Return of the Emblem Chapter Twelve: Divergent Paths

[scorri]

Erion

"It's probably just getting ready to hatch. I was just messing with her when I said she broke it." He shrugged. "So it's a vasilus egg, huh? Where'd you guys get one of those?"

Lumi

"Uh. I guess going out and seeing the town could be fun maybe." At Aneda's comment, she blushed. "Uhm. I'm sure that I'm fine just the way I am. What do you think Eli? Do you think guys would like me more with red hair?"

[Ether]

"I mean, I would certainly like to... what other chance will I have to go to something like this?" Faatina replied, as Reign inquired whether she intended to go or not.

"But you need a date for something like this, right? I dunno who I would go with... you said you weren't going, right?"

***

"That was interesting." Annelise noted.

***

Tina/Reign Retro

Another large city, this one apparently going by the name of Ursaea... the actual size of the city not being quite as impressive as just how... tall it was. Seeing it, Faatina couldn't help but want to explore as much as she could while she was here... a place li

ke this must be a real cultural hub.

'This will be a great chance to find out more about Ursian culture, but...' Faatina began, before recollection of a... certain prior occurrence reared it's head.

'It might be best if I found someone from Ursium to show me around... the last thing I need is to come back with something worse than alcohol this time around...' She decided, trying to find someone who didn't appear to be previously occupied. Eventually coming across Reign, and recalling that he had spent some time in the Ursian military, she decided he would be as good a companion as any.

"Hey Reign, are you busy?"

"Never," Reign half seriously replied. "Did you need something?"

"Well, I wanted to take a bit of a tour of the city, but, well... you remember what happened the last time I wandered about without anyone to guide me along..." Faatina replied, rubbing the back of her head, whilst turning towards the ground to hopefully hide the blush that had formed on her cheeks.

"So clearly, you want me to come with you to get the 'right' alcohol this time," he joked. "In all seriousness, if you need a tour guide, I guess I could pretend to be one for a little while. I haven't been here enough to be anything more than a culture guide, though. Just a fair warning."

"That's fine... it's more than enough..." Faatina replied, giving a slight chuckle at Reign's comment... atleast he didn't seem to hold any ill will, not that she had any reason to think he did.

"Atleast, if I do end up buying alcohol, I'd like to know that before I end up downing it." She continued, giving her head a quick shake... there was no reason for her to be tense about this, she only needed to relax.

"And as a thank you for putting up with me, you can help me pick out a place with some nice looking Ursian food, and I'll treat you to lunch there, okay?"

"Your treat, huh? You've got a deal," Reign replied with a light grin. Besides, I'm broke anyway. If I don't find a side job here soon, I may have to start working for Raquel for actual pay. Right now I'm working gratis because of what happened before, but it's starting to look insane.

"Just try not to completely break me, if you can. Haha." Faatina replied, allowing Reign to lead the way into Ursaea.

Soon after they set out, an old concern of Reign's cropped up. This was Ursium, not Tracea or Rex-Avaz. He was no different from a fugitive as far as the authorities were concerned. The chances of being recognized by anyone who could actually take action was incredibly small, but still there, so instead of truly enjoying the relatively fresh sights of Ursaea, he was keeping an eye on the patrols whenever they came a little too close for comfort.

What was I thinking, coming back here without a plan? While musing about his initial decision, the two passed in front of a peculiar looking store. It greatly resembled Raquel's 'shop' in that they sold a variety of weapons and equipment, but didn't have the gruff looking exterior armories and many Ursian weapon dealerships usually had. Reign stopped and glanced at it for a moment and then noticed why it looked so well kept. It was a store affiliated with Hammer Industries. "I bet the stuff in there's expensive as hell and blows stuff up with the touch of a button. Wanna check it out?" he asked Faatina, shrugging at the end.

"Heh, why aren't I surprised you'd point out this kind of place, Reign?" Faatina replied, as Reign listed the appeals of the weapons shop, which comprised of explosive and expensive. Oddly enough, he was the one who seemed even more tense than she had been earlier... Faatina couldn't help but wonder what was up with him.

"Is something wrong, Reign? You keep glancing off, and you seem tense."

"Hmm?" Oh that's right, not everyone here knows I'm a deserter, or at least not the details. "Don't worry about it. I've just gotta keep my eyes peeled the closer we get to the capital. Raquel's got enough to worry about without me adding more."

"Is it troubling you to be out here like this?" Faatina asked, feeling guilty about asking him to show her around if he had some reason to be wary, apparently not just here but more and more the closer they got to the capital.

"Seriously, don't worry about it. Ursian mages are trained to watch their backs at all times. Call it paranoia, but that's an old habit I'd rather not kick just yet. Being back in a place like this is just bringing me back, that's all." Also reminding me how screwed I am if don't come up with an alias by the time we get to Europa.

"This is different... I can feel it, Reign. You're more antsy than when we're on the battlefield, fighting off whatever is trying to kill us that day of the week." Faatina retorted, not buying his story for a second. Stepping towards the fire mage, and pressing herself against him so that her lips were against his ear, the paladin gently began to whisper.

"Is it something you can't talk about in public? Or is it because we're in Ursium... you met Raquel in the military, didn't you? You shouldn't have any reason to be wary here unless..." Faatina began, she didn't want to finish, if she was off, Reign might be offended by what she would say... perhaps with that, it would be enough for him to speak on his own.

Reign shrugged. "... I take it you know what desertion is. In Ursium, during war time, that's a capital offense, and thanks to some amazing crap Nadine and I pulled back at Horizon, I'm not a complete unknown in the capital region. Assuming we run into any sufficiently ranked officer who can identify me, they're required to apprehend or kill me on sight," he explained with a blank stare.

"I'm not worried about being arrested or cut down by random soldiers, but if they ID me while I'm traveling with Raquel and make a move before I'm prepared, she's going to get dragged into another meaningless fight, and I don't care who Weyland thinks he is, he can't cover her ass for attacking regulars in order to save some wrathdamn fugitive of 'justice'."

Reign seemed quite nonchalant all of the sudden, with his revelation out of the way. It was just so...

"You shouldn't be so ready to throw your life away for nothing, Reign... I don't know what your reasons for leaving were, but... isn't there some way to keep them from getting an ID on you?" Faatina asked, she wanted to help somehow, but wasn't sure if there was anything she could do.

"Anyway, if you want, we can just have a quick lunch and head back... if you don't want to be seen, it might be better if you weren't wandering around with me..."

"I'm not throwing my life away for nothing, but it's more important to me that Raquel doesn't get mixed up in this. At best she'll get chased out of her own country just for keeping me around ... and she's sentimental enough to allow something like that to happen," Reign explained, looking annoyed. "I trained to become a mage for power, but I wasn't sure what to do with that power once I got it, and since I'd spent most of my training days being indoctrinated by these people, I didn't wake up until after the war started. They actually thought sticking their best new mages on the front lines would stop the Neviskotian advance, so I had to choose between becoming a fugitive or dying for a worthless cause. That's really all there is to it."

"Anyway ..." Reign's expression went back to some semblance of amiability. "No sense in lying low out of paranoia, at least not until Europa. I can always pretend I'm my older brother if I have to."

"Do you think that would work?" Faatina asked... she had ever met Reign's brother, so she couldn't speak on the resemblance... or lack thereof. In the end, he was putting Raquel over himself... she couldn't truly blame him, she had been doing the same whilst fighting.

"I suppose I can't speak against not wanting to get others involved in your problems, but... if there's any way I can help, I want you to let me know, okay? I can't stand just sitting back when a friend is in danger."

"Probably. My brother's not a ghost so they could find him in public records. Even if he was famous, we look enough alike for me to fool people for awhile. Anyway, if you want to help, I may need to actually start calling myself Elrey at some point here soon. Playing along would be more than a little helpful."

"Sure, I can do that, Elrey." Faatina replied with a wink.

"So, where do you think we should head to next?"

"Not interested in the weapon shop? We could go get something to eat. It shouldn't be too hard to find a place that's decent."

"Well, I'm not exactly a weapons connoisseur... if I wanted to surround myself with them I would probably sit in the Dauntless... though if you think they'll have something here to change my mind, go right ahead and lead the way." Faatina replied.

"We should probably just go and get something to eat for now in that case. I can always bring Raquel and Connor back here a little later to scope out the competition. Window shopping really isn't my thing."

"Alright. Where do you think we should go, Elrey?" Faatina asked... this might take some getting used to, but if it would help him out, it was well worth it.

"Mm, north. People passing through Ursaea would likely be heading to or coming from Europa and the capital region, so there's bound to be more interesting sights and eateries toward that end of the city and along the main road leading to that gate," Reign figured. "Also, since it's just the two of us, don't worry so much about the name. People already have the right idea, I think," he explained, looking a little amused.

"That seems reasonable." Faatina replied, as Reign decided the best area of the city to go eat in. Although his words following had her somewhat confused.

"People have the right idea? What do you mean?" The paladin asked, tilting her head to angle herself better towards Reign's face.

"Well, it's obvious to anyone watching that you and I are talking to each other, even though we haven't used each other's names very often. Just something to consider if calling me 'Elrey' gets old," Reign explained as they walked. "Body language seems like it'll be just as important in keeping up a guise as actual words are, heheh."

