Blair tried to flash another reassuring smile as the bejeweled young lady stepped close to her side, but given she was covered in blood - some even smeared on her teeth - it was probably a rather grim and ghastly sight rather than very reassuring. She considered the offer, really she did, but grimaced a bit at the idea of draping her bloody self all over the dolled up woman and getting her filthy. If only the circumstances were better she'd have been all over an opportunity to cozy up to such a pretty thing.

"Oh for sure, if you get a nasty bump on your head you don't usually want to sleep, that's definitely bad!" Blair knew this, it was fairly basic medical knowledge, the thing was though, it just didn't apply to her. "Don't you worry though, I'm waaaay tougher than I look. A doctor would just waste your money, princess. A little sleep and good ol' Blair the Unbreakable will be right as rain, just you wait and see."

Was that an actual title that someone had bestowed on her or even called her before? Eh, not like this sweet, sheltered desert lamb would know the difference anyway!

"Sure." Joss wasn't going to argue with the mage about it. If Calen said he was good, then he was going to just roll with that. He wasn't going to pretend to actually care!

"I go wherever there are demons to kill, which is to say I really don't give a fuck where I am, because there's always a demon lurking near enough." It was the truth. Everywhere Joss went there seemed to be no end of evil to hunt down - demons or other monstrosities. It hardly made a difference. "I live in Serendipity though. I just come to Zantaric for work a lot."

"I am glad you are here." Keiran's smile was the kind that morphed his entire face and had his eyes closed, with the corners just faintly crinkling. It was far from the normal pleasantly neutral mask he wore, something very genuine, and this time he didn't try to hastily control the display of emotion. He felt safe to let the mask slip, when it was just the two of them.

It was his sincere hope that Lyssa enjoyed the trip, and that she would be well-received by his family. Keiran was sure that Conrad would be welcoming. His father would undoubtedly be polite, this was the young woman he was sponsoring after all, but he knew his father was also a rather cold and calculating man.

"Lyssa, I wish to advise you about the upcoming meeting with my father and the subsequent wedding." Keiran's eyes had opened once more and his expression turned more serious. "This gift of yours, it is remarkable, but I would refrain from discussing it with anyone that does not need to know, at least, not until you are in a more secure position. Once you sign a contract with father you will have the protection of House Fairhall, but before that others might try to manipulate or exploit you. Your gift could be very valuable to some with less than good intentions."

Keiran did not wish to scare her, but he also did not want to see her come to harm because she was unaware of the potential dangers. "I am sorry. Perhaps I should have told you this before inviting you to come."

(It's been a real hot minute and I didn't know if you wanted to keep this thread, but I felt like posting for Roman, so here we are.)

Roman didn't bother attempting to hide a soft huff of amusement at the pair when one admonished the other for wanting to accept the invitation to have a drink. So that one's name was Noel, was it? Useful information, since neither had deemed it necessary to introduce themselves.

"Why thank you, I am rather fond of it." The house wasn't as grand as some nobleman's manor, but it was designed with a certain opulence in mind. Roman's clientele were people of lavish tastes - his place of business needed to reflect that and cater to what would suit those that frequented his residence. Not that he didn't also benefit greatly from the level of comfort he enjoyed here.

Roman had his back to them as he refilled his wine glass, the crimson liquid almost glittered in the firelight. He was still quite alert and aware of every move they made even while not looking at them. It was something of a sixth sense. He turned back around just as one of them brought up family again.

Ah, so the other's name was Leon. They seemed to know who he was, although given his reputation that wasn't all that surprising. Or maybe it was, considering they seemed to have no professional interest in him.

"Oh my, aren't you both adorable." Roman's voice was naturally an almost silky purr, and there was still a bit of a flirtatious lit to his tone, but he wasn't really all that interested in them anymore. Although it was amusing to watch and listen as they squabbled. Were they brothers? Yes, he would wager so, that seemed likely given what little of their interactions he had seen thus far.

