Return of the Emblem Chapter Eleven: Unleash

[Phoenix]

Crash Site

Raquel couldn't bear looking at the wreckage for long and so turned away and tried to focus on something else, even though it was the most pressing issue at the moment. There was no way in hell the Dauntless was getting around this unless it suddenly learned to fly. The thought of floating the Dauntless over the destruction occurred, but Raquel had enough of a grasp of flight physics to immediately dismiss the idea as 'extremely dangerous'. Trying to float a wagon uphill that has no stabilizers was doomed to failure. She didn't feel her magic would be useful in this situation either, so she decided to wait for Reign to bring back help.

Shadrak meanwhile approached Amon and Gytha, who had just sat Malik down for him to tend to. "How bad is it?" Shadrak asked. Malik appeared to be coming to at last.

"Massive bloodloss. I don't think he's going to get much better than this but those wounds need to be closed up. Please hurry, Shadrak," Amon replied.

"R-right ..." Neither of them was sure what to do about the Bert situation.

Dauntless

"Yeah I really don't want to get disintegrated," Haythem replied with a nervous smile at the mention of Mansur's ordeal with Lilith. "Hmm ... well if you don't have shovels, then magic's really your only option. You'll be out here all afternoon and all night trying to fill those in by hand."

"Tch, I'm not sleeping out here again. Ursaea's not that far so we'll just get help if it comes down to that. I doubt it will though," Gabbie chimed in before finally taking off. "I'll be back." Apparently she really was off to see the scene with her own eyes.

It wasn't long after that when Reign arrived. "Where are Grant and Synthia?" he asked. "Any other wind or ice mages'll do too; doesn't matter."

[Snike]

One of the survivors- a blonde-haired Rexian girl- had made her way over to Blake and had essentially requested that the dead boy's body be covered with a blanket. Right, well he wasn't in any position to deny that request. The swordsman adjusted his grip on the body, accepted the blanket with his free hand, and wrapped the ill-fated child in the cloth.

"There," Blake said, once he was done. "...It might be a bit early for this, but, are we to bury him here, or was there another location in mind? If the latter, we do have some ice mages to preserve him."

***

"I'm right here," Grant said, from the top of the Dauntless. He was still twirling his bolts around. "What's the issue?"

[-Cynthia-]

Dauntless

Reign appeared to be all right to Nadya's relief and he appeared to be looking for mages, presumably for debris clearing. This seemed like her cue to leave. "We'll catch up later Haythem," she promised the Rexian before trotting Luca down the path to where the attack had taken place.

Not Dauntless

The sight of Amon's friend was a grim one, although the man appeared to be alive at least. It's fortunate that we arrived when we did- Amon and all the other people from the wagon would be dead as well. she thought to herself. She felt somewhat frustrated that she could neither help with the healing, clear the debris, or find Norbert, but there was naught to do but wait it seemed.

[Mercakete]

After she set Malik down and Shadrak began looking him over and asking Amon about what happened, Gytha took a couple steps back and looked around. She wasn't really sure what to do with herself. Amon was busy helping Shadrak with his injured friend so she wasn't about to interrupt that. There wasn't really anything she could see to do for sure at the moment. Briefly, the mariner considered asking Veronika what to do, but she seemed frustrated and somewhat lost in thought herself. If she wants me t' do anathin', I'm sure she'll just give me orders on 'er own. So, for the time being, Gytha just stood around and waited.

[scorri]

"I'm an ice mage too! And I'll be able to carry one other person on Star Hunter, so we can get back quickly. What exactly do you need us for?"

[Afterglimmer]

"I suppose I can go with you, I can probably clear out the debris blocking the road." Maris answered; taking the dark flier up on her offer. As he walked over to Lumi, he dispersed the small dark sphere he had made earlier and looked back at Haythem; taking in everything he had overheard.

'The emblem? They couldn't possibly mean the Fire Emblem, could they? I could have sworn that it was a myth, and yet these people are looking for it to safeguard it? Not to mention the fact they also mentioned Lilith and Aisha as well. Either these people were sent on a wild goose chase or are just insane. Whatever the case, it doesn't chase the fact that others are after them. I am going to have to maintain a sharp vigil....otherwise things won't end well for me or them."

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Gar started humming because he didn't have anything better to do until they were back on the road and he could bother the girly who told the dragon to go attack Ursentarious. Or whatever it was. Stupid Ur names. He couldn't bother her now. People would just be all grippy about it.

