ROLEPLAY HQ - chronicles-of-aetheria

It was finally over, the war in Europe had ended after four grueling years. With the armistice now signed, the rifles were dropped to the muddy ground and soldiers from both sides had cheered that peace was finally here. Such events were playing again and again in the mind of a soldier named Johnathan Raymond, a U.S. Marine that was being sent home with several of his comrades to the States via cruiser ship. For the past seven months, he had endured nothing but horrid living conditions, constant fighting, and little to no sleep. Excited by recent events, he could hardly sit still on his cot as he wrote in his diary the things he couldn't wait to do once he made it back to his home town. Eventually, thanks to some "convincing" from one of his bunkmates, he finally calmed down and lied in bed, still fidgeting around as he stared at the ceiling before eventually dozing off to sleep...still wearing his uniform and equipment. Yet none of this bothered him one bit, he survived the then worst conflict of human history that claimed millions of lives...everything was going to be fine, right?... 1/2

06:28

After what only felt like a few minutes had passed when Raymond closed his eyes and reopened them to a completely different sight. Instead of the metallic ceiling of the ship, he was met with the blue open skies and noticed that his back was resting against something uncomfortable. Rubbing his eyes for a bit, he stood up and gasped as he realized he had been thrown into a row boat before it was beached onto what looked like a strange docking area. Believing he had been thrown overboard as some sick prank, he shouted angrily before kicking the wooden interior of the boat he had awaken in. Afterwards, he calmed down enough and soon realized that this outburst going to get him nowhere. So, with a sound resolution, he left the safety of the row boat and ventured into the docks to hopefully find some answers of where he is and, most importantly, find a way out of it. 2/2 (( @Cecil

The Midnight Moon Cafe was a moderate-sized cafe located in Dawn Haven, one of the larger cities in the Lumina Kingdom, run by an easy-going and friendly vampire elf named Alira. While it was open to all races, it primarily catered to the nocturnal ones such as vampires and Felisylvans. The cafe had just opened, with Alira behind the counter with a plain gray apron over his professional clothing, the image of a full moon with a cup of coffee in the center plastered on front. He had just finished pouring a regular their usual cup of tea and moved onto the next, looking around at his quaint business that he'd been running for well over ten years. The space was primarily open, with several booths against the windows for patrons to take in the city's nighttime atmosphere, cool colors all around to keep people calmer and at ease.. At the far end of the room was a collection of animated instruments that played anything on request, as long as someone deposited the required payment in the box in front- usually a handful of change. Once he was done serving that customer, he leaned back on the counter and waited for the next to arrive. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a familiar face enter from the back, and he motioned her over. "Arnona! Mind doin' me a quick favor?" Pulling out a handful of money, he held it out. "Can you go pick up a box of spices from the store? We're starting to run low. You can keep the change as thanks." As per usual, it was a decent amount over what was actually needed to buy whatever he was asking her to get. @Phoenix_Nebula

Hearing Alira call out her name caused Arnona to roll her eyes and groan. She had pulled an all nighter and was barely returning back to the cafe via the back door when he caught her. "Come on, Alira..." The ginger haired Felisylvan said as she rubbed her eyes, "I just back from pulling an all nighter, I know it's my job and everything, but could we do this another d-" She was then interrupted by the large pouch of money which caused her ears to perk up. With her body now rejuvenated at the sight of the cash and the offer he made, she figured that she could pocket some of it for herself as her custom was. So, with that in mind, she cleared her throat before walking to him with a sly look on her face, saying, "Actually, sure thing, I don't mind waiting to go to bed for this...hehe." Grabbing the pouch of gold coins and shaking it, she was satisfied with the noise it made before grabbing a cup of coffee that was left on one of the tables. Gulping it down, she looked back at him as she was about to step out of the building, "Trust me, I'll be back before you know it." Before closing the door shut.

He knew how to get the Felisylvan to get things done: Money. Any time he needed her to do anything inconvenient, he just had to jingle some coins and she'd come running. Not that he particularly minded, since it gave her a chance to get out there and get things done legally, and having some kind of purpose was better than nothing. "Eh, I know you'll be back quick. You always are." Once she went running off, he turned to wash the cup she just got done with. The two of them had known eachother for a while now, with Arnona having found his cafe while she didn't have anywhere else to go. Considering how he had been treated in the past, he took pity on the discriminated-against Felisylvan, offering her a place to stay in exchange for helping out in the cafe every now and then. Other than that.. He turned a blind eye to her other.. job, as long as she didn't cause a bunch of trouble for him directly. @Phoenix_Nebula

Moving on, Arnona was walking down the busy streets of Dawn Haven. Seeing that it was the second most important cities of the Lumina Kingdom besides the Capital itself, it was always busy with all walks of life going about their day. This was a good thing for Arnona since, most of the time, people hardly recognized her as that same con artist from last week who scammed people with fake jewlery and was simply a random "kitty"...Gods, she hated that slur. Moving on, she held the pouch of coins close to her chest before sliding it into her red sash and saying, "Alright, just get the spices Alira wants, and use it on whatever you want...Mmf, I know I should use it for a new project, but I can't resist some good fish and chips...how long have I had that a...gain?" Something caught her attention, a human...but this one didn't look so normal, neither was he acting normal either. He was trying to stop anyone that passed by him, trying to ask where on earth he was and if they could help him contact the local government. His attempts of interaction were met with looks of contempt or outright being threatened, to which the man cursed them before continuing to find the next person. Although she lacked any sympathy towards humans, seeing that they were number one in terms of racially motivating attacks towards her own people, she couldn't help but feel a little bad so she decided to walk up to him and said, "Oi, old man. I couldn't help but notice you bothering these hard working men and woman, what's your deal?" She said to see whether or not he'd treat her fairly.

Turning around, Arnona was able to see what this man looked like. He was a tall, caucasian male in his early thirties with dark brain hair and a mustache. This didn't surprise her much, but what did take her off guard was what he was wearing. It looked...otherworldly, as if he had come from an entirely different kingdom; he wore a campaign hat made of felt, an olive drab tunic made of tool, white leggings that protected his breeches, brown leather boots and some weird looking belt made of canvas with pouches all over it, the cherry on top being a holster which menat he was armed. Moving on, after hearing what she had to say, the clearly distressed man spoke up in a strange accent, saying, "M-My apologies, madame, b-but I have no idea where I am. I w-was suppose to be back home to the States for the Victory parade but instead, woke up in a bloody row boat in this god forsaken place!"

Okay, this guy was definitely on something, "Look, frankly, I don't know where that is, but you don't look all that great. I don't usually show kindness to humans, but you don't seem TOO bad...how about I take you to a cafe where you can get your head straightened out, yeah?" Hearing this response, the man's eyes would brighten as he asked, "Will you be able to help me back to America then?" Knowing that she had no way of doing so and was more or less, interested in conning this man out of his money later on, she gave him a bright, toothy grin and said, "Sure! We'll help you get back to your...err, America, in no time! Just follow me and we'll get things sorted out..." So, with renewed vigor, the man followed the young Felisylvan back to the Midnight Moon Cafe, but not before she got the box of spices Alira wanted. About an hour later, the door to the Cafe would be opened where Arnona walked in with Raymond carrying a box of spices as she went up to Alira's counter and said, "Heyyyyy Alira...guess who I brought with me?"

02:31

(( @Cecil

"A paying customer, I'd hope." He replied with a smile as he watched her come in, having just finished serving a young man some tea, putting the pitcher back down and wiping his hands. The vampire took the box of spices from Arnona, putting it in the cupboard and turning back, raising an eyebrow at Raymond. "..Who's this now..?" This man.. Was obviously not a local. He knew the vast majority of the night-time locals, as his was one of the few cafes open at this hour.. Not to mention his clothing, confused expression, and smell. He smelled completely unlike anyone Alira had ever encountered before. "..Well, come take a seat, both of you. Sir, can I get you anything? Something to drink, perhaps? We've got tea, coffee, juice.. Really most things, as long as it isn't alcoholic." Alira turned his back to prepare whatever the strange human requested, though he doubted that he'd be able to pay.. He didn't look like he'd carry coin. @Phoenix_Nebula

To say that the stranger looked confused was an absolute understatement. He was dazed and had no idea whether what he was looking at was real. A part of him, in order to avoid a complete and total culture shock, made him believe that this was all some sort of weird dream that he would hopefully awake out of soon enough. On that note, after having placed the box of spices on the table, he was initially taken aback by how the physical appearance of Alira, especially when it came to his pointed, elven ears. After rudely staring for some time, he said, "M-My name is Raymond, S-Sergeant Johnathan Raymond. And, before I continue, I must ask...i-is it natural for your ears to look so poin- OOF!" Before he could finish, Arnona had punched him in the side which caused him to almost heel over.

"Careful, human, those kinds of questions can get your teeth knocked out in this place." Arnona said with a snarl. However, she did feel a bit bad shortly thereafter which lead to her guiding him onto one of the chairs.

"...Still a bit rough now, isn't it?" The soldier said with a groan as he rubbed his side. Moving on, once he and Arnona were sat down, he thought for abit about what kind of drink to get before ultimately landing on a typical American choice, "Coffee would most certainly appreciated...I haven't had it in weeks." He said with a groan before continuing, "I...don't know if you accept U.S. coinage in this establishment but it's all I have...they are made of silver at least so, hopefully, it's worth something, right?" He said while placing two strange looking coins (which were American quarters) on the wooden table that were stamped with a bald eagle, dated all the way back in 1910.

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump Looking at the coins Raymond placed, Arnona looked at him and said, "Uh...Yeah, most definitely! We accept those nice U.S. coins you have, right Alira?" She said with a fake, toothy smile and a thumbs up. Soon afterwards, she slid him a piece of paper that read, "Meet me behind the counter."

