Y
Ythania
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Original poster
Coping mechanisms were necessary to deal with this incident. Marian had enough on her mind to tune out the others; she shifted slightly so that the rest of the party can get to the map, not even bothering to listen to Avarielle's agreement - she basically parroted out what Marian was already saying. She only flitted in and out of the conversation to hear the basics, her goldgreen eyes following from one face to the next. "We'll be lucky to survive," pondered Marian as she watched the plan develop. "They have the means, but just not the co-operation-...Oh, shut up Mary-Lou." her voice of logic interrupted her train of thought rather sharply as Avarielle spoke her concerns about the Greenwood. "You've been travelling on your own for years now; what makes this trip any different? Just keep to yourself, travel light, and be prepared to split at a moment's notice."
Marian peered at Avarielle for a while longer; the woman had guts, but not a lot of common sense. Marian knew herself that you didn't have to be brainy to be brawny, and understood she wasn't the sharpest axe in the weapon-rack herself...but you can only become so strong until life throws you a curve-ball and if you don't know how to get out of the way of danger before it happens, then you might as well hug it head-on. Whilst peering at the redhead, Marian assumed that Avarielle had done one too many "cuddles with catastrophes" in life; she just seemed a bit...broken. Like she should be stronger than she is.
Everyone knew Ser Faen of Amor. You'd have to be deaf and blind not to. And, Marian was annoyed to admit, he was just as good-looking as the stories made him out to be...too bad he's a filthy, backstabbing human. 'Free-sailors' my arse, he's into all sorts of shady dealings with pirates and criminals. Some hero he turned out to be...but yes, probably useful to have someone a bit more diplomatic on their diplomatic party, especially considering the type of folk that turn up in ports.
Damian Seville. The boy who fell over. Marian glared at him stonily as he toppled over, somehow, without even moving. He was holding the scroll, no? This little runt of a human was holding onto the thing she wanted to take a look at. As Marian peered closer at Damian, she realised something; not a runt, but a boy. "Fusius..." thought Marian; the tyrant sent a bloody boy out to this mission?! He's barely of age to hold a sword, let alone travel to New Kelda, and almost certainly a liability. Marian made her mind up; she'd keep an eye on Damian and give him a good kick in the right direction if he starts to falter. It's not like she cares about the kid or anything, she just-...it's just helping the group. The group she doesn't want to help. Marian looked away from Damian quickly whilst she tried to clear those weak thoughts out of her mind, and her gaze settled on Vance.
Vance the alchemist didn't intrigue Marian in the slightest. He was the brains of the group, surely, but his massive ego kept strangling his speech. At least he had a use - his potions and poisons. Marian stared at the vials with contempt; poison did not really affect her as it did for others but it was still a little disconcerting to see the offer in and of itself. Marian grimly wondered how much of that poison was going to be in her food one night.
Adrianna kind of reminded Marian of herself. For one, she was pleased there was another dwarf which she could possibly talk to, but being a fairly antisocial creature by nature it was unlikely that the pair would really get along. She also found it amusing that Adrianna took two vials instead of just one; perhaps Marian wasn't the only one with ulterior motives.
Speaking of ulterior motives, Marian stole a glance at Sayazar. Now, there was a beast to look out for. Even the slightest of glances seemed to put her into a bad mood, some ingrained reaction to seeing a Nosferyte brewed up by her ferocious racism. Problem was, whilst Marian wasn't bright, she also wasn't stupid. She knew a smart man when she saw one and that thing was barely a man. Who knew how many years he had been manipulating people? Why on Tyrannia was he wearing a glorified silver fruit bowl on his head, did he mean to look so utterly idiotic to lure passers-by into a sense of false security? Marian didn't fool herself with trying to figure out what Sayazar's motives were; she was certain that it went far past her range of intelligence. One thing was for certain - he was one to watch. Problem was, when he opened his mouth, Marian knew he would be essential for getting to where she needed to go.
And there was the slight issue that he spoke about her exact worries. Marian eyed Damian the scroll-holder as he protested to opening the scroll but made sure, made incredibly sure that she didn't give away a single hint of emotion. She just stared at the words "KELDA TOR" on her map and allowed the whole situation to play its course. At least, until Ansley opened his mouth and suggested that Kelda Tor and everything within didn't exist.
