Return of the Emblem Chapter Thirteen: Flight

[scorri]

Hearing discussion going on about sending people in for supplies, Lumi wandered over and said, "I could head in. I've already bought some stuff from then, so they shouldn't be too suspicious or anything. Should work, you know?"

Hoshi meanwhile was hoping to talk to Kimiko. Heading over to her, she hesitated and then asked, "Uhm, hi. So... I thought since we were taking a break here, we could talk some about alchemy? I was wondering what your specialties are... Hoping maybe I could learn some tricks from you and show you a few in return?"

[Nanami Touko]

"Oh, oh, oh!" Tia piped up, "can I go with you, Lumi? It's dreadfully boring here, and I don't think they'd suspect a child showing up with you. It'll at least give me something to do. I mean... Well, I could talk to Elliot if I can't go, but I'd really appreciate it!" Tia honestly just wanted to get away from the cart for a while, having been stuck there for so long. Getting into a real town would calm her down, some.

[Ether]

[spoiler=Blah blah blah 3 pages Angel/Eva stuff warning if you're one of those people who complain about it existing then skip etc You have been advised]

Eva blushed a little. "What's wrong with that? Maybe you just need to eat more meat. You're all skin and bones, with a little bit of fat. If you didn't have your magic you'd be a tiny little stick of a fighter." She stuck her tongue out for emphasis, safe in knowing that her head was rested on Angelica's, so it would take some feat to get kissed like that. It seemed that eating meat was subject Eva would defend to the death...

"I'll have you know I eat plenty of meat. Just because it's not ninety percent of my diet doesn't mean I have a deficiency... I'm just naturally slim and keep conscious of my figure." Angelica retorted, sticking her tongue out as well.

"And I'll also have you know that I put a lot of effort into making sure that all of my fat is in the right places, you." The adept concluded, using her arms to lift and press out her chest for emphasis.

"That just sounds like an excuse, to me. You should eat more. Need to get some muscles on those tiny little arms of yours." Eva laughed a little again, enjoying the little go about of joking. That was until Angelica puffed up her chest, which she caught out of the corner of her eye, blushing. "Yeah, you sure do... I can't say anything against that. Sounds like a lot of work, though..."

"Like I said, I eat plenty, don't talk until you've seen my portion sizes... I just have a rather quick metabolism and am pretty active most of the time, so I don't really put on weight." Angelica replied with a bit of a scowl, until Eva caught on to her earlier gesture and began to blush.

"It is a lot of work, but I'd say it's worth it, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah, it's worth it," Eva said, still red, but maintaining her composure. There was no need to freak out over this. "Then we'll hit the gym and work you up. I've got a pretty quick metabolism as well. It isn't impossible." She smiled, but then noticed Angelica's scowl. "Hey, I'm... I'm just joking, you know? You don't need to change how you look..."

"Damn right I don't. Besides, I'm not all skin and bones, either. I might not have rippling abs like you do, but I'm far from out of shape. Go ahead, give a feel already so you can stop pestering me about it." Angelica shot back, standing up next to Eva and pulling her shirt up just below her chest, revealing her stomach to the rider.

Eva sighed, but smirked. "You've got some buttons to be pressed, huh?" She stayed sitting and reached an arm up to feel Angelica's stomach. As expected, there was some muscle there, but not more than Eva was thinking. It made sense, she was really active, so she probably had to keep at least this in shape. "Yeah, you do. It's pretty nice. But, I really was just joking. You don't need to get that sensitive about it. I think you're just fine... You know, the last time you wanted me to touch you, you laughed at me over it," she remembered, thinking about the thigh incident.

"Everyone does. I put a lot of work into my body, so if you're going to tell me it's not good enough, of course I'm going to get mad. I'm only human, after all." Angelica concluded with a humph, before Eva brought up an earlier incident.

"There's a difference between touching my stomach and kissing my inner thigh. I was planning on letting the latter go if you weren't up to it because I was teasing you, but this time you got me angry over it, so I'm not going to laugh."

"Sometimes I wonder if you've got a little vasilus in you, Angelica. You seem very demanding," she joked again, wondering if Angelica could just dish the teasing and not take it, a little bit. It didn't matter either way, Eva didn't mind stopping if it bothered her too much. "Is there? Maybe I should insult your thighs so I can touch them without you laughing, then. Hahaha." Eva found her joke a bit too amusing, continued to crack up with chuckles after her first laugh.

"Keep that up, and you'll just make me more mad. If you want to touch me out of sheer interest, feel free. I don't have anything to hide... go ahead and admire me as much as you want." Angelica retorted, at least it was obvious that Eva was joking by this point.

"Hahaha, geeeeeez. You really don't like getting teased at, do you? What's up with that? You seem just fine teasing me..." Eva kept her smirk to show that she wasn't offended, simply curious. "I think I'll pass, for now. Can keep my urges to touch you down. Not sure about you, though. All this pure, meat diet muscle. Haha..." Eva was finally laughing again. She was glad.

"There's a difference between teasing and stomping on a girl's hard efforts." Angelica shot back with a pout, before transitioning into a smirk.

