Not the best place for a vacation (Zombie/OPEN!)

[Anonymous]

All in all, Tavor was in a pretty good mood.  Even though the last sealing rune he'd bought was running out, he'd been able to keep that tight, perfect control over his magic.  Suppressing it so far down was such a pain, but he refused to let his demon side surface.  There was no way he was going to be responsible for another massacre, and as far as he was concerned, it was entirely the fault of his magic.  So with everything all nice and under control, no one was paying him any heed, which made him happy.  

He'd been bored, utterly tired of his reclusive life in Ketra, so he'd gone wandering.  Too bad he hadn't the slightest clue about Connlaoth's opinions on mages.  Naive, or just stupid?  Probably the former, and a healthy dose of bad luck that had allowed him to go without hearing any rumors of mage hatred.  Or anything about magic suppressing soldiers.  Though, with Tavor's opinions on magic, he'd probably be happy without his magic.

A run through the market place had ended with him finding a nice new cloak, and the boy was quite fond of the deep green.  It was one of the few times he let himself get something that would actually look appealing on him.  His clothing was all loose fitting and plain, to help him blend in, but Tavor just hadn't been able to resist that cloak.  He was wearing it now, as he strode down the street on the outskirts of Reajh.  His tail was hidden, tucked down his left pant leg, and the cloak was helping hide the movement, thus giving him another reason to like the cloak.  

However, with evening approaching, the boy was looking for an inn to stay at.  The sun would set in a few hours, and he wanted to be off the streets before nightfall.  A silly habit left over from home.  Good little boys were indoors before dark, so no one had to worry about them.  

He stopped, looking around for a moment.  The odd feeling of being watched had just crept up on him, and Tavor did not like it.  He pulled the hood of his new cloak up, feeling suddenly guilty, and picked up his pace.  He really wanted to find a nice inn to stay in now.

((OOC:  Wow.  Sorry about the excessive length.))

[Anonymous]

As he was in training, Raphael didn't get many days off and he wanted to enjoy them. Not that the boy really did much. He wasn't much for getting drunk, the idea of whoring was only a vague notion that would make him blush if he really thought about it and he didn't gamble.

But he liked to get out into the town, browse some of the market stalls that were set up that day. He enjoyed the change of scenery more then anything else. And there was always the food. Raphael was a growing boy, standing at a few inches over 6 feet. And he never seemed to get enough food.

Which lead the blond adolescent to following his nose to a tavern to get some food. He didn't have a lot of money, but luckily for him he also didn't have much he was spending it on. Unluckily for the boy, even with his sword training, he still hadn't grown into his long limbs and huge feet. Raphael managed to trip over himself, stumbling forward slightly, catching himself from falling by grabbing onto the nearest thing, a young man in a green cloak.

"Whoa! S-sorry!" Raphael jerked upright as fast as he could, flushing and bowing, "I am terribly sorry sir!"

[Anonymous]

Tavor pulled his hood lower, feeling a bit foolish. He really didn't believe in the temple teachings, that evil spirits rode the winds at night, but getting inside before nightfall was such a strong habit.  Camping on the roads hadn't been pleasant.  "This is so stupid."  He muttered to himself.

The first sign of the nearby Mordecai was the abrupt death of his rune bracelet.  Worn under one sleeve around his upper arm, the faint warmth from the glowing trinket faded suddenly.  He stopped dead in his tracks, clapping his hand to the spot.  Bad luck, bad luck, bad... The train of thought didn't end suddenly, just trailed off as Tavor stared at the long strand of brown hair that hung in front of his face.  How had his control slipped like that.  He stared at it, willing himself back to a normal appearance, and probably would have stayed like that forever, if his concentration wasn't broken in an unusual manner.

That is, by Raphael crashing and grabbing at him.  No, not again!  He twisted free, backing away a few steps.  "Don't touch me!  I don't..."  He stopped talking and blinked in confusion, hood slipping off his head.  Red-tinted brown eyes stared at the young blonde.  There was no fire.  Nothing exploding.  Not even the burning drive to ...well.  He wrapped his arms around himself and stared at the teen in front of him.  He felt totally normal.  Like he always did when he had everything sealed away under so many layers of runes and his own stubborn will, locked away so deep he was barely aware of the magic.

