Return of the Emblem Chapter Thirteen: Revelations

[Phoenix]

Fatigue

Reign yawned, covering his mouth as he did so. "That's good. It's been a long day. Let's get going."

Food

"Well if that doesn't prove my point, I don't know what does," Gabbie noted flatly. She took a moment to stand up. "It would be noice if we could finish this thing well before it's toime to head out but you're gonna hit a dead end sooner or later, even just workin' on components. I'm gonna go get you something from one of the kitchens; if you're gonna keep working, you'd better eat while you do." Not the most sanitary compromise, but it was better than prying him from the project.

Associate

"An associate, huh?" I should have known this amnesia thing was going to come back on us in some form someday ... oh well ... at least we get weird spirit sensing powers out of it. That's been handy. "I don't know where she went after she came inside, but there's only a few places she would be right about now: the workshop, the dining hall in the left wing, in her room, or off pestering Weyland. I'd recommend starting with one of those, but I'll have to ask you to stay out of the workshop. I'm on my way there now and if I find her in there, I'll point her your way. Otherwise, you're free to ask around for directions to the other places or permission to see Weyland."

Destination

"Of course," Tamara nodded. "This way please," she said, starting off toward the right wing of the estate. That was Tilly's cue to return to her duties. Most of the workers were having dinner right now, so tidying up around their working areas seemed like a good idea.

It didn't take too long to reach the infirmary door. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Weapons

It hadn't fully registered with Cassandra that they were in an armory, not until that very moment. Her first instinct was to politely decline Keeper's offer, but she remembered that part of her weakness as a fighter was her severe lack of academic knowledge of most weapons. So far, the only weapons she could readily reshape her emblem piece into, were those she had studied closely ... and here she was, in an armory. In the time leading up to this moment, she had only looked into a few specific types of weapons, and even gone so far as to design one of her own, but this place was teeming with potential insights and designs that could keep her from ever being so vulnerable again in the future.

"The emblem doesn't feel like other magic. I just ask for the weapon and it turns into it. I do have to know what weapon I'm asking for, though," Cassandra explained a bit sheepishly. "It's all I really need to carry with me, but ... just the same, if you wouldn't mind, I would like to learn about some of these weapons ... err-all of them ... if that's okay. The more I understand, the more options I have in a fight. I'm also ..." she began looking around at the walls, "not sure exactly what this place is ... what kind of building, I mean ... but if there's a spare bed anywhere, I could sleep there once I'm finished." She wasn't comfortable staying in a place like Purgatory, not that she even knew why, but thinking back on it, she was born in this realm, and she was willing to at least give it a chance if it could guarantee her some time to think, and an avenue of study while she was there.

[-Cynthia-]

Dining Hall

Veronika sighed and drank some more. "What the plan was and what actually happened were entirely different- I'm not even sure how Jethro got out exactly considering he didn't seem to come with Raquel. I'm afraid I don't have the answers here."

Workshop

"All right, if you bring me something I'll eat. I don't want to get too far out of the flow by stopping for dinner," Connor compromised. "Just bring me whatever's convenient for you to get."

[Snowy_One]

"Neither do I. I do not think anyone has any answers to provide right now as too much is unknown. Will Raquel be alright? Will she be healthy when she recovers? What do we do next? I do not think we can know now. Maybe, for now, the best thing we can do for Raquel is try and relax so that, when she is up again, we are not stressed and have not dissolved into a quarreling mass. I do not know."

Robin's head slumped down into her hands in annoyance. "Or maybe it is just me being paranoid about what can happen to the group without a center."

[Mercakete]

Gytha was in a very good mood when she entered the dining hall and continued straight on to the kitchen, not even bothering to greet those she knew in the area. That was primarily because she figured she could do that after she asked for the food. Though when she was requesting, she didn't specify any further than wanting fish, another question did come to mind, so she asked the cooks, "Ah, by th' way, how's Maw been eatin'?"

[Ether]

"I followed you because you seemed distraught... more so than the others." Annelise replied, deciding to give him another chance to reply before departing.

***

"Alright, sure... do you remember where your room is, this time?" Faatina replied with a light giggle.

***

"If she might be in the workshop, I'll follow you. So long as I don't enter the workshop proper, there should be no issues, correct? That will be the fastest way, without requiring her to locate me and catch up while I'm searching." Isabella replied, waiting for the woman's reply. How she reacted to this would determine how she would best proceed with the others here, as well.

[Eail]

Catching the saddle, if just barely, Zach managed to follow Kat into the stable, setting the piece of equipment down next to her other gear... there was a really good reason he didn't fight with a sword or axe. "So, anything else to take care of or are we good to go drinking and make terrible yet probably hilarious mistakes?"

[Phoenix]

Stables

Reign shrugged at that. "Time to find out, I guess ... it'll be pretty awkward if I don't."

Workshop

"Thank you," Gabbie said, turning to head for the door. "I'll be back in a little bit, but I wouldn't be surproised if Anna's on the way. I hope you're ready," she warned.

Hall

"Fine, let's go," Anna decided. She at least seemed willing to leave well enough alone where the workshop was concerned, so everything should be fine.

