Return of the Emblem Chapter Ten: Converging Destinies

[ReformBlade]

"Depends on how you use your power, though. If you're being a benevolent person at your peak, I'd probably find it cute in some way but if you were gonna go rogue or something, I'd make it my life's goal to stop you." Huh... Rivalry achieved? "But that's also assuming I could even stand up to someone of such impressive power, of course." Mushirah joked, mock fear in her voice.

I think we should go drinking again... Was Aneda's thoughts on the whole matter, making a special note to get at least a few rounds for her closer friends.

Hannah, on the other hand? Poor pegasus was getting bored quickly, wandering around, checking the place out and watching people go to and fro, talking talking talking talking... There was talking, of course, but Hannah picked up on an absence of talking and could almost feel something was just... off about the person. Of course, the person she was accosted by earlier! But wait, she's walking away like the rest. That didn't sit right with the riderless pegasus without a cause, so naturally, she followed after Marella, trotting about before coming to her side, snorting in her direction, giving the tiniest nudge she could. It was the kind of snort that... well, it was a snort, but Hannah hoped it helped the lady somehow. Maybe she was a magical pegasus? Who knows?

[scorri]

Marella felt a slight nudge and heard a small sounds. "I swear, if someone foll--" She spoke as she looked up and blushed as she saw the pegasus. "Oh. Hannah. Did you follow me?" She reached up and patted the pegasus on the head a few times. "Thank you for that. I'm glad to know you care about me, even though I just met you. I suppose we should head back before Aneda misses you though. Ok?" She stood up and patted the pegasus a few more times before starting to head back to the campfire.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"Rides a pegasus, likes his maces. Bert would probably do something reckless if he knew the plan, but he'll probably do something reckless if we don't tell him anything either. He's a loose cannon," Veronika told Gar.

Nadya

Nadya made it back to camp with Luca, settling near the other horses. <"Y'know, ya don't need to be houndin' everyone in this group for gold still- I get paid by 'em already. They're our new herd now...kinda. Thought you'd be used to 'em by now, but since I'm not, guess it's a little unfair to expect ya to be,"> she said, giving him a small apple.

Connor

Apparently now the Dauntless was a meeting place for some sort of plan Blake was making with Synthia, which Connor didn't care much about. He heard Tia call his name, but decided to let Blake resolve the situation without intervening himself. If Blake needs to use the Dauntless then Tia can wait I guess. He kept puzzling over the lance, keeping one ear tuned in to Blake's conversation.

Edited April 10, 2013 by -Cynthia-

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Veronika's description brought to mind the pegasus guy who was complaining about the music from last night. "Yeah well I can probably talk him down. If not he can sleep until we're there," Gar assured her. "Thanks, I'll be off now." And this time he totally did leave to find other people.

[Snowy_One]

"But... This is important too. Science waits for no-one and developing the future is something that is universal to all people." said Tia, her eyes seeming to water up as she took a soft, disappointed, and confused tone to her voice. "But... I suppose whatever conversation you're having is important enough to stall up what could be one of the biggest changes to how we handle the world. *sigh* Oh well... Maybe you could just send Connor out here then? We'll have to make due without all his nice books and equipment, but we then, maybe, we can eek something out of this time."

[Mercakete]

Norbert was going to answer Valter's first question when he asked another. Unlike the previous one, this one prompted Norbert to furrow his brow. He'd opened his mouth to answer, but closed it again as he thought about what he'd do in a situation like that. After a short while of pondering the puzzling question, he replied, "I...guess it depends on what's happening at the time." He still wore his puzzled expression, though, still quite uncertain. "There are some people you couldn't pay me enough to follow the orders of, but... I don't know. The fact that Blake and Veronika just sort of take charge like they think they have a right to it bothers me a lot. I don't trust people like that enough to follow them. It's not like I always do what Raquel says, either, I just let her tell me what to do most of the time since she's paying me and I don't mind her."

Suddenly seeming to gain some clarity, Norbert finished, "If it's to do something I'm really against, it doesn't matter who tells me to do it. I'm not complying. But if Veronika or Blake actually held real authority and if it was on things I could agree with, then...maybe." His brow furrowed again. "It's hard for me to say for sure one way or the other. I don't trust them enough. On some small things, though, it would bother me a lot less to follow their instructions if they had authority given to them by Raquel. That's for sure." He'd given this topic so much thought he forgot about the other question Valter had posed him regarding Gabbie.

