The Golden Age. Act 1: Discoveries.

[SB.]

"...Alright then." Aaron conceded. He wasn't completely sure about them being the weaker party (after all, what reason had Timaeus to hold back against them?) but perhaps it wasn't worth the risk. "I don't think we've necessarily chosen the wrong path, but ignoring an encounter like that seems..." He looked at the priestess curiously for a second, examining her tattoos. "Tell me, Kaya. Do you believe in fate?" Could the strangeness of their skirmish really be down to coincidence? There had to be some kind of bigger picture in play here - at least in Aaron's mind.

[scorri]

"Fate? In a way I suppose. I mean, if I believe in my visions, I must believe in fate of some sort, right? I do believe that there are things that are set in our future. I don't think I believe that every single thing along the path to that point is set though. There are things that are certain to happen though. Our group all ending up together may not have been fate, but it might be used to reach a certain point." Kaya gave a small shrug. "Why do you ask? Are you interested in that sort of thing?"

[Xinnidy]

"Oh! Uh, I'm fine now, Jo... Joviana!" Raz assured, holding her hands up. "It stings a bit where I was hurt, but Kaya gave me a hand and then I fixed a bit more with some ointment." She poked at her own midsection, pressing her index against the skin. "I'm going to be fine, and no scars either." Healing magic was pretty handy when it came to that. Huh.

[Nanami Touko]

"I-I'm fine, Raz... Don't worry. Just... Bad at dealing with people, still," she admitted, closing her book and attempting to look at the girl without acting awkward. It was a rather fruitless endeavor, but unless she kept trying, she'd never succeed. "I wasn't good at talking, even before the change. It hasn't helped. So... I... Caring about others is a new process. I'll learn it, but until I can, I'm going to mess up at it. Every time..."

She sighed, looking over at Kaya, talking to Aaron. Jovianna came over to ask Raz about her injuries again, and that gave Telmara the moment she needed. Even if she didn't want it. "Raz, y-you know what, I'll... I'll, go check on Kaya. You're not hurt, so... Yeah. I'll, do that..." Luckily she left right as Raz started examining herself. The extra embarrassment wouldn't do.

She sighed and felt a shiver run down her spine. It was time to swallow some pride-- can I even do that? There was no time like... The present. Aaron was still talking with her. Ugh... Just get it over with... She slid up to them, as quietly as she could. "Er, uh... H-Hi. Uhmm... I just... During the battle, you... I said some, things..." This was fairly normal, trying to formulate an apology on something Telmara had a mixed opinion on. Kaya had proven herself capable of keeping herself safe, while also participating in the fight, up front. But, she was still one of their healers, and apparently the dragon's priestess. She had to be kept safe, but she could keep herself safe. For how long?

"I... Guess... I'm sorry. I guess..." That was the best she could manage, and hopefully Kaya didn't press her for something better.

[SB.]

"Mmm..." Aaron nodded in assent, mostly in agreement with what Kaya was saying. ""I would disagree about our meeting being chance though. Having so many exceptional people here can't possibly be a coincidence." Kaya's dragon powers, the Greatforger, Lionheart, Mikaila's talismans... the list went on.

Telmara's appearance confused him at first, but he had overheard the pair arguing during the fight. "We all say things we don't mean in the heat of the moment." he interjected. "As long as we keep our heads about us during battle, that's all that matters."

[scorri]

Kaya didn't have much of a response to Aaron given she wasn't sure she agreed. Telmara managed to save her from not having an answer. Of course, that brought a whole other issue up. Looking at Aaron, she sighed and shook her head. "Mind talking to me in private about this? I have some stuff I'd like to say." Without really waiting for an answer, she moved away from the group, heading towards a small nearby patch of woods. She wasn't sure exactly how all of this would play out, but given how touchy the demihuman was, she figured it would be better to talk away from everyone else so that if things went badly, the others wouldn't overhear anything.

[Nanami Touko]

"I didn't..." I meant plenty of what I said, Aaron. Kaya's just too stubborn to accept it, and now I have to apologize to save face... This was a stupid idea. To top off her inner thoughts, Kaya was asking to speak with her away from the group. Yes, mom... Gods, this is going to be enjoyable, isn't it? She didn't say a word, simply slithering after her with her arms folder in front of her chest.

"What is it, then...?" she said, quietly, hoping there wasn't a lecture to come of this. Her reasoning for trying to keep Kaya back hadn't been entirely selfish, but she didn't know if the woman was going to realize that or not. She'd have to see.

