Fire Emblem: Wretched Whispers, Act 2: Warpath

[Nanami Touko]

Suddenly, blood casting didn't sound that cool. Tempting, but definitely uncool. Mel didn't want to go mad trying to learn magic! She'd thought about that route before, but knowing that was the consequence of doing it incorrectly, she'd stick to reading and practicing with real tomes. She shook her head at the thought, and stood back up. "Oui, bose of you, c'est fantastique! Ze mages aussi! Eef I can keep my eyes on my spell during ze real performance, we should be fine~"

[eclipse]

"Bodies slow down as time goes on. Some people can go on forever, while others burn out before they hit 40," Peter replied to Vale. "Aren't you a wee bit young to be worrying about it, though?" he teased.

[Percivalé]

Vale absentmindedly watched the older man as he began to converse with them. Cara's questions seemed to play above his head and dissolve into the air above. "I know you probably have your reasons," he began, taking a sip of his drink, "for suggesting. But I knew what I was getting into." Something in his eyes changed, and his head tilted ever-so-slightly downwards, as if he knew. "It's not like I'd go out and recommend this kind of work to my peers--if I had any, that is--but that's probably obvious to you, I guess." He paused to drink his beer again. "I wasn't planning on telling a stranger my life's story, but my place is here right now. With them, and on the field. 'Sides, it's nice learning all the different ways a man can feel pain." He smirked at this, recounting something, but deciding to end it there. His face softened again.

It was strange. He didn't seem angry, even when he was talking. He took his elbow off the table and sat up straight. He breathed deeply, quietly, and responded to Peter. "Well, I mean, I'm twenty-five now... I wouldn't say I'm worried about it. Maybe in another five or something years." He felt so incredibly young around these people. It made him a bit nervous.

[eclipse]

(O/C: Actually, I missed that other post by Rein, sorry~!)

"So, when you're my age, then," Peter said with a sigh. "By then, you start to have less choices in life. Pickin' up new stuff doesn't come as easy, and doin' the really demanding physical labor things, like mining, isn't so attractive. I could probably keep myself alive if I went out to the middle of some woods and built a shack, but what's a man to do to pass the time? Surviving is one thing, living is quite another." Hmmm, full-flavored with a nice aftertaste. Declan wasn't kidding when he said that this place was good. Peter looked at his glass, which was now half-empty. "Suppose I COULD do somethin' like open up a meat shop when I'm too old to march with the youngsters." He cleared his throat, in an effort to catch a fleeting thought that had wandered through his head. "I'm a mercenary, and as long as I don't think my company is doing something illegal, stupid, or objectionable, I'm willin' to go with 'em. So far, this is one of the best groups I've joined - no one's tried to backstab their allies on the battlefield, the pay comes when the boss says it comes, the boss is fair, and there's no one tryin' to usurp the boss' position. What's not to like about 'em?"

[Percivalé]

Vale contemplated what Peter said and nodded quickly. "Yeah, this is an interesting bunch--there aren't any overly-greedy, shady-feeling people in this one, and the boss is super genuine. It's almost hard to believe, isn't it?" He ended the question with a laugh. He was feeling much lighter now. "Honestly, I didn't have much choice since I was born. This was the only way I was taught to live life, really. It was only until I finally got out of my hellhole I called a family that I discovered I wasn't happy with living a quieter life... yet." He added the last bit in after a few seconds. What do I want to do when I get to that point? He supposed he'd wait to see if he actually got to point first before he made any more huge life decisions.

[Grace]

Diana bowed to Dervas. "Thank you. I will take your words to heart. I hope you remain in good health and that the training here goes well." Diana then walked out of the barracks, with a smile on her face.

That was well worth the time... but now what? Diana found a place to sit nearby and contemplated her next move. I could go try and find someone, like Taima... or I could go exploring the town. I don't remember if there was anything else of interest on the flier from earlier... She remaine in thought for a few minutes. Hang on... Diana searched through her belongings for her Heal staff. Hmm... this is not in good shape. I think now is a good time to go and find a new one.

