Succession: Heir to the Empire

Carlisle

"I uhh... really? I mean, thank you very much and all, I kind of like you as well. ...But why?" Carlisle asked, genuinely confused at what Tsuba had said and how she was acting.
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Kegan

"Great. Well then, hold on tight." Kegan cautioned before he gripped onto the ladder he had made, shifting his weight to make sure that Rein wouldn't be too uncomfortable before he began climbing up.
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Susanna

"Well alright then." Susanna muttered before she walked after Caesar.

Tsuba

"I just do, ok? Does my every motive or sentence have to have some sort of double-meaning or evil intention behind it?" Tsuba berated, scowling for a moment.

Rein

Rein made sure to grip onto Kegan tightly, least she suffer another dangerous and painful fall. When he finally reached the top of the pit and claimed out, the Humage gave a sigh of relief. She eased herself off of Kegan's back and laid down on the ground.

"Sorry about that. Thanks."

Caesar

Caesar suddenly stopped in place, feeling a prickling sensation in his neck. Then the Humage collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

Carlisle

"I uh, that's not what I meant. But sorry...you are correct." Carlisle said, nervous and somewhat pleased at the same time.
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Susanna

"Caesar! Caesar are you-" Susanna cut herself off as she felt something prick her neck, causing her to collapse almost immediately after.
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Kegan

"It's fine, it's fine." Kegan reassured Rein before he glanced at her ankle, not sure what to do.

"I suppose I can carry you for now." He decided after a few seconds of thinking. "Damn, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish Carlisle was here right now. He would know how to fix your ankle."

Orcs

A group of Orcs soon approached Susanna and Caesar once they were knocked out. They searched their bodies for anything useful (they would end up finding at least twenty different knives and daggers hidden on Caesar) before grabbing just Susanna and making off with her. When Susanna regained consciousness, she would find herself hovering over a boiling cauldron with an Orc happily steering the contents of said cauldron.

Tsuba

"Sorry. I was a little...harsh." Tsuba said, surprising herself a bit at the apology.

Rein

"You know, I'm starting to miss the perverted stuff that was happening to me. I'd rather have that happen to me again than go through that." Rein complained. Another breeze passed by, lifting up her shirt some before it went down again.

".....I take that back."

Kegan

Kegan paused for a second as he stared at Rein, his mouth hanging open. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Kegan began to chuckle a bit, bursting into laughter a few more seconds later as the horribly bad luck just became to ridiculous to be mad about, he realized.
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Carlisle

"No, no. You are right, I shouldn't be questioning your motives or what you're feeling. Especially when you're being nice to me and telling me that you like me." Carlisle apologized in return.
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Susanna

Susanna slowly woke up a few hours later, feeling very groggy, and somewhat....moist. "Uhh, Caesar?"

Nebi glared at C.C. He didn't know she was that strong and she could have warned him if she was going to do that.

"Um... Who are you?" asked one of the bandits dumbly, scratching the back of his head.

C.C.

"I'm part of Grethor's team. I was scouting the area when I caught this brat spying on the lot of you." C.C. replied. She knew, from the research she had done, that this forest was a probably area for bandits and Orc raider teams to use as a type of base. Grethor, one of the most feared and ruthless bandits, was rumored to live in the forest and often went back there after a raid. While Grethor wasn't a signifciant threat, the Gaborian Empire didn't consider him much of a pest to route out. For now.

Rein

Rein couldn't help but laugh along with Kegan. Some of the tension she had felt earlier slipped away as she laughed. She had forgotten how good it felt to do that. It was a definite stress reliver.

"Ok, now that we've got that out of the way, mind helping me up?" Rein asked as her chuckles subsided.

Tsuba

Tsuba was about to reply when Maul returned, carrying an animal corpse on his back. Maul dropped it to the ground and went about to prepare it for eating.

Orc

The Orc below Susanna eyed her as she awoke. "Ah, goody! You're awake now. I like my meat best when it's fresh and fully awake!"

Susanna

Susanna's brain temporarily emptied as she realized two very horrible things had happened to her. One, she had been captured by orcs, but even worse, Caesar was nowhere to be seen. If she had been of weaker mind, she would have probably started crying. But there wasn't time for that now, Susanna realized.

