Return of the Emblem Chapter Ten: Converging Destinies

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Repeatedly," Gar responded to the charming fellow bit. "Tongue usually gets a different workout after that though." Gar shrugged. "Funny how the immediately head for cock though." Gar wryly implied the other name of a rooster.

[Mercakete]

"Tch! Never seen a mage like you before," Norbert replied, only distrusting whatever this thing was even more, "You sure aren't human. I've never heard of anything like you before. Give me one good reason to trust you."

[Ether]

"Well I do have a certain fondness for them... maybe you'd be more likeable as a cock." Kit responded to Gar, giving one of her tails a light flicker before turning back to the mace wielder.

"Y'know, there is more to a woman than her looks, young man... well, I was shown the way here at the request of Raquel and Blake, and I'll be joining you in your little dream affair, how's that~?"

[Mercakete]

For half a moment, Norbert was silent. The next half a moment his glare intensified as he privately fumed. "One moment," he growled before walking over towards the fire to inform Gabbie that some weird...thing...was interested in talking to Connor. On the way, he also decided that he'd have to have a word with Raquel later.

[roymbrog]

“Yeah…” Synthia trailed off. She hadn’t exactly been helpful in stopping the fighting amongst the group, considering she’d been part of several of them. They could use some teambuilding. “Since he’s not forcing anyone, you think he’d mind if went into the dream… thing, but decided not to participate? I want to know what exactly we’re doing first. And if it’s going to be painful,” she added. “I don’t know how much this will help with unifying people, but I’m willing to give it a shot.”

-----

Valter watched the scene unfolding with curiosity and suspicion. Gar obviously didn’t like the woman, which wasn’t particularly surprising considering her demeanour, and Bert looked like he was about ready to chase her out of camp. That was a sentiment the horseman could share. Then she said Raquel and Blake had sent her and she was joining in the dream training, leaving Valter staring incredulously. “You didn’t threaten them, did you?” he asked, stepping away from the Dauntless.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"So what you're saying is you really want to like me," Gar said. "I really am too amazing for my own good." He shrugged and smiled as he shook his head.

[Ether]

"No, I didn't threaten them... you people really are too suspicious, can't a girl offer her help to a cause?" Kit replied feigning hurt from the general tone of the group.

"Hehe~ You're not bad for how grumpy and unsociable you can come off as, y'know?" She continued, gesturing towards Gar.

[Mercakete]

Gytha had to smile at that. Synthia's concerns were understandable, but she still wanted to help the group unify. That was clear. "Thank ye," Gytha sincerely replied before answering, "Ye could ask 'im. Raquel probabla knows where he is, so ye could have a word with 'er about it."

Norbert, meanwhile, had just reached the fire and was quite clearly in none too good a mood. "Wyvern girl," he didn't try to hide how agitated he was, "there's something weird over by the Dauntless who wants to talk to Connor. It says Blake and Raquel told her to talk to him, but I don't trust it."

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"I'm really quite the social animal," Gar replied. "So consider it marking my territory when you showed up."

Edited March 17, 2013 by Script

[Phoenix]

Gabbie

"Something weird," Gabbie echoed. That wasn't very specific, but just knowing it was heading for Connor or at least looking for him warranted a personal investigation. She turned away from the fire and toward Bert. "Well ... back me up, I guess ..." was her vague instruction before breaking into a jog and making for the Dauntless.

Once she arrived, she saw what Bert was talking about. She was too distracted by the 'threat' to perceive it as a threat at first. Slightly pinching her bottom lip as she examined Kit, she said, "Where are all of those tails coming from ...?"

Shadrak

When Mushirah left the camp, presumably to get wood for the fire, Shadrak decided to go as well. Letting people wander off on their own was dangerous, earth mage or no. And so he left after her.

[Mercakete]

Norbert really wasn't sure what to make of the thing either, so he figured talking to Raquel could wait in case Gabbie really did need backup. So, he followed.

[roymbrog]

Valter ignored the conversation between Gar and Kit for now because, well, he really didn’t want to get involved in that. Instead, he immediately replied to Kit's question. “Not when that girl has multiple tails. You’re not part fallen, are you?” he asked. It was a valid question. “Besides, why are you really here? You’re a powerful magician, I can tell, but there’s no way you could’ve known about the dream business in advance.”