After that line of thought, Diana got up from the seat and headed off toward the vendor.

Upon arriving there, Diana looked around, noticing the shop adorned with many different decorations. Well, they did go to a lot of effort... She also noticed a person behind the counter, however she wasn't sure if they had noticed her yet.

[MRDRHAWK]

Declan tried his best not to let out a sharp breath when the swordsman that he's been stealing glances at all the way here came over to their group. However, because he had no idea what exactly made him feel hesitant to talk right away, he kept quiet for now. Besides, Peter was keeping his attention well enough. Better than I probably could, at any rate... Declan thought to himself, and muttered out something that nobody else could really hear. Not like he wanted them to, anyways.

[Refa]

Artemis looked at Magali with an eyebrow raised. "You sure about that? Well, you're the boss, after all," she replied as she did as Magali said. After she saw what Magali did afterwords, Artemis' jaw dropped. "W-wow, so pretty...isn't that dangerous, though? Well, if you're not hurt, then it's fine." Her portion of the performance done, she then turned around to see how the others were faring. Despite claiming to not have the Shadowblade tome on her, somehow Mina had managed to recreate the spell anyways. She looked a little exhausted after the whole ordeal, though. So this is bloodcasting. She seems to know what she's doing. Maybe I can ask her if she knows anything about summoning after we're done with all of this. She laughed at Mina's comment to Magali. "Up to par? That was fantastic! If we can do this well on the stage, then we've got this in the bag," she concluded, sharing Melanie's sentiments.

Edited November 17, 2014 by Refa

[riariadne]

Sightseeing

"We're totally not doing the what do yooou want to do routine," Sheikah joked. "Alright, well... maybe we could go to the inn and rest a bit before we do anything else. Figure we should get the room situation figured out and stuff, anyway. Sound good to you?"

Expectations

"I am glad you all found my performance acceptable, then." Mina bowed after her finish and surveyed those around her. "Time draws closer, then. Are we all ready to begin shortly?"

Years Gone

"Hmph... if you all say so." Borvan drank from his ale, setting it down rather heavily.

"Don't mind Borvan. War's just been unkind to him," Cara responded, filling his glass again. "It's an admirable path to go down if you're suited for it, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"Just a year ago, you were cursing the mercenary lifestyle, may I remind you. Not such a fan of things when they come to hurt you."

Cara bit her lip. "That's totally different... not everything can go as planned, and it wasn't his fault things happened that way. You just don't like fighting at all anymore."

"War and fighting are no good for anything. You realized that when Isaiah died, but when other things come up it's suddenly a changed story," the elder man ranted. "Just you wait, nothing good will come of this, either-"

"Enough!" the inkeeper interrupted angrily. "I will not have you disrespect what he did." She looked to the mercenaries again. "What's your boss like? Fair is a good start- are they strong of character, a fierce warrior, what?"

Training Complete

"May you remain safe," Dervas wished Diana before returning to oversee recruit training. These Hollows... a good choice to hire, he mentally confirmed.

Shop

"Hi, hi!" the woman behind the counter spoke, waving at Diana. "What are you looking for? We offer tomes and staves, and many everyday items too. All you need to do is ask."

Edited November 17, 2014 by Reinfleche

[Grace]

"Oh, hello there." Diana took out her Heal staff. "I was wondering if you had any of these? This one is starting to wear down a bit..."

[scorri]

Taima grinned slightly as Sheikah cut her off. She'd gotten the response she'd wanted, aka someone else making the decision since she truly didn't care what they did at this point. With a nod, she said, "Sure, sounds good to me. Some food would be great after that exercise. Dropping off my armor wouldn't be the worst idea in the world either, now that I think about it. Lead the way, boss!"

