. But Jace may give me no choice, one way or another.

Tristan

Tristan had taken a long flight the previous night, gone to bed late and was still soundly asleep.

[kdanger]

Sunlight. Birdsong.

Too loud, too bright. Her eyes weren't even open and it was too bright. Her head felt like a cracked egg, a thin shell that could break at any time. Kelas mumbled something incoherent and turned her face into the pillow, trying to block it out.

Not a pillow.

The realization sent her hurtling into a much more functional sort of consciousness, though it still hurt to exist. Hurt more now that her mind was working, actually, but she needed to assess what was going on. She tried to remember.

The previous day... errands, talking to Arrin and Tessa. That was all fairly clear. Dinner. Getting up, for some reason. The next table over complaining that their drinks had been misplaced. Another room. Singing, such sights as the Princes never did see/And they honor the Beggar to this very day!, further unremembered lyrics. Was that her singing? Couldn't be... Someone guiding her away. Falling. A lot. So, she had most likely somehow accidentally gotten drunk.

And now, she'd just woken up next to someone. Closer to on someone, really. A male someone. Her head rested on his shoulder, and she'd wrapped an arm around him. She felt a lot more comfortable than she ought to be; it was another sensation to ignore.

What had she done.

Well, they were both clothed, as far as she could tell. No blankets. She was a bit cold, but she wasn't going to do anything about that, not right now, she needed to figure out what had happened.

She supposed she ought to open her eyes to see who she was next to, even if the light hurt.

It took a moment of blindness before the glare of the light resolved itself into semi-recognizable shapes. Trying to ignore the pain of the hangover, she glanced up to see if she even knew who she was next to.

Red blur... slightly less blurry... ah. Somehow, and she was not at all sure how, she'd ended up in bed with Isotov, or on a bed next to him, at least. Well, that most likely ruled out having been taken advantage of. That was a mercy, but... this was going to be... incredibly awkward.

Gingerly she removed herself, scooting to the other side of the bed so she at least wasn't so close anymore. Getting up was just not going to happen yet. ...What should she do... she honestly didn't know. She shut her eyes again; either she was letting the light in or the sound in, not both, not right now. "You awake?" she managed to mumble, still trying to ignore the headache that refused to be ignored.

OOC: Arrin and Tobe will be placed when they actually wake up; shenanigans did not ensue with them.

Edited by Kiryn, 17 March 2011 - 11:07 PM.

[Script]

Luc Altair

Things for the rest of the day passed without incident to Luc's knowledge. After finishing his talks, he had gone back--dragging Fargo with him--to protecting the area, and be on watch in case Ixion had decided to warp in early. He didn't.

After dinner, and when the sun started to dip, Luc commanded Fargo to watch and went to sleep inside the carriage, after informing Paul about some of what went on inside. Keeping the group partially decentralized would be a good habit. Fargo woke Luc promptly--as he was common to do--and the Count took care of normal business before starting. Normal business also including to make sure Paul was accounted for, which the spy tried his darnedest to prevent. He had slipped out sometime during the night, and it took until dawn before Luc caught sight of the black-cloaked man. It was barely a peek, and only of his cloak, but there was little doubt to Luc it had been Paul.

The Captain from Directus finished his pass around the inn before settling back down. Fargo had woken early, and others must have been doing the same.

"Please tell me we get a good breakfast too?" Fargo asked.

"Indeed," Luc finished walking Thunder around as he spoke. "When we're in a town we'll be eating the local cuisine. No need to eat rations when other things are available." Luc led his steed back to his stall and turned towards his subordinate. "Unless you'd--"

"Nope!" Fargo inconsiderately yelled and dashed off towards the inn.

"How rude," Luc commented and followed after him. He was a mite tired, but a good morning meal would fix that.

