Return of the Emblem Chapter Twelve: Divergent Paths

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

There was some confusion about who ordered what(or maybe not) but Gar was about to give his side of the story when some brown-haired girl snagged the teapot away. "Hey," Gar annoying said. "Get back here you thief! That tea was gonna be mine sort of." The maid was pretty mad too. Well maybe it would be best to leave it to her but ehhh....

[Mercakete]

"Well," Norbert somewhat uncomfortably realized he'd forgotten a somewhat important detail. Mildly embarrassed and only now wondering just how not okay that was, now that he was actually in Weyland's employ, his eyes shifted off to the side as he explained, "Not long before she started talking nonsense, I'd punched her kind of hard in the training hall. So, that's why I think a heal staff would fix it...maybe."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rizen puffed air from her nostrils and shook her mane. She was restless, but she audibly agreed that her brother in hooves was probably right: their riders would make the fight against the predators easier. Still, humans had a strange way of not seeing the danger these predators posed. She voiced that concern, too, and asked him what he thought they should do. There was no telling when one of these things would start trying to eat them, after all.

Tentatively, she peeked out from her stall. There was another pegasus, and with rider close at hand, too. She called over, asking if this equine would join their cause along with the human. Maybe this human could go get their riders, too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Getting to her room didn't take too long and she just used a spare blanket as a towel for now. Once in her dry clothes, Gytha left her room and began pondering which of the guest rooms was Synthia's. Hmmm....

[Toogee]

"Maybe, keep training anyways though." He responded, before blushing a bit as she said to get up "R-right.. last thing this group needs is any more drama." rolling off to the side of the girl. "Fun times all around..."

Rather than get up immediately, Jam remained on the ground next to Alphonse. Her bare foot tapped repeatedly against his boot as she recounted recent news.

"Oh, Greta got a loan from this girl named Nadya. She's going to be able to sell stuff again. We'll be going with Amon to Kigen. Greta keeps worrying about what to sell and what Kigen's like, but how hard could it be? I mean, surely people in Kigen need stuff too, right?"

[Ether]

Arietta was about to leave to fulfill Weyland's request, however something struck her before she left.

"Uhh... Boss? Who was the next one, again?" The bodyguard asked, somewhat sheepishly.

***

"Spirit, huh? All I can really say about it is that it links in with the psychic theory... see, the ability to manipulate anima, dark, and light units is linked to what scholars call psychic units... using psychic units is how we interact with magic, so they could be considered an origin of sorts... I know that one scholar theorized that psychic units were like limbs... an extension of the human spirit... is Nyx saying that theory is correct? But spirit can't be the origin of magic itself, it's just how we make use of the magic that's there already... I suppose it could refer to spirituality and the Vasili..." Angelica pondered aloud... this was a bit more delving than she thought she would have to do.

***

"Well, that's good to hear." Faatina replied, as Hoshi began spouting information about the blade. It was nice to know it was made of quality material but it just made the paladin feel even more strange about the price she had gotten for it.

"I'm confused though... I don't want to doubt Raquel, but when I bought it, it felt strange... she originally was asking 80 gold for it, which seemed reasonable, but suddenly in a flash, she lowered her price to 20... I suppose if there was some sort of defect you would have felt it, though... I feel bad for asking, now..."

[Snowy_One]

Robin continued to sit down in the dining hall, her head held firmly in her hands as she looked down at the unfinished food. Great. This was just great. She had just confessed a crush and now the person thought she was wounded. Least he was seeking medical aid for her out of concern, which was a positive and, had she been in a better mood, would probably be thankful for. In fact, she could already see one day, down the line, her and Bert talking about how funny it was that he thought she had a concussion. Still, with Bert gone, she could feel her cheeks cooling a bit.

"<By the gods, I'm going to grow up to be one of those crazy ladies with twenty cats at this rate.>"

---

As Nyx and Shadrak spoke, in the background, Tia was visibly biting her lower lip to keep herself from talking. So hard was she restraining herself that a small trickle of blood was slipping down from her lips. A woman who refused to help others with knowledge until she had gotten something? Who gladly threatened others, for saying they'd do what she told them to do?

