Starting out her life as a small Kitten, Moxie was raised as a Cadouri by Saoire. She truly loves and cares for her mother, but despite this, she was clearly different from the other Cadouri around her. She didn't care much for social events or parties, nor did she want to make excuses to listen to music. Learning an instrument never seemed fun to her and working closely with others was boring. Other people were incompetent and loud, they made weird noises like laughter and they snorted at jokes like animals. But she loved them. They were annoying and they were noisy and many of them were smelly, but they were her people. So she had some pride in that.
Very little happened during her time with Saoire, aside from sarcastic remarks and plenty of eye rolling. But upon arriving to Idalos, she was admittedly excited, much to the amusement of Saoire. Seeing the usually glaring eyes light up at the excitement was a moment that stuck with any Cadouri that was there to witness it. However, the excitement was different than many of the others. While they saw an opportunity to spread joy, a party or happiness - she saw a huge world with PLENTY of empty places she could mind her own business and be moody in peace. Alongside that beauty, however, was the darker side of Idalos. Evil to be fought, monsters to battle, bandits to take down. All the things she had heard about in stories, the villains that had to be taken care of! The battles and badassery she could get up to without her mom nagging her all the time. Besides, packed in her bag was a stuffed Rabbit to remind her of Saoire, a gift from the Immortal.
She quickly made her way off alone, prowling the town and climbing along the roofs, scouting out her surroundings. Arriving in the night meant that she had a perfect view of the moon in the sky, her black fur glimmering in the night. There was something gorgeous about the darkness, so she spent the entire night with her eyes wide open, watching the city and listening to the calm waves. Her eyes watched the moon shining in the waves and she carried on scaling random rooftops, not caring a little about anyone around but herself. Every time a fellow Cadouri would pass by she would smile a little, though only out of the corner of her mouth. All forms of animals, given sentience and brought to the world, carrying a smile that could melt even her cold heart. Many would wave at her, and often she would wave back for just a second before rolling her eyes and glancing away.
Deep down, however, she loved them - and she was happy for them all.
Eventually she found her home in Egilrun, working in a tavern as a side job. Often, fights would break out, as they typically would in bars. Thankfully, Moxie had always been scrappy and willing to fight - so when someone overstepped she could take care of it. This made her valuable to the owner, while she worked there, but very quickly she grew bored of the same dull process every day. After less than an Arc, she decided to travel with plans to come back later down the line. So with her home locked behind her, she started to travel, bringing only a pair of Bagh Nakhs to protect herself and some food for the road. Her stuffed rabbit, Nibbles, remained at home for the time being. Though she would never say it aloud, she couldn't risk him getting broken. She had no real destination, no goals or plans. Simply needed to be away from the world for a while.
Upon a boat, Moxie was surrounded by many people of various origin, all of which typically minded their own business. None of them interested her - until she met a smaller group, four men and two women, all of which seemed to be armed and kept to their circle. They seemed chiselled and strong, as if they had fought the many battles that Moxie intended on fighting when she had arrived in Idalos. They weren't just strong and cool...they were badass. Eventually, she mustered the will to talk to one of the women as she drunk, being offered a drink herself. It was enough to get her out of her shell, making her drunk very quickly and making her talkative, so her and the group she met quickly bonded.
After some time of sharing stories and the group learning more about Cadouri, and how Moxie is 'not like the other Cadouri', the group came forward with an idea - sharing their plan. They had heard of a city called Yaralon and wanted to hunt it down. The road was dangerous and only the strongest would make it alive, but achieving it would mean they could add to the many stories they had made together. If Moxie wanted, she could tag along, so long as she pulled her own weight. With no hesitation, she told them she was in.
As they travelled to Yaralon together she got to learn more about the group, meeting them all one by one. Randal was the ringleader, a confident and charismatic man. April was a swordswoman that claimed to be undefeated in duels among the group. Rose was a quieter soul, who kept to herself similarly to Moxie and seemed to have a strange aura of power around her - and the other three maintained distance until they could trust the girl more.
While the journey continued, April taught her how to fight better with her fist weapons while Rose and Randal seemed to watch from the sidelines - as if they were evaluating her. Moxie picked up some of the fighting techniques quickly, though she preferred to fight with her fists than any weapon. Perhaps it was due to her cat-like nature, or maybe it just felt more badass. Regardless, Moxie liked it. Throw some claw-weapons on and she could be just as dangerous as a bandit with a dagger. They taught her how to play cards, gave her drinks and elsewise treated her like a part of them now. Each of them had one goal, one shared objective - make it to Yaralon. Now, she shared that goal too.
As they got closer to the city the wildlife and surroundings became far more dangerous. Predators stalked and the group often had to stop to hunt. But the biggest threat came just a few Trials out from Yaralon. As the group was setting down to camp, a group of ten surrounded them. The sun was low in the sky and it was getting dark, Moxie looking around as men and women alike surrounded them. All of them had weapons drawn and the ringleader started taunting them, threatening to gut the men and take the women as trophies. Moxie looked around with a moment of fear, yet nobody in her group seemed to move - except for Rose. The soft-spoken woman stood up and looked around to the surrounding enemies.