[ReformBlade]

Sighing deeply and focusing on her rather grim and tedious task at hand, Mushirah gathered her willpower and began moving the broken and shattered remains of the wagon. Took quite a big deal of her effort to move it, unfortunately breaking the thing a bit more in the process. "Sorry..." She said more to herself than to anyone in particular, and it was so soft no one really could've heard it unless they were right next to her which would be silly as she was making a lot of movements. It certainly wasn't a graceful action of hers, the creaking and breaking not being the most silent of noises around.

[Eail]

Al wasn't very good with this emotional kind of stuff, but what he did know was that Greta was in a terrible spot. The woman had lost everything, except for what she had on her, even her family. Just kind of... following his instincts he leaned forward, moving his arm from her shoulder to wrapping the woman in a full hug. Trying to comfort her the best as he could in this situation.

"Let it out... I'm here for you..."

[Phoenix]

Dauntless

Pointing a thumb over his shoulder and back in the direction he came from, Reign said, "Greta's wagon was totaled back there and we need to clear the road and fill in some craters before the Dauntless can get through." He wasn't sure whether or not to leave out the gory details, but they would find out about that soon enough regardless. That just left Synthia, but with Lumi and the other mage already planning to come and help, they probably had more than enough mages to clear the road. He was still unsure about filling the holes, but one thing at a time, he supposed.

Scene of the Sad

When Gabbie arrived on the scene and landed, she found Mushirah working to move the largest remains of the wagon while Raquel watched. She also saw Shadrak healing Malik and a woman sobbing with what looked a bit like a mercenary. This was all an impressive bit of destruction. She was really hoping she wasn't going to get roped into the cleanup effort at some point. Aside from the people she recognized, there weren't a whole lot of survivors.

After a short time just standing around, she'd managed to get Raquel's attention somehow. "Hey, did Reign tell you about Bert?"

"No he did not. I flew over him on my way here," Gabbie answered disinterestedly.

"Well he's missing. Only Rizen made it back. Aneda's out searching for him too but this is a huge area to cover. He went north when he left."

"... roight, on it." There wasn't much point complaining about it. Bert getting himself into trouble was just normal. It was by no means convenient, but she'd prefer to go out and search for him than sit here and watch people complain or mourn, so she took off once again heading north.

Meanwhile, Greta rose up her head enough to make tear drenched eye contact with Alphonse. "I need to get away from all of this ..."

[scorri]

"Alright, well, lets go." Offering a hand to Maris, Lumi pulled him up and nudged Star Hunter gently. He leaped up into the air, and they quickly arrived at the site of the destruction. Dismounting quickly, Lumi carefully glanced over the ground. Muttering to herself, she gestured quickly and slammed her fist into the nearest pile of moved dirt and rocks. The dirt flew away, but the rocks only moved a few inches. Some spider-webbing cracks showed up with small ice crystals glistening among them, but not good enough. She sighed. It would have been so much more fun to just punch the rocks back into place, but didn't look like that was going to work. Pulling out her tome instead, she concentrated and then made a sweeping gesture. Instantly, she felt the biting cold that always accompanied her magic use and made a mental note to roll down her sleeves after this. However, the gesture had achieved the desired result. The converted heat had turned into a rush of energy that was quickly displacing the various forms of rubble around her and moving it off the path. She grinned. This wasn't so bad after all.

Oh right. "Guys, watch out for moving debris. I'm just trying to get this road as clear as possible as quickly as possible. I figure we don't want to linger around here much longer..."

Edited July 8, 2013 by scorri

[Eail]

"Right, let's get out of here..." Al quietly responded to Greta's request to leave. Standing first own his own before helping the woman up, Alphonse kept his arm around her shoulder as some kind of comforting motion. Walking a short distance to find Blake and Jamilla, with a blanket covering Shaun's body. "Hey Blue..." Obviously referring to Blake. "Can... can you just get us out of here please. Back to your wagon, the rest of your group, whatever."

[Toogee]

One of the survivors- a blonde-haired Rexian girl- had made her way over to Blake and had essentially requested that the dead boy's body be covered with a blanket. Right, well he wasn't in any position to deny that request. The swordsman adjusted his grip on the body, accepted the blanket with his free hand, and wrapped the ill-fated child in the cloth.

"There," Blake said, once he was done. "...It might be a bit early for this, but, are we to bury him here, or was there another location in mind? If the latter, we do have some ice mages to preserve him."

Suddenly. Jam found herself deciding Shaun's final resting place. She should not have been the one to make such a decision, but Greta was in no shape to decide. "Preserve him please". Surely that's what Greta would have wanted.

Soon enough, Alphonse showed up with Greta in tow. Jam stayed silent, avoiding eye contact with her employer. She still couldn't face her after what happened.

