Tropic like it's hot! [Event]

Sign-up link

Although she’d been all but willing to be here, she’d been given orders to procure a day off and try to kick back and relax. A subtle hitch in which she’d been sent to Hargeon on a supposed job request, only to be given the true contents upon arrival, complete with the necessary attire being sent in tow. The red-head wasn’t particularly pleased at first, but now she was watching the bustling beach from the broadwalk she had to admit things weren’t exactly so bad after all. Even though her face had been set to passively unamused by default, she marveled at the sensation of warm sand underneath her feet the moment she walked onto the beach, silently enjoying the moment. It had been ages since she’d last felt something as pleasant as this ever since she’d been granted her second leg back; her eye however was still lost to her, for now, at least. Alas, as her gaze wandered across the beach the sight of many a family enjoying some quality time with their loved ones only made her realise what she’d truly lost. The pang in her heart at the sudden emptiness was unforgiving, especially since she knew things would have gone differently had she only acted faster.

And knowing that only stung harder.

She visibly shook her head, in an attempt to stop any tears from welling up, even though she no longer had any tears left to cry. Her focus had to go elsewhere today; she knew what she had to do in order to undo the mistakes and misfortune that had befallen her, so lingering on what had passed would not change anything… even though she knew she would never truly stop thinking about it. Haunting her in the back of her mind, but never controlling her.

A loud voice snapped her out of her thinking, and out of the blue someone started yanking her arm, trying to drag her along. “C’me on, the limbo contest will be starting soon, we’ll be laaaaate! Let’s go let’s go!” The shorter teen looked up excitedly at her, only to realise she was not holding the arm of her parent like she thought she was. An awkward silence fell, the youngster shocked with panic steadily overtaking her expression, while her older sibling had started laughing uncontrollably at the sudden turn of events, finding it seemingly hilarious. Pandora smiled sheepishly, gently patting her hand in the hopes the girl realised she was still holding on-- rather tightly at that. ”It’s alright sweetheart, though I do think this is the moment you’re supposed to let go. Unless you really want me to join that limbo contest?” she said in a kind voice, watching the girl’s eyes shoot from her face to her hands and back up, realising and almost tossing her hand aside when it hit she was still holding on.

“I-I’m so sorry!” The girl exclaimed apologetically, giving her a short bow before skirting off towards her brother, leaving the red-haired Dagger with an amused smile on her face. Kids sure are something… and just maybe today didn’t need to be as sad after all. Her eyes followed the direction in which the two siblings disappeared, noticing a small crowd having gathered a little further off. [/i]”Limbo, eh…? Might as well give it a try and get these legs accustomed to nimble movements again.”[/i] she thought, making her way to the gathering crowds to sign up. It wouldn’t take long until the competition was in full swing, the Dagger smoothly sailing underneath the bar for several rounds, until there were still a thirty-ish amount of contestants remaining. Among them were the girl from earlier and her brother, who only noticed her the moment she elegantly swooped underneath the bar.

As she rose again she gave the girl a wink, a teasing smile lingering on her face as she moved to stand with them for a moment. ”Seeing you asked so nicely, I couldn’t possibly refuse, now could I?” she grinned, hearing her sibling snort somewhere behind her. And that in turn only made her smile even brighter as she turned away to leave the girl with her embarrassment. It was something truly silly, but somehow seeing them mess with one another made her think of her own brothers as well, whose whereabouts were still unknown. She could only wonder as to how they were faring, but she hoped that wherever they were right now, they were doing better than they were here.




Wordcount: 753
Thread Wordcount: 753

Outfit || @Cetus

Caimileir looked about the beach. He'd pulled on a pair of swim trunks, leaving his torso bare. As the sun cut into his skin, the assassin wondered if he would have been better off with a jacket. It had been a while since he'd gone out in full daylight.

