Author: Naota, Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2016 11:36 PM, Post Subject: Rainbow Murder [Event][P][R]

There was nothing but hatred, aggression, the thirst for blood that had nothing to do with survival.  His sharpened teeth gritted together harshly, using all of his strength to keep him to this spot until he felt gentle arms around his chest.  His eyes quickly opened and he sharply moved his hand, wrapping it tightly around her throat when she was in front of him.  At that moment his mind went blank, despite his grip she touched his hair and he tensed even more to hold back the urge to slam her against the wall and bash in her skull.  His eyes grew warmer as her gentle touches continued until he couldn’t keep his fingers around her neck any longer and let them drop to her shoulder. 
 
Even as she touched his grip over Torinasu’s hilt he didn’t strike her, though everything in him screamed to do so.  Finally, red streaks ran down his cheeks from his eyes: blood, caking in the dirt and dust from all of the running around they had done that night.  They stained what was left of Lily’s outfit as the bloody tears ran down his neck and collar.  Before he realized it he was brought to his knees, and his face fell into her collar with her guide, not even thinking about what the blood would do to her own garments as he let go of his blade and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist. 
 
The anger was fading, mixing with remorse and the realization of what he had just done.  They had more than deserved what had happened to them, but he hated that he had lost control.  He was supposed to be better than that!  What if one day he couldn’t control it?  What if one day he didn’t think to protect anyone and killed everyone around him?!  At least if it had been Minasé it wouldn’t have been his doing…Her lips touched the top of his head through his hair and finally his muscles began to ease.  His weight went against her but he stayed slumped on his knees, focusing on the silence and feel of their chests moving as they breathed in and out, in and out.
 
After what felt like ages but had only been mere minutes, his calm had returned…though the guilt was just as strong.  The stench of blood was strong in his nostrils, and when he tilted his head back to look up at her, the crimson streaks were still on his cheeks though his eyes had darkened to pitch black.  She was so calm, so sure, and her voice was just as gentle as her touches had been.  With her guide he stood back up, tying Torinasu back to his hip as well as he could now that he had damaged the sheath.  It would be easy to find a replacement, but that one had been made by Natsumi…and now the pain spiked for a different reason. 
 
He nodded numbly, walking with her and feeling a barrier between them that he wished hadn’t been there.  He’d almost hurt her, no, no he had hurt her…but it could have been so much worse.  It nearly was.  No words left him as they made their way back out with their lantern, and when they were back in the alley it was as if nothing had happened…Could they even go back to the festival…?  That seemed so far away now, things were so different.  They were different.
 
But as they were finally out of the alleys he realized how quiet it was.  When his eyes lifted he saw a mass of people, all silent and staring at them: bloodstained and filthy, his clothes nearly to shreds and hers ruined.  They’d accuse them, think they had something to do with all of this chaos and poison…but then he saw the face of the guard that they’d first come across and realized that wasn’t what was happening.  There was a shared moment of shocked silence before the crowd gave an uproarious cheer.  Somehow their names had travelled through the crowd and were being chanted in victorious unison as people came forward and quickly pulled them in front of the mass of citizens. 
 
Medals were slung around their necks just before both of their hands were raised up into the air.  What in the…?  He looked down, this was the award for………the best couple?  I-I guess defeating a sect of a cult could…warrant that?  Minasé sighed in their head, “You don’t do anything half way do you?”  People cried out to them, begging excitedly for explanations, others called for them to embrace, to kiss, and that’s when he caught Lily’s smirk in the back. 
 
And he wondered if the guard was the only person that had spread what they’d done…Either way it was too much and his eyes quickly closed as he teleported himself away.  He landed in a quiet field, the grass was cool and soft but he felt an absence when he looked next to him.  Breathing in quickly, he instantly teleported back and wrapped his arms quickly around Echo from behind before teleporting her away with him.
 
There was a first time for everything.