[Nanami Touko]

"Oui! I am ready to start whenever! Ben, I will not speak for everyone, zough..." It seemed like everyone was ready, but Wolfgang and Lugos hadn't spoken up in a while. Perhaps they were wondering over whether or not they'd done well enough. It seemed fine, from Mel's angle. Pas problème... Eef zey want ze time to practice again, zey can 'ave eet. Zis show will be wonderful~

[Oersted]

Holding the spell had been much more taxing for Lugos than he'd thought it would be. Thunder wasn't Fire by any means but it wasn't like he was messing around with any of the El tomes. He'd also almost lost focus as Mina began her performance, amazed at the control over magic she had. Bloodcasting sounded interesting, if a bit dangerous, but he doubted he'd ever get a chance to learn it so he let it drop without saying anything. "Ready whenever you are," Lugos answered, speaking up in the first time in a while.

[Percivalé]

Listening to the exchange, Vale scratched the side of his face a little. He could see where Borvan was coming from, but his demeanor depressed him. He looked sadly at him for a moment until Cara's question snapped him back to attention. "Oh, she's... well, I don't know her too well personally yet, but I'd say she has a good head on her shoulders. She's definitely strong, and asks us to weigh in when she's unsure of something. She doesn't seem the type to jump into situations without seriously considering them, at all." He thought about it a little longer. "I haven't been around as long as the others here though--except, oh, Ivan I guess." He recalled that one hadn't been around until shortly after he'd been recruited in the same town.

His eyes wandered to Declan. Something about him interested Vale; something he couldn't put his finger on. "You all right over there? You always look like you want to talk, but stop short at that. Like the phrases reach the tip of your tongue and then... hit a wall." He wished he could have thought of a more creative metaphor for that, but it would suffice. He rapped his fingers on the table blissfully.

[Bluedoom]

The bloodcast discussion piqued Wolfgang's interest, but he decided to not pursue the discussion. Mina seemed to not want to talk much about it, perhaps fearing those who would attempt to learn would misuse it and destroy themselves. Its worth a shot, priestess! Just because its dangerous doesn't mean it peopl shouldn't attempt to learn it! Ah, what the heck!

" I'm ready when you are. I think my part is simple enough!" Wolfgang replied.

Edited November 18, 2014 by Bluedoom

[Xinnidy]

Magali was still focused in her performance the moment Melanie called her out. It was just practice, but her instincts urged her not to break the flow. She had a mind to step out in a long sidestep and hope the spheres would miss her by the skin of her teeth, or brace the pain.

It was then that Celestia's light magic intervened and dispelled the spheres. Convenient enough to save Magali some pain, but, in the spirit of performance, she had already placed a foot behind her and moved away with a spin, fire following her until it dissipated.

"Melanie... thanks for the confidence in our performance, but take care of your part, too. You know it's hard, and is what makes our performance even more stunning." Magali wondered if her flat tone was harsh at the moment, but she figured the girl wouldn't take it ill.

She looked at Mina as more about bloodcasting was explained. Such a curious gift, but it would be safer to use the tome... Ah, well. I can't blame her for not expecting a magic show. "Since our parts are separate, we are probably ready. I had a nicer finisher in mind than the orbs exploding on me, but the girls are so cooperative that I am already confident~."

[MRDRHAWK]

Declan glanced over at the fellow swordsman who'd broken off from his other conversation to start talking to him; it was certainly an interesting choice, yet one that Declan wholly welcomed. "Hmm? Ah... yeah, I can never find the right words to say to jump into a conversation I wasn't in to begin with. Besides, I've had a lot on my mind lately... Especially so close to home, things are kinda going through my head at a mile a minute."

[Nanami Touko]

Melanie pouted a bit as Magali addressed her like a mother would scorn a child, but she knew the woman meant nothing bad by it. Or at least, she hoped she didn't. She'd seen the dance, so she'd be able to focus without being distracted, this time. Pout tossed aside, she smiled. "Donc, Magali, what was ze finish you 'ad een mind? Probablement we can accomodate, ben, eet would definitely 'elp to know avant we go on stage." Wjhatever it was, Mel was sure that it would be pretty. Eef only zere was some way to capture zese moments to see again and again... Zat would be fantastique.

[riariadne]

An Imperfect Reunion

"Alright, then. Follow me!" Sheikah instructed, leading Taima off towards the inn.

...

"Seems reliable, huh? Well, that's a good characteristic to have, certainly," Cara reasoned aloud.

