Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » The Tavern II (Open)

He nodded, "Oh yes...My brother is a demon hunter, just like his - uh, I mean 'our,' father was. I'm, uh, what they call a "shinobi," you know, a ninja? But a special kind. Our order sort of worked along-side the demon hunters. We're demon hunters, of sorts, but just...different." Arashi paused, tucking some of his hair behind his ear. "And yes, I have actually fought a few, but they weren't just your average demons. No, these were big-shots, powerful demons. Let me just say that I'm lucky to be alive. Some demons are really strong, and I'm no exorcist. Tips? Well, I haven't fought a demon long enough to really have any tips for you, but if I have one, and you've probably heard this before, it's; "Never succumb to the darkness. Believe in yourself, and never waver." Demons will take advantage of the weak, so never doubt yourself when facing one. Never trust a demon, and don't take chances. They lie, a lot." Arashi took a deep breath, blinking his single visible eye, and dragging a hand over his eyepatch. But sometimes you can't trust yourself either...

Em walked back into the main area just in time to hear someone mention 'demon hunters' and growled. "Damn lot those are." She muttered "Swore never to take another hit contract for one again." She sat down at her table, her possessions untouched.

"Is that what happened to your eye?" The question sprouted from her lips without Luna truly thinking upon it first. It was rude, impolite and not her place to ask such a personal question. After all, even if she considered Arashi as a friend now, it did not mean that he thought of her in the same light. He probably thought of her as some nosey priestess and was only being polite to her because it was a kind thing to do. Or maybe he found her amusing and was only listening to her for a good laugh. Still...she had to apologize.
"Ah, p-please forgive me," She stumbled on her words as she lowered her head in shame.
"I have crossed a boundary...you do not know me well enough for me to ask that question," Luna muttered, unable to meet his gaze.

(Wow. Everyone else just started talking. That doesn't usually happen. *waits for a reason to post*)

(OOC @ Dawson: Scroll back a ways, I think Markal asked what you wanted to drink. Not a bad opener if nothing else comes along.)

He eyes the bartender, a lot calmer than he was before. "Oh, er... No. Thanks, though." He gives him a small smile.

Markal raised an eyebrow. "You come in, sit at a bar, and don't order anything to drink." He said incredulously and shrugged.
"Markal!" Of course, even here patronizing the patrons was looked down upon. Markal looked down and mumbled an apology to the man before noticing that the foxtaur was already back.
"Scuse me." He said to the man, finding a drink that needed to go to one of the tables near her. "Hey, you sure you're OK to be back up? It might be a better idea to sleep it off." He said to the foxtaur when he had a chance.

Arashi blinked at the question given to him, and then chuckled. "No, no, it's ok. I get that question often, as you may imagine." He then paused, thinking of what to say next. You could show her your eye. A dark voice said, somewhere in the pits of Arashi's mind, taking control of the opportune moment. Arashi then stood up,suddenly and quickly, moving the table a bit, as he did, then stood frozen in shock, staring directly past Luna, as if into the depths of his own mind.
I thought you were gone for good. Arashi replied to the voice in his head, his hands tightening into fists, now completely oblivious to the world around him. Did you really? Oh no, I will never be gone, it's just...when you touched your eye, MY, eye, it awakened me from my sleep. It's funny they didn't tell you that would happen, and I'm just lucky they didn't. With that, the voice chuckled. A laugh that could drive anyone insane. Go on, remove that eyepatch of yours. It wouldn't hurt. Arashi shut his eyes and clenched his teeth, still standing at the table. He then snapped back to reality, opening his eyes, glancing around with one, at his surroundings. Several people around them were staring, obviously disturbed by the sudden commotion. Shit. He thought, way to make a scene, idiot.

((ooc: Oh yeah I'd just like to add that Arashi's right arm (on his jacket,) has a long sleeve, while his left one has a short sleeve, (he just rolls the sleeve up and keeps it that way.) Just like his eyepatch, he seems to be hiding something about his arm as well...))

Em looked at the man talking to her, and grumbled "I'm fine. Just...a little weak." She waved him away and turned her attention to the demon hunter. "Don't trust them. Always betray, and very dangerous." She muttered "Last one I was hired to take out, nearly took my arm and tail off...." She rubbed a scar on her left arm.

She started, sloshing her drink, when a teenaged boy at a side booth suddenly bolted to his feet, jarring the table at which he'd been sitting. Glancing around nervously, she tried to spot a threat that might have prompted such behavior. There was nothing beyond the generally questionable nature of various patrons, and her gaze returned to the pale, hooded figure.

He seemed oddly asymmetrical, what with his eyepatch and mismatched sleeves. Her attention flicked to the young woman sitting with him at the table. Perhaps she'd said something to upset him? At any rate, the boy seemed to be calming down now.

Still, no harm in a bit of caution. Finally rid of her shivers, she quietly navigated to a vacant table near the door, taking a seat that allowed her to keep one eye on the boy.

