Bittersweet Candy Bowl

Lieselotte looks up at the group, Mollith sleeping with her head resting on her lap. Justardanious’s tight stitched smile stares at the group from Mollith’s shoulder, seeming to focus on the Archer.
Who do you suggest we use to make a distraction? Do we have any smoke bombs left, or did we use them all to escape the inn?
She flicks her ears, then turns rapidly as the as the box illuminates the forest, and opens. She doesn’t stand due to the sleeping girl in her lap, but she readies her claws none the less.
What the hell is that!?

The archer is more than slightly unnerved that the doll focuses on him. But the bright distracts Paulson as he blinks in surprise at the new cat that appeared out of thin air.

Who…Wha…Where…Why…How…? He stutters in surprise.

The dancer looks over at the source of the sound, standing, her dress clicking loudly as she rises to look at the source of the disruption. Seeing the odd cat which has emerged, the dancer lets out a squeal of joy and dashes over to hug the inverted cat, picking him up off the ground.

Carter! Where have you been?

She sets him back down, smiling happily but also trying to look severe.

You missed my wedding! How could you? I tried to find you, but everyone said you were gone, nowhere to be found! Where have you been? Are you okay? Did you hit your head?

The Bright light breaks her concentration,she tries to cover her eyes but instead turns away.

Ah..what the hell is that?!

“Did I… Wait, what?” Carter frantically looked around him, eyeing the various faces that he is now suddenly remembering. After a second of recollection, he then realized where he was - in HERE. AGAIN. WITH THEM.

“Aaaaa….” Carter’s face seemed happy to see Delilah, “…aaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!” Until his eyes showed sheer panic. “Why here!? Why now!? He whipped around and ran for the box that he had recently come out of. “This is all YOUR fault, stupid tiem masheen! ALL, YOUR, FAULT!” He raged at the inanimate object in front of him and kicked it into the bushes. Panting, he just noticed what he did, squealed, and ran off in search for what he just punted.

Staring at the Carter that just conveniently appeared in a flash of light, McCardell raised his arm and pointed at the little Jester.

I believe he said We have found our distraction.

Paulson looks after Carter confused.

Who the hell is that and what in the world is he doing?The archer asks confused.

She lowers her hands back to Mollith’s head as she raises her brow.
Was that the jester from our fight against Reinhild?

Delilah smiles at the strange cat, but it turns to a look of concern as the feline begins to scream and panic. Watching him dash off into the bushes after the little box, she is more than a little baffled.

Wha… what is going on? Carter?

Jasmina! You should make sure he didn’t hurt his head falling like that!

The dancer rushes off after Carter.

Icarus is blinded by the light at first, but as it clears, his eyes grow wide in recognition.

“HEY!! You’re the guy who took my sword from me last time!!”

Lets see what scenes do I have to insert Lily in to here.

Well obviously our dear knight and Vampires little make up session of course. The Hedgehog not having much to do there but sit back and roll her eyes some, though she couldn’t help but smile too. As silly, and as Corney as it was she was far from heartless, and it certainly was adorable…..if depressing to the middle aged women in other ways.

Not surprisingly though the little interaction left her presence completely forgotten so much so the Vampire forgot one obvious suggestion as her lover wandered off again, Lily saying it quite clearly.

“You know my dear, You could have gone with him and left the little one to me.” but even those words barely got the girls attention. Glancing aside for just a moment before off into space again into her own little lovely dove world Lily was sure.

A hundred years old going on sweet sixteen I say… Lily thought with a smirk and a shake of her head, eyes back to the river.

But there were other things going on too weren’t there? The scouts returning with their report which she listened to patiently with nods, and thought.

“Odd that they would have so few…..granted the Royal guard is MUCH better trained… but… it’s still far too convenient for my liking.”

Then.. came the Jester again, which got confused looks from all, our Princess, Priestest, Pin-Cushion rubbing her forehead before saying somewhat annoyed like “Right then! That was unexpected. Still… Must you all always jump to the ‘Distraction’ plan? While I’ll admit our options are few….. alerting the well trained Royal guard that someone is in the woods and they need to be on the look out doesn’t always work as well as you’d think.”

Carter continued off, turning his head left and right, scanning for the box until he found a corner sticking out of a pile of bushes.

“Got it!” He skipped to the bush and plucked out a now-dented box. Afterwards, he turned and saw Delilah again. “It’s, it’s been a while…” he chuckled and glanced to the side, avoiding her gaze.

Paulson Shook his head in confusion. I have no idea what is going on now.

He looks to the group and sighs before sitting down with his arms crossed.

