Portal in the Red Dragon Inn

Coco would be trembling hiding behind a building, the sounds of combat...not this wasn't combat it was slaughter could be heard.  A dark mage had come to her small town a day or two out from Hargeon.  She would be sitting in the dirt her hands on her head trying to focus.  She needed to escape before that person found her.  Trembling she tried again but nothing. With the screams of the towns people and them dying she was to scared to focus on making a portal to escape.   Coco knew she had no chance on foot ad this person wasn't sparing anyone.  She kept trying looking at the ground hoping one would open.  Still nothing.  The screams getting closer and close she trembled, battered and brushed she cried a bit not wanting to die.

Please...please opens Somewhere safe please...

She begged. As if someone was listening a spark started to circle on the ground.  Her eyes would widen as she saw it expand a little.  Desperate not knowing if it would Belpre she grabbed each side of the growing circle and pulled, wanting it open faster. When it was a size large enough for her to fit through. She knew that whatever was on the other side could see the portal to, but it didn't matter she was so relieved to have to portal open she didn't know that the power it let off drew the asselent there.  She looked back at the figure in black looming over her as she trembled in fear.  As it raised her blade swinging she screamed crawling back stumbling into the portal barely avoiding the strike.

The next think she felt was pain as she had fallen from the ceiling of what looking like a tavern. She rubbed her head looking up at the figure staring through the portal. Whether by her mean or her lack of control it fizzled out of  existence and it was gone. She breathed heavily battered and brushed looking around.  She was definitely in some kind of inn..or tavern.  Compared to the one in her town it was like a five star hotel. As she came to still trembling from the experience she took looked as what looked to be a barkeeper looking more surprised then anything tried to approach.  Her fight or flight instincts still high she scurried away from him panicked. There was a long pause before she calmed down tears in her eyes.  She didn't know how much time passed but he sat there on the floor a snack and water for her there to.  She slowly reached forward taking the food snatching it up eating it slowly as the door. She looked over to see who it was not knowing he called some people to take over.

WC: 464

-Red Dragon Inn-

Dressed in a long-sleeved green t-shirt and black skirt with white tennis shoes, Victoria was drinking a Cherry Charge soda in "her" usual seat at the bar. It was a busy day at the Red Dragon Inn and the bartender was busy slinging drinks to the inn's customers. She had overheard some of the orders and they were a mix of standard drinks and a few mixed drinks she had made herself like the Bloody Mary, Dirty Ashtray, Long Island Iced Tea, and her favorite, the Screwdriver.

Victoria was tempted to get in on the action herself, but the bar was fully staffed, so there was no need for her help. Today she was going to sit back and drink a Cherry Charge before she went back to her room at the guild hall and either slept awhile or did something else. At least that was the situation before the commotion began.

Victoria heard something fall on the floor somewhere behind her and she jumped up from her seat. When she spun around she found a visibly panicked young woman who looked like she would rather be somewhere else, anywhere else but here. The brunette assessed what was going on and knew that going in loaded for bear was not a good idea. A gentle approach would be needed here.

Leaving her drink behind on the bar counter, Victoria slowly and carefully approached the frightened young woman until she was standing only a short distance away from the latter. The brunette took a quiet breath, then made eye contact with the new arrival.

"Hi there. I'm Victoria. What's your name?" Victoria asked the young woman in as calm a voice as she could manage. The brunette was not sure how this situation would go. She just hoped that she did not add fuel to the fire by her voice not being calm enough to assure the other person that she meant no harm.

[Post Word Count: 326]
[Victoria's Word Count: 326]

Coco Looked at the woman who was talking to her now.  Before she answered she looked up at the ceiling where she made her portal,  ready for if the black armored beserked were to come barreling through the ceiling even though the portal shut.  Second turned to minutes forgetting about her for a moment as she started to slowly calm down now less scared of the asselent and now worried about where she appeared.  She had no Idea how close to Hargeon she still was.  She then remembered the lady who just spoke. She looked back to her.  Still trembling and crying slightly she sniffles a bit wiping some of her tears though they would persist.

C Coco...I...where am I...am I safe here...is she going to be able to get me...please help...

