Fable - Ask The Sisters and the Steer

[Toruuk Stoneheart]

Peace and quiet was not something that Toruuk Stoneheart usually had much of an appreciation for, but with how hectic things had been as of late this was a nice change of pace. Today's tranquil stroll was through an area that he had been told was called the Widow Wood. The Champion of the Stonehearts was making his way to an unfamiliar city on the coast called Oban. He had been told that there was some sort of festival that happened around this time of year and that Oban was well known for its griffin riders. To Toruuk, a festival of course meant an opportunity for a brawl, and to memory he couldn't recall ever having punched a griffin. New experiences were the spice of life.

Living up to his title, Toruuk had been wandering through this particular weald for several days now. He'd left the beaten path some time ago in favor of a bit of good old adventure, primarily in the hopes that some strange beast might attack him while he traipsed about. No luck thus far, unfortunately. Not every forest had creatures brave enough to ambush a half ton wall of muscle, it seemed. It certainly wasn't as if he had made himself hard to find, either. His footsteps were thunderous and heavy, leaving large tracks wherever he went, and he often had to smash tree branches out of his way in particularly dense parts of the underbrush.

He wasn't lost, though, oh no. He was certain he'd happen upon a trail eventually. His wanderer's spirit always pulled him in the right direction sooner or later; in fact, sometimes he wasn't sure whether trouble followed him or he followed trouble. Even if he didn't find a path, per se, he could always retrace his incredibly obvious steps. Truly, it was the journey that mattered, not the destination.

Still, he wished that something would happen at this point. The peaceful ambiance of the Widow Wood was great and all, super for being introspective and all that junk, but there had to be a limit. There was a very obvious line between peace and boredom, and he was rapidly approaching that line. He let out a big huff and grabbed hold of one of his twin axes, releasing it from his belt. With a grunt of exertion he carved through a nearby tree, felling it. Then, weightily, he plopped down on the newly created log, took off his pack, and began rummaging through it for some jerky. Can't go wandering on an empty stomach, after all.

 

[Lottie Beaufort]

The sisters would have had to have been both deaf and blind to not hear the Minotaur crashing through the forest.

As it was it had been a quiet day on the roads and the trio were relatively bored too. Lottie had been taking a snooze in a branch a little way back from the main highway in a branch that curved into the perfect shape for her small frame. Her tricorn was pulled low over her eyes to keep the sun out of it, the collar of her shirt pulled up to protect her neck from potential sunburn. It was a peaceful day. That was until the tree began to shake. Opening one eye, then the other in alarm, only her quick thinking meant she didn't end up deposited on the forest floor. At least however she was awake enough to know the Minotaur that waltzed past her was in fact real. Lottie's jaw hung open in disbelief and for a second all she could do was watch him go. A pregnant pause and then she was scrambling down the tree.

"Wreeeeeeeeeen! Blanche! Rob! You're not going to believe this!"

* * *​

Lottie had always wanted to be an actress so she absolutely loved it when their plans called for a little bit of the dramatics. Given the beasts lumbering, slow jaunt through the deeper parts of the forest the sisters had plenty of time to set their trap. It was a simple one really, damsel in distress, stage an apparent robbery so the attention is on a fantasy danger rather than the real one that was currently glamoured in an elegant gown fit for any great noblewoman.

The youngest sister was gifted when it came to making people believe something was there when truly it was not. She sat in a small clearing and around her came to life their tale. Her carriage was overturned, the horses pulling it lay dead, guards who had apparently been travelling with her also appeared slain. The girl herself was wearing a typical corseted dress with a wide skirt and many petticoats in whites and pinks. There were even ribbons in her brown hair. There was just enough damage to her outfit that it would become apparent she had been forcibly robbed.

She was also crying.

It was a pretty cry and it didn't ruin the beauty of her face, rather it transformed it to a heartbreaking one. Usually it made people want to stop. She had her ankle propped up on a rock to indicate that was her serious injury from the whole ordeal.

