Return of the Emblem Chapter Twelve: Divergent Paths

[Nanami Touko]

Eva saluted and made a rather serious face, dissolving back to her bubbly self quickly. "Let's check around the estate for pink hair first, then. She can probably point me in the direction of Weyland, or point me to someone who can. Come on!" She took his hand and quickly started dragging him back into the estate.

First place to look would be the dining hall, as she was sure at least a few people would be there after waking up. Sure enough, the person they were both looking was walking about in search of something to eat. "Hey, flamingo head!" Eva shouted, letting poor Jericho go and dashing over. "I'm looking for Weyland. Is he busy right now? I mean, he probably is, but could you tell me where he'd be so I can find him when he isn't? Need to talk business with him."

[Mercakete]

Fizza seemed to have Haythem's issues handled, at least from where Gytha was sitting. She agreed with what the Rexian woman was saying anyway and didn't really have anything to add. However, Amon being "depressed again?" Sure he was usually quiet and even seemed a bit afraid or wary most of the time, but depressed? Gytha cast a concerned frown directly at Amon. "Hoy, ye a'right? What happened?" If any of them were hurt physically, that had probably been taken care of already since they seemed fine, but the emotional wounds seemed to still be there, at least somewhat for Amon and Haythem.

That was when Synthia sat down next to her and greeted them. Gytha was glad to see the mage, but she was also still concerned about the blonde Rexian man. Still, it would've been rude to keep quiet, so she greeted, "Ahoy, Synthia." She decided she'd inquire about how the black-haired woman was doing after she got an answer from Amon and had dealt with that as best she could.

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

As she was accustomed to doing by now, Maw had headed right for the kitchen after being tended to by her human protector. She sat in a corner of the room, out of the way and began looking and sniffing around for any food that may have dropped on the ground or any mice or rats that happened to be nearby. If one of the humans there noticed her, she'd just sit up and stare at him or her expectantly until he or she gave her some food.

She didn't like to reflect on things that bothered her, but she was a wise enough cat to keep an ear open for any signs of the trouble that had come the previous night. The air had been filled will all sorts of foreboding smells and alarming sounds. It'd taken especially fervent grooming well into the night after the calamity for her to get her tail to go back to its normal sleekness. Luckily, she never actually caught sight of the source of whatever danger there had been nor had she been caught sight of. She considered that a success, but she was still uncertain if the danger would return. Whatever it was, it ate humans, from the looks of things. After all, they were the ones who'd suffered -- not any other creature. Not unless you counted those unnatural things that had once been outside.

[Phoenix]

Streets

"We've killed hundreds of these 'foot soldiers' ... how many do these people have to be able to waste so many for such an ineffective attack?" Eugene asked, somewhat rhetorically. He'd also raised his voice which let Athrun know he was starting to see the enemy as an even bigger threat than before. He was too, admittedly, but his mind rarely drifted toward who had the numerical advantage; he only cared about two things, protecting the innocent, and taking down enemy commanders. Since that was exactly what Angelica was suggesting, he was more than happy to adopt that strategy against the Fallen and recommend it to others.

"Is there anything else?" Athrun asked.

Before Angelica had a chance to answer, Eugene interjected. "Perhaps you would be willing to let us know if you discover anything else in the future, as well."

Mushirah's Room

The maid quietly opened the door and stepped inside, noting how upset Mushirah was. Thankfully, she wasn't in hysterics. That would have been reasonable given her situation. Coming up to the opposite side of the bed Shadrak had been on(missing limb side), she spoke to the patient. "I want you to try to get some rest. Losing so much can be extremely traumatic, even more mentally than physically in some cases. We're going to do everything we can for you, though. I'm actually here to see if you wanted breakfast or a change of clothes, and that's just the start, really," she explained.

Dining Hall

"Last night was rough for everyone, if not worse," Amon noted, trying to avoid any specifics, and the question itself. His gaze never left his porride, though. He was clearly looking past it and into his own thoughts as Fizza stole more of it.