That took Marian by surprise, and she glanced up to peer at the perpetrator of such a horrific accusation, only to find what might be one of the few decent humans she's had the-...tolerance for. He wielded a massive mace and was practical; as far as Marian was concerned, those were two big ticks in her book of standards. Still, Ansley gained no respect from Marian due to his scepticism about New Kelda, and Marian resorted to internally thinking up rather creative curses and places where he can stick his theory into.
Funny how so many people were drinking alcohol. "Coping mechanisms," mused Marian.
Feyre seemed a bit of a sap and far too weak to really be of interest for Marian, she even disappointed Marian with her terrible cartography - despite the fact Marian couldn't even do much better. At least Feyre admitted it. It surprised Marian to see how many people were nervous about sleeping rough in the Greenwood - Marian couldn't think of a safer place to camp. She started to doubt the skill of these intrepid adventurers.
Looks like she wasn't the only one - Lucine had spoken up and Marian actually noticed her, not liking her manipulative behaviour in the slightest, making Damian begin to doubt himself and preying on his weakness. Again, that sort of protective urge washed over Marian as her expression soured and she threw enough shade at Lucine to darken the entire tavern room. How dare she. "Focus and relax, focus and relax." warned her little voice of logic, and Marian decided to throw in her own thoughts on the matter.
"Didnae once occur to you lot to ask about this stuff when we were away from listenin' ears? So long as the scroll makes it to New Kelda in one piece, then the mission will be a success. Provided one o' the serving girls doesnae gossip about our doubts an' His Majesty catches word of it." sighed Marian. She had chosen her words rather carefully, even though the same berating tone was infused into her sentences. "I'm nae havin' any part in your little tinkerin' with the scroll." she added firmly. After all, she wouldn't be part of the group who physically opens and reads it; in fact, Marian was hoping to hear about the truth from word of mouth so there was no proof when Vladez executed the rest of the team for disobeying his orders. And for knowing the truth in the first place.
In fact, Marian was so utterly certain that this would be the case, so she moved towards the tavern door and leant beside it, ready to leave if they started knocking on the casing. Her map and her backpack and her belongings could stay indoors until they were finished playing with the forbidden toys, she could come back in once they've hidden it all up again and then claim innocence in front of the people of Woodsend.
Marian peered at Avarielle for a while longer; the woman had guts, but not a lot of common sense. Marian knew herself that you didn't have to be brainy to be brawny, and understood she wasn't the sharpest axe in the weapon-rack herself...but you can only become so strong until life throws you a curve-ball and if you don't know how to get out of the way of danger before it happens, then you might as well hug it head-on. Whilst peering at the redhead, Marian assumed that Avarielle had done one too many "cuddles with catastrophes" in life; she just seemed a bit...broken. Like she should be stronger than she is.
Everyone knew Ser Faen of Amor. You'd have to be deaf and blind not to. And, Marian was annoyed to admit, he was just as good-looking as the stories made him out to be...too bad he's a filthy, backstabbing human. 'Free-sailors' my arse, he's into all sorts of shady dealings with pirates and criminals. Some hero he turned out to be...but yes, probably useful to have someone a bit more diplomatic on their diplomatic party, especially considering the type of folk that turn up in ports.
Damian Seville. The boy who fell over. Marian glared at him stonily as he toppled over, somehow, without even moving. He was holding the scroll, no? This little runt of a human was holding onto the thing she wanted to take a look at. As Marian peered closer at Damian, she realised something; not a runt, but a boy. "Fusius..." thought Marian; the tyrant sent a bloody boy out to this mission?! He's barely of age to hold a sword, let alone travel to New Kelda, and almost certainly a liability. Marian made her mind up; she'd keep an eye on Damian and give him a good kick in the right direction if he starts to falter. It's not like she cares about the kid or anything, she just-...it's just helping the group. The group she doesn't want to help. Marian looked away from Damian quickly whilst she tried to clear those weak thoughts out of her mind, and her gaze settled on Vance.
