Songs of the Ogre (open)

[Lady Leaf]

Ah, this was such a nice change from the usual atmosphere of the sewers. There was fresh air, a roof if needed, wood for a fire and grass. Long, luscious, beautiful and best of all, soft, grass. It would be perfect to sleep on. On top of it all you could see the stars from the castles old guardian. In the sewers all you saw was slimy walls and running water. Most often it smelled like something had died multiple times down there. You never ever wanted to lie down while sleeping there and you always had some sort of a weapon beside you. Well ok... Sen had a weapon here beside him here as well but he didn’t feel the need to keep it so close. His only fear was that some pesky knight would come and crash his perfect night. He really had no idea if he was a loud to start a fire here but he did anyways. It wasn’t like the royals were using it anymore.

Sen had his back up against a large oak tree. His long red hair with the pure white streaks fell over his face as he held his lute in both hands. Before him was a small fire which Plum, his small Deerling, was lying beside. Hanging in the tree, slightly out of view was a large Ariados named Ada. She was watching over both Sen and Plum from afar. The spot they were all sitting in was dead center of the large garden that the royal castle once held. It was over grown now but as stated already, it was much better than the sewers. Beside Sen was a small bag full of gems and coins from the job he had done earlier that night. It had been a quick and easy one so he had the rest of the night to fool around and perhaps get some sleep. Tomorrow he would need to bring the treasures back to the gang.

“This one is going out to all the deerling out there trying to get some sleep,” Sen’s voice rang out happily as he strung the strings on the lute. The small deerling raised her head for a moment and let out a happy cry. “Baby of mine, don’t you cry~ Baby of mine, dry your eyes~” The deerling blinked for a few moments having not expected Sen to start singing a lullaby. Normally he would burst out singing something like Jeremiah was a bull frog. The lullaby was unexpected and made her laugh a bit. “Too much, lovely?” He asked with an over sized grin, “Let’s see what else could we sing... Maybe one about how a sly little deerlying clearly tricked the big scary ogre and saved her trusty companion from certain doom!” The deerling called out with joy. She loved it when Sen sang about their adventures. Though he always changed the story a bit each time. After all, there were no ogre’s but some of the men who wanted to lock them up looked like ogres. It was great fun every time he called one of them by that name.

And so Sen’s song began, filling the night air along with the strums of the lute and crackles of the fire. None of them had heard the sounds of someone growing closer to them...

[Ethereal]

[bg=0b0121][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,false][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,400,true][atrb=background,http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a190/lilDiablo_/casbg3.jpg] Cassino Spade had spent the majority of the evening exploring Era's capital city. She had stopped to have dinner in a nice bistro and noticed from the window Era castle's spires. The woman had never cared to take a closer look at the castle, until that point at least. Now, in the company of her pokemon she took the time to wander around the landscape outside the important building. <Cass, do you hear that sound?> The shiny absol beside her stepped forward in the direction of the distant noise. The woman listened; for a moment all she could hear were sound of nighttime pokemon and the nearby city, but then the melody began to take shape. "Music!" She exclaimed with a smile before picking up the pace of her walking. The Murkrow on her shoulder cawed in protest. He would have been much happier to avoid other humans and continue on their stroll, but of course his preferences were rarely acknowledged. "Oh hush, Cer." Cassandra gave the bird a pat on the head. "Oh, look!" She pointed to the light coming from the campfire. "Let's go see who's here." The trainer was always up for a bit of light conversation. Traveling with just pokemon made her lonesome at times, so she took every chance to socialize. "Hello!" She waved to the stranger laying by the tree and sat down across the flames. Eros took a seat beside his trainer and Cer continued to perch unhappily upon her shoulder - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[Lady Leaf]

Sen hadn’t noticed the young woman until she came close enough that the fires light could kiss her features. However he did not stop his song for her. Instead he continued until the verse he had been on was finished. It at least made it sound as if that was all there was to the song. Ada looked up at the new comers and smiled but said nothing.

“Welcome my dear lady and companions,” Sen finally acknowledged the trio with a big smile and a wick of an eye to Ada, “It’s an unexpected surprise to be joined by such a beautiful woman tonight. Tell us, what brings you to our camp ground?” His eyes never left Cassandra as Ada had gotten up and scooped the small bag of treasures into her mouth. She then swiftly dropped it behind Sen who had prepared his hand to catch it. With a few swift motions he had safely tucked it into his belt and returned his hand to the lute.

It wasn’t that he was worried one of three would steal the bag from him. It was issue of making sure they didn’t ask how he received them. He had enough wanted posters around the city walls as it was. It was better to simply pretend the bag was never there rather than chance it being noticed. Luckily Ada knew this drill all too well. She had recognized what his wink meant instantly. After she had dropped the bag in his hand she had turned around and made her way over to the woman. With a tiny voice Ada gave a small welcoming to woman. She was very good at acting as cute as she possibly could around strangers.