((OOC:  Let me know if I need to change something.  I'm running with the assumption that Mordecai make it like you never had magic at all.))

[Anonymous]

((It nullify all magic. So he can't use any of his magical abilities. Making him revert to whatever form is natural to him and he couldn't use any of the incubus powers.))

The other mans reaction started Raphael and the trainee stared, confused and unsure, "Uh, really. I've very sorry. I just tripped...I didn't mean offense." His cheeks were still lightly flushed with embarrassment. And he felt bad that he had startled the other man so much, "Is there anyway I can make it up to you sir?"

Despite the fact that Raphael was over a foot taller then the strange eyed boy, he was quite a bit younger and did his best to keep his tone respectful. Though Raphael frowned slightly when he saw the strange tint to the boys eyes. That might be nothing, but it might be a hint of magic corruption.

[Anonymous]

((Awesome, I guessed right then.  xD  ))

He remained quiet, staring as the blonde blurted out another apology.  He wasn't angry, just utterly confused.  His tail was moving around quite a bit more, making him glad his pants were loose.  The damn thing always seemed to have a mind of its own.  At least he didn't have horns as well, or wings, or claws, or other weird features.

And the taller male was asking if he could make up for crashing into him.  Tavor flushed brightly, embarrassed over making a fuss like this.  He was totally confused over what just happened, but reactions like his were going to attract attention, and it always seemed harder to keep things under control when others were actually paying attention to him.

"It's...alright, I'm sorry I yelled.  You startled me."  He held out a hand for a shake, intensely glad again that he had never grown claws when he was like this.  "I'm Tavor.  And, uh, actually, if you could show me to a good inn, I'd really appreciate it.  And maybe we can forget about this whole incident."  He chuckled a little, still embarrassed and blushing.

[Anonymous]

When he realized the older man wasn't upset, Raphael relaxed slightly, giving Tavor a revealed smile. He still hadn't lost all his childish roundness to his features and he had a pathetic attempt at a beard growing, but the blond stubble was almost non-existent.

He hadn't really noticed the fact that people were staring, though now that he wasn't as focused on apologizing, Raphael could feel them staring and his ears reddened. One problem with being so tall was it was very hard to make yourself unnoticed.

Taking Tavor's hand, Raphael shook it, his grip firm, hands heavily calloused, "I'm real sorry I bumped into you like that. My name is Raphael. It's nice to meet you." Letting his hand drop, Raphael gave him another smile, "An inn? Sure. I know a few that are pretty decent. Well, have good food anyway. Never had to stay in one. I was on my way to get dinner."

Motioning for him to follow, Raphael headed off in the direction he had been traveling in, "So, um, I take it you are a traveler? Where are you from? What are you doing in Reajh? Business?"

[Anonymous]

He shook hands with Raphael, feeling so much better.  Yeah, he was still utterly confused by how his magic had suddenly disappeared, but Tavor wasn't about to question the gift he'd unexpectedly been blessed with.  Maybe he would have asked about it, but he didn't want to draw attention to what he was.  Or what his magic was capable of.  So, he nodded to the taller boy's introduction.

Striding along at the blonde's side.  "Yes, though I usually don't leave Adela.  I'm just a small time merchant, and I got a little bored with being tied down to one place."  He grinned over at Raphael, his eyes tinting to a deeper red, making them more red than brown now.  And Tavor was oblivious to that small change.  At least that seemed to be the last alteration, and thankfully his tail was still hidden.  "I made a fair amount of coin today.  Definitely made the trip worth it.  And thank you for the help, Raphael."

His day had started out good, and as far as Tavor was concerned, it was just getting better.

[Anonymous]

Raphael was all long legs, so he did his best to keep his stride from being too long, trying to match pace with the shorter man. It was nice to have run into someone. Raphael liked people and was friendly and social by nature. But he hadn't made that many friends among the other trainees yet and didn't really see his old friends enough to keep those friendships going well. And while he could write and read a little, though he had to speak aloud while doing so, most of his friends couldn't. So letters were out of the question.

