Return of the Emblem Chapter Twelve: Divergent Paths

[Phoenix]

Awkward Situation

Athrun smiled a bit nervously; Steinn just had to bring attention to that particular issue ... "I'm certain it would be fine. After all, I-" Athrun stopped short when he heard the doors upstairs open. Normally he would have tuned it out, but they were opened with such complete disregard for the amount of noise they might make. It had to be something urgent, he immediately concluded. He didn't realize just how serious it might be until he saw his own father and some extremely well armored knights descending the steps alongside him. There were some others who also looked like nobility who had arrived with him, but only the king and his personal guards came down. Athrun knew this was either about the dance or something of grave importance, as he did not plan on making an appearance in at the party. "This isn't good ..."

Those near the king's path knelt down as he drew close, and those further away gawked for the moment. Athena gasped, at first fearing she had inadvertently lured her father out just to scold her for throwing a competition into the middle of everything. She stealthily took Morgana's hand during the king's entrance. She wasn't expecting anything good next, even if his unexpected arrival had little or nothing to do with her shenanigans.

Awful Trip

Bert's question summoned up the most memorable events of Suzume's journey up north. Judging by the look on Suzume's face, they weren't all sunshine and rainbows, though. "I was proposed to twice, and someone tried to mug me, but nothing any worse than that. Worse things have happened in Tracea, even before I met you people, in fact."

Always Something

Nadine didn't want to check her gun in the carriage since it was both dark and there were few places to point the barrel while inspecting it to avoid hitting someone if it accidentally went off. Even straight up was out of the question since that winged girl was on the roof and probably wouldn't appreciate being shot like that. So for the moment, she took her tome out from its place on her belt and made sure her draw rate was sufficient for a fight. The emerald flame that emerged from her palm illuminated the inside of the carriage. "Well that's working just fine," she noted.

"Huh ... it's still pretty," Raquel commented with a weak smile. "I thought I'd gotten over that already."

"It's a little flame burning alone in the dark. I don't see anything pretty about that," Nadine countered before closing her fist around the flame and dispersing it. "Anyway, enough with that. I'll check my gun once we get there, but I can cast just fine. I'm sure her giant club thing is working just fine too," she added, glancing at Arietta for a moment.

Eventually, they arrived at the next gate. This one was open, fortunately. As the carriage pulled onto the road leading through the gate, however, the situation seemed to change before the driver's eyes. Several guardsmen came running out from the gate, along with a Reign, who was riding Sandrock at high speed. "Oh dear ..."

"Turn around! Go back! GO BACK!!!" a guard pleaded with him while trying to run past. He flailed his arms and jumped several times before giving up and running away behind them. More gunshots came after that as two of the guards turned to discharge their rifles. The threat finally revealed itself when a large tiger like creature leaped from the inside of the gate and took down one of the shooters while ignoring its wounds. The other guard ran while his partner was tore open.

"That is the most ferocious predator I have ever seen ..." He looked over his shoulder and called out to the others. "Perhaps we should turn back! The guards can't even handle these creatures!"

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya was prepared to leave, but the arrival of the man with the personal guardsmen seemed to draw everyone's attention. That ain't an ordinary noble...maybe the king? she guessed, the hair color matched the prince and princess at any rate. Hope he ain't the long winded type...

[Mercakete]

Gytha was waiting for the judging to be over, but Weyland interrupting things to talk to Steinn had her wondering if something urgent was going on. Then there was some commotion as one who was probably the king came into the hall. Now she knew something was going on and was wondering what it was.

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

"Proposed to? Twice?" Norbert echoed, straightening his posture and looking more directly at Suzume in some bewilderment. The mugging wasn't as surprising and really wasn't concerning -- he'd experienced first-hand how trying to attack Suzume ended -- but she couldn't have stayed anywhere long enough for anyone she came across to get to know her well enough to really mean a marriage proposal. He was glad she was only mildly annoyed by the happenings of her travels at worst, though. "That's...really unusual. Well, anyway, I'm glad the road didn't treat you too badly. Seems more dangerous than it was when we left."

[Snike]

"Oh dear," Ethan said, mostly to himself. Then, to Terrel, he asked, "Was the king supposed to make an appearance tonight?"
***
The trip to the northern gate went without incident, what with the only notable event being Nadine conjuring up an emerald flame. Once they had arrived at the passageway, however, things began to devolve rapidly.

Several guards and a mounted nomad began fleeing from the gate, terrified of something. One of the guards tried to convince the driver to go back, with little successs, which was to be expected, given- wait, a nomad?

Upon further inspection, the rider was Reign -with an eyepatch, for some reason. Why did he have that on?- astride Sandrock, barreling away at a high speed. The reason for his haste was made abundantly clear when some sort of cat straight out of The Gate emerged from the physical gate and pounced on a guard, tearing the poor soul apart. Right, given that monster's speed, both Reign and the very carriage they were in would probably not be able to escape, if that thing wasn't dealt with. Which would mean breaking his promise to the former, and dealing another emotional blow to at least one occupant of the latter. That was unacceptable, so Blake had to do something.

