Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2023 18:20:05 GMT -5
| summer lovin' Ember Word Count: 284/284/284 |
"I'm actually kind of nervous," Ember said, rubbing her arms furiously as she looked at the portal in the middle of Nappa's living room. She had finally found the scroll that was going to get her back to the realm of the Fae after searching in the libraries of Kelioux for what felt like an eternity. In reality, it was only a week of visiting the library before someone helped the redhead find the scroll she needed. Now, standing beside the one person she wanted to be with when she stepped through that portal, it felt more like a dream.
"The scholars on Kelioux said that it should take us directly to the Summer Realm," She murmured, taking his hand and looking at the shimmering light. It leaked pure power, and the tendrils of energy around the edges of it seemed to sparkle. Nevertheless, she stepped into the portal, her heart speeding up a bit as white light enveloped her. When she stepped through the other end, she was met with cobblestone streets, along with marble palaces sitting on the horizon. It seemed that the scholars were right - she had stepped directly into the middle of Lucis, the governing city of the Summer Realm.
Ember didn't speak for a long while, but instead looked around at the buildings, tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes. After wiping them hurriedly, she caught her reflection in a shop window, and was stunned to see that small, white wings were on her back, accentuated with intricate designs. She blinked and smiled up at Nappa, before speaking.
"This is Neraides. My home - are you hungry? I think you'll enjoy the food that we have here."
|
|
Nappa
Roleplay Guide
Posts: 492
Organization: Saiyan Empire
Race: Saiyan
Status: Contact Me
|
Post by Nappa on Dec 13, 2023 1:24:40 GMT -5
| Who's Hongry? Nappa Word Count: 373 / 373 PASSIVES: Champion II |
Stepping through portals wasn’t something that Nappa had ever done before, nor was it something he had ever planned on doing.
Ember had been talking for months about finding a way to portal back to her home in Neraides, and showing him her home world. He had been positive in his responses, because he knew that she figured portalling was the only way back - it was, after all, how she arrived on Earth in the first place. In the back of his mind, however, he had been waiting until she had given up the attempt and chose to map the universe out the old-fashioned way to find her way back home. Traveling by starship was much more to his speed.
This massive, willowy portal in front of him unnerved him.
It had the look of a full length, oval-shaped mirror, except instead of seeing his own reflection back at him, he saw a highly stylized other world, full of bright lights, clean streets, and what looked to be temples in the far distance. He was too far in to try and back out, though - they were in his house. So when she took his hand, he didn’t pull away, as his instinct was to do. Instead, he sighed internally and simply followed when she stepped foot.
The first thing he took note of was the smell. His home had a stale, metropolitan smell to it that was completely missing from this living wilderness. He stood silent for several moments, allowing her to accept that she was, after months of isolation, back in her home once again. He periodically turned behind him to make sure that the portal back home was still open. It had shrunk some, but that was to be expected - it was supposed to shrink to a pinpoint until they approached it again, for some kind of defensive reason that the Scholars had told her about and Nappa hadn’t listened to when she’d repeated it.
Wide open portal was bad. He would have assumed that even without the warning from the pompous book nerds. She finally opened her mouth, and despite being back in her native lands, she was speaking his language: “...are you hungry?” He grinned.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2023 22:51:22 GMT -5
| happened so fast Ember Word Count: 403/687/1,060 |
“So, there’s several different meals we can have here. They have a lot of different options - the Summer Realm is mostly known for their spices, but we can probably take a teleport to Autumn, or walk if you prefer to see the sights.”
Ember looked back at the Saiyan, noticing that the portal they had taken had shrunk down to nearly ten times its original size, but didn’t comment on it. She sensed the shock in his demeanor when she had first opened it in his house, but hadn’t pressed him on it. She had been too excited to care, truth be told.
“The Autumn Realm has some pretty amazing Hazelnut dishes. It’s fairly sweet, but it’s the perfect dish for when you feel homesick! It’s almost like eating your happiest childhood memory! They also have some really good lavender dishes and elderberry tarts. I think,” she gushed, poking his bicep, “that you could definitely use the elderberry tarts. They help a lot with inflammation! Since you like to battle so much, taking care of those muscles is going to be beneficial to keeping you tough.”