"I guess I shouldn't act confused, huh? My bad." Faatina replied, rubbing the back of her head somewhat embarrassedly, before moving closer to Reign and linking his arm with hers, pulling the fire mage a bit closer to her as they walked.

"Did you have any ideas of what sort of place we should go to, then? Since we've decided where in city we should go."

Hmm, I wonder if that's an act or not ... "Nope. I can go for anything as long as it doesn't look or taste like a ration. You?" There's probably a place close by that'll do, but I don't really have a taste for anything in particular.

"I want to have something that embraces Ursian culture, something you can only get here... or only have done right here, I guess." Faatina replied, as they continued along.

"There must be some sort of place you want to go to, humour me a little."

"You didn't want me to break you, remember? Let's forget about my preferences for now and just focus on you," he explained with a small grin. Something unique to or best prepared in Ursium, huh? Well a bit of western cuisine couldn't hurt despite the name 'western' being tacked on thoughtlessly. "I'll keep an eye for something 'All Ursian'."

"So everything you want is ridiculously expensive? You didn't seem the type." Faatina replied with a chuckle, before resting her head against Reign's shoulder.

"It's odd... you would think it would be different after what happened, but... I dunno, I feel relaxed when I'm with you. I know you're more concerned about what would happen to Raquel if you got caught, more than your own demise... but I know she would beat herself up over it if anything happened to you because you followed her here... and she's not the only one who would miss you."

I guess it's not an act, then. Though ... it's not as if I'm so worried about Raquel getting caught up in this that it's my only focus ... it's just that the way things are going, I've only got two options now; leave the group and Ursium, effectively eliminate the risk for either of us, or stay and take that risk. "Wait, you too? Didn't think I was that good of a kisser."

"Eh?"

It took a moment for the Rexian paladin to register what Reign was saying, leaving an oddly pronounced moment of silence between the two, followed by Faatina's face immediately being painted a deep scarlet, and her releasing Reign's arm, and stepping back a tad.

"W-w-w-w-w-what? I... you... what do you..." She began to stammer out, her blush growing increasingly brighter as she did so.

Hmm ... maybe I got the wrong idea after all. She's pretty good with the mixed signals ... whether or not she realizes it. "Mmm, never mind what I said," Reign replied, deciding to run damage control and worry about her true intentions later.

And now he just wanted her to ignore it... Faatina wasn't sure what to think, and still being overly flustered and now confused on top wasn't particularly helping.

"I don't know how I feel about that... but I guess I'll take back something from earlier too... being with you is surprisingly relaxing, when you're not completely messing with my head." Faatina replied, sighing into her hand... not so much out of exasperation so much as that she was trying to hide her face until it reverted to a more presentable colour.

"Hahah. Come on, you'll feel better after some ursian cuisine," he replied, offering her his hand.

"Sure, just standing here isn't going to change anything, I suppose." Faatina replied, moving her hand down from her face now that it, at the very least, resembled a human skin tone again. Proceeding to take the offered hand, Faatina couldn't help but wonder as they made their way forward.

'What is it about Reign that keeps putting me in situations like this...? It doesn't really happen with anyone else...'

While they walked, Reign kept an eye out for a place that looked all ursian instead of nearby patrols. With the northern wall in sight, the smell of food and the sounds of through traffic were beginning to pick up quite a bit. "Hmm ... might need to ask someone for a recommendation soon. I smell a bakery goods pretty close by, but that's not quite what we're looking for."

"I guess you're right, though it might be nice to stop at a bakery afterwards, it might not be best for a meal, but something later on, perhaps... it definitely smells good." Faatina replied, enjoying the scent of baked goods, as well as the other exotic... well, exotic to her, foods.

"Works for me." Hmm, maybe that place over there. If it's not what I think it is, at least I'll have the perfect opportunity to ask. "May have found one. Doesn't look too expensive but we'll have to take a closer look to be sure."

Despite all the people wandering around, business wasn't as good as the restaurant manager would have liked, so when he saw two potential customers coming, he perked up and stopped looking tired and depressed for a moment. "Welcome to Chateau de Lamar~"

"Are you Lamar?" Reign asked, smirking a bit.

"Oh, I get that all the time, but no, sir. Now then, will you be eating with us today?"

"If you serve Ursium's best, of course."

"Hahah ... you've come to the right place, then."

After a rather, interesting back and forth between Reign and the front man at the restaurant, ending with the rather expected comment that they were the best around, because why claim anything but?

Still, Reign had to have some sort of idea to approach this place, presumably having something to do with this Lamar person.

"So, should we stop here?" She asked, turning towards Reign.

"Might as well," Reign replied with a smile.

"Excellent, please step right in and take any seat you wish. There are no reservations today, so there's no need to be shy," the man politely instructed.

Taking the man's lead, Faatina entered the restaurant along with Reign, and eventually found a comfortable table towards the end of the restaurant... if Reign was trying to not be seen, it would probably be best not to sit too near the windows, regardless.

"How about this one?"

"Works for me," Reign replied, resisting a shrug. He remained standing for a moment though, looking off toward the entrance to the kitchen. If a waiter or waitress was going to show up, they were most likely to emerge from there.

Taking a seat at the table in front of them, Faatina noticed Reign was looking off to what was most likely the kitchen.

"Staring at it isn't going to make them come any faster." She chided the fire mage with a chuckle.

"True ... though now that you mention it, I think there's a light mage back there," he replied as he sat down. Turning his attention toward Faatina more fully, he added, "Heh, it's a funny thought, cooking with light magic."

A moment later, a dark avian woman stepped out from the kitchen and approached with a few copies of the restaurant's menu in hand. She hadn't quite reached them yet, so Reign only glanced at her when she appeared. Must have been the light energy he was sensing.

"Well, it generated heat, doesn't it? I suppose fire would be better for it since you can manipulate that heat a lot easier, but I could see it being done if you knew what you were doing." Faatina replied, as Reign mentioned that there appeared to be a light mage in the kitchen.

"It must be nice, being able to sense other mages. If I could do that, maybe I wouldn't get torched as often... or electrocuted..." She continued, with a sigh. Soon enough afterwards, Reign's glance darted to the side, and sure enough, a Dark Avian, whom Faatina could only assume was their waitress, was approaching.

"I imagine there'd be pros and cons to both. With light magic you're more likely to incinerate the ingredients and the pot you're cooking with. With fire magic ... you're only going to be cost effective in the short term. Fire wood and sparks are a lot easier to come by than anima."

"Good day. I'm Daniella. I have some menus for you," the dark avian introduced herself. She then set two of the menus she was carrying down in front of them and said, "Please take your time. Is there anything I can start you off with, like some water?"

Reign gave the dark avian a rather firm and inquisitive gaze which she eventually noticed. I wonder if I did something wrong again. He seems suspicious ... Before long she was laughing nervously.

Can you hear this? Hello? ... ... same reaction. I guess she's not the type to go poking around in people's thoughts. Reign thought that was kind of a pity since it'd be extremely useful in situations like these. "Yeah I'll have some water." Then he looked to Faatina waiting to see if she was going to decide or not.

"Sure, some water is fine." Faatina replied when asked, though Reign was acting... odd. He was just, looking at the waitress with a curious gaze, which eventually got a laugh out of her... obviously one based on nerves rather than humour.

"What, I'm not cute enough for you, or something?" The paladin chided... she knew that most likely he wasn't checking their waitress out so much as expecting her to do something or other, but it couldn't hurt to tease him a little, could it?

'On second thought... he usually does something to tease me even worse... maybe this was a bad idea...'

Smirking, Reign replied, "Actually, I was just thinking how nice it would be for you to wear one of those," and pointed his thumb at the dark avian's outfit. "You can't dress for battle all the time, right?"

"Very well, I'll be right back with your drinks," the dark avian waitress informed them before beating a hasty retreat.

"You know ... it'd be really useful for a woman like that to use someone's mental image of their food to help them out," Reign mused aloud, leaning on his elbow while staring off into space. "Can't imagine why she wouldn't."

Faatina honestly couldn't say she was surprised at the development, thought admittedly, the little outfits they gave their server girls were cute, if impractical... she wasn't going to give Reign the satisfaction of seeing her stammer and trip over herself this time, not again. While a slight blush still rose to her cheeks, it wasn't anything explicit, as she turned her head to the side, partly to mask it, but partly to get a second look at the getup that said waitress was wearing.

"I mean, it's not like I'm against it so much as that, if I take off the actual armour on top, the rest still functions as fairly serviceable attire... besides, I don't really have the figure for something like that..." The paladin noted, as Daniella gave a noticeable... bounce, off to the distance as she popped up from, presumably, preparing their drinks.

"Anyway... she probably isn't reading thoughts because of security issues. I would imagine the manager would get in a lot of shit if some overly paranoid customer started bitching when she confirmed their order from their head... soon rumours start spreading that the restaurant is gathering it's customer's dirty little secrets and selling them off to the highest bidder... that's why convenient things like that never actually get anywhere..."

