Return of the Emblem Chapter Ten: Converging Destinies

[Snike]

Blake had thought that his theory might hit Raquel hard, but not this hard. The merchant was on the verge of tears, presumably crushed by the notion that her father might be aligned with the Organization, The poor girl was terrified of what might happen on the morrow, which was entirely the swordsman's fault. Had he held his tongue, maybe she wouldn't be in such a sorrowful state.

Of course, that's why he had to keep talking about it, to see if he could bring his employer out of her despair, though Veronika might end up doing that as well.

"... Actually, Gar, could you escort Kit over to the Dauntless? In the name of expediency, anyways," Blake said, before he returned to the matter at hand. "Raquel, even if your father is allied with the Organization, I don't think that we've fought for nothing. The truth of the matter is, we've all fought this entire time to reunite you and your father. Regardless of what happens tomorrow, if we have to still fight for that, then we will. And I know the thought of what tomorrow might bring is terrifying, but you have people like Veronika and Reign to rely on for support, and I, for one am going to stand behind whatever decision you make. Things will get better, one way or another, Raquel. I know you probably don't believe that, but, well, I do, which is why I believe we can do this, no matter how long it takes or how dire the situation is."

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Escort that thing? Dammit sword-guy, I'm gonna get you back for this. Gar thought in response to sword-guy's little plan. "Fine, whatever, as long as you're perfectly fine with any life-threatening accidents that happen along the way." Gar blandly said. "C'mon you."

[Ether]

And so Kit found herself following this wiry and overall none-too friendly fellow over towards the wagon. Well, things could be worse.

[Phoenix]

Campfire

"If you people are going cook anything you'd better do somethin' about that foire first," Gabbie warned. Apparently the flames were beginning to die down naturally. Of course Gabbie had no interest in helping out herself and so just stayed right where she was watching as the fire began to slowly burn out.

Shadrak frowned at the fire once he noticed. "Maybe we should go look for something to burn ..."

"Have fun," Gabbie said, waving goodbye to the shaman.

Well that wasn't the response he wanted to hear ...

PM

"But I ... I don't know what decision to make. If he's being controlled, I don't know what I can do to fix it. If he's just going along with all of this of his own free will, then I ... I don't even know my own father like I thought I did. And one way or another, 'joining' Sardis? That's insane. I can't join up with someone willing to kill so many people just to get what he wants. I don't care if that makes me a hypocrite anymore; he forced me into all of this."

[spoiler=Hell: Fratricide]

~Election Time~

When Valdimarr next appeared it was only to deliver a devastating punch to Vidarr's face. His jaw might have even been fractured. As soon as the Vidarr staggered away from his brother, Valdimarr was gone once again. <"UUUrrrrrgh ...">

Egill had had enough and began running right for Vidarr. Confused at first, Vidarr took a defensive stance and readied himself for Egill's attack, but in doing so left himself open to Valdimarr. Without missing a beat, Valdimarr reappeared hoping to take hold of Vidarr and start breaking bones, but Egill threw several knives the instant this happened, and three of them struck Valdimarr's left arm, forcing him to break off. At the same time, Alfarr came rushing in with his massive blade, hoping to cleave Valdimarr in half. The swing could have easily killed Valdimarr and Vidarr, but the former warped away and the latter dropped to the ground. Alfarr missed everyone. <"We can kill each other later! Focus on Valdimarr,"> Vidarr scolded.

<"What do you think I'm doing?!"> Alfarr shot back.

Valdimarr reappeared a fair distance from the group and began yanking Egill's knives out of his arm one by one and holding onto them in his right hand. He didn't say a word.

<"Stand back, wait until he opens up for you ... then strike,"> Vidarr instructed his brothers as he prepared another attack. Instead of a dozen smaller singularities, he readied only two, but they would be far stronger than the previous ones. Once they were ready, Vidarr unleashed his twin singularities. Having never lost control of the dark spheres, he guided them wildly toward Valdimarr. It wasn't until they were close enough to begin pulling at him that he warped to safety. That was when the other royals spread out and Vidarr split up his spells. It took a great deal of concentration on his part, but with these deadly roaming spheres moving about the arena, Valdimarr would have to warp more carefully for the time being. And there was one more concern ... what if Valdimarr warped in behind him ... right now?

It happened; Valdimarr appeared behind him and reached over to put Vidarr in a choke hold before anyone else could react. Vidarr saw this coming and leaped forward, turning around midway and unleashing a dark thunder spell at Valdimarr that immediately stunned him. He had to let one of his singularities roam freely in order to focus on this new spell, but he held onto the other one and began to bring it back their way. With Valdimarr writhing from the electricity coursing through his body, he could slam the singularity into him and shred his body down to molecules.

