Succession: Heir to the Empire

Carlisle

"....No." Carlisle admitted sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I haven't had to sleep outside in a few years now, and when I last did, there was no tent."
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Kegan

"Well I figured the area around the fire pit could be the main zone where we prepare and sit together and stuff, and the other two rooms can be where we sleep. This is probably too fancy, isn't it?"
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Susanna

"It's fantastic, Caesar. You really outdid yourself" Susanna told Caesar before kissing him on the cheek.

Caesar

"Thank you, my dear. And, as an added bonus, I made us invisible. Kaleb shouldn't find us now." Caesar said with a laugh.

Rein

"No, it's fine." Rein reassured. She blushed for a moment but then gave Kegan a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I sure am glad I'm with you, Kegan."

Tsuba, Maul

"I can be of some assistance." Maul stated, coming back with a pile of firewood in his arms. After placing them on the ground, the assassin took off his robe. Using a bit of magic, the robe began to stretch and ended up becoming a large tent.

"The robes of a Shadow Assassin are more then just for show," Maul commented.

Carlisle

"Hmm, nice one." Carlisle commented as he looked up at the tent above them. "One problem though, Tsuba doesn't want to sleep with us." Carlisle said, pausing for a second as he realized how awkward that sounded. "Umm, I mean near us....."
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Susanna

"We can only hope."
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Kegan

"Thanks. ...To be honest, there is no one I'd rather be here with than you, Rein."

Tsuba, Maul

Tsuba, surprisingly, chuckled a little from Carlisle's gaff, but said nothing about it. Maul nodded and a section of the robe-tent came down, making two rooms instead of one large one.

"It could be better, but I suppose it'll do. Say, that thing won't catch fire when we cook our lunch, will it? And how will it stand against a storm?" Tsuba asked. Maul said nothing, thinking a demonstration was in order. The Kaleesh withdrew a dagger and tried to cut through the tent-robe. Not a scratch was made.

"The robes of Order Assassins are very tough. It can stand against nearly anything. It should not catch fire, and it should handle well in a storm."

Rein

"Me too." Rein said. She blushed again as another thought came to her. After thinking for some time, she finally voiced her thoughts.

"Um...you know, ah...we don't have to sleep in separate beds...." Rein mumbled. She looked away from Kegan, blushing again.

Carlisle

"Hmm....what materials was it made out of? Was it made in a special way, Maul? It looks weaved to me." Carlisle asked and stated as he looked up at the tent, moving his hand up as he tried to feel the material.
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Kegan

"What?" Kegan asked, very surprised to hear Rein do something besides rebuke the idea that they sleep near each other when it came to this subject.

Tsuba, Maul

"Personally, I do not know. It is made by weavers in our Order, but I do not ask what it is made out of. I can possibly speculate dragon's hide, but I cannot be sure." Maul replied. Tsuba walked through the cloth to the other room. A few minutes later she came back.

"I think I'll go ahead and claim the other room. You two are welcome to share this side. Now, what should we do now?"

Rein

"Um...well...I really do like you Kegan, and...." Rein trailed off, too embarrassed to continue. After gathering some courage, Rein managed to continue.

"I'd do anything for you, Kegan. Besides, we don't have to do anything tonight, if you want. We could just sleep next to each other, to get used to it..."

Rein stopped herself again, not able to continue any further. Her face became a brighter shade of red.

Kegan

"Well...if you're comfortable with the idea. Then sure, yeah, that'd be great, Rein." Kegan answered as he tried not to sound to eager. Though to be honest, the boy was very pleased after he got over his surprise.
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Carlisle

"Well it's been a while since we had that fish. Maybe we should go hunting for food before the storm arrives?" Carlisle asked, not really sure how to survive in the wild.

Tsuba, Maul

"Neither of you are fit to hunt in the wild. As part of my training, I have been on my survival exercies. I will go hunt." Maul volunteered. While Tsuba wasn't happy about his unintentional insult, she wasn't about to argue with his logic. Giving a nod to the two others, the Kaleesh ducked out of the robe-tent and left.

Rein

"Y-Yeah, it's fine with me, Kegan." Rein said, still blushing. Her blushed deepened as she struggled to say something else.

"Just, ah...if we do do anything, um....please be...uh..."

Kegan

"No. I don't want to do anything that would make you uncomfortable, Rein." Kegan said, trying to be chivalrous but also wishing he hadn't just said that.
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Carlisle

"Well I guess that doesn't really leave anything for us to do...." Carlisle noted aloud before sitting down on the ground near the fire Maul had lit up earlier.

