Return of the Emblem Chapter Ten: Converging Destinies

[Snike]

The first few minutes of the ship-hunting expedition were nice and silent, albeit unsuccessful, but then both Gar and Veronika began to question Shadrak about his seagull massacre, which led into the druid delving into artificial bashing rubbish, which in turn brought his questioners to chastise him. Blake, frankly, would've joined in directly, were it not for the fact that the criticism was probably going to anger the dark magic user. So instead, he took an indirect approach.

"So, Shadrak," Blake began. "What are your thoughts on dragons, in that case?" Here goes.

[roymbrog]

Valter was curious now, and a little confused. "Why would they put an orphanage in the mountains?" As far as he knew, not many people lived that far north. If their purpose was to have kids adopted it didn't make a lot of sense. (Perhaps a home for delinquents? That would make sense, considering Bert.) He mostly brushed the pegasus knight's question off, but the bit about Purgatory did get a chuckle. "Fine, last I heard. I think he has more reason to be worried about me than I him."

-----

"Nice to meet you as well," Katrina replied. "So, ah, do you do this often?"

[Mercakete]

There was something that piqued Norbert's curiosity, but he decided to ask that after answering Valter's question to the best of his abilities. "I never asked Nigel why, so I don't know for sure, but there are a lot of possible reasons I can come up with. First is because it's hard to get to. Probably a precaution against the Neviskotians in case they do better than our own forces. Only way to get to and from it is by flying, really. There's some wild pegasi that live up there, too. They're used to us; we kind of coexist. The girls all go through school there and learn swordsmanship or pikesmanship to become pegasus knights one day, too. That's another reason it could be, I guess. Becoming a pegasus knight is the easiest job to get out of the orphanage, especially since they usually get a pegasus from the herds up there in order to leave so they already have one. A few get rides down from others, I guess. Not everyone becomes a pegasus knight after all, and some who become those don't always keep the job," Norbert explained before clarifying the second reason it could be that the orphanage was built so far away, "So I guess it's sort of a training institute. We typically don't get adopted. At least not from that one. Sometimes there are transfers -- the orphanages collaborate -- to or from other ones but the one I grew up in was kind of unique like that. Not that I think it makes much of a difference. Not enough people want to adopt for every orphan to have a typical family."

Speaking of families, Valter's question was answered enough that the pegasus rider felt good enough to ask his own question."You only mentioned 'him'. Guess that makes you an only child. What happened to your mother?"

[ReformBlade]

"I'll bet he does do this often! He's so nice!" Aneda had to resist the urge to run up and attempt to hug Fyodor with all her might. I've never actually felt a dragon, so... Maybe just a quick hug? No, Aneda, no! Compose yourself, girl! It doesn't matter if he's super cool and if he's super nice, and it really doesn't matter if he's a very huggable looking dragon guy! Personal space, girl! But... maybe he'd like to be hugged? No! Stop iiiiiit! This was a battle for the ages storming up in her brain right now.

Nanahm resolutely shook his head. "Robin, please, when I said it'd be free, I meant it. I wouldn't feel right accepting money or some gifts from a local who just wants to remember her father. I'm happy to help you with that, and if you're happy with it, then that's all I need from it. Truth be told, this carving business has become more of a pass-time than a way of life. It doesn't pay the bills how I go about it, and it's not very cost effective for me and my materials. All in all, it's a hobby at best and that's all I hope it'll be at this point."

As Davod kept an eye on Lia, he couldn't help but feel that someone called his name, and he did think it vaguely sounded like Synthia, but the man couldn't be too sure, and he figured if it was important enough someone would call to him again. Right now he just wanted to traverse some places with Lia. (He's clingy like that)

Edited October 20, 2012 by ReformBlade

[Rothene]

"Here...these are some of my notes on more proficient use of wind magic in combat," Ranyin said showing Synthia his notes while quickly flipping through the pages with all the words written in Kigenese, "The one detailed on the fourth page is my favourite wall of wind that not only blows enemies back, but stays in the air temporarily, very useful for keeping out arrows if you time it right," which I never do.

"Well, the point of these notes is to help you improve on your wind magic while I'll no longer be around to help you anymore. As I note there doesn't seem to be any other wind mage in the group besides the two of us."

[Phoenix]

Raquel

The first and somewhat last thing Raquel heard was 'he branched off'. "I told everyone not to go off on their ownnnn! Well we're blocked off from the north side anyway, so let's head back and see what's going on."