"Adela? Really? What's it like there?" Raphael didn't hate Serendipity or Adela, but they did use magic. They allowed that corruption into their people and their cities. It made him nervous, but as long as they didn't use magic, Raphael wasn't bothered by the person, "Is it true there are mages and magic everywhere there? And demons and monsters roaming the streets?"

[Anonymous]

Tavor was enjoying the walk.  He wasn't particularly tall, but he was used to moving fast.  But that the younger male was matching his stride to his own, was appreciated.  He was looking forward to a meal and a bed at the inn.  Camping was a little fun, but a real bed would be nice.  

He blinked a few times, a little confused by Raphael's question.  "Uh, yeah, there are all sorts of people in Adela."  He thought for a moment, then started listing off the different races he'd seen.  "Elves, fairies, dragons, those weird people that look part animal, and yeah, I've seen a few demons around.  Haven't seen any monsters, though."  He grinned and glanced up at his tall companion.  "Even the normal people have weird colored hair.  Guys like me stick out a bit."

"There are mages everywhere in Adela.  Sometimes they end up causing a bit of trouble, but so do other people."  Tavor didn't consider himself a mage.  He never used his magic, did everything he could to keep it locked away.  So he just shrugged at the end of that statement.

[Anonymous]

Raphael's eyes got wider as Tavor spoke. He couldn't believe it. He had always known that other nations embraced magic, but to hear it spoken of so casually was rather a lot for the teenager to take in.

"Really? You've seen demons? How? Wouldn't they eat you?" Raphael shook his head, horrified at the idea of so much chaos and dangerous magic running around, "I'm just glad we don't have any of that here."

It was a nice night and Raphael rather liked the older man. It didn't seem like the time for unpleasant conversations, "Well, how have you liked it hear so far? Have you gotten to see much of the city?"

The tavern was in site now, a decent looking place with a sign of a hen and a rooster hanging above the door. Raphael grinned, "Here we are. The food is very good here. And sometimes they have music."

[Anonymous]

"Well, I guess some might, but I never ran into those."  Tavor shrugged.  In truth, that was probably because he avoided other demons like the plague.  But with Raphael's statement, that they didn't have demons here, reassured him.  Maybe he'd move here.

He glanced up at the taller male again and smiled.  "It's peaceful here.  It's a little unusual to not see mages everywhere, but I don't mind it.  I just got into town early this morning, so I haven't really seen much of the city.  But I do like it here."  And he really meant those words.  

A glance up at the sign and he opened the door, holding it out for Raphael, letting the blonde take the lead.  "Thanks for the help, Raphael."

[Anonymous]

Raphael nodded his head, "We don't allow magic and its corruption here." He beamed proudly at that, "I'm a Mordecai. Or....am training to be one." He was going to keep people safe, protect them and his country. There wasn't much more he really could ask for.

The boy entered ahead of Tavor, glancing around the full tavern, "Well, if you are going to stay here, would you like to join me for dinner?" It was never very fun to eat by oneself and Raphael rather liked the other man, "I can tell you more about the city. And you can tell me more about your city!"

[Anonymous]

Following the taller man in, Tavor glanced around, then back at Raphael.  "Corruption?"  He definitely believed some magic was bad, but that statement seemed all encompassing.  "And, ah, what's a Mordecai?"

A few people had glanced up when they entered, prompting Tavor to reach and self-consciously run a hand through his hair, trying to make it lay flat like it was supposed to.  He didn't like being stared at, even for a few moments.  He went silent, suddenly wishing he could suppress everything, make himself look normal again, but it just...wasn't working.  

But then Raphael talking got his attention, and he nodded, his mood lifting.  "Sure."  He was enjoying talking with the younger male.

[Anonymous]

Oh my gosh! Serena squealed inwardly, and instinctively clamped both hands over her mouth. What /luck/ she had! Here she'd thought it was going to be a very boring first day of work at the inn, though she was grateful to have gotten the job regardless. But still!

Of course she'd looked when the two had come in. A bunch of heads had turned their way, and she couldn't help but follow their gazes to...

