#guest muse: Araceli Nemesis

[bravelywego]

Janne and Araceli took notice of Oddette informing them of Edea heading to Melodia castle. Janne nodded.

"Alright, let's get going."

"Have a good time, you two~" Araceli half-singsonged, chuckling. Janne just sighed and used the teleportation crystal to get him and Dotie back -

...Only to end up in the stables of Melodia Castle, accompanied by the neighing of horses and hay all around them!

Janne groaned, burying his face in one hand. "For crying out loud, seriously!?"

------

As James asked about a key, Ariel and all th eother guards awkwardly looked toward each other before Siobhan sighed and took out a key, using it to unlock all the cages and fenced-in areas.

"Found a master key, sir. You're welcome."

"Thank you, Siobhan." Ariel looked somewhat amused, a brief chuckle leaving him. "That'll do." He looked toward Geist, James and Mona. "After we're done taking care of the animals here, my troops and I can take care of the rest."

"We'll report back to the Countess," Geist stated, "Right Mona? James?"

Mona nodded, trying to stick by James and Geist's sides, but the cloak that James had lent to her was hindering her movements more than helping- much to Geist's amusement. "Right." she tripped and rolled herself up in the cape, accidentally making herself stuck in the rolled-up cape. "Help. Please."

Geist snapped his fingers. "Undo." Cue Mona instantly being unwrapped from the cape, and he helped her stay upright. "Maybe we should get you a cape that, er, fits your height a bit better once we're back."

"Maybe." she agreed, and her teddy bear nodded in agreement.

[ Yew Finds a Wild Janne and Geist! ]

[adeadlysong]

@iincantatorum from here

“Interesting for so many reasons, of course, kuhuhu~” Araceli eyed Eros with a chuckle leaving her as her dark eyes met his. A few garter snakes were wrapped around her left hand, and she eyed them briefly before looking toward the barrister again, speaking up. 

“I’m sure you’re well aware of the history I’ve had with Tahirah. How I started a civil war against her and lost it, that is. And I have to say - it’s interesting that out of all the possible women and/or men falling for you that you want to pursue, it’s her. Do you realize how deadly her family is? Truly?”

Tahirah was dangerous because of her deadly voice. Her advisors could probably murder some people if they wanted to (and probably had) with their own abilities. Araceli closed her eyes, trying not to think too hard about what happened back then.

“I mean, I did try to murder her godfather over a decade ago - and yet the man’s still alive and kicking as if he’d never been thrown off a cliff to begin with. If he’s able to survive that shit, imagine what it’ll be like surviving being married to Tahirah, knowing that he’s still around. And I’d be wary of that pretty stablehand she’s got, too. He’s not all looks, even if he acts like a dumb ox at times.”

She crossed her arms, looking Eros in the eyes. “What made you so interested in her and her family? I want to know.”

[adeadlysong]

“So—who do we have here, hm~?”

[adeadlysong]

“Have you ever considered owning a pet snake or two? Very handy for getting some dirty work done...”

[adeadlysong]

@ribbedxgloves

#/saved#/freyr's like- indeed I have#/he will tell the snake to not harm tahirah and they play with the smiling noodle friend#freyr x tahirah#V; Tuneful Trio#adeadlysong

Tahirah: :D YAY FOR THE SMILING NOODLE FRIEND

Araceli: O_O SNAKES ARE NOT NOODLES!

Tahirah: But they’re shaped like them—

Araceli: YOU DON’T EAT SNAKES. THEY ARE NOT NOODLES.

Arlyn: I hate to break it to you, but I heard some snakes are edible—?

Araceli: NOOOOOOOO

[adeadlysong]

@ribbedxgloves

#remy x sukumara

#/remy will purposely flip his hair and try to get sukumara to get more of a whiff of him

Sukumara: O///O For the love of music Remy WHY

Tahirah: He totally wants to be with you :D Right, Apollymi?

Arlyn and Nuriel: WE SHIP IT XD

Araceli: I SHIP IT HARDCOREEEEE XD GO GET HIM SUKUMARA! 

Candace: O_O What the...? What’s going on?

Usama: Just more shenanigans again. *facepalms*

Sukumara: >///< OH MY GOSH EVERYONE WHY

[adeadlysong]

@ribbedxgloves

#/saved#/these two are 2 pure 2 cute and must be protected at all costs#/remy will protect them#adeadlysong#otp; you are my comfort zone {apollymi x tahirah}

OH MY GOSH THEY ARE TOO PURE AND CUTE. YES. XDDD

Remy will protect them and same with Sukumara and Arlyn and Nuriel.

Sukumara: Candace, Usama, Araceli? We could use more help with protecting them?

Araceli: I think you got this. You’re the Lion of Darya! And by the way, GET WITH THE COURT JESTER WHILE YOU’RE AT IT XDDDDD

Candace: O_O Wait, you two are a thing!?