"Hmm, that's true... I just might be running out of patience and touch you soon enough... after all, that kind of braven thing certainly asks for an appropriate punishment."

"I'm not stomping on anything. You know I think you look fine. We established that minutes ago." Eva said, waving off that remark, before Angelica smirked her usual smirk. "Don't get too many ideas. It's broad daylight and we're not exactly hidden, over here. I realize I kissed you in front of everyone, but I'm not sure if I'd be all that comfortable with you running you hands all over me, Ms. Punishment." Eva stuck her tongue out again.

"Make the offer and then withdraw it as soon as the other party shows interest, huh? You're more of a tease than I am." Angelica replied with a smirk, as she lowered herself down, sitting atop Eva's lap, facing the rider, looking her face over rather intently.

"If feeling you up is a no go, then I guess this will have to do."

"I was joking. I've been joking practically this entire time. It wasn't an offer, so..." She was about to say 'don't take it that way', but Angelica had already sat on her, causing her face to turn entire read as she tried to keep eye contact. "I figured you were about to do something like that..." She couldn't keep looking at Angelica due to sheer embarrassment, focusing her eyes off into the distance, towards the town.

"Oh? Town seems to have suddenly become pretty interesting?" Angelica noted with a smirk, as she rested her head against Eva's opposite shoulder, and pressed against the rider lightly.

Eva was going to continue to try and feign disinterest, when Angelica brought up the town. She'd just been idling spacing out away from her face, but that did seem like a good way to cover it up. "Yeah, a bit. I'm wondering if we're going to head in. What we'll be doing there... Where we're going from here. And if we're still being chased." Her words came out without a stutter; a better cover had never been made! Of course, Eva huffed as Angelica pressed up against her, perhaps betraying the coolness of her act.

"Not bad questions, if a bit difficult to really figure out an answer to." Angelica replied softly, deciding not to bother to directly call Eva out on the obviousness of her act, giggling lightly as the woman made a rather obvious sign as she was pressed against. With a grin, Angelica shifted her head against Eva's shoulder, and gingerly pressed her lips to the rider's neck, allowing them to linger against the spot.

Eva winced an eye shut as Angelica kissed her neck, opening it again to stare at her. "Hhhhey, what are you doing?" she quietly asked. It was a fairly simple question, but she doubted Angelica would have a simple answer. Unless she would. There were two options, here! "Are you saying you don't know where we're headed in Kigen, then? I'm sure it was mentioned, but I've had a lot more on my mind... And I don't know the country well enough to remember any places."

"I don't think we have a specific destination in mind... just trying to find the gate and shut it down." Angelica replied, briefly pulling her mouth from Eva's neck, and giving her lips a deliberately showy lick, before closing back in and resuming the kiss slightly lower, applying more pressure this time around.

Eva huffed again, quieter this time, as she knew Angelica's game plan. "Then tell me where you think it might be, in Kigen, so I have an idea of where we're off to." She noticed the showy lick and paid it absolutely no attention. She wasn't getting sucked into this game.

"Honestly? No idea... not like I have any idea what the Fallen sovereign and his lackeys had in mind when planning this out. Steinn had a few suggestions for likely places, but I wasn't able to see the map myself." Angelica replied, grinning slightly. So Eva's game plan was to try and hold out with endurance, huh? That was just fine as far as Angelica was concerned, this was fun enough in it's own right. With that decided, she began moving lower down Eva's neck, towards the shoulder, placing another kiss, this one more aggressive in nature, as she nibbled the rider's neck lightly, tracing her tongue across the skin and flesh that was trapped between her lips.

"Well, isn't that convenient." Angelica didn't seem too intent on talking, and Eva found out why in moments. She breathed out immediately to stop herself from making any noises, and almost glared down at Angelica, her face beet red. "Stop that. This is no place for that..." Eva couldn't believe Angelica right now, especially after that conversation on taking it slow. She sighed. "Geez... No patience."

"Looks like that one got a rise out of you." Angelica replied with a smirk, pulling herself back from Eva's neck, a distinct trail of saliva still tying her lips vaguely to that spot.

"Can't help a girl for wanting a little fun... and it's not like that was much different from what I was doing before."

"Big surprise," Eva said, as the wiped the saliva trail off. "Yeah, but I was confused then... And I've gotten a handle on those thoughts. I want to take this slow, alright? And you're... Really making that difficult." She blushed a bit as she admitted that. "So don't make me do something I might regret."

"I'm really not that good at going slowly..." Angelica replied with a sigh, trailing off slightly.

"I don't mind trying to slow down a little, but you'll have to compromise on that, too. I need to keep up a minimum or I'll get way too bored... as for that last bit..." Angelica continued, trailing off again.

"If you have time to regret something, you should spend it on figuring out what to do better the next time. I know you're worried about this decision of yours and whether it's right or not, but if you sit on your heels for too long, I'm not going to wait for you any more. If you think you're going to regret it, then turn back already, so I can stop wasting my time."