A Paul

Paul stretched his legs as he sat and watched the entrance off the inn. He had taken up residing in a nice and inhabited building not too far from the place everyone else was staying. Well, it was probably inhabited at least, the people he had drugged certainly seemed to be living here. Unless they were squatters, then he was some sort of repo man or something. Maybe he should check in at the local law station and see if he could get a reward for this. Well, that could be done later. Right now he had to watch and wait for that Ixion feller so he could bug'em about what the IM's were doing. Because asking the actual mercenary in the group was too much trouble or some sort of nonsense like that. Well, it wasn't his place to question orders. Just disobey them at will.

But he was still gonna do'em. Mainly just to see this weird hub-bub that that one guy told him about. What was his name? Lucy? Sounded close enough. Weird name for a guy though. Well, he did have a ponytail like a girl, so that's something. Anyway, as soon as that Ixion figure walked right over here and got in Paul's sight he would totally jump out and yell and surprise him. Because that was actually his order that time! Make himself publicly known when talking to him! It was almost enough incentive to wait for this boring-ass long time. Well, maybe not so boring. Paul looked back at the family of--he counted--six laying about every which way. Literally, every which way since Paul spent about an hour making them pose in bizarre shapes because he was bored. He almost wished he'd be here when they woke up to find themselves like this tee hee.

Paul looked back outside and started juggling some of his apples. Any minute now...

[Phoenix]

The Morning After

Iso thought he heard something and moved a little in response. He could finally tell that he had ... fallen asleep. His eyes shot open in a split second and he carefully sat up.

Iso: (I ... fell asleep? I ... actually fell asleep? With her with me like that? Oh man, oh man, oh man, what did I do that for? Sure it was comfortable ... butwhatthehellwasIthinking?! I should have just gotten up, made sure she was fine, and then let her sleep. Was the door open? It's not now but was it? Damn it had to be because I didn't close it. Why can't I calm down?)

Looking over at Kelas, Iso wiped the sweat from his forehead and spoke up.

Iso: M-morning, Kelas ....

[kdanger]

Words. They were too loud. Still... "Hey... C'n you explain to me... very quietly... what I did last night?" Kelas managed to ask, not bothering to sit up. "Did I... er... do anything... in particular?" It was a bit too awkward to ask about the particular things she was worried about, for now at least. Well, it probably wasn't going to get any less awkward, but... she needed to know.

Edited by Kiryn, 18 March 2011 - 12:40 AM.

[Mercakete]

