Return of the Emblem Chapter Thirteen: Flight

[CobyTheGoober]

Running at full pace, Rolo caught up with the women. With his pocket knife in his left hand, and his right hand free; he reached into the woman's pouch. Inside he could feel a couple flat round metal object. Rolo then pulled out the objects, and continued to run off. Not knowing where to go, he decided to just go anywhere where the town's guards wouldn't be able to catch him.

But as he continued running, he suspected that the woman might have caught a glimpse of him. But he ignored that feeling for now.

[Phoenix]

No Apples No Peace

"W-what the ... HEY!!!"

For a moment, Luca was satisfied that the little human hadn't decided to mess with Nadya's saddlebags ... however, realizing what he'd made off with instead put the horse on edge. He'd learned long ago that despite how utterly tasteless and hard, and therefore worthless gold was, humans still liked to take it in exchange for things Luca did enjoy, things like apples. The little human didn't leave them an apple, though. That would not do ....

Greta was just beginning to break into a sprint when she remembered the reins in her hands and stopped herself. She couldn't count on Luca following her lead, not at the pace required, but if she mounted him quickly, she could close the distance with the thief quickly enough. Actually getting him to stop would be another matter, entirely, though. Luca quickly snorted at her, though she had no idea what it meant. She ignored the gesture and climbed aboard. Before she was even properly secure in the saddle, Luca took off, galloping after the thief. Greta had been hoping to be the one chasing the thief, but now she could only hang on and try to right herself as Luca took charge of the situation.

[-Cynthia-]

"Ain't like any kinda magic I know, but I'm not a scholar. Just know how to heal people and occasionally kill 'em," Nadya quipped. I don't like the idea of bein' in battle on this wyvern. We're so bunched up we're practically beggin' to be hit by a fireball or giant rock or somethin'...

[CobyTheGoober]

Rolo continued to run, but his pace slowed down a lot as he was sprinting for a bit.

But he still continued to run, for he heard the galloping of a horse.

"Damn it.." Rolo mumbled to him self. He knew that the Woman was chasing after him on horse back, and that in no time; he would get caught.

Whether he would run into an alley, or a crowded shopping area;it didn't really matter.

"Guess this is it"

Rolo then slowed down his pace into a walking speed, and then into a slower walk; until he stopped completely.

Huffing and puffing, Rolo then rested himself against a wall of a building; holding the stolen coins. He was ready to give up.

[Phoenix]

Investigation

"Wind magic, maybe," Amon guessed. The energy causing the disturbance wasn't clearly visible but the effects reminded him of Lulu's wind spells. While he'd never seen those executed against an endless sea of treetops, this phenomenon still had the same effect he would have pictured in his mind from a shaped burst of wind racing over them.

Confrontation

Luca came to an abrupt stop, but didn't even consider slowing down until the little human had begun to do so, himself. As a result, the angry horse was well within biting range when he finally halted, and began trying to take the stolen coins back by nipping at the thief's hands.

"Calm down a sec, Luca," Greta pleaded as she haphazardly slipped down from the saddle, nearly falling to the ground in her haste. She was the one that should be upset, not the horse she was borrowing from Nadya, but she could barely keep up with him for some reason. "You," she said, whipping out her pistol but not aiming at the boy with any real intent to shoot, "give me back whatever you took ..." Blast, she didn't even have time to figure out exactly what he'd stolen before Luca had kicked things off. She'd assumed it was money because her pouch had rattled, but she hadn't had time to check. If she didn't handle this properly, he would probably be keeping a 'tip' she didn't know about. The thought made her furrow her brow in irritation.

[Nanami Touko]

"Too much effort? Sasha's a military trained wyvern! Even if I'm not using him to fight any wars, he's got enough stamina to last entire battles. Clawing up dirt isn't going to take anything away from him. You just give me the go ahead, and I'll have him dig up some holes for the recently deceased. Better to save the mages and their stamina, if certain people here were thinking of helping," she said, lazily drawing eyes to Shadrak for a moment.

[CobyTheGoober]

With a heavy sigh, Rolo presented the Woman with a hand full of coins (that he stole).