"Time to learn something, new, then," Eva said with a bit of a smirk, that started to dwindle as Angelica went on. "I can try to compromise, okay? I don't have a problem with that. Kisses, and... If you want to explore a bit later, when we're alone, that's fine too," she added emphasis on that part because there was no way she was doing any serious touching in the company of others.

"You misunderstand me, though," she shook her head. "I don't regret coming here. I thought about that while I was flying, a lot. And... I don't regret that, okay?" Uncharacteristically, she gently cupped a hand against Angelica's face. "I am serious about this, so don't think I regret it. I just... Don't want to move too quickly, and regret something else, alright?" she said, hoping Angelica would catch her drift on what she meant.

"I'll have to take you up on that, then... I hope that wasn't meant to imply that kissing is reserved for when we're alone too, because at some point I'm going to have to put my foot down, here." Angelica replied with a pout, as Eva clarified what exactly she might end up regretting. Or rather, shifted the implication to a more reasonable state.

"Aww, but that's the best part. It's not like I'm a guy, I can't get you pregnant or anything... what is there to even regret?"

"No, they aren't. I mean, don't just start making out with me all the time, but... If you can't resist, go ahead. I guess I won't mind." That was a dangerous door Eva had just opened, and she knew it. She let her hand slide off of Angelica's face and ended up looking away again. "Listen, I just... I've never done any of that, so, I don't know if I'll even like it, or, whatever. I don't want to have a terrible experience and then regret pushing it, so just... Let me get myself comfortable with that, above everything else. Please?"

"Okay, fine. At least, when it comes to that, I'll start you off slow. Normally I'd be pretty hurt that you'd think for a second that I'd give you a terrible experience, but... I guess I can let it slide for now." Angelica replied with a sigh, before leaning in closer.

"But in return, I'm making use of those kissing privileges." Angelica noted a few moments before closing the gap fully, pressing her lips against Eva's.

"It's less about you, and entirely about me. I don't... Hey, wait a..." Angelica really was going to do that, right away, wasn't she? Eva wasn't the most surprised, but still felt the woman could've changed it up, if only slightly. Oh well... She pressed her lips back lightly, and decided to try and enjoy it...

Well, she wasn't resisting, that was a good start, Angelica noted to herself. Pressing her lips deeper against Eva's, she allowed her tongue to gently tease the rider's lips, while pressing her body up against the solid wall of a woman she was presently osculating with, as well as slowly bringing her arms to rest, wrapped about Eva's neck.

Eva finally shivered, after all that teasing. She furrowed her brow, and considered the consequences of letting Angelica do what she was doing. As long as she doesn't press this further... Was the first thought that went through her mind. She let her lips open and allowed Angelica in, not knowing the repercussions of something like that. She idly let her hands rest behind Angelica's back, held together.

As Eva opened her mouth to allow entry, Angelica darted her tongue inside playfully, deepening the kiss and exploring the rider's mouth, sighing contentedly into the kiss.

"Mmm...!" That had been about what Eva had expected, though she didn't expect the feeling, flinching and shivering a moment, as she tried to get used to it. Geez, this girl... Who knew it would take so little to make her happy...

Pressing herself further against Eva, Angelica playfully prodded at Eva's tongue with her own, drawing it out of hiding, as it were, before initiating a light wrestle between them. Pressing her lips further against the rider and letting a content moan echo into Eva's mouth, Angelica grinned... well, as much as she could while still kissing.

Eva fidgeted and brought her hands up to Angelica's shoulders, ready to wrench her away if this went any further. The press was pushing it, and then she stole her tongue into a wrestle, and Eva didn't know if she could take that. When Angelica moaned, Eva had to stop herself from doing the same. This is... This is, a bit much. Her face was beet red, against this sort of assault.

Eva's hands had found themselves on Angelica's shoulders, but the adept had yet to have been pushed away. At least, it appeared that everything so far was kosher, but any more would be unwise, at the moment. With that in mind, Angelica continued as she had been, entwining her tongue with Eva's and playing around, adjusting her lips every so often before resealing them against the rider's.

"Mmm... Mmm, nn..." Eva wasn't sure how much more she could handle of this-- why doesn't she just kiss me normally? --eventually pushing Angelica back and panting lightly. "T-Too much, alright? That's... That's, too much." She tried to smile, but felt far too embarrassed to keep it, meekly staring at Angelica.

"Oh? That's too bad, I was really starting to get into a god rhythm..." Angelica pouted, before her expression grew into a smirk.

"Until you hit the break point, how did it feel, at least?"

"Yeah, you seemed like it, huh..." answered the awkward woman. She had to move her tongue around in her mouth for a moment to get the feeling to go away. "It was fine, I guess... Felt weird, but, I didn't dislike it." She breathed, and calmed down, still red but able to look at Angelica without feeling like she'd die from it.

"Hehe... well, that's really the key, in the end. Next time, you'll get farther before you pull out... it'll be like that each time until you're going further than you ever thought possible." Angelica replied with a smirk, reaching up and gently cupping Eva's cheek, a smile on her face.

"Next time can be whenever you want, you know? No need to leave it cooling past the fire."

