The Tiran Wars: Liberty, at all Costs

[DeletedUser28032]

"Joshua's right, its just natural for people to assume that a man and a woman spending the night together are more than just friends" Mei added as she snuggled in closer to Joshua "though in Khitai a man and a woman wouldn't be spending time alone together without a chaperone even if they were romantically involved" she continued, aiming this part more at Joshua than Gwyll as a way of showing him how far from the cultural norm they had strayed with their own relationship. Not that she was complaining, but it didn’t hurt to remind Joshua that things were done differently in Khitai than in his homeland.

Having finished her tale Lucy subsided back into a subdued silence; staring at nothing as she absently played with the hem of her borrowed dress. Even without his ability to read auras it was clear that she was lost within her own tiny corner of hell and wouldn’t be returning any time soon if at all.
Glasya meanwhile; covered from head to toe in her long hooded cloak quietly listened to Sync as he admitted to having no clue as to how to locate Joshua and the others. Unable to clearly see her face within the shadow’s of her hood he’d be forced to read her vague aura in order to gauge her mood which was currently dominated by a viciously green spike of jealously that was doing little to improve her growing insecurity surrounding her looks “well…they were with the army right?” Glasya cautiously ventured, clearly working out her train of thought as she spoke to him “...So…the way I see it, a company of armed men and wagons should leave an easy trail for us to follow meaning all we need to do is follow it and catch up with them whilst preferably avoiding the enemy” she stated, making the whole concept sound far easier than it really was. It also completely overlooked the fact that it would require them bring the traumatised Lucy with them and her own weakened state “we can locate the trail tomorrow, she needs rest and you Baby boy still need to prove how much you really love me” Glasya finished with an unmistakable purr.

“I don’t know…I usually just follow the trail of destruction” Kairi replied with a shrug as he lead them off of the main path and down a narrow animal track that the symbiotic thieves would have missed had it not been pointed out to them.
The trio travelled through the ever thickening undergrowth with the cousins happily chattering away to one another in Khitain too fast for Daner to follow though he did hear Mei’s name being mentioned several times which gave indication as to the subject of their conversation.
It was after around two hours of this that Kairi would suddenly exclaim in Tiranian “oh look, they’re still nearby we are in luck crazy Daner” he said with a broad grin as he pointed up to the hanging corpse of a solider. Its head was conspicuously absent and it was less than clear for whom he had fought for before his untimely demise.
Scarcely even glancing at the grisly scene before them the cousins carried on walking and chattering amongst themselves; seemingly taking some kind of signal as to what direction to head in from the body.

They could smell the cook fires long before they saw the smoke rising above the trees; the scent of cooking meat greeting them as they emerged from the jungle to find a large group of armed men camping within the ancient and overgrown ruins of what may have once been a temple.
As one the men rose drawing their swords the moment they were visible making it clear that just because Ren and Kairi were Ronin that they weren’t completely out of danger. A tall top knotted man emerged from in amongst the throng of armed men shouting at the cousins; clearly not impressed with the pair of them for some reason. An argument ensued between the three of them; growing in intensity before finally ending in a brief sword fight that resulted in the top knotted man losing his head to Kairi’s blade “I owed him money” being the young man’s only explanation as to why he’d just killed the other man; prompting another Ronin to rise from in amongst the other and approach them “what are you doing here Kairi? And why have you brought this foreign barbarian with you?” the man said with a weary sigh that said he’d seen such antics from these two before and was tired of reprimanding them “It is a matter of family honour Hiro, go on Crazy Daner tell him your story and remember what I told you”

 

[DeletedUser37114]

Joshua's explanation... didn't help at all. He explained how people assumed two people were together if they shared a tent and how if he and Mei weren't in a relationship they wouldn't be sharing a tent. Which was stupid. Did these people just sleep lonely and cold if they had someone with them who they didn't know well? And if there was nothing wrong with that, but people apparently assumed there was "more going on." Gwyll was just about to explain her confusion when Mei chimed in as well, explaining that it's natural to assume that a man and a woman who spent the night together were more than just friends. And on top of that, it was apparently even worse in Khitai, where even if two people were romantically... Oh. "That's... really stupid," Gwyll said, her frustration draining away. "How would anyone make any babies if they were never supposed to spend time together?" She sighed, apparently this was another thing they had assumed she knew. "Khalid and I are not mating, we are just friends. And it is more comfortable to share body heat at night, especially up in the mountains." Case and point, the entire trip up to their camp. Mei decided to take first watch, which was sensible with the two of them being unwilling for. Gwyll volunteered for second, she wanted to get some time to chat with some of the nocturnal animals around. Plus, time alone for Mei and Joshua, which was apparently a great opportunity to work toward pretty babies. The only issue with getting to bed came when Gwyll asked Joshua a question she'd been wondering since they'd started. "Would you prefer to hold me or would you like me to hold you?" She had been sleeping with Khalid wrapped around her for a few nights now, which was a very comfortable, warm position to sleep in. Though she would be willing to hold him instead, of course, the night wasn't too cold. There was the option of sleeping apart from each other, but that was lunacy. They were all good friends here. Why would any of them want to sleep alone?

 

[DeletedUser31931]

