Prepare for the #LodanRespawn2024 Existing characters may choose to be displace from/have memories of different timelines, thereby allowing returning members the option to retcon their whole character. These changes are the result of the "Unnatural Fog" plot device that is running between now and the Respawn. The plot is simple: no matter where your character is, that place is shrouded in a thick fog that suspends time, but not thoughts or memories, so even if they're repeating the same day over and over again, they continue to remember, so each time feels like a new day. For those retconning OCs; this is where new versions of themselves have the opportunity to replace the old versions. Official lore and tree updates will be announced asap
Chasing a Suspicion (companion of Empty House, Empty Heart)
Post by Stephen Leland on May 27, 2014 3:29:42 GMT
The whole mention of Dollymops and business made Stephen's frown go deeper and deeper. "That is vulgar. Absolutely vulgar. I could also just say I am doing some charity work, or even converting heathens to the righteous path. But me walking around with a Dollymop.... I should be shot where I stand." A look of pure horror crossed his face at the thought of parading a Dollymop through town. Watching Danny scamper up the building so quickly made him feel a little sick. That boy had a death wish. "Come one, lets go before people start making assumptions about your clothing." With that, he quickly took off his coat, tossed it around her shoulders then dragged her through the streets towards the direction of Mr. Storms house.
Ikuze blinked at his reaction, even more so when he put his coat around her and began to drag her. "H-hey! Heels remember? Not so fast..." she half-heartedly protested, still trying to process what the boy had said... and if he really meant it. "You really ain't from Lodan are you?" she asked as they passed through the various streets towards their destination. They eventually reached Central Square, and Ikuze went to hold onto Stephen's arms to present the outer image of the two being a couple of sorts when her eyes spotted a patrol looking their direction. "Just go with it." she hissed before he could protest.
The patrician slowed his pace just slightly at her protests. "Of course not. I was raised in Brisol" he muttered, glancing around before turning his eyes back to her when she suddenly grabbed his arm. Words of protest died on his lips when he noticed her glancing at the patrol officer. With a slight sigh, he raised his arm that was currently being held hostage so that it looked like he was guiding her. "Why did you say that I was not from Lodan? Is that kind of... riffraff normal here?" he asked hesitantly, not sure if he wanted to here the answer. Mr. Storm's house could now be spotted in the distance. They were only a few minutes away.
"The older nobles are more... discreet, that's all I'm saying." replied the blue haired girl before she began to randomly giggle as if Stephen had said something funny when the patrol came within earshot, leaning over and appearing to give Stephen a peck on the cheek as the patrol passed them by. "Florence, the woman you met earlier, she gets "escorted" about once a week at least." said Ikuze before looking at the house they had arrived at. She looked over it expectantly, taking in a slow breath as she found herself trying to hold onto Stephen just a little tighter unconsciously.
Post by Danny Ravensdale on Jun 7, 2014 18:55:32 GMT
Danny had been following the two from the rooftops the entire time. when they stopped in front of the Storm Manor, he hopped down to a lower building, jumped across to a wall and slid down on the wall until he was nearing lightpost height. With a jump he landed on his targetted post and scrambled down to the street. Danny meandered over to Stephen and Ikuze as quietly as he could, then let out a small roar and flopped his arms over their shoulders so they were supporting the entirety of his weight. "RAH!" He let out a small giggle as he looked between the two. "You two look like'a couple'a deadbeats 'eadin' ta yer own funeral. Lighten up, eh? I mean, Kuzy's b'comin' a noble. The two'a ya migh' end up shackin' up an' whatnot. Considerin' she's gonna be of yer station, an' the two'a ya don' 'ate each other!" As Danny rambled on his eyes followed Stephen from behind his leaded goggle lenses.
Post by Stephen Leland on Jun 9, 2014 22:30:42 GMT
Stephen was not to pleased with the first part of that information. As they passed the guards he put on a light smile, thinking of his favorite moment in The Taming of the Shrew so that it actually was somewhat real. At Ikuze's last comment the smile was replaced by a look of horror "By the love of the Queen, are you telling the truth?!? The moral of this town-" his rant was cut short when he heard Danny sneak up behind them and jump on. Good thing he heard the boy; he probably would have punched the kid otherwise out of reflex had he not.
A look of disapproval crossed Stephen's face "Shacking it up? What does that phrase even mean. What ever it means, I am not sure I would enjoy it... It does not sound like the most refined of activities." With a sigh he stopped the forward march, disentangled himself from Ikuze- so Mr. Storm did not feel that he was trying to make a move on his possible granddaughter- and gave her the once over. He should have brought her home to change so that she would be more presentable but his father was at home and he did not want the man jumping to conclusions when he saw Ikuze. His shoulders sagged some as he let out a defeated sigh "There is nothing I can do about your appearance- it is utterly hopeless. But please, try to act like a respectable women when we get in there. Do not spit on him or do something else equally deplorable in his presence, got it?" he stated seriously.
