Volcano's edge [Closed] x3

[Satra]

A smirk crept onto her face as he mentioned he'd blown up a building. "Oh...?" Amusement was quite apparent in her voice. The smirk widened to a mischievous grin as he finished. A wicked chuckle issued from her.

"I'll say. I'll bet there were quite a few who never let you forget it on top of it, too," she teased, knowing full well that had she been a member of the Court at the time, she would've been one of those people. She was highly amused at his blushing. It really looked quite strange in contrast with his very pale skin. She snickered as he laughed and leaned up against the table. Both stopped laughing and at the same time, their attention was drawing to the hissing tank. Her eyes and ears had swiveled in the direction of the noise, also without moving her head. The situation would've been comical to anyone who could've seen both of them, however...

Heilyn was quite surprised at the speed of the older man. She allowed herself to be pulled where he knew there was a safe place to hide in his lab. Once hidden, she clamped her hands over her ears, flattening them to the sides of her head.

The reaction was not immediate. After five full seconds of silence, Heilyn let go of her ears, letting them flip up to an erect position. Slowly, she peaked over the table. She took a sharp intake of breath as she dove back under. If Bernard had come up to take a peak as well, she would've shoved him back down to. The tank started shaking violently. The seconds it took to finally explode seem to drag on forever under the influence of anticipation. The noise was deafening, even with covered ears, and shrapnel flew everywher, and the noise of other things breaking soon followed. She poked her head back over the table, heart racing.

"Well," she breathed, "That was... exciting..." she turned to him with a smirk, though the adrenaline was making her shake a little.

"You seem to have a habit of doing that, don't you?"

She looked over the aftermath of the explosion. The tank shell seemed to have taken the brunt of the damage, with more energy spent of making shattered pieces of metal fly with lethal force than on the surroundings. However, damage was still taken, as the legs of the adjacent table had been blown off and its contents had slid off and onto the floor, breaking many of the objects, the window was cracked and the curtains were shredded. This was in addition to whatever damage the deadly ballistics managed to accomplish.

"I, uh..." she turned sheepishly to Bernard, ears turned back in a bit of embarrassment, "eheh...I think I forgot to mention the air was fairly compressed... need help cleaning?" She had no idea what even happened to make it react like that. She took a few deep breathes to help her heart slow down a little.

[Nathalia]

"No, they certainly didn't let me forget it...some of the kitchen staff will still poke at it if they're in the right mood. I don't blame them, I still tease Serafino about the time that he set his own rosebush on fire."

Then the hissing tank happened...

The explosion was fantastic, enough to propel what was left of the tank after it unloaded shrapnel backward out the window and down over the grounds. Plowing through two bushes, it stopped just short of the marble wall surrounding the large gardens.

Bernard had his back against the table, hauling at Heilyn's arm as she tried to take a peek over the edge and then pressing his hands to his ears...which still hardly muted the sound. The fire visible in the mirror at the back of his study. After the noise ceased, he cautiously poked his head over the table top...

Then a grin spread over his face. Not even seeming to hear the Coyote's previous words he stood, laughing breathily in exhilaration.

"HaHA! Did you see that!!?! That was AMAZING!"

The King yelled, leaping to his feet and rushing over to the broken indow, staring out and trying to judge how far the tak had gone, whistling through his teeth softly at the sight.

"Oh, the gardeners are going to kill me...again..."

He turned around, still laughing a little to look at Heilyn.

"Help? Heh, sure, if you'd like I certainly won't say no. I haven't seen something blow up that badly in years!"

He scooped up a book and stuck it back on a shelf at random, going to the back of the room and digging a mop out of a closet. After a few more seconds of rummaging, he had located some garbage bags and some hazard gloves.

"There we go, here grab some gloves and a bag, we'll start with that. Thanks again for the offer...most people run after I do something utterly stupid."

He grinned, still excited and then picked up the broken test tube, finally reading the label.

"Nitrous Oxide...that'll teach me...right."

