Return of the Emblem Chapter Ten: Converging Destinies

[scorri]

Marella was surprised when Zach grabbed her hand out of no where, but looking over to where he was staring, she saw Robin and understood. "Hey, Lightning Head, it'll be ok. You've got us here. Just breathe. You can do this." As she finished, someone else walked up and asked them a question. "What, long faces? Oh, well, I'm pretty sure we're just bored. Nothing to do right now, really, so we're just waiting on Raquel to tell us what to do. How about you two, what are you up to?"

[Eail]

"Right, right... sorry." Zach said as he slowly and halfway unwillingly released Marella's hand from his own. He was also pretty thankful that she didn't say anything to Aneda and her friend when they walked up. Nobody else really needed to know what happened last night.... at least not in full... not yet. For now he'd just try to stay near Marella, not saying much.

[ReformBlade]

"Well this lady-" "Hi there" "-... wants to go take a trip into the port... what for exactly?" Aneda glanced at Mushirah.

"I just wanna get to know the layout. Dunno if I or anyone else mentioned it but I'm trying to make a map of the world... It's a big endeavor, I know, but it's what I like doing, really." she pleaded somewhat. "You guys don't have to come, but I'd like the company, really."

"And I'm probably gonna head out with her, but I figured I'd say hi to you folks, invite you if you wanna go out and maybe pick up something to eat, i'm sure there's some sort of snacks vendor here, it'd be stupid to not sell food in a tourist spot."

[Snowy_One]

"If you fix them, I'll see what I can do about paying you. But I'm not going to pay if they aren't fixed. How much will it cost if they are fixed though?"

---

"Alright, I will. When I come back though, we should go out. I need something fun to do." said Robin before turning around to head back to freshen up. As she did, she caught a glimpse of Zach. For a moment, pain covered her face, but then it seemed to vanish away as her gaze shifted beyond him, as if he wasn't there at all.

[Click This]

"Right, warning acknowledged and disregarded. I'm actually quite interested in the 'mystical crap' you've guys have gotten into." Thanking Gabbie, she walked off to find one of the two aforementioned people. It didn't take long to find the pink haired merchant engaged in conversation with the ever frugal water mage. Leaning on a mast, she looked around the ship as she waited for their conversation to finish. Despite looking around, she listened into the conversation. The merchant girl had experience in repairing books? That was interesting. She wasn't surprised she was going to charge for the services though. A true merchant always looks for ways to profit, and that was no exception.

Edited January 28, 2013 by Click This

[Mercakete]

Gytha nodded, simply remaining where she was to wait for the archer's return. After all, it would probably be a while before she could enjoy the feeling of being on a ship in the water again.

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

Then, Suzume did that thing again: talking in part, to Norbert's ears anyway. It was like she knew more than she was saying, but the conversation flowed so naturally that it was a bit hard to tell. It had Norbert puzzling again. What does she mean by that? Does she really think I'm not a part of their group? No, that's probably not what she's getting at. Maybe it's just a roundabout way of saying I don't act like them. Maybe she thinks I shouldn't stay with them? I don't know... It's kind of hard to tell with Suzumay.

In the end, he decided to give the literal answer. "Yeah, I'm sure. I haven't broken off from them since I joined up." That was...a month ago? Something like that.

[roymbrog]

Ooh, something to do~ “I’d be happy to come,” Katrina replied. “I’ve never been to an Ursian port before.” While it probably wasn’t that much different than ports anywhere else, that didn’t change the fact that she wanted to go. Just look, most of her favorite people were going!

[scorri]

Marella shrugged. "I'd be up for that. Though, if we just asked Raquel how we could help... Perhaps we should let her know that we're going to be leaving?" She looked at Zach. "You were the one who asked her in the first place. Did it seem like she had things for us to do?"

[Parrhesia]

Rook tired of the city within a couple of minutes, and decided to head back to the ship. When he spotted Gytha loitering, he decided to tactically loiter in more or less the same area.

He lit another cigar.