Meanwhile, Raquel went straight for the kitchen before hearing a strange remark. She sincerely hoped she wasn't being given a new nickname this morning. She was enjoying being called by her actual name as of late. Sure enough, as she turned around to see who'd said that, she saw Eva and locked eyes with the woman. She grimaced after a short pause, trying to decide whether to ask to be called by her regular name first or answer the question. "I don't know where he is, but it's still early ... maybe he's still asleep," the latter won out. "... and could you not call me that?" she cautiously added.

"Haven't heard that one before," Greta noted before finishing off her breakfast.

Shadrak had gotten both his and Mushirah's bowls and quietly and stoically left the kitchen. Both were piping hot and sweetened to perfection.

Edited January 25, 2014 by Phoenix

[Ether]

"The ones that know how to summon them can do so at will... they have as many as they need." Angelica replied, finally bringing herself completely up, and stretching a tad.

"If I end up seeing you in the future,and I know anything more than now, I suppose I wouldn't mind telling you." Angelica added with a light smile.

[-Cynthia-]

When Veronika found Raquel she was waylaid by someone looking for Weyland. Veronika recognized the newcomer from the previous night.

"If you want to find Weyland, I suggest asking one of his staff members," Veronika said after walking towards the pair. "Not to ambush you before breakfast, but I haven't noticed Reign coming back to the estate last night. I know he survived the battle- do you have any idea where he went?" she asked, turning towards Raquel.

Edited January 25, 2014 by -Cynthia-

[Nanami Touko]

After the stern glare she'd received from Angelica on the topic of nicknames, there was no way she was going to press that topic. "Sorry, and sure thing. It's Raquel, right? I'll make sure to stick to that, soon to be boss." She offered the woman her hand, with a smile. "The name's Evangeline, but you can call me Eva. I was trying to find Weyland to talk about work, but if he's still sleeping, could I talk to you instead? I flew all the way out here in hopes of buying some of his wares, but it dawned on me that I wouldn't be able to afford them." A nervous laugh left her, but she kept on. "If I end up working for him, that'd probably mean working with you. U-Unless you're too busy to talk, at the moment. I seem to have interrupted you in the middle of getting food."

Another woman came up to them, giving Eva an answer she could use. "Oh! That'd work. Can you point me in that direction? I'll find someone else if you're busy, Raquel. My friend though," she said with a motion towards Jericho, "was looking to speak with you."

[-Cynthia-]

"The maids around here seem quite well informed- I would suggest asking them. We more work with Weyland rather than for Weyland so to speak," Veronika decided to clarify. The group's relationship with the professor was rather complicated she realized the more she thought about it.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

It had certainly been enough time for other people to start up,so Gar abandoned his post of juggling knives and walked a short distance down the hall. It would be food time soon, which meant plenty of talking also.

[Snowy_One]

Tia looked down at the book in her hands. Despite the pillow, during the night it had been horribly damaged by her tossing and turning. Pages were ajar or ripped, even if only slightly, and somehow water, possibly her own drool, had damaged the paper. It was in poor shape, though not beyond mending.

"Poor book. If I had known, I would have put it away." she said to herself, mentally chiding herself for falling asleep while reading. But there was no point in beating herself up over it now. The book needed fixing and, hey, why not see what alchemy could do? She was certain Connor would be busy right now and, even if he wasn't, he wasn't the only alchemist around. Raquel might be able to do something with her medallion and Hoshi... might help her or throw her out. Tia regretted how their last encounter had ended and, well, no time like the present to try and fix things.

With that, Tia was up and off, asking the staff where a woman matching Hoshi's description was and hurrying to her room. As she approached, Tia gulped. She remembered how her last encounter with the woman had... not ended well. But, if Hoshi was still mad enough at her to shoot fire from her mouth, all Tia had to do was run, right? Right?

Nerviously, Tia knocked outside of Hoshi's room. "E-excuse me. Can I come in? I would like to know if Alchemy can help fix something."

Edited January 25, 2014 by Snowy_One

[ReformBlade]

"Wh... What?" Mushirah asked, dumbfounded. This wasn't expected in the slightest, but again, she didn't really know what common protocol was on this situation as screwed up as it was. "Why would you... What?" Sitting herself up again, she wiped her face then used that hand for balance again, looking at the maid with an uneasy stare. "I... asked my friend to get me some food a moment ago, so um, I don't want to be rude to him and ask for more from someone else... and what do you mean it's... just a start? Who all knows about me right now?" It may have seen like a very tangential jump, but in her mind she was wondering just how much trouble she was going to be causing just by being how she was.

