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Now from once there was two...there only stood the gunman, with now the user with『CD SPACE』and himself...David honestly was liking these odds a lot. Though the one individual was currently being assaulted by a horde of rocket launchers and blunderbusses...that was one harsh way to take care of things, but David figured she had it. But now it was just him and the gunman. "Well, since it's just us... LIGHT 'EM UP,『21 GUNS』!" "RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!" David looked and noticed what could only be described as a futuristic gun being above his head, and at his command...the ceiling practically started blasting wildly. He noticed it was over everyone's heads except for his...no shock. ...they'll be alright...if they have those types of abilities too. However... he paused, not moving an inch as the bullets were trained right on him. With an exhale, David ran one hand through his hair, only giving the gunman a bit of a smirk. "Carry on...『WAYWARD SON』!!!!" "DODODODODODODODODODODODODODODODODO!!" The Stand began to move slightly, seemingly...punching the bullets that were over David's head and just like before, they were sent right back to their sender and shattered the gun barrel in question. "I'm afraid this is just becoming the same ol' song and dance." he said, putting a hand in his pocket. "Should really hit the road on this, ya know." He was blissfully unaware of the rifle that was poised at the far end of the room aimed right at the young man. "Knock off the Chopper Squad and you may just end up leaving this with only a few bumps and bruises, ya follow?" That's when the rifle fired...and the bullet whizzed straight towards David...his back towards it. However...just like the last few attempts on this...it was...wait...David felt something a bit different now. He felt something warm and wet now on his shoulder. A good glance over at his left shoulder, he found that it was now bleeding and that there was a fresh bullet wound right there. That was something he wasn't expecting as he yelled a bit in pain and immediately grabbed his shoulder. "G-Gah!! ...h-heh...lucky shot..." he grumbled, though internally, he was surprised. This wasn't something he was expecting at all, but this did show him something that this little ability of his wasn't invulnerable...though he already knew if the people he was up against weren't getting hostile with him that he'd get hit...but this time...there was clear hostility with the gunman, so...how?

"Of course..." Kace said bitterly, rolling his eyes as he was now left alone with the two stand users, one of which was running straight at him. Cracking his knuckles, Joanna's charge would be stopped by a sudden wall of rocket launchers that emerged from the ground in front of her. "Why can't I go one mission without someone fucking something up." As he said that, blunderbuss barrels jutted out of each launcher, firing in Joanna's direction. He glanced towards the rest of the room, assessing what he was dealing with. He was surrounded on both fronts, as he found himself walking towards the opposite corner of the room from Alex. The only thing notable he saw were the two stand users attacking him and another, who seemed to be just trying to survive the bullets. He turned towards David, giving him a menacing glare from behind his glasses. "Well, since it's just us..." A wicked grin stretched on his face, the guns on the ceiling now consisting of only futuristic heavy machine gun barrels above everyone except Kace and his stand. "LIGHT 'EM UP,『21 GUNS』!" On command, the ceiling started blasting wildly at the people in the room. "RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!" There was still, however, the issue of David. Kace wasn't sure what capabilities『WAYWARD SON』had, only that it was some kind of protection stand. Kace snapped his fingers, prompting『21 GUNS』to slam its face into the floor, cracking it in the process. From the far end of the room, opposite of where the three stand users were, appeared a rifle from the wall. With a click that was masked by the other gunfire, the rifle fired, aiming its shot directly at David. Every Stand had a flaw, after all, and Kace was going to figure out how to break『WAYWARD SON』.