Beau followed the same practice he'd been allowing himself every morning and night while at the inn: taking a hot bath. The previous night had been absolutely silly, though the conversation he'd had with Helios had gone well enough. After eating a light dinner, the young heir had retired early, deciding to see about getting Arrin and Tessa's eyes and ears sometime the next day instead of that night. He had Tobe and Sadie helping him already anyway. After eating a light breakfast, he passed Morgan on the way to his room. There wasn't much to do for now so he decided to read his light tome. (Maybe I should practice some of the spells outside later. Arrin can use magic... Maybe I can speak with him then.)

~~~~~~~~~~

When Tas awoke, he wasn't entirely sure he was awake. (Where am I...? ..... Why is it so dark? ..... Where's Namid? .... I'm hungry. ... No really, where am I? Why does my head hurt so much? And...what was dinner all about...?) Faint memories filtered into Tas' mind. He was having dinner with several of the others. It was great. There was pleanty of food and drink and... That drink did taste odd. He remembered that. He'd never tasted something like that before. It tasted sort of bad but for some reason he drank the whole cup. Made him cough some. All he could really describe it as was "strong." The food began to lose its taste after that and he began to feel a bit lightheaded. Lev had been nice enough to watch the hatchlings and eggs. That sure was nice. Lev was a nice guy. And Irina was sitting by him. She was helpful, too. Nice like Lev but different.

As Tas thougth about it, he began to wonder why his thinking had begun to deteriorate at that point. All his thoughs got much simpler. It was almost like clarity but not quite. Everything was funny, too. It was just plain fun. Talking and laughing with his fellow humans. Tas remembered it getting kind of warm, too, especially in his face. He also remembered tripping a lot. He got up for some reason, rambling on about something but fell over, having tripped over his own feet. It hurt, but it had been funny, too. It had also been shortly after he'd stood up. He also spoke to Namid only to remember the wyvern wasn't there. The same thing happened with randomly talking to the other absent wyverns, but Namid was the most frequent. When he wasn't speaking to the wyverns (though when he did it had only been around half a sentence each) he was talking to the others around him, especially Irina. Tas couldn't remember what the conversation ahd been about but he recalled enjoying it quite a bit. Lev chimed in every once-in-a-while, too.

As he thought about it, Tas recalled going on a bit of a mumbled rant about how he appreciated all the help he'd been getting and saying something about "pretty." "Pretty" what? Whatever it was, it put some dread into Tas, though he had no clue why. At one point he recalled the sensation of being picked up and carried off. He didn't complain since everything was funny and he was suddenly getting very very tired. Then he was flying without a wyvern into some dark cave. Then he hit something soft and bounced a little as he landed on it.

That and something hard hitting his head was the last things he remembered from the previous night. Now things weren't funny anymore, he had the worst headache of his life, he only just realized that things were dark mainly because his eyes were closed, he was hungry, he was thirsty and it was hard to breathe. The last part was quickly rememdied as he lifted his head from the bed he was laying on. Now air could properly reach his lungs, though his body ached all over. (Am I sick again? Wait... Why am I still inside? How did I get here? Someone must have... Yeah, someone must have thrown me in here last night but...) Tas looked at the headboard. That was the ahrd thing his head hit before he had passed out. Tas wanted to just lay there for a while but he figured he should check on the hatchlings and eggs, not to mention Namid.

So, groaning, Tas got up and discovered annother ailment: his eyes hurt very badly and he didn't want to hear anything as it only made his headache worse. Stumbling, he found his way to the door, opened it, and practically fell accross the threshold. (Today will not go well... But first, breakfast.) Bravely, Tas stumbled along, holding his head. A trip and tumble later, he was moaning crumpled at the bottom of the staircase. "H-help..