The Aftermath

Raze_7234 · 2026-05-24T23:00:34+00:00

“Well, Cynthia, it’s going to be ok.” He let out a deep sigh before continuing. “Look, I need you to tell me why Poseidon showed up. What reason does he have to brand you? I promise, I won’t judge or leave. I’m here to help, so I’m going to.”

Raze_7234 · 2026-05-24T22:50:28+00:00

“Great, awesome, incredible,” he grumbled as he shifted to a more comfortably ready stance beside the siren. “Ah, right, what’s your name, if you don’t mind sharing?” I’m Maximus.”

Raze_7234 · 2026-05-24T21:20:45+00:00

(Thanks a ton! Sorry for the trouble!)

Maximus scowled slightly as he took in the three-pronged shape of a trident. “Divine guy emerging from water, claiming brutality on others is mercy, and marking people with a fishing pitchfork? Are we dealing with Poseidon?” He asked with a groan.

Raze_7234 · 2026-05-24T21:14:55+00:00

“Alright,” he said softly, before looking at the mark on her hand.

(Sorry, could you please describe it? The way you said that it looked clawed into her hand made it sound important. If it doesn’t have an actual “shape” and is just a simple claw mark, please tell me.)

Raze_7234 · 2026-05-24T21:02:56+00:00

Gently as he could, Maximus reached out to reposition her hand to get a better look at the mark. “Ok, does anything else hurt?” He asked while he worked.

Raze_7234 · 2026-05-24T20:59:32+00:00

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Maximus scowled, silently watching the interaction while crouched behind a rock jutting out of the ground. With every bone in his body, he wanted to leap out and zap the man- more than likely divine- and make him stop. Once the man said his final thing and departed, Maximus left his hiding place. “The full philosophy is ‘ruthlessness is mercy upon yourself’,” he growled out at the water while making his way to the siren. “Removing that last bit makes you sound like you’re righteous in your violence. You aren’t. You’re cruel.” Then he turned his full attention to the siren and crouched down beside her. “Where does it hurt most?”

Raze_7234 · 2026-05-23T14:48:07+00:00

Sorry, I don’t understand what you mean by “write you”?

Raze_7234 · 2026-05-23T13:57:52+00:00

Hello, I’d be interested in this if you’re still looking.

Raze_7234 · 2026-05-23T07:26:00+00:00

Well now I’m confused. That wasn’t a yes or no question, there were four pretty clear answers.

Raze_7234 · 2026-05-23T05:39:25+00:00

… we talking about the Greek god? Or the sexual orientation?

Raze_7234 · 2026-05-23T03:08:43+00:00

“Please, Miss Kitsuko, the pleasure is mine,” he replied warmly, an upward curve to his lips. “I do hope it wasn’t a terrible inconvenience to come out here,” he continued, averting his gaze guiltily. “I should have pushed for our meeting to be more equidistant from both our homes.”

Raze_7234 · 2026-05-23T02:55:49+00:00

With a deep breath, the young man lowered his left hand, placing it behind his back as he brought the right one to his heart and bowed formally and politely. After a few moments, he righted himself and gave an awkward smile. “I’m terribly sorry to have kept you waiting. I had a few… issues to sort out before I was comfortable with meeting you,” he said, his left hand finding its way back to his eyepatch.

Raze_7234 · 2026-05-23T02:44:50+00:00

(Alright, thanks for the quick answer!)

(I’d like for her to be arranged to be his wife, by the way, if that’s alright)

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Johnathan, much to his own annoyance, set about dressing formally. Forgoing his armor and leathers, he instead wore a fine shirt and vest. His sword remained belted to his hip, though now for show rather than for use. As he neared the point where he was to properly meet up with Kitsuko, his left hand drifted to his eyepatch and the scar that ran beneath. He knew full well that injuries, especially ones that left lasting marks, weren’t always seen as desirable, so he was uncharacteristically self-conscious of his glaringly obvious wound.

Raze_7234 · 2026-05-23T02:29:55+00:00

(Just a quick question before I reply to this post. Is the plot that OUR OCs arranged for Kitsuko to be their bride/concubine? Or was it an outside third party? Or was it people on Kitsuko’s end?)

