In this world, Magic is Everything. All people, all races, are granted with the power to perform mystical and magical feats via grimories, mystical tomes granted to each and every child on their 15th birthday. Those blessed by the mana can have their names written down in legend.
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Post by Isabelle Erebus on Apr 25, 2020 12:00:26 GMT -5
To be honest, when you're out in the forsaken region, the concept of time starts to become one that you care about less. When your days are spent out in those wild lands, what day or month it is doesn't really matter anymore. Just what your next meal is, where it comes from, and who is actually to blame for what. During this time, Belle may not have been the perfect ex-little knight. In fact, she was honestly probably far from it, and yet, it was this time out in the forsaken region that did manage to salvage at least a shard or two of her previous sanity.
A mind so shattered that just touching the pieces would cause you to cut yourself and realize how much of a lost cause trying to find what most would deem 'the original Belle' or 'the old Belle'. To her, it was just a Belle that was lost, one that she could barely recognize anymore for how weak and pathetic she had been. But she had learned to move on since then. If anything, she had to thank the shattering for making her into who she was today. Sure, she may still live and strike out from the shadows. But when she did step into the light, it was going to be to a thunderous applause from her fans, and from the pained cries of those she was crushing. She could practically hear the screams of pain that they would have, hell, they might have even been the echoed screams she had heard in her life, this or her past one. She had certainly heard plenty of those, as she would be heading towards the nearest signs of true civilization.
Her mind was still fragmented, but she had picked them back together with glue and stuck them together into the closest thing she may ever call sane. And as such, she was close enough to being able to return to society, that she would go and test the waters. Heading towards the closest signs of civilization she would be able to sense, which well, for her, was a pretty long damn ways.
As she would approach, she would recognize the town as Sosshi. A place that she might have been to once or twice in her past life. Her life, Her life. Not her life. Her life had just barely started, a blossom waiting to bloom. And this was the first chance for her to see if it was spring or not.
Striding into town it was a little after lunch time, and the growling of her stomach reminded her she hadn't had a decent meal cooked above more than a self-made fire in... god knows how long. But at least her spirit was still around to keep her company. To be honest, he was one of the few stabilizing factors for her. One of the few strings that she had that connected her to her past personality. She may have had the memories sure, but trying to remember those thoughts was like being in a strangers body.
Her spirit taking it's resting place on her shoulder, she would walk in and order whatever the lunch special was. Money was no concern for her. She had happened to find enough of it lying around in the wastes of the forsaken region anyways.
A little huff left Rosalia’s lips at the forests around her that lay in silence. The ever-greens sat covered in a thick dark stone and the wind carried off specks of something glassy in the air. She’d turned it into a harsh landscape of ice and snow. A black kingdom of cold for her and her only.
As she sat down on the frozen ground, panting, her ruby hues looked up at the sky quietly.
She could’ve been out drinking with her friends. Or reading a book in her room. Or trying to seduce a random Sosshi tourist for her bed in the evening. But no, something inside of her had forced her to go outside and train spells. Train control. The red-head stared at the clouds passing above her in silence as she tried to figure out why the hell she’d woken up to train early. She wasn’t trying to impress anyone anymore. There were no Magic Knight Exams for her to take.
The witch’s ruby hues snapped shut as a negative little memory ran up her spine and she exhaled loudly.
The Blue Roses were a good squad, but she’d never wanted to punch someone as much as their current Vice-Captain, Flora. The cocky female had gotten on Rosalia’s nerves, which was an achievement in itself considering the older model was generally pretty chill (badum-tss) with everything. She’d rubbed her the wrong way the moment she opened her mouth, tried to force her beliefs of witch culture onto her, and then had dissed her mother. The air around her dropped significantly again at the memory and she felt the ice underneath her shatter.
Rosalia had never met her parents. She was raised by three idiot witch-thieves who had decided to call themselves her “brothers.” If she had to call that childhood abuse “family” ever again, she’d rather have Malcolm or Zaven kill her on the spot. The Magic Knights was the closest thing she had to a family. The Black Bulls were a change of pace that she much needed after meeting Flora in the Blue Roses. Plus, she was getting a lot of judgment for bringing so many men into her room anyways. Nobody cared who left her room in the morning in Sosshi.
Standing up, the red-head pulled the headband off of her crimson hair, letting it fall lose over her shoulders. Some of her ends were wet due to the ice she’d summoned while training, but she didn’t mind it. The cold had stopped bothering her the moment she was chosen by her new grimoire at the Witch’s Forest. It was a benefit of the Ice affinity that she didn’t expect, but welcomed silently.
The woman decided to head back into town, satisfied with the amount of progress she’d made in trying to craft new spells. She still had to practice her techniques on shielding allies, but that would come with time. Her mana was drained and she knew she’d feel her muscles aching tomorrow morning. Walking past the small Sosshi bookstore, the red-head stopped and picked out a few books she was interested in reading, paid the friendly old lady who she’d grown accustomed to, and debated on heading back to the Black Bulls base.