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Raemond had gotten up early, checked his wounds and washed up. He ate an early breakfast, too, and was soon outside behind the inn, taking in the welcome fresh air. It was calming. So calming, in fact, that he practically forgot his situation he was in. For now, he was at peace and so quietly began humming one of the calm, quiet hymns he knew, every once-in-a-while singing a few words softly to himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Namid was a bit worried. Tas hadn't come to sleep under his wing as he usually did. The other wyverns were calm enough, though, and Tas had been making friends with the other humans. Maybe he just wanted to sleep in the inn last night. He'd be out to feed him shortly, he was sure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This day was like the previous day. Lantos awoke in his stall with the same horses and pegasi around. He didn't reall think much of it and simply ate his breakfast when it came.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The big human was like a statue. Niket got the feeling it wouldn't be any fun to bother him today. The little wyvern had already been taken care of the previous night after the familliar human and the Irina returned from something. They were talking about "bugs." What were "bugs?"

[Phoenix]

Isotov

Iso: (Wait. She's not mad about ... or maybe she just hasn't noticed yet. Okay just relax and answer her question.) Well you ... got drunk last night somehow. First there was the singing and then I had to get you upstairs. You were pretty out of it. The only other thing that happened was you falling asleep. I uh ...

He hung his head low expecting a bit of a harsh rebuttal.

Iso: You fell asleep on me and ... well so did I. (Things like this haven't happened with us before but ... I don't know. This felt a bit ... different.)

Unsure of what else to say or do, he sat at the edge of the bed and nervously awaited her reply.

Levski

It would have been nice to be able to simply contemplate the situation but a short series of noises told the wyvern lord that would have to wait. Tas had collapsed at the bottom of the stairs and he certainly wasn't going to leave him there. He stood up from his seat by the wyverns and eggs and walked over looking back every couple of seconds to make sure they were alright. Kneeling over Tas, he tapped him to see if he would give some kind of cue that he was conscious still. After that he quickly lifted the rider back onto his feet and began walking him over to the table.

Lev: Morning. Welcome to your first hangover, Tas.

[kdanger]

"That all?" Awkward, certainly, and embarrassing, but Kelas didn't get the impression that she'd done anything with dire consequences. "Guess it coulda been a lot worse. Thanks for takin' care of me..." She groaned; her head still felt utterly terrible. "Given there doesn't seem to be any crisis goin' on, I think I'm goin' back to sleep for now," she announced, "my head feels like it's about to fall off." In seconds she was asleep again, shivering just a little. Unconsciously she rolled over, trying to get back into the warm spot she'd previously been occupying.

[Mercakete]

Tas swayed as he walked, relying on Lev's guidance so he wouldn't fall over. It hurt to move and he was dizzy from that tumble down the stairs, but he had responsabilities and one of those was to eat. "My first...what...?" Tas mumbled, a little dazed, figuring that was primarily from whatever illness he had in addition to falling down those stairs. As soon as there was a seat available, Tas let himself fall into it...only to knock it over and wind up on the ground again. "Oof!! Owwww...." All this wasn't helping his achiness nor his headache in the slightest. "Sorry..." he mumbled, trying to pick himself back up again and righting the chair before crawling into it and resting his elbows on the table with his hand in his hands, blocking out the light.

[Phoenix]

Isotov

As Kelas went back to sleep, Iso sat there incredibly nervous. He had no idea things were going to go the way they had.

Iso: Y-you're welcome ....

She was already asleep but he felt just a little more odd not saying it at least. Now he had to figure out what he was going to do with himself. A bath, breakfast, that was probably the best place to start. There were still thoughts racing through his head though. He couldn't help that.

Levski

Lev: Easy there. Alright, now just relax. I'll see if one of the waitresses wouldn't mind fixing you some tea. (Hopefully they won't accidentally swap it with booze again. That was funny at the time but seeing Tas it's just kind of sad.)

[Mercakete]

"Thanks.." mumbled Tas before adding, "Could I have some breakfast too?" (I'd normally get it myself but I don't know what this is. Maybe it's from whatever I drank last night. I don't know what it was... The last time something like this happened I had a fever. Maybe that's why I was on a bed. Father wouldn't let me outside but he let Namid come in and sleep next to me. He said wyverns couldn't get sick from what I had. I wonder if this is something that can infect wyverns... Lev said something, though...) "'Welcome to your first hangover,'" he mutter the echo to himself before asking Lev, "What's a hangover?"

[Ether]

