RP:Dragon Slayer, Demon Slayer

Summary: Shishi and Terra take a weekend trip to Rynvale Island to hunt gold dragons for their precious scales. The trip is successful.

Vailkrin: City of the Vampires

Pacing, pacing, pacing. Those hurried steps went up the path and back down again but she managed to be relatively quiet as she did so, so the empath has that going for her. Until a misstep on a cobblestone had her ankle twisting to the side and a sudden collapsed heap of Terra hit the ground. “Fudge!” That is not what she said. What she said was worse and not for delicate ears to hear but that is not important. What is important is she’s now full of fear, an odd sensation that flooded through her. Was she heard? A quick look at the Thorne estate where she had been meandering seemed to confirm that it was probably fine. Maybe. That ankle was nursed with massaging fingers. While not in her usual state of mess, it is very obvious whatever she had been doing had happened outside of Vailkrin. There’s a lot of glitter -pixie dust?- that coated her shoulders and neck, small scratches and the hint of bright blue stripes -possibly a letter?- peeking from the back of her shirt. None of that could account why she was present here, of all places, at this time.

Shishi hasn't worn one of those neckties that double as a mental ward since that night that Aarika sliced the one he was wearing off of him. Waitresses across Lithrydel are into this new look because now this guy is showing some skin with his top two buttons undone. Who knows how long Terra has spent pacing in front of the estate? The only thing we can know for sure is that it is unlucky timing that the assassin who lives there chose now to walk out of the garden and onto Vailkrin's main road only to catch the empath picking her glittering self up off the ground. Oceanic blue eyes blink a couple of times while he does that thing where he pokes at his top right fang with his tongue. She said she wasn't leaving yet. Guess she was telling the truth. A lone black bat flaps around wildly high overhead. This is probably a common occurrence in this city, but Terra must know better than to think this is just some random critter up there. "Hey Terr," The Titan says, looking down, "you alright?"

It was not logical that she should be surprised to find him here. After all, the guy lived here. If she had doubts about this being the right place, passerbys from the Corpse were proud to exclaim that they had seen him there before and had debated stopping but ultimately decided not to. Tonight, Terra served as a deterrent for anyone that wanted to approach with her nonstop walking, the sudden step to practice a speech of some sort and then she was off again. Until the ankle... and until she was now looking at the actual thing she had pictured in her mind. “Oh.” She has managed to push herself up, kept the weight off of the bad ankle and studied him. His lack of tie is a brief distraction, one she studied for a moment before her eyes rolled up at her own insanity. “Sorry. Things have been...” how to finish that? Would be hard pressed to find one word that could encompass it all so she abandoned it. “I thought I would check in. I haven’t seen you in a bit.” She hadn’t exactly stayed around these parts but she always managed to migrate back. “But now I see that you are fine, I can go home!”

Shishi is lucky as a celebrity to live in the same place he lived before becoming world famous. He is disturbed by fans the least here in Vailkrin by virtue of the fact that many residents are more or less sick of The Blue Demon and his, lets face it, unstable nature. He wonders for a second, when Terra says she hasn’t seen him for a bit, if he had imagined the night she went home from The Corpse with him. Hallucinations mesh well with the murderer for hire persona, after all. Then he wonders, if that was real, how long ago was that, it doesn’t feel particularly long, but maybe he is delusional there as well. Time is a flat circle, some say. Nevertheless he wrinkles his nose when it starts to sound like she is about to flee and he tries to stop that with a question, “Did you think I wasn’t going to be fine?” Kind of accusatory, but he’s never been that good with words, right?

It is pretty clear that there hasn’t been a lot of rest for Terra lately. Blue had been witness to to her latest partner in crime - Rinn, and when not with her, she was involved with Red. Still staying off the bad ankle and fraught with a nervous tic that had not lessened over the years, she scratched at the back of her neck. Paint got caught under her nails and even when the itch was gone, she scratched a moment longer. Blame the dust, it was more potent and itchy than she had realized. “No. I didn’t.” Why lie? Where would it get her? “It was an excuse I made up.” Gingerly, she shifted to ease the burden on her good leg. “I had been keeping busy and it seemed to work but...” not well enough, if she was out lurking in the dark like an unhinged fan. “Here I am.” She waved her arms in front of her in a silent display that seemed to say ta-da.

Shishi puffs out his cheeks and his shoulders slump a bit. It isn’t that he is not used to dealing with a blunt and honest Terra, rather that he has never learned to deal with it effectively. He exhales pointlessly through his nose and is left stunned and silent for a second or two, looking away at nothing down the road as if that would help him. “I’m going to Rynvale on a business trip very soon.” He tells Hemlock Way so that the empath might overhear. ‘Business trip’ is a dubious term for a professional killer and probably sets off some alarm bells already. “You should come with me. Keep busy.” Finally he looks back to her, ready to be rejected, it would seem, so much so that he sweetens the decline pot by adding, “It will probably be dangerous, but there’s a boat trip and then a second one back if we survive.” He smirks at that, Terra may not remember from years ago, but this guy is basically certain that he is unable to die. And now let us circle back to the words ‘very soon’. This could mean anything if you think about it. The Blue Demon travels extraordinarily light when going on jobs. His wardrobe is so basic (especially without the ties to worry about) that he could just buy anything he needs when he gets to his destination, his only weapons are sitting inside his eye sockets, and he doesn’t eat food. He actually might be leaving for this trip this very instant.

While he looked the other way, she studied, tried to determine what the reaction would. So far, it did not seem well received which is exactly why she had not bothered to knock. Did having this conversation so close to the road ease the risk of embarrassment? Probably not. Her eyes shifted upward in anticipation of what came next and she’s somewhat distracted by a bat that doesn’t seem to go far from where they are. When he started talking to the road in front of him, she’s only a few seconds delayed in looking away from the sky and down the way to see if there was something or someone she had been missing. He continued, evidently extending the offer to her and it wouldn’t take an empath to see she is confused by it. There’s no immediate decision as she is ignoring the bat, the road, the subsiding ache in her ankle to watch him. Was it a trap? If she was going to kill someone, getting them away from home and across the water where it would be harder to find them seemed like a wise decision. If we survive, he had said... interesting choice of words that could mean if they survived his business or each other, she really isn’t sure. To help determine a direction, the still-quiet vampire moved to take his hand, finding brief contact to check his emotional temperature, as it were. Evidently it’s enough. “Okay.” She looked past him, down the way she had came from and she didn’t even pause to contemplate if she should have stayed there, unlike most run-ins with the Titan. “When?”

Attraction, weariness, pain. Without the tie’s mental ward he is an open book to the empath’s touch, but nothing she finds there is particularly surprising. There is none of the anger or ferocity that comes with the shadows and the family’s curse at the moment, which could be comforting or foreboding, depending on your outlook. As was usual before is usual now and he is oblivious to her taking a peek in with the grab of his hand. He gives hers a squeeze while reflexively his free hand goes up to his neck to adjust the accessory that isn’t there. He thinks for a second about running inside to put one on and reduce the danger level of this business trip immensely, but he doesn’t and maybe that doesn’t bode well because the answer to Terra’s question is simply, “Now,” punctuated with a smile because he expects this timeline to catch her off guard, despite the fact that he seems to very rarely be able to do that to this elf.

When her hand comes back to her side, it's flexed outwards as though she had been returning the feeling... or maybe removing any lingering traces of his own. That adjustment to the invisible tie is met with the start of a shy smile because it just seemed like something so completely and achingly him that it's almost enough to distract her from what he says next. Now? This minute? Was this supposed to deter her from agreeing? When would she learn to get all the information before joining? It's clear she's still processing the idea and while she was looking at him, thinking, she probably could not actually tell you what he looked like in that moment. "Well, let's go then." As of late, she had learned to just accept the fact that she was no longer capable of being anywhere close to presentable but they're not in that courting stage, so why did it matter? Infuriatingly, it did, but not enough to convince her to decline the invite. "I can figure out the rest when we get there."

Shishi got a little bit of the surprised reaction he was looking for and takes that as a win. “Sounds good to me,” he says, maintaining that slight smile, and starts eastward, leading Terra down the main Vailkrin road towards the eastern exit of the city that is the Portal of Darkness. He finally starts to leak out a few details about what she can expect on this little cruise they are fixing to embark on. “Ah~, you don’t have to help with the job, you know. Unless you really really want to. This is really just a way to take you away with me for a few days.” As they approach the rippling portal, the assassin slows his pace and puffs out his cheeks while forcing his irises through their accursed color change so that his eyes now glow that chaotic shade of red in the ever-night of the undead city. That eerie wave pushes through every shadow and unlit area in the immediate surroundings and the portal goes still under the influence of the curse. In this moment on the other side of the arcane gate passage is impossible, so they should probably do this quickly so as to not inconvenience anybody’s commute. “You have to go first. I don’t think it works if I do, and it is dangerous to go together.” Together is the wrong word, what he really means to say it is dangerous to go through with him, but we will not go in depth into the mechanics of this specific interaction with the Shishi family curse. He motions towards the portal and waits for her to step through. If she does she will hardly experience any sensation at all as it will feel like walking through nothing, although there will be an abrupt change in sights and smells as the other end is currently connected to a space on the docks of Cenril. The traversal feels instantaneous, but again time is a tricky thing and she may notice a few more scrapes and bruises once she’s in the port city than she had before stepping through, but what is a couple more tacked onto the state she’s already in?

Terra felt like she had just been riled up for his amusement. Given that it is her preferred for of entertainment, she does not know what to make of being on the other side of it. As he moved, so did she. It seemed her ankle had all but recovered, if it had ever really been that bad. She stays a little behind him until he started the conversation and it's enough to propel her steps a little faster so that she's caught up next to him and almost smiling. Odd. The nearness of the portal and his slowed gait saved her from saying anything because she still doesn't know what she would say, ever. A unique talent he had, in additon to his many others, was getting her to be silent. What she was not quite ready for was the change, how willingly and easily it seemed to come. Of all the looks, this was not her favorite and she has several instances to point to on why it wasn't but... she stayed, heard what he said about going alone and again - Odd. So far, she has had no real reason to believe he'd ever land her in the middle of the black pond so she accepted his motion and followed through by stepping in. The next sound of her foot coming on the ground was different, jarring, caused her to look down and then around only to realize it had been that easy. And look, no kraken! If she noticed the additional time-inflicted battle wounds, they're not brought up or pointed out. A few more steps forward and she paused to look back, probably to reassure herself that he had actually went through and made it out. Had he, he would hear the start of what would likely be many questions. "What exactly is it you're doing?" Being in Rynvale on his business would also allow her the opportunity to conduct her own. The ties to the Row weren't completely untethered just yet. "And is there a budget on costume changes?"

