Return of the Emblem Chapter Twelve: Divergent Paths

[ReformBlade]

"I..." I don't know what to even say to that... Mushirah smiled at him, looking a little overwhelmed in the process. "... Thanks." She felt a sincerity in his voice, and while it did make the girl's confidence shoot up slightly, she couldn't help but feel that twinge of doubt seeping into her mood all over again. He can't always be there for me, he's even going to be leaving soon... At least he said overcome and not just 'get better'. He's trying to be supportive... He wouldn't have to be supportive if I didn't screw up so badly, if I had just payed attention. And now I'm down an arm, in a flash. Her mind predictably went to a depressing viewpoint on her current situation, bringing her to, fortunately, silent tears.

"Hot damn, yall are vigilantes, I knew it!" Jericho said with more energy than intended, like it was actually something worth praising. "Well, I would certainly like to see some justice done as well to these people, assuming you'll allow me in on it of course." Tapping his chin again, thinking about what else he should know or wonder about. "Ah, how rigid are groupings? Which is to say, if, when you're not fighting a murderous being, you've got free time to spend, how strict a leash is there? Any curfews regarding this group or no?"

[scorri]

Hoshi continued to flip through the book trying to assess how much damage had been done, and replied without even looking up, "Of course it's hard. Alchemy isn't something that you're going to learn in a day, a month, or even a year. You'd need to devote years of your life to it. It's like any field of magic in that way, only probably more complex. I doubt that you started with the most complex water spells. If you want to learn alchemy, it will require basically setting aside your study of water magic." She sighed. "You really need to start learning about things before deciding to dive head first into them."

[Eail]

"Er... no, no she's not my girlfriend. I'm sort of like her... protector for a lack of a better word, it's a long story really but she's my best friend at the end of the day and I just want to keep her safe." Alphonse gave a sigh and rubbed his neck for a moment "We've got a pretty weird relationship overall, I'm pretty sure that'll be evident after about five minutes with the two of us being in the same room. Nice to meet you as well Eva."

"I don't know what you're supposed to do Greta, I'm not a merchant, I'm a fighter. But until you say that you're sick of me, I'm your fighter. I don't care if we leave now with nothing but what we have on our backs, ask Weyland for help, or go with Raquel, at the end of the day I'm sticking with you."

[Nanami Touko]

"A protector, huh? Kind of like a sister, then? Can't say I've ever had that sort of relationship, though I think it'd be pretty weird if I developed feelings for a sibling... If I had any... But that means you're single, eh?" She flashed him a smile. "Well, sorry for overhearing your conversation with Greta here, but I hope you stick around. <Would be a shame if you left. Only so many people in the world with such lovely red hair,>" she joked in her home language. It'll be interesting if he understands, though he doesn't seem like the musing type. How unfortunate.

Back at Raquel, who was now giving an explanation on the 'something', Eva raised an eyebrow. "An emblem piece? Now that is interesting. What's a merchant doing looking for the emblem? Though, it does answer my question of why you're getting into all these fights. Not that they scare me any more than they did before." She smirked, obviously confident in some aspect of her fighting. "Count me in then. I'll go help you rough 'em up. Or at least I'll stand there and keep you safe whilst the rest of you rough them up! Hahaha."

[Balcerzak]

Right. Theodore could tell this was going to end well. Time to get out of there before he had to suffer through a little girl in tears, because Truth knows that was mere seconds away from happening by this point. If this girl had apparently never failed before, this disappointment was going to be just the ticket. Her parents must have told her Mr. Fluffy had moved to a farm or something too, instead of explaining to their child that her beloved pet had died. That kind of mollycoddling just made him sick. At least the good woman here had what it took to give her the hard truth.

"Right... maybe I'll just come back later then," Farnesworth muttered, making his way toward the door. "As much as I'd enjoy seeing her try to conjure up a bubble bath, I just don't think I can fit it into my busy schedule."

