Succession: Heir to the Empire

Rein

"N-Not that I'd be against the idea of doing that with you eventually, of course! Um...I mean...I....I....I should just stop talking now. Before I make more of a fool of myself." Rein said with a nervous laugh. Well, the gods certainly seemed to love toying with her and Kegan. Just what had she ever done to that?

....ok, but that had only been once. And the shrine had been rebuilt!

Still, Rein was glad she stopped herself. If she had continued, she might have ended up saying she wanted Kegan's babies.

Caesar, Kaleb

"Ah, right, right..." Caesar said, laughing as well. Though it was more akin to nervous laughter than anything.

"Not to mention you really wouldn't want to hear about my days in Mordor. It was quite boring, actually." he added.

"No it wasn't, Caesar! We had all sorts of fun times together! Ooh, do you remember the one time Mr. Bane tried to use and sell you as a prison whor--"

"Shut up Kaleb!"

Susanna

Susanna giggled as she heard Kaleb's try and tell the story of Caesar's days in Mordor once again. Susanna had figured out what Caesar had done there weeks ago, but she was still amused with how Caesar always tried to stop Kaleb from telling the story. "So Kaleb, how long did you and Caesar stay together in that tiny prison cell?"
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Kegan

Kegan laughed nervously as he tried to reassure Rein, though to be honest he was still hurt and scared that Rein might not actually like him "that" way. "Well I suppose Syrien will be pleased, at least." Kegan stated.

"But you know, I'll never pressure or force you to do anything like that if it makes you uncomfortable." Kegan informed Rein as he continued to walk beside the river, though the slope going into the water was beginning to grow steeper.

Caesar, Kaleb

"Oh, we stayed there for four years! It was the happiest time of my entire life! Caesar's the bestest friend I've ever had!" Kaleb exclaimed. A clear look at Caesar's face would tell the feeling was not mutual.

"Worst four years of my life. Oh, the torture was wonderful! But he made it worse down there...I nearly became sane listening to his ramblings." Caesar muttered under his breath.

Rein

"I know that, Kegan. I....well, I really do like you, Kegan. I think I might even love you." Rein confessed. "I just don't want to make myself act like a idiot in front of you. Which I seem to be failing at splendidly. Truth be told, I'm a bit nervous around you sometimes. Especially here, since this is our first time truly alone together."

Rein blushed a little, but didn't look away from Kegan. It felt a little good saying that, and she finally didn't say something that could be taken the wrong way.

Kegan

"You don't say?" Kegan asked, amused and secretly thrilled after hearing Rein's confession. "If it makes you feel better, I'm nervous as well. You are the first person I've ever thought about spending the rest of my life with, even if those thoughts might be a bit hasty of me...I can't help it."
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Susanna

Susanna restrained herself from laughing at the hilarious contrast between Kaleb's and Caesar's feelings for each other. "So, Kaleb, are you ready to have another go at trying to find some food?" Susanna asked.

Caesar, Kaleb

"Of course! I'll be right back." Kaleb promised before leaving them again. Caesar sighed.

"I just hope he doesn't come back with the spouse of that thing. Or worse."

Rein

"Don't worry, it's fine. I feel the same way. And I'm also kinda...afraid of what may happen here. I mean, we're all alone, in the wilderness...and I'm not just talking about the many predators living here." Rein said hesitantly. She was glad that Kegan felt the same way, but she did feel a bit hesitant to bring up this subject.

Kegan

"Well have you ever....slept with a man before?" Kegan asked nervously, knowing it was an awkward question, but still, he had to know.
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Susanna

"There's no escaping him, is there?" Susanna asked as she looked at Caesa, a defeated expression on her face.
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Carlisle

"Good, coast is clear...." Carlisle muttered as he walked out of the forest into another large meadow. The Doctor was currently using his bedsheets as a kind of cloak that would cover his entire body, but of course, he was still very uncomfortable with the idea of interacting with anyone while barely dressed.