[Phoenix]

Raquel's Rodeo

Raquel led Riley away from Sandrock and Rizen so that the impending shenanigans wouldn't lead to any equine injuries. Once she was comfortable with the location, she stepped away and motioned for Colin to begin. "All aboard," she told him with a blank look on her face.

Colin looked back suspiciously. "You think I can't do it, don't you? You just want to torture me for a bit, get your laughs while you still can, am I right?"

"Just get on the horse!" She suddenly raised her voice at him, inducing a flinch.

"Yeah you're trying to injure me ..."

"And for just a minute there, I thought I might be able to get over how much I hate people who work for Sardis. I mean other than that, you're just a little too forward with women and I'm kind of used to that."

"What are you saying?" Colin inquired with a confused look on his face.

"I'm saying, you're not a terrible person, but because you work for Sardis and won't help me forget that, I hate you and there's not a chance in the world we'll ever be on good terms. Good going, Colin," she accused him. "And all you had to do to help me forget was play with Riley a bit."

"Alright, I'll get on the damn horse," Colin conceded, marching over and preparing to mount the now perturbed Riley. Who the hell did this human think he was? One did not simply mount Riley. As soon as Colin put his hands on Riley's back, the horse sidestepped away from him, almost causing him to trip forward. "Oh ... for gods' sake, do not be one of those feisty untrained stallions," Colin demanded.

Riley snorted defiantly and began trotting in circles around Colin.

"Did you forget I'm with Sardis yet?" he checked in with Raquel. She replied by pointing her finger at Riley and kept a blank unreadable face. She was in hysterics on the inside though. "Urgh ..."

Campfire

Upon Gabbie's valiant return, she found not much going on by the fire ... some people talking, some people just sitting around, and what might have been breakfast preparation, though she couldn't be sure just yet. She decided to stop a short distance from the fire, wait for Ringo to lay down, and then take a seat on him while waiting around and tuning out her stomach. "The waiting game ... we meet again," she muttered. She glanced at Faatina wondering if she was going to wait around too or do something else.

Meanwhile closer to the fire, Shadrak was still conversing with Mushirah. "Hah, well I don't plan on hurting the innocent if that's what you're wondering. I'll more than happily take down people like Sardis and the like, though. I'm not sure how everyone would view that kind of stance, but it's mine." Then a thought occurred. "'Stop me'? Do you mean like ... convince me to stop being evil or ... like kill me or something?"

Vicinity of Luca

Nadya was trying to tell him something. If only she could speak proper horse. Luca could at least tell that she was trying to help him in some way, though he wasn't sure exactly in what way. Perhaps this new herd was family and not just a convenient gold digging operation after all. That was a slightly disturbing thought, but all concern blew away with the morning breeze when she offered him an apple. Yummm~

[Ether]

"It doesn't look like anyone is doing anything for breakfast, does it?" Faatina noted as they reached the campfire. It seemed not a damn thing was going to go her way today, was it? Letting out a sigh, Faatina turned towards Gabbie.

"Well, I have some stuff of my own, it should be okay if we're just getting the two of us fed for now. I certainly can't feed everyone off just my own stuff, so they'll have to figure it out themselves I guess." Faatina told her, before jogging off towards Sharif, and after giving the valiant steed his due in the form of a few carrots, returning with several items she had stored in her saddlebags. Luckily enough, she had bought some food of her own in Sergio... one was never sure about the food situation when in came to these people, usually someone who knew where they kept their stores would make something or other.

The eventual result of Faatina's venture was some preserved meats and vegetables given new life over the fire, along with a sprinkling of oil and seasoning. This makeshift stir fry of sorts was then placed inside halved rye buns. Making her way back over to Gabbie and offering the woman one of the sandwiches, Faatina sat down next to the woman and began eating her own.

"I hope it's okay... it's been a while since I've made more than just my own..." She admitted, somewhat bashfully, awaiting Gabbie's feedback.

[ReformBlade]

"Oh I wouldn't kill you, I'd forcibly turn you to the right side of course." She said with a wink and a smile, not really quite sure herself of the message she might send. "But I don't think I could for sure answer that until the moment really came to fruition, you know? I mean, I'm only gonna speak for myself here but I-I'm not trying to kill people, I know I'll end up doing it if I'm with this group and it will change me as a person but it's not a goal of mine to take another's life... It's one of those things where if I feel threatened or backed into a corner, or if someone does something to a family member or a friend. I'm not sure how far I'd go but if it's serious enough I think it could go that far..."

