ReformBlade

"Well ain't you just a fuckin map!" Jericho said, laughing at her directions. At least he was genuinely laughing as opposed to the snobbish laughing of supposed superiority he could be doing, but nah, he wasn't completely rude like that. "I think I can make it there with that, actually... If not, I can ask for some help~" As much as she didn't want to, she'd buckle down and ask for guidance from a maid around the place. Chances are, they might know the layout better than herself, just a hunch. "I understand." Mushirah shot out, the situation going from really quite cheerful to very grim in a matter of seconds... To be honest, she was really just extremely disappointed that the date was interrupted at all, being the first one of such magnitude. Still, she steeled herself for what was to inevitably come, though she wasn't sure she'd be ready to kill again... "... Are we even safe here right now?" She asked no one in particular, the nerves getting the better of her.

"Right, right..." And I don't think more alcohol will be the answer there. Jericho concluded in his mind. Thankfully he didn't appear to need to do too much at the moment as Greta seemed to be falling asleep before his eyes. Gently rubbing her shoulder, Aneda muttered, "I think you just need some sleep now, all things considered. Hell, you've got me conking out here sorta too, hahaha." She could feel the eyelids getting heavy, though she resisted the urge to give in and fall asleep there anyway.

Not expecting to drink any more than he had already, Jericho gave a doubting glance to Aneda then turned that gaze right back to Greta, not entirely sure how to ask but going to ask all the same, "Um... far be it from me to question you on all this, ma'am, but weren't you gonna try to avoid overindulging?" "Jericho!" Aneda replied, astonished and almost offended for Greta, "She's had a hard time, let the girl drink if she wants to!" Hands up in self defense, "Hey now! i'm all about trying to make sure someone doesn't regret things later down the line, I just want to be sure that that's what she really wants to do and it ain't just a gut reaction to what she's trying to deal with! I've seen some... unpleasantness with regards to this kind of stuff." He didn't specify, on what he was referring to anyway, "As much as I don't like to drink, I understand it's how some people cope, and I'm ok with that. I personally wish some people were stronger but not everyone has strength to just persevere through their own problems and this is a way for them to do it... If you want, Greta, I'll go get one for you." By this point, Aneda had gone to sit next to Greta, helping prop her up and keep her balance, "Well?" she added to Jericho's question like she was in on the whole thing the whole time, just joking before.

Oh, tears, crap, I can't deal with that. Tears were a thing Jericho never knew how to deal with, others or his own. He found it even more difficult if he didn't know the person and he was pretty sure the person being inebriated was also something he wasn't exactly prepared to deal with as well. "Ooooh... No crying, Greta, calm down." Aneda was a bit mixed just by looking at the lady on the stairs. She went and wiped them away, being the personal space ignoring person she was and smiled at her. Well good thing she stepped in. But I can't help it... "Well... you can't hold on forever, regardless. No one can do that, so... don't give yourself an impossible rung to reach, lady."

"Fire in my chest for you not puking? Eh... I suppose there are worse trades." Tons worse. He thought, reflecting on random events from his past. "I bet you wouldn't be saying that if you didn't think she was so 'good lookin' hahahaaaa~" Aneda just had to chime in in an attempt to embarrass him. It sort of worked. Staring at Aneda, and an occasional glance over towards Greta, "You uh... shut up. Ain't true. Not admitting to that BS." "Bingo~" she rang out, clapping in mock applause. Whispering loudly on purpose to Greta, "I'd be careful, he seems like the clingy type"

"Well not everyone possesses such tolerance, all in all I think it's better that some people have an innate dislike for alcohol." Aneda pondered, not entirely sure what she meant or said, but hey it sounded all well and good to her at that moment. "I don't hate the stuff... I just can't handle anything I try apparently. I need extremely weak doses in order to not... well, do this." Motioning to himself, Jericho shook his head. He almost wanted to try another swig of it but his brain mentally slapped itself for that and he didn't reach for that bottle. Aneda sighed and offered the bottle back to Greta. "Here, not much left, but I think you should finish it off, you'd probably enjoy it more than I would at this rate, heehee..."