The boy raised an eyebrow at the princess, as she told her story about the tea leaves. He didn't really know much about the history of tea or it's magical water transforming properties, but he was certain that she was actually just making this up. Though, with how their adventure had been shaping up thus far, he wouldn't have been entirely surprised if they ran into such a tree and river along the way. Alois then seemed to pause for a moment as the princess made her comment on him visiting her home. Specifically about her father. He wasn't sure why something about meeting Penelope's father, more so then any other title he might possess, made him feel so uneasy but he couldn't deny it was there. At least inwardly. Outwardly he could deny all he pleased. Clearing his throat Alois simply looked towards the girl saying, "well, doesn't matter who he is or how royal he might be. If he's got something to make fun of you better believe I'll take my opportunity." Looking back, he saw his mother present everyone else with some of her homemade sesame seed bars. Taking one for himself, a small look of joy could be seen on the boy's face as he started eating it. It was certainly one of the very limited things he could say that he missed about home, and he would have to remember to take some with him when they left. The boy then heard his mother's comment about the wine. Scoffing at the mention of the mayor's recipe the boy said, "yeah, he sure likes to keep things close to the chest. That's for sure." The boy silently took another bite of his bar, ruminating about his village as he did. Tsetseg continued to smile and nod and laugh as Phaidra continued to give all of her descriptions of the people they passed by as well as others in the village. Though she didn't really internalize anything that was being told to her, she couldn't help but feel a small sense of nostalgia cross over her. She thought back to the people in the patrol and how different yet fun they all were. And then she thought back to her own home, wondering how everyone back there was fairing. As she thought more on her tribe her train of thought was eventually interrupted as the duo came across the pond. "Whoa, that's a good name!" Tsetseg nodded as Phai explained the origin of the name "Fish Pond." Tsetseg then watched the fishing genius get to work as she explained everything about the fishing rod that she would be using. Tsetseg herself had never held such a rod before, but her expression seemed to be awed at the wooden marvel. As Phai then gave her a worm, Tsetseg grabbed it for a moment and stared. She had used bait for traps before, but hadn't ever actually used worms before. She didn't even know that fish liked worms to begin with, which just showed to her how much of a fishing genius Phai really was. As she attached the bait to the hook as instructed, Tsetseg briefly thought about the idea of attaching carrots to her arrows when hunting rabbits and wondered if that would make the rabbits more likely to simply run into the arrows themselves. Her self questioning and introspection didn't get very far however as they instead moved to fishing proper. Stepping a good 10 feet away from Phai as per her instructions, the girl reeled back her line and cast it into the pond. From there, she stood still and waited. Waited. Watching. Looking. Patiently. Until she saw a shimmer move under the water. Seeing the form of a fish moving through the clear watered pond, the girl was able to clearly see its movements. And as it approached her hook, seeming tempted by her bait, the girl snapped it back. Tossing her line out of the see, the girl smiled as she looked and saw...there was nothing on the line. Her smile turning into a frown, she cast her line once more. And once again, she saw another fish approach. The moment it got close enough to the line, seemingly ready to take the bait, the girl snapped her line out again. "Fishing sure is hard." The girl mumbled before casting her line out yet again.

@Summer Darj @Summer Aix @Summer Azure @Summer Damian @Summer Striker @Summer Yui @radio414 @A Blistering Ceason @rep Welcome to the Summer Squad

I'm also in charge so I should review apps too. Masako "Bubblegum" Sanada - Chaos Sonic Patton "Gungnir" Grisaille - (JoJo) Derick "Edge" Fujiyoshi - Mr. Hyde Kira "Fissure" Zemlya - LordCowCow Vera "Tierra" Zofia - Just Blake Dayna Miller - Yui Kane "Agent Kane" Armani - ChampionZero Richard "Shade" Sartre - Doggo Sera Hym - JellisOP Erick "Hunter" Rhegor - Wind Rider Maybelle "Wrangler" Anderson - Cappuccijoe Ray "The Rat" Ramirez - REP

Sanada Masako Derick Fujiyoshi Kira Zemlya Vera Zophia Dayna Miller Kane Armani

Smiling, Citron couldn’t help but feel proud for what they had done. Sure, it was just fixing what she had broken, but all in all, what they had made was a much more official looking stall than anything she had ever run or been a part of. Simple as it was, it was also… Permanent, which is more than what could be said for her general work. And to hear everyone praise it - even the owner, in her backhanded way, brought her spirits up a bit more at the same time. Her grin only widened as they went so far as to invite her and Lincoln to go drinking; to which the soldier quickly denied. Now, Citron wasn’t exactly sure what the kind thing to do when offered drinks was, especially when you were only offered drinks for fixing a stall that you were, ultimately, at fault for breaking. So for this one, she was going to have to follow Lincoln’s lead; especially when this might mean owing the villagers more than she already did, if she wasn’t careful. “Thank you for the offer, but I’m going to have to decline as well. I have a few things to do, including going back and checking on Peaches when I’m done, but I once again want to thank you for the offer, and your understanding natures in this situation.” Citron gave a quick bow, before rising, and following Lincoln’s way. She wasn’t exactly sure where he was going, but she at least owed him an apology, if not some sort of monetary compensation; no matter what sort of excuse he gave to helping her earlier. “Thank you, Mr. Lincoln,” she’d smile; watching as he talked to the wolf. While it was a far cry from how she treated Peaches, she couldn’t help but sense a similar level of friendship between the two. “Rohns? Is that what you named him?” She eventually asked, as he agreed to put the wolf-cub down. Rohns scampered ahead of Link as soon as his paws touched the ground. "Yeah, his name is Rohns," the soldier said. "And there's no reason to thank me. I did nothin' but my duty." “Well, your ‘duty’ helped keep me from being in indentured servitude for over a month, so… Thank you.” She smiled, watching as the wolf-cub ran ahead. “Also, if you don’t mind me asking, what’s next on your agenda? And do you mind if I tag along?” She paused, bringing her good hand to her chin. “I’m not really sure where to go, or what to do now, so...” Link glanced over at her. She was older than most of their ragabond group, but still couldn't have seen more than seventeen or eighteen harvests. She obviously hadn't been exposed to the violence much of the world had to offer. "That is... not my place to discuss, and not my call to make," he said after a moment's hesitation. "The princesses will have to decide that. I was headed to meet with them now if you... if you would like to tag along." Socializing was a strange, foreign affair that he could not believe he had once found very natural. It just tired him out now. “Alright, then I’ll be tagging along with you for just a little bit longer, then.” She smiled, nodding. “Hope you don’t mind, but I figure they can at least give me a bit of advice on where I should go from here, since they at least seem a bit more knowledgeable about the world than me.”

