tokyobiohazard

Sven jumped as the giant rat leaped at Kelon and loosed an arrow a second too late. The arrow lodged firmly in the wall. "Oops..."

Arva smiled at Zorica, flashing his teeth, "I wish it were that extravagant, but no. I was just born this color. It's called albinism. None of my skin or hair or anything has pigments. I'm very sensitive to the sun and burn quite easily, but I can never tan. That made crossing the desert quite taxing for me."

Upon the near-silence after Weyland's story, Ianthe looked over to Tannin and said, "Why don't you look like a drow?" "He's a half-drow," Arva corrected, resting his chin on Ianthe's shoulder and feeling quite good for being this close to her. "Though he doesn't match that description either. Why is that, Tannin?"

Ianthe interjected, "I like cats. Once, I picked up a kitten and it spit fire at me." She most likely believed this had some relevance to Weyland's story and hunched up with her knees to her chest, grinning at him like a child. Arva smiled and sat down behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. She looked behind herself and eventually relaxed into his grip, lying back against him.

Ianthe looked around at her companions and realized slowly that the friendship they once shared seemed worn-down. She watched as all her friends went to bed seperately without caring to say goodnight, and furrowed her brow. Hearing Zorica say "story," Ianthe decided that was exactly what the group needed to feel close to each other again. Yes, she could see it now. She walked over to Arva and snatched the rather fat and bulging pouch of money from his belt, prompting a look of bewilderment. She slammed it down on the counter as the barkeep started to wipe up a mess of spilled liquor, causing him to look up at her. "Yes, miss?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I want you to make all the hot cocoa you have!" "ALL of it?" The barkeep said, then stared at her money, realizing she was quite serious. Ianthe left the full bag on the counter, Aera watching it with large, disbelieving eyes, then stormed into the hallway to the door to Rhaine's room. She banged on the door, prompting a clicking sound from the lock turning over as the door unlocked. As the door swung open, Ianthe grabbed Rhaine by her bare wrist and quite literally dragged the half-elf into the common room of the tavern, her brow still furrowed. "We're telling stories," she explained, plopping her behind down on the floor close to the fire. "Go ahead, Zorica." Arva smiled at his wife and grabbed up a cup of hot cocoa as the waitresses began handing it around. Aera managed the same, and took a sip before hers could cool off.

"Oh, thanks," Sven said without another word to Ali. He then silently started following behind her, thinking back to the incident in the store and cursed himself for being so awkward with girls. He could have found a girlfriend!

Sven stared blankly at Jenendiah's display in the shop and wondered if he himself were that awkward, then decided Jenendiah was way worse. "I'll take that pair over the---" The shopkeeper's daughter swept aside her long frizzy hair and adjusted a fallen shoulder of her dress, and Sven lost what little cool he had to start with. He swiftly grabbed the boots off the shelf and shoved them into the daughter's arms. "DON'T TOUCH THE MERCHANDISE!" boomed across the shop in a loud, commanding voice (no wonder the shopkeeper let his daughter handle business), and Sven jumped as he was walking across the shop. He took his coin purse and jammed it down onto the counter with an odd fumble. Before he knew it, he was the proud owner of a pair of shiny new boots, and raced ahead of Jenendiah to the fountain to see if the others were near. He was going to spend the rest of his money on a new bowstring, but he figured he may as well save up and buy a new bow entirely.

What Brutii said >_> CONSPIRACY!

Sven was quite sick of his boots by the time he and Jenendiah got to the large fountain that marked the center of town, and positively aching to try on some new footwear by the time they entered The Common Defense, the armor shop quite close to the fountain. His eyes automatically wavered back and forth between what he deemed to be the best couple of pairs in the entire shop: one black and reaching mid-calve, and the other knee-high and very light tan. He settled on the black ones, finding them more aesthetically pleasing and predicted they'd be less of a bother to put on, with less laces. Now if only he could speak to the shopkeeper. He struggled to find a subject to talk with Jenendiah about, until he saw that Jenendiah was eyeing a pair of boots which were finely crafted and a rich, deep brown. He opened his mouth and waited a moment before finally, the words began to come out. "You, er," he paused and the words on his lips nearly retreated back inside his throat, "You should get those. I'm, um... Getting that black pair over there." He pointed. The shopkeep heard Sven and sent over his daughter, a girl in her mid-teens wearing a casual light blue dress. With curly brown hair and bright blue eyes, she looked to be someone who should be married off by now. However, she walked over to the two boys and placed a hand on her hip, reciting as she most likely did every day, "Can I help you with anything?" Sven went silent and pointed at the pair of boots he was looking at earlier.

