Lord of Azure Flame Chapter 24: The Schism

[Phoenix]

Zaftran

Ixion: I suppose it's very close.

[Script]

Luc Altair

The whole scene played out before their eyes was a farce. It was nothing more than the Rule of Strong. The Count from Directus clenched his jaw at the play of fools before him. If it was aggravating him this much, why had no one else stepped in already? Were they so cowed by Ivanko's prowess? Or did they have ulterior motives like Luc himself had for not intervening? The later was not likely but the former, yes, that did seem likely.

A familiar pang in his left hand cooled his anger a bit but, sometimes a reckless action was best. Was this one of those times? Gauging Ivanko's strength in arm or speech would be a good idea, but that would involve revealing himself to Ixion in the process. Though it was irrelevant if the Druid had already recognized him, though it didn't seem he had. There was also no idea as to what Paul had conversed with them about, and revealing anything about himself could endanger anything Paul was doing.

It was mildly fear-inducing that he had to worry about Paul. That only reinforced the belief that this situation was a mockery.

A Paul

"It suddenly feels like there's wyverns everywhere." Paul looked around. "Musta been my imagination. Knew I should have killed him." Paul looked back at Victor. "Say Viktor, can I call you Viktor? I'm gonna call you Viktor. So, Viktor, I bet I have a higher kill count than you. Is your nose good enough to catch all the blood I've been swept in? I've taken a lot of bathes but sometimes the blood just does not get out. Like that one time I made a lake of blood. Actually that might have been a dream. Or was it at Dream. I always get those two confused, who names a city Dream after all? Well, what was I going for? Oh yeah, if I bloody Ivanko I wonder what you'd do."

[Phoenix]

Thoughts

The human up over there was making a lot of noise, and Victor was beginning to suspect that he was trying to tell him something ... relevant. Apparently the human didn't know how else to communicate. Just as well. Victor didn't see the point in being able to hold a conversation with humans anyway when he would only be saying things like "Die." "Go away." "Scream." and "Be quiet."

Stratos however was paying closer attention to the cloaked man. Human speech was easier for her to interpret. It wouldn't make a difference though since she had no intention of doing anything but observe.

[Mercakete]

"Well, then... I have no more reason to be here and my next destination is Halton," the courier shifted his eyes back to Irina for a moment, offering an encouraging smile, "Irina could use all the moral support she could get." His eyes returned to the deans of the mercenaries, his expression returning to his businesslike composure, "I would like to come along, if that won't be a problem. I'm not good at fighting so you can trust that I will stay out of the fray. If you're worried about dead weight, I am good with wyverns, so it isn't as though I'm useless." Though Tas was also fairly good at avoiding things thrown at him, he decided it was better not to mention that.

[Phoenix]

Inn

Ixion: That's an odd request. Ivanko?

Ivanko: Ask Stephanie. She's the warp woman.

She was standing right there so she was mildly offended, but kept those feelings to herself.

Stephanie: I uh ... suppose it wouldn't be a problem. That's still down two riders and two wyverns from the warp over here. I'll still have to make several jumps, but it probably won't slow us down much.

Ivanko: Okay then, that's settled. You hang out somewhere safe ... flying cheerleader ... and we'll get on with this mission.

Staring Tas down with an unusually hostile gaze, Ixion added in his own comment.

Ixion: I'll warn you here and now, courier. If you do anything to impede or otherwise jeopardize the operation, you'll be dealt with swiftly, and harshly. That also stands for any policies Ivanko adopts regarding Irina. Isotov, this warning is for you as well.

The fire sage rolled his eyes looking away. Ivanko yawned waiting on Irina, and Irina stood there wondering if Ixion was threatening to kill them or just make them pay in some other fashion. The former she couldn't stand; the latter, wasn't all that acceptable either.

