fly (ft. ivory volkov)

As little as she liked to admit it, things had felt a little odd since their time in the desert. She had frequently found herself wanting to be close to AJ, only to hesitate out of concern of what it meant. Yet, her lemon saturated oculars found their way to her often, such as now; AJ was speaking to the crew, briefing them and instructing them on how to keep eyes out for trouble while they headed back to Shale Town. She could hear the faintest hint of a slur on the woman's lips, and perhaps even a bit of sadness - she couldn't tell anymore, whether or not she was projecting or if it were true, but she had definitely noticed AJ had taken to the flask more often than not recently.

Ivory's gaze flitted away near the end of the Godfather's speech, disheartened to see the woman's divine features be anything less than purely content.

As AJ dismissed the crew, Ivory would follow her onto the back of the caravan, sitting across from her. There was only enough space for the two of them to ride in the back, as it was chock-full of a variety of plastic containers, all of which were comprised of weapons of war. For a moment, as her wolfish ears focused in on the chatter of the crew spreading out around them on foot, she'd find her eyes settling upon her own boots.. but AJ's own were there too, her footwear and legs teasing her peripheral.

When she heard the flask open, she'd rise her sight upon AJ's facade once more, a quiet pang flicking her heart. "Whaat? You didn't bring any for me?" Despite the time since the desert, Ivory had attempted to remain as casual as before, even if her lack of open touchy-feelyness silently represented her general hesitation. But she hoped AJ had seen it as nothing more than her simply being respectful. It was a bit of that too. She had met Cheshire, after all, and though she had her questions about her, she certainly didn't want to see the poor girl hurt; she was family now.

The caravan suddenly pressed forward, and she'd sway. Her thoughts wondering if things would ever be the same again as she glanced to AJ's distant lips, then to her eyes. What gorgeous things they were. Had she always been so painfully sublime?

A.J. Godfrey

_{Post 1}

Anniken. She grimaced as she took the flask, taking note of it's enchantment with reserved satisfaction.. especially because the Godfather's real talk was spilling from her faster than she cared to compute. To cope, she promptly threw the contents of the flask down her own throat, indifferent to it's disgusting burn. Scotch: revolting.

Ivory's cheeks had lit up like christmas ornaments, and her gaze practically fled from Anniken's at the quip of being forbidden lovebirds. Like a child she felt like exclaiming a "n-no!" but she couldn't honestly say that to the Godfather's face. Her Eye would uncover it as a fallacy, anyways, so why bother.

Nonetheless, regardless of what Anniken thought, she was glad that she had showed up. Deciding to be shameless over the flush of her cheeks, she would turn to face her, a smirk planting itself across her lips. "You talkative ass hoe." It was a relief, though, to hear that Cheshire was Annikens, and not wholeheartedly Justice's. The revelation of such tackling her innards with some excited discomfort that she was not fully prepared for. She took another swig, deciding to combat the reality of it with a burn.

"I don't know if you knew this, but I'm an expert at the transferal of souls." It hadn't really dawned on her until now, but, there might be a way her take-over magic expertise could directly coincide with the Godfather's very unique problem..

"I can find a way." She didn't know the full emotional consequences of that statement just yet, perhaps because she was immediately stuffing them back down as they arose, but she spoke with a surety that was surprising even to herself. She had taken in so many souls throughout her life, quite literally - and maybe through way of lacrima, she could do it from outside her body...

And the heart?

The wreckage of Anniken's own form?

There had to be a way. This was more than just about a dalliance of romance - this path of thought could lead to the permanent solution AJ so desperately needed.

A.J. Godfrey

_{Post 2}

Ivory rolled her eyes, playfully mocking Anniken's "motto." In reality, though, she respected it. It was one of the reasons she had followed her from the icy mountainside of Stalagmite Wastes to begin with. The "get off your ass and fix it yourself"-mentality had been exactly what she had needed then, and, to this day, she could not find that it had any fault as a philosophy for living itself.

"I know you do. Can't complain, I don't mind the voice either." Grinning, Ivy poured more of the scotch into her gullet. Though she was more relaxed than before, the prospect of being able to get what she wanted was also terrifying. But..

She'd.. seen it with her Eye?!

Ivory's flush reappeared, but she coughed, as if that would distract anyone from the fact of the roses still blooming upon her pallid facade. "Seems like everything is fine now. Do you want a ride into the sky, though, to see the surroundings? Edgy Pegasus might appreciate being used for once."

Ontop of the emotional flush, she could feel that the affects of Justice's flask was also adding warmth to her face, suggesting it was taking it's hold, softly but surely.

For now, the task would be her focus, but in the back of her mind she was already attempting to connect the dots to AJ's little body problem.

A.J. Godfrey

_{Post 3}

Ivory's eyes widened as the words unfurled from the Anniken's straightforward speaking mouth. The turbulence of emotion she'd tried to keep at bay ever since the prospect of "getting what she wanted" was reawoken at full power. She didn't know how or what to verbalize to Justice, but imagining the woman sitting there, behind Anniken's pervading gaze, with sorrow tainting her.. was enough to stop her from running away.