Sukumara: Wha—I—AAAA O////O

Arlyn and Nuriel: WE SHIP ALL THE SHIPS! XD

Usama: *facepalms* All of you and your shenanigans again...Why?

[adeadlysong]

Tahirah: Is this where we start breaking out the sexy musical numbers?

Araceli: Because none of you are getting laid except me? Yes.

Sukumara: ARACELI O////O

[adeadlysong]

Are all the muses non-straight?

Tahirah, Sukumara, Candace, Usama, Araceli, Nuriel, Arlyn, Maria and Shula all shrugged.

“Honestly,” Tahirah managed, “We can technically say yes to this question? I mean, absolutely no one who has figured out their sexualities so far is straight...”

“Yeah, but,” Candace butted in, “We can’t just entirely assume that. I mean, I’m still trying to figure out if I swing any way at all. Same with Usama.” She then looked to the ghost of Shula Erhart,  “Do you know?”

Shula shrugged, and shook her head. “Never bothered.”

“Well, we’ll find out in time. Or maybe we’ll never know.” Nuriel shrugged. “Does it matter?”

“Sexuality is only one part of a person. I mean,” Sukumara felt his face flush, “It’s...definitely something to be explored, but uh...it’s not the whole person. It’s a small piece in the grand scheme of things.”

“And that is what one should call profound and deep.” Araceli chuckled. “So what does it matter about sexuality? If you wanna flaunt it like me, go ahead! If not, I don’t care. Not too much, anyway.”

“Wait,” Arlyn managed, “Did we...ever find out Maria’s sexuality?”

Everyone immediately looked to Maria, who stared back at them.

“Guys, I’m still trying to figure it out, okay!?”

“It’s fine.” Usama reassured her. 

Tahirah offered a sheepish grin. “So, uh...yeah! I guess we can technically say none of us are straight! At least, until we figure out if Maria, Shula, Usama and/or Candace are straight, but no need to rush!”

[adeadlysong]

“Okay, cast your votes! Which one of us is the sexiest of ‘em all?”

“It��s obviously me. Let’s get that straight—and that’s the straightest thing you’ll get out of me.”

“Mm, Lady Araceli—I beg to differ...”

“Arlyn’s right! It’s totally me!”

“No! You know that’s not what I meant!”

“On second thought, this voting might be a bad idea...”

[adeadlysong]

An Invitation?

@ribbedxgloves from here

Ariel noticed Clopin cartwheeling away nearby, and he was impressed by the man’s flexibility at his age. Travelling entertainers always seemed so fascinating, no matter where they came from.

And then he saw Remy. By himself. There he was!

“Excuse me,” Sukumara managed, giving Arlyn a look that said ‘SAVE ME NOW FROM FURTHER EMBARRASSMENT,’ “I...need to go get a drink.”

“Have fun~” Araceli cooed, and Sukumara glared back at her before moving away from her and the others, only shooting Arlyn a gentle apologetic glance while Arlyn gave him a look that said ‘all is forgiven on my part, and I’m sorry I couldn’t prevent further embarrassment.’

Eventually the cannibal ruler of Darya made it to Remy, ducking out of the way of dancing people (Tahirah and Apollymi included) to get to him, and he cleared his throat a little, hoping to get the other’s attention.

“Remy...I’m glad to see you here. I’ve been looking all over for you, honestly. I was worried you wouldn’t join in the festivities...”

[bravelywego]

Janne stared at Oddette as she brought up the possibility of a mole, eyes widening.

"Oh damn. If that's the case..." He swallowed. "I think we'll have some potential dragon people to deal with back in Luxendarc."

"That's a you problem for the future." Araceli smiled at them, but it was one of those "you've got to be fucking kidding me, seriously!?" smiles.

Janne checked the area for anything else useful, but that was about it. "Dang. Okay...so, I guess we report to the Countess? How are we doing this - in-person stuff, communication crystals..?"

Araceli sighed. "My troops can clean up the rest of the mess if you two want to run off to the Countess and give her an update - or if you have one of those fancy communication crystals, give her a call. I'm sure she'd be happy either way." A groan left her after as she shook her head. "I can already imagine her being like - oh, I'm glad you claimed victory, have a cupcake!"

Janne stared at Araceli's imitation of Tahriah a bit. "Remind me where you stand on how you think of Tahirah?"

"Well, I did wage a civil war on her eight years ago- but she's earned my respect after she won and put me in a humiliating defeat when she was simply a young teenager at the time," Araceli sniffed, nose wrinkling. "Let's just say the war reparations damaged my ego enough to consider never doing it again."

-----

Mona blinked once, then twice as she felt the cape on her shoulders. She looked up at James quizzically, but she wrapped the cape around herself as if trying to bundle herself up from cold weather. "Thank you."