((Auto-play for me. Any one can control Paulson as long as you don’t intentionally kill him. Will follow plan once we figure it out, trying to protect anyone who looks like they might be in trouble. Later guys, it’s night time and I need sleep.))

Staring out in the woods where Makar is still out hunting, her ears flick as Lily speaks up about their plan.
If not distraction then what? A frontal assault may be risky, and the fact that the area around the hill is barren means little cover for a stealthy attack. Our options are limited, but if you have better ideas, I’m all ears.

Keith was ready to respond to Jasmina’s message, but the link got interrupted as they both got startled by the sudden appearance of Carter. He detects this new presence.

Huh? Where did this presence come all of a sudden? It’s very… distracting.

Detecting him is almost painful. His presence is so strong, so obvious, sort of like having something right in front of your face. Keith can locate this energy’s location easily, so he stands and goes to meet the newcomer, curious about where he came from.

Hey new guy, who are you? And where did you come from?

Having missed the flash of light, Konar is alerted to a new sound in the forest. He whips around to find the oddly colored cat, who Delilah calls Carter. A bit unsure how to reacts, Konar slowly approaches the new visitor.
Alright, mind telling me how you got here?

The dancer is not to be dissuaded.

Where HAVE you been? I was really worried about you, you know! You helped us so much, and then you just vanished without a trace…

When the strange man turns his face away from her, she droops her ears.

Why won’t you look at me? Are you scared of me?

“Where I came from? How I got here? Um… That’s kinda complicated,” Carter coughed between his words.

“…It’s, well, this!” Carter held out the box he had just retrieved. “I don’t think you’d believe me if I said it… It’s a tiem masheen,” he explained. “It lets me go to the future!”

Delilah shakes her head at the odd man.

You are funny sometimes, Carter… but its not nice to joke to someone who is worried about you! If you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to, but…

She looks hurt.

“I’m… sorry?” Carter shrugged his hands out with a clueless and nervous face. Hi sighed and motioned for Delilah to pay attention. He swung his right arm slowly down, then flicked it up to reveal an impressively large bouquet of flowers that had seemed to magically appear into his hands. He offered them to her in good faith, but the flowers wilted down as quickly as they had appeared.

“…Um,” Carter clenched his teeth in surprise.

The dancer giggles in spite of herself at the flowers, shaking her head as they wilt.

Oh Carter… I’ve missed your antics. Its alright if you won’t tell me where you were. Just… don’t disappear without warning again, okay? At least tell us you’re going to leave, so we don’t have to worry bandits left you lying in a ditch somewhere.

She gives the jester another hug, then drags him back to the rest of the party behind her, hoping in vain they’ve contrived a plan without her.

Lily rubbed her chin thinking, still clearly not very fond of the distraction plan. It was too obvious, they would see through it, and the few guards suggested this was a trap to begin with.

“….Well my dear… what I’m thinking is just maybe I could go have a talk with them myself hm?” Now that one no doubt got her a few ‘you’re insane’ looks, but Lily just kept her confident smile.

“Royal guards typically have this annoying little oaths that prevent them from spilling Royal blood my dear. The one advantage we gain from them not being common foot soldiers. If I go on my own I might be able to get the answers we’re looking for…still… I’d like some sort of card up my sleeve..” she gave a wink “And no not -those- cards. Though I’ll have plenty of those too.”

Her eyes went towards Amaja next, hopefully being within ear shot of our discussions (Sorry if I dragged you in other wise) “…. I’m afraid you’re our card.” Lily standing up again to lay a hand on the orange Tabbys shoulder “The land of this forest is quite litterly saturated with magic. I’m sure you can feel it can’t you? More then any of us……if it’s an army we need….. ” She waves her hand towards the countless ancient trees that surrounded them “You’ll be the one to summon it for us…..they’ll heed your call…it is after all their power we’re trying to protect….”

She sighed after that shaking her head and looking at Amaja with pitied eyes knowing full well the weight she put on her shoulders “Jasmina should be able to help you……Suesanna as well. But! We’re getting ahead of ourselves…. I need to know -what- were up against first……… really up against…. And that will have to wait until our little darling’s awake.”

All eyes hopefully going to Mollith with that. “So! What are you waiting for? I just said you all have a few more hours to goof around, get to goofing! You’re all experts at it after all! Shoo shoo~! I’m pretty sure the boys have caught lunch by now…I’m sure you’re all starved I certainly am!”

She chuckles as carter’s little magic trick fails

Hello,i don’t believe we’ve met She says as she approaches the newcomer;but as soon as she see’s keith she switches her attention to him.