[Mercakete]

(Okay, better to not run the risk of attempting a breakout if Ivanko decides to keep Irina in Zaftra.) The nervous setence in his mind was so hurried the words practically ran together. The druid's glare was enough to diffuse any idea Tas might have had before, it being so coldly threatening. "Right. Thank you for having me along," he managed, attempting to hide his timidity. He was tempted to flee to Namid then and there, not only to get away from these powerful men, but also to check on the mountain wyvern and his rigging and get both ready for what flying they would be doing. However, Irina's descision had yet to be heard and he wasn't sure how safe it was to leave the inn with that feral bull just outside without his rider present.

[Ether]

As Alferis approached, in a cheery mood it seemed, he stopped in front of Aiya. Looking at him from her sullen stupor, she was about to tell him that she just wasn't feeling well... the last thing she needed was to out more pressure in Kelas, when Alferis said Damian had returned.

"W-what... what did you say? Damian is back? He's back?!" Aiya asked to confirm, shock coursing through her, as she leapt forward involuntarily and hugged Alferis tightly, before pulling back.

"Is he really here?"

***************

As Ivanko put down Irina and Isotov's rebellious thoughts with a show of might, Damian couldn't help but cringe slightly. Of course, Irina, while bruised a little, was fine overall, and before Damian could step in to try and ease Ivanko's treatment of her, a more prominent disaster reared it's head, this time with Tessa getting far too close to Victor, and coming far too close to being ripped to shreds for anyone's comfort. Luckily, Stephanie managed to stop the beast long enough for Ivanko to intervene, and Tessa moved back inside the inn.

"Tessa! Are you okay? What were you thinking?" Damian asked, panic still coursing through his body despite the imminent danger having passed, a concerned edge to his voice as he reached the valkyrie and began to check her over for any wounds.

"Did he hit you? Are you hurt?"

[Dark Sage]

"Uh yeah. He's back," said Alf, surprised by the hug. "He's downstairs I believe. There's a bunch of mercenaries down there too in case you're wondering. Last time I checked anyway."

I'm going to be stuck with that asshole for the rest of the journey but...I'm glad his return made her happy.

"I was going to ask you if you wanted me to help you train with the axe but you want to see Damian first right?"

[Balcerzak]

Tessa had barely gotten acknowledgement from Isotov, but that wasn't entirely unexpected, given the circumstances. Stephanie and her male friend were following through on her request and Kelas, well... she seemed strangely reluctanct, and she had tried one more brief tug, before heading just inside, waiting right by the doorjamb until everyone had followed. Of course, given the way events of the morning seemed to be unfolding even something as simple as this didn't happen without incident, as the magically aided return of the thrown axe caused a bit of a close call, though any possible injuries were avoided.

When Stephanie was called over to tend to Irina by Ivanko then, Tessa ended up berating herself, for not having the proper focus. Worrying over one wounded, and the just-passed threat of danger she had neglected to consider what had been going on inside the inn to have even started the events with Isotov... Shame that she hadn't properly assessed the situation, and was forcing all of the healing work onto another tied an uncomfortable knot in her stomach.

It couldn't be helped any longer though, and soon enough Irina was speaking back and forth with her uncle. The discussion seemed like it might take a long time and frankly, at least so far, a lot of the logic in it seemed like nonsense to her, but she couldn't think of a succinct way to counter it, or if her advice was even welcome. This was a family matter after all, and with no real experience on family, well... at least it proved interesting to watch, and maybe she could gain some insights, if she managed to find a way to separate the meaning from the silly.

Her study was interrupted almost as soon as it began though, as Damian had pushed his way through the crowd of the common room to her side, concern etched clearly across his face. 'What were you thinking' came a reprimand, quickly followed by inquiry after her state of health. Not precisely pleased with how things had managed to turn out herself, and a little embarrassed at the debacle she simply stammered a few short replies, keeping her eyes averted.

"I'm fine, yes. A little shaken, perhaps, but aside from that... And well, I had just thought... I'd managed before with Ulfhrahn when he was defensive and angry, and well... might it not work here too? ...Clearly not..."