Well that’s a reassuring answer. Brahmoth chuckled quietly at Daner’s comment as they were lead off the main path and down an almost invisible animal track. As they travelled further into the undergrowth the two cousins continued to talk in a fast babble of Khitain that Brahmoth had no hope of understanding, though the mention of Mei’s name a few times meant that he could make a reasonably educated guess as to what they were talking about. As Kairi pointed out the headless corpse hanging from the tree, Daner gagged internally and Brahmoth nodded and kept following. He had about twelve different things that he would have loved to respond with but he figured it was best to try to keep the two strangers on side. At least until they found Mei that was. Then he’d let the girl figure out how to deal with them. As they entered the camp, blades were drawn against them and Brahmoth’s hand went to his throwing knives as a man emerged from the group before proceeding to have a shouting match with the pair. A short fight ensued which resulted in the top-knotted man losing his head to Kairi’s blade with money troubles being the apparent explanation. As Daner blanched slightly at the fact that appeared to have fallen in with a couple of lunatics with questionable morality, Brahmoth just sighed internally. Then they were called up to tell the story of why they were there. No Dragons or other things that would contradict the belief systems by which your tiny little brains exist. Got it! Stepping up, Brahmoth nodded his head slightly at the Ronin named Hiro. “My name is Daner Risert and I am the leader of the thieves guild of Tiran. I was travelling with a group of resistance fighters but during the uprising of the new Emperor we were separated. Included in that group was their," he motioned to Kairi and Ren, "relative, Sun Mei, a fire mage. I am travelling in search of the resistance group. They may well have foreign warriors with them as well, because a member of that group was Joshua Jehan, King of Jehenna. So, do you know of any resistance armies nearby that fight using foreign warriors?” Stepping back, Brahmoth waited silently for the response, his eyes coolly examining the faces of the Ronin scattered around for a reaction. His hands would appear to the casual observer to simply be folded, sitting across the front of his robes, but in reality they were a single fluid action away from drawing a pair of throwing knives and embedding them into the throat of a nearby aggressor. Kairi and Ren might trust these men, but Brahmoth knew jack about all of them and he wasn’t willing to leave it to chance if things turned ugly.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

(Mei's actions cleared with Braet)

Joshua chuckled a little as Gwyll asked how people made babies if they weren't supposed to spend time together. "Once you're married you're allowed to spend as much time together as you want and your duties allow. Plus, people don't always follow the rules, which apparently Mei and I aren't doing a great job of according to her customs." He shrugged, not really worried about this straying from tradition. After that the evening went quite smooth right up until it was time for Mei to take her watch and the other two to go to sleep. Gwyll approached the Swordmaster and asked him if he wanted to hold her or vice versa. The only thing that let him keep his composure was knowing why she was inquiring. She didn't mean anything by it aside from wanting to have someone help with warmth, and there was no question that she trusted him enough to do so. Knowing her intent, it was hard to not agree just because she'd feel hurt if he declined the offer entirely...and yet, both his and Mei's cultures would have issues with it, especially since they were engaged now. He looked over to his fiancée in hopes of getting some sort of clue as to what to do.

"Yes tell us Joshua, How would you like pretty young Gwyll here to hold you?"

Oh come on, that wasn't fair...Joshua could feel his face heating up at Mei's words, accompanied by her mischievous grin. He held her gaze for a moment longer to search for an actual answer, eventually realizing she was ok with it, likely having come to the same conclusion that he had that she both didn't mean anything by it and would be hurt if he said no. "Um, I'll...hold you then, if that's...ok." That way he'd be in control of contact, and besides, he was the larger person between them so it only made sense from a logical perspective as well. Or at least...that's what he'd tell himself...something told him he'd be hearing about this one for a while regardless...

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Sync felt bad for Lucy, who had retreated inwardly after she'd finished her story, locked in a nightmare only she could see. Glasya began discerning how to locate Joshua and the army, pointing out that many people had to have left some kind of trail to follow. While the construct agreed, he was a little concerned by how long it'd been since they'd left...the more that time passed, the harder it would be to track them down. Still, the decision to leave it until morning was one that had to be made...he would've insisted they'd wait even if the Ifrit had tried to set out immediately...she wasn't ready for a day of walking, no matter what she claimed. Her other suggestion, though...Sync grinned a little wickedly and moved to kiss his lover, then pulled back, looking over at Lucy. "I'm more than ready to prove to you my feelings haven't changed, but...she's kind of...here. Do you...is it..." He stopped and considered for a moment, then, "Kraem...if you don't care I don't...so...shall we?"

 

[DeletedUser37114]

Apparently Mei had no problems with Gwyll sleeping with Joshua, which had been a bit of concern, though she would have thought Joshua's significant other would know how he preferred to hold someone while sleeping with them. Joshua also seemed embarrassed at the question, which was odd since he should not have had anything to be embarrassed about. He did eventually come to the conclusion that he would hold her, which was really nice of him, as that was both what she preferred and what she was used to. She still wanted to keep an eye on Mei in case she did something to offend the woman by messing with her mate, a few days was not long enough to learn all of these "rules" that everyone else knew by heart. Gwyll snuggled into Joshua's arms once everything was set up, keeping her furs on as an extra layer to keep herself warm. She probably would not need them, not with Joshua's body heat helping keep things warm, but it could not hurt to be careful. Besides, if they were too hot then she could just take them off and be comfortably naked. Joshua was with Mei and Mei was a woman, no need to worry about accidentally sending the wrong message.

 

[DeletedUser28032]

"See, now that wasn't so hard was it?" Mei said with a giggle as Joshua nervously elected to hold Gwyll rather than have her hold him. She wasn't too worried about Joshua cuddling up to Gwyll as it was rather sweet of him to do so, and it was all out in the open so they all understood the situation. Had Mei walked in on the pair cuddling in her and Joshua's tent however then that would be an entirely different matter and Gwyll would likely be losing some of her hair as a result.
Folding her legs beneath herself into the traditional pose for meditation Mei settled herself in for what would prove to be a long and very boring night "Good night you two, oh and Joshua just you remember who it is your cuddling up to" Mei said with a mischievous smile as she delivered her parting shot to her red faced fiancée.

She would spend much of the night meditating, focusing her mind on the sounds of the jungle around her as well quietly practising her art as she weaved fire and wind into elaborate patterns about her fingers though even that would prove insufficient to keep the boredom at bay. The night dragged on slowly causing Mei to be more than a little relieved when came time for her to swap places with Gwyll, with her gently shaking the blond girl's shoulder so as to wake her.
Snuggling up to a very warm Joshua lying beneath the blanket, Mei would deliver a final piece of advice to the blond girl before leaving her to her watch and she to sleep "Gwyll, When it comes time to wake Joshua for his watch please remember to be human and fully clothed" Mei asked in a sleepy voice. The last thing she wanted was for Joshua to panic and attack Gwyll because she was still a panther or something. Nor did she want to repeat her little conversation with the girl about her not standing naked in front of her fiancée; cuddling was one thing that was something else entirely and she wouldn’t be tolerating it.
Despite being left alone Mei was far too tired to do anything more than to have a cuddle; with the petite magi quickly falling to sleep within Joshua’s arms as the rest of the night remained uneventful.