The warp was still an unusual feeling, but Damian had gotten used to it for the most part, as the light faded and the group, which now contained Ivanko, Victor, and several accompanying wyvern riders.

As the party, sans Ivanko and Victor made their way, Damian thought back on the companions he was about to meet again... his mind recalled their deaths within it's confines... this could be... awkward.

**************

Aiya woke up refreshed. The night before had certainly been hectic. After Alferis had departed the back yard of the inn, Esphyr had brought up Damian again... she had done the same submissive routine, and Aiya had eventually stormed off, angered by the girl's antics... if she was so damn submissive, why was she still trying to steal Damian away from her?

Entering the main room was an interesting case. Aiya had been about to grab a drink from the table the group had been congregating at before she noticed Kelas singing... rather badly, she noted, some nomadic folk song... or that's what she assumed it was. Aiya couldn't decipher the lyrics of Kelas' slurred attempts at song. Not wanting to relive her experiences with alcohol so soon, Aiya had simply sat and watched for a while. The scene had ended with Kelas nearly toppling over, and Isotov dragging her off to bed to she wouldn't kill herself or anyone around her.

Thinking back on those shenanigans as she soaked her hair in a small basin in her room, rubbing the water, as well as an herbal concoction Damian had given her a while back, into it. She wasn't quite sure what the stuff was, but Damian had told her it was good for her hair when he had given it to her, and it always felt good and smelled nice afterwards. Rinsing it out of her scarlet locks, Aiya looked at herself in the glass for a little while, watching the water drip from her hair and dampen her shirt slightly, mostly around her shoulders. The fabric of her shirt was thick enough, and dark enough, a vivid violet, to avoid any unwanted consequences of the water.

'Still, they're pretty cute together... maybe I'll ask Kelas what she thinks of him later.'

Not bothering to forcefully dry her hair, Aiya decided to allow it to dry on it's own, as she exited her room and moved towards the main room, aiming to get some breakfast. Hearing the sounds of pained groans coming from a room which obviously contained Kelas, and to her surprise, Isotov, Aiya giggles slightly.

'Looks like it will be a bit later than I thought... oh well, sounds like it will be worth the wait.'

[Snowy_One]

Esphyr woke up sadly not very well refreshed. The night before had certainly been troubled. She had confronted Aiya again about Damian, and the ensuing discussion had not gone well. Once again, Esphyr had been caught playing the submissive party to Aiya as the talk had ensued. Though she had not outright said it, the very air about Aiya spoke of something more. Esphyr didn't know if it was her body language or the way that the words rolled off her tongue, but she could tell something was wrong with the red-headed woman. She didn't need to think long or hard about it to realize what that something was either. Aiya wanted Damian for herself.

Though she had avoided the booze, not wishing for the sweet bliss of drunken revel, she had gone to bed no less troubled and woke up feeling almost as bad as if she had taken the drink from the night before. As the morning sunlight came, she had stayed in bed, looking up at the rising sun with eyes raccooned from the sleepless night. As she looked up at the ceiling, watching the sunlight wash across it, she could feel faint twinges of pain searing into the back of her skull; the only sign she was awake. After what felt like several hours, she finally rose upright.

"I need some fresh air." she muttered to herself, trying to stand upright. As her right foot moved forwards, her body felt weird, off balance. She almost stumbled as her entire weight came down upon her right leg, then her left. As she tried to move her right leg again, she could feel a sudden numbness overcome her leg. "Nonono!" she screamed as she suddenly pitched forwards, slamming face-first into the door to her room before sliding down to the floor in a awful puddle of sleep-deprivation.

---

It had been a long day for Altion. Though the others had been busy with their many inter-relative issues, Altion had been busy; tucked away in the corner of the stables. In his hand was a small book that he had found, possibly fallen out of one of his fellow partymembers bags, possibly left in the inn as a guide to whatever stablehand was hired, or something else. He did not care about what. What he cared about, instead, was that the book held some basic tips and instructions for horse care. He had spent all of the prior day tucked away in the stable, fervently following the instructions to the letter. Hoof trimming, grooming, cleaning, all of it.

