Return of the Emblem Chapter Twelve: Divergent Paths

[Snowy_One]

Robin gritted her teeth. Part of her wanted to tell Bert he was stupid and wrong. Even if he claimed that he had cut all ties, even if he really no longer worked for her, she held Robin's loyalty and that of others, not to mention that practically every event that they had undergone since... for a long time now... had been related to Raquel in some way. Raquel's voice held sway no matter what Bert thought, but... Did that really matter now?

If what Robin thought was right and she was a monster, Bert would merely laugh at her trying to defend Raquel. If Robin was wrong than opposing him, especially without back-up, would result in yet another fight as he couldn't ignore her and she doubted he would yield after picking a fight with Nika. Damned if she did, damned if she didn't. So take no action.

"Sorry." she said, cowed and submissive. "I... I just did not want to have f... sorry..."

Edited November 23, 2013 by Snowy_One

[Snike]

"Fair point," Ethan agreed, before glancing towards the contestants. "It seems as though the Prince and the Princess are at odds about his date. Perhaps she is jealous of the Prince's performance, though with her incredible one, that seems unlikely."

***

"No, it's fine," Blake said, as he got up and offered a hand. "The results do not really mean much to me. And regardless, we will probably hear about it at some point."

[Phoenix]

Ballroom

"I doubt it as well. If anything, she's probably worried he's showing off a bit too much for the girl. I for one would never have imagined the prince pulling a stunt like this until tonight," Terrel mused before taking a sip of white wine. "I also can't help but wonder who Ursium's next queen will be when I see the prince standing there like that."

-----

"Alright, let's go then," Raquel agreed, taking Blake's hand. She still doubted she was ready to face Nadine again, but as long as the woman didn't berate her for dropping out so suddenly, it would probably go well enough. She reminded herself not to mention Reign, though, at least not in front of the other guards.

Dining Hall

"You aren't at my throat" Siv responded, being a little confused about what Robin said when she mentioned her by name.

"Yeah, Raquel isn't here right now, and when Weyland isn't either, I'm in charge, not Raquel, not anyone else you can think of. Me. Now can you people be confusing and intolerant on your own time? I'd like to get this done so I can get back to work on the replacement for the Dauntless ... that is unless you people want to just take some regular old wagon get completely disintegrated the next time that caster shows up," Anna interjected irritably.

Amon was listening to the whole exchange, somewhat against his will. He didn't know how to tune out the other conversation over there and he didn't want to cover his ears like a child might. His eventual and heavy sigh tipped Fizza off and she snapped her fingers at Jericho to get his attention. "Come a little closer and play something else for us," she requested with a smile.

Amon wasn't sure if she was doing that for his sake, or just wanted to hear another song ... or both. Either way he welcomed a genuine distraction from the problems his old group seemed to be having.

[Snowy_One]

Robin could feel the hairs on the back of her neck prickling upright with annoyance and bad memories as she looked Siv in the eye. Was the fallen girl THAT dense? Couldn't she sense that Robin had not had so much as a single good memory of her and was only tolerating Siv because she wasn't willing to stoop to something like murder?

"We are not friends." she said in a cold, harsh, tone as she looked Siv in the eye before taking a few steps back, waiting for Bert to either follow or stay. She hated being in the same room as that monstrous child. If Siv or someone else dared to try and talk back, well, she had nothing to lose by leaving, at least in her mind.

[ReformBlade]

Eyebrow cocked, Jericho gave his own acknowledging smile, "If you insist, I can totally oblige." Taking a closer seat near Fizza, Jericho wasn't exactly sure what to play. Already did a somber one, I doubt they'd be craving tons more of that, gotta have variety, gotta have some spice! Or at least some oomph to it. A real rousing one... Or something simple and somewhat festive, an easy beat to lose yourself in. "Alright, I got a little somethin for ya, hopefully not too out there." Doing some very minor stretches more or less to mentally prepare himself (a shake, a deep breath etc). Before he actually started working his harmonica magic, the man began tapping his foot lightly to establish his own beat and then bam, he went into his song, bobbing to the jovial beats. This oughtta impress the lady. Jericho thought whilst playing with no real grounds to make that claim on than pure confidence. It wasn't every day a pretty lady asked you play a few songs for her or her acquaintances. Jericho just wasn't into that kind of business as he was far from a professional type, at least for that line.