Her heeled black combat boots clicked against the gravel of the town’s streets as she debated on what to do next with her free time until her eyes shot open. She stopped in the middle of the road. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she spun around to face the familiar “Naughty Nymph” tavern and her gaze narrowed. What the fuck? Rosalia wasn’t drunk yet, but she was certain her mind was playing tricks on her.
A familiar mana signature had entered her small but focused range of senses. One she thought belonged to someone gone forever or dead. It couldn’t be, could it? A snippet of her younger years, living with a particularly short and sweet Azure Deer ran through her head and Rosalia felt as if someone had just splashed her with bucket of water.
There was no way. No way, that Isabelle Erebus, her best friend pre-magic knight exams, was just sitting in a tavern in the very town she was currently based in. She looked around for a rogue mage, fully expecting someone to be playing tricks on her. That or she still had a shitton of alcohol left in her bloodstream from yesterday.
The ice wizardess rubbed her temples for a few seconds before finally deciding to go check. Worst case scenario, she was disappointed once more at her inability to find her old friend. She’d given up hope three months ago anyways. Pushing the wooden door open, Rosalia stepped into the bar, immediately spotting the owner of the magical signature and nearly dropping her books in the process.
That long purple hair…
Her heels clicked over rapidly to where the frame of an adult Isabella was sitting. She sat across from her, placing her books gently on the table as she scanned the face of the woman in front of her. She had no words. Was she real?
“I don’t know if I’m still drunk from yesterday or going crazy,” Rosalia would laugh as she turned to the bartender, motioning for a pint of whatever before turning back to the noble, “… but if you’re who I think you are, I propose we get smashed while you tell me where the hell you’ve been and why I couldn’t find you for months.” She’d give Isabella a wolfish grin, her tone of voice a booming mix of disbelief…and hope.
Post by Isabelle Erebus on Apr 26, 2020 18:35:14 GMT -5
Belle was taking this chance to finally just relax. It was one thing she had learned about in the forsaken region, is that you never let your guard down. She knew that before she had decided to live there, but after living there even a night, she had nearly had her little residence broken into, and that's after she broke into this old beaten down place. She had to beat them back and 'convince' them not to come in while she was there. Demanding that they recognize it was her house now, and she was gunna be damned to share it with someone she had no intentions of sharing it with.
But now that she was in a town, a place that was protected by more than just herself, she was going to let loose and actually enjoy herself, it still actually felt a little weird to be honest, that tongue ring of hers as she would clink it on the glass. It wasn't bad, in fact, she rather liked it, to be honest, in her mind, it was well worth giving up her cat's eye locket for it. Besides, she hadn't had the chance yet, but she heard it made for kissing more fun.
But the important thing, was that with her now in an actual protected city, she would be letting her guard down and not just have her sensory up and out to it's maximum range, rather just focusing on how fast she could reach the bottom of her glass, and how quickly another would replace that one. And so far, this naughty nymph was doing a pretty good job of indulging her. Not without a bit of a fee of course, but like she already knew, money wasn't an issue for her.
She had even gone so far as to enjoy the feeling of having her back to the door, so when someone whom she wished she had seen many months ago would enter, she didn't pay it any mind. If they turned out to be a foe than friend, at least they would be able to get in one shot before she leveled the building at least.
However, it was her lucky day. And well, it was probably more both of theirs that Belle had picked the one day to come back to civilization that brought Rosa past the naughty nymph. Because who knows if she would have walked in front of it even a day later. Sosshi wasn't relegated to just a few bars after all.
However, as the figure began to make it's way towards Belle, that was something she couldn't just ignore as even Nilfy would spin their head at the person, though, not that they would recognize Rosa. Nilfy was much newer than Rosa was. And so Nilfy would instead just use her paw to poke Belle in the cheek, pulling her attention up from the drink she had just finished, back up towards the woman that had placed herself down in front of her.
At first, Belle's mana would flare out, attempting to cause an oppressive and intimidating aura around her out of anger. Because the face was the same, but the magic was different. A change so drastic anyone with even a hint of sensory would realize that the amount of mana in this area suddenly flared. Before Belle would catch the hint of... something. It wasn't the exact same. It wasn't even close. But she couldn't sense any sort of magic over the person, and she didn't know many in the kingdom that could put an illusion on her. Maybe Willow could, but no way would Willow play a trick as dirty as this, as this was Belle's first and foremost friend. "Ros-a?" She would stammer out, partially from her rosy cheeked stupor, and partially from the disbelief. Glad she hadn't gone overboard and actually gone so far as to threaten the girl, or worse, as she would merely try to recollect her thoughts and feelings. Trying to piece it all back together. Rosa was one of the few places in her messed up head that was a solid picture. A memory uncharred, a feeling nearly completely foreign in her head.
"Yes. Rosalia. Rosa." She would say, almost as if confirming it to herself that this was who was in front of her, just as the pint would be brought for Rosa, and something much stronger was brought over for Belle, to which she would just give a grin back, "Yes. It's my first time back and I intend to go home with at least one person." She would say back to her. "And I'd better hear about why I haven't heard from you in well over a year. Don't think you're getting out of this." She'd say back, flashing her a smile that also showed off her her newest jewelry.