Hopefully the sight would cause the great bulk to stop so her sisters could do their thing.

 

[Blanche Ponsonby]

Today had been a particularly slow day for Blanche. The sun was out, the weather was nice, and the roadways leading through this particular part of Dalriada had been particularly quiet. No traffic wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it just meant there'd be no plunder. Regardless, Blanche had found ways to enjoy herself. Her current hobby involved slightly loosening the screws on the pots, rendering the handles wobbly. She'd moved on to such activities after she'd bent all the tines on each of the forks. It wasn't without reason. After all, if she wasn't doing anything productive, she may as well annoy Rob.

That had been before Lottie had come crashing through their little encampment. Before she had spun tails of a giant cow-person, horse-person? Mine something. Blanche hadn't really listened, but all she heard from Lottie's tale was that they had a new target. Which was always fun.

They had decided to enact one of their classic strategies. In reality, the group had a very limited repertoire of tactics, being a highwaywoman, after all, doesn't come with instructions. Regardless, Lottie would pose as a damsel in distress. Wren would do her usual Wren thing, and Blanche would fire off a few bolts in quick succession, giving off the impression that several archers were hiding in the wings.

As she awaited their target, Blanche loaded her chambered crossbow. A peculiar device, she'd had custom made for her by a friend. Using her magnetic magic, she could quickly re-string the device and rotate the active chamber on the weapon, allowing her to fire up to eight bolts within seconds. It had cost her an arm and a leg, but the amount of times such a capability had ended up saving her life had meant it was a worthy investment.

She smiled. She wasn't too worried about the spoils of this ambush. She'd acquired fame and some riches from her conquests in the festival, Blanche was more in the highwaywoman business for the socialising. Some of her best friends had been made during a robbing and she very much enjoyed chatting away to the victims whilst her sisters robbed them blind.

 

[Toruuk Stoneheart]

"Ah, there it is!"
At last, the pouch full of bear jerky he'd purchased from a village some miles back. It was salted and well made, chewy enough to hold his attention but not so tough that it felt like his jaw was going to sheer off from exertion. Good stuff, and a lean and protein filled snack for a lumbering giant such as Toruuk.

The Wandering Champion had only been munching on his jerky for a few minutes when his ear pricked up at an odd sound. Was that...a woman crying amidst the chittering and chirping of wildlife? This, of course, demanded further investigation. Maybe there was some forest spirit out there attempting to draw in wary travelers and steal their souls, or something.

The bull shoved another chunk of dried bear meat into his mouth and stood from his makeshift seat, whipping out both axes and heading in the direction of the sobbing noise. He chewed idly while ripping branches and small animals out of his way. Something enlivening wasn't far, and a bit of flora and fauna wasn't going to stop him from checking it out.

A couple of minutes of stomping through brush later and he happened upon a clearing. He peaked through the bushes, the sight before him telling a pretty obvious story: some noble maiden had been assailed by bandits or something, killed some folk and horses, and made off. Toruuk squinted, suspiciously gnawing his jerky. Or so it would seem.

There were a number of odd things about the setup: first, the horses were dead. Toruuk had spent enough time in the southern territories to know that horses were valuable. No self respecting bandit would kill the horses drawing a noble's carriage. Second, they were nowhere near any sort of road. How did they even get this carriage out here? That, in itself, was an impressive feat. Finally, one of those apparently dead guards was very clearly breathing. Come on. The champ was a 10 foot tall, plodding brute, but he wasn't dumb.

Regardless, this was by far the most interesting thing he'd seen all day, so he decided to humor...whatever it was that was going on here. The woman in the clearing was putting up a very good act, it was the least he could do for all the trouble she had gone through to set this elaborate scheme up. He'd play it up a bit as well, just to be safe.

