It's Always Sunny in Nova Luria

• Character: Ivo Galvan
• 1 week, 6 days ago

 The breeze is calm in Nova Luria's hidden harbor, tucked as it is behind the cliffs that shield the secret city, and refreshing beneath the sun on its boardwalk, idyllic when calm. Ivo strolls sedately, his wandering gaze avidly taking in the sights still, the high collar and sleeves of his new shirt rippling faintly in the wind. Their recent audience with the pirate queen mother seemed to have struck him with inspiration, or something like it, once again, and he has at last taken his research into fabrics to the next level: seeking to further study tailoring, albeit in his own idiosyncratic way, as with everything else he learns. As though in a sign of his commitment, he has gone so far as to doff his cloak today: his casual outfit evokes a gallant noble yachter turned privateer, with a blousey shirt beneath an elegant doublet, sleeves partially rolled up, and short trousers above boat shoes, looking like he might throw a party upon a boat and then promptly ram and raid a nearby vessel.
 "I have no doubts as to the quality of Sir Gale's connections," he is saying. "I am sure he'll soon hear any whispers on the wind."
 Roseline's motley retinue has put the word out in search of rumors of the so-called Catgirl Mafia, erstwhile Reizenappers and the Star Chasers' allies of circumstance on the Isle of Blessed Wind, and to while away the hours now have time to take a relaxing stroll. Ivo's gaze turns to his party members as he smiles.
 "Let's enjoy this moment of respite. I expect adventure will soon find us."
 He looks over his companions, purely to appraise the tailoring of their outfits, of course, as this is now his passion. This too is a way of savoring tranquility. When the sun is high, as it is now, the harbor is relatively peaceful and less populated, its denizens typically out at sea, whereas it grows chaotic at dawn and dusk, as cats do. Idly, Ivo espies one out of the corner of his eye, wandering into an inconspicuous alley.
 Perhaps not all cats nap at noon, he thinks idly, before ignoring it.

• Character: Laineth
• 1 week, 6 days ago

  Well.... it is a day off, one supposes. After meeting with her mother, Roseline, with Ivo and Tulip have set out to try and look into this Tempestquell artifact and unlock its secrets. But doing so isn't an immediate endeavor. They need information. Information rumored to be held by this so called 'catgirl mafia' of sorts. A call was put out as Sir Gale's tavern for said information, and now.... Now it's a waiting game.

  And so, they've decided to hang out at the local boardwalk while they wait for said information to roll in. Not intending to go off on some swashbuckling adventure today, Roseline wears a simple white sundress, with her red hair rolled up into a single bun to keep it from flying everywhere. She glances at Ivo and nods. "Yeah, he's good at that sort of thing." She confirms, nodding lightly as she gazes out at the various people's coming out today.

  Her eyes trail to Tulip, eyeing her manner of dress. A sundress similar to her own. One she picked out for the girl, infact. A smirk forms.

  "I seem to recall you being hesitant about wearing that. But look at you now." She says with a hand to her mouth to hide a smug smile. "I was right. It does suit you."

• Character: Tulip
• 1 week, 6 days ago

  Tulip strolls along with the others, fussing here and there with the dress she's decided it's high time to wear. It's a good deal more feminine than her old clothes, and though it covers far more than the new outfit that Roseline convinced her into, somehow it's more embarrassing for the poor rabbit.

  "This thing feels really weird..is it meant to be this loose? And ain't it a little risky to just be walking around like this? If we get into a fight, this thing will totally get in the way!" she complains while playing with the blue ribbon around her midsection. "I don't even have any real pockets! Where do I put all my stuff?"

  From the looks of it she's not very experienced at wearing dresses. Or maybe she's just gotten rusty at it, if getting rusty at wearing clothing is even possible.

  "..I guess it is pretty cute, though." she finally admits after Roseline compliments her on it, tugging the brim of that wide hat down as if she's trying to hide her face from her companions.

