Wayward Tricks

[Van Rico]

It had been sometime since he had walked the docks, especially in this part of the realm. What was it called now, Rhy'din??? Since when did it become so ... Fancy? Shaking his head, a smile made its way through those no longer quite so boyish features, for as the realm had changed, so had he.

And he would still call it Rhydin!!!

Long gone were random adventures that took him through more places that he could even keep track of. He had lost touch with those whom he traveled the realms with as well, and the solitude didn't bother him, but the habit of not looking over his shoulder took some getting used to.

Memories of encountering a woman with hair the colors of red and blue caused him to grin again, as a healthy bite was taken from the apple. Long flowing hair had been cut down, and a less than subtle goatee now graced his features, and those that knew him would have to take that double look at Jared Van Rico now, and finally say he had grown up.

Not recognizing any of the tavern signs, he would pick one at random while chewing on another piece of apple. A friendly nod offered to one that was departing the tavern allowed the pirate to step inside the still open door, his eyes quickly adjusting to the slightly dimmer establishment.

The core would be properly disposed of as that crooked smile of his remain until the bar was reached ...A request for rum was made, a casual lean taken against the bar, a glance over his shoulder scanning over what few patrons were inside, not recognizing any before returning his focus to the pressing matter at hand, quenching his thirst.

Several coins would be tossed onto the counter, Jared taking a deep breath before drinking half the rum. He actually missed being in Rhydin.

Rhy'din.

Whatever.

[Tigereye Charms]

<font color="green"> The call of coins to sing and spin against the bar brought her eyes to snap over to the man that had tossed them down.

A light sniff and she nursed her drink, a narrow of eyes even as she was drawing in the scent of him. He smelled of the tide... salty taste on her tongue and her lips faintly curled. So subtle.

The smell reminded her of others. Memories of mommy dearest and those she had once crossed paths with. Those that which was Briar Wilthorne was now squashed away and locked up tight. Nothing but little Ariahn now...

No burning coyotes... only the bright brilliant Tiger.

The taste of his smell in the air was something familiar to the fabric of her memories...but where the Coyote had born metal plated tattoos, the Tiger wore tattoos burnt into her flesh. Black spirals of ebony fire.

"Eve to you, traveler of seas, prince of tides."

Words were sultry purrs and gravel growls. Those chartreuse depths seemed so briefly marked by feline slit of darkness before pupils dilated into the abyss to be eclipsed by absinthe and electric fire. Yes... this Tiger did burn... </font>

[Van Rico]

"Eve to you, traveler of seas, prince of tides."

Jared paused in mid sip at the greeting. Damn, did he still have the sea look about him? Seriously, he thought that went out with his long hair. Really. Then again, those that sail the oceans and seas usually make friends, allies, and enemies, on their own or through family ties.

So when in doubt, Jared simply flashed that sincere grin of his, nodding as he turned to face the owner of that voice. Upon first glance he didn't know her, but a welcome was still a welcome right?

"A prince o' tides? Now there's one I have not heard. Hullo, greetings and salutations to you as well."

Still there was a subtle sense of deja-vu, as if he had met the woman before, though there was no recollection ... One of those in passing perhaps?

"Pardon my bluntness, but hav' we met??"

No, it wasn't a lame attempt at a come on, that wasn't Jared's style. He was honestly curious, considering this had been his first time back in Rhydin ... Rhy'din. Whatever. Since .... Well, it's been awhile.

A motion to the tender on duty for a refill ....

[Khaleb Preston]

Khaleb was working on his 5th drink, taking in the so called sights the tavern had to offer, and save for a select few, there was nothing to put a note inside a bottle and cast it to the water about.

Ugg. Sea humor. Won't attempt it again.

His intended target/soon to be victim was in a serious conversation with several others, and it appeared that whoever was killed was somehow linked to them as well. Go figure. That smirk remained semi hidden beneath the rim of his mug as he noted all assembled.

Of the five, three were daemon. Now that raised an eyebrow, they were a more blended in with human society than he thought. Then again, this realm was tailor made for such a thing.


"Eve to you, traveler of seas, prince of tides."


A glance over his shoulder, Khaleb caught the owner of that voice, and arched an eyebrow. Not at the woman herself, but who she was talking to. A bemused grin lingered for a moment or two as he shook his head. Well, someone was going to get lucky in this tavern after all.

Chuckling to himself, Khaleb returned to his task at hand .... It was pretty much useless babble until one of the other daemon made mention of the legacy of Christ. The eye candy at the bar would be ignored, as his attention would be diverted to that table, with more than a casual interest.