"And this is why we can't have nice things. You're right," Reign concluded with a smirk and a shrug. Next, he decided to take a look at the menu. "Yep, mostly Ursian. Give me a second here and maybe I can make a recommendation ..." Maybe a souffle? No, that's not the first thing you want to experiment with ... and besides, we're probably heading over to that bakery after this. Oh hey, potato wedges. Well I know what I'm having~

'Y'know, this is the part where you're supposed to chime in "no, you have a great figure" or something like that... oh well...' Faatina noted to herself with a light sigh, as she opened the menu and began looking through it. Some things looked interesting, but she decided she would at the very least wait for Reign's recommendation before making her decision.

"Anything catch your eye?"

"Uh- ... yeah. Not sure how you feel about potatoes, but I could go for some right about now. That's just me though; what kind of food do you normally enjoy? I mean as far as ingredients ... meat, vegetables, seasonings, things like that."

The winged waitress returned around that time and carefully set their water down beside both of them.

"Well, I'm willing to try just about anything atleast once... but I suppose I tend to prefer red meat to poultry or fish, and spicier kinds of seasoning... for most vegetables, it really depends how they're prepared... but really it doesn't matter all that much." Faatina replied, when Reign mentioned potatoes.

"Potatoes, huh? I mean, they're nothing new, but I suppose they might make them differently in Ursium... they don't seem like they would make for much of a meal on their own though." She replied, as the waitress returned with their water. Taking hers and taking a drink, she turned towards the Dark Avian.

"Thank you."

The winged woman waited a moment to take their orders and listened to Faatina's explanation to Reign, which from the sound of things, was her list of preferred meats, vegetables, and spices. When thanked for the water, she said, "It's my pleasure," smiled, and bowed a bit.

"We're still heading over to check out that bakery after this, right? Well I find bread to be pretty filling, so I'd rather save at least a little room for it. Sooo ..." he paused to make eye contact with the waitress. "How are the potato wedges here?"

"Pretty good actually, though we'll season them however you like. We also have some dipping sauces."

"We could get a serving of those to share if you want to try them," Reign offered in lieu of the menu suggestion he didn't have just yet. He was still thinking about it, though.

"Sure, that sounds good to me. Get them however you prefer." Faatina replied, before turning back to the waitress.

"What kind of sauces do you have?"

"I usually eat them without condiments, or with just a bit of extra butter. Most sauces don't really work for me here," Reign noted while the waitress recalled some of what they had available.

Of course she was surprised by what Reign said and asked, "Oh? Not even ketchup? It's pretty popular."

"Eh," he shrugged. "It's not bad, it's just not 'better' with it."

"Well, I'll take a little bit of the popular ones, so I can give them a try, I suppose." Faatina replied... Reign seemed to be quite the self-proclaimed connoisseur of these potato wedges.

"Alright then. Is there anything else you'd like to order before I head back?"

"Do you have any brown sauce?"

"... for ... for the potatoes?" the waitress nervously asked. The customer was always right, or so she was told, but this was a weird question for her nonetheless.

"Oh, no, I was considering getting us a couple of beefsteaks to go with the potatoes but without that, I just can't bring myself to do it," Reign casually explained.

"Well, yes, but we also have something a little bit better for steaks in particular if you'd like to try that instead. It's derived from our brown sauce but compliments the steak better. We've just been calling it 'steak sauce' since our cooks fell a little short when coming up with a name," she explained, shrugging a bit at the end of it. "I'm sure it doesn't matter though. The idea was so simple, I'm sure they're not the only ones who came up with it."

"That'll be all for me, at least for now." Faatina replied, as Reign asked some more questions, followed upon by a story about steak sauce.

"Alright then, those orders should be ready in about twenty minutes. I'll be making more rounds before then, so just wave if you need anything else." With that, the winged waitress left them and went back into the kitchen.

Once she was gone, Reign set his water a bit closer to him and placed his palm slightly over the top. "So, how are you liking the north so far? Is it at least worth the trip?"

"It's nice... I'm learning a lot, some things more willingly than others, but in the end, it's all worth whatever little embarrassments I might have to endure." Faatina replied, with a slight chuckle.

"Whatever happens, I'm glad I left Sanctuary... had I not, I just would have spent the rest of my life as a stable girl."

"Glad to hear it, though I apologize for not being much of a tour guide here." Once Reign pulled his palm away from the glass of water, a small stream of it began to follow. Before long, that same stream was floating over into his mouth. After just a sip, he broke the connection and what was left of the stream curved back around to form a wide ring between him and the glass. Reign kept the ring in motion so it would stay afloat, dividing his attention to do so.

"It's no problem... I wasn't expecting anything big... hell, I don't even know how much time you've spent here before this, or if you were even here at all." Faatina replied, followed by Reign performing an... interesting trick.

"Seems like a lot of effort just to drink some water. Or are you actually trying to impress me for once?" She asked, taking a drink of her water... the old fashioned way.

"Are you impressed?" Reign replied, grinning at her. "My water proficiency can be pretty crucial in battle, so I need to put in at least a little exercise every now and then. If I take a bad hit for example, being able to stanch the bleeding could save my life. That's part of the reason I chose it as my secondary. It's also good for surprising people in general if you're quick enough."

"Maybe a little, I didn't know you knew water magic." Faatina replied, as he explained his reasoning.

"It does seem useful... though I guess that applies to magic in general, huh?"

"I suppose so, but there are definitely advantages to just being able to whip out of knife, too." Frowning, he added, "The thing is ... mages have a harder time keeping up and planning quickly in battles because we have to concentrate more to keep our spells working. It's why a lot of the mages in the military carry sidearms and smaller weapons for backup, instead of just relying on their magic. I should be doing the same really ...."

"If you want, we can pick up a combat knife for you on the way back. Still, even if it might have some drawbacks in battle, depending on the situation, for everyday tasks, knowing how to manipulate water or spark a flame is a lot more helpful than knowing how to filet a man with a lance." Faatina replied, taking another drink of her water.

"That's true. It's just when it comes to combat, it's easier to take someone out with a knife you already have than making one out of blood on the ground first. There are close calls and then there's ... that," Reign explained, looking a little embarrassed. "Honestly, I'd prefer a staff to a knife. That was just an example. I can keep someone at bay with a staff which will keep the pressure off and make it easier to focus."

"Is making a knife out of your own blood really all that good a tactic to begin with?" Faatina asked. It seemed strange, but then, so was magic in general.

"I don't know much about battle staves, I only mentioned a knife because it's fairly standard and is useful even outside of a fight if it's well made."

"Heh, they probably wouldn't see it coming at least ... aaand ... it wasn't my blood anyway," Reign explained, hinting at a real experience, it seemed. "First rule of being a water mage: 'if it's wet, it's a weapon'. But ... yeah, knives are useful and easy to conceal but I'd rather have something I can keep someone at bay with. Wanna head back to that weapon shop sometime after this and see if they don't have any explosive staves in stock?" he joked.

"Explosive staves... I don't know if that's a joke or not but I'm not made of money." Faatina replied with a chuckle.

"It was mostly a joke; I can make a staff explosive just fine on my own," Reign clarified, chuckling as well right afterward.

"Something tells me you'll go through staves pretty quick if you're using them as an explosive... isn't the point of a sidearm something reliable you can count on always having?" Faatina retorted with a smirk.

"Mmmm gunstaff ... no one'll ever see that coming~" Because they'll be dead before they even realize they've been shot in the face, of course.

"Remind me to duck if I ever see you point a staff at me." Faatina replied with a chuckle.

"Will do, heheh. Though ... you ride a horse, so it may be better to just break away," Reign mused, thinking about how some of this might actually play out in a real battle. He actually have the patience to put together a weapon like that right now, but it would have been interesting.

"If I'm mounted at the time, maybe." Faatina replied.

"Sheesh, twenty minutes?" Reign seemed to be remembering how long the waitress had said it would take to get their food prepared and brought to them. "She wasn't kidding, was she? I don't mind, but now I'm getting really hungry, here," he explained, while carefully guiding the water he hadn't drunk back into the glass with the rest of it.

"I'm sure it'll be done soon." Faatina replied, as Reign began to talk about how long it had been since the waitress had left with their order.

She was right, it was 'relatively' soon when their food arrived, but Reign still finished his water by then. As she set a rather large plate of potato wedges and two separate plates each with a serving of steak in front of the two, she asked, "Can I get you a refill or ...?"

"Yeah, and thanks." Reign took a look at all the food and decided that it had been worth the wait since it was a bigger meal than he was expecting. He also noticed some dipping sauces with the potatoes, two of each kind on either side. This was going to be a fun little experiment.

"Sure." Faatina replied, when asked about a refill. And that was when the food arrived, a decent amount more of it that she had expected. Well, it wasn't really a problem, she decided, taking one of the potatoes... may as well try it on it's own first.

"It's pretty good."

"Great, now once we find the right sauce here, I'll have a new convert," Reign teased while reaching for one of the wedges, himself. He ended up grabbing three for the purpose of trying out each of the sauces back to back, though he already knew how the ketchup was going to taste ... so that was less of a test and more of him just sticking to principle and trying all three. Eh who knows. Maybe this place makes it a bit differently.