Cenril

Shishi does not immediately appear out of this temporary portal exit in Cenril. Was there actually an unfelt travel time that Terra is waiting on? Is he taking his sweet time in Vailkrin to tease her? Is he being careful to make sure she has time to be out of the way when he hops through? Did he just toss her halfway across the continent as a prank and isn’t really coming? We may never know the answer to these questions besides the last one as he, after about 45 seconds steps out of the portal exit, exhales like he had been holding his breath, and takes a silent moment to force his irises back to their usual shade of calm blue, which in turn causes the shadowy interdimensional gateway to melt away and return to its mundane duty as shade cast by ships and barrels and dock workers. He is still an open book without that necktie, and even if she didn’t have those empathic powers there are a few seconds where the look on his face betrays that even that brief time under the influence of his curse has him mentally drained, before he puts the mask back on and forces a smile again. One might wonder, if The Blue Demon has access to this type of seemingly instantaneous travel, why end up in Cenril just to take a boat ride instead of warping directly to Rynvale Island? No explanation will ever be offered by the assassin, the mechanics of this method of transportation are beyond his knowledge anyway. Just be thankful that it worked at all. “Two gold dragons worth of scales.” His hatred of the mythical reptiles is well documented, so it is unlikely that this means anything other than he is on a poaching mission. He said it might be dangerous… He leans towards the undead elf when she asks about costume changes, looking her over once or twice. “Unlimited.” He’s rich. So rich, one might wonder why he still takes jobs like this one, but they’re here now, stop worrying about stuff that doesn’t matter. “Do you want to look for something before we get on the boat?” It sounds like more an invitation than a question.

Terra doesn't miss the change but she also doesn't remark on it. What good would it do to point it out? It is something that she filed away for a future conversation, likely one that won't be approached until she's safe back in Vailkrin because she still harbors a sense of unease - blame it on her current occupation. When he did answer her question, it brought her up short and even oblivious Shi would likely pick up on the tension that made her legs stop functioning. There's a beat but she thought back to what she read from him earlier and opted to pick her battles. This didn't seem like a long con with a revenge payoff and she's tired of questioning everyone's motives. It was only after his second question that she'd move past it, both the mental accusation she had forming and the sudden roadblock she had hit. "Yes. I look nothing like a dragon slayer right now and you look..." her hand gestured at him while she made a weird noise in the back of her throat. "People will assume I'm a pixie dust addict you've picked up off the street." Wellllll, in their defense, some of that is true. The pixie dust is mostly a byproduct of bad placement but she did come from his street, so it's not exactly an unfair assumption. "I was out with Red and then one thing led to another and suddenly there's body paint." That's nervous rambling at that point but that's kind of on-brand. Besides, what else are they supposed to discuss while she looked for local stalls selling seaside wares? Probably better to stick to the business talk. "What, exactly, is your plan?" A side eye and then, "Wait, are you using me as bait?"

Shishi motions to himself and puffs out his cheeks again as if to silently ask ‘what’s wrong with this?’ This is his signature look as Titan of Winter, although he’s admittedly missing one of the very few pieces of the ensemble. Terra is thinking it in her head, but the assassin says it out loud, “I did pick you up off the street…” She talks about being out with Red and his shoulders slump a bit. This alliance between his second and third wife hasn’t spelled absolute disaster for him yet, but he’s yet to experience any boons from it either. How does this trip and whatever happens on it affect that relationship? Do they openly discuss him, or is he not even a thought when they are out shaking pixies onto each other or whatever they do together? “Body paint…” He’s lost, as usual. If he had noticed her hesitation when he brought up hunting dragons, he doesn’t let on that he did. They aren’t going hunting in Gualon, afterall. This should be fine. He strolls alongside her, only half looking at the wares as she browses, “Not bait. No plan.” He shrugs, “I didn’t even know you were coming until now. I’m just gonna kill them and slice their scales off. You can lie out on the beach while I’m working if you want.” He squints, “How does a dragon slayer dress?”

Terra's smile is unmistakable now and she shared it with a little more ease, now content in the fact that it was unlikely she'd be tossed overboard yet. That's a bold goal, given that they haven't boarded since she was still searching for something sensible. Being that his only take away is the body paint, she raised the back part of her shirt up enough so that the bottom part of a poorly drawn M is visible. "We went to the tournament, cheered on a friend. I guess it worked since they won but..." She hadn't really paid that much attention, given that she had no idea who the friend was which is why he was reduced to that particular choice of label rather than his name. "Mostly. Jesse was wobbly so sometimes we didn't spell out the correct name." She grimaced. Was she allowed to bring up that guy? In case it was a name best not mentioned, she hurried along to what he had mapped out so far. "No plan... " sounded right, she nodded, somewhat distracted by a shirt it seemed she was pulling off to purchase to at least pull over what she had. "Beach?" If her tone didn't give away the disguest, the elbow to his side might. "Why wouldn't I go with you? Not sure I can help, with the lack of preparing and weapon and armor and it's been, you know, never since I last fought a few dragons for their scales but I'm with you!" At least until she was BBQ. She'd move back from the vendor to allow the ultra-rich guy to pay.

Shishi wrinkles his nose to varying degrees while Terra describes her day around Larket with Aarika and -Jesse-. He doesn’t care for that guy very much, but at times he does feel for the misguided lycan. If he keeps trying to move into a father figure role for the twins though, they are going to find bits and pieces of poor Jesse all over Lithrydel, cast by either Blue’s or Orange’s hands. The assassin steps up to pay and flashes a fanged smile to the vendor while still speaking to the empath, “Aye, I won’t turn down the company. I’m sure you won’t get in my way.” She’s given a taunting sideways glance while he pays and is most definitely recognized by the seller as The Three Time, Back-to-Back-to-Back Titan of Winter. Cenril is a huge sports town after all. Blue sends a wink and a wave to the guy tending the clothing stall, “Thanks,” and turns to face Terra, waiting to see if she’s going to switch out the shirts right here in the middle of the street or if she’s going to just double up. Either way, he’ll follow her lead; continue shopping or head back to the dock. Of course he chartered a ship, so it will be waiting for them, whenever they’re ready.

Having played witness to the accordion act his facial expressions ran through, she opted to leave the rest of the day unsaid along with the unexplainable omens that had led her to the Thorne estate. When the Titan charmed had kicked in, she seemed startled but glanced around to notice it wasn't just the vendor who knew he was. "They certainly enjoy their tournaments around here." Who didn't? Attendance at those always seemed to lead to free drinks and entertainment. It wasn't until the remark about being in the way that rolled her eyes and decided she no longer wanted to go back and forth with Blue on a shopping street in Cenril. Before she could execute the decision to head to the docks the shirt was tugged over unruly curls and smoothed over by hands that shortly vanished inside the sleeves. With the shirt now doubling as a jacket one may find in a local mental hospital, she set to work within it on getting the other shirt off. A beat, a face only a contortionist could love and then both arms are restored to their proper place and the black fabric is tugged through the opening at her neck until it is completely free and eventually tossed in a nearby bin. It's easy enough to smooth this new shirt down, tucked it in as she started to move again, toward the docks. With the M covered and the shimmery dust mostly concealed, a stronger sense of confidence comes in. "Curious who could need this many scales and why such a specific color. I'm trying to remember if there's anything unique about the Golds. I haven't needed to know dragon lore in years."

Shishi always notices the eyes on him whenever he is outside of Vailkrin now, “Aye,” he nods to Terra, “I have fans everywhere.” This doesn’t sound like a brag nor a lamentation, just a flat statement of fact that would suggest that he himself is torn down the middle on how to feel about this aspect of his fame.It is an odd relationship between The Blue Demon and his loyal fanbase, like flies being fans of a spider, as he has definitely eaten more than a few Cenrilians (Cenrilers?) and any one of them could be next. The last time he was seen in this city with one of his ex-wives it was ‘newsworthy’ in that it spread like wildfire in the Lithrydel gossip sphere. Hopefully Shishi and Terra will set sail before the empath falls into the paparazzi’s crosshairs today. The assassin waits for her to solve the clothing puzzle before following back to the docks. Orange is very thorough when drawing up the contracts for these little jobs Shishi does, so the assassin actually knows that the client has not asked to remain anonymous and that he can say, “Do you know Iintahquohae? She’s going to make clothes out of them, or something.” He shrugs, he’s just the muscle after all. The Titan doesn’t know any lore about anything, let alone dragons, so he just sticks his tongue out a bit and keeps walking. The captain of the unfortunately named ship,’The Skunk Cabal’, is waiting for them in front of the gangplank. “Captain Robert Band,” he introduces himself, “we’ve been expecting you. Ready to head off?” and asks, extending an arm to guide them onto his vessel. The ship is just large enough to make it across the sea while maintaining a feeling of luxury (The Titan must travel in style) for the passengers and just small enough so that it doesn’t feel excessive that the only people on board are Shishi, Terra, and the limited crew.

It seemed, that for the time being, Terra and Shishi had made it on board without incident. The name does cause a slight alarm of concern - who would prefer to do anything if a skunk was involved?- but it wasn’t enough to deter her from climbing on board with Robert Band, his crew, and the reluctant local celebrity. That feel of casting off, that starting lurch of the ship starting its voyage and the pitch of the sea have her taking comfort in the nearest body which happens to be the Titan. “Of course I know her.” She’d give him a look, shocked that he would even have to ask, because she was clearly on the upkeep on fashion..... when he was not around. “We actually became reacquainted in a chapel of pleasure!” It probably would have been better if she had lowered her voice but the spray of the sea left her feeling excited. It had been awhile. Without preamble, and only a medium amount of study, she would offer a sudden, “thank you.” For the shirt? The inclusion on the trip? Or just keeping her stable as she tried to find her sea legs again. “So we get there and it is... straight to work?”

Shishi probably is also of the opinion that skunks should just get the hell out of here, but he has yet to make the investment in a private yacht that he could name himself. Maybe next time. It has been perhaps well over a year since the assassin has been on a ship like this, but his balance is uncompromising and Terra gets to benefit from this if she stays close. He blinks and repeats the words as a question, “Chapel of pleasure?” He shakes his head at himself probably as he tries to make sense of this statement and fails. She thanks him and he gives one of the most predictable replies imaginable, “Aye…” He looks out at the water as it rushes by and thinks for a second or two before answering, “I think it’ll be easier for me to do it at night.” He shrugs, “How long is this trip anyway?” He pauses and then corrects one word in that question, “Voyage? Like when are we gonna get there?”

Terra was quiet as she studied the work that the crew carried out, moving swiftly and careful to avoid the pair that had situated themselves in the forecastle. There was a strange wind that blew through that could work in their favor but it did leave the air a little colder than most trips across the water. "It'll probably be before nightfall, which should give you time to find what you're looking for." She assumed it would be some sort of cave but it wasn't often she volunteered and agreed to go on trips that would end covered in soot. "You can rest up? It can't be easy doing what you've been doing, switching between the two." It's said carefully so she doesn't come off as concerned - that would be annoying. He didn't get through three tournaments by being coddled, clearly. "I'm fine with staying up here and keeping watch for things. You know, when you rest on a boat, they call it 'take a caulk'." The droplets that had landed on her face were wiped away with her right sleeve, while she used her left elbow to keep her propped up on the side, prepared to find her sealegs sooner rather than later in case he accepted the offer of finding a place to relax, maybe further fleshing out his plan.

