Fire Emblem: Wretched Whispers, Act 2: Warpath

[Grace]

During the time at Nora's, Diana was reasonably attentive, and dead quiet. After receiving her pouch of gold, she gingerly took one of the fliers that was circulating around the room. Carefully studying it, she eyed the details of the Irskan Army Barracks. Strategy advice... Hmm. That could be useful. I'm going to go there first. In the time it took for Diana to figure this out, most of her comrades had already left.

Leaving Nora's house, Diana set off toward the barracks. Once she arrived there though, she was unsure how to go about her plan.

[Nanami Touko]

And they were off! Mel was happy to be doing something with her magic, that some more walking didn't even matter. Lugos asked a rather tough question, though... "Bien, I, ehm... Je pense, tree, ben, I do not know 'ow much control I will 'ave over zem. I juste got zis Carreau tome, oui? Bien, eet can créer tree balls of dark magic, but zey may 'ave to juste sit zere een a circle. I 'ope zat ees not une problem..." She could always use flux, but that meant just one. She'd have to try! Other than that, she listened to his plan, and it sounded like plenty of fun! She nodded when he asked. "Oui, we shall do zat. Juste, eh, keep zem on ze stage, oui? We do not want to 'it ze audience wis ze magique, non?" She laughed, but then heard a familiar voice. It was that man who had gotten her drunk! As impolite as it was, she shrunk away from talking to him, only mentioning to Lugos, "eef I can not move ze orbs een Carreau, we could always use 'im to get anozzer wis Flux, or somesing." It was an idea.

But then, a pleasant sight. Magali! Mel immediately perked up and started waving at the older woman. "Magali! Ici! Zut alors, zis ees amazing. So many of us een one place dans zis 'uge city!" Mel wondered for a moment, I wonder eef we can get 'er to danser een our show? That would certainly make it even better.

Edited November 11, 2014 by I have opinions

[riariadne]

Way of the Knight

"Learning through observation is a perfectly valid method," Dervas told the younger knight. "That's how many great warriors created techniques- refining the work of others to suit themselves. It is a valuable skill to have." The general retrieved both his own spear and Taima's from the side, examining hers. "This is of quite good make. Mighty, lightweight, and rather durable as well. Where did you acquire it?" He handed the weapon to her after his inspection.

Challenge Declined

"Not up for it, huh? Well, you can always change your mind." The large man shook his head as Wolfgang left, looking back at the ring instead. Much more interesting, he thought.

A Stunning Show

A young woman greeted the many mages that entered the theatre all at once. "Greetings to you all, and welcome to our theatre! Spectacular shows for all, hours of entertainment, you'll not regret a single minute spent! How may I help you on this-"

"Ah, Kim, these are the guests Lady Deriyenn mentioned," Mina spoke up, walking from the employee entrance and waving cordially. "As much as you love your greeting, I am afraid it is not quite necessary here."

"Aww... well, alright," she spoke disappointedly, before perking up a bit once more. "Then, greetings to our esteemed guests! Those who help our Lady so are always quite welcome here and we hope you enjoy your day!" Kim seemed quite pleased with herself as Mina lead the group to the back room. A few young men and women quietly talked amongst each other, Sierra sitting around and appearing to be daydreaming until she saw the Hollows enter, waving excitedly.

"Hiii everyone! Are you here to see one of the plays later, or one of the dances, or something else? Probably, right? I bet that's what you're here for, since it is the theatre!" she spoke gleefully, her eyes narrowing as she spotted Melanie. "Unless you're here on some of your top secret special agenty stuff, too! Don't think I forgot all about that! I'm onto your types, trying to be all innocent before surprising everyone with a shocking twist!" She drew a bizarre, foreign-looking sword and pointed it at her before Mina lightly tapped her wrist. The other performers seemed to think nothing of her gesture, perhaps used to such things in her company by now. "Oh, sorry..."

"Excuse her silliness," Mina apologized, ruffling the guardian's hair. "She is right, however- what would you like to do here? There are a variety of options, and if you would like to view I can do my best to secure you the nicest seats I can find for you, and if you want to participate schedule a time. There are even practice rooms I could show you to."