He felt pity for the confused man, especially once Arnona punched him in the side for asking about his ears. "..Yes, my ears are naturally pointed. Pleasure to meet you, Raymond." He made a gesture to Arnina that basically said 'cool it'. This human obviously had no idea what was going on, what with him never seeing an elf before. Upon hearing his request for coffee, Alira turned and poured him a nice, steaming cup and looked at his coins. "Of course, yes." He picked up the coins and his eyes shimmered for a moment.. These were unlike any coins he had ever seen. Maybe they'd have a use..? They did have silver in them, so it's not like they were worthless.. "As she's said, my name is Alira. Alira Trarona. May I have just one moment?" He asked after looking at Arnona's paper, motioning to her as he walked off. "..So. Where'd you find him? What's this 'U.S.' he speaks of? You didn't bring me some kind of runaway man, did you?" @Phoenix_Nebula

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump Now that the two were by themselves for a moment, Arnona allowed him to ask his questions while she occasionally glanced back at Raymond who was taking a sip of his coffee. Once he was done, she responded, "My honest opinion? I haven't a bloody clue where this man even came from." before looking back at him as he made a comment on the coffee beans used. "I found him walking around in circles like some kid that got lost when I went to get those spices you wanted. He kept bothering people that were passing by, asking if they knew how he could get back to America. As far as I know, he's probably got dementia..." Leaning against the counter, she sighed before continuing, "Anyways, what should we do with him? He seems...out of it, and I really don't want this man hurting himself, or others...oh yeah, did I forget to mention he's armed?"

"..Let's say that he's actually from this 'America'. That's nowhere i've heard of, but he's gonna wanna get home as quick as possible, no? Best thing we can do is figure out where that is and send him on his way. Until then.." He gave her a look when she said he was armed. "..Yes, you forgot to mention that." He let out some air between his teeth- This woman sometimes forgot to bring up some of the most important details. "..As long as he doesn't go hurting people, I don't see why he couldn't keep his weapon." "Alright.. I'm going to let him stay here and do some work so he can get used to this place and get some.. actual money.." Alira mumbled, looking down at the strange coins. "While he's here, I want you to keep an eye on him. Keep him out of trouble and all that." Honestly, he was expecting some kind of protest from Arnona, but she likely felt the same way as him about it.. "You keep him occupied, and i'll see what I can find with some of my contacts, alright?" @Phoenix_Nebula

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump Arnona, being less than pleased at Alira's solution, especially seeing that it involved her having to watch over him, decided to make her displeasure known by saying, "Are you nuts? You want me, a Felisylvan, to watch over some crazy old HUMAN? Heh...next thing you'll know, he'll be ordering me around and calling me his 'pet kitten'." She said with a snarl before taking another glance at where he was sitting. Even though she refused to admit it, she did feel bad for him and wasn't neccessarily interested in seeing him dead. Being torn between a rock and a hard place, she sighed and said, "Alright, fine, let's just hope gramps doesn't shoot me..." So, with that being said, she stood up and went back to Raymond with a cup of grapejuice in hand, talking to him and keeping the disoriented man company while Alira did his thing.

He gave Arnona a displeased look at her reaction. "What, you expect me to do it? I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm the only one who does any real serving here, and i'm already going to have my hands full trying to figure out what his deal is." Alira shook his head before smiling again. "Besides, if he does anything you're not happy with, getting back home's gonna be the least of his worries." In truth, Alira had no idea where exactly to begin. Looking for this America place by talking to sailors and scholars would be a good first step, asking about Raymond or any other strange sightings as well.. While Arnona went about keeping Raymond occupied, Alira disappeared into the back room to begin casting simple, long-distance message spells to ask his contacts what they knew. @Phoenix_Nebula

As Alira began to converse with his contacts, the answers that he would get were initially vague at best. As he explained to them the situation of the mustached stranger and his foreign attire/background, he was met with responses of confusion and even. One of them suggested that perhaps he was from an unknown continent that was yet to be discovered and had washed up one day, though this answered nothing while another suggested a more fanciful idea that he was from another world that had somehow ended up in their timeline. In the end, their answers were fruitless and it would seem that nothing could be known about this man...that was until one of them suggested to Alira that he asks him directly and even see if he had any "artifacts" from this so called America and present it to them. With that being said, the conversation was over and left more to be known they answered.

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump Meanwhile with Raymond, he had seemingly forgotten why he was even in the cafe in the first place and had now been rambling on about some experiences from the Great War to a much bothered Arnona. Seeing she was one for action, she did find them interesting, but she was more invested in the part where this human would just shut up and finish his coffee...it was already getting cold and even a fly had almost dived right in. Nevertheless, she nodded along, letting out the occasional "Ooo" and an "Aww" to make sure he didn't wonder into the backroom. Obtaining answers that Alira needed will be a much more tedious task than he thought.

The elf walked back from the back, grabbing the coins and pocketing them as he walked over to the two- These unusual coins were likely from this 'America', but the more he could take to get divined, the better. "Hey there, you two. Haven't been getting into any trouble while i've been away, have you?" A pointed look at Arnona before he turned his attention to Raymond again. "Is the coffee to your liking? Can I get you anything else, something to eat, perhaps?" After giving him a few moments to respond, Alira would meet Raymond's gaze. "So, I talked with some of my friends just now, and we're not quite sure where you come from, friend. If you have some things from this 'America' that you wouldn't mind parting with- temporarily, of course- I can take you to them and we can see if there's more I can do for you." Alira turned away and pulled out a dark bottle from one of the cabinets, pouring himself a red liquid into a cup before taking a sip, leaning against the counter as he waited for the man to answer. @Phoenix_Nebula

By the time Alira arrived to their table, Arnona was half asleep, her right arm barely being the only thing that kept her head from slamming against it. Jolting awake by his voice, she said, "H-Huh!? What!? O-Oh I mean, yeah, sure, that' real interesting backstory Raymond, really love it." Only to be met with a confused look by the other two characters. When she realized what was going on, she awkwardly chuckled to herself and remained silent.

As for Raymond, he was caught up with his incessant ramblings regarding the war, occasionally going off about his family in "California", didn't he mention living in America though? Either way, he soon stopped once Alira walked in on them. When the café owner's gaze met his, he smiled and responded, "The coffee's swell, Alira sir, a bit too sweet for my tastes, but beggars cannot be choosers! You know, this reminds me about the time when-" Before he could go on another tangent however, he was interrupted by his inquiry which caused him to stop and think for a second. Looking for something he could spare, he continued, saying, "Well, I haven't much to offer you, really. My revolver is government property, including the very clothes on my ba- AHA!" Feeling something in his shirt pockets, he unbuttoned it before reaching out and grabbing a journal and a couple of "insignificant" items from home. Taking a moment to examine them, he handed it to Alira before saying, "Here, this should give you an idea of where I come from, plus a couple of stamps here and there. Also, I don't know what you server here, but I could use some meat...been a while since I ate..." With that being said, she resumed chatting with Arnona, much to her displeasure as she cursed him under her breath in her native tongue. ((The photos are below are some of the pictures that were in Raymond's journal.

Strange clothes, strange way of speaking, strange equipment.. Now strange pictures in his journal? Too many unanswered questions came to Alira's mind as he took another sip from his glass. What kind of government owned the clothes on someone's back? That was.. a very strange idea, not one that the elf was familiar with in the slightest. A lot about this man was unusual.. "Alright then.. I'll go ahead and get these inspected tomorrow evening." Being a vampire, going out during the middle of the day was ill-advised. Unlike some vampires, he wouldn't burst into flames or turn to ash from being out in the sun, but prolonged exposure to sunlight could make him very, very ill, especially if he hadn't fed for an extended period of time. Thankfully, the cafe being open at night made it a lot easier for him to give excuses as to why he was never out and about during the day- Most people would expect him to be asleep, of course, even those who knew that elves didn't truly need sleep. While Arnona and Raymond were talking, Alira opened the journal and flipped through, careful not to tear any of the pages, taking the statement 'this should give you an idea of where I come from' as an invitation to take a peek. Having some idea of what he was showing his contacts would do him some good, that way they knew he wasn't bringing some form of magical explosive. You never knew with vampires. When Raymond requested some meat, Alira nodded and tucked the journal away for now. "Of course. Just a couple of minutes, and I'll get you something with meat in it." The elf disappeared into the kitchen, and true to his word, not even ten minutes later he returned with a toasted bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. Being a cafe, the Midnight Moon served things like this, even if it was incredibly late by most people's standards. This was the 'morning' for people like Alira, so he served breakfeast accordingly. "Here you are, sir. Enjoy." @Phoenix_Nebula

Alira would not be prepared for the things that laid in the pages of the leather bound book. Not even a few seconds in, it had described scenes of muddy trenches infested with rats the size of dogs, constant artillery bombardment accompanied by toxic gas and brutal close quarters combat involving makeshift clubs and handguns...all of this written in a cursive, elegant handwriting. As he continued turning the pages, he came across several sketches showing off muddy trenches with a sea of barbed wire and holes left by explosions. A more notable sketch was one depicting three soldiers wearing different uniforms than Raymond and steel helmets, their faces covered with strange looking masks charging directly towards the viewer, similar to the photo seen below. Moving on, Raymond continued talking as Arnona pretended to pay attention, keeping herself awake with a fresh cup of coffee until Alira returned, that's when the former finally ceased his ramblings permanently and looked at the sandwich in a curious manner. Although, he was familiar with bacon and eggs, being an American and all, the concept of having it in the form of a sandwich caused him a great deal of confusion. Grabbing the food, he looked at it with suspicion, sniffing it and looking at Alira before taking a bite, leading to his eyes lighting up as he said, "My Lord, this is...delicious!~" before leading to him eat up the entire meaty, cheese filled goodness.

06:47

@Cecil

Being a vampire, Alira had seen some fucked up shit in his time being not-alive. Vampires could be some of the most brutal people out there, and in his earlier years, he had fallen into the trap before mellowing out over a decade. But this? This was unlike anything he had ever seen. This was wide-spread destruction.. Were humans this monstrous wherever Raymond came from? Maybe it'd be better if he didn't go back home, if this is what his homeland was like. Of course, Alira was good at concealing his shock, a skill picked up over several decades running this cafe and having to deal with obnoxious people in the past. So, to the outside, it would look like he was casually reading this journal while sipping from his glass. On the inside, however, he was concerned for Raymond's safety, and his mental health. If this was what he had to experience all the time, it was unlikely that he was all that.. right in the head, for lack of a better term. Alira could be wrong, though.. Closing the journal slowly, he set it aside and took a long drink from the glass, which was something he almost never did, as he was one who tried to savor his meals more than most vampires. When Raymond exclaimed his enjoyment of his cooking, Alira smiled slightly. "Of course it's delicious, that's one of the things my cafe's most known for, after all. Do you have a place to stay, Raymond? If not, I've got a spare room in the back. It's not much, but it's what I've got." @Phoenix_Nebula

Still munching down on his food, Raymond listened attentively, giving Arnona a break as she slipped out to go use the restroom. Once he finished, he said, "Well, I can certainly see that! We have bacon and eggs where I'm from, but not once did we imagine this in form of a sandwich." Wiping the crumbs from off his face, the soldier continued to listen to what his host had to say, asking if he had to place to stay. This would lead to an...interesting response, to say the least. "Huh? Well, now that I think about it, I don't. All I have was this boat I woke up in the docks, I'll probably get out of your hair and live in the outskirts of this city, perhaps set up camp in the forest if there is any..."