"Hark, fair maiden!" He boomed, tramping into the clearing. He stretched an arm out to the woman and placed a hand on his chest, like he'd seen stage performers do in towns. "What foul fate has fallen upon thee? Please, accept the aid of this humble...bull...hum-bull!"

It was all he could do to keep from snickering. His eyes darted about the borders of the clearing looking for any signs of movement. This seemed like a very fun trap to spring.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

Wren had been lazing amongst the roots of a tree whilst Blanche insisted on testing Rob’s resilience. She didn’t bother to intervene and instead sat flicking her blades effortlessly at a target she’d made on a tree stump, each blade aligning perfectly with the last. She’d been silent for what’d felt like hours, deep in her own thoughts, which was a difficult place to come back from at times. She sat bolt upright however as she heard trees crashing some place not too far from their camp, and looked to Blanche. “Lottie.” had been all she’d said as she got swiftly to her feet and collected her blades from the stump and lifted her crossbow.

She’d heard her youngest sister then, yelling as she ran toward camp, but she didn’t sound distressed and so Wren had eased, letting out a puff of air she hadn’t been aware that she’d been holding. “Damn will you hush?! You'll wake the bloody Gods!”…

Wren listened to Lottie’s rambling on about a minotaur and her head shook, she’d never actually seen one in real life, only in paintings. “Lottie, you’re drunk. It was probably an escaped bull..” she argued, but she armed herself anyway – there was -something- cutting down trees nearby, and the sisters had been quite fond of their trees, the Widow Wood had been their home and she didn't want to see it torn down. She sighed and lifted a large set of ropes and carried them around her shoulder and they followed their little sister to the clearing.

Wren had nodded along with Lottie’s plan, humouring her, she’d seemed excited after all, and Rob could use some good steak to cook, she’d been sick of rabbits and such lately. Wren had climbed up into the canopy to look down on Lottie’s little set up with a smirk, able to clearly see Blanche from where she sat too, she sprawled over the thick branch, wrapping her legs around it for stability, and waited.

She could almost feel the tree she’d climbed vibrate as the minotaur approached and she tightened her grip a little, shooting Blanche a ‘what the actual fuck’ kind of look. She watched patiently, a slight frown creasing at her brow at the creature’s words, for one thing she hadn’t actually expected it to have the ability to speak, and the other being that there appeared to be more sarcasm than sincerity in his words. He was a much smarter beast than the sisters had given him credit for, clearly. The bull was a fucking actor!

Wren waited until the creature was underneath her branch and lifted a hand, her fingers tracing a circular motion in the air, conjuring up a strong wind to circulate around the creature’s hooves whilst her other hand readied her ropes...


Toruuk Stoneheart Blanche Ponsonby Charlotte Beaufort Rob Cooke

 

[Rob Cooke]

Rob had been in the midst of a nap when of nap when Lottie came storming into the camp, noisily awakening him. He decided to go along with the rest, just in case.

So, he found himself in a tree, laid in much a similar position he was in the camp, overlooking the clearing. The Minotaur was certainly a Minotaur. He leaned back on the trunk of the tree, sitting atop the nice, sturdy branch. If something happened, he could intervene, otherwise, it was more than likely the sisters could handle it.

Probably.

 

[Lottie Beaufort]

The snicker was a little bit of a give away that the Minotaur was not fooling for it, even if his very over the top impression made her smile. With a wave of her hand the illusions dispelled, as did her costume. Instead she stood in her full highway regalia: a black tricorn, green mask, black military style waistcoast and green frock coat trimmed in gold all over the top of leather breeches and her bucket boots.

She pulled her whip taunt between two hands with a sickening crack and offered him a lazy smile just before he was whisked off the ground thanks to Wren's air magic.

"Stand and deliver, big guy."

 

[Blanche Ponsonby]

Blanche had missed her cue - and with good reason.

Usually, the phrase 'stand and deliver' would signal her to unload several crossbow bolts around the target as a series of warning shots. When executed properly, it gave the impression of several hidden assailants - armed with crossbows - all trained on the opponent.