The masked man was gone. That much was a relief. But that just meant that the gun man was now free to go wild. Creating all manner of guns Joanna had never seen before, and spraying down a wild rain of bullets from the ceiling. Between that and the guns sticking out of... other guns? Joanna had no choice but to pull herself out of the direct confrontation. It was all she could do to turn around and sprint for the nearest object or wall to use as cover, and call 『CD SPACE』back to her side, now equipped with several DISCS filled with napalm. What to do with these? ...probably best to pocket them for now. While she certainly had an idea on how to beat『21 GUNS』here, the problem was that involved getting to it. With all those guns, Joanna simply couldn't get close to the enemy Stand. She needed some means of closing the distance while not getting shot... Only one other Stand on my side. This could be problematic, but I wonder... "Oi, mirror boy!" Joanna called out, the arms of『CD SPACE』manifesting behind her. "Does that thing work on other people too?"

Joey smiled as he saw his bullets reach their target, brushing some imaginary dust from the top of the barrel of his gun. He still had it. However, this didn't deter the devil much as it shot something at the ground beneath him. Joey took a look down, before the earth itself sprang up to sock him square in the chin, knocking him a fair height off of the ground and onto his ass. His bottle of whiskey shattered as it was flung out of his hands and onto the ground as well. It took him a moment to recover from the recoil, but when he came to, he noticed that the Foxy perpetrator was now clinging onto the side of the building. Joey fixed his jaw, before 『HYBRID THEORY』helped him off of the ground. That's when he heard a whirring noise come from that thing. It must've been revving something up again. Taking a chance, Joey picked up a chunk of glass, before throwing it straight at Foxy's face, hoping to intercept whatever the hell was going to come from it. After the toss, 『HYBRID THEORY』picked up it's own shard of glass, and planting it into the wall that Foxy clung too. In no time flat, the entire wall was turned into one giant sheet of glass, with Foxy's claws still inside. "I may not be as tough as they come, but even my pal here is strong enough to shatter glass! Let's do it 『HYBRID THEORY』!" The stand balled it's fist, before unleashing a flurry of punches at the wall. "HACHACHACHACHACHACHACHA!" It would take a moment, but the wall would eventually start to break and shatter. Hopefully the whole roof didn't come down on the Museum, but that was a complete afterthought in Joey's head.

Much to his relief Alex went undisturbed, aside from the continued stray bullets, once revealing his Stand and was able to escape through the same wall he'd originally intended just before 21 Guns filled the room with enough bullets to turn anyone into a pile of goo. He began walking off, deciding getting as far away from the museum as possible was the best course of action, when he, very predictably for the day, ran into another group of Stand Users, specifically the users of Flagpole Sitta and Fox, the former of which seemed to be harassing some girl. "You're not gonna get away with putting my people in danger" A woman moved back and forth, ready to defend herself from the menacing masked man controlling the tendril's taking a humanoid shape. "Oh dear!" Alex shouted as he approached, white Beyond still by his side. "I'd hate to be a bother but you seem to be a nuisance to this dame." Alex really didn't want to get involved with another Stand, and his face certainly showed it, but the universe was conspiring against him today. "If that is the case I suggest you push on before we have a problem." It was then Alex noticed the other fellow carrying a very man-shaped object further down. "I suppose you're part of the bunch responsible for the theft of the corpse? One gentleman with a penchant for taking things that may not be mine to another, poor form if I say so, the whole thing with the lights was a bit much, and you're muscle seems a bit . . . trigger happy in my opinion." Alex wasn't quite sure what he was aiming for. False bravado? Intimidation maybe? Or maybe he just wanted to get the attention of the one with he corpse. Either way he'd already gotten himself far more involved than he'd prefer and there was certainly no going back now. He readied himself and had White Beyond take a battle stance, it's long arms hovering around Alex's body ready to attack or defend as needed. "Now, I'm not much interested in any of that nonsense with some mummified remains, not something I'd pinch for myself, but you really oughta leave the lady alone."

