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Snow? This Time Of Year? (SDB!)

Started by Eckhart_Von_Musel, October 14, 2017, 04:18:07 AM

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Eckhart_Von_Musel

@SilverDragonsBlood

It was a deceptively sunny day. The air outside was crisp and chilly, and the leaves were beginning to change their color. Eckhart was awestruck- Hyoite really only had one season, and he'd never gotten to see an autumn like this before.

"Will you stop gawking?" Belladonna meowed from atop his shoulder. The two were on the road to Maestoso- at least a weeks journey from the town they had stopped at the night before. "I see this every year, it's nothing special."

Eckhart smiled apologetically. "Haha, sorry. It's just..." He looked at the forest that surrounded the road. "I'm not not used to everything being so colorful. It's really cool."

"You're impressed far too easily. You ought to-"

Suddenly, a loud noise caught both of their attention. It sounded as if a tree had been ripped out by its roots and tossed aside. Eckhart froze. "W-what was that?"

Belladonna hopped from the boy's shoulder and scampered in the direction the noise came from. "Come on, let's go see!" she purred excitedly.

Eckhart groaned, and begrudgingly began to chase after his familiar. "It's probably going to be something awful that gets me killed." he thought bitterly. "Just wait."


Celegwen

After only two days together, a note came for Hakan. A client was requesting his immediate services, so the visit had to be cut short. Taiga kissed her brother goodbye, and they started their separate ways.

Hyoite and Essyrn were both a decent distance from Serendipity, so she packed a few supplies in her satchel and mounted Kaeligar. The massive, eight-legged horse snorted at her, irritated that their week-long stay was cut so drastically.

The chilling air was nothing unfamiliar to a girl from the land of never-ending winter, so the snowflake cloak she fastened around her had nothing to do with temperature; simply not enough room in her satchel to carry it. Taking a look around at the changing leaves, Taiga smiled. It would be a full year before she would get the treat of seeing change like that again.

She spurred Kaeligar into a brisk walk. They had a lot of distance to cover, and the horse tended to be temperamental.

The girl sat atop her mount with no tack, feeling it degraded the beast to a simple horse. She held her staff across her lap and patted Kaeligar on the neck. "I know you're tired," she said, "but that's no reason to be annoyed with me." He answered with a simple toss of his mane.

The loud crash of something rather large and heavy drew her attention from her journey.

Almost as quickly as it had happened, Taiga grabbed onto her staff and Kaeligar's grey-shaded mane and whipped him towards the noise. She glanced out of the corner of her eye to see her brother turn to the noise, but she waved him off. He had more important things to tend to, and she was more than capable of taking care of herself.

About time something exciting happened! She thought, a grin tugging at her lips.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

After a few minutes of searching, Eckhart found the source of the noise- a carriage had crashed on the side of the road. As Eckhart approached, he began to wish he hadn't. The coachman was in two pieces. The horse was laying in a bloody heap, a large splinter of wood sticking out of it's neck. The carriage itself had been completely destroyed, pieces of it strewn across the road.

"Yikes." meowed Belladonna. "What happened here?"

"No clue." Eckhart replied as he cautiously stepped towards the carriage. Gingerly he began to clear away bits of the carriage, trying to find anybody who was still alive. Belladonna helped, levitating the larger pieces of wood out of the way so Eckhart could look under them. Finally, they both came to the same, sad conclusion.

Everybody at the scene had died.

Celegwen

It wasn't a long ride, especially for Kaeligar. He could've covered the distance in seconds, but Taiga held the beast back. She wasn't the most familiar with Serendipity, so she wasn't exactly looking to let him just run.

Upon arriving at the scene, the upturn of her lips disappeared, replaced by a slight grimace. The overturned carriage was in pieces, and she could see the horse's impaled body lying in front of it. Dismounting, Taiga heard a voice and gripped her staff.

Is someone still alive? She asked herself. Maybe a thief?

