IC Remnants of the Elements

[Toiletprincess]

ZWN & TAKOT
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She flinched, the boy's sudden outburst taking her by surprise. "Are you... okay?" She asks gently, a swell of familiarity in the back of her mind. Come on, who do you look like... Stupid brain. "You should be careful," she continued, moving to pick up the cool towel that had been flung onto the floor, "you fell quite a height."

Takot laid back, still a little sore. "Uh- yeah, I'm fine. I guess I could have been a little more careful... but I had to see if someone I've been looking for was here..

Zwn frowns, eyeing the boy. "Why were you on the roof? And.. who were you looking for?" she asked softly, putting the damp towel back on his forehead as he lay down.

"Just... well, the I guess to put it lightly-" Takot smiled a little, "the most important person in the world. I had heard she might be here, and had to get in some way.

"Couldn't you have gone in through the door?" she begun, shaking her head, "She sounds lovely. Say- we haven't met, have we? It's just you look awfully familiar."

Atticus: "You... sound pretty familiar too..." Takot opened his eyes. "Wouldn't it be lucky and kinda convenient if your name happened to be Zwn?"

The brown haired girl gasps and draws back, slapping a hand over her mouth as realisation hits her. "Oh my.." she starts, her eyes blurring, "Takot?"

Takot grinned, and laughed. "You've uh... changed a little."

Zwn laughs, both of her hands over her mouth and tears in her eyes. "You look... older," she replies, grinning back.

"I uh, I feel a little older..." He wiped away the tears from her face with the blanket in his bed. "How you been doing? I missed you... a lot."

"Well, I'd say I'm doing alright," she answers, looking down at her gown and grinning, "I missed you too.."

"I'm glad..." Takot's eyes sweat a little. "I kinda... I was afriad you might have forgotten me... sorry."

"Forgotten you?" she mutters, "Never." Zwn pulls the dark haired boy into a bear hug and stays there for awhile before pulling back. "Oh! and look!" she grins, jumping off the bed and putting her hand above her head, "I've gotten taller!"

"AND I HAVE MILD FACIAL HAIR. IT'S AWESOME." Takot blushed. "I'm feeling better, you wanna go back out?"

"Mild facial hair, huh?" she mocks, sticking her tongue out cheekily. "Sure, why not- oh! I found Alouette and Tora at the start of the week. I think they'll be here today."

"Oh sweet! I haven't seen any of the old gang since I woke up." He stood up and cracked his neck. "This is going to be amazing."

She nods, taking hold of his arm. "Okay, let's go!" she says, pulling him out the room and down the stairs.


((Naoh I JUST EDITED THIS POST LOL))

 

[Faliara]

Had Endal waited for a response, Himinn would have asked if there was a specific spot to meet up in later on in case they get lost or something of the sort. As it is, he hadn't, thus leaving her and Gilliam there.

Himinn- Eiríni now, she supposed, she hadn't quite expected to take up her name from the last world- turned to Gilliam. "So, uh... Do I just go around and see if I can spot anyone familiar?"

((Fiestaguy she's wearing the dress that I drew her in when I searched up Victorian dresses, though that's probably a given. I guess she liked it enough?))

 

[Fiestaguy]

Gilliam crossed his arms, scanning the room. "Sure, I guess so... If you wouldn't terribly mind though, I still have an author to find later..." he turned his head to Eiríni, his voice hushed "Also, you know the deal, right? Don't let anyone know who, or rather what we are. I'm not looking forward to getting chased out of here..."

((Faliara sounds good.))

 

[Faliara]

Himinn nodded. "I know."

And still uncertain of how exactly to go about her task, she disappeared into the crowds.

((@Anyone willing to call out to her or bump into her or anything along those lines.))

 

[Enderfive]

Erien

Five or ten minutes had passed since the incident with the breaking glass and someone falling possibly to their death, and Erien had spent the time searching for anyone that looked like Zwn or even remotely resembled the description of the hosting nobleman's daughter. He swept his hair left in frustration. He stood on his tiptoes once again in an effort to get a clearer view of the ballroom, when someone bumped into him. Erien looked down in annoyance and saw Himinn. Or, well, Eirini, he supposed. He wondered if anyone would think they were related somehow, their new names were so similar.