Superhuman Patricia stopped dead in her tracks when a man appeared before her. "Where the hell did you come from?" she asked rhetorically. "Just appearing out of thin air like that... you startled me." She pressed a single foot backward. This person was obviously working with the thief, who was now escaping. "I'm not going to bother asking why you're doing this. Stealing the corpse of a holy person. But you put a lot of people in danger, mister. Including my mother." She put up both her fists and guarded her face. "So come on, colonizer. Let's dance. You're not gonna get away with putting my people in danger." That's when Patricia's hair began to stand on edge. There was another presence here. She could feel it. It was malicious. Terrifying. Menacing. She began to sweat rather suddenly, like she was being put on stage for her biggest audience yet. And still, she didn't back down. She began to bob side-to-side, trying to prepare herself for whatever was coming. Mentally, however, she wasn't going to hesitate. Her thoughts were on her mother being in harm's way, and how upset she was. This only cemented Patricia in facing whomever this was. Police could pursue the thief. She would take down this accomplice. She waited for them to make the first move.

As Joey took shots at 『FOX ON THE RUN』, the stand attempted to dodge, taking one of the shots in a shoulder and stumbling a bit. Pointing back at the one with the gun, the speedy stand shot one of its claw-like nails just beneath Joey's feet and another just below itself, causing a temporary sensation of the ground shifting below him, before it suddenly shot up, hitting the gunman on the chin. At the same time, Fox took a punch from 『THA CARTER』before the chunk under it launched it into the air, digging its claws into the wall of the museum to hold itself up about 15 feet up. The stand let out a strange whirring noise as it took aim at CARTER, firing one of its nails at it, ignoring the assailant it had delivered an uppercut to. Meanwhile, the man with the corpse stumbled again as the shot hit Fox outside, suddenly crying out and grabbing his left shoulder in pain, nearly dropping his bounty. As he gathered himself, there was a girl yelling behind him, earning a glance back at her before cursing again and making another break for it, just in time for the masked man to arrive and protect him, nodding. "Handle that, we're almost done here." He muttered before beginning to push the corpse, wondering if he should recall Fox.

Rodrigo would have stopped a minute to process everything that had happened, but the adrenaline was keeping that from happening. His feet ran without thought; his demon attacked without warning. The predatory instinct that kept him alive in the ring was keeping him alive right now, as the flames and the gunshots and the chaos around him all faded back as his vision tunneled onto the strange monster he was chasing. It wasn't until after he found himself blocked into an alleyway with someone else that he came to his senses. It wasn't until then that he took his second breath. There was the abomination before them, red and shiny and metallic - on wheels - like his own? Some sort of future-beast come true? And to his side, a strange, skinny man with bright white hair and a bottle of whiskey in his hands, pointed to Rodrigo. And above them, some new demon: sleek, purple, blue, teal, red, grey. Claws, a whipped tail, an inverted mouth! "Cheers to my first whacky fight!" Rodrigo took another, deeper breath, then firmly grasped the bottle of whiskey and took a large gulp befitting a large man. Spitting what was left in his mouth to the floor, like blood in a fight, he tossed the bottle back and dramatically raised his fists in a boxing stance. "I punch, you shoot. Cover me." His 'one of these guys' apparated before them, his own fists raised and ready to fight. Ostensibly a human without the flesh, a quick inspection by his new partner in the alley would reveal nothing but what seemed to be metal alloy covering its entire body. The dim light in the alley covered the brilliant, fiery-orange markings along his chest and arms, but the bright white scales along his back reflected some of the ambient light and raised the light level in the entire alley. "『THA CARTER』 !!" Both stand and user sprinted forward, the stand significantly faster, mimicing Rodrigo's movements but on an accelerated, exaggerated scale. While Rodrigo took a step, 『THA CARTER』 flew ten feet; while Rodrigo threw one punch, 『THA CARTER』threw five. Needing to only take a couple of steps before his metal demon would reach the opponent that had just been shot at, he would start punching at wherever it attempted to go.

