Abysmal Souls: Chapter 3 and 4 (surprise)

[Nanami Touko]

She'd made sure to throw on Gideon's old jacket as they walked out. Sure, it didn't really match... at all, with what she was wearing, but she didn't want her new clothes rained on. "Is there anything you think we'll need besides a tent?" "Oh, uh... Sleeping bags, maybe? Oh, and a nice pillow, please. I hate using the ground for that..." The rain was actually enjoyable to walk in, now that it wasn't a torrential downpour. It was almost romantic, there with Gideon. They weren't really doing anything romantic, but Amera could imagine. It'd be nice, just sitting on a balcony, watching the rain fall... she sighed, if only. "Think of stuff now before we get evicted." Reality calls. "Well, are you sure you're going to be alright with just a jacket? I'm not strong enough for heavy armor or anything like that, but you sure are," squeezing his arm as she mentioned his strength, "so maybe you should grab some of that?" There were a few shops in sight, one of them looking like it would have supplies. She didn't know where he was going to get armor, though.

[Anti-Social Meta Knight]

"Oh, uh... Sleeping bags, maybe? Oh, and a nice pillow, please. I hate using the ground for that..." A nice pillow? What, so we can get it covered in dirt? The rain wasn't falling too heavily, but it still got in his eyes now and then. Dammit, is sun so much to ask for? "Well, are you sure you're going to be alright with just a jacket? I'm not strong enough for heavy armor or anything like that, but you sure are," she said, squeezing his arm. She's really smitten, isn't she? "so maybe you should grab some of that?" Gideon shook his head. "Armor slows me down. I'd much rather have something like this. I mean, this isn't exactly light..." he pointed out, tugging at the fabric of his jacket to point it out. "So we can probably just get supplies and leave it at that." He didn't really mind that Amera hung on him the way she did. She was young - this was how romance felt to him a few years ago, so he could relate. "Should we get our own tent?" he asked as they walked to a shop across the street, his tone a bit teasing. Messing with her's fun...

[CT075]

Teis

"Alright, Teis, you're with me."

"Wha-" And then Carrion's boyfriend was gone. Teis sighed, and jogged after him. About five minutes later, he was standing in the supply store, completely drenched (he'd neglected to grab something to keep himself dry, and it was still raining), and more than slightly annoyed at Adrian. The man was standing at the counter, two large backpacks slung over his shoulder. Instead of walking over to give him a hand, though, Teis began looking for a tent.

He has the money, he can pay for those himself.

[Nanami Touko]

Amera

"Armor slows me down. I'd much rather have something like this. I mean, this isn't exactly light..." "Oh! Right, right. Sorry about that." She'd barely even noticed how thick the jacket was, having spent too much time ogling Gideon instead. "So we can probably just get supplies and leave it at that." "Sounds like a plan, then," she said as they walked into the shop. The place looked... normal? She didn't know how to think of it, it just seemed like a supplies store. It was sort of surreal, after everything she'd been through, walking into such a nonchalant store. At least everything's here. So, we just need a tent, and...? "Should we get our own tent?" "Like... just for us? I-I guess so..." She blushed, feeling like she was being teased again, unsure how to deal with it. The ultimate irony, the girl who teases everyone doesn't know how to deal with it herself. "Yeah, sounds like a good idea. I guess I can leave that to you, then?" Okay, there we go! Now I get to relax against the wall while he buys everything. She left his arm and found an empty wall, smiling at him while she waited. "Have fun, dear." She let her tail sway about, enjoying being able to tease him back. "But hurry up, we did only have half an hour."

Adrian

Teis had finally shown up as Adrian had finished paying for the backpacks. He looked over at the knight, who seemed like he could sorely use a coat. "Uh, Teis, here," he tossed a small pouch at Teis, hoping he would catch it. "Take that and get a coat, there's a store across the street with them. Speaking of which..." He lugged the backpacks over his shoulder, and went back over to that exact store. Okay, time to look for... exactly that. There was a small section of them next to the actual shorts. He didn't know if he could actually purchase them without looking like a pervert. Alright, Adrian, listen. You said you were going to do this! You've gotta man up and actually do it! Don't make claims like that and then walk back with your proverbial tail between your legs! Giving himself a little mental pep talk, he grabbed two of them in the same size as the shorts from earlier, and set them on the counter. He didn't care how red he was now, he was going to do this. The girl at the counter simply chuckled, sort of knowing his situation. She'd be laughing if she wasn't trying her best to be professional. He simply gave her the gold and a small smile, ducking out of there with his new purchase as quickly as possible.