Shadrak and Reign

"It's okay, Veronika, I get it. As long as I say something that's not inherently nice or praising, she's free to assault me all she wants." Shadrak replied, rolling his eyes afterward. "And don't bother. I already know you're going to keep her around regardless. Raquel needs all the help she can get and no one's going to pass up an artificial."

Gar made a quick summary to see if he was interpreting Shadrak's reaction right, but Shadrak disagreed. "No no! I was really out of practice to begin with and needed some more training. While yes, I was angry at the time, it wasn't some fit of rage, just enough motivation to get me going."

"Eh, same thing." Reign noted with a shrug.

Next up was Blake, asking about Shadrak's opinion on dragons. What was with these people today? Why was everyone focusing on him?! "I didn't make that point clear enough when Raquel dragged us into this dragon egg thing? They're dangerous and we shouldn't get involved with them when we can help it."

Gabbie and Anna

"Alroight, well Pinky Two has a pegasus apparently so he can just follow us I guess. We'll be back in a little whoile, Anna." Gabbie didn't seem to be in any particular rush, but she certainly wasn't waiting up for anything, either.

"I'll be here~" Anna bid farewell.

Fyodor

"Well, as often as people come along. Not too long ago, I realized that I didn't want to just lie around waiting for my time when I could travel and see new places and people instead. I have to avoid some areas, but it is what it is. I'm not sure I have enough strength left in me to leave Tracea, though." Fyodor explained, frowning slightly at the realization that he wouldn't be able to cross any large bodies of water from that point onward. His journey was most definitely going to end in Tracea.

Merchant

"What? I know plenty of artists and art dealers ... umm ... R-rutger Stuart ... ummm ... Yui ... ... Edward DeAngelo ... uhh ... Look! I know plenty of them!" the merchant defended. "Okay, I give you forty-seven for each. That's ninety-four, final offer!"

Luca whinnied a bit in protest. Countering an aggressive male with a larger and heavier aggressive male seemed like the right call, but the merchant was just left wondering if the horse could understand common or something. "Uhhh ... sooo ninety-four. Final ... offer?" Luca postured proudly having humbled the merchant.

Katsu

<"Yes, but we should make sure there's a little of room left over. I'm not very skilled at repacking and there might be some things I pick up while searching. Maybe clues or something, I don't really know."> Katsu tried to explain. Who knew, maybe he would end up having to carry a bit more by the time all was said and done, but he wasn't really sure of that one way or the other and was primarily focused on his repacking point.

Finnians

<"Hahah, probably!"> Bryn answered as she twirled her lance a few times and then turned to making a side swipe. <"Good, it's not in my way, and there's no incentive to grab it. Good job~">

Edited October 20, 2012 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

<"You may take as many furoshiki as you require,"> Daichi replied, <"and the amount of items you carry will diminish over time, at least as you eat the food as you travel. I do understand your point, however. As long as you keep supplied, you can easily travel lighter, of course."> He gave the compass and a couple maps to Katsu. <"If you might be away from places where you can resupply, however, bringing many things that will help you is beneficial.">

[Acacia Sgt]

''Well, if you say so,'' John said. ''But first, a warning, and this is to everybody. It's possible she may be a dark avian, so take heed of what crosses your minds. Yes, I know I said 'possible', but... well, you'll see.''

[Snike]

"Huh. I thought you would've thought of them as abominations, given your stance on Artificials. Not surprised you view them as dangerous, though," Blake said, as he continued to look around. "Anyways, the point is, you're just as bad as the religious Ursians, particularly the Wrathites, with regards to your discrimination. How are their views on dragons any different from your views on artificial humans?"

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"You really can't expect a kid to not get mad when you're insulting them to their face," Gar said. "So alright, you insulted her, she hit you, realizing you got beat by a kid needed to train yourself and..." Gar looked Shade Drake over and couldn't see any differences from his earlier impressions of the guy. "Did you actually get any stronger? You look the same to me."