• Character: Ivo Galvan
• 1 week, 6 days ago

 "That's what your gallant escort is for," Ivo cheerfully quips in reply to Tulip's complaint, idly placing a hand upon the hilt of the sword at his belt as though in evidence of gallantry. "To carry anything you can't carry yourself." Be careful for what you volunteer yourself, Ivo. "None of my recent designs have pockets either."
 That's not something to boast about.
 "Shall we find a matching purse?" His tone is subtly teasing. "I heard tell of a vendor nearby that--"
 For all his talk, Ivo is likely the last to notice what happens next: the abrupt and baffling shattering of the harbor's peace.
 ABOUT THIRTY SECONDS AGO
 Ivo glances idly at a cat wandering an alley before looking away. Said cat struts by two young women, themselves cat-eared, watching from the shadows, rubbing against their legs affectionately before continuing on about its day. One is willowy and poised, elegantly clad in a long high-slit dress, the hint of a garter exposing the gleam of darts the hue of her short silver hair. The other is veritably amazonian, tall and muscular, her sandy hair contrasting with her tanned skin and her leather harness emphasizing her intimidating build. They watch the passing party quietly for a moment, not seeming aware how their ears twitch in time with one another, an inadvertently charming effect were anyone watching. They are Flechette and Zuna, the Catgirl Mafia, rogues and kidnappers, and there is no love lost between them and the Star Chasers.
 At the hint of a silent nod towards Tulip from the slender Flechette, the massive Zuna stalks forth from the alley, like a lioness in how her size is no obstacle to her stealth, her movement so natural as to draw relatively little attention until, somehow, she is almost upon the party, giving initial impression of an accidental intersection. In the background, Flechette, at the entrance to the alleyway, is calmly loading a repeating hand crossbow.
 NOW
 "--sells some quality--"
 Zuna erupts into a blur of motion, the tall catkin bearing down on Tulip to seek to grapple her and hoist her into a bundle to carry off. The sound of the collision almost obscures the faint whistle of darts as Flechette fires the narrow needles, tipped in a viscous oil, at Ivo and Roseline from the sidelines, hurtling swiftly towards their targets in the same moment.
 Caught flatfooted, for the moment, their gallant escort has time only to blink.

• Character: Laineth
• 1 week, 6 days ago

  Roseline squints at Tulip's reaction. "Hmmm? Is it me or do you seem even more embarrased by this dress than you did about the shorts and jacket?" She ventures, a hand to her chin. "Tsk tsk tsk.... an unpolished gem, unaware of her true value. So sad." The redhead shrugs, shaking her head as they walk. She gives Ivo a sidelong glance when he props himself up as their gallant escort. "Yes. He'll certainly save us from all the evils of the world."

  ...That was half sarcastic. But it is true that currently, he's the only one in a state resembling combat ready. Roseline doesn't expressly use a weapon, but long skirt isn't exactly combat worthy. ...Some out there may disagree, but today isn't about those people.

  It happens quickly.

  One moment, they're bantering, the next some big lumbering cat person is on top of them, attempting to haul Tulip away? The glint of something flying in the corner of her eye ignites Roseline's combat instints and she immediately kicks up a pillar of wind around herself and Ivo, Tulip as well if she hasn't been hauled out of range.

  "What the hell is this!?"

• Character: Tulip
• 1 week, 6 days ago

  The diminutive rabbit side eyes Ivo when he makes that offer, her brow scrunched in confusion. "You don't look all that strong, though." she declares without so much as a shred of mercy. "How're you gonna pull it off if I need you to carry something really heavy? Like, uh...some furniture?" she goes on before he can tease her about the potential of a purse.

  Quite why she'd need him to carry furniture is a mystery.

  Her gaze dips downwards as she refuses to look either of her companions in the eye after Roseline's teasing, and there's a distinct hint of pink visible on the bunny's cheeks that the pair can just about make out beneath that wide hat. "I'm not embarrassed! It's just, this stuff is really girly! I'm not, uh. I'm no good a--"

  Though they're quite talented at skulking around like the cats they are, even a cat makes /some/ noise. Just as the taller of the two catgirls comes hurtling out of that alleyway Tulip's ears twitch and swivel, the beastkin herself turning a touch awkwardly on those strappy shoes she's wearing to match that pretty, pretty dress. "The f--" is about all she manages to get out before the feline barrels right into her. Not really one to just let herself be picked up like that she starts swinging with what limited motion she can manage in her position, channelling that ever useful aether to make the hits count in spite of her stature!