Edited April 13, 2011 by Balcerzak

[Ether]

As Tessa replied, she averted her eyes and was stammering. She spoke of an incident in Elyisimia, when Aiya had fallen and Tessa had managed to placate Ulfrhahn.

Sighing softly, Damian embraced Tessa tightly, pulling her head against his shoulder and began to gently pat the back of her head.

"Ulfhrahn is... different from most bulls. He is calmer than most, and you were not threatening... he put her safety as a priority and allowed you through because he didn't think you would harm her. A wyvern like Victor... if you show that lack of threat, he will kill you... if you show yourself as a threat, he'll kill you... he's feral, Tessa..." Damian said, his tone slowly reverting to a calmer one. As he pulled back to a reasonable distance, he cupped her cheek gently, before continuing.

"But you're safe now, and you weren't hurt. That's what matters, right?" Damian concluded, cracking a slight smile.

************

"Y-yeah... thanks Alf." Aiya replied ecstatically, turning towards the stairs, before looking back at the Berserker

"I'll spar with you later, alright Alf?" Aiya told him, before bounding down the staircase...

And stopping abruptly halfway down.

'That's right... I have to confront him about Esphyr... I can't go and get all happy yet...'

[Dark Sage]

"Right. Later," said Alf as Aiya immediately bounded away. Scratching his head a little, Alf was at a loss of what to do until Aiya was done talking to Damian.

"Hmmm....guess I'll take a quick nap. I'm not going to get that good sleep for awhile and last night was relaxing. Say what you want about the food here, the beds are pretty good. Better than the bushes anyway." As he spoke this, he wasn't looking where he was going and bumped into Sadie, who was reading in the hallway, knocking her over.

"Oh I'm sorry," said Alf, helping the bard up.

"Not a problem. I was just going to go back to my room and I guess I got distracted by my Wind tome here..."

"Yeah. I'm heading back too. I'm actually going to take a nap for a bit," said Alf, entering the room. "Just have a quick question for you."

"Yes?" asked Sadie, also entering the room.

"If Aiya is looking for me, wake me up ok?"

"Who's Aiya?"

"She has long red hair, purple armor, very beautiful. I'm going to spar with her later and I want to be ready as soon as possible."

"Ok. I'll keep that in mind....oh! By the way, if you want, I can play a soothing melody on my lyre here to help you sleep. If you want me too..."

"That would be great," Alf said cheerfully, hopping into one of the beds. and smiled as he closed his eyes.

Sitting on the bed and setting down her Wind tome, Sadie pulled out her lyre and began playing the softest, smoothest melody she could come up with. It didn't take long before Alf fell asleep.

------------------------

Thief

Taking a nearby seat as Tessa came in, Reika rolled her eyes as Damian embraced the troubabour and held her face. True, they both had the same question, what the hell was she doing, but the acts he was doing with her seemed...well...

"Hey Halton! She's underaged you creep! If you're going to try to get another lady to join your harem, do it somewhere else ok?" she heckled, a look of disgust evident on her face.

[Phoenix]

Inn

Ixion: Legal age tends to vary a bit by country. In Zaftra for example, the legal age of an adult is sixteen.

Ivanko: *snrk* ... alright, Irina, go get ready, oh but don't put your armor on, just get it packed.

Irina kept mostly quiet and carried a dull tone in her voice, and her face was slightly hidden by her hair, thankfully.

Irina: Okay .... (Don't put on my armor? Why?)

Ivanko: Right, before you go, here ...

He handed her a bag that he had with him the entire time. It seemed completely unimportant before but was also almost completely hidden under his cape. As she accepted the bag, she could tell it was full of heavy metal of some kind, along with some cloth ... the tell tale signs of a suit of armor. Not saying anything, she nodded and began the longest walk of her life, a simple walk upstairs from the rest of the room's point of view. She wanted to at least say something, almost anything to Isotov and Tas as she went by but couldn't manage it. Instead the two were only met with a glance and failed attempt at a reassuring smile. Iso glanced at Ivanko and then Ixion not wanting to accidentally make eye contact with either of them.

