[open] december catch-all

[birdflipping]

Who: Nero and you
What: Catch-all for December questing and misc threads
When: First two weeks of December
Where: Rent-A-Ride, in and around the Red Springs
Warnings: Nero's potty mouth, violence, character injury/mentions of injury

I. RENT-A-RIDE STABLES
Nero had taken up a job at the Rent-A-Ride, in the hopes that acquainting himself with horses might give him a better idea of how to interact with his familiar. (That, and some magic-related property destruction meant he had to work somewhere in order to pay off the damages.) Being a stablehand isn't a glamorous job, and tough work, but with everything that happened back home, he's gotten used to picking up less-than-fun jobs to get by. If it pays the bills and helps people, it's enough.

He's taken one of the larger draught horses out to groom it, but the horse is becoming increasingly agitated by his own familiar lurking behind Nero, watching him work. At first he expects his demon companion will get bored and leave, but when it doesn't, he holds onto the reins of the stable horse and looks impatiently over his shoulder.

"Geryon, will you stop staring and get out of here? You're making the horse nervous," Nero grouses. The reptilian horse bumps its scaled muzzle against his arm, and Nero has to tighten his grip on the reins to stop the stable horse shying away in fear. "Listen, I get that you're jealous, but I can't brush you! You don't have hair."


II. FOGUERIA
It wasn't hard to track down the Fogueria, given the scorched earth it left behind, or else the sight of smoke on the horizon. Following it to its source did, however, take longer than it otherwise could have, considering Geryon was still stubbornly refusing to let Nero ride it.

Still, they're able to make it in decent time on foot, and Nero and his questing partners crest a hill and spot a flaming lion prowling across the plains. Sporting a cocky grin, Nero reaches for the hilt of the blade on his back.

"There it is. It's not so different from a demon, so you can stand back and let me handle this one."


III. RED SPRINGS
Although successful, Nero's first real quest hadn't gone quite as smoothly as he'd hoped, so he decides to stay the night at the Red Springs inn. He reserves a room, then heads straight for the springs to relax and use its magical properties to heal off the worst of his injuries.

As he heads into the water, the injuries become obvious to anyone else who might be taking a soak-- he has some minor burns along his arms, and deep claw marks across his chest, which have at least been treated with healing magic but haven't yet healed all the way.

He sinks into the water, right up to his neck, with a wince a quiet, "Dammit," and closes his eyes to try and relax.

Comments

[lucere]

A holy knight? Regis can't help but look a bit surprised. While Nero seems like a nice enough young man, he isn't what Regis would typically envision as a knight. That's why he looks so surprised. It never occurred to him that this stalwart young man was a knight. Maybe that explains his inhuman strength and powers? Possibly.

"I wouldn't have guessed," Regis states with a shaky chuckle. While he's doing his best to keep up with Nero, his steps falter just a little. "It seems we share something in common." Somewhat. "Daemon hunting is a necessary evil, one that I had to partake in my younger years. It was the only way to keep the citizens of my kingdom safe." That is until the armistice between Lucis and Niflheim eroded.

"I suppose it's safe to assume that there are other beasts like the Fogueria haunting the countryside." While the thought within itself worries him, Regis doesn't doubt it.

[birdflipping]

"Not many people would. You could say I was the black sheep of the flock," he grins, slowing down to keep pace with Regis. He looks him up and down, only a little surprised to hear that he was a demon hunter too -- he seemed to know what he was doing against the Fogueria, at any rate.

"Yeah, there probably are. But you're no spring chicken, so why don't you sit back and let the rest of us handle the fighting next time?"

[lucere]

Regis gives Nero a wordless nod of gratitude once the other slows down in pace. Even though he appreciates the gesture, Regis cannot help but be reminded of his age here. That and the fact he neglected to take his cane with him. Life in Avalon has been much kinder to him than it was in Eos but Regis is still on the mend.

"Ha, I'm not the type to stand by idly." He states with a smirk. "Though, I'm very much tempted to do just that." In the future, Regis might drag his son along for these hunts or perhaps Cor. However, Nero certainly proved his worth fighting that beast.

"Even so, I'm not opposed to us teaming up again."

[birdflipping]

"Only if you agree not to overdo it. I'm not gonna be the one scraping you off the floor after a battle and wheeling you into a care home," Nero grouses. Though if this guy is anything as stubborn as V was despite his frail health, maybe he'll just go ahead and insist on doing it anyway.

"You wanna ride on my familiar? He might let you if you ask nicely."

[lucere]

"Fear not, I would never let something like that happen." Regis claims while still mentally kicking himself for overdoing it earlier. He needs to get better acquainted with the magic of this realm. The old king is able to summon forth the mana necessary but he definitely went overboard on a few spells. Trying to control the flow of magic is a bit difficult here, especially since Avalon is so ripe in mana. He'll come to understand over time. After all, Regis already seemed to unlock the mystery of alchemy with Emet-Selch's aid. The sky is the limit here.