"Head to the estate. I'll catch up," Blake said, as he opened the door and stepped out of the carriage, without realizing that he had left his insignia on the chair. "And don't argue. There are already enough armed people in the carriage as-is, and someone needs to go and seal that gate."

Miss Fallen, if you are listening, please make sure they make it there safely, the man thought as he closed the door and pointed his pistol off at the monster in the distance.

That thing apparently survived gunfire, or at least ignored its' injuries, which must have instilled the fear of the Gods into the guards. However, there was no such thing as invulnerability, so that thing had to have a weakness, even if it was to being stabbed repeatedly. All he had to do is find that weakness and exploit it. Besides, if Desmond wasn't lying, he'd be protected by Wrath. That would be enough to deal with this thing, right?

[ReformBlade]

"Right, right..." And I don't think more alcohol will be the answer there. Jericho concluded in his mind. Thankfully he didn't appear to need to do too much at the moment as Greta seemed to be falling asleep before his eyes.

Gently rubbing her shoulder, Aneda muttered, "I think you just need some sleep now, all things considered. Hell, you've got me conking out here sorta too, hahaha." She could feel the eyelids getting heavy, though she resisted the urge to give in and fall asleep there anyway.

Edited December 11, 2013 by ReformBlade

[Snowy_One]

Robin kept quiet as she moved past the dining hall and into the kitchen. Once inside, though, she wasn't sure what she should say or do. There were a lot of people to be certain and, well, talking to the wrong one could easily result in her getting removed! All she wanted to do is learn a bit more about cooking, not cause a load of trouble after all.

[Phoenix]

To Arms

Leaning toward Ethan, Terrel quietly said, "I believe he wanted to avoid making a scene like this at the very least. It is with his blessing that Athena and I are to be married, and so naturally he would be here, but he did not want to cast a shadow over the whole event ..."

"A situation has come up," King Shastak began his explanation. "A little while ago I received word that violence has broken out in the city. The Neviskotian Empire is not likely involved. Nonetheless, there have been casualties, both military and civilian." By this point, there was a lot of whispering and other low chatter going on in the background. "Let us not drink and be merry while this disaster is still ongoing; likewise, let us not discourage those fighting on our behalf by needlessly distancing ourselves."

Athrun quickly approached his father. "They need more than our faith in them as support, father. I don't know who would deliberately kill civilians other ... than the imperials, but I won't stand by and wait for the situation to resolve on its own. I'm going into the city as well." After making that declaration, he turned to one of the royal guardsmen that hadn't come in with Nathon. "Bring back my sword."

As the guardsman began going to retrieve it, the king said, "Athrun," which caused him to stop in his tracks. If the king was just going to overrule the prince, then there was no point in going anywhere. "You cannot go charging headlong into every confrontation that reveals itself. Stay put, son." He wanted to get to the rest of what he had to say, but this argument with Athrun was preventing that.

"You can't expect me to do that, not now, not after what you've told me and everyone else. If my safety is what concerns you, don't worry, I'm taking Evelyn and Eugene with me. I was not blessed by Lord Wrath to fall to the blades of cravens like these. I will confront those responsible, defeat them, and bring you their heads."

Nathon sighed heavily, causing the royal guard to know he was about to give in to his son's stubbornness. With that, he left to retrieve Athrun's sword. "I only hope you'll come out of this phase once you realize what sort of leadership it leads to in the end. If you must fight, fight with the future in mind, and remember that regardless of the outcome, you must survive." Athrun nodded in acceptance.

It wasn't long before the man returned with Athrun's sword. Athrun immediately unsheathed it to check the blade's edges. Once he was satisfied, he reversed his grip on the sword and quickly sheathed it, using the momentum of his sheathing hand to turn around and begin walking away from his father. "We're going," Athrun announced, expecting some of the royal guard to fall in line behind him. He spared passing glances to his sister and Angelica, hoping neither intended to follow; he already knew that rushing into skirmishes with this little information was a little crazy.

To Bed

"I guess you're right ... oh ... wait ... I don'-... I don't remember where my room is," Greta sleepily mumbled. "Secon' floorrrr ... make a leffft ... straight ... another ... lef-no that's the room, I think." Those were quite the instructions on how to get back.

To Get Here

"I hitched a ride a few times, and that's when the proposals happened, but, that was the only bad thing worth noting about those rides. As for the mugging ... well you can't just 'mug' a thunder mage, end of the story," she explained with a shrug. She leaned to the side slightly, wondering why Robin had just wandered into the kitchen. She knew why Bert went, but she had just gotten here and hadn't even bothered to claim a seat ... though with so many, it wasn't really a big deal.

To What End

[spoiler=OoC]Just a small note, there are exactly four people in the kitchen besides Robin (3 cooks, 1 waitress).

"Again?" one of the servants uttered when Robin came into the kitchen. She supposed she should have probably gone back out into the dining hall a bit sooner to see if anyone else wanted something. "Did you have have an order or did you want to make a note like the gentleman from before just did?" she asked. The chefs kept to their work for the moment.