Iso: (What was in that bag? It sounded heavy. I sure hope they aren't trying to make her feel better with a gift or something. Now ... I just need to figure out what to do about this forcing thing.)

Next, he eyed Stephanie, who was passively observing the scene. He was looking a bit too long and she caught his gaze immediately prompting him to look away.

Iso: (Hmm. Maybe. Just maybe ...)

The Room Which No Sane Person Should Enter

The disguised Miranda sat at the edge of the bed just as before with legs crossed and arms held out for support. Her head was leaned back facing the ceiling. The boredom was getting to be too much. She hadn't anticipated this task to be so ... BORING. Well, at least she had remembered to lock the door this time. That way she would have time to hide herself before someone recruited Aiya to knock the door down or something.

Trapped

The stables were more riled up than usual due to all the predators lurking just outside, but Susann was in such a terrible panic, she couldn't hold still for even a quarter of a second. Her hooves wouldn't rest on one patch of the ground for more than a moment, and then they would be replaced. Her wings kept open as if looking for the chance to take flight and deliver her from the situation. Her eyes were darting in every direction checking anything an evil thing as small as Niket could gain entry through. She wasn't taking any chances with her life right now. She didn't want to be brutally mauled to death.

As much as Thunderbolt wanted the pegasi under his command to calm down and relax, he was a bit nervous himself. Being calm was not necessarily the right course of action. As horses they had only a couple of methods of defending themselves from ordinary wyverns, and it was obvious that at least one of them was too large to simply be kicked into submission. If that weren't enough of a disadvantage, they were locked in their stalls, helpless. Rather than try to calm down the somewhat rightfully fearful pegasi, he kept his eye on the entrance. Small wyverns didn't bother him, ones too big to have their fangs kicked out without losing a leg in the process did.

[Mercakete]

When Irina passed him and Iso by, Tas managed to reflect Irina's somewhat-unsure smile. Once she'd disappeared, he began going through a mental checklist of things he'd have to do before leaving. Everything was packed and paid for and his payment was already packed and strapped to Namid's harness. Another check on the harness' leather would be in order, of course, as a standard safety procedure and thereafter replacing any straps that were wearing out and tightening what straps and buckles needed to be tightened. Asside from that, really, there was only saying his goodbyes.

He hadn't really spent much time with too many people in the group and he never had gotten around to speaking with Aiya as much as he'd planned. He really only knew her name, what she looked like and that she rode a bull plains-dweller. He's spoken with Alferis more than he had Aiya, but even then they'd hardly talked. Really, the only one he'd gotten to know a bit outside of Ivanko's Mercenaries was Prince Tristan. If anyone, Tas knew he should bid him farewell and wish him the best. (Now... Where is he?) The courier began his search first by looking around the common room. That was fruitless, so that likely meant he was in the sky, in town, in the stables, talking to someone, in the back yard, in the kitchen or in bed. Well, he had quite a few options there. A simpler solution was to find someone who knew him and ask him or her to deliver the message. (Who does Triatan know? Well...he knows the other pegasus riders... ... I can't really think of anyone else. I guess other Septiminians would know him...seeing as he's the prince... But who here is or isn't a Septiminian? Um... I can't tell... Looks like I'll have to look for him after all. If I find one of the pegasus riders, I'll ask her to deliver the message... I hope I find Tristan first...) So, he walked towards his first stop in the search for the Septiminian prince: looking through the hallways of the inn. He wanted to stay away from the bull for as long as he could before there were no other options.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The humans were nervous. The pegasi were nervous. The other horses were nervous. Lantos was nervous. His rider had returned, but he wasn't taking him out of his stall. That was probably a good thing...maybe. The dapple-pelted gelding didn't know what to make of it, so he just hoped it meant the rider would protect him if anything. tried attacking.

Raemond himself wasn't exactly at ease in the stables filled with nervous equine, especially with that one hysterical pegasus. The only thing he could think of to do, however, was to wait until the large wyvern was gone. That meant lying low in the stables...which were certainly tenser than usual.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Namid remained camoflauged.