"Just call the guardsmen or something all ready." Rolo quietly said.

(Mother and Father are probably really worried for me, and now they're worries are most likely going to come true in just a couple moments.)

Thoughts like this were filling up Rolo's mind, and just a moment after. Rolo felt tears run down his cheek.

With his watery eyes, he looked directly at the Woman. Which he just realized was carrying a gun.

[Phoenix]

Forest

"If you're confident he can do it then let's not waste any time, here," the guard captain nodded, "get him started, and quickly."

Shadrak shrugged. "That works. Now we just need to wait for Bert to get back."

Streets

Luca seemed to be satisfied, and quickly reverted back to a deceptively docile horse. Greta knew better than to underestimate his mental state and behavior, though, and would be more attentive from now on. Turning her attention more fully to the thief Luca had caught, Greta was surprised to see how young he was. Not quite a child, but not a proper adult, either. She promptly holstered her pistol. There wasn't any need for it, really, and not just because he'd given up and returned what he'd stolen. She had no intention of killing someone like him.

"Forget the guards, for now. What's your name?" she asked him, stepping back to give him some space.

[CobyTheGoober]

Surprised at the Woman's answer, Rolo was in a midst of confusion, but he decided to answer her.

"R-Rolo... that's my name" Rolo quietly stuttered.

It was hard for him to speak with all the tears that he had shed.

"I-I'm sorry for st-stealing from you." Rolo still continued to stutter.

Rolo then slowly looked down at the ground. As he waited for the Woman's response.

[Toogee]

Forest

"If you're confident he can do it then let's not waste any time, here," the guard captain nodded, "get him started, and quickly."

Shadrak shrugged. "That works. Now we just need to wait for Bert to get back."

Thinking that Sasha would be more efficient without a bunch of people on her back, Jam dismounted to allow for the burial to continue. She wasn't exactly in the mood to watch, so the dancer went to see what some of the soldiers were up to. Their banter was surprisingly normal.

"You know what I could go for? A nice BLT. That would sure hit the spot!"

"What in the world is a BLT?"

"A sandwich of my own invention. Bacon, lettuce, and tongue! Nothing says Ursian glory like bacon resting upon ground tongue."

"Wait, does that mean you're fighting for the glory of the BLT?"

At that question, Jam snorted as she attempted to hold back a laugh. Even a the brink of battle, it was nice to have a chance to smile.

[Mercakete]

Rizen had to admit that her rider sometimes acted in ways that she just couldn't understand. Maybe it was his lack of wings... No, plenty of creatures that didn't have wings still behaved in a way that at least made some sense. Then again, what Rizen was currently puzzled at was why, yet again, her rider had taken it upon himself to climb into some low branches. If there were any threats around, that was nowhere near high enough to protect him from them. Furthermore, he had ventured towards the bad smell. That human had no sense of his own. If it wasn't for her, Rizen was sure that he would have died a long time ago.

Norbert, however, understood his behavior perfectly. He'd initially begun by studying the ground in the direction Rizen had begun to veer from from where he stood. His recent exercise in climbing around in a tree outside of Ursaea, however, had given him another idea. In a case like this, a more aerial view would probably be handier. The trouble was that there was no way that Rizen could get airborne with so many trunks blocking her wingspan and branches netting them to the ground. Besides, if they found a clearing and took off for a top-down view, those same branches would block any visual they would otherwise have of the ground anyway. The solution was to climb into the lower branches of the surrounding trees so that he didn't accidentally trigger any mines while still getting a relatively close view of the ground.

As it turned out, the plan worked out pretty well. It wasn't obvious, even to someone as used to the woodland floor as he was, but there were evenly-spaced patches of ground where the grass didn't quite grow as high as the vegetation around them. Overhanging branches of shorter, leafy plants did a good job at hiding some of them, adding to the deceptive scene, but the rider had already had an idea of what to look for and he had found it.

Looks like they didn't bury any close to the trees. he noted as he studied the landscape. The others would be along eventually. For now, he just wanted to pick out as many mines as he could so that when it came time to cross this stretch of woodland, if they listened, people wouldn't be as likely to set these things off.