"This woman is so unbelievably egotistical and stupid! She has a group of people wanting something from her. Even if she doesn't like it, the mere fact that we're standing here, if she is that powerful, means we're doing something of value for her just by existing! She was willing to blast me a moment ago just for saying I would be quiet. So even if it's to stroke her own ego this would be good. But its not. She clearly desires knowledge and, I wager, she has enemies who also seek that knowledge. Instead of even something as basic as asking for any tomes we find of value, she refuses unless she gets to attach all the strings on the spot? I wouldn't dare take an arm from her now! This is practically screaming 'its going to come around to bite you in the rear'! And worse, she's hoarding away books for herself! Imagine what would happen if even a tenth of those hoarded books got made public. Think of the magic, the technology, the art, we could accomplish with that!" she thought to herself as she, quietly, waited.

[ReformBlade]

Taking an extremely small moment to really assure himself it wouldn't break, Jericho eventually tossed his Harmonica in Raquel's direction. For some reason, he only thought of it just now but the word harm was in harmonica. A mental shrug later at the coincidence was all that little ditty would get.

Mushirah wanted to tell Shadrak to just leave it but, but she had the feeling that things had moved beyond her at this junction and assuming it was all about her now would seem arrogant and selfish. At least Nyx wasn't angry with the earth mage, in fact it almost seemed that was the expected outcome which left the girl with nothing but a sigh. Seems to be a game of expectations. I expected it to be too good to be true, and she expected me to back down from such an offer. I'm just rationalizing it at this point I guess... She ceded that perhaps that was due to her ever increasing fatigue. Resolving to stay awake until they were done here would prove pretty daunting to her. "It's not the potential killing that's putting me off, Shadrak, because let's face it, I've killed some people already... I hate admitting to it but I can't really justify that putting me off in this instance. Hard to explain I guess. Also a moot point at this rate I feel. What... else did you need here?" She figured to ask so things could move forward quicker and she wouldn't have to fight step by step her way out of the place.

I just hope you fuckers hurry up so I can get a word in edgewise. Quit hoggin her dammit! Aneda mentally jabbed, getting really impatient with the proceedings.

[Cevian]

Cherish stopped walking as Erica and Gar yelled after her. It seemed that while the meal was free, the drink would take some work. Taking a breath she turned around to face the two of them, addressing Erica first. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm thirsty so I got something to drink." Looking over to Gar she added, "And you, you call me a Thief but you can't even assert claim over a pot of tea. If you can't really claim it as yours then how claim that someone took it from you?"

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Oh this was just smelling of pointless petty trouble. Oh well, this was bound to be some form of minor amusement. "Because due to a hilarious snafu involving three cats, ten one-eyed mercenaries and two babies named Sherman; I actually own 50% of the materials that go into making that particular brand of teapot. So as per the agreement I have with the craftsmen, so long as I pay him - and him alone - a fee I can legally claim ownership on any teapots he doesn't have claim to. As I until this moment I was not going to execute my binding legal rite, I therefor only offered my claim as 'sort of' with the intent to return it to its current owner instead of 'gimme dat it's mine'." Gar exuded such an absurdest amount of bullshit it was hard even for him to keep straight. "Or in short: gimme."

[-Cynthia-]

Dining Hall

"It's hard to keep track of how everyone is doing when we have so many in our group. It seems like we've been picking up new people since we set out from Sergio," Veronika said somewhat sadly. Maybe that's what Bert meant- that I can't pay attention to everyone at once? That would make some amount of sense.

Estate Grounds

"Yep, he's fine. I think most of the staff managed to live through it, but I didn't count the bodies or anythin'. The folks workin' here are a pretty tough bunch," Nadya said to the woman, attempting to be honest and encouraging at the same time- not an easy feat.

[Cevian]

The first emotion that came to Cherish as Gar went on his explanation was disbelief. "Do you really expect me to believe such an obvious lie? More details usually help the validity of something, but when the claim is as outlandish as that one as and the things you add to detail it only make it more unbelievable."

