Return of the Emblem Chapter Thirteen: Flight

[-Cynthia-]

Hmm, that's not such an easy question actually. Is Joanna actually supposed to use the emblem piece somehow or just hold it? "If we have the emblem piece, that means that the bad people won't be able to use it," Liam explained to Elliot. That part was clear enough at least.

[roymbrog]

Well, that made sense, but what exactly did it do? And that answer led into another question from Elliot, based on what he’d seen last night. “…Is that why people were arguing about it last night? Is the man Miss Joanna was talking to ‘bad people’?”

[Nanami Touko]

Part of Tia wanted to try and answer these questions, but part of her knew she couldn't exactly word it properly in a way that really explained it. She wasn't an adult, she didn't entirely understand all of this. So she looked to Liam, a bit curious, herself. Maybe he could shed some light on this for both Elliot and now, for her.

[-Cynthia-]

"Uh, well, no I wouldn't say that. The Rexians want to bring an emblem piece to Lady Aisha, but they've agreed to take one from the Fallen instead," Liam quickly tried to explain to Elliot. This has all gotten complicated rather quickly...

[Mercakete]

Rizen glanced up at the sound of footsteps, but went back to grazing when she saw which human it was. This particular one was a good ally to her and her rider, so she didn't mind him being around. Besides, his horse was someone she was on good terms with. She hadn't expected him to grab her so close to her head, though, and in her startlement, she shifted her hooves around a little and somewhat unfurled her wings before relaxing them back fully to her sides. But the human was now trying to lift her head. The nerve! Couldn't he see she was eating? Giving a snort of stubborn protest, the pegasus locked her neck muscles in place, determined to keep her head down.

Though Valter's efforts with Rizen weren't going so well, his progress on his goal regarding Norbert were going a bit better. The pegasus rider's brow lowered and a groan and a slurred grumble dragged from his throat. "Wha's it?" That was the grumble part. The rider squinted an eye open as he turned his head so he could see a bit more clearly who it was who was waking him up. He was still a bit groggy, though. He still mumbled a bit, but at least he was speaking proper Common now, as his mind tried to sort out what had happened before he'd fallen asleep. "We under attack or something?"

[Phoenix]

Roadside

Well, that was life on the run, Amon thought, frowning slightly. Well, at least she had the option to practice if she wanted to. That was something. He was beginning to think he wouldn't have the luxury of keeping his freerunning skills sharp even if they did come through a city. Maybe once they were across the strait ... "If it's not worth practicing you could just go back to reading for now," he offered with a shrug.

[Ether]

"I guess, but then if we're at it for a while it would have felt like a real waste of time... damned if you do, damned if you don't, huh...?' Angelica replied with a sigh.

[roymbrog]

Rizen was being stubborn, which wasn’t helpful, but Valter’s worry had proven to be unfounded as well. He released the pegasus’s reins, and patted her neck before answering Bert. “No, we’re not under attack. We’ve stopped to let the animals rest,” he explained. The horseman backed off a bit and tilted his head as he took in how ridiculous Norbert looked right now, half asleep and draped over his pegasus. It wasn’t terribly obvious but Valter was trying pretty hard not to laugh. He’d fallen asleep on his horse before, and it really hadn’t been the most comfortable experience. “…And how long have you been asleep like that? If you’re that tired, I’m sure they could make room for you to sit in the wagon.”

---

“Oh,” Elliot said, however he wasn’t completely understanding the explanation. At least they weren’t traveling with bad people, though. “Who’s Lady Aisha? And why do the fallen have one of these ‘emblems’? And how are they going to take it? Also, are you from Aquilla?” he asked in rapid succession. Elliot was quite possibly worse than Tia once you got him curious.

Fortunately for Liam, and unfortunately for Elliot, Kimiko had reached the back of the wagon and heard her young student quizzing. “Elliot, I do not think you have finished your studies,” she stated, appearing at the rear opening. When the avian winced, and pulled his book up to eye level like he was reading it, she continued to the others in the back, “My apologies if he has been bothering you. We have tried to teach him manners, but… sometimes he gets ahead of himself.”