The plan had merit, but Egill used his warping abilities to close the distance and try to kill Valdimarr himself. That was fine with Vidarr; they could both be swallowed up by the spell for all he cared, but when Egill tried to attack Valdimarr, it revealed that Valdimarr wasn't stunned at all, only waiting for a chance to strike, and he did. Ignoring Egill for the moment, Valdimarr rushed the short distance forward to Vidarr and leaped right over him as he unleashed another burst of dark thunder. That attack missed, and Valdimarr's tail wrapped around Vidarr's throat as Valdimarr beat down his wings in order to fly up into the air. Needless to say, Valdimarr's surgically mounted tail blade was cutting into Vidarr's neck while the tail itself choked him. Egill was too distracted by the singularity to get involved and narrowly avoided it as he warped away.

With the singularity having crashed into the ground so close to Valdimarr and Vidarr, it began drawing them both in. Valdimarr's plan to kill Vidarr would have to wait. If he waited any longer, they would both be devoured. He warped, but took Vidarr along with him. It wasn't intentional, but he didn't have time to unravel his tail and escape alone. The singularity soon exploded and sent a shockwave throughout the arena. As the dust settled, Egill spotted Valdimarr and Vidarr, still somewhat tied up and struggling against each other while the remaining singularity continued to float around the arena.

Ragnarr had plans of his own and began sending his own dark spells into the singularity, feeding it and causing it to grow. Alfarr and Egill didn't support the strategy, but didn't have time to debate or oppose it directly. If they didn't act now, Valdimarr would kill Vidarr and the chances of either of them surviving would be significantly lower. They both quickly made their way toward the feuding brothers as quickly as they could, Alfarr charging on foot, and Egill warping short distances to save time and strength. Someone was about to die, and as far as they were concerned, it had better be Valdimarr.

<"... my sons ... ... why couldn't you have been stronger than this ...?"> Urd, the reigning impress watched the struggle for the throne from the shadows. To see her sons all ganging up on the strongest was mortifying, but she knew this was how the slaughter of siblings typically played out. If Valdimarr was truly her strongest son, then even this would not kill him.

When Valdimarr noticed Alfarr and Egill coming for him, he put his feet to Vidarr's shoulders and kicked off into the air, causing his tail to break loose from Vidarr and the knife to rip through his throat. Vidarr quickly covered the gaping wound after the initial spray of blood came and staggered away with a mix of agony and terror on his face. <So much blood! URRRRGH, no! I won't die here ... not like this!>

When Alfarr leaped into the air to try and catch Valdimarr, Vidarr turned his sights on Egill and quickly attacked his brother with a nosferatu spell, forcing him to the ground. <"What are you doing?!"> Egill shouted in confusion.

<"W-won't ... die like this ... ... just a little bit ... of your life force, brother ... that's all need ...">

<"DENIED!!!"> came Valdimarr's voice as he came down at high speed and slammed his entire arm against Egill's face. The fallen royal had looked up while on his knees to see who had spoken and when Valdimarr's attack hit, it broke Egill's neck in several places at once and tore apart his spine. As Valdimarr stood up to face Vidarr, Egill fell onto his face, eyes wide, life dwindling.

<"Shhhit!"> Fortunately for Vidarr, he had taken in enough life force to stop the profuse bleeding, but not enough to fully close the wound. He was in quite a bit of pain and could barely focus.

<He got me ... ... I can't believe he got me ... ... ... this really hurts .... So this is how all my victims felt when I ... ... ...>

<"Later, Egill,"> Valdimarr said to his brother as everything went dark.

<"You ... crafty little ...">

Once again Alfarr came charging in. <"Hmph,"> Valdimarr muttered before beginning to step away from Egill's body. Vidarr stepped out of Alfarr's way for the moment.

<"Don't run! I only want to exchange a few blows, brother! Just like old times!"> Alfarr assured Valdimarr.

<"Riiiight,"> Valdimarr replied with an amused grin. He sidestepped or ducked under all ten of Alfarr's swings, but humoring his brother had proven extremely dangerous; none of Alfarr's attacks missed Valdimarr by more than a few inches.

That was when Vidarr noticed that his singularity had grown to a preposterous size and was now drifting toward them. <"RAGNARR!!! YOU STUPID, RECKLESS HEN!!!"> Vidarr could only turn tail and run to escape while Alfarr continued to swing wildly at Valdimarr.