Kaeligar took it upon himself to walk around the carriage. Taiga watched the eight-legged mountain of a horse jump back with a startled whinny. She ran to him and put her hand on his snout. The last thing she needed was the beast running off in a panic. Looking to the other side of the carriage, Taiga expected to see someone ready for an attack. Instead, she was faced with a thin, young man and a mangy cat.

Looking at Kaeligar with a huff, Taiga hit the bottom of her staff on the ground. "A cat?" She said. "You got scared of a cat?" Shaking her head and readjusting her grip on her staff, Taiga looked at the man. "Who are..." Her voice trailed out when she saw the dead coachman in two different places. "Who are you?" She asked more defensively.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Eckhart stared at the body of a young girl in noblewoman's clothing. Her empty gaze was haunting, and yet he couldn't bring himself to look away from it. A pit had formed in the boy's stomach, and his eyes were beginning to water. Finally, he closed the girls eyes, shuddering while doing so. "Sweet Ansgar, that's gonna haunt me."

"So what do you want to do?" Belladonna asked. "We can't just leave them here."

Eckhart shook his head. "I'm not-"

The sound of hoofs caused him to freeze. Slowly, he turned around to see a massive, eight legged horse stepped out from behind the carriage. "A theocog!" Eckhart thought in a panic. "But I thought those things were only used by elite Mordecai!" His breathing became sharp. "Has Connlaoth decided to track down my family? Are mom and dad okay? Holy shit, what the fuck is happening?"

Belladonna took a step forward. She glared at the horse, her green eyes unblinking. "Back off, glue boy." she meowed dismissively. "You're freaking out my human."

Surprisingly enough, the horse actually seemed startled by this. It jumped back with a panicked whinny, and a woman looking to be around Eckhart's age showed up to comfort it. Well, she was actually chiding it, but Eckhart supposed the horse likely wasn't intelligent enough to understand that. The woman carried a staff, and wore a cloak bearing an oddly familiar snowflake pattern. The boy's eyes narrowed. "Where have I seen that before?"

Eckhart took a step back as the woman angrily asked who he was. "Shit, does she think I did this?" He laughed nervously. "Haha, don't mind me! I'm just a healer, I thought maybe I could help!" His fake smile faded. "Everyone is dead though..."

Celegwen

Taiga's silver eyes narrowed, searching him for signs of deception.  All that seemed off was his smile, but that faded rather quickly.  She was used to people not being initially comfortable with her, so his nervous laughter didn't phase her at all.

Even so, the boy seemed harmless enough.

She scanned him one more time and pursed her lips together. "I don't give a shit if you're a healer, a prince, or a woman in hiding," she said, her right eyebrow in an arch. "I was asking for your name."

Taiga didn't want to know what he was. If he had killed the woman, she knew how to talk to and act around criminals. If he hadn't, she had nothing to worry about. She wanted his name and to hear his voice. The way someone speaks tells a lot to someone who knows how to read it.

"What brought you here? You don't look like you have enough to buy passage, so this carriage sure wasn't yours. Just stumble upon it?"

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Eckhart's eyes widened. The woman's tone of voice was very accusatory, and he didn't like it. "Um, well, uh..." he stammered nervously.

"Shit, what do I say? If she's a Mordecai, then telling her my name would be a huge mistake. But she also seems really mad..."

Belladonna purred. "Wow, she's really on your case, huh Tuna Fish?"

"Oh..." Eckhart murmured under his breath. "I can still hear you, can't I?"

Eckhart visibly relaxed, though only a smidge. "M- my name is Eckhart Von Musel. I heard the crash, so I came running, I wasn't riding with them." Eckhart took another step back. "Did... Did you do this?"

"If she did, then we're fucked." he thought anxiously. "Somehow I doubt Kaida will show up to save my ass again."

Celegwen

The girl chuckled breathily. "I don't kill people without being provoked," she said, folding her arms over her chest. "So no, I didn't do this."

It was obvious that he was nervous around her, but she wasn't about to just let herself be vulnerable. Especially after he said his name.

"If you're having a conversation with your cat, I swear I'll leave you to be eaten alive because I deal with enough madmen as it is. I talk to my animals, but it's far from a back and forth."