The red-head’s ruby eyes would widen when she felt the intimidating magical Aura that the noble threw around herself. It was scary. It almost reminded her of Zaven Blake’s when he was angry or getting serious. Had she been wrong? Had she completely mistaken this person for Isabelle? But they looked like so much like her old friend that it seemed unmistakable unless she had a twin. And the mana was the same as well!
Then the fearsome magical aura stopped just as suddenly as it had appeared. The look that Isabelle Erebus gave Rosalia was one that she expected, and yet, was still surprised by. The noble girl, now a grown woman, seemed to have been ready for witch’s presence about as just as much as the red-head expected hers. Her cheeks had grown visibly pink and her golden eyes were staring at her as if she’d just risen from the dead.
“The one and only.” Rosalia would confirm, cocking her chin to the side to give her old friend a proper once-over. She had grown into a stunning lady. Her fringe shaped her face and gave it a nice outline that made her look strong but feminine and her whole body seemed to have finally reached that growth spurt that she’d been complaining about wanting to Rosalia for ages. It made the Black Bull chuckle.
Placing an elbow onto the table, the woman would lay her cheek onto the palm of her hand and just stare unabashedly at Isabelle, wondering for a split second how they had grown so far apart over the last few years. They were both Magic Knights, so what the hell had happened? Had their captains not been interested in working together? Had their paths simply divulged entirely after the war with the Diamond Kingdom war? They’d probably never be able to find the proper answers. Her eyebrows rose when the wizardess across from her admitted to having no issue taking someone home. My, my, my…had her shy friend really changed so much? Furthermore, her purple-headed friend had just revealed that she’d gone travelling, an activity that Rosalia had put a damper on the moment she got transferred to the Black Bulls. She’d travelled enough during her time off post-war. Right now, she only travelled for her Magic Knights work, and preferred sitting at home with a good book when she wasn’t getting drunk or having sex.
“The tongue piercing looks good on ya, kinda hot, not gonna lie. Any tourist in Sosshi would go for it.” The ice witch would praise with a chuckle, giving Isabelle a wink in response to her grin. Piercings weren’t her thing personally, but more power to her friend for being able to pull one off so well. Her ruby eyes would travel around the room for a split second as she picked up her drink and took a few quick sips in order to test the alcohol quality. It wasn’t bad…but she’d had better.
“So, legit though, where have you been? I asked around the Azure Deer about you, but they said you were no longer under that Magic Knight squad, whatever that meant.” Rosalia inquired, huffing a bit at the memory. The ex-Blue Rose had gone over to ask around the Azure Deer base about Belle very politely after she’d come back from her holiday, and yet the response had been negative no matter who she asked. It seemed almost as if Isabella had fallen off of the map completely. Perhaps it had partially been her fault for not keeping in contact with the Mist-user that such a thing had happened.
She took a hard swig of her drink at that thought. What an annoying line of thinking. Accurate or no, this was an evening for celebration, so she called over to the bartender for shots, two each.
“Are you…”The woman would lower her voice, a sudden gentleness cracking through her chaotic exterior “…how are you?”
Her ruby eyes would hold Isabelle’s gaze carefully, wishing to somehow scan the woman’s thoughts and make sure that they were still friends. They both seemed to react fine to one another so far, but the witch was good at putting on fronts, and considering the Erebus noble’s magical specialization (and what her old squad stood for) there was no doubt that her old friend could be doing the same. Were they actually fine?
Post by Isabelle Erebus on May 1, 2020 2:55:53 GMT -5
As Belle had started to slowly realize that the magical aura in front of her, was in fact, actually the one and true Rosa, the mana signature had immediately jumped back down. Which well, it seemed at least like it had taken the other girl by surprise. As Belle's realization would slowly kick in, and she would start asking if it was actually truly her, and the two actually had much the same look on their faces. That mixture of shock, confusion, and yet, joy. There was no doubt that there was joy on the rosy cheeked girls face.
As Rosa would confirm that it was her, she would feel Rosa's eyes gazing over her, which well, to be honest, Rosa looked fairly similar to the last time she had seen her. But Belle. She looked... radically different. Even she knew that much. Well, she was still short, and she still enjoyed keeping her long purple hair. Hell, even when she was in the forsaken region she had kept it looking nice still, and she will be the first to tell you that is no easy task.
Watching as Rosa would finally give her laugh of approval, Belle would finish her own observations as well, and while visually she looked similar. She definitely was different personality wise. Hell, the last time she saw Rosa she didn't know if the girl knew what a bar was. Or for that matter, if she had ever gotten drunk before. Belle sure had, but uh, when getting drunk with Belle you have to be careful. Eli would be the first to agree to that one.