Jericho raised an eyebrow at Eva's introduction, smiling and whatnot. "Well, Miss, I mean yeah I'd like to talk, but only at your earliest convenience. It'd be about traveling with your gang, which I'm gathering is a common occurrence for you. I can make it worth your while though, I'm sure." He felt that was straightforward enough, if she didn't want his help... Well he might tag along anyway.

[Oersted]

"Nope, can't say I've heard of a Zach. Hmm, I'll I can say is give him some time, time usually heals things the best." I wonder if I should mention I'm only here because I blundered last night and fell asleep when I shouldn't have...? Nah, it'll be a good learning experience or something. "Well, leaving behind everything and everyone you know to journey out into the unknown probably wasn't a spur of the moment decision. Takes courage or bravery or whatever word you wanna use to decide to do that right?"

[Phoenix]

Streets

"Thank you," Athrun nodded. He thought about standing up as well but found he was just barely lacking the energy to make the maneuver worth the effort and stayed put, leaning back slightly so he could at least make eye contact again if necessary. With her standing up, it became apparent to Athrun just how short her skirt really was; if he was too much lower, he'd be able to see some things he didn't feel were proper to see.

With a knowing gaze, Eugene offered the prince a hand up, which he accepted. "I thank you as well, Miss Angelica." And for the love of the gods put on a longer skirt.

"If you happen to run into Morgana, assuming she's alright, please tell her not to worry us like that, and to make sure Athena knows she's okay. My sister must be worried sick by now," Athrun made another request.

Mushirah's Room

"Not everyone who tried to defend our home survived, and fewer still suffered injuries like yours. In fact, as far as I know ..." she shook her head before finishing, deciding not to single Mushirah out like that. "We're grateful to you for risking so much, regardless of your reasons. Helping you through this is the least we can do in return."

"Plenty of people have heard about what happened to you, but not everyone. Not yet." Since she'd already sent Shadrak for food--that was why he left the room earlier, she mused--there was no need to bother with that portion. "Would you like a change of clothes then? I can find something for you other than what you'll find in the closet," she offered.

Dining Hall

"Soon to be boss?" Raquel echoed in confusion. Was Eva joining the group? As Eva explained more, Raquel began to understand and felt less out of the loop as a result. More interesting was that she was a potential customer. If only she could actually handle actual work right now.

Before she could actually say anything else, Veronika offered a suggestion on how to find Weyland, the staff members, maids in particular. That was good advice, but Raquel wondered if she wasn't just trying to get a word in herself, since that's exactly what happened after the advice was given. It was about Reign. First thing was first, though. "I don't mind talking," she told Eva before glancing back at Veronika. "I did some thinking and I have a feeling he went back to check on his parents. There's no other reason I can think of for him disappearing like that." I just hope that's where Nadine went too or that she at least made it back to her people safely.

Once Jericho spoke up, she shifted toward him for a moment. "I'd like to get breakfast first, but sure. I wouldn't mind having you along. We can go over the details afterward."

Greta's head slowly lowered until her forehead gently struck the table. I can't believe she just did that. No wonder your business is totally dependent on Weyland. You let any and every business opportunity pass you by. If I had half the resources YOU do, I'd be filthy stickin' rich by now! Ugh ...

"Are you alright, Greta?" the woman with the infant asked.

"... darn amateur ..." Greta mumbled, too quiet for anyone but the woman beside her to make out.

"I'm going to take care of that now," Raquel said, referring to getting food for her and Chip. "We should probably go search for Reign soon," she shifted back to Veronika. "but I don't know where his parents live, so I'm not sure where to start." I don't know, maybe Weyland's people can track the place down. Hopefully Nadine's there too, that way I at least know she's alright.