[Snike]

"Yes, that performance certainly was not what I expected," Ethan said, eyeing the judges table once more. "As for who the next Queen is, well, whoever it is, I hope they'll be able to help rule as wisely as their predecessor."

***

"Very well," Blake said, as, without further ado, he led Raquel back to the entrance. Cain didn't seem to be around, but Amber Grace of all people was there, along with several other soldiers. He wasn't sure who Nadine was, or if she was even there, so he decided to just keep quiet, as his employer searched.

***

"Glad to see we're all getting along so well," Axel said, as he finally got up and approached the table where Anna, Norbert, Robin, the Fallen, and a Kigenese woman were sitting at. He pointed an armored thumb at the latter. "Is she the newcomer?"

[Mercakete]

As Robin began departing, Norbert contemplated what was probably the only useful piece of information that had come from that: when Weyland wasn't around, it was Anna who was in charge. She's higher up in the ranks than I thought. When Axel came up to them, he had to wonder how he already knew about Suzume and had to remind himself that the red-clad mercenary was one of Weyland's. Don't tell me he's one of those senior agents or whatever she was talking about earlier... He didn't particularly like or dislike Axel, but he didn't actually trust him either.

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

Gytha, meanwhile, had been waiting until it seemed like the princess was done with her other discussion to quietly say to her, "That was a very fun-looking dance. Would you mind showing me how it's done after this?"

Edited November 24, 2013 by Mercakete

[Phoenix]

Ballroom

"Hmm." That got Terrel thinking. He wasn't a fan of King Nathon's but, he had to admit, the man wasn't a bad ruler, regardless. He just wasn't the type of king Terrel preferred. Still, he supposed he couldn't be too bitter about the political tension, he was now engaged to the princess because of it, and she was not only beautiful, but bristling with talent. If there was one good thing he could say about the king, it was that he'd raised an extraordinary daughter. "Well, as long as she is up to the task, Prince Athrun and his queen will make a fine pair. Perhaps if we're fortunate, we'll even see the end of this deadlock with the neviskotians in our lifetimes." He sure didn't believe Nathan Shastak was up to the task of ending this never ending conflict.

Over in the lineup, Athena received and unexpected request from one of the other participants. She was surprised at first, that the woman taking part in two separate acts was coming to her about her own act, but after thinking about it for a moment, realized she probably had her reasons, and there could have been any number of them, really. "I ... suppose I could show you some steps," she replied softly.

Main Entrance

The only person Raquel recognized when they arrived back at the main entrance was Nadine, and at first, she wasn't even sure if it was her or not, thanks entirely to the length of her hair, which was now much shorter. Back at Horizon, Nadine's hair was roughly the same length Raquel kept hers at, and she couldn't imagine her cutting it without a reason. Still, she was the only one with emerald hair that Raquel could see from where she was standing, so she called over. "Nadine?"

When the mage turned at the sound of her name and showed her face to Raquel, she knew it was her. "... hey," she greeted, looking listless; that wasn't unusual, but given this sudden reunion, Raquel was a little saddened by it. At least she didn't appear to be mad ... yet.

"Umm ... hi. It's been awhile ..." Raquel sheepishly replied. "What ... happened to your hair?"

"It met some scissors and barely came out alive," Nadine joked, changing neither her tone nor her expression for the sake of that joke. "I'm growing it back out but that's going to take awhile."

"Why cut it at all?" Raquel immediately came back, feeling less nervous now that it seemed much less likely Nadine was going to bite her head off. She likely wouldn't be giving a straight answer, either though, indicated by her shrug. Now Raquel wasn't sure whether to press the issue or just move on. Best to move on, she decided. "A-anyway, this is Blake, a friend of mine."

"Hi."