[ReformBlade]

"That..." Aneda's grew wider by the moment, "That's just like me! I was getting tired of sitting around and doing nothing, I felt I was going nowhere so I decided to just leave when I could! I've been exploring this world for the past 5 years, me and Hannah, usually by ourselves, but occasionally we run into some interesting people." However, as Fyodor's words finally registered, she felt an immense sadness, almost choking on her words. "But... well, um..." It seemed to Aneda that Fyofor's situation was a possible reality that she'd have to eventually come to terms with (Old Dragonitis happens sometimes), and it scared her a little. "Oh... Oh my..." A few tears trickled down her cheeks, a slight heaving of her frame, "F-Fyodor... that's... that's just, oh dear... Ah...." Wiping her face and sniffling, "Mister Fyodor, I'm sorry... I think I need... a hug. Can I hug you, sir? I know it's strange b-but you're so nice a-and I'm just a wreck right now..."

Edited October 20, 2012 by ReformBlade

[Snowy_One]

"Still, thank you very much Nanahm." said Robin as she clutched the figure and held it close to her chest. She looked down, examining the detail on the minature, smiling happily and satisfied. "You are a good craftsman, better than some I could mention. If I need more figurines like this, I will be sure to ask you."

[roymbrog]

Katrina smiled at Aneda’s enthusiasm. Yeah, this was a pretty nice dragon. She was smiling a lot less after Fyodor answered. That was crushing; to know you were going to die so soon. And he couldn’t even return home. Aneda asked for a hug and Katrina couldn’t blame her. She felt like crying too. “That’s so sad…”

-----

Notes? For Synthia? It was all in Kigenese, but… “Are you really giving me these? Ranyin, this is awesome. How long did it take you to make this?” she asked, taking them and looking through. Ah, so there were pictures too. Then something clicked, and the mage saddened a bit. “This means you’re leaving, doesn’t it?”

-----

Huh, so the orphanage was basically a secluded pegasus knight training center? That was strange and/or interesting. What bastard came up with using orphans to fight Ursium’s wars? Then Bert asked about his mother, and Valter felt the urge to clam up right there. “She died when I was young,” he answered.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"Dragons are dangerous, humans are dangerous, artificial humans are dangerous. That's the reason to make them our allies Shadrak, not ignore or belittle them," she lectured. That one looks too small...hope one of the others knows exactly what we're looking for though. Ships are not my specialty.

Connor

"Try not to get lost, the streets might be crowded," Connor advised Luka before turning to Gabbie. "Where was that docking office again? I don't really remember...maybe we should try the Leverager instead," he pondered.

Nadya

Nadya squinted and tilted her head to the side for a minute. "All right, ya got yourself a deal," she said, placing the urn closer to the merchant while keeping the candleabra close to herself, her other palm extended.

Ida

Yay she's happy! If she weren't well...focus on the positive here. she reminded herself. <"So do you want to show your mother now?"> she asked Brynhildr timidly.

[Mercakete]

The question seemed to bother Valter. That wasn't the intent, but in retrospect, he could see how it would. "I see. I'm sorry for bringing it up if it bothers you," he responded, "I guess it's just one of those questions that comes up... I'm more used to people who lost their parents than those who haven't, be being one of them. You don't have to answer if this bothers you, but...how old were you? Do you remember much about her?"

[Phoenix]

Shadrak and Reign

Discrimination? Yes, Shadrak could see how he might get accused of that ... but ... "The wrathites are just abusing their doctrines so they can justify wiping out all the dragons the neviskotian army likes to hide behind. Artificials are abominations because they're not supposed to exist. Why the hell should they exist? Can you answer that for me? I mean seriously, if artificials were supposed to be around, they wouldn't even be called 'artificial'. Humanity and dragons were made for a real reason, at least. The artificials were made on the whims of power hungry madmen."

"Eh, Tali probably shouldn't exist either, but I'm glad she does. I say we should at least make the most of the unnaturals that do appear. I don't much care for enforcing genocide though. Good luck with that one." Reign chimed in again.

"It's not genocide. I'm not saying we should kill the artificials that already exist. At least not unless they're out to get us. I'm just saying that we can't just sit back and allow more to be created or encourage their use." Shadrak tried to clarify.

Gar came back with another assessment about the incident before asking if he'd actually gotten any stronger. Shadrak immediately crossed his arms and said "I know my power has increased at least a little bit, but I won't know just how much until we fight real enemies. Though that shouldn't take long since we've got a plenty of people in this group that are willing to get the authorities on us. Not my ideal testing ground, but I'll take what I can get, I guess."