[Inactive Account]

Well, this was it, apparently. Kelas didn't want to leave without saying something, but she knew that any reaction to what she said might leave a hint that this wasn't really Miranda in disguise. If she made this quick... and startling... she might be able to get away with it without blowing his cover. She looked down from the death glare she'd been giving Ivanko and Ixion, and stepped forward, bracing herself to ignore any attention she drew. "Guess this is goodbye, then," she said to Isotov. Damn, hadn't wanted to use that word. Before he could respond, she pulled him close-- why had she been hugging so much lately, the contrary part of her mind muttered-- and whispered in his ear, quiet enough that she was sure the others couldn't hear: "Don't break character-- sorry about this--"

Time to startle, then... She didn't want to admit that she wouldn't have had this idea without Miranda's input. As she pulled away, before she had time to stop herself and question what she was doing, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you later." Immediately, she turned to leave the room, heading for the stairs. The only thought she could properly process yet was that was only supposed to startle him, not me...

-----------------------------------------

Arrin still wasn't entirely sure what was going on. The shouting had died down, and Irina had come up the stairs looking distraught... he wasn't sure it was such a good idea to ask her what was going on. He thought he heard someone worrying over Tessa; hopefully she was all right... if he didn't get a better idea of what was going on, he might have to go investigate. He'd wait for now, though.

[Phoenix]

Inn

The second Kelas kissed Iso, Levski snapped out of his daydream about Irina and carefully glanced over in their direction. Ixion was slightly surprised as well, but didn't give any indications other than glancing over as well. Ivanko just watched plainly. Iso of course froze in shock, his face going completely red. As Kelas began leaving Ivanko put his hand on his chin and grinned a bit.

Ivanko: Hmm ... you just can't be single, can you?

Iso slowly looked back at Ivanko not sure what to say, but he managed a mean and nervous look just the same.

Ixion: (I suppose I should apologize to Miranda for this. I doubt she has any interest in being kissed by another woman, and I didn't anticipate anything like this happening. I assumed he wouldn't have been over Harold's daughter just yet. On the other hand, she is hard to read. For all I know she may have enjoyed the attention ... that woman.)

Iso: (D-dammit ... I couldn't even say anything ... dammit to hell, why couldn't I at least say something? I might never see her again! ... and why did she do that just now? I didn't think that ... or ... wait no she's not ... well ... urrr what the hell is going on? Was that really her, or was it Miranda or something? I've never been this confused before!)

[Inactive Account]

Kelas stopped trying to puzzle over her own reaction to the stunt she'd just pulled; whatever it was, it was probably lost now anyway. Her expression shifted from slight panic to grimness as she headed for the stairs.

As soon as Kelas appeared, Arrin was asking questions. "What's going on? Is Tessa all right? Are you all right?"

"I'll explain in a minute," Kelas replied wearily. "I'm fine, and Tessa's fine. Just... let's get out of the hall first, shall we?" Without asking where to go, she headed for Arrin's room; her own was certainly still out of the question. Once inside, she shut the door. "What's going on is that Ivanko's showed up to drop Damian off and take Irina with him for a military campaign to overthrow the Zaftran imperial family. If he succeeds, he'll be the new emperor, and she'll be an heir, so he needs her there. Tas is also going, and... well, there's more to the story than that, but I can't really tell you, or anyone, yet, because my part in it will likely get me in deep trouble with Morgan and it's better that nobody else have to deal with that."

"Isotov's leaving?" It wasn't hard for Arrin to guess. Kelas' explanation had certainly explained Irina's demeanor... this ought to have been a shocking development, but given what he'd seen with this group, Arrin was nowhere near as surprised as he felt he should have been.

Well, if Arrin had figured it out, there was no point in denial. "...Yeah. Key thing is that Morgan thinks it's someone disguised as him going, just in order to get Irina to actually go."

"You had something to do with that?"