-----

“I’ll, uh, ask her about that later then, I suppose,” Synthia answered. Would she have to talk to the dragon head? That sounded uncomfortable. “How big is this disembodied head, exactly? It’s not as large as an actual dragon, is it?” If she sounded nervous, that’s because she was. Her only prolonged experience with dragons had been the artificial one that had tried to kill them.

[Ether]

"Your territory, huh? How bold of you to try and mark me~" Kit replied, actually coming to enjoy this guy. He seemed a decent mix of cynical and other things. That was when the man in glasses continued, asking her if she was fallen.

"Now that is just rude, I'll have you know. Assuming a girl is fallen just like that... us Avians are really sensitive about that sort of thing, y'know?" Kit replied, allowing that one bit of information to slip freely.

"I just wanted to talk to Raquel, and your Dragon Head gave me a personal invitation." She continued, answering the second part of Valter's question, before looking at the new arrival who appeared to be looking her over.

"Ooh~ And what have we here? A new arrival and a sight for sore eyes... maybe you won't be quite as hostile as your companions~" Kit told Gabbie with a light wink, before giving a twirl.

"Honestly how much security does a girl need to get through for a simple skirt?"

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

I have a pile of bacon, I made it out of pork~. "Ive learned that people appreciate boldness," Gar replied. And when it's dried and cooked, with bacon I shall eat~. "It's become part of my whole character." Oh, bacon, bacon, bacon, I made you out of pork~. "Just ask glasses guy here, we're best pals." Bacon, bacon, bacon with bacon I shall eat~.

Edited March 17, 2013 by Script

[Phoenix]

Gabbie

"Depends," Gabbie replied to Kit. "What do you need a skirt for and what does Connor have to do with it?"

[Ether]

'Bacon...? Strange fellow.'

"Well, I suppose it can earn you some points if done right." Kit responded to Gar, before turning back to Gabbie.

"Blake wanted me to wear one so less people stare, and Raquel said that Connor would be able to get me one quicker than she could."

[-Cynthia-]

Connor

Tia leaned forward...Connor wasn't sure exactly what she was trying to do so he stuck his hand out for a handshake. "I'm sure it'll be a pleasure working with you Tia," he said. It sounded like the professional thing to say anyway.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Here's my pile of bacon, that's small and made or pork~ "Well I'd say I have third-highest points, so I must be doing something right," Gar commented. And I'm gonna eat it all, cus bacon is tasty~

[roymbrog]

Avian? She had tails. Valter was having a hard time buying that. She may have been berating everyone for being suspicious, but as far as he was concerned he had good reason to be. Suuure she just wanted to talk to Raquel. More likely after the emblem, no doubt. He would have to keep an eye on her. “Fine, I’ll leave it at that,” he said.

And he would have left the conversation completely, had Gar not called them pals. “We’re not friends,” he corrected tersely.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Bacon, bacon, bacon, I made you out of pork. Bacon, bacon, bacon, with bacon I shall eat~. "Sure we are old buddy old pal, remember that time I saved your life by killing guys threatening it? Good times," Gar rubbed his chin in pleasure. I'll try it with apples and salt and beer, oops I burned it, time to cook it again~.

[Phoenix]

Emblem Brigade Descension

Many in the group were preoccupied with getting the bear ready to eat and keeping the fire going, but Raquel spent all of that time thinking. It wasn't until after dinner that she came even close to solutions she actually liked, but by then she was tired and her strength was fading. She knew that if she let herself fall asleep she was going to wake up in some kind of purgatorial nightmare. On the bright side, unless every last person in the party decided they wanted out of the training, at least she wouldn't be going through it alone this time. It was far easier for her to settle down and eventually get to sleep with that in mind.