[Eail]

Zach shook his head "She said to just hold on for a minute. But it looks like she might be a while though. Why don't you guys go ahead and see the town while I deal with whatever it is she needs done, I don't mind." He suggested

[Ether]

Well that appeared to be mostly settled then. Heading down below decks, Faatina gathered her belongings and began to head towards where Sharif was being held.

********

With the commotion amounting to a rather large amount of nothing, Arietta decided to follow the troublemaking girl and the pink-haired merchant, in-case the whole prdeal had been some sort of dumb scheme to get alone with the merchant and assassinate her.

'Can't be too careful I guess... what a troublesome kid...'

[Phoenix]

Book Repair

I really shouldn't name a price without taking a look at them first, especially since I'm barely getting the hang of this. "I'll need to look at the books first to see just how much work's in front of me, but if it's only water damage then the repair work won't cost as much." She was intentionally vague because she had some research to do before she started on this job. "We're currently trying to get our transport on land, so I can't do anything just this minute."

Dauntless Preparation

Gabbie watched some crewmen funnel into the Dauntless but couldn't see what they were doing beyond that. Others had gathered around the large prototype wagon and had begun preparing to build a massive harness around the thing. "Glad I don't have to help out with stuff loike that anymore ..."

Conversation

"I see .... Well it doesn't really seem like it," Suzume replied. "Forget I mentioned it. Anyway, I don't really know what you could do to help me out here which is why I wasn't going to ask. I'm just going to try to find a ship back that's more comfortable than this one and see how things turn out. Though I can't help but feel like I'm better off starting over instead. Chousokabe has a fresh scar and there's nothing else I can do for Bobby."

[Mercakete]

Norbert was slightly frustrated with himself because he couldn't tell exactly what Suzume was trying to say when she dismissed the topic of his being with Raquel's group. The predominant emotion regarding that was still intrigue, however. Still, what she said after that was more concerning, so he decided against asking about the former topic. The pegasus rider doubted he'd get a straight answer anyway, even if he did ask, so he didn't mind thinking on the latter part of what was said instead of the former. There was plenty to think about there, too.

"Hmm...I don't know if that's entirely true," he mentioned, "Regarding Bobby, I mean. That was the kid you had with you, right? Anyway, it's all dependent on how close you two are and if he has anyone else to watch after him. His sister's gone, so he's probably going to want someone for emotional support. If you weren't close and he has someone to take care of him, then I don't see any harm in staying away from...Cho...uh, that place. I'd still send a letter, though, just so he knows you're okay."

There was another concern he was thinking about, though. "I haven't been up on deck to see who's around, but I don't think my group's left yet. Not entirely anyway. No one came to wake any of us who were still sleeping up and I don't think they'd want to leave anyone behind." He'd guessed she'd want to leave the ship quietly, so if she went out in the open with a bunch of group members around, things might not turn out as planned.

[-Cynthia-]

"We were in the middle of negotiations- it's possible the situation could have been resolved peacefully," Veronika responded to Axel irritably. "The matter's over with now at the very least."

[ReformBlade]

"Yes! Girl's night-" "Day" "-Day on the town-" "Port" "port! Hahaha..." Annoyed, Aneda didn't particularly care. In fact, it was sort of fun having someone correct her a lot. If only there was someone there to correct all idiots... talk about a thankless job!

"Well, if anyone's coming with, I'll just head on out then." Walking off before turning back for a second, "Though I may not talk much, I need to absorb the scenery, and I concentrate fairly hard on that. I'm not being rude if I don't respond~"

[Snowy_One]

"Most of the damage is not major, but even minor damage can ruin the value of these books as well as destroy the information inside. But if you need some time, sure. I'm willing to wait. A few minutes is nothing compared to the years it would take me to hunt down replacements if I can't get them fixed."

---

After a few moments, Robin returned, seeming a bit better-looking. She still clearly had had a rough night, had raccooned eyes, and was nowhere near glamorous, but she at least looked like one of the living now. As she came up, she looked over at Rook. "Did you invite him along as well? I was kind of hoping to keep it small."

