Snippet #2767327

Prodding down the marble and gold halls, Ashen continued to pour over the sea charts he held in his hands. Knowing that the Archipelago of exiles was past the storm mothers court the Lunar was now trying to figure the most likely route the sirens would have taken to reach the island chain, for if he could do that he might be able to narrow down which part of it the kidnappers would likely be hold up in. His eyes trailed through the list of spirit courts, islets and other features along the way, noting which ones they might try to seek shelter at or avoid for safety. Dismissing paths one by one he slowly began to formulate a hunch towards their specific destination and it seemed to point towards the southern edge of the archipelago.

Unconsciously he started up a flight of stairs, utterly engrossed in his hypothesis. Busy with his fact checking he ascended the steps without any concern for his surroundings. And because he so face deep in his papers, the normally attentive changing moon either didn't hear or completely ignored the sound of bare feet slapping against the polished floors as he neared the top.

Ashen would have only heard echoes and murmurs, if only he was listening for them. With each slap of the marbled floors, the sounds of grunting and growling grew louder, along with the formidable chanting of women. It echoed ominously throughout the expansive network of hallways and staircases, like the howling of wind before a storm.

As Ashen reached the top of the stairwell, a small spot of pink appeared at the end of the 100 meter hallway. After a few more moments, the spot became the more defined shape of a woman.

It was only as he cleared the last step that the Lunar noticed something off. He managed to get about two or three paces before he looked up from the map he held infront of him. This gave him just enough time to become slightly aware of a pink and white humanoid blur coming right at him before the impact. Papers went flying out of his hand as the sudden impact of force knocked him off his feet and he went flying backwards down the steps, a single "OOF" escaping his lips. Something screamed in the back of his mind and he unconciously wrapped his arms around whatever it was that had just slammed into him and and he currled himself into a ball around it. Then he felt the first bone shaking impact of his body against the marble steps. He winced and let out another grunt, then another, and another as he tumbled down the stair case until finally he flopped ungracefully onto the tiles at the bottom, with something soft and warm weighing down on his torso. He gave a final groan and unthinkingly squeezed the object one last time.

“Now is not the time for the pleasures of the flesh, dear Ashen!” Calliope urged. They were a tangled mess on the floor, the princess had to practically pry herself out of the Lunar’s grasp. She sat up, still pinning him to the ground, but her body language would suggest she was ready to flee at any moment.

Ashen blinked, vaguely recoginizing the voice, and finally looked up at who had just bowled him over. He was greeted by a round, pink face, and two wide, golden eyes staring back at him, as well as a fleeting look of nervousness as Princess Calliope Lordes looked towards the fast-approaching mob that was about to trample both of them. The privateer almost failed to recognize her at first. Though he'd spoken with the solar on occasion since they're arrival, having her this close to him and in this state made him stop all thought processes for a single moment to take it in. Mouth agape, his eye trailed up and down her form, and for a moment he almost thought a goddess and just seated herself on his stomach. It was a few seconds before his mind finally clicked all the pieces of her together and he final realised that their dawn caste was his mystery attacker. "C... Calliope?" He muttered.

Then another second passed and he realised the state of the dawn caste on top of him, and the fact that he had been openly staring with his mouth open like an idiot. Instantly blood pooled his face crimson in a blush that could've been seen from Yu-Shan. "WHY ARE YA NAKED!" HE sputtered in shock. He tried to avert his gaze, but instead his eyes locked onto something else. The stab wound on her side.

He went cold.

"What... what happend?"

Although Calliope had gotten a head-start, Astrid was faster and quickly eating up the distance between them. The shift into Beastman form had sobered her up and she was now chasing with absolute clarity, kicking off of walls to turn so that she wouldn't lose momentum and generally using every technique she'd learned about pursuit. Before long the Pink girl was in sight, and tumbling into someone and down the stairs. Ignoring the stairs entirely, Astrid leaped down the flight of them, landing behind Callipe and... Ashen?

In retrospect, Astrid wasn't certain why she was determined to put Calliope in a dress or why she should care. However she'd come this far, and damned if she wasn't going to finish her task. "Fun little chase we had, but now it's time to get dressed. Come along."

Before she could answer his question, Calliope stood up, prepared to make another break for it back the way she came. But instead of fleeing, she calmly offered a hand to Ashen. [color=#FE6979]“Come with me,” she whispered. Without thinking he took it in a heartbeat. Calliope offered a challenging glance to Astrid, and off she went, dragging Ashen behind her in a dead run for freedom. Maybe she couldn’t outrun Astrid, but she wasn’t going down without a fight.