As he ran out into the field, Carlisle began to notice that there were quite a few odd oval shaped rocks lying everywhere. Carlisle tried to ignore them and instead just make his way to the other side of the meadow, but the farther he ran, the more oddities he noticed with the rocks. For one they were an odd white-blueish color, and they were speckled as well. As he reached the halfway point through the meadow Carlisle was barely running, his atention now on the meadow around him.

"This isn't right. The grass is crushed, and these rocks are placed way too evenly...." Carlisle mentally noted as he walked up to one of the rocks and rubbed his hand across it. "That's weird it feels just like an....." Carlisle stopped speaking as he quickly looked back down at the dry and dead grass, his brain putting together what he was in. The Doctor quickly turned around as he ran towards the cover of the trees, where he would surely be safer in case the Dragons returned back to their nesting grounds any time soon.

"Almost there..." Carlisle muttered between heavy breathes as he saw that the tree line was just a few hundred yards away. But as the Doctor got close to the forest edge, he heard a loud and piercing roar which shook the trees. "No no no..." The Doctor muttered, knowing that he was hearing the Dragon returning. "Maybe it didn't see me?" Carlisle wondered as he turned around to see what the Dragon was doing. Carlisle froze for a few seconds as he saw that the giant lizard was flying right towards him at an amazingly quick speed. As he turned around and ran the last few yards into the forest, Carlisle heard the Dragon's roar one more time, sending chills down Carlisle's spine as he kept running through the trees.

"Just great," Nbei muttered, not really liking the fact that she called him "little". He paused for a moment before grinning, "Any particular reason for choosing to appear to me first?"

Rein

"No. Well, I did come close this one time but...that's something I'd rather not talk about. Have....you ever been with a woman?" Rein asked hesitantly. She too felt that was an awkward question, but Kegan had asked her a similar one, so it was only fair.

Caesar, Kaleb

"He's like a cockroach. No matter how many times you kill them, they always come back." Caesar replied. Kaleb came back a few minutes later, caring a basket of fruit and nuts, surprisingly.

"I have found food!" Kaleb declared proudly.

C.C.

"Because I was bored, and wanted to amuse myself with you." C.C. replied with a smirk.

"No, no," Nebi told her with a smirk of his own, "You like me. You can't deny that you find me attractive and pleasant to be around."

*

Baruti chuckled and replied to Clara, "Not to worry, my dear. Kaleb is a lot more trouble than he is worth."

Kegan

"No. I am very inexperienced in the love department of things." Kegan replied as he continued to walk with Rein downstream. The water was going at a rather quick pace now, and Kegan was sure that they would be reaching a waterfall soon. But the Heir knew that that would just have to be their turnaround point if that happened. He did not to do any climbing just yet.

"So we have that-" Kegan began to say before he cut himself off suddenly. The Half-Elf raised his fingers to his lips as he stood still for a second, waiting to see if his suspicions would be confirmed. Within a few seconds, Kegan heard a loud, yet dull and obviously far away, roar. "Dragons. We shouldn't have to worry too much, they're at least six kilometers to the east of us, and they would never come in a forest this thick unless they had to.... But still, we should avoid clearings and high places if we can." Kegan informed Rein, reminding himself of thse facts as much as he was reminding her.
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Clara

"Well we can only hope so. We wouldn't want this to turn boring when it the adventures barely just begun." Clara replied as she looked down at the changing pictures with an amused and cruel expression.
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Susanna

"Well then the only way we can get rid of him for more then five minutes is to send him on an impossible quest. Of course it can't be obviously ludicrous, or he might get suspicious...but still, there has to be something we can tell him." Susanna suggested to Caesar before she allowed their conversation to drift off into silence until Kaleb returned a few minutes later.

"Oh Kaleb, that's wonderful, great job." Susanna said as she tried to be encouraging, though she was confused as to how he had gotten a basket.
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Carlisle

Carlisle ran through the trees, almost out of breath as he kept running. The Dragon had stopped following the Doctor almost a half a kilometer back, but Carlisle hadn't realized that yet. In his frenzy of panic, Carlisle had left the sheet he had been wearing a full two kilometers ago, but he didn't care. Yet.

C.C.

"Well, someone's got the trait of modesty down. I amazes me how humble you are." C.C. sarcastically replied.

