Faith in the Spirits Arc 1: To Align the Stars

[Ursali]

"Yes. That alright. Tell future." With there being no seat at the stall for her to sit, Alriana curled her tail under her the make her own seat. Though it wasn't overtly obvious, save if the woman was paying attention, she made sure to make herself level with the fortune teller. "You also not like crows, then? Must be reason for discount."

Edited April 3, 2022 by Ursali

[scorri]

Cinaed sat on his bed, staring at the vest in his hands. If someone had come into the room at this point, it would certainly seem as if he was heavily focused on the thin piece of cloth, but in reality his mind was anywhere but present. The fight he'd had with Ingverd kept playing in his head, over and over. Where had he gone wrong, again? He'd been apologizing, yes they'd still disagreed but was that really enough to justify the half-elf getting so frustrated and angry with him? Not that his temper had helped things. Cin groaned, hand going to his head, trying to soothe the headache that had slowly been growing since the argument had started. He knew some of it was from a lack of sleep, but certainly not all of it. Maybe I just don't belong with this group. He was right, Commander Natalya, others, most of them seemed to have no problem with what he did. Even Syndra only objected because she thought he wasn't going to help us. Maybe I should just leave, if I view this so differently...

But even as he thought that, images flashed through his head. Gean, staring so deeply into his eyes, the care that was already there disturbing him enough to send him fleeing. Miria, showing him her magic, his promise to talk to the Evokers with her. Alvira, so scared and so alone, unable to summon her fire magic and his desire to help her find that inner flame again. And Renais, so small and shy, but with dreams higher than the sky, and his promise to help her learn magic. He couldn't just leave them all behind. Not until he was told that he wasn't welcome anymore. Ingverd would just have to accept that or fire him.

Looking down at the vest again, actually looking at it this time, he sighed, running his fingers along the newest tear in the cloth. He'd managed to get the blood out, but he was going to have to repair this before he could wear it again, otherwise he risked having it split on him. Standing up, he made his way over to his bag, kneeling down to dig through it. It didn't take long before he settled back on his ankles, frowning. He could have sworn he'd packed thread and a needle before he'd left, but no matter how he looked at it, the small pouch he kept his repair supplies in wasn't there. "Guess I have two stops before I leave town then..." Glancing out the window, he stood up, tossing the torn vest on after all. He was going to need to stop first to buy a tome, the more important of his two stops, but if he wanted to make sure he had enough time for everything, he had to stop sulking and start going.

[mcd900]

"A, a dress and heels..." It might have been a first for her... perhaps she wore dresses as a child, beyond her faintest memories, but heels, certainly not... "Well, if you think it'd look nice, I'll go with whatever you say. I'll... mmm..." She sighed, collecting herself. "O-kay. I remember some of the styles here from what people would wear back home, but I'm not sure what I like, really. So... you pick, and I'll wear it. Whatever it is. Because I really... can't pick, not by myself." 

Hmm... I hope I don't regret saying that...

Her ears perked up a bit at the shopkeep's mention of her armor, realizing he was speaking to her. "O-Oh. Well... this and that, but if you mean just why we're in town, then that'd be work. We're doing some bodyguard work, and traveling fairly far to do it... er, but if you meant the shop, then that'd be just spending some free time..."

Edited April 4, 2022 by mcd900

[MRDRHAWK]

Oh, Nyx was meant to be leading the pack? That was a little awkward, given she had zero goddamn clue where to go beyond ‘clothes store’. Thankfully, actually finding the store was a simple enough matter, but as she was about to lead the group in…

Nope. Nyx turned around at the sound of the little dragon’s voice, evidently still salty with her over the happenings of the boat. Really, she didn’t mind the whole ‘filthy human’ kinda shit, but… grandma??? That was a line too far in Nyx’s eyes, an unforgivable sin to take with her to the grave.

… Okay, so maybe she was just being petty. They both were, which was probably why Vira had said it in the first place; especially given the decided interest she seemed to have in Nattie, who was even older than Nyx. And it was also a wicked pain in the ass to have to duck her the whole time, especially when she had about half the Tigers with her. Dammit, this was just supposed to be Gean and her, how’d the rest of them get roped in?