Keith.Was that you contacting me? She asks him with a curious expression.

Holds out his hand, after carter mentioned the box, but switches them with a bunch of flowers. He feels a bunch of plant-like objects, apparently withered. He takes them and examines with his hands.

I’ve never seen people use withered flowers to do something like going to the future… but what are they wrapped in?

Feels the plastic wrapping, a texture he has never felt before.

This is probably the responsible. What kind of powerful magical artifact is this flat flexible object? Maybe this is it… I mean… It would make sense… I think.

Gives back the bouquet. Turns to Jasmina.

Yeah, that was me. I sensed a familiar presence, and decided to see who it belonged too.

“But I-!” Carter couldn’t finish his sentence as he was dragged back by Delilah, his face as blank as always.

Delilah, having known Carter more than the others, now notice that he weighs a bit heavier than he used to. Another glance shows that he’s grown taller. She wondered why he looked so weird, and just then, the idea hit her - Carter’s gotten older since they last met.

Delilah stops short when she has that thought, the hapless cat bumping into her back as her eyes widen. It has not been nearly so long for him to gain several inches in height, even if he is sprouting like a weed.

What… are you? How?

Her mouth hangs open, the female feline trembling.

“Wait, what am I?” Carter sounded just as confused as she did. He took this opportunity to get up, his pants now soiled from being dragged.

Delilah is shaking visibly, her lips moving but no sound emerging. Finally, she manages

You were telling the truth, weren’t you?

She sinks to a mossy stone, sitting there, her hands on her knees, opening and closing her mouth.

Do you… know what happens?

“When what happe-” Carter started before he realized what she meant. “…Oh. Well, it’s like, a bright light comes everywhere!” He flailed his arms and spun around until he got dizzy. “Then you feel like you’re gonna just explode or something, but then you’re here…” Carter dropped his arms and stared blankly at her. “But enough about me! It’s been 3 years, what kind of adventures have you had?”

Delilah shakes her head.

Three years? It hasn’t been…

She puts her hand on her belly, looking vaguely ill.

It has been one month. A bit more… it feels like we just got back from the last adventure. Albert and I were married… it was wonderful… but…

She tears up.

Three years? How could it have been that?

“What do you mean?” Carter placed his hand on his chin. “How long has it been in here?”

Delilah shakes her head.

Less than two months. Just barely enough time to…

She trails off, shaking her head.

Do you… know us in the future? Do you know what happens to us?

She chuckles at Keith

You need to learn how to control your powers,they’re quite erratic.I suppose i could help you sometime.

She listens to Lily and turns around I Won’t let you down. She said at the mention of her name;Then lily mentions they still have time to Goof around.

Heh,I suppose that is what we’re best at.

“Would you believe me if I said we all live happily ever after?” Carter chuckled at himself, but groaned at the end of it. “I dunno. I’ve been way past this time… Not that this time isn’t cool or anything!” Carter caught himself, then he noticed Delilah’s face. “…Is something wrong?” Carter raised an eyebrow.

Delilah flashes Carter a bright smile.

No, nothing is wrong at all… with you back, we’re all here.

She rises.

What do you mean, “way past this time?” You’re… from that far away?

Looks surprised by Jasmina’s offer to help him.

You’re right… I don’t have enough control over my powers. But even then… you’re a white mage… and magic differs from PSI in its usage, and generally how it works. At least, that was what the healer said.

But… we did establish a communication through our minds. Maybe she is not only a magic user.

I appreciate your concern. There might be some things I can learn from you after all.

“Yeah, kinda…” Carter tried to find the right words to say, but eventually gave up. “Hey look!” Carter tried to change the subject, pointing to the group that were still discussing plans. “It’s the other people!”

She looks at Lily, speaking in a very matter-of-fact tone.
Lily, their oaths may disallow them from causing you harm, but you were with us in the village when they sent those soldiers after us. Aren’t you considered an enemy of the state as well? How do you know they won’t just take you into custody?
She shifts slightly to try to make herself more comfortable without waking Mollith.
It seems like a very risky thing to do, just walking straight to them and questioning them.

Delilah looks over at them, then smiles at Carter.

It is… everyone. Lieselotte. Makar. Albert. Susanna. Even Hannibal and Icaras.

…you shouldn’t tell anyone what you told me. They’ll think you’re crazy. I’m worried I am for believing you…

She shakes her head, her expression falling for a moment, but then her smile returns as she waves to everyone.

Look who I found!