Arnona, having just left the restroom, overheard Raymond's idea before looking Alira, shaking her head in staunch disapproval of it. The forest was Felisylvan territory, if he, a human, were to trespass on their land even if it was unintentional, it would warrant an immediate death sentence. Even if she didn't like him and found him to be annoying, she didn't want to see the obviously confused man die to a situation that could be easily avoided.

04:41

@Cecil

"Forgive my bluntness here, Raymond, but that'd be a terrible idea. Humans aren't all that liked by the people that live out in the woods. One step in there unaccompanied, and your life is forfeit. Honestly, you'd get yourself killed immediately." Alira wasn't one for hyperbole, but he knew enough about Felisylvans, and Arnona's reaction further pushed him to try and nip that in the bud before Raymond got himself killed. "I think it'd be best if you stayed here, in the back room. You're not being that much of a bother, so you don't need to worry about that. Just ask Arnona, I usually let people stay there until they can get back on their feet. Plus, if you stay here, it makes it easy to find you when I'm trying to get you back home." He took another long drink before setting his cup aside to be cleaned. "It's getting late for humans, how about you sleep on it, and if you're really set on finding somewhere else to stay, I can pull a few strings and see what I can do for you, okay?" @Phoenix_Nebula

The young Felisylvan's ears perked up when Alira had mentioned her name, causing her to nod her head before saying, "Alira's right, Raymond. My pe- I mean, the people living there don't take kindly to humans and wouldn't be too fond of your arrival. If you want to live long enough to see your home land, I suggest staying with us. Besides, we're not gonna kill you in your sleep..." She chcukled before uttering under her breath, "Not like we really sleep during the day anyways to hear you snoring that is..."

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump "Hm, I see." Raymond said before pushing his plate away from him, thinking to himself before responding, "In that case, it might be best if I stay here...for now at least. I'll still have to find a way home so perhaps I can contact the local government and ask them if they can send me back home. In the mean time..." He then streched as he yawned, saying, "I could use some rest, lead the way, Alira sir." (( @Cecil

He wasn't too sure if asking the government would get him anywhere, but it was worth a shot.. Maybe once he was more on his feet, though. Raymond wouldn't know anything about this place, and stumbling around like a headless chicken wouldn't do him any good. Without another word, Alira stepped out from behind the counter and motioned for Raymond to follow, bringing him over to a door off to the side that led to a staircase, which then took them to the upstairs hall. He stopped beside the second door, stepping inside to reveal a smallish room with only an average-sized bed. "It's not much, but hopefully we can get you home quick so you don't have to deal with it for very long. I'll let you get some rest though, let me know if you need anything else, okay?" With that, he stepped out of the way and let Raymond go into the room, going back downstairs and leaning on the counter with a quiet sigh. What had he gotten himself into by agreeing to help this man? It was clear that he was pretty damn close to insane, and for good reason if his journal was anything to go by. If the strange objects he brought with him weren't proof of his claims, Alira would just believe that he was some kind of outlaw on the run.. Rubbing his face, he looked toward Arnona. "Things are gonna get really strange around here, I can tell.." One glance toward that journal, and Alira shook his head again. It was best not to delve further into that, if what he saw before was anything to go by.. At least, not right now. The vampire grabbed another glass of blood and took a long drink. This man was driving him to drink a good amount of his stores? Damn. @Phoenix_Nebula

Following Alira all the way to the makeshift bedroom, Raymond looked at it in approval and nodded, saying, "Trust me, dear boy, I've slept in far worse conditions. To even have a bed with a clean mattress and blankets feels like a fantasy within and of itself." Taking a moment to remove the webbing that held his ammo belt and revolver around his waist, Raymond would place his equipment onto a wooden barrel that served as a table before taking his shoes off and sliding into the sheets, saying, "I'll see you first thing in the morning if you need me to repay your services, have a lovely evening." before falling asleep. For someone who had just been transported into a different world, he was taking this surprisingly well...too well in fact.

He wasn't too sure if asking the government would get him anywhere, but it was worth a shot.. Maybe once he was more on his fe...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump Meanwhile, Arnona was resting her eye lids on the chair she was in, waiting for Alira to return. When he did, she let out a small yawn herself as she saw him grab another glass of blood, finding it odd that he would chug through three glasses within an hour. With that in mind, she sat up and said, "You're telling me, a part of me thinks I should've left him to wander by himself, too bad he reminded me a lot about my grandparents. Anyways...what was even in that journal to make you drink this much? It couldn't have been that bad..."

"..Wherever this guy's from is pretty fucked." He sighed, sliding the journal over to her and opening to where he had read from before. "Just take a look at what he wrote there. I thought vampires could be brutal, but damn. Humans where he comes from kill eachother in muddy, bloody battlefields. And humans call us the monsters.." Setting his glass down, he took a seat beside Arnona. "It'd probably be better for him to stay here, as stupid as it sounds. As long as he keeps to the city, he shouldn't have too much trouble.. Though it's his choice. I'm not gonna keep him here against his will." @Phoenix_Nebula

"..Wherever this guy's from is pretty fucked." He sighed, sliding the journal over to her and opening to where he had read from ...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump Rolling her eyes, Arnona walked up to the journal and opened it, taking a glance to see what the fuss was all about. Immediately, she was faced with the horrors hidden in the pages of Raymond's diary the same way Alira did, the main difference being she lacked the ability to hide her emotions. Tossing the book back onto the table, she took a few steps back and uttered a small curse word, shocked by what she had read. After collecting her bearings, she looked towards him with widened eyes, saying, "Gods...This is...worse, than what they did to my people. I can't believe they would just, do that to themselves...fucking humans." She then let out a sigh before saying, "That's a good idea...if this is what his kind is capable of, then who knows what would happen if he's out there. One loud noise and...you know. A-Anyways, what do you say we do with him, put him to work or somethin'?"

Her reaction earned her a couple looks from patrons at a couple of the tables, and Alira just nodded when her expression changed. He understood wholeheartedly. Though, being a more outwardly moody person, Arnona wasn't as skilled at hiding emotions.. "Though I wouldn't just use the blanket term for all humans.. Yes, these ones are especially brutal. What would drive them to such cruelty, I'll never understand. It's not like they need to hunt for their own survival, like vampires.." With a quiet sigh, he pondered what to do with the man. "..If he's willing, perhaps we could have him do supply runs during the day when i'm running low on ingredients. You're usually busy, and it's not a good idea for me to be running about during the day.. Though you'd likely need to go with him the first few times, just so he doesn't get lost." @Phoenix_Nebula

Her reaction earned her a couple looks from patrons at a couple of the tables, and Alira just nodded when her expression changed...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump At first, the idea of having to train someone who was older than she was to do her job caused Arnona to cringe, especially with how strange he was. In spite of this however, her initial disdain at the idea soon became appealing as she realized that, if she put in the effort, he could do her bidding while she went off and focused on her...less than legal businesses. With a sparkle in her eye and sharp tooth grin, she said, "Well, I suppose I could show him around the city. Even if he's a bloody nut, I doubt anything could go wrong with him doing a grocery run." Finishing off the dregs of her cup of coffee, she sighed, saying, "Alright, I'll do it. Just let me know when the time is right and I'll take him out, I have the whole route mapped in my head anyways."

Despite his usual optimistic attitude, Alira couldn't help but have a sinking feeling that something would go wrong. After all, Raymond appeared for a reason, dragged from his home for whatever purpose the gods would have for him.. While Alira wasn't particularly religious or spiritual, practitioners of magic couldn't deny the fact that there were forces far greater than any man at work within the weave.. Alira just nodded, though. Arnona didn't strike him as the kind of person that'd care about those things. She'd always been more focused on the how, not so much the why, especially when it came to things beyond the material. "Try to keep him out of your business opportunities. He doesn't know enough about the city to get away with all that without causing trouble." With a quiet sigh, he turned his attention back to tending the cafe. The past couple of hours had been interesting, but he still had a business to run, and Arnona had things she wanted to do, of that much he was certain. He'd let her do her thing for the rest of the night, get some sleep in the morning, and then he'd send her to show Raymond around while he met with some of his contacts.. @Phoenix_Nebula

Amused by Alira's warning, Arnona replied, "Pfft, don't worry about it, it's not like I want some human following me around snitching...eugh." She groaned, displeased with the thought of Raymond being involved in her personal business. Moving on, she hadn't much else to do, she said, "Anyways...I'll be going about my night, I err...have to make a quick stop for some stamps and envelopes. I'll be back around one in the morning, I promise." That was a lie, it always was. Every time she said she'd come home early, she would usually sneak back in during five in the morning. Either or, she grabbed the pouch of coins before slipping out of the cafe, not to be seen again until morning.

Despite his usual optimistic attitude, Alira couldn't help but have a sinking feeling that something would go wrong. After all, ...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump With Arnona now gone and the stranger asleep, it was a relatively normal day, in spite of what had just occurred. However, it was apparent that things were not going to be the same; perhaps Alira was right, maybe something supernatural did have a plan for this man to be here but, even then, who knew?... As the night went on and the morning soon arose, a peculiar shuffling noise came from the small, makeshift bedroom the soldier was in. What followed was a series of groaning and incomprehensible speech before, eventually, the door creaked open. Once it did, a very much dazed and disheveled Raymond slipped out amidst the patrons as he looked around, not knowing where he even was before noticing an unoccupied wooden table in one of the corners of the cafe. He then made his way towards it before sitting down and staring aimlessly into the crowd, remaining silent as his gaze pierced the souls of the non human patrons of the establishment. Moreover, his sudden appearance and clothing caught the attention of some of the customers who then pointed it out to one another and murmured amongst themselves, wondering who this man was.