He stashed the test tube in the garbage bag and gathered up a few other pieces of glass, ponytail falling over his shoulder as he worked, still grinning in delight.

[Satra]

Heilyn shook her head and rubbed her ears. Her ears, being much more sensitive than Bernard's in this form, were ringing. However, she couldn't help but allow the corner of her lips curl upward at the exhilarated King.

"Certainly," she responded, calmness completely returned to her, as she got herself a pair of gloves, "I've been closer to death. It take quite a bit for me to feel fear beyond the initial shock." Well, of what the paranoid Coyote thought was logical, anyway. She decided to go to the heavier work. She just could not help but chuckle to herself and shake her head as she went over and looked out the window, careful not to step on any debris, curious if anybody had been witness to the second thing that had flown out of this window that day. She then got out of the most damaged area, waiting for the ground to be a little safer to step on, and moved to start dislodging bits of shrapnel from the bookshelves and walls and throwing them away.

"So, I had another question," she said after a while of cleaning. There was some discussion, but mostly of Heilyn asking what he wanted put where and insisting she do the heavier lifting. She was a slender thing, yes, but the shiny fur that clung to her form showed there was more than just skin and bone to the girl.

"Why are the people of the Kingdom divided by region, but the Courts by Suit?" asked the isolated Bog Dweller.

[Nathalia]

They cleaned for a good half hour, still laughing over the explosion and bagging up what was ruined. The King reluctantly allowing her to do the heavy lifting, seeing as his Human form would not feasibly be able to lift the bookshelf back off the ground...

"No, I didn't think you would scare easily, it's good to be assured though...I can be quite frightening." He grinned at her and then snickered, unable to help it, he hadn't been in this good a mood in ages...he would have to invite the Coyote in more often.

"Good question, and one I can;t fully answer, though in my travels it's had mostly to do with either pride or a lack of interest as far as the regions go. People associate with those of their region because of convenience mostly, or because their parents are old-fashioned like mine were and want their kids to have "regional pride". My mother used to give my brother an I hell for that one all the time...we never had enough "Highland pride" for her. I traveled all over and made odd-ball friends, and my brother's first date was a Sorgaire."

He shrugged and tired to wipe down a book dripping with blackish water.

"As for the Courts, they've been divided by Suit since before the time of the Second wall. Suits have always had a strong pride, especially the enterprising ones, and different mindsets and ambitions so...separation...that's just how it is. Even I'm sometimes guilty of a little Hearts pride every now and then, though I don't approve of lording it over the other Courts. Still, I'm no Queen, so all I do is advise."

He shrugged and placed the book back on the shelf, relived that he had only lost two pages.

"You know, I'm surprised you ask, how are things run in the Bog?"

[Satra]

Heilyn listened intently as she swept the floor near the wall then nodded.

"I know the Courts have been this way since before anyone lived in the Bog, but the reasoning for it and the history of the Outside was not exactly the concern of the researchers who worked there during the purification attempt, so we really have no record of it..." she said more to herself. She looked at him. So he wasn't only interested in the physical aspects of the way the Bog worked. She let out a grunt as she wrenched out a piece of metal out of the stone wall under the window. She was starting to pant a little.

"Much different," she said, smiling and sitting on a bit of ground clear of broken things and tossing the piece she pulled from the wall into a bag. Time for a little break, "We don't have anywhere near the population to support a separation of suit in our Court. We only have two Queens in the entire Bog: a Club and a Heart; three, if you count their child. The Club is the presiding Queen, but only because she is in charge of domestic affairs, and therefore her authority is required more," she smirked, "I think you might be interested to know that she's also a Dragonfly," Bernard might find that bit of information fun, "The Heart is in charge of defense, making sure criminal justice is carried out, and whatever else happens to fall into her lap. The Wolverine is certainly the more aggressive and less politically-minded of the two, more than happy to let Queen Ai be in charge, so long as she gets to bust some heads. I'd love to see her and Gaston get into an arm-wrestling match. I honestly wouldn't know who to put my money on," she laughed.