[RPG]

Garrimor had hid among the trees during Schwartz's ultimatum, assuming this is what spineless civilians felt like during raids. Trying to rationalize his cowardice, he recalled that not even dozens of seasoned warriors could keep the monstrosity down. He knew he was a lost dog, incapable of doing anything of worth. And when dogs came to mind, he found himself embarrassingly concerned about Elrey's well being. Overall, Garrimor was feeling less than great.

But nothing was being accomplished so long as he kept moping. Garrimor lifted his body up from his hiding position, his huge form becoming visible. The bleeding from the explosion had stopped a few minutes ago, but the blood from his forehead still managed to dirty up his eye-patch.

Garrimor knew Greta's family had died, so he knew that his employer was in a type of pain that he couldn't understand. But he wasn't going to back out of this now, the only place he could return to was Greta's side. With heavy footsteps, he slowly approached the people he knew: dancer girl, his boss, and that chivalrous guy she was leaning on. "Hey Boss. I...I have no idea how to help you right now. But I know everyone wants you to be okay. So uh, we'll be your pillars of support...or something..." Garrimor's voice trailed off as he waited nervously for Greta's response, having trouble looking her in the eye.

[Phoenix]

Grieving and Healing

Even the Feral Wolf himself was affected by her loss. She couldn't possibly turn down his and everyone else's support. "Thank you, Garrimor. Knowing y'all are still willin' to help me after all of this ... it ... really helps." She'd almost finished her reply without breaking down again, but not quite.

Greta and her procession were leaving and some of the mages were dealing with the debris and ditches; Raquel could only watch, it seemed, and this really wasn't what she wanted to see. Deciding it was probably time to head back to the Dauntless herself, she quietly began tailing Greta's group with her head down. Before long it looked like they were trying to recruit Blake to lead them back. She was a little surprised that they didn't ask her, but decided not to dwell on it.

Shadrak had finished healing Malik and so his healing rounds appeared to be over for the time being. He would have sat down but didn't want to get dirt on his cloak. Instead, he stood around for a moment, watching as the other mages worked. He briefly considered helping but decided that he'd done enough, and hurling dark spheres at the debris would knock them around in unpredictable ways and he didn't want to be a burden to the clearing effort.

Suddenly, he felt Amon's hand on his shoulder and nearly span around to face the sancturan. "What is it?"

"Thanks for the help, Shadrak. I appreciate it, really," he said with a smile, an exhausted smile. Shadrak could tell it had been a long day for him, along with the rest of the people traveling with Greta.

Magic the Gathering

Reign went into the Dauntless to find Connor and asked, "Did Ayano come back here? We could use her help clearing the road too." He was hoping she would speak up herself, but when she didn't, he began to doubt she'd even made it back yet.

[spoiler=Seeking the Hidden]Gabbie wasn't surprised when she saw no sign of Bert anywhere in the area. Flying higher didn't help whatsoever. The only things of note she did see after a minute of searching the area was the huge clearing created by Circe's destruction sphere, and a distant city at the northwestern base of the mountains, their destination. It really wasn't terribly far off, was it? That made Greta's ordeal all the more pitiable. Gabbie didn't particularly care, but she felt some of the others might.

"Bert, where the hell are you? I guess it's too much to expect him to foind some way to send off a signal, isn't it? Searching on foot'll take too long, but searching from up here I can only see people in that clearing or on the road. This is hopeless."

"This is really sad to watch. You should have located him by now."

"Fu-! Ayano?!" Gabbie had no idea she had an extra passenger. Ringo did, but what was he going to say? Rather than asking how she did it--she knew full well how--she simply asked, "What do you want?"

"Nothing." She gave a short and simple answer and didn't reveal herself.

"Just hitching a roide, huh? Well I've got bad news then. I need you to get off. If I foind Bert, I won't be able to bring him back with another passenger. Ringo can only carry two people ... and barely that." Gabbie kept her eyes busy scanning for any signs of movement below and out in front of her while talking with her pesky passenger.

"You won't find him, not like this. ... I wish ... ... mm."

"You wish what?" Gabbie glanced over her shoulder, not seeing anyone there still. "Ayano?"

"Yes?"

"Ayano ... ... how come Burke knows my name? What else does he know about me? How much do you know?" If she wasn't going to find Bert, she could at least pursue another interest, an extremely important one at that. She still wasn't getting an answer and raised her voice significantly. "Ayano!" After another few seconds, Ayano leaned into her and secured herself by wrapping her arms around Gabbie's waist, causing her to flinch at first. "W-what? What is it?"

"I wish ... that things had turned out differently. Burke suppressed all of your memories because none of us could help you. He thought a second life would change your outlook and help you recover on your own," Ayano explained while resting her head against Gabbie's back.