The crafter looked back on the last couple of months. His guild had fallen apart, shut down by its mysterious benefactor. Without a steady pay, he'd gone free lance. The work hadn't measured up. He'd also just about lost his mind. The construct in his head had gone ballistic. After shutting it down, Caimileir had to make a choice. What life did he wish to live? He'd given up on assassinations and focused on crafting. Caimileir wanted to provide for a family. Potentially the one that he and Pandora Dagger would make together. She'd been pregnant last he remembered.

Caimileir spotted a game. Horseshoes were thrown at a peg. He snorted, picking up the three Horseshoes. This should be relatively easy. As he lined up his first shot, the sight of a perfect booty foiled his shot. Caimileir recognized that butt, those legs, that body. He'd spent hours worshipping it in his shop. The remaining horseshoes were flung haphazardly at the peg. Screw a perfect score. He had a woman to woo... again. A lei was tossed over his head.

Caimileir hurried across the sand. His hands moved nervously through his hair. What would he say to her? 'Hi, sorry I disappeared, my brain broke?' That sounded just great. Better follow it up with 'how's the baby doing?' He grumbled in frustration. Best to just go for it.

"I knew I recognized that ass." Caimileir said as he approached Pandora. Record scratch. Real nice line asshole. "Pandora. I've missed you. Been taking care of my leg?" Smooth like a damn rock field. Where had all his swave talk and cold confidence gone? The crafter sighed, his hands on his hips. Honesty was the best policy. Right? "I'm sorry if I'm not the guy you remmeber. I had a serious head injury I only just recovered from." He smiled sheepishly.

"Maybe we can catch up? Last thing I remember, you were saying you were pregnant. Or I smelled it. Can't be sure at the moment. Did you deliver it safely? Or did we... sorry, you, lose it?" Caimileir winced. He scratched the back of his head. This used to be easier. "I'm sorry, that was rude. Fuck, I used to be good at this. I think. I... would you..." His hands balled into fists. His mind had scattered at the sight of this beauty. She made his heart pound. His already broken mind failed to grasp the simplest thought with her so close.  "I want to give us a shot. For the baby. Or future babies. Whichever. If you can stand broken me." He held his breath waiting for an answer.

PWC: 490
TWC: 1243

Of all the people Pandora had expected to encounter on this beach, let alone in this very moment, Caimileir was the last person on her list. Nonetheless, his appearance wasn't necessarily what you'd call an unpleasant surprise… not in the slightest. The man with whom she'd had a short but heated fling, her benefactor in terms of the prosthetic he'd made her, solely for her on a quite fast basis too. But all that aside, and most importantly, Caimileir was also the father of her unborn child… which made his sudden appearance also a stressful moment, since she had yet to tell him of all that had transpired. With anxiety on the edge of tilting her mind back into a rather darkened mood, his sudden blunt and all but smooth one-liners caught her entirely off guard, eliciting a chuckle from the red-haired woman. "Well, you sure know how to grab a woman's attention, Caimileir. Dare I say you're losing your touch?" she allowed the man a grin.

A sly grin followed as he went on rambling on, suave being everything but what he was doing. Yet, she couldn't blame him for it, nor would she ever, head injury or no. Knowing the man had been absent because of that did connect a few pieces of the puzzle of life she was trying to finish, but she knew perfectly well what it entitled. "Oh don't you worry about that," she answered sheepishly after her gaze had taken in the man's beach-worthy physique. "You've barely changed from how I remember you." Subtle. Very subtle. "I'm glad you're okay though… I'll be honest in saying that I could do without losing another loved one so soon." she admitted. Pandora was well aware that the subject would pop up soon, so when the cyan-haired man suggested on catching up and mentioned the baby, her gaze grew a lot more dark. She closed her eyes, letting out a soft yet deep sigh, but her eyes looked confused when she opened them again upon him mentioning wanting to give them, us, a shot. If she wanted to stand with him, broken. There was a wry smile crawling unto her face as she took note, her face contorting into an expression that screamed pondering, and then nodded softly.