Shishi knows that, besides his son and daughter, Terra is the person on the planet with the most intimate knowledge of the nature of his family’s curse and the internal struggle that comes whenever it rears its head. None of the fans know, obviously, they lose sight of the aftermath of each fight while reveling in the ferocity that the curse invokes. Red is at least somewhat protected by the discretion of the other Colors from the knowledge of the toll it takes on their minds, and Green only came face to face with the reality of it one single time. Blue is grateful for the sympathy from the empath and for the fact that he doesn’t have to put on that bright grin that the Titan fanatics get. He should rest to be in the best possible state for the upcoming hunt, but he hesitates, if only for the fact that he doesn’t want to leave her. Don’t worry, Shish, she’ll still be here when you get to Rynvale, probably. “Alright…” He finally settles on it and moves away from the elf, shouting to the captain, “I’m going to take a caulk!” before he disappears below deck…

Terra knew it would be a lie to say that she absolutely would not dive into the sea and take her chances against rolling waves and tides, but it was just slightly more unlikely than the usual prospects. While the suggestion was born out of concern for the Blue Demon first and foremost, it was always to buy her time while she thought through her own reasoning for agreeing to this. The trip to Rynvale may not be long but the extended amount of time in his company is... confusing. The water wouldn't reflect the war that waged internally, even as it changed and contorted her facial expressions. For awhile, the crew stays to themselves and keeps busy and she's left to stand there alone, still as a statue, save the constant sway of the water. Eventually one stopped by to offer refreshments which she did accept, mostly because it came from a flask. Again, making wise decisions such as not sharing drinks with a stranger never seemed to cross her mind. The solution is temporary but it's enough to make time seem to move faster, the spray of the water helping to wash away some of the day's celebrations until she's forced to tie her hair back for the remainder of the voyage. Briefly she debated heading below as well but the decision is made for her when the gulls cries started getting louder, signaling that the arrival at the port would be soon. She caught a passing crewmember by and asked if they could retrieve Blue from down below. After all that time of being at sea, it's still disorienting as they start to slow their descent and angle to ease in to their designated slot. On shore, there was an additional group of workers that would help with the gangplank as the boat was anchored and docked. Shish would find that not only had she not left, she really had not moved, save for when he approached and than she would give a fairly large sigh of relief - seems he was not the only one who had concerns about being left at sea. Some of that heaviness eased from her chest, made her steps a little lighter as she left the ocean vessel for land, even through the adjustments made to become used to land again. At some point she did inquire, "Did it work?" The resting. The distance.

Rynvale Island

Shishi slept down there. He didn’t try to eat any of the crew that might have come down. He didn’t watch the steps that led down to where he was, waiting for Terra to follow. He didn’t stay awake thinking about Vailkrin and the vampire house he started. He didn’t worry about when next he would have to abuse his family’s curse for the entertainment of the Lithrydel public. He didn’t imagine where Green might be right now, or Red, or Orange, or Yellow (well maybe for a second). He just slept. It came quickly and it feels like he’s traveled through time when a Skunk Cabal crew member wakes him by saying his name loudly from six feet away. He’s refreshed. When was the last time that happened for this guy? He looks infinitely better, so Terra might have the answer to her question just by laying eyes on him as they walk across the Rynvale docks towards the port town. “I wonder,” is his smartass answer. He's staying close, close like the top of his arm keeps brushing against her shoulder as they move, and it isn’t long before they are in front of The Broken Barrel and the assassin stops to ask, “Is there someplace you wanted to go or something you wanted to do first, or are we heading straight out there?”

Terra scrunched up her nose in response his response. Was it out of amusement? Annoyance? It is impossible to tell based on one face alone and he doesn't share in her own curse, so maybe he will never know what it meant. Could have just been the sudden change in scent as they moved beyond the salty air at the docks and to the harbor where more people gathered in various states of wash. When they're in front of the Broken Barrel and that sense of deja vu kicked in, she had already started backing away. "No. Should just get started. Do you even know where to look?" Odd, when did she ever turn down a bar? Maybe before looking for dragons.Seemed like a good idea to be clear-headed for that adventure. "Actually, if you did need answers, you'd probably find them in there. Be it the local legends or recent sightings, tales of how this went for the last guy who tried to mine a dragon for scales." The last bit ends with a smile so clearly it is a tease and not a discouargement because again, wise decisions, not her forte. "There's also uhh, tunnels through there... Or there were. I can't imagine they'd seal them off. There's always a need for moving quickly."

Shishi knows where to look. I’m telling you, Leralynn is on top of all this stuff. He probably has little crib notes on him somewhere that tell him exactly what to do and where to go. Terra is very likely not included on any of those notes, but he’s given himself the liberty to go off script when it comes to White. “I know where to go,” he says and starts moving away from the Barrel, but then she keeps talking and everything she says points him towards going inside that place. Vital info, brilliant anecdotes, secret tunnels, the place has it all! He spins on his heels and is right in front of her very quickly, blocking the empath off from traveling westward as he had just been. His head tilts down as is necessary for eye contact between these two vampires, “So should we go in there or not?”

Terra did her best not to be surprised by how thought out some of this seemed for a being who packed absolutely nothing, picked someone off the street and left to Rynvale without much care. It doesn’t make sense. She would be in the middle of mentally rearranging the pieces, backtracked to her theory that this was some elaborate ruse that led to her being lunch when he is suddenly stopped, startling her from that line of thought. Too close! An alarm somewhere in that brain of hers operated just fine, served as a signal for her legs to be put into action as she started to go around him. “Seems you’ve thought of it all! I’m a silent observer in this adventure.”

Shishi huffs, letting out an unnecessary breath as she pushes past him. He spins again and trails after her a couple of steps back. If she bothers to look back she’ll see that he’s a little discouraged. Terra probably knows the way out of Rynvale towards where the dragons of the island dwell, so he is in no rush to dart ahead of her to lead. He does speak up after they’ve passed a few more buildings by though, “Do you not want to come?” He shakes his head and doesn’t wait for an answer to that, instead changing the line of questioning. “Do you need anything though? Like do you need to stop anywhere and pick something up? We’re going out there to kill two dragons…” He closes the distance between them before saying that last sentence so that it can be spoken in a lower tone than the rest. Even here in Rynvale the eyes of the public find The Titan. They’re moving quickly enough that it isn’t really an issue yet, but if they ever stop that might change…

Terra is falling back on memories that stretched and winded throughout Rynvale. Where her travel partner is discouraged, she is frustrated. Here she's trying to reconcile who she was then with who she thinks she's supposed to be and the odds of running into someone that will expose her lack of change are high, so she doesn't want to stop. Familiar faces force feelings and this will not be the day she gave in to that. Because it would better express what she couldn't say, she also sighed and stopped when he moved to come closer. His lowered voice and nearness is enough to lull her into a brief state of insanity that manifested by her forehead dropping to his shoulder. "You're right. I do need things. I'm ... fighting." If he hasn't moved away she stayed still a moment longer, took another breath in to capture his scent and then straightened herself out. "We are near enough the Kraken and there's a whole hideout there of supplies. We can stop there?" Lastly, after she finally managed to silence the dark whispers that lingered after her brush with the obsidian pool, she does answer, "Even knowing my odds as of late, there is no place I would want to be and it is not because I care about Iintahquohae having supplies."

Shishi doesn’t move away. He doesn’t move at all other than to look down at her cheek. These last two interactions following him getting close to her are a perfect demonstration of the mixed messages he is struggling to interpret. Terra finally breaks contact after what feels like a long time, especially considering the gossipers staring at the pair of vampires in the middle of Rynvale’s main road. “Aye. Lead the way.” She would have to, he doesn’t even know what ‘the Kraken’ is. Then she says that last thing and receives a glare. This game was really unfair when she had that in her arsenal. After a moment he stops staring and tilts his head in a random direction, prompting her to get them moving again…

Terra's internal struggles seemed to have settled for the time being, even as she contemplated that last look. "That's what upset you? Out of everything so far? The truth?" She is not the only one that can't figure out if she's playing his game or her own. Better not to dig too far into that line of thought so they'd continue onward and she's quiet for a time, waited for his response if there was one. The distance between the Barrel and the Kraken isn't much, the massive fountain giving away the location of the pub before they'd see the building. With the large number of games and sailors around, she sought Blue's hand and tugged him towards the through the merry drinkers that frequented Patch's place. Another good thing about never-changing bartenders? They're great with faces so Terra doesn't have to try and jog his memory as she briefly released the Titan to lean in closer to the burly bartender. There's a low conversation and eventually they reached an agreement because she's finding Shish again before nodding towards the stairs. "You'll be alright. If we see someone in the room, just growl. Most are pushovers anymore." Says the one at a bar with an ex. That aside, they're moving towards the steps and she'd climb them as she had done a million times before. There are some locked doors but the second door she went for seemed to click and unlock the moment she touched it. Inside was a private lounge with smaller, assorted tables and games but more importantly ... a supply cabinet with mixed items and weaponry. "Help yourself. It's a group collective..." well, for the most part. Some was collected, stolen, donated, lost in a game of dice gone wrong. She wasted no time in pulling a worn leather jacket down and the bag that went with it, property of an old friend of the Row. What she adds to the bag would be anyone's guess as there's no rhyme or reason. What does one bring to hunt dragons anyway?

Shishi doesn’t take too long before responding to Terra, “I can’t imagine why that’d be true.” That answer is probably the real reason for the silence during the short trip to The Kraken. She pulls him through the bar and he plays his role as The Titan with his free hand, giving out fist bumps and flashing his fangs in practiced smiles. The difference here is that the empath might be just as well known in these parts as the assassin, so some of the looks he gets from the drunker people here are like ‘Ey, get it, Demon.’ She has her talk with the barkeep and drags him upstairs. He really has brought everything he needs to kill a dragon, so he just waits on the inside of the doorway while she packs whatever it is she’s packing, ignoring the offer to help himself. Has he ever really helped himself? Doubtful. He really can’t just let things be. So when she’s done he’s standing in the way again and he’s going to put that line about not wanting to be anywhere else to the test, and either put an end to the portion of this job where Terra is tagging along or extend the whole excursion altogether. This is the first time on this trip and maybe since she’s been back that they’ve been alone together, and maybe that was a good plan. You can’t count outside The Thorne Estate earlier because Orange could have like looked out a window or something. Maybe Terra says something like ‘Ready to go?’ Nope, he’s not. And he’ll close whatever distance there is between them aggressively enough so that she probably has to take a step back to absorb the momentum as he presses against the empath, lips to hers. They’re probably chapped. Sea air. Maybe he should have waited until they were out in the wilderness or something… but he didn’t he’s impatient and impulsive and short sighted, all traits that make The Blue Demon so dangerous without one of those ties on and force him into lust driven snap decisions like this…

Terra had been prepared to let his earlier remark go. That's why she hadn't addressed it, instead distracted herself with preparing. Once she is certain that the bag is heavy enough to cause future spine issues, she seemed satisifed enough to stand and depart only... Only Shish is in the way, still. He had not moved nor grabbed a thing and she finds that odd and had thought about saying so but her last truth was not well recieved, still, it would seem. "Ready?" She did indeed ask, unclear on what he was waiting for. The sudden movement has her taking a step back because she can't discern what his motive is for this until it's too late. Really, extremely late. This was what she had envisioned at the start of this evening, on the boat when she extended that offer to take a caulk, even when he invaded what little personal space she claimed. All of those important items in that borrowed bag were discarded to the ground because her hands are looking for his tie, to pull him in and keep in there, but in its absence she found the collar of his dress shirt and held tight for the duration of the experience. She would wait for him to answer that one question she still had lingering out there. Ready to go yet or no...?

