The Right to Pray. [EVENT]

Unlike her Captain, Iris could fathom the passion of those they monitored, though she didn't share the sentiment. She was just as passionate about uniting the races. She was also empathetic to how confused her people were to see her, a demonata, making sure they didn't do anything to get in the way of what was essentially an enemy religion being brought into what territory they had left after the treaty. They felt invaded. They felt insulted. They felt threatened.

Iris understood, but she didn't agree. Personally, she was happy to see a Church of Fleuve'ir rising in Newdale. She'd be equally as happy to see an altar with community obsidian scales and statues of Heknys in the Common Realm. To her, it was the first step toward tolerance and true integration, but of course, it'd seem like an attack on those who hadn't quite let go of old frustrations and dreams of glory. There would always be opposition to progression. Nothing worth having was easy to achieve.

Regardless of her empathy, it didn't make all of the eyes on her any less harsh. She walked behind Rowan, chin up and doing her best to seem carefree and broad-shouldered. It was a delicate dance, trying to remain as strong and unbothered as a Guardian Knight should, while also not coming off as calloused or offensive to her own people. Smiles were offered where she could, though even she had to admit they felt hollow given the bow and quiver hanging on her back. Iris didn't notice as Rowan looked back at her since her gaze was on the crowd, her mouth set into a neutral smile though the tension in her brows betrayed her weariness.

As her dark-headed human companion spoke, she turned her face toward him with a brightened expression. "Sure, sounds good," she softly chirped, acting as pleasant as she had hours ago when the sun had first risen.

While she attempted to seem as fresh as the flower she was nicknamed after, the crowds were growing more disgruntled. They were tired from chanting and waving signs all morning, only to be policed and held behind a line. As she and Rowan walked their path, the bluette noticed new faces were joining in, taking advantage of lunch breaks or simply getting a later start.

These people were much more vocal and hostile.

"Traitor!" one cried suddenly, and another chucked a tomato at her while informing her that she might as well have been a filthy hybrid. Iris could put up a tough shell all day long and smile, but it still hurt her deep inside. She held up a hand to stop Rowan should he make a move, her expression still gentle and passive. "It's fine," she said evenly. Even as she collected the tomato that just bonked off the top of her head and picked up a nearby empty box to stow it in, she stiffly thanked her attacker with a smile that was a bit sad. There would be more of this, she already knew that. At least she could take this box to the homeless shelter later to be prepared for dinner. There was always a way to find a silver lining. She could be thankful it was just food they'd throw at her, hoping it wouldn't escalate. If she could draw their attention and shoulder their ire, the crew working on the building would be that much more unbothered.

[wc: 575 || total: 904/4000]

"They're just angry. They feel threatened," she said softly, watching them sadly. It took time for people to change their hearts and views. Change was scary. To a race who already felt like they'd been given a raw deal after the war, they wanted to keep what little they had to themselves as much as they could. Iris didn't agree, but she understood. "It'll take more time to get everyone on the same page. They just need more time," she added, though this part might have been more for herself than Rowan. Sometimes she spoke her thoughts aloud when she was distracted or stressed, and in a way, she was both right now.

"As long as they keep it to fruit and veggies, it'll be fine," she suddenly chirped to her commanding officer, putting on a bit of extra cheer to try and disarm his darkened aura. "I'll just put them in this box. It'll be a nice fresh meal for the homeless," Iris smiled.

Despite Rowan's very thinly veiled threat and even the presence of the gun, the crowd seemed to like the food tosser's idea as well as the safety of the "if everyone throws it all at once the blame is spread thin and it'll be hard to shoot us all" mentality. As the garden treats flew out at her, she patiently gathered them and put them in the box as they walked. "Eventually they'll run out. As long as they're focused on me, they're not bothering the church," she said with a sad smile, hoping Rowan wouldn't do anything rash in the face of the rebellion.