"Well yeah, here in this big old mansion is pretty spiffy but the places all around it? I don't particularly care for em. I'd take just about anywhere else... As long as it's liveable and nonviolent, of course.~ I can also agree to the guys thing, been traveling with a lot of women and girls. Not that I'm complaining too much, some of them are pretty cute and whatnot." Thinking about a previous incident left Aneda smiling, though it could easily be from the drinks she'd just had. the red in her cheeks was definitely due to that. "Oh so you'd like to live in a fantasy land? You and everyone else, really." Jericho noted rather dryly, before deciding to be brave and take the bottle from Greta and taking a rather quick swig, giving him a burning sensation in his throat almost immediately, followed by a cough or two. "Oh fuck, I keep forgetting, ack... I'm never used to this stuff." Feeling a tightness in his chest, he handed the bottle off to Aneda while clutching at said chest. "... you gonna be ok? Need a doctor or something?" "N-no, just gimme a second..." "Oookay then."

"I may have my freedom but it's been nothing but a bunch of shallow self indulgence. I can't stand up for anything I believe in if I don't follow through with anything I say or want to say..." It was a sad reality for the rider but one that surfaced, if a bit too quickly. She did, however, cede the bottle over to Greta after hearing her story. "...My condolences." Jericho uttered, not quite sure what else to do with the information. It came quickly to him and it was fairly sad, not in a deeply hurting emotional way to him but in the sort of way that the guy couldn't do anything about it since it'd been so long, he hardly knew either of them, and he didn't know what he'd do anyway even if he could. "Well, for me it's done with... I just want out of here soonish, the longer I stay the more I'll feel watched and just all around blegh."

"Laaaame." Aneda blurted out with no actual follow up. Rolling his eyes, "Maybe I'll change my mind if you'll share your whole person life story. Maybe." he reiterated for emphasis. He wasn't planning on it but hey, if he got a good enough story and a reason to say something... "Hmm..." Thinking for just a second before stealing the bottle away again, taking a nice big gulp of the liquid, "Didja know I was in the military here only... gosh how long has it been? If i'm 26 then... 5ish years ago I think?" "You? Don't take this the wrong way but I don't really imagine you as a soldier of any sort, you're way too... out there." Nothing about her seemed military in the slightest to the mage. "Well to be fair I did sort of just... leave them. Took my Pegasus with me as I did that, couldn't stand the way things were run, couldn't stand being bound by so many rules and regulations, when to wake up, when to eat, when to train, who to fight, blah blah blah. It got depressing for me for a while there so I had to get up and go. I honestly don't know why I actually got away with it, maybe they just let me go? I dunno, that'd be kind of a bitter pill for me to swallow. Point is..." She thought her next few words out carefully. "I don't care for them now, and I really don't want to be here, but I think the fact that no one ever really came and got me and the fact that I'm still alive means they don't particularly find me of value to em likewise. So... yeah." It wasn't her most thought out logical pattern, but it's what she could come up with at the moment. "I'm pretty sure you can't just... leave like that, on a whim." Jericho scowled at her. "You're not telling something there." "Oh, now it's not okay to leave out a detail or two~?" she replied with the teasingest of tones. "... Well played."

"My... story?" Didn't I just say I didn't want to talk about it? I don't suppose i have to tell them everything. "There's not much to it, just a heads up. I'm just looking for a person, someone I've... lost, let's say. Someone who owes me..." He finished, an almost imperceptible amount of bitterness in his voice as he did so. "...Is that it? Come on, there's gotta be more." The pegasus knight insisted, but insisting didn't seem to be working in her favor here. "You'll just have to find out if there's more, won't you?" Meanwhile, over with Mushirah, she finally decided to speak up for some good old fashioned encouragement. "Come on, Shadrak, it won't be that bad! Plus... you've only got one chance, why not take it?" Oh gosh, why don't I take that advice? Ohhhh, not right now, conscience, just be supportive!

