Return of the Emblem Chapter Twelve: Divergent Paths

[Nanami Touko]

Eva sighed, but ended up smiling. "Good. Meet me at the stables when you've collected yourself, then. I'll go get Sasha ready." She let go of the man's shoulder, turning her head back to Mushirah. "Meet me there too, alright? I won't take off until you're both done." Apparently Aneda had no trouble taking Tia along, which Eva wished hadn't happened, but unlike Erion, she wasn't going to make a fuss about it. She leaned over to him and said quietly, "don't worry, if she does anything stupid, I'll pick her up and drag her out before she turns into a lightning rod." With that taken care of, to the best of what she thought it would be, she put her hands behind her head and started off towards the stables.

[Mercakete]

It was a little surprising to see Veronika react the way she did. Veronika always seemed stern and rigid. Maybe she just didn't expect that people didn't usually appreciate being bossed around. If that was the case, then that either meant Veronika was used to doing the bossing -- which would make a lot of sense, actually -- or she, herself, actually enjoyed formal relationships like that. Seeing Veronika like this and thinking about her reaction like that got Norbert puzzling. He set those thoughts aside for the time being, though. It was hard to tell what he thought of it, though; his views on Veronika were complicated. Part of him felt a little bad for her, and another part felt rather matter-of-fact about the issue. Hence, he focused on other things at the moment.

Robin seemed like she didn't want Shadrak to go, and those going to the cathedral looked like they were getting ready to leave. Was Robin friends with Shadrak? Maybe she was. She didn't show it very often, though. Then again, Bert wasn't watching Robin most of the time, so maybe he just never noticed it. In either case, at least this quarrel seemed fairly dealt with. In addition to all that, it sure sounded like Shadrak knew a lot about Nyx. He kept saying that he knew how to deal with Nyx now. What had happened to him? Something must have, but it sounded like he got zapped, passed out, and was taken back with the group. If that was the case, then something must have happened while Shadrak was unconscious. The only one who could interact with others in their sleep that Norbert knew about, though, was Hypnos, and he was gone now or something... No, wait. Hypnos was specifically with Nyx now. Did she use his power or something? Vasili seemed to all always have weird magic, so he wouldn't put it past her. From the sound of things, though, after the cathedral, Shadrak would be staying at Weyland's, so there was no reason to ask Shadrak about it just then. He had places to be and Bert had no intention of delaying that any longer.

Norbert glanced over to Suzume when she made her quiet comment. "Hm?" Knew what?

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Yeah, I'm somehow the deranged lunatic for thinking that making deals with someone rummaging around in your mind sounds like a bad idea. Or maybe it's because I kill people! Ooo ahhh I'm sure I can await a scathing set of responses from your moral high ground against anyone else here who's claimed a life. Or is it because I just plain disagree with you? Well then why are you running off to kneel at Nyx's feet? I mean, I'm sure I've never actually physically threatened you because of a difference of opinion and boy howdy am I sure I could succeed at that. And hell, if you can't do much more than sputter uselessly at me, how really can you deal with her?" This whole conversation was growing increasingly sickening. "But you're wrong about something. This is entirely about trust. You can damn sure trust Nyx to betray anyone when it suits her interests.. And like I said, I don't give a damn if you run off to play toadie on your own bloody time, but the second you endanger the execution of my contract because of it, you're damn sure well gonna get a face full of my objections because the one thing you are even close to being right about is me caring about myself." Gar threw his cloak open, leveraging his right arm on his hip and emphasizing words with flourishes of flowers. "Because see, as long as my contract's still active I will do everything in my not inconsiderable power to complete it even if it ends up being just Raquel and me against the world. Anything that threatens the completion of that contract

Wait... Hahahahahahaha! Gar threw his head back in laughter. "Ahhhhhh," he slapped his face with his right hand, but kept it over his eye as he stared at the ceiling. "Can't believe I was so blind. Nyx already has her dirty tendrils in your mind Shade Drake, sloooooooowly and subtly manipulating you into dragging more people to her. Clever, clever girl." Gar dropped his arms, letting them hang limply at his side. He still looked at the ceiling. "Yeah, stay here, be Nyx's dog while thinking you have some shred of control. See how well that works out for you."