Shishi isn’t ready to go yet. Weapons and whatever else was collected to hunt dragons clatter to the floor while hands run up Terra’s neck, to her face, and behind her head. They go through a circumnavigation of the room while clothing is struggled against and cast aside, the tie just one less thing to deal with, as the weeks (years?) long tension is finally released. He’s as impatient and forceful as she might remember, but the anger from the cursed assassin that she had been concerned about when embarking on this trip isn’t present. The intention here isn’t to extract revenge for what she did to him when they were married, but to erase it altogether. Once Terra has lived the dream of every waitress in Hollow and the vampires have caught their metaphorical breath The Titan will say something smart while redoing buttons like, “Did you get everything you wanted?” while nodding down at the bag of supplies…

Terra stayed present within that moment. It's the first time in a very long time that she hasn't mused over the past and what it would take to undo it and lead to this moment. It doesn't take her long to find what she wanted to wear out and she'd bat his hands away to work on the buttons herself. Before, her hands likely would have shook with the effort it to took to supress some of those more basic urges but since they're subdued for the moment, she makes quick work of it. "Yes," she responded, light and easy finally. "And now I can go home, right?" She's close enough that she'd peek up at him. As almost every other encounter would prove, it mattered little if he had actually wanted her to go and said as much, so whatever his response was accepted in stride. The strap of her bag is pulled on, heaved over her head to pull heavy at her shoulder but she's certainly more confident of their survival with that constant pressure serving as a reminder that she had options. "I hope you didn't have a timeframe that your client wanted this completed in?" She may tease about the time, but it is still business and that's a part that she can play. When they left, a few extra coins were deposited quietly on Patch's bartop for any repairs he may find he needed.

Shishi lets his hands fall away from his shirt and raises a brow when Terra asks if she can cut out, “What? No.” If he realizes he’s being teased, he’s doing a good job of acting like he doesn’t. “I could carry that cr-... stuff…” he says while moving to open the door and head back downstairs. He shakes his head, “We’ve got plenty of time. Don’t worry, we can do this as long as you want.” That probably wasn’t true. Vailkrin’s Spear probably can’t stay on Rynvale Island indefinitely. In the bar, the local rumor mill is given a test because, well, White and Blue’s hair probably betrays what they were just up to. Time will tell how well it performs. Outside night is beginning to fall as they walk the streets of the harbor town towards the northern exit. While the move he’ll ask about what the deal with her and Red is and answer any similar questions that she might have, but when they reach the barren wilderness with its cracked ground and lack of vegetation he’ll start spouting Orange’s scouting report, “The gold ones are less common. We’ll want to try and not be noticed by any of the other ones while we’re looking…”

Terra does find it funny that Red should be the topic of conversation and would admit that she had not-so-subtly quizzed Aarika on the subject of their mutual friend. Since then, she stayed close as she tried to navigate a new life. At some point, she does hope to reassure some other outstanding questions with the mention of, "I bought a house in Vailkrin so I do need to go there again soon." Smooth. The change in the seaside setting to the desolate waste of the outlands is quite a change and Terra is jarringly reminded of what their actual purpose is for being here. There's a wrecked cart near by, remnants of a ware distributor that had learned to prioritize his life over the little bit of coin he found this far out. Even as the day began to succumb to the inevitable, she can still just make out the shape of carrion bird that flew overhead, watching and waiting. What little wind they did encounter did little but blow hot dust in their faces and she worked to remove to brush it from her hair and lashes to keep it from falling into her eyes. There's a few directions that they can head in... towards the east, the slightest hint of green exists, surronding a tiny stream that she would not encourage drinking and to the north, nothing but more dry, barren land. The stream would serve as a landmark at the very least. They'll start to feel that they're near a dragon before they'll see it and clearly it is on the move. Is that because it has sensed a nearby snack or was it merely scouting its surrondings? They're about to find out…

Shishi had heard about the house maybe. Steadmen never missed an opportunity to give The Blue Demon news that he thought would upset the vampire after all. “Aye,” he says, “A summer house or are you going to be close by year round?” A summer house is kind of laughable in the City of Eternal Night, remember. When the wind picks up he brings his hand up in front of his face, palm facing out, to protect his precious eyes and to avoid dust in the mouth. He pays no attention to the abandoned cart or the scavengers overhead, and he starts the question, “What’s your plan when we find one? I’m probably going to hit it really-” then the rumbling comes and he goes silent. Oceanic blue irises immediately swirl through their accursed color change and come out faintly glowing crimson on the other side. The sun has fallen so all around them that sudden feeling of tension and anticipation pulses out of the darkness. Without the enchanted neck tie he flinches at the sudden overload and looks towards Terra and then the cart, nodding his head that way and waiting for her to move first, then he’ll sprint after her. He means for them to take cover half-behind, half-beneath the ruined thing. The dragon stomps into view a few moments later, huffing and sniffing around. Scales of red… unlucky…

It's by luck that the dragon saves Terra from the question as she didn't know how to answer it. Since the move-in, there hasn't been much time spent there. There hasn't been much time spent in any one place, really. No answer seemed better than one she didn't know right now. The shift in the Titan also makes her certain that she chose the right way and she'd agree to make the move, holding the bag tight against her side and tucked under an arm so it doesn't cause any extra noise. Taking shelter behind the wagon seemed a safe enough idea, even when it's coming from Shish in the state he's in now. Past experience with the red-eyed guy has taught her to be more cautious but when your options are demon or dragon, it's easy enough to choose. From their hiding spot, they're provided a glimpse of the red-scaled dragon and honestly, she's going to blame this on Blue for bringing up Red so much that the universe miscalculated their desires. Is their plan to wait here until the dragon stomped on by? It may have been, at one point, but the dragon has found a large, dry bush and immediately collapses on top of it with an earth-rattling effect. This would make moving on a little more difficult as the large eyes of the dragon were still open, watchful for food.

Shishi has no control over the color of dragon that the universe throws at them. Jinxes aren’t real, only curses. Speaking of, after he peeks out at the dragon settling down, the assassin gets too close to Terra again, leaning in and putting his palms on the ground on either side of her, “Can I borrow this?” He doesn’t wait for an answer and the shadow the empath casts on the ground slides out from underneath her, standing up and filling out with some additional shade taken from beneath the cart. It takes the dark, tangible form of an elf woman slightly taller than the one whose shadow it is composed of. The Blue Demon puffs out his cheeks before quietly explaining how this shade will act as a decoy to cover their escape from this situation. Then the shadow elf bolts out from behind the cart, running in the opposite direction that Terra and Shishi want to travel. The red dragon lifts its head, huffs, and seems to see right through the illusion of an actual tempting chase. The Blue Demon curses. Dragons are smarter than he gives them credit for… “Uh… I could distract it and you could get away, then I’ll catch up? Or like… we could try and tip toe?” He shrugs after this pair of hushed proposals…

Terra remained preoccupied with the dragon and didn't really have anything of value that Shishi could take that she'd mourn the loss of so there's no reaction or answer. Not that he cared! When she realized she lost her shadow, she gave him a look. "Borrow?" There was clarification needed on the length of time she would be without. Not that it ever mattered to the elf before but now that it was off running away, it seemed important to question. Their options aren't looking great when the dragon doesn't take the bait and she's got enough sense not to remind him that THIS is why some people made plans and backup plans so she pressed her lips together in thought. Those ideas don't seem to inspire much confidence but seeing as how she lacked experience in these types of jobs, she'd defer to him for now. "Those both sound terrible," she's not completely capable of submitting, clearly, "but I'm not seeing a lot of other options. And," She tugged on his sleeve here, to be sure he was listening and not just waiting for the next move, "I don't want to split up." It's then that her attention is pulled away by the large bird who had spotted them when they entered and continued to circle, waiting, assuming they'd drop dead soon enough from the barren wastelands. "What about the bird? Big enough if we can bring it down right to distract a dragon then we run like hell?"

Shishi doesn’t bother to clarify ‘borrow’. He doesn’t understand the mechanics of this curse in the slightest, of course, but those things always seem to come back eventually so long as the Mordant Flame Wand isn’t involved. Terra calls his ideas terrible and he puffs out his cheeks, but then she grabs him and he looks back into her eyes so she knows he heard her, “Aye.” More shadows creep across the barren land and swirl and sway restlessly around the pair of vampires. He looks up at the bird she points out and extends his right hand to the side making a ‘gimme’ pantomime, “Maybe like a bow and arrow or something.” He whispers and it quickly becomes clear that he isn’t talking to the empath and instead this is directed towards the shadows and the curse because that antsy darkness springs up from the ground and starts to take shape in his hands. He moves to one knee and leans way back so that he’s nearly pointing the shadowy bow straight up into the air. He draws the dark bowstring back and an arrow nocks in out of thin air before being released. The whole process is completely silent thanks to the materials involved. The only problem is that it looks like he definitely is going to miss the bird. “Ugh… Can you just hit it?” He glares a red glare up at the projectile and it seems to listen to his request, jerking impossibly to the left to catch the flying bait perfectly in the neck. A squawk of mortality rings out and the dragon looks up at a falling free snack. “Alright… ready?” He looks at Terra and realizes that, at some unnoticed point in time, her shadow has snapped back to its naturally occurring position in the universe…

Terra may have been better prepared to help him out there, had the trip not be a sudden suggestion and if she had the sense to better pack once she knew of it, but that's all in the past. Shifting shadows cause her to shift with unease, that strange pulsing and moving served as a reminder of her brief entanglement with the Cabal, the Pool and all of that ilk that thrived in that darkness. What red-eyed Blue is working on did serve as a distraction and a little bit of entertainment if the quiet shake of her shoulders is to be interpreted. "So far, so..." the shadows moved? They listened and moved and helped? Okay, maybe she managed to sober up from the laughter when she now realized there would be action on her part. Was she ready to test the theory that a single bird would distract a dragon long enough during its descent so they could make it some ways away? Not really. Little time to do much else as she scrambled away and up from the wagon, not looking to see as the dragon started to crane its long neck and large head upwards, having better located the scent of the blood. It's a romantic notion to think that she might have grabbed on to Blue to make certain that they weren't split up, but the realist won out over that side - too much could go wrong. What if someone tripped? What if her now-returned shadow lashed out after being suckered into being an unsuccessful decoy? Too much risk. So she ran and hoped that he did as well and when they came across a sudden, out of place stream in the otherwise desolate lands. Given the amount of greenery and flowers around, she assumed it was safe enough to dip her hands into and use it to rinse her face free of dust, not that it would matter much given their location. Here, there are few travel options. There's a large rock wall covered in grooves that are too far apart for the elf to feel comfortable using or the continued stretch of dead land, save for this small piece of green. As long as Blue did make it over this way, she'd watch him a minute, a silent study that she didn't share her findings for and instead went with, "That was not... the worst time of my life. Shall we continue?"