Two gorgeous boys! Poor Serena stood rooted to the spot, huge amber eyes even wider (as if that were possible), staring and still dumbly holding on to the empty tray she was /supposed/ to be piling food on to deliver to Table #6.

"SE-RE-NAAA!"

"Ah! Sorry!" She chirped, pivoting on her boot heel to face the chef's window and offer her tray. Stray locks of her red-black hair whipped about her face in her wake, though the lot of it was piled up high in a messy bun. "Oi, girl. Don't take so long next time." The chef scolded, waggling a sausage accusingly at her. He still pondered why on earth he'd even hired her. Was it sympathy? She did look rather pitiful digging through their garbage for scraps... He huffed, stacking the very last plate of the bunch onto her tray. Er... Perhaps he'd put on too many. The tray looked as it it were going to snap.

"Don't worry! You can count on me!" The girl beamed with an ecstatic thumbs-up, as if she were blissfully unaware just how heavy that mean old chef had made her tray. She curled her petite fingers about the edges of it, one hand braced on the underside of the tray, and /heaved/! "Oof..." She grunted, leaning the edge of it against her chest to try and keep her from dropping it. She teetered. "Careful, careful." Big brown eyes cast up to the chef's mildly worried (and a bit amused) face, and she offered up an uneasy smile. "I got it!" One wobbly foot backpedaled, her petite frame carrying an unseemly amount of food to the table way across the room.

(( I'll wait until they sit for her to approach them. xD ))

[Anonymous]

"You don't know what a Mordecai is?" Raphael blinked his large brown eyes at the other man. He thought everyone knew what they were but apparently not, "We are the protectors of Connlaoth. We stop the mages." There was more too it then that, but Raphael wasn't totally sure where to start.

He beamed at Tavor, looking very young, despite his impressive height, "Great. I hate eating alone." He made his way through the crowd to a table that had one end clear before he took his seat, "The food hear is amazing. They have a really good stew. And I love their cider."

The looks they were getting didn't seem to faze the boy, mostly because he hadn't noticed them. Or the fact that the serving girl had been staring. For a soldier, he was blissfully unaware of his surroundings.

[Anonymous]

Quietly following behind Raphael, Tavor slipped into a seat next to him.  "Sounds good."  He hadn't really noticed Serena in particular, too distracted by all the other looks he'd gotten.

He turned to his companion and sort of half shrugged.  "In all truth, I'm not very familiar with the politics here.  I'm afraid I haven't heard of Mordecai before you brought it up."

((OOC:  Sorry for the short post))

[Anonymous]

Well, that was a nightmare.

Serena had all but thrown dishes off her tray to rid herself of the burden, but that was alright. Oh, yes. Because now? It was her time to shine! Just a few dabs of peppermint scented oils here and there, a quick run through her hair with her fingers, and a big, bright smile! Serena inhaled deeply, taking in the sweetly minty fragrance she'd just applied.

She felt beautiful already!

But the closer Serena got to the boys' table, the slower the clicks of her footsteps became. Despite her preparations, what if ... What if they make fun of me? She was suddenly very sorely aware of her state of dress, dirtied and sweaty from skipping back and forth between the hot kitchen and the restaurant. The frayed edges of her skirt even stuck out from beneath her apron at the front, and her pink socks had a run up the side...

Serena wrung the two menus in her hand nervously. But! But this is my job. Just go do it! Business as usual, even if they think I'm... dirty.

The prep talk had done it's job, as she was now standing before their table and quickly dispersing the two menus. "Hello! I'm Serena, and I'll be your waitress for this evening." The words stumbled out of her mouth, mechanical and nearly involuntary. Oh, this won't do. She had to do something! What a waste it would be if she didn't try! Serena plucked the notepad from the front of her apron pocket and retrieved the pencil from behind her ear. It had been so buried in her hair, it would have seemed to materialize from thin air if one hadn't been paying attention to her hand. "Can I get you guys a drink to start off with?" Would you buy me a drink? "We have water, juice, cider and spirits." Leave me a note to rendezvous with you somewhere romantic after work! "Oh! And milk. But that would be kind of weird at this time of day, right?" She laughed nervously.