[Snike]

Blake was drenched by the time he arrived at the estate, which did little to help his mood. After indicating that he was with Raquel, the man was allowed past the gates, whereupon he swiftly made his way inside and out of the rain. That was much better, but he'd almost definitely need a change of clothes, assuming he wasn't going out again. But, worrying about that could wait. The blue-haired Ursian decided to check the dining hall first, to see if anything was going on, before heading to his room.

As he approached the hall, Blake caught bits and pieces of an ongoing argument between Shadrak and Gar. Wonderful, as if there hadn't been enough conflict in the past two days. The man chose not to interject, at first because he really didn't want to step in, but later because someone else's presence caught his attention.

"...How long have you been back?" he asked Reign, turning towards the nomad. Well, that was one of Raquel's friends accounted for, but where was Dalca?

***

"I have to wonder what the shaman's going on about, then," Pete said, as he watched the little spat. "It sounds like he got hurt the first time he spoke with her, so why try it again? Sounds like he has a death wish."

[Snowy_One]

"Alright then, Shade drake." said Robin, taking a step back as she went to go take a seat, coincidentally close to Bert. "Once we leave this place, though, I do not know if you will be able to find us again." she asked before bending her head down. "<Why are we always fighting?>" she whispered softly.

[Ether]

Well, it was a rather interesting exchange, going on between Gwyn and Zachary... first off, it seemed the girl was rather brazenly terrified of thunder, and despite, it seemed she had finally managed to piece together the current goings on.

"Yeah, he did." Angelica noted to the frilly woman, who seemed to be in a bit of a dazed state, still languidly clinging to the sage.

***

Well that certainly escalated quickly... Faatina wanted to chase after Shadrak, try and talk to him a bit further but... she found herself rooted to the spot. What the man had said made sense enough... he was tired of being treated like a pawn in a game he never wanted to play... joined on for something and found himself dragged along like baggage with the rest that came attached... was it really all so strange that he wanted out? That, along with the realization that it seemed, at this point, that the demolition of wherever it was Sardis was camping out, seemed like the defacto course of action at this point...

The paladin just wasn't sure what to do... and her body showed that defiance well, refusing to budge. That feeling that anything and everything you thought or said fell on deaf ears... it wasn't one she could really deny the druid, she too had become rather acquainted with it as of late.

[Toogee]

Eli watched as the scene escalated when Shadrak quit from Raquel's group. This certainly wasn't a promotion for recruitment. Eli wasn pretty certain that all the plans being passed around were equally bad, but better the devil you knew than the devil you don't. At least, that was what Eli convinced himself as he rose from the table. He caught Tia chasing after Aneda, seemingly excited to partake in the quest. The rider walked behind the young mage and grabbed her shoulder.

"Hey, walk with me. You can ride with me." Eli said to Tia, following the others to the stables.

"What are your reasons for going with Shadrak? This isn't exactly a daytrip to a library you know..."

[Nanami Touko]

Looks like Eli was tagging along, after all. Maybe this pegasus rider would be able to handle two people, since Tia was so small. Eva hoped this was the case. "I hope you take him seriously, Tia. I realize you're interested in all this magic stuff, but Nyx seriously did almost kill Shaddy. What about you, Eli?" she continued, looking at him as they walked. "You just coming along to watch Tia? Afraid we won't do a good enough job?" she asked with a chuckle.

Edited May 13, 2014 by I have opinions

[Phoenix]

Deconstruction & Reconstruction

"Oh don't mind me," Suzume told Norbert, "just trying to predict how things will end up later on."

"I've been with them since they got to the cathedral," Reign answered Blake casually.

"Blake?! Where the ..." was about all Raquel could manage before Reign continued.

"We came back after finding a nasty little surprise in the archives and now Shadrak and a few others who missed out are heading back there. Like she might have said, where have you been? We're going to be going after Sardis soon ... despite the circumstances ..."