She's going back! Feeling a modicum of success from her endeavors, Hannah kept pace with Marella, though she didn't quite think Marella understood how much, or rather, how little Aneda worried for her. Speaking of that woman, Hannah saw her rider spending time with that egg instead of taking her out for a ride, making the Pegasus neigh in her direction. "...that's right, I knew I forgot something." Said the Aneda, looking to Hannah who was seemingly pestering Marella again. "Uggh!" she grunted, getting herself up whilst making sure the egg wouldn't be harmed somehow, then marched herself over to Hannah. "Quit bothering her! Sorry about that, Marella, I'll take her for her friggin ride now..." Hannah did a twirl in a fit of joyous victory, stopping in time to allow Aneda to mount her. "Come on girl, let's ride!" Taking a running start, the Pegasus took to the skies with her rider never to be seen again

[scorri]

"I don't mind..." Marella let the sentence trail off as the pegasus rider flew off. With a small shrug, she went and sat down somewhat away from the group, in between the fire and the Dauntless.

[Snike]

The white haired man left, which meant that all that was left to do was actually knock on the Dauntless and begin the meeting.

"It sounds like you have quite a few loose cannons," Axel said, to Veronika. "Hope you didn't leave gunpowder all over the floor."

***

"I doubt your 'science' is anywhere as near as important as this matter, but I'll ask him ," Blake said, before turning his head towards the Weyland heir, who was examining a lance. "The young red-haired girl wants you to come out and talk to her. Your call."

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Gar's first task was making sure he knew where everyone was before he started getting involved in any conversations. That failed since it looked like not everyone was present(and Gar didn't know how many people were here anyway). But he did find one of the two problems Raquel mentioned. Gar took a quick glance in the direction she and the Colin guy and some horse had gone off in to make sure he could keep his eyes on her from the fire. Raquel had led them a decent bit away but Gar was confident he could spot anything still. He walked over to the fire and positioned himself to still keep his eyes open. There were plenty of others around now--aces familiar and not. But either way, he had his first target. "Hello Shade Drake, fine day to be disrupting whatever wonderful moment you're having." Gar said with a smile. "But that aside I'm here to tell you, and everyone here a little something something." Gar took in a breath. "That in the future case of our confrontation with Sardis that the most likely options are either as much a sneak attack as we can manage when he starts chatting, or the old favorite of pretend to join his side only to make his back a target for knives. Many knives. Y'hear?"

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"One misstep by our group and any chance for negotiation is off the table- and could lead us into a battle we can't hope to win. I wish I could say that I trusted everyone in this group to keep themselves under control but..." Veronika said to Axel, deciding not to finish her thought aloud.

Connor

Well apparently this wouldn't be resolved without him. He decided to exit the Dauntless and came outside to meet Tia. "What do you need?" he asked her out of curiosity.

[Phoenix]

Raquel's Rodeo

Colin waited for Riley to slow down a bit, whether out of boredom or fatigue. Eventually the horse did, and he rushed in and vaulted himself onto the horse's back. That was when he realized just what kind of challenge he was really in for. Unable to grab Riley's mane for support, he was at the horse's complete and utter lack of mercy and began flailing as Riley bucked and jumped around. Get off! Colin tumbled backward and landed on his head and right shoulder before flopping onto his stomach, dazed and in quite a bit of pain. Riley trotted away to a safe distance and waited to see if the human would bother him again.

"Ouch," Raquel mused aloud.

"Urrrrgh," Colin groaned as he hauled himself to his feet. "That does it." Colin charged at Riley with complete abandon, aiming to forcefully mount the horse and then wrap his arms around the horse's neck for support. Riley planned to sidestep the man again and then maybe headbutt him a few times to assert his dominance. "C'mere!" Colin yelled as he prepared to speed-mount Riley. Riley sidestepped and when Colin fell, he came over and headbutted him a few times to assert his dominance. All according to plan~ "Son of a ... ... for Mercy's sake ..." Hauling himself up again, Colin stood by for a moment, eyeing Riley carefully while the horse stared back at him, waiting.

Breakfast Club

Gabbie was skeptical at first, but she usually ate sandwiches for breakfast anyway, at least when she was able. Sometimes she really had no choice but to fall back on rations or just have what everyone else was having, but deep down, she preferred foods she could eat with her bare hands. Utensils were for people who were not her. She took a bite of the sandwich to test it and was pleasantly surprised. "You work well in a crisis," she gave a positive review of the woman's cooking. That was when she noticed Ringo eyeing the sandwich. He knew it wasn't his, but he still wanted it, not seeing anything else available. "Oh you ..." Turning to Faatina, she said, "I should probably feed him before I start eating or it'll be torture. With that, she carefully held the sandwich out of Ringo's reach with one hand while digging through her saddlebags with the other looking for the rest of her rations.