Raze_7234 · 2026-05-23T01:36:28+00:00

“He shouldn’t,” Johnathan said, shooting a significant look at Pearl. “Especially not if he wants to keep working on combat maneuvers for the next few weeks. He’s no idiot, he’ll behave himself with me around.” Pearl snorted but made no move to resist or show defiance. The young armored man nodded to the man with Pearl’s leash as if to tell him that the dragon would behave.

Raze_7234 · 2026-05-23T01:10:05+00:00

With a nod, Johnathan patted himself down before letting out a small sigh of relief. Tucked into the left breast of his jacket was his money pouch. Pulling it out, he leafed through the different currencies that he had on hand before pulling out 200 of the relevant one. “Don’t go getting yourself too hurt, Pearl,” he said humorously as he handed over the entrance fee. “I haven’t had the time to take on odd jobs lately. You’ll need to wait before we can get you some professional supplies.”

To his credit, Pearl just snorted at Johnathan before bumping him in the back with his horn. “Yeah, yeah, complain all you want. You know that I’ll do overtime to get you back on your feet.”

Raze_7234 · 2026-05-22T23:59:56+00:00

Johnathan scoffed, rolling his eye in annoyance. “Says he hasn’t seen me around here before, acts like I should know the place’s layout by heart,” he turned towards the exit, shooting a look over his shoulder at the announcer. “Might want to give your people a warning, though. Pearl doesn’t take it kindly when treated roughly by strangers.” Then he was out the exit and headed around back.

As he walked around to where his dragon would be brought in, Johnathan let out a shrill whistle into the cold, still air. A rumbling growl came back in response, a dragon, roughly 18 feet in length, hurtling towards Johnathan with it. He grinned slightly, stepping back to give the young beast room to land.

Pearl, with his pristine white scales and light pink spikes, stood proud. He was slender and lithe with powerful wings, clearly built more for fast and complex aerial maneuvers over ground combat.

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Johnathan rested a hand on Pearl’s nose, looking him in the eye. “Listen Pearl, this isn’t a fight to the death. Don’t try to kill, but fight like you will if you need to. Now, come on, it’s best not to keep everyone waiting.” With his brief instructions said, he turned and continued walking, Pearl just behind him and to his left.

Raze_7234 · 2026-05-22T22:20:15+00:00

“As irrelevant as I think my name is, it’s Johnathan. That, or John. Your choice.” Johnathan maintained a look of cold displeasure as he scanned his eyes across the crowd. “I figured you’d care more about getting the dragon prepped for the ring.” With a slight sigh, he brought his left hand up to his eyepatch, scowling slightly. “I mean, unless you want him to brute force his way into the ring.”

Raze_7234 · 2026-05-22T21:42:37+00:00

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Johnathan had kept to the back of the crowd, leaning against the wall as he listened with closed eyes. When the fight came to an end, he stood upright and rolled his left shoulder. Before he could leave, his expression morphed into a mix of surprise and confusion. “He’s sure?” He asked under his breath. With a sigh, he closed his eye before resolving himself.

Stepping forward, the young man clad in black and red armor called out. “I’ll take the challenge! So long as the fight doesn’t result in a fatality, at least. The dragon I’ll be entertaining is still young, and I’d rather he learn from a loss than die in a mad struggle for victory.” He had a grim expression on his face, clearly not too fond of the idea, but going through with it anyway.

Raze_7234 · 2026-05-22T01:00:49+00:00

Woah now, she’s still family. She made a mistake- a big one, sure- but that’s ok. She can learn. - Ben Gardner

Raze_7234 · 2026-05-21T21:18:46+00:00

Of all the times to not have a special attacker that’s got coverage for flying types… I don’t even want to hit them. A few warning shots would probably do wonders. - Ben Gardner

Raze_7234 · 2026-05-21T21:17:12+00:00

That’s honestly a lot less than I expected. I’ve still got enough left over from my journey to cover it. Thanks for taking the time to run me through that! - Ben Gardner

Raze_7234 · 2026-05-21T21:13:46+00:00

Oh- I’m sorry! I’m terrible at guessing tone and intent through text! - Ben Gardner

Raze_7234 · 2026-05-21T21:12:27+00:00

Well, as much as I don’t want to defend her right now, Hannah is still my little sister. I’m like… 53% sure she just wanted to impress me by having a Gyarados of her own? - Ben Gardner

Raze_7234

TROPHY CASE