It felt nice, for sure, and much appreciated.

Ariel nodded, before looking toward the soldiers and giving them the warning to get out of the way and so on.

The gryphon that addressed James nodded in understanding. We understand. You have our thanks. It spoke to the other magical creatures, which seemed to understand it pretty well despite being completely different creatures, which was pretty darn cool.

[ Yew Finds a Wild Janne and Geist! ]

[bravelywego]

Araceli hummed at the mention of investigating the base. "Well, I say we look around for clues of DeRogna's whereabouts and her next target first before we contact Countess Tahirah and let her know that things are all clear..."

Janne looked around at anything but the snakes. "Good to know..." He glanced around again, before noticing a set of doors that looked like a regular closet- no one had opened it during the chaos. Janne stepped forward to open it, and....Revealed a hidden room inside!

"Huh." Janne peeked in carefully. "Well, that's new."

Araceli hummed, taking a step closer, tilting her head to the side. "Looks like they had one trick up their sleeve after all."

The hidden room wasn't rigged with any magic, but it did have a set of drawers and a shelf, and a desk with a journal in it. The drawers didn't have much useful in there outside of writing tools. The journal on the desk, however, had far more useful material.

Araceli picked up the journal, frowning. "This...is a record of potential targets...Mr. DeRosa's name is on the list."

"Anyone else?" Janne asked.

Araceli shook her head. "All the other names are listed as deceased. DeRosa was their last-ditch effort to find someone who met their criteria of 1), the capability of wielding a sufficient variety of magic, and 2) being someone who wouldn't be easily missed by the community or place they're from." Her nose wrinkled at that. "And they don't have it written here, but I'm assuming that the third criteria is making sure their prisoners stayed alive for long enough to be sufficient human sacrifices later."

Janne's eyes widened. "You mean...even if we find their corpses, they don't have any next of kin that we can tell them about?"

Araceli shook her head. "Most likely, no. For all I know, they could've taken advantage of the destitute who happened to have potential in wielding multiple magics, or came from incredibly small communities."

"Then why DeRosa?"

A scowl left Araceli. "Someone must've fed them information that he was on the way out of his job - and knowing his history pre-Al Khampis teaching, he probably doesn't have a lot of notable connections if any at all anymore. That's why they went for him."

"But then..." Who gave them that info to begin with?

-----

Geist had to admit that he was impressed at seeing James' outfit as the Beast Tamer. Part of him expected it to be wilder, but it still suited him well. All the beasts stilled as soon as they heard James speaking to them. The gryphon was the one that answered him, however.

Jamison...thank you for informing us... The gryphon ruffled its feathers. We have a few of our own that are wounded and need immediate attention.

Mona shook her head, looking up at Jamison. "I-I can bear it." She stated. Geist found it hard to read her expression. She seemed hesitant, but she also seemed like she wanted to tough it out.

"Alright, but if you want out at any point, let us know." Geist stated to her. Mona nodded quickly in return.

Ariel, Sibohan, and the other soldiers with them were already getting out any healing potions and/or bandages. "Are any of them hurt...?" Ariel asked. "I know we usually use these remedies on fellow people, not magic beasts, but they should work in a pinch..."

[ Yew Finds a Wild Janne and Geist! ]

[bravelywego]

Janne let himself get pulled along and a chuckle left him as Oddette moved to walk back towards Araceli. He followed soon after.

"So, Lady Nemesis, any updates?"

Araceli sighed, looking toward Janne and Oddette. "Apparently, Mara DeRogna is NOWHERE in the damn base, so boo!" She pouted, shaking her head, before a smile came across her face. "Good news, my little friends did get a nice snack."

Janne stared. "...wait. Your snakes...they..."

A giggle left Araceli, smiling at Janne. "I mean, they do eat actual food for snakes, but a snack of something else can be a fun treat for them. Lord Sukumara and his fellow cannibals can't hog all the bodies to themselves!"

Janne tried not to make a face at that. "...Cool. Great."

-----

Mona nodded , holding onto the charm, and Mona's teddy bear nodded in agreement. "Very well...we will keep hold of Ursine...until the dragon nonsense is over."

Ariel nodded as he looked toward James. "Yes, calming them down would be very-much helpful - "

Cue Geist overhearing a roar of a beast in dismay, and he almost jumped a bit, startled. "I think that's the gryphon...?!"

"Yep." Ariel sighed, nodding. "I had a feeling it would be pissed. Gryphons do not like being stuck in shut-in areas for too long, based on my experience. Siobhan, lead us there...?"

Siobhan nodded and quietly led the group to the barn at the back of the base. Chained and in various stalls or cages were a variety of magical beasts - one gryphon, several golems, and even some salamanders. (Fortunately, no dragons.)

