Fire Emblem: Wretched Whispers, Act 2: Warpath

[Bluedoom]

" That truly is sad to hear! Seemed like a splendid idea... but the neutral magic you are referring to- I've seen few people wield it in battle. One of us was hit by a spell that made him unable to move, last battle. I didn't see any sort of element forming while it was cast, so I can only assume it was neutral magic. I myself have never dabbled with it but... sounds like the magic of control, more than anything." replied Wolfgang.

[Xinnidy]

Magali was relieved when Melanie turned to heal her. "Haah... it's nice to be relieved of the fatigue, thank you~." She glanced at Mina, concerned for her health yet curious about her discussion. "Hmm, that's not unfamiliar, I think I've heard about it, too. Magic unbound to an element. It is possible for all practitioners of magic to use... well, except one like me." She smiled sheepishly. "I thought it was not simple to grasp... I can only imagine how hard it would be to cast without a tome. Resting up sounds like a wonderful idea." It seems fairly complex... no wonder, since he was interested in it.

[riariadne]

To The Skies

"Haha, well, birds are so fun and silly," Sheikah began. "They're so different and free, it's nice to watch them, and there's so many different types. Though, that's not really why I started riding wyverns. Back when I was little, the village I was from in Sloktan was saved by a single man on a giant wyvern. I actually same him again earlier today... and it turns out it was a dragon, but still. I wanted to be a hero like that and save people like I was saved." She looked up and smiled as the small hawk spread its wings and flew in circles around the tree.

We All Need Control

"Hmmm... yes, that is a fairly accurate summary, Magali." Mina stumbled as she started to step forward, Sierra quick to catch the smaller woman's fall. "I apologize... even though I am healed, I am still rather tired. Neutral magic falls outside the realms of dark, anima, and light, devoid of the power of the elements. Sometimes it is unpredictable, and it is always very unusual. There is much to be discovered about it."

[Nanami Touko]

"Neutral magique, eh?" Melanie listened to Magali and Mina talk about it, turning her head to attend to each of them, as they spoke. It sounded fantastical! But also, worrisome. "I already 'ave ze light magique to worry about. Now zere ees zis neutral magique, haha. Eet seems I will never be finished avec ma magique journey." She smiled, as much as it sounded like she was complaining. More magic to learn simply meant more fun to be had! More challenges to overcome! More things to learn. And that, that excited Mel. A lot. She was practically beaming as she spoke. "Ehm, zough, Mina, did you need more of ze 'ealing? I can try again, eef you wish!" She still wasn't tipping over, not yet! Close, though

[Percivalé]

Vale grinned, though he tried to hide it. He flipped hair out of his face; it was still disheveled from the earlier ordeal. "So, you mean you know this place?" He asked. "It's true that I've never been here before... quite funny, considering half of it is my name." He began to approach Declan, readying himself to follow the other man through the town. "It was almost like fate or something that I'd end up here with you guys, huh?" At this point he'd just been talking only to loosen up the awkwardness a bit, since he could feel it--mostly from Declan's side, but regardless.

Edited November 24, 2014 by Quote

[charlie_]

Weapon Shopping

"Bows too huh? Diversity helps I suppose." the shopkeeper chuckled. "Well, we have your standard iron and steel weaponry for both. There's also some axes designed to take out anyone running around in heavy armour, as well as this bow..." he said, gesturing towards one of the Killer Bows. "It might not look like much, but it's probably the most dangerous weapon in the store. If you get in a good hit with it, your opponent will be down in no time. So, are you interested?"

Edited November 24, 2014 by SB.

[Xinnidy]

Magali placed a hand on Melanie's shoulder. "You did a lot of work today trying to control that Carreau spell, I couldn't ask more of you. If you need some rest, I could try healing Mina with it instead." She half-motioned to Melanie's healing staff. "Don't overextend yourself either, alright?" Truth be told, everyone was quite exhausted, but it made more sense to share healing duty if possible. I'm not doing as bad as Mina, you can rely on me, Melanie.