”Shit. Guess we’re gonna end up suckin’ in a couple more Tigers to our lil’ posse here.” Nyx grumbled, as she pushed open the door to the clothing store. Hopefully the people running it wouldn’t recognize her - although she couldn’t recall having looted any clothing stores back then? Who knew anymore.

[Nanami Touko]

"You sure you want me to pick? You're hot, so I'm not gonna hold back on trying to emphasize that..." Alvira shrugged, fishing through the clothes pile once more. She'd already decided on a dress type for the cat, but which one was important. It had to have a leg slit, something to showcase her height. Her legs were really good too given her musculature... "Mmm... Okay. This will do as a base." Alvira pulled a long black dress out with an opening over the left leg, a very deliberate slit, that went up to the thigh. "Here, put this on. We can figure out accessories after... And you'll have to take your armor off."

The door to the store opened at that moment, Alvira glancing around to see... Oh, Gods. A whole party of people she didn't want to see. Tio, Nyx, Renais, Miria... Aegean was alright. "Ugh... Nyx! I'm sorry for calling you a worthless human! It won't happen again and I have learned my lesson that it was inappropriate for me to do so no matter the circumstances!" Alvira quickly dropped the dress into Lani's hands and bowed, blushing furiously. She wasn't going to have her time in the store ruined by awkward feelings and unsaid apologies. "I hope you can accept my apology and I hope you all enjoy your time here. That's all... Lani, put that on, like I said; I'll find a good ribbon to go around your waist and, ask if they have any heels."

With another huff, and some slaps to her cheeks, Alvira approached the old man at the counter, her gold at the ready. She dropped the pile of other casual clothes she'd picked out and then pointed at herself. "I'd like to pay for all of this and walk out with what I'm wearing... And... Do you have any heels for my feline friend? I think the dress I pulled out for her would go well with some good two inch heels."

Edited April 4, 2022 by Mel the DM

[MRDRHAWK]

Well, that was… not what Nyx had expected. The apology was welcome, but missing a little something - namely, an apology for the thing that actually got her salty at the little dragon to begin with. She resisted the urge to simply scoff off the apology, though, because really it didn’t seem right to make a fuss with the rest of the Tigers there - or, well, enough of them, anyways.

”Oh, uh, thanks…? Y’still shouldn’ call me Gran’ma though, cuz then that’d make Nattie ancient. An’ ye wouldn’ want that, would ye?” Nyx couldn’t help the teasing, but still schooled herself back into being vaguely responsible in front of the kids. “Nah, but thanks, Viry. I know s’kinda hard t’say sorry fer shit… n’I’m sorry too, fer setting ye off t’begin wit.”

[Billy12510]

As Syndra was receiving her winnings she took the time to acknowledge the cat's question. "Mercenary group? Sorry but I'm already spoken for in that regard. We've even recently just-" She cut herself off as she noticed Ingverd walk past them and head straight for Ricardo. "Hmph. Nice to see you too Ingverd Haven't caused enough damage here after the incident with the Crows have you? Ah well, it's good you're here, you saved me the effort of tracking you down. I need you for something."

[Nanami Touko]

Something annoying was talking into his ear. He glanced back. "Ah. Syndra. I'm not in a good mood so I'm trying to avoid things that piss me off. So, to that end, find someone else for your errand. I have business with Ricardo and then my own plans." He turned back to Ricardo, all smiles again. Hopefully they could get along with being able to talk.

[scorri]

Cinaed made his way out of the inn, using the back exit mostly for ease of access, given he had noticed the vendor back in the area behind the inn during the battle. The other part, well, it was less likely to attract attention this way. He wasn't hiding from the rest of the Tigers. Not really. But he knew he wasn't good company right now either. So while he wouldn't ignore them if he ran into them, he also wasn't going to seek them out.

Entering the magic shop, he stopped short, glad there was no one else behind him because he would have caused a pile up otherwise. At the counter was. A child. He was alone in the store, as far as Cin could tell, though there was possibly someone else here, as he noticed a door leading further into the store. Well. Not something he should worry about. He was here for a tome and nothing else. And so he started looking around, trying to find a simple wind tome.

[MRDRHAWK]

Tanya frowned, though her tail perked up once again as she saw the half-elf stride in. Huh. He’s pretty cute… As she was distracted, though, the mage had decided to start poking at him, and she couldn’t help but wince. Ouch, the coldness here was even worse than her tail getting frozen earlier.

