Cassian Alaric // 18 // Male // Thief // M: Diamond, Open

They had always said adventures with strangers would be the perfect opportunity for a fairy-tale and a great awakening.

Turns out they’d lied.

He was so- so sick of all these pretentious bastards. Sure, they were lovely - if he was being generous - but let’s be real. None of them were a part of his crowd, nor did it seem like any of them would prefer his company. He was fine with that, though. The light rain was filling him with an oddly warm feeling. Cassian glanced up at the sky and its dreary clouds, shielding his eyes from the droplets of water. Wind was blowing the rain into his eyes. He squinted to see through the precipitation.

The ride there had been rather chaotic and tiring. Not only because of the gloomy weather and the irritating sound of the others, but because he had been forced to share a horse with the goddamn thief. Just the voice of that bastard, Diamond, made him want to claw his own ears off of his head. He would rather eat his own leg than have been shoved into sharing a ride with that horrible, smug creep. There had been so many times he had been tempted to just… fall off the horse and never get back up. Cassian was merely satisfied solely because the weather was to his liking, and he had immediately taken a liking to the horse he had ridden alongside Diamond.

While the others made their merry little ways to the tavern, he took one last glance up at the rain falling gracefully onto the land around him. He breathed out a soft sigh before looking down at the stables where their horses had been left. Diamond had taken their shared horse - what did he call her, Stormy? - and said a rather dramatic farewell. There were also five other horses in the stable. The two bay mares had instantly caught his eye.

He knew he was going to take one (or both, depending on his determination) with him when they left the tavern. After all, they could always sell the duo later. Or he could have the chance of keeping one.

The horses all glanced up with seemingly monotone looks. “Tough crowd,” he muttered, sniffing with a bored appearance. Cassian wandered towards Storm, the horse he had ridden alongside Diamond. “Hey lass. Sorry about earlier. I just didn’t want to, you know, run while everyone else was sporting some speedy little ride.,” He smiled sheepishly. Both to accompany his words and acknowledge the fact that he was talking to a group of horses with grumpy eyes.

He sighed and turned around, putting his back to one of the wooden poles supporting the thing. He slid down it, landing gently on the floor and its dirty covering. He let his head thunk against the wood softly, closing his eyes and breathing in the rainy air.

One of his favorite things about the rainy weather was not only the ambience and feeling of static everywhere, but the smell. The smell of humidity and freshness and a blanketing of clouds. Like a fresh start and an ending all at once. It was almost as if he could lie out in the rain for years and years to come. He liked the sweetness and darting pellets of rain. The wind was his least favorite part. Cold weather was perfectly pleasant. Unless, of course, there was some sort of wind accompanying.

Cassian was half tempted to leave the tranquility of the rain and stable for some warm drink inside the tavern, but then again, that would include socializing, most likely, and that was something he most definitely did not want. He opened his eyes to stare at the lights brightening the stables. They flickered and danced as if afraid and powerful. He ran his hand through his hair and studied his surroundings with blank thoughtfulness. He truly wanted a glass of warm ale right now.

He grumbled and rubbed his eyes, his back slicked with the water that had soaked into his clothing. His hair dripped in a messy, horrendous mess. He was too tired to bother shaking his hair out, though. His mere logic was that if he could dry out his hair in such a way, then he may as well go inside to purchase some form of warm food.

Who had the time for such a thing, though?

In any case, the feeling of the cold water sliding down his back reminded him of his childhood. Mainly getting tackled in the rain and into the mud by his siblings. But, they were good memories nonetheless.

Cassian folded his legs against his chest and crossed his arms on top of them, turning into some form of a fetal creature as he rested his head on his arms. A yawn pierced the quiet and he muttered incoherent words as he slowly closed his eyes.

Diamond Eyes | Male | 19 | Closeted Homosexual | Thief | M: Everyone

“Hey, don’t worry, Ranger Boy! You probably won’t die ‘cause you’ve got yours truly looking after you!” Diamond flashed a charming smile to Agnar before turning to Anna. “Buuuuut a beer or two is always better on your toes than on yer arse!” Diamond chuckled to himself before stepping into the establishment, causing all eyes to turn towards him for a brief moment as the playfully piano music stopped because the piano man gave a tiny wave to Diamond who quickly returned the favor with a small smile. With rotting wooden floors and a bar half-full of silent patrons, Diamond’s smile only grew in size as the smell of drunk men and awful food filled his nose. “Oh and don’t worry, Ranger Boy, they have ale with a lot less alcohol in it if you would prefer not to get black out drunk anytime soon. You’ve got to be the world’s lightest lightweight to get drunk with this ale! Oh and you have to try their chicken soup! It is to—“

