The Sword and Staff [All Welcome]

[FennWenn]

NAME FENN, the boy scribbled amicably the faun’s way. He had decided that he liked this lady. “Bitch-tits” was an interesting insult, and he had taken mental note of it just in case the opportunity arose to use it himself. Every so often, he'd shoot a nervous stare back at Amari, along with a quick flick of his tongue. Nyehh! It was a relief to be away from her. Better yet, knowing that Vince was keeping an eye on the situation helped him relax even more.

...he probably needed to talk with him later though. Maybe.

There was a funny little fox that kept sniffing at him intently. From the familiar way the busty faun-lady interacted with it, the sharp vulpine must have belonged to her. Fenn watched it, his ears twitching curiously -- the fox’s eyes scrutinized him in an intelligent, almost-human fashion. It made him think of Daugi. Though, no fox was half so terrifying as the still-slumbering direwolf appeared to the outside eye. Fenn grinned. The fox got a couple frosty pat-pats atop its head-

And now someone else was being reprimanded for trying to steal him away. Hot potato, hot potato. Why… did all these people want him? The boy sighed and dropped his head to the tabletop, which spread forth a halo of frost. He glanced aside at the new person.

Huh. They were kind of... interesting.

Upon being called out by Phi, Fennapper-in-the-waiting stopped and stood stalk still, blinking at him with four amber eyes. Were those vines peeking out of her clothes? For a moment, the boy’s solid green irises lit up, a couple fluffy snowflakes poofing into existence around him as he wondered if this was another fae peering back at him. If not, she must be something more interesting still!

Shyly, he raised a hand and gave her a fluttering wave of his fingers. Hello!

[Briarheart]

"To tolerating current company," I raised my glass in kind.

It's amazing who you'll find lurking around in a tavern in the middle of Corone, isn't it?

At least Red had approached me with a neutral sort of sociopathic mopey-ness this time around. She was incredibly sour and broody the last time we met, in the frozen backwoods of Salvar. The alcohol probably mellowed her out a bit.

I was about to make some idle conversation about this shitty weather we've been having when a voice boomed over the crowd. Deep in the throng of drunk people, Hyperion froze when she heard her name called out. Momentary panic rippled through her, but she remained as calm as she could, still hunched over, fingers hooked and ready to latch onto her prey.

"Oh, my gods," I muttered to myself. "I don't need this today."

I stood up, cupping my hands against the little slit in my mask where my mouth would be. "Calm your gigantic fuzzy tits, Phi. Hype just wants to hug him. It will be the most harmless hour or two of his life."

I shot Red a glare as I sat back down. "Jeez, you have her brothels raided and several of her girls killed and suddenly you're the biggest, most suspicious asshole in the world."

[Philomel]

[[ same problem again, I was writing mine when Amari was, there is 10 minutes between our posts >_< I edited the last one a bit ]]

She leant back ... to see Mari had gotten in the way.

Oh what a nice red-head. Stealing all of Philomel's more interesting friends. Why, now she was distracted, so the kid could be stolen from her so very easily now.

Here, Veridian reminded her, still sniffing the kid.

Ah yes, she still had Veridian to keep an eye on him.

So Philomel watched as Amari (she would never call her anything but her proper name - this 'Red' and 'Scarlet' stuff was ... ew) gave Maddison a lovely drink and bade her sit down next to her. Thus, Maddison did, and got right in the way of Philomel's fantastic speech of how Veridian was figuring out this boy-man.

Truly, it was actually rather interesting.

Why does he smell like dried blood? Veridian said, now getting rather concerned and shoving his nose to Fenn's sleeve where the chains had chafed and burnt him.

"Calm your gigantic fuzzy tits," she deemed it necessary to shout, despite the distance being ... well. Close enough not to shout. Philomel's speech after all had been made to be perfectly timed, had not the rude red-head stuck in.

"No need to shout, plant-brain!" Philomel bellowed back, as loud as her faun lungs could muster. In fact she even considered transforming here just so she could bleat thunders and cause the glass to crack with the noise. "Its fine, if kidnapper there wants to get in my way and interrupt. I will just sit here and mind my own business."