Valdimarr noticed Vidarr running away and then taking off into the air before he noticed the singularity. Once that happened, things got bad. Alfarr didn't let up, and when the singularity drew in Valdimarr's attention, Alfarr swung upward as hard and as fast as he could hoping to cut Valdimarr in half. Instead only Valdimarr's right hand was severed, halfway up to the elbow. Blood came gushing forth and Valdimarr quickly grabbed his injured arm and stumbled onto one knee. <"GOTCHA!!!"> Alfarr announced before preparing to bring his blade down and kill Valdimarr. He'd taken too long, however, and was unable to bring the blade down full force. The pull of the singularity had reached them, and the swing missed Valdimarr completely.

<"N-nice try, Alfarr ... really was, but ... I've gotta get going now ... two more brothers to kill and all that. Heheh ... but before I go ..."> Valdimarr stood up and lunged forth. Alfarr assumed Valdimarr was going to try and strike him with his free hand, but instead he rushed past him. Before Alfarr could figure out what was happening, he felt one of Egill's blades fly into his his mouth. With that grievous wound delivered, Valdimarr warped away and left Alfarr for the monster singularity.

Alfarr dropped his sword and staggered around aimlessly as he tried to free the dagger from the back of his throat. <I know I ... I know I wasn't good enough ... not to lead my people .... But I ... wanted to live ... was that too much to ask for? W-was it ...?> Alfarr stopped struggling as he felt his feet leave the ground. Then he, his blade, Valdimarr's severed hand, and Egill were all drawn into the singularity and devoured.

<"ALFARRRR NOOOOO!!!"> came the voice of a young child sitting beside the impress. It was one of the sixteen princesses. <"Mother, he's ... he's gone ...">

<"Yes ... he is">

<"But Alfarr was supposed to win! Alfarr! It's not fair, mother! It's not!">

<"Ragnarr, now what are we supposed to do?! Egill and Alfarr are both dead!"> Vidarr was none too pleased with the results of their converging attacks thus far and was taking it out on Ragnarr who himself seemed to be indifferent for the moment.

<"If you didn't want your singularity used for bloodshed, then you shouldn't have summoned it in the first place, brother. Valdimarr's coming; you can lament or fight. I for one choose to fight."> With that, Ragnarr readied his scythe and prepared for battle.

<"... dammit ... Valdimarr is winning ...">

<"No he's not. Look," Ragnarr replied.

The two royals looked off in the distance and saw Valdimarr approaching them on foot with a missing hand and blood pouring down from it. He was approaching them with murderous intent in his blazing eyes.

Vidarr smirked, some of his fears subsiding in the process. <"Alfarr's efforts weren't entirely worthless ...">

<"Indeed. Valdimarr won't be warping around much longer with an injury like that. Now come, Vidarr, let us cleave him in two and be done with this.">

<"I've got a BETTER idea!"> Vidarr reached out and soon retook control of his roaming singularity. He began to pull it back toward them. With Valdimarr near the center of the arena, it didn't seem like he would be very hard to draw in if they were quick enough. <"Let's end this!">

Valdimarr kept to his pace, ignoring the singularity approaching from behind for the moment. <Egill ... Alfarr ...>

<"VALDIMARRRRRR!!!"> Ragnarr flew at Valdimarr with his scythe at the ready. Valdimarr leaned out of the way of the first strike, and then quickly turned to launch a roundhouse kick at Ragnarr's head. Ragnarr countered by blocking the kick with the back of his scythe and then freeing up his other hand to grab Valdimarr by the collar. Once he had his shorter injured brother in his grasp, he headbutted him once, twice, three times, four times, again and again. One the eighth impact, Valdimarr looked half dead and barely conscious. <"Lost too much blood, I see.">

<"... y-yeah you'd like that ... w-wouldn't you ...?"> In an instant Valdimarr broke away and leaped back. He put himself just outside of the singularity's influence as a result, but it was still a secondary concern. If he wasn't careful, he would lose yet another limb for his carelessness.

Ragnarr rushed forward and tried to slice Valdimarr in half, but he warped out of the way and kicked Ragnarr in the back of the head before his tail blade stabbed him in the neck. Ragnarr responded instantly and in one brutally swift swing, he severed the end of Valdimarr's tail.

<"URGH!!!">

<"Ragnarr get out of the w- ... heh. I keep forgetting that fratricide has no place for such behavior. Oh well."> Vidarr had decided not to warn Ragnarr of the impending danger. Why bother? Vidarr himself was too injured to carry on in a protracted battle and Ragnarr was known for his incredible stamina. The victor between them was obvious. Warning him wasn't in his best interest, not anymore. He simply stood there guiding his sphere of death and desperately hoping both brothers would be consumed by it.