"Side effect of being in the same room. Look, I'll explain after the inevitable chaos dies down, all right?" Kelas sighed. "I don't want to know what Morgan's gonna do when she finds out, but I suspect we'll be finding out all too soon anyway. You're not gonna go mentioning it, are you?"

"Of course not," Arrin replied. "Er... are you going to be all right?"

"I'm fine," Kelas reassured, managing a weak smile as evidence. She'd rather not be quizzed though... "If you want to go find Tessa, I think things have died down enough in there that it should be safe. Just don't go outside, that damn brute of a wyvern's still out there."

Arrin could tell it was an attempt at dismissal. "All right," he replied. "And I won't say anything about this to anyone." He left Kelas to sit and headed downstairs, trying to be as invisible as possible as he slipped past Ivanko and headed to Tessa. He was not pleased to find Damian hugging her; it was probably jealousy, he realized, with some protectiveness mixed in-- he shouldn't interfere when it looked like nothing actually bad was happening. "Tessa, are you all right?" he asked guardedly.

[Mercakete]

A quick look through the halls revieled that the prince wasn't there. Tas was fairly certain Tristan wasn't in the kitchen, so that meant he was either in his room, in someone else's room or not in the inn. Not wanting to check every room in the inn, the courier chose to go to the inn's back yard and sneak around towards the stables to check there. That way he didn't have to worry about passing that giant bull though there was no escaping being in his general area, even if he wasn't close to him. While he was quietly going around the stables to its front, Tas kept his head down and his ears acute. He wanted to go as unnoticed as he could, but if he heard signs that the bull was going to attack him... Well, hew asn't sure, but at least he'd know enough to maybe make it into the stables.

That was another problem, though. (The horses should be penned up, right? They can't charge if they're penned up...) Tas wasn't too worried about the horses for now. The immediate threat was the mountain of wyvern. The only reasons Tas was going to the stables were for the prospect of finding Tristan and the relitive protection of the stables from Ivanko's wyvern. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't go near the place for his fear of horses.

Namid's head was under his wing, so he couldn't smell that his rider was somewhat nearby. So he continued his charade.

[-Cynthia-]

Stables

Bellerophon was neughing up a storm. There was a large, loud wyvern outside and it was frightening the female pegasus. Bellerophon knew that if he were to go outside the beast would be in awe at his magnificence and splendor, but unfortunately he was tied up in the stables again. Tristan tried deperately to comfort the winged stallion to little avail, though he at least kept the pegasus in his pen for the moment.

Inn

Morgan walked downstairs to see what she assumed were people saying goodbye, Kelas was giving Isotov a kiss on the cheek which Morgan found disturbing and repulsive. It is probably better not to tell her that she had close physical contact with a demon after her incident with Shanice back in Ilyphina; it could drive her to hysterics Morgan thought to herself.

She decided to walk over to Lev, who was examining the scene. "So...I suppose you are leaving then, as we discussed," she said to him, a little unsure of how to deal with this situation.

Charlotte smiled as Kelas kissed Isotov. I may have been right after all she thought to herself, though these happy thoughts were replaced by growing concern for Isotov. Retaking Zaftra may be even more dangerous than where I'm going. I wish he didn't have to go but...it's out of my hands now. I'll be sure to include him in my prayers.

[Script]

Luc Altair

So, this was to be it? This whole thing was such an insult and he had to let it pass. It would almost be funny if it wasn't so pathetic. Why was Morgan letting this stand? At least Damian left by choice and need, she couldn't possibly agree with the coercion that Isotov was under. And no one else--save Tas' efforts--stood for Irina against Ivanko's own self-defeating logic.

It was disgusting.

A Paul

"Dead silence wasn't the answer I was looking for you jerk. Bah, wasted my breath on you. Well, maybe I can at least do something. Where'd I put that chili-pepper bomb?" Paul began to fidget beneath his cloak.

Thunder

The warhorse Thunder flared its nostrils. The annoying things outside were bothering the annoying things inside and thus bothering him. If any of the annoying ones came near him he'd trample them like they were bad ones.

