Pirates of the Hard Nox [Open]

The cold was the only thing the sparkling buildings seemed willing to offer beyond the silent, long dead corpses that hadn’t flown away to King’s call. Leo had searched high and low, navigated halls and nooks in search of some threat to satisfy his guardian’s question. Satisfied that they were as safe as possible, provided the buildings themselves wouldn’t rise up like the golden veined monsters that guarded the caves; Leo shifted his focus to finding anything of value. The sparkling grandeur of the structures was eye-catching, glittering gems that could never be removed without total destruction, and Leo knew they had more than enough crystal to carry outside, seeping metallic blood onto the white banks of snow.

His wandering given purpose he turned his attention to the buildings he had noted to be larger and more lavish, assuming that the people of the past who had built this strange, crystalline nest likely followed the same thinking as those who built today. Those who possessed more value would be the ones granted larger homes, and those with larger homes were likely to have more things. More things would increase his chances of finding something of value, at least to those who craved the clink of coin or the shine of jewels.

While digging through a set of drawers that held only decayed and rotted cloth a soft scuff echoed through the empty chambers of the building he had chosen, nearly imperceptible if not for the dead air around him. His dull sword instantly pulled free of the rope, thoughts instantly going to King and his men, and the possibility that one might have been left behind to keep the Hard Nox suitably buried in this icy tomb. Only the small scuff, not enough to be caused by more than a single pair of feet. One enemy would be easy enough to dispatch.

Leo tore through the door with savage ferocity, a growling battle cry stuck in the back of his throat as he dove into the street with his weapon held high, aiming to bludgeon his enemy before they had a chance to react. His sword fell behind him, however, as he hastily dropped it in his realization with a clattering sound of metal to stone. Instead of an enemy come to work foul magic, Leo found himself sliding to an uncomfortably close stop with Alys, her warmth palpable in the chilled air that separated them.

”Oh, uh, Starbird!” Leo’s voice echoed from around them as he stepped back toward the doorway he had sprang from. “I guess I got a little lost making sure it was safe. Did Caleb send you to find me?” He couldn’t keep the accusation from his tone, the displeasure that he couldn’t quite source. It would have been easy to say he was upset about the earlier confrontation with the Quartermaster, but that answer didn’t sound right in Leo’s mind. He shook his head, subtly, to try and dislodge the malaise that accompanied the rapid flash of mental images focused on Alys and Caleb whispering to one another in darkened rooms. ”Are-are you okay?” The blood and bandaging seemed to cover Alys more than her clothes, and her pallid complexion washed away his displeasure with a wave of overwhelming concern. Why hadn’t she stayed closer to him, so that he could better have protected her? He certainly would have done a better job than Caleb had, even if it had cost him his own skin.

Speak of the devil. Figuring it was due to the fact that she had just been approached by Alys, who soon dipped away to find Leo, Juniper set their jaw and did their best to not seem apprehensive. They understood Beck wanting to get away from Alys, but they didn't understand how they could be the first person on her list to approach, given they had just previously been shot by her. The changeling looked to Vena from the corner of their eye and shook their head. "It's decidedly not," they said dismissively. "And no one will need a slit throat right now. Just- do whatever you think you should, I guess."

They then turned their attention to Beck. Juniper gave a nod, though they were clearly not looking forward to it. "I don't know what exactly you're wanting to talk about here, or what you expect to get out of it. Go ahead."

For a moment, Alys watched as the girl trotted off down the street, like elusive prey eager for an escape. Poor, childish girl, so caught up in yesterday's dance that even the bullshit of today couldn't distract her. Lucky girl; for more than one reason too - Alys hadn't even tried to rile her up.

Shaking her head slightly, the fae turned back around and began to walk quietly up the street, further and further away from the group. After all, she had two jobs now: to scout and find goddamn Leo. The massive, gaudy sword remained in her grasp, raised slightly - defensively - despite the fatigue in her arms. The fatigue that she felt fucking everywhere. But someone had to do it.

Every once in a while, she passed a smaller alley or street. Some ended abruptly, while others stretched on an on, far enough that the fog constricted her view of their end. Still, she pressed forward, remaining silent until the side of her foot scuffed against a raised cobblestone. She heard a tiny click and then an eruption. The door to her right shattered, and a loud voice echoed into the street, causing the fae to stumble back, her blade practically waiting to be met with resistance. Blue eyes narrowed in on the blade that was raised above, then on the assailant - "Fucking hell, Leo," she hissed quietly, straightening as he nearly collided with her. 

Two for two - neither Beck nor Leo seemed to know how to scout properly. Of course, she wasn't any better, wandering around by herself - but holy hell. She made a note to bring it up to Caleb. 

 "I'm fine," she whispered sharply, her gaze flicking from one end of the street to the other, before meeting Leo's. The expression on his face caused hers to soften, and she nodded, repeating once more, "Really, I'm fine." Such a pretty lie. 