“Diamond? Diamond Eyes, is that you??” a woman's voice with a thick Quinnian accent from across the bar called. Diamond’s face lit up as a waitress stepped forward before trotting over to him with a circle platter still in hand. She was a small chubby woman in a red dress with a warm smile, rosy cheeks, and hair the color of fire. This was a good friend of Diamond’s: Briar Driftwood. “It is you! My dear, how have you been? It’s been so long since you’ve last visited” Diamond opened his mouth to respond, but Briar suddenly grabbed one side of his face and frowned as she clutched the platter close to her chest with the other. “Gods, above you’ve gotten skinny…. Have you just not eaten or forgotten the concept of bloody eating you absolute imbecile??”

“Good to see you too Briar…,” Diamond mumbled softly with a faint chuckle as he gently pushed her hand away. “Actually, I was wondering if—”

“Oh goodie! You brought friends with you for once! You haven’t brought friends here since you were still a wee little lad!” Diamond had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Briar paused, taking a moment to analyze the people beside Diamond, specifically the ex-knights that were still entering the building and those that dressed like nobles just behind him, with suspicious eyes. Briar lowered her voice and pulled Diamond lower so she could whisper in his ear. “Are they blackmailing you, love?”

“Weeeeeell…,” Diamond eyed them all up and down, mostly the princess and the mage, “I’ll let you know if they try anything.”

“Good good!” Briar cheered as she smiled brightly at him. “Now you’ll have to talk to Henry before you get seated. You know how it is, Diamond. And please—” Briar gently kissed his cheek and left a red stain from her lips— “no fighting too much this time.”

“Thaaaaanks Briar,” Diamond grumbled, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he glared slightly. “I’ll keep it to ten insults tops!” Briar glared. “Eight?” Briar glared more. “Ugh, fine, I’ll keep it tah fockin’ five if it keeps ya from smotherin’ me to death.”

“Diamond Eyes,” a booming voice echoed. Diamond instantly stood up straight like a soldier as he stared down at the enormous figure at the other end of the room who had just come out from the back of the bar. He looked just a little shorter than Bjorn, but more muscular, with a bushy beard, hairy arms, and long flowing red hair. “I thought I told you to keep your dirty boots out of my tavern.”

“Well, Henry, I thought I told you to get better beer in this shitty tavern,” Diamond grumbled back as he folded his arms and cocked his hip.

“Maybe if you weren’t such a gods-forsaken bump on the log and brought in more customers,” Henry stepped closer, closing the gap between the two in just a few strides across the bar, “I would have more money to make better beer.”

“And if this tavern weren’t such a boring—” Diamond sharply jabbed his finger into Henry’s chest with almost every word he said, glaring up at him— “badly made bar with beer made of donkey piss and a newborn union, maybe it would actually be good!!”

Silence. The two glared in pure silence for what felt like minutes, hours, decades, before Henry suddenly burst into laughter. Any false tension fell away as Henry squeezed Diamond into a tight hug and spun him around like a toddler and their toy.

“Ah it is so good to see you again, Diamond!!” Henry cackled as he plopped him back down on the ground, patting his back so hard Diamond stumbled a second. “You need to visit more! We haven’t had any good musicians since you left.” The keys on the piano were suddenly slammed down in a harsh key as the pianist shouted, ‘Well fuck you too Henry!’ The patrons burst into laughter as Henry shook his head with a faint hearty laugh.

“Tempting but nah. I’ve got important business today!” Diamond paused, a mischievous sparkle in his eyes. “I’ll consider it if you help me feed and house a party of eleven?” Diamond suggested as he held out his hand.

“Deal.”

Instead of taking his hand, Henry pulled Diamond into a headlock and began ruffling Diamond’s hair. Diamond quickly escaped with a sharp jab of his elbow into Henry’s side, leaving the wounded Henry to flee back to the safety of his behind-the-bar area like a wounded dog scampering off with his tail between his legs. Diamond smiled as he walked over to the largest table of the bar and sat down.

“Come on and take a seat! I’ll tell you the best items on the menu!!”

Ragi Boros | Female | 26 | Bisexual | Cowardly Knight | M: Knights

Ragi was unfortunately cursed to always take care of children. Even when she was not taking care of her siblings, she was tasked with taking care of Saber and Viper. Frankly, Ragi did not mind the familiar feeling of managing the chaos of children, but it was semi-concerning how two ex-knights could always happen to collectively land themselves into odd shenanigans, especially and including when the fate of the world may be at stake.

