Return of the Emblem Chapter Six: Enemies Abound

[Phoenix]

Darkness

As Robin searched for Shadrak's bird, a small dark figure kept a close eye on her. Whenever she would leave one room and go to the next, the swift creature would fly from one concealed area to another, barely making a sound. His glazed eyes never lost sight of the huntress. Eventually the raven decided to get a closer look and swooped down upon Robin from behind. He landed for a split second atop her head, and then took off again disappearing into the shadows. Nope, that definitely wasn't Shadrak ...

[Acacia Sgt]

<Gytha driving? Heh. Well, regardless on who does it, good thing I have Gil.> John thought. <Hm, speaking of, if we are leaving soon I guess I may have to get him again in order to be ready to leave. I'll wait a little while longer.>

[Mercakete]

"Realla?" Gytha asked, happy at Gabbie's "appreciation of her abilities," "That's a good reason. A'right, then! Synthia'll do great, I'd bet." She was obliviously flattered and quite happy at this point, feeling like an important contributer to the group and inspiring her to do even better for them.

"Just remember that this is our leader we're rescuing! You get in the way of that goal, at least I won't be working with you anymore!" Norbert snapped back at Altena. His temper was getting somewhat out-of-hand again...

[Zsword]

Krystal

The blue avian stepped out from the shadows she had stowed herself in during the conversations, figuring out how she could be useful. "I could probably help drive the wagon... I've been spending these last few days learning the ropes... as it were..." She helpfully chirped in... she was nervous, no doubting that, but, she looked confident enough.

Zel

The knight wandered around the room, thinking about the situation... with, nothing useful coming to mind (He knew how to guide one horse, not several) He wandered his way over to Gabbie, calmly stepping beside her and attempted to give her a comforting one armed side hug... (I really hope you understand what I mean by that...)

[Phoenix]

Meeting Area

"Your leader's a civilian and this is technically our operation, now. Don't go and try to be heroes, here, you'll just get in our way." Altena shot back at Bert.

Meanwhile Gabbie watched as the volunteers for driving continued to show up. She was more in favor of Synthia doing it, but she would leave that matter be. The most important thing is that Gytha was more interested in fighting now than driving. Mission accomplished. Suddenly she felt an arm reach around her. She looked to the source and saw Zel standing there. "Oh hey, there, Man In Whoite. Lonely?" she teased.

Edited November 18, 2011 by Phoenix

[Snowy_One]

The claws came down on Robin's head, digging in to her head. Robin screamed in fear! The ghost cat was back! She spun around trying to spot the beast, only to see nothing but a empty room and the rest of the group off in the distance. She clutched the tome tighter to her chest as her hand drew her dagger. If the ghost was back, it could only be killed by magic, right? Still, having the dagger out presented her with some form of defense.

"N-Nowkey?" she asked, unsure if she was pronouncing the bird's name right, praying it would come to defend her against the evil ghost cat!

[Phoenix]

Dark Halls

Hearing his name, Naoki turned his attention back on the huntress. He would have flown off to find Shadrak had she not addressed him by name like that. She had Shadrak's tome, and she herself was pretty slow, so there probably wouldn't be any harm in seeing what she wanted. He flew down into view and landed on top of the tome. He then stared blankly at her, waiting to see what she wanted and why she had the tome.

[Snowy_One]

Robin stood, terrified and afraid that she would soon feel the chilled scratches upon her leg, the ethereal 'meow', or the deathly purring of hell itself if the bird didn't show up and the cat returned. Then, the large raven flew down, landing upon the tome and looking up at her. Her hair was standing on end with fear, but the appearance of the bird calmed her somewhat. It was magic, and magic could stop ghosts, right?

"Nowkey... Your master needs you." she said, saying the words slow as she tried to walk away from the room. "Please, do not leave me though! I need you to stop the ghost cat!"

[Phoenix]

The Raven

Naoki stared blankly at her, blinking on occasion. He wanted to find out what was going on, so he remained perched atop the tome.

[Zsword]

Zelatus: The knight nodded a little. "Yeah, what happened... it's chilling, I thought we might come and keep each other warm." He told Gabbie with a flirtacious chuckle. |||||Shadrak: The shaman slowly worked him self up off the ground, now sitting. He pulled out his pen and paper and began scribbling out a quick letter... his head was throbbing... he was tired... but by Truth's beard this was important...

Edited November 18, 2011 by Zsword

[Snowy_One]

Robin looked at the bird oddly. Had it actually understood her? Or was she talking to a dumb bird like it was a human being? Regardless, she had the bird, hopefully, and she made her way back to the battle-room, hoping the bird wouldn't try to climb up her shirt as she did so. Already it was uncomfortably close, sitting on the book she was holding close to her. She hurried back hoping her quick return would both cause the ghost cat to loose sight of her and that it would give the bird less time to be trouble.