“Ah, where are my manners,” Sen suddenly spoke up again, “I completely forgot to introduce myself. The name is Alex and this is my trusty partner, Ada.” The name was a lie but what stranger would know that? Still in the tree above him, keeping well out of sight, was the Ariados. She was keeping a close eye on the new comers but had yet to move an inch.

[Ethereal]

[bg=0b0121][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,false][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,400,true][atrb=background,http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a190/lilDiablo_/casbg3.jpg] Cassandra was made visibly uncomfortable by the compliment paid to her by the man. No one had called her beautiful since. - she took a breath before thinking the name - Tom, and she greatly disliked anyone looking at her in such a way. In her mind, she still belonged to him and remembering his possessive ways, became slightly irritated. It could have been an innocent gesture of friendliness, but the word immediately put the woman on guard. Her pokemon's reaction to the man's comment was entirely the opposite. Ever the die-heart romantic, Eros was pleased that men found his trainer attractive. Maybe he had a chance to set her up with someone, after all. The absol knew that if she would just let someone get past that rough exterior they would surely fall head over heels for her! The thought made him incredibly giddy and he stood up to greet the little deer. <Good evening.> The red and white pokemon said cheerfully. The woman didn't ask when "Alex" had the bag of..whatever it was..put somewhere safe. She would have most likely done the same thing, with the political situation as it was, one could never be too careful. She stared into the fire for a moment, trying to regain a more pleasant mood. "My name's Cassandra, Cass if you'd like." She said, making her voice sound as good natured as possible. "And this is Cer," She pointed to the Murkrow, "And Eros," Then to the absol. "I heard the lovely music you were playing, and came over hoping you weren't someone dangerous." She smiled slyly, "Guessing from your cordiality I can assume you're not." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[Lady Leaf]

“Ah, Cassandra, she who entangles men. Or so I’ve heard the names means.” Sen replied after she introduced herself. He had an odd knowledge of a wide range of name meanings due to an incredible amount of free time on his hands. It came in useful for one of two situations; Wooing a female into thinking he saw them as glorious creatures or having them think he was a simple fool. Either or worked just fine for him. He had no real intentions of ever dating any woman he wooed or attempted to woo.

He laughed at her comment about his ‘lovely’ music. He had never considered himself a good singer. Mostly he liked to use the lute to help drown out his voice. However, Ada always seemed to love his singing so he couldn’t be all that bad. “Sometimes first impressions can be deceitful my dear.” Sen commented his back, his smile fading and expression darkening for a moment. But as soon as the dark expression appeared it vanished leaving a smile just as big as before, “But no, I wouldn’t even hurt a spider, unless that spider tells on me for starting a fire in the castle garden.” He laughed at this for a moment not really paying attention if Cass was laughing as well. It was becoming clear that he simply enjoyed hearing his own voice.

Ada had been rather excited when the Absol returned her greeting. Enough so that her tiny tail was waving back and forth extremely fast. ‘Do you live in the area?’ she asked him with a smile, ‘We do. Have for a while now’ They had sort of lived there for about seven years. Though you counted the amount of time they also spent out of the city it could be cut back by a good four or five years. They happened to travel a lot due to... reasons...

Sen had looked away from the woman waiting to hear how she would react to his words. His hand slowly strumbed the lute as he listened. Listening was the best part of all. The reactions. Every human and pokemon had different reactions to exactly the same thing which Sen believed to be amazing all on its own. It made it so no two things were the same ever. Even a close copy was still different.

[Ethereal]

[bg=0b0121][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,false][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,400,true][atrb=background,http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a190/lilDiablo_/casbg3.jpg] The woman laughed lightly at what he thought her name meant. She shook her head, her purple hair moving in the night wind. "Well then I must have been given the wrong name." She said in a voice that hinted at good humor. "Because I don't ever intentionally entangle anyone." When she said the word entangle Cass moved her fingers in a creepy tentacle sort of way. "What does 'Alex' mean?" She asked, more curious in what he thought about himself than the actual etymology of the name. Eros smiled warmly down at the friendly grass type, <We live wherever we please.> He answered, proud of the adventures he and his trainer had been on. <Though I like it here, very much.> He complimented the area and looked around. <Seems quite romantic.> He said with a sigh. Then the red absol's mind changed gears, <Say, is your trainer single? He's the first fellow to take an interest in Cassandra since that last brute.> Cassandra smiled playfully, "No, no. Who would I tell, anyway? This isn't the first fire to be had here, and it certainly is less destructive than the last one." Cassandra didn't really care about the state of the monarchy, but she was glad that the castle hadn't been completely destroyed by the actions of the revolutionaries. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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[Lady Leaf]

Sen gave a light chuckle at the woman's words when she explained that her parents must have named her wrong. As for his name, well he didn’t actually know his real name. He knew the one he was given after being found by the bandits. It had meant thousands which went along with the last name they gave him, luck. As for Alex... “Alex or Alexander mean defender or great worrier. I’m am neither” He let out another laugh and continued to play the strings on his lute. Hopefully his real name wasn’t Alexander. He was certain his parents would be disappointed in him if it had been. Though he didn’t know who they were either.

