Succession: Heir to the Empire

C.C.

"Boy, I've lived for thousands of years. Believe me, I know all the tricks you could pull." C.C. said with a playful smirk. She followed Nebi, though did give him a warning.

"A few more Heirs are at the river. Just so you know."

Caesar

"Oh, nothing much. We could just spend some quality time together. Have a little...fun. Perhaps play a few...games. Like playing doctor, perhaps." Caesar answered, smiling. Well, so far so good, he thought. No sign of Kaleb so far. And the less time he had to spend with that moron, the better. Besides, he wanted to spend more time with Susanna...

Tsuba

"Very well." Tsuba said, leading the way.

[bRein[/b]

"True. But still, it's better than making us open targets. Hey, look!" Rein said. Up ahead there was a tree bearing some fruits.

"That doesn't stop you from falling prey to them. Maybe you wouldn't care. I promise to be gentle," he teased back with a grin.

He paused, considering her next words. He asked, "Can you make us invisible or something?"

(Umm, Magus, a little mistake on your part with Rein's post.)

Kegan

"Looks like we are getting some good luck after all." Kegan said with a sense of relief as he ran after Rein towards the fruit tree, the chestnuts that he had grabbed falling onto the ground now as he let go. "With a supply like this we should be filled up for at least two meal times. I don't think we'll have to be on the river bank as we walk our way up now." Kegan stated as he looked up at the tree.
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Susanna

"Oh really?" Susanna asked slyly as she wrapped her arms around Caesar, pulling herself in as she gave the Humage a kiss.
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Carlisle

"Fantastic." Carlisle muttered to himself as he followed Tsuba, a great sense of dread welling up at the bottom of his stomach as he asked himself what he had gotten into now.

((Huh. Strange. That hasn't happened before.))

Tsuba

"Oh come now, you don't have to act so excited about this." Tsuba snarked. "Your enthusiasm is too much."

Rein

"Great! Fine with me. I prefer fruits over those nuts." Rein agreed. She eagerly plucked a fruit from the tree and took a bite from it.

Caesar

"Indeed." Caesar replied, kissing Susanna back. He started to--

"I'M BAAAACK!!"

Caesar froze and slowly turned his head to see Kaleb back. Again. His left eye began to twitch violently.

C.C.

"Please, it's not you being gentle I should worry about. If anything, it should be the reverse. I have been known to be...rough." C.C. teased. Whether she was serious or not wasn't clear.

"And I suppose so, yes. But I am no miracle worker. Should I do that now?"

((Well, for some reason, it won't let me see my posts so I can edit them. So, until then, please ignore my previous post with Rein.))

Rein

"Great! Fine with me. I prefer fruits over these nuts any day." Rein agreed. She looked up at the fruit. "So, ah, how are we gonna get it?"

Kegan

"Well....If you stand on my shoulders you should be able to pick them...." Kegan suggested. "I mean I could use magic to bring them down, but I don't want to waste my energy so soon..." He explained as he tried not to sound awkward.
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Susanna

Susanna sighed loudly as she let go of Caesar and turned to see Kaleb. She didn't even have the energy to fake happiness or pride this time as she walked up to see what Kaleb had brought back with him.
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Carlisle

"Well I'm sorry, but I'm not a big fan of the idea of death and all that. I've caused too many already with my Mother." Carlisle informed Tsuba as he followed her through the forest. "I want to give my parents a reason to be proud of me, and I know that taking lives isn't the way to do it when I could save them instead."

"Now would be great. Oh, and C.C.," Nebi told her with an enthusiastic grin, "I have no problem at all with you being rough with me."

Caesar, Kaleb

Kaleb opened his mouth to speak but Caesar silenced him. "You know what, Kaleb, I don't want to hear it. Whatever it is you found, throw it away. Just give me and Susanna some privacy, alright? Come back in a few hours.

"Alright..." Kaleb said, sounding dejected. He walked away and glanced at the golden chalice in his hand before tossing it away.

Tsuba

"Hmph. At least you have the possibility of having your parents proud of you. Nothing I ever did could please my father." Tsuba said with a bitter tone.

Rein

"O-Oh....ok. I-I'm fine with that." Rein said with a hint of nervousness. A blush spread across her face. She mumbled, "Just don't look up my pants, ok?"

C.C.

"Don't be cheeky, boy. And very well. It's done." C.C. replied.

Carlisle

"Oh Fathers?" Carlisle asked with a surprisingly bitter laugh. "No, no my Father loathed me. In fact he probably still does if I decided to go see him." Carlisle informed Tsuba before his brain stopped to think. "Wait...did she just tell you something personal about herself?" The Doctor realized as he quickly tried to analyze the information Tsuba had given him about herself.