”Huh. Must not get along great with him.” Tanya couldn’t help but chime in, since she’d had her conversation interrupted. “Say, what’d you say about the Crows? I have some, ah… business to deal with concerning their leader.”

[Nanami Touko]

The Crows leader? Who was this now? "She's dead," Ingverd graciously offered. "They're all dead. We took care of them this morning. My apologies, miss."

[MRDRHAWK]

Tanya blinked once, then twice, then thrice. Darlunya was… dead? And after all the work that she’d done to track the Crows down, and finally get some proof of their leader’s misdeeds? She exhaled, and prepared the most eloquent and verbose response she could muster.

”Well, fuck me in the ass.”

[Billy12510]

"Which while good for Eibar as a whole is still an issue for us. I had it from a source that Darlunya had connections to Heactia's underground  but since we killed her so quickly, I never got to ask her what they were. Although I doubt she'd have said anything anyway." Syndra turned back towards Ingverd. "And this leads me back to you. No doubt you'd see the interest in making sure we don't get attacked by a criminal organization on our way out of town, so I was hoping you'd help out in making so that doesn't happen. If anything else, you could consider it a way to earn back some of that good will you spent organizing that test for us this morning."

[Nanami Touko]

"My apologies miss, I will not be fucking you anywhere... As for you, Syndra, perhaps you should be doing your best to earn any good will from any of us before you go around demanding favors. Last I checked, you weren't exactly the Tigers' most popular person and all that lip of yours has done nothing but make me want to shut you up."

He flashed her a bored stare, clearly not having any of this. "If you've an issue with my little test you can, as I've already informed Cinaed, take it up with Natalya. Your boss. You know, the woman that was more than fine with this morning's proceedings so long as you were all paid? And you were all paid, so, to skip all the formalities and small talk, let me put this as succinctly as I can: fuck off, bitch." He huffed, once again turning away from her, reaching for his flask and taking another swig. Might care about some of the Tigers, but definitely not this fucking one.

[MRDRHAWK]

“Woah, okay, okay, let’s all chill out for a sec here.”

Tanya figured that maybe, if nothing else, she could act as something of a fire fighter for this scrap. It seemed like certainly a lot more than just a business problem, at least from where she was standing. And if nothing else, maybe a third party could help cooler heads prevail.

”Look, I dunno what’s going on, but clearly whatever you did to get the Crows peckin’ at ya worked, and you dealt with them, right? Maybe focus a little more on that.” The cat rubbed the back of her neck, trying and failing to keep a sigh down.

“How’s about this. Since you’ve probably already pissed off a couple crooks in town by taking down Darlunya, maybe you’d be better off with an extra hand. I was… kinda after her for my own reasons, but coming with you guys to deal with the crooks I was hoping to track through Darlunya would work just as fine. And in exchange, I’ll try and keep everyone involved from just killing each other, so you two have a merc company to actually go back to. You interested?”

[mcd900]

"Sure, okay. My armor's going to take a little while, so you'll have plenty of time..." Laniva looked up at the noise to see five of the others making their way into the shop, but before she could so much as greet them, Alvira began her... somewhat roundabout... apology.

She hadn't yet gotten a good look at the dress, but from the way she'd been talking she suspected that Alvira probably hadn't considered easing her into things at all. She gave the others a quick wave, then slipped into the changing room (hopefully) before anyone managed to get a look at what she had in her hands.

It was probably a good thing she'd mentioned she'd been taking a while... in truth, she was rather well practiced at doffing her armor, but the dress was another matter entirely...

[Mercenary on the Winds]

The young boy perked up the moment he heard the door open. In walked an enormous dark skinned man with pretty shining flecks on his arms, and a surprising lack of clothing. He remembered his older sister explaining to him that those were scales, and that the man was almost definitely a clouded. As to what type, he didn't really know too much, but what he did know was that he was really pretty. The scales shine in the light, and the gold was just wonderful. The boy approached Cinead with not a care in the world, and a curious, but appreciative look in his eyes. 

"Wow..." He tilted from side to side, looking at Cinead's scales a bit close, "They're so pretty... oh, uh, sorry! Do, do, you need help?" 

