Return of the Emblem Chapter Ten: Converging Destinies

[Snike]

"That's a bit of a low blow," Grant said, picking up a few loose stones off of the ground. "But you're right that I can control my spell power. Though, perhaps to appease the others, we just switch to basic tomes? I don't mind either way."

[ReformBlade]

Taking her unfinished picture and looking it over again, "Oh? And what about now, you seem to be amiable now. So it's not impossible for you, that much is certain. But here's a question I'm mildly curious about but I know the answer to already." Shifting her gaze back to the dark mage, "Do you enjoy feeling good? Honest question." It sounded dumb in her head but saying it out loud made it sound just as dumb, but the curiosity was still pounding away in her and she wanted to try and help the dude's negative attitude out.

[Click This]

Ah. She noticed.

"It's more like my head is in a jumble right now. I usually have everything together but my mornings, eh, nope nope." Mao stole a glance at the bubbly water mage. "But if you like being called Tea, I'll call you that. Now, about that tea... I'm a tea buff myself..."

More like I can't function without it...

"How do you make your tea? I'm interested. I can tell you about making money when I'm not half-dead."

[Eail]

"If that's how you wanna play fine with me. I'll even use fire if it'll make the rest feel better, I always keep a spare tome or three in this thing." Digging around in his satchel until he produced a basic level fire tome. "Not my preferred style but there's less chance of your heart exploding this way so I suppose it'll have to do.... I really need to work on my wind magic one of these days...."

[Snike]

"Alright, alternate magic, then," Grant said, putting his ice tome away. "You'll have to give me a minute or two to go buy a basic wind tome then, unless anyone would like to loan theirs to me? I'll pay them back."

[Phoenix]

Dauntless

"That's weird ... but I'm glad I could help out at least. I spent that entire fight alone in some dark place getting occasional advice from Hypnos. That's why I was surprised to hear you fought him too. Though that explains why he stopped answering me right before the strain came that second time ..." Raquel then looked away for a moment. It was just a training session, right? I ... hope they're both okay.

Somewhere Else

Ringo followed Gabbie when she signaled him and so he was standing by when they arrived. "This works I guess," she said before she began digging around in Ringo's saddlebags. She eventually took off her greaves and gauntlets and replaced the latter with unarmored riding gloves. She put on her older boots for the sake of not being barefoot and finished up. There was no reason to take off her scalemail undershirt since that was about the only bit of protection she had left at that point and taking it off would have required her to get half naked first.

Campfire

When his name was mentioned and brought up in the context of a sparring match, Shadrak rolled his eyes as he sighed and then turned toward the impending shenanigans to see exactly who was saying what and figure out what the hell was going on now. Frankly he had no interest in sparring with anyone, mainly because that would mean ending his conversation with Mushirah. No. Second it would mean wasting his tome's energy on a practice battle. This was fine and dandy in a dream sequence, but he'd done more than enough of that on the boat rides.

Refocusing on Mushirah, Shadrak was faced with an odd question. Still, he didn't answer immediately. It was an honest question, apparently, so he wanted to put some honest thought into it. A couple of seconds later he replied, "Yeah, BUT, only if it's appropriate." That could have meant any number of things.

Outdoor Infirmary

It's even worse than I thought. Not backing down now, though. I've got a theory to test and if I'm right, this will help her anyway. "Faatina? Caaan you look me in the eye for a moment?"

[Snowy_One]

"Well, I take the water, put it in the pot along with the leaves, then proceed to hyper-accelarate the water until it reached a point where the sheer amount of motion causes it to boil up to a piping hot steam!" said Tia with a giddy smile and a gleam in her eye.

[Ether]

Looking up at Reign somewhat slowly, her blush growing, Faatina resolved herself, and brought her eyes to his.

"O-okay... I'm l-looking you in the eye."

[Click This]

Hyper-accelerating water, hmm? It was times like this that Mao wished she had studied magic instead of swordplay and economics.

"Well, I have a small pouch of ceylon leaves, a flask of water, and we can probably find a pot somewhere around here," responded Mao. "Let's see your skills with water!"

[Snowy_One]

"Alright! There should be a pot in the big wagon thingy. You get the leaves, I'll get the pot, and let's make some tea!" exclaimed Tia before hurrying into the Dauntless to get a small pot.

I wonder if she'll realize I've never actually HAD tea before. thought Tia to herself as she swiped a pot that may or may not have been used by Connor for alchemy studies and headed back outside. She then quickly got her tome from where she had been sleeping and went over to the fireplace.