[Nanami Touko]

Tia was looking forward to hearing the answers to Elliot's questions, actually, but this Miss June had quieted him up before Liam had the chance to answer. So! Tia took it upon herself to ask a few of the ones that were actually interesting her. "Well, I hope I'm not being rude here, but I would like to hear who Aisha is, and how everyone's planning on getting that emblem from the Fallen... It seems like it'll be ridiculously tough."

[Mercakete]

Norbert blinked as he listened to Valter, more fully awakening and adjusting his eyes to the daylight. Of course they weren't under attack -- things would be a lot noisier if they were. Wow, I was tired. As Valter asked his last question, Norbet straightened up and stretched. He relaxed and yawned before looking to Valter and answering, "There wasn't any reason for me to get on the wagon. Besides, they need room for people who don't have mounts in there. I've let Rizen carry me while I slept before. After all, how many beds do you know that can travel while you sleep and keep an eye out for danger?"

Figuring that more or less explained his behavior, Norbert asked, "So, how're you holding up?"

[-Cynthia-]

Liam smiled as Elliot's teacher appeared. "It was no trouble, your student has quite the inquisitive mind. I would be glad to speak more once your studies are completed, Elliot," he said before turning towards the human girl.

"Aisha is a vasilus under the goddess Nature. She founded the city of Sanctuary and the Rexians regard her as a queen- the Rexians in our group may be able to tell you more than I can. As for getting the emblem from the Fallen, I was wondering much the same thing," he told Tia, his smile fading as he was reminded of the task at hand.

[Nanami Touko]

"Another vasilus, huh?" Tia asked, with more than a hint of fear in her voice. She didn't want to ask about Aisha anymore. But, Liam didn't know how they were going to get the emblem piece back. Darn. "Do you think anyone has an idea, then? We aren't just running into this blind... Right?"

[Eail]

Pleased enough with Valter's response. "Come after me when you're ready to practice Valter, I'll be ready." Alphonse called to the other redhead as he started to walk away. Even if Valter wasn't in the mood for a match, maybe he'd be able to find someone else.

Amon and Angelica seemed as good a place to any to start, coming upon the pair just as they seemed to be mentioning practicing, what luck "If either of you were looking for a partner for some sparring, I'd certainly like to volunteer. Valter and I were going to, but he had to deal with the pegasus kid." Thumbing over to where said redhead was doing exactly that.

[roymbrog]

Valter had mostly succeeded in hiding his amusement, and shrugged at Bert’s explanation. “Not many,” he answered to the traveling bed question.

How to answer the other one, though? If he said he was fine he’d be lying. “I’m holding up,” he said, but there was no hiding the anxious frown that crossed his face. “I succeeded in what I set out to do. So all’s well that ends well, I suppose…”

---

“Well if he is not bothering you…” Kimiko began uncertainly, and Elliot peeked out over his book. “Hmm. Elliot, if you finish the page you were on last you may take a short break, just until we leave again. I have volunteered to help keep watch, so I will be right out here.”

That sent the avian into speed reading mode, but not as fast as he could’ve gone as he was distracted by Liam’s explanation. And what was that Tia said about ‘another’ vasilus? Who was the other one? He really wanted to ask, but Miss June was right there and would know he hadn’t actually finished reading yet…

[Phoenix]

Roadside

"Mmm, pick the one that bothers you less. It might turn out we're here long enough for you to finish," Amon offered. He still wasn't sure how long something like that would take her, nor how long they would actually be here, but the advice seemed valid for the moment.

When Alphonse volunteered himself as a sparring partner, Amon's first thought was of his sudden match with Gytha way back when. That had gone horribly. He hadn't been looking to do any sparring anyway, but that thought alone might have changed his mind if he had. "I'll keep that in mind," he answered with a bit of a shrug. "For now I should probably help keep an eye on things."

