Posts by WEI !

Wei just couldn't wait to get explorations rolling, itching to run off on her own and visit every corner of this island before they returned to their home base. Yet she would stay put for now, a bit of a disappointment for the part of her that chimed for immediate adventure. She had to take the crew with her, too, and their allies if they showed up. Of course, more people led to more fun, but exploring alone could be fun, too. Maybe she'd get to that later, if there was a segment of the island they chose to skip over. With Wei setting up this little trip, it was honestly unlikely that there would be a single rock or leaf left unturned, but perhaps it wouldn't prove to be as exciting as she hoped it would be and she'd leave some areas alone. Oh, who was she kidding? She'd love this!

It was late morning, the sun dimmed behind blankets of frosty clouds, though it wasn't severely cold for once. Better than their home island, at least. The feline stood right beyond the rocky shores and outcrops they had docked near, gaze always drifting to the impressive ship idling in the calm waters, something she thought was always an impressive sight to behold no matter how many times she saw or sailed upon it. But she didn't have time for wistful gazing right now. She instead turned to make sure that everything she brought was still there: she had set out a large picnic blanket with a few baskets of food, bread, fruits, meats and other staples laid out along with a few desserts she managed to find. A few bottles of alcoholic drinks she couldn't quite identify pronounce the names of laid nearby for those who preferred that sort of thing. The crew would probably get hungry, after all. Next to the blanket was a wide circle marked by a border of stones, empty for now. She planned to pick up some firewood along the way for a bonfire, if possible, since Xylia had mentioned the possibility of that. It'd be a good way to warm up after the whole exploration ordeal, especially since the day would only get colder with the darkening of the sky.

The little femme nodded to herself, taking a few minutes to rehearse her words before calling out, "Hey, Isleites! We have exploring to do today, so come on over here! There's some food and stuff for before we set out, so, uh, grab it while you have the chance!" That was all she needed to say for now, right? One paw nudging the grumpy giant salamander away from her own petite black backpack she planned to take with her, she glanced out towards the sea and sky, awaiting the arrival of her allies and fellow Isleites.

They had a ton of boats here! Wei couldn't help but to gaze out at the docks as she waited along the coast, dark eyes glittering with childish interest as she tried to count how many they had prepared. It wasn't an easy task from a distance, though, and she was simply left to wonder how many little ships were in that fleet. What was that for? Well, water travel, obviously, but did they sail out on exploration trips like the Black Isle, too? Or were those for wars and... what where they called again... naval battles? Did all the other groups secretly have an army of boats ready to set out for attack?

She was tempted to sneak over and check them out for herself, but she had to remind herself of the reason she was here, a huff of frustration and disappointment leaving her maws. Oh well. She'd eventually get to investigating them, even if it was going to be in a method left unknown to the residents of the Rift. She was supposed to be the head of espionage, after all; shouldn't she be good at spying and sneaking around? Well, now she was going off-topic again. "Uh, hey! I- the Black Isle would like to invite you all to an exploration party! And... I have another invitation, uh, no, a question!" She couldn't help blurting out the first bit of information without waiting for someone to arrive first, but she stopped herself from calling out when she got to the second, the little feline tapping her paws as she waited for someone to approach her. Hopefully they'd hurry up. She was quite excited for what she was about to propose, after all.

// link to the exploration party !

Wei was caught off guard by the call, dread immediately settling into her stomach as she heard Xylia asking to speak with her. What had she done wrong? Was she going to get demoted? Was she too inactive around the crew? Did something else terrible happen? As her mind could run wild with merry, childish imagination, it could also run wild with worries, and it did just that right now, the feline doing her best to swallow the rising lump in her throat. No, she didn't do anything wrong. It was fine. Xylia just wanted to speak with her for... some other reason that her imagination refused to come up with right now. Dammit. Surely she'd be fine. Maybe she'd even get praised for something!

Still, she couldn't help but to let nervousness waver in her voice, a light smile cracking across her maws as she approached the ferret, paws absentmindedly fidgeting with the frayed ends of her scarf. "Y-yes? Uh, what is it?" She'd be fine, right? This was a good thing. Not a bad thing.

bump!