Tsuba

Unfortunately for Carlisle, he happened to literally run into Tsuba as she stepped into the area. The resulting smack of bodies sent the female Heir sprawling onto the ground. Growling, Tsuba gently rubbed her head and stood back up.

"Watch where you're going, you...." Tsuba trailed off as she took in Carlisle's state. She smirked.

"Well, I guess I was right. You were compensating for something."

Caesar, Kaleb

"Yeah, thanks." Caesar grumbled. Kaleb handed the basket to his 'friend'.

"Enjoy!"

"Say, Kaleb..." Caesar began, developing an idea. "I have an important mission for you! Are you ready?"

"Sir yes sir!" Kaleb replied, saluting. Caesar rolled his eyes and continued.

"Go find us the Holy Grail, Kaleb. Alright?"

"I'm on it!" Kaleb said, disappearing again into the forest.

"Well, that works." Caesar commented.

Rein

"Sounds good to me. Whatever you say." Rein said in response. She was silent for a few moments, contemplating something.

"Well, I guess if we do....those certain things, then I guess we'll be each other's first..." Rein said nervously.

Susanna

"Unless he actually finds it....." Susanna said before she turned to look at Caesar, giggling lightly at the idea of Kaleb finding one of the most legendary treasures of all time.
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Kegan

"Yeah.... Umm if we do, do that, then I will be gentle. Just so you know." Kegan replied as his eyes began to scan the area around them, looking for any food so he could at least change the subject for now.

"Hmm nuts...." The Half-Elf muttered as he stepped on a hard and chestnut. "We could roast them, along with any fish we catch. Good source of protein. Even if they taste horrible."
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Carlisle

Carlisle quickly held his breath in horror as he turned around to look away from Tsuba. "It's a natural reaction when one is terrified, I was just chased by a dragon you know!" He informed Tsuba as he looked away from her. If Carlisle had to choose which side of him was exposed to the other Heir, he knew that the back was less embarrassing than the front. "Besides...I'll have you know I've measured and compared it with anatomy books. It's larger then average!" Carlisle shouted as he beagn to get emotional, not caring that what he was saying was just going to make him even more embarrassed.
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Brighe/Clara

"This is awful." Brighe muttered as she looked at the young and very foolish looking Doctor try and talk with Tsuba.

"This is wonderful! If he dies then he this will have to be the most hilarious thing to happen int eh istory of Heir Succession competitions." Clara exclaimed as she held onto a full goblet of wine in her hand, taking a sip out of it when she was finished talking.

Caesar

"Indeed, though I very much doubt that. We may as well eat our breakfast....unless you want to do...another type of activity?" Caesar suggested with a raised eyebrow.

Rein

"I-I'd appreciate that." Rein muttered, looking away as well. "Sounds good to me. I'm not much of a nut fan either, but I'll do whatever it takes to survive here."

"So, ah...I wonder how your aunt and Syrien would act if they knew the subject we were discussing." Rein said, trying to lighten the situation.

Tsuba

Tsuba chuckled in reply. "Oh really? I'd like to see you try and prove that Carlisle."

Susanna

"Such as?" Susanna asked coyly as she stopped and looked ta Caesar, her hands resting on his shoulder lightly as she looked at him.
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Kegan

"I'm guessing they would be coming down here....to make me a eunuch, no doubt." Kegan joked before laughing awkwardly.
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Carlisle

"Excuse me?" Carlisle asked in a scandalized tone as he quickly turned around and looked at Tsuba with a raised eyebrow, only for the Heir to quickly look away again as he realized the view he had just given her.

"Look, I think we should work together. You are a stronger fighter then me, but I can heal and support you in case we're attacked, and it doesn't matter if we both make it to the summit together. Baruti hates me, he knows I'm weak, and he would never choose me to be the next ruler of Gaboria." Carlisle pointed out as he continued to stare at the tree in front of him.

((I'm surprised Brighe isn't listening on or commenting on the speec between Rein and Kegan.))

Rein

"No doubt. They'd probably compete to see who would have the honor." Rein added, giving some nervous laughter of her own. Boy, this sure was awkward. How--

As Rein took half a step forward, she somehow ended up tripping, and brought Kegan down with her, landing on top of him.