"That may very well be the case," Shadrak nodded in agreement at Robin's assessment, though he had more to say about it than just that. "It's not too big of a deal, though. Really. Raquel and my teacher are both friends with Weyland, so there's that connection at least."

Raquel was struggling between tuning out the argument between Gar and Shadrak, and finding some way to settle it without flailing her arms or some other equally useless gesture. In tuning it out somewhat, she was only able to catch one, telling part of Gar's reply. Him and Raquel against the world. That was an extreme circumstance she didn't want to think about, mainly because it would only happen after literally everyone else left, died, or was otherwise unable to help, which was the third scariest thought she'd had all day, right behind her father dying and herself dying.

It was time to address Gar again. Shadrak put on his most condescending expression before even saying anything to the former ally. "So that's what this is about? Your 'contract' with Raquel? All of this ranting because you're scared Nyx will get her claws into everyone here and then do whatever she damn well pleases? Too little, too late, I say ... and that's pathetic, but I understand the concern, if only because I've been there myself. You can laugh, thinking you know what's going on here, but all you saw was me passing out after an argument. I saw much more than that. I know exactly what she did to me, and why; she held me captive inside of my own head, tortured me for weeks until I was half insane, and then rebuilt me from the ground up. I know full well that my mind isn't really my own anymore and that my free will just happens to fall in line with her wishes right now ... but that's just one of many reasons why I know this will work. She's not going to stop me, she's not going to kill me, and she's not going to make me into some servant. What everyone else does with her is there business but I'm doing this to help Mushirah. You can just stand around worrying about how to get rid of her eyes and ears without upsetting Raquel if that's all you're good for. I'm going to milk that arrogant cow for what she's worth and then get back to work."

"What is wrong with you two?!" Greta spoke up. "She's just gonna vaporize ya for all that name callin' the second ya walk through that door. And Gar, you too. If you keep prattlin' on while she can hear you, she's just gonna take one of us out outta spite. Not tryin' to remind her or anythin' but y'all seriously need to watch y'ur mouths while you're addressin' this goddess or she's gonna flay ya both alive."

"No, she's not, but like I said before, if she's got nefarious plans for this group, you're already screwed," Shadrak coldly stated, "especially since all the 'contractor' here can do about it is whine."

[-Cynthia-]

Upstairs

Nadya sat on the bed, admiring her new sacks of gold. Wonder what Ma and Pa'll say when I come back with all this. Probably get a lecture from Pa about how I put myself in danger runnin' off and all, but they'll be happier for it. Got a long road between here and Kigen, especially if this Fallen gate business is true- but that's somethin' to think on for later. By the sound of things the rain hadn't stopped, so she was in no rush to take her gold outside.

Dining Hall

The back and forth between Gar and Shadrak continued with no end in sight before Shadrak said something that caught Veronika's attention. "She tortured you for weeks? You weren't unconscious that long...that doesn't make any sense," she stated uneasily. Either he's just really confused right now or that was some very strange vasilus magic. If she's capable of this, maybe I shouldn't let anyone go, but Shadrak proved I can't really command anyone here anyway...

[Mercakete]

Well, there Suzume went, being mysterious again, at least somewhat. She was a little more plain about it this time, at least, and so Norbert was satisfied with her answer. Robin sat down near him, which was rather convenient, but the events that played out next kept him from talking to her a little bit longer. Blake had returned -- was he missing? -- but that wasn't what really caught his attention. Shadrak's mind had indeed been invaded. What he talked about sounded terrible, but weeks? Well, again, this was a Vasilus they were talking about, so it could have seemed like weeks. Regardless, being tortured to insanity, then being rebuilt was just appalling. ...Well, not just appalling. It was also plain disgusting. Norbert decided that he really didn't like Nyx then and there. He was also a little surprised that, again, he could relate a little to Shadrak. Just as Shadrak's free will lined up with Nyx's wishes, his own lined up with Steinn's.