<"Are you ready to die, Valdimarr?"> Ragnarr asked as he rushed in and stabbed him with the spear end of his scythe.

Valdimarr coughed up quite a bit of blood in response and grabbed the shaft with his hand, trying to keep it from piercing any deeper. The singularity was getting way too close. Ragnarr followed up by moving closer and grabbing Valdimarr by the collar again. <"You're gonna regret that ..."> Valdimarr finally let go of the shaft and retrieved one of the knives he'd received from Egill and rammed it into Ragnarr's right eye.

<"ARRGH!">

Free to escape, Valdimarr yanked the scythe out and warped away. Ragnarr knew full well the singularity was coming and so left the knife in place and flew away.

<"... shit ..."> Vidarr muttered. Well at least Ragnarr was injured now, and Valdimarr had to be on his last legs, he figured.

When Valdimarr reappeared at a safe distance from the singularity, he only had a moment to cauterize his wounds, a process so agonizing in and of itself that it was stripping away the rest of his sanity. <"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGH!!!">

He had barely enough time to finish the last one, his tail, before Ragnarr appeared, charging at him with his scythe again. Furious from the intense lingering pain, Valdimarr rushed in as well. He dodged Ragnarr's scythe swing and punched him with his right arm despite not having a fist there. Both he and Ragnarr were sent into bellowing hysterics by it. Valdimarr's wound had been ravaged by that attempt at a punch, and the knife in Ragnarr's eye had been force in even deeper. The two began wandering around each other in circles while Vidarr planned his next move.

<"It's a wonder either of those two are still alive ... ... time to end this ..."> Vidarr began to steer his singularity back on course and toward his brothers while he took a moment to create a dark thunder charge. He was going to need it if Valdimarr began to get sick of leaving him be or Ragnarr was killed.

Ragnarr recovered from the pain first and yanked out the dagger in his eye. Then he threw it at Valdimarr and it wedged itself deeply in Valdimarr's left arm. <"ARgh ... damn ... nice shot, Ragnarr. Don't think I can use either of these now ..."> Valdimarr explained, resisting a chuckle.

<"You fought well, Valdimarr, but even you were no match for all of us."> Ragnarr praised him one last time before charging.

<It's not about any of that ... the only thing I care about is my birthright. I'm ... the emperor ... of Corvus. Nothing you hens do to me is going to change that ...>

Ragnarr delivered a devastating punch to Valdimarr's stomach, and then bent him down just long enough to slam his knee into his brother's face, and finally ended the combination by using both hands like a hammer to smack Valdimarr down onto the ground. Valdimarr coughed, blowing away some of the dust on the ground, and just as Ragnarr prepared to crush his skull underfoot, Valdimarr warped. As Ragnarr's boot hit the ground where Valdimarr's head was, Valdimarr's legs wrapped tightly around Ragnarr's midsection. Valdimarr then bit down on Ragnarr's neck in a blind rage. Just as the singularity came close enough to draw them both in, Valdimarr warped again.

<"HAH! It's over!"> Vidarr couldn't tell they had warped, not from where he was. He didn't realize how false his declaration had been until he saw blood dripping from on high. He looked up in shock to see Valdimarr at the very top of the arena. He had his left arm slipped between the cage links, his legs still wrapped around Ragnarr, and the royal's neck still painfully wedged in his jaws. Ragnarr twitched several times as the blood drained from his body. <"... is ... this fate ...?"> Vidarr asked pleadingly.

After a full minute of awe and silence, Ragnarr stopped moving, and Valdimarr released him. He fell two hundred feet and hit the ground with a resounding thud. Valdimarr loosed his arm from the cage and slowly came back down to the arena floor. As soon as he landed, he spit out several bits of bloodstained flesh taken from Ragnarr's neck and began wiping his mouth with his right bicep.

<"Do you think ... Valdimarr, do you think ... that father had to contend with something like this during his ascension to the throne?"> Vidarr asked, seemingly just making conversation.

<"... probably. I ... I really need to mate a few times after this is over ..."> Valdimarr responded, coming down from his rage into something of a daze.

<"Hahah ... I'm the only one who'll be mating after this, brother, but I agree, this has been quite the exercise, and a bit of release is definitely in order,"> Vidarr explained with a smile.

<"Heh."> Valdimarr smiled back. <"... so ... what are you going to do with that thing?"> Valdimarr nudged his head toward the singularity.