• Character: Ivo Galvan
• 1 week, 6 days ago

 Time seems to slow as Ivo is gallantly saved, instead, by Roseline's reflexive burst of wind. His eyes widen as he catches a glimpse of the silvery gleam of a dart spiraling away into the water. In an instant his thoughts had been churning, considering who would be foolish or desperate or confused enough to attack Nova Luria's pirate princess and her party, and in an instant he understands. Even before his head turns to see that it is Zuna who has collided with Tulip, he knows what he will see.
 "It's them!" he shouts. Brow furrowing, his first act is to glare at Flechette, quickly picking her out based on the trajectory, seeing her clicking her tongue in annoying and appearing to reload her small crossbow. "How many enemies are you going to make!?"
 "Hurry it up, Zuna!" Flechette's voice is high and sharp as she calls out to her burly companion, ignoring Ivo's indignant query. "...Zuna?"
 It might have seemed at first as though Zuna would barrel right past them, bearing the smaller Tulip off in the process, but she has stopped in place. The tall catkin does not seem physically staggered, exactly, as several outraged counterblows slip past her defenses to batter her solid body, but she hesitates for some reason. Despite this, her expression betrays no doubt or uncertainy as she looks down at the bunnykin, almost contemplative now, moments after her explosion of aggression.
 "It's alright," Ivo murmurs to Roseline.
 "She's strong," Zuna says.
 "She's an idiot," Ivo continues, at about the same time.
 "What?" Flechette has time to say, a split-second before Zuna rears back and, with a coolly evaluative look, seeks to bring her forehead crashing down on Tulip's face in an outrageous display of brutality. "Zunaaaaa!"
 Howling in frustration as this onset of violence gets ever-interested denizens peering out of their windows, a midday brawl being a rare treat, Flechette, hardly as dignified or poised as her garb attempts to suggest, flips a switch on her crossbow and takes aim at Roseline and Ivo again, a spurt of flame and smoke from her weapon an ominous warning.
 "Flechette concocts non-aetheric flames," Ivo quickly says. "I'll flank!"
 By that he seems to mean that he's going to dive out of the way, moments before Flechette sends a second barrage of darts, these ones rocketing out and trailing fire, forcefully prepared in an attempt to pierce Roseline's magical wind defenses. Hopefully, with the warning, she too will be able to protect herself one way or another. As for Tulip...
 Ivo, gallant escort, seems to think that she doesn't need protecting.

• Character: Laineth
• 1 week, 6 days ago

  "Never a dull moment, huh?"

  Roseline growls as the wall of wind is maintained, sending those darts flying off into the water uselessly. "By 'it's them', I'm guess these friends of yours are our targets?" She ventures to guess, not that she actually stops to have this conversation. With Ivo's warning, and the woman by the alleyway taking aim with an ominout plume of flame and smoke forming, Roseline moves her feet.

  Kicking off to the side with a burst of wind, she dodges those fired darts, the projectiles barely missing her as they sail past. At the same time, she takes aim with her hand in the shape of a gun, forming an array of four wind aether orbs that she fires off in return at Flechette. The orbs fly off at high speed, becoming wind bullets that close the distance quickly.

  With that counter returned, she gives Tulip and Zuna a sidelong glance to take stock of the situation for a moment... Ah, is that a headbutt? ....Oh boy.

• Character: Tulip
• 1 week, 6 days ago

  "Let go already you big, ugly-" Tulip cries out as she keeps hammering blows into the tall catkin despite the lack of real harm she's managing to do from her position. She lacks the footing or the room to manage blows with proper form, leaving them almost entirely fuelled by aether. Something that Zuna is quite likely capable of herself, too.

  "Give me a hand here, jerks! This one's really big!" she cries during the struggle, wriggling and squirming to try and get out from the catgirl's grip.

  The bunnykin's eyes go wide as the taller beastkin's head rears back, recognizing from her own experiences inflicting the same move what's about to come.

  It takes just a little motion to put up a defence against the sudden headbutt! From her position all Tulip needs to do to protect her pretty little face is to tuck her neck in and learn her head forwards, intercepting Zuna's forehead with her own. It all comes down to who's got the most experience with being whacked in the head.

  Hopefully that cute little hat will make it out unscathed.