Sven took his 250 gold with a lopsided grin, his first since coming here, besides when he found out there were other surviors of the incident in town. Of course, this grin was quickly hidden beneath an expressionless face. He decided he would spend his spoils on new boots, as his old ones were falling apart. He wasn't looking forward to breaking in new leather, but the holes in his old boots urged him in the direction of the shoemaker. "Is anyone else going to buy boots?" he froze in his tracks and asked, in case someone wanted to go with him, but in the back of his mind he sincerely wished he could be alone.

Arva began to pick noodles out of his hair before he shrugged at the arrival of what would most likely be a new addition to their group. It always seemed to happen. Their group seemed to attract odd people, and this one would likely be no exception. He was concerned more for his hair, as an attractive elf was looking his way despite Ianthe holding onto his upper arm. This was when he remembered the pasta and sauce in his hair and got up, saying to Ianthe, "I've got to find somewhere to wash my hair out now." Ianthe shied behind Aera, whose tail was still steadily waggling back and forth, seemingly on its own. Aera was still uneasy, despite the fact that Tenebris seemed harmless... for the moment. She gathered that this man was not a member of the party, and prayed to herself that he wouldn't become one.

Ooh a baddie~

Sven strayed near the back of the group, finding himself staring at the odd tree on the side of the cobbled street. He pretended to smile at Ali's comment about the man's name. Better to be on the good side of his group, even if he didn't particularly like her attitude. She reminded him too much of the snobby upper-class girls he was forced to play with as a child. He stayed on the edges of the group, but liked quieter company, as it meant he had to talk less. However, not being sure what to say, he blurted, "What do we do now?" He immediately felt stupid and shrunk farther back from the group, adjusting his quiver on his shoulder.

Name: Sven Armstrong Gender: Male Age: 16 Class: Archer (though at the moment he can barely hit a target) Appearance: Height - 6 ft (182 cm) Weight - 167 lbs (75.7 kg) Eye Color - Blue Hair Color - Sandy Skin - Pale and reddish Sven is very tall and skinny, with long and lanky limbs. He has an androgynous but handsome face, with blue eyes and fair features, but his awkwardness practically repels women. His skin is constantly sunburned and never tans, giving his cheeks and nose bridge a perpetual blush. His hands are always eerily clean, with shiny pink fingernails. Aside from his tall stature, he could easily pass for a woman. Personality: Extremely awkward and very clumsy. Starting Equipment: White tunic with olive breeches and well-worn leather boots. Worn wooden bow. Starting Spells: Stun, Magic Arrow Background: Sven is the youngest son of the blacksmith family in Sweet Water, he was never the golden boy or the favorite son, but he was the baby of the family and treated as such, much to his chagrin. Though at a young age, all his brothers began to be trained in the family business, Sven was always "too young" to start, and never was allowed to go near the forge. He has taken to going into the woods and practicing his amateurish archery alone. He can thus far hit a tree but rarely get the arrow to embed itself in the wood. Of course, with Sven in the woods during the time the town was destroyed, he was spared a gruesome death.

As Dri bumped into her, Aera jumped and spilled her soup (her fifth course, but who was counting?) all around Dri's feet and possibly splattered the poor girl's legs in the process, "Oh, I'm so sorr---" A strange man had walked into the tavern with Conall. A man with sharp canines. Aera's upper lip curled up, revealing her much-more-formidable mouth full of tiger's teeth. Her tail swished back and forth so hard it knocked a plate out from under the cook's hands, sending it flying toward Arva and Ianthe. The plate of shellfish and pasta soared toward Arva and landed square on his head, adorning his head with angel hair pasta and a thin sauce. He held his tongue and gawked at the newcomer's teeth, as Ianthe clung to his arm, looking perturbed. "I don't like him, Arva," she muttered, biting her lip. "I don't get a good feeling from him. It's the first time I haven't liked someone in a while."

Aera walked over to Argyros and immediately blushed, realizing he was quite handsome, which she hadn't figured out while on the ship, after blurting out, "What do you want to try first?!" A bustling woman shoved past Aera with a plate full of bacon-wrapped shrimp, and Aera decided that was what she'd try first, followed by lobster and perhaps some fried fish. Her nervousness subsided, she conveyed her ideas to Argyros and waited for him to respond on whether he thought it was a good idea.

