Here's a filler post, just because Everything is Dead ™:

Kirah, continued~

The walk back to Spiaggia is mostly quiet, but less awkward than the silent drives with Dar'sava. It's a hard reminder of my selfishness when Smoke and Jasper thank us for coming for them, though.

Still, we're back in no time. We found Ember and Eniyan pretty quickly- they'd just wrapped up the negotiations.

"How'd it go?" I ask.

"Pretty well!" Ember says. "It was pretty short and simple. Hviti did most of the talking. There wasn't a whole lot to say."

"Sounds boring," Dar'sava announces. Eniyan and I both roll our eyes. Unfortunately, he didn't stop being annoying once I realized how annoying I had been. 

“What should we do now?” Griffe asks.

“Take a nap?” Ember suggests. “We’ve been up all night.”

“I definitely wouldn’t mind that, but knowing the luck we’ve been having, someone will probably shout at us to get to work the moment we close our eyes,” I say. “Why don’t we stick around and see if there’s anything we need to get done?”

Reluctantly, Griffe, Dar’sava, Ember, and Eniyan agree. We all disperse a little, and I take a look around; Serin in deep conversation with Hviti, Smoke and Jasper being checked out by a medic, Ember chatting with Vivianna. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Dar’sava approaching me.

“Hey,” he says. “How are you?”

I shrug. “Dunno. Tired. Annoyed.”

“Is that last one because I’m here?” he jokes, then adds, “Don’t answer that.” I snort.

“I still can’t believe I blew it the Grasplands,” I mutter.

“What are you gonna do now?”

“There isn’t much I can do but wait to be reassigned.”

“Hmm,” is his only reply. He looks away, at what I’m not sure. I’m surprised to find I don’t mind him sitting next to me. We’ve both done our fair share of stupid things in the past twelve hours- or however long it’s been. And I can’t pretend I’ve spent any of that time being nice to him. Or any time being nice to him. Ever, really.

Why is it that, when it comes to Dar’sava, I’m so inclined to act like a jerk?