Author: Echo-Rose, Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2016 11:09 PM, Post Subject: Rainbow Murder [Event][P][R]

She had seen the change in him, it had to be what she was warned about when talking to Holly. Something deep rooted into him that no one could touch. She paused for a moment, it could be bad but he had somewhat control over himself. She leaped into the room avoiding the blood, if only to avoid Lily’s wrath, and got up to the altar. She managed to throw the head priests in Naota’s direction, she knew that he would get up to her eventually. She cut loose the victims and kept them calm as she escorted them through the hallway. “Get out of here. NOW.” She snapped them up the stairs and watched them get away as the final bloody sounds reached her ears.

Her ears gently twitched at the silence. She looked at him and the way he breathed. He was out of control. She didn’t even speak with him as she felt the same way he had about it all. She hated it and that’s why she did it. She wrapped herself around his back and put her forehead to his upper back. Sliding around him, her eyes were gentle as her fingers reached up and pushed back his changing hair.

There was a sadness in her that she couldn’t help him. She understood the rage and understood the amount of hate he would have for himself at some point. Still, she brought him down, as gently as she could, to the ground and held him to her chest. Her hand reached out to Torinasu and she held that hand. “It’s okay, everything will be alright now.” Those were her only words as she held him close.

They sat there in the now eerily quiet room together. She kissed the top of his head as she held him. It seemed like forever but it was probably only a few minutes at most when he managed to snap out of it. “Hey you,” she pushed his hair back and smiled at him. “You’re going to be alright.” She tried to keep him grounded as she helped him up.

“Let’s get out of here.”

Author: Naota, Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2016 10:57 PM, Post Subject: Rainbow Murder [Event][P][R]

(( OOC: Um…I have permission for everything you're about to read… >3> ))

To keep them from hearing any of this obviously crazed man’s spouting, he arched an eyebrow and sent a rush of paralysis through him.  This man wasn’t worth much more of their energy, and he quickly flicked his wrist: opening a portal next to him before lightly kicking him in.  The portal sealed up around him and his eyes lifted up to hers, “I’m not that sadistic, it’ll open in a cell.  He’ll be out of commission for quite some time and we can’t risk him.” There was so much death already, and killing him wasn’t the first thing on his mind.  Oh how soon that would change though, he just didn’t know it yet…
 
As they continued to move he heard the soft notes of chanting, each growing stronger and louder the closer they became.  What he saw from their safe spot spiked his heart.  Too much insanity, obvious signs of death, and crazed mutterings: this was a cult.  His head began to grow light, his eyes flickering constantly from green to red as he pressed one of his hands to his forehead.  The pressure was building, and his eyes strobed faster before stopping suddenly on crimson.  His breathing deepened and a low growl formed in his chest though he kept his lips pressed…until his canines started to come to a point. “I told you it would be easier if you let me handle it…” No!! His eyes closed quickly just as the roots of his hair started to bleed from dark brown to red.
 
They spoke of the old gods, of the fortune that would come from their wicked deeds, and he could control himself no more.  Fast as light he ran forward, hands coming together before quickly pulling apart: a thick bolt of dancing electricity between them.  Spreading his hands, the bolt lurched and twisted until he sent the charges out and down the throats of the circled chanters.  They quickly burned and began to spasm as they were incinerated from the inside out. 
 
Before their bodies could drop or crumple he pulled Torinasu from his side so fast that it sliced through the edge of its sheath.  So much negativity, his blade was hungry for it and consumed nearly all of it before slashing out with enough force to send a slicing wave of holy light throughout the room and through the chests of those left standing.  Their upper halves slowly slid from their waists and the screams of the innocent echoed in time with the wet smack of cut limb against stone.  Torinasu’s energy pulsed, sending wave after wave of raw untapped power up his arms and shoulders, and moving faster than a blink he shot from person to person: swiftly slicing and hacking them until any remaining cultist was left in shambles of their former selves.
 