"Okay! You ready to do this? To make tea the awesome Tia way?"

[Snike]

"... I think you were in a trance or something like that," Blake said, remembering the battle. "You weren't moving, anyways, and the Emblem was shining.... Actually, that was around when we got our weapons. You were probably maintaining our weapons, then. Thank you for that, as well." The man paused here, before continuing. "...Sorry I have to bring this up, but have you made a decision on that, yet? I figure I can get everyone ready now, if you have."

[Click This]

And that was rather quick. The tin teapot looked a bit dubious, but a pot was a pot unless it was used to store deadly nightshade or cyanide.

"Right... Ceylon, ceylon..." Mustering all the energy she had left, she patted down and rummaged through her coat pockets before finally producing a small pouch of whole ceylon leaves. She put the pouch up to her nose and smelled it to make sure it was indeed ceylon, and not some aforementioned dastard leaf.

"Yes, that's it. Alright, let's see your awesome tea... Tia way."

Edited April 4, 2013 by Click This

[-Cynthia-]

Connor

"Yeah, yeah I'll eat," Connor agreed to Gabbie, slightly curious what she was up to the Blake and Bert. However, his mind dropped that subject quickly and shifted on the intricacies of attaching an extra blade to a lance.

Veronika

Veronika decided to leave Gar to whatever it is he does and went over to visit her prisoner.

"It was good of you not to make an escape attempt last night. Not that we didn't have a guard to watch you of course, but some prisoners would have made an attempt," Veronika said as she walked over to Colin. Praising good behavior now might make him more cooperative in the future.

Nadya

Faatina and Reign seemed to having a conversation Nadya didn't care about, so she wordlessly excuses herself and decided to take Luca for a quick ride outside the camp to clear her head.

Fortress

"Do we get paid less if we have to split it with the new people?" Clara wondered aloud to Silvia.

Layla and Ripper followed the guard until Sardis and companions came into view, where she promptly shoved herself in front of him. "Cassandra good to see you!" Layla said jovially, before noticing the hooded figure. "Samael, what are you doing here!?" she asked, running over and embracing him quickly. Ripper's tail began wagging fiercely as he ran back and forth between Cassandra and Samael, looking for attention.

[ReformBlade]

"Oh." A little taken aback she wasn't expecting such a simple yet effective answer. "I suppose, but wouldn't you rather aim to feel better all the time, not just when it's supposedly appropriate? I don't mean to like... I dunno, feel good about killing, harming others, but maybe to just look at it in a better light." Moving her hand up a little, "Be a glass half full kind of guy. Urgh, actually I shouldn't be saying that. It's your call if you want o view things in whatever light you want, shouldn't ask you to change like that, but... Hmm, this is quite a pickle, I think. Phrasing is a harsh mistress." she joked, enjoying herself. "Well, I can't in good conscience really suggest more on that without sounding like a bad person. You are who you are, and I guess I'd just like to see a more positive 'you', but only if you really want it."

[Mercakete]

"Hoooo!" Gytha gusted out the half-sigh as she regained some of her composure, though the laughter still entered her voice occasionally, "N' Amon n' I use close-range weapons. Sounds about th' same t' me, heehee!" Really, there was no difference in her mind.

After that was said, there was some commotion going on that Gytha didn't really care about, but Synthia began to get involved with that, so she returned her attention to the gunman. "Hoy, that's some funny stuff right there! Heharr... Ah, well, let's see, I know ye said more than that talk about Synthia... Ah, right. So, yer father taught ye how t' shoot. Me father gave me me pistol when I was just a little thing. It was me mother who taught me t' shoot, though. Not a one who visited that port dared cross 'er! Hahaharrr!"

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

It seemed this mare had good taste in grass. The ones she was grazing on looked really bright and juicy. So, Rizen complimented her before returning to her own grazing.

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

Norbert simply readied his maces. That was all the prep he needed. "So, do you wan to start this or should I?" he asked. He was actually pretty happy about getting to spar Gabbie. He hadn't paid her much if any attention during fights but she seemed fairly competent. It was nice to spar someone other than Blake, too, and with weapons he was more familiar with. I wonder what sort of challenge she'll pose. This setting's nice, too. I haven't had the opportunity to practice in a somewhat-forested area in a while.