[scorri]

Taima took back Firefly and gave it a quick glance over before stowing it in her back sheath. "My father made it for me. He's been making weapons his whole life but he said that he had never made something as good at this. It's... It's the only thing I have from them at this point. I haven't seen them since I left Valms, so..." She shrugged. "It's a wonderful weapon and has saved me many times. Though I can't say it stands up to your lance... That is truly an impressive lance. Where did you get it?"

[Xinnidy]

A familiar voice caught Magali's attention at the entrance to the theater. Turning to meet it, Magali has greeted by cheerful young Melanie. "Ah. Hello, Melanie. Everybody else. Are you going to watch?" She waved in return to Melanie, and took a few steps to join the group. My, dancing for them when we're not fighting for our lives could be a nice change~. "I've been invited by Mina, so I'll see if I can perform today."

And just as that was said, they were greeted by an employee, then by Mina and Sierra. Magali bowed as a greeting. "Well met again, Mina. I'd like to take you on your offer and give it a try with my dance~." Though still pretty mellow, Magali's tone was discernibly cheerful.

[Nanami Touko]

It was nice to have Magali here as well, Mel walking next to her as they were ushered into the back room. "Bien, we are en fait 'ere to perform. We were all at ze stables togezzer, et Lugos, 'e suggested zat we try somesing wis our magique. And you are going to dance aussi? Fantastique! I will make sure to watch before I 'ead back to ze eenn." She looked back at Celestia for a moment, hoping she wouldn't mind the extra little stop. It couldn't take that much longer than performing their own show, hopefully.

The room full of performers seemed quite nice, with all of them hanging around and talking to each other. That niceness faded slightly as Mel had a sword pointed at her by that Sierra from earlier. She nervously laughed. "Zat, ehm, zat was juste une blague, Sierra. I am not really a spy. I would not be able to sneak for ze life of me, donc, s'il vous plaît, do not stab me. Zere will be no twist." Mina stopped that action, and Mel sighed. Zat was a bit too much all at once... At least she seemed like she didn't mean any harm, sword waving or not. Mina asked what they wanted to do, and, well, it had been Lugos' idea, so as excited for it as she was, she didn't want to steal his thunder.

[Xinnidy]

"Ah, so you are here to perform too? All of you?" Magali asked with a hint of surprise. "That's interesting, a magic show? Now I wonder what you all have in mind, it must be quite a sight~." Magali briefly thought how nice it would be to use flames or light to give her dance a dramatic feeling at appropriate times, a shame she couldn't quite replicate these with a staff.

[Ether]

"Wouldn't we have more punch if Magali danced along with our magic, instead of going separately? I mean... unless that doesn't work with other people's ideas..." Celestia timidly offered, blushing slightly. They might have gotten together a nice little troupe if they could pull this all together.

[riariadne]

Lance of Legends

"Hmmm... it is quite the impressive piece. Your father must be an excellent smith to have forged something of such quality. And do not be afraid to write home to your parents, if you have the opportunity. I am certain they would be overjoyed to hear back from you." Dervas showed her his own spear- it had intricate runes signifying an incredibly strong enchantment, alongside being quite well-balanced. "This is the Hallowed Spear Iraxen- I'm sure you've heard tales of its impeccable accuracy when Privia used it in the Great War. It was enchanted by Arine to never miss, and to my knowledge it never has. I received it as a gift from Commander Moore in times of peace, but I fear I may have to use it against him on the battlefield." The General sighed heavily, before spotting a lone woman that seemed to be rather lost. "Is she with you?" he asked, pointing at Diana.

Spies

"Oh, alright... it seemed really serious, so I wasn't sure!" Sierra said somewhat defensively, sheathing her blade carefully. "Every time I meet one of Mina's friends I start wondering if they're really another agenty person she's not allowed to tell me about or she'll get kicked out. Too secret for me." The guard frowned, but then perked up a bit after she remembered the other things Melanie had said. "Woah, a magic show? We don't get a lot of those to watch here compared to other stuff! That sounds pretty exciting!"

"Hmmm, a show with so many people could be interesting," Mina agreed, thinking deeply. "I have a spot open for a dance that I was wondering if you would not mind joining me in, Magali, but perhaps it could be expanded to include this magic show- of course, if you all find this acceptable."