“Oh come on now. I wasn’t born yesterday……” She paused for a second “As everyone really loves to remind me…”

Then back to the cheerful tone “I know it will be risky my dear, but I’m hardly afraid of that. Don’t underestimate my ability to be convincing… particularly to men who aren’t even sure about what they’re doing in the first place.”

She gives a light shrug “Worse come to worse they take me into custody and show me to whom ever’s in charge. So I get to be convincing to him instead! You’d be surprised how talkative people can get when they already think they’ve won……that and it’d be so worth it to see the look on the bastards face when the forest starts marching…..but~”

Lily turned back to Lieselotte “I’m not so proud that I won’t admit there’s other ways of going about it…” She rubbed her chin again toying with some options “Maybe have a few of us -sneak- in before the assault to cause a little chaos….. hm… I guess we could try stealing some suits and disguising ourselves as guards… but…. ehn.. no I don’t like that one. Too hard to be convincing. Traditional stealth…..-without- smoke bombs..”

She starts to pace a bit not being help to joke a bit as she tossed ideas out “Shame really you would have made an adorable hedgehog my dear. Still we could mix the chat and stealth plans too…….or… maybe focus the forests magic elsewhere. Rise the rivers and divert them towards the shrine? Wash our problems away? I really… don’t want to put too much on the poor girls shoulders…the forest might provide the magic…but she still needs to be able to control it.”

Time for a brow to be quirked, and another glance to be made as the Dancer arrived, the girls cheer quickly bringing back Lilys own, though still a bit curious about where the Jester came from….but as usual she had other things to worry about.

Delilah returns with Carter in tow, looking over the group. It seems her hopes for them coming up with a plan while she was speaking with Carter had come to naught. She continues to smile, though, hoping to buoy their spirits, at least.

Doesn’t look like you’ve come up with a plan yet, Lily. Or not one that Lieselotte approves of, anyway.

Looks to the vampire.

I suppose we three must come up with the plan, then? I love Albert to death, but… I think all the men are a bit prone to solving problems with their swords.

She looks back at Carter as he arrives to the group, sighing.

There’s no way to avoid fighting, is there?

Delilah bites her lip.

There are many options we could take it would seem. Lily, this is your land, and you know the people better then anyone else, I think you should be the one to plan our course of action. I know you did not like the slaughter in town, but at that point, we fought for our lives. If you can find a more peaceful way to resolve this I’m all ears, though I still believe the easiest option would be to distract and kill them. They won’t hesitate to kill us, so why we hesitate to kill them is beyond me. I leave our plan of attack to you though Lily.
She stared down at her claws all while she spoke, contemplating if a more peaceful approach was the correct path to choose.
If we play our cards right, we may avoid conflict Delilah, though the odds of such a fate are almost impossible. Should we take an aggressive path, you will need to stay in safety. As you are, we cannot risk you attaining injury.
Though the sun is now high, she yawns, the events of prior night having taken their toll.

(Afk, it’s midnight here. Sleep needed. Autoplay permissions to everyone)

Delilah shivers at Liselotte’s words.

I… don’t want Albert to die either. Or you. Or Susanna. Or Amaja. Or… anyone. If I can stop that…

She has tears in her eyes, at the thought of her unborn child dying with her.

Without you, what sort of a world would I be bringing my child into?

She holds her hands protectively over her stomach, though.

Amaja’s ears perked when she heard Lily speaking in her direction, till she’d come over and set a hand on her shoulder. Telling her of the spirits in the earth, she had felt them, calling out to her, but had no idea in how to respond. She listened intently on what Lily had to say, as she released her grip from her shoulder, she bounded off of the stump and spun to face the group before her. Setting her fists to her sides and puffed out her chest as she exhaled audibly trying to show that she was prepared for anything to come their way. No matter what, she was going to put everything she had into helping the others, she just hoped she could spend more time with Susanna before they went into who knows what kind of encounter. With the others she continued to listen intently, though unsure if there was really any input she would be able to imply. She just had a vague idea of what she could do for the team from what the hedgehog had mentioned, and only hoped she could pull it off if it came down to it.

After having had such a physically exerting day, Mollith couldn’t help but fall asleep in Lieselotte’s lap. There was something strangely comforting about it. Something familiar, yet not. It would be hard for her to explain, that is, if she had any inkling to try. She instead simply rested quietly in place.

Her dreams were filled with things both things typical of her age, and others not so much. Simple children’s games like hop-scotch, subverted by using a cat’s kneecap as the throwing stone. A peaceful sleep for her, though many would find it disturbing. Her face reflecting this as she smiles a little.

But all good things eventually end. And her sweet dream was no exception. As she jumped rope with a length of intestinal tract, a looming figure cast it’s shadow over her. The young girl turned around to look at whoever it might be.