"<Shadrak, I think I found your bird.>" she said in Skotian, nervous. "<A ghost cat tried to kill me finding him though!>"

[Phoenix]

Naoki

Having been brought to Shadrak, Naoki took off from the tome and perched on his shoulder and began examining him, changing his posture with every new area searched. He could tell the shaman wasn't in his normal state, and his energy was different. He wasn't dead, though. He was even writing something. Seeing the note being written, the bird quit his investigation and stood by to receive the note.

Gabbie

"Oh how considerate of you~" Gabbie replied with an almost cheerful looking smile. She then grabbed his cape and partially wrapped them both up in it. "Now that's handy."

[Mercakete]

"WHO SAYS?! WHAT'S YOUR MAIN OBJECTIVE ANYWAY?! I'M MORE WORRIED ABOUT YOU GETTING IN OUR WAY!!" Norbert retaliated, almost at his top volume. He didn't appreciate being treated like a second-class fighter, even if there was some truth to it. He was also probably maybe worried about Raquel perhaps.

[Zsword]

Shadrak

The shaman smiled at his Raven, stroking it gently before he attached the hastily scrawled note to it's leg. "<To Chie my friend, with haste.>" He whispered to it. AFter it left he turned to Robin, switch dialects from the Kigen he was speaking earlier to his ruff Skotian. "[Thank you Robin, as for a ghost cat... I know not what you're talking about, there is no such thing.]"

Zelatus

The knight smiled, using this chance to wrap both arms around Gabbie in a more proper embrace seeing as they were most definatly closer to each other. "Indeed it 'tis." He said in an oddly content tone.

[Phoenix]

Meeting Area

"Probably not a good oidea to yell at the people with the four dozen soldiers outsoide ..." Gabbie commented quietly after witnessing Bert's outburst. She leaned her head back a bit to rest her head just below the 'chin' of Zel's helmet.

"Is she paying you a lot of money for your services or are you just her boyfriend or something? I can't tell which." Altena asked. Gabbie snickered. She was pretty sure Bert wasn't getting paid enough to shout at the military. "Our objectives are to rescue this Raquel and capture or kill her captors. If you wanted more say in this, you should have showed up with a rank." she retorted, taking out her Lieutenant badge for a moment and holding it out for them to see. She would have preferred to flash Major General Selene's since it was the one that truly mattered--and was flashier--but that would be going too far to prove a simple point; the military was in charge of this rescue effort.

[Snowy_One]

Robin shook her head in disagreement, holding the tome closer. "<It attacked me in the kitchen when I went to get the cloth to help you after the battle and it attacked me when I was looking for Nowkey. It's real and it's haunted me! Only magic can kill those things, right? I can't use magic at all! I can't defend myself at all from it!>"

[Acacia Sgt]

<On second thought, it may give us the best chances, but perhaps it's not the best choice to us.> John thought, looking over at Bert and his outburst. <It really shows.> He then looked over at them. <They aren't really making it any easier with their attitude of pushing us aside. But I guess it can't be avoided even right now.> He shook his head.

At this rate they may probably just leave without us. Sophia thought. This is certainly not starting on the right path.

Edited November 18, 2011 by Acacia Sgt

[Mercakete]

Something about it not being a good idea to yell at someone who could kick your sorry butt. Not that it mattered to Norbert, as headstrong as he was. Heck, Gabbie's coment barely even registered since his attention was snatched up again. Oh dear, here we go... "I'M NOT ANYONE'S BOYFRIEND!!! HOW MANY TIMES MUST I TELL YOU PEOPLE?!! " Finally at maximum volume. It somehow briefly escaped him that he'd never told this particular person that before. "AND NO, I WAS JUST HIRED RECENTLY AND HAVEN'T BEEN PAID AT ALL YET BUT SHE'S MY ONLY SOURCE OF INCOME AT THE MOMENT AND BESIDES THAT I DON'T FEEL LIKE JUST TRUSTING YOU WITH IT!!! YOUR RANK MEANS NOTHING, BY THE WAY, NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU THINK IT DOES!!! HAVING A BADGE DOESN'T MAKE YOU ANY BETTER THAN ANYONE -- IT JUST MAKES YOU A TOOL AND BINDS YOU TO A BUNCH OF REGULATIONS!!! PEOPLE CAN HELP PROTECT WITHOUT RANKS AND DO IT JUST AS WELL AS ANY SINGLE SOLDIER SO DON'T THINK THAT HAVING ONE SOMEHOW MAKES YOU MORE IMPORTANT!!!"

Gytha had started watching as soon as Norbert reached his maximum volume. She preemptively flinched, wondering if they'd arrest him then and there.