"Hi!... oh. Okay." At Ridgewhiskey's approach and her own greeting, her smile grew, though it faltered in the slightest once he mentioned that he didn't have the authority to accept such an invite. Oh well. Hopefully someone who could would arrive soon. But then again, if he couldn't accept the invitation to the exploration party, then what would he do about the second one she was to deliver? He wouldn't be able to accept that, too, right? The little femme had hesitantly opened her maws again, ready to give the second announcement anyways since an awkward silence wasn't what she wanted, pausing as Frostbite then approached.

Alright, she could accept it, and she did! There, that was over and done with! At least she now knew that she had a chance at seeing a Rifter or two at the exploration party, also spared from the awkwardness of proposing a second invite after the first was rejected. Well, time to get to the point. "We were wondering if the Rift would like to, uh, engage in a prank war against the Black Isle... yeah! Would you?" She offered up a wider grin, imagination already running wild with possibilities in the short span of time between questions and answers. She'd never played a prank on someone before, but she had always wanted to, and if they accepted... why, there was no limit to the fun that could be had!

Weekly tasks! Those were fun, definitely! The petite feline scrambled over as soon as she heard the call, humming a light tune as she skidded to a stop and pretended her particularly grumpy pet didn't exist at the moment. What would she be handed out this time? Well, why would she even bother to let her train of thoughts derail along that path when she could literally just ask? That was the whole purpose of her being here. "One for me, please...! Hey, at least she was getting a little more used to speaking up without hesitation, something the teen secretly took quite a bit of pride in before becoming embarrassed over herself. That wasn't even that great of an achievement. It was kinda pathetic, really, to be celebrating something as trivial as not stuttering... well, that moment of gratification was nice while it lasted.

Okay, so she wasn't getting fired. Though her heart continued to drum through her chest, she felt a wave of relief wash over her panicked thoughts, a more relaxed smile settling onto her maws as she listened. That relaxation quickly morphed into excitement as Xylia continued on, though. She was going to scout out possible enemies! Well, she was already supposed to be doing that, but that wasn't the point! This was her first job as the Ace of Espionage, her first big adventure as her leader called it! She could already feel gleeful anticipation swelling up within her, her pure elation reflected in her wide, glittering eyes and peppy tone as she spoke up. "Y-yes! I'll do that! I'll spy on the best options and lead the best raid on them, I promise!" She already appeared childish enough, but with her mannerisms now... if the topic at hand wasn't about espionage and fighting, she could've easily been mistaken for a sugar-high toddler.

Paws shifting, she continued on, gaze darting about as her thoughts did. "W-we have to go for smaller groups, right? Um, because we're a small group... even though I want to fight bigger wars... but... uh, I-I'll go visit some places with gifts! Yeah, that's good! I'll see, uh, how many people show up! And I'll see a bit of their territory, no, I'll sneak in and then go back to the border and then give gifts! And then I'll pick... the best option! I-Is that a good idea? Um, well, thank you for the, er, opportunity, Xyl!" Definitely a sugar-high toddler at this point, one with rather big dreams for her future.

It seemed like the pirate queen was the first to arrive. Well, that made sense, considering she was the leader of the crew and the one to assign this task to Wei. At the question, her grin grew, hiding the little spark of panic that flared up in her mind. Oh. Right. Where would she start? She hadn't even thought of that yet, not in the slightest; she could manage to dream up all the possibilities of legendary situations and wondrous places that could be encountered, yet she didn't even give a moment of thought as to how she would go about accomplishing such gleeful dreams. Whoops. Well, if she gave a vague answer... "Uh, I... I have a few ideas, but I'm open to suggestions, yeah! Very open to suggestions!" She could just make up a route on the spot if Xylia pressed further, right? Then again, she wasn't that great of a liar, a fact fairly evident in the improvisation she had just stumbled over. Hopefully it would suffice. Fingers, er, toes crossed. If she could even do that. Now was not the time to test that, though.

Her ears perked at the sound of the ferret's stomach rumbling, and though it elicited a whine from Bao, Wei couldn't help but to giggle. "If you're hungry, you should really go ahead and eat, Xyl!" While speaking of the food, she slid herself a plain pastry, breaking off a piece and munching on it while holding back snickers from. Hey, if she found all of it, she should get to eat it, right? That reminded her- she hadn't cooked or baked anything in a short while. The femme made a quick mental note to get to that once they returned to the home island, especially since a warm, fruity pie and some hot tea sounded like a wonderful idea right about now. For now, though, she was tasked with exploring, but that was equally exciting, if not more.