Today, however, Blanche had managed a single bolt particularly wide of their mark. It didn't really even serve as a warning shot, the bolt was incredibly far off the mark. She sighed.

She hated wasps. This one, in particular, was one of the larger variety that lived within Dalriada territory and it had chosen this exact moment to fly within her space. In fact, she found herself paralysed. The first shot had been on target until the damned insect had shown its face. Now she stood helpless as the mindless bug perched itself happily on her nose.

"Wasp." She hissed towards Wren. Her hand wafting in gentle circles as she tried to remain as still as possible.

 

[Toruuk Stoneheart]

"Guess I overdid it, huuuuoooohhh!"
The mighty bull suddenly found himself being whirled upwards, a torrent of wind actually catching him off his balance. Simultaneously, the entire carriage facade vanished. Ah, so an illusion, then. Mages...at the very least his rapidly elevating position was giving him a better look of his surroundings. A bunch of bandits in the trees, it seemed.

Toruuk tried to pick out each one as he lazily spun about in the air. A masked fellow and a couple of women with crossbows, twirling their fingers in circles. One or both was obviously the cause of this current uplifting. Then there was the buxom blondie standing at the center of the clearing, whip at the ready.

"Crossbows and a free carnival ride ain't gonna cut it with me, sweetheart. And a whip? HA! Don't threaten me with a good time!" He taunted the group. This was already turning out to be more fun than he'd expected. He wondered what they'd try on him before he inevitably had to pull himself back down to the ground.

In the meantime, Toruuk shifted his weight, kicked his hooves out, put his arms behind his head, and took a midair lounging position. The biggest challenge right now was going to be not getting dizzy, or worse, losing his lunch.

 

[Rob Cooke]

Rob appreciated the Minotaur’s ability to take things in stride, and he found that they were in similar lounging positions. He lazily waved, yelling, “How ya doin big guy? Nice style.” This attempt at conversation served two purposes, one, his own entertainment, and two, it’d take away his attention from the people actually doing something and from the making of a plan.

Under the mask, he eyed the situation carefully, things were mostly under control but the sisters may have bitten off more than they could chew, this man looked experienced and a Minotaur is no joke. Still, he decided to stay reclined on the branch.

 

[Wren Kingsley]

Wren hadn't expected to physically lift the minotaur, a feat that had even her surprised, and she couldn't help but grin with genuine amusement. It hadn't been a sight she'd expected to see today. She outright laughed at the beast's words, and she tried to hold the creature in her miniature cyclone long enough to bind him, but she didn't want to use too much energy giving him cheap thrills.

She smirked at Rob's comments, and her shoulders shrugged at Blanche as she fought off a wasp apparently.. Well, this was going well! Wren's eyes rolled and she gave a brief shake of her head as she launched the ropes lasso style at the beast, hoping to bind him mid-air before she let him go. Though she remained in her branch for now, reaching for her crossbow and aiming it down at him in case he decided to try anything silly. She smiled though, it wasn't often Wren found much amusing, but this bull's antics were comical, and it'd be a shame to have to hurt him.

 

[Lottie Beaufort]

Lottie sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes, putting her face literally in her hand as the whole thing fell apart. She looked like a displeased director who was watching her great masterpiece trainwreck in front of her.

"Guys, c'mon we talked about this!" the youngster literally cracked the whip she was holding to draw everyone's attention back to the case in point. "Rob if you're not doing anything can you at least try and be useful," more grumbling. "And Wren, what happened to a small wind!? Blanche don't even get me started - where were you on your cue? Look. Can we all, please just do our jobs to rob this Minotaur?!"

 

[Blanche Ponsonby]

The wasp began an intrepid exploration of Blanche's face. It was thorough, she'd give it that. Every time it departed she was left with a small glimmer of hope until it landed back to explore a different part. Eventually, however, after examining the length and breadth of her head - it seemed at least - Blanche was relieved to see the small figure buzz off.