[scorri]

Kaya sighed looking at Telmara. She pretty clearly didn't want to hear any of this, but Kaya still felt like it needed to be said. "Look, I know that you were trying to protect me. But the fact of the matter is, I'm just as capable as everyone else here. You don't raise a fuss when Aria fights. And she's as much a healer as I am. So apparently it's just me that you have an issue with fighting. Add that to the fact that I'm the leader of the group and you trying to tell me what to do in combat undermines my leadership, and it's something I can't ignore. So unless you have a really good reason for yelling at me like that, I'm going to need a promise that you won't do something like that again."

She crossed her arms and took a step back, staring at the woman waiting for a response. It had to be said, that much she knew. Otherwise Telmara was going to just keep on objecting to things. Sure she'd apologized, but that didn't mean she actually took back what she was saying. It just meant she was sorry for how she said it. This was the right thing to do. Right?

[Nanami Touko]

Fuck, we're actually doing this. Give me a break... Ugh. Alright... "Aria can fight at a distance. You can't toss our your dragons unless you get hit; if I'm wrong, correct me. You're capable but you're... Ugh." This was the hardest part. And it was flustering her. "You're m-more important to keep safe than the rest of us. And you can tell me you aren't, but there's plenty of reasons for that. You're the leader, you're a h-healer, you're this... Dragon Apostle... Your visions are important and you n-need to be kept safe for it." This is awful. I hate this. Can I die?

"I'm not... P-Promising anything. It d-doesn't matter which one of us is leading," liar, "the leader has to be kept safe. No matter how capable they are. So... Sorry for stepping on your toes, b-but... If I... Have to again, I will." She huffed, shrinking some. She hated this, this confrontation on simple things. Why was it a big deal to be told to take a step back? Was Kaya that prideful, or stubborn? It was foolish. If she realized her importance as a leader she'd be leading from the back, not right in front. Foolish...

[scorri]

"If you really believe that, you could have talked to me about it one on one." Kaya was starting to get frustrated. What was her problem? "And regardless, I don't agree with you. While what you've said is true, I'm still a member of this group. I can fight well enough to defend myself and still heal all of you. I didn't join this group to be kept safe."

She started to pace, doing her best to keep her face even and quiet. "My job is to lead. How can I lead if I'm just going to hide behind everyone? I can't be a coward who just stays in the back. That's not who I am and that's not what I've been taught to do. I lead by example. If I'm injured to the point of severe risk, of course I'll retreat, but how can I ask other people to continue fighting through injury if I don't do the same?"

[Nanami Touko]

"I didn't think you were going to do something so reckless right away..." Telmara was getting frustrated. How did she not get this? "It doesn't matter what you joined the group for... Y-You are important, and have to be kept safe. That's not... You don't..." Telmara placed a hand on her face and tried to remain calm... It wasn't working very well.

"Staying behind people in a fight i-isn't cowardly, it's tactical... If you run away from everything, that's cowardly. If you let us fight in front, that's leading. Of course you fight if the enemy makes it to you, th-that's not... Kaya, you just... Ugh..." This is basic... This is so basic, but she doesn't get it. Is she just stubborn? I don't understand how someone could think like this. It has to be pride. It has to be! There's no way it can be anything else, right?

"Then you have to l-learn something new. If you were taught something else, great. Use it wh-when it's applicable, not forcing it t-to fit every situation. And it's easy to ask. Just... Do it. Idiot... Am I literally n-not saying I'm going to do that? Fight th-through injury if it means keeping you safer...?" Do her ears work? Or her brain? Or did she lose all of that inside of those muscles... This shouldn't be difficult.

[scorri]

"I'm not here to be kept safe and I'm not here to have others get injured or killed trying to protect me. I get that you think it's your job for some strange reason, but it's not. I'm the leader of the group here and I can't have people yelling at me and questioning me in battle." She stopped her pacing and turned back towards Telmara, hands on her hips. "As I said, if you want to question me, talk to me like this after. Not in the middle of a battle when we're trying to work as a team. What's your problem here anyways? No one else had a problem with it."

[Nanami Touko]

Have you even asked anyone else if they have a problem with it? Your little show, jumping onto that woman's horse... How stupid would you have looked if that went wrong? How hurt would you have gotten? "I just... Just, shut up." Telmara didn't at all understand where Kaya was coming from, or why she thought, at all, that being corrected or shouted at in battle undermined anything. "I just wanted... To make sure you, y-you didn't get hurt... Okay? Okay!? Gods, you're just... You're so stubborn! How do I undermine anything because I want to keep you safe!? How stupid are you!? You, you just...! Ugh!" She'd ended up blurting out her thoughts, flushing red and turning around to not have to face her anymore.

"I-I'm done with this! Just... Just do what you want..." She started to slide off, grumbling to herself and not wanting to hear another word.

[scorri]

"No! You don't get to just yell and insult me and then storm off." Kaya had lost the battle with keeping her voice calm. "Look, just look at me! How do you not get this? Just try and understand this from my point of view. I'm not exactly an intimidating figure and I'm trying to lead this group. If people start questioning my decisions and my actions, it makes me seem weaker!"