Shishi glances back and forth between the dragon and the falling bird and sneers a little bit. “Make it work for it at least…” He grumbles at nothing in particular and again his muttered request is delivered on. The shadows that make up the arrow in the bird’s neck stop their own momentum and just hover in the sky, dangling the scavenger up high so that the red beast must begin to flap its wings to take off while White and Blue make a run for it. He is only ever just a couple of strides behind her and if he has enough pure speed to pass her by he doesn’t make use of it, so when they reach the stream he’s right there when she washes her face and says that she’s had worse. Shadows are still chasing after him, but thankfully the dragon isn’t, and his eyes are still that glowing shade of red. There’s that strain on his face again that was there after he exited the dark portal in Cenril and when she looks at him he has to look away. He takes in a deep, useless breath, his eyes fade back to their usual calm color, and the shadows tailing him are sent whipping back to wherever they were pulled from. When he finally looks back at her he tries to mask it, but he looks like he’s terrified that she is about to abandon him out here. Irrational, maybe. Terra was right to be impressed that the dark entities were listening to The Blue Demon and even helping, but it is twice now where it seems like he’s only good for these short bursts of effectiveness without the tie on before it will start to go the other way, with him listening to -them.- Eventually he’ll say “Aye...” and they can be on their way again. The next one will be gold, for sure…

Terra cupped both hands again and dipped them back in the water. This time she was just using it as a stalling measure as she processed all of the new information this day and evening had presented her with. Between his mention of being rich and the obvious strain this was placing, Terra struggled to understand why take on these jobs with the risk. Even with the brief peek behind the curtain at his fight, she's weary. In these situations, she's always felt helpless but if she's feeling that than Blue must be.... Having made a decision, she stood and carefully approached, stole a moment of peace by forcing him into a hug that she doesn't entirely hate but is mildly uncomfortable when one considered they were alone out here with giant dragons that could breathe fire. That line of thought has her squeezing just a little tighter for another second or two and he's released, as she reminided him, "Nowhere else I'd want to be... well, maybe back at the Kraken, but that's a-" she cut off suddenly and stared up at the sky, distracted. The blonde is something of an expert on dragons in flight but it had still been awhile since she had witnessed it and the sight may have been enough to stop her heart (again) but there's enough light left that she knows it's not a black dragon and the panic subsided. "We don't have to do this but if we are going to, now may be a good time." Because sure enough, there's a gold that's up above, searching. They could either choose to pull it down or wait to see if it landed and where - maybe it had a nest? A cave with others like it?

For many generations the answer to the question on Terra’s mind was simple. The Curse is compelling and insatiable, this family of killers turned assassins would be doing these types of things regardless, so they might as well get paid for it. The jobs they take are a focus of the undeniable violence infused into their blood. Now that The Blue Demon is a household name and possesses more gold than all of his ancestors combined ever had that explanation becomes a little more convoluted other than to just say that it was never about the money. The empath embraces him and he holds onto her when she pulls back a bit to repeat that same thing that triggered him into action earlier. The way he’s looking down at her makes it seem like those words will have the same effect this time around, but then her attention is wrested away and his blue stare follows hers up to the sky and the golden glint. His first instinct is to go up there and get that lizard right this instant, but Orange’s impeccable gameplan rings in his head. ‘You need two so…’ “Let’s follow it…” His arms fall away from her, but he starts pulling her by the hand until she starts keeping pace. He makes sure they keep their distance, but always maintain line of sight. This is easy as they are led through increasingly barren wasteland. During this trip he’ll ask, “So what did you bring for these guys?” indicating the packed bag she’s lugging around (he definitely wasn’t paying attention to the supplies she selected while they were in that room.) She’ll have plenty of time to answer as vegetation begins to return to the landscape and eventually they come upon some ruins that have been reclaimed by mother nature, the closer they get to this location where the dragon in flight begins to circle above, the more they can make out the heavy breath of another draconic creature, hidden somewhere in the ruins slumbering and snoring(?)...

Terra fell into step easy enough though she'd occasionally fall behind only to get him to secure the hold he had, a strange sense of comfort when all that she could feel was foreboding. Dragons were... tricky. There are few who know that better than she did. The walk itself is easy, her thoughts are not. Was there something about golds that was important about golds? At one point she had lessons on the types and what to avoid but it's impossible to recall that right now. Her own affliction with a very different curse is also driving her to distraction from the contact but she's resolute in her decision to hang on. This whirlwind of thoughts, never quite panning out, led her to initially miss the question. "Hm?" His voice replayed and she wouldn't wait for him to repeat before perking up. "Everything! Nothing!" Despite the discrepancy in those answers, she still seemed very proud. "Well, some little jars that cause lots of smoke, poison darts which may not be effective on a dragon but they would work on me in the event I'm getting ready to be lunch." Because who wanted to go out by digestion anyway? "Maybe if you used enough, could buy you some time." That's a musing more to herself. "Supplies for wounds, stuff I can leave behind if we need the bag to carry the prize back. Beyond that, it's a little bit of a mystery. I was distracted." Understatement. Still carried over to now which would need to be handled before they got closer. The change in the landscape seemed promising but the ruins did not. It would be impossible to mistake that breathing so now they've got options. One above, one below, and neither seemed to have any pros at the moment. Trying to for an aerial attack could cause the fall to shake the other one loose, who would likely be enraged by being woke up from its sleep. Either way, she seemed content to follow whichever way he led since that was their entire purpose for being out here and it was too late to overthink it. She did add, "I also get paid for this right? I only accept payments in drinks." Which she would definitely need once they had pulled this off. Since the dragon's circling was dropping lower, it seemed they'd be forced to make a decision sooner rather than later.

Shishi can fly via a rather gruesome method that makes use of, as expected, the family’s curse. He also has access to means of getting Terra into the air, but those are not exactly safe, as with anything involving the shadows and this guy. He puffs out his cheeks and his hands go to adjust the tie that isn't there when she talks about being eaten. If she weren’t here his strategy would be simple in that there wouldn’t really be one, there would only be reckless violence. Hopefully he can still incorporate that here. She says she was distracted at The Kraken and for hopefully the last time on this trip his eyes go through that chaotic color change and he snatches a black wand out of thin air in his right hand, “I’ll buy you any drink you want until you die.” Odd choice of words, but that is Blue, isn’t it? The shadows of the ruins are disturbed and start slowly moving towards the pair of vampires, swirling around them on the ground in a pitch black circle. “I know I said you wouldn’t be bait, but... “ the shadows surrounding them split apart and, as he points in four different directions, slither away to form three pools on the ground and one up against the nearest ruin wall. Their surfaces start to shimmer and ripple and the empath will be reminded of their method of travel from Vailkrin to Cenril… by him as well as these new portals, “Remember how we got to Cenril? Can you get that thing’s attention and use these to stay away from it?” He stops looking at her and concentrates for a second, muttering to nothing, “Wings... -For me.-” More shadows come from out of the ruins and the space around them aside from where The Blue Demon has directed the darkness is oddly illuminated from just the lack of shade. These new arrivals take the shape of two massive, leathery, bat-like wings that violently attach themselves, through his shirt and his back, to the assassin at his shoulder blades. He winces, “I’ll take care of the rest.” The Black Flame Wand ignites and with a couple heavy, powerful beats of those new shadowy appendages he takes off in the opposite direction of the airborne dragon and Terra, getting high enough that she might even lose him in the twilight sky... He probably would have said something reassuring like ‘We’re not splitting up, I’ll be right here when you need me,’ but he is definitely too focused on keeping the shadows from not attacking Terra to remember to make that gesture…

There should probably be a medal for being able to adapt to situations on the go and she would nominate herself for it. That shift in eye-color is eyed, trying to make sure the personality did not shift with it. There would always be worry attached with it but she's not sure which she should keep an eye out for, the Blue Demon or the dragons. The decision was pretty well made when he mentioned bait and of course he'd get a mean look. Didn't she see this coming! As things start to unfold and she worked on piecing it together, helped by his explanation, she'd soften her stance but there would likely be an additional cost if she's the one that's got to jump through literal hoops and hope for the best. Just as soon as she started to accept the plan he's got wings and is literally abandoning her, even after she had just said they weren't supposed to do that! Didn't he read the stories on this stuff? It never went well, especially for the blonde. Determined to not meet the same fate, she'd work on following through with the plan. Digging into her bag, she found a few jars that had little bombs etched into them. Moving closer to one of the ground portals, she'd make a decision to test exactly how distracted she had been by tossing all three jars at once. Remember when she mentioned they would smoke? Oh, they definitely did AFTER the very loud, very bright and very distracting explosion that came when you threw way more than the intended dose. It's a wonder she wouldn't attract more attention to this spot after all that. As it was, she had plenty of it directed her way by the golden above... probably below too, but one problem at a time. Her ears are ringing or buzzing or wait- are they roaring? No, definitely not, that would be the massive dragon who had started descending to find the source of that irritation and spotted, within the plume of smoke, dinner in the form of an elf who managed to drop down into one of the Shi-funded shadow-fueled portals in time to avoid another roar, this one with a little bit of flame. When she appeared again, it was behind the creature and through the side of the ruin. She's a little disoriented from the explosion and -oh yeah- the dragon but her hand is in that bag again and she's able to produce the last two jars of explosive material. Without delay, they're both launched at the backside of the dragon, falling a little short as she's not out to damage the merchandise, ok? Just distract it a bit. It works and there's more ground shaking this time signaling the arrival of the other dragon who blessedly also was covered in golden scales, though it seemed this one had an injured leg so maybe that was the universe looking out, finally in their favor. Having played the role as bait very well by this point, it was time to make a run to the other shimmering portals in an effort to see where they led. Maybe the beach? That'd be nice.

Shishi is responsible for both ends of these rifts through dimension so the travel through them is a lot less fluid, safe, and predictable. Terra is unable to use any one portal twice in a row and have it exit to the same endpoint as the entanglement between the four black gateways seems to change randomly every few seconds. She’ll suffer the same minor scrapes and bumps as travel through the portal to Cenril gave her, but now whenever she steps through one of these the traversal is jarring and disorienting and she will be treated to a flash of a vision of a large mountain in the distance, on the backdrop of a bleak grey sky, spewing white ash into the air, before stepping through to the other side. The explosions are brilliant and loud and Shishi follows them back into a much different scene than the one he left. Thankfully (probably) for the empath, Blue is a different man from the one that left as well. The massive shadow wings carry him at an extreme speed and he is like a bullet flying through the Rynvale sky. He lands hard, directly onto the back of the non-injured dragon, making sure that it is non-injured no longer. One of the golden creature’s wings seems to snap off right where it connects to its back, and topple with several ‘thuds’ to the ground. The marriage of The Wand of Mordant Flame and the Shishi family curse has produced the most demonic looking version of The so-called Blue Demon that anyone has ever seen. The dark wings, sticking out of his back are now wreathed in dark flame, so too are the two horns that protrude from the top of his forehead and curl back up over the top of his skull, and the instrument used to sever the appendage from the gold dragon, a long thin blade composed completely of shadow and black flame, with the chaotic wand as its handle. Terra may be in danger as he stands tall on the beast’s back as it thrashes and wildly spews flame from its mouth in wide arcs. He lifts the dark wand in both hands up above his head and then drives the burning blade down past the precious scales and through the spine of the mythical lizard. The stab seems to have no effect at first, but there’s another unsettling shift in the darkness that likely goes unnoticed in all the commotion and then the fire coming out of the thrashing monster starts coming out black and the light disappears from its eyes before it finally flops to the ground, dead. Almost immediately Shishi is the target of vengeance and is completely consumed by the flame breath of the second, previously snoozing beast. When the blaze and smoke clears there is no trace of the Blue Demon, perhaps completely vaporized, and Terra is once again the only target to be seen by the remaining golden monster. Has she actually been abandoned for real this time around?

