The peace that formerly reigned in Terra Nova has eroded, now little more than a memory. War ravages the continent. Disputes divide kingdoms; ideals divide families. The quest for power consumes absolutely and indiscriminately. None are immune to its allure.
Who will rise and who will fall? Only time—and ambition—will tell.
UPDATES
05.26.2023
2 month character creation hold for all existing members begins 6/5/2023. Ended 8/5/2023.
10.29.2023
Change in how times flows. Was 4 IC seasons, now only 2 IC seasons per 1 OOC year.
5 whole years of Heir Apparent goodness! When I started the site, I knew I was hunkering down for the long haul, but I never could have predicted the numerous twists and turns this roleplay site has seen. Hundreds of plots, characters, and members have come and gone, all leaving marks on the site. I am so very thankful for those who have invested. Because you keep coming back, keep getting on, and keep writing, Heir Apparent has the legacy it does today. Three cheers to us!
"Who says you have to bring her home Raff. Live a little for Goddess sakes." It was weird to see this Raff, this adult man worried about his siblings. It had been something they had shared of course, but now that all hers were grown it was funny to think about him still in the trenches. "But honestly I'm sure they'll be glad for a womanly touch as much as you are." Snickering, Kat was in a much better mood talking about his life than hers.
That's usually how it went though. Why talk about your own shit when you could talk about someone else's. "But you know what was fun about growing up. Better boobs." Cackling, Kat held up another shot, in a toast to better boobs. Just about anything to bring the mood back around from the glum road they were heading down.
"You definitely could unless you loss your edge, but, as fun as that would be to watch. I think I have to figure this one out on my own." He had seemed to understand she didn't want it anymore, but they hadn't had time for a real conversation yet. Soon, if anything came out of drinking this evening, at least she was more convinced there needed to be a change.
He laughed harshly, some bitterness leeching into his tone without him even realizing it. The whisky was good and it was strong, and obviously loosening his tongue on things Raff would normally never talk about.
"I get my rando hookups when I look fer 'em Kat-that's never been a problem. Basically, my life's come down to eatin, workin, fuckin and sleepin. My living a little is makin time for drinkin-like this right here...'
Raff paused, his blue eyes pinning Kat with an unfathomable expression, debating if he should be voicing his full thoughts. Another shot down with their impromptu toasts made him talk a little more.
"But two years ago when I got ranked to Lieutenant, then soon after Merk died and now I got no one Kat. I'm not paired anymore, got ptsd dead bodies in my fuckin head every night and I'm still looking for my dead Pair. Still fighting those flames back in Coheed every time I smell a damn cigarette! Now rank puts a wall around me that no one dares to breach..." he heard himself over sharing way too much and his mouth closed with an audible snap. Raff looked down at his hands as if searching for something and his hair slid forward, hiding his face.
Kat's laughed seemed to perk him back up like magic and he turned to mock leer at her with a glint in those blue eyes. "I dunno Van Zant, I gotta say they're better right now from where I'm sittin."
"Well, if anything happens to the ungrateful bastid, ya better know I'm calling first dibs." Raff downed the shot regularly, but there was something serious in his tone that took the joke right out of it.
Kat laughed, glad that Raff was getting into the swing of drinking. It was always a roller-coaster ride when you went hard in the paint. And they were about to head up and down with the bottle that they were going through. "Well thank the goddess one of us is then." So she just slid drinking into that place instead.
So when Raff got real with her, she tried her best not to just jump to jokes. It would have been easier, but sometimes you had to ride out the lows and loops. "Well guess you're just going to have to deal with me breaching rank with yah more often." She tried not to make it a joke, because she was serious. Raff was a good soldier, a funny guy, and having him around was only a good thing for Kat.
"Dibs? Your lucky I'm in a good mood or I'd clock you Raff." Squinting she put up her fists and laughed before getting another shot ready for the both of them, her pour slopping a little on the bar.
Kat's curt answer had him almost spit laughing the whiskey right outta his mouth and he sputtered and coughed.
"Ain't gettin any at all? Damn that sucks. Not a problem I'd want."
Van Zant was a good egg. Sure she was kinda rough edged and an admitted bitch, but she was genuine and loyal. If anyone was lucky enough to get the loyalty of a Van Zant, then very few were stupid enough to lose it. If she thought about wanting to deck someone, she didn't hide it. And if the Van Zant family didn't like ya, again, they didn't hide it. They were a real family and Raff respected that totally.
"Rank shmank, we're friends no matter what. You Van Zants are good peoples."
He laughed heartily at her tough answer and Raff put out both hands in a warding off gesture, but still winked at her.