"Recover from what? What ... what the hell happened to me that required a wrathdamn memory woipe?!" Gabbie wasn't sure she wanted the whole answer to that question. Was she going to revert to whatever hopeless state necessitated Burke's actions if she learned the truth now? The prospect had her heart racing.

"You were betrayed, just like me, and him, and all of the others. You never fully recovered from it."

"'We'? I take it I really don't want to know who betrayed me ... so ... who betrayed you?"

"My former master. She ordered me to protect someone important, but I couldn't do that and remain hidden at the same time ... politics and keeping secrets from the public was all that mattered ... and so she, my former master, had me executed by my sisters. It was ... really painful. I have a kinder master now, and I can remain hidden ... so I don't care about her or my sisters anymore."

You don't have to rationalize it all away like that ... Gabbie thought to herself, pitying Ayano a bit.

"You received the same gift as me, but you didn't recover from what happened to you. When it started interfering with your work, Burke decided that this was the best thing for you. None of us should forget how we got to where we are ... not forever, so forgetting everything ... just long enough to gain a new perspective was his solution. I just think he wanted to experiment with you, though. He's a sociopath like me, so that makes more sense."

"He does seem to enjoy messing with people," Gabbie acknowledged with an unamused expression.

"I want him to return your memories. You could relapse, but we've all suffered. We should face it together. We shouldn't have sent you away to deal with it all on your own. I think our master would agree."

Our master ... it must be that man from before. I really should have gotten in on that meeting, dammit. Nothing to be done about it now, though. At least she's willing to answer my questions for whatever reason.

Searching For Isis

Haythem wandered off on his own to try and find Isis. It was turning into a very long walk, but he didn't much mind since Isis could get them back in a fifth of the time, easily. When he finally found her, he'd regretted not bringing some salve with him. Her wounds were mostly healed, but not completely and he found her resting by the side of the road, curled around the closest tree and returning a miserable gaze to him.

<"Oh Isis, I'm so sorry this happened ..."> Being overwhelmed by emotion, he ran over to her and hugged her head. <"I promise I'll have Nadya take a look at you once we get back. We don't have to fly either. Let's just walk for now, okay?"> He received something of a whimper in reply and began choking up. <"It's going to be okay, I promise.">

Edited July 9, 2013 by Phoenix

[-Cynthia-]

Connor

"She took some tomes and left- not sure where she went because of the whole invisibility thing. She said she'd bring the tomes back," Connor reported to Reign.

Nadya

Nadya arrived at the scene, noting the various corpses. Seems like that dragon did a number on 'em...dragons are known for doin' such things I guess. She noted that most of their group that had left seemed to alive, although there were several people missing.

"Got everythin' under control here?" she asked Shadrak, who she assumed had been doing the healing. Nobody looked to be actively dying at least.

[ReformBlade]

With that out of the way, now Mushirah had to deal with the uneven ground all about the road. She remembered her dad's techniques he'd taught her, but she only really knew a few of them by heart, some barely, and the rest she couldn't really grasp, especially not now. "Hmm.... I could just... move the holes, maybe?" If I just rip out chunks from somewhere else and make it compact enough in the places we need it, that's basically all I'm doing. Thinking it through as such, she began doing that, ripping out chunks of dirt on the off-road with her magic and placing it back where it was most needed. It was a tedious task for her, but if nothing else she could rationalize it as some weird test thingy.

[Afterglimmer]

"Alright then, I'll handle over here." Maris answered Lumi's warning as he dismounted from her pegasus; moving to the other side of the debris. Looking over the rubble, he pulled out his amulet and tome. He sighed briefly before placing his hand on the black orb in the center. 'It's a lot, but I should be able to handle it with a little help. Luckily, I got just the thing..." As he twisted the hidden dial that encompassed the center of the amulet, the dark energy that was stored was released, immediately covering his arms with a faint, purple glow.

"Here we go..." Maris muttered as he formed four dark spheres and launched them into the blockade. With the amulet's augmentation, the spheres began to bury their way into the debris. Making slow, precise movements with his hands, the orbs then began to move throughout the rubble, slicing the rocks apart as if they were nothing but paper. Even if he couldn't completely remove the wreckage, at the very least whatever was left would be small enough to move by hand.

"This won't take long at all." Maris called out as he gave a smug smirk. Finally, something was going well for a change. Hopefully, things would stay this way for awhile.