"Umm, where is my companion? You must have seen him when you captured me...." Susanna said as she tried to get the facts of what was going on, knowing that it would be easier to make a plan once she knew everything.
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Carlisle

"Wow... Umm, so, do you need us to do anything?" Carlisle asked Maul as he looked at the large animal corpse, wondering if Maul had had any difficulty killing it.
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Kegan

"Oh yes, yes of course." Kegan said as he stood up leaning down before he picked up Rein. "Well then...lets get going."

Rein

Rein blushed a little and kissed Kegan again as a sign of thanks. "So, where to now?"

Tsuba, Maul

"You two could gather wood for the fire, if we want to cook this properly." Maul suggested.

Orc

"We left 'em where he was. We could tell he was a Humage right off. They're too difficult to bind and keep, so we didn't bother with him. But you, my dear, are human. You lot provide much less struggle. And I find that your women are most...interesting bed partners." the Orc stated, leering at Susanna for a moment before going back to cooking.

Kegan

"I suppose the food should be ready by now, if it's not burnt. Then afte we are finished eating, we'll continue on our way towards the Grand Observatory." Kegan informed Rein as he walked the few yards towards the fire before settinG Rein down right beside it.

"I hope you don;t mind if it's a bit crispy. I didn't pay much attention to it." Kegan admitted as he pulled the stick off of the fire.
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Carlisle

"Right, of course. I'll get right to that." Carlisle said as he quickly left Maul and Tsuba, not wanting to hold them up if he didn't have to.
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Susanna

"Oh...I see." Susanna said as her eyes began to quickly dart around the area. "Ok, you have no weapons, Anna, and you are tied up and no one else knows that you are here.... Lovely." She thought quickly to herself, looking down into the boiling water as she saw her reflection.

"The rope around your arm is loose....you could get out if you wanted. But I'd fall right into the water. That certainly wouldn't be a pleasant feeling. Taking out the orcs themselves shouldn't be too hard after that, using geasse and all that. But I only have one command, so I couldn't ask them to let me down and then kill themselves. One or the other...." She thought, beginning to get frustrated with herself. "If I could just think of the right way of phrasing the order, it wouldn't be so bad. Or even if I didn't have to worry about the boiling water hurting me...."

"That's it!" Susanna realized as she began to quickly form a plan. Looking right into the water, Susanna made sure that she could see her eyes in the reflection before speaking, "Forget and ignore any and all pain from now on." Susanna ordered herself, making sure her Geasse was working as she spoke. After a few seconds, Susanna felt a warm dullness overflow her emotions. All the fear, worry, guilt, and regret she had had built up over the past few weeks, no, years, had faded away. She felt pure, and whole. It was...wonderful.

"Hey!" Susanna shouted as she looked up at the orcs, a deranged smile on her face as she looked at them. "I order you to chop off your own heads." She said while twisting her wrist that was tied up. She was pretty sure that at the angle it was at now, it must have been broken, but Susanna didn't really care, she was freed now, as she slipped out of the rope and into the boiling pot of water.

Luckily for Susanna, she had managed to swing the ropes just far enough where only her right leg had fallen into the pot, the rest of her body landing on the edge. Not waiting even a second, Susanna jumped right out and looked at her legs, which appeared to be burnt pretty badly. But still, she felt nothing.

Rein

"Don't worry, it's fine." Rein assured. "Just make sure you don't fall into a pit when we're traveling. I don't think we'd get far if you hurt your ankle too."

Tsuba

Tsuba got up and went to follow Carlisle as Maul continued to strip the animal corpse.

Orcs

The eyes of the Orcs went blank and they did as Susanna ordered. Each and every one of them got out a sword and proceeded to behead themselves.

Kegan

"Don't worry, I'll make sure and keep my eyes peeled." Kegan reassured Rein as he took one of the birds off of the stick and handed it to Rein.
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Carlisle

Carlisle walked into the forest, humming an old tune to himself as he walked. The Doctor hadn't realized yet that Tsuba was following him. Every few yards or so, Carlisle would grab a large stick before stopping to scan the area for another.
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Susanna

"Hmm, well this was actually disappointing, I have to say." Susanna muttered as she walked past the bleeding corpses of the orcs. Kicking one of their heads away as she walked through. "I thought orcs were supposed to be strong and scary. Not you though...you're just dead." She whispered with a sick sense of enthusiasm as she picked up another head and looked it in the eyes, a satisfied smile on her face.
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Brighe/Clara

"Shit....that girl is insane." Brighe said as she watched Susanna escape.