[Amari]

"There isn't exactly much reasoning with the woman, she thinks she's queen of the fuckin' world." Scarlet muttered, raising her own glass to her lips to take a sip. Scarlet used to have a bit of a love/hate or more so.. tolerate/annoy relationship with Philomel, Scarlet knew the faun meant well but she came off as arrogant. Incredibly so. The alcohol burned, and still, made her feel oddly nauseous, and it was not the same sort of sickness that came with too much alcohol. Not to mention she only had a few damn sips, and that wasn't even enough to get a child drunk.

"She spied on myself and Shinsou once, all night, and had the gall to offer us 'sexual advice' of course, she didn't think her watching us was weird, creepy, wrong or downright insane. No! God forbid the almighty Philomel keeper of whatever, and queen of whores could do any wrong. Honestly, someone needs to stop that high and mighty attitude of hers, it makes her intolerable."

Scarlet didn't bother to glance over her shoulder at the faun. "If she weren't like that, she would be tolerable, and that's coming from someone who somehow managed to become so emotionally stunted She don't feel nothing no more." Scarlet muttered, referring to her own predicament. Scarlet fell quiet, her eyes lowering to her drink.

What a fuckin' day. All she wanted to do was praise the fae on his escape, its not like she actually hurt Fenn. She only chained him up in iron, and tortured his pet in front of him, really...she had done him a favour. At least he wouldn't be so foolishly trusting now.

"Hey, damned if you do, damned if you don't. If you're an asshole may as well live up to the name."

ANother sip.

"Kidnapper eh? Pot. Kettle. Black." Scarlet muttered.

[FennWenn]

There was a second plant person sitting with a Amari.

This gave Fenn quite a fright as he glanced back to the one that still stood frozen and staring at him. Her hands were knitted together tightly, expectantly, almost.

So, the plant-person-y-thing wanted to hug him? That wasn’t the first time he had elicited that reaction from a stranger, but, was he sure they weren’t working with bitch-tits over there? The boy’s waving stopped flat and the air grew colder as he glanced between hugger-to-be plant-person and sitting-with-Amari plant-person. Maybe they were just loose friends, or something? He was faintly aware of -- and dismissive of -- the floofy fox’s further snuffling intrusions up the right sleeve of his cloak.

Damn it, he was too intrigued to try and scare her off. Wanting to hug him seemed harmless enough. Slightly cautious, Fenn reached over to write on the table again. His message was aimed mostly at the hugger-plant.

HI. I FENN. YOU WHO? YOU WHAT? FAE OR NO? WHY VINES?

He flicked his ears, eagerly awaiting answers.

[Jethro]

Jethro, mostly human, was never sure where he might end up. It was his way, he always made the attempt at being some where that he was not expected to be after all. At this very moment he found himself at the entrance of a tavern, soaked by the rain through his duster to his mottled skin. Mud caked the bottom of his boots and splattered the sides of his boots and dotted his knees. With the kind of weather and the kind of individual that he was one would almost expect a loud clap of thunder and lightning strike to announce his entrance.

Na! Jethro stepped in quietly followed by the gowoosh of rain, and the moan of the wind which made candles flicker but not go out. He looked around the bar it appeared that he was late to some sort of party. Oh well he wasn't invited any way and that fact made him smile as he ordered a pitcher of mead and examined the room he was in and the cliques which had already formed.

There was a pair of people, they weren't in some dark corner, but actually at the bar! Something remarkable! Jethro smiled even more and decided to make some friends by presenting his large container of sweet tasting booze to the pair at the bar. The pair in question being Nicolette and Atzar "Good evening. May I join you?" He asked before sitting easily on a near by stool.

[Briarheart]

Hyperion remained hunched over for another moment, wary of the sideways glances that Philomel had given her. The briarbane knew of the faun and of her considerable power--not to mention the decidedly un-plant-friendly fire-wielding fox that always lingered nearby--from her few meetings with Madison. At first, she was taken aback when the word "kidnapper" was thrown around, but it took her a second to realize that Phi wasn't talking about her. It was aimed at She-Who-Shan't-Be-Hugged.

No, there will be no kidnappings today, not by me, Hype thought to herself as she released some of the tension that had been building in her muscles. Not unless this little cutie pie gives reeeeeeally good hugs.