To Protect

"W-what?! Blake, what are you doing?!" Raquel just barely managed to get out as the door shut.

Nadine didn't want to wrestle with Raquel to keep her in place, so she simply pressed her foot against her friend's stomach to force her to keep seated. "Don't even think about getting out of this carriage. This route's a no-go too." Blake had put her in an difficult position, since she was here to protect both Raquel and him. With him forcibly splitting off like this, she was forced to choose between going with him and leaving Raquel in the care of Arietta and Annelise, or just hoping he didn't get himself killed. She hadn't made her final decision just yet, but she wasn't going to allow Raquel to hop out of the carriage with the fighting so close by, so that had to be dealt with first.

"Blake, you don't have to do this," Raquel yelled from inside the carriage, already trying to forcibly get out of her seat. Nadine just pressed harder, though.

"Would you fucking drive already?!" Nadine called up to the driver.

Edited December 12, 2013 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

The judging seemed to be over with the crisis having come up. Gytha wasn't entirely sure what to do. Were they going to go try to fight whatever this was? Were they going to stay where they were and leave this to the military? It was hard to tell with Raquel as their leader. So, uncertain, the mariner looked about for some form of guidance.

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

He hadn't been expecting Suzume to actually delve into the story since she's only given partial information in the past. As soon as I think I have her figured out... As mundane as it was, the story held his interest. Maybe it was because he was getting used to more ridiculous circumstances that he found the short tale intriguing. He couldn't help but find amusement in its end, though, which resulted in his smiling. That is, the smile he got through amusement, which, if you didn't know him any better, could even be interpreted as malicious. After all, his eyebrows were almost perpetually lowered with his a glare and the toothiness of his grin was present, even through parted jaws and a lowered head. "Heheheheh... Yeah, I didn't expect the mugger got away with that. I have some personal experience with what happens when someone tries to attack you. I'd feel sorry for the guy if he didn't deserve it."

[Ether]

"Negative. I am much better equipped to deal with this opponent then you are, and am also better equipped to make an escape if necessary." Annelise replied to Blake, as she left her perch atop the carriage and drew her weapon, the blade igniting as she did so.

"And Miss Valcyn would be in a much better mental state if the one at her side giving her protection was you. You shouldn't toss out her feelings so quickly." The fallen warrior added.

***

"Damn it, Blake." Arietta swore, as the man began his overly heroic drivel... sacrificing one for the good of all was bullshit unless there was no other way to pull through... this thing didn't look so overly tough that it would kill all of them, but just Blake? He might meet his end here.

***

"Wait, Prince Athrun." Angelica called out, as the prince began to leave.

"Allow me to accompany you. Someone I've come into acquaintance with recently has a bad penchant for always being at the center of trouble... chances are whatever's doing all this is chasing her down as we speak... and I'd like to try and prevent that, if I can." The adept stated, her earlier air of silliness dissipated in the moment, the look she was giving prince Athrun nothing but strikingly serious.

[Snowy_One]

"Erm. A note actually. Of what you are cooking. Most of what I know how to cook is Skotian trail cooking and instinct." said Robin, looking down a bit nervously. "And I was hoping to learn a bit more so I can, hopefully, cook more than a basic meal for Raquel once we set back out on the road."

[-Cynthia-]

So...the city's under attack but not by Neviskotians? Huh, Nadya thought to herself. "So do y'all wanna stay here or head back to Weyland's?" she asked the group members assorted around her. Stayin' here might be safer, but we may not be welcome exactly. The trip to Weyland's could be dangerous...

[Snike]

"It appears that other shadows have been cast," Ethan remarked, as the king made his announcement. "I can only pray it is swiftly dealt with, however."

***

Naturally, as soon as the Prince heard about the violence, he decided to go deal with it himself. This time the King was no match for his stubbornness, which meant Evelyn would have to go make sure he didn't get himself killed. Of course. With a sigh, Evelyn fell in line behind Athrun once he declared they were leaving, eager to get this over and done with.

That was not to be, just yet, as the prince's dance partner made a request to accompany them, citing an acquaintance who had a tendency to attract misfortune. The royal guardswoman couldn't really abide by allowing her to join, since the blonde woman was a complete enigma, but she decided to wait for the prince's response, before interjecting.

***

"Let's be clear here. I'm doing this because I have a duty to her and other people to stop this creature and others from rampaging through town. I won't need to escape, since there will be reinforcements coming. The guards will ensure that," Blake said to the Fallen, as he moved further away from the carriage. "And if they find you here, do you think they'll just let you go? Not to mention if these things are like what the group fought back in Kigen, what do you think that bodes for your master? Your duty to is to him, not us."

The man advanced towards the monster, and continued, as he aimed. "And I'm aware of her mental state, but it's better if it's worse for the short term rather than the long term. Which is also why I'm doing this. Now go."

Alright, well, if it couldn't see, it couldn't hit him as accurately, right? The Ursian man aimed for the creature's eyes and fired a shot. Almost immediately afterwards he drew his sword and quickly began to run away from the carriage.