"Okay! That might've been the most embarrassing thing you've ever had to purchase. If she ever tries to get me to buy her underwear, I swear..." That was one thing that was never going to happen, he thought, as he walked back into the inn with everything in hand. He dropped it all where he'd dropped the clothes before, and collapsed into a chair, sighing. "I think I'm done being the mule. Teis's still grabbing his stuff, shouldn't be long..." Hope he grabs a tent. Don't want to have to go back out.

[CT075]

Teis

Teis grabbed a tent, and the bag of money. After buying all of it (he also bought himself a coat for good measure), he walked back to the inn. The three hours had to be almost up by now...

Ormis

Ormis, as usual, had completely forgotten about the supplies, only thinking about the journey ahead. If he could bring in the impostor, he'd be famous!

At least, he thought so.

[Anti-Social Meta Knight]

"Sounds like a plan, then."

There was something very off about the store. Maybe it was that there weren't any racist people in it? Those seemed commonplace on this side of town... "Like... just for us? I-I guess so..." Gideon smirked at that. You're only good at dishing it out, aren't you? "Yeah, sounds like a good idea. I guess I can leave that to you, then?" "Works for me. I'll get us some backpacks or something too." It had just hit him - all he had to carry stuff was his pockets. Now that he had some money to throw around, he could be a bit more accommodating. "Have fun, dear." Dear? They were barely an item for more than two hours, and already she was using a pet name. "But hurry up, we did only have half an hour." "Right." He nodded and wandered deeper into the store. Don't offer to carry anything...alright, a tent, sleeping bags, a pillow, and backpacks. Easy enough.

It wasn't that easy. Within ten minutes, Gideon had found just parts for a tent, a pillow, and one sleeping bag. It was sizable, but they didn't have any more in stock... I hope the grass is comfortable. Grabbing one large backpack from a shelf near him - or maybe it was just a drawstring bag; he didn't care, storage was storage and he had no time to nitpick - he approached the counter. He shot a look at Amera which was somewhere between "You have no idea how shitty it is in there" and "You're really going to make me carry all this?" "Don't have much time," he said to the clerk, his tone a bit agitated. "How much?"

The clerk, a boy significantly younger than Gideon was, was more than a bit intimidated by the big man with the big pile of stuff. "Um...well, let me check..." When the man groaned, the clerk, clearly unnerved, looked over his shoulder in hopes that someone experienced would come to save him. "I, um, just a minute," he stammered as he began to shuffle off.

"Forget it," Gideon said quickly. "I'll give you eighty for all this, alright?" Come on, kid, work with me here!

"Well, I'd...I'd rather find out the prices," the clerk mumbled back. "Let me just, um, let me look at it?" he asked as he gingerly reached for the bag Gideon had selected. It was a backpack, though it was fairly small; it suited Amera more than it did him. The clerk looked over every item, taking his time - that or he just didn't know what he was doing. Gideon favored the latter. "All this will be fifty-six gold," the clerk said finally, his voice with a bit more confidence.

Gideon nodded and handed him sixty gold pieces. "Change is yours. Thanks." With that, he picked up what he could and looked over at Amera, his exasperation and impatience clear. "You could at least take the bag..."

[Nanami Touko]

She didn't really feel bad about getting him to do all of the work, until he gave her he look he had, walking back out to the front. She chuckled nervously, wishing she'd helped him a little now. Sorry, Gideon. Next time I will, promise! The clerk seemed to be more than frightened by his appearance; she couldn't blame him, she had been afraid of him at first. And now he was taking up their time by rushing back to check for prices. Amera really just wanted to get going at this point. Walking up to the counter as the clerk walked back out, their supplies were finally paid, and Gideon let his exasperation show, "You could at least take the bag..." "How about I take the bag, and the backpack," she said, grabbing them both off the counter without waiting for him to respond. There. Maybe he'll be a bit less upset, now. She threw the backpack where it was supposed to go, on her back. Bag in one hand, Gideon's hand in the other, she dragged him back to the inn.

Everyone else seemed to have gotten back before them, which made her a bit embarrassed, walking in. At least I've got some new clothes. And they didn't have to wait too long, right? "Heh heh, sorry about that?" She said, awkwardly scratching the back of her head, and sitting down in one of the free chairs. Crossing her legs and leaning back a bit, she turned her head to Carrion, "so, I guess we leave now?"

[Anti-Social Meta Knight]

"How about I take the bag, and the backpack," She took them before he could reply, and then his hand got grabbed again. He was glad she was helping, but did she have to do it that way every time?

As they walked in, Gideon looked around to see plenty of people already with Carrion, which was a touch embarrassing; it seemed like they had taken a bit too long. "Heh heh, sorry about that?" Amera said as she moved to a chair. "I blame the confused kid," he grumbled, setting down all the stuff he had bought on a table near where Amera was sitting. "so, I guess we leave now?" "We're ready when you are," he told Carrion as he leaned on the table where he had put his supplies. "Who else are we waiting on?"