[Snike]

"OK. I'll have to go over to our wagon in order to find the mage to preserve it," Blake said, just as the Kigenese man asked him to bring them away from here. It was about time to go, actually, as the mages were clearing the path and trying to fix the road, which meant he and the others should stay out of the way. And it wasn't doing Raquel, who was just behind the group of survivors, any good, judging by her relative silence and fascination with the ground.

"Alright, those of you with Greta can follow me," the swordsman said, looking away. "Raquel, could you please come along? There is no need to linger here any longer."

***

"... On it," Grant said, after making his way to the ground. Odds were that they needed him to preserve the bodies as well as maybe ice over the road, so no sense waiting here.

[Mercakete]

[spoiler=Pegs and Eggs]It was the day after the incident at the fort and again the group was on the road. The previous night, Norbert's dreams had been vague and confused. What he retained from it was only one scene along with an sense of unease. In the dream, he'd been in some dark, foggy place. He couldn't make out anything, and then what he could've swore were tangible shadows of birds and the sound of rapid wing beats swooped down at him. He'd flinched, turning away his face and falling back into a lower stance as he raised his arms to guard himself. He could feel the air from the wings as the flock pulled up, barely missing him. It was an odd dream, but as per usual regarding his dreams, Norbert didn't give it much thought after the first few moments of waking. He'd reasoned it was just his confusion regarding the dragon head and how to regard him. After all, the Fallen were bird people and though the dragon head had been helpful to the group, he didn't seem to have any problems at all with them.

As they traveled, however, Norbert noticed Aneda riding Hannah. She wasn't her usual, perky self, so he was a little concerned something might be wrong which led to his coming up along side her. She was holding that egg that'd been going around and seemed to be lost in thought. "Hey," he greeted, attempting to be perceived cheerful in the hopes that it'd make her feel better, "That the egg...thing...? Uh... Something to do with the Vasilus, right?"

"Hey" she responded with halfhearted enthusiasm before her smile faded, her pensive look returning almost immediately. "Yeah, it's apparently some reincarnation thing. She was in the dream thing with the dragon head guy... Not sure what to think, really. For absorbing traits of those nearest her she didn't seem to act like anyone in this group I know of..." Which led her to more thinking but ultimately she just wore a somber expression and sort of sulked.

"Wow, uh... That's..." Well, this cheerful thing wasn't working, especially since he couldn't find the words to use in reply. What she'd just said took some sorting. So, whatever's in that egg is a "she" and was in that dream training thing and... Traits? It takes on traits? Norbert frowned. "Why do we have that thing again?"

"Honestly?" Aneda asked before shaking her head, "I dunno, if it was mentioned then I forgot why. Probably something along the lines of keeping it safe from their, that is, any bad people's, hands." sighing and keeping quieter, "A lot of good that's doing. By the time she hatches or whatever, she'll either be an uncaring nonchalant jerk or a worried depressing mess, I think anyway."

"What's even in there? Wasn't it some sort of fire Vasilus or something?" He'd heard something about that before, though he couldn't recall from where. "And it takes the traits of those holding the egg, huh?" Norbert frowned. "Nevermind that some of us shouldn't touch the thing if that's the case; what are we supposed to do with her when she hatches? Do any of us know how to take care of a baby fire Vasilus Avian thing?"

That question sounded a little ridiculous, but it was worth noting. He sighed as he noted another thing aloud, "This can't be a safe place to raise an infant either no matter what species it is."

"If I knew, I'd tell you, Norbert..." She said solemnly, unsure of how to answer his rhetorical question. "This situation gets stranger and stranger the further and further we all stick together, and I'm starting to feel that it's not my place to be here..."

Norbert was mildly surprised to hear Aneda's revelation, but that faded quickly. "I thought about leaving myself a few times. Probably would've been better for everyone here if I had. I chose to stay, though. If you choose to leave, then go for it. You're the sort of person who knows what's best for you and I'm not going to pretend I know better. If this group isn't cutting it for you, find someplace you'll be happy," he neutrally responded. Norbert turned his head some along with his gaze to Aneda with a smile as he finished, "We'll miss your spunkiness, though, I'm sure."

He continued more casually, returning his attention to the road, "Hopefully whatever Vasilus you're holding gets your cheery sense of adventure...though I still think she should be around her own kind. Remember that fiery Avian on that ship between Ursium and Kigen? You know, where we met? I don't see why we don't just deliver the thing to her. ... You think Raquel would agree to you taking the egg with you? It's got to be better for whatever kid's inside the thing."