Someone went and mentioned the C word .....

[Tigereye Charms]

<font color="green">

A brow arched delicate like to catch the light against the silver hoop that claimed one brow in a permanent clutch. Black gold hair that seemed a molten alchemy of the mentioned metals in the light seemed almost...striped?... as the woman shook her head.

"I don't believe so. Maybe in a past life..."

There the feline smile. Slick as the cat that escaped with it's prize of the canary without ever being caught. Some of her clan had said that she was the Trickster reborn... others told whisper of the fact she was the daughter of the Coyote. For Ariahn it was all just a black hole in her memory.

The Coyote. The Trickster. Briar Wilthorne... well she just didn't exist in Ariahn's mind.

She shrugged indifferently as she licked at the head of her bottle.

"I used to perform... well sing actually at a place. The Crimson Scarf. That was until I went on a journey to help a friend find her long lost love."

A roll of eyes as she swigged at her whiskey. Feline depths amused at that even as her memory flashed a playback of those final moments. The trio of shifters... a werewolf, a panther, and a Coyote... determining the fate of the Phoenix.

Such a vision would well prove that Ariahn and Briar were separate entities but the mother daughter bond...even undesired seemed to be strong enough to transcend to the point she had found a mate in her mother's old lover and partner in crime.

A smirk to her bottle. Yes... she had traveled the ends of the earth to help the lil gypsy find her long lost love, but evidently Fate didn't consider her and the Violent Messiah to be destined star crossed lovers or any of that ignorant bliss because Ro never found Keun again.

Shrugging lightly though the corner of her eye ticked at the mention of Christ. Yes she knew the Daemons dwelled within and there words trigged an expression of annoyance.

"Mm... in fact I'm supposed to be meeting her here."

Absently. Slant of those feline eyes to him, quirk of a grin. "You smell like her... well what she used to smell of... afore the fire and the magic claimed her soul. All sea brime and salty tide." </font>

[Spirit Dancer]

Speak of the devil and he's likely to make his due. The gypsy was no devil but there was a cold chill in the air as if one had walked over her grave.

She rubbed her arms, the air tasting of premonitions and negative futures. If only she had known that the name of Christian Christ had marked the air she may have added an additional thread of protection to those many ribbons at her throat.

Her appearance had altered only in subtle alterings that came with time and seemingly ageless grace. The ribbons now only remained at her throat rather then her wrists and rather then the gypsy skirt and peasant blouse she now wore a black corset and black leggings set with a comfortable pair of black dyed doeskin boots.

Her hair had been restrained by triple tiny braids that pleated themselves into a love knot that left the night emerald of her eyes to blaze brilliantly from sun kissed features as if born of unearthly light.

She lingered at the docks, staring out at the ocean. Melancholy for the memories. Nostalgia anymore was such a fierce weight in her heart.

All that remained now where the sea had once been was Soul Fire. All consumed by the spirit magic that had claimed her and saved her life many a time.

A quiet sigh as she remembered her promises. A silent whistle to summon the raven to alight on her shoulder and she turned to the dump of dock bar.

Rapidly blinking as her eyes adjusted to the dim light within the room. Grimacing she headed towards the bar. It was ever so likely that Tiger would be there.

Where else would the Singer demand the return of the gypsy to be made?

[Khaleb Preston]

The moment the gypsy set foot into the tavern, one could almost hear a pin drop ... If they had such back in those days, but hey ... It was the nexus realm so ANYTHING was possible!! Her arrival did not go unnoticed, especially by those of daemonic origins. To say that they did not hide the displeasure on their faces would be an understatement.

This sort of pissed off Khaleb because he had been real close on finding out some things, especially about the legacy of Christian. An eyebrow was arched, as he noticed the girl as well. A bemused grin surfaced as another ale was ordered.

Was anyone else hearing Stevie Nicks???

He knew why she was getting the death glare from the lot of them ... Where he came from he ate cornbread and chicken ...Oops, wrong mind set.

Where he came from Sheila's like her were rare, only because they were hunted down, raped, tortured, killed and consumed. That eyebrow remained up, his eyes following the skirt as she joined the other Sheila at the bar, who was chatting it up with the other meat.

Go figure, their like bananas, all in a bunch. The gypsy skirt was a dish though, her aura was just screaming out, and if he could notice it ... Hmmm, those daemon in meat's clothing were becoming more agitated by the moment ...