DON’T!

The commanding voice shook her to her very core. It was an all too familiar voice. But Justardanious had never spoken so harshly to her before.

They’re trying to break past my defenses… They want you Mollith. Do not turn around. Do not acknowledge them. Just ignore them and they will leave.

Mollith felt afraid for the first time in a long time. “Mr. Ardanious…? Wh-what’s happening?” She pleaded to the disembodied voice.

Don’t talk. Don’t breath. Just stay still Mollith…

She quivered, feeling more vulnerable than ever. She did as he said though. She wouldn’t move. Wouldn’t even think if she could help it. But it was terrifying all the same. The figure hovered mere inches from her back. She could feel it’s breath warming the back of her neck… Her lungs hurt from holding her breath. Her ears ached from the thick air the figure exuded. She couldn’t stand it. Her eye turned ever so slightly to the side… And suddenly, the beast lurched forward, ensnaring her in it’s razor sharp teeth…

Mollith screamed, and was silenced…

=================================

The young necromancer awoke with a jolt, sitting bolt upright, her eyes springing wide open, but fearful as her expression was, she didn’t scream this time. Her doll flung itself from her shoulder from the speed at which she sat up, and she immediately lunged from her position at Lieselotte’s lap to dive on it. She curled up into a little ball, holding the freakish toy tighter than ever before, but still she made no sound.

Okay lets get Lily to the present shall we?

First she’s still left debating the ideas she had put out, nodding at the vampire as she spoke “No… no.. I don’t like the distraction plan much….we’ll have ten or twenty minutes before they’re all back again..enough time to stop the ritual only to be surrounded when they get back…. and I’m afraid I don’t have enough cookies to go around.”

A chuckle for the dancer as Lily couldn’t help but grin “…Yes it seems our boys have more bone then brains up here hmm?” she taps her head once or twice “Ah but who needs a man with a brain when he’s got a pretty face. Reason we brought them along isn’t it ladies?”

She sat back down again finally, most of the others watching having wandered off now that they’ve been given permission to goof off, her mind getting back to serious business

“The more I think about it the more I like the flood idea. A storm of water to wash our worries away…..any soldiers not carried away will be exhausted and wet. Easy enough for us to take out without bloodshed, leaving the shrines heart for us to enter…though… I’m afraid there will be -some- death no matter what we do..” a guilty looking going Delilahs way, getting all the more so as she continued on…but soon found a hand patting her shoulder.

“She’ll be born into the world we make for her my dear. A peaceful one where all of this is behind us…and a kind mother that I’m sure she’ll adore…… well.. up until she’s fifteen and you don’t approve of the boy she’s dating…. but~ not much we can do about that is there?”

A tear was wiped away from the dancers eye and our hedgehog did try to continue:

“don’t worry I’ll make sure that……”

But that thought was interrupted. The adorable little brown creatures sudden scream, silence, and cowering getting Lilys attention, standing up abruptly as she ran over to the girl. Lieselotte quite likely doing the same, though this one time the lady Hedgehog got there first, reaching out for the girl. Not taking long to figure out what was happening here…. “… Shhh~ Calm down now….It’s alright… Just a nightmare…”

Though part of her couldn’t help but wonder what sort of ‘nightmares’ such a girl would have.

(I have to go now… Keith will remain training PSI with Jasmina. Autoplay by Jasmina, Makar, Hannibal, Amaja.)

Mollith shook her head furiously against Lily’s chest. “It wasn’t just a nightmare! It was them! They were after me!” Her eyes dart about the camp, checking every shadow under every tree thrice over. She presses her body against the caring woman like a wounded animal would press into a corner, hopelessly trying to escape a vicious predator.

Stumbling over exposed roots for the eighth time, Susanna picks a few choice words to describe scouts in general, and two in particular. After the duo had vanished on her, Susanna had decided to follow the quicker route back to camp that she’d seen from her vantage point. Apart from being horribly overgrown, this route is working out quite well; already she can hear Lily’s quiet voice carried on the breeze. Lily seems to have drifted into another one of her metaphors, although Susanna can’t quite work out what the soldiers represent. Still, it’s an elegant passage to remember for her next book.

She realises she’s going to leave the deep forest right next to the terrified Mollith, and still has her travelling darkness cloaking her. Something suggests that uncloaking without warning now might be less than life-extending.

After a moment’s thought, she coughs in a ladylike manner and appeals to the hedgehog-lady. “Lily, it’s me. Um, I’m just coming back into the camp, if that’s alright.”