The little pointy-eared boy cautiously reached up and scribbled a bunch of words onto the table, only slightly mindful of the fox sniffing around in his armpit. An introduction, a name, and a series of questions left in a trail of frost.

How curious, that he'd ask her if she were a fae.

What did Madison tell Hype about explaining what she was to other people? Ah, yes.

She tilted her head a few degrees, her way of smiling without removing her mask and scaring the living daylights out of everyone with a twisted mass of sharpened teeth. "Hello Fenn! It's nice to meet you! I am Hyperion," she said with a light touch of her breast.

"I am a Briarheart--" --and totally absolutely one-hundred percent NOT a briarbane, which are the lab-developed, parasite-born variety-- "--which is a kind of fae, I believe. We are created when a dryad releases some of its energy, and it is absorbed into by the heart of a human, which then begins to sprout... um..."

Hype glanced around, hoping nobody would see her pull down her skin-tight robe's sleeve an inch. The little boy stared at the vines of her arm for a moment, before giving a single nod.

"My friend over there, Madison, she is a Briarheart too," Hype said cheerfully as she rolled her sleeve back up. Fenn followed her gaze to the far corner, but concern creased his face when he saw the scarlet-haired woman that she sat with.

The sudden shift in attitude didn't escape her. "Oh, her? She's, um... yeah, she's a bit of a butt. But don't worry! She's not our friend! She just works with Madison once in a while!" Hype leaned in closer to Fenn, her voice growing quieter. "She used to be a lot nicer, months ago. I don't know what happened. We're trying to find out, though. Hopefully we can make her feel better and she'll be less of a bi--" The briarbane stopped herself from swearing. No need to teach the young thing any colorful language that he might write on every surface he possibly could.

Fenn broke his gaze from the back table, offering a delayed nod of understanding. Did he really understand? Hype didn't care. She still had a gift for him.

"I came over here because..." she trailed off. Hyperion was so gung-ho about squeezing this little boy until he squeaked like a child's doll, but now that she was inches from her goal? A hug seemed so... intrusive. There was one piece of business she had to take care of, one final question to ask to cement her hug as one that was proper and welcome.

"Would you... Would you..." She fidgeted as the words tried to come to her, her briar-knit fingers weaving themselves into knots. "Would you like to be my friend?"

Whatever feelings that had come over Fenn when he noticed who Hype's other friend Madison had been sitting with immediately melted away. A bit of color sprung to his cheeks, and his eyes went wide. With a humongous grin, he nodded enthusiastically.

Hype squealed with joy at the prospect of having a new friend, and lunged at him, arms wide open. After nearly banging her knee into the leg of the table, she scooped up the little boy--and consequentially the fox that was digging for buried treasure up the sleeve of his shirt--and gave him the biggest hug of his life.

- - - - -

"I should charge people for hugs."

"Hmm?"

I took a quick sip of my ale before adjusting my mask back into place. "Hyperion's hugs. I could make a killing off them."

Red looked at the briarbane for a moment, then returned her attention to her own mug. "There's nothing special about them."

"Not true," I said with a raised finger. "Back before... before I turned her into what she is now, she was a healer. A pretty good one, actually. Employed in one of the hospitals in Radasanth, she could pacify patients and mend their flesh with just a touch. I didn't know at the time, but when I fed her corpse to the parasites that would construct her new body, they absorbed some of that magic. Now, whenever she embraces someone, that power leaks into the, uh, the recipient." Reduces anger and bloodlust. Heals wounds. Gives them an additional bonus of a lingering warm and fuzzy feeling you just don't get with regular hugs--not that I would know, because my parents were pretty shitty about the whole hugging thing.

I washed the acidic thought of my parents back down my throat with another gulp of ale. "So anyways, what brings you to this part of the world?"

[Storm Veritas]

Oh, for the love of f*cking Gods...

Storm had finished having his way with his value-date when the floorboards beneath him started rumbling, and through the open seamed oak he could see people filling about the tavern under his feet. When he entered this afternoon with his companion, the sun was dropping, the sky a pleasant pink, and the fat-assed blonde that caught his attention looked ten years younger than she did now. It must have been the whiskey convincing him to take her up amidst the then-quiet early eve.

"Alright, sugar-tits; cash is on the table. I can feel a hangover setting in and things are getting wild downstairs. Give me a five minute head start and have yourself a night."

