Return of the Emblem Chapter Thirteen: Flight

[scorri]

Lumi hesitated, then placed a tentative arm around the younger girl. "I... The problem is that you can't always know you're right. I agree that killing their leader was wrong. It's not ok to kill someone who was clearly no longer interested in fighting. The excuses though... Sometimes we make up reasons to make it easier on ourselves. It doesn't make you a terrible person. It makes you someone who wants to live with what they did. And I know that it's not comforting, but it's all I have to offer. I just hope that you either find someone way to deal with these sorts of things or get out of this type of business. It could destroy you if you don't do one of those two things."

Hoshi hesitantly smiled at the other woman. "I... yes, good. I am glad."

[Eail]

"That makes you Jamila Apollonios, nothing more, nothing else, and that means that you're someone that I care about dearly." Alphonse finally said, deciding there wasn't much else he could add since the blue haired woman had already hit most of the points he'd wanted to. "You don't have to fight again if you don't want to Jam, just leave things like that to people like Amon and myself, but if you want to continue on, I'll be there with you ever step of the way... What's a Knight without having his Princess to look out for after all?"

[-Cynthia-]

If Hoshi would do it for free, do I really need to invest in Kimiko? I guess Hoshi'll be busy travelin' with us though and may not have much time for business alchemy. "Well, I'd be willin' to make a small investment into initial supplies for a fair share of profits later.As for transportation of materials, it'll be up to Greta whether she's willin' to share space with ya or not," Nadya decided.

[Nanami Touko]

Flap, flap, flap. Flying always made Eva feel better. That smile had even shown up, as Sasha went in small circles above the group. Seemed that the other wyvern (the dragon in disguise) had taken off after Bert and his pegasus. <Hmmm. Hope nothing scares that pegasus. That wyvern's huge... I wouldn't be surprised if even Sasha was wary around it...> "How's the flight?>" she offhandedly asked Angelica, only slightly concerned for her at the moment. She was trying to flush out all those negative emotions with the rush of the activity, and if Angelica fell, well, Eva had experienced her platforming abilities firsthand.

----------

Ah, there was Jam, and there was the thought that was bothering Tia the most. The man they'd killed. She shrunk again and sighed, hoping the tears didn't come back. She felt she'd cried enough for one evening. It didn't help that Al and Lumi were still going. "Uhm... I know you're just trying to help, but just give us some time to think. I'm thankful for the advice, but... Even I'm not naive enough to think that's enough, every time..." She felt a bit bad, but she didn't think the honeyed words of Alphonse were going to fix it, and she didn't think Lumi had any more advice to throw out that could change anything. Especially not Al, what was all this about not fighting and leaving things to him? What would that solve? That would just be running away... And the princess comment? yuck... It would just take thinking, and some time.

Edited September 3, 2014 by I have opinions

[roymbrog]

Kimiko returned Hoshi’s smile before turning back to Nadya. “If Greta is amiable to that arrangement, I would be willing to accept. What did you have in mind by fair share of profits?”

[Ether]

"Fine, I guess." Angelica replied flatly, though it could be noted that since take off, she had pressed herself further into Eva significantly, and her grip had tightened noticeably.

[Phoenix]

Of Merchants and Men

Greta wasn't terribly put off by the idea of sharing wagon space, but she was far more attracted to her own idea of how to handle this situation. She figured if she didn't say something now, though, she'd wind up missing a great opportunity to have her wagon and use the whole thing for her own business, too. "Why share wagon space when we can just let you use the loaner we got from Weyland?" she said, indicating the wagon sitting nearby. "It was meant for our provisions but there's still plenty'a room in there for the supplies your cart would'a held. This way, once I get my new wagon, we'll have two to work with. It ain't quite a caravan, but it'll definitely give the right impression that we're a prime business opportunity when we roll into towns south of the strait~ Whaddya think?" she asked Nadya and Kimiko both.