"Hmmph. Don't get too into the life, if you can," Borvan warned grimly. "If you get the chance to settle down nicely, a more secure job, anything, take it while you can and save yourself some pain."

"Not everyone is looking to escape the life you left, Borvan. Lay it a bit less thick with your detest for fighting and give them a fair shot at what they're trying. I need to go fetch some towels from the back. Try and behave yourselves, alright?" Cara vanished behind a door, the sounds of rummaging droning out the sound of the door opening.

"Hey everyone," Sheikah greeted as the armor knight and her entered. "Just got back from the boxing ring, and it's some intense stuff! What's up for you guys? Barkeep in the..." the wyvern knight began until Cara reemerged, her gaze turning to the ground as the woman stared daggers at her. "... the back. Hey, Cara," she mumbled.

"Don't tell me..." The barkeeper's generally pleasant tone vanished at the sight of the small woman. "Another group. You rushed around and got yourself another group already, and you thought it'd be funny to show up and stay here. Real cute, Sheikah."

"I didn't make the arrangements, Lady Deriyenn did," the boss protested. "This is the life I live, Cara, and I can't mope around and cry about what happened before, even when I want to sometimes. I told you I'm sorry... I don't want to argue, Cara."

"Get out of here," Cara spoke abruptly. "I don't want to hear your sob-story excuses for getting Isaiah killed with your poor leadership. Go, all of you."

"Cut it out, Cara! You know I felt horrible about it more than anyone, and you're out of your mind if you think I'm not trying to do something about it." Sheikah looked up from the ground, anger slowly building. "I hate him, I agonize every day over Sorkaan and hunting him down for those who he hurt! Your brother, Rina, me, everyone. I hunger for vengeance, and this is what I get for it! I will not have you disrespect me and say I'm not trying--"

"Get out!" Cara shouted. "I don't need you here as a reminder... you failed him, and everyone else. It's over! Go back to Sloktan and do something else, whatever, but get out of my inn and out of my sight!"

"How harsh of you to turn around on the mercenary life once again," Borvan mused aloud. "You are both acting like children. This woman has had no inappropriate behavior since her entry that would validate ejecting her from your inn. You don't have to like each other, but her stay is paid for, directly or not."

Cara stared at him, fuming, before ducking under the counter and placing several room keys down. "Leave me for now, then," she murmured. "Don't say anything. Just... go. Your rooms are all lined up on the second floor. Pick one and get away."

"Fine," Sheikah responded equally obtusely, grabbing a key and heading upstairs. "I'm not hiding in my room the whole time we stay here," she warned.

Stage Set

"If that is all... let us go begin, then." Mina ushered the group's way through the rooms and onto the stage, bowing as they made their way to the front. Sierra, true to her word, had secured herself a seat in the middle of the theatre and waved excitedly at the performers.

"And here we have a special performance, featuring Miss Mina and some guests with her. They will be performing a unique dance variant very shortly," Kim spoke from near the entry. "Come one come all, don't miss this one-time opportunity!"

More Shop

"Sure, a heal staff?" the woman asked, ducking behind the counter and presenting one to Diana. "It'll be 600 gold to purchase. Would you like anything else?"

Edited November 18, 2014 by Reinfleche

[Grace]

Diana gingerly found her gold purse and produced the 600 gold for the purchase. "I'll take it. I think that will be all for today." Diana said, as she handed over the gold to the woman.

[Xinnidy]

Seeing Melanie pout told Magali she was probably a bit off-mark with her comment. "Ah, you're doing very well for someone who just started with the spell, I'm still grateful." Well... What's done is done. 'C'est la vie', as she would say. "Hmm..." She raised a coy smile, finger on her lips, as she was asked about her ideal finisher. "If I could get more control over Artemis' fire, I could spin around while lighting each sphere. It is a bold finisher compared to the rest of my dance, but I think the audience will like it. I just need you and Artemis to be more focused then, for my safety. I hope I'm not asking too much?" She told the girl as they made their way to the stage.