Norbert

Pegasus Knight level 5

Weapon: Splinter and Crunch (Steel Axe)

Equipment: Half-Plate Armor

Raw Stats: HP: 6 STR: 7 MAG: 0 SKL: 6 SPD: 6 LCK: 1 DEF: 3 RES: 3

Simp. Stats: HP: 18 MT: 7 (8 S&C) HIT: 6 AVO: 7 DEF: 3 RES: 3 AS: 6

Edited April 4, 2013 by Mercakete

[Snowy_One]

Tia then took some water and poured it into the teapot. "Now, this isn't my normal water, so it's not perfect, but..." she put the pot down away from any grass of flammable objects and opened her tome, starting to chant. Inside the pot, the water started to churn and move, going faster and faster and faster, picking up speed with each second as Tia focused her mind entirely on the motion. With each movement, each increase, it started to grow hotter and hotter due to friction! Tia was going to make tea and, if the laws of nature and physics got in her way, well, she would submit... BUT SHE WOULD DEFY THEM AS MUCH AS SHE COULD!

[Balcerzak]

...it was amusing, to be sure, but was it really that funny? Sinbad felt a little uneasy when the person he was chatting with suddenly doubled up with raucous laughter. Calling out across the fire to the healer in question also wasn't a choice he'd have made, but what was done was done. Synthia answered back with a standard defensive line, but he was pretty sure it fooled nobody. In fact, it might have just made things worse, as it may have prolonged the laughing fit. Honestly, it was hard to tell. At any rate, having apparently had enough of being laughed at, she packed up her things and turned to chat with... oh there he was, the defender from the battle and the lightning mage, with what must be a permanent bad mood, were talking about something.

Guessing if I were her, I'd be looking for any excuse to ignore what was going on across the fire too, Sinbad mused. Anyway, now he really couldn't leave without saying goodbye. Disappearing after appearing to have mocked her like that would leave him with a terrible aftertaste. He'd have to at least try to smooth things out, but that'd probably go much easier after giving her some time to cool down. Heh, well so much for an early start, and 'spose time is no longer of the essence.

When a name he'd heard mentioned now for the second time in short succession came up, he decided he might as well follow up on it, when there was an opportunity. However, since that wasn't the primary topic of their conversation, he decided to push it off till the end. The woman revealed that while her father had indeed given her the pistol, it was the mother that taught her how to shoot. If that did cause his eyebrow to raise, then nothing would. "Your... mother? Well, if'n that ain't a thing you don't hear e'eryday. I almost have half a mind to go set up targets and see just how well she taught ya, but 'spose now's neither the time nor the place. Anyway, uh, which one of these fellas is Amon? Hope you'll forgive me for not being quite sure, but if you'd point him out I'd be much obliged."

Edited April 4, 2013 by Balcerzak

[Mercakete]

"Ah, Amon's not with us anamore," Gytha clarified. She'd been recalling him off-handedly before, but now that he was the subject of conversation, her cheeriness calmed some as she thought about it a bit more deeply. "He's a good man. We parted ways in Sanctuary. He's from there n' that Aisha lady had another job for 'im. I'm sure he's safe, though, since he's got Haythem lookin' after 'im. Dependable, resourceful one, Haythem."

Though Gytha's calm shifted to a bit of a sorry smile as she admitted, "Have t' say, I miss Amon. Dependable man, always lookin' out fer others." Then, she cheered right back up. "If we run inta 'im again, I'll introduce ye! Er, um." And then she seemed to realize something before shifting into an awkward grin. "I'm sorry! Fergot t' introduce meself! Me name's Gytha! I'm a mariner, but I've been travellin' with Raquel recentla. Good t' meet ye!"

[Phoenix]

Dauntless

"It crossed my mind, but I've been up for all of ten minutes so I didn't actually reach a decision yet." Pausing to stare dumbfoundedly at the ground, she muttered, "I'm not sure why I thought the dream training would end earlier than it did and I'd have time to think about this more." Oh right, she was in a conversation. Looking back to Blake she said, "Why not just do whatever you were planning 'just in case', since regardless of what ends up happening, there's no excuse not to be prepared. Umm, right? I mean on the other hand if they suspect something, we'll be shooting ourselves in the foot that way. Not everyone in this group is good at being discreet. Then there's Colin. I don't think he'll stay quiet about all of this ..."

Somewhere In Camp

"You'd think so," Colin replied to Veronika. "Truth is I made the mistake of taking a nap around the same time you all settled down for the night and ended up in that weird dream trip with you. Unlike you people though my weapon didn't magically appear in my hands so I had to keep a low profile. Speaking of which, is anyone in this group capable of ... mmmm never mind. Probably nothing."