Ianthe had an excellent time aboard the ship and was loathe to say goodbye to it once the ship docked. Once she set foot on the docks, however, Ianthe was excited to keep moving on. Aera had many of the same sentiments as Ianthe and found herself almost more excited than Ianthe to be aboard a pirate ship. She spent her days on the decks chatting with her new friends and even the pirates at times. Arva was absolutely miserable aboard the ship. Finding himself very bored, he ended up chatting with pirates for most of the journey about the women they'd bedded. He failed to mention the... problems he was having with his wife. When the smell of seafood cooking in stalls all over the marketplace reached Arva's and Aera's nostrils, they both perked up. "Do they serve all kinds of fish here?!" Aera said once they got into the inn, excited, grabbing Arva by his shoulder and yanking him toward her. "I... I guess so," Arva said, quite enamored by Aera's unintentional show of power. "I'm going to eat every kind they serve!" She was quite excited, moreso than Ianthe, who curled up her nose at the scent of dead fish wafting through the kitchen doors.

Ianthe was quite excited as she followed the others out of the Grey's house and onto the docks. She very quickly made her way onto the ship and stood leaning over the railing with the sea breeze on her face, grinning. Arva, however, was quite upset with having to board the ship again... He didn't share her happiness and could only pray to whatever gods were watching right now that they wouldn't run into the problems they had last time he was on the ship. Aera was reluctant, but boarded the ship with everyone else. She went belowdecks with Arva and chatted with him a bit, a bit excited to be starting an adventure.

After extracting herself from Tak'We's grip, Aera walked back over to Xundus and gave her almost rehearsed reply, "I'm Aera... I came here because I was from around here when I was a baby. My 'mother' infected me, as you probably remember from the tavern. Being old enough to handle the news, I was told about what really happened and of course, I didn't take it well, so I left." She was used to reciting the story to interested townsfolk who tipped more than others, and took a breath afterward, tucking a stray strand of tan hair behind her ear. She decided to answer with something more in-depth after a few seconds' pause. "I just want to be normal. Cliche, I know, but I forget what I am when I'm in the city." Arva held onto Ianthe for a bit longer than he should have, kissed the crown of her head, and then released her with a longing sort of sigh. Ianthe simply laughed about it, thinking nothing of it. "Ianthe, don't you know that hugging and kissing are things husbands and wives do every day?" Arva mumbled under his breath, his face red. Ianthe looked over at him, "Did you say something?" "Oh, it's nothing!" Arva walked away and threw a look of exasperation toward Aera, who rolled her eyes.

Ianthe's hug senses were tingling, and she looked across the room to see Azuris with his arms wrapped around Rhaine. She rushed to their sides and wrapped her arms around the both of them, grinning like an idiot. Aera looked over and raised an eyebrow as Arva got up from sitting next to her, muttering, "Ain't nobody gonna hug my wife but me!" He walked over to the three and hugged Ianthe from behind so as to shield her from other hugs. Aera looked at them both as if they were morons and got up to fetch Tak'We some water. She looked around outside the house and soon found a bucket propped against a wall catching water from a leak in the porch. She picked up the bucket and handed it to Tak'We. "It'll have to do, I think."

Ianthe clapped her hand over her mouth, as she'd been unaware of her effects on her companions. She instead decided to hum, twirling around in the bad weather until the nymph quite accidentally slammed into the doorway and Xundus. "I'm so sorry!" She said as Arva put a hand over his temple and whisked her toward the fireplace to dry herself out. Aera followed and leaned over to walk through the doorway. She smiled at Xundus, blushing underneath her fur at the fact that he was an unfamiliar male. The fact he was a drow made her wonder what he was doing here, but then the girl called Nawen was also a drow. In fact, Tannin looked like a drow, too. She wondered at that as she sat by the fire trying to dry out her fur.