Caesar, Kaleb

"Oh, I don't know...something we'd both enjoy, and have done often these past few days..." Caesar alluded to. He placed a hand on Susanna's shoulder and leaned in for a kis...

"fOUND IT!" a loud and energetic voice sounded.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" Caesar thundered as Kaleb returned yet again.

Tsuba

"And here I was hoping you'd make more of a fool of yourself. Ah well. Sure, why not? I could always use another henchman and an extra shield. You may come along. Though we'll have to do something about that..." Tsuba said, referring to Carlisle's nudity. She smirked again.

"Or maybe I could just leave you like that. It'd be amusing if you ran into the other Heirs looking like that. and I do always need a good laugh."

(I figured right now Baruti would have it on what he considered to be the most interesting thing going on. Two Heirs, Carlisle and Tsuba, interacting with each other.)

Kegan

Kegan began to breathe heavily as he looked into Rein's eyes. The Half-Elf lied there in silence for a few more seconds before speaking, "I think you tripped on the nuts. Kegan guessed, ruining whatever moment they could have had.
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Carlisle

"If you have any way of fixing my situation I would be most grateful." Carlisle replied, trying to remain polite, though he certainly wasn't enjoying Tsuba's company. "Plus, being clothed would mean I wouldn't be distracted...."
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Susanna

Susanna turned around in shock as she heard Kaleb's statement. "If he actually found....you're set for life." Susanna informed the obvious to Caesar, though to be honest, she doubted that whatever Kaleb had found was actually the Grail.

((Aww, Tsuba's so mean...hehehe.))
Epiphany kept walking until she heard the sound of a rushing river. [i] Great. There's a river nearby." Epiphany followed the sound outside of the forest.

Upon continuing halfway there, she encountered a bear. She arefully watched it, not trying to cause alarm, but the bear seemed hungry. It roared and made it's way towards her. She dodged the first attack, and the bear turned around, charging back towards her. Epiphany threw her sai at the bear and the bear died. She collected some meat and placed it in a leaf wrapper. Then she made her way back to the river.

Upon arriving, she didn't notice Kegan and Rein at first and started drinking from the river.

((True.))

Tsuba

"Oh very well, fine." Tsuba said in an exasperated voice. She waved a hand and some clothes appeared beside Carlisle. "There you go. It was getting old, laughing about how small you were. And those clothes should help once we reach the mountains."

Rein

"O-Oh. Right." Rein muttered, gently getting off of Kegan and standing up. "So, what now?"

Caesar, Kaleb

"Here ya go!" Kaleb said, handing Caesar (of all things) a wooden box. One of Caesar's eyes began to twitch and he felt the great urge to dismember Kaleb.

"Kaleb....listen to me now....this is not the Holy Grail. This is just a box. Now, go again, and this time come back with the real Grail!" Caesar ordered. Kaleb salutated and left once more.

"If I start to violently disembowl him....don't stop me." Caesar said to Susanna.

Carlisle

"They're already helping now." Carlisle replied, thankful that he would no longer have to be terrified of the idea of running into the other Heirs. "So what's the plan now?"
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Kegan

"Well now we collect the chestnuts, and then we go back to my cheap net to see if we caught any fish." Kegan replied as he stood up and wiped some of the dirt off of his backside. Kegan scanned the area again before leaving, something catching his eye across the river from him and Rein. "Well I guess we can confirm that Baruti didn't leave us her alone, now." Kegan whispered to Rein as he pointed at Epiphany. "I don't think she notices us."
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Susanna

"I wont. But you know he'll still survive and come back. Somehow."

Rein

"We should leave. She may not be like that Tsuba girl, but still, I don't think she's exactly trustworthy." Rein said immediately.

Tsuba

"Now, I'm looking for a decent meal in this forest. Got any ideas?" Tsuba asked.

Caesar

"No doubt. Hm, he hasn't come back yet. That's a good sign. Come on, we better leave boefre he comes back." Caesar urged. Kaleb would catch up with them, most likely, but he still wanted some time away from that idiot.

