MRDRHAWK

Nyx snorted at the talk of hoping Aly’s legs were okay. “Damn, might be a tad early t’talk ‘bout that shit, aye Sari? Then again… ye weren’t the only one ‘ere t’get a bit frisky wit’ a fellow Tiger last night.” Granted, her and Syn didn’t quite go that far, compared to Sari and Aly, but still. “N’hey, if’n ye needa talk t’some’un about shit, m’pretty good at hearin’ folks out. Jus’ ask Gean.” Nyx just hoped nobody else she’d get close to had some crazy secret. That would suck. ”’Fraid not.” Tanya shrugged her shoulders at Tio, looking over to Versaris with a frown. He’d been spoken to already, though, so she wasn’t going to bother. “I haven’t had anything to do with Lufiria in more than two years. All I know is that Papa’s in intelligence, or at least he was when I left.” She really didn’t know why people were so concerned. “Most I’ve heard of Lufirian Intelligence is that the guy running it is, like, crazy strong. Man named Jeremiah. But I doubt he’d show up all the way out here… probably.” Another shrug, and Tanya looked between Tio and the other woman, and sighed. “I’m more worried about them sending Papa out here. I mean, I can certainly try to convince him to stand down if things get messy, but if he sees me on the other end of his knife, he might flip out and call me a traitor to the family’s ideal of justice.” Not to mention that Tanya had no idea if any of the other family members might show up. “If you see a fellow cat Clouded who’s blonde and looks kinda lanky, but is fast as hell, either let me talk to him, or try and subdue him non-lethally. Okay?” She doubted Papa would show up, but then again, normally Tanvir and the Princess herself wouldn’t be all the way out here, either. So, she had to put the plea out there, just to be safe.

As groups started to form up downstairs in the inn, Nyx barely staggered out of her room, still disheveled and damn near red in the face over everything that transpired since they’d arrived at the inn last night… geez. Nyx still couldn’t believe it… Thawing a Frozen Heart Nyx saw Sari leave to get food in a huff as she finally made it downstairs, and decided to trail the lad, hoping he wasn’t too flustered. “Oi, Sari, m’lad. S’quite th’sour puss yer sportin’ this early. Rough night?” Maybe talking it out with an impartial party might help matters, or it might make things worse. Hopefully not the latter - she was in too good of a mood for that.

Scylla saw the other pilots file out of the elevator as it finally reached its’ destination, and she practically rocketed out as soon as she had the chance, to her own HEX. The comfort of being in her own bot… it was something she’d grown perhaps a bit too comfortable with the idea of, but… well, she had her vices, she guessed. It was disappointing that they hadn’t approved her customization requests beyond the paint job, but she could make do. “Haha… oh, man, this feels amazing. Can’t wait to really test this baby out…” She said to herself, perhaps hoping that the more she spoke it into existence, the faster they could deploy in them. Plus, now she actually had something to talk about with the others, so they wouldn’t think she’s just some freak! Bonus.

“Well, if you’d asked earlier, I’d have said something… fine. Ex-soldier here, nice to meet you, too.” Tanya wasn’t gonna let herself be intimidated, but then a thought occurred to her. If he was Intelligence, then… “You know a man named Anton? Anton Maldolche? Because I’m his eldest daughter, Tanya. And no, I don’t have any more information than you do about their moves - and if you’re actually in Intelligence, you probably know more than I do about who’s here or what’s going on, because I left Lufiria a couple years ago.”

As soon as Tanya heard the name Tanvir, she realized her moment of reflection on everything was done. She moved over to the group forming - including the odd… woman who they’d picked up before. “Hey, couldn’t help but overhear - so, you really did run into one of the Royal Knights? And the princess herself…” Tanya shuddered. “Look, if this many big players in Lufiria are involved in this entire mess, then that means that Intelligence probably is, too. And that means I’ve got to come with you, more than ever - maybe I can get things sorted.” Tanya said, before pausing, and adding, “Provided, of course, it’s someone I actually know who’s poking around here. I just hope… well, I hope it’s not Papa.” That would probably make things worse.