[Phoenix]

Streets

"Yeah, I betcha are," Greta scowled at Rolo. She'd decided not to turn him over to the guards, but she wasn't ready to wash her hands of the situation just yet. He'd obviously tried to rob her for a reason, and she wanted to know what that reason was. "What you're supposed to do when you're runnin' low on coin is get an easy job or pawn somethin' ya won't be needin' for a while, not steal. You're not an orphan or somethin' are ya?"

[Nanami Touko]

"Sure thing. <Sasha, hup to. Start digging.>" Jam hopped off, and Angelica would probably be safe where she was sitting. Eva pointed at the ground near the bodies after she'd gotten Sasha's attention, and he knew the word dig well enough. Not the most pleased to be doing such a menial task, he slowly started clawing the ground out, Eva using the reins to guide him along to make sure he was making a wide one, not a deep one.

Edited October 22, 2015 by Snake Mom

[CobyTheGoober]

The Woman's words were harsh, and absolutely true.

Rolo didn't really know how to respond to those words without feeling absolutely humiliated.

So Rolo just put up a smirk and retorted;"I'm a nomad. I have no time to just set home in some city. That would slow down my progress on my journey. Stealing is a lot quicker"

This was just a bad guise done by Rolo so he doesn't feel like utter garbage.

[Phoenix]

Wilderness

"When did you teach a wyvern to dig on command?" the guard captain asked, though it wasn't really what he was curious about. He was far more interested in the why of the matter than the how.

Streets

"Yeah it's quicker, but it's also a good way to wind up in a prison or dead," Greta noted irritably. "If Luca here hadn't shaken me up so bad, I might'a shot ya before I realized ya were just a kid." Luca snorted for some reason and took a few tentative steps back. "Look, Rolo, there are right and wrong ways to do things and stealin' is definitely one of the wrong ways. You may feed yourself for a little while but sooner or later you're gonna get caught, and the older ya get, the less forgivin' your victims are gonna be, so quit now while you're ahead. Now come with me, I'm headin' down to the market and I want you to come along."

Edited October 23, 2015 by Phoenix

[KentaEzren]

"Well? if you got something for me, show away." Kenta told them. "But if your going to take your time, do so as you please. I'm not too busy."

[CobyTheGoober]

"Wh-what?!"

Why was the Woman asking Rolo to do something like that?

He stole from her and didn't even apologize.

Why? Why was she asking that?

"I- why? I stole from you and you're not gonna call me out to the guards?"

'Wh-..." Rolo decided to shut up as this was probably the best chance of him not going to prison right now. He also decided to quiet up as he didn't want to irritate the Woman. After all.... she had a gun.

"All right..." Rolo quietly said

[Phoenix]

Streets

Greta was still upset, and not really in a talking mood, but a forced silence was something she just couldn't take right now, not with so much on her mind. "Look, I figure you're hungry if you're out pickpocket'in, so let's get ya somethin' to eat. We'll figure out the rest after that."

[CobyTheGoober]

Rolo's eyes brighten up.

Get him something to eat? Rolo didn't really know how to respond to such kindness, so he just quietly murmured;

"... really? Well thanks..."

[Phoenix]

The Market

It didn't take long to reach the market, but the number of people coming, going, and moving from shop to shop and between kiosks was more than enough to slow them down. Being picky was a bit more difficult than usual, too, and not just because of the heavy traffic. "What do ya have a taste for? No restaurants right now," Greta said. "Too expensive for what I have on me." She didn't have enough money for anything fancy, just something basic one might find at a small shop, and she wanted Rolo to know as much before he made a decision.

Edited October 27, 2015 by Phoenix

[Nanami Touko]

"<Sasha, stop.>" Eva patted him on the neck a bit, dragging his attention with the reins, away from what he was doing. He growled a bit, but he did stop. "Mom taught some of the wyverns to dig, made landscaping around the house easier... Also makes it easier for soldiers to set up trenches, and all that. Let the mount do all the hard work. By the way, is one big whole enough, or do you want separate graves for each of them? Dunno how ceremonial you want to make this, but figured I'd ask."

[CobyTheGoober]

Rolo kept following the Woman as they both roamed around the shopping district.

