guardians at the gate
Ianto Dea Arduinna
Merchant

Age: 30 | Height: 6'0 | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 22 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 10 - Int:
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#1
IANTO
The Spire was the one place that Ianto had promised himself he would not return to. He'd been once, to yip and bark at the stars at Fiat Lux, and whilst the memory was a jovial one, it was not a place he had enjoyed being. Now even less so, for the structure looked liable to tumble down upon them at any moment. It was early morning when he approached, a soft snow falling and muting the sunrise.

His boots sank into the fresh snowfall, leaving clear prints in their wake, and he carried with him a single rose. It was this last rose that heralded his arrival at the Spire - no more, no less. And to his quiet astonishment, his would not be the first to be planted there. Blotches of bright crimson around the base of the Spire, they were somehow stubbornly blooming in the cold, a feat that spoke of gods and miracles.

Letting out a sigh that fogged the air, Ianto smiled to himself, silently moving among the roses to find a decent place to plant his own.
i know places we can hide

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Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
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#2
AMALIA
save some love for yourself, my dear
Amalia, too, dislikes the Spire, but unlike Ianto she has spent an uncomfortable amount of time within and around the crumbling structure, finding herself partially responsible for its imminent demise. These days, though, she finds herself prowling around the perimeter with some level of frequency: not for any pleasure in the process, but as a deterrent to blighted attackers, to try and defend the roses of Vi. Her own blooms planted, she needs a purpose, a cause, lest she fall fully into disarray and despair.

White on white, the leopardess is comfortable in the frosty element, her paws light on the ever increasing snow. It is early still, a frigid morning, too cold for any others to be out, or so Amalia thinks as she circles the structure's base. But no, there is a crunch of footfalls, and a distantly familiar scent on the air. Human, and lacking the mildewy rot of those with the blight. Pausing, the leopardess raises her head, frozen in uncertainty before setting off to investigate, cautious and bold.

The figure she spots is a surprising one, but not unpleasantly so. It has been some time since she saw Ianto aside from their brief reunion in the Cloisters, and she is pleased to see the fox alive and well. Padding toward the copper haired figure, the leopard settles on her haunches, looking up with curious black eyes. Here for some gardening?
Ianto Dea Arduinna
Merchant

Age: 30 | Height: 6'0 | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 22 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 10 - Int:
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#3
IANTO
Having found a good space between a few of the roses, Ianto had just paused when his partially shifted hearing caught something on the icy wind. It was too cold and he was not a winter animal in any sense of the word, so until Amalia actually spoke to him (and was close enough for him to spot her against the snowfall), he didn't know quite what he was looking for.

"Oh, hello," he said, smiling and relaxing as he realised he was among friends. "Yes, I was hoping to unburden myself of this final rose, and then hopefully we can all start to feel a little better about all of this."

So saying, Ianto leant down, his boots crunching against the white powder, and his fingernails shifted into fox-claws that he might dig down to the frozen earth to make a space for this new flower. "Are you the guardian of these particular roses, then?"
i know places we can hide

Coding base by Sky!
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
Played by: shark Offline
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Posts: 3,098 | Total: 4,577
MP: 2580
#4
AMALIA
save some love for yourself, my dear
Tilting her head, the leopardess snorts. Does he not recognize her from their last trip to the Spire, their ill-fated jaunt into the woods? Does he know so very many big cats that she is unremarkable? It seems unlikely, but the leopard shrugs, more focused on the duty of guarding the roses than pushing the limits of friendship. Ianto is not sick, and Amalia is not sick, and these days that's all they can ask for.

She watches him shift to half-fox claws, tilting her head at his question, not quite sure how to reply. If she is, she is a poor one. I... check on them. Someone has to, with the Blighted running rampant, and though she is clearly stretched toward her limit she will continue to do all she can.

What about you? Did you plant one by your wagon? She wants to know where the roses are, to check on more and more. She wants to do everything she can, because there are so few ways for her to help, and doing nothing feels like giving up.
Ianto Dea Arduinna
Merchant

Age: 30 | Height: 6'0 | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 22 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 10 - Int:
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#5
IANTO
Had Ianto known the lines of thought Amalia was taking, he'd have laughed. How could he not recognise her? Clearly his quips had been taken more seriously than intended. "A very wise idea," he agreed about checking on the roses, meanwhile digging a hole large enough for him to plant his own flower. "I imagine this place, as well as Mathair, will need more than one guardian before Deepfrost is through," he said. "Have many of those with the blight come by...?"