Tanya felt… dazed. Almost in a trance, really. She’d stayed back during the last battle to guard the Tigers’ supplies, and she’s glad she did. Otherwise, she’d have been battling her princess, apparently, and running into one of the royal knights. That would be… disastrous. For one, it might get her family in trouble, and she couldn’t do that to Mama, Papa, or especially Yuyu. She shuffled down the stairs, taking a seat at a table far off. This was not a good morning for Tanya… but it could have been worse. She just needed a minute to think. Sophia was practically bouncing up and down on the floor, as she skipped over to where Celine was staying. The commotion yesterday had almost made her forget, but yesterday was Celine’s birthday! Sophia had to scramble most of the remainder of the day to get something for her, but she finally managed to find a nice necklace from one of the villagers. But… Celine was also sleeping, and Sophia didn’t want to ruin her sleep - she knew how much she needed the rest. So, she instead asked the villager that had graciously agreed to house Celine for the night to give it to her when she woke up, and to let her know that it’s a gift from her favourite little lamb. Sophia just hoped she’d like it, before she headed back into town excitedly. For once, sleep wasn’t something she was all too concerned about.

Scylla grumbled at having everyone apparently just… cram into an elevator. What were they, a pack of fuckin’ sardines? Sure, the elevator had room for them all, but it just seemed ridiculous. Although, she noticed too late that there was a second one, so… that one’s on her, now. Well, whatever. She wished she had her music player on her, but she’d have to make do with the HEX’s internal stuff. Besides, she wasn’t the only one trying her best to ignore the… uh, chattier ones of the group, so it wasn’t obnoxiously loud in here. She just hoped they had gotten her customization request. After all, it would make her even more comfortable, and maybe it’d even make her more willing to chat with some of these people like they may have wanted. ”Come on, shitty elevator, go faster…” Scylla muttered, her foot tapping against the floor. “Lemme get in that robot already…” While it was going down, at least, she wanted it to be in the hangar already - in fact, she arguably needed it.

Oh, so they were actually going to do something. Fine by Scylla, as long as people left her alone until they got there. She’d already slunk towards the door, hoping to get to the hangar without being noticed by anyone, because judging from how… excessive some of them seemed, she wasn’t going to get out of an encounter with some of them without having to play nice. If they wanted to chat, they could chat with her inside a HEX. Much comfier, that way.

Nyx was honestly a bit surprised by Gean suddenly breaking away from the hug, but something seemed to have caught her eye. She’s not gonna keep her daughter from something important, especially if it concerns this friend of hers, so she lets Gean go, before turning over to Syndra - before realizing she’d already left. Dammit. Well, she sure wasn’t joining that little congregation over by the Lady Altair, so… now what? What was she to do…

Shit, she thought she’d have more time. The more attentive of the group may have seen a tiny, purple-haired young woman hiding in the corner, fiddling with an old music player. Really, Scylla thought she’d have gotten it working by now, but… no, everyone else was just too quick. Way too many folks on this boat… bah. Just her luck to get stuck dealing with this many people. ”Scylla. Lieutenant, Junior Grade, like the rest of ya.” She shuffled back into the corner and said nothing more. If anyone wanted to see what she could do, they could put a sword in her hands while she got in a HEXs and figure out for themselves whether they wanted to deal with a freak like her.