Vidarr glanced at it and then returned to staring at Valdimarr. <"We'll see ...">

The two stood only twenty feet apart. This was it. Vidarr acted first by rushing forward to attack Valdimarr. He kept his charge for the time being, just in case. Valdimarr like always simply leaned out of the way of the first attack and then countered swiftly with a headbutt to Vidarr's face. Vidarr tried to counter by going low and attempting to trip Valdimarr, but Valdimarr leaped over Vidarr's leg sweep. When Vidarr rose up, he reached out and grabbed Valdimarr by the jacket. <"Come here!"> Then he punched him in the face as hard as he could.

<"You're too slow,"> Valdimarr yelled before forcing his left arm to move and then punching Vidarr back.

<"Look who's talking," Vidarr shot back as the two began to beat on each other, neither one bothering to dodge or block even a single blow this time.

<"This is it,"> Helga realized. She stood up from her seat and her daughters did the same. Dozens in the crowd began to do the same, and even the impress herself stood for this part.

<"VALDIMAARRRRRR!!!">

<"VIDAAAARRRR!!!">

Vidarr delivered the hardest punch yet and even though he had a firm grip on Valdimarr's jacket, they were forced apart. Valdimarr's jacket was ripped in the process, and Vidarr nearly lost control of his thunder charge. Now was the time as far as he was concerned. He unleashed his dark thunder onto Valdimarr and sustained it for as long as he could while simultaneously drawing his singularity back in. He was going to end this here and now.

<"UUuuuuuUUuUuUUUuUUurrrrrRRRRRRRrRGH,"> Valdimarr tried to get control of his limbs and get off of the ground, but couldn't.

<"DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE FUCKING DIE!!!">

There was no choice left; Valdimarr summoned up the strength he needed to warp one more time. When he appeared a safe distance from Vidarr, he was still grounded and began trying to haul himself up. Vidarr corrected the singularity's course and kept it on track to hit Valdimarr. The latter had only seconds left to act.

<"Fucking ... singularities ... kiss my ass!"> Valdimarr quickly formed a dark sphere of his own, one about as small as a coin and chucked it into Vidarr's incoming spell. Then, he dropped to the ground and braced for what came next, a massive explosion. Vidarr's attack was destabilized by Valdimarr's and the whole thing went up in violet colored flames that rocked the entire arena. Vidarr was knocked off of his feet and Valdimarr saw his chance.

<"DAAAAAMMMIIIIIIT!!!">

Valdimarr sprinted for what felt like hours to him, closing the distance between himself and Vidarr as fast as he could. Many in the audience had never seen a fallen move so quickly on foot; he was practically flying. When Vidarr recovered from his fall, Valdimarr had caught up. He slammed headlong into his brother and kept his momentum as he plunged them both into another warp. This time they came out at the edges of the cage. Those down in the front were showered by blood as Valdimarr slammed Vidarr onto a cage spike, narrowly missing it himself.

<"... I ... I lost ...?">

Valdimarr was forced to hang onto the spike with his injured left arm or tumble on down to the bottom of the arena, so he did the former and said, <"I'm Sovereign ... did you not ... get the ... fucking ... memo ... Vidarr?">

<"Heh-hrg ... I suppose I ignored it ... heheh ... ... I wanted to win ... so badly.">

<"I just wanted to get on with my reign ... now I can.">

<"Rrrright ... of course you can ... Valdimarr ...">

<"... what?">

<"C-can you ... do me one last favor? I'm ... having a little trouble ... here. It's not as easy as I'd hoped it would be. Could you ... close my eyes ... for me ...?">

Valdimarr nodded.

<Rule our people with strength ... brother ... the kind of strength you showed me today ...>

Valdimarr pulled himself up and once he was properly atop the spike, he carefully reached over and closed Vidarr's lifeless eyes. Something was wrong though, and he realized it when he didn't hear any cheering. He looked back toward the arena and saw Ragnarr hauling himself to his feet.

<"VALDIMAAAAAAARRRRRR!!!">

Valdimarr grinned in anticipation and his eyes began to glow a fiery orange once again. <"... it's not over yet~">

Edited March 14, 2013 by Phoenix

[Snike]

"Sure, just so long as you don't make a mess of things," Blake said, distractedly to Gar, before returning to the conversation at hand. "Well, there might be another option, in the sense that perhaps you could negotiate that if they leave you alone, you'll give up the emblem once a way is found for it to be safely separated from you. I doubt that's what you want, though, since that's more or less giving Sardis what he wants. With the latter part in mind, we could go to the meeting, subdue Jethro, cripple their forces, and make a break for it. Once we get to Europa, if Jethro was being controlled, we could see if Weyland could help out. After that it would be back to business with the Organization going after us, until we get more information. Or, we could join them here, and take out Sardis once we would be in a stronger position. In the meantime, we could work towards breaking the control Sardis has over Jethro, if any. The benefits of that one are obvious, but that would mean working with Sardis, even if it's only a little while.