With a rather relaxed, almost nonchalant, grace he dropped himself onto the sofa in front of the fireplace that he'd abandoned when they'd knocked on his door. He crossed one leg over the other, and the arm not occupied with bringing his wine to his lips  was slung casually over the back of the couch as he observed his unexpected guests with an easy smile.

"Please, have a seat, get a drink. Make yourselves comfortable. I want to know what business you think you have with me." The idea of discussing family with these strangers was almost bothersome, although he was an expert at not showing real emotions - only what people wanted to see.

Hallo!

I am first. HA!

Welcome to SotE.

It wasn't a matter of Ketu being unable to understand, although perhaps it might seem that way given the way he had been ignoring the human's words, but simply a matter of prideful indignation at a creature he considered lesser trying to command him.

Regardless of his pride, Ketu was becoming more and more uncomfortable as the seconds ticked by. He squirmed under the scrutinizing gaze of the human, and clenched his teeth together, sending Urd a silent glare.

It wasn't pleasant being seen so vulnerable. Also the added weight was beginning to make already painful injuries ache that much more. Although it was clear his injuries were not, in fact, inflicted by humans. Gaping gouges caused by claws, vicious bites, and angry burns were what afflicted the young dragon.

Blair was still trying to wipe away the steady drip coming from her nose when she froze, although only for a moment. She was good at keeping her composure under even extreme pressure, this was nothing! Letting out a bark of a laugh, she was hoping that sound would calm the young woman, but the hard cringe that followed was probably less reassuring.

"Uh, yeah, I think so. Stupid pigs did manage to give my head a right good knocking about. This is find though. Don't you worry your pretty little head!" Blair pressed one hand against her throbbing head, but extended the other out to Zahara, before immediately drawing it back.

It was all bloody, she probably didn't want to touch that.

"Right. Off we go then! I don't know about you, princess, but I need me a nap." Blair started walking, gesturing for her bedazzled damsel to follow. Her steps were a bit unsteady, but probably not nearly as wobbly as they should be, given the circumstances.

Well, the punches did make Ketu let go, as he let out his own hiss, half pain and half anger. Normally a pitiful human wouldn't hurt him with such a pathetic punch, but he was injured already. That was absolutely the only reason.

"I don't take orders from primates." Ketu was full of righteous indignation, but his voice came out a hushed, angry whisper at least.

The man that had let them in shot Bree a dirty look at her questions. He opened his mouth to say something, but a quick hand wave from Sadie had him clicking his teeth and looking away with a scowl.

It was fairly dark down here, it would have been pitch black if not for some hooded lanterns sitting around the small room. Sadie was watching Bree intently, and took a moment to consider what was asked. They were fair questions, and since the woman was now holed up here with them, she deserved honest answers.

"They won't give our position away easily, but I can't say that they won't eventually be coerced to talk." It was just the hard truth.

"Are they going to get us?" The little boy, no older than seven, asked in a hushed, trembling voice as he clung even tighter to his mother. Thankfully, the younger child didn't seem to fully grasp the severity of their situation, although they did seem quite frightened - not surprising given the tension in everyone around them.

"No. No one is going to get you. I promise." The woman, his mother presumably, tried to reassure him, gently stroking his hair.

"If they try, they'll regret it." Sadie hummed softly. "The only thing we can do for now is try to stay warm. When the weather breaks, if the Shepherd doesn't show up, I'll move them to the next safehouse myself."

Ketu let out an extremely low growl, one that rumbled deep in his chest. How dare this inferior creature put its filthy hand over his mouth! Was this glorified monkey shushing him?!

Baring his fangs, Ketu jerked his head away and bit down on the human's hand in swift and mindless retribution. Who cared about the other humans hunting this one?

Surely not a dragon like him! They were all beneath him.

The silent darkness began to lift in a hazy fog. Ketu slowly became vaguely aware of his surroundings again. Mist was swirling around him, and the moon was high in the sky. His body still hurt in a most undignified way. It made it hard to focus on what was going on outside of his own physical state. What had woken him up?

