JoJo & Ria 4: Lucky Kill

Medb might have misinterpreted the meaning of 'going on an adventure' for many years now… for this lacked the same brutality and mindless action she expected from one.

Here she was, keeping 'guard' over the stuff that had been left on the Scottish coast as she happily sat on a chair that gave a view over the Ness River. Jojo had said that they were meant to take a dive into the cold water and see if they could find anything that resembled some sort of 'Ness Monster'. A serpentine dragon-like creature that was as rare to find as to believe into. Hence why the pinkette, out of a 'scientific' standpoint, decided to decline the kind 'offer' of drenching her whole body in chilling muddy water. Jojo was fine with it, while Ria just ignored her. That last reaction had actually sparked a bit of upset within her chest. While the blonde was brutish and fairly unnatural with her boy-like attitude, Medb couldn't help but feel threatened by that individual. King or not, that didn't mean she was willing to let go of her much-needed claim to cement her friendship with Joseph via a proper marriage. One where Mya would serve as her loyal sister in a wedding or something that she could come up later on once she had secured her position once and for all.

The way Ria acted, her attachment to Joseph, made her an obstacle to that ambitious plan. That and the fact that Jojo didn't seem to notice her best efforts to seduce him- in fact, his denseness was so that all attempts ended up backfiring in an odd way: she would be the one even more seduced. Where in the past being rebuffed would spark her ire and lessen her romantic interest into her targets, this very behavior had her more intrigued into investing more into it as she knew losing wasn't as bad as she had imagined. And the pinkette was still, despite the years of loneliness, a proud queen with many expectations and ambitions. One of which being banishing cheese. That kind of 'Gallic' food was dangerous, it had tried to kill her- what kind of normal food would ever consider undermining her precious life?

Embargo and a ban on commerce on it, that would get rid of it from this beautiful world… and keep it away from her at all cost. Sighing as she shrugged off these upsetting thoughts, Medb's attention shifted at the lonely carriage as she wondered if taking a nap now inside it and warming up in there would warrant the failure of her current task. A lazy friend she might be, as Joseph had commented when she refused whatsoever to take part in any kind of tiring activity, but not a bad one. Never a bad one. Despite her quirks and whines, she was still tremendously clingy of what she had with Joseph. He was her bestest friend, the first… ever! He was her first friend also!

It just shocked Medb how many husbands she had in the past, how many lovers, how many allies and how many rumors-gals, but never a proper friend. And while it sounded stupid at first, that simple relationship opened up a part of innocence within her heart that she liked. It made her feel mellow inside, prettier even, and perhaps also cuddle-seeking. No lewd thoughts assaulted her whenever she imagined being pulled in a hug, then wrapping together with Jojo, or Mya (or even Ria, but that's a secret and she would never know about it) all around a warm sheet. The softness of the bed, the human touch and warmth… all of it without having to feel upset about the intense actions of the night before weighing heavily in her morality. Because, despite what many would expect, Medb had morals. Except those were well-hidden and particularly secondary when pragmatism played a part in her plans and… right now she just enjoyed being Medb, part-time adventurer and royal guest in Londinium.

Yeah, she shouldn't be leaving her post. Who knows? Maybe they were almost done with their current adventure. And she could finally drown out the feeling of jealousy for having remained behind and let Ria get all that wet muscles action out of Joseph. She huffed, shaking her head at her negative thoughts. Medb had to see this as a holiday, nothing more and- Then something happened as a monstrous creature broke through the limpid water's surface and roared mightily before trying to shrug off the current cause of its upset. Jojo and Ria were cutting into its body to no avail.

"Meeeeeedb!" Joseph exclaimed while being yanked left and right. "Find something to stop it!"

...What? What did he mean she had to do it? Why? Couldn't he just… do it himself somehow and spare her the panicking? Despite her hopes, she could tell her friends were struggling and they really needed some help, so he rushed at the stash of things left on the side right where she had been resting to look for anything useful. After some rummaging, she ended up finding something that was definitely going to help with that need.

As she twirled the metallic end a few times to gain some momentum, the grappling hook soared up towards the snake-like behemoth, giving Medb some hope that her little plan was going to work despite her own doubts. Then something odd happened. The grappling hook reached the snake and, in a bizarre turn of events, it latched its claws into the monster's maw, which proceeded to try and pull it with a bite, only for it to stab deeper and actually cut into its upper head, shredding into its brain.

The pinkette's jaw hit the floor at that absurd sight, with her reaction remaining so even as the beast, now killed by that simple move turned into a deadly one. What Medb failed to take into account was that, while her strength was abysmal, her… luck was the opposite. And her lucky shot had driven that first victory as an adventurer. Jojo and Ria were soon by her side and… the former pulled her in a tight hug.

"You did it! You killed your first scary monster."

He said that like a proud parent and yet...

...Did she? Maybe he was exaggerating- but then again they had been having some difficulty to kill that beast and her move had killed it. So… she killed it. She killed a beast and… she was getting praised for doing something absurd and yet right. It felt all so stupid, so childish, so insignificant compared to anything she did in the past. She was the one that caused endless wars in Ireland- so why did this simple deed feel ten times more important than any of that? And the answer came from the heart as it swelled with a truth that she had just started to embrace.

These people, Ria, Jojo- those from Londinium… they cared for her as Medb, not the cunning mastermind that could plan their death, the one that set up the betrayals and the one that handled the despair… Medb had a clean slate to start from, no longer pushed around into being the malignant overlord that masterfully killed or bedded her opposition for 'her' ambitions. This was the first achievement as such, and that filled her with… joy.

"Uh? Medb? Why are you crying? Did that actually frighten you? Oh- I didn't know that-"

She remained quiet, preferring to further press her face onto Jojo's chest, his shirt and drive out as many tears as possible. What an embarrassing display, she thought and yet it was one that she would love to endure from time to time. Those weren't tears of despair or loneliness. Those were the tears of someone that was given the chance to be free from the past and…

Now it was time to further cement that ideal by keeping Jojo and Ria by her side.

It was destiny and she didn't care if she would have to bed Ria too to make sure that was absolutely unbreakable, she was going to defend that feeling with everything she had!