“Saber,” Ragi spoke very carefully, not wishing to offend him as always, “in the future I would advise you to not go so fast with multiple people on a horse as to not hurt yourself, our dear friend, and your lovely horse—” Ragi glanced to the stablehand who had clearly given Saber an ungrateful and hateful look before forcing a bigger smile— “as well as the stablehand. Please?

“And I am sure—” Ragi continued as she clasped her hands together and looked away from the knights— “that both your horse and Viper—” Ragi paused and looked to the stablehand and offered another smile to them— “as well as this lovely and thoughtful stablehand could use an apology because I assure you Mrs. Viper is capable enough of being able to dismount a horse whereas her forgiveness might be much more difficult to achieve.”

Ragi gave a polite smile, proud of herself for intervening and glad she at least tried her best to properly handle yet another of Saber’s antics. Ragi found it incredibly hard to interact with others at times and often couldn’t tell the difference between friendly banter and insults so she always tried her best to keep everyone happy. Even now, with these two she had known for such a long time, she still attempted to be helpful by defusing situations. Now, whether or not her assistance was helpful or necessary is a completely different thing.

Augustus Rose | 18 | Mage| M: Zahra (ind), Diamond

Augustus opened his mouth to answer Zahra’s practical question. Her voice was like a volley of arrows breaking into his pitiful wooden shield. He hadn’t even decided what he was going to tell her, but her tone was demanding, so he acted out of fear. He was saved by the bell, however. A very red bell.

A little round red-headed miss dressed in red had bumbled out from the bar to meet Diamond. Apparently, they knew each other. She was a squat lady similar to what a mouse would look like if it was a woman. She had ruddy cheeks that were even more rosy and full with her broad smile. Despite her warmly welcome, August couldn’t help but look at her with a bit of worry and alarm as she gripped Diamond’s face in her calloused hands. His blue eyes were wide. What if she would grip each one of theirs? Her dirty fingers rubbing his skin and pinching his cheeks! Ugh, it was demeaning even if it was his own grandmother.

Their encounter captured his attention and he watched curiously. He shifted uncomfortably when the barmaid, Briar, lowered her voice and eyed him suspiciously. He looked at her arms. They were thick and well made. A decent amount of muscled from hard work probably lay under her skin, just waiting for him to make a wrong move. He looked at his own arms. Noodles. They were thin, soft noodles and at best they were green twigs. He made a mental note not to mess with this lady. Then Diamond turned around and looked at him with those cutting blue eyes. He felt the alarm bell ring in his mind and although he hadn’t realized it, he started breathing like a jackrabbit. Had he just set this, this, strong protective female upon him? His own blue eyes grew large and his feet were frozen to the dirt floor. Thankfully, the moment passed before his knees were scheduled to shake.

He was yanked out of his deer-in-the-headlights trance when Briar voiced a cheery response. He shifted again uncomfortably and hoped that his fear hadn’t been noticed by the others. He realized that he had missed some of the dialogue and was eager to catch up. Then Henry showed up.

He was a ginger, just like Briar. Except unlike her, he was massive. When they stood next to each other, they were like a muscular mouse and a really red elephant. His arms were hairy and the back of his hands were too. Ew! His hands looked like they hadn’t been washed in fifty years! Augustus couldn’t help but curl a lip in his disgust. The man’s face was mainly covered in a wooly fuzz of red. His hair was flowing and sleek. August wanted to touch it for some reason. Even though he also had long, ginger hair. But this man’s hair wasn’t just hair. It was a mane. Not a brittle and coarse mane of that dratted pony, however. Rather, like a lion's thick fur. August had been satisfied with his hair for as long as he lived and never wanted someone else’s. But damn. That hair was awesome.

And dirty.

He realized that the guy’s “mane” was filthy. Completely matted with dirt and with knots. Perhaps it was too much like a wild animal’s hair. It was no longer awesome, but it could’ve been. If only the guy had taken care of it. Oh well, another life wasted. He was aware that his own hair wasn’t in the finest condition, oily and tangled. However, at least he tried to take care of it.

He continued watching. Torn from judging them and his creeping hope of seeing Diamond smashed on the floor, he stayed quiet. As things progressed, he decided that he was in a bar with a group of weirdos. It wouldn’t kill him to have a little bit of fun. He was going through his lists of insults (particularly related to Diamond) when he realized that it was just a ruse. His excitement was not completely crushed when he heard that they were going to eat soon. He remembered Zahra’s question to him and decided that Diamond had solved her problem. As for himself, he was eager to get eating. He was hungry from being on the road.