Things were only becoming more complicated as things went on. Most of the crowd had already escaped through Alex's exit, meaning he most likely couldn't escape undetected, a new stand user literally popped up out of nowhere to help out the man pointing guns at everything, and, speaking of whom, 21 Guns had summoned flamethrowers to split the room in half which, of course, the Stand CD Space eliminated. Honestly Alex was just getting tired of keeping track of everything. Who was trying to steal the corpse, that wasn't even that shiny to begin with, who was trying to protect it and/or not get shot, and who was just as confused as Alex himself. While Wayward Son, who was apparently bullet proof, and CD Space distracted the attackers Alex snuck around the room trying to find a way out of the bizarre situation. While the pairs faced off Alex was barely able to avoid the stray projectiles from 21 Guns while maintaining his inexplicable ability to remain unseen. Eventually he ended up pinned in a corner of the room and had no choice but to bring out his Stand in front of them to avoid being hit. "『WHITE BEYOND』!" rather than hitting the individual bullets, something Alex wasn't sure his Stand could do with how close together they were, White Beyond began ferociously poking it's user in the right spots just before the bullets would have made contact, allowing them to pass through harmlessly through him while, unfortunately, most likely blowing his cover as a non-Stand-User to the group.

Improvise "Oh? Do we have a special talent we are trying to keep hidden? Or maybe you haven't even met your stand yourself. Either way, it isn't anything my 『FLAGPOLE SITTA』 and I have to worry about." Stand? What the hell was this guy talking about? "You see, with a stand like mine, it's impossible for me to lose in close combat. You'd be better off turning around and going home, child." Then, Pattie was suddenly not alone, as a third party joined the fray. "Now, I'm not much interested in any of that nonsense with some mummified remains, not something I'd pinch for myself, but you really oughta leave the lady alone." Oh, great. Another white savior. She silently rolled her eyes, but she wasn't going to turn down his help. Considering this masked coward was going on about standing and flagpoles and close combat, she wasn't really sure what to expect. And then, things got even more strange. The masked man drew a piece of thread that was dark and weighted on either end. Then, he and the third party both vanished. Pattie's eyes went wide, prompting her to crouch down and pick up the string. It just so happened that as she did so, the masked man re-emerged behind her with a knife in his hand, swinging it at the back of her neck! Had she not stooped to examine the string, it would've punctured the back of her neck and killed her! She instinctively dropped the string and doubled forward, causing her left leg to spring up behind her. When she did, she felt another new presence, but it was directly atop her. A single leg, wearing dancing shoes and wrapped in tights, emerged from behind her and kicked her assailant in the wrist. And she could feel the kick landing, despite her own legs not being directly responsible for the attack. As Pattie landed on her feet, she stretched out her legs and pointed her toes downward at a sharp angle. A phantom limb mimicked her movement beside her, and Pattie began to understand. "This is the strangest day I've had all week. I suppose I'll make the most of it." She placed her foot down and stretched her arms wide. Two more phantom limbs appeared around her, and Pattie got excited. "This must be the stand thing you mentioned. I'm a pretty quick learner, I guess." She casually threw two punches forward, testing this "stand" power. This time, the phantom limbs did not emerge from beside her, but instead appeared right in front of her assailant, barreling down on his masked face.