"OI, NOMAD, FOLLOW THE CARRIAGE!" Blake shouted as he ran, just in the off chance that Reign was still within earshot. It'd be easier to track him down later if he followed Raquel and the others.

[Mercakete]

"Guess it depends on what th' leadership d'cide," Gytha answered Nadya. She didn't care to hide her accent at the moment. "Though it's not as though I'd be much use in battle if even th' local guard's havin' trouble, n' they're not in dresses n' they have weapons."

[Phoenix]

Preparing to Charge

"I'd very much like to lend the prince a hand here, but if I so much as glance at that door my retainers will have me bound and restrained in moments," Terrel mumbled with a listless frown. He empathized with the prince there.

As Athrun turned to leave, Nathon turned his attention toward Weyland, and beckoned him once he caught the professor's glance. Sighing, Weyland said, "I'll be right back ... hopefully." Steinn stood up as well, hoping to get a read on the king if he could, but motioned for Gabbie to stay put for now.

It didn't take long for Weyland and Steinn to weave through the traffic as the ambient noise began to pick up. Fortunately much of their conversation would be drowned out by it, he realized. "Your Highness," he greeted with some discomfort in his voice.

"I know that you know what's going on here," Nathon immediately replied, clearly angry. "How convenient that you decided to join us as well," he added, once Steinn was closer.

"Evening, your Highness," Steinn greeted, resisting a smile since he knew he was about to be grabbed by the collar and hauled in.

Nathon then grabbed him by the collar and pulled him closer and said, "Devlinos ... Devlinos ... do you really think Ursians are that stupid?"

"Not stupid, just not very well informed ... save for you, of course," Steinn replied, keeping his cool despite where things were heading. "I don't see the need for an alias if the situation doesn't explicitly demand it."

"Please unhand him," Weyland pleaded quietly. "Our best chance of dealing with this is to attack the problem at its source. Unfortunately, its source is probably coming straight to us, which means we need to leave here and prepare the estate for the real attack. We'll be more than happy to explain the situation to you in full afterward ..."

Meanwhile, the prince had some issues of his own, mainly, deciding how to handle Angelica's request to come along. For him, it was less about whether or not she could handle herself in battle, and more about being at least a little responsible in this situation. "Angelica, I-"

"Your Highness, consider the situation, here. There are only a handful of us accompanying you, and that is barely enough to guarantee your own safety against whatever is overpowering local security," Eugene spoke up. He wasn't going to wait to hear the Prince's answer first because he feared what that answer might be, and how hard it would be to fight him on it if he made up his mind too soon. Unfortunately for Eugene, that was an argument that could be spun any which way, as Athrun would demonstrate.

"Barely enough to ensure my safety, and possibly too few to properly counter whatever's at the heart of this madness. I don't like the idea of bringing just anyone along, but unless we have a surplus of mages, Angelica could assist us, and better our chances, both of my survival, and victory. I'd have to ask at least one of you to guard her closely, though."

"Athrun, this is insane! These aren't bandits you're going to cut down; it has to be something much worse if the guardsmen can't handle it themselves! Why are you risking your life like this?" Athena yelled at him as she closed in. Morgana tagged along but stayed a safe distance from the conversation. She shared Athrun's sentiments, if only because she might return to the university at some point to find fewer students if this situation escalated.

Sighing, Athrun muttered, "Athena ..." Eugene sighed too.

Over by the ever blurring contestant lineup, Haythem frowned and his gaze fell to the floor. He was trying to figure out what might be going on in the city. The king didn't divulge much of anything. "Hmm ... he said it was in the city, right? The path back to Weyland's home should still be clear, then, right? I don't see much point in hiding in here when our weapons are back there. I'm worried about Isis, too."

Shadrak stood up from his seat at the judge's table and composed himself. Somehow, he just knew this had something to do with them, Raquel, Weyland, some vasilus ... someone. Turning to face his date, he said, "Come on, Mushirah, we should meet up with the others and then see about heading back while we still can. If we're going to leave, we have to leave now before these nobles start panicking and security decides to lock them in for their own safety." He glanced at Gabbie, who was just sitting in boredom by herself. She wouldn't be alone for long, though, as Charis was moving closer to her ....

Electrical Charge

"He deserved it, that's for sure," Suzume said with a dignified looking nod. She quickly came down from her justified stance and loosened up. "So ... what do you think you'll be trying tomorrow? I'm scared they'll turn me into a maid if I don't pick some kind of security job, personally." I could do a maid's job too which is what really scares me. If they figure that out, I'll probably end up in one of those outfits all day everyday.

Have to Charge

"Well I'm just taking orders. You'll have to speak with one of them if you want lessons," the woman said, gesturing in the general direction of the others.

"Have any money?" asked the chef who'd offered Bert the notebook a few minutes ago, smirking as he did.

Charge

The shot didn't hit the creature square in the pupil, but it did reach the eye socket just fine, which caused the creature a great deal of pain, too much to shrug off this time. Adding insult to injury, one of the guards came up and quickly stabbed his knife into the monstrosity's other eye, nearly blinding it completely. He paid for it dearly when the creature swatted his face with its massive paw, sending him to the ground in a bloody heap and fracturing his neck and skull.

