forum "Loud Thieves, Clumsy Princesses, Kleptomaniac Witches and Pyromaniacal Knights"

Started April 25, 2023 by @lord-of-the-carnival group

tune

Naveil huffed. Of course just leaving would be too easy.
He should've known. The clearing had been way too quiet as of now. But he'd figured that some people would understand when to mind their business. Naveil shifted his weight, considering his options. Mauling was not out of the question, but there were two of them and Salmook couldn't fight to save his own life. Literally.
"Anywhere that isn't here would be a great start. You've got directions?"

Resh huffed. He seemed amused. “I don’t think so.” He glanced at Salmook, then looked at Naveil again. “Care to explain why you were threatening this child? You seem to be his supposed caretaker, and yet, I don’t think I’ve heard any good caretakers saying.. ah, what was it again? ‘I’ll drag you by the spine?’ Now, that’s no way to treat your own child, is it?”

Harper was near the three of them, now. She stays silent, letting Resh talk to Naveil. He seems trustworthy enough, sharing the interest of protecting the kid. She kept her spear ready. If Naveil tried anything, he might not last long. She glanced between Resh, Naveil, and Salmook, trying to get a better gauge on all of them.

Naveil wrinkled his nose at the admittedly very tall stranger.
His words came dry and matter-of-fact, like he was explaining to someone what color snow was.
"He's not mine. Dead family and all that. About as common as rocks where we're from."
Salmook appeared beside him, and the kid offered his hand. Naveil considered for a moment and then took it.
"As for the threats, it makes him listen to me."

Resh was silent for a few moments. He looked extremely unamused. “So you mean to tell me that you’re threatening a young child… to make him listen.” His last few words were spoken very slowly. He crouches down to Naveil’s level, narrowing his eyes and lowering his voice to a menacing whisper so only Naveil could hear him. “How about you listen to me for a second, smartass? My daughter had to be rescued from a parent like that years ago. Yeah, that’s right. Rescued. There are multiple ways to make a child listen, and you just happened to pick the worst possible method. How about being a decent fucking person? I’ll bet that works a hundred times better.” He was practically seething once he finished speaking, his grip on his sword so tight that his knuckles were white.
Resh was furious.

Asani was still bleeding, crying quietly on the floor. Aibhe had zoned out again. The grass, air, and anything else nearby Assni was… Changing. Making new sounds, looking different, growing vaguely humanoid, becoming sentient-ish. It was getting worse the more blood spilt out of her body. Might want to stop her bleeding….

Salmook honestly thought the tall stranger was about to throw Naveil into the daystar. Whatever they said did not sound friendly in the slightest. Salmook felt himself squeezing Naveil, drawing closer. If Naveil was hurt, who was supposed to take care of him?
Naveil's fists kept clenching and relaxing, clenching and relaxing. He spoke louder than the tall stranger, his tone dripping with malice.
"The kid is not your concern. He's not even mine, either. But I'll bet if I refused to help, you'd be mad as well? So you can shove it where the daystar doesn–"
"Stop it! Please!"
Salmook felt like a rabbit in a wolf pit. Why did he do that? Marmot-brained moron.

Harper looks down at Salmook with his sudden outburst, and decides to change her approach. She makes a swift movement, and her spear goes between Resh and Naveil. Not to pose a threat, but to catch their attention. “Alright, listen to the kid. Arguing about this won’t help anything. This can be solved without any more threats, can it not?” Her face is carefully neutral, but her tone of voice is stern.

Resh started reaching for one of his knives. Sure, he already had his sword out, but a knife would be more discreet. just as he touched the handle, he heard Salmook’s outburst. He flinched a tiny bit, staring at the child. His expression shifted to worry, guilt, and… fear? Before he had time to say anything, Harper had put her spear down in between him and Naveil. He stared at the spear, then glanced at Harper. Now add confusion to the list of things he was feeling. “…Alright. I agree too.” He looked at the child. “I’m sorry, little one.” He looked at Naveil, trying to hide his emotions as well as possible. Naveil can’t see what he’s feeling. “But if you threaten this kid again, we’re going to have a problem. Understand?”

Honestly, he didn't even know Salmook could yell.
It didn't look like Salmook knew he could either, as he flinched after the words left his mouth.
Naveil took a step back. He couldn't read Resh's face, and he had a sneaking suspicion he wouldn't want to anyways.
Naveil side-eyed Harper, breathing evenly. There's two of them and one of you. Wait for your moment. Naveil sighed.
"No more threats."
At least, no more threats that were in their earshot.

(Wait what is going on with asani we've been distracted with Doritos nacho cheese being a bad foster dad.)

(Midnight's character stabbed her, and her blood is too strong for her to control it. She is now bleeding and crying on the groud, with everything warping around her. There is a sentiant tree singing a ballad for a humanoid worm. There are other trees falling down, the grass is changing color, the air is growing denser.)

Harper looks between the two of them. “Good. Let’s hope you can keep your agreements.” She dislodges the spear blade from the ground, and takes a step back from the two of them.

Resh stood up, sheathing his sword again. Still can’t trust him. I need to keep an eye on him. All the alarms in his mind went off at once at the idea of Salmook staying in Naveil’s care. For all Resh knew, Naveil only saw Salmook as dead weight, which was unsafe for the child. He’d watch them, he just needed to stay out of sight. Without a word, he turned and walked back to Juni, sitting next to her. He took out one of his knives and casually started sharpening it.

THE SENTIENT TREE GREW LOUDER AS IT SERENADED THE HUMANOID WORM, BRINGING ATTENTION TO THE SOURCE OF THE CHAOS, THE SMALL CHILD THAT WAS BLEEDING ON THE FLOOR