[ReformBlade]

"We can leave whenever, guys. It'll be a slow start since this guy here isn't really in any condition to be moving about quickly." She pointed to Zwool lazily but then smiled to everyone. "Let's go now, rain's almost up anyhow." Picking up whatever Adrian and Teis didn't, she helped Zwool along and out of the city.

The passing week...

It was a trip Carrion would always look back on fondly, full of laughter, teasing, and many things she'd never really experienced before since she had been alone most of her life. During the day they walked, during the night they talked. She didn't know much about the others, but she was quite at home sleeping outside in the cool Shuthran air, laying on her back and staring up at the night sky, simply wondering about anything that came to mind. Her brother, Adrian, her new companions, her book, her sealing, her childhood, all of these flooded in and out of her mind, but nothing weighed her down. On the final night, they arrived at Pravna, the gates closed to them due to their unfortunate timing, and being forced to camp out for the night right outside. She was miffed about that, but the guards outside were simply following the curfew put forth by the capital. From Sundown to Sunrise, the gates would never be open, so long as they stand. Unable to convince them, she got the others to just set up camp outside for the time being, then proceeding to read her book in the firelight before sleep overcame her.

Edited August 3, 2011 by SlaveKitty

[CT075]

A week of travel

The week of traveling was unremarkable, as far as Ormis was concerned. That being said, Ormis was Ormis, and was more often than not somehow worse-off than the rest of the group. Having neglected to buy a tent, he was sleeping outside for the majority of the trip. Which was fine and dandy while it was warm, but the first few nights were sleepless, as the rain still hadn't let up. The boy was also constantly getting lost, forcing one or two people (usually Teis and someone else) to go find him while everyone else set up camp. This, coupled with his short temper and inability to resist pulling pranks on the rest of the group (cutting a hole in the top of Carrion's tent, getting beat up while peeping on Amera, etc.) made more than a few people wish he had been left behind. Despite this, he was never really in a bad mood (except when Gideon and Amera were off on their own, and even then he tried to hide it), and very often was a source of humor for the group (the typical incident involved him pulling something on someone, and everyone else laughing while he was running away from his 'victim').

Teis, the typical silent ineffectual loner, spent most of the trip seemingly deep in thought (he was really just tired). His dreams were haunted by black flames, although more than once they were interrupted by Ormis begging for Teis to let him in.

[Zsword]

Zwool kept pretty quiet and to himself during the trip. At first, because of the remaining dizziness from his blood loss, but as the week ran on, it was simply because he didn't feel comfortable talking to people. Besides, carving out wing slots in his new shirt had given him something to do in the meant time. It also gave him time to think about things he never thought about... why couldn't he remember his past? What was the significance of this gauntlet? Why... why is that in all of his memories without the gauntlet, he looked significantly different? Though he couldn't come up with the answers himself, but considering the factor of the gauntlet... he knew it was important. He just... couldn't figure it out.

[Nanami Touko]

Week Travel

Adrian

It was... fun. Fun would be a word that he'd use to describe the trip. He wasn't really a loner when he was younger, but being surrounded by so many people wasn't something he was used to. Whether or not he was used to it, it was something he'd grown to enjoy. Whether it was spending time alone with Carrion, laughing at the people Ormis bothered, or just talking amongst all of them; he enjoyed it all. Of course, there were a few times when it was less comfortable for him, because Carrion was still Carrion, and teasing him was something she enjoyed doing. There had been a few moments where he felt more than embarrassed, because of her. Though, some mornings were nice, waking up with her on top of him. They made up for all of the teasings. And, of course, his questioning her to learn magic. She didn't really have much to teach him, still being sealed, but he'd rather know all he could know, even if he couldn't put it to practical use.

When the week ended; the week of hilarious fun ended, and they made it to Pravna, they had one more night to themselves because of some stubborn guards. Carrion seemed to want this night to herself, though, dragging out her book. He'd leave her alone with it; she'd barely gotten time to read it recently. He just decided he'd spend that night with everyone else; if she needed him he'd obviously be around.

Amera

Being together with this many people for an entire week? Sounds like a blast. And it was, for the most part. She tried her best to join in every conversation, really enjoying having friends. Of course, the entire trip wasn't pleasant, as one day Ormis had tried to sneak in on her changing. She spent the next ten minutes beating him up, and then fifteen after that arguing with Gideon, who'd attempted to stop her, telling her it "wasn't worth her time". Otherwise, it had been a nice trip. She'd enjoyed the time she got to spend with Gideon to the fullest, some nights just sitting with him and relaxing instead of joining in on the groups' conversations.

One more night out under the moon? That's alright. She wasn't that upset by having to sleep outside the city for one more night. She just cuddled up onto Gideon's lap, and relaxed until they had to sleep.