---

Getting a compliment on his marksmanship first thing after sitting down wasn't quite what Sinbad had expected, but the cowboy was tickled pink. "Well gee, shore do feel nice to hear it. Reckon my Pa's still better, though," he replied with a broad grin. "That said, you got quite the singin' voice on ya. Shame we lost our fiddler, I'dda loved to hear you have another go with some more folk songs from my Pa's homeland. Have to tell you that were quite the surprise. Heading in tha opposite direction from ol' Rex-Avaz, I never did expect to hear something like that."

Edited January 28, 2014 by Balcerzak

[scorri]

Looking up as Theo started to leave, Hoshi smiled slightly. "If you want to come back to discuss dark magic, feel free. It's always nice to talk about different applications with someone new."

[Snowy_One]

Tia gritted her teeth as Hoshi spoke, trying to gather herself. She didn't know why, but this girl was somehow managing to rattle her in a way she had never been rattled before. Dealing with difficulty spells, researching obscure tomes, working hard to master mist, all had been difficult, but she had done them! She could do it! She was certain of it!

"You're right. I don't know anything about dark magic. But I'm not going to give up just like that either. Learning any sort of magic takes a lot of hard work, but it can be done. The only time you fail is when you give up, and if I give up, well... I can't! I have people counting on me to become one of the best mages ever, and just giving up because someone else tells me too... If I had done that I would be stuck still learning the simplest of water spells, unable to tap into the power of mist, or manipulate the water to the degree I do. Maybe I'm not an alchemy master like you, but that's what books are for! So I can learn to become more like you! And, even if I truly can't, I can still do my best to become the best alchemy assistant possible! I will become the best water mage, but I will also become the best alchemy assistant as well!"

[Oersted]

Orville sighed. "Like I said, I think that's a faze a lot of people go though. Some people succeed, some die and most of them come to their senses, or at least I think that's how it goes... Oh you were out fighting the demons last night? Did you end up saving a tavern full of people? If you did you probably saved my life, so I guess I should thank you for that." Orville laughed slightly as he stood up, briefly wondering why it seemed to take so much effort to do so. "Thanks," Orville said, facing Robin though his eyes were once again closed, this time to help him concentrate, so he couldn't be certain of this. Hmm, should I perhaps tag along with this group? I'd rather not head back to Lortan without protection and I'm out of gold. It'll be interesting to be sure and maybe I'll actually get paid reasonably! Yes it's decided, I'll get myself hired! "Say Robin, could you show me where you're boss is? I need to talk business with them."

[-Cynthia-]

"Generally as long as we aren't in a more dangerous situation than usual, people are generally allowed to do as they please. As long as you aren't causing problems with local authorities or something like that, how you spend free time is your business. Just be ready to move when the time calls for it," Veronika explained. Vigilantes? I never really saw us that way...but I suppose it does fit to some extent.

[Eail]

"I uh, guess maybe so?" Al replied with a shrug. "It's weird how people keep comparing us to brother and sister, it's kinda... more complicated than that really. Single though? Yeah, I suppose really, no relationships." He was rather curious as to why she was interested in that, surely there were better prospects around than him right? "<My hair isn't that rare, your's is much more lovely anyways.>" He replied, hoping that his mother's teaching hadn't worn off entirely. Language was never really his forte anyways, unless you were speaking with swords.

[scorri]

"You're really not listening to me, are you? I very specifically told you not to give up. On your water magic. Which is completely unrelated to alchemy. Alchemy has nothing to do with how strong a mage you are or how much control you have over your magic. It requires a solid background in dark magic like I've said, and then it requires years of study. Years. It's not something that you can just pick up as a side hobby. You want to learn alchemy? Really truly? Then drop water magic. Stop learning it. Stop working with it. Stop lugging around tomes for it, stop whatever you're doing with it. Start learning dark magic today. Once you have a solid grasp on dark magic, and I don't mean a few months study, I mean over a year of studying dark magic, then start learning alchemic theory. Maybe, just maybe, after another year of that, you'll be able to turn a small block of copper into iron. And then you need to start dealing with multiple elements and learning the composition of different materials. This is all if you completely drop water magic. Alchemy isn't fun and games and it isn't magic in the sense that you think of it. Yes, it requires the use of dark magic, but it is so much more than that."