Or act like I don’t even like him at all?

~~~~~*starts chanting "Kir'sava!" under breath* 

Jira~

The person in charge dismissed me almost immediately. Told me to go find something useful to do. I have no idea why. I begin to wander around, waiting for something to happen.

(Just cuz I forgot what she's supposed to be doing. Maybe she could run into someone else, if anyone else has a charrie in this city.) 

Hi! Idk if this is dead but I've always wanted to join kyngdom and could never figure out how. But the opportunity has presented itself, so... May I join, please?

Anyone is welcome to join Kyngdom. We're happy to keep it going.

Admin

The waiting room was stuffy and crowded with all sorts of creatures. Ronan caught a glimpse of a few of the patients -- there was a small dragon that was limping, and a young woman who appeared to be holding her face together with her bare hands. Ronan winced, but didn't slow down. He needed to get to Eron, and he wasn't entirely convinced that Emmaline would be of any help. A satyr was standing behind the front desk. He chewed his gum loudly as Ronan stepped up.

"What'll it be, hon?" he asked in a bored tone of voice.

"I'm here to see someone." Ronan made his voice as squeaky as possible to avoid being recognized. He had been all around Kyngdom, and he didn't know if he might meet someone he knew.

The satyr scowled. "I'm gonna need a description, hon."

"He's quite old," Ronan said. "He has short grey hair, and he's also pretty short himself."

"Name?"

"Ero..." Ronan hesitated. Did Eron give his name when he was admitted? Had he even been admitted? Maybe he was in the waiting room...

"Ma'am? Ma'am!" the satyr yelled, but his cries fell on deaf ears. Ronan ran through the rows of wooden chairs, looking for Eron. No matter where he looked, Eron didn't seem to be there. So he's been admitted, Ronan thought. Back up to the desk he ran, his knees buckling.

"I need to see him, now!" he cried, forgetting about disgusing his voice.

The satyr stared as if he wasn't sure what to do. "Erm... ma'am, how about you sit down? I think you need to rest-"

"No!" Ronan was screaming by this point. "I need to find him, it's all my fault!"

The crowd in the waiting room was suddenly very interested in the scene at the desk. People stood on chairs to get a good view of the action.

"Please help me, I'm wanted and I... and I... I..." Ronan's knees finally gave way. He crumpled to the ground. The waiting room gave a collective gasp. The satyr yelped and called for someone named Roy. There was a great commotion -- Ronan felt himself being picked up -- everything went dark.

The window was wide open. A breeze blew the curtains. Ronan's head hurt. Eron. He tried to sit up, but he found himself being pushed down by a firm and unwavering hand.

"You stay there," commanded a voice. Ronan looked to see a burly man holding him with one hand and a spoon in the other. "You were in a right state when you showed up. Dehydration and low blood sugar! It's lucky you showed up when you did -- you could have been hurt. Here, eat this." He popped the spoon, which was full of cool, sweet applesauce, into Ronan's mouth. 

Presently Ronan realized that the canvas he had been hiding his face with was gone. He stared terrified at the nurse. As if reading his mind, the nurse said, "Don't worry. This hospital is a safe zone. We won't turn you in to the authorities if we can help it."

Ronan relaxed a little. Once he was finished with the applesauce, he fell into a dreamless sleep.

Hours must have passed -- it was dark when Ronan woke again. The nurse was standing at the door.

A thought struck Ronan. "May I look for someone who I think is here? I promise I won't leave the hospital," he added earnestly.

"Twenty minutes," the nurse said. "My boss will quite literally chew me out if he finds that you aren't in your room."

Ronan got unsteadily to his feet and walked out of his room into the corridor. The corridor was quiet save for some footsteps in the distance. Up ahead was a sign pointing the way to "Bone Fractures and Breakages" among other things, and so Ronan followed it. Suddenly there was a loud crash behind him. He turned to see that a mop and a bucket of sudsy water had been knocked over. A closet door stood slightly ajar. There was no-one to be seen -- and other than the closet door, nowhere to hide.

"Hello?" Ronan asked, tensing up as he backed away slowly.

There was a moment of silence -- and then someone lunged out of the closet door. 

Lysette~

“Hello, glad you woke up,” says Eron cheerfully. I squint a little, wondering whether he’s joking or something. Though, knowing him, it’s not likely he is.  “Okay, but… where are we?” I ask again. He frowns. “Hm. Not quite sure. Somewhere in the Grasplands?”

“That could be a lot of places,” I point out, rather impatiently. Looking around, we’re clearly no longer in a prison. For one thing, the sky is quite visible, and we seem to be in some sort of alleyway. “So we should probably look around…” I suggest after a pause. 

“Yes. Except I can’t walk,” Eron says matter of factly. I had forgotten about his ankle. Upon further inspection, it was clearly getting worse. “You need medical help,” I decided, stating the obvious. “Yes, would you happen to know where the hospital is?” 

“Oh- um- sort of…?” I say. Which was true. “I’ve been there, once.” I don’t mention that I’d only ended up there because I was lost. “I think I could get us there again-” that was half true- “but it depends where we are.” Eron nods thoughtfully, absentmindedly tugging on the bandages.

I frown, realizing something didn’t add up. “How does that not hurt?” I ask, half impressed, half suspicious. “Oh,” he says, dropping them. “It does.” I frown. “...okay. Do you know where we are?” I know I already asked that, but something tells me he knows more than he’s letting on.

“No,” he says cheerfully. “Okay, then I take it back. I don’t know where the hospital is,” I say apologetically. “I know,” he says, just as cheerfully as before. “Are you sure you’re okay? You didn’t, like, bang your head or anything?” I ask suspiciously.

“Of course not!” he says, like I just told him he was crazy. Which, I guess, I sort of did. I sigh. “Okay, great. We’re lost, you have a broken ankle, and I am not going to be any help at all as a guide. And neither are you, I assume. Unless we can figure out where in Kyngdom you teleported us- and that’s another thing! How did we even get here? How did you blast a hole in the wall? How did any of this even happen?”

Eron smiles infuriatingly. “Correction: we are not lost. You will actually be a lot of help, as will I,” he says perfectly calmly. “WHAT? Do you realize you just ignored all three of my questions?” I try to refrain from shouting but fail miserably.

Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately) Eron is unfazed. He just stands up and starts walking.

After a fair amount of internal debate (what is he doing?! Should I follow? Well I don’t have any other ideas. But he’s crazy! What else could I do? Ugh! I guess I’m following…), I follow him down the alley, staring at the cobblestones under my feet.

“Well, we’re here,” says Eron, gesturing to something ahead of us. It’s… the hospital. “Wait, what?” is all I have to say.~~

(I noticed earlier that I signed my last post as "Lucy" instead of Lumi... sorry about that. And don't worry, it's still me.) 

It's been forever since I've posted so I don't really remember what I'm doing so hopefully I don't ruin everything?

~~~

Eniyan had been thankful to get out of the Sanukan warehouse. He could tell Ember had been reluctant to leave, wanting to speak more with Hviti about the alliance and future plans, though he shared none of those feelings. All he'd experienced there were the Sanukans glaring at him with eyes full of distrust and bias.

Which, to be fair, were logical things for them to feel.