"So come on, colonizer. Let's dance. You're not gonna get away with putting my people in danger." The girl was brave, he'd give her that much credit. As his 『FLAGPOLE SITTA』 loomed beside him, he could see a visceral reaction from her, though she didn't quite look it's way. "Oh? Do we have a special talent we are trying to keep hidden? Or maybe you haven't even met your stand yourself. Either way, it isn't anything my 『FLAGPOLE SITTA』 and I have to worry about." Pulling from his pocket a black thread, about 10 feet long, with two weighted ends, he casually tossed it to the ground, so that it extended a few feet behind the girl, and a few feet behind himself. "You see, with a stand like mine, it's impossible for me to lose in close combat. You'd be better off turning around and going home, child." He couldn't admit that he was stalling. Truth be told, he had no idea of the girl's stand's capabilities, and his own had some very specific weaknesses he didn't want to see exploited. "Now, I'm not much interested in any of that nonsense with some mummified remains, not something I'd pinch for myself, but you really oughta leave the lady alone." Oh. A 2v1. This was much more interesting. A cruel smile showed its face behind the man's mask, as he slowly looked over his shoulder to the newcomer. This one had a stand as well, a tall, white, artificial humanoid-type customer. Its thin build suggested speed, but he knew for a fact that the speed couldn't compare to his 『FLAGPOLE SITTA』. After all, once the correct conditions were met, his stand was as fast as one could possibly be. It's hard to compete with infinite speed. And, luckily for the masked man, those conditions were so met as the newcomer stepped up to him, passing the end of the thread he had tossed down a moment earlier. It only took an instant. 『FLAGPOLE SITTA,』 as well as the man controlling it, both disappeared from view, seemingly being sucked into the thread on the ground like dust into a vacuum. The man reappeared behind Patti, holding a knife at the base of the back of her neck, as a pair of arms emerged from the other end of the thread, grabbing hold of the ankles of 『WHITE BEYOND,』 dragging it down and seemingly pulling it into the thread with it, forcing its user down along with it. "Die." With only a single word, the assassin thrust his knife forward. Nearly a mile away, a man of seemingly quite advanced age looked on upon the quickly-unfolding stand battle with what appeared to be a pair of children's toy binoculars, though they somehow functioned well enough for him to have a clear view of all that transpired. He stroked his beard, contemplating for a moment before deciding that those two did not need his help. Or rather, his talents were needed elsewhere. Turning his view to the man running away with the corpse, he smiled lightly. "Really thought you could get away? You've done a great job messing this up, but I'm going to have to take that back from you." With a light chuckle, he tossed aside the toy and jumped forward off the top of the apartment building where he stood.

"What's taking so long? I thought you clones were suppose to be good soldiers or something like that!" "Watch it," Halfsies warned over the commlink, "I haven't been a soldier in a long time." Halfsies slowed his crawl through the cramped ventilation shaft as the voices of the B1s came through. Clankers talked too much, he thought. Which was funny because, for all intents in purposes, there was ever very rarely a moment where a droid actually needed to speak. He supposed it was just programming to make the Separatists feel more comfortable. Oh well, it meant more intel for him. "Captain? What do we do?" "Activate the secondary motion turrets on all levels except the hangar and the bridge. If they breathe too hard, we'll know it." Gotta love a good cue. Halfsies thought to himself. He activated the sonic pulse built into his arm, sending the grate that blocked his entry flying off its screws. He immediately took aim at the deckhand that was moving towards the controls to turn on the motion turrets. One shot. Two shots. Three, for good measure. He couldn't waste time trying to clamber out of the air duct so he turned to fire at the droids, even though his range of motion was severely impaired. As his laser bolts sizzled through the room, he brought the comm link to his mouth again. "Gotta be quick boys, Droidekas are coming in hot and if we don't get this done soon, they're gonna blast us into deep space." Once he was certain that he had cleared the droids, Halfsies crawled out of the air duct, awkwardly falling onto the floor. Picking himself up, he began to work on lifting the emergency doors.