Shadrak, with nothing better to do, stood by listening to whatever conversations he could pick up on while waiting for word about or from Malik. With Amon lost in the thought, only being able to pick up barely audible chatter from the wagon itself, and the featherfolk having their own conversation in a language he didn't understand, the chat between the merchant, nomad healer, and alchemists was the only one going on of real interest to him. Honestly, hearing Greta's proposal made him feel like she was, for the most part, being blatantly greedy, but he had to admit it wasn't a bad idea in and of itself. Having one wagon strictly for merchandise and the wares of anyone wanting to sell and the other for provisions wasn't really necessary or all that helpful, especially since they couldn't acquire anything as large as the Dauntless at this point. Better to use every resource available to them for whatever they needed it for.

Through the Night

"Hey, Bert! Maybe we should head back, now! I'm sure Malik's on his way," Haythem called out as Isis glided almost silently through the air. If there weren't on the planes, Haythem would have some serious reservations about flying after dark. For now at least, there was nothing they could accidentally collide with other than Norbert and his pegasus or the ground.

[-Cynthia-]

"Well we're not headin' back to Weyland's to give it back, so...might as well put it to good use," Nadya responded to Greta's suggestion, nodding in approval. "My share depends on how much your materials cost, but if my estimations are about right I was thinkin' ten percent," she specified to Kimiko.

[roymbrog]

“Oh yes, that could work,” Kimiko agreed, nodding. She hadn’t known about a second wagon, so this was fortunate information. “My things will not take up much space.”

Then, to Nadya after a bit of thought, “Ten percent sounds reasonable. I believe we have a deal, Nadya.”

Edited September 3, 2014 by roymbrog

[scorri]

Lumi winced. "I... right, sorry. I was raised by a mother who was in the army, it's different for me. I'm sorry. I'll drop it until you decide you want to talk to me about it or something." She reached out with her other arm and placed it around Tia's shoulders, giving her a light squeeze as well as Jam. She considered saying something more to try and comfort the girls, but anything she came up with just sounded trite and fake, so she just remained with her arms around the two girls, hoping that the contact would help calm them a bit.

Hoshi smiled at the fact that a new alchemist would be joining them. She hoped that they would get plenty of time to talk about different techniques and different combinations of materials and so on as the days passed.

[Mercakete]

Norbert was surprised to hear someone else so close by and, unfortunately, his startlement was just what Rizen needed to knock her off of her metaphorical fence. As Norbert twisted suddenly in the saddle, breaking the focus he'd had on the ground and finally getting an eyefull of the massive wyvern and her rider in flight, Rizen loosed a frightened neigh. This, again, forced Norbert's attention away from where it'd been, though this time, instead of displaying wide-eyed surprise, his brow furrowed and he grit his teeth in frustration. This expression only came up, however, after his short cry of surprise as Rizen reared and dashed away about as quick as her wings could carry her. Immediately, Norbert was pulling back on her reins while he struggled to keep himself in place with his legs and core strength. This would have been a lot easier if doing so didn't aggravate his wound, but he still didn't allow it to get in the way. The result was that Rizen's panicked burst of speed and lowered altitude was relatively short-lived: it lasted only about fifteen seconds.

As Rizen flew more slowly along, it was only now that Norbert noticed just how nervous she was, though now it was abundantly clear what the cause of that was. With a sigh, he pet her mane and explained to her, "I'm sorry, Riz. I wasn't paying attention. I know you're scared, but...we're going to have to get closer to that wyvern."

As he tried to steer Rizen closer to Haythem, the pegasus suddenly turned sharply off-course. Norbert gave his mount a glare. He only tried one more time before settling for getting as close as he could to the wyvern rider and shouting across the stretch of air between them. "We're going to have to land if we're going to talk! She won't get near your wyvern!"

Edited September 4, 2014 by Mercakete

[Phoenix]

Dealing

"Great! That just means ..." Greta paused a moment, trying to think of some places that she knew for certain could provide not only a wagon but horses, as well, "just gotta find a place where we can slip in really quick and get what we need to get started. We got out of there pretty fast so maybe Ursaea or somethin' could work. I doubt word'll reach there before we do if we're fast enough. Maybe ...."

"Not the general public, at least. Emergency situations like the one with the fallen warrant the use of warped messaging," Shadrak chimed in. "You can be sure Ursaea's already fully aware of the situation with the fallen and their demons. It's only a matter of time until the wrathites there get the notice about Joanna escaping custody."

"Then we'll just send in the people who weren't involved in that," Greta irritably countered. "They have no idea I'm with you guys so I'll just put on one of my disguises for good measure, and go into town to get what we need. Simple."