He wasn't sure how he felt about visiting the anthro and the Sanukan girl, though. Neither of them--especially Davina, the Sanukan--had seemed to trust him very much, even though Eniyan had helped to save their lives. Ember seemed happy to see them, though. Kirah and Dar'sava had been busy working out war plans with some Sanukan soliders to come with them, which was fine with Eniyan. He hated Dar'sava, and the last interaction he'd had with Kirah had been a fight over R'oko.

As they got closer to the hospital, Eniyan could see two people standing near its entrance. There was a teenage, human girl with reddish hair ((please tell me if that's not what Lysette looks like)) and an old man who was sitting on the ground, one of his ankles bent in an odd direction. It looked as if he simply couldn't walk.

When the girl spotted him, her eyes lit up in a mixture of shock, fear, and anger.

"Any idea what we're supposed to do now that we've been caught?" She snapped.

"We're not caught," The old man replied cheerfully. "These kind folks will help us, not harm us."

The girl turned back around, her eyes landing on Eniyan. "But--there's--tenebris! Do you not know who they work for?" The old man simply smiled in response to her.

"Don't worry," Ember said, holding up her hands. "The man is right. We're with the Resistance." Ember unpinned the badge off her shirt and showed it to the girl, who seemed to relax. The teenager gave the older man a look, then turned back to Eniyan and Ember. 

"Sorry. We've just had...a rough couple of days."

"I'm Eron, and this is Lysette. I don't believe that I can walk anymore with my ankle in its current state. Mister Tenebris, might you be so kind as to carry me into the hospital? It's quite imperative I get treatment," The old man said. The girl, Lysette, sighed, as if tired of Eron's antics.

Eniyan hesitated, but then Ember spoke. "I'm Ember, and this is Eniyan. I'm sure he'd love to help." When Eniyan didn't move, she elbowed him sharply in the ribs. Eniyan shot her a quick glare, which Ember ignored, then lifted the man up. 

~~~

This was actually very fun to write. :3 

It's night, and the hospital lights have been dimmed to accomodate weary patients. The back halls are swathed in a lovely shade of twilight--the kind of darkness that blends imagination with reality. The assassin knows that his victims will see only what they expect to see: When he reveals himself, it will be as though he has jumped out of their nightmares. And in their nightmares he will remain.

Even darker than the halls are the secret passages winding just within the hospital walls. Hidden between panels of sheertrock and wood, these corridors are a narrow, unending parallel universe that masks the secrets this hospital stands on. 

The assassin is the tunneler. This is his domain. He strides swiftly--silently--through the blackness, rounding corners without slowing, as if by memory. In a moment, he slows to a halt; he has found the wall he is looking for.

He slides a claw along a panel, clicking down the one-way lock. The panel swings open, and the assassin enters the closet, closing the panel behind him. He pauses briefly to listen and pushes open the door.

But someone hasn't cleaned up their mess, and there is a bucket in his way. He curses at the clatter and listens through the cracked door.

There is breath, and a scent, just outside: The smell of medicine emanates from a patient's body. The assassin bursts out of the closet, slamming the door shut in the same instant. He lunges within a milimeter of the boy's face, blocking his view with his hood, causing the boy to stumble back. The assassin gets a good look at his face...but continues past without stopping. Within moments, he's disappeared into an office and through a tile beneath a desk: back into the secret passageways.

Where is he going? What is his mission?

No one can know. There is only one rule here: never ask questions in the Slipstream. 

Dar'sava~~

"The moon looks pretty tonight," I remark. Kirah glances over at me, though she doesn't say anything. Weariness is etched into her face--which makes sense, we've been busy discussing war plans with the Sanukans since we got back. Eniyan and Ember had said something about going to see Davina and Kimi at the hospital, though they haven't returned yet.

"Yeah." I'm a little surprised she replied with something other than an argument, but I'm not complaining. 

"What you said earlier, about being reassigned--do you really think that will happen?" I blurt out. It's been on my mind all day. Despite the fact that Kirah has been nothing but a jerk to me, there's a part of me that doesn't want to see her leave the Grasplands. I've always liked how determined and bold she was. There's no one else like her around here.

"Yeah," She says again, almost glumly. "What else would happen?"

"Eniyan's going to miserable when he figures out the only other person who hates me is leaving," I muse. "He'll have no one left to complain with!" I think I see Kirah smile, but it vanishes as quickly as it appeared.

"Eh. He'll probably end up wandering on his own, anyways." Kirah shrugs. "So, what's going to happen to you?"

I shrug as well. "Not sure. They'll probably keep me here until the Black Skull is dealt with."

"Yeah," She agrees, then looks down at the ground. We both stand in silence for a moment.

"I wish you could stay," I suddenly blurt out. 

