Return of the Emblem Chapter Thirteen: Revelations

[-Cynthia-]

Workshop

"Oh, that's not that late. I can work until midnight or later," Connor said confidently, eating more of his panini.

Dining Hall

Veronika raised an eyebrow. Does that mean he was watching me while I wasn't looking or something? That's...unsettling. "I suppose that makes sense. Not to sound ungrateful, but why are you helping us in the first place? I am unsure of your group's motivations," she asked him.

[roymbrog]

“Good luck. Don’t fall,” Synthia said, waving goodbye over her shoulder as she turned to leave. The man in the tree had said the dining hall was just back inside, so she headed in that direction. Hopefully everyone hadn’t left yet.

---

Oh hey, Veronika and Uniter were talking now. This was what Kat had wanted to stick around for, so she was paying attention, or trying to anyway.

[Snike]

"We're part of the Disciples of Thanatos," Uniter said, before taking his left hand glove off, revealing a tattoo on the back of his hand and a ring on the ring finger. "Each member usually has some sort of anchor tattoo on their body, for future reference. Anyways, we helped out due to the previous agreement Commander made with your group. Originally, we weren't going to be directly involved with the rescue attempt. Instead, we arranged it so that your guys' two targets were isolated from Samael and the other organization members, figuring that Raquel would just take them and go. Once things changed, we went in."

[Cevian]

Cherish retreated in to one of the changing rooms, making sure the door was locked behind her. It was time to get to work. As much as she really did enjoy the opportunity to "borrow" so much clothing, she knew that she had a job she was getting paid to do and she had to do it right.

It was a strange sense of work ethic she built up over the years. You did things the right way and you got what you were planning to get. It was a necessity back when doing things wrong meant you didn't get to eat, but it was a lesson she kept with her even as times and her lifestyle changed.

She was getting paid to disguise herself, even if it was to more easily integrate herself into a group her employer was already friendly with. A job was a job and she was going to do it to the best of her ability. While the disguise was in part to make a more friendly personality change, the reason behind it's necessity wasn't even on her mind. Cherish, in how she normally was, didn't care about making friends with anyone so she just never integrated with the group. She was better at pretending to be friends with someone else then actually befriending them.

Once she was done trying on the various bits of clothing she stored what she wanted deep in her cloak, some of it need a bit of alteration to fit just right, and found a place to return the rest, still a bit of a strange concept but it would probably still be there for her when she came back. She didn't need to keep a hold on everything, and that was enough of a relief to help offset her want to just have things.

Next it was on to the dining hall to get something to eat. It would be a bit of a day tomorrow getting the rest of her new identity together.

[Phoenix]

Workshop

"Oh no you don't," Gabbie glared at Connor. Maybe if he was working on some last minute additions to the original design or correcting some critical errors in the current components, but she doubted any of those issues were keeping him going at this point. "Eat, go freshen up, and then get some sleep," she insisted. "You can always pick this up in the morning," she added, though in truth, she would have preferred it if he took the next morning off as well.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Well... this was about to get interesting. Gar leaned back in his chair and began snacking on an apple.

[-Cynthia-]

Workshop

"Fiiine," Connor agreed, nearly finishing his panini. "So are we going to Ursentius soon or not?" he asked Gabbie. Maybe the group will wait until Raquel gets better...hard to say really.

Dining Hall

"I see..." Veronika said, her attention drawn to the ring on Uniter's finger. That can't be the same...maybe I have had too much to drink, I must be hallucinating. "Where did you get that ring?" she asked Uniter, unable to contain her curiosity at this point.

[Snike]

"Kievan Rus," Uniter said simply. "Was one of a pair. Has there been any emblem-related trouble since you got back from the complex? The dragon head showed up shortly before that hole in the wall was made, and Commander's slightly concerned that he might react to either the wrathite or Jethro."

[-Cynthia-]

"What? No, the emblem's fine," Veronika said, finding discussion of the emblem totally uninteresting at this point. "Is this the partner to your ring?" she asked Uniter bluntly, holding up her ring finger and attempting to discern who the man under the hood was. He can't just show up randomly and be part of some..death cult thing...this doesn't make any sense, she tried to convince herself, though she wasn't sure of what.