She quickly chased after Telmara and grabbed her arm. "Keeping me from getting hurt isn't a reasonable goal. We're all fighting here. We're all going to get hurt and we're all going to fight. And I know you know that. You have to or you're completely unreasonable in your view of battles. So which is it? Completely unreasonable or are you hiding another reason?"

[Nanami Touko]

Telmara immediately tore her arm away from Kaya, glaring back at her, but looking more scared than upset. "Y-Yes I do! You're not listening to anything I've said! I have tried to look at things from your point of view, and all I see i-is an overabundance of pride and s-s-stubbornness! After your, y-your show with your dragons, a-and your visions, our people would have to be idiots to question you a-as being weak... A-Am I not allowed to just, want to keep you safe? Is that not okay?"

She was being forced out of the safe space of her head and it was making her more jumpy than normal. "It d-doesn't have to be reasonable for me to try! I know you-- we're all going to get hurt, but i-if I can make you get hurt less, then, just... J-Just let me!" She couldn't stop herself from glaring, or shrinking. When had people gotten so terrifying? She hadn't been good at it before, but this was... "Who's being unreasonable, Kaya? It... It's not me..."

Edited December 12, 2016 by Nanami Touko

[scorri]

Kaya had opened her mouth to respond again until the last question. She froze and took a step back. "I... I'm not being unreasonable! I need to be able to fight. And if you start questioning my actions the first time I get hurt, what does that say about future battles? The idea of wanting to keep me safe is fine, I guess. But it's not... You need me... Ugh. Look. I don't... This isn't exactly something I'm used to, ok? The whole leading people thing. And yeah, I was taught stuff, but that only goes so far. And so I'm doing what I think is best. So until that leads to something bad happening, just... Just try and respect that, ok? Please?"

[Nanami Touko]

"A-And what happens if that bad thing it leads to is too far? You are being unreasonable! Y-You, you just argued with me to let you do what you want and b-be up front. Of course I-I'm going to question things the first time. You want to l-let it happen again!" She really wanted to run. Get away from this, hide inside her tome, read for a few hours and not have to deal with any more arguing. Her breathing was picking up and her heart was racing, she had no idea how awful her face must've looked.

"Just... Just let go of me, okay? I don't... I don't, want... I-I don't want to argue, anymore! I just... I'm not... Let go..." Don't you dare cry. DON'T YOU DARE CRY! She wasn't going to let herself get that worked up, she could control this, she didn't need this. "D-Do... Do what you want, okay?"

[Xinnidy]

It seemed Telmara wasn't in the mood to stick around and talk after making sure she was okay. Oh well. She's not the type to talk much, is she? Casually waving at her leave --not that she was turning around to see it--, Raz figured it would do well to take it easy for now. They were so close to the forest...

"What about you, Jovi --is it fine if I call you that? Anyways," Raz digressed, "Did you get hurt? I... wasn't really paying attention. Though you used the Greatforger, right? I could... notice it again this battle. It's pretty handy, huh?"

Some shouting quickly distracted Raz from her conversation, turning her head to the sourch of the conflict. It was... telmara and Kaya, among some bushes and trees not too far from the general group. What's happening there? Her mind immediately went for their first big argument, resulting in throwing spells at each other. Oh dear.

"Actually, can you hold that thought, Joviana? Gotta check up on something quick." With the shouting too distracting to bear, Raz rushed towards the conflict, still a good lenght from Kaya and Telmara when she waved for their attention. "Heeeyy! Is everything okay?" Please don't be too late...

Edited December 12, 2016 by Xinnidy

[scorri]

Kaya was strangely grateful for the interruption. To be honest she wasn't even sure what to say to Telmara anymore. They're were just going around in circles at this point. "Yeah. Everything is fine. We were just ending." She turned and walked away from the other two, doing her best to get her emotions back under check. What was it about Telmara that made every interaction between the two of them end poorly. Why couldn't she have just agreed to not try and keep Kaya from fighting? Was it really that big of a deal. She was going to have to figure out the problem eventually. This couldn't keep happening.

Edited December 12, 2016 by scorri

[Nanami Touko]

"B-But, Kaya, wa..." Telmara's claw made a feeble grasp at the air as Kaya stormed off, the woman shrinking down onto her tail. I didn't want to argue, she just wouldn't listen to reason! She hasn't since we met! I know last time was my fault, but... But this time...

"We're... W-We're fine, Raz..." she responded to the girl, apparently having heard their scuffle. Telmara didn't quite know what to do, curling up into her tail and opening her tome, to try and hide her emotions. You don't need to get involved with these people, like this... You just need to get back to how you used to be. Who cares about her...? She's going to get herself killed, so just let her. Telmara bit her lip, studying through the volume again. I can't just blurt out why I want to keep her safe, anyway. You're so stupid, Telmara...