Alois, Penelope, Gunther, Edrick, and Abdul "Sixteen winters!" Mene had replied to Edrick disbelievingly. "Yer even younger than Alois!" she shook her head disapprovingly. "You boys, always goin' off to adventure and fight. Alois is like that too." “Nonsense! One has not truly lived until they have experienced tea, not to mention that we are in the presence of royalty,” Abdul exclaimed while gently gesturing towards the curious Penelope, “I would be remiss if I did not share some of my finest!” Mene looked a little surprised at Abdul's enthusiasm. "My, my, ye do seem enthusiastic about it, young man," she smiled, moving to set down the bowl of poultice. "If'n it's that good, I might as well--" the bowl slid from her hands to clatter onto the floor, leftover vulnerary poultice splashing onto the wooden slats. The smell of medicine drifted around the group, mixing with the scent of the tea to form a slightly overwhelming aroma. "O-Oh my, ahaha," the woman laughed nervously as she grabbed a rag, stooping down to clean up the spill. "Pardon the mess. Ye caught me off guard with yer joke." She rose up from the floor, stuffing the rag into a pocket of her apron mindlessly, though it still dripped with the poultice. "I'm not very good at jokes, y'see. That was more my husband's thing. Could have the lot o' us rollin' on the floor from the wit of 'em some days." She smiled fondly before turning to Alois. "An' Alois here is the very spit o' him in that respect." The woman moved to the kitchen then, opening the oven to take out a stone tray covered in small bars. "As if royals would come here," her voice shook slightly. "Not to this little village, oh no." She turned around then with a trembling smile, though it disappeared when she heard the way Abdul addressed Penelope. "I...er...made some pasteli earlier. So they're not hot anymore, but I thought t'would go well with the tea." She set the tray down to grab a handful of clay plates, setting a couple of bars down on each, and passing them around to everybody, including Edrick, though she laid the plate close beside him so he could grab it without much trouble. "S'not much, especially for, erm, folks like yourselves, but enjoy." On closer inspection, the bars looked to be made of small seeds mixed in with some nuts and held together with honey. Since they had been allowed to cool, they were hard enough to pick up without worrying about sticky hands but soft enough still that they were chewy rather than crunchy. Alois would recognize them as her famed sesame-seed bars, the honey taken from local bees that had gathered nectar from plants such as clover and thyme. Depending on what was available, she would add extras. This time she had put in pistachios, their mild flavor mixing with the honey for a gentle sweetness that neither underwhelmed nor overwhelmed the palate. It would also combine well with the tea, softening the drink's natural piquancy to create a more balanced flavor that would be less of a shock for those unused to spice. Mene, herself, seemed captivated by the tea, momentarily forgetting the events of earlier. "Why this reminds me of that wine o' the mayor's!" she exclaimed. "Though it's got a certain difference to it. It's..." she paused, lips pursing in thought. "It's got a certain earthiness to it the wine lacks. And the flavor is different, but it still has a way of stingin' yer tongue like nettles do." She smiled at Abdul. "Thankee much for this, young man. I would love to hear what all goes into this. That is, if'n ye'll allow it," she winked. "I understand if'n ye want t'keep a gem like this secret. The mayor never lets any o' us know what goes into his wine, after all." -- Link and Citron The trio gave Link and Citron understanding nods, though they all looked a little disappointed, even Thile, though, for her, that disappointment was mixed with relief as she jerked back reflexively at seeing Rohns jump toward her. "All righ', well then take care, ya hear?" Achos waved at them. "We'll hafta drink together another time, maybe." "Yes, that sounds like a fine idea," Pheodea gave a gap-toothed smile. "Aye, another time fer sure," Thile mumbled, still staring at Rohns. The three left then, Achos lifting up multiple crates of fruit with ease as they followed Thile out of the square. The two would find their way back to the town hall easily enough, where they would find Catriona sitting on one of the long benches, Ciela lying at her side. Adel was gone, but Acantha was still there, watching over Peaches. The wyvern's injuries had closed up for the most part, and her green eyes, which had been clouded over with pain, shone in a brighter hue. Her scales, which had been a dull pale rust color from the marble dust, were now a glossy burnished apricot. "You're back," Catriona said, tone flat as usual. She glanced at Link with a confused blink, but said nothing more. "Hmph, I thought you'd never come back. You sure kept your wyvern waiting," Acantha huffed. "Next time, be a bit quicker, why don't you?" She looked at Link. "And weren't you supposed to be with the others?" -- Sienna "Oh, ye know her? Should've known, whit wiv ye both bein' foxes an' all," Theusido said. "Aye, I saw her. Was a while back though." He closed his eyes, head tilted up toward the ceiling as he mulled it over. Eventually, he nodded, looking back down at Sienna. "Aye, she was black all righ', an' big. Bigger than any normal fox. Seemed in a right hurry too, besides. I wis down the street from the town hall at the time. She almost ran me right over, tha' she did." He shook his head. "Hrrm...thought I was a goner fer sure. Didn't see where she was goin' though, only that she wis goin'." He turned to a young man nearby who looked to be around Catriona's age. Like most of the villagers, he was dark-haired and dark-eyed, but he wore clothing similar to that of Cora and Acantha, with bandages around the head, neck, and waist. "Oy, Melesus, did ye see the black fox?" The man shot Sienna a venomous look. "Ain't seen no foxes sides that one there. Don't be fooled by her looks; she's a hells-born horror, is what she is. I was almost burned to death cuz of