She looked at the small young man and huffed. Taiga was expected to be gone for a while still, so she had time to spare. Still, if he was going to cower around her every second of their discussion, they might have a problem.

"Von Musel, huh?" She asked, an uncharacteristic smirk creeping onto her face. She briefly thought back to a few years before in Hyoite. Von Musel had been a well-known name in the tundra. "Don't tell me you're tied to Hildegarde somehow?"

Eckhart_Von_Musel

The brief relief that came from learning that the woman wasn't responsible for the crash was immediately dashed as she proceeded to bring up Eckhart's older sister. The young man's face trembled as a million scenarios played out in his head. "Shit! Why is she looking at me like that? Does she work for a rival gang or something? Is she going to try and kidnap me to use as leverage?" He put his hand on his head anxiously, looking very much like he'd been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to.

"Wow!" laughed Belladonna, curling her tail around her legs as she sat down. "She's really got your number, huh Eckhart?"

Eckhart gave the cat an angry glare. "Bella!" he hissed. "You're not helping!" Suddenly realized how this must look, he gave the woman a sheepish grimace. "Um, yes. Hilda's my big sister..." Eckhart waved his hands in from of him as if he trying ward something off. " But... But I don't work for her or anything! She's family, that's it!" The boy took yet another step back. "If... if you think that killing me will get you brownie points with her rivals or something, you're, um, mistaken. I, ah, haven't seen her in years."

"Sweet Ansgar, this is looking really bad!"

Celegwen

Watching the boy's physical reaction to the mention of Hildegarde was fascinating. Simply by hearing her name, he appeared to be filled with more thoughts and anxieties than Taiga had ever seen before. In a slightly sadistic way, she took pleasure in seeing how uncomfortable he got.

His cat, on the other hand, seemed to give off an energy that could've been interpreted as arrogance. Then again, that's always what cats do.

"Eckhart," Taiga said, smiling with a slight shake of her head. She put her hand out, palm towards him, and chuckled. "Kid, relax." She put her hand on her hip. "Damn, you really do have demons in your ear, don't ya? Never mind that. I just wanted to know who I was talking to."

Once again, she sized the boy up. Amazing that a young man so timid and insecure could be the brother of a woman as strong and confident as Hildegarde.

"I know of your sister, but I don't need to get on her good side or anyone else's. Honestly, I didn't like her, but I respected her because she owned who she was. And I'm not gonna kill you; no point in it. I'm Taiga, by the way."

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Eckhart's face flushed as Taiga told him to relax. "S-sorry... I, um, kinda got carried away." He glanced at his feet. "It's, ah, been a long time since somebody immediately recognized my family name like that..."

"Well," meowed Belladonna. "Now that that's settled, I'm going to look for clues as to who these rich people were." Eckhart nodded absentmindedly, and the cat scampered off and began to shift through the rubble with telekinesis.

Eckhart gingerly stepped forward. "Um... Have we met before? I feel like I've seen you somewhere." The boy look at Taiga as a mouse would look at a cat who only ate vegetables. "Are you from Hyoite? Your cloak looks really familiar..."

"That would explain why she knows Hildagarde, at least."

Celegwen

Taiga took a breath and nodded. "Yeah. Short version, I manage a group of bad people who decided to live in the tundra instead of among people. Dirty job, but I keep them in line." She pulled her cloak, giving him a slight view of the large snowflake. "It's to give them a sense of purpose."

She watched the cat start rummaging through the remains of the carriage, but paid it little attention. Taiga had learned not to question when bizarre things happened. Kaeligar walked over to the carriage and pawed at the rubble, moving it around. He didn't know what they were looking for or why, but he knew he wanted to be a part of it. Good thing she had left Calconirr back in Hyoite, or the meeting might not have gone so smoothly.

"I don't think we've met, though. Haven't even met your sister, so I doubt we would've crossed paths. Unless... No, you don't have criminal in you." Taiga shrugged. "That's okay, by the way. It's actually better. I come here to get away from criminals, but it seem as though fate decided I can't. I have some time to kill, so if you want to figure out what the hell happened here, I'm available. Did your cat find anything?"