"Okay, maybe twice a month would be more accurate lately... missing a few teeth after all..." mused Ikuze as she answered his question concerning Florence. At Danny's outburst, the azure headed girls fingers sparked before she recognised the girl. "Would you not do that please? My nerves are shot to low hell as it is..." she grumbled before looking at Stephen incredulously before remembering what he was. "Shacking up means marrying..." explained Ikuze before she blinked, then rounded on Danny. "Hey! I ain't... no! Nuh unh! Danielle is the girl he's with, not me, remember?" she snarled, getting within a hair's breadth of deciding to spill the beans... but decided against it. She looked back at Stephen and frowned. "Now its my turn to feel insulted. If I didn't spit on old Baron Cockhead, I certainly ain't gonna be spitting on someone you think is my grandpa." she said before shrugging. "I make no promises about the rest though." said the thief with a smirk.
"If you three are quite finished?" came a voice from the door which made Ikuze squeak given that it had apparently come out of nowhere. Standing in the doorframe was George, looking at Stephen, then at Ikuze, then at Danny, then back to Ikuze, and finally resting on Stephen with a frown. "I understand you and your father may not be on the best of terms at times Master Leland, but I doubt that allows you to try and use Lord Storm's residence for your... activities with any cabaret girl that takes your fancy." he said, Ikuze immediately snarling. "I am not a cabaret girl mister, and I ain't no doxy neither before you suggest that... okay, that's a lie. I was a cabaret girl for one gig. Dress code and all that... NO! Not a bed gig before you say anything. Musical." explained the thief, George's eyebrow raising ever so slightly at the girl's outburst.
He looked back to Stephen. "I think you have the right of it... she was like this as well whenever he did or said anything wrong." reminisced the butler before he stood aside and gestured. "If you would kindly enter and wait in the dining room? I'll fetch the master."
Post by Stephen Leland on Jun 10, 2014 23:26:05 GMT
Stephen blink in surprise at the definition Ikuze gave. That was an odd way of saying one get's married. The common people and their odd slang would forever be lost on him. When George's presence was suddenly shown to them, he turned to the man, not sure if he liked the look he was giving them. At his comment, the noble's eyes widened in shock and he could only sputter in shock, revulsion, and outrage as Ikuze explained the situation in a hurry.
Stephen just gave George an angry pout look, blushing slightly as the man addressed him. After given the direction, he stomped into the direction of the dining room, still angry and embarrassed by the comment the man had made. When he reached his destination he flopped down into one of the chairs, angry muttering to himself about 'inappropriate dress'. 'knew this would happen' and 'Disgusting behavior.'
Post by Danny Ravensdale on Jun 12, 2014 17:13:25 GMT
Danny grinned at the two beneath his scarf. "Danielle ain' a noble. Danny waved to George when he announced his presence. ""Eye Georgie, if ya ask nicely I think Stevie migh' even invite ya an' the old crow ta join 'is debauchery an' follow 'is 'ehedonistic lifestyle. It'd be fun... jus' imagine what 'e could do wit' a house wit' a will in' participant!" Danny let out a cackle as he followed Stephen into the waiting room, where he flopped against the wall and eyed Stephen. "Ya really should learn ta keep yer panties from gettin' all twisted up."
Post by Stephen Leland on Jun 12, 2014 18:01:53 GMT
Stephens practically bristled at Danny's words. "My undergarments are in no way twisted and I do not participate in debauchery!" he snapped loudly in response "Stop trying to instigate matters, Danny!" With a tired sigh he rested his elbows on the table, rubbing his temple "The sooner this matter is carried out the better." This was getting to be a far more strenuous action than he had anticipated. What with Danny here, trying to poke fun at him and start rumors... He did not even want to think of how his stress level would sky rocket when Mr. Storm waltzed into the room.
"And as far as I know Danny, I ain't one neither." scowled Ikuze before she aimed her foot for a well placed kick towards Danny's arse for her commentary concerning herself, Stephen and whoever this old crow was, although she could assume she was referring to Lord Storm. "Hey! Keep me out of your plots Danny boy." she said at almost the exact same time as Stephen made his own protests. She looked at him funny before rolling her eyes and sitting in one of the seats offered, George simply smirking slightly. A maid popped down to see what the commotion was then blinked at the sight of Ikuze. "...She's the near spitting image..." she said quietly causing the azure headed thief to raise an eyebrow. "Spitting image of who?" she asked.