((Can i please be filled in with what has happened so far?))

(C.C. and Nebi are now invisible and traveling together. Kegan and Rein have set up camp inside a tree in the forest so they can camp together without having to worry about anyone or anything finding them. Their experience has been horrible and embarrassing so far, partially because of Nebi, C.C., Caesar, Susanna, and whatever Deities they may have pissed off previously in their lives. Meanwhile Carlisle, Tsuba, and Maul are all traveling together now. Carlisle sort of revealed himself to be one of the strongest Heirs at this point when Tsuba and Maul ditched him and he had to fight a giant Serpent on his own. Now the river is overflowing and moving very quickly, and there is blood in it so some of the water is tainted. Susanna and Caesar have done nothing of note, really.)

Rein

"N-No, it's fine Kegan." Rein reassured quickly. "I kinda...want to do...that with you, someday, if not tonight..."

Rein averted her eyes from Kegan, unable to continue. Well, this was certainly awkward. Baruti sure knew what he was doing, pairing the two of them together. He was probably expecting the both of them to embarrass themselves to death...

Tsuba

Tsuba took a seat near the fire too. After a long moment of silence, Tsuba gave an annoyed growl.

"Well, we must do something to pass the time. Otherwise, I'll go mad from the silence. Any ideas, Carlisle? And no, before you even ask, we will not be doing that activity."

Carlisle

"What act-.....What made you think I was the kind of person who was going to suggest that, Tsuba?" Carlisle asked as he realized what the girl was talking about.
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Kegan

"Well..erm...." Kegan replied as he tried to think of something to say. He felt very confused now, almost like anything he might say would just make Rein mad at him, and he did not want that to happen. "Lets just see where the night takes us, alright?"

Tsuba

"Well, as they say, 'beware the nice ones'." Tsuba said with a shrug. "You certainly proved that today."

Rein

"S-Sure." Rein replied. She wasn't sure what else to say at this point. The Humage felt that if she said something else, she might further confuse Kegan or make him mad, or just make a plain fool of herself. Words hadn't been her strongest friend recently. She'd learned that the hard way...

Kegan

"Great." Kegan said softly before he walked over towards Rein and sat next to her near the fire. "This is kind of nice though, for it being a camping challenge we were forced on without warning, I mean. I don't want to brag, but this is a great place to stay, and when the rain starts it will smell wonderful." The Half-Elf said as e stared into the fire.
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Carlisle

"Look...I don't want you, to think that I'm some kind of strong monster. I don't want anyone to think that. Yes I'm good at magic, some might even say great. And yes I'm kind of strong....but I don't want the others to know that. So...when all is said and done here, could you keep it a secret?" Carlisle asked as he avoided eye contact with Tsuba, feeling a great deal of shame as he spoke.

Rein

"True. I mean, Baruti could have done worse. At least we weren't put in a desert." Rein agreed. She took a seat near the fire and allowed it to warm her.

"This feels very nice."

Tsuba

"Why? You have a great talent, one you shouldn't hide. In a real fight, I have no doubt you'd give myself and Caesar a run for our money. Why hide it, then? People wouldn't look on you as the weak, spineless coward they think you are. No offense." Tsuba asked, speaking in a curious tone.

Kegan

"Yeah, it really is. I know we've said this quite a few times today, and we've been proven wrong every time. But, I really think nothing's going to go wrong now, for tonight at least." Kegan informed Rein as he put his arms around her.
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Carlisle

Carlisle looked away from the fire and Tsuba, tears in his eyes. "I guess it's because....I don't know. I guess it's that if people knew I was strong physically, they wouldn't treat me like I'm worthless, and they would have the false perception that I'm great or strong for some reason. And yeah, I can sort of fight. But mentally, emotionally, spiritually.....I am too weak to be someone that people can rely on. That they can trust." Carlisle informed Tsuba as he turned and looked back at her.

"My Father is the one that recognized that fact about me. And no matter how strong I become, how helpful I may seem, how kind I may act....that will always be something that I just can't forget. Kind of pathetic, really."

((Thanks Alec.))
Epiphany finished drinking from the river and decided to follow it. It was in the direction of the observatory, and it would be good for food resources when she would be camping.