Kitchen

"'Mmmaw'?" Johnny repeated slowly to make sure he had the name right. With a sigh, he pointed to Erica with his thumb. "She might know somethin'."

"I left some milk and one of the fish out for her a little while ago but I don't know if she's touched it, yet. I'm just so glad we've got the extra help, now," Erica explained, quickly glancing over at the various cook splitting duties throughout the back half of the kitchen. "Your cat won't over eat, will she? I'm sure some of the others would have noticed her around at some point and offered her something ...." It was starting to seem like a good idea to try and keep the cat out of the kitchen in general.

Hall

"Gabbie," Anna said, in a low and quiet tone, as if she'd found a prey she'd been hunting for days. "Hey," she greeted, her tone becoming normal and casual again, "do you know this woman?"

"... koinda," Gabbie replied, her gaze leaping back and forth uneasily between the two of them. "... ... ... I'm getting Connor something to eat right now, Jethro's aloive, and she's," Gabbie indicated Isabella, "trustworthy," she made a quick attempt to address what she thought each of the issues might be."

[Ether]

"That reply didn't have a whole lot of confidence in it..." Faatina replied with a light sigh... he was probably joking... hopefully.

***

Isabella followed along behind Anna, who seemed to atleast be accepting of the idea, but they actually crossed Gabbie in the hallway... that was convenient. As for the Seeker, she appeared to be attempting to pre-empt the incoming questions, atleast to moderate success.

"Well, alive is certainly a good start... any notable hiccups along the way, or did you manage to get him to the infirmary without consequence?"

[Snike]

"Well I wouldn't relax if there are unanswered questions about," Axel said, bluntly. "If I was second in command, I'd want to know how the hell things got out of my hands so I could work to preventing that from happening again, since I'm responsible if anyone dies."

***

"...That might be true," Blake said, as he picked a random hall to walk down. "However, that shouldn't be any of your concern."

[Ether]

"Perhaps you're right... however... for the whole of the time I've been here, you've seemed... deeper, than most other humans tend to be. Moreso than with your companions, it feels like you've many layers to you... perhaps it is selfish, but... I feel like I could learn a lot about humans, from you. That, and... well, even now, I have no dislike of humans... it seems a shame for you to languish in such a way." Annelise replied, this man had yet to take any obvious moves to attempt to lose her, and as of yet, his disposition seemed to lack any hostility.

[-Cynthia-]

Dining Hall

Veronika sighed and drank some more. "Like I already said, the only people that know what happened are Raquel and Gar and neither of them are available to talk. Do you have a solution or are you just going to nag me?" she asked Axel, frowning.

Workshop

Connor nodded and went back to work, once more becoming oblivious to the outside world.

[scorri]

Keeper didn't bother to respond to Uniter since there was no need, but was slightly confused at Cassandra's remark. "Emblem? ... Oh, that's who you are. Ok. Uh, sure, feel free to study any of these you want. I may need to disappear to help Uniter, but you're welcome to stay here as long as you want. This is my armory, but there's a bedroom through that door if you need it." He waved towards a gap in the shelves of weapons. "If you wish to get out of Purgatory, we can warp from here to a safe house I have in the real world, where there are beds and food as well. I'm fine with whichever you wish."

[Mercakete]

"Hmm. Ye know, I don't know if she would're not," Gytha noted thoughtfully, "Maw usualla has t' hunt fer 'er own food, but ships have rats n' this place sure doesn't look like it does. When we're on land, usualla I'm th' one gettin' 'er food...kind of. She doesn't seem t' realize that th' fishermen don't like 'er takin' their fish, heheh..."

It was good to hear that Maw had been taken care of while she was away, and knowing Maw, that fish was not about to be left untouched. Gytha wasn't sure how the cat would respond to the milk, though. "Well, thank ye. I'll just be out in th' galley. I'll see how Maw's doin' later. If ye think it'd be helpful, I could let all o ye know, too."

[Snike]

"Yeah, talk to Gabbie and whoever the hell else was there. The former apparently rescued Jethro without you knowing about it, so that's one answer," Axel said, almost glaring. "The non-Gar guy over there also said that Gar was warped afterwards, so it sounds like other people saw part of what happened at the complex. That will give you some clearer picture instead of just sitting about here clueless."

***

"... If you're trying to cheer me up, I appreciate the effort," Blake said, stopping for a moment. " All the same, I'd rather deal with this on my own. If you want to talk my race later, perhaps, that would be fine, but right now, I just need some time alone."

[roymbrog]

“No, thank you. I think I’ve got it from here,” Synthia replied to the maid. She knocked on the door and took a step back. Hopefully she wasn’t interrupting anything.

---

“Naw, though I guess I could go change out of my mail…” Kat’s other pieces of armor she usually left with Volga’s equipment, but the chainmail was a bit more involved and she didn’t feel like partially stripping in the stables. “And… Hey! I’m not going to get that drunk. C’mon, let’s head inside,” she said, leaving the stables.

