[Closed] The Marshlands at Night

[Deleted]

SubclassAnimal TrainerTools-none- SkillTongue of NatureCreatureHyzenthlay Tags@dindeen The cold feeling on her nose was definitely not welcome. It woke Caerbannog up with a start and she was surprised to find herself out in a familiar yet horrible area of Elder Tale: the Northern Marshlands of Thames. What exactly was she doing there, and what was the cold thing on her nose? The samurai looked directly in front of her and felt that her back was pressed down on the clammy ground. And in front of her, pressed against her own nose was her rabbit Hyzenthlay’s cold one. The enemic buster stared into the tamer’s eyes and pressed her little nose intently against the wolf-hair’s. Caerbannog blinked and so did Hyzen, but the rabbit did not pull away until the wolf-hair squinted at her. At that point, the enemic buster hopped off of the girl’s chest, sat by her side and laughed into the little paws. “You were so cute!” said Hyzen. “What was that for... and why are we...” the wolf-hair looked around her all confused. A little to her side, there were signs of a struggle for the mud was all squished over and rabbit footprints were scattered there. “Some icky things were squirming towards you so I wrecked their faces!” the silver-furred one proudly declared as she waved her club around and crossed her little arms over her chest. Caerbannog nodded at the enemic buster and muttered a thank you which the creature happily accepted. Hyzenthlay was pretty normal and rather sweet too, except whenever Hrairoo was summoned at which point she turned to an angry little beastie who would rip people’s rib cages out if they as much as looked at Roo the wrong way. Caerbannog was an exception for Roo called the wolf-hair his ‘oneechan’, and so Hyzen thought of Caer as her sister-in-law. But that was a story for another time. At the moment, the wolf-hair still wondered why she was in the marshlands. “Huh... remind me again why we are here?” the wolf-hair scratched her head. “Oh! You got drunk!” Hyzen said matter-of-factly. Caerbannog, drunk? No. No, that was not possible. The Beast could never get drunk. Okay well she could, but not to the point that she would forget things, right? That was not possible. No way. What about her pride? Her tank pride?! She was supposed to be able to tank anything and everything, even whole barrels of spirits, so why?!!! “Ah wait actually, I think you drank and then some guy put something in a drink and I don’t really understand but you dozed off,” the enemic buster shrugged, “And then they put you in their cart and rode off into the night.” Well, that made more sense. Some sleeping draught must have been slipped into her drink and- wait, what?! “I guess I should have stayed with you when you were at the tavern but the salad bar looked sooo good,” Hyzen continued her story while Caerbannog frantically searched her body for telltale signs of abuse, “Oh but don’t worry! I chased the cart and bashed their brains in!” That was a relief. Any other time, the samurai would have told the rabbit off but she had just been saved by the silvery creature, so she’d let that brain-bashing go that one time. That still did not answer the question about the marshlands though, and so Caerbannog raised an eyebrow at the rabbit. “The horse got scared and then we had a runaway cart and then next thing I know, icky swamps! Better than a cartful of brain matter and blood though... I guess, maybe?” the enemic buster giggled at the thought, “So here we are now!” A full moon loomed overhead and it made the marshlands look a hundred times creepier than usual. Caerbannog blinked at the darkness and light around her; both found for dominance. The moonlight fell upon the water’s surface but was unable to pierce its murkiness. Shadows played behind the trees but everyone knows that there can only be shadows where there is light. Either way, the place was creepy so Caerbannog tried to get up but her right leg was missing. Wait, what? The samurai stared at the place where her leg should be. It felt really cold and pressured, and under the moon’s light, she noticed that it was being eaten up by the ground. Was that... quicksand?! “Ooooohhhh and that. Well, I couldn't take your leg out of it so I tried to wake you up. It worked! The waking up, I mean, “ Hyzenthlay stared at the slowly vanishing leg as she scratched her chin. Ahw, now she was in quite the pickle. Caerbannog was slightly drunk and the sleeping draught had not worn off completely so she was not at a hundred percent of her strength. At least the quicksand was very small and only swallowed up her leg. The samurai remembered some survival things though so she remained calm and quiet. If she struggled, her movement might cause the quicksand to expand or to swallow up her limb faster. Maybe a bit more rest would do her some good... yeah, just some more shut eye. WC: 855 || Code by Neun of ET. Artwork by Taamo.