"I'm not going to make the decision for you, Raquel, and I'm not about to tell you which way's right or wrong, since they both have their merits. But don't make a choice that you'll regret," he said, letting the words hang in the air for a moment. "for the sake of everyone else. Choose what you feel is the right thing to do, and we'll follow. That's all that I can ask."

[Phoenix]

PM

Raquel didn't say anything right away. She thought about the options first. She knew what some people might do in her position. Nadine for instance. She would join the enemy feigning reluctance ... and strike at a much later date. She wasn't certain if she was too proud or principled or just plain overcome with hatred to take this path herself, but the very idea of joining Sardis, even if only to defeat him later was a little too much for her right now. As much as she wanted to just rush in and rescue her father, even by force if necessary, she had a feeling Sardis wouldn't make it easy to stage a something of that nature. Actually negotiating with the fire emblem would put them in a much better position to rescue Jethro, but then she would have to explain all of that to Lilith later if the emblem was actually handed over, lost, or stolen. Unable to decide yet, she said, "There's still time. I should ... think this over a bit more before committing to anything. I'm still upset about all of this in general. I won't put it off past morning, though! I promise. I just need a little more time to make the right decision. I'll have an answer for you and everyone else by then."

[Eail]

"Just... know that we're here for you okay Raquel? You guys are all I have left and I don't want anything bad to happen to you because we rushed in." Zach said, now back to normal considering that things were serious. "Don't be afraid to rely on us instead of trying to do it all alone."

Deciding on trying to move to a lighter subject the sage clapped his hands together "Right! So how about we go summon a dragon and get this training rolling? I'm in the mood to zap something even if it is in a dream."

[Snike]

Well, at least Raquel appeared to be calming down. Perhaps his words did have some effect.

"That's fine," Blake said, looking away. "And I'm sorry for having to burden you with this all of a sudden. I just thought that you'd be better off knowing now, than possibly being blindsided at the meeting." Before he could elaborate more, which wouldn't help at this point in time, Zachary chimed in with his own reassurance, before changing the subject to the 'training'.

"Right, we'd best figure out who's participating in that," Blake said rolling with the topic change. "I just hope it's worth the effort."

[Phoenix]

Forum

The topic changed a bit more quickly than Raquel was expecting, but she caught up soon enough. "Right ... umm ... well it's a dream thing, so we'll have to all be asleep ... especially Kit. Sooo, let's go and tell the others and see who's interested. By this point I'm pretty sure the dragon head is just listening in on everything, so he'll know who to bring and who to leave out I guess."

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

"Whoever gets a fire goin' gets whatever cut of the bear they want," she said, still cleansing the fat off of the meat. She figured with so many people in this group, someone other than her could handle the task...right?

Veronika

"I should note that if you choose to join with the organization, you cannot expect everyone else to follow. I would have to go my own way if you decided to go down that road," Veronika decided to warn Raquel, before people got too caught up in this dream business.

[spoiler=A Feast for Crows]

Sigrid watched the proceedings in the arena with interest, her eyes rapidly flicking back and forth to attempt to catch all the action.

<"Oh this is quite the show, isn't it dear? The last Slaughter of Siblings was more of a melee than this one, not so much teamwork going on. That Valorod? Vladimir?...what was his name again? is doing quite well for himself so far, despite the odds,"> Erasmus said, squinting and rocking bath and forth excitedly.

<"His name is Valdimarr, Father, do try to remember it,"> Sigrid corrected, squinting herself to see exactly what was going on. Is he missing a hand? Had Steinn been able to ally his his brothers, Valdimarr would have fallen easily. She glanced around the outskirts of the arena quickly, half-expecting to see Steinn swoop in as a surprising last entrant. He did not, and Sigrid and Erasmus rose with the rest of the crowd as Valdimarr's victory seemed all but assured...

[Phoenix]

Campfire

"Urgh," Gabbie grunted in response to Nadya's baiting. That was actually tempting. She slowly stood up, much to Shadrak's surprise. "If I get what we need for the fire, will you give Ringo a wyvern's share? I'll be foine, but he's been living off of scraps," she inquired, looking a little uncomfortable.

Forum

It wasn't that surprising for Veronika to point that out, but she wasn't expecting it just the same. "After what happened with Zel, I'm not really in a hurry to make controversial decisions," Raquel explained. "And honestly, the only reason I would ever join Sardis is ..." she stopped long enough to make sure that no one else was close enough to hear and lowered her voice. "The only reason I'd ever join Sardis is to eventually rescue my father, and only if the alternative was seeing a bunch of my friends die trying to do it the hard way."

