Masquerade Part 2.2: Klaatu, Barada... Necktie

[Oersted]

Most of the group were already outside when Lanos finally exited the inn. There were some people he didn't recognize but didn't really pay them any mind as he followed Vriska, not really having much else to do. Sh led him to the back of the wagon, presumably so they could sit down, but stopped for some reason. He shifted in place when she asked her question. "You mean other than crawling on top of me?" he asked with a somewhat forced laugh, already knowing the answer. "It kinda seemed like you were having a bad dream. You mumbled something about missing your mom and home. You also said something about 'Bori' whoever or whatever that is..."

Edited April 4, 2015 by Oersted

[algae]

Sonia took a deep breath and tried to mentally prepare for the journey - moving from place to place in mild weather was easy, Karstell was the stuff of legends. How do you even prepare yourself for something like that, anyway...? The answer was apparently to sit anxiously for a few moments, only to notice that many of the others had already left and, in the interest of not being left behind, she thanked Sara and grabbed some stray toast in one swift motion that ended outside. There would be time for that sort of introspection on the road, hopefully.

The boss's company all but immediately grabbed her attention after exiting the inn, if only because the elf (Half-elf?) stood out even compared to the motley band of mercenaries. Another guard?

Edited April 4, 2015 by algae

[eclipse]

"Amira, is it? Nice to meet you!" For a moment, Meredith forgot about everything. She definitely didn't notice anyone staring at her! "She seems quite gentle!" Normally, horses tried to bite her nose. Amira respectfully restrained.

[scorri]

Although she wasn't biting Meredith's nose, Amira did start sniffing the half-elf, hoping for a treat of some sort. Trist blinked and sighed. Attempting to pull his horse away, he said apologetically, "Sorry. She's looking for an apple or a sugar cube. She's greedy like that. Anytime she meets a new person, she's always trying to get them to feed her. As if I don't feed her enough." Amira finally gave up, turning back to Trist and nudging him for food.

[MRDRHAWK]

Kendeall, meanwhile, was still tired as balls, considering that he still didn't quite know what was meant by that whole "ice cave" thing and it kept him up at night trying to figure it out. He figured it probably had to do with his Fire tome, but what did it actually mean?

As he kept getting lost in thought, he chances upon Meredith and... some guy with a horse? Huh. When'd they get a horseman? Oh well. "Glad to see you're blending in, new girl." Kendeall piped up, hoping he wasn't interrupting some sort of... ah, 'private moment' or whatever. "Although, I dunno who this guy is... but you seem to be a good judge of character, so I'll let it be." Kendeall kept trying to remember if he met the horseman, but he drew a blank.

Whatever. If he had any ill intentions, Kendeall had a Halberd with his name on it.

[eclipse]

My nose. Is unbitten. Whew! A sweet horse for such a sweet guy. They're a natural pair! Her self-reflection and other thoughts involving the good-looking elf in front of her were interrupted by Kendeall. "Oh, um, hi Kendeall," she said, her voice a bit flatter than normal. "Tristam over here just joined up. Trist, this is Kendeall. Saw him for a bit at the arena, too, but he's a lot better at it than I am!"

[scorri]

"Hey now, you don't know that, especially if you didn't fight in the arena. Besides, I couldn't have done anything in the fist arena like you did.So we're just different styles, right?" He smiled at her and then turned to Ken. "As she said, I'm Tristram, but please call me Trist. No need to be tripping over my name all the time and such. Nice to meet you, hope that we work well together and such." Hmm, not as cute as Meredith or Ingverd. Ah well, can't expect them all to be cute.

[SB.]

Judging by Makin's announcement, they were finally getting ready to leave. "Well, I'm glad to see you're enthusiastic." Angus laughed as the Centaur left, before turning back to the elf. "Yeah, we can talk as we go. If you're ready, I'll meet you outside? I need to go grab my things really quickly." With that, the archer turned and hurried back up the stairs. After doing one last glance around the room to check he hadn't left anything, he retrieved his belongings and hurried back downstairs. "Well uh, thanks for having us." he said to Sara, trading his room key for a couple of slices of toast.