He didn't know if he wanted to know the answer, setting the rose into the earth and patting the soil back around it, letting out a sigh of relief at having delivered the last of his precious cargo. "Hm? No, I actually planted one at the Monster Hunter's Guild. Remi was planting one for Ronin - I thought he could use a little extra. What about you? Have you planted yours in the Hollowed Grounds?"
i know places we can hide

Coding base by Sky!
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
Played by: shark Offline
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Posts: 3,098 | Total: 4,577
MP: 2580
#6
AMALIA
save some love for yourself, my dear
The fae will watch the Mathair, the girl replies with confidence. He knows Delah better than she- surely the warchief will ensure nothing hurts this, their one chance against the blight. But as for the spire? Amalia sighs, a rumbling noise from the leopardess' lungs. We were attacked by two, the day I planted mine. They... they seem to come most when others are working. But pricking them with thorns calms them, for a time.

She nods when he says he left a rose at the Guild, a little guilty for not thinking of it - but her placement is important, too. Still, she is glad Remi has had support. She cannot imagine how the alchemist is doing, but knows it must not be well. I planted one at Safrin's shrine, in the fields. It...

It hurts to think back to that day, hurts enough that in her place on the snow Amalia begins to shift, the big cat taking on human characteristics until she stands before Ianto, her arms around her chest. "Safrin is not well," she whispers. "And I... I am worried that this will not be enough."
Ianto Dea Arduinna
Merchant

Age: 30 | Height: 6'0 | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 22 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 10 - Int:
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#7
IANTO
Ianto nodded his agreement about the Mathair - the place would likely be the safest place in the Greatwood until this whole thing blew over, and any blighted who got close would not be aware that the mother tree was under guard until it was far too late. No, Ianto had no worries about the roses that bloomed there. Like Amalia, though, he also felt that the Spire was an entirely different danger.

Wincing at the news she had been attacked while planting her roses at this very spot, the fox made sure that his flower was secure before he straightened up again, empty handed at last. "I heard as much, about the thorns. I ran into one of those who was afflicted on the way into the Hollowed Grounds..." He shrugged. "Even with a prick of a thorn, it's only a temporary relief."

As she shifted back he smiled at her once more, offering a roguish bow of greeting. It saddened him, to see her so forlorn; ever a tactile creature, he offered an arm for her to duck under, out of the cold. "It will be enough," he said, quietly confident. He had said as much to Remi, and he would repeat it now. "Arduinna has faith, and so do I."
i know places we can hide

Coding base by Sky!
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
Played by: shark Offline
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Posts: 3,098 | Total: 4,577
MP: 2580
#8
AMALIA
save some love for yourself, my dear
It is, Amalia agrees softly, wishing there were more she could do and hating herself for her doubt. She is tired, though, tired and weak, crushed by seeing Safrin so foreign, by fighting her loved ones, by weeks of defeat. But it's something

Ianto's bow is a surprisingly friendly and bright action in a time when their greetings seem to revolve more around survival than wellness. Though she is not cold - the leopard fur on her bare skin protects her from the elements better than any coat - she finds herself slipping beneath his arm, grateful for the simple contact, the warmth of friendship without question.

"I have faith, too," the girl whispers, her eyes on the rose Ianto just planted, a quiet determination on her expressive face. "I have faith in Vi, that he will cure the blighted." She only wishes there was more she could do until then.

Turning toward Ianto, the baker manages a small smile, raising an eyebrow to the fox. "I haven't seen you in a while. Are you healed up from the Cloisters?"
Ianto Dea Arduinna
Merchant

Age: 30 | Height: 6'0 | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 22 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 10 - Int:
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#9
IANTO
It was something - that much they could agree on, and Ianto's smile warmed further as Amalia ducked beneath his arm for a hug. As they stood together, watching the roses like drops of blood on the snow, he felt that same strange calm descend upon him, like he had just placed a piece of a very important puzzle. To hear that someone else had faith was surprisingly invigorating, too, and he straightened up a touch and nodded to Amalia. "He will. We're doing what we've been asked, and it will work." How he could be so confident was anyone's guess, but there it was.