---

Ricardo turned to see Ingverd walk in, and completely ignore Syndra. He felt the temperature of the room drop a bit, but didn't pay it too much mind... at first. He'd wanted to respond to Ingverd's inquiry, but quickly, the conversation took a more hostile tone. Ingverd was anything but the jovial, conversational man that he'd seen last night. He was actually more akin to when he spoke about Rustal prior to his engagement with him. Syndra on the other was not someone to be ignored. Ricardo's eyes narrowed after Ingverd punctuated the conversation with some choice words, and a swig of the flask. 

He took a deep breath, "Tanya's right about the two of you needing to calm down. I don't tolerate hostility in my lobby. Syndra, was it? It sounds like it's not a good time, so you should probably save your inquiry for later." He looked at Ingverd, he crossed arms and felt a twitch of his lips,  "Not sure what's so urgent that you'd be blowing off one of your members, and especially when it comes to what she's saying. But I'm listening, Ingverd, what do you need to speak about?" 

Ricardo hoped that between him and Tanya, that would be enough. He really didn't want to have to separate an actual fight, especially knowing what Ingverd was capable of and willing to do. He didn't miss Tanya's shoehorned request at the end though. It was certainly an interesting way to try to assuage an argument, but it also meant that he'd need to find another replacement sooner rather than later. 

---

Tio watched as Renais lit up as she agreed to go with them. A smile always was the best way to cut through frustration, and it seemed like Renais's smile was doing the trick. Aegean had Nyx lead the way, so she could hang back. "My, my... Figured me out already, have you? Well, it's my pleasure. Come on, we should keep up." She smiled, and followed after the group. Hoping that Nyx knew where she was going because she most certainly did not. That brought her back to the matter of Alvira; what exactly was she supposed to do there? Just apologize and leave it be? Apologize and explain? She hadn't wanted anything to do with her, and last night only made matters worse. She figured she would have time to figure it out. 

That was until they actually arrived at the clothing place; it was surprisingly spacious for how small it seemed from the outside, but there she was. That worked... too quickly, and too well. She took a deep breath as she stepped inside, a breath that was slightly lessened by both Alvira and Nyx exchanging apologies--for what, Tio had no clue. But it was so very obvious as even a small glance at Alvira. The similar wavelength of magical energy. She knew she was right, and Ingverd's information was definitely spot on. But that was what got her into trouble with Alvira to begin with. But that wasn't the important part, or it didn't need to be. 

Here goes nothing. "Alvira? I, know I'm the last person that you want to speak with, but can I ask you for a moment of your time? I'd like to apologize for last night, and explain myself. It can wait, if you'd rather finish what you're doing, but I do need to apologize to you." 

---

The elderly man cocked an eyebrow at Lani's explanation. "Ho? So you're all in town as a... contingent of knights, or as mercenaries?" The latter made the most sense to him as he thought about it, especially if things had progressed negatively in Kansei. "Ah, it's not important. It's just rare to see a Kanseian knight out this far." Despite his conversation with Lani, he'd been keeping a relatively close eye on Alvira and was mildly impressed about her understanding of clothing. At this rate he wouldn't have to even call for Cele--

The door swung open, and his thought was immediately shelved as a large--for their store--group of women all showed up at the same time. Seemingly from various walks of life as well. Words, and apologies were exchanged between more than a few of them. The young dragon pulled up to the counter with a lot of clothing. Still a bit stunned by the sudden popularity--one of the new arrivals looked like she was a noblewoman of some sort--he blinked for a moment, before reacting. "Oh, of course." He turned over his shoulder, "Celes! We've got a bunch of customers; they might need you down here!" Turning back to Alvira, looking over the outfit she was currently wearing and the others she brought along. "Celes will be down in a moment, she'll be, uh, able to get your friend the heels you're looking for. Two inch heels was a good call. As for the rest of this... I try to keep my prices reasonable, but that is a fair bit of clothing you've got there. All of it will probably run you... about 200 gold. Already marked down some."

---

The teller slowly nodded, "The Crows only made our lives more difficult. Eibar doesn't have enough problems to warrant them being around." She sighed, "They're responsible for making a lot of good people disappear, whether they admit it or not." She shook her head, smiled, and then waved Aly closer, "No matter, we can all look to the future now. Come child, gaze into the ball, and may your future be revealed." The image took form immediately, and was clear as crystal. Almost a reflection, but maybe because it was a reflection. Aly was staring at her self. But there was a crazed look in the eyes of the Aly in the crystal ball. It slowly zoomed out, and Aly was on all fours... and mangled bodies strewn about her. Now the image had blood all over, but Aly's look never changed. "...My god." The teller said, her hand slowing for a moment. As her gaze bounced between the ball, and the corporeal Aly. 