[Nanami Touko]

Important Business

"Er..." Who? Makin had no idea who she was dealing with, or why she was dealing with it. Maybe this has something to do with Cedric? Did he just forget to tell us? "Well, alright." She took the box, gave it a quick once over, and tucked it under her arm. Makin racked her brain to try and remember the name, Domitia, Domitia... All she got was that, she was a part of the council, but as for having met, let alone having seen the woman, Makin couldn't remember. I guess it's not a big deal... "So, uhm, thank you, Emilia. Is there anything...?" There must've been, as her attention wasn't on Makin anymore, but looking past her, at Maja. "Do you know our healer? I heard she did fairly well at the arena yesterday, so maybe you saw her. Still really proud of her. Maja, come on over!" It seemed that this Emilia had already gotten Maja's attention, so Makin decided to bring her over anyway.

Angry Birds

"Huh?" Ingverd was a bit surprised that Valha was getting so upset over this. Sure, it bothered him, but it wasn't something to get furious over. "I'm sure she'll take the time to explain it to us once we're on the move. It wouldn't be worth it to get all bothered and up in her business right now. But it doesn't look like it's a really big deal, and you know Makin, she's almost an open book. You could probably ask her yourself, if it's really bothering you, haha." Ingverd tried to remain jovial, but Valha's clenched claws and tense face led him to believe something was up. "Hey... Is, there a reason this is getting to you? It doesn't seem like something that would bug you that much, at least not this much, this fast."

Facade

"Hmm..." Now it was Alicia's turn to try and remember things. "I might've seen you coming out of Drogan's shop. Either way, nice to see you again." It felt good to still be able to talk to people. And speaking of talking to people. "Because? Raith? What's up?" Alicia chuckled and nudged his arm with her elbow, trying to bring him back to their talking. "Do you normally trail off in your conversations, or is that a recent development?" Either way, he... Didn't seem the happiest, after she'd spoken. She sighed. "Hey, let's just... Put this behind us, if we can. I know that might be hard to, so if you can't, I'm not expecting a switch to be flipped, but..." She decided it was a good idea, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We're going to have an adventure! All of us. Meet the elements, find some secrets, come back and laugh about it. Right?" It wasn't the first time she'd been strong in the face of her own problems.

Mom

Vriska shot Lanos a very ineffectual glare as he commented on her climbing, since there wasn't much else she could do. But her expression softened tremendously as he went into what she'd been mumbling about. "Boring," she said. "I said it was boring." She'd gotten rather quiet, and eventually sighed. "I don't remember it, but I've been told that I've had that dream before. Oh well. Not much I can do about it. I'll just let it keep happening, and maybe something good will come of it." She tried to smile, but it wasn't happening, so she decided to suck it up and sit herself next to Ingverd and Valha on the back of the wagon. The sooner they got moving, the better.

Come Back Safe!

Sara waved Angus off, letting him take his extra food without any protest. "Have a safe trip! I'll have nice, clean, warm rooms for all of you when you get back!" Sara chuckled to herself, sighed, and collapsed entirely onto the counter. Her work mode had finally turned off, and she was going to enjoy being able to have some slow days.

[Ether]

With the chest being accepted, Emilia's business had officially concluded, for the time being, though she still couldn't place where she recognized this woman and her painter's pallet of a dress from... that was, until Makin mentioned the arena. Yes, yes, it all came flooding back at that very moment.

"You're the one that defeated Captain Typhus!" Emilia proclaimed, her remembrance complete, and her hand almost going to her lance instinctively, so great was her excitement... but she let it pass, and let out a deep breath along with it's passing. Clearing her throat with a cough to regain her composure, the Lieutenant began speaking again.

"I knew I recognized you from somewhere."