[Deleted]

SubclassAnimal TrainerTools-none- SkillTongue of NatureCreatureHyzenthlay Tags@dindeen The squishy, cold ground was somehow comforting despite the danger that it presented. Caerbannog began to fall asleep once again as her enemic buster began to panic for real this time. Around them, the wind began to howl through the trees and the shadows menacingly lurked just a little way off from the pair. A growl or two could be heard from beyond the low vegetation, or whatever was left of it, and behind some fallen, rotting tree trunks. Hyzenthlay’s ears perked up and she raised her club over her left shoulder, ready to dish out an attack at anyone who dared approach them. But no attack came despite the menacing sounds, and in the end there was only that one rabbit and her tamer. Maybe Hyzen was getting paranoid; maybe there was nothing beyond the beyond. Whatever the truth was, she did not know and the slumbering Caerbannog surely did not know either. The samurai had drifted off to sleep and was already dreaming. She mumbled a bit every now and then, but in a language that the enemic buster did not understand at all. It sounded different from the usual adventurer speech so for a moment, Hyzenthlay lowered her club and listened to what the wolf-hair was saying. “Mata ne...” was the last thing that the girl said. Caerbannog’s mind had drifted off somewhere to a dream, another memory of days long gone. Perhaps she was getting homesick but busied herself with other things to forget about it, or perhaps her mind just wanted to replaying things for no good reason. Either way, the girl had forgotten that she was in Elder Tale and simply relived her last day in her old university. She had to move somewhere else due to the divorce issue between her parents, and that day was a rather bittersweet one. Apparently Kyuu and her father were going to move to a larger city and she was going to a more well-known university where she could take scholarships. She did not really know anyone that well in school but still, it felt difficult to let those people go. Since Kyuu did not know anyone well enough, she had not told her classmates that it was her last day. The one person in school who did matter to her had already graduated, and so the girl headed home all alone. Instead of commuting immediately, she walked around the university for a while and visited one of the many student clubs. It was a busy place as usual but one that she only looked at from afar for fear of massive crowds and tall people. The latter was quite a dilemma what with her being of Asian ancestry while living in a European country. It was one of the reasons why she avoided people but that had not become apparent until she was stuck in Elder Tale. As that thought crossed her mind, the image of the university momentarily changed to that of Londinium but almost immediately, it turned back to how it was. Kyuu tilted her head slightly at that scene, but then she shrugged it off and continued to relive that day in her memory. Past the clubs, the girl walked by the library and noted that it was a packed with unfamiliar people and some even seemed to be foreigners. They were probably preparing for some research, as she’d heard that there was a nearby conference. Kyuu herself had stepped into the library a few times, mostly to read works of fiction just to pass the time and to improve her proficiency with different languages. Ever since she met Ryuu though, he had pestered her to actually study and while that did well for her grades, the blue-eyed girl usually ended up bored half-way into study sessions. At which points she would then throw a tantrum or just pout forever at the young man until he agreed to end their study time so that they could get some ice cream or frozen yogurt. The vertically-challenged girl stopped on her tracks just as she passed by that library. A painful feeling in her heart, the very same that she felt that day, was there once again. She’d taken his presence for granted all those years and simply thought that he was an annoying friend who butted into things that he should have left alone. But at the prospect of having to leave for a different place, though only a few hours away, meant that she would not be able to see her friend as she usually did. Graduation and his eventual employment already cut off a bit of their time for the two did not have a reason to hang out anymore, and his work hours did not allow the young man to leave whenever he wanted to. Some weekends they were still able to play video games together but that was pretty much all they had. Kyuu walked on with a heavy heart, dreading the farewell ahead. Would he even have time to say a proper goodbye? Ryuu had grown to a proper adult, with all his obligations and responsibilities; the girl felt as if she had been left behind, but that was to be expected given their age gap. But moreso than that, he handled the whole Schwarze family situation ‘normally’ or at least in a way that seemed normal to other people. Ryuu had supported the girl’s father in some ways, mostly by talking to him, while Kyuu locked herself up in her room and played video games or read books all day. Things would definitely be different once the girl and her father moved away. How could she do the things that Ryuu did? She was never any good at talking, most especially about emotions and problems of the heart. While Caerbannog was in her dream reliving the past, Hyzenthlay was panicking in Elder Tale. The samurai was turning to a not-so-healthy color due to the cold ground, and her leg was continuously being pulled into the mini-quicksand. If only she could do those ‘call’ things that adventurers could... oh no. The enemic buster could try shrieking for help but she knew better; a rabbit crying out for help would just attract trouble mostly from the larger denizens of the marshlands. Oh, what to do... what to do? WC: 1055 || Code by Neun of ET. Artwork by Taamo.