Two more demons appeared, and one of them immediately leaped on the now helpless guard. There were only a few guards left at the gate now, and they were falling back, slowly but surely, trying to cover the innocent bystanders.

Nomad? Reign looked over his right shoulder--since looking over the left no longer amounted to a better view--and saw the carriage Blake was talking about. Just realizing that it was Blake alone got him to slow down. He thought he was alone in this nightmare for the most part, but with someone else around, he started to consider sticking around to fight it out. After all, his parents were still in the city. He was only running before because he had to, and getting help would be a great way to turn this massacre around. "Hey," he called out as he turned Sandrock around. "Where's Raquel?!" Maybe she was in the carriage and that's why he told him to follow it, but he wanted to be sure.

Meanwhile, the driver got the horses moving and the carriage was slowly beginning to turn around. Inside, Raquel was trying so hard to get out that Nadine had to use both feet to pin her, and that wouldn't work for long. At this rate, they were going to tear Raquel's dress. "Raquel I'm serious, just sit still and stop trying to get involved in that! You're only going to make it worse if you go out there!"

"Nadine, get off and let me out of here, I'm not going to just sit here while another one of my friends gets killed for nothing!"

Edited December 12, 2013 by Phoenix

[Ether]

"You just need to worry about watching your own back, Prince Athrun. If there's one thing I'm good at, it's getting myself out of sticky situations. Regardless of that, you've got no idea what you'll be facing out there, it would be foolhardy to refuse help." Angelica replied, already adjusting her dress as she spoke. It wasn't an overly long, poofy thing, so it was easy enough to move in as is, but a few quick readjustments to ride the cloth higher up her legs for a lower change of clinging, and tying any out-hanging cloth down, brought the dress to her liking. It was obvious that the royal guard was not a fan of this at all, but it really wasn't the time to be picky.

"I'll need to borrow a wind tome at the least, and if you've got any stilettos about they'd be much appreciated." The adept concluded, as she used the last of the ribbons she had scavenged from the dress to tie up her hair... she was used to having it down, but not curled and dressed up like it was... better to be on the safe side.

***

"Milord is still with the bulk of the royal guard, but bringing that up does you only a disservice. If you insinuate that Lord Devlinos is in more danger than I have calculated, then I would need make haste to his side." Annelise retorted, before the man charged away from the carriage. Letting out a sigh, Annelise began to turn and double back, but not before giving one last parting gift, in the form of lobbing a blast of condensed magic the way the fallen woman knew best... an explosive pyroclasm of dark fire. Leaving the demons burning would wittle them down a good deal, and by arcing the shot, the demon's gaze wouldn't be drawn to the true source.

"Good luck, human." She noted before turning towards the retreating carriage.

***

"Yeah, we should find Weyland and gather up with whoever's still here... I'm worried about Raquel though, she left not too long ago..." Faatina replied to Haythem and Nadya as the subject of what exactly to do came up.

***

"Raquel, y'gotta calm down." Arietta noted, as the merchant woman struggled against their military escort, as it were. Eventually growing tired of it, the bodyguard grabbed Raquel firmly by the wrists and pulled her down onto the seat working with what leverage Nadine already had to more thoroughly pin the woman down.

"Trust in Blake, aye? Y've kept 'im this close fer a reason, he's good. They've got guards all o'er t'place too."

[ReformBlade]

"Well ain't you just a fuckin map!" Jericho said, laughing at her directions. At least he was genuinely laughing as opposed to the snobbish laughing of supposed superiority he could be doing, but nah, he wasn't completely rude like that.

"I think I can make it there with that, actually... If not, I can ask for some help~" As much as she didn't want to, she'd buckle down and ask for guidance from a maid around the place. Chances are, they might know the layout better than herself, just a hunch.

"I understand." Mushirah shot out, the situation going from really quite cheerful to very grim in a matter of seconds... To be honest, she was really just extremely disappointed that the date was interrupted at all, being the first one of such magnitude. Still, she steeled herself for what was to inevitably come, though she wasn't sure she'd be ready to kill again... "... Are we even safe here right now?" She asked no one in particular, the nerves getting the better of her.

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya looked around the room for Weyland. She found him speaking to the king who was holding Steinn by the collar. Gonna be hard for him to talk his way outta that one. That ain't somethin' I wanna stick my nose in. "Weyland looks kinda busy right now, we should probably just get goin' as quick as we can," she suggested before heading towards where they entered the ballroom.

[Snowy_One]

"Nothing worth mentioning." replied Robin with a somewhat irritated tone. She didn't want to have to try and bargain her way into learning some more about cooking for certain, but if that was how things had to go... well... She had a silver foot in her mouth for sure. At the least she could see if it was worth some chuckles.

"However, I am traveling with Raquel and I do wish to cook for the group on occasion, and I am certain you will agree that keeping one of your employers alive is important. Making sure they are well fed is a big part of that, and I am certain that they do not wish to eat whatever I can scrounge up in the wilds when I cook for them. So if you help teach me a bit better cooking, I can make sure Raquel is better fed."