Luna blinked, suddenly very concerned and cautious about Arashi's behavior. He had seemed perfectly fine with answering her question a minute ago but now it appeared as if she had treaded on hot coals with this topic. His hands had tightened into fists, teeth clenched tight and his breathing unstable as if he was fighting to control something...
"A-Arashi...?" Luna called out to him in a soft voice, that of a concerned friend and want to understand the turmoil that seemed to rack him so. He is so full of hidden secrets, is it wrong for me to want to know more? Luna thought to herself as she stared at him. He kept everything hidden, his arms, his eye, even the rest of his head. It was like he was shrouded in the shadows, but then again he was a shinobi. A what wasn't a shinobi if not one who always lived in the shadows? Maybe it was just in his nature to hide things but it was also in Luna's nature to remove the darkness and shadows and replace it with light and love...

Markal raised his eyebrow and followed the foxtaur's gaze to the woman, whose companion had stood up for some reason. "She looks harmless enough. It is a strange combination though, demon hunter and priestess." He froze up for a second, realizing that he wasn't supposed to have heard that. He'd been almost on the other side of the room when they had been talking about that.

He quickly went back to the bar, putting a hand to his head and wincing. There were so many people here.

Arashi sat down quickly, regaining his composure. He put a hand to his forehead, and sure enough, he was sweating. He shut his eyes again, tightly, and then reopened them, noticing now that a woman in brightly coloured clothes, had moved to another table, the foxtaur that he had seen earlier was looking at him, oddly, and then noticed the young man, standing next to her, had returned to the bar. He had disturbed nearly everyone with his sudden behavior. He bowed at his seat, keeping his head low. "I'm sorry, sorry...It's nothing," he muttered to Luna. His heart felt as if it was going to explode. He stayed still, and silent for a moment, waiting for the voice in his head to return, but...oddly enough, it didn't. That's a relief. He thought, sitting up, awkwardly rubbing the back of his cloaked head, with one hand. "I'm really sorry if I scared you, Luna." He looked at her, sensing her worry, and then grinned, with a sense of fear lingering in the depths of his mind.

He adjusts the bandage over his eye, tightening it. The tails of of the band went down to the center of his back. "..."

Cautious, Luna stared at Arashi, and for the first time, she didn't know what to think of him. Her gaze locked onto his and tried her best to look past his mask of fake indifference. Though as soon as the look on her face had appeared it was gone and replaced with her own wry grin.
"It's alright," Luna replied coolly, warm brown eyes suddenly losing some of their warmth.
"You seemed to have frighten more than just me, however." Her eyes glanced around to watch the other patrons reaction to her friend's sudden outburst from Luna's obviously weighted question.
"Though it was my fault that this whole incident has happened. Perhaps you should ask me a personal question?" She suggested lightly.

Arashi slowly turned his head to look at the people around him, most had gone back to what they were doing, but a few still seemed to be keeping an eye on him. "N-no, it wasn't your fault, really. It was-" Arashi paused, as he felt a stinging pain in his right eye. "...It...was..." His shoulders slumped and his eyes fell to the floor, the brilliant sapphire one growing dark. His sense of fear was growing stronger with every minute that passed by. "It was mine. I overreacted." He said, shaking his head, still looking at the floor. "...I can't really think of any personal questions to ask you. Though I'm sure you have many more for me....seeing as I'm pretty mysterious, and I'm sorry for that. We all have secrets, and we all have our demons. I wouldn't want to ask you anything personal that may remind you of something bad," he smirked, putting his head back up, his single eye sparkling as he looked at Luna. "Besides, I'm feeling a bit better now..." He lied, making his demonic aura grow stronger. "Ask me anything you want. I'll be ok..."

Seeing as there was a bit of a lull in customers needing drinks, Markal patted the bartender's shoulder, a smoking pipe in hand. The bartender nodded once in acknowledgement before going back to work. Markal practically fled out the door without his cloak. That girl had it anyways.

Markal stopped just outside the door and put the empty pipe to his lips chewing on it. Really the pipe was just a pretense for leaving when he needed to. "So many damn voices..." He muttered, leaning back against the building. The tiger blood in him kept him fairly warm even without the cloak, and it was that same tiger blood that gave him perfect hearing in the closed space of the tavern. If there were too many people there talking, it gave him a headache.

Markal crossed his arms and squinted against the wind. He'd go back in...eventually. Probably after he stopped feeling his fingers.

The vixentaur stood up and stepped outside, taking a breath of fresh air. "Getting too crowded for my liking." She paced back and forth, watching her four paws leave prints on the ground. "Reminds me of the Agency.... Wonder how my brother is doing?" She scratched her muzzle absently.

He left as well, bandage tails flowing behind him. As he left, he was in clear view of the vixentaur.

The vixentaur almost ran right into someone else standing outside "Oh, sorry! Was daydreaming." She looked him over "I didn't step on your feet did I? Gaurs weigh more than you might think."