Perhaps luckily for Rowan for lucky for no one else involved, the produce throwing quickly devolved. Right after Iris caught a rather large squash in mid-air, it was followed by things much less blunt and harmless. Two small daggers whizzed through the air, one grazing her cheek and the second lodging into the crook of her shoulder, catching her off guard. "Ah!" she cried sharply, though she didn't even drop her box of food. Her eyes immediately rose to the crowd, searching for the offender with the weapons.



[wc: 358 || total: 1617]

She'd never get used to gunfire. The sharp pop! of Rowan's flintlock made her flinch, as it always did the first time, even when she knew it was coming. The tensing of her muscles aggravated her wound, and the stab of pain caused her to whimper and reach up and press the flesh around the blade.

It really did hurt. So much that, in a way, she froze for a second. Iris knew she should be moving, chasing someone, trying to keep the peace, but instead she stood there, considering that she didn't have any way to heal it. If she'd been more alert, she could have blocked it. Clearly she'd become a Guardian Knight because of her calm demeanor, ideals, and passion rather than strength and battle prowess. The demonata was nothing to sneeze at once she began fighting, but she was slow to get there and wasn't as tough as some of the others.

"I can freeze it over to stop the bleeding," she answered her Captain promptly, becoming more bothered by the aspect that the violence had escalated than anything. Taking Rowan's attention away from the situation because she had asked him to be lenient stung. While she had a hard time accepting that the non-violent path was the wrong one, it seemed that she kept making bad calls. If she'd just sat back and let him do what he needed to do, all of this chaos might not be happening. It wasn't so much the blade in her shoulder that bothered her, it was the consequences. The fallout. The stress tugged at the soft features of her pretty face.

"Don't worry about it, I can still perform my duties," insisted the demonata, mentally beating herself up for a plethora of reasons. Rowan didn't need to waste any more time on her, and she didn't want him to think she was a weak link. They had to round up all the cloaked individuals before more damage was done.

[wc: 331 || total: 2384/4000]

That mercury gaze was hard to withstand. There was an intensity in his eyes sometimes that made her feel shy, and this was one of those times. It didn't help that she also knew she'd messed up and was causing more trouble than she'd solved, so it just felt like he was staring right through her to every mistake and second guess while also being too gentle to outright call her out. Still, her fuchsia hues held his gaze with as much moxie as she could manage.

The demonata nodded that she was ready when he asked, even though she wasn't. Knowing she had a weakness to pain, Iris sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and bit it, preparing herself for what was to come and being careful not to tense and make it worse. It was just a small blade. He was kind enough to count, but even so, as he tugged it out, Iris felt tears prickling her eyes. In the moment she quickly leaned ever so slightly forward and lowered her face to hide the sign of weakness from Rowan behind her periwinkle hair, but she didn't fall or make a sound. Iris would ride out the wave of pain as best she could, then she straightened back up but kept her face lowered. "Thank you, Rowan."

Though she said she could freeze it, she chose to let it bleed for the moment. If there was some sort of harmful substance, letting the wound bleed might clean it out or at least slow the spread. "Can you tell if it was poisoned?" she asked in a very carefully measured voice, reaching out to take a potion from the soldier as he arrived. Popping out the cork with her thumb, she poured a little onto the wound, wincing as it fizzed and released vapor. The skin stitched itself back together within seconds, leaving a shiny, fresh scar. Taking some of the healing liquid on her thumb, she also smeared it along the bleeding cut on her cheek. That would do for now, as she preferred not to waste what thin resources they'd brought in case more violence broke out.

And more violence would break out because while Iris was a soft young woman with patience in spades, she did not take kindly to this whole agitated scenario and planned to hunt down these cloaked, chaotic dissenters and bringing them to justice herself. Her anger hadn't quite hit the boiling point like it did over the cleanliness of the Golden Titans HQ, but the downward set of her mouth made it clear enough that her patience was running a little thin. When she lifted her face finally, her irises had turned a deep apricot.