[Ether]

"Very well... if you've any need of me, don't hesitate to look for me." Annelise replied, giving the man a light bow, before turning.

[Eail]

Following after Kat, Zach decided to get a little teasing in "I'll go check on the kid while you're doing that, unless you need some help getting the armor off eh?" Nudging her with his elbow as they walked before chuckling heartily

[Snowy_One]

Robin looked at the booze Nika was drinking again. Already she could feel a small shiver running down her spine again. What little she had drunk recently had knocked her out and she was still worried that she may have ended up kissing Sandrock at some point even if no one said she did, but something about it still told her it would make her feel good. Feel really good.

Robin almost raised her hand up to ask for some before her other hand quickly came up to stop it from getting any higher. "I am sorry, but I do not think it... I do not think it wise for me to remain around here if you are going to keep drinking."

[-Cynthia-]

"Thank you for your suggestion," Veronika replied to Axel curtly, not eager to continue the discussion, before turning to Robin.

"This is an area where people eat and drink, some people are going to drink alcohol. You should get used to it." Ohka must be a very strange and sad place...

[roymbrog]

“Haha, I can undress without help you know. Uuh, what do you mean by kid though? What kid?” Katrina asked as they walked over to the manor. She had honestly forgotten about the baby vasilus, much less Zach’s apparent paternal instincts. “I’ll just meet you in the dining hall. Shouldn’t take long.”

[Eail]

"The vasilus kid, remember? She hatched and I've been trying to look out for her, before we left for that messed up mission I had put her down for a nap." Zach explained to his shorter friend. "Anyways, I'll meet you in the dining hall." He finished before going off his own way.

________

After checking up on the child, who he'd discovered was still sound asleep, and tucking her in again, Zach was now own his way to the dining hall, he'd wait outside until Kat showed up though

[scorri]

Erion stared out into the sky, fiddling quietly with the blue beaded hair clip that he had threaded through one of the button holes on his jacket. He was tempted to just run, get on his horse, and chase after Eva and Jam's group, to be back with the people he'd come to enjoy. But, from what he'd been able to pick up, if he went there, he'd just be a third wheel to two different situations. Al clearly wanted nothing to do with him, and even if Jam said it was ok, he was pretty sure at some point it would no longer be ok. And Eva had left this group for Angel. So much for her not abandoning him for her. He sighed. That was unfair and he knew it. But... somehow he didn't much care right now.

Edited September 6, 2014 by scorri

[Phoenix]

Hall

Reign tried to recall which room he'd chosen for himself when they first got here. Without the disorienting effects of alcohol in his system, he was at least able to remember the general area and which side of the guest wing's hall it was on. He'd narrowed it down to three possible doors. For now, he wasn't sharing that information since his last chance for a bit of fun that day would be ruined if Faatina knew he'd more or less figured out his sleeping arrangements.

He slowed his pace slightly as Gabbie, Anna, and someone he didn't recognize got closer; he'd expected them to disperse or split up before they were close enough to overhear anything, but as luck would have it, they didn't, and this was a long stretch of hallway with only closed doors lining the walls. Silently passing by another conversation? ... that was the plan for now unless Faatina had other ideas.

Same Hall

"Don't wanna talk about that, again," Gabbie muttered. All that kept her from going on her way to the dining hall then and there was the short pause she gave, specifically for any further input either of the two might have.

"Hmm, okay then. I'll worry about Connor later since you seem to have that mostly handled."

Kitchen

"Sure," Johnny forced a smile, "sure." Can't she just feed the cat herself? We've got enough distractions around here.

"Please do ... we don't want to overfeed her by mistake," Erica worriedly noted.

Pets ...

Armory

"Okay. Thank you," Cassandra said, forcing her words since they weren't coming quickly enough. She almost didn't hear the part about a safe house back in Sardius, though; there was far too much going on in her mind right now. "Sure," she nodded, not fully realizing what she was agreeing to as she approached what looked like a large knife. It wasn't her preferred type of weapon, even though she had some training with it. What she really wanted to see ...

Emblem piece in her left hand, and the blade carefully held in her right, she began to make her request. First there was a glimmer from the emblem, then a consistent light as it began to stretch and take on a new shape. When the spectacle was over, she was holding two knives, both identical save for the brilliant golden finish the one in her left hand had. They were the same weight and balance despite Cassandra's expectations, expectations that she was now a little surprised at. "I really should have seen this coming. It doesn't matter what the emblem's really made out of, it just matches whatever I'm trying to use ..."

[Mercakete]

Gytha nodded, then exited the kitchen, making a mental note to inform the cooks if she thought the cat was overeating. Sure is nice o' them t' care that much fer Maw. I wonder if she realizes how much they care... Then, she made her way over to the table the others had congregated at. "Ahoy," she greeted them, smiling, "So, how's ev'ryone o'er here?"

[roymbrog]

After returning to her room and changing into one of her spare shirts, Katrina made her way back downstairs to the dining hall. After making that specific trip several times over the last few days she’d finally managed to remember that specific route at least, and arrived in record time. Zach was standing outside, and she waved as she approached. “Hey. Got the vodka?”