[Snike]

Ethan frowned when he saw that Weyland had been called over by the king. That frown only broadened when Steinn was grabbed by the collar and hauled in. Bloody hell, what had they done now?

"I suppose I could go lend a hand, in your stead, if you want," the man said, as he reset his expression."I have some experience in dealing with conflicts, and their group seems to be lacking a medic so far."

***

And so the woman was allowed into group. Oh dear, this was going to be a headache, but first, to respond to Athena.

"Princess, settle down," Evelyn interjected, after Athena's outburst. "As much as I dislike the situation, as well, your brother, despite his hard head, will be fine. Do you not believe in myself and the others? If the situation becomes truly dangerous, I will personally escort him back here, with the others. Though, Prince, since we will be one attacker down due to requiring a guard, despite what milady says, perhaps we should have another person accompany us? One who we would not have to worry about guarding in combat?"

The royal knight's eyes flicked for a second to Morgana, the Unlimited Professor. However, she couldn't bring herself to ask her to join them, as that might cause Athena to try and fight, as well.

***

"Carriage! They're off to the estate!," Blake yelled back at Reign as he ran towards the gate now. "Your other friend's in there too! I'd suggest you follow, what whatever's with your eye!"

All of a sudden, a pyroclasm of dark flames landed near the demons, and seemingly began to burn them. The fallen woman's work. Thank you, the swordsman thought, as he continued his advance. If that fire was anywheres near effective, those creatures would be easier to deal with.

Edited December 12, 2013 by Snike

[Mercakete]

People seemed pretty uncertain, but Nadya really wanted to get out of there. She did see what Weyland was up to, but decided it'd take too long to wait for him and just began towards the door. Apparently she didn't care if anyone followed or not. Gytha, herself, was a little disappointed. She'd hoped to experience more of the ball and had been planning on trying the food that was out once the judging was over and getting that lesson from the princess. She couldn't help a little smile, however, as she thought about what she did get to experience, though: being painted in her element, dancing with everyone, getting to see so many different kinds of dances and even being complimented for her performance. The whole experience (up until the panic) was one she was sure she'd cherish and tell stories about for a long time to come.

As for the here and now, however, she had a choice to make. Nadya was already on her way out, but she still had a painting to pick up, if it was even dry yet, and she doubted they'd wait for her. "I'll be along soon," she decided to inform before heading back towards the paintings. She would at least pick up her souvenir.

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

That was a bit of a frightening thought. Suzume was dangerous enough as she was without being trained in the kind of stealth those maids had. Besides that, picturing her with that lifeless smile the maids seemed to share and performing various actions in sync with them all... It was enough to make him shudder. Losing who you are like that... It'd be terrible... He was a little off-put, but he tried not to let that distract him from giving an answer. "I don't know what sort of jobs they have available yet, but my only real skill is fighting. I'm okay with equines, too, I guess, but that's about it."

Edited December 12, 2013 by Mercakete

[Phoenix]

Ballroom Badass Begettal

"N-Nadya, wait! Don't we have to get the others, first or ...?" He paused when he remembered that they had come here in a bunch of carriages. Nadya likely wasn't going anywhere until her carriage was relatively full, so he said, "We'll meet you outside, I guess, but be careful!" He'd prefer to stick with her, but it seemed like they could get to their weapons faster if they gathered everyone up sooner. "Come on, let's-" and then Gytha suddenly vanished from sight. When he saw her again, she was closing in on the area where the paintings were being done. He sighed, and turned to Faatina and Zachary. "You two will at least help me gather the others up, right?"

Where those paintings were, there was a painter and an assistant. Now that the ball was more or less cancelled, the latter was getting himself good and drunk off of expensive wine. He waved at Gytha as she approached and pointed to her portrait at the makeshift gallery.

At the judge's table, Shadrak was looking the place over while answering Mushirah. "There are armed guards everywhere, but I've got a bad feeling just the same. Even if we're safe here, it's probably better if we get back. Remember, if whatever's happening is aimed at Weyland or Steinn, then our friends back at the estate are in serious trouble and we need to get to them, fast. Also looks like some of the others have the same idea. We should head out with them." Then, thinking about it some more, he frowned and said, "Look, I uh ... I'm sorry it turned out like this. It was fun and stuff like this doesn't come up often."

Very close by, Charis tapped Gabbie on the shoulder since she seemed to be in a trance of some sort. "Can I help you?" Gabbie greeted with a suspicious squint.

"Since we appear to have nothing but time now that the celebrating is over, I'd like to have a word with you about your date, Steinn Devlinos."

"... ohhhh for-look I don't have time for this right now. If you want to know more about him, just ask him yourself."

"Is he a fallen one?"

Gabbie glared at her after that. It didn't matter, Charis would reach the correct conclusion no matter what her response to that question was. "Take it up with him, lady," she stressed her words this time.

"... perhaps I will."