Landing

Haythem sighed deeply. They were supposed to be looking for Malik, but chances are they already passed him, especially given little distance the Sancturan could have covered in such a short amount of time. <"We should have just stayed put,"> he muttered to himself as he carefully guided Isis to the ground, intending to go the rest of the way on foot. Once Isis landed, she immediately laid down, which let Haythem dismount with ease, but also reminded him that she really didn't feel like being up and about at the moment, nor should she have been.

[Nanami Touko]

Eva almost smirked. "<Have I found something that the mighty Angelica is afraid of?>" she said, as Sasha continued to circle, and get his wings in gear to work. "<We can land whenever you want, just let me know. He'll be done stretching soon anyway, and we can probably walk on land for a bit once the group starts moving.>"

----------

Tia almost shrugged off Lumi, but knew the woman only meant well, so didn't this time. She thought about it, and it was mostly only because she'd apologized. Tia wasn't expecting one, but it helped her to know that Lumi wasn't going to press anything else. I know what I'm going to talk to her about, later. First, though... "Alphonse?" she asked, speaking up out of her knees. "Would you teach me how to wield a sword, too? You're teaching Jam, so... I figured it wouldn't be much trouble for me to just watch along with that..."

Edited September 4, 2014 by I have opinions

[Ether]

"Not scared... just, not in my element, is all. If I'm going through the air at speed, I'd prefer it to be under my own power." Angelica replied with a huff.

[Mercakete]

I guess he has something important enough to say that we really have to land. Norbert figured before having Rizen glide down herself. She refused to land very near to the wyvern, however, and she wouldn't walk over, even while Isis was lying down. With a frustrated sigh, Norbert dismounted and took a deep breath. Slowly letting it out, he did his best not to let his injury show as he walked over. He'd been riding this whole time for three reasons: first, Rizen was a lot fester than he was at the moment. Secondly, both of them had to travel anyway. Lastly, he didn't want to distract anyone with his injury before they were all safe and stopped for the night.

Despite his best efforts to hide his injury, and though it was dark enough that his face wouldn't be too telling, there were signs of it. He was certainly walking slower and with more care than he usually did, and though he managed to keep from limping, the shoulder above his injured side dipped slightly lower than the other when he walked. He was fully focused when he got within talking distance to Haythem, though. "What was it you wanted to say?" The longer everyone's away from the main group, the longer it'll take for us to all get moving.

Rizen watched fearfully from her spot away from the two humans and the massive predator. She wanted to get her rider out of there, especially since he was injured, and who knew when that thing would suddenly eat them all? She couldn't bring herself to go over there yet, though...not when she didn't know if her rider's ability to make things not eat him was actually working this time or not. It seemed to be a human thing, which was why it was always safer to have a human around.

Edited September 4, 2014 by Mercakete

[Eail]

"I..." Al had to stop and think for a moment, looking Tia over and trying to get a good idea of her capabilities "...Not possible, not now at least. You're not quite... what's a good way to put it, developed? You don't seem to be naturally athletic, that's not great because my style requires that, it can be fixed though, the real problem is you don't really seem to have the proper reach or strength for a sword, for now at least until puberty fully evens out your body." Pausing for a moment and thinking things over "To be completely honest with you, I don't want to teach you any combat skills Tia, I think it'd be best if you stayed with Greta and just helped her out... but at the same time you need a way to defend yourself if anything happens, so how about I teach you how to properly use a combat knife for now, and if that works out we'll see if I can't figure something out for a sword."

Edited September 4, 2014 by Eail

[Nanami Touko]

She huffed. This is great. Eva finally cracked a smirk at Angelica. "So, uncomfortable, then?" Eva giggled. She almost started laughing. This is more than great. "Maaaaybe I can speed him up just a little bit, then. <Come on, Sasha!>" She reached forward and gave him a pat on the neck, and he flapped his wings a bit more, picking up some speed. "Ahhhh, the feeling of wind through my hair... isn't it exhilarating?"