"Oh by the way," the waitress spoke up, looking progressively more nervous as she went on. "The ketchup is going to be more expensive than the rest of those."

Reign paused just before eating the ketchup covered potato wedge. "... why?"

"Well you see, more of our tomatoes come from Mr.Teller and someone smashed up his store yesterday and ... so the prices have gone up significantly. The chef wanted me to tell you that when I came back out here. I don't know if he's joking or not, though; he wouldn't say. I'm sorry!" After explaining that, she looked like she was about to explode from the embarrassment. That didn't stop her from quickly grabbing the cups and preparing to head back, though.

Reign noticed she wasn't having an easy time with this, but made light of it, saying, "It's the little things that ruin the economy," and ate the potato wedge. Wait a second ... is that the tomato stand Bert crashed into? Heh ... hahah ... hahahahahahahh- Reign's blank expression was eventually replaced by silent and uncontrollable laughter.

"It's alright... not much you can do about that, I guess." Faatina replied, as the waitress noted that the ketchup would be more expensive, and why. Eventually, she left to go refill their drinks, and Reign's once stoic face exploded into a silent laugh.

"Is something the matter?"

Reign shook his palm at her while laughing for a moment and then said, "We won't know about the ketchup pricing until they give us the bill, but I'm pretty sure that tomato store is the same one Bert destroyed when he got here."

"Damn it, Bert." Faatina replied with a groan.

Well, it's not entirely his fault; apparently the dragon was aiming for it ...? Then again, who in their right mind would go after a dragon with just a pair of maces and a poleaxe in the first place? It's a miracle he survived. "Yeah, Raquel sure can pick them ... and at least the ketchup's good. Nothing special, but they didn't do anything wrong making it. Now let's see about this steak and the 'steak sauce' ..."

Sure, let's give it a try." Faatina replied with a sigh, before trying the steak.

"It's good."

It took a moment to cut a piece off to eat, but once he had, Reign dipped it in some of the extra sauce gathering around the steak and ate it. "Hmm, this is better than just plain brown sauce, but now I'm wondering how they made it. Just the same, the steak is pretty good. I'm glad we stopped here," he explained with a smile.

"Yeah, it was nice... I think my favourite of them for the potatoes was probably this one." Faatina replied, pointing out a white sauce that she wasn't quite sure the name of.

"So this is Ursian food, huh? It is certainly a far cry from Sancturan dishes."

"For the most part, yeah, though ..." Reign pause for a moment. Hmm ... would that be safe? Or just plain stupid?"Mmm, on second thought, I might not want to push my luck here. Never mind it for now. I mean I'll look into it, but I'll definitely need an alias if I'm going to be visiting my folks ..." he mused aloud. realizing he was making even less sense than he was during the laughing fit, he said, "I was thinking of letting you try some of my parents' cooking if you're interested. Now those two are true Ursian chefs."

Reign changed the subject again, though Faatina wasn't sure exactly what the new one was... until Reign clarified, causing a red tinge to rush to Faatina's cheeks.

'Ah... asking me to go to his home, meet his parents... on a... this is sort of a date, isn't it? No, it couldn't... things must just be different in Ursium, it's nothing like that...' Faatina convinced herself, shaking her head.

'Sometimes I wonder if he even realizes what he's doing, half the time...' She wondered, as she turned back to him, her face still tinged a light pink.

"I-is that right? Sure, if we're ever in the area."

"We will be soon enough; they live in Europa now," Reign noted as he ate another piece of steak. "I've got reservations about visiting them while playing fugitive, but you've got to pick those moments when you can, I guess."

"If you think it's safe... might it be better to come back later on in the future, maybe give things a chance to calm down?" Faatina replied, calming down herself by now.

"Maybe ... but I can't help but feel like things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. What with the skotians invading, the wrathites hounding Raquel, Wrath himself coming at some point, and so on ..."

The waitress soon returned with refills for them and carefully set their drinks on the table for them.

"Thanks," Reign said.

"I suppose you're right... I can't really keep track of the scale on all of this..." Faatina replied.

"Heheh, neither can I." Reign began alternating between eating his steak and the potato wedges. All in all it was a pretty good and filling meal, though the latter part had him wondering if he'd have enough room left over for the bakery. Maybe the walk heading back that way would help him make just a little bit of room.

"So was Raquel always involved in this sort of crazy stuff, or was it a surprise to you too?" Faatina asked. She had to admit, she had gotten a whole lot more than she had bargained for, meeting with that group fleeing the desert that fateful day.

"Hah, it's always crazy for her, but not like this ... not with people dying left and right," Reign began what seemed to be a lengthy explanation. Initially he was smiling, but that quickly turned into a bit of a grimace as he thought about the people who'd died since he'd joined up, people on both sides. "Back at Horizon, all we had to worry about was our progress in magic, scores, what to eat and avoid to stay in shape, and self proclaimed rivals. I almost miss the harmless bullshit. Out here things don't just go wrong, they go wrong and you die ..." he concluded, shaking his head a few times.

"That makes sense... things would be safer in an academy than out on the field." Faatina replied.

"But you've managed to make it so far... most of us have... that has to say something, right?"

"Yeah. I have no idea how we've leaped into so many unfavorable situations and come out with next to no casualties ... almost every time, too. It makes me wonder if the emblem's working some kind of spell on us during battles that even Raquel's not aware of. I'd rather think we're just that good but ... I don't know ..." Reign very slowly shook his head once at his own statement while looking off to the side at seemingly nothing.

"I guess that could be it, huh? Back when we took the Ukta, when we first met you, aside from Raquel that is... I took a pretty bad bolt from one of the division leaders... when I came to, one of the sailors told me that for a little while, I had been dead... they managed to revive me, somehow, but..." Faatina began, trailing off after a while.

"Maybe it was the Emblem... maybe if I had joined up with anyone else, when I left Sanctuary, I would be dead by now.."

"I'm glad you joined up with Raquel in either case, and we won't let anything like that happen again," Reign said simply. "So ... while you were ... 'dead' ... see anything interesting? Or was it more like a coma with absolutely nothing interesting going on? The emblem wasn't yelling at you to turn around and go back to your body, was it?" Reign found some of the near death experiences he was imagining pretty funny, so was chuckling a bit before long.

"Not really... it felt just like passing out normally... when woke up they told me I had been dead for a little while." Faatina replied, before giving Reign a sour look.

"Glad you find this so amusing."

"Well, it's kind of amusing. Turns out, people don't always die when they're killed, which is good news for us, or we wouldn't be enjoying this lunch together, right? Besides, you don't look traumatized or any worse for wear. Am I wrong?"

"I suppose you're right, but isn't it standard to respect the dead?" Faatina replied with a smirk.

"Hah. Now if there were only a way to do that that actually made sense to me."

"Weeelllll, your body stiffens up like you wouldn't believe... a nice, warm massage to loosen the muscles up might be all the respect this undead needs... for now." Faatina replied with a chuckle.

"Well, alright then ... if you're serious," Reign replied almost smiling.

Oh I am just so confused now ... the winged waitress thought to herself as she listened in on the conversation from afar. She hadn't caught all of it and so could only assume there was an inside joke she was missing.

"Of course I am... things like that are nice every once in a while, right?" Faatina replied with a grin.

Well this is another awkward moment waiting to happen, but I don't mind much either way. "Just name the place and time then. I'm completely free for the foreseeable future."

"We'll be on the road soon enough... it might be easiest to just rent a room for a little while..." Faatina replied. Honestly, she had expected some sort of refusal... but it was too late to back down now. Besides, she had to get over jumping at every little thing anyway... something like this would hopefully help her get over the nerves she had developed.

"Oh ... hmm." It had suddenly occurred to Reign that he actually hadn't gotten a room himself since so many of the inns were full. He'd visited Raquel a few times, and spent a few hours practicing in the reception area, but he didn't actually have a room there. "It's going to be tough finding a vacant one, but who knows. We might get lucky."

"Can't hurt to try, right? Worst case we just save it for another day." Faatina replied with a smirk.

"Could always wait until Europa, though, If we do, even if we find a room or something, I'll probably have a little competition around," Reign noted, imagining a group of servants shoving him aside so they could do the work. "Oh well ..." he concluded, shrugging and going back to his steak. The wedges, he could eat cold, but not the steak, so that had priority at this point.

"Well I don't see why we couldn't just shoo them off... a lot of young girls will succumb to requests they wouldn't normally take at the sound of something along the lines of 'Ahn~ B-but if... if it's him, it's special... I wanted this to be something between us... laying his warm hands on my tight body with a slight, but perfectly naughty gleam in his eyes... please, I beg you, let Master Reign do his work, just for today~' or some sort of rubbish like that." Faatina replied, doing her best impression of a lovestruck young maiden cooing in delight at the thought of her newfound world popping her cherry, and the big question, most likely in that order.

Of course, if said competition consisted of people other than young servant girls, such a specific ruse might not work... still, atleast some sort of groundwork was in place?