With a pained groan he held the hilt in one hand, his other arm arching over his head quickly to cast a protection spell over himself, Echo, and the poor victims that were ensnared by these maniacs.  As his hand dropped back down he gripped the hilt in both hands and slammed his blade into the cement: it’s diamond sharp point not even dulled as it sliced into the stone and sent out a burst of light so strong and hard that the very walls and ceiling shook with dust.  Any person in the chamber not under his protection had their flesh torn from bone, clothing disintegrated, and the sticky pool of blood was splashed against the wall and floor; even his own clothing was left in tatters, though in a much better state than those that had felt the full force of his blow.  His chest rose and fell heavily as his eyes closed tightly.  The wicked were dead, but he still longed for more destruction…

Author: Echo-Rose, Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2016 10:22 PM, Post Subject: Rainbow Murder [Event][P][R]

He helped her up and she was glad he couldn’t see her blush either. This was all Lily’s fault as far as she was concerned. Getting down the steps she could smell the old blood as well. She covered her nose. “Oh that is disgusting. I hate the smell of dead blood.” Say it was a nice parting gift from their vampire genes but she couldn’t get over how nasty and vile it was. Her stomach was turning. “It’s only going to get worse isn’t it?”

Once she had seen the altar she nodded. “Aegir, lots of stories about him. I know I had to ask Angela lots of times when dealing with old followers of his on this continent. She wasn’t about when he was but she has enough stories to fill a book.” She took out the insignia. “But his sign isn’t the one that belongs to this group. So what does Aegir have to do with all this?”

The further they got in the more she began to latch onto Naota’s hand. She wasn’t able to see in the darkening area around them and that was unnatural to her. When they were pulled she almost brought in a dagger and took the guy’s eye out. She breathed heavily. “What do you mean we aren’t the first ones?” There were others?

Looking at the lantern she let a frown come to her face. “This isn’t any old lantern. This is Lucina’s. She was the moon goddess or something like that. She was one of the few gods that was before the fall, a good god that ended up becoming tainted.” She didn’t know anything about the lantern though.

As they proceeded down the hallway she felt someone come up behind her and put a knife to her throat. “I’ll kill her, I’ll kill her dead.” His breath was terrible as she gave Naota a look of disappointment. That was all this guy had? She threw her head back and head butted him. The knife just barely grazed her neck as she surprised suplexed him onto the ground. “I say we get him to talk.”

She ran her hand over her neck and looked at the blood. “Great.” She kicked him the guy awake after one of them was holding him still. “Talk before I take your balls off.” Her scythe was in direct line of fire for that little miracle.

“Aegir, Malach, and Concordia will protect us. We’ll bring them alive like pyrotechnics in the skies. When they are here they will end all the nonbelievers. You’ll see… You’ll all see. Don’t believe me go look in the next room.” He was a maniac with a laugh to match. “What should we do with him?”

Author: Naota, Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2016 10:07 PM, Post Subject: Rainbow Murder [Event][P][R]

Before he could protest he found himself flung into the entrance.  His eyes widened as he turned his body to land on his back, gripping Torinasu to keep it safe and tilted while he landed hard on his other elbow.  Times like this he was glad not to be fully human or that would have likely shattered, still didn’t keep it from hurting though.  Biting against a sound of pain, his elbow finally buckled and gave out when she toppled onto him, and he quickly wrapped his arms to make sure she couldn’t go falling down whatever abyss they might have been near. 
 
He looked around and was able to make out her face but how couldn’t he when it was so close to his?  Close, too close, he swallowed down and looked away from her, glad for the darkness when his face grew hot.  Helping her to her feet, he too stood up and dusted himself off.  You see Lily?  This is why you don’t dress people like us in such clothing. She was speaking to him but his nose caught a whiff of something he’d wished it hadn’t.  Eyes slowly moving down, he saw the source: a trail of blood.  It wasn’t fresh enough to belong to their dazed man, but there was no mistaking what it was.
 
“Never a good sign.” he said as he followed it to a suspiciously well-kept altar.  Now this he recognized, and his stomach churned with ideas of what all of this was leading up to mean. “The Death Singer…I don’t like it.” His followers weren’t known for their lightheartedness.  Where any signs of him were could only mean misfortune for the innocent, and he didn’t hesitate as he continued to follow the trail deeper down into the catacombs. 
 