The Fargo

They were finally leaving? Good. They were making the food rotten.

[Phoenix]

The Wyvern Lord

Lev remained at the table. The situation had gotten a bit odd, but there was not much he could do about it, and he didn't really feel like hassling Iso about Kelas. Their chances of making it back alive weren't good enough for him to allow himself any jokes. He would have thought Morgan coming over would cheer him up, but she was just reminding him about what was going on. He could have sure used some alcohol right about then. Alcohol always helped~

Lev: Yeah, it's just about time. Wouldn't be so depressing if we were going someplace nice ... or weren't busting up inns just to make points. (Hmm ... I'd ask her why she's letting Iso go but ... I get the feeling it's got something to do with why Ixion was speaking with her in private. If that's the case it bringing it up here isn't a good idea. Maybe I'll find out soon anyway. Iso's a blabbermouth after all.)

He tossed Ivanko a glance indicating him. Of course Ivanko liked to listen in on things and knew his second in command just took a shot at him.

Ivanko: (It's not as if I forgot this place doesn't belong to me. Makar's got enough funds with him to pay for the damage.) Don't worry about the damage. I don't break things I'm not willing to pay to fix, people included.

Ixion: (Hmm ... well then, time to test something.) We won't be paying for that door however. We leave that to whoever hired the man throwing all of those knives at it. He's clearly not competent enough to reimburse the innkeeper without violence.

Ivanko: Knives?

Ixion: In the door. Have a look if you're curious.

Ixion then kept an eye out for any reactions among those present, ignoring those who to him were obviously not related to the mysterious man.

The Other Wyvern Lord

Irina didn't take long to reach the room she had been using and shut the door behind her. She hadn't really unpacked anything but the clothes she slept in so she quickly put those away, and then took off her greaves since she knew she would be changing into something else anyway. She opened the bag and began taking out her new armor. As she laid out the outfit on the bed, she took note of how much heavier the armor was, especially in the shoulder and chest regions. Fortunately the gauntlets wouldn't give her much trouble from the feel of things, so her thrusting wouldn't be impaired. Once she finished she looked the whole outfit over.

Irina: This riding jacket ... it looks kind of like the coat Iso used to wear ... before he got that black one. And this chestplate has the exact design as my old one ... it's just heavier ... steel, obviously. The golden trim is a nice touch though, and these shoulder plates are way better than my old ones. They almost make a helmet pointless, and my shoulders aren't going to get dislocated from a bad hit the way they're angled. The greaves are a bit too stylish for my taste but they'll get the job done I guess ... and the tessats ... I don't think you could pierce these with an armorslayer ... so I guess that just leaves me to guard my unprotected areas.

She felt the tail of the coat with her fingers.

Irina: And this coat is thick ... really thick. All weather I bet. This is ... a really nice set of armor ....

[Mercakete]

Once the courier slipped into the stables, one fear was replaced by another. Ivanko's wyvern wasn't a threat so much anymore...but the horses were. They weren't just standing still or milling about, but rather seemed on the verge of a stampede. There were a few others in the stables...among them was "Prince Tristan," Tas' voice almost cracked with relief. Recomposing himself from his sudden, visable relief, he walked towards the male pegasus rider. "I'm glad I found you," he mentioned, trying to tune out the equine around them.

[Balcerzak]

Damian's embrace was perhaps a little unexpected, though it really shouldn't have been as when concerns melts way into relief it really is the natural reaction. Tessa did not find it unwelcome, though, and relaxed into the strong arms of the lancer as he explained a bit more about the differences between Ulfhrahn and Victor. Failing in the attempt to pacify the giant beast then perhaps wasn't so bad, because hey, even if it hadn't worked as planned at least she'd managed to keep it distracted long enough for Iso to get some treatment. In the condition he looked to have been in, there's no way he could have managed to dodge any more of Victor's swipes.