[Mercakete]

Gytha followed Robin's gaze to a man smoking a cigar. "No, he just wandered o'er there. Ye know 'im 'r somethin'?" she casually asked the female archer as her eyes returned to the person she was talking to.

[Snowy_One]

"Not really. He was on that ship wreck back on the ocean a few days ago. I think he is little more than a drunkard though." she said, her voice slower than normal from having just woken up. "Just like y... *sigh* Sorry, no. That hatchet is dead and buried and I do want to try and have fun with you today. I am just... not in a very good mood right now. Sorry."

[Phoenix]

Dauntless

"Okay then. Don't wander too far; I'll find you once we've moved the Dauntless," Raquel replied. Well that was that. The crewmen seemed to be managing even without help finding things, but only because they had forgone checking inside the crates to find the selected items and had just started unloading everything. They were about halfway done before Raquel noticed some of her personal belongings as well as the crate with the leftover Weyland funds had been unloaded. She was just about to intervene when she remembered that the Dauntless was extremely heavy even without its cargo and they were probably just trying to lighten the load for the crane as much as possible. With that in mind, she kept quiet and slowly made her way over to the things they were unloading.

Shadrak meanwhile spoke to Tia again. "You know, you're really young to be traveling on your own ..."

Stairs

"I don't want to have to face Bobby again after what happened. I left him with some money and he's in the care of my master. I'd ... consider sending him a letter every so often but ... I'd prefer it if he just forgot all about me and went on with his life."

Bert's mention of the group not having left yet seemed obvious, but he was getting at something else entirely, mainly the possibility of a confrontation or some other disturbance if she was noticed. Part of her agreed with him, and part of her was angered by the very idea of having to keep this evasive behavior up. She was more tempted to stroll right on out to the main deck. If a confrontation broke out, she would turn their aggression against them one way or another. The look on her face grew dark. "I'm not hiding anymore. Warn them to leave me alone if you're worried about something happening. If I can control my anger for two weeks aboard this sailing prison, they should be able to control theirs. If not, then they deserve whatever happens to them and more."

Reporting For Duty

Anna soon arrived at a building further up the docks more modern looking, but similar in design to those found elsewhere in the others port cities. There was a very large gated area behind the building set aside for large equipment, and there were several mobile cranes sitting around and not in use. She wandered in through the front door after yawning and approached one of the reception desks.

"Good morning~" she greeted the man at the desk.

"Do I know you ...? Ah never mind. Can I help you, Miss?" he replied, raising an eyebrow at her at first.

"Yes, I need to rent a crane."

"Okay, we have two not on reservation last I checked ... it'll be ready for you in two hours. In case this is your first time, we'll require one thousand two hundred gold up front."

"Two hours?" Anna repeated, frowning a bit.

"If you want the crane any sooner than that, you'll have to pay extra. Time is money, lady."

She didn't want to pull the Weyland card so quickly, but ... "Okay, a question; would I be getting the crane any sooner if I just happened to be a Weyland Enterprises employee with extremely important cargo to unload and a serious deadline?"

"..."

Anna left the building twelve hundred gold poorer, but with a wide smile on her face. "Ten minutes, now that's more like it, hahah~"

[Mercakete]

Well, there were two issues to deal with here. Suzume was angrier than he'd first thought -- and understandably so -- and he'd completely misread her regarding not wanting a confrontation. He was a tiny bit worried for his fellow group members, but Suzume was right: if they attacked her, they deserved whatever they got. Suzume already showed she wasn't about to kill anyone, so at most they'd just be disabled with a good amount of pain.

"Do whatever you'd like, then," he replied, but then shifted over to the previous subject, becoming more serious, "If I've got this right, Bobby doesn't have a family anymore. He has someone to look after him and that's good. If you don't see him, though, I hope it's because he actually wouldn't care one way or the other. Wondering why someone you wished to see -- someone you strongly felt should be there to help you as a kid -- never came back isn't fun. I've seen it happen too many times."