[Zsword]

Zelatus

The night let out a sigh, letting his loser come up and gently work off his helmet, hooking it to the back of his belt as he spoke. "LT. Alena, last time I checked, Standard Military procedure featured evacuating civilians from the combat zone as Top priority. As long as you keep this in mind, I'm fairly certain that both Norbert's and your agenda will not conflict. Now, Norbert, I admire your dedication, but this is the Military we are talking about, protecting the people of this nation is their duty. You'd be wise to take a moment to remember that." Zel took a moment to pull out and show his Knight's Crest (trying not to disturb Gabbie too much), his expression clearly indicating 'I DO have a say in this.' "General Selene, my recommendation for this operation is too prioritize the rescue of Raquel over dealing with her captures. She's a powerful bargaining chip for them." He addressed to the General, his voice calm, collected, and decidadly... commanding.

Shadrak

"[Naoki was probably just inspecting you while you were looking for her, as for the kitchen, you probably just had a run in with a stray or something, I doubt it was an actual 'ghost']" He said to Robin... it was by this point he noticed just how heavy his breath still was.

[-Cynthia-]

Selene

"I agree, rescuing Miss Valcyn is the priority here. Though if any of you interfere in the investigation, I will not hesitate in pressing charges. I suggest some of your company get themselves under control before their behavior begins to become an issue," she said, glaring at Bert in irritation.

[Acacia Sgt]

<Yeah, not helping.> John shook his head. <At this point we might as well just do it on our own.>

Bert's sudden outburst startled Sophia. This is becoming worse by the second. It's not going to turn into a fight is it?

[Phoenix]

Meeting Hall; Formerly the Dining Hall

"Relax, would you? The reason we're calling the shots is because rescuing the girl is top priority. Weyland's recommendation is enough that we'll gladly work with you, but unless you prove to be vital to our success, here, we've got no reason to handle this in any other fashion but our own." He doesn't seem too confident in the law ... she thought before glancing at Zel's crest. "You know we could be on the move, right now ... chasing down those people, instead of standing around arguing over who's in charge. The Major General is in charge; that really ought to be the end of it. Speaking of which ..." she paused to face Selene. "If I may be excused, Ma'am, I'd like to get my squad ready to head out." Five minutes is a bit too long to leave those guys alone. They were complaining earlier so I know they'll be goofing off if I don't get back soon ...

"What's a 'say', anyway? Why don't you all just follow the Major General's lead and when the fighting starts, it'll be almost like normal. As long as Raquel is rescued safely there's really no harm in it." Weyland commented with crossed arms.

Edited November 18, 2011 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

Norbert was fuming. The military folks were acting as though having a military rank was the only thing that entitled them to a say in the rescue operation. It was always that way. He, again, felt his anger at being treated as incompetant because he didn't hold a rank rising. And Zel was going along with it. His blood was boiling with fury at the injustice. Indignant. And so, his anger took control, he whipped his maces from his belt and lashed out, swinging a wild, strong attack at the knight's head. His target wasn't Gabbie, after all.

WTA!

((4+2)+4)-6 = 4 = hit!

(6+3)-10= -1 tink! (but so close)

Norbert 15/15

Zel 21/21

Splinter and Crunch made contact...with Zel's defending lance. He'd raised it up in time to redirect the attack and Norbert made a couple more steps than he'd intended. He was open for a counterattack.

Gytha found this turn of events interesting. She'd won the last time she fought with the angry pegasus-rider and wondered how this would turn out.

Edited November 18, 2011 by Mercakete

[Zsword]

The barbaric man over pressed his weight, forcing his back wide open to a sweep with the shaft of Zel's lance, sending the man face first in the ground. Zel then proceeded to ram his tip into the back left shoulder of the man, a wound that would disable most men's arm. "You're too uncontroled, your wild swings won't get a solid blow on any properly clad Ursium military, drop your weapons, walk away, and trust the military to do their before I really hurt you." He said, removing his lance tip from the grounded man.

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3268904/

Double Auto-Hit! (both equilling 13...)

(7+3)-4=6!

(7+5)-4=8!

Bert: 1/15.

[-Cynthia-]

Selene

"Yes, I think it would be best to make preparations to leave. Weyland, get your people under control or don't have them come at all," Selene said, sidestepping the brawl. The other soldiers followed in suit, some of them glancing back at brief intervals.

Veronika

Veronika sighed as Bert seemed to be instigating yet another fight. She decided to occupy herself with taking attendance of the group- Shadrak and Robin still seemed to be missing at the very least and she figured it was best not to leave without them.

Wagoneers

"So has someone gotten the wagon ready to move out yet? If we're leaving we probably should get it all situated," Connor said, trying to ignore the conflict in the room.

"If ya need an extra hand I'm here to help~" Nadya chimed in afterwards enthusiastically.