"I'd never wanna get clocked by a Van Zant!"
The next shot slopped over the rim, but neither of them cared in the least as long most of it still went down their stomachs. He held up the dripping glass to give yet another toast,
"It sucks balls Raff." Shaking her head, at this point she'd honestly rather do that then nothing, but she hadn't been able to be with Fabian in that way. Not after she got her confidence back to realize just how fucked up the whole thing had been. But she wasn't going to stoop down to his level, she was going to keep her vows until they were no longer.
Snickering, Kat nodded her head. "Always have to watch out for us, but I've got your back." Unless Raff crossed her she certainly would. She needed some more strength by her side these days, especially in the military these days. Too many youngins that didn't know there ass from their elbow.
"Nah, to fucking old friends." Swigging down another shot, she was glad to know that some people weren't going to turn tail and run on her.
His smile turned to a knowing smirk and his blue eyes gleamed with hidden intent.
"Ta fuckin.... old friends!" Raff downed the toast and kept his smile on her.
"Dont'cha worry though. We got each other's backs." Yea it totally sucked that she was stuck in a shit marriage and sucked that he'd lost his Paired Partner, but they were both moving on with their lives, never giving up. Not like there was any other choice was there? Well there was the coward's way out, but neither Kat nor Raff would ever wuss out like that, no matter how bad things got. When ya fought so hard just to live each day, the idea of dyin on purpose to give up, didn't make any sense to their way of life.
"So how's Kasper and his Paired doin? Still here or back in Coheed again? I just fuckin left there and it ain't fun." Raff asked, truly curious.
Kat rolled her eyes and started to shake her head before it made her a slight bit dizzy. "Pull your mind out of the gutter Raffy. I know we both live there but damn." Snickering she was honestly happy. She wasn't thinking about her complicated life or her responsibilities. Just relaxing.
"When were you in Coheed? The fuck I just got back barely two weeks ago." Kasper and his pair had been in Cambria, but she was pretty that was supposed to be secret. Hers, not as much. But all the same they had both been pulled back and now there was this awesome tournament coming up.
There was that smile! Finally! It had taken a few drinks and some brazen flirting, but Raff got that smile back on her face! He saw her shoulders finally relax from the tense, hunched up posture from when she first came in to the tavern.
"Kat ya know I live in the damn gutter. The rats complain that I'm the bad neighbor." he laughed, smiling back at her. Things were finally approaching a place that was as close to normal as a veteran could ever reach. Because honestly, there was no such thing as going back to normal ever again.
Raff leaned his arms against the bar, and watched her face as she spoke, taking in her expression.
"Ok maybe not as recent as ya, but ii damn well seems like it. I came back from Coheed and got debriefed eighteen months ago. When Merk kicked the bucket a year ago, I stayed home to get my shit together again. I just re enlisted a short while back for the sign on bonus. Gotta keep the kids fed somehow."
He grasped the bottle and refilled the glasses with a firm hand, more out of habit than any actual conscious thought.
"Welcome back Van Zant. Two weeks ago huh? Where's yer head at now?" Raff asked her casually, sliding over the glass to her and setting down the bottle.
"I'm sure the rats are right." Rolling her eyes, Kat shook her head. Certainly she remembered how her house had smelled growing up with so many siblings. She could only imagine what it had been like with Raff in charge of the chores or cleaning. Or maybe he wore a little apron around the house and dusted. That was a fun thought.
Nodding her head, Kat could very much understand the need for steady income. Of course she had just stolen her way through that part of life. Even stole a nobility title, the worst thing she had ever put her grabby little hands on. But there were no give-backs in this case, and so she just had to settle into her reality someday.
"Heads on my shoulders where it belongs and that's all that matters in the end right?" Taking the shot offered she lifted to her lips and let the liquid fall yet again. This was a turn in the afternoon but a welcome one. "Now that we're both back we'll have to have a scrap. See if you're keeping up your skills."
He laughed easily as he listened to Kat and nodded. Back in a combat ring! Not much he enjoyed more! This time he sipped at the whiskey instead of slamming it down. The self medicating was doing its job so all was right.
Raff's dark blue eyes gleamed at the thought of scrappin again.
"I been fightin alright, and ya know I'd never turn down a good scrap Van Zant." he sipped again and continued.
"It's weird coz now that I'm not paired anymore, I'm supposed to be a teaching kinda Lieutenant. I mean I ain't got the old man dad vibes or the show boat vibes it takes to do that kinda thing in big groups. It's just fuckin weird ya know?"
The tall lanky man leaned on his arms and looked at the woman next to him.