He was still trying to figure out just what Shadrak meant by his mind not really being his own anymore when Greta began exclaiming her worries. Norbert didn't think she had anything to fear that wasn't inevitable anyway, and Shadrak simply voiced those thoughts. What he said about Raquel was a little harsh, but fairly true. Raquel needed to strengthen the spine she'd grown or she wouldn't be able to handle all this. Veronika then voiced the same question he'd already sorted out in his head. He decided to answer that one.

"She's a Vasilus, right? Vasili have weird magic. I wouldn't put it past her to make it seem like weeks if she was already messing with his head. Besides that, time seems to go slower when you're in pain," Norbert shrugged, a little surprised at how matter-of-factly he'd said all that. That was neither here nor there, however, and so he asked Shadrak, "So, do you think she was using some form of Hypnos' powers?" to Raquel, he asked, "You said something about leaving him with Nyx, right?"

Edited May 13, 2014 by Mercakete

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Scared? Don't be ridiculous, only two things scare me and one of them is me." Gar grinned while his head was still tilted back, but slowly dipped it back down. "You're so concerned with explosives going off in the city so what happens when she wants to set off some of her own or POP goes your head huh? Or when she feels the need to siphon off the rest of Raquel's residual emblem energy and has everyone she's sunk her fingers into charging off? Feh, yeah, everything's screwed up. But it's not inevitable," Gar gritted his teeth. "She is not all powerful, she can be beaten, her plans can be beaten astray and broken, but every step towards accepting her as inevitable and unstoppable and useful only strengthens her."

"Weeks?" Gar burst out into his biggest laughter yet. "This is about weeks of torture?" His lips curled into one hell of a smirk. "Boy I could do weeks in my sleep. Ha, I have, even. When you get tortured for years then you can come back and we can swap stories but until then don't act like that's any sort of untouchable standard." Gar sighed and dropped the flowers for the first time. He slowly moved his left up to his right elbow, going undre the coat. He reached the back of his glove and peeled it off. Stuffing it i his belt, he held up his mutilated arm, a perfect replica of what was visible in the dream arena. Cuts, stabs, bullet wounds, fire scarring, magic scarring, bits of shrapnel, ugly pockets caused by poisoning, two particularly nasty scars straight through the bicep. "Not even one tenth of these are from actual combat, so don't go getting smarmy saying how much you've suffered." Gar retrieved his glove and replaced it over his arm, retrieving the flowers after.

Gar looked over at some blonde woman trying to intercede. "Vaporize someone eh? Well, as Shade Drake would say, 'they knew the risks'. Then again, that just proves she's petty and not to be trusted, at all." Layer upon layer. "Granted I realize just what a sleaze I look like with such a taunt, but hey, I risk myself with this too."

"If you can somehow come off the encounter on the upper hand? Good! Excellent even!" Gar threw his arms open. "But how come you're the one who can magically throw off her plan and get inside her head and win? Doesn't that just mean her plans aren't invincible?" Gar shook his head with a smile on his face. "And please, it's Problem Solver." He clicked his tongue at the silly wrong name. "As in, if anything becomes a problem I'll solve them." How threatening!

[Mercakete]

It was an odd combination. Norbert agreed with Gar in that he didn't trust Nyx, but if what Shadrak was saying was true, then he had a really good gauge for how Nyx would respond to things. Plus, he was getting really, really tired of listening to Gar's provocation.

"Would you shut up?" Norbert snapped at the man on the other side of Suzume. He didn't mean to put her literally right in the middle of another argument, but he didn't want to stay silent on it any longer and wasn't about to hide how annoyed he was. He did attempt to help her not be directly in the line of fire, though, by standing up to continue. "I agree that we shouldn't trust Nyx, and that there's probably some way to beat her, but is that really what we should be focusing on right now? Even if she's not invincible, we're probably not the ones who can do that, at least not right now. So stop wasting everyone's time with petty details no one can do anything about! And I couldn't care less what sort of torture you've gone through or how long you endured it -- that doesn't mean anyone else's pain doesn't matter! All that torture explains why you're so off in the head, though. And if Shadrak's right, then no one is safer to go talk to Nyx with than him. If he knows what sets her off, he can make sure no one does it, or at least cover for them with whatever it is that calms this stupid Vasilus down. And it sure doesn't sound like she's controlling him to me."