Mei would slowly awake to the sensation of being held with the magi twisting around so that she would be facing Joshua as she snuggled in closer. Nuzzling the soft skin of his neck as her hand moved to twine itself within his long hair; gently nipping the lobe of his ear as her other hand caressed the flat muscles of his stomach before moving up to his chest and... Ancestors protect me! That's not Joshua! Mei's mind screamed as she suddenly sat bolt upright with a look of horror on her face as it rapidly turned the same shade as her dress.
At some point during the night Gwyll and Joshua had traded places without her waking and her sleep addled mind had simply assumed that the arms about her belonged to Joshua resulting in her fondling the other girl by mistake “I-I-I’m s-s-sorry, I-I-I d-didn’t know it w-was you!” Mei stammered with a horrified expression on her face as she hurriedly pulled on her dress; her cheeks now bright scarlet with embarrassment “d-d-don’t you d-dare t-tell Joshua about this G-Gwyll!” she pleaded, unsure as to where the man in question currently was and simply praying that he hadn’t seen her. It wasn’t that she feared he would get upset and leave her, quite the opposite she was afraid that after all those times she’d teased him that he’d never let her hear the end of it “…P-p-please G-Gwyll d-d-d-don’t tell J-J-Joshua”

“Oh and I suppose you’d like her to join us too?” Glasya purred dangerously; her hand momentarily tightening upon his arm as that vicious green spike of jealousy flared once again “no, take me to the farmhouse where Mei and Joshua were staying, there’s a proper bed in there” she whispered seductively into his ear before rising to her feet.
Gently calling the traumatised girls name she would eventually catch Lucy’s attention as she turned to look up at the cloaked figure with the nice voice “Lucy dear, be a good girl and go to sleep please, Sync and I will be back in a little while once we’ve… taken care of a few things” she said, with the girl in question giving the barest nod of her head before lying down and placing her thumb within her mouth like a child. They would have to do something about the poor girl, they couldn’t leave her like that it just wasn’t fair on her. But for now there was nothing that they could for her other than make sure she got some sleep.
Taking Sync’s hand the pair of them would make their way across the empty field as the sun slowly started to sink below the tree line; throwing long dark shadows across the trampled and flattened grass with the pair of them being careful to pick their way around the assorted litter that threatened to trip them up.
The inside of the small wooden building was pretty much how Joshua and Mei had left it, with the old blanket casually thrown across the straw mattress and the thin pillow lying on the floor. It wasn’t the greatest bed in the world but it was better than the mat covering the ground within their tiny little tent.
Turning to face Sync, Glasya drops her hood and offers him a smile that displayed her fangs with her red eyes seeming to glow in the darkness “Go on baby boy, prove to me that all your talk of not caring about my looks is more than just hot air”

Hiro shrugged his shoulders in a disinterested manner as Daner asked if he knew of any groups containing foreign “they all have foreign warriors, both for and against he who has declared himself emperor, you see…they come like locusts to ravage and despoil our lands and will only leave once they have scraped it clean” the Ronin spoke with growing intensity has his hands balled up into fists “…tell me Daner Risert of the Tiranian thieves guild, why are you here? Have you come to ravage and despoil like the rest of them? Fighting for a cause that is none of your concern?” the eyes of every single Ronin within the camp seemed to turn and watch the young thief clearly waiting to see how he would respond and how their leader would react.

 

[DeletedUser37114]

It seemed like only moments had passed before Mei was shaking Gwyll awake. She'd slept quite well in Joshua's arms, especially once he'd finally relaxed against her. Though she was regretting still wearing her furs; she was uncomfortably warm and sticky with sweat now. Mei managed to slip into her place without disturbing Joshua as Gwyll wriggled out, the other woman telling her to be human and fully clothed when she wake Joshua up. Which was a pretty sensible request, scaring him would probably be a bad idea. But since she was on watch and not going to wake Joshua up now, she didn't need to be human or clothed. Gwyll's furs ended up in a neat pile as she pranced around for a minute, just enjoying the feel of the cool air against her skin. There was a beautiful moon out tonight, and if she didn't have friends to guard, she would be out hunting and running. As is... her form melted into that of a wolf, grey fur, claws, and fangs feeling just as right as fingers and skin. She kept her greeting to the moon to a whine in the back of her throat as she settled down to keep watch. The night from there was uneventful, with a few exchanges with nocturnal animals and no encounters with whatever people they were supposed to guard against. When the time came for her to wake Joshua, Gwyll was beginning to need to stifle some yawns. Shifting back and getting herself clothed again was a chore, clothes just never felt as good as fur. So after waking Joshua up as quietly as she could, Gwyll made sure he was out of sight before slipping out of her clothes again and snuggling up against Mei's back. No need to be uncomfortable and sweaty when she could just leave be comfortably naked again. Gwyll was asleep before too long, bathing in the mixed scents of steel, sand, and magic.

Waking up to the sensation of movement against her wasn't all that unusual for Gwyll, wolves weren't usually restful sleepers. But smooth skin and rough cloth were quite different from fur. That and none of her pack had ever nuzzled her neck like this, the sensation of a soft mouth in the sensitive spot surprisingly pleasant. Or run their fingers through her hair. Or nipped at her earlobe, tugging at it and sending flickers of heat through her body. Gwyll opened her eyes to see Mei, who'd apparently turned around in the night and begun to... Her thoughts fell apart as the mage's hands caressed the muscles of her stomach before moving upward and... She whimpered as Mei pulled away, the new lack of sensation as much of a shock as the initial wave. Apparently Mei hadn't realized it was her and was now embarrassed and didn't want her to tell Joshua about this for some reason. Not that she really cared about that, she just wanted Mei to go back to running her hands across her body. Gwyll took a moment to try to unsuccessfully slow her breathing down and figure out what just happened, Mei continuing to beg her not to tell Joshua. Though it didn't take her long to realize that she just wanted more touching. "Touch me more?" she asked, her voice quiet.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Mei continued teasing Joshua as he selected his option to hold Gwyll rather than vice versa, getting not one but two parting shots in. He tried to come up with some sort of rebuttal, but came up empty…everything he could think of was either too easily rebounded back on him or held too much potential to get his fiancée mad. Instead he settled for a quiet “good night,” shooting her a look that combined embarrassment and apology. That handled as well as he was able at the moment, the Swordmaster turned to the next task…figuring out how to hold Gwyll. Fortunately the wild girl seemed eager to help with that, positioning herself so that all he had to do was wrap his arm around her. Despite the complete lack of danger, the situation made him tense enough he wasn’t sure how he was going to sleep. However, the warmth of another person and the blanket overpowered his concerns about holding someone who wasn’t Mei, and he dropped off to sleep.