"Yeah, I'm sure," she said with a half smirk. "Or it'll be the worst feeling ever, and I'll never want to do it again~ Ah, such tragedy." She joked, but she knew she had to recover quick on that one, or Angelica would be really upset. "Or... It'll be the best feeling in the world, and I'll want to keep it forever. I won't wait forever, okay? Maybe... Once we get to wherever we're supposed to be, you can let me try again."

"But we haven't even left Ursium yet. I'm not waiting that long, Eva." Angelica responded with a smirk and a wink, pressing her chest further against Eva.

Eva shrunk from the press, sighing. "Fine, fine... I... I don't know... Give me two days, to sort out my boundaries, and all of this. Okay? That's all I want." Eva looked left, then back at Angelica. She bit her lip, and then pressed a deep kiss against Angelica, quickly pulling away. "Th-There. Just... I dunno, work off of that for a bit."

"Two days, huh? Well, I'll think about it, I guess." Angelica replied, a grin across her face after Eva had initiated a kiss for once, brief as it was.

A weird urge welled up in Eva that she couldn't quite explain, so she ignored it. "Alright... So, uhm... Do you mind getting off of me now, or...?" They couldn't sit here this whole time. Something had to be done about their supplies, after all.

"Fine, fine." Angelica replied with a pout, standing up from Eva's lap and wiping herself off, deliberately flashing her underwear to the rider a few times in the process, before stepping aside and stretching.

Eva stared down and sighed, before standing. "That was definitely not necessary," she said, with a playful bunch to the smaller woman's arm. "Thanks for letting me go, though."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Angelica shot back with a grin, before grabbing on to Eva's arm and cling to it for a moment.

"If you're so averse to it, I guess I didn't have much of a choice."

"You have every idea of what I'm talking abou-- ah, hey!" Eva sighed, but smiled as Angelica grabbed onto her arm, ruffling her hair with her free hand. "Geez... If I didn't know what you were really like, you could almost pass for innocent."

"What're you talking about? I'm a pure, innocent little flower maiden. Couldn't do wrong even if I tried." Angelica replied in a sing-song voice, pulling Eva's arm closer, pressing it further into her chest.

"You could give me all the money in the world and I wouldn't believe that one. That's not even a good joke." Eva laughed anyway, taking her arm back. "No more of that, you. You got me flustered enough. It can't be that fun. Now, come on, help me get Sasha set up for if we move again." She stretched, and started fiddling with his saddle.

"Sure, sure." Angelica replied, moving over to assist Eva. In the end, it didn't take very long to get Sasha all settled and ready to go for the next flight.

[Phoenix]

The Magic Means

Only a few seemed willing to err on the side of caution, today, so Amon considered just letting Shadrak do what he wanted, but only until he started getting in the way. When Liam asked Shadrak what research was worth risking their safety for, he became curious, too. "Are you sure you'll find what you're looking for in some library?" Was it about the emblem, maybe?

Shadrak looked away slightly. "... probably not, but for all Nyx supposedly shared with you about the emblem, you still can't seem to tell us anything about it ... like it never even happened. I even offered to help you get your thoughts down on paper and ... nothing. I'm not actually going into town to research the emblem specifically, but that's only because the whole subject is a dead end right now and I need to look for clues into other arcane magics we can use to our advantage," he explained, minding his wording.

So that's what this was about? Trying to dig up some magical advantage they could use in their mission? Amon somewhat agreed, that would make dealing with the fallen significantly easier, but he still wasn't sold. The main problem with this approach was the time they had; there just wasn't enough time for the mages in the group to pick up 'arcane' and entirely new forms and do anything practical with them. Still, he had to admit, with Joanna watching over the emblem piece, and Liam watching over her, there wasn't much chance of it being of any use to them in the coming days. For now, it was just a golden paperweight of questionable value. "I doubt you'll find anything we can actually use, but here's hoping you find something," he shrugged.

"So who is goin' with me, exactly?" Greta spoke up from near the front of the wagon. "I need to know if I can start off big or not," she admitted. Whoever volunteered was likely going to be carrying crates for half hour intervals for much of the day, at least until Greta found a good deal on a wagon or cart, though she felt that was unlikely after news of the fallen attack. The prices would quickly climb as frightened families sold their old inner city homes and shops, bought whatever carts and wagons they needed to move their belongings, and headed out west. That was her personal theory, at least.

[scorri]

Lumi shrugged. "Sure Tia, you can come along. And I can bring Star along, so he can carry some stuff as well. Anyone else?" She didn't really care about getting supplies, she was just more interested in not sitting around and being bored for a couple of hours.

[Mercakete]

[spoiler=Infamy and Ursaea] "We're talking," had been all the explanation given when Norbert carried Greta high into the air on Rizen's back on their way back to their own wagon. Without Lumi or the wyverns around, Norbert figured they had a fair chance at not being interrupted way up there. Besides that, he didn't know Greta very well, and if she was the sort to walk off when someone was talking about something serious, well, she couldn't. Once Rizen's flight was steady enough for her to maintain on her own while following those below, Norbert turned his attention to Greta with a serious scowl on his face.