"I.." She started, unsure of how to express herself..

"I.. I've always admired you, Justice. Something about you always seemed to call out to some.. deeper part of myself. It's.. honestly terrifying. I'm afraid of the feelings you inspire in me." Her voice was shaky, and though she tried hard to keep her gaze locked with Anniken's, to peer inside to Justice, she found fear would force them away, back to her boots. "I-I don't know why I'm so frightened. Maybe because l-loving you, having you, would leave me more vulnerable than I ever intended to be. Or maybe I'm scared that it won't last, and therefore I'd really lose you.. for good." She felt a burn behind her eyes, which boiled into a brimming of liquid, but she turned back, to face them, "But, despite that, I know that I feel more for you than I have for anyone else. Ever. And if I'm brave enough, and smart enough, I'd like to explore that with you someday."

A.J. Godfrey

_{Post 4}

Justice's expression had softened tremendously, no longer wearing the troubled veneer of someone internally experiencing a quiet hell of some sort. The change assuaged some of her fears.. it meant she wasn't the only one who had felt whatever it was they'd felt that night, in the abandoned pharmacy of the salt desert. When Justice's hand gently came to her face, wiping a tear away before it could roll, she found herself instinctively touching the hand herself, cupping it briefly as her gaze interlocked with the surprisingly tender being before her.

"You know it."

She returned the smile, her own eyes seeming to been rid of their confusion. She may not of known the full details of what she felt, but, at least for now, she knew the connection wasn't just some transient fluke.

Wolven ears suddenly flickered, swerving forward with alertness. In the distance, she could hear galloping.. and behind those many hooves, the sound of wooden wheels rolling across terrain. Soon after her ears picked up on it, the crew outside their own caravan began to stir, "Boss! We have company on the horizon!"

"Looks like someone's been spying on OS transactions. Silly gooses, running straight into a Spear. You'd think the rumors would of taught them by now how foolish that is."

A.J. Godfrey

_{notes (Post 5)}

Watching Justice stand up in preparation, only to sway from intoxication, made the white-haired mage chuckle. What a cutie, she thought, as she watched the woman's tail casually swish side to side, a silent tell of her emotional state. One that was reflective in the take-over mage, for as she rose in accord, her own tail was also traveling east then west; she felt like she was in Freki's form, even, excited over some random ass thing.

"Sounds like a plan, sexypants."

Ivory's grin was playful now, back to normal, as she turned around, her back facing the exit of the caravan. "The very best, I would think. Anniken's not too bad of a partner either, just significantly less cool." Knowing Anni would hear it made her cackle mischievously as she suddenly took a step backward, tossing the flask at Justice as she hopped right off the caravan. "Don't drink anymore without me!" She'd call while the caravan advanced from her position.

I think I'll let you come out and play anyways, edgy pegasus. You've been missing out on the fun lately.

The woman's body was swiftly replaced with a full sized ebony steed in possession of massive wings accented with fiery wisps, just as her hooves, mane and tail were. With a breathy whinny, she'd stomp a foot against the ground in excitement before her wings spread and sent her toward the sky, the motion displacing dirt in the radius around her. This body was notably heaver than the demonness, but it's wings were strong enough to carry it with just as much ease. In the air she could see the group heading their way, around twenty meters away from Odin's caravan.

Her wingspan allowed her to bridge that distance in no time and she'd feel her lungs burning as the steed's magic collected there. The enemy caravan was hollering at the sight of her, but they didn't have much time to react as she swept above them for the first time, releasing her lung's magic upon them, blasting a strip of them with the inferno of her flames.

A.J. Godfrey

_{Freeform with this? If we get bored we can throw in a mage boss from them near the end? xD Whatever ya want! (Post 6)}

The screams of burning men echoed after her first assault, and as she circled around to shoot them again, she'd notice they had taken up the defense. Arrows were flying her way, but they were struggling to maintain their calm. A large strip of them were frying to crisps, after all, and their caravan had suddenly been derailed due to one of the wheels flying off. Justice, you lovely beast you. The music of gunfire exploded from her direction, because as soon as Justice began firing so did the foot crew surrounding it, the non-magical made men and women joining in on the fun.

She tried not to think too much about the fact that some of these enemies might be teenagers, having simply joined up with the wrong crew. Because, for now, she had a job to do regardless. Fry them all. As such, when she circled back around, dodging a few arrows here and there, she'd quickly build up another blast to assault the center strip of their group - this time their caravan was among the targets. It'd explode, sending parts flying every which direction, some debris promptly penetrating the bodies of the surrounding riders and horses. Poor creatures. Their screams were more wild now, but also hopelessly enraged. They knew they had made a mistake but now what else was there to do but to fight to the death? Though a lot of them had been blasted to hell, they had began racing toward OS' caravan, firing arrows and spears as they went.

It was no wonder they sought their load - they didn't have a single gun, did they?

They could of just asked, she thought, as they pursued them, leaving behind the fiery wreck of their main group. Her flames blasted out as she did, too, catching the slower of the riders in the back line of the racing party.

A.J. Godfrey

_{Let's see what we feel like later, then! (Post 7)}