He pulled up his dress pants, catching a waft of something positively foul that would require more diligent washing later. His suit was still pressed and hair laid back obediently with only a modicum of effort; he looked ready for Sunday mass before sneaking down the stairs.

Well, I'll be damned. It's a f*cking superhero orgy down here.

It appeared all the specials had begun to converge, including many familiar faces. Amari was here, as was Redford. His new recruit, the one that went by "Jethro", had found his way in out of the rain. There was Philomel the mighty, and others he didn't know. They were all still wet from travels (unlike the bone-dry and bone-drained diplomat); he would stand out in this crowd.

"Good evening!" His greeting came as he sauntered down the stairs, gesturing with aplomb as he smiled in spite of himself. A heavy buzz in the room; there was little response. He pilfered a small bag from his pocket a few steps later, the clack of his metal heels on the hardwood ceasing as he produced a large handful of golden crowns. Hopping the railing from the stairs, he landed by the bar, dumping the coins over the polished hardwood.

"A round for the room!"

[Philomel]

Philomel simply raised her eyebrows as Hyperion sauntered over and promptly picked not only Fenn up, but also Veridian as well. Just as Veridian was beginning to see the signs of burning and chafing around the boy-man's wrist.

So he was called Fenn. And he had recently been in some form of danger, tied up somewhere, likely with metal cuffs. Steepling her fingers Philomel leant back and eyed the tiny man, trying to figure out who could have done such a thing. Many that she knew, certainly, but who precisely would want to? He was adorable, and seemed rather harmless - so to what end was the difficulty here. Some tortured for the sake of it - that was fine, but their victims were usually particularly chosen and unless they had a penchant for small, child-looking adults then ... well.

He had asked Hyperion, by using the water vapoured glass again - clearly he did not like to speak - if the briarheart was some form of fae.

Which might answer what he was. Certainly the fae, with all their mysterious ways, had the capacity to produce a magically infantile being. Maybe some charm gone wrong, maybe some strange family who took for ages to grow up - Philomel could not be certain. But it gave rise, indeed, to the young man's origins and his outstanding attractive qualities.

Some help here?

Philomel's eyes looked over to Veridian, where she saw his snout just managing to finally peek out over Hyperion's arm. Letting out a light laugh, Philomel clapped her hands together in a muted fashion, filling the room with effortless amusement. Veridian, although not entirely hating the oppurtunity to be hugged to death, had his own pride also, and thus had been taken aback by the intial contact.

Then he had apparently rather liked it. Now he was beginning to feel tense and uncomfortable.

"Whatever you do, don't burst into flame, darling," Philomel said to him warmly, out loud. "Enjoy it." She looked at Hyperion's strange multi-faceted eyes. "He is saying his ego is hurting a little. Hug him slightly more if you don't mind me asking."

Keep an eye on Fenn, she told Veridian, directly, so that no one else could hear. We need to find out who is responsible for his hurt. We need to protect him.

Oh you and your instincts, Veridian muttered, and sighed to succub more to the cosy, but pride-hurting, hug.

Just as a man said he would buy a round of drinks and Philomel stuck a hand in the air. "A few are needed over here!"

[Venex Apara]

Serious talks were not for public areas. Serious talks were for serious times, and serious time was not now. Well, technically it could be, but was there any point to it? Laughter and good times has been, is, and always will be the perfect medicine. Serious talks were like stitches that eventually helps close things up.

Ugh, stitches. Ven shook his head to get that train of thought out of his mind.

It was then that a well dressed man came down the stairs and declared a round for everyone.

Ven perked up at that. Oh sure he was still livid (on the inside), he would never turn down a free drink. IT IS FREE! AND A DRINK! Only a monster or someone absolutely petty would dare complain about it.

Ven turned to look at Eteri, then at the barkeep, who had returned with a towel, muttering about rich people. "I suppose you will be wanting those drinks?" he asked.

Ven nodded, "Yup," popping the p, before taking the towel and attempting to clean some of the mud off. The barkeep came back quicklyh with a glass for both Eteri and himself, then hustled off to serve others.

Ven looked back at Eteri again. "Who would have thought coming to a place like this would get us free stuff AND the chance to meet up again?"