The Abrams Residence

"How did you two manage that in your sleep?" Aldric asked Reign and Nadine. Heh, maybe they weren't actually asleep for that. The two were still half asleep and incoherent, but were in different positions than they started in; Nadine was sitting on the couch with her legs running along it while resting her back partly on the arm rest and partly on the backrest while Reign was sprawled out on top of her with the back of his head resting at the top of her stomach and his left leg and left arm dangling out from under the blanket.

"Breakfast is almost ready," Regina called over.

"Oh? Hey, lemme help you with that," Aldric insisted as he hurried to the kitchen, being careful not to hit anything furniture on the way.

Reign opened his eyes and carefully looked up to see what Nadine was doing. She was staring right back at him. "Morning." He pulled his arm and leg back up onto onto the sofa and under the blanket.

"Morning." she said right back, with her usual blank expression.

"Do you have someplace to be right now? If not, I'm going back to sleep," Reign said, figuring he should take advantage of the self heating pillow while he still could.

"I kind of want breakfast," she admitted, figuring she would at least stay that long.

[Nanami Touko]

"Oh! You do? That's great, then. I'llll just sit over here with Jericho while you get yourself whatever you need to eat. The apples are great!" She flashed Jericho a smile and a thumbs up, and sat herself down next to the woman with her face on the table. Despite saying she'd wait for Raquel, she couldn't help but question what was going on. "Hey, uh... You feeling alright? Or is that table just really interesting?" a laugh accompanied her question, really curious about that whole situation. Maybe she's inspecting its quality. This is Weyland's estate after all.

[Mercakete]

"So, that's what's got ye down?" Gytha asked, frowning. She thought that there was probably more, but then again, it could have just hit him harder than usual.

[Phoenix]

Dining Hall

Somewhat quickly, but not quickly enough to cause her hair to drag, Greta rose up from the table and sat normally again. "It's nothin', really ... just watchin' that girl can get so depressin' ..." Greta then glanced at her empty bowl, wondering if it would be inappropriate to get seconds. She wasn't sure if she was going to be able to get a free lunch later on and so she was easily tempted. The flavor certainly helped.

"That's ... all I really want to rehash right now at least," Amon admitted, his grimace deepening for a moment. Noticing that his bowl was half empty made him glance at Fizza, who had just been about to take some more. She froze in the act, feigning a nervous smile, and Amon decided to let her have the rest. He slid the bowl gently in front of her and that was the end of the porridge theft.

Norbert's Room

The door to Bert's room slowly cracked open, the maid on the other side trying not to wake him if he was still asleep, or to startle him otherwise. Knocking might have helped, but again, she didn't want to wake him if he was still sleeping. In fact, if he was out of bed, she was feeling tempted to get him to lie back down to make her job a little easier. The first thing she saw was an empty bed, and so she mentally prepared herself for the inconveniences a stubborn patient might cause as she stepped into the room and silently shut the door.

"Ahem," she cleared her throat, having not been noticed just yet. "Good morning."

[Mercakete]

Gytha nodded and let the topic slip. Sure she was concerned for her friend, but if he didn't want to talk about it, that was his business.

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

At the "ahem" Norbert's attention darted to the source, a hand instinctively grabbing for a mace as he lowered his stance into one more ready for combat. There was no mace at his side, though, and the one who had suddenly appeared in his room was a maid. He wasn't entirely sure if he was in danger or not. Somewhat painfully erring on the side of not being in danger, he relaxed his stance, though he remained wary and ready. To her, he sighed in frustrated exasperation, "Don't do that!"

He'd begun eyeing his maces when a somewhat frightening thought occurred to him. A little awkwardly, he asked, "Uh, is this room yours?" Sweet Mother Mercy, if they put me in some maid's room...

[-Cynthia-]

"I didn't know his parents lived in Europa- perhaps we'll just wait a little while longer for him to return," Veronika suggested. Weyland's people are probably busy enough cleaning up after this mess, they don't need to be tracking down wayward group members if they aren't in danger.

She then turned her attention towards Jericho. "You can discuss joining this group and all that entails with me if you would like. I'm Veronika, I handle a lot of this group's business when necessary," she explained to him. Better not to overburden Raquel when possible, she has a lot to do already.