[Mercakete]

Norbert was now fully awake. He frowned at his long-haired friend and dismounted the pegasus before replying, "Doesn't look like it. You upset about being on the run? ... For what it's worth, I don't think you'll have to worry about it forever. If there's one thing I know about Mercites, it's that they'll forgive anything. You'll be able to go back to your old job once things calm down, so if that's what's bothering you, don't worry about it."

[-Cynthia-]

"I would assume they would have some sort of idea- perhaps I should ask whoever is in charge here myself. I don't know the specifics of the mission myself, but it's not the sort of thing one does on a whim," Liam answered Tia hesitantly. The plan to rescue Joanna and the emblem piece was a little...haphazard, but it did work.

--

Nadya led the horses grazing around and ended up near where Norbert was talking to Valter. "The prince of Ursium himself saw us surrounded by dead Wrathites- it's not like we broke a fancy vase or somethin'. This might never blow over," she chimed in.

[Mercakete]

Well. Nadya sure was a little ray of sunshine today. Norbert gave her a frown. In spite of his words, his tone was actually rather calm. "I don't care if the head Wrathite and the king themselves saw what happened. Given enough time, this'll all blow over, especially for Valter. He's Jo's bodyguard -- he was doing his job. Can't blame him for that, especially since the Wrathites were the instigators. And if it goes public that people busted Jo out from their custody, on the whole, they'll probably start celebrating. They were pretty mad at the Wrathites for what they were doing, after all. That doesn't mean we'll all get a free ticket back to Ursium, but it does mean that Valter at least will eventually be pardoned."

He was trying to cheer Valter up, by Wrath. That was why he didn't mention the more pessimistic thoughts he had as he shifted his gaze away. Then again, even if he gets publicly pardoned, that won't stop the royals from exacting some sort of "justice" on him later on... Maybe giving him the "honor" of being sent to the front or something... His thoughtful, brooding look probably gave away something of his mind, though. He sighed, relenting, "Well... At least the church would accept you back -- I'm sure. But...the nobles would be dangerous, still. And the military... And maybe the Wrathites."

His thoughtful melancholy quickly gave way to his temper at this point, as he was beginning to get mad at the world's workings again. "Grrragh, why do things have to be so stupid?! A Mercite shows some backbone and does his job and the whole blasted justice system turns against him! What do they expect?! 'You're threatening my charge, so I'm just going to sit back and let you do it.'?! What a bunch of ungrateful, high-and-mighty jerks! 'Oh yeah, why don't we encourage bodyguards to NOT do their jobs so we won't have to clean up the mess when we don't do ours?'! Of all the stupid, lazy, good-for-nothing, hypocritical, arrogant, blind, unfair, slugish ways to go about things! They pay attention to that situation just in time for us to get our hands dirty because they weren't doing a thing about it! And I bet they were perfectly content to sit on their hands while the Wrathites did whatever they wanted! They deserved what they got -- all of them! And I won't apologize for helping someone innocent escape the cruelty of people the ruling powers decide get a free pass on everything and anything!"

[Nanami Touko]

"But you don't know?" Tia responded, worrying slightly. The idea for getting Joanna out had been fairly alright. It sort of fell apart when that fight broke out, but it's not like they hadn't planned for that at some point. Would the other emblem piece be planned similarly, with fall backs based on more fighting? Tia had less reservations about seeing Fallen get killed, though... "Well... Amon's smart, right? I'm sure he can think of something..."

[Toogee]

Seeing no bodies of water in sight, Jam decided to make the most of the down time and practice her dancing. But which dance? She could try some of her combat dances or maybe a sword dance. Inspired by the lack of water however, Jam decided on a rain dance.