[riariadne]

"But boss usually explains things before they happen, not justify 'em after," Valha began. "It just doesn't feel right with me... 'n also, I resent that open book comment. So the boss only tellin' things to us sometimes feels different when she usually lets us know all the time. Maybe she's hidin' somethin' if even you don't know what's up." She snarled quietly at him when Ingverd suggested she was acting off, the gesture surprising herself. No, he's right... what's with me right now...? The harpy released her claws from their grip. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "Maybe I'm just paranoid from seein' sis again... I don't know."

[Xinnidy]

"Oh, Drogan's! I think I remember going there! The place with all sorts of fancy weapons, right?" Maja was glad she could draw the connection, even if still unsure of who the merchant was. No matter, Makin called her to greet the mysterious guard shortly after --just who was she anyways?

As she joined the two, another connection was drawn. "...Captain Typhus? Oh! Is that Marius? I did fight him, two days ago. He's really tough, but I... I guess I got lucky?" Maja scratched the back of her head, "He had me, but he also thought it was over too soon. That's where he blundered. Well, even captains can make mistakes." She looked to the guard, then to Makin, then to the guard again. Was she meant to remember her too? Did she miss a cue? "Uh, and who are you, miss?"

Edited April 6, 2015 by Xinnidy

[Ether]

"Lieutenant Astarita of the Guard, under Captain Typhus. It is... uncommon to see him blunder, now I remember where I recognized you, from. Even so, to force him to make such an error, your appearance must belie your ability, you used a lance, as I recall." Emilia replied with some enthusiasm, thinking back to what she could recall of the event.

"Ah, yes. I do believe some of the newer guardsmen were referring to you as, what was it... the Rainbow Terror, I believe. It would seem you left quite an impression... ah, how silly of me, I never even asked of your name."

[Xinnidy]

"...Rainbow Terror? You guys too?" Seemed like people just grew fond of that nickname. Did it spread? "Uh, ah! I'm Maja, Maja Henning." Maja saluted, quickly returning to her usual stance "Oh, I did use a lance! Uh, to be honest, I still need more practice with lances..." She scratched the back of her head again, "The one I used helped me channel my magic. So it was... really different. I've trained healing magic since I was young, so I guess that made us even, more than he thought." It was funny to think of it that way, Maja even felt a bit proud again, looking back. "Oh! But I'm sure he didn't give his all! He seemed like he was holding back. I'm sure you must be pretty strong too, right?"

[Ether]

"I may have misheard, but I do believe that is what they said, yes. And in that case, well met, Maja." Emilia replied, as the rainbow woman elaborated a bit more. A healer who also used lances was, well it was certainly different from the norm.

"Ah, that type, was it? I've never been much a fan, personally. A traditional lance serves me much better. As for the Captain, perhaps, but even so, he fell. As for me, I would like to believe so, but I have far to go, still." The Lieutenant continued, a light grin crossing her face.

[MRDRHAWK]

Kendeall glanced over the pair together briefly before nodding his head approvingly. Yep, they look good together. Might be a bit early for them to make anything of it yet, but hell, we got time. Kendeall briefly thought, before he remembered he also had an obligation to be friendly... outwardly, not just inwardly. Right. Shit.

"Another newbie to the group, eh? Well, the name's Kendeall Soderberg. I gotta say, we've been attractin' a lotta people to join up with us lately... Wonder why that is?" Kendeall replied to Tristam, but really, he ended up just getting himself lost in thought again. Is this a sign that we're gonna be getting into something big? Damn... hope it ain't gonna get too crazy around here... I like it just as crazy as it is around here.

"Hey, Meredith, you did just fine on your own. You may be a bit... uh..." Clumsy? Clueless? Uncoordinated as all hell? "... Unconventional in your fighting style, but you got results, and that's saying something." Kendeall replied, as he then let out a small sigh at his very slight moral victory and not being an ass to Meredith.

Nailed it.