"Wait, your familiar is large enough to be ridden?" He questions with an arched brow. Except for the young man who possessed a unicorn, Regis hasn't seen many familiars who're large enough to ride. While he knows these creatures can change shape at will, Regis has yet to experience that. The thunderbird that's typically by his side is curled around his shoulders like some sort of ornament. The creature hasn't moved this entire time, obviously deep in slumber but still thrumming with magic.

[birdflipping]

"Yup. Come here, Geryon." Heeding his call, Nero's familiar appears in a sudden burst of blue fire, the demonic horse trotting towards him. As he reaches out to it, reins made entirely from blue flame appear around its neck, and Nero grasps them to show the fire is harmless.

"Think you're up for it?" He looks back at Regis.

[lucere]

Regis couldn't help but look surprised as this demonic steed emerges from the blue flames. "Well, look at that---" He mutters as the horse inches closer towards them. Horses, in general, aren't very commonplace in Eos but this particular steed is certainly a head-turner. A smile forms upon his lips as he steps forward to take the fiery blue reins. While he never rode a horse before, Regis has plenty of experience riding chocobos. They're similar enough in his opinion.

"There's only one way to find out." He says before carefully hoisting himself upon the saddle. "Geryon is its name, correct?" The old king asks as he gently pats the horse's neck. It amazes him that the flames surrounding this beast are cool to the touch. He half expected to be burned alive the second he climbed onto the saddle.

"It seems you possess a certain kind of aesthetic, Nero." Regis jokes.

[birdflipping]

"I'm sure the aesthetic is nothing flattering," Nero jokes in return. He's watching the horse closely -- it's still far too temperamental, and he half expects Geryon to just try bucking Regis right off -- but aside from a toss of his head and a snort, it seems to tolerate its rider.

The devil hunter raises his eyebrows, surprised and impressed. "Looks like he respects you, though."

[lucere]

It's nothing short of a miracle that Geryson doesn't buck him off. Then again, Regis always had a knack for animals, or at least with chocobos. He pats the demonic horse upon its neck a few times to soothe the beast. Once it seems calm enough, it's then that Regis lightly tugs on the fiery reins to make it trot.

"That's a good thing, isn't it?" He asks Nero with a smirk. "Familiars often take after their masters. If Geryson is anything like you, I'm certain he won't cause me too much fuss."

[birdflipping]

"What, you don't think I'm a pain in the ass?" Nero snorts, still keeping an eye on Geryon as it begins to walk. He won't take his chances and will stick to walking alongside on foot; while the horse is being tolerant for now, two people might be too much for the finicky demon to want to deal with.

[lucere]

Regis shakes his head as he gives Nero a smile. "Not at all." The honesty in his words is telling. If he had thought the young hunter as rude, he would've long forsaken conversation. The old king isn't the type to suffer idiots. He's a Caelum, after all. They're known to be quite curt at times, especially the warlike Caelums of yore.

"You're a little liberal with your swears but overall, you seem like a nice lad," Regis says with a grin as he gives Geryon another friendly pat on the neck. The demonic horse lets out a quiet snort at the touch but doesn't seem to mind. That's a good thing. Horses seem a lot more temperamental than chocobos in Regis's opinion.

[birdflipping]

He squints at Regis as if looking for any signs of sarcasm, then looks away, rubbing the back of his neck as if embarrassed. "Whatever you say."

Deflecting with sarcasm of his own is apparently his way of dealing with sincerity. In truth, he thinks it says a lot about Regis that he hasn't judged Nero at face value, not even after seeing him turn into a demon.

[lucere]

There's no sarcasm in his tone. Regis only smiles at him with the same warmth he would reserve for family or friends. While he would hesitate to claim that they're friends, Regis is at least curious enough about Nero to want to learn more about him. While the obvious question lingers between them in regards to Nero's impressive abilities, Regis refuses to ask just yet. After all, every man has their secrets and he isn't one to pry.

"Ah?" He gives Nero a smirk once he hears the lackadaisical reply. It's then that he turns to Geryson and whispers the following. "It seems that your master is a bit timid."

The demonic horse probably will get a kick out of that. after all, the familiar seem to recognize human speech well enough.

[birdflipping]

"Like hell I am," he mutters, intentionally lagging behind a little so Regis can't easily see his sheepish expression. To which Geryon lashes its dragon-like tail to nudge Nero forwards again. "--Hey!"

The horse just continues trotting along as if innocent, and Nero rolls his eyes. Grumpy or not, the horse does seem to have a mischievous side, too.

"Can we just focus on getting back? There might be more monsters around," the devil hunter complains.