Standing roughly 20 feet to the right of the wagon, Jam began her rhythmic motions. With her right foot, she stepped with her toes, then her heel, and stepped forward in a stomp. With her left foot, the dancer merely stepped forward. Jam continued this pattern, moving faster and faster.

"Toe, heel, stomp. Step. Toe, heel, stomp. Step..."

Soon, she was dancing around in a clockwise square formation. As she became more comfortable with her movements, Jam stretched her arms horizontal and incorporated a twirl between the stomp and step. The dance brought her back to the days of her village's summer festival, when they performed this traditional dance to bring rain to the desert. Whether it worked or not was up for debate. It's purpose was to bring the community together. The extra water was a bonus.

[roymbrog]

It really wasn’t the Mercites Valter was worried about, and he was about to tell Bert so when Nadya arrived and chimed in. He visibly winced after her addition to the conversation. Forget returning to work with the church, he probably wouldn’t even be able to return to Ursium. But it wasn’t like he hadn’t considered that on his own. A good chunk of the morning ride had provided him with too much time to himself and he had spent most of it thinking.

Norbert plowed on, though Valter couldn’t agree much with his initial assessment of the situation. He wasn’t officially supposed to be guarding Joanna when she was arrested, much less when they entered the cathedral. Unless his father tried to call in some favors, which he very heavily doubted would happen, there was no reason he would have a greater chance of getting pardoned than half the people here. And the military and Wrathites would be after him… Definitely no way he could ever come back. He would probably never see Synthia or Horace again either, and boy did he want to right now. Maybe he wouldn’t have to try so hard to keep himself together. As it was he looked like someone had just told him his dog died.

“Look, Bert, just… It’s… Please, stop talking,” he said eventually. “I don’t-“ He tried again, then sighed. Why was it so difficult to find words? “You don’t have to get angry on my behalf. I knew this could happen, I just didn’t overthink it.” And now that he had, he had no idea how to deal with it. Valter didn’t even try to make eye contact with his next statement. “I’ll be fine. Not right now… but eventually.”

---

Elliot was getting increasingly fidgety as he neared the end of the page. Just three more sentences!

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya shrugged. "Life ain't always about who was right and who was wrong. Fact is, we're gonna be fugitives in Ursium for a long time- sooner y'all can come to terms with that, the easier this is gonna be." Must be tough for the Ursians- they can't go home again...or shouldn't anyway.

--

"Unfortunately, I'm not sure what assistance I can provide- Cloud Legion members aren't trained to deal with Fallen specifically. I know little about the Fallen save that they revel in violence and worship the vasilus Obelisk," Liam explained to Tia. Perhaps I should ask Amon about his plans when we have the opportunity- assuming there is a plan.

[Ether]

"Mmm... I had been thinking more of practicing out of combat casting, more than sparring..." Angelica replied, looking Alphonse over as the swordsman approached.

"Besides... we're rather horribly matched in a spar... the divide is too obvious. I haven't seen much of you fighting, but even with what I have seen, it's pretty obvious... you're a far better swordsman than I am. A match between us would have nothing to do with skill at all, really. If you can keep me in the effective range of your sword, you win... if I can stay out of your range, or get within it, where your sword is cumbersome, then the win is mine... it's not really practical when you're thinking about the kind of fights we should be prepared for..." The adept concluded with a sigh.

[Nanami Touko]

Tia visibly shivered. "Another vasilus. It's always a vasilus... Darn Fallen..." She sighed and stopped that thinking, wondering if there was anything she could as Liam, at this rate. "So, you're part of the Cloud Legion?" her subconscious popped in with. "You mentioned them, so I felt I'd ask. What do you do?"

[-Cynthia-]

"Cloud Legion protects the people of Aquila from all foreign threats. Only members of Cloud Legion engage in any sort of violence- I'm only a trainee but it was decided that I was skilled enough to protect Joanna on her mission," Liam explained to Tia. It's strange how little humans know about us- but I suppose that goes both ways. I can't name the human king or anything of that nature.