"Your support is noted. Thanks..." She said a bit flatly before giving the man a genuine smile, "I miss my spunkiness, I miss the freedom, but... I realize it's not me, it's just an escape." She tilted her head at Norbert's suggestion, a bit perplexed. "I don't think that's gonna happen. I'm not quite sure why anyone would allow that to happen here in this group aside from you. It's like... they've been told, or they at least assume, this egg is supposed to be here. It's just... that's how it is. Even if I should take it, and I certainly don't think I should be holding this thing any longer than beyond this conversation, I don't think anyone is gonna be ok with it because it's not in the norm for what we're supposed to think."

Norbert's initial reaction to Aneda's point about her spunkiness not actually being who she was was to reject the notion. It seemed so legitimate it couldn't just be an act. Then he thought about it a little more. No one could be defined by a single trait, so of course being spunky wasn't the be all end all for the peppy pegasus rider.

The conversation moved on to the egg again, and Aneda's observations about the group prompted a strange mix of bitterness and mirth in the Ursian man. That, in turn, led to his laughing as though she'd just told a ridiculously hilarious joke. Though it was also fairly obvious he was angry about something just by how sharp his tone was. "HAHAHAHAHAAH! Social norms? HAH! Those things are so overrated it makes me sick! Everyone always has some predefined notion of what everyone else is suppose to do and be! I was always told I could never ride a pegasus just because I wasn't a girl. It made me so mad that I proved them wrong! Rizen chose me, not any of them! People always expect people to live in towns and get jobs and have families and all that crap, too. And when you live with other people, they expect you to behave a certain way depending on who you're with and what you're doing and blah blah blah! I couldn't stand the thought of a life like that. If people think I'm some sort of barbarian for living on my own terms, let 'em. See if I care."

Feeling the need to clarify some, he did just that, now talking more calmly. "I won't break any laws because I don't want to get thrown in a cage somewhere but I don't put up with society's expectations. I'm not going to follow the orders of people I have no reason to follow. That's why I lived away from towns and such after I left home. I completely get why people follow social rules, though, so if you want to leave the egg with us because of popular opinion, that's fine. There are consequences to not following unwritten rules, after all. It's your call one way or the other."

His thoughts returned to what she'd said about her spunkiness and so he smiled and commented on what he'd been thinking. "And I know better than to label someone based off of just one trait. You're not spunky right now because you're not happy, but I think your spunkiness comes naturally when you are. Maybe it's a front sometimes, but I have a hard time believing you're naturally completely devoid of it. And even without it, you're a good person. So it's not like you holding the egg is a bad thing if whatever's in there takes on the traits of the one who holds it."

"Heh, thanks..." She said, in an almost happy defeated tone. "I mean yeah, it's a mask I've been using but it's not completely faked. I know how to be happy, I can be happy, just... right now it's hard to be something like that. Only so much energy in me, and I'm feeling spent. Maybe I'll think it over a drink or two before making my final decision." Brushing her now decidedly more yellow hair out of her face. "I gotta admit, I hope you hold this egg soon, this thing could use your drive and your spirit."

"My...?" Norbert's smile completely faded to a look of surprise, even to the point of paling some. This completely caught him off guard. "I uh... What?"

And now he was quite awkward. So much so that words completely failed him, leaving him looking rather silly in a dumbfounded sort of way.

Well that was certainly a reaction she didn't expect. "What, do you like... not agree with that assessment?" she asked, holding back a little bit of laughter at Norbert's expense. While it didn't change her impression of the man, she certainly didn't know what to expect if this was his reaction to simple praise. "You're a strange one, ain'tcha? And this is coming from the girl who, until recently, had a rainbow for hair."

It took a second for Norbert to untie his tongue. "Well, uh you... You're strange in a good way." That came out all sorts of awkward. Face reddening some, he quickly fumbled to try and remedy it, "I mean, you're cheerful and express it even with how you look! Not a lot of people do that to your extreme, so that's what I meant. Er.. And, uh, I guess I'm just...conflicted."

His expression shifting to a focused one, he tried to explain it better. "I mean, I actually agree that I have drive and spirit, which is...weird. Usually when someone compliments me, it doesn't fit me at all and I can more-or-less brush it off; they don't know me."

He looked away bashfully again as he muttered loud enough for her to hear, "It still catches me off-guard when it happens, though. It's pretty rare but really, it shouldn't ever happen given I am who I am. And uh..." his blush increased "it's a little awkward how you basically just said you want a kid to have some of my traits. It's weird hearing that from a woman, you know? Especially since I never thought I'd hear anything like that, it's just...er... You probably didn't mean it that way, but hearing it was...awkward." I hope to Mercy I'm not putting my foot in my mouth.