Edited November 12, 2014 by Reinfleche

[scorri]

"Yes, he is a wonderful smith. And I know I should write to them, I just... I don't think they'll enjoy hearing about how I've been fighting so much... Yes, I have heard of it, though the stories didn't fully capture how beautiful a weapon it is... You say you got it from Commander Moore? That... yes, it would be a shame to use it against the one who gave it to you, but it seems that you have little choice." She sighed. Looking where he was pointing, she brightened. "Oh yes! That's Diana. Diana! Hello! This is General Dervas. He's been showing me a few ways to improve my fighting. What are you doing here? I mean... I know you have a sword, but most of the time you seem to focus more on healing."

Edited November 12, 2014 by scorri

[Nanami Touko]

Melanie pouted a little at Sierra's little explanation. "Mina," she said with a bit of a whine, "you should not keep such secrets from 'er. Even eef eet ees your job, secrets are not a good sing to keep from your loved ones like zat. I know votre job ees to be a spy, but..." Mel huffed slightly. She wasn't really offended, but if her parents had kept super secrets like that from her, she would've gotten upset. Well... If they told her they were keeping secrets... The tiniest, most insignificant thought popped into her head, that maybe, for some reason, they were killed for some secret that Mel didn't know about. But the thought was so short that she couldn't even stop to think about it.

Besides, she had something more important to think about: this whole magic show, now including Magali, and Mina! The wonderful idea suggested by Celestia (as much as she found it a bit disappointing that Lugos didn't get to suggest it), made Melanie literally jump for joy. "Oui! Oui, oui, zat ees un très étonnant idée! We should do zat! Ben oui, we should do zat!" She couldn't control her enthusiasm, stopping her jumping and giggling and smiling like mad.

Edited November 12, 2014 by I have opinions

[Grace]

"Well, yes. I do focus more on healing, but when I was reading the fliers that were handed out earlier, I noticed that it mentioned something about strategy advice." Diana paused for a moment. "That's mostly why I am here." Diana turned to the armored man that Taima was with. General Dervas... It is good to meet you... Her voice trailed off. Well that's an imposing figure if ever I've seen one...

After a little, Diana spoke up again. "I just thought of something... this is an army barracks, yes? Do you need help with healing, by chance?" Diana said to Dervas. "If there's anything I can do on that front, let me know..." Her voice trailed off once more.

[Oersted]

"That's fine," Lugos told Melanie. It had been a rather ridiculous request so just knowing she could make three was helpful. He turned to Wolfgang since no one had answered him directly. "We're putting on a magic show, you could join in if you want." It seemed that they were gaining people left and right, if they could actually all work together in sync Lugos had no doubt it'd be an awesome performance. He just hoped he wasn't going to be tasked with coming up with the entire show. "The more the merrier I say, we'll just have to know exactly what we're doing."

[Refa]

Artemis yawned as the group made their long, arduous, tedious, boring, unexciting, boring walk to the theatre. I wish I could just fly over there. That would be so much easier...but I guess not everyone has that option, she thought as she looked around her. Everyone seemed so enthusiastic about going that it couldn't help but rub off on Artemis. Lugos' plan also seemed reasonable enough; all she'd been doing for the past few days was chucking fire and thunder at people, after all. How hard could it be to do the same in a less chaotic setting? She started walking with a slight spring to her step as they got closer to their intended destination. Things were starting to get exciting! Even Wolfgang and Magali were joining in on the fun. Artemis hadn't really interacted with either of them much before in the past, but they seemed like good people. Probably. She said nothing as they entered the theater (merely acknowledging the various greetings they had received as they passed by), as her attention was focused on taking in all of the sights that the place had to offer.

She was brought out of her reverie by Sierra pointing a sword at Melanie. It seemed like a jest to Artemis, but the girl seemed legitimately surprised. "Is it really that serious? Don't you guys work for the same people and stuff? Unless you're an enemy spy too, of course! Just how deep does this conspiracy go?" Artemis teased, grinning slightly at Sierra. "But yeah, the magic show will be pretty fun. We've got a bunch of talented people here, so it's going to be a blast!" She exclaimed., hyping up their future performance. Artemis noticed Lugos looked a little distressed, so she turned around him and said, "Man, planning on doing an event with all of these people is going to be tough, yeah? Lemme know if you need any help on that front, I could probably come up with something or the other." Probably.