"Those two run a tight ship, let me tell you. According to my dad, the Bog hadn't seen that kind of stability ever.

"But as far as culture shock, I would have to say the biggest adjustment I've had to make was status awareness. I'm not going to say that everyone is treated as an equal in some open-minded utopia, because that is so far from the truth. It's painfully obvious that the higher the rank, the higher the power tends to be, and the different ranks have their tendencies. However, our infant mortality rate is very high, our population is low, and the Bog really is not an easy place to live. We recognize that everyone is worth something and every working part is required." She got back up, ready to work again. "All suits are on the same level, merely seen as different in their own ways, rank and practical worth to the community being the only real defining factor in one's status." She put the second trash bag next to the first by the door.

"I actually got quite an earful the second week I was living at that store I told you about by the store owner herself when a man came in with his pet Ace and I addressed them both directly," she chuckled, allowing herself to go on a mini-tangent, "I was a little confusing at first for me." She went back to pulling metal out of the wall.

"That's the basic run-down, anyway. So what about you? What exciting places have you been? And what have you blown up in them?" she teased.

[Nathalia]

Bernard blinked in surprise...he hadn't quite realized things were that different in the Bog...so rank and Suit really weren't as big of a deal there...wow...even Aces...that was an odd thought.

"A Dragonfly? Really?

His eyes were brighter and he almost looked younger.

"I've never met an insect! Does she have all three forms? How did it translate?" He laughed and shook his head. "Good god, I'm sorry....just never seen one, anyway. A Wolverine Heart in charge of militia, that certainly sounds accurate...and effective, I'd bet Gaston would back down from that...you'd be surprised at the respect he tends to show to Queens... The stability sounds fascinating, I'm amazed that you've all managed to pull it together so well...we could learn from that..."

After dragging the majority of the bags over to the door and letting them drop he grabbed the mop, insisting that he be the one to run with it and that she take a break. "Trust me, I have to clean up my home-made bio-hazards often enough, I'm fine...I'm capable of wielding a mop."

He smiled as he worked at the floor, listening to her talk.

"I believe that, most would consider that chew-out worthy...awful though. It must have been so strange, things are fairly regimented around here, it's really not so much in Esterberry, have you ever been there? A bit like the Highlands, and the people tend to be a little stuffy, no denying that, but they don't place nearly as much emphasis on rank as they do on your smarts and integrity...it was really different for me."

He smiled and rolled his ees at the last question.

"Where in the hills haven't I been? Where shall i start? I could tell you about how I never even made it into the Gardens, or maybe about my thrashing in the Lowlands? Or perhaps you'd rather discuss the way that I managed to learn how to play the viola in the Villa? Heh, I used to love to travel..."

[Satra]

"Pretty well, actually, although the woman is very delicate in all her forms. The human form of the people from my region tend to have stronger and sharper facial features than the ones I've seen Out here, but hers are very soft. I don't know it that's because she is a Dragonfly or it that's just the way she happens to look. I've never met another insect, myself. She prefers to stay in her bipedal form, though, as it that form she has wings and four arms.

"She's a very pretty woman, though I can't say the same for her child, though. He had the misfortune of the Dragonfly and Wolverine breeds mixing. The child is thoroughly bizarre-looking. Queen Poppy -- yes, the Wolverine is named Poppy, don't ask --" she laughed at the ridiculousness of it, "is, quite frankly, terrifying, even with only one arm. She's a tactical genius and I feel her talents would be better shown were she to serve the Court of Hearts rather than the Bog, seeing as the biggest enemies us Dwellers have would be when the faux-rabid animals go into heat and the insane hermit population decides to attack.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot to mention. There is one main town where the majority of the population lives. As I said, our population is very small, so we all fit fairly comfortably there. However, there are a few that have decided to leave the main town and form their own communities. These are very, very small, but they tend to be the least stable of our residents and/or wanted criminals and are capable of incredible damage.