"So umm, I heard. About your Father. I'm sorry to hear that your relationship wasn't the best." Carlisle offered sympathetically, though it did feel odd. Trying to help Tsuba of all people.
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Kegan

"I wouldn't dare." Kegan replied incredulously at Rein's request. As he leaned over so Rein could stand on his shoulders, Kegan looked at the ground to make sure that Rein would be more comfortable with him. "Just make sure to tell me when you think you're balanced before I stand."
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Susanna

"Well that worked...." Susanna said, taken out of the moment now because of Kaleb.

Caesar

"I suppose. Shall we continue where we left off?" Caesar suggested hopefully.

Rein

"R-Right." Rein muttered. She gently got on top of Kegan's shoulders, and balanced herself. "Ok, lift me up!"

Tsuba

"Thank you for your sympathy." Tsuba said, actually sounding grateful. She remained silent for a few more moments before giving a low growl and clenching her fists.

"I hated that man."

Susanna

"Maybe later, Caesar." Susanna replied as she straightened her clothes out. "We have a lot of ground to cover don't we?"
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Kegan

"Will do." The Heir replied as he slowly stood up. Kegan looked at the ground as he waited for Rein to pick all the fruit, his neck stiff now.
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Carlisle

Carlisle looked down as he tried to figure out the best way of going about replying. He was already shocked that Tsuba had broguht up the subject to begin with, and now he was even more surprised that she wasn't directing her anger at him. He didn't want that changed just yet.

"Wh-what did he do to you?"

Tsuba

"Nothing I did was ever good enough for him. He was never proud, no matter what I did. He only saw me as a tool he could use and dispose of to further his political gains. Had I not been found out to be an Heir, he would have married me off to some old crone to further his political gains. Even then, he only saw me as a tool to achieve his greatest dreams. If I became Empress, he would have manipulated me into doing his bidding. I'm glad he's dead. I'd only bring him back to life again so I could murder him again!" Tsuba snarled, her emotions catching up with her. Surprisingly, a tear rolled down her eye.

"I'm glad he's dead." she repeated, fists clenched deep.

Caesar

"Yes, we do." Caesar said with a sigh. "And we still need to have breakfast. Well, we still have that fruit. I guess it's better than nothing."

Rein

Rein reached up gently and began to pluck the fruit from the tree. She got a handful before stopping. "Ok Kegan! I think that's e--"

Unfortunately for Rein, it was at that moment she lost her balance and tumbled to the ground, dropping the fruit and taking Kegan with her. However, most of her fall seemed to have broken by something. Opening her eyes, Rein looked around. Where was Kegan?

Then she felt something, and looked down. It seemed she was firmly planted on Kegan's face, of all things. Rein froze and began to feel her face heat up.

Carlisle

Carlisle bit his lip as he began to feel very awkward as he tried to not get emotional as well. "It's taken me years to realize this, but children are more then just tools or copies of whatever their parents want them to be." Carlisle said as he tried to be reassuring.

"It's obvious, when talking to you, that you are your own individual and just because your Father ignored that, well that says everything thing about him and you're probably better off now that he's dead. And, it's probably better that you weren't the one to kill him as well..."
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Susanna

"It'll have to do for now." Susanna admitted.
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Kegan

Kegan laid down still in place as he began to piece together what had happened, and why his face was covered. As he realized just how horrible this situation was, the Half-Elf's mind began to race as he tried to figure out the best course of action to take.

((Unless you have anything else you think we should do with Caesar and Susanna right now, I think we should leave off with them for now.))

Tsuba

"Oh no. I did kill him. I watched with great satsifaction as the life went out of his eyes. It was only then he realized he had created a monster." Tsuba corrected, scowling. She clenched her fists harder, drawing blood from her palms. But she did not care.

"I do wish, though, it hadn't come to that." Tsuba said, speaking more to herself than to Carlisle.

Rein

Rein was as red as a tomatoe as she tried to figure out some way out of this embarrassing situation. Gaining some control over herself, she quickly got off of Kegan's face, though did not get up. She turned away from her boyfriend and muttered to herself, still bright red.

"S-S-S-S-S-Sorry." Rein managed to get out.

Carlisle

Carlisle paused as he looked at Tsuba, wondering why he hadn't studied psychology when he had the chance. "I'm sorry but I don't know what to say. It's obvious that if anyone had a right to kill the man, it was you. But.... I don't know what to say, really."
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Kegan

Kegan quickly sat up and gasped for air, his face a bright red color almost identical to Rein's. "It's umm, well I....so did you get the fruit?" Kegan asked as he tried to change the subject quickly.
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Brighe/Clara

"Gods, watching them is embarrassing." Brighe complained as she watched Kegan and Rein.