Fight Club

"You suggested the spar, you start the spar," Gabbie replied, essentially giving Bert the first attack. She took a moment to wrap up the head of her killer lance in an old damaged tunic and tied off the neck with a piece of string. It really wasn't going to stop a serious injury but her intent was to prevent light cuts from grazes, which might get neglected and subsequently infected. She twirled her lance a dozen times in the space of a few seconds while moving away from Ringo and then took a balanced stance. "Bring it."

Gabriella

Class: Level 1 Halberdier

Raw Stats

HP: 7 STR: 5 MAG: 0 SKL: 8 SPD: 8 LCK: 2 DEF: 5 RES: 1

Simplified Stats

HP: 21 MT: 5 Hit: 8 Evade: 10 AS: 8 Defense: 5 Resistance: 1

Weapon 1: Killer Lance

Item: Vulnerary 1/3

Overall Stats

HP: 21 MT: 5 Hit: 8 Evade: 10 AS: 8 Defense: 5 Resistance: 1

Campfire

"Glass half full? I ... think I get what you're saying ... though I still don't know how to apply any of it to a prisoner of war like him," Shadrak replied, laughing at himself. "It's not that I don't want to be more positive, it's just hard, what with the kind of life I've lived and how things have generally been going for us lately ... especially lately." He thought to the deaths of John, Sophia, and Lia. Some victories aren't worth the cost. They might have been better off not getting involved in the Leverager's problems, he felt.

Outdoor Infirmary

"Alright, now don't look away," Reign pleaded, holding back his laughter. It was going to be an interesting gazing contest.

Fortress

"I wouldn't know," Silvia replied. "I'm a volunteer."

"You don't say," Cecily chimed in curiously from the other side of the table. "I wonder what prompts that kind of loyalty?"

"Well, Sardis makes sure I'm fed, have a place to sleep, and gives me anything I need to care for my swords. He even gives me time off to go see Rodrigo~ That's usually all I'd spend money on, so it works out. There's always some other thing like maybe an outfit or a book I want, but my friends usually buy those for me. All I have to do is mention it and ... a few days later. It's like clockwork. I don't really need wages for this work, I just want to be a part of this. Maybe we'll actually make a difference in my lifetime," she explained.

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

In the main building, other things were happening. Cassandra was snapped out of her meditation but still seemed to have a grip on things. Instead of falling to the ground, the glowing fragments around her sped up in their orbit of her body and began to stick together until a single mass remained. It was Sardis' emblem piece, and Cassandra quickly caught it and stood up. She was about to say hello to Layla but Ripper seemed to want the attention more, and she seemed busy with the hooded man for the moment. Kneeling back down she petted Ripper with her free hand.

"Layla, well met," the hooded man replied, returning her hug. At the end of it, he pulled down his hood, revealing a head of slicked back white hair with a blond tinge and deep red eyes. "I was curious about Cassandra. We finally have someone capable of wielding an emblem piece more effectively than Sardis. That she's one of us is icing on the cake," he explained with a humble smile.

Edited April 4, 2013 by Phoenix

[Ether]

Faatina looked back at Reign, somewhat confused. It was difficult for her to get much more embarrassed than she already was, so this wasn't really as big a problem as she thought it might be, though her face was still brightly flushed.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"If you kept a low profile, that would explain why I didn't see you in the dream," Veronika remarked. Colin wasn't a part of our group, but he was part of the dream? The reason for that whole ordeal gets murkier and murkier...perhaps the dragon head is just mad. "Our group is capable of many things I would imagine, given our wide array of backgrounds and skills. What did you have in mind?" she asked Colin, her curiosity piqued.

Nadya

The nearby land wasn't very good for riding...too many trees. Nadya had Luca trudge along anyway before she saw some figures in the nearby distance- by squinting she could that they were Bert and Gabbie by their clothes and hair. She rode closer to them in curiosity- they seemed to have their weapons at the ready, so either they were sparring or they pissed each other off and were taking it far away from the camp. She decided to linger in case a staff was needed.

Fortress

"Sometimes Layla gives us time to do what we please...well usually not officially, I think she just forgets about us. It works out the same in the end though. Maybe we could all see a Rodrigo concert together sometime? I've heard he's really good! Also it would build organizational unity or...something," Clara said, attempting to sound more businesslike.