Shadrak actually liked the taste of bear meat. For him it was much better than reptilian meat or any of the other random animals he had been forced to stomach. Of course after dinner there was little to do but talk or read, and the former tended to get him into trouble, so he avoided it as a whole. He went through his notes and theories some more, trying to figure out not only this emblem mystery, but also figure out what, if anything, the dragon head had to do with it. The dragon head was no longer just some hallucination, not unless they were all hallucinating. This thing had a definite presence in the waking world, and he wanted to know why. He thought of asking Raquel about it and her thoughts on it, but by the time he'd gotten this far, she was lying down to sleep, and like hell he was going to take a risk like that.

Reign had no reason to stay up whatsoever, so his first priority was to get comfortable. If this was dream training night, he wanted to spend it someplace nice. He eventually made a bold move, or at least that's what Shadrak thought of it. He also thought it was down right despicable too, but no one cares. "Hey, Raquel."

"Mmmm?" That was unexpected. Rather than waking up in a nightmarish landscape, she came to to find things mostly the same. "What is it?"

"I hate to ask this--no that's a lie, I really don't--but this seat is the only comfortable place on the Dauntless without someone else's name on it. Mind sharing?"

"... people are going to ... get the wrong idea," Raquel warned.

Reign's head began bobbing around a bit as he acknowledged that. "Mmmm yeah ... thing is I couldn't care less at the moment. So what do you say?"

There was a long pause as Raquel sleepily mulled it over. "Okay, fine. This is a little awkward, though." She made room for Reign on the long seat at the front of the Dauntless and then tried to find a new comfortable position that wouldn't lead to her rolling over or tipping over and falling down. Reign solved this problem by leaning against her and placing his head on her shoulder. His weight forced her to scoot down some and lean back, but put her in a much better position. At worst, she would simply slip and end up with her head in his lap while he ended up somewhere behind her.

"Not as awkward as dream training ..." Reign pointed out, about eight seconds after Raquel's reply.

"... true."

"Good night, Raquel."

"Good night, Reign. Sweet drea- ... never mind."

"Hah ... hahah ... yeah."

What the hell?! NO What the actual hell?! He just wanders over and wakes her up and then next thing I know, they're sleeping together?! No! This is bullshit! I'm going to have a talk with that asshole one on one as soon as I get the chance, Shadrak thought to himself. That was when he hit up on an idea, a good one too. If they were going into a shared dream in which the dragon head could train them, then they could interact with each other, or at least that was a fair assumption. He needed to get to sleep too, that way he could talk to Raquel and Reign. It was a weird thought, going to sleep to talk with someone else who was asleep, but if that's what it took to get an audience, so be it. He just hoped to Lord Truth that she wasn't going to be crowded in there with other people asking her about the dream world and what it's like. He also hoped Reign could pry himself from her long enough to have a one on one.

Gabbie didn't relax until Ringo was properly fed and the Kit situation had been resolved, but once it was, she found herself with little to do and little motivation to go searching. No more stalling, she figured; it was time to head off to sleep and hope this dragon thing wasn't going to trap them in some abysmal hell hole. She got out her bedroll and set it up against Ringo so she could use his shoulder to help support her head while his left wing drapped over her. Because Ringo was happily fed, he turned to rest his head on Gabbie's lap, and the two fell asleep.

Emblem Brigade Ascension

"Okay ... where am I this time?" Raquel asked as she picked herself up off the ground. She wasn't in a jail cell ... she wasn't at the bottom of the ocean ... so that was good ... for now. The problem was she was completely alone, which wasn't good. She was reluctant to call out before finding out what was going on and what might be lurking out there ... this was a training exercise of sorts after all.

Taking in her surroundings, she realized that she was in an arena's outer halls. The place was incredibly old, though. She wouldn't be surprised if it were upward of a thousand years old. Looking outside through some of the holes in the walls revealed something she was all too familiar with, the eerie black and white shades of Purgatory. The white clouds outside the coliseum were falling at such high speed, she had to wonder if the entire things was rising into whatever qualified as the heavens in this abysmal place. "How high up are we ...?" she mused aloud. As she was about to wander toward the hole to peek through it and get a better view of the outside, she heard footsteps and froze. "W-who ..."

She slowly turned to see who was approaching, and to her surprise it was two people, not one. A man in a long black gold trimed vest, holding onto a ninetailed fox, and a woman in a long black coat with a surprising resemblance to her. "Ah ... you're Discovery, aren't you?"