The further they went, the more difficult it became to see, a problem he wasn’t used to.  He silently spoke to Minasé in their head, What do you see? The daemon’s disinterested voice answered instantly, “Aside from you wasting time?  Nothing.  You could always let me out though…it could speed up this entire process.” Well that was the end of that conversation.  Fingers wrapped around his arm, their grip showing nothing short of urgency and his eyes flashed red as he rose his free hand: a ball of energy already formed to shoot,
 
“D-Don’t!” it was a man, and he quickly pulled his hand back and held both of them up, one of which was holding a lantern that somehow had managed to cut through the darkness. “P-Please, I mean you no harm.  I only wish to assist-you’ll never make it further without proper light.” The man was no fool and outstretched a shaky arm, offering the lantern to them while never letting his eyes move from Naota’s raised hand.  The energy there was fading though and guilt replaced his quick action as he lowered his hand down, “Why help us?” His tone was thick with suspicion,
 
“Because you aren’t the first to try…” Cryptic…The haunted look in his eyes only cemented it more, but still he narrowed his own before closing them completely.  His aura was spiked, fearful, but this was genuine terror.  Either way, they would need his lantern and when he opened his eyes they were their calm emerald once more, “Thank you…Though if I were you I’d go above ground.”

Author: Echo-Rose, Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2016 9:44 PM, Post Subject: Rainbow Murder [Event][P][R]

The guards nodded to Naota but Echo went one step further. “WAIT! There is something you need to look for if you want to help.” The guards looked to the insightful woman as she pulled a heap of poison plants from herself. They were uneasy because of her actions but it was what she said that helped, “You are looking for the aroma of these plants. These SPECIFIC ones.” She handed them over and began to chase after Naota.

Her eyes hadn’t been fooled by some minor little thing. She had seen it as to where Naota had not. She pushed herself up against the wall. “I know you aren’t just seeing things.” She was looking for a switch or panel. “Dammit. Looks like magic incantation. I can’t get into it.” She pushed her fingers around the edges of where she assumed there was a doorway. “It’s there but we can’t get in. It’s sealed.” She took a moment and seen something or someone coming.

Grabbing Naota she hid around the corner. “Shh.” She stopped Naota from saying too much. It was a disastrous plan but she wanted in. “Watch.” She whispered softly. The hidden entrance began to glow and the bricks all fell down like magic had been cast aside. “NOW!”

She grabbed Naota and threw him inside of the door. She dove through as the spell began to reassemble the wall. She landed on him almost a little too perfect. Her face was literally right there next to his. She could feel his breath on her lips. A blush came to her face as she got up and brushed herself off. 

“Well, I imagine we can’t get out without the incantation so we might as well follow this path to see where it goes.” She tried to brush off what had just happened. The person they had followed was gone now but at least they were in. "Maybe our killer is in here. Hopefully we find that person before its too late."

Author: Naota, Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2016 9:33 PM, Post Subject: Rainbow Murder [Event][P][R]

He didn’t like this…Thankfully neither of them had eaten the curry, but how many had?  Maybe it would be best for them to split up, or at least find the vendors and have them stop with the serving.  With so many people here it’d be all too easy to spread the toxin.  Stepping towards the man, he spoke quickly, “Go to the stands and tell people to stop selling the dish.”  Would it be smarter to tell everyone what was happening…?  Probably not, that had too much of a risk of mass hysteria.  His fingers lifted up, both hands pushing through his hair as he studied the symbol.  Unfortunately, he didn’t recognize it, but at least Echo did. 
 
Out of the corner of his eye he saw someone quickly move, the action too sudden and jarring to be a normal passerby, and he turned his head just in time to see a person in black skirt down an alley.  Without another word he dashed off, hoping to catch them before they could get too far, but just as he turned down the next curve of alleys…they were gone.  He skidded to a stop, lips parting in shock.  Where had they gone?  How had they done that so quickly?  Teleportation maybe…?  That’s the only thing he could think of.
 
He spoke to Echo but kept his eyes forward, angry that he hadn’t caught up to the black cloaked figure,“There was somewhere here, I’d swear to it.”  Sighing, he continued forward but at a much slower pace, “Why would anyone want to cause such terrorism during the festival?  The sickness of some people disturbs me…”  Children had been eating that curry…His jaw locked tighter.  His steps were aimless now, the walking helped him think and as they turned another alley corner he once again stopped.  Just ahead of them was a man, possibly in his thirties and of good health…walking with dead eyes.  What in the world…?
 