As she had flashed the smile over to Rosa, the girl would certainly take notice of one of Belle's other most noticeable changes. Besides the most obvious one, her newest addition would be the tongue piercing, which Rosa would be quick to point out she thought was hot, and that any tourist in Sosshi would be down for it. As Belle would play with it a little bit, she would say "You know I had my doubts at first. But I decided fuck it. Gave up something for it, but I figure this was well worth it. And who knows, I'm sure I can always give some people some time to experience it, doesn't have to be a tourist." She would say eyeing Rosa for a moment, which her face probably showed slightly less than decent intentions, but that would quickly get washed away with another gulp of her drink, letting out a long sigh as Rosa would ask the next question.
And well, to be honest Rosa had no reason to realize anything was up. It wasn't like Belle had... really ever, worn her magic knight mantle. Not after her first few weeks in the squad at least. Whisking her spirit away, it would shrink down and fly into nothingness, instead choosing to hang out in her mana itself as she would begin talking. "Well, recently? The forsaken region. Though it has been so utterly long since we have talked if you were looking around the Azure Deer Base. I actually left the Azure Deer nearlyyyyyyy maybe a year ago almost now?" She would say, clearly wracking her brain for a few moments before the whispers and scratching would start coming back, dragging her back to the present. "And anyways she, I, left for the Silver Eagles." She would say, having a minor faux pas for a moment and hoping to quickly cover it up. She didn't want Rosa to know how fucked up in the head she really was. "Yuurei actually invited me there. But uhhh, a few months ago something... happened. I don't know what. But I just woke up and it was like everything was different. So I left the Silver Eagles to go discover myself some." She would finally conclude with, before downing her drink. Letting out a happy breath of air as she had managed to make it the rest of the way through and gave herself a nice reward. "So I guess now it's the opposite of when we met, you're the knight and I'm the citizen. You'll do your best to protect me from the bad guys, right?" She would ask with a grin as she would eye the shots that had been called for, picking one up and offering the toast. "I vote we get drunk enough we have to have another reunion tomorrow, depending on where we both wake up that is." She would say with a cocky smile.
And it was after they would take their shot, hitting the glass against the table that she would finally ask in return. "And what of you, what finds a Rose all the way out in the mountains?" She would say as she would eye the bartender and wave a hand, looking for another round of drinks for the two of them. She didn't know how far Rosa had gotten in her drink yet, and to be honest, she didn't much care. "And I didn't know you knew how to have a good time. Feels like we're so different from just a few years ago, but... I hope nothings too different for you." She would say, looking up at her with a genuine smile for once, and showing a bit of her old insecurity, it managing to crack the surface if only for a moment.
Rosalia would cock an eyebrow when Isabelle said that she didn’t mind sleeping with someone other than a tourist. Her mind wandered off to the citizens of Sosshi as she scanned the bar. The regulars were always there, but out of them there were only two that were attractive enough to spare a second glance. They seemed to be about the age of late 30s or early 40s, not really a problem. Personally the red-head liked older men. They had experience. The young ones she tended to recall as mistakes unless she took control.
“Fair enough, I personally don’t enjoy sleeping with the regulars here, if they get attached it can be a pain.”
She shook her head, a little knot forming in her stomach as she recalled a certain man a few years older than her. One who fit her type. The red-head would lie if she dared calling her night with him a regret. She picked up her mug and took a very long swig of the shitty alcohol, letting it burn the back of her throat pleasantly. “She didn’t sleep with the regulars.” Riiiiiiiiiight.
The witch would listen curiously as Isabelle revealed to her where she’d been. No wonder she couldn’t find her. She’d left the Azure Deer a year ago! About the time Rosalia had taken a break from the Roses to explore the kingdom and find herself. The diamond war had hit them both hard, it seemed. They both looked…no, acted different. Almost like completely new skins on the same people. The witch would push a loose strand of hair behind her ear and glance down at the canister as she listened. The Silver Eagles made sense. They were the always the squad where Nobles were the most welcome, and Isabella was one of them by blood.
The woman almost felt the next sip of her drink go down the wrong pipe when her old friend surprised her with a name she never expected to hear. Yuurei? Yuurei Krane? Her eyes widened as she bit the inside of her cheek at the memories of the pale-skinned freeze-user washed over her. The boy was still around? She always remembered him as the sweetheart who had been a bit too into her. She’d politely declined his affections, but they had remained friends. Post her one year break from the Magic Knights, she thought he’d died, or vanished. The same way that Sylvester or Vulkan had.
And then it clicked.
“Wait…Isabella, I don’t mean to interrupt. Erm, Captain Krane of the Silver Eagles…is that Yuurei Krane?” She had completely dismissed that to be an older brother of his of some kind. They had a four year difference, which meant that while Rosalia was away, the young Krane had climbed to the very top. The red-head would definitely raise a glass to that. Several even.
“Considering that magic aura that nearly made me turn around on my heel, I don’t think you need any protection from my hand, beauty.” The witch would laugh earnestly, pleased when they brought their shots. She’d pick up hers when Isabella lifted a glass for a toast, and nodded.