Raising an eyebrow as she suddenly turned to him, Ianto's smile turned lopsided and he rubbed at the back of his head. "Oh, I'm dandy," he assured her. "Not a scratch on me - I've just been getting reacquainted with my wagon after a season, that's all."
i know places we can hide

Coding base by Sky!
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
Played by: shark Offline
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Posts: 3,098 | Total: 4,577
MP: 2580
#10
Amalia
Ianto's confidence is further comfort. So rarely has she seen anyone else as trusting in the gods; it makes her breathe a little easier, knowing she is not alone. Safrin's state had shaken the quiet baker to her core, but as she stands beside the fox the girl inhales, remembering the face of Vi, the promise of the roses.

Remembering to hope.

Invigorated, she is able to lean into the change in subject with a little more light in her face, tilting her head as he mentions being gone for a season. "Where were you?" the girl wonders- "Did you get past the storms?"
don't make a shadow of yourself, always shutting out the light

Coding base by Sky!
Ianto Dea Arduinna
Merchant

Age: 30 | Height: 6'0 | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 22 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 10 - Int:
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#11
IANTO
Whilst the change in subject might have been a balm to Amalia, it was still a prickle of anxiety in the back of Ianto's mind. His smile faltered a little, the fox burying his hands in the pockets of his coat and shrugging his shoulders. "I was... in the Greatwood, with Arduinna," he explained slowly. "Training for the Cloister of Trials. It has been some time since she had a champion to represent her. Unfortunately I'm not much of a fighter by nature, and so it proved difficult."

Difficult but not impossible, and the right amount of fear, discipline and drugs had done the trick. "So no... unfortunately I didn't get past the storms. I met a man who said he was from beyond them, though."
i know places we can hide

Coding base by Sky!
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
Played by: shark Offline
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Posts: 3,098 | Total: 4,577
MP: 2580
#12
Amalia
She fails to notice his shift in mood, her eyes on the collection of blood red roses as she begins to pace, expecting Ianto to stay by her side. "That makes two of us." Amalia's tone is wry, a little exasperated, thinking back to the cloisters. "I think Delah is still mad at me for forfeiting, but... I dunno. Kiada needed a win more than me." Narrow shoulders rise and fall, a helpless shrug. There is no pleasing the warchief, as far as she can tell.

A man from beyond the storms? Amalia stops short, whirling to face Ianto, breathless excitement making her dark eyes more lively then they have been in weeks. "Who? Where from? How did he get through? Are there more?"
don't make a shadow of yourself, always shutting out the light

Coding base by Sky!
Ianto Dea Arduinna
Merchant

Age: 30 | Height: 6'0 | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 22 - Endr: 15 - Luck: 10 - Int:
Played by: Honey Offline
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Posts: 852 | Total: 16,318
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#13
IANTO
A quiet smile flickered across Ianto's face at hearing he wasn't the only non-combatant in the ring, so to speak. Even so, Amalia had gotten a lot farther than he had, and she was damned powerful too. "Delah is a warrior. The idea of throwing a match is understandably abhorrent to her. But I daresay you'll get back on her good side soon. You've a way with people." He winked at her, glancing back at the roses. He hadn't expected his news to be met with quite so much vigour, but then again he supposed he had only been confined to the Greatwood for a year, rather than a lifetime.

"Oh, ah... well. His name was Oli, but I have a feeling that wasn't entirely truthful," he murmured. "In fact, a lot of what he said sounded like a lie, but... I don't know. I believed him when he said he wasn't from the Greatwood or the Hollowed Grounds. The Fae treat him as an outsider anyway."
i know places we can hide

Coding base by Sky!
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
Played by: shark Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,098 | Total: 4,577
MP: 2580
#14
Amalia
"Ha." It is Amalia's turn to grow uncomfortable, a distinct lack of mirth in the monosyllabic laugh. Normally the girl might have bloomed shyly beneath the praise, but with the recent assault of her self confidence it feels more like mockery of all the ways she has failed. Still, she knows he did not mean to hurt her, and she rallies, trying to school her face into something more like its earlier mirth, to hide the cracking edges of her heart.

Ianto's admittance to the lying nature of his new friend is somewhat disheartening, but she trusts the Fae to know when anyone does not belong to their woods. "Do you think I might meet him?" the girl wonders, pulling thoughtfully on her fingers. She would probably be able to figure out if he came from the Grounds or not, and the myriad of questions that sit on her tongue cannot be satisfied by Ianto alone. "Did he say what the place he came from was like?"
don't make a shadow of yourself, always shutting out the light

Coding base by Sky!


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