Edited March 15, 2013 by Phoenix

[Snike]

"It's only reasonable to keep all options open, though," Blake said, in response to Veronika's comment about people leaving. "Because you can't expect everyone to come out intact if we choose to continue fighting. Each option has some downsides and some upsides, so, honestly, it's up to Raquel."

[ReformBlade]

Mushirah was somewhat put off by the short response but not offended, however the man's conversation with Robin seemed... darker than what she was used to, and as such she opted away from that for the moment. Keeping to herself for that moment, hearing Nadya issue a bounty as it were, her interest was piqued. Well heck, I'll do it because we need some, not for a cut of some meat I haven't had before... Has anyone here even had bear meat? Oh well, best not ponder on such silly matters for the moment. she thought, heading over to the nearest tree, nearest being quite a long walk away from what she could see. Drawing her cloak about her tighter, she started her crazy adventure.

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

"Sure, there's a lotta bear here and we're gonna have to eat it all somehow," Nadya replied to Gabbie. She secretly resolved to herself to give Ringo some meat in any case, but someone really did need to attend to that fire.

Veronika

"I suppose we could engage in some deception if necessary," Veronika admitted, still not liking the idea.

[GoD]

" I am sorry Blake. I didn't mean anything by it, I just don't think a few people in the group would be happy to see a fox lady that has pestered the group before. Then again she does not seem like the hostile type. But yeah, sorry."- Chelsea apologized to Blake for her earlier outburst. She got scolded, so maybe it would be better to apologize, and he's accept it and they would be on relatively good terms again. The troubadour stopped petting Zachary's when he recovered and she mumbled "Oh good, the wuss is back to normal."

When Raquel was on the verge of tears, Chelsea grimaced, as the older girl felt for the younger. She didn't know the pain of losing a father, but she could liken it to losing the Mother of the orphanage or her many friends and sibling at the orphanage as well. If they were in danger, she would do anything to secure their safety.

Chelsea waited for the rest of the people present to talk to Raquel before the troubadour approached her boss and spoke her mind.

"Listen, I have no idea what you're going to do when you get to Sardis... but I will say this. Keep your cool Raquel Valcyn, and don't let whatever Sardis says get to you. You have to keep a..... what-cha-call-it? A merchant mind? Gotta negotiate calmly, like a businesswoman. And I guess.. just don't lose hope."- Chelsea told the girl then took a few steps back, scratched her neck, smiled awkwardly and spoke again,

"Wow, I am really chatty today."

Edited March 16, 2013 by GoD

[roymbrog]

Synthia’s practice had been interrupted by the spectacle of a dead bear being dragged to the campfire, and she watched as Robin was Robin and Nadya started cutting up the meat. The mage had no idea how to cook bear, and it didn’t sound particularly appetizing in the first place, so she refrained from helping cook or get fire wood. She sat and watched the others work until Gytha came and sat next to her. “Hello,” she said, poking at the dwindling fire with a stick. Even if she wasn’t helping with firewood, there was no reason to let it go out right now. Apparently something was going on though, so she asked curiously, “What’s happening tonight?”

-----

“It’s… I think it’s a bear,” Katrina said, watching the carcass dragged in. That was interesting. Who would go off and try to kill one on their own? Granted it wasn’t as big as the ones she’d seen in northern Skotia, but they were still dangerous.

“Anyway, uh, a dragon thing? ….Oooh, that thing.” She had forgotten about that weirdness somehow. The dragon head reminded Aneda of Fyodor though, which had made the pegasus knight a little sadder. Katrina didn't like to see people sad. “You could write something to him,” she said, smiling slightly. “I’m sure he misses you too.”

-----

Well, they were apparently doing the dream training tonight. After some more questions and such the little meeting around the Dauntless pretty much ended when Blake went off with Raquel to talk about something private. Some of the others followed, but Valter was content to leave them to their business. He ended up leaning against the Dauntless, trying to decide whether or not he would take part in the Dragon Head’s training. Use of mind magic had quite a few privacy concerns. And what, exactly, was the benefit of all this?

[Mercakete]

"Dream trainin'," Gytha replied with an unnecessary nod as she crossed her arms and ankles, "Ye know that dragon head Raquel likes t' fuss about? Showed up again. Anaone who wants t' participate can go inta dream trainin' like Raquel did b'fore. Sounds like if we want extra trainin' while we're asleep, we can ask 'im fer it later, but this time it'll be fer workin' better as a team. Onla if people want to, though. Doesn't sound like he's forcin' anathin'. I'm goin' t' go. What're ye goin' t' do?"