Dining Hall

"You're a human, so that ... makes sense. Why say it?" Siv asked, still confused by Robin's attitude and trying to figure out why she was saying something so obvious. She was backing off, but that didn't make the young fallen any less curious.

"Apparently not ..." Anna muttered, answering her own question from before. She decided to wait out the nonsense and listen to the music nearby since it was actually pretty good for a solo act, but first, she wanted to answer Axel's question. "Well ... her and Bert. He's going to be working for us for awhile to pay off a pretty hefty debt.

Oddly enough, Malik was more impressed with Jericho's playing than the other rexians. He wasn't saying anything or smiling, but he was paying close attention as Jericho played. So were Amon and Fizza, though Fizza was the only one smiling at any point. She was the first to speak up once the song had concluded. "Are you self taught by any chance?" she asked, tilting her head slightly in her curiosity.

[ReformBlade]

"Eh... Something like that I guess. No formal training, that's for sure, self taught via books, with the occasional pointer from people listening in when I thought they weren't. I picked it up out of boredom more than anything." Twirling the device in his hands a few times before clasping it, "Compact, quite a unique sound as well, and in my opinion easy to play though I suppose that's what a concerted effort will do over time. Read up on some books, practiced during those cold lonely nights and, well, here I am now, performing for a bunch of people I might never see again" Turning his gaze to each of his listeners, lingering a little longer on Fizza than the others, he finished with a bit of a sappy note "But I won't forget you, that much is certain. Not every day I get an invitation to a place like this, and hey I've already met more interesting people here than I have the past month. Totally worth it." And here I am rambling again.

[Snike]

"One can hope," Ethan responded, noncommittally. Hopes for the end of the Neviskotian/Ursian divide had been alive for almost fifteen hundred years. What were the odds that they'd be answered in their lifetime?

***

"Evening," Blake responded, after Raquel- who seemed to be a bit unsettled. "I suppose you would like to be alone. I will go look around for Cain, if you don't mind."

He really wasn't going to look for the archer actively, but it allowed him to let his employer have some privacy. Not to mention. it afforded him some time to contemplate the evening's events.

***

"Oh boy, Bert the Crusher, too? Hope you don't have any jobs that need precision," Axel said, smirking under his visor. He then turned to the Kigenese woman. "As for you, well, welcome to the estate. Hope you like it around here, since you'll probably spend quite a bit of time around here. At least, in the beginning."

[-Cynthia-]

Ball

Look at Gytha, rubbin' shoulders with the princess herself. Who woulda thought it? Nadya wondered, observing the two with interest.

Not Ball

Veronika made her way out of the dining hall back to her room. What a bunch of selfish assholes, she thought to herself. She grabbed her sword and headed outside to the estate grounds, deciding to blow off some steam. Choosing an unfortunate tree as her venting outlet, she slashed the bark repeatedly, making precise incisions before initiating another maneuver.

Getting involved with Bogdan and the Dark Utka and everything else may have saved a lot of Neviskotian lives...but we ended up losing John and Sophia as a result. Is this going to happen again? Will I have to choose between the lives of my traveling companions and my countrymen?

[Snowy_One]

Robin gave an annoyed groan as Siv spoke. "<All I wanted was the chance to find a friend to talk to.>" she muttered to herself before leaning in close to Bert. "When you get the chance, find me. I want to... talk. Or something. I am going to make sure Veronika is fine." she said before turning around to leave.

Outside, Robin quietly moved out, watching as Nika took out her fury upon a tree. Calmly, she unslung her own bow and knocked an arrow before firing it, letting it strike the tree where Nika was slashing, not harming the woman of course.

"<Sorry. I know you need to vent on the tree. Maybe we can both vent upon the tree?>"

NEW FOE APPEARED! TREE!

HP: 100/100, STR: 30, MAG: 10, SKL: 0, SPD: 0, LCK: -5, DEF: 100, RES, 1.

[-Cynthia-]

<"There are other trees about you know,"> Veronika responded, not looking away from the tree as she continued her practice.