Norbert turned to look at Shadrak again, though he still spoke to Gar, "Like you even said earlier, having the guts to stand up to a Vasilus isn't something just anyone has. And to go back after all that?" Norbert shook his head as he returned his eyes to Gar. "If he has the tools he says he does, then there's no reason he shouldn't go, and it's a brave thing to do besides. So stop giving him such a hard time! He's earned anything but that! And Mushirah needs her arm back, so stop being a jerk and an idiot and let them get the job done already! If you want someone to insult and argue with, I'll gladly offer my services! But leave Shadrak alone!"

[ReformBlade]

Aneda heard some business about Tia going with her, not that she minded, all things considered. She was gonna give a ride to whoever was there first, or ultimately who was most deserving and wanted it to the most (bribes of course).

Making her way rather warily but still more in control than before, she still had misgivings on how she'd get ready in a reasonable amount of time and not be completely frustrated with the ordeal, so Mushirah decided to grab some maid's attention along the way. "Um... excuse me? Can I ask you a huge favor, I uh... I-I need help... getting dressed." She could already feel like she was burning up from her embarrassment, only adding to how uncomfortable she was feeling.

Everyone was seemingly acting out at this point to Jericho, to the point that he didn't even want to deal with mediating any of them at the moment. This is just an ego stroking contest at this rate, will people grow up around here? In an attempt to get people on track, "Hey, Raquel, anything I can do to help out with your practice?

[Snike]

"... I was out looking for you and Nadine, when I got sidetracked helping the relief effort," Blake said, wondering how wrong he was about this being an uneventful day. He turned to Raquel, a slew of questions at the ready. "Anyways, what were you all doing down at the cathedral, to begin with? How did you find Sardis? And what's the plan to deal with him?"

Before he could continue, however, the argument the man was ignoring continued to escalate. Shadrak brought up some mention of a contract, then explained what Nyx-perhaps that was the nasty surprise at the archives?- had done to him, stating that the torture was why he could deal with her. He then ridiculed Gar for wanting to take out Nyx's eyes and ears- which didn't make sense- and finishing by taking a shot at both Nyx and Raquel. It was wonderful to see how everyone got along so well while he was gone.

Then, Bert brought up Hypnos, and asked Raquel about... how she left Hypnos with Nyx? What had gone on while he had left?

There was no time to ponder such questions, as Gar continued the argument, bringing up explosions - what? - and the siphon of Raquel's emblem energy - unacceptable - as part of Nyx's schemes, before saying that they weren't inevitable unless they believed it so. What came next was surprising, in that Gar took off one of his gloves, revealing his mutilated arm, and told Shadrak off while discussing the years of his torture. After replacing the glove, the self-proclaimed 'Problem Solver' continued to smear both Shadrak and Nyx -perhaps rightfully so- before finally closing with a vague threat.

Naturally, this set Norbert off. The pegasus rider immediately told Gar to shut up, and more or less agreed with Shadrak going to meet Nyx. Which sounded like a bad idea, at least, from Gar's point of view. Blake didn't care though, because he had had enough of this argument, authority be damned.

"If you three are quite done, there are better things to be doing than quarreling with each other like idiots," he said, coldly, turning towards the first belligerent. "Shadrak, if you're going, then go, but be warned: If anything happens to the others while they're at the archive, I will hold you accountable. "

Next was the knife master. "Gar, I'm assuming you're to be part of dealing Sardis, so put this Nyx business aside for right now and help bring me up to speed. And as for you," the man continued, spinning towards Bert, "You have an estate to fix up. I don't think you have time to spend yelling at mercenaries."

With that said, the swordsman turned back to Raquel, just in time to see a brick red-haired man ask Raquel about practice. What practice? He'd ask, but he figured that that would be answered soon enough.