Joshua’s rest was uninterrupted until he was awoken by Gwyll for his watch, fully clothed and human. Mei had interjected herself into his arms without his knowing, though as he became aware of his body he found himself thankful the order of watch had been as it was…his arms had shifted in his sleep, and if it had been anyone else…but it wasn’t, and all was well. In fact, he wouldn’t put it past the fire mage to have done that herself before dropping off, all things considered. Groaning, he stretched as he moved away from the campsite, looking for a spot to stand guard where he wouldn’t bother the others. Unable to find a suitable location, he instead opted to take to walking a path. He moved at glacial speed, taking in the late night/early morning atmosphere just as much as he was on guard for possible attacks. His selected patrol took him out of sight of the actual campsite for part of it, the trees too dense to accommodate a true circle. Still, he was close enough he’d hear if anything was happening, and it actually allowed him to examine an area with a higher potential to hide enemies than most of the surrounding jungle. The Swordmaster had completed a couple complete circles when the sun began to rise, the best view being the outer limit of his patrol. Joshua opted to stop and watch it for a time, as nothing had stirred all watch…he could take this short break, then he’d wake the girls up so they could track down Glasya and Sync…assuming of course they wanted to be found and were open to discussion.

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”Uh, no, I don’t, I just thought that…um…yeah, farmhouse.” Sync’s backpedaling was quick and frantic, as he realized he’d misinterpreted Glasya’s intentions and had thus gotten himself in more trouble. The construct watched as his lover instructed Lucy to sleep, frowning as she immediately did so right where she was, thumb in her mouth. While he wasn’t sure about the last part (who put a finger in their mouth to sleep?), the fact she’d complied instantly without any regard to comfort or anything…that spoke volumes about her mental state. Even when he’d been a newborn he’d understood the desires centered around self-gratification…and she hadn’t displayed any of that thus far. How could a living person lose that part of humanity even a constructed being understood implicitly? He wasn’t sure, and he wasn’t certain he wanted to know. So deciding, he shoved it out of his mind for the time being. Besides, he had something a lot more enjoyable to focus on. A short trip later and the pair were in the farmhouse Sync had woken up in, a place he had strong mixed feelings about. Perhaps Glasya realized this as she brought his attention back to her, telling her it was time to put his words to action. Grinning in an almost feral fashion, he replied, “I told you before, it’s not that I don’t care about your looks…it’s that you’re still beautiful as hell.” So saying, he scooped her into his arms, mouth finding hers as he moved them both towards the bed.

 

[DeletedUser31931]

Well… this was going to be interesting. Hiro didn’t like them. That much was obvious. Brahmoth was fine with this. He didn’t need the approval of an idiot who lived in a glade in the middle of nowhere, incapable of using anything other than his blade for sustenance. A true warrior only resorts to his blade when all other forms of combat have been exhausted. And even then, it must be on his own terms and by a plan which gives him a high chance of success. To that extent, Brahmoth was engaging in a battle of wits right now. The honest answer to the question that he had been posed was, undoubtedly, yes. He now, as Daner, had a vested interest not only in rescuing Lucy but in ensuring that a dragon was not released into the world under the thrall of that demon thing that they had encountered. Brahmoth had never been a particular fan of dragons. He thought they were better than most of the feudal lord systems that existed throughout mainland Tiran, they actually fought for their wealth and their power was their own, not in men under their command. Still, they were volatile and he generally wasn’t a fan of something that was able to roast a man whole and eat him. He supported the revolution though, as had Daner, and the Thieves’ Guild had offered its services to the Tiranian Rebels. He now wondered in retrospect whether that might have been part of the reason that they had been targeted by the blood magi. Ah well, that’s a thought trail for another time. For now… I’ve got a grumpy man to deal with.

Daner, from the back of his own mind, piped up quietly and asked So if you’re not going to fight them and you’re not going to tell the truth… what’s the lie we’re going to tell? Brahmoth chuckled internally. The best kind of lie. The perverted truth. “I am not here to fight in the war. At least, not personally. I’m here because the party that I was travelling with was summoned back to Khitai. We were separated and it seems that, since then, my companions have been involved in the war. My goal is simply to be reunited with my companions and to lend them my skills. If I had any intention of taking from your land, I wouldn’t do it in as needlessly barbaric a way as this.” That last part… probably… uh… He’s a big boy. If he can’t take the fact that we're a thief then he’ll deserve the knife that I’ll bury in his throat. Or, well, actually, he won’t deserve the knife, it’s far more expensive than he is. But at least he’ll deserve the punishment.

 

[DeletedUser28032]

Joshua wasn't here, that was good it meant that she’d escaped being taunted about this entire embarrassing situation for the next couple of days, assuming of course that Gwyll didn’t say anything to him that was.
However it would seem that a little teasing at the hands of her fiancée were the least of her worries as the wild girl, instead of looking embarrassed as she hurriedly pulled some clothes on like Mei was doing, was actually asking her to do it again “What!? No! What is wrong with you?” Mei replied in a shocked voice as she wondered what on earth had possessed the girl to ask her such a question in the first place. The personal and oh so intimate nature of the request being so wrong that Mei didn’t even know how to begin explaining it to her, though hopefully her refusal would be sufficient in putting a stop to it “…now put some clothes on, Joshua will be back soon and we’ll need to get moving” she said, briskly changing the subject as she grabbed her boots and started pulling them on. After what had just happened Mei was feeling rather uncomfortable about the fact that Gwyll was currently naked underneath the blanket at the next village with a market I’m buying her a nightdress and she is going to wear it!