Eckhart_Von_Musel

As Taiga explained herself, a sense of understanding began to wash over him. "Oh... Yeah, I think I remember hearing about your group. They formed a few months before I left. They were called like, the Mistrals, right?"

Belladonna looked over at Eckhart from where she was standing. "Wait, did that broad just ask if I've found anything yet? I literally started looking, like, thirty seconds ago. Tell her to hold her fucking horses." She looked up at the weird Mordecai horse indignantly. "That means you, sticky hooves. Back off before you accidentally trample me."

Eckhart laughed sheepishly. "Er, no, no she hasn't. We... We should probably help them." He walked over to where the largest piece of carriage was laying and began struggling to lift it out of the way...

Celegwen

Kaeligar snorted at the cat, stomping purposefully near her. He couldn't exactly understand what she was saying, but he sure understood her tone.

"The Mistrals," Taiga said, rolling her eyes. "Yup. Definitely."

When the young man walked to the largest piece of carriage, the girl looked on with doubt. Eckhart visibly struggled with it, so she walked over to him. "Listen, I don't want to make you feel weak or anything, but there's an easier way to do that."

She put her hand on the piece, covering it in a sheet of ice. Then, she swept her staff through the air just above the ground, creating an icy runway. Taiga smirked, using her staff as a lever to shove the piece out of the way. It slid away from them, and she looked at him. "Don't work hard, if you can work smart."

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Eckhart watched in awe as Taiga effortlessly moved the piece of carriage, creating a sheet of ice and sliding it out of the way. Her words rang in his head. "I don't want to make you feel weak or anything..."

"Welp," Eckhart thought, going red in the face. "Too late!"

"Um... Right." The boy said, clearly a bit flustered. "Thanks..." With the large piece of wood out of the Way, Eckhart was able to see yet another body- this one belonging to a woman who appeared to be pregnant. Eckhart winced and looked away. Finally he steeled himself, and knelt next to the body. "Oh! Look at this!"

The woman had a crumpled piece of paper in her clenched fist. Gingerly removing it, Eckhart smoothed it out and read it out loud.

"Dear Minister Corrine, I hope you are doing well. Everything has been arranged for your and your family's trip to Maestoso, although finding an inn with dedicated, professional midwife was harder than I had expected. Looking forward to meeting you this Saturday! Sincerely, Chancellor Greenacres."

Eckhart looked at Taiga nervously. "Um... I don't suppose you know anything about Serenian politics?"

Celegwen

There's no way she's still alive, Taiga thought to herself, grimacing at the scene. Death was a part of life, but something dying before it got a chance to live was just unfair.

When Eckhart had taken the paper from the woman's hands, it definitely caught Taiga's attention. If she was honest with herself, she never would have paid it any attention. He may not have been strong, but perhaps he was more clever than she had thought.

Minister Corrine? She thought. Chancellor Greenacres? The names were foreign to her. Though, because of Eckhart's unnerved expression, she assumed that they were people of power.

"I'm afraid not," she said. "I know how the politics work, but not who's involved in them. You know the names?"

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Eckhart shook his head. "No. I didn't bother reading up on any of that stuff before I came here." He looked at Taiga, trying desperately to look more composed than he was feeling. "I mean, I only left because Serendipity has better better magic schools than we do at home." He looked back at the woman's body, an empty expression on his face. "I didn't think I was going to get dragged into any of this..."

Belladonna jumped onto the boys shoulders. "Why don't you just ask Cyn?" she asked, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "She's a minister, I bet she'd tell you who they were!"

Eckhart went red in the face. "Bella!" he whined, shrugging the cat off of his shoulders. "Shut uuuuup!"

"I bet she'd try too kiss you too!" Belladonna laughed. "And invite you to help with her next grizzly murder!"

Going redder still, Eckhart stood up. "Come on! I didn't ask to get involved with her either!" Suddenly realizing how bizzare this must look to Taiga, the boy laughed nervously. "I, um, I'm not talking about you. Different girl." He said sheepishly. "Um... So, uh, what do you think we should do?"