[Snike]

"...It is," Uniter said, as he turned to look directly Veronika, not so much as glancing at the ring. "I already told you, we've met before, Nika."

[Eail]

'Well then'

This... was getting really awkward for Zach in more ways than one, and it was very likely a situation that the rest of the group probably didn't need to be involved in... as he saw it the mage had two options. Stay and try to make everyone shut the hell up so these two wouldn't be interrupted or.....

"Gar, if you get a free punch on me, as hard as you want, will you help me get these two enough of a private space so they can speak?" Zach asked, before downing the rest of his shot.

"Unless, er... you're fine with all this?" He weakly offered to Veronika.

'I need to stop drinking so much.... nah, that's not happening.'

Edited September 26, 2014 by Eail

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Oh boy, there was something happening now! Him getting interrupted from the fun first off though. "If I wanted to punch you I'd have already done it," Gar replied to Zachary-boy when he came up about dragging everyone out. "Besides, this looks like a juicy bit of drama I can't wait to see unfold."

[Mercakete]

Well, that was news. Gytha smiled. "Ah, glad ye've finalla found each other!" Though this guy sure was acting weird for finally being reunited with his fiance. "Looks like ev'rythin's all fallin' inta place all at once." She was referring to Raquel also being reunited with the person she'd been searching for this whole time, though she didn't feel the need to clarify that.

[Cevian]

Cherish finally made her way down to the dining room, intentionally avoiding people. There was no need to try and get to know anyone else here since she was about to have to do that as someone else anyway. Grabbing a plate and filling it up with food she sat down at an out-of-the-way table to eat, alone.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika's head was spinning. Zach was talking about something and Gytha was congratulating her, there was happiness and confusion and relief and frustration...the frustration came out first.

"Why the fuck didn't you just say so from the beginning!?" Veronika asked Pavel accusingly.

[Phoenix]

Workshop

"I think we ought to," Gabbie eventually answered. Speaking with her mouth full wasn't really her thing. "Raquel has her father, and apparently there's something happening in Ursentius. Besoides, even if she does want to come with us, we still have to come back here to finish the Paladin before we can head out east. She's got toime to recover, and we've got toime to get some extra parts from HQ as well as helping out the other numbers, so I think we ought to."

[Snike]

"I wasn't sure if it was you, initially, so if it was, I was expecting you to recognize me the moment I said anything," Pavel said. "When you didn't, I just continued with what I was coming here to explain originally."

[-Cynthia-]

Workshop

"Makes sense to me. Maybe Uncle Seth can convince them to go," Connor suggested after finishing his panini. "Guess I'll turn in before you have to drag me off. Goodnight Gabbie," he said, giving the lancer a hug.

Dining Hall

Veronika felt rather stupid at the moment not recognizing her own fiance. Is this actually a dream? Did I drink too much and pass out in the middle of the dining hall? "Well, what all did you want to explain? Where have you been? How did you end up here?" she asked Pavel in rapid succession.

[roymbrog]

Katrina was still trying to process most of this in her drunken state, but had gotten stuck back on the rings. “Wait! Hold up! Are you two married?” she asked.

Synthia walked in to find everyone clustered around Uniter and Veronika (except one chick off in the corner), and heard Kat’s question (the wyvern rider was quite loud). She stopped in her tracks a few feet into the dining hall. “What did I just walk into?” she muttered to herself.

[Ether]

"Are you certain this is alright, Uniter? If she is unaware, going any further is sure to hurt her... no, in a case like this... you've gone too far already, to avoid that, I suppose." Isabella interjected, somewhat more timidly than usual. She didn't know much of anything about Uniter's personal life, but... those rings, and that familiarity, it was plainly obvious what his relationship with this woman was.

***

Returning to the dining hall, it seemed things hadn't quite exploded, yet. However, over by Veronika, the tension in the room was high... better stick around just to be safe... Arietta let out a sigh, this was a strange day.

***

"It is the fundamental difference between this place and Corvus... they think not constantly of war and the need to survive... with vast lands and armies, a place like this coming under assault must signal great panic... to them, it would feel as though the end were already at hand. If my lessons were of any merit, Ursium has near always been the standout of human countries... they've never truly fought with the Kigenese or the Rexians, and the Neviskotians spawned from them, so there was never threat to a city such as this one... no brigands could assail a city so large, and an army never got so far." Annelise replied, recalling history lessons that had been given to her as a child.