In the distance he started to pick up the sounds of yelling? That had to be humans, it seemed like they were hunting something. Ketu sighed heavily and closed his eyes once again. Whatever the humans were doing, it didn't concern him. Stupid beasts hunting even stupider beasts. If he really tried he probably could have made out what the humans were shouting. That required effort he really didn't want to make at the moment.

Or ever.

It wasn't like a dragon had any reason to concern themselves with what humans were doing. They were insignificant. Even if the sounds were getting closer. Ketu had just about managed to doze back off when whatever manner of creature the humans had been pursuing came scrambling straight towards his resting place. He was inclined to ignore that too until the accursed beast had the absolute nerve to trip right over him.

Ketu's eyes snapped open, a pained hiss escaping as a weight landed on top of his aching body. The hiss was followed by an angry snarl and he decided that maybe he should steal the human's prey for this insolence. After rest, the thing he would need next would be food, right? Heh, and he didn't even have to hunt for it himself. Dinner had come straight to him!

...if he could even raise a claw against it. The young dragon was suddenly reminded that he was currently a human, and hadn't the energy to return to his draconic form. Also as he actually got a look at what had fallen on him, it wasn't a deer or boar as he'd originally expected, it was a human.

"Get the hell off of me before I eat you, stupid ape!"

"I'm sure your knowledge of desert herblore will still be a good base to start with, you can always learn about the native plants as we go." Cole didn't want her to be discouraged, she could definitely find a way to support herself outside of the desert.

"I'm sure I can pick up manual labor jobs if we stop anywhere for even a few days." He sighs and eats a few more bites, thinking over their options. "Hunting can give us food to eat and money from selling pelts and parts, if we can manage it. I'm sure between the two of us we could figure it out. After all, I'm already a decent shot with a bow."

Lorelai couldn't help but giggle softly at this woman calling Logan a naughty wolf. Who was she to argue with that? She was somewhat confused still at the name Kotori, but she had at least figured out they were talking about her gentle mountain of a mate.

"Yes!" The nymph was extremely excited. They had bathed before leaving the night before, but she was eager to look her best for Logan. "Pretty for mate!"

The only response Joss gave to that was to flip Calen off as the mage disappeared into the abandoned building. As if he would ever miss some annoying ass frosty the snowman. Being stuck with him was such a headache.

A headache that he needed to find a cure to pronto.

Joss kept a rather lazy eye out for those few minutes, doing his best not to seem as tense as he felt. Luckily he didn't feel sick yet, but it was still uncomfortable, like an itch just beneath the skin. He resisted the urge to rub the sigil on his palm, scowling and puffing on his cigar irritably.

No, he was not sulking!

"You good?" When Calen had come back he looked a bit like he'd actually exerted himself quite heavily for those few minutes. Joss was definitely not worried about him. No fucking way. "Let's keep moving. Where next?"

Was it really possible to be filled with righteous indignation while one was dying? You would have to assume if a being were truly dying they would be too preoccupied with more pressing matters than feeling insulted and humiliated. Ketu was choosing to assume that his level of outrage was indicative that, no matter how badly wounded and battered his body was, death was not imminent. The alternative was positively unacceptable. As a dragon his destiny was clearly something far greater than dying young before he had managed to achieve any true greatness.

Future greatness aside, Ketu focused on his walk of shame, although it was more of a limp and stumble, much to his aggravation. Each step was punctuated with a soft chorus of distressed grumbles.  He could barely let his left foreleg touch the ground without a lancing pain shooting all the way through the limb, and putting weight on it was simply out of the question. Numerous sets of gashes, clearly caused by claws, were scattered across his body, a particularly deep slash across the outside of his right hind leg was producing a steady stream of blood. The rest were not as deep and they only slowly oozed blood that eventually dripped onto the earth of The Thunderblacks.

A screech split the air and a shadow zipped past him, causing Ketu to jerk his head up and nervously scan the sky. The victor of the territory dispute was apparently surveying his prize. He tried to move faster, not wishing to give the other dragon reason to attack him again. As badly wounded as he was he knew he probably would not survive another fight just then. It galled him, but wounded pride was better than dead, so he limped away as quickly as he was able.