Eyebrows raised, her head wavered back and forth for about a few moments. "Well, not gonna lie, if you were more my age I might be tempted, and of course you'd have to be much less reckless and have a stable income that isn't mercenary contracts, as well as have a nice and loving environment for my baby... but that's neither here nor there, and don't get so flustered. You're actually right, I don't know you that well, but there's some things I'm seeing that are burning bright to me, and that's easily your drive. I don't think anyone would get as fired up as you do and not mean it, unless they're masters at pretending to emote, but you seem incredibly genuine. A rarity these days, actually putting your heart on your sleeve..." Aneda said with and extremely bitter and saddened edge in her voice. "Everyone wants to hide something, and I'm also completely guilty of it so maybe I'm not that great of an authority to say anything about it..."

Norbert really didn't know how to take the first part of what she said. The notion that he possessed even any desirable qualities was as shocking to him as a rock sprouting wings as it ascended from an ocean and compliments were already so out of left field for him. The result was his face getting even redder as he scrambled to try to find some sort of reply. Thankfully for him, she quickly moved on and told him not to get so flustered. Easy for you to say! She went on to talk about how she didn't know him that well but could easily pick out his drive as a character quality of his and supporting reasoning. By the time she talked about how it was rare for people to wear their hearts on their sleeves, he'd calmed down and was more focused on what she was saying.

"I don't try to hide my faults since I'm nothing but them," he replied with a shrug, "Well...I guess except for that drive you talked about." He grimaced. It was weird talking positively about himself, even a little. "But...I think you know me kind of well. It's just when people start going off about how I'm some sort of hero or something... I do what I want. If someone's picking on someone else, it gets to me. I don't try to be some sort of saint or whatever; I just force my own way. Nothing noble about it. I'm nothing but a selfish, stubborn, no-good, reckless, volatile troublemaker. Always have been, always will be, no matter how hard I try to change. Though, that doesn't mean I don't try. I just know it's useless. So why hide it if it's who I am?"

He sighed a bit. "I can't respect myself and no one can respect me. I don't expect anyone to like me, I expect them to hate me. I guess that's why compliments and acts of kindness and stuff surprise me: I know I'm not worth it." With a shrug, he casually concluded, "It is what it is."

"I... see I'm not the only one wears a mask so obviously." she went on, frowning pretty heavily. "You know you create more trouble by acting this way than not, right? And that it may be a whole self fulfilling prophecy, you think you're not worth it because no one likes you because you're so rambunctious because you don't think you're worth it?" Not to mention I thing he would've offed himself by this point if he truly didn't think he was worthwhile, she silently thought to herself, disappointed and upset with his outlook on life.

"It's no mask," Norbert replied casually with a shrug, "Sorry it bothers you so much. Like I said: I do what I want. People's opinions don't matter much to me and they sure don't have an effect on how I act. And don't get me wrong: I'm not worth nothing. I'm just worth a lot less than most people."

He frowned before adding a little hesitantly, "Actually, I have this goal I'm working towards... I'm trying to increase my worth. Maybe it's futile -- I don't know. I just don't want to stay this way. So I'll fight for it. I've been trying to keep my temper under control and I've been trying to get stronger and more skilled... Maybe someday I'll even have the same amount of worth as the average human being. That's my goal and I know it's lofty, but hey, if you don't try you'll never succeed."

She shot a disapproving look at Norbert, getting more than a little annoyed. "You know, there was a time where I felt that way, especially when I was in the army, however briefly I was. I was just another person among many." Sighing pretty deeply then continuing in a bit of an irritated tone, "It's just, how can someone actually think that? Let's look at it objectively here, you've got a lot going for you. You're physically fit, you've got a pegasus that lets you fly in the sky, and you're not exactly ugly so you could certainly charm a few people here and there. Yes, you've got an anger problem, so do I. I've probably pissed off more people than I can count, but it's all water off my back at this point. The point though! The point is... You do want to change but you insist you're something you're not." I suspect he's insecure about accepting that...

For almost every positive thing Aneda listed, a counter of sorts immediately rose up in Norbert's mind. "You're physically fit" I'm weak. "you've got a pegasus that lets you fly in the sky" Yes, I proved I could ride a pegasus. They were wrong about that. "and you're not exactly ugly" You're not serious, are you? "so you could certainly charm a few people here and there." Uh... He blushed a little at that one. "Yes, you've got an anger problem," That's obvious. "so do I." How? "I've probably pissed off more people than I can count" I'm seriously not seeing that anywhere. "but it's all water off my back at this point." Good. "The point though! The point is... You do want to change" He nodded. "but you insist you're something you're not."

The next question came entirely naturally, though he didn't expect an answer he'd agree with. "What am I, then?" Even as he asked it, Norbert's mind raced to answer it himself:A near-worthless lout with anger problems no one should have to put up with.