"Hahahah, that was pretty convincing," Reign said as he poured some merged water onto his steak. A few moments later, steam began to rise from the cut of beef as it heated up again. The seasonings had been diluted a bit, but it was still good enough for him. "So should we wait until Europa or still look for a free room around here? I almost want to wait just to see another person's reaction to that."

He glanced over at the winged waitress to see if she was still eavesdropping and noted how nervous and uneasy she looked, standing there by the entrance into the kitchen. She was definitely a little confused about some of what she was hearing. Reign eventually chuckled at that too.

"Well, I don't mind waiting until Europa, but... that's pretty much the danger zone for you, isn't it? I mean, I heard you guys are connected to this Weyland guy, but how much will he really be able to do for your... situation?" Faatina inquired, a somewhat uneasy look adorning her face.

"Probably nothing. I'm not going there hoping he can solve my little problem for me. I'm not even going to bring it up if I don't have to, really. I'm just going there to support Raquel," Reign explained.

"I didn't think he could actually wipe that clean, but do you think his shadow might be enough to give you a bit of a reprieve?" Faatina replied.

"I doubt it; he's got himself, his own people, and his own 'secrets' to protect. If a guy like that starts harboring criminals, it's all downhill from there," he quickly reasoned.

"You keep spinning things out of proportion... I mean, if they don't catch on before we get there, then you should be okay until we leave, right? It isn't a place where they would look for you?" Faatina asked. her face curling into a slight pout... was he doing this on purpose?

"I don't think they're actively looking for me at all anymore, if that's what you're getting at," Reign began clarifying. "There are plenty of people who know me by face and name, though, which is why I don't want to take too many dumb risks. A few's fine, but not too many," he added, grinning a bit. "For example ... us talking about my criminal status in a nearly empty restaurant. Iii aaam ... perfectly fine with that."

"And here I was trying to skirt around my wording, too." Faatina replied, deepening her pout.

"Heheh. Well thanks for that, at least."

"No problem, I guess." Faatina replied with a sigh. Their meal seemed to be just about done at this point, and it had been satisfying overall... Ursian food certainly was interesting.

And so it turned out, the ketchup actually was more expensive thanks to Bert's poor flying skills. With that in mind, Reign was glad they didn't waste any of it. After leaving the restaurant, the two went back the way they came until they found the bakery from before. Reign wasn't sure how much room he had left for more food, but figured they wouldn't be attempting to eat an entire serving of anything anyway.

"Heh... I don't know if I can eat much more... I guess we could just get something and eat it later, though." Faatina replied, as they reached the bakery.

"Well, I suppose we may as well do it the same way as before. You pick out something you think would be good."

"Hmm ..." Reign looked up to a slogan beneath the bakery's logo. "... 'Love at first bite.' ... heh ... heheh. Okay, we'll give this a shot."

"Welcome to Danielle's Delights, it's love at first bite~," said a man tending the shop. He was dressed like a baker and putting out freshly finished pastries when he greeted them.

Almost the same name as that waitress, heh. "Are you Danielle?" Reign asked blankly.

"Haaah ... oh that's a first. No, Danielle's my wife. She's taking the day off ... visiting a friend. Why don't you try one of our fresh eclairs? You can sample those free for today only," the man enthusiastically pointed out.

"It made sense last time, Reign, but he doesn't look like a Danielle to me." Faatina noted, nudging the fire mage in the ribs with her elbow. Still, the man took it with a laugh, and soon offered them a free sample of what he called an 'éclair'.

It looked tasty enough, some sort of pastry with chocolate on top, arranged in some kind of ornamental pattern. There were a few other ingredients she didn't know right off, but if she had to assume, based on the other stuff around, that the pastry with the chocolate was the basic éclair.

Taking a bite into it, the paladin affirmed that it was indeed tasty, though a rather unknown element had made itself... known. Unaware of the filling, Faatina's grip on the bottom of the pastry was rather tight, which caused the vanilla cream in the center to squirt out of the dessert once an opening presented itself, with nowhere to go but all over the Rexian woman's face.

"E-eh?!" Faatina managed, in surprise at the sudden assault, looking towards Reign with a confused look, her face covered in cream.

"What just happened?"

"Looks like a headshot," Reign noted with a small grimace.

"Oh, I guess you've never had a cream filled one before, have you, Ms.?" the man who was not Danielle chimed in.

"I haven't either. I'm kind of glad you went first," Reign said as he began chuckling and reaching to accept the handkerchief the man was now handing him. Once he had it, he was hoping to give it to Faatina while taking the eclair in exchange. She could get back to it once she'd cleaned her face off.

"I actually haven't had one in general... it was my first time trying one." Faatina replied, shooting Reign a slight glare at his headshot comment, before accepting the handkerchief and turning towards a conveniently placed mirror...

"Eh?!" She repeated, though instead of the surprised squeak being accompanied by confusion, it was instead followed by a deep red blush, as the paladin took witness to the damage. Losing her balance momentarily and falling to her knees by Reign's feet was her body's immediate reaction, though as she timidly looked back to the mirror, it would seem that it only escalated the apparent dilemma. It was at this point that some part of her gave up, turning to face Reign with a pout on her face to accompany the notorious creamy topping, still red as a tomato.

"Somehow this is your fault... I can feel it."

"... well, I did agree to come here after the restaurant," Reign commented. Then he knelt down in front of her. He was smiling, but it was all he could do to keep from laughing again.

"Are you alright, Ms?!" the worried baker stepped closer.

"I'm okay... the only things hurt are my pride and my ego..." Faatina replied, wiping herself off and pulling herself up.

"It tasted good, buttt... I think I'll take a look at what else you have for sale..."

"Alright then," the baker replied.

"Favor," Reign spoke up, focusing on the man. "Warn her if there's another one of those cream fille-" "Say no more," the man interrupted, raising his hand in a mild halting gesture. "Ms., I'll gladly point out which ones you need to watch out for if you don't particularly enjoy cream filling."

"It's not that I have anything against it, it just... ambushed me, I guess is a decent way to put it." Faatina replied with a sigh.

"Happens to the best of us," the man replied with a sad smile.

No it doesn't, Reign mentally countered. "How about this? What's this?" he asked as he stood back up and pointed at a nearby pie looking thing. It wasn't the only one there, but it was the closest.

"I ... I'll tell you what, you can sample that one for free for being such a good sport about the 'cream eruption'. Sometimes we get some very angry first timers and I personally want you to know that we appreciate your patience. It's a strawberry pie by the way."

"Well ... this should be fun. Want me to go first this time?" he asked Faatina.

"I think I would appreciate that, Reign." Faatina replied, somewhat dejectedly. Certainly this 'Danielle' would be hearing of this, and while Faatina didn't think Reign was the type to spread this around... she had to admit she didn't know a whole lot about the man in that respect... for all she knew come the next day it might be everywhere...

And so Reign was the first one to try the strawberry flavored pie. Nothing exploded in his face or made any sort of mess. Turning to her and giving a thumbs up after lowering the fork from his lips, he said, "It's clear."

The baker frowned. "Merz, no need to treat the cake like it might be poisoned."

"Actually I was treating it more like a potential explosive. It checks out," Reign replied with a smirk.

Sighing, the baker said, "You two are quite a pair ... but at least you're not whining about all this."

"No sense in complaining... it was my fault, after all." Faatina replied, before taking a bite of the pie.

"It's good."

"How much of this is a free sample again?" Reign asked, reaching over with his fork to cut away another piece.

Knowing what the man was getting at, he scowled half seriously. "Take a guess. If ya want the whole pie, you'll have to pay for it."

"Interesting ..." Reign said, while blanking staring back and eating another piece.

"I wouldn't mind this one, what about you, Reign?" Faatina asked, before the poor baker got tired of... that aspect of Reign's personality.

"Sure. How much, anyway?" Better make sure it's not too pricey before we commit.

"Eight silver, or one gold and I'll get some change for you."

Okay, not too bad. At least it's priced in silver.

"That seems fine." Faatina replied, fishing out eight silver and offering it to the man.

Accepting the money, the man cheerfully said, "Great. Pie's all yours. Don't drop it now, heheh, the wife and I worked hard on it. Oh speak of the lady and she shall appear."

Reign had covered the cake in a thin cloth to protect it from the elements while they carried it around and had just managed to pick it up when a dark avian woman stepped into the bakery. She looked exactly like Daniella, the waitress from Lamar's restaurant. Reign, having instantly forgotten what the baker had just said when he saw her, greeted the woman with, "Oh, hey. Didn't expect to see you here." Wait a second ... he said his wife was coming and she's the only new person here ...

"Have we met?" the woman replied with a concerned and somewhat forced smile.

"I don't ... really know anymore ..."

Well, that was awkward, to say the least. Faatina wasn't sure whether to chime in on the obvious problem here, which was that the woman looked just like the waitress that had just served them. Giving Reign a somewhat concerned look, yet not vocalizing anything, she figured he would probably have a better idea of what to do in this situation.