Wei was in for a good week, really. A prank war with the Rift, her first mission as the Ace of Espionage, the gaps in her day filled with her usual antics... her waking hours couldn't get any better, really, nor could they get any longer. She was spending less time asleep and more time out and about now that there was no one to impose a curfew on her, a change in her lifestyle that she thought she quite liked. She was barely tired, even. Nothing could convince her to waste time in bed or cooped up in a little building now that she had (almost) total freedom, places to see, jobs to complete, and, of course, dreams to let her imagination run wild over. Could it get any better than this? Well, of course it could, her mind chimed in with endless fantastical possibilities, but this new life of hers was already pretty great.

Despite all that, the femme was quite annoyed right now. She was out exploring as she always loved to do, having docked her little boat on some unknown shore as she trudged along into a snow-blanketed forest, a striped scarf hugging her petite form as she held back shivers. The weather was getting colder, sure, but that wasn't even close to being the source of her irritation. The source of her irritation was Bao, because for some apparent reason, she had made the decision to bring her amphibian companion along with her on one of her daily expeditions. Terrible idea. The giant salamander had nearly tipped her boat over several times, was grumbling nonstop, ate the only snacks she had bothered to bring, tried to jump out of the boat, knocked her face first into a tree... he was really quite a handful. Why did she even bother taking him along with her? Why had she thought that her pet needed some good exercise, that exercise apparently being an activity she was supposed to enjoy?

Well, whatever her reasons had been, it didn't matter, as she was now stuck in a nameless place with an irritating, childish five-foot-long salamander that honestly wasn't afraid to murder someone for food. The two could be heard bickering as they slowly advanced through the forested terrain, Bao barking and eerily whining like an infant as the tiny feline responded with coherent, frustrated answers, quite the amusing duo for someone else to see. Not for Wei, though. Not at all.

// ASTRALPLANE  

Her expression lit up with further childish glee as Archi approached and gave her enthusiastic approval, gaze also darting to Frostbite for a moment as she stated she would participate. Yes! Perfect! This was perfect! She would've been so disappointed if they had declined, but she didn't have to worry about that possibility anymore, no! They could get this prank war rolling! When, Archi had asked, would it start? "It starts right here, right now! Hope you're ready to lose!" No need for delay, nope! How would they decide the winner, though? Did this even need a winner? It was all fun and games, after all. Still, if there would be a definite winner, she wanted to be that winner. Nobody liked losing.

Wei was tempted to start with a prank right here, right now as she had stated, but she had forgotten to prepare anything simple to bring with her. Ugh. Oh well. She'd definitely be back soon enough. But just in case one of the others present had conjuration powers stronger than her own and could summon up, say, a cream pie or a trap... the little femme backed away a few steps, ready to leave, but she still lingered around with one last question. "Um, is that it? Do you have any questions or anything?" Just in case if they wanted to set an end date or something else pertaining to the prank war. She definitely needed to stick around for that, as eager as she was to run off and get started already (and avoid any possible impromptu pranks - becoming the first victim was not her idea of a good start).

Gah, she still needed to step up her activity around here. Oh well. She'd make it happen, she promised to herself as she trotted over for the meeting, electing to leave Bao on his own somewhere else so he wouldn't pester her during the announcements. A good choice, really. Ears perked, she silently listened to the news given, shifting in her stance as though she were waiting in anticipation for everything to come, taking note of all the events they were invited to and hoping she'd remember to attend them. Christmas was right around the corner, so that meant a lot of parties and such were cropping up, she guessed, which certainly wasn't a bad thing, no. It was the exact opposite; Wei had never celebrated Christmas and was excited to finally participate in the decorating and the feasts and all the other traditions it bore. She'd definitely be happy to attend the Christmas party taking place in the Black Isle once it was hosted.

There was one thing that wasn't mentioned, though... it was her fault for not announcing it herself earlier. Should she speak up? It seemed rude to call out, even if the leader was done talking... ugh, who cared if it was rude or not?! "Um, a-all noted!... and..." Dammit, couldn't she just speak up and get it over with? This wasn't even that big of a deal. "... uh, the Rift has accepted our invitation for the prank war, too! So, yeah... that's starting! Um, sorry." One more word and she'd physically slap herself rather than mentally, so she fell silent after that, a nervous little nod and smile following her words.