Coco was a mess badly able to organize her thoughts, she needed to be more clear, she knew this but she was still in shock and trauma.  She had planned a tea party with her party for today...now they were dead and she was in a a strange place with a complete stranger.  She swallowed slightly gulping hyperventilating a bit but slowly got up and walked shakily to the woman.  She needed to calm down and whoever she was...she could help...she had to...or so Coco hoped.

A Dark Mage came and started k killing people in my town two days f from Hargeon...so many are dead...please save me..."

She pleaded not crying as hard anymore but still the was to some degree, she couldn't place it she felt safe and decided to trust her gut this on time. She didn't know what else needed to be said or what would happen now. Standing in front  of the woman a bit wobbly now tabling sniffling no longer balling her eyes now just on the verge of tears.  Her cheeks a now puffy red she waited for the woman now known as Victoria to make her move.

WC: 328
Cocos TWC 792

Victoria noticed the young woman looking at the ceiling and wondered why she was doing that. Not sure if there was something she had missed, Victoria turned around and looked at the ceiling herself. There was nothing there... the brunette was not sure what was going on here, but there had to be a reason for her doing that. She would have to learn that reason through conversation.

Victoria looked down and re-established eye contact with the young woman, who had introduced herself as "Coco." Victoria did not understand everything that Coco was saying, but she gathered that someone had been chasing the young woman. Whoever it was had scared her badly, so badly that she was desperate for assurances that her pursuer could not get to her here.

"You're in the Red Dragon Inn, which is located in Ace Of Spades." Victoria calmly informed Coco of where she was. The brunette thought she heard mention of a female. Presumably the mystery female had been the one chasing after Coco for whatever reason, but that reason was every bit as mysterious as the pursuer's identity. The second sentence Coco said gave the Sabertooth mage a little more insight into what had happened to bring her to Red Dragon Inn.

A Dark Mage had initiated a murdering spree and Coco was a survivor of the spree.

"I know it might be too soon, but can you tell me anything about this Dark Mage? Anything like a name or description?" Victoria asked the new arrival. She knew that she would be forcing open emotional wounds that had not even started to close, but she needed to know some details one what she might be up against. If the dark mage Coco had evaded really planned on coming here to try and finish the job Victoria needed to know who to keep an eye out for.

Victoria was still badly hurt from the fight with Kalama and Death Metal Horse that had happened not too long ago, but she was not going to let anyone harm Coco if she could help it. The brunette had once been a child as frightened as Coco when slavers cornered her in a back alley of Capital Crocus over ten years ago and someone had stepped up to protect her. Now she was going to step up to protect someone else if she had to.

[Post Word Count: 398]
[Victoria's Word Count: 724]

Ace of Spades...

She had no earthly Idea where that was or where the Red Dragon Inn was located. She never heard of these places, she knew of a few major cities but this was one she defiantly never heard of. For some reason it calmed her down. Maybe if she didn't know where she was then her asselent wouldn't know ether, the odds of that were very slim but all the nine year old could do was hope.

She then asked about her asselents identity if she knew her name or if she could describe her. She shuttered a few tears escaping her eyes. She took a deep breath, she needed to tell...no warn these people about the monster. She took a deep breath and through a very shakey voice tried.

S she had a scary looking sword...black armor...and was tall...

She trailed off. It was odd, she could enviosn her perfectly, every detail. But the words wouldn't leave her mouth. She tried again but nothing. The truma being to recent. She took a deep breath clenching her fists closing her eyes. She was trying to focus really hard. But still no words would come out. However what happened next not even Coco was prepared for. Behind her a small spark formed, it them expanded in all directions making a rushing wind noise as subconsciously made a new portal behind her. However unlike her last portal it looked glassy in nature as if rather then opening a doorway to walk through she made a window to look through. However a horrific scene awaited them.


As the portal opened at the gates to her small fishing town and the streets where littered with blood and corpses. Men, woman, children elderly none were spared. There would be a man crawling barley alive as then a sword would be driven down into him. In full view was the dark mage know as Kalama. The man died instantly and Coco turned around as it happened. Her eyes went wide as she started to shake violently, trembling in fear as though the portal would exist only for seconds, for Coco it would be so much longer.