She rolled her eyes and turned back around to continue back to her table with the tea.

[Phoenix]

Dining Hall

"I am trying to-" Erica stopped short of explaining herself as Gar began a very odd sounding, vague, and completely asinine explanation about how he had some legal claim to the teapot. Whatever, as long as she got it back, she didn't really care about the process. With a heavy sigh, she waited a moment, curious to see if the argument would play itself out without her having to contribute to this 'scene' occurring.

That was when a few more of the riders who'd arrived came into the dining hall, and all of them making a beeline for the buffet table. "Oh, Erica, you're okay," one of the riders waved.

"Yes, hi ..." Erica weakly replied, waving back. "Must have heard about the attack and came running."

"Well I don't know if she's saying it's correct," Amon noted, "but from what I can tell, it's like the spirit she's referring to is a power in and of itself, not really a medium like this psychic energy sounds. I'd go back and ask her if I didn't think it was a lost cause."

"We can just ask Lady Aisha when we get back home, Amon. She'll probably know," Malik insisted. <"It's going to be awhile, though ... especially if we're going to fight that Fallen Prince's war for him.">

"Asking people who might know along the way isn't going to hurt ... especially while we don't have an emblem piece of our own," Amon countered. "Anyway ... I'm a little ... worried now that I understand the emblem better. With the way it behaves, trying to fulfill it's wielder's wishes, Valdimarr won't lose due to bad luck or something. We'd need a perfect trap to even have a chance ..."

<"Please stop talking,"> Malik groaned, laying his head down on the table and covering his head in frustration.

Study

"I don't actually recall," Weyland replied, realizing he'd been more than a little distracted when the information might have come up. "They should be in the dining hall at any rate, so get the room's attention if you have to. That should be enough."

Training Room

Like the sheathed dagger, the harmonica was overcome by golden light, shrunk down to about the size of a small marble, and was swiftly brought to Raquel's waiting hands. "You know ..." Raquel began, profound revelation written all over her face, "I was kind of worried that I might be weaker than that girl I fought at the fortress. She definitely had the advantage at the time and even took my emblem piece, and she could make weapons out of nothing ... but with this ... with this I ... I don't think it's a matter of sheer power at all. There's no telling how many different ways I could beat her if I can do things like this." She could rapidly relocate herself, allies, and specific items, all at a moment's notice. It was a probably a good time to stop picking on the pink haired merchant and her overspecialized mob of killers.

Hallway

"W-why?!" Tilly reflexively asked. She immediately regretted wasting her breath, knowing that he was either sparring with her, or this was just classic domestic abuse and not really something she wanted to deal with right now. "What exactly did she say that has you worried?" she asked another question, trying to skip the first one if possible.

Stables

"He's okay?! They're okay?! W-wait ... count the bodies ..." Vivian winced. How many were dead? It didn't sound like a lot but she knew quite of few of these people. "Oh that's right. I should have asked sooner, but ... who are you, exactly? Are you a house guest or a new hire?"

Vivian's pegasus, let's just call her Sunshine, glanced at the other pegasus who was trying to get her attention. A call to arms. She thought to her horn, and though it wasn't fully grown, it was still a viable weapon. She'd never really considered using it, however. Risking exposing her neck to an aggressor and being close in general seemed all too dangerous. That's what the males were for. Maybe if she had little ones to look after .... She didn't want to make a lot of noise right now, so quietly advised Rizen to find a male pegasus to defend the stables. There had to be one around here somewhere. Vivian apparently noticed her 'acting up', though, and began stroking her neck and face to try and soothe her. It helped a little, but between the queen of all wyverns, the lingering wyvern scent, the wyvern over in the corner, and the pegasus trying to start a war, she was understandably nervous.