Plum laughed a bit when Eros asked if Sen was single. Hopefully he wouldn’t be too disappointed in what her answer was, ‘Yes he is single but...’ she looked at Sen for a moment before turning back to Eros, ‘He doesn’t seem to stay with anyone. I believe he is a lost heart.’ That was her best way of explaining her trainer. Or you could say, the nicest way. He had a habit of getting around with everyone he met. That even included the men. Almost everyone he had been with he left by the next day. In fact, Plum couldn’t remember the last time Sen had actually went on a second date with anyone. She was sure that someday he would find someone though.

Once again Sen laughed at Cass’s response, “I have a tendency of upsetting the law abiding citizens. You’ll have to forgive me for being a bit too careful at times.” His eyes fell on the fire for a bit, almost looking as if he had fallen into thought. Yet his mouth opened again, “So you enjoy late night walks and sitting around fire with music. What does a woman who enjoys such things do for a living?” Now he was becoming a bit nosey but he couldn’t help it. He liked learning about others even if he were to forget them by the next morning.

[Ethereal]

[bg=0b0121][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,false][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,400,true][atrb=background,http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a190/lilDiablo_/casbg3.jpg] Cassi placed her chin on her palm and pursed her lips. "I don't know," She began sarcastically, "I think most enemies would be put off by that bright hair of yours." She giggled in a feminine voice, "I feel pretty safe with you 'great defender'." Eros was a bit disappointed by the news, it seemed everywhere he went he was surrounded by lonely people and pokemon. <How sad!> The shiny absol exclaimed, feeling the heartbreak himself. <A lost heart...> He repeated with a slow shake of his head, <At least he has you> The pokemon brightened up, <Humans can't seem to run their own lives and relationships, so we Pokemon have to do it for them. I suggest you stay on the lookout for possible matches for him, even if they're not Cassi I'm sure they could make him happy~> Cassandra looked over to Eros; she could tell by his animated movements that he was talking about someone's love life - most likely her's. The girl's brown eyes rolled dramatically in her skull; when would that absol learn not to meddle in her business?! A spark from the fire flew out at her, causing the trainer to jump up. Embarrassed by her obvious alarm, Cassi began stomping out the glowing ember. "Ehehe.." She laughed uncomfortably while sitting back down, noticeable further away from the fire this time, and continued with the conversation. "I'm a..contortionist." She said with minor hesitation. Usually people asked for a demonstration after learning about her occupation. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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[Lady Leaf]

“Ha but I’ve fooled you” Sen replied pointing to one of the white streaks in his hair, “Old age is setting in quickly. Im brittle.” He gave a rather large grin while spoke and pointed to his hair. Truth was, Sen had no real physical strength but what he lacked in strength he made up for in his speed and flexibility. A ninja without the costume to be more exact. But that was what made a good thief was it not? The ability to be swift, silent and move through the shadows without being seen. His pokemon complemented his skills as well. Ada, the Ariados was useful for scaring and slowing down those around her. It made for excellent escapes. Plum, the tiny Deerling was an expert actor who could often pull of an excellent distraction. Then for those rare times when strength was actually needed Houndour could do the job. He had been lucky to find such great companions.

‘I guess it’s a bit sad’ Plum replied as she looked over at Sen once again, ‘He always tries to wear a smile. Most of the time he claims he is happier alone. He doesn’t even give people his real name, though, sometimes I’ve seen him look at the sky and... I dunno. He would just look a bit lonely I guess.’ Plum never did understand why Sen chose to be alone. He had been that way since she could remember. The only one who really knew was Ada but Ada wouldn’t tell a soul. ‘Your trainer will find someone as well. I’m sure of it.’

Sen had a look of shock on his face for moment when Cassandra suddenly jumped up. He hadn’t been sure exactly what scared her until she began to stomp out the spark. As she sat back down a smile fell back onto his lips and he continued to play the lute. “I have to admit” He looked down at the lute as he spoke, “I’ve never met a contortionist before. That sounds pretty impressive. I don’t think I could even touch my feet.” That was a lie. He had no problem touching his feet or doing flips. However he was more of a acrobat then a contortionist.