Even though he knew Echo was more than capable, he gripped the hilt of his blade and slowly stepped in front of her, watching as the other man continued his trek,“That seem suspicious to you…?”  His voice was kept low for her, but he raised it to call out to him, “Hello!  Are you lost!”  But there was no response; the man just kept his eyes forward and didn’t so much as falter from his steady pace, yet somehow he still seemed to know exactly where he was going…

Author: Echo-Rose, Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2016 9:13 PM, Post Subject: Rainbow Murder [Event][P][R]

Echo-Rose groaned as he commented on how dainty she was. “Yes, they had me paralyzed so I wouldn’t fight them.” She deserved it for not cooperating and she figured Lily had a huge hand in it. A blush managed to be seen through the make up and she was obviously excited except when she seen him reaching for Torinasu. That, in the short amount of time that she knew him, was never a good sign.

She flung herself around and looked off into the crowd. Screams could now reach her ears as she stared off into the distance. Her eyes were attuned to seeing that far thanks to her elvish eyes. Like magic her scythe appeared in her hands, she stared at the body. “Death and a lot of it. Our job is never done.” 

Naota and herself ran as fast as they could through the crowded streets to get to the guards. “What’s going on?” Echo-Rose forced herself into the situation as she kneeled next to the victim. Moving her hair behind her ear she examined it. “It’s not a vampire.”

“No, we’re not sure what’s going on. We just found a thing of curry and this,” the guard handed her a note with an odd looking sigil. It was one she was familiar with when working the area. “This is…” She gritted her teeth. “I’ve seen this before but I have no idea who it belongs to. I got hired on a job a few months back to investigate murders where this was left around. We thought vampires did it.”

She looked around the victim’s pretty lips and dabbed her finger in what appeared to be food. “She was eating the curry. Your curry this year… who makes it?”

“A bunch of different patrons, you can find it in the food district.”

Echo stood up and looked at Naota. “It’s been laced, at least this one has been. I can smell the poisonous herbs in it.”

Author: Naota, Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2016 9:03 PM, Post Subject: Rainbow Murder [Event][P][R]

The young woman he’d slammed into sounded like Echo, but…could this really be Echo?  His lips parted, stunned for moment.  True that he’d only seen her a couple of times but it was usually covered in sweat with dirty, and in attire befitting combat, never like this.  And while the shadow on her eyes was done perfectly and accentuated her features more, it was hard to believe that anyone had managed to do so with her in the first place.  She didn’t seem like the type, but then he didn’t know her very well either, maybe she was…? 
 
He took in what she was wearing, how extremely different it was from her usual attire, even her hair, and then quickly looked down at himself.   Now he was distracted.  This color, he’d never worn something like it and wasn’t sure how to feel about it.  Colorful things weren’t really in his spectrum of comfort for clothing, even something as dark as this.  Well, if it had to be anything, at least it was a rich plum and not pastel or flashy.  The soft material and swirled designs were extremely foreign to anything he’d don, but he did like how it fit him so well.  How had they done such tailoring so quickly?  Lily apparently had connections.
 
His eyes halved and he sighed when she brought up the fragrance they’d rubbed on him, and immediately brought his eyes back up to her: a much more pleasant sight than trying to figure out why anyone would have thought to dress him in color, “I’m not exactly thrilled about this soft smell either.”  He chuckled, eyes moving down her and back up again, and pulled his lips in to be sure not to smile too widely, “I’ve never imagined you so dainty.  Are those silk slippers….?”
 
Despite his tries he smiled more, as feisty as she was it made her all the cuter to see such fire in so lovely of an outfit.  Adorable really.  He folded one arm around his waist and bowed, holding his arm out and palm up in offering, “Well excuse me m’lady, but would you like to dance-?”  Before he could finish he heard a scream and instantly straightened: all signs of playfulness gone as he looked out into the distance, “Hold that thought…”  Already he was reaching for Torinasu.