• Character: Ivo Galvan
• 1 week, 6 days ago

 As Ivo evades Flechette's attack by weaving in the opposite direction from Roseline, forcing Flechette to split her focus, their catgirl assailant displays an alacrity equal to Zuna's brawn. The elegantly-dressed crossbow-wielder leaps up and to the side, a stiletto heel improbably wedging in a crack in one of the alley walls before triangle-jumping off of it, the hem of her dress fluttering as she cartwheels through the air, Roseline's wind shots passing just under her as she seeks to track her targets mid-flight before landing on a stack of crates, sinking into a crouch on one knee, already ready to fire. Though her apparent plan has instantly dissolved into chaos, Flechette displays talent, to be sure. But one pale eyebrow twitches as she hears Ivo shouting, suggesting that she may cultivate an image of poise to compensate for the reality of a short temper.
 "How are you still attempting kidnappings," he's yelling as he approaches, hand on his hilt to steady his scabbard but sword yet undrawn, "after how the last one turned out?"
 Though his party may lack the full context, it's understandable that this would annoy her: their gambit to abduct Reize on behalf of the Beastkeepers ended up with Flechette and Zuna trapped interminably on a deserted island with their own targets.
 "I should've tranqed and dumped you overboard the moment we got off that isle," she hisses at Ivo, her ears going back in agitation, and takes her eyes off Roseline for a brief moment as she targets the Cosmpolitan. Yet before she can fire, both her and his eyes go wide at the sound of a thunderclap. Or at least--
 *CRACK*
 --something like one.
 Zuna and Tulip's skulls meet like ramming ships. The amazonian catkin's inner aether is expertly diffused throughout her strong body and concentrates in an instant before striking, the sign of an expert fighter, meaning that it must be diffused in an instant in turn. But Tulip, in keeping with the skill she displayed in her spar with Roseline, is surely able to do so in the split-second she has to accomplish this feat. The result is that the real impact is lessened, but the *sound* of the impact is amplified by the instantaneous dispelling of Zuna's aether. To an observer without a keen understanding of what is taking place, it would likely seem as though both Zuna and Tulip alike should be lain out unconscious or worse from a single impact, yet both remain almost unharmed. Even the hat seems fine, thank goodness.
 "Hmmm."
 Zuna, unaware of Flechette and Ivo's boggling stares, both of them having momentarily forgotten their conflict, sounds speculative.
 "Hmm!"
 And then intrigued, even approving.
 "Hrrrnnnnn!"
 After which she seeks to repeat the same action, to bring her head down on her smaller opponent. Outwardly, it is a contest of strength, but in reality, it is a context of the internalized finesse of their fighting techniques, Zuna's more conventional, Tulip's unique. Someone will have to mess up eventually. Clearly, the thing to do is to keep headbutting until that happens.
 As Flechette, crossbow unintentionally lowering for a moment as she kneels upon the stack of crates, looks on in increasing horror, Ivo winces reflexively, bracing himself for an impact, or impacts, that he is only witnessing.

• Character: Laineth
• 1 week, 6 days ago

  So.........

  Time basically slows for Roseline as she has to make a choice: Help Tulip? or press the advantage against Flechette? Tulip is demanding assistance, so someone should probably make sure she's not hauled off and can fight properly. ...As properly as one can in a summer dress. On the other hand, Flechette is distracted, and Roseline could get a good shot in...........

  Baaaaah. She's just one person. Alas.

  Roseline gives up the opening on Flechette and turns to Tulip and Zuna, having had experience with the bunnykin's odd ability, she doesn't stop and boggle like the other two do. She gathers wind aether into her palm, forming a concentrated orb of power as she leaps at Zuna's side and-

  Attempts to palm strike the energy into the taller beastkin's side. If it connects, it would create a burst of wind that would send her flying some ways. She's timing it so that it doesn't get dispelled by Tulip's flailing. Or trying to anyway.

• Character: Tulip
• 1 week, 6 days ago

  Tulip is vaguely aware of what's going on between her companions and the more elegant of the feline duo, thanks to those long ears of hers. Something about her dumping Ivo, the bunny manages to think in the wake of that first CRACKing blow into her forehead. Any further speculation into Ivo's dating history (because that's clearly what was meant when she talked about dumping) is quashed however as a second blow hammers down onto her forehead.

  "OW! You fu-OW!" she shouts as the blows keep raining down on her forehead, the bunny guarding herself each time with aether dispersions of her own. Though Tulip's manipulations of aether are notably more chaotic than Zuna's, that chaos also comes with the odd unravelling that her aether carries. Though even if that's slowing down the amazon's attacks, they're still headbutts. It still hurts!

  Distracted as she is Tulip barely even has the opportunity to notice Roseline's assault, the rabbit still flailing her fists in wild, furious blows. Fortunately even if the girl's fists do manage to hit the spells, Tulip's attentions are too focused upon her head to muster the timing she'd need to dispel Roseline's help!

  Yes. It's very fortunate that she's being headbutted right now.

