Quest [Seasonal Quest] The Masquerade

[Vyvian]

Vyvian was surprised. He knew the Krova were a close knit community but.. well.. not this close knit. He guessed that people wouldn't be so protective of him once they found out who was under the mask. People were always all morals until they found out who they were protecting. The reject.. the waste of his mother's life.... Shaking his head to bring him back to the present, he slowly slid past Scorn until he could stand up, before backing off into the crowd, not saying a word. The quiet girl gestured to him. Did he want them to leave? Sighing internally, he shook his head, he'd make his own exit. No need to inconvenience all the others.. Sighing in real life this time, he drew his coat closer around him and left through the crowd. He wouldn't want to spoil this event for others. --- Eventually Vyvian found a quiet spot to collapse in on the fringes of the party. Tearing his mask off, he wept. His body ached, he was bleeding all over, he was bruised, and now he couldn't even get a moment's peace without this damned Scorn interfering with his entire life. He preferred loneliness to persecution. He violently spun his ring around on his finger, hoping that'd calm him down eventually.

[Poison]

The scene between Vyvian and Scorn attracted a bit of attention. While most of the citizens of Kalinor had gotten used to the presence of the Zith and had begun to consider them harmless, it wasn’t every day that a Zith landed on somebody’s shoulders. It looke quite threatening and potentially painful for Vyvian.

A few gasps could be heard in the Gathering Hall.

As Vetari asked Scorn to release Vyvian and threatened to call the Ochya, two people stepped a little closer to the Zith. Where they members of the Ochya or just people in disguise that wanted to play Ochya for a day?

The first of the two was a woman with black hair that came down to nearly her waist. She wore a golden mask, and her costume was a mockery of the armor that the Ochya wore. She was armed with a wooden spear and a Symenestra lash, just like an Ochya, but her black leather armor was missing certain essential parts. The top barely covered her breasts, and her pants had large holes through which pale white skin was visible.

It didn’t look as if it would offer a lot of protection in a real fight.

The man that was with her wore a long black robe that covered him almost completely and a frightening mask with two large red horns on it. He had grown out his claws a little so that they were long and sharp.

They weren’t the only ones that had decided to get a little closer though. A man stepped next to Sosicly as she made her peace offering to Scorn. He had painted his skin golden – it almost seemed to glow - and his costume included a pair of fake arms that hung beneath his real arms, precious golden jewelry and a tunic of white linen.

He was obviously disguised as an Eypharian, a quite spectacular looking Eypharian.

Behind his white mask Sosicly could hear Avarys‘ Anthurium’s slightly amused voice, „I think this is going to be the most entertaining Harvest Festival ever.“

Somewhere in the crowd a woman remarked, “Somebody should go after the boy and see if he’s hurt!“

[Viridae Kabre]

Viridae sighed as the girl approached, quite sure of her identity now. the only Symenestra he had met that did not speak. For a moment he considered telling her who he was, and decided against it.

Then the moch-Ochya stepped foreward, and he smilled a little, fangs poking at his bottom lip. He wasn't sure of their identity, but did it matter really? Of course it did. Worst case scenario they would take the Zith outside, and possibly commit a hate crime against her. Something about that didn't feel right. He was not very social, and had never spoken much to the Ochya, but decided he didn't like the idea of a guest to Kalinor being mistreated. After all, he was pretty sure the Zith simply did not know their actions are wrong, and although he had made a threat (A quite empty threat at that) he hadn't planned on actually bringing anyone any harm.

As the man in the hat left, Viridae assumed Sosicly would check on him. He could catch up with her later possibly. But for now, these supposed Ochya had to be watched.

[Scorn]

Scorn wanted to stop Vyvian from leaving, but his words and the trembling in his voice confused her. She wasn't sure what having a slave was supposed to be like, but it wasn't this. By the time she thought to go after him and punish his disobedience, a number of other stick-men had closed in around her. The Zith was aware of the unfamiliar and distinctly uncomfortable feeling of being cornered. She glared at each and every one of those approaching her. From beneath her mask, she glanced around, looking for the other Zith she knew were here somewhere. Why hadn't one of them come to her defense yet? She spotted Scourge, watching her, but standing a little apart from the scene. Scorn called to her sister in Zith speech, "They haven't seen you yet. If you take them from behind, we can surprised them!" She would have said more, but Scourge was shaking her head, backing away as if she did not want to be associated with Scorn. This betrayal hurt worse than Vyvian's abandonment, and Scorn was conscious of feeling alone unlike anything she'd ever felt before. The stick-men which should have been prey suddenly seemed as dangerous as any stories of Knights her father had ever warned her against. With no allies to fight with her, there was only one sane course. Spreading her wings, she flapped hard, sending gusts of wind over the assembled guests as she took to the air. She circled the cavern a few times, unsure where it could be safe to flee to. She listened carefully for the twang that would signal flying claws being propelled from their bows,; the only weapon that could realistically hurt her while she was airborne.