"Sorry, didn't see you there. Have you seen anyone familiar yet?" The girl shook her head. "Okay, well, we'll just keep looking then," the wizard said and rose up again to see better.

There were two people coming down the stairs, one boy and one girl. Both looked to be about the same age as Erien. And one of them looked exactly like Zwn. Excellent. He grabbed Eirini and started making his way through the crowds towards the person that looked like a Guardian.

(( eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ))

 

[CaffeinatedKitty]

They hurry down the street, arms linked and on their guard. While they haven't yet been bothered, there's always the possibility.
As they walk nearer to the entrance doors, they hear a voice coolly declaring, "Now, since you have failed to heed my warning, I must challenge you on my honor to a duel, not to the death, but a few "minor scratches" and shattered blades should be not a problem.
Do you accept, knave?"

Marisa looks over at Avis, brows knit in concern. "Who's he talking to?"
A few steps more, and they can see: Rowan, facing a nearly entirely blue-colored boy.
"I know him! He was here the other night."
"Kind of hard to forget, isn't he?" A sort of dry humor in Avis's voice, she looks over the- to her- newcomer. He reminds her of a certain non-human that she'd known for a brief time, thousands of years ago- yet, he's clearly a different person.
"Should we just..." She starts, only to glance over and find that Marisa's gone.
"Rowan! What's going on?" She'd left Avis's side to inquire about the situation, and now stands almost between the other two. "What happened?"
More cautiously, Avis moves to join them. "Yes, I'd quite like to know as well."
...
((S_swimmer, Catcocomics))

 

[Faliara]

A slightly dirty Nora was gazing in fascination at the pyramidical object in her hands, a bright blue light emitting from within. This was how Josef found her, transfixed at a weird object that shouldn't be in a forest, not at all minding about her current, muddied state.

"Nora, what were you- what the hell is that?" Nora did not answer. Josef sighed, and bent down, flicking at his sister's forehead. That seemed to do the trick.

"Ow!" Nora dropped the object to rub at her forehead. Josef picked up the object, inspecting it. "What was that for?"

"You were being distracted by a weird blue thing. Now, what were you thinking, running off like that?!" he yelled, stopping his inspection to fling up his arms in the air.

"We've never gone so far in the forest before. I wanted to see what lay beyond!" Nora said, flinging her arms up in the air as well.

"That's no excuse!" Josef dropped his arms, letting out a frustrated sigh. "Nora, the nearest village from ours has an anti-magic group, you know that."

Nora bit her lip. "... I had figured... That I could just hide my magic..."

"Didn't you hear, Nora? Some of them are rumored to have magic detectors. What if they pick up on it?"

Nora visibly drooped. Josef sighed.

"Don't run off like that, alright? It's not safe. Not here."

She nodded. After a moment, Josef gave her a small smile.

"Now, let's see what you found, alright?"

 

[S_swimmer]

Rowan continued facing Katsu with steely determination. "It's none of your business." He stood there, eyeing the boy. It was pretty clear he was experienced. Rowan's eyes narrowed. What are you going to pull?

 

[Catcocomics]

Katsu​

Katsu stood there, unsure if Rowan would choose to fight. Someone had come and asked what was going on, but was effectively told to stay out of it by Rowan. "Do you accept my challenge or not? Even if I do have all day to wait, I don't really want to just stand here waiting for you to make up your mind."

((S_swimmer ))​

 

[S_swimmer]

Rowan assumed a fighting stance and cracked a crooked grin. "Let's do this, pixie bitch." Without skipping a beat, Rowan dropped to the ground and sent a sweeping kick towards Katsu's legs.

(( Catcocomics ))

 

[Fiestaguy]

Gilliam looked around the room in search for the acclaimed author. Occasionally, he asked someone fancy-looking if they knew a "Leonardo Fezux." Some would laugh, dismiss him and walk away. Others would fall eerily silent and stand around awkwardly. And a few of them stared at him in disgust.