[ReformBlade]

"N-no I didn't- It wasn't... um" This conversation wasn't clicking in the right places for Mushirah and that bothered her. "But... why?" She asked again, shaking her head slowly in the process. At the mention of clothes in the closet, she reflexively looked at that closet, then back to the maid, "Um... sure? I-I guess? I don't know what to say..." What is going on? Why is she being so nice, why is she offering me these things? Are they... Is she taking pity on me? I don't want that... I don't... want that... What happened? She was over thinking things, mind going every which direction as she was starting to feel herself choke up.

"Oh? I guess that doesn't change much. Names Jericho, by the way. Are we doing this right here right now?" Jericho asked, pleased with how well this seemed to be going. I'm fine with that but I"d muuuuuch rather be sitting down... Hey this lady's kinda cute! Something's up with this place, everyone here seems to be mildly attractive... He thought, tangents be damned.

Edited January 25, 2014 by ReformBlade

[Ether]

"Will do, somehow I doubt I'll be running into her before you do... if it does happen I'll let her know." Angelica replied, her expression growing sombre, before turning back towards Athrun.

"Hey... Prince Athrun... listen... I know that I'm just one of a million, hell, probably more than that. I know that, with everything and everyone in your life, in about a week I'll just be some other floozy whose name and face you can't seem to recall, but... despite all that, I had a lot of fun with you. It was nice... being able to act like someone's princess, for a night... I didn't think I'd ever get the chance. I guess... thanks for putting up with me, and sorry for all the trouble... there's no way a guy like you can't find something better to do than escort a girl like me around." The adept concluded, her gaze having fallen to the ground midway through speaking.

[-Cynthia-]

"We might as well do this while we have the time. Just take a seat near me and we can get started," Veronika said, choosing a table relatively far away from Greta, Amon's group, or anyone else.

[roymbrog]

OoC: Just posting what I've got for now

With the state of the city outside, survivors had decided to stay the night in the Grand Cathedral, and Kimiko was no exception. The alchemist and her apprentice had nowhere to go regardless, they had just arrived in the city when the attack had started and had to ditch their cart. Once it was deemed safe to leave that was what Kimiko was going to go check on, but for now this morning she was sketching designs on a piece of parchment while Elliot used her lap as a pillow. Eventually when he woke she would have to find them something to eat, but for now she was inspired about anti-demon defense systems.

---

“Morning, sleepyhead,” Kat greeted as Zach answered the door. She had the distinct impression she had just woken him up, considering his demeanor and attire. “I was going to ask if you wanted to come down and have breakfast. So… do you want to come with me to breakfast? Probably best to put a shirt on first, though.”

---

Synthia had continued eating while listening to the conversation at her table. Apparently Amon was down about something, but wouldn’t say what. Something else must’ve happened last night that they didn’t know about, but she wasn’t going to pester him about it either, at least not right now. The mage was pretty sure they weren’t close enough friends for her dragging the information out to be acceptable.

[Mercakete]

"So, how're you this morinin'?" Gytha decided to ask Synthia. The mage didn't seem particularly cheerful, but then again, she usually didn't. From the looks of things, the mariner noticed, just about everyone she'd planned to tell about how the ball went was present, too. All that was missing was Sinbad. Maybe she'd just make sure all present were doing alright before headed into that topic, then, just in case Sinbad showed up. Besides, checking up on her friends took priority.

[Phoenix]

Streets

I can't count how many times something like this could have happened if we'd left the prince to his own devices as we did last night. I'm still not sure that was such a good idea but with security in general being our top priority ... Eugene mused while Angelica spoke to Athrun.

The prince was surprised by what he was hearing and, frankly, didn't agree with some of it. "Angelica, it was no trouble at all, really," Sans the demon attack. "I'm not going to forget your name or face, I promise you that," he assured her. With the parts that bothered him out of the way, she said, "My people will remember you as well, so if you ever find yourself in the same area as me, feel free to pay a visit," he nodded. "You have my gratitude for putting up with us, actually."

Eugene glanced off in some other direction, scowling for a moment at that last part. He wasn't the only one, either.