"How do ya go from exclusive intensive pair work ta havin the balls ta boss around a giant bunch o strangers? Ya know I'd rather stand in the shadows, not strut out front. It's too much ego--even fer me!" He laughed and drank the rest of the whiskey.
"But if ever ya do wanna get scrappin sometime, give that shrill ass whistle of yers, anytime and ya know if it's within a mile, I'll come runnin' like a dog-just like old times!"
Raff brought up both hands to his shaggy mane and tied it back neatly.
"I dunno yer new home, but I'm still living in the same place. Where you at now? How's Kasper?"
Last Edit: Apr 19, 2023 18:16:25 GMT -5 by Deleted
Unlike Raff, Kat had no plans on slowing down on her drinking. It was making her feel better, that and the good company that her old friend was providing. Well her old friends pair, and that basically made him family anyways. And that wasn't an easy accomplishment with a group that mostly just relied on family.
"I don't think you have to have ego, not everyone had to parade around like a peacock." It was better if not everyone was like Aldrich anyways, goodness that would be a mess of a military. "Just don't become a wet-blanket either." Rolling her eyes, Kat was pretty sure Raff would never become like Warren. He'd be his own guy, at least as long as he hadn't completely changed.
Laughing at the dog joke she shook her head. "We're over by the old mill now, or well when I'm not at the estate." She had always thought it would be fun to live in such a luxurious place, but now that she was there, Kat didn't think it was all it was cracked up to be. "Kasper is doing great though, far better than me as usual. He's got ranks and everything."
Raff laughed and poured them some more whiskey with a free hand. Kat was always real like that and he could count on her to not be the lyin ass kissin type when it came to being around people. He wasn't saying she was perfect, but her genuine blunt nature was what he liked about her--she was never afraid to just be herself no matter who was around her.
"I dunno if I could be a goodie enough to be a wet blanket! But I'm alright at strategy." he laughed loudly at her comment. "Basic knowledge before a war is ta get in as many bodies in the army as we can--go for quantity and work on quality as they come in." He took a sip of the whiskey and nodded to himself at his own upcoming comment, "We need to overwhelm them with numbers and not cut out anyone. Correct 'em, work 'em harder, and we could use hundreds more bodies right now! We should even be taking from prisoners and ex soldiers for their own reprobate divisions to put on the front lines--if they survive the war, they're pardoned of their crimes. It's just war time rules man."
Raff swallowed down the whiskey and slapped down the glass with a hard clunking sound to the table.
"Ooh that sounds ritzy over there-ya living the good life now huh Van Zant?" He sipped the whiskey and watched her with intense blue eyes, "I'm glad he's making rank. I think you will too--you got chutzpah like no one else!"
Last Edit: Apr 25, 2023 11:49:54 GMT -5 by Deleted
Kat really tried her best to pay attention to the strategy that Raff was spewing, she could tell it was good. But honestly, despite usually being better at scrapping after a few drinks she had turned that corner about... three shots ago. And now talking about prisoners and numbers was the least interesting thing to her.
Luckily he was quick to move on and she flipped her hair haughtily. "That's Lady Winters to you." Snickering she smacked his arm but absolutely preffered Van Zant. She would forever prefer that name, but hindsight was clarifying. If only she could have seen the disaster it became.
"Me? In charge? Whoever makes that choice is an idiot." Rolling her eyes, Kat wondered if maybe someday she'd worm her way to a rank. But based on her experience, more power wasn't always a good thing. And honestly the last thing she needed was more responsibility. "You can take the reigns I'm glad to sit back and do my thing."
Raff spit laughed the whiskey at her Lady comment and choked for a second. Wiping his mouth, hes mirked and made a sitting half bow.
"Yer high n mighty Ladyship!" he snorted and grinned at her arm smack, "Ok Van Zant."
He sipped at the drink and set it down again, looking at her intently for a moment. "Yea I'd like ta sit back and do nothin too fer as long as I can, but if leadership slips bad, then I -will- be forced to step up and put some effort into it. Ya know I'd rather just hang out here and knock back a few with ya."
He shook his head at her comment, not wanting to at all. Taking control meant taking responsibility for others stupid mistakes and accepting blame for your soldier's behavior. Raff would much rather not.
"So what plans ya got comin up, yer fancy ladyship?"
"Plans? Drinking. You in?" Smiling Kat was glad to just relax, even if just for an hour, it felt like it would be enough. She had been generally free in Coheed, free to be the warrior alone. Not the older sister, mother, wife, all the other things that many deemed more important roles for her.
She was a soldier, and in this moment she was a drunk soldier. There could be times for plans another day.