Sophia poured a little, but perked up again almost immediately. Part of her still really wanted to hug Celine and Diya, but she figured it wasn’t the time. She needed her serious face on. Celine looked troubled, hearing about everything, so Sophia did at least go over and pat her on the arm reassuringly. She’d have to give her proper care soon enough. ”Soooooooorry, Ce- Lady Celine… I’ll be gooooooood.” Sophia did still sound a little sad though. “But whyyyyyyyyy was a Royal Knight of Lufiiiiiiiiiiiiiiria here? They’re… kinda like us, riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight Celine? So that really waaaaaaaaaaas the princess… but then, whyyyyyyyyy would she have tried to take the Escaflowne?” Sophia’s brow furrowed, and in most cases, it might have looked cute. But now she was thinking. Especially because somebody had left her behind to catch up on her own, like a butt. Nyx clenched tightly to Gean, as if to keep her held, too. She knew that redhead was important to Gean, but those others were crazy strong - noble or no, they’d probably shred Gean without a second thought. And Nyx wasn’t gonna let that happen, long as she had a say in it. “Aye… always. M’not leavin’ ye.” At the little aside to Syn, who’d also joined in the pile, Nyx barked out a little laugh. “Oi! M’not gonna go gettin’ m’self killed out here… oh, but, uh, ye mind keepin’ me faced away from that hot lady knight o’er there? M’pretty sure that’s the biggun we been waitin’ fer, n’last I checked, people ain’t quite forgot about m’past.” For good or for ill… she really needed to talk to Nattie about all that, and tell her the story in full. But that could wait, if only for a moment.

Sophia practically skidded to a stop in front of the taller woman, who also made her eyes practically sparkle in joy of seeing her again. If she wasn’t on a horse, she’d probably wanna hug her, too. “Diyaaaaaaaaaa, you’re okay tooooooooooo!” Sophia was practically ecstatic by this point, even with the lance pointed in her face. “Oh… you allllllllllmost turned me into a shiiiiiiiiiish-kaboooooooooooob. Heehee… a sheepsh-kabob!” Sophia clapped her hands excitedly at the joke. It wasn’t a particularly good one, but she hoped Diya might laugh anyways.

Nyx had been separated from Syndra, and while she was tempted to grab the woman’s hand and not let go, she had to go make sure the other part of her little family was okay. She practically bounded over to Gean and scooped her into a hug, glad that she was okay. At least, she looked like it, now. ”Oi, y’good, kid? Mum’s ‘ere for ye.” And Nyx wasn’t going to bail so easily. Sophia put a finger to her chin as her head tilted slightly, as Tanvir and his group exited. Why would a Lufirian royal knight and his group be so far out? Was there something about that pretty redhead that she wasn’t getting? Too many questions, and Sophia just didn’t know- But she wouldn't have to, now. As soon as she heard Ren shouting, Sophia’s eyes lit up, and she ran in the direction of where she’d heard Ren shouting, willing her little legs to get her over to her lady as quick as possible. “Lady Celine…!! Ceceeeeeeeeee!!!” Sophia had to make sure she didn’t trip; she didn’t want her lady to see her fallen like that, especially considering she was pretty sure things were gonna get messy. She hoped Lady Celine wouldn’t be too mad at her.

Everything seemed to be going ass up all at once, but most of the incidentals had nothing on what Nyx was focused on right now - her fucking daughter, getting snatched up by some stranger. It brought back bad memories - of trying to save people that night, everything going to pot, the blood, so much blood… “Gean! Syn, get th’fuck off me, I gotta save m’daughter…” Nyx tried to wriggle free of Syndra’s grip, but then realized - she was absolutely going to do something stupid if she got free. And Syndra knew it, so she was holding on for dear life. A physical specimen, she was not, so Nyx would’ve had no issue shaking her… but… she knew better, in this case. “Dammit! Dammit, this sucks…” Farther back, the clanking of armour sounded out around the mountain pass, even if nobody could really hear it. Slowly, but surely, the heavily armoured sheep made her way over to the Tigers, panting by the end of it. Sophia looked to Ren and Jesse, and gave them her best pouty, grumpy face, even if it looked more cute than cross. ”You guyyyyyyyyyyyyyys, you can’t just run off like thaaaaaaaaat. I gotta protect you, for Cece…” She whined, before looking over at the current situation - and that one of the Tigers had Escaflowne in hand. But there were others - who looked really strong - lurking too. “Ohhhhhhhh, dear… This looks bad.” Sophia put a finger to her chin, trying to think of if this was a time to throw her weight around as an Amaryllis knight…