"I… am flattered you still think so highly of me… but let's catch up first. A lot has happened and, truth be told… you won't be the only one standing beside someone broken. You deserve to know first and foremost before deciding on that. But first, allow me to finish what I started," she gestured at the limbo contest going on beside them, where it was soon to be her turn again. Although the poorest excuse of all time, she had made the promise to never do something half-assed again. Even if that meant giving a silly game such as this priority over a life-changing conversation that had to be had. Though that might also just have been the dullest of ways on trying to extend the moment of truth. "You know I never do things half-assed." Although there was only one thing she had to make sure of before she started her next turn. Seeing how he was distressing over the matter, giving him some certainty would be the politest thing to do. Without warning she moved into his personal space, hand upon his chest, feeling the rabid pounding of his heart underneath her palm. With a smile she gently brushed her lips against his, planting the kindest of kisses on his lips before moving back. Swift, but sure. "Hope that at least quells one of your demons. Wait for me, Caimileir, I won't be long."

After which Pandora went and proceeded in smoothly winning the next few rounds, all the way up to the finals. There, half-distracted by Caimileir and half having misjudged the gap between her body and the limbo pole, she fluked and got second place. Not too saddening for her though, as she was given a matching lei to fit with the cyan-haired man's. She joined him again, and with a nod acknowledged she was done. "Let's go for a walk… preferably somewhere a bit more private." Pandora asked quietly, waiting for him to join her for a casual seaside stroll, until the business of the original beach had made way for a more quaint, quiet part. The Dagger had been absent-mindedly staring at the distant sea as they walked, but once they were no longer surrounded by people, she'd start her story in full.

"So… you asked about the pregnancy. How it went." her breathing had grown more laboured, as if she was trying to control her breathing and fight back tears. "I… did lose it, in a way. By my own mistake, at that… I was only a month away from giving birth when it happened. After finding out Raihou was alive and rescuing him from their clutches I thought everything would be fine! But I failed to notice the hit team they'd sent to try again. They took Raihou in an unguarded moment, and I in my blinded rage and stupidity followed suit without back-up. There were too many, they did unspeakable things to him, dared use soul magic on my son… he'd never be freed from their grasp unless I bound his soul to me. What I didn't know that it would take the baby with it as well. Our child, Caimileir. I hurt our child because I wasn't thinking straight, and now they're both gone…" There was a pain in her eyes that she couldn't properly explain. The pain of helplessness. Of guilt. Of a parent heartbroken for the loss of their child. And here she was, tears freely streaming down her face as she told the father of her child what she had done. Ashamed, but equally tortured by it. "I bound my children in a moment of careless rage witha a ritual I don't even know how to reverse properly!" she exclaimed angrily, obviously angry at herself. Beating herself up over the entire thing.


Wordcount: 1017
Thread Wordcount: 2260

Rolling for volleyball ~

The member 'Cetus' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

---

'Normal Dice' :

'Dare I say, you're losing your touch.' Caimileir nearly scowled. What would he have said before. "Maybe because I would like to touch the... uh..." His eyes dropped to her stomach, roving downward to take in the feast of Pandora's body. He'd started great. Now to work on that finish. Words continued to flow regardless. Caimileir's eyes sharpened and snapped to Pandora's face when she said 'lose another loved one so soon'. He recalled her mentioning losing her lover and her son. However, the way she'd said the words... it sounded like a loss much closer, timewise.

His face crumpled when she started speaking after the important question. It seemed like she was going to reject him. His mind could barely wrap around her words, barely comprehend them. Then she was in his space, her lips pressing against his. Caimileir blinked stupidly at her. His fingers brushed against his lips. The crafter was still struggling to think properly when Pandora returned. She asked for privacy. Despite himself, Caimileir grinned at the thoughts that elicited. He knew it wouldn't happen but the fantasies didn't stop.

The former mage followed at a respectful distance. He tried to keep his gaze to himself but there was a magnetism to his lover... former lover. Her body drew his gaze repeatedly. They reached a relatively private spot and Pandora turned to talk. He listened carefully, focusing all he was into the conversation. When Pandora finished, he cupped her cheeks. Caimileir's thumbs gently wiped at her tears. His gaze searched hers. His thoughts looked for the right words. His mouth opened slowly. "I-" The rest of his sentence was lost in a swirl of dark shadows.