Terra needed a moment to process it all. Her fingers are stinging and she can't figure out why and oddly that's something she cannot stop thinking about. She doesn't really put together that it's a result of the method of travel and a consequence of that. Shishi's arrival is celebrated for only a moment because the juxtaposition from what she saw in her head as the calvary versus what arrived now is jarring. It doesn't help that her ears are still ringings and her fingers are stinging and there's the lingering discombulation from the portal and oh, the massive dragon that wasn't currently caught up with the (is blue even accurate here anymore) demon. This one is slinging its large tail as a weapon and she can only dodge for so long before she's knocked off her feet by it and thankfully slung far enough away that the danger isn't immediate from the fire that poured from that gaping maw, until it's shifted in color. There's no breath to knock out of her but she is slower to get back up to her feet and maybe she should have stayed down because what happens next felt worse than a collision with a dragon. When that first dragon falls, there wasn't enough time to celebrate the victory or prepare for the next task at hand as she witnessed Shishi get wiped completely out of existence. Everything happened in slow motion then, the ringing sounds like one long an low tone and she can't feel her fingers anymore and could not believe these were ever problems she had worried over before. There was enough time for a strange noise to leave her, stuck between a choke and something nameless and then the remaining dragon is engaged in a fiery war cry that only had one target and that's the blonde who had been struck motionless in grief and confusion. If Blue was really gone, she'd likely be the target of more than just the dragon's attacks but as it were, she's not consumed immediately by the darkness and shadows that surronded them so maybe? Or maybe it's a lie to get herself through the next few moments as she's left with no choice but to move, and she does though it comes at the cost of several profanities being said as she lamented her lack of foresight. OF COURSE she would be bait and dinner. The nerve of that guy. Dinner... as she ran, trying to get back to a portal or at least out of the immediate meal path, she's grabbing in that borrowed bag of hers again and while she's out of the jars, she did mention the poison darts. One wouldn't take it down but she's got five and a strong desire to stab this damn thing. Her course veered, she had been running towards the shadow gates but thought better of it without their creator there to engineer the safe travels so she's running back towards the dead dragon, only taking the long way around because straight on would be suicide. She's close enough now that she can squeeze under the massive wing, banking on the hope that since these two shared a nest the survivor would be less likely to roast the deceased. It seemed to have worked because after mere seconds of marching, the elf can hear the sniffs and snuffs of the dragon's muzzle just outside of the cover of her hiding place. When that nose came near enough that the sulfur smell burned her eyes, she'd jam all five poison darts until the side of its face. Now there's more stomping and raging and terrifying noises that Terra had no retreat from, but the furious sounds grew a little more strained. It would be highly unlikely that the golden prize would be killed by something so minor but it may be enough to knock it unconcious and grant her a moment to escape. After all, with Shish gone, there's no real point in killing it too.

Shishi leaves Terra to deal with the second gold dragon for what must feel like an eternity, but really is just a minute or two. She might not have an angle in that confined space she put herself in or might be too distracted with the increasingly sluggish thrashing dragon so close to her, but The Blue Demon steps out of one of the portals he left behind, much more of a mess than he’s seen the empath in at any time since she’s been back in his life. The horns and wings are gone, and so is the black flame sword he had used so effectively on the first dragon, though the wand itself is still in his hand. The back of his shirt is stained through with his blood from the holes where the improvised shadow wings had implanted themselves, and the front of the shirt is scorched and blackened, revealing burnt skin beneath. His face isn’t in particularly good shape either, one eye permanently closed in a perpetual wink, missing part of an eyebrow, and more burns on his cheek and forehead. His one open eye still glows that chaotic shade of red and it would seem that the shadows are still under his influence, or vice versa. Either way, all four portals melt away and, along with every other bit of shade in the vicinity of the ruins, congregate around the assassin. The rest of the area is lit up as if it were the middle of the day through the lack of shadow. He taps one palm with the tip of the black flame wand and it ignites, he switches hands and repeats the process, dropping the magical item to be swallowed by the pool of shadow under his feet. He’s got two fists of dark flame as he walks by Terra’s position and looks her way through one eye. “Want me to get this one too?” Really cocky for a guy who looks like a walking venn diagram of different ways to be killed. Without another word he dashes forward, completely ignoring the pain should be overwhelming if it weren’t for the viciousness of the curse spurring him on, and gets into a boxing match with the staggered dragon. A three punch combination is landed immediately by the southpaw, and each burning hit from the black flame fists seems to do some extra damage to the vitality of the beast. It isn’t enough to stop it from swatting him away with its foreleg, sending him skipping and sliding against the ground and into a wall of the ruins that begins to crumble. He springs up like, well, the living dead and is right back in the fray, though the hit and the tumble seem to have scraped away some of the more charred flesh, exposing fresh, raw muscle underneath. He’s dancing around now, unsure of exactly how long he can last, landing blow after blow on the increasingly winded dragon, the life being burned out of it with each strike. Is he waiting for another flame breath to come out? For Terra to come in and finish it off? For her to get a safe distance away? He doesn’t say or make any indication of what he wants to be accomplished in this immediate moment (besides killing this dragon, maybe.)..

Terra is probably going to kill both Shishi and the dragon. The first for ruining her life and the second for also ruining her life. It was not fair and it made absolutely no sense to feel that way but that is the life she was cursed with. Right now, she's pretty sure she hates them both. It's for the best that neither can hear what she started saying about both of them from beneath that wing as she swung the strap of that stupid bag over her head and let it drop. She'd roll the sleeves back on this record-breaking shirt that she managed to own for the least amount of time before ruining it and she watched the brawl between the golden monster and the blue one. Part of her was tempted to let it play it out, see how it went, but the dragon is otherwise preoccupied and doesn't notice that she is near enough to press her hand against its large foot. The dragon shifted with each hit but she wouldn't need long, not in its current condition. When she first came to Rynvale all those years ago, it was at the behest of Leoxander who needed a healer and trusted her enough after she'd brought him back from the brink enough times. What she did not understand then was that healing, especially her variety, came with a stiff cost and too often someone else paid the price that she had negotiated. This time, her energies are focused on the damaged demon even though she's clinging to the golden dragon and trying not to be destroyed underfoot. In her mind, she pictured Shishi as he was prior to this fight, back by the stream, when he had trusted or forgot enough to let her see the struggle. That image is pulled to the forefront of her brain and she'd work on making it a reality and already Shish may start to feel the effects of that healing magic as some of his wounds and burns would start to turn. But the cost... in order to heal something that large, she'd be taking the life of something just as giant and what did she happen to have at her hands but a giant gift wrapped in golden scales. Nature demanded a balance and she was keeping that by stealing the dragon's life for Blue's, draining it and funneling it into restoring what had been sacrificied by Shish in the course of the evening. Between this and the assault the dragon had endured, that life would be ended and the giant beast would collapse in a heap that may crush them both if they're not fast enough.

When Terra steps forward and Shishi finally realizes what she is doing, his goals in the fight change. Now he just means to keep the attention of the dragon and make sure it doesn't move around as much and brush the empath off. He’s narrowly avoiding any strikes from the creature while his face begins to heal up, followed by his back and torso. Collectively they’ve already done a number on this pre wounded lizard and as it is in its death throes The Blue Demon is violently shaking his fists and yelling down at them, “Off. Off! Turn off!” He grits his teeth and finally the dark flames extinguish just in time for the gold to start to go down. Terra is dangerously close, but the assassin and his pure vampiric speed are quick to act. He dives into her just before the second bounty collapses on top of her, sending them both tumbling just out of the crush zone. He’s able to open his right eye again thanks to the life siphoned off of the dragon so on the ground they are face to face and Terra is greeted with that dangerous red stare. The struggle is there on display more than any time before on this trip. HIs lips are quivering as they slide back to expose the fangs beneath and there’s complete silence in that brief moment with both dragons down and no words spoken… (They did a pretty good job, minimal dangerous dragon blood spilt, but they are not quite out of the woods yet.)

Terra is abruptly through with acting as a conductor between the two when the dragon is dead and her life as a upright being is nearly concluded but Shish was faster than she could be in that moment. There's the fact she can't hear out of one ear now that the ringing has settled. For the second time that night she is knocked off her feet and while it does not feel great, she's certain that becoming a pancake would feel even worse. What also is not in her favor? Those red eyes. By this point she has been around enough to know that there's a danger here and that it's likely Blue has spent too much time under the curse. Her basic instincts usually boil down to fight or flight with a heavy lean on the latter but, she may have brain damage by this point. The travel, the tail, the explosions and worse, those moments when she thought he had left her on a more permanent basis. "You said we wouldn't split up!" He didn't. She did. But he had agreed but that was just as good. Who was she even talking to? Was it someone that could hear? In the event it is not, she'd already be working to move away because again, flight is her go-to, so much so she has it inscribed on her skin. Now she'd work on standing, hopefully a few feet away while he fought his own internal battles or maybe he's just giving in. Why'd she drop that stupid bag? It may or may not be apparent she had been slowly moving that way juuuuust in case. "You said you would buy the drink!" Is she calling out to nothing?

Shishi is in his most dangerous state, at least to those that he isn’t actively hunting because that horned guy with the sword seemed pretty dangerous to dragons. This one, The Blue Demon directly after a kill, still riding down from the high of the curse and what the curse wants from him, is dangerous because there is simply nowhere else for the bloodthirsty energy to go but towards the bystanders, particularly the ones closest to him. He said they wouldn’t split up. That doesn’t get through. She starts to back up and he’s hurt, but it doesn’t show up on his face. She’s the one that knows this curse, that fought against it and understands the way he struggles against it, but even to her, with all her knowledge, he is too much like this and she will run away. He pulls all that fear inward and directs the pain towards the curse. He shakes his head, blinks several times, and looks away from Terra finally. His eyes have transitioned back to their usual calm shade of blue and it is evident in the way the darkness all around them returns and remains still. “Aye..” he winces, the dragon didn’t have enough life left to heal him completely, “...all the drinks you want.” Originally his plan was to descale these beasts with massive help from the shadows, but after all that it is going to have to be manually. He still won’t look at her while he moves towards that discarded bag and picks through it for the best tool to start harvesting the gold…

This evening started with a lack of courage and would likely end that way. Terra couldn't summon it to knock on a door which was a relatively simple task and she can't summon it now when she felt there was something that needed to be said. They're both struggling in their own unique ways and it seems almost impossible to overcome that after all that had transpired this evening. He's better at at closing the lid on that pandora's box than she is and that much is evident by the way she's still watching him, weary, even with the change. They're both near that bag, he's going to find a variety of various options like a smaller curved blade and a few daggers but nothing that would be specific to scaling a dragon of this size. They're both near enough the worn leather satchel that she'd crouch down and give a half-assed lookover at the contents before staring at him again, hard, willing him to look up and at her. "I thought you were dead, for good." With the quiet around them now, her swallow is audible and now she would look away. "And that was terrifying for me because you said..." they weren't supposed to split up. That seemed to be something she was stuck on or clinging to. "And," her favorite word, it seemed, "then you weren't dead but it was too late because I had already felt that fear?" Her voice tilted up, making it a question because she's not quite sure that's the word. At first it was numbness but it evolved into something she does not understand. "I'm trying to say that I'm not afraid of you, not entirely. Red eyes or blue eyes, the scariest part about you is how you make me feel and I want to run away from -that-, hide it behind something but, you said..." that they wouldn't split up, which is why she hadn't ran when the opportunity presented itself, even if there was a lesser part of her that gave it serious consideration. "I'm sorry. If I were a better person, I would have stayed away, huh?" Her eyes remain wide, glistened but she kept them open as she reached for the bag and started to dig through it as well, trying to hurry this process along because the barren wastelands were leaving her raw in more ways than one.