“Yeah, fuck, I’d cheers to that. Who knows, maybe you’d find a Bull to sleep with and we’d end up having breakfast at the base.” Rosalia would smirk and give her friend a suggestive wink, thinking of the goofy family she had back in her base. They were all attractive in their own ways. Even if Charles was too lazy to drink and Chisana only wanted to fight. Bruce was cute, in his own cynical way. Luther was married, but incredibly attractive nonetheless. And Malcolm…The redhead took the shot, placing her glass against the table and wiping her glossy lips with a finger. A little residue of lipstick had remained on the side of the shot glass from where she’d drank.
“I transferred from the Roses. They uhh…didn’t agree with me. And I didn’t like their new Vice captain.” The red-head shrugged when it came to her turn to answer questions. She always hated to do so. Usually she was good at being vague, changing the topic, or focusing the attention back onto the person she was talking with. At the thought of Flora, the woman felt the need to grab the second shot.“No toast here, I just need this.” She’d laugh and lean her head back as she let the alcohol splash against the back of her throat. Her tongue would slide over her lips as she placed her placed her glass back down onto the table. Her ruby eyes met Isabella’s golden ones and she held them as she thought of her response. She had many different ways of having a good time. Sex and drinks were only two of them. The two she didn’t mind people knowing. The books and the training had become the other.
“Shit happened, I guess. People change.” Rosalia pointed between them as the drinks her friend had ordered arrived. Her gaze wandered around the bar quietly. Talking about the past made her mood for sex drop. It always did. She used sex to escape it, and yet here was one of the few people left that reminded her of what she was like 2-3 years ago.
“Discovered I was a witch on accident.” The redhead muttered, not really looking at the Erebus heiress. Her fingers drummed along the wooden surface of the table as she let their conversation drown in the background noises that filled the tavern. She’d lean back against the wooden seat when she noticed the ring on one of the older male’s fingers.
“Kinda sucks to find out most of your life has been a lie.” Rosalia shrugged, running a hand through her mane as she glanced back at Isabella. She gave her a little half smile. There was spite in her tone, even the deaf would notice the way hidden poison dripped from her words, but it wasn’t directed at her friend. No…The wizardess would grab her new drink, pushing the empty glasses and canister to the side as she took a swig.
“Did you discover anything interesting in your search for yourself?”
Post by Isabelle Erebus on May 3, 2020 4:13:26 GMT -5
As Belle had made a sly comment towards Rosa, trying to see if there was any hint of an interest there, it seemed like it might have gone over her head a bit as rather than lock eyes, the redhead would instead start scanning the bar, looking around at everyone else that was in the room, her eyes settling in on what she could only presume were a few of the regulars as Belle would just sigh a bit internally. For someone with as much experience as she claimed to have, either she claimed more than she had, or she wasn't all that interested. More on that later.
As Rosa would start explaining that she didn't sleep with the regulars, and getting attached would be a pain as Belle would nod her head. "God you can say that again. This guy out in the forsaken region. Was a real pain in the ass. Kept wanting to come back for more. Had to finally scare his pants off. Literally." She'd say with a bit of a mean snicker. Thinking back to how terrified he looked when Belle had him basically in the palm of her hand. Before watching him run off without his pants. Maybe she shoulda kept those as a memento? Maybe she still could?
As Belle was recalling her story of her times since the last time she had seen her, she would be watching Rosa's actions, trying to maybe embelish a bit when it seemed right and pull back or glance over a bit when it wasn't nearly as optimal, though, reading the other witch was a bit hard when she just seemed... interested, the entire time.
As Belle was telling her story though, it seemed like something clicked for the crimson haired mage, as she would question if it was Yuurei Krane, who was the captain of the silver eagles, as Belle would take the opportunity to grab a pull of her beverage, managing to finish it off as she would just nod her head to go along with her drink. She was being far more casual about it than others might be, but she had spent so much time with him by this point, she felt it was only right to be this casual.
However, with Belle's slightly sarcastic comment about being protected, and Rosa would just make her remark back about not needing her help, Belle would sigh and pretend to swoon. "But little ol' me would love to have a big strong knight come save her once in a while ya know?" She would say, doing her best to act the damsel in distress back to her friend. Before the two would join in a toast, As she would make a comment about finding a Bull to sleep with and eating breakfast together, Belle didn't know which way to take that. But well, the night was still young. Hell, barely started if she had anything to say about it as she would down her shot with a cheer, shooting it to the back of her throat, and swallowing. "Well, I couldn't agree more." She'd say with a smile red enough to get close to rivaling the other witch's hair.
And then, it was Rosa's turn to start talking about her exploits since they had last met. First talking about how she had left from the Blue Roses. Explaining she didn't get along with them as much as Belle would nod her head watching as Rosa would take her shot and saying "I always did hear they were a buncha stuck up prudes. Could use a nice one, ifya know what I mean." She would say with a bit of a cheeky smile, before downing a shot of her own.