She grabbed his hand, her eyes twinkling with excitement, and began to lead him through the forest. Within moments, they appeared at a clearing, their feet touching cobblestone. Just past the edge of the clearing, tall, sparkling buildings were visible, and Fae were buzzing around the marketplace that they had walked into, shouting about wares. One Fae in particular spotted them, and rushed forward, his white hair cascading down his back. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, but he had the look of a male that had seen plenty of tourists - and Nappa must have been the perfect target.
“Hello sir! You look like you’ve never been to Lucis before! Would you like to browse my potions? Perhaps get a ring for the lovely lady? Or, if that’s not your speed,” he said, lowering his voice. “I can give you something that’s bound to keep her libido up; you won’t ever have to worry about not getting a little bit of special time with her at the end of the night again.”
Ember, of course, could hear every word that the Fae salesman was saying, but kept quiet, even though a small smirk had formed on her face, and looked around at the stalls. She wanted to see how Nappa would handle this.
|
|
Nappa
Roleplay Guide
Posts: 492
Organization: Saiyan Empire
Race: Saiyan
Status: Contact Me
|
Post by Nappa on Dec 22, 2023 15:12:50 GMT -5
| Making a Buck Nappa Word Count: 503 / 876 PASSIVES: Champion II |
Ember immediately started gushing about all the different foods available in her world. As she talked, he could see her eyes alight with wonderment, beside herself to be back home for the first time in months. Nappa couldn’t be happier for her, but really he could only focus on two things. First, she’d mentioned it before, obviously, but he was still unnerved by the locales being described by their climate as opposed to anything else. An “Autumn Country” was just a distinctively weird concept. Was that all they identified themselves by? Was their personality big sweaters and pumpkin patches?
The other strange thing was just how much she gushed about the food. He’d expected perhaps two or three items to spring to mind for her, but she seemed to have an endless list in her mind of where to take him. The way she described it, he would have thought this planet was a substitute for Earth. There were rarely planets that had such a wide variety of delectable selections. It was part of the reason why the Saiyan diet consisted so heavily of meat. Most people assumed it was to help them grow muscle, but Saiyans didn’t really need protein for muscle development anymore than any other species. If their muscles grew at the rate their power did, they would all walk around looking like meatheads.
The reason they focused on meat so heavily was because no matter what world they needed to go to, it probably had some indigenous animal that moved around, and that was food. His eyes refocused on hers when she poked his bicep, teasing him about how overworked he was through all the fighting. Nappa tilted his head to the side, a little embarrassed, before he felt her snatch his hand and begin to drag him off in one direction.
As though they were once more teleported through space and time, their walk through the forest hardly lasted a few seconds before they were in the middle of civilization. They were even walking on actual roads - though the roads were built with cobblestone, rather than any more uniform material. People were talking all over the visible clearing, bustling about. They looked almost exactly how she described them, as though they had jumped out of a childhood storybook.
“Hello, sir!”
The abruptness with which this strange white-haired man began monologuing about his wares had Nappa stock still until he was done speaking. When finally he finished (after making more than one crude joke relating to Ember) Nappa glanced at the Fae woman, but her face was a mask to him. She wore a smile, but he couldn’t identify anything from it. Accepting that he wasn’t going to receive any help, the Saiyan just turned back to the salesman.
“Well... I only have Zeni. Do you even take that here?” For a place so difficult for Ember to find, he would have found it incredibly unusual if they used the same currency.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2023 15:52:50 GMT -5
| summer lovin' Ember Word Count: 406/1,093 |
At Nappa's words, the merchant's brows furrowed in confusion, as if he was trying to figure out what the foreign word that the Saiyan used meant. He looked at Ember, almost as if she were going to explain, but she kept the same smirk on her face, looking at the bustling crowd and trying to envision what they would do after Nappa got done with his conversation.
"Uh... no, sir, we use gold pieces here. What is Zeni?"