"Aha! I've got you, villian! You'll not harm this fair maiden!"

~Earlier that same day...~

Gabriel flipped his hair out of his eyes with a derisive laugh. A team of well built females stood across from him. A white net stretched across the court. This was apparently a game called volleyball. He wasn't sure why, but he would crush it. How could he not? Gabriel was from the future.

Gabriel would have played this game solo versus six beauties but they'd insisted on teams. A mix of gorgeous and ugly made up the other five members of Gabriel's team. He, of course, outshone them all. He tossed a wink at the passingly beautiful female of his team. She rolled her eyes at him. Ah, playing hard to get. He'd heard of that too.

A white spherical object whizzed past his head. It struck the sand behind Gabriel. Odd. The other team gave each other swift high fives and returned to their positions. Over the course of a few more points, Gabriel learned the rules. The sphere was the volleyball. You had to hit it over the net and get it to drop on your opponents side. Doing that a certain amount of times won you the match. He also learned that his opponents were well above average. They did trick shots and other silly things because they knew they outclassed Gabriel's team.

Two could play that game. As the opposing team went up to spike the ball, Gabriel activated his magic. Time stopped. He sauntered over and altered the ball ever so slightly. Then he returned. When time resumed, the ball rolled on impact. It slammed onto the wrong side of the net. Gabriel used his magic repeatedly until the match was called. He allowed his team to lose. His opponents shook hands, as was polite, afterward. Gabriel savored those looks of confusion. A lei was placed over his head.

As Gabriel wandered the beach, he encountered an incredible feast. Food of all shapes and sizes littered the top of a table. For the price of a lei being placed over his head, Gabriel could eat as much as he wanted. So he did... or rather he would have liked to. When he was on his fifth plate, the temporal agent caught whiff of a scent. The scent had him dropping the food and bolting upright. His father - this timeline's version anyway - was here.

That led Gabriel to stalking Caimileir and attacking right in the middle of an important conversation. Not that the slayer cared. He sauntered up to the female. His arm dropped onto her shoulders. She'd been crying. "Fear no more, beautiful. You can thank me however you like. I have saved you from this mon-" The light shifted. Gabriel got a good look at the woman's face.

He jerked back as if burned. "Mother? No, its not... wait, it could be. Tell me that demon hasn't" Gabriel rudely shoved his hand against Pandora's stomach. Flat and no sign of life he could detect. Gabriel sighed in relief. "He hasn't bed you yet. Excellent. Listen, this guy isn't good for you. He's an international assassin and will kill you when you birth his child. Or some time after around when the child is five to seven. He-"

A jet of flame forced Gabriel away from Pandora. Caimileir stalked out of the ocean. Steam wafted from his body. "W-we w-w-were in the middle of an important c-conversation" Caimileir roared. His anger kept him from speaking succinctly. "Who do you think you are?" Gabriel dusted the sand off his bare chest. He shot a look of utter contempt at Caimileir.

"I'm your son"

PWC: 896/1386
TWC: 3156

Within seconds their bittersweet moment was interrupted by a torrent of shades, Caimilleir blasted away before his thumbs could properly stop the string of tears running from her eyes. Instead the cheer surprise of it all had caught her off guard completely, crimson eyes following the path the cyan-haired man had been thrown at before disappearing into the sea. Too baffled to react when an arm casually swung around her. No fear? Thank him? Saved her? One by one they pushed the buttons that would initiate the redhead's explosive temperament, and when he suddenly ushered something about 'mother' and blatantly touched her stomach, a thing snapped within her. Fire emerged around her; not her own, but Caimileir's, who was seemingly equally seething about the interruption and the brazzen young man's bold and downright rude behavior. Had it not been for these flames Pandora would have lunged already, but now the young man was out of her reach all she could do was glare at him with raging eyes, shooting fire if it had been possible. His words rattles through her mind, flickering her temper further and further still until she knew nothing more than that, shivering in utter rage as the young man claimed to be Caimileir's son.

Click.