The vampire said little in response to Arnona's promise of being back early. He understood better than most that, should the Felisylvan say she'd be somewhere at a certain time, then you'd have to add a minimum of two or three hours to it, usually more, before she'd actually arrive. What she did during those hours, Alira wasn't privy to, nor did he have any intention of learning. Her life was her own, after all, and it wasn't any of his business. As long as it didn't bring trouble back to him, she could do whatever she pleased with herself. With the morning approaching slowly and steadily, Alira's keen ears picked up the floorboards creaking as someone moved around in the back.. Had Arnona decided to sneak in through the upstairs window again? No.. The footfalls were too heavy against the wood. Raymond? Turning his attention to the door, his suspicions were confirmed when the confused human stumbled out from the door and into the midst of his patrons, who gave him various looks, some confused, some offended by his mere presence in their safe space, others curious.. When they glanced his way, Alira shook his head. They needn't concern themselves with Raymond, he was Alira's responsibility, after all. He'd been the one who insisted that the human stayed here, instead of wandering elsewhere, and now he was glad he did. Stepping out from behind the counter, Alira crossed the floor quickly and took a seat across from Raymond, a glass of cold water in his hands. He set the water in front of Raymond with a gentle, friendly smile. "You look like you've had a rough night. Here, have something to drink. It should help." @Phoenix_Nebula

The vampire said little in response to Arnona's promise of being back early. He understood better than most that, should the Fel...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump Even with Alira now in front of him, the confused Raymond paid him no mind, still mumbling to himself his gaze focusing on something besides him. However, once he noticed the cold, glass of H20 with ice floating at the very top, he snatched it from his hands and began chugging it down, even swallowing the ice cubes in the process. With water now dripping from his mustache, he placed the glass down and let out sigh of satisfaction, relieved from his newly quenched thirst before finally "noticing" Alira, saying, "Huh?...Oh, dear me! I'm so sorry, Alira, I must've fell asleep here while I was sharing some old war stories with that young maiden, Arnona. Say...now that I think about it, do you know the time? I certainly forgot it myself, too bad il eft my pocket watch on the boat..."

He watched the man stare off into space for several long seconds before he snatched up and chugged the water suddenly. Alira leaned back to give Raymond a little bit more space, a slight look of concern on his face. "Erm. No, you went upstairs to sleep and then came back down here, stared into space for a while, and then seemed to come back to reality. You sure you're doing alright..?" He asked, pulling out a pocket watch of his own to check the time, since he kept the curtains drawn during the day, for his own comfort of course. At this time of day, most of the customers weren't around and he was just cleaning up so he could close up. "Looks like it's about 7 am. Wonder where Arnona is, actually.." He wasn't surprised in the slightest that she hadn't shown back up. @Phoenix_Nebula

Conveniently enough, Arnona kicked the door right open as the vampiric elf brought up her name, "Alira! Sorry for the quick scare but my bloody hands are full. Give me a sec and I'll close the door, yeah?" Interestingly enough, she was carrying a small stack of artwork as she stumbled around before planting it on top of the table Raymond was sitting next to. Upon closer examination, they were images of animals, apes to be exact...very ugly ones too. Moreover, after she gave a quick glance and nod to the dazed soldier, she turned to face Alira and said, "Don't ask where I got the photos, but I've been making a great sum of money just by selling them! Those rich folks sure are stupid, they'll buy just about anything, hehe.." Chuckling to herself, she pulled out a large sum of gold and silver coins, dangling the leather pouch right in front of him with a sharp tooth grin as it made clinking noise. This wasn't much to boast about however. Knowing Arnona, she would most likely burn through all of the money by the end of the week and by right back to square one, just as she always did; If only she invested it into something else...oh well. Moving on, she sighed before saying, "Anyways, it's been a busy night conning those aristocratic fools, I could use a shower." Taking a moment to stretch, she left an opened envelope right next to the table before heading up stairs. Before she did, however, she gave a quick glance to Raymond and said, "Oh, and try not to touch any of my stuff, human. Don't want you messing it up, eh?" Before finally leaving.

He watched the man stare off into space for several long seconds before he snatched up and chugged the water suddenly. Alira lea...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump Meanwhile, Raymond was uncformatably silent throughout the interaction with the young Felisylvan. He simply stared at her while occasionally looking back at Alira, not sure as to what he should even say before finally staring into the void yet again. When she finally left however, he resumed to his normal state of mind before finally responding to Alira's inquiry, "H-Huh? Where was I? Ah yes, I remember now; I can assure you, Alira, I'm doing just fine. I might've seen a couple of...unpleasant things during the war, but they don't bother me much!...At least during the day..." He muttered the last part to himself. He then stood up and walked towards the stack of ape drawings before noticing the envelope. Handing it to his new found friend, he continued, *"Anyways, it's much apparent to me that Arnona has been working hard. Surely there is something I can do for you that will help...make upfor mel iving here for the time being.

The elf raised a brow at the artwork. It was certainly.. something. Definitely fit in line with most of Arnona's scams. At the very least she was mainly selling them to the rich, who wouldn't miss the money. Though Alira knew not to question Arnona's actions, it was better to just let her do her thing and deny all involvement when she inevitably got in trouble with the law. When she dangled a bag of coins in front of his face, he just shrugged. She'd run through it in a few days at most because she was impulsive and terrible with money, just about the exact opposite of him, who rarely spent money on himself unless it was for his own survival, like buying canisters of blood. The vast majority of his money was funneled right back into the Midnight Moon or stored in a place Arnona didn't know about for emergencies. "Have a good morning, Arnona." That must've been strange for Raymond to hear, since it was essentially their 'good night', but it was entirely normal for the two of them, since they were both nocturnal to varying degrees. Taking the envelope from Raymond, he glanced inside as he listened to Raymond talk about his experiences again. "I'm sure one of the apothecaries has a remedy to help with that. We can take a look today when we go visit some of my contacts to see about getting you home. Until then, if you wanna help out, why don't you clean up? We're closed during the day, so when Arnona or I are resting, you can be sweeping, mopping, and cleaning the tables. You don't need to worry about the dishes, I handle those during the night." @Phoenix_Nebula

Upon closer inspection, the envelope contained a letter that was addressed to Arnona. For the past couple of years she had been staying with Alira, she spoke very little about her family nor her past. Felisylvans usually preferred to reside in a woodland environment (not to mention mountainous regions as well). Moreover, because of how bigoted most humans could be towards them, it was uncommon for the feline race to reside in cities like Dawn Haven, unless it was during the night when most humans would be asleep. Such, unfortunately, were the struggles of all "monsters". Moving on, if Alira were to read the letter, he'd learn that it was from Arnona's mother. Based on the contents thereof, she expressed her longing to see her young daughter again and how much she wished to hold her in her arms yet again. She especially took time to express her disappointment that Arnona would not be present at the "Lunar Festival" once more; in spite of all this, she ended the letter by saying she would love her no matter what and even provide a small gift inside...that being cat nip.

Once Alira was finished reading the letter (or alternatively, left it alone), Raymond had dozed off and was mumbling incoherent phrases to himself, seemingly in his own world. Once the elven vampire spoke up, he would awake from his day dreaming as he listened to him explain what he could do to help around the cafe. With a small grin forming on his face, he responded, saying, ”Certainly! I’ve cleaned my fair share of messes in the past. I’m sure a couple of dishes and dirty floors won’t be a problem at…all.” Raymond began to stray away from what he was saying before looking at something that was behind Alira. That’s when he proceeded to reach for his revolver before suddenly… BANG! Within mere seconds, the seasoned veteran had put a hole in whatever was behind Alira, all without breaking a sweat. Moreover, accompanied by the gunshot was a small squeak noise; Raymond proceeded to reveal what it was as he nonchalantly walked past Alira and picked up his victim…a rat. ”Careful,” he said as he dangled the carcass of the fallen rodent by its tail ”let these vile critters roam freely and they can grow up to the size of small dogs.”

Obviously enough, the gunshot did not just ring out in an isolated space in time. Shortly after Raymond had killed the rat inside the cafe, Arnona bursted out of her room on all fours, her eyes as wide as they could be. Once she made her way downstairs, she hastily stood up on her hind feet and flared at the two before saying, ”What in the bloody hell was that!?”

The elf raised a brow at the artwork. It was certainly.. something. Definitely fit in line with most of Arnona's scams. At the v...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump Surprisingly unphased by Arnona’s shock after hearing a gunshot for the first time, Raymond responded, saying, ”Ah, Arnona dear! I was just dealing with some pests that were in here. As a matter of fact, seeing you’re a bit of a feline yourself, I brought a gift for you, catch!” Raymond immediately tossed the dead rodent into Arnona’s hands. This led to her letting out an instinctive hiss as she shouted, ”AH! YOU SICK BASTARD, I DONT WANT IT! GET IT AWAY FROM MEEE!!” With that being said, she tossed it back to Raymond before swiftly rushing towards the bathroom. As for the soldier, he responded by turning towards Alira and saying, ”Huh, you know…I would’ve expected her to like rodents, seeing she’s part feline and all..” (( @Cecil

The elf had just finished giving the letter a quick look over and putting it back, as to avoid Arnona questioning why it had been moved, before Raymond fired his revolver in his direction. The sudden loud, piercing noise combined with the smell of some kind of blood and smoke caused his instincts to kick in and he snarled, baring his fangs at Raymond. Before he did anything hurtful to the man, however, the gripped the table so tight that his already pale knuckles went completely white. Several deep, hissing breaths later and Alira had calmed down. "..Raymond, let's not do that in my cafe, if you don't mind." His tone was unusually harsh. "Both me and Arnona have sharper hearing than yours, so that loud of a sound can hurt us." It took a lot to set Alira off normally, so when Arnona had come down to question what the sound was, she'd likely be surprised to see the vampire gripping the table so tightly and seeming so tense. "..There are betters ways to deal with rodents without creating such a sharp noise, and I suggest you let me worry about them in the future." When Arnona ran away after Raymond threw the rat at her, Alira sighed. "..That's why her people don't tend to like humans. You stereotype and assume." @Phoenix_Nebula

Raymond, was unnaturally unperturbed by Alira who was trying his best to keep his cool, showing no reaction whatsoever. It's not as if he didn't notice either, he even glanced at him before shrugging it off while going to pick up the rat. Based on what the Elven cafe owner had seen in his journal, however, it was most likely because he had seen worse and had become desensitized rather than being intentionally indifferent towards his feelings. Moreover, once Alira had expressed his displeasure towards his choice of actions, he simply nodded in agreement before calmly responding, "Heh, I'm most certain that you lot have better alternatives, but that was how we handled it back in the trenches." He then grabbed the dead rodent before continuing, "As for the noise, I do apologize; with all the artillery and machine gun fire, I must've forgotten how loud these things can be...not that I can hear much of anything anymore really." Even with Alira's harsh tone, the soldier from another world maintained his ever so pleasant demeanor, not acknowledging the former's visible frustration. Again, all of this was...odd, to say the least and there wasn't a clear explanation as to why he showed no reaction whatsoever. Heck, even when he was rebuked by him for his stereotyping of the Felisylvans, Raymond raised his eyebrow in confusion to what he just said before shrugging it off, not being too bothered by neither his own actions or Alira's statement. Moving on, he simply cleared his throat before examining the carcass yet again, saying, "Well, either or, I still got much work to do with this cleaning here. 'Spose this'll be a good starting point I'd, assume." He said, referring to what was in his possession. Moreover, he proceeded to toss the rat into the trash can before looking at Alira, saying, "Alright then, just lead the way and I'll do my best!" He said with a smile.