Hoshi sighed, and closed the book with a muted thump. "I can fix the book, and I'll return it to the library so that you don't get in trouble for taking it out and damaging it. And like I said. Unless you're willing to completely drop water magic for alchemy, focus on what you're so proud of being skilled in already. Just stick to your mists or whatever."

[ReformBlade]

Aneda had found herself some breakfast, much the same as everyone else and began plowing through it. It wasn't her favorite meal, hell she didn't much like it at all, but from what she had gathered, given the circumstances, she'd be the last person to complain about free food, ever. "You can't beat free as far as prices go..." She said, not really paying much attention to potentially how insensitive that would sound to people who had actual losses in the battle that preceded this morning.

[Snowy_One]

Tia gulped as she heard Hoshi's words. Give up water magic? NEVER! Even if she hadn't spent the past few years of her life learning them, just opting to forget and ignore something in favor of learning a new one? She wanted to become the very best, but she wasn't going to ignore ANYTHING!

"I'm not willing to drop water, but I'm not going to give up either on learning dark or alchemy. I have heard the stories of sages and how they could wield each of the different kinds of magic and... And..." Tia took a sudden step backwards, looked shockingly winded and depleted.

"You only think I can be good at water magic, don't you?"

---

"I do not know if I saved a tavern, but I was out there fighting demons in the city, which probably did keep a tavern alive. Bah. Why am I complaining? I am the one feeling useless here, so if I saved your life, I am not, right? Unless your life holds no value."

With that Robin offered her hand to Orville. "It is a her. Her name is Raquel and I am sworn to her. I do not know where she is exactly, but two sets of eyes are better than one. I am sure we can find her fast. If you are going to be a mercenary, though, even if you are Urswine, it is nice to have more friends. So... Friends?"

Edited January 28, 2014 by Snowy_One

[Nanami Touko]

"But what you described kinda sounds like it. It's not surprising that people would say that." So many of them single. I wonder what my parents would say if I brought home a man instead of money? They'd probably be furious! Ohhh, that's so tempting... But when Al started speaking back in Neviskotian, Eva perked up. Interesting! "<That makes you the second man I've met today to speak 'Skotian. Erion was the first. Wonder how many more you've got hiding within this group. Kind of surprising considering the location, but I guess that just means you've all been traveling a lot more than I thought. Thanks for the comment on my hair, by the way. It's probably my only redeeming feature.>"

Edited January 28, 2014 by I have opinions

[scorri]

Sighing, Hoshi shook her head. "There's really so much you don't know. It's true you can learn other types of magic, but you can never master multiple types of magic like you seem to be wanting. Those stories of sages who mastered all types of magic are just that. Stories. Sure, you'll run into people who can use all three types of magic, but they'll only know the most basic spells in say dark and light while having almost a complete mastery over their element of anima. And even that takes years of study. You're nowhere near having a mastery of water magic, if I had to guess. You can't be more than, what, 10, 12? You have years of study ahead of you before you can truly claim to be a master of water magic. Add on to that learning dark magic, and then studying alchemy... It won't help your case that alchemy is completely different from magic in most senses, like I've already said. It requires a solid knowledge of dark magic to become skilled in it, but the magic isn't the main part of it. You're better off focusing on water magic. You still have so much to learn in water magic, regardless of how long you've been studying. You're just too young to have mastered it already. Focus on that. It can take almost 20 years to fully master an element if it's the only one you're studying. Just focus on water magic."

Edited January 28, 2014 by scorri

[Phoenix]

Mushirah's Room

Shadrak smiled, feeling his words had helped and strengthened her. Of course, that didn't last long; before long, she was in tears again. Rather than try to console her with words again, or even console her really, he carefully placed his breakfast on the nightstand and came closer to hug her. It's okay, just feel however you want to feel right now ... If only he could say that aloud. Trying and failing to had him feeling down as well.

Dining Hall

"Ask Weyland for help?" That would hurt her pride about half as much as working closely with or under Raquel, but that very idea had crossed her mind at least half a dozen times before this conversation, she just wasn't going to admit that to anyone. "Not sure why he'd help me ... well, unless I started workin' for him. Don't really wanna sell brand merchandise, though, honestly, not if I don't have to." She probably had to, she feared, at least to get her head back above water.