OOC :

"You think killing people might make them like you but it doesn't! It just makes people dead!"
Quote from A Very Potter Musical

[Viridae Kabre]

He stood still for a moment, tense as a stone. This was a familiar feeling. The feeiling you get when a large predator is spooked, and flees. You know it could turn around end mess up your whole day, acting with a fight response instead of a flight response, or it could keep running.

No. This was no predator. This was a person. A person that did not know what wrong doing she had commited, and had been treated very rude at a party she was invited to. Guilt washed over Viridae like a bucket of cold water. He followed her on foot, thinking of something to say. Some twist of words to rectify the situation, but only one came to mind.

He waved his hands frantically, speaking, no, shouting in common now, easily pushing aside passing party goers.

"Hey come back, I have something to say!" His accent was so thick that his cheeks reddened a little, but it didn't matter. He was trying his best.

[Laute]

OOC: Sorry for being late, busy at work.

Laute watched as Scorn left, alighting on another Symenestra nearby with a plate of food. Curious, but not enough to leave the food table yet, Laute gathered his own plate of delicacies. As he moved around the table, he sniffed each dish once before taking a little. There wasn't much in terms of spice--a taste he had come to associate with the desert now more than anything else. But there was still some, a more subtle flavour, and he gnawed pieces of chicken and rabbit as he eyed the pastries on another table. He didn't have much of a sweet tooth, but considering the few Symenestra he knew, he doubted all of these would be sweet. Ignoring the vegetables, he grabbed pieces of cake and pie, the juices of the berries and citrus fruits filling his jaw before long. No, not everything was too sweet, and pleased he moved to another table.

In a few minutes, his plate was a towering pile of food and satisfied, he turned back to Scorn.

And back to the noise that he ignored a few minutes ago. Scorn was taking off, into the high arches of the building. Below her, a Symenestra--Viridae, by the sound and smell of him--was calling after her. What had happened? Laute looked down at his plate, at the delicious scents beckoning him, and with a irritated huff, set the plate down on a table. Pulling a nearby Symenestra to him, he pointed at the food. "Protect it, I'll be back."

Then he raised his wings and flew up. Scorn's scent was filled with distress, anger, and something else he couldn't quite place. Viridae's was still looking up at her and after he reached her, perhaps he would go down to the Symenestra. His wings were larger, more powerful, and within moments he had caught up to the other Zith. Hovering near her, he glanced down at gathering crowd once more. It wouldn't do to remain up here for too long--Laute hated the attention he was gathering. There was no show, no spectacle. There other sound, the sound of metal and wood, of hostility and a sudden preparedness for a fight, angered him. "What happened?" he chirped and squeaked, opting for their native tongue instead of the Common spoken below.

[Sosicly Magnolia]

Sosicly nodded at the womans remark, jumping in surprise when she heard Avary's voice but not truly surprised by his costume. It looked good on him, and she found that the correlation between spiders and their people fit better with more arms even if that was not the look he was obviously going for. Turning to him she gave a tiny frown at being surprised but then grabbed his arm and tugged him gently but firmly in the direction of the fleeing Symenestra. He could talk, she could not. It would make things easier. Before she tried to drag the young man away Sosicly turned back to the horn masked man and cocked her head in question, gesturing to the obvious Zith problem flying about and in the direction of the red-breasted Symenestra. She was asking if her would try to deal with this or head off to find the other Symenestra. As she searched she wondered at the logic of not bringing the notebook again, everyone would know her regardless. Eyes scanning the crowd she finally found the Symenestra she was looking for, annoyance and concern warring with her. He should not have run off. Looking to Avary's Sosicly pointed to the red-breasted Symenestra and waved her hands in a 'go ask' gesture.