"Er ... yes ...?" As soon as Raquel confirmed that, the woman bearing her resemblance smiled widely and began running over to hug her, and hug her she did. "Hey w-who are you? Why do you look like me?"

"Mmmm ..." Well that wasn't much of a response, but it was all Raquel got from the look alike initially. Raquel might have been more disturbed by their resemblance, but this look alike had a few features that clearly set them apart; her eyebrows were thicker and branched outward, her skin was slightly tanned, her hair was mostly red with blonde bangs and locks near her face, and her irises were orange with an eerie definitive red divide between them and the rest of her eyes.

"Who are you two ... and ..." she paused to note the fox in the man's grasp. "Is that Kit ...?"

"Why yes," the man said before nuzzling the ninetailed fox in his arms. He followed up by rubbing its ears with his fingers. "I would keep her all for myself, but it's not my decision, unfortunately," he explained with a frown.

"Who's decision is it ...?" Raquel asked, while still being lovingly squeezed by the look alike and trying to ignore it for the moment.

"The dragon head's, of course. Speaking of which, the dragon will be waiting for you and your friends in the arena. I'm afraid you'll find the outside all rather dull ... that or ... utterly terrifying," the man warned.

"Okay ..." Raquel had had enough with the hugging, and so slowly pried herself free from her look alike. That was when she noticed something else odd about the girl. "This outfit looks familiar. That's it! It's the outfit I was designing back at the academy with Nadine! I never finished it. I don't recognize the prints, but this is definitely our design. I mean she wanted a skirt version, but it's still definitely our design."

"Interesting."

"What's going on here? Who is she? Some kind of doppleganger?"

"She is apparently a phoenix. I only just met her myself. She hugged me mercilessly as well, hmhmhm," the man in black explained in amusement.

"A phoen-the egg?! The egg is in this dream too?!"

"I suppose?"

"Whoa ..."

Elsewhere, Reign came to his senses only to find himself someplace a little too familiar. Faatina was asleep on top of him, and they were both lying across the stands high up near the top of the coliseum. The place was slightly nightmarish, something like Raquel's description of Purgatory, but ... other than that ... "Well I guess it's not all bad ..." he said, noting Faatina. He carefully sat up to try and get a better look at his surroundings. There didn't appear to be anyone or anything down in the arena but rubble, so they were either early or late to the party.

Gabbie would look back on her situation and consider herself lucky to have woken up before falling off into the abyss. She awoke to find her arm dangling over the edge of the land. Had she rolled over and fallen off, it was anyone's guess what might have happened to her. She didn't see Ringo anywhere and so was immediately peeved. There was no way of knowing if he had been brought into the dream or not, so searching for him could have been a vain effort, and assuming he wasn't there could have been a cruel one. Luka was there as well, but she was most concerned with figuring out what was going on. "Urgh ... this place is a wrathdamn health hazard. Come on, Pinky Two, let's see if we can foind anyone else around here."

When he opened his eyes, Shadrak felt that he was on his back and all he saw was the ceiling above him. He was in a hallway from the looks of things. "... step one ... enter dreamland. Step two ... find Raquel ... okay off to a good start, I guess." He sat up to see if there was anyone else around. Truth's Blessings, it was Mushirah and not one of the people in the group he didn't get along with. Honesty he wouldn't have minded much if it was Reign; he wanted to talk with him at some point during this dream training, but anyone else he didn't get along with would be a waste of time. "Hey, Mushirah. Mushirah, are you awake? We're definitely not in Ursium anymore ..."

[scorri]

Marella slowly stirred. The last thing she remembered... She had fallen asleep a little away from the camp, waiting for Rook to finish preparing the bear. Glancing around, she quickly sat up, grabbing for the sword that wasn't there. She stared up at the entrance to the giant arena that was in front of her. Glancing to either side of her, she found Rook and Zach, both still asleep. Reaching over to each of them, she shook them awake. "Guys, I think we're in the dream. I... I suppose we should find the others."