He awoke with a groan, and looked about him. He had fallen asleep in the hay, his head perched dangerously close to the water trough. With a careful motion, he rolled his head in to it, letting it splash over his face before he bolted upright. "Gross! You drink this stuff? Bleck!" he moaned as he looked at Gluebag with shock. Then, with a simple sigh, he looked over at the book. Closing it, he placed it on one of the stall walls. "Come on boy, lets get you some fresh water."

---

It hurt for Jr. to sit down. His cheeks were red from the harsh spanking that he had received from his mother for walking off and disobeying him the prior day, and he had not even had the comfort of a bed to ease the pain as he was dragged along by his mother.

"Mom... Why couldn't we stay at the inn last night?" he peeped up, his voice feeble and submissive.

"Because, that Tobe boy is a bad influence on you! Did you see what you were doing? Playing around animals! What if you fell? Or one of them trampled you? Or... Or..." she hissed, turning to him in reply. Yet the instant she turned to look at her child, her harsh words were curbed. Sad, weary eyes, a lonely look, and a quivering lip.

"But... I liked being with him."

Kaileen sighed as she dropped down to one knee, hugging her boy. "I know you did son. I'm sorry. But there are more important things in this world. I want you to be safe above all else. That's why we left the house, so that I could find help to keep you safe from... her." she said before sighing. "The sins of the mother..." she whsipered as she got up, a tear in her own eye. "Listen, I want to go meet with either Elyisima or Septimus. Something important is happening, and I cannot sit by idlely. If I do, you will be in danger. I'm sorry."

[Phoenix]

In Town

Stephanie and O'Donnel had gone a separate way from Ixion, Damian, and the others, and had arrived in a mostly closed down food market. It was a bit early in the morning for most places to be open, and it took a bit of questioning of workers to find the type of food they were looking for. Unfortunately the place they learned that sold the meat pie Ivanko wanted was closed, only for another hour, but closed just the same. O'Donnel began a short debate with the man managing the place.

O'Donnel: Good sir, I do believe an exception is in order here. It's going to take you a good half hour just to get us one pie, so why not start now, and 'keep the change' ... if you will.

Worker: Hot damn, you can't wait an hour?

O'Donnel: It would be favorable if I didn't have to ....

The man looked at O'Donnel, and then to Stephanie who was nowhere near their conversation mentally. Her eyes were all over the place, examining everything she could see.

Worker: That must be one hungry lady friend.

O'Donnel: No no, not her. Our boss needs a good breakfast and this is what he chose. Now would you please make this exception, just for us?

Worker: Mmm. Your boss really ought to learn to be patient. Just saying.

O'Donnel: Now see here, after all the work over the last twenty-five years Ivanko has done, he should not have to wait around when his employees are ready and willing to pay extra out their own pockets on his behalf.

Worker: By the goddess, it's just another hour and- ... Ivanko? Hey, I know him! He's that Zaftran running that enormous mercenary group! Yeah. Expensive, but his men killed off every last bandit that was pestering my cousin's business over near Irvinheim. I hear they practically own the place. You guys from there? Is that true?

O'Donnel: Stephanie here is a volunteer from Halton and I'm the head of the research division in Irvinheim, an no, we do not own the place, we simply gained the full cooperation of the citizens living there and filled in the need for both standard law enforcement and local militia.

Worker: So ... is Ivanko like ... around? Can't assume you'll be warping him his breakfast.

O'Donnel: He's waiting outside of town.

Worker: Hmm. Tell ya what, pal. Bring him here so that I know you're not just screwing around and that meat pie will already be well on its way to being cooked. You're paying right now though of course.

O'Donnel: Fair enough ....

Inside The Inn

Lev: A hangover comes from drinking too much alcohol. Your brain needs time to recover so just relax. Cover your ears too. If you hear something loud and unexpected it'll probably put you in agony.

With that, Levski went off to bother the waitresses.

Outside The Inn

The pink wyvern was dubious. She could have sworn she saw something off in the distance outside of town a short while ago. A flash of light or something. She wanted so badly to find out what it was, but didn't want to wander off before breakfast was served for fear of her food being stolen by the two brothers. Perhaps just a peek. Her vision could spot something over a mile away, so something closer than that would be of no difficulty whatsoever. She took off from the inn simply trying to gain a better vantage point. Sure enough once the buildings were all out of the way, she could clearly make out a ... an incredibly large wyvern in the distance. He could see her too. Ivanko also saw the spec of a wyvern in the distance.