Edited November 12, 2014 by Refa

[Ether]

"Wow, we managed to get so many people... if Sheikah were to show up, that would be everyone, wouldn't it? Though... I think she was going somewhere else, so that's pretty unlikely." Celestia noted with a laugh, it was nice to have gathered so many people for this, but she wondered if it would turn out, in the end. Then a little thought occurred to her... seems that while everyone else had a second, she was the only light magic user among them... she'd have to be even more careful to do this right, there was no one to make up for it if she made a mistake.

[Tryhard]

"Nice to meet you, Ivan!" Peter said lightly, completely ignoring the other's slightly odd speech pattern. "And yes, I'm Peter, and he's Declan. So, how do you like this little mercenary group so far?"

Ivan think this 'Peter' being friendly enough.

"Ivan never be thinking he find himself in company of demons!" Ivan said, smiling brightly.

"Still trying to be fitting in, not many noticing, but Ivan tries hardest, yah?"

Ivan noticed that other, Declan, was moving for him to follow, and so Ivan did.

Edited November 12, 2014 by Tryhard

[riariadne]

Defensive Fighters

"Hmm, still I am sure they would prefer to hear you are fighting than to not know whether or not you are safe." Dervas looked at the Iraxen, smiling sadly. "Tyrius always said it was engraved so nicely because Privia insisted on looking the best while performing the best in battle. Not necessarily a great reason, but yes, it does look nice." He thought over the new arrival's next question. "Hmm, we are alright on healing for now, but thank you for your generous offer. You spend much time around your allies, then, as a healer, and wanted to learn some strategy? There are many strong defensive stances that can put your allies in a better position, too. I could help instruct in such, if you'd like- I am a defensive combatant myself, after all."

"Hey you guys," Sheikah spoke loudly as she approached, waving at the three. "You looking to do some training too, Diana?" she asked. "If you're good to go for the boxing ring, we can get started whenever, Taima. Just got Privia settled in and got some lance practice in. I got to meet Vacheres there, too! Do you know of him?"

Close

"No... it's fine," Sierra spoke, suddenly very mellow in sharp contrast to her usual upbeat positivity. "I understand why she can't tell me... big secrets that I'm not allowed to hear, no matter how close we are. It's part of the life of someone who has to be under cover, and that part of her life I can't be too involved in, just keep on living as a guard here and hoping she comes back to me all safe and sound... and, and..." She wrapped her arms around Mina and buried her face in the smaller woman's hair, who did not flinch away this time. "S-sorry, sometimes I just... ahhh..."

"Shhh, things will be fine, Sierra," Mina spoke soothingly, her expression breaking from her usual set stare to a small frown. "I've told you not to worry so much about me," she began, before the distraught woman started sobbing. "Ah, I'm sorry... please give us some time, everyone. If you want to work on how to coordinate things, feel free to do so in my absence..." She hurriedly walked away towards one of the isolated rooms down the hall, carefully leading Sierra along with her.

[scorri]

"I... suppose you are right. I'll have to think about that. And, well, even if it's not for the best reason, it came out well. Maybe if I ever replace the shaft on Firefly, I can put some designs on it too." She grinned at the general and then jumped slightly when Sheikah came up and talked to her. "Oh, hi! I hadn't noticed you returned. Uhm, I think I'm ready to go. General Dervas, thank you very much for all you've taught me. I will do my best to use what you've taught me as I fight for this country. Thank you." She bowed to him again, before turning back to Sheikah. "Alright! Lets go." She started heading out, waving goodbye to Diana as she did.

[Nanami Touko]

"Bein, I did not mean eet like zat, I juste..." Mel tried to start, as Sierra's mood seemed to have been destroyed entirely. "I-I am sure zat Mina will always come back safely, donc... Ehm..." Then there was the crying, and Mel felt a wave of guilt starting to wash over her. "I am sorry... I did not know zat was so, sensitive, I..." She tried to explain, but it just made her feel worse, so she stopped, and let them walk away. She was still happy about doing this show, and getting to perform, but... Well, when you say something and it upsets someone quickly, it's hard to stay happy. She shrunk herself back a little, hiding behind Celestia. "Eef anyone wants to let me know what to do for ze show, zen, you can let me know. I will do my best, ben, I do not sink I will be providing ze input..."