"The name's Jericho Pellen. " He replied with a small air of pride. "A do gooder with a penchant for fire." Though really I just want to go for one person... He thought, if only to remind himself that he had something to work towards so he wouldn't sit around forever, Aneda was a bit embarrassed that she didn't know the lady's name right off the bat, unfortunately, so she sat down again, smiling a little, her face a slight tinge of red. "And gettin your ass kicked, heehee." "Oh, yes, like I'm just gonna pick a fight on the street like that." He said defensively. "But you kinda did anyway~" "Ugh... Anyway, ignoring her for a second, well... actually no that was it, not really much else to my name I'm completely comfortable with talking to you folks about. Nothing too personal about it, just... kinda saying." "See now I'm curious!" "Well get un-curious... not... curious, you know what shut up."

"No no no, no more crying, no more tears tonight." Aneda hurriedly spat out, reaching for the bottle. "There's been enough depression and anguish the past week. If this'll stop it, then lets down it!" Deep down she felt that indulging in it too much could be disastrous but at the same time, things weren't so great to begin with... how much worse can it get? Taking a swig, she could already feel a little 'better'. Jericho was still not quite sure what either was going on about, but it did sound pretty grim, something he was pretty sure most people wouldn't be fond of. Thankfully he fell into that category, or maybe unsurprisingly he did.

An audible sigh found its way out of Jericho's mouth as he held his head down in what appeared to be defeat. "Meh, I could do much worse than sharing with you unless like... you've got some super rare mouth disease? It don't look infected or murderous. Anyway, whatcha got there? Is... is it delicious? Or is it just straight up alcohol?" Please tell me she's not that crazy. "Were you gonna down that all by yourself or something...?" Jericho asked after looking back up finally, head tilted, moreso from elevation differences and all that jazz than from genuine curiosity, but that didn't exactly matter here. She an alcoholic? Or maybe something really bad happened... or maybe good? Stupid unknowns, make yourself known so I can stop guessing everything!

"Well hey, what's cookin good lookin?" Jericho spat out upon seeing this new woman, though he regretted it immediately. Not out of fear or anything but dang was he just really down that he actually used that line on a random person. "Uh... mm..." Aneda gave him a rather long stare which slowly drifted towards Greta, prompting a smile. "Hey there, Jericho and I were just kinda chatting, waiting for some fun to happen or something. And I see you're looking for a little something as well~" she pointed to the bottle with a mischievous grin on her face. "Wanna share?" "Honestly, I'm not that cheesy!" Jericho tried to cover his blunder up a bit late. "Oh shush, it's too late now." Aneda patted his head while Jericho swatted the hand away.

Chilling out, sitting on some steps, Jericho contemplated his options, wishing he could get the night over with. Could just call it quits and go on my way, that'd be easiest, but this is such a weird offer... Like, if I don't go for it, I'll never know what I missed out on While he was trying to think, Aneda found him sitting by himself. "Did you get lost or something?" She asked, only mildly puzzled as she made her way towards him. "Nah, just... keeping the stairs warm, or something." Classy. "Oh you're just dripping with sarcasm, aren't you? you nervous about something? Angry?" "... Yes? I think that covers it." He replied after a grudging head nod. "Well don't worry about, millions of worse things can happen, no matter what it is, i'm sure." Aneda said with all the carelessness she could muster. "I would argue that but there's no reason. I'm just kind of waiting here, got nothing better to do and I doubt they'd let me go wherever I please in here on such short notice." "Eh you'd be surprised... but who knows? I certainly don't." sighing and taking a seat on the steps too, "Why are you so intent on talking to her? I mean, besides the obvious." "Well that was a shift... Um, honestly, I'm looking for someone. I'm not exactly a genius, I can't track people down, but... I dunno, talk of a legendary artifact might draw in some interesting folk." Pausing for a moment, thinking about what he just said, "Yes, I realize i'm very much in that group too." "Uuuh huh... All I know is something about her rubs me the wrong way, but maybe it's just a problem I've got. I dunno. What I do know is that I'm probably just gonna try to leave, get that out of the way, maybe go find some other work." "Yeah, maybe go find work. Who needs an income? Live life on the edge!" Jericho said with mock enthusiasm. "I know, right?" Aneda replied with a much needed laugh. In truth, she seemed to be waiting for a Raquel to return soon as well. funny, that. They continued with their silly banter for a little while longer, bouncing randomly from topic to topic before Aneda was reminded that she desperately needed to write a letter to a very important person... at some point. No rush though.