"Please, walk away while you can."
Those words stuck with Moxie for the rest of her days. As the mercenary company approached them to attack, everything seemed to erupt. Men and women flew back in loud bursts of air, bolts of lightning burst from the hands of Rose, and an aura seemed to surround her - a glowing red. As the aura fluctuated stronger she pushed out her hand and a blast of seemingly nothing sent back each of the mercenaries one by one. Their swords raised from the floor and slaughtered them. Her eyes became a glowing mess of power and her hair shifted hues with each use of her powers. It was nothing Moxie had ever seen or heard of before. Each mercenary was killed and Rose stood among them and Moxie stood with her eyes wide and jaw dropped.
"That...was..."
The people around her worried she would panic, looking to her. But before they could calm her she clenched her first to her chest in awe.
"AMAZING!" she shouted, running to Rose in fascination, unable to wipe the smile from her face. Rose, usually one to keep to herself, let a wicked grin spread across her face.
"You're right...that was awesome." Rose replied and placed a hand on the Cadouri's shoulder.
"Welcome to the group, Kid."
Later that night, one camp was set up and the bodies had been thrown to a nearby river, Moxie and Rose were the only two awake. The girls talked and after some time of dancing around the question, Moxie asked what she had been wanting to since the fight. She wanted to learn, to be able to do what Rose did. The human woman explained the dangers of magic, how it didn't come without cost and how it was a hard thing to learn, but it never dissuaded Moxie. Rose couldn't help but smile at the naive yet moody girl. She saw herself, ten Arcs younger. Grouchy and angsty, but with a good heart and a need for thrill. So she agreed to initiate her into one of the two magics, the magic of Telekinesis or the bond with Elements. Moxie accepted, choosing the Telekinesis.
That night the two woke Randal, telling him of their plan and asking him to keep watch, as he did. They went to a place in the woods where she could go through her initiation in peace, knowing that Rosie would protect them should somebody sneak up. They cut their hands and exchanged the spark and her initiation begun, attempting to lift her Bagh Nakh's from the floor. Her mind raced and a migraine swarmed her head. But after some time her initiation was successful, avoiding the fate of becoming a Shattered.
Upon having her new spark, Moxie was immediately ready to learn, wanting to embrace her magic. She called for the Bagh Nakh's to come to her, watching as they sloppily launched in her general direction before landing in a patch of grass. But it didn't matter to her, making her grin with the same wicked look Rose had. The two girls hugged, collecting their belongings before returning to camp, seeing that all of the others were awake and had been informed of what was happening. April raised an eyebrow and expected a demonstration, so Moxie looked to Rose for approval, the woman nodding. She pushed her hand out and expelled a small blast of energy, enough to knock over a few of their supplies, and the group all cheered her on.
A few Trials later, with her new magic in tow, Moxie and the others arrived at Yaralon and accepted their silver circle. They had done it. After paying a tax at the gate the group agreed to go for drinks together. The next twenty trials were spent drinking, meeting other people of Yaralon and looking into various mercenary companies. All was going well. Until some Mercenaries showed up at a tavern one night, claiming that the group were sat at the wrong table, before turning their attention to Moxie. They called her a freak, claiming she looked like a beast and wondered why her friends would want an animal with them when they already had a dog, before shooting side-eye to Rose. The quiet mage grit her teeth, but before anything could escalate from her, Moxie rolled her eyes.
"It's okay" she reassured, before looking to the brutish man, seeing the patchy stubble on his face.
"I'd be upset if I saw a woman that could grow out a beard stronger that mine if I were you too" she hissed. Immediately, the man put his fist on the table, knocking a few of the drinks aside. The entire tavern was tense.
"Tough words. But words won't matter here. Action speaks. So how about you come outside and we sort ourselves out a duel. Last one standing...no. Last one breathing wins." he growled. Moxie glared his way, placing her hand on the table.
"Fine. Then we duel."
As they walked out of the tavern, Rose placed a hand on Moxie's shoulder. She expressed her worry, saying it wasn't too late to back down, that they could apologize and hope he would back down. But the Cadouri refused. This was her chance, to show Rose that she could be badass too, and to protect her friends from the insults of a thug. The duel was far from typical of Yari, however, as the group had no idea what the rules were and the thug that challenged Moxie didn't want anybody to watch it. This was no duel. This was a murder attempt.
As soon as the duel begun, Moxie used a blast of Sovereign to knock the attacker back, before clawing at his shoulder with her Bagh Nakh's. There was a deep laceration left in his shoulder, before another blast of Sovereign magic sent him to the floor. She scratched along his cheek in a relentless blow, not holding back for even a moment. This was her chance, her moment. Another cut, then another, the man barely able to stand.
"Stop it! I yield!" the man called out in desperation, covered in blood on the floor.
"Please, have mercy on me, please!
