a goose

IC:

"Thanks, Dor. Give me a shout if you end up needing somewhere to crash and have to share."

She smirked jokingly as she finished her comment, deciding that was a better route than a wink, and smiled once more. "G'night Dor."

With that, she walked over to the campsite, finding Dor's sleeping bag and setting herself up in it. Here's to another sleepless night under the stars. If I fall asleep I'll wake up screaming.

IC:

Nikarra smiled. "Good seein' you too."

She glanced over to the campsite, where almost everyone else was already trying to get to sleep. "You do realise I don't have a sleeping bag, right? Unless y'all brought a spare."

IC:

Nikarra didn't say a word. She stood in silence, looking at Dorian, letting everything he said sink in.

"Why do you think you're still here?"

- - -

"Are you going to kill me, Dor?"

"Ohhh, sweetheart," Dorian sighed, tracing her lips and pulling himself into a sitting position; Nikarra adjusted by wrapping her arms and legs around his back, clinging to him like a leech, and as he lifted her up so their gazes were level, he could see the sheer devotion reflected in her eyes. "Someday, maybe."

"You sure?" she pouted. "I mean, I don't want to rush you if you don't want to be rushed..."

"Thoughtful of you," he said, smiling with such perfect, even white teeth that when Nikarra looked at them, she saw her own gaze staring back at her hungrily. "Don't worry. Someday, soon, I'll kill you. Just be patient."

- - -

"I've never touched family."

Nikarra took one step forward and wrapped her arms around Dorian, holding him tight, far tighter than she expected, as though her very life depended on her refusal to let go. And for not the first time that day, she communicated without a single word everything she had to say. I love you.

And it's going to kill me.

IC:

You have to tell him.

Nikarra pulled gently back out of the hug. "Look, in terms of why I was there, how I... how I found myself at rock bottom again... I spoke to someone, outside your house. That time you sent me to break in."

Her eyes locked on to Dorian's. "Malik."

...

IC:

Nikarra smiled, a dumb, happy smile, as tears somewhere between joy and sadness began to well up in her eyes once again. "Hah. Actually... I was Sloth."

I think I might still be.

IC:

"I'm okay," she assured him. "I'm... I'm okay."

The Toa of Lightning hoped that he might believe it, even if she didn't.

She bit her lip, wondering how to phrase what she had to say next. "I had a... thing, with one of them. Just for a little while. She was different from the others. Or... I thought she was. I don't know anymore."

I thought she was someone who could be something better.

Someone like you.

Nikarra looked back up into Dorian's eyes, big and blue and so sad, almost as sad as hers, and the icy blue became only more appropriate as the waters below the surface churned, waves of rage and regret crashing through his mind as every protective instinct he felt for Nikki kicked into gear. "I was in a bad place, Dor. And I didn't think I could get out. The Daedra... it seemed like a way out. I'm sorry."

IC:

The change in Nikarra was instantly visible; her shoulders sagged, her eyes looked down to the ground, avoiding Dorian's, as her expression became one of hesitance and uncertainty. "I... I got in with a bad crowd."

"What, like a circus? What happened?"

"You know how it is," she sighed, the irony of the echo of Dor's own attempts at deflection not lost on her. "Your mom spends your whole childhood telling you not to get involved with Toa Teams who name themselves after Deadly Sins and try to incite wars, then one comes along and you can't help but join in."

"So yeah. Kinda like a circus."

You know, with all the reminiscing going on, I feel like it's really important to bring a few things back into perspective. So,

 

Vorex: Trap door. Mystix. Reichenbach.

 

Hubert: Alex and the not!Unlimited Blade Works.

 

This has been a PSA from your friendly staff team

I enjoy cutting people back down to size by reminding them of their worst involvements

i feel like all these lists with my name high up may be misconstruing me as someone even vaguely important to the old rpg

i would like to assure anyone who believes that that i wasn't

i just talked to hub a lot

 

- Suzy

i have no ego

friendly staff team more like UNfriendly staff team

SICK BURNS

- Suzy

IC: Nikarra (Motara Desert)

Nikarra kept up a smile for as long as it took her to turn her back on the group and pull Dor aside, the shift to sobriety as instant as it was chilling.

"You wanna tell me what happened down there?" she half whispered, looking Dor dead in the eyes. "Something spooked you, and don't even think of trying to tell me otherwise. The ##### is going on here, Dor?"

IC:

I'm fine. I'll catch you up on my life later. Gives me time to psych myself up to admit to it.

IC:

Oh, are we flirting now? I'll have you know I'm just out the other side of a relationship, don't know if I'm up for jumping into commitment again.

Hahaha. Those old days were awesome. Thedar Chronn and his trusty employees, Arkrak and Incommodo. Those were days I'll long remember. Probably because i was the guy who had to find several dozen different levels of angry for Chronn.

 

I should really bring Chronn back, he was a lot of fun. I never got to do much with the slightly more humble Chronn left after being nearly assassinated.

the holy trinity of the old onu is complete once again

- Suzy

IC:

Nikki folded her arms and pulled out quite possibly the single most smug expression Dor would ever see. That's what you get for arguing with me, #####.

IC:

"A tour?" Incommodo exclaimed, his voice full of righteous indignation. "A tour? You don't get to know the island through a tour. You get to know the island by fighting your way through it, finding people in trouble, rescuing kolhii balls from lamp posts! An adventure should not be a tour."

Incommodo had a great deal of experience with this, as a person who had never won a fight in his life. It builds character.

IC:

Yeah because they're all gonna pick up exactly what we mean while we're making faces at each other.

IC:

not for lack of trying, you dick

IC: Nikarra

Nikki looked straight at Dor as she noticed his reaction, mouthing the words 'fight me'.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, me and Dor spent a while in each other's company back in the day. Met in a casino. Had a few dates here and there, one in a hospital, one on a ship..."

IC:

"Well then," Incommodo smirked queasily. "Player 3 has entered the game."

IC:

'Kinkiest girl this side of Karz.' You son of a #####.

Nikarra laughed a little awkwardly and shook her head. "Don't salute me, please. Nice to meet you, Elysi."

IC:

"Vacation adventure?"

IC:

"I remember when I dealt with serial murderers," Incommodo smiled fondly, his mind filled with recollections of that one farmer who hired him to find out what was eating his animals (in a shocking twist ending, it was not the wife as Inc himself had suspected, but another Rahi).

Don't worry, Arkrak's one of the most stable guys on the island, former pyromaniacal tendencies notwithstanding.

arkrak is the straight man of this pairing, somehow

- Suzy

IC:

"Well Ta-Koro's in a volcano, so we're actually pretty secure over here."

IC: Nikarra (Motara Desert)

Nikarra nodded her head towards the campsite. "Wanna start making some introductions?"

IC:

"Don't listen to him, he's just trying to undermine our noble profession. That lamp post was much taller than he makes it sound."