Before Linda could reply, a voice spoke from behind the maid. "My late wife, and absent daughter." Lefiruc walked into the dining room, Linda curtseying and George looking at the master. "I was about to come inform you sir-" he began before the elder waved him silent. "I could hear her from clear across the hall when they were outside the door... Hard not to with those lungs, even at my age." he said as he walked up towards Ikuze, raising an eyebrow at the attire before looking towards Stephen. "I shall not ask how you came to know this girl, we all have our-" he began before Ikuze sharply stood up, her heels making a cracking noise against the floor in her speed.
"We met when I was doing a gig, and he grabbed this old busker's busted fiddle and played. We had a music duel. Then it was at another gig. Then it was at some other thing." she snarled, remembering to not say it was an experiment since she doubted that Stephen would be in anyone's good books if they found out what he'd been up to. "My attire is from one of my music gigs in the Theatre district. Sometimes I get to keep stuff since everything else I have had to bloody steal to survive in this damned city. And since this was the dratting nicest thing Ah drat well owned, Ah figur'd that it'd probably be a gud idea tae try and look mah bloody best... and maybe cause Stephen's eyeballs tae pop oot o' 'is skull as well for wakin' me up." she roared, not once breaking eye contact with the elderly man, her nostrils flaring as she glared up at him.
Linda looked positively shocked at the outburst, her mouth covered by both her hands. George simply stood there with an eyebrow raised, looking to the master for any inkling of what to do. Lefiruc himself simply looked down at the girl before him for a moment, silent as a statue, his body slowly beginning to shake as if in a fit of rage himself... before a soft sound escaped his lips, and his eyes seemed to glisten. Although admittedly that may have been because he had begun to tear up. "You truly are your mother's daughter, and your grandmother's blood." he said, a note of joy in his voice. The sound from earlier could now be identified as laughter. "Tell me child, what did she name you?" he asked.
Ikuze blinked at the reaction before replying. "...Ikuze. My name's Ikuze Storm." she said, causing Lefiruc to burst into even more laughter. "Oh that girl... even when wanting nothing to do with me, she still kept the name! And oh what a name she chose for you my dear... although I'm afraid she gave the short-hand of it." he admitted, causing the thief more confusion. "Eh? What?" she asked, looking to Stephen and Danny for some explanation. "Ikuze is the shorter form of Rikuzeyah." explained Lefiruc, causing Ikuze to blink further before looking sharply to Stephen and Danny. "Either of you calls me by that one, I will rip your parts from between your legs and feed them to the crows, got it?" she growled, her cheeks afire at this new revelation.
Post by Stephen Leland on Jun 16, 2014 22:42:35 GMT
Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Mr. Storm made his entrance, causing Stephen to straighten some, straight faced once again. When the man made his little comment he was about to leave when Ikuze suddenly stood up. What was that girl thinking!? She was yelling at the man they were trying to impress. Oh his chances of getting a favor from this man were long gone now. Stephen was silently morning his failed business transaction when Mr. Storm surprised them all by laughing.
At first, all he could do was stare at the man in shock, his mouth slightly agape. Then, a small smile graced his features. So she was his granddaughter after all. As Ikuze threatened Danny and him he smiled politely at her "But Miss Storm, that is a lovely name! You should be proud of it" he said, smirking on the inside. Oh this would be grate. Ikuze was in no way cut out for the noble life. It would be quite enjoyable watching her flounder around in the political business matters of the rich. Though- he would never admit this- he was happy that Mr. Storm had found the family he was looking and that Ikuze now had someone to take care of her. "So my hunch was right, Mr. Storm? She really is your granddaughter?" he asked, turning to him with a blank face once again.
Ikuze snarled at Stephen, her right hand already shooting out towards the previously threatened jewels before Lefiruc spoke. "I think his father would appreciate him returning in one piece." The thief glowered for a moment before grumbling. The elder simply chuckled before regarding Stephen. "Indeed, if that little demonstration is any further proof. A word of wisdom my lad, whenever a woman, regardless of station or position, threatens your intimate parts... You will find that nine times out of ten they will carry out that threat." he said before looking towards Ikuze once more, a wistful look on his face. "So much like them... I hope you wi-" he began before Ikuze held up a hand.
"If you're about to break out into a long speech about family, acceptance and apologies for not being there blah blah, save it." she grumbled. "Lets cut to the chase alright? Obviously your daughter, my mother, left for some drat good reason if she never spilled the beans about you before." said the azure haired girl as she looked up at her patriarch. "And before I even consider staying here, or even if I want to be noble... I want to know why. I want to know what the hell it was, that you lot did that made her walk out on this life, and become a bloody drat dollymop."