[Anti-Social Meta Knight]

The week was...interesting for Gideon. For the most part, he kept to himself, enjoying his moments with Amera when they came around and striking up conversations here and there. His mind was elsewhere - as they traveled to Pravna, there were quite a few places that Gideon recognized. In some places, he had been a woodcutter; in others, a bum; and in a few, he was among bandits. He was glad that they hadn't stopped in Indolcure. That place held a lot of bad memories for him. Sometimes, his tension got the better of him, and things that he would normally laugh at got on his nerves, like when Amera decided to beat on Ormis for going in the wrong tent. It was a petty complaint, and her reaction to him saying so was less than mature. It didn't bother him long, though; it was hard to be mad around her. Irritated from time to time, maybe, but not mad.

When they were denied entry to the city, Gideon didn't mind too much. It was something he was used to from his drifting days. Besides, it meant Amera would get all cozy with him again. Though he probably wouldn't admit it to anyone, he really liked that. He just held her and enjoyed it while he could - chances were that he wouldn't have much downtime like this in the city, if he knew Carrion at all.

[NagafenOfIlivikitty]

With a week having gone past, things have changed for three. Three girls who all have had odd moments for the past month, moments they can reflect on and consider that under most normal circumstances, they wouldn’t have experienced such things. Comatic prophets who they have somehow grown close to despite them being pompous and assuming, kicking guild members who appear to have had a daily breakfast of douchbaggery as they grew up in the crotch, meeting the girl who your other sold into slavery all grown up. The layers of absurdity are quite interesting to behold.

Yet a week on, things have not changed all too much. The absurdities have become regularity. What was once slightly abnormal for Carrie, Obelia and Langley is now quite possibly the norm from now on.

Take for instance Obelia. She waits still, with the priest called Ken for signs of life in Lucinda’s eyes, a wakening of sorts. She had, on that day a week ago, begun what she did regularly now, each day until she wakes up. She simply bakes bread, the same recipe her mother used, so she and Ken have something to eat quite readily while they wait. She is enjoying his company beyond what she thought possible, glad to have found, in essence, a friend.

She bakes the bread over the week, cherishing the action that links her to her mother, however far away. She is, for the most part, happier then she’s been.

Now, Langley. She has been travelling with Andy across the mountains, heading for her home and her parents, friends. Yet she finds the journey is wary, the cold biting occasionally and the rocks as always, dangerously close to tripping her at the very worst of times. She is smiling too, though. She has found that even through the coldest knights, chatting to Andy about anything that comes to her mind. She remembers as she walks discussing the life of her parents and their exploits as they’d sat to rest, barely able to summon a fire due to the lack of sticks and less oxygen within the air. Yet as they’d (almost quite faintly) talked, she’d smiled a lot, she remembers this, happy to talk to him about a friend she’d had at her village who’d hated seeing her go, her respect for her parents and the pointless nature of Anri discrimination. She knows that these subjects wee a bit ‘heavy’ in terms of what the mood they could draw were, but she remembers being honest with him.

She also remembers, as she draws close to the mountain base, the other side, with a quiet flush she’d rather hide, trying to hold him when the nights became frigid, so he didn’t catch pneumonia or something to that degree. She remembers how warm he felt and she ignores that, not wanting to remember the odd feeling at holding him like that.

Yet still, she is also for the most part, happier then she’s ever been.

Carrie, her days have been quite an adventure. Not the one she really had in mind, less exploring for great ‘finds’, regardless of the fact she knows not what type of great finds she seeks, nor days of merriment and laughter. No, so far, ending up in a fight and being slapped by someone who should wobble with every kinetic motion he makes brings a downer to her thoughts.

But, not long after the end of the fighting, no one really notices Carrie quietly leave, her satchel slung and the knife she bought still with her, her direction… any which way. For now, to reach a corner of the continent, she heads west from where she has experienced all of these events, quiet and alone for now.

Yet still, she is- well, she’s all right. Hardly anything happy to mull on, but she’s… all right.

[Nanami Touko]

Andy's trip with Langley had been all sorts of weird and enjoyable. She honestly felt, to him, like an older sister. She would watch over him, take care of him, make sure he was alright. He appreciated the care, though he couldn't help but feel that there was more to her affection than a sister like love. Though, not knowing how to deal with something like that, he tried his best not to pay it any mind. It was a tad difficult, especially when he'd feel her cling to him on colder nights. So, he was confused for most of the trip, unsure as to whether he really liked the feelings, or if they were upsetting to him. By the end of their trip, though, he'd finally gotten over being awkward around her, and didn't mind the occasional physical contact. He was beginning to enjoy it, in fact. Their conversations, while heavy, were still something he'd look forward to, because they shared ideals. There had been too many people in his life who had spit on what he'd thought. The week began to end, as they left the mountain face...