Author: Echo-Rose, Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2016 7:30 PM, Post Subject: Rainbow Murder [Event][P][R]

Echo laughed a bit and shook her head. “Her mother is more docile but I’ve had the pleasure of training her for much longer. Young Nightmares are such free spirited souls, they are terrible to train.” She pushed the filly away from her pant leg. 

“I probably smell like horse, if that’s okay with you I don’t have to change.” She knew that he wouldn’t mind the smell so much. She put the filly back in with her mother and took a sigh as she looked at them. “Teach her better manners please.” She begged the mare.

She took hold of him as soon as they were ready to depart. It was a quick trip. She had been to Abed before on business but she had never had time to actually relax. Her wild amber eyes took in the sight as she looked around them. She hadn’t even noticed the beautiful architecture around her before. 

It was about the time she heard her Lady’s name being yelled as she too was snatched off the street, and in an even more wild manner. Her Lady knew what to expect of her. “LILY YOU LET ME GO,” Echo was kicking and screaming as she was forced into a tent. “DON’T YOU DARE. KEEP THAT FRILLY SHIT AWAY FROM ME. WHAT IS THAT?” There was even more shouting from her as she was dressed to impress for the streets of Abed. She was being scrubbed. “DON’T TOUCH MY HAIR.” She was so vocal that Lily was laughing her butt off in the tent with Naota. 

“And she wonders why the Nightmares have a hard time taking her seriously,” Lily hummed softly as she decorated Naota.

“My lady keep moving your face or we’ll be forced to start all over again,” the women attending her yelled right back at her loud enough that Lily and the others could hear.

“Fuck you,” Echo said it softly, and enough with attitude, that she was placed under paralysis for the rest of the dressing. Looks like Lily had thought of everything.

She looked at herself in a mirror, the anger still there, but she found herself staring at a person she had never known before. Always business before pleasure, and there was none of that, she had never seen herself in a saree before. Let alone had her make up and hair done.

Her saree was a vivid wine color with magenta accents. The magenta was lined with silver through the saree. Wrapping around her waist and up over her shoulder was a sheer magenta fabric with silver accents. 

Her long white hair had been not only been washed and brushed but curled to perfection over her shoulders. Her elvish ears were even adorned with brilliant silver earrings that tread up and down her large ears. Silver bangles were at the top of her arms and she could see under the magenta covering that she had a wine colored crop top on. She felt nude to be honest but she could tell she wasn’t going to get anywhere.

Dark wine were the color of her lips now and her eyes were highlighted in probably the most expensive make up she had ever seen, this had to be Lily’s personal team of help or something else was going on entirely. They slipped what appeared to be silky magenta slippers onto her feet before releasing the spell. She growled at them but they didn’t care as they pushed her out.

She hit face first into someone. She gripped onto them as she squeaked, only to realize it was Naota. He was dressed in the same colors as she was. “Is this some kind of joke to her?” It had to be. Her amber eyes were even more intoxicating thanks to the make up around them. They appeared deep and thoughtful even with her rage.

“You should have seen what they did to me!” She took a sniff of him. “What did they do to you rub mint all over you?” She chuckled softly, she was sure she smelled much of the same.

Author: Naota, Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2016 10:18 PM, Post Subject: Rainbow Murder [Event][P][R]

(( OOC:  I have permission to GMode Echo to Abed, and to GMode Lily. ))

So Lily was planning on going.  It couldn’t just be a coincidence then that she’d come to him so close to the festival…He was just fine with that though, truth be told it was easier being around Echo than he would have thought and he smiled more as the filly tried to reach him.  I’m sorry, I need this vest…  His smile widened, “Oh she doesn’t have to worry too much about scaring me off….her mother though, she probably could.”  The smile shifted to a smirk.  She agreed to go and he straightened a little, eyebrows raising in light surprise that it had been so simple,
 
“Casual is fine, I know I’m not going to change.”  He looked down at himself and spread his arms, while what he was wearing wasn’t dirty it wasn’t formal…there were probably parts of it that had blood stains if you looked close enough; one of many reasons he wore more natural and darker colors.  As soon as she was finished readying herself he approached her, and while he was still more at ease than he would have thought, he was still very aware of the short amount of time they had known each other. 
 