"If you'd be willing to do that I certainly wouldn't stop you. I suppose I should stay put either way ... I have my fiancee to look after, at the very least," Terrel replied. "Even royalty cannot have too many guards," he commented somewhat jokingly.

Over by the prince, the roster for his group was beginning to expand. "We'll get you a tome on the way out, Angelica," Athrun assured her. Then to Evelyn, he asked, "Did you have anyone in mind, Evelyn?"

Athena immediately stepped between Athrun and Morgana to keep her out of sight. It was only a small step, but one Athrun noticed. So that totally backfired. "Of course ... Morgana."

"Don't you dare drag her into this," Athena hissed at him.

Morgana herself had been thinking of going, but didn't want to worry the princess or worse, cause her to follow by doing so. Still, if it would help end this situation faster, then maybe she should go ... and talking Athena down wouldn't be too difficult, just uncomfortable. She stepped forward and stood beside Athena. "I'll go, but I need to change into my coat."

"Noooo-" "Be quick then, we're leaving in a few minutes," Athrun interrupted his sister.

Meanwhile, the king's men kept an eye out while he held Steinn like a troublesome child. "Tell me Weyland, why shouldn't I just have this man hauled off and executed, then march a battalion straight to your estate?"

"Because if I believed you weren't going to let me go no matter what, I'd simply kill you here and now," Steinn quietly answered for Weyland. Weyland really wished Steinn hadn't gone there.

"What did you just say?!" Nathon furiously asked.

"I'm well within your barrier, and it's too weak to resist my spells. I could petrify you in an instant, and your men would not be able to save you. Our two countries will never be at peace and so this is not the worst move I could make. My death is not guaranteed either. At the very least, you should consider letting me clean up this mess before you have me executed, no?"

Nathon shook his head and let Steinn go before taking a step back. Steinn mirrored the action as a sort of courtesy. "Fix this. Tonight," he demanded of both of them.

Delightful Delirious Darling Dozing

"Thazgood ... I thin'I can fin' theright room afer we ge'there," Greta mumbled, nearly out cold.

Guards Guarding Goods

"Maybe they'll stick you with security then ... guarding the stables in particular," Suzume teased him, only grinning once she'd mentioned the stables.

Cooks Carefully Cooking

"Sheesh, what have they been eating up til this point? Nuts and berries?" the man asked, scratching his head and giving Robin a pitying look. "Either way, this isn't the best time for actual cooking lessons; we're taking mostly special orders right now, not making dinner."

"That was a little while ago, and we weren't even on duty," the lady chef noted.

"Right. Anyway, if you're around tomorrow, I suppose I wouldn't mind giving you a few pointers. Rule number one, though," he paused to hold up his finger while minding the meat brewing with his other hand. "You're the student when you're with me. I'd normally charge because my time's important to me and new folks like to teach me a thing or two instead of letting me do what they asked me to do."

"Yeah, it's not just you ... sometimes there are just too many cooks in the kitchen. That's why I disappear whenever we get a few new cooks ... it's just less frustrating that way ..."

Sounds So Similar

"Argh! Arietta, you too?! Why do we have to wait here?! The guards can't stop those demons! Blake needs our help; we can't just leave him there alone!" That was when she heard something like an explosion and wondered if things were getting worse. Her pause gave Nadine a moment of relief, but it didn't last long, as she was back to struggling in no time. "Uuuuurgh!"

"Raquel, seriously, I will knock the wind out of you if you don't stop mov- ... huh?" She paused when she saw a small insignia beside Raquel. She hadn't noticed it before due to the positioning of her legs, but now that she was adjusting to counter an ever shifting Raquel, she definitely saw it. "Did we rip something off of your dress ...?"

"Who cares, just let me go!"

"Calm the hell down so I can get a look at it!"

The demons had survived the attack, but they weren't advancing. Instead, they curled up and tried to shield themselves from the flames while the rest of their hides burned. Eventually, they began pawing wherever they could to get the burning to stop. One of the guards took advantage of this and rammed his rifle into the head of one of the creatures, nearly killing it, but surely taking it out of action. Another guard rushed into do the same to the one Blake had blinded earlier, but it tackled him and nearly tore his leg off.

Reign meanwhile waited for a moment. The carriage was headed in his general direction, and apparently Raquel was in there, but there was still Blake and his situation. Reign wanted to help, but he couldn't ignore the fact that he had an enlarged blind spot that made up the overwhelming majority of his field of vision now. He shouldn't have even been riding a horse this soon, but that wasn't so important at the moment. As the carriage drew close, he decided to just do as Blake asked and follow it. He hoped Blake would follow his past advice and not get killed in return.

As Reign rode up alongside the carriage, he called to the driver. "Hey, is Raquel in there?!" Just had to be absolutely sure ...

"Yes, sir ... is there something I can do for you?"

"Just keep it moving steadily, I'll try to watch your back ... but don't expect much, I'm not used to this yet."

Inside the carriage, Raquel's struggling died down and so did Nadine's resistance. "Reign?" Raquel said, forgetting that she was hiding that from Nadine. Still, this presented an opportunity. "REIGN!!! GO HELP BLAKE!!!"