Rolo noticed that they were both wondering for a bit, and he wanted to know why.

"Hey... we've been wandering these shopping areas for a while... are you looking for anything specific?"

[Phoenix]

Making Due

The guard captain frowned. "We shouldn't dawdle. It'd be better if we could give them each their own grave, but we're running out of time. We'll just try to arrange them as respectfully as we can. Thanks for your assistance," he said before motioning some of his men over.

Playing it by Ear

"No, answer my question first," Greta smirked, "what do ya have have a taste for? Remember, no restaurants," she pointed out a second time. For the most part, her other plans had somewhat gone up in smoke after getting her money back from Rolo. Now she was just hoping to set him straight before worrying about anything else.

[spoiler=Chasing Rumors]

It was too good to be true, Yukari thought as she let the report fall from her trembling grasp. It was gently snatched up before it hit the ground by an especially swift man dressed like a scout of some sort. <"He's finally shown himself. I don't believe it."> The scout nodded to her reflexively before standing back to his full height and fading into the background. That wasn't particularly difficult for him, as the room's center was the only area thoroughly illuminated, and this was accomplished with only a few strategically placed clusters of candles.

<"Believe it, Little Mikeda. I'm quite excited that I'll be among the first to welcome him to the capital,"> came a somewhat high pitched voice from behind Yukari. Sarunobu Haragi, head of the Haragi clan, and one of Yukari's least favorite associates. He wasn't dressed like a general, though he should have been, given the fact that there was a skirmish happening only a mile and a half away. Unfortunately for Yukari, conducting the battle fell entirely to her. Sarunobu wasn't stupid, but he was selfish and most definitely not an ideal general during wartime, preferring to focus on his personal image and on politics. That was the reason she was here. As the daughter of Kenjya Mikeda, and a highly experienced tactician, she was perfectly suited to assuming even a general's duties, even if only temporarily. Consequently, when these skirmishes with armored specters had begun, Sarunobu was quick to have her summoned from the capital to aid him in repelling them. There were plenty of able advisers in the capital to choose from, but Yukari was a young, unmarried woman, which made her the obvious choice for the mischievous general. <"Oh ..."> Sarunobu flinched as the room shook slightly. He glanced all around in disgust for a moment. <"Incompetent driver. He needs to find a smoother path.">

Yukari had nearly forgotten that they were already on the move. The room they were in was part of a mobile command center, a massive roofed carriage that allowed less battle hardened commanders, Sarunobu being a perfect example, to travel from strategically important locations on the battlefield in relative safety. This mobile command center was known as a tortoise, the land counterpart of a turtle ship, and to this day the fallen hadn't been able to successfully breach or destroy a properly escorted one. Sarunobu wasn't stupid, after all. There was no way he was going to put himself in any real danger, not even to meet the legendary Rai-Ryu, himself. Yukari didn't like turning so much attention away from the fighting, but one of Kigen's four most important historical figures was sighted somewhere along the main road nearby and they couldn't ignore that. As a result, she had to be even more careful in how she had the troops deployed, or the distraction Rai-Ryu's mere presence was causing her and many others could lead to a lot of unnecessary deaths.

[CobyTheGoober]

"A taste for??? Well.... I guess some sort of warm stew would be nice, or just some bread... I don't mind" Rolo replied.

He really didn't want the Woman to spend the money that he tried to steal from her on him.

[Phoenix]

Stew and Bread and Apples

"Stew?" Greta wasn't sure she could find anyone serving something like that outside of a restaurant. Rolo had also mentioned bread, of course, which would be extremely easy to find, but she didn't like the idea of getting him a simple loaf of bread and then sending him on his way. Despite his apparent remorse, she felt he would be back to stealing in no time. She supposed there was no meal she could get him that would fix that particular problem. She sighed. "We'll ask around."

Luca had already found what he wanted, a human surrounded by fruits. The apples were what caught his eye. He knew better than to walk up and take one without Nadya, or in this case, Greta, exchanging some of the gold, first, but he was more than willing to make his intentions clear, and tugged against her in order to move closer to the apples.

"Oh, here we go," Greta muttered.