Edited June 18, 2014 by Ether

[Ether]

Nope

Edited August 30, 2013 by Ether

[Snowy_One]

Robin looked to Erion, slightly annoyed. "<You know, joking about something like this isn't funny. You seem to like doing that though, joking all the time.>" Robin gave a sigh though as she backed down. "<Besides... I don't really know how to have fun. Not like how you think. For me, being alone is how I relieve stress, being away from other people. But I am sick of being so lonely as well.>"

[Ether]

Reign/Tina retro part 2

"Huh? Where'd ya meet my wife?" the baker asked, stopping to scratch his head afterward.

"Chateu de Lamar ...? Though apparently not," Reign answered, shrugging at Faatina afterward.

"Oh, my sister works there. You must have run into her, not me," Danielle explained.

"Are you twins? Are avian twins even possible?"

For some reason, the baker decided to address that one. "Turns out, they are, but it won't occur naturally barring a miracle." The man continued scratching his head while he explained. "Double yolked eggs are rare, and viable ones are even rarer. The eggs don't get any bigger, so the two siblings would just kill themselves competing for space, nourishment, and even air. The only way to save both kids is if they're supported with light infusions and hatched a bit early. They come out completely dependent on light magic for years but it's well worth it. Their parents got to have two children at once and I got to marry a happy, healthy, guilt-free woman."

"Take that, Naturans," Danielle teased.

... the more you know ... Reign thought, keeping his expression blank.

"That's amazing! I had no idea something like that could happen... I mean, I'm still not quite sure about how the whole human twins thing happens, but for Avians as well, I never would have guessed!" Faatina replied with fervor. She had expected to come out of today with at best a bit more knowledge of Ursian cuisine and culture, but something like this, she couldn't have even fathomed.

"Still, that could have turned out... strange, had you not been sisters... I probably thought the same thing he did..."

"Hah, some people couldn't care less about stuff like that. Glad you find it so interesting," the baker cheerfully replied.

"I would have asked you to take me to this woman if she wasn't my sister so I could see with my own eyes, heehee," said Danielle.

"Well it is, isn't it? Some people are so set on this or that, and they never take any time to experience anything, or learn anything." Faatina replied with a smile.

"Can you imagine, though? Suddenly storming back into the restaurant with someone who looks just like the waitress that just served you... I dunno what I would think from the other side."

"Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised when I learned about it. I'm also glad the girls didn't ever give me the 'twin test'," the baker said, wiping his brow at the mere thought of being tricked by the two. Embarrassing to think he might not know his wife as well as he thought he did.

"I know what'd I'd think," Reign spoke up. "'What did they put in this steak?' Something like that." That prompted a laugh from the married couple. "Well, it's good to have met both sisters. You too ..."

"It's Arnold," the baker clarified.

"Right. Thanks for the entertaining and enlightening service. Who knows. We might be back sometime. Small world, after all."

"Oh any time, you two," Arnold cheerfully bid farewell. Danielle simply waved and smiled.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"A few outliers wouldn't hurt," Gar answer gun-lass. "But if the singles outweigh the duets then things get cranky."

[Phoenix]

Hopes of Conquest

"Yes. I wonder how my brother and Helga will respond if they meet her, again. Whether she likes it or not, she's changed quite a bit since her capture," Steinn said as everyone else left the room. Now, with the food delivered and any distractions now out of the way, he was free to explain some things to the newcomer. "Well then, that aside, I doubt we have much time before chaos begins to break out over here. Valdimarr was once informed of a way to defeat all human nations currently in existence via the use of 'siege gates', an experimental series of warp gates that function similarly to the demon sanctums our summoners use. With them, Corvus' full military might can be efficiently distributed over most of Sardius. Sardius could actually be conquered if the initial blitz projections are accurate, but we know our history. We know what happened to our people the last time we dealt such a critical blow to the humans. We also know what happened to the first dark army. They were almost completely obliterated from the face of the earth by the humans' 'God of Wrath' and his servants. Their plan is too shortsighted in general, but it also does nothing to account for the interventions of the gods and their vasilus servants. Our survival as a species will depend on whether or not his plan can be stopped in its early stages. I'll be hated by many for overthrowing my brother and preventing our rise to conquest, but we're in no position to challenge gods or even a lone vasilus, as the Massacre of Night showed us, so I will trample the hopes of the Corvan people to prevent their destruction ... if that's what it takes. Your life is not going to be easy traveling this road with me, Annelise, I must warn you now."

How to Care For An Egg

"Right," Reign answered. "It's tempting, if only to see if I can't talk one of those wealthy elites into giving up a pegasus for me to send back to that noble girl, but not really worth the risk right now."

Meanwhile, talk of the egg continued. "The egg was given to the group, and not necessarily Raquel, so she doesn't really need to know. I doubt she can do anything to help here. I'm not saying to keep this from her, but rushing off to tell her won't help in the slightest, I don't think," Shadrak carefully explained.

Gabbie chimed in next. "I wonder what could have caused that ... there wasn't a scratch on it when I decked Shadrak with it back on the ship," she carelessly mused.

"For all we know, that's what caused it," Shadrak reflexively retorted, though he knew that was probably not the case. Someone out of all those rotations would have noticed it before today. "Anyway, the crack isn't getting any larger, is it? Is there any movement in there?"

"Hit Shadrak with it. See if that does anything," Gabbie suggested, looking both serious about her suggestion, and innocent.

Over by the beloved exit, the professor was just making his way out when Tamara gently stopped him. "Master Weyland, one of your guests would like to use the library, but I wanted to make certain that he had permission to do so."

"Which one? Never mind, I'm pretty sure I know the one. Yes, that should be fine," Weyland replied, looking to be in a bit of a hurry.

"Very well then. We should head back then," she suggested to Zachary. By the time that came out, Weyland and Little Weyland were gone and heading down another hall. When Tia arrived, and asked about the library, she tried not to giggle at the funny timing. "Guests can enter the library for the time being. You might as well follow us," she said, indicating herself and Zachary.

Lady In White

"Can it wait until she gets me those spare clothes?" Raquel asked Bert while looking at the maid.

"Hmhm, I'll get right on that, Ms. Raquel," she replied before heading off. She didn't ask for any of Raquel's sizes, so she assumed the woman was only going to fetch a robe or some rather loose fitting clothing. That wasn't her preference, but at least they would be quick and easy to get into.

Battle Scars

"For the love of the gods, those people were lucky. The temperatures around the impact point probably could have melted any material we've ever come across if a few seconds is all it took to do all this," Anna said as she stood in front of the lowest impact point of the aureola spell on the Dauntless, arms akimbo.

"A few more seconds, and it could have cut the Dauntless in half," an engineer noted. "What are we going to do? It's impossible to defend against light attacks of that magnitude."

"I'm not sure, yet. There's no armor we can give this thing that can resist that kind of heat. It's just not possible with our current level of technology, magical or physical. It would be nice if we could make a system to deflect heavy attack spells that wouldn't affect the horses hauling it, or the passengers for that matter, but I'm not sure if we can. We'll just have to see what Weyland thinks about this one. The tanks we made have the same weakness as the Dauntless, only they would just explode into a billion pieces if they got hit this hard."

"Doesn't help that the Dauntless is a bigger target than the Recuscant tanks, and we can't protect those horses either so if they get hit, it's a sitting duck."

"You've got that right. War wagons just can't handle that level of combat." Sighing, Anna turned away from the damaged vehicle and began to tap her foot and cross her arms. "Aureolas aren't even the most powerful spells out there. If they have to fight whoever fired that spell again, they're toast. We need a foolproof workaround to this weakness or Weyland's not going to let Connor keep traveling with them. After all, if the Dauntless can't protect him, what in Sardius can ...?"

"You really want Connor to keep traveling with them, Anna?" another engineer chimed in curiously. "Seems pretty dicey with the people they pick fights with ..."

"Well, I thought it might be good for him to get some real world experience, but apparently the world wants to vaporize him. I really like the idea of overcoming the limitations the Dauntless currently has; that's a great challenge, but I'd hate to see Connor stuck in the estate until things calm down. He should be out learning about the world in person. Besides, who else can rein in Gabbie besides Weyland himself?"

"... ... ...Steinn," the engineer answered while staring blankly at her.

"I should have noted that the question ... was rhetorical," Anna irritably answered. She began looking at the Dauntless' damage in frustration once more, pondering ways to stop spells from damaging it in the future. What can we do about this? The Dauntless is too slow to evade a heavy attack spell, and the armor buys them nothing but a few seconds to evacuate. Do we have to replace the Dauntless with an entirely new kind of transport to keep Connor safe, or do we just need an additional system tacked on to increase its odds of surviving?

[Ether]

"My Lord, tell me. Are you aware as to why my family received it's name?" Annelise asked... that fact was something quite dear to them, but whether it was still noted outside of the family she did not know.

***

"That's true... there would be a lot of military there..." Faatina replied, as Reign brought up his treason.

[Mercakete]

Gytha smiled with relief when Gar informed them that it wasn't strictly necessary to go with a date so long as the majority didn't. "I'll be goin' without a date, then."

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

Oh Merz it's really because of that! "Yeah, I'll just be over here; just let me know when you're ready," Norbert somewhat hurriedly replied before taking a step or two to the side and leaning against the wall space next to the door. The maid's reply to Raquel was accompanied by that laugh. She was off to help out, but he still couldn't help but feel on-edge after that. This was the maids' turf. If it came to a confrontation, no one would even know what had happened to him, not that they'd care much anyway. Still it was downright eerie. There was nothing for it, though, but to remain alert and on-guard and that's exactly what the pegasus rider intended to do.