Veronika came back with what at first sounded like a very good point, throwing everyone into the same boat as far as being a threat went, but Shadrak still didn't fully agree. "You don't actually want a dragon helping us do you? I can only tolerate an artificial because they might not spot it, but if we tried to travel around with a dragon, the ursians would kill us on sight. You're basically giving the wrathites a reason to put all their cards on the table and smash us. I personally don't think dragons are good allies to have around, at least not while we're operating out of Ursium."

"Eh, from the sound of things, we're going to get kicked out of their pretty soon, anyway. This isn't the most subtle bunch I've run into. Not that I mind really, so long as we get away in the end. Already a capital offender after all~" Reign quipped.

"And that's another thing. Why is Raquel hiring all of these questionable people? This is going to backfire sooner or later."

"... and here I thought I was the least questionable one ..."

Gabbie

"Uhm, I figured we would just fly around the docks some until we spotted a pink head. I mean looking at that Luka guy, I'm pretty sure I could spot him from up there." Gabbie explained as they arrived outside to Ringo, who stood up when he noticed them.

Fyodor

The guards were thoroughly surprised, but Rin stepped forward despite that and said "What's wrong with you people? Who hugs a dragon?"

"Aleksandr Petrova, I believe ... though I hear it is both awkward and complicated." Fyodor gave a joking answer, though he actually had heard a little about the neviskotian officer's shenanigans.

"Well of course a skotian would hug a dragon. I'm sure they would marry them too if that wasn't completely disgusting and off the wall." Rin quickly came back with. Then he eyed Aneda and Katrina suspiciously. "Are you skotian ... because that actually makes this less surprising." The other guards nodded to each other out of sync, agreeing with that assessement.

"But to answer your question, I wouldn't mind a hug." Fyodor replied. "Try not to be too sad, though. I've lived a long, full life and my latter days aren't as ... well ... dark as I expected. Hmhm."

Merchant

The merchant nodded in agreement realizing that she might be trying to shake his hand. It was a longer delay than he would have normally allowed for, but he quickly shook her hand and said "Very good ..."

And touching ... didn't happen under most circumstances. Usually once Nadya had interacted with someone enough, they would hand over their gold, and while this was taking awhile, things were starting to look up. Gold was on the way, and food wasn't far behind!

Riley had no clue what was going on since he wasn't interested and was keeping an eye out for anything dangerous that might be stalking them, and Sandrock had her head all the way down to the ground, trying to find anything she could to snack on. The humans sure had done a number to the land, but there was some grass growing out of the edges of the merchant's shop. Of course, humans didn't need to destroy these little innocent patches lining some of the buildings. Where else was a horse to get a midday snack in this barren area? And so with that logic, Sandrock began nibbling at the tiny grass patch while Luca waited for the merchant to surrender his gold to his partner. Sure enough, the merchant was retrieving the gold. Yes, yes ... your gold is his-he means theirs ....

Katsu

<"I suppose an extra one wouldn't hurt,"> Katsu said with a slow shrug as he eyed the travel clothes one more time.

Finnians

Bryn placed the Cloud Breaker against the wall near the entrance to the area before beginning to stretch and saying <"Nah, first a nice relaxing bath, and then I'll deal with the White Archdevil.">

Edited October 21, 2012 by Phoenix

[Eail]

Luka

So it looked as though he was being accepted into the group by Connor and his.... friend. Well that was certainly nice, couldn't hurt to help out the bosses nephew, and he had meant what he said about Mercy too. He really already had all of his things, so the pink haired boy was ready to go now. "It's been a pleasure working with you Ms. Anna. I hope we can do so again in the future" Luka said giving a slight bow. Walking back out to the stables he had come from he soon had Rika saddled up and good to go. "Well girl, looks like we get to go back home just a bit early, and we even get to help some people on the way."

Climbing onto the back of his friend a few seconds later the duo were airborn infront of Weyland Enterprises local branch, seeing a wyvern down below that probably belonged to his new companions. He'd just follow them for now.

Edited October 21, 2012 by Eail

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"I'm gonna bring up my old point that my knife, their swords and the clothes on your back are all artificial too," Gar responded to Shade Drake's claim that artificial was instantly bad. "And hey, no one's sure of what the Avians were created for, so since we don't know their purpose, should they exist as well?" Gar mused before switching his topic a bit. "Well, I don't know about the rest of you but I'm sure I was hired because of my sparkling charm and likability."