However, as Rosa would point out that change happens, and using the two of them as a good example, Belle would just smile, pushing the whispers to the back of her mind with a nice buzz as she would say "Yeah but change ain't bad. In fact, sometimes it can be good I'd argue. I mean hell, look at us now. Out and for the better of it." She'd say, before Rosa would talk about being a witch, at which point Belle would look in awe saying "Oh shit? Really? That's pretty neat if I do say so myself." She'd say with a nod. Wondering if she happened to have any hidden elements to her bloodline. Though the way that she said that made Belle not want to press the issue any further on that one. At least, until she almost forced it as she would remark on how she had found out that most of her life was a lie. Which that would get a bit of an angry look from Belle. "Hey. People are dicks. And sure, while some of those might be rather nice to play with, doesn't change the fact of what it is at the end of the day." She'd say as she'd grab her drink and take a large swig, finally taking it away from her lips with an 'Ahhhh' before waving for another round to be brought over, before she had even drunk half of this one. "And sure, some people may have lied to you, but unless you been livin in an illusion your whole life, then it's still your life you hear? So like, it aint a lie cuz fuck even I can't do that yet." She'd say as she'd flash a grin past Rosa, towards one of the men and hoping to grab his attention, not even doing the courtesy to see if he had a ring or not. Belle didn't have a home right now, so she didn't mind wrecking one or two in her pursuit of fun.
Before Rosa would then inquire as to Belle's search for herself, and how that had actually gone, which would cause Belle to choke a bit on her last swig. The broken shards coming back to the forefront of her head, as a small Isabelle in her head tried to frantically glue back the pieces of a beautiful mosaic. Each time she picked up a piece of glass though, it seemed like there was a 50/50 shot it shattered even further. Both of them used sex and alcohol to cover the things they didn't want to think about, and conveniently, by this point, for both of them it was their past.
"I mean sure. I guess I found bits of what I had. Though, I can say for sure that she's dead too." She'd say somewhat slyly, as he spirit would rise out of her mana, seeming to appear out of nowhere as she it would put it's head down on top of her own, causing Belle to angrily wave a hand through it, causing the mist to vanish once more, the spirit disappearing back in but having distracted her from her own thoughts. It doing it's best to make sure she stayed as stable as possible. The two didn't know each other that well yet, even with all the time they had spent together.
As Belle would sit silently for a moment, before watching as the bartender would bring over the two new drinks, and Belle would hold up her hand for him to pause for a moment as she would angrily down the last of her current drink, handing him the empty tankard before he would walk away. At which point she would add in. "Threeeee monfs ago. THings changed. Like my head got all scrambld but ya know? I've never felt better." She'd say as her healing would kick in a bit and bring her away from overtoxic levels back to a good buzz. It's how she kept herself going for so long even with her low tolerance.
Rosalia’s grin widened when Isabelle revealed she’d had a lover in the Forsaken region. It wasn’t a surprise; the girl had grown into one hell of a gorgeous specimen of a woman. Hell, she could write a message to her friends back in the capital and get her a modeling job by the end of the day if she needed work. She was sure that Viva Magazine and Lightning publishing wouldn’t be able to get enough of a beauty with dark hair and captivating golden eyes. Those were jobs she could never quite land, but her friend would’ve been able to fit with ease.
“Hope you left him with at least some dignity love, the guy was probably head-over-heels.” The red-head laughed, tilting her head back as she did so. There was nothing wrong with sleeping with someone more than one time, as long as they remembered not to get attached. She bit the inside of her cheek as she her willing repetitions. Two particular ones. One, which she didn’t worry about progressing into anything more, and another that made her stomach do somersaults.
At Isabelle’s little damsel-in-distress act, the witch grinned and leaned back against her chair while shaking her head. What a goofball. “Trust me, with the friends I have, even as a knight, I feel like a damsel. I still have a lot to learn.”
Rosalia thought to Zaven and Malcolm initially. Two absolute monsters in combat; Two men that she wouldn’t dream about facing on equal ground. The Blake had saved her ass on multiple occasions in two separate dungeons while her Captain had mentally dragged her out of one hell of a hole she buried herself into. Then there was Silas, her late best friend…Her eyes widened and her lips parted when she looked at Isabelle. Did she know? For a split second before the shots, the color drained from her face. Isabelle had been gone for how long?
Fortunately, the topic was quickly changed to the women in her previous squad, making a little smirk appear on her face. Prudes…wasn’t inaccurate. They were all about empowering the ladies, but they held her to a certain standard that had become absolutely impossible for her to follow. She wasn’t raised a noble. She wasn’t raised with any care at all. The red-head tried her best to be “Poised” but it just wasn’t in her blood or grace. She was a commoner, and she had issues to deal with. The mask of being “okay” was already enough. She didn’t need the “Strong independent women who needs no man” one.
When Isabelle told that being a witch is neat, Rosalia would smile and tilt her chin up. She was the first person she’d ever revealed that to. It had gone over incredibly well.