The Cartel? That was where the monkey with the weapons came from, right? Did they have more for sale this time? Wei eagerly bounded over with a smile as she picked up bits of the words from the others present, skidding to a stop behind her fellow Isleites to peer at the stranger and listen along. Well, it wasn't the same guy as last time. And he didn't have any weapons with him... aw. Still, he was from the Cartel, and from what she heard, he wanted some sort of partnership between the two groups. She was up for that! That meant they'd get more supplies and help and stuff, right? Something like business partners, she guessed, since the Cartel seemed to be invested in trade and business from what she knew. She was tempted to chime in with a hello, but seeing as it wasn't necessary and would be a distraction (and since it still took her a few moments to muster up the confidence for randomly butting in), she remained silent, giving a friendly glance and a nod in greeting instead.

When Wei had first seen the polar bear from afar, she had been unable to identify it as Xylia, fur prickling on end as the first idea that came to mind was a hostile attack. Who could blame her, really? It was a stranger, possibly not even a sentient creature, a predator prowling the snows of her home land. She was always up for a fight, anyways, so upon the camouflaged sight of the beast, excitement had sent her heart drumming through her chest, and she was just about ready to conjure up a dagger when she saw the sickly Ashina approaching the polar bear. She was just... talking to it? Did she know this individual? Curiosity rising above her childish belligerence, she put off summoning a weapon, instead wandering over with a glint of intrigue in her dark eyes, ears tilting forward to catch onto the words that were spoken as she approached.

Wait... wait. This was Xylia?... ... how?! How did a ferret even tinier than her manage to shapeshift into a hulking polar bear? How?! She wanted to do that! Being a bear or a tiger or a dragon or anything better than a petite little cat would be awesome! She'd actually look like a warrior or a dangerous fighter or a hero or a ninja instead of a lost kid! Huffing in both frustration and amazement, she gazed up at Xylia- no, Zye (she even got a cool new name to go with her new body?), tone light with her childish mix of emotions. "How do you do that? I wish I could switch bodies like that!" Of course, jealousy was quick to enter the mix, and her voice and expression were laced with underlying envy, gaze sharper as she continued on. "Ei, how did you do it... Zye? I want to know! Please!"

Wei didn't really know where to start with her task. She'd never done anything like it before, really, and though she knew what Christmas ornaments and decorations looked like, she certainly didn't know how to make them. She was still definitely excited, though, as her family tended to not celebrate this holiday, making it the first time she would be joining in on all the activities and traditions of this time of the year. It was up to her to take a lucky guess and hope that she picked out the right materials. She scavenged along the treasure caverns and every corner of the island that could possibly hold something of use, asking NPCs for minor assistance, her duffel bags hovering right behind her as she collected everything she thought would be useful. Eventually, she had filled them up with craft materials, and she decided that would be enough, sitting just beyond the coast where their main ship was docked.

She had taken a few trips back and forth to bring and organize all the supplies she collected. Boxes were neatly laid out, holding undecorated baubles, glitter, glue, colored tissue paper, stickers, ribbons, those little chains the ornaments hung by, garlands, streamers, and a string or two of lights that probably wouldn't work but were still shiny and festively colored. She would definitely have to thank the NPCs that helped her find all this later. The femme had considered uprooting a pine tree or two to take as Christmas trees atop the ship, but as much as she would have loved the idea, it would've probably tipped over during sailing, and that would've been nothing more than a disaster and a disappointment. Oh well.

"Come over for some decoration crafting, everyone! We gotta make enough decorations to cover the whole ship!" She hoped they'd be able to accomplish that. Settling down after calling out, she picked out an empty bauble, rounding up some glue and red glitter to start off with while she waited.

//something to keep track of the threads would be good, yeah!

Alright! No questions! Wei gave a quick, eager nod in response to the other's shake of the head, trotting away and calling out as she began to exit. "Okay, it's on! I'll see you soon!" Yeah, the Rift would be seeing her again real soon. Giggling to herself, she then took her leave, scampering off into the distance to return home and scheme.

Here she was, her first mission as the Ace of Espionage! Wei was indefinitely excited for this task, much too eager to find the ideal group for the Black Isle to raid, though she couldn't start right away; most of the only groups she knew of were their allies, and those certainly wouldn't do. So she had asked around, asking her fellow Isleites about other groups and their locations, taking in both rumors and instructions before she set out to look for a few certain clans. The District was one of them, said to be located in a school from what she had heard, though the NPC that gave her that information didn't offer up anything else useful. After trekking through various forests and fields (they swore it was 'somewhere green'), she had picked up a strange scent, one that could only belong to an entire group. And so, she snuck into their territory, stalking amongst the trees for a good hour or so and trying to find the location of the buildings, eventually catching a glimpse of the rooftops before she scuttled back to the border. Alright, she was correct. This was the District.