[ReformBlade]

"No I am not skotian. I'm from Ursium... Not that that really matters." Making her way over rather quickly, before those jerkface guards decided to get angrier or fed up with her, Aneda went right for Fyodor, though she had severely misjudged just how big he was somehow. Oh well. A smile on her face and a leap later, she was holding onto the dragon's neck in what she will always remember as a loving embrace.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"Well I wouldn't walk around with a dragon around Ursium- that'd be suicide- but we haven't been in Ursium for weeks. And what do you mean by 'questionable people'? Zel is quite insane and your opinion on Lia seems quite clear, but your words indicate more than that," Veronika said. Gar perhaps, his origins are rather questionable. Norbert is...unpredictable. And there are people like...Davod was his name? that I hardly know at all. I wonder if he thinks similarly.

Connor

"Oh, that an idea. I hope the port authority doesn't get too riled up about flying a wyvern near the city streets though," he said, standing near Ringo, ready to be flown.

Nadya

Nadya shook his hand back a little surprised. Ok, just thought he'd put the money there...whatever hand-shakin' is fine if I'm gettin' paid. <"We'll get movin' again soon, y'all have been real good,"> she said in a comforting voice towards the horses.

Ida

Ida giggled a little at Brynhildr's comment. <"Haha, because you're the White Devil that makes your mother the White Archdevil. That's clever...oh right bath,"> she remembered, filling the pool with warm water from the bucket.

Edited October 21, 2012 by -Cynthia-

[Ether]

"Cheer up kid~" Kit mentioned, her tone still carrying a heavily playful tone. Following him to his group was all she really needed to do at the moment, the rest she couldn't really plan out until she had a better idea of them.

*******

Faatina would have replied to Talitha, but she had fallen behind at the turn, and appeared to have come upon a bit of an interesting situation. Not wanting to lose the advantage of the straight, she powered forward, figuring that Talitha would catch up... eventually.

[Eail]

Zachary

Hearing Kit's words of encouragement Zach gave a sigh. "Guess you're right, no use in sulking I suppose..." He admitted while they kept walking, looking ahead though he actually managed to catch sight of a mane of pink hair. Yup, that was the boss all right.

"Hey Raquel, there's someone here that's interested in a certain... artifact that you have in your possession I think it'd be wise if we talked to her a bit...." He said while thumbing towards Kit

[Snike]

The Ursian almost smiled when Shadrak tried to justify his position. Luckily,

"You really have no idea what you're talking about," Blake said, as he turned directly to face Shadrak. "First of all, the Wrathites actually believe their doctrine, and hate dragons with a passion, as I've had the misfortune to experience. There is no abuse, seeing as it is made pretty clear that the moment dragons are eliminated in Neviskotia, the ones resting in the Kigenese Mountains are next, ongoing war be damned. Hell, there's even a subculture revolving around killing dragons. Secondly, the Neviskotians have sea superiority and almost match the Ursians, even ignoring the Guardians, their trump card. "Hiding behind dragons" is almost certainly rubbish.

'As for whether or not they have a reason to exist, let me turn that question around: Why in hell should we exist? To serve the gods? Please. Wrath's certainly getting his fill, but Truth's essence is rarely heard these days, Nature's land is being bloodstained by our kind, and don't even get me started on Mercy. If not that, then to kill each other? We're certainly doing a good job of that, and that's the exact same reason that artificial humans are created, according to you.

Anyways, the point is it's irrelevant to ask why someone exists, and use that against them. If you really want to get technical, I am guessing artificials are created or 'born' through magic, instead of through relations. This probably allows them be modified so that they're stronger than 'naturals' to some extent, but other than that, they should be the same. That is it. They are still people, since they can think from what I've heard and seen, assuming that the young girl who accompanied the return from the manse is one of them."

[Acacia Sgt]

And so Zach was back, bringing Kit with him. Gil spared a glare at her direction. Well well, what do we have here? A fox-like human, it was a first after seeing all the bird-like ones. Whatever business she had with them, well, time to see for now what happens, staying alert over any possible move.

[Phoenix]

Raquel

'Artifact'? The emblem? No no no no no no no no no no-"Zaaach, I really wish you hadn't wandered off on your own like that ..." Raquel greeted nervously, keeping her teeth clinched as she spoke. Gar knowing about the fire emblem didn't seem so bad compared to the worse case scenario this might turn out to be. "Umm ... can I help you?" Raquel asked the woman. She wasn't sure what to make of her various features.