With her attention focused on the insect, Blanche had been entirely unaware of the goings-on around her. Once she returned to reality, she gave an exasperated sigh as she took stock of things. Unsurprisingly, without Blanche running the ship, the scheme had fallen apart and her sisters had gotten into trouble again. Why couldn't they be more like her, their role model?

"Hey, I had a wasp land on my face. Need I remind you about your little incident with the spider?" She hissed towards Lottie, sending a long hard stare towards her. Blanche glanced between Rob, the Cow-man, Wren and Lottie and shook her head. Shambles. Utter Shambles. "Big fella, back me up, aren't wasps the worst?" She wasn't in the mood for robbing anymore. Their failure had killed the mood, what she needed was a drink. Hopefully, the cow was carrying.

 

[Toruuk Stoneheart]

This was a remarkably amiable bunch of bandits, that was for sure. They came off as more of a blundering band of teenagers than anything else. It was...kind of endearing, actually. Each of them was responding to the situation in their own humorous way and smiling in turn at him. Honestly a very positive result, all things considered.

“How ya doin big guy? Nice style.”

The champ shrugged. He tried to spot the masked man as he spun, flipping his head each time he rotated.
"Eh, a little dizzy. Yourself?"

Of course, the dizziness problem solved itself when suddenly one of the crossbow toting women chucked a lasso around his horns. Toruuk was at first amused, but then the wind magic that had been holding him abruptly stopped and the bull plummeted to the ground, face first.
"WWOOOAHH--OOOF!!" That was perhaps the least graceful thing he'd ever done. Dirt and leaves puffed up into the air and the floor of the forest shook on impact. The Minotaur pressed his hands to the ground and began to pick himself up. "Oww..."

"Can we all, please just do our jobs to rob this Minotaur?!"

"...Ya know..." He groaned, brushing himself off as he stood up. "Ya could've just asked if you were lookin' for a bit o' food or coin. I don't carry much in the way o' valuables, 'cept my axes, but I don't have much use for gold." Toruuk pressed a meaty finger to one nostril and blew. An acorn rocketed out of his nose and into a nearby tree.
"No offense, but you guys don't seem like the pilferin' type."

"Big fella, back me up, aren't wasps the worst?"

The bull shrugged, reaching onto his belt for an oversized flask. He popped the cap off and took a swig of its contents, then plopped down onto his bottom.
"The ones 'round here don't bother me much. They can't really get through all the fur. Candenordic hornets, though? Stingers like spears, hurts like a bitch. Mean suckers, too. Ain't a fan."

 

[Wren Kingsley]

Wren was too busy laughing at the scene that she'd entirely forgotten that the plan had been to attempt to rob the beast, but she hadn't noted much of visible value and the creature seemed amiable enough. She buried her face into her elbow to wipe the tears from her cheeks and hide her grin as Lottie flipped her shit with them. It took a lot to get her laughing so much, but by fuck she needed it. She had to hold on to her branch for dear life as he went crashing to the ground, and she couldn't help but feel a little guilty..

"Sorry Lottie.." she cleared her throat, and swung herself from the branch to land into a crouch next to the bull man, clearly amused, but keeping a careful eye on those axes..

"Oh we're just having an off day." she commented, studying him curiously.. "You aren't at all what I expected. What's your name?" she asked, carefully reaching a hand to pick the leaves off of him and collect her ropes from around his horns..

 

[Rob Cooke]

He chuckled at the Minotaur's comment, however it quickly turned into a wince as he landed. Rob carefully slid down the tree, trying not to get caught up on any stray branches or bits of bark. He quickly reached the base, now out of sight to those in the clearing. However, he quickly reemerged.