“Well, it’s alright, I suppose. I had to forgo my Wind Magic to actually be able to pick up on what my blood was expected to give me in the first place.” She’d tap the edge of the shot glass she was holding with a finger, before a thick coat of ice covered its top. It took her a second to realize that it might be a problem to remove it from the table, but ah well. “I actually hated this when I first got it. My body heat is always lower than any normal human being, and if I get angry the temperature of the air drops and shit freezes over.” Rosalia muttered, staring down at her reflection in the frozen glass-like surface. She was unable to melt the ice upon will. “Kind of still getting the hang of it, to be honest.”
Another smirk crossed the beauty’s lips at her old friend’s joke. She really had changed. Those jokes made her cock an eyebrow again and giggle. There was a definite truth in her words. People could be dicks. Her expression changed into a thoughtful one when Isabelle’s next comment and advice happened to be very insightful. The woman hadn’t indeed been living her whole life as an illusion. She’d been truthful to herself about most things. The one thing she’d lied to herself about, her happiness in the Roses… that had been cracked open when Captain Watanabe left her that Black Bull mantle.
“You know…that’s actually very helpful advice, Isabella.” The red-head gave the girl a warm smile, before her eyes followed her friend’s wandering hues. She’d indeed been looking at one of the man with the ring on his finger. As if to take a jab at whatever dismissive thoughts Rosalia had always had about the importance of relationships and ruin those further, the married man grinned back at Isabella. Uh oh.
When her friend stated that some part of her seemed to have died, the ex-model frowned. She watched as something seemed to materialize on top of the Erebus heiress’ head before she waved it off. Was that…? Her ruby eyes widened. No way. The only person she’d ever seen have one of those was Vulkan. They were extremely rare. The woman had only seen it for a few seconds, so she wasn’t quite sure if someone had spiked her drinks, or that was, indeed, a spirit. It seemed that the alcohol was getting a bit more for her friend for a split second as her speech slurred when it hit her, and she admitted to “her head getting scrambled” whatever that meant.
“I don’t know…I’m sorry you had to go through that.” She paused, eyeing the top of Isabella’s head cautiously as she formulated her next question. Her alcohol tolerance was good, but she needed to slow down if she was going to be able to think coherently enough. The temperature around the pair dropped suddenly as she finally figured out what she wanted to talk about first.
“Silas is dead.”
She’d bitten the inside of her cheek and glanced down at the table when the name began leaving her lips. The witch knew that the Vermillion had helped Isabelle get over some of the skeletons in her closet before. But over the past few months, maybe even years, he was the closest thing Rosalia had ever had to a friend. The one man who greeted her the same way after her she came back from her one year hiatus and never changed how he looked at her. He was a flirtatious idiot that started bar fights and got engaged before she could sleep with him… but he was the person who always hugged her at the end of a dungeon, protected her with everything he got and always carried that warm smile on his face. She missed that smile. She missed it so much sometimes that it hurt. A part of her just wanted to scream at him for dying. “War god” my ass. Gods didn't die! He had been her neighbor for so long…and she'd heard he was in love. Fuck, Rosalia wanted to be at her best friend’s wedding. Fuck, now she couldn’t even bring herself to the Crimson Lions to ask where he was buried or if he even was.
She put her hands over her eyes to cover the pooling of tears in her eyes and groaned in exasperation. Way to ruin a fun evening.
“Sorry I…didn’t mean to ruin the mood…I’d rather you heard it from me.” She muttered her voice cracking a little as she felt a wet tear slide down her cheek. She moved to wipe it quickly and took in a deep breath, turning her head to look at the wall instead of the men at the bar for once.
Rosalia hated crying. She never cried for men. She cried for her friends.
Post by Isabelle Erebus on May 4, 2020 21:53:13 GMT -5
As Belle was telling her story, Rosa would grow a grin to match her own as she described one of the men she had spent time with in the forsaken region. Though looking back on it, Belle probably had been a bit too cruel on him, but he just didn't get the hint, so she figured she did what she had to. But Rosa did feel a bit sorry for the guy it seemed, which might partially be because of the fact that she might have had something similar, the way she laughed made Belle think that at least as Belle would drunkenly giggle as well. "Yeah. I had no use for his pants, they would have been massive on me. I left them out and he came back for them probably, they weren't there in the morning at least, I figure he wouldn't walk around without those for long. Or he's still out there without them and someone else nicked his trousers." She'd say with a giggle, that would at least amuse her a bit as Rosa would talk about how she feels like a damsel compared to some of her friends, which Belle did feel a little bad about.
Well, presuming that Rosa did consider her a friend. They hadn't seen each other in long enough that Belle figured Rosa might not consider them friends anymore. So she wouldn't make any sort of comment on that one, merely letting that sit there for a moment before Rosa would, thankfully, move the conversation along. Talking about how she had to get rid of her blood magic so that her true bloodline would accept her, which would explain why her mana signature appeared different. "Oh, that explains why your mana signature is so different from what I remember. I know my memories are mostly scattered, but yours I definitely remembered." She would say, since she didn't plan on really withholding information from Rosa. She honestly appreciated their friendship, if that's what she was still allowed to call it. "But hey, learning a new magic spell is hard enough, I can't even imagine learning an entire new element. Fuck I can't even learn much about spirits." She would say, thinking about how she really should learn more about her spirit sometime, spend time training with it. She had been so caught up recently with her time in the forsaken region, the fact she had even started that with Yuurei had somewhat slipped her mind.