Somewhere very close by ... <"Alright, enough! Enough ... the fact of the matter is that Tracea's attempt to gain independence from the empire is a slap in the face and weakens all of us. The demons are out there and they are not blind to our struggles and our strife! All you people will accomplish is giving those creatures the opportunity to begin conquering anew."> one of the imperial officers spoke up. <"Is that what you want? For your homeland to fall to the demons? Or perhaps to the northerners? Would you prefer them, perhaps? You're all fools! Your fight does nothing but weaken our great empire!">

<"You're talking nonsense!"> a local guardsman immediately countered. <"The Kigenese Empire, is the strongest empire and the longest standing in history! Do you not remember that the throne the metal dragon sits upon has existed since before the legends disappeared from this world?! Since before the founding of Ursium?! Since even before the Great Rebellion?! The demons have tried throughout the ages to conquer this empire, and they have always failed! Do you not remember that for five thousand years, empire has stood?! Do not try to sway us with your ravings, you coward! The demons have always been the empire's favorite excuse to shove down the throats of the people to keep them in line! But this is not Kigen! This is Tracea! Your rhetoric has no place here!">

<"The emperor will not stand for this. I suppose that is the bottom line, and your stupidity is just going to get all of you killed when the negotiations between our leaders finally begin to break down. The day that happens, you'll all be killed.">

<"Is that a threat?"> And once again, a guard had his hand on his blade.

<"It's a promise, you shortsighted fool. Fools ... that's what you are! Fools! All of you!"> the imperial officer yelled.

<"Whoawhoawhoa waitwait!"> a random imperial guard called out, trying to get everyone's attention. <"Fast movers!"> he warned, pointing up at the sky. The few fliers moving around through town was one thing, and as long as they didn't cause any trouble, it wasn't worth interrupting the argument of the century over, but the group of fliers the imperial pointed out was fifteen strong and heading south along the docks, about to pass right over them or so they thought. Instead, the group came down on the opposite side of the gathering of guards that Raquel's group had been on and they all landed. There was absolutely no room to maneuver farther north now, and the place was horribly over crowded.

As the guards shifted southward to make more room, the same guard that had herded Raquel and company out of the way got right back to it, though he kept his sword sheathed this time. "Oi! Back! Back!" He was still loud, but not as forceful as before. This was a little too short notice with some of them turned around. As Raquel glanced back at the scene, she frowned. How far back were they going to be pushed? "Back! Ba- ..." The guard's eyes narrowed as he looked at the group. He couldn't see the silver haired woman's tails from where he was standing, but he could definitely see the ears. "What ..." he began making various hand gestures toward her. "What are those?" Raquel was silent as a ghost.

Gabbie and Ringo

Gabbie hopped onto Ringo and once Connor was mounted up behind her, they took off. Pinky Two was already airborne, so there was no need to wait up for him and they made their way toward the docks. Searching for Raquel ended up seeming harder than Gabbie originally imagined, so she flew lower until they were flying just above the rooftops. Harder to miss that way, but they wouldn't have any recovery time to avoid a crash if anything unexpected happened. There wasn't any nearby danger though, so Gabbie kept looking. Oddly enough, Raquel was not the first familiar head she spotted. More like the third or fourth. Raquel's group was cut off from a crowd of soldiers trying to keep their own squabble contained, and Zach was approaching them from behind with someone or something quite unexpected.

"Wow, Zach, I didn't know those were your type ... whatever the hell that is ..." she said mostly to herself as they began to slow down and descend for a landing.

Shadrak and Reign

"Seriously?" Shadrak immediately replied to Gar. "You're going to compare the clothes on our backs to artificials? I'm not saying they're inherently evil, but the point is, there are certain things humanity has no business delving into! Making people ... that's a divine thing. There are a lot of things we do that we shouldn't be doing but this is something that we can actually do something about."

"Who cares? Isn't Wrath coming to take over or something? At least that's about all I can remember from Raquel. I don't think we're going to sate him with whatever semblance of good behavior we can manage in the next year, or at least Lilith doesn't seem to think so." Reign commented.

"... what?"

"... I'm saying we're screwed either way."

Whatever ... to Veronika he answered. "Well while I hate to admit it, I got in pretty easy, but thankfully my intentions actually are good. But there are still people traveling with us that we don't really know anything about. I won't bring up Zachary again since that's mostly a dead horse at this point, but there's Gar here. And where on earth did Aneda come from? Over the rainbow or where the grass is greener or something?"