Ikuze crossed her arms and looked straight into his eyes, almost challenging him to look away or blink or something. Instead he simply returned the stare, an empty silence filling the room before he turned around and began to walk towards his study. "We'll talk in here, in private. George, Linda, see to it that Misters Leland and Daniel are comfortable until I return. I'd like a word with the lads once my grand-daughter has been... appraised of the past." he said, the tone of his words leaving no believable room for negotiation or interjection from either of the two parties involved. Ikuze looked at the two of them before following behind Lefiruc into his study and closing the door behind her.
Post by Stephen Leland on Jun 26, 2014 2:57:30 GMT
Stephen's hand twitched ever so slightly at Ikuze's sudden action; this bad habit of wanting to reach for his knives at every sudden movement needs to stop. He swallowed, a small grimace gracing his features at Mr. Storms precaution. As Ikuze confronted Mr. Storm, Stephen turned his gaze to busy himself with studying his chair arm. When they left he glanced up, clearing his throat. "Do you by any chance have any Shakespeare? I do believe to pass the time I shall elaborate on Hamlet for Danny." Truly, it was something to pass his time with. Hamlet was always an enjoyable play to read. Queens, he hoped Ikuze would not try and murder Mr. Storm. You never knew with that woman.
George looked at Stephen for a moment. "I'll check what remains of the library." he said, leaving Linda in the room with the two lads. The poor girl was still recovering from watching the verbal abuse that Ikuze had bombarded the elder Storm with.
Meanwhile in the study Lefiruc gestured for Ikuze to take a seat. After making certain that the blinds were shut the elder turned to face Ikuze, and with a flare of light from his back, spread forth his wings. The thief blinked before simply staring at them. "I'm a full blooded Winged Anderswellter. Your grandmother was a full blooded General Anerswellter. Your mother is half of each, though the General was dominant. You would have had an uncle..." he trailed off with a sigh, Ikuze's eyes catching the sight of the portraits on the wall, along with the urn above the mantlepiece. "Is that..." she began to ask. Lefiruc nodded. "Aye. That's them... the Civil War took their lives, along with my wings." he said as he carefully sat down, his wings fading back into his runes, seeing as the chairs weren't exactly designed with wings in mind.
"Our family has worked its way into the position it has now since the days of the Crossing." started Lefiruc, his descendent listening to him carefully. "Obviously you are more than aware the prejudices our kind face from humans... it was even worse back in the First Days. So, we slowly began to work to try and change that... this was why your mother left. Having to live a double life, trapped, in her view, in an inescapable destiny to perpetuate the line and mission..." he said, Ikuze frowning at his words.
"A fate that now I'm trapped in eh?" she asked. Lefiruc shook his head wearily. "We are all trapped my dear grand-daughter... whether we want to be or not. How many Anders do you know in positions?" he asked. Well there's my boss who's the daughter of Baron Cockface, but I ain't gonna tell you that... not yet anyway... Ikuze thought to herself as she remained silent. Lefiruc nodded at her silence. "Exactly. There are practically none. And unfortunately, the world works and changes only with power." said the old man, who to the young girl looked very old right now as he sat there. She bit her lip as she thought about what he had said, what his words meant. Her thoughts were interrupted by a faint chuckle from the man. "What's so funny?" she asked, pouting a little. "Just an echo child... You looked so much like your grandmother just there. Whenever she was debating something in her head, she would bite her lip and hold her pendent... much like you did just now." he said, pointing a finger towards her neck.
Ikuze looked down and found that her hand had indeed clutched itself around the pendent on her choker. "I remember giving that to your grandmother when I proposed to her... and she in turn gave it to your mother as a token to remind her that her family still cared for her... That was the last I'd seen it in quite some time." explained Lefiruc, who waved a hand as Ikuze went to unclip it. "Keep it dear... It's yours. Now... I won't put any pressure on you to decide right away what you want to do. Give it a day or two-" he began before the girl stood up and tackled him, causing the chair and its twin occupants to fall to the floor with a resounding thud.
"Oh shut up already... Yes. I'll stay." said the thief as she hugged her patriarch as Linda burst into the study, her feline eyes glowing with magic as she held a shard of ice in each hand. "Master Storm?!" she asked before catching sight of the situation, the ice quickly melting into puddles. "Oh... sorry... um... I'll just... um..." she stammered as she realised what had occured, Lefiruc chuckling slightly as he and Ikuze got up. "It's quite alright Linda my dear. I would expect nothing less of you." he said before looking at the blushing azure girl. "Now then... presumptuous as this may sound... do you have anything you wish to bring here?" he asked, Ikuze nodding. "I've got a few things aye." she replied. Lefiruc nodded and looked at Linda.
"Would you accompany her and help collect her things and bring them back here dear? I'd best go reassure our guests that all is well." he chuckled. Linda nodded, curtsied and then collected Ikuze by the hand and almost literally dragging her out the front door. "Gah! Wait! Heels! You don't even know where you're going!"
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