Forum Thread

"I suppose in order to proceed...information is vital. We did come here at your 'request' after all." Azure said, as he went from sitting down to laying down. Listening to someone talk and talk generally made him fall asleep; but he needed as much information as he could get...perhaps it'd even help with his own predicament.

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Flinching at the stern shut down of his suggestion, Alaparos tapped the rim of his wheels with narrowed eyes. Who was this overgrown bird to speak to them like that. If it weren't for them, Onerio wouldn't even have a physical body. He wasn't here to save the world or even one weird dream entity, he was just here for his personal reasons and none of the answers he was hoping to glean from the experience was comming. "Then I hope you don't mind if I unapologetically sleep through it because I think I'm going to do that." Alaparos quipped back instinctively, rolling his eyes. The moment he registered saying that, however, he winced and pressed a hand to his mouth that twisted into a grimace. He had probably overstepped there, setting the whole team back a few steps just because he ran his mouth. He didn't know how powerful Onerio was currently and if he had accidentally signed all of their death warrants because of his careless words he would rather go crawl into a ditch and cover himself in earth. An apology sat on the tip of his tongue, but a wave of indignation held it back. Onerio didn't deserve an apology, not until he proved himself worthy of one.

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"I mean, I have nothing better to do." she gave a small shrug. Eyre had shifted in her spot, now slightly obscuring her journal and Alaparos's knife to the others. Her mind lingered on Oneiro's comment. Was he talking about lucid dreaming? Her mom had mentioned it a few times when she was a kid, probably. She had no clue what it actually entailed, though.

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“Now, now.” Azure got up and bumped his soft, fluffy head against Alaparos. “I know your feelings about this, but perhaps it’s best we at least hear this...person out. Information is key after all...though I truly understand how you feel about them.” He would lay down next to him with a calm, mild expression on his face.

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His lip lifted slightly in a display of.. emotion, whatever that emotion might be. A moment later, he broke out into laughter, ruffling his hair, or feathers, and looking at Alaparos with a raised eyebrow. “I like your style, you remind me of.. uh.. me! I guess. I’ll take no offence to that, I can’t really blame you. After all, I’m relying on you guys, you don’t have to do this.” His voice wavered towards the end of this sentence, his gaze dropping onto the grass.

Finch waddled slowly over to Azure, pressing the side of her face against his fur and keeping her eyes on the raven the entire time. She didn’t like things she wasn’t informed on, and this was certainly one of them.

Oneiro coughed once and began pacing up and down the grass, taking pauses to look at the group. “So, I told you that curses were back? I guess when I died, I got this sixth sense for ‘em or something. I thought I sent ‘em off in a beautiful golden fireworks show, but some- some thing brought them back,” He spat the word ‘thing’, the venom in his voice returning from the dream from last night. “They’re like parasites. They attach to an existing sentient creature, and then they’ll act like they usually do. The only difference is, they’re all working towards a goal, or a group, or a person... I’m guessing they’re all aiding a group, and I’m quite sure I know what,” Oneiro took a great breath, straightening his back as he stopped pacing. “So, you know those people that just came into power? I’m pretty sure the curses are attached to them, the curses spread to the people who they trust most,” He frowned and let out a over-dramatically loud sigh. “What I’m saying is, the people in power of this country are all corrupted.”

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With their difference in heights, Azure ended up headbutting Alaparos right in the face. At least the contact was light so he didn't end up on the ground for a second time but he did almost get a mouthful of fur that only made his face twist up even more than it had been when he heard Onerio aliken the two of them. He was his own person damn it, he would rather be reminded of a snake that whatever this weird bird thing was. But perhaps what he hated the most was the weak trail off at the end of Onerio's voice, a voice that called on all his instincts to at least listen to what the other had to say. It was frustrating and annoying but it was the least he could do.

Crossing his arms, he listened to Onerio explain himself, physically holding himself back from scoffing. Of course the ones in power were corrupt, that was nothing new. One just had to look at the news to see the filth of this world. Wisely keeping his mouth shut, however, Alaparos only narrowed his eyes and kept his internal commentary just that. Internal. "So you gathered us here to do what, exactly? Remove curses? Abolish the government? If you wanted that, it would have been better to call exorcists. Eating those in power sounds fun though." He sighed, putting a hand on his chin.

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Vale didn't care to hold the lack of restraint that the others did, showing less hospitality than even Derek, the juggernaut still brandishing his massive weapon in case of attack, despite how unlikely the event was. Vale had pulled his head back into the tree cover, the thick leaves hiding his pale body from Onerio quite nicely. Now, he sat in the trees in a full circle around the other creature, ready to leap upon the other at the first sign of a hostile motion. Or, really, anything other than the usual ticks of the body as one spoke. Every time Onerio twitched a bit too far, or raised a talon, or even chuckled, Vale's body tensed; he was still searching for a challenge, Derek having been halted from him and Alaparos having not put up enough fight. However, this newcomer seemed quite strong... If Vale could cut off all breathing and movement, he thought, then most of the potential enemy's attacks were disabled: plenty of magiks needed either breath or a motion to cast, sometimes both.

