"She is." He nodded firmly then turned to the other being. "Pardon my rudeness, may I know your name?"
Tiak nodded, satisfied.
“My name is Tiak. For your information, grounder,” Tiak turns to Arianna, growling and spitting the word out like an insult. “What’s wrong with being related to snakes? Or having fangs? How else am I supposed to protect myself against stupid males? I should bite you right now and then you won’t be able to insult me anymore.” Tiak took a threatening step forward, the venom glands above her teeth swelling and creating a visible bulge in her upper lip.
Cinthia rolled her blue and green eyes at Arianna's comment. Sounds like something Tess would say.
"I can assure you Arianna, I am very real." He took her hand. "See, real. There's nothing unreal about me."
He didn't like lying, but his identity had to remain hidden for the sake of others. He pushed his 'bleached' white hair out of his eyes and sighed. "Miss Tiak, we don't threaten people. It's not nice."
“Don’t worry, I don’t have to threaten.” Tiak opened her mouth and spit her venom out, spraying it on Arianna. As soon as it gets into her blood stream, it will completely paralyze her, leaving her alive but unable to move, speak or blink for the next 20 or so minutes. The venom will take effect in about 30 seconds.
Cinthia stopped twirling the dagger, gripping it in her hand as she debated whether or not she should interfere. I could always just heal her. She settled back against the tree. Let's just see where this goes. For now.
The girl slowly rose to her knees.
"Wh-why…" She started to cry.
Amalis's eyes widened. "How could you do that?? She's just a human! She's done nothing wrong."
Nothing in his powers allowed him to prevent paralysis, and he also felt like he had betrayed Arianna's trust by saying Tiak could be trusted.
"What are Mother and Father going to say? I'm not right in the head." Morty's hand felt VERY real. And then Tiak's saliva also felt real. Ewww. Suddenly, Arianna fell back onto the ground, unable to speak. She mentally was screaming
The girl slowly reached for her case. Hugging it to her chest, she cried harder.
Cinthia's eyes flicked between the paralyzed girl and the crying girl, then the snake creature that called itself Tiak, then the male. Stars… this is getting out of hand. She mentally groaned. And I came here to get away from out of hand.
Slowly standing up, the girl looked into the trees.
Someone is here. She thought.
Cinthia stared at the girl, weaving her illusion even tighter around herself. I'm not here.
Tiak looked at Arianna, horror slowly dawning in her bright red eyes as she realized what she had just done.
“Why? Why do I do that? First Gao, then Rok, now a grounder?” Tiak backed away slowly from Arianna.
The girl closed her eyes, sensing the life forces of all those around her.
There, in the trees.
Cinthia sighed and hopped off the branch, illusion skittering away into nothing. "Okay, I think this has gone far enough." She pointed at Tiak with a stern expression as she approached the trio, ignoring the mass of black curls invading her face thanks to the light breeze. "Apologize."
The girl followed behind, not sure as to if these beings were friend or foe.
Tiak looked at Cinthia, nodding sorrowfully.
“I’m sorry. I spit venom impulsively. It will wear off in twenty minutes, maybe a little more depending on how much got into your bloodstream.” She crouched by Arianna, beginning to lick her arms to speed up the process of wearing off.
The girl stood there, unsure of what was happening.
Cinthia sighed and crouched next to Arianna, sketching a symbol in the air just above her chest. It was a healing spell, and it could cure just about any ailment–including paralysis. Once done, she sat back on her haunches and waited for Arianna to get back up.
Tiak ignored the scent of the new girl, continuing to help Arianna.
"Could someone please tell me where I am?" She was hoping one of these people were dimensional beings and could tell her where she had ended up.
"I honestly don't know. I just jumped to a random realm and a random world to get away from everyone." She tilted her head up at the sky. "But there are quite a few realms I could scratch off the list of possibilities."
Amalis stood back, watching everything unfold. "This is why I do not meddle in earth affairs.." he mumbled to himself, pulling his cardigan tightly around him. He wasn't used to so many new people. One or two he could handle, but four was a crowd, and with another one just watching from the distance, five was definitely too many.
"Yes, that is for certain. I am Hinata Hayashi, Keeper of Balance." The girl had composed herself. There was no room for weakness with her job.
"What was that for!"Arianna exploded. Her head hurt terribly. She stood up too fast, and had to sit down again. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and very slowly stood. "What do you mean, 'realms'? Earth is the only I've ever known."
"Cinthia. Princess of the Universe and the gods…" She muttered the last part uncomfortably. To Arianna, she said, "Earth is only a single world within a realm."
Hinata reached down to help Arianna.
"Oh sweety, there is so much to learn, in so little time."
Hinata looked at Cinthia.
"I see. Tell me, have you much interactions with people of equal power to the gods?"
Amalis turned away from everyone, a weak smile on his lips as he willed himself to become invisible. He wasn't needed for the time being, but he would show again when someone, anyone, wanted his company. But for the time being he was content just observing the other people around him.
She tilted her head. "Well… I interact with gods and demigods all the time. And there are different power levels to the gods. Six, to be exact." Then she ticked off some others. "I've run into quite a few demons who could be considered equal in power. Nightwalkers, Hellhounds, some Fae… I think that's it."