[wc: 456 || total: 3177/4000]

Though her eyes were still sporting their 'warning' hue, Iris was not generally a demonata ruled by her emotions. Granted, that was a bit unusual for her species, but it had not come without a lot of practice and discipline. Luckily, she'd had a wonderful example in her mother. Though she was angry with the man and the hateful choices he was making, her expression, though mirroring his frustrated, maintained its sorrowful softness. He might hate her, but she didn't hate him. If anything, nothing he said was anything she hadn't heard before. She felt sorry for him and those that led him down this path. He didn't seem the type that made this choice uninfluenced.

Perhaps the fact that Rowan paused at all to see what she wanted him to do was telling of what he expected her response to be. He was quiet, but he'd proven over and over again how perceptive he was. "Let them take him to lock-up, please," Iris answered, her own tone stoic like his to hide her turmoil. The demoness didn't have the will to kill. No one could reform if they were dead, and her hope for this man was that he'd come to see the error in his ways. The logical part of her brain could see how killing him where he stood could be a potent warning to the other dissenters to knock it all off, but it could just as easily do the opposite and give credence to their cause. Violence was usually met with more violence. It was a vicious circle, and it was that very circle she was trying to break.

Honestly, there were no clean right and wrong answers. All routes had pros and cons. That's why this job was so difficult. Every situation was a minefield ready to with one wrong step in either direction. The stress was overwhelming at times. Even now, beneath her forced calm, she was trembling inside. Her mind was whirling with several branches of thoughts simultaneously, and the results of all the choices in those various veins. Holding this man's fate in her hands... it felt wrong.

Though she had just spared his life, she did lean forward before Rowan let go of his head to get a bit more on his level and stare him right in the eye. "Remember that this demon showed you mercy and gifted you a second chance when you didn't deserve one. I believe you can do so much better than this. Please reevaluate yourself while you have the time."

After saying her piece, she walked past the two, brushing a thankful hand against Rowan's shoulder as she went. Her hand was cold from powering up her ice magic in preparation for facing the rest lying in wait.


"Looks like she hasn't changed at all," came a voice from under a black cloak, silky even in its venom. A red pout paused as if considering something. "So much like mother," she sighed, disgusted. Rising from her crouch on the roof of a nearby building, the cloaked woman hopped down and returned to her little group of idiots. Had she expected the untimely demise of their mother to magically twist her horribly righteous sister into a true Eldritch? No, but it would have been nice if it had at least put a dent in that unwavering morale.

"Alright guys, Vic got caught," she told the small gathering of tanned cloaked humans.

"His name was Br--"

"AND they killed him," the leader continued over the other voice, caring not for the peon's name nor for the truth, it seemed. In fact, she lifted her hood just enough to flash her violet eyes at the man, her killing intent clear. Even with her horns magicked away, she carried every bit of the intimidating aura a demonata of her standing would command.

Orchid hated humans. She hated every race but Eldritch, in fact, so slumming it undercover as a human was taxing. It was also a pretty small attempt at stirring things up. She preferred to do things more overtly with lots of overkill, but her father was a very shrewd and intelligent man. He always said this was a battle best fought and won like a chess game. Smaller moves and mental warfare demanding sacrifices would amount to the goal they wanted more than Eldritch kind proving to be the monsters the majority of the world already ostracized. Taking their power back would need finesse and patience.

So turning humans against the Common Lands from the inside would go over better than anything. A enemy divided was weakness.

"K-Killed?" another human spoke up with obvious fear and quaking resolve, while yet another stepped forward. "Killed? For something as small as scraping a demon with a little knife?"

"Yep. Touching a Guardian Knight is a big no-no. She killed him on the spot, that horrible demon! I don't know what they were thinking letting someone like her in such an influential position, clearly she's putting on an act and fooling everyone. Humans hold the power in this world, yet they let her wiggle her way into things. Look at how all those humans under her listen to her! And then to force a church in here so she can speak through the priest and keep the weak minded oblivious while the Eldritch move to take more power and territory? Look at how close Newdale is to Engloria! The King should be trying to annex us, not let a threat rise right next door. What is the king thinking!?" Orchid monologued dramatically, in a way voicing what she wished was happening. IF Iris had been on their side and ended up where she was now, this was exactly all they could have hoped for. But no, Iris might as well be one of those pathetic humans. She was a shame to her horns. "Demons should be attacking her for being a traitor, but the one man calling her out is the one to pay with his life while the Eldritch play nice. They never play nice! Wake up, people!"