It took only a second to envision Abed, and as soon as he had a clear enough image he gently took her arm and brought them both there.  The heat was what he noticed first, and then the smells, the music…laughter.  His fingers let go of her arm and he turned his head slowly, taking in the vast array of colors.  In the distance he could hear shouts of excitement from the rain of colors, and could even see splashes being tossed against swaying bodies.  Couples, children, men, women, the old and the new: all of them were in a buzz of excitement for the festival and he smiled when a color dusted one would quickly skirt by.
 
What would she want to do first?  Before he could even turn to ask her, he felt strong fingers grip his shoulders and jerk him back: taking him so off guard that he didn’t even have a chance to react.  His hand went to the hilt of Torinasu just as Lily tsked.  Oh it was just Lily…wait, “Lily-?!”  But it was clear she was in no mood for conversing and had a team of people quickly pulling at his clothing.  Despite his protests they were able to get every garment off, but thank the gods they’d at least left him with something around his waist.
 
Every time he tried to ask what was happening, a new garment was thrust up to his chest, his back, his hips: measuring just as quickly as they were deciding on colors until all he could do was go with their direction.  His arms were lifted, his legs spread, his head turned this way and that so many times his neck would need to be cracked.  His eyes stayed on Torinasu as much as they could, not used to it being out of his reach, but it was safe with the rest of his clothing not even two meters away.  The tent wasn’t large and he was surprised so many people were able to fit inside, and his heart only spiked when Lily lifted the flap and walked out.  Hey!  How could she just leave him here when she’d been the one to bring him in?!
 
Gentle but firm fingers gripped his cheek and turned his head forward just in time for a brush to rake through his hair and he cried out from the pull of tangles, but soon the locks were silky smooth.  It felt…strange.  Sure he was used to being clean, but not…groomed.  All the while Minasé was laughing so hard he wondered if he could pass out without actually using lungs.  A warm wet rag touched his cheek, scrubbing lightly but affectively, cleaning him with some type of rose and mint water.  His nose wrinkled, he definitely didn’t perfume his skin. 
 
Somehow they efficiently cleaned and dressed him at the same time, and while it felt like it had gone on for hours he knew that in truth it couldn’t have been more than ten minutes.  Torinasu was secured onto his hip again by deft fingers and he felt a weight lift off of his chest as he managed a shaky, “Th-Thank you.”  And then all of them moved in front of him, a couple of men and about five women…the latter of which causing his cheeks to warm at the realization that so many of them had touched his bare skin. 
 
Their eyes were softened, some of them looking him up and down for approval, and all of them finally nodding to one another.  Did this mean it was finished…?  They smiled at him, each one dipping their head in a gentle nod in unison and he returned the gesture and found that he too was smiling.  What was he in…?  As he looked down at himself all he was able to catch were the colors they’d used before forceful hands pulled him forward and shoved him out of the tent as if everything that had just happened was some big taboo secret.  He cried out in surprise, losing his balance and nearly tripping over his feet before slamming into someone.
 
“I-I’m sorry!  It was an accident, are you all right?!”  His hands found their arms, stabilizing them as he found his own balance.

Author: Echo-Rose, Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2016 4:28 PM, Post Subject: Rainbow Murder [Event][P][R]

The filly was more interested in raising hell, a characteristic all Nightmares shared at a young age. Echo-Rose sighed a bit and gave Naota a smile, it was the least she could do. “The Festival that Lily and the others are going nuts over?” She tilted her head a bit. “Apparently they are ambushing Kirika there.” She mused softly.

“A break might be best. I’ve been running the fillies nonstop and they don’t much like to listen.” She chuckled a bit as the one by her legs started to misbehave. “They are really cute though.”

Once they got to trying to separate the filly from Naota she laughed with him. The filly gently stuck its head through the fence and neighed at him. It was vastly upset by his lack of being near by. “Easy girl, you’ll scare him off.” She pet the filly and nodded. “I could stand a day off. Should I change or is casual wear fine? I don’t plan on really ripping any vampires in half today.”