However, as Belle would make her joke to accompany some actual advice, Belle would be somewhat proud. To be honest, she didn't know how she had managed to come up with that. Maybe she was smarter when she was drunker? Or perhaps there was a peak smartness for her drunkenness. Or it could just be a fluke. But whatever it was, she was glad that she was actually able to help Rosa a bit. Blowing the man a kiss before turning back to put her full attention on Rosa. She could always talk to him later, if he didn't approach her now that is.
As Belle would explain what happened, in an event she would find out more about sometime soon, she would explain how she had been affected. With how her memories had shattered and some were there, others weren't and others were just broken pieces. And the fact that there was this maddening whisper that was always present. She had learned to deal with it, but people complained about it in her spells now. Asking her about the whispering that they heard, but she didn't realize that it was happening then. Not until someone else pointed it out to her at least. Whenever she had used her spells on herself, it was just the usual voices in her head speaking to her.
As she would explain that her head was a jumbled mess, Rosa would start apologizing for it, since she didn't know what it was like. And well, Belle wasn't exactly the best at describing things either. So Belle would wave it off a bit, managing to slip in a quick "Don't worry about it." To Rosa, before she felt the temperature of the room drop, as Rosa's mana signature became darker, as if mimicking her emotions, causing even some of the patrons to shiver and wonder what was going on, not that Belle was going to out Rosa or anything. However, she probably should have as Rosa's grim tone would mutter those words. "Silas is dead."
And well. Belle just couldn't believe it. She.. she'd only been gone a few months? How... wha- what? As Belle would hear the sickening sentence being tossed around in her head. Constantly repeating.
Silas is dead Silas is dead Silas is dead Silas is dead Silas is dead Silas is dead Silas is dead SILAS IS DEAD SILAS IS DEAD SILAS IS DEAD
The voice of Rosa and those within her own head going from the edges of her mind to the forefront as even her spirit would materialize in front of her and start trying to get her attention. Because it knew that this was not something Belle was in any mental state to be hearing right now. While it wouldn't drive her into a rampage here even her spirit, one of the things closest to her, had no idea what sort of ramifications it could have on her already destroyed mental state.
In her head.
Belle was doing a puzzle. It was made out of stained glass and there were voices always behind her talking to her, telling her which piece to pick up next. And the puzzle had been shattered by these voices, who were now also the ones keeping her from putting it back together fully. Working just as hard to make sure she made no progress on it. But the glass window, even in it's shattered state, some of her most precious memories had been kept safe from their opening rampage. And a majority of them had either Rosa, Silas, or both. And now the voices were mocking her, as they would go and drag Belle up, pulling her from where she was sitting to the window, and force her to look at the memories of her and Silas. The last time she had seen him... he was talking about how he was going to propose. And they had been going to finally deal with the ending of her own issues. Something she was finally able to do. And he was there for her. He was there for her from the day it happened till.. till... till the day he died. How they had met so long ago. And everything in between.
As Rosa would begin to mutter something. Belle couldn't hear it. Rosa's past voice and the voices in her head were still screaming as she would put one hand up to her right eye as her left hand went up to her temple. And as she would have her emotions get the better of her, the possibly more disturbing thing would happen.
With the tears streaming down her face, Belle would be laughing. Not a big, hearty laugh. But that laugh when you can't comprehend a situation. When that situation is just so absurd that you don't know what to do except to laugh. In almost any other situation, she would have presumed it was a joke. But not with Rosa. Silas was too important to either of them for it to be a joke. And even if Rosa didn't act the same as before, there was no way she could have made the way she reacted to just saying it be so.. genuine.
It all made it so Belle didn't even second guess the words Rosa had dared to mutter. As her mental state couldn't comprehend it. Belle was willingly taking a hammer and smashing the window herself right now. And even in her head, she was laughing as the glass shards would fly past her body, each slice feeling like a bit of her was being lost. And yet, making it feel so right at the same time. Belle didn't even have any words to say. Anything to fill the void between them. What could anyone say?
Rosalia was confused as to what was going on with Isabelle. She eyed the spirit that popped around her head warily, seemingly ready to distract her. Clearly something was very wrong. Her friend pulled back and gave a loud booming laugh that made her bones chill. Whatever was going on there…the shattering had clearly been the cause, right? Isabelle mentioned that her mind was a mess. Perhaps this was a coping mechanism of some kind? Her tears dried at this and she reached forwards to place a hand over Isabelle's before ordering another round of two shots each. The witch didn’t feel like sleeping with anyone anymore, she would rather just get hammered and take Isabelle to the guest room at the base. Every instinct inside of her said that she wasn’t okay. So with Isabelle’s permission, that’s what she did.