[Snowy_One]

Robin looked at Gabbie for a moment, then back to Shadrak, then to Gabbie again... and then lightly raised the egg up and tapped it against Shadrak's head. "No. It does not seem to do anything. Shadrak's head is still solid." she said before gulping nervously, hoping Shadrak understood Robin was trying to joke. Pulling the egg back in close though, she looked at the group. "I will keep watch over the egg for now though, and if anything important happens, I will hurry to tell Raquel. Besides, do you not want to attend the ball? We need someone who has a free evening to devote to watching the egg. Who won't have their nose stuck in a book either."

---

Tia smiled as the maid spoke and fell into line beside Zach. "Great! I was worried for a bit he would say no since we're commoners and, if he's willing to restrict access, he would say no because he had some rare books or something weird inside he didn't want people seeing. What about you Zach? Same reason for going? Because you want to study his books and see what mysteries of the universe you can discover? What about you, miss maid? Ever see anything interesting in there?"

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Spiffy, something actually concrete," Gar marked down gun-lass to the beats of a song. "Alright, anyone else wanna put up an answer?"

[ReformBlade]

Touching Lumi's hair like she was trying to show it off, "Admit it, she'd look gorgeous with it!" she stated triumphantly, as if she stumbled upon a one step process of hotifying someone. "Well I think she'd look good with red, not that blue doesn't fit her at all, it's a good color and it's thematic with her skillset, but... I'd say red is by far a more welcoming and passionate color, don't you think?"

[Phoenix]

Death Defying

"If I recall correctly, your ancestors survived the Massacre of Night, against all odds. Should I take that to mean that you intend to see this through to the end?"

About the Library

"It's only a library," Tamara replied with a slightly nervous smile. She wasn't sure why Tia was so excited, but didn't want to be terribly rude here. "I've come across interesting reads, but nothing extraordinary, though I'll admit, I've never done a thorough investigation of the library."

Disturbance

"Yeah, a little too much for me to risk it without a good reason," Reign replied to Faatina. Then, overhearing some of the conversation about the egg, he irritably said, "It's Shadrak's turn to hold the egg today. I'm not sure why you still have it."

Shadrak took the time Reign used to point that out to sigh. Then he said, "I can look after it. There's no reason for me to go to the ball and I'm not going to be busy or anything," aiming the last part at Gar. "Besides, it really is my turn, today." He wasn't sure how to deal with the crack in the egg, though. "Hmm ... do you think Steinn or Siv would know what to do about a crack like this?"

"Probably," Gabbie said before shrugging indifferently. Oh wow, I never considered it before but ... what if Steinn has a kid somewhere back home? I mean I'm sure he's slept around, but I wasn't sure if anything had come of that just yet. Eh ... still want him. That was when the inside of the crack on the egg's shell began to emit light. The egg itself began to produce a visible aura once again and both the light and the aura were as red as blood. "Welp, you've done it this toime, Robin," she half seriously said.

Greta had spaced out long ago in her drunken stupor, and so when she glanced over to see the egg aglow, she was surprised. "Wha'zz ... with that egg? Is it ... gonna hash or esplode?"

"Oh not this again," Shadrak muttered. I bet we're disturbing it or something. I hope it doesn't come out angry or something.

Waiting On the Clothes to Change

"Alright then," Raquel agreed. She went back into the room and left the door slightly cracked while moving over to the closet again. She decided to give it one more look while waiting on the maid to return. The closet wasn't empty, but she wasn't fond of the selection. Finally, she grabbed a pair of pants from the men's side of the closet and carefully stepped inside to put them on. They were several sizes too big and she had to hold them in place while she fetched her own belt.

She emerged from the room wearing her white shirt and the large pants, secured to her smaller figure with the belt. "I don't know how long she'll actually be, so I decided to just go with this for the moment. It looked like what you wanted to talk about is important ..."

Hoshi Time

Finally, after a bit of a walk, Weyland and Little Weyland arrived to see what Hoshi's experiment actually was, and hopefully help her solve its problems. Approaching her desk, the former quickly said, "Try not to get too frustrated. I'm confident we can get this working, but first, if we're going to make an attempt right now, we'll need an in-depth explanation. Tell me what you're trying to do, and the steps you've taken along the way. Hopefully we won't have to take too many steps back to get it right, but we'll see, I suppose."

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Wonderful, we're almost done here and then I can go proceed to wander around randomly looking for other people," Gar added the touch of Shade Drake to the list between singing. "Oi, Robin, and person she's talking to, are either of you two going?" Not that he expected Robin too, sword-guy had Veronika sit out after all.

[Snowy_One]

"I think it would be wise to find someone more knowing about being a mother than me, but for now, I will watch over it." said Robin, squeezing the egg tightly, being sure not to crack its shell, as she tried her best to be protective and loving of it. She had no training to be a mother beyond watching over Wilheim a few times when she was younger, but until one of the others offered and knew a thing about parenting, well... Better Robin than a drunk Greta or worse... Rook.

"I do not think I am. This egg, it is cracked and glowing and I do not think I would fit in at a ball." she said as she brought her finger up to 'tickle' the egg. Maybe, just MAYBE, if it hatched and she showed it some love it wouldn't grow up to be a fallen monster like the fallen and Siv. "<Erm... Cootchie cootchie coo?>"

[Ether]

"Yes... the entirety of our clan at the time was caught within the warpath, yet not a single was slain, despite all feeling the sting of the Massacre's wrath. We were granted the name Mortos by the Sovereign at the time, and became a minor noble house. A story was passed down throughout our family, with variance between belief and mythos, that our clan was destined, to defy the massacre should it come to pass once again. Already I was willing to lay my life for you, Lord Devlinos, however now... I shall see both to bringing your cause to fruition and carrying out this duty of our own design." Annelise replied, partway through her speech leaving her seat to bow before Steinn once again, before standing and holding her scythe between them, in a submissive position.

"I shall reap those who would stand against you, and bring calamity to our people, and deliver them to the afterlife with utmost haste... even if my flesh and bone are to be ground to dust, I shall tear the dissenters asunder, and ignite their spirits themselves until naught even ashes remain... to my last breath." Annelise concluded, the scythe she held aglow with a cyan flame that licked up the blade and shaft, yet did not spread further.

***

With the vasilus egg coming up, the attention was drawn to Robin, who appeared to have discovered a crack on the egg in question... which was now glowing.

"Uhh... has it ever done that before? I certainly don't remember it doing that when I was looking after it..." The paladin asked, confused at the development.

***

So that was the egg, huh? Angelica had not taken the time to look at it up close, but with this development, she would have to pay more attention to the peculiar little vasilus in training, as it were.

[Mercakete]

Gytha was fairly surprised at the sudden, glowing egg. She knew there was some egg being passed around but she hadn't really given it any attention herself. From the sound of things, it was something she'd rather not mess with. Though she didn't say anything, she was watching the egg now with a wary look of concern.

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

To be perfectly frank, Raquel looked a bit silly in the oversized pants, but that was hardly worth mentioning. If anything, it was a thoughtful gesture. She could've waited for the maid to return with some spare clothes, but instead she used what was available to her for his sake. Realizing that drew a bit of a helpless half-smile to the pegasus rider's face and he relaxed again as he pushed off of the wall and stood in the doorway.

"Thanks. Guess I should start by apologizing..." he sincerely began before grimacing as his paranoia began to pick up again, "But could we not do this in the hallway?"

[scorri]

Erion

Erion coughed under his breath slightly and rolled his eyes at Robin's antics. First she claimed she had no desire to have the egg, now when it was apparently someone else's responsibility to have the egg, she mulishly refused to give it up. Seemed like she just wanted the attention more than anything. With a shrug, he rested his head in his hands and just watched the situation unfold.

Hoshi

Looking up from her notes, Hoshi stammered, "Ah... uhm.. yes. Ignore these notes, these aren't for the project I'm stuck on. Uhm, ok. So, I've been trying to work on a blade that's sharper and lasts longer than any other type of blade that we have right now. My idea was to have an edge of diamond. I'd make it all diamond, but then that'd throw off the weights and also I think would cause some issues with money since a diamond that big... Uhm, right. As I was saying, I wanted to turn the edge of the blade into diamond. However, if I work with just a normal blade, I can't get it to work and end up with a melted pile of junk and a massive headache. I think the issue there is that there's not enough carbon in the blade to turn into diamond so instead I'm stuck trying to turn the metal into diamond which doesn't seem to be working. I then thought maybe I could use a carbon edged blade, but then I ran into the issue of connection the two and having the carbon still be sharp enough. A diamond edge doesn't do much if I can't sharpen it. The whole point of this was to make a hard hitting, sharp blade. And I just... I'm stuck."

[-Cynthia-]

Connor

"If you need to sharpen diamonds, you're probably going to need a diamond cutter. I'm not sure if we have one here, but maybe there's one at the headquarters in Ursentius?" he suggested.