“There is something seriously wrong with you” Glasya mumbled into the side of Sync’s neck as her hand gently stroked the soft skin of his back “…I can’t believe you find this attractive” she continued; shifting her head to stare at a tattoo covered arm trying to fathom what it was that Sync could possibly see in her that he liked. And yet that was the case, as there was no way he could have faked what they had just done together with such a level of love and sincerity as he had; the way he had stared deep into her eyes and ran his tongue across her fangs as they had kissed.
A quick glance at her aura would reveal that all of her insecurities and that vicious green spike of jealousy although still present had been eroded away to the point of non-existence; smothered by the rosy pink glow that Sync had come to recognise as Glasya being happy and content, not that he needed to read her aura to know that, as even her complaint over him messing up her braid lacked any real anger or conviction with the Ifrit seemingly happy to remain lying beneath him as she bathed in the afterglow.
It was as they were lying within this state of bliss that the sound of voices could be heard coming from somewhere outside of the farmhouse as well as the tell tale sounds of a large group of people trying to be quiet.
It was clear that whoever they were, they didn’t know of their presence within the farmhouse though that wouldn’t last forever.

Hiro considered Daner’s reply carefully before replying “Go home Daner Risert, this is a dishonourable war unworthy of our blades, you fight for no other purpose than to kill and we will have no part of it” he replied in the same intense tone of voice, though his hands had moved away from his sword as had many of those watching the discussion taking place “…there is a group of fighter to the south of here…I think, seek their aid, not ours” Hiro said dismissively clearly bored with the proceedings and merely wishing the foreigner to stop wasting his time and leave.
“What of my sister Hiro? Daner says she has involved herself with a foreign devil, my family honour is at stake” Kairi pipes up from where he stood beside Daner, clearly seeking permission from the other man “Then go, see to your family’s honour, just be sure not to involve yourself too deeply in this war of theirs” Hiro replied with the pair of cousins bowing their heads in response.
With their leaders blessing it would appear that Kairi and Ren would be accompanying Daner for a little while longer “Now leave before I change my mind, we await a more deserving cause than yours”

 

[DeletedUser37114]

“What!? No! What is wrong with you?” Gwyll wasn't sure what kind of magic Mei had done, but the words hurt more than she would have ever thought words could. Or maybe it was just the ideas behind them, the accusation that there was something wrong with her for wanting to someone to touch her. She had been feeling good, warm and relaxed, but now the wonderful echoes of sensation had changed into a burning, an incessant need. The only thing that rivaled the fire in her belly was the pain in her chest, stinging like the other woman had stabbed her. With Mei's harsh rebuke and her movements to get ready to go, it was clear that more touching was the last thing that was going to happen. And yet... What was wrong with her? She'd never felt like this, wanted someone else to touch her so badly, was she sick? She didn't feel feverish or weak, just...

And apparently she needed to get dressed so that they could get moving, according to Mei. She didn't understand these peoples' obsession with wearing clothes and not touching each other and not explaining anything. Wolves made sense. Panthers made sense. Even rabbits made sense, from a certain point of view. People... Maybe she just didn't belong with them. Maybe there was something wrong with her that kept her from understanding the things that came so easily to Mei and Joshua and Khalid, knowing why it wasn't good to ask about being touched more. Maybe she was only here to make sure she did nothing to mess up the camp or bother Khalid or Red. Maybe they were just afraid to tell her that they wanted her to go away. That thought tore something in her chest, finally, like the hole that had opened when she left her pack. Tears ran down Gwyll's face as she began getting dressed, her movements quick and quiet, trying not to draw any more of Mei's ire. As soon as she was done, she grabbed her bag and slipped out of the tent, past Joshua and out toward the outer line of trees around the camp, climbing into the lower branches of the first one she could find that did not have a good view of the tent. Talking to Mei would be a bad idea, talking to Joshua would be even worse when she could not explain any of the situation, which meant that the questions she wanted so badly to ask were going unanswered. And if nobody was willing to explain anything, she would rather be alone where she knew what was going on rather than confused and hurting with companions.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Mei's raised voice carried to Joshua, as he wasn't all that far from the camp. He couldn't make out the words, but if she was talking loudly odds are all wasn't well. Still, she hadn't sounded panicked, so the Swordmaster didn't sprint, opting to walk at a reasonable pace instead. It appeared he'd missed something important though, as Gwyll hurried by him as he reached the site...and she was crying, a far leap from the effervescent personality that she always had. Looking over at his fiancée, who seemed put off by something, he asked in Jehannan, "What in the world happened?" He'd opted for his native tongue over Common to allow her to converse without bothering the wild girl, who he knew didn't speak anything else. Whatever it was that had caused Gwyll of all people to break down, it had to be bad, and Joshua wasn't about to let it sit unresolved.

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Unable to find a suitable response for Glasya's apparent belief that there was something wrong with him to find her attractive, Sync left his response to a lazy smile, letting his aura do the heavy lifting. If he had to be honest, he wouldn't be shocked if someone with no magical talent at all could notice it at the moment, made to gleam all the brighter upon noticing that the Ifrit's emotions had stabilized to something content and happy. As he'd known from the start, her change in physical appearance hadn't brought about a similar shift in personality, and the construct been honest when he'd said he still found her beautiful...she was entrancing, something unique and all the more lovely because of it. Her warmth, both body and soul, were her own, and being so close to someone so vibrant and full of life was something he was quickly growing to depend on...and of course it didn't hurt that she was more than happy to let him explore in all the best ways either.

This last thought sent a thrill through Sync and he shifted his body so that he could lean to kiss Glasya once more when a voice hit his ear. Not Lucy's voice, nor anyone's he recognized. Another unfamiliar speaker, and another...combined with the sounds a large group doing their best to move silently made despite their best efforts. A quick alteration to his head's path and he wound up next to her ear instead. "Glasya, there're people outside. Sounds like a lot. We need to hide." As far as he knew the Ifrit's magic hadn't come back yet, and without it she'd be helpless, especially since she was still recovering from her illness, no matter what the last little while had said about her health. "I can't do illusions, that's beyond my scope...they're bound to look in here...what do we do?" The construct racked his brain for a solution, but wasn't able to come up with anything...in his experience he'd always been the aggressor...the only time it had been otherwise he'd thrown himself on Joshua and Mei's mercy. That...probably wasn't going to work again. More than likely not anyway...and he didn't want to get involved in an attack and risk having his lover get hurt...she'd been through enough in the past few days, and if it came down to it he'd have to risk the Old Magic spell again just to have a chance to save her. Something told him that'd be a bad choice, especially since she was still recovering from the last time. That left some sort of fleeing, stealthily or otherwise...and hopefully the woman he was still lying on top of would have an idea...he hadn't moved because too much noise might attract attention...yeah, that was why.