Lo and behold, they were announced as they came in for what was probably the largest audience Magali had performed to. She followed Mina and bowed to the public, taking some steps forward to share the center of attention with Mina. She might have been a bit anxious, but it was a moment like many others she faced. This performance might be very important to me. I need to give my best. She glanced back at Melanie and Artemis, then at Mina, giving a ready nod at both, while she waited for the theatre to quiet down for them to start their play.

Humming a simple tune beneath all the noise, Magali started to sway her body, and then, when the noise died down, she lagged her following move to dance in sync with Mina. Now it was time for the magic show.

[scorri]

Glaring at Cara, Taima snatched a key off the counter. "You're an ass if you don't think that she isn't being eaten up by guilt about what happened. But she's trying to move on and become a better leader. Maybe you should try to do something similar." Without waiting for an answer, she stalked off, heading after Sheikah. She got to the second floor and realized she had no clue which room her boss was in. Calling out, she asked, "Sheikah? Boss?"

[Nanami Touko]

"Ah, zat sounds très intéressant~ We shall do zat, oui, Artemis? I shall put tout mon focus into ze spell, donc... Ehehe, do not crash into moi. I would probablement fall over eef you did." Mel giggled a bit, and made sure she was ready for this. That spell was going down, one way or the other! What she wasn't ready for, was the crowd. As they were dragged out in front of everyone, Mel felt a rush of immediate joy and fear. She smiled, though no one could tell what it meant. "So many people...!"

She almost threw up, right there, but managed to keep any stage fright held inside. She had one task, and she knew how to do it, so she'd do that, and not focus on-- hey! Zat ees Sierra, like she said! Mel found herself a focus point, waving at the woman. Eef I get worried, I can juste look at 'er. Parfait! Let us do zis!

Magali moved herself into place with Mina, and Mel flipped the book open with gusto, casting it around the brown haired woman. She tensed her grip, and held the orbs in place, immediately feeling the strain once again-- but not this time! The spell wasn't getting the better of her, not during this! She furrowed her brow and relaxed her breathing. If her head started hurting, she'd ignore it. Right now, getting this spell right was all that mattered.

[Percivalé]

For one second the only thing Vale could hear--no, feel, could feel, if it was that--something cold leaking into his tunic.

"Get out!"

He was about to take another sip of his beer. He saw Declan's face, and suddenly the ceiling, and there was the very distant sound of something cracking against the wooden floor. He registered--after a moment, he closed and opened his eyes. He was still awake. But he had spilled the beer all over himself, and a tightening pain began to grow in his chest. He breathed in slowly, trying to get a sense again of where he was--on the floor of the inn--but it was as if something had him pinned there against his back. The entire right side of his body tingled like he had fallen into a pit of needles, or a blackthorn or rose bush, and he grunted as he attempted a second time to sit himself upright. It was at that moment he realized what happened. He took another sharp deep breath and, clutching his right arm, scrambled up back to the table. He felt so embarrassed; but his thoughts raced as he heard a stranger's voice in his head. You remember, don't you? You remember. You remember. You remember...

It kept repeating. Everyone else was in view again. The pain in his chest was still there. "Ugh, damn, shit," he managed, finally pulling himself up. "That was--excuse me for a moment. Declan, if you still want to talk, I'll be out..." His voice faded before he finished his sentence and he made it to the other side of the inn, towards the entrance, flustered. He felt his entire face flushed down to his neck. Why now? Why did that happen now...

Edited November 19, 2014 by Quote

[MRDRHAWK]

Everything seemed to happen around him in a flash. Between Vale suddenly doubling over in some sort of pain that he had no knowledge of, and Sheikah fighting with the innkeeper, Declan felt like he shouldn't be around. "Peter... you and Ivan are okay on your own, right? Ah, who am I kidding... of course you are."

Seeing as how Taima went upstairs to check up on the boss, Declan decided to go check up on Vale, who'd stepped outside after what happened to him. "Hey, are you alright? That was... what was that, even? Are you alright? Did someone cast some wicked black magic on you to cause that sort of thing to happen...?" Declan asked, seeming slightly more frantic than needed to see what the issue was.