Shishi does finally lift that oceanic blue stare up to look at Terra when she speaks. The first response is a canned one that she may have heard before, “I can’t be killed.” This is a disturbing belief he’s held for quite some time. In his mind, the curse simply won’t let him go. It is potent enough to allow a vampire to father living children, so surely it must be powerful enough to keep him from perishing. The history of the family tells a different story, but that is for another time… He’s violent in the way he rips and scrapes and slices those scales off the one-winged corpse, tossing them into a pile that he hopefully has a plan about transporting. The empath spills it all again and this has proven effective against him in the very recent past. He pats a patch of what is left of his shirt that seems to still be smouldering, keeping it from reigniting. He swallows the words in his throat because he’s trying to erase their past, not take revenge for it, remember. He shrugs and shovels some more scales off the dragon’s back and answers what might have been a rhetorical question, “I don’t know.” Refusing to join in on the judgement of herself, “You had to know what you’d find out here, at least.”

Terra rolled her eyes at that reply. It certainly seemed like he could have been, looked like he had been and she bit down hard on her lip to refrain from adding any more to that pile. By this point she had tried avoiding the subject and addressing the subject and both have left her frustrated so she shrugged her own shoulders in reply or maybe mockery of his own dismissal. "You're right. I did have to know. So did you." She said her piece and there are two dragons, two of them, so she'd remove herself from the conversation and head for the other one with that curved blade to assist. She flinched when that first scale came free in her hands, this felt wrong on so many levels, but business is what it was and she had agreed to being involved. It doesn't take that long to find a method that worked with stripping the scales and creating her own pile and she'd most carry out the job in silence save for the few harsh words for whenever extra effort was needed. It was going to be an awkward trip back, she could feel that, yet scraped hands continued to make good on the contract he had made with Inks. There's the question as to how he planned on getting these there and there may have been a moment when she was tempted to ask but she's been struck out a few times tonight.

Shishi joins her in working on his dragon in silence. The task is tedious and he is meticulous in his quest to get every last scale. During the descaling multiple dragons pass by high overhead, but none appear to be gold or interested in finding out what in the world could have taken down two of their kin, so they do not descend into the ruins. Several times in the process of collecting the loot the assassin looks over towards Terra like he’s about to say something, but thinks the better of it each time. It takes a while, longer probably than it did to find and kill the dragons, and the end result of two dragons without their scales certainly is a kind of gruesome sight, and of course they both had to be extra careful during the descaling because of their deathly allergy to draconic blood. He will finally break the silence when it looks like the next step is to pack back up and get moving. “I was afraid too. You might not be scared of me, but I am. You didn’t come back here to be killed by me. Everything but.” He puffs out his cheeks, having had some time to cool down from the shadows and from her, but, “I don’t have another way to move this stuff except to use -them-. I don’t know if you want to be here for this or head back without me…” The only thing that her decision here will change is whether or not he gives her a head start before forcing his irises through that shift in shade once more. He winces if she is present or not and with the verbal command of, “Let's get going...” shadows will pool around the piles of dragon scales and fold up over them, creating two dark bundles, both roughly the size of Terra. They’ll hover, one on either side of the assassin, as he walks back to the port town…

Terra had thought the dragons were the worst part of the night but the silence may be. There's nothing to distract from the sounds of the task at hand and the final picture is something she'd have to tuck away and tell only her therapist about aka the next bottle that she could procure from Steadmen when she returned and that return was imminent with the project now finished. As usual, he's giving her a choice and there was a beat as she processed her decision. In the end, it's fairly simple. Watching and waiting was something her kind normally excelled at and those tactics were put into practice now as she witnessed the change, yet again. The shift shifted more than just him as she's finally on the move. Somehow she ended up a few steps behind the odd sight but that was hopefully corrected when she tugged on his elbow, hopefully one of the few areas without major injuries, to get him to slow down so that she could fit up there between the shadows too. It's supposed to be a physical show of what she's been trying and failing to say, that who he is wasn't the most terrifying thing out there but she'd leave it open to his interpretation. Be it successful or not, the only thing she did ask was, "Are we staying here a little longer or is it over?"

Shishi tilts his head when Terra comes up beside him and tugs what is left of his shirt. “Can you give us some room?” They listen again and the two bundles push outward, giving the vampires a wider berth. The assassin looks at her with those glowing red eyes and slows down enough so that they’re walking close together once again, no personal space, arms brushing up against each others. He might have put an arm over her shoulder, but even though his hands are empty, they feel full, an odd sensation that comes with carrying two dragons worth of scales without actually carrying anything. He’s a mess and hasn’t checked whether or not his eyebrow grew back during Terra’s healing session, so he says, “Aye. We can stay as long as you want...” that probably wasn’t true, there must be a deadline for delivering these scales, “...do you think they have any clothes for me back at The Kraken?” They’ll find out soon, most likely, because they’re making great time.

Terra stayed the course and was relieved when the scents started to change and buildings and people started coming into view. The Blue Demon's question caused her to snort. This was a change. "I think it can be arranged... I'll ask around." Did anyone find it odd that the disheveled pair was accompanied by dragon scales and shadows? Probably. Not enough to mention it or draw attention for fear of ending up like those poor dragons. The massive fountain would herald their arrival and she isn't sure what Shish is going to do with those shadow satchels or the scales and she said as much, "Where are you keeping those? I can ask Patch for two rooms, so you can stash them up there but I'd be worried about what they're going to say in the papers tomorrow." At least she likely wouldn't be the topic, not when there's the fact that the Titan is here with stolen scales and dead dragons to account for. Maybe it would make him more popular, certainly to a specific type. "I'll find clothes and drinks and you figure your storage out and we'll meet upstairs?" If he agreed, she'd excuse herself to enter the Kraken, finding a bleary-eyed Patch who had just awoke after a peaceful night of sleep. They had been gone awhile and Terra can suddenly feel those hours and that effort now she's far enough away to process it all. There'd be time for that later, for now, she starts to negotiate with the Kraken's keep.

Shishi shakes his head and says decidedly, “One room. I’ll go drop these off with Bob Band.” The tabloids are mentioned and The Blue Demon thinks there’s quite a lot already that might be going to press without him renting a room for two piles of dragon scales. Robert Band is the captain of the ship named The Skunk Cabal, in case you have forgotten, and that vessel is where the assassin goes once he is done watching Terra head into the Kraken. Band makes a comment about how awful Shishi looks and for just a second, The Titan thinks maybe the shadows are right, he should eat that guy, but he doesn’t and once the scales are loaded into the cargo hold, he can dismiss the curse one more time and let out a sigh of relief. His hands go to adjust a tie that isn’t there and he makes his way back, hoping that the empath has found him something to wear for tomorrow that isn’t going to get him roasted in fashion magazines… Either way, when he gets up to the room these clothes he’s wearing really have got to go…

Terra is probably glad that she did not go back to the boat because yeah, eating the guy would have been fair and she likely would have encouraged that. There were other captains around, after all. Would likely make it difficult for the Titan to travel in the future if word got around his chartered ships lost crew members. As it is, she's with Patch who is mildly entertained for her story and charmed enough that he was willing to go past the kitchens and into his own wardrobe to spare a change of clothes for Shish. Terra would wait to collect those, pay extra for the bottle of wine she pilfered from the bar and headed upstairs. As is standard in most of these places, the room is a blank slate and not much to boast but there's a bed and a nightstand and she made use of both fairly quickly. The clothes for Blue were deposited on the table and she made quick work of getting boots and her own outfit off to avoid sullying the already questionable blanket she crawled under. She stayed upwards long enough to make sure the Titan had found her and then collapsed back on the pillow in a dramatic heap. "I know what you are going to say and no I did not ask him to pair the pink shirt with the white pants but Patch is who he is. If you hate them, you can buy more." A yawn, and then, "or buy your own store. I don't know."

There is a wash basin most likely somewhere in the Kraken, or at least Rynvale as a whole, maybe even in the room. Wherever it is, Shishi finds it and manages to deal with the visible soot from his brush up with the draconic blaze. It is kind of trivial to remove the shirt and it is done by just tugging on the collar, causing it to disassemble and shred off of his body. Wide blue eyes stare down the clothes Patch has loaned him and the assassin makes no comment. Surely though they will only be used tomorrow morning to go shopping (for a store maybe). He doesn’t want to steal this ensemble from the barkeep after all, that wouldn’t be gracious. There are a few winces as he completes the rest of the preparations for bed, the day has done a number on him, “Buy a store…” he mumbles loudly. Eventually the Titan crawls into bed and grabs the empath, pulling her in. He doesn’t know yet how much longer she plans to stay in Rynvale, but he can find out tomorrow maybe…

Terra found sleep rather quickly so there was no protest about being shifted and she doesn’t even have it in her to be mindful of what battle wounds he still carried. When she woke hours later after a loud cheer from downstairs, she’d try to be more careful as she climbed over and out. Some aches have eased but she can’t say the same for her clothes but there would be no way on the planet she would borrow any thing in this place that was specific to her gender so she re-entered the biohazard that was her ensemble with minimal complaint. By now, she recalled the bottle she had brought upstairs and worked to remove the cork from it before taking a long drink. It’s set back down and if Blue hasn’t moved, she’s content to sit there and watch outside the window until he does. When she’s certain he’s awake and ready to move, she will add her suggestion for the day, “Shopping then back to the ship? I need to see Iintahquohae sooner rather than later, see if she has a dress for that ball coming up.” There’s a label stuck to the side of her chosen beverage and she’d work on peeling it off while she waited to see if he had any additional stops for their world tour. She hasn’t tugged her boots back on yet and that’s partially because she’s lazy and also because the temptation to go back to bed is strong, but she’s trying to wait and assess his injuries first before any additional activities.

Shishi fell asleep after an extremely long day, so when he wakes up in an unfamiliar place it is a bit jarring. He flinches in the bed and inhales a quick kind of gasp before his mind catches up to his body and prevents any kind of freak out. He watches Terra until she notices him and lays out the plan for the day, at which point he sits up and flashes fangs in a grin while nodding, “Aye. Sounds good.” He can’t be killed, remember, so there couldn’t possibly be any injuries worth worrying about. He gives Patch’s clothes a lengthy side eye, as that’s where he’ll go next if luring the empath back in is unsuccessful…

Terra did give him the warning with a quiet, “but before we go...” before succumbing to the temptation that he presented, pre-pink shirt. Initially it was under the pretense of providing a health exam to be sure he wouldn’t lose a limb or anything so dramatic but that is abandoned quickly in favor of just moving to the physical part. She’s just doing her due diligence after all and ensuring that she provided the best possible care, in the event there’s a survey at the end. Once all of THAT has been concluded, it was far easier to ease back into all items of her discarded clothing, boots included and find her drink yet again. This time, she’s nice enough to extend it to Shishi in the event he needed something extra to prepare him to go out in public in that outfit. When he’s ready, she’d clomp down those stairs for what would hopefully be the final time during this trip. Not that she minded the seaside but there’s still some unturned stones that she was not willing to have uncovered just yet. Outside of the Kraken, she would do her absolute best to be positive about the Blue Demon’s business wear. “I think you should keep that shirt. What could it hurt?” It’s hurting her face right now from the effort it took to keep it straight. Though when they did find a dress shirt, which she seemed certain he would manage to locate, she’d pay an honest compliment of, “much better”.