[Vetari Violet]

As the Ochya backed Vetari, the Zith muttered something in a rather unpoetic guttural language before taking to the sky, her wings spread wide and soaring in circles far above them. The hunter he’d been joined by began shouting at her in the Common tongue and another Zith from somewhere else in the party went into the sky to join her. He blinked, confused as to what had just transpired. She wasn’t causing harm anymore, but she was making quite a scene. He was sure he’d be hearing about this later at some point, from any number of people coming through his fortune booth later on. He’d like to get the perspectives of others and hoped someone might know more about what had happened than he was able to perceive. The red breasted man was gone before Vetari could blink, and he was being looked on expectantly by the elegant silent woman that he was beginning to suspect to be their mute Moth Queen, Sosicly, or someone pretending to be her. He was torn between the two situations. His people might need him here if the Zith decided to attack, but the man that ran off might be hurt. He had very little training in first aid, but it was likely more than anyone else that was going to attend to the shy masquer. After a short moment, he made his decision and placed his hand on the hunter’s shoulder. “You stay here, make sure the Zith do not get out of hand. The Ochya are here if they decide to attack, but it doesn’t look like they will… I’ll be with these two should you need me. If anyone gets hurt, I have a little knowledge of medicine and can help people who sustain minor injuries. Don’t hesitate to find me if you need me.” He tried to sound as authoritative as he could, but occasionally his voice quivered with uncertainty. He was afraid, that was certain. Afraid that he was abandoning his people to the Zith above. Afraid that he wouldn’t be able to help the red breasted Krova. Afraid that he wasn’t enough. But not to try was not an option now. Someone was hurt and needed him. He nodded to Sosicly as she pointed, and followed her direction to notice the man he was looking for. He shook his head and marched quickly to attend to him. He’d thrown his mask aside, and he was covered in blood, weeping. Vetari pushed through the crowd, eventually making his way to the young man. He made his steps quiet, kneeling by him in order not to disturb him to greatly by his presence. “You’re hurt,” he muttered in Symenos, quietly and in a worried tone. He felt like he’d seen the man before, but couldn’t remember where. Everyone sees everyone at some point in Kalinor, there simply isn’t a way to avoid it. But he couldn’t place where the boy’s face came from for the blood in him. “Is it alright if I tend to your wounds? I know a little about medicine that may make you feel a bit better if I could wrap the wounds up.” Most of what he’d learned had been obtained from his time in church, continuously binding and rebinding the wounds he had caused himself in the name of Viratas. However, from the look of it these seemed like they went a little deeper than he was used to, the claws of the Zith having dug deep into the young Krova’s shoulders. Vetari would do what he could, but he wasn’t entirely sure that a simple binding would work for these cuts. “Please, let me help you,” he said, his voice rife with concern. He had no idea what the boy was going through, but it certainly seemed to have traumatized him deeply. He’d spoken to the Zith before dashing off, and Vetari guessed the two had known each other. Perhaps it was the wounds on his heart rather than on his shoulders that caused him to weep. Whatever the reason for his tears, Vetari vowed to help the man in any way he could. That would have to start with bandaging his wounds up.

[Viridae Kabre]

Viridae nodded, mask hiding his frustrated expression. "Let us hope these really are Ochya. There are many who would do a Zith harm in this city," He said, leaning towards the mushroom man, speaking firmly in his ear. "But luckily, I've brought my bow. I'll keep things under control," He said with another nod, moving back towards the supposed Ochya, then glancing into the sky. He was almost sure the Zith that Just took flight was Laute, whom he rather liked. He cupped his hands a blew a long hoot into his fingers. He had a little bit of experience with their kind, and hoped he could de-escalate the situation, act as a link between his people and the winged hunters. Funny, Viridae had never seen himself in a situation such as this.

As Sosicly skimpered off, he wanted to say something to her but opted against it. Damn this dramatic scenario. It would have been nice to spend a little time with a friend.

As he waited for Laute to answer his call, Viridae approached the female "Ochya" and moved directly in front of her.

"Are you truely Ochya? And if so, how do you plan on dealing with this problem?" He considered for a moment that his tone was too accusing, but he was always direct and firm in serious situations, and was not sure how else to ask. And he did not care much anyway. He did not trust a face he could not see, and would not stand for a fake apprehending and doing god knows what to a person, Krova or not.

[Vyvian]

Vyvian glanced up tearfully at the stranger who approached him. He was slightly soother that finally someone spoke in Symenos rather than common... the language was vulgar to him. Despite his lack of care for social norms, he bit his lip, despite himself, and tried to close the flood barriers of tears. Closing his eyes, his entire body stiffened as Vyvian bottled all his stress. He'd let it out another time. Opening his eyes, he seemed distant... dead inside.. In truth this was just him suppressing all emotions to stop the bad ones. Feeling dead inside himself, he looked up at the Symenestra in front of him, wiping away his tears slowly, his hand still shaking. "Yes, I think some medical attention would be good." he muttered, the objective side of him starting to wonder who the person was and whether he should be afraid of him.