 

[DeletedUser31931]

Brahmoth chuckled internally as Hiro told him to go home. I have a general policy on not taking advice from idiots. Just tell me where the sodding… His thought was interrupted is Hiro continued, mentioning a group of fighters to the south. Bloody finally! I thought I was going to be standing here all day listening to a seminar on righteousness and how the Ronin have so much more honour than foreign barbarians. I remember why I hate Khitai now. Kairi and Ren followed this information by applying to leave themselves, receiving it. Well, glad to know that at least the idiots let them go off on idiotic quests. But if they’re idiots, why are we travelling with them? Especially when they could kill us in our sleep or something.

Brahmoth chuckled at that, only realising a second later that he’d accidentally done it right as Hiro had finished talking about awaiting a more deserving cause. Turning off to the south, using the sun as his guide, Brahmoth gestured for Kairi and Ren to take point. Because they’re idiots that have something we don’t Daner. And I’d rather not spend the next couple of weeks wandering further out in a more futile effort than we already have. So if that means that we’re going to have to put up with their eccentricities for a while then so be it. Frankly I’d take a lot more if it meant meeting up with the others. Also, I look forward to the confrontation between Mei and Ren and Kairi. Just so long as we stay out of range of her spells. The sooner they were gone the better. Brahmoth wanted to make use of the remaining daytime to keep searching. Honestly, he was happy to keep going at night, he rather liked the dark, but he felt that Kairi and Ren probably wouldn’t want to so best to make use of the time whilst they still had it.

 

[DeletedUser28032]

Mei didn’t understand the full effect of her rather sharp words until a crying Gwyll pushed past both her and Joshua to disappear into the nearby trees. I wasn’t that sharp to her…was I? Mei asked herself as she finished pulling on her boots. Knowing deep down that perhaps she had been, especially considering how little of the world Gwyll knew and understood she probably only wanted a cuddle and she just used the wrong words…and I went and bit her head off! Mei’s mind continued, with the magi feeling worse by the minute, she’d never intended to hurt the girls feelings, but her request had just been so…wrong.
Hearing Joshua’s question as to what was going on, Mei seemed to shrink under his gaze; feeling like a small child that had been caught misbehaving and knew she was about to get a serious telling off “Th-there w-was a… m-m-misunderstanding…I…I never m-meant to make cry Joshua I swear” Mei stammered out, struggling to even meet his gaze as she spoke and hoping that he wouldn’t want more details as to what this misunderstanding was “…I…I n-need to a-apologise to her” she finished miserably before hurriedly getting up and heading in the direction that she’d seen Gwyll running in, as much to avoid any further questions from Joshua than to find her “Gwyll! P-please come b-back! I’m sorry I…I didn’t m-mean to snap a-at you!” She called out into the jungle hoping that the girl was still close enough to hear her “…p-please Gwyll, j-j-just l-let me ex-explain!” stupid stammer! This is hard enough without you making me sound like an idiot she silently raged, wondering not for the first time why she had been cursed with a speech impediment that no one else in her family possessed. An impediment that even to this day her mother still reprimanded her over ”talk properly child! No man is going to want a girl who can’t speak properly for a wife!” with her mother never seeming to realise that shouting at her daughter only resulted in making it worse as she panicked. Her master, ancestors watch over him, had tried to help her overcome it with him jokingly saying that she must be a truly gifted linguist in order to stutter in multiple languages.
Unable to see the girl anywhere within the surrounding underbrush Mei started to fear that Gwyll was gone; driven away by her acid tongue, even if it hadn’t been intentional. With tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes Mei contemplated how she was going to tell Joshua that Gwyll had run away over what she’d said to her, as she called out one final time “please Gwyll…I-I’m s-s-sorry”

It took several moments for the distant voices to register in Glasya’s mind, so intent had she been in studying her baby boys beautiful eyes. Throwing an irritated scowl at the farmhouse wall over being interrupted from her alone time so cruelly, she ran through a thousand ways she could make them suffer if only she had her magic. True she was feeling considerably better, though some of that could be down to adrenalin and afterglow, but she was still unable to register anything but the faintest trace of magical energy around her which considering how close her magic wielding lover was didn’t bode well for her casting anything.
Shifting her gaze back to Sync she drops her voice to a seductive purr as she whispered to him “well baby boy…unless your escape plan is another round I suggest you get off of me so that I can get dressed” she said softly chuckling as she did so, finding the idea more than a little tempting “…we’ll go out the back door and head for the tent, from there we can either wait them out and hope they don’t have a magic user with them, or we get Lucy and head into the jungle” personally she didn’t like the idea of them leaving the relative safety of the tent to go wandering through the jungle in the dark with a seriously traumatised girl in tow. However if they were discovered then they would be practically defenceless in their current state; with only Sync able to cast and fight.
Once Sync had rolled off of her Glasya quickly retrieved her night dress and cloak from where they lay on the floor and got dressed before moving to peer through the gaps in the shuttered windows. It was too dark and they were still too far away for her to pick out any details but there were a lot of them, far too many for Sync to deal with by himself, perhaps even too many for both of them to deal with had she been in such a state as to help him.
Moving over to the back door Glasya would silently wait for Sync to get dressed before stepping out into the cold night air; wishing that she’d thought to wear some shoes before letting Sync lead the way through the darkness back to the tent where their only hope of safety lay.