[Snowy_One]

"My reasons are simple. I want to learn as much as I can about magic and seeing a goddess in action, even if it is just seeing, would be a major step in that direction. I am well aware of the danger though. She is several leagues beyond any of us, I am sure, so I need to be ready for the event of our failure, not our success. I am trying my best to empty out my mind right now so there will be little to glean from me." said Tia in response to Eli, her tone shifting from the bubbly, almost air-headed voice before to a calmer, more serious one.

"If we can get that arm back, that is only a bonus, but surviving is the first goal. I hope to return to Raquel with the knowledge I have gained, possibly without Nyx realizing that I have gained it in the first place. After all, I can't just let people suffer and die if I can do even a minor thing as describe how a spell looked to help future people figure it out." she said before looking to Eva, shifting back to the more bubbly tone. "Of course you won't do a good enough job, for Gar at least. If you just let me see her I'll be happy!"

[Mercakete]

"Tch. You're not -- and have never been -- my boss," Norbert answered Blake, still irritated, but considerably less volatile than he had just been, "I still have no orders from Weyland or anyone else over me, so I'm not going anywhere to fix anything. Besides, all this came up while I was waiting for lunch. There's no reason for me not to get involved while I do that, except for all this stupidity to end, which I'd like just as much as you would. That doesn't mean I'm taking back what I said, though; I still stand by my statements."

That said, Norbert sat back down. He wouldn't shy away from any replies Gar might have for him, but if he wasn't going to say anything about it, Norbert wasn't about to bring it up again either.

[Nanami Touko]

"From what I could take of our first meeting with Nyx, there isn't anything she doesn't realize. Don't even think about trying anything. As for Gar..." Eva said, with a small hmph. "I couldn't care less about living up to any of his expectations. I don't know what's happened between him and Shadrak, but I can't stand arrogant guys like him. Not that I think Shaddy's doing much better at the moment, but at least he didn't start anything. I wonder if Gar even cares about Nyx, or if he's just trying to push buttons." Letting a sigh out, she glanced down at Tia. "You can see her if you promise not to talk with her. You're far too impressionable. While I didn't talk with her directly, just listening to her was enough to know that she'll get into your head no matter what."

[Phoenix]

Stuff and Foodstuff

Reign sighed before trying to catch Blake up a bit. "We went to the archives looking for an emblem piece, had a select group fight through the rune knights there, found Nyx of all people in the archives, and eventually she told us Sardis was in the city. Clearly she's trying to use subtlety and irony to cripple us," Reign half joked, but it was still looking a bit serious. All the chinks in the group's armor were exposed now, and few could deny them. This loose group was in serious need of some revision. "Unfortunately the emblem piece we were looking for is in the possession of a 'winged cleric'. Raquel's focused on Sardis, though, so we're never going to get around to that, I can already tell." Before he could cover their plan, which was still a little unclear at the moment, the argument started to intensify.

"I'm not really sure how so much could have happened to me in such a short amount of time, but as far as I can tell, I've been trapped in that nightmare at least as long as I'd been with this group," Shadrak explained to Veronika and Norbert. That was almost two months, he suddenly realized. Of course, Gar was all too quick to try to trump his mental torture with physical and--apparently--much lengthier torture, something Shadrak couldn't even begin to care about while Mushirah was missing an entire arm due to one simple attack. He just returned an irritable expression while Gar showed off his scars.

Suzume on the other hand flinched when she saw them, wondering who did all of that to him. It was worrisome to think it might have been an instructor or something, so she tried to convince herself that what he'd been through was something he'd deliberately signed up for, and that still wasn't much comfort to her right now.