Smiling and wavering back and forth in her seat, "See, now there's the fun part, people, within reason, can be whatever they want. It's all about the willpower, and as far as I've seen you've got enough willpower to make a big number of things to make a lot work out in your favor. But if you want a definitive answer..." Hand on chin and giving an exaggerated 'hmmm...' "I'd say you're confused, all things considered."

Norbert couldn't help but smile a bit at her answer. He crossed his arms and managed to stifle a chuckle as he commented, "You keep saying things I agree with. That doesn't happen very often. I wonder what your trick is. Yeah, if there's one thing I have it's willpower, I guess. It's just never really been phrased as politely. And it's true -- I'm no scholar; a lot of things confuse me." I'm definitely more brawn than brain. Doesn't say much, though, since I'm not that strong anyway, hahah! I'll change that someday, but not sure I can get much better with regard to my head.

The next bit, he decided to note aloud, "If my skull wasn't so thick, though, I might not still be alive, so I'm not about to complain! Hahahahah!"

"Well that's one way to feel about it I suppose..." she admitted, a little relieved he wasn't going to go super arrogant and shut out things around him on a switch like that. "Just take things a step at a time, you'll reach your goal. There'll be ups and downs, some crying, some laughing, sadness, happiness, a whole range of wonderful and important things to experience." no idea why she was getting so preachy, she shook her head and stopped. "Well..." She said, nuzzling the egg, "If you want it, you can have it now. I think it'd like a new fresh perspective on life, don't you?"

Norbert tensed up suddenly. She was serious, wasn't she? He opened his mouth, but shut it again; he knew what she would've responded with if he'd asked what he'd been about to. Apprehensive as he was, they'd just had the conversation about his good and bad traits. This can't be a good idea... Even so, he carefully, nervously let go of Rizen's reins and reached out to accept the egg.

Then, he seated the large egg in front of him, keeping it steady with both of his hands and just steering Rizen with his weight. Typically, he didn't look as uncertain as he did just then, staring down at that egg. What do I do with this? Mercy I hope I don't mess up this thing... It's going to be an aggressive, little nuisance now, isn't it? Merz, this is bad... I really shouldn't be holding this thing. I don't want to be responsible for ruining an otherwise okay kid... "Are you sure this is okay? I...don't want to mess it up..."

Even after some words of encouragement and reassurance from Aneda, Norbert didn't feel too sure about looking after the egg. Still, he held onto it the rest of the day and after a while, sometimes he even forgot it was there. The next day Norbert decided to see about upgrading Rizen's armor some. While he was there, he passed the egg on to Connor.

[Eail]

"No chance I could leave you after all this Greta... friends are supposed to stick together right?" Giving the woman a pat on the shoulder. Al was prepared to give some kind of speech to the survivors of their group... but there were only four of them even present, he didn't know how many had even survived. "We're in your hands Blue, lead away."

Sticking back a moment though Al spoke to his charge "How ya holding up Jam... "

[Toogee]

"I'm fine. I'm not hurt," Jam replied to Alphy, preferring to hang in the back of the group as they traveled to the Dauntless. Of course, she wasn't fine; the dancer was still shell-shocked after the dragon attack. And Shaun. And Greta. There was a lot on Jam's mind as she continued to stare into empty space while following the others.

[Eail]

Alphonse could tell that Jamilla was all right physically, but he was much more concerned with the girl's mental state. To have so many terrible images come in such a short amount of time had to be incredibly traumatic for her. Glancing at the girl's eyes, Alphonse was disturbed.... she had the stare. Soldiers called it the thousand yard stare, when you'd truly witnessed something traumatic in war and your mind was just unable to cope with it.

Giving a sigh Al wrapped his arm about the shorter girl's shoulder, giving her something similar to a sideways hug and an affectionate squeeze. "I'm here for ya Jam.... and I'm not going anywhere." He softly told his friend.

Alphonse would be the pillar of support for Greta and Jamilla.... he didn't want to lose anymore friends.

[Toogee]

"Good," Jam replied. It was simple, but one word was all that was needed. Jam had seen enough death and destruction to last a lifetime. She could only hope that the rest of their journey would be smooth sailing. The dancer stayed under Alphonse's arm as they walked to the Dauntless. Her mind was still fraught with terror and sorrow, but at least she had a friend by her side.

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Seeing that some of the survivors were heading out, Eli decided to bring up the rear of their group. He wouldn't be of much use with filling the holes, and the debris removal team seemed to have everything covered. It was probably best to stay out of the way so they could do their work. ABd so, he urged Betty forward and took Tia back to camp.