Ember continued scanning the crowd, and the smell of Ignis Soup hit her nose - she could smell the undertones of paprika, red pepper flakes along with other spices that she couldn't quite identify. In a split second, she decided that it would be best to cut this conversation short - she was craving the foods of Neraides more than she had realized. Stepping in front of Nappa, she placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at the merchant. Usually, it took a little bit of force to deal with them, but she didn't mind - it was almost like a game to her.
"He's good, thanks," she began.
"Well, miss, if he's good, it seems as if you know your way around Lucis - would you perhaps like something to attract your Fated Mate?"
Ember knew of course that this was a scam - there had been rumors of spells and tinctures that would provide someone with the ability to locate their mate, but she had no interest in it. Nappa was more than enough for her, and all she could think about was the taste of Ignis Soup.
"Nope, I'm good," she replied.
"Well how about-"
"Listen," she snapped. "I've lived on the outskirts of the Summer Realm my entire life, and I've been away for a while - but that doesn't mean that Lord Aestas has forgotten my face nor my name. Should I perhaps head to the main palace and speak with him about how you're scamming innocent tourists and making them not want to come back? I don't think he'd appreciate you draining his coffers."
That seemed to bother the merchant, so instead of saying anything else, he simply slunk off back to his booth, and Ember turned to Nappa after he had settled.
"So, spicy food? I don't know if you can handle it, but I'd like some Ignis Soup," she said, practically bouncing on the spot. "Oh, and don't worry, I'll pay for it."
|
|
Nappa
Roleplay Guide
Posts: 492
Organization: Saiyan Empire
Race: Saiyan
Status: Contact Me
|
Post by Nappa on Dec 22, 2023 20:44:12 GMT -5
| Hot Ones Challenge Nappa Word Count: 182 / 1058 PASSIVES: Champion II |
Gold pieces? They use gold here? They pay for regular things with actual gold?!
Before he could think of a response, Ember finally stepped in, dealing with the shopkeep with ease. Eventually, she pulled out her trump card, naming the government official to try and threaten the stranger’s livelihood. The white-haired salesman slunk away without another word after that, defeated.
She huffed a little bit in satisfaction before turning to face Nappa once more. “So, spicy food?” Nappa glanced around at the busy marketplace, appreciating the similarities the open-air bartering style had in comparison to what he grew up with on Planet Vegeta. He wasn’t really sure how spicy ‘spicy’ was for her, as they had never really had the chance to test each other’s ability to handle capsaicin. This was as fine a time as ever, though.
“Well, if you’re paying, I’m eating.” As he turned to follow her, something the shopkeep had said stuck with him. “I thought you’d already met your Fated Mate... why would you need anything to attract him?”
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2023 21:13:19 GMT -5
| HAD ME A BLAST Ember Word Count: 384/1,477 |
As the pair walked, merchants materialized in front of them, boasting wares and special spells that they had available. There were things like 'regrow your hair', and 'make them obsessed with you' were shouted at them more than once. Instead of entertaining them, Ember simply kept her eyes on the small inn in the distance, and encouraged Nappa to do the same. His question about her Fated Mate though, had given her pause.
She hadn't heard from Zabor in a while, nor had she had any more of the strange dreams. She hadn't told Nappa what she had done yet, but she figured now would be the best time to confess.
"Well," she began, drawing her lip between her teeth.
"Okay, so this isn't actually the first time I've gone to Neraides," she confessed, stopping her walk and closing her eyes, as if she were a child about to get scolded by a parent. "I actually went about a week before I told you about the portal. I wanted to go to the Spring Realm, and see a... well, a soothsayer. She's really accurate - you should hear the tales they tell about her. Anyways, that's not the point. I asked her about my Fated Mate, and she isn't able to tell me who he is, but he told me who he's not. Whatever curse was put on Zabor, it seems that Baba got it wrong. I'm not his Fated Mate, I'm just supposed to help break it. I don't know why there was a mix-up with the translations, but... all she told me was that Zabor isn't the one I'm meant to spend this lifetime with."