Ivanko: Hmm, I wonder who's wyvern that is ....

Looking down at Victor who couldn't take his eyes off of the potential child barer, Ivanko glared a bit.

Ivanko: My breakfast comes first, jackass. You have to wait. Besides, I'm betting that's someone else's and I'm not going to purchase another female for your little harem if you're just going to keep smashing up things and killing my employees.

Victor understood enough of what the wyvern master told him to realize he wasn't going to get at this female unless she was wild. Well that was as simple as killing the rider and anyone willing to claim her afterwards. First thing was first however. Victor didn't care that Ivanko wanted to eat first. He wanted this female with him now and called over to her. The roar carried from one side of Worthington to the other and out beyond the outskirts in all other directions.

The pink wyvern was overjoyed. A bull wyvern that powerful could provide for her for life. What was the point in waiting for chicken feed from the burgundy haired one when she could get huge meals like cattle from him? She flew off toward Victor while Krinkov froze, eyes wide. Kiev lifted his head wondering what that wyvern, of all wyverns was doing here. The roar wasn't loud enough to be alarming at that distance, but they knew who made it, and that had them both a little nervous, Krinkov more so than Kiev. It also seemed that the pink one was lost to him. Just as well. Krinkov didn't like how conniving she was.

Ixion and Co.

When the almost feint roar crossed over them, Ixion raised an eyebrow. He then looked up and saw a wyvern flying away from an inn far in the distance.

Ixion: ... at it again .... Keep moving.

The group kept pace and drew closer to the inn.

Isotov

Iso left the room and shut the door behind him. He figured he would do what he had decided on in the room, bath, breakfast, etc. But first maybe something for Kelas' headache? That seemed like the best idea overall. A few moments of standing around deliberating and the order was revised one last time. Quick bath, tea for Kelas, and breakfast for himself. That would do.

When he finished the first two, he made his way back up toward the room. He had no clue that Kelas was no longer the only person in the room. As he opened the door he saw an open window but Kelas appeared to still be sleeping. Had someone intruded? As he made his way inside, the door shut by itself behind him. Swinging around to see what it was, he caught a glimpse of a familiar hand at work. The person attached the that hand was Miranda.

Iso: M-Miranda? You've gotta be kidding me-what are you doing here? (How did she sneak in here? Her energy is unmistakable and yet I can't sense it anywhere. It's like she's ... not here at all. I can't sense anything from her, she's like the rest of the room. What is this?)

Miranda: I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad new but your day is about to be quite thoroughly ruined. Good thing you seemed to have enjoyed yourself last night though.

She nudged her head toward the sleeping nomad and Iso flinched. He had been so close to getting that thought out of his head too.

[Ether]

As Isotov left the room, Aiya had called out to him trying to see if she wasn't simply overreacting to what had happened.

"Hey Isotov, have fun?" She asked the Fire Sage with a bit of a jeering tone, but the Zaftran caster didn't even look at her. He seemed to be thinking over... something, as he stood by the door, before wandering off without ever having noticed her presence.

"That was... weird." Aiya said to herself, before starting down the hall toward the main room as she had originally intended... she paused as a loud roar resonated through the hallway, stopping her in her tracks.

"That roar... I... I've only heard one wyvern with a roar that... loud..." Aiya said, shaking slightly at the memories of that wyvern.

"Victor." Aiya said to herself, as she continued to walk towards the main room. The sight of that massive wyvern was vivid in her mind. Ulfhrahn himself was big, but Victor eclipsed him in size... it wasn't his size itself that worried her... that wyvern was a savage, through and through.

*******************

As the loud roar shook the area, Ulfhrahn raised his head in interest. The sound had interrupted his rest, but he weas not in the mood to confront this wyvern. Seeing both of the smaller plains dwellers visibly spook at the sound, Ulfhrahn looked them over with curiosity.

'Do you know that wyvern more than I do?' Ulfhrahn asked them with a low bellow.

*******************

"Hmm... what is it this time?" Damian asked, not to anyone in particular.