Campfire

Shadrak had almost forgotten that he was dealing with Mushirah and not one of the people in the group who didn't like him, so her answer somewhat surprised him. He didn't know for certain that anyone in the group would actually try to kill him if he became a 'villain', but he had his suspicions just the same. Hearing Mushirah say anything to the contrary, at least speaking for herself, made him feel a little better about the whole thing. He never got his chance to respond to that that day though, as Gar came up and interjected with a funnily worded explanation of what sounded like a contingency plan. Who the hell's bright idea was this, he wondered? "Exactly how are we supposed to plan for either of those things? They could separate us or keep Sardis himself under really heavy guard around us or who knows what else. And in case you haven't noticed, one of their own is right over th-" Shadrak paused when he noticed that Colin wasn't actually where Shadrak thought he was. He was much farther away in fact, well out of earshot, and messing around with the black wagon horse with Raquel standing nearby. "Wait, what's going on? What's he doing over there alone with Raquel?" Shadrak was going to mention that he still suspected there was a mole in the group due to the Org finding them again so quickly, eventually, but the situation with Colin and Raquel had him completely distracted.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"The separation thing is kinda valid. But then again, separating everyone would just be seen as a ploy on their part and if they want Raquel to join them they can't risk upsetting her too badly y'know. Heavy guard is a consideration that would slowly relax--if such a guy as formidable as Sardis would demean himself to such things." Gar explained. "As for when, well I'll use your own question of 'why is he alone with Raquel' as the answer. As in she's keeping him busy for us to plan something he won't overhear and if he tries anything over there we'll all learn why I just gave myself the nickname 'Flying Knife'. Now you could go marching over there and ruin everything, or act all outraged here and raise his suspicions, but I think it behooves us all to keep this a nice chat, you know?" Gar pointlessly phrased his end as a question.

[Snowy_One]

"I need your brain and smarts!" said Tia with a smile on her face. "Maomao said she would be very grateful if someone could make a way to move boats about without relying on the wind. Solving something like that sounds like a perfect thing for you and I to tackle together! So, what do you say C? Want to team up to become an unstoppable force of magic and mind to help everyone in the world?" she said, looking at him in an assertive manner to let him know that saying 'no' would be next to useless in this situation.

[Ether]

"Heh, thanks." Faatina replied, glad that Gabbie wasn't entirely averse to her breakfast. That was when the woman began looking for something to feed her wyvern companion.

"That reminds me... you don't fight from Ringo's back, do you? Is he not combat trained or do you just prefer to fight on foot?"

[Phoenix]

Raquel's Rodeo

"What's this punk's name again?" Colin asked Raquel.

"Riley."

"Okay, RILEY," Colin raised his voice at the horse, finding the name oddly appropriate. "I'm about to tame you, so get ready." He cracked his knuckles and began to approach Riley at a normal pace, much to the horse's surprise. To Riley, this put him at just as much of a disadvantage because now Riley had more time to respond and more ways in which to do so. Deciding to try and scare Colin into fleeing, he neighed aggressively as he reared back and swatted at the man with his forelegs. "Gotcha!" Colin responded to this aggression by going under Riley's attack and rolling. When Riley came down, he'd lost sight of Colin and became confused. Once he realized the man was underneath him, he tried to bolt off, but Colin quickly mounted him. Riley's leaping kicks didn't knock Colin off and the stallion began charging around in wide circles, bucking occasionally to try and get Colin off, and that might have worked if he hadn't gotten a hold of his neck. Try as Riley did, he couldn't dislodge Colin. His arms were wrapped around his neck too tightly.

"Whoa ..." Raquel watched with amazement as Colin held on for dear life while Riley made every attempt to throw him off.

Eventually Riley had had enough. He knew one trick for always winning that some equines didn't, and that trick was to be a complete bastard and simply roll onto his back, possibly crushing his aggressor in the process. By the time Colin realized Riley's intentions, the horizontal plane had already shifted forty-five degrees for him. "Oh shiii-GAAARAHAHAHRGH!"

"COLIN!" Raquel came running as Riley stood up and snorted victoriously.

"... t-the pai-n-n ..." Colin laid sprawled out in the grass while Riley stood over him with his head down close to him, checking him inquisitively.