[Ether]

Celestia took a moment to ruffle Melanie's hair as the dark mage hid behind her, sighing lightly.

"It's alright, Melanie. You didn't mean anything by it, and from the looks of it, it's not that rare of an occurrence. Chin up, hmm? I'm sure that Mina will sort this out and it'll be fine, that's what a lover does, isn't it?"

[Nanami Touko]

"I guess so, ben, I do not feel good about it." Mel closed her eyes at the ruffle and squeaked, coming out of hiding just a little bit. "Especially eef zat 'appens a lot... I would not want to accidentally do zat again..." She sighed. Mel didn't comment on what a lover does; she didn't know what a lover was supposed to do. Her parents had always tried to support each other, but she'd only ever seen then as her parents, so it was a term that was fairly lost on her. Time to try and put on ze strong face, oui? Mina seems like ze smart person. I am sure Sierra will be fine... Ben, I will apologize to 'er later, eizzer way.

[Ether]

"Well, don't take my word on it... it's just how it looked to me. Mina seemed to pretty much know what she had to do in that situation. Worst case, just apologize... I'm sure your sincerity will come through." Celestia responded, looking over everyone that had gathered.

"Sure is a bit more than the four that we started with, huh?"

[Nanami Touko]

"I will. As soon as I see zem. I can only 'ope so." Mel sighed and finally brought herself back out of hiding, looking around at all the faces that had probably also started feeling awkward. "Oui... We ran into Magali and Wolfgang after we got 'ere, donc, we 'ave more people to do ze show around. Ehm..." Mel wanted people to get started on talking, at least to take her own mind off of what happened, so she moved a bit forward and cleared her throat. "Ahem, em... Artemis, Lugos... Since we 'ave Mina and Magali dancing, what did you sink we should do for ze magique? I sink eet will 'ave to be changed up a bit from what you said originally."

[Refa]

"Yeah, it'd be great if the boss were here. Still, we can do this by ourselves!" Artemis replied confidently to Celestia. The girl had been using light magic her whole life, so a simple performance like this was probably no big deal to her...And then Sierra started sobbing. She seemed so upbeat normally that it was a bit distressing for Artemis to see her like this. Hopefully she feels better soon, Artemis thought, as Mina left with the distraught girl. Melanie seemed to take it almost as hard as Sierra, as all of her unbridled enthusiasm from moments earlier seemed to have just vanished. "Look, this isn't your fault, OK? It's nice that Sierra is so carefree and upbeat, but...eventually she'll have to come to terms with the reality of the situation. We're all risking our lives here, you know? For all we know, the next battle might be our last. So it's imperative that we can face that reality and make peace with it," Artemis lectured; she'd been forced to do the same thing herself, after all. She then realized that perhaps this wasn't the most appropriate interjection for what was supposed to be a conversation about their performance.

"That aside, let's focus on the subject at hand...our magic act!" She said, clapping her hands together. "The original idea was a good start, but how about we expand on it some? Wolfgang could probably uh...create another orb, yeah? Shouldn't be too much trouble for us to do the works on another," She said thoughtfully. "So that just leaves Magali and Mina. From what I could tell, they already had a performance in mind...so we'd just need to add to it. Maybe have the orbs circle them while they do their thing, and...hmmm...have Mina use that weird tome of hers. You know, the one that kind of acted like a sword? She could stab it through each of the orbs, and at the very moment, Celestia could make the orbs explode with her light magic. I kind of came up with that all on the spot though. Dunno how practical it would be in execution."

Edited November 12, 2014 by Refa

[Grace]

Diana pondered for a little, and waited until Taima was done addressing Dervas. "That would be great... thank you." Diana responded to the question. "I've been doing a reasonable amount just on my own, but I do feel like there's more to learn. By this point, Taima was leaving with Sheikah. Diana waved back at Taima as she left.

This is the proper way to help my comrades... right? I just want to be helpful to them in whatever way I can manage. Diana thought to herself.