"Of course, the construction materials and human limits may have prohibited building as well, but... a city such as this, I don't think it is designed for war. While the buildings may be lesser than those back home... there is something... comfortably soothing, about structures such as these, don't you think?"

[Eail]

'Right... should have expected that...' Zach half normally thought half screamed inside of his own mind

There was nothing to do but just try to controls the masses while these two worked out their differences... and he was already off to a truly wonderful start with Kat's outburst. "Kat... this Uniter person appears to be Veronika's fiance Pavel, who she has been searching for, for quite a decent amount of time if my memory serves correctly." He calmly explained to the green haired woman, and pretty much everyone else listening in that wasn't in the know.

Noticing that Arietta had rejoined the room, he was counting her as the only other sane person that wasn't involved in the situation that he actually knew... Pavel's subordinate really couldn't be counted as he knew nothing about her aside from the name. Trying to catch Arietta's attention, he made a motion for her to come closer, maybe she could help keep things under control.

"These two have to work this all out Miss Isabella, that's going to require Pavel to inform her, relationships... especially one of the level of their's, has to be built on trust."

[scorri]

Gatekeeper had finished his sandwich and was sitting, waiting. He frowned. He'd half expected to hear from Uniter already. Quietly, he called out, "Uniter, everything ok? Didn't think it would take this long to explain things. Do you need any help?"--------------------------------------------------------------------

Erion leaned back against the tree and sighed. In truth, he could probably have gotten down. But after hearing about Raquel... So she's still unconcious... I should have found some way to stop her. Figured out some other plan... Though it's still not clear how things went so poorly so quickly... Still... hope she wakes up soon.

[Phoenix]

Workshop

Convincing the young workaholic to call it a night had turned out to be far easier than Gabbie felt it should have been. Still, she wasn't complaining, and the thought was snuffed out when he hugged her. She wasn't hugged often, but when she was, they were usually from Naomi. With her nowhere around, she was a little surprised. "Heh, yeah, you do that," she said, giving him a light squeeze in return. It would definitely be good if he had left the workshop by the time Anna came by to check on things.

Rooftop

"If Valdimarr gets even one of those gates open, this may become the first real war any of these countries fights," Steinn noted. By fallen standards, most of the wars that had come and gone were mere skirmishes; territorial and religious disputes solved with force of arms and just that. In a fallen war, entire regions were overrun and entire metropolitan areas, along with most of their inhabitants, were ravaged beyond and laid to ruin. The Kigenese were familiar with most of their tactics, but Valdimarr and the architects supporting him would put the heart and soul of the kestrelii people into this next offensive; even they with their centuries of accumulated prowess would be overwhelmed if hit on two well chosen fronts. Still, they had the best chance of any of the three target nations of withstanding the initial assault.

"I suppose these structures are more aesthetically pleasing, and some of the scents of the materials are pleasant as well," Steinn admitted, "but as a warrior, I can't help but first notice the flaws in any given person, place or ... structure."

Armory

Cassandra looked up from her sandwich as her host called out at nothing. She didn't recall where exactly Uniter was, but if he was still in a potential combat situation, she was beginning to think that just sitting here eating was a bad idea. "Where is he?" she asked, leaning toward Keeper slightly. Better to confirm the situation if she could, before overreacting.

Edited September 30, 2014 by Phoenix

[Snike]

"... Isabella, it's fine, I owe Nika more than an explanation for what I've put her through," Pavel said, before turning back to his fiancee. "I came to explain our actions at the complex, as well as apologize for Burke, among other things. Where I've been and how I came to be part of the Disciples is a long story, and I'd rather not talk about it in the dining hall or elsewhere in the public."

Gatekeeper, i'm a bit busy at the moment, but no help needed. Sorry it's taking so long, but odds are I'll be here a while longer.

[-Cynthia-]

I don't like what she's implying... Veronika thought about Isabella's interjection, but Pavel seemed willing to explain himself in private. "My room," was all she said before beginning to stride out of the dining hall, though she turned to look back on her way out, making sure he did not disappear.