"I didn't endure the torture, I was utterly destroyed by it. I don't care what you've proudly walked away from; it doesn't invalidate what I've been through by any measure," Shadrak replied, even though Norbert had chimed in by that point. That was actually rather surprising, though. He knew Norbert tended to speak up when he cared about the issue at hand, so Gar had obviously pushed a button, though even after Norbert's rant, Shadrak wasn't quite sure which button it was. Shadrak put a hand on his chin and did some quick musing. She probably saw this coming ... and she knew about Mushirah's arm because of me, so ... the only thing left to figure out is if there's some way I can get what we need without her getting to Mushirah directly. "As for Nyx, it's not about beating her, not for me. I want information that she has. Once I get it, I'm done with her for the foreseeable future. If you want to try to mess up whatever she's planning, be my guest, but I'm not handling anyone's eulogy if you do."

When asked about Hypnos, earlier, Raquel began to think about the question he'd asked Shadrak too, wanting to address both together. Before answering though, she addressed Jericho's question. "Nothing that I can think of ..." she paused, glancing at Reign for a second, "unless you want to be my practice target. Reign doesn't really seem to want to do this anymore."

"You've got that right," Reign nodded. "Warping really isn't my thing, especially not this kind. You can stand in for me to help her; I'll have some lunch in the meantime."

"Anyway ... about Hypnos," Raquel began to address Norbert's questions from before, "... Nyx is Hypnos' mother so ... naturally she'd want him to stay with her, I guess." She couldn't paint it in a better light than that, not when for her it was like having two of her friends swept out right from under her, Hypnos and Nadine. It hadn't taken Nyx long to do it, either. Knowing she was probably after Reign too and had done something horrible to Shadrak just made her want to scream ... but there was enough drama for the moment. "To be honest, I think it's more likely that Hypnos got his power from Nyx rather than her using him to ... torture Shadrak," she explained, not really wanting to talk about Shadrak's ordeal.

"I didn't hear a word from Hypnos. I don't think he was even involved," Shadrak chimed in. "Maybe she just inserted a bunch of memories that I responded to ... if weeks of training can be placed in someone's mind, there's no reason weeks of torture can't, either." An annoying thought followed that train of thought ... that perhaps his memories of those events were just a story Nyx had placed in him and that his responses weren't his own despairing ones but her carefully thought out ones. He'd be sure to ask her about that if he got the chance, but not before taking care of business.

Blake spoke up next, aiming at Norbert, Gar, and Shadrak himself, unexpectedly. What was even more unexpected was that Blake was apparently holding him accountable for what happened to all of these random volunteers. "Are you kidding me?! Nyx deals with people individually. That'd be like blaming Raquel if someone just randomly jumped off a cliff or something. The only person who should have been going with me was Mushirah. I can't be held responsible if the others get themselves ... well ..." he ended the thought there, not quite sure what Nyx would do to the others. It didn't seem likely she would do to them what she did to him ... she'd proven beyond the shadow of a doubt, that her first lengthy reprisal was tailored specifically to him. "They're in your group, so if you're so worried about them, warn them not to upset her. I can't protect anyone from her ... not even myself, if you haven't noticed." An inconvenient truth to say the least.

"Excuse me," came Erica's apologetic voice. She emerged from the kitchen looking like she'd just run a couple of miles. "I'm terribly sorry for the delay. Everything's finished now, but Johnny's still working on some other orders that came while we were cooking. What I'm trying to get at is that I could use some help bringing out the soup and sandwiches. There are ... literally a ton of them ...."

"Ooo, I'll help," Greta immediately spoke up. "Need more than one person?"

"I'll take whatever help I can get," Erica smiled as she wiped the sweat from her brow with her sleeve. "In fact, if enough of you help--two or three--I won't have to do anything else. That'd ... be wonderful, heheh," she added, half joking and forcing a big smile. Eventually that smile faded into a tired expression and was accentuated by a groan.

Request Accepted

It was no surprise to Tamara that Mushirah wanted some help getting dressed, though she wasn't aware of the specifics behind the rush, or even that there was one. "Certainly. I'll accompany you back to your room and give you any assistance I can. I should ask, though, is there anything in particular you'd like to put on? You aren't planning on venturing outside right now, are you?" If she was, that was a little worrisome, but on the other hand, she might have been going with others and they might have even had a wagon set aside for them. That would explain the others who past by not too long ago.