"Snrk."

"Oh and let's not forget that Fred! Sometimes I wonder if he isn't just pretending to be the way he is to lull us into a false sense of security."

"Actually I'm genuinely worried that he's going to get some of us killed completely by accident." Reign admitted. "Raquel's a little too desperate for help, yeah, but from what I can tell she has a lot on her plate and she's stressed on multiple fronts. If you really care about any of this, then man up and do something about it. She's not questioning newcomers, so you can do it. And that is just one of many things you could be doing in lieu of complaining."

Shadrak rolled his eyes. It was a fair point, but Reign's attitude ...

Of course that was to be completely overshadowed by Blake, who came back hard on the dragon point. He shot down the notion that dragons were just overpowered shields for the Neviskotians. Shadrak couldn't get by with anything, he felt. Next he flipped the question to cast some much needed doubt on some things most people simply took for granted. By the end of it, he deemed the line of questioning Shadrak had started as completely irrelevant and trivialized the main differences between artificials and naturals. It was like arguing with Griffin all over again, except jumping straight into the point instead of toying with him. Dammit. "I was trying to point out, that the gods created all the other races with something in mind, and it's their right to do so ..."

"I sooo question that at times ..." Reign quietly interjected.

"We shouldn't be acting like gods and creating other human beings! That's way too easy to abuse! Sure, sure, don't go around killing all the artificials or anything drastic like that, but stop making them is what I'm getting at here! They shouldn't be around like this-it's perverse! They don't even have souls! That violent little monster girl is one of them, and she's doing exactly what you'd expect an artificial to do, wreak violence constantly whether or not it's warranted!"

"I'm pretty sure the gulls are more afraid of you than her ..." came Reign's prodding remarks again.

"... s-shut ... up. Look, would you people just stop ganging up on me?! I didn't do anything to deserve this!"

Mandy and Talitha

Faatina was pretty far ahead of her, and Mandy was well over twice the normal yelling distance away from her now. Autumn was having trouble getting back up to a proper sprint and so she was hoping there weren't anymore turns coming up for awhile.

Mandy meanwhile was surprised to see a rather large gathering of people out on the road. They weren't completely cutting off her path, flying mount or no, but they were still on her path which encouraged her to slow down a little, both as a precaution and out of curiosity. There might be something interesting going on at the center of that crowd. The kigenese were pretty harsh on winged peoples, but they weren't lacking for incredible street performers or other neat little things.

Luca Riley and Sandrock

And soon, Nadya was paid, and the merchant was giving the items a more thorough inspection. Luca was pleased with the results, but wished Sandrock had been paying attention and not scavenging for grass with tastier things well on the way. Riley wasn't quite paying attention either and didn't really see the significance of the exchange. The merchant stopped what he was doing just long enough to make eye contact with Luca again and cocked his head at the equine. Luca in turn leaned in a little closer. If he had more gold to fork over, now was the time ...

Of course he had no idea what Luca was doing or why ...

Fyodor

"Kindred spirits ... or something ..." another Iori assessed and shrugged at the others.

Keichi shook his head. "I don't suppose you want a hug too ..." he said to Katrina in an exaggerated manner, eyes wide open.

"The more the merrier~" Fyodor chimed in as he carefully used his left paw to embrace Aneda back. She was quite small compared to him, but he knew how to be delicate, and it was a good hug.

"... my wife hasn't embraced me in about months. I kind of want to join them ..." Rin suddenly admitted in a depressing tone. Keichi immediately glared at him.

Finnians

<"Yeah ... that woman's taken out more people than I have ... though at least I have a higher human count. She didn't do much foreign punishing in her youth. She'd rather deal with regional conflicts. Not that there's anything wrong with that-someone's got to do it, but we could really use her kind of stopping power on the front lines."> Bryn trailed off while waiting for the bath to be ready.

Meanwhile ... <"Mother?">

<"Yes, Svan?">

<"What would you do if you encountered Lord Steinn?">

<"It depends on the timing, dear. If I see him before the Slaughter of Siblings I will be as ... cordial as possible. Of course all of his human compatriots would be violently put down if he did not surrender the princess and Siv to me. After the Slaughter of Siblings ...? I would strike him down ... though I suppose he is still powerful enough to to come out on top if I am not careful. Surreptitious tactics would definitely be in order.">