20:42

@Cecil, I would've responded earlier but I pulled an all nighter. I would've had tthis response out by eight in the morning.

Raymond was lucky that Alira wasn't aggressive by nature, or else he would've definitely been regretting the gunshot a lot more by now.. But he didn't think that Raymond understood really what was going on, or at least had become so desensitized to it that he couldn't. It was unfortunate that humans put eachother through enough to where that could happen.. What's done is done, nothing could change the damaged state that Raymond was stuck in. Letting out a sigh, Alira shook his head and watched Raymond throw away the rat. "..Alright, well.. Let me go get some rest for a few hours, and then we'll head out to meet with some of my friends and we'll see what we can find out about getting you home, alright?" He smiled slightly, still trying to relax even a little bit from that sudden burst of noise. The elf finished closing up shop and left Raymond to his own devices, fully expecting something to be broken or ruins while he was off resting. Walking upstairs, he checked in with Arnona for a few moments before retiring to his own room for a few hours, trying to get as much rest as he could. Once he got whatever rest he could, Alira walked down and approached Raymond. "Alright. You ready?" @Phoenix_Nebula

Raymond was lucky that Alira wasn't aggressive by nature, or else he would've definitely been regretting the gunshot a lot mor...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump Potentially, to Alira's surprise, Raymond was sitting calmly on one of the stools in the middle of an entirely clean cafe. Not only was the trash taken out, but the floor was thoroughly swept and mopped to the utmost perfection. Not only that, but the most impressive part of it all was that the soldier had not broken anything throughout the process, only being another testament to his tidy, formal nature. However, when it came to him, personally, he was experiencing another one of his...epsiodes. He was in an entranced state, staring directly at the wall with the revolver in his hands. Upon closer inspection, it was empty, having no rounds in the cylinder whatsoever which meant that he could not fire it, though it was uncertain as to whether or not Alira understood this, seeing that the revolver came from a different universe.

The silence is soon broke however as Arnona had seemingly appeared behind Alira out of nowhere,* "Noticed him too, huh?" She said while resting her hands on her hips before pointing at the very disturbed Raymond, "He's been like that for a while now, I woke up and went to grab some food before I noticed him...I err...don't know if he's gonna be okay."

The elf appreciated how clean everything was, but when he noticed that Raymond was in one of his trances again, he took his place behind the counter. "..I've got no idea. As much as I want to see about getting him out of it, I have no idea if doing anything with him's just gonna end up with us getting killed like that rat." Alira was wary of the weapon, with the loud noises and potential killing power. Most times, if you were going to be killed from a distance, you had a chance to get out of the way or block it. Not that, though, to his understanding. It was instant, loud, and efficient. "Let's give him a few minutes.. And if he doesn't stir before then, I'm just gonna have to risk it." @Phoenix_Nebula

The elf appreciated how clean everything was, but when he noticed that Raymond was in one of his trances again, he took his plac...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump "I can hear you, you know that?" Raymond had broken the silence not long after Alira finished his sentence, looking down at his revolver on table before sitting up and staring them dead in the eye, "You are incorrect to believe that I would needlessly end your lives right here and now. I have...see it before and, believe me, it is not a pleasant sight to behold." He then turned around and grabbed his revolver, placing it inside of its leather holster as he looked back at Alira, saying, "Where would you have me follow you now?"

His eyes flicked over to Raymond as he suddenly began to speak. "..No, I didn't. I still don't understand these trances you find yourself in." He replied truthfully. That was truthful on both parts of Raymond's response, since he had no idea what the trances meant in terms of how perceptive he was of the outside world, or how he'd react to physical interaction. How was he supposed to know if he was going to be violent when the gun was sitting right in front of him, within arm's reach? Shaking his head for a moment, he nodded over to the door. "We're going to visit some of my diviner friends. See if any of your things'll help with figuring out where your home is, and how to get you there." @Phoenix_Nebula

Hearing Alira's response, the man in olive drab would only smirk and offer a small chuckle in response before saying, "It is best that you did not anyways. If you had experienced a fraction of what I had endured before...this, you yourself would be driven mad." Raymond knew that Alira was unable to empathize with the horrors he had witnessed in his own world which is upset him only further. He was cut off from his fellow marines, those who knew what it was like to suffer from gas attacks, losing a piece of lung, let alone to be overwhelmed by a group of masked stormtroopers as they descend upon you with barbaric styled, spiked clubs and the like. In this Aetheria however, the people were too soft...at least that's what he believed anyways. But, nevertheless, he could not trouble himself with the thought any further, especially now as Alira explained the plan at hand. Moving on, Raymond took a deep breath before exhaling, saying, Very well then. Shall we make acquaintance with these 'diviner friends' of yours?"* Shortly therafter, he would walk in front of the door, giving Alira an expecting glance while waiting for his response.

His eyes flicked over to Raymond as he suddenly began to speak. "..No, I didn't. I still don't understand these trances you find...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump As for Arnona, she simply watched the interaction between Alira and Raymond in silence. Being a con artist for the past two years taught her to read the expressions of her prey which certainly helped her in reading the room. Moreover, it would be an over simplification for her to say that she herself felt tense by the situation, her tail instinctively fluffed up to make herself look bigger (even though she stood tall at 5'5") while keeping her mouth shut, waiting to see what would happen next. When Raymond finally calmed down however, and made his way to the door, she breathed a sigh of relief before looking at Alira and saying, "I'll uh...stay back here, in case anyone tries to break in. You can never be too sure eh?" She shrugged her shoulder with an insincere grin.

While he doubted that he'd be 'driven mad', Alira had no desire to go down such a rabbit hole. There were many things that should stay untouched, and this man's past seemed to be one of those things. "..Yes, perhaps it was for the best." The tone in Raymond's voice rubbed Alira the wrong way, at least a little bit.. As a human, it was impossible for Raymond to understand the type of madness Alira faced down every day, as a result of his dark hunger. Hell, even Arnona could never understand. When Raymond started walking to the door, Alira looked at the Felisylvan and just shook his head. People never broke into his cafe. He was by far too well-known as a magic user, and rumors about magic-using vampires spread like wildfire. Besides, he knew her well. She'd say that she'd watch over the place, but give it an hour, and she'd be outta here. Turning to Raymond, he moved to the door. "Stay close to me and don't bother people. You still stand out like a sore thumb." Then, he started walking, taking a winding series of turns through the commercial and residential districts, moving as if by instinct. Eventually, he stopped in front of a small building tucked into the corner of the block, between a couple of tall buildings. "Here we are." @Phoenix_Nebula

While he doubted that he'd be 'driven mad', Alira had no desire to go down such a rabbit hole. There were many things that shoul...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump Raymond would soon follow Alira out the door, but not Arnona. She was adamant in staying at the cafe for some odd reason. Perhaps she had some "plans" of her own or maybe she was afraid of what might happen between the two. Either ways, it didn't matter as the soldier followed the vampire elf through the streets of Dawn Haven. The journey went smoothly at first until a few people began to notice Alira walking with the man in olive drab, especially the mountain shaped hat that he wore. It went from a few quick glances here and there and other elves wondering why the owner of the Midnight Moon Cafe would have anything to do with a human to them wondering where he was from. As stated a while ago, he didn't appear to be from any neighboring kingdom they were familiar with so they were more curious than they were skeptical of him walking with one of their own. Nevertheless, it made no difference as both Alira and Raymond finally reached their destination, the small shelter that was situated in the middle of several taller buildings. The latter simply looked at it in curiosity, as he did with the rest of the buildings they passed by before they had gotten here. He kept to himself throughout the journey, refusing to take his eyes off of the former who was his only guide in this strange and foreign world. Eventually, he had opened up, saying, "Well...it certainly looks far better than the barracks I was in. What do we do now? Do we just...wait here or?..." (( @Cecil

As stated before, Alira had every belief that Arnona would end up ditching the cafe at some point before they got back, since she never was one to stay in one place for an extended period of time. Especially when she likely had plans for more people to con. The elf believed whole-heartedly that she didn't care to watch over the cafe during the day for him. She hadn't in the past, at the very least, on the off chance that Alira went out for the day. The questioning glances from other elves didn't bother him, since he was known for taking in odd fellows that had nowhere else to go. Hell, that's how he ended up with Arnona staying upstairs. Strange looks because of his company were normal, and something that he'd become used to a long time ago. Glancing over at Raymond when he questioned what they were to do, he just shook his head. "No. I let my friend know that we'd be coming, and they said to just knock when we got here." Without a moment's hesitation, Alira knocked on the old wooden door, which seemed to open on its own. "Follow me, Raymond." The elf turned and walked inside. Once the two of them were inside, Alira took a seat at a nearby table. "I've brought the man I told you about. Hopefully you can divine anything of his home from his belongings." Glancing back at Raymond, he motioned to the table. "Please, put a few of your belongings on your table, and my friend will see what he can divine from it." @Phoenix_Nebula

As stated before, Alira had every belief that Arnona would end up ditching the cafe at some point before they got back, since sh...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump As the two walked inside, Raymond would bump his head against the doorway, "Argh, cunt!" he muttered, banging her fist against the wall in anger. Once he noticed Alira's friends however, his mood quickly changed as he said, *"O-Oh, err, apologies for my language. My name is Raymond, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Fully stepping inside and sitting down, he took his hat off in accordance with the etiquette he had been taught in his world. Moving on, once Alira had asked him to place some of his items on the table for his friend, he paused for a moment, realizing he had left a fair amount of his belongings back at the Cafe; However, a quick fumble through his coat pockets brought relief to his mind as he pulled out...a literal hand grenade. Taking the explosive, he placed it down on the table alongside his campaign hat and a post card from his home land. It wasn't much, but hopefully it would be enough for the divine.