Edited December 12, 2016 by Nanami Touko

[Percivalé]

"Hey, uh... Kaya."

Itzal turned from the commotion in an opportunity to speak to the woman who seemed often occupied. The remnants of shadows formulated at the edge of his vision, wisps of illusions that rocked back and forth as he approached her away from the rest of the group; they appeared behind tree trunks and materialized in the hearts of the thickets deeper through the woods in the distance. He never paid the shadows much mind when they appeared--he cocked his head straight towards their locations and immediately they would dissipate, and that was enough to know they were mere tricks of the mind. The revelation was that from now on it would be harder to tell. He didn't let his doubt leak into his expression.

[Ether]

"I agree that Kaya's powers are certainly unique, though I'm surprised at how many people seem so impressed by my own abilites... it is but a family technique." Mikhaila replied, trying to deflect Aria's incoming praise a bit, giving the magician a light smile as she finished speaking.

"You shouldn't sell yourself short, either. Healing might not be glamorous, but it's essential for survival, and your magic seemed pretty impressive in it's own right."

[scorri]

Glancing over at the swordsman, Kaya nodded in greeting. "It's Itzal, right? How are you doing? You fought well in both our battles so far, but I can't say I've talked to you much. I'm sorry about that. I wanted to get to know everyone but..." She sighed, rubbing her head for a second before doing her best to smile. "I suppose I'm just trying to be a good leader but I have a lot to learn. Did you need something?"

[Xinnidy]

"Uh..." It didn't feel like things were fine, not at all. That was awkward, should Raz press one of them about it? Well, Kaya promptly left at her arrival, so that chalked things up to asking Telmara, whom was curled up, definitely trying to hold something in. Bad time to ask, then. She walked towards the snake lady, trying to figure out a good way to approach first.

That effort went in vain, it was far from Raz's specialty to be a mediator or to converse with people. She liked the outside and didn't consider herself an introvert, but dealing with people was a whole different thing. Not knowing what to say at first, she sat down a close distance from Telmara, hopefully not so close as to invade her personal space. "Uh, hey..." She hesitated, "Thanks for the lesson back then." That was the first thing to come up in her mind, she wasn't sure why, but mentally shrugged and rolled with the punches. "And I'm glad you're helping us out. I... thought you were a bit scary," Would that be fine to say? Too late now. "At first, but you're pretty strong, and I think you're reliable --I mean, your magic is loads better than mine! So..." Pause for breath, Raz hoped something was going through, but she was starting to confuse herself at that point, beating around the bush really wasn't her forte. "If you wanna say something, it's better to let it out than bottle up." She looked down to the ground, scratching her cheek. "Well, it's none of my business... but..." Hmm, she really didn't know how to word it without it sounding off. How do I say this?

Edited December 13, 2016 by Xinnidy

[Nanami Touko]

'Wh-What're you..." Telmara flinched at Raz approaching her, at first, but tried to open up as she spoke. Just because you look like an animal doesn't mean you have to act like one, Telmara... Why are you even scared, anyway? Raz is the only person who's listened to you and even gave you the time of day, so far. Who hasn't tried to argue with you and push their stubbornness on you! Kaya's so stupid, she just...! Telmara felt herself shiver, getting riled up again.

"You put th-them to good use... And that's fine. Most people do..." She tried to force herself to loosen up, straightening her back some and looking at Raz. "I'm just a mage, Raz. Plenty of us in Jotun... Maybe if I ever get back there I can... Hahhhh..." She sighed, staring at Raz, as calm as she was going to get. "I... Like her." She shivered again. A weight lifted itself from her worries, and she breathed another, calming sigh. "Kaya is... Stunning. Tough. Smart. Strong. I know next to nothing about her, and I want to know more... But I'm too scared of people. Too scared of how I'll be treated, or looked at. So I end up pushing her away out of fear, instead of working to make things better."

She shut her tome, staring at the ground, and placing a hand on her tired face. "It's a natural anxious response... So I know why I'm doing it. If she hates me, I'll never have to worry about rejection, of course. Not that I think this is anything so serious as love; it's a base infatuation at best... But I've... I've always been distant from people. And now, I've been away from humans for so long... Maybe I should just listen to the anxious thoughts, and stay away. What a wonderful adult I've become~ I tossed my entire life into magic, so much so that I never learned how to deal with people... Even now I'm... I-I'm probably going to panic later, having told you all of this. But, such is the apathy after a distressing situation, eh, Raz...?" She smirked, wryly, almost laughing at herself.

"Hahh, but I do feel better having gotten everything out. So... Ugh, th-thank you, for being nosey."