"Then again... I don't think anything surprises me anymore..." He finished with a shrug and a sigh as they kept moving.

[Mercakete]

At first what Lev said didn't make any sense. Then the pieces started falling into place. (That stuff I drank last night was alcohol... Ugh, I've been told about that stuff... Muddles the mind and makes for lazy, irresponsible workers... It didn't even taste good. Why did I keep..? Oh, right, people usually drink for the effect... But I can hardly remember last night's events... I sure was happy. Stupidly happy. I...never want to do that again. I'm just glad I'm not having to make the exchange of wyverns and gold yet. Today would be a very bad day for that to happen...)

Niket could tell something was wrong with the familliar human. However, he was hungry again and so let loose a little chirp. Tas flinched and dragged his hands from his eyes to his ears. (Lev was right... Oww...) However, that was only the beginning. More frequent, smaller chirps began to fill the air. Tas half-opened an eye and turned his head sluggishly. The little hatchling was awake and asking for food. (Newborns' hunger pains are really sharp but she's not fresh from the shell anymore... Still, she and Niket need food. I don't want to yell... I'll just have to ask Lev to get the rest of the food for the hatchling... And where did Irina put that cylender with all those bugs we gathered? The hatchling began eating them last night... Goodness, come to think on it, she has grown quite a bit since then. I'm always amazed at how quickly they grow. It won't be long until she's around Niket's size. ... Thinking hurts... Ok, simple steps: First, wait for Lev to come back. Then ask him to get the hatchling's food. Then wait to ask Irina where the cillender is. ...Or maybe feed Namid first. But Lev says I'm supposed to relax. Namid is my wyvern, though... I should be feeding him myself. He might get the wrong impression if someone else feeds him. He's probably worried enough as it is already...)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Namid's muscled tensed. Something was very wrong. Not only had Tas not appeared since he left yesterday but Kiev and Krinkov were on edge. A deep roar had just sounded, too. Surely whoever made that loud, deep call wasn't coming this way...right...?

[Phoenix]

Wyverns

Krinkov was the one to answer Ulfhrahn. Kiev simply looked around with his eyes wondering if his towering father would come into view. <"That is father.">

Wyvern Lord Number One

Lev could swear he heard a roar while he was picking with the waitresses in the kitchen. It was barely audible from where he was given all the distortion from the environment, but it was unmistakable to him. He heard more clearly the little mountain wyverns chirping in the common room.

Lev: (Oh boy. One thing after another. Well Ivanko's clearly already here, so this is going to be relatively quick ... and painful. I should hurry.) Come on, step on it, please.

Waitress: What was that sound just now? It sounded like a dragon or something.

Lev: Yeah that was death incarnate, now hurry up, please. I'll give you a nice tip.

Waitress: Alright, alright. It's done. Here. You don't have to be pushy ... and where's that tip?

He handed her a few gold coins and took the tea out to Tas.

Lev: Okay things are about to get interesting ....

Handing Tas the cup, he sat down next to him.

Wyvern Lord Number Two

Irina only managed to get her riding pants on before she heard the feint roar in the distance through the walls. She immediately stood up and ran to the window, opened it, and looked around outside. She didn't see anything. The cold air quickly reminded her that her skin and hair weren't as dry as she first thought and she came back inside shutting it.

Irina: Was that who it sounded like? I need to ask Lev.

She kept her riding shirt in her arms along with a few pieces of her armor and headed straight out of the room. She had been ignoring her own headache as best she could manage, but she didn't realize just how much it was going to hurt if things became loud.

[Mercakete]

"Interesting how?" Tas muttered, gratefully accepting the tea and beginning to sip it. (Hopefully this will help...) He decided to wait on asking Lev to get the food for the young wyverns. They could stand to wait a little while Tas gained a bit of clarity from the wyvern lord's utterences.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Namid curled up as tightly as he could. Maybe he wouldn't be noticed if Kiev and Krinkov's father decided to come their way...

[Phoenix]

Levski

Lev: Yeah ...

He took a seat by Tas and placed his elbows on the table for a moment. Glancing at Niket and the new hatchling he continued.

Lev: We'll wait a few minutes. See if this goes the way I think it will.

He looked at the front door of the inn and kept his eyes focused there, a bit of a further hint to what he was getting at.