The man muttered something about Raymond being quite rude to Alira before taking whatever Raymond put on the table into his hands, closing his eyes and speaking in strange magic-speak that Raymond had no way to understand- Alira understood bits and pieces of it, knowing that it was some kind of divination spell, but not exactly what his diviner friend would see. As the man continued his spell, it was clear that whatever he was seeing wasn't good. Visions of whatever was carried by the items were terrible, clearly visible on the older man's expression. His skin had started to go pale, his eyes seeing past them, but still wide. The whole experience lasted several minutes, but when he was done speaking his spell, he carefully- and shakily- placed the objects back on the counter, his voice barely louder than a whisper. "..These.. objects.. carry nothing but a painful past. I can see nothing of your future from these.. Now begone." The man stood up slowly, the visions clearly having taken a toll on him as he struggled to keep to his feet, moving away from them. Alira stood and looked after the diviner with a concerned expression. "..I've.. never seen that before.. Looks like this isn't going anywhere yet, sorry Raymond." The elf sighed, having little idea of what else he could do to help Raymond at this particular time. @Phoenix_Nebula

As the diviner scurried away from the horrific scenes of Raymond's past, the soldier sat still, listening to them while showing no emotion whatsoever. The words in which he spoke "I can see nothing of your future from these", resonated deep within the heart of Raymond. After everything he had went through, the will to continue on in the march of life had dwindled. To him, it would've been better had he died during that trench raid, the fate of being struck down by the makeshift club of a German Stormtrooper would most likely have brought him peace compared to now. Moreover, after Alira had finally spoke, his gaze soon turned to the grenade he had placed on the table as his hand brushed the holster for his service revolver. Whatever he planned to do with it however, he soon relented, choosing instead to simply get up and salute the diviner, saying, "You did what you could, magician, I could not ask for more than that." He then grabbed his belongings, placing his hat back onto his head before leaving the room. Moving on, as he and Alira were making their way back to the cafe, Raymond could only wonder what would become of him. He doubted that this vampire would suffer him to stay for much longer which caused him to ponder where he would go next, that is if he would even last that long...then again, he was good at foraging for supplies before the war so he would be fine. 1/2

Before he could ponder any further, however, his ears caught the sound of a group of men and women shouting nearby. Having caught his attention, he looked at Alira concerningly before making the hasty decision to run towards the noise. Much to his displeasure, Raymond was met with a small group of humans that were rallied outside the Midnight Moon Cafe, shouting for a "ginger furball" to come out and face them and other less flattering words. Soon enough, Raymond's disparity gave way to indignance as he marched down the street, his hand firmly grasped on his holster, shouting in an authoritative voice, "Just what the hell are you lot doing here!?" Getting their attention, the group of human men turned to face the soldier from another world and could only look on in shock, not knowing who this man was and who he came from. However, they shook off this surprise and shouted at him, saying, "Back off old man, this doesn't concern you! Some damn kitten scammed us and our friends outta money and we've tracked her down here." It was certain that trouble was brewing, only the gods knew what would happen next...

05:48

(( @Cecil

The elf followed Raymond, walking at a quick pace. When he turned the corner to see what could very easily be called an 'angry mob' outside of his cafe, he could only guess one thing that would've brought them here: Arnona. His suspicions were confirmed when he heard them shouting about an 'ginger furball', and with a sigh, the elf continued to follow Raymond, who had gotten into a shouting match with one of the men outside of the cafe, much to Alira's displeasure. Walking swiftly after Raymond, he gently put a hand on his shoulder, whispering to him: "No violence, please." Then, the elf moved forward to face the man. "If you were scammed by a mundane cat, I would suggest re-evaluating your investment strategies. Though, if you're talking about a Felisylvan, I'd heavily advise against using terms such as 'kitten' to talk about them. They don't take kindly to that, and they already dislike humans as it is. Now, how exactly were you scammed and why are you outside my cafe, causing a ruckus for all the nocturnal people here?" His tone went from joking to serious, now that they were being a threat to his business. @Phoenix_Nebula

The elf followed Raymond, walking at a quick pace. When he turned the corner to see what could very easily be called an 'angry m...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump Two of the human bigots looked at one another before giving Alira a gaze of bitterness. "Great, now gotta deal with this pointy eared bastard." *they thought to themselves before speaking up. "Listen, elf. We don't care what you freaks are called, if you ain't human, you ain't human, simple as that. As for the kitty we're looking for, we just want you to give her up so she can hand her our coins back." While the one in charge continued going on their tirade and explained the most recent scam Arnona was involved in, one of them reached for something that was in his pocket, a sharp blade. Raymond, being the experienced soldier that he was, took note of this and kept his eyes on him, taking quick glances at the others that were close to the one in charge. Suddenly, one of them let out a shout of rage and charged directly towards Alira, saying, "TAKE THIS YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

The elf followed Raymond, walking at a quick pace. When he turned the corner to see what could very easily be called an 'angry m...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump With Raymond's eyes now widened, he made the hasty decision of getting in the way, causing the assailant to stab him in the arm instead. As one might expect, the soldier let out a shout of pain before kicking him away from him. As the rest of the group looked on, they instinctively jumped in, knowing that the two would soon retaliate. Their belief was correct as soon enough, Raymond had finally snapped. Taking the blade as if it were nothing, rammed it straight into the air way of his attacker as the two went after Alira.

"If you have nothing nice to say about me or anyone I have in my care, then I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to be on your way, before I call the authorities. You're causing a disturbance." Alira stared at the humans, being as polite as he could for someone so clearly distasteful. That changed when one of them charged forward at him, with Raymond stepping forward and taking the knife instead of the elf, which caused Alira to duck down as two of the humans charged him. He spoke a handful of magic words, waving his hands in arcane gestures as he backed up and a small cloud of dust spread out to the two humans, being a sleeping spell. @Phoenix_Nebula

With Raymond's attacker now dead, he stood over them triumphantly...for about a few seconds before he continuously kicked the dead body in frustration, rubbing his wounded arm once he was done. "Pity..." Raymond muttered as he turned to face Alira, "...these humans are weak, not that it matters anyhow. I need to get patched up, I think I have some bandages in the room I was sleeping at."

The moment this was said, Arnona barged out of the cafe and looked at the two, completely dumbfounded at what had just occurred. When she saw what Raymond himself did, her eyes widened as she said, "Dear gods, Raymond! Remind me not to mess with you when you're in those little trances of yours..." Noticing his wound, she couldn't help but feel a ounce of pity for him, especially since he and Alira were the ones who saved her from those human bigots. "Err, don't know if we have bandages for that, but I do know Alira has some rubbing alcohol he keeps in the back. I'll err, go get it right now."

23:44

@Cecil

The elf let out a quiet sigh as he contacted the authorities with a simple spell, letting them know what happened, before turning back to Raymond. "..Let's get you inside. The authorities will take care of these men." The elf didn't seem like himself, quietly shaking his head. The smell of blood was strong, and it was taking a lot to keep himself under control. Walking inside, Alira went to the back and brought out a full medical kit, setting it down on the counter as Arnona got back down. "Arnona.. Fix him up. Please." It may not be clear to Raymond what Alira was so tense about, given that the elf hadn't talked about him being a vampire, but to Arnona it'd be very clear- Today had been stressful, and his vampiric thirst was acting up. Alira reached into the cabinet and pulled out one of his blood canisters, opening it and drinking straight from it, something very unusual for him. @Phoenix_Nebula

The elf let out a quiet sigh as he contacted the authorities with a simple spell, letting them know what happened, before turnin...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump As he did so, Arnona looked at Alira, frowning as he went and grabbed what she could to stop the bleeding. She let out a heavy sigh as well, cleaning Raymond's wound as she felt something he hadn't felt in a long time...regret. Because of her actions, the person who had been looking out for her for the past couple of years was beyond stressed and, not only that, but the stranger that had been with them for less than a day was injured...all because of her scams. This wasn't the first time she had let someone down, it was the main reason why she was even here in the first place, all because of...no, now's not the time to think about her. She had to focus on Raymond and get him cleaned up." Once she was done, she stood up and stared at the patched up wound, saying, "Well, it ain't perfect, but you'll be fine." She paused for a bit, taking a look at Alira as he began chugging down one of his blood canisters, "Uhm, Raymond? Not that I care or anything but, I'm assuming that whole meeting with one of Alira's friends didn't work out so great...what do you plan on doing next?"

The elf let out a quiet sigh as he contacted the authorities with a simple spell, letting them know what happened, before turnin...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump Looking down onto the floor for a bit, Raymond could only sigh as he thought of the depth of the situation. Everything was hopeless as of now, there was no way to get out of the world he was in, not to mention the trauma in which he carried on his back. Loooking back at Arnona, he simply stated, "Well, Arnona dear. I suppose I should go and meet the fate I was meant to face back in the trenches...this world is not quite meant for me, and I was not meant for this world either." Standing up, he walked towrds the room but, before then, he looked back at her and said, "I apologize for being a burden to both you and mister Alira. I'll be taking my belongings and will leave, first thing in the morning...I'll figure it out...somehow" And, just like that, he left and fell asleep.

When Raymond left, Alira let out a quiet sigh and put the canister down. "..Arnona. What did you do to scam those men? I let you stay here with the understanding that I could stay out of your business, because it really isn't any of mine." Slowly sinking into a chair, his hand pushed some of his hair out of the way as he leaned his forehead against his palm. Not only had he failed to help Raymond, who was planning on leaving, but now he'd have hateful humans bothering him and his establishment. Today had been a terrible day. @Phoenix_Nebula

When Raymond left, Alira let out a quiet sigh and put the canister down. "..Arnona. What did you do to scam those men? I let you...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump Arnona knew she was in trouble the moment Alira called her out by her name, causing a pang of guilt to enter her body. Usually she was smart enough to evade the people in which she scammed, but it looks like these people caught on quickly this time. With her ears now lowered, she looked down at the floor as the rest of her body turned to face him, saying, "Look, Alira, I didn't think this was gonna happen. I sold those punks a couple of counterfeit paintings, told them that they were of high value and all that stuff. I didn't think they were gonna find me, you know how I always lie low and this stuff never even reaches your ears!...Guess I was wrong." All good things must come to an end, she thought to herself. This might actually be the day where she herself gets kicked out and will have to follow Raymond outside the door. At the very least, she knew she had a good run and was ready to accept what happened next...not like she had any friends in this world anyhow.