Oh boy.

[Anonymous]

Ugh. Leslie'd never understand how she got roped into helping with training. It wasn't even the fun classes. She had a week two class and a week four class. She didn't get to yell and bitch at people nor was she allowed to throw water at people. Oh well, it was for the better. Though the Captain did find enjoyment in tormenting the trainees, she found that she felt a lot better after a day of actual teaching them. Made her feel like she was almost helping her country as much as if she took down another mage.

She needed a break though. The little bastards tended to not appreciate what she was doing for them, especially the more sleep deprived ones, but it was her job and the duty was its own reward. Although Leslie wasn't above rewarding herself after a hard days work. All work no play, right? That tavern had to be around here somewhere.... Ah ha!

Leslie swept through the entrance, scanning the room quickly to see if she knew anybody there. She had changed out of her uniform at the first chance that had prevented itself and she now wore a pair of snug pants and a short-sleeved shirt that tied up the front, both in muted colors with her hair hanging free. Nobody really stood out to the newest arrival from her preemptive room sweep, though on her look-back two people did catch her eye slightly. Mainly because they were so mismatched.

One was a giant and the other looked like a kid next to him. The large - man? No. Though he was tall and muscular, he had an air about him that said he still hadn't hit his second decade - boy was in the messy trainee uniform and the shorter boy...Well there wasn't anything remarkable from what she could see about him. He had his hair in an unusual way but that was really all she could tell from her vantage point. This would be a good time to see what the trainee thought of his introduction into the military.

Leslie sauntered over to the table where the two were sitting and sat down with them without asking. Hell, if the kid got cocky, she'd just pull rank and leave it at that. She was in luck too, the waitress had just finished her welcome speech. "Actually, milk would be great as a starter for me." Leslie said, giving the girl a smile. The Captain didn't know why she thought of everybody as so much younger than her, though there couldn't be more than a few years difference between any of them. It was probably the military background. All that fighting and death will mentally age a person.

Turning her gaze back to the two guys, Leslie tucked a stray stand of hair behind her ear before giving them a smile. "Well hello there."

[Anonymous]

"Really? Well, we protect the city from magic." Raphael was still slightly surprised he hadn't heard of them. He had thought everyone did. His nation was famous for being clean of the taint of magic. And he was going to be a part of that.

But he shrugged it off, assuming it was a foreign thing. He didn't get a chance to say anything when a serving girl approached. Raphael gave her a bright smile, "Thank you. I would love a cider please. Do you want one Tavor?" If he noticed that she was rumpled and ragged, it didn't show.

Raphael had been raised that all woman are ladies and to be treated as such. Serena could have been wearing a dead chicken for a shirt and smeared herself in dung and Raphael would have given her the same attention and bright smile.

Another woman arrived then and Raphael found her rather familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. He knew he had seen her from somewhere. The tall boy stood up quickly, "Hello." He gave her a small smile, "Is there something I can help you with ma'am?"

[Anonymous]

Protect the city from magic?  Something clicked there, giving Tavor a faint idea.  He'd been in the city for about three hours and then his magic had disappeared.  It was the strangest thing he'd ever experienced, different from having his abilities sealed.  He could still feel his magic then, here it was like he didn't have any magic at all.  Was this how they protected Connlaoth?  "Hey, Raphael, just how..."  He stopped talking, the smell of peppermint having caught his attention.

"Oh, uh..."  Serena's appearance, and the smell of peppermint, had him rather distracted now.  His tail was apparently no longer happy with being stuffed down a pant leg, and was lashing about.  To anyone standing or sitting on his side of the table, it would probably look very strange.  He glanced over at his companion briefly, then nodded.  "Yeah, a cider please."  

Something about Serena was distracting him quite effectively.  And Tavor wasn't going to consider that it could be some part of his incubus self that was paying attention to her.  Because he just couldn't suppress anything now.

And the new woman that just sat down with them, he wasn't quite sure what to make of her.  There was a hint of confusion in his red-tinted eyes now, as he looked over at her.  "Uh.  Hello."