"Do you know if these curses have spread to other countries?" Was her immediate question that she blurted out. It sounded a little too eager, too worried. She held the items in her hand and let her emotions strengthen her grip until it quivered. Eyre only slightly loosened her grip after that. Yet, her face remained stoic. She wouldn't give a person like Oneiro any more attention than necessary.

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The raven raised an eyebrow at Al’s suggestion. “Oh, I mean physically. Their brains are all.. messed up? I can’t explain it, I’m terrible at it.. uh...” He trailed off, scratching the underside of his beak with one claw, furrowing his brows with an annoyed, thoughtful expression.

Finch raised her head, her hat jumping as she did. “Like magic?” She asked, twiddling her thumbs under the poncho.

Oneiro snapped his fingers, somehow, his face lighting up. “Right! Like magic. Curses wanna do bad things. I dunno what they’re up to though, and I’m very sure it’s not good. I’d like to call myself their rival, but I’m dead. Like, I don’t know why I look like this, I was a human when I was alive.” He folded his arms, one eye open a crack to look at the group. He was surrounded by them, he couldn’t escape if he tried. One steady breath later and avoiding the sharp glare from Vale, he turned to Eyre. “No idea. I think they’ll want to stay together for a while, just before they start spreading.” Oneiro answered steadily, his voice low.

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"Right, right. So these guys are...corrupted. Now here's a question." Azure stated. When Finch pressed her face against his fur, he purposefully fluffed his fur up slightly and gave her a quick nuzzle. He looked at Onieros with his unflinching golden eyes, ever calm. "What do you want us to do about it? Or...perhaps the question should be...where do we come in this equation of dealing with this problem?"

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Well now Alaparos was starting to feel bad for the crow. Man. Thing. Whatever Onerio was. Key point was now Alaparos was feeling like the bully for openly attacking someone who was kind of in the same boat as them, just slightly less clueless about everything compared to them. Or well he supposed that everyone now was on the same page so Onerio really was in a ruefully similar position to them. Ugh way to make himself look like the bad guy here. Perhaps they were getting a bit too worked up, though, the exhaustion of facilitating conversations and alliances wearing down on their psyche. So this time, Alaparos simply leaned against the low back of their wheelchair and watched as Azure take the metaphorical reigns of their side of the conversation. He would pipe up when necessary, such as now when his eyes flickered over to the drawn weapon in Derek's hands and the calculating gaze he could barely make out beyond the boughs that presumably belonged to the serpentfolk.

Gingerly extracting themself from Azure's side, they slowly rolled up to Derek, hands gently tapping the rough patches of armor the other wore. It was a daunting garb to observe up close but Alaparos wasn't deterred, absently wondering if the armor was there to serve another purpose outside of protecting the demi-god's physical form. "Hey, let's put it down for the time being, no? It may not hold very much weight to hear it from my mouth but perhaps we should let Onerio explain the situation without any more external stressors."

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"Is it really not that obvious,lycan?" Hokori cut in,pridefully and scornfully marching closer to the group. "I doubt anyone of us,excluding you,Oneiros, have the magical prowess to remove such a...parasite." he paused for a moment to organise his train of thoughts. "The real question we should be as asking is 'how many are we talking about'. Them having power and the law on their side will definitely make matters difficult but I'm sure we'll be able to intervene before it starts to spread." Hokori would have remained silent to completely hear out Oneiros but thoughts and opinions kept piling up hearing the rest speak and ask questions.

Derek didn't lower his weapon, though Gerrin, the dark fox, did leap to the ground and then into the lap of the wheelchair-bound creature. He settled himself there, gladly laying down to rest. His body gave off, unlike his sister's, the unmistakable scent of ash. Though there was only the natural body heat of the fox to be felt, the idea that he might be able to start fires could be worrying. Derek drew one leg back slightly, his stance becoming that of an experienced Bastion; he was ready to block even the heaviest attack, each muscle in his body ready to tense. He still didn't trust the crow before the group, though he did speak at last. "Regarding curses, if my knowledge is to be considered correct, only another curse can destroy them? Or is that simply certain sorts of curses?" Vale regarded the information with interest, though his gaze flicked quickly back to Oneiro.

The raven moved a clawed hand to hold his nose-bridge, or rather, beak-bridge? Anyhow, the emotion he was showing was stress. Onerio tilted his head upwards a bit, going back to pacing up and down the clearing, tail feathers bouncing as he stepped. “I don’t mind speaking, really, I needed to prepare for this better...” He grumbled, inhaling through gritted teeth. He began to speak again, counting his clawed fingers as he continued, “I need you guys to fight off the curses,” One claw, “I’m pretty sure you guys can beat them right now, I don’t think I can right now,” Two claws, “Dunno how many, probably a lot,” Three claws, “They get executed by magic, you have to knock out the person and then sorta... will them out. It happens.” Four claws, including his other hand.