Clara looked down at the pool, curious as to what on earth Susanna had done. "Baruti, have you ever heard of magic like that? I mean, they killed themselves just because she politely ordered them too, that is incredibly strong magic she must be working."

Rein

Rein thanked Kegan and eargerly ate the food. It tasted a bit bad, but considering where they were, it'd do. Once Rein was done eating she gave a satsified smile. It vanished a second later, however, and a bright blush came to her face.

"Uh...Kegan? I sorta have to...um, go." Rein mumbled that last part, looking away again. This would be even more embarrassing than the other day, since she couldn't really walk well on her own.

Tsuba

Tsuba quickened her pace to catch up with Carlisle. She stopped, though, before fully reaching him. A smirk crossed her face as she decided to sneak up on him.

"Boo." Tsuba said, poking Carlisle.

Caesar

"Finally, I found you. I..." Caesar trailed off as he stepped into the clearing, taking note of the Orc bodies and Susanna's burnt leg.

Kegan

"Oh....ok then. This is a bit weird, but nothing we can't handle." Susanna reassured Rein before picking her up. "Umm, how about we try that tree over there. It has some thick roots where you should be able too..... Yeah." Kegan suggested as walked with Rein towards the tree setting her down between the roots.

"Umm, if you need anything, just call me and I'll be right on the other side waiting." Kegan said before quickly walking around the tree, still feeling very weird.
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Carlisle

"Ah!" Carlisle screamed as he threw the sticks in the air, falling forward at the same time. "Don't kill me, I can get you money!" The Doctor shouted before he turned around, seeing Tsuba standing there with a smirk on her face. "Oh...hello." He said, his cheeks quickly turning red as he felt very embarrassed.
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Susanna

"Oh Caesar, there you are!" Susanna exclaimed after dropping the head, running over to the Humage shortly after. After she was withing arm's rang of the Humage she wrapped her hands around him and quickly pulled Caesar in for a kiss, not even allowing him a chance to speak.

"I missed you..." She whispered after releasing him, a dazed smile resting on her face.

Tsuba

Tsuba raised an eyebrow can gave a genuine laugh. "Really, Carlisle? I would have expected better from you."

Rein

Rein gave a small nod, still feeling very embarrassed. After a few minutes she came hopping over back to Kegan, using the trees for support.

"Um, thanks." she said, averting her eyes from Kegan once more.

Caesar

"Are you...ok?" Caesar asked with concern.

Susanna

"I'm fine, Caesar. Never better, actually." Susanna answered after giggling a bit as she tightened her grip around Caesar. "Especially now that you're back." She added before slowly leaning in for another kiss.
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Carlisle

"Really? Well....sorry to disappoint you." Carlisle said as he stood up again, his cheeks still flushed.
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Kegan

Kegan brushed his hair out of his eyes as he turned to look at Rein, instinctively rushing to her as he helped hold her up. "So, I take it that you're ready to continue?"

Caesar

Caesar still looked a bit confused, but appreciated her kisses anyway. He glanced down at her leg again.

"You sure you're ok? That looks pretty nasty."

Rein

"Of course." Rein said. After a moment she kissed Kegan again.

"Thanks. You know, you really don't have to do this."

Tsuba

"Don't worry. Besides, you look rather cute when you're scared." Tsuba said with a chuckle.

Carlisle

"Oh...well thank you." Carlisle replied, sincerely touched, if, slightly embarrassed as well. "I...think you're cute too."
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Kegan

"I know, but I'm not going to make you walk when your ankle is messed up. And like hell I would ever leave you behind." Kegan answered as he began to walk through the trees with Rein, looking over the girl as he kept his eyes peeled in case there were more traps.
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Susanna

"Oh yeah, I guess it is kind of messed up..." Susanna agreed as she looked down at her leg. "Still, it doesn't feel bad at all."

Caesar

"I could heal that for you if you want." Caesar suggested, still a little concerned about Susanna's behavior. She sure was acting strange, in his opinion. From the look of her wound, Susanna should be rolling on the group screaming in pain. How was she not feeling it?

Rein

"You sure? I mean, I'm not going to be much help from this point on. I'll just hold you back. It won't help you win the challenge." Rein pointed out.