Wait, was the skirt the assassin?? Or was it one of the other two?? Khaleb leaned back in his seat, tossing the serving wench a few pieces of silver for her time. It looked like things were about to get interesting, and he had a front row seat ...

The daemon/human kliq were whispering to each other, before one rose from his seat, still glaring at the skirt, and made his way outta there. What would be the odds that he was going to alert some brothern??

Stroking his goatee, Khaleb couldn't wait to see how this was going to play out.

[Van Rico]

For Jared, being a pirate gave him a sense of knowing when something was about to go down, like which way the storm was coming. More often than not those instincts paid off.

Like now.

While conversing with the woman at the bar, he noted a shift in the overall mood. Some had become very quiet, which cause him to look around, seeing nothing more than a gypsy stepping inside the tavern.

In the old Rhydin, that sort of reaction meant one of several things ...

She was royalty.

She was a rival.

She was a potential slave.

In this new Rhy'din?? He wasn't quite sure. But the woman was heading this way. Jared looked at the woman once again, then back to the one seated near him at the bar. Then came the stares from several other tables.

Great. the last time Jared was in a setting like this, he had been drinking with Argus, and there were a few that didn't care for the man o' Steele, and a huge melee resulted. The reason for that memory??

He was feeling that subtle caress of deja-vu then, his gaze meeting that of the one at the bar again. Had she noticed it? Gesturing for another refill, Jared felt he was going to need it. Tilting his head back as he downed the shot, taking a mental count of who was there, and what they had on their persons. Another little trick taught to him by Steele.

For now, he was just another patron, and hopefully it remained that way.

He doubted it though.

[Tigereye Charms]

<font color="green">

"You tell the girl to turn it down and she comes in looking like the Cirque de Soleil entourage of energy."

A mutter under breath as she swallowed the lasting contents of her drink as the room went dead quiet. Heh...wasn't that a funny thought.

She cast a sideways look over to to the seafarer and sniffed lightly. Deja vu. Yeah sure call it what you will.

Not that she knew that the monthly get together with the lil gyp would cause an all out silence fest amongst those gathered. Daemon and sorts alike... but then again... Rona wasn't just a little gypsy.

A sigh and it took her all she could do not to plunge up to her feet and stand in front of the Romanian. Frowning as fingers clenched into fists and that primal nature awakened as the tigress stirred from her usual slumber in the deep, dark catacombs of Ariahn's mind.

She couldn't exactly tell the man she was conversing with that she had to be right back to protect her friend who just so happened to be Daemon marked which in turn had given the woman a lush dollup of Death Magic in her spirit.

Humble as the gypsy was she was a fire waiting to burn. Spirit Magic and Death Magic combined. Tiger had only seen Ro's true potential unleashed on a few rare occasions... and the only one she had only heard the gypsy tell the story of... how the forest floor had been alight with green fire that did not burn one strand of grass. That was the night the gypsy had crossed paths with the Violent Messiah.

She knew going to protect or stand beside the gypsy would possibly put a stamp on Rona's one way ticket to purgatory so Tiger did only what a true friend would do. She turned her back on the little gyp and ordered another round </font>

[Spirit Dancer]

Well this was something the gypsy did not expect. Shoulders squared and her head lifted with that daring rush of pride as those night emerald eyes tracked the swift retreat of one of the Daemons.

Yes she knew what they were just as likely as they may know of who or what she was. It wasn't very often that a simple gypsy...once witch...would be blessed with control over all four elements and then to gain the control over Spirit Magic as well.

Add to this the fact that she had crossed paths once with a Daemon who had marked her and shared blood with her without her knowledge and the woman was a force to be reckoned with for the Spirit Magic now danced with the Dark Fire of Death Magic in her veins and in her soul.

Fingers flexed as Rona fought the urge to call upon her very own magic. She had to have nerves of steel. That was what Keun would expect of her. Sometimes she swore she heard him in her head... and still she dreamed of him.. like somehow they were still connected. Their souls intertwined.

The death glares had her narrowing her eyes. The smoldering blaze of her eyes flickering to a flame of darkness and energy deep within the dark abyss of her pupils. She met their gaze, a tilt of head even as panic and fear laced through her veins.

A challenge. He would expect her to be strong. She knew that Tiger had turned away if only to protect the gypsy. To save them both. They worked best together that way.

A glance over to Tiger's bar buddy and concern etched lines across her brow. So familiar...a shake of head and she moved in silence like the night... for it seemed she was destined for these things.

To walk alone... within silence. She walked that path like one would walk the thread of Fate. But tonight...her journey was to the bar, whether the Daemon's liked it or not.