His gaze slowly turned to her, and she could see just how exhausted he looked. "..I.." Letting out a sigh, he shook his head. As much as he didn't like how things had gone, he didn't think he'd be able to kick her out and be alone. Not when he was in this state. "Just don't let it happen again, got it? I don't think I'd be able to handle another scare like that." He didn't think that he had the energy to open up the cafe today.. Which was definitely strange, given he never skipped a shift at the Midnight Moon. But today? He just didn't have it in him. Blinking slowly, looking at the counter in front of him, Alira just shook his head. "..Tomorrow, I want you to make sure that Raymond doesn't get hurt when he leaves, okay?" @Phoenix_Nebula

His gaze slowly turned to her, and she could see just how exhausted he looked. "..I.." Letting out a sigh, he shook his head. As...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump Relief poured down Arnona's back once Alira explained he wasn't getting rid of her. She appreciated it, more than that, she was beyond grateful. Most would've cast her out of their sight which would lead to her having to find another place to hole up in. She liked being around Alira too, even if she wasn't around all that much...point is, she was glad to not be abandoned...for now. Moving on, she nodded her head frantically, saying, "Yeah, of course, won't happen again and will definitely make sure Raymond stays safe...got it." In spite of her relief, Arnona still bowed her head in shame, shuffling her legs upstairs to her room. After everything that just happened, the desire to go out and scam more people had been extinguished, choosing instead to sulk and think about the consequences of her actions. For once, this was the first night where she didn't choose to go out and scam other people. Hopefully things would be better in the morning. End of Section 1

Section 2

His gaze slowly turned to her, and she could see just how exhausted he looked. "..I.." Letting out a sigh, he shook his head. As...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump Usually, nocturnal creatures like Alira and Arnona tend to sleep during the day and were awake during the night. However, yesterday was so utterly exhausting for everyone involved, causing them to rest and keep the Midnight Moon closed, at least for tonight. Because of how unnatural it was, our Felisylvan thief was unable to get much rest, not to mention the sheer guilt that she was burdened with after putting Alira's wellbeing and business in harms way. So, still dressed in her pajamas, she got out of bed and went to check on Raymond, hoping to distract herself by helping him pack up. However, when she went to check on him, he was nowhere to be found, not even his personal belongings. Panic soon seeped into her veins as she realized what that meant. Without wasting anymore time, she ran upstairs and went to Alira's room, went to his bed and said, "Alira, wake the fuck up! Raymond's not here. He left!"

The vampiric elf took several moments to wake up, even a little bit, so that his brain could process what was being said. As soon as it clicked, he jumped straight out of bed, in just a simple set of pajamas that were, frankly, very plain, and he rushed over to the guest room. "By the Gods, there's been too much trouble here as of late.." He mumbled other his breath, concerned mostly for the safety of the human. He knew far too little about the world to be running around getting himself into trouble, especially after his.. violent reaction to the men outside the cafe yesterday. "I'll contact my friends, see if anyone's seen him." Then, he disappeared to the back room to cast his messaging spells. @Phoenix_Nebula

The vampiric elf took several moments to wake up, even a little bit, so that his brain could process what was being said. As soo...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump As for Arnona, she decided to get ready to go look for him, hopefully he didn't go too far as there was only so much of Dawn Haven that she knew like the back of her hand. Still feeling ashamed of her action from the yesterday, she decided it would be best not to wear her usual attire. Going through her closet, she decided to go with a "costume" she had "found" a few weeks before Raymond's arrival to Dawn Haven. She knew that the costume was related to a certain hammer-wielding huntress but had not scene the show where she originated from. Putting it on, Arnona took a look at herself in the mirror, not too pleased with how she looked, not used to showing off this much skin. Still, it was better than wearing her usual attire, plus it felt somewhat comfy, the air reaching her arms and legs for once. Moving on, when she was about to go downstairs, she was met by a shocking surprise. An elven woman with blonde hair and a toga as white as snow was sitting on one of the tables, humming to herself as she sipped on Alira's canister of blood. When she noticed Arnona, she simply looked at her with a warm smile and waved which sent chills down her spine. As a result, she scurried over to the backroom as she said, "H-Hey, uh...Alira? Did you invite someone in? I thought we were gonna...you know, keep this place closed for the day."

06:54

(I have such a soft spot for cosplaying.)

Author's Note: In light of the fact that Halloween is around the corner, I decided to have some of my OC's dress up as characters from Rooster Teeth's RWBY. This is purely for cosmetic purposes and will most likely have no bearing on the plot at hand unless told otherwise.

The elf was in deep focus when she first walked in, murmuring his incantations in the dark back room, his eyes slowly opening when his messages were sent. "..No, I didn't invite anyone in.. I didn't even unlock the door.. Why? Who's out there?" He rose to his feet and turned, walking out to the front. When he walked out, a rare frown came over his face as he saw an elven woman drinking from his canister- It was something he didn't share, for obvious reasons, but also because he only refilled it sparingly. "..Ma'am, we're closed for today. I must ask you to please set that down and leave. I apologize for the inconvenience." @Phoenix_Nebula

The elf was in deep focus when she first walked in, murmuring his incantations in the dark back room, his eyes slowly opening wh...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump When Alira confronted the strange woman, she looked at him, her warm smile still persisted as she looked at him. Taking another sip from his canister, she finally spoke up, "Sir, I wish to start off by complimenting your taste in blood, quite delicious if I do say so. But I also need to talk to you about something...serious." Closing the blood canister and placing it down on the table, she didn't break eye contact with him whatsoever. Moreover, what Alira could've picked up on was that her lips didn't move when she was talking, neither did her eyes as they were hype fixated on the vampiric elf. It looked...off, especially since the rest of her body was moving and showing body expressions. Nevertheless, she continued, "The man in olive drab...he is not meant to be here. He has crawled out of hell itself and now, he will bring it to this world..." Getting up from off the table, she made her way to the door before turning back to look at both Alira and Arnona, saying, "I will go look for him myself, I strongly suggest you do the same. If you ever struggle with finding him...look at the news."

Something was absolutely off about this strange woman. Not only was she drinking from his canister- Something that he kept under the counter and out of sight for the majority of the time, the way her expression was unchanging gave him predator vibes, something he wasn't used to seeing. "The man in olive drab?" Raymond, obviously.. But from Hell itself? Alira refused to believe that the broken man was able to bring Hell upon this world.. He was an enigma, to be sure, but the man wasn't terrible. "..I'll keep that in mind.." Well, that was grim. Alira did believe that he needed to find Raymond before something went wrong.. @Phoenix_Nebula

Something was absolutely off about this strange woman. Not only was she drinking from his canister- Something that he kept under...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump Within the blink of an eye, the woman had disappeared without a trace, the door hadn't even been unlocked at all. That's when Arnona, who had been sitting there nearly shitting her pants from how terrifying the mysterious stranger was, finally spoke up, saying, "Well...hopefully we won't see her again." Shaking her head as she let out a sigh, she peeked outside the window and continued, "Anyways, I guess that means we should get back to searching for Raymond....ugh...I wonder where that old bastard is at?"

Something was absolutely off about this strange woman. Not only was she drinking from his canister- Something that he kept under...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump The "old bastard" in question had found himself in the outskirts of the city believe it or not. However, thanks to his actions from yesterday, the city was astir about the marine's presence which only made things difficult for him. People, both human and non-human alike eyeballed him yet he was able to slip away and was now resting against a tree, his hat covering his face while he slept. Even with the horrors of war forever haunting him in this strange, alien world, soldiers like him needed to sleep now and then. However, this act would soon leave him vulnerable to someone who was soon approaching.

A human, clearly in his late 30s and weathered by war, fatigue baked into his face and his impressive build covered in scars, an old deerskin eyepatch covering his left eye. The human wore nothing more than common clothes as he approached and crouched down beside the sleeping Raymond. "..You're the one causing a stir in the city, huh? A man clearly out of place.. Those clothes are definitely not from around here.." The man took a seat in front of Raymond, sitting on a moderately large rock while he waited for the man to awaken, his one visible eye closed and his breathing deep and even. He had questions, to be sure, but he would not make assumptions about the man's reasons for his actions. Him of all people understood that intentions sometimes betrayed their actions.. @Phoenix_Nebula

A human, clearly in his late 30s and weathered by war, fatigue baked into his face and his impressive build covered in scars, an...

@Evrog (@Cecil) - jump It would not take long for the man to wake up from his slumber. As his campaign hat slipped off his face, and landed onto the grass, he would let out a snort and slowly get up, being met face to face with the human that sat in front of him. "How convenient..." The marine muttered as he picked up this hat from off the ground. "Howdy, partner." Raymond greeted the stranger as he rubbed the sleepiness out of his sleep. "Please don't tell me you're here to kill me, you'd be the third bloke to try and do so this afternoon."

"..No, I'm not here to kill you. My fighting days are far behind me.." He let out a quiet sigh, leaning forward to get a good look at the soldier in front of him. "..You've been causing enough trouble for it to reach my little home on the far edge of town. If this were ten years sooner, perhaps I would've gone to fight you. But instead, I'm going to ask you why you're doing what you're doing. What did people in this city do to you to have you go on a rampage?" @Phoenix_Nebula

"..No, I'm not here to kill you. My fighting days are far behind me.." He let out a quiet sigh, leaning forward to get a good lo...

@Evrog (@Cecil) - jump Well, they look different than me so there's that." Raymond said with a chuckle before being interrupted by his own wheezing. That's when he pulled out a crumpled up box with a came on the front before pulling out a cigarette. Taking a moment to light it, he took a quick puff before continuing, "I was just joking...mostly anyway. I was staying with pointy eared fellow and his little lady friend. Looked a bit weird if I do say so, had ears and tails of a feline which made me ponder what kind of ungodly acts go around here." He said with a groan before taking another puff of his cigarette, he certainly was new here, that much could be said... "Anyways, there were those who...well, had a stronger distaste in the girl, much more than I did. So much so that they wished to kill her. It was for that reason that I had to teach them a lesson." He proceeded to point at his holstered revolver, "Turns out I had disturbed an entire group of hooligans that seem to hate these cat people. Ever since then, I spent the past couple of hours having to pepper them with my gun...heh, funny how they act as if they've never a firearm before..."