"I don't know, they're kind of cute." Clara said as she leaned onto the table, goblet still in hand.

Rein

"Um, y-yeah. They're scattered around and a bit bruised, but they s-should be al-alright." Rein stuttered, trying to get a hold of herself. Quietly, she began to gather up the fallen fruit.

"Is it just me, or are we the god's personal play-things?" Rein muttered, her face still a vivid crimson color.

Tsuba

"You don't have to say anything." Tsuba snapped. She continued to go along, not speaking another word. She frowned as she wiped something away from her eye. Again, her emotions were getting the better of the woman. Her gaze fell onto Carlisle again.

"How long until we are there?"

Kegan

"I wouldn't be surprised if there were curses placed on us by someone. I should have never told off that priest that one time." Kegan lamented as he began to grab the fruit that had been spilt everywhere.
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Carlisle

"We are about two-thirds of the way there by now. Shouldn't be much longer." Carlisle informed Tsuba as he tried to remain respectful of her, though he still felt very awkward.

Rein

"I never should have done that to that shrine..." Rein mumbled to herself, not intending for Kegan to overhear that, He probably had, however. She continud to scoop up the fruit until they seemed to have gotten it all.

"So, what embarrassing thing will happen to us next?" Rein joked, trying to lighten the tense situation a little bit.

Tsuba

"Good." Was all Tsuba said in response. She was silent for a few more minutes before speaking.

"What is your mother like?"

((Well, that's it for me tonight. I'm heading to bed. Will post again tomorrow. 'Night all!))

Carlisle

"I don't know. I killed her when I was born. ....I mean, she died giving birth to me." Carlisle informed Tsuba as he continued to follow Tsuba.
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Kegan

Kegan smirked as he overheard Rein, though he said nothing to her and simply continued to grab the rest of the fruit.

"I have no idea at this point. I think we've covered everything. Of course I will be proven wrong most likely...." Kegan admitted.

Rein

"Yeah. I mean, we haven't walked in on each other changing or anything yet..." Rein frowned, cutting herself off, and gave a glare at the sky. "Don't you guys get any ideas, now!"

After gathering all the fruits, Rein decided to take a seat under the tree. She rested her back against the sturdy oak and relaxed. Her stomach growled again in hunger, making her blush a little bit. She looked over at Kegan.

"Shall we eat our breakfast now?"

Tsuba

"Ah. I see. Well, we happen to be in the same boat, then. My mother died having me too." Tsuba mused darkly, a grim smile on her face.

"I sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have my birth mother around. Though, it probably wouldn't be all that different. I'd still be the monster I am." the Heir continued, sounding somewhat regretful.

Nebi was about to retort when they came upon the scene of Kegan and rein. He had to hold his hands to his mouth in order to muffle the sounds of his laughter. Tears were coming down his face.

He grinned at C.C., "Well, at least we're not like that."

Kegan

Kegan shook his head in amusement before he sat down next to Rein. "We might as well, I mean, if we wait any longer we'll be eating fruit for lunch." He pointed out.

As the Half-Elf leaned against the tree, he paused, feeling weird. "Do you feel like we're being watched?" Kegan asked Rein as he scanned the area around them, seeing nothing.
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Carlisle

"I-I don't get it. If you know that you're a monster then why don't you try and fix it?" Carlisle asked inquisitively as he stopped in place.

C.C.

C.C. waved her hand to silence their conversation so that Rein and Kegan could not hear them. Then she brought her attention back to Nebi.

"Indeed. Hm, I do believe I have an idea." C.C. said, a smirk coming to her face.

Rein

"No. Why?" Rein asked, puzzeled. She began to eat some of the fruit, finding them to be quite good. She eagerly ate them.

"These aren't all that bad." Rein commented in between eating.

Tsuba

Tsuba gave a bitter chuckle. "I'm long gone from the road to 'salvation' and 'redemption', Carlisle. I've been down this path for quite some time. There's no turning back."

"Hmm... Did I ever tell you that you look beautiful when you have that evil look about you?" Nebi teased with a grin, "What's the plan?"

Kegan

"I don't know...I guess I'm just being paranoid." Kegan replied before taking a bite out of the fruit as he tried to calm down. "Hmm, you're right. It's got a nice texture to it." He said before wiping a bit of the juice off of his face.
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Carlisle

Carlisle studied Tsuba's face for a second as he took in what she had said. "I disagree with you." The Doctor informed Tsuba, shocking even himself as he spoke. "If there's a will, there's a way, and I don't think you should just write yourself off like that."