It wasn’t until the trio were safely out of the Ronin’s encampment in amongst the ancient ruins that Ren broke the silence; speaking in his accented Tiranian “you should listen to Hiro, Daner he isn’t stupid, he’s a former palace guard captain…and he’s right, your war is dishonourable” he said in a matter of fact tone of voice. Even if Hiro hadn’t heard Daner’s quiet chuckling it was clear that the cousins had and didn’t approve of his mockery “…your war is doomed to fail, you have no leader, no plan and no support from the countryside, once you can no longer pay your hired blades you will have nothing and you will die” he stated in a voice that held none of the threat or intensity of his ”Leader”, with him simply seeming to explain the situation to him as if to a child.
Up ahead in the distance several plumes of smoke could be seen rising above the canopy to the south making it a reasonable assumption that they were seeing the cooks fires of the encampment they sought. It also meant that the three of them still had a fair way yet to go.

 

[DeletedUser31931]

They made their way out of the camp in relative silence. Daner had settled down now that they’d left the other Ronin and the threat of a mass brawl behind. Brahmoth was enjoying the relative quiet of their feet crunching through the leafy undergrowth as they made their way back to the path. So, of course, Ren had to break the silence. As he spoke, Brahmoth carried on, refusing to dignify the man with an outwards response. Gee, thanks Ren. If I wanted a lecture on honour from shining saviour Hiro I would have damn well asked for one. And if I wanted your opinion on the war, I would have asked for it. Heavens above, I sincerely hope that Mei and the others are not a long journey away from where we are presently. His small tirade was met with a sigh from Daner, who continued to mope at the back of his mind, mulling over the fate of Lucy. Oh pull yourself together. If carry on getting so hung up over her, how are you going to save yourself or her the next time you get into trouble. We’re doing this so that we can rescue her. It’d be nice if you helped for once, instead of making me do all the legwork. In truth, Brahmoth was rather enjoying having a body, especially one that was rather younger and more supple than his own body had been. Still, he couldn’t help but be rather irritated with life. Between the lectures from the pair of ‘honourable’ ronin and their fearless leader, and Daner’s whimpering he was running out of places he could relax. Still, Brahmoth, it could be worse. A: He wasn’t still stuck in that jail cell and B: he could see smoke rising above the trees now. That meant that their objective was in sight and they therefore had something to aim for. Brahmoth trudged on, quietly following Ren and Kairi. If they were happy to keep walking in silence, he was to. Frankly, the less he had to talk with them, the better at this point.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

It seemed that Mei had said something that had been misunderstood by Gwyll, or vice versa...whatever it was had to have been pretty severe if the wild girl had left the camp crying. Joshua watched quietly as his fiancée opted to go apologize to their companion rather than explain more, which he understood and approved of...they needed to be getting along...the Swordmaster liked Gwyll...she was a kindhearted person and a joy to be around with her childlike curiosity and desire to learn...he didn't think much of the idea that she and Mei couldn't get along. "I'll leave the two of you alone for that...I'll clean up camp," he murmured to the mage as she passed...whatever had happened, they'd both opted not to fill him in. Mei he trusted to tell him if it was important, and Gwyll would have involved him if she thought he needed to be involved, if he'd understood anything about how she operated. He hadn't been let in, so he'd trust them to work it out and fill him in later. Instead of fretting over something he had no power to change, he set about packing things up, careful to put things in the right packs and in general tidying up to minimize how obvious it was that they'd spent the night there. No sense in giving any enemy in the location an edge on them. He was finished in short order and proceeded to sit back down, enjoying the morning air. Gwyll and Mei could resolve their differences...Joshua was going to relax and give them whatever time they needed.

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Sync gave a wicked grin as Glasya asked him to get off her, his voice low and tinged with emotion-charged magic. "I considered that tactic, and it's crossed my mind that as a victory celebration it fits into any plan." However, there was no denying that for the moment there was nothing to do but get moving, so he rolled off her and proceeded to get dressed in short order. The main plan was to get to the tent and see how they reacted if they did at all, seemingly dependent on whether or not they had a mage with them. "I'd be surprised if they have a mage powerful enough to realize that tree isn't real," he muttered. "That's a serious piece of magic." After all, he himself was a construct made by magic...he'd've thought that would have given him an edge on detecting it...though of course that might just be hubris. Once dressed, Sync met Glasya at the back door and they began their slow trek back. He wanted to disguise their passing with magic, but if they did have a mage, that would be a beacon to them. They'd have to rely on natural stealth, which he did possess. They just had to make it back to the tent...it wasn't that far...come on...

 

[DeletedUser37114]

Gwyll had not really expected Mei to come after her. After being reprimanded that sharply, she had thought the woman might just want to move on with Joshua, maybe after waiting for a few minutes for her to show back up. And for her part, she had been unsure about whether she wanted to keep traveling with them, head back to camp, or even just... leave. Mei running after her changed that, though the blonde girl was still confused over what she was saying; her words had been pretty clear, so it was difficult to figure out why she would not have meant them. The mage was offering to explain though, and apologizing, and it was clear she was in distress, judging from body language and the fact that she obviously wasn't looking up. As much as staying in the tree and letting tears keep running down her face had its own appeal, it would probably be better to listen to Mei's explanation. "Here, Mei," Gwyll croaked down, hopefully loud enough for the woman to hear her before sliding down from the branch to a soft landing. She would normally be hugging Mei and trying to help her, but touching had already been enough of a problem. Better to just sit against a tree trunk and hope Mei wasn't too angry with her.

 

[DeletedUser28032]

Hearing the subdued voice coming from somewhere up above her, Mei eventually managed to locate Gwyll sitting up in one of the trees, with the mage kicking herself for not thinking of looking for her there herself.
With the wild girl thankfully dropping to the floor; for Mei hadn't climbed a tree since she was about eight years old and had gotten such a telling off for ripping her dressing by doing so that she hadn't done so since. She moved over and put her arms about the girl in a hug "I'm s-sorry Gwyll, I forget that y-you don't know these things...but what you asked me to do is just plain wrong" she quietly explained whilst gently rubbing her back in a soothing motion "...If you w-want a cuddle then that's f-fine but I only d-did what I did because I thought you were Joshua and its never going to happen again...at least not from me" Mei firmly stated so that there was no chance of any further misunderstandings between the two of them. However her voice quickly softened again as she continued to quietly speak "You're a growing girl Gwyll and if you want to be t-touched in that way then you need to find yourself a nice young man who cares for you, its just not appropriate to ask your friends...you do understand what I'm trying to say right?" though truth be told Mei wasn't overly sure herself. After all this wasn't exactly a conversation she ever dreamt she'd have to have so she wasn't one hundred percent on the phrasing for such a topic I wish Alexandria was here...she'd know what to say. Mei quietly lamented. Alexandria had always seemed far more knowledgeable about the ways of the world though a lot of that could be down to Mei’s rather sheltered upbringing within first a rural mountain village and then the secluded home of her master.
Breaking off her hug, Mei would offer Gwyll a sheepish smile as she spoke to her; raising her voice to its normal level “We’d best get back or Joshua will start to wonder what’s going on…we’re still friends aren’t we?” her smile faltering just a little as she asked her final question. She’d hate to lose Gwyll as a friend just because of a misunderstanding.