"You shouldn't go into Ursaea," he stated bluntly. "At least not without being prepared, first."

"First off, prepared how, and second, why the heck are we up so high?!" Greta was holding on to Norbert tight enough to not fall off even if they were flying straight upward and Norbert himself was magically secure. Comfort for either of them was completely out of mind by this point.

"What? Are you afraid of heights or something?" Norbert replied with an arched eyebrow. If that was the case, then why did she ask to ride with me instead of someone whose equine doesn't have wings? Evidently the question wasn't very important as he simply moved on, ignoring her tight grip as well as he could. Though, he was missing his body armor. That alchemist, evidently, wasn't done with it yet, though.

"We're not even flying that fast and we're level; you're not going to fall, you know. Even if you began to, I wouldn't let it happen. Anyway, we're up here because I wanted some privacy," Norbert answered, "And as for being prepared... Do you know what happened there last time?" If she already knew, there wasn't much point in going into the full details then and there.

I'd just prefer to be a little lower, that's all ... Greta told herself. "If it's about that dragon, yes," she bit out. "Is that what you're worried about?" There were more possibilities racing around in her head but she couldn't well voice them all.

"It's related to that," Norbert answered with a nod, "When I went after that dragon, I got caught and he made it sound like I made a deal with him. So, I was brought in for questioning. If you remember, you were the one who sent that dragon off to the capital. I didn't tell the soldiers there that, though, so don't make it obvious Blake and I lied to them if you head into the Ursaean garrison. We told them the one who sent the dragon off was a merchant who was killed by Neviskotian marksmen right after the dragon attack on the road. Mess up our story and both your and my necks may be on the line this time. And I can attest that the people there aren't too friendly to the people they're questioning...both during and after the interrogation."

He was still bitter about that. "Just keep the story straight and don't let your emotions carry you away when you're there. If you think you won't be able to handle it, don't go. In fact, it'd be best if you don't mention the dragon attack at all, but I don't know what sort of questions you'll be asked when you're giving your statement."

"Why would I tell them anythin' about that?" Greta replied, clearly offended. As far as she was concerned, if the capital was still there, and some helpless village hadn't been wiped out to protect it, sending Schwartz in that direction was the right call. She didn't think the guards would believe her if she mentioned it anyway, but she had no intention of rehashing any of it, not even in private. "I got a better idea, Bert; leave that whole day out of my 'testimony' since it doesn't have anythin' to do with that guy."

"You never know what sort of things come up in a situation like that," Norbert replied, a bit more snappishly than he'd intended. Not particularly caring how he sounded anymore, he added just as snappishly, "And excuse me for trying to give you fair warning! Not to mention risking my hide by lying to the people interrogating me for your sake!"

He didn't bother waiting for a reply. "If that's that, then that's all I have to say to you." That said, he had Rizen begin to descend at a fairly sharp angle. Any pressure she'd released from holding onto him he expected to return, but at this point, he was too irritated to care. "Just remember this! 'Cause if it becomes a problem for me because you messed up, I'm going to be kind of ticked off!"

"Ugh, when are you not ticked off?" Greta countered, genuinely curious. "You've got that stupid look on your face most of the time." She decided to leave his first remark alone since she didn't want to argue while she was still high enough off the ground to need a healer and a miracle to survive a fall. And of course Norbert would send his pegasus into this near nosedive to end the discussion. Greta gritted her teeth and held on twice as hard as she'd done initially.

Norbert was taken a little off-guard by the question and remark. The result was actually a bout of laughter as he'd actually found them funny, in spite of her constricting grip. He let Rizen even out again and was actually in a much better mood now, so he answered her, "Well, that was funny, so I'm not ticked off right now. Heheh..."

Even while grinning like that, though, his eyebrows were low in something that looked an awful lot like a glare, coloring his grin an unintended shade of malicious. He went on, "So, I'm not ticked off when I'm calm or amused, just like everyone else. Hmm... I guess confused, too, most of the time... Funny, most people don't actually ask me, heheheh...!" Though they were now closer to the ground, they hadn't actually gotten close enough to be heard from below yet.

It wasn't until Norbert noted that he was 'confused' most of the time that Greta's fears of being unexpectedly dropped subsided. Her tight grip on Norbert only loosened slightly, though. When she first decided to ride with him, she had other, more important things on her mind. With the Lagar issue resolved, her mild fear of heights was back. Perhaps it wasn't really a fear of heights, but rather a fear of riding with someone she could only summarize as 'angry'. That image was starting to change, but little by little.

"Can't exactly blame'em ..." Greta carefully replied, "first rule of dealin' with bruisers is not to, if ya can help it."

Norbert gave a bit of a light laugh to that, too. "'Bruisers,' huh? Yeah, that makes sense. I guess I just haven't been called that to my face before." Well, technically it was only to the side of his face at best, the back of his head at worst. A bit more seriously, he noted, "I mean, don't get me wrong -- I've been called a lot of things. Just, 'bruiser' specifically hasn't come up before. Not that I remember, anyway. Been called 'crusher,' though, so I guess that's along the same lines."