[Kumori]

	HP 100% Regen 5HP every 5s MP 100% Regen 5MP every 5s	Kumori :: Level 68 :: Assassin Armor: Cuirass of Shadows with Cloak of Darkness Main Weapon: Night’s Kiss by 黒 with Nectar Scabbard and Alvan Blade by 黒 Quick Slot: Heaven's Wrath by 黒 Other: Something
WC: 519	Tags: @dindeen	Skills:Quick Draw

Ryuu was waiting at the tavern for Kyuu. She had wanted to get a few drinks, but from what he could tell, she wasn’t even here. She hadn’t even made the effort to get here. He was a little furious that she had ditched him without telling him. When he got up to leave, someone began speaking about a girl, young, black hair, being led to a cart and then a white rabbit was giving chase. It happened about 20-30 minutes ago. Ryuu ran to the table and asked for who owned the cart, which direction and all of the necessary information he needed. He rushed outside and activated his tracking skill to locate Hyzen’s footprints which would hopefully lead him to the samurai. Geez… drinking drinks from strange people again... he sighed. He followed the tracks and ran as fast as he could. His face was grimacing. Baka… how could you get yourself into this mess? he asked. He ran as fast as he could, as hard as he could.

The lit path was very helpful in this situation. It was highlighted orange, which allowed him to follow easily. His steps were light and his shorter hair flowed against the rushing wind. His vision was focused on tracks ahead of him. It was obvious that the people who had kidnapped the samurai did not know who she really was. While he cared nothing for her kidnappers, he was still in disbelief that she was in this situation, but sometimes, one could never account for such things. She was still so innocent and didn’t know that bad men would still try to do things to her.

After minutes of running, and it was only minutes because of his constant use of [Quick Draw] at whatever the furthest object on his path was in order to instantly cover ground, he finally got to his destination, seeing the little Enemic Buster’s large club in the air. That was the tell-tale sign that she was there. It was uncharacteristic for an enemic buster to be in these parts. That is why he went there immediately. The color on Kyuu’s body was not good. He pulled the enemic buster out first, placing her away from the quicksand and then laying down and grabbing onto Kyuu. He pulled her out gently, making sure not to pull any of her limbs of while doing it. After about a minute of pulling on her, she finally was freed and the force that he had applied had been little enough that the samurai was not thrown into him. He moved away from the pit, Kyuu in his hands, and he hugged her and sat her in his lap. He pulled his cloak around the samurai and himself, and then placed the enemic buster on the lap of Kyuu. He needed to warm up the samurai. It was evident through her coloration. Any footsteps would alarm him, and his throwing knives were easy to use. All he concentrated on now was making sure that Kyuu was safe. “Baka…” he said quietly as he held onto his girlfriend tightly.

[Deleted]

	HP 40% Regen 5HP every 5s MP 100% Regen 3MP every 5s	Caerbannog :: Level 81 :: Samurai Armor: Charcoal Ooyoroi with Pitch-black Yukata masked with Zankapfel Main Weapon: Nóttúlfr (Night Wolf) with Mitsuho and Black Star Quick Slot: Nótthrafn (Night Raven) Pet: Hyzenthlay
WC: 1140	Tags: @dindeen Kumori	Skills: -none-

For the first time in her wee little life in Elder Tale, Hyzenthlay felt an unfamiliar emotion: FEAR. It was something that she was not used to, having been one of the strongest in her corner of the forest. From the moment that she was ‘spawned’ by the game, she had her club and her stronger abilities compared to other rabbits of Windsor, and she wrecked faces wherever she went. She even wiped out parties of lower-leveled adventurers who thought that they could handle her awesomeness. And so not once did Hyzen ever feel fear. Not once... until now. Until her tamer, an adventurer who was supposed to mean nothing to her, laid there looking so helpless with the world crumbling around her. The rabbit felt equally powerless since despite her level, her size was inadequate for the task at hand. Her bloodied club which had protected her most of her life- it could do nothing.