She took a few steps back tripping on herself falling back onto Victoria hiding her face in her closing her eyes, as she did her focus wavered and the portal was gone. However Coco would be to scared to check, clenching the woman's shirt her eyes closed she was hyperventilating and it almost sounded like she was begging as she kept saying one word "Close". As if she was begging the no longer existing portal to shut. This would go on for minutes or until the woman shook her out if it. The only comfort she had and the reason she didn't completely fall apart is this time she wasn't alone and felt safe clinging to the woman.

WC:481
Cocos TWC: 1,273

Victoria listened to Coco's description of the assailant and the brunette's face remained neutral when she heard it all, if only to avoid scaring the latter. That description was not the most detailed, but it was a start. Besides, it was unfair to expect the frightened young woman to give an exact description of her attacker after what she had been through.

Victoria was debating whether to keep asking questions or try to work with what she already had when her attention was diverted to a really loud noise that had sounded behind her and Coco. Victoria spun to face it and found herself staring at something that looked like a portal. She saw the unpleasant scenery unfold in front of her and watched another scene to the inevitable grim ending. She was "rewarded" with an unobstructed glance at the person responsible for frightening Coco.

It was Kalama!

"Kalama!" Victoria said aloud upon recognizing the dark mage Coco had spoken of earlier. Seeing the blonde was not what Victoria had anticipated so soon after their clash not too long ago. The brunette put on a brave face for Coco, but once the portal closed the brunette was silently grateful for its closing.

There was little way that the brunette would have been ready for a rematch so soon after barely surviving the first match with the blonde.

Kalama had pushed Victoria to her limits and had hurt the Sabertooth mage badly. While Victoria would have fought to protect Coco, the patrons and staff of the Red Dragon Inn, and Ace Of Spades, she was not very sure of her chances. It had taken everything she had to survive the first encounter and she was not yet ready to give Kalama a good rematch. Victoria needed some time to recover before she could stand up to the dark mage a second time.

When she emerged from her thoughts Victoria saw Coco clinging to her for dear life and did nothing. After escaping the likes of Kalama Coco deserved some peace and if clinging to the Sabertooth mage helped the young woman find it Victoria would let it happen.

[Post Word Count: 358]
[Victoria's Word Count: 1,112]

She held on to the older woman just clinging to her wanting to be safe. After what seemed like forever she finally calmed down and just sniffled still clingning on her shirt but looking up at her.  She couldn't tell about her putting on a big face you just saw a brave mage Very to defend her. She smiled at her a little bit trying to do what she did and put on a brave face wiping her eyes a little bit but still and her vaggedy clothing looking at her. What was she gonna do now she couldn't go home and she didn't have a family to go back to. Did you ask this stranger for assistance. Was that even the right thing to do or would she just be a burden to all these people. She didn't want to be a burden she wanted to make it so they would let her be here not just having to take care of a small child. It was as if in that moment she decided she needed to grow up a little bit right here and now.  She took a deep breath looking up at her before beginning to speak.

Miss, I don't want to be sent away can I stay here I can be useful, I can help out and I'm willing to use my magic as well if I have to... Please let me stay.

She looked at her with her puffy red cheeks no longer crying but it was very evident she was, it only added to her childlike cuteness for the moment though. Unintentionally giving her big pleding eyes.  She waited for the mages answer. Well maybe she wasn't the one to be asking and she certainly didn't want to burden her with taking care of her she didn't know who else to ask him this place she didn't know anyone here. She stood there waiting for her answer so trying to put on a brave face finally letting her go though and taking a step back working her in the eyes a small sniffle escaping her but staying strong and waiting she needed to look useful and maybe they will let her stay.

WC: 369
Cocos TWC: 1,542

Victoria looked down at Coco and felt a small amount of the fear she had felt that night in Capital Crocus when slavers had cornered her in the back alley and were about to capture her. Even though Victoria had just met Coco she could not abandon this youth to whatever would happen to her if she was not allowed to stay in Ace Of Spades or join Sabertooth. However, that choice was not in her hands because she was just a rank-and-file member of the guild, not one of its top brass.