[scorri]

Trist raised an eyebrow and smirked slightly at Meredith. "Unconventional, huh? I didn't hear about that. Please, do tell Kendeall. I would love to hear more about this."

[eclipse]

Meredith silently wished that Amari was a giant plush animal, so she could shrink into her and never reappear. "U-unconventional? It. . .it was beginner's luck, I swear! It's not like I know how to fight with my fists!" she blurted, before looking at the ground. My teacher would be SO mad if he heard that! Well, despite being a centaur who used lances because he was too blind to shoot. . .bah.

[Xinnidy]

"I see... well, it seems like I've earned that nickname all around here." Maja lightly blushed, in the end, it was a bit embarrassing to be known by your choice of attire, even if she didn't regret it one bit. "Well, it's... nice to be recognized, I think. That also means I'll have to try harder now, right? People are going to expect me to be strong..." For a moment, she puffed her cheeks, Practice makes more practice, and all that. "Maybe one day I'll fight him when he's giving his all! Well, first I should worry about coming back alive, actually." Such priorities.

"Yeah, magic is more my thing, but I still need some getting used to that lance. It's... pretty tiny, you'd think it's a training lance from afar --oh, let me grab it, real quick!" Maja took the opportunity to untie it from her belongings hastily, thankfully not too far into the wagon that she'd needed to jump in, just a bit of a stretch. "Here!" She turned back to the guard. "It's all fancy-like... I was told it's elvish, even." The slim, adorned lance --more of a spear, really-- glowed faintly in her hands. "And... that's that. I've got Marius' lance as a prize when I won, but I still can't wield it right." Maja blushed, "Ehe, it's a bit silly. I have that nice prize and can't do anything with it. I tried to yesterday but... I'm still not *quite* there. Its weight is really something."

[scorri]

Trist was about to respond to Meredith when he was distracted by Maja pulling out that lance. He frowned, staring at it for a few seconds before shaking his head and turning back to Meredith, a small smile back on his face. "Beginner's luck? Hmm... So what, you tripped and ended up headbutting him or something? Come on, it couldn't have been too bad."

[Ether]

"Captain Typhus' lance? Oh, he had been using his standard issue, hadn't he? Well, it's nothing if not reliable, it should serve you well, once you become accustomed to it." Emilia replied with regards to the weapon Maja had received from Marius, as she, at the same time, presented the spear she had used to fell the man. It gave a faint glow, and as the cleric had said, had traces of magic within... more a channelling tool than a proper weapon in it's own right, but for the magically inclined, far more effective.

"Why don't you grab the Grand Lance, that you got from him? At least, that should be the one he had given you. Let me see your stance, your grip. I might be able to help you get it down." The guard offered with a friendly smile.

[Vestige]

"Ah, sorry, no, it's not that, I was just... " Oh gods, I'm doing it again. He silently cursed himself, and summoned up his full attention this time. "You know, I can't help but feel like you're putting up a front, for my sake. It wouldn't be the first time someone's done that... " he said, smiling wistfully. Try as he may, it seemed like this was a fate bound to him. "Hel, I should be the one consoling you, and yet here you are, trying to make me feel better," he chuckled, unable to believe himself. Seeing him like this probably wasn't making her feel any better, and beyond that, she still had her own issues to deal with. The least he could do was try to lighten things up, and make her not worry about it so much, rather than constantly serving as a reminder. "But yeah, you're right, that would be for the best. Sorry, we don't even know each other that well yet, but it feels like I'm already failing you as a friend... " he sighed. "Still, It's... probably going to take some time for me to do that," he admitted. "Like you said, I don't exactly have a switch I can just flip. But I know it's a lot worse for you, than it is for me, so, I'll try. That said though, just promise me you wont do anything reckless while you're here. There are people far worse than the bastards in the slums, and I don't like seeing my friends getting hurt... especially not while I'm around. And please, if you ever do get hurt, come see me. Please. I might not look it, but I am a healer... "

[Oersted]

"Oh," was all Lanos could think of in response to Vriska's explanation of her dream. "Guess I'm not the only one who had a weird dream..." He mumbled. Though I sure as Hel hope mine doesn't repeat. His claw hovered over his chest and he sighed; why had the dream have to have been so vivid? He shook his head before following Vriska's example and seated himself on the wagon. Though as he sat he shivered, apparently not as over the dream he wanted to be.