Gytha was pretty relaxed about the whole thing, but she was also curious about what Synthia would decide to do.

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

As he was pondering what to do about the dream training, Norbert saw something he's never expected to see headed over in their general direction. Quite honestly, he wasn't sure how to respond. "What...in Truth's name...is that hideous thing?" he found himself near demanding as he pushed himself off of Rizen's side and pointed out Kit.

Edited March 16, 2013 by Mercakete

[Snowy_One]

"You'll be surprised how little disappoints me." said Tia, smiling, before reaching forwards and trying to give Connor a hug as a 'thank you' for letting her learn this new art.

---

"Dream... Training? I do not think I can stop myself from dreaming, but what is to stop one of us from summoning an army of wyverns in our dream? Or whatever insane ideas that Tia girl has going on in her head? I swear, Gytha, if you gave her your pistol, she would try to make a pistol golem out of it. And with a girl like her, she would either succeed or fail but end up doing something really monstrous if she set her mind to it. Meh. Maybe I am thinking too much about it. Sure, I am willing to do it. Also, I am sorry about earlier Gytha. I really was hoping to go out on the town but... that... incident... ruined it for me."

[roymbrog]

So the dragon head had come back, huh? Synthia had been skeptical about the whole thing on the ship, but with all the people who had been surrounding the Dauntless a while ago the dragon head probably had appeared. “…Didn’t Raquel drown or something in one of those dreams? Is that safe?” she asked, a bit apprehensive. Gytha mentioned it was for teamwork, so drowning probably wasn’t involved, but what other bodily harm did the creature have in mind? Synthia was convinced the pain would feel real even if there were no lasting effects.

Robin butted into the conversation, earning a nonplussed glance from the mage. She ignored the archer for the moment to answer Gytha’s question. “I don’t know. Training is always useful, but it sounds like it’s going to be combat. I don’t want to get stabbed again, even if it is just in a dream.”

-----

Leaning against the opposite side of the Dauntless, Valter hadn’t had the view to see Kit approaching even if he had been paying attention. Bert’s behavior and question did catch his attention though, and he glanced around the corner of the wagon to where he was pointing. The first descriptor to come to mind was not hideous, even if there were plenty of things off about her getup. Really, what was with the tails? Suspicious, he narrowed his eyes as Kit and Gar approached. Just how many random people were going to find their camp tonight?

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"And her we are at the wagon," Gar pointed out the obvious because he's a condescending jerk like that. "It's spiffy and large and stupid-looking so you and it have a lot in common. Please swap stories with it, I'm all ears."

[Mercakete]

"Don't think it's up t' us what happens in th' dream. Maybe we'll actualla be experiencin' someone else's dream. Can't say fer sure," Gytha first addressed Robin, tagging on a little, "N' don't worra about Sergio. Things happen."

To Synthia, she replied, "Well, th' dragon head -- who's apparentla named Dragon Head -- doesn't sound like he's goin' t' force anaone t' train. I want t' try it out b'cause I've been thinkin' fer a long time that this group isn't near as unified as it should be by now so if I can help with that, I'd like to."

Gytha's relaxed smile shifted into a grimace as she added, "We've been actin' more like a bunch o' cutthroats, realla. It's...bothersome."

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

"Gar, what is that?" Norbert asked as he pointed to Kit again. Gar seemed to be the one who would know out of the scant few present and the male pegasus rider still was a bit dumbfounded by the fox lady in general.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Trouble, headache, an affront to the senses and many more derogatory terms I'm too apathetic to care about," Gar responded to that pegasus-guy. "I suppose referring to her as a that is one of them."

[Ether]

"Hmph, you're a real charming fella', anyone ever tell you that?" Kit replied to Gar's various disdainful comments, sticking her tongue out at the man quickly.

"I wonder if you'd be more sociable if I made you think you were a rooster..." Kit wondered aloud, before moving closer to the Dauntless.

"You might be a little more helpful than this one... I was told that a 'Connor' fellow could get a skirt ready for me?"

[Mercakete]

Norbert wasn't sure what to do about whatever this thing was being in their camp, let alone with it talking to him. So, he defaulted to a more hostile demeanor, hands on his maces and ready to fight if he had to. "What are you and what do you want?" he demanded, "Who told you about Connor anyway?"

[Ether]

"I'm a mage, I want a skirt to make the tails less obvious, and Raquel told me about him." Kit replied, as the man who she had hoped would be more reasonable clearly wasn't.