The Archives

"There were some things I wanted to figure out, but it's a moot point too I guess," Shadrak bitterly and gloomily explained, his head hanging lower than usual. "I thought I was prepared for this but I was wrong again ..." A completely broken smile appeared on Shadrak's face as his body began to give to its own weight and slump downward. "Nyx put me through soul crushing agony and I learned so much about her in the process. I was being manipulated into coming back here, but for what?" He turned to Nyx, who was meeting his gaze with her own. "You said I should bring an offering, but you knew full well I wouldn't have anything of value for you or the archives. So why the false hope?"

"This is overly dramatic," Nyx immediately remarked. "You've been here twice now, and unless you decide to say or do something particularly irksome like the, as yet, doomed mage over there, there's little stopping you from coming to try again later. I'm not going anywhere for the time being." Next, she stood up from the bench. "If you really want to be manipulated, however ... come closer and let me jog a recent memory of yours." Shadrak did nearly the opposite, taking a half step backward as his concerns mounted, prompting an amused but small grin from her. "Hmhm, I only wanted to whisper it in your ear, but I suppose keeping your outrageous intentions safe is your problem, not mine."

"What?"

Mother, please don't, Hypnos casually pleaded, not expecting to actually convince her.

This is useful to us, Hypy~ "Think of Lilith, Shadrak. Think of her power ... think of her curse ... think of the emblem fragment she took from Raquel in order to suppress that curse. Think of what her blade is capable of ... and most importantly, think of my son. It may not come back to you right away, but it wasn't really meant to. Just keep thinking about it. It will come to you if you don't let these thoughts slip again."

[scorri]

Hoshi

Frowning, Hoshi quickly checked over the blade with her tendril again. "Uhm... there's nothing that I can sense. Perhaps... uhm, perhaps she gave you a discount as a sort of thanks? Since you fought last night and, uhm, probably have fought for her in the past? So a uhm... sort of member discount? All I can say for sure is that she didn't give you a discount because the weapon is faulty." She handed the weapon back to the paladin and shrugged.

Erion

"Well then. That's a good thing. Did you want to continue catching things we throw, or would you prefer to work on warping multiple people? I was thinking..." He stuffed his hands in his pockets as he paused and then pushed on, "I was thinking that if you were able to figure out how to warp yourself and three other people that you could take me along with you as a bodyguard of sorts for those few seconds that you need to set down. Just in case something goes wrong. I know that others might have more at stake in this operation but that's why I'm suggesting I go. I'm not emotionally involved. I'd be able to make the hard decisions if they need to be made. And I'll be able to protect you, don't you worry about that."

Stables

Star had been napping, but all of the talk had finally got his attention. Someone needed a male pegasus to defend them? He immediately called out that these stables were under his protection. He wouldn't stand for anyone hurting the ladies here and he'd be willing to fight to prove it. Rearing and spreading his wings as much as possible, he called out a challenge to any invaders. And made sure to reassure the ladies that they were perfectly safe with him around, there was no need to worry. He was strong and could do any fighting that needed to be done.

[Eail]

"Just... don't joke like that in the future, please? After losing the others.... I'm scared of losing you and Glen too." Cyrus eventually replied with a hurt look on his face, placing a hand on Gwyn's shoulder.

_______

It seemed like they were going to just stay on the floor for a while... with how many maids Weyland had around it was probably clean enough. "Really? That's great news, Kigen is probably a good place to sell as well, what with the whole Fallen fiasco going on. Father would be happy to hear that I'm going to his homeland if nothing else, it's going to be a good learning experience about half of my culture." Alphonse couldn't help but feel a little excited at the idea of going to Kigen, it'd been something he'd thought about before he met Greta and Jam, but now he could go with them as well.

[Sakusa]

Gwyn sat up as it was the only polite thing to do for Lumi before sending her off. "Ah, he's the one who was speaking to Angelica, correct? It seems he has some other company at the moment, but I'll see what I can do. Thanks for everything. Send Star my greetings." She gave the other girl as bright a smile as she could as she walked away, but it was obvious that she was pushing herself to be cheerful. Once she was a ways off, she felt a weight on her shoulder and glanced over to see a distraught Cyrus.