The pair of them slipped into the darkness like thieves into the night; keeping close to the edge of the clearing as they made their way to where the heavily camouflaged tent lay, ith Glasya hoping that they would be able to locate the correct tree before they were spotted by the approaching soldiers.
There were around thirty soldiers crossing the old campsite; moving in such a way as to prove that they didn’t know that the rebel’s had left days ago and were probably a very long way away by now. The sound of their voices carrying across still night air in a dozen different languages as the different factions communicated with one another.
It took the pair of them little time to slip across the open ground to the waiting tent with them remaining undetected despite the large number of soldiers approaching them. Upon entering Glasya breathed a sigh of relief as she dropped her hood “That was close, one of them looked to be a mage but we should be alright unless we do anything to attract their attention” she said in a low voice as if to illustrate the point. After all like Sync had pointed out the camouflage enveloping their tent was powerful and unless someone knew to look for it they should remain undetected except by the most powerful of magi.
As the pair of them entered however they couldn’t help but disturb the sleeping Lucy; with the girl giving an anguished moan as she awoke with her eyes instantly fixing themselves upon Glasya’s heavily tattooed and coppery coloured face. Her eyes growing wide in fear as she beheld Glasya in her natural form for the first time. It was at this point Lucy began to scream.

The journey was long if not particularly arduous with the ground being relatively flat and unimpeded by natural obstacles. Also having said his piece Ren had returned to speaking with his cousin in rapid Khitain with the pair seemingly paying little heed to Daner as they made their way along the jungle trail.
By late afternoon they had reached the camp and after explaining that they simply wished to meet up with the leaders were admitted entry by the sentries. Though they were only a short distance into the camp when Ren and Kairi decided to make a detour in order to speak with some of the soldiers, though that was alright because Daner could see several men; most of whom were Khitain, gathered around a table who were obviously in charge. If anyone knew where Joshua and Mei were surely it would be them?

 

[DeletedUser31931]

Ren and Kairi had decided not to pursue the conversation any further and had instead turning to conversing in rapid Khitain. Lovely. I’ve always said Khitain is such a beautiful language. I wonder what they’re discussing. Perhaps the finer points of honour in gambling or how best to wave one’s sword about in the air. This elicited a chuckle from Daner and Brahmoth carried on, quietly pleased that he hadn’t lost his touch when it came to humour. It didn’t take that long for them to reach the camp that they had been aiming for, with the trio being admitted entrance once Ren and Kairi had presumably explained their aims. As they had approached the camp, Daner had steeled up his nerves, psyching himself up for the camp. They were walking through it now and Ren and Kairi had dispersed, speaking privately to some soldiers. This is our chance! You see those people up there? We go and demand the information from them about Mei and Joshua! They’re bound to know something and since I’m the leader of the... Daner’s rousing speech was cut short by Brahmoth’s harsh thoughts. You really do love to have confidence at all of the wrong times, don’t you Daner? Remember, we’re in Khitai. As far as everyone else here is concerned, we’re a weird foreigner who doesn’t know up from down. Whilst I’d fancy our chances against that Ronin group, the untrained amateurs that they clearly were, these guys are a few more in number and a bit more serious in skill. Let’s not go upsetting the locals before Ren and Kairi have had a chance to do it themselves, shall we? As Daner quietly agreed, his spirits dampened by this rather ungentle put down, Brahmoth mentally rubbed the teen’s head. I get that your heart’s in the right place, you just need to bring your head to the same spot as well. With the closest thing that amounted to praise coming from Brahmoth, Daner sighed and returned to the quiet recesses of his mind. Brahmoth took up a position, quietly shadowing Ren and Kairi, merely blending with the rest of the group. He could wait until the pair started to talk with the leaders. Who knows, perhaps one of the soldiers would have the information that they sought? That would make their lives even easier. Or, the soldiers could have a long held grudge against Ren and Kairi that would result in bloodshed, but that was a risk that Brahmoth figured he would just have to take. Still, they’d made it through the gate at least, so if there was some bloodshed to be had, it couldn’t be that bad.

 

[DeletedUser37114]

Gwyll tensed as Mei moved forward, but the approach was apparently just for a hug. Which was quite nice, she had been worried about whether touching in general would be okay. And cuddles were apparently okay, but something she'd asked about was "just plain wrong." Normally, she would have asked about that, but something told her that Mei wanted to get this incident over as soon as she could. And that meant no questions right now. So Gwyll just relaxed into Mei's hold and listened to the older woman stuttered her way through an explanation that a cuddle was fine, that the mage had thought she was Joshua, and on. None of that particularly mattered to her, but Gwyll tried to remember it anyway, as part of learning these silly human rules. She did want to stay with them and at least try to be with humans for a while. Then Mei's explanation got really weird, saying that Gwyll was a growing girl and that if she wanted to be touched that way, she should go find a nice young man who cared for her... and apparently wasn't her friend. That was baffling. If friends were anything like pack, and nothing Joshua or Khalid or Mei had shown her told her that they were not, then she there should be no reason that she couldn't ask for more touching out of a friend. And why a nice young man? Mei had hands and was apparently quite good at that kind of touching. But if that was really how humans did things... Gwyll nodded, still confused, but unwilling to push this any further. The older woman had made it clear how uncomfortable talking about this made her. And Mei let her go, suggesting that they get back to Joshua and asking if they were still friends. If Mei were a nice young man, Gwyll would have been tempted to say no, she still wanted more touches like Mei had given her earlier, but since that would apparently never happen again... "Yes," Gwyll said, her voice quiet and a little rough.