[Mercakete]

Gytha gave a friendly grin and a quiet "thank you" and that was the end of that for the time being. Though she knew she'd be glad for whoever won the competition, she didn't particularly care who it was. However, that did not mean that she was entirely uninterested in the results. She was curiously watching the judges, wondering what they were talking about and who the eventual winner would be.

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

Robin apparently wasn't quite ready to leave yet, first responding to Siv in Neviskotian and then coming up to whisper that she wanted to talk with him later. Only then did the huntress actually leave. He had to wonder just what she wanted to talk to him of all people about. I hope it's not a lecture about my behavior or something. All the same, he figured he'd have the time later and didn't see why he couldn't have a chat then.

"Ha ha," Norbert sarcastically gave what was almost a statement than a humorless laugh at Axel's jab. He went on with his casual sarcasm, "I may not be an assassin but I'm effective enough. Just to be safe, though, I'll make sure to blow myself up at the earliest opportunity." It was really what stood out to him about Axel besides how much the guy apparently liked the color red. It may have sounded a tad scathing, but he was just still grumpy about the recent events, truth me told, and the remark had been more a playful retaliation.

Edited November 25, 2013 by Mercakete

[Snowy_One]

"<That isn't the point Veronika. The point is, right now, the whole group seems on edge and doing something, anything, together seems like it would be a healthy and smart idea.>" she said before shooting another arrow into the tree. "<Otherwise, I go back to my corner to mope about how nobody likes me, you become an impromptu lumberjack, and things only get worse for everyone.>"

[-Cynthia-]

<"I'm not 'on edge', I was the only one in that room who gave a damn about the people we've lost. You and Bert and Anna just wanted to sweep their deaths under the rug because it was the easy thing to do. If being 'together' means doing the easy thing over the right thing, I'd rather be alone,"> Veronika answered simply, continuing to slash into the tree.

[Snowy_One]

"<You don't think I care?>" asked Robin, a hurt tone in her voice. "<You don't think I care that my best friend, whom I haven't seen in two years, has almost outright ignored me because of Lia, only to have her die before him? A death that hurt the person I once considered the closest thing in existence to me? You don't think I care so much about not just our own people, but the lives of our very enemy that I stood up to Gytha and took a bullet to try and save the life of a woman I didn't even know? You don't think I cared that, the bodies on the Dauntless, reminders of each and every one of our past failings, has literally been right above me for how long now? You don't think I care that the only friend I had in prison got killed before you even knew his name? Or that the people who kept me safe when I left Ohka are now rotting in some prison, probably dead, and the only person I can blame is myself? Veronika!>"

A slivery tear rolled across Robin's eye. "<I do care. I've lost everything. My friends, my peace, my father will almost certainly disown me like he did my brother when he finds out I am working for an Ursian if he doesn't think me dead already, I've lost EVERYTHING! The only thing I have left is the delusion that, somehow, someone in this group can make it all better. It's easy for you. All you need to do is go back into that room and there will be someone there for you to talk to. All you have to do is turn around and you'll have someone willing to listen. I don't even have that anymore. The only hope I have is that, somehow, someone will care enough about me to want to try and give me a new life. The dead don't give people new lives though. You may give a damn, but I've already got one foot beside them in the grave.>"

[Snike]

"Good man. Make sure you do it after you start riding the dragon, not beforehand," Axel responded quickly. "I'll even loan you my gear, 'cuz I'm such a nice guy."

[-Cynthia-]

<"Actions speak louder than words Robin. If you cared you should have spoken up earlier instead of saying how we all need to get along and complaining about how others treat you. A lack of action betrays a lack of conviction,"> Veronika reprimanded Robin, not turning her back.

[Snowy_One]

"<A lack of confidence Veronika. I have none and I know it. That's why I'm always hiding away, because I have no confidence in my ability to talk to other people. A fear well-placed it seems." she said before sighing and starting to turn away. You'd rather blame me and say I was in the wrong than acknowledge I might have hurt feelings too.

[Phoenix]

Main Entrance

Blake decided to go look for Cain, it seemed, so Raquel decided to let him. She didn't want to force him to stand there and listen to them talk about whatever came up when he could catch up with one of his own acquaintances. "He's not afraid of frisking too, is he?" Nadine asked. Raquel wasn't sure if she was serious or not. That was when she realized that was a joke at Wynn's expense.