[scorri]

"Oh, huh." Taima stared at the birds for a few seconds before continuing. "Guess that's a better reason to get into all this madness than what I did. I just did it because I like the rush I get from fighting, and I'm good at it. Nothing special or anything." She frowned and sighed. "My parents weren't too thrilled at first, but they eventually decided to not try and stop me. Even made me my lance." She shook her head and returned to staring at the birds. "They're so carefree. They've got the sky and not a worry beyond. Makes you wish you could be free like them, away from all the chaos of the world..."

[eclipse]

Peter eyed the bow on the wall. That ain't a beginner's bow! But it looks like it can fire an arrow straight through walls. Impressive. "That's a hell of a bow you've got there," Peter said, motioning towards the Killer Bow. "How much for it?"

[charlie_]

"You like it? It's 750 gold." he paused briefly. "It might seem kind of expensive, but it's a bargain for what you get out of it."

[MRDRHAWK]

Declan sighed a little - the place brought back some memories, that was for sure... but not all of them were good. In fact, this was where he lost Arietta in the first place. That was... not a fun day. When Vale started coming closer, Declan resisted the urge to step back. No... no need to avoid physical contact with him. He's different... he won't just disappear if I leave him be for too long.

"Fate does have a funny way of working, I guess... some good, some bad..." Declan replied half-heartedly, knowing full well what that statement entailed. After all, fate wasn't always kind to him - not in the least. "Do you consider this good fate, or bad? Since there are both kinds..."

[Nanami Touko]

"Eh?" Melanie was confused for a moment, before remembering: Magali could heal, too! She handed the woman her staff, and looked more than a bit embarrassed. "Ehm, désolé, Magali, I 'ad forgotten you could also use ze staffs... You 'ave juste been dancing, so much, hehe." She felt herself sway a bit as she gave away the magic channeling device, realizing that it probably wouldn't have been a good idea to try and continue to heal Mina. "You may, ehm, go a'ead. Sorry eef I 'ave worried you too. I seem to be doing zat a lot-- worrying people."

[Refa]

Artemis sighed in relief; it looked like Melanie could take care of things on that front. Hopefully she doesn't overexert herself, though. She turned around to Wolfgang shortly after, as he had posed an interesting question to Mina. Mixing magic, huh? Didn't we fight some guys who did that before? Also I heard there was some sort of legendary tome that did the same sort of thing...I think. Her thoughts didn't really seem like an important addition to the conversation, so she just waited it out. Before she could really process what everyone had said about neutral magic, Melanie herself said something weird. "Well, yeah. People worry about people that they care about. Why get upset over that? It's not like you did anything wrong." Like, duh. Doesn't everyone know that?

[riariadne]

Birds of a Feather

"No shame in doing a job because you're good at it," Sheikah reassured the armor knight. "You're a good fighter, and we're doing good work. We aren't the ones invading another country, after all. Stay true to yourself, and we'll make sure that everything ends up okay, got it?" She looked up at the birds again. "I used to do a lot of bird watching when I was little and had a lot less tying me down. Hmmm, maybe..." She whistled sharply in the direction of the birds, the smallest one flying around her and chirping before landing on her arm. "Oh... I didn't think that would really work, I was just kidding around. I guess this one's particularly curious, huh?" She pat it gently, eliciting more chirps in return. "Do you want to pet it?"

Penance

"I will be fine... I do not need any more healing. Bloodcasting can be a rather draining experience, and I did not exercise restraint in my usage of it here." Mina clutched her left hand with her right, wincing slightly. "So much mystic power is at my hands... usually I am fairly good at controlling it, but sometimes I succumb to it. After all, by nature, power is rather enthralling."

Sierra frowned nervously, pulling the priestess into a slightly awkward embrace. "No more special book-free magic for you, miss! You told me I have to make you stop if you start losing control, so umm... don't do it! I guess I can't make you stop if you really want to keep using it, so I guess this isn't a very good arrangement we have going between us..." She frowned. "Well, we made a promise! No breaking promises, right?"