[Mercakete]

Nyx was Hypnos' mother? That was surprising...and disturbing...and garnered a serious grimace from the pegasus rider. So...I agreed to being taught in my sleep by the son of this crazed monster lady...? Urgh. I should've listened to my sound judgement that anyone who reveres the deity of the Fallen shouldn't be trusted... Even after those thoughts, though, he questioned them. Then again... Hypnos himself doesn't seem like a bad guy. He's only tried to help us so far, even if his methods are...weird. He frowned. I sincerely hope he never brings his mom with him if he ever trains me again, though. She does not sound nice. He was relieved to hear that Hypnos wasn't involved, at least. The rest of what all was said, he idly took in until the cook came out and half informed that lunch was ready, and half asked for help. She got a volunteer pretty quickly, and humbly requested at least two more.

This whole time, lunch had been the goal, and now it was presenting its self. Sure, he still had to talk to Robin and maybe Veronika, but the sooner this got done, the better, and he was a Weyland employee now, so he considered stepping in to help. He didn't much feel like being a temporary waiter, especially with all this information to sort out, but there wasn't much of a reason not to for now. Sure, he was still kind of sweaty, but it wasn't like he was preparing the food. So, wordlessly, he got up and walked over towards the lady chef. The wordlessness ended when he got to her. "Let's get started. If anyone else wants to help, it'll go by a lot faster, but no reason to wait in the meantime."

That was when a thought hit him: he hadn't been given a specific role yet. Oh Merz, I hope they don't make me a server or something after this. The thought wasn't enough to deter him from trying to get something to eat faster, though.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Don't confuse reckless stupidity for bravery." Gar shot back at that obnoxious pegasus man. That was all an answer he deserved.

Sword-guy tried to lecture him as well, so he faced him. "It's Raquel's choice if you get informed."

Finally was back to Shade Drake. "If you can use your pain simply as a point in an argument than so can I." Gar cut the air with the flowers which were starting to bend just a bit from all the unwanted movement. "Of course getting something for nothing is beating her. She lives in the archives. She trades information. Getting knowledge for free is beating her dammit." Gar shook his head. "But whatever, I've somehow become the bad guy in the argument that it's dumber to bow to Nyx than listen to Raquel, Veronika or myself. Whatever, have fun with no privacy in your lives ever again." Gar waved his hand, turned around and left down some hallway.

He whistled and danced as he moved down the hall. Everything was just going oh-so-perfectly!

[Snowy_One]

"I'm sure I can handle it. Liars and deception only works so long as you know that they aren't lying or deceiving after all. But then, fine. I'll keep quiet so long as she doesn't talk to me. And the standard 'hi' and 'bye' of course."

[ReformBlade]

"Honestly, whatever keeps my mind off of things here works for me, so whatever you need, I'll do it." Jericho admitted plainly, not caring about how any of it sounded.

"Just, uh, something simple, easy to move around in." Mushirah stammered out, "I am going outside, but I'll be with a group of people if you're concerned for my safety. It's a bit of a, um... personal matter." she didn't know why she added that last part, the maid probably not one to pry anyhow.

[Nanami Touko]

Eva eyed Tia suspiciously, but didn't say anything else. "Once Shad's done arguing with whoever, over there, and you're all ready, meet me at the stables. Need to go set up Sasha's saddle..." She walked off ahead of Eli and Tia, hoping they wouldn't all take too long, because she knew it wouldn't take her long to switch up a saddle.

[Sakusa]

"I'll help," Gwyn declared and stood up quickly, eager to do something productive. There was no way she could just idly study at this point, so she was willing to do just about anything to get away from the bickering. The girl could barely follow along the conversation as it really didn't have much to do with her, and she had no interest in falling prey to any vasilus of darkness' whims. Besides, keeping herself busy with menial tasks would help take her mind off the storm and possibly earn brownie points with the staff. As for forging bonds with this mismatched group... she was beginning to think that it wasn't worth it.