Celegwen

Taiga didn't even bother with Eckhart's exchange with his cat. Whether he was talking about her or not mattered very little, so there was no reason to really question it.

"I don't know about you, but if I was awaiting someone's arrival, I wouldn't want to just be left wondering," she said with a frown. "We might get into some trouble, but I think bringing the letter back to this Chancellor Greenacres and explaining what happened would be the right thing to do."

*     *     *

Wasp crouched behind a nearby tree with her hood over her short hair. She wiped blood from her bottom lip and looked at the two people near the large carriage she had just blown up. The assassin hadn't escaped the blast range of her rock bomb, so the force threw her face first onto the ground. She put her hand in her pouch, counting the three polished stones she had left and knowing she would have to be smart about using them.

Using the energetic web that was tethered from her to Teryn, she lowered her voice to a whisper. "Wasp to Spider," she said quietly. "I came across someone you might-"

"Passing you to Fly," Teryn's voice said in her mind.

She rolled her eyes and waited for Phoenix to take over. "Fly to Wasp," Phoenix said. "Who did you find?"

"Hildegarde Von Musel's little brother, Eckhart," Wasp said. "Orders?"

There was a moment of silence before Phoenix's slightly too eager voice came back. "Kill him. No witnesses."

Wasp smirked and silently climbed the tree to a low branch. She took one of the stones and blew on it, giving it a charge in case she needed to use it. How about a game of cat and mouse? She thought to herself, a devious grin growing on her scarred face. Taking one of her daggers, she flipped it so the blade was between her fingertips.

With her perfect aim, the dagger whizzed barely an inch in front of Eckhart's face. Kaeligar spooked, taking off at an unmatched speed most likely back to Hyoite. Wasp stood on the branch with a smirk, her completely black clothing and remorseless eyes making it clear just who they were dealing with. "Run," she hissed.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Eckhart nodded shakily. "Yeah... I think that would be-"

A dagger whizzed past his face, barely missing him by an inch. Crying out in fear, the healer stumbled backwards. Taiga's horse ran off in a panic, and Eckhart quickly whipped his head around to see a hooded woman with a scarred face looking at them from a tree branch. "What?" he thought in a panic. "Who is that? Sweet Ansgar, what the fuck is happening?"

"Wait, how did I not see her sitting there?" a small voice in his head asked. "She's wearing all black! She doesn't blend in with the orange leaves at all!"

The woman told them to run, the smile on her face making it clear that she was enjoying herself. Eckhart didn't have to be told twice, and was soon sprinting down the road at breakneck pace.

Belladonna scampered alongside him, fur bristling. "Not on the road, dumbass!" she hissed. "Into the woods! We'll have cover in there!" The cat ran off the road and into the bordering forest, and Eckhart followed suit. 

"Sweet Ansgar, why do I keep running into these psychotic women? Fate must fucking hate me."

Celegwen

Eckhart and Belladonna disappeared as soon as they were told, while Kaeligar was headed in the opposite direction. Taiga scowled at the woman, gripping her staff. She twirled it in her hands and shot four icy blasts towards the mysterious assassin. Wasp grabbed her other two daggers, spinning them in each hand, then switching hands at one point. The daggers blocked all of Taiga's blasts.

If given credit for anything, Wasp had style.

"Shit," Taiga mumbled, taking a step back. She might've been a bit cocky, but the ice girl knew when she was outmatched. Glancing towards the direction Eckhart had run in, Taiga started after him.

Wasp flipped off of the branch, landing lightly on her feet. She stuck her daggers in their sheathes on her belt, then grabbed the dagger from the carriage and secured it into her thigh sheath.

Taiga caught up to Eckhart, constantly glancing over her shoulder. "Who the fuck is that?" Taiga demanded in between breaths.

Wasp grinned, tapping her foot a few times. She momentarily admired her handiwork on the carriage with a sparkle in her eye. Three, she thought, two, one. Skipping once, she laughed. "Time to hide!" Wasp shouted with a musical tone. She looked into the woods, as she strutted forward in a quick pace. "Cause I'm coming to find you!"

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