"Don't make fun of him; that's a real problem. Wynn, I mean."

"It's not like he cared what I said as long as it was in the group," Nadine countered indifferently.

"Hi!"

"Huh?" Raquel had been greeted by Amber, who got in pretty close without the merchant noticing somehow.

"I'm Amber Grace, one of Nadine's fr-I mean fellow soldiers. It's great to finally meet one of her school friends in person!"

"I'm Raquel Valcyn. It's nice to meet you too," she finished her introduction. "Wait, 'Grace'? Like Alice Grace?"

Nadine hated predictable buildups, and so interjected quickly. "Yes, she's Alice Grace's daughter, and yes, she's in the same unit as I am. Don't ask me what the hell she's doing in the military or in an irregular unit for that matter. The reason is beyond crazy."

"Oookay then, I won't ask ..."

Dining Hall

Suzume bowed her head slightly as a kind of quiet greeting to Axel, and then amusement ensued as he and Bert got into some back and forth taunting. She was worried another argument was going to start at first but the two clearly knew each other well enough not to get too wound up over it. From the sound of things they both tended to make ... 'interesting' decisions in the heat of battle.

Fizza matched Jericho's smile with her own, and Malik's expression began to sour a bit. Were they in the middle of flirting? That's all he wanted to know; then he could go back to either being irritated or listening to whatever Jericho would play next. "Totally worth it indeed," Fizza agreed. "So how long do you expect to be accompanying Raquel? She and her friends seem to run into all sorts of things."

"So do we," Malik pointed out.

"Yeah, but nothing interesting for the most part, and the most interesting thing that happened to us involved Raquel and her friends."

Malik slightly bobbed his head from side to side trying hard to come up with a counterargument, but he figured that by FIzza's standards, anything less than epic encounters like with that dragon were just too dull for her at this point, so he gave up, stopped caring, and relaxed, letting his head slowly fall onto his crossed arms at the table.

[scorri]

Lumi perked up slightly at some of the conversation going on with the Rexians. "Wait, excuse me, sorry for interrupting, but does that mean that you won't be continuing with Raquel after this? If that's the case... would you consider allowing others to travel with you? I'm not actually significantly attached to Raquel's group. Pete and I were just traveling with them because of safety in numbers but... well, it might be best if we didn't continue traveling with them for various reasons."

[Phoenix]

Dining Hall

"Well, we'll probably go to see if there actually is an emblem piece in the cathedral," Amon began his explanation. "If we manage to come out with an emblem piece of our own, we're heading straight home before something goes wrong, but if not, we'll be parting ways then and there, I guess. I hate to admit it, but sticking too close to Raquel is preventing us from accomplishing our own mission," he concluded, letting his gaze fall to the surface of the table. He didn't like talking about her like that, but that was as nicely as he could state any of this.

[Mercakete]

"She is actually quite the surprising asset to our unit," Cecelia mentioned, interjecting into the conversation. They were still at their station and she and the others posted there were doing a vigilant enough job at keeping watch that she'd decided a bit of small talk wasn't detrimental to their task.

She only paid scant attention to Nadine and Raquel's talk at first, but she had a nagging feeling that she'd seen Raquel somewhere before. It'd taken her this long, but finally she remembered a conversation between Nadine and Miguel about the woman and that she'd seen her at Weyland's weapon conference, though they hadn't been introduced. Now, however, she addressed the merchant. "Pardon me, but were you at Professor Weyland's weapon expo about two months ago?"

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

Norbert was inclined to defend his actions and even opened his mouth to retort, but he closed it soon afterward and just fitted Axel with a glare and after a pause, grumbled, "Nice move."

[scorri]

"I... you didn't really answer my question? Would you be willing for others to join you? I'm not any sort of competition for the fire emblem or whatever it is. Pete and I are just looking for people to travel with. Safety in numbers, etc. And from what I've heard of Raquel's group... well, that might not hold true. So... yeah."