"I'm sure Weyland wouldn't mind helping you getting your business up and running again, and I haven't had to sell any Weyland products, myself," Raquel explained.

"I don't think you could sell any Weyland products since you don't even advertise or put yourself out there," Greta muttered. That caused Raquel to wince. She hadn't been expecting the verbal jab, though in hindsight, she knew she should have seen that one coming. "Anyway, Alphonse, thanks. I don't quite get it, but I'm glad ya feel that way," Greta smiled weakly at the swordsman.

"Anyway ..." Raquel turned her attention toward Eva and tried to tune out Greta for a while, "I need the fire emblem for a few reasons, most importantly right now, it's to help a friend of mine."

'Most importantly'? Hmm ...

"Unfortunately, in any scenario where Valdimarr manages to destroy you, I don't have enough resources left to turn the tide," Steinn explained. In these scenarios he was running, Annelise was usually the second last to fall if it came to that. "I've found a few ways to survive this war indefinitely, but none of them can deliver us a victory. If I can't come up with a plan with what we have, I'll make preparations to add more, but it won't be so simple ... our closest 'potential' allies are Raquel's people and the Ursian military."

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Gar finished up making and eating his own meal while everyone else sort of did their own things and he kinda didn't care. Once he was done eating, he half-payed attention and half kept up some head singing. When Raquel mentioned using the emblem to help a friend, he felt he finally had to comment. "Oh, so he's a friend now hm?"

[Mercakete]

As expected, Cleaning Rizen's tack didn't take very long, though in the end he'd decided to be a bit more thorough about it. While that was set aside to dry, he'd cleaned his own armor, his belt and his boots next. Splinter and Crunch were last, but they'd also take the least amount of time to dry. With the doors leading outside open, too, Norbert hoped to speed along the drying process. In the meantime, with the extra water, he'd given Rizen a quick bath. She was still wet and snorting irritably, tossing her head or shaking it on occasion as he tried to use one of the stable's few towels to dry her off quickly.

"Come on, Riz, I'm not trying to mess up your mane, I'm trying to dry it!" Norbert somewhat amusedly complained. The pegasus just neighed angrily as her head and neck were ambushed by the towel again. This time, Norbert climbed onto her back and laid on his stomach, pressing his legs against her sides to try to keep himself in place as she protested. In determination, he proclaimed, pausing some between his words, "You will be dried!"

Rizen neighed again, this time getting him to stop and wrap his arms around her neck as she bucked. She only bucked once, though, and after that, her longer hair was dry enough and Norbert dismounted and glared seriously at the pegasus, who glared right back. Then, he exited Rizen's stall and lazily draped the towel over one of the other stalls. He walked right up to one of the saddlebags. It was more or less dry by now, but he knew he couldn't start tacking the pegasus again yet. Her blanket was probably still damp. That wasn't entirely why he'd come over to it anyway. Out of the bag, he pulled a brush, a comb and a rag. Then, he walked right back over to Rizen, who recognized the tools immediately and subsequently stared at them in anticipation.

Norbert smirked. "Yeah, I know that look. You know what these are." Indeed, she did, and she resolved to be perfectly obedient while Norbert went to work, first giving her horn a quick polish, then setting the rag aside, beginning to brush her. She absolutely adored being brushed and, admittedly, she leaned into the brushing some at times. It just felt so divine!

[Ether]

"I see. I'm flattered you would entrust so much to me, Milord." Annelise replied with a light bow, nearly planting her face into her own as of yet untouched porridge, before catching herself. Now that would have been embarrassing.

***

"Huh?" Faatina replied, a slightly confused look on her face, as Sinbad replied.

<"Singing... voice?"> She repeated several times under her breath, though none quiet enough to evade the ear... so long as you could decipher the Rexian that she had unwittingly slipped into. Eventually, the gears began to click, and the paladin's face flushed a bright pink, as she turned back to the cowboy in a stammer.

"I... when, how... I didn't... did I?"