He stood idly by as there was some light chatting, scanning the surroundings. Wouldn't hurt to be careful, plus, old habits die hard. Either this bull thought they were very incompetent, which probably isn't that far from the truth when it comes to experienced opponents, or the bull thought himself very competent, which Rob had the sneaking suspicion was true. All in all, hopefully things would stay peaceful.

 

[Blanche Ponsonby]

"Well, usually we're capable robbers. We're all mages and we're all on the lam, been at this game for several years now." She sighed. In her head, she was certain that everyone else had been the reason for this collapse, not her. Slowly, Blanche took stop of the hulking figure before her. He was funny, she'd give him that. Perhaps they could bring him back to the camp - she always enjoyed picking the brains of tall dark strangers. And he was certainly all three and then some.

She stared at him long and hard as he took a big swig from his oversized flask. Her mouth watered briefly and she had to stop herself licking her lips. "Please, please tell me there's alcohol in that. All we have left is Rob's disgusting moonshine." She shuddered. Whatever it was that Rob had brewed it was not fit for human consumption. But there were few places out in the wilderness to get some alcohol, so she'd resorted to sucking it up and drinking the vile fluid. That said, it did give a good buzz if you kept it down. Likewise, it also tasted better when coming up.

 

[Lottie Beaufort]

Lottie threw her hands up in the air in despair at the lot of them and tore off her tricorn and mask with a sigh. Even Wren was letting him go and being nice to him. The youngest sister couldn't remember a man other than Rob that she hadn't wanted to stick a knife into on the first meeting. Well, no, that was a lie. She had wanted to stick a knife into Rob when they first met her and probably several times since. What was important was that she hadn't. Blanche and Lottie valued Rob's cooking - the nightmares of surprise stew her sister used to cook were enough for the youngest of the Dandies to fight for Rob's life and his roast chicken.

Her irritation faded somewhat when the big guy explained he had no coin anyway and as she ran a critical eye over him she thought she had to probably agree - where did a minotaur even keep his coin? Well... least they weren't missing out on any profits. She sauntered over to join the group and used Rob as a leaning post as she twiddled the whip through her fingers idly.

"Usually very competent, but we were perhaps just a bit too excited to have someone like you wander through - you're a far cry from the nobles we usually get to strip bare," her lips twitched up at the corners. "We're the Dandies, pleasure to meet you. I'm Lottie, this is Wren, Blanche and Rob."

 

[Toruuk Stoneheart]

"The name's TORUUK STONEHEART, CHAMPION OF THE STONEHEARTS!" The Minotaur announced at Wren's behest, loud and proud as the bunch began to drop from their perches and crowd around him. The echo carried into the woods for some ways, startling birds and rodents alike. The Dandies' explanations of their little blunders over the past few minutes earned a hearty chuckle from the bull.
"Heh, yeah, I'm sure you've caught a few fops with their pants around their ankles. The Wandering Champ is in a league of his own, though, ohhh yeeaah."

"Please, please tell me there's alcohol in that. All we have left is Rob's disgusting moonshine."

The bull stuck his tongue out and began to sort through his belt. It had to be around here somewhere...ah, that's right, the shock-proof pouch. That made sense. He popped the buckle on the top of the pouch and produced a bottle that looked positively tiny betwixt his massive fingers and offered it to Blanche. Of course, for a human, it was not a small bottle.
"Here, a bit o' Candenordic mead, brewed by yours' truly. The bumblebees back home are a lot more docile than the hornets and they make the best honey."

After that, Toruuk laid his palms flat on the ground behind him and reclined a bit. The world was still spinning a bit from that earlier whirlwind. He gazed around at the group and grinned.
"Nice t' meetcha, Dandies!"

 

[Wren Kingsley]

Wren lifted her eyes to Blanche and rolled them - of course the woman was after the beast's alcohol already, she had no idea how her liver wasn't completely pickled "Excuse my sister, she has problems." she muttered to the minotaur. At Lottie's introduction, she dipped her chin, still crouched next to him, studying him with interest as he face his own introduction. "And why does the 'wandering champ' find himself in our woods, ripping down our trees exactly?.." her head tilted, and her brow lifted in question.