"I could teach a monkey to use the emblem piece more effectively than Sardis, but that's not really the point. We're very glad you joined us dear," Layla said, flashing Cassandra a warm smile. Ripper settled down and sat near Cassandra, accepting the pets. "As for why I'm here, I heard that Sardis was finally enacting the very simple and effective plan I told him months ago. Better late than never I suppose," she said, shrugging.

[Snike]

"Right, I should've realized that you didn't have time. I apologize," Blake said, looking away. "As for if they suspect anything, well, I'd rather risk that as opposed to going in unprepared. Leave Colin to me, as I think I have a way to keep him in the dark. Incidentally, Synthia's the one in charge of wages, right? Can she sell your wares as well, or is there another member assisting you with that? It'll draw less attention if I don't have to directly involve you."

[Mercakete]

Norbert's expression shifted from casual to an almost dark sneer. Hey, I like that response! His excitement for this spar coupled with his determination. He was quite ready to deliver the first blow. "I'll try not to disappoint you," he replied before dashing forward, ready to strike.

WTA!

((6+2)+3)-10 = 1 = hit!

(8+2)-5 = 5 damage!

In spite of his fervor, Norbert tried to keep from breaking anything, instead striking to try to wind the wyvern girl. She definitely wasn't going to go down easily, though, and landed a solid counterattack that Norbert wasn't able to block at all.

WTD!

((8-2)+5)-7 = 4 = hit!

(5+6)-3 = 8 damage!

Gabbie 16/21

Norbert 10/18

The lancewoman had managed to somewhat parry Norbert's strike to her midsection and used the momentum to land a solid strike to his side. That would bruise. The strike was hard enough that instead of backing off the way he normally would, he wound up moving both backwards and sideways, having cried out loud and starkly from the hit. He recovered well enough momentarily, though.

"Merz, nice shot," he commented. It was odd. The spot where her lance butt got him stung terribly in spite of the protection his armor provided, but even so this spar was turning out to be pretty fun and he was anticipating the next series of blows readily, keeping a close eye out for her next move. Looks like I have to be careful about both ends of that lance.

[Phoenix]

Dauntless

"I had Synthia manage the gold and Aneda's helping with inventory. Connor's had plenty of time to figure out how things work too. Anyone who gets a hold of my notebook can make a sale easily enough but any of those three should do. What are you doing exactly?" Raquel asked after answering his question.

Fight Club

"Just wait for the next one!" Gabbie shot back sportingly. Once she was sure she'd be able to breathe easily enough to lay on a serious assault, she charged forward as quickly as she could, twirling her lance in preparation for a flurry of fast, hard strikes. She had to watch her timing though, or her twirl would end with the wrong end up front or she would strike later than she intended and would be at a disadvantage. Of course keeping the lance in motion made attacking her a serious gamble ... and why not ... it was her signature charging technique~ Once she was in range, she swung hard forcing Bert to grip his maces defensively, shielding his forearms. Now on defense, he could block her attacks, but Gabbie lashed out striking with the front of the lance and the back as if it had two heads, one on each end. After several attacks, she picked up her pace, using up most of her energy in the hopes of overwhelming and defeating him. One good strike, she kept telling herself as she hammered away at his defenses. Just before she used up the last of her strength, she found her opening! Following up from a swipe that only grazed Bert's defenses, she turned around and leaped at the same time. Just to make sure she wasn't countered, she made a stabbing motion with the head of her lance which missed its mark but prompted a blocking motion. Coming down a bit harder than she should have, she smacked Bert square on top of the head with the butt of her lance. Even she realized that was a bit much afterward and winced. "... shhhhit, sorry ..."

Gabbie attacks Bert! Rolls 3,3,3

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4006892/

Lethal hit!

-16 hp KO!

Gabbie hp 16/21

Bert hp 0/18

Vicinity of Colin

Well, he'd gone and opened his mouth so ... "... well, when I came to in that dream I could have sworn someone was lying on top of me. Definitely a woman. Of course once I was actually aware and responsive, there was no one there. Then I saw this weird disturbance in the air heading for the arena. Lost track of it before running into Chelsea," he explained with a shrug at the end. "Just wondering if any of your lady friends has a thing for me and can also cloak themselves decently well."