“Wh-“ Nyx doesn’t even have time to react, before Syndra’s tackling her to the ground, and… well, now she’s pinned down under the body of a woman she’s very openly crushed on for a while, now. Ah. ”Uh… Syn, if ye really wanted t’cuddle, maybe ye shoulda waited until after we had a chance t’breathe?”

Before Nyx could say anything to Syndra, the fox merchant - wait, she was sticking with them now? - shouted about something in the distance. Or, probably, someone. Nyx couldn’t help but wonder if it was some Islexian warlord out for Syn, especially since nobody said anything else about it. ”Shit! Eyes up, Synnie - m’pretty sure we’re gonna get our shit ran.”

Nyx winced watching the priest’s fingers fly off, and waved a quick little apology his way. From there, though… she had two ladies beside her she needed to keep an eye on. First, was Gean. Nyx didn’t know much about her relationship with the redhead that nearly blew the hell out of Miria, but she did know that Gean wanted to be close to her. So, Nyx gave her daughter a side hug. “Oi, Gean. If y’need me… ye can always come talk t’me. Mum’s got ye, aight?” From there… it was the other one. Nyx instead grabbed her hand, and looked into Syndra’s eyes. “Listen, Syn… we gotta talk. M’done gettin’ upset wit ye o’er hidin’ shit from me.”

Nyx had a feeling this was gonna be hella tricky to deal with, if they were trying to merely incapacitate these new problems. Maybe if she aimed for the legs, to just keep him from walking over, or to knock the staff out of that priest’s hand…? Yeah, that second one would do. Nyx moves to (16,9) and Longbows the priest, but like. Not lethally.

Having apparently gotten enough of firing arrows into mercenaries for a while, Nyx saw Gean run down south, shortly after Sari did. Something felt funky, so Nyx went with her - have to support the daughter, after all. ”M’right behind ye, kiddo.” Nyx whispered into Gean’s ear, keeping a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. Something told Nyx that Gean would need the support. Nyx moves to (16,13).

Nyx was surprised when the archer had essentially tossed the bow at her - that damn Pure weapon, that Nyx looked at like it had burned her. Something told her she’d never be using that thing unless she absolutely had to. “Oi, assholes! Sod off, n’leave m’kids alone!” One more arrow notched, and one more to fire, for the road. Two of these horsemen were targeting Miria, and Nyx wasn’t about to let the little cub get ganged up on anymore. Nyx moves to (18,12) and shoots Cav 3 with the Iron Bow.

Nyx watches as Siorel falls over in the middle of her dance, and raises an eyebrow before helping her up. “Y’good there, lass? Try an’ keep yerself upright - yer man needs ye decent.” Rejuvenated, Nyx decides that the archer nearby is gonna be… a bit of a problem. Maybe she can rectify this. Nyx moves to (18,14) and fires her Longbow at the archer.

“Woah, fuck, okay!” Nyx yelped out, watching Alriana suddenly get a lot more… feral. Idly, she wondered if she’d seen anything like that before… probably not, though. She couldn’t quite reach anybody with her normal, trusty bow… but maybe that new one she’d picked up a while back would do the trick. She took aim, cocked her head back, and… fired. Nyx moves to (17,15) and uses her fancy new Longbow to shoot Soldier 6.

Nyx grinned as she felt herself rejuvenated by that cute little number who’d gotten real clingy with the big lizard - well, one of ‘em, anyways. And at her request, she practically grinned. ”Aye aye.” Nyx to (14,16) and fire away on the soldier.

Nyx to (11,14)

Nyx moves to (10,18) and shoots the soldier.