[Eail]

Zachary

Zach had originally fallen asleep against the back of the Dauntless, arms crossed ans simply trying to focus on falling asleep. In what felt like almost an instant later the sage could feel himself being shaken awake and heard Marella's voice. "Wuzzat?" Mutter and rubbing his eyes clear. Realizing that they weren't back at the camp anymore Zach quickly sprung up and looked around. "Where the hell are we...." Reaching into his oddly empty pack Zach couldn't find any of his tomes, a grim look surfacing onto his face "We need to find the others now. I don't like this, something isn't right. If we run into anything stay close to me okay? I can still pull off a little bit of magic without a tome I think..." Sending out a small arc of electricity to test his theory. "It might not be much but better than nothing."

Luka

The pinky had woken up at the same time as Gabbie, and by instinct he was searching for Rika. A bit troubled that he couldn't find the pegasus anywhere, and that his staves were gone the boy looked around. "Yeah... this place isn't right. I hope the others are all okay." Picking himself up off the ground Pinky 2 shuffled closer to Gabbie, without any weapons they'd really need to stay close. No telling what could pop out of an environment such as this.

Edited March 17, 2013 by Eail

[Ether]

An... odd sensation. Faatina could feel herself awakening, her senses beginning to come back to her. The most prominent thing was the nearby heat source... hot overly so, just enough to give off a comfortable warmth... it had an odd softness to it, though it was tempered and rather solid... Faatina wasn't quite sure what it was though it was certainly comfortable, and in her still drowsy state that was more than enough reason to nuzzle closer to it in an attempt to doze back off that she knew in the end would be in vain.

Finally allowing her senses to start up again with the begrudging acknowledgement that she was waking up, she finally took in her surroundings. Her warm makeshift pillow was a flesh-coloured, fleshy... wait a second. Looking up from her position and seeing that what she was nuzzling into was in fact Reign's stomach caused the Rexian woman to immediately bolt into a sitting position and back several feet, her face immediately painted a bright scarlet.

"R-r-r-reign...! Ah... I... h-how are you...?"

***********

Getting up from the stone floor, Arietta let out a light groan, before dusting herself off. A quick survey of the area found that one of the lancer girls and a blob of pink that could only be Raquel were rather close by. Approaching the duo, Arietta hailed them.

"This really is one a' those weird mage things, huh? You two seen anyone else yet?"

***********

Now this guy knew how to use his hands~ Oh how long it had been since she had received such a lovely massage, Kit noted with a mental sigh as Raquel came into sight. After some interaction with the pseudoclone, Raquel noted her presence.

"Ahn~ You recognized me straight away, Raquel. Hehe, it's good to see that I stuck so vividly in that pretty little head of yours~" She cooed, the fact that she had taken the form of a literal fox seeming to not effect her speech ability whatsoever, as her voice came through clear.

'I can't get in their heads though... I can still read their thoughts, but I can't send tendrils in at all... I have to give Mr. Dragon credit, he didn't let it be quite that easy~'

[Script]

A Man Dreamed of Gar

After badgering the fox-thing got less interesting and singing about bacon got boring--haha no singing about bacon never got boring. Gar settled into sleeping somewhere where he wasn't likely to be stabbed. Just before he nodded off he realized he should have told someone to stab the fox while she was asleep. Oh well.

Gar awoke on top of a wall on top of a coliseum, which was surprising really. He was biting into a delicious apple made of bacon, gazing over the ruined coliseum and the twelve-foot or so fall to the upper levels of the seats below him. The interesting thing--less interesting than the bacon apple naturally--was that the coliseum was actually on what looked like an island shooting up into the sky. Gar was glad he didn't suffer from vertigo. Watching the clouds going down was fun and all, but there was probably a reason he was here. This had to be a dream since nothing as perfect as a bacon apple would exist in the real world.

It would also explain his lack of knife, belts and pouches, cloaks, coat, shirt and pants. He still had his armor though, elbow-length gloves and boots, along with a new pair of modesty shorts and a pouch filled with bacon apples. All in all a weird trade. It would be annoying trying to explain why his skin was a lacework of scars though, so Gar made his first goal getting some new clothes. Well, after finishing the bacon apple.

Gar took another bite and savored the glorious dream flavor. Maybe eternal darkness dreams weren't all they were cracked up to be.

Edited March 17, 2013 by Script