After walking halfway down the river, she noticed that the river was turning a slight tinge of red. It was mixing with blood. She observed the blood. Something must've happened upstream. she figured. Instead of continuing down the river, epiphany decided to travel through the forest. if there was commotion upstream, she sure wouldn't want to join in it.

Epiphany continued through the forest until she heard a swift movement behind her. when she looked behind, she saw nothing. She observed the forest, and made notice of swift movements between the trees. Epiphany focused her vision on a crouched body between two tall trees. The creature jumped out and blew fire at her. She nearly dodged the fire, and got a second degree burn on her calf. Epiphany clutched her leg in pain when she made out what the creature was. It was a Chimaera. Epiphany grabbed her sai out, prepared to fight. The chimaera roared and charged at her. Epiphany ran out of the forest, as quick as she could - though it hard to do with a severe burn on her leg, for more space to fight. She took in most of her surrounding and noticed a campfire nearby.

Rein

"Y-Yeah." Rein agreed. She laid her head on Kegan's shoulder, blushing a little. Well, this felt nice.

Tsuba

"I see." Tsuba said. She became silent after the speech Carlisle made. The female Heir continued to stare into the fire, watching it with some interest. Finally, she spoke again.

"It's funny. We both seem to have had similar childhoods, yet we both came out very much different. Rather intriguing, isn't it?"

Carlisle

"Different ways of coping I suppose, different base personalities as well. But you're right, we do have a lot in common..." Carlisle agreed, feeling rather surprised that Tsuba was agreeing with the suggestion he ahd made earlier that day.
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Kegan

Kegan looked about for a second with a false sense of drama. "Nope, nothing happened. It would seem, that the Gods have taken the night off." Kegan said with a sly smile on his face as he looked down at Rein, an urge slowly welling up inside of him as he leaned down to kiss Rein.
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Susanna

"Well, it's been almost three hours now and Kaleb still hasn't returned. Maybe he died...." Susanna muttered as she looked away from the fire towards Caesar, a weak and hopeful expression on her face.

(So which fire is Epiphany near Romantic? Caesar/Susanna's? or Maul/Carlisle/Tsuba's?)

((Well, it can't be Caesar's. His campsite is now invisible. Though, on retrospect, the smoke leaving the fire might not be..."

Caesar

"One can hope, my dear. One can hope." Caesar agreed.

Tsuba

"Indeed. And don't worry Carlisle, I won't tell anyone." Tsuba promised. She continued to stare into the fire silently.

"Sometimes, I wonder if my mother died because she knew of the monster she was giving birth to," she commented, mostly to herself.

Rein

Rein gave a small nod in agreement. Seeng that Kegan was leaning in to kiss him, Rein started to meet him. For once, she wasn't blushing, though Rein was dimly aware of that. There lips were about to meet--

A large and heavy object then slammed through the barrier of trees Kegan had made.

"CAESAR, I'M BA...oh, you're not Caesar." Kaleb said.

Carlisle

"I uhh...I sincerely doubt that your Mother chose to die. If she had any inkling thatbyou ended up having a....well that you are...that your moral compass doesn't point do North, well, I think any good Mother would have tried even harder to make sure their child turned out alright. Maybe your Mother allowed herself to pass away because she was confident in you." Carlisle stated awkwardly as he tried to help Tsuba.
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Kegan

Kegan looked up at Kaleb, his eyes burning with rage. "No, no I'm not." The Heir stated as he slowly stood up. "May I ask what you are doing here.....I'm sorry, i don't remember your name."

Rein, Kaleb

"Oh, I'm Kaleb! It's nice to meet you, Not-Caesar!" Kaleb exclaimed. Rein sighed to herself. Well, it seemed they had worst luck possible...

Tsuba

"No. I'm sure she knew." Tsuba denied. The Heir began to clench her fists. Slowly, anger started to fill her being.

((Well, I think I'm heading to bed now. Goodnight.))

Nebi smiled as he put another log in the campfire, causing the flames to flare out. He turned to C.C. and looked over suggestively at the single tent that they managed to construct.

"So, we're sharing a tent..." he stated with a smirk.

(Sorry I haven't posted lately. I was busy Saturday.)

Kegan

"Yes well, Kaleb, what are you doing here?"
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Carlisle

"Oh....." Carlisle replied before sighing softly as he laid down. "Well then what are you going to do about it now?"
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Clara

"Well this is no longer all that exciting. Goodnight, Baruti." Clara said as she stood up.