"Well if anyone's out there, they know we're here now. Did you find anything?" 

Vena gave the pyromancer a very skeptical stare about the whole definitely not bit. Maybe it was just one of those one-sided things. They supposed they could understand that. The archer did seem a bit weepy. Vena gave them both a cheerful little wave and sauntered off to continue exploring the building a bit, though they stayed within seeing distance of the other two. They were hardly about to go wandering off on their own - less because they thought they'd find anything here that they couldn't handle, and more because wandering off on their own gave everyone else the opportunity to head out while they weren't looking.

There didn't seem to be much of worth here. Everything was old and falling apart and dead and rotting, which explained why Captain King had such a fascination with the place but didn't say much about this particular lot.

That was definitely a good question to ask, once this little not-romantic argument had come to its conclusion. Vena leaned against the wall to listen in, because they were a nosy sort and completely unashamed of it. Apparently the archer had been trying to shoot someone else, and that - that was where the romance bit came in. Vena shook their head and grinned, then gave the pyromancer a very pointed look and mouthed the word: Romance!

“Really? That would be nice. It’s been so long.” Her tongue moved sluggishly as Nessa spoke, the sweet tang of iron on her tongue and the lick of fire in her throat. Her eyes slid open, half hooded as her unfocused gazed drifted around her surroundings. Was the bottle heavier again? Lighter? She couldn’t tell really, or maybe it was just an irrelevant detail. For now, for this moment, she felt almost content so she was more than happy to let those nagging details get lost in the fog.

“Used to be a walled garden, y’know, tore up half of Gaeta Dearg making it. Used to sneak in when the flowers bloomed to rest beneath a great old willow the Baron let live.” She brought the bottle to her lips again, taking a long and slow pull to wash down the heavy words that lingered on her tongue. ”Always liked lilies, even in the rain.”

She looked up at Lucien for a moment, her expression turning muddled for a moment, before a sluggish smile pulled at her lips. “Thanks, for the shoulder.” A laugh trailed vapor into the cool air, but it was soon gone as she took another drink.

That… was a big sword, and more gaudy than the dagger that Caleb had given her, somehow. As she spoke he nudged the blade to the side with his own, reminding her she held the hunk of metal and jewel and opulence disturbingly close to him as he out his own away. Awkwardly he ran his fingers through his hair, glad for the warmth of his scalp against the chill in the air, albeit the cool was far less deadly than in the cave beyond, or the wild side of the mountain. Many of them needed rest, though some argued that they didn’t. Leo shook his head in response to Alys’s question after a moment’s pause.

”Nothing here is threatening, or useful. Not even a bar of soap left behind. I wonder how they kept these walls clean without it.” He glanced backward into the building he had charged from, crossing his arms to clutch the edges of the cloak that had been wrapped around him during their brief rest before delving into the tunnel. Unless some of King’s crew are still hiding in one of the buildings I haven’t searched there is nothing here but dead bodies and junk. He looked down at her pointedly, a moment of indecision.

”You should take a break for a little while. I will stand guard just in case, but you look like you’re about to drop.” It was a dangerous attempt, one that was almost as likely to arouse that angry version of Alys that had spat hatred at everyone inside the tunnel as it would bring out the star studded confidante he had avoided for so long already. In the end he decided either was fine, they were both Starbird in their own way. As long as she got some rest.

”MOVE TO THE MANOR. CAPTAIN’S ORDERS. NOW.”

Leo sighed heavily as Emryk’s voice echoed around them like a bell, the crystal structures seeming to vibrate from the force of his voice. ”And you thought I was being too loud?” Leo stood for another moment, unmoving, silently looking at Alys. ”You should have stayed by me. Caleb will always choose himself first, no matter how he feels about you.”

The sorceress rolled their eyes at Vena's prompting, though they weren't exactly wrong. At the end of the day, this did all boil down to a bit of romantic jealousy. Juniper sighed, and shook their head, trying to keep from thinking of home. Beck was right, partly. Alys had killed one of them, but... she'd been brainwashed, right? It wasn't her, right? "She wasn't in control of herself. We both know that." They began to follow after the girl, following the echoing sound of Emryk's voice.

They hesitated for a moment on their way to the manor following the last statement from Beck. They stayed silent for a moment, walking and stewing in their thoughts, before speaking. "... You're the one who hurt me, though. Because you wanted to kill her."

That line of conversation was quickly interrupted, however, by proximity to Hester, lying on the steps of the manor. She seemed to have gotten worse, despite the care Emer had given her, and was currently rambling incoherently about hunger and feelings. Given the stress of the day, Juniper was quick to assume it likely had something to do with her specific specialty, magic wise. Leaving the conversation with Beck where it was, they stepped forwards, kneeling beside the necromancer. "Hester? Can you hear me? Are you alright?"