Some of her points were shaky even to her, but... these weren't the brightest lot. Even the ones who had been about to bolt out of fear of death were ready to shred Iris and her human entourage to shreds.

And so they moved in a coordinated effort, mounting a serious attack on the soldiers and the Guardian Knights.

Personally, Orchid headed straight for Iris. That comment about being a shame to her horns had been from her heart, and she couldn't resist bullying her little sister a little.

[wc: 1100 || total: 4758/4000]

Iris, though clearly bothered by everything that had happened, couldn't possibly rest at a time like this. She liked to think she was fine, but that wasn't the truth. Her shoulder was aching and the surprise attack on her had dredged up some anxieties already lurking just beneath the surface. Iris's fear that she might be murdered just as her mother was had reared its ugly head. Yes, it was just a blade to the shoulder, but if it'd been a few inches off, she could be gone. The loss of her mother was still so fresh that it took very little for it to consume her mind and fray her mental state.

"It's okay, I'm f--"

She'd just started to stick up her usual brave front and pretend nothing bothered her when all hell broke loose. This was something different than the protestors. They were coordinated and militant. There was a desperation and an all-or-nothing fire in their determined movements and battle cries. Iris paused, taking it in with disappointment and apprehension. This was going so much worse than she'd imagined.

The Commander leaped into action as expected, issuing orders and joining the fight. Iris rushed forward as well, going to the aid of a soldier being quickly overwhelmed by two cloaked dissenters. Forming both of her hands into fists, Glacier Blades formed in them which she quickly threw at the pair of enemies. Her aim was true and, with the twinkling of shattering ice and blood, both were knocked over and quickly subdued.

That had taken place in the middle of the road, so the dark figure in the black cloak that hopped into the empty street ahead immediately caught Iris's eye. The shape was clearly enough a woman, but her face was shaded by the hood and obscured by a mask, making her stand out. The way she stood there and stared made it clear that it was a challenge. A threat. Iris turned for a second to look back at Rowan, considering calling his attention to her course of action, but ultimately not following through when she saw how busy he was. Though she was nervous, the Guardian Knight thought surely she could handle one person on her own. "Stop where you are!" Iris called to the woman, though they both knew that wouldn't be happening. As the bluette took a step forward, the cloaked woman dashed out of sight into the trees at the edge of town. Iris gave chase.


Orchid had successfully separated her sister from the rest of the rabble, pleased with the chaos and eager to take some frustrations on someone more personal to her. They both faced each other again in a small clearing nearby where the fight began.

Iris had improved since the last time they'd sparred, but that wasn't saying much. They'd been children. One thing hadn't changed, though. Iris was still a soft girl. She didn't cherish violence, get off on it as Orchid did. She tried to avoid it, and it did her no favors. Every hesitation, every attempt to capture or reason instead of coming at her with deadly force was met with injury. The redhead grinned behind her mask every time her blades, her fists, her feet drew the Guardian Knight's blood. By the eternal void, it'd be so easy to kill her right here in Newdale.

She knew the disgusting little girl was getting irritated when the ice spells starting coming, but as a commander of fire, the older demonata had no fear of her mother's ice. It melted easily enough, just as it had that day. She couldn't avoid them all, though, injuring her leg and arm, but otherwise nothing serious. Orchid continued to beat up on Iris, barely able to suppress her giggles. She could make no noise or her sister might recognize her. All she could do was bat the girl around like a cat with a mouse and enjoy every squeak.