Moxie paused for a moment. Her heart skipped a beat. Was she about to kill the man despite his begging, over an insult? She wanted her friends to see her for who she was. But was killing a man that surrendered really her? Was that the Cadouri that Saoire had raised? She lowered her hand down, looking at the man for a moment.
"You never look at me or my friends again. Never." she growled, the man nodding on his knees. The girl turned around and looked to Rose and her all of her friends. She'd done it.
"Moxie!" she heard as Rose's face dropped.
The man was thrown back with a burst of Sovereign, slamming into a wall with enough force to knock him out cold and shatter bones. But as the Cadouri looked down, his sword had already pierced through, going from her back and exiting through her stomach. Rose ran over immediately and other Yari began to gather, seeing the commotion. Those that had witnessed the man's cowardice and backstabbing were disgusted as all watched Moxie drop to her knees, blade still lodged in her, having pierced some of her organs. Rose looked at her with tears in her eyes and the rest of the group came over immediately.
"Hold on, kid. I've got you".
They were the last words she heard, before she finally awoke. What was this place? Strangers stood around her, but one face stood out. Saoire.
"Mom?..." Moxie asked, looking at the teary-eyes Immortal. The two embraced for a moment as Saoire came over.
"My baby girl" the Immortal whispered softly.
"Where am I?" the confused Cadouri asked, before Saorie explained it all. She had died from her injury, her body falling. As of now her friends were making plans to take her body to Scalvoris, having heard her talk of it before. Now she had a choice. To pass on, to die in peace. Or to refuse, to let her soul remain, but to risk losing what she was. To become something different.
Moxie looked to her mom and knew what she wanted the girl to answer. Whatever happened if she refused her afterlife was not pleasant. Death was perhaps a mercy. Yet Moxie couldn't. Not yet. She had more to do, more to see. Whatever the other option was, she knew she had to take it. Saoire couldn't help but smile when the Cadouri admitted that. She knew, deep down, what Moxie would pick. So Moxie made her choice after her judgement, refusing to pass on in peace with Vri. As one final gesture, Saoire knelt down and kissed her forehead, before the two locked eyes.
"Don't give up, Moxie. Not now. Not ever."
Next thing she knew, she was an Echo, a ghost of herself. Still visually the same, but still in the strange place that was the Beneath - and she was alone. The words of her mom and her friends echoed through her head. She had truly died. This wasn't some strange dream, nor a side effect of her new magic. It was her 'life'. This was what she had wanted, was it not? Isolation, to be by herself in a big world. Yet she missed others. Perhaps she had been mistaken. She wasn't planning on changing for anyone, they would still have to deal with her eyerolls and sass. But she wanted somebody to be there to deal with her. She didn't want to be alone.
After some time as an echos he was met with a phantom. A biqaj male, it seemed, from his appearance. Another ghost. For a moment, it seemed he approached with the intent to harm. Perhaps ghosts could kill one another? She didn't know, truthfully. But as she looked up with her eyes and small form, the man had a change of heart. The phantom did not syphon her. Instead, he left. Spared her.
Time went by and Moxie realized she could do things, things she couldn't as a human. She had found a barrier in her new world, and tried to pass through it. It didn't work at first. But she stayed at the border, following it along for some time, before a feeling in her gut told her to stop. Was this it? What was on the other side of this barrier? Could it be a way out? She pushed against it despite all the resistance, pushing with all the might and determination she had. She had to get home, she had to return. For her friends. For Saoire.
It worked, and she found herself in Scalvoris. In her home, next to her bed. But she heard a noise. She glanced aside and saw Rose, looking around, as people talked outside. Tears filled the womans eyes and she held Nibbles in her hand.
"You were just a kid. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you" the woman whispered, Moxie looking at the floor. She knelt down.
"I'm here, Rose!" she called out. But the woman didn't respond. Could she not see her? Rose put the stuffed rabbit on the bed again and stood up. They had only known each other a short while, but the two had clicked, become close fast. Moxie couldn't help but frown as she walked over to Nibbles.
"Maybe you can hear me at least, nibbles" she muttered, reaching to touch the rabbit. To her surprise, she could, the rabbit moving in her hands.
Hearing the shuffle, Rose glanced over her shoulder, seeing the rabbit moving by itself - as if being picked up.
"Moxie?" she asked, looking to the rabbit for a moment. There was a pause as the woman looked, Moxie glancing back. She could see the rabbit move too? Then, Rose chuckled through weak tears.
"I guess not even Death could stop you she spoke weakly.
"If it's you, if it's really you...break free. Come back. Don't let anything stop you."
Moxie smiled for a moment before moving her hand to the back of Nibbles head, making the stuffed toy nod. Rose felt another tear in her eyes.
"I'll come back and visit from time to time, and one day you better be stood here again. Promise me" she demanded, Moxie nodding the head again, before Rose finally smiled wide.
"Stay awesome, Moxie. Don't give up."
Since that day, Moxie has worked on her ghost powers, hoping they will help her find a way to go home. Until then, she did exactly what Rose told her.
She stayed badass.
![[Approved by Avalon]](.//images/icons/cs_ok.png "[Approved by Avalon]"){kind=icon}