"Yes, Sierra, I am aware... I will remember to limit myself for the time being." She frowned lightly, but did not push away from the tight hug. "Sorry. You do not deserve a cold response like that when you are just trying to help. Then, thank you for reminding me of our promise, Sierra. Now, the rest of you... unless you have specific questions, you may exit at your leisure. Speak to Kim at the entry and she will pay you what you have earned for the performance."

[eclipse]

"Sure, I'll take it!" Peter responded heartily. That last battle showed me just how devastating a well-fired arrow can be. Might as well get some new gear while I can. "While it would be cool to take out the armored units, I'm working with several mages, and they're pretty good at taking out knights and their ilk. Oh, and do you think you can squeeze in a forge order for a different weapon?" he asked.

[Nanami Touko]

Artemis said something weird. "Ben... I do not want to cause people to worry. Zey probably 'ave enough stress een zere minds zan worrying over moi. Donc, I do not want eet to 'appen." That's what she thought about that! People worrying too much, well... It was nice, and at the same time, it made her worry back, and then nothing productive got done! Though, worry was different from care, in her mind. Care was trying to make someone happy and look out for their well being... Worry was stressing over it, and getting anxious about the person.

Mina said she didn't need any healing, so Melanie took her staff back from Magali, politely. If she didn't need it, then Mel didn't want to risk tiring Magali out with healing, as well. She was curious about that power control, though... Mina dismissed everyone to go and do their own things, but, Mel wanted to ask her things. And she still had to apologize to a certain someone. She approached the duo and looked up at Sierra, biting her lip for a moment. "Sierra, ehm... I am truly sorry, for what I said before ze show. I did not mean to upset you, like zat. I would never say anysing like zat again."

[Percivalé]

Vale looked up for a second. "Good or bad, huh..." he pondered out loud. He rubbed the side of his face and slowed his pace just a bit. "I guess I can't really know that just yet, can I? After all, this is my first time being here." He glanced at Declan's face and the other man's expression caused Vale's own to fall a bit as well. He decided not to say anything, but he couldn't help making a few guesses at what he was thinking. It's not me; he'd be more distant otherwise. It's something about this place, huh...

"In a way, though, I would say it might be good. So far." He regained his typical upbeat-ness. "After all, what happened in there," he gestured towards the inn (they weren't too far from it yet), "was a good thing, I think." He had a theory.

[Xinnidy]

Magali just gave a half-concerned smile when Melanie pointed out she barely remember Magali healing. But... I taught you past the basics... and bought you your staff... Did I really lose my place this much?! Unfortunately enough, she couldn't even get to use her staff, as Mina said she didn't need healing. That was a shame.

"O-Oh, don't worry. I'm just concerned for your well-being, as well as for everyone's. It's not because you're stressing anyone, Melanie." Magali shook herself off and tried to reassure the girl, then gave a glance to the couple Melanie approached. "It's been wonderful dancing here, can I ask if I may come another day? We might leave town soon, but there's always next time~." The prospect was alluring to her after this show.

[Refa]

Artemis shrugged at Melanie's response; she didn't really agree with it, but at the same time she also didn't care enough to make any effort in supporting what she had said. Besides, everyone else looked preoccupied enough with their own concerns. Better not bother them, then, Artemis thought as she started walking away from the group by herself. Huh, now that I think about it, it might not be such a bad idea to go shopping. Can never be too prepared for battle or something, right? She contemplated, lost in thought as she neared the entrance. Oh, we get paid for the performance. Right. "Hey, I was in that last uh...performance. Mina said we should come here to get paid, so well...here I am, I guess," Artemis said nervously to Kim. She never felt very comfortable asking other people for money.

[Bluedoom]

Wolfgang shrugged as he followed Artemis to the counter where this Kim person was. He would just get his pay and...perhaps go back to the boxing ring. He wanted to try using his magic at the boxing ring... imbuing his fists with magic and punching sounded fun to him. Listening to Artemis speak to the person who was supposedly Kim, he chimed in, " Yeah, Mina sent us to collect our pay. There should be others still in the practice room though."

[scorri]

"Mmm, know there's no shame just... Not sure it's the best reason. Dunno." She gave a half shrug before letting go of the subject. As the boss managed to whistle a bird down, she smiled brightly. "Wow, that's impressive. I... Yeah, ok." She reached out and gently stroked the bird's head, not wanting to hurt it accidentally.