~~~

Ember~

None too gently, Eniyan picks up Eron. I walk with Lysette as we enter through the hospital doors, trying to keep up with Eniyan's very quick pace. Lysette is quiet and wide-eyed. It becomes clear to me that she and Eron haven't known each other for very long.

I'm sure Lysette and Eron don't want to talk about their troubles in such a public place, but I already know, just by their reaction to Eniyan, that they're on the run from Catastrophe. They believe they might have been followed, meaning we very well may have enemy operatives in the vicinity. Eniyan realizes this; I can tell; his gaze flickers all across the lobby, assessing the room with an assassin's precision.

Meanwhile, I assess Lysette and Eron with a healer's precision. Lysette is shaken but not in need of immediate medical care. However, Eron has obviously been living with a messed up ankle for a while.

Since it's nighttime, the lobby is not as crowded as its massive collection of chairs suggests it ought to be. It's currently empty. Nobody sits in the waiting room except the satyr receptionist on duty, and he looks at us expectantly. We arrive at the desk, and before anyone says anything, Eron takes the lead.

"Hello sir. As you can see, I have acquired an ankle injury and am unable to walk. I'd like to request treatment from your establishment."

The receptionist looks at Eron's ankle and nods, but then he becomes fascinated by Eron's face and hair. "Hey, you're pretty old. You wouldn't happen to be rather short too, would you?" The receptionist pauses, only to nod again, assured. "I think someone came in looking for you a few hours ago. Is your name...'Ero'?"

Eron squares his shoulders as much as he can while cradled in Eniyan's arms. "Why...yes, yes it is indeed. That must have been my servant who came in. He's always losing track of me--At least my granddaughter is always here when I need her." He looks back at Lysette.

I'm startled by Eron's flamboyant lies.

"Very nice. Your servant was admitted for the night--he came in a sorry state. I can let him know you've come. First, your ankle will need to be assessed. Go ahead and have a seat, now, while you wait."

Eniyan just about dumps Eron into a shadowed chair by the wall.

"Is there anything we can get you while you wait?" I offer, noticing a very old vending machine on the other side of the room. "Maybe there's some bottled water in there."

Eniyan stands impatiently to the side.

"Oh, water would be nice," Lysette says. "Thank you!"

There is, indeed, water in the vending machine, as well as a few dry snacks. I withdraw a couple of Grasplands coins from my pocket and shove them through the slot. After waiting a painfully long amount of time for a couple of water bottles to fall into the bottom tray, I realize I'm pretty hungry myself. I put in a few more coins. "Eniyan, would you like something?"

"No."

I press 'A3', and about 10 packs of peanut butter crackers do a nosedive off their shelf.

"Well...I'll have some extras if you change your mind." I give Eron and Lysette their waters and a few packs of crackers, and I shove the rest of the packets into my bag.

To Eron and Lysette I say, "Eniyan and I are going to go visit some friends here. If either of you end up needing a place to stay for the night, I think we can arrange that."

Lysette thanks us. Then, Eniyan and I head back up to the reception desk and check in to see Kimi and Davina.

I'm curious to learn more about the strange 'miracle healing process' that Kimi and Davina's Sanukan escorts had radioed Hviti about earlier. I also want to know if the pirate is still alive, and if she'll be going through the miracle healing process tomorrow morning as well.

Yeah, an attack on the Black Skull was the original plan. They'll probably wait until Davina and Kimi are done with their miracle healing thing-- so the attack could happen as soon as two days from now.

Davina~~

The room was quiet, empty, lonely, and above all--boring. Davina thought she was going to go crazy from the lack of stimulation. The nurses had all kindly reminded her there was a television and telephone she had very easy access to in her room, but all of the people Davina would have called were either busy or were Kimi, who was also in the hospital. Davina had been trying to watch something on the T.V, but she had a hard time paying attention and generally got tired of it after a couple minutes. She'd change the channel, but the same thing happened every time.

Right now, there was a young human reporter talking about possible snow in the Northern Grasplands. She was attractive enough that Davina managed to pay a little attention to her, but still--someone droning on and on about snow could only be so interesting. 

The news suddenly changed to a view of an elven reporter, his dark skin sharply contrasting with the white snow in the background. Davina could see the looming shape of Jokull in the background, and the headline read "SANUKAN ARMY LAUNCHES ATTACK ON JOKULL."

Davina nearly changed the channel, but then the information made it to her brain. She sat up with a gasp, which was mixed with a squeal. (It was very difficult to tell if it was an excited or horrified squeal-- Davina herself couldn't tell which it was.) 