Ember hadn't bothered asking the Soothsayer about Nappa - she didn't want to change things or influence her feelings towards the Saiyan, just in case there was a chance that he wasn't the one she was supposed to be with. However, she didn't feel any of the usual symptoms - tugging in her chest, knowing where he was at all times, being able to sense his emotions... it was fairly unlikely that he was, in fact, her Mate.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," she mumbled, looking down at her feet and staring at an ant that was currently weaving its way through the cobblestone. "Are you mad at me?"
|
|
Nappa
Roleplay Guide
Posts: 492
Organization: Saiyan Empire
Race: Saiyan
Status: Contact Me
|
Post by Nappa on Dec 27, 2023 23:31:53 GMT -5
| Am I Mad? Nappa Word Count: 407 / 1465 PASSIVES: Champion II |
As the various merchants along the strip smelled a new chump, they began calling out anything they could think of to try and draw his eyes. He heard everything screamed at him while he kept his eyes facing forward - ways to keep Ember attached to him, a tincture that could allow him to eat anything and keep his figure, and ointments that could turn back the clock of his aging process. It was really only the last thing that bothered him, though.
As a Saiyan, his body genetically wouldn’t age him out of his prime for decades - so what insecurities were they hoping to attack by saying he looked old? The references to his bald head didn’t make him feel uncomfortable, either - but he did feel the urge a couple of times to shout that his head is bald because he chose to regularly shave it. In the end, Ember’s nonchalant walk past them convinced Nappa to keep his mouth shut, but he did find himself wondering if he could be treated differently if he let his hair grow back out.
The silence between them stretched for a bit, but he didn’t assume the worst - on top of it being an incredibly delicate topic, the constant yapping while they walked through the courtyard would have made a typical conversation difficult to hold. After some time, though, Ember did reply. “...a soothsayer.” He turned to look at her for a moment but didn’t open his mouth. The guilt on her face was enough to keep him from speaking; for some reason, she felt ashamed of keeping this secret.
He listened while she explained that her earlier claim about having a Fated Mate had turned out to be untrue. It sounded fairly far-fetched, but he could tell from the earnestness of her tone that accusing the soothsayer of being a crock wouldn’t have gone over well, so he didn’t. “Are you mad at me?” Nappa’s eyebrows creased in confusion.
She stared at the cobblestone, waiting to be scolded, but Nappa had nothing to say. He reached out to grab her elbow, hoping to get her to turn and face him. Emphatically, he proclaimed, “What in the world could you do to ever make me that angry with you?” He beamed down at her, trying to send as much positive energy through his eyes and smile as he could.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2023 12:02:50 GMT -5
| met a boy, crazy for me Ember Word Count: 593/2,070 |
Nappa didn't react as she'd expected him to. Instead, he grabbed her arm, drawing her attention to him. When she looked up, his eyes were twinkling, and he had a large, toothy grin on his face.
"What in the world could you do to ever make me that angry with you?"
Her face flushed, and a smile broke out on her face, but she leaned up, pecking him on his cheek before responding.
"Oh, I dunno, I could interrupt your only day off of work and have you fight off an assassin in the middle of a forest."
A joke, obviously - the first day the two had met, she had ended up in the middle of a park in Satan City, brutally injured. He had taken her to the nearest hospital, where the healers there had done what they assumed the best to heal her, before she ultimately begged Nappa to bring her to the Rejuvenation Tank that he had in his ship. Later that day, they had gotten food - something called 'ramen', and gone to the forest, made love, and subsequently gotten attacked by an assassin that Nesta had sent after Ember. Regardless, it had to have been one of the best days that she had on Earth.
After a few moments of simply taking in Nappa's features, the smell of warm soup hit her nose again, and her belly began to rumble softly.
"Okay, it's time for us to go get food," she laughed, grasping his hand and leading him to a small tavern. She pushed open the doors, and walked in, hoping that the ceilings weren't too high for the exceptionally tall male in her company. The tavern was mostly empty, save for a few fae sitting in corners and reading small books while they devoured their food.