----------

Tia looked at Jam. Then at herself. Then back at Alphonse. She cocked her eyebrow. "She's barely bigger than I am..." was all she was going to say on that, considering her position. She didn't appreciate him saying that he didn't want her there, though. She wasn't about to take that sitting down. "Jam's only sixteen. I'm fourteen. If I don't get combat skills then she shouldn't either," she said with a 'hmph'. "But I won't say no to learning how to wield a knife..."

She then looked at Lumi, figuring she should get all of her questions out of the way now. "Uhm, uhm... c-could you help me train?" she asked, plainly. "Al's right about one thing: I'm not athletic at all. I need to fix that. At least somewhat..."

[scorri]

Giving a bit of a glare to Al, Lumi nodded to Tia while pulling her sore arm off the other girl's shoulders. "Of course I will. I have some basic training in swords as well as the tonfa I use. And I started training when I was a little kid, so I see no reason why you can't start training now. Don't worry, I'm sure we can get you into shape no problem. And we'll figure out some form of fighting that works for you."

[Ether]

"Mmm... not really, It's not my preferred method, but you won't get a rise out of me that easily." Angelica replied, her grip tightening ever so slightly as Eva sped up.

"Hmph... nothing I haven't felt before..."

[Eail]

"The height has nothing to do with it, it's the balance of length of your arms to keep an opponent at bay and the legs to make a stride to close in, puberty hasn't exactly given you those just yet. And don't you think I'd rather Jam stay out of battle as well? The entire reason I started to teach her was because I wanted her to be able to protect herself in case anything happened and she didn't have a tome available, that's the same reason I'll teach you, because you need some way to defend yourself." Al would have continued but Lumi seemed to have her own opinions on the matter

"I would have offered to work out a training schedule for you so you could get into proper shape to fight. She seems to want to train you her way, so you can decide if you want to learn from either of us or both, though I doubt the styles have very much synergy." Giving a glance towards Lumi before refocusing his gaze on Tia "Please... just don't try to pick up a sword from the get go and try to fight with it, if you disregard everything else I say, learn something else first, knife, tonfa, it doesn't matter."

[scorri]

Rolling her eyes, Lumi shook her head. "If they want to fight, let them fight. It's not your job to protect them. Women aren't some fragile flowers that require the big strong man to protect them. We're just as able to fight as men are, and saying that you want girls to stay out of battle is insulting. People start training from a young age, so I don't know where you're getting all this stuff about only training after puberty. So stop acting like men are superior and let them learn how to fight if they want to fight."

[Nanami Touko]

Despite Angelica's words, Eva felt the girl tighten her grip, and she finally laughed. "Ahh, I'm not even mad anymore. This is wonderful. I'd do something else, but, I'd rather not upset anyone on the ground with some flying antics. <Sasha, down!>" She stroked his neck and he started his descent, landing softly. Getting the hang of this... Thanks, Nyx. "Maybe some other time."

----------

Tia nodded at Lumi, but then shook her head. "N-no, just physical training... At least, for now. While I don't agree that I shouldn't be able to swing a sword around, I wouldn't have the stamina for it, even if I put my mind to it... I want to address that first..." She looked at Al and sighed. "Yeah, well... Alright. I'm only trying a knife first, though, 'cause it'll probably be easier than a sword... And I have one to start learning with," she said, holding her knife up.

She didn't expect the issue to get heated between Lumi and Al though, so she did her best to try and stop things. "Pl-please... No fighting. Now's really not the time for an argument like that..."

[Ether]

"Hmph... enjoy it while you can." Angelica replied, her grip loosening slightly.

[Eail]

"....When the hell did I ever say that a woman couldn't fight?" Alphonse asked with a look of utter confusion on his face "Angelica is competent with a blade and magic, Eva certainly seems to be able to handle herself even though I haven't seen her in action, the swordswoman Veronika that stayed with Raquel, I'm not sure if I could win against her, hell the group we just split from had a lot of powerful female fighters. I don't want them to not fight because they're female, I don't want them to fight because they don't need the same blood on their hands that I have. Once you've been stained this badly you will never be clean again."

Edited September 4, 2014 by Eail

[scorri]

Lumi shook her head. "And as I said, if they want to fight, let them fight. Don't call them princess, just let them do what they want. It's not your job to protect them or choose what they're allowed to do. But whatever. The point is, either of you two, I'm willing to help train you. I'm done arguing because Tia wants me to be done."