"What a waste of time." Gilliam sighed as he sat down near the entrance. "Two months wasted. Absolutely fucking wasted." 'Well, I did come across those two... I guess.' Looking over at the stairs, he saw two figures walking down it. They looked eerily familiar. He stared at them quietly. He was in their line of sight, although the odds of him being spotted by them were small.

((Naoh Toiletprincess Enderfive Faliara ))

 

[CaffeinatedKitty]

Huffing, Marisa plants her hands on her hips; catching Avis's eye, she nods towards Katsu. "Be ready to stop him."
She skips around them, back the way she'd come, tilting her head as though she's listening for something. She raises her arm, her fingers curling into a fist, drawing a thin stream of water down the side of the street. A puddle forms at her feet, quicker than even she had expected, and moments later, she pulls all of the water into the air.
And in one quick movement, she whirls around and sends it all crashing down on Rowan.
Using the water as a lever, she yanks him backward and keeps him pinned to the ground. She really doubts that he'll back down now.
Putting herself between the two of them, she shakes her head. "I can't believe you're fighting. Is there actually any point to this?" She pauses. "And it had better be a good reason."
...
((I got tired of waiting S_swimmer Catcocomics))

 

[S_swimmer]

(( :I ))

Rowan, Katsu

Katsu leaps back a little when Rowan tries to trip him without warning.
Having been waiting for something like this, Katsu barely got out of the way in time, but could not counter.
Katsu stands still, secretly taking a defensive stance.

Rowan pushed off his hands back onto his feet. Using his momentum, he spun around once again and jumped up, this time for a flying kick. If this was blocked, he might be in trouble.

Katsu saw the kick coming fairly quickly and rooted his feet to the ground.
He grabbed Rowan's incoming foot and used Rowan's own momentum to fling him into a tree.

Pain crackled through Rowan's body as his back slammed against the hard bark and a groan escaped his mouth. Taking an extreme amount of effort, he kept his eyes open and landed shakily on his feet. He kept his fading vision trained on Katsu, one hand hovering over the hilt of his sword.

Katsu turned to Rowan, watching him as he got back up, waiting to see what he would do.

Kramia starts trying to thaw the ice binding her arms.

The two stood there for a while in a stalemate, each waiting for the other to make the next move. Then, slowly, Rowan began circling around Katsu. "You're good," he called, grinning crookedly.

Katsu did not respond to Rowan's compliment, though continued watching his movements.
Katsu knew that giving his adversary a response could open himself up for attack, and it seemed to him that the battle had not yet been won.
Katsu also knew that he could win this easily if he were to use any magic, but it would be honorless to use such an advantage in a non-magic duel. Despite this, Katsu wasn't too horribly worried as he had not yet made his own move...

Rowan spat out blood. This was no time for holding back. He slowly shuffled his feet, right over left, left over right, moving around Katsu as he slowly spiraled inward. His grin was wiped by a cold, determined expression. In this one friendly battle, his entire life was on the line. If he couldn't beat this little boy, how could he possibly kill the demon from his childhood? If he couldn't beat Katsu, right then and there, how could he ever avenge his father?

And then everything came crashing down on him.

In one moment, Rowan was suddenly slammed to the ground by an enormous force. Sparks shot up his body and he was then wrapped in a cool sensation. His vision turned blue and he opened his mouth to breathe but began choking. When he tried to get up, he was yanked back and thrown on the ground again. He leaned his head to the side and coughed up a pool of water. Once again, air rushed into his mouth and he gasped and wheezed, filling his lungs with sweet oxygen.

"I can't believe you're fighting," a familiar voice scorned. He looked up and saw the culprit standing in front of him: Marisa. So she's a magic user.

She continued to look down at him and chide him. "Is there any actual point to this? And it had better be a good reason." Rowan's muscles relaxed, and he sighed, closing his eyes. For the first time in 10 years, he didn't know what to do anymore. He trained almost half his entire life. Ever since the event that happened 10 years ago, the event that shaped his future forever, he devoted his life to training. Training to kill. He thought that if he trained hard enough and became the strongest man in the army, he could kill the man who killed his father. And then his whole life's work was shattered in one single moment. So this was the sad truth. Brought down in one second by a magic user. Rowan cursed. He cursed his birth, he cursed his position, he cursed the entire world. He had no idea what to do. It felt as though the universe wanted him dead.