Geist gazed at all of them. "The fact that the dragon people managed to imprison them all in one building is....well, bad for the creatures, but convenient for their captors. I could just 'undo' the chains and such, but then we'd have them stampeding out of the place."

"Agreed." Ariel frowned. "Better to soothe them first before we do the unchaining and unlocking - and I want them checked for any wounds or ill health."

Mona flinched at seeing all the other magical beasts, brows furrowing. "...No better treatment than my old master..." Her teddy bear shook its head in dismay.

[ Yew Finds a Wild Janne and Geist! ]

[bravelywego]

"Why, thank you very much~" Araceli smiled before busying herself with checking on her troops to see who was injured, who wasn't, and the status report of all the enemies they knocked out and/or killed.

Janne sighed as he looked toward Dotie. "If we're going to be sticking around Melodia for a while, maybe I should take lessons from you." He admitted. A little grin made it to his face. "Could be fun..."

At least, he hoped it would be. It would be fun, right?

-----

Geist let an "oooo" leave him when the bahamut went on to demolish some enemies, with said enemies screeching in surprise at seeing the beast. "Good shot~!"

"Behind you!" Ariel called, and Geist turned in time to see two mages firing spells at him, Geist dodged, before charging forward and slashing at both of them. The mages were immediately downed, and soon the floor was cleared to head up to the next floor.

Because some of the soldiers had gone on ahead to said second floor, they were already halfway through dealing with the enemy by the time Geist and Ariel made it up there.

"Alright - "Ariel looked around, "Which one of you is the leader of this base, if not the entire group?"

One of the dragon people flailed in panic. "Y-you lot already killed him on the first floor, sir!"

"We did?" Geist blinked. "What did he look like?'

"Tall, with a mean big sword..."

"Ahhh, that one." Geist tapped his chin in thgouht briefly. "Yeah, I think I killed him while in the midst of killing everyone else on that floor."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Ariel admitted, before looking toward the other dragon people. "Drop your weapons and surrender, or," He flashed his teeth at them, "Or else you're dinner."

Cue all the other enemies dropping their weapons immediately in surrender. Several of Ariel's soldiers came forth to bind and cuff any still-alive and surrendered troops.

[ Yew Finds a Wild Janne and Geist! ]

[bravelywego]

Janne looked toward Oddette briefly, sheepishly as he shrugged. "Let's just say I'm not always the best at improv...?" He slashed at two more enemies that tried to charge at Oddette and him, taking them down fast.

Araceli could be heard singing, and Janne looked up to see her charging up a particularly powerful wind spell.

"Diamondssss!! Are aaaaa, GIRLSSSS! BESTTTTT....!"

Silence. You could hear a pin drop if you tried to listen for one. Araceli grinned, before ending with the last word.

"Friend....!"

Cue her immediately firing three mini-tornadoes of wind, bowling over the last of the enemies. The enemies screamed in terror as they flailed around, getting bashed around by the wind, and they hit the ground either dead or unconscious.

Araceli landed on her feet, smiling as she clapped her hands together. "Well! I believe that battle ends in our favour~" A chuckle left her before she looked toward her soldiers. "Take any living ones as prisoners. All the dead ones, well...loot their corpses for anything useful and report them all to me. All injured, see a healing mage."

"Yes Lady Nemesis!" All the other soldiers moved to do just that. Janne wiped his brow with the back of his hand, looking around.

"That's it, huh...? That was fast...."

"Let's just say that we may be entertainers, but we're also efficient." Araceli beamed, sauntering over to Janne and Oddette. "You two did a lovely job over there~"

-----

Mona nodded, taking the charm from James as she listened to his instructions. She nodded a bit, meeting his gaze.

"Understood." She clutched it carefully. "I'll try not to break it...her...it...?" She blinked, staring down at the charm. How exactly did one label a charm that hosted a spirit within it? Who knows?

Geist, Ariel, and the troops had busted into the base and were, predictably, slashing at enemies, cutting them down, and overall terrifying the hell out of all of them. Geist used Eradication on a group of enemies charging at them, resulting in several falling down dead instantly while the surviving few screamed in terror.

"That's right, you've got a choice!" Geist cackled. "Scream and beg for mercy, or don't!"

Someone tried to fire a spell at Ariel, but he dodged it, rolling across the floor to reach the mage before he stabbed them in the chest fast and deep. The mage crumpled to the floor instantly, gasping for breath but losing blood fast. Ariel moved to stand, licking the blood off the blade before he sniffed the area, looking around. "There are more upstairs. Mages, shatter the windows!"

"Yes, sir!" Several mages shot at the windows, shattering them. Some soldiers, Geist noticed, climbed the walls somehow and just climbed right into the second floor that way to get to the enemies inside.

[ Yew Finds a Wild Janne and Geist! ]