Ketu lost track of time, and with each pained step his ego grew less important. The farther from the bloodstained battleground he moved the less important his loss seemed next to his survival. He did not enough know how far he managed to flee. It was undoubtedly still The Thunderblacks, but the young dragon did not know this place. He could not recognize any landmarks when he did manage the energy to raise his head. Raising his head actually took great effort by that point and his foreleg could no longer even touch the ground without causing unbearable pain – even the small movements caused by his labored gait were almost too much to endure. His badly damaged rear limb was being half-dragged, barely able to press on, and then suddenly taking even one more step seemed impossible.

No amount of pride could have kept Ketu on his feet, the dragon collapsed heavily, body trembling as his breath came out in ragged pants. He let himself rest for a few moments before forcing himself to crawl towards the shelter of some large boulders. It would be hard for other dragons to see him in his vulnerable condition if he hid in the shadows of the great rocks. He could stay even more hidden if his form was smaller and of a less interesting shape. It took the last of Ketu's energy to summon enough magic to shift his form from that of a dragon to a human.

Most dragons would pay little mind to an injured human hidden within the shadows of craggy boulders, right? Ketu tried to position himself in the least painful way that he could manage before closing his eyes wearily. All he needed was some rest; he would heal given enough time. He did not even consider how such a heavily injured man laying naked next to some large rocks might look to beings that were not dragons. Such thoughts were hardly his concern as he lost consciousness.

Mikhail looked around at the clearing, taking note of the way moss covered everything. The moss looked kind of soft, at least comparative to just the uneven ground, and definitely compared to a tree branch. He would never climb another tree!

"Okay, good. You can get some rest now, and this time I'll keep watch." It was the least he could do, after everything Theo had done for him, and how the elf had watched over him while he slept just a short time earlier. Mikhail had felt rather helpless and burdensome to his new companion, but protecting the elf so he could rest, that was something he could actually do.

So that just happened. [Moonpie!]

Oops, found another one! xD

"You too." Robb said quietly as he watched her close the door as she left.

He had been the one insisting on her going to rest, but Robb didn't follow his own advice. Instead he continued drinking until his head was good and fuzzy, only eventually passing out after finishing the bottle.

Tomorrow's hangover was a problem for future Robb. Present Robb was happy to leave it for future him to deal with.

Wouldn't be the first time, or the last.

Hey, belated welcome back. I've been gone too for a while, but I'm definitely down to continue our threads if you are. Here's the four we have:

<a href="http://www.spiritsoftheearth.net/smf/index.php?topic=23527.0">I'm a damsel, I'm in distress... [open!]</a>

Like Salt and Pepper

Too Tired and Cold for This!

<a href="http://www.spiritsoftheearth.net/smf/index.php?topic=20979.0">Cakesplosion! [open!]</a>

Couldn't go home, huh? Now, the pretty lady said it didn't matter, but that was kind of a big deal, you know? Blair wondered what she was running from, because it was super obvious that she was running away from something. A high class lady all dressed to the nines out in the bad part of town?

Yeah, definitely a runner.

Blair rubbed at the back of her head and grinned sheepishly at the question, and the observation, because yeah, there was definitely a lot of blood. Killing was a messy business, and it was pretty obvious the pretty princess hadn't seen real bloodshed before, just by the way she was reacting to the scene here. It was a shame she'd had to witness it, really it was! Still, what else was Blair to do when a beautiful girl was in danger? It wasn't like she could just not help her!

"Yeah, killing pigs does tend to make for a bloody mess. Most of the blood's theirs, don't worry." Most of it really did belong to the men, but there was still blood dripping slowly from Blair's nose and ears, and a small trickle at the corner of her mouth, that she hastily tried to wipe away. She'd had worse injuries. "The important thing's that you're okay. We should get you out of here, though. Always more filth in these kinds of areas looking for a quick and easy victim. With all that glitter and shine you're just asking to get mugged. Although if you can't go home, I don't know where to take you."