[Nanami Touko]

Reputation

Seems that Maja had made a name for herself with that victory over Marius. It was rather amusing to hear the term 'Rainbow Terror' used again, especially by someone outside their group; someone with such a high ranking in the city's guard. Had Marius really been that easy to defeat? It was almost a blow to Makin's pride, but if Maja was right about getting lucky, there was nothing else to it. She didn't have much to add to the back and forth, but she did want to say, "don't take too long with this, Emilia. We do have to get going, soon. Feel free to give her some pointers, but don't turn it into a sparring match. Same goes for you, Maja. Though... It's nice to see you getting into fighting. I remember seeing you holding a lance when the group came together, and wondering if you had it as a decoration, haha." Makin couldn't help but laugh at the image of Maja holding a lance, that evening in that tiny bar. At least now, Maja knew what she was doing enough for it to look like a real threat, instead of a placeholder weapon.

Whoa

Ingverd was sincerely taken aback as Valha went as far as snarling at him. "Hey... Seriously, are you alright?" She'd apologized, but that reaction had honestly scared him. He didn't quite get what was going on with her, but whatever it was, he couldn't just run away now. He immediately put an arm around her again, pulling her in tight and gently rubbed that arm. "Don't you worry, Valha. If she doesn't tell us all, then I'll go and get her to. As for your sister, we're leaving. Her wings are hurt. She wouldn't chase us all the way to the tundra, really. And besides, we fought her, and we took her down. If she comes after you again, we'll stop her. The both of us. And we won't have to kill her to do it. That's a promise." He flicked her nose lightly as he spoke, chuckling. "Let's try and enjoy this, for what it is, yeah? And get that conniving snake to tell us what's going on, hahaha." He laughed openly, hoping he'd brought her mood up, even a little bit.

Subconscious

Vriska was a bit upset at herself, honestly. Having that dream, over and over, never remembering it, never knowing what it meant. She couldn't remember her parents, her mother, anything like that, so why did it keep happening!? It was getting aggravating. Maybe she could talk to Lanos and take her mind off of it, but... Well, what to ask? "Wait, weird dream?" Maybe that was the ticket, if she could focus on his, instead. "What happened in it?" Seemed something was happening with the elf and the other bird, as well, but she didn't want to intrude. It looked a bit more personal than normal.

Time

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't." She said that with a smile, even if it might've upset him more. She couldn't lie about it, not when he was trying to be honest now. "It doesn't matter which of us is trying to make the other feel better, as long as we end up feeling better, right?" She dared to do it, and put her arm around his shoulder, pulling him in for a quick side hug. "You can take as much time as you want, you know? If it wasn't obvious by how I was acting when you first came out... I'm not over it either. No switch for me. I'm just better at putting on a strong face." She smiled, and Raith probably couldn't tell it was mostly fake. Probably. At the very least, she nodded her head. "Doing something reckless is the last thing on my list. If something happens, you're first on the list for people I go to see, alright, Raith?" She softened her expression, and this time, the tiny smile on it was very real. "That night really wasn't all that bad..."

Edited April 7, 2015 by I have opinions

[riariadne]

"I don't know..." Valha closed her eyes, leaning her head against him when he pulled her in. "I've been feelin' strange a bit today, 'n I don't know why... little urges, like primal ones 'n I just want to lash out, or somethin' like that. I think you shouldn't dismiss Leiha like that, though... it seems ridiculous to run after us, but I almost wouldn't be surprised. 'A predator never lets its prey escape,' or whatever." She tensed up when he touched her nose briefly. "Maybe I'm goin' crazy..."