[ReformBlade]

A mild confusion set in when Shadrak embraced her suddenly, followed by a warm feeling of contentment form a suffocating blanket right around her worries. She was still upset in general, as well as crying, but this was a pleasant surprise for Mushirah. It was marred by the fact that it was happening under such abysmal circumstances though, but amazingly enough she found room enough in her mind to enjoy it slightly. For some reason she wasn't seeing his actions as pity, but that's probably due to the fact that she had a thing for him regardless. She very timidly embraced him back with her one arm, wishing to reciprocate his actions, but she could only do so much and ended up clenching a fistful of his shirt out of, well, every emotion swimming in her mind at that moment.

"You know, you seem very business-like right now and that's pretty much what I'm expecting more or less from this interview, but from what you've been saying it seems this group is really, really loose." Jericho said, mulling it all over. "And... I'm guessing that seems to work out somehow for you all?" He was having a hard time believing that people could follow such a lack of current structure. Perhaps there was some form of unspoken trust between everyone, but really he was completely skeptical. The pay seemed nice, at least. "Well, if the offer's still on the table, I'm more than glad to join, on the grounds that I can speak freely to you or Raquel and make judgments on anything I witness or feel is going on." He paused for a moment, sighing and begrudgingly added, "So long as anything I say is true and not insulting, I guess. Though maybe truth is in the eye of the beholder, I dunno, but there you have it."

[Phoenix]

Dining Hall

Raquel flinched; Gar picked some of the most inconvenient things to notice, comment on, and prompt a reply to, didn't he? "... y-yes," she admitted, her gaze darting all over the place for an escape."That's 'okay', isn't it?" She wasn't really sure now that it had come up and was trying to think back to any times Hypnos might have done something to antagonize anyone in the group. There was the fortress incident, but that seemed smoothed over as a whole.

Steinn gave another faint smile and said, "I believe I'm the one being entrusted with a great deal here: victory over an extremely powerful opponent, at least three armies, and eventually the people of Corvus. I'm honored you would take a risk like this where few others would not." Steinn had a feeling the few others who may have wanted to or even tried were found out before they could assist in any noticeable way and were either beaten back into submission or killed. Gaining allies from Corvus was a late game tactic--not even a strategy--at best. He'd have to at least prove that Valdimarr didn't have this victory in the bag before any sizable force would join him, nay could join him, and that was assuming his political stance didn't come back to haunt him, as well as his unwitting blunder in the Slaughter of Siblings.

[Ether]

"Lord Steinn... if it's for you, then no risk is too much to bear. You must succeed... you will succeed, no matter the cost." Annelise replied, as she came back up from her bow.

[roymbrog]

Synthia

“…As well as expected, after last night,” was the mage’s response. After last night, she’d be surprised if cheerfulness was the norm among the manse’s inhabitants. “And you?”

---

Katrina

Kat smiled at the response, and waited patiently by the door as Zach made himself more appropriate. When he returned with his comment about repairs, she began walking down the hall, expecting him to accompany her. “If the tears aren’t too bad, I could probably help with that,” she said, thinking back to when she had repaired one of his shirts while they were sailing.

---

Valter

After checking in at Weyland’s estate, the horseman had escorted Joanna back to the Cathredral, where he ended up spending the night. After a crappy night’s sleep, breakfast, and an explanation of his whereabouts for the past month to a somewhat skeptical Horace, he was on the lookout for the military personnel he was pretty sure were still here from last night.

[Nanami Touko]

Raquel didn't sound too keen on this friend. Or that was the assumption Eva made upon hearing her rebuttal to this new man's comment. "So, who is this friend?" Must be some friend if they elicit a response like that. Eva was suddenly reminded, talking about friends, that Sasha had sat his night outside the city, attached to a tree, waiting. I really should go get him soon...

[Snowy_One]

"Fourteen." said Tia with a heavy sigh. She wasn't going to win this argument, that was for certain. Hoshi certainly wasn't going to even try to be nice and try to help Tia along and, instead, was more than content to tell her to restrict herself to water.

"Would be stupid of me to listen to you just because, but... fine. I'll go tell Connor that I'm going to give up on learning Alchemy. He'll probably agree with what you're saying anyways."