“Do they have any fresh fruits or mutton chops? Actually, I could kill for some steak with some pepper or maybe some paprika. Hmm, maybe both…” He asked Diamond, although it pained him to talk to this low-lifer.

Cassian Alaric // 18 // Male // Thief // M: Bjorn, Diamond, Open

Everything was fading in and out in colors. Some part of him was successfully acknowledging the fact that he was asleep, but the other was trying to make sense of all the colors and shapes aggressively dancing in purple and green rain. He must have been extremely tired, but surely the ride to the tavern hadn’t been that taxing? One of the triangles dove at him and nudged his side. Cassian grumbled and shifted away from the sharp thing. It nudged him again, though, more aggressively. He side-eyed it with a sluggish move. Everything felt like a fever dream. Had he eaten anything recently that was spiked? No. He couldn’t remember eating anything for the past two days.

Huh.

He felt some outer-worldly presence lift him up, but when he looked around his surroundings with the colored rain and colored shapes, he was still standing. Was he standing, or was he sitting? He couldn’t remember. It felt like that one time he had eaten a weird colored mushroom in his childhood. Everything was so, so weird right now. It felt like he was floating towards some destination without doing it himself.

Then the shapes started chanting in some language. They sounded so cheery. So happy. He wanted to make them all shut up. The noises were so loud. A loud bang, thankfully, woke him up from his odd dream. His eyes tried opening, but the lights were far too bright. “Sorry,” a voice directly muttered behind his head. His body felt elevated in an unnatural position. And was someone carrying him? Oh gods, how long had he been dozing off in the stables? It had felt as if his eyelids had just dropped close. His eyes were slowly adjusting to the light. He took in his surroundings carefully as he - and whoever was holding him - trudged towards a group of people. And oh please their joyous little chatter was getting even louder.

And then they stopped moving.

Cassian had half a mind to fake his sleep until his carrier dropped him in their rooms or some bench. Just somewhere else. But then he felt guilty. Whoever was carrying him seemed to be muscular and wasn’t struggling too much, but still. Even carrying a weight an eighth of your body weight would grow taxing after time wore on. His mind was slowly trudging to being fully awake. It was like trying to run through the ocean. Like crawling through a tunnel too small to use any of your arms.

And how did he know? Well, he hadn’t aggressively jumped out of whoever’s arms he was in. How humiliating was being carried like a drunk bastard in front of the group? Probably not the worst thing that could happen - nor the worst thing that would befall upon Cassian - but it was still rather horrendous. He was just hoping most of the group was too caught up in themselves to notice Cassian just… flopped in another’s arms.

“Do you know where our rooms are? I need to put him down. Maybe you can write him a note to tell him where we are when he wakes up?”

Immediately a, No thank you, pierced his thoughts.

He opened his eyes as much as he could and fell rolled out of the arms of his genuinely helpful carrier. His flopping wasn’t the most graceful way to leave the scenario, but it was a way. He slipped to the floor with a light thud, instantly standing up - however unsteadily - and peered at whoever had carried him. Oh gods. Of course it was Bjorn. The older ranger had such a fatherly air about him. In a good way, of course. But in no way would Cassina prefer to be carried by the older man. He was a nice guy, but Cassian would never in a million years want such an experience to happen again. “I sincerely thank you for the lift Bjorn. Being carried bridal-style into a tavern was one of my life-long wishes,” he said the words with a slight smile. He would not show his embarrassment, but he wanted to at least acknowledge that he was somewhat grateful for Bjorn.

It seemed a majority of the group was standing around and chattering in friendly tones. Cassian rubbed one of his eyes with the heel of his palm and cleared his throat. No need to be flustered when everyone would forget it soon enough. Another yawn stabbed at him and he grumbled. It was fine. He could just sleep later. No harm in delaying needed sleep a little bit longer, right?

He sighed and glanced around with a bored look. The tavern looked rather interesting. It wasn’t the absolute best, nor was it nearly the worst. It was just… somewhere caught in the middle. It actually reminded him a lot of his favorite tavern from his hometown. It had been destroyed because the owner had been caught stealing or some other crime. But, anyways, this tavern was rather well-kept. And it seemed like Diamond was rather comfortable with the tavern workers. Hopefully they wouldn’t get robbed in the middle of the night.