Ianthe, of course, immediately ran outside once the storm stopped and began to play in the flooded yard of the Grey's home. She twirled around on her tiptoes and leapt on top of piles of debris while singing a song about longing and loss. Rhaine's song had both woken her up and gotten her in a singing mood. Ianthe's singing voice sent shivers up Aera's spine and made her long to hear more. It was so beautiful, she found herself deeply moved and even as if Ianthe had become more endearing. It was a strange experience that made her aware just what sort of effect the nymph had on Arva. Of course, Arva was now practically swooning over his wife, as hearing her sing always sent him into flashbacks of how dramatic their wedding had been, and how he'd always carried a small flame of affection for her in his heart... Lately, it seemed to have grown into a wildfire and set his chest ablaze whenever he was near her. However, he couldn't control himself around women, as was evident when he looked over at Aera and threw a wink her way, his chest still warm from gazing at Ianthe.

Ianthe stood with her arms stretched off to her sides, twirling in the rain and dancing on her toes in the downpour. She then looked all around herself as she realized the group was running for cover. She ran with the group toward the Grey's house, Arva holding on to her arm for dear life. Aera held on to Arva, much to her disdain, as the three made an odd chain that moved in unison. Soon, the crowd outside grew to an immense size, and the three had no choice but to branch off from the group and move with the crowd, which was moving toward numerous tall buildings. The rain was pouring down horribly hard and the wind was intensifying, blowing small children over and sending a few unfortunate small animals flying into walls. Pressed into the wall of a store by a section of the crowd which was no longer moving, Aera began to bare her sharp mouth full of tiger's teeth at people who dared to bother looking over at her. Most recognized her and felt no need to let a homeless street performer through the crowd. She could take no more of the crowd and snapped. She stood two heads above grown men, so why couldn't she bully her way through the crowd? She snatched up Ianthe, threw her over her shoulder, grabbed Arva by the forearm with enough force to yank him toward her, and powered her way through the crowd with her lips pulled back to expose her teeth. Arva was, of course, quite smitten by this, and did not protest. "Gods dammit, which house did the others go into?!" Aera was by now growling in her throat, which caused several nervous people to back away. She singled out one of them, and growled, "Where does the Grey family live?" The woman turned white as a ghost and pointed toward the Grey family home before fainting and being picked up by her husband. Perhaps her bodice was a bit too tight. Aera stopped at the Grey's door and looked at Arva. "What?" he said, staring at her with an enthralled gaze. "The doorknob's too low for me to reach without bending, and your WIFE is heavier than she looks." Arva's attention turned to Ianthe, who had fallen asleep over Aera's shoulder, and shook his head, grinning like an idiot. He opened the door, and he and Aera bent to enter the doorway. She checked to make sure the knife was still in her boot and the weapons were still on her companions' (she supposed that's just what they were to her now, and sighed) hips, and nodded in greeting to her new group of friends.

Aera was quite displeased to hear about bad weather heading their way. Though she'd never seen a hurricane with her own eyes, she'd heard tales of them before and did not like the idea of one heading their way. "I like the water and the rain, usually... I don't think that I'm too excited about this weather, however." Arva then made a lewd joke in her ear and was promptly shoved backward with all the force a weretiger could muster, falling on his bum into another guest's bowl of porridge. Ianthe was quite excited about the weather, as all she could think of when she heard 'hurricane' was lots and lots of rain and flooding. She loved the water, and that was no secret.

Aera listened to Conall intently, then said, "I recently found out my so-called mother infected me when I was a toddler in a raid and kidnapped me." She didn't find herself nervous anymore, somehow, and was grateful for it. Aera giggled at the small elf child's enthusiasm after being approached, then said, "I bet I could do ALL of those things if I wanted to. And I don't know a Todd... Wait, what's a Kender?" Ianthe then ran over to the Kender and said, "Wow, a Kender! What's your name? I'm a nymph and my name is Ianthe!" Arva was quite happy to then see their old friend Tak'We enter and to his surprise, snatch up both he and Ianthe and spin them around in a great hug. He questioned them about the whereabouts of Reona and Alphonse and possibly William as well, so Arva answered, "Reona and Alphonse married and disappeared, it seems. As for William, I haven't seen a trace of him in ages... Perhaps he's still writing down the group's adventures and has just learned to hide better." Aera then greeted Tak'We with a very horrid try at saying his name and was a bit shocked at his appearance. It was slightly scary, but the mantis' disposition was so cheery that it was impossible not to smile at him. Nawen then walked into the room and expressed her happiness at seeing Ianthe and Arva again, which was met with smiles and likewise comments. Even more traffic came through the inn in the form of the Grey brothers and their sister, introduced as Sybille. The three newest members of the group raised a hand in greeting almost simultaneously, which scared Aera, as it was almost as if someone had sloppily written their greetings at the same time.