And so, in another moment of fiery defiance, Rowan decided to fight it.

Energy soaked his limbs and he pushed himself off of the ground. Turning to Marisa, he stated, "There was no point." Leaning around her to look at Katsu, he said, "Sorry we didn't get to see the results." Then he turned and walked away.

(( Catcocomics CaffeinatedKitty i almost turned this into a suicidal mental turmoil thing but then i remembered rowan was too sassy for that

Either of you can feel free to approach him but he's probably going to leave Castia pretty soon ))

 

[Toiletprincess]

The girl pulls Takot down the stairs, grinning as she reaches the bottom. I wonder if Alouette or Tora are here again? As the two of them reach the bottom of the stairs she notices two people who look vaguely familiar making their way towards them with a look of purpose. "Hi," she greets as they come face to face with the strangers, "How are you.. tonight?"

((didn't rly know what to do and I was on a camp so..))

 

[Enderfive]

Erien

Once they reached her, Erien saw the resemblance was even stronger than he'd figured from afar. He'd always had a good memory for faces and a good memory in general, and Zwn's face was almost exactly the same as the one before him now, if perhaps a bit younger looking. He also noticed that the boy standing next to the girl was a little injured - yet it looked like it had already healed some. If this boy had been the one to fall through the glass roof earlier, he had been healed in the minutes that had followed, which was one of the stronger and well-known powers Zwn had. The boy seemed vaguely familiar as well, but Erien had no idea where or if at all he had met him before.

"How are you... tonight?" the girl asked. Erien had to think of an answer.

"I am quite fine, thanks for asking. You must be the daughter of the master of this wonderful castle, right?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued: "I am Erien, a Mage from the Sitian University and this-" he gestured towards Himi- Eirini- "is Lady Eirini from Aetarine. But I believe we have already met, although we were all using different names back then, before we fell asleep." Having said that, Erien stopped talking to gauge her reaction.

((Toiletprincess Naoh Faliara))

 

[Faliara]

Himinn looked at the girl who- she's sure- is Zwn, though she looked somewhat different, and gave a little a wave.

((I appear to have learnt the ability to be absent for extended periods of time- the fact that Safari seems to make this a slow-loading tab on purpose isn't helping.))

 

[Toiletprincess]

As the pair react to her question she observes them closely. The boy wearing wizard's robes and the girl wearing a lovely gown, both their faces sparking familiarity in her brain. More guardians, but who? She'd been awake seemingly much longer than most of the other Guardians, so more recent memories cloud her mind. She readies herself to reply with her own name she instead recoils slightly, shocked at the boy's straight forward approach. "Oh," she answered slowly, her face spreading into a smile, "I thought you two looked familiar. Uh, I-I'm s-sorry, my memory is a bit clouded- which were you?" After a moment of thought she added, "Also, call me Mynæia, that's what everyone knows me as here."



(Pronounced Min-ay-ah)
((Enderfive Faliara Naoh))

 

[Enderfive]

Erien

It's her. It's definitely her. He could barely contain his excitement. Four Guardians in one place, possibly more. He had definitely come to the right place.

"I think my attire and occupation give enough clues as to 'which' I was. May we continue the conversation in private?"

((Toiletprincess Faliara Naoh))

 

[Faliara]

"The sky was rather clear today, don't you think?" Eirini added, despite the fact that it had nothing to do with what they were saying at all. Or at least, it seemed as such.

((The activity seems to happen at night, it appears ^_^'))

 

[Toiletprincess]

She looks to them both and slowly nods. "Endal and... Himinn then?" She asks, looking around and keeping her voice low, "Great! Of course, follow me." Her voice is quick and hurried and she bounces on her heels a little. She gestures up the staircase before taking Takot by the arm and making her way up, checking every once and awhile that the pair are still behind her.