The warmth in her cheeks then from the embarrassment over possibly having bungled the situation faded away then... or rather, just changed flavor into a different type of warmth. Tessa recognized it as those types of feelings she'd been trying to get advice from from Morgan, but it was much more muted now than it had been previously. While her heart still beat a little faster than normal, it had nothing to compare with the level of energy she'd experienced last night, or even on a handful of other occasions while Damian was away. Was that normal, she wondered a moment. At any rate, with this level only it was certainly comfortable.

Damian finished his explanation, and broke the close embrace, one hand now on her shoulder at arm's length, he'd brought the other up to stroke her cheek. For some reason the light touch, brushing gently across her skin, brought a bit more pronounced response than the tight hug, and she turned away slightly, laughing a bit, and replying.

"Yes, safe indeed. When I can't look after myself, I have friends who are doing it for me, and it seems when they can't either, well perhaps The Lady herself lends a bit of a hand..."

A sudden interjection from Reika though, regarding 'harems' and 'age' cut her off, and she tilted her head a bit confused. Ixion tried adding in something, to be helpful perhaps, but that just added another question. "Wait... I've already seen sixteen winters, and what is this?"

Confusing events continued to pile up, as while waiting for an answer, she saw Kelas lean in and give Isotov a kiss. Now, originally, she'd been under the impression that there was nothing all that special or different between kisses or hugs. Then there'd been the truth or dare event, which had started to mount serious evidence against that, with the amount of weight that had seemed to be attributed to it, and how it had come up time and again. But here, now, this seemed just like going back to the way she'd always first envisioned them. A nice, light, pleasant send-off... Maybe it would be fine to go back to giving the occasional kiss?

OOC: Dealing with Arrin later, he has a conversation time-delay I think... Correct if wrong.

[Ether]

As Tessa replied Damian smiled, and added on to her statement.

"That's right, so don't be afraid to lean on us, okay? We're here for you."

Then Reika chimed in with a comment about age and harems. causing Ixion to add in his own statement.

Damian straightened out and looked at the thief with an irritated glare.

"It was only a matter of time before I had to deal with you again, I guess." Damian said with a cold tone, before turning away from her with an exasperated sigh. When Tessa inquired what exactly was going on, Damian looked at her with a solemn look.

"Oh, it's nothing Tessa... just a host of biased and idiotic claims and accusations of something completely unacceptable... pay her no heed, all she wants is to do anything in her power to try to enforce an old grudge against the Halton military... that leaves me and Aiya taking the brunt of her abuse." Damian said with a sigh.

[-Cynthia-]

Inn

"We have a tendency to destroy whatever establishment we're staying in, Ivanko or no. And yes, your destination is unpleasant, but I suppose this is something you must do. Just remember that I...well the group will suffer a loss of efficiency at your absence," Morgan stammered a bit, growing slightly pink in the face.

Stables

"Oh, hullo Tas," Tristan said somewhat cheerfully, attempting to pacify Bellerophon with a carrot. "Do you know why that big wyvern is here-and when it's leaving? It's got the horses and pegasi terribly worked up."

[Phoenix]

Loss of Efficiency

Looking the Druidess in the eyes, Lev managed what seemed like a very serious (no nonsense) retort.

Lev: The feeling's mutual.

Ivanko: (You'll lose efficiency by not being with the group too? Heeeeh.)

Then his tone changed a bit, some semblance of the Lev the party was use to was coming through.

Lev: Without our inspiring leader around, I'm not sure how well I can expect to do really. I'll keep myself alive, (I did promise after all ...) but winning, that's going to be cutting rather close, I think.

Ivanko: (Hey, jackass. I'm your leader ... wait ...)

The mercenary leader took a few steps toward the stairs and stopped just far enough away from them that he had a better viewing angle of the two. He mentally noted Morgan's hind quarters before heading up the stairs.

Ivanko: (Yeeeah, I've lost him.) I'll be back. I need to speak with Irina about something ... ... she may not have the wrong idea anymore, but she still doesn't have the whole picture yet. I can't bring her into this maelstrom like this. Ixion, keep an eye on Victor for me.

Ixion nodded and Iso crossed his arms looking away.