Tree

Staring ... and staring ... and more staring. After another minute, Reign got tired and spoke again. "... okay ..." He finally broke eye contact and shuffled over to the tree to sit beside her. He let out a heavy sigh and said, "A long time ago, a close friend of mine and I were trying to help someone with their shyness. Nothing worked and the problem eventually fixed itself, but I had a theory I never got to test. Eye contact. It's not as personal as touching but it's not as impersonal as ordinary conversation ... and it's surprising how many people you run into who can't keep eye contact for more than a couple of seconds at a time. After doing it long enough, anything less stops bothering me. The problem is I tend to be overly familiar with people after a short while anyway so I can't do this myself and say with any kind of certainty that it works." Leaning and turning his head at and toward her slightly, he asked, "So ... is it working for you or is that kiss still bothering you too much for any of this to matter?"

Fortress

"That's a great idea," Silvia agreed.

"Ugh," Cecily groaned. "Sounds more like a girl's night out than whatever you just called it."

"The boys can come too," Silvia noted.

"But they'll want to pair off and ... ugh. I'm sorry but the 'selection' around here is outright terrible."

-------

"Which plan was that?" Sameal asked.

"What I plan to do is put an end to this conflict once and for all so we can move on. I've planned as carefully as I can. Now it will be up to Raquel to see reason. The attacks will stop, third parties will no longer have such easy access to her and her people, and she will be reunited with her father for good. We in turn will have two pieces of the emblem two wielders to use them, and a very potent strike force already tested and proven on numerous occasions."

Sameal frowned somewhat and said, "If reason is what you expect from your enemy, a traumatized little girl, you'll be disappointed from time to time. Still, it isn't the worst plan you've come up with. For once you're adequately prepared for a violent reprisal, but be warned ... if she harms our forces again ... I will destroy her and everyone close to her. An emblem piece is worth all these lives but not a redundant wielder." Samael's tone grew quite menacing halfway through his explanation.

"I plan to end this once and for all, but if I somehow fail to do so, it's fair to let you take the reins, I suppose" Sardis replied.

Samael smiled. "'Everyone close to her'. That is the price for interference. Don't get too attached to Jethro, Sardis, because if your plan fails, he'll be an unfortunate addition to mine."

Sardis hadn't expected this. "After everything he's gone through proving his loyalty to us? You'll throw all of that away simply to torment Raquel?!"

"... yes," Sameal nodded as he answered. "My enemies die wallowing in regret, drowning in their own hate, not thinking about all of the 'good things' they've accomplished in life. Now you understand why," he explained with a smile.

Sardis looked away with a scowl on his face. That got Cassandra's attention too, but she managed to hide how startled she was. Jethro wasn't her real father but ... that didn't change anything really. And what about Caterena and Reina? This was bad; Sameal was apparently willing to respond to his enemies in kind ... and then some.

[Ether]

Faatina had wondered where Reign was going with this, but the time spent in his little staring contest actually turned out to be enough for the woman to steam down from her own perpetually increasing embarrassment and regain something of a grip on the situation at hand... maybe he was on to something?

"I mean... it's just... I don't remember it at all, y'know? I wake up, everything hurts, I realize I've been sleeping in a tree wearing lingerie, and that apparently I got drunk off my ass and threw myself at you... and I don't remember a damn thing." Faatina replied, slumping against the tree trunk with a sigh.

"I mean really... I kissed you, so what? It's not like it went any further than that... well I guess I can't be certain of that but no one's brought it up so that's my guess... even if it had there's nothing to do about it now... aside from hope that one incident doesn't become a huge accident... if one thing is clear to me it's that you're not the one to blame in all this, Reign." The Rexian woman added, relaxing slightly. Getting it off her chest felt... well it felt damn good.

"I guess what scared me the most was that I didn't know anything... the way people were talking made me sound like some sort of sexual predator almost... and as much as I wanted to just say they were wrong... I just didn't know. But I guess I don't really need to worry about that, huh? You seem pretty nonchalant about this whole thing yourself, Reign." Faatina continued, before a pause. Bringing her arm around Reign's shoulder, she gave the man's face a quick look over, before pulling in closer and bringing her lips to his. It was far removed from the night before, a distinct lack of the hunger and want evident in the woman's drunken wiles... replaced with a more timid softness, an innocent lack of experience that caused a rather abrupt end, the woman not wanting to linger too long.

"I don't think it's bothering me all that much anymore, no. There are far more difficult men to look at that I could have found myself with than you... so there's the version where I'm not completely hammered... sorry if it's not as exciting." Faatina teased, before releasing her light grip on Reign and attempting to stand... with some difficulty.

"Heh... so much for the cool girl exit... I guess it's too early for my leg... mind helping me back to the Dauntless?" Faatina asked, reluctant to be forced to show the blush she had been trying to hide by making a retreat in haste.