Then, the image changed. The sight of a tall, dark skinned man looking down, he held a large, otherworldly seeming axe. Despite the similarities it wasn't Cinead; the man had no scales, nor a tail. He was not the dragon, or a dragon at all. The man's gaze was one of disappointment. His lips moved, but a crystal ball could not recreate noise. A gentle shake of the head, and then he hefted the axe above his head. 

The image quickly faded. Nothing left to have seen. The teller was frozen. What on earth had she just seen? The thing in the ball was certainly the being in front of her... wasn't it? "Child, what are you? That was... you, wasn't it?" The woman shook her head slowly, "A... grim outlook. But it is only one of many. I pray that you can walk a different path than the one that I have seen." She had unconsciously stepped back from the ball, away from Aly. Hand unmistakably resting on the knife at her hip.

Edited April 4, 2022 by Mercenary on the Winds

[scorri]

"Wh? Oh, heh, hello there." It seemed that the boy was interested in him, and probably his scales given the comment he had made. Not much else on Cin was what he would call pretty after all. Squatting down so he was closer to eye level for the boy, he held out his arm. Are this height, the boy would also be able to see the dusting of small golden scales across Cin's cheekbones."My name is Cinaed, what's yours? I'm here to try and find a beginner's wind tome but I'm not in any rush. Did you want to see my scales up close? They are pretty, aren't they? I'm guessing you've never met another dragon clouded before, huh?" It was, nice, to meet a child who wasn't scared, but was curious about him. It gave him a hope for the future.

[Nanami Touko]

"Two hundre--!?" Alvira gawked for a moment before clearing her throat and grumbling. "Mrrh. Okay..." It was more than she'd been expecting to spend on clothes of all things, but she needed them and they were rather pretty looking...

"Here." She laid the cost out on the table from her stash and looked about the counter for a moment. "You have any bags for all of this...?" 

Then Tio approached her. Alvira was about to shut her up, when the woman offered an apology of all things. It clammed Alvira up good, the dragon gawking once again, now at Tio. "I... If... If you need to... I guess. But not in front of everyone. I just paid so... Let's... Let's talk outside. I guess..." She was so confused, she wasn't quite sure what to say. She'd been so convinced that Tio was up her own ass, an apology to some mouthy Monster would be the last thing on her mind. What's going on...?

---

Whoever was with Syndra could take up her request with Natalya. He had Ricardo's attention, that was what mattered... It seemed like he wasn't willing to step away for a moment, though, so Ingverd got as close as he good, slinging an arm around the man to pull him in.

"Right. So! We've dealt with the Crows; everyone is happy," he began, keeping his voice hushed to a whisper, "but like we've discussed here, Darlunya wasn't working a solo operation here... Lots of connections, which brings me to my point: If there is anyone left in town that you believe might have some information... Any Crow stragglers or people that would have been working with them. I need you to point me their way. Can you do that?" Ricardo was receiving a lot more respect than Syndra, clearly Ingverd wasn't just upset at everyone... Yet.

Edited April 4, 2022 by Mel the DM

[MRDRHAWK]

Well, there was that mission accomplished. Technically. At the very least, Tanya didn’t have to watch the mage and the half-elf try and butcher one another in the middle of the arena, so it felt like progress. Of course, with Ricardo now tied up, arena challenges were on hold for the time being…

”Huh. Shit. Maybe I should go explorin’ the town. Y’know, see what else is cooking here, get a lay of the land… that sorta thing. Enjoy your cash, ice queen!” Tanya waved goodbye to the mage as she left the arena, eager to stretch her legs. Tugging on her coat, she looked around, wondering what to do next.

”Hm. Think my coin pouch is back inside the arena, and it’s a little crowded in there for my tastes. So… guess it’s window shopping for me.” Tanya yawned somewhat as she began strutting towards the clothing store, curious as to what the nice couple there had in stock. She’d have to see if they were willing to keep stuff held for her until she got at her gold again.