((Enderfive Naoh Faliara))

 

[Catcocomics]

Katsu​

The battle was interrupted. Deciding it best not to continue fighting, Katsu turned towards Kramia, when Rowan spoke to him.
"I do not take joy in letting you humiliate yourself. Let this be a lesson, and nothing more; for I will not hold this incident against you." Katsu replied, before returning to Kramia.
Katsu didn't fully care too much about who this girl was, since that robed guy had seemed familiar to him, despite the two not having met before...​

 

[Fiestaguy]

Gilliam sat in the corner. He dug around in his memory, trying to put the proper identities to the boy and the girl. He definitely knew the girl's identity, though her name didn't come to mind. He mumbled to himself... "It was something weird... Latin? Arabic? Greek? I think greek... Err, something with a 'z'... Z- Zoé... Zou... Zou-ih... err..." Ζωή! Her name popped into his head. When he looked up again, they had began ascending the staircase. Gilliam quickly stood up and walked to the stairs at a racewalker's pace. They had just arrived on the first landing when he half-yelled "Hey! Don't leave me behind just yet."

(( Toiletprincess Naoh Enderfive Faliara ))

 

[CaffeinatedKitty]

Rowan remains still and silent for an almost scarily long period; but just as Marisa takes a breath to speak he gets to his feet.
"There was no point." He says, directly to her, and then to Katsu, "Sorry we didn't get to see the results."
And simply walks away, his demeanor changed almost entirely.
She blinks.
Oh.
Oh, no.
Ice seems to fill her chest, an awful feeling settling in the pit of her stomach.
I messed up, didn't I?
She takes a few steps after him, words forming on her tongue but lacking the force to sound.
"Rowan, wait-"
"How else could I have-"
"I thought-"
"I just needed to-"
"I-"
"I'm sorry..."
She stops and watches his back as he walks away, twisting her hands together. She could do it, she knows, she could drag him back and hold him close and spill out countless rushed apologies but that would only make things worse, wouldn't it?
She stands slumped at the edge of the now-muddy puddle, arms clad in dampened delicate gloves wrapped around herself.
And then, she takes a deep breath, squares her shoulders, and paints a smile across her face.
It was hopeless anway.
"So!" She turns, meeting Avis's eyes. "Now that that's over, how about we join the party?"
She sees the look in Avis's eyes and knows she knows, but that's a discussion to be had later. All that matters now is that Avis agrees, and Marisa gives Katsu a nod of acknowledgement, and the two of them skirt the puddle and walk into the brightness.

Avis doesn't have to subdue the boy after all. She keeps an eye on him as Marisa scolds Rowan, but he doesn't attempt to resume the fight.
And then Rowan gets up, and she knows that things are hopeless.
She sees Marisa's expression crumple, sees the half-formed words that never leave her mouth, sees the hurt that comes with knowing that you've screwed things up completely.
And she hurts too, a vice clamped tight around her heart until it feels almost like she can't breathe. It hurts to know that Marisa's in pain, and it hurts to know that she never had a chance.
It hurts to know that she let herself fall again so easily.
So when Marisa turns with a painted smile on her face, she jumps at the chance to distract herself and flashes a hesitant one in return. "That sounds just fine."
...
((Hello yes did someone ask for broken hearts? No? Too bad, here you go anyway
Also Rowan is dumb it's because she surprised him probably, I'd bet that he'd find some way to counter it if he was prepared
S_swimmer Catcocomics if you feel the need to respond))

 

[Enderfive]

Erien

The wizard quickly turns to see Gilliam practically sprint towards them.

"Ah, yes, we shouldn't leave him behind either. This is Gilliam, known to some as the Lord of Light and to others as a raving madman. Fortunately, since we met again he hasn't shown any qualities to imply that the latter description still applies. Shall you lead the way then, Mynæia?"

((Toiletprincess Fiestaguy Naoh Faliara))

 

[Naoh]

Takot noticed the newcomer, but decided to keep quiet for now. There were just too many things he wanted to say, and he wasn't sure if now was the best time to speak. He looks awfully familiar... weird.