"Yeah, I promise," she replied, expression softening and taking his hand into both of her hers, placing it on her lap. "Why don't you come talk to Amon with me? I won't be alive forever, so it might do you some good to learn how to negotiate terms and gather information. What do you say?" she asked, corners of her mouth tugging up in a shy smile and cheeks flushing a bit out of embarrassment since she was holding his hand in public. "This doesn't mean anything. I'm just apologetic is all. It if'll put him at ease, I'll do it."

[Mercakete]

"That's not important," Norbert stated firmly, glare returning to Tilly as his posture stiffened a little. Indeed, the first question had been ignored, but really, his reply applied to both. Either way, he was losing patience with not getting done what he'd set out to do. "What is important is that I find a healer who won't spread any rumors around. Can you help me or not?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rizen snorted a harrumph, then informed the other that she was willing to fight, herself, and only needed the help of those willing to. She then asked if Sunshine could get her rider to go get their own riders, since they'd be helpful in the effort to ensure the safety of all equines who rested in the stables.

There was another answer to Rizen's call to combat, however. That needed addressing. She was glad to hear someone was so dedicated, so she informed him that she, and any other volunteers, planned on breaking out of their stalls and driving off the predators that had invaded. She also noted that it would be even better if they had their riders with them, but wasn't sure whether to wait for them or not.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nope. Not that one either. Gytha had been trying doors in her hallway at random, but still hadn't found Synthia. She thought that maybe she could find her fairly quickly on her own, but was beginning to think better of it. True, she'd only tried maybe five doors, but oh well. Better to ask about it than to keep going about randomly. So, her search turned from Synthia's room to finding a maid. They seemed to always know what was up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maw opened her eye sleepily. That had been a fairly good nap, but things we getting busier again. A while back, she'd fallen asleep on a step leading up to the second floor, but that activity was more or less done with. So, she yawned, stretched, sat up, and began cleaning her face, trying to decide what else she wanted to do.

Edited June 5, 2014 by Mercakete

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"A lie? And yet you claim my accusation of you being a thief as an insult yet you go and reverse and decry me as such a filthy thing!" Gar feigned horrid outrage. "Why, the very city itself was attacked by the Fallen just last night. A day and more ago such a thing would be so outlandish yet there whence did the city burn!" Gar through his right hand into the air with a flourish. "Indeed, from the observation of an outside observer my claim may yet seem outlandish and odd... and yet I am me and you've never met me. Adventures like that are what I live and breathe. A thousand tales of greater exploits and dreadful woes and yet you would call my life false simply to hold a fleeting claim on some tea? For shame girl. For shame." He shook his head with a somber reckoning reserved only for a funeral. "So I ask upon thee to redeem thyself of the dishonor your shameful accusations have brought upon thine person and return that tea to its rightful owner."

[scorri]

Lumi

Walking along towards the stables, Lumi got a bit turned around and ended up near a staircase heading upstairs. Spying a cat there, her face lit up. Crouching down, she held out a free hand to the kitty. "Hey there kitty, come here kitty." Hoping to bribe the cat in case it wasn't a fan of strangers, she took off a piece of the sandwich she had in her other hand and held it out. "Want some tuna kitty? It's nice and yummy..."

Stables

Star snorted. He had no need of his rider to fight. His rider would just tell him to behave. Shaking his head, he encouraged Rizen to not wait for the riders in case they didn't realize how big of a threat this actually was. They did that sometimes, not realizing the dangers they put themselves in. It was up to them to save each other and their riders from the monster that had invaded their stables. And then afterwards they could celebrate together. Yes that would be nice. But first, they must fight!

[Ether]

"I suppose it's possible that our understanding of spirit could be incorrect... it is fairly limited when you get right down to it." Angelica noted with a sigh, before the topic of Valdimarr was brought back up.

"Not that anything short of that would have taken a guy like that down, even without an Emblem piece... with it he's just cheating at this point..."

***

"Alright, fair enough. I'll be back." Arietta noted, as she departed the study. Making her way to the dining hall in short order, the bodyguard took a deep breath before addressing the room.