[Bluemask 96]

Well at last their group had made it to the clothing store, albeit without some mishaps. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to put Nyx in the lead, but they made it still so all's well right?! 

It seems everyone wanted some new threads.  Vira and Lani had already jumped in and grabbed some outfits of their own, on top of some apologies being traded. The reason behind these were none of Gean's business, and she wasn't gonna poke her nose in there. Honestly I've never seen Lani outside of her armor, this should be a sight.  However, that particular image could wait, turning to her smaller two companions Gean spoke. "Alright, I'm gonna leave the task of finding an outfit for Tio in you guy's hands. I'm sure you'll find something to send Elisa's heart soaring."

Having said that Gean then grabbed Nyx and started dragging her off towards where the pants were. "As for you, I need your help finding some new bottoms, the last few battles did a number on my outfit, and I don't think I'll need the jacket while we travel, huh,?" Hopefully Nyx would choose something that looked great on Gean. She did trust the mercenary to find something at least suitable.

 

[Ursali]

As the elderly teller called her closer Alriana leaned forward in her tail chair, looming slightly over the crystal ball. As the image formed into one of herself the lizard blinked, wondering if she was instead peering into a mirror. Then she caught the eyes of her counterpart, crazed, like a rabid beast. As the image expanded to show brutalized indescript bodies, she was reminded of her moment with Ramirez in the arena a day prior. Concern blossomed in her chest as she shifted uncomfortably in her tail chair.

Then the image changed again, showing a man she'd never seen before in her life holding an equally unfamiliar axe. She didn't know what to make of the scene at all, more confused than anything else. Then it was over, the fortune teller clearly more afraid of her than what she'd seen in the image. "I am a Monster. Maybe me, not sure. Don't act like that." Though she told herself that, she couldn't push that moment of the arena out of her mind. The near overwhelming urge she'd had to slaughter the axe fighter, only for it the fade as quickly as it came. Not even Rustal had provoked such a feeling so why had the axefighter? The lizard did not know.

"...I go now. Not have be afraid." The fear in the woman was evident, her presence would likely only continue to unsettle her. Alriana stood up and walked away from the old teller's stand, more concerned about herself than she'd ever been in recent memory.

[TheRoon]

When the group had reached the clothing store Renais was quick to notice that Tio went right to Alvira as soon as they all saw her. While she was a little surprised at the Evoker's swift approach to the dragon girl she recalled that it seemed to be an important reason, one that didn't concern her on top of that. She turned her head toward Lani instead and gave her a small wave before she turned back to Gean. "Alright, we can do that." She looked at Miria. "Come on. Let's go take a look around." She lead her bestie off to a corner to look at some nice dresses. It was going to be a challenge to find a balance between Tio's and Elisa's likes, not to mention her own fashion sense. But she was eager to take on the task.

[GoldsbroTSG]

They had made to the clothing place... Miria wasn't the biggest clothes person, normally her outfits were picked by her mother. And most of the time what she was wearing was typically her every day attire. But(!), she had her fellow tigers, someone would help her find something nice for her.

"Huh?" Without hesitation, Renais suggested they went together to look at stuff. "O-Oh, okay!" And she bounced out and followed Renais.

Edited April 5, 2022 by Silver Gallade

[MRDRHAWK]

Well, at least she hadn’t been bodily thrown out of the store! Nyx still wondered why exactly Gean was actively dragging her over to the pants area, nor was she sure of what she was hoping for. Nyx, personally, wanted something particularly eye catching, something to get someone fired up - especially a certain frosty lady.

”Geez, Gean, yer really gettin’ insistent, aye? Ye tryin’ ta impress some’un wit some new threads alluva sudden?” Nyx teased, but was nonetheless still thumbing through the pants. Now, what would look best on Gean… well, truthfully anything would, but that wasn’t much help. Maybe some snug pants, that still gave her room to move? Hm. Much to consider.

---

Tanya had to admit, this store was lively. Almost too much so, but hell if she couldn’t handle a few rowdy ladies. The pants were nice, but she was thinking something a little fancier… something to really pop at a party, in case she had to get into one of those for work or whatnot.

That in mind, she slunk off towards the dresses, blissfully unaware of the two smaller girls with the same idea as she. Maybe she could get something for Yuria while she was here, too… oh, she’d be thrilled with that!