her." "Ach, stop whining, lad. From what the mayor said, ye'd still be a beaver if'n it weren't for her an' her friends." Theusido shook his head. "An' you'll be right as rain in a tennight or so, more's the pity." He turned back to Sienna. "Ignore him. He's me sister's grandson, but he was born with more brass than brains. Now as fer yer foxy friend..." he closed his eyes again before opening them with a blink. "I dinna know where she might be, but Amas might. Or leastways he can find out. His dog's got a sense of smell tae put the hounds o' the seven hells t'shame," he stared down at Icleias, who had followed the Protean all the way to his shop, pointedly. "An' since his dog likes ye, an' yer doin' him a favor an' all, he might be inclined tae help." "If'n I were's him, I'd toss her out on the streets--ow! What was that for?!" Melesus whined, holding his head and glaring at Theusido. "Why'dya think, ya eejit?!" the man retorted, turning to Sienna then with a wave of his hand. "Anyhows, there ain't much else I can tells ye. Ye'd get more from Amas, methinks. Thanks fer the furs, by the by." With that, he turned away from the Protean to get back to his carving. Melesus tossed Sienna a glare, but said nothing more, stomping away from the woman with a huff. Were Sienna to return to Amas, she would find the man in the same place she had left him at, still whittling away at the long piece of wood in his hands. "Oh, yer back." He commented flatly. "Looks like ye got a good deal. I knew Theusido'd like the furs." He nodded toward a space in front of his house. "Ye can just leave 'em there for now." -- Tsetseg Though Tsetseg seemed to recognize the voice, it was clear it was not very welcome as she replied, "let's go fish." Phai cast the girl a troubled look, biting her lip slightly as she gazed at the house. "O-Okay," her voice firmed as she clenched her fist. "Let's do that then! And instead of eating the dried fish at my house, you'll get to try freshly-caught fish! It's even tastier!" her voice rose higher and higher in excitement. "Come on then!" in talking about fish, the last of her sniffles had died away, and the crying girl of before seemed nothing but a lie. The girl then proceeded to march on past Mene's house. "The pond where I like to go isn't actually in the village, but it's not far outside either. Or at least, not that far. Not for a pro fisherman, anyway," she jabbed a thumb at herself. "And Mene's house is right next to the village wall, so we'll get there even more quickly!" she skipped on through the simple gate, the cobblestone beneath their shoes giving way to dirt and grass. Phai made sure to provide a running commentary on everything they passed. "And that's the shepherd's boy, Timotheos. His father's the one that actually owns the sheep, but he watches over them during the day. Over there is his dog, Lassie. Everybody knows she's the one that really keeps the sheep in line. Why, one day, when Timotheos fell down the well, she let us all know about it. We all think she's probably the smartest dog there is." As they entered the forest that encircled the fields, the girl continued to ramble. "--and Acantha always told me not to go into the forest, but I kept doing so anyway. Alois was worse, though. He was always getting into a lot of trouble with her, especially because her little brothers would always try to use him as a reason to go out themselves. She'd always get really mad," the girl giggled. "And I know she was just worried, but I couldn't just stay away! Not when all the fish were waiting to be caught!" she nodded. Eventually, the two would reach a large expanse of water, as still and reflective as a mirror. "This is it!" Phai beamed. "I call this place Fish Pond because it has fish! And also, if you look at it from above, like from a tree, it's in the shape of a fish too!" she approached a rough lean-to nearby. "This is where I keep my fishing rods, and where Polantho keeps his too. We'll leave his alone, but I've got an extra rod here, see?" she held up what looked to be a long stick at first glance, but upon closer inspection, Tsetseg would see that it was sectioned into three parts, each with three different kinds of wood. The first and longest section at three meters was about as thick around as the girl's arm, the handle wrapped in iron bands, the other end tapering slightly with a hole drilled in. That and an iron spike connected it to the second section at one meter, which was also connected to the one-meter section at the end through glue and twine. The last, and thinnest section, was made of a darker wood than the other two, tapering to a fine point with a loop made of cord at the end. "The line snapped last time, so I gotta tie up a new line to it," Phai said, opening a wooden chest and taking out a long loop of glistening grayish-green twine. "Our lines are made of catgut," she smiled. "The shepherd's nice enough to give them to us when we need new lines. And now I attach a cork for a float, and then a hook to the end like so...and...there!" she held up the rod proudly before handing it over. "When I first started, I just used a long bendy stick and attached a line and hook to the end, but Polantho taught me how to make a real rod, so I use these now. He was grumpy about it at first, but I think he actually likes the company." She looked around. "He's not here now though. Too bad." "Anyway," the girl dug around in another chest, coming out with two wriggling earthworms. "Attach these to the end of your hook. Here," she handed one over to Tsetseg. "Now that's done...it's time to fish! Watch me first. I'll show you how it's done." She moved apart from Tsetseg. "You gotta make sure you're not super close to anybody first, but you just lean back and swing the rod in an arc...like this!" she threw her weight forward, the line whizzing out into the distance before landing in the water with a soft splash. "Now you just wait for a fish to bite! You can tell, cuz you'll feel a pull on the rod." -- OOC

I can't get over "There's a doin' going on" This was actually pretty legit. Makes me wonder how difficult it is without getting the secrets.