"Aye, whoever the next guest scheduled to meet with Seth Weyland is, come on over!"

That'd probably work fine...

***

"I suppose it's possible, but if there isn't anything wrong with it I won't dwell on it, I suppose." Faatina replied, sitting down for a moment.

[Cevian]

Cherish sat back down at her table. For all of his yelling, the man wasn't following her to take it back. Pouring herself a cup of it she took a long drink of the tea to spite him. "A few things." She said, setting the cup down on the table and glaring back at him. Over the years she had needed to talk herself out of a few situations, but it was if he was making it easier for her by making so much stuff up. Half-truths were always better than lies. "First of all, based off your outlandish claim you have no right to the tea inside of this teapot. All I want from the teapot is the tea, but then I would need another container to hold it in. Next thing I know you'd be asking for that container if I just moved the tea."

"Second, you are correct. I do not know you, and that means I should be less trustworthy of claims that are outlandish, even if taken in context next to some other improbable thing. Your tale of one-eyed bandits is to be taken with the same level of skepticism as if the attack hadn't happened. One does not make the other more believable. You would need evidence of your claim like the destruction here is evidence of your claim. You are the one claiming it after all."

She grabbed the pot again and poured herself another glass, drinking from it again as she looked at him, smirking. "And Lastly: I took no insult to you calling me a thief, just at you doing so with such a flimsy tone."

[Mercakete]

Who the heck was this? Some human was paying attention to her. Maybe some cats liked that, but not a one Maw met, unless food was involved, herself included. She immediately stopped her grooming and raised her hackles, glaring at this human with her one eye and growling, legs bunched up and ready to flee or attack -- whichever the situation warranted. She paused when the human offered her something that smelled...weird. It smelled a bit like fish, but there were other scents mixed in. For a moment, she considered swiping it, but thought better of it and resumed growling. If she tried to touch her, so help her, Maw would scratch her and beat it, hopefully causing enough pain and blood to make the human think twice before trying something like that again.

[scorri]

Lumi sighed. "Alright kitty, have it your way." Separating the tuna from the bread, Lumi tossed it halfway between herself and the cat and got up, and turned her back to the cat. Right... I think the stables are... this way? With a quick glance back at the cat, she sighed and headed off in what she thought was the direction of the stables, where she would at least have one animal that would be happy to see her.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"The claim of tea is not mine but the merry miss maid besides me my claim was towards the teapot thee took. By law of averages my claim on teapot and her claim on tea outweigh yours on either and or both." Twisted his tongue and threw a thrashing. "For a woman inside this home to tarnish the worthiness of his guests should be something to avoid. Also to remind thee, my tale was one of one-eyed mercenaries which is hardly an outrageous claim considering the direness of the business and even perchance others inside this room or another." Thank you eyepatch-guy. "Though perhaps if you mark these claims as outlandish in light of recent events you are new. In fact so new that your claim as a guest is to be questioned."

[Eail]

This stable was by no means a spa, but it was much better than being outside in the rain with the chance of being struck by lightning, so Glen would take what he could get for now. In fact the noise of rain on the roof was pleasant enough that he felt as though he could take a nap, and was preparing to do just that, but naturally nothing ever went according to plan.

All of these lesser... creatures were staring at him, were they admiring his brilliance as Gwyn so often said that others did? Perhaps they were going to offer tribute to their new ruler... or maybe they were looking for a fight. Gwyn probably wouldn't like it if he ended up eating the horses and their winged brethren though, and if she was upset that meant no apples. So for now he'd simply lay down in the corner, watching to see what they'd do next, opening his maw wide in a yawn as he got settled into the stalemate.

______

"All right." Cyrus ended up agreeing. "But I'll learn this because it's useful, not just in case you die, because if that happens it means I'll already be dead myself." Giving Gwyn's hand a squeeze as he spoke. He wouldn't let anything happen to her, Glen wouldn't either, together they'd protect the pinkette until they were all ready to go home together.