"Oh my gods, Colin, are you alright?!" Raquel arrived in seconds and looked for any obvious injuries.

"... holy hell, is that concern in your voice?"

"I practically killed you with my horse, I feel a little guilty here, so don't get the wrong idea," she quickly explained.

"... fair enough."

Breakfast Club

"I used to work alone all the toime and my methods were a bit more insidious so I didn't need to come flying in on wyvernback, but even if I did fight people the way I do now, I wouldn't have used him. I had an old loife once and he's pretty much the only thing I have left from that loife. If something ever happens to him, I'm not just losing my best friend, but also any connection I ever had to the past," Gabbie explained as she fetched a few things for Ringo to snack on. She fed him one handful at a time as she continued. "That's not to say he's not combat trained, but I don't know where he learned any of it. He's actually pretty wrathdamn scary if you get him going, heheh."

Campfire

"Hey, there's no way I'm going to be responsible for something going wrong with this plan," Shadrak defended himself. "I doubt this will work, but I'm not going to get in the way," he said more politely this time. "J-just ... just don't underestimate that guy and make sure Raquel's okay. Leaving her alone with him of all people is just asking for trouble ..."

Edited April 11, 2013 by Phoenix

[Ether]

"That makes sense, you don't want him to get hurt." Faatina replied, with a nod.

"I don't really have that kind of connection with Sharif... he was familiar enough with me because I worked at the stable, but I wasn't the one who raised him... but I also don't need to worry about him as much... he's armoured pretty well and even at that, he's has a pretty imposing figure. I'm not the bulkiest fighter by far so I'm pretty much exclusively the target for anything thrown at us, and they'll tend to leave him be if I go down." Faatina continued, before eating some more of her food.

"I guess another reason is that they would rather piss me off than him, probably. A good kick from a horse that big will kill you, I don't care how tough you think you are." She added, taking another bite.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Nah don't worry, I'll take all the blame if it fails, even if it isn't my fault at all. I'm a swell guy like that." Gar left out the part that they'd all probably be dead if that happened because he was such a swell guy like that. "Heh, well if not underestimating is a thing don't underestimate me either and"--Gar stopped as he watched Colin nearly get crushed by the horse he was trying to ride. "Don't underestimate that horse either, wow it nearly crushed him." Gar kept back a laugh.

[ReformBlade]

"That didn't look very fun for the guy." Mushirah noted the obvious, not even sure why there was a man-crushing horse to begin with but she chalked it up to being naive about it all. "And not that it matters much, I'm ok with either plan, I'll probably need a heads up though if possible which might be difficult if things get hairy." In truth, both ideas seemed scary to her but she was still determined to help out somehow. Why? Friendship.

After doing a few quick laps around the perimeter of the camp on Hannah, Aneda brought the pegasus down for a landing, crashing and burning in an epic fire dismounting and going back to protect her egg before she noticed that there was a... well maybe not a commotion but there was some hush hush talk going on. But of course, George Aneda was curious. "Hey, what's goin on? We plannin a party or something?" she asked in a considerably much more jovial tone than moments beforehand.

[Snike]

"You can't, can you?" Axel said, simply enough. "Luckily, it doesn't matter. We'll get out of there, one way or another. Anyways, I suppose we're keeping Blake waiting."

Edited April 11, 2013 by Snike

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"Don't blow yourself up this time," Veronika warned Axel before going into the Dauntless, where she found none other than Blake.

"So what did you want to discuss?" she asked him point blank.

Connor

"Uh, well do we have a ship to work with? Or a body of water even? Doesn't make much sense to try and design something like a large transport vehicle without those things," Connor responded to Tia, furrowing his brow.

[Snowy_One]

"We don't have a ship to work with until we can get inside and cobble a model together. But that doesn't matter right now. We need to think of some way it could even be possible for the average person to travel without using the wind or oars. If we can't even thing of something, then our model is just a toy boat. Oh. And don't worry about water. I'm sure I can find some if we need it. I already had an idea. Namely, attatching huge flippers to a boat that move in a side-to-side motion, like a fish. Only problem is in metal stress. Maybe you can find a way to solve it, or maybe you can think of some other suggestion?"

[Snike]

"I don't intend on doing so," Axel retorted, before following Nika into the wagon.

***

Well, Connor stepped out to talk with Tia, and before Blake could react, Veronika came in, followed by the red-armored man.

"I didn't send for you, actually," Blake said, with a frown on his expression, "But, you came at around the right time. Let me grab a few more people, and we can all discuss this. Who sent you, by the way?"