Mushirah's Room

"Because we want to," the maid explained with a weak smile. "Besides, you're staying here like everyone else, neglecting you would just be terrible. Anyway, I'd like to go see about your clothes soon, but there is something else I need to do first, and I'd also like to recommend loose fitting clothes for the time being." She didn't say specifically why but hoped Mushirah could figure out on her own that putting on clothes in general was going to be somewhat harder now with only one arm. There was no need to complicate the process with tighter fitting garments.

Before she could get into the other matter she needed to deal with first, she heard a gentle kick at the door. It had to be a kick, really; no one was going to knock just inches off the ground, she concluded. "My hands are full," came Shadrak's explanation.

"And there's your food, I take it," the maid smiled at Mushirah before going to open the door. She was sorely disappointed with the service. Shadrak was only holding a couple of bowls of porridge, but that was all he was holding. Perhaps Mushirah wouldn't mind, but there were no drinks or napkins. Sighing, she said, "I'll leave you two alone for a moment. I should really get some things. I'll be shortly, I promise."

Shadrak watched with a blank face as she left and began trying to figure out what to do next. He hadn't thought to bring a bed tray or something and now he was regretting it. "Well, here's the food, but ... this could be a bit more complicated than I first realized," he greeted as he set both bowls down on the nightstand beside the bed.

Norbert's Room

The woman flinched. "D-don't do what?" She wondered if she'd surprised or embarrassed him or both by coming in as quietly as she had. Shaking her head, she said, "I'm sorry if I startled you," figuring that was what Bert was on about. Of course, she herself had just been startled by him in return.

The next surprise came in the form of a question she hadn't been expecting. Bert asked her if it was her room he was in right now, which was kind of funny to think about, but this wasn't the best time to be giggling about how odd that was. "No, this is your room for the moment. You're in the guest wing currently." After a very short pause, she added, "second floor," just to paint a slightly better picture of where in the estate he was.

Dining Hall

"Well, I still feel like I should ask," Raquel noted. If I just wait around and it turns out he actually was in trouble, I'd never be able to forgive myself. With that, she decided to head into the kitchen and get breakfast. Something definitely wasn't right when she arrived, though. Had she made it inside a moment earlier, she would have missed the waitress heading out the other exit covering her face and seemingly in tears. That certainly explained why she had to come in and get her own food, at least.

"Umm, I'd like a bowl, please, and an apple if you have any left."

"Plenty," Johnny depressingly answered as he stirred the pot. "Sorry about that. She lost some good friends last night. Not just here, but in the city too. I told her to just take the day off; serving yourselves won't kill you. Sorry if this morning's porridge isn't so great. Times like this, our tears tend to mix in with the food."

"I see ..." Agreeing with his assessment. She wasn't sure about the tears comment, though.

"Not literally," he clarified, just in case.

Well she definitely agreed with all of that now that he had cleared things up, but being in agreement with the him didn't make her feel any less awkward about the situation. She felt even worse once Chip leaped from her shoulder onto the counter and began messing with ... well, anything in reach.

"Oh come on, now," Johnny groaned, raising his arms in protest.

"I seriously need that apple now ... oh and a knife," Raquel explained defensively.

"Blasted monkey needs a leash. A short one."

Edited January 25, 2014 by Phoenix

[Eail]

Zach blinked when Kat told him to put on a shirt.... he didn't remember taking the previous one off. "Yeah sure, I'll come along." He replied. Leaving the door open as he went back into the room and dug around, pulling on a what seemed to be his last undamaged shirt. Not even bothering to fix up his hair or anything like that he came back to the green haired wyvern rider. "I really need to find someone that can mend my stuff... This is my last good shirt."

[Snowy_One]

Robin laughed softly. "It really was not like that. Teenage stupidity of thinking I was the best thing in the world and could change it and forgetting that I am but one woman in the world. Still, thank you. It... It is nice to actually hear something like that. Truth be told, I am very afraid. Terrified even. My weapons are stone, my talents equate to 'shoot bow' and 'cook', and... well, my only armor is animal hide. Yet I am expected to fight demons with that. I am a nobody, I know it, and I have to be a somebody. Part of me wants to just run back home and hide in a cave. Another part just wishes someone would appreciate me a bit instead of treating me like the background."