Author: Naota, Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2016 4:05 PM, Post Subject: Rainbow Murder [Event][P][R]

It was strange to see her in such normal attire.  Well, normal in comparison to what he’d met her in, but then training nightmares didn’t require battle ready clothing.  Hmm…maybe fire resistant though, he thought to himself.  For a moment he just quietly watched her, his eyes softening as she moved with graceful command.  As for the nightmare?  She was so small; he’d never seen a philly for one of them before and he had an uncharacteristic urge to move closer and touch her sleek coat.  And then she kicked, and the urge was gone as his eyes widened.  Yes, best to leave this to the experts.

He answered her with a chuckle, nodding in agreement and having to pull his lips in to keep from laughing further as she chased the bucking culprit around the ring.  By the time she made it to him at the fence he had it under enough to control to only be smiling, though his eyes were glowing brightly.  Luckily it was hard to tell in the bright sunlight.  One good thing that came from this was knowing that he wouldn’t have to feign a light nature.  Either way he had an idea of how to get her to come with him today and couldn’t help but wonder if Lily had planned her request around the festival…

“Oddly enough not work.  I was actually going to head towards Abed for the festival.  It’s about time I took a short break and it is a special occasion.  And then I thought,” his head gently tilted to the side in faux thought, his eyes lifting to the sky, “Who else do I know that could use a break?”  His eyes moved back down to hers with a light side smile, “Your face flashed to the top of the list immediately.”

The smile was gone with a look of surprise when he felt the edge of his vest being tugged at and looked down in time to see the little philly trying, unsuccessfully, to pull the cloth through the fencing.  He chuckled lightly, moving his fingers down to the clothing and gently tugging it free from the philly’s teeth, with help from Echo of course, and took a measured step back to make sure it couldn’t happen again.  His eyebrows rose, the smile returning; smaller than before, but just as honest, “What do you think?”

Author: Echo-Rose, Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2016 9:18 AM, Post Subject: Rainbow Murder [Event][P][R]

Echo-Rose was in much more causal wear than the last time that he seen her. It was a dark dress, sleeveless, and down to her knees. It looked perfect for what she was doing. Her long white hair was up in a ribbon as she tried to get the pony to follow her lead. Nightmares were fairly intelligent creatures, and it didn’t help that some were vain.

Her brown eyes had a smile in them, for what it was worth, when Naota spoke up. “There is a life outside of hunting vampires Naota. Even you should know that.” The little filly kicked at her and she jumped back. “Hey! Little shit,” she said under breath as she chased it around the ring now. It neighed and bucked happily at her. It was only up her knees if that.


She stopped at the fence where Naota was and laughed. “She is a handful. So how can I help you today?” The filly came up behind her and grabbed onto Naota’s clothing through the fence. “Hey!” She tried to get him off the clothes.

Author: Naota, Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 9:45 PM, Post Subject: Rainbow Murder [Event][P][R]

It had taken some time and resources but he’d finally tracked Echo down.  He hadn’t seen her since their vampire hunting excursion, and for some reason he was nervous to approach her.  Probably because usually whenever he approached a Rose or someone in their family there was always a deep pressing reason.  Everything Lily had told him had been buzzing through his head since he’d sought her out, and it came down to getting one of her hairs and weaving it into his map to finally pinpoint her location.  Well that realization makes me feel like an unsavory individual.  It was a good thing he really wasn’t the dangerous type or it’d be all too easy, though, his body did house someone very dangerous.  He’d done more weavings and purifications than he’d ever done before to keep Minasé at bay in preparation to finding her.  The whole point of this was for good, and he wouldn’t let the daemon ruin what the Roses had trusted him with.
 
Taking a deep breath, he started walking until he heard the faint whinny of horses.  Echo had said she’d raised and trained her own nightmare and he wondered if there would be any here today or if they’d be a more normal steed.  The lapis lazuli that Lily had given him was safely tucked into his clothing, held fast by a chain around his neck.  At times it would brush against the empty vial he still wore…When he came to the stable he found it in himself to smile as if this was completely normal and not something planned, “You here and no vampires to behead.  I’m shocked if not a bit disappointed…”