"I don't have a problem with you staying here, but in the end I'm not the one who can make that choice. You'll have to take the matter up with one of the Guild Aces or the Guild Mistress herself." Victoria informed Coco that while the brunette was sympathetic to her, the choice over whether the latter stayed here or was sent elsewhere was not in her hands. The ones who had that sort of power were Imai, Itori, Gaia, and Kenna.

"If one of the Aces or the Guild Mistress show up I'm going to argue on your behalf." Victoria assured Coco that should a member of the guild leadership make an appearance here. She was not sure if Kalama was going to look for Coco to try and finish what she started in the latter's home village, but Victoria did not want the young woman left to fend for herself. Kalama was a ruthless person and the brunette would not put it past her to search far and wide for Coco. Victoria had barely eked out a draw against Kalama, so she did not want to think about what would happen if the blonde caught up with the young woman because the latter was much weaker than the blonde dark mage.

"I'm not sure how much weight my words will carry, but I'll still argue on your behalf." Victoria told Coco that while the latter should not expect a miracle the brunette was going to do her best to make sure that Coco had someone in her corner if she had to explain why she should get to stay.

[Post Word Count: 364]
[Victoria's Word Count: 1,476]

He was unable to say to this one she was greatful none the less. She had no clue what a Guild Mistress or what and Ace even was for that matter. Though that mattered very little to her at the current moment. She walked around the Inn for a moment before looking back at the woman. Were they gonna go get permission now or will she have to wait. What will you happen was there for the time being. She took a deep breath inside to ask the her. she didn't wanna be a burden on the woman Victoria after she had been so nice and reassuring to her. Plus she said she would argue on her behalf....whatever that meant it sounded good.

So How do I do that, Where do I go? What should I do till then...

She wanted to get her influence as soon as possible but didn't even know where to begin, the fact that she had one of their members in front of her and still didn't know scared her slightly. Though she took a deep breath. To her she was a foreigner here in a distant land even though it was just a few cities away in the same country she lived in. She didn't know why but she felt safe for her for now so she reached out taking the older woman's hand. As she did she looked in her eyes.

Can I...stay with you till I find this Guild Mistress or Ace...or till i find a place to go...I can't...

She can finish the sentence I can't go home as I brought too much pain to her due to the recent events with Kalama. Or she may still even be there. She started tearing up slightly gripping the woman's hand a little more now. Hopefully she would understand what she was going to say as she stood there holding her hand. She felt safe with Victoria and despite whether she could or not she doubted even the monster known now as Kalama could touch her.

WC: 343
Cocos TWC: 1,885

Victoria listened to Coco speak after everything the brunette had said about needing to talk to the Guild Mistress or one of the Guild Aces to officially join Sabertooth and get a permanent place to stay. Coco inquired as to where she went to speak to one of the aforementioned individuals. Victoria was about to answer that when a remark of the young woman's hinted that she was at a loss as to what to do now. While she was out of immediate danger, she was still in a strange place with no idea what to do or where to go.

"Sometimes a Guild Ace or the Guild Mistress herself come here, so if we wait around long enough we might be able to catch one of them." Victoria suggested to Coco. That was their best bet, but that took time and a fair measure of luck. She was not sure if one of the people who could help would grace Red Dragon Inn with their presence and she was not sure how long Coco was willing to wait.

In the meantime Coco had another question and that question was if she would be allowed to remain with the brunette until one of Sabertooth's top brass showed up... or until she could make other arrangements concerning a home. Victoria felt the young girl's grip tighten on her hand. There was really only one answer to that question.

"You can stay with me until someone in the guild's leadership shows up." Victoria gently assured the young woman. Coco reminded the brunette of herself shortly after Lawrence Sheridan had saved her from the slavers in that back alley of Capital Crocus. Back then she had no idea what she was going to do about somewhere to live since all of her street kid friends had been rounded up and taken to who knew where. Fortunately Lawrence stepped up and took her in, giving her a decent life after she had lived on the streets since she was six years old.

"I know this might not be the best time to ask this, but do you want something to eat or drink?" Victoria asked Coco. Food was probably the last thing on the young woman's mind after what she had been through, but Victoria was still going to ask.

[Post Word Count: 386]
[Victoria's Word Count: 1,862]