Ashen stumbled for a second as she pulled him. Why was Calliope naked? Why did she have a stab wound in her side? Why was Astrid chasing her in war form? Why were they running from her? These thoughts went through his head in the span of a nanosecond, but they were cast aside the moment he got his feet under him. Some primal, ancient instinct flared in him and his caste mark started to burn on his forehead.



Letting loose a chortle and beginning to attune her anima to her body, feeling it infuse and spread through her muscles as the air glittered slightly. Waiting until they made it about fifty feet away, she began to chase, quickly catching up to them. Ashen glanced behind them, seeing the Full Moon rapidly advancing on them. Then Essence burned through his legs and he suddenly scooped Calliope up in his arms. In the next second he kicked off with a sudden burst, his body flairing inclandestantly with the silver light of Luna's power, widening the gap again. Astrid wasn't the only one with speed boosting charms.



Calliope wasn’t shocked to be scooped up, so much as she was excited to have a second chance at outrunning Astrid. She cackled over Ashen’s shoulder, raising a triumphant fist in the air as the moonchild whisked her off to safety. She held on to Ashen, as they gained speed, her long white hair fell behind them like the tail of comet. She grinned a thrilled grin, glad to have escaped the beast for the time being.

She was probably a minute or so behind the gaggle of crazed women, contrary to what she’d initially though, it turned out that giving chase to a naked pink princess, a transformed Lunar and three of Fakharu’s handmaidens was actually rather easy. Who knew that all Lux had to do was follow a trail of bewildered folks, who were too busy mumbling and muttering amongst each other, trying to process and comprehend what they’d seen to pay much mind to anything else?

As soon as the Dragon-Blooded found herself confronted by a staircase, she gave absolutely no thought as to how she was going to descend it, judgment and inhibitions still loosened by her tipsy state, Lux didn’t slow. Instead, the girl grabbed onto the staircase’s railing, and leapt up, pulling herself onto it, and proceeded to slide down it, the material of her dress providing no friction against the marble material.

Given that she’d already had a running start, Lux otherwise glided down the banister at a speed so fast that it made her heart feel like it’d leapt into her throat, and she couldn’t quite resist the exceedingly loud and joyous squeal that came from her.

Of course though, with absolutely nothing to slow her descent, once Lux reached the bottom of the hand railing...the Dragon-Blooded proceeded to tumble off the handrail, landing on her bum as she ended up sliding several feet across the marbled floor, the large piece of fabric she had in hand trailing behind her. She made it just in time...to see that Ashen had apparently been caught up in this whole ordeal as well, and had bolted off with Calliope. Lux simply remained sitting where she’d at last stopped, watching the whole scene play out from a distance as she could only bring herself to mumble an, “Oh dear....”

The duo began to put distance between themselves and Astrid, much to her chagrin. She grit her teeth and mumbled to herself, "A different tactic perhaps..." Turning around, she began to sprint to Lux, without saying anything, she scooped the small girl up, which caused Lux to let out a small squeak, and resumed the chase, a bit more slowly this time.

As they ran, she began to explain to Lux, "You're gonna go convince them to stop running, talk to them calmly and wind them down. I have a plan."

The Dragon-Blooded blinked a few times before she glanced up at Astrid’s catlike face, winding up the piece of fabric she still had in hand into a ball that she kept pressed against her stomach. The Lunar had a plan? A plan for what, exactly? “N’sure I’ll b’able to, but wiiiill try?” she responded, her thoughts feeling light. “‘Sides, I wanna g’ve ‘Alliope somethin’ to c’ver up wit’....” Lux lifted the balled-up fabric a bit for emphasis, but she couldn’t help but continue to stare. She’d seen Astrid’s half-transformed state earlier that day, but hadn’t had a chance to see it so up close.

She had thought it was fascinating, but actually having a chance to really take it in now...the Terrestrial had a thought she couldn’t quite keep contained as a huge grin formed over her face. “Y’look pretty, ‘Strid!” Lux exclaimed, a hint of absolute awe in her voice. A low purr rose in Astrid's throat, as she looked down at Lux and told her, "I'm always pretty," with a smirk.

A glad little giggle slipped from Lux’s throat in response to Astrid’s unbridled confidence—she had every right to it, after all. [color=red]“Yes! Yes, you are!”[color] she agreed without hesitation, before returning her attention ahead of herself. Astrid wanted her to convince Ashen and Calliope to stop running...the Lunar had some kind of plan that she wasn't privy to. Lux wondered what she had in mind and, also, whatever had happened to the handmaidens who'd been in pursuit as well? Somehow, Lux seemed to have managed to outpace them, strange....