After a few moments of simply taking in the restaurant, she walked up to the counter where a short, stout elderly Fae stood, and smiled at her.
"Yes, dearie? What can I get for you?"
The female sounded tired, and Ember could tell that she needed to be sitting down, rather than standing and working as a waitress for the very few customers they received. Even though she wanted to comment and tell her to sit, she didn't. Instead, she reached at the belt around her waist, and began digging through past the bills of Zeni for the gold that she kept on her at all times.
"Can we get two large bowls of Ignis Soup, and..."
She scrunched her face up, before narrowing her eyes at the menu and deciding.
"Two bottles of Hibiscus Water."
The woman nodded, and Ember slid over twice the amount of gold needed for the food, which elicited a soft gasp from the woman.
"No, dearie," she said, placing her hand over Ember's. "I can't accept this much."
Ember shook her head and smiled, before pushing the coins back to the woman insistently.
"Please, you must. I've been coming here since I was a child, and I think you deserve every piece."
The woman's brows furrowed, and she studied Ember's face for a moment, as if trying to remember her, but seemingly couldn't, which was fine with Ember. Finally, she sighed and took the coin, before smiling warmly at Ember, and looking up at Nappa.
"Your mate is quite lovely. Treat her well."
She didn't stick around to wait for a response, but headed into the back and began calling out the order. Ember's face flushed, and she looked up at Nappa.
"Let's sit down, yeah?"
|
|
Nappa
Roleplay Guide
Posts: 492
Organization: Saiyan Empire
Race: Saiyan
Status: Contact Me
|
Post by Nappa on Dec 29, 2023 19:27:22 GMT -5
| A Bar With No Alcohol?! Nappa Word Count: 536 / 2001 PASSIVES: Champion II |
She kissed him on the cheek, causing the Saiyan to grin sheepishly. He didn’t comment on her referencing the way they’d met a moment later. She knew he liked fighting, so even if he hadn’t felt attached to her - which he had by that point - he probably still would have jumped into the fight just to get his blood pumping a bit. The only thing that bothered him about the fight was how weak he had felt afterwards.
If that same assassin had come by today, he would likely dominate the creature easily. Even on the off chance it had other transformations, like Ember herself had shown over time, he still felt assured that he could have handled any potential threat to Ember’s life with ease. She stared up at him silently, while he waited. Usually when she looked at him so intently, she had something she needed to say but was waiting until a particularly satisfying dramatic pause had passed before speaking.
This time, though, there was no ‘other shoe’ to drop. Her eyes just suddenly grew wider as she realized they’d been standing in the middle of the path not moving for a good minute. “Okay, it’s time for us to go get food.” He couldn’t have agreed more; the Saiyan had been hungry since before they’d even entered the portal in the first place.
She took his hand and began to half-drag, half-lead him the rest of the way to the tavern with the smells they had been following. The doors pushed in, and with a shove, Ember knocked them away with only one hand and barged in. Nappa did have to duck his head the slightest amount to not bang his head against the door jamb on his way in, but was able to just barely stand up straight inside the interior of the pub.
He watched as her entire demeanor changed. She relaxed, her shoulders loosened, and her smile muscles seemed to ease, as though it didn’t take as much work to be happy. She was back home, and he was ecstatic to see how at ease being around her people made her. She quickly maneuvered between the various tables to head up to the standard bar at the front of the tavern.
She ordered for him - which was good, because he had no idea what was supposed to be tasty around these parts - and got ‘ignis soup’ for their food, and ‘hibiscus water’ for drinks. He didn’t say anything, but he was a little disappointed that he wasn’t getting anything alcoholic. He didn’t know what hibiscus was, but he knew what water was, and it didn’t sound particularly appealing.
Nonetheless, Ember whipped out her coins and began debating with the bartender about how much money to spend for the meals. Surprisingly, though, the debate wasn’t about the meals being too expensive, but rather too cheap. Eventually, the woman accepted, and glanced at Nappa to remind him to treat her well. He nodded solemnly; he did his best.
“Let’s sit down, yeah?”
“Whatever you want,” he said easily. “It’s your show.”
|
|