"I don't think either of those are compliments, really," Greta noted. She thought it might be better if he started aiming for better titles, but he seemed fine with the ones he was getting ...

"I've been called a lot worse," Norbert noted more seriously, "And as far as I'm concerned, being called what I am isn't an insult. Someone tried to insult me by calling me 'orphan' before. I grew up as one, so really, that attempt was just pathetic. And being called a bruiser is just talking about my fighting style. That and 'crusher' also carry connotations of strength, so I'm not going to get offended at something like that. People have been trying to insult me all my life. I guess some just don't stick."

Though the conversation was interesting, the rider did realize that the only reason he was in the air with a passenger was because he got distracted. So, he offered, "Want me to let you off now?" Remembering how he'd more or less dived last time, he added, "I'll descend more easily this time."

"YEP," Greta replied, not bothering to hide how badly she wanted to be back on the ground again. "And thanks," she added, much quieter after he offered not to go too steeply this time. She supposed names, titles, they were what you made of them, and Norbert seemed willing to 'let stick what would stick' and leave it at that. She doubted she'd be able to do the same if she knew she was being insulted; rather, she knew she wouldn't be able to.

Norbert gave a light chuckle at how enthusiastic Greta was about getting back on the ground. "Next time, maybe you should ask to ride with a horseman," he advised as Rizen began a gentle descent.

"Don't count me in," Norbert decided to voice. Up until this point, he'd been simply resting against the tree Glen had parked under while Rizen grazed. He figured that his heading into the city would be all kinds of a bad idea long before they'd reached this point. Though the tree wasn't perfect, keeping under it would hopefully provide some sort of protection against being sighted by the city's wall-walking guards, and he was pretty sure that at least one person in the garrison would have it out for him. Besides that, if he happened across Doran somewhere in the city, he wasn't sure how he, himself, would react.

Aside from his last misadventure in Ursaea, he also didn't know what sort of word had spread about him. He'd personally and publicly instigated the tenser part of the quarreling between the Wrathites and the Mercites, and then helped in breaking Joanna out of the former's custody. The more he thought about it, the worse an idea of heading into that particular city seemed. And if Doran's a Wrathite who heard about what happened in Europa... Yeah, I'd have to defend myself...and then get thrown in jail again for attacking a soldier, and this would be my second-time offense. Already, his temper was rising. He fully expected Doran to pull something like that, too. And who would believe his word over a soldier's? Yeah, I'm staying right here...as much as I want to break his face in right now... But that would just get in in trouble, too, and maybe everyone else...

[roymbrog]

Kimiko was going through one of her bags, triple checking her supplies when Hoshi approached her. The alchemist looked up with an apologetic smile. “Hello. Um.. I would not mind speaking of alchemy, but I intended to leave with Greta. I may not be here long,” she explained.

“As for my specialties, however,” she continued more cheerfully, “I am very good with runes and imbuing. Weapons not so much, but I do a lot of delicate repair work on items.”

((EDIT: Added Valter things))

Well, the bounty hunter incident hadn’t gone as badly as it could’ve. Gregory had taken a swing at Alphonse before Charles had talked him down, and though the two groups hadn’t parted on the best of terms they had been allowed to collect the wagon’s water.

Now two days later, on the outskirts of Ursaea, Valter had a conundrum. While he realized how bad of an idea it was for him to enter the city, if word of his activities in Europa hadn’t yet reached them he could probably collect family funds from the bank. Considering he was on the run this was likely his last chance to do so. He hadn’t experienced want of money before and he certainly didn’t want to start now if he could help it.

Phyllis trailing behind him, Valter walked over to the others gathered near the front of the wagon. “I also need to go into the city, briefly. I’d be grateful if someone could lend me a hood or disguise of some sort,” he said. It was unlikely he could stick around to help Greta. He could probably still assist indirectly, though. “If Nadya’s going with you and is willing to take her, Greta, you can borrow Phyllis.” Riding her into the city himself might draw more attention, and he wasn’t about to leave her here with Eva’s wyvern around. That seemed like the next best thing.

Edited November 16, 2014 by roymbrog

[Phoenix]

Not In the City

So far, Greta only had Lumi, a pegasus, and a horse to rely on for carrying supplies ... great. "Haythem," she called over. She liked that his name had a sort of 'hey' in it. "Think ya could lend me a hand in town? Isis has to stay here, obviously, but the more help I have, the sooner I can get back."

"Umm ... okay, sure ..."

"Alphonse wasn't in that fight neither, was he?" Greta half asked. "He's comin' too." She might have given the swordsman an actual choice if so many had already declined. There were few they should risk bringing with to begin with and he wasn't one of them.

[Nanami Touko]

"Fantastic~" Tia hopped off the wagon and stood herself near Lumi. It seemed that a few people were going to be going, but not everyone that had been in the fight... Well, she hadn't been in the fight, just around it, so surely she didn't count.