"Now, Avaja, can you tell us about the current situation at Jokull?" Another reporter said, this one a human with rather pale skin and large eyes, appearing in a box next to the elf. There was a brief pause, then the elf began speaking.

"Despite the signing of the Quiet Winter Treaty, the Sanukan Army, currently under command of Chieftan Victor Starr, have launched an attack on the Catastrophe-occupied stronghold of Jokull. This appears to be a very sudden attack, as tensions in the area have been fairly low," The elf explained.

"Is there any reason why the Sanukans might have launched this attack?" The human reporter asked. The elven reporter vanished, replaced by another human.

"Just a few days ago, a mysterious sinkhole filled with black liquid appeared here in Icewood. Earlier today, a squadron of Catastrophe's soldiers came to investigate, as well as two well-known members of the Sanukan Army. The Sanukan soldiers were Rubiana Starr, Chieftan Starr's wife, and Agent Tsuki Natsu, an Elite assassin in the Sanukan Army who have previously an Elite-ranking soldier in Catastrophe's Army," The new reporter explained. "Catastrophe's soldiers took both Rubiana Starr and Agent Natsu prisoner, though it's unclear if this was under the orders of Head Jokull General Cendaren Caligo or not."

Davina couldn't tear her eyes away from the screen, not even when Ember and Eniyan burst into the room.

"The Sanukans are atta--oh, you already know," Ember said, spotting the television screen. "We saw the news in Kimi's room and rushed over to tell you."

Davina stared at the screen a moment longer, still trying to register the information, before turning to Eniyan and Ember. "Was Kimi okay?" She finally said.

"Yeah, Kimi's fine," Eniyan grumbled. Davina shot him a quick glare--did he really have to act moody at a time like this?--but he didn't seem to notice, or if he did, he didn't care.

"Are you?" Ember's voice was a sharp change from Eniyan's, very soft and concerned.

Davina nodded. "A little shocked, but not necessarily...unhappy. Couple of good friends are fighting, though. Hope they'll be fine. Claaws, I wish I were there."

For once, Eniyan actually seemed to understand how Davina was feeling. "Nothing you can do right now. If they managed to be friends with you, they can probably handle themselves in a fight."

Davina snorted. "Oh, come on. You've known me for like, two days. I'm not that reckless."

"To be fair, the first we saw of you was you half-dead because you were caught in an explosion," Ember said.

"First impressions aren't everything!" Davina retorted. Ember and Davina laughed. 

As they were both distracted, Eniyan quickly turned off the television before Davina could see what had just shown up.

Sometimes, it was better to hear about things later.

~~~ 

Is it just me, or does anyone else here imagine Spiaggia to look like a traditional Italian city?

Dar'sava~~

Kirah and Dar'sava walked down the well-lit streets, Dar'sava scanning every building to see if it was a hotel or motel. There were a few others roaming the streets, some of whom were Catastrophe's soldiers--though they didn't seem to pay Dar'sava and Kirah much attention, despite the fact Dar'sava was wearing a Resistance uniform. The town clearly had a heavy Sanukan influence--heavy enough so that not even Catastrophe's men were trying to usurp it.

Eventually, Dar'sava spotted a wooden sign hanging over top the door of a building. It read "Half-Moon Hotel." There was an elderly man next to the door, smoke rising from his cigar into the starry sky. He turned to look at them, and Dar'sava saw that his eyes were a vivid golden color, with dark pupils. They were similar to Eniyan's eyes, though not quite the same--the man wasn't a Tenebris, but Dar'sava was certain he wasn't human, either.

"Hello there," He said, in an old, raspy voice. "Looking to stay at the Hotel?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Dar'sava said, though in a curious way, not suspicious at all. Even though the man's eyes sent shivers down Dar'sava's spine, there was something about his calm nature that put Dar'sava at ease. 

"My husband runs the place," The man replied. "Rooms are on discount, what with the war and all. Used to be ten gold a night, now its five. If your friend there is a soldier too, the rooms are free."

"Oh, thanks for telling us," Dar'sava said. 

"Mm, you're welcome. It's best to stay inside on full moon nights around here," The man explained. "What with the...wolf problem."

Dar'sava and Kirah went inside. As they went in, Dar'sava swore he saw the old man shifting into some sort of monster from the corner of his eye. But when he looked out the window, there was no man there at all.

A quiet, eerie howl enveloped the town. 

~~~

Since I'm making Eniyan a werewolf soon, I think it would be very interesting if there was already a pack of werewolves living in Spiaggia. I already mentioned one of the Black Skull members being a werewolf--it'd be sort of interesting if the entirety of the Grasplands had a werewolf problem.