Nadya

Nadya watched the egg with some interest. 'Bout time to see what comes out looks like. "I'm afraid I don't know much about hatchin' eggs...if there are any chickens around maybe we could try stickin' it under one of them?" she suggested aloud.

Veronika

Veronika wasn't quite sure why Gar was so keen on organizing who was going to the ball and with whom, but she supposed Weyland did need to arrange things. I hope no one going does anything stupid...but Blake is right in that me going is riskier than it's worth.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

There was another not surprise down, Gar mused as he moved Robin into the no area. That left a couple other people who were far more interested in the egg than answering. "I know looking at eggs is exciting and everything, I didn't take that chicken husbandry class for nothing after all, but it'll only take a couple of seconds for an answer, any answer. Then you can go back to wondering what's coming out eh?" At this point it was almost becoming sad, but Gar really needed to fill the void lest untoward things slip out beneath the song.

[Phoenix]

Prepared for War

"... holy crap ..." the guard standing outside said to himself as he heard Annelise's pledge. He had no idea that's who he'd brought into Weyland's home. Steinn was bold, but at least she was on their side, or rather his side. Hopefully both terms would remain synonymous for the time being.

Steinn meanwhile could almost not help but smile. "Glad to hear it. It seems you'll be my first ally away from home who isn't a human. Anyway ... until the violence starts, you'll have to adjust to the way things work around here, in the human world. Eat, make certain you're satisfied. Then I'll show you to Weyland and familiarize you with this estate. Consider it a 'forward base' for the time being ... a staging ground for the attack on both Valdimarr and the siege gate they'll no doubt want to construct in this country."

Changes

"Oh ... come in, I guess." Raquel left the blanket in the closet for the moment took a seat on the edge of her bed. "I'm sure she'll knock when she makes it back, so go ahead and close the door." She figured if he didn't want to talk out in the hall, it was because anyone in the area might overhear the conversation. The same was possible with the door opened, so she decided to deal with that by having him close it.

Signs

Shadrak was ready to take the egg back, but Robin seemed to have changed her mind at the last second. He then noticed Reign shaking his head before going back to his meal. If Robin wanted an extra turn with the egg, he didn't see the harm, though that glowing was still making him a little nervous. Gar then spoke up again to see who else was or wasn't going. Shadrak didn't see a reason to speak on that again, so said nothing for the moment. Instead he shrugged helplessly at the whole situation.

Gabbie said something, though. "Did you put me down on that thing too?"

Shadrak listened to Nadya's suggestion, but couldn't take it too seriously once she mentioned involving chickens. He figured they could probably care for the egg without treating it like an animal. Meanwhile, Reign answered Faatina saying, "Yeah it's gone all red like that a few times. Usually when there's too much noise if I remember right. Not sure what to do about that crack, though." Then to Robin, he said, "Since turn order's lost on you, you might want to wrap that thing in something for the time being just to be safe."

"Umm," Amon wanted to ask Nadya something, but wasn't sure he should be speaking on Haythem's behalf, or anyone's else's for that matter. "I'm not sure I should go, like I said before, but I'll be in the escort if you think it'll help. Also ... Nadya, if Haythem ... wanted to ... go to the ball tonight, would you help him out with that or ...?"

"'Help him out?'" Malik echoed.

"Be his date," Amon quickly and embarrassingly clarified. "I really don't want to speak for him, but he's taking so long to get here ..."

"That's adorable, Amon~" Fizza said.

"Hah ... no, THAT ... is adorable," Gabbie spoke up, but what the hell was she talking about, Fizza wondered. That was when hers and a few other eyes looked where Gabbie was looking and saw Siv and a maid entering the dining hall.

What? Why is Siv wearing a maid uniform? It's ... it's nice but still ... is she an actual maid here? Shadrak thought to himself when he saw her. This might be good timing, though, since her being here meant that he didn't have to go looking for her or Steinn to ask about the egg. "Uh ... Siv?"

"Hm?" She approached the table most were seated at, leaving the maid's side and waiting for whatever it was Shadrak was about to say. She wasn't here to see everyone, though. What she really wanted was something to eat; the 'equine cutlets' she'd helped herself to weren't enough to satisfy her.

"I think we might have an issue here. Do you know how we're supposed to care for an egg?"

"Humans don't make eggs ... a kestrelii egg?" Before he could answer, she gasped loudly. "Who did you steal them from?!" she asked in a panic as she went into a new stance. Her legs spread apart enough to support swift action and she raised her arms up enough to use them for who knew what ... probably to swipe the egg once she was close enough. "Wild humans can't take care of our eggs! You'll kill them!"

The Cutting Edge of Science

"Composite blades are nothing new, but the materials you're working with are going to be stubborn from start to finish," Weyland mused aloud, partially to himself, right after Connor gave his input. Then his attention went toward the both of them. "I believe this can work, but you'll need to perfect the procedure itself before we attempt to forge the actual blade, or we could run out of materials before we get this right. Some trial forges with other materials are in order. Also, run some calculations and try to figure out exactly how much carbon you'll need to account for the diamond edge and add about half of that to the total to account for bonding; if a gradient blending of the edge and body won't work then there are still are a few alternatives. If there's any excess after that, we can always do some trimming. And yes, Connor, there is one at headquarters, but if you two work together, you should be able to shave the edges during the final forge."

[Mercakete]

Gytha still wished Amon would go to the ball its self, but she figured that he knew what he was missing out on and if he didn't mind, then she wouldn't either. It sounded like he was trying to get Haythem a date with Nadya, though, and Gytha couldn't help but laugh at that, though she attempted to suppress it. The result was a quiet...almost choking sound, but her grin was present, so hopefully no one would thought she was actually choking.

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

"Thank you," was the polite reply so Norbert voiced it then entered the room and shut the door behind him. He didn't advance any further in, though, so much as just get out of the way of the door. Well, this is it. "I guess I want to start by apologizing. I know I've caused a lot of trouble, and not just with the authorities of various countries."

He grimaced as he thought about that. That's...pretty bad in and of its self. Who does that kind of thing? ...Well, me, I guess. "I mean, I've been a real jerk and not just to you. And I'm sorry about that. I'm just... Well, I'm not very good at speaking my thoughts clearly, so bear with me, but that's not what I'm trying to say right now." He was beginning to frustrate himself a little. "I know I've been pretty mean to you and I'm sorry for it. And you've always been kind to me and considerate, even when I was shooting my mouth off. I didn't really think about that until just now, but I figured I should say it. And you know, you used to be a quivering, spineless crybaby of a wimp. You let just anyone do anything and you never did anything about it. You always looked scared or something. But you know, you've really gotten a lot tougher as time went on."

He smirked in amusement as he chuckled, "Back in Ursaea you really surprised me when you yelled at me. Hah! Little, timid Raquel, yelling at ME! Hahahah! You've grown some guts. Keep it up and you'll really start to get somewhere." His smile disappeared to a serious frown as he went on, "Though, you also need to grow some suspicion. You're too trusting. You let just anyone who can wield a weapon and wants to help join up with you. You're just asking for trouble. Someday, your enemies are going to figure that out and you're going to get stabbed in the back. I don't have any suggestions, but talk to Blake and Veronika about some way to make sure that doesn't happen. I've been wanting to say that for so long, it's stupid. Who knows? Maybe there's already someone out to get you travelling with you."

He paused after that. He'd said just about everything he wanted to say before the main reason he sought Raquel out now. Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly and silently, he quickly sorted out what he wanted to say. "The last time we were in this building, I became a mercenary and you were my first boss. Now, though...I can't go with you anymore."

Edited August 31, 2013 by Mercakete

[scorri]

Hoshi

"Well, the original idea had been for there to be no need to sharpen the blade. But I suppose that could also work," she replied to Connor. Then Weyland launched into an explanation of the steps she should take to try and figure out exactly what she would need to do to get this to work. She frowned. Of course. Composite blades, why had she not thought of those. "Alright. I'll get to work on that then. Though... I did want to talk to one of your guests. One of the female mages I think. She had knives that I think I could improve... A small project, something to try and break this block I have going right now."

Erion

Turning to the man who seemed very intent on determining who was going to the ball, Erion commented, "Jam and I will be going together. Though we'll need better outfits. Any idea on where we might find those?" Just then, a winged girl in a maid's outfit walked in and started yelling about the egg. Casually pushing himself back from the table a bit, he just grinned and watched the situation unfold.

Edited August 31, 2013 by scorri

[Ether]

"Of course, Lord Devlinos. If you would instruct me as to human customs, I shall follow them dutifully." Annelise replied, as she began to eat the meal she had been brought.

***

"Well, atleast it isn't something completely new..." Faatina replied, as Shadrak gave her an answer about the egg... at the same time, it seemed that Gar was still looking to organize the ball.

"Well, I would like to go, but I'm not sure who I would go with..." She answered the man.

[Snowy_One]

"We are not wild!" exclaimed Robin as she gripped the egg tighter at the sight of the monster-girl. "If we really are that much of a danger, tell us what we are doing wrong. For now, do we need to wrap it up and, if so, would you donate your dress to help ensure the safety of the egg? The smock would be most useful."