While their focus was on one another, Pandora walked over, more a furious tread than casual step, and once close grabbed the young man by his neck, squeezing as hard as she could while dragging him down. "If he's your father, who in the ever-loving fuck taught you learn your manners, huh, punk?!" Pandora nearly growled, her grip surprisingly powerful as she tossed him forward. Flames, wind and ice flickered around her as she glared at the young man. "Boldly assuming who's bedding who, touching people's body without permission, downright trying to murder them to boot, and then spouting nonsense? Tell me why I shouldn't inform the authorities right here and now, or even better, deal with you myself?! Hmm?!" A mixture of anger, but at the same time holding the vibes of a serious scolding, Pandora kept on glaring at the man, slowly raising her hand. From it small shards of ice started to appear, each shard growing and forming a perfectly sharpened icicle, about 2 feet in size. All of them pointed at Gabriel, who was now being threatened from two sides. "You have 3 seconds to start explaining before I change my mind about wanting to hear you out. So speak." she hissed, incredibly pissed as the icicle spears dangerously loomed beside her, ready to move with a jerk of her finger.


Wordcount: 435 [2205 total]
Thread wordcount: 3591

Confusion flickered on Caimileir's face with Gabriel's declaration. His mind might be a mess but he knew Pandora was the only lover he'd been careless with. Unless there had been attempts to trap him which could be possible.

Gabriel registered the hesitation. Maybe this version wasn't a cold blooded killer but he needed to die regardless. He felt triumph as he gathered magic. He'd relish killing this bastard yet again. His mother - this timeline's Pandora - appeared before him. Powerful fingers wrapped around his throat.

Caimileir opened and closed his fists as Pandora shouted at the attacker. Her temper grew, her magic growing to match the threat. What terrified the former assassin was the lack of fear on the other man's face. Only sociopaths or those much stronger then their opponents showed that kind of confidence.

When Pandora threatened to kill his attacker, Caimileir finally moved. His arms wrapped around her from behind. "No." He whispered in her ear. He struggled to get the other words out. [color=cyan]"Not. This."[/cyan] Caimileir firmly pressed his lips against her shoulder. He could only hope that conveyed his meaning.

Gabriel lost it seeing the casual affection. Up to that point he'd only stared coldly at his mother. "Get away from her, you monster!" He struggled to reach Caimileir, forgetting his magic for a moment. The crafter simply looked at him. Gabriel hissed. He had to answer their questions or face a serious fight with an alternative version of his mother. "Fine!" he spat, glaring daggers at Caimileir.

"You never taught me manners." Gabriel started, swiping his tongue over dry lips. He gestured to Caimileir. "When I was five, this asshole came for me. Wanted to train me as a part of his assassin cult or some such nonesense. You refused. The fight destroyed the house and etched itself into my memory. You drove himself at the cost of your life. I'll never forget seeing your broken body, hearing your pleas and asking 'why he was doing this'." Gabriel tried to take a swipe at Caimileir. The crafter stepped back out of range. Caimileir's fingertips stayed pressed against Pandora's back.

"I don't remember how I got there, but eventually the Agency picked me up. They helped rid me of his magic and promised me the one thing I craved: killing my father over and over, whenever or wherever I went. I've been traveling through timelines, eliminating threats to the temporal and dimensional stability ever since." Gabriel finally remembered his magic. Time stopped for everyone but himself. He pulled away from Pandora and moved a few meters back. As time resumed, it appeared as if he had teleported from Pandora's grasp. [color=lightskyblue]"I've failed to save my mother in multiple timelines. I won't fail here. He won't love you. He can't cause Cetus Caimileir is a sociopathic assassin who does anything he has to do to finish the job."[/i] Gabriel spit off to the side.

Caimileir stepped into Pandora's back. His arms came around her. It was meant to be both restraining and comforting. "He might be crazy" He murmured in her ear. The crafter wanted to be truthful with Pandora. Right now, unless she asked, didn't seem like the best time to do so. The former assassin kept his eyes on Gabriel, wondering what would happen.

PWC: 552/1938
TWC: 4143