So when a figure appeared from the dark, Hyzenthlay was first so afraid that she trembled, but when he got closer, the enemic buster’s realized that it was the assassin who had been trying to ‘claim’ her tamer. She raised her club to ward him off but the male adventurer did not take notice of the weapon and instead went on to claim the helpless- wait... no he didn’t. No... he didn’t? Kumori pulled Hyzen out of trouble first and set her upon a more stable part of the marshland. At that, the enemic buster stared at him, dumbfounded. Was she not his enemy? Hyzenthlay thought that they were rival of some sort; but he saved her first, and as he pulled the samurai out of the quicksand, the assassin moved quickly and wasted not a moment. And upon his face, there was etched a genuine worry.

The cool wind blew across the trees that dark night and Hyzen shivered. She put her club down and looked on as the assassin took care of the samurai, something that the rabbit would be unable to do even if she wanted to. The enemic buster felt so useless and unnecessary, until the assassin picked her up gently and placed her on the girl’s lap. Hyzenthlay looked up at Ryuu, her eyes curious as to what he was doing and a bit wary in case he tried to do anything weird to her tamer. But aside from a single foreign word, the guild leader said or did nothing else and he just sat there with his arms and his cloak around the samurai and her rabbit.

In her dream world, Kyuu finally got to the point when she went home. The commute felt like a ride longer than it usually was, probably due to the heaviness in her heart for she dreaded the days to come. She would have to say goodbye to the place which she called home for so long; her family was already broken up, how much worse could it get? That aside, she also wondered if she would be able to say goodbye to Ryuu properly. Part of her wanted to, but part of her didn’t... she wasn’t sure if she could avoid being emotional about it, and that would be very embarrassing, she thought. Finally, the girl arrived at the front door of her own house which would not be her home for a while. As her hand reached for the knob, she thought she heard two voices speaking from within. The conversation was unintelligible but she could recognize those voices easily; one was her father’s and the other was... Ryuu’s! Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of seeing him again, possibly for the last time. But it was also at that point that she decided that no, she wouldn’t cry. It would be a happy farewell between two good friends, a memory that they could hang onto in case things went awry for whatever was left of the Schwarze family. And so the girl reached out to open the door, and as expected, she saw her father and Ryuu when she stepped into a room. She wanted to say ‘Tadaima!’ and hold onto that scene forever, maybe expect to see that scene forever every day of her life... to return home to two people who were important to her. But the traces of tears on Ryuunosuke’s face stopped her sad thoughts from going any further. It would be a good memory, a happy farewell between... friends. A cold wind blew all of a sudden, and so the girl put her arms around her. She turned around and saw nothing but darkness.

As her mind drifted back to her reality in Elder Tale, Kyuu shivered for a moment until warmth surrounded her body and something fluffy was placed on her lap. Her head was turned down and so the first thing that Kyuu laid eyes upon when she awoke was Hyzenthlay’s furrowed brow and her cute little rabbit nose which sniffed at the samurai’s face. The girl’s body felt stiff and her legs in particular felt numb, but she managed to lift a hand to gently pat the enemic buster’s head. Hyzen threw herself against the samurai’s chest and sobbed against it, at which point the girl noticed that her rabbit was shivering. She put her arms around the creature and only then noticed that the warmth did not come from the enemic buster alone, and that there was a cloak around her too. The samurai looked to her side; it was rather dark what with the shadows all around, but the full moon on the night sky illuminated the marshlands just enough for her to be able to see who was there. At first she was slightly worried and wondered what she would do if some unknown person had taken her and her rabbit hostage, but when familiar black clothing came into view, her heart was stayed and a nervous thumping was replaced by a skipping どきどき.