[Click This]

Noticing Tia had disengaged the pink haired merchant, she pushed off of the ship's mast she had been leaning on and pursued Raquel, flagging her down as she did with a "Hello! Excuse me," and a wave. While Mao acknowledged the fact that this person was probably a very busy person, supervising an unloading operation, it was starting to get a little bothersome. After all, she had entertained Tia and her asinine book repair request and then immediately took off, with Mao waiting patiently in plain sight behind her. This irritated her to no end, but Mao didn't show it.

She spoke again as she finally caught up with the merchant girl. "Excuse me. I was told by that girl with the wyvern mount to speak with you..."

[Phoenix]

Raquel

Raquel didn't quite make it to the ever-growing pile of personal effects and merchandise before another woman approached. She was the one with the mage girl earlier. They might not have been traveling together like Raquel had assumed. Time to find out what was what then. She first mentioned a woman with a wyvern; had to be either Gabbie or Katrina and both were nearby. Raquel didn't bother with a minor detail like that, though. "What did you want to speak with me about exactly?"

Suzume

"I'm hoping the fact that he hasn't known me for a long time will help him forget about me eventually. Given what happened, I guess it's pretty unlikely, but with any luck, he'll remember it differently than I do, stop caring, and move on. I've had too long to go over that fight again and again in my head and I know I messed up. There were so many ways I could have changed the outcome, but I was too busy talking ... talking, of all things. My priorities were wrong, and Bobby ended up paying for it. The least I could do was save him from your mercenary friends. I don't want this terrible feeling coming back every time I see him, and I don't want him to carry that night with him or being reminded of it when I'm around. My master can help him get past it, but having me around won't help; I've already done all I could for him. That's why I ... I'm not really sure what I'm going to do just yet. I want to take a ship back to Chousokabe, but I don't think I should ...." Her mood had faded from passive aggression to the same gloominess she had been showcasing since being left in the cargo hold.

[Mercakete]

Suzume was plain with her reasoning this time and Norbert couldn't help but feel guilty listening to it. After all, he'd been the one she'd been talking to. Granted, he was trying to stop the fighting, but that didn't do much to make him feel better about it. It sounded like she and Bobby weren't all that close after all. That was a good thing, in a way, according to her explanation. What made it worse was the reminder that she wasn't the only one to lose someone. John and Sophia... They weren't coming back either. The whole thing's one big mess... We're lucky we didn't lose anyone else... If I hadn't said anything, would Bobby and Suzume still be alive? Would we have lost more people because they were more focused on the battle? Did I do the right thing?

"I can't help but feel this is my fault," Norbert admitted, "What would've happened if I'd just stayed back? What would've happened if I'd been able to beat you?" For a moment, he remembered Blake utterly defeating Bobby and actually managing to end the fight without killing the remaining combatants. Everyone had gone along with it, too. He sighed as his gaze drooped to the floor. "I don't think they would've listened to me, even if I disabled you three, though... I'm glad things didn't turn out any worse, at least."

Lifting his gaze again, Norbert continued, "I can't change the past, though. There's nothing to be done about it, so all we can do is learn from it and move on. So... If you want someplace to find work, this country isn't short on bandits. I used to hunt them in the northeast near the mountains. It's a pretty rural area. Small towns, so not a lot of pay, I'd imagine, but the people are grateful for the work. You'll find ruffians everywhere in Ursium, though."

[Parrhesia]

Rook's ears were as sharp as his eyes. Little more than a drunkard? I'll show that poncy bitch...

"'Eyyyyyy," sleazed Rook, sauntering forward and casually placing a meaty arm over Robin's shoulders. "How's it hangin', lasses?"

[Click This]

Mao stopped walking as she finally approached the merchant girl. "My name's Mao Ehrendott, of the Ehrendott company, though that's irrelevant. I'm currently traveling with no predesignated location, and naturally, traveling alone is not something I'd like to do, even heavily armed. I was interested in traveling with your group. Of course, I would offer my skills in combat and trade in exchange. What do you say?"