[Cevian]

Cherish continued to drink the tea as they talked, eating from the food she had gathered. "You speak of half-ownerships and you dodge the addressing of proof to your half of the claim, and the one I took the teapot from stopped her complaining at my explanation of intent. You are the only one of the two to continue questioning me. You speak of a 'law of average,' and don't have a firm footing on either side of the average. If you want to get that pedantic with me then I counter with my current possession of the teapot. Possession is, as you should know, eleven points in the law when there are but twelve. My mere having it is more than your flimsy claims. Also, recall, than even though I do not take offensive to you labeling me as such, you called me a Thief before I started to question the validity of your claim. All I have done is point disbelief at your claims after you attempted to insult my character. And you attempting to discredit my disbelief by saying that my questioning is unbecoming of a guest is yet ANOTHER dodge of proof. A red herring to throw me off of the trail of questioning your claim by forcing me to defend myself."

[Phoenix]

Dining Hall

"If we had an emblem piece of our own already, we could probably start leveling the field again," Amon noted but then quickly frowned, "but that's half our reason for going after him in the first place."

"Winged cleric," Malik swiftly reminded him.

"Amon took out the little golden insignia from before and just stared at it for a moment. "Having an emblem piece would definitely give us a fighting chance, but once we get one, Valdimarr shouldn't really be our concern anymore. We'll help with the siege gate, of course; it's technically on the way back ... but trying to get Valdimarr ourselves at that point would just be gambling the piece we already have. This is all assuming the person who has it is even willing to help us."

Reign grunted just before disappearing into the kitchen, having had his fill of the ambient noise ... at least while more or less completely sober.

"I am gonna knock you silly, tea thief," Erica snarled as she marched over, rolling back her sleeves even further. "Weyland owns the teapot, I bought the blasted tea, and if you wanted some all you had to do is ask! Stop hogging it all to yourself and let me do my job!"

Suzume was listening in from the table and trying not to laugh at Gar's ... Gar'ing, if only because her throat had been through enough already and the muscles were still quite tense. I'd go over there myself, but I think Gar and the chef can handle this. I'm not sure why that girl is so adamant about keeping the tea. She's already had two cups.

Kitchen

"The hell is going on out there?" Johnny asked Reign, the first person to come back into the kitchen since Erica left. "I hear Erica yelling out there and that's never a good sign. Well, at least she doesn't have any weapons on her. Did somebody steal the tea or something?"

"She and Gar are arguing with some girl who took the tea from her," Reign explained a little impatiently. "It's completely asinine. By the way, can I have one of those?" he pointed toward the liquor.

"A whole bott-" "Completely ... asinine," Reign repeated firmly. Johnny shrugged, "Alright, sure go'head. I better go get Ernesta before things get any worse. she'll know how to deal with this."

Training Room

"I still need to try the coin next," Raquel said, handing the harmonica and dagger over to Jericho for a moment, then hurrying back to her previous position. If her concerns were founded, the coin could prove tougher than the last two, but if she did catch it on her first try, that would be a very good sign.

Hallway

"It's very important," Tilly raised her voice just shy of yelling. The man worrying about rumors spreading was telling, since it was a small hint at whatever this other person was saying that was so 'out there'. "You're the one that isn't helping right now; if you're more concerned about rumors spreading than her health, and after what you did to her, then you should stand aside and let someone else deal with this. You're not helping matters one bit by withholding details."

Stables

Luca glanced around as the pegasi conspired to break out of their stalls and defend the stables, wondering if they were really going to go that far. This was why riders wouldn't just go along with whatever the winged ones wanted, Luca decided, because they would chase off all the wyverns, and not just the insane, hungry, riderless ones.

Now that a stallion had stepped up to defend the stables, Sunshine considered the problem ... addressed, if not solved. She simply wasn't willing to go along with something as dangerous as an uprising and quieted down altogether because of it. Her rider might get hurt, or the wyvern might call the giant one back to help him, or a whole herd of wyverns could show up to defend their own. It was far too great a gamble, and if they lost, they would lose these comfy stables outright instead of having to share them.