Eliminating her own scent the way her father had taught her to (as much as she childishly loathed him, it was a useful trick), she stood at the border, the smell of freshly baked goods wafting out from the wicker basket by her paws as she stopped concealing only the scent of the snacks she brought. Her plan was to simply present herself as a merry soul of the holidays, bringing a variety of cookies she had baked as gifts to the group with the intention of chatting, cheering others up, and even helping out with tasks around their clan. It was a pretty good plan, if you asked her. Hopefully they would allow her to help out with work; that way, she could get a better look inside their camp, and perhaps find a good stock of supplies to raid. A wide smile on her maws, the little femme finally called out, "Hello! I'm visiting to bring some cookies and wish you all a wonderful week! I'd love to help with any jobs you have, too! Happy holidays!" She'd start talking more when someone showed up, she figured.

// wei will state this later, but if you want her to help out w/ something here, just tag her in the thread for it and she'll show up!

She was exhausted from trekking along those mountains. Sure, she kept to the area around the bases of them, but she had to wind through the forests and craggy elevations, and it left her almost breathless as she finally made it just beyond the border. Or at the border. Somewhere near the border. Despite her fatigue from climbing, Wei still had plenty of energy left in her, a wide smile on her maws and an eager glitter in her dark eyes as she took a seat on the ground. This was another one of the groups she had gotten bits of vague information about from her fellow Isleites. They didn't know the name of the place, but they pointed her in the direction of the mountain ranges, and that was all the information she needed to get to their territory. She would be gathering more information soon, anyways; her assignment required ample information on groups she thought could be suitable for a raid, and she was here to collect exactly that, though she didn't start sneaking around their territory just yet. That could wait. Totally wasn't because her paws hurt. Nope.

Though she masked her own scent of the Black Isle, she allowed the smell of the cookies in the basket she had brought along to waft out, her little paws lifting the napkin off of the iced treats. Same plan- introduce herself as a friendly wanderer, offer the cookies as gifts, chat to get basic information, see how many people showed up to record the numbers, and offer her help for any work they had within the clan. If lucky, all her offers would be accepted, and she was left to hope. "Hello! I'm here to give you all a little gift and wish you an early Merry Christmas!" Should she add in her offers of help yet? Nah, she'd wait for someone to show up first this time.

// wei will speak of this later, but you can tag her in any thread and she'll show up to help / participate!

Wei had been heading back from her scouting for groups to gather information on and possibly raid, the young teen a little too eager for this task, though she stopped when she caught onto a strange scent, the kind of scent bore by clans and not simply individuals. Of course, she just had to stop by and see if her instincts were right. Sure, her paws hurt more than they ever had and her limbs ached with every shift and moment, but she still had plenty of enthusiasm left to spend, so here she was. Besides, at least she knew she was getting some good exercise from how much she had trekked. As the little femme arrived at what she believed to be the border, she was tempted to venture in further, though she stopped herself from trespassing just yet. She could tell it was a clan, but she definitely didn't know which one it was. It wasn't an ally, at least she knew that; she was familiar with their of their territories and scents. Were they an enemy? Did the Black Isle have enemies? She should probably know this, considering she was the Ace of Espionage, but she didn't. Oh well.

It wouldn't matter, anyways. As soon as she stopped at the border, she erased her own scent, going with the impersonation of a loner as she had done with other groups. The only scent about her was the smell of the cookies she had in the little wicker basket with her, one sugary batch left inside. That last batch had been doubling as an extra and one for herself if it wasn't gifted, and though she hoped for the second option, she'd have to give them away now. A bit of a shame, but getting to be a disguised spy was definitely worth a dozen and a half cookies, anyways. Clearing her throat a bit, the little femme finally called out, "Hello, hello! I have homemade cookies as a gift to all of you as early Christmas presents! And an offer of help, if you need any!" Same lines. It was thrilling, really, just knowing that she was only pretending to be a friendly wanderer. She loved this job already.

//wei'll probably say more about this later, but you can tag her in any thread here and she'll show up to help / participate !