Shishi’s gambit of just sitting there works like a charm. It seems like there is a prerequisite to this pair of vampires leaving a room up here above The Kraken... Playing doctor taken care of, the assassin answers the offer of wine with a question in return, “That got blood in it?” Doubtful, so he probably doesn’t drink. This man is the biggest celebrity that perhaps Rynvale has ever seen, so he -rocks- that awful pink shirt and terrible white pants. Still, Terra gets a lot of threatening looks while they’re shopping that say ‘don’t laugh.’ “It’s not mine. It barely fits. You know? I don’t need to steal this thing from Patch. I’m rich, remember? I can buy myself a new one just like it if you think it is so great.” The assassin feels much more comfortable in something that approximates his usual outfit and the empath should be able to notice the instant change in how he moves now that he feels more like himself. The borrowed clothes are returned to the Kraken with a ‘thanks’ and an autograph if the barkeep has something he’d like The Titan to sign. Errands done they are free to return to Robert Band and The Skunk Cabal who professionally transport the vampires back to Cenril. From there the scales have to be delivered to Iintahquohae’s shop, but that work has been contracted out to The Skunk Cabal crew. If Terra was in a rush to see the seamstress they could go there as well, but if not then Vailkrin is next and there is no return portal for long distances like this, so mundane travel is the only way back home…

Cenril Again

Terra thought about asking why, decided not to, then changed the course on that after a bit. “How does it work? You were able to get here but going back is different?” Trying to understand any curse was already hard but this was one that she had tried to understand for years and still struggled with. What was witnessed back in Rynvale was more evolved than she could recall. Clearly it was something he had worked on and used to his advantage if he was now a three-peat champion. “Not complaining,” she tacked on, in the event her question was mistaken as criticism. “It means more time before .. Vailkrin.” There’s a weight to the way she said the city’s name but she doesn’t elaborate and would only look to him to provide what he could on the state of the curse then.

Shishi isn’t qualified to discuss the mechanics of the curse and what he can and cannot do with the shadows and why, but he’ll do his best to explain to Terra the problems he runs into with long distance travel from anywhere except the black portal in Vailkrin. “Hmm...Uhh... It is too far.” Terrible start so far. “I mean, we can’t reach shadows in Vailkrin…” Then how did you reach them in Cenril from Vailkrin? That’s the logical next question here. “I mean… I can’t see the portal back home from here to turn off one side of it.” He cringes. It is all mumbo jumbo to him, so how must it sound to her? “So I can’t use that end… I don’t know. It just feels like I’m closer to everywhere when I’m near the portal. Is that nonsense?” The Plane of Shadows, which the empath would have gotten a glimpse into when she used the portals that the assassin created during the dragon hunt, is of course closely related to the curse and is where the dark portal draws its magic from, which explains why The Blue Demon is able to influence it at all. “I don’t know… Orange can probably explain it better.” As they travel, he’ll talk candidly about the family curse and how it has been treating him lately, particularly how, “They like hurting people in the tournaments…” which maybe explains the more civil relationship Terra has been witnessing between the Titan and the shadows during this trip…

Terra had played witness to a great number of things that she could not explain so she doesn’t begrudge Shishi on not being able to speak to it. Being there to listen to what was shared was enough for now and as they talked and the scenery changed, that’s what she did. The connection between the tournaments and the shadows was understood a little bit more then but it does open him up to more questions. Such as, “do you have to sign up for every tournament?”, “are the spectators ever in danger?” and lastly, “so that’s why the odd jobs in-between tournaments?” Somewhere along the way, her hand found his but not for the usual purpose of the wellbeing check. This seemed to only be for her comfort as he answered the many questions she was sure to pepper him with to pass the time.

Shishi shakes his head, “I don’t -have- to. There’s one in Larket going on right now that I skipped, I think.” He is very often not thinking about the spectators when letting the curse takeover during his fights, so he shrugs at that question, “Usually they’re fine. I think there are things in place that protect them…” He wiggles his fingers, “Magic,” he puffs out his cheeks, “and the ties have helped to not eat any of the fans during a fight…” It might be somewhat telling that he needed to add the qualifying ‘during a fight’ phrase there. The assassin gives Terra’s hand a squeeze and repeats her question as the answer, “That’s why the odd jobs in-between tournaments.” Even before he was a famous gladiator, for generations his family has been in this and similar lines of work as a means of making the best of the chaotic curse on their bloodline, to varying degrees of success. As they continue to move he’ll keep answering her questions as best he can, as well as bring up a Titan fight against Leoxander, mutual friend, from three years ago that happened on the edge of a cliff. His questions to her are few and far between, and they all have to do with recent events; her new home, Steadmen and the eyeballs, Rinn, and never about anything before that, he probably just doesn’t want to know what she was doing in Gualon or wherever she was all these years while he was becoming a superstar…

Terra was enamored with the details of the fight with the lycan and also a little crushed to have witnessed it. He may find that he gets more questions on that bit of information than she gives for anything he asks. Whatever happened, whatever led to her leaving, it wasn’t just Shishi she had left but the others like Leo and all those familiar faces in Rynvale so the brief visit to the past is appreciated. While he is careful not to bring the past up, she can’t completely leave it out. “I had some decisions to make about what to do now, what to do with Gualon, with Vailkrin. This trip gave me an opportunity to figure that out, so thank you for the invitation.” Speaking of, she slid in to the next topic with all the grace of one-legged pirate, “As far as invitations go... have you thought about the ball coming up?” The one she needed to speak with Inks about, that had been advertised throughout papers and posters alike as of late.

Shishi gives as many details about the fight as he can remember. What it really boiled down to was, since they were on a narrow cliff edge, The Blue Demon could fly (as Terra witnessed yesterday) and the werewolf couldn’t. “Aye. No problem…” he says, getting the sudden, momentary feeling that he was just on a days long audition representing Vailkrin and, although it feels successful, that it could have gone better. The assassin does not make his own schedule it seems, so it is with perfect sincerity that he answers her question about the upcoming celebration like so, “I haven’t thought about it at all… There’s a ball coming up?” With his newfound celebrity this is the kind of event that he makes paid appearances at, so it would seem that the people throwing the party have not reached out to The Titan of Winter. He shakes his head at his own ignorance, “You sure you want to take me? Lot of people get upset at whoever I show up with to things like that. I’m a hassle.”

Terra grinned at the reply then teased, “I never asked you to accompany me. I just asked if you thought about it.” Her brand of celebrity did not come with paid appearance so she does not understand any bit of what all of that entails. As they started getting closer, she would start to slow to prolong the inevitable conclusion of this trip. The uncertainty that she had started it with had evolved into a different type, with even more questions that she was able to keep to herself, at long last. “You don’t have to go at all, and if you do, it doesn’t have to be with me, if that’s easier but. I would like a dance. Is that alright?” After that seemed to be settled, she yet again referenced the past with a question that had been weighing on her for some time now. “What’s in the woods?”

Vailkrin

Shishi puffs out his cheeks while she teases and narrows his oceanic stare slightly. He slows alongside her as they approach The Dark Portal from the Milous side, “Aye. That’s alright.” He makes no confirmation about whether he’ll go at all, with or without her though. She’s seen over the last couple days that he is a ridiculously busy man after all. Hopefully this ball fits into his schedule. Stepping through the portal is a trivial task that they’ve both done countless times, and without his eyes being that accursed shade of red the traversal is the same as it would be any other day for any other commuter. Instantly they are in Vailkrin and the forest in question is directly to their north. He frowns and thinks to himself for a moment or two before answering flatly, “Green’s house is in there, Green’s creations and monsters. My blood is in the woods.”

Terra doesn’t know what to make of that answer. If it was supposed to discourage exploration of the dark forest, it is not. “What does that even mean? I thought...” well, she had heard that Green had been back and present and things were fine but maybe her intel had been old or misleading on purpose. The woods loomed on the edge of both her vision and thoughts but she isn’t so interested that she would be willing to enter then and there without further clarification from Blue and maybe even Red. It seemed there was still a lot she struggled to accept had changed. When she does change the subject again, it’s something he likely had suspected. “I have to go out of town for a few days. But since I live here,” her free hand was used to indicate the city they were currently in, “it is a trip with a return in mind. I only tell you this because I’d plan on leaving tomorrow so if you’re still free tonight...?”

Shishi shrugs up his shoulders, “It means I don’t want you to get hurt by anything because of me.” He puffs out his cheeks when she says she’s leaving, but come on, Shish, y’all just spent two days together. Clingy. “I’m free tonight.” He tells her decisively. “Let's go see this house of yours?”

Terra listened to the warning about the woods and the explanation but it does little to satisfy the dozens of questions she still has. For the moment, the topic was allowed to go dormant but she’s certain that he already knows it wouldn’t be the end of it. However, the distraction that came with the mention of her house was a wise one and she would be deterred from further interrogation of the Titan. “My summer home?” That hasn’t been entirely forgotten and the reemergence of that conversation got him a brief side eye but that’s the most she can muster. The trip had been long enough and when they do wind through the cul de sac to her home, there’s an immediate sense of relief. There were portions of this trip where she had not been convinced she would see it again, that it would be a wasted investment, thankfully that did not prove to be the case. Before she can enter she’d pry her legs free from the heavy tombs formerly known as boots that carried the signs of travel and then motioned him in. The tour is standard, it’s no mansion after all, but her favorite feature is the bar which she’d visit once they’ve looked around. Two glasses were secured and given his preference, blood wine was poured and passed to him first before she did the same for herself. Here, with the bravery provided by a glass of wine, she relaxed down onto the couch and watched him again. She would shift if he sat nearby and he may be relieved to know that she was capable of sitting in silence for awhile, at least until her glass is empty. Then he would have to field questions about life as a celebrity until he tired of the subject.

Shishi sits as near as possible to the empath, sipping at his bloodwine while answering questions about his life in the limelight. She’ll hear about how the Prince of Larket is a huge fan and the Crown pays large appearance fees for coming to events in The Hard City. She’ll learn that he gets paid to drink Mesthak’s Strongest Brew, which is disgusting, in public and that Kelay Tavern is his biggest sponsor. He tells of frost giants randomly trying to punch him in Frostmaw to ‘see if he was really The Blue Demon or not,’ of how Vailkrin is a safe haven because everyone there was already sick of him before he became ridiculously famous, and of multiple victories in the Red Skull Trophy Ring against the sore loser drowess Gevurah. At some point he must run out of nuances of celebrity life to talk about, or at the very least she will run out of questions. At the first sign of that awkward pause, his by then empty wine glass will be set down and he’ll lean in, pushing her down on the couch… The end.