Finch tilted her head and grinned, looking up at Oneiro. “Why are you all weird now? Like shy and stuff? You sounded mean last night.” She asked nonchalantly, as if the words carried no emotional impact.

Oneiro froze for a moment. “S-speaking to conscious beings is much harder than unconscious ones! You wouldn’t get it...” He spoke so fast he found himself tripping over the words. “Did I um... answer all the questions?” He exhaled, tone high with exasperation.

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So her family would be fine, for now at least. That's good. As long as she got this done quickly it would be no issue. That was the only question she had, mainly because everyone asked her other ones, so she simply listened to Onerio explain what he knew. The dramatic mask that reminded her of too many people had been removed, or was it never there? Whatever. Oneiro was being pretty open to them, and while she didn't fully "get" the difference between talking to unconscious people and conscious people, she knew the feeling of being out of place, of sorts, when it comes to communication. Eyre still struggled to fish for words, and would much rather talk using images and emotion. Most people didn't like that or weren't used to it, so she eventually adapted.

The idea of getting close to important people did kind of irk her. How would they even get that close? She knew from personal experience that getting close to those kinds of people was a challenge in and of itself. If Eyre wanted to break her masquerade, she might be of help, but she didn't want to risk it. She kept silent about that question though. Oneiro would probably not have the answer to it, and the problem will come up eventually, so she could wait for it to be answered.

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The more Onerio spoke, the more twisted and conflicted Alaparos became. On one hand, the manipulative creature was appealing to each and every one of his protective instincts and moral code that he didn't even know up till now. But one the other, what Onerio was asking for was an imbalance, the cons outweighing the pros. Taking on this quest would mean that Alaparos was at a disadvantage, bound to his human shell for self protection. These were rich, corrupt, and important figures, exactly the type to use him for their own selfish and personal gain. Presenting himself as anything other than painfully human was a risk that would come with much to many drawbacks. He was essentially handicapping himself for his own protection, trading away his physical strength for anonymity. But the problem wasn't inherently punchable either so his brawling skillset wasn't going to be the most useful anyways but the trade off in size could potentially be a disadvantage for the team. The only two creatures that matched Alaparos' size would be the snakefolk and the amoured one beside him yet the two belonged on the vanguard rather than the rearguard, a position that Alaparos found himself taking up more often than not. Even if he could somehow find someway to balance out his kilometer long list of weakness in this form (his true body only had a meter long list), it still didn't help that out of all the members he was most likely the weakest out of all of them. It would be a pain to be the one to drag everyone down.

"Unfortunately, I believe it would be better for me to leave. There is very little I can bring to this team." He said in a matter of fact tone that betrayed none of his worries. One hand carded through Gerrin's fur, finding the scent of fluttering ashes and the aftermath of devastation to be oddly warming and familiar. Unlike how the aroma of death incited and wrapped around his shoulders like a warm blanket and a welcome home, this smell sharpened his mind, drawing him out of his swimming thoughts and into the present. It was... nice. Alaparos rarely found scents that pleased him but the small fox was a calming presence.

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Oneiro’s breath caught in his throat, his hat flopping off-centre as he raised his head in surprise. “B-but, you graduated Votum, right? I thought you were all capable...” He trailed off, a conflicted expression on his face. “Surely I’m not wrong, right? I’m not.. wrong?” His eyes widened desperately, his eyes trailing up and down Al. He straightened his hat and desperately scratched his elbow tufts, eyebrows furrowed and eyes wide. He seemed terrified of something, whether that be of being wrong or something else. He was showing himself in a surprisingly vulnerable state.

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Vale's reaction to Alaparos' denial of his worth to the mission was quick: the loud thunk of heavy impact with the earth, followed by the hiss of leaves shaking from their branches as the snowy serpent lashed around Oneiro, curving around him in a brutal display of agility. Moments had passed, and Vale was now wrapped around Alaparos, his coils raised above the ground as a tribute to his strength. Every muscle along beneath his hide was tense, holding up the weight of the snake-folk with ease. He spoke very quietly and quickly, his eyes narrowed in what seemed to be aggression. "You will not forfeit from this, despite how useless you might be. You will stay here, else you'll find yourself plagued by the guilt of three-hundred souls." His eyes were nearly hypnotic, his gaze piercing and sharp, staring directly through Alaparos.

"I fail to see how you will be of no use for us. You have already proven to be quite handy,have you not? You helped a great deal back when Vale was in danger." He added. "I may not your sorcery prowess but your intelligence undoubtedly matches it. What's your reason for wanting to withdraw?"

"Yeah, what Hokori said. If it's strength that you're worried about, there's a lot of other things that are useful to a group. Like...what's the word...diplomacy or...a mediator, even." Vale was no doubt trying to intimidate Alaparos into staying. It's nice that he cared enough about him to warrant him to do so, but Eyre disliked the method. It didn't look like Vale was harming Alaparos though, so she stayed where she was. "And with diplomacy and that stuff aside, sometimes it's nice just to have company."

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