"Well, I didn't speak to the Ace on the same level as the man, but I still spoke to him directly, which was still worthy of a screechy lecture, apparently. Parakeets are very loud, I've noticed..."

He took teasing very well. It was almost hard to believe he was a Highlander King.

"I have not been to Esterberry. As it stands, my travel has been fairly limited. I'd like to see more places, though, now that I've achieved what I needed to. Actually, it all sounds pretty interesting. Let's start with the Gardens first, shall we? As a male, why would you want to go there, anyway? It doesn't seem like it would be a terribly fun visit unless you knew and were staying with the right people." She went over to him and indicated the mop with her hand, she had a small smile on her face throughout the entire chat. She was really enjoying this.

"Let me do that. I know you're perfectly capable of doing so, but I feel as though you should organize your own books to the way you want and need them. I have no idea how you had them organized before..." She said, indicating the books that had fallen on the floor from the knocked-over bookshelf.

[Nathalia]

Bernard listened with fascination to the description of the dragonfly Queen...hoping someday to see her...she sounded amazing.

"Oooh, that mix does sound unfortunate...though Poppy really sounds like something, I wonder if it would be appropriate to drop her an invite sometime?"

He asked, reluctantly handing over the mop as he headed to his bookshelf and began re stacking his tomes.

"So what you're saying is that you have actual bandit raids on occasion? You sound like you could make use of a spell I whipped up a few years ago, here let me find it."

He dropped the books he had been stacking and began rummaging through a few others.

"It's an alarm spell, hard to set up, but also hard to get rid of....Ha! Found it, here...I'll make a copy, I can't gurantee sucess, but it might help with earlier alerts. There aren't too many outside ingredients necessary but you might want to make sure they have some clean water sent to them, just in case."

He grinned as he recopied a few lines and a short explanation before handing them to her.

"It'll only hold true for a fifty yard radius though, you may need a few. Anyway, Esterberry, if you ever get the chance, you might like it."

He grinned and went back to his mess of books, grabbing up one or two loose pages on his way.

"Why was I trying to get to the Gardens? Heh, because I hadn't been, and never will...I'm banned there too, I never even made it in, I just barely crossed the border and these two ladies came up to me...Cats as I recall. One tossed a flower at me...a flower. It had razors for thorns and a poison like you wouldn't believe...I woke up a day later over two miles away in a ditch...with a note taped to my head warning me that I wasn't welcome and to never come again."

He chuckled at the memory...it was funny in retrospect.

"Ah well, my fault for being born I suppose. Shame on me."

[Satra]

[...you have no idea how tempting it is to call the Raiders "Reavers". XDDD ]

"I'll mention something to her when I take a visit back, see what she thinks of it. She'd be very tempted, to be sure... However, I was rather mouthy at her in my younger years, so she might just bop me over the head before I even get a chance to say anything," she chuckled.

"It's not just raids, but it can be dangerous for even our own to be wandering around the Wilds alone. We've been able to keep secret the means to convert the masks to allow us to breathe Outside the Bog from them, but I suppose it's only a matter of time before they get their hands on it and start lurking outside the Wall..." she sighed. What a way to endear the Bog to the rest of the world... "I'd love a copy of the spell. We have things similar, but the Raiders have continually found ways to dispel them. It'll be good to throw something foreign at them. We have very able magicians back home."

She had to smile wider, but she took note of the mention of poisons. Did this mean he was not immune to poisons as she was, or that is just wasn't as strong?

"Shame on you, indeed. Don't you know any better?" she teased him for having a penis, "Well, so the Yarrow trip was a bit of a bust. What about the Lowlands? Don't hear about many Highlanders -- or anybody -- going out of there way to visit there."

[Kiki]

Nat and Satra receive 1 token each, to be redeemed in Ashwin's Shoppe. This will automatically be added to your recorded totals in the shoppe. Congratulations, and keep up the good RP!