Kyuu looked up at a face which was least expected, what with her being so far out in the marshlands and at the dead of the night too, but one that turned up at the most unexpected moments to assist, to help, and at her current state, to rescue her. The look of worry on his face was so obvious, but at the same time it seemed a little funny to the samurai that he lost his composure like that. Maybe he was defenseless because he thought she was still asleep, or maybe he’d just gotten that easy to read after all. The girl’s lips formed a weak smile as she looked up at that one person who’d always been there for her when she asked for his presence, and even when she didn’t.

“Hello, stranger,” she greeted Ryuu.

[Kumori]

	HP 100% Regen 5HP every 5s MP 100% Regen 5MP every 5s	Kumori :: Level 68 :: Assassin Armor: Cuirass of Shadows with Cloak of Darkness Main Weapon: Night’s Kiss by 黒 with Nectar Scabbard and Alvan Blade by 黒 Quick Slot: Heaven's Wrath by 黒 Other: Something
WC: 512	Tags: ?	Skills: Skill name

Ryuu kept his eyes closed, making sure to heighten his hearing senses and concentrate on them in the case that someone was nearby who wanted to attack the level 81 and level 68 adventurer. He was probably making a face that made him looked worried. He was worried and anything that happened to the samurai would devastate him, especially something that was worse than death in this game. His arms were wrapped around her, holding her tighter to make her feel more secure, even if she was unconscious. There was something about the subconscious and a long list of boring descriptions and references I could write to talk about actions during sleep were still perceived by the subconscious, but we won’t go there. Instead, the assassin simply waited for the samurai to regain her composure. He was glad that the Enemic Buster didn’t decide to attempt to bas his head in with her club, instead she waited in the lap of the samurai patiently, waiting for her to wake up.

After several minutes of waiting, he felt the movement between his arms as she squirmed slightly. He kept his eyes closed and said nothing, but finally she spoke up. “Hello, stranger,” was what she said. Was she trying to be cute? Probably. He opened his eyes at the words and looked into her eyes with his own glistening eyes. He leaned forward, closed his eyes, and used his right hand to hold her head up against his, gently and kissed her passionately. He was afraid for her. While he knew death had its own implications and nothing completely permanent, he still cared for her in a way that a husband should care for a wife. He was being protective of her, almost to tears if he would lose her like this, something that could be prevented. He broke the kiss and placed her head on top of his shoulder, his head over hers. “Baka… didn’t I tell you not to drink without me?” he said as he cried tears of joy. He was glad that she was okay, and so he simply held her tight. He hoped the Enemic Buster wouldn’t bash his head in for marking her master once more, and this time it was an elongated one. His breath normalized and he stayed in that position. “I don’t want to let you go… I want to be with you forever. Will you grant me that request?” he asked… was this too sudden? Ryuu didn’t think so. They had known each other for 4 or 5 years now… and during those 5 years they had grown so close together that people already thought they were dating. Maybe it was true… maybe they were dating and they lied to themselves that they weren’t. Ryuu smiled and finally popped a question that some people may have thought was too soon. He pushed her away from him gently she could see his eyes and seriousness in what he was about to propose.

“I love you… don’t leave my side, ever…” he said to her.

[Deleted]

	HP 50% Regen 5HP every 5s MP 100% Regen 3MP every 5s	Caerbannog :: Level 81 :: Samurai Armor: Charcoal Ooyoroi with Pitch-black Yukata masked with Zankapfel Main Weapon: Nóttúlfr (Night Wolf) with Mitsuho and Black Star Quick Slot: Nótthrafn (Night Raven) Pet: Hyzenthlay
WC: 735	Tags: @dindeen Kumori	Skills: Tongue of Nature

After the enemic buster ascertained that her tamer was still alive and well, she calmed down and rested against the wolf-hair even as the girl shifted slightly so that she could look at her savior. Hyzenthlay was still wary of the assassin, but something about the way that her tamer reacted made the rabbit hesitate when she thought of wrecking his face. Was the samurai poisoned? She was acting really strange, the rabbit thought. Maybe the girl was still delirious. Hyzen did not wave her club at the young man out of respect for her tamer but she still watched whatever the assassin was up to.