The whole tone changed, though, when Iris drew their mother's bow. The rage hit unexpectedly, seeing the familiar item being aimed at her once more. Would her father be too angry if she offered this progressive piece of garbage to the void as ashes? The mere thought that they shared blood had her tasting bile. Ugh, she looked so much like her... No, it wasn't time yet, but before she could stop herself, she'd thrown up an arm and sent a wall of hellfire blasting at the icy arrow sent soaring her way, and her quick feet had her chasing after the flames like smoke.  

Catching what the proud Eldritch hesitated to call a sister off guard, Orchid lurched out of the flames and slid around the Golden Titan, kicking her knees down to the dirt and slipping her hands around the exposed horns on Iris's head. Oh, the temptation, fueled by pure hatred made the thought of giving that ugly blue head a quick snap so mouthwatering. Her opposite was at her complete mercy.

Orchid wanted to scream "You're a disgrace to your horns, filthy traitor!" but was just barely able to keep her wits about her. Still, her claws dug into the black and red horns curled on her sister's head, observing in sick satisfaction as the girl buckled and squeaked in pain. Orchid's own horns held some sensitive nerve endings, as did Peony's, but not as many as Iris's did. Iris had always had the most sensitive horns she'd ever heard of. She continuously, so very slowly raked her fiery claws against them, reveling in the screams of agony it wrought. The begging. The squirming. The rush of power she felt in this moment was intoxicating. With any luck, she'd break the human-loving bootlicker's spirit.


It felt like a million white-hot needles were stabbing into her horns, into her skull, and down her spine. Though she was normally able to hide weakness from the eyes of the enemy, this was a true, unavoidable weakness. From the first touch, most of Iris's strength had left. The scraping, digging, and burning brought nothing but screams of pain and begging for it to stop. Tears rolled from her eyes to sting the cuts on her face. "P-Please...please! Stop....Stop it...AAGH!"

Iris could barely swat at the hands torturing her, and with her head being controlled, she couldn't even look up to try and identify her attacker. Her mind raced for a way out, but she had none. All she had was pain and the glimpse of red hair. A woman with red hair had her by the horns. The woman had everything. Iris knew her life was in this cloaked person's hands, yet all she could do was writhe and sob. All her ice attacks were melted immediately, and right now she didn't even have the strength to try and push onto the legs curled uselessly beneath her. Her only chance was that her screams were loud enough to draw someone to her aid.

[wc: 1166 || total: 6293]

Though she'd never admit it aloud, Rowan surprised her. Orchid had heard him approaching but, perhaps due to her own prejudices, she underestimated the speed a human could move and thought she had more time than she did. The shot rang out and pierced through her shoulder, knocking her a step or two back and, thankfully, causing her to release Iris's horns from her hands.

It was hard to keep any sound from leaving her lips. Orchid was a talker, a taunter, and definitely a screamer when she was mad or hurt and currently, she was both, but... she could do none of that here. Father would be very angry if he knew she'd taken some extra liberties that might put things at stake, and Orchid knew better than to anger that man. As the soldier followed up his shot with his sword, it proved to put more distance between herself and her sister as she narrowly dodged it. Pausing only long enough to get a very good look at his face and make a threatening gesture, Orchid had no choice but to turn and run. Ultimately her little outing had been successful, regardless of what happened to those stupid pawns of hers, though she figured they were all dead or captured by now. The time would come when she'd come for revenge on this filthy human man who dared shoot her, hopefully at the same time her sister met the consequences for her actions.


As soon as the claws were off of her horns, Iris doubled over and pressed her palms to them as if that would soothe the stabbing pain lighting up her nerves. Initially, she had no idea why she was released or that Rowan was there, but once he closed the distance and she managed to peek up at what was happening, she was both overjoyed and embarrassed. But the leader was trying to escape, so the least she could do would be to catch her and redeem herself a little.

Iris hastily swiped out her hand to bring up a pillar of ice meant to encase the cloaked woman, but her aim was off as she struggled to focus. It caught the woman's left arm, but only for a second. Steam promptly rose and the arm pulled free with ease like a hot knife through butter, though a piece of her cloak tore and remained. Just like that, her attacker disappeared into the shade of the trees, and with a red flash, even her footsteps were gone.