"Well, I can wonderfully modest. It's only with people I trust that I allow my true personality to bloom," Nebi told C.C. with a laugh before walking towards the mountain, "Come on. To business. I better get to the Observatory if I want to win this. That and I suspect there are a couple of Heirs that would love to kill me while it's legal."

He said this without knowing a sad truth about Gaborian politics. Assassination was alright as long as one rule wasn't broken: Don't get caught. It was obvious that he was still a bit naive about the way things ran in the Gaborian Empire.

Kegan

"No, you're right. Just because she isn't going to go out of her way to abuse us like Tsuba or Caesar would doesn't mean she wouldn't harm if she thought it was beneficiary. To be honest the only other Heir I would consider trusting with my life is Nebi, and that's just because he's an idealist with a strong personal moral code. Foolish as it is sometimes." Kegan whispered to Rein as he backed up with her into the trees.

"Of course I doubt we'll be able to hide from her for much longer. She's probably going to have the same idea as us, taking the river as far as we can towards the mountain. And the second she sees the fishing net I laid out, she'll know that we're close."
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Carlisle

"Well there's a river to the east about seven kilometers, and I just left a field full of eggs. But I'd prefer not to return there. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be hard to find some fruit in a forest like this, but that isn't a guaranteed thing." Carlisle informed Tsuba as he began to list all the possible food sources they could find.
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Susanna

"Agreed. Lets go." Susanna replied as she grabbed onto Caesar's hand and motioned for him to lead the way.

Caesar

Caesar lead the way, quickly traveling a large distance to put as much distance between them and Kaleb as possible. Caesar stopped after a time to let them catch there breath.

"That should keep him busy,"

Tsuba

"True. The river sounds most acceptable." Tsuba decided. "Some other Heirs might be there too, though. But it should present no problem. They wouldn't last long against me."

Rein

"True. But still, I think we should stay hidden as long as possible. Maybe we could do a little scouting in the forest, and come back again in a little while? She may be gone by then." Rein suggested.

C.C.

"Indeed. Oh, and boy? Don't even get any ideas. Yes, it will be cold up in the mounains, but I'm not an easy woman." C.C. teased. She began to walk with Nebi as they went on.

Nebi laughed and grinned winningly at her, "Oh really? Well, I'm a stubborn man. I'll charm you yet.

He paused, hearing the sound of running water and heading in that direction. Any source of running water made a good path if one wanted to find the melting snow that was its source.

Susanna

"Gods be willing." Susanna agreed as she breathed heavily. "Now, what was it you were suggesting before Kaleb so rudely interrupted us?" Susanna asked in a teasing tone after she had caught her breath.
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Carlisle

"Hmm, yes." Carlisle replied, visibly uncomfortable with the idea of attacking the other Heirs. "Well, east is that way. So lets be off then." Carlisle informed Tsuba, though he still waited in place, as he wasn;t sure whether or she would want to take the lead, or if she would make him go first instead.
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Kegan

"Hopefully." Kegan agreed as he continued to walk with Rein into the Forest. "Though if she does realize we're here, though wont be any stopping her from finding us. She is an Amazonian after all."
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Katie

Katie woke up in a pleasant mood, eager for another day of learning, though she'd never admit that to Rhys. The girl had had a mostly pleasant week, though she still missed Susanna, and C.C. as well. She felt like she was doing something useful, and the lessons that she was taking made her feel like she would have even more in common with Susanna when all was said and done, and thus, they would have more to do together besides talking and comforting each other.

As she walked into the den portion of her Bedroom suite, she saw the tray that carried her breakfast waiting for her on the coffee table. "Hmm, Rhys isn't here this time...That's weird." The girl thought as she saw a note beside her meal.

Dear, Katie. I had some urgent business to attend to in town and I will unfortunately be away for at least four days. My Head Servant, Charles, will be here to continue your lessons if you would prefer to keep going with them while I'm gone. I think that would be for the best.

Signed,
Rhys Alwyn

Katie sighed after she had finished reading the letter, disappointed that Rhys had left on such short notice. "He could of told me himself at least." She complained before taking a seat as she looked down at the letter and began to read it again.