There were several 'pointy-eared' races that Evrog had encountered throughout his years, but the cat-eared girl was obvious. A Felisylvan, a people who had quite the distaste for humans, even if Evrog himself didn't have a problem with them as a people. He'd fought with and against all manner of people, so he didn't harbor any particular hatred toward a specific race. "I'm surprised a Felisylvan even put up with having a human around.. Relations have always been tense between the two races. Your reaction to her is a good example of why." He watched Raymond take a few puffs of his cigarette before continuing. "There are groups of people who despise the Felisylvans, yes.. Just like there are Felisylvans who hate humans, and are willing to kill." The whole thing brought a certain distate to Evrog, who had been on both ends of a similar contact and saw how futile it really was. People rarely changed, though. Too stubborn. "..You're not from here, are you? That weapon's unfamiliar, even to me, and I know my weapons." @Phoenix_Nebula

There were several 'pointy-eared' races that Evrog had encountered throughout his years, but the cat-eared girl was obvious. A F...

@Evrog (@Cecil) - jump Chuckling at the official name of "cat people", Raymond responded, "Is that what they call them? Why not call them werecats or something else that doesn't result in a bloody migraine? But yes, she didn't like me much but I believe she was attempting to warmup to me. That was until I messed everything up and now I have nowhere else to go..." Shrugging his shoulders, he listened to the rest of what the stranger had to say, surprised that his types of weapons weren't common here. Once he pointed out his revolver, the marine unholstered it before opening the cylinder, saying, "Colt new army chambered in the 45 acp, can stop a bull right in its tracks. I also had a shotgun but I must've left it in the boat near the docks..." That's when he let out a groan and muttered a few curses, the mere thought of leaving any of his weapon unattended causing him great distress. That's when he turned back around and said, "Well, I mustn't waste anymore time. As much as I enjoy out little...chat, I need to get my weapon back if I am to flee this godless city and head into the woods. Apparently, there's more of those feli..felisyl...ah, to hell with it! I need to arm myself, lest those cat people tear me to shreds. I haven't much to offer you but, if you are invested in where I'm from, you could come along and help me. I can tell you've...well, experienced similar hardships as I did."

"..Because it is far more polite to call them by their actual name." One thing that had been drilled into him for years during his upbringing was etiquitte, even if he was just a soldier. No.. He had once been a knight. Not just a mundane soldier. "..How is it that you've messed up? Killing someone in defense of another?" Evrog shook his head. It had been something he had done in his past as well, likely on a far greater scale than this man taking down racist ruffians.. Though he had gotten numb to it long ago, much to his distaste. The warrior watched the man draw his weapon and describe it, frankly having no idea what he was saying. "..No, can't say I've ever seen a weapon like that." When Raymond stood, so did Evrog. "..Entering the forest is a terrible idea. The Felisylvans despise humans, and I've often heard their screams in the night, the poor fools who venture in.. If you value your life, there are other ways to leave the city that are far safer.." To say he had experienced similar hardships was an understatement, but even he didn't want to see people suffer. @Phoenix_Nebula

"..Because it is far more polite to call them by their actual name." One thing that had been drilled into him for years during h...

@Evrog (@Cecil) - jump "I don't value it whatsoever." Raymond interrupted in a raised voice when Evrog warned him of the dangers of the forest. Turning away, he walked back and inspected the path that would lead into the less-cultivated areas of Dawn Haven, saying, "I have no way back home and the only thing I have other than my uniform are the nightmares of those wretched trenches..." Pulling out his journal, he continued, "I should've died that day...we were overwhelmed, all that was left that kept those Germans from breaking through. I had the misfortune of surviving the gas and shells they brought upon us...and here I was thinking I was the lucky one. But alas..." He turned back to face Evrog with his tired, sunken eyes, "I've been brought here, to a world not my own as punishment for even making it out of that bloody war. I suppose all there is for me to do now is to...well, die." Indifferent to his warning, the marine had no desire to preserve his own life. He had been mentally programmed to fight and t hat was all he knew. The horrors of war soon cemented this into his head as now, the only hope he seemed to have was to die in battle, the way he believed his life should've ended.

The man watched Raymond walk away, talking about whatever experiences he had during the war that he fought. "..I won't claim to understand what you went through, but I can understand the feeling that you should have died, and the horrors of war. I've faced my fair share of moments like that, and I should have honestly died, had it not been for an old comrade of mine. I can't stop you from taking your own path, I can tell, but if by some chance that the Felisylvans don't immediately kill you.." He pulled out a small necklace. "For good luck. Take it." @Phoenix_Nebula

The man watched Raymond walk away, talking about whatever experiences he had during the war that he fought. "..I won't claim to...

@Evrog (@Cecil) - jump Before Raymond left, he decided to take the necklace and inspect it. He was silent, a single tear streaming from his eye out of gratitude for this act of kindness. Perhaps the inhabitants of this world weren't...bad, after all. Stashing it inside one of his shirt pockets, he cleared his throat before saying, "Well, I certainly appreciate this offer. It is...good, knowing that there are even people who understand the stress in which combat brings...farewell, soldier, and thank you again for this, err...necklace." With that, Raymond was on his "merry way" into felisylvan territory, his fate unknown...for now.

The man watched Raymond walk away, talking about whatever experiences he had during the war that he fought. "..I won't claim to...

@Evrog (@Cecil) - jump Meanwhile with Arnona, she had returned to the Cafe and let out a sigh, banging her fist on the table as she shouted,* ”Damn it! Where could that old fuck have gone!? He’s only been in this town for two days and already he’s nowhere to be found.” Shaking her head, she looked towards Alira and said, ”Well, I searched everywhere and I couldn’t find him. Don’t know if he’s dead or not either since I couldn’t even find his body…”

"..I haven't turned anything up either.. His violence seemed.. random. There wasn't much connecting the locations of the attacks, so it's hard to find a pattern.." The elf shook his head, seeming exhausted. Being a vampire, he didn't sleep in the same manner as Arnona, but he still needed his rest. "..I hope he's okay. I'd hate for someone to find him when he's spaced out.." Many people had already been injured as a result of Raymond's wandering, something Alira felt like he needed to take responsibility for.. "..You must be exhausted. Go get some rest." @Phoenix_Nebula

"..I haven't turned anything up either.. His violence seemed.. random. There wasn't much connecting the locations of the attacks...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump The young felisylvan couldn't help but groan in distress. She was tired, not having had her usual nap which only made her feel worse about the situation. Still, she was smart enough to see that Alira was right about her needing some rest "You're right, I guess I could use some sleep. Gods, I've been up since-"

Before Arnona could finish what she had to say, the door to the café would creak open, causing her to turn around. That's when she would be taken aback by the "trespasser". It was a "pure-breed" felisylvan that towered over our two protagonists with thick, black fur and a warm, motherly grin. Looking down at Arnona, she cooed out, "Hello, dear. It's been a while, hasn't it?" before her daughter could say anything else, she took a seat on one of the chairs as she continued, "My oh my, you've changed quite a bit since the last time I saw you..."

Not having prepared to meet her mother again so suddenly, Arnona was dumbfounded that her own mother was right here, especially since the only form of contact they had with each other was through letters they wouldn't receive for weeks. In spite of this, she was able to work up the courage and finally respond, saying, "...M-Mom? I- uh, don't know what to say...W-What are you even doing out here? I thought the elders weren't allowed to travel outside of Felisylvan territory?"

"Hmph, and here I was thinking you'd be happy to see me." Arnona's mother growled before clearing her throat, "Listen, I'm not here to scold you and I'm not angry at you. I noticed in the last letter you sent me that you were feeling...lonely. So, as the loving mother that I am, I decided to come all the way here and at least...invite you to partake in our annual festival back home? And besides, the others dare not question my authority, especially upon hearing the reason for my departure...." Afterwards, she turned her head towards Alira, maintaining a warm smile as her ears perked up, saying, "Ah, and you must be Alira, the one I've heard about so often from my daughter. Words cannot describe my sheer gratitude I have for you taking care of Arnona, especially given the circumstances she found herself in."

The elf glanced at the woman who walked into his cafe. "..I'm sorry, ma'am, but we're not open during the day." He explained apologetically, but stopped when it became clear that this was Arnona's mother. Alira took a step back to allow the two women to talk amongst themselves, partially since he was curious about why her mother decided to show up now. When Alice turned her attention to him, Alira bowed his head respectfully. After all, she was a Felisylvan Elder, from what Arnona had said. "Pleasure to make your acquiantance, Ma'am." His fingers drummed against the cafe's counter as he spoke, something that Arnona would know only happened whenever he was stressed. Alira was very calm on the outside, so he had very few tells. Alira looked over at Arnona. "..I think taking some time away from the city might be good for you, Arnona." The way he said it should've told her exactly what he meant by that- Getting out of the city for a while would be safer for her, given the trouble from her little.. excursions. "Personally, I think you should go." @Phoenix_Nebula

Arnona could only help but sigh in response to Alira's suggestion. She knew it was the best either way and would give her the space needed to get away from the mess she caused. Besides, she didn't want Alira getting hurt because of her either, especially after all the good he's done for her in the past. So, with a look of solemnity, she nodded her head, saying, "Y-Yes, mom...I'll go with you, let me just get my stuff first, it won't take long." With that being said, she went upstairs and began grabbing her things. She needed this break, they all did.

The elf glanced at the woman who walked into his cafe. "..I'm sorry, ma'am, but we're not open during the day." He explained apo...

@Alira Trarona (@Cecil) - jump Meanwhile, as she waited for her to finish up, Alice turned to face Alira, continuing to smile, "You're stressed, I can tell..." She said while leaning forward onto the chair, "Being in my position, you are able to tell the emotions of those who try to hide it. It's important to do so, especially in our own court of law." She chuckled softly, hoping to alleviate the elf's stress before saying, "I hope it's not because Arnona is leaving, though I can hardly imagine the trouble she's been up to ever since both her and another daughter of mine ran away from home. But I can assure you, she will be fine."

"No, no.. It's not because she's leaving. I wouldn't want to bother a stranger with my troubles, don't worry about me." He shook his head and hand dismissively. Truly, he was more concerned about Raymond than anything else. Alira was a kind-hearted individual, and having seen some of the things that were in that man's journal.. He feared for the soldier's safety, especially since they simply.. couldn't find him. Once Arnona was out of the city, the elf would have one less thing to worry about so that he could focus completely on running the Midnight Moon by dark and searching for the soldier by light. That wouldn't leave him much time to really get any sleep, but it wasn't like he absolutely needed it, anyway. It was nice to rest, but not an absolute necessity for vampires, elvish vampires especially. Alira reached under the counter and pulled out a canister of blood- a different one than his usual, since he hadn't gotten around to cleaning the one that stranger had drank out of without permission- and took a long swig of it. It felt like a waste of good blood to drink it so quick, but fuck he needed some right now.. @Phoenix_Nebula