"And.. What are the Stonehearts?.." she asked, and reached to take the bottle he'd offered to Blanche before she had a chance to take it from him. "She doesn't need that." she shook her head.

 

[Blanche Ponsonby]

Blanche stared silently at Wren. The bitch. Thankfully, she was prepared. Despite her apparent lack of self-control and impulsivity towards alcohol, there was one thing Blanche favoured more than the juicy liquid. Namely, pissing off her elder sister. Her face contorted into a smug smile and from behind both her pauldrons, she withdrew two vials of clear liquid.

As she uncorked the first one, the noxious fumes of pure ethanol swept over the vicinity. Without hesitation, Blanche downed the contents and, through pure stubborn pig-headedness, she did not falter or wince. She kept the vile substance down and gave Wren a look of 'you made me do this' before turning her attention back to the Minotaur.

"I apologise for my sister, we've always tried to instil good manners into her and teach her not to snatch, but it seems the lessons never stuck." Her tone was harsh and disapproving and she passed one of the remaining vials over to the minotaur as a peace offering.

"Here, I call this a Blanche Blackout, it'll put some hairs on your chest... although I'm not sure that's needed"

 

[Rob Cooke]

He had made up his mind that the Minotaur was just quite confident, and had no backup, so he strode over to the rest of the group and hovered over.

He made a big show of being insulted by Blanche’s comment on his moonshine. As if, he wouldn’t dare offer that stuff as actual drinks. The other two sisters knew as well as him that he intentionally made it bad in an attempt to stop Blanche from bugging him about making some, aswell as to hopefully deter her from drinking all together. Much to the horror of the group, she still drinks it.

He casually waved as he was introduced. He loosened up, looking around. Quite the pretty place for a robbery. However, his attention was quickly brought back to the conversation when the Minotaur mentioned mead. He winced, especially as Wren quickly grabbed the drink before it could be handed to Blanche.

Both a blessing and a curse, as Blanche would undoubtedly seek revenge.

Sure enough, as Rob watched on in horror, she downed a bottle of, he wasn’t sure what it was a first, but then realized it was pure ethanol. It took a second for it to register before he strode over in a heartbeat, quickly snatching for the other vial, saying, “By the gods, are you trying to poison yourself and the Minotaur here?” He took a second, it was a Minotaur and it’d probably take a lot higher of a dosage in order to have the toxic effects of the liquid do anything, but better safe than sorry. He quickly dumped the vial over, while inspecting Blanche.

In the meantime, he carefully scooted and positioned himself so that he would block Wren’s access to Blanche, because undoubtedly Wren would go straight for throttling her sister, and that probably wasn’t in anyone’s best interests.

 

[Lottie Beaufort]

"Bla-" but it was too late to get her sister to stop drinking the horrific concoction she kept about her person at all times. They had once had to use it as a smelling salt of kind to try and rouse a particularly weak hearted young damsel who they robbed a few weeks back. Lottie hadn't considered it had any other purposes, truthfully. Apart from perhaps cleaning the pots and pans after Wren had insisted on cooking for them. Drinking, it was safe to say, was not an activity she had ever associated with the liquid.

Lottie looked between the adults and realised, with growing concern, she might end up being one of the more responsible ones amongst them if this silent drinking war began to escalate. Which it would. Because Wren was Wren and Blanche was Blanche. The youngest sister decided to nope out of that and abandoned the three standing to go and sit with Toruuk in the grass instead, legs crossed. From some pocket about her person she produced a large bag of her own spiced jerky - a speciality of Oban - and offered him a bit.

"It's about to get reeeeeeeeal heated real quick," the youngest sister warned him and then reclined in much the same way, showing she was planning on doing absolutely nothing to stop it escalating.