Vance the alchemist didn't intrigue Marian in the slightest. He was the brains of the group, surely, but his massive ego kept strangling his speech. At least he had a use - his potions and poisons. Marian stared at the vials with contempt; poison did not really affect her as it did for others but it was still a little disconcerting to see the offer in and of itself. Marian grimly wondered how much of that poison was going to be in her food one night.
Adrianna kind of reminded Marian of herself. For one, she was pleased there was another dwarf which she could possibly talk to, but being a fairly antisocial creature by nature it was unlikely that the pair would really get along. She also found it amusing that Adrianna took two vials instead of just one; perhaps Marian wasn't the only one with ulterior motives.
Speaking of ulterior motives, Marian stole a glance at Sayazar. Now, there was a beast to look out for. Even the slightest of glances seemed to put her into a bad mood, some ingrained reaction to seeing a Nosferyte brewed up by her ferocious racism. Problem was, whilst Marian wasn't bright, she also wasn't stupid. She knew a smart man when she saw one and that thing was barely a man. Who knew how many years he had been manipulating people? Why on Tyrannia was he wearing a glorified silver fruit bowl on his head, did he mean to look so utterly idiotic to lure passers-by into a sense of false security? Marian didn't fool herself with trying to figure out what Sayazar's motives were; she was certain that it went far past her range of intelligence. One thing was for certain - he was one to watch. Problem was, when he opened his mouth, Marian knew he would be essential for getting to where she needed to go.
And there was the slight issue that he spoke about her exact worries. Marian eyed Damian the scroll-holder as he protested to opening the scroll but made sure, made incredibly sure that she didn't give away a single hint of emotion. She just stared at the words "KELDA TOR" on her map and allowed the whole situation to play its course. At least, until Ansley opened his mouth and suggested that Kelda Tor and everything within didn't exist.
That took Marian by surprise, and she glanced up to peer at the perpetrator of such a horrific accusation, only to find what might be one of the few decent humans she's had the-...tolerance for. He wielded a massive mace and was practical; as far as Marian was concerned, those were two big ticks in her book of standards. Still, Ansley gained no respect from Marian due to his scepticism about New Kelda, and Marian resorted to internally thinking up rather creative curses and places where he can stick his theory into.
Funny how so many people were drinking alcohol. "Coping mechanisms," mused Marian.
Feyre seemed a bit of a sap and far too weak to really be of interest for Marian, she even disappointed Marian with her terrible cartography - despite the fact Marian couldn't even do much better. At least Feyre admitted it. It surprised Marian to see how many people were nervous about sleeping rough in the Greenwood - Marian couldn't think of a safer place to camp. She started to doubt the skill of these intrepid adventurers.
Looks like she wasn't the only one - Lucine had spoken up and Marian actually noticed her, not liking her manipulative behaviour in the slightest, making Damian begin to doubt himself and preying on his weakness. Again, that sort of protective urge washed over Marian as her expression soured and she threw enough shade at Lucine to darken the entire tavern room. How dare she. "Focus and relax, focus and relax." warned her little voice of logic, and Marian decided to throw in her own thoughts on the matter.
"Didnae once occur to you lot to ask about this stuff when we were away from listenin' ears? So long as the scroll makes it to New Kelda in one piece, then the mission will be a success. Provided one o' the serving girls doesnae gossip about our doubts an' His Majesty catches word of it." sighed Marian. She had chosen her words rather carefully, even though the same berating tone was infused into her sentences. "I'm nae havin' any part in your little tinkerin' with the scroll." she added firmly. After all, she wouldn't be part of the group who physically opens and reads it; in fact, Marian was hoping to hear about the truth from word of mouth so there was no proof when Vladez executed the rest of the team for disobeying his orders. And for knowing the truth in the first place.
In fact, Marian was so utterly certain that this would be the case, so she moved towards the tavern door and leant beside it, ready to leave if they started knocking on the casing. Her map and her backpack and her belongings could stay indoors until they were finished playing with the forbidden toys, she could come back in once they've hidden it all up again and then claim innocence in front of the people of Woodsend.
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