"Reign? What?!" Nadine said, raising her voice too, but not nearly as much as Raquel had. She immediately took her feet off of Raquel's stomach, hoping Arietta could keep her down by herself for a moment. Next, she opened the door and looked out to see Reign riding beside them. "... it's actually you ...."

Reign had to turn his head much further than usual to confirm the owner of that voice, that familiar and haunting voice. "Uhh ... okay, what the hell ..." he said when he saw her.

Edited December 13, 2013 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

Gytha gave a smile and a nod to the assistant and went to retrieve her painting. Having gathered that up, she hurried back over to where Haythem seemed to still be talking to Faatina and Zach. She was a little surprised they hadn't followed Nadya, but soon, all would be made clear.

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

Norbert didn't laugh, but he was humored enough to be remotely close to it by Suzume's joke. "I don't know if I'd like that. The stables get attacked so often I'd get worn out if I was their only line of defense, and I didn't see anyone else out there," he added to the joke before finishing more seriously, "Actually, though, that wouldn't be too bad. The horses aren't in any danger, so I could just spend my time training or taking care of Riz. If I can, though, I will take a job that involves some form of combat. Being a stable hand seems like it'd be a bit of a waste for me since I spend most of my time training for combat."

[Snike]

"A fair point. In chess, they call that smothered mate, do they not?," Ethan asked, rhetorically. "But I doubt this will be a similar case. Very well, then. Hopefully I will return."

And with that said, the healer made his way over to where the prince was waiting.

"Milord, I am Ethan Stashio," the healer said, bowing as he introduced himself. "I would like to join you in both Professor Weyland and Lord Terrel Reuter's stead. I am quite skilled with both healing staff and tome, as the former can attest to, so there would be no need for concern for my well being."

***

"My apologies for bringing you into this Miss Wyght," Evelyn said, remorsefully. "However you are one of the strongest magic users in the land. Having you on our side would tip the scales greatly in our favor."

Before the royal guard could continue, a purple-haired man came up, and volunteered in Seth and Terrel's place to join them, as a healer. This company was getting a bit crowded, but nonetheless, a staff user might do them some good. Eve was conflicted as a result, and thus decided to leave the decision to the prince.

***

Alright, so the blast had done some good, in that it stopped the monsters from continuously attacking, and one of them was dead or probably dying, but there were two left, including the blind one. How was that thing still attacking so accurately? Was it its' nose, or hearing? Regardless, Blake now had his chance.

"START CLOSING THE GATE!" he yelled, as he approached the blind demon. Now, how to deal with it... The swordsman moved to its' right side and took a swing, trying to injure, if not outright sever, the creatures paw.

[Ether]

"Raquel, one of em's already dead and the other two r'pretty badly wounded. Blake hasn't taken any hits or anathing... looks like that bird chick lit the bastards up real good." Arietta told the merchant, hoping to appease her somewhat, but then some shenanigans with Reign happened... right, he was a wanted man, wasn't he?

"Aight, this ain't the time for any a'that, both a'yas. D'you think you can keep up with that patch on yer eye?" Arietta noted, trying to sound as neutral as possible about it... best case it might be attributed to both women knowing the fire user quite well, as unlikely as that outcome seemed at the moment.

***

"Yeah, I'm with you. Lead the way, Haythem, this dress is kinda hard to run in..." Faatina noted with a sigh... it would figure something like this would happen.

***

Typical... despite her reassurances, the guard still seemed adamant on gluing a guard to her... well, Angelica supposed it wasn't surprising, whether they approved or not, for the time being, she was Prince Athrun's date. That would put her safety much higher on their priority list than it would have been normally.

And then Athena's dance partner was half volunteered, half volunteering. Either way it would seem that she would also be accompanying them, much to the Princess' chagrin.

[ReformBlade]

Sighing as she started to pick Greta up since she didn't exactly trust the lady to walk straight given her current state, Aneda tried to reason out the directions herself. "Second floor, and... a bunch of lefts?"

"You sure you don't just want to ask someone for assistance? Heck I can go get someone if need be..."

"no no, I can handle this."

"Didn't you just say you'd ask- you know what, nevermind! Just don't drop her, in fact, do you need any help?"

"You kidding? You don't look like you could help out anyway, I'm much taller, it'd just be weird."

"I'd punch you, but I'm afraid that'd lead to yet another staggering loss on my end. Third times the charm, I guess..."

With a surprising amount of ease, Aneda did pick her up and make her way towards Greta's room, wherever it might magically find itself with those strategically sound directions. Jericho followed her just to make sure she didn't mess it up herself, he felt she was a bit drunk too given their whole conversation but she seemed to hold it a lot better of the three of them.

Mushirah, meanwhile, shook her head rather quickly. "Don't worry about it, it wasn't anything you did. We can always try again, if you want to of course..." She had to cut herself short there since really, the situation was about as dire as it could get with an unknown invasion or outbreak on hand. "We should just go group up, the sooner we can, the sooner things can calm down and i'd rather not be as stressed as I am for much longer."