"I missed..." Iris said softly, her tone hiding the vicious berating she was mentally giving herself for the whole thing. Though tears were still fresh on her cheeks and the bedraggled woman looked like she could burst into tears again at any moment, she wiped some blood from her nose and slowly shifted on her knees to face Rowan properly. She then bowed deeply. "Thank you, Commander. Please accept my apologies for all the trouble I've caused."

[wc: 500 || total: 7382/4000]

Rowan might be quiet and aloof, but he really was a kind man. Right now, he felt too kind. Iris was always hard on herself, and this was no exception. She'd messed up and even though she'd paid for it, she felt like she hadn't paid for it enough. "Thanks," she said quietly as the pain started to let up, allowing her to find some strength in her legs again to walk with him, though she still had to lean a good bit.

When Rowan paused and gave his order, she turned her eyes to meet his steely ones, listening very carefully with wide, watery orbs. The commander probably had no idea just how badly she wished she knew who this was so she could be helpful and have at least gained something from this failure. "I don't know who it is," she immediately answered, compelled by his authoritative tone before she could even think. Something about it made her heart race. What she'd said was the truth, but there was a little more to it as she thought about it more. It was just a bit of a sore spot, literally. "It's just...it has to be someone I've known in the past. It's hard to imagine a complete stranger could just so confidently guess that...my horns are so sensitive. It's not a common thing for demonata, nor do I broadcast it since it's such a big weakness. All I have is red hair and that knowledge... but I knew a lot of redheads growing up, so it's not that helpful," Iris babbled nervously, though she didn't even consider the one person it was most likely to be because that was an impossibility.

Holding out her hand, she summoned back the chunk of ice that had a piece of the black cloak through the trees and into her palm. "And this. Maybe I can track down where the cloak was made. I don't see what an Eldritch would gain from inciting a bunch of humans against the church, though..."

[wc: 339 || total: 8015/4000]

"Hm, maybe," Iris agreed with a distracted nod, growing stronger as they walked back toward the church site. By the time they neared and could hear that the conflict was officially over, she didn't have to lean on him much. The demonata's mind was whirling with names and faces of people she hadn't thought about in years, running down names and filtering through possibilities. As much as she got wrapped up in her own thoughts, this would torment her for days, if not weeks. The silence that fell over her was a clear indication that her brain was filled to the brim.

Slipping her arm from around his shoulders, the bluette wobbled only a second before she regained her balance. Reaching up, she gently rubbed at the blood on her face with her hands. "I'll get right on the list, commander. Thank you, and excuse me," she told him in a preoccupied tone, altering course to the best place to find a pen and paper. With all her focus on the incident and finding the person responsible, her tunnel vision got the best of her. She didn't care much for getting patched up. Maybe after she'd exhausted her memory for names she would wash her face and find some numbing gel on her horns until the scratches healed, but business first.

Business and getting herself alone so Rowan wouldn't see her freak out. For a moment there, she really thought she would meet the same fate as her mother, dead by an unknown attacker. She'd been so scared that her insides were still trembling.

[wc: 264 || total: 8553]

Iris ended up pouring over pages of people from her past for hours afterward until she was good and exhausted, taking only the shortest break to tend her wounds and gingerly wrap her horns. She thought that working herself down like this, keeping busy with a somewhat productive task, would take up all the time she could have spent worrying and would have her immediately falling asleep. But no, the exhaustion only gave her a headache and bellyache, and still she remained too mentally wired to sleep.

Checking the list again and again, she was pretty sure she had listed every redheaded eldritch she'd grown up with... except one. And the reason she didn't list her wasn't that she was protecting her. It was because it was Orchid, her sister, and to Iris, it wasn't even a possibility that she could do such a thing.

[wc: 145 || total: 9019 || 4000/4000 for event, 5000/5000 for Initiate quest, 19 words excess]