[charlie_]

Sales and Forges

The shopkeeper set down Peter's new bow on the counter as he heard the man's second request. "You want to upgrade one of your weapons, eh? I can probably do that - as long as it's not magic or something. What's the weapon, and what do you want doing to it?"

Something About Punching

Norman was fairly satisfied with the purchases he'd made, but was now stuck in an awkward situation as he wasn't sure what to do. He wasn't really sure where any of the others were, and didn't feel like heading back to the inn just yet, so he wandered aimlessly for a little while until he found himself in front of the boxing ring. He hesitated for a moment, then shrugged and went inside. If there were matches on, he could just watch, and he figured that the minor circuit couldn't be too difficult for him to handle. Probably.

As it turned out, there was currently a lull in matches, so he approached one of the arena's staff, hoping that he could get started fairly quickly. "Hey, I want to run the minor circuit. How much is that gonna cost me?" he asked. After further inspection, the man he'd approached more like a fighting trainer in hindsight, but he could point him in the right direction anyway if he was wrong.

A Challenger Approaches

By the time that another person entered the bar - this time a tall, brown haired man with a cape trailing behind him - Borvan had gone back to his drink. The former marksman just assumed that he was one of the Hollows, and gave him a similar greeting to Diana. "I'm guessing you're also one of the mercenaries? Just grab your key from the desk if you want it now, Cara's not serving at the moment." He reached for his drink, but then noticed that he'd already drained the glass. He sighed, hoping that she would be out again soon so he could get himself another.

//Orpheus Perroy may now post!

Edited November 27, 2014 by SB.

[eclipse]

"This ol' thing here," Peter said, as he set down the Hand Axe. "I'd like to hit more than thin air with it."

(that's three slots of HIT to the Hand Axe)

[riariadne]

Peaceful Seclusion

The little hawk peeped cheerily, waving its wings around with excitement and circling the two women before returning to the tree, chirping at the kestrel she landed with. "Haha, what a silly bird. If only we could be so carefree... it's so quiet and remote here, it almost makes you forget there's a war going on."

Future Arrangements

"Another performance?" Mina asked, a bit surprised. "Hmm, I have a solo dance tomorrow... while I will refrain from another of these magic shows for a while, perhaps a duet with someone new could provide an interesting change in pace. Come see me tomorrow, and I will work out some details. You are truly a skilled performer, so I would rather enjoy working with you again, I think."

"It's okay, Melanie," Sierra assured the little mage, letting go of the priestess and patting the mage's head. "You weren't wrong... it's a valid concern, and something I eventually need to come to terms with, but it's just scary to think about. I'm sure you didn't mean anything by it. Sometimes I just can't handle myself very well..."

Fruition

"Oooh, hi, you guys were great!" Kim welcomed the two magicians. "Here's your pay- 500 gold, each. We're booked up for the most part for almost a week, but if you're ever in the area let us know." She handed each of them a small bag and waved.

[Refa]

"Yeah, I was relieved that all of our practice paid off in the end," Artemis said in response to Kim's praise. "Sure, it'd be nice to be a member of the audience instead of a performer for a change. I might come around tomorrow if I have some free time. Well, see you later then!" Artemis concluded (after taking the money, of course), waving goodbye to Kim as she walked out of the theater area. Might as well do something with this money, huh, she thought as she wandered about the shopping district. There were so many shops to choose, and it was a daunting task deciding which place she'd choose first. After much deliberation, she settled upon entering a rather peculiar store that dealt with gems; they didn't seem to have much practical use, but it couldn't hurt to check things out. Taking the dark green gem in her hand, she felt a faint magical aura within it. Weird. Wait, I've heard of these before. They uh...make you more powerful, or something. I didn't really pay attention at the time, it never seemed like something I would need to use, she reasoned with herself as she placed the gem that she took on the counter. "Hey, might be a weird question, but...do you know what exactly this gem does?"

Edited November 27, 2014 by Refa