As Hyzenthlay slowly warmed up against the samurai, Kyuu herself felt better and her breathing and coloration normalized. The assassin’s cloak and his arms around her added to the warmth that gradually enveloped the girl and took her numbness away. The cold wind blew once again and it rattled the branches of the trees around them, its sights and sounds momentarily distracted the wolf-hair. When her eyes shifted back to her savior, Ryuu leaned forward with his eyes closed. His right hand secured the samurai in place so she was unable to turn away, and with the two so close to each other, Hyzen could not whack the young man’s face away without endangering her tamer as well.

The blue-eyed girl held her breath; the memory of the unwanted first kiss still lingered in her mind. She was sure that this one would be as awkward, if not worse, but something was different. With her eyes closed, she could feel him getting closer as his warm breath came closer to her lips, and when the kiss connected it actually felt… nice. The warmth that flowed from his body to hers calmed down her panicking heart and even Hyzenthlay noticed it as she leaned against the samurai’s chest. The rabbit put her ears up against that place which quite realistically made a thumping sound that went from an upbeat yet erratic one to a soothing melody. After hearing such a reaction from her tamer, Hyzen squirmed out of the way when Kyuu shifted even more than before and managed to put an arm over the young man’s nape. The kiss was much longer than the first one, and this time was accepted whole-heartedly by the samurai.

Hyzenthlay did not understand the gestures and ways of bipeds, but she could read the atmosphere at least. She remained on her tamer’s lap, just a little way to the side, and clung with one arm to the wolf-hair’s thigh as her other furry paw stifled a wee bunny giggle at the sight. It seemed that she no longer had to worry about the assassin and her tamer for she accepted his ‘mark’ that time, unlike the first time after their duel when Kyuu was visibly upset. The human biped was the one to pull away and the wolf-hair opened her eyes soon after. Having realized what just happened, the samurai took her arm off of Ryuu’s shoulder and hid her already blushing face behind her hands. His calling her ‘baka’ lightened the situation a bit, and the girl’s reply came with a small laugh as she looked up at the assassin.

“Aho… you were late!” Kyuu pouted at that guy who had the gall to call her an idiot. Right back at him then.

His next few words sounded rather serious, though the wolf-hair looked at him strangely due to it, it wasn’t because she did not understand the implications of it all. It was not because she thought him mad or joking either. In all those years that they’d been together in the real world, weren’t they usually together without him even asking for it? And when the Catastrophe struck Elder Tale, weren’t they somehow united by their circumstances? Furthermore-

“Didn’t you promise my father that you’d watch over me? He’d be disappointed if you broke that promise,” the girl motioned for Hyzen to come closer to her and the assassin as she spoke, “I guess my promise will be… I won’t make keeping that promise too difficult for you.”

The tamer then looked down at Hyzen and spoke to the rabbit in a tongue that she could understand.

“This person is important to me,”  Kyuu simply said, and the enemic buster responded with a nod to the tamer and to the tamer's boyfriend.

[Kumori]

	HP 100% Regen 5HP every 5s MP 100% Regen 5MP every 5s	Kumori :: Level 68 :: Assassin Armor: Cuirass of Shadows with Cloak of Darkness Main Weapon: Night’s Kiss by 黒 with Nectar Scabbard and Alvan Blade by 黒 Quick Slot: Heaven's Wrath by 黒 Other: Something
WC: 213	Tags: ?	Skills: Skill name

Surprised that he wasn’t getting clubbed in the face by the Enemic Buster, he continued to kiss the girl in front of him. It was meant to be, this girl and this boy. They had known each other for several years and through those years, their relationship kindled into something that only they could know of, only they could cherish. Their bond was something to be jealous of, their closeness to be envied. She replied to him with calling him a different kind of idiot. He smirked as she lightened the mood just as well. He smiled and pushed her away from him and looked into her eyes. “You were early!” he smirked at her. “You really know how to make me worry, though…” he sighed at her. He put his forehead on her own and sat their for a second. “Yes, I made that promise to your father… and please don’t make it too hard for me,” he said as he lowered his head and kiss her once more.

He smiled at her after she spoke to the enemic buster and then lifted her off the floor. “Should we get home?” he asked. He activated “Call of Home” to bring the two adventurers back to Londinium and back to their guild house.