Meanwhile, having finally set Sasha up for whenever they moved again, Eva had wandered over to the wagon, noticing the commotion of people. Amon didn't seem that busy, so she decided to ask him, "hey, what's everyone up and moving for?"

Edited November 16, 2014 by I have opinions

[Snike]

Aaaand Lumi was going into the city, despite having participated in the battle. Great. Pete would've followed suit to keep an eye on her, but odds were he had been among the first identified, thanks to his army post.

So instead, he was stuck here, with the wagon and the angry pegasus rider. Wonderful. Well, since he wouldn't be needing his cloak for the short term, the axeman didn't see any problem in handing it off to the horseman.

"Lemme see here...," Pete said, searching through his belongings until he brought out a large, worn brown cloak. He continued as he offered it to the red-haired man. "Here. It's a bit oversized, but it'll do the job. Just be sure to do something about your eyes."

[Phoenix]

Choose Your Party

"Business in Ursaea mostly," Amon answered. "It's better if anyone that was in the fight in the cathedral stay here for now, though ... not that that's stopping some people."

Edited November 16, 2014 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

Norbert found it somewhat curious that Valter was heading into the city. He hadn't been able to guess whether he would or not. After all, Valter was one of the more prominent people to have participated in the fight at the Cathedral, being Joanna's bodyguard. Then again, this was Valter's home, and who knew how long it would be before he saw it again? It was something of a somber thought.

Pushing off of the tree, Norbert walked over to Valter. "Hey. Going in to talk to your father or something like that?" he guessed. He knew that Valter's mother was dead, and he thought he remembered something about Valter having been an only child.

[-Cynthia-]

"Thanks Valter, I'll watch Phyllis," Nadya replied. We got more people goin' in there than I expected- we'll be splittin' up at least but if Tia says somethin' stupid or somethin' like that it could be trouble...

The hooded man seemed to have a genuine need to be helpful, so Liam let the matter be for now. Lots of the humans seemed to want to go into the city for one reason or another, which seemed somewhat unwise. Perhaps these humans know what they are doing- I hope they are not simply being careless. He had no desire to enter the city himself, particularly since his wings would likely attract attention.

"So...you spoke with Lady Nyx regarding the emblem? Did you learn anything of great importance?" Liam asked Amon. The Rexian man had apparently been tight lipped on the matter previously, but if there was something that could hurt or help Joanna, Liam felt the need to know. I don't know much about the artifact itself- everything happened so quickly that there wasn't much time to learn the details...

[Toogee]

A dancer was meant to attract attention. It was how she received an audience and the coin they brought with them. So as much as she desired to enter the nearby city, Jam had forced herself to abstain from joining Greta's party. If anyone would be recognized from the battle it would be her. She certainly didn't look the part of a soldier, what with her light purple dress. It would be too risky to journey in public. Some may have called her actions responsible, sacrificing a good time for the safety of others.

It still sucked.

And so, Jam once again found herself practicing her rain dance some distance from the wagon. It was the same set of steps as before: "Toe, heel, stomp. Step. Toe, heel, stomp. Step..." This time, the dancer incorporated her sword into the mix. She swung the weapon upward and downward after her steps, the flashing representing lightning. At least she would get practice in wielding her sword while also getting some dancing in.

Perhaps afterwards, she'd track Elrey down for some quality time. If he'd even wait that long...

[roymbrog]

Ah, that would help. “Thanks,” Valter said, receiving the cloak from Pete. What to do about his eyes, though? “Like what?” he asked. “I suppose an eye patch would work, but would cause a similar problem…” He needed his glasses to see, though with his bad eye covered he could probably get away without them. He could let his hair down and comb it over one side of his face. It wouldn’t be nearly as effective as an eyepatch if he still wanted to see clearly, however.

Valter was pulling the cloak round his shoulders when Bert questioned him. The horseman considered his answer for a moment. “…Something like that,” he said eventually. He actually wasn’t planning to talk to his father at all, just to take some of his money. That didn’t sound like the noblest thing to say out loud, though.

When Nadya confirmed she’d watch his horse, Valter nodded to her. “Thank you,” he said.

---

Inside the wagon, Elliot huffed. Miss June wasn’t going to take him into the city and he was quite upset. At least the dog was keeping him company. With a good amount of the group outside the wagon, Elrey had sprawled out in one of the empty spaces and Elliot was scratching his belly.

Edited November 16, 2014 by roymbrog

[Phoenix]

Notes

"... well," Amon began softly, trying to pull something practical and coherent out of the volumes worth of information. "A great deal, but I'm still trying to figure out what most of it actually means in practice. So far all I'm remotely sure about is that the box Joanna's keeping it in is just a formality; the emblem's energy--the emblem itself, even--could pass right through it like it's not even there if someone like Raquel called to it. You're going to have to be careful around people who know how to manipulate it," he warned, frowning deeply.

Shadrak glanced over, momentarily. Dammit all, what is he hiding from me ...? He could have told me that before but it's not until the avian asks that he says anything at all! Fine, Amon, keep your damn secrets at everyone else's expense. I'm sick of this crap ... but hey, it's exactly what I should expect. After all you do work for a vasilus. This farce'll end once you rexians show your true colors. "I'm going ... the sooner I find something we can use to turn things in our favor, the better."