Tsuba

"Oh? How kind of you to say, Carlisle. You know, I have a much better idea of what we could be doing rather than collecting firewood." Tsuba suggested with a seductive smile. She came closer to the young doctor.

Kegan

"Are you serious? I'd rather lose every damn challenge before I'd even think about leaving you behind." Kegan answered, slightly angry with Rein for even suggesting that he leave her behind.
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Susanna

"Oh, well isn't that sweet of you." Susanna said flirtatiously before pulling up her dress soCaesar could see the wound completely.
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Carlisle

"Umm....collect more firewood?" Carlisle asked as he backed up to the tree. He had an inkling of what Tsuba might be talking about, but he was exactly comfortable with it, considering his lack of experience in that field.

Tsuba

"Not even close." Tsuba said, her smile widening. She soon cornered Carlisle at the tree, and slowly trailed a finger across his chest.

"I think you know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

Rein

"Thanks, Kegan. I appreciate that." Rein responded, giving him another kiss. She still felt she was holding Kegan back some, but it also felt nice to know he'd do so much for her.

Caesar

Caesar nodded and went to work, casting several different spells before he was satisfied with Susanna's leg.

"It may still sting a little, but it should be fine now."

((Off to bed. 'Night.))

Carlisle

Carlisle breathed in deeply as Tsuba neared him, exhaling as she touched his chest. "I-i think, I might be familiar with the concept that you're speaking of...." The Doctor replied as he looked down at Tsuba's lips. She really was beautiful, he had to admit. As Carlisle's eyes flickered back up to look at Tsuba's eyes, he leaned in slowly...
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Susanna

"It's fine. Caesar, I'm fine." Susanna reassured the Humage before she turned around and looked back at the gruesome display she had caused. "But I am slightly disappointed, I mean, watching those orcs die, just because I told them too. It was so...invigorating."
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Kegan

"Of course. Now do me a favor? Knock any stupid ideas that your burdening me out of your head." He replied before kissing Rein back.

Rein

Rein giggled some and blushed.

"You know, it's not entirely fair." she commented. "I mean, you've seen my body many times already, but I've yet to see you."

Rein wasn't being all that serious, and was just teasing Kegan. Still, though, she was a bit surprised that hadn't happened yet. Maybe the gods were getting sloppy?

Tsuba

Tsuba smiled and leaned in closer--

"Am I interrupting, Carlisle and Tsuba?"

At the sound of Maul's voice, Tsuba jumped and twirled around to face him. She lost her footing, however, and ended up tripping and falling. She gently rubbed her sore foot and glared at Maul.

"I was worried when neither of you returned with firewood after a time. I wondered if another band of Orcs had captured you. It seems I was...wrong." Maul further expanded. Tsuba still glared at him. Her glare would have make a lesser man cry. After a bit of a staring contest between the two, Maul gave an apology and left the two.

"Well, that certainly killed the moment." Tsuba brooded, standing back up.

Caesar

A sadistic grin slowly grew on Caesar's face as he too took in the bloody scene Susanna had caused. He didn't know what exactly had happened, but he was starting to take a liking to this new Susanna...

"Killing is a good feeling, is it not?"

Carlisle

Carlisle sighed loudly in disappointment as Maul walked away. "Well, I suppose she would get back to collecting the firewood then." He said to Tsuba.
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Kegan

"I suppose that is unfair of them. You know, we could change that..." Kegan said suggestively as he looked down at Rein.
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Susanna

"It certainly has it's moments."

Rein

"Well, I certainly wouldn't mind." Rein said, still blushing, but looking at Kegan. After all, it'd only be fair. Right? Besides, it wasn't like she'd knee Kegan in the groin by accident or something like that. 'Sides, it seemed to her that the gods had had their fun with them.

Caesar

"That it does." Caesar agreed, surveying the scene for another few seconds. "So, shall we depart now?"

Tsuba

"I guess. Though I suppose I should give you something for your trouble..." Tsuba said. She walked back to Carlisle and kissed him on the lips before heading back toward camp. She stopped before she was too far away from Carlisle, and turned back to face him.

"You know what, it's going to kill me if I don't try this and see how you react. I hate being bugged all day from thoughts like that." Tsuba said. She proceeded to lift her shirt, and flash Carlisle. The female Heir put it back down and quickly walked away, quietly chuckling.