• Character: Ivo Galvan
• 1 week, 6 days ago

 Ivo and Flechette exchange looks of dismay before looking back to Tulip and Zuna's ongoing battle. Even the interested onlookers, typically prone to cheering at any street fight, seem struck silent by the contest of impacts. Around the time it finally occurs to Ivo that he should do something about this, his mind having short-circuited from the sheer barbarity on display, Roseline is already moving, so instead he speaks.
 "And after you abducted Tulip, then what?"
 "She's the princess's girlfriend, isn't she?" Flechette snaps back, remembering to be annoyed by Ivo. "We'd get a queen's ransom."
 "After making an enemy of all Nova Luria," he promptly counters, doing nothing to refute the would-be mafiosa's conclusions. "Even you shouldn't be so foolish."
 "We've got a reputation to maintain!" Flechette is raising her voice, and her crossbow. "Especially when it comes to letting people know what happens to those who go looking for us! Our little island escapade took too long and--"
 "Nnnh!"
 Speaking of taking too long--
 "Good!"
 That's the first thing Zuna says as, sliding away from Tulip from the impact of Roseline's wind-infused blow, at last wrenched from their continuous grapple, she regains her balance, standing tall. Though she looks bruised from the many wild strikes she's absorbed, her expression conveys extraordinary resilience. Lowering her hands, she nods to Tulip and Roseline, then nods up to Flechette.
 "They're both strong," she reports.
 "I don't care!!" Flechette explodes. "Nobody cares!!! That wasn't the point of any of this! Why do I bother making plans!?!"
 "Let's have a real match," Zuna calmly says to Tulip, looking back to the bunnykin she had been brutally attacking seconds before without a trace of apology or regret, "when you're dressed for one."
 "Don't just talk to her!!" Flechette is yelling in the background. "We need to get out of here!!!" Somehow, even though it was immaculate when she was jumping around, her silver hair is now in disarray.
 "We'll help," Ivo quickly interjects.
 "What?" Flechette is saying that a lot lately.
 "We'll help you get out of here," he continues, undeterred, "if you take us to your bosses, the Beastkeepers."
 Flechette squints at him, her expression indescribable. She looks to Zuna. Zuna nods, though it's hard to tell if in assent or just in general satisfaction. Flechette looks around now with a hint of desperation, seeking sanity like one seeks water in a parched desert.
 "Is it me?" she asks the world. "Am I crazy?"
 Ivo glances around. Everyone in the vicinity, whether peering through a window or doorway or having been strolling along a boardwalk that had been completely peaceful minutes before, is staring at what had been a spectacular battle that started at Flechette's decree and finished, or so it now seems, in an instant.
 "For trying this," he replies, "absolutely."

• Character: Laineth
• 1 week, 6 days ago

  'She's the Princess' girlfriend! So-'

  ...Roseline is certain she heard something hilariously incorrect, but she's way too busy staring down a brick wall of a woman to bother verifying what she heard. Shelve that one for later. Or never. Either works.

  Zuna is finally separated from Tulip, and the redhead stands next to her just freed compatriot, ready to keep going if need be. "...How's your head? Brain still working?" She asides to the bunnykin while staring at their opponent. But then...

  'They're strong'. Followed by hysterical yelling in the background.

  Roseline's ready stance slackens. "....Uh.... right..." She murmurs with mild incredulity, as it seems like the engagement is winding down now that their goal has been thwarted. Then Ivo makes the offer of escape in exchange for a meeting with their bosses.

  "Good thinking. No need to dig for info if we can just go to them." She eyes Flechette. "...And I'll conveniently forget about this slight on our group in exchange." She smiles sweetly, but the smile doesn't reach her eyes.

% "Sounds like a good deal, yes?"

• Character: Tulip
• 1 week, 6 days ago

  Tulip lands on her feet, stumbling towards Roseline thanks to how much all those blows to the head have her scrambled. There's already a bit of a lump developing on her forehead, the bunnykin prodding and rubbing at it as she scowls Zuna's way. "Uh.. mostly, I guess? I'm kinda dizzy, but I'll probably be fine in a while!" she mumbles to Roseline, tapping the princess on the arm with a bunched up fist. "Thanks for the help!"

  "I don't need to wait to take you on! We can throw down right now!" she shouts as she flourishes her hand out in a dramatic pointing gesture. "C'mon! Roseline, Ivo! Let's pound these...uh. What?" she keeps going before she hears Ivo's offer of assistance. "The hell do you mean, help them? She headbutted me! What kind of asshole does that?" says the pot.

  And then, she pauses. Her expression goes blank as thoughts race through her dazed mind. Something was said. Something she didn't quite process right away.

  And then, she finally manages to sort her thoughts out.

  "What do you mean, GIRLFRIEND?"