[-Cynthia-]

"No problem, Phyllis is a sweetheart," Nadya replied to Valter. "So, we about ready to go?" she asked, turning to Greta and Haythem. She didn't know who else would be joining them- traveling with a big group while on the run wasn't her style, so she was hoping there wouldn't be too many wanting to tag along.

"People who know how to manipulate it- like the Fallen emperor and this 'Raquel'? Who is she?" Liam asked Amon. I guess hoping to hide the emblem isn't going to work then.

[Ether]

Well, if a group was heading into the city, may as well offer her services in that regard, for safety's sake.

"Might be a little late since you were about to leave, but... if anyone wants me to touch them up with some make-up, you're less likely to be recognized in town. Figure I'd let you know before you head out." Angelica noted to the group that was gathering to head into town.

[Phoenix]

Opportunity

"She's not someone I'd think you would have to worry about," Amon replied. "She can control the emblem but she's a nice person. More importantly, she's not heading the same way as us."

"Yeah, I think we're ready to get goin'," Greta nodded. That was when she noticed Angelica offering makeovers ... or rather, disguises for people heading into the city. Immediately the child in her awoke and she could barely keep the mischievous look in her eyes hidden from anyone else. "That seems like a pretty good idea ..." though she did manage to keep her tone convincingly normal. "Hey, Shadrak, don't head out just yet! You were face deep in that fight and I don't think that hood's gonna help, much!"

Seriously? Shadrak was facing away from the group, so he didn't bother to hide his gritting teeth. So ... juvenile! We don't need to go overboard with all these precautions! "Not a chance in hell," he called back before storming off toward the city.

[scorri]

Lumi grinned. "Well, I'm up for a disguise if we have time!" She headed over towards Angel and grinned. "Lets do this."

Hoshi nodded. "Oh, uhm, well... I specialize more in weapons so... I suppose that's good? We cover each others weaknesses and such?"

[Ether]

And while Greta seemed enthused but not in need to work, and Shadrak stormed out in disgust, Angelica finally found her first taker, in the form of Lumi. Looking the girl's face over carefully, the adept gave a quick nod.

"Alright... your look is a bit distinctive so it might take a little work... how much are you against semi-permanency? It would help if I could mess around with your hair colour a little, but I can make do without it if need be. It would only last a few days if I use the right dye, though..."

Edited November 17, 2014 by Ether

[scorri]

"Uhm..." Lumi touched her hair as she considered, unsure at first. When the other girl added that the right dyes would only last a few days though, she brightened. "Oh! Well, if it only lasts a few days, I'd be alright with that. I like my hair color, but it might be fun to have a different color for a bit!"

[Ether]

"Perfect~ Alright, let's get this done, then." Angelica replied with a chipper tone, bringing Lumi along towards the wagon where she draped a tarp over the woman's body to protect against any spilling, sat her down, and began working. After a short while, the transformation was complete, and Angelica turned a mirror towards Lumi so that she could get a look. Staring back at her was a woman with curled, deep auburn hair, with dual tight ringlet curls, one on each side of her face. Her complexion was now several shades darker, looking like a slight tan, and her face appeared several years older. Finishing the transformation some lipstick to cover her normally pale tone.

"Well, what do you think? You'll need to keep the cover on for a little bit, until your hair finishes setting, but aside from that you should be good to go."

Edited November 17, 2014 by Ether

[Nanami Touko]

"Well, it'll stop me," Eva said, as she sat down on the wagon, next to where Amon was standing. Sure seemed like a lot of people weren't taking that warning seriously, even Shadrak, who looked like he was about to kill something. "Hey, Shaddy, calm down, eh? They're just trying to have some fun with it," she said, in regards to the people getting made up by Angelica. Her suggestion would fall on deaf ears though, as he stormed off. She sighed. At least she could listen in to some emblem talk. "So, like, what really is the emblem? It just sounds like some untapped energy thing that people can manipulate into whatever they want..." It sounded more than dangerous, and hearing more about it, their actions at the cathedral seemed to make more and more sense. The Wrathites getting their hands on that sort of power was silly.

Tia decided to follow after Lumi and Angelica, watching the older woman perform her facial magic. In what seemed like moments, Lumi had disappeared, and tia gasped, applauding. "How'd you do that!? Lumi-- are you even Lumi anymore!?" Tia couldn't resist her smile, entirely bemused.

Edited November 17, 2014 by I have opinions

[Mercakete]

Norbert was a little puzzled by Valter's answer initially, but then he figured it meant he intended to do something else regarding his family. Considering the only other family member Norbert knew about was dead, he drew the conclusion that Valter was going to go pay his respects to his mother. Of course, since it was a sore subject for the horseman, he wouldn't want to specify aloud. So, Norbert nodded and dropped the subject's specifics. "You're right; this may be your last chance to visit, huh? Be careful in there, though. You're not exactly unknown to this city."