Until further notice, I think I'll be done posting. Not that this makes a difference to anyone involved anyway.

Her consolation rubbed him the wrong way, and he wanted to attack her again but he wasn't going to let that get to him. "I see I've met my match..." Being bested, even in a simple sparring match such as that, was a bitter pill to swallow, made even more bitter by the fact that reaching his goal would be many times harder than winning a match with the girl in front of him. So, instead he smiled, swallowed some of that bitterness though he didn't exactly hide that he was bitter in his tone as he spoke to her, "Well if we're done here, I'd rather not catch a cold when I could be inside being comfortable." He didn't acknowledge what she said to him verbally but he knew what she was talking about and it only made him angrier as a whole as he walked away. First that fucking fallen wench is just sitting there taunting me, now I can't even best a simple girl? This night's just getting lovelier and lovelier, isn't it?

"Yeah, you start." Doing a swift twirl backwards with all the grace of a hungry and probably bruised person, Jericho motioned fer her to attack, "Come on, be swift about it!" Maybe he was making a mistake, but there wasn't a reason for him to back down.

"Holy sh-" Jericho got in before Lumi got her checkmate in. "You don't mess around, do you? Talk about stress..." He accepted her hand, admiring the lady's decisive victory, even if he was fuming on the inside and cursing luck and some form of gods for his loss. "Care for a rematch?" He asked on impulse more than an actual desire for a fight or anything, though after saying it he was completely behind his mind's decision.

"You sure? I can pack quite a mean punch." Jericho said, readying himself, taking a moment to gather his thoughts and enough time to cast his own spells. He decided to start off simple, throwing out a ball of flame, in an arc so as to be ever so slightly fancy. It turned out to be somewhat effective, too. Jericho: 15/15 Lumi: 8/18 http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4319225/ Meanwhile, Mushirah was somewhat surprised at what was going on. There wasn't much for her to do beyond acknowledge that, yes, Raquel had made something of a demand. "Um, yeah, we'll do that." It would've sounded better if she didn't say it so meekly and quietly but hey, she was fairly nervous.

Well this is sudden, but she brings a good suggestion. "I can do that, though I might not be in tip top shape though..." And it is kind of getting late, but eh, I can light the place up. Jericho thought, a grin on his face for a moment before he went on with his interrogation, "Are you talking right now? I can do that if you want."

Fuck, where do I even begin? I could just be a snide dick, that might end well. I should probably just try and not get myself kicked out immediately though, wait until later to do that. Hang on. my beautiful ego, you'll have your chance. "It's nothing that needs to be brought up here right now. Just a... A grudge, lets say. Again, nothing I want to really discuss. I'm sorry my face does things like that."

"Awesome, time to contemplate." Jericho noted with some odd enthusiasm. "I guess if I am going with yall I'd have to find some transportation for myself, but I can worry about that if it comes to that." Bored and looking about, Jericho saw Siv, or at least registered her for what she was for the first time. The man couldn't hide the disdain on his face, nor did he particularly care to do so. Unpleasant memories surfaced for Jericho, nothing extreme, but things he would one hundred percent rather not be reminded of if he had control over it at the moment. If he were by himself, the man would've probably done something extremely rash, but as it was he did think better on it and decided to simply turn his head away and grunt. Fiddling with his Harmonica, Jericho kept silent for a time, nothing to really add to anything else said, and almost completely bummed out.

"Well I'm... not actually with Raquel, I'm merely intrigued, though I must admit, if there's more traveling going on I'm definitely more tempted to go with her..." Jericho trailed off before leaning back and relaxing, "Though I like to keep my options open. I mean, if yall have room for me, I'd certainly love to... go do whatever it is you're doing," And being with a pretty lady wouldn't be bad at all, would not be bad at all. Jericho added in his mind, though he wouldn't exactly have been uncomfortable admitting it out loud either. "It'd be lovely company, I'm sure." I wonder how long I'd have to decide though. He wondered until Amon spoke up about decisions. Oh. People don't seem to have much confidence with this Raquel person... I'm beginning to regret my decisions, but I can't say yet for sure.